FBI Offers $100,000 Reward for Capture of Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Cryptoqueen Investigators say Ignatova allegedly took part in a large-scale fraud scheme. Beginning in approximately 2014, Ignatova and others are alleged to have defrauded billions of dollars from investors all over the world. Ignatova was the founder of OneCoin Ltd., a Bulgaria-based company that marketed a purported cryptocurrency. In order to execute the scheme, Ignatova allegedly made false statements and representations to individuals in order to solicit investments in OneCoin. She allegedly instructed victims to transmit investment funds to OneCoin accounts in order to purchase OneCoin packages, causing victims to send wire transfers representing these investments. Throughout the scheme, OneCoin is believed to have defrauded victims out of more than $4 billion. Ignatova served as OneCoins top leader through October 2017. Ignatova traveled from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece on October 25, 2017, and may have traveled elsewhere after that. She may travel on a German passport to the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece and/or Eastern Europe. This story has been published on: 2022-07-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Hong Kong: Power cable detailed report received The Government tonight received the detailed report submitted by CLP Power to the Director of Electrical & Mechanical Services on the June 21 power cable incident. The report points out that the cables concerned were in normal operation condition on the day of the incident and there is no evidence at this stage suggesting the incident was related to the electricity protection system, weather conditions or vandalism. CLP Power's initial assessment shows that the incident was caused by a fire at the high-voltage cable or electrical and mechanical facilities in the cable bridge and an in-depth investigation along this direction is under way. The improvement measures proposed by CLP Power mainly include applying fire-retardant coating to all cables in its cable bridges, enhancing security systems and fire protection devices, conducting risk assessment on the reliability of the cable bridges' electricity supply, reviewing relevant contingency measures and conducting drills. The Government said it is examining the report and the technical details therein, adding that it will request CLP Power to make clarifications or provide further information where required. The Electrical & Mechanical Services Department will urge CLP Power to complete the in-depth investigation as soon as possible to determine the cause of the fire and closely monitor the company's implementation of the improvement measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. A cable bridge near Wang Lok Street and the Spectra in Yuen Long caught fire on June 21, affecting the power supply to the Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun areas. The Government requested CLP Power to investigate the incident and submit a detailed report two weeks after the incident. This story has been published on: 2022-07-06. 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 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. Reuters Videos STORY: It was likely to have been washed up there on Friday night (July 15) according to Colin Dixon, who filmed the footage. He told Reuters that the high tide was higher than usual on Friday.Australian broadcaster, the ABC, reported on Sunday that the dead whale was not the famous albino humpback Migaloo.The ABC reported officials from Victoria's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning as saying that the whale had been identified as a "sub-adult female" and that Migaloo is male.Officials said that people and their dogs should stay away from the carcass and that staff would assess it in the coming days, the ABC reported. OLENA ROSHCHINA WEDNESDAY, 6 JULY 2022, 08:28 Six Belarusian soldiers from the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment [voluntary Belarusian regiment that officially became part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in March 2022 - ed.] were captured or killed near Lysychansk. On 26 June, a group of soldiers from the regiment crossed paths with a Russian military convoy and engaged in combat. Source: Nasha Niva, a Belarusian news outlet Details: Until recently, there was a possibility that some of the soldiers might have survived. As of today, some of the soldiers have been confirmed dead and others were captured by the Russians. The last message received from the soldiers said: "A tank is approaching us. Were working on it." Ivan Marchuk (also known as Brest) and five other soldiers did not return from their combat mission. Their regiment reports that search operations to find them are currently underway. Eye witnesses report that Brest alongside some of the Belarusian soldiers were covering the retreat of the other part of their unit. Brest sustained severe injuries to his leg and head. In this battle, he was responsible for destroying at least one Russian tank. Marchuk (aka Brest) was recognised in one of the photos published by the Russian military on 30 June, but Nasha Niva did not report this until it had received official confirmation. The fate of the other soldiers who have gone missing remains unknown. On 5 July, a Russian Telegram channel shared a video of captive Yan Dzurbeiko (aka Trombli) from a village near Minsk. The Telegram source states that Dzurbeiko is not the only prisoner of war held by Russia. The regiment, in turn, said that it is doing everything within its power to return its fighters, adding that the soldiers have been ordered to say "whatever the enemy wants to hear" in case of their capture by the Russians. Nasha Niva notes that this is the largest loss sustained by the Belarusian regiment in the war so far. A total of seven Belarusian soldiers from different Ukrainian units have been killed since the beginning of the war. Background: Ivan Marchuk (Brest) has been defending Ukraine since 2014. He served in the French Foreign Legion. Since the beginning of Russias full-scale military invasion on 24 February 2022 he became the face of the Belarusian Kastus Kalinouski Regiment (which started out as a battalion but eventually grew sufficiently to become a regiment). Reuters The Ukraine war shows that the West's dominance is coming to an end as China rises to superpower status in partnership with Russia at one of the most significant inflection points in centuries, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said. The world, Blair said, was at a turning point in history comparable with the end of World War Two or the collapse of the Soviet Union: but this time the West is clearly not in the ascendant. "We are coming to the end of Western political and economic dominance," Blair said in a lecture entitled "After Ukraine, What Lessons Now for Western Leadership?" according to a text of the speech to a forum supporting the alliance between the United States and Europe at Ditchley Park west of London. By Allison Lampert MONTREAL (Reuters) -Air Canada said on Wednesday it will not allow animals in the baggage hold until Sept. 12 due to "longer than usual" delays at airports, as carriers and airports wrestle with complaints over lost luggage and long lines. Airlines in Europe, the United States and Canada are cancelling and delaying flights due to staffing shortages while traffic surges faster than expected after slumping during the pandemic. Passengers at airports from Toronto to Frankfurt have been sharing photos on social media of piled-up luggage near baggage belts. "Due to longer than usual airport delays, and for the safety and comfort of pets, we will not be accepting new requests for pets traveling in the baggage compartment until Sept. 12, 2022," Air Canada said in an emailed statement. Current pet bookings will be honored, it said. Earlier this month, Canadian broadcast network CTV News reported that a dog flown by a different carrier had been left at Toronto Pearson International Airport with baggage for about 21 hours. Air Canada's smaller rival WestJet Airlines said it will continue accepting animals. Canada's government said on Wednesday it is working with industry to reduce congestion. The country's transport minister met recently with the heads of Canada's two largest airlines and airport. Air Canada recently said it would cut flights by 15% in July and August, with the changes on largely domestic routes going into effect on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Pearson, Canada's busiest airport, said it is "still assessing the impact of these reductions." According to data from FlightAware, around 70% of Air Canada's U.S. flights were delayed over the long holiday weekend, the highest proportion of any carrier. Air Canada is the largest foreign carrier in the United States. Chief executives of Air Canada and Delta Air Lines have both recently apologized for flight disruptions. Earlier on Wednesday, a senior United Airlines executive said the U.S. aviation system is expected to "remain challenged this summer and beyond." (Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal, editing by Deepa Babington and David Gregorio) Amber Smith says she forgives those who send her messages about sons death (Getty Images) Amber Smith has shared some of the messages she receives from people criticising her for the death of her three-year-old son while explaining why she forgives those who blame her. In June 2019, Amber and her husband, country music singer Granger Smith, lost their son River Kelly in a drowning accident. On Monday, Amber revealed on her Instagram Stories in a since-expired post that she still receives messages criticising her parenting, with the actor sharing a screenshot of a recent comment that she left on Instagram, as well as the response she received from another Instagram user calling her truly disgusting. In her comment, Amber shared her support for another family who appeared to have suffered a loss. All of us mamas who know this pain have been praying so hard for your family, she wrote. We are all rallying around you and are here for you. Light will come from the dark. He is working. Bless you for blessing others in your deepest hurt. Sending all our love. Ambers comment was met with a response from another Instagram user, who claimed that the actors comment made them so mad. Why would you be such irresponsible parents?! Teach babies to swim, fence the pool, PROTECT your children! the user continued. This is your fault, you KILLED your kid. Truly disgusting. On her Instagram Stories, where Amber shared a screenshot of the exchange, she responded with a scripture before addressing those who send the hurtful messages. James 3:6 The tongue also 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. But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison, Amber wrote. The 40 year old, who also shares sons Lincoln, eight, and Maverick, one, and daughter London, 10, with Granger, then revealed that she cant fault the people who send the messages, but that its taken her three years to learn not to let them hurt her. Story continues I cant fault these people. We live in a fallen world. Its taken me three years to not let these comments hurt me, but I forgive them. I am rooted in Jesus, she wrote. Ambers response to the messages comes after she and Granger opened up about the ongoing guilt and responsibility they feel over their sons death while speaking to CBS This Morning in March 2021. I dont think I will ever not have that feeling of responsibility and guilt. I feel like somebody has to be responsible, and it was me, Granger said at the time. As a parent, I look back on that day and theres a million things I could have done just a little bit different. And it would have been a different outcome. Amber also spoke of the guilt she feels, while revealing that shes never blamed her husband. I feel the same responsibility, because Rivers my son. I never once have felt blame for [Granger], she said. And I hate that he carries that every day. The couple has also been outspoken about their ongoing grief on Instagram, with Amber sharing a family photo taken with the couples newest addition in September 2021 while acknowledging that they will forever be a family of six. We will forever be a family of six, although you will only see five in the photos. I so miss our fiery red head and the silly faces he used to make next to ours, but in a way, I feel that Maverick was closer to Him than all of us before he came into our lives, so we still feel him so near, she wrote. The first movie trailer for Amsterdam has arrived, heralding David O. Russells controversial return to the directors chair after a seven-year absence. Starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington, the crime caper centers on a murder mystery. Set in the 1930s, the film follows a trio of friends as they evade authorities after being suspected of murder, according to Variety. You got a dead white man in a box, warns Chris Rocks character in the first scene of the trailer. Not even a casket. It doesnt even have a top on it. In a pine box of old wood. Who do you thinks gonna get in trouble here? The film, weaves historical fact with fiction as the trio find themselves at the center of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history, according to the press release for the movie. While the dead man and his true killers remain mysterious, the leading protagonists appear genuinely innocent of the charges. In addition to Bale, Washington, and Robbie, who portray two veterans and a nurse, the ensemble includes Taylor Swift, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon and Robert De Niro. We formed a pact and we swore to protect each other ... no matter what, Bales character reveals in the trailer. The whodunit appears to be filled with humor, intrigue and acerbic wit. This is becoming a lot larger than any of us, Robbies character admits in the trailer. I had to stab a guy. I had to hit a lady with a brick one time. This is Russells first film since 2015s Joy, which chronicled the entrepreneurial efforts of American inventor Joy Mangano, and reunites the five-time Oscar winner with previous collaborators Bale and De Niro. The publicity for the new film has sparked reminders of the directors record of heinous behavior on and off his sets, causing some to question why so many big stars chose to work on the project. In 2012, Russells niece said the director sexually assaulted her an accusation he didnt dispute. Hes also been accused of berating cast and crew members. Story continues Amsterdam is set to hit theaters on Nov. 4. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... EUSTIS A Eustis police officer on Monday arrested an Apopka officer, in his uniform and patrol car and on his way to work, and charged him with driving under the influence. A witness called 911 at 6:01 p.m. to say that the Apopka patrol car was unable to stay in its lane on U.S. 441 near Donnelly Street in Mount Dora. A Eustis officer caught up with Oscar Mayorga, 26, at Center Street and Firewood Avenue. The jail: Lake County jail inmate, 57, charged with killing daughter's boyfriend, dies in custody COVID-19 in Lake, Sumter counties: Vaccination numbers increase as youngest Americans receive shots $1,800 of gas for six bucks?: Man charged with using pump manipulation device at Eustis gas station Eustis Officer E. Rapp asked Mayorga to pull over so he could talk to him. Instead, he drove to South Avenue and South Grove Street before stopping after Rapp activated his lights and siren, according to an arrest affidavit. He asked Mayorga if he was OK, or if he was having some type of medical episode. Another officer noticed an open beer can in the cup holder, which Mayorga said was old. He said he was on his way to work, according to the affidavit. While speaking with Oscar, I could smell the strong odor of alcohol emitting from his breath, Rapp noted. His speech was also slurred, and when ordered to get out of the car, he held onto the door for balance, staggered and almost fell several times, the officer wrote. Mayorga said he was prone to having seizures and did not feel well. When police called EMS, he refused to be transported and asked to be helped off the backboard. He said he had taken three Benadryl pills a few hours earlier, though he could not explain why. He also said he had consumed three tall boys (24-ounce beers), according to the affidavit. He said he had not been to a Fourth of July party, but that he had consumed the beers at his home. Police said his blood-alcohol level registered at 0.39 and 0.385. He was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Story continues A Eustis officer took his handgun. Officers from Apopka came and collected the patrol car and gear. An Apopka Police press release stated that Mayorga, who has been with the department for five years, has been suspended without pay. This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Apopka, Florida police officer accused of DUI in Lake County CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) Apple said it will roll out a lockdown" option for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers intended to protect against spyware unleashed by state-sponsored hackers although enabling that protection will also make these devices less useful. The safeguard announced Wednesday is a tacit acknowledgement that not even Apple the worlds most valuable company has been able to adequately shield the iPhone and its other products against intrusions from state-backed hackers and commercial spyware. Governments have used these tools to violate the privacy of journalists, political dissidents and human rights activists. The new feature, called lockdown mode," will initially be offered as a test version so that security researchers can help Apple identify any bugs or weaknesses. Apple usually releases its major updates to its device operating systems in late September. While only a handful of countries appear to have the resources to develop in-house mobile phone hacking tools, private companies like Israels NSO Group have been selling phone hacking software to government agencies around the world for years. The growing hacker-for-hire problem prompted Apple to file a federal lawsuit late last year against NSO Group for breaking into iPhones and other Apple products. In its complaint, Apple accused NSO Group employees of being amoral 21st century mercenaries who have created highly sophisticated cyber-surveillance machinery that invites routine and flagrant abuse." NSO, which has been blacklisted by the U.S. Commerce Department, has denied any wrongdoing and said its products have been used to thwart child abusers and terrorists. Unlike the security features that Apple builds into most of its software, the company's lockdown feature is meant to serve as an emergency button that Apple expects will only be needed by a small number of its users. The lockdown measure is considered a last resort for people targeted by spyware, since activating lockdown will disable many popular features. That includes sending attachments and links in texts, as well as the ability to receive FaceTime calls from new numbers. Web browsing will also be limited. Story continues But Apple believes the extra layer of protection will be valuable to activists, journalists and other targets of hacking attacks launched by well-funded groups. Users will be able to activate and deactivate lockdown mode at will. The growing use of encrypted communications through phone apps like WhatsApp and Signal have prompted governments to turn to commercial spyware vendors to gather information on targets. Such mobile phone spyware vacuums up text messages, emails and photos while secretly controlling a smartphones microphones and cameras. Some of the more advanced tools can infect a phone using so-called zero click exploits that dont depend on the user inadvertently activating them, such as by clicking on a malicious link. Google, whose Android mobile phone platform is used by iPhone competitors, has also been targeted by commercial spyware vendors. The company's Threat Analysis Group says its tracking more than 30 such companies and routinely publishes reports on exploits used to hack into phones, making them far less effective. Google also offers an Advanced Protection Program that uses a special security key hardware to make user accounts harder to hack. The company said it strongly recommends the program for journalists, activists, business executives, and people involved in elections. Separately, Apple also provided more details about a $10 million grant it pledged last November to help counter large-scale hacking attacks. The money will go to the Dignity and Justice Fund, a philanthropic arm of the Ford Foundation. By Nicolas Misculin BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - An Argentine judge sentenced 19 former military officers to prison on Wednesday for crimes against humanity committed during the country's brutal military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s, including for kidnappings of auto plant workers. The latest trials in Argentina follow last week's Colombian truth commission report, following that South American country's decades-long bloody internal conflict, as pent up demands for justice yield some gains. The sentences handed down by the federal court in the capital Buenos Aires include convictions for forced disappearances, homicides, torture, as well as the abduction of children, crimes committed against some 350 victims during the military regime that ruled the country between 1976 and 1983. The dictatorship left as many as 30,000 disappeared persons, according to human rights groups, although determining precise figures remains a topic of debate. Former General Santiago Riveros, previously convicted in other trials for human rights violations, was among those sentenced. He was ordered to serve a life term behind bars after being found guilty of more than a hundred crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder, according to Wednesday's verdict. Convictions handed down also covered charges that seven workers were kidnapped at a Mercedes Benz plant in the Buenos Aires suburbs beginning in 1976 by military forces with the backing of company executives. According to the charges, executives complained to military authorities that the kidnapped employees either belonged to unions or sought to organize workers. The abducted workers were taken to the infamous Campo de Mayo military compound, a secret facility that functioned like a concentration camp, and six of them officially remain missing though all are presumed dead. Nearly 6,000 detainees likely passed through Campo de Mayo, located just outside Buenos Aires, and many of them are classified as disappeared. A local Mercedes Benz representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Nicholas Misculin; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Aurora Ellis) Authorities were investigating an apartment complex shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina, that left a baby dead and two adults injured, according to local reports. The suspect was transported to a local hospital in police custody after a brief fight with officers, WNCN reported. At least one other individual was also transported to the hospital, per WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham. More than a dozen officers responded to the scene and Raleigh police are investigating what is believed to be the domestic violence shooting as a homicide investigation, according to the report. According to the report, the deceased victim is a toddler, but the exact age of the child is unknown. CRIME TYPICALLY HEATS UP IN SUMMER, HERE IS WHY THIS YEAR MAY BE WORSE THAN IN THE PAST The Raleigh Police Department has not identified the victims and the relationship between the adults and the baby was not immediately clear. The Telegraph Dustin Johnson held off a final-day charge from fellow American Bryson DeChambeau to claim the spoils and secure his first win of the season, emerging triumphant from a dramatic final round as the worlds best went toe-to-toe on the grandest course of all. As we know, this is not what happened at the 150th Open Championship. This is what happened at the LIV Golf Open Championship. Barbra Banda was a breakout star at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. (Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images) Barbra Banda, a rising star in women's soccer and the captain of Zambia's national team, was ruled ineligible for this summer's Africa Cup of Nations by "gender verification" tests, according to Zambian soccer authorities and multiple reports. Banda, a 22-year-old forward, scored two hat tricks at last summer's Olympics and has excelled for her Chinese club, Shanghai Shengli. But she was mysteriously "unavailable" for Zambia's women's AFCON opener on Sunday due to what Zambia's soccer federation (FAZ) called "medical reasons." Reports soon emerged that pre-tournament tests had revealed natural testosterone levels that exceeded limits set by governing bodies. Andrew Kamanga, the FAZ president, said in a statement Wednesday that the rules are those of the African soccer confederation, CAF, and in line with regulations developed by FIFA, the sport's global governing body. CAF has distanced itself from Banda's absence, and did not respond to Yahoo Sports' request for comment. But Kamanga told BBC Sport Africa: "All the players had to undergo gender verification, a CAF requirement, and unfortunately she did not meet the criteria set by CAF." An official CAF document requires team physicians to attest that players have "been examined ... to verify their gender," and that the players "do not show any perceived deviation in secondary sex characteristics and are therefore presumed to be of female gender." In 2011, FIFA outlined similar "gender verification" regulations that required soccer federations to "actively investigat[e] any perceived deviation in secondary sex characteristics" which are physical traits typically associated with one sex but not directly involved in reproduction. Entire women's national teams have been required to confirm, via team doctors and personal medical documents, that they are women. If necessary, the regulations state, a medical officer can call for "a physical examination performed by an independent expert." Story continues Rights advocates and scientists have criticized the requirements, calling them invasive and discriminatory and devised primarily by Western men, based on traditional Western gender classifications, but applied across global populations. "These policies and procedures violate the athletes privacy, and the tests themselves violate bodily autonomy," Katrina Karkazis, an Amherst professor who has studied sexuality and testosterone, told Yahoo Sports. They also completely exclude certain athletes like Banda, who, as a woman, likely would not be allowed to compete in men's soccer either. "For FIFA men's competitions, only men are eligible to play," FIFA's regulations state. Those regulations although currently under review, according to FIFA have not been walked back. And CAF's are similar, if not stricter, according to Zambian officials. Last fall, the International Olympic Committee updated its guidance to discourage "invasive physical examinations" and "policies that require women to modify their hormone levels to compete." Those, the IOC said, are "disrespectful" and "potentially harmful," and "can have serious adverse impacts on their health." IOC officials said they'd heard directly from athletes who explained that old regulations, which mandated testosterone suppression, "generated severe harm to their health." In one high-profile case, South African runner Caster Semenya recently told HBO that testosterone suppression drugs "made me sick, made me gain weight," gave her panic attacks, and made her worry about heart attacks. "It's like stabbing yourself with a knife every day," Semenya said. If she wanted to compete, she "had no choice" but to take the drugs. She instead gave them up and, by extension, gave up her Olympic dreams. According to Zambian officials, Banda and other players faced a similar choice. FAZ spokesman Sydney Mungala told ESPN that, in the aftermath of Banda's breakout performance at the Olympics, she was told that her testosterone levels were above CAF's threshold, and was offered medication to lower them. "Our medics engaged the players and they weren't willing to go through with it," Mungala said, citing the potential side effects. BBC Sport Africa reported that Banda had taken medication, but still did not meet testosterone requirements. Banda's hormone levels have not affected her participation in professional leagues. She played for DUX Logrono in Spain as a teen, then moved to Shanghai. She is now reportedly the subject of interest from Real Madrid, among other top European clubs, and could make a move this summer. "The players being denied an opportunity to showcase their skills on African soil have been free to play at FIFA- and International Olympic Committee-organized competitions that deploy a less stringent standard, Kamanga, the FAZ president, said in his statement. But Banda will not appear at the African continental championship for her national team. Nor will three lesser-known teammates who, according to reports, have also been deemed ineligible by the "gender verification" process. Their "opportunity," Mungala told ESPN, "has been lost." Banda has not commented publicly on the situation. While sidelined, she has been telling her teammates: "I am with you all the way." FIFA spokespeople did not immediately respond to questions about the governing body's rules. FIFA has said it is "currently reviewing its gender eligibility regulations," and consulting medical, legal, scientific, performance and human rights experts, but it has not commented on Banda's case. Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko (L) during a press conference following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 18, 2022. Sergei Guneyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a long-time Putin ally, supports Russia's war in Ukraine. He said over the weekend that it was time for Europe to face a "moral cleansing," Belta reported. He also claimed, without evidence, that Ukraine was escalating tensions with Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a major ally of Vladimir Putin, has said that Europe should undergo a "moral cleansing," according to state news agency Belta. During a government meeting at the weekend, Lukashenko talked about fighting Nazis in the Second World War and said: "The time has come for the forgetful Europe to give itself a moral cleansing." "They all who chose to forget will have to look again at the grueling evidence of the bloody crimes of their own fathers and grandfathers," he said, according to Belta. "I must admit that we were delicately silent. In our Slavic way, we believed that children were not responsible for their parents. We still think so." He did not elaborate on what such a cleansing would entail. As one of Russian President Putin's staunchest allies, Lukashenko has supported his military operation in Ukraine since it began on February 24. Lukashenko's cryptic comments about Nazis echo Putin's previous claim that Russian forces invaded Ukraine to "denazify" the country and save its Russian-speaking population from "genocide." There is no evidence of a genocide being carried out in Ukraine and experts say Putin only says this as part of a broader disinformation campaign. Lukashenko's comments come several days after he accused Ukraine of firing missiles at military facilities on his country's territory. He did not provide any evidence for this claim. "We are being provoked," Lukashenko said, Al Jazeera reported. Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on reports of the blasts in Belarus and the Ukrainian military did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian lawmakers gave initial clearance on Wednesday to a prisoner exchange treaty with Iran that could lead to the release of an Iranian diplomat convicted of planning to bomb a rally of an exiled opposition group. The foreign relations committee of Belgium's lower house debated the treaty for more than six hours over two days before finally approving it. The measure still needs to be put before the full 150-member lower house of parliament, most likely in the next two weeks, but the chamber normally follows votes of its committees, given they have similar party compositions. The prisoner exchange might secure the release of a Belgian aid worker who was detained in Iran in February and could help Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali, who has taught in Belgium and been sentenced to death in Iran. Iran has called for the release of Assadollah Assadi, sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium in 2021 over a foiled 2018 bomb plot. His was the first trial of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in Europe since Iran's 1979 revolution. It is not clear when a prisoner exchange might happen. Several lawmakers voiced concern that the treaty, as proposed, might lead to "hostage diplomacy" and put other Belgians at risk of detention. The exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), whose 2018 rally near Paris had been the bomb plot's target, called the treaty "shameful" and said Assadi should remain in jail. "If he had succeeded, hundreds would have been killed," Farzin Hashemi, deputy chair of the NCRI foreign affairs committee, said during a protest of about 100 NCRI members near Belgium's parliament. "The experience of the past four decades has shown that making concessions to a terrorist regime will only embolden it and endanger the lives of more innocent people," he said. The Islamic Republic has dismissed all terrorism accusations, calling the Paris attack allegations a "false flag" stunt by the NCRI, which it in turn considers a terrorist group. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Mark Heinrich) One week after its parent company found a way to get Ben & Jerrys ice cream sold in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, the company known for its stance on social issues almost as much as for its Chunky Monkey ice cream is suing to block that from happening. Unilever announced that it was selling its interest in the Vermont ice cream maker to its Israeli licensee, which would market Ben & Jerrys products with Hebrew and Arabic labels. In a Manhattan federal court this week, the ice cream maker said that Unilevers maneuver poses a risk to the integrity of its brand. It claims the deal violates the 2000 acquisition agreement that allowed Ben & Jerry's to continue its progressive social mission independently of business decisions made by Unilever. An injunction restraining Unilever from violating the express terms of the Merger Agreement and Shareholders Agreement is essential to preserve the status quo and protect the brand and social integrity Ben & Jerrys has spent decades building," the complaint says. That passage in the lawsuit refers to the intense bidding process that took place in 2000 for Ben & Jerrys, one of the most recognizable brands in America. Ben & Jerry's was adamant that even after a sale, it would be allowed to continue to pursue its social causes. The final agreement was so unique that Richard Goldstein, then group president of Unilever North American Foods, said I never did another deal that was remotely like it, according to the suit. In agreeing to the sale, Ben & Jerry's was allowed an independent board of directors which was authorized to prevent Unilever from making decisions that are inconsistent with the Essential Integrity of the Brand," according to legal filings. Unilever said it does not comment on pending litigation, but said it did have the right to the sale and that, The deal has already closed." The complaint outlines Ben & Jerry's history of social activism over its 44-year history, including opposition to U.S. nuclear weapons spending in the 1980s and in the 1990s supporting LGBTQ+ rights and farmers. Story continues That activism has continued under Unilever with the focus on, among other issues, migrant justice and climate change. In the aftermath of the 2020 death of George Floyd, Ben & Jerry's became an advocate for Black Lives Matter. Last year Ben & Jerry's independent board said it was going to stop selling its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem, saying the sales in the territories sought by the Palestinians are inconsistent with our values. Unilever said it was committed to its operations in Israel, and earlier this year it was sued by its Israeli licensee, American Quality Products Ltd, over the termination of their business relationship, saying it violated U.S. and Israeli law. When Unilever announced it was selling the Israeli operations to American Quality Products last week, it said it had used the opportunity of the past year to listen to perspectives on this complex and sensitive matter and believes this is the best outcome for Ben & Jerrys in Israel. Israel hailed the decision by Unilever as a victory in its ongoing campaign against the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to bring economic pressure to bear on Israel over its military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Unilever does not support the BDS movement and has said it was very proud of its business in Israel, where it employs around 2,000 people and has four manufacturing plants. Ben & Jerrys 2021 decision was not a full boycott, and appeared to be aimed at Israels settlement enterprise. Some 700,000 Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed and considers part of its capital. Israel captured both territories in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want them to be part of their future state. Most of the international community views the settlements as a violation of international law. The Palestinians consider them the main obstacle to peace because they absorb and divide up the land on which a future Palestinian state would be established. Every Israeli government has expanded settlements, including during the height of the peace process in the 1990s. Ben & Jerry's is suing its parent company after the sale of its Israel business to a local licensee, effectively circumventing the ice cream maker's boycott of the country. On June 28, the parent company, Unilever, sold the Israel business of Ben & Jerry's to operator American Quality Products for an undisclosed sum to "ensure the ice cream stays available to all consumers." Ben & Jerry's has sought to end sales of its products in the occupied West Bank and the annexed east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future independent state that includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip also captured by Israel in 1967. NBC News first reported the company's withdrawal from Israeli settlements last summer. The latest suit, filed Tuesday in New York City, says the sale was not approved by Ben & Jerry's independent board of directors. According to the filing, the company is seeking to protect the brand and social integrity Ben & Jerrys has spent decades building. CNBC reported Tuesday that a judge had already denied the ice cream maker's application for a temporary restraining order but still ordered Unilever to show cause by July 14 for why a preliminary injunction against the sale should not be issued. In a statement, Unilever said that the deal has already closed and that it would not comment on pending litigation. A Ben & Jerrys representative did not respond to a request for comment. Last week, Ben & Jerry's tweeted about its opposition to the sale. It said it would no longer profit from Ben & Jerry's in Israel. We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerrys values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, it said. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement the Israeli government issued after last weeks sale announcement: The antisemites wont defeat us. Even when it comes to ice cream. We will fight efforts to delegitimize Israel and the boycott movement in all its forms, whether it be economic, cultural, or philosophical. Story continues The Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS, modeled on the boycott campaign against apartheid South Africa, aims to bring economic pressure to bear on Israel over its military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Avi Zinger, the owner and CEO of American Quality Products, said in a statement that the sale by Unilever "guarantees the sale of Ben and Jerry's ice cream made in Israel" throughout the country, "including Judea and Samaria" the names some in Israel use to refer to the West Bank. The agreement we signed with Unilever is closed, approved, and final," Zinger said. CLEVELAND (AP) Reassuring frustrated blue-collar voters, President Joe Biden on Wednesday visited Ohio iron workers to highlight federal action to shore up troubled pension funding for millions now on the job or retired and to make his political case that he's been a champion for workers in the White House. Bidens speech at a Cleveland high school showcased a final rule tied to his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package from last year. The rule allows troubled multi-company pensions to be made financially whole, ensuring full benefits for 2 million to 3 million workers and retirees. Hurt politically by inflation at a 40-year high and damage wrought by the pandemic, the president chose to deliver his message in a state that has been trending strongly Republican, with Donald Trump easily carrying it twice. In his sixth visit as president, Biden looked to personally reverse that electoral tide, touting the rule to help multi-company pensions as one of the most significant efforts to support union workers' retirement funds in the past 50 years. A lot of politicians like to talk about how they're going to do something about it," Biden said. Well, Im here today to say weve done something about it." Were turning a promise broken, into a promise kept. The roughly 200 pension plans receiving assistance faced possible insolvency without government aid. And without the full benefits, workers and retirees could struggle to pay for housing, food and other essentials. The financial support should help keep the pension funds solvent for roughly 30 years until 2051. That's important, several retirees said. Bill DeVito, who introduced Biden, said it was devastating when his pension was cut 40 percent in 2017 after his lifetime spent as an iron worker. "The thing of it is, we had a lot of politicians over the years saying, hey, well try to help you, well do everything we can, and nobodys ever done anything for us until Joe Biden come along, said DeVito, 73. He said that other Ohio Democrats in Washington kept pushing, too. Story continues Jeffrey Carlson, 67, of the Cleveland suburb of North Ridgeville, said that a year before he retired in 2017, he learned his pension would be cut, too. Im grateful for anything that we could get back," he said. "I know I earned it. I worked hard. Multiemployer plans are created through agreements between companies and a union, and are insured by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). In 2014, Congress passed the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act that allowed plans, for the first time, to cut workers and retirees' benefits in order to ensure that pensions projected to run out of money remained solvent. The American Rescue Plan passed in March 2021 included a special finance assistance program that allows struggling multiemployer pension plans to apply to the PBGC for assistance. The final rule being unveiled by the Biden administration is designed to make it easier for the pensions' investments to receive a higher rate of return. The effort to highlight a program to help union workers comes as Democrats hope to pick up a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, where a strong showing with working class voters could play a pivotal role. Republican Rob Portman is leaving the Senate after two terms. Vying to replace him are Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance, the author of the memoir Hillbilly Elegy who secured an endorsement during the primary from Trump. Ohio voters backed Trump in 2016 and 2020, with his margin of victory each time at roughly 8 percentage points. In a sign of Biden's standing in the state, Ryan didn't appear with him at Wednesday's event, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was in close contact with Congressman Tim Ryan in particular. Biden in his speech noted Ryan's absence and referred to him as the future U.S. senator from Ohio. One veteran Democratic lawmaker who did attend, Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, praised Biden for looking out for American workers' pensions. People say, Marcy why do you stay in the House?' This is why, Kaptur said. She added, The former president the Donald didnt do anything. Biden, too, sharply criticized his predecessor, as well as Trumpers in Congress who continue to support the former president's agenda. He blamed them for blocking efforts to lower prescription drug prices and tackle surging inflation, and assailed them for proposals to require Congress to reauthorize Medicare and Social Security and raise some low-income Americans' taxes. Thats why elections have consequences," Biden said, looking ahead to November's midterms. "Thats why they matter. And thats why what were doing here is so important. While Biden boasts of steady job growth unemployment sits at 3.6% Americans have largely been discontented with the Democratic president's handling of the economy as inflation continues to rise, interest rates increase and the stock market wobbles. Just 28 percent approve of Bidens stewardship of the economy, down from 51% a year ago, according to an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published last week. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who attended with Biden, made his own pitch that the president has delivered for American workers. I just want you to understand that this, the president that we have right now .. .is the most pro worker president in Americas history," he declared. Biden closed his remarks by appealing to working-class voters who helped send him to the White House. Theres no other place I want to be than right here with the workers in this room and the workers that built America," Biden said. "I see you. I hear you and Ill always have your back. ___ Josh Boak reported from Washington; AP reporter Julie Carr Smyth contributed from Columbus, Ohio. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden spoke Wednesday with the wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner and plans to send a letter directly to Griner, according to a summary of the call obtained by NBC News. The White House said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called Cherelle Griner "to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittneys release as soon as possible." Brittney Griner pleaded in a handwritten letter that was hand-delivered to the president on Monday for his help to get her released from jail in Russia. Biden also read Cherelle Griner a draft of the letter he is sending to Brittney Griner on Wednesday, the White House said. "The President offered his support to Cherelle and Brittneys family, and he committed to ensuring they are provided with all possible assistance while his administration pursues every avenue to bring Brittney home," the White House said. Cherelle Griner said Wednesday on Instagram that she is grateful to Biden and Harris for their time and the commitment they expressed to bringing her wife home. "While I will remain concerned and outspoken until she is back home, I am hopeful in knowing that the President read my wifes letter and took the time to respond," she said. "I know BG will be able to find comfort in knowing she has not been forgotten." She asked for prayers for her family and the families of other people who have been wrongfully detained, as the U.S. says Brittney Griner was. "Lets continue to use our voices to speak the names of all the wrongfully detained Americans and support the Administration as they do what it takes to bring them home today," she said in the post. Cherelle Griner has spoken by phone in recent weeks and over the weekend with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the White House said. Biden also directed his national security team to remain in regular contact with the family and with the families of other Americans detained around the world, including Paul Whelan, a former security executive who is detained in Russia. Story continues Brittney Griner arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court outside Moscow on July 1, 2022. (Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP - Getty Images) Biden had been under increasing pressure to demonstrate progress toward Griner's release as she faces a trial on drug smuggling charges. She was detained in February after authorities said she was in possession of cannabis-derived vape cartridges. Griner said in her letter to Biden that Im terrified I might be here forever. Cherelle Griner also has been speaking publicly in recent days, and the Rev. Al Sharpton is calling on the Biden administration to help facilitate a visit from him and other religious leaders. (Sharpton is the host of MSNBCs PoliticsNation.) A senior administration official said the U.S. doesnt expect a resolution before Griner's trial plays out, which is likely to take weeks. At that point, the official said, the administration expects that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be ready to negotiate a deal. Vanessa Nygaard, the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, said in an interview Wednesday on MSNBC that the team desperately wants to get Griner back to the U.S. I mean, it must be hell, she said. It must be the most terrible thing possible for her to not have access to all the things she normally has access to, but were talking about a Russian prison. And so it couldnt be a worse condition, I think, and we are just concerned about her and her welfare every day. Nygaard said the team has been able to communicate with Griner through email and the State Department. But its just so upsetting to know that somebody you care about is put into this terrible situation, she said. Shes wrongfully detained. And you know, we know in America, that we hold freedom very tight and very important to us. Asked for comment, the National Security Council pointed to spokesperson Adrienne Watsons statement Monday, which said: President Biden has been clear about the need to see all U.S. nationals who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad released, including Brittney Griner. The U.S. government continues to work aggressively using every available means to bring her home. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the administration has been working aggressively on Griners release behind the scenes. She declined to say whether Biden would accept a prisoner swap as part of a deal for her freedom. Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images Hadas Klein, the latest witness in the corruption trial of former Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu could have come from central casting. In two days of spellbinding testimony, Klein, 57trim, expressive and self-confident, and coiffed in a neat carrecame across as exactly what she is: a top-of-the-line executive assistant who was witness to extraordinary events. About midway through Wednesdays recitation, her testimony took a turn that could have been taken from a mafia tribunal. Klein, aide-de-camp to Arnon Milchan, the Hollywood producer and a close friend of Netanyahu for the past thirty years, was describing her efforts to conceal the identity of the beneficiary of her purchases from Cookie, the owner of a tony cigar boutique in the posh Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya. Cookiethats his name, wanted to know who was enjoying the Cuban cigars she bought from him to the tune of about $27,328 per annum. I was paying for everything on my personal credit card because I was trying to shield Netanyahu. I didnt want to put it on Arnons credit card to shield him. Cookie never gave us a discount, but hed give us Dominican cigars as gifts I accepted them and asked Arnon about it, and he said, Sure, why not? And of course, nothing stayed with us. We transferred the gifts to Mr. Netanyahu, too. Cookie pressed her. Cookie told me that only a very small club of people in the country consume this length and diameter of cigar, so who is it? Two Monte Christo cigars cost $630, she recalled. Netanyahu enjoyed dunking them in Cointreau before indulging in a smoke, she said. But Klein brought more than her memories. A meticulous recordkeeper, she provided investigators and the court with all the receipts, invoices, and bank transfers related to these purchases and many more. Her text messages relating to the procurements and their disposal were pitilessly projected onto a screen in Judge Rivka Feldman-Freidmans small courtroom. Story continues This Is Israels Nixon Moment Klein was the central cog of a full-blown well-organized mechanism of Netanyahus illegal demands for goods from wealthy friends, and the distribution of the resulting "gifts," which Israeli prosecutors believe constitute graft. Like Cassidy Hutchinson, Klein was a witness to the Netanyahus most intimate behavior. Like Hutchinson, she was overlooked by the figures in power. And like Hutchinson, she framed her testimony as an act of patriotism. I am fulfilling my obligations as a citizen of this country, she told journalists in the hallway, surrounded by police bodyguards. I was asked to provide testimony, and that is what I am doing. I am doing what would have made my parents proud. During her testimony, which also included unflattering depictions of Milchan, Klein fretted about the possibility of losing her job. Klein is unlike the previous big-name witnesses in Netanyahus trial, in which he faces counts of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate criminal cases that involve, in one way or another, allegations that he abuses his position for personal profit. Both Nir Hefetz, the onetime head of Netanyahus fearsome communications shop, and Shlomo Filber, the former director-general of Israels communications ministry under Netanyahu, were riveting but reluctant witnesses who testified for the state only as part of plea deals they hope will keep them from criminal prosecution. Hefetz testified that in everything having to do with media, [Netanyahu] is much more than a control freak Netanyahu spends at least as much of his time on media as he spends on security matters. Echoing Netanyahu, Filber called the trial a witch hunt, and unenthusiastically described receiving direct orders from the prime minister, who demanded regulations be loosened for Shaul Elovitch, a crony who headed Israels largest communications conglomerate to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Klein, conversely, testified voluntarily, even with what appeared to be relief, and is not suspected of any crime. She described Netanyahus repeated calls to her cellphone, claiming that he had received the authorization of legal counsel to the stream of gifts he demanded be provided to his wife. You dont understand, the prime minister griped to his friends assistant. She gets upset only because the media is massacring. Give her everything she wants. It is all allowed, I checked. Dont spill her blood like the media does. Klein described a massive staff apparatus through which the Netanyahus appropriated an unlimited flow of luxury goods from Milchan, who grumbled about it, telling Klein we have no choice. Theres no other way with them, and Packer, who she described as a vulnerable Netanyahu groupie. Milchan, she said, enjoyed the proximity to power. He liked being able to say he was friends with the prime minister, but was an unhappy participant in the scheme that involved concealing cases of pink Dom Perignon champagne in coolers. In March 2016, Klein recalled, when she returned home from a private trip to Cubaher 50th birthday celebrationa furious Netanyahu allegedly complained that she had only sourced Cohiba 54 cigars for him, and not his favorites, the Cohiba 56es. You couldnt get them anywhere, she said. There just werent any. The Netanyahus spoke to her in code, referring to cigars as leaves and champagne as rosy but were direct and to the point about other demands, Klein claimed. She said that Sara Netanyahus demand for a specific gold ring and necklace from a trendy Tel Aviv jeweler was transmitted to Klein following a conference call in which Milchan, who is expected to testify later in the trial, secured the explicit authorization from the prime minister. Kleins testimony was full of details and titillating pearls. In contrast with Netanyahu, she described Yair Lapid, Israels current caretaker prime ministerNetanyahus rival in the upcoming 2022 electionrefusing delivery of a bouquet Milchan sent when he was appointed finance minister in 2013. When the well-connected Milchan once forgot an expensive set of headphones at Lapids home, Arnon told me to tell him just to leave them there. Yair called and told me, No way. Send the driver to take it. She relayed recollections of the time Hugh Jackman allegedly met with Netanyahu, which became yet another opportunity for the prime minister to make off with cigars. Judge Moshe Baram, a member of the panel of three judges hearing the case, asked Klein how she knew the cigars werent for the actor? Klein replied, because I was there. The cigars were for Netanyahu. 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. Desmond Burnell fell in love with flying airplanes at 4 years old. Growing up, he had family in both St. Louis and Indianapolis, and he and his mother would travel between the two cities often. Till this day he still remembers being a little boy peering down at the ground below from the plane windows, stricken with wonder as he soared through the clouds. After the flight, he was able to meet the pilot as he exited the plane; as he continued to have this experience on flights, his fascination with aviation grew. At 15, his mom enrolled him in an aviation camp for minorities where he found a mentor who guided him in his career endeavors. While flying planes had always been an aspiration of his, the camp solidified that his dreams could actually be a reality. It was then that I realized I can actually do this thing; being a Black person I can actually become a pilot, Burnell said. Now a member of the Air Force Reserves and a commercial pilot for Southwest Airlines, Burnell is a part of the 3.9 percent of African-American pilots represented in the US aviation industry according to the 2021 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the number of Black pilots has increased by .5 percent since 2020, there continues to be a lack of representation for people of color in aviation. Photo Courtesy of Kenneth Morris. This trend isnt new. African-Americans have consistently been disproportionately outnumbered in the aviation and aerospace industries throughout American history. According to service data provided to FLYING, of the 14,000 active duty pilots in the US Air Force, only 2 percent of them identify as Black. In 2020, 94 percent of the American aircraft pilots identified as white, with only 5.6 percent being women and less than one percent being Black women. The lack of Black faces in the industry is a result of many factors, including a lack of exposure to Black and brown communities where aviation careers are within reach. United Airlines Aviate Pilot Recruiter Yvonne Leggon believes children of color can only dream as big as the daily information and opportunities they are exposed to. Decades without exposure to the aviation industry have led to a deficit of diverse faces on flight decks. Story continues We need more Black pilots to act as guiding examples for growing Black boys and girls and show them that becoming a pilot is possible, Leggon said. If you can see it, you can believe it! Beyond exposure, a 2020 review released by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) Inspector General revealed many racial disparities between Black pilots and their white counterparts. The report showed that Black Air Force members were 72 percent more likely to receive Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 15, non-judicial punishment. This disciplinary action can include extra duties, confinement, arrest in quarters, or forfeiture of pay for incidents of minor misconduct. Black servicemen were also 52 percent more likely to face courts-martial than white members. Photo Courtesy of Kenneth Morris. Racism against Black pilots in the US has been occurring since man took to the skies. For decades, African-Americans were shut out of the aviation industry and Black citizens had to exit the country to gain entry into the elite space. No one wanted Blacks to ever learn to fly. Black pilots like Eugene Bullard and Bessie Coleman traveled to France to learn how to navigate the skies. It wasnt until 1926, when the Department of Commerce licensed James Herman Banning, that the first Black pilot was licensed to fly in the US. While Burnell says he has seen improvement in the diversification of the aviation and aerospace industries, there are a lot more strides that need to be made to ensure people of color are adequately represented at the table. Ive seen them do it, he said. Ive seen the numbers increase over the years and Ive seen more of us walking around. But theres still a lot of work to do there. We still need to increase the number of Black pilots and the amount of opportunities Black people have to get into aviation and also STEM careers. Photo Courtesy of Kenneth Morris. Many organizations are stepping up to bring awareness to opportunities for people of color in the industry and inspire more Black children to pursue careers as pilots and aviation professionals. In 2021, United Airlines created the United Aviate Academy, a program designed to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030, with at least half being women or people of color. Thus far, the academy has surpassed its DEI goals with 80 percent of its inaugural class being women or a person of color. This unprecedented training commitment will expand access to a lucrative career as a pilot, and help diversify the flight deck to better reflect the customers United serves, Leggon said. United Aviate is also partnering with other organizations like the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals and Sisters of the Skies to further educate prospective aviation professionals on the opportunities available if they just reach for the skies. Leggon believes the aviation industry needs to meet the Black and brown community where they are in order to inspire students to seek opportunities beyond what theyve seen around them in their environments. The statistics show that diversity in the aerospace industry is still very unequal. I think this starts with us and our community, she said. I believe different aviation jobs and opportunities should be better represented on student career days, especially in under-exposed neighborhoods and marginalized communities. Photo Courtesy of Kenneth Morris. Another organization paving the way for African-Americans in aviation is the Aviation Community Foundation (ACF). Focused on providing access to industry leaders, scholarship and internship resources, and community education, ACF actively goes into communities to educate Black and brown people on the opportunities available for them in aviation. The organization visits K-12 schools, churches, universities, and community outreach events to expose attendees firsthand to aviation careers. Their affiliate program #WeFlyHigh aims to bring together affinity groups all with the common goal of diversifying the industry. ACF Executive Director and commercial pilot Kenneth Morris believes there are many rewarding opportunities for African-Americans in aviation. A US Navy Veteran, Morris agrees that many factors, including a lack of positive role models, current and relevant information, a blueprint for success, and a solid industry support system provide a huge barrier to entry for many Black and brown individuals. People of color and women have been the smallest percentage of the aviation and aerospace for more than 100 years, Morris said. Providing more inclusive recruiting and professional development opportunities are advantageous not only to the aspiring pilots and aviation professionals but it taps a market that was previously overlooked for decades by the larger companies in aviation. Morris says Black pilots provide not only a high-quality and in-demand skillset but that they also bring a strong work ethic and sense of pride to an industry dominated by white males. He believes companies should be encouraged to develop more Black pilots because it is the only way to bring more innovation and creativity into the space. Photo Courtesy of Kenneth Morris. A forward-thinking and more accepting, tolerant, and culturally conscience company will have the privilege of receiving new ideas, different perspectives, and input from more than one demographic, he said. Some of the most profitable hedge funds and financial portfolios are quite diverse; where one may not perform so well, the others exceed the same thought process can and should be applied with people. It is clear that is it time for a change in the aviation and aerospace industries. The time when Black and brown faces only occupied a small percentage of pilots in the skies is coming to an end and folks are demanding a space where representation and action co-exist. For Burnell, this means acknowledging and recognizing the rich history of Black pilots and encouraging more African-American youth to look beyond the horizon as they sculpt their own futures. After every flight I do at the airlines, I make sure I stand right front and center telling people goodbye because I want them to see it, Burnell said. I want them not only us to see it but I want everyone to see that yes, black people do fly planes too. Leggon also encourages African-Americans to research the aviation possibilities in proximity to their homes. Many people dont realize flight schools and aviation museums are right in their own neighborhoods where they can learn more about flying planes and aviation history. Photo Courtesy of Kenneth Morris. I encourage everyone to at least check out some flight schools in their area and take a discovery flight, she said. Many of these flight schools are only one visit away from realizing a dream in aviation. While progress has been made, the aviation industry has a long way to go when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Its foundation was built on years of isolation; preventing many minorities from entering its ranks not only as pilots but in other industry positions as well. Despite this disparity, African-Americans in aviation are not discouraged. Instead, they are writing a new legacy of the history of Blacks in the sky and opening the floodgates for more people of color to sit behind the cockpit. We are no longer trying to move their needle; we have created our own and writing the positive narrative as we see fit, Morris said. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves his office at 10 Downing St. in London on July 6, 2022. (Frank Augstein / Associated Press) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson battled to remain in office Wednesday, brushing off calls for his resignation after two top ministers and a slew of junior officials said they could no longer serve under his scandal-ridden leadership. Johnson rejected demands that he step down during a stormy session of the House of Commons amid a furor over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a senior official. Later in the day, a delegation of some of his most trusted allies in the Cabinet paid a visit to the prime minister at 10 Downing St. to urge him to go, but he remained unmoved, Britain's Press Assn. reported. The prime minister turned down suggestions he seek a dignified exit and opted instead to fight for his political career, citing hugely important issues facing the country, according to the news agency. It quoted a source close to Johnson as saying he told colleagues there would be chaos if he quit. The 58-year-old leader who pulled Britain out of the European Union and steered it through the COVID-19 outbreak is known for his ability to wiggle out of tight spots, managing to remain in power despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules. He hung on even when 41% of Conservative lawmakers voted to oust him in a no-confidence vote last month. But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a lawmaker before he promoted the man to a senior position pushed him to the brink. In holding on to his office, Johnson is attempting to defy the mathematics of parliamentary government and the traditions of British politics. It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. He is now besmirching our democracy, and if he doesnt do the right thing and go of his own accord, then hell be dragged out," Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told the BBC. Story continues Many of Johnson's fellow Conservatives were concerned that he no longer had the moral authority to govern at a time when difficult decisions are needed to address soaring food and energy prices, rising COVID-19 infections and the war in Ukraine. Others worry that he may now be a liability at the ballot box. On Wednesday, members of the opposition Labor Party showered Johnson with shouts of Go! Go! during the weekly Prime Ministers Questions session in the House of Commons. Labor Party leader Keir Starmer mockingly said of the resignations surrounding Johnson, Isnt it the first recorded case of the sinking ship fleeing the rat? More damningly, members of Johnsons Conservative Party wearied by the many scandals he has faced also challenged their leader. Frankly the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when hes been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going, Johnson replied with the bluster he has used to fend off critics throughout nearly three years in office. And thats what Im going to do. Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who helped trigger the current crisis when he resigned Tuesday night, captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnsons actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government. At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough, he told fellow lawmakers. I believe that point is now. Under party rules, another no-confidence vote cannot be held for another 11 months, but party members can change the rules. The 1922 Committee, a small but influential group of Conservative lawmakers, could decide as early as Monday whether to do that. Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other over the latest furor. The two Cabinet heavyweights were responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain the cost-of-living crisis and COVID-19. In a scathing letter, Sunak said that the public rightly expect[s] government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. The resignations of about 40 junior ministers and ministerial aides followed on Tuesday and Wednesday. As Johnson dug in, critics accused him of refusing to accept the inevitable and of behaving more like a president than a prime minister by referring to his mandate. In Britain, voters elect a party to govern, not the prime minister directly. Former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said late Tuesday that Johnson's time is finally up. Its a bit like the death of Rasputin. Hes been poisoned, stabbed, hes been shot, his bodys been dumped in a freezing river and still he lives, he told the BBC. But this is an abnormal prime minister, a brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character. But Im afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister. The final straw for Sunak and Javid was the prime ministers handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints that he groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations leveled against Pincher and shifting explanations from the government about what Johnson knew when he tapped the man for a senior job enforcing party discipline. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Boris Johnson has been branded a cancer that needs to be removed from politics as members of the public delivered their withering verdict on the flailing Prime Minister. Following the resignations of Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid and more than a dozen other Conversative MPs, calls for Mr Johnson to step down continue to grow. The now-former Health Secretary Mr Javid resigned first on Tuesday evening, by saying he couldnt stay in his position in good confidence following the tone Mr Johnson had set in recent months. The Chancellor followed just ten minutes later, adding that he believes the country needs to be run properly, competently and seriously. The Independent spoke to members of the public who shared their reactions to the resignations and thoughts on whether Mr Johnson should remain as Prime Minister. Boris Johnsons premiership continues to hang by a thread (REUTERS) Sylvia Zamperini, 54, a mechanical engineer, said: I think Boris Johnson will have to be dragged out kicking and screaming. We can see people are turning on him because they are fed up of defending something that cannot be defended. The longer he stays in power, the more damage he can do to the Tory party. Ralph Ojun, 34, a music engineer, believes its now time for a Labour leadership. He said: The Tories have been in for ages now and we cant see any improvement so lets try something new. I dont trust him, or many politicians because they will say something today, but tomorrow will be another thing. So, let Boris resign. Sylvia Zamperini said Johnson would need to be dragged out of his role (Charlotte Langrish/The Independent) Actor Gareth Kearns, 51, said he was pleased at Mr Sunak and Mr Javids announcements. I was beginning to wonder what is required for them to start kicking up a fuss about things, he said. Now its started, we need to lose this person who is a cancer at the heart of our body politic, he added. There is a problem with the entire Tory party but he [Johnson] is just there to enjoy power, not even exercise power, just to enjoy sitting in the chair. At some point, someone has to actually be the adult in the room and its never going to be him, which I think the other Tories are finally realising too. He could literally kill the Tory party. Story continues Gareth Kearns said Johnson doesnt exercise power but rather enjoys it (Charlotte Langrish/The Independent) There will be a second vote of no confidence, Mr Kearns continued. He will be out, I cant see how he can possibly be there for another 10 days. I say, 10 days tops. Neil Colston, 70, was shocked to hear of Mr Sunaks resignation. He said: Im not surprised about the Health Secretary but Rishi going is a big problem. Up until very recently, Ive supported Boris Johnson because I think he did a great job during the pandemic and was still doing a good job, he continued. But now, I think he should go. My problem is that I wanted Rishi to do the job next because he seems to be the sensible person. On what made him change his mind, Mr Colston said: Today I wasnt too bothered about Partygate, but this is just a step too far and I think he is being badly advised. Not everyone believes Mr Johnsons time is up, however. Bryan Baker, a social media influencer, said he was initially surprised at the resignation announcements and debated Mr Sunak and Mr Javids intentions. He said: Did they actually resign for the peoples benefit or their own? I think the latter. He added that Mr Johnson will and should stay in his role as Prime Minister. Bryan Baker said Mr Johnson should remain as he has performed well as PM (Charlotte Langrish/The Independent) He said: The reason I think Boris will continue to be Prime Minister is because of his performance during Covid, Brexit and the war in Ukraine. With anything else, Im not going to give him support because he has done bad, Mr Baker added, but are we all perfect? Absolutely not. So, for what hes done while going through a period none of us could have expected, Ill give him credit because forget about the sleaze, we are human beings and make mistakes. But, he has performed well and that is what counts. Additional reporting from Charlotte Langrish Boris Johnson. Getty/Christopher Furlong Boris Johnson has been told to quit by two senior ministers, amid a wave of resignations, sources say. One resignation letter was signed by five ministers, including rising stars and Johnson allies. Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, and chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris have given the "brutal" message. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been told he should quit by two senior ministers, following the resignations of multiple members of his government. Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak on Tuesday night quit their roles as health secretary and chancellor respectively, triggering a wave of resignations from more junior colleagues, including the solicitor general Alex Chalk. The mass resignations from Johnson's cabinet and government have mounted to at least 31 as of Wednesday afternoon. In one of the more eyebrow-raising moments, five ministers signed a joint resignation letter, including Alex Burghart, an education minister and Johnson's former aide, and rising stars Kemi Badenoch and Neil O'Brien. The letter said the "government cannot function" in its current state. Behind the scenes, sources told Insider that chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris had told the prime minister he had to leave. One MP said Johnson "hasn't got much choice" but to stand down in the wake of the multiple ministerial resignations, adding "but who knows. He's delusional." Others said Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary who campaigned closely alongside Johnson for Vote Leave, had delivered the same "brutal" message. That move has prompted some amusement among Conservative MPs, noting that Gove had previously torpedoed Johnson's Tory leadership bid in the wake of the Brexit vote back in 2016. The pair have been seen as "frenemies" ever since, sources said. Meanwhile, David Canzini, the deputy chief of staff, and Conor Burns, Northern Ireland minister and a staunch Johnson ally, were seen deep in discussion in Portcullis House, Parliament's open-plan meeting and dining area. Story continues Following a bruising PMQs, in which Johnson was told to resign by two Conservative MPs and asked what it would take for him to go by a third, the prime minister faced a grilling by the Liaison Committee of senior MPs. At the same time, the executive of the backbench 1922 committee is holding a meeting to discuss the deluge of new letters of no confidence. The executive, which numbers several critics of Johnson, is expected to warn that he will face a second confidence vote imminently if he does not step down, sources said. Read the original article on Business Insider Jul. 5Boulder is hosting a virtual information session to share more about three transportation projects planned for the 30th Street and Colorado Avenue corridors. The meeting, scheduled for 6 to 7 p.m. July 20, will discuss the 30th and Colorado underpass project, the 28th and Colorado intersection improvements project, and the 30th Street corridor multimodal improvements project. According to a news release, the projects are meant to enhance safe and efficient transportation connections between the many popular community destinations in the area, including the University of Colorado Boulder's main and east campuses, student housing, public parks and 29th Street shopping and services. Improvements include the construction of pedestrian underpasses, intersections with enhanced signal timing for people walking, rolling and bicycling, protected bike lanes and intersections and bus-priority lanes, the release states. Learn more about the projects and register for the session at bit.ly/3I6W5fk. Jul. 5Boulder police said one person pulled a gun during a riot that followed a large Fourth of July party on University Hill. Police were first called from an address in the 700 block of 17th Street at 4 p.m. Monday for a noise complaint about a party in the area, Boulder police spokeswoman Dionne Waugh said. The resident at the party house was given a warning to lower the noise or shut down the party, but officers were called to the address again at 5:30 p.m. for more noise complaints. Waugh said officers at that time shut down the party and issued the resident a summons for a nuisance party. Police said a crowd of 100 to 200 people from the party left the home and began to gather in the street and set off fireworks, some aimed at vehicles; light bushes on fire; and jump on vehicles. Waugh said police sent SWAT to the scene "to disperse the multiple, large-scale disturbances." While police were on scene, Waugh said it appears a fight broke out between partygoers and one man pulled out a gun and cocked it. A physical fight then broke out before the suspect left the scene in a dark blue BMW or Mercedes with two other people. Waugh said the three people in the BMW were all described as black men. One was described as 5-feet 6-inches to 5-feet 8-inches tall and was last seen wearing a tank top and short hair. A second was described as approximately 5-feet 8-inches tall with dreadlocks wearing a red bandana. There was no further description of the third suspect. Waugh said following the party there was also a separate burglary call in the 800 block of 17th Street. Officers arrested two men on suspicion of second-degree burglary in connection to that incident, but they are not believed to be connected to the weapons call. Burkina Faso's former leader Blaise Compaore, who was forced into exile in 2014, is expected to return to Ouagadougou shortly for a summit of ex-presidents, a government spokesman said on Wednesday. "By the end of the week, an important meeting between the former heads of state of Burkina Faso will be held towards accelerating the issue of reconciliation," spokesman Lionel Bilgo said. Compaore, 71, is "very likely and even expected" to attend, he added. A source close to the government and Compaore's entourage told AFP late Tuesday that he was to return to Burkina Faso to meet its military rulers this week. The source said he was "due to arrive on Thursday or Friday for a short stay" and would "be received by the head of state in the framework of national reconciliation". A source in Compaore's entourage confirmed the trip. On Wednesday, Ivory Coast government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly said Burkinabe authorities had reached out. "Burkina Faso has engaged in a reconciliation process... All arrangements are being made so that president Compaore actively participates," he said. There was no official announcement of when Compaore, who also holds Ivorian citizenship, would land. - Controversial figure - Compaore seized power in a coup in October 1987, on the same day that Burkina's revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara -- his former comrade-in-arms -- was gunned down by a hit squad. He went on to rule for 27 years before being forced out by popular protests, supported by the army, over his bid to stay in power. On April 6 this year, he was sentenced in absentia to life in prison by a military court for his role in Sankara's assassination. His return appears to be aimed at shoring up unity at a time when the ruling junta is struggling with a deep crisis. The impoverished, landlocked Sahel state is being battered by a nearly seven-year-old jihadist campaign that has claimed several thousand lives and forced almost two million people from their homes. Story continues Forty percent of the country is out of the government's control, a representative of the regional bloc ECOWAS said last month. In January, soldiers disgruntled at failures to stem the insurgency staged a coup, forcing out the elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore. The new strongman, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, was sworn in as president in March. Damiba declared security to be his top priority but after a relative lull, attacks resumed, with the loss of hundreds of lives. In June, 86 people were massacred in the northern border village of Seytenga while at least 34 people were killed in two attacks last weekend. - Presidential talks - The planned meeting of former leaders will "share energies and synergies... to effectively fight the tragedy striking us but also to reduce internal rifts," said Bilgo. Other former presidents invited to the talks are Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo who was in power from 1982 to 1983, Isaac Zida who briefly took power in 2014 and is currently in exile in Canada, Michel Kafando who was in power from 2014 to 2015, and Kabore himself. On Wednesday, Sankara's lawyers called on judicial authorities to ensure Compaore was arrested as soon as he set foot in Burkina Faso. In a statement, the president's office said the talks were an "important meeting for the life of the nation" but "do not impede judicial action that has been undertaken against certain individuals." A source close to the president's office said Compaore would be accommodated in a villa in Ouagadougou that had been used for Kabore when he was placed under a house arrest after the January coup. Compaore supporters on social media have called for a show of support at Ouagadougou airport on Friday morning. ab/pid/ri/ah Rock legend Carlos Santana collapsed during a show Tuesday night in Michigan, the result of heat exhaustion and dehydration, his manager said. Santana, 74, who has been touring with Earth, Wind & Fire, was in the middle of a set at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkson, about 42 miles north of Detroit, when he fell, according to witnesses and video from the scene. Medical workers attended to Santana, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, before he was carried offstage, video shows. Manager Michael Vrionis in a statement that Santana was taken to an emergency room for observation and that he was "doing well." Image: Carlos Santana performs at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Mich., on July 5, 2022. (Scott Legato / Getty Images) A show scheduled for Wednesday in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, has been postponed until further notice, the statement said. It wasn't known when he would be back on the road. The Miraculous Supernatural Tour has 21 dates left through late August before Santana is scheduled to head back to Las Vegas for his residency at the House of Blues, where a show based on his greatest hits is set for fall. In December, Santana canceled a number of performances in Las Vegas after, his team said, he underwent an unspecified and unscheduled heart procedure. Huadian New Energy, the renewable energy unit of China Huadian, one of China's five state-owned electricity generators, aims to raise about 30 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion) via a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, according to its draft initial public offering (IPO) filing. The Beijing-based company, which is engaged in solar and wind power generation and claims to have 27.24 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, is seeking the A-share listing after it was delisted from the Hong Kong bourse following a privatisation deal by its parent company in June 2020. Previously called Huadian Fuxin Energy, the company is seeking to raise a far higher amount than the US$319 million it raised in its 2012 Hong Kong IPO. China Huadian owns about 83.4 per cent of Huadian New Energy through its subsidiary and an affiliate company. 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. Huadian New Energy plans to issue new shares amounting to at least 15 per cent and no more than 30 per cent of its enlarged issued share capital, including an overallotment option if there is strong demand. Solar panels cover hillsides in Zhangjiakou, in China's northern Hebei province, on November 15, 2021. The country aims to get 25 of its power from renewable sources by 2030. Photo: AFP alt=Solar panels cover hillsides in Zhangjiakou, in China's northern Hebei province, on November 15, 2021. The country aims to get 25 of its power from renewable sources by 2030. Photo: AFP> "The company has seized upon the opportunities given by government policies to quickly expand our installed capacity," it said in the draft prospectus filed late last week. "However, if policies for the renewable energy sector were to change significantly going forward, it would be unfavourable to the company's future growth." Story continues China's top economic regulator, the National Development and Reform Commission, in June unveiled a new plan for renewable energy during the 14th five-year period, which runs from 2021 through 2025. Aiming to guide development of the sector in support of China's 2060 carbon-neutral goals, the plan calls for increasing the installed capacity of wind and solar power to 1,200GW and raising the share of energy generated without fossil fuels to 25 per cent by 2030, compared with 20 per cent in 2020. Huadian New Energy said it will use the IPO funds to expand its generation capacity and replenish its working capital. It is planning to build 15.2GW of additional capacity across 23 provinces and municipalities. The company's flotation attempt in Shanghai underlines a broader trend of Chinese issuers raising funds back home rather than in the Hong Kong capital market, where nearly 90 per cent of total IPO funds raised come from China-based companies. In the first half of this year the Shanghai Stock Exchange overtook Nasdaq and Hong Kong as the world's top IPO venue, helped by the jumbo IPOs of leading mainland Chinese companies such as China Mobile and CNOOC, both of which had seen their shares delisted in the US. Thanks to a series of market reforms in recent years that streamline the process for new issuers to get listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, more Chinese companies have chosen to seek A-share listings there to diversify their investor base even if they already have a Hong Kong listing. Huadian New Energy's 2021 net profit rose 78 per cent year on year to 7.2 billion yuan. For the first quarter of 2022 its net profit stood at 2.1 billion yuan. CICC and Huatai United Securities are the joint sponsors of the deal. 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. (Bloomberg) -- Chinas demand for gasoline and diesel is nearing a return to pre-virus levels as the nation cautiously emerges from strict virus lockdowns. Most Read from Bloomberg Overall consumption of the major transport fuels last month was at almost 90% of June 2019 levels, according to people with direct knowledge of the nations energy industry. Gasoline and diesel account for about half of Chinas total oil demand, and fuel use has steadily recovered after crumbling in April. Chinas rebound offers a potential boost to global crude demand, which could tighten the market further and drive prices even higher. However, the worlds biggest oil importer continues to face sporadic virus outbreaks and President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed that the nation will stick with its Covid Zero strategy, which relies on lockdowns and mass testing to stamp out infections. Shanghai has resumed mass testing in nine districts after detecting cases the past two days, fueling concerns the financial hub may once again be locked down. Infections are also spreading through provinces across the Yangtze River Delta region, home to manufacturers of chips and medicines to solar panels. Demand Rebound Gasoline demand last month was at about 3.2 million barrels a day, compared with 3.7 million barrels a day in June 2019, said the Chinese oil executives, who asked not to be identified because they arent authorized to speak publicly. Diesel consumption was at 3.5 million barrels a day, compared with 3.8 million barrels a day three years earlier, they added. Demand for gasoline and diesel rebounded quickly after the initial outbreak and lockdown in 2020, bouncing back to pre-virus levels. While flare-ups since then have tested fuel consumption, a resurgence earlier this year sparked by the omicron variant led to strict restrictions in some cities and crashing demand. Story continues Traffic congestion last month in the 15 cities with the highest number of vehicle registrations was about 9% higher than January 2021 levels, according to BloombergNEF, which uses Baidu data. Figures also indicate a rebound in Shanghai and Beijing, which were subject to lockdowns recently. The pace of gasolines demand recovery could accelerate over the coming weeks as schools break for summer and more people get comfortable with driving across cities, the executives said. They added that diesel consumption had been impacted by heavy rain and heatwaves across the nation, affecting construction activity. Jet Fuel There are some signs of improvement for aviation, but jet fuel demand is still lagging below pre-virus levels. Flight departures in June more than doubled from the downturn in early April, while the flight cancellation rate at Chinas 20 biggest airports also eased, according to BloombergNEF. China has cut the quarantine time for inbound travelers by half to seven days, but Chinese officials said the decision was not a sign of reopening and based solely on the shorter incubation period of the omicron variant. Oil demand is likely to register a year-on-year contraction in June and July, but demand growth could flip back into positive territory again if China succeeds in avoiding major containment fallouts, said Fenglei Shi, the director of Greater China oil market midstream and downstream at S&P Global Commodity Insights. (Updates with Shanghais virus measures in 4th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a 6-3 vote in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, that Americans have a right to carry firearms in the street for self-defense, striking down a New York gun law that required applicants to justify why they needed to carry a concealed handgun. We believe it was a bad call, a narrow view of the Second Amendment that ignored both its well regulated Militia language and decades of legal precedent. But it was also the conservative courts mistake to make. As it happens, Maryland has strikingly similar language in its own gun laws requiring good and substantial reason for a handgun owner to be allowed a wear-and-carry permit. And so, as explained in the six-page opinion issued Wednesday, by Patrick B. Hughes, chief of opinions and advice within the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, the state can no longer enforce that particular prerequisite but can continue to enforce other requirements of applicants, such as background checks and gun safety training. Marylands good and substantial reason requirement is now clearly unconstitutional, based on controlling Supreme Court precedent, Mr. Hughes wrote. Thus, the Department [of State Police] is not required to continue enforcing and, in fact, may not continue to enforce the good and substantial reason requirement in processing public-carry permit applications. Gov. Larry Hogan may have been slightly quicker to pull the trigger calling for Maryland State Police to amend its permitting process a day earlier, on Tuesday but he appears to have been on appropriate legal ground. More instructive, however, has been the reactions of the various candidates for public office, who have revealed a nearly uniform split down party lines. Republicans are happy to see the concealed carry requirement repealed, and Democrats are vowing to revisit the issue after the November election. Meanwhile, early voting runs July 7 through July 14, so the timing is a little bad all the way around. Story continues Reasonable people can disagree on the specifics of how firearms should be regulated, but we should all agree on some kind of regulation. Even on Capitol Hill, the recent spate of outrageous mass shootings has not gone entirely unnoticed by Republicans. Congress members on both sides of the aisle recently approved, and President Joe Biden signed into law, some modest reforms involving red flag laws, expanded background checks and greater restrictions on domestic abusers. But it does not yet appear the leading Republican candidates for governor in Maryland are especially interested in acknowledging a problem. The National Rifle Association and its followers would have us believe that the solution to gun violence involves further arming good guys, despite the considerable evidence that more guns on the streets equals more gunfire on the streets not to mention more people shooting themselves (suicides greatly outnumbering homicides in the U.S.). But those who bow and scrape to the NRA should not expect to find much political traction here. Even Gov. Hogan, who could once claim an A-minus NRA rating, declined to take campaign contributions from the group during his last reelection campaign. So why not take this moment to at least have a more comprehensive, more thoughtful and less partisan and reactionary public conversation about how best to get firearms off the street? Even the Democrats arent offering clear ideas on what their proposals might look like come January, when a newly elected General Assembly is seated. What might a broader campaign to reduce gun violence look like? How we can save lives that are imperiled today not just on the meanest of street corners, but in schools, at holiday parades, in supermarket parking lots and in every community in this nation drowning in guns? The Supreme Courts Bruen decision is a setback, but it cant be the final word on preventing the next Uvalde, the next Highland Park, the next Buffalo, the next Newtown, the next Las Vegas, the next Orlando and on and on. We need all of our leaders engaged on this issue. Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom. KINSHASA, Congo (AP) Rwanda and Congo have agreed to reduce tensions following one-day talks between their presidents mediated by Angola, Congos presidency announced Wednesday. The two countries will revive a Congo-Rwanda commission which will resume activities on July 12 in the Angolan capital, Luanda, according to the statement. It also called for a return to normal diplomatic relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, a cessation of hostilities and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the M23 rebel group from its positions in eastern Congo. There was no immediate word on the talks from Rwanda, whose President Paul Kagame met with Congo President Felix Tshisekedi in Luanda, Angola's capital, Wednesday amid growing tensions. Rwanda and Congo had traded angry statements stemming from allegations that Rwanda backs the M23, which is made up of mostly Tutsi fighters from Congo. The M23 last month seized a Congolese town near the Uganda border. Rwanda in turn accuses Congo of supporting a group of rebels with members who allegedly took part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Both countries deny the allegations. The African Union earlier this year asked Angola to mediate between Congo and Rwanda under the auspices of a regional body known as the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. About 170,000 people have been displaced in the weeks since M23 resurfaced in eastern Congo. Wednesday's summit called for the return of all refugees to their countries of origin, according to the statement from the Congolese presidency. ___ Ssuuna contributed from Kigali, Rwanda. KINSHASA (Reuters) -Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame have agreed at a summit in Angola to de-escalate tensions from a rebel insurgency, the Congolese presidency said on Wednesday. Diplomatic tensions have risen sharply between the neighbours since the M23 rebel group began a major offensive in Congo's eastern borderlands at the end of March. Congo has accused Rwanda of backing the group. Kigali denies this, and in turn has accused Kinshasa of fighting alongside another armed group intent on seizing power in Kigali. Angolan President Joao Lourenco was appointed by the African Union to mediate talks, and hosted a mini tripartite summit in Angola's capital, Luanda, on Wednesday. "The tripartite decided on a process of de-escalation between Congo and Rwanda," the Congolese presidency said in a statement posted on Twitter after the summit concluded. It said the agreement included an immediate cessation of hostilities and the retreat of M23 fighters from Congo. A Rwanda-Congo commission that had previously been dormant will meet again in Luanda on July 12, it said. Angola's presidency issued a similar statement to the Congolese one. Among the agreements was a commitment to defeat the rebel group the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an ethnic Hutu militia that Kigali has accused of fighting alongside Congo's army, a spokeswoman for Rwanda's presidency said late on Wednesday. The M23 last month seized an important border post in their most sustained offensive since capturing swathes of territory in 2012-2013. Congo has accepted a proposal for an East African regional force to be deployed in its east to help control the violence, but only if Rwanda does not take part. The fighting has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes in an area that has had little respite from conflict since Rwanda and neighbouring Uganda invaded in 1996, citing threats from local militia groups. (Reporting by Stanis Bujakera and Fiston Mahamba; Additional reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana in Kigali; Writing by Sofia Christensen and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Hereward Holland, Alison Williams, Estelle Shirbon, David Gregorio and Kim Coghill) WASHINGTON (AP) NASA said Wednesday that contact has been restored with its $32.7 million spacecraft headed to the moon to test out a lopsided lunar orbit. Contact was lost after one successful communication and a second partial one on Monday, after the spacecraft left Earth's orbit on its way to the moon, the space agency said. The spacecraft spent nearly a week circling the globe after launching from New Zealand on June 28. According to NASA, data shows the spacecraft is in good health and operated safely on its own while it was out of contact with Earth. The cause of the communications drop-off is under investigation. The 55-pound satellite is the size of a microwave oven and will be the first spacecraft to try out this oval orbit, which is where NASA wants to put its Gateway outpost. Gateway would serve as a staging point for astronauts before they descend to the lunar surface. The orbit balances the gravities of Earth and the moon and so requires little maneuvering and therefore fuel and allows the satellite or a space station to stay in constant contact with Earth. By Shivam Patel, Sinead Cruise and Tom Wilson (Reuters) -U.S. crypto lender Voyager Digital said on Wednesday it had filed for bankruptcy, becoming another casualty of a dramatic fall in prices that has shaken the cryptocurrency sector. Crypto lenders such as Voyager boomed in the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing depositors with high interest rates and easy access to loans rarely offered by traditional banks. However the recent slump in crypto markets - sparked by the downfall of two major tokens in May - has hurt lenders. New Jersey-based Celsius in June froze withdrawals and has hired advisers on a possible bankruptcy filing. Voyager froze withdrawals this month, as did another lender, Singapore's Vauld. Last week, Voyager said it had issued a notice of default to Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for failing to make payments on a crypto loan totalling over $650 million. 3AC later that week filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy, which allows foreign debtors to shield U.S. assets, becoming one of the highest-profile investors hit by plummeting crypto prices. 3AC is now being liquidated, Reuters reported last week. "The prolonged volatility and contagion in the crypto markets over the past few months, and the default of Three Arrows Capital on a loan from the company's subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, require us to take deliberate and decisive action now," Voyager Chief Executive Officer Stephen Ehrlich said in a statement. CHAPTER 11 In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Tuesday, Voyager - based in New Jersey but listed in Toronto - estimated that it had more than 100,000 creditors and somewhere between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets, and liabilities worth the same value. Voyager had last month signed an agreement with trading firm Alameda Ventures, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of major exchange FTX, for a revolving line of credit. A filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York showed that Alameda was Voyager's largest single creditor, with unsecured loans of $75 million. Story continues Alameda did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures put a hold on all civil litigation matters and allow companies to prepare turnaround plans while remaining operational. In a message to customers on Twitter, Ehrlich said the process would protect assets and "maximise value for all stakeholders, especially customers". Voyager said on Wednesday it had more than $110 million of cash and owned crypto assets on hand. It intends to pay employees in the usual manner and continue their primary benefits and certain customer programs without disruption. Voyager has hired Moelis & Company and The Consello Group as financial advisers, Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal adviser and Berkeley Research Group LLC as restructuring adviser. (Reporting by Shivam Patel in Bengaluru and Sinead Cruise and Tom Wilson in London; Additional reporting by Ann Maria Shibu; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Bradley Perrett, Alexandra Hudson) Green House Coffee and Affogato Bar was over capacity on Tuesday evening. People lined the walls of the cafe's conference room, with some sitting on the floor or on top of tables. A small crowd gathered on the sidewalk despite the heat and humidity, listening through the open door as participants discussed Roe v. Wade's overturn with Missouri Reps. Betsy Fogle and Crystal Quade. Both Quade and Fogle represent Greene County in the Missouri House of Representatives. According to a tweet from Quade, 216 people attended the event. We had 216 people show up for our Post Roe discussion. At capacity, spilling into the street. 216 new folks activated ready to fight for a better MO that we can all be proud to call home. Ready to dig in and do the work. It's an honor to stand along side you. Crystal Quade (@crystal_quade) July 6, 2022 "Our offices had gotten hundreds of questions over the last 10 days and we wanted to give individuals an opportunity to come and ask questions about what the implications are, at a federal level, but more importantly, here in Missouri with the trigger law component of House Bill 126," Fogle said. More: Missouri bans abortion with 'trigger law' after U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade The event was an effort to ensure people knew the correct information, Fogle explained, especially among uncertainty and misinformation. "I think it's really important that, as people are making plans for their future, they know exactly what's at stake," she said. The representatives also discussed what people can do moving forward to effect change at a local and state level. "We talked a lot today about political action: How to knock doors, how to make phone calls and how to engage in local political races here in the Greene County area," Quade said. Story continues Quade hopes that engagement leads to change in the Jefferson City electorate, especially people "who will, in the coming sessions, vote to add protections back in, make sure that things like birth control are codified." More: Missouri was restricting abortion before Roe v. Wade was overturned. Here's a look at the timeline. Due to the large turnout, Fogle and Quade are planning on hosting another similar event, so that everyone who attends can be involved in the discussion. Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Greene Co. representatives answer questions, next moves at discussion A man out of Harlan County is facing charges after allegedly bringing an alligator from Florida and keeping it as a pet, according to court records. A citation for Cameron Cornett, 23, says Cornett brought a 4.5-foot alligator from Florida to his residence in Big Laurel with the intention of keeping it as a pet. At some point the alligator escaped, and Cornett had been looking for it for about a month. The alligators whereabouts were not known until a video of the reptile swimming in Greasy Creek went viral, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The department became aware of the video on June 19 and began an investigation. Early the next day, an officer and technician found the alligator. They went to retrieve equipment to capture the alligator and when they returned, the alligator was missing and a blood trail on the bank of the creek leading to the highway was visible. Court documents allege that Cornetts brother had the alligator killed to keep him out of trouble. Cornett was going to bury the alligator in Cumberland but the officer was able to seize it beforehand, according to court documents. Cornett was cited on June 23 and charged with illegally transporting and possessing an inherently dangerous exotic (non-native) animal, not reporting its escape to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and not having a permit or documentation for other exotic animals in his possession, according to court records. Cornett also had several legal exotic reptiles and an endangered alligator snapping turtle that had previously escaped an enclosure, according to court documents. By Aidan Lewis CAIRO (Reuters) - Years-long travel bans and asset freezes against some of Egypt's most prominent activists are being used to muzzle civil society and are exacting lasting damage on the personal lives of those targeted, according to two reports by human rights groups. Researchers say it is impossible to estimate the number of people affected by the measures, which are often open-ended and imposed without official notification. There has been a sweeping crackdown on Islamist and liberal dissidents in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as army chief led the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi in 2013 and was elected to the presidency a year later. Egypt's state information service did not respond to a request for comment. Sisi and his supporters say security measures taken over the past nine years were necessary to stabilise Egypt and that they are working to provide basic rights such as jobs and housing. The cases of 15 people affected by travel bans including women's rights activists, researchers and lawyers, were highlighted in a report by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and London-based rights group FairSquare published on Wednesday. A separate report by the U.S.-based Freedom Initiative and Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, published on Tuesday, said travel bans were often politically motivated, applied in an arbitrary fashion, and provided no recourse for challenge. "Egyptian authorities are using travel bans as yet another tool in an arsenal of repression," said Allison McManus, research director at the Freedom Initiative. Dozens of those arrested in the crackdown have recently been amnestied or freed from pre-trial detention, though rights groups say thousands remain jailed. Some travel bans against activists caught up in a 2015 case investigating foreign funding of non-governmental organisations were dropped, but others remain in place. Eleven people in the case still have their assets frozen, HRW said. Story continues The HRW report cited several activists linked to the Egypt Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), one of the country's most prominent rights groups, who are still banned from travel, including founder and director Hossam Bahgat and Patrick Zaki, a researcher arrested then released after writing about discrimination against Egypt's Coptic Christians. It also cited the case of Waleed Salem, a graduate researcher of Egypt's judiciary who has been separated from his 13-year-old daughter for four years, and lawyer Nasser Amin, who it said was prevented from visiting the International Criminal Court in April to represent victims of the war in Darfur, because of a travel ban under the NGO case. (Editing by William Maclean) Elena Rybakina celebrates victory against Ajla Tomljanovic in the last eight at Wimbledon (Steven Paston/PA) (PA Wire) Russia-born Elena Rybakina fought back from a set down to beat Ajla Tomljanovic in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Rybakina, who was born in Moscow but switched international allegiance to Kazakhstan in 2018, produced a fine display to make the semi-finals of a grand slam for the first time on Wednesday. More experienced opponent Tomljanovic took the opener before the world number 23 found her form to win 4-6 6-2 6-3 and set up a last four meeting with Simona Halep. Electric Elena Rybakina books her place in the semi-final with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Ajla Tomljanovic#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/OZTdZPlYNx Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2022 This last-eight clash featured two players who had switched nationality with Tomljanovic playing under Australia for the last four years having been born in Croatia. A lengthy third game on Court One saw Tomljanovic claim the early break and she remained solid on her own serve to move one set up. When Rybakina double-faulted at the beginning of the second set it looked like the occasion may get the better of her, but a backhand winner brought more belief and suddenly her shots started hitting the white chalk. Breaks were exchanged between the duo but with aces now a regular occurrence from Rybakina, it felt a matter of time before she forced a decider. A wonderful drop shot clinched another break and a third ensured Court One were treated to another set. Elena Rybakina (left) shake hands with Ajla Tomljanovic after their quarter-final (Steven Paston/PA) (PA Wire) Rybakina had the momentum now and a hotstreak of nine games won out of a possible 10 put her within touching distance of the last four. Tomljanovic was able to briefly prevent what now seemed a formality before Rybakinas 14th ace of the contest brought it to a finish after one hour and 15 minutes of action. Story continues The 23-year-old, the first player representing Kazakhstan to make the last four at Wimbledon, said: It is amazing. I am really happy I got through to the semi-final. It was a really tough match but I heard all the support. I know there is some juniors here supporting me so thank you so much. Hopefully it will be the same (against Halep), a good match and I will try play my best. Adverts for an alcohol brand on Ellie Gouldings Facebook page have been banned after the singer claimed the drink is low in calories and contains no sugar (Ian West/PA) (PA Wire) Adverts for an alcohol brand on Ellie Gouldings Facebook page have been banned after the singer claimed the drink is low in calories and contains no sugar. The pop star, who is a founder and co-owner of Served Drinks, posted two ads for the alcoholic sparkling water on her Facebook page in February, the first one stating: If youre like me, you love a drink but also enjoy an active lifestyle. My delicious alcoholic sparkling water is the best of both worlds. The second read: You guys know I love a drink, but I also really care about my well-being. Since I launched my alcoholic sparkling water there is no going back for me! A video of Goulding showed her saying: I love a drink, as I talk about a lot on my social media, but I also care about my health Thats why I want to tell you about my new drink Served. So, my new drink Served is a hard seltzer, it has 57 calories Further text in the posts stated: 57 cals four per cent vol. A separate email from Served Drinks, seen on 18 January, read: Forget Dry January Is dry January becoming a little dry? Theres no reason you cant enjoy a drink without setting you back! Our drinks only have 57 calories, 0g sugar and are four per cent ABV and are the perfect choice for a tipple without all the guilt. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 21 complaints about the brands advertising, including that the calorie and sugar content statements were nutritional claims that are not permitted for alcoholic drinks, and that Gouldings statements that she loves a drink while also enjoying an active lifestyle and caring about her wellbeing are general health claims that are also not allowed for alcoholic drinks. Some complained that the email ad suggested that drinking alcohol might be indispensable and could overcome boredom by encouraging people to break Dry January. Served Drinks said it understood that advertisers are allowed to provide factual information about the nutritional content of their products, including the calorific content, provided there is no suggestion that the drink has the particular beneficial property of being low in calories. Story continues They said the posts on Gouldings Facebook page were intended to describe her lifestyle and what is important to her and could not reasonably be interpreted as being about the product itself, and were therefore not general health claims. The ASA said: Because the ads included nutrition claims that the product was low in calories and contained no sugar, which were not permitted nutrition claims for alcohol products, we concluded that they breached the Code. It ruled that the three ads must not appear again in their current form, adding: We told Served Drinks not to make health claims, or non-permitted nutrition claims, about alcoholic drinks or imply that alcohol could overcome boredom in their advertising. Served Drinks said: We are committed to responsible advertising, and we work closely with organisations such as CAP (the Committee of Advertising Practice) in the development of campaign materials. While we are disappointed that the complaints were upheld in part, we respect the ASAs ruling. All ads were removed immediately and will not feature again. Eric Holder, the man charged in the fatal shooting of Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle, was found guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday, CBS Los Angeles reported. The jury deliberated for about six hours before reaching its verdict. Holder, 32, had also been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder because two bystanders were hit by gunfire, according to The Associated Press but the jury found him guilty of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter instead. Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, was fatally shot outside of his Los Angeles clothing store in March 2019. He was 33. Defendant Eric Holder listens during opening statements in his murder trial, Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles. / Credit: Frederick M. Brown / AP When the trial began last month, prosecutors said Holder's attack was calculated and premeditated. Deputy District Attorney John McKinney said there was "no doubt" Holder knew he'd kill Hussle, adding that Holder shot Hussle at least 10 times and kicked him in the head before running away, according to the AP. McKinney said there had been a dispute between the pair Hussle had heard Holder was a snitch and wanted to "clear that up," the AP reported. The deputy district attorney said the pair, along with two of Hussle's friends, had a "cool conversation" with Holder prior to the attack, noting Hussle didn't have any security with him when he visited his store. However, prosecutors had a hard time getting witnesses to testify. One police official attributed their reluctance to a fear of being seen as a snitch, according to the AP. Meanwhile, Holder's attorney Aaron Jansen told the jury that Hussle's murder wasn't planned, and said Holder didn't mean to shoot the two bystanders. He pinned the attack on "heated passion," the AP reported. Last week, Holder was attacked by "multiple individuals" while in a jail holding cell, Jansen told CBS News. He was allegedly cut by a razor and taken to the hospital, where he received an MRI and staples in the back of his head, Jansen said. Victoria Albert contributed reporting. Story continues U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces his resignation Boris Johnson agrees to resign, ending political turmoil in UK Report on Uvalde shooting response shows officer missed opportunity to fire at gunman (Bloomberg) -- Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Tim Leissners sentencing for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal was delayed until next year. Most Read from Bloomberg Leissner, who pleaded guilty to charges in 2018 and testified against his former colleague Roger Ng, was originally scheduled for sentencing today, but US District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn, New York, postponed the hearing to Feb. 15 without explanation. The bribery and money-laundering charges to which Leissner pleaded guilty carry maximum sentences of decades in prison. But the former Goldman Southeast Asia chairman is likely to get much less time due to his cooperation with prosecutors. He spent more than a week on the stand during Ngs trial, describing 1MDB deals and the bankers scheming with financier Jho Low to loot the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Leissners lawyer, Henry Mazurek, declined to comment on Wednesday. Ng, who worked under Leissner and was the only Goldman banker to go to trial over the global 1MDB scandal, was found guilty in April by a federal jury after a two-month trial. Last week, Brodie set Ngs sentencing for Nov. 9. Leissner has been free on $20 million bail since his arrest by US authorities in June 2018. Brodie last month granted Leissners request to modify his bail, allowing him to relocate to Texas for a new job. She also sealed further information about the former banker after his lawyer said there were credible concerns regarding Leissners safety. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday announced it had temporarily suspended its ban on sales of the popular e-cigarette maker Juul. On July 5, 2022, FDA administratively stayed the marketing denial order, the agencys tobacco division wrote in a tweet. The agency has determined that there are scientific issues unique to the JUUL application that warrant additional review. This administrative stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order during the additional review but does not rescind it, FDA Tobacco said in its Twitter thread. All electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS products, including those made by JUUL, are required by law to have FDA authorization to be legally marketed, FDA Tobacco concluded. The stay and the agencys review does not constitute authorization to market, sell, or ship JUUL products. The agency also said that the company is allowed to market its products in the U.S. for the time being. Two weeks earlier, the health agency banned the sale of Juul e-cigarettes, saying that the company did not prove that keeping its products on the market would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. In a statement, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said that Juul has played a major role in the rise of vaping among U.S. youth. Todays action is further progress on the FDAs commitment to ensuring that all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards, Califf said in his statement. A federal appeals court a day later temporarily blocked the FDA ban on Juul, granting the e-cigarette makers request for a stay, noting that its order will not reflect its ruling on the case. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON (AP) The Food and Drug Administration issued an administrative stay Tuesday on the order it issued last month for vaping company Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the market. The agency said on Twitter that the stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order while it conducts further review, but does not rescind it. The FDA issued the initial order banning Juul sales on June 23. A day later, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the government ban. The initial FDA action was part of a sweeping effort by the agency to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of regulatory delays. To stay on the market, companies must show that their e-cigarettes benefit public health. In practice, that means proving that adult smokers who use them are likely to quit or reduce their smoking, while teens are unlikely to get hooked on them. The FDA originally said Juuls application left regulators with significant questions and didnt include enough information to evaluate any potential health risks. Juul said it submitted enough information and data to address all issues raised. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted Juuls request for a hold while the court reviews the case. On Tuesday, the FDA said it has determined there are scientific issues unique to the Juul application that warrant additional review. Still, it said, the stay and the review do not constitute authorization to market, sell or ship Juul products. An electronic cigarette from Juul Labs. (Brynn Anderson / Associated Press) The Food and Drug Administration issued an administrative stay Tuesday on the order it issued last month for vaping company Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the market. The agency said on Twitter that the stay temporarily suspends the so-called marketing denial order while it conducts further review but does not rescind it. On July 5, 2022, FDA administratively stayed the marketing denial order. The agency has determined that there are scientific issues unique to the JUUL application that warrant additional review. (1/3) https://t.co/DHDsFNVe1l FDA Tobacco (@FDATobacco) July 5, 2022 The FDA issued the initial order banning Juul sales on June 23. A day later, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the government ban. The initial FDA action was part of a sweeping effort by the agency to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of regulatory delays. To stay on the market, companies must show that their e-cigarettes benefit public health. In practice, that means proving that adult smokers who use them are likely to quit or reduce their smoking, while teens are unlikely to get hooked on them. The FDA originally said Juuls application left regulators with significant questions and didnt include enough information to evaluate any potential health risks. Juul said it submitted enough information and data to address all issues raised. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted Juuls request for a hold while the court reviews the case. On Tuesday, the FDA said it has determined there are scientific issues unique to the Juul application that warrant additional review. Still, it said, the stay and the review do not constitute authorization to market, sell or ship Juul products. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A Florida woman is accused by a North Carolina sheriffs office of stabbing the man she provides care for with a felt-tipped marker and pushed him out of a moving car. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< The Cumberland County Sheriffs Office said in a news release on Monday that Arlene Mary Bonitz, 57, of Palm Harbor, Florida, was driving south on Sunday on Interstate 95 near the 64-mile marker in Godwin, North Carolina. In the car with her was a man for whom she provides care and support due to his cognitive issues, the sheriffs office said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] According to the news release, Bonitz stabbed the man several times with a felt-tipped marker before pushing him out of her car while driving at 60 mph (96 km/h). She continued driving on I-95 before she crashed, the sheriffs office said. Bonitz and the victim were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The victim suffered a broken pelvis and had road rash on his face, hands, and legs, investigators said. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Bonitz was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. She was given a $75,000 secured bond and was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. Its not known if Bonitz has an attorney. 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. Refinery29 I am only a Black woman on Sundays. Let me clarify. I am a 21-year-old Black nonbinary person. I was assigned female at birth. My pronouns are they/he. I am a lesbian. I am a journalist and an artist, and sometimes I am a musician. When I am not in school or at work, I love to crochet, visit farmers markets and spend time with my friends and my partner. For me, being nonbinary is having the space to exist as a human. Its sometimes hard to define, but at its roots, my identity is about releasin Did you know some snails can cause meningitis? The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is warning Pasco County to beware of the giant African land snail (GALS) that can carry a rare rat lungworm called Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which may cause meningitis in humans, according to the states recent "Pest Alert." "The giant African land snail is one of the most invasive pests on the planet, causing agricultural and environmental damage wherever it is found," the report added. After receiving notice of a "possible" population of the snail in New Port Richey, Pasco County on June 21, FDACS said a property survey confirmed the presence of a white form of the giant African land snail two days later. NEW YORK BEACHES REOPEN FOLLOWING LONG ISLAND SHARK ATTACK "The phenotype in Pasco County has a creamy white flesh as opposed to the grey-ish brown flesh of the phenotype that was eradicated in the Miami area," said Erin M. Moffet, FDACSs communications director. Moffet told Fox News that Mellon, a mollusk detector dog, is actively surveying for the pest. The department said on their website that they will treat properties with a specific snail bait that is a metaldehyde-based molluscicide labeled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for residential use. Metaldehyde is a pesticide used to control snails thats approved for use in many crops, fruit trees, avocado and citrus orchards, berry plants, banana plants and in limited residential areas, the department said on their website. The pesticide interferes with the snails mucus production ability, thereby reducing their digestion and mobility, which makes them susceptible to dehydration, per the website. After eating the metaldehyde, the GALS often seeks hiding places, then becomes inactive and begins to die within days, the department said. "FDACS's Division of Plant Industry has begun to survey the area, enacted a quarantine and will begin treatment for this detrimental pest on June 29, 2022," the state department said. Story continues "It is unlawful to move the giant African land snail or a regulated article, including but not limited to, plants, plants parts, plants in soil, soil, yard waste, debris, compost or building materials, within, through or from a quarantine area without a compliance agreement." The snail is popular in the pet trade in other countries, but it is a federally prohibited organism that cannot be legally sold or possessed in the United States, per the FDACS report. "The giant African land snail is one of the most damaging snails in the world and consumes at least 500 different types of plants. These snails could be devastating to Florida agriculture and natural areas as they cause extensive damage to tropical and subtropical environments," FDACS said on their website. The state first eradicated the pest in 1975 after detecting it in 1969 and most recently eradicated the pest in 2021 after detecting it in 2011 in Miami-Dade County, per the FDACS website. The snail can cause a disease called Angiostrongliasis, or rat lungworm disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "An infected rat coughs up worms from the lungs into the throat where they are then swallowed by the rat. The worms are now in the rats digestive system and eventually end up in the rats poop," the CDC said. A snail gets infected two ways: by either accidently eating the rats poop or the worm penetrating the snails body. "When a rat eats an infected slug or snail, the cycle begins again," the CDC added. Most cases of rat lungworm disease occur in parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands, but some have been in Caribbean, Africa and United States, like in Hawaii and Louisiana. So why should humans worry about it? Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and FDACS will be holding a press conference on the recent GALS detection from FDACS Clearwater office, which will be livestreamed on the Departments Facebook page. Drew Angerer/Getty Images LISTERIA OUTBREAK MAY BE LINKED TO FLORIDA, CDC SAYS People get the disease when they eat raw or undercooked snails that are infected with the worms as well as eating fruits or vegetables that have not been washed well that also contain the snails. "People present with symptoms of bacterial meningitis, such as nausea, vomiting, neck stiffness, and headaches that are often global and severe," the CDC said. "Most infections of [Angiostrongylus cantonensis] resolve spontaneously over time without specific treatment because the parasite cannot survive for long in the human body. However, serious complications can rarely occur, leading to neurologic dysfunction or death." Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and FDACS will be holding a press conference on the recent GALS detection from FDACS Clearwater office, which will be livestreamed on the departments Facebook page. The Daily Beast Kelly Wilkinson/USA Today Network via ReutersFour people are dead and several injured after a man with a rifle walked into a food court at Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana and began shooting, local authorities said Sunday evening.One of the dead is the suspected shooter, according to Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers. The gunman, an adult male, has not been identified. Police said he had been carrying a long rifle and several ammunition magazines.This tragedy hits at the core of our community, the mayo Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Gov. Gavin Newsom of California took a trip with his family to Montana on Friday. State-funded trips to Montana are banned in California because of the former's LGBTQ policies. Newsom did not travel using state funds. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is spending time with his family in Montana a state on California's list of banned places to travel to using state funds. The Office of the Governor said Newsom did not use state funds for the trip. The ban on state-funded trips to Montana, along with 21 other states, is because of the state's anti-LGBTQ policies. "The travel ban applies to expending state funds," Erin Mellon, the communications director for Newsom, told Insider. "The Governor's travel is not being paid for by the state. Connecting the two is irresponsible and falsely implies there is something untoward." Newsom departed for a vacation to the Treasure State Friday but did not initially announce where he was traveling to. He will return home on Monday, Mellon said. The parents of Newsom's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, have a property in Montana. The couple were also married there in 2008, CalMatters reported. Newsom has been scrutinized for his personal outings in the past. In 2020, as COVID-19 cases were rising in California, Newsom attended a private dinner party at the French Laundry after advising against social gatherings. His attendance received widespread criticism. Newsom aired political ads in Florida on Sunday criticizing Gov. Ron DeSantis' LGBTQ and abortion policies in Florida. Read the original article on Insider Gina Rodriguez has opened up about her battle with Hashimotos disease. During an appearance on Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allens podcast Broad Ideas, the 37-year-old actor spoke about her struggle with body image due to her diagnosis. According to the NHS, Hashimotos thyroiditis is caused by the immune system attacking the thyroid gland, which damages it and makes it swell. As the thyroid is destroyed over time, its unable to produce enough thyroid hormone. Speaking of her disease, Rodriguez said: I got an actors curse because it directly affects your metabolism, you know, youre not producing the hormone that your body needs. So you, at times, it can feel like you have a loss of communication with this thing, that spacesuit that youre in, and youre just like, Why dont I have a grasp on shifting what this physical being is? she added. The Jane The Virgin star also spoke about how she started giving herself positive affirmations as a result of her bodily changes. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) As I bathe, being like, I love you. I love you, elbow. I love you, tetas. I love you, neck. I just started touching my body in an appreciative manner, Rodriguez revealed. The American actor also shared that she has a heart-shaped birthmark on her thigh and why she chose not to cover it up during the production of Jane The Virgin. To others, it may seem like an imperfection, right? she said. And on Jane, it would always be like, Hey, can we get makeup to get that thing on her leg? I would always be like, No! Its my birthmark! No, its a birthmark! No, its fine! You could just leave it, its fine, its a birthmark. Yeah, but I would make a joke. Im like, Im sure somebodys going to say something about the birthmark. Gotta cover the birthmark. Rep. Mayra Flores, a Republican from Texas Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Republican Rep. Mayra Flores repeatedly refused to say whether Biden is the legitimately-elected president. The New York Times reported that Flores was offered four opportunities to state the obvious. Some Republicans still refuse to accept the 2020 election as legitimate. Republican Rep. Mayra Flores repeatedly refused to say that President Joe Biden was in fact the legitimately-elected president of the United States during an interview, the New York Times reports. "He's the worst president of the United States," Flores, who had just been sworn-in the day before, told the Times' Jennifer Medina. Medina writes in a story published Wednesday morning that she asked Flores the same question three more times whether Biden won the 2020 election and received the same non-committal reply. Flores' reported apprehension to acknowledge the reality of the 2020 election illustrates how the GOP's newest lawmaker is furthering the efforts of some in the party to continue to question the legitimacy of the last election. Former President Donald Trump continues to argue his baseless claim that the election was stolen, a stance that has been openly mocked by his former Attorney General Bill Barr and others. Flores has also drawn attention for her past references to the QAnon conspiracy theory and for saying Trump "should've locked Hillary Clinton in jail." The Texas Republican made history last month when she won a special election, becoming Texas' first Latina congresswoman and the first Republican in more than a century to win in the Rio Grande Valley. Flores' victory further illustrates how Trump's surprisingly strong performance in the region in 2020 underlines how Republicans can appeal to Latino voters. As for her past QAnon comments, Flores told the Times that her pushing of hashtags related to the conspiracy theory was to express opposition to it. The fringe theory, which has been pushed by other members of Congress, is based on a wild claim that Trump was secretly fighting a cabal of elites who are children traffickers and worship Satan. Story continues "It's just to reach more people so more people can see like, hey, this needs to stop," Flores said. "This is only hurting our country." In an April 2020 Facebook ad uncovered by Media Matters, a liberal watchdog, Flores says "Democrat Party has failed us." A series of hashtags, including those related to QAnon, accompany the post. Nowhere in the message is there any language about the conspiracy theory "hurting our country." Flores is expected to face a tough challenge this November due to redistricting. Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who currently represents Texas' neighboring 15th District, has announced his intentions to run for the new seat. The new district's boundaries are seen as much more favorable to Democrats. A representative for Flores did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat running for governor, has sought to portray his opponent Doug Mastriano as out of step with the mainstream. Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images A group of current and former elected Pennsylvania Republicans has endorsed Democrat Josh Shapiro. Shapiro is running against Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who is backed by former President Donald Trump. Republicans endorsing Shapiro cited Mastriano's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. A group of nine Pennsylvania Republicans has broken with the state GOP and announced support for the Democratic candidate for governor Josh Shapiro, calling his GOP opponent state Sen. Doug Mastriano an "extremist" who threatens American democracy. In a statement released by the Shapiro campaign, the current and former elected Republicans said they would be voting for the Democrat this November in large part due to his support for the rule of law. In 2020, Shapiro, currently serving as Pennsylvania's attorney general, fought lawsuits filed by former President Donald Trump that sought to overturn the election. Mastriano, at the same time, held briefings with Rudy Giuliani that pushed false claims of mass voter fraud; he later used campaign funds to bus supporters to Washington, DC, for the January 6, 2021, rally. Former Rep. James Greenwood, a moderate Republican from southeast Pennsylvania who left Congress in 2005, told The Philadelphia Inquirer he feared that Mastriano, as governor, would undermine the integrity of the 2024 election. The state senator continues to push conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election and has promised to appoint a top election official who shares his views. "I think he's an extreme, dangerous guy who is out of touch with the majority of the people in Pennsylvania," Greenwood told the paper. Other Republicans backing Shapiro include former state House Speaker Denny O'Brien of Philadelphia, former state Rep. Dave Steil of Bucks County, and current Lawrence County Commissioner Morgany Boyd. Mastriano's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'A threat to the rule of law' Former Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican from Allentown who retired from Congress in 2018, likewise cited fears of how Mastriano could impact the next presidential election in a statement backing Shapiro. The attorney general, Dent said, would unite the state. Story continues "Doug Mastriano, on the other hand, is an extremist who is a threat to the rule of law and the constitutional order," Dent said, per the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. First elected in 2018, Mastriano, a veteran of the US Army, established a name for himself among right-wing activists by challenging mask mandates and opposing COVID-19 vaccines, which he has falsely claimed are not true vaccines. In addition to busing supporters to Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, a matter being investigated by the congressional committee examining the insurrection, video shows Mastriano was at the US Capitol when rioters breached police lines. After receiving a late endorsement from Trump, Mastriano beat out a crowded field to become the Republican nominee for governor with a plurality of the ballots cast. Neither he nor other Republicans have challenged the legitimacy of that vote. Since winning the nomination, Mastriano has sought to allay some Republicans' concerns about his statewide electability by focusing more on economic issues. In an interview last week with the right-wing media outlet Newsmax, Mastriano conceded that the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would provide a boost to his opponent's campaign given surveys that show a majority of Pennsylvanians believe it should be legal to terminate a pregnancy. The state senator, who opposes abortion in all instances, with no exception for the life of the parent, went on to call the question of reproductive rights a "distraction" from gas prices and inflation. Read the original article on Business Insider You cant beat the coziness, twinkling lights and family togetherness that comes with Christmas. And Thanksgiving? Sign us up for an extra helping of turkey and napping during the football game. But is there really any holiday thats as fun and free-spirited as Halloween? The answer is no, especially since it gives revelers the chance to dress up, pull some friendly pranks and eat as much Halloween candy as their sweet tooth desires. While you may remember that it always falls on October 31, when exactly is Halloween in 2022? See, a weekday Halloween requires a little more prep work than one that lands on a weekend since you don't have tons of time after the work day ends to get ready for trick-or-treating or put the finishing touches on your homemade costume. But its not impossible. After all, it'll all be worth it in the name of Halloween. Think of another holiday when you can eat your weight in candy corn and no one will judge you for it well wait. Heres everything you need to know about Halloween, including when and why we celebrate. When is Halloween in 2022? This year, Halloween is celebrated on Monday, October 31, 2022. Now that you know the date way in advance, start crafting those costumes, getting your recipes together and coming up with fun Halloween activities for kids and adults like! Is the date the same every year? Halloween always falls on October 31, but of course, the day of the week changes from year to year. For example, in 2021, we celebrated Halloween on a Sunday, and in 2023, well observe Halloween on Tuesday. Christopher Robbins / Getty Images What is the history of Halloween? Halloween has a long, storied history thats as full of spirit and intrigue as the holiday itself. It originated with the Celts, who lived two centuries ago in the areas now known as Ireland, England and northern France. On October 31, they celebrated the festival of Samhain to mark the end of summer before the new year started on November 1. In other words, it was a time to party before the cold weather and snow arrived. Story continues But here's where the haunts of Halloween come into play. The Celts believed that on the night before the new year, ghosts had the ability to return to the earth. As a result, they wore costumes to ward off evil spirits, made bonfires and tried to predict the future through fortune-telling. Once the Romans conquered areas of the Celts, they began to borrow some of the Samhain traditions like bobbing for apples. The holiday continued to live on in various forms through Christian cultures. person holding out candy bowl to trick or treaters (Image Source / Getty Images) Why do we celebrate Halloween today? Eventually, European immigrants brought the holiday along with them to the United States. It arrived in its near-modern form in the 1840s when Irish immigrants came to our shores to escape the Irish Potato Famine. Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated in the United States, Ireland, Italy, England, Mexico, Portugal and other countries around the world. While we may not necessarily wear costumes with the intention of warding off evil spirits, weve developed our own modern-day customs like watching scary movies, decking out our houses with spooky decorations and competing in costume contests. Related: EXCLUSIVE: Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker highlights that hes a uniter who wants to "bring people together" in the first TV ad of his general election campaign in Georgia. The college and pro-football legend is challenging first-term Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in battleground Georgia in a crucial Senate race that could determine if the GOP wins back the chambers majority in Novembers midterm elections. "I love this country. I believe in peace through strength. If we have no strength, were going to have no peace. I believe in backing the blue. I believe in the Constitution. I believe that everybody should have a chance to have their faith," Walker says in the commercial, which was shared first nationally with Fox News on Tuesday. "Do we have problems? Yes! Can we solve them? Yes!," Walker emphasizes in the spot. "Georgia is my family. The United States is my family. So Im going to fight and take care of them." WARNOCK AIMS TO MAKE WALKER HIS OWN WORST ENEMY Walkers campaign tells Fox News that it and the National Republican Senatorial Committee will spend seven-figures to run the ad statewide in Georgia on broadcast and cable television starting on Wednesday. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS Walker, who won a Heisman Trophy and helped steer the University of Georgia to a college football national championship four decades ago, jumped into the GOP race to face off against Warnock last year after months of support and encouragement to run for the Senate by former President Donald Trump, his longtime friend. Herschel Walker, the Republican Senate nominee in Georgia, speaks during a campaign rally in Macon, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images Thanks to his legendary status among many in Georgia and his immense, favorable, name recognition in the Peach State, Walker instantly became the overwhelming front-runner for the GOP Senate nomination and basically ignored the field of lesser-known primary rivals, declining to take part in debates as he focused his campaign on Warnock. Walker trounced his rivals in the states May 24 primary. Story continues HEAD TO THE FOX NEWS ELECTION CENTER FOR THE LATEST PRIMARY RESULTS While this is Walkers first general election spot, Warnock went up with ads soon after the primary, running a positive spot that showcases his record in the Senate as well as a commercial that takes aim at Walker for what the senators campaign argues are "bizarre or false statements" made by GOP challenger. The spot uses a past clip of Walker saying that had a "dry mist" that would "kill any COVID on your body." Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia is seen in the U.S. Capitol before the Senate luncheons, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Walkers also been dinged by numerous reports that he overinflated the success of his businesses and has been playing defense regarding a number of personal controversies from allegations of past abuse to children he fathered out of wedlock. Republicans see Warnock the senior pastor at Atlanta's famed Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once preached, and who defeated GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler by a razor-thin margin to capture the seat a year and a half ago as very vulnerable as he runs for re-election. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted June 23-27 suggested Warnock holding a 10-point lead over Walker. But an East Carolina University survey conducted in early June pointed to a dead heat between the two candidates. The House Jan. 6 committee announced Tuesday that its next public hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 12 at 10 a.m. Eastern. The committee has not yet announced a focus, or if there will be any witnesses. Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff said on "Face the Nation" Sunday that the committee will be "following additional leads" after some of the bomshell testimony so far. This will be the committee's seventh public hearing since they started winding down the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol. The blockbuster hearings so far have dealt with former President Donald Trump's pressure campaigns against Vice President Mike Pence, the Justice Department, state lawmakers and local elections officials. The hearings have also focused on Trump's baseless and false claims of election fraud, and the plan hatched by Trump and his allies in Arizona to replace bona fide Biden electors with phony ones that would back Trump. Members of the news media wait for the arrival of Cassidy Hutchinson before the House Jan. 6 committee on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. / Credit: Sean Thew / AP In the first hearing, the committee showed never-before-seen video footage from a documentary filmmaker embedded with the Proud Boys on Jan. 6 and heard from a Capitol police officer who suffered a traumatic brain injury that day. The committee had called a last-minute hearing last week to hear bombshell testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Hutchinson testified that Trump was told the crowd at the Ellipse had guns and other weapons, and that the former president wanted to join them on the way to the Capitol even lunging at Secret Service to get the steering wheel, she said she heard. Hutchinson also testified that Meadows told her in the days leading up to Jan. 6 that, "There's a lot going on Cass, but I don't know, things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6." The Jan. 6 committee last week also issued a subpoena to Pat Cipollone, Trump's White House counsel. Hutchinson testified that Cipollone had expressed concerns about Trump's desire to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6, and about the language Trump wanted to use in his speech at the Ellipse that day. Story continues Jan. 6 committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney said Sunday that the committee could make a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Trump. "I think we may well as a committee have a view on that, and if you just think about it from the perspective of what kind of man knows that a mob is armed, and sends the mob to attack the Capitol, and further incites that mob when his own vice president is under threat, when the Congress is under threat," Cheney said on ABC's "This Week." "It's just it's very chilling, and I think certainly we will, you know, continue to present to the American people what we found." Sneak peek: The Ring: The Murder of Patrick De La Cerda Father who hid son in dumpster during Illinois mass shooting recalls "terrorizing" experience Best sunscreens for summer 2022 Vijay Govindarajans Reverse Innovation class at Dartmouth Tuck: Students were able to empathize with these families and learn how some live in poor conditions on just $2 per day. Rob Strong Photography When coronavirus made international travel temporarily impossible, Vijay Govindarajan had an idea. Accustomed to bringing second-year Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business MBA students on annual Global Insight Expeditions (GIX), Govindarajan instead decided to bring the abroad experience to the students using virtual reality technology. He chose to highlight Indian families through his Reverse Innovation class, which focuses on humanizing business. The goal: to identify health and wellness problems affecting Indian families living below the poverty line, and determine how business can provide solutions. And VR would help make it happen. We need to look at people who arent consuming products and services and ask what their barriers to consumption are, Govindarajan tells Poets&Quants. Then, we need to think about how business can play a role in coming up with innovative solutions. The best and brightest leaders of today are those who are going to build an inclusive, responsible, and compassionate capitalistic society. WEVE TAKEN HUMANS OUT OF BUSINESS Vijay Govindarajan. Laura Decapua Photography Govindarajan believes that capitalism is leaving too many people behind, and that the majority of businesses want to make money at all costs. But not all profits are equal, he says. Weve taken humans out of business, he says. Profits that improve social value are higher forms of profits. Capitalism that works for more people is a better form of capitalism. Govindarajan wanted his virtual reality experiment to humanize business; his intention was to help students understand the power of adopting a leadership approach that combines a social heart with a business mind. Humanizing business means understanding that the 7 billion people on planet Earth have the same needs and wants. Yet some peoples needs and wants are met, while others are not. Story continues For Tuck 22 student Sasha Croak, her biggest realization from the course was that business models that incorporated humanity and empathy were the most successful. To me, humanizing business is just that weaving in empathy and understanding for all of those around you, from customers to business partners, she says. A LEARNING JOURNEY ACROSS TAMIL NADU Sasha Croak. Laura Decapua Photography Govindarajan proposed the idea for the virtual GIX to Tuck Dean Matthew Slaughter in summer of 2021, framing it as a low-cost opportunity for innovation. Once gaining approval, Govindarajan worked with I-India to produce 34 films using both VR360 and regular 2D technology that painted a picture of several Indian families lives over six months. The course launched this spring, and it took students on a learning journey across rural and urban Tamil Nadu. The class began with teaching foundational knowledge in reverse innovation. Historically, companies innovated in rich countries like the United States and then sold those products in poorer countries like India, Govindarajan says. Reverse Innovation is about doing exactly the opposite; its about innovating in a poor country like India and then selling those products in a rich country like the U.S. Next, students met with an entrepreneur who executed reverse innovation in India. Then, the following sessions included live, synchronous Zoom interviews between classmates and Indian families in which students prepared by watching VR360 and regular 2D films on their own time. The students then created impact through a team-based Reverse Innovation Action Learning Project, in which they applied their understanding of customer problems to determine a business idea that they pitched to Indian venture capitalists. Tuck MBA students using VR. Laura Decapua Photography I WAS MOVED BY MANY OF THE STORIES The Zoom interviews, Govindarajan says, were the most powerful part of the course and helped students to understand the health and wellness problems that these families face. The interviews also helped students determine why these families needs arent being met, why consumption isnt possible for them, and what barriers theyre up against. Some barriers could be awareness, access, or affordability, explains Govindarajan. But perhaps the most impactful part of the interviews was the opportunity for Tuck students to learn from others experience experiences that differed greatly from their own. The students were able to empathize with these families and learn how some live in poor conditions on just $2 per day, says Govindarajan. You can learn from anyone if you are humble and have an open mind. In this course, students learn more about themselves and how to connect with humanity. I was moved by many of the stories we heard and was inspired by these families resiliency and resourcefulness when it came to some of the more serious health and economic challenges they faced, says Croak. The world is getting more complex, and issues are becoming more complicated, adds Yuta Ohashi, another Tuck 22 student. In order to properly identify and approach such issues, we have to listen to people. THEY BEGAN SEEING CAPITALISM IN A NEW LIGHT, AND HOW IT CAN BE A FORCE OF GOOD Yuta Ohashi. Laura Decapua Photography According to Govindarajan, the virtual GIX exposed students to consumers theyd never encountered before. It also helped students realize just how much opportunity they really have in helping others. Students began to see capitalism in a new light, and how it can be a force of good if its innovated to work for more people, he says. Previously, supporting people or countries who are in economically tough situations might have been left to governments, public institutions, and philanthropists, says Ohashi. Today, there are plenty of opportunities for businesses to support such people or countries while making a profit. TECHNOLOGY CAN COMPLEMENT AND AUGMENT AN MBA PROGRAM While Govindarajan believes that virtual reality technology isnt meant to replace in-person B-school experiences, it can add to these experiences. Technology can complement and augment an MBA program, he explains. In spring 2023, Govindarajan plans on offering the course to first-year MBA students rather than only second-years to open their eyes to social problems faced by many people around the world sooner. This will also allow Tuck students to become inspired to find solutions to these problems throughout the rest of their MBA. Without the technology incorporated into the course, it would have been impossible for such fruitful conversations to occur and for such deep insights to be revealed, says Croak. Vijay Govindarajan. Laura Decapua Photography DONT MISS THESE TWINS DO EVERYTHING TOGETHER EVEN THEIR MBA and HOW ONE SMALL BRITISH B-SCHOOL IS CONTRIBUTING TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE PLANET The post Humanizing Business: How Tucks Virtual Reality Experiment Brings Empathy Into The MBA Classroom appeared first on Poets&Quants. Courtesy of Renee Welsh Renee Welsh had a colostomy when she was 32 because of severe Crohn's disease. Now, she's built a TikTok following dedicated to representation. This is her story, as told to Kelly Burch. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Renee Welsh. It has been edited for length and clarity. Since I was 9 years old, severe Crohn's disease has affected every area of my life. Crohn's is about much more than diarrhea. It also involves fever, malnutrition, pain, and fatigue. I experienced all these. At some points, I ate only once a week. I couldn't go out with friends. My weight dropped so low that acquaintances thought I had an eating disorder. When I was 17, I had surgery that was supposed to put me in remission for seven years. But less than a year later, my severe Crohn's disease was back. I lived in constant pain for 10 years until I made the life-saving decision to have a colostomy, a surgery that opens the abdomen to bring the colon through it and attach a bag to it on the side of the body. It was a life-or-death decision By the time I was in my early 30s, I was extremely weak. Doctors were concerned my heart would give out because I was so malnourished. My only hope was to have a portion of my colon and rectum removed. Instead of me pooping normally, waste would exit my body through an ostomy bag. I'd have to wear it constantly for the rest of my life. Even though I knew there was no other option, that prospect was daunting. I wanted to meet someone and fall in love, and I didn't know if I could do that with the bag. But I knew for sure that I wouldn't be able to do that if I didn't get the surgery. Courtesy of Buoy Growing up, I kept my Crohn's disease secret from family and even friends. There's a stigma to being sick, especially when you're Black. I wasn't ready to have a label like "disabled." But after my surgery, I realized that talking about my disease was going to be unavoidable. I started my Instagram account as a way to guide myself through the learning curve of life with an ostomy bag. Then, my story took off on TikTok. I began building a community of people living with chronic diseases like Crohn's while chasing their best lives. Story continues Now, I carry myself differently There's not enough representation for Black people and other people of color in the world of chronic disease and disease advocacy. People with chronic diseases are isolated. When I was young, I wanted so badly to see someone who looked like me and was living a life that was like mine. Recently, I had the chance to work with Buoy, a hydration company with a chronic-illness-support program, on a film about young adults living with chronic diseases. I imagined my younger self, seeing herself reflected in a film like this. People of color with ostomy bags comment and message me all the time. I've been able to shed light on this issue for my community and bring hope to people who are facing the same type of challenges. In the Black community, health struggles aren't often talked about, but I'm working to change that. My family and friends may not have known about my condition when I was a teen, but they could tell something was wrong. Now, they say I carry myself differently. That's the biggest reward. I thought getting an ostomy bag would be the end of my life. Instead, it's given me my life back. Read the original article on Insider TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranian state TV said Wednesday that the countrys paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners in the country of espionage and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones. The country's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the foreigners had been arrested, but did not elaborate on when. The U.K. Foreign Office swiftly denied that its diplomat was arrested, calling the report completely false. Iran's state TV ran footage purporting to show the foreigners collecting samples from the ground while under drone surveillance. The storm of accusations follow escalating tensions over a pickup in Tehran's arrests of foreigners and a rapid advancement of its nuclear work, while talks to revive the landmark 2015 atomic accord remain at a standstill. Iran has detained a number of Europeans in recent months, including two French citizens and a Swedish tourist, as it seeks to gain leverage in negotiations. The report also comes after Iran, in a rare move, replaced the Revolutionary Guard's longstanding intelligence chief. News outlets reported the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, Giles Whitaker, and other foreigners faced spying charges after visiting various forbidden zones in the country while the Guard was carrying out missile tests. The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the Guard, claimed Whitaker was expelled from the area after offering authorities an apology. The accusations splashed across Iranian media as the British public was transfixed by the political fortunes of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who faces growing pressure to step down after defections from his Cabinet. State TV broadcast a photo montage apparently showing Whitaker tour the southwestern desert collecting soil samples against the backdrop of eerie music. Even though there were signs in that area saying this was a forbidden area, he went further and took a sample and took a picture," the narrator said. Intelligence agencies say that these people often pose as tourists, but are looking for military and missile sites to identify equipment and ammunition. Story continues Iranian media also identified Maciej Walczak, a Polish scientist at Copernicus University in Poland, as among the accused foreigners. It similarly said he took samples of soil, water and salt from a forbidden area during a missile test in the country's south. The report added that the Guards intelligence wing detained the husband of Austrias cultural attache in Iran after he took soil samples in the country's northeast. Iran has in the past arrested dual nationals and those with Western ties, often on widely criticized espionage charges, and used them as bargaining chips in talks over other issues, such as nuclear negotiations. Tehran denies using detainees to further its political aims. Talks to revive Tehrans tattered nuclear deal with world powers have stalled for months. A recent effort to break the deadlock between U.S. and Iranian negotiators ended without making progress in Doha last week. The U.S. special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, described the latest talks in Qatar as more than a little bit of a wasted occasion." They have and, including in Doha, added demands that I think anyone looking at this would be viewed as having nothing to do with the nuclear deal, things that theyve wanted in the past, Malley said in an interview with National Public Radio on Tuesday, undercutting Tehrans more upbeat assessments. He added that the U.S. is working simultaneously to secure the release of four Americans detained in Iran, saying: Theyve been used as pawns. But we are looking at steps that we could take that would facilitate their return in the shortest time possible. Meanwhile, as a shadow war between Israel and Iran has escalated in Tehran and across the Middle East, Iran announced last month that the head of the Guard's intelligence arm, Hossein Taeb, had been replaced by Gen. Mohammad Kazemi, the former head of the Guards security department. The surprise move followed the deaths of several Guard officers in recent weeks. ___ Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report. JERUSALEM (AP) The Israeli military said it shot and killed a Palestinian man during an arrest raid near the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. The army said that during one of a series of raids carried out across the Palestinian territory, its troops fired at a suspect who attempted to escape arrest in the village of Jaba. The force gave medical treatment to the suspect, but later pronounced him dead, the army said. It said the incident was under investigation. The statement said the army was there to arrest suspects involved in terror operations without elaborating. The Palestinian Health Ministry issued a statement saying it received confirmation of the death of Rafiq Riyad Ghannam from the agency that coordinates affairs with Israel. Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, said the 20-year-old man was severely wounded during clashes in the village. Ghannam was the second Palestinian from Jaba killed in recent days. On Sunday the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said 19-year-old Kamel Abdallah Alwaneh died a day after he was shot by Israeli troops. The army said soldiers came under attack during routine security activity near the town of Jaba and shot a man suspected of throwing a firebomb. The Israeli military has carried out near-daily raids in Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank following a series of deadly attacks by Palestinians earlier this year that killed 19 Israelis, with several of the attackers coming from the Jenin area. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in these Israeli army raids. Most of the dead were alleged to have opened fire on Israeli forces or hurled stones or firebombs at them. The dead also include at least two apparent passersby. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians seek it as the heartland of a future state. Israel considers the West Bank as the biblical and historical heartland of the Jewish people. Almost half a million Israeli settlers live in dozens of West Bank settlements scattered across the territory, alongside around 3 million Palestinians who live under Israeli military rule. The Palestinians and much of the international community consider Israels West Bank settlements a violation of international law and an obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the decades-long conflict. Caroline Schollaert, the 26-year-old who was shot and killed on Aug. 3, 2021, while trying to stop an auto break-in in front of her Myra Street home, served with the U.S. Coast Guard. A 23-year-old Jacksonville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing a U.S. Coast Guard member just under a year ago in front of her Riverside home after she confronted him trying to break into her car, the State Attorney's Office said. Tyree Leevon Parker made his plea to second-degree murder and armed burglary during a pretrial court hearing in the Aug. 3 death of 26-year-old Caroline Joy Schollaert, prosecutors said. JSO: Suspect turns himself over to Jacksonville police in Riverside woman's death Facing up to life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years, Parker will be sentenced the week of Oct. 4 by Circuit Court Judge Meredith Charbula, the State Attorney's Office said. Victim was part of a crime spree Schollaert was a member of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron based out of Jacksonville's Cecil Airport, handling offshore interdiction of drug smugglers. A 911 dispatcher received an emergency call from her about 5:30 a.m. as she noticed someone outside her home just east of King Street, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said at the time. A First Coast Crime Stoppers sign offering a reward for information stands in front of the Myra Street home and driveway where Caroline Schollaert was shot and killed. "While on the phone with the communications center, the victim confronted the suspect. She held him at gunpoint and ordered him to remain until police arrived," Chief T.K. Waters said. "Unfortunately, the suspect refused to comply or surrender, and instead decided to fire a weapon several times." At least eight other vehicles were burglarized in the area that night, Waters said. He also noted that the weapon used to kill Schollaert had been stolen from an unlocked vehicle 11 days prior. Tips followed the death Many neighbors provided "'critical information" about the case, allowing the Sheriff's Office to release security video showing a man identified as the suspect walking up to another car and taken prior to the shooting, Waters said. Another video showed a silver Ford Edge crossover that apparently picked up the gunman after the homicide. Story continues Parker's last listed address on Goodwin Street was about a mile from the scene on Myra. Detectives also found several items linked to the case during a search of the crime scene, the Sheriff's Office said. Further investigation revealed someone who told police that Parker had admitted to being involved in the shooting. Text and social media messages further confirmed Parkers involvement, as did the discovery of a blue bag Parker had at the time of the shooting that contained identification. Parker Volunteer firefighter before joining Coast Guard Schollaert also was a former member of the Indian Neck/Pine Orchard Volunteer Fire Company 9 in Connecticut, which posted condolences on its Facebook page that she "was always up for a challenge and ready to learn more." Navy death: Community celebrates life of sailor Deshawn Johnson, who died during Tropical Storm Elsa Just days after her death, a plane carried her body back to her home state of Virginia, with people lining the procession route waving American flags as a motorcycle, police and fire truck escort led to her Powhattan community, according to the Powhattan Today newspaper. dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549 This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville man pleads guilty to killing Caroline Schollaert To many locals, the Jax Beach piers reconstruction felt like forever. Its been in building during most of our period, Alan Forrest said. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] He and his wife, Eileen, moved to the Jax Beach area around the same time the pier was taken out by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and finished off by Irma the next year. It then fully closed in 2019. Really wondering how long it would take and hoping wed still be around to walk on it, Eileen Forrest added. Finally, that day has come. The Forrests took their first steps on the newly-reconstructed pier during its reopening ceremony Wednesday. Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry says the new pier is higher and more reinforced ready for any storm. Read: The Jacksonville Beach Pier welcomes guests at its grand reopening When asked why it took so long to reopen, Curry cited project unknowns and said some funding for the more-than $11 million project came from FEMA. Any time youre having to deal with FEMA it is going to take longer than normal than if you could just spend the money on your own but you want to make sure you get the reimbursement and theres paperwork involved and protocols so that was part of it, Curry explained. For beachgoers like George: We had some good times up here. Hes looking forward to making more memories on the new pier. Entry to the pier is free for now, according to city officials. [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. A push to save Mayports littoral combat ships is making progress. A defense spending bill that has passed House and Senate committees would keep five of the eight LCS vessels. Action News Jax first reported in April on the plan to de-commission all eight. It stems from an issue with the $300 million ships engine. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] The Jax Chamber is now asking people to sign a letter imploring Congress to save the ships. If you are interested in adding your name, please send your name, title and company name to David.Johnson@myjaxchamber.com by noon Thursday. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 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. Jeff Bridges has recalled the surprise he felt when Joel and Ethan Coen offered him the starring lead in 1998 crime comedy The Big Lebowski, after revealing they had written the role just for him. I ran into the Coen brothers at a party and they said, Yeah, were writing something for you, man, and I said, Oh great, because I had seen Blood Simple and thought they were terrific, he remembered, on a recent appearance on the SmartLess podcast. And then I got the script and I said, What? This is like a high school version of me, he added. Are you guys spying on me or something? I have kind of a history of trying to get out of parts, Bridges continued, admitting to a tendency to avoid movie roles. I cant remember what I played just before it. [But] I had never played a part like that. Although the movie bombed at the US box office when it first premiered, it has since become a cult classic. Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski (Netflix) In the same interview Bridges explained that portion of his house was once a part of the set from one of his films. The actor, 72, explained how the whorehouse barn from director Michael Ciminos 1980 western Heavens Gate is now a part of his Montana home. You should know that Jeff is sitting in one of the yummiest looking rooms Ive ever seen, co-host Jason Bateman said of the lavish room during the podcast. This looks like a downstairs, this looks like a basement, its got a wood ceiling. After co-host Sean Hayes interjected saying it looks like a set, Bridges confirmed: Well it is! You got it, Sean. This is the barn from the whorehouse of Heavens Gate, the award-winning actor revealed. Bridges starred in the film alongside a huge cast of stars, including Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Isabelle Huppert, and Joseph Cotten. It was Ciminos follow-up to 1978s acclaimed war drama The Deer Hunter. They were going to burn the set down because the owner of the land didnt want it on his property, and Mike said, Anybody want it? and I raised my hand and we numbered the logs and we put it 400 miles south and set it up. This is where Ive lived with my wife for about 40 years in Montana, he added. In a separate interview in late May, the veteran actor reflected on being pretty close to dying from Covid while recovering from cancer. Jose Andres opens Agua Viva, above, plus two cocktail bars and a poolside concept on the 10th floor of the Conrad hotel. (Katrina Frederick/ThinkFoodGroup) Jose Andres at Conrad Celebrity chef and World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres is set to open two rooftop restaurants, a poolside bites location and two bars downtown this week, heading the food and beverage operations for the Conrad hotel, which is located across the street from Walt Disney Concert Hall and within mixed-use complex the Grand. The concepts from Andres hospitality group, ThinkFoodGroup, are expected to launch July 8, including San Laurel, a Spanish restaurant that riffs on Southern California sensibility and produce for breakfast and dinner, with dishes such as whole veal shank; the beach-club-inspired Agua Viva, which combines Latin and Asian flavors for lunch and dinner; the pool-deck menu of Airlight, which serves cocktails and fresh-squeezed juices in addition to bites such as grilled skewers; the Beaudry Room, which serves classic-leaning cocktails; and Sed, a cocktail bar prioritizing seasonality. A forthcoming steakhouse, Bazaar Meat, will open at a later date on the 6th floor of the Grand. 100 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 349-8585, hilton.com/en/hotels/laxavci-conrad-los-angeles/dining A new walk-up window called the Rising Sun serves Southern-style items such as shrimp and grits with eggs and freshly fried beignets. (Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times) The Rising Sun A walk-up window in the Arts District is serving New Orleans-inspired breakfasts such as egg-and-andouille po boys, shrimp and grits, gumbo-topped savory crepes, fried chicken and waffles, and beignets with coffee out of the former Villains Tavern space. The Rising Sun, currently open for breakfast and lunch only, plans to expand with evening hours later this month and has partnered with Los Feliz restaurant Messhall to conceptualize the menu. A cocktail bar is planned for the interior of the space. The Rising Sun is now open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 1356 Palmetto St., Los Angeles, (213) 222-6420, therisingsun.house The celebrity favorite Madeo, at nearly 40 years old, reopened in a new location in West Hollywood over the weekend. (Bill Bennett ASC/Madeo) Madeo reopens The Vietina familys stalwart Italian restaurant, Madeo, served pastas, whole fish and veal in West Hollywood on Beverly Boulevard until 2018; it reopened in Beverly Hills before having to move in 2020 once again, but this month, the northern coastal Italian specialist returned to West Hollywood at a new location. Madeo can be found within 1 Hotel, on the Sunset Strip, in a larger space than its last iteration and with all its signatures (striped booths included). Madeo is open from 6 to 11 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. Story continues 8490 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 859-4903, madeoristorante.com Kavon Azir will open the latest location of Randy's Donuts, and to celebrate, the franchisee is giving away glazed doughnuts and county fair tickets on opening day. (Randy's Donuts) Randys Donuts One of L.A.s most prolific doughnut chains is expanding further into Orange County this month with a new location in Costa Mesa. The latest Randys Donuts is set to open July 12 and, as is tradition for the company, it will hand out free glazed doughnuts from 6 a.m. to noon on opening day. The opening celebration will include a DJ and ticket giveaways to the Orange County Fair. The Costa Mesa shop is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. A location in Riverside is expected to open this summer, followed by the chains first location in Las Vegas. The first San Diego outpost of Randys Donuts is planned to open by the end of the year. 401 E. 17th St., Unit A-2, Costa Mesa, (949) 877-0014, randysdonuts.com The Dish at Skirball The Skirball Cultural Center is hosting an afternoon of culinary storytelling from five chefs, including bites from each. At the Dish, which runs from 3 to 5 p.m. July 13, the participating chefs will share their backgrounds and life stories and prepare tastings tied to these memories. The events featured chefs include chef, TV host and author Tanya Holland, of Oaklands now-closed Brown Sugar Kitchen; chef Luladey Moges, author of Enebla: Recipes From an Ethiopian Kitchen; cook and culinary instructor Sonoko Sakai, who wrote Japanese Home Cooking: Simple Meals, Authentic Flavors and Rice Craft; and Mina Park and Kwang Uh of L.A.s own Shiku (and Baroo, which is set to return this year). Tickets cost $40 for general admission; entry for museum members is $30, and for seniors and full-time students, $20. 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 440-4500, skirball.org/programs/food/dish This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Jul. 6A federal court last week required the University of Idaho to rescind the no-contact orders it placed against three law students and a professor earlier this year in a case involving a Christian organization. The case named Perlot v. Green after one of the plaintiffs, Peter Perlot, and UI President Scott Green stems from a lawsuit brought against the UI by members of the Christian Legal Society. The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys at the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit based in Arizona. U.S. District Court Judge David Nye is presiding over the case. According to court documents, the UI Law School in Moscow held a "moment of community" in April in response to an anti-LGBTQ slur left anonymously on a whiteboard in a UI Boise campus classroom. Students, faculty and staff from the law school gathered in front of the Moscow campus to express support for all students. Perlot, Ryan Alexander and Mark Miller, members of the Christian Legal Society, were at the event and gathered in prayer to show support for the LGTBQ community. While they were there, another student approached them to ask why the Christian Legal Society requires its officers to affirm that marriage is between one man and one woman. Miller explained the Christian Legal Society adheres to the traditional biblical view of marriage and sexuality, which condemns homosexuality. UI law professor Richard Seamon was also at the event and purportedly affirmed Miller's explanation of the CLS position on marriage. The court documents say Seamon is the Christian Legal Society faculty adviser. Perlot left a note for the student, labeled as "Jane Doe" in court documents, at her cubicle inviting her to come to him if she had any questions. Not long after the exchange, Jane Doe and several others denounced the chapter's actions at a panel with the American Bar Association. Alexander attended the meeting and argued the biggest discrimination on campus was against the group for its religious beliefs. Story continues That same day, several students staged "walkouts" for two of the courses taught by Seamon seemingly in response to his participation at the event April 1. Days later, Perlot, Miller and Alexander received no-contact orders from the UI Office of Civil Rights and Investigations. Jane Doe reported to OCRI that their actions at the events left her feeling "targeted and unsafe." The orders prohibit any communication between the plaintiffs and Jane Doe, who was also a student in one of Seamon's classes. According to court documents, Seamon also reached out to her and expressed concern for her wellbeing. She thanked him for reaching out and said she would speak to him later during office hours. She never met with Seamon and began attending his class online. When Seamon reached out again, she responded with an email that copied the law school's dean and associated dean in which she said the event caused her to fear for her life. "I am scared to be on campus, I am scared to be in your class," the email stated. "I fear you. I fear the CLS. My life, my grades, my law school career are not safe with a professor that is actively working towards taking away my human rights." On May 10, OCRI issued a limited-contact order against Seamon. This order prohibits Seamon from contacting Jane Doe for anything except "what is required for classroom assignment, discussion, and attendance." UI issued the no-contact orders under its Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and its Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Policies. Nye stated in his decision that this is not a Title IX harassment case as the woman is not a party to this lawsuit and has not alleged a Title IX violation. The UI also did not argue that any sexual harassment took place. Additionally, Nye stated the UI issued the no-contact orders with "almost no due process" and that the defendants are likely to succeed in arguing that their First Amendment rights were violated. "In short, the Court agrees plaintiffs have a high likelihood of showing Defendants violated the First Amendment by issuing the no-contact orders based on the content and viewpoint of their speech," Nye's judgment says. "This does not end the inquiry, however. While content-based discrimination is presumptively invalid, if the government can rebut that presumption, the restrictions may stand. This burden, however, is high and heavy." Nye said it is each person's right to disagree with the students' religious beliefs. "But none should disagree that plaintiffs have a right to express their religious beliefs without fear of retribution," he wrote. "The Constitution makes that clear." In an email to the Daily News, UI communications coordinator Kyle Pfannenstiel said the university is reviewing the judge's order. "The university does not comment on ongoing litigation," Pfannenstiel stated. Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com. Story at a glance Openly LGBTQ+ people account for just 0.1 percent of all school board members in the U.S., despite accounting for more than 7 percent of the adult population, according to a new report from the LGBTQ Victory Institute. Most openly LGBTQ+ school board members are cisgender gay men and about a third are cisgender women. There are just two transgender women, two transgender men and two nonbinary people serving on school boards. 47 percent of respondents in a survey distributed to all 90 known LGBTQ+ school board members said they faced verbal attacks while running for the position, and 51 percent said they were subjected to similar attacks after they were elected to the board. LGBTQ+ people are acutely underrepresented on school boards, new research shows, accounting for less than one percent of board members nationwide. Of the roughly 90,000 school board members in the U.S., 90 are openly LGBTQ+, according to a report published Wednesday by the LGBTQ Victory Institute, a partner organization of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a political action committee working to elect more openly LGBTQ+ people to public office. Put another way, openly LGBTQ+ people make up just 0.1 percent of all school board members across the country, despite accounting for more than 7 percent of the U.S. adult population. Roughly 6,000 LGBTQ+ school board members would need to be elected to close the representation gap, the Victory Institute estimated. Demographically, most openly LGBTQ+ school board members are gay cisgender men. Cisgender women account for roughly a third of LGBTQ+ school board members, and just two transgender women, two transgender men and two nonbinary people serve on school boards in the U.S., according to the report. Less than 20 percent of school board members are lesbian. America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. This year alone, hundreds of bills have been introduced in state legislatures that will restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people in schools, doctors offices and on playing fields. In more than a dozen states, restrictive curriculum bills have been introduced and, in some cases, signed into law that limit how sexual orientation or gender identity may be talked about in school. Story continues From Dont Say Gay bills to bans on trans kids in sports, our schools have been ground zero for anti-LGBTQ vitriol this year, Annise Parker, the president and chief executive of the Victory Institute, said Wednesday in a statement. In many cases, school boards have the power to determine the rights LGBTQ kids do and dont have. But serving on a school board as an openly LGBTQ+ person comes with its own set of difficulties. In much of the country, there is just one LGBTQ+ school board member per state. In a survey distributed to all 90 known LGBTQ+ school board members, 47 percent of those who responded said they had been the target of anti-LGBTQ+ verbal attacks while running for a seat on the board, according to the Victory Institute report. More than half of respondents said they were subjected to similar attacks after they were elected. Physical danger was also a concern, and more than a third of respondents said they faced threats to their safety and 6.5 percent said they received death threats as a school board candidate or member. N.J. Akbar, the board of education president for Akron Public Schools in Ohio, told Changing America that he has been singled out and targeted by anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in the past because of his sexual orientation. One of the biggest tropes out there about being gay and being connected to a school is that youre a pedophile, he said. To me, thats hurtful, and it couldnt be further from the truth. Akbar said similar tactics have been used in school board elections across the country to make voters question whether LGBTQ+ people have childrens best interests at heart. But there are never any questions about the ways in which you serve, he said. They can never address you on those issues, so they bring up the gay thing. Like a majority of respondents to the Victory Institute survey (87 percent), Akbar has introduced and backed pro-LGBTQ+ policies since he was elected to the school board in 2019. One of the policies, which would ensure accurate name and pronoun usage for transgender students, has been stalled for almost a year. Most pushback has come from within the administration itself, Akbar said, and parents and other school board members have not voiced much opposition. According to the Victory Institute, more than two-thirds of openly LGBTQ+ school board members said supporting LGBTQ+ students was among what motivated them to run for a position. With a growing number of young people identifying as LGBTQ+, Akbar said its important to have diversity in leadership and have elected officials better represent the communities they serve. It brings more people to the table, he said. It gets more voices out there. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A lizard almost caused a driver to get into an accident early Saturday afternoon, according to the Bibb County Sheriffs Office. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The driver was traveling from Miami to Macon when she saw a curly-tail lizard hopping around the car. Officials said the driver immediately pulled over and called for help. TRENDING STORIES: The lizard jumped out of the car and ran across the street. Animal enforcement officer Rebecca Galeazzo was able to find the reptile. After a brief chase Galeazzo was able to catch the lizard. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Officials are currently reaching out to reptile rescues, since the lizard cant be released in Georgia. The driver and lizard seemed to both be unharmed. IN OTHER NEWS: The Southaven Police Department (SPD) is asking for your help to locate a missing girl. Shania Keyanna Reed was last seen on July 4 at about 4 p.m. wearing pink and white camouflage pants with white crocs shoes, a release said. If you have any information about her whereabouts, call SPD at 662-393-8652 or email tips@southaven.org. If you have any information about this missing juvenile please contact SPD at 662-393-8652 or email tips@southaven.org Southaven Police Department (@PoliceSouthaven) July 5, 2022 Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: A popular theme park in New Hampshire is mourning the death of a beloved bear who entertained millions of people over the years. Clarks Trading Post on Tuesday announced the death of their 19-year-old show bear, Pemigewasset Avery Clark. We lost a gentle giant from our bear family...He was never happier than when he had an audience large or small, Clarks said in a Facebook post. A natural born clown even from a young age, he felt his job in life was to make people laugh and he loved being the center of attention. Clarks highlighted the fact that Pemi brought great joy to everyone who took in his shows. He felt his job in life was to make people laugh and he loved being the center of attention, Clarks added. An entertainer at heart, Pemi had a knack for taking the smallest thing and making something amusing out of it. Pemi, who stood 6 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed more than 500 pounds, is survived by his companion, Echo. She was Pemis best friend, his coworker, and sometimes his pillow. He adored Echo, Clarks explained. Pemi was also remembered as being well-groomed, strong-willed, and proud. Tall, dark, and handsomeHe was our big, strong, beautiful boy, Clarks said. We are all going to miss him dearly. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Anthony Garland was driving for Lyft when he was shot multiple times and killed by a man who called for a ride on Indianapolis west side on June 30, according to investigators. Firefighters found Garland lying face down in the grass in the 3000 block of Waterfront Parkway West Drive around 6 a.m. when they were dispatched nearby on an unrelated call. Garland had a visible head injury, blood near his face, blood stains on his shirt and legs, and what appeared to be six gunshot wounds, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. A plastic glove with blood on it was found near Garland. No property, including identification, were found on his body, police said. A detective sent out a department-wide email asking officers to notify him of any missing person reports matching the mans description. Close to 4 p.m. that same day, an officer took a missing person report for a man which led investigators to identify Garland. The mans wife told police she last spoke with him around midnight when he was working for Lyft. She gave a description of the car he was driving. More crime news: A fatal shooting along Indy's canal made national news. Two years later, the case remains unsolved. More: 3 dead, more than 20 injured after violence sweeps across Indianapolis July 4th weekend Records from Lyft showed the last account that called for a ride from Garland belonged to Devin Powell, 24, who was arrested in connection with Garlands death, according to police. With the help of a company the mans wife worked for, police used GPS tracking to locate Garlands car in Merrillville, about two hours north of Indianapolis. Detectives in Merrillville located and stopped the vehicle, with Powell driving and another man in the passenger seat. There were blood stains around the center console, according to a probable cause affidavit for Powells arrest. The passenger from the vehicle told police that Powell is his cousin, who drove up to Merrillville that day from Indianapolis for a family function and that the car was Powells, according to the affidavit. Story continues Powell first told police he found the vehicle running with the doors open on Waterfront Parkway as he was walking to the gas station. Powell stated, "he watched the car for a few minutes and when no one came around, he got in the car and drove it away," according to the affidavit. Later, Powell told police he used his Lyft account to call a ride and then shot Garland, investigators said. Powell stated the shooting was in self defense as Garland was "trying to screw him over and take his money," the affidavit reads. Powell also told police he pulled Garland out of the vehicle then changed clothes before going to buy new covers for the front two seats to cover up blood stains, according to the affidavit. Powell was preliminarily charged with murder and robbery, according to police. Information on whether Powell had retained or been assigned an attorney was not yet available in online court records before publication of this story. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact Detective Christopher Edwards at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or e-mail him at Christopher.Edwards@indy.gov. Alternatively, those with information can remain anonymous and submit information to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477. Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IMPD: Indianapolis Lyft driver shot and killed by passenger Singer Macy Gray responded to backlash and accusations of "transphobia" after she said what she thinks makes someone a woman in an interview this week. "I have nothing but love for the LGBTQ+ and transgender community and have been a supporter since day one," the "I Try" singer said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "My statement on Piers Morgan was grossly misunderstood. I don't hate anyone. I respect everyone's right to feel comfortable in their bodies and live their own truth" On Monday, Gray appeared on Piers Morgans show "Uncensored" and gave her take on gender reassignment surgery. "I will say this, and everybodys going to hate me, but as a woman, just because you go change your parts doesnt make a woman. Sorry," Gray told Morgan. "Like, if you want me to call you a her, I will, because thats what you want. But that doesnt make you a woman, just because I call you a her and just because you got a surgery." MACY GRAY TO PIERS MORGAN: GENDER-AFFIRMING SURGERY DOESN'T MAKE YOU A WOMAN She also defined a woman as a human with "boobs" and a "vagina." She added, "Being a little girl is a whole epic book and you can't have that just because you want to be a woman. It's the truth and I don't think you should be called transphobic just because you don't agree. There's a lot of judgment and throwing stones at people for just saying what it is." The musician faced swift backlash on social over the remarks. Critics called her "ignorant," "transphobic," a "one-hit wonder" and a "TERF" (transgender-exclusionary radical feminist), meaning a woman who doesnt include trans women in their womens rights advocacy. BETTE MIDLER, MACY GRAY FACING BACKLASH OVER THEIR DEFINITION OF WOMEN Singer, Macy Gray performs the national anthem during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game as part of 2022 NBA All Star Weekend on February 20, 2022 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE "Oh good. I can continue forgetting Macy Gray exists. Girl you had one song. Nobody cares," one critic wrote on Twitter, while another said, "Stop giving people platforms to spew ignorance & misinformation about trans people & issues! Macy Gray you are ignorant as hell." Story continues Gray had a fair number of supporters as well. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER "I stand with Bette Midler, Macy Gray, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, JK Rowling, Pamela Paul, Sharron Davies, Mara Yamauchi and all the other women who stand up for women's rights in the face of attacks from all sides," one person tweeted. Another said, "Yall calling Macy Gray transphobic is crazy. She stated she doesnt mind calling someone a woman (out of respect) but she has her own opinion on what it means to be a woman. Just like trans people can have opinions she wasnt disrespectful at all." Gray added in a since-deleted tweet: "I wasn't defining trans women. Just women. Because I know what it means to be one. I don't know what it means to be a trans woman and never said I did. But that goes both ways." A Mali supporter holds a portrait of Malian junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita before the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2021 round of 16 football match between Mali and Equatorial Guinea at Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Limbe on January 26, 2022 Mali's military junta whipped up nationalist sentiments as it successfully pushed West African leaders to end the economic blockade imposed on the country following a coup, writes regional analyst Paul Melly. In return for setting a firm February 2024 election deadline, Mali's regime has secured an end to the sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). For ordinary Malians, particularly the urban population in the capital, Bamako, who consume more imported goods, the lifting of the sanctions is certainly good news. Although the measures were not meant to curb the supply of basic essentials, in practice they were an additional pressure for traders and families already struggling to cope with the rise in world grain and fuel prices driven by the resurgence of world demand after the pandemic and then the Russian attack on Ukraine. The sanctions were imposed in January after the junta, which seized power last year, announced a four-year delay in the transition to elected civilian rule. It has now pruned back the transition to less than two years, with elections starting in February 2024. This was accepted by Ecowas leaders at their summit meeting in Ghana's capital, Accra, at the weekend. 'Bullying neighbours' It is a significant success for Mali's regime, but also a huge relief for Ecowas, which has increasingly come to be viewed by many Malians, and many others across the region, as an over-weaning club of presidents who take a harsh line against military putschists but overlook their own faults. Mali's military leaders and Prime Minister Choguel Maiga cleverly played on these popular perceptions to present themselves as the defenders of the people against bullying neighbours, who failed to appreciate the need for radical change in a country whose traditional elite had supposedly been rotted by corruption and complacency. Over the past six months, every tough message from Ecowas or Europe and the United Nations, has been met with a defiant nationalist response from Bamako. Story continues In mid-May the regime announced that Mali was quitting the G5 Sahel bloc, created in 2014 to coordinate a joint effort by Sahelian armies in fighting jihadist groups. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in Mali because of jihadist violence The regime has maintained its collaboration with the Russian security contractor Wagner, despite allegations from Human Rights Watch and others about widespread abuses against civilians. The breakdown of its relations led France and other European countries to announce the withdrawal of the troops they had deployed to fight jihadist groups, a process that will be complete with the departure of the final contingent from the French force Barkhane next month. Meanwhile, the Bamako regime has imposed ever-tighter restrictions on the operations of the UN peacekeeping force known by its acronym Minusma, denying its investigators local access to investigate reported crimes, such as the army and Wagner's alleged killing of around 300 people in the village of Moura in late March. Yet even as Mali became more defiant, it gradually reined back its political agenda, edging towards something that Ecowas might accept. Spate of coups West African leaders were initially ready to show some flexibility. Their envoy for the Mali crisis, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, kept up his shuttle diplomacy visits to Bamako. However, Ecowas felt it had to hold the line against the accelerating wave of military coups across a region that until recently could pride itself on being mostly ruled by governments elected in genuine multi-party systems. The August 2020 coup in Mali was followed by a second putsch in May last year. Then in Guinea in September Colonel Mamady Doumbouya overthrew the increasingly autocratic President Alpha Conde. Colonel Mamady Doumbouya (C) is a former French legionnaire And in Burkina Faso in January this year military officers ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore - who had been elected to a second term in a genuinely democratic contest only 14 months earlier - amid anger at his failure to curb the spread of jihadist violence. Then February saw what appeared to be a failed coup attempt in Guinea-Bissau. Eleven people died as soldiers loyal to President Umaro Sissoco Umbalo successfully fought off soldiers who attacked the government headquarters. And there has been speculation that other countries in the region could also see military takeovers. So Ecowas certainly needed to deter potential putschists. Yet at the same time its leaders have been desperate to find a way that would bring Mali, as well as Guinea and Burkina Faso, back into the club of countries that are governed by elected civilians, under proper constitutional rule. And that has been important not just for the sake of West African democracy but also because Mali sits right at the heart of the Sahel crisis and the struggle to contain the spread of militant violence and inter-communal tensions. Regional collaboration in tackling other pressures such as food insecurity and climate change could only be hobbled by the country's deepening isolation. Retreat from confrontation Step by step, the regime in Bamako took measures that have helped to reassure Ecowas leaders - the passage of a new electoral law and arrangements for an elections authority, and a detailed roadmap for the transition, and, above all, a fixed timetable that sets a firm deadline for the first round of the presidential election to take place in February 2024. There still appears to be uncertainty over whether the new arrangements will deny the junta leader, Assimi Goita, the right to stand in that election. But Ecowas appears to have decided to "bank" the commitments that it could secure at this stage and remain in dialogue with the Malian leadership over the remaining details. Many Malians welcomed military rule in the hope that it would end jihadist violence West African leaders concluded that this is sufficient to justify the lifting of sanctions. And for them, there is a further big plus point. This compromise deal opens the path to a gradual retreat from the damaging confrontation with a defensively nationalist Bamako regime and a gradual restoration of the normal cooperative relationships between Mali and its neighbours - so badly needed as the region struggles to tackle to the Sahel crisis. And in that same vein, Ecowas has also managed to reach agreement with Burkina Faso's military junta on a timetable for a transition back to democracy, with a return to civilian rule in July 2024. Ecowas hopes these precedents will encourage the Guinean military regime to follow suit. It has chosen Benin's former President Thomas Boni Yayi as its mediator, to try to negotiate a deal with the regime in Conakry. Paul Melly is a consulting fellow with the Africa Programme at Chatham House in London. You may also be interested in: Fresno police were investigating a shooting from Wednesday morning after a man showed up to a hospital with a gunshot wound, according to police. The man in his early 20s, according to police, showed up around 1:30 a.m. to Community Regional Medical Center after being shot once in his right upper torso. Police said the man was shot near Church and Elm avenues in southwest Fresno. His wound is not expected to be life-threatening. Officers are investigating the scene of the shooting near an apartment complex, police said. The shooter was described by police as a heavyset male wearing dark clothing and a dark mask. The man who confronted a mail carrier and fatally shot her over delayed deliveries in 2020 has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. On April 27, 2020 Angela Summers was traveling her typical U.S. Postal Service route when investigators say she was confronted by now 23-year-old Tony Cushingberry on the city's east side. After mail had been delayed due to an aggressive dog at his residence, a court statement says Cushingberry confronted Summers about the delay. She had walked past his home without delivering the mail. Standing about 6 feet away, Cushingberry repeatedly asked for his mail on a neighbor's porch. The mail carrier sprayed Cushingberry with mace, according to previous reporting. He pulled a gun from his waistband and shot her in the chest. Original article: Suspect in letter carrier's killing confronted her over suspended mail, documents say After she was shot on North Denny Street, Summers was taken to a hospital, where she died. She was 45 years old. Angela Summers, 45, was fatally shot Monday, April 27. Cushingberry admitted he shot Summers to police, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Indiana USPS Inspector-in-Charge Rodney Hopkins said this guilty charge should serve as a "deterrent to those criminal actors who threaten the fundamental right of a safe work environment for our nations postal employees," according to a written statement. Other local crime news: Lyft driver shot and killed by Indianapolis man who then drove to visit family, police say He faces a maximum of life in federal prison. Cushingberry will be sentenced at a later date by a federal district court judge. Contact Hannah Brock at hannah.brock@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter @hannah_m_brock. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: USPS employee killed: Man pleads guilty to shooting over delayed mail Andreas Pereira could be joining Fulham (PA) Fulham have had an offer accepted by Manchester United for midfielder Andreas Pereira. The 26-year-old progressed through the Old Trafford youth system after joining from PSV Eindhoven in 2011. Pereira has made 75 first-team appearances for United, who have loaned him out to Granada, Valencia, Lazio and Flamengo down the years. The Brazil international recently returned from a spell at the latter and could now be making a permanent exit to Fulham. It is understood that the promoted club have seen their offer of an initial 8million and a further 2m in potential add-ons accepted by United. The deal would include a 20 per cent sell-on clause but an agreement has yet to be signed. Maroon 5 has changed the promotional poster for their 2022 world tour after receiving backlash for the original design consisting of the Japanese Rising Sun flag, which is symbolic of the nations wartime atrocities. The group released their tour schedule on their official website on July 3, announcing their first stop as Quebec City before moving on to Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, Manila and Bangkok. The bands upcoming concert in Seoul, which is scheduled for Nov. 30, will be their first in over three years; however, many in South Korea were outraged by the use of the flag design in the promo previously displayed on the website. The Rising Sun flag was representative of the Japanese Imperial Army during its colonial rule of the Korean peninsula and other neighboring territories from the early 1900s until the end of World War II. The flag is still deemed to be offensive by many within these countries. More from NextShark: Immortal Studios Launches Kickstarter for 2nd Wuxia Epic Featuring Chinese American Hero The poster initially featured a black-and-white version of the flag, which usually depicts a sun and its rays in red. The new poster has replaced the design with an image of the band. Maroon 5 member Jesse Carmichael was previously embroiled in a similar controversy. In 2019, Carmichael sided with Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, after he posted a controversial social media post defending the use of the flag on a T-shirt, prompting backlash against them both. More from NextShark: China Captain Accused of Copying Marvel Films, Features Chinese Folklore and Bruce Lee Feature image via Maroon 5 Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! BTS to meet President Biden at White House to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes Keanu Reeves says he wasn't really sad in the 'Sad Keanu' meme photo Facebook's parent company Meta has announced that it's suing the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese tech company, accusing it of offering data-scraping services for Facebook and Instagram. The social networking giant also revealed that it's suing an individual, who the company alleges set up automated Instagram accounts to scrape data from some 350,000 Instagram users. Both cases have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Facebook versus scrapers While Meta and other internet companies are no strangers to fighting web-scrapers -- a practice that involves using automated tools to gather data en-masse from websites -- the timing of these latest cases is particularly notable. It comes less than three months after a U.S. court reaffirmed an earlier ruling that web-scraping is legal, the culmination of a long-standing legal battle between Microsoft-owned LinkedIn and a data science company called Hiq Labs, which scraped personal information from LinkedIn to help its customers predict employee attrition. While the outcome was celebrated by many across the industrial spectrum, including archivists, researchers and journalists who rely on scraping publicly available data, it also dealt a serious blow to legitimate privacy and security concerns around how people's data can be harnessed without their permission. In this particular case, the court ruled that scraping publicly accessible information does not contravene the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a cybersecurity law that governs computer hacking in the U.S. Not to be deterred, Meta is now pursuing similar legal action against a company called Octopus Data, the U.S. offshoot of a "Chinese national high-tech enterprise" -- the parent company's website says that's it's called "Shenzhen Vision Information Technology Co.," and it claims to have launched its core product in 2016. In addition, Meta confirmed that it's filing a suit against a Turkey-based individual going by the name of Ekrem Ates, who allegedly published scraped Instagram data to their own websites, or so-called "clone sites." Story continues Rather than targeting the entities under the auspices of CFAA, Meta's pursuing matters via the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which is more concerned with copyright and intellectual property (IP) infringements than hacking. With regards to this, in its court filing Meta specifically points to Section 3 of its terms of service, which state: You own the intellectual property rights (things such as copyright or trademarks) in any such content that you create and share on Facebook and other Meta Company Products you use. Nothing in these Terms takes away the rights you have to your own content. You are free to share your content with anyone else, wherever you want. Elsewhere, Facebook's terms also state that: You will not collect users' content or information, or otherwise access Facebook, using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders or scrapers) without our prior permission. According to Meta, Octopus charges its customers a fee to access a software product called Octoparse to launch scraping attacks, or they can also pay Octopus to scrape websites directly. For it to work, customers must give access to their accounts, which allows the software to glean data that's normally only available to logged-in users, including Facebook friends, email addresses, birth dates, phone numbers andInstagram followers, among other engagement data. It's also worth noting that Octoparse is not limited to Meta's properties, either, with services offered across numerous sites including Twitter, YouTube, Amazon, LinkedIn and more. "Our lawsuit alleges that Octopus has violated our Terms of Service and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, by engaging in unauthorized and automated scraping and attempting to conceal their scraping and avoid being detected and blocked from Facebook and Instagram," Jessica Romero, Meta's director of platform enforcement and litigation, wrote in a blog post. These latest instances come shortly after Meta emerged mostly victorious from another data-scraping case it filed some two years ago against an Israeli company called BrandTotal, which offered a browser extension that collected data from Facebook users. The judge in that case sided with Meta in its claim that BrandTotal breached the Facebook terms of use, while it also issued a summary judgement that BrandTotal violated CFAA or California's CDAFA (Computer Data Access and Fraud Act) by accessing password-protected pages using fake user accounts. Web-scraping is pretty much as old as the web itself, and it's not something that will be going away any time soon. However, by targeting some of the worst offenders -- both at a corporate and individual level -- Meta wants to deter others from following suit. Method Man expressed remorse for his coldness toward Destiny's Child in a 2001 incident. (Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press) Rapper Method Man is holding himself accountable and saying sorry to Destiny's Child more than two decades after a fraught encounter with the pop trio. Talking on Sunday's episode of rapper Math Hoffa's "My Expert Opinion" podcast, the Wu-Tang Clan member said the incident was reflective of a difficult period in his life. In 1999, he had a cordial meeting with Destinys Child when the group still had four members. Two years later, he looked forward to seeing its new reincarnation with Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams when they all gathered for Janet Jackson's "MTV Icon" special in 2001. "I see the girls, and so, you know, I kind of moseyed out of my seat to go and say what's up to them. Now, this is me still in my low-self-esteem era," Method Man said. "I go over to say hi to them, and when I said hi, they didn't even turn around and acknowledge me. Now, my a in my head with my low self-esteem is like, 'Oh, they just s on me.' When in fact they didn't even hear me, it was so loud in [there]. And that's the excuse that I'm giving right now." After the initial misunderstanding, a mutual friend of the artists reconnected them, but Method Man refused to make kind following the perceived slight. "They put their hands out to shake, and I kept my hand here and was like, 'Go head with that Hollywood s.' To this day, that s hurt my heart, because neither Kelly, Beyonce or Michelle ever did any f thing to me. You know?" the 51-year-old rapper said. "But me being so miserable, in that f moment, I felt like they wasn't treating me like I should've been treated. Who am I to think that about these girls? They here to promote themselves and break records and things of that nature." He concluded by issuing a direct apology. "And to this day, I don't think that I ever apologized for that," he said. "I apologize to Beyonce. I apologize to Kelly Rowland and Michelle. Y'all did not deserve that. At all." Earlier in the interview, Method Man noted that in the late 90s and early 2000s, he had an addiction to ecstasy pills and was also riddled with anxiety and depression. Story continues "I ain't like myself, so I didn't like any body f else," Method Man said. "So that meant that anything that would've come in my circumference at that point in time was gonna get it. My family went through a lot with my a during that era, man. And I can admit that I did take a lot of my f misery out on them, and they did not deserve it. And I took some of my misery out on people at Def Jam that did not f deserve it. Method Man's apology to Destiny's Child caught the eye of Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson, who praised the rapper in an Instagram post. "Thank you Method Man. It takes a real man to tell this story!" she wrote. "Such a great example for other young men. . Don't assume someone is dissing you! @methodmanofficial." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Mick Mulvaney. Joshua Roberts/Reuters Mick Mulvaney said fellow Republicans need to watch the House January 6 hearings. The investigation is uncovering shocking details, said Mulvaney, a former Trump chief of staff. Mulvaney said the significance of Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony last week "cannot be overstated." Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday urged his fellow Republicans to pay closer attention to the January 6 hearings that have painted a devastating picture of his former boss, President Donald Trump. "The significance of last week's Congressional Jan. 6 committee hearings cannot be overstated," Mulvaney wrote in an opinion piece for the Charlotte Observer. Mulvaney, who was Trump's third chief of staff, stressed that many Republican complaints about the congressional panel investigating the attack on the Capitol are fair. In particular, Mulvaney pointed to the lack of cross-examination of witnesses and the panel waiting to release the full transcriptions or footage of their taped depositions. But even with this in mind, Mulvaney said, the panel has uncovered shocking details. Despite the panel being controlled by Democrats, some of the biggest revelations have been from Republicans, he added. "When Republicans start testifying under oath that other Republicans lost the 2020 election and then broke the law to try to change that, Republicans should pay attention," Mulvaney wrote. Mulvaney, who represented South Carolina for four terms in the House, name-checked former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, and former Attorney General Bill Barr as Republicans whose respective testimonies are worth watching. Hutchinson told the panel that Trump knew that there were armed supporters trying to attend his rally on January 6, 2021. Bowers testified that Rudy Giuliani privately admitted that Trump's circle had no "evidence" of widespread election fraud. And Barr depicted a president who became increasingly unhinged after losing the election, content with spreading so many "bogus" fraud claims that it was like "playing Whac-a-Mole" trying to debunk them. Story continues Mulvaney was among a handful of high-profile Trump officials who resigned in the wake of the January 6 attack. Two Republicans, Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, serve on the January 6 panel, though they were appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pulled his picks from the committee after Pelosi rejected two of his selections. Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration that there aren't more loyal Republicans defending him during the hearings. The committee's next hearing is scheduled for July 12. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who serves on the committee, has said the hearing will focus on the planning for Trump's January 6 rally that preceded the riot and how far-right fringe groups like the Proud Boys got involved. Schiff told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the panel hasn't "answered all the questions that we have" about whether the Trump White House was in contact with any of the far-right groups. Read the original article on Business Insider Festival-goers enjoy Brighton & Hove Pride festival. (Image: Brighton Pride) After nearly two years of lockdowns and restrictions, this year is a big year for the gay and trans community. Around the globe, major cities are prepping for Pride celebrations and calling for equality, visibility, inclusivity and unity. LGBTQ+ rights are human rights, but the fight for sexual equality around the world is far from over. However, some countries are more LGBTQ+-friendly than others. From legalising same-sex marriage and adoptions, to banning conversion therapy and growing awareness of trans rights, these places are making great strides in the push for equality. Argentina In June 2021, Argentina passed a landmark law stating that at least 1% of public sector jobs must be held by trans people. (Getty Creative) Argentina has a reputation for being one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly places in the world and for good reason. It was the first Latin American country to legalise same-sex marriage, including giving full adoption rights, and even subsidising IVF treatments for lesbian couples who want to give birth naturally. Read more: Respect most common feeling towards LGBT people: 'This reminds us how far we've come' In 2012, the government enforced new legislation in Argentina, adding life sentences to hate crimes based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. That same year, Argentina also passed the Gender Identity Law, becoming the first country in the world to allow people to legally define their gender without permission from a doctor or lawyer a huge milestone for the trans community and incidentally the countrys most prominent claim to LGBTQ+ fame. Read more: LGBTQ+ terms explained how to get it right The law now allows Argentines to change their gender without surgery, hormone therapy or even psychiatric evaluation, and all costs including reassignment surgery are covered between public and private health care plans. In June 2021, Argentina went even further and passed a law stating that at least 1% of all public sector jobs must be held by trans people. Its a landmark legislation that gives a voice, lends visibility and provides the trans community with more opportunities in the workforce. Story continues Canada Since his election in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has become an iconic figure for the LGBTQ+ community. (Getty Creative) Over the past five decades, the Canadian government has made huge progress when it comes to equality for LGBTQ+ people. The country first authorised same-sex relationships back in 1969 and gay and lesbian couples gained the majority of legal benefits of marriage when the government extended common law marriages to include them. Then, starting in 2003, nine of the 13 provinces and territories legalised same-sex marriages. The federal government followed suit just a few years later, legalising gay and lesbian marriages nationwide in 2005. And can we talk about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau?! Since his election in 2015, hes become something of an iconic figure for the LGBTQ+ community. He always leads the way at Torontos annual Pride parade (just one of many celebrations held across the country) and has acknowledged and apologised for discriminative laws and violence that have been inflicted on the LGBTQ+ community in the past. Read more: Why we still need Pride: I was fired and evicted for being gay The country has already come a long way but still continues to make moves towards equality. After a unanimous vote in December 2021 at the House of Commons, conversion therapy was successfully banned following two failed attempts. The federal ban protects both adults and minors from the controversial practice to change their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. And the countrys most recent success saw Canadian health officials finally dropping the ban on blood donations from gay men. Its a huge milestone towards a more inclusive blood donation system a move that will quite literally save lives. New Zealand New Zealand's government is the most diverse in the world. (Getty Creative) For decades, New Zealand has been considered to be one of the inclusive and progressive countries in the world. Its government is more diverse than any other state with nearly half of their sworn-in parliament female, and 11% openly part of the LGBTQ+ community. Pride events have been taking place since the 1970s and the countrys government has been passing anti-discrimination laws from as far back as 1993, such as removing the LGBTQ ban on the military, introducing the right to change legal gender and legalising gay marriage. Read more: Coming out as LGBTQ+: How to support someone The country is making continuous strides towards equality, becoming the latest country to ban conversion therapy in February 2022. The legislation makes it an offence to attempt to change the sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression of anyone under 18 and comes with a punishment of up to three years imprisonment for anyone found guilty. It also makes it an offence to perform conversion practices that cause serious harm, regardless of age, and carries a sentence of up to five years imprisonment. The new laws are a huge win for the LGBTQ+ community and a big step towards equality. Taiwan In 2019, Taiwan became the first (and only) Asian country to legalise same sex marriage. (Getty Creative) Taiwan is regarded as the most progressive country in Asia when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. In 2019, the island became the first (and only) Asian country to legalise same sex marriage a monumental legislation that thousands of people have taken advantage of since. That same year, Taipei courts ruled gender self-identification without surgery a constitutional right for trans people... 2019 was indeed a historic year in Taiwan. Read more: Yahoo is the headline sponsor of this year's Brighton & Hove Pride festival Since then, support for same sex marriage and trans people has nearly doubled and today, there are nearly 8,000 registered same sex couples in the country. Taiwans increasing support for the gay and lesbian community in the country represents hope not just for the LGBTQ+ community in Taiwan, but also for its neighbouring countries in Asia. And the progress isnt ending. Just this year, same-sex couple Wang Chen-Wei and Chen Chun-Ju won the right to adopt their daughter together. It was the first time the country saw a married same-sex couple adopt, but of course hopefully not the last. United Kingdom UK Pride celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. (Getty Creative) During the UKs first Pride celebration in 1972 staged by the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) around 2,000 participants marched together calling for gay rights. Now 50 years later, over 1.5 million people took to the streets of London to celebrate and protest in support of LGBTQ+ rights, making this year's Pride 'the biggest and most inclusive event in history'. The UKs long road to LGBTQ+ equality is filled with political, legal and societal milestones to be proud of. The government repealed the Section 28 a legislation which banned local authorities and schools from promoting homosexuality, same-sex marriages were legalised and adoption rights were extended to include gay and lesbian couples. Read more: LGBTQ+ parenting: 'It was a rocky road to becoming a day but I'm loving it' More recently, the UK government simplified the application process for gender recognition certificates (GRC) and reduced the costs from 140 to 5, a move to make the certificate more accessible for the trans community. The UK is full of LGBTQ+ trail blazers such as Alan Turing, April Ashley, Derek Jarman, Phyll Opoku Gyimah, Justin Fashanu, Peter Tatchell, Munroe Bergdorf and Sir Ian McKellen all of whom have fought hard for equality and helping to create a society proud of its diversity. A great deal of progress has been made for the UKs LGBTQ+ community since it first celebrated Pride 50 years ago we cant wait to see what happens next. Watch: Author and campaigner Damian Barr on why we still need Pride Mikhaila Friel tried both the original UK and US version of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate. Mikhaila Friel/Insider Back in 2016, I tried Cadbury Dairy Milk in the US for the first time after moving to Pennsylvania. I noticed that it tasted like a different recipe from the original UK version. In my opinion, the UK Dairy Milk is far superior as it has a more silky smooth texture. Back in 2016, I moved from my home in the UK to Pennsylvania. Mikhaila in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Mikhaila Friel/Insider I spent four months at the University of Millersville in Pennsylvania for an exchange semester in 2016. While there, I got to visit Hershey Chocolate World, where I tried a selection of US Cadbury products and noticed it tasted different from the original British version. While there, I was surprised to discover that Cadbury bars in the US tasted different. The US version of Cadbury Dairy Milk. Mikhaila Friel/Insider While it was many years ago, I remember thinking that the US version of Cadbury's Dairy Milk in particular didn't taste as good as the UK's but I couldn't put my finger on why. As Insider previously reported, Hershey paid $300 million for the US operations of the British-owned Cadbury in 1988. This included Mounds, Almond Joy, and York Peppermint Patties, as well as Cadbury products such as Dairy Milk and Carmello. Six years later, I decided to try the US version again, but this time I would compare it to its UK counterpart. Mikhaila Friel holding the US Cadbury Dairy Milk, left, and the original UK version, right. Mikhaila Friel/Insider A friend from the US visited me at my home in Scotland last month, and I asked if he could bring a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar with him so I could compare it to the same product in the UK. I thought that tasting both chocolate bars one after the other would be the fair and accurate way to examine the differences. I was also eager to find out if I'd still prefer the UK version. Ahead of the taste test, I did some research and found that there are two subtle differences in the recipes. The packaging of the UK and US Cadbury Dairy Milk bars. Mikhaila Friel/Insider As Insider's Mary Hanbury previously reported, the only differences between the UK and US versions are the fat content and the amount of cocoa used. While the US Cadbury bars use cocoa butter as the fat, in order to meet FDA standards, the UK is allowed to use vegetable oils such as palm and shea. Story continues A Hershey spokesperson told Hanbury that they source quality ingredients "straight from the Cadbury plant in the British isles" using the same amounts of milk, sugar, and chocolate as the UK version. "In fact, it's the same milk sourced by Cadbury from cows in Europe," the spokesperson said. "We add cocoa butter and mold the milk chocolate into bars for sale in the United States." First up, I tried the US version. The US Dairy Milk bar. Mikhaila Friel/Insider The chocolate bar had gotten a little bashed on the journey from the US, but it still looked tasty. The US chocolate bar had "Cadbury" inscribed on it, just like the UK one. But the shape of each was different. A piece of UK Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate and the US version. Mikhaila Friel/Insider One thing I noticed was that the US bar had a more flat and squared shape, whereas the UK bar was cubed and raised. The texture of the US bar was crumbly and less smooth than the UK Dairy Milk that I'm used to. Mikhaila with the US Cadbury Dairy Milk. Mikhaila Friel/Insider I asked my sister, Aimee, to help taste the chocolate bars. Aimee has also spent time in the US, having previously spent a summer as a camp counselor in Massachusetts many years ago. I gave Aimee the US Dairy Milk without telling her which place it belonged to, and her immediate response was: "This is American." She said she could tell because in her opinion it tasted less sweet than UK Cadbury. When I tried the chocolate, the first thing that stood out to me was the crumbly texture. While the UK Cadbury is so smooth and chewy that it melts in your mouth, this isn't the case for the US version. I also found that it wasn't as sweet as the UK version, perhaps due to the bitterness of the cocoa. That being said, I enjoyed it more this time around than I did in 2016. In my opinion, the UK Dairy Milk is far superior to the US version. The UK Cadbury Dairy Milk. Mikhaila Friel/Insider I tried the UK version right after trying the US version, and I stand by my previous opinion that the UK product is superior. The silky smooth texture of the chocolate bar makes it that much more enjoyable to eat, and in my opinion, this makes it appear to be better quality too. Representatives for Hershey and Cadbury did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Insider Google Doodle celebrates life and career of pioneering Native American comedian Charlie Hill (YouTube / The Richard Pryor Show ) Google is celebrating what would have been trailblazing Native American comedian Charlie Hills 71st birthday with a Google Doodle. To celebrate the comedians pioneering career, Google commissioned an illustration by Alanah Astehtsi Otsistohkwa (Morningstar) Jewell, a French-First Nations artist from Oneida Nation of the Thames, in which Hill holds a microphone. On the Google Doodles page, Hills family also shared a special tribute to the late comedian in honour of his 71st birthday. When Charlie was on stage, he was in his element. Time and space didnt exist, and he loved making people laugh. He believed it was the best kind of medicine, Hills family wrote. Through his comedy, Charlie promoted healing and reminded Native people of their resiliency, capabilities, and creative abilities. Storytelling and humor have always been a part of Native American culture and he reminded everyone of this. He established the visibility of Native people and fought to end stereotypes, while also creating a new wave of accurate representation. Charlie was an incredibly caring person, authentic, and very driven. He was never about the accolades and didnt like talking about himself. Dad, we are so proud of you for who you were, all that you accomplished, the doors you opened, and the multitudes you have inspired and continue to inspire. You were the best father anyone could ever ask for, and you will always be our hero. Born in Detroit, Michigan, on 6 July 1951, Hill, who had Oneida (OnEyoteEaka), Mohawk (Kanienkeha:ka) and Cree (Nehinaw) heritage, broke barriers when he became the first Native American comedian to perform on national TV. When Hill was 11, he moved to the Oneida Nation of Wisconsins reservation, where his father grew up. There, the standup comics impressive career would be influenced early on. Wednesdays Google Doodle notes that Hill became interested in comedy as a child, and that he and his family would spend weekends watching comedy shows together. Story continues After attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in speech and drama, Hill moved to Los Angeles and began to make a name for himself as a comedian. According to CNN, Hills material frequently addressed bigotry towards Native Americans and other indigenous people, while advocating for Native American civil rights. Hills big break came in 1977 when he was asked to perform on The Richard Pryor Show. However, when the offer was first presented to the comedian, it included a request from the shows writers for Hill to portray a Native American stereotype, which he refused. When Hill did appear on the show, it marked the first time a Native American comic appeared on national TV. Hills career continued to take off from there, performing on both the Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. According to Kliph Nesteroff, the author of We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy, Hills activism-fused comedy inspired scores of comedians in Canada and in the United States - First Nations comedians, Native American comedians - to get into the business. For a lot of people, it just seemed like there was too great a barrier, if you were a native, to get involved in comedy. It was almost like you werent allowed, it was almost unspoken, Nesteroff told the Journal Sentinel in 2021. You were only allowed to be a stereotype. You werent allowed to be yourself. Charlie Hill really kind of smashed down those barriers. Hill died in 2013 at the age of 62 from lymphoma. Stranger Things 4 has become the most popular English-language series on Netflix with the premiere of its last two episodes. The streaming giant has revealed that the show has racked up 1.15 billion hours of viewing time within the first 28 days of each part's release. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the first seven episodes had a viewing time of 930.32 million hours within 28 days of the show's debut. Meanwhile, episodes 8 and 9 reached 221 million hours viewed in the week of June 27th to July 3rd. That makes the series second only to Squid Game, which crossed 1.65 billion hours viewed within its first 28 days of release and which currently holds the title for the most-viewed show in Netflix history. It even has the potential to overtake the Korean hit, seeing as it has only been a few days since the last two episodes came out. Netflix, however, has yet to reveal whether Stranger Things 4's popularity has had a significant impact on its subscriber numbers. In 2021, the company said it posted its best subscriber growth of the year during the third quarter, thanks in part to Squid Game. But in April this year, Netflix admitted that it lost about 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 due to several issues, such as stiffer competition and account sharing. The company said back then that it's taking steps to turn things around, but we'll have to wait for its next earnings report to find out whether Eleven and the rest of the Hawkins crew were of any help. Eric Ronald Holder Jr has been found guilty of first-degree murder for shooting rapper Nipsey Hussle in 2019. Holder was also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder for two others who were injured in the shooting. He faces a maximum of life in prison. The mans attorney conceded that his client shot and killed the musician, but contended the crime was committed in the heat of passion. This story is being updated Joey Hadden/Insider Norwegian Cruise Line is the first major cruise line to announce that it's dropping its pre-travel Covid-19 testing requirement. The change doesn't affect people traveling from the US, where local regulations still require testing. Carnival and Royal Caribbean didn't immediately say whether they will also ease testing requirements. Norwegian Cruise Line is the first major cruise company to drop its policy requiring a negative Covid-19 test before passengers can set sail, but it won't affect travelers in the US. The newly relaxed policy will officially take effect on August 1, but Norwegian says testing requirements will remain in places with local regulations, like the US, Canada, Greece, and Bermuda. In a statement, Norwegian said that "the relaxation of the testing policy is in line with the rest of the travel, leisure and hospitality industry worldwide as society continues to adapt and return to a state of normalcy." Norwegian's competitors, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises, still have pre-travel testing requirements in place. However, neither company could be immediately reached for comment when asked by Insider whether they were planning to follow Norwegian and ease pre-travel testing policies. The cruise industry has taken a beating since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Cruise companies operating out of the US were barred from sailing by the CDC for more than six months beginning in March 2020. Since then, cruise lines have faced a slew of operating challenges, including slowing demand, hiring shortages, and outbreaks onboard. Read the original article on Business Insider Oklahomans will pay more than $157 million in fees and ongoing financing costs associated with bonds that utility companies will use to cover the expense of a 2021 winter storm, which will add a still-to-be-determined extra charge to customer bills that could increase due to rising interest rates. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved nearly $2.9 billion in customer-backed state-issued bonds for four electric and natural gas companies, with $2.7 billion accounting for the price of natural gas that spiked during a two-week span last year. The Oklahoman reviewed each company's financial order and added up the various fees, along with a .05% annual fee over the life of the bonds, resulting in at least $157,191,848, which is nearly 6% of what utility companies said they had to pay extra in natural gas costs last year. Of the four utility companies Centerpoint Energy, Oklahoma Gas and Electric, Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma Natural Gas that were allowed to use state bonds to pay for the winter storm, the approved fees and extra costs varied from contract to contract. Centerpoint Energy was approved for $87.6 million, with 14% of the amount accounting for expenses other than the direct cost of natural gas. The non-natural gas costs for the other three companies made up less than 3% of the total bond amount. Officials with the Corporation Commission's Public Utility Division said the higher percentage for Centerpoint Energy is a product of its overall direct-storm costs being lower than the other companies. Some fees, including bond marketing and attorney costs, are flat, officials said. Corporation Commission will review final bond costs for accuracy Once bonds are sold, which could happen as early as next month for some companies, the final charge added to customer bills will be determined. The Public Utility Division will review the final costs to ensure they are in line with what was approved by the commission. Story continues A technical conference is held in the Corporation Commission chambers at the Jim Thorpe Building in Oklahoma City, Okla. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. That process will correct any erroneous fees, including at least one that was listed on the financial order for Oklahoma Natural Gas. Oklahoma Natural Gas reported to the commission that it expects to pay $8.1 million, or about 0.6% of its total bond amount, in fees to the Council of Bond Oversight, the state agency tasked with approving all state financing requests. The Oklahoman reviewed the standard fees from the Council of Bond Oversight and found they are typically .0001%, which should make ONG's fee about $140,500. Officials with the Public Utility Division confirmed the error and said it would be fixed when the final amounts are audited after the bonds are issued. In addition to auditing the final bond amounts, the Public Utility Division will perform regular audits throughout the life of the bonds, which will be 28 years in the case of OG&E, which was approved for $761 million in bonds. OG&E's bonds will also include $21 million in bond issuance costs and carrying costs, according to its financing order with the state, which stipulates could change when the final bonds are issued. State officials said the funding requests of the utility companies were closely examined to ensure none were making a profit from the storm. OG&E's parent company booked a $737 million profit in 2021 while it also recorded debt from the winter storm. Of that profit, $360 million came from OG&E (the parent company's natural gas midstream operations made $385 million). Utility companies can make changes to the charges paid by customers as the costs associated with the bonds change, but it will first require approval by the Public Utility Division. If there are any major changes during the life of the bonds, it will likely be because the number of (utility) customers changes, but we don't expect wide variances here, said Brandy Wreath, director of the Public Utility Division. Public Service Co. of Oklahoma was approved for $688 million in bonds, which includes an additional $12.8 million in other fees. The utility companies also are allowed to collect servicing fees up to 0.60% of the bonds to cover their costs in issuing the bond. Bond rate increases could impact final customer charge Bonds for OG&E are expected to be the first ones issued and could be approved by the Council of Bond Oversight at its next meeting in a few weeks. The markets have changed and the carrying costs there have gone up, said Alexandra Edwards, deputy treasurer for debt management, speaking at last months Council of Bond Oversight meeting about the bonds for OG&E. While borrowing costs have increased in recent weeks, Edwards said she still believed the state bond process remained the best option for utility companies. I think as a financing mechanism, it's still much cheaper to do it this way than for the utilities to go out on their own, Edwards said. Its still really attractive, but it's going to be a little bit of tough sledding. Utility companies expected to update their future models When the 2021 winter storm increased demand for natural gas, producers drove up costs on the spot market for utility companies, which the state is allowing them to recoup through state bonds that are paid back by customers. However, utility companies may be expected to be better prepared in the future. Hedging prices of natural gas or storing extra fuel was not an expectation the state placed on utility companies. Wreath, the director of the Public Utility Division, said his office likely will push utility companies to put a severe winter storm like the one from 2021 into their future models. What was reasonable before won't be reasonable anymore because the models have changed," Wreath said. Oklahoma state government reporting is supported in part by a grant from the Kirkpatrick Foundation. To support work like this, consider purchasing a digital subscription to the Oklahoman today. Wreath said utility companies will be told to update their models during prudence hearings later this year. Prudence cases are when you will see the push for hedging and storage, he said. "If the (Corporation) commissioners say that you need to have a certain amount protected from volatility, the utility doesn't have to do it that's called managerial discretion but if they don't do it and there is a problem, they arent going to get bailed out again," Wreath said. Some utility companies already have begun to update their modeling strategy, including Oklahoma Natural Gas, which "adjusted its purchasing strategy to address a newly reported extreme for low temperatures that were registered during the storm," according to its website. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma utility customers to pay millions for 2021 storm recovery Today, the more-infectious Omicron BA.5 subvariant is officially the dominant Covid strain in the U.S. Up until how, BA.5 has been tied to its sister Omicron subvariant, BA.4, as both had steadily outcompeted BA.2.12.1 which itself had been driving cases for the past month or so. After the original Omicron variant appeared on U.S. shores late last year and caused the deadliest wave of the pandemic, a succession of Omicron subvariants have come and gone: BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1 and now BA.4 and BA.5. More from Deadline BA.5 was first identified in South Africa on February 26. Less than a month ago, on June 4, it only accounted for 9.6% of cases in the U.S., while predecessor BA.2.12.1 sat atop the heap at 62%. Today, the CDC estimates the subvarient is responsible for about 54% of new cases here. Thats double BA.2.12.1, which now accounts for 27% of infections. BA.5s rise also leaves sister subvariant BA.4 in the dust at 16%. Its a faster ascension than that of any other variant over the course of the pandemic. And thereve been a lot of them. CDC One reason BA.5 is so dominant is that it seems to be more transmissible than even BA.2.12.1 (BA.4 has some of the same key spike protein mutations as BA.5, but hasnt had the same impact. The Omicron sub-variant BA.5 is the worst version of the virus that weve seen, said Eric Topal, who is Founder and Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, Professor of Molecular Medicine and Executive Vice-President of Scripps Research, in a substack post last week. It takes immune escape, already extensive, to the next level, and, as a function of that, enhanced transmissibility, well beyond Omicron (BA.1) and other Omicron family variants that weve seen. Story continues In other words, BA.5 is much better at evading the immunity provided by vaccines and especially good at dodging the immunity conferred by previous infection. For example, BA.4 and BA.5 drove a substantial surge in South Africa recently that was not impacted by the countys high level of immunity. Per the journal Nature, those who have hybrid immunity from vaccination and a past infection are less able to ward off the BA.4 or BA.5 than they were previous strains. Thats because the vaccines we have now are targeting the spike proteins of previous strains. And the new variants have some very different mutations. While vaccines are less effective, theyre still more effective than immunization through infection. The jabs also help those infected with BA.4 and BA.5 better ward off the viruss nastiest effects. While cases have remained fairly static across the U.S., the New York Times notes that that may be more a result of the measuring stick than the actual measurement. The paper reports that with local and federal cuts to testing services, lab-based P.C.R. testing capacity in July will be only half of what it was in March. Add to that the increased use of at-home tests, the results of which are generally not reported, and virus surveillance across the nation is greatly reduced from what it was even six months ago. Hospitalizations and deaths have not risen meaningfully, either, but then in Portugal it took three weeks after the BA.5 peak in cases for deaths to peak. A more potent ability to reinfect also means that BA.5 has a larger pool of potential carriers. While other variants are limited by the protection afforded by inoculation, BA.5 can make its way back through populations who assume theyre more protected than they actually are. BA.4/5 drove a substantial case wave in South Africa regardless of their high level of immunity, observed Kaitlyn Jetelina about two weeks ago. Jetelina tweets and blogs under the moniker Your Local Epidemiologist. She goes on to note that in South Africa, the BA.4/5 wave contributed to excess deaths, but fewer than past waves. In Europe, Portugal is the country hardest hit by the new Omicron subvariants. It experienced a peak in cases on May 16, according to the World Health Organization. Deaths in that country peaked almost exactly three weeks later, on June 6. What does that mean for the U.S.? Our future is harder to predict based on other countries experiences than it was previously. Portugal got hit much harder than the States in the winter 2020-2021 Delta wave and less hard by last winters Omicron surge, which ravaged the U.S. That might be good for us, since the original Omicron is likely more closely related than Delta to BA.5. Previous Omicron infections may provide more protection. Our winter Omicron wave was more recent, as well, which helps. But Portugal has a higher booster rate than the U.S. One thing is for certain: This wont be the last variant we see. Topol warns that new versions of the virusare accelerating and were not done yet, by any stretch. Indeed, like tropical storms in the Caribbean this summer, there is a line of new variants already on their way. And experts say significant mutations especially in the Omicron subvariants are coming with increasing speed. A new strain known as BA.5.1 caused the largest outbreak of cases ever in Macau last week, which prompted local officials to put a large swath of the region under lockdown. BA.5.1 has turned up in the U.S. in small numbers, as well as the U.K. and Portugal. The strain has been described as the daughter of BA.5, and Christine Pagel, Professor and Director of University College Londons Clinical Operational Research Unit, wrote in a piece last month that it looks like BA.5 and 5.1 will likely win out to become the overall dominant variants. Since then, however, BA.2.75 has reared its head. While its not in the U.S. yet, the subvariant of BA.2 has been detected in England, Germany and India, where it reportedly has been found in 18% of samples. And its spreading fast. See chart below for graph of its growth in India. More, unfortunately, to come. Here's the latest picture for the new BA.2.75 sub-lineage (nickname: "Centaurus") an evolutionary jump from BA.2. It has most commonly been detected in India, showing extremely rapid growth to 18% of recent samples. It is also spreading rapidly to other countries. pic.twitter.com/JnkLsU9Lnw Mike Honey (@Mike_Honey_) July 2, 2022 Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. BA.5 is now the dominant Omicron variant in the US, driving cases and hospitalizations. Spencer Platt/Getty Images The Omicron BA.5 subvariant is now the dominant COVID-19 variant in the US. New CDC estimates indicate that BA.5 accounted for around 54% of the infections recorded last week. This comes amid a surge in case numbers and hospitalizations across the country this summer. The Omicron BA.5 subvariant is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 plaguing the US, per new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC released new estimates on Tuesday, which indicated that BA.5 made up 53.6% of the COVID-19 infections recorded last week. Meanwhile, BA.4, another contagious Omicron subvariant, accounted for 16.5% of the COVID-19 cases, meaning that these subvariants were recorded in just over 70% of the US's COVID-19 cases over the week ending July 2. These numbers make BA.5 one of the primary drivers behind a recent summer spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. According to The New York Times COVID-19 case tracker, new cases have hit a daily average of 105,754 as of July 4, an increase of 10% over the last 14 days. The Times' COVID-19 tracker also reported that hospitalizations have surged 12% to a daily average of 33,953 people, while intensive care admissions have risen 11% to a daily average of 3,793 cases over the last two weeks. The Omicron subvariants BA. 4 and 5 are known to have mutations that allow them to evade the protection against the virus provided by taking a COVID-19 vaccine, or a prior infection. The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, announced on June 30 that it is looking to approve vaccine booster jabs specifically meant to shield recipients against the Omicron BA.4 and 5 subvariants and to get these jabs rolled out for the fall and winter seasons. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement released on June 30 that the FDA was advising vaccine manufacturers to update their COVID-19 jabs and "add an Omicron BA.4/5 spike protein component to the current vaccine composition." "As we move into the fall and winter, it is critical that we have safe and effective vaccine boosters that can provide protection against circulating and emerging variants to prevent the most severe consequences of COVID-19," Marks said. Read the original article on Business Insider Ontario's NDP and Liberal parties are calling on Doug Ford's Conservative government to expand eligibility for fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccine. "No one in Ontario wants to live through another rash of COVID-19 cases," a statement from interim Ontario NDP leader Peter Tabuns reads. "No one wants our loved ones at risk of getting sick." "Experts are sounding the alarm that its time to start moving on second boosters. NACI is now recommending a round of booster shots. Our neighbours in Quebec have been rolling up their sleeves again for weeks now. Its time for Doug Ford to tell Ontarians what the plan is for expanding access to fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine." Many people have been asking about the rationale for Ontarios criteria/restrictions for receiving a 4th dose of a COVID-19 vaccine A clinic to provide 4th doses to people at risk, like frontline healthcare workers, has been cancelled I have asked CMOH to provide an explanation pic.twitter.com/Gy1uGXBKMs John Fraser (@JohnFraserOS) June 27, 2022 Last month, Ontario MPP for Ottawa South, John Fraser, wrote a letter to the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, about expanding fourth dose eligibility. "People are concerned and anxious," the letter reads. "A local clinic in Ottawa that was set to provide fourth doses to people at risk, such as front-line healthcare workers, has been cancelled and there are questions being raised over the waste of vaccines that are reaching their expiry date." "It is also important to note that the Ontario Science Table has just recently reported that a news branch of COVID-19 Omicron variant BA.5 will become the dominant lineage in Ontario within a week." Last week Canada's Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, urged Canadians to get as many doses of a COVID-19 as they are eligible to receive. Story continues "The immunity conferred by a primary series of vaccines administered in 2021 has now waned," Duclos said. "While you might have gotten infected, risk is high you could get re-infected with all the downfall, including the risk of developing symptoms of long COVID." The COVID-19 virus is changing and Omicron has cruelly demonstrated that we will never be 'fully vaccinated' against COVID. Like the virus, our immunity also changes and Omicron showed us that two doses are not enough: we need to keep our vaccinations up to date... Being up to date with your vaccinations means that you received your last dose within the last nine months. If you have already received your first booster, find out if and when you will be eligible for another dose.Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada's Minister of Health As people in the province navigate the summer with COVID-19, specifically with the BA.5 variant at this point, many health expert have taken to social media about where we stand and where they want the provincial government to take more action. What will the BA.5 wave look like in Canada? Can look at hospitalizations as a decent (but not sole) indicator of severity in regions that are weeks ahead of us. Portugal/South Africa BA.5 waves receding - lower than recent waves. UK & other European settings still rising. pic.twitter.com/Jiiaeck9LU Isaac Bogoch (@BogochIsaac) July 2, 2022 There is some messaging going out there that vax efficacy against hospitalization and icu for 3 dose is weaning. Its not. Data from Ontario, Portugal (ba4/5), and the uk (large confidence intervals) suggest for younger populations - the protection from hosp remains very good. pic.twitter.com/CHQu07EZT3 Zain Chagla (@zchagla) July 3, 2022 NEW DATA: Omicron death rates in Ontarios poorest regions have been DOUBLE those in the richest regions. So when our government continues to "let COVID rip" without masks, ventilation or paid sick days, what theyre really saying is that its ok for the poor to get sick & die. Naheed Dosani (@NaheedD) July 5, 2022 Key points: 1- There are myths that vaccines are causing increased deaths or vaccines do not work. Neither are true 2- We would have a MUCH HIGHER rate of death if not for vaccines 3- Over time there may be a trend of decreased protection by vaccines for many reasons 6/6 pic.twitter.com/cuXCy9560s Sabina Vohra-Miller (@SabiVM) July 5, 2022 Ontario back to exponential growth, indicative of the poor leadership from Doug Ford, Kieran Moore, and public health units across the Province. 100 infections leading to 115, in about 3 days. UPDATED DAILY, at https://t.co/gBHFvkyflU pic.twitter.com/oMWCx7Z50g Ryan Imgrund (@imgrund) July 4, 2022 The next time you hear someone claim that COVID is over, or its just a coldremember that since December 2021, Omicron has been more deadly for Ontario's seniorsthan the previous two waves PUT TOGETHER. Dr. Amit Arya (@AmitAryaMD) July 5, 2022 Oprah Winfrey had revealed how she celebrated her ill father, Vernon Winfrey, on Fourth of July, as she organised an appreciation day and barbecue just for him. The 68-year-old television host discussed her holiday celebrations in a recent Instagram post, where she acknowledged how she spent the day honouring her father with a barbeque. So weve been planning a backyard barbecue thats actually more than a backyard barbecue, she said. Its for Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Day. She went on to note how her father has been sick, which is why all of his loved ones came together to give him some joy while they can. My father is ill and so we wanted to be able to have all of his friends come and celebrate him while hes able to receive the joy, she explained. So thats what were doing. Her close friend, Gayle King, who was filming the video, then asked: Hows he feeling today? Do you think hes excited about today? In response, Winfrey noted that her father didnt even know that the barbecue was for him, as he thought it was a fourth of July thing. Hes going to walk out and see everything, she added, before documenting some of the food, including hamburgers, brisket, and fried chicken, at the event. The clip then showed Winfreys father, who has worked as a barber, sitting in a barber chair and surrounded by his close friends. In the caption of her Instagram post, she emphasised how she wanted to give her father an appreciation day while he was still well enough to enjoy it. Giving my father his flowers while hes still well enough to smell them, she wrote. Happy 4th of July as you gather with your family and friends. Remember to celebrate each other. Fans and friends in the comments applauded Winfrey, as shes been in Nashville, Tennessee caring for her father. What a beautiful idea to honour him while he is still here, Oprah, author Amanda Haas wrote, while another fan added: May we all remember to use the days and time we have available now to celebrate the people we appreciate. Story continues Although Winfrey didnt specify what her fathers medical condition is, she recently shared posts with her family while in Nashville. In one post, she shared a video with her family, as they were sitting around the table and shelling crowder peas for their Fourth of July plans. She had also uploaded another post that featured an image of her and her cousin, Burnice, where she noted that they had been raking the yard and mopping the patio for their familys barbeque. Winfreys father, 88, worked as a barber for over 50 years in Tennessee. However, the television hosts mother, Vernita Lee, passed away at age 83 in Milwaukee during 2018. Members of the FBI's Evidence Response Team Unit investigate in downtown Highland Park, Ill., on Tuesday, the day after a deadly mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade. (Ashlee Rezin / Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Aiden McCarthy's photo was shared across Chicago-area social media groups in the hours after the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, accompanied by pleas to help identify the 2-year-old who had been found at the scene bloodied and alone and to reunite him with his family. On Tuesday, friends and authorities confirmed that the boy's parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, were among seven people killed in the Illinois tragedy. At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents, wrote Irina Colon on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden, who was reunited with his grandparents Monday evening. Friends of the family said Irina McCarthys parents would care for the boy going forward. Four others who were killed were identified Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. Every victim was from Highland Park except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico. Officials haven't yet identified the seventh victim. Portraits of some of those who died began to emerge Tuesday as investigators continued to search for evidence in the shooting that also wounded 30. Irina McCarthy's childhood friend, Angela Vella, described McCarthy as fun, personable and somewhat of a tomboy" who still liked to dress up nicely. She definitely had her own style, which I always admired, Vella said in a short interview. Straus, a Chicago financial advisor, was one of the first observers at the parade and attended it every year, his grandchildren said. Brothers Maxwell and Tobias Straus described their grandfather as a kind and active man who loved walking, biking and attending community events. The way he lived life, youd think he was still middle-aged, Maxwell Straus said in an interview. The two brothers recalled Sunday night dinners with their grandparents as a favorite tradition. They said they ate with him the night before he was killed. Story continues Americas gun culture is killing grandparents, said Maxwell Straus. Its very just terrible. Sundheim, meanwhile, was regaled as a lifelong congregant and beloved staff member at North Shore Congregation Israel, where she had worked for decades, the Reform synagogue said on its website. Sundheim taught at the synagogues preschool and coordinated events including bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. Jackis work, kindness and warmth touched us all, synagogue leaders wrote in a message on their website. There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jackis death and sympathy for her family and loved ones. Toledo-Zaragoza was killed on what his 23-year-old granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, said was supposed to be a fun family day that turned into a horrific nightmare for us all. On a GoFundMe page to raise money for Toledos funeral expenses, Xochil Toledo said her grandfather was a loving man, creative, adventurous and funny. As a family we are broken, numb, she said. Toledo-Zaragoza had come to Illinois to visit his family about two months ago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His family wanted him to stay permanently because of injuries he had suffered after being hit by a car a couple of years ago during an earlier visit to Highland Park. The newspaper reported that he was struck by three bullets Monday and died at the scene. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to attend the parade because of the large crowds and his limited mobility, which required him to use a walker, but Xochil Toledo said the family didn't want to leave him alone. Katherine Goldstein's husband described her as an easygoing travel companion who was always game to visit far-flung locales. She didn't complain, Craig Goldstein told the New York Times. She was always along for the ride. Goldstein was a mother of two daughters in their early 20s, Cassie and Alana. She attended the parade with her older daughter so that Cassie could reunite with friends from high school, Craig Goldstein, a hospital physician, told the newspaper. Dr. Goldstein said his wife had recently lost her mother and had given thought to what kind of arrangements she might want when she dies. He recalled that Katherine, an avid bird watcher, said she wanted to be cremated and to have her remains scattered in the Montrose Beach area of Chicago, where there is a bird sanctuary. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. More abortion trigger laws are taking effect nationwide. In some cases, these laws will allow abortions during medical emergencies, but it varies from state to state. Now many physicians are facing the delicate balance of trying to follow new laws without breaking their medical oath to do no harm. Were kind of flying by the seat of our pants trying to do the best that we can, but I can tell you that were going to feel like we failed a lot of women, said Dr. Tosha Rogers, practicing OB-GYN from Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Rogers said the new abortion trigger laws are terrifying because doctors are in legal limbo about when they can intervene. Some laws make exceptions if the mothers life is in jeopardy or to prevent serious injury. Other laws like the one in Louisiana a physician shall make reasonable medical efforts to save the lives of both the mother and unborn child. Between a miscarriage and a woman who hasnt attempted an abortion on her own, there is no difference. and when they walk into the hospital, it is the same clinical picture, said Dr. Rogers. So are we not going to help them? Are we going to help them? Are we going to allow them to get to a point where theyre critical? Other doctors believe these laws wont change how they practice. I think that these laws will improve the practice of OB-GYN as we will be consistently respecting both the mother and her unborn child, said Dr. Ingrid Skop, practicing OB-GYN from San Antonio, Texas. Shes also a member of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dr. Skop said she wants state medical organizations to work with legal advisors to interpret the law for doctors to help avoid confusion and misinformation. They already have committees in place to help doctors in situations where its not clear what should be done, said Dr. Skop. And those committees should be able to intervene at a moments notice in the case of an emergency, to help the physician to know is this an appropriate situation in which a woman can be separated from her baby. Story continues Theres also concern among some doctors who are worried about an increase in women using abortion pills without proper medical guidance. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: A pro-life pregnancy clinic in Hialeah was vandalized on Sunday in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The walls of the Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic, 390 W. 49th St, were marked with graffiti that referred to Janes Revenge. The mayor and police call it a hate crime. The group that calls itself Janes Revenge, considered by many to be extremists in favor of abortion choice, has not claimed responsibility for the Hialeah vandalism, but has for other incidents of firebombing, vandalism and arson targeting pregnancy clinics. The first incident claimed by the group happened at a crisis pregnancy center in Madison, Wisconsin, on May 8, 2022, according to NBC 26. The Hialeah pregnancy clinic denounced the attack in a message posted on its Instagram account: Pro-abortion terrorists have attacked and destroyed our medical clinic for pregnant women in Hialeah, causing thousands of dollars in damage to our construction and security system. They have vandalized a clinic that provides free services to women and families in need. We know that this attack is pure evil and we are heartbroken, but we also know that God is on our side. We will overcome! Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo Jr. said the citys police department is investigating what it considered a hate crime perpetrated by a radical individual or a group of radical individuals, those who are motivated by the destruction and usurpation of the rule of law. Hiealeah police Lt. Edward Rodriguez told el Nuevo Herald that the department has several clues about the incident. A man and a woman arrived at the clinic on Sunday at 1:13 a.m. with their faces covered and wearing gloves, he said. They used laser to damage the images and then used sprays to cover the cameras. Story continues The messages rebuked the clinic: Pro-life? What about the death penalty for the defendants? If abortions are not safe, neither are you. The graffiti was on the walls less than 24 hours before being painted over. Act of vandalism in Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic located at 390 W 49th St, in Hialeah with slogan and anarchist symbols Rodriguez said that police are investigating the act as a hate crime because the purpose was to attack this type of clinic due to the political decisions that have been made in the country. He said the department has increased patrols. If anyone is caught and convicted, the vandalism could be a first-degree misdemeanor and lead to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, he said. According to the Catholic News Agency similar vandalism happened at the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center, about 45 minutes north of Miami. So far this is the first time an act of vandalism has been reported at a pro-life clinic in Hialeah, Rodriguez said. DeKalb County police say a man was shot to death in the middle of the day outside a busy Publix shopping center Wednesday. The shooting happened at 2155 N. Decatur Road Wednesday afternoon. The address belongs to the Publix at the Emory Commons location. Witnesses told Channel 2 Action News that the man was sitting in his car when he was shot and that it possibly stemmed from a road rage incident. Police have identified him as 43-year-old Lewayne Terrell. Detective said they are continuing to follow up on many promising leads. Channel 2s Tom Jones talked to shoppers, who said they were really shaken up by the shooting. Many said they dont expect gun violence to happen in the area, and certainly not around noon. This aint Beirut. This aint Baghdad, Chuck Cochran said. This is Decatur. Cochran said he saw all the police, but didnt know what was going on. But the medical examiners truck is never a good sign, Cochran said. Ann Kirslis said she came to go grocery shopping. And here we are. Homicide, Kirslis said. Police everywhere and broken hearts everywhere. Many told Jones that there are just too many guns on the street in the hands of people intent on hurting others. I am just appalled, Kirslis said. This whole gun thing is out of control in this country. The answer is easy. There are too many guns, and its too easy to get them. Jones also talked to Geraldine Champion, a former homicide detective with Atlanta police who ran for sheriff in DeKalb County. She was shocked to find so many police cars at her favorite Publix. Champion said people are stressed because of their financial situations and home lives, and that its too easy to get guns. She is not in favor of a new law that allows adults to carry a gun without a permit. Thats added fuel to the fire, Champion said. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The victims identity has not been released. Police have not said if they have been able to identify the shooter. IN OTHER NEWS Police are searching for the driver of a car that struck and wounded a child who was setting off fireworks Monday in Kansas City. The 11-year-old child was hospitalized after being injured in the hit-and-run during a family gathering, officials said. Officers were called at 11:34 p.m. Monday to the 8400 block of Prospect Avenue when the driver of a sedan headed south on Prospect Avenue, hit the child, according to the Kansas City Police Department. The driver then fled south. Police on Wednesday released an image of the vehicle, identifying it as a four-door white car with silver rims and a sun roof. Detectives said they expect there to be damage to the front right of the vehicle. The driver in the car was last seen turning westbound onto East 85th Street from Prospect Avenue, police said. The child was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, officials said Tuesday. As of Wednesday, the childs condition had stabilized, but they still were suffering serious injuries, police said. Anyone with information on the hit-and-run is asked to call the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). The bodies of a mother and her three children were recovered from a Minnesota lake in what authorities are investigating to be a possible triple murder-suicide. Molly Cheng, a 23-year-old tattoo and beauty artist, and her three children, who are all believed to be under the age of 5, were pulled from a lake north of St. Paul during a two-day search that began Friday evening. Multiple agencies began the search after officials responded to a home in the 1300 block of Pearson, Maplewood, on Friday morning for a reported suicide. They found the body of Kos Lee, the 27-year-old husband of Cheng and the father of the three children. Investigators revealed that Lee died by suicide in his bedroom while in his pajamas. A family member said that Lee fatally shot himself with a gun that he owned. More from NextShark: 111-Year-Old Mochi Ice Cream Shop in LAs Little Tokyo Shuts Down Forever goodbye my nicest brother, Lees sister reportedly wrote on Facebook. Why are you making me so mad and sad at the same moment? Im so sorry that Im 20 minutes late and cannot help you. I drive so fast to help you and to stop you but I still failed. Im sorry that I failed you in this life and was late to help you. Only if I was faster then you will be alive. Police were able to track the mothers location through her cellphone. Chengs car and the shoes of the children, two boys and a girl, were also found by the lake. State and local police along with fire crews in boats, a dive crew and cadaver dogs searched the lake and its surrounding area. They recovered the body of one child from the lake at around 7:30 p.m. While lifesaving measures were attempted, the child was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities found the body of a second child shortly after midnight in the same lake in Vadnais Heights. More from NextShark: Uber Passenger in France Claims Driver Refused to Pick Them Up Because of Coronavirus The body of the mother was recovered at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday. The third child was found 20 minutes later, according to Mike Martin, undersheriff of the Ramsey County Sheriffs Office. Story continues I will tell you that a number of resources are here, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told reporters on Friday. There is nothing more tragic than the loss of young children, all of which were apparently under the age of five. The tragedy has left the areas Hmong community in shock and struggling to cope, prompting community leaders to counsel not only the victims families but also Hmong families in the Twin Cities. More from NextShark: Homophobia on the Rise as Korea Reports 1,500 Exposed to COVID-19 in Gay Clubs The Hmong 18 Council of Minnesota was reportedly formed more than 20 years ago when a Hmong mother killed her children. The Twin Cities is home to the largest concentration of Hmong in America, with more than 66,000 calling Minnesota their home. Right now, the community is still in shock mode, Paul Xiong with the Hmong 18 Council told 5 Eyewitness News. This would be the second time this happened in the community. Chong Lue Lee, the grandfather of Kos Lee, believes his family could have been saved with professional help. More from NextShark: Woman tears through Asian-owned liquor store in Dallas over a phone call We wish there would be 24-hour supervision for the mother and the children because of the father, because of what happened to him, Lee said. In a short time, less than three hours, the police release the mother and kids, and then in that three hours, a thing happened to those children. So wouldnt it be better for there to be 24-hour supervision after such [a] tragedy happened to their loved one? If you or anyone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For a list of international suicide hotlines, click here. Featured Image via ABC News The Daily Beast Ronny Jackson/TwitterIn the latest addition to the pantheon of tough-guy gun-toting GOP grandstanding videos, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) spoke up in defense of gun rights on Monday in a clip of him wielding two assault riflesone of which was aimed at his own right foot.I have a message for the Biden administration, Jackson, the former physician to President Donald Trump, said in his video shared on Twitter, which racked up over a million views in under 24 hours. If youre thinking about takin President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Cherelle Griner, wife of Brittney Griner, on Wednesday after public calls for more contact over the WNBA star's imprisonment in Russia. The White House described the phone call as Biden offering his support and assuring Cherelle his administration is actively pursuing Griner's release. Biden also reportedly read her a draft of a letter he was sending to Brittney the same day. The White House's full summary: President Biden, joined by Vice President Harris, spoke today with Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner who is wrongfully detained in Russia under intolerable circumstances. The President called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney's release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world. He also read her a draft of the letter the President is sending to Brittney Griner today. The President offered his support to Cherelle and Brittney's family, and he committed to ensuring they are provided with all possible assistance while his administration pursues every avenue to bring Brittney home. Today's call follows recent calls that National Security Advisor Sullivan and Secretary of State Blinken have had with Cherelle in recent weeks and this past weekend. The President directed his national security team to remain in regular contact with Cherelle and Brittney's family, and with other families of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, to keep them updated on efforts to secure the release of their loved ones as quickly as possible. Griner has been imprisoned in Russia since February, when authorities took her into custody after allegedly finding cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage as she was entering the country to play for her Russian team, UMMC Ekaterinburg. The U.S. State Department classified Griner as wrongfully detained in May. Without U.S. help, she will remain in Russian jail for at least six more months and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on drug smuggling charges. Her trial is currently underway and a conviction is widely expected. Story continues Cherelle Griner reacts to call with Biden, Harris Cherelle confirmed via an Instagram post that she had received a call from Biden and Harris, saying she believes her wife will know she hasn't been forgotten: This morning I received a call from President Biden and Vice President Harris. I am grateful to the both of them for the time they spent with me and for the commitment they expressed to getting BG home. While I will remain concerned and outspoken until she is back home, I am hopeful in knowing that the President read my wifes letter and took the time to respond. I know BG will be able to find comfort in knowing she has not been forgotten. I want to thank everyone who has fought so hard for BG. It means the world to my entire family as well as my wife. Please continue to pray for my family and all the other families of the wrongfully detained, as our pain remains active until our loved ones are brought home. Lets continue to use our voices to speak the names of all the wrongfully detained Americans and support the Administration as they do what it takes to bring them home today. Brittney Griner faces a decade in Russian prison if convicted. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images) Cherelle Griner called out Biden administration As Brittney's detention has played out, Cherelle and many WNBA figures have publicly pressured the Biden administration into taking action. Cherelle complained on CBS Mornings of a lack of response from Biden to Brittney's letter sent on the 4th of July and "failed" attempts by her family to reach the president. She called the situation "disheartening" and speculated her wife sent the letter to push for a meeting: "She's there and she knows that we are doing everything that we can in our own strength to ask to meet with the president and to request that they do everything they can to get her home," Cherelle said. "And it kills me every time when I have to write her and she's asking, 'Have you met with him yet?' And I have to say, no. I'm sure she's like, 'I'm going to write him and ask now, because my family has tried and to no avail. So I'm going to do it myself.'" While Biden apparently didn't respond to Brittney's letter before Wednesday, a National Security Council spokesperson said his team has been in regular contact with her family: "President Biden has been clear about the need to see all U.S. nationals who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad released, including Brittney Griner. The U.S. government continues to work aggressively using every available means to bring her home. The President's team is in regular contact with Brittney's family and we will continue to work to support her family. The spokesperson also noted national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have spoken several times with Cherelle in recent weeks. On Tuesday, the White House confirmed Biden had read Brittney's letter and reiterated her case was a priority. As student loan debt in the U.S. reaches about $1.75 trillion, a new watchdog report is calling on the federal government to improve its guidance on the federal student loan process. According to the report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the recommendations for the U.S. Department of Education focus on providing instructions and guidance to student loan servicers and evaluating the effectiveness of federal student aid efforts. The goal is to make sure that student loan borrowers dont miss out on available resources and are properly using their options wisely. What we found was that servicers are doing things differently, said Melissa Emrey-Arras, a Director for GAO. There are multiple servicers. Borrowers dont get to choose their servicer, and you can have borrowers in very similar situations in terms of their finances being given very different information and very different monthly payments based on the servicer that they received, and the reason was that there was no consistent guidance. Tens of millions of Americans are now paying off student loans. Pam Millbrook knows about it all too well. I now have about $150,000 worth of student loans, said Millbrook. Ill be paying them until Im like 90. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: Millbrook said the process to apply for and receive federal student loans was difficult and confusing. In the end, she said she ended up in a mountain of debt. Right now, my student loan payments are $1,500 a month which is more than my mortgage, said Millbrook. The whole thing is a hot mess. They need to do better with the program itself. According to the report, the Department of Education agreed with recommended changes to strengthen the management of the Direct Loan Program and has taken steps to implement the changes as of April 2022. Education has taken steps to improve how it provides guidance to servicers and has issued guidance to improve clarity on some issues, such as how servicers should apply overpayments to a borrowers student loan balance, the report said. The idea is really to provide consistent government service to student loan borrowers so that regardless of their servicer, they are treated the same, said Emrey-Arras. Police in Richmond, Va., said they thwarted a mass shooting planned for July 4th after a hero citizen tipped them off on two suspects, leading to officers seizing three firearms and ammunition from a home ahead of Independence Day. During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Richmond Police Department Chief Gerald Smith said a person they are not identifying overhead a conversation about the planned mass shooting and reported the information to police on Friday, July 1. Police quickly investigated the residence and saw evidence in plain view that corroborated what the witness reported, Smith added. Richmond officers were let into the home and seized two assault rifles, one handgun and 223 rounds of ammunition. The police chief repeatedly said the hero citizen who tipped them off saved countless lives. One phone call saved numerous lives on the Fourth of July, Smith said at the press conference. The success of this particular investigation can only be juxtaposed against the horrors of which the rest of the country has seen. There is no telling how many lives this hero citizen has saved from one phone call. Officers, who also worked with the FBI on the case, arrested and charged Julio Alvarado-Dubon with being a non-U.S. citizen in possession of a firearm on Friday. A second suspect, Rolman Balacarcel, was surveilled by police throughout the holiday weekend and arrested and charged on the same count on Tuesday. Both suspects, who were roommates, are being held without bond. Police said additional charges may be filed against the pair. Police said they had evidence the suspects were planning to open fire at Richmonds July 4th celebration at the Dogwood Dell amphitheatre and a city baseball game. This is where these cowards go, Smith said. Wherever we gather, this is where they want to be. The news comes after a deadly mass shooting in Highland Park, Ill., left seven people dead and dozens injured after a gunman opened fire during an Independence Day celebration in the Chicago suburb. Story continues Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D) said mass shootings had become an epidemic nationwide, calling on the U.S. Congress to pass more than the bipartisan gun deal lawmakers passed into law last month. There is mayor after mayor across this country who are frustrated by the current state, Stoney said. We need more. If members of Congress both Democrats and Republicans want to pat themselves on the back and say theyve done something, come to urban areas like Richmond on a day-to-day basis, weekend-to-weekend, and youre going to see for yourself we need more. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. DETROIT (AP) Guitar icon Carlos Santana collapsed on stage during a show in Michigan and was rushed to a hospital, later blaming the episode on forgetting to eat or drink water. Santana, 74, was doing well Wednesday after being taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, some 40 miles northwest of Detroit, to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation Tuesday night, manager Michael Vrionis in a statement. Just taking it easy, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer posted to Facebook just after midnight. Forgot to eat and drink water so I dehydrated and passed out. Blessings and miracles to you all. Santana was released during the night from the hospital. It was not immediately known when Santana would resume his tour, although Wednesday's show at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, has been postponed. He and his band have been touring with Earth, Wind & Fire. The tour has 21 dates left through late August before Santana the artist behind such hits as Oye Como Va and Black Magic Woman is scheduled to head back to Las Vegas for his residency at the House of Blues. In December, Santana canceled a number of performances in Las Vegas after he underwent an unspecified heart procedure. He and members of his band also tested positive for COVID-19 in February, canceling some dates. BERLIN (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said ahead of her trip to Indonesia that Russia must not be allowed to use the G20 meeting this week as a platform given its war in Ukraine. "It is in the interest of us all to ensure that international law is respected and adhered to. That is the common denominator," said Baerbock in a statement on Wednesday. "And it is also the reason why we will not simply stand aside and allow Russia to use the meeting as a platform." (Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Maria Sheahan) UNITED NATIONS (AP) Russia has agreed to continue humanitarian aid deliveries from Turkey to rebel-held northwest Syria for six months not a year, as many U.N. Security Council members, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and more than 30 nongovernmental groups want. Russia proposed amendments to a draft resolution by Ireland and Norway reducing their year-long time frame for deliveries. Council diplomats said consultations were continuing late Wednesday to see if a compromise could be reached. The Security Council scheduled a vote for Thursday morning. If no compromise appeared, the draft resolution by Ireland and Norway to extend cross-border deliveries for 12 months would be voted on first. If it failed to get nine votes, or was vetoed by Russia, the Russian resolution with a six-month extension would then be put to a vote. 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 Idlib. 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, and expires this Sunday. The Russian proposal called for increased efforts to ensure full, safe and unhindered deliveries of humanitarian assistance across conflict lines within Syria, according to the Russian draft obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. It also would authorize the establishment of a special working group comprising concerned council members, major donors, interested regional parties and representatives of international humanitarian agencies in order to regularly review and follow-up on the implementation of this resolution. Neither of those proposals were in the Ireland-Norway draft resolution. Northwest Idlib is the last rebel-held bastion in Syria and al Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is the strongest insurgent group in the region. The U.N. said last week that the first 10 years of the Syrian conflict, which started in 2011, killed more than 300,000 civilians -- the highest official estimate of civilian casualties. Story continues In a letter to Security Council ambassadors obtained Wednesday by the AP, former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo warned that by approving cross-border deliveries to northwest Syria, council members could find themselves materially supporting a U.N.-designated terrorist organization. He said northwest Syria is controlled by Al Nusra, a U.N. designated terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaida and currently called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Any support to a "terrorist organization, including humanitarian assistance," is prohibited by previous U.N. Security Council resolutions, Ocampo said. To avoid a flagrant violation" of its resolutions, he said the Security Council should have the operation monitoring cross-border deliveries confirm that the al Qaida-linked groups are not involved in implementing humanitarian aid" or remove Al Nusra-Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from the terrorist list. Dnipropetrovsk oblast came under fire from the occupiers Read also: Russian military shells Dnipropetrovsk Oblast The village of Shesternya in the Shirokivska municipality came under fire from Russian invasion forces, with several houses being damaged in the attack. No one was hurt among the locals. On the morning of July 5, Russian invaders attacked the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with missiles. Six missiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defense over the Sinelnykivsky district and the Dnipro. In the city of Pokrov, a missile hit the private residential area. Read also: Russian invaders likely to take a break before new offensive in Donbas, says ISW HANOI (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday called on all parties in the world to make efforts to protect international laws as "the world is evolving in a complicated manner." Lavrov was speaking though a translator at a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi. His comments come as Russia has been accused by Western countries of breaching international law through its invasion of Ukraine. European Union leaders have urged Moscow to abide by an order by the international court of justice telling Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. "Vietnam is a key partner (of Russia) in ASEAN...and the two countries' relations are based on history and their common fight for justice," Lavrov said at the meeting, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Vietnam and Russia have close ties dating back to the Soviet era and Hanoi has not so far condemned Russia's war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation". Lavrov's visit to Hanoi comes as the two nations mark the 10th anniversary of their "comprehensive strategic partnership". The Russian foreign minister is due to fly on to Indonesia to attend a meeting of G20 foreign ministers this week. (Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Ed Davies) While most obituaries are emotional odes to a loved one, a scathing one published in a Florida newspaper over the weekend described the deceased as a "dad to none" whose death "proves that evil does eventually die." Lawrence H. Pfaff Sr., 81, of Belmont, New York, died June 27. He lived a long life, much longer than he deserved, according to the obituary, which was published Saturday in The Florida Times-Union. Writing the obituary was a process of healing from his childhood trauma, his son, Lawrence Pfaff Jr., told NBC News. He described his father in the obituary as a ladies man and an abusive alcoholic, solidifying his commitment to both with the path of destruction he left behind, damaging his adult children, and leaving them broken. Lawrence Pfaff Jr. said he wrote the obituary a year before his father died in an effort to Pfaff Sr. is survived by five children, but, according to the obituary, could have fathered more. His love was abundant when it came to himself, but for his children it was limited, the piece said. It will be challenging to miss Lawrence, Sr. because he was narcissistic. He was incapable of love. The piece said Pfaff Sr. spent over 20 years working in the New York Police Department. When it came to his personal life, he did claim to be clean and sober for over thirty years, but never worked any of the twelve steps, including the eighth and ninth steps with his children, making amends," the obituary said, citing the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. His passing marks a time of healing, which will allow his children to get the closure they deserve, the death notice continued. Lawrence, Sr. can be remembered for being a father to many, and a dad to none, the obituary concluded. Pfaff said he started writing the obituary a year before his father died. "It was a difficult process that I came to about a year ago when I reached a point that I needed to get past some of the stuff," he said. Despite not having contact with his father for the past 30 years, Pfaff explained, "I still really needed to close that part of my life." Story continues So, he took to writing. He researched obituaries and was inspired by some that took a funny, sarcastic tone. "I started rewriting my words in a way that I could communicate that without bashing him. Just stating the truth which was all I needed to do. Get my truth out," he said. He expected to receive backlash for his sharp words, but was surprised when he was met with comments online thanking him for his candor, with many readers relating with his sentiments. "I am utterly shocked, I have to say that I was prepared for blowback," he said. "I got a call from a woman in St. Augustine, who tracked me down and thanked me for posting that because it helped her bring some more healing to her life." "I really had no idea the impact that was going to have because it was really a healing process for me, this was my way to close that chapter and move on," he explained. Pfaff said he never intended the obituary to get so much attention, "but if it helps anybody, then more power." "If we can help somebody else see that it's okay to stand up for yourself and tell the truth, there's really nothing bad that should come from that." Gannett, the company that owns The Florida Times-Union, said the post did not comply with editorial guidelines. We regrettably published an obituary that did not adhere to our guidelines and we are looking into the matter further. We regret any distress this may have caused," a Gannett spokesperson said to NBC News. Pfaff said he hasn't heard from Gannett on the matter. (Independent) Attorneys for Senator Lindsey Graham say he will not comply with a subpoena issued to him as part of a Fulton County, Georgia grand jury investigation into former president Donald Trumps push to overturn Joe Bidens 2020 election victory in the Peach State. In a statement provided to The Independent, attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin say Fulton County investigators have told them Mr Graham is simply a witness and neither a subject nor target of the investigation but dismissed the investigation being overseen by Fulton County DA Fani Willis as all politics. The attorneys further accused Ms Willis of conducting a fishing expedition and working in concert with the January 6 Committee in Washington. Any information from an interview or deposition with Senator Graham would immediately be shared with the January 6 Committee, the attorneys said, though they offered no evidence to support their claims. By law, grand jury investigations are considered secret and prosecutors can face heavy penalties if they disclose information under unauthorised circumstances. Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections, they said. Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job. They added that Mr Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena and expects to prevail. More follows... Two U.S. senators are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to look into TikTok for repeated misrepresentations of how its used U.S. user data. Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the chair and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, wrote to FTC Chair Lina Khan to request it look into the social media platform and its China-based parent company, ByteDance. The letter comes in the wake of a BuzzFeed News report that referenced leaked audio recordings showing ByteDance employees repeatedly accessing U.S. user data on the app. BuzzFeed News is owned by the same parent company as HuffPost. The senators, in their joint letter, asked for an investigation due to apparent deception by TikTok and suggested the app misrepresented corporate governance practices, data security and data processing. The call to investigate TikTok comes less than a week after Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, asked Google and Apple to remove the app from their app stores following the BuzzFeed News report. TikTok Vice President Michael Beckerman, in a statement on Tuesday, wrote that company engineering teams around the world, including those in China, might need access to data for engineering functions that are specifically tied to their roles. That access is subject to a series of robust controls, safeguards like encryption for certain data and authorization approval protocols overseen by our U.S.-based leadership/security team. TikTok, in a statement to CNN, previously called the BuzzFeed News report misleading. Last month, TikTok announced it would move its U.S. user data from Virginia and Singapore-based servers to a cloud platform, CNN reported. The calls for an investigation come after a number of years of TikTok data security concerns and a Trump administration attempt to ban TikTok from app stores in 2020. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Six Belarusian volunteers missing after Lysychansk Read also: Lukashenko says he decided Belarus should take part in attack on Ukraine long ago A group of Belarusians from the Kalinouski Regiment was reported to have found themselves in the way of a large column of Russian troops on June 26, and gave battle. Read also: Lukashenko accuses Ukraine of trying to strike at military facilities in Belarus Until the last, there was hope that they survived. Now it has emerged that some of the fighters died, and some were captured, Nasha Niva reported. The last message from the soldiers was: "A tank is coming at us. We engaged it." Read also: Ukraines interior ministry warns of possible false flag operations by Belarus Ivan Brest Marchuk and five other people did not return from the battle. The regiment reports that they are now being searched for. This is the biggest single loss of the Belarusian unit in the war against the Russian invaders. In total, seven Belarusian volunteers have died in various units on the Ukrainian side. Read also: Ukrainian intelligence assesses the risk of Belarus invading Ukraine According to eyewitnesses of the events, part of the Belarusians, together with Brest, gave cover for the retreat of the second half of the group. Brest was seriously wounded in the leg and head. In this battle, he destroyed at least one tank. One of the Russian Telegram channels posted on July 5 a video of the captive Yan Trombli Dzhurbeik from the village of Lyasne near Minsk. The report claims that he is not the only prisoner. Read also: Lukashenko regime responsible attacks against Ukraine, not Belarus people Tsikhanouskaya The Belarusian regiment emphasized that they are doing everything possible to return their soldiers. Volunteers were ordered to preserve their lives and health in case of capture, and "to say what the enemy wants to hear from them." Earlier it was reported that on June 26, during the battles for Lysychansk, the commander of the Volat battalion of the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, Ivan, with the call sign Brest, had been killed. Help NV continue reporting on the Russian invasion A South Carolina man was fatally shot late Tuesday in Chester County, officials said. Darius Taron Minter, 29, died after he was shot in what is believed to be a homicide, said Terry Tinker, Chester County Coroner. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday, Tinker said. The incident happened after 10 p.m. on Celsey Road, just west of the Chester city limits, according to the Chester County Sheriffs Office. Minter was found wounded on the porch of a home, a sheriffs office incident report obtained by The Herald stated. Chester County detectives and forensics went to the scene, along with Chester Police Department officers and agents from the State Law Enforcement Division. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning, officials said. On July 5, 2022, at approximately 10 p.m., Chester County Sheriffs Deputies were dispatched to Celsey Street in reference to a shooting. Upon arrival, deputies found one severely injured individual. The victim was unresponsive and was declared deceased by Chester County EMS. pic.twitter.com/6RD9cTanSg Chester County Sheriff's Office (@ChesterSheriff) July 6, 2022 The shooting death remains under investigation, said Grant Suskin, spokesman for the sheriffs office. Check back for updates on this developing story. By Vincent West and Juan Medina PAMPLONA, Spain (Reuters) - Thousands of revellers wearing white clothes and red scarves filled the streets of Spain's Pamplona on Wednesday as the bang of a firecracker kicked off the first San Fermin bull-running festival since the COVID-19 pandemic struck. A light rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of a sea of people packing the northern city's Townhall Square, their clothes already drenched with the red wine and sangria that flow freely during the eight-day festival, made famous by Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises". The annual event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions. Animal rights groups want it banned for good. "I've been to San Fermin many times before, but this is very different, people have missed the celebration, they are happy to be with their families, happy to be without the masks, they just wanna feel alive and enjoy the sunshine," said Michelle Rene, 45, of San Francisco. Added Pablo Cortes, a tourist from Hawaii who, like Rene, was watching the "Chupinazo" opening ceremony from a balcony: "The energy is awesome - this is the greatest party, the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life." Many participants drink and dance all night. The runs, during which six purpose-bred fighting bulls chase runners through the narrow streets of Pamplona's Old Quarter over a stretch of 800 metres (0.5 mile), will start on Thursday and continue for a week, including the weekend, when they are usually the most dangerous because of larger crowds. There are eight runs in total, and usually each lasts between three and five minutes. They end at the bullring, where the animals are corralled before reappearing in the evening bullfight, when they are killed. Dozens of animal rights activists wearing dinosaur costumes protested on Tuesday in Pamplona, chanting "Bullfighting is prehistoric!" The festival is dangerous for the humans too. At least 16 runners have lost their lives down the years, the last casualty being a man gored by a bull in 2009. (Writing by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Angus MacSwan) Sudan's coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Wednesday dismissed the last civilian members of his ruling body as part of a power shift he has proposed, but protesters who have rejected his pledge again took to the streets. "The blood of the martyrs did not flow in vain," hundreds of women protesters chanted in Khartoum about pro-democracy activists who have been killed in street violence, also demanding a return of "the soldiers to the barracks". Burhan -- who grabbed power in a coup last October that drew international condemnation -- in a surprise move Monday vowed to "make room" for civilian groups to form a new transitional government. He also said that the ruling Sovereign Council he chairs would be disbanded and, in an apparent move to carry out the process, issued a decree relieving five little-known civilian members of their posts. Several of them told local press that they had received no formal notification and were surprised to discover that their official vehicles had been taken away. The transitional government uprooted by Burhan last year had been painstakingly forged between the military and civilian factions in 2019, following mass protests that prompted the army to oust longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir. Sudan's main civilian alliance, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), have labelled Burhan's latest move a "giant ruse" and "tactical retreat". They also called for "continued public pressure", a call heeded by protesters who manned makeshift street barricades of rocks and tyres for a seventh straight day. - 'Wolf in sheep's clothing'? - Protesters have demanded a restoration of the transition to civilian rule despite repeated crackdowns by the security forces, who have in recent days fired live bullets, launched barrages of tear gas canisters and deployed water cannons, according to medics. Burhan's pledge Monday to step aside for a new civilian "government" was accompanied by another pledge -- the establishment of a new "Supreme Council of the Armed Forces". Story continues This body would be in charge of defence and security, he said, feeding into concerns among opponents that it would not be answerable to any government. Burhan said the new body would combine the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a powerful unit commanded by his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Key FFC member and ex-rebel Yasser Arman warned that Burhan's "intention is to choose a prime minister who is a wolf in sheep's clothing and takes his orders from the military council". Arman said that Burhan's announcement was aimed at the "regional and international community, some of whose members are looking for quick solutions" including those who he warned are "prioritising stability over democracy". The FFC has so far refused to take part in talks with military leaders, despite pressure from international brokers that range from the United Nations to the African Union and regional bloc IGAD. On Tuesday, following an IGAD emergency summit chaired by Burhan in Kenya, the bloc praised efforts to finding "lasting solutions to the political situation", adding that it "appreciated the positive steps" taken by Sudan's leaders. - 'Too early to tell' - Sudan has been rocked by near-weekly protests since the October coup, with thousands marching in multiple cities. Pro-democracy medics said nine demonstrators lost their lives last Thursday, the deadliest violence so far this year, which brought to 114 the number killed in the crackdown since October. Burhan's announcement has been treated cautiously by international players, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres saying he hoped it would create "the opportunity ...to reach an agreement that ultimately leads to a civilian-led transition to democracy". The United States said it was "too early to tell" the impact, with State Department spokesman Ned Price urging all sides to seek a solution towards "a civilian-led government" with "free and fair elections". Protesters argue that the army chief has made such moves before. In November, a month after the coup, Burhan signed a deal with Abdalla Hamdok, the prime minister he had ousted in the power grab and put under house arrest, returning him to power. But many people rejected that pact and took to the streets again, and Hamdok resigned in January warning that Sudan was "crossing a dangerous turning point that threatens its whole survival". bur-sar/fz Over the weekend, Tesla showed off its latest gadget: a solar trailer, featuring extendable panels, a satellite internet terminal and even a lick of matte-black paint. Tesla may have designed the trailer to add some range to electric vehicles or to advertise Starlink's new $25-per-month "portability" feature, which SpaceX announced in May. Whatever it's for, you probably won't see this trailer for sale any time soon. That's because Tesla apparently exhibited it as a "show of concept," per a Tesla fan, who shared photos of the solar trailer on Twitter. The gadget was displayed at IdeenExpo, a tech conference geared toward high school-aged students in Hannover, Germany. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment when asked about the trailer. As such, there are lots of unknowns, including its size, weight and razon de vivir. More images of the trailer. Another employee confirmed the range extender + Starlink purpose. He said the trailer does not have internal storage at this point. He again confirmed that the trailer is meant as a "show of concept". Picture credit:https://t.co/OSCZGWK0uI https://t.co/zdPYLxAt7T pic.twitter.com/I8ZELnWUo4 Tesla_Adri (@tesla_adri) July 5, 2022 Anyway, solar cars have stood at the horizon for more than half a century, and it's likely they'll remain there for some time. Sure, concepts and limited-run vehicles grab headlines every so often, but solar cells tacked onto the roof of a sedan can only generate so much energy. For many folks, a range boost from solar simply wouldn't be worth the added cost. Nevertheless, at least one company has promised to release solar kits for Teslas (it hasn't delivered them yet). Plus, the automaker itself said it would make a Cybertruck (which is not yet in production) with a retractable solar cover. That's neat and all, but don't let it distract you from Tesla's track record on solar. The company made some splashy announcements (see: "Master Plan, Part Deux") around the time that it acquired SolarCity, but since then Tesla's solar marketshare has plummeted. We've seen reports of rooftop solar panel fires, ghosted customers and deployment delays, to boot. So, maybe Tesla has the right idea with this solar trailer. Concepts are light and fun; being stuck without a roof? That's something else entirely. President Trump Meets With Cancer Patient Don Bouvet The Resolute desk is seen in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 9, 2018. Credit - Olivier DoulieryGetty Images This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. Gallup began polling Americans on their faith in the presidency in 1975. Richard Nixon had just resigned from the job and President Gerald Ford had quickly issued a divisive, slate-cleaning pardon of his disgraced predecessor. Even as the country was nursing the wounds of scandal and struggling to understand how the Oval Office had become Ground Zero in the commission of domestic criminality, 52% of Americans still said they had faith in the presidency as an institution. Almost five decades later, such blind faith in the presidency itselfand not the person in the roleseems quaint. The unrelenting disclosures of the Trump era and President Joe Bidens continued slide in voters minds has provided a one-two punch to the countrys mindset. Today, a meager 23% of Americans have faith in the presidency, a 15-point drop from just one year ago. To find a comparable weakness, you have to go back to the hellish lurches of President George W. Bushs 2007 crises in Iraq or the 2008 economic meltdown. At first glance, the data suggests Bidens performance is to blame for the loss of faith in the presidency. But dig deeper and another story emerges. The abysmal drop in Gallups survey is almost entirely due to a loss of faith by Republicans. This isnt simply an example of partisan flip-flopping. Signs point to Trump having salted the ground of the Oval Office as he left it, in a way that may be unfixable. To be sure, the presidency isnt the only pillar of American society to take a hit in Gallups polling on public confidence in institutions, but it is the perfect encapsulation of the countrys partisan divide. Its easier to cheer for the star when hes wearing your teams jersey. In 2020, with Trump still wielding the powers of the presidency, a staggering 84% of Republicans told Gallup that they had a great deal or quite a lot of faith in the institution. This year? Just 2% of Republicans said they held the institution with the same confidence. Story continues Democrats, for their part, have a slightly more durable view of the presidencyor at least have clung to the belief that government can be a force for good, the barrage of attacks on it from the last commander in chief notwithstanding. During the final year of the Trump presidency, 16% of Democrats still told Gallup that they had faith in the presidency. That number surged to 69% during Bidens first year in power before falling back to 51% this year. So why does this matter? For one, illegitimate institutions are easier to ignore, and Republicans have worked with consistency and vigor to discount Bidens presidency, starting during the transition and continuing to this day. On the left, progressives are trying to do to the Supreme Court what Trump did to the presidency. Institutions are supposed to be the grounding that survives the individuals, mooring the broader field to consistency. Biden won in 2020 by promising to restore a sense of normalcy to the presidency; Trump sent a mob he knew was armed to the Capitol to pressure Congress to let him keep the role. (Congress confidence levels, by the way, stand at 7% among all Americans, a staggering accomplishment to be viewed as less credible than newspapers and television news, even after Trumps fake news offensive.) Secondly, the precipitous fall among Republicans is a revealing glimpse into how destructive Trumps time in power actually was. At this point in Barack Obamas presidency, at the height of the Tea Party takeover of the GOP and Congress in 2010, 11% of Republicans told Gallup that they still had faith in the presidency itself, even if they didnt much care for the Democrat in the White House at the moment. Knocking down government and its institutions was an explicit goal of the Trump team. They may have succeeded in ways they didnt realize. A third point on a list that could populate an entire Government Departments curriculum is that this is about far more than Biden. Confidence in institutions has been slipping for years with varying consequences. Small businesses and the military are the only two institutions that carry the confidence of the majority of Americans, while Congress, the media, and the criminal justice system are in the muck at the bottom of Americans minds. Its not great for the country when so few people have faith that leading media organizations are doing their job appropriately, but it carries far less threat to the republic than having so few people believe in the presidency. At times of war, tragedy, and crisis, the presidency is the unifying role that does its best to steady the United States and at least steer it to a stable plane. With almost zero Republicans giving the presidency high marks and 77% telling pollsters they have very little confidence in the institution, that is a very real and manifest threat to the country itself. Pollsters rightly note that confidence in the presidency has a statistical link to the specific presidents job approval ratings, and Bidens are, frankly, garbage. The FiveThirtyEight historical comparisons show Biden under even Nixon and Jimmy Carter at this point in his presidency, and Democrats have stopped with the civility typically afforded their party leader. Some are even openly musing if Biden should step aside and let someone else be the nominee in 2024a stunning breach of deference that, in Bidens comity-soaked Washington, will draw little punishment. Still, rude or not, those Democrats can read the same polling data outsiders can, and they certainly have more detailed analysis. Bidens team is stacked with some of the smartest minds in the Democratic Party, and his White House isnt short on talent, either. Thats why its such a wonder to see him finally reach a job hes coveted since the Watergate era and realize that, in some ways, those were the good ol days. At least back then, even with a scandal-plagued President in the rearview mirror and an embattled incumbent trying to heal the country in the drivers seat, Americans still thought the presidency itself mattered. These dayswith a not-inexact parallelnot so much. Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter. Fox News host Tucker Carlson has a theory about alleged mass shooting suspects, and part of the blame lies with women and weed. Carlson, during an episode of his show on Tuesday, weighed in on the appearance of 21-year-old Highland Park, Illinois, shooting suspect Robert E. Crimo. Crimo has been charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder after allegedly killing at least seven people and injuring dozens of others at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb Monday. Carlson, who questioned why Crimo didnt raise an alarm on his show, claimed theres a lot of men who look and act like him. The right-wing commentator blamed social media, porn, video games and drugs for the actions of men accused of mass shootings. They are high on government-endorsed weed, smoke some more, its good for you... Carlson said. Carlson proceeded to claim that gunmen in massacres think theyll be worse off than their parents. And yet the authorities in their lives mostly women never stops lecturing them about their so-called privilege. You can watch the full clip below. Tucker Carlson is blaming mass shootings on women "lecturing" men pic.twitter.com/lr3Q1Or4mJ Kat Abu (@abughazalehkat) July 6, 2022 This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Six days after their disappearance, a pair of 14-year-old girls were tracked through four Texas cities and rescued, authorities said. The two girls went missing on June 29 and were reported as having been abducted from McGregor, Texas, just over 90 miles north of Austin. After initially not meeting the criteria for an Amber Alert, authorities issued an alert on Monday, July 4, McClatchy News reported. Early on the morning of Tuesday, July 5, the girls were found in Georgetown, Texas, McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said during a news conference streamed by the Waco Tribune-Herald and KXXV. Georgetown is about 65 miles south of where the girls were last seen. The sheriff said the girls were in a very dangerous situation with several different people. And so we have reason to believe that they were mistreated very badly. The crime investigation division and human trafficking unit tracked the girls through four different cities, a total distance of about 167 miles, McNamara said. Officials said the teens were taken to at least five different homes, WFAA reported. The girls were tracked from McGregor to Bellmead to Belton back to McGregor and finally to Georgetown, McNamara said. Authorities tracked the pair of girls through 5 houses in 4 cities before rescuing them. Were very worried about what might have happened to em, said McNamara. The individual found with the girls in Georgetown was arrested on charges of harboring, McNamara said. The individual had no relation to the girls, authorities told KCENTV. Were gonna be filing charges and there will be some other arrest made, McNamara said as the investigation is ongoing. The girls may have initially run away but human trafficking may also have been involved, according to WFAA. The Amber Alert was issued after one of the girls asked for help on Snapchat, reported The Waco Tribune-Herald. Womans assault sparks huge bar fight, leaving man with eye hanging out, Ohio cops say Migrants found locked in toolboxes in truck in extreme Texas heat, agents say Mom accused of flashing inmates as her kids played now faces prison time, PA judge says By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. aviation system is expected to "remain challenged this summer and beyond" and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs more air traffic control staff, a senior United Airlines executive said on Wednesday. The FAA responded to United Wednesday, saying on July 3 and 4 "there were no FAA staffing-related delays at all, yet airlines still canceled over 1,100 flights, a quarter of which were United Airlines flights." Summer travelers face mounting flight cancellations as demand rises and the industry tries to rebuild staff levels after thousands of workers left during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The reality is that there are just more flights scheduled industrywide than the (air traffic control) staffing system can handle," United's chief operations officer, Jon Roitman, said in a message to staff seen by Reuters. "Until that is resolved, we expect the U.S. aviation system will remain challenged this summer and beyond." The FAA said it "will continue to meet our responsibility to hold airlines accountable, while standing ready to collaborate where appropriate so that Americans can confidently expect safe, reliable, and affordable service whenever they purchase an airline ticket." U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who met June 16 with airline CEOs on summer travel issues, told CNBC on Tuesday that "air traffic control staffing issues do not explain the majority of delays and cancellations we've been seeing." U.S. airlines have cut about 15% of planned summer flights, an airline trade group said last month, while United has temporarily halted 12% of departures from its Newark hub alone because of congestion. Over the four-day July Fourth holiday weekend, 8.8 million passengers were screened by the U.S. Transportation Security Agency (TSA) checkpoints, topping 2020 and 2021 but around 12% lower than 2019 levels. Story continues Roitman estimated "over 50% of our delay minutes and 75% of our cancels in the past four months were because of FAA traffic management initiatives." He said United performed better than major rivals over the holiday weekend but added "we still have some work to do to meet standards of reliability and operational performance." Last month, an airline industry trade group said the FAA must ensure adequate air traffic control staffing to avoid further summer travel disruptions, saying a key Florida center had been "understaffed for 27 of the last 30 days, which is crippling to the entire east coast traffic flows." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Himani Sarkar and David Gregorio) (Bloomberg) -- The US and its allies have discussed trying to cap the price on Russian oil between $40 and about $60 a barrel, according to people familiar with the matter, as they seek to limit the Kremlins ability to finance its war on Ukraine. Most Read from Bloomberg German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using natural gas deliveries as a political weapon. European natural gas resumed its rally as traders focused on the risk of potential disruptions from top supplier Russia. Ukraines foreign minister cast doubt on a near-term breakthrough in talks to unblock grain exports from the war-ravaged nations Black Sea ports, as fears of a global hunger crisis intensify. Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 nations began arriving for a two-day meeting in Bali where Russias war is expected to dominate discussions. (See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.) Key Developments US, Allies Discuss Capping Russian Oil Price at $40-$60 a Barrel Scholz Accuses Putin of Using Natural Gas Deliveries As Weapon Russias War-Weary Tech Talent Floods Into Neighboring Georgia Russia Dodges Worst Recession Fears as Oil Eases Sanctions Pain Blinken Plans Candid Exchange With Chinas Wang on Ukraine War EU Lawmakers Remove Last Hurdle for Gas, Nuclear as Green On the Ground Russia twice attacked the Odesa region with missiles overnight, destroying two agricultural hangars and hitting Snake Island, a strategic outpost off the Black Sea coast, local authorities said on Telegram. In the east, Russian troops attempted to conduct assaults in the Slovyansk in Donetsk regions, and to establish full control over Luhansk, Ukraines General Staff said in its morning update. The Institute for the Study of War said there were no claimed or assessed Russian territorial gains in Ukraine on Wednesday for the first time in 133 days of war. Story continues (All times CET) Ukraine War Short-Circuits Europes Clean Energy Plan (6:12 a.m.) Putins invasion of Ukraine has forced several countries to backpedal on the European Unions Fit for 55 plan for decarbonization, to compensate for cuts in Russian fuel supplies. European countries have burned more coal, planned new liquefied natural gas terminals, and extended the regions network of gas pipelines since February. The climate plan announced last July by the European Commission proposed tightening its existing cap-and-trade system for carbon emission permits, ramping up renewable power, and phasing out cars with internal combustion engines to slash emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels. The war in Ukraine has highlighted the degree to which those ambitions relied on gas piped from Russia. Scholz Accuses Putin of Using Gas Deliveries as Weapon (8:30 p.m.) The remarks from the German chancellor come as his country faces the prospects of further cuts in gas flows, with the Nord Stream pipeline, the main gas conduit to Europe, set to close for maintenance next week. Concerns are mounting that the pipeline wont return to full service after the work. Germany has relied for too long and too one-sidedly on energy deliveries from Russia, Scholz said at an event of the BEE renewable energy business association in Berlin. Today we have to admit: Russia uses energy as a weapon. No one actually believes that Russia is reducing its gas supplies for technical reasons alone, Scholz added. Read more: Scholz Accuses Putin of Using Natural Gas Deliveries As Weapon US and Allies Discuss Capping Russian Oil Prices at $40-$60 (5:40 p.m.) The US and its partners have been exploring ways to limit Russian oil revenues while minimizing the impact on their own economies. The range spans from what is believed to be Russias marginal cost of production and the price of its oil before the Feb. 24 invasion. A more specific threshold would depend on market conditions when a cap is agreed and those could change significantly. The aim is to cut Moscows revenue for its war in Ukraine but the risk is that poorly executed measures would lead to a spike in oil prices. Read more: US, Allies Discuss Capping Russian Oil Price at $40-$60 a Barrel Estonia Ratifies Swedish, Finnish NATO Membership (4:04 p.m.) The Estonian parliament ratified Finland and Swedens accession protocols for joining NATO. The protocols must be vetted by each of the alliances 30 countries for the two Nordic countries to become members. Kremlin Pushes New Wave of Repression at Home as War Drags On (2:50 p.m.) Russian authorities are pushing through a raft of new repressive measures against domestic opponents, expanding crackdowns on critics as the Kremlins war in Ukraine is in its fifth month. Legislators have approved new proposals to dramatically broaden treason statutes, as well as restrictions on foreign agents, a legal category thats been used widely against critics and independent journalists. Another new draft law would restrict the publication of any information deemed to be of use by unfriendly countries in targeting sanctions. The moves all have strong Kremlin support. Already-restrictive rules on public protests are being further tightened as thousands of Russians have been detained for speaking out against the war. Prosecutions under wartime censorship laws have mounted and even loyalists have found themselves targeted. Ukraine Doubts Timing of Deal to Unblock Grain Exports (1:27 p.m.) Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said a number of logistical details need to be worked out in talks brokered by Turkey and United Nations between Ukraine and Russia, though breaking the deadlock will be difficult. We are just about a few steps from the deal, but these steps are the most difficult, Kuleba said in an interview in his office in Kyiv on Tuesday. I dont want to join the chorus of those who say the agreement will take place next week. Read more: Ukraine Doubts Deal to Unblock Grain Exports Will Happen Soon Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Ukraine's General Staff reported on the situation around the Donbas town of Slovyansk on July 6. The enemy troops attacked Ukrainian positions using mortars, cannon and rocket artillery near Krasnopillya and Bohorodychne in Donetsk Oblast. The Ukrainian military repulsed a Russian assault and pushed back the invaders near the village of Dolyna, north of Slovyansk. The occupying army is conducting assault operations near Mazanivka, about 5 kilometers to the west of Dolyna, where the fighting continues. On the Kharkiv axis, Russian invasion forces are engaged in defensive operations. Read also: 25 civilians die in enemy rocket attack on Slovyansk The enemy used helicopters, tanks, mortars, artillery and rockets to attack the areas around 10 settlements. The invaders also remotely mined the area near Shestakove and Peremoha, about 30 kilometers to the north-east of Kharkiv. Read also: Pentagon disputes Russian claim of abandoning Snake Island out of good will Story at a glance The US signed on to, but did not ratify, a United Nations (U.N.) agreement that focused on protecting the human rights of women and girls, including reproductive health rights. After the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, the U.N. urged it to comply with that agreement. The U.N. also emphasized that safe and legal abortion access helps reduce maternal mortality rates and ensures womens right to bodily autonomy. The US is coming under increasing scrutiny from the international community after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, with the United Nations womens rights committee urging the US to adhere to a pact it signed that included allowing legal abortion. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) wants the U.S. to stay true to its commitment that was signed in 1980, called the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. That committee expresses solidarity with women and girls in the US and called on all parties to end criminalizing abortion and to at minimum allow legal abortion in cases of rape, incest, threats to life or health of the pregnant woman and girl and severe fetal impairment. The CEDAW Convention is considered the only near-universal treaty that comprehensively protects womens human rights, including sexual and reproductive health rights. It was created in an effort to promote womens rights and bring, the female half of humanity into the focus of human rights concerns. America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. The U.S. signed onto the convention but has yet to ratify it, making it one of just seven countries, including Iran, Somalia and Sudan, that also have not ratified the Convention despite signing on to it. In light of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the constitutional right to abortion, the Committee said in a statement that it expresses its solidarity with women and girls in the United States and resolutely urges the United States of America to adhere to the Convention. Story continues The committee also emphasized that access to safe and legal abortion helps reduce maternal mortality rates, prevents adolescent and unwanted pregnancies and ensures womens right to freely decide over their bodies. The U.S. is already experiencing a dismal maternal mortality rate, with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating about 700 women die from pregnancy-related complication annually, which is the highest maternal mortality rate of any high-income nation in the world. This isnt the first time the U.N. has criticized the U.S. over its abortion policy, with Melissa Upreti, chairwoman of the U.N.s working group on discrimination against women and girls, saying last year Texas fetal heartbeat bill was structured sex and gender-based discrimination at its worst. That Texas law took effect in September and bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, only making an exception for medical emergencies. It also allows private citizens to sue abortion providers if they have a suspicion that the new law is being breached. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin has expressed concern about a potential cover-up surrounding the law enforcement response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, which left 19 students and two teachers dead. During an interview with CNN on Tuesday, McLaughlin said he was no longer 100% percent confident in the Texas Department of Public Safety, the lead agency tasked with probing officers actions amid the massacre on May 24. That afternoon, the suspected gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, marched into the primary school through an unlocked door, and barricaded himself inside a classroom, where he remained for more than an hour. Authorities released and retracted several timelines in wake of the carnage, sowing confusion and distrust among those mourning in the close-knit Uvalde community. They also faced severe backlash for neglecting to immediately engage with the shooter and instead waiting until they could find a key to unlock the classroom door. I lost confidence because the narrative changed from DPS so many times and when we asked questions, we werent getting answers, the mayor said. McLaughlin specifically took aim at Col. Steven McCraw, the DPS director, who has blamed Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo for the controversial response. He wrongfully believed at the time the situation had transitioned from an active shooter to a hostage situation, McCraw said, and that children were no longer at risk despite the panicked 911 call coming from inside the building. I think its a cover-up. McCraw is covering up for maybe his agencies or maybe he told the story he told an you know ... what do they say? Its always hard when you tell a lie that you have to keep telling a lie. Im not saying he is lying, maybe he was misled, McLaughlin said. Every agency in that hallway is gonna have to share the blame. McCraw has since told the Texas Senate that the police response was an abject failure, but McLaughlin believes there is still more information that has not yet come to light. At this point, I dont know what to believe and what not to believe, he said, adding that he has not had a briefing from anybody since the day after the shooting when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and others had traveled to Uvalde. McLaughlin has also requested the Department of Justice to investigate the law enforcement response. That probe is currently underway. A police officer armed with a rifle asked permission to take a shot at gunman Salvador Ramos moments before the 18-year-old entered Robb Elementary School and killed 21 people in Uvalde, Texas, but the officer reportedly never got a reply. On Wednesday, the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University published a damning review of law enforcements response to the Uvalde shooting and it noted how the request came in about a minute before the heavily armed Ramos reached the school. The report claims the officer was worried a shot might accidentally hit children inside the school. Supervising officers either didnt hear or responded too late to the call. A reasonable officer would conclude in this case, based upon the totality of the circumstances, that use of deadly force was warranted, read the report. The delay meant numerous children who could have been saved were slaughtered in their classroom. This is the latest finding about the chaotic law enforcement tactics that took place during the massacre, which continues to come under heavy criticism from elected leaders and community members alike. State and federal officials are currently investigating how police responded to the massacre, the second worst school shooting in US history. Previously, officials have said armed officers waited more than an hour in a hallway outside the classroom where Ramos was hiding before breaching a door and shooting him. Panicked children inside the room called 911 multiple times, begging police to come in. Some parents even took matters into their own hands, sneaking past police to rescue children themselves. Much of the criticism has been directed at Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo, who officials say was the incident commander during the shooting. Mr Arredondo lacked a radio during the initial moments of the shooting, and officers under his command never tried to open the door to the classroom, believing it was locked when it was in fact open. Story continues The chief, who resigned last week from his city council post and has been on leave from the police department since June, has said he wasnt incident commander at the time. The Independent has contacted the Uvalde Police Department and Mr Arredondo for comment on the latest development. The TSU report also outlines other missed opportunities, noting that one of the first officers on the scene drove to the school so quickly that they flew right by Ramos who was still outside. Once the gunman entered the school, he briefly stepped outside of classroom 111, where officers couldve apprehended him before going back inside. The report also criticises police formations inside the school. It notes that police were positioned on both sides of a hallway in the school as they prepared to attack Ramos resulting in a high likelihood of officers at either end of the hallway shooting officers at the other end. Cumulatively, it suggests that had officers responded immediately and effectively, lives could have been saved. According to audio analysis, Ramos fired 100 rounds in the first three minutes he was inside classrooms at Robb Elementary School. Ideally, the officers would have placed accurate return fire on the attacker when the attacker began shooting at them, the report reads. Maintaining position or even pushing forward to a better spot to deliver accurate return fire would have undoubtedly been dangerous, and there would have been a high probability that some of the officers would have been shot or even killed. However, the officers also would likely have been able to stop the attacker and then focus on getting immediate medical care to the wounded. In June, Texas Department of Pubilc Safety Steven McCraw testified in the state legislature that the school police chiefs decisions during the shooting were an abject failure. The mayor of Uvalde, Texas, is now accusing state law enforcement of orchestrating a "cover-up" in the Robb Elementary School shooting investigation as questions remain as to why police didnt engage the gunman sooner. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin made the remark to CNN as the Texas Department of Public Safety continues to investigate the May 24 attack, which left at least 19 students and two teachers dead. "I think its a cover-up, [Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven] McCraw is covering up for maybe his agencies or maybe he told the story he told that you know ... what do they say its always hard when you tell a lie that you have to keep telling a lie. Im not saying he is lying, maybe he was misled," McLaughlin said. "Every agency in that hallway is going to have to share the blame," he added, referencing criticism as to why responding officers didnt engage shooter Salvador Ramos earlier than they did. "And like I said, again Ill go back to when have you ever seen a federal or state law enforcement officer take their cues from local law enforcement." UVALDE SCHOOL POLICE CHIEF ARREDONDO TO RESIGN FROM CITY COUNCIL: REPORT McLaughlin also said "when I got to that scene, there were 30 to 40 DPS officers already on-scene" and that "these families in this community, they deserve to know what happened." McCraw said in late May that responding officers didn't immediately engage the shooter because "the on-scene commander at the time" who he identified as Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo "believed that it had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject." The Robb Elementary School sign is seen covered in flowers and gifts on June 17, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas, the location of a May mass shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images "A decision was made on the scene I wasnt there that this was a barricaded subject situation, there was time to retrieve the keys and wait for a tactical team with the equipment to go ahead and breach the door and take on the subject," he continued. "At that point, that was the decision, that was the thought process." McCraw later said "from the benefit of hindsight from where I am sitting now, that of course it was not the right decision, it was a wrong decision, period, there was no excuse for that." Uvalde Police Chief Pete Arredondo speaks at a press conference following the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, U.S., May 24, 2022. Mikala Compton/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS But Arredondo said in June that he never considered himself the incident commander on-scene. When Maiah Bennett of Eureka, California, met a female friend recently to lament last month's overturning of Roe v. Wade and discuss how to express their frustrations through art, it wasn't long before they decided it would be through Bennett's tattoo pen. On Friday, Bohemian Tattoo, the shop where Bennett works in Eureka, held a flash sale featuring 10 images the friends had designed. Among them were variations on a uterus including a fairy, a sword and multiple butterflies. In all, Bennett and another artist at the shop produced 10 pro-abortion-rights tattoos, with all proceeds about $1,300 going to the National Network of Abortion Funds, she said. As a tattoo artist, Bennett knows the power her designs can have not only for personal expression but as a means of healing for people overcoming sexual assault or facing depression. "Tattoos are a way of taking ownership over your own body and making a statement for yourself as well as others," said Bennett, 27. "Our bodily autonomy is being stripped from us." The U.S. Supreme Court ruling June 24 denying a constitutional right to abortion marked the culmination of a gradual clampdown on abortion access around the country, with roughly 26 states banning or limiting or expected to ban or limit the procedure. Abortion rights activists gather for a protest following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, at Washington Square Park on June 24, 2022 in New York. In response, some abortion rights supporters are turning to body art to vent their frustrations, state their positions and ease their grief over the loss of what they say should be a basic right. Meanwhile, artists like Bennett and others among the nation's estimated 31,000 tattoo shops are joining the cause by conducting pro-abortion-rights flash sales one-day events offering themed designs at reduced rates with proceeds benefiting abortion rights advocacy organizations. The designs include a pair of underwear ringed with barbed wire, hearts reading "My Body My Choice" and coat hangers with the words "Never Again." Story continues "Its just important to feel heard in this time," Bennett said. "I'm hoping this will help people feel some confirmation in themselves. Pro-abortion tattoos show 'feminine power' The designs werent the only pro-abortion-rights tattoos Bennett has done. In May, just after the leak of a draft opinion foreshadowing the Supreme Court decision, one of her customers came in and asked to be tattooed with the image of a uterus with a raised middle finger. She was very angry at the idea of her bodily autonomy being taken away, Bennett said. A uterus-themed tattoo in the form of a fairy designed by tattoo artist Maiah Bennett of Eureka, Calif. Bennett tattooed the image on a customer at a pro-abortion flash sale event held on July 1, 2022, by Bohemian Tattoo, where Bennett works. Kelly Nestman was also angry. Nestman, who owns a consulting company focused on reproductive health in Pittsburgh, said she has seen four or five local tattoo shops holding abortion access flash sales since last month's ruling. Last week, she sought out local artist Ashley Karpa-Strang for the design she had in mind a lush, 5-inch-long image of a vagina. The imagery is important to Nestman not only because of her career in reproductive health justice but also because, as someone with endometriosis, a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, she has experienced her own related struggles. I have a lot of vaginal imagery in my house, said Nestman, 27. I see it as this beautiful thing, not something for folks to use as an insult. It represents feminine power in a way that is thousands of years old. Theres no way you can adequately do anything in abortion care without acknowledging a vagina. The image isn't Nestman's first abortion-rights-related tattoo: Six years ago, as an intern for Planned Parenthood, she had an image of a coat hanger tattooed on her wrist. When I shake peoples hands, I want them to know where I stand, she said. Pro-abortion demonstrators hold coat hangers, a symbol of the reproductive rights movement, outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 3. While some in the reproductive health care field are pushing to deemphasize coat hanger imagery, Nestman said, she sees the image as an homage to the many activists and researchers who paved the way toward abortion access and contraception. With last month's ruling, she said, that fight continues, which is what spurred her to get her latest pro-abortion-rights tattoo. She plans to get another this summer. "It's another pivotal moment in this fight, knowing I need to do something to keep me going," Nestman said. "It's to remind me that this is a long game and that I can only control what I can control, doing what I can in Pennsylvania." Embracing body art in support of abortion access In Dallas, where Lady Magnolia Tattoo plans a pro-abortion-rights benefit event this month, tattoo artist Andrea Patterson has prepared a sheet of 10 designs, including a heart reading Pro Choice, a uterus with a smiley face and a bead-like design reading Rosaries Off My Ovaries. Whether or not you want to get an abortion, there are still people who need it and its not anybodys say, said Patterson, 31. The idea of people going about it unsafely just turns my stomach. At Lady Magnolia Tattoo in Dallas, Texas, artist Andrea Patterson, 31, colors in an image of an ammonite for patron Kate Pelusio, 34, on Friday, July 1, 2022. Patterson planned to take part in the shop's pro-abortion flash sale later in the month to benefit abortion rights advocacy organizations. Pattersons passion for abortion rights began early after her grandmother told her of her own experience as a younger woman. She told me that the first time she had sex, she got pregnant and went to Galveston to have an abortion, she said. But the person butchered it and didnt get it done right, so she had to go to the hospital for a week before she passed the fetus. She told me that when I was, like, 12 or 13 so it kind of stuck with me. The Supreme Court ruling made Patterson angry, and more than a little sad, especially knowing that other members of her extended family have had abortions for various reasons. Ive definitely cried a lot, she said. She hopes the tattoos will help destigmatize abortion, provide people with a sense of solidarity and allow them to express themselves in a meaningful way. I hope it brings more awareness and that financially we can make some difference, she said. Others, like Jasmine Ramirez of Danielson, Connecticut, started offering tattoo art last year as more restrictive abortion laws were being passed in statehouses throughout the country. Nearly a year ago, the tattoo artist organized a solo flash sale featuring pro-abortion-rights designs at Sinful Skin, the shop where she works in Danielson. "Plain and simple, I don't think anybody should have the right to tell me what to do with my body," Ramirez said. The 30-year-old had announced the event on her Instagram page: I've never really been the activist type, but I am truly sickened by these new abortion laws being passed, she wrote. These new laws aren't about saving children, they're about controlling women and it needs to end! Though shes grateful to live in a state where those rights are supported, she knows other women arent as lucky. It was a small effort to say I contributed in some way, to know that I did my part because its scary thinking how people can believe that its OK to take these rights away, Ramirez said. I felt it was important to do something. In all, she did seven tattoos that day, raising more than $400 for the Connecticut Womens March in support of reproductive rights. Her most popular design was A Dont-Tread-On-Me-style snake in the shape of a uterus. People were messaging me even after the sale wanting to get the designs, Ramirez said. At a time when so many upset by the Supreme Court decision are seeking ways to vent, Ramirez sees such tattoos as expressions of pride and self-determination. Being pro-choice isn't about being pro-abortion, it's being pro-minding-my-own-damn-business, she posted after her flash-sale event. I am so proud to be a woman and I am so honored to be able to make a difference as a tattoo artist. She said the shop hopes to stage another similar event, confident that the response would be positive. "People are really pissed off," Ramirez said. A tattooed image created by artist Maiah Bennett of Bohemian Tattoo in Eureka, Calif., on July 1, 2022. Bennett, 27, designed multiple images as part of a pro-abortion flash sale conducted by the shop to benefit the National Network for Abortion Funds. 'It was a reminder to me of why I do what I do' For some medical providers, the Supreme Court ruling is not the first time they've turned to tattoos. In 2016, Dr. Gillian Schivone, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist in St. Louis, was among hundreds of reproductive health physicians attending the National Abortion Federations annual conference in Austin. Fired up by regulations that had prompted half of Texas' abortion clinics to close, she and several colleagues decided one night over dinner to do something to voice their frustrations. The next day, each of them got a coat hanger tattoo, an experience that brought them closer. I just wanted a reminder of why I do the work I do, especially when times get difficult, Schivone said. We cant go back to a time when people were dying from unsafe abortion. Schivone's tattoo, on her foot, is not readily visible, meant mostly for herself rather than other people not that shes secretive about her profession. Shes vocal about her work as an abortion provider, so tattoo or no tattoo, people are going to know what I do. A tattoo of a coat hanger with the words "Never Again" adorns Colleen Krajewski's right forearm. For Pittsburgh physician Colleen Krajewski, the decision to get a pro-abortion-rights tattoo came in 2016, when Donald Trump was elected president. She said she and many of her reproductive health colleagues saw the writing on the wall: A conservative Supreme Court would likely mean the overturning of Roe v. Wade and, for many, the end of legalized abortion. A month later, frustrated and angry, Krajewski, an obstetrician and gynecologist, decided to declare her support for reproductive freedom by getting a tattoo on her right forearm of a coat hanger with the words Never Again. It symbolizes a pre-Roe time when the instrument was used in dangerous attempts to perform illicit abortions, she said. It came from knowing that the road ahead was going to be really hard, that there would be times when I was going to burn out and that I wouldnt want to fight the good fight anymore but that if I did, there would be consequences, Krajewski said. It was a reminder to me of why I do what I do. Coat hangers recalling the pre-Roe v. Wade era on the anti-scaling fence outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on May 5, 2022 in Washington, D.C. Both physicians noted that with the advent of the abortion pill, the landscape is not as scary and dangerous as it was before Roe, when many turned to coat hangers or other risky methods rumored to be effective, such as obscure herbs or bleach, to induce abortion. That's one reason many in the field want to deemphasize the coat hanger imagery. We have safer ways to self-manage abortion than we did pre-Roe, and thats super-important for people to know, Schivone said. Krajewski also said she wants women to know coat hanger abortions do not need to be in their future. We are going backward in many ways, but we are not going back to coat hangers, Krajewski said. "Thats not to say we didnt fight and write our congressmen and do what we could, but still, here we are. And thats quite sobering. 'I need to something to keep me going' While having pro-abortion-rights designs tattooed on one's body can be curative, so, too, can creating them: One of the designs Bennett, the California artist, created for last week's event featured a girl with flowers growing from her head and, between her legs, an apple with a bite taken out of it. As someone who was raped as a teenager, Bennett said, the image holds special meaning. Our bodily autonomy is being stripped from us, Bennett said, and while the pain and rage she has felt has made her feel like a drop of water in an ocean, if I can help people express how they feel on this subject through tattoos, that will help me feel less like Im drowning. Thats the kind of comfort Nestman, the reproductive health specialist in Pittsburgh, said she sought through her body art. In addition to her coat hanger and vagina tattoos, she plans to get a third image this summer a design she said will be in the dreamy rainbow style of a Lisa Frank cat. With everything happening this last week with Roe, its just knowing that I need something to keep me going, to remind me that this is a long game, Nestman said. That includes contributing to abortion-rights advocacy organizations and working to elect supportive politicians, she said. Her work in the reproductive health field, she said, had never pleased her grandmother, a tea party Republican who staunchly opposed abortion but who had nonetheless arranged an illicit abortion for her daughter Nestmans mother in the early 1970s, before Roe v. Wade. She got her coat hanger tattoo a month before her grandmother died of Parkinsons disease. The last time I saw her, she was completely nonverbal, Nestman said. But when she saw the tattoo for the first time she just lit up. She knew this work was what I was going to be doing. At that point, politics aside, she knew this was an important thing for people to have access to. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pro-abortion rights tattoos help activists vent anger, ease grief Mabel Askay, 6, who just finished kindergarten, died in an accident during an out-of-state Fourth of July parade. A 6-year-old Ventura girl died Monday after a Fourth of July parade accident in North Dakota, authorities said. Mabel Askay, daughter of Juanamaria Elementary School Principal Michael Askay, died just weeks after finishing kindergarten, a Ventura Unified School District spokeswoman said. The Mandan Police confirmed Tuesday that Mabel died enroute to the North Dakota city's parade. She had been riding on a trailer headed to a parade staging area, according to a news release from the Mandan Police Department. Mabel fell from the trailer, which had been slated as an entry in the parade, and was "struck by a tire(s) of the trailer," the release says. She was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Police are still investigating the incident. More Ventura news: Ventura school trustees pick superintendent they hope will be for the long-term A Facebook post from the Juanamaria's Parent Teacher Association noted Mabel's death and a candlelight vigil for her. A vigil, originally planned for Tuesday night, was postponed indefinitely when expected attendance outgrew initial plans, Marieanne Quiroz, the district's public information officer said. "We are dedicated to wrapping our arms around this family, including her brother and sister, Fletcher and Matilda, when they return home, Quiroz wrote in a statement. Lynn Bova, Askay's kindergarten teacher, said in a statement that there were "no words" to describe her former student. You must imagine the warmth of the sun when she skips into the room," said Bova in a statement. "The joy in her sparkly blue eyes, her kindness as she rescues a lost spider or bug that found its way into our classroom, the silliness of her green tongue after enjoying a popsicle, and the love she shared with everyone she met." Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura girl dies in Fourth of July parade accident in North Dakota Brookfield Zoo, just outside Chicago, went under lockdown and had visitors shelter in place Tuesday night after the facility's crisis line flagged a phone call threatening violence, the zoo's police said. The scare comes on the heels of a mass shooting in nearby Chicago suburb Highland Park, where seven people were killed and dozens injured after a gunman opened fire on a Fourth of July parade from a rooftop. Late Tuesday, the zoo released a statement noting that staff members and visitors had been sent home safely. In a news conference, police said 50 officers from combined departments executed a "methodical" sweep of the 216-acre property. Police departments from Brookfield and Riverside were hailed around 5 p.m. local time after the zoo police received a call from a crisis intervention line informing staff of a woman who called and threatened to harm zoo guests and herself. Timeline: How the Highland Park July 4th parade shooting unfolded How to help: Here's how you can help those affected by the Highland Park July 4th mass shooting Andrew and Ella Zimmerman watch Hudson, a 3-year-old polar bear, swim at the new Great Bear Wilderness exhibit April 30 at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Ill. The threat was enough to prompt a brief lockdown ahead of its 6 p.m. close time patrons sheltered in place out of precaution. Authorities released everyone around 8 p.m. after it was determined there was no threat. They came for the American dream: On the Fourth of July, they survived an American shooting. "In light of the Highland Park shooting, we wanted to do everything in our power to keep our zoo and animals safe," Mike Pendola, chief of police for the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, said in the news conference. He noted the caller was not in custody but the FBI had gotten involved. "Our main priority is the safety of our guests, staff and animals. We are extremely grateful for the partnership and incredible collective response we received to this situation. We find comfort in knowing that our well-trained police officers and partners provide for a very safe environment at Brookfield Zoo." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago Brookfield Zoo goes on lockdown after Highland Park shooting The current Supreme Court is now dominated by far-right extremists (Getty Images) The United States has been constantly evolving since it was founded in 1776, but its survival as a democracy is now gravely endangered. A set of loosely interconnected developments at home and abroad is responsible for this crisis. From abroad, the US is threatened by repressive regimes led by Xi Jinping in China and Vladimir Putins Russia, who want to impose an autocratic form of government on the world. But the threat from domestic enemies of democracy is even greater. They include the current Supreme Court, which is dominated by far-right extremists, and Donald Trumps Republican party, which placed those extremists there. What qualifies the majority of the Supreme Court as extremists? It is not merely their decision to overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 case that recognised a womans right to choose whether to give birth. What qualifies them as extremists is the arguments they used to justify their decision, and the indications they gave of how far they might be willing to go. Justice Samuel Alito, author of the majority opinion, based his ruling on the assertion that the Fourteenth Amendment protects only those rights generally recognised in 1868, when the amendment was ratified. But this argument endangers many other rights that have been recognized since then, among them the right to contraception, same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights. Carried to its logical conclusion, this line of reasoning could even allow states to ban interracial marriage, as some did until 1967. It is also clear this court intends to mount a frontal attack on the executive branch. One of the most consequential rulings of the courts just-completed term denied the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to issue regulations needed to combat climate change. It doesnt take long to find the common denominator in the courts recent decisions: support causes promoted by Trumps Republican party and weaken or outlaw causes favoured by the Democratic party. Story continues Consider gun laws. The courts radical wing listens closely to the pro-gun lobby. So, though a recent epidemic of mass shootings created such a national outcry that even some Republicans supported a new federal gun law, the court compensated the National Rifle Association by striking down a longstanding New York law that placed strict restrictions on carrying concealed handguns (New York State immediately passed new gun control laws that are likely to end up before the Supreme Court). The Supreme Court used to be among the most highly respected institutions in the US. Through its recent decisions, the extremist majority has driven its approval rating to a historic low, and disapproval to new highs. The dissenting opinion in the case that overturned Roe flatly stated that the majority decision undermines the courts legitimacy. Unfortunately, the minority is likely to remain in the minority for a long time, because the extremists are younger and hold a 6-3 majority. There is only one way to rein in the Supreme Court: throw the Republican party out of office in a landslide. That would allow Congress to protect the rights entrusted to the protection of the Supreme Court. It is now clear that doing so was a big mistake. Congress must act, starting with protecting a womans right to choose. If the filibuster must be amended to achieve that, so be it. But when it comes to organising a landslide victory against radicalised Republicans, opponents face almost insuperable obstacles. Republicans have stacked the Supreme Court and many lower courts with extremist judges. In states such as Florida, Georgia, and Texas, they have enacted a raft of laws that make voting very difficult. While these laws focus on disenfranchising African Americans, other minorities, and young voters generally, their ultimate goal is to help Republicans win elections. As a Florida federal judge recently wrote in striking down one of these laws, they were enacted with the intent to restructure Floridas election system in ways that favour the Republican party over the Democratic party. To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment, sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here These laws would be bad enough if they only targeted who can vote. But Republicans are going further, by attacking the vote-counting and election-certification process. From changing the law to making subversion of the electoral system easier, to recruiting believers that the 2020 election was stolen to oversee the process, we are watching Republicans attack our system of democracy from every angle. And here, too, the radical Supreme Court has done its part, gutting the federal Voting Rights Act and allowing naked partisan redistricting to weaken minority voting power. Fortunately, I am not alone in claiming the survival of democracy in the US is gravely endangered. The American public has been aroused by the decision overturning Roe. But people need to recognise that decision for what it is: part of a carefully laid plan to turn the US into a repressive regime, particularly targeting women regardless of the devastating consequences. We must do everything we can to prevent that. This fight ought to include many people who voted for Trump in the past. I am a supporter of the Democratic party, but this is not a partisan issue. It is about re-establishing a functioning two-party political system which is at the core of American democracy. George Soros is Chairman of Soros Fund Management and Open Society Foundations. His most recent book is In Defense of Open Society (Public Affairs, 2019) Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Crypto lender Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy late Tuesday, becoming the second high-profile crypto firm to do so in recent days. The Toronto-based Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections Tuesday in the U.S. Southern District Court of New York, estimating that it had more than 100,000 creditors and somewhere between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets. It also recorded the same range for its liabilities. The company believes that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors, according to the filing. Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc., Voyager Digital, LLC and Voyager Digital Ltd. all filed for bankruptcy. Crypto companies and lenders in particular have faced solvency issues in recent weeks, with several stopping customers from withdrawing their funds. Celsius kicked off this trend last month, announcing in mid-June that it would suspend withdrawals. CoinLoan, CoinFLEX and Voyager itself all announced restrictions or outright halts on withdrawals in recent days. Voyager joins Three Arrows Capital in filing for bankruptcy. Three Arrows, however, filed a Chapter 15 petition tied to an ongoing liquidation effort ordered by a court in the British Virgin Islands. According to writer Frances Coppola, Voyagers loan book accounted for nearly half of its total assets, and nearly 60% of that loan book was composed of loans to Three Arrows. In a statement posted online after this article was published, Voyager CEO Steven Ehrlich said reorganizing the company "is the best way to protect" the company's assets, and pointed the finger at Three Arrows for some of its woes. Following that statement, Ehrlich posted on Twitter, "Customers with crypto in their account(s) will receive in exchange a combination of the crypto in their account(s), proceeds from the 3AC recovery, common shares in the newly reorganized Company, and Voyager tokens." Story continues FDIC protections? The filing comes as industry observers increase their scrutiny of Voyagers business practices, particularly how the Canadian-listed firm said in marketing materials that investors' deposits were protected by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance. While FDIC insurance would indeed protect bank-held cash deposits up to $250,000, it would not cover cash converted to stablecoins. Commentators including Coppola have called Voyagers marketing around its handling of deposits misleading. Moreover, the FDIC insurance kicks in in the event of a bank failure in this case, Voyager was banked by Metropolitan Commercial Bank. There is no protection in the event of a Voyager failure. Creditors According to the filing, Voyager Digital, Ltd.'s equity holders include Alameda Research Ventures LLC and Alameda Ventures Ltd., two companies associated with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of crypto exchange FTX, who has extended credit lines or otherwise bailed out other crypto companies. Voyager also owes Google nearly $1 million, according to the filing. Voyager's stock, already battered by the crypto market selloff, was trading at 27 cents at market close Tuesday, giving the company a market cap of $65 million Canadian dollars (around US$50 million). That's smaller than the $75 million unsecured loan issued by Alameda Research, according to the bankruptcy filings. The stock traded above $20 in November, but fell below a dollar last month. Voyager also claimed in its blog post that it had $110 million in cash, $350 million in cash at Metropolitan, $1.3 billion in crypto and was owed $650 million from Three Arrows. It did not say what specifically the liabilities are. Shares are currently halted from trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange ahead of what is expected to be a delisting. UPDATE (July 6, 2022, 05:05 UTC): Adds additional context. UPDATE (July 6, 2022, 05:55 UTC): Adds statement from Voyager. UPDATE (July 6, 2022, 06:07 UTC): Adds Twitter statement from Ehrlich. UPDATE (July 6, 2022, 14:25 UTC): Adds delisting information. Boris Johnson is coming under increasing pressure to resign. (Reuters) Boris Johnson's premiership is hanging by a thread. Dozens of ministers have resigned in the past 24 hours and senior Cabinet figures are also believed to have gone to Downing Street to tell the PM he should stand aside. So far, Johnson has insisted publicly that he will "keep going". Yahoo News UK explains what could happen if he does stick it out, and what Tory MPs can do to force him from office. What happens next? Any formal process to remove Johnson would normally start with Conservative MPs submitting letters of no confidence to the influential 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers. However, the group's rules dictate that only one vote of confidence can be held per year and, because Johnson survived a confidence vote last month, in theory he remains safe for now. Read more: Buckingham Palace 'plans to block PM calling snap election' There had been widespread rumours that the committee would change the rules on Tuesday evening to enable another confidence vote to take place. It has since been confirmed that the rules will stay the same - for now. However, new elections to the committee are due to be concluded by early next week. At that point, Sir Graham Brady - the chair - could change the leadership election rules and force the prime minister to face another vote within days. Chris Pincher was appointed as a minister by Boris Johnson despite him knowing about his history of sexual assault. (AP) What happens if he loses the vote? If Johnson loses a vote of no confidence, then a Conservative party leadership contest would ensue. Leadership hopefuls would then need two nominations from other Tory MPs to run - after which party MPs would hold a ballot to choose the candidates. Candidates with the lowest votes are eliminated until only two remain, and the winner is then chosen by Tory party members. Read more: Do you think Boris Johnson should quit? As it's entirely an internal party matter, a general election is not needed - and the decision of who becomes the leader is down to Conservative party members, who have the final say. The entire process usually lasts around 12 weeks, with MPs vying for leadership launching campaigns in a similar way to a general election. Story continues Liz Truss is the bookies favourite to be Boris Johnson's successor. (Reuters) Which Tories could replace him as leader? In the interim, should Johnson be ousted, it is likely deputy prime minister Dominic Raab would take over until a leadership contest is held. As to who will lead the party thereafter, there are already reports that senior Conservative MPs - like Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss, who are immensely popular in the party - have their eyes on the top job. Read more: Do you think Boris Johnson should quit? What happens if he wins the vote? Should Boris Johnson survive another confidence vote, he has vowed to battle on. And on Wednesday, the prime minister's spokesperson said he expects to survive. However, the chances of this happening are close to zero due to the sheer number of Tories who have gone on record to say they want him to go. Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote on 6 June. (PA) When could Boris Johnson be gone? If Johnson is ousted, it would depend on what the 1922 committee decides to do. If the committee decides to allow another confidence vote this year, then Johnson's departure could be imminent - as soon as next week. It also seems likely that any vote of confidence would need to take place before 22 July before Parliament goes into recess. If no rules are changed and Johnson refuses to quit, he could - theoretically - be safe until next year. Watch: 'Enough is enough', says Sajid Javid as he calls on ministers to oust Boris Johnson Voters are becoming disillusioned by Democrats calls to storm the polls following Roe v. Wades demise, arguing the partys failure to prepare for the moment means it could face an unpleasant fate in November. Almost from the moment the Supreme Court announced it was ending the constitutional right to an abortion, Democrats began working to make it a midterm issue, presenting a vote for their side as a way to help codify Roe at the state and perhaps federal level or at least prevent Republicans from doing the opposite. But that message is already falling flat. Frustration with the lack of progress on many womens issues and what some see as a lack of a clear vision on abortion have left voters skeptical that the solution lies at the ballot box. Here we are with leadership basically [reduced] to begging for people to vote, said Aaron Chappell, political director of the grassroots group Our Revolution. No clear plan, no promises of what those votes will translate to. The people chanting just vote blue make me lowkey want to die, said another disgruntled operative involved with strategy for progressive candidates. Its nuts. Democrats across the country have sought to make abortion access front and center in their election bids. Last week, incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassans (D-N.H.) campaign became the first to launch a television advertisement on the issue since the Supreme Court decision last month. In Florida, Rep. Val Demings (D), who is challenging incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), rolled out a digital hitting him over his abortion stance. Democratic and abortion rights groups are also pouring money into ad buys. On Thursday, Planned Parenthood Votes launched a $3 million television campaign in Pennsylvania hitting GOP Senate nominee Mehmet Oz over his anti-abortion stance. The national groups action fund followed up with $1.5 million in spending in Wisconsin attacking Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). And in Nevada, EMILYs List rolled out a $2.1 million buy slamming Republican Senate candidate Adam Laxalt on the same topic. Story continues Top Republican lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have signaled that a nationwide abortion ban is unlikely. McConnell personally hasnt been too eager to press the issue while his party is not in power. But Democrats dont believe things will stay that way. They are so skeptical, in fact, that liberal candidates are warning on the campaign trail that their GOP counterparts would do just that if they win back control of the upper chamber, hoping to create enough urgency to tilt the turnout numbers in their favor. One of the primary examples of just how politically bad this can be for Republicans is the talking points Senate Republicans put out within 24 hours of the leak happening, said Jessica Floyd, who leads the Democratic PAC American Bridge. Dont talk about the fact that this could take away your contraception. Dont talk about the fact that this will actually limit general health care options, she said about the apparent right-wing strategy. Democrats seeking higher office or looking to remain in their current positions see merit in pushing talking points that shift the focus to what Republicans could do if they reclaim one or both chambers of Congress. I believe the best way to protect a womans fundamental freedom is to reject candidates who would support the nationwide abortion ban McConnell has been pushing for, Hassan told reporters last week. Hassan, who previously served as the states governor with a staunch record of supporting abortion rights, said its essential to support Democrats who have said on the record that they would vote to enshrine Roe. But some strategists question whether thats the right approach. I think that there is just this wishful thinking on the part of the party establishment that suddenly Roe being overturned is good news, that this changes the tide of the midterms, Chappell said. Some candidates, aware of voter anger about what many see as a weak response from the Biden administration, are putting forward their own proposals. Progressives and some moderates favor making the Supreme Court bigger by adding more justices to the bench, bolstering the long-held belief on the left that if there are more seats, it would even the representation of viewpoints and theoretically create more equitable rulings. Currently, the high court has a 6-3 conservative majority after former President Trump appointed three justices during his first White House term. On Tuesday, left-wing lawmakers solidified that position, with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the caucus chair, issuing a statement calling for more seats. We must hold these rogue justices to account, Jayapal wrote on behalf of her caucus. Democratic candidates are also pledging their commitment by supporting an end to the Senates filibuster. If it wasnt for that one parliamentary procedure, they say, there would be more progress on everything from womens rights to democracy reforms. Last week, Democratic lawmakers and activists praised Biden for saying he believes the rule should be amended in order to codify Roe. While his call was met with relief for some, others said that it was half-assed and lamented that he could have moved on the filibuster much sooner. Its just astounding that it took them this long and then when he finally gets to it, when he finally comes around on it, its a weak announcement at the end of a news week, said another Democratic strategist, speaking without attribution to talk freely about the sensitive subject. People are pretty pissed. As with earlier blockades, however, Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), the two most moderate Democratic voices in the Senate, have been opposed to changing the rules and dont appear likely to alter their stances now. This means that Democrats would likely have to keep the seats they currently hold and win two more in order for possible action. Abortion Rights Week is feeling a lot like Infrastructure Week in that it never actually begins, the progressive operative said. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to offer further guidance on Tuesday, while Biden previously indicated that there could be an announcement in the coming days. For all the personal angst around the issue of abortion, other Democrats argue its not happening in isolation. Topics like access to reproductive health care, environmental regulations, and certain education reforms are broadly popular with voters, yet liberals arent able to make traction. That dynamic has created more tension between candidates running on aspirational platforms and elected officials facing the realities of a log-jammed Washington, D.C. Theres this degree of self-fulfilling defeatism when leaders who control nearly every level of political power just sort of callously point to the next election, said Sawyer Hackett, a senior communications strategist at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. If we have all of that and we still cant win on issues in that environment, then there are clearly these major structural issues we have to tackle too. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. An Ohio woman was sitting on her couch at home on the Fourth of July when a bullet flew in from outside and hit her in the head. It happened just before midnight in the 1600 block of Summit Lake Boulevard in Akron, according to investigators. The 26-year-old woman was taken to a hospital but died from her injuries the following day, the Summit County Medical Examiners Office announced. Officials believe the woman was likely struck by celebratory gunfire, the office told McClatchy News. Akron police found 9mm handgun casings along the shore of a nearby lake. A bullet from that dangerous celebration may have been the one that came flying through the front window of the womans home, killing her. An investigation is still underway, and the medical examiners office is preparing to conduct an autopsy on the victim, the office told McClatchy. Bullets fired into the air inevitably come crashing back down to earth, sometimes as far as a mile from where they were shot, and they still pack a lot of punch when they land, according to the Baylor College of Medicine. While celebratory gunfire is illegal across the U.S., it happens every year, especially around holidays like the Fourth of July, leaving bystanders maimed or dead. Four hit by celebratory gunfire after As game, fireworks, California police say Watch firework zip past grandsons head, explode in grandmas SUV. Almost tragic Shooting deer while driving drunk was stress relief, Michigan man told investigators Richmond police on Wednesday said a tip from a hero citizen prevented a mass shooting at the Dogwood Dell Fourth of July celebration Monday. Two men were arrested, and two assault rifles, a handgun and several hundred rounds of ammunition were seized in a South Richmond residence, authorities said. The announcement came two days after a rooftop gunman opened fire during an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, killing seven in a massacre that wounded dozens of others. Police in Richmond did not release information about a possible motive in the Dogwood Dell case. Police Chief Gerald Smith during a press conference Wednesday said an officer in the 2nd Precinct received the anonymous tip from a concerned citizen, who overheard a conversation regarding a mass shooting. Officers and agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigated the information, which led them to a residence in the 3100 block of Columbia Street, Smith said. One of the occupants Friday allowed police to search the home, where several firearms were found out in the open, police said. Police later arrested Julio Alvarado-Dubon, 52, of Richmond, who faces a preliminary charge of being a non-U.S. citizen in possession of a firearm. He is being held at Richmond City Jail without bond. Police also monitored Alvarado-Dubons roommate very, very closely, Smith said, until obtaining probable cause for an arrest warrant. Rolman Balacarcel, 38, of Richmond, was arrested by Virginia State Police in Charlottesville on Tuesday. He faces the same preliminary charge as Alvarado-Dubon and is being held in Albemarle County Jail with no bond. Police spokesperson Tracy Walker said both men are from Guatemala. Initial documents filed in General District Court in Richmond say both Alvarado-Dubon and Balacarcel are not in the U.S. legally. The documents, which say Alvarado-Dubon has an expired visa, did not include any details about the alleged plot. Court documents note bond was set at $15,000 for Alvarado-Dubon on Wednesday, but it was unclear if he had been released. The documents say he has lived in the Richmond area for three years and works full time in the construction industry. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled in Richmond on Aug. 2. Alvarado-Dubons attorney, Jose Aponte, declined to comment Wednesday. The suspects may face more charges as law enforcements investigation continues. A Richmond police spokesperson said Homeland Security officials are leading the investigation. Smith said theyre unsure how the weapons were obtained, but the suspects did say their intent was to conduct a mass shooting on the Fourth of July. He credited the officer in the 2nd precinct and the person who provided information with preventing the shooting. There is no telling how many lives this hero citizen saved from one phone call, Smith said. It is the responsibility of law enforcement that if we hear something, that we do something, and that is the message I would like to get out there that see something, say something works. A constant state of vigilance The Dogwood Dell event, which featured music and fireworks, was held despite the threat. Isaiah Cabino, 23, of Richmond, was at the Dogwood Dell event Monday and said the crowds spanned all the way to the Fan. Cabino, who was with his partner, said he has gotten into the habit of looking for exits and places to hide when going out in public, a routine he said feels common for a generation thats grown up in an era of mass shootings. And in the wake of a Fourth of July parade shooting in a Chicago suburb, Cabino was already uneasy about Monday night. It was a constant state of vigilance, said Cabino, a 23-year-old Richmond resident. This reality is not OK. You shouldnt have to go to these events with an expectation of potentially being shot ... The sense of inaction by all levels, both the federal and state level, its something thats not sustainable, especially for kids and folks in my generation. While music played and people settled into their chairs around 9 p.m. Monday night, Kristin Dittmann sat with her spouse on the curb of Pump House Drive waiting for the fireworks to begin. It was dark and crowded. Chaos and terror would have ensued, said Dittmann, 63. We must now recognize that were not safe anywhere from gun violence. Guns are everywhere in this country, and what few regulations we have are falling away by the day. Got to stop Smith said police had a very robust plan for security for Dogwood Dell. He said they also were monitoring The Diamond, which had fireworks Friday night. In the Illinois shooting, hundreds were sent fleeing after gunfire erupted in Highland Park. Robert E. Crimo III was charged with seven counts of murder Tuesday. Two Philadelphia police officers were also wounded during a shooting Monday night at an Independence Day celebration. In Richmond, a pair of shootings occurred on Independence Day: one incident occurred at a business on Broad Street in which four men and two women were injured. Another person was shot and killed at the City Dogs Restaurant on Main Street the same night. Smith said the pattern of violence has to end. Its just got to stop, said Smith. You know, I may be the police chief, but Im also a citizen. Its ridiculous. At some point in time, this has got to stop. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney on Wednesday urged citizens, local, state and nationally elected officials to do more to curb gun violence. We need more, Stoney said during the press conference, More policies to keep people safe, so these firearms, these weapons of war dont get in the hands of the wrong people. When asked if he believes Richmond police have enough resources to continue to prevent tragedies from occurring, Stoney said he and the City Council have taken steps. The city approved a $17 million public safety plan that included pay hikes for police and firefighters and funding for the citys gun buyback program. Stoney said hes also had conversations with the Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin about how to help in this effort, but the justice system is just one piece of the solution. We cant just be tough on crime and say investing law enforcement is the only answer. We also have to be tough on the root causes of crime, said Stoney. Whether youre at home in your cul-de-sac or in your neighborhood or in a park or at a parade, out dining you have to keep your head on a swivel, Stoney said. And thats not the country that I know I desire to live in ... but those are the facts of the matter at this moment. Singapore Airlines (SIA) will operate more flights to Japan and India in the coming months amid strong demand for air travel. In a media release on Tuesday (Jul 5), SIA said it will operate daily services to Tokyo's Haneda Airport (SQ634) and Narita Airport (SQ638) from Jul 24. "Together with the daily SQ12 service from Singapore to Los Angeles via Tokyo (Narita), SIA will operate three daily services into Japan's capital, up from 14 flights per week," it added. From Oct 30, the daily SQ636 service to Haneda Airport will be reinstated, bringing the number of SIA flights to Tokyo to 28 weekly. A second daily flight to Osaka will also be reinstated on Oct 30, while flights to Fukuoka will increase to three per week. Police in Kyoto have arrested a 47-year-old dentist on suspicion of violating the prefectures public nuisance ordinance after he allegedly took voyeuristic images of a junior high school girl during a medical examination in Okayama last year. According to police, Daisuke Fujiwara, who was arrested on Monday, was giving medical exams at a junior high school nurses office on May 18, 2021, Kyodo News reported. Between 1:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. that day, he voyeuristically filmed five second-year female students in their underwear, using a pen with a miniature camera built into it. Fujiwara is the director of a privately-operated hospital in Kyoto. The Okayama City Board of Education commissioned him to conduct medical exams at elementary and junior high schools approximately a decade ago. While being questioned over a separate voyeurism incident in Kyoto in May, officers found Fujiwaras pen-type camera that contained unlawful images of about 40 students. Father-son farming team Lee and Arthur Wisecup and family, of Wisecup Family Farm and Museum, will host a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day exploring precision farming with cover crops on Saturday, July 16, from 10 a.m. to noon, on their farm near Missouri Valley, Iowa (1200 Canal St.) The event Precision Farming With Cover Crops for Soil Health and Conservation is free to attend and will end with lunch. RSVPs are appreciated for the meal by July 11. To sign up, visit the event page at practicalfarmers.org/ field-days or call Debra Boekholder at 515-232-5661. The field day is sponsored by Harrison/Crawford County Corn Growers Association and Iowa Farmers Union. Coupled with their long-time interest in soil health practices, the Wisecup family has improved profitability on their corn and soybean farm through precision conservation, and were the 2019 recipients of the Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever Precision Farmer of the Year Award. During the field day, guests will see how the Wisecups use cover crops and small grains to improve soil health. Lee and Arthur will discuss their use of cereal rye, barley, rapeseed and winter camelina, and take guests to see their short-stature corn research plots. They will also show their diverse assortment of small grains and precision technology equipment including a drill for planting multi-species cover crops, a roller-crimper and more. Other topics the Wisecups will discuss include: Corn and soybeans planted into a terminated cover crop mix Multi-species cover crops Farm-wide soil health strategies Natural Resources Conservation Service programs Experiences with Cargill and PFI cost-share programs Other speakers will include Mike Dickenson, of Iowa Cover Crop Seed, and potentially other farm business partners. Full event details are available at practicalfarmers.org/precision-farming-with-cover-crops-for-soil-health-and-conservation. This event is part of PFIs 2022 field day season, which includes 41 events hosted by farmers located across the state, and beyond, on topics spanning the agricultural spectrum. Attendees can expect a welcoming atmosphere, a spirit of curiosity, a culture of mutual respect and farmers openly sharing their knowledge and experience. Practical Farmers 2022 field days are supported by Level A sponsors Albert Lea Seed; BioTill Cover Crops; Grain Millers Inc.; Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance; Iowa State University Department of Agronomy; Iowa State University Extension and Outreach; MOSA Certified Organic; Nori Carbon Removal; P&K Midwest; Sinclair Tractor; Sunderman Farm Management; and Van Wall Equipment. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Saif al-Islam Gaddafis lawyer announced on Tuesday that his client had proposed an initiative to solve the political crisis in Libya, calling on all political figures to withdraw from the arena and to hold presidential and parliamentary elections that would produce new faces chosen by the Libyan people Al-Zaydi, in an interview with Al-Arabiya channel, revealed that Saifs initiative had two components. The first proposes that a neutral party makes administrative and legal arrangements for the implementation of urgent, non-exclusive presidential and parliamentary elections in which everyone participates. The second recommends the withdrawal of the current political figures from the electoral process collectively without exception and making way for new personalities and faces chosen by the Libyan people through transparent elections, as a last attempt for a peaceful solution. The lawyer also indicated that the son of late leader Muammar Gaddafi presented a previous initiative to all political parties and the United Nations Mission underlining the difficulty of holding simultaneously the parliamentary and the presidential elections. The initiative recommended holding parliamentary elections and postponing the presidential elections, provided that the new parliament forms the government and supervises the presidential elections. However, this initiative was rejected. Libya currently has two rival governments backed by foreign entities, sliding the country further into deep crisis. The oil-rich North African country has never been able to restore order since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011 in a NATO-led revolution. Saif was expected to run for December 24 botched elections. His candidacy was first rejected over crime allegations but was later reinstated. The International Criminal Court (ICC) wanting him for crimes committed during the uprising against his father condemned the candidacy. Four-month state Sen. Mike Jacobson held a nearly 2-to-1 fundraising advantage in the spring primary season, despite finishing a close second in the three-candidate District 42 race. Jacobson raised $159,254 from his Feb. 23 appointment to the May 10 vote, according to final primary-season campaign finance reports filed with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. Lincoln County Commissioner Chris Bruns, who declared his candidacy in 2021, raised $93,812 between his informal entry and the primary election. Bruns edged out Jacobson by 137 votes in the recently expanded District 42, which now includes four Sandhills counties and most of Perkins County in addition to its Lincoln County base. Both North Platte men advanced to the Nov. 8 general election. The third candidate, Brenda Fourtner of Maxwell, was eliminated in the primary voting. Total and top individual donors to regional candidates Following are combined total and top individual donations and spending (including in-kind va Jacobson also outspent Bruns during the elections runup, $159,234 to $65,548, despite the latter having a substantial head start. Bruns, however, had $28,264 in cash on hand as of the May 10 vote compared with Jacobsons $5,355, according to their post-primary finance reports. Jacobsons campaign expanded its list of donations from political action committees or other entities during the last two weeks before the primary. New types of donors to the NebraskaLand Bank founder and CEOs candidacy included road contractors, hospitals, medical interests, a natural gas provider and beverage firms. Jacobson has received a combined $29,729 from PACs and other entities, including new and previous donations from groups representing bankers, real estate agents, accountants, insurance companies, lawyers, gaming interests, local businesses and the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Bruns $22,954 in donations other than from individuals have primarily come from Lincoln County businesses. Exceptions have been from the Nebraska Realtors PAC which has given $2,000 to each District 42 finalist and $500 from the campaign committee of Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings. Jacobson has been the top contributor to his own campaign, with his post-primary report listing $30,000 in outright donations and $40,000 in outstanding personal loans. Robert Lundeen of North Platte, who also has donated to both candidates, remains Bruns leading individual contributor. West central Nebraskas other Unicameral primary race in District 44 was one-sided in both fundraising and the May 10 vote totals. Teresa Ibach of rural Sumner topped Grant City Superintendent Edward Dunn by more than a 3-to-1 margin. Both candidates automatically advanced to Novembers general election. Ibach had raised $66,269 and spent $41,866 as of the May vote, while Dunn hadnt raised or spent the minimum $5,000 that requires filing a campaign finance report with the state. Several PACs also have fallen in behind Ibach, including committees representing bankers, real estate agents, hospitals and medical and broadband interests; a State Capitol lobbying firm, the Archer Daniels Midland food processing corporation and both the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads. Neither of Nebraskas major railroads had yet made donations in the District 42 race. Neither had the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation PAC, which has donated $1,100 to Ibachs campaign, nor outgoing Gov. Pete Ricketts, who gave Ibachs committee $10,000. In campaign-finance highlights from other western Nebraska regional races: Outgoing Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg ended the primary season with a huge fundraising advantage in his bid to be western Nebraskas next member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Williams and former State Board of Education member Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City advanced to the general election, with Williams leading the primary balloting by nearly 2,000 votes. The two-term state lawmaker, however, had received $360,582 in donations since declaring his regents candidacy in 2021. Wilmot, who entered early this year, had taken in just $23,203. Williams transferred $185,327 from his soon-to-be-defunct Unicameral campaign committee to his NU campaign. Five of his Unicameral colleagues also donated to his effort, as did the campaign committee of outgoing District 7 Regent Bob Phares of North Platte. Nearly half of Wilmots donor total came from a $10,000 contribution from Ricketts, according to her post-primary financial report. Kevin Stocker of Scottsbluff, who barely ousted incumbent District 5 Public Service Commissioner Mary Ridder of rural Callaway, accounted for $32,000 of the $38,992 in donations to his own campaign. Ridder, who received 21,154 votes in the Republican primary to Stockers 22,590, didnt raise or spend enough money to have to file a financial report. Stocker will be unopposed in the Nov. 8 election. Elizabeth Tegtmeier of North Platte, the primary front-runner for western Nebraskas State Board of Education seat, continued to enjoy a financial advantage in the District 7 race. Tegtmeier, who enjoyed more than a 3-to-1 margin over incumbent Robin Stevens of Gothenburg, had collected $83,810 in donations compared with Stevens $63,163 as of the May vote. Pat Moore, the third candidate, was eliminated. Most of Tegtmeiers donations have come from individuals, led by Ricketts with $20,000 and Tom Peed of Lincoln with $10,000. Stevens personally accounted for half of his total contributions but also has received a combined $5,000 from the Nebraska State Education Association and its campaign PAC. North Plattes David Gale, who led a three-man primary race for the Nebraska Public Power Districts Subdistrict 4 seat, enjoyed a more than 2-to-1 donation advantage over incumbent Bill Hoyt of McCook. Gale had taken in $25,868 as of May 10, with about half of that coming from personal donations or loans to his campaign. Hoyt personally accounted for the $9,951 he had raised as of the same date, according to his campaign finance report. Gale led Hoyt in primary balloting by about 550 votes, with both eliminating former Subdistrict 4 board member Larry Linstrom of North Platte. General election filing deadlines Filing deadlines for Nebraskas Nov. 8 general election are approaching for the few local and regional races whose candidates didnt have to file for the May 10 primary. That group includes village boards; Educational Service Unit boards; county noxious weed boards and township boards; and boards of public power districts that gross less than $40 million a year. Incumbents on those boards, as well as any current elected officeholder in the state, have until July 15 to file for the general election, according to the Nebraska Secretary of States Office. All other candidates for those boards have until Aug. 1 to file for the Nov. 8 election. Todd von Kampen Its just a question of whether we can afford to provide this much service anymore, Councilman Mark Woods said. Can we afford this? Councilman Pete Volz said. Ill flip it around: Can we afford not to do this? The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday rejected a convicted killer's latest attempt to challenge the sentence that landed him on death row. John Lotter's attorney had presented a two-pronged argument to the Supreme Court last year, arguing that a district court judge had ruled improperly in denying the 51-year-old an evidentiary hearing to consider whether his intellectual level should keep him from being executed. "An evidentiary hearing is required in this case," attorney Rebecca Woodman argued in February 2021, railing against a district court's ruling that Lotter's relief claim of intellectual incompetency could not be considered because of time and procedural issues. Lotter was sentenced to death for his role in the 1993 killings of Brandon Teena and two witnesses, Lisa Lambert and Philip DeVine. He has maintained his innocence in the killings at a Humboldt farmhouse. His co-defendant, Thomas Nissen, is serving life sentences for the part he played in the crimes. In a 41-page ruling issued Friday, the state's Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision on each of Woodman's arguments. One portion of Lotter's latest motion revolved around what the court termed his "LB268" claim, referring to the 2015 bill passed by the Legislature ending the death penalty in Nebraska. That law was later repealed by a statewide ballot referendum in which more than 60% of voters opted to reinstate the death penalty. Lotter's attorney posited that when the Legislature passed LB268, it effectively vacated his death sentence, so the subsequent repeal of the law amounted to a re-imposition of the sentences and violated his due process rights. Relying on previous Nebraska Supreme Court cases that examined nearly identical arguments, the district court judge dispatched that claim as "meritless," a decision the Supreme Court again upheld Friday. At the heart of Lotter's latest motion, though, was his attorney's argument that he was diagnosed as intellectually disabled in 2018 and therefore is ineligible for imposition of the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Woodman, a lawyer at the Missouri-based nonprofit law firm Center For Death Penalty Litigation, argued that an expert who evaluated Lotter determined his full-scale IQ was 67 in 2018, which the expert said was consistent with mild intellectual disability. But neither the district court nor Supreme Court vetted the actual merits of that claim when the courts ruled on Lotter's motion, instead finding that "the claim was both procedurally barred and time barred under Nebraska postconviction law," according to Friday's order. The law referenced in the ruling requires defendants to make postconviction relief claims within a year from any of five triggering events. Lotter's attorney pointed to the 2018 evaluation as a triggering event for the appeal, originally filed in March of that year, arguing that Lotter could not have possibly sought relief before that point since "the factual predicate for his claim did not exist until he was diagnosed." But, in its denial of that argument, the justices noted that evidence of Lotter's intellectual disability was mentioned during his trial more than 20 years ago. The high court also pointed to Woodman's own admission that one of Lotter's prior attorneys had made an effort to raise an intellectual disability claim in the early 2000s but abandoned the effort. "As such, we agree with the district court that Lotter could have discovered, through the exercise of due diligence, the factual predicate to support a constitutional claim of intellectual disability ... long before March 2018," the court said. The ruling clears the latest legal challenge to Lotter's death sentence, though his execution is far from guaranteed. The state has only executed one death row inmate in the last 25 years and, like other states, has faced challenges in acquiring the combination of drugs required for lethal injections. In 2018, the state executed Carey Dean Moore using a four-drug combination that until then hadnt been used for that purpose. After public documents released after a court battle revealed Community Pharmacy Services in Gretna had obtained the drugs and sold them to the state, the companys owner issued a statement saying it regretted the decision. The Department of Correctional Services said last year it was still pursuing execution drugs. Visions of this Fourth of Julys booming and brilliant fireworks are still fresh in mind. Waving flags, time with friends and family, the smell of food on the grill, and hot weather serve as a faithful time machine bringing memories of past Independence Days when waving sparklers under the watch of Mom and Dad was the height of personal pyrotechnic daring. Our countrys first Independence Day in 1776 was cause for celebration but also a somber occasion. Among the 56 signers of our Declaration of Independence were influential and prominent leaders of communities and colonies who knew that they were risking all they had, including their lives, by putting their names to this proclamation of separation from the worlds superpower. Yes, the Declaration was a statement of lofty aspirations highlighted by acknowledging the self-evident truth that all men are created equal; but it was also the announcement of 13 colonies intention to be free of Englands possession and rule. After seven years of warring, British forces withdrew from what was to become the United States of America. King George III was confident that the rebellious colonists would soon miss their place as part of the British Empire and be back in the fold like some prodigal son. The national government struggled under the Articles of Confederation, adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 and ratified by the 13 states in 1781. A more powerful federal government was established through our current Constitution, which became effective in 1789. While departing Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what sort of government we would have and famously replied, A republic, if you can keep it. Franklins concerns were well placed. In a republic, governments leaders are elected by the constituency to be governed. And since the conception of such a form of government, there has been worry about unscrupulous charlatans potential to be elected to power by deceiving electorates. The Greek philosopher Plato, who authored The Republic in approximately 375 B.C., warned of the dangers of democracy that allowed people motivated by personal concerns to rise to power. Plato suggested the imposition of educational and experiential qualifications upon those who could seek elective office the higher the office, the more burdensome the required qualifications. Our Founding Fathers fear of too much democracy is clear in their words and in our Constitution. In the Federalist Papers, 85 essays published in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 to persuade the adoption of the Constitution, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton echoed Platos warnings about voters being fooled by tyrants and demagogues. As written by the framers, the Constitution largely and intentionally insulated selection of federal officials from direct democratic election. Only members of the House of Representatives were popularly elected by the people; the Electoral College selected the president, the president nominated Supreme Court justices, and senators were selected by state legislatures. Concerns about an electorates capacity to be duped by ill-motivated office seekers are amplified in our age of instantaneous communication, social media and divided politics. We bury our heads into our phones and computers which, in turn, decipher our leanings and then pile on things to click that will push us further in the direction of our interpreted bent. The algorithms care nothing for truth, only that eyes stay on screens and links get clicks. We become groups that can no longer agree on what is true and what is propaganda. A lie told often enough becomes the truth is a quote misattributed to Vladimir Lenin, but it accurately describes the phenomenon. As we finish off leftover hot dogs, brats and watermelon, can we rededicate ourselves to even a small portion of the courage exercised and the inspiration possessed by the signers of our Declaration of Independence? Can we be bothered to know history, to seek and find genuine truth? Can we admit our susceptibility to misinformation and demagoguery, and the daunting power of an electronic firehose of misinformation? Can we, together, acknowledge that our current electoral process which had us, in 2016, picking between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and, in 2020, between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, to be our president needs fixing? If we cant, how much longer will we be celebrating the revered accomplishment of July 4, 1776? Jay Price will deliver the summer commencement address for his alma mater, Auburn University, on Aug. 5 at 5 p.m. in Neville Arena. After graduating Auburn in 2006 with a bachelors degree in zoology and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Price founded one of the largest networks of animal hospitals in the nation, Southern Veterinary Partners. Based in Birmingham, SVP provides support to animal hospitals by centralizing human resources, finance, inventory management and employee benefits. The company employs more than 7,000 employees in over 300 locations across 22 states. Following its start in 2014, SVP was named among Inc. 5000s list of Fastest Growing Companies in America. Auburn holds a special place in my heart, as they provided me with the education to fulfill my lifelong dream, Price said in a press release. I am delighted to share this moment with the 2022 graduates as they continue their journey to fulfilling their own dreams. Auburn President Chris Roberts said he was looking forward to his first commencement as the universitys top executive. Jay has a remarkable story to tell about his journey from an Auburn student to a veterinarian and prominent business owner, Roberts said in a release. In addition to Prices address on Friday, there will be conferral of degrees by the Board of Trustees and the recognition of students graduating with academic honors. All graduates are required to attend the ceremony and pick up their name cards for Saturdays college ceremonies and official photographs. Doors open at 3 p.m. and graduates should arrive no later than 4 p.m. for commencement. The undergraduate college and graduate school ceremonies will be held in Neville Arena on Aug. 6. If youve stepped outside of your house in the past two weeks, you know the it feels hotter and more humid, and theres less of a breeze. If youre feeling the heat, there are plenty of ways to cool off in the Auburn-Opelika area. Located behind Auburn Junior High School at 465 Wrights Mill Road, Samford Pool is one place to check out if you want to swim a few refreshing laps or lounge near the water. There are three separate pool areas for swimmers: the main pool, a diving well with two high dives and two low dives, and a childrens pool. Individual and family membership prices vary from $10-$175 based on your choice of daily, weekly, monthly or seasonal passes. Guests can also purchase daily passes for $2 a person. The recreation swim is open seven days a week, typically starting at noon, until Sept. 5. Lap swim is open to the public from 5:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Times vary on the weekends. Another option is the Opelika Sportsplex and Aquatics Center. The center features a splash park, indoor aquatics center and zero-entry pool. The pool is free for members. Membership for single Opelika residents is $38/month and $49/month for non-Opelika residents. Family passes are $48/month for Opelika residents and $62/month for non-Opelika residents. Non-members can purchase a daily pass for $4/person. The Sportsplex pool is open seven days a week. The pool opens at 9 a.m. on weekdays and closes at 8 p.m. on every weekday except Wednesday, when it closes at 6 p.m. Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and Sunday hours are 1 to 4:45 p.m. The splash park hours are the same as the pool hours. A different pool you can check out in Opelika is at the Covington Recreation Center. The big pool, which goes from four to 12 feet deep, is open 2-5 p.m. Monday through Sunday. There are lifeguards on duty during hours of operation. Daily passes are $2/person for the big pool and $1/person for the baby pool. The last day the pool will be open is July 30. Pools arent your only option if you want to take a dip. Theres a 26-acre lake at Chewacla State Park that guests can visit. Inside the roped-off area, you can find a diving platform with a high dive. Daily entry is $4/person at the state park. This is a swim-at-your-own-risk lake with no lifeguards on duty. If youre looking for some adventure but still want to stay close to home, the Chattahoochee River is your place to go for white-water rafting in Columbus, Georgia. Prices range from $47-$80/person varying on the type of trip you want to take. Options range from a two-hour trip for beginners to a two-and-a-half-hour thrill ride on what outfitter Whitewater Express bills as the only Class V rapids on the East Coast. Guests have to be 12 years old or older to participate. Other Events The Gogue Centers Summer Film Series: Beauty and the Beast: 7 p.m. Thursday, The Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center, 910 S. College St., Auburn. Free. No tickets or registration is needed to view the Disney classic. Music for a Summers Eve: Khari Allen Lee: 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, St. Dunstans Episcopal Church, 136 E Magnolia Avenue, Auburn. Free. Listen to one of New Orleans most-in-demand saxophonists and two other skilled musicians. Science on Saturdays: 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Keher Preserve and Nature Center, 2222 N. College St., Auburn. $5/ticket, children 3 and under are free. Learn about honeybees with Damon Wallace from Claybird Bees. Community English Class: 6-7 p.m. July 11, Auburn Public Library, 749 E. Thach Ave., Auburn. Free. Pre-register to practice the English language in a fun and relaxed environment. Summer Swing: James Brown Trio 7 p.m. July 12, Opelika Municipal Park (Monkey Park), N. Fifth St., Opelika. Free. Be captivated by the Southern Gospel group that started 20 years ago. Hometown Heroes: Auburn Police 2-3 p.m. July 14, Auburn Public Library, 749 E. Thach Ave., Auburn. Free. Learn how the local police serve and protect the citizens of Auburn. Music for a Summers Eve: The Auburn University Flute Trio: 5:30-7 p.m. July 14, St. Dunstans Episcopal Church, 136 E. Magnolia Ave., Auburn. Free. Join the community in listening to classical and folk music by three Auburn University students. LCHS Open House: 1-4 p.m. July 17, Lee County Humane Society, 1140 Ware Drive, Auburn. Free. Join the staff of the LCHS and learn about daily care, exercise and training the adoptable pets receive while playing games and eating snacks. Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size Article body While summer is a time of leisure for many, a number of Auburn University students and recent graduates are spending their time getting crucial experience via summer internships. The on-the-job training they are receiving through these opportunities not only is giving them quality experience they can build upon, but also could serve as springboards to long and successful careers. Auburn students are utilizing the summer months to pursue a variety of passions and serve several varying roles at businesses and offices around the country. Three of those Tigers Tyler Ward, Sydney McCurley and Angel Cagleare hard at work in Washington, D.C., Montana and Florida, respectively, this summer as they gain valuable experience and represent their university well. Making a difference in D.C. Wards innate desire for helping others and making a difference fueled his passions on the Plains while pursuing an education and shaping his experiences at Auburn. From his time as a Student Government Association, or SGA, senator for the College of Liberal Arts, or serving as the SGAs Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chair, Ward worked to expand representation for marginalized groups on campus during his time on the Plains. Wardwho graduated this spring with a degree in political sciencealso served as the executive vice president for the Black Student Union and assistant vice president of media operations for the SGA. He now has embarked on a journey to Washington, D.C., where he is interning for Representative Terri Sewell, who represents Alabamas 7th District. Ward learned of the internship opportunity through Auburn journalism advisor Letitia Gulley-Smith. It was getting down to the wire of me not being sure what I was going to be doing after graduation, so it came at just the right time, Ward said. Sewells commitment to improving voting rights for all citizens struck a chord with Ward and is a big part of what made him want to work in her office. Civil rights and voting rights issues have been huge for me and very instrumental in why I wanted to do politics in general, Ward said. Rep. Sewell passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2021, and I thought that not only was a great way to commemorate a leader that I looked up so much to like John Lewis, but also expressed a lot of the same things I felt when it comes to voting rights. Shes big in my district, and its been great to see all the work shes done and implement it toward educational resources. Ward is learning all facets of working in a major political office and is enjoying the chance to experience a wide array of duties and responsibilities. They really break us up into different phases in the office, and we will do things with speech writing, press releases, a little toward the administrative side of answering the phones and writing constituent letters and even a little toward the legislative side in researching policy, understanding how a bill gets to the floor and who can co-sponsor different things, said Ward, who traveled to Washington, D.C., in the past with a civil engagement class. So, looking around to see what areas speak to us the most and then carrying that to the rest of our internship in specific areas. Its just really, really, really cool. The experience Ward is getting in the nations capital this summer will be instrumental, he feels, in helping guide the next few years of his academic and professional life. Its a great launching pad, Ward said. Even if I dont want to specifically do this job and work on the Hill, itll give me opportunities to do other things too, which is cool to see. I think I want to go back to school at some point and get more education under my belt. This job is really helping me understand what kind of masters or Ph.Ds I might want to pursue and is giving me a way to see up close the different jobs Ive heard about to help me see if theyre something I would like or enjoy. Ward feels his Auburn experience working in student government and with other organizations, coupled with the instruction he received as a political science major, gave him a great foundation upon which to build. Liberal Arts and poly sci specifically really prepared me a lot, whether its from the educational stance and being able to experience things as a student, but also in knowing the fundamentals of bills, history and how things work, Ward said. Things like SGA and my extracurricular activities really gave me a good landscape of politics in general because learning how to reach across the aisle and gather constituent support are things we talked about a lot that we use every day up here [in D.C.]. So, its really cool to see the things we learned [at Auburn] and what we took away from our experiences really do make such a huge, huge impact. Mountains of experience McCurley, a senior from Dothan, Alabama, is majoring in hospitality management, on the event management track. Her internship at The Ranch at Rock Creek in Philipsburg, Montana, runs from May 15 to Aug. 5. McCurley learned about The Ranch at the annual hospitality career fair. It was the first time The Ranch recruited students at Auburn. McCurley said Associate Professor David Martin encouraged her to consider The Ranch for an internship since he was familiar with its reputation. McCurley also had a little familiarity with The Ranch herself, which likely gave her a leg up in the interview process. The Ranch is a Relais & Chateaux property, meaning it is one of about 600 boutique hotel and fine-dining restaurants across the world known for luxury. McCurleys internship last summer was at a Relais & Chateaux property. I felt that experience helped me get the job since I was already familiar with the luxury standards of its properties, she said. I interviewed twice for the position before receiving it. They appreciated my events background. That background also included serving as one of the hospitality management students charged with planning and executing this years Hospitality Gala, which was held in-person in April for the first time in three years. In Montana, McCurley has two roles: PM server and event liaison. At The Ranch, AM servers oversee breakfast and lunch, and PM servers handle dinner. As a PM server, McCurley works in the Granite Lodge serving multiple-course meals and interacting with guests. The other role has her working on events at the property, including private dinners and such. The Granite Lodge is one of four places for guests to stay at The Ranch. It features nine one-of-a-kind rooms, each adorned in iconic western themes. Its dinner menu features a different culinary tour of Western Montana each night. McCurley noted that The Ranch strives to offer personal experiences for its guests so servers like herself are deliberately matched with the same people during their stay. This way, McCurley will know guests preferences and can provide a more unique experience for them. We are expected to deliver high-quality service at all times, no matter our job, McCurley said. Events at The Ranch are executed according to the Forbes Five Star Standards. The Forbes Five Star is an award a hospitality business can achieve by delivering the 900 Forbes Standards in daily operation. It is renewed every year. A five-star rating makes this property very high class, even as a ranch. In fact, it was the first five-star ranch in the country, noted McCurley. McCurley is certain Auburns hospitality management program prepared her to be successful in any internship. She said the knowledge gained in class is easily understood when it can be applied in the field. An example is the Hospitality Gala. We really had to think about every aspect of that event, like the color scheme and how to make it work. I can use that knowledge when I am asked about the decor for events here, she said. I came prepared to learn and fulfil my roles at The Ranch. When McCurley returns to Auburn for the fall semester, it will be her last on the Plains. Shell add The Ranch to her resume in hopes of landing a job in event management following graduation in December. I am getting to work on events far more intimately than I have before, she said. An internship like this has been an opportunity to apply what I have learned in class, creating a holistic education of the hospitality industry. I believe my experiences and Auburn education will help me get the right job for me. I would like to be the one planning the events, or at least work my way up to that. Into the woods Cagle, a senior studying forestry in the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, is spending her summer as an intern in Pace, Florida, with Resource Management Service, or RMS, a global timber investment firm headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is involved in every aspect of timberland investing, including forest management, timber merchandising, environmental stewardship and wildlife management. I am performing duties like cruising timber and marking SMZs [streamside management zones], said Cagle, a member of the colleges Forest, Environment and Wildlife Leadership Academy. I am also shadowing RMS employees to learn more about their business and their day-to-day responsibilities. Cagle lined up the internship through Auburns Forestry Club, which provides students with opportunities for interviews and the chance to network with professionals in the field. This internship will build a foundation of real-world, hands-on experience that will enhance my education at Auburn, Cagle said. My classes have provided me with the knowledge I need for this internship. The field experience I gained at the colleges summer practicum has been especially invaluable. Cagle, a native of Haleyville, Alabama, will graduate in spring 2023 and plans to work in land management. @ BritONTD: Could this end in a general election or would he just be replaced by whoever the Tories pick as the new leader? Reply Thread Link It would just be a new leader. Unless the opposition parties had enough votes to bring down the government or the Tories themselves call an election, the resignation of a PM doesnt result in an automatic election. Im not British but we have the same political system as them. Reply Parent Thread Link Sources have told some journos that hes likely to refuse to leave and dissolve Parliament and call an election to fuck everyone over. Basically we dont know at this stage Reply Parent Thread Expand Link He has no shame. Losing rishi is a big problem for him. But rishi did the only thing he could to bring back up his chances to get into n10. I doubt he'll resign. And he survived the confidence vote (so there can't be another one for a year). He'll stay until 2023 imho then shit will hit the fan Reply Thread Link Yeah rishi is playing the long game Reply Parent Thread Link He won't resign, he'll have to be led out kicking and screaming. Reply Parent Thread Link I have been enjoying this spectacle since yesterday. Now I'm just waiting for the Tory Party's 1922 committee to change the rules and drop kick his ass out. But watch this bitch squeak through until the Summer Parliamentary recess until September. The Torys, like the GOP, are inherently evil at this point and don't even try to hide it. Reply Thread Link Rees-Mogg has been particularly fascinating. Clinging on like a little barnacle as long as he can. Reply Parent Thread Link Jesus fucking Christ, can that man be any more of a parody? It's like watching a Wodehouse character spewing words written by an undead Charles Dickens interpreting Ayn Rand. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link He such a vile piece of shit. Edited at 2022-07-06 05:10 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Honestly, I can see him clinging on til the bitter end. They're going to have to pry him out of there. Reply Thread Link When/if Boris finally is removed as PM, he is absolutely going to have to be dragged out of Number 10. I'm envisioning him like a kid throwing a tantrum, clinging to the door frames. Reply Parent Thread Link It's bizarre because like... just go away and be rich? But I guess if you feel like you can by anything, you want to also have as much power as possible to boot. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I have been absolutely hooked to this drama since the first resignations yesterday. Hopefully this is the final nail in the coffin for him. Reply Thread Link He's gonna have to be marched out. I just can't see him resigning. I do wonder what blackmail he has on the rest of them. Reply Thread Link i'm canadian but have been glued to this mess all morning Reply Thread Link BREAK; Told Priti Patel in No 10 Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) July 6, 2022 If Priti is in on this I can see it happening If Priti is in on this I can see it happening Reply Thread Link Is she leading in a police team to knock down the doors of his office? Reply Parent Thread Link She will not miss one single opportunity to kick someone out of their home https://t.co/xvYKWLibpP James Felton (@JimMFelton) July 6, 2022 lmaoo Reply Parent Thread Link I honestly hate her. She is truly evil. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Feels like we are missing one major element of a proper Westminster drama: a flight tracker. While all of this is going on, Liz Truss is currently cruising at 35,000ft above the Persian Gulf on her way to a G20 meeting in Indonesia. https://t.co/I4aLIq3el1 pic.twitter.com/kwsd2eiELt Tony Diver (@Tony_Diver) July 6, 2022 I hope the wifi isn't working for her Reply Thread Link So the UK can get some nice Spanish tomatoes or what Another win for the leave campaign I guess Edited at 2022-07-06 04:42 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Can you imagine landing and finding out half your colleagues have quit. Reply Parent Thread Link The people who got appointed new positions yesterday by Boris but now is telling him to resign today lmaaao Reply Thread Link Remember all the fanfic about Trump being dragged kicking and screaming from the White House? I really feel like that's the only way to get rid of Boris because that man has no shame. And even once we're finally rid of him, there's a long line of the absolute worst people on the planet ready to take over. Just grotesque. Reply Thread Link seriously, i'm trying to think of what kind of trump-style fuckery boris is gonna come up with to avoid getting kicked out. i don't see an armed insurrection happening in britain since they don't have our huuuuuge number of guns, but i'm sure he'll come up with something chaotic and ridiculous. Reply Parent Thread Link That Liason Committee appearance was the most entertaining thing Ive watched in ages (also the most unhinged Ive seen him) especially him threatening the Committee twice Reply Thread Link There should be a liaison committee in every company so the employees can overthrow the CEO if they misbehave Reply Parent Thread Link Wait, am I reading this correctly? A bunch of people in his cabinet resigned, and now everyone left wants Boris to go as well? Reply Thread Link Yep. Rishi and Sajid Javid resigned yesterday so he replaced them. Now the guy he replaced Rishi with is part of the gang that has gone to Number 10 to tell him to go. You couldn't make it up lol Reply Parent Thread Link Yes, they resigned in protest at his actions (and also because now is a good time to angle to be the next Tory leader). Reply Parent Thread Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_(cat) watching too much sky news led me to larry the cats wiki. which is wild Reply Thread Link https://twitter.com/Number10cat Larry's twitter is a joy. Reply Parent Thread Link Omg added Im not Brit but at the pinned tweet I was like I will fly out tonight and fight for that fluffy old cat to have his house back! Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah but whos gonna replace him Someone just as bad Imagine if its Priti omg Reply Thread Link you take that back! i don't know who would be a likely candidate they're all terrible Reply Parent Thread Link It will be Rishi Sunak, I'd put money on it tonight but he's already 11/2 second favourite. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Priti has been preparing for her run as PM for a while now Reply Parent Thread Expand Link The rise in Russian coal exports highlights the challenges the EU and the U.S. face in their efforts to cripple energy revenues for Putin. Russian seaborne coal exports are estimated to have increased since Putins invasion of Ukraine and the EU announcement it was banning Russian coal imports from August. Declines in Russias exports to Europe, which was a key export market for Moscow before the war, have been offset by a rise in Russian coal shipments to China and India. Those two markets, the biggest coal importers in the world, grapple with energy and coal shortages, and Russian coal at steep discounts to international benchmarks is a welcome relief for their import bills at a time of soaring coal, natural gas, and crude oil prices. The recent rise in Russian seaborne coal exports highlights the continued challenges the EU and the U.S. face in their efforts to cripple energy revenues for Putin, while at the same time not driving further up international energy commodity prices. Just like in oil, trade flows in the coal markets have changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Western bans on imports of Russian energy. Russia pivots to the East, while Europe is importing more and more coal from top exporters other than Russia, including South Africa, Australia, and Colombia. In addition, Russias significantly decreased gas supply to Europe has prompted some EU member states to returntemporarily, they sayto coal to conserve gas and keep the lights and heating on when the winter comes. Germany will rely more on electricity generation from coal in order to conserve gas and fill its gas storage by winter, its Economy Minister Robert Habeck said after Russia slashed supply to Germany via Nord Stream. Neighboring Austria plans to convert a reserve gas-fired plant to run on coal, while the Netherlands is set to ease its current restrictions on coal-fired power plants. This drives up coal demand in Europe, which is preparing to stop importing Russian coal as soon as next month. In April, the EU imposed a ban on imports of coal and other solid fossil fuels from Russia as of August 2022 as part of the fifth round of EU sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The package includes a prohibition to purchase, import or transfer coal and other solid fossil fuels into the EU if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia, as from August 2022. While Europe is importing more coal from outside Russia, coal buyers in Asia, including China and India, have raised purchases from Russia, according to data from commodity analysts Kpler analyzed by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell. Russias coal exports by sea were 16.45 million tons in June, compared to 16.56 million tons in May, per Kpler data. These export figures are up by 3.5% and 3.8% compared to June and May last year, respectively. Related: Coinbase: Oil And Tech Stocks Are As Risky As Crypto Chinese imports of Russian coal have been steadily high, while India has significantly raised its purchases in recent months. Russias share of Indian coal imports is still relatively low, at 4.4% last month, according to the data cited by Russell. While China and India, as well as Turkey, boost coal imports from Russia, the EU, Japan, and South Korea have decreased their seaborne imports of Russian coal in recent months. In early June, Russian coal exports to Europe fell to 10-15% of all coal exports, compared to 30% before the war, executives at Russian coal miners told Bloomberg. Russian coal exports to Europe should stop in August when Europe will have to step up purchases from South Africa, Australia, and Colombia to procure supply, especially if it will run more coal-fired power plants in an effort to conserve the even more scarce gas ahead of the winter. Europe has already significantly boosted imports of South African coal, with purchases from the main coal export hub in South Africa jumping by 40% in January-May 2022 compared to the whole of 2021, according to figures obtained by Reuters in June. With many importers now either unable or unwilling to import coal from Russia owing to sanctions or due to voluntary changes to their coal supply mix, an increasingly large pool of importers is now looking to secure coal from other origins, Toby Hassall, Lead Analyst, Coal Market Research, at Refinitiv Commodities Research, said last month. Meanwhile, Russian coaljust like Russian oilfinds willing buyers in China and India who benefit from steep price discounts. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: As with many other commodities, demand and competition for cobalt have been heavily influenced by the war in Ukraine. Demand for lithium and cobalt has skyrocketed, along with the prices of these key resources. As the desire for electric vehicles increases, the demand for battery metals like lithium and cobalt continues to rise. Will this cause a global pinch on rare earth resources? Considering all the challenges facing metal commodities (and commodities in general), it remains a distinct possibility. The Cobalt Craze and Mining Competition China Molybdenum, a large mining company in mainland China, recently announced plans to invest in mining initiatives based out of the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to estimates, the firm plans to put a staggering USD $1.8 billion into these new efforts. The notoriously-unstable central African nation is particularly rich in minerals, boasting some of the worlds largest copper and cobalt mines. Of course, with so much cobalt sourced directly from DRC, China Molybdenum will have a firm hold on global cobalt buyers. As with many other commodities, demand and competition for cobalt have been heavily influenced by the war in Ukraine. The subsequent sanctions on Russia have only further stressed the global cobalt trade. Its hardly a surprise. Russia is second to the DRC when it comes to cobalt supply. As demand goes up, competition over mining resources has become quite grizzly. In fact, Russia recently announced it would go as far as to mine cobalt from sea beds if necessary. Last week, MetalMiner published an article about Norilsk Nickel, Russias top cobalt producer. The companys President, Vladimir Potanin, had just been added to the sanctioned individuals list, causing prices on the LME to shoot up 6%. When combined with ongoing sanctions, the news could mean that having more cobalt available will not benefit Russia in the short term. Californias Lithium Tax Affecting Battery Metals As Well Along with cobalt, the logistics associated with many other rare earth metals are also becoming more challenging. For instance, California recently approved a flat-rate tax on lithium. According to many industry experts, its a move that means big trouble for mining companies in the state. However, not everyone feels that way. Proponents think the new tax will allow California-sourced lithium to compete on a more realistic scale. In their minds, fewer lithium imports means more state-sourced lithium, stimulating the local economy. Another pain point the tax addresses is how to make lithium from Chinese suppliers more affordable. Thanks to the electric vehicle boom, more and more auto manufacturers are utilizing lithium-ion batteries, and that lithium needs to come from somewhere. For instance, since 2020, GM has put a lot of effort toward EVs. Just last year, the company invested $71 million dollars into a brand new facility in Southern California. Of course, the new lithium tax will significantly affect this expansion, at least in the short term. In the long run, it will hopefully alleviate the cost of Chinese lithium. By AG Metal Miner More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Two U.S. investment funds have formed a joint venture to invest in Venezuela's oil industry. The funds, Gramercy Funds Management and Amos Global Energy, will partner with a division of Inelectra Group, a Venezuela-based company, which has a stake in an oil project off the eastern coast of Venezuela, where oil was discovered in 2001, Reuters reported. The move may be a signal that the initial signs of thawing in Washington's relations with Caracas are now multiplying. Despite the fact that U.S. companies are only barred from doing business with state-owned PDVSA since the Trump administration enforced the sanctions on Venezuela U.S. investors have been less than eager to do business with private oil companies in the South American country as well. Amos Global Energy, a fund set up in 2019 by a former Chevron executive, has a special focus on Latin America, per its website, and a more specific focus on Venezuela, per Reuters. Gramercy Funds Management, for its part, is a fund focused on emerging market investments across asset classes. The two partners in the joint venture said that the aim of the venture was to "contribute to balancing oil supply and demand," according to a statement by Ali Moshiri, the head of Amos Global Energy. According to Gramercy partner Matt Maloney, the venture "will be beneficial to U.S. interests in the region and the U.S. economy by lowering fuel prices for American consumers." It might take a few years before new supply from the project the two are investing in reaches U.S. drivers, but it appears that Washington is indeed relaxing its stance on Venezuela amid the fuel price shock. Last month, the Biden administration relaxed restrictions for two European companies doing business with Venezuela, allowing them to export certain, albeit modest, volumes of Venezuelan crude to Europe. By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The European Parliament did not block on Wednesday a European Commission proposal to include some natural gas and nuclear projects in the list of environmentally sustainable economic activities, paving the way for the EU to include such projects in its so-called green investments. In a vote on Wednesday, most members of the European Parliament did not support a motion to block the Commissions proposal. A total of 278 MEPs voted in favor of the resolution to block the proposal, 328 voted against, and 33 abstained. The vote failed to reach an absolute majority of 353 MEPs which was needed for Parliament to veto the Commissions proposal. If neither Parliament nor Council object to the proposal by July 11, 2022, the act will enter into force and apply as of January 1, 2023, the European Parliament said. The EU could reject the green status for gas and nuclear if 20 out of the EUs 27 member states reject it, which is highly unlikely, analysts say. The European Commission updated earlier this year its Taxonomy Complementary Climate Delegated Act on climate change mitigation and adaptation covering certain gas and nuclear activities. Under the new taxonomy, some gas projects, including several pipelines, were given a sustainable investment status. Gas projects are transitional if they contribute to the transition from coal to renewables, the EU says. The bloc is accelerating its efforts to reduce dependence on Russian pipeline gas after Russia invaded Ukraine, cut off the gas supply to several EU members that refused to pay in rubles, and most recently, slashed supply to major customers, including Germany and Italy. The green status for gas and nuclear has stirred a lot of controversy in EU institutions and among officials. Some have argued supporting gas is now of critical importance with an unreliable major supplier, Russia. Others have said that the war in Ukraine and the Russian behavior in energy supply should be a wake-up call for the EU and the world to look to renewables and ditch dependence on fossil fuels. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: While oil companies have seen windfall profits thanks to the increase in oil prices, they are not the ones that are driving prices higher. Many politicians are quick to blame oil companies, but the market is much more complicated than that. There are some major misconceptions when it comes to oil and gas prices. I dont know who needs to hear this, but it seems like the vast majority of the country including many politicians still suffer from some major misconceptions when it comes to oil and gas prices. Lets first talk about things that are true. It is true that oil companies benefit from actions that increase the price of oil. Over the past couple of years, OPEC has taken actions that have increased the price of oil. In April 2020, OPEC+, a group of 23 oil-producing countries, enacted a huge supply cut because of the drop in global oil demand associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, oil prices even turned negative at one point, and U.S. oil producers saw their share prices plunge. President Trump asked Saudi Arabia and Russia to intervene. At that time, he tweeted: Just spoke to my friend MBS (Crown Prince) of Saudi Arabia, who spoke with President Putin of Russia, & I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more which, if it happens, will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry! Moments later he tweeted Could be as high as 15 Million Barrels. Good (GREAT) news for everyone! Those cuts did happen, and that helped shore up oil prices in the months to follow. In fact, between April 2020 and January 2021 Trumps last nine months in office the average monthly price of West Texas Intermediate rose from $16.55 to $52.00 (source), an increase of 214%. Oil prices would continue to increase throughout 2021 as demand returned to normal. ExxonMobil and other U.S. oil producers benefitted from this increase. Then, in February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine. The U.S. and some other countries made the decision to stop importing Russian oil. Oil prices soared. But that oil was primarily in the form of products like diesel and gasoline, and it supplied 7% of U.S. imports in 2021. This caused a significant disruption with U.S. refiners, and product prices soared along with refinery margins. Oil producers benefitted from the rise in oil prices following Russias invasion, and refiners benefitted from the rise in product prices. ExxonMobil owns both oil production and refinery operations, and they benefitted from these price rises. Its perfectly legitimate to discuss how ExxonMobil benefitted from the OPEC production cuts and Russias invasion of Ukraine. It is a fact that the U.S. energy industry has benefitted, and that is at the expense of U.S. consumers. I understand why people are angry about this, but their anger is misdirected. What people get wrong is that ExxonMobil doesnt have any control over this. In 2020, ExxonMobil had to sell oil for less than it cost to produce it. They are at the mercy of the markets, which is why they lost $22.4 billion in 2020. Think about it. Do you think ExxonMobil was just being generous in 2020, and decided to sell oil for under $20 a barrel? And in 2022 they got really greedy and decided to sell it for over $100 a barrel? No, because thats not the way oil is sold. The reason ExxonMobil cant influence oil prices is they dont produce enough oil to significantly impact the global oil supply picture. OPEC with 35% of the worlds 2021 oil production can substantially impact that picture. Add in the OPEC+ coalition which Russia is a part of and its close to half of global oil production. ExxonMobil doesnt even produce 3% of the worlds oil. If they restrained production in order to try to influence pricing, it would only cost them money. So, you can be angry that ExxonMobil is profiting at your expense. But just understand its not because they suddenly decided to gouge you. They have no control over this, which is pretty obvious when you look at their quarterly financial reports over the past decade. By Robert Rapier More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Austria's energy minister said it intends to order industry and utilities to switch from using natural gas as it looks to stockpile more natural gas to help insulate it from being cut off from Russian supplies, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Austria will encourage industry and utilities to use alternate fuels such as crude oil, Austrian energy minister Leonore Gewessler said. Austria gets 80% of its natural gas from Russia. And while its electricity is generated mostly from hydropower, its industrial sector and utilities, however, use a significant amount of natural gas. Natural gas is commonly used in district heating. "Power plants and industrial companies will be instructed to upgrade their systems for dual operation to the extent that it is technically and economically feasible. That means that plants can run on natural gas as well as on other energy sources - in most cases it will be crude oil," Gewessler told a news conference. The government is working on a draft of the direction it will provide to industry and utilities, but it will need to be signed off on by the main committee of the parliament's lower house. The announcement comes as Austria contends with a slowdown in the amount of natural gas heading into storage. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the end of May that Russia would continue to meet its natural gas delivery commitments to Austria. Austria's OMV opened up a rubles account with Gazprombank to pay for Russian gas imports, but gas supplies dipped in June by 50 percent after Gazprom said it would reduce the amount of gas supplied. As of Tuesday, Austria OMV said its gas imports from Russia had rebounded to 60% of contractual volumes. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: China likely imported another 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of discounted Russian crude oil in June after bringing in around the same amount in May, keeping Russia as its top oil supplier ahead of Saudi Arabia for a second consecutive month. Russian crude is estimated to have squeezed out some supply from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East, as well as West Africa, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing data from tanker tracking firms Refinitiv, Vortexa, and Kpler. While record imports of Russian crude continued from May into June in a relatively lackluster overall Chinese imports because of the COVID policies, supply from Saudi Arabia is tracked at around 1.3 million bpd in June, which would be China's lowest import volumes from the world's top crude exporter in almost two years, according to Refinitiv data cited by Reuters. Imports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq may have slumped by 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively, in June compared to May, Vortexa and Refinitiv have estimated. Chinese imports of crude from Angola are also set for a slump in June. Official Chinese data on crude imports by country is expected to be announced in the second half of this month. Per the tanker-tracking data, Russia continues to gain market share in China at the expense of Saudi Arabia as Chinese refiners soak up heavily discounted Russian grades. Related: U.S. Funds Set Sights On Venezuela Oil Investment In May, China imported a record volume of Russian crude, with arrivals surging by 55 percent to nearly 2 million bpd. This has made Russia the top oil supplier to the world's leading crude importerputting it ahead of Saudi Arabia for the first time in a year and a half. China could see some slowdown in Russian oil imports later this year, traders tell Reuters. This could be due to competition from India for cheap Russian oil, rising freight rates, and a rise in refiners' term contracted volumes with Saudi Arabia later this year. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: French power giant Electricite de France (EDF) will be fully nationalized under new government plans in France, the prime minister said on Wednesday. The French state currently controls 83.88 percent of EDF's share capital, with 15 percent with institutional and individual investors. "I confirm to you today that the state intends to control 100% of EDF's capital," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told the Parliament, as carried by Reuters, in her speech outlining priorities for the government. Shares in EDF (EPA:EDF) traded in Paris jumped by 6 percent after Borne's speech on Wednesday. Year to date, the utility has lost 18 percent on the stock market as it has seen piling debts, cost overruns on major nuclear power projects in France and the UK, and issues at its nuclear power plants in France that have led to many reactors being offline for maintenance and repairs this year, at a time when France and Europe need a lot of non-Russian gas and other forms of energy in the ongoing crisis. France's nuclear power generation accounts for around 70 percent of its electricity mix, and when its reactors are fully operational, it is a net exporter of electricity to other European countries. French President Emmanuel Macron said last year that France aims to become a leader in green hydrogen production and reinvent nuclear power by building a small modular reactor by 2030 as part of a wider $30.5 billion (30 billion euro) plan to decarbonize industry and slash emissions. According to Macron, Europe's renewable energy capacity will never be enough to produce enough green hydrogen for mobility, so France's nuclear power generation will be a key enabler for green hydrogen. Most recently, EDF warned earlier this week that it might have to reduce nuclear power generation as the water levels of rivers are low and water temperatures high, which could force EDF to reduce nuclear output because of environmental regulations for using river water for cooling nuclear reactors. By Josh Owens for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Norwegian offshore oil and gas workers agreed to end their strike after the government intervened to prevent further fallout from the industrial action. The strike could have reduced Norway's gas exports by as much as 60 percent and would have pushed already excessive European gas prices even higher. "Workers are going back to work as soon as possible. We are cancelling the planned escalation," the leader of the Lederne trade union, one of the striking organizations, said, as quoted by Reuters. The Norwegian government stepped in to refer the dispute to an independent wage board, which, per AFP, effectively ended the industrial action, which had started on Tuesday with workers walking off the job at three offshore fields. It is now up to the board to resolve the dispute. "The announced escalation is critical in today's situation, both with regards to the energy crisis and the geopolitical situation we are in with a war in Europe," said Norway's Labor Minister Marte Mjos Persen said. Strikes in the oil and gas industry in Norway are a regular occurrence as their wage contracts are re-negotiated annually. The industrial action normally gets resolved fast before it has had a chance to have a serious effect on Norway's oil and gas output. This year, it has been particularly important to avoid or minimize strikes as Europe relies heavily on Norway for its oil and gas supply now that it is shunning its hitherto biggest supplier, Russia. Norway produced 1.83 million barrels of crude oil and other liquids in May, the latest month for which the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has released data. Of this, crude oil totaled 1.62 million barrels daily. The country also produced 322.8 million cu m of natural gas in May, a slight decline from the April average daily, which stood at 329.2 million cu m. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A Russian regional court has suspended the activities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium for 30 days on the grounds of environmental violations, Russian media are reporting. The violation was a spill that occurred during the loading of a Greek-flagged tanker last year at the port of Novorossiysk. The company attributed the accident to equipment problems and said, in response to the court ruling, that it was acting within the legal framework of the Russian Federation. It added it would appeal the decision. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is the worlds largest international oil transportation project involving Russian and Kazakh companies for the transportation of crude oil from Kazakh and Russian fields to the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea via a 1,500-km pipeline. Chevron has a 15-percent stake in the company. Media reports indicate that the CPC pipeline was still flowing with oil as of Wednesday morning. The pipeline is the biggest outlet for Kazakh oil, which uses to ship most of its crude to world markets, notably Europe. Earlier this year, the pipeline got damaged in a storm, and most of the flow of oil along it was suspended for a month. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium came under fire last year after it reported that the initial spill of oil in the Black Sea from the Minerva Symphony was only 200 square meters, totaling 12 cubic meters of crude. It soon enough emerged that the spill was, in fact, much larger, at up to 80 square kilometers, based on satellite data research from the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation into the incident soon after that. Initially, the countrys transport industry regulator, Rostransnadzor, wanted to suspend the operation of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium for 90 days, but the Novorossiysk court reduced this to 30 days. The CPC pipeline has an annual capacity of 35 million tons of crude oil, an increase from the initial 28.2 million tons effective since 2005. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will call on Group of 20 members this week to put pressure on Russia to support UN efforts to reopen sea lanes blocked by the Ukraine conflict and repeat warnings to China not to support Moscow's war effort. Blinken heads to Asia on July 6 for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Bali on July 8. He is due to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, but no meeting is expected with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Ramin Toloui, the assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, told reporters Blinken would raise energy security and a UN initiative to try to get Ukrainian and Russian foodstuffs and fertilizer back to global markets. "G20 countries should hold Russia accountable and insist that it support ongoing UN efforts to reopen the sea lanes for grain delivery," he said. "Whether that happens at the level of the G20, or the level of individual G20 countries, that's an important point that Secretary Blinken will make," Toloui said. Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing its grain during the invasion and blockading its ports to keep grain from leaving the country, which has helped contribute to a global food shortage. Ukraine, said this week it is holding talks with Turkey and the United Nations to secure guarantees for grain exports. Moscow has denied taking Ukrainian grain but satellite images and GPS data have been used to back up the allegations that Russia has been transporting grain out of Ukraine through the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, said he expected a "candid" exchange on Ukraine in Blinken's talks with China's Wang. "This will be another opportunity...to convey our expectations about what we would expect China to do and not to do in the context of Ukraine," he said. Related: India's Top Refiner Sees Oil Staying Above $100 This Year China has refused to condemn Russia's actions and has criticized the sweeping sanctions. U.S. officials have warned of consequences should China start offering material support for Russia's war effort. "It's absolutely critical that we have open lines of communication with our Chinese counterparts, particularly at the senior level...to ensure that we prevent any miscalculation that could lead inadvertently to conflict and confrontation," Kritenbrink said. Lavrov and Blinken have not met since before Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said now was not the right time for another meeting. "We would like to see the Russians be serious about diplomacy. We have not seen that yet," he said. Price did not rule out the possibility of a chance Blinken-Lavrov encounter in Bali, which would be their first since they last met in Geneva in January. Price declined to discuss what he called the "choreography" of the G20. By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: KREMENCHUK, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces battled Wednesday to surround the Ukrainian militarys last stronghold in a long-contested eastern province, as shock reverberated from a Russian airstrike on a shopping mall that killed at least 18 in the center of the country two days earlier. Moscows battle to wrest the entire Donbas region from Ukraine saw Russian forces pushing toward two villages south of Lysychansk while Ukrainian troops fought to prevent their encirclement. Britains defense ministry said Russian forces were making incremental advances in their offensive to capture Lysychansk, the last city in the Luhansk province under Ukrainian control following the retreat of Ukraine's forces from the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. The latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said the Ukrainians were likely in a fighting withdrawal to seek more defensible positions while draining the Russian forces of manpower and resources. Avril Haines, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said Russia may think time is on its side due to the escalating costs borne by the West and fatigue as the war grows longer. The most likely scenario predicted by American intelligence, Haines said, is a grinding struggle in which Russia consolidates its hold over southern Ukraine by the fall. The U.S. correctly predicted Russia would invade Ukraine in February, but was wrong in assessing that it would quickly seize Kyiv. Speaking at an event in Washington on Wednesday, Haines said Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively the same political goals that he had previously, which is to say that he wants to take most of Ukraine and push it away from NATO. We perceive a disconnect between Putins near-term military objectives in this area and his militarys capacity, a kind of mismatch between his ambitions and what the military is able to accomplish, Haines said. Putin also said his goals in Ukraine have not changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. He denied Russia adjusted its strategy after failing to take Kyiv. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said at a news conference in Turkmenistan. Meanwhile, crews continued to search through the rubble of the shopping mall in Kremenchuk where Ukrainian authorities say 20 people remain missing. Ukrainian State Emergency Services press officer Svitlana Rybalko told The Associated Press that along with the 18 people killed, investigators found fragments of eight more bodies. It was not immediately clear whether that meant there were more victims. A number of survivors suffered severed limbs. The police cannot say for sure how many (victims) there are. So we are finding not the bodies but the fragments of bodies," Rybalko said. "Now we are clearing at the very epicenter of the blast. Here, we practically cannot find bodies as such. Several families stood by what was left of the Amstor shopping center Wednesday morning in hope of finding missing loved ones. This is pure genocide, local resident Tatiana Chernyshova said while going to lay flowers at the site. Such things cannot happen in the 21st century." We need to engage everyone to help stop the war, help us fight these scum these Russian aggressors," Chernyshova said. Psychologists working at the site with families said they were trying to help people come to terms with their loss. We are trying to help them release their emotions now, as later it becomes harder and much more painful, said one psychologist, who did not give his name as he was not authorized to speak to the press. After the attack on the mall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of becoming a terrorist state. On Wednesday, he reproached NATO for not embracing or equipping his embattled country more fully. The open-door policy of NATO shouldnt resemble old turnstiles on Kyivs subway, which stay open but close when you approach them until you pay, Zelenskyy told NATO leaders meeting in Madrid, speaking by video link. Hasnt Ukraine paid enough? Hasnt our contribution to defending Europe and the entire civilization been sufficient? He asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the NATO leaders they either had to provide Ukraine with the help it needed to defeat Russia or face a delayed war between Russia and yourself. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday dismissed what she claimed was the Ukrainian governments blatant provocation in trying to blame the mall missile strike on Russia's military. Britains defense ministry said there was a realistic possibility that the mall strike was intended to hit a nearby infrastructure target. Russian planners highly likely remain willing to accept a high level of collateral damage when they perceive military necessity in striking a target, the ministry said. It is almost certain that Russia will continue to conduct strikes in an effort to interdict the resupplying of Ukrainian front-line forces. Russias military also is experiencing a shortage of more modern precision strike weapons, which is compounding civilian casualties, the British ministry said. In southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike on a multi-story apartment building Wednesday in the city of Mykolaiv killed at least four people and injured five, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. Mykolaiv is a major port and seizing it as well as Odesa farther west would be key to Russia's objective of cutting off Ukraine from its Black Sea coast. Russia's defense ministry said in a statement that the missile strike on Mykolaiv targeted a base for training foreign mercenaries," as well as ammunition depots. In other developments Wednesday: A senior Russian lawmaker warned that Lithuanias refusal to allow some goods targeted by European Union sanctions through to Russias Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad could trigger a military confrontation. The statement by Vladimir Dzhabarov, a deputy head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of Russias parliament, followed the Kremlins warning that it will retaliate against restrictions of transit to Kaliningrad. The region borders EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania. Russias foreign ministry summoned Norways charge daffaires to protest Oslos blocking of a shipment of supplies to a Russian coal-mining town in the Svalbard islands. Although the Svalbards are Norwegian territory, a 1920 treaty allows all signatory countries the right to exploit its natural resources. Russia operates a coal mine in Barentsburg, a settlement of about 450 people, which relies on shipments from the mainland of food, machinery and other supplies. Norway imposed sanctions on shipments from Russia in April. Ukrainian military intelligence says that in the largest prisoner swap since the start of the war 144 Ukrainian troops were released from Russian captivity. Of those released, 95 were involved in defending the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraines devastated southern city of Mariupol before Russian forces captured it weeks ago. Denis Pushilin, the separatist leader in Donetsk, said an equal number of soldiers was released by both sides. European Union leaders approved a 600-million euro ($631 million) package to address food security issues brought on by the Ukrainian war in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. British businessman Richard Branson met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv and also visited the Hostomel airport outside the city. Zelenskyy said Branson, whose Virgin Group includes an airline, may be interested in rebuilding the airport, which was badly damaged early in the war. Britain is imposing sanctions on Russias second-richest man and on a cousin of Putin's. Vladimir Potanin, owner of the Interross conglomerate, has continued to amass wealth while backing Putin, acquiring Rosbank and shares in Tinkoff Bankonith in the period following the invasion of Ukraine, a U.K. government statement said Wednesday. The statement said Putins cousin, Anna Tsivileva, and her husband, Sergey Tsivilev, have significantly benefited from their relationship with Putin. Tsivileva is president of the JSC Kolmar Group coal mining company, and Tsivilev is governor of the coal-rich Kemerovo region. Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Frank Griffiths and Sylvia Hui in London, Maria Grazia Murru in Kyiv, Samuel Petrequin in Brussels and Nomaan Merchant in Washington contributed. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. Republican primaries this year have revealed a new political strategy for numerous candidates. They're running on a platform that denies President Donald Trumps loss in 2020. And as some of those same candidates lose their own primaries, theyre insisting without evidence that their races were rigged, too. The primary losers have a role model in Trump himself. After he lost the Iowa caucuses in 2016, Trump baselessly claimed fraud and demanded an investigation. When he was elected president later that year, he claimed that fraud was the reason Democrat Hillary Clinton won more votes than he did. Trump set up a commission to try to prove that. That commission was disbanded when it failed to produce any evidence. Two Bellevue intersections now are equipped with license plate readers, and four police cruisers soon will be outfitted with the specialized equipment. The Bellevue Police Department installed license plate readers at 15th Street and Cornhusker Road as well as Fort Crook Road North and Chandler Road, Capt. Tom Dargy said Wednesday. Bellevue signed a five-year contract with Motorola Solutions at a cost of $198,000 to place the two cameras at the intersections and in the cruisers, Dargy said. The cruisers will be delivered later this year. Logs of license plate numbers passing through the intersections will be maintained for 180 days, he said. The data then will be automatically deleted unless its being used as evidence or is subject to a preservation request, warrant, subpoena or court order. A department policy also exempts data involved in an active, ongoing criminal investigation from automatic deletion. Data is considered for official use only but can be shared for legitimate law enforcement purposes or when subject to a valid court order, according to department policy. Ive already seen some concerns in online comments about personal information being recorded, Dargy said. That is not the case. The cameras will only record the license plates, and only about five people in the department will have access to that information. In 2018, Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill to rein in government use of automatic license plate readers. LB 93, sponsored by State Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln, set limits on how law enforcement and other agencies can gather and share information collected by the technology. It passed 47-0. Automatic license plate readers are cameras mounted on patrol cars or stationary objects along the road that snap a photograph of every license plate that passes by. Images of the plates, along with the time, date and location, are recorded and transmitted to a database. The American Civil Liberties Union has raised concerns in a number of states, including Nebraska, about what information is being gathered on the general driving public and what agencies do with the collected data. ACLU attorney Jane Seu said Wednesday that the license plate reader technology fundamentally presents privacy concerns and the possibility of misuse and abuse. Under this system, innocent drivers plates will be recorded and stored for months before being deleted. Likewise, the departments policy allows officers to manually enter plates for vague investigative purposes. Bellevue residents should be concerned about the new cameras and plans to expand them to police vehicles. Under LB 93, government agencies can use the readers to identify vehicles linked to ongoing criminal investigations, reported as stolen or associated with a missing person. They also can be used to identify vehicles with outstanding parking or traffic violations and for some other traffic enforcement purposes. Bellevue police plan to use the cameras to identify vehicles that are the subject of police investigations and complaints, Dargy said. To ask that the system check for a certain vehicle, a law enforcement agency would need to provide the license plate number, a set time period for monitoring and the reason for the request. Dargy said Lancaster and Seward Counties have been using license plate readers on cruisers for about a year. The Kearney Police Department said in June that it had begun testing automated license plate readers. This report includes material from Scott Stewart of the Bellevue Leader. A new Metro Omaha contest is giving students a chance to see their art featured on an Omaha bus. Omaha and Council Bluffs area middle and high school students can submit artwork in the Wheel Appeal contest until Aug. 1. Two winning designs will be selected to showcase on Omaha buses, according to Metro Omaha. The contest is open to students who attended school in the 2021-22 school year, or who are home-schooled. A committee of Metro Omaha staff and community members will choose one winner for the middle school age group and one winner for the high school age group, according to the release. Students can submit either hand-drawn or digital art and submissions must be the students original artwork. Entries are limited to one per student and can be emailed to outreach@ometro.com using the subject line Wheel Appeal Contest, or mailed to or dropped off at the Metro office at 2222 Cuming St. Entries must be received by 4 p.m. Aug. 1. The winners will be notified by Aug. 31 and their artwork will be featured for up to a year on a bus. The contest application form and artwork templates are available at ometro.com/WheelAppeal. Britain's Boris Johnson battles to stay as PM amid revolt LONDON (AP) A defiant British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is battling to remain in office, shrugging off calls for his resignation after three Cabinet ministers and a slew of junior officials said they could no longer serve under his scandal-plagued leadership. British media is reporting that Johnson is refusing to step down, citing hugely important issues facing the country. Members of the opposition Labour Party showered Johnson with shouts of Go! Go! during the weekly ritual of Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons. And members of his own Conservative Party also challenged him. Critics argue the leaders days are numbered following his poor handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a senior official. Police: Parade shooting suspect contemplated 2nd shooting HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there. That's according to authorities who spoke Wednesday. Robert Crimo III turned back to Illinois, where he was later arrested after deciding he was not prepared to pull off a shooting in Wisconsin. An Illinois judge ordered Crimo to be held without bail. A prosecutor said police found the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop that he fired from. EXPLAINER: Should red-flag law have stopped parade shooting? CHICAGO (AP) Days after a rooftop gunman killed seven people at a parade, attention has turned to how the assailant obtained multiple guns and whether the laws on Illinois books could have prevented the Independence Day massacre. Illinois gun laws are generally praised by gun-control advocates as tougher than in most states. But they did not stop Robert E. Crimo III from carrying out the attack in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. One focus is on the states so-called red-flag law, which is intended to temporarily take away guns away from people with potentially violent behavior. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have such laws. Scramble as last Mississippi abortion clinic shuts its doors JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippis only abortion clinic has been buzzing with activity in the chaotic days since the U.S. Supreme Court upended abortion rights nationwide. The case originated in Mississippi with the bright pink medical facility called Jackson Women's Health Organization. Physicians there have been trying to see as many patients as possible before the facility, best known as the Pink House, permanently closes its doors at the end of business Wednesday. Clashes have intensified between anti-abortion protesters and volunteers who escort patients into the clinic. Unless theres an intervention by the states conservative Supreme Court, Mississippi will enact a law Thursday to ban most abortions. New report details missed chances to stop Uvalde shooting AUSTIN, Texas (AP) A new report on the Uvalde elementary school massacre in Texas says a police officer had a chance to open fire on the gunman but missed it while waiting for permission to shoot. The report also says some of the 21 victims at Robb Elementary School likely could have been saved on May 24 had they received medical attention sooner. The report is yet another damning assessment of how police failed to act on opportunities that might have saved lives in what became the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012. Some Russians won't halt war protests, despite arrest fears Despite a massive government crackdown on protests of the invasion of Ukraine, some Russians persist in speaking out against the invasion. One woman in the Ural Mountains city of Perm posts signs in the entrance to her apartment block bearing anti-war sayings. But it remains dangerous. Authorities rubber-stamped legislation that outlawed the spread of false information about the invasion and disparaging the military. They have used it against anyone who spoke out publicly against the attack or talked about the atrocities Russian troops were committing in Ukraine. One Moscow printer who made posters saying No to war has switched to blander messages such as Fear is not an excuse to do nothing. Ex-cop Chauvin to get federal sentence for Floyd's killing MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is about to learn his sentence for federal civil rights violations in the killing of George Floyd. A plea deal is in place that will likely extend his time behind bars while shifting him to possibly more favorable conditions in a federal prison. It calls for 20 to 25 years in prison. But the final decision is up to U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson on Thursday. Prosecutors last month asked for the full 25 on the grounds that Chauvins actions were cold-blooded and needless. The defense has asked for 20 years, saying Chauvin accepts responsibility for what he did. Jury finds man guilty of murdering rapper Nipsey Hussle LOS ANGELES (AP) Jurors have found a 32-year-old man guilty of first-degree murder for the 2019 fatal shooting of rapper Nipsey Hussle. The Los Angeles County jury reached its verdict in the trial of Eric R. Holder Jr. on Wednesday. The verdict brings an end to a legal saga that has lasted more than three years and a trial that was often delayed because of the pandemic. Holder and Hussle had known each other for years when a chance meeting outside the Grammy-winning rappers Los Angeles clothing store led to the shooting, and Hussle's death. Holder could get life in prison when hes sentenced on Sept. 15. Appeals arguments heard on immigrants brought to US as kids NEW ORLEANS (AP) Immigrant advocates are hoping a federal appeals court will uphold an Obama-era program that prevents the deportation of thousands of immigrants brought into the United States as children. A federal judge in Texas last year declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program illegal although he agreed to leave the program intact for those already benefiting from it while his order is appealed. An attorney for the state of Texas who is leading an effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals program argued Wednesday that DACA recipients have cost the state hundreds of millions in health care and other costs. Mercury hold public rally in support of Brittney Griner PHOENIX (AP) They shared laughs, smiles, memories. There also were tears, fears, unease. Through the range of emotions, one common thread bonded them together: Brittney Griner. Wearing BG shirts and holding signs, several hundred fans gathered for a public rally in support of Griner on Wednesday, hoping their sentiments would reach the WNBA player 6,000 miles away in a Russian jail cell. Griner has spent the past four months in a Russian prison and is currently on trial, accused of possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil when she arrived at the Moscow airport while returning to play for her Russian team. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. SEATTLE (AP) An inquest jury has started deliberations into the actions of two Seattle police officers who fatally shot a Black pregnant mother of four in her apartment. The jury will weigh responses of Yes, No, or Unknown to 123 questions relating to the circumstances surrounding the death of Charleena Lyles on June 18, 2017, The Seattle Times reported. She was killed after purportedly brandishing a knife at officers who had responded to her report of a burglary. The 30-year-old mother of four was four months pregnant when officers Jason Anderson and Steven McNew, who are white, shot her seven times in her northeast Seattle apartment. The officers testified that Lyles went from conversational to confrontational in seconds, pulling a knife from her pocket and advancing. Officers said they drew their guns and repeatedly ordered Get back! before firing. The shooting death of Lyles unleashed a storm of public protest and has been held up by advocates of police reforms as demonstrating unnecessary police violence and institutional racism by law enforcement. Audio of the shooting was recorded via microphones synced to the officers in-car video system. Lyles yelled Do it! and profanities at the officers before they fired at her. Questions about her mental health had been raised after a police call nearly two weeks earlier in which she threatened another officer with a pair of shears. Family members have questioned why the officers, who had been trained to deal with people showing signs of mental illness or other behavior crises, didnt use nonlethal methods to subdue her. Anderson didn't have his Taser with him and was later suspended for two days without pay for violating department policy. Three of Lyles children were in the apartment at the time, and the officers testified about a crying infant who crawled on his mothers body and a boy who came out of a bedroom and said, in tears, You shot my mother. Inquest jurors in the Lyles case will be asked to consider the facts surrounding her death in light of the police deadly force statute that was in effect in 2017, which requires a finding of actual malice by the officer a standard that was changed in 2018 by voter approval of Initiative 940, after prosecutors and lawmakers concluded it was virtually impossible to meet that standard to charge an officer with murder. The inquest jury can determine if law enforcement violated any policies and potentially any criminal laws. But any decision to charge a police officer is made by the King County prosecutor. KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) Russia redoubled its push for Ukraine's eastern Donbas region Wednesday, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have repelled some advances and both sides reporting casualties. The Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said troops stopped enemy units advancing towards Sloviansk, a city in Donetsk, one of two provinces in the Donbas whose capture is among Moscows main goals. It also claimed to have repelled Russian attacks on a town and village north of Ukraines second city, Kharkiv, just miles (kilometers) from the Russian border. The Ukrainian presidential office said most civilian casualties were in Donetsk province, where Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said two people died in the city of Avdiivka; the cities of Sloviansk, Krasnohorivka and Kurakhove each reported one civilian killed. Every crime will be punished, he wrote on social media. Kyrylenko urged the province's more than 350,000 remaining residents to flee late Tuesday, saying that evacuating Donetsk was necessary to save lives and allow the Ukrainian army to put up a better defense against the Russian advance. Donetsk is part of the Donbas, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where Ukraines most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Pro-Russian separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two self-proclaimed separatist republics. Putin on Monday declared the complete seizure of Luhansk, after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the last city under their control in the province. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai denied Wednesday that the Russians had completely captured the province. Heavy fighting continued in villages around Lysychansk, the city Ukrainians soldiers withdrew from and which Russian troops took Sunday, he said. The Russians have paid a high price, but the Luhansk region is not fully captured by the Russian army," Haidai said. Some settlements have been overrun by each side several times. He accused Russian forces of scorched earth tactics, burning down and destroying everything on their way." The Russian military pounded Luhansk for weeks from the air and ground, causing mass destruction and large civilian casualties. When Russian troops enter villages and cities, they are largely empty. From pre-war populations each of around 100,000, only up to 15,000 residents remain in Lysychansk and some 8,000 in the nearby city of Sievierodonetsk, which Russian and separatist fighters seized last month, Haidai said. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskky, in his nightly video address Wednesday, said that of all the battles in his country, the most brutal confrontation is raging in the Donbas. The Associated Press on Wednesday saw the bloody aftermath of one attack in the rebel-held Donetsk town of Makiivka and spoke to eyewitnesses who said a Soviet-era missile struck a playground outside a residential home. Local separatists blamed the attack on Ukrainian forces. Blood stained the seat of a swing and pooled on the ground below. Russian media cited the separatists as saying two children were killed and three children and two adults were wounded. The boy was lying on the swings like this and I saw he had blood coming out from this side," said resident Svetlana Lyga. "I did not come close I simply couldnt. The girl was taken by the ambulance. She was alive at that moment. North of Donetsk, Russian forces hit Kharkiv with missile strikes overnight. Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Wednesday on Telegram that one person was killed and three, including a toddler, were injured. First responders crunched through the debris of a Kharkiv university, where Zelenskyy said the main building, lecture halls, museum and library were destroyed. When it comes to the definition of barbarism, this strike fits the bill the most," the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address. "Only an enemy of civilization and humanity can do such things strike missiles at a university, a pedagogical university. The attacks indicated that residents of the city are unlikely to enjoy calm as the war grinds into its fifth month. Providing its account of the fighting in Kharkiv, Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces killed up to 100 Ukrainian troops and destroyed four armored vehicles. The ministry also said its forces struck a Ukrainian air-defense radar and camp housing foreign fighters in southern Ukraines Mykolaiv region. The ministry's chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, claimed air-launched high precision missiles destroyed two HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems the U.S. had sent to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military denied Moscows claims. Elsewhere on the battlefield: Russian rocket strikes wounded four people in the town of Pokrovska in Ukraines eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. He added that four settlements to the west came under relentless shelling Wednesday, burning wheat fields, damaging a solar power plant and destroying a house. In southern Ukraine, a local official said one person died and four were wounded in a blast in a Russian-occupied town, Skadovsk. Mayor Oleksandr Yakovlev told the Suspilne broadcaster a child was among those injured in an explosion that tore through a residential building. Russian state media claimed Wednesday that an oil refinery in Donetsk had caught fire due to Ukrainian shelling. The Tass news agency cited a separatists claim that the refinery fire was one of 27 Ukrainian attacks on Donetsk over the previous 24 hours. Ukrainian authorities didnt immediately confirm the attack. In other developments: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 27-nation European Union needs to make emergency plans to prepare for a complete cut-off of Russian gas. The EU has already imposed sanctions on Russia, including on some energy supplies, and is trying to find other sources. But von der Leyen said the bloc needed to be ready for shock disruptions from Moscow. European Union lawmakers voted to support a plan by the bloc's executive commission to include natural gas and nuclear power on its list of sustainable activities. Environmentalists accused the EU of greenwashing." One argument for rejecting the proposal was that it could boost gas sales that benefit Russia. The European Commission said the Ukrainian government backs its stance. A court in Russia ordered a pipeline bringing oil from Kazakhstan to Europe halted for 30 days for what it said were environmental violations, Russian media reported. Russian food bound for an Arctic coal mining settlement have resumed transiting via mainland Norway after weeks of tension, a Russian representative said Wednesday. Russian officials had accused Oslo of blocking a shipment of essential goods for Russian miners in Barentsburg, on the far-Northern Svalbard archipelago. A top Russian official warned the United States could face the wrath of God if it works to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russias actions in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, denounced the U.S. for what he described as its efforts to spread chaos and destruction across the world for the sake of true democracy. Murru and Cara Anna contributed from Kharkiv. SEATTLE (AP) The executive in the county surrounding Seattle said Tuesday its sheriffs office and other executive branch departments will not cooperate with out-of-state prosecutions of abortion providers or patients. King County Executive Dow Constantines executive order signed Tuesday follows a similar one from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, The Seattle Times reported. Inslee last week signed a directive prohibiting the Washington State Patrol from cooperating with out-of-state abortion investigations or prosecutions. Inslee, in signing his directive, said he didnt have jurisdiction over local law enforcement agencies. Now the states largest county has barred its law enforcement from aiding other states abortion investigations. Constantine's order cites a moral and policy imperative not to assist states and other outside organizations and individuals seeking to infringe the rights of persons who obtain health care in King County. The order bars sheriffs deputies and staff from making arrests, serving warrants and subpoenas or helping in extradition on any person who has sought or provided reproductive health care that is legal in Washington. It also bans the county jail system from accepting bookings for abortion-related out-of-state prosecutions and it bars the county health department from providing information related to prosecutions or sanctions related to abortion. Abortion providers in Washington are already seeing an influx of people from other states that have banned or are soon to ban abortion, following the Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade. In Idaho, a law slated to go into effect soon would ban most abortions. Health-care providers would face felony charges punishable by up to five years in prison for violations. A regional Planned Parenthood organization is suing the state over it. Idaho's ban could send more than 1,600 Idaho women annually to clinics in Washington and Oregon. LINCOLN One day before the deadline to turn in petition signatures, a federal appeals court dealt a blow to the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign Wednesday. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower courts decision, which means the state can enforce a requirement that initiative petition drives collect valid signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in 38 counties to make the ballot. Earlier on Wednesday, campaign manager Crista Eggers said the medical marijuana petitions were hovering around the 87,000 total signature goal. She said she didnt know where the petition drive stood on county distribution. But she said efforts were continuing to collect more signatures to account for those that may be ruled invalid by the Secretary of States Office. She said organizers were aiming to get 5,000 more signatures each on the twin petitions by Thursdays 5 p.m. deadline. Eggers said Wednesdays court order does not change that goal or mean the petition will fall short on the multicounty requirement. She said counting and sorting of signatures will be going on up to the last minute. Were focused on collecting signatures. Thats all that matters right now, she said. We are capable of bringing this across the finish line. Eggers said volunteers are gathering signatures all across Omaha and Lincoln, as well as locations in other cities including Beatrice, North Platte, Grand Island and York. She said the campaign will be gathering signatures pretty much nonstop until noon Thursday. The multicounty signature requirement is in the Nebraska Constitution, along with a requirement to collect a certain total number of signatures. ACLU of Nebraska, on behalf of Eggers and Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, challenged the signature distribution requirement, arguing that it gave greater weight to voters in small, rural counties and violated the one person, one vote principle. U.S. District Judge John Gerrard issued a preliminary injunction against the multicounty requirement on June 13. But the state appealed, requesting emergency action because of the looming petition deadline. The appeals court order, which was issued 2-1 by a three-judge panel, granted the states request and lifted Gerrards injunction. But it did not decide the underlying issue, which will be addressed through ongoing litigation. Todays decision is a setback but not the end of our case, said Jane Seu, an ACLU attorney. We were very encouraged by the earlier ruling in this case and we continue to feel confident. After the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a similar campaign to legalize medical marijuana in 2020 because the petition contained more than one subject, the campaign was resurrected with two petitions. The first petition would require the Legislature to enact new statutes protecting both the doctors who recommend medical cannabis and the patients who use it from criminal penalty. The second would require lawmakers to pass a bill protecting private entities that produce and supply cannabis for medical purposes. As of last week, the campaign had about 67,000 signatures for each petition. Eggers said the holiday weekend was huge for the campaign, which gathered nearly 20,000 signatures to get it close to its goal. However, now that the campaign is in the middle of the week following a holiday, Eggers said she isnt sure the petitions can get the 5,000 signatures it needs. She said its up to Nebraskans whether the campaign sinks or flies. I cant say Im confident, Eggers said Wednesday. Eggers said she also is concerned that some volunteers in distant areas of the state have signatures they have yet to turn in. At this point, she said, it is too late to mail them back to the campaign. Petition drop-off locations are listed on the campaigns website, nebraskamarijuana.org. Residents also can find places they can sign the petitions there, she said. Dont wake up on July 8th asking what more you could have done to help save a life, State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln said in a campaign press release. Meanwhile, two other statewide petitions have said they are either on track or already have the signatures they need to get on the ballot. An official with Citizens for Voter ID said they are confident the group will meet its signature-gathering goal by Thursday, while Raise the Wage Nebraska reported Friday that it had cleared its goal by over 40,000 signatures. BLOOMINGTON You dont need to know someone whos tying the knot to experience a wild wedding band. Wedding Banned, a five-piece act based out of the Windy City, is headed to Bloomington to perform this Saturday, as part of the Saturdays at the Square concert series. The event is sponsored by Pantagraph Media and The Castle Theater. Bassist Bruce Winchell said that the group's goal was to create a show based on a wedding, then make it a really fun and joyous celebration. The band didnt begin by actually playing weddings, he said, but they began to get booked for them later on. He said they first started in the small town of Gas City, Indiana, while sporting crazy outfits. However, Winchell said, it was hard to play in that area. Their outlandish shows werent working well, he said, and for around eight months they played weekly shows at The Cubby Bear across from Wrigley Field in Chicago. The bassist said that was a great way to build up their show. At face value, theyre a 1980s band covering classics like Take On Me by Aha, Eddie Moneys Take Me Home Tonight, and Jesses Girl by Rick Springfield but he said the group adds other styles that might fit. On vocals with Wedding Banned are Gary Manilow and Megan Tron, who Winchell said kills it singing Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston. Winchell also said Bon Jovi is a big hit with their fans, particularly little ones. Even 3-year-olds know the lyrics, he said. The end result theyre shooting for, Winchell said, is to make people say their show was awesome, and tell their friends about it. And then they find new fans who want them to perform for their own weddings. As an ordained officiant, Winchell said hes wed hundreds of couples on stage at private events, and he feels lucky and flattered for the chance. Im in this crazy outfit, and they trust me to take it seriously, which I do, he said. Its their wedding and I dont want to mess it up Youre there for every moment of that day, and thats not something I take lightly. At private events (or where insurers wont prohibit it), Winchell said, theyll invite guests onto the stage to hold garter and bouquet tosses as well as other ceremonial traditions. Street festivals he said are more restrictive, but they still get the crowd involved. At one festival, Winchell said, they had a surprise bride and groom join them on stage to dance. He said he the newlyweds were in the front row, and had to attest the band didnt plant them there for the show. Theyve performed before at the Peoria Riverfront and other bars in that area, plus at Six Strings and Daddios in Bloomington. Winchell said hes pumped up to come back to the Twin Cities, especially for a show on the street. When we got it, I was like, yes! he said. Were outside in Bloomington in the summer. Its going to be awesome. GIBSON CITY Investigators are still working to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed one business and damaged three others in downtown Gibson City. Firefighters were called to Jay's Place, 117 N. Sangamon Ave., at 5:10 p.m. Monday, Gibson City Fire Chief Bruce Kallal said. They found heavy smoke and flames coming from both the front and rear of the building, which was destroyed in the blaze, he said. "We really had a very good response from our own resources and all our mutual aid partners," Kallal said. "Not a single complaint about manpower and equipment." Kallal said their first attack was on the front of the business, and they continued to fight the fire from the outside with two ladder trucks. Crews cleared the scene around 11:45 p.m. They were present again Tuesday, clearing the area, he said. No injuries were reported. Nearby businesses Hustedt Jewelers, Ace Hardware and Edward D. Jones suffered smoke and heat damage. Apartment tenants living above one of those businesses were not allowed to stay due to the damage. They were allowed to gather a few belongings before the landlord arranged for them to stay at a local hotel, he said. They were also given food and clothing by community members. Kallal said the state fire marshal was still investigating the cause of the fire. Approximately 60 firefighters responded to the report with mutual aid being offered from Sibley, Elliot, Melvin-Roberts, Paxton and Loda fire departments. Owner's of Jay's Place also shared their thanks to first responders in a Facebook post. "Jays Place would like to say a huge Thank You to all the firefighters and emergency personnel from Gibson City, Paxton, Sibley, Melvin, Elliott and surrounding fire departments," the message said. "Also we would like to say thank you to everyone that has reached out to us at this time. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time." LINCOLN Extremely hot weather is expected to continue Wednesday, along with a chance for storms The National Weather Service at Lincoln predicted heat indices from 100 to 110 degrees for portions of Central Illinois. A heat advisory was issued Tuesday, and some parts of the region were still expected to remain under the advisory until 11 p.m. Wednesday. Central Illinois also could experience strong to severe storms on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the weather service. While the timing was uncertain, the weather service said large hail and damaging winds could be possible. During a heat wave, the American Red Cross recommends staying indoors as much as possible, dressing lightly, staying hydrated and avoiding drinks that are caffeinated, high in sugar or alcoholic. Symptoms of heat stroke include: a body temperature above 104F, hot skin, fast pulse, headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion or passing out. The Red Cross recommends seeking immediate medical attention if the person experiences heat stroke or begins to vomit. Another serious problem caused by heat is dehydration, said Marianne Manko, public affairs coordinator at the McLean County Health Department. And it's an issue that can escalate throughout a hot day. "When our body temperature rises, just a little bit you might sweat just a little bit more," Manko said. "That little bit of extra sweat can add up at the end of the day." Anyone suspected of suffering from a heat-related illness should immediately begin cooling down and drinking water. It's crucial to get the person indoors or in the shade and apply ice or wet towels to either the neck or the inner elbow. If the person wants to lie down, she said to elevate their feet to help with blood flow. Signs of dehydration include: not using the bathroom despite drinking water; darker urine; muscle cramps, especially in the legs and toes; dry mouth; and bad breath. McLean County has several cooling stations across the county where residents can visit and get out of the heat. Visit bit.ly/mcleancooling for a map. While the health department itself is not a cooling station, Manko said transit riders sometimes use the first floor to get out of the heat. "They can just cool off," she said, "And they're all really great. They wear their masks because they know we're the health department." NORMAL Half a dozen volunteers kept busy Wednesday morning packing backpacks with school supplies. Their goal is to pack 4,000 backpacks by mid-August, when families can pick up the bags before school starts. (4,000 bags) is about 60% of the need in Bloomington-Normal, said organizer Jan Meadows. The Back 2 School Alliance is planning a drive-through distribution event from noon to 6 p.m. Aug. 11 at the State Farm South parking garage. Families need to be enrolled at McLean County Unit 5 or Bloomington District 87, up to date on immunizations and qualify for free or reduced price lunch. Those interested in receiving supplies should contact their school office. The goal is to partner with families, Meadows said. Around one third of families in Unit 5 or District 87 qualify, but the organization can only help about 35 of those. We truly try to model not a handout, but a hand up, she said. On Wednesday morning at Midwest Food Bank the volunteers were packing some of the backpacks, as well as organizing binders and other supplies to get them ready to give away. Amber Patterson brought her sons Drake, 12, and Colin, 10. They have been coming for four years, she said. Volunteering gives the boys something to do during the summer that doesnt involve a screen and lets them give back to the community. The variety of tasks also helps with keeping the two boys occupied. It was enough to keep their attention, and (Meadows) was so gracious to let them come, Amber Patterson said. Becky Schaefer has been volunteering with the Back 2 School Alliance for five years now, she said. She also volunteers with the food bank. Im always looking for some good things to do, she said. She retired from COUNTRY seven years ago and has tried to keep busy since then. Volunteering gives her a chance to give back and to meet people. Thats the only think I missed since I retired, being around all the people, she said. This was Chris Tamm and Ryan Tamms first time volunteering. It seemed like a good way to give back, Chris Tamm said, and with the pandemic, he thinks there is a lot of need right now. The two plan to be back next year. They need a lot of (supplies), unfortunately, theres a lot of need, he said. Schaefer said that she and other retired people are her church are looking to volunteer at schools next school year as well. The supplies are specific to grade level, Meadows said. Those interested in giving will find donation boxes at a number of businesses around the community. Instructions can be found on the organizations website at back2schoolalliance.org. Checks can be sent to the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, 915 E. Washington St #2, Bloomington, with "backpacks" in the memo line, Meadows said. This year the organization is adding 350 backpacks for high school students, Meadows said. That is in addition to the 4,000 for younger grades. There are also some upcoming community events that will benefit the organization, Meadows said. That includes a drive for monetary and supply donations at the Normal Walmart on July 24 and Dennys Doughnuts donating proceeds from doughnut sales on July 16. NORMAL The rules for temporary signs in Normal could see changes after the Town Council voted Monday night to send the issue to the Normal Planning Commission. City Manager Pam Reece said the proposed ordinance changes that will be sent to the Planning Commission are staffs attempt to get the ball rolling. The current code differentiates types of temporary signs, including for political campaigns and real estate. Corporation Counsel Brian Day said this puts the town out of compliance based on recent court decisions, namely Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona. The proposed ordinance eliminates content-based distinctions with the intent to make the code content neutral, Reece said. However, the motion passed over two dissenting votes after concerns were raised about the proposed ordinance town staff drafted extending beyond seeking content neutrality and about the Planning Commissions public input process. While Day noted some aspects of the proposed ordinance already exist in the town code for temporary signs, Trustee Scott Preston said he believes there are holes and unresolved questions that I just dont think are practical, to be honest, in the proposed ordinance, how it reads thats being sent to Planning. ... I think the additional regulations go too far and are unnecessary. He voted against the measure. Trustee Stan Nord also said he believed this proposed ordinance as written was too far reaching. Within the proposed ordinance, he and Preston drew attention to the size limits (no more than 7 square feet) and display length limits (no more than 84 days in a year), especially in regard to how different entities use temporary signs regularly. Nord also told the council he was concerned about the public not knowing to whom to provide feedback on the issue as it proceeds to the Planning Commission. Trustee Kevin McCarthy, who voted in support, said he has encouraged the public to attend the Planning Commission meeting to express their opinion directly to the Planning Commission as the beginning of the public input process. There isnt an either or going on here. Citizens get to talk to the Planning Commission and they get to talk to their council members. While the proposed language of the ordinance will be sent to the Planning Commission to consider, McCarthy said what goes to the commission may not be what comes back to council for a final vote. I dont want to get bogged down tonight by the details of what were sending to the Planning Commission because we dont know what the Planning Commissions actually going to hear. Lets let the public weigh in before we try to weigh in, he said. This topic gained attention prior to the meeting, which has already led to some discussions with community groups, Trustee Kathleen Lorenz said. This is the opportunity for people and stakeholders with a vested interest in our sign ordinance to step forward into the planning process, she said. I think this discussion tonight and the topic itself being on the agenda has helped bring attention to that. In other business, the council approved a resolution to use $202,500 of state motor fuel tax dollars for the design of the Franklin Avenue Bridge over the north branch of Sugar Creek. Town staff reported the existing bridge is in poor condition and the adjacent pedestrian bridge had to be closed for safety concerns. The designing process is scheduled to begin this year and be completed by 2024. The project also is supported by a grant from the Illinois Special Bridge Program. The awarded $1.56 million is slated to help pay construction-related costs. In addition to the grant and motor fuel tax funds, the towns storm water fund is budgeted to contribute to the project as well. One and a half billion dollars is a big mea culpa, but that is what one philanthropy is throwing on the table to address what it admits is a longstanding problem: the failure to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in health research. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the nations wealthiest philanthropies, in May announced a $1.5 billion effort designed to help scientists of color advance in their careers. This is one of several DEI programs that some of the nations largest grantmakers and health charities are undertaking. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, for instance, is working with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to award $1.15 million to biomedical researchers who have a record of promoting DEI. Advertisement Other grantmakers are working to change their practices to ensure scholars of color are more likely to get philanthropic and government support to further their work. Yet many grantmakers and health charities say their own progress has been lagging, and they are joining forces to do more. Ten years ago, a survey of National Institutes of Health funding found that Black applicants were 10% less likely to be awarded grants than their white counterparts, with other factors being equal. Today, health grantmakers, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial justice movement following the death of George Floyd, have begun to take action. Advertisement Leslie Vosshall, vice president and chief scientific officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said her organization deplored the research funding gap for Black biomedical scientists, as well as the underrepresentation of scientists of color at universities and research institutions. It has been a century-long gap in biomedical sciences, she said. Good science is done by a diverse cohort of scientists. If we dont let everyone sit at the table, were leaving an enormous amount of talent behind. Diversity begets better science. Ivory Dean, science program manager at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, agreed. Representative science is better science. To cure, prevent, or manage all diseases, science must be more inclusive of people of color, as a lack of genetic diversity in studies and research has introduced significant bias in disease treatments and outcomes, she said in an email. The focus on who gets studied in medical research is a big part of several new efforts. For example, the American Heart Association, with support from Pfizer Ventures and Gates Ventures, announced a $20 million research project to study the barriers to the participation of diverse people in clinical research trials. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nations largest health philanthropy, opened a call for proposals in April, awarding a total of $1.3 million for research that benefits those affected by structural racism and discrimination, noting that people who are supposed to benefit from the research must have a leadership role in the study. These DEI programs mirror similar efforts by the federal government, the largest supporter of biomedical research. The National Institutes of Health started multiple programs to enhance the diversity of the NIH-funded workforce. The programs goal is to establish effective ways of training and mentoring scientists from underrepresented groups, focusing on multiple levels: mentoring students, improving faculty development, and strengthening the research training infrastructure of institutions. The Health Research Alliance, a consortium of 107 nonprofit health grantmakers, is also pushing for change. It recently released a report that analyzed 10 years of data submitted by its members. Maryrose Franko, executive director of the alliance, noted that the data starkly showed that the percentage of female award recipients across all career stages had flatlined over the decade. The percentage of Black recipients of grants funded by the groups members was 1.7% and for grants funded by NIH, 2.6%, while Census data put the Black population at about 13% during this period, the report stated. Advertisement We need to call out the problem, Franko said. Were calling attention to our lack of success: Yes, weve been working on this, but its not good enough. To address these disparities, Howard Hughes new $1.5 billion effort will pay for up to 150 early-career biomedical researchers who are strongly committed to promoting DEI in science. Thirty scholars, appointed for five-year terms, will receive up to $8.6 million over 10 years. Vosshall points out that over the 10-year grant period, each researcher may have 50 to 100 students working in the lab, which ideally will be magnets for attracting a diverse workforce. A key gauge of the success of the program will be if, as expected, we will have had thousands of students go through the labs who will diversify science. For its part, the Health Research Alliance whose members include relatively small grantmakers as well as large organizations is taking a data-centered approach to tackling diversity. Kimberly Lezak, managing director of the Medical Foundation at Health Resources in Action, an alliance member, was a co-author of the groups recent Nature Medicine commentary about its findings. A problem of measuring the progress of diversity efforts, or even of having a clear picture of the current situation, Lezak said, is a lack of data. Most members do not have long-term demographic information. Theres this increased recognition that you have to know where youve been in order to know where youre going, she said. To make some initial recommendations, the alliance surveyed its members for the methods they used in three areas: collecting and using demographic data, increasing diversity in applicant and grantee pools, and reducing bias in award-selection committees. Advertisement From its members, the group found that sometimes promoting inclusiveness is a relatively simple matter, such as changing the language in the call for grant applicants. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, an alliance member, has been studying ways to increase equity in grantmaking for years. To increase gender equity, in 2016, the foundation sought to minimize words traditionally associated with masculine traits. Instead of leadership potential, for example, it substituted promise to make significant contributions. Similarly, application portions that asked for ratings from an applicants mentor and department chair were altered to eliminate categories associated with gender. The results were striking. The proportion of female applicants increased from 43% to 53%, while the percentage of successful women applicants increased from 5% of all female applicants to 10% equal to the percentage of successful male applicants. For Health Research Alliance members and other funders, the takeaway is that there are actions that we can take to try to change who applies to our funding who has access to apply to our funding and who gets funding, said Sindy Escobar Alvarez, program director for medical research at Doris Duke. The alliance seeks to pool insights such as those from Doris Duke to work with its members to create new strategies and evaluation metrics. As a community, we can work together to make much more of an impact together than we can on our own, Franko said. Advertisement This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Sono Motoyama is a senior writer at the Chronicle. Email: sono.motoyama@philanthropy.com The AP and the Chronicle receive support from the Lilly Endowment for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. The AP and the Chronicle are solely responsible for all content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Gas Company, Dr Ben K.D Asante, says the current crisis between Russia and the rest of Europe over gas supply offers Africa the opportunity to supply the commodity to the Old Continent. According to him, the African continent has about 10 to 12 percent of the gas reserves in the world but only utilises 4 percent. So, we have all it takes to export what we dont use, Dr Asante said. He made this known at the maiden Gas Commercialisation Workshop organised by Geneva-based Global Gas Centre (GGC) in collaboration with Ghana Gas. Themed The Role of the State in Promoting Gas Commercialisation, the one-day workshop held at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra on Tuesday, June 28 was aimed exploring opportunities in maximising the commercial value of gas. The workshop forms part of a series organised by GGC across Africa in the face of an expected dip in supply occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Dr Asante admonished stakeholders in Africa to look for investors in Europe who will no longer depend on Russia as a result of the sanctions imposed on the Eastern European nation. Sanctions on Russia offer Africa a significant market in Europe, he stressed. Other speakers at the workshop included Executive Director of GGC Valerie Ducrot, commercial and corporate lawyer Anna Nerush, President of the Monitoring Observatory of Economic Development Indicators of Africa (OSIDEA) Cheikhou Oumar Sy among others. Source: 3news.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 is 2022. Tech is all the rave. Businesses are on the lookout for the new, the shiny, and the impactful. Its all about THE BIG NOW. From innovations in data processing to automation, everyone is on the lookout for whats next. Consider Robotic Process Automation (RPA): the name itself is a little scary, but it is as ordinary as it gets. When people hear RPA, the first thing that comes to mind is, the robots are taking over, like the Terminator, or Matrix. In this case, though, we are talking about software running on a physical or virtual machine. While that may lack the excitement of a Hollywood sci-fi, consider copy-paste processes or transferring files from one location to another in a matter of minutes and you realize it is not as boring as it sounds. RPA is essentially about using software to automate high-volume, repetitive processes that previously required only human intervention. It is a type of business process automation that allows anyone to define a set of instructions to be performed by software. This form of programming can simulate most human-computer interactions to complete many error-free tasks at a high volume and speed. For instance, consider tasks such as capturing the contents of scanned documents into an application, customer onboarding or salary processing. It is ultimately about automating some of the workplace's most tedious and repetitive and time-consuming computer-based tasks and processes. For ECL, solving the problem of manual and monotonous business processes with their automation solutions promises to boost organizational efficiency in many ways. The approach is simple: building a strategic framework one that enables and encourages steady and progressive automation while also ensuring the team or workforce is spending its time and resources in areas that align with broader goals. In other words, organizations must begin to ask the question, where can we free up employees to focus on strategic priorities? As businesses embrace the process of digital transformation to improve their processes, we must begin to build a thriving ecosystem around intelligent automation: It will fill in gaps in manual and time-consuming business processes to then improve and drive more value for the organization. Too much of the focus on transformation has been directed towards technology as the answer without considering the people and process dimensions. Automation now reminds us of a more balanced people-process-technology approach which will considerably improve transformation success rates. Think of improving your business with THE BIG NOW. Work Smarter, not Harder. Automate with ECL. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has stated that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is not negotiable if we want to actively participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). There is a growing sense of urgency to adopt 4IR technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and data analytics in education. Many advanced countries are far ahead with this agenda, however, developing countries including Ghana are still trying to find their feet in this new era. STEM has been identified to be vital to the advancement of all societies as it charts a path for creative thinking and research-based solutions to the problems of today and the future; it is the solution to increasing food production and storage; facilitating faster and safer transportation; reduce global carbon emissions; improve healthcare; and promote transparency in governance, among many others. With this in mind, the government is committed to introducing bold reforms to deliver 21st-century education that will make sure the current crops of students are ready for the job market upon completion. Adding that the ministry of education and other sector agencies are working assiduously to make STEM education lead Ghanas transformation and development in the 4IR. Speaking at the 10th graduation ceremony of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) at the University of Ghana, Legon, where 58 students including 37 males and 21 females, from 16 countries graduated, the minister expressed that the government is in partnership with the AIMS to construct a model STEM senior high school affiliated to the institute. He commended the AIMS Centre President, Dr Prince Osei, and his entire staff for their excellent work in supporting the government to enhance creativity and innovation through mathematical science education. Last year, the government started working with the Institute on the establishment of the Girls STEM Senior High School which will be affiliated to AIMS Ghana. This school will attract talented females from all over Africa. This school which is being sited near the soon-to-be-constructed AIMS Ghana campus at Katamanso will be unique as it will nurture talented girls with strong foundations in mathematics, he said. This particular project he indicated was part of the implementation of the UNESCO Category II Agreement with the government aimed at mentoring beneficiaries to pursue STEM careers at the highest level. As part of the commitment to the advancement of STEM education in the country, the government had commenced the development of 20 STEM centres, and 10 model STEM Senior High Schools across the country, which were at various stages of completion. He explained that the government had worked to improve the science to humanities ratio by 60:40, stressing that the introduction of the one-year pre-engineering programme would further increase the ratio. Why Ghana Needs to be 4IR Conscious The 4IR also referred to as Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) where technologies take center stage of things, are steadily becoming more integrated into various industries, inevitably affecting the skills requirements for employees. The digital revolution is transforming the work landscape, organizational operation, and nearly every aspect of human daily lives. This revolution has already taken over homes across both the developed and developing world and it is transforming the way children and young people access information, communicate, learn and even play. However, this revolution has not transformed the whole educational landscape and it will take some time for it to gain momentum. This will require deliberate efforts backed by policies. 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 President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GNRMA), Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, has indicated that many of their members have relocated to other parts of the world, such as the United Kingdom, in search of better conditions of service. She explained that the alarming number of nurses travelling to more advanced countries is due to the current economic hardships in the country. Speaking on the Citi Breakfast News and monitored by GhanaWeb, she explained that most such nurses know that their incomes will quadruple when they go to countries like the UK. Yes, Ghanaian nurses are moving to the UK in droves. They are moving. Every day they are moving. Thats when you realize your income can be quadrupled, she said. She also explained that there are some seasoned lecturers from Ghana who have also taken on the opportunities to travel to other parts of the world for greener pastures, a situation she lamented about. It will interest you to know that most seasoned specialist lecturers are leaving, and it all boils down to working conditions, she added. The government of Ghana has admitted that the country is going through difficult times, forcing it to explore its options with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Mission Chief for Ghana of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, Carlo Sdralevich, arrived in the country on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, and has expressed his hopes of engaging with the authorities of Ghana for a possible IMF-supported program. The engagement between the government of Ghana and the IMF will begin on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Izwe Savings and Loans has provided the Klefe Health Centre in the Ho municipality of the Volta region with hospital equipment to improve healthcare delivery to the community. The Klefe Health Centre serves a population of about 5,000 in four communities in the Ho municipality. The health center was constructed about a decade ago to ensure that residents do not have to travel long distances to the regional capital, Ho, for healthcare. Faced with the scarcity of facilities, the centre has mostly been supported by the community and their Chief. Although some charity organizations have helped the centre to improve healthcare delivery, there's still a lot to be done. The items Izwe provided include an autoclave, which is a machine for sterilizing medical equipment. Prior to this, staff of the health centre had to travel to the Ho Municipal Hospital to sterilize their medical equipment for many months. The nurse in charge of the facility, Vivian Demetsu, said operating without an autoclave machine had been stressful. We had to wait and use all the four sets of delivery tools before we send them for sterilizing, she said. After using a set, we package nicely and keep safe, until we get approval from the Ho Municipal Hospital authorities to send them for sterilizing, she explained. She indicated that keeping the unsterilized instruments at the health center presented a big health risk to staff. After learning about the plight of the facility, Izwe Savings and Loans decided to help. Other items donated by Izwe Savings and Loans included hospital mattresses, curtain sets, bedsheets, cabinets and some bedside tables and drawers for the wards. With these items supplied, officials at the centre no longer have to travel to the Ho Municipal Hospital to sterilize medical equipment and patients can be treated in comfort. Madam Demetsu appreciated the gesture and applauded Izwe for the intervention. This is one of the many projects Izwe has undertaken, as it seeks to positively impact lives by giving back to society through healthcare delivery enhancement in deprived communities across the country, as the company celebrates 10years of operation in Ghana. Izwe originated from South Africa and currently has subsidiaries in Ghana, Zambia and Kenya. The company has been operating in Ghana for 10 years, with a solid track record of providing tailored financial services to the needs of people from all walks of life including entrepreneurs, traders, teachers, soldiers, healthcare workers, business owners and any small to medium sized enterprise.Izwe believes in supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as they immensely contribute to the GDP of the economy. It is for this reason that Izwe has ear marked GHS150m to support SMEs in Ghana this year. Contact us on 0302 208 222 or text SME to 4993 to get enquire or apply. 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 Ugandas health ministry has proposed a new law aimed in part at preventing the illicit trade in human organs. The bill on organ donation, which has just gone before parliament, aims to protect the dignity and rights of organ donors and provide an environment through which transplant surgery, which is increasingly sought after in the country, can be done. As well as outlawing cash-for-organs, if passed, the new measure would create transplant centres, organ banks and council to oversee the process. It would also provide for organ harvesting from both living and deceased donors. Ugandans in need of transplant surgery of any kind have to travel abroad - mostly to Kenya, South Africa and India - to access it. Costs for travel and surgery are prohibitive. A trip to India for a kidney transplant, for example, could set someone back by at least $25,000 (21,000) and up to $40,000 in travel expenses and medical bills. On top of this, there is currently a strict official vetting procedure to see if a trip is suitable. It is also hoped that the law can work towards dismantling the underworld of illegal organ harvesting. In recent months, there have been at least three reported cases of Ugandan migrant workers returning home from the Middle East allegedly with some organs missing, suspected to have been illegally harvested or sold without consent. In February, five directors of a labour export agency were charged with aggravated human trafficking, related to a case in which a female migrant worker returned home paralysed, with what are believed to be surgical scars on her stomach, and medical tests indicated that her right kidney was missing. If the law is passed Uganda would join a handful of African countries, including South Africa and Kenya, that have laws regulating organ donation. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Members of the Toll Workers Association of Ghana have petitioned Parliament after a protest to demand the reinstatement of the toll booths and the payment of their six-month salary arrears from the government. The group said about 800 toll workers, who were disengaged following a directive by the government to halt the collection of tolls on roads and bridges across the country, had become impoverished. Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, the Deputy Majority Whip, together with Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, Deputy Minority Whip, received the petition on behalf of Speaker Alban Bagbin and the Leadership of the House. Madam Alhassan commended the group for following due process by bringing their petition to Parliament to be addressed. She assured the association of sending the request to the Speaker, saying their concerns were genuine and that the House would do whatever it takes to ensure they were addressed. You are Ghanaians, your livelihood matter to usso as Parliament and leaders of Parliament, whatever it takes we would ensure that your issues are addressed for you to be happy, she added. Mr Edward Duncan, the Secretary of the Toll Workers Association of Ghana, who led the group to petition Parliament, stated that despite assurance by the government to reassign them and pay their salary arrears, the toll workers were yet to receive their salaries since January this year. He said the reason that the toll booths were creating traffic and as such the toll collection needed to be suspended was not true. He said even after the suspension of the toll booths, there was even massive traffic on the same toll collection points, which were cited as causing the traffic. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Tuesday cut the sod for the commencement of work on the Manso to Huni Valley section of Western Railway Line in the Western Region. The 500m euros Project, which covers a distance of approximately 78km, is expected to be completed in 42 months. The Project includes the construction of 70km single-track railway line from Manso to Huni Valley; the construction of approximately 8km standard gauge rail tracks connecting the existing dual gauge tracks from Takoradi to the Takoradi Port, and the conversion of 10.6 km dual gauge tracks between Takoradi and Kojokrom from narrow gauge to standard gauge. At a ceremony at Manso in the Amenfi Central District, President Akufo-Addo said the commencement of work on that section of the Western Railway Line was a demonstration of his administration's commitment to developing and improving the country's railway sector. He said the project would facilitate the transportation of minerals to and from the Takoradi Port as well as accelerate economic activity in the country. The President said the 500m euros devoted to the Project is the highest single investment for railway development since Ghana gained independence. He said work on the 22km Kojokrom-Manso section of the Western Railway Line was ongoing and would be completed by the end of the year. "Government is committed to securing additional resources to complete the expansion of the new standard gauge rail network in the country in line with the railway master plan," President Akufo-Addo said. President Akufo-Addo said as of January 2017, out of the 947km narrow gauge railway network bequeathed to the country by colonialists, barely 10 per cent was operational. He said the only addition to the network had been the 15km narrow gauge railway line built between 2012 to 2017 from Sekondi to Takoradi via Kojokrom. "When I assumed office I was determined to change these statics because I believe that the presence of an efficient railway system is critical to the progress and development of our nation" he said. President Akufo-Addo expressed concern about what he described as the stealing of railway components by some "unpatriotic saboteurs. " He cautioned the perpetrators that the appropriate punitive measures would be taken against them when apprehended. The Western Railway Line, which runs from Takoradi to Kumasi with a branch line through Dunkwa to Awaso (340 km), is the major route for the transportation of major minerals and other bulk commodities such as manganese, bauxite, cocoa, timber, cement, and petroleum products. Due to several decades of neglect and underfunding, the Western Line is completely broken down, except for partial freight services on the Takoradi to Nsuta section which is used for the haulage and export of Manganese through the Takoradi Port. Mr John Peter Amewu, the Minister for Railway Development, said the Manso-Huni Valley Project, when completed, would seamlessly link the expanded Takoradi Port to a more efficient standard gauge railway line for the effective transportation of cargo and passengers. "It will contribute to a reduction in the cost of transportation of bulk commodities, containers, and agricultural produce to the Port and other destinations," he said. Nana Katakyie II, the Chief of Manso, said economic activities in Manso and surrounding communities had been halted due to the non-functioning of the railway lines in the area. "We appreciate your resolve to reactivate the lines. It gives us assurance that business activities will bounce back," he told the President. 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 Twenty-two migrants from Mali, including three children, have died off the coast of Libya, Mali's government said on Tuesday, amid concerns that a hunger crisis arising from the war in Ukraine could stoke an increase in attempts to reach Europe. The 22 who died were part of a group of 83 migrants stuck on a distressed vessel since June 22, the Ministry of Malians Abroad said in a statement. Of those, 61 were rescued, including some Malian nationals, with the help of the United Nation's International Organization for Migration (IOM). There have been "significant increases" in migrant flows through Niger and Mali toward North Africa in the first quarter of 2022 compared with previous years, an IOM spokesman said. The number of migrants that left Niger between January and April was more than 45% higher than the number during the same period in 2021. The number of outgoing migrants from Mali almost doubled in the same timespan. Analysts cite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout of the war in Ukraine as driving factors. Spain, its southern neighbours and European Unions officials are increasingly alarmed that a hunger crisis worsened by the disruption of Ukraine's grain exports will trigger chaotic migration from the Sahel and sub-Saharan regions of Africa. At least 23 migrants died after clashes with Moroccan security forces last week, when around 2,000 people tried to cross into Spain's North African enclave of Melilla Source: Reuters Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video One of Italy's most wanted men, mobster Rocco Morabito, has arrived in Rome after being extradited from Brazil, where he had been in hiding. Known as the "cocaine king of Milan", Morabito was arrested in May last year in a joint operation by Brazilian and Italian police. The 55-year-old will serve a 30-year prison sentence for drug trafficking. The mafia boss spent decades on the run using a fake identity in South America. Police finally tracked him down last year to Joao Pessoa, a port city in north-eastern Brazil, where he was arrested along with another member of the 'Ndrangheta mafia group, Vincenzo Pasquino. Pasquino has since been sentenced to 17 years in prison for drug trafficking. Escape artist The arrival of Rocco Morabito in Rome ends a decades-long manhunt. Born in the Calabrian town of Africo and with family ties to mafia boss Giuseppe Morabito, Rocco Morabito became a key figure in the 'Ndrangheta, the sprawling criminal network which controls much of the cocaine trafficking in Italy and beyond. As a young man, Morabito soon made a name for himself as a prolific drug trafficker in Milan, establishing key cocaine smuggling routes from South America into the Italy city. Read Full Story .... HERE >>> : Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A 20-year-old Chicago drama about the aftermath of a school shooting, and its impact on the mother of the killer, goes before the cameras next month, marking the feature directorial debut of two-time Oscar nominee and Chicago theater veteran Michael Shannon. Set in fictional Eastlake, Illinois, Eric LaRue is being adapted for the screen by the playwright and screenwriter Brett Neveu, Shannons frequent collaborator on productions staged by A Red Orchid Theatre. Neveus drama premiered at A Red Orchid in 2002. In 2005, the play was selected for the Royal Shakespeare Companys Postcards from America series. Advertisement The British premieres director Dominic Cooke described Neveus drama as witty, incisive and bold response to the increasingly violent culture of the U.S. That was 17 years ago, after the Columbine High School massacre but before so many other mass shootings, including in Highland Park on Monday. The play follows a well-meaning pastors efforts to establish a healing dialogue between the killers mother and the mother of one of his victims. Advertisement Its still so relevant, unfortunately, the Brooklyn-based Shannon said Wednesday, on the way to the airport. He and his crew are scouting locations in and near Wilmington, North Carolina, before filming on Eric LaRue begins in August. Michael Shannon, seen here in the 2011 film "Take Shelter," makes his feature directing debut with the upcoming "Eric LaRue," adapted from a play by his fellow Chicago theater veteran Brett Neveu. (Hydraulx) Initially Shannon and company planned to film in Arkansas. But following last months U.S. Supreme Court overturn of Roe v. Wade, abortions were banned in the state and in protest, the filmmakers withdrew plans to film there. A prolific screen presence, Shannon noted that the lush and sultry North Carolina landscape may take some avoidance in order to capture what he sees as the right look and atmosphere for Neveus story. Eric LaRue began life as a staged reading at Chicago Dramatists, prior to the fully staged 2002 premiere. Neveu said Wednesday he has wanted to adapt for the movies ever since. Six years ago my daughter was at camp for two weeks, and I thought, heres my window. Shortly after that, Shannon was directing another one of Neveus plays, Traitor, at A Red Orchid. The writer slipped the director a copy of his Eric LaRue screenplay for feedback. A month later, Neveu said, Mike texted me: I think I might want to direct this. And weve been working toward it ever since. "Eric LaRue" playwright and screenwriter Brett Neveu, left with Chicago Dramatists Guild founder Russ Tutterow. Neveu's play received a staged reading there prior to its 2002 premiere at A Red Orchid Theatre. (Courtesy of Chicago Dramatists) In the wake of the Highland Park parade massacre, sadly it just feels pertinent. Again, Neveu added quietly. We all know it by now. That feeling that we do not have any control over this and even choose not to. That we dont understand it psychologically. Advertisement Shannon added: I dont know anybody who writes quite like Brett. His tone is so distinctive, and he always manages to write about a lot of different things. Theres a lot of material in Eric LaRue that reaches beyond the scope, the event, of the story. And his main character, Janice LaRue, the mother he has extraordinary empathy for her. Men dont always write women so well. The four-scene, 80-minute stage incarnation has been opened up with additional material and some new supporting characters. Hes done a wonderful job of expanding the play, making it cinematic, adding locations, Shannon said. As an actor, working for director David O. Russell on the forthcoming November 2022 release Amsterdam, Shannon received some advice from Russell regarding Shannons imminent debut behind the camera. He threw me some pointers, Shannon said. Make sure you have enough footage. Film the dog in the corner. Get shots of people staring into space. Somebodys face. Lots of faces. Ask them to say it softer, say it louder. Youre going to want plenty of options. The original Arkansas location plans for Eric LaRue came about, in part, because of Shannons friend and frequent collaborator, the writer-director Jeff Nichols, and his ties and connections to the state. Shannon has acted in all of Nichols features, from Shotgun Stories (2007) to Loving (2016). Nichols has very graciously come aboard Eric LaRue as an executive producer. The Deadline Hollywood news item that broke the story lists the producers as Sarah Green, another longtime Nichols collaborator, as well as Karl Hartman and Jina Panebianco. Casting has yet to be announced. Advertisement Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic. mjphillips@chicagotribune.com Twitter @phillipstribune Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here. The United Nations (UN) Eminent Peace Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Samuel Ben Owusu is calling on the government to introduce a system that will pay workers per hour and not per day or monthly. According to him, when the payment system is shifted from Monthly to per hour, considering the minimum wage, everyone in Ghana will get a job to do and the issue of unemployment will be settled. In an interview with the media, Dr Samuel Ben Owusu observed that most workers are marked per day and paid at the end of the month. The situation he was of the belief has contributed to the unemployment of most youths in the country. He said because there has not been strong advocacy and implementation of the above suggestion, nobody wants to do that, saying that if the Government starts, the private sector will follow suit. "Where things have reached right now, it will only take the government to institute a by-law or a system of operation that from today, we are going to pay people per hour, not per day or monthly. As it is now, most people in Ghana are marked daily, let us shift it into per hour, if the Government changes it to per hour, everyone will find a job," he said. He continued," Just as it is done in the USA and the UK. So if someone likes, he or she can work two hours and close, and get 8 or 16 dollars per hour and they will calculate how much they want to make in a day. If the Government comes up with that concept and makes some institutions run that way, other private sectors will pick it up and there will be jobs for many people.' Amb. Samuel Ben Owusu also observed that in most of the institutions, the workers go to work in the morning and close around 5 p.m., putting the work on hold till the next morning. This, he said, was a waste of productive time, suggesting that the Government can also bring in a shift system such that while people are asleep after work, others will also go to work, explaining that it will also help employ more people while institutions make more profit. "I think in the health sector, there are nurses who do shifts, so why can't we implement that system everywhere?" he questioned. He then called on the Government to engage persons who have knowledge about critical issues including employment and peace moving forward. "You see why Africa is not progressing, we are always way back. While the Europeans, the people around the world are working, we are sleeping and we say we want to have peace. Peace is development, peace is a system, peace is a foundation, if we want peace, we should sit down, some of these political leaders need to meet with some of us who have the understanding and knowledge of other things," he added. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has warned that his country could be on the brink of a war with Rwanda amid worsening relations between the two neighbours. This possibility cannot be ruled out. If Rwandas provocation continues, we will not sit and do nothing about it. We are not weak, Felix Tshisekedi told UK newspaper Financial Times in an interview. He accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group and also of having "illicit vested economic interests in the DRC." Mr Tshisekedi is set to meet his Rwanda counterpart Paul Kagame on Wednesday in Angola. The Congolese leader told FT ahead of the meeting that Mr Kagame should show "sincerity" in discussions and admit that his government was backing M23 rebels whose activities, among other groups, have destabilized mineral-rich eastern DR Congo. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has repeatedly rejected the accusations. He said on Monday that the ongoing crisis was an internal DR Congo matter and his country was not involved. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Some pupils in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale have appealed to government and striking teachers in the country to resolve their differences quickly to prevent a catastrophe in the upcoming Basic Education Certificate Examination, BECE. Already, performance in the BECE in the Region has been a major source of worry for stakeholders as the regions performance falls below the national average. The BECE is the determining factor for entry into Senior High Schools for pupils in the country, any action that will negatively affect this should not be tolerated. Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the Conference of Heads of Basic Schools, Ampomah Kojo Bismark, told the media, that there is a plan to address the concerns of candidates. 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 Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) is warning the general public and staff of the company who are involved in illegal connections to stay away or face the law. According to the Tema Regional director for the GWCL, Ing. Francis Lamptey, those who are caught in the act will be prosecuted. He cautioned the public to stay away from illegal connections and call on the company personnel to connect water to their homes instead of doing it illegally. I will advice everyone to stay away from illegal connections. He further indicated that some persons have already being jailed while others have also been fined for illegal connection. The Union Chairman for Tema GWCL, Douglas Amoatey, speaking with Angel News highlighted some challenges confronting the company. Mr. Douglas cautioned workers to stay off or they will be arrested or face dismissal. Anyone who will be caught in any illegal act especially the the workers of GWCL ,will be dismissed and arrested. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is expected to speak on Ghanas decision to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gabby Otchere-Darko. He will be making the statement during the official launch of the collaboration between Accra Business School and South East Technological University, Ireland. The event is expected to take place in Accra on Thursday July 14. An IMF team, led by Carlo Sdralevich, mission chief for Ghana, will be in Accra from July 6 13 for initial discussions with the Ghanaian authorities about a possible IMF-supported programme. Mr. Sdralevich in a statement said On the basis of a request from the Ghanaian authorities, an IMF staff team will in the coming days kick-start discussions on a possible program to support Ghanas homegrown economic policies. We are at an early stage in the process, given that detailed discussions are yet to take place. The IMF stands ready to assist Ghana to restore macroeconomic stability, safeguard debt sustainability, and promote inclusive and sustainable growth, and address the impact of the war in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic. We are looking forward to our engagement with the authorities in Accra, the Fund said. The Government of Ghana on Friday July 1 announced that it was seeking support from the IMF. This followed a telephone conversation between the President and the IMF Managing Director, Ms Kristalina Georgieva, conveying Ghanas decision to engage with the Fund, a statement by the Ministry of Information said. 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 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. Managing Director of Inter-City STC, Nana Akomea, has asked government to have a "broad front" as it engages the team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Ghana is seeking help from the Fund; what the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has described as a "balance of payment support". Government has been asked to call on experts to lead the negotiations with the IMF team who arrived in the country on Tuesday. Some names mentioned so far are Economist Mr Kwame Pianim and businessman Sam Jonah. In a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Nana Akomea said former Finance Minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Seth Terkper should be included. According to him, Seth Terkper had once worked with the IMF and can bring something to the table. "This is a national issue . . . government's team meetng with the IMF should include labour . . . employers should be included, some one or two NDC folks can be added, like Seth Terkper who has worked with the IMF before and worked with other countries, he even led the NDC when they went to the Fund; because we need a broad front . . . " he stated. Isaac Adongo, the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Tuesday suggested to the government to call on experts to lead the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).He, therefore, cited economist Mr Kwame Pianim and businessman Sam Jonah as some capable experts who could lead the team.They should look for Kwame Pianim immediately. He is the one who can save them and lead this team, they should go and get Ishmael Yamson and Sam Jonah the best brains in our country. Because this job is equivalent to the 1983 challenge, its not child play, he said.Addressing a press conference in Parliament, Mr Adongo claimed the current team leading the negotiations, including the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister could not get the country any favourable programme to address the countrys problems.The IMF team is expected to arrive in the country on Tuesday to commence the official negotiations with the government for a budget support programme. Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/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 There have been numerous calls for President Akufo-Addo to sack Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta. These calls heightened when government announced its decision to seek IMF support. Dead wood Finance Minister Former President John Dramani Mahama wading in asked President Akufo-Addo to remove the "many dead woods" in his administration, including Ken Ofori-Atta. Meanwhile it will serve the President well to use some instruments from the Presidential tool kit in times of crisis such as this. Fire your Finance Minister, conduct a major shake-up of Government to remove the many dead woods that have turned ministries into their fiefdoms and finally huddle with the best brains this country must formulate a comprehensive recovery plan for our economy, the former President said. Kwesi Pratt's View However, the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has disagreed. "What we need is a fundamental restructuring of the economy . . . the fact that he's removed doesn't mean the problem will go away. It is an issue of policy, because if another person comes and uses the same framework we will still be where we are, but if there's a new policy, a new framework for national development that'll be better than just asking a person to go. Of course, there are advantages of cabinet reshuffle . . . it is a certain caution . . . it doesn't change policy orientation. We can reshuffle; it serves some purpose but what are we doing about the policies? he queried. According to him a reshufle may serve some purpose but it is not a final solution to the problem. Listen to his submission on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Tuesday Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/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 Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is expected to address the nation on the governments decision to seek an International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic rescue programme. This will be during the official launch of the collaboration between Accra Business School and South East Technological University Ireland. In announcing the development, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko wrote: the Vice President is expected to speak on Ghanas decision to go to the IMF at this event. President Akufo-Addo on July 1 ordered the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to begin formal engagements with the Fund. The move has since divided public opinion. While some welcomed the decision, others have criticized the government for not remaining committed to its decision not to return to the Fund earlier. Meanwhile, an IMF team has arrived in the country to begin the first engagement process. The team is led by Carlo Sdralevich, who is the mission chief for the country. Mr Sdralevich in statement said: The IMF stands ready to assist Ghana to restore macroeconomic stability, safeguard debt sustainability, and promote inclusive and sustainable growth, and address the impact of the war in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Sylvester Mathew Tetteh, Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro, has conceded that the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, have every right to slam government for making a U-turn on a key policy stance. The stance being a refusal to return to the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for support. That position was abandoned on July 1 when government announced it had approached the global lender for an economic rescue programme. In an interview on Accra-based TV3 (July 5), the MP defended that even though the opposition had won a political victory, the government was also right to an extent given the prevailing economic realities in the world. For me, the back and forth about the IMF doesnt solve the problems. I have said the NDC has the right to score political point with respect to our position when they went to IMF. For me, politically I give it all to them. Going to IMF is not a crime, we are a member of the IMF, I have said that on may occasions. So, for me, to the NDC, they have the bragging right to say that we said were not going to the IMF and today you are in the IMF. On the surface of it, they have the right to brag with it. The lawmaker cited the twin crises of COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war as incidents that forced government's hand to seek IMF assistance. He added: We are back to the IMF because we are not in normal times, nobody should downplay the effect of COVID-19 and then Russia-Ukraine war. Government through the Finance Ministry and the IMF team are set to hold meetings today. The team arrived in the country on July 5, and will also be expected to meet with officials at the Presidency. Meanwhile, GhanaWeb is accepting nominations for the prestigious GhanaWeb Excellence Awards Youth Edition. Watch how you can nominate from the video below. IMF statement on visit to Ghana An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, led by Carlo Sdralevich, mission chief for Ghana, will visit Accra from July 6 13 to begin initial discussions with the Ghanaian authorities about a possible IMF-supported program. Mr. Sdralevich issued the following statement at the start of the visit: On the basis of a request from the Ghanaian authorities, an IMF staff team will in the coming days kick-start discussions on a possible program to support Ghanas homegrown economic policies. We are at an early stage in the process, given that detailed discussions are yet to take place. The IMF stands ready to assist Ghana to restore macroeconomic stability, safeguard debt sustainability, and promote inclusive and sustainable growth, and address the impact of the war in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic. We are looking forward to our engagement with the authorities in Accra. 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 ensemble comedy about relationships thats actually funny, Maggie on Hulu follows in the footsteps of so many sitcoms that have come before it, from Living Single to Friends to New Girl. But it is How I Met Your Mother that comes to mind most insistently, because there are constant hints of a future outcome placed like a breadcrumb trail. So much so that the first season of Maggie is a better successor than the official spinoff How I Met Your Father, which is aggressively fine and also on Hulu, ironically. Who knows why these things turn out the way they do. But when comparing the two, Maggie is superior in look and execution. Advertisement And it has jokes upon jokes. When a character brings home a guy shes dating and introduces him to her parents (So, this is my mom) her mom bashfully replies: Oh, please Mom was my mothers name. Its small, its silly, but it made me laugh. Those kinds of comedic grace notes are fundamental to the shows sensibility. The gang all together in the duplex courtyard. From left: Louise (Nichole Sakura), Amy (Angelique Cab), Maggie (Rebecca Rittenhouse), Jessie (Chloe Bridges), Dave (Leonardo Nam) and Ben (David Del Rio). (Richard Cartwright/Hulu) Rebecca Rittenhouse stars as the title character, a young woman in Los Angeles who receives psychic visions. When she gives a reading to a cute guy named Ben (David Del Rio) she unexpectedly sees herself in his future and they hook up. The next morning she gets another vision: Of him marrying somebody else. So she ends things, awkwardly. Sometime after, and completely by coincidence, Ben and his longtime on-again, off-again girlfriend Jessie (Chloe Bridges) move into Maggies duplex. Advertisement Let the humorous complications begin, fueled by a will they/wont they tension throughout the 13 episodes. Maggie, you see, has later visions that suggest maybe Ben is the person she ends up with. I wasnt initially sold on the premise Im not really into magical whatever but show creators Justin Adler and Maggie Mull (who previously worked together on the CBS comedy Life in Pieces) have fun with the comedic possibilities inherent in Maggies psychic predictions. The shows tone is what Id describe as warmly sarcastic. And its biggest strength is that its not only the story of Maggie and Ben, but a true ensemble comedy that includes Maggies best pal and fellow singleton Louise (Superstore alum Nichole Sakura, very funny here). Theres also Bens tightly wound sister Amy and loosey-goosey brother-in-law Dave who have the most stable relationship in the group (a goofy-charming couple played by Angelique Cabral and Leonardo Nam). Theres also Maggies mentor, a fellow psychic who used to be her high school guidance counselor named Angel (Ray Ford), who understands her anxieties the best and also refuses to indulge them. Maggies psychic talents are accepted as fact by her friends and family and I would go so far as to say its a very light metaphor for the value of accepting people for who they are, even, or especially, when they deviate from the so-called norm. (And not everyone believes she can see the future; at least one guy she dates does not.) Much of the action is centered around the duplex, with its spacious courtyard thats perfect for dinners and drinks. Its owned by Maggies parents, played by comedy veterans Kerri Kenney and Chris Elliott, who find a nice middle ground between loving and overly involved. From left: Rebecca Rittenhouse and Nichole Sakura play best friends. (Liliane Lathan/Hulu) There are a few things you cant help noticing. The six primary actors are ethnically diverse but visually similar in that theyre all slender, extraordinarily good-looking and conform to all the usual beauty standards. Maggie isnt alone in these kinds of choices, and the cast has terrific chemistry. But it remains a boring reality that Hollywood has such a narrow conception of who can be considered desirable and worthy of starring in a romantic comedy. And while LA may be one of the most expensive cities in the country, no one here is particularly cash-strapped. Again, the show isnt alone in these kinds of choices. But as people are increasingly feeling the pinch, does this weird middle-class (but really wealthy) fantasy bother me now more than in previous years? Yeah. It does. Even so, I found the show unexpectedly smart and funny and self-deprecating. Maggies mother suggests a blind date: My meat mans disease-free son just moved to town hes 30 and owns a bed frame, so I gave him your number. When someone offers Maggie tequila shots, she declines because shes not looking to go through the Wendys drive-thru on foot tonight. I found it a particular thrill to see Nam in a comedy, coming off a far more grim performance in HBOs Westworld, where he played one of the parks miserable custodial workers. As Dave, hes put his own spin on the blissfully out-of-it archetype, playing a Korean Australian transplant to LA who is part stoner finance bro, part golden retriever. Hes a delight every time hes on screen. When Amy realizes he misses his family in Australia, she tries to comfort him: Sorry honey, I wish you had more of a community here. I have you, he tells her happily. I know, she replies, but Im not your cultural touchstone. Dave: I dont know what a cultural touchstone is. Nor does he even care. What a perfect response. Advertisement Maggie 3.5 stars (out of 4) Where to watch: Hulu From left: Dave (Leonardo Nam) and Amy (Angelique Cabral) are probably the most stable couple on "Maggie." (Raymond Liu/Hulu) Nina Metz is a Tribune critic nmetz@chicagotribune.com What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. Sign up for our Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the military leader of neighbouring Sudan said on Tuesday they had reached an agreement to peacefully settle all issues, following the most recent flare-up connected to a border dispute late last month. However, the long-running dispute over a contested fertile border region, al-Fashqa, was not mentioned, nor were any other specific issues cited. Abiy met Sudan's military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-member regional bloc for the horn of Africa and neighbouring states. "We both made a commitment for dialogue (and) peaceful resolution to outstanding issues," Abiy tweeted on Tuesday. Sudan's ruling council later issued a similar statement, adding that the meeting had been "fruitful and extremely successful". The long-running dispute over al-Fashqa has fuelled a surge in tensions between the two countries in recent years. In the latest accusations between the nations, last month Sudan accused Ethiopia's army of executing seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian who had been taken captive. The men had been seized on Sudanese territory on June 22 and taken into Ethiopia where they were killed, according to the Sudanese foreign ministry. Ethiopia denied responsibility and blamed the killings on a local militia. A day after the countries traded accusations over the killings, an Ethiopian official said Sudan's armed forces had fired heavy artillery during clashes in the disputed area. Source: reuters Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has revealed some members of the Ghanas delegation meeting officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and their roles following the support the country is seeking from the Fund. According to him, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is chairing the Ghana team for the engagement with the IMF. He further stated that the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta is also leading a team on the data-sharing exercise during the engagements. The data-sharing, the information Minister indicated will determine the fate of Ghana as what the country is qualified for and what it is not qualified for under the programme. The Information Minister who made these revelations while speaking during the 3businesscolloquium organized by Media General on Wednesday July 6 mentioned that The President is chairing the task force, the Finance Minister and his team are from today, leading the data-sharing exercise. When they are done the Mission Chief and the President will have a number of conversations. The President has already spoken to the Managing Director of the Fund herself. The first part of the conversation is sharing of data. The data has its interpretation and the data will tell us what we qualify for and what we dont qualify for. The IMF staff team, led by Carlo Sdralevich, mission chief for Ghana, is in the country to begin initial discussions with the Ghanaian authorities about a possible IMF-supported programme. Prior to the arrival, Mr. Sdralevich in a statement said On the basis of a request from the Ghanaian authorities, an IMF staff team will in the coming days kick-start discussions on a possible program to support Ghanas homegrown economic policies. We are at an early stage in the process, given that detailed discussions are yet to take place. The IMF stands ready to assist Ghana to restore macroeconomic stability, safeguard debt sustainability, and promote inclusive and sustainable growth, and address the impact of the war in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic. We are looking forward to our engagement with the authorities in Accra, the Fund said. The Government of Ghana on Friday July 1 announced that it was seeking support from the IMF. The Information Minister announced this in a statement following a telephone conversation between the President and the IMF Managing Director, Ms Kristalina Georgieva, conveying Ghanas decision to engage with the Fund. 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 Tema-based Delhi Private School International (DPSI) over the weekend held a successful fashion event at the National Theatre in Accra. It was a colorful event at the National Theater as students of the school showcased some good fashion sense, displayed the Indian culture with much joy and excitement. They were joined by the founder of the school and ace Indian businessman Mukesh Thakwani alongside other invited dignitaries. Over 200 students of DPSI participated in the colorful event with some going home with amazing prizes. DPSI was established in 2010 in Tema. It stands for academic excellence, wholistic development of the students, a dedicated team and preparing students on a global platform. The motto of the school is Service Beyond Self. The founder and director of the school, Mukesh Thakwani started the school with a dream of contributing to society. He has groomed the entire team to be united and build the school to greater heights. The school is like an extended family. Its philosophy is working for academic excellence and overall development of the students. The school has a number of projects and activities that help the children go beyond the classroom, through interschool, interclass and exchange programs, because they believe every child has potential. There is also an open-door policy at the school where parents are free to express their concerns that they may have so that it can addressed immediately, and that is what makes the school very different from others. DPSI follows the Cambridge Assessment International Education curriculum which is broad and balanced. As an IGCSE and A-Level curriculum school, DPSI enable students to get to the universities of their choices later on in college life. 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 Not everyone survives kidney failure, so after a successful kidney transplant, radio and television personality Abigail Ashley has decided to thank God with a song titled, Aseda Ndwom. On Aseda Ndwom featuring TMI, Abigail thanks God for sparing her life after surviving complications of kidney failure for over a decade. It is not everyone who survives kidney failure and gets back on her feet as it miraculously happened to me. It hasn't been easy since 2007 when I was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. I went through various treatments till a kidney transplant in December 2019. It has not been a total recovery but God is seeing me through this phase so Aseda Ndwom is to thank Him for sparing my life from a health condition that many have lost their lives to, she said. Aseda Ndwom takes listeners through a time of sincere gratefulness to God. Abigail doesnt shy away that her current good health was the making of God. She uses her story to encourage people to seek divine intervention in very difficult moments. Music is a universal language and my song is my way of saying thank you to God for bringing me this far. Also, I love how music gives me room to express my emotions, she noted. Abigail Ashley is a television presenter, a radio host, a health advocate and the project leader and founder of Behind My Smiles Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on kidney health education. In 2017, she was listed in the 50 Young Most Influential People in Ghana by Advanced Media. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, Abigail, who is host of Mo Ho Y3, won the Health Legends' Award and in 2020, she was also honoured with Social Media Health Advocate of the Year award for using social media to promote health care and healthy lifestyle. Watch Music Video Below Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video " " Crooks have found all kinds of ways to launder money with crowdfunding scams. CSA-Archive/JoosMind/GettyImages (c) 2015 HowStuffWorks May 1 is National College Decision Day, the final day for American high school seniors to commit to a college or university by mailing in a deposit. For many students and their families, it's a day to celebrate years of hard work and look ahead to a bright future. At the same time, a growing number of families are wondering how to pay for college. And that has meant coming up with some innovative strategies. One of those is crowdfunding. Advertisement The skyrocketing cost of college is shocking. Between 2000 and 2016, tuition and fees at public, four-year U.S. colleges have increased 94 percent. Blame state budget cuts that have slashed public education funding. Blame pricey campus upgrades like rock walls and lazy rivers. But the results are the same: Today's students pay more for college and owe more student loan debt $35,000 on average per borrower than ever before. It's enough to make a desperate high school senior take to the street corner with a tin can and a handwritten sign. Yup, 18-year-old Emily Stutz panhandled for college tuition in her hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, to draw attention to her financial plight and that of millions of college hopefuls. The stunt garnered international news coverage and directed empathetic readers to Emily's GoFundMe page, where the elated senior has received more than $24,000 in donations, mostly from complete strangers. Panhandling for tuition is certainly extreme, but Emily's not the first cash-strapped student to turn to crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe for help with college tuition. Kelsea Little, media director at GoFundMe, says that fundraising campaigns in the site's Education, Schools & Learning have raised more than $100 million since the crowdfunding platform launched in May 2010. To be fair, not all of the campaigns listed in GoFundMe's education section are for college tuition. There are plenty of middle school science teams raising cash for a trip to the big competition as well as memorial scholarship funds. Little was unable to share what percentage of campaigns on the education site were for college tuition or were fully funded. She did point out that campaigns at GoFundMe had no expiration date and fundraisers didn't have to meet their goals to keep the money donated. A significant number of college tuition campaigns have launched on GoFundMe and similar crowdfunding sites like Generosity, DreamFund and PlumFund. And most of them tell a similar story: a hardworking kid who has good grades, is passionate about becoming a doctor/actor/architect, but who lacks access to low-interest federal student loans. Some are children of undocumented immigrants who are ineligible for federal student loans. Others have maxed out their federal loans and can't get private loans because they have no one to co-sign for them. We talked to Ajifanta Marenah, a 19-year-old Bronx resident originally from the The Gambia in West Africa, who launched a GoFundMe campaign for $700 to cover the enrollment deposit for her first semester at St. John's University. Marenah, a standout student at the New Visions Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science, panicked when she realized that her scholarships wouldn't cover the room deposit, and that it was due in just two weeks. Marenah considered writing emails to her principal, teachers and the staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital where she interned last summer, but then she remembered the GoFundMe posts that she'd seen on Facebook. "A GoFundMe campaign felt better than asking people directly for money," Marenah says. "This way they don't have to feel obligated, plus they can share it with family and friends on social media." Which is exactly what happened. In just two days, Marenah raised the full $700 plus $75 for good measure mostly from school and hospital staff, but also from their extended families. The extra $75 will help pay for the fees charged by GoFundMe and the credit card processing service WePay a total of 7.9 percent plus 30 cents per donation. Would Marenah use a crowdfunding site again? She says she would. Even with two hard-won scholarships, including a prestigious award from The New York Times, she'll still need to cover $8,000 a year in tuition and fees. It's safer than panhandling. Now That's Interesting Crowdfunding site Zerobound puts a twist on the education fundraising model. Donors can sponsor a recent college graduate who wants to volunteer in their community in exchange for help paying off student loans. In other words, you pay them to do good. " " BrainStuff: How Do Accents Work? HowStuffWorks When Talk Like a Pirate Day rolls around, many people change their accent. But, all those "arrr" and "matey" additions aside, what really creates an accent? And can we truly change accents over time while sticking to the same language? First, let's dig into just what an accent is. The term refers to the way words are pronounced. As our BrainStuff host Ben Bowlin explains in the video above, accents are part of a larger group of like-minded pronunciations called a dialect, which refers not only to pronunciation but to the grammatical rules that are applied. Every person has an accent that is the result of how, when and where they learned the language they speak. And that accent can tell others a lot about you. Someone might be able to trace an accent to a particular part of the world, coming to the conclusion like: "This guy is from Baltimore," or "This lady is from London." Advertisement The two biggest factors that influence accent are human nature and isolation. Human nature, vague as it sounds, simply refers to our innate love of being in groups. When a human is part of a crowd, they identify membership by wearing certain styles of clothing or eating specific foods. That group of people also may speak a certain way so distinctly so that an accent becomes part of the group's identity. As for isolation, imagine a group of people that speaks the same language but becomes divided onto two islands. This geographical and social divide means that each group will evolve distinct dialects, or accents, over time. In fact, the language used by these groups may diverge so much to sound like completely different languages. But here's the thing: Humans are remarkably well-traveled, and don't often exist in isolation. When we come across other distinct groups, it's possible to pick up another accent, either by choice or by long-term exposure. Ever meet a college student who returns from a semester in England, for instance, sounding subtly different? Whatever way a person picks up an accent, it tells a lot about the individual and the geography that person has inhabited, or the groups they've belonged to. Even the regions believed to have people that speak "accent-less English," like the United States' Upper Midwest, still have accents. These accents are called reference varieties because English dictionaries and pronunciation guides are based on these accents. These are the accents that are taught to foreign students learning English, but make no mistake there is no such thing as accent-free speech. After all, take that supposedly accent-free Upper Midwest American and put her in the middle of Scotland, and see who's the one with the accent then. " " Multiple individuals who speak the same language but sound totally different? We're talking accents. Gary Waters/Getty Images Now That's Odd A stroke or traumatic brain injury can make people suddenly sound like they're from another country, even if they've never set foot on its soil. Foreign Accent Syndrome is a speech disorder that replaces a person's native speech with a strong accent. Understanding the mechanisms behind learning is essential for making progress. It gives us insights into whats going on when brains dont work the way they are supposed to, says UCIs Bruce McNaughton. Credit: UCI A discovery about how algorithms can learn and retain information more efficiently offers potential insight into the brain's ability to absorb new knowledge. The findings by researchers at the University of California, Irvine School of Biological Sciences could aid in combatting cognitive impairments and improving technology. Their study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientists focused on artificial neural networks, known as ANNs, which are algorithms designed to emulate the behavior of brain neurons. Like human minds, ANNs can absorb and classify vast quantities of information. Unlike our brains, however, ANNs tend to forget what they already know when fresh knowledge is introduced too fast, a phenomenon known as catastrophic forgetting. Researchers have long theorized that our ability to learn new concepts stems from the interplay between the brain's hippocampus and the neocortex. The hippocampus captures fresh information and replays it during rest and sleep. The neocortex grabs the new material and reviews its existing knowledge so it can interleave, or layer, the fresh material into similar categories developed from the past. However, there has been some question about this process, given the excessive amount of time it would take the brain to sort through the whole trove of information it has gathered during a lifetime. This pitfall could explain why ANNs lose long-term knowledge when absorbing new data too quickly. Traditionally, the solution used in deep machine learning has been to retrain the network on the entire set of past data, whether or not it was closely related to the new information, a very time-consuming process. The UCI scientists decided to examine the issue in greater depth and made a notable discovery. "We found that when ANNs interleaved a much smaller subset of old information, including mainly items that were similar to the new knowledge they were acquiring, they learned it without forgetting what they already knew," said graduate student Rajat Saxena, the paper's first author. Saxena spearheaded the project with assistance from Justin Shobe, an assistant project scientist. Both members of the laboratory of Bruce McNaughton, Distinguished Professor of neurobiology & behavior. "It allowed ANNs to take in fresh information very efficiently, without having to review everything they had previously acquired," Saxena said. "These findings suggest a brain mechanism for why experts at something can learn new things in that area much faster than non-experts. If the brain already has a cognitive framework related to the new information, the new material can be absorbed more quickly because changes are only needed in the part of brain's network that encodes the expert knowledge." The discovery holds potential for tackling cognitive issues, according to McNaughton. "Understanding the mechanisms behind learning is essential for making progress," he said. "It gives us insights into what's going on when brains don't work the way they are supposed to. We could develop training strategies for people with memory problems from aging or those with brain damage. It could also lead to the ability to manipulate brain circuits so people can overcome these deficits." The findings offer possibilities as well for making algorithms in machines such as medical diagnostic equipment, autonomous cars and many others more precise and efficient. Explore further Artificial neural networks modeled on real brains can perform cognitive tasks More information: Rajat Saxena et al, Learning in deep neural networks and brains with similarity-weighted interleaved learning, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Rajat Saxena et al, Learning in deep neural networks and brains with similarity-weighted interleaved learning,(2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115229119 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Anger and a lack of trust in traditional political institutionsrather than fearare the key drivers of support for radical right and anti-immigration political movements in Europe, according to a new study published in Social Science Quarterly. Researchers found that a desire to take action against a perceived out-group by voting for far right political parties increased with the level anger rather than with the level of anxiety or fear, which showed no such correlation. And the effect of anger over immigration on support for radical right parties was strongest among those with the lowest levels of trust in traditional political institutions. The findings were revealed in a new paper co-authored by Professor Sofia Vasilopoulou, of the Department of European and International Studies at King's College London, and Professor Cengiz Erisen, of Yeditepe University, Turkey. The authors said: "Our study demonstrates that anger in reaction to immigration is associated with support for the far right. Such parties are seen as the key political actors to address the norm violations that immigrants are perceived to be committing. "Distinguishing emotions beyond their valence provides an important corrective to a commonly held view that support for the far-right relates to the 'politics of fear.' "Simply put, whereas anger pushes groups and people away from each other toward opposite ends, thereby provoking affect-driven polarized politics, fear is much more closely associated with support for the status quo rather than radicalism and polarization." Data for the study was drawn from surveys taken in Germany and the Netherlands in 2015, at the height of the European migration crisis, and from the U.K. in 2019, following elections to the European Parliament and amid ongoing Brexit negotiations. Across all three surveys, the likelihood of voting for a far-right party (AfD, PVV, and the Brexit Party) increased in line with the level of anger about immigration, while there was no clear correlation between increased level of anxiety and voting for the far right. The researchers also found that higher levels of anger over immigration increased the likelihood of overestimating the number of immigrants coming into a country. They said: "The feeling of significant dissatisfaction with immigration policies tends to color how the public perceives the number of immigrants entering the country. Anger appears to bias the public's capacity of estimation in regard to an issue of importance, such as immigration." More information: Cengiz Erisen et al, The affective model of farright vote in Europe: Anger, political trust, and immigration, Social Science Quarterly (2022). Journal information: Social Science Quarterly Cengiz Erisen et al, The affective model of farright vote in Europe: Anger, political trust, and immigration,(2022). DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.13153 A bluethroat sings near UAF's Toolik Field Station north of the Brooks Range. The mostly Eurasian bird's range extends just over the Bering Sea into northern Alaska. If birders want to see a bluethroat in the Americas, they have to travel to Alaska. Credit: Photo by Seth Beaudreault/Toolik Field Station. A committed and lucky birdwatcher in Alaska may see an elusive bluethroat north of the Brooks Range, catch a glimpse of the bold markings on a harlequin duck as it zips along an Interior river, encounter all four species of eider in Utqiagvik, or take in the sounds of thousands of feeding shorebirds in the Copper River Delta. Thousands of birdwatchers flock to Alaska each year, drawn by the chance to check rare and hard-to-find species off a Big Year list. In doing so, they provide an often overlooked boost to the economy and incentive for conserving habitat. Published in PLOS ONE, new research by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Audubon Alaska found that nearly 300,000 birders traveled to the state and spent about $378 million in 2016. Birdwatching supported roughly 4,300 jobs in Alaska that year, a number similar to the mining and telecommunications industries but not necessarily similar in total income for jobholders. Compared to other tourists, birders in Alaska spent more money, stayed longer and traveled to more roadless and remote regions of the state during their visit. Prompted by the need for stealth and insider knowledge on birding spots, birdwatchers tended to travel in smaller groups and engage in more activities, like guided tours, than other nonbirders. Beyond generating money and jobs for Alaska, birdwatching tourism is a sustainable activity and supports habitat conservation. "Once you have visitors who are coming to Alaska spending money on viewing rare species that our surroundings provide the critical habitat for on a global scale, it becomes an incentive to keep that habitat high quality for birds," explained Tobias Schwoerer, the study lead and an economist at the UAF International Arctic Research Center. Birdwatchers search Beluga Slough in Kachemak Bay. Credit: Photo by Lisa Hupp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The segment of the Alaska tourism industry not associated with large ship, rail or bus cruise lines is often overlooked and understudied, the study noted. From Schwoerer's perspective, it's also an under-tapped opportunity for developing small niche ecotourism businesses, especially in rural communities graced by highly sought-after bird species. "Independent travelers are more likely to take a flight out to the Pribilofs, or go to the Aleutians to see an exotic species they can't find elsewhere, or book a trip with a small operator who drives Sprinter vans from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay," Schwoerer said. The study was inspired by visitors who departed the typical tourism path and emerged with binoculars in hand at Haines Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, where Natalie Dawson led birding hikes and bike rides. Dawson, previously with Audubon Alaska, initiated the study and recruited Schwoerer for the economic analysis. "This study gives us a glimpse of how diverse our state's tourism is and can be in the future, as well as how intertwined our communities are with visitors in the shared experience of marveling at the wonders of birds," Dawson said. To quantify the economics of Alaska's bird tourism, Schwoerer engaged the Alaska Visitors Statistics Program, a statewide study commissioned by the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Every four years, interviewers contact visitors as they exit Alaska via air, cruise, or the marine and land highway systems. The survey gathers information on visitors' activities, the amount of money they spent, and where and how they traveled across the state. Schwoerer incorporated these visitor statistics into a computer model to visualize how birdwatchers' spending trickled through the economy. Nearly half of the bird-related tourism spending took place in Southeast Alaska, typically on tours. Well-known birding destinations like Nome also emerged as hot spots for birdwatcher spending and illustrated the economic benefit to communities of investing in nature-based tourism infrastructure. "Sustainable and well-managed birdwatching is a growth sector. Birdwatching in Alaska is a type of tourism where Alaskans can capitalize on the region's intact lands and waters," said David Krause, Audubon Alaska's interim executive director and director of conservation. "It's an exciting place of opportunity that protects irreplaceable and fragile ecosystems while supporting jobs." Explore further Places like Alaska without a COVID-19 outbreak could still be devastated More information: Tobias Schwoerer et al, Small sightBig might: Economic impact of bird tourism shows opportunities for rural communities and biodiversity conservation, PLOS ONE (2022). Journal information: PLoS ONE Tobias Schwoerer et al, Small sightBig might: Economic impact of bird tourism shows opportunities for rural communities and biodiversity conservation,(2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268594 Anticipated and completed sampling for the California Conservation Genomics Project across four major sets of species. Black silhouettes indicate representation (for visual clarity) of four functional groups: Upper left, terrestrial/freshwater plants in green; upper right, marine taxa, including plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, in blue; Lower left, terrestrial invertebrates, in purple; Lower right, terrestrial/freshwater vertebrates, in red. Credit: H Bradley Shaffer et al. When UC Santa Cruz postdoctoral scholar Merly Escalona assembled the first-ever reference genome for the Stephen Colbert Trapdoor Spider, she was shocked by the dataset's unexpectedly large size. For a small invertebrate, this California native spider's genetic code was very fragmented and consisted of about four billion bases (four gigabases)larger than the human genome's size of a little more than three gigabases. There have been lots of other surprising discoveries as Escalona works to assemble 150 different high quality reference genomes, each of which comprises a detailed map of the genetic material of a species, in her role on the scientific team for the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). This project aims to create a comprehensive genomic dataset representative of the state's biodiversity, as outlined by a recent paper in the Journal of Heredity. The CCGP, launched in 2019, is led by Director Brad Shaffer at UC Los Angeles and involves researchers from the University of California, California State Universities, and officials from state and federal regulatory agencies and non-governmental organizations. The leadership has been consistently working with state officials to make sure the results can be an invaluable and lasting resource for shaping conservation policy. "We are generating very high quality data that will be a lasting resource for this project and will form a foundation for future conservation actions," Shaffer said. Collaborating for conservation Escalona is just one of 15 researchers at UCSC working on the project. She is on the leadership team alongside faculty such as Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Beth Shapiro, who is on both the Scientific Executive Committee and the Technical Committee for the project, and Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering at the Baskin School of Engineering Russell Corbett Detig, who is the project's bioinformatics lead. Both researchers are also on the leadership team at the UCSC Genomics Institute. The project is the first of its kind in terms of scale in the field of conservation genomics. Researchers are studying a range of species to get an idea of the genetic biodiversity that exists across the state, from the mountain lions and the deer they hunt amidst the redwoods to the surfgrasses that sway in tide pools along the coast. "The north to the south of California spans all sorts of ecosystem diversity in a way that is unique to the state," Shapiro said. "There aren't many contiguous governed bodies that span this much ecological diversity. This is really an opportunity to capture how ecological diversity is partitioned across so many different ecosystems." This work was presented with significant challenges by the surge in natural disasters affecting the world in recent years. Wildfires and droughts in the state spurred by climate change made it difficult to access some plant samples necessary to assemble genomic data. The pandemic slowed lab and field work and extended the timeline of the CCGP from three to four years. Despite these setbacks, the CCGP is continuing with its data collection phase, which includes both reference genomes and resequencing many individuals of each species. The reference genome phase of the project is nearing completion, with virtually all tissues in hand, most in the data acquisition and analysis pipelines, nearly a third fully assembled, and about a quarter already available on the National Center for Biotechnology Information's open source library of genomic data. The process of resequencing, generating data from more than 100 individuals from each species under study, is now well underway and moving into high gear. Escalona's reference genomes will serve as a point of comparison to study genetic diversity within a species. In addition, the CCGP will resequence 100-150 additional genomes for each species, which they will study by comparison to the high-quality reference genome. By mapping the variations that occur in these genomes, researchers will discover how much genetic diversity exists in each species and how this diversity is distributed geographically throughout the state. This information will be used to identify which natural habitats should be prioritized for protection and create a snapshot in time of genomic biodiversity in the state as it exists now, an important reference point as the natural world is impacted by climate change. In generating both reference genomes and the resequenced genomes, the CCGP project is considerably larger in scale than other projects in conservation genomics. Data sets of this size are scarcely seen outside of human genomics, where biomedical funding can back such computationally intensive projects. In the end, between reference genomes and resequencing, about 22,000 genomes will be sequenced, a feat that speaks to both the recent advancements in genomics technology and the dedication of the researchers involved. UC Santa Cruz contributions Principal investigators will use the genomic data to study each individual species from the project to understand these creatures, many of which are unique to California. For example, Assistant Adjunct Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Rachel Meyers is leading research into endangered vernal pool grasses, while Associate Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Christopher Vollmers is fittingly studying banana slugs. But the study of these native species may open more questions than it answers. As Escalona works in the UCSC Paleogenomics Lab led by Professors Shapiro and Richard (Ed) Green, she says she is constantly surprised by the genomic mysteries that exist in California's nature, such as the huge size of the trapdoor spider's genome, or how relatively easy it was to assemble the black bear's genome. "It kind of just blows your mind how different [the genomes of species] can be, even closely related species," Escalona said. "Having these reference genomes is a big resource for us to give to the community." The comparison of the geographic distribution of biodiversity across the state will be made possible by the bioinformatics data analysis and processing taken on by Corbett-Detig as well as UCSC bioinformatics postdoc Erik Enbody and data wrangler Cade Mirchandani. Corbett-Detig's group is working to make sure that the data from all 150 resequenced genomes within a species are standardized and uniform to make them as comparable as possible. As this bioinformatics team works on variant calling, the process of comparing the reference genome to the resequenced data to see where the genetic material varies, the massive size of the data presents the most significant challenges, Corbett-Detig noted. "It's uncommonly large," he said. "Especially for conservation genomics, it's a vast dataset with incredible potential." Future impact Once all of the genomic data has been collected, assembled, and made uniform, analyses and landscape genomics work will begin. Led by UC Berkeley Associate Professor Ian Wang and postdoctoral researcher Anne Changers, the researchers will map out habitat areas that are shown to be particularly vulnerable, in order to better protect them through conservation policy, and identify which populations are the most resilient based on their genetic variation. All of the results will be made publicly available, and the team will work with stakeholders including state and federal regulatory agencies and nonprofits to develop habitat management policy recommendations. The researchers hope the CCGP can serve as a model to other regions that might want to take on their own studies of genetic biodiversity. California is well-positioned to lead this charge due to both the range of wildlife it is home to and the environmental ethic of its people. They also want this research to be a springboard for a sustained effort to understand biodiversity in the state, with more work done to understand the success of future interventions that come from this project. But for now, they are happy with the progress being made. "The quality of the work that's coming out is astonishing," Shaffer said. "We really are creating a resource that is not going to be thrown in the trash in the next two years when the next technique comes along. That's a cool place to be as I reflect on a long career of doing this work." Explore further Genome Atlas to support the rescue of biodiversity in Europe More information: H Bradley Shaffer et al, Landscape Genomics to Enable Conservation Actions: The California Conservation Genomics Project, Journal of Heredity (2022). Journal information: Journal of Heredity H Bradley Shaffer et al, Landscape Genomics to Enable Conservation Actions: The California Conservation Genomics Project,(2022). DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esac020 An estimated third of Ukraines population has been forced from their homes since Russia invaded in February, including more than 7.1 million people who are displaced inside the country, according to United Nations data, illustrating the scale of a humanitarian crisis that has gone largely unseen as the war grinds on. The number of internally displaced people dwarfs the 4.8 million Ukrainians who have fled into Europe as refugees, according to the U.N. refugee agency, which has described levels of displacement unseen since World War II. Advertisement While large swaths of the country were subject to the brutality of the Russian invasion in its early weeks, most of Ukraines displaced are now coming from the east as that region becomes the center of the conflict. Boarding trains and buses, civilians have poured out of cities and towns across eastern Ukraine, fleeing for the relative safety of the west and the northern capital, Kyiv. Some have left in humanitarian convoys, navigating treacherous roadways amid the threat of gunfire or shelling. Others have left on foot, literally running for their lives. Advertisement And as Russian forces now train their artillery on Donetsk province in the east, aiming to capture all of the industrial Donbas region, more people are being forced from their homes daily. Shellfire by Russian forces killed five civilians in Donetsk in the last 24 hours, the head of the regional military government, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said Wednesday on the Telegram social messaging app. For days, Kyrylenko has advised residents to leave the province, a sign that Ukrainian authorities believe that fighting will escalate. Officials hope to avoid having to attempt large-scale evacuations as in the neighboring province of Luhansk, which fell to the Russians in recent days. Just 3 million people have officially been registered as internally displaced, although the true number is believed to be more than double that. A shortfall in international humanitarian support has further strained local resources. The state was not ready for such a scale of displaced persons in many areas, Vitaly Muzychenko, the deputy minister of social policy for Ukraine, told a news conference this week, where he announced new plans to register displaced people for state benefits. This mass displacement has reshaped communities across the country, even those that have been spared the physical devastation of the war. Shelters have sprung up in public buildings, university dorms have been converted, and some modular homes have been set up to house the displaced. The majority of internally displaced people, much like refugees, are women and children, and many face shortages of food, water and basic necessities, according to U.N. experts. Oksana Zelinska, 40, who was the principal of a preschool in the southern city of Kherson, which is now occupied by Russian forces, fled in April with her two children, a co-worker and that womans children to the western city of Uzhhorod near the Slovakian border. Her husband has remained behind in Kherson, and she would like to return, but she said she stays in the west for her children. When we came here, I needed to do something; it was difficult, and I didnt want to sit around getting depressed, she said. I wanted to be useful. Advertisement She began volunteering at the community kitchen that she had used when she first arrived, peeling potatoes and preparing food for the dozens who troop in daily for a hot meal. Helping the displaced return to their homes or find new ones looms as one of Ukraines greatest challenges, whatever the outcome of the war. Some of their hometowns may not return to Ukrainian control. Others that are retaken could be almost entirely destroyed, with homes, water lines and other vital infrastructure pulverized by the Russian armys scorched-earth tactics. c.2022 The New York Times Company Credit: CC0 Public Domain Extreme heat events could become more intense and frequent both locally and globally, increasing the risk of harm to health and global economies, according to a new study that includes research from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. This new research suggests that the burden of heat-induced labor loss would be unevenly distributed among employment industries, creating environmental justice concerns. These impacts could be significantly reduced with careful planning and urban adaptation strategies that include the adoption of things like green roofs and cool walls. The new study, published today in Nature Communications, investigates the spatial patterns of climate change risks through 2050 among urban areas and also discusses adaptation strategies to mitigate inequity. The authors combined hourly high-resolution heat stress data together with exposure-response functions between heat exposure and labor productivity to examine this inequality. These high-resolution heat stress data were dynamically downscaled from two different global climate scenarios into a finer scale through a state-of-the-art regional climate model coupled with an urban canopy model. "Urban heat stress could create significant labor losses in 231 Chinese big cities in the future climate warming conditions, which could cause what equates to $5.11-5.82 billion USD in additional losses per year by the middle of this century. This is more than double the present value of $2.11 billion," said study co-author Yuqiang Zhang, Ph.D., a climate scientist in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the Gillings School. "Unfortunately, economic losses in these urban areas are mainly borne by those who work outdoors and for low wages, such as those in construction and manufacturing, thus bringing damages to city development by deepening income inequality." "These income inequalities could be a really big issue in those urban areas, since the rapid urbanization development in the Chinese cities we studied will bring more outdoor workers into the urban areas", said Zhang. "We need to figure out a way to help the government to reduce the gap." Fortunately, the researchers did not stop there. They probed deeper to explore how the various adaptation strategies in the urban development could reduce economic loss and also income inequality. "Plausible adaptation strategies include the adoption of green roofs and cool walls, which are found to be very efficient to lower the urban temperature," added Zhang. "By examining these different adaptation strategies separately and together, we found that they could save $190-260 million annually, which would have the greatest benefit for construction and manufacturing industries." In this study, Zhang and colleagues not only considered the impact of urbanization and development in each city but also took into account population expansions. "However, in this study, we did not consider the work-shift adaptation potential as we did in one of our previous studies," added Zhang. "Moving those who work outdoors and for low-wages into early morning or later afternoon schedules could also help reduce income inequality in these urban areas." Explore further White roofs and rooftop lawns can mitigate urban heat island effect, researchers say More information: Cheng He et al, The inequality labor loss risk from future urban warming and adaptation strategies, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Cheng He et al, The inequality labor loss risk from future urban warming and adaptation strategies,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31145-2 The dark photon dark matter field converts to photons in a layered dielectric target. These photons are focused by a lens onto a small, low noise SNSPD detector. The beam emitted from the stack is approximately uniform except for a small region in the middle where a mirror is absent. Credit: Chiles et al. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Perimeter Institute recently set new constraints on dark photons, which are hypothetical particles and renowned dark matter candidates. Their findings, presented in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, were attained using a new superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) they developed. "There's a close collaboration between our research groups at NIST and MIT, run by Dr. Sae Woo Nam and Prof. Karl Berggren, respectively" Jeff Chiles, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org. "We work together to advance the technology and applications for ultra-sensitive devices called superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors or SNSPDs. " Over the past few years, Chiles and his colleagues have been considering potential applications that would benefit from the SNSPD detectors they have been working on, which have virtually no background noise among other advantageous characteristics. They were eventually introduced to a group of theoretical physicists from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. This team of theorists had an interesting idea for a dark matter detector that could operate in an entirely different domain from those currently employed in dark matter searches. This detector, namely a multilayer dielectric optical haloscope, was a highly promising concept, yet it would require an optical detector that could perform far better than those on the market today. "This turned out to be the perfect match, as the MIT and NIST groups could build the detector and the apparatus and test it out," Chiles explained. "So, we teamed up and called our project LAMPOST (Light A' Multilayer Periodic Optical SNSPD Target). Our goal was to achieve the first experimental proof-of-concept for this idea and prove that it could be used to search for dark matter with better sensitivity than the already established bounds." The optical detector devised by Chiles and his colleagues is based on a structure known as a dielectric stack or target. This structure can generate signal photons of interest, by converting a nonrelativistic dark photon into a relativistic photon in the same frequency. New constraints on dark photon DM with mass and kinetic mixing. The magenta shaded region shows them 90% limit set by our experiment. The thin purple curve corresponds to the reach of an equivalent experiment with an improved SDE of 90%. Existing limits on dark photon DM from the FUNK, SENSEI, and Xenon10 experiments and from the nondetection of Solar dark photons by Xenon1T are shown in gray. Credit: Chiles et al. "First, we performed analysis of the construction of the apparatus, optical simulations to determine the optical collection efficiency, simulation of the detection efficiency, calculation of the influence of polarization on the dark matter signal and the minimum signal power that is compatible with the possible range of target properties," Ilya Charaev, another researcher involved in the study, told Phys.org. "Using the SNSPD technique, all incoming signals were registered over a 180-hour exposure." To set a limit on the dark matter coupling, the researchers estimated the dark count rate, also referred to as "noise" for the SNSPD detector they developed. Interestingly, their estimated noise value is the lowest among all values reported in physics literature. "Notably, we succeeded in our goal, as we were able to scan for a type of dark matter, specifically 'dark photons,' twice as sensitively as anything else in the energy range that we searched," Chiles said. "In the grand scheme of things, this is still a small notch out of a huge range of possibilities for dark matter. But for our first run to exceed existing bounds is an important first step, and to me, this speaks to the power and simplicity of the multilayer dielectric optical haloscope approach." In their experiments, this team of researchers gathered valuable insight that could inform future searches for dark photons, while also potentially encouraging the use of SNSPDs. In addition to setting new constraints on dark photons, in fact, Chiles and his colleagues learned more about their detector's capabilities. Most notably, they found that the noise in their detector was incredibly low. More specifically, the team only observed 5 "false events" for one of their single-photon detectors over 180 hours of data collection, suggesting that their technology is highly sensitive to weak signals. "It's exciting to think what other rare-event physics experiments this technology could be applied to in the near future," Chiles added. "Meanwhile, we plan to scale up the experiment from here. The first run was a proof-of-concept, but the next one will be sensitive enough to cover a large parameter space for dark matter, which will include both axions and dark photons." Explore further Gravitational wave detectors to search for dark matter More information: Jeff Chiles et al, New Constraints on Dark Photon Dark Matter with Superconducting Nanowire Detectors in an Optical Haloscope, Physical Review Letters (2022). Journal information: Physical Review Letters Jeff Chiles et al, New Constraints on Dark Photon Dark Matter with Superconducting Nanowire Detectors in an Optical Haloscope,(2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.231802 2022 Science X Network A benthic cyanobacterial mat overgrowing live coral on an otherwise extremely healthy reef in Bonaire, Netherlands. (photo by Ethan Cissell). Credit: Ethan Cissell UNC-Chapel Hill biologists examine the links between microbial mats and a type of coral disease that has become an urgent conservation concern, and they suggest mitigation strategies to help reduce its spread. Coral reefs are valuable to marine ecosystems and the global economy. We talked with Sophie McCoy, assistant professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Ph.D. candidate Ethan Cissell about their research published in the journal Ecological Applications. Q: What's the overall value of coral reefs to marine ecosystems and to the economy? A: It is easy to care about corals, which are such beautiful and charismatic animals. However, corals also play a truly outsized role in the provision of concrete ecosystem services across the world. Corals provide the skeleton or underwater skyline of reefs that are home to many other sedentary organisms, like sponges and octocorals that are valuable for water filtration and natural products, and that are also used by fishincluding fisheries species. Physically, coral structures attenuate waves and flooding from storms, protecting shorelines from flooding and erosion. Finally, healthy reefs are the backbone of lucrative tourism industries around the world, including in the United States. Q: The increasing prevalence of coral diseases is an urgent conservation concern. What did you find? A: Coral diseases are becoming more common on coral reefs globally. Coral disease outbreaks can devastate entire populations of critically endangered corals. This threatens the physical and economic services that reefs provide, including shoreline protection and food security. To work toward disease prevention, we also need to understand what aspects of coral reefs promote the survival and spread of disease-causing pathogens. In this study, we identified benthic cyanobacterial mats as a possible refuge for Black Band Disease pathogens on coral reefs. Benthic cyanobacterial mats are microbial mats that grow on the sea floor in association with photosynthetic cyanobacteria, which are also called blue-green algae. Similar mats are also found in freshwater systems. On coral reefs, benthic cyanobacterial mats have been spreading globally, and they are related to water column cyanobacterial blooms that have become problematic along many coastlines. This paper identifies and describes priority research areas to specify links between cyanobacterial mats and coral Black Band Disease. We also discuss next steps toward developing mitigation strategies to help reduce the spread of Black Band Disease. Credit: : Ethan Cissell Q: Why focus on coral Black Bland Disease? A: Black Band Disease, known as BBD, was one of the earliest coral diseases to be described, and it remains one of the easiest to identify by a black ring separating healthy coral tissue from dead white skeleton. This black ring is actually caused by a microbial mat. This disease is described by the presence of a "microbial fingerprint" of multiple organisms, including cyanobacteria, sulfide-oxidizing and sulfate-reducing bacteria. While BBD is still an active management challenge across the world, many other coral diseases contribute to coral conservation challenges. Q: Where are the coral reefs you analyzed in this study? A: Our study focused on reefs in Bonaire, Netherlands. My research group has chosen to study Bonaire's reefs because they are well conserved due to long-standing conservation policies, and they rank among the most pristine in the Caribbean region. By studying processes in pristine ecosystems that function as they should, we can gain insights for conservation and management of other coral reefs. Q: What are implications for decision-makers with these findings? A: We teamed up with Caren Eckrich, a natural resources manager for STINAPA, the national park in Bonaire, Netherlands, for this study. Benthic cyanobacterial mats are normal components of all coral reefs but are getting more common with warming water temperatures and other runoff impacts to reefs. However, knowing that coral disease pathogens are associated with cyanobacterial mats may make them easier to manage due to the visibility of the mats. For example, ongoing reef monitoring efforts should start to include reef cover of cyanobacterial mats, which would add a low-cost tool for management. Other suggestions we make in this study will help managers decide how best to allocate often limited management and restoration resources. Managing fisheries, regulating coastal development, controlling runoff and wastewater treatment are all local management strategies actively pursued to combat and control disease drivers. A better understanding of coral disease transmission is critical for tailoring specific and effective coral monitoring, management and restoration strategies, and creating evidence-based policies governing sustainable coastal development. Explore further Researchers find diverse communities comprise bacterial mats threatening coral reefs More information: Ethan C. Cissell et al, Cyanobacterial mats as benthic reservoirs and vectors for coral black band disease pathogens, Ecological Applications (2022). Journal information: Ecological Applications Ethan C. Cissell et al, Cyanobacterial mats as benthic reservoirs and vectors for coral black band disease pathogens,(2022). DOI: 10.1002/eap.2692 Credit: Msact at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 A mysterious invasive disease has hit a stand of southeast Michigan trees, adding to a long list of threats faced by state forests. Foresters recently discovered beech leaf disease in a southern St. Clair County woodlot, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday. It is the first confirmed appearance of the disease in the state. The emergence of beech leaf disease "is very concerning for our trees," said Joanne Foreman, the DNR's invasive species communications coordinator. Beech leaf disease can cause leaf buds to abort and leaves to curl. "We know what it is, we know it can kill trees but we do not have at this time a way to treat it," she said. "That is probably the worst part." Beech trees have smooth bark, popular with vandals, and toothed, oblong leaves. They are common throughout Michiganwhich has roughly 37 million of themand often found in forests and parks. They are not often planted as street trees. Michigan beech trees already are under threat by beech bark disease, spread by a sap-sucking insect that introduces a fungus into trees. That fungus causes cankers that kills trees by cutting off their flow of water and nutrients. The disease appeared in Michigan in 2000. "Our trees over the last couple of decades have taken a big hit from invasive species," Foreman said. "From Dutch elm disease to emerald ash borer, which took out pretty much an entire species of tree. We have oak wilt. We have hemlock wooly adelgid. "For our forests, this is very significant." Disease in 9 states Beech leaf disease was detected in Ohio in 2012, its first emergence in the United States. It has since spread to the Canadian province of Ontario and nine other states including Michigan. The owners of the sick St. Clair County trees alerted a regional invasive species network after they noticed their young beech trees were growing stunted, oddly shaped leaves. DNR foresters collected samples of the affected trees and confirmed with state and federal laboratories that they had been struck by beech leaf disease. Beech leaf disease is a tricky challenge for Michigan foresters. It is associated with a nematode, or microscopic worm, that lives in tree leaf buds for the winter. That damages the leaves and makes them susceptible to other disease. Foresters aren't sure whether the nematode itself or a fungus, bacteria or something else causes the damage, Foreman said. They also don't know how the disease spreads. The nematodes are slow and don't move much on their own, Foreman said. It could be birds that spread the disease, or it could spread through nursery stock or another avenue, she said. "There's just not enough known about it right now," Foreman said. The disease also takes a while to appear after it strikes a tree, said Simeon Wright, DNR forest health specialist. The sick St. Clair County trees likely harbored the disease for more than a year before it was discovered, he said. "Because symptoms are slow to emerge, it is difficult to detect the disease before it is established," Wright said. 2022 detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Emotion and anxiety levels of the multicolour lighting group and the control group on the first, fourth, and seventh days. Credit: Space: Science & Technology As missions for deep space exploration and space habitats are put on the agenda, astronauts need to withstand being tested by multiple stressors in confined and isolated conditions during such long flights, especially because in deep space exploration, problems such as signal delays make astronauts feel the anxiety of being far away from Earth and the psychological fear of deep space. According to a series of experiments conducted recently on Earth and during current space missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA believes that monotony of vision, in particular, aggravates the crew's anxiety, irritability, and depression. Moreover, a large number of studies have also found that crew members on long-term missions on the Antarctic Space Simulation Station are extremely susceptible to psychological problems caused by visual monotony and monochromatic colors. In a research paper recently published in Space: Science & Technology, Ao Jiang from the European Space Agency conducted a study to test whether multicolor lighting can improve people's psychological state in an isolated and confined environment over a period of seven days. The author first prepared the necessary materials and methods. Twenty healthy participants (10 males and 10 females, all of Chinese nationality and mostly 21 to 27 years old) from Xiangtan University were selected. Twenty isolation wards of the Xiangtan Central Hospital were used, which were all 3.5 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 2.2 meters high. Each room was furnished with a chair and a table, a bed, and a bedside table. The walls and the ceiling were painted white and the floor dark gray. These were the two main colors, apart from the door, chair, table, and dresser, which were a light wood color. Neutral colors were used to reduce any effects of the room on the colors to be used in the experiment. Moreover, Philips Hue Bluetooth wireless 16 million color dynamic light bulbs were chosen to project the colored light in the multicolor lighting rooms. The multicolor lamp was placed in the middle area between the desk and the bed in the isolated room to ensure that the participants were affected by the multicolor lighting in most daily activities. The PANAS questionnaire, a self-reporting measure, were used to assess the specific states that emerge from general dimensions of positive and negative emotional experiences, and the GAD-7 questionnaire, a one-dimensional scale, was designed to assess the presence of the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). As for statistical analysis, a chi-square general linear model repeated measures (GLM-RM) was used to measure the effect of isolation on emotion, anxiety, and self-rated health scores. Afterwards, the experiment got started. Twenty participants were randomly divided into two groups: one group that was exposed to multicolor lighting and a control group, which was exposed to a static, monotonous white interior. In the multicolor lighting group, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, the color of the multicolor light was randomly changed every three hours. Each participant entered a separate isolation room. During the isolation, the participants were not allowed to use any carriers such as mobile phones, computers, TVs, or iPads. But they could read paper books and do yoga and other activities. The participants' psychological state was recorded on the first day, the fourth day, and the seventh day. At 4:00-5:00 p.m. on the test day, the experimenters asked the participants to start filling out the paper questionnaire. After the questionnaires were completed, semi-structured interviews were conducted to record the participants' self-evaluation and subjective feelings. Each interview lasted about 5-10 minutes and was recorded for subsequent transcription and qualitative analysis. The results of the control group showed that the participants' negative emotions and anxiety continued to increase over time, whereas the group randomly exposed to multicolor lighting that changed every three hours did not show any significant increase in negative emotions and anxiety. The most significant effect was observed on the fourth day, GLM-RM analysis indicated that the anxiety level on the fourth day was significantly higher than that on the first day in both groups. On the seventh day of the experiment, the anxiety level was also significantly higher than that on the first day, but there was no significant difference between the level of anxiety on the fourth day and on the seventh day. In conclusion, multicolor lighting was found to alleviate the increase in anxiety and negative emotions caused by isolation and confinement. Moreover, the random change of light color in the isolated environment appeared to help the participants get an increased sense of surprise to counteract the monotony of the isolation, with an effect similar to that of circadian lights. In future space exploration, colored lighting or other sensory adjustment interventions could be used in addition to teamwork and collective life to reduce negative emotions and feelings of anxiety. Explore further Astronauts' mental health risks tested in the Antarctic More information: Ao Jiang et al, Space Habitat Astronautics: Multicolour Lighting Psychology in a 7-Day Simulated Habitat, Space: Science & Technology (2022). Ao Jiang et al, Space Habitat Astronautics: Multicolour Lighting Psychology in a 7-Day Simulated Habitat,(2022). DOI: 10.34133/2022/9782706 Provided by Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A trio of researchers, two from Queen Mary University of London, the other from the University of Tehran, has found evidence that suggests insects might be able to feel pain. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Matilda Gibbons, Lars Chittka and Sajedeh Sarlak, describe issues they encountered in attempting to find out whether insects feel pain, and the logic they used in showing its possibility. Prior research and anecdotal evidence has suggested that insects do not feel pain. Because of this, humans have found it easy to harm or kill them. In this new effort, the research trio suggest our assumptions may have been wrong. The researchers began by noting prior research has shown that both animals and insects have physiological systems that react to what in animals would be described as a painful experience. Such experiences have been separated into what has come to be known as nociceptionthe difference between responding physically to a physical trauma and any possible pain associated with the event. Both respond if you cut off one of an insect's legs for example. But what has not been clear is if doing so is painful for insects. To help answer that question, the researchers used what has come to be known as descending order of nociceptionwhere higher level behavior can be associated with a harmful event. Humans have been shown to be able to shut down a pain response if it happens during an emergencysome people do not realize they have been injured in a car crash, for example, until they are being treated at a hospital. Prior research has shown that this is possible because such a traumatic event can push the brain to begin producing opiates. Insects do not produce opiates, the researchers note, but they do produce other neuropeptides that could serve the same purpose. They found that such neuropeptides are produced in insects during traumatic events, suggesting they are capable of descending order of nociception, which is possible evidence of them feeling pain. The researchers suggest more work needs to be done to further determine if insects do indeed feel pain, and if they do, how to address the ethical issues surrounding their treatment by humans causing them harm. Explore further Insects feel chronic pain after injury More information: Matilda Gibbons et al, Descending control of nociception in insects?, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2022). Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Matilda Gibbons et al, Descending control of nociception in insects?,(2022). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0599 2022 Science X Network Credit: Jim Haberman A team of specialists and students led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness recently returned to Israel's Lower Galilee to continue unearthing nearly 1,600-year-old mosaics in an ancient Jewish synagogue at Huqoq. Discoveries made this year include the first known depiction of the biblical heroines Deborah and Jael as described in the book of Judges. The Huqoq Excavation Project is now in its 10th season after recent seasons were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Project director Magness, the Kenan Distinguished Professor of religious studies in Carolina's College of Arts & Sciences, and assistant director Dennis Mizzi of the University of Malta focused this season on the southwest part of the synagogue, which was built in the late fourth-early fifth century C.E. This season, the project team unearthed a part of the synagogue's floor decorated with a large mosaic panel that is divided into three horizontal strips (called registers), which depicts an episode from the book of Judges chapter 4: The victory of the Israelite forces led by the prophetess and judge Deborah and the military commander Barak over the Canaanite army led by the general Sisera. The Bible relates that after the battle, Sisera took refuge in the tent of a Kenite woman named Jael (Yael), who killed him by driving a tent stake through his temple as he slept. The uppermost register of the newly-discovered Huqoq mosaic shows Deborah under a palm tree, gazing at Barak, who is equipped with a shield. Only a small part of the middle register is preserved, which appears to show Sisera seated. The lowest register depicts Sisera lying deceased on the ground, bleeding from the head as Jael hammers a tent stake through his temple. "This is the first depiction of this episode and the first time we've seen a depiction of the biblical heroines Deborah and Jael in ancient Jewish art," Magness said. "Looking at the book of Joshua chapter 19, we can see how the story might have had special resonance for the Jewish community at Huqoq, as it is described as taking place in the same geographical regionthe territory of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon." Also among the newly discovered mosaics is a fragmentary Hebrew dedicatory inscription inside a wreath, flanked by panels measuring 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide, which show two vases that hold sprouting vines. The vines form medallions that frame four animals eating clusters of grapes: a hare, a fox, a leopard and a wild boar. A decade of discovery Mosaics were first discovered at the site in 2012, and work continued each summer until the COVID-19 pandemic paused work after the dig in 2019. The mosaics exposed in the last 10 active seasons cover the synagogue's aisles and main hall. Credit: Jim Haberman Discoveries along the east aisle include: Panels depicting Samson and the foxes (as related in Judges 15:4) Samson carrying the gate of Gaza on his shoulders (Judges 16:3) A Hebrew inscription surrounded by human figures, animals and mythological creatures including putti, or cupids The first non-biblical story ever found decorating an ancient synagogueperhaps the legendary meeting between Alexander the Great and the Jewish high priest The mosaic floor in the north aisle is divided into two rows of panels containing figures and objects accompanied by Hebrew inscriptions identifying them as biblical stories, including: One panel depicts two of the spies sent by Moses to explore Canaan carrying a pole with a cluster of grapes, labeled "a pole between two" (from Numbers 13:23) Another panel showing a man leading an animal on a rope is accompanied by the inscription "a small child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11:6) The mosaics panels in the nave, or main hall, include: A portrayal of Noah's Ark The parting of the Red Sea A Helios-zodiac cycle Jonah being swallowed by three successive fish The building of the Tower of Babel In 2019, the team uncovered panels in the north aisle that frame figures of animals identified by an Aramaic inscription as the four beasts representing four kingdoms in the book of Daniel, chapter 7. A large panel in the northwest aisle depicts Elim, the spot where the Israelites camped by 12 springs and 70 date palms after departing Egypt and wandering in the wilderness without water (Exodus 15:27). In the 14th century C.E. (the Mamluk period), the synagogue was rebuilt and expanded in size, perhaps in connection with the rise of a tradition that the Tomb of Habakkuk was located nearby, which became a focal point of late medieval Jewish pilgrimage. "The 14th century C.E. building appears to be the first Mamluk period synagogue ever discovered in Israel, making it no less important than the earlier building," said Magness. The mosaics have been removed from the site for conservation, and the excavated areas have been backfilled. Excavations are scheduled to continue in summer 2023. For additional information and updates, visit the project's website: www.huqoq.org. Explore further Discoveries by archaeology team give new clues on life in ancient Jewish village Credit: Ed Benoit When preparing for what could be a busy hurricane season, LSU Archival Expert Ed Benoit warns planning ahead is critical. When responding to a natural disaster gathering precious items and documents can be low on the priority list when life is at stake. These are the ways Benoit recommends you should store and preserve irreplaceable items and documents ahead of the possibility of storm damage. How do you recommend preserving physical copies of photos or papers? "The most important thing when approaching paper-based materials and photographs are the temperature and relative humidity that items are being stored in. The materials prefer consistent temperatures in the 65- to 75-degree range with lower humidity. Of course, after a storm climate control goes out the window. In that case, it is more important to keep items clean and dry to prevent immediate mold growth. Preparation and prevention are key. When at all possible, you should store documents in acid-free folders and boxes prior to a natural disaster. With photographs, avoid (at all costs) sticky albums or gluing things to a page. If you have framed photographs, use a matte between the frame and the photograph to prevent the photo from sticking to the glass." What are the kinds of documents you recommend for people to preserve? "When it comes to personal collections and archives, what people value most varies greatly. In the archival world, we define value in particular waysand not just monetarilybut something important for one individual or family, may not be as essential for another family. I recommend sitting down and coming up with a list of the objects, documents, photographs and audiovisual materials that are both irreplaceable and hold significant meaning. You can then prioritize the list. What might you take with you during an evacuation? What would you try to place in water-tight containers before evacuating?" Items you may consider irreplaceable include family heirlooms, important family photographs, military materials, travel journals, audio recordings or interviews with deceased family, video recordings, etc. Do you recommend utilizing digital storage? "Yes, if it is planned well. With cloud-storage, it is easy to back up digital images, and many people are digitizing their family photographs. If someone decides to do this, be sure to select the platform you are using carefully. You want to make sure that it will serve your needs. If you are only uploading images, then you might consider a photo-only solutionbut for most people a more general cloud service is better. If you consider local digital storage, such as an external hard drive, I recommend making duplicate copies and storing them in different physical locations. Finally, do not assume that digitizing an item will replace the originalit will not. Rather, it can make things easier to share and could be used to create a facsimile of the original if needed." If you are not tech savvy and need to preserve your copies of pictures by other means, what do you recommend? "As I noted earlier, you should create a prioritized list. What will you take with you if you evacuate? For the other items, have water-tight containers that you can put things into as you make your final preparations for the hurricane. You can then put the containers as high as possiblein a closet shelf, for example. This will provide some added protection but may not guarantee survival during a storm." What about videos/cassette tapes/DVDs? "These are items we refer to as magnetic tape and optical media. Anything you have currently on magnetic tape formats, you should try to have digitized or transferred to another format as soon as possible. Magnetic tape quickly degrades over time and incorrect storage conditions. As most VHS and cassette tapes were made 20+ years ago, the clock is quickly running out on them. There are both online videos on how to digitize these items, or you could consider using one of a variety of professional digitization companies. DVDs and other optical media are better protected but can also suffer data degradation over time. Digitizing these materials can also be beneficial." What kind of damage are you looking at if you don't protect your precious photos/belongings? "The largest issue following a hurricane is mold growth. This can quickly ruin photographs and other items and cannot be easily countered. There are ways to clean items that have been underwater, including both documents and photographs, but time is essential following the storm. As the materials spend more time underwater or in sludge, they are more likely to be permanently damaged. Photographs, for example, will lose their emulsion layer and become sticky. Documents will disintegrate. And, as many people know, with enough time, temperature and humidity, mold will wreak havoc." Final thoughts "The largest hurdle for keeping your family treasures safe during hurricanes and severe weather is that you need to prepare well before the storm. By the time you are thinking about evacuating, it is too late to properly consider what you might want to protect and how. At that point, you mind is racing, and you will inevitably forget something. Just like with everything hurricane related, planning well ahead of time is key." Free resources Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), Caring for Private and Family Collections. FEMA fact sheets, "After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures" and "Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms." Select listing from the Society of American Archivists MayDay Annotated Resources: Caring for Your Family Archives: Presented by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the tabs Preservation and Archives Professionals, Family Archives. FAQ-style guidelines for the care, display, and conversion of personal archival materials. Caring for Your Treasures: Presented by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). Contains guidelines, organized by medium (books, glass, metal, photos, etc.), for how to care for and maintain heirloom objects. Damaged Books Pamphlet: Authored by Caroline Bendix and presented by the British Library Preservation Advisory Centre. Describes the most common types of damage to books and outlines potential remedial work for that damage. Formatted as a PDF; contains illustrations and charts. Film Damage: Presented by the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA). Contains general guidelines on how to salvage water-damaged film and videotapes, FAQs, and a list of film labs across the country. Preservation FAQs: Prepared by the Preservation and Conservation Unit at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Responses to frequently asked questions about books and paper, photographs, and artwork. Find a Conservator: Presented by American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). Web-based national search allows for narrow or expanded search based on specialty, type of material, type of conservation advice needed (eg, surveys, consultation, duplication-copying, disaster planning, exhibit consultation), and geographic area. Explore further For the record: Digitizing archives can increase access to information but compromise privacy Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers used a fiber optic cable on the ice cap of an Icelandic subglacial volcano to detect low-frequency volcanic tremor, suggesting this technology could be useful in monitoring other ice-covered volcano systems. Their research published in The Seismic Record indicates that the floating ice cap, part of the Vatnajokull glacier, acted as a natural amplifier of the tremor signals generated by the Grimsvotn volcano, one of Iceland's most hazardous. This appears to be the first observation of a floating ice sheet acting as an amplifier of tremor, said Andreas Fichtner, a professor of seismology and wave physics at ETH Zurich. "Oscillations of ice shelves in Antarctica or Greenland have been known for a long time," he explained, "but they are mostly excited by ocean waves." Although the exact mechanisms behind volcanic tremor can differ, it can be an indicator of deep volcanic or geothermal activity, Fichter said. "In addition to providing information about the underlying processes, tremor may also serve as a precursor of volcanic eruptions that should be monitored closely." Grimsvotn is one of Iceland's largest and most active volcanoes, with major eruptions taking place on average every ten years. Geothermal heating melts the ice cap, creating a subglacial lake on the volcano that occasionally bursts forth and floods the coastal plains. Its explosive eruptions create towering ash plumes that affect agriculture, human health and aviation. Ash from the last major eruption in May 2011 closed Iceland's main airport and led to the cancelation of 900 flights. Researchers would like to learn more about the seismic environment of Grimsvotn, but installing a traditional seismic network is expensive and difficult in the remote and harsh conditions at the subglacial volcano. Instead, Fichtner and colleagues turned to Distributed Acoustic Sensing. Distributed Acoustic Sensing, or DAS, uses the tiny internal flaws in a long optical fiber as thousands of seismic sensors. An instrument called an interrogator at one end of the fiber sends laser pulses down the cable that are reflected off the fiber flaws and bounced back to the instrument. When the fiber is disturbed by seismic activity, researchers can examine changes in the timing of the reflected pulses to learn more about the resulting seismic waves. The researchers deployed a 12.5 kilometer-long fiber-optic cable on Grimsvotn in May 2021 and collected data from the DAS system for three weeks. "We wanted to know if a large DAS experiment in such a challenging and remote environment would actually be feasible at all and if it might teach us something new," said Fichtner. "Now, having analyzed the data in detail, we know that the discoveries we made would not have been possible with conventional stations. This includes not only the tremor-related ice sheet oscillations but also the nearly 3000 local earthquakes that we detected within the three weeks of the experiment." After analyzing the densely sampled DAS data, the researchers realized that the floating ice sheet was acting as a natural resonator of seismic signals, allowing them to detect the volcanic tremor that might have otherwise been overwhelmed by other ambient or instrument "noise" in a traditional seismic network. The research team got lucky with unusually nice weatheralong with research huts equipped with a geothermally heated sauna on the highest point of the Grimsvotn calderaduring the fiber optic deployment. A trenching sled developed by researchers at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, which plowed and placed the cable at the same time, also helped. "The real challenge was splicing in the field," Fichtner recalled. "Since we had three cable drums with four kilometers of cable on each of them, we had to connect the fibers, which is called splicing. An optical fiber is thinner than a human hair, and therefore it is difficult to handle on a glacier." Explore further Dark fiber seismic network finds missed aftershocks in Chinese earthquake More information: Andreas Fichtner et al, Fiber-Optic Observation of Volcanic Tremor through Floating Ice Sheet Resonance, The Seismic Record (2022). Andreas Fichtner et al, Fiber-Optic Observation of Volcanic Tremor through Floating Ice Sheet Resonance,(2022). DOI: 10.1785/0320220010 Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the percentage of the four activities in each of the 31 provinces. Credit: Congjun Xu, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The term aquaculture describes the breeding, rearing and harvesting of organisms such as fish, shellfish and algae in all types of water. It is becoming an increasingly important source of protein for people in many countries and regions. However, this expansion of aquaculture is accompanied by a corresponding rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are a major contributor to global warming and climate change. As China is a world leader in aquaculture cultivation, a research group led by the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted a study to discover the GHG emission levels produced by the country's aquaculture. Their results, published in the journal Water Biology and Security, show that the production of feed used to nourish the fish is one of the most significant contributors to the industry's GHG emissions. According to Prof. Jun Xu, group leader of the study, the team began by measuring the GHG emissions of four key aquaculture processes. They considered energy use, for example, the energy used to pump water, provide lighting and power vehicles on aquaculture farms. They also looked at nitrous oxide generated by the animals' excreta and excess food in the water, and they studied the production of synthetic fertilizer applied to increase productivity. The fourth element they considered was the manufacture of feed, raw materials such as soybean meal, wheat and fishmeal, and the emissions from their production, processing and transport. They then measured the carbon footprint of each of these processes over the past 10 years, splitting the results by region and by nine major fish species groups. Prof. Xu notes: "The results show that the production of feed materials contributed most to the GHG emissions. Spatial analysis showed that Guangdong, Hubei, Jiangsu and Shandong had the highest GHG emissions of all the 31 studied provinces, accounting for approximately 46% of all emissions." The team also found a significant positive correlation between regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GHG emissions in every province (> 0.6). Prof. Xu explains: "The aquaculture and mariculture industries have developed rapidly in China, and increased production is often accompanied by higher regional GDP. Rapid economic and social development leads to higher levels of consumer demand for products from both aquaculture and mariculture. This in turn drives expansion of these industries in provinces with a higher regional GDP." The team's results also show that China's aquaculture had a lower emission intensity (2.7) than the global value (3.3) published by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. They believe this is due to China's higher percentage of bivalve production. The bivalvean aquatic molluskusually sources its nutrients directly from the water, removing the need for manufactured feed. Prof Xu says: "Studies on quantification of GHG emissions from aquaculture are scarce in China. Our study reveals, for the first time, the relationship between the relative production by species composition and spatial distribution. Importantly, it provides the scientific basis for the reduction of GHG emissions within a broader context of expanding aquaculture in the future. But it's clear that more work is needed to better understand the mechanism of the process." He adds: "We suggest that local managers and governments adjust the relative proportion of species-group production and change the source of energy use to reduce the industry's carbon footprint. We believe that this work has implications for the future of China's aquaculture industry, and aquaculture in countries facing similar issues, such as Indonesia and Bangladesh." Explore further Is your seafood climate friendly? Scientists outline the benefits of marine aquaculture More information: Congjun Xu et al, Current status of greenhouse gas emissions from aquaculture in China, Water Biology and Security (2022). Congjun Xu et al, Current status of greenhouse gas emissions from aquaculture in China,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.watbs.2022.100041 Provided by KeAi Communications Co. A woman pauses to visit a memorial in Port Clinton Square in Highland Park on July 11, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) A Lake County judge on Wednesday ordered Robert E. Bobby Crimo III, accused of carrying out the rooftop massacre at Highland Parks Independence Day parade, held without bail on seven counts of first-degree murder. Calling Crimo a specific and present threat to the community, Judge Theodore Potkonjak ordered him to remain in jail. Crimos next hearing is set for July 28. Advertisement Just after the hearing, Lake County Deputy Sheriff Chris Covelli dropped a startling new allegation, telling reporters Crimo happened upon a celebration in the Madison, Wisconsin, area after fleeing Highland Park and seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting. [ What we know about the mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade ] Advertisement Covelli said Crimo decided against it because he had not done enough research. Crimo had a KelTec SUB2000 rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition with him at the time, Covelli said. Crimo disposed of his phone in Middleton, Wisconsin, a city near Madison, though police have since recovered it, Covelli said. Following the bond hearing for Robert E. Bobby Crimo III, Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart talks to reporters outside the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan on July 6, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Covelli said the motive for the Highland Park attack is still murky, though he said Crimo, an aspiring rapper, has an affinity for the numbers four and seven that stems from music he likes (photos show Crimo has 47 tattooed on his right temple). The shooting happened on the fourth day of the seventh month. He felt like this was the day to do the attack, Covelli said. Back in court, prosecutor Ben Dillon sketched out the alleged evidence against Crimo, a 21-year-old who grew up in Highland Park. Crimo was caught on surveillance video before the shooting walking through an alley toward a building at Central Avenue and 2nd Street, Dillon said. He allegedly used a fire escape attached to the building to access the rooftop. When the gunfire began at 10:14 a.m., the prosecutor said, a witness saw someone on top of the building scanning the crowd with a gun, along with muzzle flashes. [ Purchase of rifle allegedly used in Highland Park massacre highlights limits of Illinois gun laws ] Dillon said Crimo admitted to police he looked down his sights, aimed and opened fire at people across the street from his perch. Advertisement The prosecutor said police later found 83 spent shell casings and three 30-round magazines on the rooftop. Surveillance video captured Crimo running down the alley toward Green Bay Road after the shooting while carrying a black bag over his shoulder, Dillon said. A cloth-wrapped object fell out of the bag and onto the pavement, but Crimo allegedly kept going; police discovered the object was a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle, Dillon said. Police familiar with Crimo identified him from the video and a trace revealed the rifle, purchased at a local gun store in 2020, belonged to him, Dillon said. Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III, 21, who is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, appears via a video link at his bond hearing on July 6, 2022, at Lake County Circuit Court in Waukegan. Attorney Tom Durkin, below, who had agreed to represent Crimo, also appears via video. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Dillon said the video also showed Crimo wearing what appeared to be womens clothing. Crimo allegedly told police he wore the clothes, along with makeup covering his distinctive tattoos, in a bid to avoid being recognized. North Chicago police arrested Crimo late Monday afternoon following an hourslong search involving more than 100 law enforcement agencies. Crimo, watching the Zoom hearing without expression via a video link from the Lake County jail, wore a black shirt and sported dark, jaw-length hair. His only comment was to tell Potkonjak he did not have a lawyer. Advertisement Private attorney Tom Durkin, who had agreed to represent Crimo, told Potkonjak he had to step aside because of an unspecified conflict of interest in the case. Crimo will be represented by the county public defender going forward. [ These are the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park ] Victims of the shooting rampage include Highland Park couple Irina and Kevin McCarthy, whose 2-year-old son, Aiden, was found wandering alone amid the chaos; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Jacki Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88, all of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico. Another victim was identified Wednesday as Eduardo Uvaldo of Waukegan. The Cook County medical examiner confirmed Uvaldo, 69, was pronounced dead at 7:47 a.m. Wednesday at Evanston Hospital after being Monday. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > The organizer of an online fundraiser on Uvaldos behalf posted Tuesday: We just received news that there is nothing left to do for our papi. Thank you for all the donations thus far. All further donations will go toward assisting my grandmas needs when the time comes. Nivia Guzman also posted that her grandfather was a kind, loving and funny man who did not deserve this. Advertisement More than two dozen other people were injured in the attack, authorities said. jkeilman@chicagotribune.com larodriguez@chicagotribune.com rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When Laura Zhang Choi testified to New Jersey legislators last month, she told them they needed better information about the state's fastest-growing populationAsian Americans. Because right now, said Choi, a Warren County school-board member and a first-generation Chinese immigrant, the way the state gathers data is far too broad. And that can hide crucial needs in health and education. Look at New York City, she told them. About 11% of city residents suffer from diabetes, and the rate among Asian Americans is roughly the same at 12%. But a deeper look showed an alarming figure for Indian Americans, nearly double the city average at 21%. That information disappeared when all Asian ethnicities were lumped together. "Asian Americans are not a monolith," Choi, an active member of the advocacy group Make Us Visible NJ, told the Assembly committee. "We don't all share the same stories, experiences, and history as Americans." Now New Jersey legislators are considering a bill that would require state agencies to collect more specific demographic data on Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations, along with that of people from the Middle East and North Africa. It's part of a bigger push among immigrant leaders for what's called "data disaggregation," a mouthful of a term that boils down to splitting big groups into smaller, more revealing categories. The goal is to enable lawmakers, policy leaders, educators and health-care providers to more clearly see what can be dynamic differences inside larger classifications, so as to make more-informed decisions in providing help. For example: Only 5.6% of Asian Americans in New Jersey live in poverty, less than half the U.S. rate of 11.4%. But among people from Myanmar it's a shocking 24.7%, nearly one out of every four residents. "New Jersey is more diverse than we've ever been, more diverse than many communities in the country," said Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, which backs the legislation. "Yet we have government systems that don't really respond in the way that they should." The New Jersey bill says data gathered by state agencies "is often far too general," and more granular demographic information must be regularly collected, updated and published. "We don't have valuable data about the health of many of these Asian American populations," said the lead sponsor, Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, who represents Middlesex County. South Asians face a much greater danger of cardiovascular disease, he noted, but "this health threat has been obscured by treating Asians as one monolithic group." On Thursday the bill passed the Assembly by a 72-2 vote. An identical bill is pending in the Senate. At least five states including California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Washington and New Yorkalong with New York Citypassed laws requiring data disaggregation among Asian Americans, whom the "model minority" myth inaccurately portrays as uniformly well-off. Some legislation requires deeper looks at other racial groups as well. "We're at this inflection point, and a lot of advocates are getting involved in making sure people see Asians," said Lloyd Feng, special projects policy coordinator at the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families in New York City. Not everyone agrees that breaking down larger data is a good idea. In Rhode Island, Chinese Americans protested the law, children holding signs that said, "I am an American." They said Asians were wrongly singled out and more specific data could be used to promote race-based policies that exacerbate inequalities, according to the Providence Journal. Asian Americans represent the fastest-growing racial group in the United Statesand the fastest-growing in New Jersey, fully 10% of the state's 9.3 million people. New Jersey has a higher percentage of Asian-American residents than all but three states, California, Hawaii and Washington. Last year the first three Asian American women were elected to the legislature, doubling the size of the AAPI Caucus. The state's immigrant population surged 40% between 2000 and 2019, even as the number of U.S.-born residents dropped 2%. Today nearly one in four New Jerseyans is an immigrant. But advocates say government forms generally hide diversity, instead of revealing it, by listing only basic choices for race. Rania Mustafa is Palestinian Americanwhich means there's no place for her on federal or state demographic surveys. The Census Bureau struck the Middle East and North African categories in 2020, requiring those residents to be counted as "White." "I don't fit that," said Mustafa, who directs the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton. "I always check 'Other.'" That invisibility, she said, impacts everything in community life, even the ability of organizations like hers to support their grant applications. "The way this country works," she said, "is if there's no data to represent you, you basically don't exist." Designating people from the Middle East and North Africa as "White," the New Jersey bill sponsors said, hides the discrimination that many face in housing, employment, and daily life. It also inflates the number of White people, making communities appear less diverse statistically. South Asian communities can also have trouble seeing themselves in government tabulations, as those two words represent not only people from India but from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. "'Asian American' is a very useful termsolidarity, common experiences," said Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer, a bill co-sponsor whose district includes parts of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties. "But in many circumstances it doesn't get to the diversity of specific communities." Today the United States is home to more immigrants than any country in the world, some 40 million residents who were born in another land. Since 1965, when new laws replaced a national quota system, immigrants' origin countries shifted dramatically, from mostly Europe to mostly Asia and Latin America. Even the nature of "White" is changing in the United States, according to a study in Population Research and Policy Review, which found that the term camouflages the needs of people from Eastern Europe and parts of western Asia. Similarly, Black and African American categories can include immigrants from Africa, South America and the Caribbean, the study noted. The New Jersey effort follows winning campaigns by activists in a big neighbor state. New York City passed a comprehensive data-disaggregation law in 2016, and last year New York state approved a law focused on Asian Americans. That state's Asian population grew 37.6% between 2010 and 2020. Asian Americans make up almost 11% of the state, and nearly 80% of those in New York City are immigrants. Now disaggregated research is revealing new realities. A study at the New York City public-hospital system found that once Asian groups were disaggregated, South Asians were second to African Americans for COVID-19 hospitalizations and second to Hispanics for infections. Chinese patients had the highest death rate of all. The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families found that while more than 80% of Asian Americans approved of COVID-19 vaccines, no groups more wanted vaccinations than Bangladeshis and Nepalese, with rates above 90%. Yet, when later asked if they had received at least one dose, only half of Bangladeshis and a mere 13% of Nepalese had gotten a shot. Those numbers, CACF said, revealed a serious problembig personal desire to be vaccinated, government inability to make that happen. "It's not to say that 'Asian American' is outdated," Choi said in an interview. "We wanted a place at the table no matter what you call us. But the needs are so different. Lumping us together as if we all have the same experience does a disservice." Explore further Data disaggregation shows startling health disparities among Asian Americans 2022 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Proportion of Australian shark bites resulting in either fatality or injury categorized by injury location on the victims body (left panel; 250 bites resulting in fatal injury, 723 bites resulting in non-fatal injury) and by species (right panel; bites by 201 tiger, 170 bull, 258 white, and 303 bites other sharks). Credit: Scientific Data (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01453-9 Taronga's Australian Shark-Incident Database (ASID) describes more than 1,000 shark-human interactions that have occurred in Australia over the past 230 years. The database can be accessed by scientists and analysts to identify patterns and links between shark bites and environmental, biological or social factors. This will help conservationists, authorities and members of the public to determine the conditions affecting shark-bite risk and make informed decisions when implementing or selecting mitigation measures. This record of shark incidents (formerly known as the Australian Shark Attack File) was founded by John West in the 1980s and has been maintained by Taronga Conservation Society Australia since 1984. These data, curated by shark experts at Taronga, were obtained using questionnaires completed by shark-bite victims or witnesses, media reports, and information provided by state and territory fisheries departments. Recently, the dataset was standardized by researchers at Flinders University and Taronga. "Such long-running and comprehensive datasets are rare in the world of marine science, with most data collected over short time periods, limiting understanding of larger patterns and processes at play," says Taronga's Dr. Phoebe Meagher, curator of the database. "Sharing these data in a de-identified, peer-reviewed manner means we can learn from these tragic events, and how to secure a shared ocean for sharks and people." "The new opportunities for maximizing the impact of these data, particularly around long-term climate patterns and shark behavior is also an exciting possibility," Dr. Meagher adds. The database includes geographical location of the incident, weather conditions, victim recovery status, activity at time of the bite (like surfing or boating), shark species and time of incidentalthough all identifying information of persons have been removed. A paper describing the data was recently published in Nature's Scientific Data. "Excitingly, these data could be used to optimize the design of mitigation measures. For example, shark deterrent devices currently under development can be prioritized for integration into wetsuits or surfboards to reduce injury severity and fatalities," says lead author and shark-bite researcher, Madeline Riley, from Flinders University. Potential causes behind the rise in shark bites in Australia are still unclear. "Globally and in Australia, shark bites on humans have increased steadily over the past few decades," says Professor Charlie Huveneers from Flinders University. "However, this increase isn't happening everywhere, with shark bites decreasing in some regions and remaining stable in others. This reflects the high variability of the risk of being bitten by a shark." "It is unlikely to be linked to only one factor and a combination of reasons likely contributes to the increased number of shark bites, including a growing human population spending more time doing water-based activities and recovering shark populations or changes in shark occurrences along the coast," adds Professor Huveneers. Environmental and habitat variation, such as changing water temperature, re-distribution of prey, and climate change also potentially contribute to changes in the number of shark bites and the increased occurrences in some regions. As well as assisting individuals to predict the likelihood of a shark bite, ASID could also assist policy makers and ocean recreationists to make informed decisions when selecting and implementing the most appropriate shark-bite mitigation measures. For example, by assessing the most common activity at the time of a shark bite (e.g., surfing, swimming, diving) mitigation strategies can be focused on higher-risk activities specific to a region. Analysts can also use the data to assess long-term shifts in species distributions resulting from phenomena such as climate change. Dr. Vic Peddemors, shark scientist at the NSW Department of Primary Industries, explained how the database can provide direct benefit to authorities responsible for bather safety. "Enabling access to a standardized database of shark-human interactions allows ongoing determination of their trends and in developing potential shark hazard mitigation measures, such as those implemented by the NSW Government in the new $85 Million Shark Management Program." Explore further Australian researchers test shark-bite resistant wetsuit More information: View the Australian Shark-Incident Database online: View the Australian Shark-Incident Database online: taronga.org.au/conservation-an rk-incident-database Madeline Riley et al, The Australian Shark-Incident Database for quantifying temporal and spatial patterns of shark-human conflict, Scientific Data (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01453-9 Journal information: Scientific Data Provided by Taronga Conservation Society Australia Experimental system. DMD is for digital micromirror device, LED is for light-emitting diode, PMT is for photomultiplier tube, and DAS is for data-acquisition system. Credit: Shi Dongfeng A research team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has proposed a new anti-motion blur single-pixel imaging method for fast-moving objects. This method takes advantage of the wide spectrum and high sensitivity of a single-pixel detector and contributes to breaking through the bottleneck of single-pixel imaging of fast-moving objects. This research was published in Optics Letters. Based on previous proof-of-principle capturing motion information and imaging information, "This study changes the traditional notion that single-pixel imaging is only suitable for static or slow-moving objects," said Wang Yingjian, who led the team. Single-pixel imaging has made significant progress in capturing static or slow-moving objects. However, for fast-moving objects, motion blur is the main problem of single-pixel imaging in practical engineering applications. In order to solve this, the researchers proposed a multi-task tackling system for moving target tracking and imaging. A small amount of information detected by the single-pixel detector was used to locate and track the moving targets. With the increase of detection information over time, imaging of fast-moving objects and motion blur correction were realized synchronously. The proposed technology fully exploits the characteristics of single-pixel detection and realizes rapid positioning, clear imaging, and recognition of fast-moving targets according to the characteristics of the system's detection information data stream. The proposed technology roadmaps "tracking before imaging" subverts the time-sequence relationship of imaging before tracking in the traditional technical method. "The experimental results are encouraging," said Dr. Matthew Edgar, formerly from University of Glasgow, "and I am sure that future work in this area will compare and contrast the efficacy of the author's approach with other single-pixel sampling and reconstruction methods for real-world applications where there is rapid and dynamic motion of objects in the scene." "With this strategy, rapid tracking of an object is demonstrated," said Prof. Randy Bartels from Colorado State University. "This approach has the potential to scale to very high speeds." First Nations advocate Raelene Cooper, pictured in an undated photo from Woop Woop Pictures, is one of the activists fighting to save 40,000-year-old sacred rock art in Western Australia. Two Indigenous Australian activists are fighting to save 40,000-year-old sacred rock art in Western Australia from pollution and plans for a major gas project. Destruction in 2020 of Aboriginal rock shelters at Juukan Gorge by mining company Rio Tinto shocked the world, sparking condemnation, resignations, inquiries and promised reforms. Now, First Nations women Raelene Cooper and Josie Alec warn the same could happen "in slow motion" at Murujuga, which lies about 1,300 kilometres north of Perth. Alec and Cooper hope to garner global support by travelling this week from Australia's remote Pilbara region to Geneva to address the United Nations about their concernsparticularly if gas giant Woodside's Scarborough project goes ahead. Cooper told AFP that decay was already visible in the Murujuga rock art, which is sacred to the Indigenous custodians of the land and contains their traditional lore. Alec said that due to industrial pollution "the rock art will disappear. We will have no rock art to show the world." Woodside's Aus$16 billion (US$11 billion) Scarborough gas project would see 13 wells drilled off the coast of Western Australia to tap into a huge underwater reserve. The company predicts that at full capacity, Scarborough will produce eight million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annuallyprompting a backlash from green groups over its carbon emissions potential. Last month the Australian Conservation Fund launched a legal challenge against the Scarborough project, claiming it would create emissions extensive enough to harm the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef. Cooper and Alec point out that Murujuga has also been nominated for a World Heritage listing, in part because of the cultural value of its estimated one million petroglyphs, or rock carvings. Destruction of the rock art, Alec said, "will kill our stories. And it kills a very part of who we are." "We already visibly see the decay... the patina on the rock art itself flaking away, and the images are starting to wear," Cooper said. Save Our Songlines, a campaign launched by both women, links the degradation of the art to pollution from industrial production on the resource-rich Burrup Peninsula. 'Run out of time' Chemicals such as nitrous oxide settle on the art, the campaign says, rendering it vulnerable to degradation when rain falls. Woodside said in a statement that "peer-reviewed research has not demonstrated any impacts on Burrup rock art from emissions associated with Woodside's operations". But Save Our Songlines points to a 2021 study from the University of Western Australia, which concluded that "with the currently recorded acidity levels, the rock patina and associated art will degrade and disappear over time". Woodside dismissed that study as not including "any original research and consequently (it) does not enhance or expand the existing science". But Alec and Cooper say they can see Murujuga, the land they have sworn to protect and care for, changing before their eyesfrom the rock art to the disappearance of plants and animals. "There's something critically wrong," Alec said. "And there's only one explanation for that, and that is the chemicals, the mining, the gas, the oil... they are creating destruction." The pair hope that speaking to the UN's Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which provides expertise to the Human Rights Council, will see industry and government in Australia held to account. They want First Nations custodians to be better consulted about new industry on their landnoting that women have been sidelined in the approvals process. They have also called for Murujuga to receive World Heritage listing next year, an acknowledgement that would grant more leverage to argue for the region's protection. "The time is now, we've already run out of time," Alec said. Explore further Aboriginal group urges mining 'reset' after ancient site destroyed 2022 AFP Ken Muneoka, professor in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology at Texas A&M University. Credit: Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Ken Muneoka is no stranger to disrupting the field of regeneration; for example, in a 2019 ground-breaking publication in Nature, the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS) professor proved for the first time that joint regeneration in mammals was possible. Now, his team is again challenging other centuries-old beliefs about the fundamental science of the field, this time related to how mammals might regenerate damaged parts of the body. In humans, the natural ability to regenerate is limited to tissues like the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, and some organs, such as the liver. Other species, most notably salamanders, have the ability to regenerate complex structures such as bones, joints, and even entire limbs. As a result, scientists have been studying these species for more than 200 years to try to understand the mechanisms behind limb regeneration in the hopes of someday translating those mechanisms to induce more extensive regeneration in humans. That research has led to a common belief that the single biggest key for limb regeneration is the presence of nerves. While that may be true for salamanders and other species, it isn't the case in mammals, according to two of Muneoka's recently published studies. The first study, published last year in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, established that mechanical loading (the ability to apply force to or with an affected area) is a requirement for mammals. The second, published earlier this year in Developmental Biology, established that the absence of nerves does not inhibit regeneration. Together, these findings present a sizeable shift in the thinking of how regeneration could work in human medicine. "What these two studies show counteracts the two-century-old dogma that you need nerves to regenerate," Muneoka said. "What replaces it in mammals is that you need mechanical loading, not nerves." Importance Of Mechanical Load Scientists have long believed that two things must be present in an affected area in order to induce regeneration in mammals. The first is growth factors, which are molecules that can stimulate cells to regrow and reconstruct parts of the body. In natural regeneration, these growth factors, which vary from species to species and by area being regenerated, are produced by the body. For human-induced regeneration, these growth factors must be introduced to the area. The second factor believed to be necessary was nerves. This belief was predicated by many previous human-induced mammal regeneration studies on areas, usually digit tips, without nerves, in which the whole limbs were also no longer usable. Those studies would have the predicted outcomewhen growth factors were introduced regeneration did not take placeleading to the conclusion that, like in other species, nerves were a requirement for regeneration. But the mechanical load aspect was ignored. In their studies, Muneoka and colleagues decided to take a step back and ask the question, "is it really the nerves, or is lack of mechanical load part of the equation as well?" Connor Dolan, a former graduate student in Muneoka's lab and first author on both new studies (who now works at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center), came up with a way to test the denervation requirement in mammals that was inspired by astronauts. The technique, called hindlimb suspension, has been used by NASA and other scientists for decades to test how mammals react to zero gravity environments. A similar process is used during medical procedures on legs of large animals to prevent the animals from putting weight on the affected limbs. "Dolan found that when the limbs were suspended, even though they still had lots of nerves and could move around, they couldn't actually put pressure on their limbs so the digit tips wouldn't regenerate," Muneoka said. "It just completely inhibited regeneration." As soon as the mechanical load returns, however, regeneration is rescued. "Absolutely nothing happens during the suspension," Muneoka said. "But once the load returns, there will be a couple weeks of delay, but then they'll begin to regenerate." That first step proved that even though nerves might be required, the mechanical loading was a critical component to regeneration. Taking the research a step further, Dolan's second publication showed that nerves weren't required by demonstrating that if a mouse has no nerves in one of its digits but does in the othersso that it's still exerting force on the denervated digitthat digit will still regenerate. "He found that they regenerate a little bit slower, but they regenerated perfectly normally," Muneoka said. Ramifications Of The Research Muneoka is quick to point out that their studies aren't saying that previous research is wrong, just that it doesn't directly apply to humans. "There have been a number of studies in salamanders that prove that when you remove the nerves, they do not regenerate," Muneoka said. "Researchers have also been able to put growth factors they know are being produced by nerves into the cells and rescue regeneration. "So, salamanders probably do need nerves to regenerate," he said. "But if we're going to regenerate limbs in humans, it's going to be a lot more like what happens in mice." Since first beginning to look at regeneration more than 20 years ago, a number of Muneoka's ideas have pushed back against the generally accepted theories about regeneration. He said that getting these two papers published took almost three years because they originally tried to submit them together. "Many scientists don't embrace this idea," he said. "A lot of people's careers are really dependent on their studies of nerves and how they affect regeneration. For a study to come out and say that for humans it's unlikely you'll need the nerves, the whole biomedical application of what people are doing in salamanders and fish kind of goes out the window." Looking Down The Road Nerves not being required for regeneration in mammals may seem like an academic point. After all, what would be the point of regenerating a limb if the person couldn't feel it or control it because it had no nerves. In that sense, nerves are still going to be an important part of the puzzle. From Muneoka's perspective, the shift is that instead of thinking of nerves as a requirement for regeneration, nerves are a part of what needs to be regenerated. Larry Suva, head of the CVMBS' Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology (VTPP), says the issue is that nobody was even thinking about the load aspect previously. "Think of a blast injury where a soldier is left with a stump," Suva said. "No one, until this paper came out, was even thinking about a requirement from mechanical influences. You had people see that a denervated animal doesn't regenerate and they're thinking it's because the nerve was cut, but nobody was studying the mechanical load aspect." As Suva puts it, science is full of people looking where the light is best. "I work on bones, so when I see a problem, I look at the bone problem," he said. "People who work on nerves, all they look at are nerves. So it's very rare that someone like Dr. Muneoka will take a step back and take a more holistic view. "That's what he brought to this idea, to this 200-year-old data," Suva said. "We now have to look at regeneration through a different lens because now we know the mechanical influences are extremely important." One of the results of research focusing on nerves is that scientists have been able to recreate the growth factors that nerves produce, which has allowed researchers to start regeneration in salamanders, even if the nerves aren't present. Suva said that with these new findings, scientists will now know they have to do the same with the mechanical load aspect if they want to start regeneration in mammals. "Scientists already have been able to trick the body into thinking nerves are still present," he said. "But now they know they'll also have to trick it into thinking there's a mechanical load, something that has not been done before." Because cells react differently under mechanical load, somehow, that load is being translated biochemically inside the cell. "There's a small number of labs looking at the biochemical basis for what mechanical load does to a cell," Muneoka said. "If we could understand that biochemical signal, then perhaps the physical force of mechanical load can be replaced by some sort of cocktail of molecules that will create the same signals in the cells." The end of the road toward full human regeneration may still be a long way in the future, but Suva says that this kind of fundamental shift in thinking is a major marker on that road. "Regeneration of a human limb may still be science fiction, but we know some facts about it, and now we know you have to have that mechanical load along with the growth factors," he said. "That changes how future scientists and engineers are going to solve this problem. "There are still a number of complex problems to be solved before regenerating entire human limbs is possible, but Dr. Muneoka's findings are an important next step to make sure we're solving the right problems." Explore further Ovary regeneration in salamanders could provide solutions to human infertility The ways in which New Zealand remembers European colonisation have changed markedly in recent years. Critics have been chipping away at the public image of Captain James Cook, the New Zealand Wars have been included in the new compulsory history curriculum, and streets honouring colonial figures have been renamed. However, while New Zealand is slowly recognising the historical injustices suffered by Maori, the same reappraisal hasn't extended to the natural environment. The dramatic transformation of "wild untamed nature" into "productive land" by European settlers in the 1800s continues to be widely celebrated as a testament to Kiwi ingenuity and hard work. My soon-to-be published research, based on a survey of 1,100 people, suggests this narrative could be partly responsible for New Zealanders' apparent complacency on climate change compared to other countries. Essentially, it appears those who refuse the "taming of nature" narrativeand instead recognise the 19th century as a period of environmental destructionare more likely to have what psychologists call an "environmental self-identity". The findings further suggest that changing individual behaviour as a strategy to tackle environmental threats (as recommended in the Climate Commission's 2021 report) might mean addressing how we communicate the history of environmental change in schools, museums and at public heritage sites. In particular, this might mean framing what happened in the 1800s as more about loss than achievement. A story of progress or decline? Prior to human settlement, Aotearoa New Zealand had been isolated from other landmasses for around 60 million years. The result was the evolution of a unique ecosystem that was highly vulnerable to disturbances. Maori arrived around 1300 and brought with them invasive mammals: the Polynesian dog (kuri) and the Pacific rat (kiore). Through widespread burning, Maorieither intentionally or accidentallydestroyed large areas of forest in drier eastern parts of Te Wai Pounamu (South Island) and Te Ika a Maui (North Island). Moreover, archaeological research suggests a number of bird species were hunted to extinction, including moa and adzebill. European settlers began arriving in large numbers after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. On the back of (often dubious) purchase deals, the introduction of private property laws and forceful confiscation, vast areas of Maori land ended up in European hands. What followed was a classic example of what's been called "ecological imperialism". Much of the remaining forest was transformed into grassland for sheep and cattle. Acclimatisation societies introduced other familiar animals and plants from Europe. Purposefully and accidentally introduced speciessuch as stoats and ship ratswreaked havoc on the native wildlife. Within a few decades of European colonisation, several birds went extinct, including the huia, the piopio and the laughing owl. European capitalism also had a devastating impact on seal and whale populations. Taming nature: clearing bush in the Coromandel, late 19th century. Credit: Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons A "usable past" Despite the long history of environmental change, it is the transformation of the landscape in the 1800s that occupies the most prominent place in New Zealand's collective memory, relative to other periods. The reason is fairly simple: the era provides what memory scholars call a "usable past"usable because it helps to construct a distinctive New Zealand identity in the present. Similar to historical events such as the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the Gallipoli campaign, the "taming of nature" in the 1800s is remembered as an experience that forged the nation. European settlersin particular the bushmen who cleared the forest to make way for farms and pasturesare portrayed as the prototypical New Zealander. Their hard work and "number eight wire" ingenuity still define popular versions of the national character today. And media continue to portray the countryside as the "real" New Zealand, including in advertisements and television shows. It should be stressed this is largely a narrative of the European settler majority. For Maori communities, the transformation of the landscape under European colonialism is more a story of decline than progress. Maori memories of environmental change in the 1800s are intertwined with memories of colonial violence and dispossession. Memory shapes environmental attitudes My survey sought to explore whether different interpretations of New Zealand's environmental history shape people's attitudes towards nature, and whether those interpretations make it more or less likely that people see themselves as someone who acts in an "environmentally friendly" waythe environmental self-identity mentioned earlier. A key finding is that those respondents who pinpointed the 1800srather than Maori settlement or the second half of the 20th centuryas the most destructive period of environmental change were most likely to describe themselves as environmentally friendly. For Maori respondents, this is perhaps not entirely surprising. An awareness of injustices suffered in the 1800s tends to go hand in hand with a strong spiritual connection with the land and a sense of responsibility towards nature. More significant is that European New Zealanders who recognise the environmentally destructive role of 19th-century settlers were more likely to identify themselves as environmentally friendly than those who point to other periods in history. It appears those European New Zealanders who acknowledge the environmental destruction caused by their ancestors feel a greater responsibility to fix these mistakes in the present. How we remember the past matters To encourage more pro-environmental behaviours, the survey results suggest New Zealand needs to move away from narratives that glorify environmental change of the early colonial era as an expression of national character. Such interpretations of history reinforce ideas that get in the way of achieving a sustainable future. They promote a strongly utilitarian perspective on our relationship with the environment. Nature is reduced to a commodity to be exploited in the pursuit of human interests. New Zealand has taken the first steps to work through its violent political past, but this process also needs to include colonialism's devastating effects on the environment. Rather than remembering the transformation of the landscape by European settlers as a nation-defining moment, public history should encourage an examination of human complicity in the destruction of nature. Hopefully, this can help transform such understanding into present-day environmental action. Explore further Maori connections to Antarctica may go as far back as 7th century This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The secondary cell type of Photorhabdus luminescens protects plants against the pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum. The associated bacteria not only safeguard plants but also kill this fungus using enzymes that degrade chitin (right). Without protection, the infected plant will wither and possibly even die (left). Credit: Nazzareno Dominelli, JGU Future food shortages are expected to become exacerbated in many parts of the world. With this in view, sustainable biological techniques are being explored that could increase the yield of cereals and other food crops and which, unlike the use of chemical pesticides, are environmentally compatible. The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens is already used as bioinsecticide to protect crops against a wide range of insect pests. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have recently demonstrated that P. luminescens can also protect plants against fungal infection. A secondary cell form of the bacterium is responsible for this additional effect. This variant first colonizes the fungal mycelium and then destroys it by degrading chitin, a major component of the cell wall of fungi. The results of this research could be very significant in future, particularly with regard to cereal production. "We see this as a prime opportunity to make farming more environmentally friendly and sustainable with the help of these bacteria," said Professor Ralf Heermann of JGU. Biological methods may result in higher crop yields Like other plants, crops are susceptible to environmental stresses, diseases, and infestation by pests. This has an impact on crop yields and food production and raises concerns about food security in the light of the growing global population. The most extensive agricultural losses are attributable to weed invasion, animal pests, and also plant diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses. In the past, it was the intensive use of chemical plant protection agents that ensured higher yields and thus improved the food supply. However, this came at the cost of environmental damage, the risk of fatal toxicity for humans and non-target organisms such as pollinator insects, and not least the unwanted modification of the composition of the soil microbiome. An alternative approach is the use of biological agents such as rhizobacteria that promote plant growth and nematodes that attack insect pests. These are two examples of new and sustainable agricultural techniques to combat plant pests. Primary cells of Photorhabdus luminescens kill insects and make them glow Among these more sustainable approaches is the use of Photorhabdus luminescens as a beneficial organism that destroys insect larvae. This bacterium lives in symbiosis with small nematodes that penetrate the insect larvae and subsequently release the bacterium inside them. This then secretes numerous toxins that lead to the death of the insect larvae, simultaneously producing a bioluminescent enzyme called luciferase that makes the dead larvae glow. About two years ago, the research group of Professor Ralf Heermann discovered that there is an additional phenotype cell of P. luminescens that, although it is unable to undergo symbiosis with nematodes, is capable of surviving in soil on its own. This secondary cell type is genetically identical with the primary form, but lacks certain phenotypic properties, such as bioluminescence. However, according to the group's new findings, these secondary cells are extraordinarily effective against fungal infection. Using beef tomato plants as an example, Heermann's team of microbiologists showed that infestation by the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum can be prevented by the bacteria as they colonize the fungal hyphae, breaking down the chitin there. The scientists also managed to identify the molecular mechanism responsible involving an enzyme called chitinase and a chitin-binding protein. This enables the bacteria to dissolve the structure of a fungus, specifically its cell wall, and effectively inhibit fungal growth. New potential application to promote plant growth and protect against fungal infection "Furthermore, we were able to show that the secondary cell type of the bacterium colonizes the fungal hyphae in particular. This sets in motion one of the first mechanisms that protects plants against pathogens," explained Dr. Nazzareno Dominelli, a member of Heermann's team and the lead author of the recently published paper. "Thanks to our results, we can now propose a new use for P. luminescensas an organism that both promotes plant growth and protects plants against fungal infection." The research team plans to continue investigating the promising potential that P. luminescens offers with regard to biological crop protection. Initial indications suggest that the secondary, non-luminescent cell type, which actively seeks out the roots of plants, may offer additional biotechnological benefits for agriculture. The research was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Explore further Secondary variant of Photorhabdus luminescens interacts with plant roots More information: Nazzareno Dominelli et al, The Insect Pathogen Photorhabdus luminescens Protects Plants from Phytopathogenic Fusarium graminearum via Chitin Degradation, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2022). Journal information: Applied and Environmental Microbiology Nazzareno Dominelli et al, The Insect Pathogen Photorhabdus luminescens Protects Plants from Phytopathogenic Fusarium graminearum via Chitin Degradation,(2022). DOI: 10.1128/aem.00645-22 Credit: John Turnbull, Author provided On the surface, it looks like any other bay near Hobart. But beneath the calm waters live a small population of one of the rarest and most endangered fish in the world: the red handfish. I was diving in early 2020 with a small crew of some of the best handfish hunters on the planet, people who had monitored and nurtured knowledge of this tiny creature over recent years. We laid out a series of "swim lanes" using survey tapes, which we would then search painstakingly in our wetsuits and SCUBA gear. We would take perhaps an hour to drift along each 50 metre lane, carefully moving seaweed and peering into each little nook for elusive handfish. Towards the end of my first lane, I found one. Nestled between two seagrass plants, the little fish with its seemingly oversized hands stared up at me. I marked it with a bright yellow flag so the research team could record the little critter in all its glory. This involved collecting essential scientific information, such as length and photographs of both sides of the fish, all the while avoiding disruption to it and its environment. There are just two small areas near Hobart, and therefore in the world, where the red handfish is known to still live, amounting to a wild population of around 100 adults. Earlier this year, the species was thankfully earmarked for federal conservation funding, but more must be done to stop this otherworldly creature from continuing to vanish. Here you can see the swim lanes we marked out using survey tape. Credit: John Turnbull, Author provided Red handfish are cryptic and bizarre Red handfish (Thymichthys politus) are a contradictionthis species is just several centimetres long, partly camouflaged yet trimmed by flashes of bright red. They are cryptic, and use their enlarged pectoral fins resembling human hands to walk across the seafloor, rather than swimming in the water column. Handfish are a type of anglerfish. They are ambush predators, which means they prefer to sit and wait among seaweed, sponges and other cover for their prey to swim past, before they strike. To help attract their preysuch as small fish and invertebratesthey have a fluffy lure on their forehead. With so few left, the red handfish is extremely vulnerable to any pressures impacting the two areas it's found in. This includes habitat loss (driven largely by a boom in native urchins overgrazing seaweed), pollution and other urban impacts. In this photo, you can clearly see the fluffy lure on the red handfishs head. Credit: John Turnbull, Author provided Direct disturbance by humans such as boating, anchoring and possibly diving are also potential threats, particularly during breeding season. And climate change impacts, such as warming waters, also play a big role in the decline of the species. The red handfish aren't Australia's only handfish, with the southeast of the continent home to 14 different species. One, the Ziebell's handfish, lives deeper than the red handfish and we know even less about its conservation status. Another, the spotted handfish, lives in the Derwent estuary and nearby, with a population of fewer than 3,000 individuals. Both of these species, along with the red handfish, are critically endangered. How we're protecting them Recent government funding will help build resilience against threats to wild red handfish populations. This conservation effort includes re-building wild populations through a captive-rearing and release program known as "head-starting". This is another species of anglerfish, called the Bare Island anglerfish (Porophryne erythrodactylus), which is endemic to a small region of NSW. Credit: John Turnbull, Author provided This strategy involves collecting eggs from the wild, and nurturing the young in captivity. There, they have unlimited food, and they're protected from predators and harsh conditions. Once big enough, handfish are released back into the wild, and monitored through dive surveys which identify individual fish through their unique pattern of spots, similar to the way we use fingerprints. As well as using this finger-printing technique, we're also using ultra-sound to help us identify fish gender, which we're otherwise unable to do by sight alone. This information will help us implement a captive-breeding program so we can continue our re-wilding program, and will also allow us to establish a captive insurance population. A red handfish manifesting warrior yoga pose as it navigates its complex reef habitat. Credit: Jemina Stuart-Smith, Author provided We're also working on restoring the fish's habitat and mitigating direct disturbances through a SCUBA diver/snorkeller education and awareness program, called Handfish Guardians. Early habitat restoration efforts have included working with divers to remove urchins, but we now plan to couple this with seaweed restoration trials. Through these efforts, researchers hope to halt the decline of red handfish. But to truly safeguard this species from extinction and increase their numbers, we need longer-term efforts. This includes ongoing mitigation of urban impacts and restoration of ecosystem balance that can only be achieved through improved habitat management. Explore further Tiny red handfish hatchlings a lifeline for world's rarest fish This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Though they are discrete particles, water molecules flow collectively as liquids, producing streams, waves, whirlpools, and other classic fluid phenomena. Not so with electricity. While an electric current is also a construct of distinct particlesin this case, electronsthe particles are so small that any collective behavior among them is drowned out by larger influences as electrons pass through ordinary metals. But, in certain materials and under specific conditions, such effects fade away, and electrons can directly influence each other. In these instances, electrons can flow collectively like a fluid. Now, physicists at MIT and the Weizmann Institute of Science have observed electrons flowing in vortices, or whirlpoolsa hallmark of fluid flow that theorists predicted electrons should exhibit, but that has never been seen until now. "Electron vortices are expected in theory, but there's been no direct proof, and seeing is believing," says Leonid Levitov, professor of physics at MIT. "Now we've seen it, and it's a clear signature of being in this new regime, where electrons behave as a fluid, not as individual particles." The observations, reported in the journal Nature, could inform the design of more efficient electronics. "We know when electrons go in a fluid state, [energy] dissipation drops, and that's of interest in trying to design low-power electronics," Levitov says. "This new observation is another step in that direction." Levitov is a co-author of the new paper, along with Eli Zeldov and others at the Weizmann Institute for Science in Israel and the University of Colorado at Denver. A collective squeeze When electricity runs through most ordinary metals and semiconductors, the momenta and trajectories of electrons in the current are influenced by impurities in the material and vibrations among the material's atoms. These processes dominate electron behavior in ordinary materials. But theorists have predicted that in the absence of such ordinary, classical processes, quantum effects should take over. Namely, electrons should pick up on each other's delicate quantum behavior and move collectively, as a viscous, honey-like electron fluid. This liquid-like behavior should emerge in ultraclean materials and at near-zero temperatures. In 2017, Levitov and colleagues at the University of Manchester reported signatures of such fluid-like electron behavior in graphene, an atom-thin sheet of carbon onto which they etched a thin channel with several pinch points. They observed that a current sent through the channel could flow through the constrictions with little resistance. This suggested that the electrons in the current were able to squeeze through the pinch points collectively, much like a fluid, rather than clogging, like individual grains of sand. This first indication prompted Levitov to explore other electron fluid phenomena. In the new study, he and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute for Science looked to visualize electron vortices. As they write in their paper, "the most striking and ubiquitous feature in the flow of regular fluids, the formation of vortices and turbulence, has not yet been observed in electron fluids despite numerous theoretical predictions." Channeling flow To visualize electron vortices, the team looked to tungsten ditelluride (WTe2), an ultraclean metallic compound that has been found to exhibit exotic electronic properties when isolated in single-atom-thin, two-dimensional form. "Tungsten ditelluride is one of the new quantum materials where electrons are strongly interacting and behave as quantum waves rather than particles," Levitov says. "In addition, the material is very clean, which makes the fluid-like behavior directly accessible." The researchers synthesized pure single crystals of tungsten ditelluride, and exfoliated thin flakes of the material. They then used e-beam lithography and plasma etching techniques to pattern each flake into a center channel connected to a circular chamber on either side. They etched the same pattern into thin flakes of golda standard metal with ordinary, classical electronic properties. They then ran a current through each patterned sample at ultralow temperatures of 4.5 kelvins (about -450 degrees Fahrenheit) and measured the current flow at specific points throughout each sample, using a nanoscale scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) on a tip. This device was developed in Zeldov's lab and measures magnetic fields with extremely high precision. Using the device to scan each sample, the team was able to observe in detail how electrons flowed through the patterned channels in each material. The researchers observed that electrons flowing through patterned channels in gold flakes did so without reversing direction, even when some of the current passed through each side chamber before joining back up with the main current. In contrast, electrons flowing through tungsten ditelluride flowed through the channel and swirled into each side chamber, much as water would do when emptying into a bowl. The electrons created small whirlpools in each chamber before flowing back out into the main channel. "We observed a change in the flow direction in the chambers, where the flow direction reversed the direction as compared to that in the central strip," Levitov says. "That is a very striking thing, and it is the same physics as that in ordinary fluids, but happening with electrons on the nanoscale. That's a clear signature of electrons being in a fluid-like regime." The group's observations are the first direct visualization of swirling vortices in an electric current. The findings represent an experimental confirmation of a fundamental property in electron behavior. They may also offer clues to how engineers might design low-power devices that conduct electricity in a more fluid, less resistive manner. Explore further First glimpse of hydrodynamic electron flow in 3D materials More information: Eli Zeldov, Direct observation of vortices in an electron fluid, Nature (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04794-y Journal information: Nature Eli Zeldov, Direct observation of vortices in an electron fluid,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04794-y The time in milliseconds is postponed along the horizontal axis. On the vertical axis is the frequency of observations in MHz. The dark line inside the dynamic spectrum is the signal from the detected transient. The intensity of radiation within the dynamic spectrum is shown in shades of gray. The darker the color, the stronger the recorded signal. Pulse profiles are shown above the spectra, representing the integral sum of the pulse in all frequency channels, combined taking into account the dependence of the signal delay in the interstellar medium on the frequency of observations. The degree of slope of the line reflects the magnitude of the dispersion measure (DM). The greater the slope, the greater the DM. Credit: Tyul'bashev et al., 2022. Using the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (PRAO), Russian astronomers have carried out a search for rotating radio transients (RRATs). In a recently published paper on the arXiv pre-print server, they report the detection of two new RRATs as part of this observational campaign. RRATs are a subclass of pulsars characterized by sporadic emission. First objects of this type were identified in 2006 as sporadically appearing dispersed pulses, with frequencies varying from several minutes to several hours. However, the nature of these transients is still unclear. In general, it is assumed that they are ordinary pulsars that experience strong pulses. So far, only slightly more than 100 RRATs have been found, therefore astronomers are interested in detecting new such transients in order to characterize them and to improve our knowledge about their nature. Now, a team of astronomers led by PRAO's Sergey Tyul'bashev reports the discovery of two new RRATsdesignated J1550+09 and J2047+13. The finding was made with the Large Phased Array at PRAO with a channel width of 78 kHz and a readout time of 12.5 milliseconds. The observations were conducted simultaneously in 96 spatial beams at declinations from -7 to +42 degrees. "The large effective area of the radio telescope, which is approximately 45,000 m2, provides high fluctuation sensitivity, which makes it possible to search for RRATs," the researchers explained. Both RRATs were found far beyond the plane of the Milky Way galaxy. The distances were estimated to be about 3,100 and 7,200 light years, for J1550+09 and J2047+13, respectively, hence typical for pulsars. The dispersion measure for J1549+09 and J2047+12, was calculated to be 21 and 35 pc/cm3. According to the study, J1549+09 was detected four times in the interval of four years, and J2047+12 was detected seven times. For J2047+12, two pulses were detected on one of the days, during a timespan of 2.925 seconds. The pulse half-widths for J1550+09 and J2047+13 were measured to be 18 and 35 milliseconds, respectively. The astronomers noted that the observation time before the appearance of the pulse from J1550+09 was 20 hours, and for J2047+12about 11 hours. The researchers concluded that this confirms the existence of RRATs, which have one pulse for 10 or more hours. "The study shows the existence of rotating transients whose pulses appear less frequently than one pulse per 10 hours of observations.(...) Long series of observations and the use of the programs described above make it possible to detect such rarely flashing rotating radio transients," the authors of the paper wrote. More information: Detection of two new RRATs at 111 MHz, arXiv:2206.12108 [astro-ph.HE] Detection of two new RRATs at 111 MHz, arXiv:2206.12108 [astro-ph.HE] arxiv.org/abs/2206.12108 2022 Science X Network People deliver flowers and leave chalk messages at a new memorial depicting the seven victims near the Central Avenue crime scene on July 7, 2022 in Highland Park. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) The family of Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, prayed for a miracle after the grandfather was shot while attending the Highland Park Fourth of July parade Monday morning. His daughters, on social media, pleaded with others to join them in prayer, sharing a photo of Uvaldo sitting in front of the Louvre in Paris, wearing a blue shirt and a soft smile. But Uvaldo didnt make it and on Wednesday morning, requests for prayers for a miracle turned into prayers for strength for the family he leaves behind. Uvaldo died just before 8 a.m. Wednesday at Evanston Hospital, surrounded by his family, said Jackie Tapia, a close family friend. Advertisement [ Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, remembered as a very happy family man in funeral for victims of Highland Park parade rampage ] The Cook County medical examiner confirmed Uvaldo as another victim of the mass shooting that has shaken a community and devastated families. His wife and four daughters are devastated and unable to talk to reporters, Tapia said while standing outside the familys longtime home in Waukegan. Advertisement Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting victim Eduardo Uvaldo with one of his four daughters, Tanya Uvaldo Castro, in an undated photo. (Uvaldo family) Thank you to everyone who prayed for my dad and my family, his daughter, Tanya Uvaldo Castro, wrote on her Facebook page. This morning he passed. We are heartbroken but are at peace because we know he wouldnt want to be here in the state that he was. He passed peacefully. Though the family attempted to remain hopeful over the last few days, doctors had told them the bullet had reached Uvaldos brain caused irreparable damage, Tapia said. At the parade he was shot in the arm and in the head. His wife of 50 years, Maria Uvaldo, was also injured and their grandson was shot in the arm. Both are doing well. His wife, four daughters, more than 16 of his grandchildren and other family members, gathered at his house after Uvaldo took his last breath. Jackie Tapia talks about Eduardo Uvaldo, a 69-year-old grandfather who had gone to the parade in Highland Park with several family members and become the seventh victim of the mass shooting. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) His memory and the family unity is keeping them strong, Tapia said with tears in her eyes. There will be more family members traveling from Uvaldos native Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and other states to provide support to his wife and daughters. We are extremely thankful for the outpouring of love for the family, but we wish this wasnt happening, Tapia added. The family had been attending the parade for several years. His youngest daughter, Tanya, took photos of her father and her son at the parade for the past three years. On social media she shared photos of a joyful Uvaldo, wearing patriotic shorts, smiling as he holds his grandsons hand a few years ago at the same event at which he lost his life. My dad loved to see and spend these special occasions with him, Tanya Uvaldo wrote on Facebook. On Monday she was intending to take a photo of her father and her son, as usual, but she didnt get a chance. Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting victim Eduardo Uvaldo, left, at a previous undated Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. (Uvaldo family) Maybe God didnt want me to have a reminder of that day, she wrote. Advertisement Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > Uvaldo emigrated from Mexico and retired a few years ago. He loved his wife and his family, Tapia said. He was especially affectionate to his grandchildren, Tapia said. And his wife was still is his light. [ These are the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park ] He was a kind, loving and funny man, wrote his granddaughter Nivia Guzman on a GoFundMe page that has collected almost $70,000. Tapia said that the family has not decided on funeral or burial details. Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, consul general of Mexico in Chicago, said she has been in contact with the family to offer financial or legal help if needed. We regret to inform that a second person of Mexican origin has lost their life as a consequence of the shooting in Highland Park. Our solidarity with their family and friends, Torres Mendivil said. The Uvaldo family and all those who have been hurt by the shooting will continue to need prayers and support in days to come as they get ready to put their loved ones to rest, Tapia said. Advertisement Larodriguez@chicagotribune.com Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain International solutions are needed to protect the ocean. Two sets of regulations currently under development offer an opportunity to expand protections, but a greater degree of alignment between the two must be achieved. In a new article published in Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany, outline how this could be realized. States will meet again in July and August to continue their negotiations. The ocean plays a key role in sustaining life on our planet. However, existing regulatory frameworks for marine conservation only target individual sectors such as fisheries, mining, or shipping. "These governance regimes are too fragmented to safeguard the integrity of the marine environment in the long term. This is of particular concern with respect to areas beyond national jurisdiction, where pressure on ecosystems is increasing due to both more intensive use of marine resources and climate change," says the study's lead author, Sabine Christiansen. Ecosystem approach seeks to balance conservation and human use Far from the coastline, in areas beyond national jurisdiction, two legally distinct areas of regulation exist: on the one hand, the international seabed, the so-called "Area" with its mineral resources, and on the other hand, the water column above it, the "High Seas". The management of mineral resources in the Area is the responsibility of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which is currently discussing a set of regulations to enable future exploitation activities. As early as the end of July, member states of the ISA will meet at the organization's headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, to continue negotiations in this matter. Parallel to this, multilateral negotiations are taking place on an international agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the BBNJ treaty ). The fifth and, for the time being, final round of negotiations at the United Nations is scheduled to take place in late August in New York (IGC 5). Despite the far-reaching implications of deep-sea mining for the protection of deep-sea species and habitats, the two negotiation processes have so far proceeded largely separately. In their article, the authors elaborate on options to enhance the interplay of these two processes. Regional Environmental Management Plans to guide decision-making The ecosystem approach has been identified as a best-practice for ocean governance. This approach seeks to manage human activities with the aim of maintaining or restoring the health of spatially defined ecosystems. "The management of human activities needs to change: We need an integrated and coherent global governance solution. The ecosystem approach is the most promising of the available options, as it provides a clear framework, but also allows for the development of tailored solutions for specific contexts," explains Christiansen. Regional Environmental Management Plans, such as those envisaged by the International Seabed Authority for the implementation of its environmental commitments, could play a special role in integrated ocean management. These plans have the potential to support informed decision-making in regions with mining interests to establish thresholds for impacts on affected marine regions. Crucially, the plans seek to balance economic and environmental interests in relation to longer-term conservation goals. So far, however, the ISA has neglected to embrace this potential. For example, in a draft Regional Environmental Management Plan currently under consideration for the "Mid-Atlantic Ridge", an area in the central Atlantic with important hydrothermal vent fields, the interests of mining stakeholders take precedence over the conservation of deep-sea species and habitats. Enable broad stakeholder participation An ambitious BBNJ treaty should reinforce and support the implementation of the marine conservation goals and environmental impact assessment standards formulated by the Seabed Authority, the authors urge. The consistent and coherent integration of sectoral, regional, and global goals, standards, and measures would be a major step towards the adoption of an ecosystem-based management approach. Deep-sea mining could then be authorized only to the extent that regional and global environmental quality goals and standards will demonstrably not be compromised. The ecosystem approach also provides for broad-scale stakeholder participation, the ongoing assessment of the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining, and comprehensive risk management in line with the precautionary principle. Deep-sea mining and its impacts on the marine environment have received considerable attention recently at the G7 Summit in Elmau and at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon. The "Ocean Deal" agreed by G7 leaders under Germany's Presidency includes a commitment to a far-reaching precautionary approach to the potential mining of marine minerals in the Area, with the aim of preventing negative environmental impacts. Several countries went one step further during the UN Ocean Conference, including the Pacific states of Palau and Fiji, as well as Chile, calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining. French President Emmanuel Macron even called for a legal framework to stop deep-sea mining from going ahead. Explore further What vision do we have for the deep sea? More information: Sabine Christiansen et al, Towards an Ecosystem Approach to Management in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: REMPs for Deep Seabed Mining and the Proposed BBNJ Instrument, Frontiers in Marine Science (2022). Journal information: Frontiers in Marine Science Sabine Christiansen et al, Towards an Ecosystem Approach to Management in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: REMPs for Deep Seabed Mining and the Proposed BBNJ Instrument,(2022). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2022.720146 Provided by Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS) Unemployment, underemployment, overqualification and working outside nominated occupation, by nominated occupation. Note: Numbers in () indicate sample size. Display limited to occupations with at least 30 visa holders. Occupations sorted in sample size order. Source: GSM Survey. Credit: International Migration (2022). DOI: 10.1111/imig.13030 New research by workforce experts at Flinders University and Charles Darwin University shows that efforts by skilled migrants to meet employer demands for Australian qualifications result in only marginal returns for these efforts, at least in the short term. "The relative lack of consideration given to the portability of skills is demonstrated through the skills mismatch and underutilization shown in our data," says research co-author Dr. Andreas Cebulla, Associate Professor in The Future of Work at Flinders University's Australian Industrial Transformation Institute. Despite federal migration policies selecting skilled migrants through measurements of credentials and skills pegged to education levels and occupations, the non-recognition of overseas qualifications and experience still widely occurs. Most puzzling to many skilled migrants is a gap between what the Australian government accepts in its points score to allow the entry of skilled migrants into the country, and then what employers do not accept as transferrable qualifications. Significantly, the researchers found that a migrant's rush to find regular income by quickly accepting any job offer increased their risk of occupational and skills mismatch. The Australian Government's own survey of recent migrants to Australia shows that despite high employment rates, nearly one-quarter of all permanent migrants (23%) in 2018 experienced skills mismatch. This was more prevalent for those under South Australia's State-Sponsored migration scheme, with 32% working in a job lower than their skill level, compared with only 13% of employer-sponsored visa holders. The largest groups of affected migrants were from occupation groups involving Information and Communication Technology professionals; those working in business, human resource or marketing; design, engineering, science or transportation; and specialist managers, health or education professionals. About one-third (34%) of skilled migrants involved in the survey sought additional qualifications and skills by enrolling in one or more occupational courses, and some also sought to obtain English language proficiency certificates. However, acquiring additional Australian qualifications makes comparatively little difference to their employment status when compared to migrants who do not seek new qualifications. The researchers noted that the exclusion of migrants from Australia's welfare system for the first four years after their arrival can pressure migrants into accepting job that do not match their nominated occupation or skills. "We recommend exploring measures within the welfare system that allow for more extended job searches to avoid the cost of occupational mismatches," says Dr. Cebulla. "For Australia to keep focusing on employment or unemployment rates, it obfuscates the underemployment or the utilization of migrant's skills." Dr. Cebulla says policy implications stem from this research, including statutory agencies providing better advice and guidance on the challenges of skills recognition and building appropriate pathways specific to a migrant's occupation; a review of current skills recognition in Australia, and re-examining the welfare system available to skilled migrants in Australia. "We argue that Australia should consider developing a more coherent skilled migration process to better harness the human capital of skilled migrants," says Dr. Cebulla. The research, "When what you have is not enough: Acquiring Australian qualifications to overcome non-recognition of overseas skills, by George Tan and Andreas Cebulla," has been published by International Migration. Explore further The 'right' white people can make or break employment opportunities for African migrants More information: George Tan et al, When what you have is not enoughAcquiring Australian qualifications to overcome nonrecognition of overseas skills, International Migration (2022). George Tan et al, When what you have is not enoughAcquiring Australian qualifications to overcome nonrecognition of overseas skills,(2022). DOI: 10.1111/imig.13030 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. NORTHFIELD Atlantic County workers in two unions will receive 4% to 5% annual raises in recently settled contracts approved Tuesday by the Board of Commissioners. The contracts with CWA Local 1040 Facilities Management and Supported Employment and CWA Local 1040 Intergenerational Services will run from Jan. 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2024. The increases for both groups will be 4% for 2021, 5% for 2022 and 4% for both 2023 and 2024, according to memorandums of agreement passed by the board. We are making an investment in our employees with these contracts, said Commissioner Amy Gatto, of Hamilton Township. There are some nice increases for the employees there. Union members have been working under a contract that expired in December 2020. Once the new increases take effect, they will be paid retroactively. Base salary ranges in Facilities Management and Supported Employment now go from $33,330 for Grade A jobs such as office services manager and assistant program analyst to $43,800 for Grade E positions such as building superintendent and principal accountant. NJ broke promise, changed PILOT and hurt Atlantic City, Atlantic County In 2016, Atlantic Citys local government was broke. It could not pay its employees or fund Base salary ranges in Intergenerational Services will now start at $34,330 for positions such as office services manager and increase to $43,330 for jobs such as director of family counseling. For both unions, starting in 2023, NJ Direct 2030 will be the base health insurance plan for all current and future employees, which is expected to result in a savings to the county; and Juneteenth was added as a holiday. Commissioner Richard Dase, of Galloway Township, asked whether unions are asking for extra sick days to handle required quarantines for COVID-19. We havent been having those discussions at all, said County Administrator Jerry DelRosso. They are not asking for additional sick time. I commend the county and those involved negotiating these agreements, said Commissioner John Risley. They are very fair. Meanwhile, Democratic Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick, of Linwood, withdrew her resolution, co-sponsored by Democratic Commissioner Ernest Coursey, of Atlantic City, in support of a gas tax holiday. Other commissioners pointed out the board had passed a similar resolution in March. It seems to have gotten out of the headlines, Fitzpatrick said in explanation. We have this opportunity not only in the state but federally. Here in New Jersey, the two taxes are 60 cents a gallon, easily $100 a month per driver. Republican Commissioner Frank Balles, of Egg Harbor Township, sponsored the resolution that passed unanimously March 29. Im perplexed. I dont know how this differs from the resolution I sponsored and we all voted yes on, Balles said. We would be passing a resolution we already passed. I agree its redundant, but if you dont mind humoring me, to have it come from both sides of the aisle of our Board of Commissioners, maybe it will spur it on a little more, Fitzpatrick said. After discussion, the board agreed instead to resend the resolution passed earlier with a letter to the governor. Maybe our Democratic friends can make phone calls and lobby the governor to respond to our letter and resolution, said Republican Commissioner Andrew Parker, who participated in the meeting virtually from a National Education Association meeting near Chicago. Parker said the entire convention was locked down for hours Monday as a result of a mass shooting in nearby Illinois. Hard Rock deal ends casino strike threat in Atlantic City The Hard Rock casino has reached agreement with Atlantic Citys main casino workers union, removing the last threat of a strike during the busy holiday weekend. Local 54 of the Unite Here union said it reached a tentative agreement with Hard Rock, avoiding a strike that had been threatened for 12:01 a.m. Sunday. Combined with agreements reached Thursday with the Borgata, Caesars, Harrahs and the Tropicana, Hard Rocks deal leaves only two smaller casinos, Resorts and the Golden Nugget, without a contract. But the union says it expects both of them to agree to one in the coming days. The board took a moment of silence to remember the seven people killed and many others injured in the attack on a July 4 parade route in Highland Park. The commissioners also recognized June Sheridan, of Egg Harbor Township, for her 20 years serving on the Atlantic County Cultural and Heritage Advisory Board. Sheridan, 86, is retiring from her work for the county, she said, but is continuing as Egg Harbor Township historian. Youre going to have to take that away from me, she joked. PLEASANTVILLE A turbulent City Council primary race came to a close Tuesday when 1st Ward Democratic committee members voted to nominate the Rev. James Barclay to run for the 1st Ward seat in November. Barclay thanked all those who participated in the election. This country was built on its value of democracy, Barclay said Wednesday. The race for the seat took a winding path and involved one lead change and a dispute over a candidates eligibility to run for office in Pleasantville. Cory Young initially appeared to have won the June 7 Democratic primary election, and the right to run as the Democratic nominee in the November general election. There is no Republican running. Young received 239 votes nearly 53% of the 453 votes cast in the three-candidate primary race. Barclay had received 137 votes, while the third candidate, former Board of Education member Rick Norris, received 77. There was no incumbent in the race. Pleasantville rescinds sewer concession PLEASANTVILLE A controversial proposal for a multimillion-dollar, four-decade sewer deal b Barclay, then the first runner-up in the primary, filed a petition in Atlantic County Superior Court on June 17 challenging Youngs residency status. The petition said Young was not living at the Pleasantville address he had listed when registering to run for office and that instead, Young resided at a property in Atlantic City. Among other arguments, the petition noted that on June 13 six days after the June 7 primary the names of Young and his wife were still listed on the intercom system at the Atlantic City property. Young dropped out of the race June 22, shortly after a court date was set to hear the dispute. He told The Press then that he did so to spend more time with his new wife and to gain more experience. He said he lived in Pleasantville and that the Atlantic City property was merely a secondary residence, and maintained that he did not withdraw his candidacy due to Barclays filing. The race also changed course due to a delay in counting mail-in ballots. Barclay had been leading in the election-day count with 86 votes to Norris 51 and Youngs 61. That 25-vote lead collapsed with the arrival of 255 mail-in ballots, the lions share of which, nearly 70%, went to Young. With Youngs resignation, it fell to 1st Ward members of the Atlantic County Democratic Committee who are elected to their positions to nominate a candidate for the general election Nov. 8. Barclay is a pastor at Full Gospel Church International in Pleasantville and a former member of the Pleasantville Board of Education. He is also a Liberian immigrant and had worked as a project manager for the U.N. Monrovian Sanitation Program. Top finisher in Pleasantville City Council primary drops out after residency dispute PLEASANTVILLE Cory Young, the apparent winner of a June 7 Democratic primary race for City The pastor stressed the need for solidarity. Barclay said he is reaching out to different communities and political factions to urge them to unite for the common good of the city and address needs such as urgent repairs to city streets and sewers. His victory comes after a contentious dispute on council about a now rescinded, 39-year concession agreement over the city sewer system controlled by a private equity company. Barclay has previously expressed opposition to the sewer concession, and his election to council could cement the 4-3 margin by which the council voted to withdraw from the deal. Barclays election also comes as the school board remains locked in a noxious, months-long dispute over the superintendent position at Pleasantville Public Schools. My mind has evolved to realize what Pleasantville needs most is healing, Barclay said. The first thing on peoples minds should not be themselves, but the city. Barclay said one of his goals would be to reach out to different immigrant communities and create opportunities to have them more involved in their local democracy. He stressed that immigrants offer their own talents to the city and it was crucial to have them work together with natural born citizens in moving the city forward. There are too many divides. People are too polarized, Barclay said, reflecting on the state of the city and the nation at large. Im bridging those gaps. This fall, South Jersey Industries will give high school students interested in learning about artificial intelligence the chance to attend a series of lessons at its Atlantic City headquarters. Through a partnership with the Mark Cuban Foundation and the state Department of Community Affairs, the AI Boot Camp will offer students four half-day sessions filled with lectures about artificial intelligences uses in society, from smart home assistance to self-driving automobiles, SJI said Wednesday in a news release. The boot camps will be held on four straight Saturdays from Oct. 22 to Nov. 12. No student needs prior hands-on or learning experience with AI or robotics to attend the program, SJI said. Founded in 2019, the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Boot Camp is a free, nationwide initiative offered to high school students who want to learn more about artificial intelligence and the technology used to operate it, SJI said. At SJI, we are committed to providing local students with meaningful experiences that inspire them to reimagine what is possible as they craft their future career paths, Leonard Brinson Jr., senior vice president and chief information officer at SJI, said in a statement. The student-parent application is available at markcubanai.org/application until Sept. 1. The first case of monkeypox in Camden County was reported Tuesday in a resident who recently traveled out of state and is currently isolating at home, health officials said. Monkeypox an archaically named infection caused by a virus has been spreading slowly in the United States since May. While the World Health Organization is monitoring outbreaks in multiple countries, public health officials and scientists emphasize that the disease is not new like COVID-19, or as easily spread. Monkeypox spreads through direct contact with lesions or body fluids. The disease usually starts with flulike symptoms such as a fever, intense headache and swelling of the lymph nodes. The most prominent sign of monkeypox lesions on the face and body usually appears up to three days later. Symptoms can last two to four weeks. The strain of the virus circulating in this country causes mild to moderate disease. As of July 1, 460 cases were confirmed in the United States, according to the CDC, whose online case tracker did not indicate any deaths. The case announced in Camden County appears to be the fifth in New Jersey, according to the CDCs tracking. Camden County health officials said in a statement that they have performed contact tracing and provided preventive treatment to any person who might have been exposed to the infected resident. The threat to Camden County residents from monkeypox is extremely low right now, said Paschal Nwako, Camden County health officer and public health coordinator, in a news release. There is no need for panic, but we are encouraging residents to stay vigilant and to watch for symptoms. A vaccine for monkeypox is available to high-risk contacts of people who have tested positive. Last week, the Biden administration announced that the Department of Health and Human Services will deploy nearly 300,000 doses of the vaccine in the coming weeks. Camden was designated as South Jerseys hub for vaccines. Camden County residents who have questions about monkeypox can call the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services at 856-374-6370. From the outset, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has been marred by political motives and malfeasance, making it unlikely the vast majority of Americans will have confidence in the committees ultimate findings. In fact, before the hearings even began, the committee was tinged by partisan politics when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi defied protocol and refused to seat two of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthys picks for the committee Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and instead chose Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. While Banks and Jordan would have added a semblance of balance and credibility to the nine-person committee (which consists of seven Democrats and two Republicans), Pelosi nixed both and replaced them with two of the most anti-Trump Republicans in Congress. Instead of getting to the bottom of what occurred on January 6, 2021, the committee is interested only in scoring political points with the public and deterring Trump from potentially running for the presidency in 2024. For instance, why is the committee ignoring that President Trump approved the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to the U.S. Capitol in the days leading up to January 6? Why is the committee not questioning Pelosi and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser about why they did not increase security at the Capitol in the days before January 6 after they were briefed that viable security threats existed? Why is the committee overlooking the single death that occurred that day during the so-called insurrection? On January 6, a Capitol Hill police officer killed Ashli Babbitt at point-blank range, even though she posed no immediate threat and was unarmed at the time of her death. Why is the committee conveniently disregarding evidence showing that undercover FBI agents likely played a role in the attack? Indeed, why is the committee not interviewing Ray Epps, who was on the FBIs Most Wanted List immediately after the attack, because he is on video calling for protesters to enter the Capitol the night before and the day of January 6? Interestingly, in one video that shows Epps encouraging protesters to enter the Capitol, protesters begin shouting no and call Epps a Fed. Why has Epps not been arrested or interviewed about his participation in the events before, during and after the alleged coup? Why does the committee seem disinterested in the fact that Capitol Hill police officers allowed hundreds of so-called insurrectionists to enter the Capitol during the chaos that ensued after the initial breach? Why is the committee not digging into the reprehensible treatment of those who entered the Capitol complex with no intent to cause harm or damage? More than 16 months after the fact, scores of Americans who entered the Capitol grounds while committing no major crime other than possibly trespassing remain locked in a Washington jail. Some have yet to be formally charged with a crime. Why has the committee not made public the thousands of hours of video at the Capitol complex that would add much-needed context to the events of that day? And why is the committee not investigating the pipe bombs found at the Republican National Committee headquarters and the Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before January 6? Perhaps the committee is ignoring all of these questions because it is not interested in finding the full, unvarnished truth about what happened on January 6. Perhaps the committee is solely interested in using the pomp and pageantry of its multiple hearings to distract the American public from the awful economy and all the other problems Americans believe are far worthier of congressional hearings and actions. And perhaps the committee is well-aware that the midterm elections are expected to result in an overwhelming red wave, so they are doing everything they can to tar and feather their political opponents before they lose control of Congress. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is a crass political endeavor that is unlikely to resonate with the majority of the American people, who know that January 6 was a stain on the country that could have been avoided in the first place but is now being used for political gamesmanship on behalf of congressional Democrats. Agents with the Scott County Special Operations Unit arrested a Park View man Tuesday for allegedly selling heroin, police said. Jathel Williams Garrett Jr., 32, is charged with one count of possession with the intent to deliver more than 5 grams of heroin. The charge is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 25 years. Garrett also is charged with two counts of violating Iowas drug tax stamp law, each a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of five years. He also is charged with possession with the intent to deliver a schedule IV substance, Clonazepam, a prescription sedative, and possession of marijuana-third offense. Each of those charges is an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a prison sentence of two years. According to the arrest affidavits filed by Scott County Sheriffs Deputy Edward Mauro, on Tuesday agents with the Special Operations Unit conducted a search of Garretts home in the 100 block of South Parkview Drive. During the search, agents seized 27.7 grams of heroin. Police have said the normal dose of heroin is one-tenth of a gram, so there were 277 doses of heroin seized. Officers also seized 11 tablets of Clonazepam, 27.5 grams of marijuana, two digital scales, two bottles of cutting agents and $638 in cash. During his arrest, Garrett refused to obey commands and continued walking away from officers, who then had to take him to the ground. One officer suffered an injury to his leg. For failing to comply with officers commands, Garrett is charged with one count of interference with officials acts causing bodily injury. The charge is a serious misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to one year. Garrett was being held Tuesday night without bond in the Scott County Jail. He is expected to make a first appearance on the charges Wednesday morning in Scott County District Court. Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane said the heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl taken off the streets in the Quad-Cities made it's way up from Mexico. "The heroin is coming up from Mexico, the meth is coming from Mexico and the fentanyl is coming from Mexico," Lane said. While the Mexican cartels make their own heroin and meth, he said, the precursors for the fentanyl are made in China and then shipped to Mexico for final processing. Any heroin seized by police is tested for fentanyl because it is so common to find it in other drugs, Lane said. "You have to worry about anything being lace with fentanyl," he said. "It's winding up in meth, heroin, even marijuana." Fentanyl is not just a risk to the user, Lane added. Fentanyl exposure is a huge risk to law enforcement and other first responders. Microscopic amounts can be deadly. A woman pauses to visit a memorial in Port Clinton Square in Highland Park on July 11, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Steve Straus, 88, was an exceptional joke-teller, an avid reader and a culture vulture who enjoyed the artistic fruits of the Art Institute and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, family members said Tuesday. Energetic beyond his years, Straus commuted on Metra five days a week to his office downtown, where he worked as a stockbroker. Straus, said his son Peter Straus, was very curious about the world. Advertisement A longtime Highland Park resident who was born and raised on the Chicagos South Side, his son Jonathan Straus described him as a product of Chicago. [ These are the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park ] He loved his city, said another son, Jonathan Straus, who lives in Chicago. Advertisement Steve Straus didnt have a preference between the White Sox and the Cubs but he would probably tell you whoever you wanted to hear, Jonathan Straus said. He was like that. My dad was just very much a Highland Parker, said Peter Straus. He lived here, and unfortunately he died here. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > Steve Straus is survived his wife, Linda, to whom he had been married for almost 60 years, and a brother, Lawrence, of Glenview. In addition to his two sons, he had four grandchildren, upon whom he doted. He was kind and sweet and very sharp, said daughter-in-law Elizabeth Versten. Peter Straus said his father went to Highland Parks Fourth of July parade every year. I called him yesterday just to wish him a Happy Fourth of July and he didnt respond, which I didnt make much of. And then news stories started coming out about a shooting in Highland Park, said Straus, who lives in San Francisco. Im a psychologist, and so my feeling is that there are many people with undiagnosed and untreated mental illnesses that are, occasionally, sometimes, gun owners, and that the combination is as lethal as I learned yesterday, Straus said. I do feel like civilians owning military weapons is ridiculous, he said. Advertisement Tribunes Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas contributed. Fireworks injuries sent several people to Quad-City area emergency rooms, and local police officers responded to hundreds of fireworks complaints over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Genesis Health System reported "a handful" of people who needed treatment and UnityPoint Health-Trinity reported three non-life-threatening emergency room visits as a result of fireworks. "Our night shift at Genesis Medical Center Davenport reported Tuesday morning that they only treated a handful of minor burns related to fireworks over the July Fourth holiday weekend," Jake Zisette, Genesis Critical Care director, said. Although hundreds of residential fireworks complaints were received from July 1 through July 4, most police departments reported fewer complaints this year compared with last year. The exception was Davenport the city fielded 304 fireworks-related calls over the long weekend, and issued four citations. That's more citations than last year during the same time period (none), but about the same number of fireworks calls of 303 last year. Bettendorf received 36 fireworks-related calls between July 1 and 4, Bettendorf Police Chief Keith Kimball said fewer than the 73 complaints last year. At least three fires in the Iowa Quad-Cities are being investigated as possibly being fireworks related. In Davenport, Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said a fire that destroyed a garage in the early hours of July 4, was caused by "improper disposal of spent fireworks." In Bettendorf, Kimball said two Bettendorf fires one at a house and one at a pick-up truck may have been fireworks related, but remain under investigation and causes are undetermined so far. Rock Island Police Chief Richard Landi said the city received 67 fireworks complaints over the long weekend. "This year was not as bad as last year," Landi said. "We tried to encourage people not to be using fireworks as much. Obviously you can't stop it, but it's not as bad as last year when everyone was (still) cooped up. Several warnings were given, but no tickets were issued." Landi said no accidents or injuries were reported in Rock Island, and negative feedback on social media also was minimal. The Moline Police Department reported 123 fireworks complaints from July 1 through July 4. Deputy Chief Todd Noe said it was a decrease of more than 13% compared with last year, when the city received 142 calls. "Also, 67 of those calls (this year) were on July 4, accounting for 54% of the complaints," Noe said. "No citations were issued during that period." Moline has an ordinance banning the use of fireworks with the exception of licensed pyrotechnic professionals. Only small, ground fireworks like snakes, sparklers, party poppers and smoke bombs are allowed. East Moline Police Chief Jeff Ramsey said the city received 68 firework complaints from July 1 through July 4, 18 fewer calls than last year, when the department responded to 86 complaints. Ramsey said no citations were issued, and there were no fires or injuries reported. GARY, Indiana Three young people are dead and seven others were sent to the hospital in a shooting that took place early Tuesday during what appears to have been a holiday block party, officials said. The deceased were identified by the Lake County coroner's office as Laurence Mangum, 25, of Merrillville, Indiana; Ashanti Brown, 20, of Olympia Fields, Illinois; and Marquise Hall, 26, of Lafayette, Indiana. Each suffered multiple gunshot wounds and their deaths have been ruled a homicide by the coroner's office. Gary police said they were called out at 12:46 a.m. Tuesday to the Missouri Street location for a report of several people with gunshot wounds. Officers said they arrived to discover three people down and unresponsive. Seven others were discovered with gunshot wounds. "The gunshot victims were transported to area hospitals by ambulance as well as personal cars," said Gary police Lt. Dawn Westerfield. "Due to the enormity of the scene mutual aid was requested from surrounding police agencies." Police said early information indicates a holiday block party may have been underway when the shooting erupted. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the Metro Homicide Unit at 219-755-3855 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-CRIME-GP. The shooting came just hours after a rooftop shooter in Highland Park, Illinois, sprayed an Independence Day parade crowd with gunfire Monday, killing at least six and wounding at least 30 others. After an hours-long manhunt, police there took a person of interest into custody in that shooting. Highland Park is an affluent community of about 30,000 on Chicagos north shore. The Associated Press contributed to this report. BOX ELDER | The city of Box Elder announced plans to build a Black Hills Childrens Museum, authorizing Mayor Larry Larson to sign a conceptual design contract at Tuesdays council meeting. The contract, with Iowa-based Mark Catton and Co., begins a conceptual design phase that should take six to eight weeks, marking the first concrete step towards a project thats been brewing within city hall for months. The citys vision for the museum is a four-story, 40,000-square-foot interactive museum that will showcase South Dakota and the outdoors, and create a destination for the Black Hills area. The museums focus will be tied to both the city of Box Elder and the larger Black Hills area, featuring interactive exhibits incorporating Mount Rushmore, climbing structures, mining, rock climbing, paleontology, and a fishing pond, among others. Each floor will have a different theme, including a paleontology floor, a floor aimed at preschoolers and possibly a theater of some kind. The museum will be very outdoor-centric, said Brent Hendrickson, marketing director for the city of Box Elder. The museum would create the only destination of its kind within five and a half hours the closest being Brookings. This is really unique, said Matt Connor, public information officer for the city of Box Elder. This is going to create a lot more specific enthusiasm for children and education. I think its really going to be a cornerstone development. The goal of the museum, Hendrickson said, is to foster play and education. Every exhibit, the kids think they're playing, but as they're playing, they're learning, he said. From toddlers to 14-year-olds, theyll be constantly interacting with an exhibit. We don't want exhibits just sitting there to look pretty," Hendrickson said. "We want it to be interactive. We want you to be able to touch it, to do something with it thats our goal. The Black Hills spotlight is also exciting, Connor said, a treasure trove of activity. From hiking, hunting and fishing to geology, history of mining and paleontology, this is a great story here of the natural wonders of the Black Hills. The museum will not only serve as a fun and educational destination for kids, but also a promotion of the area, Connor said, and what makes the Black Hills region so great. Larson first proposed the idea to city staff at a department head meeting in April, with complete support, Hendrickson said, a key component in turning the idea into a reality. Tuesdays council meeting showed unanimous support from the city council, as the conceptual design phase moves forward and the city looks toward community support. The hope is to have the museum up and running in two years, Hendrickson said. He called the timeline aggressive, noting it could change depending on sponsorships, and how fast they can get the building up. The conceptual design is the first major step, now underway with Tuesdays contract approval. Once the conceptual design is complete, sponsorship and grant opportunities can be pursued. The location of the museum is still under consideration as the city visits with developers, with an announcement to come following the conceptual design phase. The goal is to fund the museum entirely through sponsorships and grants. The city is looking to work with corporations, businesses and private donors within the community. Those interested in getting involved can contact Hendrickson at 605-786-4459 or brent.hendrickson@boxelder.us. A new chef at OneHeart: A Place for Hope & Healing is ensuring that guests are well-fed as they work to rebuild their lives. Chef Sarah Luke joined the staff of OneHeart in Rapid City on May 31. A 2008 graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Las Vegas, Luke has spent her career at some of the Black Hills best restaurants and hotels. She was the executive chef at The Fireside and most recently, she spent six years as the executive chef at The Lodge in Deadwood. Transitioning to OneHeart has been a satisfying change, Luke said. She plans menus and cooks three meals a day, five days a week, for 20 to 30 people at each meal. Its super different. I needed a change in my life. Restaurants and hotels really do take all your time. I have two little boys and a family and I needed to make a change for our family, Luke said. I came across OneHeart and its fulfilling because youre cooking for a cause. Meal planning is a continuous, creative challenge Luke welcomes. She plans OneHearts menus based on food purchased in bulk through Feeding South Dakota and from food wholesaler Cash-Wa Distributing, with funding support from the Larson Family Foundation. Panera Bread donates bread and pastries every week. This is fun for me because sometimes you dont know what food youre going to get, Luke said. Ive been going day by day or a few days out (with menu planning) and I utilize leftovers if I can. Its a daily thing that keeps my brain motivated. In just the few weeks since she started, Luke said mealtimes are getting busier. Word about the good food is spreading among the 81 guests currently at OneHeart. I make everything homemade as much as possible, she said. Its been a little bit of home cooking because its (served) buffet style. Ive made meatloaf. The other day I made them French onion pork loin. Ive made herb-roasted pork loin and a lot of good chicken dishes. It varies. Im trying to make it healthy. I give them options. I make them feel like theyre not getting skimped out on food. I like to make it like nice cafeteria-style dining. Theres some healthy food, some not. You have to have a little sugar in your life, Luke chuckled. Luke also prepares food for guests for the weekends and holidays, although she doesnt cook on those days. She loads the freezer with frozen burritos and meals, prepares sandwiches and sets out canned goods and bread and oatmeal. I set up a pantry so they have ways to (eat). They can go that route or cook for themselves on the weekend. They all like my weekend stuff, Luke said. As a result of having access to chef-prepared meals, in June 2022 OneHeart more than doubled the number of meals it provided in June 2021, said Charity Doyle, executive director. Providing a food service for guests has always been part of OneHearts plan but finding the right person to step into the role was a challenge, especially during a pandemic, Doyle said. Until Luke joined the staff, OneHeart had stocked an emergency pantry for guests, and some rooms at OneHeart allow guests to do their own cooking. Originally when we redesigned and renovated the campus, we built a commercial kitchen. We always envisioned to be able to feed guests three meals a day, Doyle said. Sarah has wrapped her arms around it and has done an incredible job. Weve always wanted to be able to feed people so we know theyre eating healthy and they dont have to worry about the mental energy of food and shopping and all of that, Doyle said. Beyond nourishment, having access to good food offers OneHeart guests other benefits. The food is part of OneHearts overall plan to help guests heal, gain life and job skills and get their feet beneath them, Doyle said. We have a health club and now we have a chef. Its really helping people nourish every aspect of their lives. Its important to graduate healthy, happy, self-sustainable, well-rounded people into our work force, Doyle said. For OneHeart, it really is about mitigating as many barriers as we can for people in poverty. (The food) makes them feel valued and that perpetuates the constant vibe of motivation and hope and follow-through. Sarahs been a wonderful asset, she said. Im cooking for people who are super happy about it. They need to be cooked for and it saves them a lot of money, and they appreciate it. Theyre very nice, Luke said. Ive had a lot of volunteers help me wash dishes and clean up, and its been nice. The South Dakota Department of Transportation will present information on July 12 about a proposed shoulder widening and intersection modification for U.S. Highway 385. The project is about four miles north of the state Highway 44 junction to north of Nemo Road. The overall limits begin just south of the Sugar Shack property and north 13 miles, about two-thirds of a mile beyond the Tomahawk Country Club entrance. It could include shoulder widening to eight feet, intersection improvements including turn lanes, spot grading and structure work. Public input is requested. The tentative project schedule includes the final design being completed in 2023, right-of-way acquisition between 2023 and 2024, and construction beginning in 2026 and lasting through 2027. The presentation will begin around 5:30 p.m. at the Rimrock Community Center, Johnson Siding 12270 W. SD Hwy 44 in Rapid City. State Department of Transportation staff will be available to answer questions and will have displays for the public to look at. Members of the public will also be able to present written comments. Written comment will be accepted through July 29. The department will also have information regarding acquisition of right-of-way and relocation assistance. The project is being developed in compliance with state and federal environmental regulations. Impacts to wetlands, historic properties and threatened and endangered species will be addressed during the meeting. Questions and verbal comments can be given by calling Dustin Hamilton with HDR engineering at 605-791-6103. Council members Lance Lehmann and Bill Evans will remain as Rapid City Council president and vice president after the annual election Tuesday. Lehmann was the sole nominee and was voted in for a second term 8-2 with Council members Laura Armstrong and Ritchie Nordstrom voting against. Evans received six votes to Nordstroms four for vice president. The term for each position is one year. Votes for the two council roles were the first for newly sworn in Council members Jesse Ham of Ward 1 and Pat Roseland of Ward 5. Ham was the sole candidate for Ron Weifenbachs seat while Roseland won Darla Drews seat in the June 7 election against J.J. Carrell. Both Drew and Weifenbach were recognized for their service on the council. Drew served on the council for eight consecutive years after first being elected in 2014. She said shes proud of the votes she was able to be part of, including the Summit Arena and Sixth Street crossing. She said times were hard and there were tough meetings, but the council worked through it and the city is on its way to new heights as it continues to grow. Its been an honor to serve Ward 5 with my ward partner Laura Armstrong, and it has been a pleasure to serve Rapid City and Ward 5 for the past eight years, Drew said. Weifenbach said hes been on and off the council for a little over 10 years. He said he found along the way he established a good rapport and roots in the community with a lot of good people. He said theres been a lot of ups and downs on the council, and while there will be struggles, Ham and Roseland are solid candidates to fill the seats. The city will be facing a lot of challenges, a lot of opportunity with all the people moving here, Weifenbach said. At the beginning of the meeting, Council member Pat Jones took a point of privilege to recognize Finance Director Pauline Sumption, who was named the 2022 South Dakota Finance Officer of the Year through the South Dakota Governmental Finance Officers Association. During the first-half of the meeting, the council, including Drew and Weifenbach, approved renaming a portion of Saint Cloud Street to Saint Paul Street 9-1. Evans voted against it. In the second half, with Roseland and Ham, the council approved directing city staff to accept the donation of land from Yasmeen Dream. Community Development Director Vicki Fisher said the item would come across the councils desk again for final action. The 1.3 acres are intended for use as a green space for residents in the Johnson Ranch Subdivision in east Rapid City. Moscow court to deliver sentence against MP indicted for corruption MOSCOW, July 6 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court has scheduled the sentencing of lawmaker Vadim Belousov, who stands charged with receiving over 3 billion rubles (over $50 million at the current exchange rate) in bribes, for July 20, the courts press service has told RAPSI. In June, prosecutors asked a judge to sentence the defendant to 14 years in jail, fine him 500 million rubles and ban from public office for 15 years. Investigators claim that from May 2010 to January 2014, Belousov and two alleged accomplices were paid by Autobahn Holding for protection of business in Moscow and the city of Chelyabinsk. Mikhail Yurevich, former Chelyabinsk region governor, is one of the alleged accomplices. He was put on international wanted list after he left his post in January 2014 and managed to flee justice. Belousov was detained in March 2019 when he showed up for questioning. He had been deprived earlier of immunity as a lawmaker of the State Duma, parliament's lower house. Margarita Butakova, a former chief accountant of the First Bread-baking Complex, was also detained. Prosecutors sought 4 years in prison for her and a 500 million rubles fine. Draft of education agreement between Russia and LPR approved MOSCOW, July 6 (RAPSI) Russias Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft agreement on the mutual recognition of education between the Russian Federation and the Lugansk Peoples Republic. According to the statement published on the governments official website, the document has been already agreed by Russias Foreign Ministry. The issue was also preliminary negotiated with the LPR authorities. Russia and the Lugansk Peoples Republic will develop cooperation in education and science. The prepared treaty will lower administrative barriers in the recognition of education, science, qualifications and scholastic degrees, the statement reads. A similar draft agreement with the Donetsk Peoples Republic was approved in late May. Montanas high school state champion bull rider will go head-to-head with Darbys most famous bull for a high-stakes challenge on Saturday, with proceeds to benefit the Colors of Cancer Campaign and bring more awareness to testicular cancer. Darby resident Devyn Hundley, 15, is Montanas high school state champion bull rider. The Darby High School sophomore is young but hangs on to complete the rides. Ive been riding since I started riding sheep when I was 4, Hundley said. Whats great about bull riding is the adrenaline rush and all the people. Darby Rodeo Association President Cal Ruark is organizing the Twisted Nut Festival as a charity fundraising rodeo. Ive known Devyn since he was a little-bitty guy, Ruark said. No matter what the other kids were wearing, he always wore Wranglers, his cowboy boots and wanted to be a cowboy. Me being a lot older than him I thought, I wonder if that will ever happen, but I watched him develop. Ruark said Hundley matured as a bull rider this year. I saw a change in his maturity, willpower and thinking, Ruark said. He is to the point where he is tough to buck off. Hes also into it mentally. In the bull riding world, 75% of it is mental. Its not all physical, youve got to have your mind in it or you wont ride him. Hundleys determination will meet the bucking king of bulls in the Darby arena on the final ride Saturday night. The last ride will be the final ride for Darbacious. Several years ago, the Darby Rodeo Association bought the 1,600-pound bull out of Northern Idaho. Ruark said he looked a long time to find the bull with all the right criteria. I wanted him to be gentle and not mean, so I could take him to town, but he had to buck, Ruark said. I found the right bull, its like a dream come true. He loves little kids. Hes been good for what we do the money weve raised with him, for Tough Enough to Wear Pink, and now well make a big hit against testicular cancer. Bodacious was one of the most famous bucking bulls, so Ruark named his bull Darbacious after the famous bull and the town of Darby. The gates open both nights at 5 p.m. and riding starts at 7 p.m. The Twisted Nut is rough stock, saddle broncs, bareback, bull riding and barrel racing really two complete rodeos with payouts each night. Friday night Ill introduce Darbacious out of shoot number one and Devyn out of shoot number four, Ruark said. Well put them in the arena to look each other over and for the crowd to size them up. Darbacious is like a dog, gentle, likes kids, likes his ears rubbed but put him in the arena, but put the bull rope on him and he becomes all bull and hard to ride. On Saturday night, Ruark is going to raise a pool of money. If Hundley successfully rides Darbacious, he splits the pot with the cause. If he gets bucked off, all the money goes to the Colors of Cancer Fund Team Orchid for testicular cancer. The pool of money will start with an auction for a Double H Custom hat, donated by Jimmy The Hat Man. Lets say it brings in $2,500, Ruark said. Then well do a paddle call and anyone in the audience that wants to match that price can raise their card. Then well go to $2,000 and those who want to donate $2,000 will raise their card. Its a win-win deal. Youre not going to win any money; youre going to be part of what we are doing here in the valley to bring more cancer services to our community. Ruark said the goal is to raise as much money as possible. Bitterroot Health has agreed to match dollar-for-dollar what we raise, he said. If we raise $20,000 it will become $40,000. Who knows what the pot might be that night? Were going to raise as much money as possible, have fun doing it and utilize the rodeo world to make it happen. Its that simple. Ruark said the DRA and all the volunteers for the Twisted Nut Rodeo are thrilled to be working for a great cause. The relationship weve built up with Bitterroot Health is over and above our partnership with the hospital is solid, Ruark said. Theyre in it for the long haul, especially with a new clinic to be built in Darby across the street from the rodeo grounds. Were melding two worlds for a common cause. Its amazing that we can interject rodeo in so many ways to affect so many lives. Bitterroot Health Foundation Director of Philanthropy Stacie Duce said the Darby Rodeo Association has become one of the most enthusiastic and prolific fundraising groups for Bitterroot Health, and the foundation is grateful. She said Bitterroot Health Foundation and DRA have grown in tandem. As their events have become even more professional and profitable, our foundation has also taken on challenging fundraising initiatives to meet the needs of our community and our health organization, Duce said. Bitterroot Health is providing more specialty services in more locations and Darby Rodeo is in lockstep in increasing their donations each year to support us. Duce praised the DRA for choosing to initiate Team Orchid for the Colors of Cancer campaign to increase awareness and honor those who have battled testicular cancer. It's been a great addition to our color wheel of cancer awareness and those particular cancer survivors have been very grateful for the recognition and validation, Duce said. Now that we're raising funds for a new cancer and infusion center in Hamilton at Daly Hospital, you better believe that a portion of that clinic has been built with dollars donated from our rodeo community and we look forward to recognizing that. Duce said that following the rodeo on Friday there is an after-party at the dance hall pavilion near the arena. We've invited a super-talented family band from Lewiston called Sightliners to perform, Duce said. It will be rowdy and raucous and very entertaining. The foundation will have a booth at the event where we're launching a new fundraising campaign for Bitterroot Health. The foundation will be selling engraved bricks to be placed at the new clinics in Stevensville and Darby as well as near the cancer center in Hamilton. It's a wonderful way to honor heroes in our lives, Duce said. We'll also have the information on our website and on social media soon after, but Friday night will be the first time you can order bricks. The Hundley versus Darbacious challenge will be the final ride of Saturday night and the last one for Darbacious. Currently, Darbacious lives west of Victor in the shaded pasture of Art, Robyn and Cassie Turner. Thats going to be his forever home, Ruark said. Thats quite a gesture on their part. Turner said having Darbacious at her home is wonderful. He really likes peppermint cookies, Turner said. Hes a good boy, I couldnt have asked for a better bull to come to our house. Hes like a best friend but hes bigger than me. The DRA Royalty Pageant will be held July 8 and 9, with the coronation on Saturday. As for rodeos this year, the Darby Rodeo Association created a series for rough stock. The first one is in Darby, then Hamiltons Broncs, Bulls and Barrels, then Deerlodge, then Hamilton during the fair, and the finals will be in Darby on Sept. 17. Weve combined all these together, it helps us get cowboys, Ruark said. Its a series so theyve got to come to at least three of them to qualify for the finals. RAMSAY Jean Seymour, 94, moved to Ramsay in 1954. Her late husband, Joe, worked as a mining engineer. Jean and Joe raised seven children. Her tidy home occupies a quiet lot on Laird Street in Ramsay. Seymour recently recalled her first impressions of the small village that became her community. The whole street was loaded with trees, she said. It was in the fall and there were beautiful colors. On a recent afternoon, a breeze blew steadily through Seymours sun-dappled back yard, rippling tree leaves and small American flags stuck into planters for the Fourth of July. Seymour and neighbors worry that breezes in the years ahead will carry noxious fumes from idling 18-wheelers, offensive odors from sewage lagoons and clamor from a sprawling truck stop right next door. They worry too that home values in Ramsay will plummet, that crime will spike and children will be at risk for abduction or fatal encounters with traffic at a level to which theyre unaccustomed. In short, they fear that a new commercial truck stop, built off Interstate 90 just a few miles west of two existing truck stops at Rocker, will forever degrade the quality of life for their hamlet of about 40 houses. Historians say DuPont built the company town of Ramsay during World War I, hoping to lure good workers by building a pleasant town with wide, tree-lined streets. The company constructed attractive bungalows for married workers, a large boarding house for singles and three spacious residences for company managers who oversaw a dynamite manufacturing plant. Now, longtime residents of Ramsay report that the small community about 7 miles west of Butte retains its quiet, simple and leafy charm more than 100 years after DuPont shut down its dynamite plant. Its a place where neighbors know neighbors. But they fear the lifestyle they have long cherished is threatened by a giant truck stop corporation based in Oklahoma and by the perceived indifference of local and state officials to their concerns. Feels like betrayal It feels like were being betrayed by the state, the city, the county, said Cindy Seymour Kmetz, who grew up in Ramsay and is a daughter of Jean and Joe Seymour. She cited as one example decisions by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to issue permits for underground fuel storage tanks as well as sewage lagoons and a spray irrigation system to process and disperse the wastewater from the truck stop. The DEQ observed in a draft environmental assessment that any odors associated with the lagoons would not be out of character with the area, as they would be adjacent to the feedlot of the Montana Livestock Auction. Seymour Kmetz shook her head. She noted that odors from human fecal wastes are more offensive and potentially more hazardous than manure. Karen Kraft, a retired schoolteacher, has lived in Ramsay for nearly 54 years. She said children in Ramsay still enjoy a life of comparable innocence, allowing them to pedal bikes around the community and stop at the house of a friend after school without either the children or their parents worrying about abduction or the children being hit by a motorist or trucker. A Loves Travel Stop & Country Stores operation bordering Palmer Street in Ramsay is destined to change all that, she said. I feel heartsick, Kraft said. Kraft said she worries sex trafficking will be an inevitable activity at the truck stop. The National Human Trafficking Hotline reports that truck stops are an ideal venue for traffickers seeking to profit from exploiting victims without interference or undue attention. Kraft said Ramsays children will be at risk from the increased traffic off of I-90 and the potential for encountering drunk drivers from the Loves casino. Down the tubes Michelle OBill lives in a house on Palmer Street. She said she dreads the prospect of having a truck stop and its light pollution, noise pollution idling 18-wheelers very close to her house. As envisioned, the Loves truck stop adjacent to Ramsay would feature parking for at least 110 semis. Its going to bring crime, transients, prostitution and traffic, OBill said. Property values are just going to go down the tubes. The campaign by residents of Ramsay to shut down plans for the Loves truck stop began in January 2017. To date, Loves has met state and local regulatory requirements, according to agencies, and gained a liquor license. But residents of Ramsay and their attorney contend the sprawling travel plaza violates zoning regulations meant to buffer Ramsay from such development and they say DEQ gave little credence to their concerns about air and water quality and Loves choice of low-cost wastewater lagoons. The battle against the truck stop entered a new phase this spring. On April 29, Butte-Silver Bow County officials issued building permits and an excavation permit. Contractors working for Loves, a family-owned business headquartered in Oklahoma City, started excavation work in May. In early June, District Court Judge Robert Whelan ordered that the work cease, pending the outcome of a zoning appeal by Ramsay residents. The judges decision was celebrated by truck stop opponents, who said it was their first victory after five years of fighting. A fleeting win But the victory was short-lived. Whelan later lifted the June 2 stay on an excavation permit but retained suspensions on four building permits until the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board of Adjustment rules on the appeal by Ramsay residents. Dylan Pipinich, planning director for Butte-Silver Bow, said June 27 the Zoning Board will most likely address the appeal during its regular meeting on July 21. Meanwhile, as of Monday, excavation work had not resumed at the site. Pipinich said Thursday it wasnt clear why the contractor working for Loves hasnt gotten back to work. He said Monday that Loves has not yet posted the bond required in Whelans order that would allow excavation to continue. Loves describes itself as the nations leading travel stop network with more than 590 locations in 41 states. Tom and Judy Love, founders of the company, are listed on Forbes magazines 2022 list of billionaires. The couple ranked high on the magazines list of self-made billionaires but low on its measure of philanthropy. Repeated attempts over four days to reach the companys media relations department or Tom Love by phone and email were unsuccessful. Bullies Ramsay resident Jim Ayres has been in the thick of the fight for years. For Ayres, theres no love lost for Loves. Theyve just been bullies from the very beginning, Ayres said. Just because Loves started the excavation doesnt mean this is going to happen, he said. I think the reason they arent working is because they know we have a good case. Ramsay residents say the community has had zoning regulations on the books for decades that do not authorize such a truck stop. Because of that reality, they say, Loves should be required to seek a special use permit or some kind of variance to proceed. Kim Wilson, an attorney representing the residents, said the zoning itself is intended and designed to preserve the small town and rural character of the area. County officials have said that under the current zoning map, most of the complex including a convenience store, casino, fuel pumps, a tire shop and sewage lagoons is on unzoned land. Underground storage tanks and semi-truck parking spaces that are in Ramsay zones are permitted in those zones, officials say. Truckers need parking Recent stories about the truck stop controversy appearing in The Montana Standard provoked online comments from a couple of readers that Ramsays opposition to the truck stop was tantamount to opposition to truckers or trucking. Kramer disagreed. She said several men in Ramsay have worked as truck drivers or in the trucking industry. She said residents are trying to preserve their quality of life with two other truck stops already close by and fully understand the vital role trucks play in the economy. Butte-based Town Pump Inc. owns both the Flying J and Pilot truck stops at Rocker. Bill McGladdery, a spokesman for Town Pump, said the company has not taken a stand about the proposed Loves travel plaza. We welcome competition, he said. In all of our communities we think it helps make us better operators. Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman is vice president of public affairs for the National Association of Truck Stop Owners, an organization in Northern Virginia that lobbies for truck stops and travel plazas. She was asked about truck stops locating close to competitors. Like all businesses, truck stops and travel centers respond to customer demand, Wlazlowski Neuman said. They are highly adept at determining where those services are most needed based on freight volumes as well as freight and traffic patterns. Wlazlowski Neuman said truck drivers need parking to comply with federally-mandated rest periods and that a priority for the U.S. Department of Transportation is increasing truck parking capacity. She was asked also whether truck stop companies consider the impacts on neighboring residential neighborhoods before selecting a site. Wlazlowski Neuman said they do. Her response focused on the potential economic benefits of travel centers and truck stops, noting they provide employment and tax revenue. Forbes reported that revenues for Loves Travel Stop & Country Stores for the fiscal year ended December 2020 was $20 billion. Meanwhile, the Ramsay Citizens Council has been organizing yard sales as one funding source for paying its lawyer. Reporter Mike Smith contributed to this story. Highland Park resident Kernel Parikh, left, leaves flowers near the Central Avenue crime scene on July 5, 2022, the day after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Members of the Highland Park community came together to grieve Tuesday after seven people were killed and more than two dozen others injured in a mass shooting during the towns Independence Day parade. In the first of several vigils, about 60 people gathered in a gym at Trinity Grace Church in Highland Park. Several pastors from nearby Christ Church attended, said Jill Carter, executive director of creative arts and communications for Christ Church. Carter said they werent able to host a vigil in their church because it was still roped off by police as part of the shooting scene. Advertisement The suspect in the shooting, Robert Bobby E. Crimo III, 21, attended Christ Church off and on for the past several years, Carter said. [ These are the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park ] Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. He was apprehended late Monday afternoon following an hourslong search involving more than 100 law enforcement agencies. Advertisement It has just shattered our communities and shaken all of us, Carter said. Our Highland Park campus is located just blocks from where the tragedy occurred, and many of our members live in Highland Park and were impacted. Flowers are left at the Central Avenue crime scene on July 5, 2022, the day after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) The churchs Highland Park congregation has about 100 members, she said. Carter said the community will need lots of prayer, lots of conversation and lots of making our pastors available for our attendees and for others in the community that may need to process through such a horrific event that happened right in the shadow of our steeple. Andrew Gadsden, who leads worship services at Christ Church, spoke to those gathered Tuesday afternoon at Trinity Grace Church. Its hard to thank God that youre still here when so many people lost their lives, he said before singing into a microphone at the front of the room. Others joined him in singing, some standing up and raising their arms: Lord, I need you, oh, I need you. Every hour, I need you. My one defense, my righteousness. Oh God, how I need you. A man walked over to the side of the room to hug a woman who struggled to hold back tears. The shooting victims ranged from 8 to 85 years old. Among those who died were Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park; Irina McCarthy, 35, of Highland Park; Kevin McCarthy, 37, of Highland Park; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park; Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico. Officials have not yet released the name of the seventh victim. Gadsden said he decided to attend the vigil to show his support and was asked to sing. Advertisement [ What we know about the mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade ] Anytime we deal with a tragedy, though we may seem to be divided for whatever reasons, or so many reasons, its very important for us to be able to come together to unite for the cause, in this case, of healing, he said. Gadsden said its important for members of the community to be there for one another. Hannah Peschier, 22, right, hugs her mother Christine Peschier, 54, left, after a service at Highland Park Presbyterian Church on July 5, 2022, the day after seven people were killed and at least two dozen were wounded in a shooting during the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) People hold hands during a service at Highland Park Presbyterian Church on July 5, 2022, the day after seven people were killed and at least two dozen were wounded in a shooting during the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Its good to be able to come together to let that out, he said. To grieve through the process, but also for this environment to pray. To pray for everyone involved, to pray for the churches that they have the wisdom to be able to administer what the people need in the community. To pray for those that were involved, to pray for their hearts and their minds. Later Tuesday, more than a hundred people gathered at North Shore Congregation Israel synagogue in Glencoe as cantors hummed in varying pitches, harmonizing to the sounds of a guitar and bass. In between songs, speakers sermonized and prayed. Advertisement At one point,Senior Rabbi Wendy Geffen read the names of the six identified victims, ending with, and here at North Shore Congregation Israel, our own Jackie Sundheim. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > Jewish tradition teaches that each life is a world, Geffen said. Yesterday and today, seven whole worlds were destroyed. Sarah Weiss, who is converting to Judaism, her husband and her in-laws attended Tuesday nights vigil at the synagogue. She and her husband were at an airport in Colorado on their way back to Chicago after a holiday weekend trip in Boulder when she got a news notification on her phone about the mass shooting. [ Purchase of rifle allegedly used in Highland Park massacre highlights limits of Illinois gun laws ] Immediately my heart just sank, Weiss said. You know, weve all been collectively experiencing these mass shootings all over the country, and for it to land in your neighborhood was surreal and shocking still, and just devastating. They called family right away to make sure everyone was OK. Her in-laws were at the parade, farther down from where the shooting happened, she said. They saw people running and they ran into their home off Central Avenue, letting others into their home to ensure their safety, Weiss said. Advertisement She said she hopes government leaders will act to change gun regulations and gun policies to try to prevent mass shootings from continuing to happen. In the meantime, its important for the community to come together and for the church to hold space to reflect on the unfortunate events and collectively create more peace and love in hopes that something like this wont happen again in the future, Weiss said. NorthWestern Energy has deemed the move in early May of an osprey nest built on an energized power pole to a safe location on a nest platform in Gallatin Gateway a success. Two chicks hatched from the eggs were spotted being brooded and fed in late June. Each spring NorthWestern Energy line crews contend with ospreys trying to build nests on energized poles, conditions which present a fire hazard and electrocution risk to the birds. Bozeman NorthWestern Energy crews had knocked off nest sticks from a power pole several times over a few weeks near Gallatin Gateway. The osprey pair persisted and eventually one day a lineman found a nest containing two eggs. We received permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to try to relocate the nest with eggs instead of destroying it, NorthWestern Energy Biologist Marco Restani said. There was a risk that the adults would abandon the relocated nest and we didnt know if the eggs would hatch after they were moved. The chance of success was probably 50% at best, Restani told the crew members. It takes osprey eggs a little over a month to hatch and everyone involved has been waiting for the outcome, he said. This is the news we were hoping for. Moving day in early May was snowy and 27 degrees. NorthWestern Energy crews first erected a pole with a nest platform nearby after receiving permission from the landowner. Line crews then reached the nest on the energized pole with a bucket truck and the female osprey flew away, keeping an eye on their activity. The two eggs were carefully moved to the electric supervisors running vehicle to stay warm, while crews moved the nest from the energized pole onto the nest platform. Once the nest was arranged onto the platform, the eggs were retrieved and placed into the nest. In less than half an hour the female osprey was incubating her eggs on the new nest platform. The line crew worked quickly without hurry in an extremely safe and well-choreographed manner to get the nest and eggs relocated, wrote Montana State University Affiliate Research Professor Al Harmata in an email, who was on site to observe the move. Flat-out Amazing! In early June Holly Pippel sent Restani a photo of the male birds banded leg, clear enough to confirm that he had banded the bird as a nestling in July 2018 just north of Pray in Paradise Valley. Pippel, a wildlife photographer, also sent him the first photos of the chicks. The osprey pair has attracted a sizable fan base, said NorthWestern Energy Supervisor Electric Operations Heather Benn. Weve received a lot of phone calls, pictures and texts thanking us for giving them a safe, new home, Benn said. We are all happy to see this success, especially given the challenges. We are looking forward to continuing to watch these two new babies call our platform home. A new telling of Richmonds history is headed to Belle Isle this weekend as part of the Monument Avenue projectionists new public art project, Recontexualizing Richmond. The new project is an evolution of Reclaiming the Monument, Dustin Klein and Alex Criquis famous light-based projections on the Lee monument in the summer of 2020 in the wake of George Floyds death and widespread protests for social justice. The images included historic Black figures like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass and victims of police violence such as Breonna Taylor. They captured the attention of the nation, with the New York Times Style Magazine calling the Lee monument one of the Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II. Now, along with the help of a $670,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Monuments Project, Criqui, Klein and a growing team of local artists and organizations are teaming up to broaden the scope of that work. They aim to include a multiplicity of voices and incorporate more local historic sites like Belle Isle, Powhatan Hill and Shockoe Bottom in Recontexualizing Richmond. Its based on the idea of working with different historical institutions, activists and artists around the city to talk about aspects of our history that have been neglected by the dominant narratives of the Lost Cause and colonialism that have really been the main ways weve talked about our past in Richmond for a long time, Criqui said. Recontextualizing Richmonds latest installation is planned for Friday through Sunday on Belle Isle from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Under the moniker Reflections, the event will include live music, history presentations and various art installations. Local punk rock group Railgun is set to perform, as is cellist Beth Almore, who drew local acclaim with her performances beneath the Lee monument in the space known as Marcus David-Peters Circle in the summer of 2020. Other scheduled performances include RVA-based Classical Revolution, Butcher Brown and more. The event, which is free, will explore three converging histories on the island: Black life and labor on the riverfront; Indigenous history; and Belle Isles prisoner of war camp. Among the contributors are local muralist Austin Miles; video artist and Maggie Walker Governors School performing arts instructor Todd Raviotta; and Pamunkey artist Ethan Brown. The event is being held in partnership with the American Civil War Museum and Pamunkey Indian Museum & Cultural Center. *** Local painter Miguel Carter-Fisher grew up biracial in Richmond in the 90s, raised in a culture he said made him feel like he didnt belong in a city that his ancestors built. His painting, Vision of Mary Jane Richards, was projected onto the facade of the White House of the Confederacy for the projects first installation earlier this spring. Mary Jane Richards was a teacher and Union spy in the Confederate White House during the Civil War. Other images projected onto the building included pictures of William A. Jackson, who was enslaved by Jefferson Davis before escaping behind Union lines and becoming an abolitionist lecturer; Ellen Barnes McGinnis, a Richmond native and maid to Varina Davis, also enslaved by the Davis family; and James Jones, a free domestic worker inside the White House of the Confederacy who helped found the North Carolina Equal Rights League. Carter-Fisher jumped at the opportunity to contribute to Recontextualizing Richmond because he saw in the project a chance to invert Richmonds traditional employment of figurative art and representative imagery. You look around at these Confederate monuments, and theyre using craftsmanship and that traditional knowledge, making iconic images, Carter-Fisher said.Theres been this acknowledgment of the power of art and the power of representation of people thats used to oppress, but [theres] this dismissal of it when its used in protest of that oppression. Installations scheduled for later in the summer and fall at Powhatan Hill, the African Burial Ground and the 17th Street Market, in conjunction with Untold RVA and Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, are in the works. The grant, won in conjunction with The Valentine in December 2021, comes from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Monuments Project, a $250 million commitment to support public projects that more completely and accurately represent the multiplicity and complexity of American stories, according to the foundation. Reclaiming the Monument recently launched its Collaborative Art Initiative as part of Recontextualizing Richmond, a program providing selected applicants with $5,000 to create their own works of public art speaking to issues of social, historical, racial and environmental justice at various locations across Richmond. Criqui and Klein said one of the foundational thrusts of Recontextualizing Richmond was not only to widen the scope of their work to historic sites throughout Richmond, but to incorporate as many local voices and perspectives as possible. A big part of the success we had at the Circle was amplifying other people, listening to ideas, trying to project that onto a bigger scene, Klein said. So, I think working with Miguel, working with everybody from the museums, activists, really just trying to help them hone in their message and put it in a visual way where people can take it in and have it spread as far as we can get it to go. While Criqui and Kleins work has garnered widespread acclaim, they said such work at the intersection of art and activism in Richmond was prevalent long before they came along. We, sort of by happenstance, got really involved in these conversations and had a big spotlight put on us, Criqui said. So, were hoping we can shift that toward these histories and other activist groups and artists so we can have a broader conversation here in Richmond using this medium, which I think is a really beautiful, engaging and positive medium to spark conversation and contemplation. Richmond police on Wednesday said a tip from a hero citizen prevented a mass shooting at the Dogwood Dell Fourth of July celebration Monday. Two men were arrested, and two assault rifles, a handgun and several hundred rounds of ammunition were seized in a South Richmond residence, authorities said. The announcement came two days after a rooftop gunman opened fire during an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, killing seven in a massacre that wounded dozens of others. Police in Richmond did not release information about a possible motive in the Dogwood Dell case. Police Chief Gerald Smith during a press conference Wednesday said an officer in the 2nd Precinct received the anonymous tip from a concerned citizen, who overheard a conversation regarding a mass shooting. Officers and agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigated the information, which led them to a residence in the 3100 block of Columbia Street, Smith said. One of the occupants Friday allowed police to search the home, where several firearms were found out in the open, police said. Police later arrested Julio Alvarado-Dubon, 52, of Richmond, who faces a preliminary charge of being a non-U.S. citizen in possession of a firearm. He is being held at Richmond City Jail without bond. Police also monitored Alvarado-Dubons roommate very, very closely, Smith said, until obtaining probable cause for an arrest warrant. Rolman Balacarcel, 38, of Richmond, was arrested by Virginia State Police in Charlottesville on Tuesday. He faces the same preliminary charge as Alvarado-Dubon and is being held in Albemarle County Jail with no bond. Police spokesperson Tracy Walker said both men are from Guatemala. Initial documents filed in General District Court in Richmond say both Alvarado-Dubon and Balacarcel are not in the U.S. legally. The documents, which say Alvarado-Dubon has an expired visa, did not include any details about the alleged plot. Court documents note bond was set at $15,000 for Alvarado-Dubon on Wednesday, but it was unclear if he had been released. The documents say he has lived in the Richmond area for three years and works full time in the construction industry. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled in Richmond on Aug. 2. Alvarado-Dubons attorney, Jose Aponte, declined to comment Wednesday. The suspects may face more charges as law enforcements investigation continues. A Richmond police spokesperson said Homeland Security officials are leading the investigation. Smith said theyre unsure how the weapons were obtained, but the suspects did say their intent was to conduct a mass shooting on the Fourth of July. He credited the officer in the 2nd precinct and the person who provided information with preventing the shooting. There is no telling how many lives this hero citizen saved from one phone call, Smith said. It is the responsibility of law enforcement that if we hear something, that we do something, and that is the message I would like to get out there that see something, say something works. A constant state of vigilance The Dogwood Dell event, which featured music and fireworks, was held despite the threat. Isaiah Cabino, 23, of Richmond, was at the Dogwood Dell event Monday and said the crowds spanned all the way to the Fan. Cabino, who was with his partner, said he has gotten into the habit of looking for exits and places to hide when going out in public, a routine he said feels common for a generation thats grown up in an era of mass shootings. And in the wake of a Fourth of July parade shooting in a Chicago suburb, Cabino was already uneasy about Monday night. It was a constant state of vigilance, said Cabino, a 23-year-old Richmond resident. This reality is not OK. You shouldnt have to go to these events with an expectation of potentially being shot ... The sense of inaction by all levels, both the federal and state level, its something thats not sustainable, especially for kids and folks in my generation. While music played and people settled into their chairs around 9 p.m. Monday night, Kristin Dittmann sat with her spouse on the curb of Pump House Drive waiting for the fireworks to begin. It was dark and crowded. Chaos and terror would have ensued, said Dittmann, 63. We must now recognize that were not safe anywhere from gun violence. Guns are everywhere in this country, and what few regulations we have are falling away by the day. Got to stop Smith said police had a very robust plan for security for Dogwood Dell. He said they also were monitoring The Diamond, which had fireworks Friday night. In the Illinois shooting, hundreds were sent fleeing after gunfire erupted in Highland Park. Robert E. Crimo III was charged with seven counts of murder Tuesday. Two Philadelphia police officers were also wounded during a shooting Monday night at an Independence Day celebration. In Richmond, a pair of shootings occurred on Independence Day: one incident occurred at a business on Broad Street in which four men and two women were injured. Another person was shot and killed at the City Dogs Restaurant on Main Street the same night. Smith said the pattern of violence has to end. Its just got to stop, said Smith. You know, I may be the police chief, but Im also a citizen. Its ridiculous. At some point in time, this has got to stop. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney on Wednesday urged citizens, local, state and nationally elected officials to do more to curb gun violence. We need more, Stoney said during the press conference, More policies to keep people safe, so these firearms, these weapons of war dont get in the hands of the wrong people. When asked if he believes Richmond police have enough resources to continue to prevent tragedies from occurring, Stoney said he and the City Council have taken steps. The city approved a $17 million public safety plan that included pay hikes for police and firefighters and funding for the citys gun buyback program. Stoney said hes also had conversations with the Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin about how to help in this effort, but the justice system is just one piece of the solution. We cant just be tough on crime and say investing law enforcement is the only answer. We also have to be tough on the root causes of crime, said Stoney. Fearing that the Virginia General Assembly could soon adopt new abortion restrictions, the Richmond City Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to pass a resolution in support of abortion providers and legal protections under state law. The council vote comes two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down constitutional protections for abortion in a 5-4 ruling. Though abortion remains legal in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Republican lawmakers have expressed interest in legislation to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Abortions in the first and second trimester are currently allowed in Virginia. They are also permitted in the third trimester if doctors believe there is a health risk to the patient. Its critical that we work to make sure that those rights remain and there is no loss of any of them, said City Council President Cynthia Newbille. A copy of the resolution was not immediately available. According to a city news release, the resolution calls on the General Assembly to introduce and pass a constitutional amendment defining abortion as a right protected by the Virginia Constitution and repealing criminal statutes in the state code. The June 24 Supreme Court ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of the states. Several council members and city officials said they expect Virginia clinics that perform abortion procedures will be flooded with patients in the coming months as neighboring states are poised to adopt bans or have tight restrictions already in place. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney noted in a statement three of the 15 clinics in the state are in the city. I appreciate the support of City Council in this effort as nearly half of all patients seeking an abortion live below the federal poverty level and state they are unable to care for a child, Stoney said. It is imperative that we do everything we can to advocate and protect the right to an abortion in our city. While Youngkin has expressed interest in a 15-week ban, he recently told The Washington Post he might pursue a 20-week cutoff instead as a compromise in the states closely divided legislature. Hes also said he would support exceptions in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger. Democrats in the state legislature in recent years succeeded in rolling back restrictions and defeating anti-abortion legislation. Republicans could find more success in the next session, however, as Senate Democrats control the chamber by the narrowest possible margin and have one caucus member who said he is open to passing new restrictions following the Supreme Court ruling. Richmond Councilwoman Katherine Jordan said city officials will continue to advocate in support of abortion rights and access, but added that state lawmakers hold significant power. Youve got to be following what is happening at the General Assembly with your legislators and with those [legislatures] in your friends communities, she said. Please get active in that regard. We will do what we can here. A change in state law could still lead to legal challenges and discourse. Last week, commonwealths attorneys in Richmond and Henrico County said they would not prosecute anyone who receives an abortion or provides a woman with the procedure. They signed a pledge that promises not to use our offices resources to criminalize reproductive health decisions. State employees were due back in their offices Tuesday under a new telework policy that is still evolving under Gov. Glenn Youngkin. How many returned and how many were working remotely under new telework agreements remained a mystery as of Tuesday evening, as the new administration struggles to carry out a policy that initially gave state employees two weeks to request permission to work outside of their offices. The governor is excited to welcome our workforce back in person and is encouraged about their continued dedication to Virginians, spokesman Rob Damschen said Tuesday night. The administration and the respective agencies have reviewed and approved the vast majority of telework requests submitted. From a cursory review, we know that more state employees are able to work remotely than teleworked before the pandemic, Damschen said. While some applications which were submitted late or irregularly are still working through the process, most are completed and formalized with the employees. However, the state still doesnt know how many of its employees have been working remotely since the ongoing pandemic began 28 months ago, forcing many agencies to close their offices temporarily and allowing state workers flexibility in how they do their jobs. I think they underestimated the number of employees who have some sort of telework or remote work agreement in place, said Dylan Bishop, lobbyist for the Virginia Governmental Employees Association. The governors office had been largely silent about the policys implementation since acknowledging that it had missed its own June 3 deadline for processing employee telework requests. A second deadline passed June 30 without comment by the administration. In early May, Youngkin ordered workers back to their offices in a high-profile pitch to reopen state government after the COVID-19 pandemic initially shut down agencies or forced employees to work remotely for more than two years. The governor, an experienced corporate executive who had never served in government, imposed strict limits on the use of telework under new agreements that would require approval by his chief of staff, Jeff Goettman, for any employee to work remotely more than two days a week. (Agency heads could approve one day, and Cabinet secretaries could allow two.) However, one agency manager, who asked to remain anonymous, said this week that a department official had signed off on telework requests for more than two days on behalf of Goettman, a former private equity executive and investment banker who was chief operating officer of Youngkins campaign for governor. What was unveiled as a top-down policy designed to maximize the presence of employees in state offices hasnt been easy for the administration to carry out without giving agency leaders more flexibility to allow employees to work remotely for different reasons. Bishop, representing the state employees association, met with Secretary of Administration Lynn McDermid on June 8 to ask the governor to delay implementation of the policy until after Labor Day, when the new school year begins. He said he hasnt spoken to the administration about the policy since then. Youngkin didnt delay the policy as a group of Democratic legislators also requested but his administration has adjusted the rules along the way to reflect the challenges that many state employees face in returning to their offices after working remotely since the COVID pandemic began. For example, in late May, after the initial deadline for telework applications, the governor confirmed that employees with children and no alternatives for child care could work up to five days a week under temporary telework agreements through Labor Day, Sept. 5. Employees had to request the temporary relief for extenuating child care needs in a separate application to their supervisors by June 27, said Lauren Cunningham, spokesperson for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. All temporary telework agreements approved during that time will expire on September 5, 2022, and employees will transition to an appropriate work schedule based on their job duties, said Cunningham, whose department already had exempted employees in regional offices and field positions from applying for new telework agreements. The governors office also has promised to honor previously granted accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to allow employees with disabilities to work remotely despite concerns that they were having to prove their disability status once again for jobs they already were doing by telework. Part of the challenge for the administration is that it never knew how many state employees had worked remotely during the pandemic. Before the pandemic began, about 25% of state jobs were eligible for telework and, of those, about 19% were being carried out under telework agreements, but the state personnel agency didnt know how many employees had been working remotely since then. The General Assembly demanded answers in the new state budget that Youngkin signed June 22. It requires the Department of Human Resource Management to report to the legislature by Nov. 1 on how many people worked remotely from March 2020, when the pandemic began, through July 4, the day before Youngkins new policy took effect. The budget provision also requires the department to report how many employees receive approval for telework under the new policy and for how many days per week as well as the percentage of the state workforce they represent. I think that data is going to be illuminating on a number of different fronts, said Bishop at the employees association. Despite decades of experience in public education, Virginia Board of Education appointee Alan Seibert said he is not preconceiving plans for once hes sworn into office later this month. I'm not going in with a to-do list, Seibert said during a phone call Tuesday. I'm looking at this the way I've looked at every new career opportunity I've ever had. My first step is to learn, and get to know people. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin named five new appointees, including Seibert, to the nine-member Virginia Board of Education last week, and those members will start work July 20, pending final approval from the Virginia General Assembly sometime next year. The state boards mission statement is to develop policies and provide leadership that improve student achievement. Assessment and accountability will probably be big topics in the couple years ahead, Seibert said. That's where I have some experience and expertise. Under Youngkins administration, the state department of education in May released a report that the governor said, demonstrates that Virginias student achievement gaps are disturbing and cannot be ignored. Seibert said there is room for modernization in how school divisions assess and are held accountable for student achievement, namely through end-of-course Standards of Learning exams, often shortened as SOLs. The SOL system is now well over 20 years old, and the tests really haven't changed that much in that time, Seibert said. We absolutely still need assessments, and we need good data from them, and we need good processes to use that data. But it's probably time to kind of modernize the system. SOL tests measure student achievement whether someone meets the states learning standards. Its good information to know, Seibert said, but a balanced approach to assessment is the optimal way to gauge all-around scholastic success. A balanced approach to assessment means you don't just have one test, or one type of test, he said. In terms of individual students, you want to know is the child growing? Is the child making progress? What is their progress relative to the standard? No lone assessment can completely gauge student academic development, but that data can track over time, using a variety of techniques, he said. You need to have different assessments for different purposes, Seibert said. We have tools available now to really accurately measure student growth, to get snapshots of student growth at different times, and then you can add those together. Seibert said he plans to use his 30 years of experience with Salem City Schools, including 15 years as superintendent, plus new experience as constituent services and government relations officer for Roanoke City Public Schools, while serving on the state board. That work, on top of his past involvement at the state level participating on other bipartisan boards and education task forces, is likely why he got the call for Virginia Board of Education, he said. You always want to try to have a seat at the table, Seibert said. This time, I was invited to be at the table. While Seibert said his to-do list going into the new role is mostly blank, there are ongoing concerns for education locally: need for new school facilities across Southwest Virginia, and an overarching perception that this region does not have enough of a presence when it comes to state policymaking. Making sure our policy decisions are representative of our different communities, it's just important, Seibert said. Public education the children and families we serve, and all the school divisions this is where my whole career is. Virginia Board of Education members serve four-year terms. Though Seibert starts this month, the full tenure of Youngkin's board appointments is still dependent on formal approval from the Virginia General Assembly, which won't happen until the legislature convenes in early 2023. Earlier this year, Republicans in the legislature rejected three nominations made by former Gov. Ralph Northam to the state Board of Education, expediting Youngkin's ability to name his own appointments. Time will tell whether legislative disputes over gubernatorial appointments continue into next lawmaking session. As for the "part-time retirement" Seibert announced last year, he said sometimes a call cannot go unanswered. Toddler Aiden McCarthy was found wandering alone in the chaotic aftermath of Mondays mass shooting in Highland Park as strangers sought to reunite him with his family. Tuesday it emerged that the parents of 2-year-old Aiden, Irina and Kevin McCarthy, were among the seven people killed when gunfire erupted at the start of the local Fourth of July parade. Advertisement Aidens grandfather, Michael Levberg, told the Tribune on Tuesday that he was eventually reunited with his grandson after Aiden was taken to the local police station. [ Highland Park shooting victim Irina McCarthy, killed alongside her husband, laid to rest ] When I picked him up, he said, Are Mommy and Daddy coming soon? Levberg said Tuesday evening. He doesnt understand. Advertisement Seated on the front lawn with two friends in front of the familys two-story brick Highland Park home under darkening storm clouds, Levberg, 65, talked about his daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Irina, 35, was born in Moscow and moved with her family to Chicago when she was 2 years old. They later moved to Highland Park, where she grew up and returned to raise her own family, Levberg said. Irina McCarthy, 35, and Kevin McCarthy, 37, both of Highland Park, left behind a 2-year-old boy, Aiden McCarthy. (GoFundMe) Irina and Kevin, 37, met while working together at Physicians Interactive in the northern suburbs, Levberg said, and got married about five years ago. They bought their Highland Park home in 2018, according to sales records. His son-in-law had recently promised to take him on a sailing trip to Ireland for his birthday, Levberg said through tears. Levberg said the whole family will be taking care of Aiden, but the 2-year old is still waiting for his mom and dad to come home. He doesnt know, Levberg said. He doesnt realize it. The other victims of the shooting ranged in age from 8 to 85 years old. Among those who died were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Jacki Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88, all of Highland Park; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan. [ What we know about the mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade ] A person who set up a fundraising site for the family wrote: The North Shore community rallied to help a boy we knew nothing about. We took him to safety under tragic circumstances, came together to locate his grandparents and prayed for the safety of his family. Advertisement Within three hours of the fundraiser going live, donors had contributed nearly $850,000. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > Kevin McCarthy graduated with a bachelor of science in finance in 2011, and Irina McCarthy earned a bachelor of science in finance in 2009, DePaul University spokesman Russell Dorn said. A note is left for victims Irina, Kevin and Aiden McCarthy at a memorial near the Central Avenue shooting scene on July 6, 2022, two days after the mass shooting. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) The DePaul University community mourns the loss of alumni Kevin and Irina McCarthy in the Highland Park shooting, he said in a statement. We extend our prayers to their families, particularly their son Aiden, and all of those who have been affected by this senseless tragedy. A neighbor, Lauren Norberg, said they didnt know the parents very well, but the grandfather was really sweet and she talked with him once when he had Aiden because he was afraid of their dog, being a pandemic baby. She said the McCarthys moved to Highland Park about a year or less, before the pandemic. Overall they fit nicely into the community, she said. Norberg grew up on the same street and moved back because she said it is such a lovely community, a great place to raise kids and walking distance from the school. Advertisement Her daughter, Jordyn Norberg, said Aiden is a sweet kid and she hopes he can continue to get the love and support he needs. Tribunes Tracy Swartz and Kinsey Crowley contributed. While incidents of gun violence continue to add up in Roanoke, Police Chief Sam Roman presented statistics Tuesday that indicate overall crime was down in 2021 compared with the year before. During his annual report to Roanokes city council, Roman said during the 2021 calendar year the number of recorded violent crime offenses rose by 7.77% over those in 2020. Nonviolent crimes decreased by 2.8%, and overall, recorded crimes decreased by 1.85%. Roman said his officers are busy every day of the week a trend he hasnt seen before in his 30 years in law enforcement. In many cases, a Saturday, which is traditionally busy for public safety, is just as busy as a Monday. Our officers are working hard daily, Roman told the council. In 2021, the department recorded about 26,000 calls for service in the northwest part of the city, about 23,000 in the northeast, about 18,000 in the southwest and about 23,000 in the southeast. Between 2020 and 2021, the number of recorded homicides increased by 14.3%, from 14 in 2020 to 16 in 2021, and the number of recorded domestic aggravated assaults rose by 26.7%, from 60 to 76. Most notably, the number of incidents of rape reported to police increased by 113%, from 30 in 2020 to 64 in 2021. Roman said that jump occurred in part because the police department has taken steps to make victims more comfortable reporting assaults. I reached out to organizations, such as SARA, Roman said, to ensure that we as a law enforcement agency were doing everything we possibly could to make the environment conducive to ensuring that victims come forward in what can be classified as one of the most underreported offenses there is. The department also pulled cases of rape out of a major crimes unit and put them in a special victims unit, to create a more personalized approach. We like to think thats the reason for the increase in numbers, Roman said. We have postured ourself to make sure that we make ourself an inviting police department through our partner organizations. But Roman said his departments No. 1 priority is preventing acts of gun violence. Recorded incidents of gun violence rose from 12 homicides and 47 aggravated assaults in 2020 to 16 and 50, respectively, in 2021. Between those homicides and assaults in 2021, 75 people became victims of gun violence. That was one of our highest years, Roman said. Not only here in the city, but across the state, too, there has been an increase in the inability of people to just get along. Unfortunately, that has resulted in many folks resorting to a firearm to dissolve their dispute. That is very unfortunate. So far this year, according to the citys latest report released June 14, there have been 34 gun violence incidents since Jan. 1 in which a victim was hit by gunfire. Nine of those cases were homicides, and 25 were aggravated assaults. Those numbers have continued to rise since June 14. Roman said that over the course of 2021, 187 firearms were stolen in Roanoke. There were 93 incidents in which a firearm was stolen from a vehicle, the chief said. I can tell you that the majority of those were unlocked vehicles. Another 38 firearms were taken during acts of larceny from other unlocked locations, and 18 were stolen during burglaries of homes or businesses. Of the stolen gun incidents, 49 occurred in the southeast quadrant, 28 occurred in the southwest, 63 occurred in the northwest and 47 occurred in the northeast. Roman said his department is focused on fighting violent crime, in some cases at the expense of other things that we traditionally do. The chief said that because his officers are so busy responding to calls, they cant always attend community events. Certain times, when there is a shooting, especially over the course of the weekend or something like that, typically those resources come from those officers who were originally assigned to do community events, Roman said. But council member Anita Price said the police officers that attend community activities do an excellent job. A couple of weeks ago, we had our Youth Summit, which was an outdoor event, and we were concerned, many of us on the committee and in planning, about the safety of having so many young people, Price said. We had over 400 people at Washington Park, and it was a little disconcerting to be out in the open. But the police officers who were able to cover the event made sure that their presence was known and interacted with our young people. The officers actually look forward to going to those events, Roman said. We did not have an opportunity to go to Juneteenth. I know the officers were looking forward to that, but that was about the time we had a missing juvenile. Everything we had internally was working on that case. When it comes to traffic safety, fatalities arent significantly fewer than gun-related homicides. In 2020, there were 12 fatal traffic crashes. In 2021, there were 10. Council member Bill Bestpitch said hes thankful but surprised that the city doesnt see more crashes that result from speeding motorists. It seems to be these days, no matter which type of street Im driving on, there are cars that are passing me at a much higher rate of speed, if they have any opportunity at all, Bestpitch said. And if they dont have that opportunity, theyre trying to kiss my rear bumper. Roman said writing speeding tickets is the easiest way to reduce the activity on city roads. Just the other day, I was out running radar myself, the police chief said. Someone came through my radar at 89 in a 40. We had a conversation that ended in a traffic summons. But Roman said officers conduct traffic stops to do more than issue court summons. When were in the neighborhoods of where the violent crime is happening, traffic stops are a strategy which we would use to not always penalize a person for making a minor traffic violation, not using a signal, Roman said, but really taking the opportunity during that encounter to build a relationship with that citizen to hopefully find something out about that neighborhood. Of the traffic stops made by officers in 2021, about 38% in the northwest ended with a ticket. In the southeast, about 36% ended with a ticket. In the southwest, that number was about 47%, and in the northeast, about 51%. Most of the time, you always hear its northwest, northwest, council member Stephanie Moon-Reynolds said. But when you look at these zones, it paints a different picture. A Radford man convicted last year of breaking into a hemp farm and stealing the harvest was sentenced to serve four years behind bars and was billed more than $300,000 for what he took. Two years ago, Justin Scott Murphy, 30, briefly worked at TruHarvest, a large hemp-growing operation in Montgomery County. In December 2020 and January and February 2021, a few months after Murphys employment at TruHarvest ended, there were four break-ins and the theft of packaged hemp buds that the farm manager and prosecutors said had a market value of $2,500 per pound. Investigators never found any payment that Murphy might have received for the hemp. They surmised that he sold it to a marijuana dealer who used the identical-looking hemp to increase the volume of the plant material he was selling. At Murphys jury trial last year, the prosecutions case was tied together by a detailed analysis of cellphone data that indicated Murphy traveled to TruHarvest on the nights of the break-ins, followed by trips to Indiana, allegedly to transfer the hemp to the drug dealer. On the night of the last break-in, after an alarm brought a deputy and the intruder fled on foot, a car that Murphy had borrowed from a friend was found behind trees on the farms driveway. Cellphone data showed calls between Murphy and his wifes phones, showed her phone also moving toward TruHarvest, and Murphys phone texted a location near the farm to his wife. The data showed that all the phones then returned to the home where Murphy and his wife lived. A Montgomery County jury found Murphy guilty of nine of 10 charges related to the break-ins, including three convictions for burglary, three for grand larceny, one for attempted grand larceny, one for breaking and entering and one for petit larceny, third or subsequent offense. At Tuesdays sentencing hearing in the countys Circuit Court, Judge Robert Turk imposed a five-year prison term on each felony but said that only two of them would run consecutively, while the rest would be concurrent, Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt explained after the hearing. Murphy ended up with a 10-year prison sentence, to be suspended after he served four years. Murphy is to be supervised by the probation office for five years after his release, Turk ordered. During the course of Murphys case, prosecutors gave several figures for the total value of the hemp Murphy stole. At the sentencing hearing, Murphy was ordered to pay a total restitution of $333,346.03, mostly to TruHarvest but with small amounts due to the sheriffs office and others. A Henry County woman admitted Wednesday that she joined hundreds of Donald Trump supporters in storming the U.S. Capitol over what he called a stolen election. Yes, your honor, Jamie Lynn Ferguson said via a video connection when asked by a judge in Washington, D.C.s federal court if she was pleading guilty because she was, in fact, guilty. Ferguson, a member of the West Virginia National Guard, is scheduled for a Nov. 18 sentencing. Under a plea agreement, she will face up to six months in jail on a misdemeanor charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta also ordered the 44-year-old to pay $500 in restitution, which will go toward an estimated $1.5 million in damages caused by the violent mob. Federal authorities arrested Ferguson after surveillance cameras showed her in a crowd that forced its way through the Capitols East Rotunda doors as Congress was meeting to certify the 2020 presidential election. According to evidence introduced Wednesday, she was wearing blue jeans and a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt emblazoned with the words Yes, Im a Trump girl. Ferguson spent about 45 minutes walking around the Rotunda with other rioters and committed no acts of violence before leaving. Three days prior to Jan. 6, according to court documents, Ferguson posted an image to Facebook that showed a crowd in front of the Capitol with a dark cloud above it and the words: a storm of patriots will fight for the Republic, this will be a historic day. I pray this is exactly what DC will look like on Jan. 6, Ferguson wrote in post, saying that she would be there. Court records show that Ferguson requested leave from the National Guard the week of the insurrection, saying she planned to travel to Washington. A spokesman said Wednesday that Ferguson is still a member of the guard, but that her status is under review. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop more serious charges, which included entering a restricted area and disorderly conduct. Ferguson is among more than 850 defendants from around the country charged with participating in the riots, which broke out shortly after Trump urged a crowd of supporters to fight like hell against an election that he said was stolen from him. There has been no credible evidence of the widespread election fraud alleged by the former president. Cindy Southern returned to Pulaski 22 years ago after following in her fathers footsteps as a dentist. She was adamant that school-age children have access to dental care, especially those whose families struggled to make ends meet as the large factories began to close in the area. Many of those children were on Medicaid and, more than two decades later, Southerns Pulaski practice continues to see such recipients, though its no longer just children who have dental services covered by Medicaid. However, many Virginians face long waits for dental services now covered by Medicaid due to the mismatch between demand and providers. The number of dental providers that accept Medicaid patients has fallen to 1,888 from a peak of 2,031 in 2017, according to data provided March 29 by Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services. Currently, there are 924,000 Virginian adults eligible for dental care through Medicaid, and 158,237 have had procedures since the new benefits were rolled out just over a year ago, according to Virginia Dental Association data. Groups such as the VDA have been organizing for years to bring reimbursements for Medicaid dental services more in line with those dentists receive from other insurance providers. This year, for the first time since 2005, the reimbursements to providers of Medicaid dental services are being adjusted as groups hope the move will help grow the number of providers as the demand has swelled. The budget boosts the reimbursement rate by 30%. Im hoping well see more providers provide services because its definitely hard for people to get into a dentist, said Southern. The change comes from this years state budget, which went into effect Friday. The funding is $116 million sourced from state and federal funds, according to VDA information. The total two-year state budget is nearly $60 billion and includes various increases and cuts for different expenses. The VDA has been pushing for years to adjust reimbursements for Medicaid as they had almost become neglected since 2005, according to Ryan Dunn, CEO. Costs for keeping a dental practice open have gone up over the years, and up by around 60% just since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Dunn. Honestly, this 30% doesnt really get us caught up, but it does get us closer to where we need to be, he said. For some procedures, it costs more for providers to perform them than they are reimbursed from Medicaid, according to Dunn. Despite this, the adjustment is a step in the right direction, he and the other dentists said. Future and semiregular reimbursement adjustments are needed to maintain and expand the number of Medicaid dental providers, RON said. I dont think we can go another 17 years without an increase, he said. Buckingham County dentist Walter Saxon Jr., who treats Medicaid patients, said there are other ways than reimbursement adjustments that could bring more providers into the fold. He said incentives that help pay off student debt burdens could bring more young dentists into the fold, while incentives that support retirement funds could encourage older dentists to see more Medicaid patients. Southern and Dunn agreed. Southern thanked legislators for passing the budget that included the rate adjustment. She also said Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services for its efforts in trying to find ways to attract more providers. They work really hard to make these programs work, Southern said. 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. Nearly a year after Tina Tchen resigned amid controversy from heading a national charity aimed at fighting sexual harassment, the Obama Foundation on Wednesday announced it has tapped the longtime Chicago attorney to serve in a new leadership role. Tchen will lead the development, implementation, and monitoring of the foundations strategy, as well as working with alumni from President Barack Obamas White House and a program that seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world, according to a foundation release. Advertisement After advising the foundation informally for months, Tchen, beginning Monday, will be its executive vice president and chief strategy and impact officer, according to a foundation spokeswoman. In the release, Tchen said she was honored to join the Obama Foundation as we work to realize the legacy of President and Mrs. Obama, to inspire, empower, and connect those working for change around the world. The move to hire Tchen follows local and national controversies, most notably her role advising disgraced New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a #MeToo scandal that ultimately led to her resignation as president and CEO of the nonprofit Times Up. Advertisement Tchen was criticized following reports that Cuomo and his aides sought her advice on how to handle a growing harassment scandal while she simultaneously led the nonprofit, which was founded to help those who have been sexually harassed or assaulted. Tchen at first apologized and said she was used as cover and that she only got involved because she thought Cuomos office was interested in doing the right thing for women. She later resigned from Times Up at the end of August 2021, saying she wanted to end battles between women and activists involved in the #MeToo movement who should be working together to fight for change. Tchen also faced criticism from some Chicago-area #MeToo advocates for endorsing Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle when she ran for Chicago mayor in 2019. Preckwinkle faced scrutiny over her handling of sexual assault accusations against her former chief of staff. The Tribune revealed Preckwinkle knew about an alleged assault for six months before firing that staffer one day before launching her mayoral bid. Tchen said the endorsement was made in her personal capacity, not as the head of Times Up. Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Tchen worked in the White House for all eight years of Obamas administration, first as director of the Office of Public Engagement and then as chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama. While there, she also was executive director of the Council on Women and Girls, a program designed to ensure that federal programs addressed gender inequalities in wages, work and health. That work has continued under the foundation as an adolescent empowerment program called Girls Opportunity Alliance. Asked why Tchen was tasked with this program given the controversies, Obama Foundation spokesperson Courtney Williams said, Tina has spent a career fighting for positive change for women. Her lifes work has been geared toward making workplaces fair and equitable and safer for women. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > Fellow Obama White House alum Valerie Jarrett, the foundations CEO, described Tchen in Wednesdays release as an accomplished lawyer, an advocate for gender equality, and a longtime adviser to the Obamas and the foundation. Her commitment to creating the next generation of leaders coupled with her vast experience as a national changemaker will help drive the impact of our work. Advertisement Tchen also made news for her involvement in the Jussie Smollett scandal. Early in the investigation involving Smollett, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx withdrew from overseeing the prosecution, revealing shed had contact with a member of Smolletts family at the request of Tchen. In correspondence provided to the Tribune, Tchen said that she was acting on behalf of Smollett and his family. A relative later exchanged texts with Foxx. After leaving the White House but before working for Times Up, Tchen headed the Chicago office of the Buckley law firm, where she founded a practice advising companies on corporate culture, according to the foundation release. According to an American Bar Association biography, Tchen helped author a 1983 bill in the Illinois General Assembly that helped modernize Illinois rape laws to include sexual assault and other abuses and worked on the National Organization for Womens campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois. Her legal career began at Kirkland & Ellis. She went on to clerk for District Court Judge John F. Grady and work for two decades at the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom before joining the White House. aquig@chicagotribune.com ayin@chicagotribune.com Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. It is nothing short of shameful that only 6.8 percent of registered South Carolina voters did their duty to vote in Tuesdays runoff elections. Sure, there wasnt much excitement, with only two statewide races and six S.C. House seats on ballots across the state. But that doesnt matter: Voting is a fundamental responsibility of all Americans 18 years and older. Too many people have died for us to slough off what needs to be done to keep our participatory democracy strong and functioning. What makes the abysmal turnout rate even worse are the recent threats to our democracy that have been front and center in the last few weeks at explosive hearing after hearing on Capitol Hill. Exposed have been extraordinary excesses by former President Donald Trump and his minions to thwart democracy and try to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power. If that kind of raging meddling doesnt fill any American with a sense of duty to get our democracy back on track, what will? Yet voter turnout was little better on June 14, when 565,538 of 3.3 million registered voters 17.1 percent went to the polls in Democratic and Republican primaries. Same story in previous years 2.8 percent turnout in the 2020 primary runoffs; 23 percent turnout in the 2020 primaries; 12.7 percent turnout in the 2018 primary runoffs; and 20.4 percent turnout in the 2018 primaries. Voter participation in general elections is better 72.1 percent with 2.5 million votes cast in the 2020 presidential election and 55 percent with 1.7 million votes cast in the 2018 statewide election. Turnout generally is lower in non-presidential election years. But still: Hundreds of thousands of voters, even in higher-turnout years, dont bother to do their civic duty. Other countries around the world which learned how to do freedom from us have something we should consider: They make voting in elections mandatory. Consequently, their participation rates are extremely high. And people feel more invested in picking leaders. In Australia, for example, which has had compulsory voting since 1924, turnout rates have been more than 90 percent for years. Why cant we get more people to participate? The way Australia does mandatory voting is to fine anyone who doesnt have a good reason. First-time offenders are fined $20, which is increased to $50 for subsequent offenses. If the 980,000 registered voters in South Carolina who didnt go to the polls in the 2020 general election had been fined $50, the state could have collected $49 million, which would have more than paid for the states elections and its infrastructure. But lets turn Australias disincentive for not voting from a stick into a carrot. What if, in South Carolina, we gave everyone a $25 income tax credit a reward for voting, instead of a fine? In the 2020 general election, the 2.5 million voters who cast ballots would have received tax credits worth $62.5 million. It also means the state Department of Revenue would have had $62.5 million less to send to the legislature to spend, but whos against the state of South Carolina having less money to spend? The importance of voting is celebrated by Democrats, Republicans and comedians. Former President Barack Obama, in addressing youths, once remarked, You wouldnt let your grandparents pick your playlist. Why would you let them pick your representative whos going to determine your future? Abraham Lincoln, the president who saved the country from breaking apart in the 1860s, noted, The ballot is stronger than the bullet. And comedian George Carlin: If you dont vote, you lose the right to complain. And the good Lord knows, Americans love to complain. Lets do something new to encourage voting and get as many South Carolinians to the polls as possible to exercise their citizenship. Whenever the Supreme Court comes down with a particularly momentous decision, its customary to look at the majority opinion. After all, the majority makes the law. Sometimes, though, its the dissenting opinions that are more interesting, more shocking, more passionate and in a very small number of cases, more influential. John Marshall Harlan was nicknamed The Great Dissenter because he disagreed with so many of his courts decisions during a storied lifetime on the bench. In some very important instances, his dissenting views became the basis of future majority opinions. The most famous example is the 7-1 majority in Plessy v. Ferguson, upholding the separate but equal standard used to support legal segregation. Harlan was the only holdout, writing in dissent that the Constitution was color blind and that in this country, there is no superior, dominant ruling class of citizens. Fifty-eight years later, in Brown v. Board of Education, the Warren Court overruled Plessy. Justice Harlan was posthumously vindicated. Then you have the dissenters who regularly file opinions that run counter to common sense, words that reflect a backward view of the Constitution and a very personal animus toward certain groups, certain principles and certain perspectives. Thats why I wanted to focus on the dissents in a case handed down last week, because they carry very little of the wisdom and prescience found in Harlans work. In Carson v. Makin, a majority composed of Chief Justice Roberts, along with Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett ruled that it was a violation of the Free Exercise Clause to deny public funds to parents who want to send their children to a religiously-affiliated secondary school. The controversy arose out of Maine, which had a program that provided money to parents who lived in school districts that didnt have high schools. The taxpayer money was designed to allow these children to obtain the equivalent of a public education by attending private institutions of their choice. However, private sectarian schools were the only schools specifically excluded from the program. Enter the dissenters. Justice Stephen Breyer penned a disingenuous opinion joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor where he tries to gaslight us into thinking that he wants to honor religion by making sure he starves religious schools. In a particularly ironic passage, Breyer writes that In my view, Maines [law] is also constitutional because it supports rather than undermines the Religion Clauses goal of avoiding religious strife. He then goes on to point out that people from minority faiths will feel annoyed if they think majority religions are being given an unfair advantage. What Breyer ignores, and what Roberts makes clear, is that the citizens who are barred from using taxpayer money to go to the schools of their choice are the ones being discriminated against. They are equally justified in being upset that the state would penalize them because they choose to go to a religious school as opposed to another sort of private institution. And lets be clear: This is not about public vs. private. This is about secular vs. religious, two very different things. Justice Sotomayor wasnt satisfied with joining his opinion. She had to weigh in with her own words, and they were choice. In one particularly revelatory passage, where she sounds like Cassandra warning the Trojans about the Greeks hiding in that annoying horse, Sotomayor warns society at large of the evil lurking within the majority opinion: [I]n just a few years, the Court has upended constitutional doctrine, shifting from a rule that permits States to decline to fund religious organizations to one that requires States in many circumstances to subsidize religious indoctrination with taxpayer dollars. You can feel the sneer in religious indoctrination. She continues: Today, the Court leads us to a place where separation of church and state becomes a constitutional violation. Sotomayors is doing what the majority in Plessy did years ago, turn people of faith into second-class citizens who dont have a right to the same benefits that secular folk can claim. Its really quite repugnant, but not surprising. Of late, Sonias been increasingly strident in her attacks on a society that doesnt agree with her philosophically or politically. The good news is that her dissent was joined by one person: her. It will not have the impact that Justice Harlans dissent in Plessy had, and although I cant be sure, I suspect that future generations will look at her words as a desperate attempt to keep religion marginalized, behind a wall that exists only in the minds of the prejudiced and intolerant. Ivana Trump, the first wife of former President Donald Trump and mother to his oldest children, has died in New York City. She was 73. People familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press that police are investigating whether she fell accidentally down the stairs at her home. The people spoke Thursday on the condition of anonymity. Ivana Trump was a Czech-born ski racer and businesswoman who with Donald Trump formed half of a publicity power couple in the 1980s. They had a messy, public divorce after he met his next wife, Marla Maples. But Ivana had recently been on good terms with her former husband. Dalondo Moultrie is the assistant managing editor of the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at dalondo.moultrie@seguingazette.com . If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). Tennessee Supreme Court denies rehearing in Gomez (but legislative fix still in works)! | Main | Tough sentences for white-collar offenders May 18, 2005 Notable death row reprieve request Thanks to this post at CrimProf Blog, I am pondering how a governor should respond to a death row inmate's request for a reprieve to provide the inmate an opportunity to donate an organ to save his dying sister. According to this AP story, that's the issue facing Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels: An inmate condemned to die by chemical injection this month is seeking a reprieve at least long enough to donate his liver to his dying sister. Gregory Scott Johnson is scheduled to die May 25 for the 1985 murder of Ruby Hutslar, an 82-year-old woman from Anderson.... Defense attorneys want Gov. Mitch Daniels to grant Johnson a short reprieve that would allow time for medical tests to determine whether the organ is compatible with Johnson's sister.... Johnson told The Indianapolis Star during an interview at the prison this week that he wants to donate his liver in hopes of leaving something positive to society. "'I'm sorry' just doesn't cut it," he said. "All of the same stupid things I've done that I thought wasn't hurting anyone at that time in my life, I didn't care. I care now, but it's too late." Johnson admits he played a significant role in Hutslar's death but says another man who helped him actually killed her. Johnson's 48-year-old sister, Deborah Otis, lives in an Anderson nursing home. Michelle Kraus, Johnson's attorney, said his request was not an attempt to delay the execution, saying he cares for his sister. "She is a mother and a grandmother. She has much to live for," Kraus said. It seems to me that, for anyone truly committed to a "culture of life," this decision should be an easy call. Johnson is only seeking a relatively brief postponement of his execution in order to try to save an innocent life. But for some reason I am not expecting the Schiavo crowd to be pushing new federal legislation to save lives in this case. May 18, 2005 at 09:08 PM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e200d8347b45c669e2 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Notable death row reprieve request: Comments So the sister is guilty by association, and not worthy of the benefits of the new "culture of life"? How confusing. Posted by: Jeannie | May 20, 2005 10:22:19 PM According to this article, http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/05/20/liver.death.row.reut/index.html, the Illinois Parole Board on Friday "voted unanimously to recommend that Johnson be denied clemency. There was no separate vote on a stay." The article also notes that now, the "final decision on clemency or a stay will be up to Gov. Mitch Daniels." Posted by: DEJ | May 22, 2005 12:50:47 AM He was positive for Hep B and his liver would not be a good donation. She really needs a full liver and a kidney also, so this would not be a good donation. Time to pay the piper. I am a nurse Posted by: Katie | May 25, 2005 1:03:32 PM Post a comment New proposal for National Criminal Justice Commission garnering notable support | Main | Judicial second-thoughts leads to greatly reduced prison sentences for cheating Atlanta school administrators May 1, 2015 "How a Death Row Inmate's Request to Give His Organs Kept Him Alive" The title of this post is the headline of this notable lengthy Newsweek article discussing the array of remarkable developments that have surrounded the application of the death penalty in Ohio over the last few years. Here are excerpts which provide a unique spin on the saying that it's always better to give than to receive: On November 13, 2013, prison officials transferred Ronald Ray Phillips from death row, where he had resided for 20 years, to the death house in southern Ohio. He had finally run out of appeals. In less than 24 hours, they would strap him to a gurney and inject a fatal drug combination into his veins. Just days before his scheduled death, however, Phillips made an unprecedented requestone that has kept him alive until today. He asked to give his heart to his sister, who had a heart condition, and his kidney to his mother, who was on dialysis.... In the fall of 2013, Ohio had just instituted a new lethal injection protocol as its primary method of execution, and its effects were uncertain. The fatal drug cocktail might destroy Phillipss organs. On the other hand, if Phillips went to the operating room beforehand and doctors removed his heart while he was unconscious, they could save it. But since he couldnt survive without his heart, they would simultaneously complete the execution in a novel method that had never been considered in Ohios capital punishment laws. Phillips was scheduled to die at 10 the next morning. Just before 4 p.m., as prison employees headed home for the evening, the death house received a call from the governor. I realize this is a bit of uncharted territory for Ohio, but if another life can be saved by his willingness to donate his organs and tissues, then we should allow for that to happen, Republican Governor John Kasich said in a statement to the press hours before the scheduled execution. Kasich granted Phillips a reprieve, removing himtemporarily, at leastfrom the death house.... But the agencies that govern transplantation refused his organs, calling the idea morally reprehensible. Parceling out the organs to strangers could be a human rights violation. Because Phillips was a prisoner, he couldnt voluntarily consent to these procedures. The idea of saving innocent lives could also incentivize prosecutors and judges to favor the death penalty. Ohio denied Phillipss request to donate non-vital organs to strangers. Yet [a former attorney for the mother of Phillips' victim] counters, Why doesnt an inmate have a right to donate his or her kidney? Why is that seen as one of the rights that theyve given up because theyre incarcerated?... Because of Phillipss reprieve, convicted killer Dennis McGuire took his place. Reporter Alan Johnson witnessed McGuires execution. Approximately six minutes into it, McGuire suddenly starts gaspingdeep gasps. His chest would compress, his stomach started going out," Johnson says.... The McGuire fiasco prompted a federal judge to temporarily halt all Ohio executions. Nevertheless, Arizona used Ohios protocol that summer to execute Joseph Wood. The execution lasted over two hours, with Wood gasping 640 times. It provoked another moratorium on the death cocktail. In January 2015, before Phillipss fourth execution date, Ohio rescinded its controversial mixture, announcing a return to the pentobarbital drug class. Because Ohio has been unable to obtain this drug from Lundbeck, executions will resume in 2016 at the earliest. Phillipss fifth execution date remains unscheduled. Phillipss unprecedented request set off a chain of events that have kept him alive till today. For over a year, hes been next up on Ohios list of scheduled executions. But hes ridden the wave of botched executions and may transition from a temporary reprieve to a permanent one. Phillips and his attorneys declined multiple requests to be interviewed for this story. May 1, 2015 at 08:28 AM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e201bb082705e0970d Listed below are links to weblogs that reference "How a Death Row Inmate's Request to Give His Organs Kept Him Alive": Comments That would require he be executed in an operating room. The body cannot be driven long distances have the most valuable organs preserved. He would have to be tested while alive to match him to recipients. The totally pro-criminal, left wing extremists running professional societies, accrediting agencies, and licensing boards would all come out with hammer and tongs to destroy participant. These are more pro-criminal than lawyers. Legislation immunizing all participants, including patient organ recipients would have to be enacted. Because these misguided big government, pro-criminal, rent seekers are killing people by their intimidation and persecution of health professionals and hospitals, criminal sanctions are appropriate. Current transplantable organs include: heart, lung,heart-lung, kidney, liver, pancreas, intestine, face, cornea, skin, bone marrow, blood, hands, leg, penis, bone, uterus, thymus, islets of Langerhans, heart valve, ovary. That would insure that many families would turn up at his funeral, grieve over him, and sing his praises, rather than spit on his grave. This idea rockets the utilitarian calculation of the death penalty into another orbit. You know a nuclear war of policy attacks would break out if such legislation were to be introduced. Those attacks by abolitionists would reveal the hypocrisy of the abolitionist. it is not interested in saving lives. It is interested in generating massive government make work jobs for lawyers. Posted by: Supremacy Claus | May 1, 2015 10:50:25 AM A quirky situation that resulted in a delay that helped him in the long run. I think the arguments are complicated here but understand the concern with the reduced ability of inmates to truly consent here & the troubling incentives it might encourage. A sentenced murderer has less rights to bodily autonomy, including to do so when it would negatively affect overall medical ethics. This is a bit cruel of me to say, I guess, but maybe if he wanted his family members to get his organs, he should have committed suicide in his cell. He's not obligated to do that, of course, but nor is the state obligated to change the rules for him here. Posted by: Joe | May 1, 2015 11:29:40 AM Joe and other abolitionists need to visit recipients for 5 minutes, people short of breath lifting their heads off a pillow. They will die at 45, leaving family and career because they caught a virus that destroyed their hearts. These heartless rent seekers and PC inhuman, provisional rent seekers are not even human beings them selves. They are selfish animals. Direct action groups of families of crime victims and of transplant recipients should call on them with the lash. Posted by: Supremacy Claus | May 1, 2015 4:29:35 PM I don't get current policy, would a victim or victim's family be happy if the murderer decided to compromise with consent of losing a limb so he is unlikely to commit a crime again. Most folks would rather die than spend the rest of their life rotting away in prison. Life in prison or the death penalty in many instances is not economically beneficial to society, especially for less serious offenses, individuals do not contribute to society, the cost is high to maintain them, it takes someone out of the labor force who can be productive and folks who were innocent have lost time and money defending themselves and staying years in prison. Given the shortage of organs needed for transplants, I say the victims can't always have what they want if the current policy of LWOP or DP is not beneficial to society as a whole. Sure I am in favor of individual rights vs. the state, but let's say your family member was dying and needed a transplant what do do, or rather think of yourself stranded on an island and imprisoning someone would cause harm to the rest of the group and society. Of course then would DP cases accelerate to get organs, would it participating in medical trials as beneficial to society to get out o LWOP or DP, I think after decades in prison, it should be allowed, to SC -LWOP wasn't common or even around that often before the temporary abolition of DP in the 1970s. I don't get the fuss over DP v. LWOP, to me the former is a better option rather than rot in prison and to society for keeping and spending money for decades on a person's health who isn't contributing to society, the latter probably meets the 8th amendment cruel and unusual punishment, LWOP is cruel and also unusual meeting the standard. LWOP doesn't really get much attention in habeus corpus and other procedures, advocates for LWOP folks have criticized DP abolitions with changing the debate as many LWOP cases don't even involve serious crimes or rather serious enough to merit it. Posted by: alex | May 2, 2015 5:48:33 AM The cost of keeping a person in prison vs. the costs of the extra effort taken in death penalty cases because in this country people are very wary about the government taking people's lives, even when the people are convicted murderers, make the cost issue iffy. Likewise, the death penalty involves the state killing people in an arbitrary and capricious ways, including by mistake in some cases ["mistake" includes those who are not guilty enough to warrant the punishment]. Or, killing alone -- unless detention is not allowed, by definition, LWOP won't be in itself the same as the death penalty. As to LWOP being "cruel," I find that proves too much. Why stop there? Is it really much less "cruel" to leave people in prison for decades, at times when the end of the term will either come before the person dies or is just a shell, and there for crimes less than murder? Also, general population in some states is not as safe. Of course, if it is so bad, yes, more effort should be made to protect those sentenced. But, since we aren't killing them, it just won't be as much as for the death penalty. "Life" comes before "liberty" which comes before "property" for a reason. And, the person need not "rot" in prison or not in some way "contribute" to society. Other nations find ways to make life in prison more humane in that respect. The limited number of prisoners affected by the organ transplant situation also makes this basically a footnote to that issue. At best, that might suggest we should use the firing squad to protect organs or something. If we want to improve the organ situation, improving it for the rest of the population will be a much better way to go about it w/o raising ethical issues involving use of prisoners. Finally, my final comment before might not work -- the death might have to be done in a certain way. Still, I think if he hung himself in his cell, his organs might have been safe if they rushed the body to the hospital. If not, I stand corrected. Posted by: Joe | May 2, 2015 11:04:01 AM Joe was almost there with his suicide idea. In the near future, technology may resolve this ethical question. Robots will administer anesthesia. And another robot may perform the removal of the donor heart. The prisoner donor may then press the button, Enter, and donate. This is what goes on now with surgeons, anyway. A patient donor is on a ventilator, and technically live. The surgeon removes a heart and turns off the machine. The Chinese surgery community is not hounded by the lawyer traitor. And most organs are donated by condemned prisoners. The Chinese are imitating us including our bad habits, and may phase out this practice. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-17485103 Another consideration. This may be silly, but what if it is true? The recipient of a major organ may take on the personality of the donor in 10% of cases. What if the recipient then finds little girls sexually irresistible, but just cannot enjoy raping them without strangling them. It's just not the same. That little item may have to be in boxed bold print in the recipient consent form. Best place to study in large population groups, is in China. It may start with a retrospective study. If result is promising, do a prospective study. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/426766/one_in_ten_transplant_patients_inherit_personalities_of_their_organ/ Posted by: Supremacy Claus | May 3, 2015 2:45:10 AM Post a comment "Revenue Over Public Safety: How Perverse Financial Incentives Warp the Criminal Justice System" | Main | Still more discussion of the BOP's failings with FIRST STEP Act I have blogged in the past about a few persons on death row in various states who have sought delays in their execution in order to donate an organ (examples here and here). This new press article discusses another example now from Texas: A Texas man on death row is seeking a delay in his upcoming execution so that he can donate one of his kidneys. Ramiro Gonzales, 39, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on July 13 for his role in a 2001 murder, according to the Associated Press. On Wednesday, Gonzales attorneys made several requests to delay his execution, including one that relies on Gonzales stated desire to donate a kidney. Attorneys Thea Posel and Raoul Schonemann specifically asked Governor Greg Abbott for a 30-day reprieve so that Gonzales could be considered for the organ donation, which could potentially be used to help someone who is in urgent need of a kidney transplant. The lawyers noted that Gonzales was evaluated by the University of Texas Medical Branchs transplant team in Galveston, Texas, who reportedly determined that Gonzales was an excellent candidate for donation due in part to a rare blood type. Virtually, all that remains is the surgery to remove Ramiros kidney, attorneys wrote in their request to Abbott. UTMB has confirmed that the procedure could be completed within a month. Posel and Shonemann submitted a separate request for a 180-day reprieve to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for the same reason. For the past year and a half, our client Ramiro Gonzales has actively sought to become an organ donor prior to his scheduled execution, Posel and Schonemann said in a statement e-mailed to Oxygen.com. In keeping with his deeply held religious convictions, Ramiro seeks to atone for the life he has taken by sustaining life for another person in need. Speaking with the Associated Press, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Amanda Hernandez said that Gonzales had unsuccessfully made requests to donate his kidney earlier this year. Although a specific reason for the denial wasnt provided, Posel and Schonemann said the earlier decision was related to the date of Gonzales execution. Though the Texas Department of Criminal Justice does allow some inmates to donate organs and tissues, per the Associated Press, it does not allow prisoners on death row close to their execution date to making living organ donations, according to the Texas Tribune and medical ethicists and organ donation organizations have previously refused such donations in any case. (Posthumous organ donations by those executed are also not allowed, as NBC News noted, because the contents of a lethal injection and waiting until a condemned prisoner's heart stops could harm the organs intended for transplant, even if they could be ethically collected from the point of execution.)... In their bid to Gov. Abbott, Posel and Schonemann who both work with the University of Texass Capital Punishment Clinic at the School of Law in Austin included a letter from Maryland-based cantor and chaplain Michael Zoosman, who regularly corresponds with Gonzales. There has been no doubt in my mind that Ramiros desire to be an altruistic kidney donor is not motivated by a last-minute attempt to stop or delay his execution, said Zoosman. I will go to my grave believing in my heart that this is something that Ramiro wants to do to help make his soul right with God. In their statement to Oxygen.com, Posel and Schonemann said their client was moved to donate one of his kidneys when learning that one of Zoosmans congregants was in need of the organ. He knows that doing this will not stop his execution, they said. But as he told the Cantor, he hopes to give life before his own life is taken. Ultimately, Posel and Schonemann said Gonzales was not a match to the congregant but claims his donation could help somebody else. The State, however, has thus far not consented to this request, said Posel and Schonemann in their statement. Approximately 13 people die each day waiting for a kidney transplant, and wait times for those with rare blood types can be as long as a decade. We have been inundated with emails and phone calls by people across the country who are in urgent need of a kidney transplant. The two lawyers also issued other requests that, if approved, would also affect Gonzales scheduled execution, according to the Associated Press. The first was to commute their clients death sentence for a lesser penalty. The second was to put the brakes on the execution if Gonzales couldnt have his spiritual advisor lay hands on him at the time of his death. In March, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Texas death row inmate John Henry Ramirez, whose request that his spiritual advisor perform a "laying of the hands" in the chamber during his execution had initially been denied by the state. Gonzales' request for the same thing will be subject to a two-day federal trial which is expected to begin on Tuesday. Gonzales confessed to the rape and murder of missing 18-year-old Bridget Townsend, who had disappeared in 2001, while he was serving two life sentences for the abduction and rape of a woman in Bandera County in 2002, according to the Palestine Herald-Press.... The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has until July 11 to vote on Gonzales request. Governor Greg Abbott has yet to respond. Former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, center, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on July 6, 2022, after being sentenced to four months in prison for tax evasion and lying to banking regulators. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Patrick Daley Thompson, former 11th Ward alderman and scion of the Daley political dynasty, was sentenced Wednesday to four months in prison for tax evasion and lying to banking regulators. The decision by U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama made Thompson the first member of the Daley family to go to prison a prospect that would have been unfathomable to many when the family was at its political zenith. Advertisement Thompson, the grandson and nephew of Chicagos two longest-serving mayors, was convicted by a federal jury in February of two counts of lying to federal regulators about loans he had with the now-shuttered Washington Federal Bank for Savings in his familys Bridgeport neighborhood. The jury also found Thompson guilty on five counts of filing false tax returns that illegally claimed mortgage interest deductions he never paid. Advertisement In court filings, prosecutors argued that Thompson should be sentenced to two years in prison, saying he was a savvy and sophisticated lawyer and public official who knew the consequences of his actions. Thompsons attorney, meanwhile, asked for a sentence of probation, saying hes already suffered tremendous public humiliation and lost his law license and seat on the City Council. Under state law, Thompson, who represented the 11th Ward since 2015, was forced to resign his seat on the City Council immediately after the conviction on felony charges. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has since appointed Nicole Lee to fill the post for the rest of Thompsons term. The charges against Thompson were an offshoot of a larger investigation into the collapse of Washington Federal, which uncovered a massive embezzlement scheme leading to charges against more than a dozen former bank officers, employees and customers. At Thompsons trial, Thompsons lawyer, Chris Gair, had sought to pin the blame on the bank and its former president, John Gembara, saying Thompson had nothing to do with generating the erroneous tax forms that wound up on his returns. Gembara was found hanged in the home of a customer days before the bank was shuttered, and his death was ruled a suicide. The defense team has also portrayed Thompson as an honest but frazzled man, constantly torn between his duties as alderman, commercial real estate lawyer and father, and admittedly lacking when it came to focusing on the minutiae of his taxes. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > Gair also told jurors that the U.S. attorneys office was bent on finally nailing a Daley. Prosecutors, however, said Thompson, an accomplished commercial real estate attorney, knew exactly what he was doing when he tried to hide the full $269,000 in principal and interest he owed from regulators in the wake of Washington Federals collapse. Advertisement After receivers for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. confronted Thompson with evidence that hed taken advances of $20,000 and $89,000 from Washington Federal in 2013 and 2014, the alderman feigned surprise, according to prosecutors. In their sentencing filing on Monday, prosecutors wrote that Thompson had many chances to come clean but instead repeatedly chose to maintain this irregular and cozy arrangement with Washington Federal. The only reasonable inference is that (Thompson), being a sophisticated real estate attorney and public official, continued to engage with Washington Federal because it allowed him to have a highly unusual (at best) relationship with a bank, the filing argued. The relationship, prosecutors said, allowed him to periodically obtain substantial amounts of money without any loan paperwork or other obligation to pay back the funds by a certain date. mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com Liu personally oversaw the development of more than half a million public housing units. (PHOTO: Lauryn Ishak/Bloomberg) By Faris Mokhtar (Bloomberg) Glossy, cosmopolitan Singapore is playing host to a very unusual balancing act. The city is one of Asias most expensive property markets and at the same time, boasts one of the highest home ownership rates in the world. Liu Thai Ker, the architect of modern Singapore, is a big part of the reason why. As the chief architect of Singapores Housing Development Board, Liu was instrumental in establishing a housing model that has underpinned decades of astonishing economic growth. The 84-year-old Yale graduate personally oversaw the development of more than half a million public housing units. Now, almost 90% of the citys residents own the well-designed, government-built apartments they live in. Since its independence in 1965, citizens have been able to buy these units at a steep discount, turning homeownership into a key way for Singaporeans to grow their wealth. But in the past few years and especially since the pandemic, which plunged the city into its worst-ever recession Singapores housing model has come under heightened scrutiny. As this weeks episode of The Pay Check podcast explores, surging prices and thinning profits are raising concerns about growing inequality among the citys citizens and threatening to unravel its lauded housing model. In an interview, Liu explained how Singapores property market got to where it is now and how he sees it going forward. Q: You were a student in Australia and the US, then you worked for the celebrated architect IM Pei in New York. What brought you back to Singapore? After the Second World War, both Malaysia and Singapore were extremely, extremely poor. And the environment was extremely bad. You could actually blindfold yourself and know you were at the Singapore river. Why? You could smell the sewage. Thats the Singapore we were in those days. I told myself even before I went overseas, that I want to upgrade myself. First of all, to speak English as well as anyone else. Second, I wanted to become one of the top students at the university. And third, to come back to help rebuild Singapore. Story continues Q: Three-quarters of Singapores population lived in overcrowded slums in 1960, when the HDB was formed. What was your vision for the city? I was trained with a degree in architecture and in planning. And I was very envious of the old cities in the West in Europe, particularly, and also Manhattan. Its very tidy, very neat, very easy to find your way around. I wanted Singapore to be as good. A lot of my ideas in planning came from the West, like the new town. My job was to translate those concepts into quantifiable specifications. Today, we [in Singapore] have many highly self-sufficient new towns but in the West, I dont think I can find them yet. They had the concept, but they didnt have people to translate it. Q: Public housing often has a poor reputation, but thats not the case in Singapore. Why is the citys government-built housing so well-regarded? So we actually did not build housing, we built communities. For example, we broke down new towns into neighbourhoods. And within each precinct, I wanted to make sure we have one- to five-room flats together. But not just anyhow. You dont mix one and three together because the economic gap is too big, it will create envy. You can only mix one- and two-room flats and then two- and three-room flats. So all these things have been built into the hardware. And actually, even a small thing like this: We used to have one-room flats with central corridors. After going to Europe, I realised that when we have a central corridor, theres no light inside. And when theres no good lighting, people are in a bad mood and they tend to fight more. Thats why we got rid of that [design]. It did not happen by luck, every little bit was a result of hard work and hard thinking. Q: How did housing become a tool for building wealth in Singapore? It was a gradual process. Im speaking as a planner, an architect. Im not speaking as an economist. The only resource we have in Singapore is human beings, and we have to look after our human beings to survive as a country. So, first of all you have to satisfy the basic human needs: to clothe them, feed them, to give them housing, to have good transportation. This is very important. Because if you dont have a home, first of all, you cannot concentrate on your work. And second, our public housing [agency] is probably one of very, very few in the world that built housing not just to rent but to sell. When you own your own property, then you will feel that you have taken root in the society. And you will also want to defend the country and help build the economy. So, homeownership is another very important factor in the success story of public housing. Q: Has the model worked well, is the public reaping the benefits? We didnt want people who lived in public housing to feel that they were inferior. So, we wanted their housing value to increase. One of my jobs at the HDB was to monitor the supply of public housing against demand to make sure that people dont have to wait too long to get public housing. In fact, what we wanted was to have supply slightly higher than demand so that people will not spend huge prices. I do worry that nowadays that public housing has become a kind of business venture rather than actually solving the housing needs. I feel that the implication may not be very good for the economic development of Singapore. Q: Is Singapores housing policy still working in terms of social mobility? As long as the HDB is able to control their land price and consumption costs, hopefully they can control the selling price. But Im totally out of touch with HDB, I dont know whether theyre able to do that. If they cannot do that, then I think the key factor of having successful public housing may be compromised. Q: What are you proposals for ensuring Singapore has a sustainable housing model? Personally, I feel that our original policy one, to monitor supply and demand and two, to build relatively low-cost housing is still valid. And on top of that, of course, to build highly self-sufficient new towns. All these things have respectively contribute to our economic growth. I would say, keep the housing price rising steadily and not in a crazy way. But how to make that transition I think we need some economists advice. Because now it has gone crazy. If you suddenly control it, I dont know what negative effect there could be. We need an economist to study it. But my wish is that we would go back to something more steady, so that our property price remain more predictable. Q: Having seen Singapore develop over the decades, what are your thoughts about where the city goes next? We should be thankful that the first-generation political leaders championed meritocracy. Meritocracy helped us to educate almost everybody. In terms of job market, the government also has been very careful in keeping a good spread of jobs for different ethnic groups. Even gender equality is steadily improving. When we first started, our economy was behind Manila, Yangon and Ho Chi Minh City, so we had a crisis mentality. Our first-generation political leaders feared for our survival. And now we appear to be very successful and we are but I personally feel that as a tiny country without resources, we must insist on maintaining the crisis mentality in order to survive. The crisis is still lurking behind our successful appearance. Liu Thai Kers remarks have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. 9 55 2000 9P 21.87% 100.91394 6.46 25.4% LET Group Holdings Limited 2 2.7%3% 6% 11.5 12% 15% 400 2022 2.58% 200% 200% 200 10%9% 2.6%9% 3% 399 HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. The man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder for opening fire at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including two high-powered rifles, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said. Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart promised that dozens more charges would be sought. The suspect, if convicted of the murder charges, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, he added. A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a rifle similar to an AR-15" to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore. Police said they went to the suspect's home in September 2019 after a family member called to say he was threatening to kill everyone there. Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time. The suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his fathers home. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said. Illinois state police, who issue gun owners licenses, said that the gunman applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application. At the time there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the application, state police said in a statement. The day after the shooting, authorities reported the death of a seventh person. More than three dozen other people were wounded in the attack, which Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks. Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive for the attack or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. Earlier in the day, FBI agents peeked into trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the site where the assailant opened fire. The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror. A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade goers remained inside a wide police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some residents drove up to collect blankets and chairs they abandoned. David Shapiro, 47, said the spray of gunfire quickly turned the parade into chaos. People didnt know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you, he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs. The shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to find cause to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together. It definitely hits a lot harder when its not only your hometown but its also right in front of you, resident Ron Tuazon said as he and a friend returned to the parade route Monday evening to retrieve chairs, blankets and a childs bike that his family abandoned when the shooting began. Its commonplace now, Tuazon said. We dont blink anymore. Until laws change, its going to be more of the same. A police officer pulled over Robert E. Crimo III, 21, north of the shooting scene several hours after police released his photo and warned that he was likely armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said. His father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran for mayor in 2019. Crimos attorney, Thomas A. Durkin, a prominent Chicago-based lawyer, said he intends to enter a not guilty plea to all charges. Asked about his clients emotional state, Durkin said he has spoken to Crimo only once for 10 minutes by phone. He declined to comment further. After evading initial capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, Crimo drove to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, then returned to Illinois, Covelli said. The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day. Among them was Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting his family in Illinois from Mexico, and Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong congregant and staff member at nearby North Shore Congregation Israel. The Lake County coroner released the names of four other victims: 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein, 35-year-old Irina McCarthy, 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy and 88-year-old Stephen Straus. Nine people, ranging from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital officials said. Since the start of the year, the U.S. has seen 15 shootings where four or more people were killed, including the one in Highland Park, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass killing database. Scores of smaller-scale shootings in nearby Chicago also left eight people dead and 60 others wounded over the July 4 weekend. In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburbs stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Courts doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburbs restrictions remain in place. Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or those who are termed mental defectives and capable of harming themselves or others. That might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon. But under the law, just who is a mental defective must be decided by a court, board, commission or other legal authority. The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized. LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson battled to remain in office Wednesday, brushing off calls for his resignation after three Cabinet ministers and a slew of junior officials said they could no longer serve under his scandal-plagued leadership. Johnson rejected demands that he step down during a stormy session of the House of Commons amid a furor over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a senior official. Later in the day, a delegation of some of his most trusted allies in the Cabinet paid a visit to the prime minister at 10 Downing Street to urge him to go, but he remained unmoved, Britain's Press Association reported. The prime minister turned down suggestions he seek a dignified exit and opted instead to fight for his political career, citing hugely important issues facing the country, according to the news agency. It quoted a source close to Johnson as saying he told colleagues there would be chaos if he quit. The 58-year-old leader who pulled Britain out of the European Union and steered it through the COVID-19 outbreak is known for his ability to wiggle out of tight spots, managing to remain in power despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules. He hung on even when 41% of Conservative lawmakers voted to oust him in a no-confidence vote last month. But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a lawmaker before he promoted the man to a senior position pushed him to the brink. In holding on to his office, Johnson is attempting to defy the mathematics of parliamentary government and the traditions of British politics. It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. He is now besmirching our democracy, and if he doesnt do the right thing and go of his own accord, then hell be dragged out," Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told the BBC. Many of Johnson's fellow Conservatives were concerned that he no longer had the moral authority to govern at a time when difficult decisions are needed to address soaring food and energy prices, rising COVID-19 infections and the war in Ukraine. Others worry that he may now be a liability at the ballot box. On Wednesday, members of the opposition Labour Party showered Johnson with shouts of Go! Go! during the weekly ritual of Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer mockingly said of the resignations surrounding Johnson, Isnt it the first recorded case of the sinking ship fleeing the rat? More damningly, members of Johnsons own Conservative Party wearied by the many scandals he has faced also challenged their leader. Frankly the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when hes been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going, Johnson replied with the bluster he has used to fend off critics throughout nearly three years in office. And thats what Im going to do. Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who helped trigger the current crisis when he resigned Tuesday night, captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnsons actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government. At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough, he told fellow lawmakers. I believe that point is now. Under party rules, another no-confidence vote cannot be held for another 11 months, but party members can change the rules. The 1922 Committee, a small but influential group of Conservative lawmakers, could decide as early as Monday whether to do that. Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other over the latest furor. The two Cabinet heavyweights were responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain the cost-of-living crisis and COVID-19. In a scathing letter, Sunak said: The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. The resignations of some 40 junior ministers and ministerial aides followed on Tuesday and Wednesday. A third Cabinet official, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, quit late Wednesday, saying we have passed the point" where it's possible to turn the ship around." As Johnson dug in, critics accused him of refusing to accept the inevitable and of behaving more like a president than a prime minister by referring to his mandate. In Britain, voters elect a party to govern, not the prime minister directly. Former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said late Tuesday that Johnson's time is finally up. Its a bit like the death of Rasputin: Hes been poisoned, stabbed, hes been shot, his bodys been dumped in a freezing river, and still he lives, Mitchell told the BBC. But this is an abnormal prime minister, a brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character. But Im afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister. The final straw for Sunak and Javid was the prime ministers handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations leveled against Pincher and shifting explanations from the government about what Johnson knew when he tapped the man for a senior job enforcing party discipline. This story has ben updated to correct the spelling of the last name of the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce in Britain. It is Drechsler, not Drexler. Follow all of APs coverage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson at https://apnews.com/hub/boris-johnson As adults try to comprehend the horrors of the July Fourth parade shooting in Highland Park, many have been left with a disturbing task: talking about the tragedy with their children. In the past, Chicago-area parents may have been able to avoid difficult conversations with their young children about mass shootings in other areas of the country. But the Highland Park shooting has made that nearly impossible for many parents, as their children wonder why parades and fireworks were suddenly canceled Monday. In the north suburbs, the cancellations continued into Tuesday, with some day camps and park districts taking a pause. "If you're living in northern Illinois, everyone is going to be talking about this, and if a child is older than a toddler, they're going to have some level of exposure to it," said Gene Liebler, executive director of behavioral health and community at La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago. Dafna Lender, a child and family therapist in Evanston, said she's been fielding calls from clients since the shooting that killed seven people and wounded dozens of others Monday. "One of the most important things is absolutely truthful disclosures, not trying to hide the reality because kids feel it," Lender said. "If you give a contrary message to what they're feeling that creates a dissonance inside, and that's more disturbing than anything that happened in the outside world." Rep. Bob Morgan, a Democrat from Deerfield, said he and his wife have been trying to answer their 7-year-old son's questions in recent days, after attending the parade. "He understood that something was going wrong, didn't really know what," Morgan said. "So when my daughter was out of earshot, asked us what had happened, and my wife responded by saying, 'What did you hear?' And he said, 'Well, I heard fireworks. But were those gunshots?' And she said they were." He then asked if people got hurt, if people died, and why the shooter did it. Morgan and his wife said that, yes, people died, and they didn't know why the man did it. "I was prepared for active shooter drill conversations with a child going into 2nd grade," Morgan said. "But I was not prepared for this." Like Morgan, Parents should begin conversations with their children by asking what they know, advises the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Not talking about it can make the situation seem scarier in children's minds or make them think parents don't know what happened, according to the network. Parents can ask open-ended questions, Liebler said. "You've got to have the facts and be able to talk about them reasonably," Liebler said. It's important for parents to actively listen to their children, so they understand what their children are really asking, said Dr. John Walkup, chair of the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Lurie Children's Hospital. A child asking why camp was canceled, for example, may be more concerned about missing their friends at camp than about what happened in Highland Park, he said. "Kids process all of this stuff in very different ways, and when they ask a question, they usually aren't asking a question, they're making a statement," he said. Responding to a question about why camp was canceled with a detailed recounting of the shooting in Highland Park may not actually be an appropriate way to answer the child, he said. A parent may want to respond by asking the child, "What do you think about camp being canceled?" to better understand the child's concerns, he said. "It's most important for parents to understand what their kids are saying, not getting preoccupied with how to say something to their kid," Walkup said. Parents should also consider a child's developmental level and personality when deciding how to respond to questions, Liebler said. Anxious children, for example, will likely need more reassurance that they and their families are not in imminent danger, he said. With younger children, parents should be truthful but keep their answers short and to the point, Lender said. They can also provide reassurance that they're doing everything they can to keep their family safe and police have caught the suspect. Parents shouldn't be alarmed if their younger children incorporate the shooting into their games of pretend or drawings, Lender said. It's a healthy way for children to work through the situation, especially if their games include rescuers or helpers, and as long as they don't focus excessively on death or violence, she said. Parents should also limit media exposure in the home, advises the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. "When you're home and have the news on they may be doing something else, but they're listening intently to it," Liebler said. Of course, that may be more difficult for parents of teens, who often have their own smartphones. "For older kids, they're going to have a lot more streams of information coming at them," Liebler said. "Some could be misinformation or disinformation. You want to make sure you have good fact-based responses to share with them." When speaking with teens, parents should keep their conversations low key, ask questions about their teens' thoughts and avoid lecturing, Lender said. Parents also shouldn't be afraid to seek help if they think their children are having a hard time coping with the shooting, Liebler said. If parents are worried about their kids, or their children's reactions are interfering with their ability to function, parents should contact their pediatrician or family physician, recommends the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Children who were already struggling with their mental health before the shooting may struggle more with it afterward, Walkup said. "There are times when your child is sick and you're like, 'OK, I can manage this as a parent,' " and there are times when your child is sick and you're like, 'OK, I'm making an appointment with the doctor,' " Liebler said. Mental health issues should be no different, he said. "There's a time when you have to recognize what my child needs goes beyond what I'm able to offer them as a parent." For more information on talking to children about tragedies, visit https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/blog/talking-to-your-children-about-tragedies-in-the-news/. SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man has been arrested and charged with shooting a woman in the legs inside her home in May. Apollo Houston, 20, was arrested Thursday and is charged in Woodbury County District Court with willful injury, aggravated assault and reckless use of a firearm. He is scheduled to be arraigned July 11. He remains in the Woodbury County Jail on a $25,000 bond. Houston is charged with shooting Kaleigh White on May 7 inside a residence in the 1900 block of Ingleside Avenue. According to court documents, White's sister brought Houston to the home, and they began drinking. As White's sister became drunk, she and Houston began arguing. White quit drinking and went to the basement. Her sister and Houston eventually joined her and began arguing again, so White went back upstairs and called a friend. While White was on the phone, Houston came upstairs, sat next to her on the couch and was waving his gun around. According to court documents, White was not paying attention to Houston until she noticed that he had the gun pressed against her left leg, and he shot her. The bullet traveled through both of White's legs. White said she had no idea why Houston shot her, court documents said. An arrest warrant was issued for Houston on May 13. DAKOTA CITY -- A judge has ruled that a South Sioux City man acquitted by reason of insanity for the 2017 shooting death of his wife must remain in custody and continue treatment for his mental illness. District Judge Bryan Meismer on June 28 ruled that evidence, including reports from mental health providers, showed Bei Sheng Chen is still a danger to himself and others and will continue to be a danger for the foreseeable future. Meismer ordered Chen to remain in treatment at the Lincoln (Nebraska) Regional Center. Chen, 45, was found not responsible by reason of insanity and acquitted in May 2018 of first-degree murder, first-degree domestic assault and use of a firearm to commit a felony for the Sept. 6, 2017, shooting death of Mei Huang. Chen has been in treatment since his acquittal, and Nebraska law requires an annual review of his condition. Meismer scheduled next year's review hearing for June 27 in Dakota County District Court. Meismer said Chen may continue his current on and off-ground privileges while under supervision for the purpose of community reintegration. The judge permitted the Regional Center to begin the process of exploring placement options in the community for Chen, but the discharge process likely would be lengthy. Any changes in Chen's placement would need court approval. Two psychiatrists who examined Chen separately prior to trial agreed that he was insane when he shot and killed his wife and did not realize the consequences of his actions on that day. Chen was diagnosed with psychosis, delusional disorders and depressive disorders. Chen had followed Huang to the Law Enforcement Center at 701 W. 29th St. in South Sioux City and shot her outside. Police officers found Huang lying on the ground with gunshot wounds. Chen was found near her and taken into custody, and a firearm was found nearby. Evidence presented at trial showed that prior the shooting, Chen was having delusions that his wife was the devil and was going to harm him. Chen's attorney did not dispute that Chen had shot his wife, and a judge agreed that evidence showed Chen had pulled the trigger. SIOUX CITY -- Robert Tiefenthaler decided he'd take one last shot at his goal of becoming a judge. A finalist for a spot in 2019, he was disappointed not to make the final cut again for an opening last year. When District Judge Jeffrey Poulson announced his upcoming retirement earlier this year, Tiefenthaler had already made up his mind about future applications. "This one I was a little more committed that I was going to apply one last time," said Tiefenthaler, who lives in Sergeant Bluff and runs a private practice in Sioux City. Knowing Gov. Kim Reynolds' 30-day deadline to name a new judge was coming up, Tiefenthaler said when he saw a 641 area code pop up on his caller ID at 10:03 Wednesday morning, he immediately answered. When he heard Reynolds' voice on the other end of the line, he knew this application had ended differently than the others, especially when she informed him of her decision to appoint him to the bench. "It was definitely a relief, just the excitement of it," Tiefenthaler said. "This has been a lifelong professional dream of mine." Born in Sioux City and raised in Breda, Iowa, Tiefenthaler, the son of Bonnie and Dean Tiefenthaler, received his bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota and graduated from the University of South Dakota Law School in 1994. He's operated his own practice since 1999, handling mostly criminal defense, personal injury, worker compensation and juvenile law cases. He was one of seven applicants for the position, which presides in Judicial District 3B covering Woodbury, Crawford, Ida, Monona, Plymouth and Sioux counties. Sioux City lawyer Andrea Buckley was the other finalist. Having been a finalist before, Tiefenthaler said waiting for Reynolds' decision wasn't as stressful this time. His response when she called was simple. "I said thank you very much and I hope to make her and the citizens of Iowa proud," he said. The alleged shooter in the Highland Park July 4th parade attack is appearing in court at 10 a.m. today. Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart and Task Force Public Information Officer Christopher Covelli will address the media outside of the Lake County Criminal Court Tower in Waukegan to discuss the criminal charges and court hearing. Watch live below: DES MOINES New legal standards for potential abortion restrictions in Iowa must be argued first in front of a lower court judge, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled. The Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Gov. Kim Reynolds request to rehear a case involving a state law that requires a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion. The Iowa Supreme Court ruling is the latest legal domino to fall in the wake of rulings by the U.S. and Iowa Supreme Courts, which eliminated a womans access to abortion as a federal right and sent the issue to states. With their state law-writing majorities in state government, statehouse Republicans are expected to further restrict if not outright ban abortions in Iowa. Reynolds had requested the high court rehear the case so that Iowa Supreme Court justices could rule on what legal standard would be applied to future abortion regulations in the state. The Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected that request, instead insisting the case return to the district court level, where the parties will argue before a district judge. That district court judges ruling is likely to be appealed, and the case likely will return to the Iowa Supreme Court anyway, said legal expert Sally Frank, a law professor at Drake University. Frank said the courts eventually will be asked to rule what type of legal standards should be applied to future abortion regulations: rational basis or undue burden. Frank said what kind of abortion restriction or ban statehouse Republicans propose likely will depend on which standard the state courts apply. In the meantime, abortion remains legal in Iowa up until 20 weeks of pregnancy, as has been the case since 2017. However, the state law that requires a woman to wait 24 hours before having an abortion likely will go into effect soon. Reynolds office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. BATTLE CREEK, Iowa -- Three people were injured in a house explosion in rural Battle Creek, Iowa, early Wednesday. A man outside the home at 2362 Carriage Ave. called 911 to report the explosion at 9:34 a.m., Ida County Sheriff Wade Harriman said. When firefighters and emergency personnel arrived at the scene, the house was engulfed in flames. "As you can see, there's really nothing left of it," Harriman said while standing at the end of the driveway with the smoking debris behind him. From the road, a set of wooden steps leading up to the remains of a deck were all that appeared to be left of the house. Trees and thick, white smoke prevented clear views of the former structure. Two males and one female -- all adults -- were inside the home at the time of the explosion, Harriman said. The three, who all live at the residence, were outside when firefighters arrived. All three sustained "substantial" injuries, the sheriff said. Two were transported to Horn Memorial Hospital in Ida Grove, Iowa, and later transferred to a Lincoln, Nebraska, burn center. The third victim was taken to Sioux City. Harriman said late Wednesday that person may also have been transferred to the Lincoln burn center, but he had not received confirmation. The status of the three people was not immediately known. The victims' identities will be released Thursday, Harriman said. Harriman said the man who called 911 was not hurt. He was not sure if the man lived at the house. A garage next to the house did not appear to have sustained any damage, he said. The Iowa State Fire Marshal was on the scene to investigate the explosion. Harriman said investigators must wait for the heat in the debris to cool down to complete their investigation, and it might take a few days to determine the explosion's cause. Fire departments and emergency crews from Battle Creek and numerous surrounding communities responded to the blast. By late morning, the flames were extinguished, but firefighters remained at the scene monitoring the structure, which was still emitting heavy smoke. Tired-looking firefighters found shady spots to rest while drinking water in the humid conditions. SIOUX CITY -- Sioux City officials haven't been able to completely snuff out illegal fireworks discharge, but the number of complaints over the Fourth of July holiday and in the month leading up to it were down roughly 11% from last year. From June 1 to July 4, the Sioux City Police Department logged 295 calls for service related to fireworks. That's a decrease from the 328 calls recorded during that time frame last year. Crime Prevention Officer Valerie Rose said she hopes the department's efforts to educate the public about fireworks laws contributed to the decline in calls. "That could be it. Just people getting informed about the law. We've obviously been pushing stuff out on our social media as far as when it's OK to use fireworks," she said. Since Iowa lifted an 84-year ban on fireworks discharge in 2017, the sale of fireworks has been allowed in permanent buildings from June 1 to July 8 and in tents and other temporary structures from June 13 to July 8. Although fireworks can be sold in June and a few days after the July Fourth holiday, the window that fireworks can be discharged is much shorter. Under the city's current ordinance, fireworks are only allowed to be discharged from 1 to 11 p.m. on July 3 and 4, and from 1 p.m. on Dec. 31 until 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 1. From June 1 to July 4, Sioux City police officers issued 26 warning citations for illegal fireworks discharge. The year before, Rose said 13 citations were issued. "This is the first year that we've actually had warning citations. That was created by one of our sergeants here. We didn't have that option last year," said Rose, who noted that warning citations don't carry a fine. "Warning citations are definitely a lot easier, a lot quicker for officers to be able to handwrite." In January 2021, in response to the complaints of pet owners, veterans and numerous other residents, the Sioux City Council passed ordinance changes that added a municipal infraction penalty for property owners who permit fireworks violations to occur on their property. A first offense is $250, while a second offense is $500 and a third or subsequent offense is $1,000. Before the changes, only direct violators could be charged with simple misdemeanors. Illegal fireworks discharge carries a minimum $250 fine on private property and $500 on city property. That year, Mayor Pro Tem Dan Moore also led a public service announcement campaign to encourage residents to adhere to the city's fireworks ordinance. That campaign continued in the days and weeks leading up to this year's holiday. Moore said Tuesday that he is aware that there has been illegal fireworks discharge in the city. However, he said most of the residents he has spoken with have been "very happy" to see a "noticeable" decline prior to July 3 and 4. "I do think the educational piece is making a difference. We've stepped it up quite a bit for this year and had our PSAs aired a lot more frequently than we did last year. And, we sent out notices in the water billings to the citizens again advertising the time that it was legal to discharge fireworks. I think it is making a difference," Moore said Tuesday. Leah McInerney, a senior marketing communications specialist for UnityPoint Health -- St. Luke's, reported zero fireworks-related injuries at UnityPoint Health -- Sioux City's hospital or urgent cares over the holiday, while Michaela Feldmann, MercyOne regional communications lead, said three fireworks-related burn injuries were treated in MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center's emergency department. On July 4, Rose said Sioux City Fire Rescue was called to six grass fires, a vehicle fire, a report of smoke odor and a fire in a dumpster or outside trash receptacle, which were all tied to fireworks. She said firefighters were not called to any structure fires or fireworks-related injuries. Improperly discarded fireworks likely ignited a fire that caused moderate damage to a garage in Le Mars, according to fire officials. At 10:54 p.m. Monday, firefighters were called to the 300 block of Third Street Northwest, where they found heavy smoke and flames coming from a single stall detached garage. A neighbor spotted the fire and notified the home's residents. Firefighters mounted "an aggressive interior attack" through the garage's walk-in door and cut the main overhead garage door open to gain entry to extinguish the fire, Dave Schipper, Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief, said in a statement. Firefighters were able to bring the fire, which originated in the outside northwest corner of the garage, under control in about 10 minutes. "A large firework container was located at the base of the garage on the northwest corner. This was a spent firework container, however, the remnants were still hot and the container ignited and spread to the exterior wall of the garage," the statement said. "The fire then got into the wall of the garage and into the interior of the garage itself." Although no injuries were reported, the statement said weather conditions were "tough" on the firefighters. Several were checked and rehabilitated by EMS personnel. "While we have not seen an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations here at the hospital, we do care for individuals that are sick or have weakened immune systems and we must be more cautious when COVID-19 levels are higher in our community," the statement said. "It's important that we as a community remember the basic infection prevention strategies we've been practicing since the beginning of the pandemic wash your hands, wear a mask, stay home when you're sick, and get your appropriate vaccinations. As always, the health and safety of our patients and team members is our top priority." WASHINGTON (AP) Secretary of State Antony Blinken will see his Chinese counterpart this week at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 bloc of nations that will likely exacerbate splits over Russias war in Ukraine. While strained U.S.-China ties will be the focus of Blinkens talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the broader G-20 gathering in Indonesia of leading industrialized nations will almost certainly be overshadowed by the Ukraine conflict and its effect on global food and energy security. And Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be there, marking the first time he and Blinken will be in the same room, let alone the same city, at the same time in nearly six months. The State Department announced Tuesday that Blinken would meet with Wang in Bali, but had little to say about the possibility of him seeing Lavrov, whom the U.S. has shunned since the Ukraine invasion in February. U.S. officials have accused Lavrov and other Russian diplomats of a lack of seriousness in the run-up to the Ukraine war. The Biden administration has ruled out business as usual with Russia while it remains in Ukraine and U.S. officials said there would be no formal discussions between Blinken and Lavrov in Bali. But they could not rule out the possibility of a chance encounter, which would their first since they last met in Geneva in January. "The secretary intends to engage fully in the G-20. Im not going to speak to any plans on the part of Foreign Minister Lavrov ... but I can tell you the secretary will be a full and active participant in the G-20, which we see as a valuable forum," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. Like many recent international diplomatic gatherings, the Bali meeting will be focused on Ukraine as the participants set the stage for a summit of G-20 leaders, also to be held in Indonesia, in November. But unlike, the Western-dominated G-7 and NATO summits that were held in Europe last week, the G-20 will have a different flavor. China and many other participants, including India, South Africa, Brazil and several other large developing nations, have resisted signing onto U.S. and European opposition to Russias invasion. Some have outright refused Western entreaties to join condemnations of the conflict, which the U.S. and its allies see as an outright attack on the international rules-based order that has prevailed since the end of World War II. The divergence has set the stage for a potentially contentious preparatory meeting ahead of November's summit, amid questions about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend. The U.S. has made clear it does not believe Putin should attend but has urged the Indonesian hosts to invite Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy should the Russian leader participate. In the meantime, the U.S. and China are separately at severe odds over numerous issues ranging from trade and human rights to Taiwan and disputes in the South China Sea. Blinken's meeting with Wang was announced after Chinas envoy to trade war talks with Washington expressed concern about U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports in a call with with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Neither side gave any indication that progress has been made on the matter. In his meeting with Wang, Price said Blinken will reinforce our commitment to working with international partners to confront global challenges, including food and energy insecurity and the threat Russias continued war against Ukraine presents to the international order. From Bali, Blinken will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, to make up for a trip to the Thai capital that he was forced to cancel late last year due to COVID-19 reasons. PARIS (AP) French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne vowed Wednesday to boost jobs, cut taxes, support purchasing power, tackle climate issues and help France better face the consequences of the war in Ukraine including by nationalizing electricity giant EDF. Borne laid out her main priorities in her first major speech to the National Assembly after parliamentary elections last month cost French President Emmanuel Macrons government its majority. She said the government plans to nationalize French electricity giant EDF one of the worlds biggest electricity producers amid an energy crisis aggravated by Russias invasion of Ukraine. The French state now holds an 84% stake in the company. Its share price jumped on the news. EDF manages Frances sizable fleet of nuclear reactors, which are facing a raft of technical and other problems. New-generation reactors are years behind schedule and billions over budget. The war in Ukraine, at Europes doors, reminds us how peace is fragile. Energy prices are rising and we must keep protecting the French. The (COVID-19) pandemic is still there and our vigilance must remain total, Borne said. The announcement on EDF came as she detailed the governments agenda for coming years in front of very vocal lawmakers from the left and from the right, who together outnumber members of the presidents centrist alliance in the National Assembly. The French have elected an Assembly without a straight majority. They invite us to have new practices and an intensive dialogue to actively look for compromises, Borne said. Macrons camp suffered big losses in the parliamentary elections. His alliance, Together!, won the most seats in the Assembly but fell 44 seats short of a majority as voters opted for the leftist coalition or the far right. Having the largest group of lawmakers, Macrons government still has the ability to rule, but only by bargaining with opposition legislators. To prevent deadlock, Borne promised to negotiate on a case-by-case basis on future bills. She called on lawmakers and the government to build together, saying she is ready to hear proposals from opposition members and in some cases, accept their amendments a very unusual method in France. Disorder and instability are not options, she said. We may not agree on all the solutions, but we are all aware of the urgent need to act. A bill to be presented at a Cabinet meeting Thursday is to focus on helping struggling households amid rising energy and food prices. It is to include measures worth 25 billion euros ($25.5 billion), including increasing pensions and some welfare payments by 4%. Borne said gas and electricity prices will remained capped as they are now. She confirmed that civil servants will see their salaries increased by 3.5%. In addition, rent increases will be capped. Borne also addressed key economic changes promised by Macron as he successfully ran for reelection in April. Full employment is not an illusion, she said. It is within our reach. Frances unemployment rate recently decreased to 7,3%, from more than 10% when Macron came into power in 2017. Stressing that the French are retiring earlier that all our European neighbors, she vowed to implement pension changes meant to make the French gradually work longer, prompting boos both from the left and from the far-right. Macron promised to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 65 and bring the minimum pension to 1,100 euros ($1120). Borne also urged lawmakers to take action on climate-related issues and vowed to reach the goal set by France and the European Union to slash greenhouse gases by at least 55% in 2030 compared with 1990. We want to be, we will be, the first great nation to exit from fossil energies, she promised. Borne also had strong words to promote gender equality; she is the second woman ever named to the post of prime minister. The leftist coalition, known as Nupes, formally requested a no-confidence motion to symbolically mark its opposition to the government. The motion has very little chance of passing since it is highly unlikely to get approval from more than half of all lawmakers. The major opposition group, the far-right National Rally, as well as The Republicans, have already said their representatives would abstain. The no-confidence vote is to be organized within a week, but no earlier than Friday afternoon. On Monday, Macron reshuffled his Cabinet and called on his new government to stand strong amid Russias war in Ukraine and transform the heavily indebted French economy. Three out of Macrons 15 ministers failed to keep their seats in last month's elections and were replaced. In addition, Damien Abad, who was minister of policies for the disabled and is under investigation for alleged rape and sexual misconduct, was also replaced. Abad firmly denies the allegations. Angela Charlton contributed to this report. The path is officially cleared for a sea change on the Cook County Board of Review, a three-member elected body that hears appeals to property tax assessments. But what would be a celebratory occasion for the winning candidate is clouded by a lawsuit filed by her former campaign strategist, who alleges the candidate failed to pay her thousands of dollars. Democratic incumbent Board of Review Commissioner Michael Cabonargi conceded to primary challenger Samantha Steele early Friday, meaning two of the boards three seats are slated to be filled with newcomers. Steele, an assessment official who previously worked on Assessor Fritz Kaegis transition team, campaigned on a platform of reform and putting in place best practices so we maintain the highest ethical standards. Advertisement But a lawsuit filed by her former campaign operative, Rebecca Williams, claims Steele reneged on their contract and improperly canceled more than $19,000 in payments Steele owed her after a falling-out over a Juneteenth event. Williams suit said she is also due a $15,000 win bonus now that Steele has prevailed in the election. Advertisement A Steele campaign spokesperson strongly denied the claims made in the lawsuit. A worker walks through the lobby to the entrance of the Cook County Board of Review at the Cook County Building on April 7, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) Williams attorney, Scott Kane, has handled a number of breach-of-contract and wage-payment dispute claims, and said Steeles actions were outrageous. According to the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court last week, Steele hired Williams and her company, Oasis Strategies, to consult for her campaign in February. The suit says Steele authorized Williams to issue checks on behalf of the campaign to pay for her own monthly fees and reimburse herself for campaign-related expenses that Williams incurred. But Steele and Williams parted company after a dispute between the two about a Juneteenth event, the lawsuit says. Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Afterwards, Steele refused to pay Plaintiffs $5,000 June monthly consulting fee, which had already been due since June 1, according to the suit. On June 23, under explicit threat of a lawsuit, Steele rushed to personally hand deliver a $5,000 check to Williams to avoid a lawsuit days before the election. Immediately after, the suit alleges, Steele put a stop payment order on that $5,000 check and instructed her campaigns bank to reverse payment on three previous checks worth more than $14,000 dating back to April based the false claim that these checks were altered / fictitious. Kane said Williams is at risk of having her bank account shut down due to lack of funds, and her business cannot write a check or operate as a result of this. Advertisement Steele and her attorney did not respond to interview requests, but a Steele campaign spokesperson issued a statement saying the claims are baseless, false and without merit. We look forward to an opportunity to present before a judge and let the facts speak for themselves. Disputes over pay in campaigns are relatively common but often handled privately politicians dont want a reputation for not paying, and vendors dont want a reputation for airing dirty laundry. But candidates have been in hot water for wage issues before. Former Ald. Bob Fioretti faced repeated questions about why he and his law firm had not paid their bills after his campaigns. So did mayoral candidate Amara Enyia after the 2019 race. A movement for campaign workers to unionize picked up some steam in 2018, amid complaints that some candidates were using money at the end of campaigns to pay for last-minute advertising instead of workers wages. As for Cabonargi, the former Securities and Exchange Commission prosecutor thanked supporters in a concession statement and recounted the sweeping reform and modernization he brought to the board over the past decade, including digitizing appeals, making the office more accessible to those who dont speak English, and authoring the boards first ethics policy. Cabonargi is not exiting politics completely: He was reelected as a committeeman with the states Democratic Party, where he is currently vice chair. The Republican Party did not run a candidate in the primary for the Board of Review seat. HANOI, Vietnam (AP) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Vietnam on Wednesday as part of an effort to bolster ties with a country that has not openly condemned its invasion of Ukraine or imposed sanctions against it. Lavrov, on his way to the Indonesian island of Bali for a meeting of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations, sought to strengthen ties with Vietnam, which also has a strong relationship with the United States. I expressed my appreciation for the very balanced objective position of Vietnam which is demonstrated by the refusal of this country to join the illegal sanctions, he said at a news conference after meeting his Vietnamese counterpart, Bui Thanh Son. Commenting on the situation in Ukraine, Lavrov said the West should realize its responsibility for the deaths of civilians in the regions where Ukraine is using Western weapons. Lavrov is currently on a trip to Asia to seek support amid his countrys diplomatic isolation by the West and punishing sanctions leveled over its invasion of Ukraine. He visited Mongolia a day before arriving in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi. Mongolia also retains ties with Moscow but has burgeoning relations with Washington. The visit comes as the two countries marked 10 years since expanding their relationship to a strategic partnership. The Soviet Union was a close backer of Hanois Communist government during the Vietnam War against the capitalist south and its American and other Western allies. Lavrov was to leave Vietnam later Wednesday to travel to Indonesia for the G-20 foreign ministers' meeting. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A West Virginia National Guard member who wore a hoodie that read Yes, I'm a Trump girl inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda during the Jan. 6 riot pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Wednesday. Jamie Lynn Ferguson entered the plea to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building during a conference call with a U.S. magistrate judge in Washington, D.C. The charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Prosecutors asked that three other charges be dismissed. Ferguson, 44, also agreed to pay $500 restitution for damage caused to the Capitol. Sentencing was set for Nov. 18. On Jan. 3, 2021, Ferguson shared an article on her Facebook account containing a picture of a crowd in front of the Capitol with a storm cloud and Mount Rushmore above it. A caption in the post read, I pray this is exactly what D.C. will look like on Jan. 6th. #HoldTheLine. A comment on the post asked whether Ferguson was going to the Capitol and she replied, I am, according to court documents. In an interview with FBI special agents a week after the riot, Ferguson admitted attending former President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally in front of the White House before heading to the Capitol. Ferguson was wearing a dark hoodie with the phrase Yes, Im a Trump Girl in white lettering when she entered the building. She spent nearly an hour inside, mostly walking around the Rotunda, the documents showed. A report submitted to the FBI by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations said Ferguson was on leave from the National Guard from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7. Ferguson said she attended the rally with her parents, who left afterward. Ferguson said she proceeded to the Capitol because she believed she would be able to see Trump again. Ferguson was arrested in May in Lynchburg, Virginia. She is a technical sergeant and a drill status guardsman assigned to the West Virginia Air National Guard. As a matter of policy, the 130th Airlift Wing and the West Virginia National Guard do not comment on civilian criminal matters, the Guard said in a statement Wednesday. Under the conditions of her release, Ferguson was ordered to stay at the Virginia home of her parents. More than 830 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than 320 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanor charges, and over 200 have been sentenced. A Coralville police officer, one of those responding to a call about a 3-year-year-old being shot Sunday, later died from an acute medical emergency, according to a Facebook post from the Coralville Police Department. "We are reeling from both of these incidents," Coralville Mayor Meghann Foster said in an interview Tuesday. "The loss of this young child in our community, and the loss of this officer who served for over two decades and was known for his kindness." Damari Sanders, a 3-year-old boy, was critically injured Sunday in Coralville after suffering a gunshot wound. The child died later that evening at the hospital. Coralville police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are investigating the shooting and have provided no public explanation of the circumstances leading up to it. Johnson County Supervisor Royceann Porter, a friend of the boy's family, said his family is distraught. Porter was working on a GoFundMe page online to help the family with funeral expenses and other financial struggles. "While funeral arrangements are underway, we as a community must step up to show full support to this mom in her time of need. The day she lost her son a piece of her heart was lost too!," Porter wrote on the page. Sgt. John Williams, who had been with the Coralville Police Department for over 28 years, died from a medical emergency "in the aftermath" of responding to the shooting, according to the Facebook post. But his death was not directly related to Damari's death, according to Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth. "His knowledge, experience and leadership will be near-impossible to replace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, co-workers, and all those he helped throughout his career," the post reads. In asking a federal appeals court to stop an injunction temporarily blocking Nebraska's signature requirement for ballot initiatives, the State of Nebraska last week cited the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade to bolster its case. The arguments, detailed in a court filing, represent the latest development in an ongoing legal battle between medical marijuana advocates and the state over Nebraska's requirement that ballot initiative or referendum campaigns collect signatures from 5% of registered voters in 38 of the state's 93 counties. The state constitution spells out the requirement. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which is working to put a pair of initiatives legalizing medical marijuana on the November ballot, and the ACLU of Nebraska sued the state in May, arguing that the multicounty requirement violates the U.S. Constitution. In June, U.S. District Judge John Gerrard found that the requirement likely violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution by giving undue power to voters in rural counties. He issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the requirement. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, who is named as the defendant in the lawsuit, appealed the injunction to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and filed an emergency motion for a stay pending appeal. If the motion is granted, the signature requirement would be reinstated until further legal proceedings determine its constitutionality. The Nebraska Attorney General's Office, which is representing Evnen, has asked the court to issue a decision on the motion before Thursday the deadline for initiative signatures to be submitted to the state in order to qualify for the November ballot but the court has no obligation to do so. In Monday's filing, the AG's Office echoed many of its previous arguments, including its assertion that the federally protected right to vote applies to electing candidates, not proposing ballot initiatives. To further that argument, the AG's Office cited Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the June 24 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. The Dobbs decision, in part, found that there is nothing in the text of the Constitution to support the right to access abortion services. Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Samuel Alito noted that "the court has been 'reluctant' to recognize rights that are not mentioned in the Constitution." The AG's filing quotes the above line from the Dobbs opinion after noting that the federal constitution says nothing about the initiative right. Eric Berger, a constitutional law professor at the University of Nebraska School of Law, said that he wasn't surprised to see the Dobbs decision cited so soon after it was issued. "It's relatively unusual for Supreme Court decisions to be cited so immediately after they are issued, but in this instance it's not surprising," Berger said. "There has been a long movement to try to overturn Roe, and pro-life activists and conservative state officials have been preparing for this moment." In its motion for stay pending appeal, the state also argues that enforcing the multicounty signature requirement is in the public interest because of the "uncertainty and disorder" caused by the injunction. Currently, there are 16 initiative measures in circulation that could potentially make it onto the ballot while the injunction is in place. If the injunction is later overturned, those measures could be deemed invalid. Lawyers representing the medical marijuana advocates wrote "there is no record evidence to suggest that any other initiative is anywhere close to qualifying for the ballot in the absence of the 38-county rule." "And even if there was," they went on to write, "it is unclear why the state official charged with protecting the initiative right would deem that problematic." What happens next depends on what and when the appeals court rules on the state's motion for stay. If the motion is granted before Thursday's signature deadline, enforcement of the signature requirement will resume. If it is denied, the preliminary injunction will remain in place and the state will not be able to enforce the requirement. A boy was killed when a portion of the roof collapsed into the pool area of a York hotel on Sunday night, authorities said. Crews were called to the Hampton Inn just north of Interstate 80 around 9 p.m. By the time firefighters, medics and local law enforcement arrived, the pool area had been evacuated, however, one victim was found dead at the scene. In a news release issued Monday, the York Police Department said the boy "was trapped inside the pool room beneath debris. This male was determined to be the only trapped person and was found to be deceased. The boy's name has not yet been released. Investigating agencies include the Nebraska State Fire Marshals office. The hotel was evacuated. Approximately 40 guests were relocated to other hotels. Fire department officials were assisted by Moguls Towing and Hitz Towing in stabilizing the collapsed area, the York News-Times reported. On Monday morning, firefighters returned to the scene to assist with the removal of debris. It's unclear what caused the roof to collapse. At 8:55 p.m., the York airport reported partly cloudy skies with a southeast breeze at 12 mph. According to information from the York County Assessor's office, the hotel was built in 2009. It's owned by Benjo, a limited liability corporation that lists a Norfolk address. ASHLAND This vaccination clinic had no tears and no Band-Aids. And in lieu of a lollipop for being a good sport, patients got tender chunks of raw beef. (Or in Diesels case, beef liver.) Six Amur tigers received booster doses of a COVID-19 vaccination designed for animals Friday at the Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park near Ashland. The tigers, which are part of a breeding program, were among a handful of felines both at Omahas Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium and kept behind the scenes at the park to receive the vaccines. Zoo staff acquired 20 doses of an experimental vaccine in a second round of distribution from the Zoetis company, said Dr. Sarah Woodhouse, director of animal health at both the safari park and the zoo. In addition to tigers that live on the safari park property, vaccines also have been given at the zoo to tigers, snow leopards, a bobcat and a black-footed cat. Zoo staff started working with Zoetis in late September to secure doses in the companys second round of vaccine distribution. Part of the reason they waited for a later round of doses, Woodhouse said, was because COVID rates initially werent high in the Omaha metro area. While still experimental, the vaccine has been administered to animals at several U.S. zoos. Those zoos did not report any significant adverse effects. Because its experimental, Woodhouse said, specific permits for each species had to be sought from the USDA for each facility using the vaccines. The Henry Doorly Zoo initially applied for felines and otters. Staff opted to prioritize big cats at the zoo and safari park because of how susceptible felines are to contracting the virus. This past week, a 14-year-old tiger died from complications related to COVID at an Ohio zoo. Staff at the Omaha zoo and safari park had to decide which cats should receive the vaccines. They considered things such as susceptibility, risk of contracting the virus and genetics. The bobcat that lives in the Desert Dome is in the same space as hundreds of visitors each day, bumping him onto the priority list. Tigers at the safari park are genetically valuable, pushing them up on the list. Their genes arent yet represented in the North American tiger population. Meanwhile, the 20 cheetahs that live at the safari park in the breeding program dont interact with people other than their keepers. That kept them from getting a vaccine dose this round. Its important to preserve the tigers. About 100 Amur tigers are held in North American zoos. Only 11 cubs were born in the last year, said Dan Cassidy, vice president of animal management at both the zoo and safari park. The tigers have yet to produce cubs at the safari park, but breeding can be a tricky and time-consuming process. Woodhouse said she is used to prioritizing animal health. But because COVID-19 can be transmitted between humans and animals, she has been after her staff to stay healthy and get vaccinated and boosted. Precautions still are in place behind the scenes, with keepers wearing masks around felines, primates and a handful of other species that are especially susceptible to the virus. Keepers masked up Friday as they entered the gate to the tiger breeding area at the safari park. Vera the tiger waltzed right into her enclosure which is open to her at all times and started rubbing her face along the fence. She made grumbling noises toward her keepers Carol Eager, supervisor of carnivores, and Stacy Selko, senior keeper. Using a prop on the outside of the fence, Selko guided the cat along the enclosure, getting her to sit and lie down. While Selko fed the cat hunks of beef, Woodhouse gave the cats right flank a prod with a practice needle. That gauged whether the cat would spook or flinch. The first prod didnt faze Vera. She sat nicely, eating beef, while Woodhouse stuck her with the real injection. Woodhouse said they use longer needles just in case an animal does flinch. Most of the time, the animals dont even feel the jab. Next door, 330-pound Diesel was a little hesitant. But he sat still long enough to get boosted and snack on some beef liver. It takes a lot of training time to get the animals to approach the fence for medical care. Woodhouse said tigers often are leery of humans. Training the cats to come to the fence, lie down and stand up helps keepers manage the animals health. After Elara received her booster, Selko had the cat flip to her other side, where Selko applied ointment on a small wound near the cats shoulder. After being vaccinated, the tigers went about their days, most of them lounging in the tall grass of their private enclosures. Woodhouse said the zoo would like to receive additional doses to vaccinate its lemurs. The lemur exhibit lets people walk through the same space the animals occupy. Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in gorillas, tigers and lions at zoos; domestic cats and dogs; farmed mink; and at least one wild mink. Recent studies have found COVID-19 antibodies in deer, although wildlife experts have said risk of the animals spreading the disease to humans is low. The man charged with killing 7 people at a July 4 parade in suburban Chicago has confessed, a prosecutor said. A judge ordered that the suspected gunman be held without bail. When Vanessa Brangi, a 37-year-old in New Jersey, visited her mom to celebrate her 65th birthday over the last weekend in June, she didnt hide that she was in a bad mood. I walked in the house, and shes like, How are you? Brangi remembered. I flat-out said, I guess Im not a free person anymore. Brangi was bemoaning the Supreme Courts decision to overrule Roe v. Wade in the days prior. Politics have frequently been a source of strife between her and her right-leaning mother, but this time, her mother surprised her. Advertisement When she said, I agree. I think women need to be the one to make this choice, I was honestly shocked, Brangi said. I thought she was pretty far gone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brangi is one of many twenty- and thirtysomethings around the country who have seen a different side of their mothers in the days since the Supreme Court struck down Americans constitutional right to an abortion. More used to avoidance and disagreement about politics, some liberal adult kids are finding that their conservative mothers are actually in agreement with them when it comes to abortionin some cases so staunchly that theyre reconsidering how theyre voting. She actually legitimately seems mad that her granddaughters could enter adulthood not being able to make these choices. Vanessa Brangi Take it from Chad, a 23-year-old in Arkansas who didnt want to use his last name. Two weeks ago, we had a conversation aboutI think it was the Jan. 6 commission, he said of his mom, who is 58. She threw out the comment of, Not all Republicans are bad. And now two weeks later, shes telling me shes probably never going to vote for another Republican, even in our state. Advertisement Advertisement My whole familys never really been political or outspoken in any way, Chad said. But the day the Dobbs ruling came down, once the topic came up, she kind of went all in on being upset at these justices and Asa Hutchinson and all these folks who are running right now in Arkansas, he said, referring to the states governor. Shes upset about abortion but also what it could mean for the future. She has two daughters, both of my sisters, so I think shes upset about just what it means for other women. Advertisement Brangis mom, too, was thinking of younger generations: My older sister has three daughters, she said. Theyre from ages 6 to 12. She actually legitimately seems mad that her granddaughters could enter adulthood not being able to make these choices for themselves. Advertisement Marlene Gerber Fried, a recently retired philosophy professor and longtime abortion access advocate, told me that abortion has a unique ability to prompt these sorts of conversations. Theres so many other ways in which the country appears to be absolutely divided along ideological lines, she said. This is really one that has an impact on women of all races, all classes, all ages, married, unmarried all of them have abortions. Theres almost nothing else quite like that that might be a bridge for intergenerational and cross-political conversation. Advertisement Advertisement The surprise is coming from the extent to which people who had abortions back in the day, and not even illegal ones, have been reluctant to talk, have been too ashamed to talk, too stigmatized to talk, have wanted to move on, she said. Women from those generations who didnt go through the experience themselves but support abortion access may only have felt comfortable doing so quietly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caylie Smith, a 29-year-old in Los Angeles, always knew her mother, 57, supported abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, and gun control. But her parents have also always voted for Republicans despite those things, mostly because they thought Republicans were better on the economy. Not anymore, Smith told me. This is the thing that got her to change her mind, she said. Once this happened, I saw the change in her. She was like, OK, enough is enough. This has gone way too far. Smith said that she thinks part of what pushed her mother in this direction is seeing how upset she and her siblings are. In a text to her, her mom wrote, I want you to know we love you and are totally on your side and if we need to march in the streets with you we will. Advertisement I didnt really see that happening, Smith said. This is the first time Ive really seen her this passionate. [Read: Im an Abortion Doctor and a Mom. When Kids Ask About Killing Babies, I Know What to Say.] Not all these conversations are going quite that far. When Brangis mother told her she was upset about Roe being struck down, I told her, Im really glad you feel that way. But you voted for Trump, you keep voting for the Republicans, Brangi said. Shes like, I think women will come together and do something about this. Still, Brangi said she expects her mom will support Republicans when she votes this fall. Advertisement Advertisement Yev Pusin, a 35-year-old in San Francisco, had a similarly hopeful-yet-frustrating conversation with his mother in the days after the decision. While visiting his family in Iowa, which may soon see further restrictions to abortion, he and his parents encountered a protest, and Pusin explained to the two, who emigrated from the Soviet Union when he was a child, that it was in response to the abortion ruling. The idea of banning abortion didnt make sense to his 60-year-old mother.* My mom was like, In the Soviet Union, it was illegal. A lot of people died. It was unsafe, he recalled. Advertisement The issue had never really come up before. His parents always vote Republican. But Pusin thought he might have an opening: My first thought was like, Can I use this to push them over into a more central line of thinking? Can I use this as a wedge issue to get them to come more towards center? We sort of have a political detente in our household where we dont really talk about it too much, so it was nice to be on the same side of something, where we were both like Yeah, this sucks, and she was like Yeah, this is terrible. People are probably going to die, he said. Advertisement Advertisement I do think that more of these conversations are happening amongst families, Pusin said, but in his case, I dont think it will be a galvanizing event. Advertisement Fried said she saw more promise in stories like this. Theres a whole range of things people can do now, some of them much more quiet, that dont involve suddenly you have to go against your whole community, she said. Even just talking to younger family membersand starting fights at holiday dinnerscan have surprising ripple effects. After all, if these kids were surprised at their moms stances, wait till the uncles hear them. Read more of Slates coverage on the end of Roe here. Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, many people have asked what President Biden can do about it. His one, consistent exhortationto votehas felt cheap, considering the Presidents party currently controls the White House and both chambers of Congress. Its not that simple, of course. Voting is important: the Senate, as currently constituted, does not have the votes to overcome the filibuster and without the filibuster, Congress cant pass a federal law creating a right to abortion. Advertisement But even with everything gridlocked thanks to the structure of the Senate, the fact that Biden is in office right now is critically important. He still has executive powers, and that means he can actually do quite a bit to help the country maintain access to abortion care. Here we survey some of the most promising proposals for executive action, many of which we proposed in a forthcoming law review article. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With this many options, the Biden Administration cannot claim it has no power to act right now. Call for a whole of government response On his first day in office, President Biden issued an executive order calling for a whole government response to Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities. The order required the heads of every agency to evaluate what they can do to promote racial and economic justice. President Biden can now issue the same order but with respect to abortion access. Advertisement Advertisement There are numerous federal agencies, each with their own complicated domains that directly or indirectly touch on abortion law and access. By demanding that the head of each agency explore options for action, President Biden can deploy the expertise of those who understand various, complicated areas of the administrative state best, and he could receive fresh ideas that might help in big and small ways. For example, what can the Federal Trade Commission do to thwart misinformation about abortion law and services? What can the Department of Defense do to promote abortion access for members of the military who are stationed in states with bans? What can the Commerce Department do to protect interstate travel for commercial purposes? Though it will take time to implement agency actions, generating novel ideas and approaches is relatively costless and sends a strong signal that this issue is a top priority. And it is clearly lawful and within the Presidents authority. Remove remaining FDA restrictions on abortion pills The FDA has approved mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion, through ten weeks of pregnancy. But it still maintains restrictive requirements on the medication far beyond what is medically indicated as necessary. The requirements limit which providers and pharmacies can dispense mifepristonea move that isolates, stigmatizes, and burdens abortion careand imposes extra paperwork to document informed consent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mifepristone is safer than many drugs that have no extra requirements from the FDA. Though the FDA has loosened its extra restrictions in the pastincluding most recently in December when it permanently allowed abortion to be prescribed and dispensed through telehealth appointmentsit maintained the other medically unnecessary requirements, restricting abortion access. It is clearly within the FDAs purview to follow the science, lift these remaining restrictions, and make abortion medication as accessible as other safe and effective drugs. Preempt bans on abortion pills The FDA has approved mifepristone as a safe and effective method for terminating a pregnancy up to ten weeks, but many state abortion bans (or other restrictions on abortion pills) contradict these FDA regulations. Federal regulation may preempt these laws, however, by prohibiting a state from banning or overregulating medication abortion. Advertisement Advertisement The supremacy of federal law over state law is a bedrock principle of U.S. jurisprudence. The FDA could issue a statement to this effect, and the Department of Justice could initiate its own lawsuits or participate in ongoing lawsuits to enjoin these bans as they apply to medication abortion. For the preemption theory to work, federal courts would need to agree. Though the principle of federal supremacy is unquestioned, how it applies in particular cases is complicated and contested. But if this strategy were to be successful, it would create a major hole in state abortion bans. Though the case might not win, there is little downside to trying and losing. And the upside is substantial because, without a doubt, access to abortion pills will be one of the most significant ways abortion will remain safe and available even without Roe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Read: Everything you need to know about abortion pills.] Declare a public health emergency The President could declare a public health emergency, which would grant the federal government powers on a broader scale, including the redirecting of federal funds and implementation of more concrete actions, like granting civil immunity to licensed medical providers practicing in states in which they do not hold a license. Given the dire impact abortion bans are going to have on people across the country and in particular, the most marginalized and vulnerable people, a health emergency is not hyperbolic. Declaring one could, among other things, free up funds to assist patients traveling out of state, relax rules around licensing, and give the federal government leeway to protect abortion access in other ways. Advertisement Advertisement The risk here is that the conservative federal courts may not agree that a health emergency declaration is warranted and could limit the Presidents authority, like they have with the COVID response, in ways that could harm future public health efforts. But again, this risk might be worth taking given the scale of the crisis. Permit abortion provision on federal lands and in federal healthcare centers The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal dollars from funding abortions, but it doesnt say anything about private entities using their own money to perform abortions on federal lands. So if the Biden Administration leased property to private abortion clinics, could they operate on federal lands in states where abortion is banned? Theres a good argument they could. Advertisement Advertisement This argument is based on an obscure federal law known as the Assimilative Crimes Act that adopts some state criminal law on federal land, but only when theres no federal policy to the contrary. With the FDAs approval of medication abortion, theres a strong argument that state abortion bans, at least as applied to medication abortion, do not apply on federal land. And even if state law applied, federal prosecutors control prosecutions on federal land, so the Biden Administration could choose not to prosecute them. Then, at the end of his term, Biden could pardon those who provided abortions on federal land during his time in office. This strategy has big payoffs, but also big risks. Providers, helpers, and patients could be targeted going to and from the federal land, and even if there are constitutional defenses to prosecution, a loss could mean that people go to prison. But federal lands are in every state, and strategic decisions about where to establish test sites could provide a point of abortion access that might otherwise not exist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moreover, there are many places where the federal government already provides health careVeterans Administration hospitals and federally qualified health centers, in particular. The Hyde Amendment blocks federal dollars from being used to perform abortions except when the patients life is at risk or if the patient was the victim of rape or incest, so these locations could only perform a small sliver of abortions that fit within these exceptions. But like the federal lands idea, the federal provision of this subset of abortions could avoid state abortion bans. Advertisement Advertisement Othersnot ushave floated the idea of abortion providers working on Native lands as a possible solution based on the theory that state governments cannot interfere there. We have intentionally avoided this theory because it ignores the reality that health services for indigenous communities are already poorly funded and that indigenous people already struggle to access reproductive care. It also problematically suggests that indigenous people have an obligation to fix a problem they did not create. Moreover, the Supreme Court ruled last week that states have concurrent jurisdiction over Native land criminal prosecutions, and many Native tribes have different views on abortion, including many that are against it. Protect abortion travel Advertisement Immediately after the decision last week, President Biden stated that women must remain free to travel safely to another state to seek the care they need. And my administration will defend that bedrock right. Travel from a state where abortion is banned to a state where abortion remains legal is a key part of the future of abortion access in this country. Anti-abortion legislators are already talking about trying to prevent abortion-related travel, so the Presidents promise is an important one, especially since current law is unclear about whether states with abortion bans can restrict travel to another state to get an abortion. The federal government plays an important role in controlling interstate travel, and if it requires travel to be open across state lines for the purpose of obtaining an abortion, states may not be able to contradict that. This would ease a major concern of abortion travelers as well as abortion providers treating them. Though Biden has made clear he supports this, we havent yet seen concrete ideas from his administration on how it will accomplish this goal. The truth is there is no clear presidential solution to the problem of the Supreme Court discarding a national right to abortion. President Biden cannot restore Roe or create a federal right to abortion. But he could mitigate the damage of the coming crisis. The question now is how bold he wants to be and how much risk he and others want to assume. There are risks to acting, but doing nothing also carries risks. How President Biden assesses this balance in an attempt to meet the moment is one of the biggest challenges of his presidency. You could not ask for a sadder display of how Americas gun culture has begun to whittle away our other freedoms than the attack on the Fourth of July celebration in Highland Park, Illinois. A 21-year-old man with an assault rifle opened fire on the parade, killing seven spectators and orphaning a 2-year-old boy. Three dozen people were injured, hundreds are in mourning, and thousands will never celebrate Independence Day the same way again. While Highland Park captured the most media attention, all in all, 220 Americans were shot and killed over the holiday weekend. That doesnt include five people who survived being shot during the fireworks after an Oakland As gamehit by stray, apparently celebratory bullets from a high-powered rifle fired outside the ballpark. Or two police officers shotagain perhaps by accidentat the Fourth of July fireworks display in Philadelphia. In a grim, resigned statement that seemed to sum up the bloody holiday, Mayor Jim Kenney said, We live in America, and we have the Second Amendment, and we have the Supreme Court of the United States telling everybody they can carry a gun wherever they want. This is what we have to live with. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It feels like an inflection point in the balance between the right to bear arms and the right to, well, do just about anything else. The triumph of guns is throttling American public life, chipping away at our experience of school, shopping, protest, celebration, debate, electoral politics, and even the writing of laws. Youd be hard-pressed to find an institution in this country that isnt buckling under the weight of a gun fetish that has seen domestic firearms production triple since 2000 and a steady rise in mass shootings, as right-wing courts and state legislatures repeal rules and politicians and gunmakers stoke fears of tyranny and civil war. America now has more guns than people, according to one estimate. Advertisement For some people, the growing presence of guns in American community spaces represents the very essence of freedom. For many of us, though, theyre an assault on the social contract, a threat that undermines our freedom and confidence to go about our lives long before anyone pulls the trigger. The ubiquity of guns, and the way we contort ourselves and our institutions to accommodate it, is debilitating enough. 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. Highland Park, as it happens, is a place that embraced the idea that the freedom from guns was worth fighting for. The city banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines a decade ago. A gun-loving resident sued; the law was affirmed in the 7th Circuit, in part on the grounds that just making people feel safer was a substantial benefiteven if a semi-automatic rifle could still be acquired or owned in neighboring towns, as it eventually was by the man who opened fire on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the Supreme Court decided not to hear the Highland Park case, in 2015, Clarence Thomas dissented, writing: If a broad ban on firearms can be upheld based on conjecture that the public might feel safer (while being no safer at all), then the Second Amendment guarantees nothing. Its an argument you hear from open-carry activists too: My Rights Dont End Where Your Fear Begins. Advertisement Advertisement Thomas may call it conjecture, but the idea that the display of weapons is menacing, antisocial behavior that degrades public life, regardless of whether anyone gets hurt, is a very old one. In a paper last year cataloging the many nonphysical but very significant social harms that guns can inflict, the law professors Joseph Blocher and Reva B. Siegel note that armed riders were banned from market and fairs back in 14th-century England. Most U.S. states adopted laws against brandishing in the 19th century, and in 1874, the Georgia Supreme Court, in a typical piece of reasoning about the limited scope of the Second Amendment, wrote, The practice of carrying arms at courts, elections and places of worship, etc., is a thing so improper in itself, so shocking to all sense of propriety that the Framers could never have intended it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many conservatives share this view. In 2014, when open-carry activists started going to Chipotle dressed for Fallujah, the NRA released (and subsequently retracted) a statement that categorized their behavior as downright weird, showing a lack of consideration and manners. When armed men took over the Michigan State Capitol in 2020, many Republicans condemned the obvious effort to intimidate lawmakers with a show of force. The Republican Party has a love-hate relationship with these cosplay soldiers. On the one hand, plenty of Republicans are scared shitless: Both parties have extremists, a GOP lawmaker told Politico after the Jan. 6 attack on Congress. Theres a difference in our crazy people and their crazy people. Our crazy people have an excessive amount of arms. They have gun safes. They have grenades. They believe in the Second Amendment. They come here and Trumps made them think this is the Alamo. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy reportedly warned members of Congress not to verbally attack one another over their upcoming impeachment votes for fear of endangering their lives (presumably at the hands of armed Trump supporters). Advertisement Advertisement On the other hand, the GOP recognizes that the style of militarized peacocking that has become commonplace over the past 10 years is a privilege that belongs only to their side and they are prepared to take advantage. The guns dont need to be fired to do their work: The Michigan Legislature did scuttle its pandemic order in front of its heavily armed audience, and it did cancel a subsequent meeting, and it did defer debate on guns in the statehouse (until after Jan. 6, 2021, when the Legislature finally took action). Advertisement Or at leastit works for them. For others, its not even an option. During the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, the Louisiana Republican Congressman Clay Higgins said the quiet part loud, posting a photo of armed Black men on his Facebook page and writing, If this shows up, well consider the armed presence a real threat. I wouldnt even spill my beer. Id drop any 10 of you where you stand. Advertisement This form of white privilege is in part a function of the police, who seem unsure how to handle the rise of the primarily white men who now carry big guns everywhere. In Oklahoma last month, a man in a tactical vest carrying a semi-automatic rifle scared everyone he saw: Government employees locked the doors to their building. Target shoppers called 911 from the parking lot, and AT&T employees fled the store when he entered. What got the man in trouble with the police, finally, was his brass knucklesthose are illegal in Oklahoma. Whether out of fear or sympathy, police seem incapable of restraining armed, right-wing demonstrators. Philando Castile got no such respect. With lawmakers and police out to lunch, the responsibility for setting limits on guns in public places has fallen to managers, architects, and security guards, who have worked to harden buildings as if the country were in a perpetual state of war. This trend predates the mass shooting surge by a few years, but it has proceeded apace as metal detectors proliferate at stadiums, concert halls, schools, and government buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These actions undermine civic life by limiting open access to important spaces, such as the areas around the White House, the U.S. Capitol, and the Supreme Court. They also change our understanding of what it means to participate in American life. How else to categorize the ghastly practice of active shooter drills in schools? Or what the Washington Post architecture critic Phillip Kennicott called the repeated, humiliating and demeaning encounters with security personnel that are required to enter every public building? As Hannah Lebovits wrote of synagogue security in the wake of the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh and the Congregation Beth Israel hostage crisis near Fort Worth, Texas, The hyper securitization mindset of the last three years has also created a gated-ness within our minds and our community. Advertisement Last year, I wrote about an experiment to build out a new gathering space in Chicagos Chatham neighborhood, a series of curbside patios called the boardwalk. Built from the plywood that covered storefront windows during the George Floyd protests, the boardwalk was a neat symbol of the neighborhood and the citys emergence from the struggle of the spring of 2020. This local hangout won awards and positive attention for the South Side. One weekend in 2021, the installation drew a boisterous but peaceful late-night street party. Two weeks later, when revelers returned, somebody opened fire, wounding nine and killing a 29-year-old mother. Not long afterward, the boardwalk was disassembled. Not everything we do can be hardened. The list of events that have been disrupted by armed demonstratorsor canceled in the expectation of their arrivalis long and getting longer. You cant make sure theres only one door to a parade. Vice President Kamala Harris visits the Central Avenue crime scene on July 5, 2022, the day after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Less than 36 hours after a shooter opened fire at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, killing seven people, Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in the north suburb Tuesday evening calling for federal action on assault weapons. Weve got to be smarter as a country in terms of who has access to what, in particular assault weapons, said Harris, who was joined by Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering and other Democratic politicians. And weve got to take this stuff seriously. The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy to understand that this could happen anywhere in any peace-loving community. And we should stand together and speak out about why its got to stop. Advertisement Earlier in the day, Harris called for reinstituting a national assault weapon ban. [ What we know about the mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade ] We have more to do. We have more to do. Congress needs to have the courage to act and renew the assault weapons ban, Harris told a group of educators at the National Education Association conference at McCormick Place in Chicago. We need reasonable gun safety laws. And we need to have Congress stop protecting those gun manufacturers with the liability shield. Repeal it. Repeal it. Advertisement A few hours later, in a short speech given in the heart of Highland Park, Harris offered condolences from President Joe Biden. You know that you have a whole nation that cares deeply about you, and stands with you. This is an incredibly tight community. I know that, Harris said. And this person will be brought to justice, but its not going to undo what happened. And were here for you and we stand with you. Just hours before Harris visited Highland Park, Gov. J.B. Pritzker advocated for a state-level ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines while also calling for similar action on a federal level. We urgently need federal regulation on the weapons of war and high capacity magazines that are used only for mass murder, Pritzker said in a statement. Illinois is not an island, and even with some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, our state is only as safe as the state with the weakest laws many of which border Illinois. Vice President Kamala Harris walks beside Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering at the corner of Green Bay and Central in Highland Park on July 5, 2022, a day after a mass shooting that resulted in seven dead and more than 30 injured at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) The comments from Harris and Pritzker come amid a national debate about mass shootings and gun control efforts. Pritzkers opponent in the fall, Republican nominee Darren Bailey, a state senator from Downstate Xenia, is an ardent gun rights supporter who opposes firearms regulations. On Tuesday, Bailey continued to try to walk back comments he made after the shooting when he posted a video on Facebook praying for victims and law enforcement and declared lets move on and lets celebrate the holiday. Bailey took to Twitter Tuesday to pivot from that sentiment and urged the public to commit to better addressing mental health in Illinois and across the nation. In addition, Bailey also attempted to tie the Highland Park parade shooting to the shooting of a 10-year-old boy over the holiday weekend on Chicagos South Side, even though Highland Park is an affluent suburb 30 miles north of Chicago. [ These are the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park ] My team and I will continue reaching out to law enforcement, members of the public health community, and more to find workable solutions to address these problems, Bailey said. We will also continue to call for a special (state legislative) session to prioritize our budget to better fund mental health services and law enforcement to ensure public safety is a priority in EVERY community. Advertisement State Rep. Bob Morgan, a Democrat from Deerfield, who represents Highland Park, said that while funding for mental health can be increased and training to identify troubled youths can be improved, there are things that we have yet to find the courage to do, like banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. We had police officers on every corner of the parade, said Morgan, who was getting started to step off at the parade with his wife and two children when shots rang out. So having more police officers alone wouldnt have stopped it. So what wouldve stopped it? Recent attempts to ban or restrict the sale and possession of assault weapons in Illinois have faltered. Proposals introduced in both the state House and Senate in the past three years that would have banned assault weapons havent even gotten a committee vote. [ Purchase of rifle allegedly used in Highland Park massacre highlights limits of Illinois gun laws ] State Rep. Maura Hirschauer, a Batavia Democrat who helped found a branch of the anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action, introduced legislation in January that, with a few exceptions, would ban the sale or possession of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition-feeding devices. The proposal hasnt advanced out of committee. The General Assembly passed a measure last year designed to strengthen background checks for gun sales and address issues that have allowed people to keep their guns after losing their firearm owners identification cards. Hirschauer said its time to take more sweeping steps. Were taking small bites of the apple, and we need to take bigger bites of the apple, and now is the time to do it with an assault weapons ban and high-capacity magazine ban, she said. Advertisement Resistance to stricter gun regulations among Democrats has traditionally come from Downstate members, and Hirschauer said that its tough to know how Mondays events will affect that dynamic. Ed Sullivan, a contract lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association, said he thinks addressing economic disparities and institutional racism would be a more effective way to fight violence in the general sense than strengthening gun laws. Sullivan, a former Republican state representative from Mundelein, also noted that while legislators have introduced measures to ban assault weapons over the years, he questioned the effectiveness of that option. There are legislators that have certain ideas on what should happen in gun control, and we certainly respect everybodys ideas, Sullivan said. At the end of the day, we just saw a deranged person not follow the law. And so if you ban them in Illinois, theres still going to be assault weapons, and so the only people that are going to be affected are law-abiding citizens. jgorner@chicagotribune.com adperez@chicagotribune.com Advertisement dpetrella@chicagotribune.com This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy. The January 6 Select Committee hearings have been framed as an effort aimed at accountability and posterity. But their findings are at least as important to the future. The Committees disclosures that Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson tried to hand-deliver a slate of fake electors to Vice President Pence, that Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs asked Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers to decertify their states electors the morning of January 6, and that some Republican Members of Congress sought pardons from then-President Trump for their roles are further signals that co-conspirators in the schemes to thwart the democratic choice for president remain in power. They are not the only ones maintaining and seeking power. Former President Donald Trump is eyeing a return in 2024. The Proud Boys and Oath Keepersmilitias the Committee has highlighted for their roles as ring leaders for the violence that daydid not see their strength ebb after January 6. On the contrary, violence, first used as a political tool and now partially mainstreamed, has spread. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The events on January 6 are not past. They are prelude. As a researcher on violence and democracy around the world, I have studied party-linked militia groups for years. In countries like Iraq, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Colombia, politicians outsource violence to specialists in the trade, just as they hire consultants for robocalls and direct mail. In the past, googling these terms brought up countries just escaping from conflict or descending into it. Now, the United States, where militias have been embraced by GOP leaders at the national, state, and local level (as I discuss in detail below), appears among the early search results. Trumps flirtation with militia groups began well before the events recounted on January 6. The Oath Keepers assembled to protect the polls after then-candidate Trumps claims of potential fraud in 2016. Multiple militia groups mobilized in response to Trumps statements surrounding his inauguration and in response to his calls for more border security. The Oath Keepers provided security to Trump campaign rallies and events in Texas, Minnesota, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere at regular intervals between 2016 and 2020. After Brad Raffensperger, the Republican Secretary of State of Georgia refused to find 11,780 votes, he faced death threats that increased after Trump declared him an enemy of the people. The family went into hiding following multiple threats, including the appearance of out-of-state Oath Keepers at their home. Speaker Bowers testified that at least one of the crowd members protesting viciously at his home while his daughter lay inside, dying, wore Three Percenter insignia. On Jan. 5, photographs showed Oath Keepers wearing All access passes on lanyards as they escorted Roger Stone to a speech he gave by the Supreme Court. And on January 6, militias not only breached the Capitol; Stone appeared to use Oath Keeper militia members as part of his personal security outfit that morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The January 6 testimony to date has focused on Trump and the ways he has encouraged and instrumentalized militia members. But support for vigilante violence has spread to other parts of the Republican Party. In 2017, the Portland branch of the Republican Party voted to allow militia groups, including members of the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, to act as security at their public events; a Colorado county GOP has also hired militia groups for security. In Michigans Grand Traverse County, local officials at a zoom-based public meeting were asked to denounce the Proud Boys after the insurrectioninstead, the county commissions vice chair stepped off-screen and returned with his rifle. In Texas, Allen West, then-Chair of the Republican Party, offered an oath to swear in militia members at a Stop the Steal rally in November 2020, posed with armed militia members just days after the January 6 riot, and appeared alongside other Republican state politicians at a rally with the leader of the Oath Keepers militia in March after the latter was under investigation for his involvement in the January 6 attack. This winter, a militia-backed recall election ousted the Shasta County, California Board of Supervisors; the new leaders owe their positions to militia support. In Arizona, Mark Finchem, a sitting member of the House, trumpets his membership in the Oath Keeper militia. The chairman of Wyomings GOPengaged in a fierce battle against Liz Cheney, the January 6 Select Committee Vice Chairis a member of the Oath Keepers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Proud Boys are also infiltrating local Republican parties. In Miami-Dade county, a number of Proud Boys appear to have entered parts of the party hierarchy, bringing their violent intimidation with them. In Nevada, the director of the States Republican Party has been accused of recruiting Proud Boys to take part in party leadership votes and intimidate candidates running from the more traditional Republican wing of the party in Clark County (which contains Las Vegas and is by far the largest county in Nevada). The factions violent threats forced the Clark County Republicans to hire extra security, hold events in gun-free zones such as schools, and ultimately to cancel multiple meetings due to security fears. Proud Boys accosted Rep. Dan Crenshaw and his staff at the GOPs convention in Texas this month, chanting a term for him popularized by Tucker Carlson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Far from reducing violence, the 2020 election and its aftermath heralded a step-change in the mainstream acceptance of violence as a political tool. The FBI arrested Michigan gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley this month after he egged on the January 6 crowd in Washington D.C. with cries of Come on, lets go. This is it! This isthis is war, baby. Kelley met this winter with poll workers in Michigan alongside Michigan State Senate candidate Mike Detmer, who suggested in response to concerns about future election fraud: be prepared to lock and load If you ask what we can do, show up armed. Senate candidate Eric Greitens, already facing domestic violence and sexual assault allegations from different women, now has a video showing the former Navy Seal armed and hunting RINOS. He encourages his supporters to do the same, given that there is no bag or tag limit, as he states, to killing other human beings. Advertisement Advertisement Violent groups that get involved in politics in other countries follow a common path that I detailed in my last book. At first, politicians recruit experts in violence and intimidation to use those tools as a campaign tactic. Later, those violent leaders run for office or take political roles directly, cutting out the political middleman. Usually, what they want is power and impunity, so that they can make money from more lucrative criminal activities, though sometimes they simply want power for its own sake. To understand where this can lead: 11 of Indias current national legislators face open cases for murder, 30 have attempted murder charges and 10 serving legislators have been convicted of such serious crimesa doubling from ten years ago. Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, based in Miami, began amassing a criminal record at the age of twentybut its unclear whether their entrance into Miami politics is at the behest of others or is the beginning of going into business for themselves. In Nevada, it appears more clear that the Proud Boys are still at the first stage, being recruited by unscrupulous political actors who are using their violence to amass more power for themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why would a faction of Republicans still in power or running for office at the federal, state, and local level make common cause with violent criminals? Because violence and intimidation are already bolstering their power. Intimidation is being successfully used to silence opposition. Representative Gonzalez was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. After threats to his wife and young children, he decided not to run for reelection. Advertisement Advertisement When 13 House Republicans voted to support greater funding for highways, bridges, and other infrastructure, their colleague Marjorie Taylor Greene publicized their phone numbers. A number admitted to receiving threats afterward, suggesting that a new tactic for whipping future votes and compelling Members of Congress to vote against the wishes of their districts had been discovered. Indeed, Rep. Peter Meier (R-Mich.) wrote about a Republican colleague who voted against certifying the presidential election out of fear for his familys safety. And Meijer also said some of his colleagues who voted to impeach Trump have since traveled with armed escorts out of the fear for their safety, altering their routines, and getting body armor, which he noted is a reimbursable purchase. Advertisement Americans may feel that these incidents of political violence are high politics that they can avoid if they steer clear of the political arena. That feeling is widespread in countries I have studied where political violence grows to dangerous levels. It is always a false hope. In the United States, it is already far more dangerous to exercise freedom of speech than in the recent past. Driving cars into civilians used to be a tactic favored by overseas terrorists. It had been recorded just twice in the United States before James Alex Fields Jr. murdered Heather Heyer by driving into a crowd of counter-protestors at the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally. Yet from George Floyds murder on May 25, 2020 through September 30, 2021, at least 139 drivers drove their cars into protests across America, injuring 100sometimes severelyand killing four. Threats against members of Congress have risen tenfold in the five years since Trump became president, white supremacist activity has risen twelvefold in the same period. For Blacks, Asians, women, and others, hate crimes have increased dramatically in the last five yearsand mass shooters emboldened by political rhetoric have struck ordinary citizens going about their ordinary lives from El Paso to Buffalo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Homicide may seem disconnected from political violencebut in fact, a historical study of homicide from Americas founding discovered that it was tightly correlated with distrust in fellow Americans and in the government. The Pew Foundation has found that trust is at near-historic lows after years of conspiracy mongering. In 2020, murder had the highest one-year jump since 1905 and possibly in recorded U.S. history. Homicide rose all over the country, in cities and rural areas, but increased most sharply in red states. The United States is the only country in the world to have experienced a sharp rise in homicide during the coronavirus, and it rose in the U.S. while nearly every form of non-violent crime fell. Nor is it only adults. Children often enact what their parents only say, acting out the cultural zeitgeist. Between 2016 and 2017, before the mental health challenges caused by the coronavirus and response, physical attacks with a weapon in schools nearly doubled. Advertisement International terrorism expert Arie Perliger has found that in Israel and Germany, domestic terrorists are emboldened when they believe that politicians encourage violence or that authorities will tolerate it from their side of the political spectrum. In the select committee hearings, we heard a Proud Boys leader say that then-President Trumps comment to Stand Back and Stand By tripled their membership. Since the election, the Proud Boys have rallied around anti-critical race theory and covid-masking protests, using mainstream causes to boost their membership; they and other extremist groups became increasingly public at conservative rallies, taking part in nearly half of all armed demonstrations in 2021. Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers, has stated that he expected pardons for those arrested at the January 6 insurrection and money for their legal defense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Violence is overwhelmingly concentrated on the right. But once violence has been legitimated as a tool of politics, no one is safe. Violence begets violenceonce its use mainstreams, moderates who espouse non-violence appear anemic and unable to offer protection to their side. The middle weakens, while violence eventually takes on a rhythm of reprisal far removed from the original causes. The full accounting of January 6 is finally being unveiled to the public. But its reverberations continue. Globally, militias commit more political violence than any other groupincluding governments and insurgents. We might hope the committees hearings will be a cause for a national conversation as well as an internal conversation and soul-searching within the GOP. Even if Trump passes from the scene, the embrace of violence and intimidation as a political tactic by a faction of the GOP will cause violence of all types to riseagainst all Americans. More From Just Security: Greenhouse Gaslighting: Deceptive Moderation and West Virginia v. EPA The Law Requires Pat Cipollone to Answer the Jan. 6 Committees Questions After a term in which the Supreme Court purported to return the issue of abortion and other central questions to the states, Americas state courts have never been more important. As Ive written previously, theyve also never been more at risk. In the past year alone, state judges have stopped extremist politicians from putting up barriers to voting, defended education funding, and ruled in favor of LGBTQ rights. Courts are now set to decide key questions on abortion rights in states like Florida, Wisconsin, and Michigan. This responsibility could not be greater. Advertisement But with great power comes greater audacity from wealthy special interest groups looking to take control of state judiciaries, and 2022 could be their best chance yet. More than 80 state supreme court seats in 32 states are up for election this November. Unlike other, generally more expensive contests for governor and state legislature seats, judicial elections offer serious bang-for-buck for dark money groups that have invested accordingly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the turn of the century, more than $500 million has been spent to influence state court elections, according to estimates from the Brennan Center for Justice, and the groups writing the checks arent doing so out of the goodness of their hearts. Time and again, we see that the groups flooding state judicial elections with money are the same ones whose money paved the way for the right-wing assault on the U.S. Supreme Court. If shadowy conservative donors have their way, the polemics and controversy which have become commonplace on the nations highest court could soon become a feature of state courts. Advertisement Advertisement The identities of those bankrolling efforts to hijack state courts are often shrouded in dark money, but at the heart of this darkness are a few names we do know. Conservative lawyer Leonard Leo is the head of the court-obsessed Federalist Society and one of the architects of the right-wing gambit on undermining judicial independence on state and federal levels. Realizing that Republicans had lost public support on key issues like abortion rights and LGBTQ rights, conservatives constructed a revanchist strategy to entrench their retrograde views into law by seating far-right judges across the country. It was the Federalist Society that prepared a list of hand-picked judges for former President Donald Trump to nominate to the Supreme Court a list that included the names of current Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanugh, and Amy Coney Barret who cast the decisive votes in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to an abortion. Advertisement Advertisement Beyond the Federalist Society, Leo also leads the Judicial Crisis Network, which has been a source of significant funding for major partisan spending groups like the Republican State Leadership Committee, which dropped $20 million on state supreme court races in the last decade alone. The RSLC is notorious for its tactics of directing millions of dollars in last-minute spending towards state court races days before an election. In many cases, ads purchased by the group feature scaremongering tactics, attacking judges for being soft on crime. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this year, RSLC announced plans to spend more this cycle than in any before. The groups largest funders, beyond the Judicial Crisis Network, include Koch Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And while the RSLC is a big player in this dark money space, theyre far from the only one. Advertisement Advertisement The bottom line is that big money is drowning out the voices of regular people when it comes to selecting our judges. The more spending we allow in our judicial elections, the greater the damage done to the impartiality of our courts. In spending on state courts, the RSLC, like other big-money partisan groups, hopes to turn our state judiciaries into another domain of the hyper-partisan politics weve come to expect from elected officials and the U.S. Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement And what about those elected officials? Well, next to the problem of big money in court elections, the threat posed by extremist politicians looking to undermine the independence of state courts is just as dangerous. North Carolinians, unfortunately, have had front row seats to several attacks on state courts. In the past five years, our Republican-controlled legislature has made all judicial elections, including Supreme Court elections partisan, caused confusion by canceling judicial primary elections, eliminated public funds for judicial elections, and even tried, but failed, to give itself the power to fill judicial vacancies. Earlier this year, Republican operatives even went as far to float the idea of impeaching judges whose decisions they disagree with. Advertisement These kinds of extremist efforts arent limited to North Carolina, either. In 2021, politicians in 35 states proposed more than 150 bills that either politicize state judiciaries or curb their authority to decide major issues like abortions and election management, according to an analysis from the Brennan Center. Advertisement In Pennsylvania, Republican politicians, who in years past threatened to impeach judges they disagreed with, have now taken to pushing changes to how state Supreme Court justices are elected as a way to seat more like-minded judges, no matter what majorities of the states voters actually want. Meanwhile, one state over, Ohio Republicans chose the nuclear option, deciding to completely ignore their high courts orders to draw fairer, less gerrymandered electoral districts for state and congressional elections (this came on the heels of a call by some state Republicans to impeach a sitting chief justice for her decision against earlier versions of their electoral maps). Advertisement These kinds of belligerent attacks on courts, along with spending from partisan big-money groups, affect all of us. Think of our state governments like a three-legged stooltake out a leg and everything comes crashing down. This will be especially true in the post-Dobbs world, where abortion rights are going to be litigated across state-by-state legal minefields. Thats why its so important that our courts remain fair and independent. We need them to represent our communities and prioritize their laws and state constitutions, not the interests of shadowy groups and power-hungry politicians. We dont need dark money and power grabs. We need more transparency, stronger judicial ethics codes, and a judiciary thats both highly qualified and representative of the communities it serves. With Novembers judicial elections fast approaching, the stakes for our courts couldnt be higher. Courts decide the quality of our water and air, the funding for our schools, and the safety of our neighborhoods; they are the backstop for all of our constitutional rights and freedoms, including workers rights, LGBTQ rights, and reproductive health care rights. Now is the time for our communities to stand up and fight for fair, representative, and independent courts to make sure our voices are heard in the states. A photograph captures a scene from the "Janosik" film, which is the first Slovak full-length feature film. (Source: TASR - Milan Kapusta) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The making and the fate of the first Slovak feature film, Janosik from 1921, comes off as anything but uncomplicated and what one would expect. The whole concept came about in the USA. Samuel Tvarozek, an American-Slovak entrepreneur in the coalmining industry, came up with the idea of telling the story of Janosik as a film. Janosik was a Slovak outlaw and romanticised folk hero from the 17th century oftentimes classed with Robin Hood. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Slovaks who began to immigrate to America in large numbers in the late 19th century due to oppression by the Hungarian government were well aware of the legend, which they now and again portrayed in theatre plays overseas. Tvarozek and other American Slovaks in Chicago founded the Tatra Film Corporation to finance the production of Janosik and future Slovak films, just a year before the premiere of what would decades later be deemed an iconic picture in Slovak cinema. First biomethane plant in Slovakia aims harnessing biodegradable municipal waste. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. The biogas station of the MP company near Jelsava. (Source: Jana Liptakova) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled These are actually the cement bellies of livestock, said Martin Pribola, owner of the MP agricultural company situated near Jelsava in eastern Slovakia, when describing the purpose of the wide green cement cylinders above which dark sheets swell and wave. These fermentation tanks are filled with a mixture of manure and silage maize, producing biogas. It is either used to produce electricity and heat or is further processed into biomethane. This gas, whose parameters are almost identical with that of natural gas, is a promising commodity as it can reduce Slovakias dependence on Russian natural gas. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The MP company runs the first bio methane plant in Slovakia. Pribola has resolved to buy technology to produce biomethane with the approaching end of the state support scheme for biogas plants. We don't rely on what the state comes up with, said Pribola. State subsidies are not the way for us. There are 113 biogas plants in Slovakia. They proliferated in Slovakia after the government launched a state support scheme to increase the production of green power in the country. Jergus Vopalensky of the natural gas distribution company SPP-distribucia believes that almost 80 may be upgraded to biomethane plants. The biggest added value of biomethane plants is that they process waste that would otherwise end up on landfills or in incineration plants, said Vopalensky. Second life of waste Bratislava airport one of the best in the region. The OFZ manufacturer lays off dozens of workers. 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, July 6 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes. SaS gives ultimatum to PM Heger SaS chair and Economy Minister Richard Sulik. (Source: TASR) Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) will have to choose between Finance Minister and OLaNO leader Igor Matovic or the SaS party, one of four coalition parties. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Its chair Richard Sulik said on July 6 that the party will no longer adhere to the coalition deal, threatening to leave the coalition government if Matovic remains part of it after the summer holidays. Matovic has repeatedly attacked Sulik and his party, which is still criticising the finance minister for drafting and passing a "family" package worth 1.2 billion. On July 6, the OLaNO party addressed its coalition partner in a letter (before the SaS' decision), saying that Matovic will not be going anywhere from the government. Sme Rodina: Boris Kollar, who leads the coalition party Sme Rodina, said his party will not intervene in the SaS-OLaNO conflict. "They started it, they must end it," Kollar said, noting that the party would also support a snap election. Za Ludi: Veronika Remisova, chair of the smallest coalition party Za Ludi, said her party will do anything to make the coalition government of four parties work. Just like the OLaNO and SaS parties, Za Ludi says Smer chair Robert Fico and Hlas chair Peter Pellegrini cannot take over the country again. More stories from The Slovak Spectator website: BUSINESS: The OFZ manufacturer has announced a mass layoff. The OFZ manufacturer has announced a mass layoff. TOURIST ATTRACTION: The biggest maze in central Europe is now open. The biggest maze in central Europe is now open. REFUGEES: The government has changed the rules applying to the use of public transport by Ukrainian refugees. The government has changed the rules applying to the use of public transport by Ukrainian refugees. AIRPORT: Bratislava airport is one of the best, but only in Eastern Europe. Bratislava airport is one of the best, but only in Eastern Europe. TRAVEL: A unique railbike circuit has opened in eastern Slovakia. FEATURE STORY FOR WEDNESDAY How American Slovaks made the iconic film "Janosik" Theodor Pistek portrayed Janosik in Jaroslav Siakel's 1921 film. Slovakia has seen several film adaptations of Janosik's story over the decades. The first film about this Slovak outlaw and folk hero was made in 1921. The whole concept was created by American Slovaks, but it did not go according to their plan. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you. IN OTHER NEWS: Beatrix Ricziova has become a new judge of the General Court of the EU for Slovakia . The country has not been able to fill the post since 2016. . The country has not been able to fill the post since 2016. Finance Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) has been named the "Homophobe of the Year" . Former PM Robert Fico of the Smer party came second. . Former PM Robert Fico of the Smer party came second. The third unit of the Mochovce nuclear power plant is ready for commissioning. The Slovenske Elektrarne company is awaiting the second-instance decision of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority to start loading nuclear fuel. The Slovenske Elektrarne company is awaiting the second-instance decision of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority to start loading nuclear fuel. An EP committee delegation is coming to eastern Slovakia to evaluate the use of cohesion funds for better integration of Roma and assistance to refugees. The trip will take place next week. Children begin to attend Comenius University Bratislava on July 6, 2022. (Source: TASR) Slovakia lacks 400 general practitioners for adults and 223 paediatricians , the Health Ministry said. About 2,500 nurses are needed at hospitals in eastern Slovakia, the Sme daily wrote. , the Health Ministry said. About 2,500 nurses are needed at hospitals in eastern Slovakia, the Sme daily wrote. Those interested in vaccination against Covid-19 with the Spikevax vaccine from Moderna can register for the first dose until July 10 and for a booster dose until August 8. from Moderna can register for the first dose until July 10 and for a booster dose until August 8. Antonino Vadala, an Italian businessman about whom the murdered journalist Jan Kuciak had written, has been spotted in eastern Slovakia, the Sme daily wrote. In Italy, Vadala was sentenced for smuggling cocaine and later released. He is still being investigated. In Slovakia, he has been investigated for corruption. If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. In Tinley Park, there is a playground Rick Bruno visits with his grandchildren. I told them it was named for a friend of mine, a very nice man, Bruno said. Advertisement Jogmen Playground in Centennial Park opened in the early 1990s as Tinley Parks first playground for children with disabilities. It is named for Louis Jogmen, a former Tinley Park police officer seriously wounded July 12, 1977, when he was shot in the head at point-blank range while responding to an armed robbery of a convenience store. He miraculously survived. Jogmens son, Louis, was 7 at the time. In April, when he was sworn in as president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, he talked about the trauma of the shooting and how his family was restored because of the care and compassion of others. Advertisement Louis Jogmen, father of Highland Park's police chief, was a Tinley Park police officer in July 1977 when he was shot in the head while responding to an armed robbery. (RIck Bruno) Now, as police chief in Highland Park, Jogmen is trying to help his community come to grips with a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade that left seven dead and some 30 injured. [ What we know about the mass shooting in Highland Park ] His father, 36 at the time of the shooting, spent two months in a coma, then required several surgeries and extensive occupational, physical and speech therapy sessions. Bruno, who had been with the Tinley Park force for just a month when Jogmen was shot, was one of several officers volunteering to help transport his fellow officer to therapy. There was a sign-up sheet at the police station, Bruno said Tuesday. Guys were scrambling to help the family out. Officers and their wives helped with chores such as laundry, cooking, maintaining the lawn and even offering to paint the interior of the Jogmen home, said Bruno, who rose to the level of commander and retired in 2010. We just did everything we could to help ease the burden on his family, he recalled. It was about 10:30 p.m. the night Jogmen was shot when he was the first officer to respond to a possible holdup at a 7-Eleven store at 159th Street and 76th Avenue, where Donald Villa was holding three men and a woman at gunpoint inside the store. Villa was threatening to shoot the woman, and at that point, Officer Jogmen made the only decision that he felt he could live with, his son said at his swearing-in ceremony in April. He could not bear to see this woman killed. In that brief instance, he struck a deal with the suspect. My dad offered to exchange himself for her so that she could go free, the Highland Park chief told fellow officers during the chiefs associations annual conference in Northbrook, according to a record of the event. Advertisement Jogmen noted that it was taking place during National Crime Victims Rights Week, pointing his own relationship with crime victims as a police officer and a victim of violent crime himself. Villa, armed with a handgun, had ordered Jogmen to give up his service revolver, used the officers handcuffs to restrain him then ordered him facedown on the pavement just outside the stores front door, according to evidence presented in court during Villas trial and subsequent appeals. Villa was standing up, straddling Jogmen, when he fired a shot into the officers skull, according to court documents. A portion of the bullet remained lodged in Jogmens brain, and doctors determined removing it would cause more harm than leaving it intact, according to court documents. Other officers arrived at the store and one of them shot Villa, who was left paralyzed from the waist down, after he had shot Jogmen. Villa was later convicted of charges including attempted murder and sentenced to a term ranging from 30-90 years in prison, later dying in a state-operated hospital. Through actions filed in state and federal courts, he had unsuccessfully attempted to secure a new trial or have his sentence reduced. Advertisement Jogmen was able to recover to the point where he could walk, talk and drive, and was honorary captain for the Tinley Park departments softball team, Bruno said. I still am stunned by his courage but maybe I shouldnt be, Bruno said of Jogmens recovery. I realize that, hey, this is something police officers do. He was one of my heroes. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > The elder Jogmen died in June 1986 due to complications from cancer, according to his son. Bruno said that Jogmen had a very dry personality and was a very funny guy. After Jogmen had recovered, everybody would say Thats the same Lou. He didnt lose anything, Bruno said. Each time Villa was up for parole, Tinley Park officers gathered thousands of signatures on petitions aimed at keeping him behind bars. Advertisement Bruno said that how officers responded to Jogmens shooting and their outpouring of help has always stayed with him. At that very difficult time I was a very impressionable young officer, he said. It showed me how much each individual officer was valued. mnolan@tribpub.com Inarguably, the policies of the Democrats in congress and Joe Biden as the Executive is plunging the United States into a recession, if we are not already there; a recession that was completely avoidable. Will abrupt changes in policies occur in time? Yes, the Democrats have a plan yet to be revealed to save us. No, there will have to be a complete undoing of the damage done by these Democrats. A summer school student at Oak Forest High School has been charged with a weapons offense after a firearm was located by security personnel, although no threat was made to other students or school personnel, police said Wednesday. Oak Forest police said that 19-year-old Amerion R. Epps is charged with unlawful use of a weapon and is scheduled for an initial court appearance Thursday at the Bridgeview courthouse. Advertisement Police said they responded at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday to the school, 15201 Central Ave., for a report of a firearm being found. After the firearm was located, the school went on lockdown to ensure the safety of all in the building and to ensure there was no other threat, police said in a statement. Police said Epps was attending summer school, and the firearm was discovered by school security while they were investigating another incident. Advertisement Police said that Epps was taken into custody without incident. mnolan@tribpub.com Elizabeth Vazquez, from left, hugs 8-year-old Abner Toledo while standing next to Ricardo Toledo, 35, and Anna Vazquez, 14, as they attend a vigil outside Highland Park City Hall on July 13, 2022, for victims of the July Fourth mass shooting. Ricardos grandfather Nicolas Toledo, 78, was among the seven people killed in the shooting. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) In the wake of the July 4 mass shooting that claimed the lives of seven people in Highland Park, Township High School District 113 provided counseling services to more than 300 students, staff and community members on Tuesday, and announced it would offer expanded services from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Friday. More than 40 counselors and psychologists from a variety of entities provided services at Highland Park and Deerfield high schools on Tuesday, according to director of communications and alumni relations Karen Warner. Advertisement District 113 Superintendent Bruce Law wrote to parents on Tuesday evening that the district is extremely grateful and humbled by the outpouring of support from the community and outside organizations that have offered help. [ What we know about the mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade ] It is evident that the grief and impact caused by Mondays horrific events have increased the communitys need for access to counseling services, Law said. Advertisement Warner said the help District 113 has received from counseling professionals, many of them from outside organizations, has been crucial to providing enough support to those affected. We had a bunch of outside resources that people, basically, from a lot of surrounding districts volunteered their services to assist, which was really wonderful, Warner said. North Shore School District 112, which operates seven area elementary schools, two middle schools and an early childhood center, also centered its services at the high school on Tuesday. District 112 director of communications Nicholas Glenn said the district would offer counseling services with therapy dogs on Wednesday and Thursday at two locations which may be closer or more of a comfortable setting for students and community members. Oak Terrace School in Highwood and Ravinia School in Highland Park are each hosting drop-in counseling, and the Oak Terrace site will offer counseling services in Spanish as well. According to Glenn, 50 families at Ravinia and 40 families at Oak Terrace had checked in for services as of Wednesday afternoon. The services are offered from 9 a.m. to noon, and from 1 to 4 p.m. [ These are the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park ] Weve opened up two schools that if our parents want to go to a District 112 school, say they (have kids in kindergarten through eighth grade), they can go here if theyre closer or feel more comfortable seeing somebody from their own district, Glenn said. District 113 students enrolled in summer school also have counseling services available to them during those hours, Warner said. Advertisement She added that the district didnt know what the demand for counseling services would be, but that it has been able to meet the need. When we put this together (Monday) night, you never know who will come, how many will come, Warner said. You never know how to gauge that interest, but we had a lot of people show up (Tuesday). Happy to offer it. Highwood Public Library is also offering support services to anyone in the community affected by the shooting. Volunteer Sandy Anderson said the library regularly offers therapy sessions and support groups, but that it is increasing capacity in response to the shooting. Individual therapy sessions are available by appointment, from 3 to 7 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. Its private, its free and these are wonderful professionals that are here, Anderson said. Advertisement Additionally, support groups meet Monday through Wednesday nights from 6 to 7:30 p.m. In a Monday statement, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering also thanked the American Red Cross for offering its help, as well as the Northern Illinois Critical Incident Stress Managements support for first responders. The two-year-olds saw their first stakes action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Monday afternoon, with two $35,000 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for trotting colts. The International Moni-Peach Martini colt Crantini crossed the Canada/U.S. border to make his money debut and then posted a 1:56.4 triumph at first asking in the quicker section. Scott Zeron, big winner on the day with four sulky successes, got the baby away second behind the 1-5 favourite Paramount Legend N (a rare Down Under horse to race on these shores as a two-year-old), then tipped him outside on the far turn. The two freshmen battled each other until Crantini was able to go by by three-quarters of a length for trainer Megan Scran and Thestable Crantini Group. In the other division, Herodotus, a Bar Hopping-Regal Woman colt who was named after the man Cicero called the Father Of History, started writing his own racing history with a 1:58 victory in his first purse start. David Miller kept the 3-5 choice in third down the backstretch, but then got some fortune when the pocket-sitter pulled nearing the three-quarters and he and his colt were able to slide up into the two-hole. From there, Herodotus waited for the Pocono Pike then used it as his path to a 2-1/4-length victory over longshot Dancehall King. Newly-minted Hall Of Famer Ron Burke trains the promising bay for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC along with Hatfield Stables. During the overnight section of the card, the spotlight also fell on two-year-olds, specifically an impressive pair of pacers from the team of trainer Tom and owner John Cancelliere. First up was the Sweet Lou-Pineapple Hanover filly Dole Whip, who tipped wide off cover and stormed to a 1:52.4 four-length victory for driver Scott Zeron while going her own back numbers in :55.3 - :27.3. Thirty-five minutes later, colt Feel My Wrath, a son of the Western Shore-Some Kinda Girl (she out of the $1.6 million-winning Cathedra Dot Com) overcame the dreaded tuck-then-first-over journey, covering his back half in :56.1 for a 1-3/4-lengths triumph in 1:54 for driver Braxten Boyd and the Cancellieres. Both of the brothers babies were making their purse debuts. The racing week concludes on Tuesday at Pocono with a card beginning at 1:30 p.m. (PHHA/Pocono) Two-year-old colt and gelding pacers paid a visit to Yonkers Raceway on Tuesday night for three New York Sire Stakes divisions. In the first $50,400 split Johnny Sack (Mark MacDonald) took over the lead from Livonjaxandqueens (Jordan Stratton) after the :27.2 quarter and then would hit the half in :56.2. Johnny Sack withstood a first-over try from Ben Solo (Austin Siegelman) on the way to the 1:26 three-quarters and around the last turn, but driver Brian Sears tipped 4-5 favourite Duval Street out three-wide from second-over late on the bend, and Duval Street had the most pace in the lane, rallying by Johnny Sack on his way to a 1 1/2 length decision in 1:54.3. Livonjaxandqueens wound up third. Duval Street , trained by Richard Nifty Norman , is a Huntsville-Native Bride gelding bred by Sundance Stable LLC. and Jay Sears and now owned by Sundance Stable LLC. and Kim Sears. Duval Street was making his pari-mutuel debut after winning baby races at Magical Acres and Harrah's Philadelphia . He paid $3.90 to win. The second $50,400 section saw That Dog Will Hunt (Jason Bartlett) blast to the early lead from post four, but Kid Of The Bronx (MacDonald), who went wide on the first turn, drove on and took over the top spot before the :27.4 opening quarter. Kid From The Bronx backed down the half to just :57.4 but then duelled with a first-over Bandito Joe (Matt Kakaley) past that marker, with Bandito Joe poking a head in front at the 1:26.2 three-quarters. Kid From The Bronx battled back gamely on the inside on the last turn and into the lane to regain command, but Bandito Joe kept plugging away on the outside and surged again late in the stretch, and that final thrust was enough to get him by Kid From The Bronx at the wire to prevail by a nose in 1:54.4. That Dog Will Hunt was the third-place finisher. Travis Alexander trains and co-owns Bandito Joe, a gelded son of Roll With Joe-Blind Faith bred by Mark Powell, with partners Fiddlers Creek Stables LLC, Delegance Stable IX and T L P Stable. Bandito Joe broke his maiden in his second pari-mutuel attempt, pushed his earnings to $27,000, and returned $31.00 to win. Its A Me Mario (Bartlett) clicked off fractions of :28.1, :58.3, and 1:27.1 in the last $49,500 flight, but American Fling (Scott Zeron) went first-up from third as they raced in the backstretch for the final time and moved into second before three-quarters. Its A Me Mario managed to keep command around the final turn as American Fling drifted out a bit, but once they straightened up in the lane, American Fling paced by Its A Me Mario and went on to a 1-1/4 length victory in 1:55. Southwind Tito (Siegelman) grabbed third. The victorious American Ideal gelding is trained by Ed Hart for the ownership group of Randy Bendis, Reed Broadway and Pollack Racing LLC. American Fling, who was bred by White Birch Farm and brought $25,000 at last year's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, has a record of 2-1-0 from three starts, and he has now pocketed $52,375. He paid $2.70 to win. Heave Ho (by American Ideal, 1:57.1), Hot Shot Joe (by Roll With Joe, 1:57.3), and Human Cocktail (by Huntsville, 1:56.4) won the three $15,000 New York Excelsior "A" Series events that took place on the program. David Miller piloted Heave Ho, who was bred by Delaware Valley University , for trainer Sam Schillaci and owners Schillaci Stables LLC. and Sam Bova Racing LLC., Scott Zeron drove Hot Shot Joe, a Crawford Farms-bred, for trainer Todd Luther and owner Black Magic Racing LLC and Jason Bartlett was in the bike behind Human Cocktail for trainer Gareth Dowse and owner/co-breeder Stephen Demeter. There was also one $6,500 New York Excelsior "B" Series tilt, and Wasnt Me (by American Ideal) won the non-wagering event in 1:58.1 for driver Jason Bartlett, co-owner/trainer Jim Graham, and co-owners Edward Peron, Timothy Warner, and Paul Tandlmayer. Wasnt Me was bred by White Birch Farm. In other stakes news from Yonkers , the MGM Springfield Stakes for two-year-old colt and gelding pacers required no eliminations and will advance straight to the $98,750 final on Saturday, July 16. The entrants are Francis Raia trainees Married Man and Major Decision, trainer Travis Alexander's Downrightdelicious, Michael Hall pupil Music Hall and Jake Huff student Captain Mikey. Yonkers is currently operating on a Monday-Saturday live racing schedule with post time at 6:55 p.m. The Hall of Fame Screening Committee of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), after meeting with a select group of Harness Racing Museum Trustees, has announced that Lucien Fontaine has been elected to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame, through a Veterans designation, and that Frank Antonacci and Per Eriksson would be the Hall of Fame ballot candidates for this summers election. Fontaine becomes a direct member of the Hall of Fame through the Veterans provision, which permits the Screening Committee to make a direct assignment of a person 70 years of age or older who has made a truly notable contribution to harness racing. Lucien Loosh Fontaine was a successful horseman and an innovator in helping improve the lot of his fellow horsemen. Fontaine began his career in his native Quebec as a groom for the legendary Keith Waples, then emigrated to the United States and worked for Clint Hodgins at the time of Bye Bye Byrds ascendancy. He then took the step of becoming solely a catch-driver for other trainers, in an era some 60 years ago when trainer/driver was almost thought of as one word. Fontaine prospered on the toughest circuit of all in that era, the Roosevelt/Yonkers wheel in New York City, for many years. In 1986, he worked with a special horse in Forrest Skipper, that seasons U.S. Horse of the Year who travelled from coast-to-coast and went undefeated in 15 starts. Fontaine had to retire from driving at age 49 due to open heart surgery, but still he had amassed 3,458 driving wins, and the horses he drove had earned $21,236,952. Perhaps not as well-known, but making a major impact behind the scenes, are Fontaines many contributions that secured and helped his fellow horsemen and racing, certainly Standardbred racing but also reaching over to the Thoroughbred side. Fontaine served as Vice President of the National Association of Harness Drivers, and on the Board of Directors of the New York Standardbred Owners Association (SOANY) and the Rules Committee of the New York State Racing Commission. He was an early advocate and then pointman for pre-race testing for both the New York racing breeds; the five per cent drivers commission being taken out by the track and reserved just for the driver (borrowing from Thoroughbred jockey practice); and longterm insurance and pensions for horsemen. Antonacci and Eriksson will go before the Hall of Fame voters, who are made up of eligible members of USHWA and all members of the Hall Of Fame, this summer; if they secure 75 per cent of the yes-no votes of the electorate, they will join Fontaine as inductees to the Hall next summer. Also on the summer ballot will be Communicators Hall Of Fame candidates Bob Roberts and Ken Warkentin, to be voted on by USHWA. Frank Gerald Antonacci, known as Frank The Elder, has carried on the tradition established by family members and Hall Of Famers Guy Sonny Antonacci and Big Frank Antonacci with the Crown Stables, the latter making its mark initially with the likes of Lindys Pride and Speedy Crown, and today primarily with Lindy Farms, the 2021 Stan Bergstein/Proximity Award winner, the highest honour solely voted on by USHWA, and the 2020 Service To Youth Award from the Harness Horse Youth Foundation. Frank and his brother Jerry, through their management of Lindy Farms, have made its impact felt in all areas of the sport. As owner, Lindy Farms horses include Hall Of Fame horses Moni Maker and Cantab Hall, five other seasonal champions, three Hambletonian winners and several Breeders Crowns wearers. The Antonacci/Lindy connections have bred or owned nine millionaire racehorses. Lindy has been associated with such premier stallions as Lindy Lane, Cantab Hall, Crazed, International Moni and Walner, the latter two, the most recent of their studs, being part of a development of cross-Atlantic breeding the operation had pioneered in the 1990s. Antonacci has served as a director of the Hambletonian Society since 1993 and a trustee of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame since 2011; he also was a director of the U.S. Trotting Association for 19 years. Many of the next generations of Antonaccis are in the sport, some working in programs designed to help those really in need of several types of personal support. Per Eriksson made his mark in the highest reaches of the sport as a very young trainer after coming to North America from his native Sweden. His talents as a caretaker and assistant trainer quickly identified him as a developing master horseman, and by the age of 32, Eriksson had already trained three horses to success in the biggest North American trotting race, the Hambletonian: Prakas (his foundation horse at age 24), Giant Victory and Alf Palema. He also won such important races as five Breeders Crowns, two Kentucky Futurities, four World Trotting Derbys and a Yonkers Trot with such champions as Credit Winner, Lookout Victory, Bullville Victory and Tejano, as well as revitalizing Davidia Hanover, a champion early in her career whom Eriksson helped bring back to form by introducing the then-European practice of continually going long jogging sessions to cart, helping to restore his confidence. At age 39, Eriksson then decided to transfer his mercurial North American success back to his native Sweden, with his family supporting him. He has worked as a successful trainer in Scandinavia since, surfacing with such horses as Royal Fighter, an Elitlopp competitor and heat winner in 2018. But his 20-year rapid rise to the pinnacle of North American trotting success, showing the care and craftsmanship of veterans nearly twice his age, remains his signal accomplishment. (USHWA) It's hard to deny the fact that Bob McClure has made his mark on the harness racing world. He has been around the industry since he was a little boy, literally growing up on Hanover Raceway's backstretch. My earliest memory would be going there as a kid with my cousin," McClure told Hanover's Caity Hillier. "He and I would love going up there on Wednesday and Saturday nights...a lot of people probably don't know that I got my first training win in Hanover. McClure has never been shy about his love for Hanover Raceway and has mentioned it in several prominent interviews. It's my favourite track in the whole world to race at, it's a fun atmosphere...the people there, the people that count, really make it special. Having 18,063 driving starts to date, McClure has earned $35.9 million in purses. McClure's biggest career accomplishment is a win in the sport's most prestigious race, the Hambletonian at The Meadowlands back in 2019 with Forbidden Trade. Anybody who wins a Hambletonian, they obviously attribute a lot of their career to that, as it's the biggest race in the world. It [the win] was unexpected, I wish I could live the day over because I don't think I soaked enough of it in. Going back to the memory of it, it was really great, and finding out that everyone at Hanover Raceway was watching me on a little TV yelling at me made me feel pretty happy, McClure laughed. McClure has achieved many impressive milestones since started his driving career in 2009, including being Canada's top dash-winning driver in 2016. He won an O'Brien Award as Canada's top driver in 2020, chalking up $6,022,430 in purse earnings. He also won the Lampman Cup as the leading driver in the Ontario Sires Stakes in 2020 after being a top contender for the previous three years. Back on June 26 of this year, McClure secured driving win number 3,000 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. When asked about what it was like winning Hanover Raceway's two biggest races, the Dream of Glory and Balanced Image, which he has done once each, McClure has fond memories of both. McClure won the Dream of Glory title with Mister Muscle back in 2017 and the Balanced Image final with Sea Can (pictured below) in 2021. The special part about both of them was that they were won for the same trainer, Mark Etsell, who is also from Hanover, so I think that trumped it. It was so special for both of us, he's such a great horseman...the Dream of Glory was special because the night, the fireworks, there was a huge crowd, it was earlier in my career, so it was one of the first bigger races I'd won. The day I won the Balanced Image was just a fun day, a horse Josh McKibbin trained called Mission Three, that my cousin and I owned, also won. It was really just a fun day...and the Walker Memorial Trot, [celebrating a family] also from up there, they mean a lot to me too. McClure has already had a very impressive career and the team at Hanover Raceway stated they are "pleased to be able to celebrate his many successes with a special day in his honour, with his legion of fans at his favourite track." To view the entries for Bob McClure Day at Hanover Raceway, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Hanover Raceway. (with files from Hanover) With family by her side, Marg Fleming of Clinton, Ont. passed away peacefully at Clinton Public Hospital on July 1, 2022. Marg was born in Toronto and grew up in The Beaches. She was a proud alumna of Victoria Colleges Class of 1961. Marg moved to Clinton with her husband, Bill, shortly after graduation. They developed and owned Fleming Feed Mill, which became one of the largest feed mill operations in Southwestern Ontario. Marg was a devoted supporter of her community. She served endless volunteer hours with the Clinton Kinettes, Kettes, Clinton United Church, Clinton Raceway, and Seaforth Curling Club among other organizations. Marg was one of a kind with her generous spirit and quick wit. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her. A sincere thank you to Clinton Public Hospital, Wendy and Margs many caregivers for the excellent care Marg received. Predeceased by her husband Bill (2010) and parents Ian (2001) and Velma (1997) MacInnes. Marg is survived by her children Ian (Jen) and Jim, grandchildren Will and Claire, brother Allan (Maureen), and nephew Angus MacInnes. A private graveside service will be held for Margs family, followed by a celebration of life at The Huron Fish and Game Club in Clinton, Tuesday, July 5, from 1-6 p.m. As expressions of sympathy, donations can be made to the Clinton Public Hospital Foundation or Clinton United Church. Messages of Condolence for the Fleming Family are welcome at falconerfuneralhomes.com. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Marg Fleming. State employees were due back in their offices Tuesday under a new telework policy that is still evolving under Gov. Glenn Youngkin. How many returned and how many were working remotely under new telework agreements remained a mystery as of Tuesday evening, as the new administration struggles to carry out a policy that initially gave state employees two weeks to request permission to work outside of their offices. The governor is excited to welcome our workforce back in person and is encouraged about their continued dedication to Virginians, spokesman Rob Damschen said Tuesday night. The administration and the respective agencies have reviewed and approved the vast majority of telework requests submitted. From a cursory review, we know that more state employees are able to work remotely than teleworked before the pandemic, Damschen said. While some applications which were submitted late or irregularly are still working through the process, most are completed and formalized with the employees. However, the state still doesnt know how many of its employees have been working remotely since the ongoing pandemic began 28 months ago, forcing many agencies to close their offices temporarily and allowing state workers flexibility in how they do their jobs. I think they underestimated the number of employees who have some sort of telework or remote work agreement in place, said Dylan Bishop, lobbyist for the Virginia Governmental Employees Association. The governors office had been largely silent about the policys implementation since acknowledging that it had missed its own June 3 deadline for processing employee telework requests. A second deadline passed June 30 without comment by the administration. In early May, Youngkin ordered workers back to their offices in a high-profile pitch to reopen state government after the COVID-19 pandemic initially shut down agencies or forced employees to work remotely for more than two years. The governor, an experienced corporate executive who had never served in government, imposed strict limits on the use of telework under new agreements that would require approval by his chief of staff, Jeff Goettman, for any employee to work remotely more than two days a week. (Agency heads could approve one day, and Cabinet secretaries could allow two.) However, one agency manager, who asked to remain anonymous, said this week that a department official had signed off on telework requests for more than two days on behalf of Goettman, a former private equity executive and investment banker who was chief operating officer of Youngkins campaign for governor. What was unveiled as a top-down policy designed to maximize the presence of employees in state offices hasnt been easy for the administration to carry out without giving agency leaders more flexibility to allow employees to work remotely for different reasons. Bishop, representing the state employees association, met with Secretary of Administration Lynn McDermid on June 8 to ask the governor to delay implementation of the policy until after Labor Day, when the new school year begins. He said he hasnt spoken to the administration about the policy since then. Youngkin didnt delay the policyas a group of Democratic legislators also requestedbut his administration has adjusted the rules along the way to reflect the challenges that many state employees face in returning to their offices after working remotely since the COVID pandemic began. For example, in late May, after the initial deadline for telework applications, the governor confirmed that employees with children and no alternatives for child care could work up to five days a week under temporary telework agreements through Labor Day, Sept. 5. Employees had to request the temporary relief for extenuating child care needs in a separate application to their supervisors by June 27, said Lauren Cunningham, spokesperson for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. All temporary telework agreements approved during that time will expire on September 5, 2022, and employees will transition to an appropriate work schedule based on their job duties, said Cunningham, whose department already had exempted employees in regional offices and field positions from applying for new telework agreements. The governors office also has promised to honor previously granted accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to allow employees with disabilities to work remotely despite concerns that they were having to prove their disability status once again for jobs they already were doing by telework. Part of the challenge for the administration is that it never knew how many state employees had worked remotely during the pandemic. Before the pandemic began, about 25% of state jobs were eligible for telework and, of those, about 19% were being carried out under telework agreements, but the state personnel agency didnt know how many employees had been working remotely since then. The General Assembly demanded answers in the new state budget that Youngkin signed June 22. It requires the Department of Human Resource Management to report to the legislature by Nov. 1 on how many people worked remotely from March 2020, when the pandemic began, through July 4, the day before Youngkins new policy took effect. The budget provision also requires the department to report how many employees receive approval for telework under the new policy and for how many days per week as well as the percentage of the state workforce they represent. I think that data is going to be illuminating on a number of different fronts, said Bishop at the employees association. Doug Kent has been greeting visitors to the Scotts Bluff National Monument for nine years with, volunteer ranger Doug, Scotts Bluff National Monument, National Parks Service, enriching lives of others one life at a time. Kent was the owner of the wholesale and magazine distributor, Kent News Agency, before he retired and began volunteering. He was spending early mornings hiking the monument and lifting weights in the gym when he decided to join a group cleaning up the roadside along State Highway 92, near the monument. In April of what would be 2013, there was an article in the paper asking for volunteers to help clean up the highway in front of the monument so I came out and did that, Kent said. Then I was asked by the chief ranger, Justin Cawiezel, if I would like to volunteer and I said that I would. Kent checked with his wife, Louise, and became a regular volunteer tasked with greeting visitors on the monument, in the shuttle bus and in the visitor center. We have several volunteers that are highly dedicated, and have been here for a very long time, Ittai Levine, park ranger and volunteer coordinator at Scotts Bluff National Monument, said. To become a volunteer at the monument, applications can be picked up at the front desk in the visitor center. Levine said the next step involves a conversation to determine what the applicants interests are and where he could spend time volunteering before signing a volunteer form. Currently the monument has about 10 volunteers, five scheduled routinely throughout the week and the remainder on a more flexible schedule. The monument also utilizes yearly volunteers, a group of Boy Scouts for example, and the Keeping Scottsbluff and Gering Beautiful program. Doug Kent is one of those dedicated, long time volunteers, Levine said. He currently volunteers three times a week for somewhere between seven to eight hours a day. I think were close to almost 2,000 hours hes volunteered with us altogether. Kent begins his volunteer season the first of April typically ending in late October. He works from about 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Wednesday sharing information with visitors to the monument. I love it all, he said. My main focus every day is when I meet people to make sure that their experience is a good one. I dont want anybody driving away from here saying, thats the worst experience Ive ever had. I want them always driving away from here saying, this is really, really wonderful. We love Scotts Bluff National Monument. We love the area and were glad that we came. Levine explained the regular volunteers at the monument typically work at greeting and educating visitors, are living historians or spend time walking the trails. Ann James and Jerry Lucas are two living historians that will dress up in era appropriate costume to give an interpretation explaining what life was like for immigrants on the Oregon Trail. Levine said another key volunteer is Bob Wagner, who can be seen roving the trails as eyes and ears for the rangers and overseeing the park rangers radio program. The biggest role of volunteers is working and educating visitors here, Levine said. I believe it was 194,000 visitors that came to the monument in 2021. When they come in the visitor center, Doug Kent is one of the first people there to greet them. Hes spoken with many, many people and given a lot of good advice as well. Kent explained his role involves much more than greeting a visitor and giving tours. He always finds out where they are from and what direction they are traveling in. Right now, a couple times during the day, Ill take my car and drive up (the monument) and give people the history of Scotts Bluff National Monument and the area, he said. I also send them to Agate Fossil Beds, and then around to Fort Robinson and then to the Museum of the Fur Trade at Chadron. So they get a complete view of what Western Nebraska has to offer. Kent enjoys asking visitors where they are from and often makes a connection with them. With only an hour into his day, he had already met people from Italy, Germany, Ohio and Florida. He said it is phenomenal to witness the variety of people stopping at the monument. I look forward to this all the time, its rewarding, Kent said. Of all the volunteer jobs Ive ever done, this is the most rewarding of all of them. Another aspect he enjoys is making all the memories talking with the people and a part of his job entails making memories for the visitors. Everybody that comes here is on vacation and theyre all looking to have an experience, he said. I feel that my job is to make their vacation as memorable as possible so theyll come back. I have had people come back to see me. As a matter of fact, there was a guy here yesterday and he says, Doug, do you remember talking to me a couple of years ago. Levine said Kent receives the most compliments from visitors via reviews, hand written notes or basically thank yous to the park. I can tell you from working with a lot of people, Doug Kent is going to be someone that youre going to be really thankful that you spoke with, he said. Of all the rangers that we have here, statistically, I believe he gets the most compliments. Like I say, Im volunteer ranger Doug, Scotts Bluff National Monument, National Park Service, enriching lives of others one life at a time and I really mean that, Kent said. Its just fascinating the people that I meet and the people that I work with. Everybody here knows their job and they know it well, its just remarkable and I just like to think that I enhance what theyre doing by giving the people more information. When trying to make a positive change in the world, you may sometimes encounter resistance. The opposition will usually come from those who cannot understand your vision. They may spread rumors, lies, and false accusations. They may ridicule and make fun of you, and your reputation may suffer. When this happens, dont be discouraged; be joyful. These types of people wouldnt give you the time of day unless they knew you were about to do something extraordinary. Throughout history, those who tried to make a difference almost always faced incredible odds. When you find yourself in this position, take the high road, and stay persistent. In the mid-1840s, Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician practicing medicine in Vienna, Austria, found himself up against fierce opposition. Some historians say, in 19th-century Vienna, it was safer for a woman to give birth in the streets than in a maternity ward. The statistics showed that 18% of childbirths ended in death for the child, and often the mother when assisted by a male doctor. The prevailing theory in those days was that children were naturally shy around male doctors, and the shyness resulted in their death. During this time, Ignaz Semmelweis was in charge of two maternity clinics. One clinic was also a medical school where doctors taught medical students many different aspects of health care. They learned how to assist in childbirth, do an autopsy, and much more. The other clinic was for women who couldnt afford actual medical practitioners. This second clinic was staffed mainly with midwives. Oddly, it was the second clinic that pregnant women tried to gain entrance. The clinic run by midwives had a much higher chance of survival than the first one run by doctors and medical students. Semmelweis was desperate to find a reason why this was the case. Over time, he began to notice that doctors and students in the first clinic often went to assist in childbirth right after performing an autopsy. He suspected that the doctors and students were covered in the disease of the dead. At this point, germ theory had yet to be developed. It was thought by most that foul odors and evil spirits were the cause of disease and death. Semmelweis suggested that doctors and students wash their hands for thirty seconds in a chlorinated lime solution after performing an autopsy before assisting in childbirth. Right away, his recommendation was met with scorn. He was ridiculed and mocked. The medical community was offended by the notion that their hands werent clean enough and could be the possible cause of the excess mortality rate. Despite much opposition, for a time, he successfully implemented the practice of handwashing at his clinic, which cut the mortality rates down to 1%. Although handwashing profoundly reduced mortality rates, Semmelweis couldnt articulate why. The medical community at large resoundingly rejected his ideas. Even some of the doctors in his clinic opted not to believe handwashing had any effect. One doctor claimed that they shouldnt have to wash their hands because doctors are gentlemen. Soon, two doctors from his maternity clinic banded together and had him thrown out. Without his status as a physician in the ward, he had no credibility. With his reputation destroyed, he increasingly became more and more outspoken. Sadly, very few in the medical community would listen. Some physicians, who practiced hygiene before Semmelweis, became so offended that they stopped washing their hands altogether. Mortality rates tripled as a direct consequence. In the face of rejection, he increasingly became more and more outspoken. Doctors across the continent mocked him and thought he was a buffoon. It wasnt until two decades later that doctors began to realize he was right and his reputation restored. Thanks to people like Semmelweis, handwashing in medical facilities is an utmost priority. Millions of lives have been saved as a result. You will encounter opposition when youre trying to make the world a better place. Maintain your faith, keep your vision, and do the right thing. You never know what could happen; like Semmelweis, you might end up saving the lives of millions. A person lights a candle beside a message reading "HP Strong" at a memorial set up at Central and St. Johns Avenues in Highland Park on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, a day after a mass shooting that resulted in 7 dead and more than 30 injured at a 4th of July parade in the north suburb. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Once known for the eclectic sounds emanating every summer from Ravinia Festival, Highland Park now will be forever etched in the growing pantheon of mass shootings in the U.S. This after the carnage and chaos allegedly unleashed by a locally grown rooftop sniper as the citys Fourth of July parade got underway. Advertisement If we didnt believe beforehand, we know it now: If it can happen in Highland Park, it can happen anywhere, even on a day dedicated to marking the nations independence. Like what occurred in Kenosha, Wisconsin, up Sheridan Road from Lake County, where five people were shot Fourth of July night, with one fatally; in Gary, Indiana, where 10 people were shot 3 fatally at a Fourth of July block party; or in Sacramento, the California capital, where five were shot, and one killed Fourth of July morning. Advertisement Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, could have been foreign cities experiencing mass shootings the past months. Now Highland Park, the once-peaceful tony North Shore town, has much in common with these national outposts. As it has with the city of Chicago. Another long holiday weekend of frenzied gun violence in the big city ended with 71 people shot, and eight killed. The Highland Park body count so far is seven people were killed while families casually waited along the Central Avenue route now a crime scene for the citys first summer parade since the coronavirus pandemic. Besides the dead, dozens of parade-goers, ranging in age from 8 to 85, were injured as the gunman apparently shot at random human targets. What we know about the mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade. Read more here >>> Many of those were hit by gunfire from what authorities termed a high-powered long rifle allegedly wielded by a 22-year-old terrorist from his hiding post on the roof of a downtown business. The Highland Park tragedy marked the 309th mass shooting in the U.S. in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a consortium that compiles law enforcement data. The group defines a mass shooting as four or more shot or killed, not including the shooter. Last year, at least 233 people were killed and 618 others were injured in about 500 shootings over the Fourth of July weekend, according to the consortium. That was an improvement from 2020, when 314 people were killed and 751 more were injured. As with previous mass shooting suspects, once again there were signs the alleged Highland Park shooter had plans to engage in a violent act. Robert Crimo III of Highwood, taken into custody on Route 41 in Lake Forest hours after the July 4 shootings, had posted some eerie videos on social media. Somebody saw something, but didnt say anything. Especially considering Highland Park has had a ban, which has weathered several court challenges, on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines since 2013. Advertisement The town is not considered a sanctuary for gun owners. Indeed, city residents have held anti-gun and anti-violence protests in the past, most recently last month. Which reminds us in our increasingly violent culture there is more to do to ensure safety at public events. Looks like law enforcement officials will be inspecting rooftops along parade routes across Lake County before community parades step off the rest of this summer. These are the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park. Read more here >>> Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday > And perhaps in future summers. Which in itself is scary enough to keep us wrapped in our homebody cocoons. As with other mass shootings, elected officials and law enforcement, along with those who have lost friends, loved ones and relatives, are at a loss to not only explain the senseless deaths, but come to grips with them. Who among us hasnt uttered Enough is enough! when a mass shooting occurs? We all want this evil to end. When will it? Advertisement Sensible gun laws are needed, but those havent seemed to keep weapons out of the hands of those who want to do harm to fellow citizens. As the American revolutionist Thomas Paine noted during Americas fight for independence: A little matter will move a party, but it must be something great that moves a nation. Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor. sellenews@gmail.com Twitter: @sellenews Lake Norman and Davis Regional Medical Centers welcome Gregory Smith, network director of information technology and Marie Blevins, administrative specialist. Smith received a Masters Degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia and his bachelors degree in physics with a minor in computer science/electronics from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He has more than 30 years experience in the field of information technology, supporting various IT operations. Blevins received her bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky where she graduated with honors. She did receive her Masters in Hospital Administration from the University of Louisville. She will be involved in strategic operational projects and actively participate on senior management committees. Did you know more than 120 million adults in the United States have cardiovascular disease? In Iredell County alone, heart disease is the second leading cause of death. To stay proactive in the fight against cardiovascular disease in Iredell County, Iredell Health System offers a wide range of heart and vascular care services. Iredells team of cardiologists and vascular surgeons utilize state-of-the-art technology to diagnose and treat cardiovascular diseases each and every day. Last year, Iredells Heart & Vascular Center performed more than 5,000 cardiovascular procedures. Supporting the health systems continuous commitment to delivering the highest quality cardiovascular care for the community, the Iredell Health Foundation is hosting its first Heart of Jazz, benefitting the Cardiac & Vascular Care Fund at Iredell Health System. Proceeds from the Heart of Jazz support the purchase of new cardiovascular equipment, provide patient assistance, and expand cardiovascular service offerings for the community. The Heart of Jazz will take place from 6-9:30 p.m. on Oct. 13, at The Venues at Langtree in Mooresville. The event will feature live musical performances from Ray Georgeson, cardiologist, followed by Mo Money, a five-piece jazz band comprised of the nations top studio musicians, songwriters and producers all of whom have national performance and recording credits. In addition, the Heart of Jazz will have a silent auction, a cash bar, hors doeuvres, and feature a complimentary signature drink. This will be an evening of jazz, fun, and spirits to support the patient assistance program and enhance cardiovascular services at Iredell Health System. The ultimate goal is to keep the most advanced cardiac and vascular care right here in our community. This annual event will help us to accomplish this, said Jen Balog, executive director of the Iredell Health Foundation. Several sponsorship opportunities, including two exclusive sponsorships, are available. Your participation in the Heart of Jazz is a gift of heart health for your community. For further details about the event and sponsorship opportunities, please visit heartofjazz.org, email foundation@iredellhealth.org, or call 704-878-7669. Editors note: Information is provided by the Cowlitz County Corrections Department and local law enforcement agencies. Each individual named in this report is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Burglary Kelso officers Tuesday arrested Marco Hernandez, 31, of Kelso on suspicion of residential burglary. Stolen vehicle Washington State troopers Wednesday arrested Ruchanaes Mell, 20, of Tukwila on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle and eluding a police vehicle. Theft Cowlitz County deputies Tuesday arrested Dennis Stearns, 61, of an unknown location, on suspicion of second-degree theft, malicious mischief, criminal trespassing and fourth-degree assault. Editors note: A software switch at Cowlitz County dispatch has prevented the agency from temporarily supplying 911 call logs and officer notes past June 6. The agency is working to create new reports to supply media outlets. A man arrested after striking a woman with his vehicle on Independence Day 2021 in Longview took a plea deal in May and was sentenced last month to perform community service. Keilah Thostenson said she was lighting fireworks in the road in front of her home around 10:30 p.m. July 4, 2021, in the 3000 block of Fir Street when Corey Lee Miller, 47, of Longview struck her with his orange Dodge Dart. Miller pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief with a deadly weapon and the gross misdemeanor of reckless driving on May 4 in Cowlitz County Superior Court. He was originally charged with vehicular assault and felony hit and run. Miller was sentenced on June 15 to 240 hours of community service for both counts and a year in community custody. He was ordered to pay $600 in fines and restitution for the victim will be determined later, court documents say. Millers guilty plea states he drove too quickly down a residential street and struck another person with my vehicle and left the scene.... Thostenson said Miller barely missed a group of neighbors when he drove down her street on July 4, 2021, then headed toward her then 16-year-old son. Thostenson said she jumped between her son and the vehicle. Her victim impact statement filed in court says her children are traumatized by witnessing their mothers bodying being thrown over a vehicle and landing on her head. I was heartbroken they had to witness that, says the statement. Thostenson also wrote she suffered a concussion, torn muscles and a hernia. She has stage-three kidney failure due to the damage that night, says the statement. Miller is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 15 to review whether his community service hours were completed. Millions of dollars for local roads, rivers, first responders and substance-abuse treatment have advanced through initial stages to receive federal funding. U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, recently announced she secured the funds as part of the proposed budget the U.S. House Appropriations Committee passed at the end of June. Herrera Beutler is one of the 25 Republicans seated on the committee. The funding is part of the renewed and reformed version of earmarking that allows members of Congress to request money to directly go to a limited number of projects within their home district. Projects The largest local project in the appropriations budget is $5.5 million for the Columbia Heights road improvements. The funding will allow the city of Longview to improve the roads surface and install a sidewalk on the stretch between Fishers Lane and Cascade Drive. Funding for the road project made it to the same phase of the appropriations process last year but ended up missing out of the final federal budget. These much-needed improvements, which include road widening, sidewalks, and lighting, provide safety for our children, their parents, and school employees, Longview mayor MaryAlice Wallis said in the announcement of the funding from Herrera Beutlers office. Several of the projects Herrera Beutler helped secure included law enforcement priorities. The projects include $2.18 million for radio equipment upgrades for the Cowlitz 911 Center and $215,000 for a de-escalation training simulator for the Longview Police Department. The radio system improvements also received support from Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray on their list of community project funding priorities. Other law enforcement projects that received attention in Southwest Washington included $2.8 million for improved radio communications in Lewis County and body-worn camera funds for police departments in Washougal and Long Beach. Herrera Beutler announced Tuesday the appropriations committee approved $765,000 to renovate and expand the Cowlitz Indian Tribes behavioral health and substance-use treatment clinic in Longview. She also announced on June 28 she secured $856,000 for sediment monitoring on the Lower Cowlitz River and $900,000 for turning basin improvements on the Columbia River. Localities are not guaranteed to receive funding until the final federal budget is approved by Congress. A Longview residents camera on Sunday appears to have caught a cougar in the early morning hours sauntering across her driveway south of Columbia Heights. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has not confirmed the sighting. Emily Robbins front-yard security camera was set off at 2:05 a.m., capturing the animal as it walked across her driveway on Cascade Way and Cedar Place, then stopped to look through their gate into the backyard. I lost a little bit of sleep that night ... I know theyre around here but its very rare that you actually come across or see one, Robbins said. Robbins does not have any livestock, and her two dogs never sleep outside, making her think he might have just been passing through her residential neighborhood. Robbins sent the video to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, who asked her about how the animal acted and gave her tips to keep her pets safe. Robbins, a lifelong Cowlitz County resident, said she has never seen a cougar in-person but has encountered the occasional bobcat or coyote. This sighting comes after a standard seasonal uptick in cougar and bobcat reports in Cowlitz County, though cougars usually are not spotted in residential neighborhoods. Every late spring, animals like bears, bobcats and cougars come out of winter looking for food sources, said Becky Elder, WDFW police communications specialist, in an interview Friday. Bobcats, for instance, will often target chicken coops. Cougars usually prey on deer, animals known to frequent neighborhoods. Thats why WDFW asks people not to feed deer, keep their livestock safely confined and make sure their trash cans are completely shut. The string of recent unconfirmed cougar sightings this time of year in Cowlitz County is not unusual, Elder said. Robbins said she posted the video on social media as a public service announcement for people to be aware a cougar was in the area. WDFW took down Robbins address and got the security camera footage, reminding them to keep a close eye on pets especially at night. WDFW responds in a variety of ways to confirmed animal sightings. Most times people report seeing a cougar out in the wild, usually acting noncombatively and simply passing through the area, Elder said. In those cases, WDFW tells people to keep a safe distance and marvel in the fact they have spotted a rarely seen animal in its natural state. Thats pretty special and unique, Elder said. But when an animal shows up in neighborhoods or kills livestock, WDFW works closely with affected homeowners on how to keep pets safe. If a cougar causes public safety concerns, thats when WDFW considers other options such as putting up trail cameras or trapping the animal. So far, Elder said no cougar has caused any serious public safety concerns. Since 1924, Washington state has had two fatal cougar-human attacks. The last happened in 2018, according to WDFW. If somebody saw something either visually or caught something on camera in the middle of the night, oftentimes with those incidents those animals are just moving through, Elder said. Theres no immediate concern or threat. Three people died early Tuesday in Gary as gunfire erupted after a July 4 block party ended in the 1900 block of Missouri Street. (Carole Carlson / Post-Tribune) A family member of Mayor Jerome Prince died early Tuesday in a mass shooting at a holiday block party. A release from Princes office said one of the three victims was his cousin, Marquise Hall, 26, of Lafayette. Advertisement On Monday, my family joined too many others when we lost a family member to gun violence. My cousin, Marquise Hall, was one of three people shot and killed in Gary. He was only 26, Prince said in a statement. The Lake County coroners office identified the other two victims as Ashanti Brown, 20, of Olympia Fields, Illinois, and Laurence Mangum, 25, of Merrillville. All three died from multiple gunshot wounds, the coroner said. Advertisement Seven people also suffered gunshot wounds in the gunfire that erupted after a festive holiday block party in the 1900 block of Missouri Street. Police arrived to the scene about 12:45 a.m. Neighbors said the shooting erupted on the north end of the street after they had their own fireworks display in a vacant lot on the streets south end. Gary police called in police from other neighboring communities to assist in the crime scene. Police didnt provide an update on the investigation Wednesday. Our family is heartbroken and outraged at this loss. Obviously, this hits close to home, Prince said. However, were also angry and frustrated at the fact we continue to lose Gary residents to needless violence, including young people gunned down before they even reach adulthood. I never stop thinking about the victims and their families and the incredible losses these senseless deaths leave. Prince reiterated that public safety is his top priority as mayor. Hes hopeful new anti-crime initiatives take root as the city continues its battle with street violence thats already claimed the lives of dozens of residents this year, including a homicide on Tuesday. Advertisement The Lake County Coroners office said Jose Diaz, 52, died from multiple gunshot wounds outside in the 3800 block of Van Buren Street. The coroners office pronounced him dead at 10:34 a.m. Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. VANCOUVER The pilot killed June 28 when his small plane crashed at Vancouvers Pearson Field was publicly identified Tuesday as business executive Thomas M. Posey. Posey, 64, of Vancouver, died of blunt force and thermal injuries, according to the Clark County Medical Examiners Office. His death was ruled an accident. Posey was the president and CEO of Lamiglas, a Woodland company that manufactures high-tech fishing rods and equipment. In a Facebook post, Jose Ruelas, operations manager and vice president of Lamiglas, spoke of how he met Posey and became his friend and business partner. He recalled their travels together to Mexico and New York and described Posey as one of a kind, adding that his laugh was something special. Tom you taught me a lot. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this company. I thought being a partner with you was going to be forever. I didnt know that I was gonna have to do this on my own, Ruelas wrote. Fly high In the skies buddy; you will be missed. The crash was reported at about 7:40 a.m. The single-engine plane, a Beechcraft 35 Bonanza, caught fire on impact. The Vancouver Fire Department extinguished the fire and confirmed the aircrafts only occupant had died. Just before the crash, Posey apparently made brief emergency contact with flight controllers at nearby Portland International Airport, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian. Pearson, a general aviation airport, does not have a control tower. The plane took off from Pearson Field at 7:24 a.m. and crashed at 7:37 a.m., according to FlightAware, a website which tracks aircraft and flight data. After taking off to the east, the plane reached an altitude of 3,200 feet as it banked west. Then, the plane descended to 900 feet. It circled back toward the airport and remained at a low altitude until it crashed. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. Gretchen Kay Stuart remembers the first time she saw a Cascade red fox. It was June 2020, and Mount Rainier National Park had just reopened. Stuart was driving up the road to Paradise when she saw a "big fluff of tail" on a snowbank. The Cascade red fox is currently under consideration to be listed as threatened or endangered by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. When Stuart, a photographer, saw the small, white, cross-phase fox that June day, she pulled over to take photos. Another car stopped, and before Stuart could say anything, the driver rolled down the window and dropped potato chips on the ground. A ranger came around the corner and reprimanded the driver as the fox scurried away. "I immediately knew there's this unique-looking fox in the Cascades and there's a feeding problem with tourists, and it just sparked my curiosity," she said. That fox, Stuart later learned, was known among biologists as Whitefoot, and was a member of a rare native subspecies of the red fox that lives only in the Cascade Range in Washington. Since that initial encounter, Stuart said, it has become her mission to raise awareness about the little-known species. Stuart said she often hikes through remote subalpine environments collecting scat and hair samples as a citizen scientist for the science conservation group Cascades Carnivore Project and looking for foxes to photograph. In the two-plus years Stuart has spent searching for them, she has seen five different Cascade red foxes. The Cascade red fox is among 70 or so Washington species, including birds, fish and insects, currently under consideration for endangered, threatened or sensitive status. Hannah Anderson, WDFW's wildlife diversity division manager, said the commissioners will review the Cascade red fox's status in September. A February draft report by WDFW recommended listing Cascade red foxes as a threatened species. Knowledge about the current biology and ecology of the species is limited, according to the report. The foxes live at high subalpine elevations. Historically, fur trappers have noted the fox all along the Cascade Range and in southern British Columbia; in recent years, however, the fox has been detected only in the South Cascades below the I-90 corridor. No historical or current estimates exist for the total population, though wildlife biologist Jocelyn Akins, co-author of the draft report, estimates there are only 200 in the South Cascades region, fewer above I-90 and none left in British Columbia. Akins, who founded the Cascades Carnivore Project, said many of these foxes are inbred genetically, a sign of their declining population. Akins said the species has been overlooked, and she became aware of them only in 2008 when she was trying to detect wolverines on Mount Adams with wildlife cameras. In the middle of the brutal winter, Akins said, she saw "these beautiful foxes," often black or red in the white landscape. Akins later learned the only other scientist who had studied the subspecies had done so over 30 years ago in a dissertation for the University of California. There are two other red fox subspecies, the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain red fox, Akins said. The Cascade red fox is suffering a plight similar to that of the Sierra Nevada red fox, which is currently federally recognized as an endangered species. Threats to the species could include climate change decreasing their habitat, visitors feeding the foxes in national parks or an invasion of other non-native red foxes into their region, the report said. Gaining threatened status from the state will raise awareness of the species among wildlife managers and possibly open additional funds for research, Akins said. It would also be the first step to gaining federal threatened or endangered status, which would result in more conservation resources, she said. "We have all sorts of ideas and hypotheses about what threatens them, and we haven't been able to put out much research to really tease apart the possible threads," she said. The species is one of the top predators in the mountains and is important to keeping the population of small mammals in check, she said. Redmi K20 Pro will no longer get software updates as its ends it product lifecycle. This comes just weeks before Redmi K50i launch. At the moment, Xiaomi India is busy celebrating the nostalgia around its 2019 flagship, the Redmi K20 Pro, and amping up the hype for the Redmi K50i in the process. However, the company also pulled another move quietly that may annoy those loyal Redmi K20 Pro users. The Redmi K20 Pro has completed three years and as per the company policies, it will no longer receive software support. Hence, unlike most modern-day premium phones from Xiaomi, the Redmi K20 Pro wont see the latest version of Android and MIUI. This is sad, considering the huge fan base for the Redmi flagship that has seen lots of active users on the Xiaomi communities. The phone was last updated to MIUI 12.5 based on Android 10 and it did not get the Android 11 update. In essence, the Redmi K20 Pro just got two Android updates and two MIUI updates. Moreover, Xiaomi hasnt been eager to update this phone over the course of its life. Redmi K20 Pro support ends as Redmi K50i comes in The Redmi K20 Pro grabbed headlines back in 2019 for all the segment leading features it introduced to the market. It was one of the very phones to offer the Snapdragon 855 chipset, which was the latest and greatest from Qualcomm at the time. The Redmi K20 Pro eventually became the most affordable phone to feature that chip. It also featured an uninterrupted 6.3-inch AMOLED display with FHD resolution and no punch-hole cutout thanks to the pop-up camera mechanism that had notifications LED embedded in it. The phone also featured a capable 48MP + 13MP + 8MP triple rear camera setup. It relies on a 4000mAh battery and came with support for a fast 27W wired charging. Xiaomis software update practices arent the best in business but a phone like the Redmi K20 Pro certainly deserved longer and better support, at least with the latest MIUI iterations. Nonetheless, the company is bringing the Redmi k series back to India with the Redmi K50i, which si expected to be a rebadged Redmi Note 11T Pro 5G from China. The phone is expected to feature the powerful MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chip, a 144Hz variable refresh rate LCD display, a 5000mAh battery and possibly a 67W wired charging solution. China accused the US of technological terrorism in pushing to stop ASML Holding NV and Nikon Corp. from selling key chipmaking technology to the country, in some of its strongest criticism yet of Washingtons efforts. China accused the US of technological terrorism in pushing to stop ASML Holding NV and Nikon Corp. from selling key chipmaking technology to the country, in some of its strongest criticism yet of Washingtons efforts. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian lashed out at Washington after Bloomberg News reported the US is lobbying allies to stop the sale of mainstream technology essential for making a large chunk of the worlds chips, expanding a years-long campaign to curb the countrys rise. He didnt say whether China planned any retaliatory measures in response to the move. This is yet another example of the US practice of coercive diplomacy by abusing state power and wielding technological hegemony. It is classic technological terrorism, Zhao told a regular news briefing Wednesday in Beijing. This will only remind all countries of the risks of technology dependence on the US and prompt them to become independent and self-reliant at a faster pace. The proposed restriction would expand an existing moratorium on the sale of the most advanced systems to China, in an attempt to thwart the countrys plans to become a world leader in chip production. If the Netherlands agrees, it would broaden significantly the range and class of chipmaking gear now forbidden from heading to China, potentially dealing a serious blow to Chinese chipmakers from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. to Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd. American officials are lobbying their Dutch counterparts to bar ASML from selling some of its older deep ultraviolet lithography, or DUV, systems, people familiar with the matter said. These machines are a generation behind cutting-edge but still the most common method used for making certain less-advanced chips required by cars, phones, computers and even robots. Washington is also trying to exert pressure on Japan to stop shipping the same technology to Chinese chipmakers, one of the people said. Japans Nikon competes with ASML in the area. Chinese chipmakers have been hoarding second-hand equipment since the Trump era, said Amir Anvarzadeh of Asymmetric Advisors. Banning the most advanced tools was clearly not enough to halt Chinas advancement in semiconductors, especially since much of the chips used for defense purposes are using geometries that were far less advanced. Sociology Professor Ellis Monk chose 10 color points to better represent the range of skin tones. Google recently adopted Monks namesake 10-shade scale. Credit: Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer When Ellis Monk's wife became pregnant in 2019, the couple became curious about what skin tone their child might have. The subject was of more than passing interest to the sociology professor, some of whose work involves the role lighter and darker skin tones play in society. Monk's wife noted that a comprehensive scale would be useful and urged him to develop one. So he did, and last month, Google adopted Monk's namesake 10-shade scale as a standard in its digital products to make them more inclusive and diverse and to promote wider awareness of the problems and unintended bias associated with technologies that fail to recognize a wider range of skin tones. Monk's scale is already making an impact. It has been incorporated in Google's online image searches and photo filters. The innovation will be particularly important for training artificial intelligence and machine learning applications, such as facial recognition and self-driving vehicle systems, which often have not performed as well with people with darker skin tones. And it could help reduce or eliminate some unintended algorithm bias in search engines and other products. "She encouraged me to keep it going," Monk said, crediting his wife. "Eventually, I delved in and put together the Monk Skin Tone Scale, taking the baton [and] building on what she had started." Monk's scale is a rethinking of the Fitzpatrick Scale, which has been considered the online standard. Created by dermatologist Thomas B. Fitzpatrick at Harvard Medical School in 1975, the Fitzpatrick Scale was developed to classify six tones based on skin pigmentation and response to sun exposure. It was not created with diverse populations in mind but as a gauge of tolerance for ultraviolet light, Monk explained. The Fitzpatrick Scale has been in the open domain for decades and was adopted by the tech industry primarily for use in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Humans must annotate images or videos to train machine-learning algorithms for things like face detections. "Instead of using this Fitzpatrick Scale, which wasn't designed to classify diverse skin tones among different groups of people, you would use the Monk Skin Tone Scale, which gives you a more granular understanding," Monk said. He chose 10 color points to better represent the range of skin tones, opting out of wider range as a larger numbers would begin to create problems with annotation. Extensive fieldwork on skin tone and colorism in the U.S. and Brazil informed the final color selection. Credit: Harvard University Monk's collaboration with Google began a few years ago when he was contacted by its Research Responsible AI team, and over time, the work turned to finding an alternative to the Fitzpatrick Scale, the sociologist said. That is when the team learned that Monk had developed a scale of his own. Google is already using the Monk Skin Tone Scale in its image search. When users search makeup looks, for example, they can refine those searches by skin tone to find more relevant matches. The tech giant also used the scale to update its own Real Tone filters (an initiative it had already launched to deal with the skin-tone problem) on its Pixel cameras so that they can capture a wider, more realistic palette of shades. "There've also been some refinements to search where people have complained that in the past, if you search for certain images, you only get back certain types of people," Monk said. "One example is if you search for 'cute babies,' you might get a completely homogenous set of babies that basically all look white. That's not a very inclusive experience for people at all." Google says the scale will be useful in checking the diversity of results for problems with algorithms. "This has been a longstanding issue, not just at Google, but across the tech industry," Monk said. Monk plans to publish research, testing the scale on a diverse group of people. He and the Google team conducted research together to validate the scale in the U.S., which was an extension of his own work. Developers who do not intentionally design their products to work well across the continuum of skin tones will have products that do not work as well, Monk added. The new scale is open-source so that all companies around the world can make their products more inclusive. "My hope is that other companies, not just Google, take on the work of auditing and making sure that their products are designed to work equally well across the entire range of skin tones, whether that's using the Monk Skin Tone Scale or not," Monk said. "I hope they do that work." A police car patrols the street as residents gather nearby, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Shanghai. Hackers claim to have obtained a trove of data on 1 billion Chinese from a Shanghai police database in a leak that, if confirmed, could be one of the largest data breaches in history. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan Hackers claim to have obtained a trove of data on 1 billion Chinese from a Shanghai police database in a leak that, if confirmed, could be one of the largest data breaches in history. In a post on the online hacking forum Breach Forums last week, someone using the handle "ChinaDan" offered to sell nearly 24 terabytes (24 TB) of data including what they claimed was information on 1 billion people and "several billion case records" for 10 Bitcoin, worth about $200,000. The data purportedly includes information from the Shanghai National Police database including names, addresses, national identification numbers and mobile phone numbers as well as case details. A sample of data seen by The Associated Press listed names, birthdates, ages and mobile numbers. One person was listed as having been born in "2020," with their age listed as "1," suggesting that information on minors was included in the data obtained in the breach. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the authenticity of the data samples. Shanghai police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The data leak initially sparked discussion on Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo, but censors have since moved to block keyword searches for "Shanghai data leak." One person said they were skeptical until they managed to verify some of the personal data leaked online by attempting to search for people on Alipay using their personal information. "Everyone, please be careful in case there are more phone scams in the future!" they said in a Weibo post. Chinese policemen patrol the bund area, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Shanghai. Hackers claim to have obtained a trove of data on 1 billion Chinese from a Shanghai police database in a leak that, if confirmed, could be one of the largest data breaches in history. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan Another person commented on Weibo that the leak means everyone is "running naked"slang used to refer to a lack of privacyand it's "horrifying." Experts said the breach, if confirmed, would be the biggest in history. Kendra Schaefer, a partner for technology at policy research firm Trivium China, said in a tweet that it's "hard to parse truth from the rumor mill, but can confirm file exists." Such data leaks are fairly common, according to Michael Gazeley, managing director at Hong Kong-based security firm Network Box. "There are approximately 12 billion compromised accounts posted on the Dark Web right now. That's more than the total number of people in the world," he said, adding that a majority of data leaks often come from the U.S. Chester Wisniewski, principal research scientist at cybersecurity firm Sophos, said that the breach is "potentially incredibly embarrassing to the Chinese government," and the political harm would probably outweigh damage to the people whose data was leaked. Most of the data is similar to what advertising companies that run banner ads would have, he said. "When you're talking about a billion people's information and it's static information, it's not about where they traveled, who they communicated with or what they were doing, then it becomes very much less interesting," Wisniewski said. A police officer watch over a road junction with traffic lights, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Shanghai. Hackers claim to have obtained a trove of data on 1 billion Chinese from a Shanghai police database in a leak that, if confirmed, could be one of the largest data breaches in history. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan Still, once hackers get data and put it online it's impossible to fully remove. "The information, once it's unleashed, is forever out there," Wisniewski said. "So if someone believes their information was part of this attack, they have to assume it's forever available to anyone and they should be taking precautions to protect themselves." A major cryptocurrency exchange said it had stepped up verification procedures to guard against fraud attempts such as using personal information from the reported hack to take over people's accounts. Zhao Changpeng, CEO of Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, said in a tweet Monday that its threat intelligence had detected the sale of "1 billion resident records." "This has impact on hacker detection/prevention measures, mobile numbers used for account take overs, etc." Zhao wrote in his tweets, before saying that Binance had already stepped up verification measures. In 2020, a major cyberattack believed to be by Russian hackers compromised several U.S. federal agencies such as the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, telecommunications firms and defense contractors. Last year, over 533 million Facebook users had their data published in a hacking forum after hackers scraped its data due to a vulnerability that has since been patched. Explore further Hacker claims major Chinese citizens' data theft 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Roasting green chile on top of Sandia National Laboratories' National Solar Thermal Test Facility. Roasting green chile with concentrated sunlight instead of propane produces flavorful chile and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Credit: Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories Every August and September the unmistakable pungent aroma of roasting green chile permeates the air across New Mexico and neighboring states. This delectable staple of regional cuisine is green in color, but roasting the chile pepper to deepen the flavor and make the inedible skin easier to remove is hardly environmentally friendly. In New Mexico alone, burning propane to roast the peppers leads to a seasonal emission of approximately 7,800 metric tons of carbon dioxidethe equivalent of driving 1,700 cars for a year. Sandia National Laboratories engineer Kenneth Armijo, who grew up on a chile farm in Sabinal, located between Albuquerque and Socorro, New Mexico, thought there was a "greener" way to roast green chile. The results of his experiments roasting chile with concentrated sunlight will be shared at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' conference on energy and sustainability next week. "The principle behind this research was to see if high-temperature food roasting, not just peppers, could be done with solar and produce comparable results as traditional propane roasting, and the answer is yes," Armijo said. "We used green chile to showcase the culture of New Mexico. Combining the state-of the-art facilities and research at Sandia National Labs with the culture, food and people of New Mexico is just so special. What other national lab in the world would have done this?" Roasting green chile on top of Sandia National Laboratories' National Solar Thermal Test Facility. Roasting green chile with concentrated sunlight instead of propane produces flavorful chile and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Credit: Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories In his day job, Armijo uses the power of the sun at Sandia's National Solar Thermal Test Facility to explore new ways to capture the sun's power for electricity and industrial process heat. Solar-roasted green chile For decades, Sandia has developed technologies that convert renewable resources like wind and sunlight into electricity and useful heat without producing greenhouse gases. Demonstrating these technologies in the real world provides valuable testing and validation. Armijo's demonstration of using solar power to roast green chile could inspire new applications of solar technologies and new avenues of research. With the assistance of several Sandia engineers, technologists and interns, Armijo got a traditional steel-drum tumbling chile roaster to the top of the 200-foot tower at Sandia's National Solar Thermal Test Facility and protected the rotor mechanism from the intense solar heat. Sandia National Laboratories engineer Ken Armijo installs a chile roaster on top of the solar tower above a field of mirror heliostats. Armijo will present his research at a conference on energy and sustainability this July. Credit: Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories Armijo's father, a chile farmer and roaster, donated several burlap sacks of green chile and his experience assessing properly roasted chile. Armijo's father grows organic, heirloom chile from seed passed down through multiple generations. Using 38 to 42 of the 212 heliostatsmirror-like devices used to focus sunlightat the test facility, Armijo was able to achieve a temperature above 900 degrees Fahrenheit uniformly across the roasting drum, he said. This is comparable to the temperature of a traditional propane chile roaster. He used concentrated solar power to roast three batches of 22 pounds of green chile, two that had been washed immediately prior to roasting, and one that was dry roasted. The washed chiles took slightly longer to roast than the dry chile, but the amount of charring was more uniform, and the flavor profile was preferred by green chile connoisseurs, Armijo said. Afterward, Armijo's team returned the chile roaster to the ground, and roasted three more batches of green chile using traditional propane. Propane was slightly faster, taking four minutes to roast washed chiles, compared to six minutes for the fastest solar chile roast. With further experimentation, and using more heliostats, Armijo thinks they can roast chile even faster than with propane, but he didn't want to scorch the chile during his first experiments. "With the solar roasting we were actually able to achieve a more uniform distribution of heat," Armijo said. "With propane roasting, you just get heat right where the burners are, but all the chile piled on top isn't really getting heated as efficiently. We saw with our infrared cameras that with solar, it's more uniform. In essence, the heat is reaching all the chile in the front of the roaster. In practice, this has a lot of potential for roasting chile more quickly, with better quality, as well as greener." From left to right, Aaron Overacker, a Sandia National Laboratories intern, Daniel Ray, a technologist, and Ken Armijo, project lead, display solar-roasted green chile before surveying chile connoisseurs on their peel-ability, taste, texture and smell. Credit: Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories "Green," green chile For each of the traditional propane roasts, Armijo recorded the amount of propane used to roast 22 pounds of green chile and found that switching from propane to solar power would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.68 pounds per 22 pounds of green chile roasted. If the whole state of New Mexico switched to solar chile roasting, the net result would be the equivalent of planting 130,000 tree seedlings and letting them grow for 10 yearsannually. It's great to roast green chile sustainably; however, if consumers don't like the taste of solar-roasted chile, it will never gain acceptance. That's where the second part of Armijo's study comes in. Armijo presented a number of green chile connoisseurs with both solar-roasted chile and traditional propane-roasted chile and surveyed them on a variety of chile qualities. He found that on average, the respondents favored the solar-roasted chiles by 18% for flavor, 12% for smell and 2% for ease of peeling off the inedible skin. However, the respondents preferred the texture of the propane-roasted by 4%. "I did a survey and overall, the participants preferred the solar-roasted chile to the propane-roasted chile," Armijo said. "That was shocking to me. They preferred the taste because it didn't have as burnt a taste. They said it just tastes cleaner of green chile." From portable roasters to coffee beans Armijo acknowledged that it's not feasible to build a tower and field of heliostats just for roasting foods like green chile, coffee or grains. However, he and his colleagues are exploring a much smaller and more modular solar-roasting system that conceivably could be transported to farmers' markets, grocery stores and chile festivals for roasting small batches of green chile, like propane-burning steel-drum chile roasters are used currently. "In the future, I hope chile roasters will pull up to farmers' markets and festivals with a trailer with a modular mirrored roaster," Armijo said. "They just pour the chile in, point the system at the sun, and let it roast. That would just be awesome." But Armijo says solar roasting isn't just for green chile. Concentrated sunlight could also be used to roast other foodstuffs such as soybeans at 840 degrees Fahrenheit for animal feed and human food; grains for beer at 200-400 F; almonds and cashews at around 300- and 266 F; and even coffee. French Roast coffee is roasted until the beans reach 464 F, and coffee beans are roasted until 350-400 F for light roast coffee. Traditionally, fossil fuels like propane or natural gas are used for these processes. New Mexico has practically perfect weather for solar roasting, with an average of 300 days of sunshine each year, Armijo said. And many other crop producing locations get plenty of sunny days too. The almond production region of California gets 260 days of sunshine, particularly in the summer and fall. In fact, two companies in California are working on pilot plants to use concentrated solar power for lower temperature processes, such as pasteurizing almonds. Coffee farmers in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru grow and roast at high altitudes, which is perfect for using solar to roast coffee too, Armijo added. When it comes to the future of green solar-roasted foods, the sky's the limit. Explore further Roasting coffee with the rays of the sun Credit: CC0 Public Domain In downtown Sherman, Texas, markers explain the city's past and restaurants and coffee shops boast about the historic buildings they call home. Just 10 minutes down the road, Dallas-based Texas Instruments and Taiwanese-owned silicon wafer builder GlobalWafers plan to spend a combined $35 billion on high-tech factories in the all-important semiconductor supply chain. Founded in 1846, the city is named after a Texas Revolution hero who led one of the militias shouting the "Remember the Alamo" rallying cry. Almost two centuries later, residents still pass beneath an ancient sprawling Pecan Tree that shades the county courthouse and the former town square. They know their neighbors' names, professions and family trees. They visit shops, restaurants and expansive antique stores in the city's preserved downtown. But there's a new lifeblood of Sherman's economy. No longer built around railroads or mail routes or cotton trades, it's now a high-tech town, largely bolstered by the jobs and investments provided by Texas Instruments, GlobalWafers and Apple supplier II-VI. As the city's tech sector expands, its population is growing, and new housing developments and businesses are popping up left and right. "It's a little scary for us," said 37-year-old Sherman resident Lauren Sims. Still, she said, "It's a good scary." Sherman, the bigger part of the 120,000-person Sherman-Denison metro area, is no stranger to change. Its transformation into a key U.S. hub for semiconductor manufacturing is made possible by natural resources, infrastructure and savvy local leadership, but also by a business-friendly tradition dating back decades. "It's in our DNA," said Kent Sharp, president of the Sherman Economic Development Corp., which helped land the GlobalWafers deal that'll bring the first facility of its kind to the U.S. in two decades. Semiconductors, the tiny chips that power modern computers and other electronic devices, are at the heart of city leaders' plans. The city wants to be home to companies along all steps of the supply chain, from crafting silicon wafers to creating circuit boards for consumer products. Striking a deal In 1990, the U.S. accounted for 37% of semiconductor production capacity. In 2020, that number dropped to 12%, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group and the Semiconductor Industry Association. During the coronavirus pandemic, supply chain issues in securing chips from overseas and record demand caused a shortage that persists today, prompting calls to bring more production to the U.S. The shortage has been exacerbated by continued lockdowns in China and ripple effects from the war in Ukraine. Semiconductor supply chains are still vulnerable, and long-term demand is skyrocketing thanks to increasing digitization. "Automobiles, vacuum cleaners, you name it, everything's running on chips these days," said Michael Savoie, professor of operations and supply chain management at the University of North Texas' Ryan College of Business. If semiconductor production in southeast Asia is disrupted, "you could cause a global catastrophe within the supply chain." For Taiwan-based GlobalWafers and its GlobiTech subsidiary, supply chain issues mean high demand and an impetus to add capacity through a $5 billion expansion in Sherman. "We and our peer competitors have been sold out, especially on advanced products (300-millimeter) where the supply will remain tight possibly through year 2024, which is the timing of new expansions," GlobiTech president Mark England said in an email. Before semiconductors can roll off the line and into cars, consumer electronics and industrial machinery, fabrication plants start with a silicon wafera large, mirrorlike sheet of ultrathin silicon that yields thousands of chips. The new GlobalWafers plant will craft those wafers, in addition to being capable of applying a crystalline coating. GlobiTech's existing facilities will receive some of the raw wafers and apply that coating. GlobalWafers' expansion will be a long-term investment. Samples will begin making their way to customers in the second half of 2024 and mass productionstarting at 350,000 wafers a monthwill begin in 2025. The site could eventually ramp up to 2.4 million wafers produced a month, England said. "It will be our expansion vehicle for the next 40 years," he said. Stiff competition GlobiTech and city leaders weren't certain Sherman would win the project, especially since construction costs in the U.S. are three times more expensive than overseas. Sites in Ohio and South Korea were also being considered and all three locations offered big economic incentives. "It's like dating," England joked, with competing cities putting their best foot forward. Winning the faceoff required collaboration between the Sherman Economic Development Corp., four local taxing bodies and state governmentas well as a promise of future federal incentives. The economic development agency was "the point of the spear," City Manager Robby Hefton said, organizing different groups during negotiations with companies like GlobiTech. The economic development agency offered $20 million in cash payments and the sale of over $14.4 million in land for $1 an acre. The Texas Enterprise Fund contributed a $15 million grant. The city, Grayson County and Grayson College chipped in tax incentives, and the city offered a discount on water bills. Though it needs school board approval, the company should also receive a break on taxes paid to the local school district. While Ohio had a 100% tax abatement deal ready to go in a week, efforts in Texas took months of negotiation between taxing entities. Each Sherman negotiator could have busted the deal with just one hangup. Luckily for the city, GlobiTech and its president have strong Sherman roots. "We've been working with the city for over 20 years, and we know everyone," said England, a Sherman native. Sherman had several other advantages. GlobiTech's existing management team can oversee the new plant, which is helpful because the wafer production process involves trade secrets. The city has an ample supply of workers, land, power and other utilities, boasting some of the best water access in Texas thanks to Lake Texoma, one of the few reservoirs in the state that's at full capacity. The GlobalWafers project will be eligible for incentives under the CHIPS Act approved in January 2021, but Congress still needs to provide $52 billion in funding for subsidies to spur domestic semiconductor investment. For GlobalWafers, that funding is essential. Intel has said it may delay or reduce its plans to build a $20 billion chip plant in Ohio depending on what happens with the bill, and England said GlobalWafers could scale back plans in Sherman or move its new production overseas if the money doesn't come through. "We're in the same boat with Intel," England said. "We don't feel secure about the decision until the concrete dries." Dealmakers are anxious to see the bill funded before Congress recesses in August, and city leaders have talked to elected officials about its importance. But there is debate over whether $52 billion is enough to bring more of the nearly $500 billion semiconductor industry to the U.S., thereby decreasing supply chain vulnerability. "With the CHIPS Act, it may be an uphill battle: Is it enough to provide $52 billion to the industry? Absolutely not. It's just a start," Bloomberg semiconductor analyst Paula Penkal said. A legacy of encouraging industry After wafers come off the assembly line, companies use them as the base for microchips. In the United States, that's where companies like Texas Instruments come in. Sherman has been home to manufacturers for more than a century, but the modern-day city's effortsincluding the high-tech manufacturing push that brought Texas Instruments to the cityhave their roots in a group active in the middle of the 20th century called the Young Turks. Led by local business leaders and named for an Ottoman revolutionary group, the Young Turks pooled money to attract businesses to Sherman. "I would hear stories about them flying off to the East Coast and wining and dining the IBM executives before IBM came here, and Johnson & Johnson," the son of one of the Young Turks said in a video commemorating the Sherman economic development agency's 25th anniversary. That business-friendly spirit guided Sherman as it carved out a place as a high-tech hub. The city created an industrial district on land the Young Turks raised money to buy. Leaders in the 1980s worked to secure the water supply, according to Hefton. The results? Texas Instruments, IBM and Johnson & Johnson opened plants in Sherman in the middle of the century. GlobiTech began operations in 2001. II-VI's factory opened in 2018, producing parts for the Apple iPhone. Last year, Sherman won the $30 billion Texas Instruments expansion that will be the crown jewel of the city's manufacturing sector and secure its place in the middle of the semiconductor supply chain. Like GlobalWafers, TI got big tax incentives to pick Sherman. It's been over half a century since the heyday of the Young Turks. Still, Sharp cites the Turks as inspiration. "We're trying to emulate what those guys did back then," the economic development corporation president said. Sherman's roots as a small city have helped it grow into a tech hub, said Tyson Bennett, superintendent of the Sherman Independent School District. He pointed to the relationships among local leaders, which make it easier to work together to attract companies. "We live and work with folks, we're friends with folks, we go to church with folks. We're all about benefiting our community," he said. 'Complete semiconductor ecosystem' Three steps of the semiconductor supply chain will soon be concentrated in Sherman: making the wafers, applying the coating and transforming those wafers into semiconductor chips. This clustering is characteristic of the semiconductor industry. "Suppliers will set up shop in the area to be closer to the chip producer, so that you have more direct access both logistically, for easier cheaper delivery and for better collaboration," analyst Penkal said. Vertical integrationthe phrase industry leaders use to describe that clusteringis Sherman's goal. "We envision the complete semiconductor ecosystem developing with chip manufacturers, and starting materials," England said in an email. "It should completely change the landscape of Sherman." Sharp said the next step is attracting companies that make circuit boards for consumer products in the growing number of industries that rely on chip technology: laptops, phones, cars, microwaves, electric toothbrushes and more. In response, the city's population could double over the next five to 10 years, Hefton said. "Part of the challenge is how do you keep [Sherman's] heritage and legacy kind of authentic in the face of all this other growth?" he said. Residents want the city to thrive and like the amenities growth brings, said Sims, who grew up in Sherman and raised two children there. At the same time, she said home values have risen in Sherman in recent years. Property taxes have gone up, too. Compared to 2021, the median house price in Sherman increased 31.2% this May, hitting $305,000. The city released a plan for 8,000 new homes before the GlobiTech announcement. Sherman also ranks second in the U.S. for the most overpriced housing market, signaling prices could be on their way down soon. Evan Martin, a realtor who works for Real Broker LLC in Sherman, said the city experienced an "extreme shortage of inventory" in the first part of this year, sometimes resulting in 10 or more offers on a home in its first few days on the market. Martin also noticed an influx of out-of-state buyers. A 12-year resident of Sherman, Martin knows a growing population leads to other issues. "No longer does it take five minutes to get anywhere in Sherman," he said. "It's definitely grown, but there is still that small-town feeling. It's what makes living here so enjoyable." Hefton pointed out that as property values increase, revenue from industry helps the city keep tax and utility rates low. Right now, Sherman's entire property tax base is about $4.5 billion, wrote community and support services manager Nate Strauch in an email. Even after tax breaks, the taxable value of just the first phase of the TI project is between $150 million and $280 million, and each of the four phases of the GlobalWafers project will have a taxable value of $40 million to $60 million, he wrote. Each of the taxing bodies will get its own slice of the pie. City leaders want to invest in parks, infrastructure, police and firefighters. The school district will get a big chunk of money to finance new buildings through debt. Bennett also said the school district wants to set up partnerships with high-tech firms to expand vocational training and STEM opportunities. In addition to public revenue, the tech industry brings new businesses and amenities, Bennett said. But it's more than that: People who grow up in Sherman don't have to choose between living there or pursuing career opportunities elsewhere. "I love my kids," Bennett said. "And I want them to stay here close to me and raise the family and have kids [so] my grandkids aren't three hours from here." Explore further GlobalWafers announces plans for massive US plant 2022 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Credit: Pixabay, CC BY-SA When English statesman Sir Francis Bacon famously said "knowledge is power," he could hardly have foreseen the rise of ubiquitous social media some 500 years later. Yet social media platforms are some of the world's most powerful businessesnot least because they can collect massive amounts of user data, and use algorithms to turn the data into actionable knowledge. Today, TikTok has some of the best algorithms in the business, and a suite of data-collection mechanisms. This is how it manages to be so addictive, with some 1.2 billion users as of December 2021. This number is expected to rise to 1.8 billion by the end of the year. It's against the background of these huge numbers that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wrote a strongly worded letter to the chief executives of Apple and Google last Tuesday, urging them to remove TikTok from their app stores on the grounds that the companyor more precisely its Chinese parent ByteDancecan't be trusted with U.S. users' data. What are the concerns? In his letter, FCC commissioner Brendan Carr says: "TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDancean organization that is beholden to the Communist Party of China and required by the Chinese law to comply with the PCR's [(People's Republic of China)] surveillance demands." TikTok's privacy policy says it won't sell personal information to third parties, but reserves the right to use information internally for business development purposes. That internal use may include use by its parent company, ByteDance. TikTok U.S. has repeatedly denied breaching U.S. data privacy regulations. It says user data are stored on U.S. servers and not shared with ByteDance. But Carr says these measures fall short of guaranteeing the privacy of U.S. users: "TikTok's statement that '100% of U.S. user traffic is being routed to Oracle' (in the U.S.) says nothing about where that data can be accessed from." Following robust questioning by U.S. senators, TikTok has admitted its U.S.-stored data are in fact accessible from China, subject to unspecified security protocols at the U.S. end. Australian users also have their data stored on U.S. servers, with backups in Singapore. But it's not known whether these datawhich could include users' browsing habits, images, biographical information and locationare subject to the same safeguards as the U.S. data. Leaked audio The unusually blunt language from Carr may have been occasioned by leaked audio obtained by Buzzfeed from more than 80 internal TikTok meetings. According to a Buzzfeed report from mid-June, China-based employees of ByteDance have repeatedly accessed non-public data about U.S. TikTok users. The tapes overwhelmingly contradict TikTok's earlier data privacy assurances. For example, in a September 2021 meeting a senior U.S.-based TikTok manager referred to a Beijing-based engineer as a "master admin" who "has access to everything." That same month a U.S.-based staffer in the Trust and Safety Department was heard saying "everything is seen in China." In short, the recordings corroborate the claim that China-based employees have often accessed U.S. data, and more recently than earlier statements asserted. Might it all be harmless? On the one hand TikTok is in the business of entertaining users, with a goal to keep them on the platform and expose them to targeted advertising. On the other hand, TikTok can be used to spread misinformation and influence users to their detriment. It has been shown to host COVID conspiracy theories and other medical misinformation, and was reportedly used with a goal to influence Kenya's general elections coming up in August. Seen in this weaponized context, the U.S. government's strenuous objections to TikTok come into clearer focus. Moreover, past events have also raised good reason to suspect Chinese actors of mass data harvesting online. In 2020, Australian media outlets reported on a data leak from Zhenhua Data, a Chinese company with clients including the Chinese government and the People's Liberation Army. The leak was said to contain data on more than 35,000 Australiansincluding dates of birth, addresses, marital status, photographs, political associations, relatives and social media accounts. This information was gathered from a range of sources, including TikTok. Would banning TikTok be effective? Removing TikTok from Google's and Apple's app stores can only be done on a country-by-country basis. India banned the platform in June 2020. If the Australian government were to make the TikTok domain inaccessible from Australia, it could still be accessed through a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN service allows users to create a secure private network within a public one, thus disguising their country of origin. It's the same tool that allows file-sharing on Pirate Bay and access to other countries' Netflix programs. But even if TikTok was banned in Australia and had access removed, or if users mass-terminated their accounts, existing data on the company's U.S. and Singapore-based servers would remain there. And we now know these data are accessible to TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, in Beijing. What should TikTok users do? Like any technology, TikTok itself is neither good nor bad. But the way in which it's used creates potential for both. The best defense with any potentially dangerous technology is to approach it with healthy skepticism and share as little as possible. In the case of TikTok (and other social media) this may involve: not disclosing your full name not disclosing your age and birthday not disclosing your physical location (including through pictures or video) turning off the "suggest your account to others" setting. You can also request an account deletion. But don't expect TikTok to delete all the data associated with it. That's TikTok's data now, and you agreed to handing it over when you signed up. Explore further US senators call for close look at TikTok This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Twitter is challenging the Indian government's orders to block content on its social media site in court, local media reported Wednesday. Twitter is challenging the Indian government's orders to block content on its social media site in court, local media reported Wednesday citing legal documents. The suit is the latest showdown between Twitter and Indian authorities, which have been accused of muzzling criticism both on and offline. In the case filed with a court in Bangalore, the social media giant alleged that the basis on which multiple accounts and content flagged by the government was either "overbroad and arbitrary" and "disproportionate", the Indian Express daily reported. The social media giant submitted to the Karnataka state high court that the ministry had failed to prove how some of the content it wanted taken down violated IT rules, the newspaper quoted sources as saying. Last week Twitter confirmed that India had directed it to locally censor accounts and dozens of posts, including some talking about declining internet freedom in the world's biggest democracy. Others were accounts operated by the Pakistani government, sparking an angry response from Islamabad. Twitter and the Indian government declined to comment on the court case. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government has sought in recent years to have more control over content on social media in India, where Twitter has over 20 million users. Last year as India saw massive anti-government protests by farmers, Twitter was ordered to take down dozens of accounts for supporting the demonstrations. But the US firm reinstated them, angering the government. An Indian climate activist was also arrested in February 2021 on sedition charges for helping to edit a protest "tool kit" that was tweeted by Greta Thunberg. New Delhi has accused Twitter of deliberately ignoring new IT ruleswhich critics fear could be used to silence dissentthat came into force in May 2021. That same month, police paid a visit to its offices in the country after a tweet by a spokesperson for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party was labelled as "manipulated media" on the platform. Just before that, the government ordered Twitter and Facebook to remove dozens of posts critical of Modi's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Explore further India chides Twitter for not complying with blocking orders 2022 AFP When actor Chen Xiao arrived at a hotel in Zhejiang province early last year to shoot a scene for a costume production, he was somewhat nervous. Appearing in the period drama A Dream of Splendor, which has become an online hit, was a daunting prospect for Chen, as he hadn't acted in such a production for a long time. "The night before, I stayed in my room until midnight memorizing my lines, and I continued to do so after getting up the next morning," he said. In the drama, Chen stars as Gu Qianfan, the deputy head of a secret royal agency, who interrogates a prisoner. "I almost forgot my lines the first time, because I was too nervous," he said. However, Chen's blushes were spared when Yang Yang, who directed the production, made a quick adjustment to the actor's next scene, in which Chen was required to lean against the wooden hull of a boat, rather than sitting in the vessel. This change gave Chen more time to relax and fully involve himself with the production. During the following four and a half months, Chen, a Central Academy of Drama graduate, worked hard on his role, which required shooting footage overnight consecutively for 15 days and performing underwater stunts in a pool. Chen, an award-winning veteran performer who shot to stardom with the 2014 television series The Romance of the Condor Heroes, has seen his dedication pay off. A Dream of Splendor, which started to air in 40 episodes on the streaming site Tencent Video and its overseas service WeTV early last month, is one of China's most popular dramas to date this year. It is also being distributed to countries such as South Korea, Malaysia, Cambodia and Japan. The production is widely considered by critics to have raised the bar for domestic costume romances, a popular genre in the nation's showbiz industry. On Douban, one of the country's most-visited review platforms, the series earned 8.3 points out of 10-one of the highest scores for a new Chinese drama broadcast or streamed this year, while on MyDramaList, an English-language website where Asian drama and movie fans rate and discuss productions, it scored 8.3 points out of 10. Loosely inspired by a classical play written in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) by Guan Hanqing, known as "China's Shakespeare", A Dream of Splendor is set in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It tells the story of Zhao Pan'er, a talented teahouse owner from a humble background who rescues two women from miserable family lives, teaming up with them to successfully launch a business in Dongjing, the then-capital of the Song regime, and now known as Kaifeng city, Henan province. Chen, as the secret agent, is trapped in during his investigation of a scandal related to the queen, during which he encounters the female protagonist Zhao. He and Zhao fall in love after experiencing a series of hardships. Zhao is played by A-list actress Liu Yifei, one of the few Chinese stars to earn international recognition from several big-budget blockbusters, ranging from The Forbidden Kingdom, starring Jackie Chan, to Disney's Mulan. A Dream of Splendor marks Liu's return to the small screen 16 years after her previous TV drama, The Return of the Condor Heroes. Industry observers said her beauty and classic temperament made her an ideal choice to play Zhao. The natural chemistry between the two leading roles, showcased in the romantic scenes, prompted netizens to download such footage as short video clips. The clips circulated online, triggering a frenzy on social media platforms, according to industry analysts. Panoramic view In tandem with rising interest in traditional culture among the younger generation in recent years, the hustle and bustle of urban life during the Song Dynasty depicted in A Dream of Splendor has proved another attraction for audiences, according to Yuan Yun'er, a critic based in Beijing. Yuan said the production has achieved a breakthrough with its down-to-earth perspective, as many previous such hits were fantasy tales that centered on the love stories of celestial beings. "From the bustling marketplace in Dongjing to the riverside households in Qiantang (now Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province), the drama looks at the way in which Chinese lived about 1,000 years ago, providing an interesting and panoramic view of ordinary people's lives in those days," Yuan said. The series' creators started to prepare for the project two years ago by researching Chinese history. Yang, the director, said they spent a lot of time reading numerous books about the history and culture of the Song Dynasty, and invited experts specializing in fields ranging from tea culture to ancient feasts to guide the crew as cultural consultants. The creators were encouraged by Yang to draw inspiration from prestigious Song Dynasty paintings such as renowned artist Zhang Zeduan's masterpiece Along the River during the Qingming Festival and Emperor Zhao Ji's work Listening to a Zither. Defining the Song Dynasty, with its wide range of achievements from poetry to painting and calligraphy, as the heyday of Chinese history, Yang said aesthetic tastes throughout this era were "delicate, high-end, yet also simple". Yang cited the writer Wu Zimu, who was born around 1270, as saying that four types of leisure activities were popular among refined scholars and urban families in ancient times-burning incense, brewing tea, hanging scrolled paintings, and arranging flowers. The director, fascinated by these cultural legacies, said she tried to incorporate them in the storyline for A Dream of Splendor. After preliminary work was completed in a total of 10 cities and counties, Yang said shooting for A Dream of Splendor began in February last year. The main scenes were filmed in Hengdian and Xiangshan counties, Zhejiang province; Wuxi, Jiangsu province; and Xiangyang, Hubei province. Empowering women Chen Shiyu, who researches the history of women's clothing and accessories from ancient times, said that in addition to reaching a cultural peak in China's long history, the Song Dynasty is considered one of the few imperial regimes that allowed women to voice diversified options. A prosperous economy developed during this dynasty, with people mostly being open-minded-making it possible for women to pursue their career ambitions, Chen said. In recent years, Chinese movies and TV series have featured an increasing number of stories themed on strong and independent women, with female audiences forming the majority of their overall viewership. As evidence of such a trend, A Dream of Splendor has resonated with numerous female audiences with its inspirational depictions of three brave and talented women who rely on their abilities to earn a decent living. In addition to Liu, who stars as the protagonist Zhao, the other two major female roles are played by Liu Yan, who appears as Sun Sanniang, a veteran cook who excels at teatime refreshments, and Lin Yun, who plays Song Yinzhang, a prodigy of the pipa (a four-stringed plucked lute). Yang said, "When I received the script for A Dream of Splendor in summer 2020, I was touched by the leading female characters' friendship and pursuit of their dreams and love as they struggled against the odds." She added that this was one of the most important factors that persuaded her to direct the series. "Zhao Pan'er has a complex personality, which is mainly the result of her miserable past. But she is smart, hard-headed and unyielding, thus she easily strikes a chord with modern women, especially those who leave their hometowns, enduring loneliness to strive for a better future in big cities such as Beijing," Yang added. Yuan, the critic, said China's development over the years has shaped the future for a large number of well-educated women and has also seen female audiences outnumber their male counterparts in recent times. As a result, movies and dramas depicting successful heroines have been welcomed. Included among the 50 scholarships worth at least $130,000 to be doled out to high school seniors Saturday at the Hispanic Forum of Bryan-College Station's annual Scholarship Gala, is a very special one. The scholarship was established in honor of Annabell Rodriguez, one of 19 students killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in May. Longtime Hispanic Forum member Marci Ramirez, who grew up in Uvalde, said she asked about establishing the special scholarship a couple weeks after the tragedy. Ramirez, who lives in Bryan and works in Caldwell as director at Phillips and Luckey Funeral Home, said she was flabbergasted at the support from people in the Caldwell community and some friends in Bryan who helped raise $6,000 in less than three weeks. It was surprising, especially here in Caldwell, because, you know, the student is not from Caldwell; the event is not going to be in Caldwell, she said. Everybodys hearts are broken, and everybody wants to help. Ramirezs grandchildren live in Uvalde and were not harmed in the shooting, but she said Annabell was one of her granddaughters friends. These are my people. These are the grandkids of the kids I went to school with, she said. I visited with them, and I just saw how heartbroken they were and how all their dreams and their hopes had just vanished. I visited with my granddaughter and asked her about Annabell, you know, to tell me about her. Ramirez said her granddaughter told her about Annabells dreams of becoming a veterinarian and studying at Texas A&M University. Annabells twin sister, Angeli, and their mother, Monica Gallegos, are expected to attend the gala and help present the scholarship. I'd like to do something for everyone, but I just cant. This little gesture, maybe, would help her, Ramirez said. Maybe this student will keep a connection with mom and help live her daughters dream through her. The sold-out event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Brazos Center in Bryan. It will be a nice, fun night, but at the end of the night, everything we do is for these local students and their dreams of higher education, said Jaime C. Cavazos, public relationship officer and past president for the nonprofit organization. A first-generation student, Cavazos said it means a lot to him to help other first-generation students and honor his own teachers. Its a way for me to pay it back to all the people that came before me and that pushed me to be where I am today, he said. I can at least pass it down and help the next future generations by doing what my ex-teachers did for me. Its just a really nice way for me to help others. The organizations leadership team hopes the scholarship recipients continue to pay it forward and support other first-generation college students and become great community members wherever they live. I think its important to be educated and to keep growing as an individual, Cavazos said. Founded in the 1990s by eight people who wanted the B-CS Hispanic community to be heard, Cavazos said the organization has grown to more than 50 members with a focus on education providing scholarships. He said this years event has more than 60 table sponsors and 100-plus sponsors of the nights silent auction. Since 1998, the Hispanic Forum has awarded 690 scholarships, totaling $1.23 million, according to the organizations website. Cavazos said their goal is to add another $20,000 to this years awards and match or beat last years total of $151,000 in scholarships. The scholarships are open to any senior graduating from a Bryan or College Station high school. Cavazos said students are invited to complete an online application, and the applicants are then reviewed holistically with the opportunity to tell their story through a personal essay. In addition to the scholarships, the nonprofit will honor its educator, person and business of the year award winners and recognize a community member with a lifetime achievement award. It's a great event for the entire community to come together and support education of our local students, Cavazos said. WELLINGTON, New Zealand A satellite the size of a microwave oven successfully broke free from its orbit around Earth on Monday and is headed toward the moon, the latest step in NASAs plan to land astronauts on the lunar surface again. Its been an unusual journey already for the Capstone satellite. It was launched six days ago from New Zealands Mahia Peninsula by the company Rocket Lab in one of its small Electron rockets. It will take another four months for the satellite to reach the moon, as it cruises along using minimal energy. Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck told The Associated Press it was hard to put his excitement into words. Its probably going to take a while to sink in. Its been a project that has taken us two, two-and-a-half years and is just incredibly, incredibly difficult to execute, he said. So to see it all come together tonight and see that spacecraft on its way to the moon, its just absolutely epic. Beck said the relatively low cost of the mission NASA put it at $32.7 million marked the beginning of a new era for space exploration. For some tens of millions of dollars, there is now a rocket and a spacecraft that can take you to the moon, to asteroids, to Venus, to Mars, Beck said. Its an insane capability thats never existed before. If the rest of the mission is successful, the Capstone satellite will send back vital information for months as the first to take a new orbit around the moon called a near-rectilinear halo orbit: a stretched-out egg shape with one end of the orbit passing close to the moon and the other far from it. Eventually, NASA plans to put a space station called Gateway into the orbital path, from which astronauts can descend to the moons surface as part of its Artemis program. Beck said the advantage of the new orbit is that it minimizes fuel use and allows the satellite or a space station to stay in constant contact with Earth. The Electron rocket that launched June 28 from New Zealand was carrying a second spacecraft called Photon, which separated after nine minutes. The satellite was carried for six days in Photon, with the spacecrafts engines firing periodically to raise its orbit farther and farther from Earth. A final engine burst Monday allowed Photon to break from Earths gravitational pull and send the satellite on its way. The plan now is for the 55-pound satellite to far overshoot the moon before falling back into the new lunar orbit Nov. 13. The satellite will use tiny amounts of fuel to make a few planned trajectory course corrections along the way. Beck said they would decide over the coming days what to do with Photon, which had completed its tasks and still had a bit of fuel left in the tank. Theres a number of really cool missions that we can actually do with it, he said. For the mission, NASA teamed up with two commercial companies: California-based Rocket Lab and Colorado-based Advanced Space, which owns and operates the Capstone satellite. GUATEMALA CITY Simple advice from a friend to stay near the door may have saved Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomas from the deadly fate that befell 53 other migrants when they were abandoned trapped in a sweltering semi-trailer last week on the edge of San Antonio. Speaking by phone from her hospital bed Monday, the 20-year-old from Guatemalas capital said it was already hot on June 27 when she stepped out of the warehouse on the Texas side of the Mexico border where she had been waiting and climbed into the back of the trailer. She said the smugglers confiscated their cellphones and covered the trailers floor with what she believes was powdered chicken bouillon, apparently to throw off any dogs at checkpoints. As she sat stuffed inside the stifling trailer with dozens of others, the powder stung her skin. Remembering her friend's caution to stay near the door where it would be cooler, Cardona Tomas shared the advice with another friend she had made during the journey. I told a friend that we shouldnt go to the back and should stay near (the entrance), in the same place without moving, said Cardona Tomas, who is being treated at Methodist Hospital Metropolitan in San Antonio. That friend survived, too. As the truck moved on, making additional stops to pick up more migrants, people began to cluster near the door like Cardona Tomas. She had no way to track the time. The people were yelling, some cried. Mostly women were calling for it to stop and to open the doors because it was hot, that they couldnt breathe, she said, still laboring a bit to speak after being intubated at the hospital. She said the driver or someone else in the cab yelled back that we were about to arrive, that there were 20 minutes left, six minutes. People asked for water, some had run out, others carried some, she said. The truck would continue stopping occasionally, but just before she lost consciousness it was moving slowly. She woke up in the hospital. The driver and three others were arrested and charged by U.S. prosecutors. Guatemalas Foreign Ministry has said that 20 Guatemalans died in the incident, 16 of whom have been positively identified. Foreign Minister Mario Bucaro said he hoped the first bodies would be repatriated this week. Cardona Tomas said the trucks destination that day was Houston, though she was ultimately headed to North Carolina. She didnt have a job and asked me if I would support her" in migrating to the U.S., her father, Mynor Cardona, said Monday in Guatemala City, where the family lives. He said he knew of other cases of children who just left without telling their families and ended up disappearing or dying so he decided to back her. He paid $4,000 for a smuggler less than half the total cost to take her to the U.S. She left Guatemala on May 30, traveling in cars, buses and finally the semi-trailer in Texas. I didnt know that she would travel in a trailer, he said. She told us it would be by foot. It seems like at the last moment the smugglers decided to put (her) in the trailer, along with two more friends, who survived. One of them is still in critical condition. Cardona had stayed in touch with his daughter up until the morning of June 27. Her last message to him that Monday was at 10:28 a.m. in Guatemala, or 11:28 a.m. in Texas. Were going to go in an hour, she wrote. It was not until late that night that Cardona Tomas family learned of the abandoned trailer. It was two more days before relatives in the United States confirmed that she was alive and hospitalized. We cried so much, Cardona said. I even was thinking where we were going to have the wake and bury her. She is a miracle. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Co-organized by the Mexican embassy in China and the headquarter of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in China (UNAM-China), the 7th Contemporary Mexican Film Series is coming as expected this Thursday at the Instituto Cervantes in Beijing. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Mexico, and the 10th year of the founding of UNAM-China (also known as the Mexican Studies Center in Beijing Foreign Studies University). Four premier Mexican movies will be shown every Thursday for the whole of July, showcasing the value of friendship using different genres and perspectives. All films to be screened have Chinese subtitles. This Thursday, July 7, viewers are welcomed to attend its opening ceremony featuring the screening of the movie Babel, directed by famous director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. This movie starts with a boy who accidentally fires at an American with his father's rifle, then a series of intertwined events are triggered in three different places throughout the world. It won top honors at the Golden Globe Awards in 2007, seven Oscar nominations and won the Oscar for Best Original Score. This event is open to the public and free of charge. Registration in advance is needed. Military entities located in Bangladesh continue to be at the receiving end of sustained cyberattacks by an advanced persistent threat tracked as Bitter. "Through malicious document files and intermediate malware stages the threat actors conduct espionage by deploying Remote Access Trojans," cybersecurity firm SECUINFRA said in a new write-up published on July 5. The findings from the Berlin-headquartered company build on a previous report from Cisco Talos in May, which disclosed the group's expansion in targeting to strike Bangladeshi government organizations with a backdoor called ZxxZ. Bitter, also tracked under the codenames APT-C-08 and T-APT-17, is said to be active since at least late 2013 and has a track record of targeting China, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia using different tools such as BitterRAT and ArtraDownloader. The latest attack chain detailed by SECUINFRA is believed to have been conducted in mid-May 2022, originating with a weaponized Excel document likely distributed by means of a spear-phishing email that, when opened, exploits the Microsoft Equation Editor exploit (CVE-2018-0798) to drop the next-stage binary from a remote server. ZxxZ (or MuuyDownloader by the Qi-Anxin Threat Intelligence Center), as the downloaded payload is called, is implemented in Visual C++ and functions as a second-stage implant that allows the adversary to deploy additional malware. The most notable change in the malware involves abandoning the "ZxxZ" separator used when sending information back to the command-and-control (C2) server in favor of an underscore, suggesting that the group is actively making modifications to its source code to stay under the radar. Also put to use by the threat actor in its campaigns is a backdoor dubbed Almond RAT, a .NET-based RAT that first came to light in May 2022 and offers basic data gathering functionality and the ability to execute arbitrary commands. Additionally, the implant employs obfuscation and string encryption techniques to evade detection and to hinder analysis. "Almond RATs main purposes seem to be file system discovery, data exfiltration and a way to load more tools/establish persistence," the researchers said. "The design of the tools seems to be laid out in a way that it can be quickly modified and adapted to the current attack scenario." CHICAGO Margo Jefferson, who has worked a half-century as one of the more formidable and composed critics of American culture, watched the city unwind from the back seat of an SUV. We moved slowly through traffic, maneuvering from the Loop to Wicker Park. She doesnt get back here often anymore. She grew up in Hyde Park and Bronzeville but her parents, who loom large in her story and feel present in her everyday poise, died; her older sister, the ballet dancer and Ailey School director Denise Jefferson, died from ovarian cancer in 2010. There is something melancholy in having ones immediate family all gone, seeing many of their friends gone, much of their world gone, she said. Her Chicago is full of ghosts now. Here, the Fine Arts Building, where she studied dance as a child; there, the shells of long-passed Chicago department stores where her mother, a socialite, once shopped. And those are just tangible haunts. She writes in Constructing a Nervous System, her recently published second memoir, about the Chicago actor Janice Kingslow, who died in obscurity. They never met, but Jeffersons mother knew Kingslow, and as Jefferson recounts in the book, her mother and friends were having lunch in a downtown restaurant in the 1970s when a frail, sallow woman approached their table and stood waiting till they grew silent. None of you remember me, do you? she asked the women. Slowly, the name returned. Here was Janice Kingslow, their sorority sister, but also, Janice Kingslow, the Evanston native and light-skinned Black actor once offered a Hollywood contract on the condition that she would change her name and pass as white on screen. Kingslow would not, and then wrote about the experience (I Refuse to Pass) for a 1950 issue of Negro Digest; a decade later, she wrote bluntly for Ebony about her mental health problems. She cofounded a local theater company, the DuBois Players, and starred on Broadway; she worked in the PR department of NBC and Provident hospital on Washington Park, where Jeffersons father ran the pediatrics department. Kingslow performed regularly on progressive Chicago radio shows and was eventually blacklisted during the Red Scare. By 1963, just four years after that essay on her nervous breakdown, Kingslow was already popping up in Whatever Happened to ... columns. This story of Kingslow appearing like a specter in a Chicago restaurant became part of family lore, Jefferson told me. Even now, I do think of her and what could have been. She haunts me, she does. Jefferson published her first criticism in 1973, titled Ripping Off Black Music, for Harpers; by 1995, after years of covering theater and literature for the New York Times, she won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. At 74, her latest act is being a memoirist, but she remains very much a critic. Only now, turned inward. If her first memoir, the 2015 bestseller Negroland, was about growing up in Chicagos midcentury Black bourgeoisie and learning to present oneself, Constructing a Nervous System considers the cultural markers of a life that coalesced into the many voices of Margo Jefferson. She imagined a nervous system. But not the standard biological one. We reach Semicolon Bookstore in Wicker Park, where Jefferson agreed to sign its stock of her books. Jefferson takes a seat at a small table in the center of the store and digs in. Then she glances up at the bookshelves and notices Viola Davis new memoir. Viola! she says. That face is in every airport in America right now. She signs a book, slaps its cover shut and returns briefly to Kingslow. See, history didnt have time for Janice, but it had time for her descendants. Im haunted (by her), I think, because of my generational positioning. I was thinking of how my opportunities and choices, compared with her generations, and how manners and modes shaped it, but also, now, there is a centrality to Black art and Latinx art and queer art that absolutely never existed. Which is progress, but when I came along, I was the first woman of any race reviewing books at Newsweek. So Im interested in my reactions to the plenitude younger people have. But when am I envious? Stiff-necked? Constructing the Nervous System which shoves aside old ideas about memoir as mere biography, wrote The Washington Post is a cultural disassembling of Jefferson, so that the person can be better understood. It gets at something glossed over in many biographies the way an artist is a pastiche of other artists and works, good, bad and mysterious. We forget the origins of ourselves are often more modest than we let on, she said. We assemble and remake our sensibilities, take and reject cultural markers even when they are inept or morally ugly. While writing Negroland, she became more aware of how closely she overlapped with the artists she grew up revering and writing about. Musicians like the pianist Bud Powell drew her back to her father, who owned a large collection of jazz LPs; she could explore an intimacy with dance through Black athletes. She considered her fascination with minstrels, joining it with a long love of Bing Crosby: Everybody needs a minstrel man, and Black women like me have finally won the right to ours. Oprah had Dr. Phil. Condi had George Bush. I have Bing Crosby. It is both personal history and personal appraisal. I had not fully realized the influence of Black men, she told me. DuBois, Ellington, Marvin Gaye I adored them and took it for granted. I didnt realize how far you could move in the world, how conquering you could be, even as a Black man, who still had a license few women had. I had ambivalence about Ike Turner, who was a monster toward Tina Turner, even as hes an important figure. I wanted to get at the unholy alliance of what we love even as it makes us squeamish. In one of the most bracing bits, she strings together a visit to the Art Institute and Jules Bretons painting The Song of the Lark with a love of Willa Cather and her novel of the same title; then, while teaching the book at Columbia University, she sees white skin fetishism in Cather, lack of room for Black figures. She wants her class disappointed As Id had to be, time and time again, in a lifetime of reading white writers. Jefferson grew up in one of few Black families living in Hyde Park in the 1950s. Her first memoir is partly a portrait of a cloistered world of expectations and appearances. The first line of Negroland reads: I was taught to avoid showing off. Jefferson and her sister attended the Laboratory School at the University of Chicago. When she asked her mother if they were upper class, her mother replied: Were considered upper-class Negros and upper-middle-class Americans. But most people would like to consider us Just More Negros. If anyone asked if they were rich, she was to explain that they were comfortable. When we talk, that sense of a presentation is still there. Her hands skate in the air as she talks and a certain old-world formality pops. She drops a verb like partake into casual conversation, and there is no sweat in the usage. She is, she agrees, theatrical. She had wanted once to be an actress; after college at Brandeis University, she joined late 60s experimental theater troupes. But she didnt have the range, or the stamina for rejection. Still, that voice, with its fondness for stage directing, remains in her writing: Dont pity him, she instructs the reader on Powell, whom she dubs a genius-monster a genius through practice, a monster through cop beatings, medications, liquor, breakdowns, electroshock treatments, heroin and forced confinements in mental institutions. Her memoirs are full of lists and lines crossed out and boldfaced type. But also, questions about the memoir as a road map to memories and connections and deep conjectures. I learned, in a funny way, I was becoming a critic of myself and how I questioned my own criticisms, she said. I was more suspicious and insistent of my own assumptions. She found her harsh assessments of Sammy Davis Jr. now lofty and contemptuous. Not that I was wrong! He just needed more. On Ella Fitzgerald, she digs into why, as a child, she was so bothered by the fact that the jazz legend would dare to perspire on TV. Oh my, now this is ... sublime , Jefferson said, walking into the library of the University Club of Chicago. It was hosting an onstage conversation with Chicago-based literary critic Donna Seaman. This is, whoa, exquisite, she continued, as she moved into the long dignified room overlooking the Art Institute and beyond, Lake Michigan. They would talk here before leadership from Chicago Public Library, book clubs, club members. Its the kind of wood-polished elegance you imagine her growing up around. When a question is raised about keeping the chat on time and efficient, she offers to race back to her hotel room and grab her watch. No, no, no, shes told, not necessary. OK, but I can, she said. On the page, shes less decorous, though getting there wasnt easy. She had to grow into the ability to be less accommodating and gracious. When I started straight out of (graduate school at Columbia University, where she teaches now), I felt my voice muted and that I need to be fearless in opinions, which was not how I was raised. As she wrote of herself in Negroland, Jefferson had come to feel that too much had been required, so she would have her revenge. As she told Seaman that night at the event, ironically enough, she found inspiration in her mother and her mothers friends reactions to Gone With the Wind, which they saw eagerly despite reservations about its depiction of Black Americans. They took from it what they wished, she said. And they left her with the spirit of owning her opinions: I have my mind, my skills, my intelligence, my sense of humor. I am an equal participant in this culture and I will do with it what I wish. Then, as if scrutinizing her own self-empowerment, she offered one more ghost: Her grandmother Lillian McClendon Armstrong Saunders Thompson, who left a husband because he wasnt ambitious enough, who started as a playground supervisor in Chicago and then worked her way to precinct captain. Who owned real estate and was involved in Chicago politics. When she died, her last words had been: Im so tired. So tired. In a journal Jefferson kept in the 1970s, she wrote that she asked herself what was the right way to honor a Black grandmother who didnt want to be just another tired Black grandmother (and had an early death to show for it.) She felt tired for her grandmother, yet imagined her grandmother would push back: Have you earned the right to be tired? A 22-year-old Grand Island man allegedly injured two people with broken glass and chased two other people with a knife Saturday night. When police arrived at a home in the 300 block of East Fourth Street at about 9 p.m., they found a man, later identified as Maynor Mejia Morales, spattered with blood, according to Tuesdays police media report. Police say Mejia Morales ignored their commands and began to flee into the house. Officers deployed a taser and the suspect was detained. Officers spoke with several witnesses and victims. They said Mejia Morales broke several bottles and then used the glass shards to cause bodily injury to a man, who received a laceration on his neck, and a second man, who received lacerations on his right arm. Mejia Morales then allegedly found a knife and chased a third man and an 11-year-old girl through the backyard. Both reported feeling afraid. Mejia Morales lives in the apartment building where the assault took place, said Grand Island Police Capt. Jim Duering. Inside Mejia Morales apartment, police found an 18-year-old male unconscious, under the influence of alcohol. Mejia Morales said he had invited the 18-year-old over to his residence to drink. Duering said the injuries the suspect inflicted were minor. The victims refused medical attention. Mejia Morales was arrested for two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of terroristic threats, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, obstruction and procuring alcohol for a minor. The wild turkey that gained popularity recently in the Conestoga Mall area may have met its demise, beaten by a group of young people. At about 10:45 p.m. Saturday, an adult male reported seeing several individuals chasing a wild turkey in the mall parking lot. The man said he saw the individuals corner the turkey, and began beating it. The man said the individuals then grabbed the turkey by the neck before throwing the bird into a silver four-door sedan. The witness said he did not know if the turkey was still alive when placed in the vehicle. Police do have some surveillance video, Grand Island Police Capt. Jim Duering said Tuesday. The make and model of the silver vehicle is not known. The vehicle was occupied by three males and one female, most likely either teens or young adults, Duering said. He had not heard any more about the condition of the turkey. Anyone with any information is asked to call the police department or Hall County/Grand Island Crime Stoppers. A dispute over driving methods on Interstate 80 Saturday afternoon escalated to the point where one of the men stabbed the other. Nathan Bowen of LaVista was arrested at about 3 p.m. after he allegedly stabbed a Colorado man in the upper portion of his shoulder. The dispute started off as a road rage incident, said Hall County Chief Deputy Josh Berlie. One of the drivers tapped his brakes because he felt the other was following too closely, which led to swerving, Berlie said. The drivers pulled off to Git N Split, 8976 S. Alda Road. Both men exited the vehicle and a verbal altercation turned physical, Berlie said. The victim, 22-year-old Victor Hernandez of Greeley, Colo., was flown to an out-of-town hospital because medical personnel couldnt get his bleeding to stop. Berlie wasnt sure of the helicopters destination. Bowen, 20, was arrested for first-degree assault, third-degree assault, use of a weapon to commit a felony, attempted second-degree homicide and willful reckless driving. Hall County Commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved hiring a full-time deputy for the county Election Office. The position will cost the county roughly $98,000, or 65% of the election commissioners salary. Election Commissioner Tracy Overstreet asked commissioners Tuesday to restore the office to its 1983 staffing level. When the office was first created in the 1980s, it had two full-time staff, and a few years later was added a half-time position. The last 20-some years, weve been running with one and a half staff, said Overstreet. This is no longer sufficient, as voter registration numbers are up 47% from 40 years ago. We really need to have a full-time backup to myself, she said. In fact, were the only county in the state of Nebraska that does not have a full-time backup to the election staff. The deputy will have some high-level decision-making responsibilities and split duties with the election commissioner, explained Assistant County Attorney Sarah Carstensen. In essence, they would be able and have responsibility for performing all the duties, she said, but they would split them so they have a better balance with whats going on, as opposed to having Tracy take it all on with all the overtime. According to Overstreet: There are 86 counties in Nebraska with ex-officio election commission duties that are done by the county clerk, who has a deputy. The states largest counties, with governor-appointed election commissioners, have mandated, by statute, a deputy election commissioner. Only four counties have county board-appointed election commissioners: Cass, Buffalo, Platte and Hall. They dont have deputies, she said. This is an issue the Secretary of State has brought up to these counties, that they want a deputy so they can have someone else to sign-off on election documents. While those four counties do not have a designated deputy, the other three do have a full-time person who can step in and do those duties, except for signature capabilities. Overstreet stressed the urgency of hiring someone as, for the office, election duties start on July 14 for the 2022 general election. Thats when the petitions come in to the Secretary of State. By next week well have early voting applications out. Well start doing signature verification. Were taking filings. Were getting ballots laid out, she explained. The first ballots for the Nov. 8 election are due out Sept. 23, she noted. Two options were presented to commissioners. An appointment by the county board would take time for interviews, whereas an appointment by the election commissioner can be done more quickly. Overstreet advocated for the latter. I think this gives us the opportunity to get someone in there, basically let them make sure they like elections, that they can tolerate elections, she said. This has to be someone who can work an 18 hour day, because thats just the nature of the job. Only having one and a half persons in office is creating more contract work hours and more comp-time hours, said Overstreet. She added that she has not been able to take vacation time because there would be no one else to complete her duties. I love elections, but I think its very risky to not have someone else who can fill in, she said. Were one COVID designation away, or something like that, where we wouldnt be able to complete our duties. I dont want Hall County to be the one that isnt able to sign-off on time on elections. While not ideal, it would be a start, said Overstreet. This at least gets us down the road to creating a position, she said, taking some of the risk of the county of not having someone else that knows whats going on on a day-to-day basis who can fill in, and then next budget year, if the person likes the job, we could add the title, and the county board could appointment them. Whether people receive a tornado warning before the twister arrives depends on whats going on inside the tornado. Mondays tornado hit an area southeast of Grand Island at 12:51 a.m. Residents of the area didnt receive the first tornado warning from the National Weather Service in Hastings until 12:54 a.m. In some cases, a tornado warning isnt issued until debris is visible on radar. That was the case the situation this time. The radar indicated that this thunderstorm was likely producing a tornado. We had a signature of debris on one of our radar images and they issued the tornado warning at 12:54, said Mike Moritz, who is the warning coordination meteorologist at the weather service in Hastings. In other cases, a tornado warning is issued because of the rotation of the wind. We can look at the windfield in the storm what we call rotation, basically, Moritz said. When we feel that it has reached a certain level or is conducive for a potential tornado, well issue a tornado warning on that. We call that a radar-indicated tornado. The tornado that arrived Monday damaged three homes in Hall County and caused limited damage to another. Residents of two homes in the area of Stuhr Road and Schimmer Drive were not alerted until after the tornado hit their property. Its likely that the debris from their homes is what triggered the tornado warning. This was a no warning event for Hall County and nearly all warning messages were lagging in Hall County on this storm due to circumstances of the storm, said a Monday news release from the Grand Island/Hall County Emergency Management office. It appears that the first two-to-three homes were struck prior to evidence being found of the tornado, but the fourth home did have prior notice and time to seek shelter. The delivery of wireless emergency alerts varies by ones provider. It also varies by your phone, Moritz said. Providers have different ways to transmit messages through their tower networks, he said. With some providers, customers who live inside the little box that we draw will get the warning. If youre outside the box, you wont, Moritz said, referring tot the boundaries of a warning area. With some providers, if the tower is in the little box, then all wireless customers served by that tower will receive a warning, whether youre inside the warning or not. So receiving weather alerts can depend on the provider you have, your location and maybe even how your phone would alert you, Moritz said. It could depend on the kind of phone you have, as well as the settings on your phone. Jon Rosenlund, director of emergency management for Grand Island and Hall County, noted that he has no control over tornado warnings. People who live within the affected area, which he calls a polygon, will probably receive a warning, and those who live outside it probably wont. Sometimes, there is some bleedover, but generally, if youre not near or in that warning polygon, youre not likely going to get a phone call, Rosenlund said. Also, weve found that even when you probably should get that phone call, its not 100%, and thats an issue between the carriers and the FCC. I dont have any control over that. In this case, it seems as though meteorologists saw a lot of wind and rain but the warning wasnt issued until they saw the debris signature in the radar, Rosenlund said. In other words, there was no indication of a tornado until it had hit the ground. The Emergency Management Department reminds residents that sirens are outdoor warning devices and not designed for indoor warning, said the release from the Grand Island/Hall County Emergency Management office. All residents should use a variety of weather-related devices including mobile apps, NOAA Alert Radios and local media. The National Weather Service agrees that people should rely on multiple sources of weather information, Moritz said. Moritz said the time of Mondays tornado arrival was somewhat unusual, We dont have that many tornadoes after midnight in Nebraska, he said. The weather system was also unique. We typically dont have small supercells inside of a larger rain area, Moritz said. So there were just a couple of pretty unique things about this event. Were thankful that the damage wasnt worse. Rosenlund thanked those whove helped neighbors with cleanup. But, We do ask people to stay away and not trespass on peoples property, he said. An exhibition titled Maritime Prestige of Great Han: Nautical Civilization of Nanyue Kingdom kicked off at the China Maritime Museum in Shanghai on July 1 and will run through September 18. Co-organized by the China Maritime Museum and Nanyue King Museum, this exhibition showcases 154 sets of precious cultural relics and explores the open and diverse civilizations of the Nanyue Kingdom around 2,000 years ago. Nanyue Kingdom was the local independent authority in the Lingnan area of southern China during the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC-AD 220), where it became a pioneer region and start of the "Maritime Silk Road" in ancient China. On display are cultural relics unearthed from the tomb of the Nanyue King and the site of the Nanyue palace, both of which were listed in the nation's top 100 archaeology findings of the past century. This large-scale exhibition also marks the debut of these cultural relics in Shanghai. A Carbondale man was taken to the Jackson County Jail on numerous charges following an arrest late Sunday night. Carbondale police arrested Loren J. Randol, 34, of Carbondale following reports of a man with a handgun in a vehicle. Randol was taken into custody after driving the wrong way on East Main Street and through the parking lot of the business. Officers found a firearm inside the car and learned that Randol was wanted on a Jackson County failure to appear warrant for retail theft. He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, fleeing police, driving with a suspended license as well as failure to appear for retail theft. Carbondale police say an investigation is ongoing. The city of Harrisburg and the Harold S. Jones Fine Arts Center in Cairo are among recipients of computers upcycled from the University of Illinois through a program of Faith in Peace, a Chicago-based not-for-profit. The goal of the gift is to increase public access to computers in rural regions. Faith in Place is part of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin Interfaith Power and light, a group which works to advance environmental and racial justice by providing resources to educate, connect and advocate for healthier communities, according to the organization. The organization recently presented the city of Harrisburg with two laptops, said Mayor John McPeek. Were going to use them at City Hall, where people can come use them. They will have internet access, so people can do whatever they need, McPeek said. The Harold S. Jones Fine Arts Center in Cairo received five computers. The machines are expected to be part of a newly-opened digital learning center where they can be used by area students and adults. "The pandemic revealed how much we all depend on reliable internet access to get through life education, healthcare, bill pay and relationships, said Wade Halva, Faith in Places Southern Illinois outreach coordinator. These communities showed the effects of challenging connections, and we hope that addressing these needs over time will strengthen these communities. McPeek said leaders of a local faith community reached out to him several months ago about the gift of surplus computers from the University of Illinois. This is awesome, McPeek said. This is just going to be a nice way of helping people. Southern Illinois University School of Law Professor Cindy Buys, an expert in immigration and international human rights issues, witnessed the impact of war firsthand when she spent two months teaching classes at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland, about four hours from the Ukrainian border. In addition to providing students with a greater understanding of international business, negotiations and an introduction to the U.S. legal system, Buys also helped with an initiative to investigate Russian war crimes and learned more about Polands own history with the former Soviet Union. In the midst of turbulent circumstances, she said, the experience reaffirmed her faith in humanity. Uncertainty over what to do A city of nearly 200,000 people in north-central Poland, Torun saw its population increase by as much as 10% since February, Buys said. The university worked to help both students and faculty; Ukrainian male students 18 and older could apply for a waiver to continue their studies instead of returning home to fight. They felt a lot of guilt about not being home and helping fight, but on the other hand, they were safe and wanted to finish their education and so it was a very, very difficult decision, she said, adding she felt the stress, the worry and fear every time you talked to the Ukrainians who were in Poland. A judge whose court is in Kyiv and who had been a visiting professor at the university fled to Torun with her son because she knew people there. She had to decide whether to get a new job in Poland or return home, Buys said. Just the everyday stress of not knowing what to do. They had family and friends back in Ukraine that they were worried about every day, Buys said. This ray of hope and solidarity Buys said some of her Polish colleagues were paying for apartments for Ukrainian families and that many Polish citizens opened up their homes to refugees. Several colleagues had entire freezers filled with pierogis a traditional food for both Ukrainians and Poles made by Ukrainian women to earn some money. At every train station, tents or rooms were set up for where arriving Ukrainians could be connected to local resources, including if they needed to enroll children in school. The people in Poland were giving money, food, medical supplies, clothing and everything for the Ukrainians. The solidarity with Ukraine was really amazing, she said. These efforts can reaffirm your faith in humanity when things look terrible, when you see how generous people are; how much they want to help other people, Buys said. We often hear about refugees being turned away at the borders whether its our own, in Europe or other places in the world. Poland, in particular, and other European countries really opened their arms and welcomed the Ukrainian people. Buys said the work was a civil society effort not necessarily directed by the Polish government. People wanted to do something to help, she said. It was very reaffirming when every time you turn on the TV and you see bombing and Mariupol in ruins and a pregnant woman on a stretcher dead because they bombed the hospital. At least, there was this ray of hope and solidarity that people had, so that was a really positive thing that came out of it. A bit of nervousness Buys signed her contract to teach at Nicolaus Copernicus University about a week before Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. While family and friends asked if she was still going, Buys said she felt reasonably safe as most of the fighting was in the eastern half of Ukraine. Because Poland is a member of NATO and the European Union, Buys believed if something were to happen in Poland, we were talking a whole different level of conflict that the United States was going to be in as member of NATO. She viewed it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe a conflict and refugee crisis, help convey what was happening and use her expertise as an international lawyer to assist the refugee or international humanitarian situation. She participated in the Ukraine Accountability Initiative, run by the U.S.-based Public International Law & Policy Group, which investigates war crimes. Buys went through training to conduct interviews with Ukrainians to document any war crimes they might have seen and then worked to connect people in the United States with people in Poland and Ukraine to set up the interviews. There are clearly war crimes happening in Ukraine, no doubt, Buys said. On June 16, they showed that a Russian bomb hit a World Food Kitchen convoy of food in Ukraine and destroyed a lot of the humanitarian aid that was going to the people. For it to be a crime, it has to be intentional, but it certainly seems like the Russians are bombing indiscriminately, so in my opinion, from all of the evidence I have seen, I think there are definitely war crimes and crimes against humanity. History is always present While there, Buys learned a lot about Polish history and the relationships within the region. While they speak different languages and have their own cultures, Poland and Ukraine have often been overrun by invading armies and, as Buys noted, Russians invaded both territories toward the end of the World War II and made them part of the Soviet Union. Both nations share an anger and even hatred of the Soviet Union. Friends took Buys to a forest outside of Torun where during World War II German soldiers lined up the citys leaders and shot them. But for many Polish citizens, the Russian atrocities were worse. In the waning days of the war, Soviet Union military refused to come into Warsaw to help the Polish Home Army repel Germans from the city. She explained that after the Polish Home Army won the city, the Soviet army took all of the Polish Home Army leaders into a forest and shot them. For them, the betrayal by the Russians was worse in many ways, Buys said. The Germans never pretended to be their friends during the war, but the Russians pretended to be their friends, and turned around and shot them. So there is this deep hatred of Russia and the tactics they said that we are seeing in Ukraine, such as the razing of Mariupol, which is what they did to Warsaw. How it affects NATO Buys noted that Putins desire to keep Ukraine from joining NATO seems to have backfired, noting that Finland, Sweden and other countries now also want to join NATO. I think NATO had been floundering a little bit. What was its purpose? How do the countries work together? There was a lot of discussion about how we are sharing expenses in NATO and one of the concerns was that the United States was paying too much as compared to the European countries, she said. I think a number of the European countries are now saying, You know what? We need to put more into our military budgets than we were doing before because there are some real threats out there. Its not just a historical threat; its a present-day threat. I do think this has definitely strengthened NATO. Property taxes have gone up in many parts of the country, but homeowners in these cities have seen the sharpest increase. So what does all this tell us about justice? All this meaning the fact that Ghislaine Maxwell got 20 years on Tuesday and the next day, R. Kelly got 30. It was, make no mistake, an indisputably good thing to see those punishments handed down. And its hard to blame anyone who found in it a reason to rejoice. Its also difficult to join them. Understand: You will find no remorse here over the likelihood that the 55-year-old former R&B hit maker and the 60-year-old former socialite will grow old in federal custody. He manipulated and raped children, she procured and groomed children to be raped by the monster Jeffrey Epstein. So the promise of long-term stays in the graybar hotel doesnt exactly break ones heart. But by the same token, it also brings little gratification. Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, would likely disagree. As he told reporters covering the Kelly case, I hope this sentencing serves as its own testimony that it doesnt matter how powerful, rich or famous your abuser may be or how small they may make you feel. Justice only hears the truth. One is loathe to pick a fight with a lawyer taking a well-deserved victory lap after a hard-fought trial. He deserves that. At the same time, however, one recoils from lofty pronouncements of what this says about justice. Especially given that accountability is hardly the norm where sexual predators are concerned. As illustration of that point, consider a few horrors from recent years. Like Judge Marcia Silva in Middlesex County, N.J., who said that the forcible rape it left her bleeding of a 12-year-old girl by a 16-year-old boy was not an especially heinous or cruel offense. Like Judge Matthew Murphy of Niagara County, N.Y., giving probation to a defendant who, as a 17-year-old, raped multiple 15- and 16-year-old girls, because sending him to prison was not appropriate. Like Judge Aaron Persky of Santa Clara County, Calif., sentencing convicted rapist Brock Turner to six months because anything harsher would have a severe impact on him. Like Judge James Troiano of Monmouth County, NJ, declining to try an accused teenage rapist as an adult because he comes from a good family. But even those vivid examples dont paint the full picture. For those judges to say those bizarre things and make those bizarre rulings, the cases had to get to court. Most dont. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, one woman in six will suffer an attempted or completed sexual assault in her lifetime. For every 1,000 attacks, only 50 people will be arrested, only 25 incarcerated. Those abysmal numbers and to be fair, the statistics are not much better for robbery and assault do not fill one with confidence in the justice system. More to our current point, they suggest, much as those sad sack judges do, an ongoing failure to do right by survivors of sexual assault, the vast majority of whom are women. So you know what these cases say about justice? They say that, after years of openly flouting the law, high-profile offenders may, given sufficient media pressure and public attention, be held to account. Repeat: may. If your case doesnt fall within those parameters, tough luck; youre very likely to watch helplessly as your attacker goes unpunished. And you might be forgiven for thinking that doesnt feel much like justice at all. Just a different kind of rape. On Sunday, 24 students will arrive at Casper College to ponder questions that, to most people, might sound like science fiction: Can matter teleport? Or be two places at once? Can time flow backwards? The college is hosting a group of high school seniors and college freshmen for a two-week crash-course on the weird world of quantum science. Quantum science studies how matter behaves at the atomic and subatomic levels. Scientists that observe matter at this level report things that seem to defy traditional physics. For example, in a special region surrounding black holes, time slows down. The summer camp joins the annual summer conference on quantum optics at Casper College. (Quantum optics focuses on how light particles interact with atoms and molecules.) Both the conference and camp are led by physicist and Casper native Marlan Scully. Scully graduated from Casper College in 1959, and went on to study at the University of Wyoming, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and Yale, where he earned his Ph.D. Scully has hosted the summer conference in Casper for over 20 years now. But its geared toward professors, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students. Last year, Scully and other organizers decided they wanted to do something to introduce young people to the field. The goal is to present enough quantum science to these young people that they are excited and interested and puzzled, said Robert Brick, a research specialist at Texas A&M Universitys Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering whos helping lead the camp. The camp is free for the students to attend. M. Suhail Zubairy, a physics professor at Texas A&M, will be the lead instructor. In 2020, he published a book geared towards explaining quantum physics for people with high school-level physics and math backgrounds. It will be the camps primary textbook, Brick said. Each weekday will start with a talk from a special guest lecturer. Theyll share a bit about different branches of quantum science, including how it can be applied to other fields. On Tuesday, for example, the camp will welcome Michael Dowling, a leading scholar on quantum computing from the University of Regensburg in Germany. These days, quantum science isnt just something confined to blackboards and laboratories. Researchers have already found a slew of practical uses for it. Quantum computers can make calculations orders of magnitude faster than their traditional counterparts. The technology is now a multibillion dollar industry, Scully said. Members of the public are welcome to sit in on the lectures. They will start at approximately 8:15 a.m. at Casper Colleges Wheeler Auditorium. Though the lectures are meant to be accessible, people might find them a little on the technical side. But thats OK, Scully said. Even those who have been in the field for decades find it hard to grasp. If youre not confused when youre learning quantum mechanics, then you dont understand it, Scully said, paraphrasing the famous Danish physicist Niels Bohr. After each morning lecture, students will break into groups of four for laboratory time, which will be used for science demonstrations and experiments. Each group of four will have guidance from one or two lab mentors who have expertise in the field. In the afternoons, students will be able to take part in activities like hiking, fishing and visiting museums around Casper. That gives the opportunity to talk with the mentors and other staff and faculty in a more casual setting. The senior scientists in our organization are typically the best of the field, Scully said. Students will spend the second week researching a branch of quantum science of their choice. At the end of the camp, theyll deliver a presentation about it to their peers. The camp is funded by Texas A&M University, Princeton University, Baylor University, Casper College, Natrona County School District and the Wyoming Community Foundation, in addition to a handful of other private organizations. A list of donors is available on Casper Colleges website. The annual quantum optics conference takes place the week following the camp. The conference hasnt published its schedule yet, but members of the public are welcome to attend its events, too, Brick and Scully said. Wyoming voters historically embrace incumbent governors: The last six to seek second terms won reelection. Gov. Mark Gordon intends to carry on that tradition. But Gordon, who is facing a crowded field of challengers, is emerging from a turbulent first term in which a global pandemic and fiscal crisis rocked the state and former President Donald Trumps wing of the Republican party solidified control of the Wyoming GOP and dominated statewide civic discourse. His Republican challengers say Gordon has failed to rise to the occasion. Those naysayers include military veteran and political newcomer Brent Bien of Sheridan, perennial candidate Rex Rammell of Rock Springs and business owner James Quick of Douglas. Gordons 2018 victory triggered an uproar among party insiders who questioned his conservative bona fides and credited his victory to Democratic support and a split of the partys right wing by other candidates. Several legislative attempts to prohibit crossover voting, and to instill a primary election runoff system followed. To some degree, however, Gordon has of late avoided much of the anti-RINO (Republican in name only) vitriol directed at Wyomings U.S. Representative Liz Cheney. If Gordon is able to secure the nomination in August, hell face one of two Democratic challengers Theresa Livingston of Worland or Rex Wilde of Cheyenne in November for Wyomings highest state office. As head of Wyomings executive branch, the governor oversees dozens of agencies like the Departments of Health, Transportation, Corrections, Revenue, Tourism, State Parks, Family Services and Game and Fish and their roughly 15,000 employees. He is commander-in-chief of the states national guard and is responsible for presenting a state budget to the Legislature. While the governor does not have the power to create law, he or she does have veto power, and the ability to direct state policy through executive orders and agency regulations. Additionally, it is up to the governor to appoint several state officers and the membership of numerous powerful boards and commissions. Along with the other top four state elected officials, the governor also sits on the State Board of Land Commissioners and State Loan and Investment Board. Heres a look at the field of contenders. Brent Bien A civil engineer and a retired marine colonel, Brent Bien has never run for office before. He chose to do so because he felt there was a lack of leadership in Wyoming. I wasnt happy at all with the way COVID was handled, he said, adding that he would not have signed any public health orders as Gordon did in response to the pandemic. Gordon put a mask mandate in place in December 2020, long after many other governors had enacted similar mandates. In March 2021, he removed the requirement and lifted all restrictions on bars, restaurants, theaters and gyms and stressed personal responsibility to residents. The four-month period went too far, according to Bien. We need to regain the trust of the citizenry, because right now the folks across the state dont trust Cheyenne, Bien said. Bien is also concerned about the states suicide rate, which is the highest in the country, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Its prevalence among younger people, according to Bien, stems from what happens in the classroom. This is one reason why I want to get rid of CRT (critical race theory), DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and social emotional learning, and any curricula that pits our kids against each other because of race, Bien said. Though lawmakers have made several attempts to prohibit the teachings of such topics in Wyoming, none have reached the governors desk. Bien is in favor of expanding statewide resources for suicide prevention, but he also pointed back to the classroom. I do think its a matter of building up our young people in a much more positive, much more pro-American atmosphere than what we have right now, Bien said. Biens vision for Wyomings economic future begins with changing how the state budgets and spends its money. For Bien, that means adopting cash-based budgeting. Lawmakers attempted such a transition with a 2022 bill, but it failed in the Senate. Additionally, Bien supports moving state government to a performance-based budgeting model, where departments and agencies must meet certain goals to receive further funding. James Quick The first thing oilfield business owner James Quick would do in office is remove the reservation system for camping in Wyoming state parks, he said. I want to go back to the first come, first served, Quick said. To help out-of-state travelers plan their visit, Quick said he would keep some spots on the reservation system. But state parks are anticipating another big visitation year, and Quick said its not right for locals to have to compete with an online reservation system. Then I want to get to work on the coal-fired electric plants, Quick said. I really want to keep those open. Lawmakers recently adopted a bill to reduce severance tax on coal, amounting to an estimated annual state revenue loss of $10 million. Quick said he supports such measures to sustain fossil fuel extraction in the state, so long as they are applied across the board. If they want to give tax breaks to one energy, they should do it to all of them, Quick said. Like Bien, Quick is not in favor of the Natrium nuclear power project in Kemmerer. As governor, Quick said he would also prioritize recruiting and retaining state workers and would support pay increases. When I was growing up [in Douglas], state jobs were coveted jobs, he said. People got those and they held onto them, and they had some pride in the work. Weve lost that. We need to get back to that. Between 2010 and 2021, turnover rates at nearly half of Wyomings executive branch agencies doubled. An August 2021 state employee survey found that 39% of respondents worked second jobs to make ends meet, while 3% relied on some sort of public assistance, such as SNAP. Gordon successfully lobbied the Legislature this spring for state worker pay raises. He also signed a law to boost salaries for the five statewide elected officials, which will take effect in 2023. The last increase for those positions was in 2002, but Quick said it was still inappropriate. Thats not fair, Quick said. Rex Rammell Rammell, a veterinarian, has run for office unsuccessfully several times. He ran as a Constitutional candidate in Wyomings 2018 gubernatorial race, coming in third in the general election with about 3% of the vote. In 2020 he ran for the Wyoming Senate and was accused of lying about his residency to qualify for the Republican primary race. Rammells platform largely rests on the state taking over the nearly 30 million acres of federal lands in Wyoming. I will sign that executive order on day one, and Ill order the state police to walk these [federal land managers] out of their offices, voluntarily or involuntarily, and Wyoming will take control, Rammell said. While Rammell said he does not intend for it to be a hostile takeover I dont believe that one shot would be fired his vision is reminiscent of the Revolutionary War of 1776. This approach to the federal government is what sets him apart from the sitting governor, Rammell said. It would also solve most of our problems, if not all of them, according to Rammell, including the states fiscal troubles since he sees it as a way to divert money and jobs to the state. Like Gordon, Rammell opposes the BLMs recent purchase of the Marton Ranch. Through a voluntary sale, the federal agency purchased the 35,670-acre ranch on the North Platte River in Natrona and Carbon counties. Shortly after, Gordon announced he would challenge the purchase on the grounds that state, local governments and public input were not properly solicited. Rammell opposes it for the simple fact that he is against the federal government having any land holdings in Wyoming, he said. Theres another distinction Rammell makes between himself and Gordon. I dont believe in climate change, Rammell said. I just dont believe that carbon dioxide is going to destroy the planet. Theresa Livingston Democratic candidate Theresa Livingston retired from the Bureau of Land Management in 2016. She served nine years in the military before joining the BLM. In 2020, she ran against Sen. Edward Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) for Senate District 20, but lost with about 14% of the vote. Livingston would make Medicaid expansion her No. 1 priority as governor. I want everybody to have health coverage because a healthy Wyoming is going to be a great Wyoming, she said. The issue has become more critical, Livingston said, as abortion is soon-to-be banned in Wyoming and two labor and delivery units have closed in the state within the past year. Livingston would be in favor of subsidizing hospitals for the cost of childbirth to keep the remaining birthing units open. Livingston is also worried about the mental health impacts of the abortion ban and how many women are going to be driven to suicide because they cant find a solution that they need, she said. Thats one reason why Livingston would be in favor of expanding statewide resources for suicide prevention in Wyoming. Her vision for Wyomings economic future involves moving beyond fossil fuels, and she said an income tax for higher incomes may become necessary. Shes also optimistic about Terrapowers Natrium nuclear project in Kemmerer. Shed be in favor of applying Wyomings Industrial Siting Act to the project, which has been used to redirect or fast-track sales and use taxes to communities that need help managing an influx of workers for large industrial facilities. I always believe whatever money you put into a community you usually end up getting out a whole bunch more [back], she said. Livingstons primary opponent, Rex Wilde, has run for office several times before, including the governors race in 2018. He came in fourth in the primary election. Wilde did not respond to several interview requests by WyoFile. Gov. Mark Gordon Before becoming governor, Gordon owned and operated a ranch outside of Buffalo and served as state treasurer from 2012 to 2019. He is the only candidate in the race with experience in elected office. Wyoming has started the process of diversifying its economy, Gordon said, and he considers that an accomplishment of his first term. Hes seeking a second term to continue that process, he said. Climate change is not going to be solved simply by saying we cant generate coal fired electricity anymore. We know it takes more of an effort and that if we can build better technology thats good for all of us, Gordon said in reference to carbon sequestration, renewable energy and the nuclear project in Kemmerer. Gordon would also like to see the Wyoming Innovation Partnership through a second term, he said. With the use of ARPA funds, the partnership was created in 2021 at Gordons request to expand the states workforce and economy. Its just taking its initial steps right now. I think that will be a very key component to attracting new business and keeping businesses here, Gordon said. In that same vein, he aims to continue the work of his Health Task Force with the Wyoming Department of Health, which has focused on improving emergency medical services. In response to criticisms hes received for his pandemic response, Gordon stands by his decisions. Wyoming, he said, was one of the most open states while it balanced lives and livelihoods. I hear this a lot as I go around [Wyoming], you found the balance, you made it work, he said. And the way we dealt with it, I think was right for Wyoming. Absentee voting for the primary election began July 1. Primary election day is Aug. 16. The general election is Tuesday Nov. 8. An unmanned sweeper works at Hefei South Railway Station in Hefei, East China's Anhui province on April 27, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua] China is emerging as a pioneer in artificial intelligence as it makes strides in filing AI patents and experimenting with the latest AI technology to power industrial applications, industry experts said. Their comments came after a Stanford University report that shows China filed more than half of all the world's AI patent applications last year and Chinese researchers produced about one-third of AI journal papers and AI citations in 2021. Wu Hequan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said China has been working to build a solid foundation to support its AI economy and is making significant contributions to AI globally. The Stanford University report said that Chinese researchers have been the most prolific for several years, publishing 27.5 percent of all AI journal articles worldwide. In comparison, US researchers accounted for 12 percent. Chinese journal articles also led those of every other nation in citations, an indication of their scientific importance. In economic investment, China accounted for nearly one-fifth of global private investment funding in 2021, attracting $17 billion for AI startups, a sign of a robust AI ecosystem. Shen Kai, a partner at market consultancy McKinsey, said, "Today, the AI adoption is high in China in finance, retail, and high tech, which together account for more than one-third of the country's AI market." Most of the AI applications that have been widely adopted in China have been in consumer-facing industries, propelled by the world's largest internet consumer base and the ability to engage with consumers in new ways to increase customer loyalty, revenue, and market valuations, Shen and his colleagues said in a report. "In the coming decade, our research indicates that there is tremendous opportunity for AI growth in new sectors in China, including in the automotive, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, enterprise software, and healthcare and life sciences sectors," Shen added. McKinsey forecast that the next wave of AI in these sectors could create upward of $600 billion in economic value annually for China. To put the number in context, the 2021 gross domestic product of Shanghai was roughly $680 billion. China now ranks second among the top five countries for scientific research in medical AI, just behind the United States, said a report from Elsevier, a Netherlands-based academic publishing company that owns recognized medical journals such as The Lancet and Cell. The number of medical AI clinical trials initiated by China ranks first in the world. China has already entered the ranks of the world's leading medical AI research countries, Elsevier said. Li Lin, managing director of Elsevier China, said that as early as 2017, the State Council, China's cabinet, put forward a development plan for new generation AI that called for efforts to build a fast and accurate intelligent medical system by promoting new AI-enabled medical treatment methods and models. The forward-looking policy motivated Chinese companies and medical institutions to actively explore how to integrate AI into healthcare. For instance, AI-assisted medical imaging systems were used in many Chinese hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic to help quickly classify the pneumonia caused by the virus according to its severity, precisely calculate the burden on the lungs and provide 4D dynamic pathology comparisons4D adds the aspect of motion to 3D imaging. Zhang Dapeng, presidential chair professor at the School of Data Science of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen, said, "In the future, China will continue to lead the world in AI areas such as intelligent medical care and biometric identification. Chinese scientists can make a greater contribution." With greater research and development spending, Chinese researchers are also deepening international cooperation in AI. The Stanford University report found that in China, 500 institutions published 2,000 cross-border AI projects last year, and China-US collaboration on AI research has quintupled since 2010 and totaled 9,660 papers in 2021. "What's clear is that the amount of collaboration between the United States and China has gone up dramatically, and it has gone up much more than collaboration between any two other countries," said Raymond Perrault, an AI researcher and a distinguished computer scientist at SRI International, which is formerly known as the Stanford Research Institute. Last week, Massy Financea subsidiary of T&Ts second-largest conglomerate, Massy Grouplaunched its first fintech offering, an online loan platform called InstaLoan. Massys model, according to executive vice-president and group chief financial officer of Massy Holdings Ltd Ian Chinapoo, is to be disruptive, especially to local banks. While its Massys first foray into fintech, online loans have been on the market from three separate companies for the past three years. InstaLoan can be accessed by anyone wanting a loanbe it for a vacation, home repair or for a Carnival costume. The local arm of the Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has been accused of being unprofessional and inefficient. Nursing student Shevern Harry told the Express that, as a result of being given the runaround over the correction of an error on her certificate, she has not been able to receive her Nursing Council number and has lost some 80 hours of clinical work, and her GATE (Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses) funding is under threat. You are here: China Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed efforts to fight intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements and counterfeits and speed up fostering a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in an instruction to a teleconference on the crackdown on IPR infringements and counterfeits held Tuesday. To protect IPR is to protect entrepreneurship and innovation, and the crackdown on IPR infringement and counterfeits bears on public health and security, Li said. Emphasis should be put on improving laws and regulations and on the punishment of violations, and campaigns should be launched to fight IPR infringement and counterfeits in key areas, according to the premier. Li also underlined the need to enhance coordination between departments, sectors and regions, and deepen international cooperation. State Councilor Wang Yong, also head of the leading national group for the crackdown on IPR infringement and counterfeits, attended the conference. Efforts must be made to strengthen supervision over key products such as epidemic relief materials, food, agricultural supplies and construction materials, said Wang. He called for resolute measures to fight illegal activities, improve regulatory coordination and joint law enforcement, and boost public services on product quality and IPR to support fair competition and innovation-driven development of market entities. In 1978, calypsonian Edwin Ayoung, aka Crazy, burst onto the Carnival scene at the Dimanche Gras show when he exited a giant dustbin to perform his hit, Dustbin Cover. In 1979, Llewellyn McIntosh, or Short Pants, delivered his classic calypso, The Law is an Ass. After Fridays Law Association vote on Attorney General Reginald Armours matter, these two calypsoes appear strangely intertwined. We might as well throw the symbolic scales of justice into the nearest dustbin and then firmly apply Crazys cover. The vote of confidence in the Attorney General was a pyrrhic victory. Since the constitutional right to an abortion ended nearly two weeks ago, Arizonas reproductive health-care doctors have been grappling with no clear guidelines on whats legal when it comes to saving their patients lives. We are all sort of in this hold, said Dr. Julie Kwatra, a Scottsdale doctor and state representative with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Only we can decide what is life-threatening for our patients. Several clinicians interviewed by the Arizona Daily Star said since the June 24 overturning of Roe v. Wade, they are not sure when they can legally help if a pregnancy puts a womans life at risk. Does death need to be imminent, or can it be a substantial risk and therefore a procedure would be performed in advance? Some of Arizonas doctors are referring patients in need of an abortion to New Mexico and California right now, said Dr. Victoria Fewell, a Tucson physician who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology for Banner-University Medical Center Tucson. California, Colorado and New Mexico are three states bordering Arizona where women can travel for an abortion. However, Kwatra said, thats not a solution for whats happening, and not an option if care is needed more immediately. Its really important not to normalize sending women out of state for health care, she said. The clinics in neighboring states are getting deluged with patients, Kwatra said. In some instances, she said, by the time a person can get an appointment, they might be in a much more dangerous point for care. The law is deliberately gray, she said, adding that she has advocated for years that the Arizona Legislature not criminalize medicine. Ballot initiative effort The statewide Arizonans for Reproductive Freedom has been working to collect signatures for a ballot initiative for the Nov. 8 election, a constitutional amendment providing physicians the right to carry out decisions regarding prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion, miscarriage management and infertility. They need to turn in at least 350,000 signatures by Thursday, July 7. The measure would also provide a right to a surgical or medical abortion until the point of viability in the pregnancy which, under the measure, would be defined as when there is a reasonable likelihood of sustained fetal survival outside the uterus, with or without artificial support. Without the initiative, abortions will be largely unavailable in Arizona until November 2024, when there could be another shot at a voter initiative on the ballot, said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. The decision about whether the 1884/1901 anti-abortion laws dominate or whether the contemporary new law just limiting abortions to the first 15 weeks will need to be settled by the Arizona Supreme Court, Humble wrote in a recent report on abortion in Arizona since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Sadly, the makeup of that court is solidly conservative and is very likely to side with the state and enforce the 1884/1901 anti-abortion laws. Scariest part of this In Arizona right now, if a woman came to a hospital with life-threatening hemorrhaging, Fewell said as an example, doctors can perform an abortion to save her. However, she said it is unclear if they will now be legally scrutinized for these surgeries. The scariest part of this for doctors is that there are many, many reasons we perform an abortion to save a life, she said. Sometimes, complications are known ahead of time, and a woman might wish to end her pregnancy to avoid that risk. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reports that pregnancy imposes significant physiological changes on a persons body, and these changes can exacerbate underlying or preexisting conditions, like renal or cardiac disease, and can severely compromise health or even cause death. Other complications that can require an abortion include ectopic pregnancies, which is when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure called eclampsia that can can occur before the fetus is viable, as well as cancer treatment that requires chemotherapy. For now, heres whats known to be legally available in Arizona: Plan B, which is considered emergency contraception and not abortion, is still legal in Arizona, Kwatra said, and doctors are still able to recommend it. The pill, which is sold over the counter and needs to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, is intended to prevent a pregnancy after unprotected sex. Its often used to help victims of sexual assault. Another similar drug is called Ella, and it must be taken within five days of unprotected sex. Kwatra is concerned about states restricting access to these drugs going forward. Once the protection of Roe is off, everything is on the table, Kwatra said. The abortion-inducing drugs mifepristone and misoprostol cannot be prescribed for abortions in Arizona at this time, she said, raising a question thats being asked around the country: Do states have the legal authority to ban drugs that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration? This is religious zealotry bleeding into our medical systems with massive ramifications for women and families, said Tucson Dr. Eve Shapiro. The United States maternal mortality rate is already high compared to other developed countries, she said, and changes in abortion access will dramatically compound this. Shapiro said shes already seen an increase in people seeking access to both emergency contraception and birth control pills. Unfortunately, since the Title 10 money got messed up, we cant get contraceptives as easily, she said, referring to Arizonas federal grant money earmarked to provide reproductive health care to low-income, underinsured and uninsured people. In Arizona, we dont provide ways for women to prevent pregnancy if they want to. PHOENIX Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation Wednesday to provide $1.2 billion to fund massively ambitious projects to find new water for Arizona, and smaller ones to conserve what the state already has. He is particularly excited about the idea of Arizona being involved in constructing a plant to desalinate water, likely from the Sea of Cortez in Sonora, providing fresh water that could be used for not only domestic use but also for the agriculture industry, which consumes 70% of the water Arizona now uses. We are in the second decade of the worst drought in recorded history, Ducey said. We continue to experience shortages on the Colorado River. And the forecasts are not getting better. The new law finances Arizonas efforts to come up with a new source of water from outside the state. In particular, that means the largest desalination project in history, anywhere around the globe, Ducey said. That will cost more money than the legislation provides. But House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, said the state wont be picking up the entire tab. There are already groups, businesses that want to partner with the state, Bowers said, calling whats in the legislation leveraging money to make the state a partner in larger operations, including with Mexico. There are also other options for the use of the money, Bowers said, such as finding a way to pipe floodwaters in the Midwest to places where water is needed, like Arizona, though there are no details on how that would work legally or physically. Water to sell to other states That leaves the question of how much more Arizonans may have to pay for water. The cost of desalinated water will be in the neighborhood of $2,500 an acre-foot, which is about 326,000 gallons, according to Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. Thats the amount of water that, depending on the community, can serve about three homes for a year. Any new costs would come on top of whats charged now for delivery. Ducey, however, said he doesnt believe Arizona water users will be in for sticker shock. Were going to be the big boy of the lower basin states. Right now were the little brother, Ducey told KTAR on Wednesday, noting that Arizona has the lowest priority to take water out of the Colorado River. Were going to have water to sell to other states to supplement and bring our costs down, he said. Conservation steps All that, however, is years off. So the legislation also includes shorter-term answers and $200 million specifically set aside for them. Many of those involve doing more with less. We have funding to address best management practices in our counties and our cities, said Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford. Those include recharging rainwater, using more efficient plumbing fixtures and changing landscape practices to convert to more drought-resistant plants. Another is replacing grass with artificial turf. I did that about eight years ago and it still looks great, Griffin said. Its green, the dogs love it. And I havent used any water on it. Theres also potable water reuse something that eventually could lead to what has been dubbed toilet-to-tap, where effluent is treated to the point that it can go immediately back into the drinking water supply. Its not just one project, Griffin said. Its all of the above. Climate change issue But at Wednesdays press conference where the Republican governor signed the legislation, only the Democrats present mentioned the controversial issue of why Arizona is hotter and drier. Our state is confronted with the reality of climate change, said Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, D-Phoenix. She said that comes in combination with the fact that the Colorado River has been over-allocated. The agreement on the amount of water each state was entitled to take was set half a century ago, but the actual flow of the river now is far below where it was then. That already has forced mandatory cutbacks, with future reductions possible to keep Lake Mead from becoming a dead pool with no water flowing over the Hoover Dam. The rapid decline was noted by the governor, who pointed out he was signing the new legislation in the same location as he signed the 2019 drought contingency plan. That move provided cash to help farmers, who would be getting less water from the river, to instead construct new wells and water delivery systems. It also paid money to tribes, who have higher priority claims to the river water, to reduce their own use. The plan was supposed to take care of water shortages through 2026, as there were some hopes the drought would abate. But that hasnt happened. And Ducey said that the states current financial surplus provided the opportunity to act now to shore up supplies. Deadly July 4 parade: Shots, then a frantic rush to escape HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) David Shapiro and his wife brought their two young kids to enjoy the Independence Day parade in their hometown north of Chicago, snagging a spot in front of a boutique winery. The children's parade in downtown Highland Park had already gone by, with about 50 school-age children riding bikes, scooters and tricycles. The musicians of the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, complete with full drum set and brass section, were starting to play atop a flatbed trailer. Then came the sound that Shapiro knew did not fit: pop pop pop pop pop. Before he knew what was happening, parade-goers from farther down the route began running toward the 47-year-old and his family, screaming about someone with a gun. It was chaos, Shapiro recalled. People didnt know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you. In major blow, 2 key ministers quit Boris Johnson government LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was clinging to power Tuesday after two of his most senior Cabinet ministers quit, saying they had lost confidence in Johnsons leadership amid shifting explanations about his handling of a sexual misconduct scandal. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned within minutes of each other, costing Johnson the support of the men responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain the cost-of-living crisis and surging COVID-19 infections. Both cited Johnsons credibility after a day in which the prime minister was forced to backtrack on earlier statements about the scandal that has rattled his government for the past six days. The debacle is only the latest to hit Johnson, who last month narrowly survived a vote of no confidence triggered by similarly shifting stories about lockdown-breaking parties in government offices. In his letter of resignation, Javid said the confidence vote showed a large number of Conservative Party lawmakers had lost trust in Johnson. Judge wont block law banning most Mississippi abortions JACKSON, Miss. (AP) As attorneys argued about abortion laws across the South on Tuesday, a Mississippi judge rejected a request by the states only abortion clinic to temporarily block a law that would ban most abortions. Without other developments in the Mississippi lawsuit, the clinic will close at the end of business Wednesday and the state law will take effect Thursday. One of the clinic's attorneys, Hillary Schneller of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the judge should have blocked the law. People in Mississippi who need abortions right now are in a state of panic, trying to get into the clinic before its too late," Schneller said. "No one should be forced to live in fear like that. Mississippi legislators passed the trigger law before the U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, sought a temporary restraining order that would have allowed it to remain open while the lawsuit played out in court. Parade shooting suspect bought 5 weapons despite threats HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) A man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder after firing off more than 70 rounds at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said. Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart said the suspect, if convicted of the first-degree murder charges, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. He promised that dozens more charges would be sought. A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a rifle similar to an AR-15" to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore. A seventh victim died of their injuries Tuesday. More than three dozen other people were wounded in the attack, which Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks. The assault happened less than three years after police went to the suspect's home following a call from a family member who said he was threatening to kill everyone there. Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019. Ukrainian governor urges evacuation of 350,000 residents KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) The governor of the last remaining eastern province partly under Ukraine's control urged his more than 350,000 residents to flee as Russia escalated its offensive and air alerts were issued across nearly the entire country. Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said that getting people out of Donetsk province is necessary to save lives and enable the Ukrainian army better to defend towns from the Russian advance. The destiny of the whole country will be decided by the Donetsk region, Kyrylenko told reporters in Kramatrosk, the province's administrative center and home to the Ukrainian military's regional headquarters. Once there are less people, we will be able to concentrate more on our enemy and perform our main tasks, Kyrylenko said. The governors call for residents to leave appeared to represent one of the biggest suggested evacuations of the war, although it's unclear whether people will be willing and safely able to flee. According to the U.N. refugee agency, more than 7.1 million Ukrainians are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine, and more than 4.8 million refugees left the country since Russia's invasion started Feb. 24. A survivor of the migrant trailer: 'They couldn't breathe' GUATEMALA CITY (AP) Simple advice from a friend to stay near the door may have saved Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomas from the deadly fate that befell 53 other migrants when they were abandoned trapped in a sweltering semi-trailer last week on the edge of San Antonio. Speaking by phone from her hospital bed Monday, the 20-year-old from Guatemalas capital said it was already hot on June 27 when she stepped out of the warehouse on the Texas side of the Mexico border where she had been waiting and climbed into the back of the trailer. She said the smugglers confiscated their cellphones and covered the trailers floor with what she believes was powdered chicken bouillon, apparently to throw off any dogs at checkpoints. As she sat stuffed inside the stifling trailer with dozens of others, the powder stung her skin. Remembering her friend's caution to stay near the door where it would be cooler, Cardona Tomas shared the advice with another friend she had made during the journey. I told a friend that we shouldnt go to the back and should stay near (the entrance), in the same place without moving, said Cardona Tomas, who is being treated at Methodist Hospital Metropolitan in San Antonio. That friend survived, too. Georgia subpoenaing Giuliani, Graham in Trump election probe ATLANTA (AP) The Georgia prosecutor investigating the conduct of former President Donald Trump and his allies after the 2020 election is subpoenaing U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and other members of Trump's campaign legal team to testify before a special grand jury. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Tuesday filed petitions with the judge overseeing the special grand jury as part of her investigation into what she alleges was "a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere. The move marks a major escalation in a case that could pose a serious legal challenge to the former president as he weighs another White House run. While the special grand jury has already heard from top state officials, Tuesday's filings directly target several of Trump's closest allies and advisers, including Giuliani, who led his campaign's legal efforts to overturn the election results. It means the investigation is obviously becoming more intense because those are trusted advisers, those are inner circle people, said Robert James, former district attorney in DeKalb County, which neighbors Fulton. The special grand jury has been investigating whether Trump and others illegally tried to meddle in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia as he desperately tried to cling to power after Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Trump continues to insist that the election was stolen, despite the fact that numerous federal and local officials, a long list of courts, top former campaign staff and even Trump's own attorney general have all said there is no evidence of the fraud he alleges. Parents of boy, 2, found alone at parade shooting among dead Aiden McCarthy's photo was shared across Chicago-area social media groups in the hours after the July 4 parade shooting in Highland Park, accompanied by pleas to help identify the 2-year-old who had been found at the scene bloodied and alone and to reunite him with his family. On Tuesday, friends and authorities confirmed that the boy's parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, were among seven people killed in the tragedy. At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents, wrote Irina Colon on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden, who was reunited with his grandparents Monday evening. Friends of the McCarthys said Irinas parents would care for the boy going forward. Four of other others who were killed were identified Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. Every victim was from Highland Park except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico. New evacuations for communities near California forest fire JACKSON, Calif. (AP) Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for remote California communities near a wildfire that may have been sparked by fireworks or a barbecue on the Fourth of July in a mountainous region that's a top tourism destination. The Electra Fire in Sierra Nevada Gold Country broke out Monday afternoon and tripled in size to more than 4.7 square miles (12.2 square kilometers) by Tuesday. The rate of spread isnt what it was like yesterday, but it is still spreading, said Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman. He said firefighters were working to keep flames confined to unpopulated canyon areas. Mandatory evacuation orders and warnings combined affected up to 700 residents in Amador County and 300 to 400 people in Calaveras County, Redman said. Evacuation centers were set up for people and animals. The fire started at a recreation area that was packed with people, forcing 85 to 100 celebrating the holiday at a river to take shelter at a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. facility, Redman said. All were later safely evacuated. Judge throws out Trump-era rollbacks on endangered species WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, a year after the Biden administration said it was moving to strengthen such species protections. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in Northern California eliminated the Trump-era rules even as two wildlife agencies under President Joe Biden are reviewing or rescinding the regulations. The decision restores a range of protections under the Endangered Species Act including some that date to the 1970s while the reviews are completed. Environmental groups hailed the decision, which they said sped up needed protections and critical habitat designations for threatened species, including salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Tigar's ruling spoke for species desperately in need of comprehensive federal protections without compromise, said Kristen Boyles, an attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice. Threatened and endangered species do not have the luxury of waiting under rules that do not protect them. The court ruling comes as two federal agencies the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service review five Endangered Species Act regulations finalized by President Donald Trump's administration, including critical habitat designations and rules requiring federal agencies to consult with the wildlife or fisheries services before taking actions that could affect threatened or endangered species. Fish and Wildlife also said it will reinstate the decades-old blanket rule, which mandates additional protections for species that are newly classified as threatened. Those protections were removed under Trump. Election 2022 Abortion Fundraising FILE - Ren Wischmann, 23, of Carver, holds a sign while chanting during a University of Minnesota student led protest in Minneapolis, Minn., a Even if blanket bans are successfully challenged, more than 30 states have laws specifically restricting access to abortion pills. For example, 19 states require that clinicians be physically present when the drug is administered. Those laws could withstand court challenges. States have long had authority over how physicians, pharmacists and other providers practice medicine. States also set the rules for telemedicine consultations used to prescribe medications. Generally that means health providers in states with restrictions on abortion pills could face penalties, such as fines or license suspension, for trying to send pills through the mail. Women have already been traveling across state lines to places where abortion pill access is easier. That trend is expected to increase. Meanwhile, some women will still get the medication via online pharmacies in Canada and overseas, often with telehealth consultations from foreign doctors. The practice is technically illegal but essentially unenforced, and advocates believe women will increasingly choose this method as more states move to ban abortions. Anti-abortion states are going to do everything they can to restrict medication abortion, but practically speaking people have been and will continue to access it through the mail from international pharmacies, Donley said. Donley expects lawsuits based on various legal theories to play out for a few years before any clear decisions emerge. One key question is how the nations top court might rule if and when it takes up those court cases. While the Supreme Court has rejected a constitutional right to abortion, conservative justices have also generally deferred to FDA's primacy over drug decisions. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) A man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder after firing off more than 70 rounds at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said. Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart said the suspect, if convicted of the first-degree murder charges, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. He promised that dozens more charges would be sought. A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a rifle similar to an AR-15" to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore. A seventh victim died of their injuries Tuesday. More than three dozen other people were wounded in the attack, which Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks. The assault happened less than three years after police went to the suspect's home following a call from a family member who said he was threatening to kill everyone there. Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said. The suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his fathers home. The revelation about his gun purchases is just the latest example of y oung men who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence. Illinois state police, who issue gun owners licenses, said the gunman applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application. At the time there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the application, state police said in a statement. Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. Earlier in the day, FBI agents peeked into trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the scene. The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror. A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade goers remained inside a wide police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some residents drove up to collect blankets and chairs they abandoned. David Shapiro, 47, said the gunfire quickly turned the parade into chaos. People didnt know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you, he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs. The gunman initially evaded capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, Covelli said. The shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together. A police officer pulled over 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III north of the shooting scene several hours after police released his photo and warned that he was likely armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said. His father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran for mayor in 2019. The candidate who won that race, current Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, said she knew Crimo as a boy in Cub Scouts. And its one of those things where you step back and you say, 'What happened? Rotering told NBCs Today show. How did somebody become this angry, this hateful, to then take it out on innocent people who literally were just having a family day out? Crimos attorney, Thomas A. Durkin, a prominent Chicago-based lawyer, said he intends to enter a not guilty plea to all charges. Asked about his clients emotional state, Durkin said he has spoken to Crimo only once for 10 minutes by phone. He declined to comment further. Steve Greenberg, the lawyer for the parents, told The Associated Press Tuesday evening the parents arent concerned about being charged with anything related to their sons case. There is zero chance they will be charged with anything criminal, he said. They didnt do anything wrong. They are as stunned and shocked as anyone." The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day. Among them was Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting his family in Illinois from Mexico, and Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong congregant and staff member at nearby North Shore Congregation Israel. The Lake County coroner released the names of four other victims. Nine people, ranging from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital officials said. Since the start of the year, the U.S. has seen 15 shootings where four or more people were killed, including the one in Highland Park, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass killing database. Scores of smaller-scale shootings in nearby Chicago also left eight people dead and 60 others wounded over the July 4 weekend. In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburbs stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Courts doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburbs restrictions remain in place. Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or those who are termed mental defectives and capable of harming themselves or others. That might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon. But under the law, just who is a mental defective must be decided by a court, board, commission or other legal authority. The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent. In one animated video since taken down by YouTube, Crimo raps about armies walking in darkness as a drawing appears of a man pointing a rifle, a body on the ground and another figure with hands up in the distance. Federal agents were reviewing Crimos online profiles, and a preliminary examination of his internet history indicated that he had researched mass killings and had downloaded multiple photos depicting violent acts, including a beheading, a law enforcement official said. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Vice President Kamala Harris, who had been in Chicago to address the National Education Associations annual meeting Tuesday, visited the site of the shooting to offer condolences to first responders and local officials. The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy, to understand that this can happen anywhere, in any peace loving community, Harris said in brief comments to reporters in Highland Park. And we should stand together and speak out about why its got to stop. Shapiro, the Highland Park resident who fled the parade with his family, said his 4-year-old son woke up screaming later that night. He is too young to understand what happened," Shapiro said. "But he knows something bad happened. Foody reported from Chicago. Groves reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Associated Press writers Don Babwin in Chicago, Mike Householder in Highland Park, Bernard Condon and Mike Balsamo in New York, Aamer Madhani in Washington, Jim Mustian in New Orleans, Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco and researcher Rhonda Shafner also contributed. China secured a bumper summer harvest of oil crops this year, with an uptick both in rapeseed output and procurement prices, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said Tuesday. By June 30, the country had purchased 660,000 tonnes of rapeseed, an increase of 320,000 tonnes year on year. The procurement prices of the oil crop ranged from 6 yuan (about 0.9 U.S. dollars) to 7.2 yuan per kilo, 0.8-1.8 yuan higher than last year. China has stepped up efforts to advance the expansion of oil crop planting to wean itself off imports. Currently, China's dependency ratio on edible vegetable oil imports is 70 percent. As the major cooking oil, rapeseed oil accounts for half of the domestic oil consumption and plays a core role in ensuring the security of the edible oil supply. China's rapeseed output will likely reach 14.95 million tonnes in 2022/23, and rapeseed imports are expected to be 2.8 million tonnes, according to the China National Grain and Oils Information Center. MIAMI (AP) One of the main suspects in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a federal court in Miami. Businessman Rodolphe Jaar is charged with conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and with providing material support resulting in death. If convicted, Jaar faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. At a hearing that lasted less than five minutes at a downtown federal court in Miami, magistrate Judge Chris M. McAliley accepted Jaar's plea and his request for a jury trial. Jaar, 49, was present at the hearing, but did not speak. His attorney, Frank Schwartz, requested the government to present all the evidence that it has. The businessman, a dual Haitian-Chilean citizen, looked serious but calm. His hair was pulled back in a small ponytail and he was wearing a beige prison uniform. He was handcuffed, with shackles on his ankles and had a face mask that covered his beard. His plea came almost a year after a squad allegedly made up of former Colombian soldiers, Haitian police officers and others went to the presidents residence and killed him on July 7, 2021. The Miami case involves three foreign defendants: Jaar, former Haitian Senator John Joel Joseph and former Colombian soldier Mario Palacios. The Haitian government, meanwhile, has arrested more than 40 people for alleged involvement in the murder, including 18 former Colombian soldiers. Jaar, who remains in federal prison in South Florida, arrived in the United States in January after being detained in the Dominican Republic. According to the US authorities, he voluntarily agreed to be transferred to Miami to face the charges. Gasoline prices declined for the third straight week and may continue to do so, at least in the short term, a national analyst said. Meanwhile, the price of U.S. crude oil dropped below $100 per barrel Tuesday for the first time since early May. Tulsas average gas price was $4.328 on Tuesday, down about 10 cents per gallon from $4.426 a week ago, according to AAA Oklahoma. The price at Tulsa-area QuikTrips was $4.29 per gallon early Tuesday, with some locations at $4.26 later in the evening. The price drop reflects a national trend, with the average price falling 10.4 cents from a week ago, according to GasBuddy, a fuel price-tracking service. As expected, and for the third straight week, average gasoline prices have fallen to their lowest level in over a month, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, in a blog post Tuesday. The price of wholesale gasoline has plummeted, providing price relief as millions of Americans hit the road for the holiday weekend, he said. While we may see prices decline into this week, the drop could fade soon if oil prices reverse, especially with strong demand over the holiday. For the time being, Americans are spending nearly $100 million per day less on gasoline than when prices peaked a few weeks ago, and thats well-needed relief at a time when gas prices remain near records, De Haan said. Currently, people in the U.S. are spending about $1.8 billion on gasoline per day, he said. Prices so far peaked in mid-June nationally as well as in Oklahoma and Tulsa. The highest average prices in the state and the city were $4.666 and $4.542 per gallon, respectively, both on June 15. Nationally, wholesale gasoline for August delivery fell Tuesday to $3.33 per gallon from $3.69 a gallon on Friday and down from a high of $4.28 per gallon in mid-June. Benchmark U.S. crude oil for August delivery fell $8.93 to $99.50 a barrel Tuesday the first time the price has been under $100 per barrel since early May. The national average retail price of regular unleaded gasoline on Tuesday was $4.78; the average price in Oklahoma was $4.501, according to GasBuddy and AAA. The states with the lowest average prices Tuesday were South Carolina ($4.25), Georgia ($4.28) and Mississippi ($4.29). The states with the highest prices were California ($6.21), Hawaii ($5.58), and Alaska ($5.53), according to GasBuddy. The national average price of diesel has fallen 6.3 cents in the last week and stands at $5.72 per gallon, GasBuddy said. Average diesel prices in Oklahoma and Tulsa were $5.222 and $5.128, respectively, on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories are 8% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to GasBuddy. Total supply is 7.6% below a year ago. GasBuddy said that according to Baker Hughes, last weeks U.S. rig count was down three to 750, which was 275 rigs higher than a year ago. Featured video: Tulsa World Magazine summer edition Richard Ellis, whose innovative and stylish set designs have been a hallmark of American Theatre Company productions since the companys founding more than 40 years ago, will be the 2022 recipient of the Mary Kay Place Legacy Award, as part of the annual Tulsa Awards for Theater Excellence presentation. The awards, which recognize outstanding productions and performances of Tulsa theater companies, will be presented 7 p.m. Saturday, July 9, in the Westby Pavilion at the Tulsa PAC, 101 E. Third St. General admission tickets are $5. To purchase: 918-596-7111, tulsapac.com. Thirteen productions two youth productions and 11 adult shows are competing for a total of $20,000. The winner of Outstanding Production receives a $10,000 cash prize, with second and third runners-up winning $5,000 and $2,500, respectively. Outstanding Youth Production will receive a $2,500 cash prize. The Youth Production award is open to both musical and non-musical productions. Clark Youth Theatre will once again be the winner of this award, with the only mystery being whether the award will be presented for its production of The Spongebob Musical or for Alice in Wonderland. The Outstanding Production award is presented to non-musical shows. Those productions up for consideration for the 2022 TATEs are: The Guys by Theatre Tulsa The Shawshank Redemption by World Stage Theatre The Lovely Bones by Clark Conservatory An Enemy of the People by American Theatre Company Boxcar/El Vagon by telaTulsa Jitney by Theatre North A Midsummer Nights Dream by Clark Conservatory Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Theatre Tulsa The Revolutionists by World Stage Theatre God of Carnage by American Theatre Company The Nacirema Society by Theatre North The Mary Kay Place Legacy Award was established by and named for the award-winning Tulsa native whose career as an actor and writer ranges from classic sitcoms such as MASH and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman to films including The Big Chill and Being John Malkovich. The award honors an individual for his or her lifelong contributions to local theater in Tulsa. A graduate of the University of Tulsa, Ellis was one of the founding members of the American Theatre Company, designing the sets for almost all its productions. He later worked as manager of the Gaslight Dinner Theater, while continuing his work with ATC. Ellis earned his masters degree from New York University, but continued to work with ATC while being based in New York City. He returned to Tulsa when ATC opened the Brook Theater as its own theater, worked with the theater programs at TU and Tulsa Community College, and has continued to be a mainstay of American Theatre Company to the present day. In the words of the citation for the award, Ellis "has had a positive impact on the entire theater community in Tulsa by helping to build ATC, by leading and developing the local Gaslight Dinner Theatre, and by his work with TU and TCC as designer and instructor. Four of the city's theater groups have benefited by his expertise, experience, insights, and innovation; and by helping them, he has made a positive impact on the entire theater community." Tulsa World Scene podcast: Recent documentaries with Oklahoma ties With a new but not unexpected uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations, Saint Francis Health System officials spoke Thursday about variants, vaccines for children and vulnerability. Because society has basically returned back to what looks and feels much more like what was normal pre-COVID, that just puts us all at risk for transmission, CEO Cliff Robertson said, given that these new variants occur and prior immunity ... may not be as effective. Infections and active cases of COVID-19 have been increasing steadily in Oklahoma since late May, with hospitalizations due to COVID-19 also creeping upward. State health officials on Thursday reported 29 COVID-19 pediatric cases requiring hospital care. Children 4 and younger represent 4.7% of new COVID hospitalizations (17) in the past 90 days, according to the most recent weekly epidemiological report from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Active cases around the state, almost 12,000 now across Oklahoma, are up 250% since school let out for the summer. The three-day average for hospitalizations is up to 206 in Oklahoma, 59 in Tulsa. The issue around why were now seeing an uptick ... around the country we have begun to travel more, we are not isolating, socially distancing like we used to, Robertson said Thursday. Most new hospitalizations and fatal cases of COVID-19 are in patients 65 and older, which Robertson said was a positive sign compared with previous surges with hospitalized patients skewing younger. Saint Francis Director of Pharmacy Services David Donald spoke about newly approved vaccines for patients younger than 5. Federal regulators earlier in June approved, and CDC officials recommended, Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months old. Children younger than 5 may experience pain and redness at the injection site, fever, headaches, chills and muscle pain. These reactions mean the childrens immune systems are working to protect them, health officials say. Some children and teens experience no side effects, but serious side effects, although rare, are possible. Parents should contact their primary care provider if they have any specific concerns about side effects from a vaccination. Vaccines may not prevent infection, Donald said, but they have been proven effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization and deaths from COVID-19. About 15,000 Oklahomans have died from the novel coronavirus, according to federal data. CDC data suggests hospitalization rates related to the omicron variant is five times higher for patients 4 and younger, he said. Donald said an FDA subcommittee is now evaluating whether omicron or another subvariant should be incorporated into fall booster vaccines. If you still dont pick the perfect variant, almost always you get protection from severe disease with any COVID vaccine, he said, and thats what were seeing with omicron right now. The Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AusCham) and the Australian Federal Government, represented by the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), signed an agreement on Monday to launch the Australian Industry Hub in Vietnam. The three-year agreement between AusCham and DFAT provides AusCham with A$1 million (US$681,000) to set up, run, and manage the industry hub, which is designed to assist in delivering market access across Vietnam to Australian industry groups in food, fiber, and forestry. The hub will assist Australian industry bodies to access Vietnamese industry groups for increasing bilateral trade and investment between Australia and Vietnam to help them become top ten trade partners and double two-way investment, in line with the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) agreed upon by the two countries in 2019 and in action since early 2022. In particular, it will enable selected agricultural industries to establish a physical presence in Vietnam, helping to further boost in-market engagement activities. The center will also partner with industry associations and peak bodies in Australia with a demonstrated interest in Vietnam as a new or expanding market for their sectors. The hub is expected to drive further commodity exports from Australia to Vietnam and increase trade and investment. For the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), there will be opportunities to introduce Vietnamese companies to the Australian supply chain and chances to introduce business enquiries to Vietnamese companies. The establishment of the hub also means more opportunities for existing AusCham members in many sectors. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Sothebys presents its first exhibition in Vietnam Over 50 works by modern Vietnamese masters from the early generation of Ecole des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine (Indochina School of Fine Arts) will be showcased at Sothebys first exhibition in Vietnam - Timeless Souls: Beyond the Voyage Hon Xua Ben La. As well as the first exhibition in the country held by the leading arts brokers in the world, the public event is also one of the largest Indochine Art exhibitions ever staged in the country. Taking place from July 1114 at Park Hyatt Saigon, HCM City, the non-selling exhibition features over 50 works by Le Thi Luu (1911 1988), Le Pho (1907 2001), Mai Trung Thu (1906 1980) and Vu Cao am (1908 2000), the four renowned early generation graduates from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine, who migrated to France in early 20th century. Fillette aux Nattes avec Son Panier de Fleurs (Girl with Mats and Her Basket of Flowers) by Le Thi Luu. With a mission to foster cultural dialogue between artists and the local community, Sothebys Modern Art specialists selected Ace Le, an independent researcher and writer on Vietnamese art to co-curate this public exhibition as a platform for all to learn more about the local arts and culture through the eyes of some of the worlds most talented artists in the region. This is a milestone for the Vietnamese art community across all levels. Ace comments. I am honoured to be recognised by Sothebys, a global market leader who has such passion and respect for our local arts and cultural heritage, and keen to add local insights to such as a significant exhibition. These works of the exhibition illustrate the years of these artists living abroad, a narrative that reflects how the maestros channelled their longing for home with familiar subject matters constructed from intricate threads of memories of Viet Nam plants and landscapes, families and rituals, culture and architecture, values and philosophy while weaving new perspectives from their journey in France. Nathan Drahi, Managing Director, Sotheby's Asia, said: We are proud to stage Sothebys very first exhibition in Vietnam, in the vibrant town of HCM City, where we hope to reconnect the public with its rich cultural heritage through these exceptional and local works of art. Jasmine Prasetio, Managing Director, Sothebys Southeast Asia, said: Sothebys has been cultivating the Southeast Asian art market for over two decades and we are proud to have brought some of the most remarkable works by regional artists onto the international platform. We recognise the importance of Viet Nam as a cultural wellspring and its rapidly growing collector base with a passion for collecting and a thirst for knowledge. It is Sothebys privilege to share our expertise, information and experience, with new and established collectors, and it is our hope to contribute to this educational endeavour by holding this non-selling exhibition. Among the many rapidly growing economies in the region, there is a burgeoning demand and interest in Vietnamese art globally. Having recently set a new artist record for Le Pho at the Hong Kong Spring Sales, Sothebys now holds the top three auction prices for any Vietnamese artworks. Established in 1744, Sothebys is the worlds premier destination for art and luxury. Sothebys promotes access to and ownership of exceptional art and luxury objects through auctions and buy-now channels including private sales, e-commerce and retail. Ace Le is a prominent figure in the local art community who facilitates discussions on the authentication, valuation and identification of Vietnamese modern art. With an MA in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices from Nanyang Technological University, Ace is the Founding Director of the Lan Tinh Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the research, archival and exhibition of Vietnamese art. He is also Editor-in-Chief at Art Republik Vietnam. China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Tuesday called for redoubled efforts to pool wisdom and make suggestions to help the country realize carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at a research and consultation symposium held in Beijing. At the meeting, representatives of non-CPC political parties shared their views and suggestions on what can be done in various fields to push for green transformation, such as further developing new and clean energy, expanding carbon trading market, and enhancing low-carbon technology research. They discussed the ideas with officials from key governmental departments including the National Development and Reform Commission. Noting that the pursuit of China's carbon reduction goals requires a synergy of wisdom and strength from various fronts, Wang said relevant political parties and people's organizations should continue to conduct in-depth research and make suggestions with a focus on key issues for the realization of the goals, as well as efforts to lead by example through green and low-carbon lifestyles. Relevant authorities and departments should make the best of these research results, and raise the quality of consultations with the non-CPC political parties, Wang said. China has announced that it will strive for peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. Vietnam and South Korea aim to raise the value of bilateral trade between the countries to $100 billion next year and to $150 billion by 2030, up from $78 billion last year, the Vietnamese government said. The trade targets were agreed during a telephone call between South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh late on Tuesday, a government statement said. South Korea is an important economic partner for Vietnam and the largest source of foreign direct investment. Samsung Electronics is the biggest single foreign investor in the Southeast Asian country. Han and Chinh also agreed to seek ways to narrow the gap in bilateral trade, the statement said. Vietnam incurred a trade deficit of $34 billion with South Korea last year, according to Vietnamese customs data. Vietnam's main imports from South Korea include electronics, machinery, metals, plastics, fabrics and fuels. During the call, Han and Chinh also shared views on the importance of maintaining peace and stability and maritime safety and freedom in the East Vietnam Sea, the statement said. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Russia in Southeast Asia during a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son on Wednesday. As part of his visit to Vietnam on Tuesday and Wednesday, Minister Lavrov laid a wreath in front of President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum before joining talks with Minister Son in Hanoi on Wednesday morning. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son join talks in Hanoi, July 6, 2022. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre The Russian official said he was happy to be back to Vietnam, adding that the Southeast Asian country is a key partner of Russia in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as in the context of new developments in Asia and Europe. During their dialogue, the two foreign ministers expressed their belief that both countries will further deepen political trust and maintain a long-term interest in the development of bilateral relations, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R) during his talks with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov in Hanoi, July 6, 2022. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre As the international situation is developing in the spirit of peace and friendship, Vietnam and Russia should unite efforts to uphold international law, respect the principle of sovereign equality of states, and non-interference in the internal affairs of each country, RIA Novosti quoted Minister Lavrov as saying. Minister Son affirmed that Vietnam always gives priority to developing relations with Russia, underlining that Moscow is Hanoi's important comprehensive strategic partner. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov during his talks with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi, July 6, 2022. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The two Vietnamese artists who have made headlines since last week for their arrest in Spain due to an accusation of having raped a 17-year-old British girl last month have found themselves a lawyer and are waiting for arraignment, according to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Ta Quang Dong. The police department of the tourist island of Majorca confirmed on June 28 that they had arrested two Vietnamese males over sexual assault allegations on June 25. Spanish and British media reported that the two Vietnamese citizens stayed at a hotel in Sant Elm on the island and met a 17-year-old girl from the UK, who roomed with her family at a different hotel, at a restaurant on June 24. The three exchanged 'intimate' gestures before returning to the hotel room of one of the two Vietnamese men. The girl later reported to local police that she had been raped in the hotel room. Authorities took the girl to the Son Espases hospital for a check-up and arrested the accused. While the mens identity and occupations were not revealed by the Majorca authorities, local reports said they were an actor and a musician aged 37 and 42. In Vietnam, popular actor Hong Dang and famed musician Ho Hoai Anh have made front-page news ever since Friday last week as a video of the duo enjoying a trip in Majorca uploaded on June 24 cast suspicion on their relation to the rape case. Dang and Anhs state-run management agencies also suspended their working schedules while national broadcaster Vietnam Television (VTV) has censored programs featuring the two artists. This undated file photo shows Vietnamese musician Ho Hoai Anh (L) and actor Hong Dang. In response to reporters requests during a press meeting on Tuesday morning, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Ta Quang Dong said that the incident related to Dang and Anh remained a question. There is no new information, but these two people were still out on bail as of Sunday [July 3] and have not been prosecuted, the deputy minister said. They are waiting to see the judge and have successfully hired a lawyer to handle legal matters. The embassy [of Vietnam in Spain] has sent staff to their place to provide legal help. Hong Dang, whose full name is Le Hong Dang, is a Vietnamese actor born in 1984 and managed by the Hanoi Opera House and the Vietnam Drama Production Center under VTV. He started his acting career in 2004 and has played roles in many VTV dramas, but only rose to stardom in 2011. He won the Impressive Actor awards at VTV Awards in 2016 and 2018 and the prize for Best Actor in a TV Series at the 2016 Golden Kite Award, Vietnams version of the Oscars, by the Vietnam Cinema Association. Ho Hoai Anh is a Vietnamese musician and music producer born in 1979 and has worked at the Vietnam National Academy of Music for 20 years. He won the Musician of the Year prize at the prestigious Cong Hien (Devotion) Music Awards in 2010 and was awarded the state title of Meritorious Artist in 2015. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Authorities in the famous resort cities of Nha Trang and Quy Nhon in south-central Vietnam have announced their plans to relocate several hotels from local beaches, but residents are still in doubt as they have heard similar schemes before. On Thursday last week, Evason Ana Mandara Resort in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province was closed so that it could be moved to another location. Like many other residents, Nguyen Van Tho remains skeptical after hearing this news, stating that the resort was still there after three terms of provincial chairmanship. Every time the authorities issued an ultimatum, they ended up allowing the resort developer to renew the contract so that the venue could remain on the valuable land plot for some extra years, Tho elaborated. Built in 1997, Evason Ana Mandara Resort, originally Ana Mandara, covers an area of 28,000 square meters on the coast located east of Tran Phu Street. In 2011, the Khanh Hoa administration required the resort to terminate its operation by late 2016 and hand over the land plot to local authorities for the construction of a public park. The developer, Khanh Hoa Investment and Trading Company, was also allowed to lease more than 29 hectares in Cam Ranh Peninsula to construct the new structure. Khanh Hoa Investment and Trading Company later sold its shares and entered into a joint venture with Sovico Holdings Group to establish Sovico Khanh Hoa Company in December 2014. Ana Mandara changed its name to Evason Ana Mandara, and provincial authorities extended the land lease contract to the end of 2018. During the time when Nguyen Duc Vinh and Nguyen Tan Tuan were chairmen of the Khanh Hoa People's Committee, Sovico Khanh Hoa made three more requests to postpone the termination of the resorts operation, citing various reasons. At a meeting on June 24, the Khanh Hoa Peoples Committee concluded that Sovico Khanh Hoa Company had to stop the operation of Evason Ana Mandara Resort on June 30. Nguyen Van Hoa, general director of Sovico Khanh Hoa, said that the company would comply with the directive and begin welcoming guests to its new venue Ana Mandara Cam Ranh on July 7. Hoang Yen and Hai Au Hotels at Quy Nhon Beach in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Duy Thanh / Tuoi Tre Meanwhile, authorities in Binh Dinh Province said they were expediting tasks related to the relocation of three high-rise hotels, namely Binh Duong, Hai Au, and Hoang Yen, on the coast of Quy Nhon City. The provincial Party Committee announced the plan to relocate these hotels in 2019 to improve Quy Nhon Beach and make way for the establishment of a public park. Nguyen Minh, who lives in Quy Nhon City, said he and many other residents have been looking forward to the relocation of the three hotels as it has been three years since the plan was first announced. The Binh Dinh Peoples Committee has so far finished the compensation process with the owner of Binh Duong Hotel. The new facility will be built on a 2,800-square-meter land plot on Han Mac Tu Street. Regarding Hai Au and Hoang Yen Hotels, they will be required to relocate when the lease contracts end, said Nguyen Tuan Thanh, vice-chairman of the provincial administration. The land lease contract of Hai Au Hotel was previously set to end in 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, provincial authorities have allowed the hotel to operate until August 2024 so that the developer can have time to find a new location. Meanwhile, the lease contract of Hoang Yen Hotel will not expire until May 2052. The relocation of hotels on Quy Nhon Beach must be carried out step by step according to the road map and in line with the law, Binh Dinh Party chief Ho Quoc Dung stated, adding businesses should be given necessary conditions to continue operating effectively, which will help create jobs and generate more revenue for the province. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Read what is in the news today: Society -- Many commuters were stranded on the streets in Hanoi until midnight on Tuesday as an unusually heavy downpour inundated many roads and caused a traffic nightmare. -- Four people have remained missing after a flash flood triggered by a heavy rain swept them away in Bao Lam District, northern Cao Bang Province on Tuesday afternoon. -- A 20-year-old Vietnamese man holding a kitchen knife he had just borrowed from a friend to cut duck meat was suppressed by police in South Koreas Gwangju City, Chosun Ilbo reported on Tuesday. The incident sparked a controversy over discrimination against foreigners in the East Asian country. -- The Peoples Court of north-central Ha Tinh Province on Tuesday gave the death sentence to two men convicted of transporting nearly four kilograms of drugs. -- A drunken man was narrowly saved from being run over by a train as he tried to run across a level crossing in southern Dong Nai Province on Tuesday night. -- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment has set a target that at least 80 percent of waste in the city will be recycled and burned to generate electricity by 2025. Business -- The pharmaceutical market in Vietnam is estimated to reach US$6.2-6.4 billion this year, Le Ngoc Danh, deputy head of the pharmacy department under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, said at a conference on Tuesday. Education -- More than one million candidates are expected to be present at 2,243 examination sites across Vietnam to complete paperwork and learn about the rules of the 2022 national high school graduation exam on Wednesday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A job scam ring that targeted Vietnamese seekers of easy jobs that pay well in Cambodia was found to be led by Chinese, according to the Vietnamese criminal police agency. The Ministry of Public Securitys Criminal Police Department released the discovery on Monday, adding that the Chinese ringleaders were aided by a number of Vietnamese in Cambodia. The department also warned that many Vietnamese jobseekers were recently victimized by the job scam. These victims, aged 18 to 35, were cheated by those who belonged to the ring that deceitfully advertised 'easy jobs with high pay' in Cambodia on social media, such as Zalo and Facebook, to lure their prey. After arriving in Cambodia, these Vietnamese jobseekers were forced to work for swindling gangs in online gambling, virtual money trading, and other illegal tasks in cyberspace, police said. Many victims were forced to work for 12 to 16 hours per day while being banned from leaving their workplace and having their personal possessions appropriated. Meanwhile, many others were sold to other employers to do heavy and unlawful jobs. They were even compelled to call their families in Vietnam to pay ransoms, ranging from US$3,000 to $30,000, for their repatriation, the department said. Many victims who failed in fleeing from their workplace were beaten, mistreated or sold to other labor abusers, the agency added. Cambodian establishments that abused Vietnamese laborers and appropriated their property are found mainly in the cities of Bavet, Poipet and Sihanoukville of the provinces of Svay Rieng, Banteay Meanchay, and Preah Sihanouk, respectively. They were also recorded in Chrey Thom District of Kandan City, and even in the capital city of Phnom Penh. In the first six months of 2022, Vietnamese task forces joined hands with their Cambodian counterparts in rescuing more than 250 people who had been tricked into illegally working in Cambodia. Many Vietnamese citizens have illicitly left Vietnam for Cambodia to work at online gambling establishments, work as forced laborers or have their assets appropriated, the department said. The agency advised that people be highly wary of 'easy jobs that pay well advertisements posted on social media to protect themselves from being victimized by fraud gangs. Before accepting any overseas job offer, jobseekers should carefully learn about every relevant detail, including the employer, job, workplace, wage and more, the agency recommended. They should also consult their families or relatives and inform them of their future job and workplace before deciding to leave Vietnam to work overseas. Any person or organization showing signs of duping people into going to Cambodia for work should be reported to police, the agency requested. Recently, a group of Vietnamese people managed to rescue a 17-year-old boy from southern Vietnam more than three months after he was sold to Cambodia and forced to work for a Chinese online gambling racket. After negotiations, the group paid the Chinese racket $4,000 to set C. free and take him to Vietnam on June 30. The rescue was made after the group learned about the job scam from an article published in Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in mid-June. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Hanoi Peoples Committee has approved the feasibility report for a project to develop a road tunnel passing through the Red River dyke system and Tran Quang Khai Street in Hoan Kiem District with at an estimated cost of VND100 billion (US$4.3 million). As per the feasibility report, the road tunnel project, connecting Tran Nguyen Han and Chuong Duong Do Streets, will allow both pedestrians and vehicles to pass through when it is in place. The project is expected to help ease traffic congestion in the area and ensure safety for road users. The investor of the project is the Peoples Committee of Hoan Kiem District. The tunnel project was designed to be 18.25 meters wide, 3.2 meters high, and 15.7 meters long. The outside of the body and arches of the tunnel will be decorated to match the surrounding architecture. Two lanes of the elevated section of Tran Quang Khai Street passing through the peak of the tunnel will be expanded. The elevated section of the street will be connected to Chuong Duong Do Street and a section of Tran Quang Khai Street on the ground. The project will be conducted from 2022 to 2024. The tunnel project was originally meant to be completed on October 10, 2019 to celebrate the capitals liberation (October 10, 1954) when the Peoples Committee of Hoan Kiem District was chosen as the investor in 2018. On October 19, 2015, the Hanoi administration issued a statement negotiating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the design of the tunnel project linking Tran Nguyen Han and Chuong Duong Do Streets. The project was planned to be mainly developed southward to minimize site clearance. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A villa was illegally built on agricultural land of perennial trees while a restaurant was constructed on canal banks in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, sparking an uproar as the problem has remained unsolved for long. Local officials said they noticed these illegal structures, and then reminded their subordinates to inspect these cases, but the issue was skipped over. Many residents have complained about the villa and restaurant complex built on farmland with no permits and construction certificates by Nguyen Tan T., who lives in An Phuoc Commune, Mang Thit District, located in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long. The group of structures is situated near Provincial Road 902, which links Mang Thit District and Vinh Long City, the provincial capital. It is easy to see the palatial villa next to a small canal. The reinforced concrete villa is encroaching on two meters of the canal bank. The restaurant, called Nguyen Phat owned by T., is behind the villa and near the Co Chien River, partially sitting on the water of the canal. Part of the illegal building is reinforced with concrete, invading a canal in Vinh Long Province, Vietnam. Photo: Chi Hanh / Tuoi Tre According to the An Phuoc Commune government, T. owns nearly 4,000 square meters of land, including 300 square meters of agricultural land. T. admitted that when building the villa, he made spoken announcements to the local authorities. He thought it was not necessary to ask for construction certificates in rural areas. My villa covers a total area of 450 square meters, exceeding the permissible level of 300 square meters of land in rural areas," T. admitted. In May this year, I conducted procedures to convert 200 square meters of perennial crop farming land into residential land to [legitimize] the building. Nguyen Hoang Tuan, vice-chairman of the An Phuoc Commune, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that T.s housing project was implemented from 2019 to 2020. Behind the villa is a restaurant built on the water of a canal in Vinh Long Province, Vietnam. Nguyen Tan T. also illegally built a road connected with the nearby provincial road. Photo: Chi Hanh / Tuoi Tre The building was completed long before he asked for the conversion of the land use purpose. Meanwhile, his restaurant, built on land zoned for perennial crops in December 2021, got a business permit, but failed to get the nod from the local authorities In addition, T. bought land and illegally constructed a road linked with Provincial Road 902. When going past and seeing these structures firmly built on canal banks, I reminded competent forces to check them, but they forgot it, Tuan claimed. Nguyen Chi Thien, head of the infrastructure economic bureau in Mang Thit District, said that he had yet to receive any dossiers on the construction of T.s buildings. Also, Nguyen Hung Phu, head of the bureau of environment and natural resources in the district, said that his agency was teaming up with local authorities to inspect the two buildings to settle the problem. The two buildings were built on both farmland and land for perennial crops, and have no construction certificates, Phu confirmed. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The market surveillance officers of Binh Thuan visited a restaurant in the south-central Vietnamese provinces tourist city of Phan Thiet on Wednesday morning to clarify a customers complaint about its hefty charge of VND4.5 million (US$192) for cooking service. The Hung Vuong restaurant in Phan Thiet Citys Phu Thuy Ward welcomed a group of 48 tourists and one tour guide around lunchtime on Sunday, the facilitys manager Nguyen Ngoc Phong said. Having ordered their meal in advance, the tourist group brought along 18 kilograms of raw seafood they had purchased outside upon their arrival. Although the restaurant rarely allowed customers to bring food outside into its premises, the two sides discussed and agreed on using the restaurants service to cook the raw seafood with a charge of VND250,000 ($10.7) per kilogram that day, according to Phong. Phong added the restaurant had given a discount on the cooking service charge versus the listed price of VND350,000 ($15) per kilogram after their negotiation. A price list shows the charge for cooking raw food that customers buy outside is VND350,000 ($15) per kilogram at the Hung Vuong restaurant in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam, July 6, 2022. Photo: Duc Trong / Tuoi Tre The tourist group paid the total amount of VND4.5 million for the cooking service before complaining about the price a few days later. Phong said that his restaurant does not benefit much from providing customers with the cooking service, not to mention taking the responsibility for any mishaps related to the outside food. He expected understanding and sympathy from the customers if they had a disappointing experience at the restaurant. At the end of Wednesdays inspection, officers of the Binh Thuan Market Surveillance Agency said they need to listen to the customers in question before drawing a conclusion. They added that the Hung Vuong restaurant managed to present all documents they required during the working session. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A signing ceremony for the agreement to organize Miss Grand International 2023 took place in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday afternoon, officially confirming Vietnam as the contest's host country. This is the second time Vietnam has been chosen to organize Miss Grand International. Previously, the country held the event in 2017, which took place in a variety of locations, including Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Binh Province, and Phu Quoc Island. According to Nawat Itsaragrisil, president of Miss Grand International, he was pleased to return to Vietnam and certain that the nation would successfully hold the Miss Grand International 2023 competition. Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien, Miss Grand International 2021, poses at a signing ceremony for the agreement to organize Miss Grand International 2023 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, July 5, 2022. Photo: Hoai Phuong / Tuoi Tre Nawat said he wanted to promote Vietnam's economic, tourism, and culinary prosperity to the world. The representative unit that will host Miss Grand International 2023 in Vietnam also wishes to boost the country's image to stimulate tourism. The current Miss Grand International, Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien, stated at the ceremony that her journey since being crowned Miss Grand International 2021 has been unforgettable. She is happy with her accomplishments, which have helped her represent Vietnam abroad, she said. Nguyen Ha Kieu Loan, the second runner-up in Miss World Vietnam 2019 and one of the top 10 at Miss Grand International 2019, expressed gratitude for her recent journey and thanked Nawat for selecting Vietnam to host the Miss Grand International 2023 pageant. Nguyen Ha Kieu Loan, the second runner-up at Miss World Vietnam 2019, performs on the stage at a signing ceremony for the agreement to organize Miss Grand International 2023 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, July 5, 2022. Photo: Hoai Phuong / Tuoi Tre The organizers disclosed that Vietnamese judges would participate in the Miss Grand International 2023 jury. The criteria for choosing a Vietnamese judge is their ability to comprehend, constantly refresh themselves, and empathize with the Miss Grand International contest's standards for selecting a worthy winner. In the near future, a list of Vietnamese judges will be made public. Nawat further stated that the crowned beauty would be chosen based on their demonstrated talent, combined with their attractiveness, bravery, and intelligence. Miss Grand International has been held yearly since 2013 by Miss Grand International Organization, which is based in Thailand. It is one of the six major global beauty contests, the others being Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss Earth, and Miss Supranational. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Scientific endeavors aboard China's space station are expected to bear fruits, as the Shenzhou-14 taikonauts have devoted more time to microgravity experiments on the orbiting core module Tianhe since entering it a month ago. China's space station is designed to be a versatile space lab, capable of accommodating 25 experiment cabinets for scientific exploration. The China Manned Space Agency has released video updates from space, which show that the station's core module is packed with research equipment, and the experiments in orbit span a range of disciplines, including microbiology, physics and medicine. The three-member crew has conducted microbial tests in water, air and surface samples, aiming to ensure that they can stay safe and comfortable during the six-month spaceflight. They also installed a device for carbon dioxide reduction and regeneration in their orbiting home. In the latest update, the trio was seen undergoing an eye examination and medical aid training. Commander Chen Dong was spotted testing a spacesuit, preparing for the upcoming spacewalks out of the lab module Wentian, which is scheduled to be launched this month. The experiment cabinets installed on Wentian will allow the taikonauts to perform experiments on molecules, cells, tissues and organs by using diverse online detection methods, such as visible light, fluorescence, or microscopic imaging. However, it has not been all about the experiments and construction of the space station for the trio. They are also maintaining a decent work-life balance in orbit. Recent videos captured them doing workouts on treadmills and exercise bikes to reduce the impact of microgravity exposure on the body. Female taikonaut Liu Yang, donning a light pink waistcoat, was seen folding colorful paper stars for leisure and collecting them in a glass bottle. The video has drawn more than 1.2 million hits since China's space agency shared it on the microblogging site Sina Weibo on Tuesday. Some media reports linked Liu's pastime activity to what she said before the mission --"write blessings to her children 'in the stars' during the space trip." "Expecting her to bring back a bottle full of stars," commented a social media user. Wu Dawei, deputy chief designer of China's manned space program taikonaut system, praised the Shenzhou-14 crew as "a young, lively and rigorous team with good physical, operational and psychological conditions." China launched the Shenzhou-14 spaceship on June 5, sending three taikonauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe to its space station combination for a six-month mission. During their stay in orbit, the crew will witness two lab modules, the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship, docking with the space station core module. Network 10 and Tegan George are yet to reach an agreement over a Fair Work claim brought by the political reporter against her employer. The Sydney Morning Herald reports barrister Siobhan Kelly, acting for George, said mediation between the parties had failed, the Federal Court heard on Tuesday. George launched Fair Work Act proceedings in January following a series of internal complaints to her employer about workplace culture in the Parliament House bureau. She has been on leave since June last year owing to a personal illness her lawyers say was suffered in the course of her employment. In June she expanded her claim to encompass a contravention of the Sex Discrimination Act, alleging Network Tens Canberra bureau was a workplace that was hostile to women. 10 has denied Georges claims and is defending the lawsuit. Kate Eastman, SC, acting for 10, said: We had hoped that mediation would be successful. The broadcaster did not want to take any unnecessary procedural points, she said, but it was important to ensure the court had jurisdiction to hear the claims. The parties return to court at a later date. ABC quiz show Win the Week returns to ABC for a new series in early August. Hosted by Alex Lee (The Checkout, The Feed) along with regular panellist Craig Reucassel (The Chaser, War on Waste), it tests celebrities and regular Aussies on current news stories. This season has new games and new celebrities including Wendy Harmer, Mark Humphries, Tony Armstrong, Nazeem Hussain and returning champion Ellen Fanning. This season instead of having fixed Stay or Betray moments, players can also hit the Betray button at any time. Host Alex Lee said Contestants mentioned wanting to remove Craig from their team earlier, so weve introduced the Betray button at any time during the show. Its complete chaos, but so much fun. Producer and regular panellist Craig Reucassel said, My therapist is really looking forward to me returning to this game where I am betrayed on a weekly basis. Its great that team captains can betray at any time. This way the celebrities can get the kind of immediate negative feedback they would normally only receive on social media. Auditions: Win the Week is now casting for contestants. Audience tix are here Wednesday 3 August at 8pm on ABC. Emerging creatives Gina Song and Madeleine Ruskin are recipients of the Victorian Screen Development Internships which will see them placed with Paramount ANZ, Blackfella Films and Fremantle Australia. The 12-month internship include four-month placements at the 3 screen companies, gaining first-hand experience across the entire process of developing content, from sitting in on a writers room, to assessing scripts and funding applications, to working with principal producers at world-leading production and distribution companies. A graduate from the University of Melbournes Bachelor in Media and Communications, Gina Song (pictured right) is passionate about authentic Australian television and underrepresented stories. Gina has a range of experience as a Production Assistant and journalist, with her work published by The New York Times and SBS Voices. The Screen Development Internship is a dream opportunity to work with leading professionals and learn everything about getting Australian scripts to screen. Im so excited to be where change happens, and I hope to use the skills from this year to better advocate for emerging and underrepresented storytellers, she said. Madeleine Ruskin (pictured left) is driven by her love of storytelling and determination to centre stories by and about disabled and chronically ill people on screen. She has previously worked as a Scripted Coordinator for SBS and in script development for Such Much Films. Madeleine has recently graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Masters in Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing. Im so excited for this opportunity to foster my passion for story by working within the development space and Im grateful to be supported by workplaces who are keen to accommodate my different needs. Behind the scenes, on the screen and in the writers room, disabled and chronically ill people are underrepresented in the screen industry. Im really looking forward to using this internship as a gateway to help make the industry more accessible and inclusive in the future, she said. CEO of VicScreen, Caroline Pitcher said, The Victorian Screen Development Internships have proven to accelerate participants careers, and we are proud to continue to see alumni take strides in the industry. Congratulations to the new recipients, we look forward to working with you to hone your talent. Managing Director of Blackfella Films, Darren Dale said, Blackfella Films has a proud history of developing new generations of Australian screen creatives. Were excited to welcome Gina, one of this years incredibly talented recipients, to our company, supporting her growth as a dynamic storyteller and screen industry professional. CEO of Fremantle Australia, Greg Woods said, Fremantle is committed to fostering creatives of the future in all facets of production and we are proud to be involved in this vital and important initiative. We have experienced first-hand the benefits with a number of past interns now working across our dramas and we are delighted to welcome Madeleine to the team. General Manager Melbourne Paramount ANZ, Toni Skaife said, Paramount is proudly dedicated to the creation of diverse local content for Australian audiences to access across our multiple platforms. We are delighted to partner with VicScreen, and to work alongside Blackfella Films and Fremantle Australia to support and develop local Victorian content creatives through this outstanding initiative. Our Paramount team is extremely excited about this opportunity and we look forward to collaborating with Gina and Madeleine. Tonight on You Cant Ask That, serious questions are posed to those who have spent time in juvenile detention. The Australian government has a dirty little secret that is making us one of the most shame-faced nations in the developed world: we lock children up. Despite being urged by 31 countries at the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2019 to raise the age of criminal responsibility from ten years old to 14 the age set by the UN we refused. This means kids in this country can be incarcerated before theyre old enough to have a Facebook account. Despite making up less just 3.3% of the general population, the vast majority of kids behind bars are Indigenous almost half (8). In the age group 10 to 17, First Nation people are 17 times more likely than nonindigenous Australians to end up in detention (9) and in this episode we hear from Keenan Mundine a First Nations man who was locked up as a juvenile. He grew up on the block in Redfern where his mum died when he was 6 and his father not long after that. Keenan was often forced to steal socks, underwear, and food to survive. At 14 he was caught stealing a laptop from a car and locked up. For me, at 14 and being in that critical position, I accepted that life, he says, adding, No child should be put in that position to accept a life like that. I dont think I slept. I think I cried, just crying for my mum and dad, he recalls. Spanian, 35, was the son of a single-mother who grew up in the housing commission, surrounded by family and friends who were criminals. By 15, he was also behind bars. He spent a total of 17 years behind bars before turning his life around. Its left him with a complicated view of the prison system. 9:10pm tonight on ABC. EU parliament backs labelling gas and nuclear investments as green FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the four cooling towers and the reactors of the Electricite de France (EDF) nuclear power plant in Cattenom By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Parliament on Wednesday backed EU rules labelling investments in gas and nuclear power plants as climate-friendly, throwing out an attempt to block the law that has exposed deep rifts between countries over how to fight climate change. The vote paves the way for the European Union proposal to pass into law, unless 20 of the bloc's 27 member states decide to oppose the move, which is seen as very unlikely. The new rules will add gas and nuclear power plants to the EU "taxonomy" rulebook from 2023, enabling investors to label and market investments in them as green. Out of 639 lawmakers present, 328 opposed a motion that sought to block the EU gas and nuclear proposals. The European Commission welcomed the result. It proposed the rules in February after more than a year of delay and intense lobbying from governments and industries. "The Complementary Delegated Act is a pragmatic proposal to ensure that private investments in gas and nuclear, needed for our energy transition, meet strict criteria," EU financial services chief Mairead McGuinness said. The rules have split EU countries, lawmakers and investors. Brussels redrafted the rules multiple times, flip-flopping over whether to grant gas plants a green tag. Its final proposal fuelled fierce debate about how to hit climate goals amid a crisis over dwindling Russian gas supplies. Gas is a fossil fuel that produces planet-warming emissions - but far less than coal, and some EU states see it as a temporary alternative to replace the dirtier fuel. Nuclear energy is free from CO2 emissions but produces radioactive waste. Supporters such as France say nuclear is vital to meet emissions-cutting goals, while opponents cite concerns about waste disposal. Slovakian prime minister Eduard Heger said the vote result was good for energy security and emissions-cutting targets. "We'll remain on the way to climate neutrality by 2050," he said. Story continues Luxembourg and Austria, which both oppose nuclear power and have warned against labelling gas as green, said they would challenge the law in court. "It is neither credible, ambitious nor knowledge-based, endangers our future and is more than irresponsible," Austrian climate minister Leonore Gewessler said. Climate campaigners criticised the move, with Greenpeace saying it would also mount a legal challenge. "This is a poor signal to the rest of the world that may undermine the EU's leadership position on climate action," said Anders Schelde, chief investment officer at Danish pension fund AkademikerPension. Industry groups welcomed the vote. Ingbert Liebing, managing director of Germany's local utility association VKU, called it "an important sign of the role of natural gas as a bridge to achieving climate goals." The EU taxonomy aims to clear up the murky world of sustainable investing, by ensuring any financial products making eco-friendly claims meet certain standards. Gas plants, for example, must switch to low-carbon gases by 2035 and meet an emissions limit. How the law will impact investing trends is yet to be seen. The taxonomy does not prohibit investments in activities without the green label. (Reporting by Kate Abnett; additional reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by John Chalmers, Alexandra Hudson) Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory message to President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune on the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Algerian War of Independence. Sixty years ago, the Algerian people realized national independence and people's liberation after going through an arduous struggle, opening a glorious chapter of the liberation movements of the Arabian and African people, Xi said. The Chinese government and the Chinese people provided support and assistance to Algeria's independence revolution, and the two countries and their people had forged a profound friendship during the struggles, he added. In recent years, political mutual trust between the two countries has been strengthened continuously and bilateral practical cooperation has been fruitful, taking the China-Algeria comprehensive strategic partnership to ever new levels, he said. Xi also said that he highly values the development of China-Algeria relations, and stands ready to work together with President Tebboune to push forward bilateral communication and cooperation in all fields within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative to benefit both countries and their people. 888poker Set to Host The Festival Online From July 10-31 July 06 2022 Matthew Pitt Editor After a hugely successful series in Bratislava and more recently Tallinn, The Festival heads to the online poker world for The Festival Online. 888poker has teamed up with The Festival to bring an online series featuring new fewer than 21 events with combined guaranteed prize pools in excess of $720,000. The Festival Online runs from July 10 through 31, 2022. All 21 scheduled events take place on the three busiest days for online poker tournament grinders: Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Four of the biggest events have six-figure prize pools guaranteed. Everything kicks off on July 10 with three The Festival Online tournaments for players to get their teeth into. The Festival Online Opening Event commands a $109 buy-in but guarantees at least $100,000 will be won. A $525 buy-in $40,000 guaranteed High Roller and $109 buy-in $5,000 guaranteed Pot-Limit Omaha event round out the opening trio of events. The Main Event is slated for 7:00 p.m. on July 31. Buying in direct costs $215 but there are dozens of satellites running through the series, satellites costing mere pennies, that give 888poker players the opportunity to compete for a share of a guaranteed $150,000. Main Event players sit down with 15,000 chips and play to a 12-minute clock where blinds start at 30/60/7a. 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Download 888poker via PokerNews, create your free account, and 888poker will give you a free $88 worth of cash game and tournament tickets this is a free 20 for residents of the United Kingdom just for reaching this stage. Your first deposit is matched 100% up to $400 in the form of a releasable bonus. You have 90 days to release as much bonus as you can. Contact 888poker support for more details. For the second year in a row, the University of North Georgia (UNG) welcomed middle and high school educators for a five-day academy training them how to teach cybersecurity. The Advancing GenCyber Education for North Georgia Teachers (AGENTs) of Change event was held June 27-July 1 on UNG's Dahlonega Campus. National Security Agency (NSA) and National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaling $265,000 supported AGENTs of Change and UNG's sixth GenCyber Warrior Academy, which was June 5-11 for 40 high school students. This year's teacher academy, which had 20 participants, included monthly pre-camp activities starting in January and will also provide monthly professional development through October. During the camp, teachers could choose their lessons based on their cyber comfort level. Another new element was an expanded group of K-12 teachers assisting UNG faculty and staff with the instruction, with five this year after there was only one in 2021. Those new instructors included Autumn Sutton from Buford High School and Jon Lillie from Alliance Academy for Innovation, who were participants in UNG's inaugural cyber academy for teachers. This change was made thanks to feedback from the 2021 academy participants. "Professors know their content really well, but they've never taught it in a K-12 classroom before," Dr. Lindsay Linsky, UNG associate professor of education and teaching lead of AGENTs of of Change, said. "These teachers are helping translate the cyber information to how it can be taught in a K-12 classroom, and they're doing a great job." The 21-year-old man accused of opening fire at a suburban Chicago Fourth of July parade, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others, plotted another attack in Madison, Wisconsin, authorities said Wednesday. After fleeing the scene of the parade, Robert "Bobby" Crimo III "was driving around, saw a celebration in Madison," and "contemplated another attack," with "60 rounds on his body at that point," authorities said at a news conference Wednesday. But he "had not done enough planning" and decided not to do it, authorities said. After returning from Wisconsin, Crimo was apprehended at at traffic stop in Lake Forrest, Illinois, Monday evening. PHOTO: Robert E. Crimo III, a person of interest in the deadly mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade route in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., is seen in this still image obtained from a social media video. (Robert Crimo via Reuters) MORE: What we know about the victims of the July 4 Highland Park parade shooting Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in the wake of Monday morning's mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. More charges are expected, Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart said. Crimo, who appeared in court via Zoom for his first appearance Wednesday, showed no emotion as a prosecutor outlined the attack and read the victims' names. PHOTO: Chairs, bicycles, strollers and balloons were left behind at the scene of a mass shooting on the Fourth of July parade route along Central Avenue in Highland Park, Ill., July 4, 2022. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images) Prosecutors said that Crimo confessed to Monday morning's parade massacre. Crimo is accused of taking his legally purchased high-powered rifle and opening fire on paradegoers from a roof of a business. MORE: 2-year-old's parents killed in Highland Park shooting A witness reported seeing an individual with a gun on a building rooftop "scanning the ground with a gun," Assistant States Attorney Ben Dillon said. On the rooftop, police discovered three empty 30-round magazines and 83 spent shell casings, prosecutors said. PHOTO: Law enforcement escort a family away from the scene of a deadly shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Ill. (Mark Borenstein/Getty Images) Crimo told police he wore women's clothing during the shooting and used makeup to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd, prosecutors said. Dillon said Crimo was spotted running from the scene with a black bag over his shoulder, and an object wrapped in cloth fell out of the bag and onto the pavement. The object was a Smith and Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle, Dillon said. Story continues A second weapon, also purchased legally by Crimo, was found in the car when he was apprehended, police said. MORE: What we know about Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III, the suspect in Highland Park parade massacre Crimo did not enter a plea during Wednesday's appearance and was appointed a public defender. Crimo was ordered held without bond. He is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 28. When the gunfire began at Monday's parade, revelers fled in panic, leaving behind empty strollers, overturned chairs and half-eaten sandwiches. "Bodies were horribly, horribly, horribly injured from, you know, guns and bullets that were made for war -- not for parades," witness Dr. David Baum said of some of the victims. PHOTO: Community members light candles and leave messages at a memorial site near the parade route the day after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., July 5, 2022. (Cheney Orr/Reuters) "The paramedics went quickly and assessed the damages -- saw bodies that were blown apart and put a blanket over them quickly. And then went on to try and help other people," Baum told ABC News. "These are injuries that nobody should have to see." Authorities believe the massacre had been planned for weeks. No motive is known, police said. When asked by reporters if the gunman targeted anyone specifically, police said the "shooting appears to be completely random." ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Jeff Cook contributed to this report. Highland Park mass shooting suspect confessed, contemplated 2nd attack in Wisconsin originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Flash Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with the politburo chief of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Ismail Haniyeh in Algeria on Tuesday. A photo released by the Palestinian presidency showed Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sitting between Abbas and Haniyeh in a meeting room with Algeria's green-and-white national flag in the background. The meeting was broadcast on the Algerian TV channel TV3, which showed the three leaders holding their hands. The pro-Hamas Al-Resalah news website reported that the meeting between the two rivals was organized by Tebboune on the sidelines of the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence from France. Haniyeh, who has been living in Qatar for more than three years, headed a Hamas delegation to Algeria upon the official invitation of Tebboune to join the Algerian independence celebrations. President Abbas and a high-ranking Palestinian delegation were also invited by Tebboune to participate in the celebrations, according to the official Palestinian news agency. Thanks to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who "invited the two leaders on purpose," the meeting between Abbas and Haniyeh was made possible, said Gaza-based political analyst Husam al-Dajjani. "Tebboune is expected to persuade both Abbas and Haniyeh to resume their dialogue and end around 15 years of internal Palestinian division and achieve internal reconciliation," he said. Arab mediators have so far been unable to end the internal division between Abbas' Fatah Party and Hamas. The two rivals had reached a series of understandings and agreements sponsored by Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia which had never been implemented. The internal Palestinian division between Hamas and Fatah began in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip from Fatah. Since then, the Palestinian territories have been split into a Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and a Fatah-dominated West Bank. Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son had talks with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday. VNA/VNS Photo BAGAN Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son had a meeting with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday as the two participated in the 7th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Foreign Ministers Meeting held in Bagan, Myanmar. During their talks, both sides highly valued the progress of the Viet Nam-China relations over the years with regular high-level meetings and stably growing trade partnership. Son affirmed that the Party and State of Viet Nam always attached great importance to the friendship and cooperation with China, and hoped to promote the relations between the two Parties and countries in a healthy, sustainable and long-term manner with increasing political trust and effective collaboration. He proposed that both sides actively increase visits and meetings at all levels, and China continue to create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese products, especially farm produce and seafood, to be exported to China and to a third country through China. Both sides should coordinate closely in COVID-19 control, resuming commercial flights between the two countries and strengthening transport infrastructure connections, making it easier for people of both sides to travel between the two countries, said Son. For his part, Wang affirmed that the Party and State of China paid great attention to reinforcing and developing the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Viet Nam, and hoped to work with Viet Nam to strengthen mutual political trust and deepen their win-win partnership, satisfactorily settling disagreements, and making the relationship between the two Parties and countries further develop in a healthy and stable manner for the interests of both sides. He affirmed that China was willing to coordinate with Viet Nam to increase exchanges and meetings at all levels through many flexible methods. China aimed to open its market for high-quality products from regional countries, especially ASEAN nations, he said. China highly valued the role of Viet Nam in the global supply chain and hoped to work closely with the country in economy, trade and investment to ensure the stability of the global supply chain. Regarding the South China Sea (known in Viet Nam as East Sea) issue, foreign minister Son said both sides needed to continue to effectively implement the high-level agreements and common perspectives that had been reached; respect each other's legitimate interests in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); fully and effectively carry out the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) towards a practical and effective Code of Conduct (COC) on the waters with conformity to international law, thus together maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea. Wang affirmed that China hoped to deal with disagreements through dialogue and negotiation, and was willing to work with ASEAN to implement the DOC and soon finalise the COC for peace, stability and maritime freedom. Both sides also discussed a number of international and regional issues of shared concern. VNS HA NOI Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will be visiting Viet Nam on July 5-6, 2022, at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son, according to the foreign ministry. The visit of the Russian foreign minister takes place as the two countries with strong traditional relations marked the 10th anniversary of establishing their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022. The two diplomats earlier have had phone talks on Ukraine situation in March this year, where Lavrov lauded Viet Nams role and contribution to peace, stability, and cooperation for development in the region and in the world, while pledging to do his best in supporting the safe evacuation of Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral economic and trade cooperation between the two countries maintained a positive growth momentum with two-way trade in 2020 reaching nearly US$4.85 billion. In 2021, two-way trade increased to $7.1 billion, an increase of more than 25 per cent year-on-year. VNS HA NOI Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son discussed measures to boost the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries during their talks held in Ha Noi on Wednesday. They also reviewed the implementation of agreements reached by high-ranking leaders of the two countries. The two diplomats noted that in the recent past, despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral relations have continued to develop in many fields. They agreed on the plan to implement cooperation between the two foreign ministries in the future. Foreign minister Son said that Russia is always one of the top important partners in the foreign policy of Viet Nam. He stressed Viet Nam's consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification and affirmed the country's consistent stance on regional and international issues, including issues relating to Ukraine. The Russian diplomat stressed that Viet Nam is one of traditional, reliable and important partners of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region and wishes that the two sides will strive for a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries to bring in more practical results. He spoke highly of the role of Viet Nam in the region and within ASEAN and affirmed Russia's support for the central role of ASEAN in the regional structure. He said he believed that Viet Nam will be an important bridge helping Russia to enhance the cooperation with the region, including promoting the ASEAN-Russia strategic partnership. The two ministers also discussed regional and international issues of common concern and agreed to continue boosting coordination at regional and international forums. VNS ONG NAI A man narrowly escaped death after being saved by a rail worker at a level crossing on Tuesday night in the southern province of ong Nai. The incident was caught on CCTV footage. At 7.35pm on Wednesday, the level crossing guard rushed to pull an apparently inebriated man to safety after he stumbled and fell on the rail track. This happened just four seconds before a speeding train passed through. The dramatic rescue took place at Km 1656+004 crossroads of Thong Nhat railway line in Xuan Loc Ward, Long Khanh City. After being pulled from the track, the man was given first aid for cuts and bruises and was able to return home. The rail worker was named as Trinh Van Tai from Bien Hoa Railway Team, Saigon Railway Joint Stock Company. He told online newspaper Zing: I was just thinking that I have to save him by all means without any fear of danger. The man appeared to be drunk. He did not intend to commit suicide but just tripped over. Only after saving him did I breathe a sigh of relief. Le inh Ha, Director of Saigon Railway Joint Stock Company, said that when hearing about the incident, the company immediately reported it to the leaders of the Vietnam Railway General Corporation asking for the rail worker to be rewarded for his bravery and selflessness. "Today, the company's leaders also went to his workplace to give flowers, rewards and praise him as a prime example of bravery," he said. VNS Society Ha Noi Peoples Council adopts important resolution in 7th session The 16th-tenure Peoples Council of Ha Noi on July 6 adopted a resolution on key tasks for socio-economic development and budget collection and spending in the six last months of 2022, as part of its ongoing 7th session. Society HCM City ready for the 2022 high school graduation exam The high school graduation exam in 2022 has many new features compared to previous exams. Nguyen Bao Quoc, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Education and Training, recently shared some insights and advice for candidates for the official exam on July 6, 7 and 8. Society Pains from human trafficking With high rewards on offer, human trafficking is big business, but often its the people at the bottom end of this criminal network left to pay the price. Society Vietnamese tech firms expand cooperation for Made in Vietnam products Vietnamese tech firms should expand cooperation in research and development (R&D) and technology transfer to be able to make electronics, information technology and telecommunications (ITC) products branded Made in Vietnam, experts said at a conference on Tuesday in HCM City. Society Brave rail worker rescues man who fell on railway line A man narrowly escaped death after being saved by a rail worker at a level crossing on Tuesday night in the southern province of ong Nai. Society Long Thanh airport land acquisition disbursal tops 68 per cent As of June more than VN15.6 trillion (US$667 million) has been paid out for land acquisition and resettlement of people living in the area where the Long Thanh International Airport is being built in the southern province of ong Nai. Society Passengers to HCM City surge in first half of 2022 About 11 million domestic visitors visited HCM City in the first half of 2022, up 43.1 per cent over the same period last year, according to HCM City Department of Tourism. Flash China and Thailand have agreed to work together to build a community with a shared future, and step up cooperation in areas including railway and cyber security, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday. At a joint press conference with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Wang said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Thailand, and that bilateral relations have made steady progress and enjoy broad prospects. During the visit, Wang said, the two sides had in-depth strategic communication and reached consensus in four aspects. Firstly, both sides agreed to jointly build a community with a shared future between the two countries, and make it the goal and vision for the development of bilateral ties. This will further enrich their relationship as close as one family in keeping with the times, and usher in a brighter future of more stable, prosperous and sustainable bilateral relations. Secondly, both sides agreed to work towards the early opening of the China-Laos-Thailand railway, and foster the development of logistics, economy and trade, and industries. They will launch more cold-chain freight train services, tourism and durian express, and facilitate all-around cooperation in regions along the route, delivering more tangible benefits to the people of the three countries. Thirdly, both sides agreed to jointly safeguard cyber security. The two sides have signed a memorandum of understanding on cyber security cooperation and vowed to crack down on all forms of telecom fraud. Fourthly, both sides agreed to jointly push for positive results at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in Thailand later this year. China will firmly support Thailand in playing its role as the host to lead the meeting to focus on the Asia-Pacific, on development and on the building of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. It is hoped that the meeting will follow the guidance of the Putrajaya Vision 2040, set out on a new journey and inject fresh impetus into APEC development. Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He co-chaired the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Bagan, Myanmar. A month after staging its largest stage production to date, Arthur Millers The Crucible with a 30-member cast, Wacos Silent House Theatre Company downshifts in scale but not in intensity with God of Carnage. The 2008 play by French playwright Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, also returns Silent House to a contemporary setting as with its previous shows I and You and Reckless, and to material aimed at making audiences laugh and think. Director and Silent House co-founder Collin Selman said God of Carnage and its look at the genteel facade of upper-class suburbia was one of the first plays that came to mind when the company formed more than a year ago. It had a small cast, an absurd storyline and likely would startle its audiences. Weve got to pencil this in, we thought. This show is super fun, he said. The storyline is simple. Two upscale couples from Brooklyn, Alan and Annette Raleigh (Caleb Clark and Alex Blanton) and Michael and Veronica Novak (Nick Marquez and Elaine Sury), meet at the Novaks home to talk about the playground fight their 11-year-old sons Benjamin and Henry recently got into. The fight was a degree more than pushing and fisticuffs: The Raleighs son Benjamin hit Henry in the face with a stick, breaking two teeth. What starts as a civilized discussion about the fight, responsibility and who pays for the dental work, however, slides into new territory as alcohol starts to lower inhibitions and emotions and resentments rise to the surface, pitting the couples not only against each other, but the men against the women and spouses against their partners. Audiences should be aware, Selman noted, that the language gets salty in the process. In contrast to the four-act The Crucible, God of Carnage is one act. Where the dramatic tension in the former built slowly and inexorably, the challenge for Selmans cast in Carnage is modulating from politeness and nuance in the beginning to, well, the opposite. Be ready to laugh, the director said. God of Carnage opens a six-performance run on Friday, with that performance interpreted for the deaf and hard of hearing. The Texas State Fire Marshals Office is investigating a fire in Marlin last week that threatened a row of historic buildings and drew a firefighting response from several counties. City of Marlin Fire Chief Justin Parker said the cause of the fire Friday afternoon at 129 Commerce St. is still under investigation with help from the state agency. The two-story building, which housed Cameron Electronics, was likely a total loss, and an adjacent building suffered smoke, fire and water damage, Parker said. But he said the quick work of Marlin firefighters and an array of departments from Falls, Robertson, Limestone and McLennan counties helped contain the fire. Firefighters were able to extinguish spot fires on nearby buildings ignited by embers falling from the column of thick black smoke from the burning building. The block contains about 15 buildings. There have been numerous cases in this country and others when downtown buildings burn and that creates a chain reaction, a domino effect, jumping from building to building, Parker said. The fact that we were able to stop the exposure on the northernmost side was a huge success. City fire crews arrived at about 4:51 p.m. at the building on the corner of Wood and Commerce streets, and officers immediately sought mutual aid from the Marlin Volunteer Fire Department, which generally serves rural areas. They were joined by a host of fire departments from Bremond, Kosse, Robinson, Hewitt, Bellmead, Calvert and other communities. Firefighters were able to stop the progress of the fire on the second floor of the 12,000-square-foot building, and city fire crews stayed at the scene until 2 a.m. Saturday. No injuries were reported. Marlin Mayor Carolyn Lofton said the firefighters work prevented a much worse toll on downtown Marlin. Naturally, my concern was for the remaining structures in the downtown area, given the age of the structures there, Lofton said. Food giveaway Saturday St. John Catholic Church, 1312 Dallas St., will host a giveaway of nonperishable food from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. For more information, call 254-495-5292. City opens cooling center The city of Waco and WacoMcLennan County Office of Emergency Management will open a cooling center from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Waco Multipurpose Facility, 1020 Elm Ave., and from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Sul Ross Community Center, 1414 Jefferson Ave. The centers are intended to assist residents of Waco and McLennan County with relief from the heat. Cold bottles of water and chairs will be provided. Small Biz Summer Expo The Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 915 La Salle Ave., will have its Small Biz Summer Expo from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The public is invited to support local small businesses and food vendors at the free event. Highway 6 cleanup Group W Bench Litter Patrol will conduct an Adopt-A-Highway cleanup from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, starting at the old gas station located at 5136 Highway 6 North. Papa Johns Pizza will provide lunch. For more information, call 254-716-1485. Pro-Life Waco to meet Pro-Life Wacos Second Sunday Ecumenical Gathering will run from noon to 2:45 p.m. Sunday at St. Marys Catholic Church hall, 1424 Columbus Ave. An Italian buffet lunch is at noon. At 1:45 p.m., Care Net Pregnancy Center CEO Deborah McGregor will give a presentation on the challenge of serving women in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. For more information, email prolifewaco@gmail.com. The Nebraska Department of Labor said Tuesday that the state's unemployment system is back online. The website, NEworks.nebraska.gov, had been offline since June 26 after a cyberattack on the vendor that runs the system, Geographic Solutions Inc. The attack also forced the Florida-based company to take down websites it runs for several other states. Geographic Systems said there was no evidence user data had been compromised. The Department of Labor said Nebraska's site was the first to come back online, and the company was still working Tuesday to restore sites in some of the other affected states. Although we understand this has caused disruption for unemployment claimants and other users, taking the site offline was an important measure to protect the data of working Nebraskans, Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin said in a news release. The department said it will ensure that unemployment claimants are able to receive the benefits for which they are eligible. The agency is prioritizing payments for weeks already claimed, and back payments will be issued to all eligible claimants. Filers should check their account for status updates. The NEworks system prompts workers with active claims to file for two weeks of benefits if a certification has not already been filed for the week ending June 25. If an individual has recently become unemployed and was unable to file an initial application for unemployment benefits or reopen their claim because of the system outage, they should request back dating of the application by emailing NDOL.Unemploymenthelp@nebraska.gov. Instructions can be found at dol.nebraska.gov/uibenefits. CERESCO After a long weekend of Fourth of July festivities, one could be forgiven for thinking about taking the next weekend off. But there will be no such break for Ceresco residents, as the summer fun will continue into the weekend of Ceresco Days, which takes place this Friday, July 8, and Saturday, July 9. Events are spread across the two days, with a full day of activities planned for Saturday. Ceresco Days committee member Sophia Custer says Friday nights are usually the festivals big night. Thats when the Car Show and Shine happens, starting at 4 p.m. And thats when the kiddie parade, the main parade and the fireworks show happen, too. Some events are agreed-upon highlights among Ceresco Days attendees. But Custer says the fireworks always pique local interest, whether people have been enjoying the Ceresco Days activities all afternoon or are coming to town just for a booming show. People come from miles around to see our fireworks, Custer said. Other events are fan favorites, too, like the Saturday-morning color run. Participants pay a small fee, start running from Ceresco Park and get doused with washable paint, all while helping to raise money for the Ceresco splash pad project. Another big hit is the scavenger hunt, which was so popular in its first edition last year that participation will be limited to 50 people. Prizes will be available at each stop on the hunt, but scavengers will have to answer a riddle to get there. It will start at Ceresco Park at 1 p.m. on Saturday. And the newest addition to the Ceresco Days festivities is a chalk art contest, which allows children to register for a specific sidewalk square that theyll be able to decorate with their own chalk design. Registration opened on Tuesday and is available at the Ceresco Village Office. Winners will be announced at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Saturdays schedule is filled out with the wiffle ball tournament put on by Saunders County Youth Services and the Ceresco Police Club starting at 11 a.m.; Raymond Central High Schools FBLA is hosting a craft fair, starting at 10 a.m.; bounce houses open at 4 p.m. and the kiddie tractor pull starts at 7 p.m. All participants in the tractor pull will receive a free ice cream cone, provided by the Super C convenience store. All of the activities together accumulate into a weekend of fun and community involvement. Thats what Custer calls Ceresco Days, anyway a community get-together. I think its a weekend for everybody just to get out, socialize and relax, Custer said. And for some, Ceresco Days is a homecoming. Ceresco High School graduates hold an annual banquet during the community celebration, which longtime Ceresco Days board member Doug Swanson said is a microcosm of the festival as a whole. Dougs classmates are getting up there in age, as the schools last graduating students, in 1967, are in their early 70s. But they all enjoy the opportunity to come home and spend a weekend in Ceresco. Its just wonderful that people get to come back to the community and feel a sense of pride in the community, he said. Its a chance for them to see old friends. The banquet takes place on Saturday afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Ceresco United Methodist Church. Jim and Martha Hunter arent exactly making a homecoming the two moved back to Ceresco, Jims hometown, in 2010. But they are being honored as the 2022 Ceresco Days Grand Marshals. Custer said Jim is facilitating growth in Ceresco, as real estate development has opened up in recent years on the Hunter familys land in town. A Facebook post recognizing the Hunters says the two are still active with the Comet Lodge 229, American Legion Post 244 and the Shriners. Custer said she would like to see Ceresco Days grow in coming years and thinks it will, but the 2022 addition should be well-attended by locals and visitors. But if anybody has any ideas, they can contact us, Custer said. Were always looking for more suggestions. Sam Crisler is a reporter for The Waverly News. Reach him via email at samuel.crisler@wahoonewspaper.com. DAKOTA CITY -- A South Sioux City man is in custody, facing numerous charges of sexually assaulting a girl. Jose Cruz Delao Murguia, 42, is being held on a $300,000 bond in the Dakota County Jail since his Thursday arrest on two counts each of first-degree sexual assault of a child, third-degree sexual assault of a child and one count of child abuse. Authorities were notified of the alleged assaults on June 2, when a girl under age 16 who was at the Siouxland Community Health Center reported she'd been sexually assaulted. She was interviewed on June 8 at an Omaha child abuse prevention and resource center. According to court documents, the girl told interviewers that Delao Murguia had sexually assaulted her on three occasions, the most recent on May 30, in a South Sioux City home. By William Cobb Director, Pensacola Aerospace Museum Throughout my lifelong fascination with the mighty F-14 Tomcat, I have purchased a score of books about this magnificent aircraft. I am honored to be in touch with some of these authors, including David Parsons, Tom Cooper, and Heater Heatley, among others. I have also had the honor of purchasing art from Lou Drendel, whose artwork and Squadron Signal Books formed a key part of understanding the capabilities of that aircraft. Lou Drendels book forms a particularly interesting record of Test Flying the Tomcat, as he interviewed Emory Brown for his F-14 Tomcat in Action Book. For those who didnt know, back in the Pre-Internet Dark Ages last Century, Squadron Signal Books were an essential part of any aircraft enthusiasts library. Short, concise, magazine-like softcovers costing just a few dollars, they were populated by excellent artwork, with a centerfold showcasing a plethora of profiles of various aircraft in different guises. Their cover art was equally dramatic, as were their back covers. It was while reading such a book as a child that the name Emory Brown first came to my attention. In F-14 Tomcat in Action, he provided a highly detailed account of what he termed the Great DLC Fight with Grumman. Since Commander Browns background as a test pilot in the Tomcat Program is widely known, I believed his perspective on the development of the Tomcat is invaluable and did my own research prior to speaking with him on the phone about the program. On Wednesday, 29 June 2022, nearly exactly a half-century after he became the first Naval Aviator to land the F-14 aboard the USS Forrestal. The following account relates the highlights of our conversation and is cross-referenced with my original F-14 in Action source, and the NATOPS Flight Manual of the F-14A, a copy of which forms a valued part of the Pensacola Aerospace Museums reference material. Once again we shall distinguish between ourselves as Pensacola Aerospace Museum (PAM) and Commander Brown, with his rank abbreviated as CDR. Brown. PAM: Having read the Lou Drendel Book, it is our understanding that you put in months of 16-hour days to get the F-14 Tomcat Program ready for its Carrier Qualifications. CDR Brown: That is correct. Grumman and the Navy were under a lot of pressure back then to get the airplane on the boat, so photos showing the programs progress could be shown to the public. I was the first Naval Aviator to land the Tomcat on a carrier, with Commander George White, the first Naval Aviator to fly the Tomcat, riding in back. PAM: So one of your primary roles in the program was getting the Tomcat Carrier Qualified. CDR Brown: That is correct. PAM; In looking at the Lou Drendel Book you mention just how bruising the Great DLC Fight truly was. Note: DLC was a spoiler system designed to reduce or increase lift on the types wings without changing aircraft pitch attitude or power settings. Given that the aircraft was capable of Mach 2, its slow-speed handling characteristics were essential to the types safe operation aboard carriers at sea. DLC worked by a special thumb-operated wheel on the control stick which could activate the spoilers during the final approach to fine-tune the aircrafts lift and descent rate without needing to add or reduce power given the lag inherent in early Pratt & Whitney TF30 turbofan powerplants. CDR Brown: Grumman was under a lot of pressure to meet the Navy Specifications on the airplane, and with DLC aboard, the F-14 was roughly 4-6 knots faster than Spec. Grumman was afraid they would be penalized for this breach, and they proposed either first eliminating DLC, then changing the Tomcats approach Angle of Attack (AOA) from 15 to 17 units to meet the approach speed spec. PAM: Tell us what kind of issues that would have caused. CDR Brown: It would have resulted in a higher pitch attitude and reduced visibility coming aboard the carrier. The airplane simply handled better at 15 than it did at 17 AOA. This point raised by Commander Brown caused us to look up the Approach AOA for the Tomcat in the Grummans NATOPS flight manual. After some digging and after asking Tomcat veterans David Parsons, Heater Heatley, and Larry Splash Coy , what their approach AOA was in service during their time in the Fleet, their answer, along with NATOPS was 15 units. With NATOPS proving Commander Browns contention that 15 was the proper approach angle, as he literally wrote the types flight manual for Carrier Operations as its Test Pilot, it also gave the following warning; Stalls with landing gear extended and flaps up are similar to those with flaps extended. Buffet starts at 16 to 18 units AOA and wing rock at 26 units A0A. During deceleration in a level 1-g stall approach, the light buffet starts at about 19 units AOA. Buffet does not significantly change thereafter as the AOA is increased and provides no usable stall warning.Therefore as the types NATOPS flight manual noted, the F-14 could enter the pre-stall buffet without warning at 16-19 Units AOA. Given that stall speed increases directly proportional to bank angle, any turns during a Tomcat approach could cause a stall on approach, a situation made even more hazardous by the types of trouble-plagued legacy engines, the TF30. Tomcat Veteran Larry Splash Coy, noted the following; Only problem with 17 units was that it lessens the margin of errordoesnt take much after that to find yourself behind the power curve. I was a throttle walker with the TF-30scouldnt find that with the GEs as their thrust was almost instantaneous and the nose wandered. 2000 hrs in the A, 1800 in the A+/B. I loved those GEs !!!!! Veteran Tomcat RIO David Parsons also noted; We flew by the Indexer. RIO calculated approach airspeed and monitored that for deviations as well Vs which was out of pilots scan. RIO would verbally call out on speed600 and use inflection if needed. During the daytime, VMC, is not needed unless the pilot asked for it. Nighttime or IMC, it was a chant. Given the fact that Experienced RIOs were often teamed up with low-time naval aviators, one cannot help but admire their sheer intestinal fortitude as they rode without flight controls in the backseat of a low and slow Tomcat on approach to a carrier with only their intercom to keep their voice-activated autopilots out of trouble for them both. PAM: What other kinds of issues did you run into during carrier testing? CDR Brown: We had throttles that would stick, and sometimes require a substantial amount of force to unstick. Sometimes the wings would as well. It could be cured by going head down and reaching for the flap handle and wing sweep handle while flying the airplanes stick between ones knees. As I recall, you had to get to adjust the wing sweep angle to 22 degrees in order to lower the flaps. My theory then was that this was certainly something that contributed to We had throttles that would stick, and sometimes require a substantial amount of force to unstick. Sometimes the wings would as well. It could be cured by going head down and reaching for the flap handle and wing sweep handle while flying the airplanes stick between ones knees. As I recall, you had to get to adjust the wing sweep angle to 22 degrees in order to lower the flaps. My theory then was that this was certainly something that contributed to Bill Millers crash. PAM: What was your perspective on what happened? CDR Brown: Bill Miller was a class act, a first-class Test Pilot, and a real stand-up guy. The Navy had him fly an airshow to demonstrate the Tomcat and unfortunately, they chose our specially instrumented carrier suitability aircraft. Bill was flying an airshow routine solo, in low ceilings of only approximately 2000 ft. I had my suspicions of what happened right away, and sure enough, when we recovered him and the airplane, we found evidence on his flight helmet consistent with his head being down to reset the wing sweep angle and flaps. PAM: Certainly a sad loss both personally and to the program. CDR Brown: Grumman was under a lot of financial pressure then because they were laboring under a fixed price contract during a time of inflation. They were trying their best to avoid any future contract penalties. One thing they did to try and keep DLC off as they told VF-1 and VF-2 which were the first Fleet Squadrons to get the Tomcat that putting DLC on the airplane would cost them the internal Gun. PAM: What was your response to this. CDR Brown: We made a film showing landings and successful recovery rates with and without DLC engaged. With DLC it was something on the order of 96 percent, without it it was in the 60s. PAM: Thats quite a difference. What happened after that? CDR. Brown: After seeing the films, the Navy had no choice but to back us on this, and so did VF-1 and 2 once they realized that having DLC wasnt going to cost them their gun. PAM: It should be noted that the Great DLC Fight is in no way meant to impugn Grummans reputation, as Commander Brown notes the pressure the company was laboring under. In many ways, the sale of the Tomcat to Iran helped save Grumman itself, as the foreign contract enabled the company to offset the losses with its U.S. Navy contract. CDR Brown: Another issue was the TF30s, as we were stuck with those engines because of the F-111B. We believe that by sticking to his guns on these points Commander Browns DLC and 15 Degree AOA fight saved countless lives through the Tomcats 30-plus years of US Navy service. A type that could have been renowned as an Ensign and RIO eliminator instead became a challenging, but safe airplane to operate at sea aboard the carriers of the United States Navy. by Adam Estes The Planes of Fame Air Museum , one of the worlds oldest and largest collections of vintage aircraft, has been making steady progress on a rare piece of history to add to its already impressive stable of airworthy airframes. The type in question is Bell YP-59A Airacomet 42-108777, one of just six remaining examples of Americas first jet-powered aircraft of the 66 built. It is also a uniquely surviving pre-production variant. For those unfamiliar with the P-59, the Airacomet resulted from the United States Department of War expressing interest in turbojet-powered aircraft following Major General Henry Hap Arnold (Chief of the Army Air Corps) witnessing a demonstration of the Gloster E.28/39, Britains first British jet-powered aircraft, in April, 1941. Upon his return to Washington, he wrote to General Electric (GE) requesting they build a licensed copy of the Power Jets Whittle W.1 jet engine, given the companys familiarity with designing and constructing turbochargers and superchargers. The Bell Aircraft Corporation of Buffalo, New York received a contract to design and build an aircraft employing this engine. Within a year of Britain sending a non-airworthy example of the W.1X (along with Power Jets engineers and design drawings for the more powerful W.2B/23) to the States for testing, the XP-59A had not only been shipped secretly to Muroc Dry Lake in Californias Mojave Desert, but had made its first tentative hops into the air with the GE-built I-A jet powering it. However, although the original intent was for the Airacomet to serve as a fighter, fielding a 37mm autocannon and three machine guns, the type proved unsuitable for such a role. Testing revealed that the airframe was both underpowered and an unstable gun platform at speeds exceeding 290 mph. However, despite this setback, the Airacomet did serve an important purpose beyond its technological breakthroughs for American jet deign; it familiarized pilots, ground crew, and military command staff with jet aircraft operations, a harbinger of the modern combat arena. One example even made its way (by ship) to Britain for comparison against British aircraft types such as the Gloster Meteor jet fighter, which did see combat in WWII. Planes of Fames Airacomet was the seventh of 13 pre-production test aircraft built. It is the second oldest surviving example, with only the Smithsonians XP-59A 42-108784 being older. The aircraft was flight tested at Muroc Army Airfield (now Edwards AFB), California. At one point, it was among four prototype P-59s modified with an open cockpit observers seat in front of the pilots cockpit with a small windscreen in front. While the two XP-59As used their cockpits to fly dignitaries and other personnel on their first jet flights, the two modified YP-59As (42-108777 and 42-108783) were employed as mother ships for unmanned, radio-controlled P-59s flight performance experiments between late 1944 and early 1945 in a joint Bell/Sperry program at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Takeoffs and landings would be guided by a ground controller seated atop a truck while the mother ship would control the drone during all other stages of the flight except landing. After these experiments were completed, 42-108777 was reassigned to the 412th Fighter Group, spending time in both the 445th Fighter Squadron (FS) and the 31st FS at several locations around California (Palmdale, March Field, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Santa Maria). It has been reported that pilots used 42-108777 to occasionally take base nurses and ground crew personnel on their first jet flights while at Santa Maria. At this point, a makeshift canopy was added to cover the observers cockpit. Following WWII, 42-108777 was sold as surplus. Like several other P-59s, it ended up as an instructional airframe with the California Polytechnic Institute in San Luis Obispo. However, unlike most Airacomets, which ended up in scrap yards following their usefulness, 42-108777 had a lucky escape when famed aircraft collector and historian, Edward T. Maloney, bought her for preservation at The Air Museum in Ontario, California. In the 1970s, the museum, renamed as the Planes of Fame Air Museum, had moved to nearby Chino. While the unusual observers cockpit and canopy remained in situ on the airframe into the 1980s, that was set to change when its airworthy restoration began during the early 1990s. The aircraft was missing many parts at the time, with replacements having to be found or re-fabricated. For example, the aircraft came without its J31 engines when first acquired, but soon after restoration commenced, the museum was able to acquire three examples in Texas which had originally been intended for the Ryan FR-1 Fireball program. While the project has moved in fits and starts over the decades, the museum estimates that about 75% of the Airacomets restoration is done, with the complex parts such as the wing spars, landing gear and engines already having undergone overhaul. The work which remains includes completing the instrument panel and cockpit functionality, refurbishing the tail control surfaces, and repainting, after which an extensive flight test program could begin. While the restoration effort stalled in recent years, the museum may resume work sometime soon, hopefully by the end of this year. When 42-108777 finally returns to the skies again, it will become the oldest airworthy jet-powered aircraft in the world! For more information about the Planes of Fame Air Museum, please visit their website HERE CEDAR FALLS The Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley has announced the following needs of local organizations for volunteers: Contact the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley at (319) 883-3015 or information@vccv.org, or go online to vccv.org for a complete listing of volunteer opportunities in the Cedar Valley. Residents called 911 around 1:25 a.m. to report a man who was displaying a pistol in the 2000 block of College Street. Officers found the suspect still in the area and discovered a loaded .380-caliber pistol tucked in his waistband. The weapon had its serial number scratched off, according to police. A mason jar with marijuana was also found. Flash Thailand and China agreed on Tuesday to carry on traditional friendship, expand bilateral cooperation and plan for the future development of relations. While meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said his country attaches great importance to the China-proposed Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative and admires China's great achievements in eliminating extreme poverty. Thailand expects to learn from China's development experience, grasp the trend of the times, seize the historical opportunity and push for the Thailand-China cooperation in all fields, the Thai prime minister said. Wang said China and Thailand have witnessed healthy and stable development of relations, which benefits from the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the traditional friendship of China and Thailand that are close like a family, and the firm political trust between the two countries. Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, Wang said the two sides agreed to set the joint construction of the China-Thailand community with a shared future as a goal and vision, work together to enrich the connotation of "China and Thailand are close like a family," and forge ahead for a more stable, prosperous and sustainable future for the two countries. Wang said China and Thailand could work on building a China-Laos-Thailand Railway to smooth the flow of goods with convenient channels, promote economy and trade with better logistics, and facilitate the growth of industries with robust economy and trade. More cold-chain freight trains, tourism routes and durian expresses could be launched to make cross-border transportation more convenient, less costly, and more efficient, Wang suggested. Prayut said Thailand and China enjoy long-standing friendship and fruitful practical cooperation. It is significant for the two sides to have reached a consensus on jointly building a community with a shared future, and Thailand stands ready to work with China in advancing it. He expressed hope to further synergize the "Thailand 4.0" development strategy with China's Belt and Road Initiative, carry out the third party market cooperation based on Thailand-China-Laos Railway, and unleash the full potential of the border-crossing railway. Both sides exchanged views over the APEC Informal Leaders' Meeting to be held this year. Wang said China fully supports Thailand in playing an important role as the APEC host country for 2022 with focuses on the Asia-Pacific, development and the construction of the Asia-Pacific free trade zone, so as to inject a new and strong impetus into the regional integration process. Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He also co-chaired the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Myanmar. WATERLOO Cedar Valley Center for ENT, Sinus & Allergy is excited to welcome Kenny Rodriguez, M.D., to its team. Rodriguez will begin seeing patients Monday, July 11. When interviewing for this position, the current team and myself bonded over the importance of patient-provider relationship, Rodriguez said. Throughout my time in health care, Ive learned that first and foremost, I enjoy caring for people, and thats something that really drew me to the team here. Rodriguez most recently served as administrative chief at the University of Colorado Otolaryngology, as well as serving as field surgeon in the Colorado Army National Guard. Prior to that, he worked for two years as a rural home health and hospice nurse and then as a pediatric nurse. Born in Venezuela and raised in Aurora, Colorado, Rodriguez attended Brigham Young University-Idaho, where he received his nursing degree. He then moved back home to study medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He completed his otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency program at the University of Colorado Graduate Medical Education in 2022. He is most passionate about sleep disorders, facial plastic surgery and sinus surgery. He and his wife, Harmony, have three children (Austin, Daisy and Parker). Cedar Valley Center for ENT, Sinus & Allergy specializes in facial plastics, sleep apnea testing and treatment, balloon sinuplasty, allergy treatments, hearing aid technology and skin cancer screening and treatment. The clinic is located at 2515 Cyclone Drive in Waterloo, and is open from 8 a.m. 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Toschedule an appointment or learn more, call (319) 888-8044. WAVERLY Most people have heard of chronic illnesses like heart disease, strokes and diabetes. That being said, Waverly Health Centers Community Health Needs Assessment indicates work still needs to be done the next three years to manage and prevent them. Were not hitting the mark as a country, and not taking care of the diseases that people are dying from, said WHC Chief Operating Officer Heidi Solheim. Solheim said making a difference boils down to changing behavior. Waverly Country Club votes to transfer ownership of property, operations to city The vote comes amidst a lawsuit, filed by the clubs former manager, alleging the board did not address employees sexual harassment complaints, and tried to defame the ex-manager after firing him. Part of the centers action plan includes continuing to lead the Waverly Area Partnership for Healthy Living. According to its website, the partnership was formed in January 2010 by a group of concerned citizens who wanted to address the issue of obesity. Solheim said its time to encourage patients to get back on track when it comes to getting their physicals and screenings, and re-engaging them in healthy eating and exercising initiatives. We got out of the habit of doing whats right for us, she said. Waverly Health Center completed its first needs assessment in June 2013 and has completed one every three years in compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and federal tax-exemption rules. The hope is by drafting the report and implementing action steps, the hospital will be able to keep providing high-quality, person-centered health care. Internally, Solheim said, the assessment also prioritized finding ways to increase mental health services by identifying more providers and building new partnerships. Right now, patients face wait times to access mental health services and cant immediately get in touch with providers who can prescribe the necessary medication, she said, as one example. Waverly Health Center welcomed its new CEO The new CEO held the same title with MercyOne Centerville Medical Center and Cherokee Regional Medical Center. That makes new programs, like Unite Iowa a coordinated care network of health and social service providers even more important, she noted. After a persons health and social needs are identified, a shared technology platform can refer a patient electronically to multiple partners and seamlessly communicate with providers in real time. Specific to Bremer, Butler and Chickasaw counties, Solheim said the report reaffirmed stark disparities between Butler and Bremer counties. She pointed to a page in the report referencing the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. In terms of overall health, Butler is ranked 62nd lowest out of Iowas 99 counties, and Bremer is fourth. Butler County residents find themselves 80th for length of life. Bremer County ranks seventh. The health centers report was completed in collaboration with Community Memorial Hospital, Bremer County Health Department and the Waverly-Shell Rock Area United Way. Research came mainly through an online survey, with a series of rank-order, multiple choice and open-ended questions. It was completed by 272 individuals. Of those, 23.22% were aged 50 to 59 years old. A total of 84.27% were female. Nearly all 98.52% were white or Caucasian. And the overwhelming majority live and work in Bremer County. Compared with past years, Solheim said, there are new questions regarding combating misinformation and disinformation. Where do people get their information from? she said. Is it from the CDC or World Health Organization, or through social media? These are not questions we would have had to ask before. Besides chronic disease management and access to mental health services, the health center identified its other priorities as wellness and aging services obesity reduction, preventive exams/screenings and vaccinations and unintentional injuries like falls and motor vehicle accidents. The priority areas for this periods CHNA action plan did not change significantly from previous assessments. These issues are pervasive and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated chronic conditions and mental health needs in our service area and across the state, said the reports executive summary. The full assessment and action plan can be found online at waverlyhealthcenter.org/about-us/community-needs-assessment. Deadly July 4 parade: Shots, then a frantic rush to escape HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) For many people, the mass shooting that killed at least seven people and injured 30 others in a Chicago suburb on July 4 was yet another reminder that any place, any event in the U.S. can turn dangerous or deadly. Highland Park is one of the countrys safest towns, and July 4th parades among the most American of celebrations. Even before Mondays killings, some people already were on edge, questioning whether to venture into large gatherings, looking over their shoulders during even the most run-of-the-mill activities, from grocery shopping to going to school or catching a movie. Ukrainian governor urges evacuation of 350,000 residents KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) The governor of the last remaining eastern province partly under Ukraine's control urged his more than 350,000 residents to flee as Russian troops escalated their offensive. The governor of Donetsk made the plea Tuesday, after Russia declared it had seized the neighboring Luhansk province. In Donetsk province, a city in the path of Moscows offensive came under sustained bombardment Tuesday. The mayor of Sloviansk reported massive shelling that killed at least one person and wounded seven in the city. Russian forces are apparently positioning to advance farther into Ukraines Donbas region. The mostly Russian-speaking industrial area is where Ukraine's most experienced soldiers are concentrated. In nearly all of Ukraine Tuesday night, air alerts were activated. Judge wont block law banning most Mississippi abortions JACKSON, Miss. (AP) A Mississippi judge has rejected a request by the states only abortion clinic to temporarily block a state law that would ban most abortions. Judge Debbra K. Halford rejected the request Tuesday. Attorneys argued over abortion laws in three Southern states in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave states the power to limit or outlaw the termination of pregnancies. Elsewhere, Floridas new 15-week abortion ban was blocked but then quickly reinstated Tuesday. In Louisiana, the state attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on most abortions. Parade shooting suspect bought 5 weapons despite threats HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) The man accused of opening fire at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including two high-powered rifles. Authorities said Tuesday that the purchases were allowed even though police were called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide. The suspect was charged with seven counts of murder. Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart promised that dozens more charges would be sought and that the man could receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. The assailant sprayed more than 70 rounds from a rooftop into a crowd in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore. Georgia subpoenaing Giuliani, Graham in Trump election probe ATLANTA (AP) The Georgia prosecutor investigating the conduct of former President Donald Trump and his allies after the 2020 election is subpoenaing U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to testify before a special grand jury. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Tuesday filed petitions with the judge overseeing the jury as part of her investigation into what she alleges was a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere. The move marks a major escalation in a case that pose a serious legal challenge to the former president as he weighs another White House run. New evacuations for communities near California forest fire JACKSON, Calif. (AP) Evacuation orders have been expanded for remote communities near a wildfire that's chewing through California forests. The Sierra Nevada Gold Country fire tripled in size to more than 4.7 square miles Tuesday. The fire erupted on the Fourth of July at a recreation area packed with people. Between 85 to 100 celebrating at a river were forced to take shelter at a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. facility. Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman says they were safely evacuated. Evacuations are in place for parts of Amador and Calaveras counties. Redman suggested fireworks or a barbeque as a possible fire cause. Wisconsin court to rule on immunity in sex trafficking case MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin's Supreme Court is set to decide whether a sex trafficking victim accused of homicide can argue at trial that she was justified in killing the man who trafficked her. The ruling Wednesday could help define the extent of immunity for trafficking victims nationwide. Prosecutors allege Chrystul Kizer shot Randall Volar at his Kenosha home in 2018. She was 17 at the time. She contends Volar was trafficking her for sex and wants to argue that she's immune from prosecution under a state law that absolves trafficking victims of any offenses resulting from being trafficked. Prosecutors counter that immunity can't possibly extend to homicide. FDA temporarily suspends order banning Juul cigarettes WASHINGTON (AP) The Food and Drug Administration has issued an administrative stay on the order it issued last month for vaping company Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the market. The agency says the stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order while it conducts further review, but does not rescind it. The FDA issued the initial order banning Juul sales on June 23. A day later, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the government ban. The initial FDA action was part of a sweeping effort by the agency to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of regulatory delays. As 'Run 3' begins, CERN touts discovery of exotic particles GENEVA (AP) The physics lab thats home to the worlds largest atom smasher has announced the observation of three new exotic particles that could provide clues to the force that binds subatomic particles together. The observation of a new type of pentaquark as well as the first duo of tetraquarks at CERN offers a new angle to assess the so-called strong force that holds together the nuclei of atoms. Tuesday's announcement came as CERN was resuming collisions of subatomic particles for third time in a so-called Run 3 that's expected to last early four years. 2 sets down, Djokovic wins 26th consecutive Wimbledon match WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Novak Djokovic erased a two-set deficit against 10th-seeded Jannik Sinner to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the 11th time. Djokovic came back to win 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 at Centre Court. It is his 26th consecutive victory at the All England Club. Djokovic is pursuing a fourth straight title at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament and seventh overall. He will face Cam Norrie of Britain in the semifinals. Norrie won a five-setter against David Goffin to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. Third-seeded Ons Jabeur and Tatjana Maria also reached their first Grand Slam semifinals with victories on Tuesday. The Russian Federations Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response continues to record the Kiev regimes criminal actions against civilians. According to reliable information, militants of nationalist groups are preparing a provocation with the use of toxic substances in Nikolaevka, Donetsk Peoples Republic. For this purpose, the Ukrainian neo-Nazis brought tanks with liquid chlorine (over six thousand litres) to the pumping and filtration station of the Slavyansk TPP, which they had mined and planned to blow up when units of Russian troops and formations of the Donetsk Peoples Republic approach. We warn the civilized West in advance of an impending provocation in which the Ukrainian authorities will once again accuse the Russian military of allegedly indiscriminate strikes on chemically hazardous facilities, with wide spread of fabricated material in the Ukrainian and Western media. In addition, the Ukrainian armed formations, by using chemical industry facilities to house their units and military equipment, are deliberately creating conditions for man-made accidents that could affect thousands of civilians: in Nikolaev, militants have equipped artillery and MLRS positions on the territory of the UkrGIAP company (Vladimir Stanko Street); in Kharkov, territorial defence units and heavy weaponry are deployed at Kharkov Khimprom enterprise (Promyshlennaya Street); in Odessa, armoured vehicles and large-calibre artillery of AFU units are deployed in the immediate vicinity of Odessa Port Refrigerator (Customs Square str.). Once again, we call on the world community, the United Nations, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and other international organisations to influence official Kiev and take effective measures to prevent Ukrainian armed formations from using chemically hazardous facilities for military purposes. Despite all the difficulties and obstacles imposed by the Ukrainian side, over the past day, without the participation of Kiev, 22,047 people were evacuated from dangerous areas, 3,456 of them children, and in total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 2,335,067 people have already been evacuated, of which 368,199 are children. The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 364,375 personal vehicles including 4,534 per day. More than 9,500 temporary accommodation centres continue to operate in the regions of the Russian Federation. The refugees are dealt with on an individual basis and are promptly assisted with various pressing issues relating to onward accommodation, employment assistance, places for children in kindergartens and educational institutions, and the provision of entitlements to social benefits. Over the past 24 hours, the hotline of the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, federal executive authorities, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and various NGOs received 28 requests from foreign and Ukrainian citizens to evacuate to Russia, the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics, as well as to the Russian Armed Forces-controlled areas of Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions. In total there are 2,759,012 such appeals from 2,139 locations in Ukraine in the database. In addition, 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries remain blocked in 6 Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhniy). The threat of shelling and high mine danger posed by official Kiev prevents vessels from entering the high seas unhindered. As a result of the measures taken by the Russian Navy, the mine threat in the waters of the port of Mariupol has been eliminated and measures are being taken to restore the port infrastructure. The Russian Armed Forces have created conditions for the operation of two maritime humanitarian corridors, which are safe lanes for ships: in the Black Sea to leave Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhnyi ports in a south-westerly direction from Ukraines territorial sea, 139 miles long and 3 miles wide; in the Sea of Azov, to leave Mariupol port 115 miles long and 2 miles wide towards the Black Sea. Detailed information in English and Russian on the modus operandi of the maritime humanitarian corridor is broadcast daily every 15 minutes on VHF radio on 14 and 16 international channels in English and Russian. At the same time, the Kiev authorities continue to avoid engaging with representatives of states and ship-owning companies to resolve the issue of ensuring the safe passage of foreign vessels to the assembly area. The danger to navigation from Ukrainian mines drifting off their anchors along the coasts of Black Sea states remains. The Russian Federation is taking a full range of comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of civilian navigation in the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Demining detachments of the Russian Armed Forces and the EMERCOM of Russia are carrying out land and facility clearance tasks in the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics. A total of 3,751.31 hectares were checked, 35 buildings (including 13 socially important facilities), 2 bridges and 9.64 km of roads. 48,232 explosive objects have been detected and deactivated. Federal executive authorities, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, various public organizations, patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid. The greatest contributors to the relief effort were: Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport, Federal Bailiff Service, Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography, Federal Agency of Nationalities; republics of Bashkortostan, Dagestan, Crimea, Sakha (Yakutia), Tatarstan, as well as Kabardino-Balkarian and Chechen Republics, Krasnodar, Primorsky and Khabarovsk regions, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh regions, Kaluga, Leningrad, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Rostov, Samara, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Tula and Yaroslavl regions, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, as well as Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sevastopol; among political parties and non-profit organisations: United Russia, the All-Russian Public Movement Peoples Front, the All-Russian Public Organisation of Veterans Battle Brotherhood, the autonomous non-profit organisation to support humanitarian programmes Russian Humanitarian Mission, the Open Joint Stock Company Russian Railways, the State Corporation for Space Activities Roscosmos and the All-Russian Public and Public Organisation Russian Union of Women. More than 43,500 tons of basic necessities, food and medicines have been prepared at the collection points. Since March 2, 2022, 39,913.3 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 1,263 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 5 actions in Zaporozhye and Kharkov regions, as well as in Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics, during which 290.5 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas. On July 5, 6 humanitarian actions have been planned and are currently being carried out in Kharkov region, in Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics, during which 509 tons of basic necessities, medicine and food will be distributed. https://eng.mil.ru/en/special_operation/news/more.htm?id=12428013@egNews WtR Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, I called crazy any attempts to create tribunals or courts for the so-called investigation of Russias actions. These proposals are not only legally void. The idea of punishing the country that has the largest nuclear potential is absurd in itself. And potentially threatens the existence of mankind. But now I would like to elaborate on something else. Namely, who is yelling that it is necessary to arrange a trial of Russia and involve supranational bodies for this? Who is this daredevil or idiot? The high priest is known to all. And he did a very good job in order to sow chaos and devastation around the world under the sauce of the notorious true democracy. He knows how to brutally and primitively impose his will, using money, spineless vassals, for decency called allies, and weapons of the highest quality. All American history, from the time of the conquest of the Indians, is a bloody war of annihilation. And we are talking about the most brutal extermination of the civilian population. It has become a signature style of American politics. Whoever is in power there. During World War II, the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in this way only to justify the huge expenses for the nuclear Manhattan Project. Senseless wars away from their own country, the United States continued. Without rules and without regard to the world community, which is first among equals is not a decree at all. Vietnam and Korea, Yugoslavia and Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan and Syria are well aware of how disastrous the consequences of such invasions are the list is long, and constantly updated. America has killed more than 20 million people in 37 countries since the end of World War II, according to a study published in Global Research. Think about it more than 20 MILLION! The author of this article, James A. Lucas, asks a fair question: how much 9/11 has the United States staged in other states? The answer is about 10 thousand. When I was in Vietnam, local colleagues reminded me that the total losses from the war with the Americans amounted to three million people. All of them are on the conscience of assassins from the United States, who cynically climbed into a country thousands of miles away to achieve their imperial goals. A country that did not threaten them in any way, was not and was not going to be part of any military blocs and was not a US rival on the world stage. Yes, we walked. The result three million dead Vietnamese! Who is responsible for this crime? What tribunal condemned the sea of blood shed by the US there and elsewhere? Nobody! No supranational body has been created for these purposes. But the number of victims of the criminal policy of the United States today is comparable to the victims of the Nazi regime. So whos going to give us a show trial? Those who kill people and commit war crimes with impunity, but do not meet real condemnation in the international structures financed by them? Those who so firmly believed in their exclusivity and impunity? Those who believe they have the right to judge others, but be beyond the jurisdiction of any court? With Russia, this will not work. They understand this very well. Therefore, the filthy dogs of war stop by with their disgusting bark. But the USA and their useless mongrels should remember the words of Scripture: Judge not, lest you be judged; So that one day the great day of His wrath will not come to their house, and who can stand? (Bible. Rev. 6:17). Medvedev WtR Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine (July 6, 2022) The Russian Armed Forces continue strikes against military facilities in Ukraine. Russian Aerospace Forces strike on a temporary deployment point of 22nd Motorized Infantry Battalion of 92nd Mechanized Brigade based in Kharkov has destroyed up to 100 Ukrainian nationalists and 4 pieces of military equipment. High-precision air-based missiles have destroyed 2 US-made Himars multiple-launch rocket launchers and 2 ammunition depots near Malotaranovka in Donetsk Peoples Republic. High-precision weapons have destroyed 1 S-300 surface-to-air missile system radar station near Shirokolanivka, Nikolaev Region and 1 temporary deployment point of foreign mercenary units near Liman in Nikolaev Region. Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed 1 depot of rocket and artillery weapons belonging to the 57th Mechanized Brigade on the eastern outskirts of Soledar, where 1,500 shells of various calibres and over 100 foreign-made anti-tank missile systems were stored. In addition, Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed: 6 command posts, including those of South operational group, 79th Airborne Assault Brigade and 57th Mechanized Brigade of AFU near Bashtanka, Nikolaev and Soledar; 6 weapons and ammunition depots near Bashtanka, Nikolaev Region, Ivano-Darivka, Zaitsevo, Zvanovka, Artemovsk in Donetsk Peoples Republic and Kharkov; and 27 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration. As part of counter-battery fighting, 1 platoon of Uragan multiple-launch rocket systems has been destroyed, 3 artillery platoons at firing positions near Dzerzhinsk and Leninskoye in Donetsk Peoples Republic, and 1 platoon of Grad multiple-launch rocket systems near Voskresenskoye in Nikolaev region have been neutralised. Operational-tactical and army aviation, and missile troops and artillery have hit 77 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration. Russian Su-35 fighter has shot down 2 Mi-24 helicopters and 1 Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian air force in a single aerial battle near Nikolaevka and Snegirevka, Nikolaev Region. In addition, Russian air defence means have shot down 1 Mi-8 helicopter of the Ukrainian air force near Pervomaiskoye, Nikolaev Region. Also, 11 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down near Zelenyi Gai in Nikolaev Region, Vernopole, Dolgenkoe, Malye Prokhody, Topolskoe, Chervonaya, Grushevka in Kharkov Region, Chernobayevka, Grozovoye, Novovladimirovka in Kherson Region and Aleksandropolie in Lugansk Peoples Republic. 9 Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missiles have been intercepted near Chernobayevka in Kherson Region, Pervomaisk in Donetsk Peoples Republic, Khoroshee, Slavyanoserbsk, Kalinovo, Troitsk and Stakhanov in Lugansk Peoples Republic and 8 projectile of mulriple rocket lanchers near Dolgenkoe in Kharkov Region, Chernobaevka in Kherson Region and Lugansk. In total, 232 Ukrainian airplanes and 137 helicopters, 1,462 unmanned aerial vehicles, 353 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,915 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 720 multiple launch rocket systems, 3,096 field artillery and mortars, as well as 4,043 units of special military vehicles were destroyed during the operation. #MoD #Russia #Ukraine @mod_russia_en You are here: World Flash At least six people, including one minor, were killed and 25 others wounded in a bus crash in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, local media reported. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said the bus set off to the southwestern resort town of Bodrum early in the morning from the northwestern city of Edirne. Shortly into its journey, the bus crashed through the stockade, falling down a ramp in the Kirklareli province, it added. Police, medical professionals, and emergency rescue teams were sent to the crash site immediately, reported the agency. Kirklareli Governor Birol Ekici, who also arrived at the scene, did not disclose any possible causes regarding the crash, for which an investigation is underway. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says the 27-nation Europe Union needs to make emergency plans to prepare for a complete cut-off of Russian gas in the wake of the Kremlins war in Ukraine Gayle Lloyds right foot has been bump-free ever since October 2021, when the St. Leonard, Maryland, resident decided to have the protrusion removed with minimally invasive surgery. Like approximately one-third of American adults, Lloyd, 63, had a bunion a painful, bony bulge at the base of the big toe that occurs when the joint slips out of alignment. Older adults are more likely to develop the bothersome bumps, and bunions tend to affect more women than men, research shows. Some people can find relief from the pain and pressure bunions can cause with over-the-counter medications, roomier shoes and padding that acts as a barrier. There are also medical procedures, like the one Lloyd had, that in some cases can help to fix the problem. AARP asked four orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons to explain who might benefit from bunion surgery and what to expect from the outpatient procedure. Heres what you need to know if youre considering getting rid of a bunion. Is it time? You may be a bunion surgery candidate if your bunion foot hurts a lot and limits your daily activities such as walking, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) says. Maybe your big toe is inflamed, swollen, stiff or drifting toward other toes even crossing over and pain medication isnt helping with symptom relief. If youre hoping to stave off surgery and know that like with any surgery, there are risks to bunion removal, which is why AAOS stresses that surgery should be reserved for deformity with pain, and not for cosmetic reasons try using protective pads that cushion the painful area (you can find these in drug stores). Switching shoes can also help. Opt for something with a wide- or open-toe box and a soft upper fabric, says Carol Frey, M.D., codirector of West Coast Sports Medicine/UCLA Sports Medicine Fellowship, in Manhattan Beach, California think clogs, moccasins and sandals. There are also shoe inserts that can help to distribute the pressure more evenly in your feet when you walk. Again, if these measures do not work and your quality of life is impacted, ask your doctor whether surgery can help. iStock / Getty Images En espanol | You know what the best price is for something? Nothing. Free. No charge. And there are a surprising number of things that will cost you nothing more than the air you breathe. Here's a list of 14 great freebies you can check out right now. 1. Free entry to national parks The National Park Service (NPS) manages 423 parks, from Acadia in Maine to Zion in Utah. Of those parks, more than 100 charge entrance fees. The rest are free. However, the NPS waives entrance fees at all parks five days a year. Here are the free dates for 2022: Jan. 17: MLK Day April 16: Start of National Park Week Aug. 4: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act Sept. 24: National Public Lands Day Nov. 11: Veterans Day Speaking of veterans, members of the military, as well as military veterans and Gold Star Family members, can all get a pass for free entry to national parks. For others, it's not free, but it can be a bargain: People 62 and older can purchase a lifetime senior pass to national parks for just $80 (plus a $10 processing fee). Anybody in the car with a person holding a lifetime senior pass also gets in for free. Also, dont overlook state parks, many of which are free to enter. State parks in Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Tennessee are all free. 2. Free fishing If you want to go fishing, youll often have to reel in a fishing license. But many states have days when you dont need no stinkin license to fish. In Montana, for example, you can fish for free on Fathers Day weekend and Mothers Day weekend too. California lets you fish for free on July 2 and Sept. 3. TakeMeFishing.org has the rundown on free finny fun for all 50 states. 3. Free fireworks displays Nearly every major town has free legal fireworks on the Fourth of July. But if you want the most bang for no bucks, consider Addison, Texas, whose Kaboom Town offers 1,500 pounds of fireworks, live entertainment and air shows. Or head north to Boston, which offers the Boston Pops Orchestra, complete with the 1812 Overture and cannons, of course. Lake Tahoe normally has two shows one on the Fourth of July and one on Labor Day but the traditional fireworks will be replaced by drones this year to minimize fire risk. Advanced Exploration Drilling Commenced in Botswana Sydney, July 6, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cobre Limited ( ASX:CBE ) is pleased to announce the commencement of the next stage of drilling at Kalahari Metals Limited's (KML) Ngami Copper Project.This initial phase of drilling is designed to test the first of several prospective areas identified on KML's extensive license holding on the northern margin of the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB). The programme comprises four diamond holes, planned to test for extensions to encouraging Copper (Cu)-Silver (Ag) mineralisation previously intersected at two separate historical drill targets. Establishing that anomalous Cu-Ag mineralisation is laterally extensive in this initial programme will provide significant motivation for the district-scale potential of this relatively unexplored portion of the KCB.NCP and Kitlanya West - potential for a new copper districtThe NCP is located near the northern margin of the KCB (refer Figure 1*) and includes significant strike of sub-cropping Ngwako-Pan / D'Kar Formation contact at which the majority of the known deposits in the KCB occur. The Project is located immediately east of KML's Kitlanya West licenses- collectively covering a significant portion of prospective KCB stratigraphy. In terms of regional prospectivity, the greater license package includes:- Over 500km of prospective sub-cropping Ngwako Pan / D'Kar Formation contact;- Strategic location near the basin margin typically prioritised for sedimentary-hosted copper deposits;- Outcropping Kgwebe Formation often considered a key vector for deposits in the northeast of the KCB;- Well defined gravity low anomalies indicative of sub-basin architecture or structural thickening (a number of the deposits in the KCB are hosted on the margins of gravity lows);- Relatively shallow Kalahari Group cover (between 0m and ~60m thick); and- Numerous soil sample anomalies identified on regional sample traverses.By combining the vectors above, it is possible to sub-divide the area into a set of ranked targets for follow-up (refer Figure 2*). The scale of the license areas and targets highlights the district scale potential of the combined projects.NCP - Area of interest for the Current Drill ProgrammeHistorically, within the NCP project, two phases of diamond drilling intersected Cu (Ag) mineralisation above the Ngwako-Pan/D'Kar Formation contact. Intersections included 2m @ 1.8% Cu and 8 g/t Ag and 5.2m @ 0.7% Cu , which are considered highly anomalous relative to typical background Cu intersections along the KCB and may represent the halo of more significant mineralisation. The upcoming drill campaign will focus on testing the lateral continuity of mineralisation intersected during previous drill programmes. The programme will include four diamond core holes each approximately 300m in length, totalling ~1200m. The location of the planned drill programme is illustrated in Figure 3*.Triprop Holdings Ltd updated earn-in agreementKML has recently extended the earn-in agreement with Triprop Holdings Ltd. The agreement provides KML with an option to acquire 75% of Triprop after incurring USD$800,000 of exploration costs on the Triprop licenses and issuing of GBP60,000 of Cobre shares to the non-KML shareholders. KML then has the option to acquire the remaining 25% of Triprop based on an independent market valuation.Commenting on the drill programme, Cobre's Executive Chairman and Managing Director, Martin Holland, said:"The Kalahari Copper Belt is one of the most prospective copper belts world-wide. This programme represents the start of Cobre's new strategy to open up the significant potential within KML's extensive license holding on the northern margin of the Kalahari Copper Belt. We are thrilled to be recommencing exploration work with both our new KML CEO on board, as well as our experienced, Africa-based technical team, and look forward to providing updates on our exploration progress. Mitchell Drilling International have been commissioned to undertake the drilling and have already mobilised to site, with drilling expected to start shortly. We look forward to updating the market with results as they become available".*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Cobre Limited Cobre Limited (ASX:CBE) is a copper and base-metals explorer with projects in Western Australia and Botswana. The Company recently discovered a new high-grade VMS deposit enriched in Copper, Gold, Zinc and Silver in Western Australia, and is currently exploring approximately 8,100 km2 of tenements within the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB) in Botswana. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE The state of New Mexico cut its gross receipts tax last week by one-eighth of 1 percentage point the first reduction of its kind in more than 40 years. Another decrease is planned next summer. Whittling down the states gross receipts tax even more, experts said Tuesday, could push New Mexico toward the twin policy goals of making the states tax system more business-friendly and less burdensome for low-income families. But getting there wont be easy. Generating less revenue from gross receipts taxes would absent other changes make New Mexico even more dependent on income from the oil and gas industry, according to testimony at the Roundhouse on Tuesday. And the traditional strategy of hunting for tax breaks that can be eliminated is fraught with politically difficult trade-offs. Lawmakers confronted these realities Tuesday in a day of presentations on New Mexicos complex tax system a key component of which is a tax on the sale of goods and services, or gross receipts. The rates have shot up over the years as New Mexico narrowed the tax base by creating a tax break for the sale of some food at grocery stores and granted extra taxing authority to local governments. The rate exceeds 8% in some communities, such as Santa Fe, Belen and Las Cruces. In Albuquerque, its 7.75%. It really became a hard number to swallow as someone doing business in New Mexico, Democratic Sen. George Munoz of Gallup said. A tax package approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham this year is paring back the rate one-quarter of 1 percent, or enough to save a family 25 cents on a $100 purchase. Half the reduction went into effect last week, and the other half is scheduled next summer. The state portion of the gross receipts tax, for example, fell from 5.125% to a flat 5% last week. A similar cut of 0.125% is scheduled for next summer. Each change is expected to cost the state about $94 million in revenue. They are the first reductions in the statewide rates since 1981, though a 2004 law repealed the gross receipts tax on food. The food tax deduction and related payments to local governments to help them afford the loss in revenue cost New Mexico about $442 million in the most recent fiscal year with data available. Thats money some lawmakers say could be put to better use by lowering the rate overall. Lawmakers have repeatedly debated which tax breaks to eliminate as part of strategy to reduce tax rate. But Stephanie Schardin Clarke, the states taxation and revenue secretary, noted that many of the most costly tax breaks center on food, health care, low-income families and economic development. Its hard to find anything on this list that doesnt have a policy goal that is defensible, she said. Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, put it this way: Unwise as it may have been to exempt some food from the gross receipts tax, its been impossible to build support for taxing it again. Lawmakers can learn from the mistake, he said, by ensuring future tax changes are narrowly tailored enough to accomplish their goal. I think weve learned we can do more targeted tax policy, he said. The gross receipts tax and similar sales taxes make up about 34% of the revenue flowing into the states general fund, larger than any other source, lawmakers were told Tuesday. But the gross receipt tax is also responsible for holding back New Mexicos business-climate ranking, according to Tuesdays presentation. The Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, ranks New Mexico 28th among states in its Business Tax Climate Index, or roughly middle of the pack. New Mexico is among the best for property and unemployment insurance taxes. The states lowest ranking is for sales taxes, at No. 41. Ismael Torres, chief economist for the Legislative Finance Committee, said the complexity of the gross receipts tax system, the high tax rate and the taxation on business-to-business transactions contribute to the poor evaluation. The real anchor for New Mexicos taxes tends to be the gross receipts tax, Torres said. He added that the gross receipts tax is also regressive, hitting lower income families harder than others because they spend a higher share of their income on consumption. On the other hand, Torres said, a reduction in gross receipts tax revenue could make the state even more reliant on its direct taxation of oil and gas production, a particularly volatile revenue source. How much appetite New Mexico policymakers will have to take on overhauling the tax system isnt clear. Voters this year are set to decide all 70 seats in the state House and the race for governor. You are here: World Flash Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting that will be held this week in Bali, Indonesia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian announced on Tuesday. They will exchange views on current China-U.S. relations and major international and regional issues. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Concerns about unsanctioned encampments and homelessness have dominated City Council meetings, social media and other public discussions in recent months. Heres a look at some of the questions frequently asked in those discussions and responses from the city. Does the city already break up encampments? Yes. City crews have completed 732 cleanups so far in 2022, according to data provided by the Solid Waste Department. The city ranks response based on potential hazards. It moves quickest on those where campers are obstructing streets and sidewalks, where police have observed felony drug or other offenses, or where campers are next to certain city facilities like community and senior centers or in parks that host organized childrens programming. It tries to disband those immediately, though there is a backlog. Its less about outreach and its like, No, that is dangerous, and were not going to allow it,' Mayor Tim Keller said in a meeting with Journal editors and reporters last week. In other situations that dont meet the above criteria, staff post notice giving campers 72 hours to relocate before they raze the site. What happens to encampment residents belongings during a cleanup? Whatever is left behind gets thrown away. After proper notice is given (72 hours), Solid Waste disposes of items left behind once folks have vacated the encampment, city spokeswoman Ava Montoya said. Are there available shelter beds for people who are now sleeping outside? A recent city review on the night of June 20 identified 369 open beds across nine local emergency shelter sites. But Family and Community Services Department leaders say that is not enough for every unhoused person in Albuquerque and that many are not truly open to everyone. Some may be just for families. The 140 at Joy Junction require clients to pass a criminal background check. And the bulk of the openings 215 were at the citys shelter on the far West Side, a place many are reluctant to go because it requires a bus ride 20 miles outside of Downtown to an old jail and is not close to other services. Theres always beds available; the question is the barrier to use them, Keller said, noting that the West Side shelter is essentially putting people on an island. If there are open shelter beds, could the city make a person who is homeless go there? No, because they have rights. If a person does not want to go to a shelter, the city cannot force them into one. Like anything else, whether its (the police) or another city department, if somebody doesnt want to go, we cant just put them into a vehicle and take them somewhere they dont want to be, Kevin Morrow with the city legal office told the council June 22. That operates as a de facto arrest and that would not be permitted by the courts. Why is the city not arresting people for trespassing and sleeping illegally in parks? City officials have mentioned a number of factors, including the U.S. Constitution which protects against unreasonable property seizure and against cruel and unusual punishment the citys 2017 settlement in the federal McClendon lawsuit, Albuquerques loss in a court battle over an ordinance intended to curb panhandling, and a federal court ruling in a lawsuit alleging Boise, Idahos enforcement of local ordinances barring sleeping in parks and other public places violated the constitutional rights of people who are homeless. How does McClendon come into play? To exit the longstanding McClendon lawsuit which centered around overcrowding at the local jail the city in 2017 agreed to revise the police departments arrest procedures. The policies had to make clear that persons alleged to have committed non-violent misdemeanor offenses (not to include DWIs) will not be arrested when there are no circumstances necessitating an arrest, according to the settlement agreement, which also required the police have directives not to treat people who are homeless differently. Whether a person has a permanent address may not be the sole factor in determining whether to arrest rather than issue a citation, the agreement says. Offenses often associated with encampments trespassing, loitering and drinking in public are misdemeanors. Albuquerque Police Department Deputy Chief Josh Brown said the city could still make arrests for misdemeanors, but intervention has to start at a far lower level. So far this year, according to an APD spokesman, the city has made 1,011 misdemeanor arrests and issued 542 misdemeanor citations and 1,767 misdemeanor summons (similar to citations), though that is citywide and not specific to encampments. But what about felony violations happening in encampments? Brown said police can and do arrest people for the most serious crimes happening in parks and encampments. The felony crimes occurring in public property, in parks those are being arrested for: narcotics, violent crimes, possession of firearms. Our officers have never not arrested for those and we arrest for those on a weekly basis, Brown told the council. How is the Boise case relevant to Albuquerque? The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2019 that a municipality cannot criminalize sleeping outside when no sleeping space is practically available in any shelter. New Mexico is not part of the 9th Circuits jurisdiction. The city of Albuquerques lawyers say it may not directly bind Albuquerque but would likely surface in any potential lawsuits the city might face if it tried something similar to Boise. Its instructive, not binding, but its an indication of a similarly sized city with a similar problem theyre trying to address and they ended up spending a substantial amount of money trying to litigate that, Morrow told the City Council in June. What is the citys track record in such lawsuits? Keller often has cited the legal risk the city could face if it makes homelessness a crime, specifically noting Albuquerques ill-fated Pedestrian Safety Ordinance. The ordinance would have severely restricted panhandling, but the American Civil Liberties Union successfully sued the city. A U.S. District Court judge ruled that most of the ordinance was an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. The city appealed and lost. The city had to pay $375,000 to cover the plaintiffs attorneys fees and other legal costs. Councilor Dan Lewis has argued the pedestrian safety case is irrelevant to how the city handles encampments. But City Attorney Lauren Keefe said she considers it germane. Even though theyre different legal issues, there is an overall sense of courts limiting what cities can do on these issues in order to protect constitutional rights, she said. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Amid increasing criticism from the public and some city councilors, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said his administration is now revisiting how it addresses homeless encampments that have become increasingly common throughout the city. The leader of New Mexicos largest city said his administration is reviewing policy changes through law enforcement and legal lenses and that there should be changes at one of the citys highest-profile unsanctioned camp sites Coronado Park by the end of this month. The city park north of Downtown has become synonymous with Albuquerques homelessness crisis, hosting a large group of regular campers and requiring biweekly cleanups. Keller said the current situation is unacceptable and its not going to stand. But the administration has not determined the exact framework it wants to pursue. We know we need to get our ducks in a row. It is extremely dangerous for our officers, for our civilians, for the unsheltered and for taxpayer funding because of litigation, to make a rash decision about how we handle Coronado, the mayor said in a meeting with Journal editors and reporters last week, adding that he has issued marching orders to develop a new approach. But I want to make sure we do the best job we can in terms of getting it right, and not just creating 1,000 other fires all around it. Coronado Parks problems have roared back into the public consciousness due to a June shooting death at the park and because of the City Councils recent debate over legalizing safe outdoor spaces, often referred to as sanctioned encampments. Some feared the city wanted to replicate Coronado Park elsewhere. But safe-outdoor-space proponents and the citys Family and Community Services Department leaders stress that the concept in no way resembles Coronado Park because the safe outdoor spaces are managed, organized camp sites with size limitations, standards for entry, rules, toilets and showers. Coronado Park and the citys underlying homelessness challenges have sparked recurring discussions during City Council meetings, with one councilor recently accusing the Keller administration of dismissing community concern about encampments. The administration is 100% ignoring what were talking about here and what is going on and what the citizens of Albuquerque are demanding, Councilor Louie Sanchez said during a lengthy discussion about encampments during the June 22 meeting. Why is the administration, (and police) afraid of taking care of business at Coronado Park? Its a crime-infested, illegal, de facto sanctioned-by-the-city park, and we are spending thousands and thousands of dollars on it. Keller administration officials say the city already breaks up dozens of illegal encampments around the city each month, prioritizing the response time based on potential risks. But they say homelessness is a complex problem with resource and legal considerations and that the encampment quagmire is not unique to Albuquerque. Weve been asked many times Why cant the city just take homeless individuals or campers to one of (the existing) shelters?' Family and Community Services Director Carol Pierce said during a recent presentation to the council. The city cant legally force anyone to go to a shelter and, even if we could, we dont have enough beds to accommodate all the people who are unhoused in our community, whether that be in Coronado or any place in our community. Officials say housing remains the ultimate answer for homelessness. The city has $19 million in this fiscal years budget for housing vouchers, an 18% increase above the previous year. It also is pursuing intermediate solutions. Work has begun inside the old Lovelace hospital, which the city intends to use for a new homeless shelter with 30 womens-only beds to start and several new services for vulnerable populations. That includes a medical respite center a place for people without homes to recover from short-term illnesses or injury and a medical sobering center. There is a combined $11.9 million in the current budget for those facilities. But unauthorized encampments continue cropping up across Albuquerque, and Keller said the city needs a new approach. He said developing one will require assessing what alternatives are available, determining what resources the city has for cleaning encampments and perhaps how it can do more within existing legal parameters. Those include the citys 2015 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice signed after the federal agency found the city had a pattern and practice of unconstitutional policing and its 2017 settlement in the federal McClendon lawsuit over jail conditions. The mayor said hes tasked the legal department with further interpretation of what the city can and cant do. Historically, we have not (done that). We have just said, Well, McClendon ' he said. Well, now we interpret McClendon. Attorney Kevin Morrow of the citys legal office said there have been lawsuits around the country about encampments, vagrancy, trespassing in public places and similar issues but few definitive answers. There hasnt been clear, clear guidance anywhere (about) the ways in which we can clearly and constitutionally clean up the community while respecting the rights of those experiencing homelessness, he said during a meeting with Journal staff. City Councilor Pat Davis said hes pleased to hear about the new policy review, having complained during the June 22 council meeting that the city lacks a comprehensive homelessness strategy and having asked city attorneys to look at how other cities in the region are legally tackling the situation. In an interview last week, Davis said the administration has often leaned on the fear of lawsuits. Weve heard a lot of hand-wringing and Im worried well get sued,' Davis said. But we dont know how other cities address it. Im excited (the administration is revisiting policies) and theyre taking the lead and trying to answer some of those questions. But the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico cautioned that any potential policy change that emerges from this review must account for the rights of the unhoused. We cannot comment on a policy we have not yet seen, however, any decision the City makes with respect to Coronado Park or other issues regarding our unhoused population must not further criminalize poverty or homelessness and must respect the civil and constitutional rights of those living in encampments, ACLU of New Mexico legal director Maria Martinez Sanchez said in a statement. The solutions to these problems are not sweeping people under the rug or throwing them in jail. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal On Tuesday night a manager at a Target store in Northeast Albuquerque called 242-COPS to remove a person camped out in the parking lot. The call was downgraded to a lower priority and a sergeant arrived 45 minutes later. Police said the man whose name has not been released ended up shooting himself inside his van after pulling a gun on the officer who tried to arrest him on warrants, according to police. Afterward, the officer believing the man was shooting at police fired back. Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina said in an early morning briefing that the SWAT team responded soon after and discovered the man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He said a firearm was found at the scene. APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said one officer fired during the incident. He said it is unclear if the man, who is believed to have been in his 30s, was struck by the officers gunfire but police believe the man killed himself. The officer has been placed on administrative leave as the shooting is investigated. Targets corporate office did not immediately respond to a message for comment. The incident marked the ninth shooting involving Albuquerque police this year and the sixth that proved fatal. There were 10 police shootings in the city last year. On Tuesday, officers responded around 9:30 p.m. to the Target on Lomas NE near Eubank for reports of a person camped in a white van in the parking lot. Medina said a sergeant took the call and made contact with the man, discovering he had felony warrants that were DWI-related. Medina said another officer responded to take the man into custody on the warrants when he brandished a gun and the officer and sergeant retreated. The subject reentered their vehicle and a single gunshot was heard from within the vehicle, he said. Officers perceived the gunshot was fired and returned fire. Medina said the situation then became a standoff before police found the man in the vehicle with what they believe (is) a self-inflicted gunshot wound. ATLANTA The Georgia prosecutor investigating the conduct of former President Donald Trump and his allies after the 2020 election is subpoenaing U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and other members of Trumps campaign legal team to testify before a special grand jury. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Tuesday filed petitions with the judge overseeing the special grand jury as part of her investigation into what she alleges was a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere. The move marks a major escalation in a case that could pose a serious legal challenge to the former president as he weighs another White House run. While the special grand jury has already heard from top state officials, Tuesdays filings directly target several of Trumps closest allies and advisers, including Giuliani, who led his campaigns legal efforts to overturn the election results. It means the investigation is obviously becoming more intense because those are trusted advisers, those are inner circle people, said Robert James, former district attorney in DeKalb County, which neighbors Fulton. The special grand jury has been investigating whether Trump and others illegally tried to meddle in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia as he desperately tried to cling to power after Democrat Joe Bidens victory. Trump continues to insist that the election was stolen, despite the fact that numerous federal and local officials, a long list of courts, top former campaign staff and even Trumps own attorney general have all said there is no evidence of the fraud he alleges. The investigation is separate from that being conducted by a congressional committee that has been examining the events surrounding the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as well as the Department of Justices own sprawling probe. Trump is also facing other legal challenges, including in New York, where he, his namesake son and his daughter Ivanka have agreed to answer questions under oath beginning next week in the New York attorney generals civil investigation into his business practices. The escalation comes as Trump has been mulling announcing a third presidential run as soon as this summer as he seeks to deflect attention from the ongoing investigations and lock in support before a long list of other potential candidates, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, make their own moves. Willis, who took this unusual step of requesting a special grand jury earlier this year, has confirmed that she and her team are looking into a January 2021 phone call in which Trump pushed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find the votes needed for him to win the state. She has said the team is also looking at a November 2020 phone call between Graham and Raffensperger, the abrupt resignation of the U.S. attorney in Atlanta on Jan. 4, 2021, and comments made during December 2020 Georgia legislative committee hearings on the election. Raffensperger and other state officials have already testified before the special grand jury. Willis also filed petitions for five other potential witnesses: lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, Cleta Mitchell, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman and Jacki Pick Deason. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney signed off on the requests, which are similar to subpoenas, deeming them necessary to the investigation. In the petition submitted to the judge, Willis wrote that Graham, a longtime ally of the former president, actually made at least two telephone calls to Raffensperger and members of his staff in the weeks after the November 2020 election. During those calls, Graham asked about reexamining certain absentee ballots in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump, she wrote. A Graham spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. In the petition for Giulianis testimony, Willis identifies him as both a personal attorney for Trump and a lead attorney for the Trump Campaigns legal efforts seeking to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere. As part of those efforts, she wrote, he and others presented a Georgia state Senate subcommittee with a video recording of election workers that Giuliani alleged showed them producing suitcases of unlawful ballots from unknown sources, outside the view of election poll watchers. Within 24 hours of the hearing on Dec. 3, 2020, Raffenspergers office had debunked the video and said that it had found that no voter fraud had taken place at the arena. Nevertheless, Giuliani continued to make statements to the public and in subsequent legislative hearings claiming widespread voter fraud using that debunked video, Willis wrote. There is evidence that (Giulianis) appearance and testimony at the hearing was part of a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere, the petition says. Giulianis attorney, Bob Costello, said he had no comment and that his client had not been served with any subpoena. To compel the testimony of an out-of-state witness, a prosecutor in Georgia has to file a petition and then a judge has to sign a certificate approving the petition, said Danny Porter, a former longtime district attorney in Gwinnett County in Atlantas suburbs. The next step is to deliver the petition to a prosecutor wherever the witness lives, and serve it to the witness, who is entitled to a hearing. If the person objects to going to Georgia to testify, they have to be able to show that either their testimony isnt needed or that it would be an undue hardship for them, Porter said. Special grand juries are impaneled in Georgia to investigate complex cases with large numbers of witnesses and potential logistical concerns. They can compel evidence and subpoena witnesses for questioning and, unlike regular grand juries, can also subpoena the target of an investigation to appear before it. When its investigation is complete, the special grand jury issues a final report and can recommend action. Its then up to the district attorney to decide whether to ask a regular grand jury for an indictment. Its not clear exactly what charges Willis could ultimately choose to pursue against Trump or anyone else. In a letter she sent to top-ranking state officials last year, she said she was looking into potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local government bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the elections administration. Trump has denied that he did anything wrong. ___ Colvin reported from New York. BRUSSELS European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the blocs list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EUs executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and now looks set to trigger legal challenges. As the EU wants to set the best global standards in the fight against climate change, the decision could tarnish the blocs image and question the regions commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050. The European Commission earlier this year made the proposal as part of its plans for building a climate-friendly future, dividing member countries and drawing outcry from environmentalists over what they criticize as greenwashing. EU legislators from the environment and economy committees objected last month to the plan, setting up Wednesdays decisive vote in Strasbourg, France. But MEPs rejected their resolution in a 328-278 vote, with 33 lawmakers abstaining. The result was announced to a salvo of applause. An absolute majority of 353 was needed to veto the proposal. If the European Parliament and member countries dont object to it by July 11, the so-called Taxonomy delegated act will enter into force and apply as of next year. Greenpeace immediately said it will submit a formal request for internal review to the European Commission, and then take legal action at the European Court of Justice if the result isnt conclusive. Its dirty politics and its an outrageous outcome to label gas and nuclear as green and keep more money flowing to (Russian President Vladimir) Putins war chest, but now we will fight this in the courts, said Ariadna Rodrigo, Greenpeaces EU sustainable finance campaigner. European Parliament rapporteur Bas Eickhout rued a dark day for the climate and the energy transition. The green labeling system from the European Commission defines what qualifies as an investment in sustainable energy. Under certain conditions, gas and nuclear energy will now be part of the mix, making it easier for private investors to inject money into both. With the EU aiming to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, the commission says the classification system is crucial to direct investments into sustainable energy. It estimates that about 350 billion euros of investment per year will be needed to meet the 2030 targets. The question of nuclear power has divided environmentalists, energy experts and governments for years, with some arguing its an important source of energy because its produced with no emissions and thus clean, while others say the risks of nuclear reactions are too great and infrastructure is slow and costly to build. Liquid natural gas, clearly a fossil fuel, is roundly criticized in environmental circles. Germanys industrial lobby group BDI welcomed the vote, saying it cleared the way for financing the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Gas is our bridge technology to the renewable age, said its deputy head, Holger Loesch. The BDI called for more investments in gas infrastructure, including LNG terminals, to ensure sufficient supply amid the current energy crisis, but added that new gas power plants need to be capable of handling hydrogen eventually. Introducing gas and nuclear into the equation has divided the 27 member countries amid Russias war in Ukraine, and even the parliaments political groups. Luxembourgs energy minister, Claude Turmes, said he deeply regretted the European Parliaments failure to bloc the commissions plan, adding that his country together with Austria would move ahead with legal efforts to block the labeling of nuclear and gas as sustainable. Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that the German government stands by its position and considers nuclear energy as unsustainable. Nevertheless, the German government believes that the taxonomy is an important instrument for achieving climate protection targets, because it is clear that natural gas is an important bridging technology for us on the way to CO2 neutrality and the inclusion of the use of natural gas in the delegated act takes this into account, Hebestreit added. Protests that had started on Tuesday continued Wednesday outside the EU legislature as lawmakers debated the issue. Environmentalists warned the vote could set a precedent for lawmakers elsewhere to label polluting forms of energy as sustainable. We have now officially validated greenwashing by law, said Tsvetelina Kuzmanova of the climate think tank E3G. The process and the decision have been entirely political, not scientific, to only benefit a small number of member states, she said. This would not stand a chance in court and will only create more uncertainty for financial markets and jeopardize (the) EUs climate ambition. The youth activist group Fridays for Future said billions of euros could be pumped into gas infrastructure and nuclear power plants as a result of the decision, diverting much-needed funds from renewable alternatives. One argument for rejecting the proposal is that it will boost Russian gas sales at a time when it is invading neighboring Ukraine, but the European Commission said it had received a letter from the Ukrainian government backing its stance. European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness quoted from the letter from Ukraines energy minister Tuesday: I strongly believe that the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the taxonomy is an important element of the energy security in Europe, especially with a view to replacing Russian gas. I dont think we should second-guess this letter, McGuinness said. Russias war in Ukraine has prompted the 27-nation bloc to sever ties with some Russian fossil fuels. Member countries have agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end in addition to a ban on imports of Russian coal that will start in August. But the EU hasnt included gas a fuel used to power factories and generate electricity in its own sanctions for fear of seriously harming the European economy. Before the war in Ukraine, it relied on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas. ___ Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin. KRAMATORSK, Ukraine Russia redoubled its push for Ukraines eastern Donbas region Wednesday, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have repelled some advances and both sides reporting casualties. The Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said troops stopped enemy units advancing towards Sloviansk, a city in Donetsk, one of two provinces in the Donbas whose capture is among Moscows main goals. It also claimed to have repelled Russian attacks on a town and village north of Ukraines second city, Kharkiv, just miles (kilometers) from the Russian border. The Ukrainian presidential office said most civilian casualties were in Donetsk province, where Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said two people died in the city of Avdiivka; the cities of Sloviansk, Krasnohorivka and Kurakhove each reported one civilian killed. Every crime will be punished, he wrote on social media. Kyrylenko urged the provinces more than 350,000 remaining residents to flee late Tuesday, saying that evacuating Donetsk was necessary to save lives and allow the Ukrainian army to put up a better defense against the Russian advance. Donetsk is part of the Donbas, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where Ukraines most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Pro-Russian separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two self-proclaimed separatist republics. Putin on Monday declared the complete seizure of Luhansk, after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the last city under their control in the province. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai denied Wednesday that the Russians had completely captured the province. Heavy fighting continued in villages around Lysychansk, the city Ukrainians soldiers withdrew from and which Russian troops took Sunday, he said. The Russians have paid a high price, but the Luhansk region is not fully captured by the Russian army, Haidai said. Some settlements have been overrun by each side several times. He accused Russian forces of scorched earth tactics, burning down and destroying everything on their way. The Russian military pounded Luhansk for weeks from the air and ground, causing mass destruction and large civilian casualties. When Russian troops enter villages and cities, they are largely empty. From pre-war populations each of around 100,000, only up to 15,000 residents remain in Lysychansk and some 8,000 in the nearby city of Sievierodonetsk, which Russian and separatist fighters seized last month, Haidai said. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskky, in his nightly video address Wednesday, said that of all the battles in his country, the most brutal confrontation is raging in the Donbas. The Associated Press on Wednesday saw the bloody aftermath of one attack in the rebel-held Donetsk town of Makiivka and spoke to eyewitnesses who said a Soviet-era missile struck a playground outside a residential home. Local separatists blamed the attack on Ukrainian forces. Blood stained the seat of a swing and pooled on the ground below. Russian media cited the separatists as saying two children were killed and three children and two adults were wounded. The boy was lying on the swings like this and I saw he had blood coming out from this side, said resident Svetlana Lyga. I did not come close I simply couldnt. The girl was taken by the ambulance. She was alive at that moment. North of Donetsk, Russian forces hit Kharkiv with missile strikes overnight. Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Wednesday on Telegram that one person was killed and three, including a toddler, were injured. First responders crunched through the debris of a Kharkiv university, where Zelenskyy said the main building, lecture halls, museum and library were destroyed. When it comes to the definition of barbarism, this strike fits the bill the most, the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address. Only an enemy of civilization and humanity can do such things strike missiles at a university, a pedagogical university. The attacks indicated that residents of the city are unlikely to enjoy calm as the war grinds into its fifth month. Providing its account of the fighting in Kharkiv, Russias Defense Ministry said its forces killed up to 100 Ukrainian troops and destroyed four armored vehicles. The ministry also said its forces struck a Ukrainian air-defense radar and camp housing foreign fighters in southern Ukraines Mykolaiv region. The ministrys chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, claimed air-launched high precision missiles destroyed two HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems the U.S. had sent to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military denied Moscows claims. Elsewhere on the battlefield: Russian rocket strikes wounded four people in the town of Pokrovska in Ukraines eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. He added that four settlements to the west came under relentless shelling Wednesday, burning wheat fields, damaging a solar power plant and destroying a house. In southern Ukraine, a local official said one person died and four were wounded in a blast in a Russian-occupied town, Skadovsk. Mayor Oleksandr Yakovlev told the Suspilne broadcaster a child was among those injured in an explosion that tore through a residential building. Russian state media claimed Wednesday that an oil refinery in Donetsk had caught fire due to Ukrainian shelling. The Tass news agency cited a separatists claim that the refinery fire was one of 27 Ukrainian attacks on Donetsk over the previous 24 hours. Ukrainian authorities didnt immediately confirm the attack. In other developments: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 27-nation European Union needs to make emergency plans to prepare for a complete cut-off of Russian gas. The EU has already imposed sanctions on Russia, including on some energy supplies, and is trying to find other sources. But von der Leyen said the bloc needed to be ready for shock disruptions from Moscow. European Union lawmakers voted to support a plan by the blocs executive commission to include natural gas and nuclear power on its list of sustainable activities. Environmentalists accused the EU of greenwashing. One argument for rejecting the proposal was that it could boost gas sales that benefit Russia. The European Commission said the Ukrainian government backs its stance. A court in Russia ordered a pipeline bringing oil from Kazakhstan to Europe halted for 30 days for what it said were environmental violations, Russian media reported. Russian food bound for an Arctic coal mining settlement have resumed transiting via mainland Norway after weeks of tension, a Russian representative said Wednesday. Russian officials had accused Oslo of blocking a shipment of essential goods for Russian miners in Barentsburg, on the far-Northern Svalbard archipelago. A top Russian official warned the United States could face the wrath of God if it works to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russias actions in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, denounced the U.S. for what he described as its efforts to spread chaos and destruction across the world for the sake of true democracy.' ___ Murru and Cara Anna contributed from Kharkiv. ___ Follow APs coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson battled to remain in office Wednesday, brushing off calls for his resignation after three Cabinet ministers and a slew of junior officials said they could no longer serve under his scandal-plagued leadership. Johnson rejected demands that he step down during a stormy session of the House of Commons amid a furor over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a senior official. Later in the day, a delegation of some of his most trusted allies in the Cabinet paid a visit to the prime minister at 10 Downing Street to urge him to go, but he remained unmoved, Britains Press Association reported. The prime minister turned down suggestions he seek a dignified exit and opted instead to fight for his political career, citing hugely important issues facing the country, according to the news agency. It quoted a source close to Johnson as saying he told colleagues there would be chaos if he quit. The 58-year-old leader who pulled Britain out of the European Union and steered it through the COVID-19 outbreak is known for his ability to wiggle out of tight spots, managing to remain in power despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules. He hung on even when 41% of Conservative lawmakers voted to oust him in a no-confidence vote last month. But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a lawmaker before he promoted the man to a senior position pushed him to the brink. In holding on to his office, Johnson is attempting to defy the mathematics of parliamentary government and the traditions of British politics. It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. He is now besmirching our democracy, and if he doesnt do the right thing and go of his own accord, then hell be dragged out, Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told the BBC. Many of Johnsons fellow Conservatives were concerned that he no longer had the moral authority to govern at a time when difficult decisions are needed to address soaring food and energy prices, rising COVID-19 infections and the war in Ukraine. Others worry that he may now be a liability at the ballot box. On Wednesday, members of the opposition Labour Party showered Johnson with shouts of Go! Go! during the weekly ritual of Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer mockingly said of the resignations surrounding Johnson, Isnt it the first recorded case of the sinking ship fleeing the rat? More damningly, members of Johnsons own Conservative Party wearied by the many scandals he has faced also challenged their leader. Frankly the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when hes been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going, Johnson replied with the bluster he has used to fend off critics throughout nearly three years in office. And thats what Im going to do. Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who helped trigger the current crisis when he resigned Tuesday night, captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnsons actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government. At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough, he told fellow lawmakers. I believe that point is now. Under party rules, another no-confidence vote cannot be held for another 11 months, but party members can change the rules. The 1922 Committee, a small but influential group of Conservative lawmakers, could decide as early as Monday whether to do that. Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other over the latest furor. The two Cabinet heavyweights were responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain the cost-of-living crisis and COVID-19. In a scathing letter, Sunak said: The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. The resignations of some 40 junior ministers and ministerial aides followed on Tuesday and Wednesday. A third Cabinet official, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, quit late Wednesday, saying we have passed the point where its possible to turn the ship around. As Johnson dug in, critics accused him of refusing to accept the inevitable and of behaving more like a president than a prime minister by referring to his mandate. In Britain, voters elect a party to govern, not the prime minister directly. Former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said late Tuesday that Johnsons time is finally up. Its a bit like the death of Rasputin: Hes been poisoned, stabbed, hes been shot, his bodys been dumped in a freezing river, and still he lives, Mitchell told the BBC. But this is an abnormal prime minister, a brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character. But Im afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister. The final straw for Sunak and Javid was the prime ministers handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations leveled against Pincher and shifting explanations from the government about what Johnson knew when he tapped the man for a senior job enforcing party discipline. ___ This story has ben updated to correct the spelling of the last name of the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce in Britain. It is Drechsler, not Drexler. ___ Follow all of APs coverage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson at https://apnews.com/hub/boris-johnson PROVIDENCE, R.I. Democratic governors in states where abortion will remain legal are looking for ways to protect any patients who travel there for the procedure along with the providers who help them from being prosecuted by their home states. The Democratic governors of Colorado and North Carolina on Wednesday issued executive orders to protect abortion providers and patients from extradition to states that have banned the practice. Abortions are legal in North Carolina until fetal viability or in certain medical emergencies, making the state an outlier in the Southeast. This order will help protect North Carolina doctors and nurses and their patients from cruel right-wing criminal laws passed by other states, Gov. Roy Cooper said in announcing the order. The governors of Rhode Island and Maine also signed executive orders late Tuesday, stating that they will not cooperate with other states investigations into people who seek abortions or health care providers that perform them. Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said women should be trusted with their own health care decisions, and Democratic Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos said Rhode Island must do all it can to protect access to reproductive health care as other states attack the fundamental right to choose. Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said she will stand in the way of any effort to undermine, rollback, or outright eliminate the right to safe and legal abortion in Maine. Their offices confirmed Wednesday that they are preemptive, protective moves, and that neither state has received a request to investigate, prosecute or extradite a provider or patient. Their attempts to protect abortion rights come as tighter restrictions and bans are going into effect in conservative states after last months Dobbs v. Jackson ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned the nearly half-century-old holding from Roe v. Wade that found that the right to abortion was protected by the U.S. Constitution. The issue reverts to the states, many of which have taken steps to curtail or ban abortions. Several states have put new restrictions already in place since the Supreme Court ruling and more are pressing to do so. In Louisiana on Wednesday, the state Supreme Court rejected the attorney generals request to allow immediate enforcement of laws against most abortions saying it was declining to get involved at this preliminary stage. Enforcement was blocked by another court last week. Attorney General Jeff Landry tweeted that Wednesdays decision is delaying the inevitable. Our Legislature fulfilled their constitutional duties, and now the Judiciary must. It is disappointing that time is not immediate. The specific fears of Democratic officials are rooted in a Texas law adopted last year to ban abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected. The law lets any person other than a government official or employee sue anyone who performs an abortion or knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets obtaining one. The person filing the claim would be entitled to $10,000 for every abortion the subject was involved with plus legal costs. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear challenges to the Texas law so far. Bernadette Meyler, a professor at Stanford Law School, said its not clear whether judgments against out-of-state abortion providers would hold up in courts, especially if they are not advertising their services in states with bans. But she also said its not clear that the liberal states are on firm legal ground to protect their residents from any out-of-state litigation. Probably, they assume that some of the laws that theyre passing wont be upheld or may not be upheld, and theyre trying to come up with as much as possible in order to resist the effects of the Dobbs decision, Meyler said. The resistance to cooperating with abortion-related investigations could hold up, though, she said. Places that declared themselves sanctuary cities and refused to cooperate with federal immigration investigations during former President Donald Trumps presidency were able to carry out similar policies. In Raleigh, North Carolina, Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson said her group and other advocates for abortion access are pushing for the protections. Everywhere we can push the imagination of what a free and equal world looks like, she said, we are working with those governors. Connecticut was the first state to pass a law to protect abortion providers, patients and others from legal action taken by other states. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont signed it in May, before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In accordance with Connecticut law, we will resist any attempt by another state to criminalize or intrude on a womans private and lawful healthcare decisions, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement last week. The Democratic governors of Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, California and Washington and the moderate Republican governor in liberal Massachusetts all signed executive orders within days of the ruling to prohibit cooperation with other states that might interfere with abortion access. Residents seeking access will be protected, providers will be protected, and abortion is and will continue to be legal, safe and accessible, period, said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has described the order as a preventative measure. One of the largest abortion providers in Texas announced Wednesday that its planning to move its operations to bordering New Mexico. Whole Womans Health announced Wednesday that it is looking to establish a new clinic in a New Mexico city near the state line to provide first- and second-trimester abortions. The Democratic-controlled Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a bill that aims to protect abortion providers and people seeking abortions from actions taken by other states. Delawares Democratic governor signed legislation expanding abortion access, with various legal protections for abortion providers and patients, including out-of-state residents receiving abortions in Delaware. New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed two bills Friday that moved swiftly in the Democratic-led Legislature following the ruling. The new laws aim to protect the right of those from outside the state to get abortion services within its borders and bar extradition of people involved in reproductive health care services should they face charges in another state. Murphy said he was overwhelmingly angry that he had to sign the bills, but equally as proud to do so. These laws will make New Jersey a beacon of freedom for every American woman, he said during a signing ceremony in Jersey City, not far from the Statue of Liberty. In Washington state, the governor prohibited the state patrol from cooperating with out-of-state abortion investigations or prosecutions, but he noted that he didnt have jurisdiction over local law enforcement agencies. The executive in the county surrounding Seattle said Tuesday that its sheriffs office and other executive branch departments will not cooperate with out-of-state prosecutions of abortion providers or patients. Oregon Gov. Kate Browns office has said the state will refuse non-fugitive extradition for criminal prosecutions around abortion, but said an executive order is not needed. Some progressive prosecutors around the U.S. have already declared that they wont enforce some of the most restrictive, punitive anti-abortion laws. Police in Nashville on Wednesday released a statement saying they are not abortion police a day after the city council passed a resolution calling on the department to make abortion investigations a low priority. City council members in two other liberal cities in conservative states New Orleans and Austin, Texas have made called for similar resolutions. ___ Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. AP/Report for America corps member Claire Rush also contributed from Portland, Oregon. Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jim Anderson in Denver; Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville; and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine. The American story is the Muslim story. The Muslim story is the American story. This is what Alex Kronemer hopes to educate viewers as they watch The Great Muslim American Road Trip, on PBS. Muslims came to America for the same reason that others came, Kronemer says. They all wanted a better way of life. Kronemer is the executive producer behind the series. The three-part documentary series follows a young Muslim American couple rapper Mona Haydar and her husband Sebastian Robins as they explore Americas Mother Road and its surrounding Muslim communities on a 2,500-mile drive from Chicago to Los Angeles. The second episode airs at 9 p.m. Monday, July 12, on New Mexico PBS, and it features the couple traveling along Route 66 from Tulsa, Oklahoma through Albuquerque. It is available to stream on the PBS Video app. Although they are practicing Muslims Haydar is Syrian American and Robins converted after meeting Haydar the couple, like most Americans, are unfamiliar with Islams deep roots in America. This road trip is an opportunity for them not only to experience the breathtaking panoramas and iconic roadside attractions that have made Route 66 famous, but also to learn more about the history of their faith and what it means to be Muslim in America today. PBS is excited to share Mona and Sebastians journey along iconic Route 66, highlighting the diversity of Muslims in the United States, said Bill Gardner, Vice President of Multiplatform Programming & Head of Development at PBS. Muslim culture has always been a part of American history, a fact that (the series) explores throughout the heartland and its vibrant Muslim communities. Making more than a dozen stops, the couple meets authors, entrepreneurs, students and others, including Muhammad Alis daughter Maryum Ali in Chicago; Bosnian immigrants and restaurant owners Sulejman and Ermina Grbic in St. Louis; jazz musician Leon Rollerson in Tulsa; and award-winning actor and writer Amir Abdullah in Pasadena, California. Their conversations uncover the deep roots and impact of Islam and Muslims in American history and culture. By the time they reach the West Coast, the couple have a better understanding of themselves, their relationship and the centuries-long Muslim experience in America. Who knew that one of the first non-Indigenous people to set foot in North America was a Moroccan explorer or that a Syrian camel driver helped survey the very road that has provided millions of American tourists their kicks on Route 66? Kronemer says. It was an amazing and always-surprising experience to join hip-hop sensation Mona Haydar and her husband Sebastian Robins as they explored both their Muslim roots and Route 66. People will never view Muslim Americans the same way again. Kronemer says hes traveled around the United States and visited almost every state. While visiting these cities and towns, he would often see a mosque where he met Muslims. I started to think about telling the story, he says. Every stop that we made on this journey, we would hear many stories. We started to see how the Muslim story is woven into the American fabric of life. While Kronemer also learned a lot during the filming, he was also overseeing the entire production. We had nine different camera platforms, he says. There were cameras set up in side the car. There were times we didnt film because the trip took too long. We also had two cameras at each of our stops. Then there was a drone team capturing beauty shots. We could have made a 12-hour long series. The three hours covers the story well. We cover 3,000 miles of road and it moves pretty fast. ON TV The Great Muslim American Road Trip, airs at 9 p.m. Monday, July 12, on New Mexico PBS. This is the second part of the three-part series. The second episode features rapper Mona Haydar and her husband Sebastian Robins traveling along Route 66 from Tulsa, Oklahoma through Albuquerque. With all the talk about staffing shortages at restaurants these days, the scene at Mtuccis Bar Roma on a recent Saturday night was a surprise. A small army of servers gathered in a space just off the entrance for a pre-dinner meeting and pep talk. Moments later, they were released into the dining room, where they almost outnumbered the patrons. Everyone appeared happy to be there, including our server, who told us how much he preferred the job to his previous gig pouring concrete. The ample staffing and the menu, a comprehensive selection of Italian favorites, reflects the bold ambition of Mtuccis, the breakout star of our citys dining scene. From one restaurant at Coors and Montano on the West Side, Mtuccis has expanded to Rio Rancho, the I-25 corridor and, now, Nob Hill all in less than 10 years. The Nob Hill outpost opened in early May at the former location of Kellys Brew Pub on the south side of Central. The historic structure, built for Jones Motor Co. in 1939 as a gas station, repair shop and auto showroom, remains much the same on the outside. The exquisite stepped tower, rounded edges and long, horizontal lines are all characteristics of Streamline Moderne, the architectural style popular in America between the world wars. Rain that night had shut down the expansive patio in front, where gas pumps still stand in homage to the buildings origins. Inside, the former pub has been classed up with chandeliers, a tile-faced bar and arched mirrors on the walls. The menu will look familiar to anyone whos been to the other Mtuccis locations, but the frequently updated roster of food and drink specials keep things interesting. A cocktail special of White Negroni ($12), for instance, swapped out the Campari that gives the traditional Negroni its red color for a colorless bitter bianco. A hint of sweetness from the clear vermouth took the edge off the bitterness. Served in a glass with a giant ice cube, it was bracing and spicy, an exemplary palate cleanser. A Trio Salumi Bruschetta Special ($8) offered up three of Mtuccis house-cured meats atop grilled slices of its naturally leavened bread. The dish presented prosciutto prepared two ways: dry-aged, thin-sliced cotto thats mild in flavor, and slow-cooked crudo thats richer and sweeter. The addition of seared mortadella adds to the salty, fatty goodness. The meats were topped with arugula and thin slices of Parmesan and drizzled with olive oil that seeped down into the terrific bread. Outside of the specials, the Bar Roma menu has a few differences from the other Mtuccis. Where the West Side Mtuccis offers a Potato Leek Bisque, Bar Roma serves up an Artichoke version ($7) with fried artichoke leaves on top that have the texture of shiitake mushrooms. An undertone of brine cuts the creamy earthiness of the bisque. Bar Romas menu offers not only breadth but depth. Someone looking for a snack and a drink at the bar can choose from Italian tapas called Cicchetti that range from $6 to $9 or a variety of Antipasti from $8 to $13. There are plenty of shareable dishes like flatbreads, pizza and charcuterie boards, and almost everything is under $20. Its the ideal neighborhood spot. You could wander in once a week for a year and never have the same thing. House-made pastas star in a range of dishes like Spaghettini and Meatballs ($17). The pasta, about the size of ramen noodles, had that wonderful chewiness that dried pasta cannot duplicate. It sponged up the bright tomato flavor of the marinara. The finely textured meatballs, made with beef, veal and pork, were tender and succulent. The full-sized portion costs $17, but the server steered me to the half-size option ($8), which included two meatballs and was more than enough for one person. There is a wealth of vegetarian and gluten-free items on the menu. We tried the Pork Bolognese Pasta ($18) with gluten-free penne in place of the rigatoni. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the Bolognese, made with slow-roasted pork in a red wine and tomato cream sauce, was hearty and flavorful. There was enough left over for lunch the next day. Like the entrees, the desserts are reasonably priced, with nine options sitting between $5 and $7. Friends at a nearby table praised the Lemon Ricotta Cookies ($5) and the Salted Caramel Affogato ($6), espresso poured over a scoop of gelato at the table. We had the Twinkie dItalia ($7), more like a sticky bun than a Twinkie with a dense cream filling, and the Pear Ricotta Torte ($7), one of the gluten-free selections, an airy cylinder laced with diced pears. Both were solid. Service throughout the meal was attentive without being overbearing. Mtuccis Bar Roma appears to be living up to its ambitions. Its another jewel in Mtuccis crown. You are here: World Flash Robert Crimo III, the 22-year-old suspect of a mass shooting during an Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park on Monday, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart announced the charge at a news conference on Tuesday. If convicted, the suspect will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. More charges against Crimo III will be issued, Rinehart said. At another news conference on Tuesday, police confirmed the death toll of the shooting has risen to seven, and adjusted the number of people wounded to 46. Sergeant Christopher Covelli from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the suspect pre-planned the attack for several weeks, used a high-powered rifle and fired more than 70 rounds into the crowd, and acted alone in the attack. Police found a second rifle in Crimo III's vehicle when he was arrested Monday, besides the one recovered at the scene. Highland Park is an affluent neighborhood 40 km north of Chicago. Its residents are holding a candlelight vigil for the deceased Tuesday night with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attending. SANTA FE Four independent candidates for the state House made the ballot this year with three campaigning for Republican-leaning open seats that were otherwise uncontested. Former Clovis Mayor David Lansford, for example, qualified as an independent to challenge retired prosecutor and Republican Andrea Reeb in eastern New Mexico. The winner will succeed Republican Rep. Randal Crowder, who isnt seeking reelection after eight years in the Legislature. Lansford, a pharmacist, spent 20 years off and on as Clovis mayor and describes himself as more conservative than some Republicans. I like to think that I think independently, that Im objective and logical and willing to strive to see the big picture, he said in an interview. Reeb, a former 9th Judicial District attorney, said she would bring legal expertise to the House and an understanding of how new laws will affect prosecutors working on the front lines. Ive been a public servant my entire career, she said. Its rare for a candidate who declines to state a party affiliation to win a legislative seat, but not unprecedented. Brittney Barreras won a South Valley-based House seat in 2020 against a Democratic write-in candidate, though she later switched her affiliation to the Democratic Party. She stepped down this year. Two members of the Legislature are now independent, though they won election while affiliated with a party. In addition to Lansford, three other independent candidates qualified for the Nov. 8 ballot: Independent Matt Dodson is competing with Republican Mark Duncan, a former San Juan County treasurer, for a Farmington-based seat in the House. The winner would succeed Republican Rep. James Strickler. Independent Elaine Allen of Lincoln is running against Republican and retired Ruidoso fire chief Harlan Vincent. The winner will succeed Republican Zach Cook. Independent Laura E. Gutierrez entered the District 15 race that features Democratic Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil of Albuquerque and Republican Kim Kaehr-MacMillan. UNAFFILIATED: Independent, or decline to state, voters make up 22% of New Mexicos registration rolls. The Legislature, however, is largely divided between Republicans and Democrats. Each party in each chamber forms its own caucus, allowing members to strategize behind closed doors and stick together to pursue shared priorities. The two unaffiliated lawmakers are Sen. Jacob Candelaria of Albuquerque, a former Democrat, and Rep. Phelps Anderson of Roswell, a former Republican. Dan McKay: dmckay@abqjournal.com Inshorts, Indias #1 English news app, recently conducted a poll to gauge public opinion of Indians on the US Supreme Courts latest ruling on abortion. The survey, which included more than 76,000 participants, found that about 74% (three-fourth) of Indians oppose repealing the Roe v. Wade 1973 ruling that granted abortion a constitutional right. Nearly half (48%) of these respondents were between the age of 18 and 35, while the remaining respondents were 36 and older, ensuring a representative sample. Moving on, when asked if they feel that abortion should be legal, 81% were in agreement. Out of this, 51% were in favor with some exceptions, whereas about 30% said that it should be legal in all cases. In addition to this, a mere 4% of respondents voted in favor of it being illegal in all cases, and the remaining 15% believed that it should be illegal with some exceptions and provisions. On June 24, the United States Supreme Court struck down "Roe v. Wade," the court's seminal decision from 1973 that established abortion as a constitutional right. Since the United States has no federal statute defending the right to an abortion, the overturning ultimately leaves abortion laws up to the states. Here is a look at what Indian abortion rights included while this decision has been making headlines. Abortion is legal in India until 20 weeks of pregnancy with the approval of one doctor, under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The legal limit for abortions was raised to 24 weeks with an amendment in 2021, but only for specific groups/cases of pregnant women and with the consent of two licensed physicians. There is no time restriction for abortion in cases of foetal impairment. However, this is permitted by a medical board, consisting of specialized doctors established by the governments of the states and union territories. Flash Rehabilitation International (RI) President and China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF) Chairperson Zhang Haidi attended the launch ceremony on June 30 of a project helping persons with disabilities in Beijing's Yanqing district to achieve common prosperity. Zhang also made an address at the ceremony. Zhang took part in the activity at the invitation of Beate Trankmann, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for China, and Luo Zhaohui, Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), who both delivered a speech at the ceremony, along with representatives of the Yanqing government. The project is a joint venture between UNDP and CIDCA, and aims to provide vocational training and suitable employment for persons with disabilities in Yanqing. In her address, Zhang pointed out that with the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, protecting the rights and interests of persons with disabilities, creating an inclusive and friendly social environment for them, and leaving no one behind, have become the consensus and goals of the international community. RI has carried out more than 30 projects benefiting persons with disabilities around the world. In 2019, the RI Award for Outstanding Achievements was established and, for the first time, awarded to individuals and organizations that have made contributions to resolving issues related to people with disabilities, having a positive impact on the disability community, Zhang said. CDPF and RI are ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation with UNDP and CIDCA to carry out more quality projects and to work together to realize the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and a better future for persons with disabilities, Zhang noted. Zhang added that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of people with disabilities, including their affairs in the overall plan for national economic and social development and promoting their all-round development and common prosperity. By the end of 2020, more than 7 million people with disabilities who lived under the poverty line in China had been lifted out of absolute poverty, as scheduled. The country attaches importance to the development of rehabilitation, education, and employment for persons with disabilities, creating more opportunities and possibilities, improving their economic and social status, and thus laying a better foundation for their integration into society, Zhang added. Since 2015, more than 90,000 students with disabilities have been enrolled in institutions of higher learning. The government encourages persons with disabilities to find jobs and start their own businesses. Through training in various skills, they can boost their chances of employment and increase their families' incomes, according to Zhang. For instance, Beautiful Crafts Workshops have been built to help teach women with disabilities how to sew, embroider, weave, and do paper cutting. Finance Himindraa R Saxena has taken additional charge of Distribution for the Network. Himindraa has been associated with the Network for over 15 years. In his new role Himindraa will lead the distribution mandate for the Network ensuring better connectivity for 9X Media music television channels. He will continue to report to Bhupendra Makhi Director & Chief Financial Officer, 9X Media. Himindraas experience in the distribution finance space and his active participation in dealing with DTH operators, major MSOs and cable operators will hold him good while increasing the connectivity of the channels and negotiating on the placement deals with service providers across India. He will also be in charge of International distribution of the channels on various platforms, including OTT. Prior to joining 9X Media, Himindraa has had successful stints with Times Now Network and with Star India where he has won many awards for his work in the distribution finance department. Commenting on his additional charge as Distribution Head, Himindraa R Saxena Sr. Vice President Finance, 9X Media, said I feel honoured to take the additional charge of Distribution at Indias largest Music Television Network! Distribution plays a crucial role in the success of any television channel and in case of FTA channels the right placement and reach become extremely important. My priority as distribution head is to ensure better reach and connectivity for all our channels. Himindraas acumen regarding the distribution of the Channels has already started showing results as under his leadership 9XM has attained the No. 1 spot in the 13-21 ABC HSM urban category for the Week 25 ending 24th June 2022. Khatabook has rolled out its latest brand campaign, Naam Hi Kafi Hai, celebrating the goodwill of small businesses on the occasion of International MSME Day. This two-week long multi-video digital media campaign focuses on #NaamHiKafiHain theme honouring MSMEs for providing a distinctive customer experience through personal relationships. Click here to check the Award Categories Khatabook wants to reaffirm the brands mission, purpose, and commitment to MSMEs across the country. The campaign has been conceptualised and produced by the brands in-house creative team. Through this new campaign, they want to share authentic stories of local business heroes and emphasise on the role they play in our lives. In an exclusive chat with Adgully for their column Talking insights, Ved Prakash Yadav, Head of Growth and Marketing, Khatabook, sheds light on the campaign objective, the creative thought process behind the #NaamHiKafiHain campaign, how the company plans to effectively support the MSMEs, and more. Tell us more about the Celebrating the Name campaign with #NaamHiKafiHain. Whats the objective of the communication? Khatabook has been contributing to MSMEs growth in India by empowering them with digital capabilities through its mobile applications, Khatabook and BizAnalyst. It is our mission to make MSMEs more efficient and profitable. As an organisation, we support the local business ecosystem and encourage everyone to purchase from local businesses to support them. Last year, with our massively successful Dil Se Local campaign, we urged people to pledge their support to local businesses across India. This year, with the Celebrating the Name #NaamHiKaafiHai campaign, we are extending our Dil se Local proposition to a very unique aspect of MSMEs in India the trust and affinity that their name carries among their user base. Our campaign for MSME Day 2022 intends to recognise the goodwill of these local businesses in their customer base. The objective of this campaign is to remind our audience about all the local businesses they fondly remember and share a great relationship with. The teasers are released before MSME day while we are launching a master 35-second-long campaign video on MSME Day, June 27, 2022. Within the scope of this campaign, we will also launch a video series called Business Hua Easy in the first week of July. The focus will be on the unknown authentic stories of local business heroes while honouring them for providing a distinctive customer experience through personal relationships. The story of Ramesh and Dinesh Sirvee, the owners of Aaiji Super Mart in Bangalore, is the first story in this video series to be released. How did you arrive at the insight for this campaign? The concept of this campaign is derived from the insight that even though there are over 63 million MSMEs spread across the country, contributing around 30% to Indias GDP, their stories, challenges, and ambitions are untold. Over the years, many of these enterprises have established a reputation for themselves in their community and locality. They have grown based on face value, trust, and relationships. However, there is an untold story behind the names of these businesses and a larger emotion attached to them. Our campaign seeks to unfold those hidden tales. What was the brief given to the agency for this campaign? How did they come up with their idea? Khatabooks in-house creative team has conceptualised and produced this digital campaign. The aim of this campaign is to showcase the goodwill of the local businesses in the niche that they have created for themselves and also tell the untold stories of their business journey. As an organisation, we support the local business ecosystem and encourage everyone to purchase from local businesses to support them. We aim to build a strong emotional connect of our audience to the MSMEs they fondly remember and bring back a strong sense of community for local businesses. How will the MSMEs benefit from this campaign and who are you targeting with this new campaign? The core proposition of the Dil Se local campaign, which extends to Naam Hi Kafi Hain, is to encourage and remind people to buy from local businesses and support them. For us, MSME success is not just a campaign-specific objective, but an organisational goal. The campaign will connect people more strongly to the association with local businesses and encourage them to proactively engage with local businesses. Khatabook aims to celebrate the efforts and journey of small and medium business owners across India, reiterate our support to the community and stand with them at every step of their business journey. Though greatly impacted during the peak of the pandemic, these businesses were resilient with many of them adapting to newer ways of working amid the new normal. We are reminding people to play a part in building this resilient MSME ecosystem in the country. What is your media strategy for this campaign and how do you plan to evaluate the effectiveness of this campaign? The campaign is completely digital. The strategy is to leverage all kinds of social media tools through videos, static posts, and Reels and extend our reach to maximum viewers. The objective is to generate engagement and dialogues besides the number of impressions, views, and likes to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign. Mars, Incorporated today launched the India extension of its #HereToBeHeard campaign. In 2021, Mars asked 10,000 women in 88 countries across intersections race, age, sexuality, employment status, disability and more one question: What needs to change so that more women can reach their full potential? The respondents, including 250 from India, called for systematic change from employers, colleagues, government, communities and men to break the patriarchal barriers in their path to growth and success. Mars plans to expand this research in India by reaching out to women from different walks of life and taking in consideration all intersections of society: age, occupation, caste, cultural backgrounds and more who will be asked the same question. LeadCap Ventures, a leading global research, advisory, & consulting firm would be helping in conducting the research. Kalpesh Parmar, Country General Manager, Mars Wrigley, India, said, For generations, women have fulfilled many roles to the exclusion of what they stand for as individuals. Education and awareness have shifted that mindset, but deep-rooted ideologies persist even in evolved societies. Even today, women, irrespective of their backgrounds and upbringing, face bias and discrimination. It is necessary to voice womens opinions and advocate their desire for a better, more inclusive society. We plan to do that by extending our #HereToBeHeard campaign in India. Mars believes that The world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today and this includes advocating for an inclusive society. We invite women to respond to the survey so we can amplify it to help organizations, government bodies, communities and people understand what changes the women of India are seeking. The responses will inform the concrete actions Mars will undertake within its value chain and in the broader society to close the gender opportunity gap. Mitch Oliver, Global Purpose Vice President, Mars, said, At Mars, the world we want tomorrow is one that is inclusive. We know that, for the world to make progress socially, culturally and economically, it is essential that womens voices and actions are heard and can contribute equally. However, as World Economic Forum, it will still take 136 years for women to have equal rights. #HereToBeHeard was launched to accelerate that timeframe by amplifying the voices of all women from around the world, asking them one question What will it take for women to reach their full potential?. Im very excited to extend this campaign to women in India. We need to hear from them to help Mars Incorporated, our peers and society at large accelerate the journey to gender equality. I urge women to share their voices through this campaign so together we can advance gender equality and create a world where society is inclusive. The research would also be amplified through social media influencers to increase reach and secure large numbers of responses from women across cities. To reach a wider range of audience, celebrated actor and social media influencer, Dolly Singh joins Mars on board. Sharing her excitement, she said, "I'm so happy to be a part of the #HereToBeHeard campaign. It is great working with a brand that is working towards women empowerment and striving to make a positive change." Currently, women make up 49.5% of the worlds population and could contribute $28 trillion to the global GDP if their full potential was realised, and yet so often their voices go unheard. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the United Nations estimated that it would take more than a century to close the gender opportunity gap. Now, the pandemic has set progress for gender equality back by a further 25 years. Its impact has been particularly devastating for women in minority groups who for long have been overlooked in the conversation. In the initial phase of #HeretoBeHeard, womens opinions will be collected over three months after which the submissions will be analysed by LeadCap Research. The results will be shared widely in a report and will inform the action plans and policies of MARS as part of its advocacy and commitment to unlock opportunities for women. Mid-day, Mumbais leading tabloid is currently running a cleanliness campaign in Mumbai namely Litter Free Mumbai under the 'Mid-Day for Mumbai' initiative. Through this campaign, Mid-day aims to reduce litter and waste footprint of communities by strengthening litter and waste literacy among the citizens. Mid-day launched the campaign on 25th May, 2022 and during the period, the tabloid has been urging the citizens of Mumbai to be a catalyst for change and share pictures or videos of a littered area around them. The digital editorial team of Mid-day has been posting these pictures/videos on Mid-day.com as well as on their social media handles with the objective of making Mumbai a cleaner and greener city. The idea is also to educate the youth as they can be key opinion leaders and active citizens to find solutions to litter and waste issues and disseminate them through social media and other channels. The campaign garnered an overwhelming reach of more than 55 million across platforms and its on-ground impact was visible in areas such as Malad, Santacruz, Wadala and Ram Mandir, to name a few. Commenting on the campaign, Rachna Kanwar, Chief Operating Officer Digital Media, Radio City and Mid-day, said, If we have learnt anything from the pandemic over the last two years, it is the need for proper hygiene and sanitization, not just on an individual level, but also on a larger, social scale. With Litter Free Mumbai initiative, we at Mid-day hope to reinforce the need for keeping the city clean by holding not just the authorities but also ourselves responsible for the same. The initiative has already started showing impact and we hope to continue our efforts in driving positive change in the city. To extend the impact further, Mid-day has partnered with various organizations and groups such as Garbage Free India (GFI), Roads of Mumbai, M.N.C.D.F., Bombay and Mumbai Matterz to fix accountability for the cleanliness of the city. Mid-day has been at the vanguard of driving various public interest initiatives to bring about a change in the society at large. The innovative campaign highlights the menace of littering and aims to fast-track the cleaning work by municipal corporation workers before the monsoon hits different parts of the city. The One Club for Creativity announced a pair talented creatives from India who will serve on the global jury for the Young Guns 20, celebrating creative professionals age 30 or younger. Young Guns is the industrys only global, cross-disciplinary, portfolio-based awards competition that identifies and celebrates todays vanguard of young creatives. The program is open to creatives age 30 and under who have been working for at least two years, full-time or freelance, and regularly attracts entries from upwards of 45 countries. Click here to check the Award Categories Representing India on the global Young Guns 20 jury, many of whom are past YG winners, are Priyanka Shah, founder, creative director, Studio Lalala in Mumbai, and Khyati Trehan, graphic designer and 3D visual artist based in New Delhi. Trehan is a Young Guns 19 winner. The complete list of Young Guns 20 judges can be viewed here. The online entry system is open, with the reduced-fee early deadline of June 30, 2022, regular deadline July 14, 2022 and final deadline July 28, 2022. Winners will be announced in the fall. Eligible entrants can submit a combination of professional and personal work in graphic design; advertising art direction and copywriting; architectural, environmental and interior design; industrial and product design; digital (UX/UI, experiential design, interactive, web design, apps, game development): film and animation (motion design, television, video); fashion; typography and lettering; illustration and photography. All Young Guns winners receive a unique version of the iconic Young Guns Cube, designed exclusively for this years incoming class, and have their permanent profile page added to the Young Guns website. Winners also receive a complimentary one-year One Club for Creativity membership, permanent membership in the Young Guns network, a chance to be featured in Young Guns events and an assortment of career-boosting opportunities from Young Guns sponsors. Program branding and design of the Cube award itself is reimagined each year by a past Young Gun winner. This years YG20 branding and award are designed by Zipeng Zhu (YG13), founder and creative director at Dazzle Studio New York. The font for the YG20 branding is created by NaN Berlin. Levine/Leavitt Artist In Residence Award For the ninth consecutive year, international artists management agency and Young Guns sponsor Levine/Leavitt will bestow one talented winner with the Artist In Residence Award. The honor is presented annually to a newly crowned Young Gun whose body of work truly stands out, as judged by an advisory board of industry professionals across a range of disciplines. The winner receives a full year of professional development, guidance and mentorship from Levine/Leavitt to help advance their career. Young Guns 20 and other One Club activities are made possible in part through the generous support of sponsors including Levine/Leavitt and Shutterstock. The One Club for Creativity, producer of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Type Directors Club Communication Design and Typeface Design awards,Young Guns and Creative Week, is the world's foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the global creative community. The One Show is a top global awards show for advertising, design and digital marketing, focusing on the creativity of ideas and quality of execution. Established in 1921, the global ADC Annual Awards are the worlds longest continuously running creative award for advertising and design, honoring excellence in craft, design and innovation. Creative Week takes place in June, and is the preeminent festival celebrating the intersection of advertising and the arts. Ogilvy India is pleased to announce that effective July 01, 2022, Tithi Ghosh has taken over as President & Head of OfficeOgilvy Bengaluru. Tithi brings with her over twenty-two years of experience in brand communication. She has an honours degree in Economics from St. Xaviers College Kolkata and completed her Masters at MICA. She joined Ogilvy in Bengaluru in 2004. Over the years Tithi has become synonymous with the Ogilvy Bengaluru office. She has had her hand in all the successes and wins that the office has had in the last two decades. She has created some fantastic work across brands like ITC Bingo, Titan, Allen Solly, The Hindu, Fortune and MTR. She has also nurtured and built some of the strongest client partnerships for Ogilvy Bengaluru. In her role as Managing Partner, Bengaluru, during the pandemic years, she was instrumental in stabilising the business inspite of the pressures and was a pillar of strength to all employees. After 25 glorious years with Ogilvy India, Ram Moorthi has decided to move on. Rams contribution to Ogilvy India, since 1997, has been immense across the Ogilvy India network. In the last two and half decades Ram has been in leadership roles that included heading the Chennai office, leading the IBM hub, heading Ogilvys PR function, leading the Mumbai office to becoming the Bengaluru office head. Ram has been the rock on which many legends have been carved. Ogilvy India will miss his entrepreneurial zeal and passion. VR Rajesh, Group President, Ogilvy India: We would like to thank Ram, for giving so much to Ogilvy India. We will miss his passion to always do something different. Not a man to sit on his laurels, we are sure an all new venture is right around the corner. We wish him all the best and lots of love. We are also very lucky to have Tithi to take the baton from Ram. Tithi stands for everything that represents the culture of Ogilvy. The voice of guidance and wisdom is now going to be the hand that guides the next chapter of Ogilvy Bengaluru. Tithi, Ghosh, President & Head of OfficeOgilvy Bengaluru: In my eighteen years in Ogilvy Bengaluru, I've had the good fortune of being part of teams that launched brands that today have grown to be some of India's most loved. To gain the same love and attention from digitally consummate and socially active consumers of today, requires fresh and new ways of thinking. Our team here has some incredible talent, folks who are passionate about what they do and create. I'm excited about the future as I believe we can partner our existing and prospective clients in changing the conversation around their brands. Piyush Pandey, Chairman Global Creative & Executive Chairman India, Ogilvy: Tithi has been my valuable partner for years. And I am sure that in the coming years she will further strengthen our client relationships and creative excellence in our Bengaluru office. Twitter has asked the Karnataka High Court to overturn Indian government orders to remove specific information from its platform, arguing that the content blocking orders from the IT Ministry do not satisfy "the test of the grounds specified under Section 69A of the IT Act," according to sources. According to reports, numerous banning orders made to Twitter just "mention" grounds under the Section 69A, but fail to establish how the information fits under those grounds or how the claimed content violates Section 69A. Click here to check the Award Categories The government had ordered Twitter to respond on content take-down notifications filed under Section 69A of the IT Act, as well as non-compliance notices issued for failing to remove the content. According to reports, Twitter has requested judicial review of some of the information included in various banning orders, demanding relief from the court to set these blocking orders aside. The IT Ministry had warned Twitter in a June letter that if it did not comply with specific material removal demands, it would face severe consequences. According to sources, Twitter claims that the banning orders for various accounts and material are "overbroad and arbitrary," fail to provide notice to the "originators" of the content, and are "disproportionate" in some situations. According to authorities, some might be related to political information released by official handles of political parties. The blocking of such information is a breach of the platform's citizens' right to free expression. The IT Ministry is yet to respond to Twitter's court filing. Lack of awareness drives fear with Gen-Z more out of touch with the realities of space compared to Space Age generation. Across all ages, 1 in 3 globally excited about space, with 1 in 9 terrified, and 1 in 5 nervous; 97 per cent see space as a threat, with space junk and climate change main concerns. The world is largely unaware of key activities in space, with Gen-Z twice as likely to associate space with aliens, Star Wars and billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos than older generations, according to the largest representative survey of global consumer attitudes towards space, unveiled by Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications. The report, What on Earth is the value of space?, found that those aged 65 and above, who were teenagers when humans first walked on the Moon, are more optimistic and hopeful than Gen-Z. They are more likely to associate space with research and exploration, rockets, and satellites with their understanding of space more rooted in science than science-fiction. Only a quarter of the public (23 per cent) said they feel space exploration is important. Almost half (46 per cent) consider satellites when thinking of space, while 37 per cent think of expeditions to the Moon and Mars, 21 per cent think of aliens, and almost 1 in 10 think of Star Wars (9 per cent). Fewer than 1 in 10 people globally think of communications and connectivity. This focus on Hollywood rather than Halleys Comet fuels how respondents feel about space. Only a third of people feel excited about space (34 per cent), while 18 per cent feel nervous just 38 per cent wish they knew more about up there. A quarter (24 per cent) of people feel overwhelmed by space, which comes as no real surprise with films like Dont Look Up recently capturing the public consciousness. Rajeev Suri, CEO of Inmarsat, said: This report should be a wake-up call for our industry. Space appears to be underappreciated and misunderstood in the real-world. In many respects, the knowledge we possess as a society is inaccurate and incomplete. Space can enable a better way of living for all on Earth, but public support will make or break this vital contribution to a better future. Space needs a new narrative, and it is time for us to define its value to the world. Global communities are united by their fear of uncontrolled satellite debris, falling asteroids and environmental damage. Having come so far, we cannot afford to destroy the gift of space through poor stewardship, fear, ignorance or inaction. Sustainability on Earth cannot exist without sustainability in space. Responsible space exploration and stricter regulation is a must. Peoples ambitions for space centre around solving some of our major challenges on Earth finding new energy sources, essential resources, and helping solve climate change. However, this does not yet counteract our fears as 97 per cent of the global population feel space is a threat. This concern is reflected in the fact that 1 in 9 people are terrified of what could happen in space with space junk and collisions in orbit (47 per cent), pollution (39 per cent), and damaging the Earths atmosphere (35 per cent) seen as the top threats. Older people are more worried about space junk, while younger generations fear the environmental impact most. It is clear that the positive impact of space is not being appreciated fully by the public. Recent space industry entrants are more optimistic about what space offers. Close to half of respondents in China believe space can provide a new source for essential resources versus a third globally, while 6 in 10 South Koreans think space can be the key to new energy sources, while half of those polled in the UAE see space as a way to help solve climate change. When it comes to the UK, almost half (42 per cent) of Brits are worried about space junk and collisions in space; 32 per cent fear space activity damaging the Earths atmosphere and 14 percent of British residents are concerned we may end up polluting space. Only 7 per cent of UK residents the lowest score among the surveyed nations want to work in the space industry (versus 14 per cent globally); 31 per cent (versus 32 per cent globally) are hopeful about the possibilities of space; a quarter (26 per cent vs 38 per cent globally) wish they knew more about space and a quarter (26 per cent versus 34 per cent globally) feel excited about what could happen in space. The largest independent global representative consumer survey of attitudes towards space included 20,000 respondents (18-65+ years of age) across the UK (3,000), US (2,000), Brazil (2,000), Canada (2,000), Germany (2,000), Australia (2,000), China (2,000), India (2,000), South Korea (1,000), Japan (1,000) and UAE (1,000). The study was conducted by Yonder Consulting in April 2022 on behalf of Inmarsat. "One of the best contemporary writers on philosophy" National Review "A terrific writer" Damian Thompson, Daily Telegraph "Feser... has the rare and enviable gift of making philosophical argument compulsively readable" Sir Anthony Kenny, Times Literary Supplement Selected for the First Things list of the 50 Best Blogs of 2010 (November 19, 2010) By Dan Olmsted Isn't it nice to see the hammer of real journalism come down on the fringe lunatic crank ravings of the Three Blind Mice of Autism Epidemic Enablers -- profiteering vaccine-damage denier Paul Offit, cruel and credulous junk science-swallower Seth Mnookin, and sick-child tormentor Brian Deer? Offit got the worst of it, with the Orange County Register calling out his "Liar! Liar!" accusations against Sheryl Attkisson of CBS. Offit has raked in millions off his totally unnecessary, universally recommended, pig-virus infested rotavirus vaccine. He also called Barbara Loe Fisher a liar; she sued but lost and decided not appeal; this new development ought to make her smile. Meanwhile our own J.B. Handley sued and Offit forked over money; and the British publisher of his most recent book had to shred them and print new copies because he had maligned one of the key players in the MMR saga. Mnookin has a bad habit of reviling his elders and betters and sticking up for the dim bulbs of autism-vaccine reporting just before they get unscrewed. For instance, he was all about love for fellow feature writer Trine Tsouderos right before a respected independent science-watch group lambasted her coverage of Lyme Disease -- slamming the same snotty bias masquerading as "sound science" she has heaped on parents of vaccine-damaged kids. He also has appeared with Offit and has a callow error-laden misunderstanding of the autism epidemic that he seems to owe mostly to Saint Paul of the Syringe. Wouldn't you know, just before the Orange County Offit smackdown he attacked Attkisson for picking up a recent study on ways that autism could occur. ONE of those ways was vaccine injury. ("More embarrassing anti-vaccine reporting from CBS News's Sharyl Attkisson.") Now he's really gone and done it, blasting Robert MacNeil for his autism series on PBS, which included an open-minded segment about his grandson's autism. "An embarrassing, reckless, and irresponsible coda to Robert MacNeil's career" was the title of his first blog post. Seth, my man, you do project too much -- it is your career that will suffer those lasting judgments. Of course, The Mnew York Times liked your book. They also loved Bruno Bettelheim's "The Empty Fortress," the "Mommy is Homicidal and the Kids Know It" explanation for autism. That might make you the Bruno Bettelheim of our day. You say you never criticize parents, only the "moral and scientific bankruptcy of all those who'd encouraged the families of children with autism to blame vaccines." "All those" people are mostly parents! (And apparently grandparents like MacNeil are fair game -- one generation back and you're an irresponsible jerk for even discussing it.) And speaking of projection, we must not overlook Brian Deer, the king of feces-flinging accusations that mirror his own festering nastiness, the creepy repetitiveness, the weasly, deceitful, obsessiveness." (That was his description of parents who dared to disagree with him.) He got a nice reception at Johns Hopkins this week, where parent-blaming first came into fashion after they couldn't figure out the environmental clues that Mark Blaxill and I write about in "The Age of Autism -- Mercury, Medicine, and a Man-Made Epidemic." Deer is technically a rat, but for simplicity's sake I include him here. There is nothing fun about autism, but it will be fun to watch their sinking ship go down. Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism. I also suggest the failure to properly disclose this conflict of interest contravene's News Corp's own Editorial Code of Conduct and Standards of Business Conduct, as outlined in my email to Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch, see below. Particularly bearing in mind this conflict of interest, it is an extremely serious matter that the Murdoch media group may have influenced the implementation of a coercive law which seeks to make the community compliant to an ever-increasing amount of lucrative vaccine products via the taxpayer-funded National Immunisation Program Schedule. This is especially significant considering the Murdoch media group has a conflict of interest in this matter, i.e. its association with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, which is involved in vaccine research and development projects funded by vaccine manufacturers such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Novartis and Sanofi Pasteur. Mr Turnbull, it appears the media group associated with the Murdoch family, now known as News Corp, may have influenced the Federal Government's coercive No Jab, No Pay law via its protracted No Jab, No Play media campaign in its tabloid newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Courier Mail, and The Advertiser etc. I've challenged both Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch on this matter, see email thread below: The Murdoch Children's Research Institute is supported by News Corp and Foxtel. Lachlan Murdoch's wife Sarah Murdoch is a Director and Ambassador for the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Rupert Murdoch's mother Dame Elisabeth Murdoch was one of the original founders of this institute. The former chair of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, Terry Nolan, is now associated with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and working on industry-funded projects. Terry Nolan is also a member of the World Health Organisation's SAGE group, and thereby influential on international vaccination policy. There's a lot more to this web of influence that needs to be explored... How useful for GlaxoSmithKline and co to have the Murdoch media group campaign for a coercive law which seeks to make the community compliant to an ever-increasing amount of lucrative vaccine products via Australia's taxpayer-funded vaccination schedule. But the Murdoch media group now known as News Corp did not properly disclose its conflict of interest in this matter, i.e. its association with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, which is involved in vaccine research and development projects funded by vaccine manufacturers such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Novartis and Sanofi Pasteur. The Murdoch media groups relentless No Jab, No Play campaign was adopted by the Australian government, becoming the coercive No Jab, No Pay law in January 2016. Others also had undue influence on the implementation of the No Jab, No Pay law, e.g. the Friends of Science in Medicine lobby group which supported the No Jab, No Pay bill at the Senate Hearing held in November 2015. It is notable that members of the Friends of Science in Medicine lobby group include academics who are associated with the vaccine industry via research funding. Mr Turnbull, the biased and polarising media campaign run by the Murdoch media group, News Corp, and others has resulted in a hostile climate where citizens questioning vaccination policy are reflexively labelled 'anti-vaxxer' and marginalised or even censored. Associate Professor in International Criminology Paddy Rawlinson discusses the undermining of free speech on this matter in her essay Immunity and Impunity: Corruption in the State-Pharma Nexus, published in the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, currently accessible via this link: https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/447 (Copy also attached.) Curtailing citizens' right to question taxpayer-funded vaccination policy is a serious matter in our liberal democracy. Recently citizens organised a conference in Sydney to discuss the censorship of the vaccination debate in Australia. The venue for this conference had to be kept secret until a few hours before the start due to the threat of it being shut down. I presented at this conference on the topic of conflicts of interest in vaccination policy, as detailed in my email to Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch, see below. Mr Turnbull, politicians, including you, are refusing point-blank to respond to citizens' concerns about taxpayer-funded vaccination policy, in particular about the over-use of vaccine products. It appears the Murdoch run Newscorp and other vested interests are running Australia's taxpayer-funded vaccination policy now, courtesy of obliging politicians who are failing to properly represent Australian citizens on this matter. I am now challenging the Murdoch's directly about their media group's influence on Australian vaccination policy. In this regard, please see below my open email to Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch, also copied to Mr Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp, and also Ms Sarah Murdoch, Director of and Ambassador for the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. The original email can be accessed via this link: https://bit.ly/2mEiyaS This email to Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch includes exposure of the conflicts of interests of academics influential on vaccination policy in Australia. This email also includes discussion on the GlaxoSmithKline Bexsero meningococcal B vaccine product for the very rare invasive meningococcal B disease, which is being heavily promoted by politicians and others, despite being rejected by the PBAC three times for the taxpayer-funded schedule due to 'multiple uncertainties' about this product. Elizabeth Hart 19 July 2018 Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch I believe your media group's No Jab, No Play campaign has influenced taxpayer-funded vaccination policy in Australia, with then Prime Minister Tony Abbott obligingly adopting your campaign as policy, i.e. No Jab, No Pay, with cross-party support from Labor's Bill Shorten and the Greens' Richard Di Natale. Your National Political Editor, Samantha Maiden, gloated about the success of The Sunday Telegraph's No Jab, No Play campaign (11 April 2015). The No Jab, No Pay law was enacted in January 2016, under Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the intent of this law being to make parents compliant to the ever-increasing taxpayer-funded children's vaccination schedule. Some state governments are now also adopting No Jab, No Play policies. It appears Australian politicians may have been influenced by the Murdoch media group, while ignoring citizens well-founded concerns about the burgeoning National Immunisation Program Schedule. I strongly believe the Murdoch family has a conflict of interest in this matter, i.e. the Murdoch family's association with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, which is involved in industry-funded vaccine research and development. The Murdoch Children's Research Institute website notes that Rupert Murdoch's mother Dame Elisabeth Murdoch was involved in the founding of this institute. The Murdoch Children's Research Institute's Corporate Partners webpage states that News Corp and Foxtel support this institute. I suggest the Murdoch family's association with an institute involved in industry-funded vaccine research and development should be clearly disclosed as a conflict of interest on all articles regarding vaccination published by the Murdoch media group. Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch, would you not agree that failing to disclose this conflict of interest contravenes News Corps own Editorial Code of Conduct and News Corp's Standards of Business Conduct in regards to conflict of interest?[1] For years your media group has run the extraordinarily biased No Jab, No Play vaccination campaign, and has been a major party in creating a polarised 'pro' and 'anti' vaccination climate, with hyperbolic articles such as 'Anti-vaxers, you are baby killers' (Claire Harvey, The Sunday Telegraph, 21 March 2015). In this hostile climate, any citizen questioning vaccination policy is reflexively labelled an 'anti-vaxxer' and marginalised or even censored. Politicians are refusing to respond to citizens' concerns about taxpayer-funded vaccine products, the cost of which is kept secret from taxpayers, i.e. categorised as 'commercial-in-confidence', protecting vaccine manufacturers from scrutiny. Your newspapers have failed to provide serious, objective and nuanced critical analysis of taxpayer-funded vaccination policy, i.e. examination of the burgeoning National Immunisation Program Schedule, which currently sits at around 50 doses of vaccines for children, via single and combination shots, and revaccinations.[2] This does not include the annual flu vaccinations we are all being pressured to have, young and old. We have no idea of the long-term consequences of this increasing vaccine load. I suggest children are being grossly over-vaccinated with this plethora of vaccine products, which are added to the schedule without any consultation with the community. The community is being coerced with inducements and made compliant to the ever-increasing schedule, with the right to 'informed consent' before each vaccine intervention being effectively denied, in contravention of The Australian Immunisation Handbook's definition of valid consent, i.e that It must be given voluntarily in the absence of undue pressure, coercion or manipulation. I suggest doctors, nurses and midwives are conflicted in their ethical duty with this coercive medical intervention. Since the No Jab, No Pay law was enacted in January 2016, yet another injection of diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccines (GlaxoSmithKline Infanrix or Sanofi-Aventis Tripacel) has been added to the schedule, along with the recent addition of the meningococcal ACWY vaccines (Pfizer Nimenrix). Intensive industry lobbying for GlaxoSmithKline's Bexsero meningococcal B vaccine continues, along with increasing pressure for annual flu vaccines for children, e.g. the NSW Government offering 'free' flu vaccines for children under five years. The bloated and conflicted vaccination schedule is out of control, we have no idea of the long-term cumulative consequences of all these vaccine interventions. The taxpayer-funded National Immunisation Program Schedule must be subject to an urgent review, particularly in light of the conflicts of interest that permeate this bloated schedule, and emerging problems with vaccines, e.g. repeated revaccination throughout life with the failing aluminium-adjuvanted acelluar pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, over-use of live vaccines, failing immunity of mumps vaccines, flu vaccines etc. Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch, would you not agree your failure to "tell all sides of the story" in regards to the bloated and conflicted vaccination schedule contravenes News Corp's own Editorial Code of Conduct? I presented on the subject of conflicts of interest in vaccination policy at the citizens' conference The Censorship of the Vaccination Debate in Australia Today, held in Sydney on 30 June 2018. In my presentation I refer to your media group's influence on vaccination policy, noting that you have not clearly disclosed your conflict of interest in this matter, i.e. the Murdoch family's association with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, which is involved in industry-funded vaccine research and development, supported by News Corp and Foxtel. As well as examining the influence of rich and powerful families such as the Murdochs and Bill and Melinda Gates, and the conflicts of interest of the Cochrane 'evidence based medicine' group, my presentation also exposes the conflicts of interest of two academics who are very influential on vaccination policy, Terry Nolan and Robert Booy, who are involved with vaccine industry-funded research. Former Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) Chair Terry Nolan is now a Group Leader in vaccination and immunisation research (VIRGo) with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, with involvement in projects funded by GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi Pasteur and Novavax, as recorded in Terry Nolan's presentation titled 'The National Immunisation Program in the modern era - providing, nudging, and cajoling', presented at the PHAA National Immunisation Conference 2016. Terry Nolan is also a member of the World Health Organisation's SAGE group, and thereby influential on international vaccination policy. Ironically, in June 2012, The Australians journalist Natasha Bita raised the issue of conflicts of interest of Terry Nolan in an article titled Pharma conflicts must be disclosed, but concern about conflicts of interest seems to have evaporated since then. Robert Booy is Head of Clinical Research at the government and industry-funded National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance, and also a Director and Scientific Advisory Member of the Immunisation Coalition, an industry organisation which is sponsored and supported by GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, CSL company Seqirus, Sanofi Pasteur, Roche and others, including Google. Margie Danchin, who works with Terry Nolan in the VIRGo group at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, is also a Director of the industry-sponsored Immunisation Coalition. Organisations such as the Australian Medical Association, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australian College of Nursing, and the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation and others are also associated with the industry-sponsored Immunisation Coalition. Robert Booy is also a member of the coercive vaccination lobby group Friends of Science in Medicine, which was influential at the Senate Hearing (November 2015) re the No Jab, No Pay bill, with No Jab, No Pay being made law in January 2016. Both Terry Nolan and Robert Booy have been cited in promotion for the GlaxoSmithKline Bexsero meningococcal B vaccine product on the Medical Observer website.[3] My presentation also includes discussion on the GlaxoSmithKline Bexsero meningococcal B vaccine product, which was showcased in the PHAA vaccine product promotion conference held in Adelaide in June this year, which was supported by both the Federal and South Australian governments. How very interesting to see the cosy relationships between governments and vaccine manufacturers and others with vested interests. During this government and industry supported vaccine product promotion conference, The Australian reported GlaxoSmithKline's head of global vaccines, Luc Debruyne, met South Australian officials "in an attempt to win support for a government-funded program for the pharmaceutical giant's meningococcal B vaccine" (5 June 2018). The SA Government has now announced 'free' funding of the GlaxoSmithKline Bexsero meningococcal B vaccine product, undermining the PBAC's decision to reject three times this vaccine product for the taxpayer-funded schedule due to "multiple uncertainties" of this still experimental product. On what evidence did the TGA approve and register this 'uncertain' product? Meningococcal bacteria is largely quite harmless, and only rarely a serious matter. And this is interesting, why are serious meningococcal cases so rare? This is what independent immunologists should be investigating to develop our knowledge of the human system. Despite the rarity of invasive meningococcal B cases, it seems the SA Government is accommodating GlaxoSmithKline's determined campaign to force this lucrative product for a very rare disease on the taxpayer-funded National Immunisation Program Schedule, no doubt as a springboard to fast-tracking this very questionable vaccine product around the world and generating a multi-billion dollar market for GlaxoSmithKline. Politicians are falling over themselves to promote this lucrative vaccine product for a very rare disease, with Labor's Bill Shorten recently tweeting about his letter to Malcolm Turnbull demanding the meningococcal B vaccine be added to the taxpayer-funded National Immunisation Program Schedule (17 July 2018). And of course the SA Labor Opposition has supported this campaign too, with the assistance of the Murdoch media, e.g. the Adelaide Advertiser which has provided fear-mongering promotion for this 'uncertain' GlaxoSmithKline vaccine product for a very rare disease, see for example 'Calls for free vaccine for the meningococcal B strain grow', The Advertiser, 28 June 2018. In South Australia, a Bexsero meningococcal B vaccine trial funded by GlaxoSmithKline is under way, involving up to 60,000 students. Articles published in your Advertiser newspaper say "It is hoped the findings will provide a strong push to get the vaccine on the taxpayer-funded National Immunisation Program" (13 December 2016 and 27 March 2017). It appears this GlaxoSmithKline funded-trial is biased from the outset, with the support of the Adelaide Advertiser. Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) member Helen Marshall is the lead investigator on this vaccine trial. Given her role on ATAGI, Helen Marshall has a serious conflict of interest with her leadership of this GlaxoSmithKline-funded trial. A TV advertisement urging students to participate in this trial says "Help protect yourself, while also protecting your family and friends". I suggest these students are being misled about the effectiveness of this still 'uncertain' vaccine product. Along with Robert Booy, ATAGI member Helen Marshall is also a member of the coercive vaccination lobby group Friends of Science in Medicine which was influential at the Senate Hearing re the No Jab, No Pay bill. It's also notable that News Corp is "collaborating with GSK Australia's Children's Panadol in an organic partnership focused on first time mums", as promoted on the News Corp Australia website. It appears GSK benefits doubly from both vaccination and promotion of Panadol "to provide...fast, effective, temporary relief from pain and fever associated with...Immunisation..."[4] The Murdochs seem to have a long association with GlaxoSmithKline. For example, James Murdoch was appointed as a non-executive director at GlaxoSmithKline in 2009, serving as a member of GlaxoSmithKline's corporate responsibility committee, helping to review "external issues that might have the potential for serious impact upon the group's business and reputation".[5] James Murdoch resigned as a director of GlaxoSmithKline in 2012[6] in the aftermath of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, when Murdoch media group (News International) journalists were accused of hacking people's phones for information, including murdered teenager Milly Dowler's voicemail.[7] Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch, would you not agree News Corp's partnership with GSK Australia, and also GlaxoSmithKline's funding at the News Corp supported Murdoch Children's Research Institute, constitutes a conflict of interest in your reporting on matters relevant to taxpayer-funded vaccination policy? Would you not agree that failing to disclose this conflict of interest contravenes News Corps own Editorial Code of Conduct and News Corp's Standards of Business Conduct in regards to conflict of interest? Here's my video presentation re conflicts of interest in vaccination policy, presented at The Censorship of the Vaccination Debate in Australia Today conference, 30 June 2018: It's on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/nojabnopaynoway/videos/1761991957172323/ Or YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atKeooIrHE8 The transcript and powerpoint slides are accessible via this link: https://elizabethhart.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/conflicts-of-interest-in-vaccination-policy-e-hart.pdf Due to the hostility inhibiting open discussion on vaccination policy in Australia, the venue of this citizens' organised conference discussing vaccination policy and censorship had to be kept secret until a couple of hours before the start time, because people determined to shut it down might have contacted the venue to demand it be cancelled. That's the state of our liberal democracy today in Australia re citizens questioning vaccination policy, and with doctors, nurses and midwives being afraid to question the national vaccination schedule with the risk of facing de-registration. Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch, please note that informed Australian citizens are demanding transparency and accountability for taxpayer-funded vaccination policy, and exposure of conflicts of interest of parties involved in this area. In an ideal world citizens expect to rely on the independence and objectivity of the fourth estate to hold politicians and others to account in our liberal democracies. However, in the real world we discover media companies are businesses compromised by their reliance on advertising and other conflicts of interest. A recent self-serving article in The Weekend Australian magazine decries the internets vast network of alternative news and information outlets, paternalistically insinuating that thinking citizens are incapable of evaluating the worth of material published on the internet (23-24 June 2018.) I suggest fake news is just as likely to occur in the mainstream media, and citizens must fight for their right to freely access a range of views across the internet. Citizens must be allowed to question whether it is feasible to vaccinate against every ailment, including rare diseases such as invasive meningococcal B. Citizens must be allowed to question what the future holds for highly vaccinated populations. Will future generations be made dependent on vaccine products, with natural immunity being destroyed? What does the future hold with vaccine manufacturers and governments controlling immunity? What about the vaccine failures that are now emerging, for example pertussis/whooping cough, and problems with other vaccines? There are parallels to consider with the emerging problems from the over-use of antibiotics, and over-prescribing of other medical products such as opioids and anti-depressants. We need independent 'big picture' thinkers to consider the frightening possibilities with the over-use of vaccine products. Instead, vaccination policy is dominated by Big Pharma and academics on the teat of industry research funding. Vaccination policy is a shambles, awash with conflicts of interest. The vaccine industry is driving vaccination policy in its quest to develop lucrative vaccine markets, with the assistance of media groups such as News Corp. There must be an independent and objective review of the burgeoning and conflicted taxpayer-funded vaccination schedule. Citizens must demand transparency and accountability for vaccination policy from the governments that are supposed to serve us. Mr Rupert Murdoch and Mr Lachlan Murdoch, in line with News Corp's Editorial Code of Conduct and News Corp's Standards of Business Conduct, I suggest it's way past time your media group disclosed its conflicts of interest, and provided fair and objective critical analysis of taxpayer-funded vaccination policy to redress the years of biased and conflicted reporting you have promoted on this subject. The mind boggles to consider the amount of children who have been grossly over-vaccinated during this time. Sincerely Elizabeth Hart cc: Mr Robert Thomson, Chief Executive, News Corp Ms Sarah Murdoch, Director of and Ambassador for the Murdoch Children's Research Institute References: News Corp Australia Editorial Code of Conduct Professional Conduct Policy August 2016 and News Corp Standards of Business Conduct May 2016. National Immunisation Program Schedule from 1 July 2018: Addendum: The pneumococcal vaccines at 6 months and 4 years are for 'medically at-risk children'. Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander children also have another pneumococcal dose at 6 months, plus Hepatitis A at 12 months and 18 months, plus flu vaccination is funded for Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander children from 6 months to less than 5 years, i.e. around 56 doses of vaccines for Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander children. For more detailed information see the latest published schedule. Birth x1 Hep B 2 months x6 Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hep B, polio, hib x1 Pneumococcal x1 Rotavirus 4 months x6 Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hep B, polio, hib x1 Pneumococcal x1 Rotavirus 6 months x6 Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hep B, polio, hib x1 Pneumococcal 12 months x4 Meningococcal ACWY x3 Measles, mumps, rubella x1 Pneumococcal 18 months x1 Hib x4 Measles, mumps, rubella, varicella x3 Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis 4 years x4 Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio x1 Pneumococcal 10-<15 years x2 HPV Gardasil 9 x3 Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis TOTAL 50 doses Official figures published last month show that one in 21 school-age children in the North has an autism diagnosis quadruple that from a decade ago. Increasing numbers of autistic children in Northern Ireland are being homeschooled as mainstream classrooms arent fit to support their needs, a charity has warned. Ireland (Autism numbers in Northern Ireland are also accepted in Ireland.) Heres what those in charge seem more than willing to accept as normal and unavoidable. Reporters just repeat what legislators and school officials tell them about special needs students. There are more of them and we just have to keep on providing funds. How can the stories out every day not raise concerns? How long can they keep funding more programs and services before the money just runs out? Why is no one interested in the constant increases? In the USA, we're seeing young boy/men turning viciously and vindictively violent and shooting innocent people at a rate that doesn't begin to be covered by the term "alarming." It's horrifying. It's called gun violence and mental illness but we know that the cancerous reasons run much deeper in this, the most heavily vaccinated and medicated and chemically damaged and diet poisoned generation in history. ### By Anne Dachel Officials must not really care about the welfare of children. Theres no other conclusion one can reach. A third of parents are telling us that their children are on a reduced school timetable due to their autism. ______________ "It was confirmed on Thursday that 43 new special education classes will open this September in Dublin, with the number of special classes in Dublins primary schools more than doubling in the last five years from 158 in June 2017 to the 340 which have been established for the coming school year. _______________ The minister said 106 children do not have a special school place but she believed the number will go down over the next few weeks because some of the schools on the list of 14 "will be in a position to open a special class so some of that will be reduced". _______________ Four leading advocacy groups have called for the urgent passage of proposed new legislation to speed up the process of compelling schools to open places for children with special educational needs (SEN). It comes against the backdrop of a crisis over provision for students needing a place in primary and post primary schools next September, with about 100 places still required in Dublin alone. _______________ The provision of school places for autistic children is a disgrace, Labour Party's Education Spokesperson Aodhan O Riordain has said. Speaking in the Dail during a debate on his party's Autism Bill, Deputy O Riordain said the legislation would provide for a National Autism Strategy to address what the party has described as the "inadequacy of services for people with autism and their families". _______________ UK The number of children in England approaching councils for special needs support has increased by almost a quarter in a year, latest figures reveal, with 170 young people now starting support plans each day. The LGA, which represents councils, says emergency action is needed now, to help meet the rising demand for SEND support. It is calling on the Government to scrap the high needs deficits councils have built up, as a result of the spiralling costs of providing support outstripping the SEND budgets available to councils With councils having to make difficult decisions over where support is provided, there were 62,180 new EHC plans made in the last year, amounting to 170 children and young people starting a plan each day. There are now nearly half a million children and young people (473,255) on ECH plans an increase of over 100 per cent since eligibility for SEND support was extended in 2014 to people aged 16-25. While eliminating high needs deficits will help councils in the short-term, the LGA says boosting the inclusion of pupils with SEND in mainstream schools is vital. ______________ Earlier this month the Department for Education (DfE) published the latest statistics on Special Educational Needs in England. In Bristol there are currently 100 more pupils attending special schools than there were last year. The number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in Pupil Referral Units (PRU) in Bristol has risen by almost 40 per cent in five years. The total number of children and young people with EHCPs who are waiting for school placements, being home educated or not in education, employment or training, has risen to 32,700. _______________ The number of children in England seeking special educational needs and disability (SEND) support from councils has risen by nearly a quarter in a year, according to the latest data. The Local Government Association has called for emergency action to ensure this rising demand for support is met. The LGA has said that Government needs to resolve the high needs deficits built up by councils as a result of rising costs which outstrip the SEND budgets available to them. _______________ There are 52,000 children waiting for initial assessment and therapy. The biggest waiting list is for speech and language therapy at over 30,000 children. Nearly 8,000 are awaiting physiotherapy and over 13,000 are waiting for occupational therapy. And there are 9,500 children on waiting lists for further speech and language therapy appointments. _______________ PLANS to transform the vacant Dean Row Centre at Wilmslow into a satellite special school have moved a step closer with the submission of a planning application. The satellite school will be required to accommodate a minimum of 70 students with ASD, with a top capacity of 80 students. The school will have 37 full-time equivalent staff. _______________ Lancashire County Council is proposing to expand this special school with the creation of 34 additional places, increasing the school population to 189. _______________ NEW sixth form facilities will be created for two of Cumbria's specialist educational needs schools with an investment of nearly 1 million [$1.2M] by Cumbria County Council. Demand for SEN provision has grown year on year causing special schools in the area to be oversubscribed. ________________ It comes as the number of children in England approaching councils for special needs support has increased by almost a quarter in a year - with 170 young people now starting support plans each day. The Local Government Association called for emergency action to ensure the rising demand is met, with councils struggling to manage soaring costs which outstrip the SEND budgets available to them. ________________ Work on a building project that will transform education for pupils with additional learning needs in Powys will begin this month, the county council has announced. ________________ Calderdale councillors heard one daily journey to and from an out-of-area school costs the authority more than 24,000 [$29K] a year, and other similar journeys cost sums averaging 8,700 [$10K] per pupil, per year. This costs the council 22,265 [27K] a week. Of the 86 children, 26 go to schools outside of the local authority. The weekly cost for these pupils is 9,595 [$11.6K]. _________________ The largest proportion of the 1.5 million fund will go towards improving the provision of special school places in the county, including 650,000 [$790,000] for a new 60-place school in Stroud and 150,000 [$182,000] for facilities at Bettridge Special School in Cheltenham. Council leaders want to expand the provision of special school places amid increasing demand, which means children sometimes have go to schools out of the county or to independent schools when there arent places Meanwhile in the U.S., the accommodations continue Helping Hands Family (HHF) has expanded their New Jersey footprint by adding comprehensive applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy services to both Monmouth and Middlesex County, New Jersey. This expansion reflects HHF's commitment to the autism community, serving as many families and children in need as they can. Currently, HHF is providing services to children across nearly 20 locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware, with plans to expand to Connecticut this Fall. Clinical Director, Hailey Gould comments "We are so excited to expand our services in New Jersey! _________________ Apara Autism Center opened a new location on June 13 at 121 Vision Park Drive, Ste. 250, Shenandoah [TX]. Apara Autism Center offers services, such as evidence-based applied behavior analysis therapy, caregiver ABA training, speech and language therapy programs, and feeding therapy programs. Apara Autism Center has multiple locations in Houston and Dallas. _________________ Michigan lawmakers agreed to hundreds of millions of dollars in new special education funding as part of a new state budget in which they tapped a historic surplus to pass one of the most sweeping school spending plans in decades. SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING The new budget will sharply increase funding for students with disabilities. Districts will get 75 percent more per pupil with disabilities than they do for students without disabilities. They will also be reimbursed for 28 percent of their spending on special education, continuing past practice. All told, the state will spend roughly an additional $312 million on students with special needs to address long-running concerns among educators that the state was failing to recognize the true cost of providing special education services. _________________ Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) ASCEND Program received a significant boost from the state Thursday when Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation earmarking $7.5 million in capital funding for a facility to house the program, which supports students with autism. Our kids with autism are going to one day be adults with autism, and our community should be ready to help them succeed, said 33rd District State Sen. Karla Eslinger (R-Wasola). That final story from Missouri says it all. State Sen. Karla Eslinger is so typical of the people in charge who cant ask the obvious. Eslinger acknowledges that KIDS WITH AUTISM WILL EVENTUALLY BE ADULTS WITH AUTISM. They will need support and care. Legislators have allocated $7.5 MILLION to help them. My questions for Eslinger and everyone else in the above stories talking about autism: WHY CANT YOUNG AUTISTIC ADULTS GO WHERE AUTISTIC ADULTS HAVE ALWAYS GONE? WHY IS AUTISM SUCH A COSTLY ISSUE FOR OUR SCHOOLS? HAVE WE CREATED A WHOLE NEW POPULATION OF DISABLED CHILDREN THAT WILL HAVE TO HAVE SPECIAL CARE THAT SIMPLY ISNT HERE NOW? The answers are: .They cant because weve never had massive numbers of adults disabled with autism. It is because autism can be a truly debilitating condition. Yes, obviously. No one wants to ask these questions of course. Its much easier to sound compassionate and supportive and avoid the real problem. Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism. As the country plunges deeper into Wokeland, the institutions of alleged higher learning continue to support and promulgate the ideology of the Left. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) offers an online book titled Racial Literacy edited by Detra Price-Dennis. Chapter titles include the following: To Dismantle Racism, We Must Discuss It Everyday Colorism: Reading in the Language Arts Classroom Centering #BlackLivesMatter to Confront Injustice, Inspire Advocacy, and Develop Literacies Reopening Racial Wounds: Whiteness, Melancholia, and Affect in the English Classroom Tough Talking: Teaching White Students about Race and Responsibility Antiracist Language Arts Pedagogy is Incomplete without Black Joy Thus, [t]his collection shows how teaching from a racial literacy perspective is in conversation with antiracist, culturally responsive, equity-oriented frameworks that uplift curriculum design and instructional strategies to help educators [.] In effect, [t]he English language arts classroom provides a significant place to begin as English Language Acquisition (ELA) scholars and teacher educators are illuminating the ways white supremacy of language policies and practice devalue Black ways of knowing, being, and doing in schools. Translated, this word salad of pseudo-intellectual leftist jargon states that education must be race-based. It reflects the infiltration of Marxist, communist, leftist, progressive ideology that runs completely counter to American ideas. The contributors are committed to the joy of Black women teachers and girls in K12 schools. And their writing, research, teaching, and activism meet at the intersection of race, education, abolition and Black joy. Abolition of what? Furthermore, will the Greek poet Sappho be acknowledged when she writes I will sing my songs beautifully, now, for my friends delight or does this fail the racial joy test? NCTE is certainly not speaking of the classics of Western literature in their curricula. Shakespeare has all but been eliminated from the classroom. The dynamics of Antigones resistance or the questions raised by Plato are relegated to the dustbin. Dostoevsky who? Instead, teachers are expected to consider the following: 1. In what ways might you be complicit in perpetuating racial inequities, racial oppression, and/or White privilege? 2. In what ways do you work against racial inequities, racial oppression, and/or White privilege? 3. What tension/s do you notice? 4. What steps can you take to align your actions and eventually teaching practices with the principles of racial literacy? Repeatedly, the canon of Marxist ideology is drummed into these teachers-in-training. Those familiar with true multicultural material will recall the universality of the stories themes as well as the intriguing particulars from around the globe. But that is not the intent of the NCTE document. Instead, the NCTE document is all about left-wing political activism. Since the election of Trump, and in response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, teacher-educators have innovated with such curriculum in their courses, drawing on a long tradition of teacher-educators working for social justice. Literacy teachers do not have the option to be neutral; to read these texts requires recognizing the partiality of representations and misrepresentations in the media regarding immigration and other political issues. Moreover, [t]eachers of literacy in and out of school have a responsibility to their students, and in particular, to their most marginalized students, including Girls of Color (GOC). Of course, literacy instruction, in and of itself, cannot create revolution, but it can be one tool that can be used in schools and other educational contexts to provide GOC and other marginalized students with opportunities to leverage their brilliance to help forge a path toward freedom. According to the NCTE document, [i]t is difficult to teach white students that a significant part of their personal identity -- being white -- is connected with the enslavement of African people, the damage done to Africa, and the history of slavery and discrimination of African Americans. These are heavy burdens to put on such young people. Yet it isnt accurate to teach about this history without covering how white people were the perpetrators of these acts. We know from the work of Robin DiAngelo that when a white person feels blamed or challenged their [sic] fragility will cause them [sic] to be defensive and even to turn to denial rather than to engage with these lessons. Teaching white students that the history of racism is a white issue is a tough lesson to deliver. I daresay that slavery from Africa and the Middle East will not make its way into the NCTE teaching. The facts are not the intent. Racism against whites and cancel culture against anyone who sees through the left-wing indoctrination is the end goal. It is ironic that the alleged anti-racists turn out to be the most racist of all. Lamar L. Johnson in the NCTE document asserts the following: I have purposefully chosen to capitalize Black and other racialized language to show a radical love for Black and Brown people who are constantly wounded by white supremacy. I have chosen to disassemble white supremacy by lowercasing the w in white.. as well as the e in eurocentric. Thus, it is no wonder that recently Brown University barred White and Asian students from a new class that was offered to minority students only. Specifically, [t]he Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island, began offering a teacher training class on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), but students were only permitted to enroll if they identified as black, indigenous, or Latino. An anonymous Brown student attempted to enroll but was denied entry because he did not identify with the approved groups. The student then filed a complaint with the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR). As the Left has insinuated itself into every aspect of education in America, basic mathematics, logic, grammar and virtues are viewed as imperialistic and oppressive. Author Douglas Groothuis explains that the impetus for this revisionism is critical theory, the notion that race, class, and gender are determinative of culture, and that privileged discourse must be overthrown and replaced with the revolutionary vanguard defending the oppressed. While the norms for English grammar... are rooted in Western history... the mastery of English grammar allows and equips anyone [emphasis mine] to communicate his ideas clearly and effectively. In fact, English grammar is not white, or black, or brown, or yellow, or red, or blue. It is the common currency of American culture and is the most common global language (or lingua franca), whether we like it or not. If one wants to advance in any profession in the United States (and in much of the world), proficiency in English is required. How conveniently the Left ignores the impeccable English that former slave Frederick Douglass penned. There was nothing white about it. A black man, an ex-slave, wrote eloquent truth that spoke to power about slavery and womens rights. In fact, spurning grammar and syntax will not help non-whites lead successful lives. The Left never ceases in its quest to make equity the hallmark of this country to counter the myriad and never-ending injustices they claim exist. They assert that what they do for Girls of Color facing intersecting forces of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppressions is a constant battle to navigate the tensions between enacting agency and resisting systemic oppression. With the ongoing drumbeat claiming racism, our educational system is being eviscerated. Being alerted to the Lefts language, ideas, and true intentions, however, gives people the tools to resist the messaging and the indoctrination. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com Image: Ted Eytan Every so often a problem child does something wrong just to get punished. Maybe its testing the limits to see where the boundaries are. But in the case of New York State, it appears to be much more malignant. Space prohibits an exhaustive review, but its quite certain that New Yorks new gun law is an in-your-face, single-finger salute to the Supreme Court in response to the Bruen decision. Its likely to get all the respect a parent should give to that misbehaving offspring. SCOTUS said that NY was not allowed to demand good cause to get a permit. So, NY wrote the law to demand good moral character, instead. This new phrase is nothing more than a placeholder for good cause because the law says it means having the essential character, temperament and judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others. In other words, good cause. The Constitution does not allow such a restriction. You are either a prohibited person (such as a convicted felon) or not. This new definition in NY law is the very definition of arbitrary and capricious in practice. It sounds neutral, but just as with good cause, if the reviewing officer doesnt like you, your application is toast. New York then goes on to list a host of sensitive locations in which guns are barred. The first is generally unobjectionable: government administration buildings. Then it goes downhill. Any location where health care is provided is included. That would include homeless camps where mobile clinics work. Any place of worship or religious observation is prohibited. This would include a park where sunrise Easter services take place. And it would deny churches such as the West Freeway Church of Christ the ability to limit the carnage a shooter would create. SCOTUS flatly denied New York the ability to declare Manhattan a sensitive location. But the law circumvents this by saying that any private property that does not have a Guns Allowed sign is sensitive. If we add in buildings that house government agencies, thats not just all of Manhattan, its all of New York State. Image: Concealed carry holster (cropped) by Alian Gear Holster. CC BY-SA 4.0. Think about it. Every part of any state is either publicly owned or privately owned. There are no exceptions. Essentially, all of it is now off-limits to concealed carry. My brother-in-law in upstate New York would be in technical violation if he carried in his own yard unless he first put up a sign saying guns are OK. The list of sensitive locations is far too long for this post, but the Volokh Conspiracy page of Reason Magazine boils it down. Any government agency or government-funded agency. Any church. Any school of any description. Summer camps. Shelters for abused, homeless, or otherwise helpless persons. Any public transportation facility or vehicle. Any facility used in connection with public transportation (this appears to mean any road). Any performance venue (This would include street performers). Any public sidewalk near a political protest. Any gathering of individuals to collectively express their constitutional rights to protest or assemble. In theory, and bet on NY enforcing it, that includes two people talking politics under a streetlight. Times Square. Ultimately, the burden of knowing falls on the individual. You must keep that list handy, so you wont step on a crack. If you walk past a busker on your way to your favorite gun-welcoming eatery, you just committed a felony. And, if you leave your gun in a car, you cant just stick it inside the glove box or console before locking up. No, you must fully unload it and then put it into a safe that isnt visible from outside the car. While were talking about that, how many safes do you know that fit inside a car? So, you put it in the trunk? You must momentarily show the gun on the way to the safe from your hidden holster. Thats another felony. And once more when you re-holster it. As a final insult, you now must go through the NICS background check every time you buy ammunition. Once you buy it, you get entered into a state database. Theres no public access to the database but count on state agents poking through it. If you buy too much ammunition, its likely that you will get flagged on the monthly review-of-carry-permit-eligibility thats written into the statute. You might be tagged with a red flag violation and your guns will be taken away. The left in New York has joined the Left Coast as a Land of Fruits and Nuts. They hate guns so much that no restriction is too much. And in telling SCOTUS to shove Bruen where the sun dont shine, New Yorks leftists have functionally eliminated concealed carry in the state. That is unconstitutional and will be reversed when SCOTUS takes it up again. But for now, there are two key problems. First, it will take time for a test case to get to SCOTUS. New Yorkers will have to lay low for years before their freedoms are restored. Criminals wont care. In fact, theyll be happy because their marks will be disarmed. Second, with the myriad of sensitive places in the new law, SCOTUS will have yeoman work to do to identify a bright-line law that tyrants arent allowed to violate. As for me, Im glad I live in the Free State of Florida. Ted Noel MD is a retired Anesthesiologist/Intensivist who podcasts and posts on social media as DoctorTed and @vidzette. His DoctorTed podcasts are available on many podcast channels. In the wake of this week's Independence Day celebration, some thoughtful reflection is in order. Imagine a scenario in which England somehow managed to reconquer the United States in the next few months. (Such a scenario is rendered less fantastic given the fecklessness of the current administration.) Imagine further that England then abolished our Constitution, canceled future national elections, and forced us once again to submit to the will of the Crown. Would we wish to celebrate Independence Day next July 4 or in future years? Would there be any point to such a celebration? Assuming that the answer is "no," then we do not really need our imaginations in order to question the relevance of our current Independence Day celebrations. Real scenarios have existed for some time. (1) Our government currently owes more money to foreign countries than any government or person has ever repaid in the history of mankind. That debt continues to grow and limits our options regarding trade policy, foreign policy, military planning, etc. (2) Our country has no border (depending on who is president). No nation is independent without an enforceable border. Joe Biden has not officially abolished our southern border, but his policies have rendered our taxpayers subservient to any claim by any foreigner that seeks to enter our country and avail himself of government benefits, services, etc. We are truly citizens of the world in the worst possible way. Anyone from the outside world who crosses our former southern border becomes an ally of one faction in our political battles even if he does not realize it. (3) A 20-year prison sentence was just given to Ghislaine Maxwell for her role in procuring underage girls for multiple clients none of which clients have been or will be sentenced, prosecuted, or even spoken of. They are presumably too powerful and influential to be subject to our laws. Our government is less independent of these unnamed "clients" than we ever were of England. At least we were always capable of denouncing the king by name. (4) Millions of Americans continue to distrust the integrity of the most recent presidential election despite repeated official assurances of its propriety and ongoing efforts official and otherwise to silence such distrust. Nothing refutes "independence" like a corrupt election regardless of whether one believes that the corruption was sufficient to tip the scales. (5) Perhaps most disturbing are the efforts to streamline the three branches of government set forth in our founding documents into one all-powerful Executive Branch. Decades ago, Congress yielded much of its legislative powers to the Executive Branch by creating innumerable federal agencies with de facto legislative functions and little, if any, oversight. These agencies operate the federal government almost independently of Congress so long as Congress continues its unbroken streak of increasing the agencies' funding every year. Some would argue that these agencies constitute a permanent bureaucracy that operates independently even of the president at least independently of any Republican president. Presidents who seek to make the most of this bureaucratic power increasingly use "executive orders" to bypass the Legislative Branch. Joe Biden's critics focused much of their attention upon his numerous executive orders on his first day in office while missing the real issue. The critics stressed how wrong and harmful the individual orders were without acknowledging the dangerous pattern of legislating without congressional approval or national debate. The power of mere executive action became painfully apparent in 2020. A few agencies such as the CDC and its state counterparts shut down most of the national economy while Congress and various legislatures could do nothing about it despite vociferous, meaningless protests. The CDC even managed, with the stroke of a pen, to suspend centuries of real estate and related law across the nation with its "eviction moratorium." King George would have been envious. This trend bodes ill for the future. Our bureaucracies need only to coordinate their databases while waiting for consumers to be enticed by novel vehicle technology in order to deprive us of our ability to direct our own cars or travel beyond a certain distance. They can accomplish this goal without new laws, national debate, or even input from the two increasingly arcane branches of government. The decades-long process of bypassing the Legislative Branch is rivaled by recent efforts to nullify the Supreme Court. Leftist attacks on the Court now go beyond mere disagreement. Politicians and establishment commentators have called for the Court to be "dissolve[d]" or diluted with more justices. The Court is denounced as illegitimate. Protesters are dispatched to threaten the justices at their homes. Leftists use almost unheard-of racial epithets against Justice Clarence Thomas. Almost every non-leftist appointee must respond to bizarre sexual allegations before he can take office. Joe Biden is denounced by his allies for issuing mere condemnations instead of targeting the Court with a plan of attack. While this strategy might not succeed immediately, a fundamental change in the power of the Judicial Branch is now in play. It is now acceptable to propose publicly the reduction of the Supreme Court to a subservient role. The word is out that the Court must either follow the establishment line or risk physical harm and, most importantly, permanent irrelevance. These changes would endure longer than merely the next election cycle. They would be as permanent as the bureaucratic explosion that has reduced Congress to a rubber-stamp role for many decades. Once the Executive Branch is liberated from the shackles of the other two branches, the delicate balance created by the Founders will be gone. Our political situation would deteriorate drastically after such a change. All of the trappings of dictatorship persecution, instability, economic upheaval, war, chaos would follow quickly. Those with absolute power do not refrain from using it. Our Independence Day celebrations might continue even under such a scenario, but they would be completely meaningless and hollow. Even now, we must reconsider whether we truly deserve to be called "independent" while we rush headlong into that dystopian future. Image: Library of Congress via Picryl, no known copyright restrictions. A Twitter thread takes readers through the story of two parents in Famalicao, Portugal, who tried to keep their sons out of a "citizenship" class that included "gender equality" lessons. The state went after them with a vengeance. It's what many "educators" in America would probably like to do but, for the time being, haven't yet tried. William Cacusso's Twitter thread is here, but it's a little confusing. I'll write it as a narrative instead. Two years ago, in the small town of Famalicao, two parents refused to let their boys, both the equivalent of straight A students in America, attend a "citizenship" class at their school. Although called "citizenship," the class actually included "education for gender equality" and "education for sexuality & health." Here's one of the images that's used in teaching those classes: Despite the boys missing that specific class, the school's class council, which determines whether students have qualified to leave one grade and ascend to the next, concluded that the boys were exemplary students who deserved to be promoted. According to Cacusso, "[t]he class council is sovereign and cannot be hierarchically surpassed by the school board." Stymied by this sovereignty, the school board, which resented any refusal to learn that gender is a social construct, took matters to the state and, more specifically, to Joao Costa, the education minister. Costa used his authority to annul the class council's decision to promote the boys. By the time this order came down, enough time had passed that the boys had to go back two years and redo every single class. Ironically, even as Costa was failing the boys, his education ministry was working hard to get schools to pass everyone, if at all possible. The point was to reduce statistics showing students failing. (Cacusso implies that the purpose is to keep immigrants from messing with the school's metrics for promoting students.) The parents wrote to several ministers and even the president of the Portuguese republic. No one helped them, so they finally sued. At that point, people sat up and took notice. The court sided with the parents, who had argued that they had conscientious objector status but were being persecuted. The court, therefore, ordered that the students were to pass to their appropriate level and gave the education minister 10 days to protest. Meanwhile, Parliament summoned the secretary of state "to answerfor this 'authoritarian order.'" So the two boys are back in their normal class, where they belong. However, at the end of the year, the school failed them for not taking their citizenship class. Moreover, the judge who had first ruled in the boys' favor retroactively reversed the order. And here's the kicker, showing how dangerous and vindictive bureaucrats are when crossed: The Public Ministry decided simultaneously to sue the parents and sent social security employees to "evaluate" the "household situation" of the minors. Nasty stuff. By this time the case was international and portuguese right leaning politicians were organising protests. Eventually, because the media were starting to pay attention, someone inside the ministry of education mandated that the boys (again) be allowed to attend school at their educationally appropriate grade level. The grateful parents also asked the Commission for the Protection of Children (the equivalent of Child Protective Services here) and the Public Ministry to drop the suit against them. Instead, this year, the Public Ministry moved for an order allowing it to remove the children from their parents. Here are the tweets regarding that motion: 1. The parents jeopardise the formation, education and development of their own children 2. The parents are putting their own children under danger of "psychic abuse" 3. The parents to not provide appropriate care or affection for the kids age William Cacusso (@williamcacusso) July 5, 2022 7. THE MINOR CHILDREN HAVE JURIDICAL AUTONOMY (you can see where this is going yes) 8. The kids must be removed from the parents care and placed under guardianship of the school William Cacusso (@williamcacusso) July 5, 2022 This is the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen happen in my country, and anyone with kids should be having chills down his spine. If you can help me spread this, maybe it can reach international media again and put some pressure to the politicians and ministers involved. William Cacusso (@williamcacusso) July 5, 2022 All this because the parents didn't want the boys to be taught LGBT sexuality... There is no creature more vicious than a thwarted bureaucrat and that toxin multiplies madly when the bureaucracy is implementing LGBT or racial ideology within its school systems. The powers that be have figured out that these two ideologies destroy students' individuality and keep white-hot resentment in the community, both of which provide endless opportunities for complete government control. Let's not let John Cornyn off easy on having to answer for his unwanted, unnecessary, unwise, and unpopular "bipartisan gun control bill." We need to take action, especially before Senator Cornyn gets started with another Second Amendment (2A) action. After all, there's been another shooting... Not to disparage the impact of the Supreme Court's recent ruling on Dobbs, but should we move on from the GOP's betrayal on gun rights so quickly? It is difficult to believe how fast the GOP successfully attacked the 2A for absolutely no reason. The state of this nation is chaotic, but it didn't seem as if there was a massive push for gun control like after the Parkland tragedy. There didn't seem to be an outcry that warranted the promotion of red flag laws ripe for undue process and abuse. Instead, it seemed as though citizens were more focused on paying bills, filling up their gas tanks, finding baby formula, buying generators for this summer's predicted electrical blackouts, and otherwise dealing with our transition to a third-world country under "President" Biden. There are many troubling questions about this "bipartisan bill." For example: 1) Why was it so rushed? 2) Why was Cornyn pushing so hard? 3) How can Cornyn call his voters "mobs" for expressing their unhappiness with his betrayal? 4) When did the GOP decide gun-grabbing was a winning position? 5) Why does the GOP have so many RINOs? 6) If this was a "bipartisan" effort, why did we see headlines like "Gun Deal Is Less Than Democrats Wanted, but More Than They Expected" dominate the news? 7) Why did Republicans give Biden and Democrats a win when they were bleeding out? 8) Why did Republicans give Biden and Democrats a win by going against GOP voters right before the midterms and when "doing nothing" (a core GOP principle) was truly the best strategy? 9) Why the rush when the actual investigation about what happened in Uvalde hasn't been completed yet so any true lessons learned cannot actually inform the bill? 10) What can we do about it? There don't seem to be any good answers for most of these questions. It seems that this was pushed by one idiot who wants to be the next Mitch McConnell. It seems it was pushed quickly so that GOP voters couldn't get mad and get loud. It seems that many GOP politicians have decided it's easier to do what Mitch McConnell or Kevin McCarthy tells them and get handed money for re-election instead of working to earn trust and support from their actual voters. The only real answer is that there are a few things we can do about it. Here's a short list of four quick things you can consider doing: 1. Call the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America (GOA) to demand they lower the ratings for these gun-grabbing politicians to "F." The NRA said it opposed this legislation because it doesn't address violent crime and curtails 2A rights. It passed so now what? GOA said these politicians must be held accountable will they? Currently, the NRA and GOA rate many of these GOP gun-grabbers with an A or A+ (see tables below). Although the NRA may have lost some of you over the Italian suit scandal, call them at 800-672-3888 and say their current politician grades are either intentionally misleading or very out of date and need to be changed. Ask how many millions of dollars have been wasted on these particular politicians over the years and how the NRA will ensure they aren't funding the opposition in the future. Give the same message to GOA at 703-321-8585. Donate to the campaigns of those primarying the Republicans who voted for the gun bill (see table below), no matter what state the primary is in. In addition to complaining to your state reps, who probably don't care, contact your state GOP office and tell them that until they have candidates who represent you, you will likely: Never donate to them directly. Not vote straight-ticket. Where there are garbage candidates, you may abstain from voting in that race, and if that means Democrats win, maybe you don't care anymore. Similarly, try to contact the national GOP at 202-863-8500. They don't seem to answer the phone (i.e., they don't want to hear from us). So send a letter (or a copy of this article with your comments) to them at 310 First Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. The point here is that if we keep letting the GOP get away with this and move on to the next crisis, there's no accountability, and nothing will change. We will continue to be asked to hold our noses while we vote. If enough of us take action, maybe we can start to stop this madness. It's extremely difficult to get excited about a "red wave" when we all know it's more like a pink ripple, but don't let that stop you from taking a few minutes to take action. Details on Who Voted for the Gun Bill Senators NRA Rating GOA Rating Next Election 1. John Cornyn TX A+ B- 2026 2. Mitch McConnell KY A+ B+ 2026 3. Todd Young IN A+ NA 2022 "Won" primary in May 2022 because all challengers were removed from primary ballot 4. Richard Burr* NC A+ NA Retiring 5. Joni Ernst IA A A- 2026 6. Shelley Moore Capito WV A B 2026 7. Thom Tillis NC A B 2026 8. Lindsey Graham SC A B- 2026 9. Lisa Murkowski* AK A NA August 16, 2022 primary challenger is Kelly Tshibaka** 10. Mitt Romney* UT A NA 2024 11. Roy Blunt MO A NA Retiring 12. Rob Portman OH A NA Retiring 13. Bill Cassidy* LA A NA 2026 14. Susan Collins* ME B D+ 2026 15. Pat Toomey* PA C NA Retiring Representatives NRA Rating GOA Rating Next Election 1. Liz Cheney* WY A B August 16, 2022 primary challenger is Harriet Hageman 2. Steve Chabot OH A B Won primary election May 2022 3. John Katko* NY A B- Retiring 4. Michael Turner OH A D Won primary election May 2022 5. Adam Kinzinger* IL A D Retiring 6. Tom Rice* SC A NA Lost June primary 7. Dave Joyce OH A NA Won primary election May 2022 8. Tony Gonzalez TX A B Won primary election May 2022 9. Fred Upton* MI B D- Retiring 10. Peter Meijer* MI Endorsed A August 2, 2022 primary challenger is John Gibbs 11. Chris Jacobs NY Endorsed A Pulled out of primary race 12. Anthony Gonzalez* OH Endorsed B- Retiring 13. Brian Fitzpatrick PA F D- Won primary election May 2022 14. Maria Salazar FL NA F August 23, 2022 primary challenger is Frank Polo, Sr. * Voted to impeach Trump ** Murkowski is supported by the Alaska State GOP (locals can call them at 907-868-1093) Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. We are all aware of the terrible shooting that occurred while celebrating America's independence in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, and we now know about the suspect, Bobby Crimo. What makes this act even more horrific than the many other constant shootings in Chicago (over 250 so far this year) are both the reactions and the specific circumstances of this tragic event and the perpetrator. Crimo captured (YouTube screen grab cropped). There have immediately been the predictable and intellectually dishonest reactions from the left claiming that this proves the need for more gun control. From Gov. Pritzker on down, the leftist politicians are using this event to promote their anti-gun agenda, and Illinois state senator Julie Morrison has said she will never attend a Fourth of July parade again (what a nice excuse for her never having to honor this nation). Although a sad commentary on our politicians, this is no way shocking. But there is a deeper insidiousness that is related to this shooting. There are dozens and perhaps hundreds of July 4 parades in Illinois, and many thousands across the nation. Why was Highland Park a target when there were at least six other similar parades within driving distance? Who is Crimo, and why did he choose the Highland Park parade as his target? Highland Park and its surrounding suburbs (which includes both Skokie and Deerfield) are known for their specific demographics, including a historical Jewish community that is 30% of the city's population that supports four Orthodox synagogues. It is in understanding this demographic that we start to see how and why this tragedy happened in Highland Park on America's birthday. It is also in understanding Crimo's past actions that we can get a deeper glimpse into how Robert Crimo is the direct result of his environment and indoctrination by education and the media. As Kevin Downey has pointed out, Crimo is someone who planned this attack for weeks, legally purchased two rifles, self-described himself as "woke," and has dressed as a woman. Clearly, he is disturbed and wanted people to know what he was about to do. But he also attempted a rehearsal of the July 4 shooting weeks earlier, when he attempted to enter a Highland Park synagogue during Passover just two blocks from where he ultimately attacked the parade and was forcibly asked to leave by the temple's armed security. He is a manifestation of all the left stands for, including wokeness, gender fluidity, and anti-Semitism. If we are honest, this violent act by Crimo is a reflection of the domestic terrorism and hatred expressed in the BLM/Antifa riots of two years ago, which targeted specific neighborhoods, including and especially Jewish ones. We should remember that the head of BLM Los Angeles said the riots were planned in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood so that "the people there would feel pain." BLM, in its charter, is committed to the destruction of Israel, and this incident in Highland Park reeks of the same sort of anti-American/anti-Semitic values that BLM, Antifa, and the "woke" left hold so dear. Through the acceptance and support of BLM's and Antifa's hatred and terrorism by politicians, corporations, the media, and especially educators, we are inculcating our young people with anti-American values. This 21-year-old suspect has been indoctrinated with the hate of BLM during the formative years of his life. For the last few years, he has been taught the BLM values in the media that he is a recipient of "white privilege," that Jews and Israel are evil, that religiosity of all sorts should be eliminated, and that he needs to violently fight for Marxist values in order to redeem himself. He has learned that this type of outrageous behavior against anything traditionally deemed "American" is not only accepted, but applauded by many. Looking at the success of BLM/Antifa activists and the near-worshiping of other domestic terrorists who want to destroy the United States, why would Crimo think anything other than that he will eventually be praised for shooting up an Independence Day parade in a Jewish neighborhood? The key point to take away from this horrible shooting is not that we need more gun restrictions. It is that we need to combat the efforts by media and educators who desire to rewrite history and condemn the United States rather than praise her. As we have for over 200 years, we need to teach our children the beauty of this great country and its values, and to embrace the melting-pot diversity of races, religions, and backgrounds that is the foundation of this country's history. As has always been the "American way," we need to respect our different backgrounds but also release them in preference of identifying as Americans. While the left wants to divide us based on our differences, we need to come together under one nation, one flag, and shared American values...despite the efforts of the media and educators to divide us. The media and especially the education system are where the left has been successfully fighting, as evidenced in this most recent shooting and the background and adopted values of Crimo, and where we need to direct our efforts with passion and commitment (remembering that homeschooling, although difficult, can be a great choice). We must fight the leftist, anti-Semitic, anti-American, hate-filled rhetoric of the media and educators and return this country to the shared values of a truly United States. For us, our nation, and the future. As Dr. Rabin Beral has written, we need to teach our children not to waste time on Instagram and TikTok, but rather to remember that they "have more freedom in this country than in any other country in the world." This is what is required of each of us to eliminate shootings like this one in Highland Park: educating our youths in American values so that they don't end up like Crimo, but rather live righteous and caring lives. The real battle for freedom continues from July 4, 1776 through today. The battlefield is education; our weapons are American history and values; and the prize is the future of liberty and freedom in this nation and in the world. May we always continue to celebrate July 4 in safety and peace, and may we return to the shared American values that have kept us strong and protected as a nation united under God, indivisible, and truly with liberty and justice for all. Rabbi Michael Barclay is the spiritual leader of Temple Ner Simcha in California and the author of "Sacred Relationships: Biblical Wisdom for Deepening Our Lives Together." He can be reached at Rabbi@NerSimcha.org. The past several weeks of farcical hearings initiated by the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 attack have displayed the lengths to which the American political left will go to in their efforts to derail the prospects of a second Trump administration. The hearings began with a June 9 televised hearing on prime-time TV that was carried by virtually every major network in the United States. Holding them when television viewership is at its highest for the day was obviously no accident, as an audience of at least 20 million Americans tuned in to watch, according to Nielsen. The initial hearing included, among other things, a dramatic performance from Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney. She attempted to sell the American people on a Trump-designed and initiated "seven-part plan" to overturn the results of the 2020 election and tried to tie the actions of pro-Trump groups like the Proud Boys at the Capitol directly to the then-sitting president. Over the next few weeks, the committee would grasp at straws. Allegations would be leveled that then-president Trump was well aware that he had lost the election. Former attorney general William Barr, meanwhile, accused the former president of becoming "detached from reality," despite the fact that there was sufficient evidence of irregularities related to the administration of the election. Perhaps nothing presented at the hearings was quite as sensational as the claims made last week in the sixth and final hearing by Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to thenWhite House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Among the claims made by Ms. Hutchinson was that then-president Trump tried to force his Secret Service detail into driving to the Capitol while the protests were still ongoing. Upon their failure to comply, she alleges, he grabbed at the steering wheel of the presidential limousine and reached for the throat of the man in charge of his Secret Service detail, Bobby Engel. In an interview last week with Newsmax TV, former president Trump responded to the claims made by Hutchinson against him. "The woman is living in fantasy land," said Trump. "She's a social climber, if you call that social. I think it's just a shame that this is happening to this country, and we don't have any Republicans up there to dispute it. We have one who quit [Adam] Kinzinger [and] we have another one who's down by 35 points in Wyoming [Rep. Liz Cheney]. She's a total disaster, she's a train wreck, but think of it. Nobody to cross-examine." Trump also alluded to an important point made in the immediate aftermath of last week's hearing. Members of the Secret Service detail assigned to him were never asked to corroborate the claims made by Hutchinson, and further to the point, the agents are willing to testify that Trump did not lunge for the wheel of the presidential limousine or physically attack the chief of his security detail. "They put her on, and they don't even confirm it with the Secret Service. The Secret Service people in the car said this didn't happen, but you don't even need that. Who would do that? I would grab a Secret Service person by the throat?" Trump explained. The fact is, these hearings have been as one-sided as a Harlem Globetrotters-Washington Generals game. Especially as the question of potential perjury by Hutchinson is considered, it raises the question: where is the pushback by the House GOP leadership to these theatrics? Leadership at the very top of the party namely, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has been largely absent. The top Republican candidate to retake the White House in 2024 has had his name dragged through the mud, based largely on hearsay and innuendo, and little is being done to counter these attacks. The fact that the U.S. House Select Committee was allowed to be constructed with a 7-2 Democrat advantage, and permitted significant time on the congressional calendar and prime-time TV hours on what amounts to nothing more than an anti-GOP infomercial, is inexcusable. And this was all allowed to happen mere months in advance of what may be the most consequential midterm elections in a generation. This should be a clear indictment of the leadership skills of the man favored to be the next speaker of the House should the GOP retake control of the House of Representatives as expected this coming January. Why didn't McCarthy insist on a better-balanced January 6 Select Committee? His failures have become so blatantly obvious that even the liberal media have called him out on them. All of this considered, the GOP needs to do some serious soul-searching in advance of potentially voting to name a new GOP House speaker this January. McCarthy has now failed the conservative base when it matters most, just as social issues and recent Supreme Court rulings motivate the Democrat base and cast doubt on GOP chances to retake Congress in November. The party must certainly find a better option to lead the House should the previously expected "red wave" crash against the electorate. Image via Max Pixel. Correction: There were a few errors in the space-time continuum regarding when the relevant committee hearings occurred. We have corrected those errors. In Europe, the past never goes away, and that's certainly true in Central and Eastern Europe. We've already heard about the openly Nazi brigades in the modern Ukraine army. Now, to make it worse, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany just touted as one of Ukraine's greatest freedom fighters Stephan Bandera, who helped murder 800,000 Ukrainian Jews and 40,000100,000 Poles. That didn't surprise me at all. It's what I expected. From the start of Russia's assault on Ukraine, I've been ambivalent. On the one hand, I was horrified as all people of conscience must be when they see a military power brutally attack an innocent civilian population. On the other hand, having some familiarity with both Ukrainian and Russian history, I knew that (a) this was a fight going back centuries, (b) we had no business getting involved in a regional war, and (c) I don't have particularly warm feelings for either combatant. Both Ukraine and the USSR behaved horribly during WWII, including allying with the Nazis. Ukraine was especially gleeful as it joined the Nazis in slaughtering Jews within its territory. It did so with such vigor that even the Nazis were shocked. Nor does it matter to me that the current president of Ukraine is nominally Jewish. So were the Kapos in the concentration camps and George Soros. The worst antisemites in the world have been Jews (see, e.g., Karl Marx, whose father had him convert as a small boy, and who went on to bake antisemitism into the socialist cake). That's why I wasn't at all surprised to read David P. Goldman's article about Andrej Melnyk, who insisted during an interview with Germany's Die Welt that Bandera was nothing more than a freedom fighter: Image: Andrej Melnyk. YouTube screen grab. Germany's leading center-right newspaper Die Welt posted a banner headline at the top of its page last Friday evening just before Shabbat came in here in New York: "[Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrej] Melnyk's statement trivializes the Holocaust." In a radio interview last week, Melnyk compared Ukrainian Nazi leader Stephan Bandera to Robin Hood and vehemently deniedin the face of massive historical documentationthat Bandera had helped to murder 800,000 Ukrainian Jews during World War II. The Banderites also helped to murder between 40,000 and 100,000 Poles. [snip] Melnyk said, "Not just for me, but for many, many Ukrainians, he personifies the freedom fighter and of course a freedom fighter There are now written laws for those who fight for freedom. Robin Hood is also respected by everyone, and he also did not work according to the law current at the time." The astonished German interviewer said, "And you admit that he and his men were involved in the murder of 800,000 Jews?" "No, he was not involved," said Melnyk The interviewer protested, "But it was his army. That's what his men did. There is no doubt about that." Melnyk retorted, "You say, 'No doubt,' but there is no evidence. He was not convicted." "There is no evidence that he killed Jews with his own hands, but his men did!" the interviewer insisted. "He ordered the murder of 100,000 civilians." "He did not give the order to exterminate Jews," Melnyk continued. The interviewer quoted leaflets distributed by Bandera to Ukrainians as the Germans marched in 1941: "People! You must know this. Muscovites (Russians), Poles, Ukrainians, Hungarians and Jews are your enemies. Destroy them! You must know this. Your Fuhrer Stepan Bandera." Later, writes Goldman, the Ukrainian foreign ministry refused to repudiate Melnyk's statements, merely saying that they represented his "personal opinion." The worst thing about all of this, adds Goldman, is how assiduously the Biden administration and the American media are ignoring this grotesque Holocaust denial. Even American Jewish organizations are refusing to address the subject. Here's the bottom line: Ukraine is the "good guy" right now, and nobody dares reveal that it has not just feet of clay, but most of its lower torso made of clay. Russia is not our friend, but neither is Ukraine. Despite their Western gloss, their values are very different from ours, and we blindly alienate one and fawn over the other at our peril. The White House press corps may be the most important group of journalists in the U.S. They are based at the nation's center of power in Washington, D.C., and also at the headquarters of the Executive Branch of the federal government. Their functioning is essential to democracy. Their job is to represent 331 million citizens and hold the White House accountable. If the White House attempts to evade questions, they must press the powerful and never concede until they receive satisfactory answers. That is how a democracy works in theory. So what is the reality? The White House press corps is a liberal echo chamber and part of the Washington Democrat establishment. Its function is to show the Biden administration in a flattering light. Seldom are any tough questions posed. When Biden speaks at a news conference, the questions often appear to be pre-screened. Perhaps White House officials provide questions that the press pretend are theirs and dutifully ask during press briefings. It is all a disgraceful charade to deceive the public. Even when the White House press corps are treated poorly by the Biden administration and restricted access to key White House events, their members do not express any outrage in public or on social media. Instead, they dispatch a politely worded letter to the White House press secretary in private, where they docilely plead for access. The reason for the request is not to defend democracy, but because it "undermines President Biden's credibility when he says he is a defender of the First Amendment." There are few thorns in this bed of roses who dare to sow discord in the echo chamber by asking questions that hold everyone from the press secretary to the president accountable. The self-proclaimed proponents of democracy do not take kindly to being questioned or challenged. Remember this? In times where there has been such a total surrender of initiative and collapse of credibility, performing basic duties seems like a heroic and revolutionary act. The heroic revolutionary of yesterday was Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy, once again. Doocy questioned White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about Joe Biden's alleged voicemail about his son's business dealings in China. The purported 2018 voicemail published by the Daily Mail has Joe Biden talking to his son, Hunter, regarding a piece that appeared in the New York Times that covered Hunter's shady business dealings in China, telling him he is likely "in the clear." NEW: In 2018, Joe Biden left a voicemail for Hunter saying he wanted to talk to him about a New York Times report on Hunters business deals in China. Biden repeatedly said he never discussed business with Hunter. pic.twitter.com/7r9VatHUoH RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 27, 2022 In the past, Biden has repeatedly claimed he has never spoken to his son about his business dealings. Joe Biden: "I've never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings. Here's what I know -- I know Trump deserves to be investigated... You should be looking at Trump. Trump's doing this because he knows I'll beat him like a drum." https://t.co/yrMdiaBli8 pic.twitter.com/yGhipRo1ew The Hill (@thehill) September 21, 2019 Even former White House press secretary Jen Psaki repeated the claim that Biden "does not get involved in the business dealings of his son." PSAKI: "The President does not get involved in the business dealings of his son. He's not involved in his son's business dealings." pic.twitter.com/JDYV7iGPGD Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 27, 2022 The following are the specifics of the exchange between Doocy and Jean-Pierre: Doocy asked, "Why is there a voicemail of the president talking to his son about his overseas business dealings if the president has said he's never spoken to his son about his overseas business dealings?" Jean-Pierre replied, "First, I'll say that what the president said stands, so if that's what the president said, that is what stands." DOOCY: "Why is there a voicemail of the president talking to his son about his overseas business dealings...?" KJP: "I am not going to talk about alleged materials from the laptop." DOOCY: "Are you disputing that it's the president's voice on the voicemail?" pic.twitter.com/DOfRRBSNoR Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 5, 2022 Doocy pressed further: "He left a voicemail about a New York Times article concerning Hunter Biden's business dealings and says, 'I think you're clear.' How is that him not talking to his son about his overseas business dealings?" Jean-Pierre was defiant: "I am not going to talk about alleged materials on the laptop," she insisted. "It is not happening." Doocy: "You're refuting, then, that is not" Doocy's heroism was contagious. RealClearPolitics White House reporter Phillip Wegmann followed up on Doocy's question and reminded Jean-Pierre of Biden's promise to be transparent. .@PhilipWegmann: "You seemed to dismiss Peter's question about his conversation with his son Hunter Biden...how is that silence consistent with the president's promise to always level with the American public?" KJP: "I can not comment on any materials from the laptop." pic.twitter.com/P1AYJvlINz Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 5, 2022 Wegmann asked, "You seemed to dismiss Peter's question about his conversation with his son, Hunter Biden, with regards to his business dealings. I'm wondering how is that silence consistent with the president's promise to always level with the American public because in public he says he hasn't discussed these business dealings, and then at least according to the voicemail that has been obtained by the Daily Mail and Washington Examiner, it certainly seems like he was seeking to do exactly that, have a conversation about these business dealings. Is he leveling with the American public on this?" Jean-Pierre repeated again that she cannot discuss materials from Hunter's laptop and referred him to his representative. That concluded the matter. According to reports by the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Homeland Security Committee, CEFC China Energy wired nearly $4.8 million to Hunter's law firm through September 2018. Also, Hunter's laptop contained receipts and emails that provided ample proof of his shady dealings in China and with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, where Hunter served on the board of directors. This is why, back in October 2020, Democrats, the media, and Big Tech colluded to suppress the news pertaining to Hunter's laptop and dismissed it as Russian disinformation. A study showed that one in six voters would have changed his vote had he known of the laptop. This was another way the Democrats rigged the 2020 presidential election. Jean-Pierre's attempt to dismiss a question pertaining to serious allegations against the nation's first family is nothing short of outrageous. In a democracy, the White House press secretary cannot decline any questions posed by the press. She is obliged to provide answers, especially on matters of such grave importance. If the White House press corps had any morals, they would have staged a walkout and returned only when Jean-Pierre provided a satisfactory answer. But that won't happen. The White House press corps that assumed a viciously adversarial role during the press briefings of the Trump administration now willingly and suppliantly wag their tails before Biden officials, hoping for biscuits to be tossed in their direction. This is more proof that democracy is rapidly eroding under the Biden administration. Photo credit: Twitter video screen grab. Many monks and hermits go to great lengths to deny themselves of simple pleasures in order to atone their sins and pursue spiritual goals. Some live frugal lives. Some renounce meat and alcohol. Some live in seclusion. Some even go to extreme cases of self-torment such as fasting and self flagellation. And then, there are the pillar-dwellers that became very common during the early days of Christian monasticism. These type of ascetic, known as stylites, or pillar hermits, lived on top of pillars, and the one who invented this way of life was Simeon Stylites the Elder. Simeon was born around 390 AD to a poor shepherds family in northwestern Syria, at a time when the Roman empire had been officially Christian for less than a century. Simeon developed a passion for Christianity after hearing a sermon on the Beatitudes as an early teenager. Before he was sixteen, he had abandoned the tending of his father's flocks and entered a monastery. From the very start, Simeon gave himself up to the practice of an austerity so extreme and to all appearance so extravagant, that it caused much resentment among his fellow monks who were unable to equal his zeal. On one occasion, he passed the whole Lent without eating. When some of the monks went to check upon him in his hut, they discovered him unconscious. When he was brought back to the monastery, his rescuers were shocked to discover that his entire midsection was encased in a girdle of palm fronds, a home-made device for mortifying his flesh. The monastic authorities decided to ask Simeon to leave, claiming that his excessive ascetic efforts were incompatible with their own style of spiritual discipline. The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, in Aleppo, Syria. Photo: Bernard Gagnon/Wikimedia After his ejection from the monastery, Simeon became a wandering solitary hermit, seeking always to suppress his physical desires and to liberate his spirit through impassioned ascetic practices. As Simeons fame grew, he attracted a large following of disciples and admirers who sought to follow his spiritual path seeking his advice, intercession with God or miraculous assistance. But the young monk wanted to escape human company, not attract it. After several failed escape attempts, Simeon found a pillar which had survived among ruins in nearby Telanissa in modern day Syria, with a platform on the top. Simeon climbed the pillar and found the solitude high up so refreshing that he refused to come down. Simeon took up a life of prayer and fasting on top of the pillar, subsisting on small rations of bread and goat milk that local boys passed up to him. The first pillar that Simeon occupied was little more than 3 meters tall. He later moved his platform to a succession of pillars of increasing height; the last in the series reportedly more than 15 meters from the ground. At the top of the pillar was a platform, which is believed to have been about one square meter and surrounded by a baluster. Edward Gibbon in his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire describes Simeon's life as follows: In this last and lofty station, the Syrian Anachoret resisted the heat of thirty summers, and the cold of as many winters. Habit and exercise instructed him to maintain his dangerous situation without fear or giddiness, and successively to assume the different postures of devotion. He sometimes prayed in an erect attitude, with his outstretched arms in the figure of a cross, but his most familiar practice was that of bending his meagre skeleton from the forehead to the feet; and a curious spectator, after numbering twelve hundred and forty-four repetitions, at length desisted from the endless account. The progress of an ulcer in his thigh might shorten, but it could not disturb, this celestial life; and the patient Hermit expired, without descending from his column. Simeon lived on top of the pillar for 37 years. After his death at the age of 68, his body was taken down and brought to Antiochia, in what is modern-day Turkey, in a large funeral procession. Ruins of the Church of Saint Simeon with remains of his column, now topped with a boulder. Photo: Wikimedia A few decades following Saint Simeon's death, a large monastic church occupying over 5,000 square meters was constructed in on the site where his pillar stood. The church was made up of four basilicas that emanated from the sides of a central octagon. The octagonal crossing was surmounted by a dome; at its center stood Simeons column. Throughout the centuries, pilgrims chipped away at the pillar and took away chunks of it as relics, leaving the pillar but only a few meters tall today. 250 French children still in Syrian camps As well as about a hundred mothers after latest repatriation (ANSAmed) - PARIS, 06 LUG - About 250 children with French nationality are still in camps in northeastern Syria under a Kurdish-led administration for people believed to have family or other links to the Islamic State (ISIS) international terrorist organisation even after a French repatriation operation carried out on Tuesday. Reports were from counterterrorism coordinator Laurent Nunes in an interview with the radio station RMC. He noted that about one hundred mothers remained in the camps alongside the children. On Tuesday, France repatriated 35 children and 16 mothers, marking the largest operation of the sort for the country thus far. In the interview with RMC, Nunes did not rule out that similar operations might be conducted in the future. Among the 16 repatriated on Tuesday was a French jihadist, Emilie Konig, who was detained in Syria after having spent years alongside ISIS. The repatriations were welcomed by the association Collectif des Familles Unies, which has recently asked President Emmanuel Macron to "begin his second term" by repatriating "all French children" still detained in the camps run by the Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria. The association issued a statement saying that it "hopes" that this repatriation "marks the end of the vile 'case by case' policy, which basically selects the children, separates them from their siblings, and pulls them away from their mothers". (ANSAmed). RAGUSA - The humanitarian rescue ship Ocean Viking arrived at the Pozzallo port in Sicily on Wednesday morning with 306 people onboard. The NGO said that 87 are unaccompanied minors and that they are different nationalities. The people were rescued in eight operations off Libya and Malta. After initial health checks and identification procedures, the migrants and refugees will be transferred to hotspots. "After many days in which autonomous landings occurred almost daily today the Ocean Viking disembarked 306 migrants that had been rescued off Libya in eight rescue operations. Some 23 tested positive for Covid," Pozzallo mayor Roberto Ammatuna said. "All the migrants, both those that tested positive and the others, will be placed in isolation. Four of the women who are pregnant, including one who tested positive for Covid, have been taken to the Modica and Ragusa hospitals," he added. "It is a duty to welcome human beings who suffered and risked their lives. Unfortunately there is not yet general awareness of the gravity of the migration phenomenon, with the Mediterranean as a place where the spotlight of international diplomacy must be focused." TEL AVIV - A Palestinian man was killed on Wednesday during an Israeli army operation in the city of Jaba near Jenin in the northern part of the West Bank. The WAFA news agency quotes Palestinian security forces as reporting the news. The media outlet added that the young man had been identified as Rafiq Riad Ghannam, age 20. It added that he had been shot in front of his home while clashes were underway between soldiers and protestors. The Israeli military has not yet commented. The incident is the second of this sort in two days. VALLETTA - The assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist blown up by a bomb placed in her car not far from her home on October 16, 2017 was "just business", hitman George Degiorgio said this week. Degiorgio, his brother Alfred and accomplice Vince Muscat were arrested and charged in December 2017 with carrying out the murder. Degiorgio confessed to his role in the plot to blow her up during an interview with Reuters, noting that the assassination was "just business". The interview was reported in the Times of Malta. Degiorgio said during the interview that had he known who Caruana Galizia was, he would have asked for more money. "If I knew, I would have gone for 10 million, not 150,000," he said, in reference to the sum paid to him to murder the journalist. He added that "he would provide testimony to implicate others in the murder, as well as a separate plot to kill the journalist that ended up being called off", the Times of Malta reported, and said he would offer to testify about the involvement of two senior former ministers in an armed robbery. "Reuters and Times of Malta are not at this stage publishing further details of those allegations or naming the individuals accused by Degiorgio, all of whom deny any involvement in any crime," the media outlet noted. Times of Malta and Reuters joined forces to investigate the murder case and high-level corruption in 2018, under the Daphne Project umbrella, and was able to establish corruption-related ties between two members of the Muscat government: cabinet chief Keith Schembri and minister Konrad Mizzi as well as the Maltese tycoon Yorgen Fenech. Fenech was arrested in November 2019 and indicted as the one who ordered the assassination. He was identified thanks to a confession by the intermediary Melvin Theuma. A taxi driver, illegal bookie and usurer who became close to Fenech and who was named to the police by Vince Muscat, Theuma in the autumn got a pardon in exchange for his testimony and evidence against Fenech. Muscat got a plea bargain and was sentenced to 15 years and was pardoned for the other crimes he had been charged with. Thanks to his testimony in February 2020, those supplying the bombs - the brothers Robert and Adrian Agius and their partner Jamie Vella (gang linked to the Sicilian mafia involved in trafficking including the smuggling of fuel, weapons and drugs and money laundering). However, thus far no politicians have bene charged for involvement in the plot that led to her assassination. Fenech, in trying to get a pardon as well (always denied), immediately after his arrest said that the main actually behind the crime was former economy minister Chris Cardona. He later accused Keith Schembri, with whom he had had veyr close relations and shared information with up until a few minutes before he was arrested. Contacted by Times of Malta, the victim's son Matthew said: "George Degiorgio's own words show he is a stone-cold killer undeserving of any reprieve." Douglas Ross has called for the Prime Minister to resign (Michal Wachucik/PA) (PA Wire) The leader of the Scottish Tories has told the Prime Minister time is up and he has to resign. Boris Johnson is attempting to hold onto his premiership after more than a dozen resignations from his Government in the past 24 hours. Rishi Sunak resigned as chancellor while Sajid Javid stood down as health secretary on Tuesday and were followed by a number of ministers in the ensuing hours, along with Tory MPs who revoked their support for the Prime Minister. Douglas Ross is also among those calling for the Prime Minister to step down. He told the BBC: The Prime Minister needs to realise hes lost the support of many colleagues and he has to stand down as Prime Minister. He added: Its not an easy thing for many of us to tell the Prime Minister, but time is up and he needs to step aside. He later told STV the Prime Minister had lost his Chancellor of the Exchequer, hes lost his Health Secretary, hes lost his Solicitor General, adding: I think we have seen that the Prime Minister must now know that the time has come for him to step aside. I think he will be looking at what happened in the chamber (during Prime Ministers Questions) there wasnt a great deal of support from across our side for the Prime Minister and what he was trying to say and do. Three weeks ago I said, despite my vote, we needed to focus on the issues facing the country, not internal fights in the Party. But Government is not functioning. I have therefore written to the 22 to request another vote of confidence in Boris Johnson's leadership. Andrew Bowie MP (@AndrewBowie_MP) July 6, 2022 Mr Ross has been criticised for his shifting stance on the Prime Minister after he submitted a letter of no confidence at the turn of the year in the wake of partygate, only to revoke it after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and then vote against Mr Johnson in last months confidence vote. Mr Rosss fellow Scottish Tory MP Andrew Bowie publicly stated he had submitted a letter to the 1922 committee, saying on Twitter that Government was not functioning. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also reiterated her calls for the Prime Minister to stand down. Tories in paper saving mode now. How much longer can this go on? If Johnson has merest scrap of concern for anyone but himself he will resign immediately. And then.. lets have an election to choose an alternative. For the permanent alternative is independence. https://t.co/U51sUGKmb9 Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) July 6, 2022 How much longer can this go on? she tweeted. If Johnson has merest scrap of concern for anyone but himself he will resign immediately. And then.. lets have an election to choose an alternative. For (Scotland) the permanent alternative is independence. Meanwhile, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford urged the Prime Minister to call an election if he refused to stand down, which he hinted would be used as a de facto referendum on Scottish independence. At Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, the SNP MP said: A few weeks ago I compared the Prime Minister to Monty Pythons black knight, actually turns out I was wrong. Hes actually the dead parrot. SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford escribed the PM as a man who has no integrity. (Steve Parsons/PA) Whether he knows it or not, hes now an ex-prime minister. But he will leave behind two deeply damaging legacies. I hope the dishonesty of his leadership follows him out of the Downing Street door. But the other legacy is that of Brexit, and that will stay, because Im sad to say that the Labour Party now fully supports (Brexit). Scotland wants a different future, not just a different prime minister. So if the Prime Minister wont resign, will he call a general election and allow Scotland the choice of an independent future free from the control of Westminster? Nicola Sturgeon last week announced plans to have the Supreme Court assess the legality of holding another referendum on independence, saying that if the court finds the Scottish Parliament does not hold the necessary powers, the next general election will be fought on the single issue of leaving the UK. Mr Blackford earlier told Sky News the number of resignations has reached crisis point. Meanwhile, Scotlands Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes, told the PA news agency that while the UK Government is consumed with resignations and deceit, the new Treasury team should focus on helping people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. When asked if a change of prime minister could damage the ability of the UK to respond to the cost-of-living crisis, she added: At a time of crisis, the public needs to have confidence in their political leaders that they understand what truth is, they understand what integrity is and they understand that matters more than anything else at a time of crisis. Right now I would argue that the public, and I certainly, do not have confidence that at the very top of the UK Government there is any concept or any understanding of those vital concepts. Two cave divers who pulled off the remarkable rescue of 13 people from a flooded cave system in Thailand have been given honorary degrees. The operation led by John Volanthen, from Bristol, and Rick Stanton, from Coventry, has been described as one of the greatest rescues of all time. The unlikely heroes were called in by the Thai Government after heavy rain marooned 12 members of a junior football team and their assistant coach in a cave complex in the north of the country. John Volanthen and Rick Stanton receive their honorary degrees from the University of Bristol (University of Bristol/PA) The rescue involved 5,000 people, with Mr Volanthen and Mr Stanton leading the risky search sorties. The pair had to navigate 2.5km of constricted underwater passageways, in near zero visibility, against a fast flowing, debris-strewn current. On July 2, 2018, nine days after the search started, the 12 stranded boys and their coach were found. But with oxygen in their small air pocket dwindling, and more monsoon rains predicted, time was running out. Mr Volanthen said: Having operated in difficult conditions, I was reasonably confident in being able to manage my own safety. For the boys it was extremely dangerous. Trying to get them out was something that hadnt been done before. With the help of an anaesthesiologist, each of the boys and their coach was injected with anaesthetic ketamine, the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and atropine, which slows heart rate and reduces salivation. Over several hours, the unconscious boys were dragged and squeezed out of the submerged cave by Mr Volanthen, Mr Stanton and a team of cave divers. Despite having little medical training, they had to inject the boys multiple times with the drug mix to keep them sedated throughout the rescue. Any snag of breathing apparatus could have drowned the unconscious boys and the wrong dose of the drug may have caused them to wake up and panic or fall asleep forever. Had something gone wrong, they could have ended up in a Thai court. Mr Stanton said: It was unprecedented, nothing really compares. People are citing it as one of the greatest rescues of all time. The 12 boys and their football coach were found in the Luang Nang Non caves in Thailand in 2018 (PA) It was a protracted two-and-a-half weeks and you had to think outside the box. We were literally writing the procedures, there was no manual this had never been done before. The pair both received George Medals for the rescue and have now been awarded honorary degrees from the University of Bristol. Linda Wilson, vice-president of the universitys Spelaeological Society, nominated Mr Volanthen and Mr Stanton for their honorary degrees. Rick, John and the other rescue divers were being asked to perform an impossible task, she said. Fortunately, by a combination of extraordinary courage and meticulous planning, they overcame all the odds and succeeded in one of the most extraordinary rescues that has ever been attempted, ultimately bringing out all 12 boys and their coach alive despite the most hazardous conditions imaginable. No-one could better exemplify the values this university prizes resilience, courage and outstanding skills than Rick and John, who were to save the lives of so many others, whist risking their own lives, daily, for the 15 days of this enormous rescue effort that held the worlds attention. The pair plan to go diving together near Bristol the day after the graduation ceremony. Nadhim Zahawi inherits a raft of cost-of-living problems following the resignation of Rishi Sunak as chancellor. In recent days, Boris Johnson has sought to shift the focus on to the economy rather than the row surrounding his former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher. It now falls to Mr Zahawi to deliver on his leaders promise to help people through the current difficult times. There are mounting fears that the cost-of-living crisis could tip the UK into recession, as defined by two quarters in a row of falling output, as rocketing inflation sees households and businesses rein in spending. Inflation Inflation has already reached a 40-year high of 9.1% and is set to rise past 11% in the autumn. Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood said on Wednesday: The last chancellor said he believed in low taxes but he kept putting them up. Can the new Chancellor cheer us up and avoid recession by actually cutting tax? The last Chancellor said he believed in low taxes but he kept putting them up. Can the new Chancellor cheer us up and avoid recession by actually cutting tax? John Redwood (@johnredwood) July 6, 2022 Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said last week that soaring inflation will hit Britain harder than any other major economy during the current energy crisis and that output is likely to weaken earlier and be more intense than others. Speaking at a press conference at the close of the Nato summit in Madrid, the Prime Minister denied his Government was being complacent about spiralling inflation and added that the cost of freedom is always worth paying amid soaring costs exacerbated by the Ukraine war. Mr Johnson was asked at the press conference about his repeated promise to bring down tax rates, after new HM Revenue and Customs figures showed that some 6.1 million taxpayers are projected to be paying income tax rates at the higher rate of 40% or the additional rate of 45% in 2022/23. He pointed to the national insurance threshold being increased as an example of reducing burdens in a sensible and responsible way. National insurance The Prime Minister has highlighted the change in the national insurance threshold, which came into effect on Wednesday, as the single biggest tax cut in a decade. The measures sees the point at which people start paying national insurance rise to 12,570, partly offsetting the increase in the rate of the tax previously announced to help fund health and social care measures. The Government says the move will save an average employee around 330 a year, with 30 million people set to benefit. The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP @NadhimZahawi has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer @HMTreasury pic.twitter.com/0PSifvQ7LB UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 5, 2022 Tax cuts More than eight million households will start to see cost-of-living payments hit their bank accounts on July 14. From that date, a first instalment of 326 will start to be paid out to low-income households on benefits, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) previously announced. The second portion of the one-off 650 payment will follow this autumn. Pensioner households are also set to receive an extra 300 to help cover the rising cost of energy this winter, while people on disability benefits will receive an extra 150 payment in September. From October, households will have 400 taken off energy bills. The outgoing boss of Britains largest business group is just one figure to demand further tax cuts to soften the economic reality. The head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Lord Bilimoria, last month called for a reduction in VAT, saying it was absolutely wrong to have the highest tax burden in 70 years. Downing Street was forced in June to defend reinstating the triple lock on pensions while insisting that public sector workers receiving pay rises in line with inflation would further stoke rising costs. Retirees are set to see double-digit payments increases next year as the state pension will be determined based on Septembers CPI inflation. However, No 10 insisted that chasing inflation with pay rises for public sector workers was not feasible as it would further fuel inflationary pressures. Fuel There have been calls for the Government to take further action after motorists were hit by a record monthly increase in petrol prices in June. Average fuel prices have risen by around 27p per litre for petrol and 21p per litre for diesel since Mr Sunak implemented a 5p cut in duty in March. RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: The silence from the Treasury when it comes to supporting drivers through this time of record high pump prices is, frankly, deafening. Perhaps it has something do with the fact that its benefiting significantly from the increased VAT revenue caused by the high prices. We badly need the Government to go beyond just vague words and instead actually implement a clear package of financial support to show theyre on the side of drivers. Mr Sunak said late last month that he would take under advisement the recommendations of Tory MPs to go further with cutting fuel duty, a move which the PM has been non-committal about when recently asked. Windfall tax Mr Zahawis predecessor was warned that imposing a windfall tax on profits from oil and gas giants could damage investment in the North Sea. Rishi Sunak has stepped down as chancellor after more than two years in the role (Jonathan Brady/PA) Mr Sunak in May unveiled the measure which places a 25% surcharge on the industrys profits, with it hoped the policy will raise as much as 5 billion. Offshore Energy UK chief executive Deirdre Michie said in June: We will work constructively with the UK Government and do our best to mitigate the damage this tax will cause, but if energy companies reduce investment in UK waters, then they will produce less oil and gas. That means they will eventually be paying less taxes and have less money to invest in low carbon energy, she added. Food Russian President Vladimir Putins blockade of grain exports from Ukraine threatens to push hunger up further in the UK and around the world. Mr Johnson on June 23 pledged 372 million in aid to alleviate shortages, but the situation remains problematic at home. Research published earlier in June signalled that the number of people in the UK using a food bank has jumped from one in 10 to nearly one in six since last year. And the school food caterers association Laca has warned the quality of school meals will get worse if funding is not ring-fenced by the Government. Children and families minister Will Quince on Monday said he would speak with then education secretary Mr Zahawi, who was in turn to speak with the Treasury about how to better support schools and families. The Queen has returned to Windsor Castle after a short break on her Sandringham estate. The 96-year-old monarch flew back to her Berkshire residence on Wednesday after spending five days privately in Norfolk. It followed a trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week when the head of state made an increasingly rare run of official public appearances including attending the historic Ceremony of the Keys in Edinburgh. The Queen is expected to hold her weekly audience with beleaguered Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is facing the most serious crisis of his leadership, on Wednesday evening by telephone. The Queen attending the Ceremony of the Keys on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA) A delegation of Cabinet ministers is preparing to tell Mr Johnson to leave Downing Street after 17 ministers and a number of ministerial aides dramatically resigned. In the past, Mr Johnson has described his weekly audiences with the Queen as similar to a very touch interview. She always asks the best questions, he said in 2019. He revealed during a Parliamentary tribute to the Queen in her Jubilee year that his regular meetings with the monarch were always immensely comforting, because she has seen the sweep of it. The Queen and Boris Johnson in 2019 (Victoria Jones/PA) Next Tuesday, the Queen is hoping to present the George Cross to the NHS during a special audience at Windsor. Accompanied by the Prince of Wales, she will welcome the chief executives of the National Health Services of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and a frontline worker from each of the home nations on July 12. Buckingham Palace said the Queen, who has ongoing mobility problems, is planning to attend the audience, but a final decision will be made on the day. The monarch awarded the NHS the prestigious bravery award a year ago for its courage, compassion and dedication during the pandemic and throughout the 70-plus years since its foundation. The Queen is expected to return to Balmoral Castle for her annual holiday (Andrew Milligan/PA) In a few weeks time, she will be expected to return to Scotland for her annual holiday at Balmoral Castle in the Highlands. The royal family traditionally retreat to the Queens private estate during the summer months, where they make the most of the countryside, enjoy barbecues and spend their time riding, fishing or walking. The Queen took a short break at Balmoral at the end of May, ahead of the Jubilee celebrations, in order to pace herself before the festivities. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have joined guests for the Royal Charity Polo Cup, which is expected to raise 1 million for charities supported by the couple. William and Kate looked relaxed ahead of the event in Berkshire, just a few miles from Windsor Castle, at the Castle Ground at Guards Polo Club. A Kensington Palace spokeswoman said the event was expected to raise 1 million for good causes like Londons Air Ambulance Charity, the homeless organisation The Passage and East Anglias Childrens Hospices. The match is to raise funds and awareness for ten charities supported by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (James Manning/PA) Before the players took to the field the duke and duchess were spotted chatting to guests, Kate wearing a flowing dress and her husband casually dressed in shirt and trousers. William will play in the round robin event, with three teams competing for the cup, and will be part of the US Polo Assn team, taking on BP Polo and Monterosso Vikings. Playing with the duke is James Harper, who has been named captain of the England team for the match against Uruguay for the Coronation Cup at Guards later in July. A wave of Government exits, including Cabinet resignations, are threatening to end Boris Johnsons time in No 10. Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resigned immediately after the Prime Minister apologised for giving former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher a top job despite knowledge of a previous complaint made against him. A cascade of more junior Tory figures also tendered resignations on Tuesday and made public statements about their decisions, claiming the Government is incompetent and untrustworthy. Rishi Sunak, former chancellor: competent government is worth fighting for Mr Sunak said the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously, adding: I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning, he said. Our country is facing immense challenges. We both want a low-tax, high-growth economy, and world class public services, but this can only be responsibly delivered if we are prepared to work hard, make sacrifices and take difficult decisions. I firmly believe the public are ready to hear that truth. Our people know that if something is too good to be true then its not true. They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one. In preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different. The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. My letter to the Prime Minister below. pic.twitter.com/vZ1APB1ik1 Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 5, 2022 Sajid Javid, former health secretary: Mr Johnsons administration is not acting in the national interest Mr Javid said the British people expect integrity from their government but voters now believed Mr Johnsons administration was neither competent nor acting in the national interest. Conservatives at their best are seen as hard-headed decision-makers, guided by strong values. We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest, he said. Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither. The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree. It was a moment for humility, grip and new direction. I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership and you have therefore lost my confidence too. I have spoken to the Prime Minister to tender my resignation as Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, but I regret that I can no longer continue in good conscience. pic.twitter.com/d5RBFGPqXp Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) July 5, 2022 Lord David Frost, former Brexit secretary: Quit before you bring the Government down Lord David Frost called on Boris Johnson to quit as Prime Minister before he takes the Conservative Party and the Government down with him. Lord Frost wrote in The Daily Telegraph that Mr Johnsons place in history will be secure as one of the past centurys most consequential prime ministers. If he leaves now, before chaos descends, that reputation is what will be remembered. If he hangs on, he risks taking the party and the Government down with him, the former Cabinet minister said. Alex Chalk, former solicitor general: Government duty cannot extend to defending the indefensible Mr Chalk wrote that government posts mean accepting the duty for difficult or even unpopular policy decisions where that serves the broader national interest. But, he added, it cannot extend to defending the indefensible. The cumulative effect of the Owen Paterson debacle, Partygate and now the handling of the former deputy chief whips resignation, is that public confidence in the ability of Number 10 to uphold the standards of candour expected of a British government has irretrievable broken down. I regret that I share that judgement. This comes at a moment of intense challenge for our country, when trust in government can rarely have been more important. Im afraid the time has therefore come for fresh leadership. With great sadness I am resigning as Solicitor General. I wont be doing media interviews. pic.twitter.com/8kr9ecRECg Alex Chalk (@AlexChalkChelt) July 5, 2022 Theo Clarke, former trade envoy to Kenya: As a new female MP, I no longer have confidence in Johnsons leadership Ms Clarke said she had supported Mr Johnson since campaigning in both of his mayoral campaigns, but no longer had confidence in his leadership. As one of the Partys new female MPs and a member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, I take allegations of sexual misconduct very seriously. To learn that you chose to elevate a colleague to a position of pastoral care for MPs, whilst in full knowledge of his own wrongdoing, shows a severe lack of judgement and care for your Parliamentary party. I was shocked to see colleagues defending the Government with assurances that have turned out to be false. This is not the way that any responsible Government should act. I am very sad to be resigning as the Prime Ministers Trade Envoy to Kenya with immediate effect pic.twitter.com/rBKSdbMCQ7 Theo Clarke MP (@theodoraclarke) July 5, 2022 Andrew Murrison, former trade envoy to Morocco: I cannot square Mr Johnsons patronage with my personal sense of decency and honour Another envoy, Andrew Murrison, said the last straw in the rolling chaos of the past six months was the unjustifiable implication of Lord McDonalds letter to the Parliamentary Committee for Standards this morning. Others must square, as best they can, their continuing enjoyment of your patronage with their personal sense of decency, honour and integrity but I no longer can, he added. I strongly urge you to resign. pic.twitter.com/1jUxgnHbKY Rt Hon Andrew Murrison MP (@AWMurrison) July 5, 2022 Jonathan Gullis, former Parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Tory Party has been focused on reputational damage over governing The private secretary to the Secretary for Northern Ireland wrote that the party he had been a member of his entire adult life had been more focused on dealing with out reputation damage rather than delivering for the people of this country and spreading opportunity for all. It is for this reason I can no longer to (sic) serve as part of your government. Saqib Bhatti, former parliamentary private secretary to the Health Secretary: My conscience will not allow me to continue to support this administration Saqib Bhatti quit his role with a statement that recent events have undermined trust and standards in public life. I have been grappling with these issues for some time and my conscience will not allow me to continue to support this administration, he added. The Conservative party has always been the party of integrity and honour but recent events have undermined trust and standards in public life. It is for this reason that sadly, I must resign. I will continue working hard for my constituents on the issues that matter to them. pic.twitter.com/oHZzPO285o Saqib Bhatti MP (@bhatti_saqib) July 5, 2022 Nicola Richards, former Parliamentary private secretary to the Department for Transport: At a time of cost-of-living crisis I cannot serve where the focus is skewed by poor judgement Nicola Richards said in a statement that she could not serve under the current circumstances. At a time where my constituents are worried about the cost of living and I am ding my best to support them, I cannot bring myself to serve as a PPS under the current circumstances, where the focus is skewed by poor judgement that I dont wish to be associated with. I will always remain loyal to my constituents and the Conservative Party. Tonight Ive made the tough decision to resign as a PPS. pic.twitter.com/XrM8IrzreJ Nicola Richards MP (@Nicola4WBE) July 5, 2022 Virginia Crosbie, former parliamentary private secretary at the Welsh Office: Johnsons continued premiership risks irrevocably harming this government Virginia Crosbie wrote that she was forced to say the sheer number of allegations of impropriety and illegality centred around Downing Street and Mr Johnsons premiership made his position untenable. I am of the view that if you continue in office then you risk irrevocably harming this government, and the Conservative party and will hand the keys of Downing Street to a Labour Party unfit to govern. Bim Afolami, former conservative party vice chair: The PM does not have the support of party or country Speaking to Talk TV, Bim Afolami announced said: I just dont think the Prime Minister any longer has, not just my support, but he doesnt have, I dont think, the support of the party, or indeed the country any more. FILE - Two patrons enter the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream shop, July 20, 2021, in Burlington, Vt. The Vermont-based ice cream maker is suing its corporate parent Unilever over a plan that would allow its product to be sold in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, July 6, 2022 in New York, the ice cream maker asked a court to block the decision by Unilever to sell the business interest in the ice cream company in Israel to a local company that would sell ice cream with Hebrew and Arabic labeling poses poses a risk to the integrity of the Ben & Jerrys brand name. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) One week after its parent company found a way to get Ben & Jerrys ice cream sold in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, the company known for its stance on social issues almost as much as for its Chunky Monkey ice cream is suing to block that from happening. Unilever announced that it was selling its interest in the Vermont ice cream maker to its Israeli licensee, which would market Ben & Jerrys products with Hebrew and Arabic labels. In a Manhattan federal court this week, the ice cream maker said that Unilevers maneuver poses a risk to the integrity of its brand. It claims the deal violates the 2000 acquisition agreement that allowed Ben & Jerry's to continue its progressive social mission independently of business decisions made by Unilever. An injunction restraining Unilever from violating the express terms of the Merger Agreement and Shareholders Agreement is essential to preserve the status quo and protect the brand and social integrity Ben & Jerrys has spent decades building," the complaint says. That passage in the lawsuit refers to the intense bidding process that took place in 2000 for Ben & Jerrys, one of the most recognizable brands in America. Ben & Jerry's was adamant that even after a sale, it would be allowed to continue to pursue its social causes. The final agreement was so unique that Richard Goldstein, then group president of Unilever North American Foods, said I never did another deal that was remotely like it, according to the suit. In agreeing to the sale, Ben & Jerry's was allowed an independent board of directors which was authorized to prevent Unilever from making decisions that are inconsistent with the Essential Integrity of the Brand," according to legal filings. Unilever said it does not comment on pending litigation, but said it did have the right to the sale and that, The deal has already closed." The complaint outlines Ben & Jerry's history of social activism over its 44-year history, including opposition to U.S. nuclear weapons spending in the 1980s and in the 1990s supporting LGBTQ+ rights and farmers. That activism has continued under Unilever with the focus on, among other issues, migrant justice and climate change. In the aftermath of the 2020 death of George Floyd, Ben & Jerry's became an advocate for Black Lives Matter. Last year Ben & Jerry's independent board said it was going to stop selling its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem, saying the sales in the territories sought by the Palestinians are inconsistent with our values. Unilever said it was committed to its operations in Israel, and earlier this year it was sued by its Israeli licensee, American Quality Products Ltd, over the termination of their business relationship, saying it violated U.S. and Israeli law. When Unilever announced it was selling the Israeli operations to American Quality Products last week, it said it had used the opportunity of the past year to listen to perspectives on this complex and sensitive matter and believes this is the best outcome for Ben & Jerrys in Israel. Israel hailed the decision by Unilever as a victory in its ongoing campaign against the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to bring economic pressure to bear on Israel over its military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Unilever does not support the BDS movement and has said it was very proud of its business in Israel, where it employs around 2,000 people and has four manufacturing plants. Ben & Jerrys 2021 decision was not a full boycott, and appeared to be aimed at Israels settlement enterprise. Some 700,000 Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed and considers part of its capital. Israel captured both territories in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want them to be part of their future state. Most of the international community views the settlements as a violation of international law. The Palestinians consider them the main obstacle to peace because they absorb and divide up the land on which a future Palestinian state would be established. Every Israeli government has expanded settlements, including during the height of the peace process in the 1990s. Irish premier Micheal Martin is due to travel to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Wednesday for a number of engagements in the city. The visit comes two weeks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Mr Martin to visit Ukraine, which would be the first visit by a Taoiseach to the eastern European country. It also comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared victory in seizing the eastern Ukrainian province of Luhansk, with his troops escalating their offensive in neighbouring Donetsk. Mr Martin has warned previously that the Russian president appeared to be leveraging its natural gas supplies to exert maximum pressure on Europe ahead of the winter period. Mr Martin has also been a vocal advocate for Ukraines fast-tracked membership of the EU. Ireland is ready to walk every step of that journey with Ukraine, providing whatever support and encouragement we can along the way, the Taoiseach has previously said. Mr Zelensky has thanked Ireland for its active support of Ukraines European aspirations. Ireland has also taken in more than 36,000 Ukrainian refugees since Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine at the end of February. The Irish State has given 20 million euro in humanitarian support and assistance to the country, as well as health equipment and medical donations worth over 4.5 million euro. In April, Simon Coveney became the first foreign minister of the UN Security Council to visit Kyiv, and met with Ukraines foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and defence minister Oleksii Reznikov. Mr Coveney also visited the town of Bucha on the outskirts of the capital, where suspected killings of civilians prompted global condemnation. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below." Though summer's end is technically in late September, Labor Day weekend often signals the transition from the warm, languid months to the busy start of fall. Families may mark it as the weekend before the new school year or the last chance to swim before pools are closed for the season. More than anything else, it's a chance to spend some quality time with friends and family, and enjoy delicious grilled food. (And, of course, snap some pictures for your final summer Instagram captions.) This year will mark Labor Day's 140th anniversary in America, and while there are numerous variations celebrated around the world, ours has its own unique history and meaning. Many of the rights we enjoy and take for granted today, were hard-fought wins by the labor movement of the late 19th century. Labor Day was created to honor the women and men who campaigned tirelessly for workers' rights, such as a 40-hour work week, safe work conditions, paid time off, and sick leave. (Can you imagine what it was like before?!) They saw that there could be no freedom and liberty in this country without economic freedom for the working class. The holiday honors the source of this nation's strengthAmerican workers, unions, and labor leaders. No matter how you decide to celebrate Labor Day 2022, take some time to reflect and pay tribute to all the laborers, past and present, who helped build America and make it the country it is today. Photo credit: Robert Reed / EyeEm - Getty Images By now you may be wondering when is Labor Day in 2022? And what is the history of Labor Day? Find answers to these questions and more below, including the exact date for this year's celebration. So, when is Labor Day in 2022? This year, Labor Day falls on Monday, September 5, 2022. This means that Labor Day weekendthe three-day span that encompasses Labor Daywill take place from Saturday, September 3 through Monday, September 5. Is Labor Day always the first Monday in September? Yes! So, if you didn't know the date off the top of your head before reading this article, that's why. Though the holiday is always held on the first Monday in September, the calendar date changes each year. What is the history of Labor Day? Labor Day became a U.S. federal holiday in 1894, but by that time thirty states already officially celebrated the holiday. Labor Day was created by members of the labor movement, who organized strikes and rallies to fight for better working conditions amid the Industrial Revolution, according to the History Channel. On September 5, 1882, New York City union leaders organized what is now considered the country's first Labor Day parade, according to National Geographic. On this day, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march through the streets of New York City, in an event culminating in a picnic, fireworks, and dancing. Organizers declared the day "a general holiday for the workingmen of this city." Their idea spread across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing the workers' holiday. It wasn't until 1894, however, that Congress legalized the holiday following the Pullman strike, a nationwide railroad boycott that turned fatal and shined a national spotlight on workers' rights. Amid this massive unrest, Congress sought to make peace with American workers by passing an act making Labor Day a legal holiday. President Grover Cleveland officially signed it into law on June 28, 1894. Strangely enough, The Department of Labor was created after Labor Day became a holiday, and it was the first department to be led by a woman: Francis Perkins. More than a century later, the true founder of Labor Day remains unknown, although many credit labor union leader Peter J. McGuire for the idea. The world may never know this detail, but now you know enough about Labor Day to truly celebrate everything it stands for. More than 75 years after his service in World War II, a 98-year-old Chinese-American veteran in Deerfield Beach received a Congressional Gold Medal to honor his service to the United States. U.S. Army veteran Richard Goon was a cryptographer in units that served in the China-Burma-India corridor, where he deciphered enemy radio codes and translated instructions to the Chinese army. The congressional medal was presented virtually on Tuesday to Goon at the Grand Villa of Deerfield Beach assisted living community by retired Major General William S. Chen, the first Chinese American to wear two-star rank in the U.S. Army. Goon was accompanied by family, friends and supporters. Richard Goon represents one of the thousands of Chinese Americans who came to seek opportunity and a better life, just like others who are members of Americas Greatest Generation, Ed Gor, national director of the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project, told the Miami Herald. He did his job proudly, Gor said. He was persistent and determined! Said Goon: I served my country loyally and Im proud to be American. U.S. Army veteran Richard Goon, 98, center, is congratulated after receiving the Congressional Gold Medal during a virtual ceremony at the Grand Villa Senior Living Community on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, in Deerfield Beach, Fla. During his service, Goon trained as a cryptographer and eventually was stationed along the Chinese and Indochina border where he assisted American pilots and the Chinese army to fight Japanese forces. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Goon also interpreted for the Flying Tigers a group of American pilots who fought against the Japanese in WWII. He also assisted the pilots in finding the location of enemy forces, according to New Pelican, a newspaper based in Pompano Beach. Goon served in the Army with the rank of Technician 5th Grade with the 987th Signal Company. Gor said that Goon made flights to and from over what they call The Hump to transport people and supplies for the U.S. support to China in the fight against the Japanese. U.S. Army veteran Richard Goon The Hump is the nickname Allied pilots gave the airlift operation that crossed the Himalayan foothills into China. During his service from January 1943 to December 1945, Goon was awarded a Bronze Star medal for meritorious service, among other accolades, Gor said. After the war, Goon completed high school, got a college degree, went to law school and became an attorney. He later ran a successful restaurant in Florida and had a second career as an actor and model, Gor added. U.S. Army veteran Richard Goon, 98, center, is congratulated while holding the Congressional Gold Medal during a virtual ceremony at the Grand Villa Senior Living Community on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, in Deerfield Beach, Fla. During his service, Goon trained as a cryptographer and eventually was stationed along the Chinese and Indochina border where he helped train the Chinese army to fight the Japanese forces. Theres still work to be done The ceremony on Tuesday came about because of efforts by advocates to see Chinese-American veterans receive the military honors that were long overdue. Intense institutional discrimination toward Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans in the World War II era was rampant. As many as 20,000 of the 78,000 Chinese Americans living in the U.S. during WWII served in the armed forces, and about 40% of these service members were not U.S. citizens, due to laws denying them the right, according to government records. Efforts to remedy some of that injustice were boosted when the Chinese-American World War II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act was passed in 2018 more than 70 years after the war ended. The law awards a collective Congressional Gold Medal to the Chinese-American Veterans of WWII in recognition of their dedicated service. That law was achieved in part because of the efforts by the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project as well as the National Chinese American Citizens Alliance Community Involvement Fund, which also helped make Tuesdays ceremony possible. The organizations currently spearhead a national campaign to identify, honor and recognize the efforts and accomplishments of all Chinese Americans who served in the U.S. armed services in WWII. U.S. Army veteran Richard Goon, 98, recites the Pledge of Allegiance during a virtual ceremony where he was award the Congressional Gold Medal at the Grand Villa Senior Living Community on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Deerfield Beach, Fla. During his service, Goon trained as a cryptographer and eventually was stationed along the Chinese and Indochina border where he assisted American pilots and the Chinese army to fight Japanese forces. The Alliance has presented these medals to about 3,400 Chinese American WWII veterans or their next of kin, Gor said, adding that the goal is to find at least 5,000 more. But there are still some veterans who havent heard about the award, he said. Im hoping that stories of these men and women who served can help people understand that Chinese Americans have participated in the fight for democracy and freedom, Gor said. To be presented the Congressional Gold Medal by the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, veterans or next-of-kin are encouraged to send an email to the organization at CGMInfo@caww2.org. For information on ways to donate, visit caww2.org/donate. Due to incorrect information given to the Miami Herald, an earlier version of this story included an outdated reference to the U.S. Army and an unrelated archive photo. Republicans are scoffing at Democrats latest attempt to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Well dive into that push. Plus, well talk about the veterans who received the Medal of Honor for their service during the Vietnam War. This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, Im Jordan Williams. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here. Republicans write off Dems push to close Gitmo Democrats are reviving their efforts to shutter the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, but the push faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republicans are already writing it off as doomed. In the past month, House Democrats have advanced legislation seeking to close the facility in Cuba as part of a larger annual defense spending bill leaders are expected to bring to a vote in the full chamber, where the party holds narrow control, in the coming weeks. But in the Senate, where Democrats will need GOP support to pass the defense funding bill, the move faces a wall of opposition from Republicans. Where things stand at Gitmo: There are three dozen detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay, a National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson told The Hill. Of those, 19 are eligible for transfer, five are eligible for a periodic review board, nine are involved in the military commissions process and three have been convicted in military commissions. The Biden administration transferred its first detainee from Guantanamo in July 2021, moving Abdul Latif Nasir to Morocco. Since then, the administration has transferred two more: Mohammad Mani Ahmad al-Qahtani to Saudi Arabia on March 7 and Sufiyan Barhoumi to Algeria on April 2. Most recently, the Department of Defense announced on June 24 that it transferred Asadullah Haroon al-Afghani, also known as Gul, from Guantanamo to his home country of Afghanistan. An absolutely vital institution: Im sure its not going to happen, Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told The Hill of closing the facility, adding, no rational persons going to support that. Its an absolutely vital institution. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, also cast doubt on the effort, pointing to Democrats thin margins in both chambers. They have such slim majorities right now. Its difficult for them to do anything So, getting something that controversial done is just, as a practical matter, not going to happen, Rogers said. Mixed signals: The $761 billion defense funding bill advanced recently by the House Appropriations Committee explicitly prohibits funds from being used to operate the facility after Sept. 30, 2023. But, at a mark-up session on the bill last month, two Democrats joined Republicans in voting in favor of an amendment offered by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) to revoke that provision, ultimately failing in a largely party-line vote. Legislation advanced by the House and Senate Armed Services committees in mid-June has also sent mixed signals on the fate of Guantanamo Bay. The House Armed Services Committees version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed on June 23, limits the Pentagons ability to transfer detainees to Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. But it doesnt explicitly prohibit the administration from closing the facility, a departure from past precedent. Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committees version of the legislation, which passed a week prior, extends long-standing restrictions related to Guantanamo Bay through Dec. 31, 2023. This includes the bans on transferring detainees to the U.S and constructing facilities in the U.S. to house detainees. Worth the fight: Im gonna work hard in conference committee, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), chairwoman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Defense, said on the matter. Its not a good use of taxpayers money, and if we need more money for defense, it should go to things that are going to make a difference in our national security. Read the full story here. Four soldiers awarded Medal of Honor President Biden on Tuesday awarded the Medal of Honor, the nations highest military honor, to four Army veterans for their bravery in the Vietnam War, upgrading previous awards given to each man for his service. The president held a ceremony in the East Room of the White House the day after Independence Day, which Biden noted marked 246 years since the founding of the nation. Among the honorees: Biden recognized the service of Specialist 5th Class Dwight Birdwell for fighting off an ambush in 1968 at Tan Son Nhut Airbase near Saigon. Birdwell took enemy fire to his face and torso but refused evacuation while he waited for reinforcements. The president also recognized Maj. John Duffy for his bravery when the enemy launched an assault on a U.S. airbase. Duffy was wounded but refused to be evacuated during the April 1972 assault, calling in airstrikes and tending to wounded soldiers. Setting the record straight: For each of those 246 years, American patriots have answered our nations call to military service. They stood in the way of danger, risked everything, literally everything, to defend our nation and our values, Biden said. However, not every service member has received the full recognition they deserve. Today, were setting the record straight. Read the story here. US F-35s arrive in South Korea U.S. Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jets arrived in South Korea on Tuesday to conduct flight operations alongside their South Korean counterparts amid tensions with North Korea. The aircraft are expected to fly with several others over South Korea and surrounding waters as part of a 10-day training mission, U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement. South Korean F-35 aircraft are expected to fly with the American aircraft. The familiarization and routine training flights will enhance the interoperability of the two Air Forces to perform and operate on and around the Korean Peninsula, the statement said. The aviation training is also an opportunity for the aircrews to perform sustainment and maintenance duties to support the latest in military aircraft technology, it added. Read more here. ON TAP TOMORROW The International Institute for Strategic Studies will host a Special Lecture on Australia, ASEAN and Southeast Asia at 5:30 a.m. The U.S. Institute of Peace will host a discussion on Justice and Accountability for Khmer Rouge Atrocities at 10 a.m. The Royal United Services Institute will host a discussion on Reflections on NATOs Madrid Summit at 11 a.m. The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft will hold a discussion entitled Active Denial: A Roadmap to a More Effective, Stabilizing, and Sustainable U.S. Defense Strategy in Asia at 12 p.m. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley will induct Medal of Honor Recipients into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes at 10 a.m. WHAT WERE READING Rising threats spark US scramble for cyber workers Cassidy Hutchinson testimony prompts reassessment of Trump legal culpability Police believe suspect planned Highland Park shooting for several weeks The Associated Press: NATO signs accession protocols for Sweden, Finland Thats it for today. Check out The Hills Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you tomorrow! READ THE FULL VERSION HERE For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Eloy Jimenez may be on the cusp of regaining his swing and ending his slump. After a long injury layoff, Jimenez struggled against the Worcester Red Sox two weeks ago The rehabbing White Sox outfielder then showed strong signs in the Charlotte Knights series against the Durham Bulls a week ago. He only went 4 of 19 at the plate but clobbered a pair of home runs. In the first game of Charlottes current series against the Gwinnett Stripers, which began Monday but took Tuesday off, Jimenez continued his success with a 2-for-4 game, scoring a run and driving in another. The Knights and Stripers are back at it Wednesday night at 7:05 in Georgia, and Jimenez has a chance to solidify his case to make it back up to the majors. KNIGHTS-STRIPERS SERIES AT A GLANCE The two teams played the first game of their six-game set Monday, with Gwinnett emerging victorious 6-3. Charlotte and Gwinnett last met at the beginning of May, when the Stripers won four of six against the Knights. The Knights split their last series against the Durham Bulls while the Stripers went 2-4 against the Norfolk Tides. Gwinnett (38-41) comes into Tuesdays game No. 8 in the International League West standings. Gwinnett Player to Watch: SP Kyle Muller The left-handed Muller has powered the Stripers rotation, starting 14 games and pitching to a 2.99 ERA. In his last start, the 24-year-old gave up just two runs across 5.1 innings. Charlotte Knights Players to Watch Mark Payton, OF The 30-year-old Paytons chances of being a premier prospect are likely gone, but hes been one of the Knights most consistent hitters. The outfielder is batting .282 with a .842 OPS after a 2-5 performance in the series opener against Gwinnett. He is second on the team with 11 home runs. Carlos Perez, C Perez is the lone player with more homers than Payton. The 25-year-old has 12 home runs in just 60 games to lead Charlotte. He is batting .282 with a .815 OPS. Xavier Fernandez - 1B The Knights brought Fernandez up from Birmingham at the beginning of June and the catcher/first baseman has taken time to adjust to the new level of competition. Hes batting just .186 after hitting .311 in Double-A, but there are signs of life. Fernandez hit his first home run against Durham on July 3. Clearwater Republican Jack Latvala, who resigned from the Florida Senate in 2017 after sexual-harassment allegations, has reached a proposed settlement involving related ethics accusations. Latvala agreed to the proposed settlement Tuesday with Elizabeth Miller, advocate for the Florida Commission on Ethics. If the ethics commission signs off, Latvala could face a public censure and reprimand, with the matter forwarded to the Senate for further action. In what is known as a joint stipulation and recommended order, Latvala admitted to using poor judgment in a consensual two-decade relationship with a female lobbyist, which may have constituted a technical violation of state law. The agreement said there is no evidence that this affected his official actions in any way. The settlement would lead to dismissal of other allegations, as the evidence does not warrant moving forward. READ MORE: He unbuttoned my jacket and he felt me up. Lobbyist details senators harassment. Latvala resigned from the Senate after the release of a special master report into allegations he had sexually harassed a Senate aide. Latvala, who was Senate budget chairman at the time, denied wrongdoing but admitted he had an extramarital affair with a former lobbyist, whose testimony prompted the special master to recommend a probe into whether Latvala had broken state laws by promising legislative favors in exchange for sex. The report also found probable cause to support allegations that Latvala groped the Senate aide and engaged in a pattern of making unwelcome remarks about womens bodies. READ MORE: Senate aide goes public with complaint against Sen. Latvala. Heres what she says he did. In July 2018, the Leon County state attorneys office announced there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges related to whether Latvala promised legislative favors. The settlement Tuesday said it is unlikely evidence could establish clear and convincing proof that Latvalas behavior violated state law. Respondent [Latvala] enters into this joint stipulation with the understanding of the seriousness of the violation and gives his assurance that this proceeding has affected the manner in which he conducts himself as a public official in a positive way, the agreement said. Vice President Harris is visiting Highland Park, Ill., following a mass shooting there on the Fourth of July that resulted in the death of seven people. In a statement on Tuesday, the White House said that Harris will be joined by the citys mayor, Nancy Rotering (D), Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Illinois state Sen. Julie Morrison (D). Harriss visit follows Mondays shooting, in which seven people were killed and more than 30 others were wounded as a gunman opened fire at a crowd attending the annual Fourth of July parade in the city. Authorities on Tuesday charged suspect Robert Crimo III with seven counts of first-degree murder, adding that more charges will likely come. Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart said at the news conference that the mass shooting at Highland Park was a premeditated and calculated attack, renewing calls for an assault weapons ban and urging the state to bring more awareness to its red flag laws as well. The loss of life and these devastating injuries and the overwhelming psychological trauma demand we seek justice and that we take broader action to protect life, Rinehart said at the news conference. Authorities also said that the 21-year-old Crimo, son of a former mayoral candidate in the city, had planned this attack for several weeks, disguising himself as a woman to blend into a crowd of locals as he accessed the roof of a local business to commit the crime. Rinehart added that Crimo will face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of the crimes against him. The shooting comes a month after President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law in response to the mass shootings that happened in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Government officials in Hong Kong are scrambling to hold public lectures and seminars discussing Chinese President Xi Jinping's July 1 speech about the future of the island city. Xi spoke Friday at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, delivering a keynote address on the 25th anniversary of the Chinese reclamation of Hong Kong. The speech, which focused on China's "One Country, Two Systems" policy of governance, made waves in upper levels of Hong Kong finance and politics. Already, the island's most powerful officials and executives are holding seminars to discuss and learn about the speech. Schools are being encouraged to share the contents of the speech with students and closely study the president's words. "All sectors of the community, including the education sector, attach great importance [to the speech]," an Education Bureau spokesperson told the South China Morning Post. US DEFENDS SENDING AIRCRAFT THROUGH TAIWAN STRAIT AS CHINA GROWS INCREASINGLY AGGRESSIVE A man wearing festive glasses stands in front of police at Hong Kong's Lan Kwai Fong area on Jan. 1, 2022. Bertha Wang/AFP via Getty Images "It is a school-based decision and it is up to principals to decide [whether] to make [studying] Xis speech compulsory," the spokesman continued. Xi's visit to Hong Kong made international news as it was the president's first trip outside the mainland in more than two years. The tension between Beijing and Hong Kong is at a breaking point as the mainland continues to sanction, censor and even arrest political dissidents calling for an independent country. Some have gone as far as begging the United Kingdom to intervene and reabsorb the island. US ADMIRAL SAYS CHINA FULLY MILITARIZED ISLES IN SOUTH CHINA SEA On July 1, 1997, the wealthy microstate of the British Empire was formally handed over to the Chinese Communist Party China leased the island to Britain in 1898 for 99 years. In his Friday speech, Xi blatantly ignored the civil unrest in Hong Kong, instead boasting of the One Country, Two Systems policy's success. "The policy of One Country, Two Systems is a great initiative that has no precedent to follow. The underlying goal of the policy of One Country, Two Systems is to uphold Chinas sovereignty, security and development interests and maintain long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau." China's President Xi Jinping gives a speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 26, 2019. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images The president even claimed that the policy has "unanimous endorsement" from the people of Hong Kong. "It enjoys the full support of more than 1.4 billion people of the motherland, it has the unanimous endorsement of Hong Kong and Macau residents, and it is widely recognized by the international community. There is no reason to change such a good system. And it must be adhered to over the long run!" The inaccuracy of Xi's comments are hard to ignore. Only days after his speech, a group of Hong Kongers began their trial on charges of sedition against the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese authorities have arrested five speech therapists in Hong Kong for publishing children's books that reportedly contained anti-Beijing sentiment. The five therapists, who were arrested over a year ago, are finally facing trial for charges of sedition for a series of books about a village of sheep and a village of wolves. The books very clearly differentiate the two towns as good and bad, with the wolves' society bearing a striking resemblance to mainland China. The books depict the society of wolves monitored by CCTV cameras plotting an infiltration of the sheep village after their shepherd has left. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Joey Chestnut expressed regret for briefly putting a protester in a chokehold Monday during the annual Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest and he also explained his actions during a phone interview with USA TODAY Sports. Chestnut, standing at the center of the raised stage July 4 on Coney Island in New York, quickly resumed shoving hot dogs into his mouth after the incident. Video of the moment went viral after Chestnut won his 15th title in 1ber6 years. As soon as a I grabbed the guy, I realized he was a kid, Chestnut told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. I felt bad afterwards. I was just amped up, just focused on getting back to eating. Its just unfortunate. I wish that it didnt happen. Its a bummer.'' ESPN didnt show the electric moment that glizzy gladiator Joey Chestnut put a protester in a chokehold pic.twitter.com/G5F5PsBffa RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) July 4, 2022 The protester was Scott Gilbertson, 21, of Berkeley, California, who was charged with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and harassment, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD). He was one of three protesters, all animal rights activists working with a grassroots group called Direct Action Everywhere. I felt like it was unnecessary for sure, Gilbertson told USA TODAY Sports of Chestnuts reaction. I had the mask on so I couldnt see who it was. I assumed it was a security guard. And then when I saw the video, it was Joey. I was surprised. Chestnut, 38, said the mask that hindered Gilbertsons vision also triggered Chestnut's reaction. I was freaked out a little bit because he had the mask on, Chestnut said. I saw the mask and I think thats when I realized he doesnt belong here. Joey Chestnut tackles a protester who interrupted the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Gilbertson and two other protesters wore masks of Star Wars' "stormtroopers" and of Darth Vader and displayed Expose Smithfields Deathstar signs. The Deathstar reference compares the villainous megaweapon from the Star Wars film series to the largest factory pig farm in the country, Smithfield Foods Circle Four Farms in Milford, Utah, Direct Action Everywhere wrote in a press release. Nathans is a brand licensed by Smithfield, which Direct Action Everywhere has alleged compromises worker safety, public health and animal welfare. Matt Johnson, the press coordinator for Direct Action Everywhere, said Chestnuts reaction was excessively violent. I think it was pretty plain to see, Johnson said. Ill cut him a little slack. Youre in the heat of the moment, this is really intense, hes trained a lot for it, it means a lot to him. Hes not public enemy No. 1 or anything, but a pretty excessive response to a peaceful protest. After watching the video, Chestnut likened his reaction to a dog exhibiting food aggression in this case, a protester threatening to get between Chestnut and his hot dogs. Thats what it reminded me of, he said. It looks excessive, he added.. But in my position, I dont know, I had been waiting a long time for the contest and I wish (Gilbertson) had just stood by me and I never would have touched him. If he hadnt elbowed me and got in front of me, it would have not been a problem. But I also wish they didnt get on stage. Gilbertson said his neck is sore as a result of the chokehold but he doesnt think its anything serious. I dont really have anything against Joey as a person, he said. I was just trying to get my message out there and my organizations message out there. I wasnt trying to nudge him. I had the mask on and my peripheral vision was hindered. I was trying to get in front of him. I couldnt see how close I was to him and I kind of nudged him. So I can understand, I guess, why he may have overreacted. But I think the extent to which he reacted was unnecessary. The whole encounter lasted no more than five seconds, with emcee George Shea pulling the protester away from Chestnut as the competitive eating champ resumed devouring hot dogs and buns during the 10-minute contest. The two other protesters Robert Yamada, 42 of Phoenix and Joshua Marxen, 31, of Santa Clara, California where charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct during the incident, according to the NYPD. Chestnut said people's reaction to how he handled the protester has been mixed. He said his fiancee received a direct message on Instagram saying the incident was a red flag for abusive behavior and she shouldnt be with Chestnut. For the most part,'' Chestnut said, "my family, theyre happy that I didnt let it bother me and I was able to keep going.'' Chestnut said he thinks the incident with the protester may have cost him three hot dogs. He ate 63, 20 ahead of runner-up Geoffrey Esper. Shea, longtime emcee of the contest, said he thought the protesters efforts failed. The end result of that effort on their part was to make Joey into an epic hero if he already wasnt one, which he was, Shea said. To elevate him further in the world of epic heroes, that was the end result. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joey Chestnut regrets putting hot dog eating protester in chokehold WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, a year after the Biden administration said it was moving to strengthen such species protections. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in Northern California eliminated the Trump-era rules even as two wildlife agencies under President Joe Biden are reviewing or rescinding the regulations. The decision restores a range of protections under the Endangered Species Act including some that date to the 1970s while the reviews are completed. Environmental groups hailed the decision, which they said sped up needed protections and critical habitat designations for threatened species, including salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Tigar's ruling spoke for species desperately in need of comprehensive federal protections without compromise, said Kristen Boyles, an attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice. Threatened and endangered species do not have the luxury of waiting under rules that do not protect them. The court ruling comes as two federal agencies the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service review five Endangered Species Act regulations finalized by President Donald Trump's administration, including critical habitat designations and rules requiring federal agencies to consult with the wildlife or fisheries services before taking actions that could affect threatened or endangered species. Fish and Wildlife also said it will reinstate the decades-old blanket rule, which mandates additional protections for species that are newly classified as threatened. Those protections were removed under Trump. Critical habitat designations for threatened or endangered species can result in limitations on energy development such as mining or oil drilling that could disturb a vulnerable species, while the consultation rule and a separate rule on the scope of proposed federal actions help determine how far the government may go to protect imperiled species. Under Trump, officials rolled back protections for the northern spotted owl, gray wolves and other species, actions that Biden has vowed to review. The Biden administration previously moved to reverse Trumps decision to weaken enforcement of the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which made it harder to prosecute bird deaths caused by the energy industry. The bird law reversal was among more than 150 business-friendly actions on the environment that Trump took and Biden wants to reconsider, revise or scrap, including withdrawal last month of a 2020 rule that limited which lands and waters could be designated as places where imperiled animals and plants could receive federal protection. A spokesman for the Interior Department, which oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service, said Tuesday the agency is reviewing the court ruling. Fish and Wildlife, along with the marine fisheries service, announced in June 2021 that it was reviewing the Trump-era actions on endangered species. The reviews could take months or years to complete, officials said. Industry groups and Republicans in Congress have long viewed the Endangered Species Act as an impediment to economic development, and under Trump they successfully lobbied to weaken the laws regulations. Environmental groups and Democratic-controlled states battled the moves in court, but many of those cases remained unresolved. Ryan Shannon, a lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity, another environmental group, said he was incredibly relieved" that terrible Trump-era rules on endangered species were thrown out by the Oakland, California-based Tigar, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama. I hope the Biden administration takes this opportunity to strengthen this crucial law, rather than weaken it, in the face of the ongoing extinction crisis,'' Shannon said Tuesday. Rebecca Riley of the Natural Resources Defense Council said the court ruling ensures that the previous administrations extinction package will be rolled back.'' She and other advocates called on the Biden administration to ensure the Endangered Species Act can do its job: preventing the extinction of vulnerable species. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) The man charged with killing seven people when he unleashed a hail of bullets on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago confessed to police that he fired on the crowd, a prosecutor said Wednesday. An Illinois judge ordered that the suspected gunman be held without bail. Police found the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop that he fired from, Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ben Dillon said. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story is below. The man charged with killing seven people when he unleashed a hail of bullets on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop was expected in court Wednesday as authorities faced questions about how he was allowed to buy several guns, despite threatening violence. Robert E. Crimo III was charged with seven counts of murder Tuesday in the shooting that sent hundreds of marchers, parents and children fleeing in fear and set off an hourslong manhunt in and around Highland Park, an affluent Chicago suburb on the shores of Lake Michigan. Investigators have yet to identify a motive. Crimo's attorney said he intends to enter a not guilty plea to all charges. Prosecutors have promised to seek dozens more. A rifle similar to an AR-15" was used to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into the parade crowd, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said. A seventh victim died Tuesday. More than three dozen other people were wounded in the attack, which Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks. The assault happened less than three years after police went to Crimo's home following a call from a family member who said he was threatening to kill everyone there. Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said. Crimo legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his fathers home. The revelation about his gun purchases is just the latest example of young men who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence. Illinois state police, who issue gun owners licenses, said Crimo applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application. At the time there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the application, state police said in a statement. Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. At the July 4 parade, the shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror. A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade goers remained inside a wide police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some residents drove up to collect blankets and chairs they abandoned. David Shapiro, 47, said the gunfire quickly turned the parade into chaos. People didnt know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you, he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs. The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day. Among them was Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting his family in Illinois from Mexico, and Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong congregant and staff member at nearby North Shore Congregation Israel. Nine people, ranging from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital officials said. The shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together. The gunman initially evaded capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, Covelli said. A police officer pulled over 21-year-old Crimo north of the shooting scene several hours after police released his photo and warned that he was likely armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said. Asked about his clients emotional state, prominent Chicago-based lawyer Thomas A. Durkin said he has spoken to Crimo only once for 10 minutes by phone. He declined to comment further. In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburbs stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Courts doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburbs restrictions remain in place. Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or those deemed capable of harming themselves or others. That last provision might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon. But under the law, who that provision applies to must be decided by a court, board, commission or other legal authority. The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent. Federal agents were reviewing Crimos online profiles, and a preliminary examination of his internet history indicated that he had researched mass killings and had downloaded multiple photos depicting violent acts, including a beheading, a law enforcement official said. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Shapiro, the Highland Park resident who fled the parade with his family, said his 4-year-old son woke up screaming later that night. He is too young to understand what happened," Shapiro said. "But he knows something bad happened. ___ Foody reported from Chicago; Groves from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Associated Press writers Don Babwin in Chicago, Mike Householder in Highland Park, Bernard Condon and Mike Balsamo in New York, Aamer Madhani in Washington, Jim Mustian in New Orleans, Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco and researcher Rhonda Shafner also contributed. The recent killing of a Black teenager by the police in Cuba, and the disturbing details caught on video, have drawn rare attention to police brutality and racial discrimination on the island. Cubas Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the Revolutionary Police, admitted in a statement that an unidentified male was killed when officers opened fire at the scene of a fight in the Condado Sur neighborhood in Santa Clara, a city in central Cuba, on Friday. The ministry statement published Saturday did not name the person killed but Cuban independent media and the youths father, Yosvany Batista Gomez, identified him as Zidan Batista Alvarez, who was 17. A second person with no involvement in the incident was also injured, according to the ministry statement. Few details have been made public about what happened. According to the official version, the shooting was in self-defense because the young man was armed with a knife and a machete and tried to attack one of the officers. Faced with the imminent danger to the officers life, his fellow officers made use of their service weapons in defense of his physical integrity, the statement published on state media said. In the unfortunate incident, the main aggressor died. The ministry said the dead man had multiple criminal records. In a Facebook post, the dead youths father, a pastor, said he and his son were in a fight with a group of people when the police arrived, and the officers pounced on them and started hitting them without asking questions. Yosvany Batista Gomez did not deny his son had a machete but said the shooting was an unnecessary use of force and that there were other ways to disarm him. Instead, he said, they shot him twice, in the thigh and the chest. Batista Gomez said he had previously filed reports with the police complaining about the other people involved in the Friday incident, who he said had threatened his son and his girlfriend. The teenager was the father of a one-year-old girl. Batista Gomez also contested the police version that his son was an antisocial because he participated in the anti-government demonstrations in July last year. It is unclear where the shooting happened, but a video published on social media shows a crowd running in the streets moments after two shots are heard. By the time the interior ministry released its statement, several videos of the incident had already been circulating on social media, causing a barrage of criticism of police actions. Some videos show a youth, reportedly Batista Alvarez, being held on the ground as he is surrounded by several police officers and a crowd of bystanders. In one of the videos, he is seen on the ground, handcuffed and bleeding but still moving, moments after he was shot, according to the person recording. Shots, shots, I couldnt record the shots.... He is bleeding, the unidentified man says. Violencia y mas violencia... muy tristes imagenes llegan desde Santa Clara... imagenes que nunca vera en la prensa oficial del regimen. #VerguenzaNacional pic.twitter.com/C9C78DwxQM Mag Jorge Castro (@mjorgec1994) July 2, 2022 In a disturbing moment caught on video and widely shared on social media, a police officer kicked the teen and pointed a gun at him while he was struggling, immobilized on the ground. In another video apparently shot moments after, the youth thought to be Batista Alvarez is not moving. It is unclear if he was alive at that point. A man tries to lift him, but a police officer hits him with his baton to stop him from helping the teenager. A woman cries in the video, Why are they leaving that guy there? Another person is heard saying, He is going to die. At no point do the videos show efforts to provide the teen with emergency care. The scene played out in front of a crowd of neighbors and bystanders. A moment of racial reckoning Many Cubans on social media condemned the killing, sharing the hashtag #JusticiaparaZidan, Justice for Zidan. Some made comparisons with the incidents of police brutality against Black people in the United States. It turns out that there is a country where the police can kill you with impunity just for being a young Black man and then the media takes care of presenting you as a criminal, said Roberto Garces Marrero, a Cuban anthropologist residing in Mexico. No, Im not talking about the U.S.; Im talking about Cuba. But racial police violence is not a problem unique to the United States, said Alejandro de la Fuente, a professor of African and African American Studies and director of the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard University. In fact, the country in the Americas where the largest number of people of African descent die at the hands of the police each year is Brazil, he said. Cuba is no stranger to these dynamics, which are now increasingly visible. Structural racism has no borders. Since 2020, human rights activists have documented at least four extrajudicial killings of young Black men by police, including that of Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, killed by a police officer during the July 11 protests last year. The killings followed the same alarming pattern, said Cuban historian Leonardo Fernandez Otano, who was also arrested for participating in the July protests last year. They all involved Black people from poorer neighborhoods and police officers using their firearms; they were justified by Cuban authorities and did not prompt legal proceedings against the officers, he said in a Twitter thread after the killing of the teenager Friday. Heres a young Black youth who was killed, and the police shot him, he was on the ground, and there is no respect for humanity, no respect for the humanity of this young man, said Amalia Z. Dache, an Afro-Cuban American scholar and associate professor of higher education at the University of Pennsylvania. There is a racial dynamic tied to this. Discontent among Afro-Cubans has grown and many joined the islandwide anti-government protests in July last year. Despite early promises by Fidel Castro about eliminating racism on the island, racial inequalities persisted and have become more blatant in the past 30 years, at a time when economic differences between the white and Black populations on the island have deepened. Scholars have found that Black Cubans are less likely to receive remittances from abroad or find jobs in lucrative sectors like tourism or in the private sector. Racial profiling of young Black men by the police has been a central theme in Cubas hip-hop movement for years. And Cuban authorities have harassed Afro-Cuban activists. Because of Cuban government propaganda about equality between races, there is a blind spot and hesitation about Cuba among people of color and people who follow social justice movements in the U.S., Dache said. A lot has been said about Castros support of the 1960s civil rights movement in the U.S., but he just used the civil rights movement like a curtain to hide how he was oppressing Blacks in Cuba, how he was diminishing the activism of Blacks in Cuba. Dache said the family of Batista Alvarez, the teen killed Friday, is unlikely to find justice. Look at what their response was; their response was, lets criminalize. Lets make it as if this person was a deviant, she said. But guess what, we know this. When it comes to the states tools of repression in dictatorial societies, they always are going to rationalize it by criminalizing the subjects. And those tend to be people of darker skin. by Wang Aihua MACAO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- From the Confucianism classic Four Books, poems by renowned Chinese poets like Li Bai and Tao Yuanming, to the Chinese painting masterpieces, a group of Portuguese literati living in Macao have dived deep into the Chinese culture and worked to present its essence to the Portuguese-speaking public. The books, translated into Portuguese, have been published by Livros do Meio, a publishing house in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) which is dedicated to introducing works about China in the Portuguese language. Carlos Morais Jose, who was born in Lisbon, Portugal and first came to Macao in 1990, founded the publishing house. "It took years for the authors to translate Chinese classics into Portuguese," said Jose, who is also director of Hoje Macau, a local Portuguese-language newspaper. "At first, I decided there should be a cultural section in the newspaper that would include the dissemination of Chinese culture and the publication of its fundamental texts, in order to bring the Portuguese-speaking community closer to it," he said. "We translated them bit by bit and then published them in book form." Jose, who himself translated the Four Books, Chinese classic texts illustrating the core value and belief systems in Confucianism, into Portuguese, said the challenges for translation were huge, particularly in philosophical and literary terms. "It is necessary to make many notes so that the readers acquire the necessary context to understand the works and their contents," he said. "For that, translators need to have a deep knowledge of the works." Having earned a degree on anthropology even before moving to Macao over three decades ago, Jose said he has always been interested in the Chinese culture. "The Chinese culture is vast and deep in many areas." He believes it would be good for people in Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) to understand the greatness of the Chinese history and culture and to have a glimpse of its complexity in many areas, from economics and thought to literature and fine arts. However, he said, the current communication is not always done in the best way due to insufficient mutual understanding between the two sides. He suggested that more classic works of Chinese culture and thought as well as relevant documentaries be translated into Portuguese and more stimuli be given for the work. "Translation has been a lonely but exciting job. Personally, I have grown a lot with this work. As a Confucian would say, it has forced me to a serious inner cultivation. But financially, it has been a 'disaster,'" he joked. Jose Manuel Mendes, who works for the publishing house, said that the readers of their books are mainly Portuguese-speaking public living in Macao and college students studying Portuguese in Macao or the Chinese mainland. Recently, the publishing house decided to donate some books to Portuguese-related institutions in the Chinese mainland, including around 30 universities with Portuguese language majors and the Portuguese-language divisions of major media organizations. "Of course we hope to reach more readers, not only in China, but also in PSCs," Mendes said. "One of the main challenges is tax, which will make the books very expensive in PSCs and thus barely profitable." Jose said they will keep working and trying to reach PSCs. "We will stick with books about China. The subject is almost infinite," he said. A 22-year-old man has been arrested for the west Modesto shooting of a 15-year-old girl while she was asleep in her bedroom over the weekend. Giovanni Omar Gutierrez-Garcia turned himself in to officers at the Modesto Police Department on Monday afternoon and has been charged in the July 2 shooting incident. Police were called for reports of a shooting around 1 a.m. last Saturday to the 900 block of Inez Drive, south of California Avenue. Responding officers found a 15-year-old girl suffering from a gunshot wound, police said. According to a statement from the department released Wednesday, the girl had been asleep in her bed when a bullet pierced the wall of her bedroom and hit her in the back. She was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. According to police, Gutierrez-Garcia left the area after the shooting. But he subsequently turned himself in four days later. Police said detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit arrested Gutierrez-Garcia afterward. During the investigation, police said they determined that Gutierrez-Garcia allegedly had been handling a gun in his garage, which is north of the victims home. The gun then discharged, and the bullet traveled through the victims bedroom wall, striking her as she slept. Gutierrez-Garcia has been booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on charges of possession of an assault weapon, negligent discharge of a firearm and inflicting great bodily injury in the commission of a felony. He is listed as in custody and being held on $125,000 bail. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez held more than $10,000 in cryptocurrency at the end of 2021, financial disclosure documents show. The records offer a first glimpse of the personal digital currency holdings of a mayor who has marketed his city as a rising crypto hub, and they show that in 2021, his investment in real estate still far outpaced his stake in cryptocurrency. As of Dec. 31, 2021, Suarez held a cryptocurrency account with $10,761.49, according to his disclosure paperwork filed June 28. Suarez also listed two investment properties in Miami with a combined value of about $700,000. The crypto account is with Strike, a mobile payment application that uses Bitcoin to send and receive money and convert the crypto back into U.S. dollars. The disclosure documents, required by law, offer a snapshot in time of the mayors crypto holdings. Each summer, elected officials are required to disclose assets and liabilities in excess of $5,000 for the preceding tax year. The documents do not show the mayors current investment in cryptocurrency, which is likely to change from day to day, given cryptos volatility. The Miami Herald has asked Suarez to detail his current holdings. He did not immediately return a request for comment. Suarezs promotion of cryptocurrency has made him popular among enthusiasts in the tech sector. Hes backed statewide legislation that would allow the use of cryptocurrency to grow, and hes pushed for Miami to study ways it can conduct municipal business with cryptocurrency, including helping municipal employees convert their pay into crypto. The mayor has promoted a pro-crypto agenda beyond Miami city limits. When he was sworn in as the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors earlier this year, he pledged to ask other mayors to sign a mayoral crypto compact that would promote the use of cryptocurrency. Suarez is also a target of scrutiny among skeptics who see crypto as an unregulated financial system that can facilitate illegal activity, as well as a drain on energy resources because of the computing power necessary to mine digital assets. Hes been criticized for his support of MiamiCoin, a cryptocurrency created by an outside entity that has yielded more than $5 million in donations to the city. The value of the coin has dropped about 98% since its highest point shortly after it launched in the fall of 2021. The value of Bitcoin recently fell sharply as cryptocurrency plunged into a bear market. In May, while Suarez was in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, he told reporters he was still converting his city salary to Bitcoin, even as its value dropped. He noted that his city salary was not his only income. Suarez, 44, has two other jobs besides being mayor. He is an attorney at litigation firm Quinn Emanuel and is also senior operating partner at Coral Gables private equity firm DaGrosa Capital Partners, where he helps lead the firms acquisition initiatives and domestic and international investment platform. Suarezs financial disclosures list his $1.4 million Coconut Grove home and the two investment properties, along with about $840,000 in two bank accounts. With about $1.6 million in liabilities, he listed his net worth at about $1.3 million. Researchers at Caltech have devised an experimental vaccine that targets an array of coronaviruses and variants in a single shot. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Long before COVID-19 transformed daily life, scientists were aware of the possibility that a coronavirus could make the leap from an animal species to the human population. How different the last few years might have been had a vaccine capable of blocking the SARS-CoV-2 virus been administered to workers at the Huanan Market in Wuhan, China where, scientists suspect, a raccoon dog infected a vendor and set off a pandemic that has killed more than 6.3 million people around the globe. A new type of vaccine developed at Caltech aims to ward off novel coronaviruses even before health officials are aware that they exist. When tested in mice and monkeys, it trained the animals' immune systems to recognize eight viruses at once and induced immunity to viruses they had never encountered. The findings, published Tuesday in the journal Science, could lead to a powerful tool against a virus that mutates too quickly to be contained with current vaccines. An international vaccine foundation has pledged $30 million to begin clinical trials of the experimental vaccine in humans. Weve had three pandemics or epidemics in the past 20 years: first SARS, then MERS, then SARS-CoV-2," said Caltech biochemist Pamela Bjorkman, who led the new work. More outbreaks sparked by "spillover events" are inevitable, she said, and we want to protect now against the future spillover. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Bidens chief advisor on the COVID-19 pandemic, praised the research as a major conceptual step toward a pan-coronavirus vaccine. It's a very, very important proof of concept, he said, noting that it remains to be seen whether it works as well in humans as it has in lab animals. "Thats why you do the experiment. The new vaccine doesn't block all coronaviruses, an ambitious goal not yet within sciences grasp. Instead, it focuses on the group known as betacoronaviruses, which includes those that cause COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome, among other diseases. Rather than using a piece of inactivated virus or a lab-created molecule designed to mimic one found in nature, the Caltech researchers created a microscopic speck of matter that they could adorn as they pleased. Their nanoparticle is composed of proteins with sticky bits on their surfaces, to which researchers can attach even tinier bits of viruses. The team tested three versions of the nanoparticle. One was covered with pieces of SARS-CoV-2. A "mosaic" version had SARS-CoV-2 plus samples of seven other coronaviruses, including one that causes MERS and other strains found in bats and pangolins. The last one was bare, to serve as a control. When looking for pieces of viruses to clip and attach, the team zeroed in on a section of the spike protein called the receptor binding domain, or RBD. This is the part that's typically targeted by the immune system's neutralizing antibodies, whether they've been generated in response to a vaccine or a previous infection. Given that the RBDs of betacoronaviruses share many characteristics, the researchers hoped that the mosaic version would prompt the immune system to focus on parts common to all eight viruses. They further theorized that if these parts were shared across most or all betacoronaviruses, the vaccine would trigger an immune response when presented with any member of the viral group even those that weren't among the samples. They were right. As they designed their mosaic nanoparticle, they deliberately left out SARS-CoV, the virus responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome. If the vaccine worked as intended, animals vaccinated with the mosaic nanoparticle, then exposed to SARS-CoV, would mount an immune response. They did. In fact, the vaccinated mice and monkeys had little to no detectable virus in their systems despite attempts to infect them with either SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2. "We're very excited about that, Bjorkman said. That wasn't the case with the animals injected with the bare nanoparticle they weren't able to fight off any viruses and died. The animals that received the vaccine with pieces of SARS-CoV-2 only were protected against that virus but had no protection against any other coronavirus, and most of them died as well. If the mosaic vaccine works as well in humans as it did in animals, it could offer protection against the betacoronaviruses we know about, as well as related ones that have yet to make the leap to humans. That prospect is promising but far from certain. The next step is a Phase 1 clinical trial in humans, the first hurdle to cross when bringing a new drug or vaccine to market in the U.S. That will take place at Oxford University, home to Bjorkman's collaborators on the project, and will likely take at least a year. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said Tuesday that it will foot the bill for the initial trial, with the goal of establishing evidence that the vaccine is safe in humans. Its certainly encouraging," said Dr. Paul Offit, a virologist and immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania. "But these are animal model studies, and as is well known among scientists, mice lie and monkeys exaggerate." Its hard to make universal vaccines work," Offit added. "Its not for want of money. Its not for want of desire or effort. Its just a very hard thing to do. This isnt the only team in the U.S. exploring nanoparticle vaccines for coronaviruses. Researchers at Duke University and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are investigating them as well. These general approaches all use the receptor binding domain to elicit strong antibody responses that can neutralize the virus, so they all have some promise, said Dr. Stanley Perlman, a virologist and immunologist at the University of Iowa who specializes in betacoronaviruses. This is a good approach based on what we know, he said, and one has to hope that itll be useful for viruses that we havent identified yet. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Members of the FBI's Evidence Response Team Unit investigate in downtown Highland Park, Ill., on Tuesday, the day after a deadly mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade. (Ashlee Rezin / Chicago Sun-Times via Associated Press) Aiden McCarthy's photo was shared across Chicago-area social media groups in the hours after the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, accompanied by pleas to help identify the 2-year-old who had been found at the scene bloodied and alone and to reunite him with his family. On Tuesday, friends and authorities confirmed that the boy's parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, were among seven people killed in the Illinois tragedy. At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents, wrote Irina Colon on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden, who was reunited with his grandparents Monday evening. Friends of the family said Irina McCarthys parents would care for the boy going forward. Four others who were killed were identified Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. Every victim was from Highland Park except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico. Officials haven't yet identified the seventh victim. Portraits of some of those who died began to emerge Tuesday as investigators continued to search for evidence in the shooting that also wounded 30. Irina McCarthy's childhood friend, Angela Vella, described McCarthy as fun, personable and somewhat of a tomboy" who still liked to dress up nicely. She definitely had her own style, which I always admired, Vella said in a short interview. Straus, a Chicago financial advisor, was one of the first observers at the parade and attended it every year, his grandchildren said. Brothers Maxwell and Tobias Straus described their grandfather as a kind and active man who loved walking, biking and attending community events. The way he lived life, youd think he was still middle-aged, Maxwell Straus said in an interview. The two brothers recalled Sunday night dinners with their grandparents as a favorite tradition. They said they ate with him the night before he was killed. Americas gun culture is killing grandparents, said Maxwell Straus. Its very just terrible. Sundheim, meanwhile, was regaled as a lifelong congregant and beloved staff member at North Shore Congregation Israel, where she had worked for decades, the Reform synagogue said on its website. Sundheim taught at the synagogues preschool and coordinated events including bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. Jackis work, kindness and warmth touched us all, synagogue leaders wrote in a message on their website. There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jackis death and sympathy for her family and loved ones. Toledo-Zaragoza was killed on what his 23-year-old granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, said was supposed to be a fun family day that turned into a horrific nightmare for us all. On a GoFundMe page to raise money for Toledos funeral expenses, Xochil Toledo said her grandfather was a loving man, creative, adventurous and funny. As a family we are broken, numb, she said. Toledo-Zaragoza had come to Illinois to visit his family about two months ago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His family wanted him to stay permanently because of injuries he had suffered after being hit by a car a couple of years ago during an earlier visit to Highland Park. The newspaper reported that he was struck by three bullets Monday and died at the scene. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to attend the parade because of the large crowds and his limited mobility, which required him to use a walker, but Xochil Toledo said the family didn't want to leave him alone. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Fresno County Coroner Tuesday identified Yang Vue, 38, of Sanger, as the man killed in a suspected drunken-driving crash early Saturday morning near southwest Fresno. The fatal collision took place about 4 a.m. as Angie Thao, 24, of Fresno, ran a stop sign on Jensen Avenue as she was northbound on Marks Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol. Thaos Acura RSX collided with a Nissan pickup, and Vue, who was a passenger in Thaos vehicle, was killed. Thao suffered major injuries. The occupants of the pickup suffered minor injuries. Thao was booked on suspicion of manslaughter and driving under the influence. Consider her a legislator for the modern ages. A state senator took an unconventional, attention grabby approach to campaigning her constituents. Tiara Mack, a Democrat representing District 6 in Rhode Island, posted a TikTok video of herself twerking upside down in a bikini, describing it as a promised senator thirst trap at Block Island. Vote Senator Mack she said to the camera after letting it all hang out in the sun on Monday. Rhode Island State Sen. Tiara Mack claps back at social media criticism for twerking upside down. Rhode Island State Sen. Tiara Mack claps back at social media criticism for twerking upside down. (TikTok/) In another short clip (captured by the Baller Alert Instagram account), the self-described queer educator and reproductive rights activist asks, How many nip slips am I allowed to get on the Fourth of July? You already have three, another woman shouted. Social media users who were hot and bothered to see an elected politician in such a revealing way didnt hold back with their thoughts about the barely-clad Mack. And she had the time to respond to the haters. The 28-year-old 2016 Brown University graduate posted a series of videos making funny facial expressions as she leaned into the backlash the twerking video ignited. I dont ever wanna hear you complain about how women arent respected in this country after posting this, one commenter said. She responded: Honey baby. This aint it. Because I have an Ivy League degree and Im a sitting state senator. Its not about what Im wearing. Its not about what Im doing. They wont respect me regardless. Rhode Island state Senate Democrat Tiara Mack Rhode Island state Senate Democrat Tiara Mack (Steven Senne/) Do yall really be coming on the internet without knowing how to do a simple Google search?, Mack sarcastically asked in another comment which erroneously referred to her as a U.S. senator. Im a state senator baby girl. The United States aint got nothing to do with me. She aint got nothing to do with me. In another, the Providence transplant (from North Carolina) poked fun at the grammar of the commenter who suggested that the TikTok video will have a negative impact on her in the voting booth. I believe the word that you meant to use was re-elected. It wont get be re-elected. And it probably will because my constituents freaking love that Im a real person and fun and you know, not a robot. On Jan. 5, 2021, Mack who believes representation is important became the first openly LGBTQ Black person to assume office after being elected to the Rhode Island Senate with 60 percent of the vote. Prior to her successful political debut, she served as the Youth Organizing Specialist at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office is asking for community members help to locate an Arizona teenager who went missing in Nipomo, the agency said in a news release. Alilianna Trujillo, 15, was visiting family members in Nipomo for the summer when she was reported missing, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release. Trujillo was last seen on July 1 leaving a family members home, the Sheriffs Office said. The teenage girl is described as Hispanic. She stands 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 105 pounds and has red hair and brown eyes, the Sheriffs Office said. She was last spotted wearing a tie dyed shirt and black leggings, the agency said. Sheriffs detectives ask anyone who lives in the Galaxy Mobile Home Park in Nipomo to check their surveillance cameras or Ring-type doorbell cameras for any suspicious person or vehicle on July 1 between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m., the release said. If you are a resident of that area and you have video footage, please contact the Sheriffs Office Detective Division at 805-781-4500. The San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office is asking for the publics help, specifically those in Galacy Mobile Home Park in Nipomo, in locating an Arizona teen who went missing in Nipomo Aiden McCarthy's photo was shared across Chicago-area social media groups in the hours after the July 4 parade shooting in Highland Park, accompanied by pleas to help identify the 2-year-old who had been found at the scene bloodied and alone and to reunite him with his family. On Tuesday, friends and authorities confirmed that the boy's parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, were among seven people killed in the tragedy. At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents, wrote Irina Colon on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden, who was reunited with his grandparents Monday evening. Friends of the McCarthys said Irinas parents would care for the boy going forward. Four of other others who were killed were identified Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. Every victim was from Highland Park except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico. Officials haven't yet identified the seventh victim. Portraits of some of those who died began to emerge Tuesday as investigators continued to search for evidence in the shooting that killed at least seven and wounded 30. Irina McCarthy's childhood friend, Angela Vella, described McCarthy as fun, personable and somewhat of a tomboy" who still liked to dress up nicely. She definitely had her own style, which I always admired, Vella said in a short interview. Straus, a Chicago financial adviser, was one of the first observers at the parade and attended it every year, his grandchildren said. Brothers Maxwell and Tobias Straus described their grandfather as a kind and active man who loved walking, biking and attending community events. The way he lived life, youd think he was still middle-aged, Maxwell Straus said in an interview. The two brothers recalled Sunday night dinners with their grandparents as a favorite tradition. They said they ate with him the night before he was killed. Americas gun culture is killing grandparents, said Maxwell Straus. Its very just terrible. Sundheim, meanwhile, was regaled as a lifelong congregant and beloved staff member at North Shore Congregation Israel, where she had worked for decades, the Reform synagogue said on its website. Sundheim taught at the synagogues preschool and coordinated events including bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. Jackis work, kindness and warmth touched us all, synagogue leaders wrote in a message on their website. There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jackis death and sympathy for her family and loved ones. Toledo-Zaragoza was killed on what his 23-year-old granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, said was supposed to be a fun family day that turned into a horrific nightmare for us all. On a GoFundMe page to raise money for Toledos funeral expenses, Xochil Toledo said her grandfather was a loving man, creative, adventurous and funny. As a family we are broken, numb, she said. Toledo-Zaragoza had come to Illinois to visit his family about two months ago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His family wanted him to stay permanently because of injuries he had suffered after being hit by a car a couple years ago during an earlier visit to Highland Park. The newspaper reported that he was hit by three bullets Monday and died at the scene. He wasn't sure he wanted to attend the parade because of the large crowds and his limited mobility, which required him to use a walker, but Xochil Toledo said the family didn't want to leave him alone. ___ Schulte reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Savage reported from Chicago. Venhuizen reported from Madison, Wisconsin. Kentucky Utilities has agreed to make some changes to its tree cutting policy under power lines that KU officials say could save as many as 50% of trees that were once slated to be axed or clear cut. The prior policy required all trees under 15 feet under major transmission lines to be cut or axed. Under the new rules, KU will do an analysis of those lines to determine the movement and sag of that line. A safety zone around the line will then be determined, Kyle Burns, director of engineering and construction for KU, said. Lines that are taller in height will likely allow for trees and other vegetation over 15 feet, depending on the calculation, Burns told the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council during a Tuesday work session. KU encourages any new trees or shrubs planted under major transmission lines to be no higher than 15 feet, Burns said. KU will also no longer cut trees under distribution lines, or smaller lines that typically deliver power to homes. We will be trimming those trees, Burns said. A reduction in trees cut Those two modifications to the plan will likely result in a 50% reduction in the number of trees clear cut or axed. Burns said the majority of the trees to be saved will be under distribution lines. Burns said the reason why trees under transmission lines cant be trimmed is due to safety concerns about the lines and how they are constructed. Burns presentation before the Lexington council on Tuesday came after nearly seven months of negotiations between the city and the utility giant. Lexington city officials sued KU in court over its tree cutting policies after residents and many city officials said the rules were too extreme. Many healthy trees that posed no threat to power lines were being cut, city officials said. The city agreed to hit pause on the lawsuit while negotiations continued. City officials and KU have been at odds over its tree cutting policy since 2020. Burns said Tuesday the modifications to the tree cutting policy will be statewide. There has been no tree cutting since December, Mayor Linda Gorton said Tuesday. We have worked diligently for seven months on this. Increasing compensation for trees cut Other changes KU has agreed to as part of the negotiations with the city include: Increasing the amount landowners will receive to replant trees to $300 per tree or a maximum of $1,800 per owner. Thats up from $250 per tree and a maximum of $1,500 per owner. Increased communication from KU to landowners, city officials and neighborhood associations about when tree cutting will occur. Posting its new tree cutting policy on its website. Burns said KU has also gone back to areas such as Southpoint near Nicholasville Road to do more robust replanting. It has also made some modifications in other areas including the Fairway neighborhood. An environmental study of an area between Lansdowne Merrick and Richmond Road that looked at sinkholes, stormwater runoff and a host of other issues has been completed, Burns said. However, the final draft of that study will not be available until next week. Residents in that area have raised repeated concerns that removing trees in that area will lead to more stormwater runoff and flooding. Councilwoman Susan Lamb, who represents areas such as Wilson Downing Road that have already had trees removed, asked if KU was going to return to landowners whose trees have already been axed to offer the increased compensation of $300 per tree. Burns said KU has not agreed to do that. Thats really hard for my constituents, Lamb said. Councilwoman Liz Sheehan said the maximum $1,800 per landowner may not be enough. I know landowners that will lose more than six trees, Sheehan said. The cutting of trees in the Lansdowne median on Landsdowne Drive caused in uproar and a protest in late November, which ultimately led to KU and the city agreeing to a temporary moratorium. Councilman Richard Moloney asked if the new policy would save more trees on Lansdowne Drive. Burns said its not yet known how many trees on Lansdowne will be saved under the new power line analysis. Its not clear when KU will resume tree cutting. BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A 3,500-year-old cypress tree in Beijing's suburban Miyun District has regained its vitality as evidenced by its young sprouts and fresh fruits, thanks to the government's protection efforts. Believed to be the oldest tree in the Chinese capital, the cypress is 11.5 meters in height with the circumference of its trunk measuring about 8.2 meters. Nine adults had to stand hand in hand to encircle its massive trunk, said Jiang Xin, who works with the forestry and parks bureau of Miyun. Jiang added that the tree was once struggling to survive due to an adjacent stone fence and an adjoining cement road that prevented its roots from growing, resulting in malnutrition. "Ancient trees are of great cultural, historical and ecological significance," said Qu Hong, a staff member with the Office of Beijing Greening Commission. To save this ancient tree, botanists and experts from the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau, Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Beijing Forestry University made multiple on-site visits to thoroughly examine the tree. "We decided to reroute the road away from the cypress and demolish the surrounding buildings that cover an area of about 1,400 square meters, to make room for the tree," Jiang said. Cong Richen, an expert with the Beijing Institute of Landscape Architecture, explained that the specific distribution of the intertwined roots was detected through radar, and after four days of careful efforts, the stone fence was demolished in March this year. In May, a park was built around the cypress, creating a forest ecosystem that is conducive to the plant's growth and beneficial for the surrounding ecological environment. "The park has become a place of leisure and recreation and has also helped boost local tourism," said Feng Xiaogang, deputy head of Xinchengzi Township in Miyun District. According to the Office of Beijing Greening Commission, 20 pilot protection zones for ancient trees have been set up in the city and such protection efforts for ancient trees will continue to be promoted. Thanks to effective environmental conservation measures, Beijing today has a more resilient and sustainable ecosystem than before, Qu noted. YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenian-American entrepreneur, philanthropist and inventor Noubar Afeyan will be bestowed with a title of Honorary Doctor of the Yerevan State University, the YSU said in a statement. The University will host an event for this purpose where Afeyan will deliver speech and will answer the questions of the meeting participants. Noubar Afeyan is best known for co-founding the biotechnology company Moderna, through his venture capital firm, Flagship Pioneering, and for co-founding humanitarian projects such as Aurora Prize and The Future Armenian. The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) signed a contract amendment to an existing contract for binocular night vision goggles on behalf of Belgium and Germany with a consortium consisting of Hensoldt Optronics and Theon Sensors. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link At the signing (from left): Christian Hadjiminas (CEO Theon Sensors), Matteo Bisceglia (Director OCCAR-EA) and Andreas Hulle (Head of Optronics & Land Solutions and Managing Director Hensoldt Optronics). The contract amendment, worth a mid-three-digit million amount, activates the existing option for the delivery of an additional 20.000 MIKRON night vision devices to the German Armed Forces while accelerating the delivery date. (Picture source: Hensoldt AG) The contract amendment worth a mid-three-digit million amount activates the existing option of the supply of an additional 20.000 Mikron Night Vision Goggles to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) while at the same time the delivery schedule shall be accelerated. The follow-up contract will be executed by the newly founded joint venture Hensoldt Theon Night Vision. The contract amendment furthermore covers various enhancements of Mikron and changes to the system configuration as a result of the Operational Testing and Acceptance phase which was successfully passed by the end of February 2022. At the signing of the contract in Bonn with Andreas Hulle, Head of the Optronics & Land Solutions Division and Managing Director of Hensoldt Optronics, and Christian Hadjiminas, CEO of Theon Sensors, the Director of OCCAR-EA Matteo Bisceglia stated: The additional 20.000 Night Vision Goggles (NVG) supply to the German Armed Forces proves the success and perspective of OCCARs program through the new joint venture company Hensoldt Theon NightVision. Andreas Hulle said: Hensoldt and Theon have already worked together successfully in the past. Here, two European companies are working together in an exemplary way to equip the Belgian and German armed forces with state-of-the-art night vision equipment. This order is directly related to our growth strategy. Russia's war against Ukraine shows how important networked high-performance sensor technology and optical systems are for equipping our armed forces in line with the times. Christian Hadjiminas, CEO of Theon Sensors, added: This new large contract amendment is a culmination of the successful cooperation between Hensoldt Optronics and Theon Sensors that opens doors for synergies and co-operation in other areas within Europe. The present growth is not only beneficial for the countries and companies involved but also is strengthening the European industrial position in the worldwide context. The type of night vision goggles selected is the Mikron, a Binocular Night Vision Google (BNVG) with two 16 mm residual light amplifier tubes and an integrated infrared illuminator. They can be worn by the soldier either on the helmet or by means of a headgear system. The two monoculars can be folded away separately. Mikron is powered by a single AA battery but can also be operated with an external battery pack should a longer operating time be required. The accelerated delivery schedule of the enhanced Mikron shall start with the first deliveries this month, while the total current contractual quantity of 29.550 NVGs is planned to be concluded in the 3rd quarter of 2024. The increase in night vision capability for both programme participating states is critical in providing advanced equipment for their dismounted, airmobile and air assault soldiers as well as drivers of military vehicles. About OCCAR OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en matiere d'Armement / Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation) is an international organisation whose core business is the through-life management of cooperative defence equipment programmes. The organisation was established by means of the OCCAR Convention which is equivalent to an international treaty. The current OCCAR Member States are Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. About Hensoldt Hensoldt is a leading company in the European defence industry with global reach. Based in Taufkirchen near Munich, the company develops complete sensor solutions for defence and security applications. As a technology leader, HENSOLDT drives the development of defence electronics and optronics and is continuously expanding its portfolio based on innovative approaches to data management, robotics and cyber security. With more than 6,400 employees, HENSOLDT achieved a turnover of 1.5 billion euros in 2021. About Theon Sensors Theon Sensors is a world-renowned and recognized manufacturer of electro-optical night vision and thermal imaging systems used by military and law enforcement customers in more than 58 countries around the world. The development and production of the systems is made in Athens, Greece, whereas its worldwide business activities are supported by now five subsidiaries, in Germany, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, with co-productions facilities in the Middle and Far East. Theon Sensors is part of EFA Group of companies that have a leading-edge position in the international markets in the fields of aerospace, security, defence and industrial cooperation. About Hensoldt Theon NightVision GmbH Hensoldt Optronics and Theon Sensors established a joint company called Hensoldt Theon NightVision GmbH in mid-June 2022. The company is headquartered in Wetzlar. The company will drive new insights and solutions as leading companies, Hensoldt and Theon Sensors, with complementary capabilities, work together to meet the common goal of the establishment of strong inter-European defence links. By combining capabilities from both parent companies, future product requirements can be developed even faster and in a more targeted manner and made available in a user-oriented manner. Existing products from both parent companies will serve as an innovative basis for further and new development. Photo taken on Oct. 2, 2018 shows a double-decker container train of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya. According to data from Afristar, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily. (Xinhua) Photo taken on Jan. 5, 2022 shows a tea export special train of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Nairobi, Kenya,. According to data from Afristar, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily. (Xinhua) Photo taken on Dec. 16, 2017 shows the inland container depot in Nairobi, Kenya. According to data from Afristar, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai) Workers uncover the waterproof cloth covered on grains transported on the bulk grain shipping line of the Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd (GBHL) in Nairobi, Kenya, May 18, 2022. According to data from Afristar, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily. (Xinhua/Long Lei) Photo taken on Dec. 10, 2018 shows a wire rod transport train of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya. According to data from Afristar, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily. (Xinhua) Photo taken on March 14, 2021 shows a bulk grain transport train of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya. According to data from Afristar, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily. (Xinhua) The first freight train of the Nairobi-Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) arrives at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot in Kenya, on Dec. 17, 2019. The 120km Nairobi-Naivasha railway is an extension of the Chinese-built modern railway that connects Kenya's coastal port city Mombasa to the capital Nairobi. The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR, mainly financed by China and constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which began construction in 2014 and finished in 2017. According to data from Afristar, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily. (Xinhua/Wang Teng) Freight trains are seen at Nairobi station of Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Nov. 17, 2021. According to data from Afristar, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui) Ajmer Assistant Superintendent of Police Vikas Sangwan said Chisti was caught at his residence in Khadim mohalla Jaipur: A cleric of the Ajmer dargah, who on camera allegedly offered his house to anyone who beheads now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remark against Prophet Mohammad, has been arrested, police said on Wednesday. A police official said the video purportedly showing 'khadim' Salman Chisti was shot before tailor Kanhaiya Lal's murder in Udaipur on June 28 but surfaced on the internet later. Officials also said the cleric is a "history-sheeter" and that he might have recorded the video in an inebriated condition. The Ajmer police had registered an FIR against him on Monday night. "Salman Chisti was caught last night (Tuesday)... He is a history-sheeter at the Dargah police station," Dargah police station SHO Dalbeer Singh Foujdar said. Ajmer Assistant Superintendent of Police Vikas Sangwan said Chisti was caught at his residence in Khadim mohalla. He said the video was shot before June 28 and was leaked later. "Prima facie, he made the video in inebriated condition. He is being interrogated further," the ASP added. In the video, the cleric is purportedly seen and heard announcing he would gift his house to anyone who brings Sharma's head to him. Chishti is also allegedly heard saying he would shoot her dead for insulting the Prophet. "You have to give a reply to all Muslim countries. I am saying this from Ajmer, Rajasthan, and this message is from Huzur Khwaja Baba ka darbar," he purportedly says in the video, referring to the Sufi shrine that sees many Hindu visitors, apart from Muslim devotees. Last week, four people were arrested in connection with another provocative speech allegedly delivered at the main gate of the Ajmer dargah on June 17. Though that video was in circulation earlier, the arrests were made following the killing of Kanhaiya Lal by two men, who said they were avenging an insult to Islam. The two men were, however, caught by the police when they were fleeing on a motorcycle in Rajsamand. In all, five people have been arrested in connection with the murder case, which is being handled by the National Investigation Agency. The murder sparked a massive outrage in various states. In recent years, the Sangh Parivars historians have been seeking to revise history to suit some of their ideological peculiarities Historical revisionism is the process of rewriting history to correct the misinterpretations of the past or for an ideological purpose. Plato wrote that those who tell stories also hold the power. The corollary to this is that those who hold power inevitably want to re-interpret the old stories. British scholars, who seemed genuinely interested in how this country evolved, wrote most of modern Indias history. Indian rulers were generally more concerned with their own periods, and often change of dynasties meant loss of continuity. Indians also did not leave historical records, nor did they treasure them. Charles Allen in his book Ashoka: The Search for Indias Lost Emperor writes about how the story of Indias greatest emperor and his dramatic life had to be prised out from the crevices of the past. Amazing, isnt it, to realise that till about two centuries ago Ashoka, now so central to our understanding of our perception of ourselves, was lost to our consciousness? It was people like ICS officer James Prinsep who deciphered Brahmi and reintroduced Ashoka to us. As a young student in a Catholic school, in recently independent India, the first history lessons imparted to me told that story, particularly of the period of the last occupation by the British, somewhat differently. According to this, British rule was a most benign and beneficial period for Indians. This could even be true for social reforms like the abolition of sati and the building of great canal systems and the railways happened during this period. The unification of India into one great political entity also happened in this period. Above all, southern India came under Delhis imperial rule for the first time. In 1957, the centennial celebrations of Indias First War of Independence happened and I suddenly discovered that what my history textbook was having me believe was wrong. This historical revisionism is legitimate as it set out to correct the narrative by looking at the same events with a different perspective. It is difficult to be entirely objective when writing history. But when history is rewritten without being subject to the rigours of academic and scientific discipline, it would be nothing short of charlatanism. In recent years, the Sangh Parivars historians have been seeking to revise history to suit some of their ideological peculiarities. Their intellectuals are collectively at work to debunk the Aryan invasion theories (AIT), which have been amply evidenced by linguists, archaeologists and of late by geneticists. Their theory is that Aryans migrated from India. In their view: The long-puzzling remains of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, for example, discovered after the AIT was developed, suggested practices similar to those of contemporary Hinduism, undercutting the belief that Hinduism was a religion imported from the outside into the subcontinent. A 2009 study carried out by David Reich, a professor of genetics at the Harvard Medical School and the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, based on an analysis of 25 different Indian population groups, found that all populations in India showed evidence of a genetic mixing of two ancestral groups: the Ancestral North Indians (ANI), who are related to Central Asians, Middle Easterners, Caucasians, and Europeans; and the Ancestral South Indians (ASI), who are primarily from the sub-continent. The researchers, by measuring the lengths of the segments of ANI and ASI ancestry in Indian genomes, were able to obtain precise estimates of when this population mixture occurred. They found that it started 4,200 years ago the Indus Valley Civilisation was waning then, and huge migrations were occurring across north India, which might have caused the inter-marrying. Clearly there were people here, but they were not Aryans. But this runs counter to long-cherished Sangh Parivar notions of who we are. Whatever be the version of history that emerges, this or that of Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib and others, what will still remain is a history focused on the people of the Indo-Gangetic plain. And that is my real grouse. Take for instance the two volumes of The History of India by Percival Spear and Romila Thapar. Of the 24 chapters, 21 are about the peoples who either lived in or kept conquering the Indo-Gangetic plain. South Indian history, that is fairly distinct and certainly more glorious than the tale of defeat after defeat in northern India, gets only three chapters. And mind you, the Deccan region now accounts for almost 40 per cent of Indias population. Little is told about regions like Odisha and Bengal while Assam hardly figures. Of course, as can be expected, there is not very much written about the original and autochthonous pre-Aryan and pre-Dravidian people. Even today, our indigenous people account for about 12 per cent of the population and are concentrated in specific regions. If Spear and Thapar are reticent about acknowledging the role of other regions in the shaping of modern India, A.L. Basham and S.A.A. Rzvi, in their two-volume effort The Wonder That Was India, have even less time and space for other regions and their contribution to the composite culture and the multi-dimensional character of the Indian nation. Rizvis volume covering the period 1200-1500 AD is so single-minded that it is entirely devoted to the Muslim rule over parts of India. Quite clearly, if Indian society has to be inclusive, all its various peoples must share a common perspective of the past. This is not so at present and hence, to my mind at least, the history textbooks need to be rewritten. What then needs to be debated is what should this history be, for the facts cannot be altered and much as the Sangh Parivar may like to do so, Babur cannot be wished away. But will common sense triumph over the RSSs genetic memory? Unlikely, for from what one hears the made-to-order history that is being written has the Aryans and Dravidians, both, as indigenous people, if not one and the same. This will then leave us wondering why Brahui, a language still spoken by certain tribes in Balochistan, is considered by philologists to be a Dravidian language? What about the work of linguists the world over who trace all modern Indo-European languages to one proto-language now called the Nostratic language with its origins in Central Asia? Can all this be wished away? So, by all means rewrite our history. That task is long overdue. But the question is whether the commissioned historians have open minds to get it right and keep the ideological clap-trap out of it? I doubt it. Turkish Minister of Trade Mehmet Mus speaks at a meeting introducing Turkey's trade strategies with distant countries, in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 6, 2022. Turkish traders are planning to set up online stores to expand exports to China in the upcoming period, Mehmet Mus announced on Wednesday. (Xinhua) ISTANBUL, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkish traders are planning to set up online stores to expand exports to China in the upcoming period, Turkish Minister of Trade Mehmet Mus announced on Wednesday. "We aim to increase communication between Chinese and Turkish business sectors, and we are planning projects that will introduce our sectors to crucial physical and online markets in China," Mus told a meeting in Istanbul introducing Turkey's trade strategies with distant countries. "In this regard, we will be opening online stores in China, where online business is very well established," he added. During the meeting, the minister said the strategies are tailored to each of the 18 "remote" countries across the globe, with an emphasis on China, noting the ministry has prepared action plans to trade with China, the world's foremost producer and market. Mus announced new support plans and incentives for potential goods and services exports to Turkey, some of which are intended to "familiarize" Chinese and Turkish industries with the opportunities and capacity each other holds, according to the minister. The new trade strategies target countries across Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. A panel headed by the state CS Durga Shankar, including other senior IAS officers, will recommend names of candidates suitable for the job Several state governments find it difficult to find a serving IAS officer to investigate another IAS officer who is facing an inquiry. Often such officers have to set aside their departmental duties to attend to the probe. There is also the prickly question of finding an officer who is senior to the person who is facing an inquiry. But Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has found a solution that may circumvent such issues and ensure time-bound completion of such inquiries. The UP government has now decided to form a committee of retired bureaucrats for the task. The states department of appointment and personnel has reportedly invited applications from retired IAS officers who would be interested in serving on the committee. A panel headed by the state chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, including other senior IAS officers, will recommend names of candidates suitable for the job. Sources have informed DKB that the retired IAS officers will be assigned cases of departmental inquiries against their serving brethren, including principal secretaries, additional chief secretaries, and the chief secretary. All inquiries will have to be completed within 180 days. While Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, additional chief secretary of the department of appointment and personnel, is confident about the plans efficacy, some fear that it may build more distrust among the bureaucrats. Serving officers may discover the benefits, beyond just cadre respect to actively listening to recently retired seniors. How this may warp decision-making, is an arena fraught with possibilities. Punjab seeks ad hoc DGP A classic feature of Indian bureaucracy is that it mirrors whatever political dispensation holds the reins of power. After the AAP victory in Punjab, several senior bureaucrats have been trying to find their feet in the new administration, or even outside it. According to sources, the current director-general of police (DGP) V.K. Bhawra has applied for two months leave, which paves the way for chief minister Bhagwant Mann to appoint an acting DGP. Apparently, Mr Bhawra has requested a Central deputation and the state government has accepted his request and forwarded it to the Centre. Mr Bhawra is yet another high-profile IPS officer who plans to move out of Punjab after the AAP government took charge. Former Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta was recently appointed as the new director-general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Mr Guptas wife, senior IAS officer Vini Mahajan who was chief secretary in the state, is now working as Union secretary in the ministry of water resources and river development. According to sources, there are several contenders for Mr Bhawras post in Punjab Police, with many punters betting on Prabodh Kumar, a 1988-batch IPS officer, who is the senior-most among IPS officers in Punjab. However, Harpreet Singh Sidhu, Gaurav Yadav and S.S. Chauhan are also being seen as frontrunners for the position of acting DGP. Is there a dark horse among the contenders? Well wait and see. Haryanas babu crisis deepens Haryana is facing a shortage of IAS officers in the state. The crisis is certainly severe enough for chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to raise the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At the same time, Mr Khattar is reportedly exploring the option of granting an extension to all IAS officers who are due to retire this year. The hitch, sources have informed DKB, is that the state government can only give a three-month extension; for a longer period, it needs the Centres nod. Sources say that 11 IAS officers in Haryana are scheduled to retire this year, which will create many vacancies at the top. Since the number of officers in subsequent batches is not sufficient, the government is rightly concerned that it will face a dearth of senior officers. Apparently, there is a precedent of officials continuing to hold office after retirement at the Centre, and Mr Khattar is hoping to get the PMOs nod to replicate the same in Haryana to tide over the crisis. Presently, due to the scarcity, most senior IAS officers are handling two or even three departments. If the 11 IAS officers are allowed to retire by the year-end, the remaining officers will be forced to handle five to eight departments. Clearly, thats not viable. So, the state government has now pinned its hopes on the Centre allowing it to retain the services of the retiring officers to keep the wheels of administration moving. by Shafique Khokhar Drugged by a friend, the victim was taken away while her parents slept upstairs. The next day she was forced to convert to Islam and marry. Police refused to register the complaint filed by her family. For Human Rights Focus Pakistan, more than a thousand such incidents occur every year. Faisalabad (AsiaNews) A 15-year-old Christian girl, Meerab Palous, was abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim acquaintance in a latest example of a scourge that affects minorities in Pakistan. On the evening of 22 June, Meerab was at her home in Muzafar Colony, Faisalabad, with a Muslim friend and neighbour, Gulnaz. When Meerab's family went to sleep, Gulnaz gave Meerab a glass of water mixed with drugs and sleeping pills. When the Christian girl fell asleep, she called her half-brother Muhammad Asif and they took her away. Around midnight, when Meerabs parents realised that their daughter was missing, they began looking for her, going to Gulnaz's home but had no news until some neighbours told them that they had seen Gulnaz, Muhammad and another person loading her into a car unconscious. At that point Gulnaz's family told his father that Meerab must convert to Islam and marry Muhammad Asif. The parents turned to the police, who refused to register their complaint, taking for granted that the girl had acted of her own free will. At that point the parents asked for help from Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) which is following the case. Meanwhile, the perpetrators went before a Faisalabad court submitting a conversion certificate and a marriage certificate dated 23 June, with the false attestation that Meerab married voluntarily. The parents challenged the document that claimed that girl was 18 years old when in fact she is under age. Naveed Walter, president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), said this new case highlights the alarming rise in kidnappings, forced conversions and forced marriages. The government should take serious action to protect Christian and Hindu girls, who are considered an easy target, he explained. According to recent estimates, more than a thousand such incidents occur every year, and most of them are not reported, he added. We are with the victim's family and we will do our best to bring justice to them. A survey conducted by Arab Barometer between late 2021 and early 2022 in nine Arab countries and the Palestinian Territories shows that a majority of respondents believe that democracy does not guarantee stability and development. More and more people are frustrated by their living conditions. Lebanon is the worse-off country. Beirut (AsiaNews) Arabs are increasingly losing faith in the democratic system to deliver economic stability and development in the Middle East and North Africa, this according to a survey conducted for the BBCs Arabic service by Arab Barometer, a research network associated with Princeton University and the Center for Political Studies. Nearly 23,000 people were interviewed across nine countries and the Palestinian territories between late 2021 and Spring 2022. Most believe that an economy is weaker under a democracy. The findings come just over a decade after the so-called Arab Spring protests called for democratic change. For Arab Barometer director Michael Robbins, views on democracy have shifted across the region since the last survey in 2018/19. There's a growing realisation that democracy is not a perfect form of government, and it won't fix everything, he says. What we see across the region is people going hungry, people need bread, people are frustrated with the systems that they have." In every country involved in the research, more than half of respondents say they care more about the effectiveness of government policies than the form of government. In seven countries and the Palestinian Territories, more than half believe their country needs a strong, authoritative and charismatic leader who knows how to "bend the rules" to implement projects and guarantee development. By and large, for most respondent, the economy is the biggest challenge followed by corruption, political and social instability, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Only in two countries is the economy not a priority nor the most critical problem, namely Iraq, where people are more concerned about corruption, and Libya where instability is the main issue. At least one in three people in each country surveyed say that, in the last year, they have run out of food before they had enough money to buy more. The struggle to put food on the table is felt the most in Egypt and Mauritania, where more than 65 per cent of respondents say they are often in conditions of deprivation or need. The survey began before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, which further exacerbated food insecurity across the region, especially Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, which rely heavily on grain imports from the conflict area. Among the countries surveyed, Lebanon has a special place, ranking dead last with only 1 per cent of Lebanese questioned saying that the economic situation was good. For the World Bank, Lebanons economic crisis as one of the most severe since the mid-nineteenth century. Overall, most people do not expect the situation to improve in the coming years, with less than a third of respondents confident in a positive shift in the next three years. For Robbins, the future is uncertain, and people in the region may be looking to alternative political models of governance, like Chinas, an authoritarian one-party state that has "brought a huge number of people out of poverty in the last 40 years". This is the kind of "rapid economic development that many are looking for. by Melani Manel Perera For the archbishop of Colombo, the president's family considers their political power more important than the wellbeing of the people. Even the Buddhist Maha Sangha calls for an all-party government to lead the country out of the crisis. Colombo (Asia News) Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, held a press conference yesterday at the Bishops Residence at which he said that the credibility of the Rajapaksa family has fallen so low that all of their attempts to achieve financial, political or constitutional changes have been rejected by public opinion. This family considers their political power more important than the wellbeing of the people, Card Ranjith said. For him, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and all the members of the Rajapaksa family who occupy positions of power should quit to enable the country to face the serious crisis in which it finds itself. On behalf of the suffering people, what I am earnestly requesting from the President and the government of Sri Lanka is to accept their responsibility for the sad situation and step down from their positions since they have no moral right to continue in office anymore under these circumstances. As a replacement, the cardinal calls for the formation of a caretaker government that would address the most immediate problems with the assistance of competent technicians, so that the country could hold an election as soon as possible. Turning to opposition leaders, he urges them to work in unity and with transparency renouncing their petty political and ideological limitations. Bishop Asiri Perera, a former president of the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka, made a similar request. In his view, Rajapaksa must go so that this nation can recover. People are not asking for a new government or a new ruler, Bishop Perera said; they are asking for gas to cook, fuel for vehicles, uninterrupted power supply, a lower cost of living, and telling politicians, Don't get into a power struggle. Yesterday, the Bhikkhu Maha Sangha Sabha, an association of Buddhist monks, sent a letter to the president inviting him to work immediately for the creation of an all-party government. Xu Guang was detained by the police on the eve of 4 June, which is the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. He was imprisoned for demanding the return of his confiscated mobile phone. For years he has been calling for a review of the official verdict on the 1989 repression. Beijing (AsiaNews) - Xu Guang, a formerleader of the 1989 student protest movement, has been on hunger strike for days in Xihu prison in Hangzhou (Zhejiang). Radio Free Asia quoting people close to the activist reports that the arrest took place in early June, but the authorities only notified the family on 2 July. The police initially approached him in the capital's central square on the eve of 4 June, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre when security forces killed thousands of peaceful demonstrators demanding more democracy and freedom. At the time, Xu was leading the protests at Hangzhou University. Every year, the authorities order the activist not to raise the matter in public. After an interrogation at Yuquan police station, officers confiscated his mobile phone before releasing him. Immediately afterwards, in protest, Xu returned to the police station demanding the return of the mobile phone. He did so by waving a banner that read 'Reverse the official verdict on 4 June', referring to the government's position on what actually happened in Tiananmen: at first, the Chinese government condemned the 1989 demonstrations as 'counterrevolutionary riots', and then described them as 'political riots' that were suppressed with 'resolute measures'. Xu was arrested on the spot. The charge against him is 'provoking riots', which is often used against political activists. Xu was already in prison from 1998 to 2003, convicted for trying to formally register the Democratic Party of China, which was banned by the authorities. He has repeatedly asked the government to review the official verdict on the 1989 demonstrations. For recalling the events of 4 June, Xu was imprisoned back in 2014, accused of "wanting to disturb the peace". Myanmar resistance forces report data. Burmese military apologises to Thailand after incursion into airspace. Meanwhile, the number of refugees rises and arrests of Burmese migrants crossing the border through traffickers continue. Yangon (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Myanmar's coup junta conducted 125 air strikes in five days to defend its strategic outpost in Karen (or Kayin) State on the border with Thailand, where more and more refugees are seeking refuge from the wa, accordin to the independent news website The Irrawaddy after last week's clashes encroached on Thai airspace. On 1 February last year, the Myanmar army ousted the previous government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and started a civil conflict. Several resistance groups operate in Karen State and on 26 June they attacked the Ukayit Hta outpost near the village of Waw Lay. The fighting continued for a week and according to the Cobra Column, a division of the anti-golpe forces, the junta's military conducted 125 attacks between 27 June and 1 July, forcing hundreds of civilians (at least 300 according to The Irrawaddy, while the Bangkok Post lowers the figure to a hundred) to flee to Thailand across the Moei River that separates the two countries. On those days, Burmese planes crossed into Thai airspace terrorising the civilian population, which immediately took refuge in air-raid bunkers, and causing the suspension of classes in two schools along the border. The incident occurred over Pop Phra district in Tak province and Thai media confirmed the killing of several civilians hit by Burmese army bombs. Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha claimed that the incident was not a problem. Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai yesterday said Myanmar would send a formal letter of apology for the air raid, confident that the event would not be repeated in the future. Under an agreement between the two countries, if artillery shells fall on Thai soil, Bangkok will first send warning signals and only return fire if there is a direct threat to its own population. In the meantime, the number of Burmese refugees continues to rise: while the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) since the coup has risen to almost 700,000, the number of people who have crossed the border since February 2021 is around 60,000, according to figures from UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. Thailand currently hosts more than 91,000 refugees, about half of whom are Christians. Despite the presence of nine UN refugee camps along the border, many migrants rely on human traffickers. Only last week, Thai security forces arrested 43 Burmese refugees and 7 traffickers who were trying to transport the victims hidden in trucks to Malaysia, where they were promised they would find work. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Report shows public trust in government remains low in U.S. 16:53, July 05, 2022 By Chen Zi ( People's Daily Online (Cartoon by Ma Hongliang) A recent research report by the Pew Research Center in the U.S. has suggested that public trust in the U.S. government among American citizens has remained at a low level for nearly 20 years. In 2022, just 21 percent of Americans said that they trust the federal government in Washington, D.C. to do the right thing just about always or most of the time. An older survey found that around 75 percent of the U.S. population trusted their government back in 1958. The level of public trust in the government reached a low point in 2021, when only 24 percent of Americans said that they could trust the U.S. government at least most of the time. In 2022, the level of public trust in the government underwent a further decline, dropping to 21 percent according to the latest data. For this analysis, the Pew Research Center surveyed 5,074 U.S. adults in April and May 2022, and found that 65 percent of the respondents said that most candidates running for political office in the U.S. are running to serve their own personal interests, while only 21 percent said that most candidates running for political office are running to serve the community. The American people are in the best position to tell whether their country is doing a good job. The low level of public trust in Washington has exposed the many problems and contradictions in the country. American politicians should listen to the voices of their people, instead of letting the crisis of trust spiral even further. Related: U.S. hackers extend malicious cyber operations around the world U.S. politicians play Xinjiang cards against China while distorting facts about Xinjiang (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) RAMALLAH, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Wednesday accused Israel of escalating tension in the West Bank ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to the region on July 13. "The Israeli occupying power is anticipating the upcoming visit of President Biden to the region with more field executions and an escalation of its aggression against our people," said the Palestinian foreign ministry in a press statement. The ministry referred to the killing of a 20-year-old Palestinian by Israeli soldiers in a town south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin earlier in the day. On Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said Rafiq Riyad Ghannam, 20, sustained severe wounds after being shot by Israeli soldiers during confrontations in Jabaa town. Ghannam was shot as he was standing in front of his family's house before he was detained along with another youth by the heavily-armed soldiers, according to his family. The family said their son "was deliberately cold-bloodedly murdered by the soldiers, who shot and wrapped his body in black plastic before taking him away." Holding the Israeli government fully responsible for killing Ghannam, the statement called on the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israel for committing "war crimes." The Israeli military, however, said in a statement that it had conducted "counterterrorism activity" in Jabaa early on Wednesday, adding the Palestinian young man was "attempting to flee the scene," which prompted the Israeli soldiers to open fire. The death of Ghannam brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp to 29 this year, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Service King Collision is now open and offering its streamlined, digital-first automotive collision repair services to the Chicago community at 2738 West Fulton St. Located just east of Garfield Park, the 22,000-square foot auto body repair facility features modern finishes that highlight its state-of-the-art auto industry environment. The facility recently opened its doors at the end of June and created multiple jobs for the local community. "We're proud to introduce our industry-leading auto repair services to Chicago and its surrounding communities," said Service King President Jeff McFadden. "We're also excited to be able to provide employment opportunities to those devoted to helping Service King deliver best-in-class services to the area. Service King Chicago will be the new go-to place for top-of-the-line customer service and an overall efficient, technologically advanced vehicle collision repair experience." Chicago's newest Service King marks the 35th facility in Illinois, with more than 300 locations systemwide. The West Fulton location is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Source: Service King Among the cars crashed for safety purposes by the European specialists were the Alfa Romeo Tonale, Cupra Born, Kia Sportage, Mercedes-Benz T-Class, and Citan Tourer. All of them were awarded with the maximum five-star safety rating. The BMW i4 and Toyota Aygo X failed to qualify for the top rating and scored four stars each.Despite lacking center airbags, the Italian companys brand-new crossover proved to be an aggressive collision partner in frontal crashes, Euro NCAP mentions. It performed well in the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian crash avoidance tests, and it scored 83% in the Adult Occupant, 85% in the Child Occupant, 67% in the Pedestrian, and 85% in the Safety Assist categories.The European safety agency also praised the Cupra Born, which is a sportier take on the Volkswagen ID.3, as well as the latest Kia Sportage, which shares its nuts and bolts with the Hyundai Tucson. Based on the same platform as the new Renault Kangoo, the Mercedes-Benz Citan Tourer and T-Class did well, too, with their high-performing active safety features, and the new center airbag.Not every vehicle crash-tested by Euro NCAP during this session scored the maximum rating, as despite being equipped with a similar sensor set to the 3 Series tested in 2019, the BMW i4 proves that luxury does not always mean better safety performance. The battery-electric car from the Munich brand did 87% in the Adult Occupant and Child Occupant categories, 71% in Pedestrian, and 64% in the Safety Assist.Finally, the Toyota Aygo X jacked-up city car scored 78%, 78%, 74%, and 81% in the Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Pedestrian, and Safety categories, respectively. Overall, it did well, Euro NCAP noted, but it did forgo some more advanced safety systems, hence the four-star rating. Movable Roots team has an extensive background in residential construction and remodeling business. The companys founders have embraced the tiny living movement themselves, aware of the benefits this lifestyle brings to the table, such as freedom of movement and lower costs. Movable Roots designs, builds, and sells complete turnkey homes on wheels, shells on wheels, and park models.Their tiny houses vary in pricing, depending on the size of the build as well as on the finishes. Turnkey homes start at around $100,000 and can go beyond $200,000. For instance, the builders latest creation, the Doodle House, offers 440 sq ft (41 sq m) of living space and starts at $190,000.Back to our Cavin model, this one is a tiny house design that sits on a 28 ft (8.5 m) Movable Roots trailer and it is smaller than the Doodle House , offering just a bit over 300 sq ft (27.8 sq m) of space, with its loft included. The house you see in the clip below the article was custom built for a customer who wanted a living space for her and her pets: a cat and tortoise. Because it has to be pet-friendly , Cavin has an entire area dedicated to them, with the cats litter box being placed in a built-in cabinet that vents to the outside. The tortoise also has its little home on top of the base cabinets.One of the notable features of the Cavin and my personal favorite is the retractable, electric awning meant to keep you cool and protected during hot, sunny days.As for the layout of Cavin, the tiny house has the master bedroom located upstairs in the loft and you get to it by climbing a set of stairs. The living room, kitchen, and bathroom are located on the ground floor, with the living room featuring a raised floor. The couch in there can also serve as an additional sleeping space. All the stairs in this tiny house come with storage space inside.Cavin has an L-shaped kitchen with 42 (106 cm) upper cabinets, a raised bar, and plenty of countertop space.Theres a 30 sq ft (2.7 m) bathroom with a 36 x 36 (91 cm x 91 cm) walk-in shower, a standard toilet, and a sink.You can get a Cavin tiny house for yourself starting at $125,000. The one you see in the images and video was a bit pricier, at $140,000. Some of you may have heard of the Anheuser-Busch beer dynasty. It seems that Adolphus Busch, its co-founder, wanted an electric boat i nstead of a gas-powered one after his previous watercraft had caught on fire. According to the York Daily Record , thats how Chief Uncus was born in 1912.This historic wooden boat is now getting ready to take tourists on tours on the Susquehanna River, floating from upstate New York to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Thats thanks to the Susquehanna National Heritage Area organization, which purchased the century-old Elco Electric Motor Launch and brought it back to life. Uncus Chief is not only looking sharp, but its brand-new batteries enable it to cruise for up to eight hours before needing to recharge.Thats an interesting intertwining of the old and the new a historic wooden boat will offer emission-free river discovery tours, thanks to modern batteries. It took some work to get Chief Uncus back on the water. In addition to the refitting process itself, a truck had to transport the heritage vessel from its storage spot near Marietta in Lancaster County. A 125-ton crane was then used to lower the boat, still sitting on a cradle, into the river, York Daily reports. The cradle was then pushed further, where the water was deeper so that a small motor boat could pull the century-old vessel from it. All in all, Chief Uncus had a successful maiden voyage on the Susquehanna River.Luckily, this unique heritage boat was brought back to life not just for show but for action too. As soon as it gets its certification from the U.S. Coast Guard, Chief Uncus will kick off tours on the river. This is expected to happen later this summer. Maverick production continues to be hampered down by various disruptions within the supply chain, starting with the oh-so-important semiconductors. The compact-sized unibody currently faces three constraints, namely the Co-Pilot360 package, XLT Luxury package, and Lariat Luxury package.MY23 orders will be live in August, and production is expected to start in October if everything goes according to plan. The Hyundai Santa Cruz, which is an idea costlier than the Maverick, finished the first half of 22 with 18,203 copies to its name. Twinned with the Tucson, the Santa Cruz rides on the N3 platform that also underpins the Santa Fe, Sonata, Optima-replacing Kia K5, Sportage, Sorento, and the family-oriented Carnival.The unibody truck segment wouldnt be complete without the Honda Ridgeline , which is a mid-size affair based on the Pilot three-row crossover. Larger and more expensive than the Maverick and Santa Cruz, this fellow moved 19,797 units in the first two quarters of the year in the U.S. of A.Still the most affordable new truck available to purchase in this part of the world, the Maverick is priced at $19,995 excluding destination freight charge for the entry-level XL grade with the front-driven hybrid powertrain. Higher still, customers are offered the mid-range XLT and Lariat. All of them can be specified with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost and all-wheel drive.Styled more like a crossover instead of a truck, the Santa Cruz kicks off at $24,440 for the base engine, torque-converter auto, and front-wheel drive. Hyundai further sweetens the deal with HTRAC all-wheel drive and a 2.5-liter turbo four-cylinder powerplant that features a dual-clutch tranny.Hondas mid-size adventure truck is the priciest of the lot at $38,140 sans taxes, but its also the most capable thanks to standard i-VTM4 all-wheel drive and a 280-horsepower V6 mill of the naturally-aspirated variety. At the other end of the spectrum, the nicest trim level retails at $45,570. The auction saw No Reserve sales in excess of $48 million on the sale of 663 vehicle ranging from vintage models to muscle cars. Coinciding with the July 4th holiday, American muscle cars were the highlight. Of the top ten non-charity cars sold, nine were American-made and four were muscle cars. The record sale of a 1970 Plymouth HEMI Superbird for $1,65 million topped the list, followed by a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette 327/360 Z06 Split-Window Coupe selling for $566,500.Rounding out the top five sellers was a 1958 Chevrolet Corvette custom topless roadster selling for $550,000, a 1971 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda for $550,000, and a 1970 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda for $517,000.This year's auction continued a longstanding tradition of raising money for charity bringing in $650,000, led by the sale of the first ever 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V selling for $500,000 with an additional $25,000 donated to support the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design. In addition, a 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392 sold for $125,000 with 100 percent of the hammer price benefitting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Detroit.At the top of the list of automobilia items sold was a 1954 Mobil Oil Neon selling for $34,500. All told, 279 automobilia pieces were auctioned totaling $869,100. Barrett-Jackson 's The World's Greatest Collector Car Auction returns to the NRG Center in Houston, Texas, October 20th thru 22nd. Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) in Manila, the Philippines, on July 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali) MANILA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Wednesday, with both sides agreeing to upgrade bilateral cooperation and deal with the South China Sea issue through dialogue and communication. The Philippine president said China is the Philippines' largest trading partner and most important development partner, and both sides have initiated fruitful cooperation in all fields. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the first to supply vaccines and protective materials to the Philippines, said Marcos, adding that China has actively supported the "Build Build Build" program and greatly helped the Philippines in improving its basic infrastructure. The Philippines hopes to continue pushing forward bilateral cooperation with China in politics, economy and trade, education, culture and other areas, so as to enrich the connotation of their comprehensive strategic cooperation, Marcos said. He said the Philippines pursues an independent foreign policy of peace, and always adheres to the one-China policy. The South China Sea issue is not the mainstream of the Philippines-China relationship and should not become an obstacle to bilateral cooperation. The Philippines is willing to carry out candid communication with the Chinese side to find a friendly solution to the issue, which is the right way for the two countries to get along, Marcos said. Wang said the China-Philippines relations are at a new starting point and China is ready to work with the Philippine side to keep the general direction of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Both sides remain committed to becoming good neighbors that help each other, good relatives that share mutual understanding and close bonds, and good partners that pursue cooperation and win-win results, so as to push for the upgrading of their cooperation and usher in a "golden age" in bilateral relations, Wang said. While expressing China's firm support for the new Philippine government, Wang said China is willing to engage with the Philippines to conduct cooperation in the four key areas of agriculture, infrastructure, energy, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, help the Philippines accelerate its development and revitalization, and bring about greater benefits to the Philippine people. Wang stressed that cooperation between China and the Philippines far outweighs their maritime differences, and any difference between the two countries cannot define their relations, nor will it hinder their cooperation. China and the Philippines should enhance dialogue and communication and properly handle sensitive issues so as to let maritime cooperation be the main tone of their discussion and handling of maritime affairs, he said. Wang said the two countries should make the building of good neighbors, good friends and good partners as the new consensus between the two peoples. On Wednesday, Wang also met with Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, with both sides expressing the willingness to deepen bilateral practical cooperation in the major fields of agriculture, infrastructure, energy as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges. During their meeting, Duterte-Carpio said the Philippine side is looking forward to working with China to further the synergy with the Belt and Road Initiative. She also said in her capacity as the education minister that the Philippine side hopes to intensify educational cooperation with China at all levels. Wang said China stands ready to deepen cooperation with the Philippines in the education field, including on vocational education and language training programs, to support more Philippine youths to study in China, and to assist in improving teaching facilities to elevate modern education in the Philippines. During the meeting, Wang also expressed China's appreciation for the contribution of former President Rodrigo Duterte to secure a complete turnaround and enhancement in China-Philippine relations during his six-year tenure. Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio (L) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila, the Philippines, on July 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali) At the beginning of the video, Manny Khoshbin admits he knows his stuff when it comes to hypercars, given all his motorized possessions. But he is not very familiar with older, Japanese, modified, super rare cars. So, that was about to change.The real estate mogul loves his cars, but he also buys them based on whether theyd make a good investment, and this is exactly what he thinks of an older Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, claiming they are great investments. The owner of the Nissan in the video had purchased it for just over $200k and turned it into a car worth over $500k.After checking it out, Khoshbin wanted to be a passenger because he didn't know the car. But then he decided to give it a try and test drive it, anyway, and had quite a thrill behind the wheel.Besides the fact that he got to test drive a Nissan Skyline GT-R , he also got to experience driving from the seat on the right side, because the supercar had the steering wheel on the left, which he noted it feels very awkward. Because of that, while driving, instead of using his blinkers, Khoshbin turned on the windshield wipers by mistake.According to the owner, the vehicle in question comes with a stock engine that puts out only 500 wheel horsepower. However, when he finally pressed the gas pedal, Khoshbin called it a rocket. The car still had its original 1999 paint, but the owner, Marc, had added some modifications, including some green carbon fiber for the mirrors and the rear wing.After a while though, he decided to switch to the passenger side so he could see how this car can be driven. And he did have a great time, although he was shocked (and scared) by how fast it accelerated.This is not the first time Khoshbin features a car he doesnt own in a video on his YouTube channel. It looks like the real estate mogul is trying to diversify his content and test drives powerful cars owned by his followers. In the past, it was a Rivian R1T , and now it was a Nissan. Who knows what hell drive next? kW kWh WLTP AMG You see, while the Affalterbach brand is asking a minimum of 109,777.50 ($113,347) for the EQE 53, the EQE 43 can be had from 103,827.50 ($107,204).Power-wise, you are looking at a dual-motor setup, driving both axles, with a combined output of 476 ps (469 hp / 350) and 858 Nm (633 lb-ft) of torque. It needs 4.2 seconds to hit 100 kph (62 mph) from a standstill, has a 210 kph (130 mph) top speed, and the 90.6(net) battery pack gives it a range of 463-534 km (288-332 miles) on thecycle.It features the same driving modes as the EQE 53 , namely the Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Race Start, albeit the latter lacks the Boost function. Like its better-equipped sibling, the EQE 43 gets rear-wheel steering too, for superior handling and reduced turning radius. TheRide Control air suspension is also included, and it has dual-circuit hydraulic brakes and electromechanical speed-sensitive power steering with rack and pinion.The wheels measure 9.5x20 inches at the front, and 10.5x20 inches at the rear and come shod in 265/40 and 295/35 tires, respectively. As far as the actual gear goes, it has most of the bells and whistles found on the upper grade . The Hyperscreen, with its large curved display stretching across the entire width of the dashboard, is optional. In Europe and China, the screen in front of the passenger can show dynamic content during driving, a function that wont be available in the United States, for safety reasons. According to reports from Spanish news sites and his social media, Pecco Bagnaia celebrated with his friends in Ibiza after his big win in Assen at the Dutch Grand Prix. He was driving a Citroen, and while facing a roundabout, Pecco crashed the car into a ditch on the side of the road on Tuesday morning.The Guardia Civil and local police arrived at the scene and performed a breathalyzer test on Bagnaia to see if the Italian rider had too many tequila shots. The test revealed a result of 0.87mg/l, and the legal alcohol limit for drivers in Spain to get behind the wheel is 0.25 mg/l. Fortunately, the Ducati rider was the only person involved in the incident, and there were no reported injuries."As I was leaving the disco at 3am, I was facing a roundabout when I ended up with the front wheels in a ditch without involving other vehicles or people," Francesco Bagnaia said on social media. "However, the alcohol test carried out by the police found that the blood alcohol level was higher than what is allowed by Spanish law. I am sorry for what happened; I am practically a non-drinker, and it was a serious carelessness that should not have happened."Now, the Italian rider could face a ban on his driving license. In Spain, getting behind the wheel while you are over the legal alcohol level is a significant offense, with a penalty of one to four years of suspension from driving.After these events, Bagnaia learned an important lesson: never to drink and drive. And we hope it is a lesson for those out there who are thinking about this. Humanity will reach Mars in your lifetime Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2022 Another confusing tweet by Elon Musk, as his Mars-pointing spaceship just got positioned on the launch pad earlier today. Musk might be right about a manned mission from Earth reaching our Solar system red neighbour in the next few decades, but as far as NASA is concerned, we already made it.Soon after the S24-dubbed (or SN24) Starship was laid on the launch site, a tweet from Erc X caught the eye of space enthusiasts. The rendered image of the SpaceXs Starship fully reusable launch system gets the credit for the artwork, although the name Endeavour on the side might raise some eyebrows and questions alike. Historic legacy homage-paying namesake aside, the cosmic vehicle is depicted in the very conspicuous NASA white jacket black tie fashion.The killer (whale) looks of the ErcXSpace-rendered Starship have been noticed immediately by a considerable lot of the artists followers on Twitter. Apart from the colorful resemblance with the sea-dwelling mammal, the rendering is also a reminder of what a whale of a task it is that Musk has undertaken. But knowing his well-proven determination, one can safely assume that the billionaire will at least aim for Mars, if not putting a human there. Be it with or without NASA.While the S24 is on site waiting for the first orbital flight, the specs of the astounding machine are just as impressive. Claimed to be the most powerful space vehicle ever made, the Superheavy Starship configuration crushes any predecessor with 16 million pounds of thrust.Of utmost interest for the sake of space exploration, the massive rocket will enable successful long-term space exploration, such as safely going to Mars. And back.But first, theyll have to get past the most difficult obstacle humanity has ever devised: bureaucracy . Musk must abide by the environmental issues his beloved rockets are bringing up at the launch site. Also, public safety issues (such as overflight of populated areas and payload contents), national security or foreign policy concerns, and insurance requirements. Its no small feat to produce the thinnest-ever mechanical watch. This is one of the defining features of the new Richard Mille timepiece, the RM UP-01, which comes with Ferraris name attached to it.Not long ago, Bulgari won the title for the thinnest watch with its Octo Finissimo Ultra , measuring just 1.8 mm in thickness. But Richard Mille came and set yet another record, surpassing Bulgari by just 0.05 mm with its new RM UP-01 Ferrari.The new timepiece measures 1.75 mm in thickness and the baseplate and bridges are crafted from grade 5 titanium. Its ultra-thin, ultra-light, and ultra-modern.The Swiss Luxury brand called the new watch a triumph of technical prowess, rolling back all limits once again by taking up the ultra-flat challenge. It added that it breaks with the brands established stylistic codes but remains faithful in its identity and spirit. The RM UP-01 Ferrari takes a new approach to watch mechanics, the brand writes, in which technicity more than ever dictates aesthetics. The pioneering brand does not, however, refer to it as a record-breaking timepiece.When it comes to its structure, in order to eliminate most of the height, they took out the dart and the safety roller, resituating the banking function directly on the anchor fork.The RM UP-01 Ferrari also has a 10 m (32.8 ft) waterproofness rating and can withstand an acceleration of over 5,000 Gs. The watch displays hours, minutes, seconds, and a function selector. The time is featured in the center of the top half, with a circle next to it on the top right that offers a view of the balance, both covered by thin sapphire crystals. The two circles on the left side are used for accessing the movement, with the prancing horse on full display on the bottom right.Of course, the RM UP-01 Ferrari is a limited edition with only 150 units, with a price of $1.88 million. Ferrari and Richard Mille joined forces for a long-term partnership in 2021 and the new watch celebrates this budding relationship. A metals magnate and versatile entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of nearly $20 billion want his assets back. Were talking about the famous Alisher Usmanov, one of the worlds top 100 richest people. One of these assets happens to be the worlds largest superyacht, a mammoth 512-foot (156 meters) floating palace thats estimated to be worth a minimum of $600 million.Dilbar was one of the first big fish caught by the international authorities at the beginning of this unprecedented hunt for Russian-owned luxury toys. The Lurssen superyacht was officially seized by German authorities in early April, after a month of trying to legally confirm the link between the vessel and its Russian owner.Usmanov and both of his sisters (to whom he had allegedly transferred several of his luxury assets, including Dilbar) were denied the pleas to overrule the decision to freeze their funds. Superyacht Times reports that the Council of the European Union rejected the pleas, stating that they had failed to demonstrate urgency/serious irreparable harm caused by the sanctions that were announced back in February, including Usmanov and his sisters on the list of targeted oligarchs.Meanwhile, the billionaires other superyacht, the $300 million Alaiya , seems to be safe from the risk of getting seized, hiding out like other Russian-owned luxury vessels that have managed to flee to safety.What will happen to the infamous Dilbar cant be determined at the moment. For now, the worlds largest superyacht continues to stay put in Germany, despite the huge maintenance costs. SUV For example, the premium arm of General Motors recently donated their first-ever 2023 Caddy Escalade-V retail SUV unit through Barrett-Jackson's Las Vegas 2022 auction. All the proceeds went to charity and the success was tremendous - it saw the hammer drop for no less than $525k, which is a big jump from the base MSRP of around $150k.Other people are not worried about the distinct possibility of having to wait an eternity before they can also grab hold of their Escalade-V. Especially across the virtual realm, where pixel masters would rather think of Hellcat-swapped vintage Caddy limos looking all Satin Black and chromed or as is the case here, take Escalade matters into their CGI hands.For example, Czech Republic-based virtual artist Rostislav Prokop, better known as rostislav_prokop on social media, is back into Americana action with a powerful luxobarge after previously trying to amaze us with an entire series of Fox Body Ford Mustangs that were ready to blow our digital socks off at a slammed moments notice. Now, there is more of the hunkered same, albeit with a moderntwist.Dwelling across the CGI patio of a scenic mansion like a monster from a luxury swamp is a dark-blue Caddy Escalade taken to virtual extremes without remorse. The CGI expert opted to fit the slammed luxury SUV with an exaggerated widebody aerodynamic kit that makes this Escalade a new kind of high-performance baller.And, even better, there is also one little technical detail to act as the cream of the digital crop. As it turns out, this feisty Cadillac not only looks like a luxury swamp monster but would also act as one if ever real. And it is all courtesy of the imagined V10 engine swap! kWh Energy storage systems are essential for our modern, energy-hungry world, especially as we transition to using renewable energy. Humans use many energy storage forms, the most common being the ubiquitous Li-ion batteries. But batteries are not always the most efficient way to store energy, and thats why scientists have come up with some very creative ideas. Weve talked recently about the water battery that Switzerland built with great effort in the Alps. Still, there are also gravity batteries and even CO2 batteries Finland pioneered a new system that uses ordinary sand to store energy. This is a thermal energy storage system, storing heat in a sand reservoir at about 500-600 degrees Celsius (932-1112 F). The sand is heated up using the electricity generated by solar panels and wind turbines. It can also keep its high temperature for months.When needed, the energy is extracted from the heated sand using a heat pump to heat up buildings and swimming pools. This works very well in Finland, where house heating is centralized. The district heating system uses pipes with hot water to distribute the heat to peoples homes. The sand battery is straightforward and doesnt require expensive components like turbines. It also has an efficiency factor of up to 99%, and its built to last for decades.The sand battery was built by Polar Night Energy for Vatajankoski, a new energy company located a few hours out of Helsinki. The company uses heat from local data servers to offer district heating to surrounding areas. The sand battery can significantly enhance this system, supplementing the heat when needed. The isolated tank used to store the sand measures around 4 meters (13.1 ft) wide and 7 meters (23 ft) high and can store up to 8 MWh of energy.Its really easy to convert electricity into heat, said Polar Night CTO Markku Ylonen in a video interview with Disruptive Investing . But going back from heat to electricity, thats where you need turbines and more complex things. As long as were just using the heat as heat, it stays really simple.Sand is a very low-cost and environmentally friendly solution. Polar Night Energy claims the setup costs are less than $10 per. The sand battery uses no consumables and runs fully automated. Although the system installed at Vatajankoskis headquarters only yields 8 MWh, the same technology can scale up to 20 GWh of energy storage.For Finland, such a system works miracles, considering that vast parts of the country see no sun for weeks on end in the winter. The long-duration storage capability of the sand battery is ideal in such conditions, significantly reducing the external energy needed to heat the buildings.The sand offers considerable advantages over liquid-storage solutions like molten salt or water. For instance, it allows multiple heating zones inside the sand storage. This can be used to build long-term storage toward the center of the sand cylinder, while short-term repeated use cycles can be isolated closer to the surface. To put that figure into context, Toyota delivered 139,296 units in the first half of last year. As you mightve guessed by now, the Japanese automaker from Aichi blames the unstable supply of microchips for this downtick.In second place, General Motors delivered a grand total of 57,851 workhorses. The Chevrolet Colorado accounted for 44,190 units, and the GMC Canyon moved 12,491 units. Nissan ranked third with the Frontier, which sold 43,166 examples, representing an improvement of 63.6 percent over the 26,392 units moved in the first half of 21 in the United States.The final place was extremely close between the Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator. More specifically, the Wrangler's sibling accounted for 38,757 trucks, while the Bronco's humbler cousin sold 33,840 units.Being a unibody design based on the Pilot family-sized crossovers platform, the Ridgeline doesnt really have a place in this ranking. Nevertheless, it doesnt hurt to mention that Honda sold 19,797 examples of the breed in the first half of the year, down from 24,370 last year.Every single automaker expressed concerns over their supply chain disruptions, including the biggest of the Big Three in Detroit. We appreciate the patience and loyalty of our dealers and customers as we strive to meet significant pent-up demand for our products, and we will work with our suppliers, manufacturing, and logistics teams to deliver the units held at our plants as quickly as possible, said GM executive VP Steve Carlisle.Contrary to a handful of reports, the chip shortage wont fizzle out anytime soon. Pat Gelsinger, the chief executive officer of Intel, pushed back the original date of late 2023 into 2024. The biggest challenge of the chip shortage isnt the capacity to manufacture chips, but the extremely complicated equipment that manufactures chips under 10 nanometers. The armed forces must report to the defense minister and the commander-in-chief, Defense Minister Suren Papikian told pro-government lawmakers before they passed corresponding amendments to an Armenian law on national defense. Under those amendments, the chief of the Armenian armys General Staff will also automatically hold the post of first deputy defense minister. But he will not perform ministerial duties if the minister is absent from the country. Papikian said that this will make the militarys command and control structure smoother and more vertical. He said the countrys leadership wants to learn lessons from unspecified bitter experience. The last chief of the General Staff, Artak Davtian, and six other senior generals were sacked in February through presidential decrees initiated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. The latter has still not handpicked a new army chief, prompting serious concern from the Armenian opposition. The generals sackings came one year after Davtians predecessor, Onik Gasparian, and four dozen other high-ranking officers accused Pashinians government of incompetence and misrule and demanded its resignation. The unprecedented demand was welcomed by the opposition but condemned as a coup attempt by Pashinian. Armen Khachatrian, a senior parliamentarian representing the ruling Civil Contract party, acknowledged that the authorities hope the structural change will prevent the army top brass from challenging them in the future. Opposition lawmakers believe that this is the main purpose of the government bill approved by the parliament in the first reading. They are solving a purely internal political issue, said Tigran Abrahamian of the opposition Pativ Unem bloc. They think that they will thereby ensure tight control over the military which will preclude any political statements or actions by generals. But they are not really solving the issue because the chief of the General Staff was already subordinate to the defense minister, not to mention his subordination to the prime minister, he told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. Abrahamian accused Pashinians government of politicizing the top military post. Pashinian promised a major reform of the military shortly after Armenias defeat in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. He has replaced three defense ministers since a Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the six-week hostilities in November 2020. Opposition forces blame Pashinian for the disastrous war that left at least 3,800 Armenian soldiers dead. They also say that his administration is doing little to rebuild the armed forces. BAMAKO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Two peacekeepers of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were killed and five others injured by a mine explosion in northern Mali, MINUSMA said Tuesday in a statement. The tragedy occurred when an armored vehicle from a UN logistics convoy hit a mine on the route from Tessalit to Gao, said the statement, adding a rapid intervention force was sent to the site. MINUSMA strongly condemned the attack, saying it may constitute a war crime under international law, and expressing concern over "the frequent use of improvised explosive devices intended to paralyze the operations of the UN mission and to obstruct the return to peace and stability in Mali," said the statement. Head of MINUSMA El-Ghassim Wane paid tribute to the peacekeepers "who died in the service of peace in Mali in the accomplishment of their mission." MINUSMA on May 27 reported losing 258 peacekeepers since its establishment in Mali in 2013. Armenias government approved on June 23 a three-month call-up of more than 1,440 army reservists which will start on August 1. It cited the need to reinforce the armed forces with skilled and combat-ready personnel. Representatives of the main opposition Hayastan alliance said late last week that scores of its male members and supporters have since received military call-up papers. They said that the authorities are thus trying to punish active participants of the regular rallies and discourage other Armenians from joining more street protests planned for the coming weeks. Speaking in the Armenian parliament, Papikian complained that Seyran Ohanian, a former defense minister who now leads Hayastans parliamentary group, has phoned the militarys top enlistment officer to demand an end to the alleged mass recruitment of opposition youths. Are you citizens of the Republic of Armenia or not? a visibly irritated Papikian said, appealing to the opposition. Did the defense minister order that? Even if such things have happened in the past, they are not happening on our watch. Secondly, next time do not reserve the right to call military officials or make covert appeals to them because such calls can lead to legal liability, he warned. The Armenian military has not been accused in the past of trying to draft opposition members or supporters en masse for political reasons. Ohanian dismissed Papikians criticism, saying that Armenian law allows parliament deputies to demand explanations from state officials both orally and in writing. He said he simply asked the countrys chief military commissar to clarify whether he really ordered his subordinates to target oppositionists. Military mobilization cannot be selective, Ohanian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. The retired general also pointed to what he regards as an illegal instruction which a senior pro-government lawmaker publicly issued on May 5 five days after the Armenian opposition began daily street protests aimed at toppling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Andranik Kocharian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on defense and security, suggested that many of the protesters detained by riot police evade compulsory military service or periodical call-ups of army reservists. Speaking at a committee meeting in Yerevan, Kocharian said law-enforcement agencies should collect personal data of these citizens and pass them on to the Armenian Defense Ministry. High-ranking police and military officials attending the meeting backed the idea condemned by human rights activists. What legal norms are they talking about? said Ohanian. People who committed crimes during their military service are talking about that. They had better do their job. The opposition leader apparently referred to Papikians criminal record disclosed by an Armenian newspaper in early 2020. The Hraparak daily reported that Papikian, who served as a minister for local government at the time, had been sentenced to more than 2 years in prison in 2006 for stabbing his commander during compulsory military service. It said that he was released from prison a year later. Papikian, who is a senior member of the ruling Civil Contract party, admitted the criminal conviction while condemning the newspaper report as an intrusion into his personal life. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. by Olatunji Saliu ABUJA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of 443 inmates were on the run while four others died during an attack Tuesday by unidentified gunmen on a prison in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, the country's authority of prisons said Wednesday. Sixteen inmates and three prison guards were injured when the attackers stormed the custodial center in the Kuje area, southwest of Abuja, Tuesday night, said Abubakar Umar, the national spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), in a statement. Umar said the gunmen broke into the medium-security custodial center, using explosives devices through the main entrance and the fence of the facility, respectively. One security personnel was killed in a gunfight between the attackers and the security. A total of 994 inmates were at the facility before the late Tuesday attack, said the spokesman, noting 551 are currently in custody without giving the exact number of inmates that were recaptured. "A total of 443 are still at large. Efforts are ongoing to recapture all fleeing inmates," Umar said, explaining that the NCoS would deploy technology to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody. Earlier, a senior official with the Ministry of Interior said about 600 inmates were freed in the attack by the gunmen suspected to be militants of the extremist group Boko Haram, but half the number of fleeing inmates have been re-arrested later. "We understand they are Boko Haram terrorists and came specifically for their conspirators. Many of them are returned, some were retrieved from the bushes they were hiding," Shuaibu Belgore, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Interior, told reporters during a visit to the facility earlier Wednesday. Inmates at the attacked facility which is less than 42 km to the Abuja city center include convicted Boko Haram conspirators and high-profile public officers standing trial or already convicted. All Boko Haram suspects, numbering about 64, were among inmates who escaped from the prison Tuesday, Nigeria's Minister of Defense Bashir Magashi said. Magashi told reporters during a visit to the facility that although everything is under control now, the Nigerian government believed those responsible for the attack "belong to a particular group." "Most likely, they are Boko Haram members because we have a sizeable number of Boko Haram suspects in detention, and presently we cannot locate any of them. I think they are about 64 in the prison and none of them is available now, they have all escaped," Magashi said. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari made a stopover at the custodial facility Wednesday on his way to Senegal to attend a high-profile meeting in Senegal. According to a statement by the State House, the Nigerian leader was billed to participate in the International Development Association for Africa Summit in that sister West African nation. Buhari took a tour of the burned buildings and vehicles on an on-the-spot assessment of the havoc wreaked by the attackers before leaving for his journey to Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Nigeria has recorded at least five prisons attack in the past 18 months, with correctional facilities in the north-central states of Plateau and Kogi, as well as the southern states of Oyo and Imo previously affected. The three days of art demonstrations and artist panel discussions, along with other festivities, will be free to the public at 720 Franklin St. Art Studio founder Greg Busceme said the event a great opportunity for residents to learn about ceramics from some of the top artists in the United States, featuring Patsy Cox, Steven Erickson, Gary Greeny Greenberg, Chris Leonard, Danielle Weigandt and Stephen Wolochowicz. This is an excellent chance for people to come out and see what we do, Busceme said. These artists are friends that I have gotten to know over the years from conferences and workshops and they are among the top professionals in their craft they are an amazing and fun group. Busceme said specific schedules of events will be posted to The Art Studios Facebook page and website. Demonstrations will begin around 10 a.m. on July 7 and 8 and will continue into the evening as long as people are there. The Studio had a series of back-to-back Gumbo Clayfests starting in 1998, Busceme said. The last one was in 2004, but we were hit pretty hard by Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Ike in 2008, and it was just not financially possible for us to host the event. The Gumbo Clayfest artists are affiliated with the National Council on Education for the Clay Arts organization and the group has served as a forum to build working relationships over the years, Busceme said. The first TASI Gumbo Clayfest began March 1998 and one of the original guest artists, Gary Greenberg, will be returning for the 2022 event. The NCECA conferences have served as a way for Art Studio artists to be exposed to the wider world of the ceramic arts, Busceme said. The events serve to elevate TASI to national exposure. Because of what we do here, people and artists want to come here. We are a unique place, and we hear so often that there arent many places like the Studio in existence. Its a special place. COVID canceled the 2020 conference, and the 2021 the conference was virtual. So, TASI artists are eager for in-person at events again, and that led to Busceme inviting this years artists to Southeast Texas. Greenberg visited Beaumont in 2021 to assist TASI in building a new salt-kiln with a host of community volunteers, including students from Lamar University as part of their Big Event Day annual service day. It has always been a place reflecting the vision of its founder and patrons that allows art and all the associated good things with it, he said. This year, Greenberg is building another kiln and hosting a glaze workshop. All the incoming artists are going to present demonstrations of their techniques and participants can join in on making art that will become part of TASIs art collection. Greenberg has been involved with ceramics for more than 50 years. For the past three decades, he has been an assistant professor of art and ceramics at Clarion University of Pennsylvania working on foil-fired, low-fired and wood-fired art objects and vessels. His work has been featured in several publications and exhibits throughout the United States. Greenberg is known for his offbeat humor and his sense of irony in all things. He and Busceme met at an NCECA convention through a mutual friend who had attended graduate school with Busceme and as they say, the rest is history in the life-long collaborative friendship. Greenberg says TASI is a one-of-a-kind institution. Although I am very serious about producing work, I feel strongly that it should contain an element of humor, reflecting the absurdities of life in general and of art in particular, he said. Like Greenberg, artist Patsy Cox has a long history with Busceme. They met 20 years ago when Coxs graduate professor, Victor Spinski, invited Busceme to visit. Spinski has served as professor, mentor and friend to Busceme and to Greenberg, too. Cox is professor of visual art and head of ceramics at California State University, Northridge and boasts an international and national exhibition and teaching resume that includes China and Taiwan. Her works and lectures have been recognized from coast-to-coast in the United States, and she will be teaching participants how to create plaster molds using alginate an algae-based material and using stamps to make colored clay bodies. This will be Coxs first Clayfest, and she said that art is a tool that connects with the human senses to reveal deeper meanings of existence and that it is a visual language in which people can communicate and interact with the world around them. She hopes visitors participate in the experience. Institutions that offer exposure to experiences, such as Clayfest, open dialogue to reveal opportunities for everyone involved to become better citizens of the world through education and awareness of a variety of perspectives, Cox said. When artists come together to create, there is a palpable energy through the shared activity contingent on an exchange with the local community. Other first timers include Erickson, Leonard, Weigandt and Wolochowicz. Wolochowicz is an associate professor of art in ceramics at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, whose current work utilizes abstract industrial shapes that have organic features. At the workshop, he will discuss and demonstrate techniques for coil construction and how to accurately build to scale from drawings. Many of the artists share learning experiences from some of the same professors and mentors. Like Cox, Erickson also studied with Spinski. Retired from teaching at the City University of New York, he now works as a full-time studio artist at his home in upstate New York. At the National Conference for the Education of Ceramic Artists I immediately clicked with Greg, his energy and enthusiasm were contagious, Erickson said. He told me all about TASI and what was going on in Beaumont. Places like TASI present the opportunity for anyone to come and exercise their imagination. Erickson said in the age of YouTube videos where anyone can find out about everything, in-person workshops give real-time feedback. I hope people who attend the Gumbo Clay Fest come away with a few things, he said. Number one, I hope they meet a bunch of crazy people who love to make things. Two, I hope they find something that helps them to keep going forward on whatever journey they are on. Three, I hope if they have never been to TASI before that they understand it is an all-inclusive environment where they can just be themselves no matter who they are. Or if they have been a part of TASI for any length of time they see that Greg is completely committed to providing a great learning experience. Weigandt is artist in residence at the University of North Dakota and for the workshop will discuss and demonstrate the ins and outs of using paper clay techniques to create her work. Just as every artist coming to Clay Fest, she was inspired to create art by her teachers and mentors, and a drive to use her creativity from a very young age. She met Busceme at a conference through Wolochowicz and loved the idea of coming to Beaumont to share her inspiration for art. I want them to find that spark of excitement that ceramics can give you, she said of Clayfest attendees. Learn all the things from all the wonderful artists that are going to be there. Beaumont will not be the only Texas community represented at the event. Chris Leonard is ceramics instructor at South Texas College in McAllen and coordinates the South Texas Ceramic Showdown. This is a showcase for everyone to see what the studio has been all about for 39 years, Busceme said. We want everyone one to come out no ceramics background is necessary this is an event for everyone interested in art. There will be something for everyone of all ages and all backgrounds. We just want people to come and enjoy and see the studio. An open house to meet the artists will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Demonstrations will be from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UPDATE 4:32 p.m. -- The emergency officials at Lamar University gave an all-clear after investigating the bomb threat. The campus will remain closed for the rest of the day. However, residents can return to Cardinal Village immediately. The Brooks-Shivers Dining Hall will be open from 6-8 p.m. to serve residents. The rest of campus will open for normal business operations on Thursday. ORIGINAL STORY -- Lamar University has cleared its campus and canceled classes in response to a recent bomb threat. More than 20 Lamar and Beaumont police officers and about 10 security guards were gathered outside the speech and hearing building just before 3:30 p.m. The university is "taking extreme caution" according to an alert. Lamar University Police Department Sgt. Yatara Martin said there are no updates as of 3:28 p.m. Martin said the investigation is still open. After being told to evacuate campus, six students stood just outside the campus gates near Combs Hall. Junior Werner Siegmund said that he works as an intern and was told to evacuate campus. But he left his car keys inside and was unable to drive away from campus. Sophomore Bryce Harris lives on campus and had to evacuate his room, with no directions on where to go he stood outside the gate. Senior Jesse Denny was going to bathroom when the sirens went off, causing him to leave the building. Denny said he thinks the bomb threat is probably a joke. Either way, Lamar canceled classes for the rest of the day shortly after the evacuation was ordered. According to a university alert, officials are working with local law enforcement "to clear any potential threats to campus." AUSTIN, Texas (AP) A police officer armed with a rifle watched the gunman in the Uvalde elementary school massacre walk toward the campus but did not fire while waiting for permission from a supervisor to shoot, according to a sweeping critique released Wednesday on the tactical response to the May tragedy. Some of the 21 victims at Robb Elementary School, including 19 children, possibly could have been saved" on May 24 had they received medical attention sooner while police waited more than an hour before breaching the fourth-grade classroom, a review by a training center at Texas State University for active shooter situations found. The report is yet another damning assessment of how police failed to act on opportunities that might have saved lives in what became the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. since the slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. A reasonable officer would have considered this an active situation and devised a plan to address the suspect, read the report published by the university's Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training program. Authors of the 26-page report said their findings were based off video taken from the school, police body cameras, testimony from officers on the scene and statements from investigators. Among their findings: It appeared that no officer waiting in the hallway during the shooting ever tested to see if the door to the classroom was locked. The head of Texas' state police agency has also faulted officers on the scene for not checking the doors. The officers had weapons (including rifles), body armor (which may or may not have been rated to stop rifle rounds), training, and backup. The victims in the classrooms had none of these things." When officers finally entered the classroom at 12:50 p.m. more than an hour after the shooting began they were no better equipped to confront the gunman than they had been up to that point. "Effective incident command" never appears to have been established among the multiple law enforcement agencies that responded to the shooting. The gunman, an 18-year-old with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle, entered the building at 11:33 a.m. Before that a Uvalde police officer, who the report did not identify, saw the gunman carrying a rife toward the west hall entrance. The officer asked a supervisor for permission to open fire, but the supervisor either did not hear or responded too late, the report said. When the officer turned back toward the gunman, he already gone inside unabated, according to the report. The officer was 148 yards away from the door, which the report said was within the range of his rifle, and allegedly said he was concerned that an errant shot could have penetrated the school and injured students inside. "Ultimately, the decision to use deadly force always lies with the officer who will use the force. If the officer was not confident that he could both hit his target and of his backdrop if he missed, he should not have fired," the report read. The report is one of multiple fact-finding reviews launched in the aftermath of the worst school shooting in Texas history. A committee formed by Texas legislators has also interviewed more than 20 people, including officers who were on the scene, behind closed doors for several weeks. On Wednesday, the committee said Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco has refused to meet with them and sent a letter trying to compel his testimony. Nolasco did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. It follows testimony last month in which Col. Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told the state Senate that the police response was an abject failure. He pinned particular blame on Chief Pete Arredondo, saying that as on-scene commander the Uvalde schools police chief made terrible decisions and stopped officers from confronting the gunman earlier. Arredondo has tried to defend his actions, telling the Texas Tribune that he didnt consider himself the commander in charge of operations and that he assumed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response. He said he didnt have his police and campus radios but that he used his cellphone to call for tactical gear, a sniper and the classroom keys. According to he report released Wednesday, Arredondo and another Uvalde police officer spent 13 minutes in the school hallway during the shooting discussing tactical options, whether to use snipers and how to get into the classroom windows. They also discussed who has the keys, testing keys, the probability of the door being locked, and if kids and teachers are dying or dead, the report read. McCraw said police had enough officers and firepower on the scene of the Uvalde school massacre to have stopped the gunman three minutes after he entered the building, and they would have found the door to the classroom where he was holed up unlocked if they had bothered to check it. A lawyer for Arredondo and a spokeswoman for the Uvalde city police department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Arredondo is on leave from his job with the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District and resigned from his position as a city councilor last week. Public leaders, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, initially praised the police response in Uvalde. Abbott said officers reacted quickly and ran toward the gunfire with amazing courage to take out the killer, thereby saving lives. He later said he was misled. In the days and weeks after the shooting, authorities gave conflicting and incorrect accounts of what happened. The fallout has driven recriminations and rifts between local at state authorities. On Tuesday, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez released a letter asking Abbott to move administration of a victims relief fund from the local prosecutor's office to the Texas Department of Emergency Management. They wrote that they've received numerous complaints about District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee, "including the failure to timely deliver victim's compensation resources to those in need. Busbee's office declined to comment Wednesday. ___ Bleiberg reported from Dallas. ___ Find more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Justin Sullivan, Staff / Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 As most patriotic Americans celebrate Independence Day, most face a darker reality of dependence instead. Dependence on foreign oil. Right now, folks across Southeast Texas are paying upwards of $4.60 a gallon for gas. Two years ago, during a global pandemic, that number was only $1.81. President Biden and House Democrats want you to believe that this price hike is due to Vladimir Putins war on Ukraine alone, but they are misleading the American people. The real reason that you may have to cancel your summer vacation rather than spend an arm and a leg at the gas pump is due to the radical anti-energy agenda that President Biden has been promoting since his first day in the White House. Admittedly, the Ukraine-Russia conflict has put additional pressure on the worlds oil economy. But blaming the war is a disingenuous misdirection: gas prices were steadily rising well before Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration laid the groundwork for these astronomical price increases on day one, and Putins invasion of Ukraine has only made a bad situation worse. On his first day in office, President Biden canceled the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. In addition to killing thousands of good-paying jobs for hard-working American patriots, Bidens pen-stroke also robbed Texas refineries of roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day. Those extra barrels of oil are sorely needed today for us and for our allies. In fact, they would easily offset any oil we might otherwise import from Russia. Instead of kowtowing to his woke base, President Biden must wake up to the reality that energy independence and abundance are the cornerstones of any responsible domestic agenda. President Trump understood this; we cannot say the same about his successor. The prices at the pump are not just a consequence of Bidens radical climate agendabut a part of it. In retrospect, rescinding the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline was just the opening volley of a full-frontal assault against the fossil fuel industry, using as its weapons the destructive anti-energy policies promoted by President Biden and his administration. Their war machine has devastated investment in the industry, which needs substantial capital to survive and thrive. The investment required to produce more oil and gas may take 15-20 years to recoup. While President Biden and his eco-cronies remain in power, few bottom-line-respecting CEOs will have the intestinal fortitude to invest in traditional energy projects as long as the destruction of the fossil fuel industry remains a central plank of the Democrats political platform. With investment in fossil fuels drying up, gas prices have skyrocketed, affecting folks right here in Southeast Texas. Drivers adjust their spending habits just to afford commuting expenses. But even working more from home does not fully mitigate the consequences of higher gas prices. If the U.S. is not energy independent, it means that we unnecessarily put ourselves back at the mercy of oil-rich foreign autocrats. The Bidenistas have all but dropped any pretense of concern about the crisis at the gas pump. On the contrary, they are fairly straightforward about the moral imperative for the rest of us to just suck it up and accept the new reality that we live in brave, new fossil-free world until everyone buys (relatively expensive) electric cars so that we can shun gasoline altogether. Just dont ask these energy absolutists about the source of fuel that powers the electricity-generating plants that provide the much-needed charge for these e-vehicles when they, um, run out of gas, so to speak. If the radical Left felt any allegiance to logic, they would bolster their clean-energy fanaticism by supporting the least emissive form of electricity generation: nuclear power. But thats another argument, for another time. For now, just ask our neighbors in Matagorda County home of the South Texas Project electric generating station about the merits of this energy source. At least theyll tell you the truth. Going forward, lawmakers must come together, not to merely roll back Bidens disastrous policies of dependence on illiberal autocracies but to restore the promise of abundant, affordable, and reliable energy produced here in the United States of America. Jon Shapley, Staff photographer / Staff photographer For Southeast Texans concerned about our air quality a group that should include everyone the last thing they needed was another setback on a struggle that already includes too many disappointments. But that is exactly what they got last week when the U.S Supreme Court limited the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate certain greenhouse gas emissions. The court decided by a 6-3 vote that the Clean Air Act does not give the agency broad authority to regulate emissions from power plants that contribute to climate change. While the ruling doesnt technically enable industries to pollute more, it makes it harder for the federal environmental agency to regulate them when they do. The ruling now shifts this issue to Congress, which will have to give EPA the power thought to have been established by the Clean Air Act. Democrats in Congress would probably support these moves, but it takes time to move legislation through both chambers. And in the Senate, a Republican filibuster could prevent any bill from reaching President Bidens desk. Some local EPA officials believe that the ruling wont be too damaging, and we hope they are correct. As this plays out, they should keep trying to enforce federal laws on air quality as much as they can and their authority remains considerable. Mayors and county judges in Southeast Texas should also remain vigilant and speak up for local residents who might not know who to contact or what to say. Area industries should not use this ruling as a signal to increase emissions. They should be trying every year to make their facilities as environmentally friendly in every way. Local activist John Beard, founder and CEO of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, also made a good point in our story on Friday about this issue: "I am of the opinion that the president still has the power in his pen the power of executive order to accelerate the pace of this country getting into renewable and getting off fossil fuels, he said. He can still do it (with executive orders). Waiting on Congress to do this is kind of like waiting for snow to melt. We've been waiting for Congress to take action and waiting for this current Congress to take action is not an option." Hes right, and every day that excessive air pollution is allowed to hover over residential areas is another day that people with asthma or other breathing problems have to suffer. Others may develop cancer or lung ailments that otherwise could have been prevented. This is not right, and no one should have to tolerate it. Many large plants are good corporate neighbors who operate their facilities safely and include the latest pollution controls. They should not be put at a competitive disadvantage by other plants that do as little as possible or try to bend the rules when they think no one is looking. Clean air should not be regarded as some kind of luxury or something reserved for certain parts of the country. It should be the birthright of every American, including those who live right next to refineries in Port Arthur, or anywhere. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Beaumont Enterprise Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Kim Brent/The Enterprise Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Dade did it. Whether he did enough remains to be seen. Were talking about a package of school safety and mental health reforms following the tragic shooting in Uvalde. A lot of state officials got behind this effort, but it started with state Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont. Phelan, as Southeast Texans know by now, isnt just one of 150 members in the state House. Hes the speaker who leads the chamber, deciding who serves as committee chairs and shaping a lot of the legislation that makes it to the governors desk at the end of a session or ends up in a trash can somewhere in Austin. Even though speakers wield considerable power, they usually do it in the background. Its rare for a speaker to do this take the lead on a major initiative. But the Legislature wont be in regular session until January, and Phelan, unlike some hardliners in his party, was inclined to do something after Uvalde. So he led the charge on a package of changes that should make our schools safer. The effort commits $105 million to various school safety and mental health resources. About half of that money ($50 million) will be used to buy bulletproof shields for school safety officers, a specific request from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Other changes include $5.8 million to expand Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine statewide, $4.7 million to increase multi-system therapy across the state, $10 million in total for rapid response training for law enforcement and $17.1 million for school districts to purchase silent panic alert technology. The package will be funded through what is called a budget execution, which allows the state to transfer funds from one area of the approved budget to another. That maneuver is quicker than getting a bill through the House and Senate, where the effort could be sidelined by the objection of a few members or a problem with one part of the ensemble. But its not a complete end-around from the Legislature, nor should it be. This is how permanent laws should be passed, by an open vote of the peoples representatives. Each one of the initiatives will not be funded beyond Aug. 31, 2023, unless the Legislature chooses to do so. It is a step forward on school safety, but the question is whether it will be enough. It has no changes in gun laws, which are difficult to get through the House and Senate. This is where Phelan and other state leaders may face criticism in coming months. They did something after Uvalde, but the changes were mostly non-controversial and did not include discussion of a red-flag law for Texas. That will be a big issue in the next session of the Legislature whether Texas adds a red-flag law that allows authorities to temporarily seize the guns of someone who makes a specific threat, as in, Im going to shoot up the high school tomorrow. Some states have those laws, mostly those run by Democrats. But the Republican legislature and governor in Florida did approve a red-flag law following the Parkland school shooting in 2018, when the shooter was giving signs that he was about to do something horrendous (which he did). Right now, its unlikely that Texas will join this list, much less a proposal to forbid those under 21 from buying semi-automatic rifles. Thats what the shooter in Uvalde did, though he did pass the mandatory background check because he hadnt committed any crimes or been hospitalized for his mental problems. Well all find out what happens in the new session that begins in January. Phelan might be able to guide a red-flag law through the House. But the Senate, led by Lt. Gov. Patrick, would be a much bigger hill to climb. Gov. Greg Abbott would probably sign a red-flag bill if it made it to his desk, but he wouldnt expend a lot of political capital to get it there. If Republicans win big in November, as most analysts expect, they will probably be less inclined to compromise with Democrats on things like red-flag laws. The only thing that might change their attitude is another tragic school shooting, and no one wants that kind of motivation. BISHKEK, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Regular flights between China and Kyrgyzstan were resumed Tuesday with the launch of Urumqi-Bishkek-Urumqi flights, the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan said. A plane from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, landed at the Manas International Airport on Tuesday, at 1:48 p.m. local time (0748 GMT). The return flight departed from Bishkek at 3:45 p.m. The flights were the first after the suspension of direct flights between China and Kyrgyzstan due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the embassy said. Flights on the Urumqi-Bishkek-Urumqi route are operated by China Southern Airlines and the schedule will be once in two weeks. Theres nothing more anxiety-inducing than being one of the last ones waiting to reclaim your luggage as the number of bags coming down the carousel begins to dwindle. And, as many who share my apprehension will surely know, for the better part of the last few years, the lost (or damaged) luggage landscape has beenbleak. The reason for that is, per a new study from aviation technology company SITA, staffing shortages. Airlines, ground handlers and airports have downsized to maintain viability during the pandemic, which has impacted resources and expertise dedicated to baggage management, the report reads. Unaddressed, this challenge may see the mishandling rate continue to creep up and become much higher than it was pre-pandemic. In fact, in 2021, the global mishandled baggage rate spiked by 24% to 4.35 bags per thousand passengers, much of which the study credits to the resumption of international and long-haul flights. A further breakdown of that study shows that transfer bags account for the largest piece of the mishandled pie, with 41% of bags being delayed at transfer up from 37% in 2020. Delayed bags accounted for 71% of all mishandled bags in 2021 up from 69% in 2020 while the number of lost and stolen bags both increased to 6%. Can confirm, #Heathrow Airport, unmitigated disaster zone. No staff, disorganized, no information, security check in line spreading into the road outside, no fuel pressure to fuel the planes should have remembered to kiss my luggage goodbye! Iain Martin (@iainmartin3) July 2, 2022 But no study could have prepared me for the sight that is the main terminal at Londons Heathrow International Airport at present. Due to lack of staff and a surplus of flight cancellations, baggage has been piling up for weeks, and hundreds of bags can be seen, left totally unattended, while according to a report from Business Insider passengers are forced to wait days to be reunited with their belongings. The luggage situation at Heathrow Airport is nuts pic.twitter.com/2YYZUip5mC Hater Ackerman (@LilAioli) July 1, 2022 Staff were nowhere to be seen, everyone was pretty shocked. Abandoned luggage was left unsecured and could easily be stolen, one passenger said. For the uninitiated, earlier this year, British Airways stopped loading luggage and cleaning the aircrafts ahead of short-haul flights in a last ditch effort to keep up with travel demand, effectively telling passengers that their luggage would catch up with them in the coming days, and focusing instead on long-haul flights. Bags on the vast majority of our flights are being offloaded and returned to our customers as normal, a spokesperson for the airline said. On the very limited number of occasions when we experience severe operational challenges, we are apologizing to our customers and asking them not to wait for their bags. That said, the scene at Heathrow is a far cry from normal. So, if you were in the market for another incentive to carry on? Let this be it. And if youre headed to Heathrow by way of British Airlines anytime soon, Id also invest in an Apple AirTag, which can find items much further away with the help from the hundreds of millions of Apple devices in the Find My network. One Apple user even managed to foil a stolen luggage scheme thanks to his AirTag. For more travel news, tips and inspo, sign up for InsideHook's weekly travel newsletter, The Journey. The post The Baggage Situation at Heathrow Is Out of Control appeared first on InsideHook. MAIMANA, Afghanistan, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and 10 others injured after a military vehicle overturned in Afghanistan's northern province of Faryab on Wednesday, a provincial source confirmed. The accident occurred in the morning when a military pick-up veered off a road in Kotal-e-Gorzad locality in Faryab, Shamsullah Mohammadi, director of the provincial information and culture department, told reporters. The injured were transported to a nearby hospital as some of them sustained serious wounds, according to the source. All the affected people were members of provincial security personnel. Road accidents are frequent in the country mainly due to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, ahead of his departure to Bali, Indonesia for the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting, and Bangkok, July 6, 2022. Group of Twenty diplomats will gather in Bali this week for a meeting that analysts expect will turn into a diplomatic drama over the participation of Sergey Lavrov, foreign minister of Russia, which the West has ostracized for invading Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi are scheduled to attend the G20 meeting, which is set to begin on Thursday, and hold talks on the sidelines the next day, but a bilateral meeting between Americas top diplomat and Lavrov is not on the cards, officials in Washington said. Still, analysts warned, divisions over Lavrovs presence could sidetrack delegates at the Bali gathering hosted by Indonesia, this years G20 chair. It is likely there will be a diplomatic drama, such as statements that criticize Russia, Riza Noer Arfani, an international relations lecturer at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, told BenarNews. If the foreign ministers engaged in a diplomatic drama, more substantial issues such as efforts to mitigate the impact of the [Russia-Ukraine] war could be left unaddressed and that would make the meeting fruitless. Joko Jokowi Widodo, Indonesias president, has warned that a global food crisis caused by the war would send people in developing and poor countries into the abyss of extreme poverty and hunger. Since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, its military forces have blocked all of Ukraines Black Sea ports and cut off access to almost all of that countrys exports especially of grain sparking fears of a global food crisis. However during a meeting in Moscow last week, Russian leader Vladimir Putin assured Jokowi that he would provide secure food and fertilizer supplies from his country and Ukraine, to avert a global food crisis. While Western countries led by the U.S. have called on Russia to be disinvited from G20 meetings, other members of the grouping such as Indonesia and India refuse to do so and continue to maintain ties with Russia. During a stopover on Wednesday in Vietnam, a close Russian ally, Lavrov said he was not aware of any attempts to stop Russia from participating in G20 meetings. We have Indonesias invitation to attend both a [G20] Foreign Ministers Meeting to open in Bali tomorrow, and a G20 summit there in November, Russias TASS news agency quoted him as saying. If there have been any such attempts, the Indonesian authorities might have ignored them, he said. Give us a reason to meet Meanwhile, there promises to be plenty of drama at the foreign ministers meeting in Bali. Lavrovs Canadian counterpart has warned she would not shake his hand. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has promised some kind of response, saying we will not simply let Russia take the stage of the meeting. We all have an interest in ensuring that international law is observed and respected, she said in a statement before departing for Bali. That is the common denominator. Blinken plans to shun Lavrov as well. The U.S. State Department said Blinken would not meet Lavrov formally. We would like to see the Russians be serious about diplomacy. We have not seen that yet, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday. We would like to have the Russians give us a reason to meet on a bilateral basis with them, with foreign minister Lavrov, but the only thing we have seen emanate from Moscow is more brutality and aggression against the people and country of Ukraine, he said. Meanwhile, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that all G20 member countries would be represented by their top diplomats. Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah declined to comment on possible tensions over Lavrovs participation, but said: We as diplomats must anticipate all possibilities. He said that the summary of the meetings outcome could be in the form of a chairs statement from Indonesia. Vasyl Harmianin, the Ukrainian ambassador to Indonesia, said he hoped the meeting could spotlight what he called the continued killing of civilians in his home country. Preview of G20 summit Jakarta, which has been trying to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, said the meeting would discuss collective efforts to strengthen multilateralism and avert a looming food crisis caused by the war. Rising commodity prices and disruption of global supply chains have had a huge impact on developing countries, the foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday. For this reason, the G20 as an economic forum representing different regions of the world has the power to discuss these issues comprehensively to find sustainable socio-economic solutions. This weeks meeting could set the tone for the G20 summit in November, according to Agus Haryanto, a professor of international relations at Jenderal Soedirman University in Purwokerta. It will provide us with an idea of how the G20 summit will go. If the ministerial meeting is successful, it is likely that the summit will be attended by all heads of government, Agus told BenarNews. The ministers should talk about how to bring peace to Ukraine after Jokowis visit to Kyiv and Moscow last week, a senior Indonesian diplomat, Sugeng Rahardjo, told the national news agency Antara. The positive results from Jokowis trip deserve follow-up by G20 members at their meeting in Bali, Sugeng told the national news agency Antara. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov (left) meets with his Vietnamese counterpart, Bui Thanh Son, in Hanoi, July 6, 2022. Sergey Lavrov traveled to Russias closest ASEAN ally, Vietnam, before heading to the G20 foreign ministers meeting starting Thursday. The Russian foreign minister traveled to Hanoi for the quick visit with Moscows main Southeast Asian partner before attending a G20 meeting in Bali where Lavrovs Canadian counterpart has warned she would not shake his hand. Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told Canadian media she would instead confront him with facts and expose Russias narrative for what it is: lies and disinformation about the war in Ukraine. Canada, along with other Western countries, has imposed sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, now in its fifth month. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also is expected to snub Lavrov in Bali, with the State Department saying it cannot be business as usual with the Russian Federation. Vietnam, on the other hand, has refused to condemn the Russian war and objected to a U.S.-led effort to suspend Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council. Lavrov is the first Russian cabinet minister to visit Hanoi since President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation against Ukraine in February. His visit is taking place as Hanoi and Moscow celebrate the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership Vietnam has forged with only three other nations. The other comprehensive strategic partners are China and India. The most important partner The Russian foreign minister and his Vietnamese counterpart, Bui Thanh Son, met on Wednesday morning, leading Son to tell Russian state media that hed like to reassure you that Russia will always be our most important partner and the main priority in Vietnams policy. Son said he deeply believed that with the high level of political trust and a long-term interest, the Vietnam-Russia relationship would continue to develop. Moscow is Hanois traditional ally and its biggest arms supplier. Most Vietnamese weapons used by the navy and air force were purchased from Russia, leading to a dependence on Russian maintenance and spare parts, despite efforts to diversify arms supplies. Russian anti-submarine ship Marshal Shaposhnikov. [ITAR-TASS file photo] A Russian presence in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims historical rights over almost 80 percent, could also be seen as a counterweight for competing China-U.S. rivalry as well as keeping Chinas aggression at bay, analysts have said. On June 25 to 28, three warships of the Russian Navys Pacific Fleet, led by the Udaloy-class anti-submarine destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, visited Cam Ranh in central Vietnam where Russia operated a major naval base until 2002. Lavrov was quoted as telling his Vietnamese counterpart on Wednesday that in the context of current world affairs, once again we should unite and strive to maintain international laws, the principle of national sovereignty and non-interference in other countries internal affairs. The full agenda of the Russian ministers visit has not been disclosed but some analysts, including Artyom Lukin, deputy director for research at the School of Regional and International Studies at Russias Far Eastern Federal University, said boosting economic cooperation at a time when Moscow has been isolated and sanctioned would be one of the main topics. The Kremlin should already be more or less satisfied with Hanois position on the Ukraine crisis since Vietnams stance all along has been strictly neutral, Lukin said. Rather than securing Vietnams political neutrality, which is already there, Moscow needs to ensure that Vietnam continues and expands economic links with Russia. Between a rock and a hard place What is important for Russia now is how to restructure economic ties, trade, cooperation in industry and technologies with the non-Western world, said Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Presidium of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defense Policy. It is highly important for Russia to intensify all possible ties to find ways to avoid and bypass the economic warfare applied by the West, said the Moscow-based analyst. Artyom Lukin from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, pointed out that amid Western sanctions, Asia and the Middle East are replacing Europe as Russias main geo-economic partners. Vietnam is the only ASEAN country to have a Free Trade Agreement with Moscow and Vietnams economic significance for Russia will now grow substantially, both as a market in itself and as a gateway for Russias business interactions with Asia, he said. Despite COVID-19, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Russia reached U.S. $5.54 billion in 2021, a 14 percent increase from the previous year, according to official statistics. Yet the Ukrainian crisis that severely disrupted the global supply chain of food, fertilizer and energy has put Hanoi in an uneasy position. Vietnam has established important strategic links with foreign powers including the U.S. and Japan, both strongly opposed to the Russian war in Ukraine and both are considered supportive of Hanois interests in the South China Sea. Being seen as too close to Moscow would give Hanoi a disadvantage unless it could act as a go-between to mediate Russias interactions with the West, said a Vietnamese expert who was not authorized to speak to foreign media. Vietnam also has to be watchful for Russia-China joint maritime activities that could hurt its interests in the South China Sea. On Monday, Chinese and Russian warships were spotted just outside Japanese territorial waters around the disputed, Japan-administered Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing about the incident amid Chinas growing maritime assertiveness and increasingly robust China-Russia military ties, Kyodo News reported. Chinese media responded that the Russian Navys recent military activities in the West Pacific are a warning to Japan amid Japanese sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis. Reported by Radio Free Asia, an online affiliate of BenarNews. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center, right) talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (center, left) as Wang pays him a courtesy call at the Malacanang Palace in Manila, July 6, 2022. New President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s friendly policy toward Beijing promises to usher in a golden era in Sino-Philippine relations, Chinas top diplomat said during a visit here Wednesday, only weeks after Manila filed another protest over Chinese boats intruding in territorial waters. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a courtesy call to Marcos after meeting with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo. Wang said the nations two-way relationship overcame all sorts of difficulties under previous Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte, who handed the reins of government to Marcos on June 30. However, as Duterte pursued closer ties with Beijing during his six years in power, bilateral tensions over the South China Sea persisted as senior officials from his administration complained about the unauthorized presence of Chinese ships within the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Given the uncertain, unstable and complex regional and international dynamics, it is even more important for China and the Philippines, as two close neighbors, to join hands to further enhance mutual trust (and) expand mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang said through an interpreter about his meeting with Manalo. This will not only serve the common interest of the two countries and two peoples but will also be our important contribution to peace and stability in our region, he said, noting that cooperation during the previous administration brought tangible benefits to both countries. Wangs visit to Manila was his third stop on a five-nation tour of Southeast Asia. The Philippines, an archipelago in the middle of the disputed South China Sea, is one of the regions oldest defense allies of Chinas main superpower rival, the United States, whom Marcos father, the longtime Filipino dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, staunchly supported during his rule from 1965 to 1986. Shortly after Duterte took office in mid-2016, an international arbitration court ruled in favor of Manila over Beijing after its ships refused to leave Scarborough Shoal, which lies within the Philippine EEZ. Instead of confronting China, Duterte set aside the ruling in favor of investments and cooperation. The soft approach allowed Beijing to carry on with its expansionist moves in the maritime region, according to observers. With the election of Marcos, Beijings relationship with Manila has turned a new page, Wang said. We highly appreciate President Marcos recent commitment to pursuing friendly policy toward China, said Wang, whose government is seeking to blunt U.S. influence in Southeast Asia. And we speak highly of his recent statements that have sent out very positive signals to the outside world. He quoted Marcos as saying that China is the strongest partner of the Philippines and that he hopes to fortify the relationship. China, in turn, is ready to work toward the same direction, Wang said. And I am confident, with our two sides working together, we can surely open up a new golden era for the bilateral relationship. After the meeting, Marcos posted a message on Twitter saying he was grateful to Minister Wang Yi for extending the message of congratulations and support from President Xi Jinping. We also discussed agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and our commitment to maintaining the strong relationship between our peoples in the coming years. The new president had previously said he would pursue close ties with China without necessarily giving away the countrys sovereignty. On Tuesday, before Wang landed in Manila, Marcos said the visit was expected to boost ties with Beijing, including through military exchanges. Its essentially always trying to find ways to improve relationships. We would like for us to increase the scope. China and the Philippines should not only focus on the West Philippine Sea. Lets do other things too and that way we will normalize our relationship, Marcos said, referring to Philippine-claimed territories in the South China Sea. Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea including waters within the EEZs of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. While Indonesia does not regard itself as a party to the maritime disputes, Beijing also claims historic rights to parts of the sea that overlap Indonesias EEZ. Last month, the Philippines announced that it had filed a new diplomatic protest against Beijing over a massive Chinese fleet operating illegally in April around Whitsun Reef. The complaint cited a 2016 landmark international court ruling that invalidated Chinas sweeping claims to the waterway. Beijing has refused to recognize the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on Myanmars military regime to work with the opposition to resolve the countrys political crisis, days after an ASEAN envoy concluded a visit there without meeting any anti-junta stakeholders. According to a statement posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministrys official website on Monday, Wang told the junta that Beijing wants to see reconciliation in Myanmar and that all those involved in politics should hold a dialogue for the sake of the people. Wang was in Mandalay regions Bagan city on Sunday to attend the 7th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Summit, co-chaired by China and Myanmar. Chinas Foreign Ministry said Wang met with junta Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin on Monday to discuss reconciliation in Myanmar and informed him that his country can only move forward when political and social stability are achieved. A statement from the junta following Mondays meeting said the two sides discussed ways to work more closely with the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The statement did not address Chinas call for cooperation with Myanmars opposition, and calls by Radio Free Asia (RFA), an online affiliate of BenarNews, seeking comment from junta deputy information minister, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, went unanswered Tuesday. Myanmar-based political analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe told RFA that the military regime is seeking legitimacy on the global stage with the help of China after drawing condemnation from its fellow member nations in ASEAN over its Feb. 1, 2021, coup and an ensuing crackdown that has caused the deaths of at least 2,065 civilians, according to Thailands Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. They are aiming for international acceptance of what they are doing at home, he said. But Sai Kyi Zin Soe said the junta cannot expect its status within ASEAN to change overnight, even with the help of China, and expects a power struggle will continue with the bloc. Chinas Foreign Ministry has said it supports the international communitys efforts to protect Myanmars interests and reputation, according to a report by the state-run Xinhua news agency. A spokesman for the Pro-democracy Strike Committee (Dawei), an anti-junta group, told RFA that the junta is seeking Chinese help because of declining international support. The junta has no international support at all and so they must rely on China, said the spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity. As China is a world power, the regime is relying on it to obtain international recognition. Concern for investments Kyaw Zaw, a spokesman for the office of the president for Myanmars shadow National Unity Government (NUG), told RFA that Wang attended the Lancang-Mekong meeting in an attempt to legitimize the junta, and warned that doing so would be harmful to the countrys economy and development. It would be detrimental to regional security, as it would lead to more instability in the area and there will be even more violence in Myanmar, he said. The situation would become an obstacle for economic development. The militarys actions are based on violence, and violence does not bring stability. Kyaw Zaw said the NUGs goals are aimed at achieving economic growth for the country and that the shadow government is committed to protecting genuine businesses, while the military is turning economic projects into battlefields. Since the coup, Myanmars armed opposition has targeted Chinese investment and development in the country, particularly projects that could earn the junta income it says is used to oppress the people. At least 77 clashes took place in the 42 townships where the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor project was to be implemented between July 2021 and April 2022, according to research group Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar. Political analyst Ye Tun said China is concerned about its investments in Myanmar as the conflict is unlikely to end any time soon. Because of that, they are also concerned about their future investments in Myanmar and their security, he said. Thats why they are pushing for the implementation of the ASEAN agreement, he said, referring to a Five-Point Consensus agreed to by Min Aung Hlaing at an emergency ASEAN meeting on the crisis in April 2021. Points agreed to during last years emergency ASEAN meeting included an immediate end to violence in the country, the distribution of humanitarian aid, dialogue among all parties and the appointment of an ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar who would be permitted to meet with all stakeholders. The junta has yet to implement any of the points in the 14 months since the meeting, while continuing its violent crackdown on opponents. China has become the largest source of foreign investment in Myanmar since the withdrawal of Western businesses following the military coup. However, trade between the two countries dwindled to U.S. $4.3 billion in the 2021-2022 budget year, down from more than U.S. $5 billion a year earlier, according to figures from the juntas Ministry of Commerce. ASEAN Special Envoy Prak Sokhonn and Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing meet in Naypyidaw, June 30, 2022. [Myanmar military] Sham effort Wang Yis comments came days after Prak Sokhonn, the ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar, concluded a June 29-July 2 trip to Myanmar, when he met with junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and International Cooperation Minister Ko Ko Hlaing. He also met with seven ethnic armed groups all signatories of a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government since 2015 and seven political parties that won seats in Parliament in the countrys November 2020 election. A July 2 statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Cambodia, which hosts the rotating chair of ASEAN, said Sokhonn met with Min Aung Hlaing and Wunna Maung Lwin to find a way to work with the U.N.s representative for Myanmar, stop the violence, release political prisoners, speak with civilians including Aung San Suu Kyi and access areas where humanitarian assistance is difficult to reach. The statement said he discussed how the U.N. and international NGOs should be involved in humanitarian assistance with the juntas minister for International Cooperation, Ko Ko Hlaing. However, the envoy did not meet with any armed ethnic groups that are opposed to the juntas coup, nor the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won Myanmars 2020 election in a landslide victory before being deposed in last years putsch. Kyaw Htwe, a member of the NLDs Central Working Committee, said Sokhonns failure to meet the opposition or other anti-junta stakeholders during his second visit to Myanmar as ASEAN envoy would only serve to legitimize military rule. It was a meaningless, sham effort by the junta which showcased it as a sign of goodwill toward Myanmars democracy, but the special envoy was only allowed to meet with those who support the military, he told RFA. In fact, history has shown that talks excluding all ethnic groups and [detained NLD leader] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the legal winner of the 2020 elections and who still has the support of the people, have proved futile. Rakhine National Party Chairman Thar Tun Hla, who met with Sokhonn, called the special envoys visit unsuccessful, as it only focused on implementing one facet of the Five-Point Consensus. He only informed us that we will be able to do humanitarian work, he said. There are five points to the ASEAN consensus. Of the five, he has fulfilled only one and so the likelihood of the trip being a success is low. Aid allotment Thar Tun Hla said that while no other agreements were reached, Sokhonn had revealed that ASEAN allotted U.S. $1.5 billion in humanitarian aid for Myanmar. A spokesman for the Karen Social Welfare Group in Kayin state said that Sokhonns visit wouldnt benefit refugees on the ground because he had only discussed humanitarian issues with the military. The military is the one causing trouble for our people everyone can see this, he said. [He] only met directly with the military regime [and those they approved], and not the people, so we dont think it will be beneficial for the refugees. During his first visit in March, Sokhonn met with only a few people chosen by the junta. While he held more meetings this visit, political analysts said his failure to meet with key figures, such as Suu Kyi, will not be of much use. VIENTIANE, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The Lao authorities are holding talks with other ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries to share ideas on ways to attract more visitors and make them feel welcome. Plans will also focus on ensuring the health and safety of tourists as the COVID-19 virus continues to circulate, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Wednesday. These issues topped the agenda of the online 56th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Tourism, which took place in Lao capital Vientiane from Tuesday to Wednesday and was chaired by Khom Douangchantha, director general of the Tourism Marketing Department under the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism. The meeting noted that many ASEAN countries have adopted policies and measures to facilitate travel within the region, such as simplifying procedures around tourists' arrival and departure. ASEAN officials will continue to work together to revive tourism in the region under an action plan approved earlier this year, in collaboration with the relevant sectors. The ultimate goal is to revitalize the tourism industry and restore visitor numbers to pre-pandemic levels. This will include the development of diversified tourism products, marketing campaigns, improvement of tourism standards and connectivity, and the use of more digital systems to provide tourists with easier access to information. In addition, authorities in ASEAN will work with dialogue partners and international organizations to strengthen tourism and make it easier for tourists to travel. At the start of 2022, the Lao government initiated a policy to kickstart tourism in the form of green (safe) tourism areas, with travel limited to groups overseen by Lao tourism companies. This was followed by the full reopening of the country to visitors in May, with all restrictions lifted. Under the country's new entry and exit rules, visitors no longer need to take an RT-PCR test prior to departure for Laos and COVID-19 insurance is now not required. There is also no need for an ATK test at border crossings if visitors are fully vaccinated. Instead, they need only show a vaccination certificate. In the first quarter of 2022, some 626,825 domestic tourists made trips within Laos and 35,980 foreign tourist arrivals were recorded, with expectations that many more international tourists will come to Laos during the rest of the year. 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. Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass. GREAT BARRINGTON Police have released the name of Connecticut man who was killed after the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car on Route 7 on Monday afternoon. Antonio Desousa, 68, of Danbury, Conn., died of injures suffered in the crash after being airlifted to Albany Medical Center. A preliminary investigation indicates that Desousa's Harley Davidson collided with a grey Honda Accord driven by Tandoh Devine, 22, when Devine crossed the northbound lane to turn into the Bistro Box roadside eatery driveway. Great Barrington Police are asking anyone who witnessed the accident to contact the department as they seek more information for the ongoing investigation. The crash is being investigated by Great Barrington Police, the Massachusetts State Police Collision, Analysis & Reconstruction Section Unit and the Berkshire County District Attorneys Office. Any witnesses to the crash are asked to call Great Barrington police at 413-329-6871. HANOI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam imported more than 3.7 million tons of plastic worth approximately 6.8 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, up 0.9 percent in volume and 11.8 percent in value year on year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Wednesday. Between January and June, the country spent nearly 4.2 billion dollars importing plastic products, up 5.7 percent from the same period last year, according to the ministry. In 2021, Vietnam imported over 6.9 million tons of plastic totaling more than 11.6 billion dollars, up 4.7 percent and 38.2 percent respectively from the previous year, according to the General Statistics Office. PITTSFIELD Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harringtons office confirmed Tuesday that its investigation into the police killing of Miguel Estrella is nearing completion. Harringtons office said the findings from the criminal investigation of the shooting of Estrella, 22, by Pittsfield Officer Nicholas Sondrini on March 25 will be released publicly once completed and will be shared first with Estrellas family members by the end of this month. Spokesman Andy McKeever told The Eagle that the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorneys Office conducted a thorough and independent investigation. The District Attorneys Office has drafted findings of fact based on witness interviews and other investigatory materials and is currently drafting legal conclusions, said McKeever. McKeever said the DAs office is obtaining Spanish translations of key interviews for Mr. Estrellas family and will be presenting the findings to the family before the end of the month. He said the office will then release a comprehensive report to the public. The timeline for the reports release was first reported by WAMC. The investigation included medical records, reports from the Pittsfield Police Department and Emergency Medical Services, photographs from the scene, surveillance video, social media postings and 911 calls, the DAs office said previously. Estrella was experiencing an apparent mental health crisis March 25 when he was shot and killed by the Pittsfield police officer. PPD reviewed the killing of Estrella by its officer on Onota Street and said Sondrini followed all relevant department policies, training guidelines, statutory requirements, and use of force guidelines. Public officials and community members decried the shooting and, along with Estrellas family, have said they awaited the results of DAs investigation. Harrington and First Assistant Karen Bell conducted the investigation. Once the investigation is complete and all evidence is shared with the Estrella family, the Berkshire District Attorneys Office will make the findings available to the community and the Pittsfield Police Department, the DAs office said in April. GREAT BARRINGTON The new and unfinished Main Street roundabout is the star of community Facebook chatter as well as lighthearted ribbing of those who express fear of it. Now, Police Chief Paul Storti is weighing in with rules of the road. Storti has released instructions from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles for navigating rotaries and roundabouts. It explains that the rules for moving through roundabouts are the same as for rotaries, which are larger. Always yield the right-of-way to vehicles already in the rotary (unless told differently by signs or police officers) and to pedestrians; Use your turn signals in the same way as any other intersection; Travel through the rotary and, when you are ready to exit, use your right turn signal. Roundabouts are used on busy streets and their small size requires vehicles to reduce speed to 25 miles per hour or less. Roundabouts reduce the need to change lanes. Look for signs as you get near a roundabout to determine which lane you should be in. Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up "The key safety element to remember is that the vehicle within the rotary/roundabout has the right of way and the vehicle entering must yield to vehicles within the rotary/roundabout," the instructions say. The state Department of Transportation proposed the roughly $2 million project in 2018 after identifying safety and traffic flow problems at the junction of Route 7 and routes 23 and 41. Officials say it will be completed by next June. Much as we wish it werent true, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that an omicron subvariant dubbed BA.5 is rapidly spreading in Massachusetts and nationwide. The figures remain horrific: about 100,000 daily cases reported officially in the U.S., with 33,000 COVID patients in hospitals on a typical day (nearly 4,000 in intensive care) as well as 300 to 400 daily deaths. The death toll is much lower than the January 2021 peak of 3,300 but how callous and careless must we be to discount hundreds of deaths a day? Some hopeful indicators: Daily case totals in Berkshire County are fairly low and stable, though undercounted because most home tests are not reported to the state. Hospitalizations are limited, and deaths are in the single digits weekly. Health and safety protocols have eased, though some residents and visitors are choosing to mask at public indoor spaces. Here are 10 takeaways, based on reports from scientists: 1. Cases may be increasing in Massachusetts because BA.5 spreads so easily and escapes prior immunity, according to Matthew Fox, a professor of epidemiology and global health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Fox urged people to watch for symptoms, go for tests as needed and take more precautions. Fox also emphasized the importance of vaccinations and boosting. Dont panic, just prepare, he said. 2. Some medical teams are warning that BA.5 is more severe, based on reports of rising hospitalizations in Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Israel. The variant is now dominant in the U.S. and Europe. 3. Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said that what other countries have experienced is sending worrisome signals of case surges at the same time as new variants arrive. 4. While many of us are intent on putting the pandemic into the past, some people, especially with risk factors, feel slighted by the drive for normalcy. 5. The CDCs latest update shows 33 percent of Americans live in high-risk counties, mostly outside the Northeast. One of my favorite lines from somebody at the CDC was, You dont need to count the raindrops to know how hard its raining, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC. In those counties, the government agency recommends masking indoors in public. 6. Despite the official daily estimate of 100,000 new cases nationwide, thats not really a reflection of the total amount of virus circulating in the communities, said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, part of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. His back of the envelope estimate is about one million cases per day. Others project an actual total ranging from 300,000 to 500,000 every day. 7. Heres the most concerning statistic: More than half of vaccinated Americans have not received a booster. Three-quarters of those eligible for a second booster have avoided the shot. 8. A new study shows reinfections increase chances of new long COVID health impacts. The report, based on health records of more than 5.6 million Veterans Administration patients, indicates two or more confirmed infections double the risk of dying and triple the chances of hospitalization. 9. For the coming cold-weather season, updated vaccine formulas are expected to be available, starting in October, to protect people from the ultra-contagious omicron subvariants, especially BA.5. Were hoping that we can convince people to go get that booster, said Dr. Peter Marks, head of the vaccine office at the Food and Drug Administration. That would strengthen their protection since immunity starts to wane four to six months after a shot. Quote Were all letting our guard down, and any notion that COVID-19 is becoming endemic meaning we can live with it because its like influenza or a severe cold is premature. 10. Scientists are growing more confident that updated boosters offer strong protection against many different versions of the virus. This winters virus is expected to be a descendant of omicron. The bottom line: Officially, nearly a quarter of Berkshire County residents have been infected, though thats surely an undercount. I know many who have caught COVID-19 for a second time, especially if they havent taken the boosters. Some recent cases have not been mild. Were all letting our guard down, and any notion that COVID-19 is becoming endemic meaning we can live with it because its like influenza or a severe cold is premature. Want to get back to normal? We all do. But the virus has other ideas, and the plague is still among us. Material from The New York Times, CNN and the Boston Globe was included in this commentary. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle. After two-year absence, Pittsfield's Fourth of July Parade returns to great fanfare Pittsfield's Fourth of July Parade returned after a two-year hiatus from the COVID-19 pandemic. For those who attended, the parade offered a welcome return to form for Pittsfield, bringing smiling faces together on a nearly flawless morning. Remarkably normal might sound like an oxymoron. Amid the fanfare of Pittsfields Fourth of July Parade, though, that description from one paradegoer was remarkably apt. The Independence Day tradition in the heart of the Berkshires did not seem diminished by a two-year absence, and what was typical for pre-pandemic festivities was, in fact, remarkable this year: folks from all over and all walks joining to celebrate the holiday and the sheer joy of togetherness on a fine summers day. If theres a silver lining to be preserved from our time under the dark clouds of COVID, let it be that we never again take for granted these priceless, ephemeral moments of communal revelry. In this precarious moment when our country seems intent on tearing itself apart at the seams, its all the more inspiring to see our entire Berkshire community join forces in the spirit of fun and unity on the nations birthday. And as attendants will attest, it truly was a celebration of, by and for the full spectrum of the Berkshire community with every corner of that rich tapestry represented. Individuals, couples and families with kids of all ages cheered on a procession that included balloons and floats, officials and students, superheroes and local heroes, and representatives of Berkshire Benevolent Association for the Blind, a local Irish dance school, Festival Latino of the Berkshires and this newspaper, just to name a few. Its a heartening reminder that whatever the task at hand commemorating holidays, conquering COVID, curing the divisions that plague America or perhaps all three at once we are always stronger together. The city and the greater Berkshire community owes a great deal of thanks to all who participated to put the pep in the parades step, especially organizers faced with the tough task of resuming a cherished tradition after an unprecedented two-year pause. One paradegoer, who works on North Street, told an Eagle reporter that he had seen first-hand the pandemics depressing effects on downtown Pittsfield, which made the Fourth of July Parades successful return to the once-dormant streets all the more triumphant. It was uplifting, he said. It felt like a step forward after we had to take a step backward. We couldnt agree more. Theres no better time for a big step forward than a parade, and hopefully we can keep that pace. A bill passed by the Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday would extend until Dec. 15, 2023, several policies dealing with remote or virtual participation. The policies are set to expire July 15. Officials say they had no advance notice of a hate group's weekend march in Boston Squabbles happen in the best of churches. Why? Because we are sinners. Big fights can emanate from the smallest and most insignificant things, such as what color the Sanctuary carpet should be. When we ponder such a confrontation, we may think, Golly, thats just stupid. Well, it is. The Bible says, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Isnt that what caused Lucifer to become the devil? Isnt pride what claimed Adam and Eves innocence? Its an ugly thing, pride. And it has no place in brothers who want to obey the Lord and dwell in unity. Carpet color does not matter. Worshiping God in Spirit and truth does. Psalm 133:1 reads, Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Unity equals peace, and it evokes something which is good and indeed pleasant. King David was not wrong. What Does This Verse Mean? We could say this psalm has everything to do with a national unity within Israel, but unity which pleases the Lord always has a spiritual foundation. These songs of ascent were sung by Jewish pilgrims on their way to the Temple to celebrate three of their national feasts. The verse means we are to live in unity as Gods people. God will provide the way for forever-unity via reconciliation between Himself and us. What Is the Context of Psalm 133? The Psalm is introduced by this title, A Song of Ascents. Of David. King David is speaking in this Psalm to his brothers his large company of brothers (and sisters) who have also descended from the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Bible does not specify the circumstance for this psalm, yet this passage is called a Song of Ascent. According to Madeline Kalu, The Songs of Ascent are a collection of 15 Psalms that were traditionally sung by Hebrew pilgrims, who ascended the uphill road to Jerusalem to attend annual festivals in the Temple. This psalm is the fourth shortest psalm in the Bible (after Psalms 117, 134, and 131). In its three verses (seventy-one words), David rejoices over the goodness and pleasant nature of brothers who dwell in unity. The oil he mentions references the holy anointing oil which would infuse Aarons beard (and the air) with a pleasing aroma. Unity is like the dew of Hermon, which is an allusion to Gods blessings on His people who would have gathered in Jerusalem to worship Him as they celebrated the feasts. The unity is as the life-giving water (from snows and rains) which fell on Hermon coming to bless Israel on Mt. Zion. Mt. Hermon is the tallest mountain in Israel and Mt. Zion is the highest point in Jerusalem. It is where Aaron as a priest did his work as a mediator between God and man (in the tabernacle and then later in the Jerusalem Temple). Life forevermore. What is the meaning of this short phrase? Psalm 133:3b is the explanation of the comparison between unity and the dew of Hermon This looks ahead to Jesus. John Piper describes this well as he explains the Lords blessing is life forevermore, and Gods commandment of the blessing takes place on Mt. Zion, where our Lord Jesus was crucified and died for the sins of humanity (John 3:16) God reconciled man to himself by Jesus atoning work on the cross, sealing our unity with Him. (See Ephesians 2:13-18 and 1 John 5:11-13.) Who Are God's People, and Why Is It So Important for Them to Live in Unity? Believers are Gods people (1 Peter 2:9-10). At one point in history, Gods people were the Jews (Deuteronomy 14:2), but now Gentiles have been grafted in (Romans 11:17-24), and we who love Jesus as Lord and Savior are all Gods people. According to John MacArthur, Chaos, confusion, strife, envy, jealousy, anger, bitterness, dissension, fighting, hatred, indifference to the needs of others, selfishness, a lack of sacrificial love, all of these things violate the unity of the church and therefore they violate the will of God and they cripple His testimony in the world. The loving harmony and unity of the church is of grave concern to God. We know the devil would enjoy nothing more than to cause disunity within the church. Yet we are not to fear the evil ones devices because greater is He who is within you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Lets look at this from the perspective of Who authored the Bible: God Almighty through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the Bible 40+ authors. Every command in the Bible is from God Himself, and since He wrote it, we are to live by them. God Himself is the ultimate model of unity. Consider the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit living as One in perfect fellowship (Deuteronomy 6:4). We are in union with the Trinity. Throughout His Farewell Discourse (John 13-17), Jesus spoke of His union with the father and the Holy Spirit. Sinclair Ferguson wrote, The point of Jesus' teaching is not merely to stun our minds or stir our imaginations. It is to give us a sense of the vast privilege of union with Him. Because our God is a unified Being, we are commanded to model unity within His church and without as the world peers in to see what being a Christian is all about (Philippians 1:27-2:4). In Romans 12:18, we read, If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Paul later tells Timothy, Moreover, he [church elder] must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil (1 Timothy 3:7). Paul also told the young preacher, Timothy, Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress (1 Timothy 4:15). The world is watching and, as we obey the Lords commands, unity will dwell within the church. What Would True Unity Look Like? In short heaven on earth. Jesus taught the disciples to pray for Gods will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Unity as God intends is a good thing - the best thing - because it reflects Jesus to the church and to the world. We must remember though; unity can also be used for wicked purposes, which can go terribly wrong. The people who decided to build the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) came together (unified) with the express purpose of making a name for themselves. They wanted glory for their names, not Gods. Or consider Korahs rebellion against Gods chosen man, Moses (Numbers 16:1-50). Conspiring against the Lord as a unified group brought only condemnation and, in the case of Korah and his co-conspirators, death. True unity is based upon Gods commands, and it reflects His character and makes His church function the way He intends. Do Gods People Have to Agree on Everything? It takes a Christ-centered body to be able to disagree on things and retain their spiritual unity (and therefore, witness). On the essentials of Christianity, unity must exist. Tim Challies spells these out as: the inspiration and authority of Scripture, the doctrine of justification by faith, doctrines relating to Christs deity and incarnation, and the doctrines relating to His work His atoning death, resurrection and the reality of His miracles. But on the non-essentials, we have certain freedoms. Non-essentials of the faith include such decisions as how often to have communion and baptisms, etc. As far as the color of the carpet? As we stated before, it does not matter. When we take our eyes off Jesus, Who is our reason for, well, everything, we get caught up in decisions that matter not one whit for eternity, unless a person sins when they dont get their way. What Would This Look Like for Us Today? How are we to present ourselves to the world as Christlike if we are not unified in Him? Kevin DeYoung, as he expounds on the idea of church unity as defined in Ephesians 4:1-16, says, The call to unity is the summons to show in relational practice what is already true in spiritual reality. Pastor DeYoung, in the same article, states, The spiritual reality on which relational unity is based is described in seven parts: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Paul wants the Jews and Gentile Christians in Ephesus to get along because, despite their historic, ethnic, and cultural differences, they have these deep spiritual realities in common. 1 Corinthians 1:10 adds to the command, I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. King David rejoiced at the realization of brothers dwelling together in unity. So too may we because our unity proclaims to the world we are Christ followers and are surrendered and bound to Him for His glory and for our good. And King David said it well that it is a good thing. Jesus, in His High Priestly Prayer, prayed for our unity, I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are YoursI do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me (John 17:9, 20-21). Does it get any better (or stronger) than to have our Savior praying for us to be unified in Him? Photo credit: Getty Images/Worawee Meepian Lisa Loraine Baker is the award-winning author of Someplace to Be Somebody (End Game Press, February 2022). Lisa writes fiction and nonfiction and is currently co-writing a Christian living book with her husband, and a suspense novel. Lisa is a member of Word Weavers, Intl (as a critique partner and mentor), AWSA, ACFW, Serious Writer Group, and BRRC. Lisa and her husband, Stephen, inhabit their home as the Newlyweds of Minerva with crazy cat, Lewis. What makes people special? Humans are the only species to create language, to build cities, and to move beyond the laws of nature and institute civilizations. Humanity can do all of these special things because God created them to carry the Imago Dei - the image of God. God creates, so people can create. God institutes order, so people can institute order. Part of being made in the image of God also means having a bit of His character. God is Spirit, so people have spirits. The Bible asserts, But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand (Job 32:8). The spirit of a person was put in them so they could connect with God and be like Him. Just as part of Gods character is Spirit, people have spirit that endows on them the image of God. What Is a Spirit? When considering what it is that makes a human made in the image of God, the idea that God gave man a spirit and defining that is key. Everyone has a mind that allows them to think and reason. The heart helps people feel and connect. The Greek word for soul is psyche, which can also be translated as personality. The soul is the unique character traits attached to the part of the spirit in a specific body, mind, and heart. The Greek word for the spirit, pneuma, translates roughly to breath; it is the living essence that connects the body, heart, and mind, and will return to God when a Christian dies. The spirit is that which is eternal in a person. In fact, when Jesus died on the cross, Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit! And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:46). He committed His eternal spirit, which continued to exist, even though His body stopped functioning. At the resurrection, His spirit and body reunited. The body will die, but the spirit will continue into the next life, either in Heaven or Hell. Christians believe the spirit and the body will be reunited one day, made perfect to live forever with God. The Bible asserts the spirit helps people know God is real, and that when someone becomes a Christian, testifies to being a child of God. According to a traditional understanding of this issue, animals can be seen to have souls - personalities specific to them - but do not possess the spirit of God that will go on into eternity the same way it is understood that humans will. Whether or not this means they will not be in Heaven is a different topic. God is spirit. One of His persons in the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. Over and over again the Bible refers to God as spirit, even before the creation of the world. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). When He breathed life into Adam, something He only did for humanity, He gave Adam a spirit, so that Adam could truly be in His likeness. There are other spirits. Angels and demons exist in a spiritual capacity. They are eternal beings that wage spiritual warfare, obey or disobey God, and can make themselves present in the world, but are of it. The Bible encourages believers to use the Holy Spirit, prayer, the Bible, and discernment to evaluate both the spirit of other people, and sometimes potential supernatural spirits. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1). What Does the Bible Say about the Spirit? While there is no one passage in the Bible which defines what the spirit is, there are verses that discuss it. These verses include, but are not limited to: Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. Acts 7:59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Can the State of Our Spirit Change? Gods spirit is perfect and unchanging; mans spirit is influenced by sin, by struggles, by pain, and by situations. Throughout the Scriptures, the spirits of people are described in different states, often because it is constant battle with the flesh; Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38). Paul encouraged believers in his letter to the Ephesians that a believer can have their spirit strengthened, That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you, being rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:16-17). Ultimately, without Gods Spirit, all people will cave into the pressures of the world and the desires of the flesh. Through salvation and a relationship with the living God, the human spirit can be elevated, encouraged, and do the will of God. The prophet Isaiah wrote about the encouragement of the human spirit: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:28-31). Those who rely on the Spirit of God for nourishment, refreshment, and knowledge will always have their spirit replenished, because God is everlasting. A Prayer to Love God with Your Whole Spirit Holy Father, Thank you for giving me life. I lift up my voice in praise for Your mighty hand and Your infinite creativity and wisdom. You gave me the breath of life, Your Spirit, and Your image. When I strayed away from You and sinned, You extended forgiveness and grace. You sent Jesus Christ to die in my place on the cross, to pay for my sins, so that I may have my sins blotted away. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to indwell me and to guide me. Lord, please strengthen me through Your spirit, so that I may worship You and love You with my whole heart, spirit, and mind. My spirit is willing and eager to serve You, but my flesh is weak. I often do what I know is wrong, or I walk away from You, letting my relationship grow cold. I will stumble and fall, but You keep picking me up. Lord, I ask that you continue to keep me connected to You, strengthening my love for You. Help me to see You working and moving. I want to love You with my whole spirit Lord. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. It can be confusing when trying to study the things that are eternal, ethereal, and impossible to see. Faith is an important part of the Christian life, but everyone wants to understand their own nature. The spirit is that gift of breath and life from God that experiences a relationship with Him now, and will go on into eternity to be with Him. Prayer for a strong spirit that is empowered by God will always be answered, and when the spirit is strengthened, every Christian can finish their race well. Sources Strong, James. Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible: Updated and Expanded Edition. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 2007. Walvoord, John F. and Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Old Testament and New Testament. United States of America: Victor Books, 1987. Wilmington, H.L. Wilmingtons Guide to the Bible. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1981. Wommack, Andrew. Spirit, Soul, and Body. Tula: Harrison House, 2010. Photo credit: Getty Images/BrianAJackson Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer and editor. She maintains a faith and lifestyle blog graceandgrowing.com, where she muses about the Lord, life, culture, and ministry. JAKARTA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A ship with 18 people on board capsized in the water off Mimika district of Central Papua Province in eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, leaving 11 people missing. A search operation is underway and seven people were rescued, a rescuer said. The ship was hit by huge waves under a poor weather condition on Tuesday, and was reported to the office on Wednesday, said George Leo Mercy Randang, the head of the search and rescue office of the district. The ship departed from a seaport in Sorong town of West Papua Province, and was heading to Timika district, he said. First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain. Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that. And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details. If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau underlines the importance of international organizers such as VNU Exhibitions Asia Pacific Being in its 10th year in Thailands exhibition market, VNU Exhibitions Asia Pacific is looking for an eventful 2022. VNU Asia Pacific ventured into both offline and virtual modes to keep the stakeholder and the industry connected. Additionally, with TCEB introducing the new brand Thailand MICE: Meet the Magic, Thailand is taking over the center stage and becoming the Number 1 facilitator of dynamic marketplace conversations for the entire region. TCEB President, Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, said New opportunity for business growth is one key cornerstone in our new brand for Thai MICE industry. It results from more investments in the strategic industries set out in the Thai governments policies. Now that Thailand and the region are reopened, TCEB sets sight to use MICE for international business recovery and maximization of new opportunities for growth in Thailand. Exhibitions are inevitably our key platform in achieving the goals. With a respectable profile and solid foundation, VNU can bring robust trade to the economy not only in Thailand but also in the region. To reinforce such position of our stakeholders, TCEB is expanding facilitation services, advocating sustainability, grooming exhibitions in new MICE Cities, and strengthening ties with industrial sectors. A springboard for enhanced business in the region will become a key trademark of exhibitions in Thailand. All major trade fairs in Southeast Asia are returning to the show floor The recent weeks and first shows we have conducted proved to us yet again that face-to-face business is absolutely irreplaceable and companies and their representatives were all waiting to showcase their innovations, meet again, share knowledge, network, and source new business opportunities. The international turnout of exhibitors and visitors at our shows here in Thailand is seeking new sourcing countries or go-to-markets, especially with other regions such as China facing major challenges at the moment said Mr. Igor Palka, Managing Director of VNU Asia Pacific. Exhibition Calendar in Q3 and Q4 promises new launches and familiar brands in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia The upcoming months will witness some promising exhibitions of brands of VNUs exhibition portfolio, such as Thailand LAB INTERNATIONAL and Bio Asia Pacific will be held in September, but also finally have many first editions of several postponed trade fairs, such as Health and Nutrition Asia by VIV (Animal Health business) and BYOND MOBILE (5G Technology business) also all in September. Pet Fair South East Asia (Animal Companion business) will be launched in October to open its doors, welcoming professionals from various industries this year in Bangkok, Thailand. Furthermore, VNU will organize the trade fair for the livestock and aquaculture industry, ILDEX Vietnam in August, ILDEX Indonesia, and Aquatica Asia in November 2022 to cover the market need in other regions of the Southeast Asian market. The company is taking up 100,000 sq ft of space to build a comprehensive discovery services centre TCG Lifesciences (TCGLS), a global contract research organisation (CRO) and CDMO company with operations in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Richmond, VA, and Princeton, NJ, has opened a new R&D facility in Pune, as part of a major expansion. Pune with its proximity to Mumbai and Gujarat offers a great ecosystem of talents, scientific institutions, and relevant industry players which TCGLS plans to leverage to build a major presence there. It is taking up approximately 100,000 sq ft of space to build a comprehensive discovery services centre. Starting with an efficient team of chemists and support personnel in July 2022, TCGLS foresees the ability to accommodate a sizeable batch of chemists, biologists, and formulation scientists in the coming years. It is also looking at opportunities in speciality chemicals and polymer sciences activities in line with its parent company, The Chatterjee Group's investments in those domains. The labs are equipped with automation devices, safety instrumentation, and regular and walk-in fume hoods. It is supported by general access to scientific journals/databases, IT systems with secured networks, human resource officers, and best practices in safety and supply chain. Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA) has opened the doors to its new flagship boutique Iqos store in Canal Walk, Cape Town, five years after the smoke-free brand was introduced to the local market. Source: Supplied The company has openly committed to a move away from the cigarette business and continues to expand its Iqos portfolio of electronic tobacco devices designed to heat rather than burn tobacco, and the brand's retail footprint. Iqos heats specially-created tobacco sticks, called Heets, at a controlled temperature, avoiding combustion and producing an aerosol that emits on average 95% lower levels of harmful chemicals than an ordinary cigarette, according to the company. While the device provides a nicotine fix and tobacco-taste satisfaction for smokers, Iqos does not produce smoke, ash or a cigarette smell. Since 2008, the Marlboro and Chesterfield maker has invested over $9bn in scientific research, product- and commercial development, and in production capacity to drive the continuous innovation of smoke-free products. Our significant continued investment into stores like the Canal Walk site, reinforces our commitment to achieving a smoke-free South Africa, with a product that is a much better choice for adults than continued smoking. It's a commitment like this that is in line with PMIs full-scale global effort to offer adult smokers better alternatives that can ultimately replace cigarettes, commented Branislav Bibic, managing director of PMSA. Iqos accounts for 30% of global revenues Speaking during a panel at the Cape Town store launch, Ulreich Tromp, director of external affairs at PMSA, confirmed that regular cigarettes remain a big part of PMIs business, but stated that the company is working to change that in line with its publicly stated mission to build a smoke-free future. Iqos is currently available in 71 markets globally, and is expected to be available in 100 markets by 2025. PMI employs nearly 1,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and support staff to facilitate the delivery of smoke-free solutions, including those employees based at its research and development facility, dubbed The Cube, in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Source: Supplied In the first quarter of 2022 alone, smoke-free products represented more than 30% of PMIs total net revenues, and the company aims to grow this percentage to more than 50% by 2025. Ninety percent of PMIs commercial spend is directed towards the smoke-free category, and even the bulk of marketing activities on the popular Marlboro brand is focused on guiding users towards Iqos as an alternative. Through products like Iqos, PMI aims to provide people who intend to continue smoking with a reduced risk alternative to traditional cigarettes. By now everyone knows the harmful effects of smoking. Despite all the awareness campaigns, only 1 out of 10 smokers will quit successfully. What do you do with the other nine? Iqos is not targeting non-smokers, but we are targeting existing smokers who want to continue smoking, said Tromp. We're out at @canal_walk for the launch of the new #Iqos boutique store - five years since the smoke-free brand launched in the country. @InsidePMI pic.twitter.com/NmmX2xcOdV Bizcommunity Retail (@Biz_Retail) June 30, 2022 Touch, taste, learn, engage For PMI, Iqos stores play a key role in converting cigarette smokers to the smoke-free brand. The slick design of Iqos products extends to the layout and interiors of the brands boutique stores. Visit one of them, and youll know what to expect from the Iqos retail experience no matter where you are in the world. More importantly, the stores are an environment for adult smokers to engage with the brand in a more physical way and to learn about the science behind the product - an experience difficult to replicate at the average supermarket kiosk where many South Africans purchase their nicotine products. The brands boutique stores include a dedicated area where visitors can witness the science behind Iqos being demonstrated. These stores also boast discovery bars, where Iqos users can explore the various Heets' flavours available and even do a chocolate pairing that enhances the different tobacco aromas. Source: Supplied Retail is a key opportunity for us, David Kadalie, PMSAs director of consumer experience, said at the Cape Town event. He explained, Its so important to have a space where smokers can come in and experience the science, understand how the product works and try it out, because its very difficult to capture all those elements when youre in a [supermarket], where dwell-time and opportunities to engage and educate are limited. Spaces like [the Canal Walk store] allow smokers to really engage [with the product], and also offers our growing user base the opportunity to see what beautiful accessories we have, the new flavours there are, and to enjoy a taste experience to see which Heets variant they prefer. Kadalie noted that Iqos has recorded double-digit growth since it landed in South Africa five years ago, and according to PMI, 70% of cigarette smokers who switch to Iqos will do so successfully and fully commit. But this switch relies on education around product use and a fair amount of handholding during the transition phase, with Iqos representatives regularly checking in on users throughout the journey. From product brand to platform brand With 1 billion cigarette smokers worldwide and 11 million in South Africa alone, Kadalie said its been encouraging for the company to witness a growing appetite among smokers in search of less harmful alternatives. However, he mentioned that PMI is aware that one solution wont necessarily address the preference of every nicotine user today and shared that the company has a platform of products currently in development. Iqos itself is shifting from a product brand to a platform brand, so there will be exciting things to come in the future, Kadalie said. Over the last year, PMI announced a spate of acquisitions in the pharma space, and recently agreed to acquire Swedish Match, one of the world's biggest makers of oral nicotine products, in a multi-billion-dollar deal. Source: lightwise 123rf Clean Creatives recently launched in South Africa Even as the impacts of climate change become increasingly apparent and the alarm bells ring louder, energy companies and politicians continue to plan new fossil fuel projects. The science is unambiguous if we want the planet to remain habitable, we cannot afford any new investments in coal, oil and gas. To do so would be moral and economic madness, says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. That major concern aside, it doesnt even make economic sense to expand the fossil fuel industry given the comparative cost benefits of modern alternatives. A windfall for advertising With this in mind, fossil fuel companies which are facing an existential crisis of their own are putting serious money into campaigns that seek to legitimise their actions and win over politicians and the public at large. This provides a windfall for marketing, advertising and public relations firms, many of whom are benefiting financially from the big greenwashing drive just as they did when tobacco companies sought to paint their harmful products in a positive light. In both cases, the creative industry is employed to make destructive corporate actions look neutral or even positive. This, of course, leads to significant negative outcomes for society, and delayed action. Creative industry starting to push back But some in the creative industry have had enough, and theyre starting to push back. Many are pushing their firms to join movements such as Clean Creatives, a global coalition of roughly 300 advertisers and public relations agencies who are cutting ties with fossil fuel clients. These agencies have pledged to decline future contracts with the fossil fuel industry. In giving up short-term opportunities to boost profits, they are ensuring their own long-term sustainability as pressure mounts on companies fanning the flames of climate change. Those who continue to do the fossil fuel industrys bidding will face ever-increasing scrutiny. Lawsuits are already piling up against fossil fuel companies, and their creative partners in greenwashing will soon become targets themselves. The Annual F-list programme With this in mind, Clean Creatives has launched an annual F-List Awards programme, which highlights public relations firms that are the biggest enablers of fossil fuel companies transgressions. The awards, which include categories such as Excellence in Science Fiction, recognise the most egregious campaigns on behalf of fossil fuel companies. Cannes on board At this years Cannes Lions event in June the largest gathering in the creative marketing community a former winner of the Cannes Lions award interrupted the ceremony to return his award and demand a ban on fossil fuel advertising, while activists held protests outside the Palais des Festivals. After the event, the Creatives for Climate non-profit foundation held a Greenwash Watch forum to hold the industry to account for its failures to act with integrity on the climate crisis. Fed up with greenwashing in the industry The creative industry must play its part by refusing to assist fossil fuel companies in deceiving the public about the biggest crisis facing all life on earth. Besides downplaying the magnitude of the crisis, fossil fuel groups are telling consumers that theyre embracing sustainability even though almost all of their spending is still directed at coal, oil and gas projects. For decades, many in the fossil fuel industry have invested heavily in pseudo-science and public relations with a false narrative to minimise their responsibility for climate change and undermine ambitious climate policies, Guterres said recently. Its time for our industry to step up and be a force for good. This is particularly important in a country such as South Africa, which is warming at twice the global average rate putting food security and livelihoods at risk as droughts and floods become the new norm. The only path to energy security and a liveable planet is through cheap, clean energy. Thankfully, the creative industry is beginning to wake up to this fact. Many South African creatives are also fed up with greenwashing in the industry. Clean Creatives will hold its first event in the country on 12 July, in Cape Town. We encourage marketing, advertising and public relations professionals to sign our pledge and join us in our efforts to promote ethical practices in our industry. Ahead of the annual awards ceremony that will take place on 18 July, The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2022 has announced the 51-100 ranked list. South Africa has hit the mark with two restaurants from the Western Cape included on the list. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the 50 Best. Featuring venues from 22 destinations, the 50 Best 51-100 commends highly respected restaurants from all corners of the world - making this a massive achievement for the South African restaurants on the list, Wolfgat and La Colombe. Wolfgat Placing at 90, Wolfgat is a treasure of Paternoster that won 50th in the list last year - making it the best restaurant in Africa for 2021. Run by chef Kobus van der Merwe, Wolfgat offers a unique dining experience that focuses on dishes inspired by the ocean. The seven-course menu can be enjoyed in a cosy atmosphere that hosts 20 diners at a time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wolfgat (@wolfgat) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wolfgat (@wolfgat) La Colombe Coming in at the 56th spot, this isnt La Colombes first time in the 50 Best spotlight. In 2021, the restaurant scored 80th place. Run by chef James Gaag, this minimalist restaurant is nestled on the slopes of the Cape Peninsula. A treehouse-like setting with a large glass ceiling that allows for light to come in, La Colombe provides a food experience that is theatrical. The venue also has an iconic sister location, La Petite Colombe, in Franschoek. Thank you, not only to the judges, but to every diner who has visited and supported us over the past year well be raising a glass to all of you this evening! said La Colombe after winning 56th place. View this post on Instagram A post shared by La Colombe Restaurant (@lacolombect) View this post on Instagram A post shared by La Colombe Restaurant (@lacolombect) The voting panel is comprised of 1,080 independent authorities in the world of gastronomy. The top 50 winners and awards ceremony will take place on 18 July. To see the full 51-100 list, go here. Proudly South African is hosting its inaugural Local Wine Expo this week in Sandton. Theres no doubt that wine is one of South Africas most loved and popular local products. The country currently boasts over 92,000 hectares of vines for growing wine grapes, producing over 1,042 million litres in 2020. Further pointing to its significance for the economy, the wine industry is currently valued at some R55bn or 1% of the countrys GDP, while employing close to 270,000 people. Eustace Mashimbye, Proudly SAs chief executive officer, says, South Africa is the home of many globally renowned wines, and after two exceptionally difficult years for the industry, this expo represents an important opportunity to showcase and celebrate their many superb products. We also hope to raise awareness of the importance of patriotism, and the significance of choosing local wines for the economy given the significance of the industry for stimulating businesses and job creation throughout its value chains, Mashimbye continues. During the Local Wine Expo, visitors should be on the lookout for legendary local winemakers such as the proudly Black female-owned Shumayela Holdings Truevine Wines and Absolute Style Wines, and father and son-owned La RicMal, along with 25 other wine producers from across South Africa. Local chocolatiers and cheesemakers have also joined the festivities to offer wine connoisseurs the opportunity to enjoy their favourite cabernet sauvignon with aged cheddar, or a sweet rose with white chocolate. The Local Wine Expo is expected to see around 2,000 visitors throughout the three days, and gates will be open from 3pm to 8pm every day. Thursday morning will kick off with a panel session for retail buyers and members of the media exploring topics such as the wine industrys value chain, and ways to elevate the industrys role within the economy. In the spirit of promoting safe driving, Proudly SA requests that visitors drink responsibly and never drive under the influence of alcohol. Patrons are encouraged to use e-hailing or chauffeur services or to have sober designated drivers. The Local Wine Expo will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 7-9 July. To register, go here. The expo is run in partnership with the Department of Trade Industry and Competition, the Southern Sun, Wine Arc, National Agricultural Marketing Council, the SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit, Tourism Business Council of South Africa and Kaya FM. It was reported earlier this year that the Malaysian carmaker Proton was making a return to South Africa with an arsenal of new products and CMH Group would be handling the dealerships and distribution. As a reminder, the Malaysian brand is owned by Chinese carmaker Geely since 2017. Geely also owns Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, and has a stake in Mercedes-Benz. Now a report from BusinessTech has confirmed some details and pricing of the Proton products that will be going on sale in SA from September. We understand that CMH will have 25 Proton dealerships and the first batch of cars has already arrived in SA. So, what can South African motorists expect? Therell be two SUV models; the Proton X50 and the Proton X70. All are powered by a 1.5l three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. There are multiple states of tune, with 110 kW / 226 Nm and 130 kW / 255 Nm. We suspect this motor is similar to the one found in the XC40 T3. Proton X50 From the price list, we can see that there will four levels of trim: Standard, Luxury, Executive, Premium. Pricing will start at R450 000 and go all the way to R550,000. The flagship model gets the 130kW/255Nm turbocharged engine, while the rest of the range makes do with 110kW and 226Nm. Transmission choices have yet to be confirmed, but going on segment preferences, we suspect that it will all be automatic gearboxes. A fuel tank capacity of 45ls is standard. Dimensions of 4,330mm, 1,800mm, and 1,609mm put it in the Toyota C-HR and Kia Seltos territory. Proton X70 The bigger Proton X70 is offered in four levels of trim, with one model offering all-wheel drive. All derivatives feature the turbocharged 1.5l three-cylinder petrol with 130 kW and 255 Nm. The vehicle comes with a 60l fuel tank. Pricing starts from R519,000 and goes up to R600,000. Again, we suspect this model will be automatic-only. It is sizing of 4,519mm, 1,831mm, and 1,694mm puts the Proton in the same bracket as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Mazda CX-5. Well have more details on both of these products closer to their launch in September 2022. This article was originally published on Cars.co.za. FIRtech has introduced a Vat reconciliation bot to help these cash-strapped municipalities simplify their Vat administration and recover unclaimed revenues. Source: Supplied. FIRtech chief executive officer, Ugan Maistry. It affords municipalities the opportunity to customise functionality and outputs, as well as the support to extend Robotic Process Automation (RPA) into supporting processes to create a fully automated business process. The Vat reconciliation bots ability to mimic human actions is the most decisive attribute elevating RPA to the most appropriate technology for Vat reconciliation. This tool automatically generates a Vat reconciliation report that can be reviewed by humans. FIRtech chief executive officer, Ugan Maistry says cash-strapped municipalities are missing obvious opportunities to recoup unclaimed taxes. Often, they are focused on bigger budget items, but they need to realise that one obvious answer to cash preservation is hiding in plain sight. Local authorities consume goods and services from the private sector to provide services to the public. These goods and services attract Vat, but the municipality does not levy Vat on all of their services to the public. This means there is a massive imbalance between the input and output tax namely taxes paid versus taxes charged. The incentives for the execution of exhaustive and accurate Vat reconciliation surpass that of naive compliance; the products thereof can ensure substantial savings by minimising erroneous over-payments of Vat obligations within payment periods and guarantee maximum recoveries of any overpayments at the close of the tax year. Furthermore, underpayments result in penalties and interest. That a robust Vat reconciliation system is essential in any business is undisputable, however contemporary businesses remain seeking effective solutions primarily due to the high dependence on irreplaceable human capabilities at several points in the Vat reconciliation process. The challenges many municipalities face to resolve their Vat reconciliation woes include: The requirement to deploy a multitude of specialised skills to obtain a final reconciliation (IT personnel, data analysts or engineers, accountants and auditors, admin personnel and clerks; The long lead times required to prepare reports for physical investigation (extending to months in most cases); The inaccuracies that proliferate the final review reports The need for perpetual management oversight of the Vat reconciliation process; and Auditors have to resort to sampling of the set of transactions in order to validate the robustness of the business systems. The Vat reconciliation process works across legacy Enterprise Resource Planning software (ERPs) mainframes, custom applications, desktop applications and all other IT platforms. Any technology platform that can be utilised by a human can also be navigated by an RPA robot. It leverages other application software through the existing applications interface; therefore, it is not technically integrated. Since complex integration is not required, RPA programs can be launched in a matter of days or weeks, resulting in a low-cost implementation and high return on investment. Furthermore, it is non-disruptive, the municipalities' core technology remains intact. It is extremely versatile, and able to process a variety of input file formats and configurations. More importantly, it is non-intrusive, in that it does not require specialised integration into existing systems. The Vat reconciliation bot is modular, so it allows one to extend the functionality as per client requirements, so it can, for example, retrieve ledgers from ERP systems; and read, validate and reconcile documents using customised machine-learning models. In conclusion, it reduces the lead times for the generation of a Vat reconciliation report from months to hours. Software bots do not introduce subjectivity in a process; they are extremely accurate and require minimal management oversight or specialised skills to operate. Trade between China and Africa is growing. The General Administration of Customs of China recently noted that bilateral trade between China and Africa amounted to $254.3bn in 2021, an increase of 35.3% from 2020. In the first quarter of 2022, China's Customs Data confirmed that trade between the two regions increased by 23%, to $64.8bn. Africa exported goods worth $105.9bn to China, an increase of 43.7% from the previous year. China is increasingly importing agricultural products and manufacturing goods from Africa, in addition to its continued strong focus on oil, precious minerals and metals. Africa mainly imports manufactured goods such as electronics, clothing and appliances, and technology from China. While Covid lockdown in the large port city of Shanghai and other large Chinese cities resulted in logistics bottlenecks, trade with Africa has not been severely impacted. China continued to import African agricultural goods and raw materials, with food security and materials needed for the energy transition being prioritised. However, China's capacity to export products to Africa was temporarily affected by its strict lockdowns. Data from the Chinese Ministry further revealed that over the last 20 years, China's trade with Africa has risen 20-fold, showing that China is one of Africa's biggest bilateral trading partners. To balance the trade gap, China has also pledged to import $300bn of African products by 2025. The country has also increased the amount of products that can be exported to China tariff-free. A recent report by Economist Corporate Network, supported by Baker McKenzie and Silk Road Associates, BRI Beyond 2020 (Economist report), showed how these strengthening trade links are, in part, a result of favourable financial incentives offered to African jurisdictions by China. According to the Economist report, 33 of the poorest jurisdictions in Africa export 97% of their exports to China with no tariffs and no customs duties. This report noted that bilateral trade was still heavily centred on Chinas import of Africas natural resources. However, in recent years China had increased its import of manufacturing products from more diversified economies such as South Africa. A Baker McKenzie report with Oxford Economics - AfCFTA: A Three Trillion Dollar Opportunity (AfCFTA report) - revealed that over three quarters of African exports to the rest of the world were still heavily focused on natural resources, but that on the import side, manufactured goods accounted for more than half the total volume of imports into African jurisdictions. Africas most important suppliers of manufactured goods were listed as Europe (35%), China (16%), and the rest of Asia, including India (14%). Infrastructure Africas strong reliance on foreign jurisdictions for its manufactured goods shows that for intra-regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to fully succeed, more jurisdictions in the region must develop their manufacturing bases and reduce their reliance on natural resources. As such, reliable transport infrastructure is vital for businesses in Africa to be able to scale up production for regional export. The continent also needs to redouble efforts to ensure that an adequate supply of water and electricity is available. Additional investments in utilities infrastructure will have the added benefit of incentivising foreign companies to set up production facilities on the continent. To aid Africa with these massive infrastructure needs, China has provided significant capital for key infrastructure projects in Africa in the last few years. A further Baker McKenzies report - New Dynamics: Shifting Patterns in Africas Infrastructure Funding (infrastructure report) - showed that lending by Chinese banks into energy and infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa saw a small uplift in 2020, despite the pandemic, although deal values were well below their 2017 peak. In 2017, Chinese banks lent $11bn to African infrastructure projects, which decreased to $4.5bn in 2018, $2.8bn in 2019 and $3.3bn in 2020. Overall, the numbers show that there has been a slowdown in the number of infrastructure deals from China, although they are by far still the biggest investors in the region. In the short-term, the report notes that more targeted lending from China is expected. Forum on China-Africa Trade Cooperation The Economist report pointed out that political and policy commitments between China and Africa have strengthened and expanded in their scope in recent years. Since its launch in 2000, the Forum on China-Africa Trade Cooperation (FOCAC) has focused on forming closer relationships between China and Africa. At FOCAC's latest conference, held at the end of 2021, China announced that it would move away from state-backed projects in Africa, partly due to the impact of Covid-19. Instead, the focus would be on increasing reciprocal China-Africa trade, incentivising private firm investments from China into Africa and strengthening co-operation between the two regions. At the 2021 FOCAC conference, President Xi pledged $40bn to infrastructure projects in Africa as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035. Nine programs were identified as part of this initiative - medical and health; poverty reduction and agricultural development; trade promotion; investment promotion; digital innovation; green development; capacity building; cultural and people-to-people exchanges; and peace and security. Also discussed at the conference was China's intention to focus on bilateral cooperation with African countries with regard to aviation, finance, tourism, and the digital, marine and green economies. As Africa reduces its over-dependence on natural resources and increases its manufacturing capacity, it must also ensure it develops other industries in a sustainable way. To this end, the Economist report outlined how China and Africa have agreed to work together on improving Africas capacity for green, low-carbon and sustainable development and the trade in sustainable goods and services is also expected to reap benefits for the African continent in future years. Tourism resurgence tells of a flourishing, stable, open Xinjiang Xinhua) 08:14, July 06, 2022 Tourists visit a lavender field in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) * With China fine-tuning its COVID-19 prevention measures and Xinjiang offering a series of incentives, tourism is regaining vitality across the region. * An overall tourism boom in recent years has, meanwhile, encouraged more people of different ethnic groups in Xinjiang to join the tourism sector and earn a piece of the pie, resulting in more income and greater prosperity. URUMQI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- On the Duku Highway in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a long stream of cars, SUVs and mini RVs can be seen filing past numerous breathtaking scenic spots. The 561-km highway that runs through the majestic Tianshan Mountains is only open from June to October every year and is believed to be the most beautiful route in China. In recent weeks the highway has experienced a significant increase in traffic, with vehicles pouring in from all over the country. This is just one of the many instances indicating that with China fine-tuning its COVID-19 prevention measures and Xinjiang offering a series of incentives, tourism is regaining vitality across the region. An overall tourism boom in recent years has, meanwhile, encouraged more people of different ethnic groups in Xinjiang to join the sector and earn a piece of the pie, resulting in more income and greater prosperity. CONVENIENT TOURISM Xinjiang comprises 1.66 million square kilometers or approximately one-sixth of China's total land area. Traveling to Xinjiang and visiting its various tourist spots used to be an arduous task. That, however, is a thing of the past. Today, Xinjiang has 24 civil airports, with the 24th one opening last month and more under construction. There are other travel options available for those who like taking road trips, so they can enjoy the scenic views along the way. Last month, the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway was officially put into operation, marking the inauguration of the world's first desert rail loop line. The third highway traversing the Taklimakan Desert opened to traffic last week. Aerial photo shows a new highway traversing the Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Gu Yu) Furthermore, tourists have a variety of lodging options. According to official data, Xinjiang currently has 386 star-rated hotels and 5,643 homestay facilities. In addition to improving its tourism infrastructure, Xinjiang has rolled out a series of measures to stimulate the sector and has since been incentivizing local governments to attract tourists from outside the region. One of the latest trends is local officials promoting tourism through short videos and live streams. He Jiaolong, deputy head of the culture and tourism department of the Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Ili, is the first of about 25 officials involved in such promotional efforts. In October 2020, a video of her riding a horse across snowy fields in Zhaosu County went viral. And the number of visitors to Zhaosu increased fivefold the following year, as people flocked to see horses galloping in the snow. Although some prefectures, including Zhaosu, saw fewer tourists in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, the volume in June increased by 14 percentage points from that in May, said He, adding that she is confident the momentum will continue. With more than 5 million followers on social media, He said she is glad to have blazed a trail for her colleagues in other places. "I hope more will join us. We need many more people to introduce our wonderful Xinjiang to the world." RICHER EXPERIENCES Wu Beilei, a tour guide with 14 years of experience, said he has been racking his brains on what else he can offer to his clients, apart from traditional sightseeing, self-driving, hiking and camping. "Ten years ago, tourists came to Xinjiang just to take beautiful pictures and put them into albums. Now their needs have changed significantly," Wu said. This has sparked innovation in the tourism industry in Xinjiang and contributed to the emergence and growth of niche, themed and cultural tourism kinds. Tourists play on snow tubes at Oynak ski resort in Moyu County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jan. 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) For example, due to the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice and snow tourism has boomed in Xinjiang, as the region is particularly rich in such resources. The region currently boasts more than 80 ski resorts. During the week-long Spring Festival holiday in February this year, Xinjiang received about 3.6 million tourists. Meanwhile, many counties are tapping into their unique advantages, history and culture for inspiration. Known as the hometown of "heavenly horses," Zhaosu has focused on horse-themed tourism, with its equestrian shows, museum and other attractions drawing more than 6,000 visitors every day. At the picturesque Nalati grassland in the neighboring Xinyuan County, more than 1,000 visitors gather every night to watch performances based on the legendary story of a Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) princess and a chief of the nomadic Wusun people dating back about 2,000 years. Wang Hong, a tourist from east China's Jiangsu Province, joined the performers for a group dance during an interactive session of the show. "Dancing with them makes me feel relaxed and happy. I've learned a lot about local history and culture as well," he said. HAPPY FACES Dilnur Ablimit is one of the small-time business owners in the ancient city of Kashgar who makes a living from tourism. She runs a photo studio and rents out traditional Uygur costumes to tourists for photoshoots, while also assisting with their makeup. "I want my clients to experience how fascinating the Uygur culture is and make friends through this cultural experience," said the 24-year-old entrepreneur. She recalled with delight how a tourist from south China's Guangdong Province had promoted her service on social media platforms and invited her for a trip to Guangdong. "I'll go and visit her someday, but now I'm too busy," Dilnur Ablimit said. Her studio received more than 20 guests every day during the last few months, and she has recently hired two makeup artists and two photographers as her assistants. Tourists take photos at a homestay in the old town of Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Official statistics show that more than 54,000 new jobs related to tourism have been created since 2018, and 1.5 million people are working in relevant service industries. According to tourism experts, this would not have been possible without social stability. Two years ago, Elnur Hisamdin found a job in a bakery about 500 meters away from her home in the Liuxingjie community in Yining City, where residents of 13 ethnic groups live in harmony. Having lived there for years, she is an eyewitness to how government-led efforts have improved the conditions of the neighborhood and turned it into a popular tourist destination featuring an accordion museum, cultural parks, and numerous shops, restaurants and B&Bs. She is pleased that business at the bakery is growing as a result of an influx of tourists. The 49-year-old Uygur woman used to stay at home without work, but now she brings home about 4,000 yuan (about 597 U.S. dollars) a month, in addition to her husband's monthly income of 3,000 yuan. After work, Elnur Hisamdin usually walks home. Her neighbors have observed a significant change from the past: she now always wears a big smile. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) by Chen Junxia and Martina Fuchs MONTREUX, Switzerland, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Beyond the reestablishment of business ties in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, building cultural bridges between Switzerland and China is as important as ever, according to Felix Sutter, president of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SCCC). Sutter has been head of the SCCC since 2015 and a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Switzerland for 19 years. "We have over the last 30, 40 years woven a piece of fabric together. We have interconnections in the business processes, in the manufacturing processes, in logistics, in culture, everywhere. I think the most important thing to do right now is to listen and not to talk first," Sutter told Xinhua in an interview recently. Asked about his opinion of the Chinese economy, Sutter commented: "COVID, of course, doesn't really help the implementation of China's new five-year plan, but you can see that domestic consumption, the dual circulation strategy is very important." China has set its economic growth target at around 5.5 percent in 2022 after the country's economy saw a strong rebound with 8.1 percent growth in 2021. According to its website, the chamber aims at improving Sino-Swiss relations by promoting dialogue between companies, providing opportunities for business cooperation and enhancing cultural understanding. "But we also need cultural bridge-building. The economy is certainly important to make money. We all want to make money. But the cultural elements are crucial where we align ourselves with similar values," he said. Bilateral relations between Switzerland and the People's Republic of China date back to 1950 and have since steadily intensified. Since 2010, China has been Switzerland's most important trading partner in Asia and its third largest globally after the European Union (EU) and the United States. A bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which Sutter described as an important milestone, was signed in Beijing in 2013 and entered into force on July 1, 2014. The non-profit chamber was founded in 1980 by Dr. Uli Sigg, former Swiss ambassador to China, and a group of businessmen. Registered in Zurich, Switzerland, it now has more than 700 corporate and individual members, including major banks, trading companies, insurance companies and industrial companies. With the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic still being felt, many South Africans are turning to a side hustle to bring in some extra cash. One way to earn a bit more is by becoming a landlord, either by investing in a rental property, or by moving on from a smaller 'starter' home and converting it into a rental. Andrea Tucker, director of MortgageMe This is a long-term investment strategy that can provide a steady income, as long as you keep in mind that passive does not entirely describe what it is to be a landlord. It does require some work. If you've ever said "oh no, the geyser has burst, let me call my landlord, you know what youre in for, advises Andrea Tucker, director of MortgageMe. Here are some tips from the experts at the online bond originator to help first-time landlords navigate the property rental business. 1. Understand the legalities Familiarise yourself with the Rental Housing and Amendment Acts and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). You will need to have a written lease agreement that is understood by all concerned parties. The lease needs to contain all the information pertaining to the tenancy, such as the tenants start and end date, the rental amount, deposit details, the use of the property and conditions around how disputes will be addressed, says Tucker. You will need to provide your tenant with a copy of the signed agreement, and also issue the tenant with a receipt for every payment received. Also inform your insurer that youre going to be renting your property to ensure that youre covered for every possible eventuality in the future. 2. Factor in all the costs Do some research on what you can charge for rent on the property and then take into account what your expenses will be to calculate your profit. Remember to include costs like bond payments, insurance, levies, maintenance and cleaning into your calculations. Make sure you are in a relatively secure position financially as unforeseen circumstances can deal a blow to your finances. Tuckers advice is to have money kept aside in a contingency fund for unanticipated expenses such as payment defaults or issues not covered by home insurance. If you have an access bond on the property, you can use this to cover any larger-than-anticipated expenses that need to be covered in an emergency. 3. Screen potential tenants It is vital to do a proper credit and background check on a new tenant. If youre managing the rental yourself, ask the prospective tenant for a certified copy of their ID, three months of bank statements, proof of income and references from previous landlords. You can also approach an online data aggregator to do these credit and background checks after youve received consent from your prospective tenant. 4. Consider hiring a rental agent or property manager If you want your passive income to be a bit less active, hire someone to do the hands-on management of your rental. A professional will know all the legalities involved in renting a property, how to screen tenants, deal with disputes and collect payments. This comes at a cost, so its completely up to you about how much time you think youd need to set aside to manage a property. 5. Create a network of contractors You may be handy around the home, but repairs on your rental may take up more time than youre willing to give, and some repairs are likely to fall out of your area of expertise. Tucker advises creating a list of trusted maintenance people, such as electricians, plumbers and painters, who you can call on to assist in times of need. 6. Understand your responsibilities Your first responsibility is to ensure that your property is fit for rental purposes and well maintained. You also need to be available to your tenants whenever issues regarding the rental arise. If you receive an emergency request for a repair, you are obligated to attend to the issue in a reasonable amount of time. Keep the lines of communication open to ensure a happy tenant. Let them know about any scheduled maintenance in advance and be on call for any concerns they may have, however small. This will ensure a good relationship between you and your tenant, which will go a long way to ensuring your job as a landlord is trouble-free, counsels Tucker. Most importantly, make sure you keep on top of maintenance. Dont let months go by without popping into the property to ensure that your tenant is keeping it clean not everyone is as tidy as you. This will make a future transition to a new tenant less onerous on you, and less costly in the long run. Nedbank, along with Primedia Broadcasting's talk radio stations 702 and CapeTalk, have announced the latest winners in South Africa's longest-running business mentorship programme. Business Ignite 2022 Cape Town winners Business Ignite 2022 Johannesburg winners This flagship partnership has helped over 200 South African small businesses reach new heights over the past decade. This year, the campaign focused on businesses applying new technologies with sustainability in mind. "This years competition is particularly special, as we are celebrating our decade-long partnership with 702 and CapeTalk on this often life-changing initiative," said Alan Shannon, Nedbank's executive of client engagement for private clients and small business services. "At Nedbank, we understand the challenges faced by small-business owners and believe that Business Ignite will provide them with the tools to thrive in a constantly changing world, so that they are empowered to create new markets and sustainable businesses that will continue to boost the South African economy. Congratulations to all the winners; you have done remarkably well with your businesses," Shannon concluded. From Gauteng and the Western Cape, a total of 10 businesses will each receive a business package to the value of R210,000, which includes cash, radio advertising airtime, a social media toolkit and a business incubation package from business growth expert, Matsi Modise, of Furaha Holdings. The 10 winning businesses are: Johannesburg Crismo KTO Digital Boomba Green Pool Procurement and Sandton Pools Gencode Software Consulting Cape Town Me&B Reefer Shoes Contour Enviro Group Happy Hounds Think Camp "The real-world learnings from campaigns like these are invaluable both for recipients and listeners. South Africa needs entrepreneurs in all industries to drive the economy forward, and a knowledge-share content campaign of this nature gets people thinking in the right direction the actual where, what and how to start and run a business," says Mzo Jojwana, 702 station manager. "This year's theme allowed a wide variety of interesting businesses to be showcased. Innovation and adaptability in business are critical these businesses showed how innovative thinking gives a business the edge. We look forward to hearing from them on CapeTalk and 702 over the next couple of months," Tessa van Staden, CapeTalk station manager, added. Find out more about the finalists and their businesses at igniteyourbusiness.co.za and by following #BusinessIgnite. The Design Innovation Seed Fund (DISF) has opened for applications. Designers, inventors, entrepreneurs and product developers with pre-revenue innovations can apply for grant funding of up to R800,000. The DISF is a project of the Craft and Design Institute (CDI) with investment funds provided by the Technology Innovation Agency (Tia) and support from the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism (Dedat). The DISF is managed by CDI Capital, which was incorporated as a CDI subsidiary in 2016 to catalyse funding for SMEs. Since its launch in 2014, the DISF has disbursed R15,8m in grant funding from Tia, with 26 projects completed. The portfolio has generated R139m in further investment for participating businesses, R71m in revenue and has to date created 256 jobs. The DISF funds designers, inventors, entrepreneurs and product developers with pre-revenue innovative technologies and tech-enabled ideas and products. These individuals/businesses are not able to raise funds easily from traditional banks or funding agencies because of the high risk associated with early-stage innovation. The seed funding assists recipients to understand their opportunities by designing and building prototypes and validating their assumptions around the technical and market-related challenges. Applications that support innovative products and the creation of protectable intellectual property are welcome from a wide range of sectors including agritech; biotechnology and health; construction; advanced manufacturing technology; low-carbon technology; renewable energy; information, communication technology; and software engineering (data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc.). Ask any innovator what holds them back from developing their new products and growing their business and they will tell you: the resources that give them the freedom to take the next steps. This is exactly what the DISF provides seeding an innovators next phase and launching them on a path towards commercialisation. Very few of the fantastic South African inventions supported over the last eight years by the DISF would have seen the light of day were it not for a fund like this, says Erica Elk, Group CEO at the CDI. We have put a significant amount of work into the grant offering, not only ensuring good governance and appropriate monitoring and evaluation measures but realising real and sustainable impact with the businesses we support. A snapshot from some of the businesses that received funding from the DISF: CDI Capital enabled us to use what we had learnt in the past, to put a small team together, and do a lot of R&D and prototyping on what works and what does not, said David Krige of Cape Aerospace Technologies (CAT), which provides the micro and small gas turbine industries with various propulsion system solutions. It enabled us to offer a product concept, build it in prototype form, and do some customer development and fieldwork, says Justin Coetzee of Go Metro, which uses data generated by GoMetros commuter app for location and movement, and mapping transport networks. GoMetro now generates R60m annual revenue, with 87 people on its payroll. The funding enabled considerable progress in the evolution of our (Lamprey Suction Dissector) product. They made possible the full development of the product, including the manufacture of injection moulded parts and printing initial samples, as well as performance testing, validation and verification, says Debbie Lee van den Broek of Disa Medinotec, which is developing a new type of suction dissector device for blunt dissection of soft tissue that provides an advantage over competitor devices. The DISF funding was essential to landing our private seed funding round and later our Series A. Without DISF, SwiftVEE would not have been where we are today, says Russel Luck of SwiftVEE, which developed the largest independent online livestock trading platform in South Africa. Read more on the DISF Impact Report 2022 here. Social Media Community Manager Remuneration: R22000 - R25000 per month cost-to-company Location: Johannesburg, Orchards Remote work: Remote work allowed optional Education level: Degree Job level: Mid Own transport required: Yes Travel requirement: Occasional Type: Permanent Reference: #SMCM072022 Company: Penquin Job description Assist the Social Media team to develop social media communities and drive audience growth and engagement across social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, G+, Blogs). To master the technical use of Penquin's social media tool. To work with the Social Media Manager and Client Service teams to ensure Social Media posts are uploaded and correct according to the approved Content Calendar. Assist the Social Media manager to manage and updated all marketing lists and ensure the right audience is sent the right marketing collateral at the right time. Support implementation of social media initiatives. Write and upload customer facing content to social networks on behalf of clients. Get involved and give input into communication strategies and creative concepts for client content. Track, monitor, report on, and respond to client mentions in user-generated content. To actively monitor and engage with all forms of social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Blogging etc.) with regards to our client brands on a daily basis. Proactively escalate issues, observations, opportunities, and insights to the relevant team. To collate/source information from across a variety of channels in order to generate news-worthy stories and then draft/write online copy for articles, blogs and social media sites for relevant client brands. Continuously researching relevant and updated live content/news and present to team with regards to Social Media content. Directly interact with customers to maximize community engagement and drive positive perception and word-of-mouth for our brand and products. Assist with monitoring and respond to feedback and support issues on social media in real time (within 30 minutes), in accordance with the company's guidelines. Use enterprise level social CRM system to moderate posts, respond to customers, and collaborate with team members. Assist relevant Social Media Manager with the collating of and reporting on monthly performance statistics for all communications across all channels, using these statistics to influence future digital activity. Triage social media escalations to appropriate internal parties and coordinate with Client Service representatives as needed. General administrative duties and assisting the rest of the team where necessary. Requirements Relevant digital or marketing qualification. At least 2-3 years plus experience as a Social Media Community Manager in an Advertising agency environment. Stable and reliable internet connection to effectively work remotely and offsite when necessary. Drivers License and own vehicle Energetic, positive outlook, with a good sense of humor! Excellent writing, communication, and verbal skills. A solid team player with energy and excitement to bring to the team. A self-starter and unconventional thinker: someone who is proactive and who considers the bigger picture. Someone with their finger on the pulse in terms of what is happening in terms of trends, events, influencers, brands and more. The ability to successfully manage multiple internal and external initiatives/projects in a deadline-driven environment. Research-oriented. Strong organisational and time-management skills with attention to detail. Active on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Creative problem solver and willingness to learn. Understanding of marketing concepts. Ability to balance multiple projects and jobs and driven by productivity. Company Description We are looking for a dynamic individual who loves social media and digital and wants to be a part of an amazing team! As a community manager and content creator, you will be expected to assist in implementing and administrating digital marketing campaigns on behalf of our clients. If you are creative, meticulous, organised, disciplined, hardworking, and looking to progress your career in the world of social media marketing please read on. The ideal candidate will be someone who lives and breathes social, is always up to date on trends and innovations and has a creative mindset of digital-first.You will manage and assist the Team to establish and develop online relationships and engage with social voices/communities for our client brands and promotional campaigns and provide a full administrative service to the Social Media and Digital Director, to enhance the community-wide and national reputation of both the Penquin and client brands.Someone that can thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment that requires excellent communication skills, a positive and collaborative attitude, and a true passion for putting the customer first.Detailed job description:Experience level:Skills and Personal characteristics required:No matter what problem were trying to solve, we do it with soul, we do it well, and we never stop transforming our clients experience of the industry - one authentic relationship at a time. Posted on 06 Jul 13:16, Closing date 6 Aug BEIRUT, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A senior British official on Wednesday said Britain is keen to continue supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to maintain stability across Lebanon. "In times of need, the UK (the United Kingdom) stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Lebanon and our partners around the world to tackle shared challenges," James Heappey, the British armed forces minister, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the British embassy in Lebanon. The statement came on the occasion of the minister's one-day visit on Tuesday to Lebanon, during which he met with Lebanese caretaker Minister of Defense Maurice Slim and the Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, and discussed military cooperation between the two countries. At the Third Land Border Regiment on Lebanon's border with Syria, Heappey heard from senior Lebanese officers how the British work to enhance the capabilities of the regiment to counter cross-border smuggling and terrorist activity. Meanwhile, British Ambassador to Lebanon Ian Collard said the Lebanese Armed Forces is crucial to ensuring Lebanon's stability and safeguarding the Lebanese people during these challenging times. ROME, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Rocco Morabito, one of Italy's most wanted fugitives and a drug kingpin, was handed over to the country's authorities early on Wednesday, extradited by Brazil after a long manhunt. Morabito, 55, would now serve a 30-year jail sentence he received after being declared guilty in absentia in Milan in the 1990s for international drug trafficking and mafia association, Italy's military Carabinieri police said. Morabito is also known in Italy as "Milan's cocaine king" as he was a key figure in the 'Ndrangheta organized crime syndicate based in the country's Calabria region. "The person concerned, considered one of the top international drug traffickers, was in the list of most dangerous fugitives and was included in the Interior Ministry's Special Research Program," the Carabinieri said. Morabito was arrested in northeast Brazil in May 2021 as a result of a joint operation of Italian and Brazilian police forces assisted by the Interpol Cooperation Against 'Ndrangheta (I-CAN) project, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Last week, Brazil's Supreme Court definitively authorized his extradition to Italy. The man had been on the run since 1994. He spent over two decades in South America under a fake identity. He was first arrested in Uruguay in 2017, yet less than two years later he escaped with three fellow inmates. The international police operation tracked him down last year in the Brazilian city of Joao Pessoa. He was arrested along with another key 'Ndrangheta mobster, Vincenzo Pasquino, who is serving a 17-year jail sentence for drug trafficking and mafia association. For the Italian authorities, the extradition of Morabito marks an important success in the fight against the country's three main mafia groups -- Sicilia's Cosa Nostra, Naples' Camorra and Calabria's 'Ndrangheta. PARIS, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Mayor of Nice in south France announced Wednesday the return of the mandatory wearing of a face mask in public transport, according to local media report. The mandatory wearing of a face mask in public transport will be effective from next Monday and will concern the public transport system of Metropolis Nice Cote d'Azur, Christian Estrosi, Chairman of Metropolis Nice Cote d'Azur and the Mayor of Nice, told French radio RTL. "With 200,000 more cases in less than 24 hours, we can clearly see that we are on a seventh wave which is skyrocketing and which is taking us towards a high risk for September," the mayor said. France reported on Tuesday 206,554 new COVID-19 cases. BRUSSELS (AP) European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc's list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU's executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and now looks set to trigger legal challenges. Climate activists demonstrate outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. The European Parliament will decide Wednesday whether to accept or reject the Commission's proposal to classify gas and nuclear power plants as green in the EU's list of investments that can be marketed as sustainable. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) BRUSSELS (AP) European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc's list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU's executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and now looks set to trigger legal challenges. As the EU wants to set the best global standards in the fight against climate change, the decision could tarnish the bloc's image and question the region's commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050. The European Commission earlier this year made the proposal as part of its plans for building a climate-friendly future, dividing member countries and drawing outcry from environmentalists over what they criticize as greenwashing. EU legislators from the environment and economy committees objected last month to the plan, setting up Wednesday's decisive vote in Strasbourg, France. But MEPs rejected their resolution in a 328-278 vote, with 33 lawmakers abstaining. The result was announced to a salvo of applause. An absolute majority of 353 was needed to veto the proposal. If the European Parliament and member countries dont object to it by July 11, the so-called Taxonomy delegated act will enter into force and apply as of next year. Climate activists demonstrate outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. The European Parliament will decide Wednesday whether to accept or reject the Commission's proposal to classify gas and nuclear power plants as green in the EU's list of investments that can be marketed as sustainable. ( (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Greenpeace immediately said it will submit a formal request for internal review to the European Commission, and then take legal action at the European Court of Justice if the result isn't conclusive. Its dirty politics and its an outrageous outcome to label gas and nuclear as green and keep more money flowing to (Russian President Vladimir) Putins war chest, but now we will fight this in the courts," said Ariadna Rodrigo, Greenpeace's EU sustainable finance campaigner. European Parliament rapporteur Bas Eickhout rued a dark day for the climate and the energy transition." Climate activists claiming the war in Ukraine exposes the EU's dependence on Russian fossil gas, demonstrate outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) The green labeling system from the European Commission defines what qualifies as an investment in sustainable energy. Under certain conditions, gas and nuclear energy will now be part of the mix, making it easier for private investors to inject money into both. With the EU aiming to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, the commission says the classification system is crucial to direct investments into sustainable energy. It estimates that about 350 billion euros of investment per year will be needed to meet the 2030 targets. The question of nuclear power has divided environmentalists, energy experts and governments for years, with some arguing it's an important source of energy because it's produced with no emissions and thus clean, while others say the risks of nuclear reactions are too great and infrastructure is slow and costly to build. Liquid natural gas, clearly a fossil fuel, is roundly criticized in environmental circles. Climate activists claiming the war in Ukraine exposes the EU's dependence on Russian fossil gas, demonstrate outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Germanys industrial lobby group BDI welcomed the vote, saying it cleared the way for financing the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Gas is our bridge technology to the renewable age, said its deputy head, Holger Loesch. The BDI called for more investments in gas infrastructure, including LNG terminals, to ensure sufficient supply amid the current energy crisis, but added that new gas power plants need to be capable of handling hydrogen eventually. Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala presents the programme of activities of the Czech Republic's EU presidency, Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Introducing gas and nuclear into the equation has divided the 27 member countries amid Russias war in Ukraine, and even the parliament's political groups. Luxembourgs energy minister, Claude Turmes, said he deeply regretted the European Parliaments failure to bloc the commission's plan, adding that his country together with Austria would move ahead with legal efforts to block the labeling of nuclear and gas as sustainable. Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that the German government stands by its position and considers nuclear energy as unsustainable. The Ukrainian flag, top, flies with others European flags outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Nevertheless, the German government believes that the taxonomy is an important instrument for achieving climate protection targets, because it is clear that natural gas is an important bridging technology for us on the way to CO2 neutrality and the inclusion of the use of natural gas in the delegated act takes this into account, Hebestreit added. Protests that had started on Tuesday continued Wednesday outside the EU legislature as lawmakers debated the issue. Environmentalists warned the vote could set a precedent for lawmakers elsewhere to label polluting forms of energy as sustainable. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, is greeted by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola at the European Parliament before the presentation of the programme of activities of the Czech Republic's presidency , Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) We have now officially validated greenwashing by law, said Tsvetelina Kuzmanova of the climate think tank E3G. The process and the decision have been entirely political, not scientific, to only benefit a small number of member states, she said. This would not stand a chance in court and will only create more uncertainty for financial markets and jeopardize (the) EUs climate ambition. The youth activist group Fridays for Future said billions of euros could be pumped into gas infrastructure and nuclear power plants as a result of the decision, diverting much-needed funds from renewable alternatives. European lawmakers gather to vote at the European Parliament, Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. European Union lawmakers back plan to include natural gas, nuclear energy as sustainable activities(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) One argument for rejecting the proposal is that it will boost Russian gas sales at a time when it is invading neighboring Ukraine, but the European Commission said it had received a letter from the Ukrainian government backing its stance. European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness quoted from the letter from Ukraine's energy minister Tuesday: I strongly believe that the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the taxonomy is an important element of the energy security in Europe, especially with a view to replacing Russian gas." I dont think we should second-guess this letter, McGuinness said. European lawmakers gather to vote at the European Parliament, Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. European Union lawmakers back plan to include natural gas, nuclear energy as sustainable activities(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Russia's war in Ukraine has prompted the 27-nation bloc to sever ties with some Russian fossil fuels. Member countries have agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end in addition to a ban on imports of Russian coal that will start in August. But the EU hasn't included gas a fuel used to power factories and generate electricity in its own sanctions for fear of seriously harming the European economy. Before the war in Ukraine, it relied on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas. ___ Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin. Rolling River First Nation, located south of Riding Mountain National Park, is part of a group of 14 other First Nations that has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, citing economic and cultural losses for violation of Treaty Land Entitlement promises. Advertisement Advertise With Us FILE Rolling River First Nation at a powwow from several years ago under the light of the moon. The community is among 15 First Nations suing the federal government. Rolling River First Nation, located south of Riding Mountain National Park, is part of a group of 14 other First Nations that has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, citing economic and cultural losses for violation of Treaty Land Entitlement promises. On June 29, just two days before Canada Day, the Treaty Land Entitlement Committee (TLEC) of Manitoba filed a statement of claim in federal court against the Canadian government for its alleged ongoing violations of the 1997 Manitoba Framework Agreement (MFA) on Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE). The lawsuit came as National Indigenous History Month was winding down and also coincided with the 25th anniversary of the signing of the MFA on May 29, 1997, by the TLEC, Canada and the Province of Manitoba. Originally intended to provide 1.1 million acres of additional reserve land throughout Manitoba to the TLECs First Nations, the committee said delays and unilateral changes by Canada mean this hasnt happened. In 2018, a binding arbitration decision ruled that Canada had breached the MFA by altering its reserve creation process, a violation that continued and, according to Chris Henderson, executive director of the TLEC of Manitoba, eventually brought about TLECs decision to go to federal court in 2019. In 2021, the court upheld a binding arbitration award. In the new claim announced last week, the TLEC alleges that the federal government is liable for all losses resulting from its failure to honour the treaty land entitlements in a diligent, timely and purposeful manner. The committee asserts that 25 years after the MFAs signing, a little more than 565,000 acres have been set aside as reserved land by the federal government for the 15 First Nations that signed their individual TLE agreements under the MFA. Henderson said Canada continues to be in breach of their agreement with the First Nations because the communities havent yet consented to the changes that the federal government made. He asserted that the governments intentions were honourable in 1997 when the agreement was first signed, but that they didnt understand the scope of work they agreed to take on. "I dont think [the government] fully appreciated the amount of work and effort it would take to fully implement such a significant land claim settlement agreement." Henderson said its important that all Canadians are aware of the governments alleged breach of the agreement, which was why the June 29 date to file the lawsuit was significant. Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said he understands the frustration that the First Nation communities involved in the agreement are feeling. What was intended, years ago, to be an orderly process has turned out to be one that Miller called "long and frustrating." Miller noted that part of the challenge is due to the evolution of Canadian law regarding the concerns of Indigenous people thats guided by Supreme Court judgments, and how important it is going forward to be in direct consultation with the First Nation communities. The court case originally began when Miller was still minister of Indigenous Services. Back then, he said the government chose not to appeal the federal courts judgment, but instead wanted to focus on going back to the negotiation table and find out the best way to move forward, which included talks of financial compensation. The COVID-19 pandemic also caused some delays in the process, but Miller doesnt want to use that as an excuse. "That isnt something we want to rest on as any particular indication of how we intend to behave in the future. I want to see this sorted out in the right way, in the face of the appeal that found Canada default in its obligations. We want to rectify that." Miller said he understands the skepticism coming from the TLEC and its member First Nations, but attests that hes committed to doing the work to ensure everything is settled to a satisfactory level. What he doesnt want, he explained, is for Canada to continue its history of denying Indigenous communities the right to go to court and sue the federal government. "I would rather have this settled outside the courtroom, but Im not going to dictate to Indigenous Peoples how they should behave according to their rights." For it to be settled outside of the courtroom, as Miller is hoping it will be, would mean that Canada has to come to the table with an offer that would show the governments good faith and willingness to move forward. Though he said the government isnt in a position to do this at the moment, he hopes in the near future it will happen. With the Assembly of First Nations annual general assembly beginning yesterday in Vancouver, Henderson said the TLEC hopes the lawsuit levelled against the federal government will be a topic of conversation at the event. The Brandon Sun contacted Rolling River First Nation for comment on the court proceedings, but did not receive a reply by press time. mleybourne@brandonsun.com Twitter: @miraleybourne Bad reputation It is heartbreaking to read about the Ukraine couple in Winnipeg who want to move out of Manitoba due to being traumatized from a stabbing last week in downtown. I am sorry to hear they came across the victim. I, too, would be scarred. I do not believe anywhere else will be too much better, though. There are areas that one should avoid in general and especially at night. But regardless, we should always be on guard. With the influx of refugees arriving, perhaps they should be more informed on what to expect. Maybe its not something they are used to seeing depending where they came from. I would hate for Manitoba to have a bad rep when everywhere else isnt going to be better. This is Canada we live in. Heres a suggestion Manitoba is a have-not province and depends on federal transfer payments. These payments are insufficient to fund a proper health-care system. I for one am fed up with waiting for elective surgery. I think it is time to get serious with taxes. Raise the provincial sales tax two to three per cent, add $5 to a pack of cigarettes, $10 to a bottle of liquor and $10 to a package of cannabis. Tax the users who create their own preventable health problems. Use this money to hire staff to treat seniors who are waiting too long for artificial joints and other aging medical conditions. The Hague: Australian and European regulators are sharing information about the market power of big tech companies ahead of a pivotal court ruling on popular dating apps and the hidden fees passed on to consumers who spend billions of dollars at Apples App Store and other services. The test case in the Netherlands will decide if Apple must overhaul its App Store across Europe to comply with competition laws at a time when governments are muscling up against tech giants over their market power in search, music and advertising. Apple takes up to 30 per cent of purchases made through its App Store. Credit:AP The sanctions on Apple would make it give app developers more ways to charge customers without forcing them to pay the company up to 30 per cent on every sale by putting all transactions through the App Store as in-app purchases. These are not secret cartels, this is not criminal conduct this is a practice that has a detrimental effect on society and on consumers, said Martijn Snoep, chairman of the Authority for Consumers and Markets in The Hague. It was only during a literature festival in 2019 that she realised she would have to return to the richly sensory Dutch world she had created. For the first time in a while I was asked to discuss The Miniaturist and, after wed left the stage, the interviewer told me Id come alive in a different way while discussing the book; that Id been suffused with something. I told my agent I was ready to go back to Nella. And when I did begin thinking about her [and the books other characters] again, it felt like taking old childhood toys out of a box. There was so much tender connection, and so many questions. While The Miniaturist was driven by the tension between innocent but tenacious young Nella and her domineering but vulnerable sister-in-law Marin, The House of Fortune focuses on the frisson between Nellas survivalist mentality and her niece Theas idealism. I knew that baby Thea would grow up to have her own story, says Burton. The dialogue between women of different generations has been a running theme through all of my books. I was curious about what theyd find to teach each other. Nella is an older woman whose sexual appetite was unfulfilled. And Thea is a younger woman who experiences sexual pleasure and romantic love. Theyre in conflict over whats more important for Thea to have a happy life, and neither of them have the answers. As the only child of a vivacious, occasionally embarrassing mother, Burton understands the challenges of this dynamic. She tells me her mum a keen crafter always wore bright colours and had a laugh you can hear from streets away. She sometimes sprayed polka dot dye into her white-blonde hair and often talks to strangers. Weve always had very direct conversations, she adds. And that must feed into the energy of my fiction. Her house my childhood home burned down while I was writing The House of Fortune. Luckily the Sylvanian Families toy village Burtons favourite childhood toy and partial inspiration for the dolls house at the heart of The Miniaturist survived the conflagration. But its ironic that the fetishiser of tiny things had her childhood home in Wimbledon destroyed by the glare from a crafting magnifying glass, which concentrated the suns rays onto a flammable curtain. Loading Burton says that the playful control of narrative she developed with her toys fed into her early ambition to become an actor. After Oxford, she studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, but never got the parts she craved. She laughs about her walk-on part in the TV adaptation of The Miniaturist: I was in the Silversmiths Ball scene. I loved getting dressed up and walking around inside a world of my invention. But when I watched the finished episode I saw that only the tip of my nose made the final cut. Pretty humbling to realise that would be the pinnacle of my acting career. Her experience of watching The Miniaturists sets dismantled is reflected in The House of Fortune. By the late 17th century, the VOC [Dutch East India Company] was in decline, says Burton. Nellas fortune was built on that trade and at the beginning of this book we see her grand mansion is emptying out. Its like a film set thats shutting down. Her characters all respond differently to the economic decline. Nella wants to cling to the old class structure and marry Thea off to a wealthy aristocrat, but Thea has fallen for a handsome set painter at the local theatre. Because Thea is a woman of dual heritage, and Im not, Burton was grateful for the feedback of a sensitivity reader. I wanted readers to be gunning for Thea, and our sensitivity readers feedback was very enlightening. She said: Thea is living in Amsterdam in the winter and if you think her hair isnt going to get frizzed up by that then youre mistaken! I had scenes in which she got ready to leave the house in five minutes and my SR said it would have taken much longer than that to dress her hair. So I watched lots of online tutorials about how to treat African Caribbean hair. Burton doesnt rule out the possibility she might return to Nella for a third time. My connection to Nella and her world is very deep, she says. Ive signed a contract to write two more childrens books, and I want to spend time with my son. But I cant let go of Nella. She rolls her eyes. I picture myself at 65 thinking, Right then, Nella, lets see what youre doing now The House of Fortune is published by Picador on July 12, $34.99. The Telegraph, London If you struggle to keep up with TikTok beauty trends you might want to take a seat because, while you were sleeping, #slugging was surpassed by a new viral hack that promises to overhaul the health of your hair. Meet hair slugging. The trend can be traced back to TikTok user Monique Rapier (@moniquemrapier) who posted her hair slugging routine to the social media app earlier this year. Rapiers video begins with Everyone is obsessed with face slugging but before the glossy-haired brunette runs through her multi-step hair routine, which she aptly dubs hair slugging. Hair oiling aka hair slugging has long been practiced by Black women and people of colour across many cultures. Credit:TikTok/moniquemrapier Rapiers take on hair slugging involves slathering oil (she used Ouai Hair Oil, but any lightweight hair oil will do) on your hair just before bed, working your way from the mid-lengths to ends, and then tucking your ponytail into a sock to protect your pillowcase while you sleep. According to the now-viral video, when you wash with your usual shampoo in the morning, your hair will be abundantly healthier and shinier than before, with results accumulating over time. Rapiers video contains the magic formula for a runaway TikTok beauty trend: a cute name, visible results and a conversation-starting quirk (which in this case is the sock and just how she threads her ponytail through it so elegantly). Rapiers tutorial has amassed 6.4 million views and counting, and has inspired a legion of copycat creators to share their take on the trend. At last count, the hashtag #hairslugging has almost 13 million views in total. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns approach to fashion diplomacy is as smart as it is casual. Wearing a prim Emilia Wickstead dress to meet British PM Boris Johnson, smiling alongside talk show host Stephen Colbert in a hot pink Juliette Hogan suit or greeting US President Joe Biden in a demure print dress, the leader looks at ease. Ardern usually lets her choice of NZ designers speak for themselves, but wearing a pink pussy-bow blouse she briefly talked fashion at the Sydney flagship of David Jones today. NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the launch of The NZ Design Edit at David Jones, Sydney. With models wearing (l-r) Kate Sylvester, Barkers suit and Max. Credit:Brook Mitchell In partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the department store has created The NZ Design Edit, showcasing some of Arderns favourite brands, including Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester and Marle. The products that we are showcasing today from Aotearoa, NZ are rooted and grounded so firmly in our nation, who we are, our culture, our heritage, our values, Ardern, 41, says. NZ has a rich design culture, and we would like to think that its among the best in the world. The NSW Liberals have agreed to set a target to guarantee more women contest next years state election after a disastrous federal result in which the teal independents seized key seats. The partys state executive has agreed that women must be preselected in 40 per cent of seats that the Liberals contest in a bid to ensure that NSW is not subjected to the same punishment as its federal counterparts. NSW Liberal Party vice president Mary-Lou Jarvis says targets are critical to getting more women in parliament. Credit:James Alcock Mary-Lou Jarvis, the NSW Liberal vice president and president of the Liberal Womens Council, said the federal result demonstrated that the party had to ensure more women were elected to parliament. The party has refused to consider quotas, but has accepted that targets are less binding but could be effective. TEHRAN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday asked the United States to choose between clinching an agreement in the ongoing nuclear talks or insisting on its unilateral demands. "Agreement is possible only based on mutual understanding and interests," Amir-Abdollahian tweeted after a phone conversation with EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Tuesday night. "We remain ready to negotiate a strong and durable agreement," he said, insisting that the United States "must decide if it wants a deal or insists on sticking to its unilateral demands." The conversation between Tehran and Brussels followed recent attempts by the EU to engage the United States and Iran in a fresh round of indirect talks over the revival of the Iranian 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Tehran and Washington held indirect talks last week in the Qatari capital of Doha. EU coordinator for the Vienna talks, Enrique Mora, mediated the negotiations to revive the JCPOA, with no agreement reached after two days. Iran signed the JCPOA with major countries in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for removing sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact. The Iranian nuclear talks began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March over political differences between Tehran and Washington. Anyone over the age of 30 will be able to get a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine in a shake-up to the nations vaccination strategy, although shots will be recommended only for over-50s. Two sources familiar with the discussions, but not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed advice was being prepared for the government after national vaccine advisory group ATAGI met on Wednesday afternoon. Fourth doses will be available for millions of extra Australians after ATAGI changed its recommendations. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Australia is facing a surge in cases of the newer BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants. Fourth shots are currently restricted to people aged 65 and over or who have conditions placing them at higher risk of severe COVID-19, such as cancer or diabetes. It is true that the government faces an awesome list of problems. The NSW floods were first on Albaneses list upon return. Albanese and Perrottet toured flood-affected areas together on Wednesday and declared immediate federal-state co-operation in response. The prime minister announced additional federal government financial support for affected NSW residents, on top of existing assistance, from 2pm on Thursday. The speed and co-operative tenor of the engagement between the Labor prime minister and the Liberal premier was positively striking compared to the truculent Morrison-Perrottet relationship. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet in the flood-affected Hawkesbury region. Credit:James Brickwood It was a sign to the states that Albanese will be a good faith player a crucially important change flowing from the election given the range of problems involving both levels of government that need urgent attention. Health is high on that list. Pre-pandemic, state hospital systems already lacked safe margins of staffing, resources and infrastructure that would enable them to deal with a crisis. When the crisis inevitably came in the form of the COVID-19, but if not that eventually something else the system was stretched to hilt and, at times, beyond it. And it still is. Illustration Credit:Dionne Gain State premiers around Australia, of both political complexions, have shown little sign they know how to, or have the will or resources to, fix their hospital systems. This is being demonstrated right now as COVID infections rise, state health systems reel under COVID-driven absenteeism, and a thousand Australians die every three weeks from COVID some of them prime age and otherwise healthy. This presents a big challenge for Health Minister Mark Butler. Loading The well-known longer-run issue is how to help the states fix health systems they are constitutionally responsible for without the federal government bleeding cash. But the immediate challenge is how to itself snap out of, and lead the states in snapping out of, their sleepwalking into a blowout in already serious COVID absenteeism, disability and death. This includes states like Victoria and Western Australia which set high public policy standards earlier in the pandemic but then followed the low bar approach of NSW. By the end of January 4000 Australians had died of COVID since the pandemic began. At the beginning of July the total number of dead had grown to 10,000. With the new immunity-evading BA.4 and BA.5 variants, this is set to worsen still. Medical leaders are knocking themselves out urging governments to act. Cowed by the reaction to lockdowns and mandates, politicians have adopted a nothing to see here stance based on the false and lazy idea that its a choice between mandates or nothing. Jeroen Weimar, while Victorias COVID response commander last year, cited research showing that mandating mask-wearing yielded more than 90 per cent compliance while voluntary mask-wearing yielded around 50 per cent. NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant and Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Tuesday. Credit:Louise Kennerley Managing to get even 50 per cent compliance right now could make all the difference in getting the COVID Reff rate (the effective reproduction number, which shows the number of people infected by each positive case) below one the key to containing and reversing the current surge. But it wont happen with messaging like that from NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant, who lamely tweeted on Wednesday: One of the little things you can do to protect yourself and others through this next wave is to wear a mask in indoor public spaces... Nor was Chants appearance at Wednesdays COVID press conference good modelling of whats needed. Chant had a tired-looking surgical mask, according to overwhelming research evidence a tiny tool against COVID compared to the dramatically more effective N95 masks. Loading Images count. Humans are herd animals. We do what we see other people around us doing. If leading health officials wont model pandemic-appropriate behaviour, what hope of getting citizens to? When Mark Butler appeared maskless on the weekend to make a juvenile diabetes event surrounded by dozens of children at close quarters, it sent a very bad message. Forget social distancing. Forget masks. Pandemic? What pandemic? The days of calling disasters one-in-100-year events are over, experts say, as they warn that increasingly unpredictable weather events driven by global warming are happening more frequently, and we need to adapt and consider future urban development. As Sydney was hammered by rain and Hawkesbury residents inundated for the fourth time in 18 months, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the traditional metrics for measuring natural disasters had been overtaken by climate change. State emergency workers rescue a group of goats from a submerged home in Wallacia on Sunday. Credit:Dean Sewell Were seeing these events which we call one-in-1000-year events or one-in-100-year events now becoming one-in-one-year events, Perrottet said. He is backed by Australian National University climate scientist Professor Mark Howden, who said public discussion about flood frequency, such as a one-in-100-year event makes no sense in the changing climate. Singapore: Foreign Minister Penny Wong has ramped up pressure on China to convince Russia to end its war in Ukraine ahead of a possible meeting with her Beijing counterpart on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali. Wong left the door open to sitting down with China Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the Indonesian island over the next two days following their duelling tours of the Pacific last month. Russias foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will also be a controversial presence at Fridays G20 meeting and Australias top diplomat and representatives from other nations have declared the gathering, as a result, cannot be business as usual. Foreign Minister Penny Wong: We are more than just supporting players in a grand drama of global geopolitics. Credit:AP On Wednesday night, Wong used a speech in Singapore to escalate a push for China to use its leverage to bring Vladimir Putins invasion to a close. The federal Treasury is modelling the impact of climate change on the Australian economy and the national budget, re-starting work abandoned for almost a decade. The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald can reveal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has directed his department to examine the cost to Australia from climate change as part of a broader effort to understand the risks facing businesses, households and key institutions. Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In October last year, Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy confirmed it had been years since the department had been asked to provide climate change modelling. Prior to 2013, Treasury was heavily involved in the modelling of climate changes impact on the Australian economy. Those revelations prompted Labor to commit to modelling the impact of climate change on the budget and economy. It also promised to feed those findings into the intergenerational report. I have made the exceptionally difficult decision not to recontest the Seat of Vaucluse at the next State election in March 2023. I have had almost twelve amazing years representing my local area as their MP, serving as a Minister in the Liberal Coalition Government across four portfolios and as Parliamentary Secretary to two Premiers. Most proudly, I served as both the first female Attorney General and the first female Liberal Sports Minister in NSW. I have given everything I have to this calling - my heart, energy and passion - and I have loved every minute of it. That said, I know in my heart that this is the right time to retire. It is the time for someone else to take my place and for me to do something new. I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of the Electorate of Vaucluse who elected me three times to be their representative in the NSW Parliament. You inspire me every day and serving you is such a great privilege. We have achieved so much together upgrades to our public transport network, local schools, parks, playgrounds, hospitals, cycleways and roads and better protecting our natural environment and heritage. Together, we also made it through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding has also been increased for domestic violence and mental health support and for our homelessness services. As the States first female Attorney General I am thankful to have led reforms to support child victims in child sexual assault proceedings and as Environment Minister to have introduced the Return and Earn container deposit litter reduction scheme. Over the last three years, I have led the States first $60 million accelerating R&D Action Plan in a major boost for science and innovation which received an additional investment of over $480 million in the NSW 2022-23 Budget. I owe a debt of deep gratitude to all the people who supported me in the role. It has been a team effort and I could not have done it without you. I thank my family my husband Alex and children Nicholas and Georgina - who have always provided me with unconditional love and support while serving in the role. I am deeply grateful to the Liberal Party and to the Vaucluse State Electorate Conference, so ably led by President Janet McDonald AO and Treasurer Darel Hughes, for the opportunity to serve in the NSW Parliament. I also want to thank my loyal and exceptional staff both past and present, my Parliamentary colleagues and the public servants with whom I have worked. I am very optimistic about the future of this great State under the Liberal Nationals Government and leadership of Dom Perrottet as Premier. I truly believe that NSW is a place where every person, irrespective of their background and circumstances, has the best opportunities to live, work and raise a family. I will continue to serve out my term as the Member for Vaucluse and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier in the lead up to the 2023 State Election. Thank you again for giving me the honour of serving you as the Member of Vaucluse. Health workers and other public servants in Western Australia have ramped up their wages battle with the state government, threatening to strike unless they receive better pay. Hundreds of enrolled nurses, ward clerks, cleaners and other health workers held a brief stop-work meeting outside Perth Childrens Hospital on Wednesday. The stop work meeting on Wednesday. Credit:Health Services Union WA/Facebook The workers, represented by the Health Services Union of WA and United Workers Union, are lobbying for a pay rise above the 2.75 per cent annual increase offered under the state governments public sector wages policy. They say their pay is going backwards under the policy given WA has both the lowest wage growth and the highest inflation rate of all states. Latest News How high will the RBA rate go? CBA delivers its prediction NAB rebuilds with Lismore Town still in turmoil after flash flooding Commercial finance lender Fifo Capital is continuing to grow its broker network by expanding its business development team. Sam Henley (pictured) has been appointed senior BDM brokers and distribution at Fifo Capital. Henley has 15 years experience in the Australian finance industry and is considered an expert in both retail and business banking sectors. Moving from within the Australian finance sector, Henley has worked for leading financiers including GE Capital, Wells Fargo CFD (Inventory Finance) as senior credit analyst and then sales manager. Over the past three years he worked in Bank of Melbournes business acquisition team. Read more: Which SMEs can be offered better finance rates? Henley said he was particularly excited by the payables and cash flow finance category and Fifo Capitals unique blend of solutions. Payables finance remains as one of the best kept secrets in the finance sector with the demand in Australia growing year-on-year, Henley said. Henleys appointment comes as Fifo Capital further improves its capability and scale following an investment by Melbourne-based finance and investment house Wingate. Last year, Wingate took on an equity interest in the company and committed to offer more than $2bn to Fifo Capitals Australian SME and corporate clients. Fifo Capital CEO Wayne Morris said Henley was a high-achieving commercial finance manager with a broad skill base. Sam is a fantastic addition to the Fifo Capital broker support and distribution team, Morris said. Its an exciting time at Fifo Capital as our unique blend of working capital and cash flow finance products continue to fuel the business finance market. Having Sam onboard boosts our team further to support the growing demand of our financial products as we expand our business to support more SMEs. Read more: Fifo Capital appoints senior BDM to drive broker growth Morris said with recent statistics showing 56% of SMEs were facing cash flow pressure and 80% of SMEs experiencing increased delays and costs in doing business, it was a great time for Henley to join Fifo Capital. We are looking to provide more critical funding to Australian businesses helping them to expand and reach their full potential, he said. The new appointment now brings Fifo Capitals corporate advisory team to four people, reporting to sales director Mark Occhiuto, bolstering its national sales team to more than 55 business specialists supporting Australian SMEs. Latest News How high will the RBA rate go? CBA delivers its prediction NAB rebuilds with Lismore Town still in turmoil after flash flooding Out of all the industries to bear the brunt of the pandemic, the travel sector was by far one of the most negatively affected. Within days, an industry that employed hundreds of thousands of people was shuttered with planes grounded at airports around the nation. Sandra Doolaul (pictured top) had just returned from maternity leave to her decades-long career in corporate travel when the pandemic began. I was back for a couple of weeks and then COVID hit and basically everyone got stood down, the former travel agent said. If theres no planes flying, no-ones going anywhere. That was kind of it for the travel industry. Read more: Commercial property what are the opportunities for brokers? As the lockdowns dragged on and with the travel sector still affected, Doolaul decided to use her downtime to consider a new career path. After purchasing her first property at 19 and having a passion for the property sector, she decided in February 2021 to send an email to Empower Wealths head of broking Ben Magnus (pictured below) after hearing Ben Kingsley and Bryce Holdaway talk about the companys mortgage broking academy on their podcast. Not long after, Doolaul was interviewing for a place within the academy and was offered a role. However, as a new mum and with childcare unavailable, she thought she would be unable to take up the opportunity. I called Ben [Magnus] back the next day and I was in a panic saying I cant get day care. I told him it was just not possible right now, she said. Magnus replied, saying well make it work. Doolaul started as a customer relationship officer at Empower Wealth in April 2021 and was recently promoted to associate broker after completing the first section of the academys training framework. Read more: Brokers should check clients loans, says Empower Wealth Magnus said the academy was established two years ago to attract and train new entrants into the industry. It was important for Empower Wealth to think differently on recruitment in order to meet our growth ambitions, so building the academy and resourcing new to industry talent has benefitted us greatly, Magnus said. Hiring staff for attitude and training them for skill is the best way to accelerate growth, this way you have no bad habits to break or the old ways of doing things to deal with. Magnus said Empower Wealth could capitalise on the disruption of other industries and could secure higher performers to pivot their careers into broking. All brokerages should be thinking about succession planning in their businesses and the wider industry, Magnus said. Our successes also come from looking at graduates, younger Australians who may be worried about finding a job or what to do after uni. We gave quite a few a places in our business and we are seeing the benefits of that now. Latest News How high will the RBA rate go? CBA delivers its prediction NAB rebuilds with Lismore Town still in turmoil after flash flooding National Australia Bank is offering support to customers in flood-affected areas in New South Wales. NAB customers who are impacted by the floods are urged to contact the bank when theyre ready to discuss a range of financial relief measures, including: loan deferral or reduced repayment arrangements for home, personal, and some business loans deferring upcoming credit card payments waiving and/or refunding fees and charges, including merchant terminal fees and early access fee to term deposits Julie Rynski, NAB executive regional and agribusiness, said the measures provide customers access to immediate financial support. We know this is impacting a lot of families and businesses across NSW. We are here to help, and the number-one priority is to stay safe, Rynski said. Following an incredibly wet summer, this is devastating for many farmers in NSW. Loss of topsoil, livestock, fences, and crops will have a significant impact on the industry. We are here to support all NAB customers, employees, and the wider community before, during and after a natural disaster. Customers who need assistance or advice are encouraged to visit their nearest open NAB branch where it is safe to do so, contact their banker directly, or call NAB Assist at 1300 308 132 for personal, or 1300 769 650 for business customers. Agri customers who need help can contact their banker. Abortion, False Prophets, and Spurious Political Leaders NEWS PROVIDED BY Fair Park Bible Fellowship July 6, 2022 DALLAS, July 6, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Black Bible Believing Pastors are outraged at the recent support of abortion, which churches, especially black churches, affirm. Pastor Stephen Broden of Fair Park Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, said: "The impact of abortion on the black community is documented as the number one killer of black lives across America. Recent statements by Al Sharpton and Jamaal Bryan, leaders in the community, reflect support for the practice of slaughtering black babies. Their comments suggest that it is biblically appropriate for women to murder babies. "These statements are deceptive ploys used to affirm a practice clearly in violation of the word of God! The 6th commandment states, 'Thou shallot commit murder.' The killing of an innocent baby in its mother's womb is murder! Sharpton and Bryan, along with the Congressional Black Caucus, are false prophets deceiving our people to participate in a eugenic plot to depopulate the black population. The Bible warns us not to be deceived (Col.2:8). It tells us that a deluding spirit will deceive many in the last days. These ideas are doctrines of demons." Pastor Broden's further said, "black leaders who support abortion are guilty of betraying black babies, black families, black women, the gospel, the Bible, and Jesus Christ!" Dr. Randy Short of SALT Ministry in Washington, D.C., stated, "The pro-abortion agenda supported by the C.B.C., the A.M.E. Council of Bishops, Al Sharpton, and other traitorous so-called Black leaders are heretical, reprobate, blasphemous, and Luciferian. They embody the bankrupt, genocidal, debased, narcissistic Black-self hatred that enslaves the masses of Black Americans." Dr. Short further noted, "The Bible is replete with stories that detail God's wrathful punishment and destruction of civilizations that dare to promote Satanic paganism. These worldly Black Christian ministers have forgotten that God destroyed the dark-skinned Egyptians, Sodomites, and Canaanites for their wickedness. The 400-year history of Blacks being oppressed in America does not absolve them from their knees having to bow, and their tongues confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Abortion is murder and is an abomination that never has been and never will be healthcare. God's judgment on Black America for its romance with sin is manifested in infertility, breast cancer, mental illness, addiction, suicide, and our replacement by new minorities. "These apostate thugs are today's Baal's priests of Molech who have deceived Black Americans into taking the eugenics-wide road to Hell. Race pimps assert that Blacks are hated but seek to strip them of God's protection. These liar-hireling preachers have set Blacks up for destruction." Founder of Every Black Life Matters, Kevin McGary, also expressed outrage about how many "Black leaders" decry the recent SCOTUS ruling on abortion. He states, "'Black leaders' are manipulated to the extent they willingly participate with schemes of 'White supremacy' and racism targeted against the communities they purport to represent! "Many 'Black leaders' willingly stand with Planned Parenthood even knowing the Founder of Planned Parenthood (Margret Sanger) was a frequent speaker/contributor to the women's Ku Klux Klan (K.K.K.) and specifically started clinics to 'exterminate the negro population' (her exact words). "These 'Black leaders' also meekly stand by in complicity while Black communities are disproportionately targeted for abortions. While Blacks only make up 13% of the population and child-bearing aged Black women only about 3.5%, strategic targeting of Black pre-born babies' lives (via abortion) is clear since approx. 40+% of all abortions are Black babies! (That figure considers the relevant demographic and population differences). "Most 'Black leaders' who rant and point fingers about racism and 'supremacy' tacitly cheer eugenics. Abortion is borne from eugenics! "'Black leaders' who bemoan recent abortion rulings are (by definition) reprobate and derelict!" On the issue of abortion, the lines are drawn between the philosophies of men versus the WORD of GOD! Conservative Bible-believing pastors have made the demarcation clear. SOURCE Fair Park Bible Fellowship CONTACT: Pastor Stephen Broden, 214-826-0018 Share Tweet At a time when India is set to bring out a comprehensive green mission, Gurugram-based ACME Group has said it is planning to invest about Rs 1.5 trillion in green hydrogen and ammonia over seven years, for its upcoming units in Tamil Nadu, and . The company is also looking for foreign equity partners and off-take tie ups for these projects. On Monday, ACME group had signed a memorandum of understanding with the government to come up with a Rs 52,474-crore facility in Thoothukudi, consisting of a 5,000 mega watt (Mw) PV plant, 1.5 giga watt (Gw) electrolyzer and 1.1 million tonnes (MT) ammonia production capacity. Over the next seven years, we will be investing Rs 1.5 trillion on three projects in Tamil Nadu, and . We expect phase-1 of the unit to be ready by 2024. We believe land acquisition and approvals may take 9-12 months, said Sandeep Kashyap, chief operating officer, ACME Group. In Karnatakas Mangaluru, the company had announced a 1.2 million tonne per annum green and ammonia plant, along with an associated power unit, at an of Rs 52,000 crore. In Oman, the company will be investing $5 billion for a plant with similar facilities. For the two Indian projects, the firm is already in talks with equity and off-take partners. For the project, ACME has signed an agreement with Norway-based Scatec for a 50-50 joint venture. Kashyap said ACME chose due to its proximity to the port, scope for renewable generation (solar) in the region, skilled manpower and land availability. was the best place considering these aspects and government policies that encourage investments. During the first phase, we will have 300 metric tonnes of ammonia production, to which another 3,000 metric tonnes will be added in the second phase, Kashyap added. ACMEs mega plans come at a time when the government is expected to announce a green purchase obligation for fertiliser and refining units, similar to renewable purchase obligation (RPO). Demand is expected to come from sectors like fertilisers, refining, piped natural gas, steel and cement. India already consumes 9.5 MT of grey hydrogen and imports 3 MT of grey ammonia. Hence, there is huge potential in these areas, he added. Leaving the controversy behind, platform has closed one of the highest growth quarters in its history, facilitating over Rs 3,600 crore in loans in the first quarter (April-June period) of FY23. This is a growth of 112 per cent over the last quarter. said it also reached an all-time high of $18.5 billion in annualised total payment value (TPV) -- a growth of 50 per cent over the last quarter. "Post a successful FY22 that we closed with a 3 times growth in merchant loans, 2.5 times growth in payments and a 4 times jump in revenue, has recorded its' best ever quarter in Q1, FY23," said Suhail Sameer, CEO, BharatPe. "We are on an incredible growth journey, driven by a huge shift in behaviour towards modes, rise of UPI and the increased acceptance of new-age products," he added. The company facilitated disbursals to over 1.2 lakh merchants in Q1, FY23, up from 66,000 merchants in the last quarter of FY22. Additionally, BharatPe's other product offerings, including the card acceptance POS businesses (BharatSwipe) and its investment platform for merchants recorded consistent growth (over 30 per cent) compared to the last quarter. "We are on track to achieve our target of $2 billion in loans facilitated (through our NBFC/bank partners) across both consumer and merchant business by the end of FY23 as well as scaling TPV to $30 billion by March 2023," said Sameer. The company saw its biggest-ever controversy starting earlier this year when its Co-founder and CEO Ashneer and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover siphoned off funds worth crores and were later sacked by the company. --IANS na/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After the controversy surrounding Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) and Biologics emerged, another Group arm International has distanced itself from Bioinnovat Research Services, whose promoter has been mentioned in the anti-graft case. The company has terminated its retainer advisory contract with Bioinnovat recently. International, the research, development and manufacturing organisation (CRDMO) that serves global pharmaceutical, biotech clients among others, has terminated the contract it had with Bioinnovat. Guljit Sethi (alias Guljit Chaudhary), Bioinnovat Research Services was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection to the bribery case that involved joint drugs controller Eswara Reddy, Dinesh Dua, director, Synergy Network and L Praveen Kumar, associate vice president and head, national regulatory affairs (NRA), Biologics. The CBI had said in its FIR that both Dua and Sethi acted as conduits on behalf of pharma . Also Read: Delhi HC rejects CBI plea for custody of four accused in Biocon case Sethi is the owner of Bioinnovat Research and her LinkedIn profile says that Bioinnovat is a knowledge resource organisation on pharmaceutical drug development and real world clinical outcomes serving global and local biopharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations etc. Bioinnovat provides regulatory and compliance services, corporate affairs, advisory services culminating in strategic alliances, pharma executive search and contract resourcing. Bioinnovat has operational staff in India, UK and emerging markets with offices in Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Mumbai & London, the profile adds. Confirming the development a International spokesperson said: Bioinnovat is known as a leading provider of advisory services to the pharma industry and, like many other companies, Syngene has had a retainer advisory contract with the company. We have now terminated this relationship. The spokesperson further added that Syngene does not own any products and does not market the products of others, so its business model is different to that of Biocon Biologics. In most cases our clients manage the relationship with regulators around the world. Syngene is a research, development and manufacturing services company, the spokesperson explained. Syngene does drug discovery work from early stage research; development work spanning pre-clinical development, active pharmaceutical ingredient development etc; and also offers manufacturing services to its clients which span industries like pharmaceutical, biotech, nutrition, animal health, consumer goods and speciality chemical sectors. The company spokesperson further added that, In the normal course of business, Syngene is routinely visited and audited by both Indian and other international regulators in order to obtain approvals for processes and equipment. From time-to-time, the company uses professional support to prepare for such audits and approvals. At the time the controversy around bribing a senior official to get files approved erupted, Biocon Biologics had denied allegations of bribery, and said that the rationale for waiver of Phase 3 clinical trials was based on Indian regulatory guidance. The company had said that it condemns all acts of corruption and bribery and is cooperating with the investigating agency. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued a show cause notice to for poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions. The regulator issued the show cause notice on Wednesday following a spate of incidents. On Tuesday alone there were three incidents including a diversion to Karachi, windshield crack and an air turn back (aircraft returning to departing station) because of a faulty weather radar. The regulator which reviewed occurrences since April 1 said in its notice that SpiceJet has failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services as per norms and has been asked to explain in three weeks why no action should be taken against it. It has been observed that at number of occasions the aircraft either turned back to its originating station or continued landing at the destination with degraded safety margins.the review transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions has resulted in degradation of safety margins, said in its show cause notice. A financial assessment carried out by the last September had revealed that the is operating on cash-and-carry basis, and suppliers and approved vendors are not being paid on regular basis, leading to shortage of spares and frequent invocation of minimum equipment list (MEL). Airlines are allowed to operate flights with certain inoperative equipment under the regulator approved MEL. Consent-based account aggregator service platform Finvu AA has announced that it has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round from Varanium Fund, IIFL, DMI Sparkle Fund and M2P, amongst others. The fresh funds will be used to expand the team in engineering, and business development and enhance its product offerings. Founded by ex-HSBC leaders Munish Bhatia, Manoj Alandkar, and Praveen Prabhu the company since October 2021, has processed over 750,000 consent requests and executed over two million API calls. With 15 more partners in the pipeline, the company is also looking at expanding its ecosystem to over a hundred partners over the next year. Commenting on the announcement, Munish Bhatia and Manoj Alandkar, Founders, Finvu AA said in a joint statement: "The future of financial services will dramatically change with the AA ecosystem and new use cases are being developed. Excited to get support from our investors who believe in this and our part of our journey." In the coming months, the company plans to scale its offering and provide a better experience for its customers. "Account Aggregator framework is the backbone of Indias Data Economy. It is analogous to UPI which millions of people already use. While UPI facilitates the transfer of value, Account Aggregators facilitate the transfer of Data with user Consent. With the impetus provided by and MeitY, this is going to be integral part of embedded finance. We are happy to partner with Finvu and drive the companys vision together. said Aparajit Bhandarkar, Partner at Varanium Capital. Finvu-AA is among the first NBFC account aggregators in India to have received the operational license from and is currently the leading AA in the market. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced that it will return to its pre-pandemic level of operations to India by October 30, buoyed by a robust surge in the demand for air travel. Singapore's flag carrier will progressively operate 17 weekly flights to Chennai, up from the current 10 flights per week, it said on Tuesday. Similarly, flights to Kochi will also increase by 14 times weekly, up from the current seven flights per week, while Bengaluru will see 16 flights per week, up from the current seven flights per week, the airline said. SIA will operate almost 100 per cent of its pre-Covid operating capacity to India by October 30, 2022, it said in a statement. JoAnn Tan, Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, Singapore Airlines, said that "robust demand for travel to and from India, to points across the Group network, support an increase in our services in this important market." Pre-pandemic, the airline operated to seven destinations in India with a total of 96 flights a week. SIA also plans to increase flights to destinations like Tokyo, Osaka, Paris and Los Angeles, as part of its efforts to ramp up its capacity to 81 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, it added. Battered by the pandemic for the past two years, the airline industry is slowly limping back to normalcy and the resumption of normal overseas flights is expected to provide a fillip to this sector. (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.) Crippled by heavy US sanctions, telecom conglomerate is seeking ideas from employees on how to build a better future and get revenues back on track, the media reported on Wednesday. Founder Ren Zhengfei has written a memo to employees, calling them to contribute ideas about the company's future direction, reports South China Morning Post. The memo comes at a time when the Chinese company is struggling to find a revenue source that matches the profitability of its once-thriving smartphone business. "Huawei's strategy should not be decided by a handful of people as it should come from tens of thousands of experts who study our future direction and the path to get there," Zhengfei said in the memo. He urged 6,000 experts and hundreds of thousands of engineers to join the discussions. "The transformation from ideas to projects and products will depend on the review by decision makers, and I hope everything the company does is within boundaries and creates short or long term value," the CEO stated. "Your innovation should have business value, rather than just being an idea," he added. Huawei's consumer business, which includes smartphones, suffered the most from the . The company's revenue was down by half from a year earlier to $38.24 billion. In May this year, Canada moved to ban Chinese telecommunication giants Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks in order to ensure the "long term safety of our telecommunications infrastructure". Following the steps of its partners -- including the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand -- Canada decided to ban the two Chinese tech by the start of 2028. US President Joe Biden in November last year signed the law to ban Huawei and ZTE from getting approval for network equipment licences in the country. Earlier, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats to communications networks -- making it harder for the US firms to buy equipment from them. --IANS na/shb/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Wednesday expressed hope that India will conduct the ongoing investigations into the Chinese mobile manufacturer firm in accordance with the law and regulations and provide a " truly fair" and "non-discriminatory" business environment to China's firms. Asked about the ongoing raids on offices in several locations in India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here that the Chinese side is closely following the developments on this matter. "As I have stressed many times, the Chinese government has always asked Chinese to abide by laws and regulations when doing business overseas," Zhao said. "In the meantime, we firmly support Chinese in safeguarding their lawful rights and interests," he said. "We hope the Indian authorities will abide by laws as they carry out the investigation and enforcement activities and provide a truly fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese investing and operating in India," the spokesman said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided at least 44 places across India on Tuesday in a money-laundering investigation against Chinese smartphone manufacturer and related firms. The searches were carried out under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at locations in several states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Maharashtra. A Vivo India spokesperson said they're cooperating with authorities. The action is being seen as part of the Union government's steps to tighten checks on Chinese entities and the continued crackdown on such firms and their linked Indian operatives that are allegedly indulging in serious financial crimes like money laundering and tax evasion while operating in India. The stepped-up action against the Chinese-backed companies or entities operating in India comes in the backdrop of the military stand-off between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh has been ongoing for more than two years now. (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 Directorate General of Civil (DGCA) on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to for its failure to establish safe, efficient and reliable services. The regulator has given three weeks to explain why action should not be taken against the airline. has denied any violations on its part and said it is committed to safe operations. The notice comes after the airline suffered three snags within a span of 24 hours - a flight diversion to Karachi due to fuel indicator malfunction, a cracked windshield, and a glitch in the weather radar that forced a turn back (aircraft returning to its departing station). According to a senior official, occurrences like go-arounds, diversions, medical emergencies or technical snags are common and on an average, 30 incidents occur in a day. However, most of them have no safety implications. In SpiceJets case, however, a regulatory review revealed poor internal oversight and inadequate safety maintenance actions (as most of the incidents are related to either component failure or system-related failure) resulted in degradation of safety margins. In its notice, the said its action is based on the incidents that occurred after April 1. It has been observed a number of times that the aircraft either turned back to its originating station or continued landing to the destination with degraded safety margins, it said. A financial assessment carried out by the last September had revealed that SpiceJet was operating on cash and carry basis, and suppliers and approved vendors were not being paid on a regular basis, leading to a shortage of spares and frequent invocation of minimum equipment list (MEL). are allowed to operate with certain inoperative equipment under the regulator approved MEL. ALSO READ: Third SpiceJet plane hit by snag in 24 hrs; cargo plane returned to Kolkata Civil Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, while reacting to the notice, tweeted: Passenger safety is paramount. Even the smallest error hindering safety will be investigated and course-corrected. SpiceJets Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ajay Singh said the airline will now be doubly careful and strengthen inspection of aircraft before they leave to operate . "It is their (DGCA) job to regulate us. It is for us to show we are 100 per cent safe. I welcome their concern," Singh was quoted in a television interview. Singh said a lot of these incidents are relatively minor in nature and happen to every airline. "This is nothing unique", he said. "When you have thousands of flights, sometimes air conditioning will fail, sometimes a bird will hit the plane, and sometimes a fuel indicator will light up," he said. The airline, while responding to the notice, said: We are an IATA-IOSA (operational safety audit) certified airline. SpiceJet successfully completed the meticulous audit programme for recertification in October 2021. We have been regularly audited by the DGCA. All our aircraft were audited a month ago by the regulator and found to be safe. All of SpiceJet are conducted in compliance with the applicable regulations of the DGCA civil regulations on the subject, the airline said in a statement. Shares of bounced back on Wednesday, rising more than 2 per cent amid value-buying at lower levels in tandem with a positive trend in the equity market. Since Monday, the scrip has been on a downward trend amid multiple instances of its planes suffering technical glitches in recent weeks. The scrip, which tanked 7 per cent to hit its 52-week low of Rs 35 during the day on the BSE, later recovered all the lost ground and climbed 2.12 per cent to settle at Rs 38.45 apiece. It jumped 6.24 per cent to Rs 40 during the trade on Wednesday after opening at Rs 37.10 apiece. The broader market was in the positive territory and the benchmark Sensex jumped 616.62 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 53,750.97. On Tuesday, the company's stock fell by 2.33 per cent to close at Rs 37.65 on a day when its Dubai-bound plane was diverted to Karachi due to malfunctioning of the fuel indicator. Aviation regulator DGCA issued a show-cause notice to on Wednesday following eight technical malfunction incidents involving the airline's planes in the last 18 days. SpiceJet's Delhi-Dubai flight suffered a mid-air malfunction in its fuel indicator on Tuesday and was diverted to Karachi and cracks developed on the windshield of another plane of the budget carrier at a height of 23,000 feet forcing a priority landing in Mumbai. has failed to "establish safe, efficient and reliable air services" under the terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, the notice issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated. On Tuesday, a SpiceJet freighter aircraft, which was heading to Chongqing in China, returned to Kolkata as the pilots realised after the take-off that its weather radar was not working. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hyderabad-based start-up StanPlus is aiming to provide ambulance service to patients in under 10 minutes. The emergency service is trying to achieve this by next year. Managing a fleet of close to 3,000 ambulances, StanPlus now claims to dispatch ambulances in under four minutes and reach the patient in under 15 minutes. The broader idea is to manage the emergency response for patients and hospitals both, says Prabhdeep Singh, Founder and CEO, StanPlus. He explains, In its current format, the hospital answers a call at its reception, and as one says it is an emergency, the call gets transferred to the emergency room. Then the transport department gets involved and eventually, an ambulance driver is involved. Typically, a hospital takes three to four minutes at least to make a decision of sending an ambulance, and then they take another 8-12 minutes in the process of dispatch. This is where StanPlus steps in hospitals out-source this emergency call management to StanPlus. When a patient calls a hospital emergency, they answer the call directly at their call centers. We are able to dispatch the ambulance within four minutes from the time of the call. This reduces morbidity and patient mortality, Singh claims. Singh says that hospitals are neither in the call-centre business nor are they running a logistics company. They are into providing . This is a problem that we are trying to solve, and we are already working with 50-hospital units under 20-brands, he adds. By next year Singh claims that they would try to achieve an ambulance arrival time of under 10-minutes. We have partnered with hospitals and we station our ambulances close to these hospitals and also close to where people live (catchment areas of these hospitals). So, this way we are able to react quickly. Uber consistently reaches us in under 10-minutes it's not about traffic, it's about the density of the network, he says. We've transported over 300,000 patients so far after we started in 2016. We should be touching 15,000 to 18,000 patients this month. So the demand is very, very significant, Singh says, adding that they were Ebitda positive last year. He claims that they continue to operate at strong operational profitability. We are tracking at about $10 million of revenue last year, and we should be three, two and a half to 3-times this year, Singh says. The maximum StanPlus charges during an emergency ambulance service are Rs 2,500 depending on the distance. This is covered by insurance, Singh claims. We also do critical care transport over long distances and our rates are 10-15 per cent lower than prevailing market rates, he adds. StanPlus is now expanding to five more cities and aims to be in 15 cities by the end of this calendar year. They now plan to expand in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kochi, Indore, Pune, Coimbatore, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, and Ranchi. We are already present in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Raipur, Bhuvneshwar, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata. They have worked with leading corporate hospitals of the country like Apollo Hospitals, Fortis etc. The firm now owns around 200 ambulances and they also work with local partners and have a total fleet size of 3,000 or so ambulances. Singh says that for emergencies they like to do it using their own ambulances and own drivers and paramedics. StanPlus has recently raised $20 million in its Series A funding from HealthQuad, Kalaari Capital and HealthX. The amount will be utilized to scale up operations and reduce ambulance ETA from 15 minutes to 8 minutes. Among the allied services, Singh says StanPlus is also one of the largest bereavement now in India and does work both for hospitals and employers post-death in a hospital. SpiceJet will now be "doubly careful" and strengthen inspection of aircraft before they leave to operate flights, airline's CMD Ajay Singh said on Wednesday. Aviation regulator issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet on Wednesday following eight technical malfunction incidents involving the airline's planes in the last 18 days. "We will work with them (DGCA) to ensure that if they feel that there are any gaps at all in our system, we will address them. There is nothing more important than safety," Singh told PTI in an interview. He said none of the incidents that have happened in the last few weeks have anything to do with shortage of spare parts. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in its show-cause notice, mentioned the financial audit of SpiceJet in September 2021 according to which the airline is not paying component vendors regularly and that has led to shortage of spare parts. "A lot of these incidents that are being reported are relatively minor in nature and happen to every airline. This is nothing unique," he said. When you have thousands of flights, sometimes the air conditioning will fail, sometimes a bird will hit the plane, and sometimes a fuel indicator will light up, he said. "These things are going to happen and, of course, we have to minimise that to the greatest extent possible. That is our job and it is the regulator's job to push us to make things better, which we will do," he said. When asked what changes SpiceJet will now undertake to deal with the safety concerns, he said, "We have to be doubly careful. We will rigorously inspect aircraft when they leave for a flight, which we already do, but we will strengthen the inspection." He said SpiceJet has asked the to take a look into the working of the airline because the processes that it follows have been audited several times by the regulator and in the 15 years that SpiceJet has flown, there has been nothing significant that has really transpired on its aircraft. On average, 30 incidents happen per day in India's air services...Whatever incidents happen, we report them to and try to minimize them. But if you are thinking that such incidents will stop, it is not possible: SpiceJet MD Ajay Singh pic.twitter.com/qRZ2X3NNbp ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2022 In its show-cause notice to SpiceJet, the DGCA said the airline has failed to "establish safe, efficient and reliable air services" under the terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. On Tuesday, the airline's Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi due to a malfunctioning fuel indicator and its Kandla-Mumbai flight did priority landing in Maharashtra's capital city after cracks developed on its windshield mid-air. (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 alternate aircraft of Indian budget carrier Spice Jet flew to from Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Tuesday night, ending a wait of nearly 11 hours for 138 passengers who got stranded here after taking off from New in the morning. SpiceJet's Delhi- flight was diverted to as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning. The Boeing 737 Max aircraft made an emergency landing at airport at around 9:15 am after the Pakistani Civil Aviation Authorities permitted the Indian plane to land at the Jinnah International Airport on humanitarian grounds. An official of the Civil Aviation Authority said the Indian carrier had sent an alternate aircraft SG 9911 from Mumbai to take the passengers to which took off at around 9:20 pm. The official said engineers of the International Airlines worked with the Spice Jet crew to locate and rectify the technical fault in the aircraft. All the passengers were shifted to the transit lounge and provided all hospitality including food and refreshments. Apparently there was and is a problem with the aircraft's light indicator and it couldn't be repaired immediately and it didn't get clearance from the engineers so another aircraft was sent from Mumbai, he said. In March last year, an Indigo Indian Airlines flight also had to make an emergency landing at the airport after a passenger complained of chest pain and fell ill. The Sharjah-Lucknow flight later left for its destination but doctors who came on board couldn't save the passenger who passed away from a cardiac arrest. Hours after SpiceJet's Delhi-Dubai flight suffered a mid-air malfunction, cracks developed on the windshield of another plane of the budget carrier at a height of 23,000 feet forcing a priority landing in Mumbai in a double whammy for the airline. The two episodes on a single day have taken the total number of technical malfunction incidents involving aircraft to seven in the last 17 days. (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.) Union Home Minister will chair the 'North Zonal Council' meeting to held here on July 9. Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governor of eight states, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, are scheduled to participate in the meeting at Hotel Rambagh Palace. States expected to participate in the event are: Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The meeting shall start from around 10 a.m. and will deliberate on state's internal security, border security, cyber crime, formation of collective work force, cross-border drug trade and developing a system of mutual exchange of information along with rise in incidents of rape of women and minor. is the chairman of the Northern Zonal Council. The Chief Ministers will discuss challenges faced by their states with the Home Minister and attempt to find a solution to the problems. The meeting also gains significance against the backdrop of the brutal murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur. The killers of Kanhaiya Lal have also threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi by making the video viral. Agencies like SIT, ATS and SOG of Rajasthan Police are probing the terrorist connections of the attackers. The Central Government has also handed over the investigation to the NIA (National Investigation Agency). Both the killers Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Mohammad are being interrogated by taking them on remand. Later, three more accused have been arrested and investigation is under progress. Incidents of violence and communal tension were also reported in Karauli, Jodhpur, Bhilwara and Bharatpur in the past. --IANS arc/shb/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal, since the onset of in June, has received deficient rainfall in 15 of its 23 districts, raising the likelihood of crops loss in some places, officials said. Steps are being taken by the irrigation department to avert any crisis that may arise due to insufficient rainfall, they said. According to the Met department, 13 districts of Gangetic Bengal received less rainfall than normal, while two in the sub-Himalayan region of the state experienced deficient rain. The department also said that Gangetic Bengal received 45 per cent less rainfall between June 1 and July 5, with the districts of Birbhum and Murshidabad being the most affected, having experienced just 38 per cent and 39 per cent of normal rainfall respectively during the period, it said. Darjeeling and Uttar Dinajpur are the only districts to have received normal rainfall this so far, while Cooch Behar witnessed 80 per cent excess rainfall, it stated. State irrigation minister Soumen Mohapatra said that measures were being taken by the government to provide water from deep tube wells and rivers for agriculture purposes. "A meeting of departments concerned was held to assess the situation and take action for mitigating the situation that has emerged due to deficient rainfall in several districts. As there is less water in the reservoirs in the region, it is difficult to provide water from these," Mohapatra told PTI. He said that there is a possibility that paddy and vegetable cultivation might get affected in some districts including Malda, Birbhum and Murshidabad owing to insufficient rainfall so far. Regional Met director G K Das told PTI that south Bengal districts are likely to receive "below normal" rainfall in July, too. He said that the entered Gangetic districts as late as June 18, while the normal date for the advancement of the rainy season into the region is June 9. (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.) Around 200 people had taken out a candle march here to observe the first death anniversary of Father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist who was arrested in 2020 on terror charges and died in judicial custody. The octogenarian activist had been suffering from multiple ailments, including Parkinson's disease. He breathed his last in a Mumbai hospital on July 5, 2021. Members of various civil society groups such as Nagarik Sammelan and Paschimbongo Samajik Nyay Manch assembled at Park Circus Maidan area on Tuesday, holding candles and placards that said 'Stan Swamy, we won't forget your fight'. "He was not treated well in custody. He was kept like a caged bird who sang for the rights of poor from jail. Today, we are here to remember his fight and contributions," educationist and Jesuit priest Father Felix Raj said. Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from his home in Bagaicha, Ranchi, in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. The case pertains to the alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the 'Elgar Parishad' conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near Koregaon- Bhima war memorial located on the city's outskirts. The Pune Police said the conclave was backed by Maoists. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Wednesday reported cases of an sub-variant surfacing in and Shaanxi province as the Chinese capital announced new measures, making it mandatory to show proof of vaccination for people entering public places. sub-variant BA.5.2 was discovered in and northwest China's Shaanxi Province, leading to strengthened anti-epidemic measures in those areas, state-run Global Times reported. The new variants emerged as was looking to relax its stringent dynamic zero COVID policy by reducing quarantine time and allowing more international air travel. As the current dominant variant in the US and Europe, the sub-variant has triggered concern among Chinese people, with experts and officials stressing that the key is to "cope with fast transmission by fast reaction", the report said. Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, launched temporary seven-day epidemic prevention control measures in some public places on Wednesday after the city reported 29 infections in the previous four days. is currently enforcing alternate testing of its 21 million population. All people wanting to enter public places like museums, theatres, stadiums and gyms in Beijing will need to show proof of vaccination, Li Ang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, told reporters. The development comes as the Chinese capital is facing a new outbreak caused by highly transmissible strain that will again test the zero-tolerance strategy. Elderly people will also have to show proof of vaccination to enter community facilities such as game rooms, the Hong Kong-based South Morning Post reported. Previously, people at high risk of contracting or spreading Covid-19 and anyone entering an aged care home had to be fully vaccinated. The vaccine mandate is in addition to a requirement for Beijing residents to get tested every three days and show a negative result to enter public venues. Beijing is also bracing to hold the 20th Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) dates for which is yet to be announced. The conference was widely expected to endorse a rare third five-year term for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ma Chaofeng, a health official in Xi'an, told the media that the cases reported recently were caused by the BA.5.2 sub-variant and were linked to a renewable resources market. On Wednesday, Beijing authorities also confirmed that they had discovered three infections caused by the BA.5.2 sub-variant, the Global Times report said. Pang Xinghuo, a Beijing health official said that the latest cases were allegedly caused by imported virus and the current situation is still under control. (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.) workers staged a protest outside a police station in Uttar Pradesh's Tuesday night in connection with a case related to the airing of a doctored video of party leader . The workers alleged that the police obstructed the process of arresting Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan, against whom an FIR was lodged in Chhattisgarh and a police team from Raipur had come to arrest him from adjoining Ghaziabad, according to a party statement. They also alleged that the police were protecting Ranjan from their counterparts who had come from the Congress-governed state. Noida leaders, including Anil Yadav, Purushottam Nagar, former local unit president Shahabuddin, and scores of activists lodged their protest at the Sector 20 police station and sought a clarification from the police over the matter. The Noida police said in a statement Tuesday night that they had arrested Ranjan from his Ghaziabad home as part of an investigation in a case lodged by them under IPC 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes). Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan was brought to Noida from his residence in Indirapuram for questioning in the case. After interrogation, he was arrested on the basis of evidence. He has been released on bail as the sections against him are bailable offences. Further investigation in the case is underway, the police statement read. A police team which came from Raipur in Chhattisgarh claimed that Ranjan was taken away from their custody in the morning by the Ghaziabad police which later handed him over to the Noida police. They also alleged non-cooperation from their Ghaziabad and Noida counterparts despite having an arrest warrant and court order against the TV anchor. The Ghaziabad and the Noida police were yet to respond to the claims of their Chhattisgarh counterparts. (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 Delhi government's debt increased by nearly seven per cent in the four-year period up to 2019-20 although it maintained a revenue surplus, according to a audit report tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday. The debt increased by Rs 2,268.93 crore (6.98 per cent) from Rs 32,497.91 crore at the beginning of 2015-16 to Rs 34,766.84 crore at the end of 2019-20, said the report. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report of the year 2021 on state finances for the year ending March 2020 was presented in the Assembly by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. The audit report on state finances provides an analytical review of the annual accounts of the Government of NCT of Delhi and functioning of Public Sector Undertakings for the year ending 31 March 2020. The revenue surplus of in 2019-20 was Rs 7,499 crore indicating that revenue receipts of the government were sufficient to meet the revenue expenditure, said the report. The has been able to maintain revenue surplus largely on account of pension liabilities of its employees being borne by the central government, it pointed out. In addition, expenditure of Delhi Police is also borne by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, it added. Revenue receipts grew by Rs 4,023 crore (9.33 per cent) over the previous year. In the year 2019-20, about 79.90 per cent of revenue receipts came from government's own resources while Grants-in-Aid contributed 20.10 per cent. The share of NCTD's own tax revenue to total revenue receipts decreased from 86.36 per cent in 2015-16 to 77.58 per cent in 2019-20. Expenditure of government on subsidies increased from Rs 1,867.61 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 3,592.94 crore in 2019-20 (92.38 per cent). In 2019-20 expenditure on subsidies increased by 41.85 per cent over the previous year, the report said. Financial assistance to local bodies and others increased by 7.59 per cent from Rs 15,087.22 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 16,232.97 crore in 2019-20. The increase in investment in 2019-20 over the previous year was Rs 150 crore on account on investment made in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. The return on investment was 0.08 per cent in 2019-20 whereas the government paid interest at the average rate of 8.14 per cent on its borrowings during 2019-20, said the report. The is not empowered to raise loans from the open market. Loans and advances received from the Government of India comprise its debt receipts, added the report. (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 Union on Wednesday reduced the gap for taking a Covid-19 precaution shot or a booster shot after the primary two doses to six months from an earlier nine months. In a letter to all states, Union Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in view of evolving scientific evidence and global practices the Standing Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has recommended to reduce the gap between second dose and precaution dose to 6 months or 26-weeks from an earlier 9 months or 39 weeks. The NTAGI too has endorsed the same. Therefore, it has been decided that the precaution dose for all beneficiaries from 18-59 years will be administered after completion of six months, or 26 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose at a private vaccination centre," the letter said. The government is administering precaution doses for free for those above 60 years, and frontline workers. Corresponding changes have been made in the CoWIN system to facilitate the new dispensation. Instructions may be issued to all the officials concerned and it might also be publicised widely, Bhushan wrote. In mid-June, the standing technical sub-committee members agreed to reduce the gap between the second and the third doses of Covid-19 vaccine. Now, the NTAGI has recommended the same, and the Union has advised states to vaccinate accordingly. Meanwhile, in the wake of another major mutation in the Sars-CoV-2 virus BA.2.75 experts bat for heterologous boosting or mixing vaccines for the booster dose. Shahid Jameel, senior research fellow at Green Templeton College at Oxford University, told Business Standard that the BA.2.75 has several mutations in the spike protein, of which two are unique when compared to its parent strain BA.2. These two mutations are G446S and R493Q. The senior researcher feels that G446S is one of the most potent sites of escape from antibodies made by current vaccines that still neutralise BA.2. So it increases chances of infection in people so far protected, he says. Besides advocating booster shots for the vulnerable, Jameel also says that India should use science to update booster policy. The current policy is not making the best use of evidence and available vaccine choices, he says, adding that recent data from CMC, Vellore study on mixing Covishield and Covaxin shows that Covishield after Covaxin is a far superior combination, but India continues to use third dose Covaxin in people who got two doses. Also global data shows protein vaccines are better after 2 doses of AZ vaccine than a 3rd dose, Jameel says. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a heavy rainfall alert for on Wednesday and the next two days, as state capital continued to witness heavy downpour for the third consecutive day, resulting in a near a chawl, water-logging at many places and traffic disruptions. Three persons were injured in the landslide, an official said, as Mumbaikars continued to face hardship due to flooding on roads. A citizen in a tweet said they now need a boat to commute, instead of a car. A also occurred on a road leading to the Pratapgad Fort in western Maharashtra's Satara district on Wednesday following . There was no report of any casualty and no one was trapped in the debris, the Public Works Department's executive engineer, Sanjay Sonawane, said. Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said an off-shore trough lies across the Gujarat and coast and low pressure over west Madhya Pradesh, resulting in heavy rainfall over and Gujarat. The has issued a 'red alert' for south Konkan, Goa and south central Maharashtra from July 6-8. It said heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places during this period. It issued an 'orange alert' for north Konkan. For north central Maharashtra, east Vidarbha and west Vidarbha, the issued a 'yellow alert' for Wednesday and orange for Thursday and Friday. There was a 'yellow alert' for the Marathwada region, forecasting heavy rainfall on Wednesday and the next two days. The MeT department issues four colour-coded predictions based on the prevailing weather systems. The green colour indicates no warning, yellow is to keep a watch, orange is to stay alert, while red means a warning and that action needs to be taken. Skymet, the private weather forecasting company, said active monsoon conditions will likely continue for the next 10 days due to the development of an intense low-pressure system. It said there could be extremely in parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, and Gujarat on Thursday and Friday. Several parts of the state have been witnessing heavy rainfall since July 4. In many parts, rivers have been flowing near the danger mark and inundating low-lying areas. In Mumbai, a minor boy and two other persons were injured after a portion of a hill crashed on the two-storey Narayan Hadke Chawl (tenement) in Chunabhatti area around 10.30 am, a civic official said. Three rooms in the chawl were damaged due to the . As a precaution, the civic body has evacuated residents from other adjoining rooms in the chawl, he said. The injured persons - Shubham Sonawane (15), Prakash Sonawane (40) and Surekha Virkar (20) - were immediately shifted to the nearby civic-run Sion Hospital, the official said, adding that their condition is stable. The Central Railway and Western Railway officials said the local trains were operating normally, but some commuters claimed the suburban services were running a little late. A spokesperson of the BEST Undertaking said their bus services were diverted on two dozen routes at six locations. is likely to witness another wet day as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted moderate to heavy rain in the city and suburbs, with a possibility of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in the next 24 hours, according to civic officials. In the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Wednesday, the island city (south Mumbai) received an average 107 mm rainfall, while the eastern and western suburbs recorded 172 mm and 152 mm downpour, respectively, a civic official said. While lakes in the city were filling up because of the incessant rains, there was no end to woes of the general public as many low-lying places like Hindmata, and areas in Dadar and Sion, including the Gandhi Market and road number 24 in Sion, were inundated, forcing pedestrians to wade through the water and making it difficult for motorists to commute. "Flooding in Sion, Matunga, Dadar. Need a boat instead of car to commute," a city resident tweeted. Water-logging was reported near the Neelam Junction, Deonar, Mankhrud railway bridge, Everard Nagar, Antop Hill, Chembur, Dadar T T Junction, Hindmata junction, Sakkar Panchayat, Wadala, Kings Circle, Matunga, Kurla Kamani area and some other places, due to which traffic movement was slow, a police official said. In view of the inundation at Dadar TT, traffic was diverted via Gokhale Road, he said. Water-logging was also reported near the Worli end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, due to which the south-bound traffic was moving slow, he said. The Khar subway was also flooded, affecting the vehicular traffic, the official said. At the Mancherji Joshi Chowk junction in Matunga and near Asalpha bus stop in Ghatkopar, there was water-logging up to two feet and at the Crystal House area in Powai up to one feet, disrupting road traffic, he said. In Satara, the famous Mahabaleshwar hill station witnessed on Tuesday. It recorded 197 mm downpour in the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Wednesday, a district official said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Aga Khan Museum here has said it "deeply regrets" causing offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities and has removed the presentation of the documentary Kaali', after the Indian mission in Ottawa urged the Canadian authorities to take down all "provocative material" related to the controversial film. Toronto-based filmmaker Leena Manimekalai shared the poster of her documentary Kaali' on Twitter on Saturday which shows the goddess smoking and holding an LGBTQ flag in her hand. The poster led to a social media storm with the hashtag 'Arrest Leena Manimekalai', and allegations that the filmmaker had hurt religious sentiments. A member of a group going by the name Gau Mahasabha' said he had filed a complaint with Delhi Police. Responding to the uproar on Twitter, the museum said in a statement that it deeply regrets that Kaali had "inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities." Toronto Metropolitan University brought together works from students of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, each student exploring their individual sense of belonging as part of Canadian multiculturalism for the project Under the Tent', it said on Tuesday. Toronto Metropolitan University's project presentation was hosted once at the Aga Khan Museum on July 2, 2022 in the context of the Museum's mission to foster intercultural understanding and dialogue through the arts, it said. Respect for diverse religious expressions and faith communities forms an integral part of that mission. The presentation is no longer being shown at the Museum, the statement read. The Museum deeply regrets that one of the 18 short videos from Under the Tent' and its accompanying social media post have inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities, it added. The museum response came after the High Commission of India in Ottawa on Monday said that it had received complaints from leaders of the Hindu community in about the disrespectful depiction of Hindu Gods on the poster of the film showcased as part of the Under the Tent' project at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. Our Consulate General in Toronto has conveyed these concerns to the organisers of the event. We are also informed that several Hindu groups have approached authorities in to take action, the statement read. We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organisers to withdraw all such provocative material, it added. Manimekalai, who was born in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, on Monday said she will continue to use her voice fearlessly till she is alive. "I have nothing to lose. Till the time I live, I wish to live with a voice that speaks what I believe without fear. If the price for that is my life, it can be given," Manimekalai wrote in a Twitter post in Tamil in response to an article on the controversy. "The film is about the events during Kaali's strolls through the streets of Toronto city one fine evening. If they watch the movie, they will put the hashtag 'love you Leena Manimekalai' rather than 'Arrest Leena Manimekalai'," she added in reply to another article. Manimekalai, who made her feature directorial debut with 2021's "Maadathy - An Unfairy Tale", isn't the first filmmaker to find herself in trouble over religious references. In 2017, for instance, filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan courted controversy over the title of his Malayalam film "Sexy Durga", which explored religious divides in Kerala society. The film was later rechristened "S Durga". Last year, Prime Video's political saga Tandav was at the centre of trouble for a scene depicting Lord Shiva in a college theatre programme. The scene was eventually dropped and the streamer issued an unconditional apology. 'Kaali' is yet to be shown to Indian audiences. (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.) Kolkata Police, on Wednesday, issued yet another notice to suspended leader asking her to be present for questioning at Narkeldanga Police Station under the city police's Eastern Suburban Division on July 11. This is the third notice that had sent to Sharma for questioning on her controversial comments about Prophet Muhammad, that sparked tension and violence in different parts of the country, including some minority dominated pockets in West Bengal. However, Sharma had avoided both the notices on grounds of security threat apprehensions following which the city police had also issued a lookout notice against her. City police sources said that multiple complaints have been registered against Sharma in different police stations alleging that her controversial comments have disturbed the peace in different pockets of the state. Now it is to be seen whether she will appear at Narkeldanga Police Station on Monday or again express her inability to appear on the same grounds. Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, at a public programme, had been vocal about Sharma's arrest. "Why should not the person whose comments created tension be arrested. Many people are now criticising her after the Supreme Court had taken a strong stand against her controversial comments. However, our stand has been very clear on such issues since the beginning and we have zero tolerance towards those who try to divide people. Previously too there had been efforts to create communal tension in the area through circulation of fake videos," the chief minister said. Already, a motion condemning Nupur Sharma's controversial comments has been passed in the West Bengal Assembly. Soon after Sharma's controversial comments went viral, there was severe tension in several minority-dominated pockets in West Bengal in districts like Kolkata and adjacent Howrah, Murshidabad, and Nadia. Clashes erupted between the agitators and police in which Domjur police station in Howrah district was attacked, police vehicles were torched and several police personnel were injured. Internet services were suspended in several areas. Following countrywide tension over the controversial comments, the suspended from the party. The also took action against its Delhi leader Naveen Kumar Jindal who shared her comments on Twitter. --IANS src/shb/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RJD president Lalu Prasad, who was admitted to a Patna hospital with fractures after a fall at his house, is being shifted for better treatment at AIIMS-Delhi where doctors are well-versed with his medical history, his son said on Wednesday. Lalu Prasad suffered fractures in three places, including shoulder, after the fall and complications increased as the body is "locked" and he is unable to move much, Yadav said. The 74-year-old former Bihar chief minister was taken ill on Monday and admitted to a private hospital in Patna, less than 24 hours after he suffered the injuries. Sources said Lalu Prasad was in transit and was expected to be admitted to in Delhi later in the night. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday visited Lalu Prasad at the Patna hospital and enquired about his health. Lalu Prasad's wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, who reached Delhi Wednesday, said, "His (Lalu's) health is slightly better now". In a message to RJD workers and Lalu Prasad's supporters, Rabri Devi said, "Don't worry, he is being treated and will recover. Everyone should pray for him that he recovers soon." Speaking with reporters alongside his mother here, said, "We are bringing him to Delhi as better treatment can be done here with the doctors well- versed with his medical history." "He has a fracture in three places after the fall. Complications increased after the fall as the body got locked, he is unable to move much," the leader of opposition in the Bihar Assembly said. "Lalu ji will be brought here and a team of doctors will decide in which ward he will be kept. A check-up, all scans and ultrasound will be done," Yadav said. Out on bail in fodder scam cases, Prasad had last month obtained permission from the Jharkhand High Court for travelling abroad, preferably Singapore, to get a kidney transplant. On whether it would be possible to go to Singapore, said if in 2-4 weeks he can undertake international travel "we may take him to Singapore. (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.) West Bengal's Covid-19 tally rose to 2,037,590 on Tuesday as 1,973 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. Three fresh fatalities pushed the state's death toll to 21,228, it said. The daily positivity rate shot up to 15.93 per cent as 12,385 samples were tested for Covid-19. The state had registered 1,132 cases on Monday and 1,822 infections on Sunday. The campaigning for the first phase of urban body in ended on Tuesday and the voting will be held across 133 municipal corporations in 49 districts of the state on July 6 (Wednesday), officials said. The voting will be held between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to the State (SEC), a total of 13,148 polling booths have been set up for the first phase of civic polls. The voting for the second and the last phase is scheduled to be held on July 13, and the counting would be done on July 17. on Wednesday recorded 3,142 fresh COVID-19 cases, including 695 in Mumbai, and seven fatalities, taking the tally to 79,93,051 and the toll to 1,47,956, the health department said. The state also reported 19 cases of Omicron's sub-variants. A day earlier, had reported 3,098 cases and six fatalities. The state is now left with 19,981 active cases. The health department said six patients of BA.5 and three of BA.4 have been found in the state, all from Pune. BA.4 and BA.5 are sub-variants of the Omicron. Besides, 10 cases of BA.2.75 were found in Pune, the health department said in a bulletin. In India, BA.2.75 has been documented to have a limited circulation and so far, this lineage has not been documented to have enhanced severity or the spread of the disease. As the BA.2 lineage is evolving, many of its sub-lineages are now developing with a set of distinct mutations. B.2.75 is a similar sub-lineage of BA.2. All these samples were collected from June 21 to June 29, the department said. All these cases are asymptomatic and recovered in home isolation, it added. The tally of BA.4 and BA.5 patients in has gone to 73, including 24 in Pune, 34 in Mumbai, four each in Nagpur, Thane and Palghar, and three in Raigad. Mumbai on Wednesday recorded 695 fresh cases and zero fatality. Of the seven COVID-19 fatalities in Maharashtra, Raigad and Solapur Municipal Corporation areas recorded two deaths each, and one fatality each was reported from Nandurbar and Solapur districts and the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation areas. The case fatality rate in the state now stands at 1.85 per cent. With 3,974 patients recovering from COVID-19 in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, the overall count of recoveries has risen to 78,25,114. The recovery rate in the state is 97.90 per cent. A total of 42,002 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of samples tested so far in the state to 8,22,20,513. Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures are as follows: total cases 79,93,051, death toll 1,47,956, recoveries 78,25,114, total tests 8,22,20,513, active cases 19,981. (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.) Trinamool MP on Tuesday sparked a row after she said she has every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. Her remark on Goddess Kaali came when a film poster on Kaali by director Leena Manimekalai stirred controversy after the Goddess was seen smoking in the poster. Moitra, while speaking at the India Today conclave, said, "For me, Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. And if you go to Tarapith (a major Shakti peeth in West Bengal's Birbhum district), you will see sadhus smoking. That is the version of Kali people worship (there). I, within Hinduism, being a Kali worshipper, have the right to imagine Kali in that way; that is my freedom." I have the freedom to do it (envision a meat-eating goddess) as much as you have the freedom to worship your god as vegetarian and white-clothed, the Trinamool MP added. Later, Moitra issued a clarification, as the Krishnanagar MP said she "never backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking". Soon after her comment, the hit out at the MP for her 'insulting' remark and asked if the " is only for insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses. BJP's social media head Amit Malviya said, is only for insulting Hindu Goddesses. From MF Hussain to Owaisi to now Moitra, all have selectively targeted the Hindu religion because they know that Hindus are tolerant. also demanded an apology from TMC, as the party's vice-president Rathindra Bose said, " supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should clarify it. This is not the first time that such instances have been reported. Earlier too leaders have done the same. We think this is the official stand of the ruling to hurt the sentiment of Hindus to get votes. Meanwhile, TMC distanced itself from Moitra's comments and condemned her remarks. The party on Twitter said, The comments made by @MahuaMoitra at the #IndiaTodayConclaveEast2022 and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments. BJP-led NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to visit on Wednesday to seek the support of ruling MLAs, officials said on Tuesday. Murmu had been touring states to muster electoral support for the July 18 polls. She will be arriving in on the afternoon of July 6. During the visit, Murmu will holding interactions with the MPs and MLAs of the ruling Democratic Alliance at Orchid Lake resort here, a senior official said. The BJP, with two MLAs in the House of 60, is a constituent of the National People's Party-led coalition in Meghalaya. Five suspended Congress MLAs who have pledged their support to the MDA government are likely to vote in favour of Murmu, sources in the ruling alliance said. The Opposition TMC has 12 legislators in the Assembly. The NPP and the Congress have one MP each in the Lok Sabha while the NPP has one MP in the Upper House of Parliament. (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 Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday took over probe into the murder of Amravati-based chemist Umesh Kolhe and collected documents and evidences related to the case from the city police, said police officials. The anti-terror agency, which has already taken custody of all the seven accused in the June 21 murder, took possession of a case diary, knives and some two-wheelers seized by cops, CCTV footage, CDR (call detail record) data of the accused and other documents and material which were in possession of the Kotwali police, who were handling the probe till now, they said. The took custody of all the accused, who were granted four days' transit remand on Monday after they were produced before an court. The accused - Muddasar Ahmad (22), Shahrukh Pathan (25), Abdul Taufiq (24) Shoaib Khan (22), Atib Rashid (22) and Yusuf Khan (32) and alleged mastermind Shaikh Irfan Shaikh Rahim - are likely to be produced before the NIA's Mumbai court on or before July 8, they added. While seeking remand of the accused, the informed the court that the Union Home Ministry had handed over the investigation into Kolhe's murder to the central agency. Around 11 am on Tuesday, Deputy Inspector General Vikram Khalate and Superintendent of Police Praveen Ingale reached the Kotwali police station along with their colleagues and took possession of the documents and evidences related to the case, the officials said. Statements of the investigating officer and others involved in the probe were recorded, they said. Kolhe's brother Mahesh was on Tuesday summoned by the NIA in the Kotwali police station where his statement was recorded by the anti-terror agency, the officials said. NIA sleuths also carried out a thorough search of houses of the accused persons and examined the spot, they said. The police had found inks between social media posts supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Kolhe's murder during the investigation and didn't suppress the case as was alleged, police commissioner Arti Singh said on Monday. Police didn't disclose the information earlier given the "very sensitive" nature of the murder case and to avoid any untoward incident, she said. Police are on the lookout for one more suspect, Shamim Ahmed, in connection with the case. Kolhe (54) was allegedly attacked with a knife by a group of three men between 10 pm and 10:30 pm on June 21. He died during treatment at hospital. The chemist had put out a post on social media in support of Nupur Sharma, who made controversial comments on Prophet Muhammad during a TV debate in May. A new video purportedly linked to Kolhe's murder and featuring two people went viral on social media on Tuesday, but its authenticity was not confirmed by the police. The video was being examined by cyber experts, police said. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Nagpur, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former MLA from Amravati Anil Bonde claimed the "mastermind" of Kolhe's murder, Shaikh Rahim, was allegedly involved in a 'love jihad' incident in Indore in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Civil Aviation Minister on Tuesday held a detailed discussion with the advisory group of on fuel pricing (ATF) in India and abroad, along with steps to mitigate the burgeoning pressure of rising prices. This comes after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's immediate personal intervention to reduce exorbitant airfares in the post-COVID period in both domestic and international sectors. In a letter to PM Modi, the Kerala Chief Minister said that airfares in both the international and domestic sectors have become exorbitantly high recently, which is pulling the travel industry down and putting Non-Residents to extreme hardship. Meanwhile, Indian carrier SpiceJet replacement aircraft arrived in Karachi from Mumbai on Tuesday evening after the airline's Dubai-bound flight from Delhi was diverted to the Pakistani city as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning.The Boeing 737 Max aircraft will be taking passengers to Dubai. The replacement aircraft landed at 5:45 pm Pakistan time.Earlier on Tuesday morning, a Dubai-bound SpiceJet flight from Delhi was diverted to Karachi in Pakistan as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning.More than 150 passengers were onboard the SpiceJet flight (Delhi-Dubai) that made an emergency landing in Karachi, Pakistan after developing a technical fault.Following this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday ordered a probe into the incident."On July 5, 2022, M/s SpiceJet B737-8 Max aircraft VT-MXG while operating flight SG-011, Delhi - Dubai, the crew observed unusual fuel quantity reduction from the left tank. They carried out a relevant non-normal checklist, however fuel quantity kept on decreasing. PIC decided to divert the aircraft to Karachi (KHI). Aircraft diverted in coordination with ATC and landed safely at KHI," said DGCA statement.SpiceJet said the flight was diverted when it was on the way to Dubai and flying on 5000 ft.The conversation between the SpiceJet pilot and ATC Karachi which has been accessed by ANI shows that the pilot has asked for a precautionary landing after suspected fuel leakage in the aircraft."The SpiceJet pilot is heard telling ATC Karachi that the fuel leakage in the aircraft, requesting it for precautionary landing," ATC conversation read access by ANI."Karachi ATC confirming him whether any dangerous good on board. The pilots responded negatively. Later Karachi ATC confirms SpiceJet for landing after two minutes," the conversation further read.The aircraft landed safely at Karachi airport at around 8 am (local time), 53 minutes after being airborne."SpiceJet has been on-ground for the past four hours. Passengers are being looked after. The plane has been parked in the designated area where engineers are assessing the problem," Pakistan's civil aviation authority (CAA) official said."On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi - Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely at Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked," the spokesperson of the airline said.According to SpiceJet, no emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing at Karachi airport."No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft. Passengers have been served refreshments. A replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai," SpiceJet spokesperson said.Meanwhile, another aircraft of India's low-cost carrier SpiceJet reported a glitch in its Kandla - Mumbai flight on Tuesday. This is the second incident involving the airline on Tuesday.Earlier on Saturday, a domestic flight made an emergency landing after its cabin filled with smoke soon after take-off for the central city of Jabalpur, the airline said.A senior DGCA official said that they are investigating all six incidents on SpiceJet aircraft reported in the last 17 days."We are concerned over passengers' safety and a team has been formed to investigate all the incidents thoroughly and submit the report at the earliest," he said.In the monthly report of DGCA, SpiceJet came in second in terms of flight cancellations in the month of May.On June 19, two incidents were reported in two separate flights of SpiceJet. First, a Delhi-bound flight carrying over 185 passengers caught fire soon after take-off from Patna airport and had to make an emergency landing. The airline said a bird hit that had damaged their fan blades.In another incident on the same day, the SpiceJet Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 plane from Delhi to Jabalpur made an emergency landing in Delhi as the cabin pressure couldn't be built up as the plane gained altitude. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A cargo plane on Tuesday flying to returned to as the weather radar was not working, the company said. This was the third such incident on Tuesday for the airline. on Wednesday said, "On July 5th, 2022, Boeing 737 freighter (cargo aircraft) was scheduled to operate from to Chongqing. After take-off, the weather radar was not showing the weather. The PIC decided to return to . Aircraft landed safely at Kolkata." The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday issued show-cause notice to SpiceJet over degradation of safety margins of its aircraft. Earlier on Tuesday, a SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Dubai was diverted to Pakistan's Karachi after the fuel indicator started malfunctioning, officials of the aviation regulator said. The company said that all the passengers were safe. In a separate incident, a SpiceJet Q400 flight conducted a priority landing at the Mumbai airport after its windshield cracked at 23,000 feet altitude, officials said. All passengers and crew members were safe, the airline said in a statement. After the third Kolkata incident on Tuesday, SpiceJet has reported at least 17 such issues of technical malfunction on its aircraft in the last 17 days. The has initiated a probe into the two matters. DGCA officials said they were separately investigating the two incidents as they were not connected, adding that the regulator is concerned about the impact on the airlines maintenance procedures due to its financial crunch. As many as 348 new cases of have been detected in Maharashtra's district, taking its infection count to 7,30,069, a health official said on Wednesday. These new cases were reported on Tuesday, he said, adding that the district currently has 3,982 active COVID-19 cases. There was no report of any fresh fatality and the death toll stood at 11,909. The COVID-19 recovery count in has reached 7,13,829, the official said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has filed a petition at the Karnataka High Court for a judicial review of the government telling the microblogging firm to take down content from its platform. Meanwhile, named new Health Secretary and Finance Minister shortly after Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer tendered their resignation. Read more on these in our top headlines. files petition for judicial review of Indian orders on takedown has filed a petition at the Karnataka High Court for a judicial review of the government telling the microblogging firm to take down content from its platform. This comes even as the company has complied with the information technology ministrys July notice on removing some content. Read more twins' merger: RBI awaits more data to decide on dispensation request The (RBI) is yet to grant dispensations for the proposed merger of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) with Bank, even though the banking regulator has issued a no-objection letter to the lender. According to top RBI sources, the central bank will have to look at more data before deciding whether the relaxations sought by Indias largest private sector lender can be granted. Read more PM names new Health Secretary, Finance Minister after Javid, Sunak leave UK named new UK Health Secretary and Finance Minister shortly after Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer tendered their resignation, reports said. UK Cabinet chief of staff Steve Barclay has been appointed as the new health secretary. Meanwhile, UK education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was named as the new finance minister. Read more Employee costs surge over 12% to a record Rs 10.8 trillion in FY22 Employee costs of the Nifty 500 companies surged more than 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to a record Rs 10.8 trillion during the financial year 2021-22 (FY22). This was the first time that the figure crossed the Rs 10-trillion mark. All the sectors witnessed an increase, with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and information technology (IT) firms witnessing the fastest growth -- at 23 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively. Read more Ola may lay off up to 500 employees in order to drive cost-efficiency SoftBank-backed mobility platform Ola is in the process of laying off 400-500 employees -- in a move aimed at driving cost efficiency, revealed sources. They said these layoffs are taking place across departments, amid a challenging funding environment and a delay in listing plans for the Bhavish Aggarwal-led firm. Read more Twitter has sought legal action against the of Indias order to take down certain content posted on the platform. According to the petition filed in the Karnataka High Court, on July 5, the platform has argued that the take down orders are procedurally and substantially non-compliant with section 69A of the Act 2000. Twitter in its petition, which Business Standard has seen, said that content does not meet the threshold for blocking under section 69A. It said that blocking rules also provide for a review mechanism whereby blocking orders are to be reviewed and the review committee under Rule 14 must record its findings on whether the directions issued under these rules are in accordance with the sub section (1) of section 69A of the Act. said that the governments actions are disproportionate, adding that section 69A does not extend to block entire accounts. Section 69A provides power to block information and information is defined in section 2(1)(v) of the . The remit of Section 69A extends to blocking information that is already available and does not extend to preventing information from being generated, transmitted, received, stored or hosted. also mentioned that the of India does not provide proper reasons for blocking orders. The content in respect of which the present challenge in filed, falls squarely with the freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, 1950. Several of the URLs contain political and journalistic content, it said in the petition Out of 382 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals the received from Chinese firms, India approved 80 as on June 29, a report by The Economic Times stated. In the wake of the ongoing border row with China in eastern Ladakh that started in 2020, the had made it mandatory for FDIs coming to India from nations that land borders to get prior approval, including security clearance. In a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that the government had received a total of 382 proposals from the Chinese entities for consideration, of which 80 were approved, the report said. The report also said it was not clear how many proposals were rejected. DPIIT did not say anything about how many applications were rejected or the quantum of investment that India will receive through the 80 approved proposals, ET said. The Centre did not approve any applications from Chinese entities for until mid-2021. But since then, the government has started to consider the applications on a case-to-case basis. Approvals for proposals are slow because the government is adopting a cautious approach to evaluation, market participants told ET. They added that the deals getting the government's nod are generally the ones that involve the acquisition of minority stakes, which does not result in a change of control. The government is giving priority to FDIs in capital-intensive sectors, such as manufacturing, over the sought-after sectors such as e-commerce and financial services, the report said. Nishith Desai Associates' Nandini Pathak told ET, "The applications getting approved seem to be for relatively lower stakes. In terms of sectors, it seems that applications in the manufacturing sectors are getting ahead faster than others." Another key factor in approving these FDIs is the profile of the investor as market participants told ET that the government is going slow on the investment proposals that involve entities close to Beijing. In some cases, the founders or promoters of the entities are known for their closer ties to the ruling party in China, the report said. Meanwhile, the ministries are a lot cautious in considering proposals when it comes to applications involving politically exposed persons (PEPs) in China or Hong Kong, an industry expert told ET. FDIs by entities who set up physical infrastructure carry lower risks than the ones that involve digital assests, a person handling proposals told ET. The official said, "With digital platforms, there are always concerns over data privacy, while physical assets are easier to defend even in adverse scenarios." India's latest measures aimed at boosting domestic oil supplies could reduce its diesel and gasoline exports in the second half of the year, keeping global supplies tight and underpinning prices, traders and analysts said. The world is grappling with tight gasoline and diesel supplies as Western sanctions have reduced exports from Russia while demand has surged in a post-pandemic recovery. India's curbs follow similar measures taken by China that have reduced oil product exports from the world's No. 2 refiner. In order to reap record margins, India, the world's No. 3 oil importer, has ramped up imports of cheap Russian oil and increased oil product exports. However, the country announced on July 1 a windfall tax on local oil producers and refiners and imposed new restrictions on export volumes in a bid to increase local supplies to meet rising demand and raise federal revenues. "The export tax hike could see third-quarter diesel exports come in 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) lower to 640,000 bpd on average than our original estimate before the policy changes," consultancy Energy Aspects said in a note. "Indian exports will not drop to zero as the new rules just make it relatively less economic to export while also putting a maximum threshold on private refiners' export volumes." Consultancy FGE has revised down its forecasts for the country's gasoline exports by 50,000 bpd and diesel exports by 90,000 bpd for the remainder of 2022. In the first five months this year, India's gasoline and diesel exports jumped more than 16% on year to 150.75 million barrels, government data showed. Cargoes were mainly headed to the Asia Pacific, Africa and Europe, according to Kpler. (Graphic: India crude oil imports vs fuel exports, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/byprjdbzqpe/IndiaCrudeImportsvsFuelexports.png) Indian refiners are required to sell domestic buyers the equivalent of at least 30% of their diesel export volumes. For gasoline, it's 50%. "Both Reliance and Nayara Energy are well within the compliance range for diesel, but near the upper limit for gasoline," FGE said, based on their estimates for production and exports in recent months. The windfall taxes will be applicable on Reliance's 704,000 bpd export refinery in Jamnagar, although the refinery is exempt from export curbs. The complex comprises two refineries with combined capacity to process about 1.4 million bpd. FGE expects a 40,000-50,000 bpd drop in Reliance's total gasoline and diesel exports in the months ahead. India's bid to limit exports at a time when global spare refining capacity has already been constrained and Chinese product exports are expected to remain low will likely boost diesel and clean products cracks in Singapore after the selloff this week, Energy Aspects said. It would also impede stockbuilding elsewhere and set the global diesel markets up for a very tight winter, the consultancy said. Asian refining margins of diesel have risen more than 192% since the Russia-Ukraine crisis started amid a global shortage and changes in trade flows, while the gasoline cracks have more than doubled on tight supplies and recovering demand, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. However, traders said given the discounted Russian oil these refiners have been buying and record high refining profit margins for distillates and gasoline, volumes will return to a normal range by March 2023. (Reporting by Mohi Narayan in New Delhi, additional reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Florence Tan and Kim Coghill) (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 is seeking payment in advance for supply of fuel to after credit lines were exhausted, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The larger South Asian neighbor stopped supplying gasoline and diesel on credit after the island nation ran out of dollars to purchase fuels amid its worst . Thats holding up some fuel shipments pending cash payment by Sri Lankas Ceylon Petroleum Corp., according to two Indian government officials, who asked not to be identified citing rules. Ceylon Petroleums cargo schedule tweeted by Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera showed at least four shipments of gasoline and diesel from state-run refiner Indian Oil Corp. are pending confirmation of advance payment. India has already extended over $3.5 billion of support to in the last few months for food, medicines and fuel. Sri Lanka, which has depleted its foreign exchange reserves, was hoping for a fresh approval from India of a $500 million credit line for fuel purchases. The island nations government has sent envoys to Qatar to secure fresh supplies and is also seeking oil from Russia. A spokesman for Indias Ministry of External Affairs didnt have an immediate comment. Indian Oil has delivered about 450,000 tons of gasoline and diesel to Ceylon Petroleum between March and June, according to a spokesperson for the company. The fuel crisis has led to a shutdown of public schools and offices until July 10 to conserve fuel, even as thousands of vehicles continue to queue for miles waiting for filling stations to be replenished. The bankrupt nation is offering a guaranteed fuel quota to companies that can pay dollars to Ceylon Petroleum in advance to ease the crippling shortages. It also plans to allow foreign companies to distribute fuel to help ease the crisis that has paralyzed most economic activity. NDA presidential nominee arrived here late on Tuesday night to seek support for the July 18 poll and will meet MPs and legislators of the ruling BJP and its allies the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL). Accompanied by Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Murmu arrived here from Manipur's capital Imphal and was received at the airport by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The NDA presidential candidate's visit to is part of her campaign for the election. She will have a meeting with MPs and MLAs of the BJP and its allies at a city hotel here on Wednesday to seek votes, party sources here said. The BJP has nine Lok Sabha MPs and four parliamentarians in the Upper house while the AGP and the UPPL have one each in Rajya Sabha. The 126-member legislative assembly currently comprises 78 MLAs of the ruling NDA with the BJP having 62 legislators, while its allies AGP and UPPL have nine and seven respectively. AIUDF Chief Badruddin Ajmal said that his party will also support Murmu. The party has Ajmal as the lone MP in the Lok Sabha besides 15 MLAs in the state legislature. Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha is the joint opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential poll and is also scheduled to visit to seek votes from members of parties supporting him. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ahead of NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu's visit to campaign for the July 18 election, ruling BJD president and Chief Minister on Tuesday sought support of state MLAs for her. During the day, Patnaik called Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra and sought his party MLAs support for the " daughter" in the presidential poll. "Spoke to Congress Legislature Party Leader Shri @NarasinghMishra seeking support for Smt #DroupadiMurmu. It is matter of great pride for Odisha. Appealed him to ensure win of the daughter of #Odisha to the highest office of the country," Patnaik said on Twitter. When contacted Mishra said it is obvious that the CM would seek support for his candidate. "The BJD has proposed her candidature," he said. Asked on Patnaik's appeal to vote for the "Odisha daughter", Mishra said, "There should be no discrimination among the citizens of India." Several major opposition parties, including the Congress, the NCP and the TMC, fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as their candidate for the upcoming presidential poll. Mishra said Sinha was supposed to come on Wednesday, but the programme was cancelled due to health reason. Patnaik also interacted with the state's lone Independent MLA Makarand Muduli from Rayagada at his residence - Naveen Niwas - and asked him to vote for Murmu. Noting that Murmu is the pride of Odisha, Muduli said votes of all MLAs and MPs from the state should go in favour of her. Responding to a question of a reporter, BJP Odisha unit president Samir Mohanty said that Murmu is likely to come here for campaign on July 8. She is likely to meet BJD and BJP MLAs in the Assembly. Sources said Murmu will have a one-on-one meeting with the chief minister at his residence in Bhubaneswar. BJP sources said that the saffron party has planned for a grand function at its headquarters here on the occasion of Murmu's visit to the state. Murmu will come here after her campaigning in Bihar, Jharkhand and some other states, they said. Immediately after the announcement of Murmu's name as the NDA candidate for the presidential election, Patnaik had appealed to all the Odisha MLAs cutting across party lines to support the "Odisha daughter". In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJD has 112 MLAS, BJP 22, Congress nine, CPI(M) one, and an Independent besides two members expelled from the BJD. The ruling party has 21 MPs - 12 in the Lok sabha and nine in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP has nine MPs and the Congress has one Lok Sabha MP from Odisha. (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.) Serious domestic U.S. racial discrimination reflects global U.S. injustice: FM spokesperson Xinhua) 08:20, July 06, 2022 BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The serious racial discrimination and injustice in the United States are reflections of the discrimination and injustice that the United States promotes around the world, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on a report that Jayland Walker, an African-American citizen in Ohio, had been killed by eight police officers who fired more than 90 shots, sparking massive protests across the United States. Zhao noted that it is not uncommon for American police to enforce the law more harshly when dealing with racial minorities. He said that since 2020, there have been 2,563 deaths caused by police enforcement in the United States, with 565 of that number being African Americans, accounting for more than 22 percent. "This year alone, 49 African Americans have been shot and killed by American police," he said. From the evils of the slave trade and the expulsion and slaughter of indigenous peoples to the ongoing abject situation and tragic suffering of African Americans and other ethnic minorities, white supremacy and the promotion of white "replacement theory" in the United States are rampant, and systematic and universal racial discrimination is intensifying, Zhao said. He said the United States, as a State Party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, has failed to take effective measures to address systematic racial discrimination, which constitutes a grave violation of its obligations under the convention. "How many George Floyd or Jayland Walker deaths are needed before the U.S. government truly reflects on itself and takes practical actions to shed its arrogance and prejudice and achieve fairness and justice?" Zhao said. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) liberalises norms to boost inflows to shore up rupee Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday further liberalised norms to boost inflows of foreign exchange, including doubling the borrowing limit under the ECB route, amid the falling against the US dollar. In a statement, the central bank said it has been closely and continuously monitoring the liquidity conditions in the market and has stepped in as needed in all its segments to alleviate dollar tightness with the objective of ensuring orderly market functioning. Read more show cause notice to following spate of aircraft incidents The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued a show cause notice to for poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions. The civil aviation regulator issued the show cause notice on Wednesday following a spate of incidents. On Tuesday alone there were three incidents including a diversion to Karachi, windshield crack and an air turn back (aircraft returning to departing station) because of a faulty weather radar. Read more Union ministers Mukhtar Naqvi, RCP Singh resign from PM Modi's Cabinet Union ministers and R C P Singh submitted their resignations to Prime Minister on Wednesday, a day before the completion of their Rajya Sabha term, sources said. Earlier in the day, Modi had lauded both Naqvi and Singh during the cabinet meeting for their contribution to the country during their tenure, in an apparent suggestion of it being their final cabinet meeting, sources said. Read more New Jersey-based crypto lender Voyager Digital files for bankruptcy Top broker Voyager Digital on Wednesday filed for in the US, after top crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) did the same last week, in which Voyager has made significant investments which the company is yet to get back. It had significant investments in Singapore-based hedge fund 3AC, which failed to make payments on a loan of 15,250 Bitcoins and $350 million USDCs -- that makes the loan worth more than $650 million. Read more China launched a scathing attack on the US and on Wednesday, days before a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian's comments underscore the increasingly fractious relationship, along with China's increasingly confrontational approach to foreign relations that heatedly rejects criticism. At last week's summit in Spain, Blinken accused China of seeking to undermine the rules-based order. In his comments Wednesday, Zhao said the so-called rules-based order is actually a family rule made by a handful of countries to serve the US self-interest. Washington observes rules only as it sees fit, he said, adding that must renounce its blind faith in military might. US-China relations are dominated by disputes over issues from trade and human rights to Taiwan and Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, China has refused to condemn Russia's four-month-long war against Ukraine, criticized sanctions brought against Moscow by NATO members and accused Washington and its allies of provoking the conflict. Russia and China have strengthened political, economic and military ties, while aligning their foreign policies to oppose the influence of liberal democracies. Weeks before Russia's February invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a meeting at which they pledged a partnership that had no limits. At its summit, NATO for the first time singled out China as one of its strategic priorities for the next decade. China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbors, threatening Taiwan monitoring and controlling its own citizens through advanced technology, and spreading Russian lies and disinformation, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after presenting NATO's 10-year Strategic Concept. In his comments at Wednesday's daily briefing, Zhao said the U.S. has been working closely with NATO to hype up competition with China and stoke group confrontation." The history of NATO is the one about creating conflicts and waging wars arbitrarily launching wars and killing innocent civilians, even to this day," Zhao said. Facts have proven that it is not China that poses a systemic challenge to NATO, and instead it is NATO that brings a looming systemic challenge to world peace and security." Blinken is expected to meet with Wang on Saturday at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations on the Indonesian island of Bali. (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.) Secretary of State will see his Chinese counterpart this week at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 bloc of nations that will likely exacerbate splits over Russia's war in Ukraine. While strained US- ties will be the focus of Blinken's talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the broader G-20 gathering in Indonesia of leading industrialised nations will almost certainly be overshadowed by the Ukraine conflict and its effect on global food and energy security. And, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be there, marking the first time that he and Blinken will be in the same room, let alone the same city, at the same time in nearly six months. The State Department announced Tuesday that Blinken would meet with Wang in Bali, but had little to say about the possibility of him seeing Lavrov, who the US has shunned since the Ukraine invasion in February. US officials have accused Lavrov and other Russian diplomats of a lack of seriousness in the run-up to the Ukraine war. The Biden administration has ruled out business as usual with Russia while it remains in Ukraine and US officials said there would be no formal discussions between Blinken and Lavrov in Bali. But, they could not rule out the possibility of a chance encounter, which would their first since they last met in Geneva in January. "The secretary intends to engage fully in the G-20. I'm not going to speak to any plans on the part of Foreign Minister Lavrov ... but I can tell you the secretary will be a full and active participant in the G-20, which we see as a valuable forum," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. Like many recent diplomatic gatherings, the Bali meeting will be focused on Ukraine as the participants set the stage for a summit of G-20 leaders, also to be held in Indonesia, in November. But unlike, the Western-dominated G-7 and NATO summits that were held in Europe last week, the G-20 will have a different flavour. and many other participants, including India, South Africa, Brazil and several other large developing nations, have resisted signing onto US and European opposition to Russia's invasion. Some have outright refused Western entreaties to join condemnations of the conflict, which the US and its allies see as an outright attack on the rules-based order that has prevailed since the end of World War II. The divergence has set the stage for a potentially contentious preparatory meeting ahead of November's summit, amid questions about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend. The US has made clear it does not believe Putin should attend but has urged the Indonesian hosts to invite Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy should the Russian leader participate. In the meantime, the US and are separately at severe odds over numerous issues ranging from trade and human rights to Taiwan and disputes in the South China Sea. Blinken's meeting with Yang was announced after China's envoy to trade war talks with Washington expressed concern about US tariffs on Chinese imports in a call with with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Neither gave any indication that progress has been made on the matter. In his meeting with Wang, Price said Blinken will reinforce our commitment to working with partners to confront global challenges, including food and energy insecurity and the threat Russia's continued war against Ukraine presents to the international order. From Bali, Blinken will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, to make up for a trip to the Thai capital that he was forced to cancel late last year due to COVID-19 reasons. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) is facing an onslaught of resignations from his government that threaten to bring an end to his premiership, even as he warned plotting rebel Conservatives he will fight any attempt to oust him. At least 32 British lawmakers including finance minister Rishi Sunak have left Prime Minister Boris Johnsons government in less than 24 hours, saying the British leader no longer has their confidence and plunging his government into crisis. Asked whether he would resign as he arrived for a scheduled appearance before parliamentary committee, Johnson said: No, no, no. Johnson defied further calls for him to step down amid a wave of government resignations, arguing it wouldnt responsible for him to quit right now in light of pressing domestic issues and the war in Ukraine. I look at the the issues that this country faces ... I look at the biggest war in Europe for 80 years, Johnson said, speaking to a parliamentary panel. And I cannot, for the life of me, see how it is responsible just to walk away from that. Five more junior ministers resigned at once early on Wednesday afternoon, in what appeared to be a coordinated attempt to inflict maximum pressure on Johnson. The prime minister has lost now lost more than 25 people from his government, though none bigger than the first to go late Tuesday: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid. Much of the attention is now on the 5 p.m. meeting of the Tory 1922 Committee, which organizes confidence votes in the party leader. After Johnson narrowly survived a leadership challenge last month, rebel Tories are trying to change the rules to allow a fresh ballot. One could come as soon as next week, a person familiar with the matter said. The prime ministers press secretary said he would contest any leadership vote, and was confident he would win. Gary Sambrook, a Tory MP on the executive of the 1922 Committee, told Johnson in the House of Commons on Wednesday that he must take responsibility and resign. More than 40 per cent of Johnsons MPs voted against him last month, and it would take just 32 of his supporters changing sides to defeat him. Its also possible that the endgame could come before an actual vote, if the committees leaders confront the prime minister and make it clear he has no option but to step down as they did with his immediate predecessor, Theresa May. Johnson has weathered multiple storms during his time as Prime Minister, but this may be one crisis too many. in has increased by over 0.6 of a year to 77.93 years even as the world's second-largest economy grappled with a demographic crisis due to declining birth rates, according to the National Health Commission. As per the latest census, the number of Chinese people aged 60 or above reached 264 million by 2020, accounting for 18.7 per cent of the country's total population. "The health literacy rate has risen to 25.4 per cent, and 37.2 per cent of Chinese people regularly take part in physical exercise," Mao Qun'an, the director of the National Health Commission's department of planning and information, told a media briefing on Tuesday. faced a demographic crisis as its child births decreased alarmingly while numbers of the old-age population grew, warranting the government to expand geriatric care facilities. permitted all couples to have two children in 2016, scrapping the draconian decades-old one-child policy which policymakers blame for the current demographic crisis. Last year, China passed a revised Population and Family Planning Law allowing Chinese couples to have three children, in an apparent attempt to address the reluctance of couples to have more kids due to mounting costs. The decision to permit the third child came after the once-in-a-decade census in 2020 showed that China's population grew at its slowest pace to 1.412 billion. Also, the average in Tibet where Oxygen levels remain low due to high altitude terrain, has increased from 35.5 years in 1951 to 72.19 years last year, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported in March this year. Gao Yuanyi, an official with the General Administration of Sport of China, told the media on Tuesday that by the end of last year, the average fitness area per capita had reached 2.4 square meters. "More than 90 per cent of people reached the average physical standard level of their age in 2020," he said. Gao added that a lack of funds and public facilities dedicated to meeting the public's demand for exercise have been effectively addressed in recent years. "Each year, the administration and the Ministry of Finance will invest nearly 1 billion yuan (USD 149 million) to subsidise fitness centres that are either free or charge very little," he was quoted as saying by the official media here. Liu Peijun, an official with the Ministry of Education, said the rate of myopia among children and teenagers dropped by 0.9 of a percentage point from 2018 to 52.7 per cent in 2020, due to the concerted efforts in reducing academic burden, increase outdoor activities and improving indoor lighting. The use of e-cigarettes has registered an upward trend among teenagers in recent years, according to Mao from the National Health Commission. He said the commission has launched a campaign to crack down on illegal sales of e-cigarettes to teenagers and will publish prevalence rates of tobacco use among the young population regularly, the state-run China Daily reported. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A defiant on Wednesday vowed to "keep going" as he appeared before a hostile crowd of parliamentarians, not only from the Opposition benches but from within his own Conservative Party, just hours after the big blow of losing his Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid in quick succession. Johnson, 58, appeared at the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons amidst mounting pressure on him to resign over the handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a member of his government. A flurry of junior ministerial and government aide resignations, totalling 18, continues to hit the embattled leader even as Javid made a speech in the Commons calling upon his former Cabinet colleagues to reconsider their decision to continue to back Johnson because "enough is enough". "The job of a Prime Minister in difficult circumstances, when you've been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going, and that's what I am going to do," said a defiant Johnson, in response to repeated demands for him to quit. "It's exactly when times are tough, that when the country faces pressures on the economy and pressures on their budgets and when we have the biggest war in Europe for 80 years, that is exactly the moment that you'd expect a government to continue with its work, not to walk away, and to get on with the job," he said. Opposition Leader Sir Keir Starmer attacked Johnson over his handling of the latest scandal to hit Downing Street, reading out the accusations levelled at his disgraced former Deputy Chief Whip as a "reminder to all those propping up this Prime Minister just how serious the situation is". In fiery exchanges at PMQs, the Labour leader said the list of resignations had left him with a "Z list cast of nodding dogs" on his frontbench, adding the "sinking ships are fleeing the rat". Several on the Conservative benches also piled the pressure, with former Brexit minister David Davis, who had told Johnson in the name of God, go just six months ago, reiterated his demand: "Do the honourable thing [and] put the interests of the nation before his own interests and before, in his own words, it does become impossible for government to do its job." There is further grilling in store for Johnson when the Parliament's Liaison Committee questions him on topics including integrity in . The exit of Sunak and Javid has left the Conservative Party leader in a precarious position as further resignations are expected. Earlier on Wednesday, Will Quince, who was sent out to defend No. 10 Downing Street's appointment of Chris Pincher as Deputy Chief Whip just hours before Johnson admitted his mistake in appointing him to a government job, resigned as an education minister. Soon after, Robin Walker resigned as the schools minister, warning against a "worrying narrowing of the broad church that I believe any Conservative government should seek to achieve". It came as Tory MP Laura Trott quit as a ministerial aide at the transport department saying the government has lost trust, adding to a growing number of aides who have similarly stepped down. However, Johnson has moved swiftly to fill the top jobs with Iraqi immigrant minister Nadhim Zahawi stepping in as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer and Steve Barclay as Health Secretary. Under current rules Johnson is safe from another leadership challenge until next summer. But the executive of the 1922 Committee can change the rules whenever it wants, the British media reports said. "The team in government today is the team that will deliver," said Zahawi, in his first set of interviews in the new post. He urged his Cabinet colleagues to unite behind Johnson, saying: This is a team game, and you play for the team, and you deliver for the team." It follows Johnson's apology on Tuesday, after days of changing messages from Downing Street over the hiring and handling of the now-suspended Chris Pincher, who quit as Deputy Chief Whip in charge of Tory party discipline last week after being accused of groping two men in a private member's club in London. First to announce his departure was Javid, who in his damning resignation letter said he could "no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government". Sunak followed minutes later, saying the public rightly expected the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. More junior ministers and ministerial aides followed, with more exits expected. But Johnson's allies have spoken out in his favour, with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries saying the Prime Minister "consistently gets all the big decisions right", while Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said his victory at the 2019 general election "should not be taken away from him because a number of people resign". (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.) Rivian Automotive Inc delivered 4,467 vehicles in the second quarter, nearly four times more than the preceding quarter, as the electric-vehicle maker benefited from a ramp-up in production and strong demand. The company also said on Wednesday it was on track to meet its annual production target of 25,000 units after output jumped 72% sequentially to 4,401 vehicles in the quarter. The upbeat figures sent the company's shares 9% higher, putting them on course to pare losses of about 35% for the year. "The most important thing for the stock right now is to provide investors confidence on its 2022 forecast," said Redburn analyst Charles Coldicott. Hit by supply chain snarls that have hampered operations across the automotive industry, Rivian halved its 2022 production outlook in March. The company has a factory in Normal, Illinois, where it makes the R1S sport utility vehicle, R1T pickup truck and a delivery van for investor and customer Amazon.com Inc. The online retail giant has a stake of about 18% in Rivian. The Illinois factory has an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles and Rivian has said it intends to increase that to 200,000 by 2023. The company plans on opening its second plant near Atlanta in Georgia in 2025 as it expects demand for its vehicles to grow. In the past few months, a broader move towards by customers as well as a jump in fuel prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine have fed demand for vehicles from such as Rivian. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) said Tuesday it has lost contact with a $32.7 million headed to the moon to test out a lopsided lunar orbit, but agency engineers are hopeful they can fix the problem. After one successful communication and a second partial one on Monday, the space agency said it could no longer communicate with the called Capstone. Engineers are trying to find the cause of the communications drop-off and are optimistic they can fix it, spokesperson Sarah Frazier said Tuesday. The spacecraft, which launched from New Zealand on June 28, had spent nearly a week in Earth orbit and had been successfully kick-started on its way to the moon, when contact was lost, Frazier said. The 55-pound satellite is the size of a microwave oven and will be the first to try out this oval orbit, which is where wants to stage its Gateway outpost. Gateway would serve as a staging point for astronauts before they descend to the lunar surface. The orbit balances the gravities of Earth and the moon and so requires little maneuvering and therefore fuel and allows the satellite or a space station to stay in constant contact with Earth. (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 Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has died, Nigerian authorities and the oil cartel announced Wednesday. Only hours before his death, he'd met with Nigeria's president and spoken in defence of the energy industry amid increasing climate change pressure. Mohammad Barkindo, 63, died late Tuesday in Abuja, a spokesman for Nigeria's petroleum ministry told The Associated Press. The reason for his death was not immediately known. The Vienna-based oil cartel also confirmed his death, saying he was a much-loved leader of OPEC. His death came as a surprise to industry insiders. His second term as head of OPEC was set to end in three weeks on July 31. He'd held the post for six years since 2016. Barkindo's death was first confirmed in a tweet by the managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Mele Kyari. OPEC's statement said Barkindo's last words to friends were that he was happy to have concluded his tenure as secretary-general, he'd served the best he could and that he was proud of those who'd served with him. Barkindo led the crude oil bloc through some of its most turbulent times in recent memory, including during the COVID-19 pandemic when oil prices plummeted due to declining demand. He helped guide the group, working to keep the positions of its members unified. OPEC's 13 member-states have 1.24 billion proven crude oil reserves among them, or 80% of the world's share. Of the world's total crude oil production, OPEC producers' share is just under 38%. His role representing OPEC took on even greater significance in past years amid a global effort to tackle climate change. Barkindo used his platform to advocate in favor of a bigger role for the energy industry in conversations about the energy transition. This positioned him firmly on the side of oil producers who say more investments in oil and gas are needed until the world is able to run on alternative forms of energy. Our industry is now facing huge challenges along multiple fronts and these threaten our investment potential now and in the longer term. To put it bluntly, the oil and gas industry is under siege, he said hours before his death at an energy conference in . Scientists and authors of U.N.-backed studies say the world needs to cut by more than half its production of coal, oil and gas in the coming decade to maintain a chance of keeping global warming from reaching dangerous levels. To do this, they say investments in oil and gas must stop and be rerouted to cleaner forms of energy. Barkindo's legacy, however, is perhaps most tied to his final years steering OPEC as the group entered into an agreement known as OPEC+ with major non-OPEC producer, Russia. That agreement, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and Russia, has helped steady oil markets as the world emerges from the pandemic, though it has come under criticism amid current high oil prices and as the U.S. and other Western nations try to squeeze Russia's economy over the war in Ukraine. Brent crude has soared past $100 a barrel this year. OPEC member-states accounted for around 48% of all world crude oil exports last year. Saudi Arabia is by far the biggest exporter of crude within OPEC, with 6.23 million barrels per day of crude exports last year. Non-OPEC producer, Russia, exported 4.5 million barrels of crude last year. Born in Nigeria's eastern city of Yola, Barkindo began his career with the Nigerian Mining Corporation in 1982 before holding multiple roles over more than two decades at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, including as its CEO. He also served as deputy managing director of Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas. He'd led Nigeria's technical delegation to the U.N. climate change negotiations for years and served several terms as vice president of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties. He attended university in before earning a post-graduate degree in petroleum economics from Oxford University in the U.K. and an MBA from Washington University in the U.S. In his meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari told Barkindo: Welcome back home!" according to an OPEC readout of the meeting. Buhari also congratulated him on his tenure at OPEC. has been a member of OPEC for 50 years. Barkindo was set to join the Atlantic Council as a distinguished fellow next month, after finishing his term at OPEC. He was a frequent speaker at the Atlantic Council's global energy forum. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lankan President Gotabaya on Wednesday said he had a "very productive" conversation with his Russian counterpart to negotiate a credit line for purchasing discounted oil from Moscow to "defeat" the worst economic challenges faced by the island nation. During their conversation, also urged Putin to restart the services of the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot to the country. is going through the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948, and needs to obtain at least USD 4 billion to tide over the acute shortage in foreign exchange reserves. Had a very productive telecon with the Russian President . While thanking him for all the support extended by his government to overcome the challenges of the past, I requested an offer of credit support to import fuel to Lanka in defeating the current economic challenges, President said in a tweet. The two presidents discussed issues of bilateral economic cooperation, in particular in energy, agriculture and transport, according to a press statement released by the Kremlin in Moscow. In May, had purchased 90,000 tonnes of oil from . Western countries have largely halted energy imports from as part of the punitive sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February. A spike in global oil prices has forced a number of developing countries to buy Russian crude, which is being offered at steep discounts. A Sri Lankan delegation is also scheduled to leave for on July 9 to hold several rounds of preliminary discussions with high-ranking representatives in Moscow on obtaining fuel, fertilisers, gas, loans and humanitarian aid, according to web portal Colombo Page. The Sri Lankan President said that during his telephonic conversation with Putin, they agreed to bolster in sectors like tourism, trade and culture. Rajapaksa also urged Putin to restart the services of Aeroflot in the country, which was suspended last month. Further, I humbly made a request to restart @Aeroflot_World operations in Lanka. We unanimously agreed that strengthening bilateral relations in sectors such as tourism, trade and culture was paramount in reinforcing the friendship our two nations share, he said in another tweet. In June, Aeroflot suspended its flights to after the island nation's aviation authority prevented a flight of Russia's flag carrier to depart the Colombo airport. On Monday, the Sri Lankan government announced that only essential services will operate from midnight till July 10 and all other operations will be temporarily suspended as the country of 22 million faced an acute fuel shortage. The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion. The Sri Lankan economy has virtually come to a grinding halt after it has run out of foreign exchange reserves to import fuel. Sri Lankans continue to languish in long fuel and cooking gas queues as the government is unable to find dollars to fund imports. (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.) TikToks admission that some China-based workers have access to data on US users provided fresh ammunition to a Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission who is trying to get the video-sharing service dropped from major app stores. There is apparently a tremendous amount of information that was flowing back to Beijing, Commissioner Brendan Carr said on Bloomberg TV Tuesday. I dont have a lot of trust left in . has been questioned by US officials over whether private data on Americans may have been handed over to the authoritarian regime in . The app, owned by ByteDance, said in a letter last week that certain China-based employees can access information from US users, but denied information goes to the Chinese Communist Party. For two years, weve talked openly about our work to limit access to user data across regions, and in our letter to senators last week we were clear about our progress in limiting access even further through our work with Oracle, a spokesperson said in a statement. As weve said repeatedly, TikTok has never shared U. S. user data with the Chinese government, nor would we if asked. In a June 24 letter, Carr asked Apple and Google to remove the popular app from their stores. The declined to comment. The FCC, where Carr serves as a minority member, doesnt regulate app stores. US precautionary measures In 2020, the Trump administration ordered to divest TikTok though that sale hasnt actually happened The app is banned on many US government-issued devices and among the military The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is reviewing these concerns related to privacy and national security What data does it collect? Location IP address Search history Messages What you look at and for how long. Device identifiers to track your interactions with advertisers If you provide access, it can also collect your phone and social network contacts Access to all your user-generated content through the app, which includes all those videos and pictures you post Turkish President said Tuesday he intends to intensify negotiations with Russia and Ukraine in the hope of reaching a deal on a UN plan to export Ukrainian grain to world markets. Erdogan made the comments during a joint news conference with Italian Premier Mario Draghi. is working with the United Nations, Ukraine and Russia on a plan to that would allow millions of tons of Ukrainian grain sitting in silos to be shipped through safe corridors in the Black Sea. We will intensify our talks within a week or 10 days and try to reach a result, he told reporters. Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but Russia's invasion halted most of that flow, endangering food supplies to many developing countries, especially in Africa. The Ukrainian government has cited a Russian naval blockade of its ports, while Russia has claimed that Ukrainian sea mines prevent the safe movement of agricultural exports. Draghi praised the possibility of an accord as important not just to getting grain and fertiliser to poor countries, but because it would represent the first agreement Ukraine and Russia had reached on anything during the war, which is now in its fifth month. This accord is very important also from the more general point of view within the efforts to arrive at a peace," he said. Last week, Draghi said the UN plan to export Ukrainian grain via safe sea corridors could save weeks to a month of precious time to empty silos before the autumn harvest since it wouldn't require demining the ports. He said the plan requires Russia's final approval. (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 antitrust watchdog kicked off an investigation into Microsofts planned purchase of Activision Blizzard joining other regulators in scrutinising the $69 billion gaming deal. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will consider whether the deal to combine the tech giant with the maker of the Call of Duty franchise, will harm competition and lead to higher prices or reduced choice. The regulator has set itself an initial deadline of September 1 to decide whether to launch an in-depth investigation. The CMA has long advocated for a more forceful approach to reviewing deals, particularly by the biggest tech firms. Regulators are likely to look closely at how Microsofts ownership of Activision could harm rivals by limiting their access to the companys biggest games. British Prime Minister on Tuesday named new Health Secretary and Finance Minister shortly after Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer tendered their resignation, media reports said. Cabinet chief of staff Steve Barclay has been appointed as the new health secretary. Meanwhile, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was named as the new finance minister. In his resignation letter, Sunak said he was "sad to be leaving the government", but has come to the conclusion that he "cannot continue like this". "The public rightly expect the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning," said. Javid said he had lost confidence in Boris Johnson's ability to govern following multiple scandals, saying he could "no longer continue in good conscience". The minister said that many lawmakers and the public had lost confidence in Johnson's ability to govern in the national interest. In his resignation letter, which he posted to Twitter, Javid told Johnson that "the values you represent reflect on your colleagues," and in light of recent scandals, the public had concluded that their party was neither "competent" nor "acting in the national interest." The exit of the top minister comes amid the row involving the former Conservative party whip Chris Pincher, who was accused of sexual misconduct. Last week, Pincher quit as deputy chief whip after claims that he groped two men but Johnson knew about allegations against him as far back as 2019. Boris acknowledged he should have sacked Pincher when he was found to have behaved inappropriately when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019. The British PM said he regrets giving Pincher a government role as Deputy Chief Whip following the revelation of a misconduct complaint against him. "In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do and I apologise to everyone who has been badly affected by it. I just want to make absolutely clear that there's no place in this government for anybody who is predatory or abuses their position of power," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For Boris Johnson, this year has been about firefighting one crisis after the next as he once again faces a hostile crowd in the House of Commons on Wednesday. It follows a night of turmoil after his former close ally, Rishi Sunak, resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer without mincing his words about the failing levels of competency within the government. He was joined by another senior minister, Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who stormed out as Chancellor over two years ago under Johnson's leadership but was brought back into the fold. There is no doubt that the latest developments reflect a deepening political crisis for the Conservative Party government and most believe it is a question of when rather than if Johnson, 58, will be replaced by a new leader. There is a general view that he will have to be taken out kicking and screaming, and has no plans to make a quiet exit. The Tory party has already tried once to unseat Johnson as its leader, with a vote of no-confidence last month which he survived but only just as it exposed the deep discontentment within party ranks with 41 per cent of his MPs voting against him as leader. However, this meant he was safe from another leadership challenge for a year and crucially his Cabinet had stayed steadfast behind him during that narrow win. Now, with two high-profile Cabinet exits, that support system has also collapsed and many are counting down the days, if not hours, before he is forcibly shown the door. Behind the scenes, the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers is also at work on trying to amend rules to try and make him face another no-confidence vote sooner than the current one-year time limit. The build up of the party mutiny has been a slow-burn since the first partygate allegations of COVID law-breaking parties within Downing Street and other UK government offices first hit the headlines towards the end of last year. It blew up into a full-blown crisis earlier this year, forcing Johnson to apologise multiple times in the House of Commons after initially insisting no rules were broken. The internal investigation ordered by him, led by top civil servant Sure Gray, proved scathing in its criticism of leadership failures at the heart of government and even led to a police inquiry and fines issued to Johnson for a birthday party for him in the Cabinet Room of Downing Street in June 2020. While the Opposition piled the pressure on the government, the murmurings from within his own party grew into a rebellion and ended in the confidence vote. That mutiny, though temporarily curtailed, was reignited when the Conservatives faced their worst by-election result in history towards the end of last month. It was seen as a referendum on Johnson's leadership, which his critics believed he had quite definitively lost. However, Johnson insisted he had no intention of resigning and wanted to get on with the job at hand. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back seems to have been a relatively low-key exit of the party's Deputy Chief Whip, ironically in charge of party discipline, who resigned last week admitting drunken misbehaviour. Chris Pincher was later suspended but it was the changing stories from Downing Street on how much the Prime Minister knew about his past misconduct when he appointed him to a key government post that proved fatal. Lord Simon McDonald, former permanent secretary in the UK Foreign Office, set off a domino effect when he wrote to the Parliament's standards commissioner saying Downing Street made "inaccurate claims" about Pincher and that Johnson was personally briefed about his behaviour. It led to Johnson finally admitting on air that he made a mistake in hiring Pincher: "In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do and I apologise to everyone who has been badly affected by it." However, by then it proved disastrous as ministers were said to be furious about being briefed just hours before that the Prime Minister had no direct knowledge of the misconduct. According to reports, while Sunak and Javid did not coordinate their Cabinet exits, they are both said to have been rankled by these incorrect briefings from Downing Street. There is also conjecture over whether it is a move aimed at distancing themselves from a sinking ship in preparation for a leadership bid of their own when the time comes for a Tory leadership contest. While Sunak has been long considered an heir apparent to the top job of Prime Minister, his popularity within the party took some beating with his tax policies in recent months. Javid is seen as a possible contender along with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and also the new Chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi. It now remains to be seen what political course awaits Johnson, who entered Downing Street with a thumping majority in the December 2019 general election. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The has signed its first data sharing deal with in a post-Brexit world to promote digital trade. The deal will allow organisations in both the countries to transfer data without any restrictions. "Our new agreement will open up more digital trade to boost businesses and will enable more vital research that can improve the lives of people across the country," Data Minister Julia Lopez said in a statement late on Tuesday. The decision follows nearly a "year's worth of positive, productive, and enlightening discussions on how our respective nations value, protect, and promote the protection of personal data," Lopez added. The countries agreed to contribute to a healthier and more sustainable global data ecosystem based on free and safe data flows. "We agree to work with our other strategic partners on multilateral initiatives, such as the Global CBPR Forum and the OECD's work on Trusted Government Access to Data," the UK said. Jong in Yoon, South Korean Commissioner of the Personal Information Protection Commission, said that strengthening cooperation between the UK and the Republic of Korea "based on the shared recognition of high standards of protection can contribute to forming a healthier and more sustainable global data landscape". was one of several countries earmarked for an data adequacy initiative aimed at "unlocking the benefits of free and secure cross-border data flows now the country has left the EUa. Google, Mastercard and Microsoft were among the companies advising the UK government on this deal as part of an Expert Council. --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.) has so far thwarted an attempted Russian advance into the north of its Donetsk region, but the city of Sloviansk and other civilian areas there were being heavily shelled, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday. Russia has increased its focus on Donetsk, the southern part of which it and its proxies already control, after completing its seizure of the neighbouring Luhansk region on Sunday with the capture of Lysychansk, much of which now lies in ruins. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in seizing an eastern province essential to his wartime aims, his troops escalated their offensive in the neighbouring province Tuesday, prompting the governor to urge a mass evacuation of residents. Gov Pavlo Kyrylenko said that getting the 350,000 people remaining in Donetsk province out is necessary to save lives and to enable the Ukrainian army to better defend towns from the Russian advance. The destiny of the whole country will be decided by the Donetsk region, Kyrylenko told reporters in Kramatrosk, the province's administrative centre and home to the Ukrainian military's regional headquarters. Once there are less people, we will be able to concentrate more on our enemy and perform our main tasks, Kyrylenko said. The governor's call for residents to leave appeared to represent one of the biggest suggested evacuations of the war. According to the UN refugee agency, more than 7.1 million Ukrainians are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine, and more than 4.8 million refugees left the country since Russia's invasion started on Feb 24. The governor said that because they house critical infrastructure such as water filtration plants, Russia's main targets are now Kramatorsk and a city 16 km (10 miles) to the north, Sloviansk. Kyrylenko described the shelling as very chaotic without a specific target ... only to destroy civilian infrastructure and residential areas. Sloviansk also came under sustained bombardment Tuesday. Mayor Vadim Lyakh said on Facebook that massive shelling pummeled Sloviansk, which had a population of about 107,000 before Russian invaded more than four months ago. The mayor, who urged residents hours earlier to evacuate, advised them to take cover in shelters. At least one person was killed and another seven wounded Tuesday, Lyakh said. He said the city's central market and several districts came under attack, adding that authorities were assessing the extent of the damage. The barrage targeting Sloviansk indicated that Russian forces were positioned to advance farther into Ukraine's Donbas region, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where the country's most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Sloviansk has previously taken rocket and artillery fire during Russia's war in Ukraine, but the bombardment picked up in recent days after Moscow took the last major city in neighboring Luhansk province, Lyakh said. It's important to evacuate as many people as possible, he warned Tuesday morning, adding that shelling damaged 40 houses on Monday. The Ukrainian military withdrew its troops Sunday from the city of Lysychansk to keep them from being surrounded. Russia's defence minister and Putin said the city's subsequent capture put Moscow in control of all of Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the Donbas. The office of Ukraine's president said the Ukrainian military was still defending a small part of Luhansk and trying to buy time to establish fortified positions nearby. The question now is whether can muster enough strength to complete its seizure of the Donbas by taking Donetsk province, too. Putin acknowledged Monday that Russian troops who fought in Luhansk need to take some rest and beef up their combat capability. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that the war in would continue until all of the goals set by Putin are achieved. However, Shoigu said the main priorities for Moscow at the moment were preserving the lives and health of the troops, as well as excluding the threat to the security of civilians. When Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine more than four months ago, his stated goals were defending the people of the Donbas against Kyiv's alleged aggression, and the demilitarisation and denazifaction of Ukraine. Pro- separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before the invasion this year, Putin recognised the independence of the two self-proclaimed separatist republics in the region. He also sought to portray the tactics of Ukrainian forces and the government as akin to Nazi Germany's, claims for which no evidence has emerged. The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said Russian forces also shelled several Donetsk towns and villages around Sloviansk in the past day but were repelled as they tried to advance toward a town about 20 km (12 miles) to the city's north. South of the city, Russian forces were trying to push toward two more towns and shelling areas near Kramatorsk. Meanwhile, Moscow-installed officials in Ukraine's southern Kherson region on Tuesday announced the formation of a new regional government, with a former Russian official at the helm. Sergei Yeliseyev, the head of the new Moscow-backed government in Kherson, is a former deputy prime minister of Russia's western exclave of Kaliningrad and also used to work at Russia's Federal Security Service, or the FSB, according to media reports. It wasn't immediately clear what would become of the military-civic administration the Kremlin installed earlier. The administration's head, Vladimir Saldo, said in a Telegram statement that the new government was not a temporary, not a military, not some kind of interim administration, but a proper governing body. The fact that not just Kherson residents, but Russian officials, too, are part of this government speaks clearly about the direction the Kherson region is headed in the future," he said. "This direction is to . Kherson's Russia-installed administration previously stated plans for the region to become part of Russia, either through a referendum or other means. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. In other developments: The 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, sending the two nations' membership bids to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals. The move further increases Russia's strategic isolation. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hailed the signing as a "truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO. The war in Ukraine has drawn millions of dollars away from countries facing other crises. Somalia, suffering a food shortage largely driven by the war, may be the most vulnerable. Its aid funding is less than half of last year's level while overwhelmingly Western donors have sent more than $1.7 billion to respond to the war in Europe. Yemen, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Congo and the Palestinian territories are similarly affected. Spain boosted military spending in an attempt to reach its commitment to NATO to dedicate 2% of gross domestic product to defense. Spain's Cabinet approved a one-off Defence Ministry expenditure of almost 1 billion euros ($1 billion) that the government said was necessary to pay for unexpected expenses from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Spain has sent military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and deployed more troops and aircraft to NATO missions in Eastern Europe. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A resolution commemorating the life of Indian defender Father Stan Swamy and seeking an independent investigation into the death of the Jesuit priest has been introduced in the US Congress, Congressman Juan Vargas has said. Vargas, the Representative from the US state of California, announced that he recently introduced the resolution in Congress to commemorate Swamy and to encourage an independent investigation into his death. The resolution, co-sponsored by Representatives Andre Carson and James McGovern, has been introduced in the US House of Representatives and coincides with the first anniversary of 84-year-old Swamy's death in police custody. Vargas, a Democratic Party Congressman, spoke at a webinar titled Persecution of Religious Minorities and their Defenders in India: Commemorating Father Stan's Death in Custody' on Tuesday. UK MP Neale Hanvey, MEP Alviina Alametsa (EU), Senator David Shoebridge (Australia), and UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor addressed the event. The webinar was co-organised by Front Line Defenders, Hindus for Human Rights, the Humanism Project, India Civil Watch International, and Survival International, and co-sponsored by Adivasi Lives Matter, Dalit Solidarity Forum, the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA), and the Indian American Muslim Council, a joint press release said. The panelists noted Swamy's extensive service fighting for the rights of Adivasi people, it added. I am appalled by the abuse Father Stan faced while in custody. No one who fights for should face such violence and neglect, said Vargas. Swamy died at a Mumbai hospital, where he was admitted on May 29 last year, a day after he suffered a cardiac arrest and was put on ventilator support. He suffered from Parkinson's disease and several other ailments. Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Ranchi, in October 2020 under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad case and lodged at the Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai. The Elgar Parishad case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made by some activists at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. India rejected criticism over the death of Swamy last year, saying the due process of law was followed in his case and that the authorities act against violations of law and do not restrain the legitimate exercise of rights. "Authorities in India act against violations of law and not against legitimate exercise of rights. All such actions are strictly in accordance with the law," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in July last year in response to media queries relating to reactions over the demise of Swamy. In view of Father Swamy's ailing health, the Bombay High Court had allowed his medical treatment at a private hospital where he was receiving all possible medical attention since May 28, Bagchi said. "India's democratic and constitutional polity is complemented by an independent judiciary, a range of national and state-level commissions that monitor violations, a free media and a vibrant and vocal civil society," Bagchi said. "India remains committed to promotion and protection of human rights of all its citizens," he added. Earlier, the UN body on human rights had said it was "deeply saddened and disturbed" by the death of the activist in pre-trial detention. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A top official warned the US Wednesday that it could face the wrath of God if it pursues efforts to help establish an tribunal to investigate Russia's action in Ukraine, while the Russian lower house speaker urged Washington to remember that Alaska used to belong to Russia. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, denounced the US for what he described as its efforts to spread chaos and destruction across the world for the sake of 'true democracy'". The entire US history since the times of subjugation of the native Indian population represents a series of bloody wars, Medvedev charged in a long diatribe on his Telegram channel, pointing out the US nuclear bombing of Japan during World War II and the war in Vietnam. Was anyone held responsible for those crimes? What tribunal condemned the sea of blood spilled by the US there? Responding to the US-backed calls for an tribunal to prosecute the perceived war crimes by Russia in Ukraine, Medvedev rejected it as an attempt by the US to judge others while staying immune from any trial. It won't work with Russia, they know it well, Medvedev concluded. That's why the rotten dogs of war are barking in such a disgusting way." "The US and its useless stooges should remember the words of the Bible: Do not judge and you will not be judged...so that the great day of His wrath doesn't come to their home one day, Medvedev said, referring to the Apocalypse. He noted that the idea to punish a country with the largest nuclear potential is absurd and potentially creates the threat to mankind's existence. The warning follows a series of tough statements from Putin and his officials that pointed at the Russian nuclear arsenals to warn the West against interfering with Moscow's action in Ukraine. Medvedev, who served as Russia's president in 2008-2012 when Putin shifted into the prime minister's post due to term limits, was widely seen by the West as more liberal compared with his mentor. In recent months, however, he has remarks that have sounded much tougher than those issued by the most hawkish officials. In another blustery warning to the US, Vyacheslav Volodin. a longtime Putin aide who serves as the speaker of the lower house of parliament, warned Wednesday that Washington should remember that Alaska was part of Russia when it freezes Russian assets. Russia colonised Alaska and established several settlements there until the US purchased it from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. When they attempt to appropriate our assets abroad, they should be aware that we also have something to claim back, Volodin said during a meeting with lawmakers. (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.) By Rajendra Jadhav MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's in July are set to jump to the highest in 10 months because of a hefty correction in prices and as Indonesia allows more exports of the tropical oil, four dealers told Reuters. Higher purchases by India, the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils, may add support for Malaysian palm oil prices, which are trading near a one-year low. India's in July may rise to 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, the highest since September 2021, the dealers said. "Palm oil has become very attractive for Indian buyers after the recent fall in prices," said one of the dealers, Sandeep Bajoria, the chief executive of vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy Sunvin Group. Malaysian palm oil futures tumbled 10% on Wednesday to a near one-year low, on fears of rising stockpiles and a sell-off in commodities because of concerns that demand may fall in a potential global recession. Indian buyers contracted to purchase nearly 250,000 tonnes of palm oil for prompt shipment last week, but this week's drop in prices has confused many buyers and they are waiting for prices to stabilize, said another one of the dealers, who is based in New Delhi with a global trading firm. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while soyoil is mainly sourced from Argentina, Brazil and the United States. India imports sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia. Palm oil's discount has widened over rival oils and it has again become competitive, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm. Crude palm oil (CPO) was being offered in India at about $1,100 a tonne, including cost, insurance and freight (CIF), for July shipments, compared with $1,360 for crude soybean oil. Crude sunflower oil was offered at around $1,675 a tonne on a CIF basis, the dealers said. In the past few months plunged as supplies were not enough, but now Indonesia has been supplying enough quantity, the Mumbai-based dealer said. Indonesia has raised its palm oil export quota to reduce soaring inventories of the edible oil and as of Monday issued export permits for a total of 2.4 million tonnes of palm oil products. "Palm oil imports even in August and September would remain robust if prices remain around the current level," the New-Delhi based dealer said. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) (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 asset base of domestic witnessed an annual growth of 14 per cent to reach Rs 37.75 lakh crore in the three months ended June on sustained inflows in equity schemes by way of SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans) and lumpsum investments. Going ahead, the long term trend and acceptability of across different investor segments will continue to strengthen taking the Assets Under Management (AUM) to new highs, Abhishek Dev, Co-Founder and CEO of Epsilon Money, said. According to Association of in India (Amfi) data, the industry's average AUM rose to Rs 37.75 lakh crore in the quarter ended June 2022 from Rs 33.2 lakh crore at the end of June 2021. During the March 2022 quarter, the asset base of the industry, comprising 43 players, was at Rs 38.38 lakh crore. Industry experts attributed increase in the AUM to inflows in the equity schemes, which reflects the growing confidence of investors. "There has been sustained inflows in equity schemes in this quarter both by way of SIPs and lumpsum. This could have been much better if new fund offers (NFOs) were permitted," Omkeshwar Singh, Group Head- at Samco Securities, said. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had discontinued the launch of NFOs until the new systems concerning pool accounts were determined and the regulator had set July 1 as the deadline for the implementation of the new system. Rajiv Shastri, Director and CEO of NJ AMC, believes that the AUM of the industry reflects the growing confidence of investors as well as the essential financial inclusion service that the industry offers. "It is also in line with our long term industry growth expectations which includes the impact of accumulated SIPs, market appreciation and sales growth as more investors discover the wealth creation opportunity presented by equity investments. While a single quarter may not necessarily contain all three elements, they all contribute meaningfully over time," he added. Vidya Bala, co-founder of PrimeInvestor.in, said that asset base can rise both due to inflows and market movement. Since the market has been flat for the last one year so the increase is mainly due to inflows from the schemes. According to Epsilon Money's Dev, mutual funds are now well recognised by both retail and corporate investors as a core investment product whether for short term parking needs or for long term asset allocation vehicles. "The retail SIP investments into equity mutual funds have particularly been robust through this period despite turbulence in equity . Another contributing factor is fixed income institutional flows into the short end of the curve," he added. During April-May, equity mutual fund schemes attracted Rs 28,980 crore, which was way higher than Rs 19,508 crore received in such schemes in the entire June 2021 quarter. The data for June is not available. In terms of asset size, SBI Mutual Fund (MF) continued to lead the pack with an average AUM of Rs 6.47 lakh crore (excluding fund of funds) during the quarter under review followed by ICICI Prudential MF (Rs 4.65 lakh crore) and HDFC MF (Rs 4.15 lakh crore). (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.) By Rowena Edwards LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Wednesday, clawing back some of Tuesday's heavy losses as supply concerns returned to the fore and outweighed lingering worries about a potential global recession. Brent crude futures rose by $1.43, or 1.39%, to $104.20 a barrel at 1120 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 65 cents, or 0.65%, to $100.15 a barrel after closing below $100 in the previous session for the first time since late April. Both contracts recorded their largest daily drop since March on Tuesday on recession fears and other bearish pressures, which also kept a lid on Wednesday's price rise. Oil prices have seen a knock from a resurgent dollar, which is holding at a 20-year high against the euro and multi-month peaks against other major currencies. A stronger U.S. dollar usually makes oil more expensive in other currencies, which could curb demand. Renewed concerns of COVID-19 lockdowns across China could also cap oil price gains. Adding to the downward pressure on prices, all oil and gas fields that were affected by a strike in Norway's petroleum sector are expected to be back in full operation within a couple of days, Equinor said on Wednesday. Norway's government intervened to end the strike on Tuesday. But analysts expect a quick resurgence in oil prices as supply tightness persists, pointing to front-month spreads which have held up despite Tuesday's price fall. Brent's six-month market structure was in steep backwardation of $14.82 a barrel, little changed from the previous day. Backwardation exists when contracts for near-term delivery of oil are priced higher than those for later months. "The price action overnight, with both contracts trading in near 15 dollar ranges, hints more at panic and forced liquidation, than a structural change in the tight supply-demand situation globally," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA, adding that oil prices may be in danger of overshooting to the downside. Meanwhile, Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which takes oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea via one of the world's largest pipelines, has been told by a Russian court to suspend activity for 30 days, although sources said exports were still flowing. Operations at Kazakhstan's giant Tengiz oilfield were not disrupted by an explosion on Wednesday and were continuing, the operator said, after the blast killed two workers and injured three. (Additional reporting by Emily Chow in Kuala Lumpur, Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and David Clarke) (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.) Stocks to Watch Today: The are likely to start trade on a quiet note on Wednesday even as global staged a dramatic recovery amid extremely volatile crude oil prices. As of 07:10 AM, the SGX Nifty futures quoted at 15,851, indicating a marginal gain of 30-odd points at the opening bell. Meanwhile, the following stocks are likely to see some action in trades on Wednesday. Adani Power: The Gautam-Adani led firm would seek the approval of shareholders for the proposed related-party transaction worth up to Rs 5,000 crore with Adani ConneX on July 27. The proposed transaction will involve the sale by of its special purpose vehicles or subsidiaries to AdaniConneX. READ MORE Tata Motors: The company has won a case against Evey Trans after the Bombay High Court cancelled a contract, worth Rs 3,675 for supplying 2,100 electric buses, awarded in May to Olectra Greentechs subsidiary for supplying electric buses to the Mumbais transport agency - BEST. READ MORE Biocon: The companys subsidiary Biologics has received EU GMP certificate from the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), Ireland, for its new monoclonal antibodies drug substance manufacturing facility at Bengaluru. SpiceJet: The cash-starved airlines torrid time continues. On Tuesday two separate mid-air issues were reported by the airline, taking the total number of incidents to seven in the last two months. READ MORE Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar: Lending banks have declared Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, one of Indias largest sugar manufacturers, a non-performing asset (NPA) after it failed to make payments related to its debt, whose gross value stood at Rs. 4,814 crore as of March this year. READ MORE IndiGo: Following the recent report of mass leaves by the cabin crew, the airlines management is of the opinion that Saturdays flight delays were just an aberration. At the same time, anticipating attrition, has been hiring for replacement and expansion. Around 1,500 cabin crew members were under training and expected to join operations over the next few weeks. Tata Steel: The steel major recorded a 2 per cent YoY drop in overall deliveries due to a levy on steel exports by the government in May. The firm attributed the drop to moderation in exports following the imposition of 15 per cent export duty. READ MORE NTPC: The state-owned power giant said that its coal output grew by 61 per cent to Rs 42.40 lakh MT in April-June quarter from 26.40 lakh MT in the same period a year ago. Britannia Industries: The companys shareholders have voted against a resolution to authorise the board to make investments, give loans and provide guarantees of up to Rs 5,000 crore in the AGM concluded last week. SBI, Canara, Bank of Baroda: Select public-sector banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), the countrys largest lender, are planning to raise around Rs 7,500 crore through additional tier I bonds, sources told Business Standard. READ MORE Yes Bank: The private sector bank said its loans and advances increased by 14 per cent to Rs 1,86,598 crore at the end of June 2022 from Rs 1,63,654 crore at end-June 2021. Hi-tech Pipes: The company informed BSE, that ratings agency CRISIL had assigned a CRISIL A/ Stable rating on its long-tem cash credit facility worth Rs 77 crore, and upgraded its short-term bank loan facility worth Rs 23 crore to CRISIL A2+ from CRISIL A2 earlier. Mr Tarun Bajaj, Revenue Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India made three key points, while speaking as the Chief Guest at CII Interactive Session with Ministry of Finance on "GST - Five Year Journey of Tax Transformation and the Way Forward" in Delhi. The GST reform is undergoing an evolution. The Government is looking forward to having lower rates on fewer products, with indirect taxes contributing 35-40% of the tax revenue. The Government as a first step is deliberating on inclusion of ATF and Gas under the GST net in the successive GST Council meetings. Technology can help to a great extent in centralised registrations, but coordination between states is required and can be made possible going forward. Speaking at the session, Mr Vivek Johri, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Ministry of Finance said, There have been very clearcut gains from implementation of GST like digitalization of the ecosystem, high degree of formalization of the economy, increased awareness about taxation and enhanced logistics efficiencies. Tax base has almost doubled from 65 lakh taxpayers at the start to almost 1 crore 38 lakh now. GST, despite its ups and downs in the last 5 years, has helped create one single market. I compliment CBIC and GSTN for bringing us where we are today. The setting up of GST Appellate Tribunals, as has also been discussed in the GST Council meeting, should be expedited to further reduce the delay in filing of appeals. The continuous drive of the Government to implement reforms and bold interventions will create new opportunities for India's growth, said Mr Sanjiv Bajaj, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Manav Seva Dham, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in Bombay High Court alleging that insurers had been arbitrary in rejecting claims during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Regulatory & Development Authority of Indias ( Irda i)'s counsel assured the court that it would treat the plea as a representation and consider the NGOs grievances. Even as the regulator reviews the cases of claim rejection, the pandemic holds many lessons for customers, which they should apply both while purchasing a health policy and making a claim. 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 In an exclusive interview with ANI, Shinde said MLAs were finding it difficult to get work done during Maha Vikas Aghadi rule and the Congress and NCP, which were its constituents were trying to gain ground. "All were anticipating, there was perception in public that BJP does anything for power. But they have shown to the people that these 50 people have taken a position, an ideological position and their agenda is of development and and they should be supported. And they supported us despite having more numbers, more MLAs. They gave us support for the post of Chief Minister," Shinde said. Shinde said Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him to take the state forward, take it towards development and take forward development works. The Chief Minister said Prime Minister assured of his and Centre's full support in development endeavours. "This is a big thing. The Centre is with us. We have not done anything illegal. The pre-poll alliance was between BJP and . We are allying with that party." Asked about his remark of their alliance winning 200 seats in the next assembly polls, Shinde said 170 MLAs are with the alliance and only 30 more remain. "We can get more than 200 seats," he said. He said BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has become Deputy Chief Minister showing "a big heart". Shinde said it was unexpected for Fadnavis but he followed BJP directions. "It was unexpected for him, but he followed party directions. And a worker like me (of) Balasaheb and Anand Dighe, was made the chief minister, I am thankful to PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda. I thanked Naddaji yesterday. The perception that was there among people, that has been totally changed that BJP is not only for power but also for ideology," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Minister Saji Cheriyan on Wednesday announced his resignation amidst mounting criticism from various quarters, including the Opposition, over his controversial remarks against the Constitution recently. Apparently succumbing to pressure, Cheriyan -- a senior CPI(M) leader who holds Cultural Affairs, Fisheries and Youth Affairs portfolios in the -- met media persons at the Chief Minister's Office and announced that he has handed over his resignation to CM . He is the first minister to resign from the second LDF government headed by Vijayan. Amid Opposition calls for his sacking, Cheriyan said it was his independent decision to quit as minister. He insisted that it was never his intention to disrespect the Constitution for which he has the highest regard and respect. Cheriyan further said, in his press conference, that his recent speech was incorrectly interpreted or partially depicted or carried by the news media which resulted in conveying a wrong message that he disrespected the Constitution. "I was hurt by such a portrayal of what I had said. I also believe it was aimed at destabilising the ruling Left government," he said. He also alleged that it was the Congress and the BJP which have failed many times to uphold the majesty of the Constitution. Reacting to his resignation, senior Congress MLA and former state minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said, "it was his speech that led to his resignation. However, while addressing the media announcing his resignation, he did not express regret for his words. Cheriyan needs to make it clear whether he stands by his speech against the Constitution." KPCC chief K Sudhakaran too said that he heard no regret in Cheriyan's voice. "However, it is good that he exited without much protest. Our Constitution is special as this is the only one which calls for a unity in diversity. If this Constitution is weakened, then our country will be lost. "The fascists forces want to weaken our Constitution. If they come to power, this country will be defeated. We will not allow anyone to weaken our Constitution," he added. Earlier in the day, after attending a meeting of the available state secretariat at AKG Centre, Cheriyan responded to questions on whether he would be resigning with a query of his own -- "why?" ".. What is the problem? I already said what I had to say yesterday," he said in response to repeated queries by reporters outside the party headquarters on whether he would resign or if his resignation had been sought. At the same time, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters in New Delhi that the matter was being discussed by the state leadership and "appropriate action" would be taken. In the morning, the state assembly proceedings were disrupted by the opposition's agitations demanding Cheriyan's resignation leading to the House being adjourned for the day. After staging a brief sit-in protest at the portal of the hall with placards, the UDF members later gathered in front of the statue of B R Ambedkar at the Assembly campus and raised slogans accusing Cheriyan of 'insulting' the architect of the Constitution through his harsh remarks. Besides that there were protests in various parts of the state demanding his resignation. A two-time MLA and first time minister, Cheriyan had been representing Chengannur constituency in the state Assembly since 2018. The 57-year-old leader was considered as a strongman of the ruling party in Alappuzha district and a confidante of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Beginning his political career as a student leader of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India DYFI, Cheriyan also held various party posts during his decade-long political life. Though he had contested for the first time in the 2006 Assembly election, he lost to Congress's P C Vishnunath. He was elected to the House as legislator in the by-election in 2018 from Chengannur constituency by a record margin. During the 2021 Assembly election, he won by a margin of over 30,000 votes beating his nearest rival. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday listed 16 family dynasties' in the unit of the as he hit out at the saffron party for repeatedly calling the JD(S) a dynastic party. He said everyone understands the sum and substance of BJP's Mission Dakshin, Yoga in Mysuru and churning in Hyderabad, referring to Prime Minister's events in the and statement against dynastic . In a series of tweets, the JD(S) second-in-command hit back at the in for calling him Lucky Dip Chief Minister' on Wednesday. You spoke about family rule. I have already given the list. Again for your attention. 1.Yediyurappa & Sons 2. Ravi Subramanya-Tejaswi Surya 3. Ashoka-Ravi 4. V.Somanna-Arun Somanna 5. Arvind Limbavali-Raghu 6. S.R.Vishwanath-Vani Vishwanath 7. Jagadish Shettar-Pradeep Shettar 8. Murgesh Nirani-Hanumath Nirani 9. G.S.Basavaraju-Jyoti Ganesh 10. Jarkiholi Family 11. Katti Family 12. Jolle Family 13. Angadi Family 14. Udasi Family 15. Sriramulu Family 16. Reddy Brothers, He said, There is still more to your family dynasty. I am aware that " is a chainlink of family politics" should I expose the nation-wide family in the BJP? One can write 'Parivarakoti' while talking about family in States ruled by you. Kumaraswamy's outburst was against the repeated accusation of the BJP of calling JD(S) a dynastic party. Often, some BJP leaders referred to the JD(S) as Appa-Maga' party, meaning Father-Son Party' as it is headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy as the second-in-command. The JD(S) leader lashed out against the BJP today for calling him a lucky dip CM' in a set of tweets. In Lucky Dip, I will cry whether I win or lose. If someone calls me Lucky Dip CM, I get irritated, and scratch my body. Can you guess who I am. I am Lucky Dip CM HDK, the unit of BJP tweeted. Explaining the meaning of Lucky Dip CM', the BJP said Kumaraswamy twice became Chief Minister just by luck, for despite having MLAs in double digits, he got the coveted post through lucky draw'. Replying to the Lucky Dip' jibe, the JD(S) leader said, Yes. I am Lucky dip CM, what now? Did your CM get the people's mandate in the election? How can you forget that your CM is lucky too? "Ask the person who was the Deputy CM in 20:20 govt on how many lucky dip CMs are there in the @BJP4Karnataka? It was me who showed the seat of power to the BJP, the party which was never in power till then, he added. Stating that he is not ashamed to be called a lucky dip Chief Minister, as he had often described himself as an "accidental CM." He sought to know whether the Lucky Dip CM' tag was lower in status than 'Operation Kamala CM'. The Operation Kamala' term was referred to the purported attempt of the BJP to pull elected representatives from Opposition parties to form the government. (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.) NDA presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu who is on a visit to the northeastern states as part of her campaign for the July 18 Presidential poll has received a rousing welcome in all the states. Murmu accompanied by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and senior leaders visited Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland on Wednesday. Murmu -- the first woman tribal leader to contest for the country's highest constitutional post, visited Tripura and Manipur on Tuesday and then went to Assam late on Tuesday night. From Guwahati, the 64-year-old Murmu went to Shillong on Wednesday. In all the states, Chief Ministers and other seniors ministers along with leaders received her at the airports while artistes from different communities welcomed her with colourful traditional performances. According to sources, Murmu held a series of meetings with the ministers, MLAs and MPs of and its allies in the northeastern states and sought support for her candidature. Union Minister of State Pratima Bhowmik also accompanied Murmu, who was also the minister in Odisha, and governor of Jharkhand. Supporting the candidature of Murmu, Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP President Conrad K. Sangma tweeted: "Meghalaya extends its support to NDA's Presidential Candidate, Smti. Draupadi Murmu Ji. As a tribal community, it will be our honour to offer our support to India's 1st Indigenous Tribal Woman as our country's President." "As President, Smti. Draupadi Ji will represent a New India. She represents hope for every tribal, every girl, every woman, and will carry with her the aspirations of small communities of India. We are proud of her & wish her all the best for the upcoming Presidential Election," Sangma said in another tweet. Manipur Chief Minister N.Biren Singh also sounded optimistic about Murmu's victory. "Held a meeting with all the MLAs of BJP-led Govt and Hon'ble MPs of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha today and deliberated on the preparation for the upcoming Presidential election. We are confident that, Smt Draupadi Murmu Ji will become the next President of India," Singh tweeted. Before the meeting with all MLAs and MPs began, Murmu led a condolence prayer of the victims of the recent landslides in Noney district of Manipur by observing one-minute silence, the Chief Minister said. --IANS sc/pgh (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 took a "One Nation, One Photo' jibe at the for using Prime Minister Narendra Modi's picture on a poster put out by a state unit of the saffron party for welcoming NDA presidential candidate . Tagging a picture of the poster of Scheduled Tribe Morcha of Manipur which displayed the photograph of Prime Minister Modi while welcoming Murmu to the state, general secretary tweeted, "One Nation, One Photo!" The had slammed the BJP-led NDA government for the prime minister's photo on COVID-19 certificates. A petition was also filed in the Kerala High Court questioning the PM's picture on vaccination certificates. The plea was subsequently dismissed. Taking on his critics, Prime Minister Modi, while speaking at an event in Gandhinagar on Monday, had said at a time when the entire world was discussing how India was able to give certificates to people soon after they were vaccinated against COVID-19, there were some people who were just focusing on why was his photo appearing on these documents. (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.) Distancing herself further from her party, Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member, Mahua Moitra, on Wednesday, reportedly unfollowed the official Twitter handle of the party. However, she has continued following the official Twitter handle of West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. The development is a likely fallout of her growing differences with the party leadership over her comments about Goddess Kali at a recent media conclave in Kolkata. While responding to a question on a controversial film poster showing a woman decked as Goddess Kali smoking, Moitra said that for her Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol accepting goddess. In support of her arguments, she drew the reference of the iconic Tarapith Shakti Peeth temple in West Bengal's Birbhum district, where meat and alcohol are offered while worshipping Goddess Kali's "Maa Tara" version. Her comments evoked strong criticism by the state BJP leaders who described Moitra's comments as an insult to the traditional Hindu religion. The BJP leaders even demanded Mamata Banerjee to take action against her party MP. As things started getting serious, Trinamool Congress leadership distanced itself from the comments of the outspoken party MP and also issued a Twitter message condemning the comments of Moitra on this count. In the Twitter message, the Trinamool Congress leadership clearly said that views expressed by Moitra on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and not endorsed by the party in any manner or form. " condemns such comments," the Twitter message from the official handle of the party has read. Moitra did not make any delay in reacting over the growing controversies. "To all you Sanghis lying will not make you better Hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the work smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food & drink is offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara," Moitra said in a counter Twitter message. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the leader of the opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari demanded immediate arrest of Moitra for her controversial comments about Maa Kali. "I expect the police should react in a similar manner as they did by summoning suspended BJP leader, Nupur Sharma over the latter's controversial comments about Prophet Muhammad. We will wait for some more time and if police do not take action against Mohua Moitra, we will approach the Calcutta High Court against the Police," Adhikari said. This is not the first time that there has been a subtle spat between Moitra and Trinamool Congress. Be it on the recent arrest of YouTuber and vlogger Roddur Roy or the recent rape and murder of a minor girl at Hanskhali in Nadia district in West Bengal, she had taken a stand against the party leadership and at times even Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. --IANS src/skp/ (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 controversy involving hosting the G20 summit in Kashmir in 2023 is one of the issues deflecting attention from the critical importance of the meet scheduled for November in Bali. This one will take place in the middle of the worst supply shock the world has faced in decades, a climate crisis and the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic. Added to that, the Russia- war is threatening the institution as it has never done since it was formed 23 years ago in 1999. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor has announced the third Asia Pacific News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge, as part of its ongoing commitment to support the news industry around the world, including India. Previous rounds of the Innovation Challenge supported more than 30 publishers across the Asia Pacific to develop sustainable business models by diversifying revenue streams and increasing audience engagement, the company said in a statement. "Applications are open to news organisations of all sizes for projects that focus on innovation in the news industry," said Nic Hopkins, who is news ecosystem and programmes lead for Asia Pacific. The Asia Pacific GNI Innovation Challenge is open to news organisations of all sizes that aim to produce original journalism and whose projects focus on innovation to create a more sustainable and diverse news sector. The company said that the projects will be evaluated against several criteria, including impact on the news community, innovation, feasibility and a willingness to share knowledge. "Applications are open until August 23 and can be submitted via our website in English, Bengali, Chinese (traditional), Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean or Thai," said Hopkins. Since 2018, the GNI Innovation Challenges has funded over 200 projects in 47 countries globally. --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.) New Delhi [India], July 5 (ANI/SRV): SP Robotic Works, an AI-based edutainment company which provides a platform for young children to learn, build and collaborate in some of the most sought-after technologies in India and around the world, is now expanding its operations by opening 100+ 'Maker Labs' in 3 cities by year-end. It currently has 50 Maker Labs in 20 cities in India and is looking at franchise Investment starting from INR 5 Lakhs upto 20 Lakhs to own a Maker Lab at your locality. SP Robotics Maker Lab is India's largest network for students to learn Robotics and Coding. They offer Complete Experiential learning for students of age 7 to 17+ with 10+ Courses in Scratch Programming, Electro blocks, Drone, Android App, Coding, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things, Virtual Reality, etc. In the quest for building a stronger maker community among school children, the startup aims to create an active and intelligent community of engineers and innovators by equipping them with the tools to learn the latest technologies. These Smart Maker Labs blend conventional classroom learning with AI-driven methods to assure quality learning. These Labs are equipped with AI-enabled computer systems and Robotic / Drone Kits and other Maker Kits, where the student can also learn with rich animations and real-time concepts. This innovative model has helped the company scale with quality and cost in-tact quickly growing from 0 to 75+ centres in just a year back in 2019 (before COVID). Pranavan S, Co-Founder of SP Robotics Maker Lab, said, "We are excited to set up these 'Maker Labs' so that children after school or during the weekends can spend about two to four hours a week in problem-solving skills and cognitive development. We have this franchise model since we want to collaborate with local partners who share the same vision and ideologies to start a Maker Lab centre in their location. Our franchise partners can choose the FOFO (Franchise owned Franchise Operated) model or the FOCO (franchise owned company operated) model with the support of SP Robotics." The franchisees can typically invest from INR 5 Lakhs in a FOCO model where the company would take care of setting up the centre and operating it. In a FOFO Model where the franchisee wants to operate the centre, the investment required to set up the centre is INR 15 to 20 Lakhs. The company would support with the setup, guidelines and business training required to operate the centre. Today SP Robotics Maker Lab has successfully helped over two lakh students learn across 31 cities by providing training in future tech like Robotics, Coding, A.I., Internet of Things, Virtual Reality and Drones in a fun, easy and hands-on learning experience. It aims at building spaces where 10 to 20 children at a time can learn things together, collaboratively, build things, code things, form teams for their future competitions, prepare for competitions, and learn from others' mistakes in a collaborative environment. SP Robotics provides an early age interaction between the age of 7-17 years with Robotics, Electronics Coding, Drones, VR/ AR, A.I. and tech for children. It aims at encouraging young learners to develop a liking for the practical aspect of the technical field and help boost their cognitive and logical thinking skills. For applying for a franchise, you can visit (https://sproboticworks.com/franchise) This story is provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pollution extracts a heavy toll on the economy and on peoples health. Last year, 63 of the worlds 100 most air-polluted cities were in India. And a recent study by a US research group was an eye-opener. It claimed that all 1.3 billion residents of India live in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the WHO safe limit. At current levels, the average Indian life expectancy is shortened by five years. According to a study published by The Lancet, pollution led to 2.3 million premature deaths in India in 2019, the highest in the world. Around 1.6 million of these were due to air pollution whereas 500,000 were caused by water pollution. And against this backdrop, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Changes proposal to dilute the penal provisions in three laws dealing with pollution has triggered a debate. According to the ministry, the idea is to decriminalise the provisions to remove fear of imprisonment for simple violations. The government plans to scrap the provision for imprisonment for the first default, which is currently up to five years, but raise the penalty from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, extended up to Rs 5 crore. For repeat offence, the penalty amount would be equivalent to the damage caused. Imprisonment would follow if the defaulter failed to pay both the original and additional penalty The amendment also proposes the creation of three funds which will be used for remittance to the affected parties. Parth Kumar, Programme Manager, Industrial Pollution Unit, CSE, says, proposal will allow industries to avoid courts and closures. Big players will be beneficiaries, he says adding that we cannot completely decriminalise these acts. According to Greenpeace, the economic cost of air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels is estimated to exceed $150 billion dollars annually. A 2013 World Bank report puts the total cost of environmental degradation in India at about $80 billion annually, with outdoor air pollution accounting for the highest share. It is estimated that the health costs of water amounted to about $6.78.7 billion per year. Text on screen: Conservative estimates place the impact of air pollution on Indian businesses at $95 billion or ~3.3% of GDP A major study by CII, Dalberg and Clean Air Fund Air conservatively also estimated the impact of air pollution on Indian businesses at $95 billion or 3% of the countrys GDP as a result of lost productivity due to absenteeism, reduced consumer footfall and premature mortalities. The governments proposal to amend the three laws comes in the backdrop of a NITI Aayog-funded study which estimated that from mid-2018 to mid-2021, the government lost revenue worth Rs 8,000 crore, the industry Rs 15,000 crore and workers around Rs 500 crore of income, due to five major enviroment-related judgements passed by the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal. The verdicts led to 16,000 job losses while adversely impacting 75,000 persons in total. The report recommended the need to equip judiciary well to balance economic and ecological interests of the country. The judgments analysed in the study include cases relating to the shutting down Vedantas copper smelter in Tamil Nadu, stopping the construction of Mopa Airport in Goa and halting iron ore mining in the state. Notably the conviction rate for violations under the three laws where changes are planned to be carried out has been low. While the number of cases reported under the three acts were 1,581 and 647, convictions were 42 and 25, respectively, in 2020 and 2019. Speaking to Business Standard, Chandra Bhushan, CEO, iFOREST, says it is impossible to prosecute and jail over environmental degradation. Current laws don't have credible deterrence, he says. Change needed as such laws are civil in nature across the world. Since it came to power in 2014, the National Democratic Alliance government has sought to establish itself as a business-friendly regime and one of the key means by which it has tried to fulfil this agenda is loosening environment protection laws. The criminalisation of environmental laws might not have worked and industry demands should not be dismissed out of hand, but, given the vast sums India loses due to the polluting of its natural resources, shouldn't protecting them really be considered an essential part of promoting overall growth? The January-March quarter coincided with the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. The June quarter, however, assumes more importance as it is expected to showcase the full impact of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. From here on, investors are set to gauge the trajectory of Indias corporate profitability, as domestic and global macroeconomic cues continue to remain unsupportive. Against this backdrop, analysts expect the June quarter earnings to be a mixed bag. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, Financials to outshine in Q1FY23. Credit growth impressive, will sustain, ge says. IT revenue expected to be healthy. IT margins may be pressured due to high employee costs. Analysts are also bullish on the auto sector, in particular, which they say, has benefitted from the sharp decline in input costs. According to Narendra Solanki, Head-Fundamental Research, Anand Rathi, esing semiconductor shortage, price hikes to improve auto margins. Valuation of IT, specialty chemicals, manufacturing attractive. Consumer space may post muted volumes. Recent pass through in prices could stabilise margins. That said, experts expect metals to deliver disappointing numbers as they digest the correction in prices along with the export duties on steel and iron ore that the government imposed at the end of May. Kotak Institutional Equities says that most of its recent earnings downgrades for the Nifty50 index have stemmed from the governments export taxes on metals, and oil fuels. The brokerages Nifty FY23 net profit growth estimate now stands reduced at 9.9% from 17.1% before the governments duty hikes. According to the brokerage "The new taxes are deleterious since they are on revenues and, thus, have a disproportionate impact on earnings. Moreover, the levying of new taxes may raise concerns among direct and portfolio investors about the overall investment climate in India Domestically, market action will be stock-specific today. Investors will also closely track US Feds recent meeting minutes due to be released later in the night. . The Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Global Delivery Centre aims to hire more than 200 people in the coming months as they continue to expand their operations in Letterkenny. TCS is a global provider of IT services, digital and business solutions, partnering with some of the worlds most recognised brands to simplify, strengthen, and transform their business. Tthe company is a global employer with approximately 592,195 employees representing 153 nationalities across 46 countries. TCS currently employs over 1,000 people in Letterkenny across a range of highly skilled tech-related roles. As the business continues to grow its Technical and Operations teams in Letterkenny, TCS is looking for people who are enthusiastic and passionate about Customer Service and Technical Innovation to further support TCS customers on their digital transformation journey. The company is hosting a Careers Open Evening in their Letterkenny building on Thursday 14th July, from 6pm to 8pm in the Letterkenny Technology Park. Speaking about the upcoming Open Evening, Head of the TCS Global Delivery Centre in Letterkenny, Andrea McBride said, "We are creating high-value employment opportunities across a variety of roles and disciplines, including cybersecurity, cloud services, project management, data analytics, customer service and IT helpdesk. At TCS, we place a huge focus on career support and development, striving to be a great environment in which to work." Source: www.businessworld.ie Muhammadu Buhari AA Images Military, police repel attack in Katsina state KANO, Nigeria (AA) - Gunmen suspected to be bandits opened fire Tuesday on the security convoy of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina state, according to an official. Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu issued a statement confirming the attack, saying two people in the convoy sustained minor injuries. Shehu said the convoy, which was carrying a team of security guards as well as protocol and media officers, was on its way to Daura, Buharis hometown, to prepare for his visit when the attack took place. The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police and DSS personnel accompanying the convoy, said the statement. Two people in the convoy are receiving treatment for the minor injuries they suffered. All the other personnel, staff and vehicles made it safely to Daura. The Presidency has described as sad and unwelcome the shooting incident near Dutsinma, Katsina State, the statement added. Buhari is scheduled to visit Katsina during the Sallah celebration, an Islamic festival, which will be held over the weekend. Terrorists meanwhile have killed the Dutsinma Area Commander of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), ACP Aminu Umar, and one gallant officer in the Zakka forest of the Safana local government area in Katsina state. The spokesman for the Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, confirmed the killing in a statement issued Tuesday. At about 1130 hours, a distress call was received that terrorists numbering over 300 on motorcycles, shooting sporadically with AK-47 rifles and general purpose machine guns, ambushed ACP Aminu Umar, Area Commander, Dutsinma and team while (they were) on a clearance operation against recalcitrant bandits/terrorists in the Zakka forest, Safana LGA of Katsina state, he said. Consequently, the area commander and one other gallant officer lost their lives during a cross-exchange of gunfire. He added that the Commissioner of Police, Idrisu Dabban Dauda, on behalf of the officers and men of the command expressed his deep sympathy to the families of the deceased and prayed to Almighty Allah to repose their souls in Jannatul Firdaus, or the highest level of heaven. He then reaffirmed the commands commitment to the ongoing onslaught against terrorism in the state until it is completely rooted out. ABUJA, NIGERIA - JULY 6: A view of burned vehicles after an attack at Kuje prison outskirt of the capital Abuja, Nigeria on July 6, 2022. At least 600 inmates are on the run after the attack. AA Images Bashir Magashi says suspected Boko Haram terrorists broke into Kuje prison in Abuja MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) - More than 600 inmates escaped a Nigerian prison in the nations capital during a terror attack, an official said Wednesday. Defense Minister Bashir Magashi said assailants, suspected to be from the Boko Haram terror group, invaded the Kuje Prison in Abuja late Tuesday with explosives and fired shots. "They came in with high explosives, they attempted the initial entry with a very high explosive, but they were unsuccessful," he told reporters. Magashi said military troops responded to the scene while the terrorists were attacking another section of the prison with high-caliber explosives. "Right now, we have retrieved about 300, out of about 600 inmates that escaped their cells, with some caught in nearby bushes hours after the attack. The minister could not confirm the number of fatalities in the attack. Residents said they were gripped with fear as gunshots and explosives continued late Tuesday. Nigerians on social media said the attack accentuates the dire security situation in the country. Photo: Glacier Media A B.C. lawyer has received a second disbarment after multiple findings of professional misconduct, including improperly billing a mentally ill client and using those fees to settle debts and, in one instance, take his entire office on holiday to Las Vegas. Peter Darren Steven Hart exploited a vulnerable client for his own benefit, according to a Law Society of BC hearing panel decision issued June 29. Harts client was said to be destitute and under psychiatric care but certain to receive a multimillion-dollar divorce settlement in 2013. Hart "took on a vulnerable client that he knew was struggling with mental health problems and knowingly acted contrary to the clients instructions and without instructions," the panel stated. Hart, the panel said, provided an abysmal quality of service, failed to act with honesty and candour and pressured his client into entering into an unfair and unethical contingency fee agreement entitling him to 20 per cent of any settlement which eventually resulted in approximately $1.13 million in fees. At issue was how the fees were disbursed. Despite the clients spouse having assets of over $15 million, the settlement was estimated to be $5.1 million: the client got $1.5 million in cash and the rest was held in RRSPs and stock options. Hart was to be paid as the money was disbursed but contentiously took all his fees upfront. And despite being ordered by the Supreme Court in 2018 to repay over a million dollars to the client, because the fee arrangement was deemed unfair, Hart has only repaid $18,167, the panel noted. (The judge ordered the fees set at $125,000.) In this case, despite being ordered to repay fees in 2018 [Hart] has repaid less than two per cent of the money owed. Further, there are no mitigating factors. Throughout the hearing, the respondent repeatedly attempted to justify his unethical and, in the panels view, indefensible behaviour, stated the panel of Bruce LeRose QC, Geoffrey MacDonald and Mark Rushton. The clients poor financial circumstances and the ongoing legal proceedings have negatively impacted her mental health and recovery, the panel noted. Hart, who had practiced law since 1994, did not attend, make submissions, nor provide any materials at the disciplinary action phase of the hearing. Harts professional record includes misappropriation of trust funds and the improper withdrawal of over half a million dollars of client money for which he was disbarred for on July 20, 2021. The society proceeded against Hart again to denounce the misconduct. This misconduct must be definitively denounced and deterred. The only possible sanction for misconduct this egregious is disbarment. Other lawyers have been disbarred for far less, stated the panel. Photo: The Canadian Press A Surete du Quebec police car is seen in Montreal on July 22, 2020. A crime victims advocacy group is expressing concern after a Quebec man was granted a conditional discharge last month after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a woman as she slept.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson A crime victims advocacy group expressed concern on Tuesday after a Quebec man was granted a conditional discharge in a sexual assault case, in part because the judge felt a conviction could damage the man's career. Marie-Christine Villeneuve of Crime Victims Assistance Centres says she worries the light sentence may be discouraging to victims and make them reluctant to report sexual assaults. "If you're a victim seeing this kind of decision, it's possible that you could be more fearful of turning to the legal process, of filing a complaint, and maybe fearful about really getting justice at the end of this process," she said in an interview. The ruling, she said, appears to run contrary to the current trend, "which is more toward concern for the victim at the heart of the legal process." In the June decision, a Quebec court judge in Trois-Rivieres, Que., opted to give Simon Houle probation and a conditional discharge, partly because a conviction would make it hard for Houle to travel as an engineer. Houle pleaded guilty last year to sexual assault and voyeurism after assaulting an acquaintance in 2019 and taking photos of the intimate parts of her body as she slept. He was 27 at the time. The victim "was awoken by the light of a camera" to find Houle assaulting her with his fingers after she had fallen asleep at a friend's home after a night of drinking at a bar with a group of friends. Her shirt had been lifted and her bra unfastened, the court decision said. The woman "panicked" and went to the kitchen, where the accused followed her and brought her back to bed. A search of his phone would later reveal that he had taken nine photos. Judge Matthieu Poliquin found that the victim suffered significant harm as a result of the assault, including anger, shame, fear of seeing the accused, and consequences for her school, work and personal life. She was also in a vulnerable state due to the fact she had consumed alcohol and was sleeping, the decision said. However, the judge noted that the assault happened "all in all quickly," adding that Houle had taken therapy seriously and sincerely regretted his actions. "A sentence other than a discharge would have a significant impact on his career as an engineer," the judge wrote. "This profession requires travelling around the world," he added, while acknowledging that Houle had not yet been required to travel by his employer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Houle admitted during therapy to have assaulted another person in 2015. The judge described that admission as concerning but said it also showed a "desire for transparency." No charges were filed as a result of the 2015 incident. Houle was also convicted of impaired driving in 2014 but had never been convicted of a violent crime. Poliquin said Houle was at low risk of reoffending and had been convincingly rehabilitated. "It is in the general interest that the accused, an asset for society, can continue his professional career," the judge wrote. A conditional discharge can be granted in cases when a person pleads guilty but is not convicted as long as they fulfil certain conditions. Houle was given three years of probation and must pay $6,000 to a victims aid group. If he meets the conditions, he will avoid a permanent criminal record. Quebec's Crown prosecutors office says it will seek to appeal the judge's sentencing decision in the coming weeks. Houle's sentence, which was first reported by Radio-Canada, sparked an avalanche of online comments denouncing the decision. Villeneuve said that while the verdict may be disappointing to some, it is important to remember that it is only one decision and that the legal system is only one path to healing for victims. While the courts have not traditionally been inviting to sexual assault survivors, there are attempts underway to rebuild confidence through the implementation of specialized sexual assault tribunals, she said. Villeneuve added that her organization is there to support victims, whether they choose to file a formal complaint or not. Photo: The Canadian Press Tony Mancina Head of Engineering for Stellantis Canada (L), talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) and Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne during a tour of the Stellantis Automotive Research and Development Centre in Windsor, Ont. on May 2, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the convergence of Canada's automotive and mining sectors is working to lure more companies to Canada to make electric cars and the batteries that power them. Over eight weeks last spring, automakers and battery companies announced more than $13 billion in new investments in the electric vehicle manufacturing sphere in Canada, including batteries and their components, buses and electric cars. Those announcements included retooling or expanding auto manufacturing plants that already exist in Canada. Champagne is in Japan this week where he is meeting with the heads of several Japanese automakers that do not have a Canadian manufacturing presence, including Mitsubishi, Nissan and Subaru. Champagne says the sales pitch is to point out that in a world where supply chain issues are a massive headache for manufacturers, Canada has the skilled workforce, the raw materials and the stability they desire. He says he's telling companies that "stability, predictability, and the rule of law is in high demand and short supply." While he is also meeting with Honda and Toyota, both of which are retooling Canadian plants so they can make electric vehicles, the meetings with the others are different, he says. "If you talk to people who have an established footprint in Canada it's different, because they've already invested," he said. For the others, he says most have told him, "it's really the three things that really drive investments: talent, ecosystem and resources. And when you put that together, Canada becomes kind of the supplier of choice." This trip follows another to Europe in the spring where Champagne met with all the major German automakers, including Volkswagen, which is regularly duking it out with Toyota to see which will be the biggest car company in the world. Another trip to Asia, likely to include Korea, is in the works for the fall. Photo: The Canadian Press Mourners gather for a vigil Tuesday in downtown Highland Park. It was 10:17 a.m. on the Fourth of July, central daylight time, when Shelly Sella's cellphone rang. She remembers the time precisely. What she heard it was her daughter, Lauren she will never forget. "Screaming: 'There's a shooter, there's a shooter, you gotta come get us, you gotta come get us,'" Sella recalled. "There's no mother on planet Earth, I don't care how old your child is, that wants to get that call." Lauren and her friend Amanda Levy, who was visiting from Connecticut, were at the Fourth of July parade Monday in the tony Chicago suburb of Highland Park when the shots rang out. "I think I blacked out," said Levy, 28, as she described seeing some of the floats in the parade come to an unexpected stop. "I was confused. And then we saw the band running on the sidewalks. And that's when I looked at (Lauren) and we saw a cop running the opposite way." Seven people were killed and 38 people were injured Monday when a lone gunman, perched on a rooftop and disguised in women's clothing, opened fire on spectators while they were watching the Fourth of July parade pass through the suburban downtown. At the intersection of Central Ave. and Green Bay Rd., where journalists and local residents mingled awkwardly Tuesday in what is becoming an uncomfortable U.S. ritual, the detritus of an abandoned national holiday was still on display. Upturned folding chairs, miniature flags flapping in the breeze and a child's pink bicycle were still visible behind police barricades, a testament to the moment the community's festive, patriotic fervour dissolved into abject panic. A collection of flowers and handwritten expressions of grief steadily grew throughout the afternoon as residents and visitors stopped by the scene, stepping over a gauntlet of police tape to pay their respects. Sella and Levy were part of the crowd of onlookers who cheered with relief Tuesday as prosecutors announced seven first-degree murder charges against Robert E. Crimo III, the alleged perpetrator. Crimo, 21, faces the prospect of life in prison with no chance of parole, as well as "dozens" more likely charges, said Lake County state's attorney Eric Rinehart. Authorities also released the identities of six of the seven victims: Katherine Goldstein, 64; Irina McCarthy, 35; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; and Stephen Straus, 88, all from Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Mexico. Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said police first responded to Crimo's home in April 2019 after learning he had attempted suicide a week earlier. The next interaction happened in September of that year, when a family member reported that Crimo had a collection of knives and that he was threatening to "kill everyone." No charges or complaints were filed. Crimo legally purchased five guns, including the rifle used in the attack and one found in a vehicle with him when he was arrested, as well as handguns and other firearms seized at his father's home. The violence in Highland Park came just six weeks after a deadly elementary school rampage in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 children and two teachers, shocking but not surprising a country now utterly awash in staggering firepower. Covelli said the suspect planned the attack for several weeks and wore women's clothing to conceal his facial tattoos and to blend into the crowd as he fled the scene. He said the shooter, armed with a high-powered rifle, used a fire escape ladder to climb onto the roof of a business along the parade route before he fired more than 70 rounds into the crowd. When it was over, the attacker allegedly abandoned his rifle and escaped, blending into the crowd as if he were an "innocent spectator." Police have no information that it was religiously or racially motivated, said Covelli, describing the attack as "completely random." "What should have been a celebration of freedom has ended in despair for our community," Rinehart said, a battery of officials, investigators and police behind him. "All of the people who died steps from here lost their freedom all of it, every ounce of freedom that they had. The freedom to love, the freedom to learn and the freedom to live a full life. "Their freedom matters too." These days, in the country known for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that freedom may well include leaving for good. "I don't like this world that we live in at all," Sella said. "I have serious concerns about where we've been, where we're going. And quite honestly, I have contemplated several times recently leaving this country." So, too, has Jim Perlman, a lifelong Highland Park resident who said he's not alone in considering his options. "The way the momentum is going, a lot of people are talking about it and people want to leave," said Perlman, whose apartment is less than two blocks from where the shooting occurred. "They don't feel safe. Children don't feel safe at the schools ... it's just like a snowball going down a hill and getting worse and worse." Where would they go? Sella said she has family in Israel, a country with its own reputation for violence, "but it's more predictable," she said. "This is what it looks like, what it feels like to live in Israel." As for Perlman, he's thinking closer to home. "Everybody talks about Canada," he said. "We may be up there." Photo: The Canadian Press Pat Cipollone, Donald Trumps former White House counsel, is scheduled to testify Friday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a person briefed on the matter. Cipollone, whose reported resistance to Trumps schemes to overturn his 2020 election defeat has made him a long-sought and potentially revelatory witness, was subpoenaed by the select committee last week after weeks of public pressure to provide testimony to the panel. The person briefed on the matter, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations, said Cipollone agreed to appear before the committee for a private, transcribed interview. As Trumps top White House lawyer, Cipollone was in the West Wing on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as for key meetings in the turbulent weeks after the election when Trump and associates including Republican lawmakers and lawyer Rudy Giuliani debated and plotted ways to challenge the election. The agreement for Cipollone to speak to the panel follows last week's dramatic testimony from former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. The young aide to former chief of staff Mark Meadows provided the committee with a striking account of what she saw and heard in those weeks and presented lawmakers with arguably their clearest case for how Trump or some of his allies could face criminal liability. Cipollone is said to have stridently and repeatedly warned Trump and his allies against their efforts to challenge the election, threatening to resign as Trump eyed a dramatic reshuffling atop the Justice Department. One witness said Cipollone referred to a proposed letter making false claims about voter fraud as a murder-suicide pact. But while his interview with the committee could prove to be a breakthrough, it remained unclear whether Cipollone would try to limit what he is willing to talk about. As the administrations chief lawyer, he could argue that some or all of his conversations with Trump are privileged. Nevertheless, the nine-member panel believes he is a crucial witness who can provide them with an even closer, first-hand recollection of the several and varied efforts by Trump allies to subvert the Electoral College, including a strategy to organize so-called alternate electors for Trump in seven swing states that Biden won. Lawmakers also said that Cipollone's name came up in a number of private depositions as a voice of reason against efforts to appoint a loyalist as attorney general who championed false theories of voter fraud and a plan to have Trump march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 alongside his supporters. Hutchinson testified last week that days before the Capitol attack, Cipollone warned that there were serious legal concerns if Trump accompanied the protesters to the Capitol, saying, We need to make sure that this doesnt happen. By the morning of Jan. 6, Cipollone was urging Hutchinson to keep in touch about any possible movements by the president and please make sure we dont go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. If Trump did go to the Capitol, Hutchinson recalled Cipollone saying, were going to get charged with every crime imaginable. He had previously identified obstruction of justice or defrauding the electoral count as among the possibilities, she said. While Cipollone sat for an informal interview in April, the committee has reiterated that it required his cooperation on the record after it obtained evidence about which he was uniquely positioned to testify. Our evidence shows that Pat Cipollone and his office tried to do what was right, Rep. Liz Cheney, the Republican vice-chair of the committee, said in a hearing last month. They tried to stop a number of President Trumps plans for Jan. 6. We think the American people deserve to hear from Mr. Cipollone personally," She added. Acting Deputy Assistant Director Remarks Announcing the Formation of the New England Prescription Opioid Strike Force Remarks prepared for delivery. Good morning. My name is Aaron Tapp, and I am the Acting Deputy Assistant Director of the FBIs Criminal Investigative Division. I am honored to be here this morning to join with our partners from the: Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Drug Enforcement Administration in announcing the formation of and the FBIs support of the New England Prescription Opioid Strike Force or NEPO. I would venture to guess that there is probably not a single person in this room who has not been personally affected byor knows someone who has been personally affected bythe opioid epidemic in this country. This issue is personal to me, as members of my own family have been tragically impacted by this epidemic. You heard the statistics here today. In the last year alone, more than 75,000 people in the United States lost their lives due to opioid overdose. Think about that. That is nearly double the population of the City of Concord. This crisis does not discriminate, impacting the young and the old, the rich and the impoverished, our sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, our mothers and our fathers. And it does so with devastating and unrelenting force. Communities across the country and in this community have felt the impact of that force and experienced the devastating loss of life that so often accompanies it. So, we must match force with even greater force, and strength and momentum which can only be generated through shared commitment and collaboration, like what you are seeing here today. Our objective is to not only to help those who are already in the throes of addiction, but also to help prevent others from reaching that point. As Assistant Attorney General Polite stated, the NEPO Strike Force will help to address one of the root causes of the opioid epidemic, the unlawful prescription and diversion of opioids by corrupt medical professionals and others. The NEPO Strike Force will investigate all health care fraud schemes in the New England region, and will seek to identify medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others who are engaging in criminal conduct. The Strike Force will focus on those medical professionals who place a greater value on profits than they do on the well-being of their patients. Simply put, the NEPO Strike Force will seek to root out medical professionals who profit from the addiction of your families and your neighbors. We have made much progress nationally, but there is more we have to do. The formation of this task force highlights the FBIs commitment to do whatever it takes to reduce the impact of the opioid epidemic across the nation. Thank you to all of the law enforcement agencies, the Department of Justice, and the United States Attorneys from New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont who are here today for their commitment to working collectively to bring justice to those who are illegally prescribing drugs and profiting off of addiction. Finally, as this task force effort begins, we need your help. Many of you know which doctors are overprescribing opioids in your community and by doing so, perpetuating the cycle of addiction. You can make a difference by partnering with us. Please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI or reach us online at tips.fbi.gov to report prescription opioid diversion in your community. The FBI stands ready, willing, and able to work with our law enforcement partners on the NEPO Strike Force to protect this community from the destructive effects of health care fraud and prescription opioid diversion. Thank you. This story has been published on: 2022-07-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Average life expectancy in China hits 77.93 yrs Xinhua) 08:45, July 06, 2022 BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese people's average life expectancy has increased to 77.93 years, a senior health official said on Tuesday. In 2016 when China rolled out the Healthy China 2030 blueprint, the figure was 76.5. China leads middle and high-income countries in major health indicators, and targets for 2020 set in the blueprint have been achieved in general, said Mao Qun'an, deputy head of the office for the promotion of the Healthy China initiative, at a press conference. In briefing the achievements in advancing the initiative, Mao said a policy system for health promotion has taken shape, health risk factors have been brought under effective control, the capability of providing people with health services throughout the health continuity has been substantially improved, and major diseases have been effectively controlled. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Photo: Rob Kruyt Complaints over low pay and understaffing pushed B.C. hospitalists (general practitioners who provide care for patients within hospitals) to the brink of a walkout in June 2006. The threat of hospitalists returning to community practice eventually pushed the Ministry of Health to strike an agreement the day before the contract was due to expire. The one-year agreement was a first for Canada; it ensured standard provincial pay rates for hospitalist services. That standoff between hospitalists and the Ministry of Health 16 years ago helped bring to the forefront the complexities behind the economics of doctoring within B.C. hospitals. While family practices are most often associated with the fee-for-service model, the wide array of physicians who work in hospital settings can be compensated through a mix of salaries, alternative payment funding as well as through the aforementioned fee model. Physician compensation is complex, and it is difficult to describe in generalities, the Ministry of Health said in a statement responding to a list of questions posed by BIV about how doctors based primarily at hospitals typically earn an income. Emergency department physicians at one hospital may be on contract but on fee-for-service in another hospital [and] physicians working in health authority facilities may or may not incur overhead costs (e.g. for a community-based office). The service location, physician specialty or other criteria do not definitively determine how physicians are paid or costs they may be responsible for, as there are service delivery model and community specific considerations that inform which compensation options are appropriate. While most doctors in the province are still paid through the fee-for-service models, the ministry noted that a growing number are being paid through alternative compensation options that include contracts and sessional payments, as well as under salary as health authority employees. Under those compensation options, payment is based on time rather than fees. Family doctors rely primarily on the fee-for-service model for the practices they run, which essentially amounts to operating small businesses that face 0verhead costs such as staff and office space. But hospital-based specialists such as surgeons might also run clinics off-site. They have to pay for the office space, and the staff and the electronic medical records, said Jason Sutherland, a professor at the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research within the University of British Columbias Faculty of Medicines School of Population and Public Health. If specialists or hospital-based [doctors] dont have to run a clinic, then obviously they dont have the intense requirements to run a business also. Whereas others that need to run a clinic thats off-site from the hospital, then theyre split between the two. The fee-for-service model for hospital-based doctors also means different payments depending on the treatment or circumstance. For example, the fee for an orthopedic office visit runs to $50.24 compared with a hospital visit at $30.70, according to the provinces Medical Services Commission payment schedule. But if its time for an orthopedic doctor to perform surgery at a hospital, fees run into hundreds and thousands of dollars depending on whats undertaken during the surgery. A plastic surgeon would charge the province a fee of $35.53 for the removal of a nail considered a simple operation under the payment schedule while work on a cleft palate would run to $553.74 Meanwhile, Sutherland said some health authorities or hospitals might create incentives for specialists to remain on site rather than operating their own clinics away from the hospital. Those incentives could include space within the hospital, more paid time to pursue research and better access to students assisting them. Its not really a clear-cut competition for them, Sutherland said, referring to the potential for different hospitals to provide incentives for these doctors through compensation. Its more about how they can make their workplace better, I would say, because the hospital doesnt get to negotiate the fee amounts with the individual specialists. Instead, fees are negotiated between the province and Doctors of BC, the association representing about 14,000 physicians, residents and medical students across the province. Doctors of BC declined to offer insights about how the economics of doctoring in a hospital setting work. Sutherland said both hospital-based doctors and family doctors are now facing substantial challenges in the wake of the pandemic. Theyre all getting crushed, to be honest with you, he said. And patients, on the other hand, and their families are facing very lengthy delays not only for imaging, but assessment and consultations, to decide whether or not they need further interventions. And if they need these interventions, [they face delays for] followup care. Theres just excess demand all through the system right now. Photo: . Moose Jaw Provincial Court. Photo by Jason G. Antonio A former technician with the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron the Snowbirds will spend nearly two years on probation after pleading guilty to several firearms-related offences. Former corporal Rhys Paradis appeared in Moose Jaw Provincial Court recently and pleaded guilty to unauthorized possession of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon (parts for a Glock handgun and oversized magazine clips). The Crown stayed two other charges against him. The judge gave Paradis, 32, a conditional discharge, which means he will not have a criminal record if he completes 18 months of probation without incident. During that probation which Crown prosecutor Rob Parker described as stringent Paradis will have a curfew of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the first six months and must complete 80 hours of community service within those months. Furthermore, he is prohibited from having any restricted or prohibited firearms, ammunition or weapons for 10 years; must submit to a search of his person, vehicle or home by a peace officer without a warrant; and must forfeit all the weapons police confiscated from his home. Police cannot search his home more than twice in one month; the firearms officers confiscated were long guns since Paradis is a long-range target shooter. The value of those firearms was $25,000. The offences occurred from Nov. 3 to 10, 2021, after the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) intercepted packages destined for Paradis home in Bushell Park at 15 Wing Air Base, explained Parker. CBSA officers found parts to make working firearms, which prompted them to contact law enforcement, who then acquired a search warrant. On Dec. 10, 2021, the RCMP Crime Reduction Team (CRT) searched Paradis home with the assistance of Moose Jaw RCMP, Saskatchewan RCMPs National Weapons Enforcement Team, and the Moose Jaw Police Service. Officers seized gun parts and two over-capacity magazines, along with the firearms, which were legally obtained. From the Crowns perspective, it was an unusual sentence to agree to a conditional discharge, said Parker. The court was told Mr. Paradis had no criminal record (and was) otherwise a law-abiding citizen. The Crown takes these charges seriously but wanted to allow Paradis the opportunity to pursue probation and finish without a criminal record, the Crown prosecutor added. However, the former Snowbirds technician is paying a very significant price for that with the six-month curfew and the financial cost of forfeiting the weapons. According to previous information, Paradis was a 13-year veteran of the Canadian Forces who began his military career in the army as a weapons technician in 2008. He switched to the air force in 2015 as an aircraft structures technician. Paradis was posted to the Snowbirds in 2017 and completed his trade apprenticeship at CFB Moose Jaw. He was listed on the Snowbirds team page as the Lead Aircraft Structures Technician; however, he is no longer with the military. Photo: The Canadian Press A Sunwing aircraft is parked at Montreal Trudeau airport in Montreal on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Sunwing Airlines Inc. is rejecting a claim by pilots it bargained in bad faith by opting not to disclose a forthcoming acquisition by WestJet. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson Sunwing Airlines Inc. is rejecting a claim by pilots that it bargained in bad faith by opting not to disclose a forthcoming acquisition by WestJet. Calling a complaint to the labour relations board "without merit," the Toronto-based tour operator says the deal to be acquired by WestJet came more than a year after a new collective agreement between union and management was signed. The 452 pilots, represented by Unifor, filed a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board on Monday. It states the union reached a tentative agreement with management in January 2021, less than two weeks before media reported Sunwing had received an offer from an unnamed company and that Sunwing and WestJet had discussed purchase possibilities in the past. Unifor members ratified the four-year deal shortly after. WestJet announced last March its deal to buy Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations for an undisclosed sum, with the transaction subject to regulatory approval. Barret Armann, who heads the union local representing the pilots, said they made concessions with the understanding the pandemic had imposed financial pressures on the airline, and that if the sale negotiations had been "transparent" Unifor could have pushed for job security language in case of an acquisition. "Sunwing Airlines will continue to promote positive labour relations in good faith as more of our customers return to travel and we continue to rebound from the pandemic," the company said in a statement Wednesday. Bangladesh exports rise in FY22 06 July 2022 Bangladesh recorded the highest ever export of commodities, including cement, in FY21-22 (July 2021-June 2022). Bangladeshs cement industry has earned export revenue of US$9.57m in FY21-22, compared to US$7.26m in the year-ago period. This export trend reflects growth of 31.8 per cent YoY. The figure also includes a minor amount of salt, stone and related products, according to the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data. The export value for cement increased by 19.6 per cent, significantly over the government target set for the period,due to increased demand from India. The governments advanced export target for the cement industry was US$8m for FY21-22, compared to US$7.26m achieved in the previous fiscal year. Likewise, the countrys total export earnings from other building material shipments witnessed a 34.4 per cent growth in the 12MFY21-22. Aggregate export earnings stood at US$52.08bn against US$38.75bn in the corresponding period of the last fiscal, according to the EPB data. The government had set an export-earning target of US$43.5bn from goods in the FY21-22. Export earnings in the previous fiscal year totalled US$38.75bn. More than a dozen companies export cement to India, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Published under ConcreteZero launch signals net zero markets are ready for cement producers 06 July 2022 Helen Clarkson, CEO of Climate Group, in partnership with the World GBC and WBCSD, launched the ConcreteZero initiative in London, UK, yesterday with the aim to drive climate action fast and net zero carbon emissions for the cement and concrete sectors. ConcreteZero will create prosperity for all, by forming networks of businesses and governments together to really unlock the power of collective action, said Ms Clarkson, This is to move whole systems such as energy, transport and the built environment and heavy industries to a clearer future. Together the Climate Group is working to shift global markets and policies to help faster reductions in global emissions. ConcreteZero marks a step up for our heavy industry programme allowing a double-down on the highest emitting sectors and to get them on track to net zero, added Ms Clarkson. The group is focussed on concrete rather than cement, because concrete is a material that can influence a portion of one of the key ingredients which is cement. The initiative is driven from the demand side rather than by suppliers. ConcreteZero intends to send a strong signal to cement producers that there is a market for net zero solutions, she stated. Each member has committed to setting an ambitious target of net zero concrete by 2050 and two interim targets of using 30 per cent lower emission concrete by 2025 and 50 per cent lower emission concrete by 2030. The real game changer Ms Clarkson said was that all businesses that sign up to ConcreteZero are committed to measure and report on the carbon emissions of the concrete. At the moment there is no standard definition of what low-emission and net zero concrete is and so the Climate Group will use its data to set industry definitions and strengthen benchmarks to bring clarity to businesses, governments and investors to accelerate action right across the supply chain. Better collaboration and stronger partnerships will drive the industry towards net zero faster. A total of 17 businesses have signed up to ConcreteZero, including: Byrne Brothers, Canary Wharf Group, Careys Group, Clancy Group, Grimshaw Architects, Grosvenor, Joseph Homes, Laing ORourke, Mace, Morrisroe Group, Multiplex Construction Europe, Ramboll, Skanska UK, Thornton Tomasetti, Willmott-Dixon and WSP Property & Buildings UK. The Climate Group will expand ConcreteZero to other countries such as the USA, India, The Netherlands as it has done with SteelZero. As an example of low-carbon concrete, Canary Wharf Group and OHalloran & OBrien described the Wood Wharf residential tower building of JI33 and E3E4, in London, which has just had a 580m3 concrete pour supplied by London Concretes (Aggregate Industries - Holcim Group) ECOPact GGBS concrete which has a 70 per cent reduced CO 2 emission with carbon offsets to OPC. Published under This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions Not long after her Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature team won Best Overall Delegation accolades last November, Nicki Messerat the time just a couple of weeks away from graduating from the University of Tennessee at Chattanoogawas asked about her future plans. Im thinking of moving to D.C. and trying to get the process going for applying to internships in Congress, Ms. Messer said, and I really want to work in a members office. Little did she know how prophetic those words would be. Ms. Messer, who received a bachelors degree in political science in December 2021, now finds herself on Capitol Hill. After serving as an intern for U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, Ms. Messer joined the congressmans staff full-time in March. I was anxious to get out of Tennessee and experience something new, she said. After a few months of being an intern, they offered me a job as a staff assistant. Ms. Messer, who is spending her first extended July 4 week in the nations capital, is interested in sharing her story with students interested in working in public service. She explained that the staff assistant is an entry-level position most people get when they want to work on Capitol Hill. Her duties include writing, answering phones, sorting through letters the congressman receives and overseeing the Washington-based interns. Part of my job is also giving tours when possible. Thats always fun, she said. The physical location of where she works is in one of the House of Representatives office buildings near the U.S. Capitol. Washington is a walkable city, Ms. Messer said, and she walks to work every day. The best part about working at the Capitol is the Capitol, she said, but its just really cool to hear things. You hear about a development or a story and consistently follow it. You hear bits and pieces from other people about what may or may not happen, so in some ways its like youre a step ahead of what everybody else knows. She admitted the novelty can wear off, but there is this feeling of satisfaction when something finally does get done. Sometimes, you can be pleasantly surprised. During her UTC days, Ms. Messer participated in three mock government competitions at the annual Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature. Also known by the acronym TISL, the gatherings bring together college students from across the state. As a senator and vice president of last falls UTC delegation, Ms. Messer was responsible for presenting nine bills on varying issues and complexity. She succeeded in getting eight of the bills passed, earning a coveted Carlisle Awardwhich honors exceptional student legislators. Ms. Messers pre-D.C. background also included serving as a bill clerk for the Tennessee General Assembly from January-July 2021. But those experiences barely scratched the surface in preparing her for life on Capitol Hill. Its kind of been a whirlwind because The Hill is a lot more fast-paced than I am used to, Ms. Messer said. Honestly, nothing could really prep me for this job. Its challenging but in a good way. She said the best preparation came from a most unlikely source. I think the biggest thing about going to school during the pandemic was that it taught me how to be flexible; that was my biggest prep, she said. I have had to learn that because sometimes your entire day can change on a dime based on whats happening. With my job, if I get a certain kind of phone call from a constituent or my boss needs me to do something, that can upend my whole day; I have to reorient myself to that specific goal. Since Im in the front of the office, people can walk inand theres always a lot of noise because everyone has a TV on for the news. Its always kind of buzzing. Despite the frenetic pace, probably the weirdest thing on The Hill is that everything is in a rush, she said. People move very fast, but things always start 10 minutes after they say theyre going to start. After six months on Capitol Hill, Ms. Messer has the following advice for college students who aspire to follow her path. Learn how to write well. That is the biggest one, by far, Ms. Messer said. My writing was considered pretty OK by college standards, but writing in a workplace, especially on The Hillwhere its really easy to get bogged down by technocratic detailsyou cant write the same way an academic would. Definitely take as many professional writing classes as possible and get comfortable writing memos. She stressed that learning to understand developments in technology and science is beneficial. Statistics, too. Also, get comfortable with public speaking and learning how to talk to powerful people, she said. The way you carry yourself in public and in your writing can open a lot of doors for you. If you dont know how to speak or how to write, thats going to close doors. Ms. Messer is spending her first extended July 4 weekend in Washington, and the nations capital is an interesting place to be these days for many reasons. For Ms. Messer, its even more interesting because Coopera 32-year veteran of Congresshas announced his retirement, effective January 2023. He announced it before I started the position, but I was just thrilled not only to have a job but to work for him, specifically, Ms. Messer said. I grew up in the Nashville area in Mount Juliet, so I was relatively close to his district, and I was fortunate to get into an office that was close-knit and cared about each other. Im lucky to have a few months notice, but it is something thats kind of there. You just have to be flexible and keep your options open. When members of Congress retire, their staff are displaced. Ms. Messer said people retiring at mid-terms isnt unusual, so shes balancing learning on the job while keenly aware of having to find a different position in a few months. Networking and relationship building are essential components. The responsibility is on me to take that next step, she said. You have to have that mindset of being the one that goes out, networks with people and creates these relationships because its not going to fall into your lap. This is going to be my first big adult challenge, but it was going to come sooner or later. If all goes as planned, Ms. Messer will land another plum role in Washington and take the next steps in her career journey. Ive only been working on The Hill for a few months, and from what Ive heard, it takes several monthsif not a yearto wrap your head around how the institution works, she said. Its one thing to read your textbook about Congress. Its another thing to work here, to understand how things get done, the dos and dontsbut also just figuring out who the leaders of tomorrow are going to be and understanding what your future is going to look like. Jordan Matthews, 34, was killed Wednesday afternoon in a boating accident on Chickamauga Lake. TWRA Officers along with Rhea County Sheriffs Office, Rhea County Emergency Management, and Rhea County Fire responded to a call regarding an unresponsive man who fell from and was run over by a boat on Chickamauga Lake. The incident occurred near the Route 60 bridge, just after 1 p.m. Mr. Matthews, a Hamilton County resident, along with an adult woman and child were boating near the Highway 60 bridge. Mr. Matthews was sitting outside the railing, at the bow of an older pontoon boat, when he fell into the water and was run over by the boat. He sustained several lacerations and was found unconscious. Passing anglers helped pull the man back into the pontoon boat where they tried to revive him through CPR. He was transported to the Rhea Medical Center where he was declared deceased. The victim was not wearing a lifejacket. This is the 17th boating-related fatality in Tennessee this year. Washington Irvin Crandall, a Chattanooga newspaper publisher and printer, was among those who enjoyed a panoramic view from the East Terrace of Cameron Hill. The brick, two-story home with a basement floor had an overlook at the rear. It was built on the downhill side of East Terrace. A native of Frankfort, N.Y., he was named for his father's close friend, the famous author Washington Irving. Crandall came to Chattanooga in 1852 and was a newspaper publisher. From 1857 to 1862 he was connected with the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C. He later went to Green Bay, Wisc., to build and operate a line of steamers. Crandall returned to Chattanooga in 1876 and was the publisher of the Chattanooga Commercial. He also was briefly involved in the operation of the Chattanooga Times before it was turned over to the young publisher Adolph Ochs. Crandall operated Crandall Printing Company for many years. He helped form Crandall-Bradt Printing with a son of Morris Bradt. Crandall was one of the elders at the First Presbyterian Church. The Crandall family was among those hardest hit during the Yellow Fever epidemic in 1878 - not long before the Cameron Hill home was built. His mother, Olivia Kendall Crandall, first died, then the family's German servant Miss Rose Barkley, passed away. The next day Mrs. Crandall died and the publisher was taken so ill that he was expected to be the next victim. However, he rallied and slowly began to recover. At the time the Crandalls were living at the corner of Gilmer (East Eighth) Street and B Street. Delia Spencer Crandall was the second wife of Washington Irving Crandall. His first wife, Julia Berry Spencer, died in 1856 - two years after they were married. By 1881, W.I. Crandall was occupying his home on East Terrace near Gillespie (11th Street). Crandall took a third wife, Bertha Marion Bardshar. Crandall had nine children altogether. He was still living at the East Terrace when he died in 1899. Bertha Crandall stayed on at the large home for many years. She had a studio at the home, where she taught art. Under the tutelage of "Miss Bertha" the neighborhood children learned how to paint china. She died in 1928. Louis H. Cash lived many years in the Crandall house. He and his wife, Polly C. Cash, occupied the entirety of the large home. Later, Cash rented out the basement floor. Reuben Betts, who ran Reuben's Shoe Shop, was the last resident of the Washington Irving Crandall home on the East Terrace. The list of musicians who played Woodstock in 1969 and also had hit songs in the 1990s is a short one. It starts and ends with Carlos Santana. The guitarist behind Black Magic Woman, Samba Pa Ti, and Smooth is enshrined in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, but hes not resting on his laurels. The soon-to-be 75-year-old star continues to tour, but his 2022 concert collapse wasnt Santanas first health issue. Carlos Santana performs at Pine Knob Music Theatre on July 5, 2022 | Scott Legato/Getty Images Carlos Santana collapses during a 2022 concert at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Michigan Santana began 2022 playing several shows in Las Vegas before starting a summer tour with Earth, Wind & Fire. The stop at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, took a scary turn about 20 minutes into Santanas set. Rock Legend Carlos Santana was overtaken by heat exhaustion and dehydration, a statement on his website reads. The guitar great was taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation and is doing well. Variety reports Santana sat down on the drum riser while playing, only to fall backward before being ushered off the stage. Yet he waved to fans as he was treated by medical personnel before being taken to the hospital. Santana canceled the concerts July 6 stop in Burgettstown, Penn., to a later date. The rock legend seems fine, but Santanas concert collapse wasnt his first health scare. RELATED: How Carlos Santana Reacted When Rihanna Sampled 1 of His No. 1 Hits Santana had emergency heart surgery in December 2021 Santana and his band performed a mini-residency at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas starting in August 2021. After hitting the road in September and October, they returned to Mandalay Bay in November, but that concert run ended sooner than expected. Santana needed emergency heart surgery in mid-November, and he received it just in time. As the guitar legend told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, he felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest late one night. Doctors at the hospital found one of his arteries had 94% blockage, and another was 35% blocked. Santana seemingly recovered quickly from his serious medical scare. He told the Review-Journal that his procedure sapped a lot of his energy, but he was back on stage by the end of January 2022. RELATED: Why Carlos Santana Thought His Guitar Was a Snake at Woodstock Santanas foundation assists underserved children with health and other needs Santana survived two health scares with late 2021 heart surgery and 2022 concert collapse. Coincidentally, the International Latin Music Hall of Fame inductees foundations mission is to help under-resourced children around the world, including with health needs. The Milagro Foundation, which Santana founded in 1998, provides grants to local tax-exempt organizations that work with children in the areas of education, health, and the arts, per the foundations website. Milagro is nearing $9 million in donations since its founding, per the website. For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel. RELATED: Why Prince Didnt Think Much of Jimi Hendrix Comparisons Duggar family followers continue to keep up with the latest Josh Duggar news. Duggar will spend 151 months, or 12.5 years in prison, following his sentencing. Now that he completed his transfer to federal prison, he has strict prison rules and a schedule to follow. Heres his schedule. What are Josh Duggars crimes? He now resides in federal prison Josh Duggar | Kris Connor/Getty Images Recent Josh Duggar news surrounds Duggars transfer to federal prison. Duggar is spending the next 12.5 years behind bars at FCI Seagoville. So, what are Josh Duggars crimes? The New York Times notes Duggar downloaded over 600 images and seven videos of child sexual abuse material on his work computer. A police detective in Little Rock, Arkansas, traced an IP address sharing child sexual abuse material, and the IP address led detectives to Duggars workplace. After two days of jury deliberations, Duggar was found guilty of one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Prosecutors requested the maximum sentence of 20 years for Duggar while the defense fought for five years. Ultimately, the judge settled on about 12.5 years, and Duggars defense noted they planned to appeal. Josh Duggar news: The strict rules and schedule he must follow Josh Duggar has arrived at FCI Seagoville outside Dallas to begin serving his 151-month federal prison sentence. Judge Timothy L. Brooks recommended this prison due to its high-end treatment program for sex offenders. My story is here: https://t.co/pYQdIpHbE5 C.C. McCandless (@ccmccandless) June 28, 2022 Josh Duggar wasnt immediately transferred to federal prison after sentencing. As of the end of June 2022, hes officially at FCI Seagoville a low-security prison in Seagoville, Texas. According to TMZ, Duggar has to follow an ultra-strict prison schedule for the next 12.5 years. Duggars day begins with making his bed military-style by 7:30 a.m., TMZ reports. He also needs to complete his daily chores, which include sweeping floors, mopping floors, emptying the trash, and cleaning the walls. Duggar is also expected to keep his cell extremely clean throughout his time at Seagoville. By 9:15 p.m., all of the prisoners must stop any loud talking or activities, which include games of any kind. By 11 p.m., all prisoners must return to their rooms, and all noise must be extinguished by 12 a.m. There are jobs within the prison, and Duggar will likely take one to occupy some of his time and earn income. Jobs include painting, welding, landscape detail, and food service. Additionally, the judge encouraged Duggar to partake in the sex offender program available at Seagoville, according to KNWA Fox24. The program is moderate-intensity that allows inmates to learn basic skills and concepts to help them understand their past offenses and to reduce risk of future offending. It includes group meetings that take place multiple times a week for several hours. Overall, the program takes between nine and 12 months to complete. Audio recordings reveal how Duggars fellow inmates feel about him Josh Duggar was sentenced to 151 months, more than 12 years, in federal prison on one count of receiving child pornography. https://t.co/vroaS4tuqI KENS 5 (@KENS5) June 27, 2022 Additional Josh Duggar news notes his fellow inmates arent excited to see him enter the facility. Radar Online allegedly has six minutes of leaked audio where inmates talk about Duggars arrival. One inmate discusses having to clean the facility. They wanted us to come in and make the place look all clean and sh*t before he got here, one inmate allegedly says. I heard about that dude when I was at my last spot, another allegedly said. So, how authentic is the tape? Radar Online notes the tapes release marks a major security breach and will likely result in a formal investigation. How to get help: If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support. For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel. RELATED: Do Josh Duggar and His Wife, Anna Duggar, Have a Prenup? The release of Jordan Peeles highly anticipated horror flick Nope is just around the corner. And Nope star Keke Palmer has admitted that filming the movie gave her a lot of anxiety but not for the reasons fans might think. Keke Palmer | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK What is Nope about? Keke Palmers role, story details, and other cast members Peele, who made his directorial debut with 2017s Get Out, announced his third feature film back in November 2020. Starring Palmer alongside Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya and The Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun, Nope follows the residents of a lonely gulch in inland California as they bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery, per IMDb. The film is set to arrive in theaters on July 22. Palmer and Kaluuya play Emerald and OJ Haywood, two siblings living and working on their familys ranch. Yeun plays the spiffy cowboy huckster Ricky Jupe Park. The trailer shows these characters saying nope to a mysterious alien ship in the sky that seems to possess the ability to kill earthlings who look at it. OJ and Emerald resolve to profit off of the UFO and capture footage of it. But unsurprisingly, the supernatural entities on the ship dont exactly want to be seen. The teaser also shows Jupe making a sales pitch to an audience that gets distracted by something in the sky, presumably as the impending danger of this mysterious UFO starts to get a little too down to Earth. Why Nope gave Keke Palmer a lot of anxiety In 2021, plot details for Nope were still being kept under tight wraps. This apparently brought Palmer a lot of anxiety, as she was forced to keep details about her character and the plot of the film top secret. Its really stressful, she told guest host Sean Hayes on an August 2021 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Im not the kind of person that really holds a lot of secrets. Im just like very out with it. Its really bringing me a lot of anxiety even just talking about it right now because I know Jordans gonna be watching this. Palmer describes her relationship with Jordan Peele Palmer met Peele for the first time when she was just 17 during an episode of Key & Peele. She played Malia Obamas interpreter for one of the skits. In the same Jimmy Kimmel Live interview, Palmer gushed over the experience. And she praised Peele for really believing in her ability to do comedy. It was so cool because it was the first time where I really thought, Maybe I can have a little fun with some comedy, Palmer said. He really believed in me and was pushing me to improv and stuff. And so then, 10 years later, here we are doing Nope. RELATED: Jordan Peele Explains the Meaning Behind His Movie Nope, The Film is a Ride Hulus Only Murders in the Building Season 2 Episode 3 showcases a day in the life of Bunny Folger her last day alive, to be exact. The episode walks viewers through everything Bunny did on the day of her murder, including a visit to New York Citys The Pickle Diner. This eatery seems to be a hot place for Arconia residents, but can Only Murders fans dine at the restaurant, too? Heres what to know about The Pickle Diner in Only Murders in the Building. Jayne Houdyshell as Bunny Folger in Only Murders in the Building Season 2 | Craig Blankenhorn/Hul The Pickle Diner appeared in episode 3 of Only Murders in the Building Season 2 The newest episode of Only Murders in the Building shows Bunny (Jayne Houdyshell) heading to The Pickle Diner, where she has presumably eaten lunch every day for years. A few decorative pieces stand out at the diner, including several portraits of customers on the wall and several pickle jars. On another wall sits a multi-canvas mural of the New York City skyline. Bunny sits down at her usual booth and strikes up a conversation with her usual waiter. He asks if her friend from yesterday would join her, but she says no and that they werent a friend. Unfortunately, its still a mystery whom Bunny was talking about. Bunny orders her usual meal and looks through a pamphlet for Florida, where shes planning to retire. She spots fellow Arconia resident Oliver (Martin Short) and his son, Will Putnam (Ryan Broussard). They chat about Bunnys retirement for a few minutes before Oliver and Will leave. Then, when Bunnys waiter returns, she hands him an envelope filled with cash. She tells the waiter to use it on DJ equipment and makes him promise that hell never love only one thing because hell have nothing if he ever loses that thing. That marked the end of the scene at The Pickle Diner, but the restaurant will likely come up again in the investigation of Bunnys murder. Is The Pickle Diner in NYC a real restaurant? For a third time in just over a month, the Mansion diner is off limits to customers as it gets the Hollywood treatment for a starring role in the Hulu hit series Only Murders in the Building. #ueshttps://t.co/VFWXbbR0gL Upper East Site (@uppereastsiteny) March 10, 2022 If fans want to visit 1634 York Avenue in New York City, they wont find The Pickle Diner. Instead, theyll see The Mansion Restaurant and Eatery. According to the diners website, The Mansion was founded in 1945 by John Philips. Its founder, John Philips, was a Depression-era immigrant from a small village in Cyprus, the description reads. Shortly after his arrival through Ellis Island, he found his first opportunity to build a new life as a restaurant worker. Just a few years later, John opened his own restaurant near Gracie Mansion, the mayors residence on Manhattans Upper East Side. Hulu transformed The Mansion into The Pickle Diner for Only Murders in the Building. As Upper East Site notes, some of the changes included Pickle Diner logos on the windows, the addition of the New York City canvas painting, and Italian props. Local residents spotted Jayne Houdyshell and Martin Short at the restaurant for filming earlier this year. Philips told Upper East Site that he allowed Hulu to use The Mansion to keep things fresh. Only Murders wasnt the first show to do so; The Mansion was also featured on Gossip Girl and other projects. Other Only Murders in the Building filming locations in New York Only Murders in the Building The show takes place in a fictionally-named apartment building called The Arconia but you might notice that the interior courtyard featured in the show belongs to the Belnord at 225 West 86th Street along Broadway. @MuseumofCityNY pic.twitter.com/TJDJGLeN4C New-York Historical Society (@NYHistory) June 29, 2022 The Mansion or The Pickle Diner isnt the only New York City structure to star in Only Murders in the Building. The Arconia apartment building is actually The Belnord, a historic residential building on 86th street. Other filming locations include the Supreme Court of New York State, The Dakota, and The Lincoln Center. Only Murders in the Building Season 2 is now streaming on Hulu. New episodes drop every Tuesday. RELATED: Only Murders in the Building Season 2: What Happened to Oscar? Sister Wives star Janelle Brown revealed that she spent Independence Day away from her husband, Kody Brown. She celebrated the National holiday with two of her children and grandchildren in North Carolina. This isnt the first holiday shes spent away from her husband and her other sister wives. Kody Brown and Janelle Brown, Sister Wives | TLC Janelle Brown spends the Fourth of July in North Carolina The Sister Wives star, Janelle, spent the Fourth of July with her 26-year-old daughter, Madison Maddie Brush, her husband Caleb Brush, and their two children, Axel and Evangalynn. Janelle was also joined in North Carolina by her 17-year-old daughter, Savanah Brown. On July 4, Janelle posted a photo on her Instagram, showing how she spent the holiday away from Kody. A picture shows herself and her family on the steps of a historical museum, Tryon Palace, in New Bern, NC. She captioned the post, Happy Independence Day! Check out the Instagram pic below: Earlier in the week, Janelle posted a photo of her 5-year-old grandson, Axel, mesmerized by a sparkler. She captioned the post, The joy of sparklers. Axel had so much fun last night. When the sparklers were done we watched the fireflies in Maddies yard put on their own show. Check out the Instagram post below: How were the other Sister Wives celebrating Independence Day? Janelles sister wife, Meri Brown, spent the Fourth of July weekend at an adventure retreat with a big group of friends. She wrote on her Instagram, Last weekend I took a few days to get together with some of the best humans, living and celebrating this amazing life reuniting with old friends, making new friends, building relationships, going on adventures, having late night conversations about business, relationships, and life. Check out the image below: After Christines separation from Kody, shes been living in Murray, Utah, with her 12-year-old daughter, Truely Brown. Since Kody and his fourth wife, Robyn started living together full time since the height of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they likely spent the holiday together. This wouldnt be the first time Robyn and Kody acted monogamously. Janelle lives and works in Flagstaff, Arizona While Janelle often travels between North Carolina and Arizona to be with her children, she lives and works in Flagstaff, Arizona. In September 2021, the Sister Wives star launched a retail trade company in Flagstaff called NTYK, LLC. In March 2022, Janelle began renting a property in the Riordan Mill Center in Flagstaff for her new retail business. This could be used for her health brand Strive with Janelle. The last thing Sister Wives fans heard was that she lives in an RV on the Brown familys property in Flagstaff on Coyote Pass. Janelle, Kody, and her sister wives will be returning to Sister Wives Season 17, which was rumored to be filming this year. Hopefully, this season will reveal more of Janelle and Kodys marriage in the upcoming season. RELATED: Sister Wives: Christine Brown Recounts the Moment Mykelti and Tony Told Her Theyre Having Twins I Almost Lost My Mind TL;DR: The Beatles included Get Back on the album Let It Be. The Beatles producer said making Let It Be was awful. The original version of Get Back criticized a historical figure. The Beatles John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison | Bettmann / Contributor The Beatles Get Back doesnt contain any social commentary. Despite this, the original version of the song criticized racism in the contemporary United Kingdom. Paul McCartney revealed why he changed the lyrics of the song. The Beatles producer George Martin hated making the album Let It Be because John Lennon was being a perfectionist According to the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, producer George Martin discussed what John Lennon wanted from The Beatles album Let It Be. John said there was to be no echoes, no overdubs, and none of my jiggery-pokery, Martin said. It was to be an honest album in that if they didnt get a song right the first time they would record it again and again until they did. Martin didnt like making Let It Be. It was awful, we did take after take after take, he recalled. And John would be asking if Take 67 was better than Take 39. RELATED: Paul McCartney Didnt Realize 1 Beatles Song Couldve Been About John Lennons Mother Until Way After the Fact The Beatles worried listeners would misconstrue a line from Get Back One of the songs from Let It Be that was drastically changed was Get Back. According to Salon, the song was initially a critique of Enoch Powell. Powell was a racist politician from the U.K. who promoted hatred of immigrants. The original version of Get Back included the lyric Dont dig no Pakistani taking all the peoples jobs! The line was supposed to parody racism. Despite this, The Beatles removed the lyric because they worried listeners could misconstrue it. Paul later discussed his views on the original Get Back. The words were not racist at all, he said. They were anti-racist. If there was any group that was not racist it was The Beatles. RELATED: The Beatles: John Lennon and Paul McCartney Used These 2 Words in Their Song Titles and Lyrics to Connect to Fans Get Back and Let It Be became hits on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom Get Back became a huge hit in the United States. The track topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks, staying on the chart for 12 weeks in total. Get Back appeared on The Beatles album Let It Be. The album topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks, remaining on the chart for 79 weeks altogether. The Official Charts Company reports Get Back topped the chart in the U.K. for two weeks in 1969. It lasted on the chart for 13 weeks. Subsequently, the song reached No. 28 in 1976 and No. 74 in 1989. Meanwhile, Let It Be reached No. 1 for three weeks and lasted on the chart for 53 weeks altogether. Get Back became a huge hit even if its very different from Pauls original vision. RELATED: Gene Simmons Reacts to Rolling Stone Ranking This Kiss Album Above The Beatles Let It Be [Exclusive] At the Swiss Light Source SLS at PSI, researchers have successfully shown that enantiomers can be distinguished from one another using helical X-ray light. Enantiomers are molecules that are mirror images of each other. Separating such molecules is relevant in biochemistry and toxicology, as well as in drug development. Using a new method, scientists are better able to distinguish between mirror-image substances. This is important amongst others in drug development, because the two variants can cause completely different effects in the human body. Researchers from Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, EPF Lausanne (EPFL), and the University of Geneva describe the new method in the scientific journal Nature Photonics. Some molecules exist in two forms that are structurally identical but are mirror images of each other like our right and left hands. These are referred to as chiral molecules. Their two mirror-image forms are called enantiomers. Chirality is especially relevant in biological molecules, since it can cause different effects in the body. Thus it is essential in biochemistry and toxicology, as well as in drug development, to separate enantiomers from each other so that, for example, only the desired variant gets into a drug. Now researchers from PSI, EPFL, and the University of Geneva have jointly developed a new method that enables enantiomers to be better distinguished, and thus better separated, from each other: helical dichroism in the X-ray domain. The currently established method for distinguishing between enantiomers is called circular dichroism (CD). In this approach, light with a particular property what is known as circular polarisation is sent through the sample. This light is absorbed to a different extent by the enantiomers. CD is widely used in analytical chemistry, in biochemical research, and in the pharmaceutical and food industries. In CD, however, the signals are very weak: The light absorption of two enantiomers differs by just under 0.1 percent. There are various strategies for amplifying the signals, yet these are only suitable if the sample is available in the gas phase. Most studies in chemistry and biochemistry, however, are carried out in liquid solutions, mainly in water. In contrast, the new method exploits so-called helical dichroism, or HD for short. The effect underlying this phenomenon is found in the shape of the light rather than its polarisation: The wavefront is curved into a helical shape. At the Swiss Light Source SLS at PSI, the researchers were able for the first time to show successfully that enantiomers could also be distinguished from each other using helical X-ray light. At the cSAXS beamline of SLS, they demonstrated this on a sample of the chiral metal complex iron-tris-bipyridine in powdered form, which the University of Geneva researchers had made available. The signal they obtained was several orders of magnitude stronger than what can be achieved with CD. HD can also be used in liquid solutions and thus fulfils an ideal prerequisite for applications in chemical analysis. It was crucial for this experiment to create X-ray light with precisely the right properties. The researchers were able to accomplish this with so-called spiral zone plates, a special kind of diffractive X-ray lenses through which they sent the light before it hit the sample. With the spiral zone plates we were able, in a very elegant way, to give our X-ray light the desired shape and thus an orbital angular momentum. The beams we create in this way are also referred to as optical vortices, says PSI researcher Benedikt Rosner, who designed and fabricated the spiral zone plates for this experiment. Jeremy Rouxel, an EPFL researcher and the first author of the new study, explains further: Helical dichroism provides a completely new kind of light-matter interaction. We can exploit it perfectly to distinguish between enantiomers. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close After the retirement of its founder James Meeks, fellow South Side pastor Charlie Dates will become senior pastor of one of Chicagos biggest megachurches, Salem Baptist Church, returning to the ministry that shaped him as a kid and succeeding one of his greatest mentors in the faith. Meeks has led the African American congregation, now at nearly 10,000 members, since its founding in 1985. He announced in June that he will give his last sermon on January 8, 2023. Speaking with CT, Dates drew parallels to Paul and Timothy, referencing Pauls instructions to the younger leader based on what he had witnessed firsthand in ministry. This isnt something that I read or something that I watched; this is a ministry that I participated in and had a front row seat to as a kid, said Dates, who grew up at Salem and attended its former school, Salem Christian Academy. In addition, the 41-year-old also served under Meeks as primary preaching assistant, pastor of adult ministries, and director of church operations at Salem Baptist before becoming senior pastor at Progressive Baptist Church in 2011. Theres something about the formation of my mind and my theological heart that is directly shaped by and impacted by watching all of that, and working in all of that, as I came of age, he said. Its kind of like a kid learning a language; when youre immersed in the language, no one has to tell you what words mean and what signals mean. To start, Dates will keep his current post as senior pastor at Progressive Baptist Church, a 15-minute drive from the House of Hope arena where Salem Baptist meets. The two churches will remain separate, and he plans on preaching two sermons each Sunday. CT interviewed him about the history of the two congregations and his call to lead Salem Baptist. What specifically attracted you about this role at Salem Baptist? Part of what Im learning and discerning about Gods direction for ones life is to pay close attention to the bend of ones spiritual biography. How has God moved and worked in ones life? So for me, what attracted me was God. It seems to me that God has been up to this, directing this well before I could tell. Could you describe your relationship with Meeks? How has he influenced you? I think part of this is connected to what attracted me to Salem Baptist. It is the work of that church, but its also Reverend Meeks, the pastor of that church. We haveI thinka very Paul and Timothy kind of relationship. I want to be clear though, Im not saying Im the only Timothy he has, in the same way that Paul had others. Neither am I saying that hes the only significant influence in my life. But I do sense and feel that a lot of the progress that Ive been able to make in the pastorate is connected in some way to his tutelage, his leadership, and his spiritual fathering, so to speak. My relationship with him is dynamic. Its humorous, its rewarding, and its worth more than the price of gold or platinum. What I benefit from is far greater than just a tip from him here or there; its more of a model of a life lived. What lessons or advice has he already passed along about leading Salem Baptist? That Salem is a loving church ready to work. When I came to Progressive, it took me a while to actually get my feet under me because of some of the history and nature of the church, and it required a lot of patience and long-suffering initially. I think the distinction is that I can serve Salem well by loving her through the preaching ministry and pastoral care, and she will follow. Shes ready to work. Thats not always the case when you assume a pastorate. How do Salem Baptist and Progressive Baptist compare, and what makes you a fit for both congregations at this moment? I would rather not compare them, only because I wouldnt want to say the wrong thing and have someone read it and judge my intent. What I will say is that Progressive and Salem demonstrate the spectrum of Black churches in Chicago. On one hand, Progressive is what I would call progressively traditional, and Salem is traditionally progressive. Progressive is a church of five generations. Progressive was once, decades ago, the kind of leading force of churches on the South Side. Around the country, people run into me and tell me, Oh I got baptized at that church, or Oh, I remember Sunday school at that church. Its legend and its lore is huge. Butand this is no secretfor years it stayed in the vein of its history. It took a while for it to reimagine and revitalize and become relevant again. But the bones are good. Salem has not lost its relevance, Salem has not lost its edge, while maintaining a very high view of Scripture and its very Christo-centric approach to ministry. Its evangelism, its benevolence, its disciple-making have all been very Christo-centric and rooted in the Scriptures. Its been anchored in the community. Progressive got insulated at one point. Its no longer that waywe are very much in the community nowbut thats the way it was. After 11 years at Progressive and watching more than 1,000 people join that church in that time, its fair to say that I carry the DNA of both churches. Its fair to say that I understand the dynamics of congregational leadership and development in both churches. Im not saying that Im perfect, forever, for both churches. Im just saying that at the juncture were in and being a son of the soil of Chicago and a son of Salem, and now having pastored Progressive, I just think I have a unique understanding and relational dynamic with both churches. How do you use that significance, and history of these two churches in the city, to drive the future? Every church that lives in the past is already anchoring itself in the graveyard of history. I think history, much like the end of Romans, is meant to teach us what God can do. To correct us from repeating errors and to inspire and to encourage us to pursue Gods great promise. If I can help these churches recognize Gods hand in their past as a kind of indication of God, of what God wants to do in the future, then I think I can hand it off to the next generation in good fashion. If, however, I fail to get the churches to see that our history serves our present and inspires our future, then Im in trouble. On one hand, the legacy has to continue. Weve got to be able to have our 12 stones from our Chicago Jordan River, with a keen eye on the hills and mountains of Jericho and the other cities in Canaan. What challenges do you anticipate with the dynamic of pastoring two congregations? And how have you begun planning to deal with those challenges? I dont know if Id recommend this to anybody. I need to say that this is not an ambition of mine. Neither is it a premeditated desire of mine. As I prayed through it, Reverend Meeks and I wrestled with it, and he graciously affirmed my sense of discernment. As I prayed about it, I got no inkling that it was time, just yet, to walk away from Progressive. Its important to highlight that this is not conventional. And I recognize that. What I do sense is that theres still work to be done and vision to accomplish at Progressive at the same time that I begin my assignment at Salem. The first challenge is getting the churches to sense that where God gives a vision, theres always provision. That somehow God grants the capacity and that God grants the resources and support. But it would be foolish to assume its humanly possible to do this in and of myself. I plan to lead through leaders. One of the benefits at Progressive is that the operations of the church and systems and structures of the church, the day-to-day operations, are free to move independent of me. I am more of a vision-casting, preaching, pastoral care pastor. Im not in the weeds at Progressive. I have to lead through my leaders. My approach at Salem will be similar once I have learned again the way of the land. Theres just no way you can pastor a church that big being involved in all of the details, right? The other thing is, in terms of preaching, I plan on preaching two services on Sunday morning: one at Progressive and one at Salem. Are there things at Progressive you will have to step away from? How will your role there look different? Two things. No. 1 is my itinerant ministry will take a reduction, and I will be present locally a lot more, which Im looking forward to. Another thing is I dont think this dual assignment is in perpetuity. Weve already started the conversation that, at some point, the goal is to raise up leaders to do more work. Im working to discern Gods direction as it relates to timing of when to conclude. Progressive has asked me, when the time comes, to help them to find their next pastor. With teary eyes, I just told them I hope that they accept my recommendation when that time comes. You talked a bit about both churches significance to Chicago. How are you hoping to continue to cultivate that with both congregations? Chicago needs the Black church to be her best and brightest self. Its more than just Progressive and Salem. Chicago has rich Black churches throughout the South and West sides, in particular. I think these churches, with the history, the power, and relevance they have, can help shape a pipeline and platform for developing young people, young leaders, teachers, preachers, music ministry leaders, and nonprofit developers that Chicago needs these churches to develop across platforms. These churches are a gift. You know, at one point, Progressive had the strongest and largest Christian discipleship ministry in the city. And the same for Salem, which might still have it. These have been disciple-making churches with an emphasis on Christian education. Both of them have produced some stalwart Christian leaders and teachers. That history is enormous. Progressives buildings were built without a dime of debt at a time where Black people could not get a loan from a bank. The pastor of Progressive at the time, his name was Reverend T. Brown, he was such a dynamic leader in the city that he was able to tell [former Chicago mayor] Richard J. Daley, No. And live to tell about it. They both, in that regard, have a history of absolutely incredible pastors. Pastoral leadership is a storied pillar in both of these churches. What other things do you want to highlight to your current and future congregations and the readers of CT? Its a sensitive time for both congregations, and I want to convey as they read this my love for both of them. I recognize this moment is big, and its watershed, but it is not about me. I am on assignment to lead the church forward in Chicago. I want to say it is an honor to even be considered, let alone asked, to succeed the Reverend James T. Meeks. I also want to suggest that Chicago, and America, needs churches that are developing and reproducing young pastors, that we become more intentional about it. And thats part of the beauty I think of this story. I dont come out of thin air to either church; you can trace my lineage. The beauty of this narrative is that the Lord, in his kindness and his grace, has taken pastors and churches to develop me. If we could look at the current moment and seize the opportunity to develop young people that God has laid his hand upon, then I think the best days of the church, in this critical culture, are in front of us. Were living in a time where so many young people are walking away from the church and where church attendance numbers are in the dumps. Our seminaries, many of them are in decline. And while we are kind of watching this great falling away, we dont have to merely watch it. But we can actually press into the current culture and lead our young people and train them to lead a revolution for the kingdom and the glory of God. Florida's 15-week abortion ban reinstated despite injunction A Florida law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks into a pregnancy will be allowed to take effect even after a judge blocked the measure Tuesday. Although Leon County Circuit Court Judge John C. Cooper issued an order temporarily blocking the law over state constitutional concerns, the state government's appeal triggers an automatic stay of the order under state law. The 15-week ban, known as House Bill 5, was signed into law earlier this year and is being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Florida, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the law firm Jenner & Block. In a joint statement released Tuesday, the pro-choice groups denounced the ban, arguing that it will "continue to harm pregnant people until it is blocked." "Since last Friday, women and other people who can become pregnant have been forced into a second-class status by HB 5, which denies them the right to make decisions about their bodies, their health care, and their futures," the organizations stated. "Everyone deserves the ability to access the abortion care they need, and we'll continue fighting for that right with every tool at our disposal." In April, before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 5 into law. The measure took effect on July 1. Also called the Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality Act, the new law banned abortions performed after 15 weeks, except for life-threatening medical emergencies or severe fetal deformities. At the bill signing ceremony in Kissimmee, DeSantis said he believes the law will significantly increase protections for unborn human life in the Sunshine State. "House Bill 5 protects babies in the womb who have beating hearts, who can move, who can taste, who can see, and who can feel pain," he said. "Life is a sacred gift worthy of our protection, and I am proud to sign this great piece of legislation which represents the most significant protections for life in the state's modern history." Cooper ruled that the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe has no impact on the lawsuit in state court because Florida law explicitly includes a right to privacy. "The right to privacy under the Florida Constitution is 'much broader in scope' than any privacy right under the United States Constitution," Cooper wrote. Florida is one of several states that has enacted restrictions on abortion access after the Supreme Court ruled last month in a 6-3 decision that abortion is not a constitutional right. The ruling effectively overturned the legal precedent set in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade which found that the 14th Amendment's right to liberty protected the right to privacy and a right to abortion nationwide. In the decision handed in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Roberts court ruled that the Constitution doesn't confer a right to abortion and reinstituted the ability of states to decide whether to ban the abortion procedure. The Dobbs case centered on Mississippi's Gestational Age Act, a state law passed in 2018 that also banned most abortions after 15 weeks into a pregnancy. Mississippi's lone abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, recently announced that it will close this week after a state judge refused to block Mississippi's trigger law that institutes a near-total ban on abortion. The trigger law was passed in 2007 and takes effect 10 days after the attorney general verified that the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Attorney General Lynn Fitch certified the law on June 27. The law makes it a felony to perform or attempt to perform an abortion and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Chancery Judge Debbra K. Halford denied JWHO's request for a stay on the ban, prompting the clinic to say it would shutter at the close of business on Wednesday. 77 Christians rescued from Nigerian church basement waiting months for Jesus Christs return Police in Nigeria rescued at least 77 people, including 23 children, who pastors had asked to stay in a church basement and wait for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Pastors of the Whole Bible Believer Church in Valentino Area of Ondo town in the south-western state of Ondo had encouraged church members "to stay behind" and wait for the rapture or to be taken to Heaven at the Second Coming of Christ, a spokeswoman of Ondo State Police told media. Some people had been kept in the church since last year, residents told The Associated Press. Police learned about the incident after parents of some children filed nuisance complaints. One woman said the church had possibly kidnaped her daughters as she was not allowed to register for her exams. "Preliminary investigation revealed that one Pastor Josiah Peter Asumosa, an assistant pastor in the church, was the one who told the members that Rapture will take place in April, but later said it has been changed to September 2022 and told the young members to obey only their parents in the Lord," BBC quoted police press officer Funmilayo Odunlami as saying. Police have arrested the church's pastor, David Anifowoshe, along with his deputy, BBC reported. The victims were handed over to the care of the authorities. Odunlami said the pastors had denied the allegations of kidnapping, according to Voice of America News. "The pastors still claim that they were having a seven-day program," Odunlami said. "The one who claimed that Jesus was to come by September said it was what God told him. But, we want to ask more questions from the parents that are around. We want to, first of all, get this information clear from the parents." Odunlami said the state's Criminal Investigation Department has taken over the case and will update the public. The incident comes at a time when Christians in Ondo state are still recovering from a June 5 attack at the end of Mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo. The Christians were shocked by the attack as such violence is not common in that state. A visiting speaker from western Nigeria's Oyo state, Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, said at a June 17 funeral service that "over 40 of our departed people" were killed, Morning Star News reports. ABC News cited an unnamed source as saying there were 82 bodies from the attack taken to a local morgue. Three undetonated improvised explosive devices and fragments of a detonated device were reportedly recovered from the scene. As many as 4,650 Christians were killed in Nigeria during Open Doors USA's 2021 reporting period, up from 3,530 the previous year. More than 2,500 Christians were kidnapped in Nigeria, up from 990 the previous year, according to Open Doors, which monitors persecution in over 60 countries. Nigeria ranks as the seventh worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution on the Open Doors 2022 World Watch List, its highest ranking ever. Veteran-owned business announces it will cover employees' parental leave, adoption costs After corporations across the nation announced they would cover employees' travel expenses to get abortions in other states following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, a veteran-owned business in Texas has responded by offering to pay for employees parental leave and adoption costs. The U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case involving Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, stated that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, leaving individual states to determine its legality. In response, over 60 major companies stated their intentions to reimburse employees traveling for an abortion if they live in states that ban the practice, according to a list compiled by Reuters. Instead of covering employees abortion-related travel expenses, Buffer Insurance announced in a June 27 post on its Facebook page that the company would provide benefits for employees who are giving birth to or adopting a baby. The company plans to cover the medical costs of childbirth or adoption and offer paid maternity or paternity leave. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, we took the opposite stance that these big corporations are making, and theyre making it easier for people to abort their babies. We want to make it easy for employees to grow their families, Buffer Insurance President Sean Turner told The Christian Post in an interview. And then if employees want to grow their families through adoption, we want to pay towards those expenses as well, he added. Turner added that Buffer Insurance is working with any and all employers to help them implement the same benefits and offer them to their employees. We realize that a lot of large corporations have some of these policies in place. But specifically, we're a small and young company, so we really want to activate the majority of people who work for other small, midsize organizations, he said. So those are the ones that we think are going to have the most impact by implementing these types of policies of generosity in their own business. One of the ready-to-use policies Buffer Insurance promotes to other employers includes a lactation policy. Turner explained that this policy offers lactating mothers time to pump breast milk for their babies while theyre at work. In addition, Turner said that Buffer Insurance is working with employers to help them maximize the benefits and minimize the taxes associated with providing employees with bonuses. He explained that the idea is to offer employees resources and avoid a lot of waste. Let's say, for example, an employer is saying, I want to give $5,000 to an employee's birth. If they were just adding that to their employees' check as a bonus, there are taxes that employers pay as well as the employee, Turner said. So maybe by the time they receive that, it's only $4,200 or $3,200. So there are ways that we talk about in these resources to avoid those taxes, and it still is a 100% tax-deductible item for the employer. We really encourage business owners and business leaders in different communities to implement something like this that includes a lot of generosity towards their employees, he concluded. Earlier this month, The Walt Disney Co. promised in an internal memo obtained by CNBC that it would pay for employees to travel out of state for abortions. In addition to "family planning (including pregnancy-related decisions)," the coverage extends to non-pregnancy situations, including cancer treatments, transplants and rare disease treatment. "Our company remains committed to removing barriers and providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care for all of our employees, cast members and their families, including family planning and reproductive care, no matter where they live," the memo reads. Dozens of other companies, including DICKS Sporting Goods, Goldman Sachs, Apple and Nike have also announced plans to reimburse employees traveling out of state for abortions. Tony Evans: Racial division stems from 'failure of the pulpit;' Church must 'lead the way' as solution Tony Evans, the senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Church, said that because the Church instigated the problem of racism in the United States, its up to the Body of Christ to serve as the solution. During a segment titled Jesus the Center of Racial Reconciliation: Adopting a Kingdom Race Mindset during the morning session of the second day of the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention's Annual Meeting in June, Evans cited 2 Chronicles 15:2 to explain the unrest seen across the nation. When it comes to our racial divide, it was the failure of the pulpit and the failure of the Church which has put us in this ignominious situation today, Evans said. And we are told in 2 Chronicles that only when they came together in unity did God bring them rest, verse 15 says, to the distress that was in the land. The political, the social, the racial, the class distress that we are facing, that has helped to be caused by the Church, can only be properly dissolved by the Church, Evans said. If God cant get the Church right, the culture can never become right. Evans stressed that Satan has been successful in illegitimately dividing the Church so that the power of God is absent. So now is the time for us to come to the forefront with a plan to let the nation sees something different, he emphasized. In recent years, the SBC has faced criticism for how some leaders in the denomination have responded to racism, the debate over critical race theory and instances of sexual abuse in churches. During last years Annual Meeting, then-SBC President Ed Litton promised shortly after his election that he would build bridges, not walls during his tenure. This year, Litton, along with former SBC President Fred Luter, announced an initiative called The Unify Project to build racial unity nationwide in tandem with local churches. The project will be conducted alongside The Urban Alternative, a Christian Bible teaching and resource ministry founded 41 years ago by Evans and his late wife, Lois. Southern Baptist Convention, what we hope to do is to start a grassroots movement, a local church initiative in your communities to cross barriers of race, different denominations and groups, to begin to meet with people who are like-minded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to offer a Kingdom solution for the divisions that exist in our land, Litton said. The Church should be on the front line of bringing hope and healing to our communities for the glory of God, he added. Evans said that The Unify Project will be based on the acronym AAA: One day a year, the community of biblically minded, Kingdom-minded churches will assemble for an annual, one-day fast and prayer session to invite God into the well-being of the community; pastors and church leaders will address the issues facing their communities and present Gods perspective on identity, race, life, marriage and other issues, and finally, perform acts of kindness in their communities. A good work in Scripture is something that God is always visibly attached to a good work is something done for the benefit of the people to which God gets the credit, Evans said. The Unify Project is an extension of The Pledge Group, which Litton helped found alongside church leaders in Mobile, Alabama, after the death of George Floyd. As part of the initiative, which will launch in the fall, churchgoers will be given kindness cards encouraging them to do at least one act of kindness weekly toward a stranger. Along with the act of kindness, prayer and evangelism are also encouraged. When you do the act of kindness, then you pray for them because most people will accept prayer when you've been kind to them, the pastor said. After you've prayed for them, then you seek an opportunity to share the Gospel with them. Evans stressed that once the Body of Christ carries out good works, they will no longer be ignored, adding: Right now we are being ignored because we're not taken seriously and God is not helping us because of our disunity. If Christ doesn't come soon, we better get going in a hurry because this is falling apart fast," he concluded. "God is not waiting on the culture. He's waiting on the Church. It's time for those who helped mess it up to lead the way in fixing it up. In a recent interview with The Christian Post, Evans encouraged Christians to act as bridge builders and foster relationships with those across the racial and cultural lines without compromising the essentials of the faith. From God's throne comes righteousness and justice. Righteousness is the standard of right and wrong that is established by God. Justice is the equitable application of God's moral law applied in society. So one is vertical obedience, and the other is a horizontal relationship. And whenever you have the vertical and horizontal you can have the cross. Evans contended. The way you know you're being serious about the conflicts in the culture is that you are visibly and verbally involved in reconciling things that have been historically divided. If all we're doing is discussion, discussing our division and not creating the windshield of reconciliation, because we're living in the rearview mirror of our past history, we will not be moving where God is moving. And if we're not moving where God is moving, we're moving by ourselves. Chick-fil-A named America's most popular restaurant for 8th straight year Christian-owned chicken chain keeps 'stranglehold on the fast food industry', study finds When it comes to Chick-fil-A, setting the industry standard is fast becoming a time-honored tradition. For the eighth consecutive year, Chick-fil-A has been named Americas favorite restaurant, fast food or otherwise, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Restaurant Study 2021-2022. The study which described Chick-fil-As perpetually high ranking as a stranglehold on the fast-food industry" measured customer satisfaction among more than 20,000 randomly selected customers between April 2021 and March 2022. On a scale of 0 to 100, Chick-fil-A led all restaurants with an unchanged ACSI score of 83. By comparison, McDonalds dropped 3% and held onto its last-place ranking with a score of 68. Several other smaller fast-food restaurants tied Jimmy Johns for second place with a 79, followed by Dominos (down 3%) and KFC (down 1%) at 78 apiece. Chipotle, Panera Bread (down 1%), Pizza Hut and Starbucks scored a 77, while Arbys, Five Guys and Papa Johns dipped to 76. Meeting somewhere in the middle of the pack were Burger King, Little Caesars and Panda Express at 75; Dairy Queen, Dunkin and Sonic at 74, and Wendys close behind at 73. The worst four-performing restaurants were Jack in the Box and Taco Bell at 72, while Popeyes tumbled 3% to 71, leaving only McDonalds at the bottom of the list. In addition to fast food, Chick-fil-A also beat out the highest-ranked sit-down restaurants: Longhorn Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, Cracker Barrel and TGI Fridays. Following the pandemic, most restaurants were forced to rely more on touchless technology to stay in business, including improving their mobile app quality, which not all were able to do, according to Forrest Morgeson, Director of Research Emeritus at ACSI. With fewer resources, smaller chains and independent restaurants are offering apps that arent making the grade per customers, said Morgeson. In contrast, positive shifts in both mobile app quality and reliability for several larger chains appear to reflect major app updates for these bigger industry players. Owned by a devout Baptist family and with a policy of being closed on Sundays, Chick-fil-A has garnered controversy for its leaderships religious opposition to same-sex marriage and ties to conservative Christian groups. There have been several instances of local governments or college campuses opting to ban the chicken sandwich chain over their conservative views. Chick-fil-A has itself often been criticized after its president, Dan Cathy, voiced his opposition to gay marriage in 2012. The company also had to publicly declare in 2019 that it remains committed to Christian values" after the fast-food chains charity arm decided to no longer donate to three organizations criticized for upholding traditional Christian beliefs on sexuality. Trudy Cathy White, the daughter of Chick-fil-A's founder S. Truett Cathy and his wife, Jeannette, previously told The Christian Post that the family sees themselves as in the "people business," not just the "chicken business." "We do appreciate the fact that we feel like God is blessing our business," she told CP. "I don't know that there's really a secret to it. My dad built this business based on biblical principles. He felt like his business decisions kind of go hand in hand with biblical principles. That's no secret. There's a lot of things that we are taught in God's Word and we've been able to put it into practice in our business." "Above everything, I think at Chick-fil-A we've gotten real clarity of our purpose of why we're in business," she added. "That's been really important to us. Back in the early '80s, we recognized the fact that we didn't have a real clear direction as to why we were in business. But we know today that we're in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that's been trusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A. We love selling chicken but we're really more in the people business." Exorcism versus deliverance: What's the difference? Both the Bible and everyday experience show believers that evil is very real. But when it comes to Christians and demons, there are often theological and denominational differences on the subject, especially when it comes to ministry. Mike Signorelli, the pastor of V1 Church in New York City, says the first thing to remember is that deliverance from demons is very different from the Catholic practice of exorcism. In an appearance on the Playing With Fire podcast with Billy Hallowell, Signorelli said exorcisms are primarily done by Catholic priests in rituals that are widely considered by most Protestants to be extra-biblical. Oftentimes, these rituals will include the use of crucifixes, holy water" and mostly chanting done in Latin, he said. Signorelli reminded believers of the biblical warning that Satan often comes as an angel of light. I would really warn anyone listening against seeking out an exorcism from a priest because that intermingling that happens between those rituals and the usage of all these objects end up actually creating a worse condition than you come in," he said. Ive had to do many deliverances after somebody has received an exorcism from a Catholic priest, he added. So what does that deliverance look like? Signorelli who considers himself a student of deliverance ministries such as those of Derek Prince and John Eckhart said while its not quite like the movies, there are a few common signs. He referred to the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus went into the synagogue in Capernaum and began to teach. There, He commanded an impure spirit to come out of a man. As it was in the first century, Signorelli said there will often be an outward manifestation or physical evidence of a demon being agitated before leaving a persons body. He said theres often, though not always, physical healing that accompanies a deliverance. He pointed to the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus healed a woman who had been crippled for 18 years by a spirit. The ESV translates the phrase as a disabling spirit, while the NIV describes the woman as crippled by a spirit meaning, according to Signorelli, there are people with physical and biological conditions that are rooted in a spirit of infirmity. Pointing to scientific findings that show stress sends cortisol levels up and trauma results in cardiovascular problems, Signorelli said those are consistent with what Ephesians 6 describes as other realms affecting our physical realm. Although I dont have a complete and total understanding of all this, you are seeing the effect of these realms interacting, he said. Signorelli added that while he has a lot of empathy and compassion for those who think it might be theologically inaccurate or disrespectful to say a Christian can have a demon, he explained that not everybody who claims to be Christian actually is one. Lets apply wisdom first and foremost, he said. Wisdom says it is possible to go to church every Sunday and think youre going to Heaven because you go to church. He said the assumption that attending church makes someone a Christian is like thinking that if one stands in a garage, they become a car. Signorelli said he's done outreaches in Central Park attended by over 200 people, and there, he'd share the Gospel accompanied with deliverance." Just as it was during the Billy Graham era of stadium crusades, he said, society is still living in an era of signs and wonders that often accompany the greatest miracle. I cant tell you how many times somebody has been delivered first, then received the Gospel second, he said. Sometimes the miracle happens first and then the greatest miracle, which is salvation, happens second. Earlier this year, Signorelli made a YouTube video that went viral for warning parents of the demonic content in Disney Pixars Turning Red. The pastors video condemned the spiritual practices of ancestral worship and what he said looked like satanic rituals in Turning Red. Beyond the spiritual aspect of the animations, Signorelli pegged the themes in the film as a secular humanistic worldview that says there is no wrong or right anymore. I believe that every parent not just a pastor, but a parent has a mandate to actually screen material because every single device you have in your home is a portal, either a window into the things of God or, unfortunately, things that I believe are demonic, Signorelli said in an interview with CBN News. Jewish couple's discrimination lawsuit dismissed after rejection from Christian foster home A Tennessee court has rejected a lawsuit by a Jewish couple suing the state government after being told that they couldn't undergo foster parent training through a publicly-supported Christian charity due to religious differences. In a decision released June 27, a three-judge panel of the Chancery Court in Davidson County ruled 2-1 to grant a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram against the Tennessee Department of Children's Services and DCS Commissioner Jenifer Nichols. The court rejected claims of discrimination. The Rutan-Rams argued in a January lawsuit that they were denied access to foster training programs through the state-supported Holston United Methodist Home for Children because they were not Christian. The organization only offers foster training programs to couples who uphold Christian beliefs. The majority concluded that the couple's legal claims were moot, as they were able to complete the programs and receive certification through DCS months after being rejected by Holston. "Because the Couple has received the very services they claim they were previously denied, the Panel Majority adopts the Defendants' analysis and concludes that any issue related to denial of services is not capable of the prospective relief the Plaintiffs seek and is now moot," read the panel majority opinion. The majority ruled that the couple's complaint about the Holston Home for Children was inapplicable because they originally planned to foster a child in Florida, while Holston only handles in-state arrangements. "The contract the Department has with Holston provides funds only for services for children' in the custody of the State of Tennessee.' Thus the services the Couple sought from Holston are not funded by the Department and therefore lack a causal connection to the alleged injury," continued the majority. The panel majority also ruled that "the Plaintiffs have not shown that the Defendants would not contract with a Jewish agency similarly situated to Holston; therefore the Act does not single out people of the Jewish faith as a disfavored, innately inferior group." Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle offered a partial dissent to the panel opinion's claim that the couple lacked "constitutional standing." "The foregoing law makes clear that the allegations in the Amended Complaint, such as the barriers the Couple faces now as foster parents and continue to face in obtaining the efficiencies and other benefits and advantages of working with private agencies, are sufficient to establish standing," reads the dissent. The secular legal group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which represents the couple, intends to appeal the panel decision. Holston, founded in 1895 and has reportedly helped over 8,000 children, receives reimbursement via the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Title IV-E. Holston CEO Bradley Williams sent The Christian Post a statement in January saying that "the caregivers we partner with [are] extensions of our ministry team serving children." "So from the very beginning, we seek to find alignment with them, and if we cannot do so, we try to help them find an agency that may be a better fit," he stated. "Finding other agencies is not hard to do. In Tennessee, for example, there are six other agencies for each one faith-based provider." Williams told CP he believes "forcing Holston Home to violate our beliefs and place children in homes that do not share our faith is wrong and contrary to a free society." Megachurch pastor encourages 'common ground' with abortion activists protesting outside church Abortion activists protested outside an Ohio megachurch on Sunday following the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The church's pastor encouraged his congregation to use the event as an opportunity to demonstrate Christ's love to the protesters. Demonstrators gathered outside the Perrysburg campus of the multi-site Cedar Creek Church on Sunday. As WTOL-11 reported, protestors held signs criticizing the Christian perspective on abortion, explicitly calling for the church to clarify its stance on abortion. The demonstration comes as protests have continued nationwide since the nation's high court overturned the 1973 ruling that made abortion a national right and returned the issue to the states to decide. Some protests have involved acts of vandalism against churches and pro-life pregnancy centers. Many attacks began before the court announced its ruling, taking place after the leak of a draft majority opinion published in Politico on May 2. The event at Cedar Creek Church was organized by Brandon Abernathy, who claims that Christian churches have too much influence on the Supreme Court. In a Sunday statement published by the CBS affiliate, Abernathy said the "root of the problem" in the country right now is "religion overstepping and bleeding into our government." Regarding Cedar Creek, the organizer feels the church has not spoken out enough on the abortion issue. "We're targeting megachurches, specifically," he said. "It's not just the Catholic Churches, although the Catholic Churches 100% are a part of the problem. It also has to do with the megachurches who are not being definitive on where they stand." The Catholic churches have become a prime target for vandalism as the Catholic Church has "affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion" since the first century. In a video directed at church members Thursday, Pastor Ben Snyder said that the church received a notification Monday evening about the protest. Snyder sat down with the organizer of the event to try and "build common ground." Ultimately, the church could not allow the protestors on its actual property. The demonstrators stood on public property near the church instead. Still, Snyder encouraged the congregation to "remain gracious." "We have an opportunity to bring a little contrast to the narrative that they're used to, and hopefully God might use that to play a role in changing their perspective about the Church but ultimately about who He is and how much He cares about them," Snyder said. St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston, Virginia, was one of the first churches vandalized by abortion activists shortly after the Supreme Court released the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Images shared by Washington, D.C.-area Fox News affiliate showed the words "This won't stop" spray-painted on the bottom of the church's roadside sign. The church building was also defaced with graffiti that said "Separation of Church & State," which the staff washed off. The Fairfax County Police Department commented on the vandalism in a June 26 statement. "Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responded at 6:45 Sunday morning to a call for smoldering mulch at the St. John Neumann Catholic Community Church," the statement said. "Fire and Rescue personnel detected an accelerant was likely used in the fire and observed graffiti spray-painted on a sign at the entrance of the church. Officers found three additional locations on the back of the building damaged by graffiti. The remarks spray painted were related to the recent Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling." Before the court's ruling, the Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Boulder was vandalized twice with graffiti messages that included "Abortion Saves Lives" and "My Body My Choice." In recent weeks, at least five churches across Wisconsin were vandalized with graffiti. Robert Jeffress rejects Christian nationalist label, says America founded as Christian nation Megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress told his congregation Sunday that he is not a "Christian nationalist" but insisted that the United States was founded as a "Christian nation." The senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas suggested that a perversion of the U.S. Constitution by progressives, atheists and others over the years has led to the creation of a secular nation now defined by a culture that is both tragic and decadent. "When you see these mass shootings in Uvalde, when you see these mass shootings in Buffalo and other places, what's going on here? That's just the tip of the iceberg," Jeffress, who leads the 12,000-member Texas congregation, told churchgoers in a sermon lamenting the secularization of society. "Today, over 10 million teenagers in the U.S. drink alcohol regularly; 20 percent engage in binge drinking; 2,800 children die each year as a result of gun violence; another 14,300 are injured. Nearly 1 million babies were murdered in the womb last year, and one in four women in the U.S. will have aborted at least one of their children by age 45. On and on and on it goes. Are these tragedies just a coincidence?" he asked. "Now, just consider the warning that God gave to His own people Israel. In Hosea 46, He said, 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My priest.' Listen to this: 'Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children,'" Jeffress said. At the start of his message, Jeffress said that anyone listening to "left-wing" organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union or the Freedom From Religion Foundation "will come to believe that America was founded by men with a wide diversity of religious beliefs." "Their goal was to build an unscalable wall around this country that would protect this country from any religious influence seeping into public life. That version of American history belongs in the same category as the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. It is a complete myth," he stressed. The pastor compiled arguments for America's Christian founding to demonstrate how the country has detoured from the original intent of the Founding Fathers and the consequences. "I often get accused of being a Christian nationalist," Jeffress told his congregants. "I'm having reporters ask me all the time: 'This is a new phrase, Christian nationalism, are you a Christian nationalist? Do you believe America is exceptional to any other nation and is God's preferred nation?' And I answer with a resounding, 'No, not in any sense.' If you know anything about the God of the Bible, you know God is no respecter of people or nations." Jeffress said that America has been "uniquely blessed" by God, but warned that if God's will is rejected, the nation will suffer the consequences. "He's given us so much. You can see His hand in the founding of our country. But in the final analysis, God is no respecter of people or nations. Any nation that reverences God will be blessed by God, and any nation, including the United States, that rejects God will be rejected by God," he said. For years, particularly since the election of former President Donald Trump in 2016, left-leaning media outlets and progressive Christians have raised concerns about what they claim to be Christian nationalist beliefs. Joseph Williams, assistant professor of American religious history at Rutgers University, said: "Christian nationalists insist that the United States was established as an explicitly Christian nation, and they believe that this close relationship between Christianity and the state needs to be protected and in many respects restored in order for the U.S. to fulfill its God-given destiny." In 2019, a campaign launched by the Baptist Joint Committee, a progressive faith-based group of attorneys, Capitol Hill insiders, ministers and scholars, criticized what they deemed as "Christian nationalist" ideology. "Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America's constitutional democracy," the group Christians Against Christian Nationalism said in a statement. "Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. We reject this damaging political ideology and invite our Christian brothers and sisters to join us in opposing this threat to our faith and to our nation." Some liberals, including an op-ed in The New York Times, have suggested that the shifting of the Supreme Court to a conservative majority that recently overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling is a result of the work of the Christian nationalist movement. "The shape of the Christian nationalist movement in the post-Roe future is coming into view, and it should terrify anyone concerned for the future of constitutional democracy," wrote Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. "The Supreme Court's decision to rescind the reproductive rights that American women have enjoyed over the past half-century will not lead America's homegrown religious authoritarians to retire from the culture wars and enjoy a sweet moment of triumph. On the contrary, movement leaders are already preparing for a new and more brutal phase of their assault on individual rights and democratic self-governance," she wrote. "Breaking American democracy isn't an unintended side effect of Christian nationalism. It is the point of the project." In his sermon on Sunday, Jeffress made no apologies for his belief that America's future success rests on the nation's fidelity to Christian values. "America was founded predominantly by Christians who wanted to build this Christian nation on the foundation of God's will," he said. "And furthermore, these men believed that the future success of our country depended upon our fidelity to the Christian beliefs. And that's why we can say, though it's politically incorrect to do so, we say without hesitation or apology that America was founded as a Christian nation, and our future success depends upon our country being faithful to those eternal truths of God's Word." Jeffress also echoed similar sentiments recently shared by born-again Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., that the founding fathers did not intend for the Church to be separate from the state in the way secularists want it to be applied today. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "prohibits the government from making any law respecting an establishment of religion" and "government actions that unduly favor one religion over another." It also prohibits the government from "unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion." Jeffress pointed to the 1802 letter from President Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Church Association in Connecticut stating that the First Amendment has "a wall of separation between Church and State." He said that letter was only to prevent the government from favoring one Christian denomination over another. It was not intended to make all religions equal. "Did you know 69% of the American people believe that the phrase 'separation of Church and state' is found in the Constitution? They are surprised when they learn that the phrase 'separation of Church and state' is nowhere in the First Amendment. It doesn't appear anywhere in the Constitution itself. So how did such an idea gain popularity in America?" Jeffress asked. He said when Jefferson wrote to the Baptists in Danbury, they were upset that the Congregational Church was getting more tax funding as an "established" church by the state of Connecticut. "So Thomas Jefferson on Jan. 1, 1802, wrote them a letter to calm them down. And like any good politician, he quoted from one of their own, a Baptist, the first prominent Baptist, Roger Williams, who first used that phrase 'separation of Church and state,'" he said. "What you have to understand is whether it was the First Amendment saying 'there shall be no established Church,' or Jefferson's letter. When they talked about no established Church, they meant no Christian denomination should be elevated over another Christian denomination; they should all be on equal footing. That's what they were talking about," Jeffress contends. "Never in his wildest imagination did Thomas Jefferson ever suspect that one day his letter would be used to prohibit prayer in the public schools or Bible reading or the nativity displays in the town square, using the name of Jesus in a commencement speech. That was never in his mind at all." The inside story on the dire state of religious liberty across the globe The state of religious liberty across the globe is dire and, in some countries, its continuing to diminish at a rapid pace. Christian Post Senior Investigative Reporter Brandon Showalter, who recently attended the International Religious Freedom Summit, an event that focuses on global religious liberty across the globe, joined "The Inside Story" podcast to share what he observed and why it matters. "As the West becomes increasingly irreligious, religious freedom internationally outside of the West is diminished," he said. "I don't think that ... secularism has the robust sort of zest within it to contend for actual religious freedom because secularism tends to see religion as either unnecessary or something bad for society." Explore the state of religious freedom globally on this episode of the podcast (and subscribe to the show): Read Showalter's coverage from the IRF Summit 2022. "The Inside Story" takes you behind the headlines of the biggest faith, culture, and political headlines of the week. In 15 minutes or less, Christian Post staff writers and editors will help you navigate and understand whats driving each story, the issues at play and why it all matters. Listen to more Christian podcasts today on the Edifi app and be sure to subscribe to The Inside Story on your favorite platforms: Edifi Anchor Breaker Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Pocket Casts RadioPublic Spotify Timeline of events that led to Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade While efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade stretch back decades, the sequence of events that led to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the decision unfolded in recent years. On June 24, the Supreme Court overturned the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, ruling 6-3 that abortion was not a constitutional right and that states could make their own laws on abortion, either allowing it or placing restrictions on the practice. The overturning came as a result of the decision in Thomas Dobbs, et. al. v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which upheld the right of Mississippi to ban most abortions after 15 weeks into a pregnancy. "We hold that Roe and [Planned Parenthood v. Casey] must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision," wrote Justice Samuel Alito for the majority. "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division." Here is a brief timeline of events that led to the overturning of Roe. They include the election of former President Donald Trump, the passage of the Mississippi law, and the leaked draft opinion. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next What did we celebrate on the Fourth? The last traces of fireworks have faded from the skies, barbecue pits are full of ash, and Stars and Stripes in many places re-furled. July 4, 2022 has come and gone. There are also questions left smoldering: What did we celebrate? What was the nation heralded in the minds of celebrants? One study showed that only 38 percent of Americans are proud of their countrya historic low.[1] What did we celebrate on July 4, 2022? Many no doubt celebrated the country wrought through the deliberations and Declaration that came into existence on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia. However, there is now a large swath of Americans who, unwittingly, many intentionally, find more to celebrate in what happened in France in 1789. The leaders assembled in Philadelphia in 1776 gave the world a vision for a new kind of nation-state as modeled in the Declaration of Independence. Revolutionary France in 1789 brought forth the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. For some secularists, the American Declarations support of the concept of Gods transcendence and the accountability it infers is too religious. The French Declaration, like French cuisine, is more palatable to the secular taste. Nevertheless, Thomas Paine, a hero of secularism, saw the importance of the Declaration of Independence, and, in 1776, wrote, in Common Sense: The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind tis not a concern for a day, a year, or an age even to the end of time, by the proceedings now. Many try to make the case that Benjamin Franklin would fall into that radical secularist category. The winds of the New England-centered Great Awakenings still blew as Benjamin Franklin and others gathered in Philadelphia. Franklin tilted toward the Enlightenment philosophy that would heavily influence the French 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the citizen. However, Franklin was influenced by the Awakening message because he was printing the sermons of the Great Awakening preacher George Whitfield, whom contemporary historian Justin Taylor calls the greatest evangelical preacher of his day [2]. Though Whitefield failed to convert Franklin from his Deism, the influence was strong. Franklin came to believe that students should learn of the excellency of the Christian religion above all others ancient or modern because it was the best known source of virtue because of its transcendent beliefs. On that point, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, another influencer of the French Declaration, would strongly disagree. His own worldview included the idea that Christianity was impotent, vacillating, dualistic, and masochistic. Francois-Marie Arouet, Voltaire, who also impacted the formation of the French Declaration, believed that Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world. When Napoleon came into power over France, he developed a Code in which principles of the Declaration would be enshrined, but according to his own policy preferences. In some sense, there are those who would wish that the secular characteristics of the French Declaration would displace the religious elements of the American Declaration of Independence. However, before next years Fourth of July, they might want to consider concerns raised regarding the French Declaration. Edmund Burke, a British philosopher, and observer of the French Revolution in his own day thought that people will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors. One of the crucial things Burke learned for the benefit of posterity is in a statement he made that has hefty bearing on our own times: "Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains on their own appetites. Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there is without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters. Declarations of rights and independence indirectly assert the importance of governing ourselves so that governments dont have to rule over us. As our insane age is showing, our failure to think carefully about our passionsour choices and their outcomes before we break, most of all, the Law of God. Thats when the state will inevitably step in, despite the ell-intended and elegantly penned declarations. And that means giving careful thought to the allegiances we make and the mighty documents that give them power over us. [1] 38 percent proud of USA - Search (bing.com) [2] George Whitefield: Lessons from Eighteenth Century's Greatest Evangelist (thegospelcoalition.org) Billy Graham Rapid Response Team deploys chaplains to Kentucky after fatal shooting The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team has sent chaplains to bring Christs comfort to the grieving community in Allen, Kentucky, where a shootout killed two law enforcement officers and injured five others. A Billy Graham chaplain arrived in Allen on Friday, the day after the shootout at a house on Main Street where a K-9 police dog was also killed, said the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, headed by evangelist Franklin Graham, in a statement. With additional law enforcement chaplains, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is setting up a Mobile Ministry Center to provide a private setting for counsel and prayer, it added. Law enforcement in Floyd County has suffered a tragic loss. Our hearts are heavy to hear about this mass shooting in Allen, Kentucky, said Josh Holland, Billy Graham Rapid Response Teams international director. We are sending our crisis-trained chaplains to comfort people, listen and grieve with them, pray with them and share Gods love with those who have been impacted by this horrific tragedy. In the shootout, Floyd County Deputy William Petry, Prestonsburg Police Captain Ralph Frasure and Floyd County K-9 Unit Drago were killed. The three officers who were injured include Constable Gary Wolfe, Floyd County Deputy Darrin Lawson and Floyd County Emergency Management Director Joe Reynolds. Several other officers had to receive treatment for glass, shrapnel and other injuries. Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt said the responding officers encountered pure hell when they arrived on the scene Thursday night. This is a tough morning for our commonwealth, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a social media post Friday morning. Floyd County and our brave first responders suffered a tragic loss last night. The suspect, 49-year-old Lance Storz, who was in a house situated on a hill and carrying a high-power rifle, fired at the officers who had come to serve an emergency protection order against him, Judge-Executive Robby Williams said at a press conference Sunday afternoon, according to WOWK. Upon arrival, these officers did not know they were walking into a tactical ambush and that the shooter had an unabated field of fire of well over 200 yards, Williams was quoted as saying. The officers performed valiantly and did everything in their power to neutralize the suspect. A woman had called Floyd County Sheriff John Hunts office Thursday afternoon saying she received a text message from the suspects wife who had allegedly been held hostage along with her child and abused by her husband, the sheriff was quoted as saying. After deputies took the mother and the child to a safe location to interview them while the suspect was asleep in the house, they sought to arrest the suspect which led to the shootout. Nobody in this world could ever imagine, that you could just walk to a coward behind a door, hiding, waiting on four people to give them no chance, no nothing, and just open the door and open up on them, Hunt said. Neighbors reported hiding in their homes as the gunfire echoed through the small town, and those at the scene described the incident as war-like, with a barrage of bullets creating chaos, the BGEA noted. Judge stops Idaho university from punishing Christian students for opposing gay marriage A judge issued a temporary block to a university policy that censored three Christian students who had expressed opposition to same-sex marriage on religious grounds. Students Peter Perlot, Mark Miller and Ryan Alexander sued the University of Idaho over a policy in which they were barred from talking with a student about their views on same-sex marriage. The three belong to the University of Idaho chapter of the Christian Legal Society, which holds traditional views on the definition of marriage and sexual ethics. In an order released last week, Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye issued a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the universitys policies against the plaintiffs. Nye noted that university officials targeted the plaintiffs over their specific religious views, namely their opposition to same-sex marriage. Defendants orders targeted the viewpoint of Plaintiffs speech. Both students and professors expressed opposing viewpoints to the views expressed by Plaintiffs without any type of intervention, let alone punishment, wrote Nye. The disparity in Defendants approach is what bothers the Court most about this case and leans towards a finding that Defendants actions were designed to repress specific speech. Nye added that the Court agrees Plaintiffs have a high likelihood of showing Defendants violated the First Amendment by issuing the no-contact orders based on the content and viewpoint of their speech. Some may disagree with Plaintiffs religious beliefs. Such is each persons prerogative and right. But none should disagree that Plaintiffs have a right to express their religious beliefs without fear of retribution. The Constitution makes that clear, he added. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a law firm helping to represent the three plaintiffs, released a press release Friday celebrating the injunction order. Peter, Mark, and Ryan are guaranteed the freedom under the First Amendment to discuss their faith on campus, just like every other student and faculty member, said ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann, as quoted in the press release. Were pleased they are again free to exercise their constitutionally protected freedoms without fear of punishment, and we look forward to a final resolution of this case in their favor and, ultimately, in favor of free speech for everyone. In late April, the three students sued university officials after they were given no-contact orders from the schools Office of Civil Rights & Investigations. According to the lawsuit, the students attended an LGBT event on campus with the intention of representing a biblical perspective on marriage and sexual ethics. When a student asked them about their views, they offered their perspectives and gave the unnamed student a note expressing an interest in continuing the dialogue. Instead of the conversation continuing, the three students were given no-contact orders, which barred them from further communication with the student that they had dialogued with. The CLS members did not receive notice that anyone had complained about them and were not given an opportunity to review the allegations against them or defend themselves, stated the suit. Instead of allowing the students to disagree civilly and respectfully with one another and to discuss these important issues, the University chose instead to censor Plaintiffs. In an earlier statemen to The Christian Post, university spokesperson Jodi Walker explained that the no-contact order was a supportive measure available to a student under Title IX and that these supportive measures must be enacted when a student requests them. When a complaint is made that qualifies under Title IX, the university must make the student aware of the supportive measures available, said Walker at the time. July Fourth shooter planned attack 'for several weeks,' dressed in women's clothes to escape: police The man believed to have killed six people and wounded dozens more at an Independence Day celebration near Chicago planned the attack weeks in advance and dressed in women's clothing to help him escape, according to authorities. Police apprehended 21-year-old Robert "Bobby" Crimo III on Monday evening, hours after the attack, and suspect that he was solely responsible for the mass shooting at a July Fourth celebration in Highland Park, Illinois, which killed six people and injured more than 30. At a press conference Tuesday, Sgt. Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the alleged shooter "pre-planned this attack for several weeks." "He brought a high-powered rifle to this parade. He accessed the roof of a business via a fire-escape ladder and began opening fire on the innocent Independence Day celebration goers," Covelli said. Covelli noted that the alleged shooter "was dressed in women's clothing" to "conceal his facial tattoos and his identity" and to help him blend into the crowd. The rifle Crimo allegedly used was legally purchased in Illinois, according to Covelli, with him firing over 70 rounds of ammunition into the crowd at the parade. "Following the attack, Crimo exited the roof, he dropped his rifle, and he blended in with the crowd and he escaped," Covelli continued. "He walked to his mother's home, who lived in the area." Crimo, who is said to have borrowed his mother's car, was spotted on the highway by a member of the community. A Chicago police officer stopped him and took him into custody. A second rifle was found in the escape vehicle, with authorities believing the alleged shooter had also purchased that weapon. A motive has yet to be determined. Multiple law enforcement agencies worked on the case, including local authorities, state police, the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said at a press conference Monday that "our community was terrorized by an act of violence that has shaken us to our core." "Our hearts go out to the families of the victims at this devastating time. On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we are instead mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us," Rotering said. Thus far, two of the six fatalities have been identified: Nicolas Toledo, a retired grandfather in his 70s, and Jacki Sundheim, a longtime member of North Shore Congregation Israel. The Highland Park shooting was just one of several other shootings in Chicago over the weekend. Chicago Police say that at least 71 people were shot over the July Fourth weekend, and eight were killed. ABC7 reports that 19 people were killed and over 100 wounded during the Fourth of July weekend in 2021. Shooting at 4th of July parade leaves at least 6 dead, 24 seriously injured Police identify 21-year-old suspect Correction Appended UPDATED at 7:55 p.m. ET: Police have arrested 21-year-old Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III as a "person of interest" in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Crimo was apprehended in Lake Forest after an attempted traffic stop led to a brief chase. He was taken into custody and transported to the Highland Park Police Department. Authorities are continuing their investigation and said Crimo is considered a "person of interest" and won't be named as a suspect until they can positively connect him to the scene. At a press briefing just after 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, officials identified Crimo, who's from the Chicago area, as the suspected shooter and said he was driving a 2010 silver Honda Fit with the Illinois license plate DM-80653. City officials also spoke at a press briefing at 3:30 p.m. local time, where Jennifer Banek provided an update on the coroner's investigation and confirmed that five of the shooting victims who died at the scene were adults. The age of the spectator who was pronounced dead at an area hospital was not released. Fire Chief Joe Schrage said the fire department transported 23 victims to area hospitals. One of the victims transported by the fire department was a "critically injured" child. Injuries "were gunshot wounds, and that varied from [the] abdomen to limbs," Schrage said. "The crews were on scene very quickly. There were bystanders as well who rendered aid ... they were quick to tie tourniquets and do bleeding control which definitely assisted the fire department on scene." Other injured spectators drove themselves to area hospitals for treatment or were transported by other parade attendees. Highland Park Police Commander Chris ONeill asked residents with any information about the suspect or photos and video footage from the scene to call investigators at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Original report: At least six people were killed in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, and as many as 24 other spectators who sustained serious and critical injuries are being treated at area hospitals. The city of Highland Park is now on lockdown after law enforcement agencies ordered residents and workers at nearby businesses to shelter in place as swat teams go door-to-door to search for the suspect who might be armed. At a press conference, Highland Park Police Commander Chris ONeill, the incident commander on scene, said the suspect is believed to be a white man, who is approximately 18- to 20-years-old, with long black hair, a small build and wearing a white or blue T-shirt. Police believe the suspect carried out the mass shooting from a rooftop where they recovered a high-powered rifle. At a subsequent press conference at 2 p.m. local time, Chris Covelli with the Lake County Sheriff's Office confirmed that "firearm evidence was located on a rooftop of a nearby business that was secured." Covelli said more than 100 law enforcement officers were called to the parade scene or dispatched to find the suspected shooter. Investigators are also scouring social media to find clues as to why the suspect committed the mass shooting. He said it appears that the shooter targeted spectators at random. He added that the information is preliminary, but it's believed five people died at the scene and one victim was pronounced dead at an area hospital. The wounded were transported to various hospitals in Lake and Cook Counties where their injuries are being treated. Covelli added that the parade was "three-quarters of the way through" when the suspect began shooting. "Very random, very intentional, and a very sad day." There are reportedly multiple fatalities following a shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Warning: Gunshots heard in below video.pic.twitter.com/F0BrsEXIS8 Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) July 4, 2022 Multiple agencies are working with local authorities and state police on the investigation. Highland Park police are leading the initial investigation and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force is working in conjunction with the FBI to process the scene. State police have asked anyone with photos or video footage from the parade to share it with the Highland Park Police Department, particularly footage near 2nd Street and Central Avenue. Police are also asking local businesses in the area to share their security footage. "As far as the investigative aspect goes, and this is two-pronged at this time, number one, we are aggressively looking for the individual who is responsible for this shooting," Covelli said. "Number two, we have a criminal investigation that is occurring simultaneously. We are asking anybody with any video surveillance that they may have, please review your cell phones if you were snapping pictures ... that could help investigators." Mayor Nancy Rotering spoke at the first news conference Monday afternoon, expressing her grief that around 10:14 a.m. local time, "our community was terrorized by an act of violence that has shaken us to our core." "Our hearts go out to the families of the victims at this devastating time. On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we are instead mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us," she added. This is a developing story and will be updated. -- Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified Robert E. Crimo III's age as 22 based on initial reports. He is 21. Anglican priest warns skies are darkening for religious freedom in Hong Kong Pres. Xi declares his political regime in HK has 'widespread approval' worldwide at handover anniversary ceremony Religious freedom in Hong Kong is facing dangerous threats from the Chinese Communist Party, the Rev. Jonathan Aitken warned as Chinese President Xi Jinping marked the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. The skies are darkening for religious freedom in Hong Kong, said Aitken, an Anglican priest and former cabinet minister and member of Parliament, during a speech at the National Club in London Wednesday, UCA News reported. Aitken, 79, said there are increasingly ominous signs that religious freedom in Hong Kong is next on the hit list by the destructive forces of Xi's regime. Hong Kongs National Security Law, which was imposed by the communist regime two years ago, can leave fundamental freedoms almost completely dismantled, Aitken said. The law has four categories of crimes: succession, subversion of state power, local terrorist activities and collaborating with foreign or external foreign forces to endanger national security. The law also positions Beijing as over the Hong Kong judicial system in cases deemed related to national security, the U.S.-based group China Aid reported earlier. This means that the judges in these cases must be Beijing-approved. Hong Kong residents can now also be taken to China, where they will face a courtroom with allegiance to the government. The rule of law, Aitken said, has been undermined and any meaningful autonomy has been eroded. Many former lawmakers are in prison and Beijing has brutally curtailed press freedom, academic freedom and freedom of expression, he added. In 1997, China had agreed to a one country, two systems arrangement to allow certain freedoms for Hong Kong when it received the city back from British control. Critics contend the security law undercuts the promised autonomy. Today, a quarter of a century on from the handover, the whole world came to see that the Chinese communist regime has systematically broken those promises and violated the treaty, he added. President Xi said Friday that the city's political system as it now exists "must be adhered to over the long run," signaling that China plans to preserve the political model, according to the BBC, which added that the audience comprised of mostly pro-Beijing elite. "'One country two systems' has been tested and proved time and again, and there is no reason to change such a good system," he said, adding that the system had the "unanimous endorsement" of residents and "widespread approval" by world leaders. Xi further claimed that Hong Kong's "true democracy began" when mainland China regained control. Xi also defended the policy of only allowing "patriots" to run for office in Hong Kong, saying it was "essential for safeguarding the long-term stability and security of Hong Kong." "No people in any country or region in the world would ever allow political power to fall into the hands of forces or individuals who do not love, or would even sell out or betray, their own country," he said. Describing Xi as ideologically a Marxist Nationalist and politically a brutal control freak, Aitken said his regime is particularly hostile to faith groups. The Chinese communist government is committing genocide against the Uyghurs (a Muslim ethnic minority) of approximately 12 million people heavily concentrated in the Western province of Xinjiang, Dr. Richard Land, president emeritus and an adjunct professor of theology & ethics at Southern Evangelical Seminary, wrote in a recent column for The Christian Post. Its been estimated that over 1 million residents of Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have been detained in internment camps for the alleged purpose of re-education and de-radicalization, wrote Land, who has also served as an executive editor and columnist for The Christian Post since 2011. Those who have fled the region have spoken of the horrors of forced abortions and torture. There is no doubt that the impetus for this crime against humanity started at the very top of the CCP food chain. China has also often been accused of rights abuses against other religious minorities including Christians, Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners. Open Doors USA, which covers persecution in over 60 countries, estimates that China has more than 97 million Christians, many of whom worship in unregistered or so-called illegal underground churches. The five state-sanctioned religious groups in China are the Buddhist Association of China, the Chinese Taoist Association, the Islamic Association of China, the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. Even the organizations within the five authorized religions are subject to surveillance and limitations. Internet censorship targeting Christians in China, including government-sanctioned Christian groups, is severe. In April, a well-known Christian website disappeared after serving believers for about 21 years. In March, it was reported that Chinese authorities had launched a mass training program for more than 100 religious content reviewers to remove non-government religious content from the internet. This accreditation of over one hundred online religious activity auditors will only continue the crackdown of online religious content and put more Chinese Christians in danger, warned the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern at the time. China has been labeled for years by the U.S. State Department as a country of particular concern for egregious religious freedom violations. Matt Rourke/AP WASHINGTON (AP) Spirit Airlines will get valuable takeoff and landing times that Southwest Airlines is abandoning at busy Newark-Liberty International Airport near New York City. The U.S. Transportation Department said Tuesday that Spirit is most likely to provide the lowest fares to the most consumers at the airport in Newark, New Jersey. In this day and age, when the camera clicks begin in restaurant parking lots, it's often because they are in peculiar structuressay, a used shipping container. But back in the 1980s, long before Instagram or TikTok, it was a novel idea. For iconic Houston restaurateur Jim Goode, housing Goode Co. Seafood in a passenger railroad car was an integral part of his vision. "When my father started to conceptualize the restaurant, he thought of creating something in the era of a 1940s and 1950s coastal diner," said Levi Goode, president of Goode Co. restaurants and son of the late Jim Goode. "He thought the sleekness of a passenger railroad car would make a fine diner." Goode Co. A native of Clute, Texas, Jim grew up saltwater fishing on the upper Texas coast. His journey to opening a seafood restaurant of his own was fueled by the lack of options at that time, despite the state's proximity to bountiful waters. "He noticed that the only options were people serving pre-frozen, breaded seafood out of the Sysco truck when the coast was right down the street," said Levi. Jim's long-running career as one of the city's storied restaurateurs began in 1977 when he opened Goode Co. Barbecue on Kirby Drive. A few years later, plans were put in motion to expand the company's footprint. "We had the opportunity to purchase a vacant piece of land on Westpark, which was foreclosed on as a result of the oil bust of the '80s," said Levi. "It would eventually be two new restaurants with a parking lot." Goode Co. Taqueria opened in 1981, but it was the build-out for Goode Co. Seafood, which opened five years later in 1986, that proved to be more of an in-depth process. "My father was very resourceful, before the world wide web and Google," said Levi. "He would visit Bookstop, which is Trader Joe's now, and read magazines of different trades." Trains happened to be one of his interests, and he began exploring ways to get a passenger railroad car. A search through the classified ads in one of those magazines led him to a man in the Northeast selling just such a thing. "He thought the railroad car would be a neat addition to his coastal diner idea," said Levi. "He got it all figured out, bought the train, and it rolled on tracks all the way to Houston." At the time, the tracks were only about 500 feet from the property, but it still required some thoughtful planning to get the substantial structure in its final resting place. Resourceful as he was, Jim sought out a friend in the crane business to assist in lifting it and placing it at 2621 Westpark Drive, where it currently sits today. Goode Co. Much had to be done to the actual functioning railroad car before it could open as a restaurant, on top of the necessary building permits. Levi says they cut off the back to build a kitchen, then gutted it and rebuilt it. The result was a unique and interesting space, which proved to be a great package for a coastal diner, just as Jim predicted. At the time, Goode Co. Seafood was the first full-service restaurant in the group's portfolio, and Levi recalls it being "a big jumping off point" for the company. More than 35 years later, the restaurant in an old passenger railroad car remains as charming as ever. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, it gets plenty of traffic for Goode Co.'s signature mesquite-grilled eats, straightforward fried seafood platters and photo ops galore, with few shakeups to the menu along the way. Soft shell crabs are a big hit when they're in season, and campechana is still the restaurant's best-seller. "The recipes are all the same today as they were when we first opened," said Levi. "We try not to fix anything that isn't broken." Greg Morago Similarly, minor cosmetic changes have been made to the space itself, including adding new tiles and light fixtures inside the car. "We shine the train on a regular basis and make sure it's got its curb appeal," said Levi. "The restaurant is visited by lots of tourists and out-of-towners, so we get a fair amount of photos in front of it." What was a personal passion project for Jim resulted in great memories for the burgeoning customer base Goode Co. had in the '80s. What the roaring 2020s will bring is for anyone to say, but it's safe to assume photos in front of the attractive coastal diner on Westpark Drive will keep on coming. Revelry on Richmond The food and drink scene in Montrose continues to evolve as popular haunts shutter and new ones spring in their place. Today, Revelry on Richmond announced it will close its doors at the end of the month. After eight years in business on Richmond Avenue in the trendy Houston neighborhood, owner Ted Baker, who also operates Penny Whistle Pub next door and Bobcat Teddy's Ice House in the Heights, opted not to renew his lease for the lively sports bar. Victoria Elizondo, owner of Cochinita in Houston, had planned to feed 450 people at the Texas Restaurant Association's (TRA) Lone Star Bash in Dallas on July 10. But when she learned that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was the keynote speaker of the TRA's Restaurant Show this weekend, she canceled her participation in the event. Her Mexican restaurant, which is inside Kickin' Kombucha in the East End, and her product line keep her very busy, she says, so she wasn't aware how much the TRA donates to Republicans in Texas until now. According to Transparency USA, TRA's Political Action Committee has donated $52,500 to Gov. Abbott, $25,000 to Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick, $10,000 to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and $17,500 to Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan over the course of the 2018, 2020 and 2022 election cycles. "The Texas Restaurant Association is a non-partisan organization that works with elected officials of all political parties to strengthen the food and beverage industry in Texas," said TRA CEO and President Emily Williams Knight, Ed. D. in a statement. "As in past years, we invited a diverse group of these elected officialsRepublican and Democratto the Texas Restaurant Show to discuss the initiatives we championed together to help save restaurants over the past two-and-a-half years of the COVID-19 pandemic and what may lie ahead for our economy." It would have been the first TRA event Elizondo cooked for, but she says that as a woman, an immigrant, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, and someone who supports abortion rights, she decided she could not participate. "Republicans just don't support immigrants and Dreamers," she said, upset that the TRA is aligning itself with Abbott. "It's a huge slap in the face for us because the restaurant industry is run by us," she said. Andrea Arana, the owner of soon-to-open Las Perras Cafe, was not surprised to learn that the governor is a keynote speaker at the TRA's Restaurant Show this weekend. "I've lived in Texas and worked in hospitality for the last 10 years and I've never really seen them do anything that's actually helped the average employee," Arana said, adding that the group instead helps restaurant owners continue to exploit and profit from their employees. As a manager in Texas restaurants, Arana has seen owners discriminate against undocumented, Black and LGBTQ employees. "[The TRA is] actively giving money to politicians who would vote to see these groups obliterated from the face of the earth," she said. Both Elizondo and Arana learned about the Restaurant Show line-up, and the TRA's political donations, from the social media posts of Alex Negranza, a veteran restaurant and bar professional who's now the president of new nonprofit Gay & Lesbian Alliance for Spirited Sipping (GLASS). He had been following the TRA since the beginning of the pandemic, when it was one of the main groups helping the Texas restaurant industry survive through relief funds and other initiatives. This week, he was surprised to see an announcement on TRA's Instagram about Gov. Abbott being the Restaurant Show's keynote speaker. Negranza commented on the post, but he says it was deleted by the TRA's account, and all comments were later disabled on Instagram. The Twitter announcement is set to only allow accounts that the TRA mentions reply. Minutes after his first comment, Negranza says the TRA Instagram account blocked him. He thought it was strange and dove deeper into the association's political donations, posting screenshots of them on his Instagram stories. "I called Greg Abbott an ahole and a bigot," Negranza recalled about the now-deleted Instagram comment. "And I said that their keynote speaker did not represent the values of restaurants, that he was anti-immigration, anti-reproductive rights, his platform is anti-LGBT. Everything that Abbott represents is so against the beauty and culture that is restaurants." Negranza also notes the significant number of people in Houston's restaurant community that are hosting fundraisers and leading other initiatives after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, which the governor celebrated. While he thinks some the TRA's legislative accomplishments have been positive in terms of economic impact to restaurants, he's upset that they are "turning a blind eye" to other issues that he and his peers are affected by. "Our speakers, including Governor Abbott, were critical to the passage of TRA priority bills that allowed restaurants to sell alcohol to-go, save millions of dollars in franchise and unemployment insurance taxes, and gain groundbreaking transparency protections in the third-party delivery market," said TRA CEO Williams Knight. Elizondo says she was raised never to mix business with politics, but the current political climate has spurred her to use her business as a platform to make a difference. The TRA was going to give Elizondo a $400 stipend after the event, but that wouldn't have covered everything. "I was still taking money and time out of my pocket," she said. She had already bought all of the ingredients for crab salad tostadasthey will now be a special on Cochinita's menu this weekend. The current state of affairs in U.S. airports is marked by uncertainty and dysfunction, as carriers continue to grapple with historic travel demand and staffing shortages amid skyrocketing fuel prices, and travelers continue to experience considerable delays and cancellations at U.S. hubs. Airlines have had to slash flight schedules in the stated hopes of alleviating workforce issues, and things are not going to get better any time soon, according to a Wednesday memo penned by United Airlines CEO Jon Roitman. First reported by Reuters' David Shepardson, the message sent by Roitman to his staff projects that U.S. carriers will "remain challenged this summer and beyond" due to insufficient air traffic control workers at airports around the nation. "The reality is that there are just more flights scheduled nationwide than the [air traffic control] staffing system can handle," Roitman wrote. "Until that is resolved, we expect the U.S. aviation system will remain challenged this summer and beyond." Roitman's memo echoes an emerging line of messaging from airlines that places the blame for ongoing operational difficulties on a lack of air traffic control employees. In June the aviation industry group Airlines for America penned a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stating East Coast travel hubs had been subjected to "crippling" delays brought about by air traffic control understaffing. The Federal Aviation Administration dismissed these claims in a subsequent letter that highlighted the generous bailouts airlines received to retain staff at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. "After receiving $54 billion in pandemic relief to help save the airlines from mass layoffs and bankruptcy, the American people deserve to have their expectations met," the FAA wrote in a statement. By February 2021, U.S. airlines had fired, furloughed or informed roughly 400,000 airline employees they would no longer have jobs due to the pandemic. In October 2020, United Airlines furloughed more than 32,000 employees despite airlines receiving $25 billion in federal dollars for the purpose of covering workers' salaries. These furloughs have led to pilot shortages and operational challenges as travelers return to the skies in record numbers this summer, with Delta Airlines experiencing its highest ever month for bookings earlier this year, according to CEO Ed Bastian. Delta pilots in June engaged in silent protests at seven U.S. airports demanding better pay for the increased workload they face due to staffing shortages. "Our message today was for Delta management that it was time to come to the table for an industry-leading contract," Delta pilot Reed Donoghue told NPR. "Passengers out there flying this [Fourth of July] weekend [should] know that there's a good chance that at least one crew member on their flight, being a flight attendant or a pilot, is likely working overtime on their day off to help the operation out." U.S.-based carriers canceled more than 1,800 flights between July 1 and July 4, according to a Reuters report. More than 22,000 flights experienced delays over the holiday weekend. International President of the Association of Flight Attendants Sarah Nelson said the uncertainty travelers currently face cannot be allowed to become the norm. "You can't have the public thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to buy a ticket' and it's like take a spin on the roulette wheel about whether or not you're going to make it to your vacation," Nelson told Reuters in June. The 'most affordable' Texas roadtrip An online travel site recently outlined the 'most affordable' Lone Star road trip. DENVER (AP) For National Park Service fisheries biologist Jeff Arnold, it was a moment he'd been dreading. Bare-legged in sandals, he was pulling in a net in a shallow backwater of the lower Colorado River last week, when he spotted three young fish that didn't belong there. Give me a call when you get this! he messaged a colleague, snapping photos. Minutes later, the park service confirmed their worst fear: smallmouth bass had in fact been found and were likely reproducing in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam. They may be a beloved sport fish, but smallmouth bass feast on humpback chub, an ancient, threatened fish thats native to the river, and that biologists like Arnold have been working hard to recover. The predators wreaked havoc in the upper river, but were held at bay in Lake Powell where Glen Canyon Dam has served as a barrier for years until now. The reservoirs recent sharp decline is enabling these introduced fish to get past the dam and closer to where the biggest groups of chub remain, farther downstream in the Grand Canyon. There, Brian Healy has worked with the humpback chub for more than a decade and founded the Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program. Its pretty devastating to see all the hard work and effort youve put into removing other invasive species and translocating populations around to protect the fish and to see all that effort overturned really quickly, Healy said. As reservoir levels drop, non-native fish that live in warm surface waters in Lake Powell are edging closer to the dam and its penstocks submerged steel tubes that carry water to turbines, where it generates hydroelectric power and is released on the other side. If bass and other predator fish continue to get sucked into the penstocks, survive and reproduce below the dam, they will have an open lane to attack chub and other natives, potentially unraveling years of restoration work and upending the Grand Canyon aquatic ecosystem the only stretch of the river still dominated by native species. On the brink of extinction decades ago, the chub has come back in modest numbers thanks to fish biologists and other scientists and engineers. Agencies spend millions of dollars annually to keep intruders in check in the upper portion of the river. Under the Endangered Species Act, government agencies are required to operate in ways that will not jeopardize the continued existence of listed animals. That includes infrastructure. Even before the discovery of smallmouth bass spawning below the dam, agencies had been bracing for this moment. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently enlisted a team of researchers at Utah State University to map the nonnative fish in Lake Powell and try to determine which could pass through the dam first. A task force quickly assembled earlier this year to address the urgency the low water poses for native fish. Federal, state and tribal leaders are expected to release a draft plan in August containing solutions for policymakers who intend to delay, slow and respond to the threat of smallmouth bass and other predators below the dam. There are a variety of solutions, but many will require significant changes to infrastructure. In the meantime, National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey and Arizona Game and Fish Department are moving quickly to try to contain the issue. During an emergency meeting, they decided to increase their monitoring efforts in other shallow areas and block off the entire backwater where the smallmouth bass were found so they can't swim out into the river. Unfortunately, the only block nets we have are pretty large mesh, so it will not stop these smaller fish from going through, but it will keep the adults from going back out, Arnold said, noting it's the best they can do with available resources. Experts say leaving more water in Lake Powell would be the best solution to ensure cool water can be released through the dam, although it's tough to do in a river under so much stress. Last month, the Department of the Interior notified the seven western states that depend on Colorado River water that they must devise a way to conserve up to 4 million acre-feet of water in 2023 more than Arizona and Nevadas share combined -- or face federal intervention. It is unclear where that conserved supply would be stored, but Healy says he hopes Lake Powell is being considered. If we want to protect some of the values for which Grand Canyon National Park was established, we need to really think about how water is stored, Healy said. That issue needs to be at the table. ____ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/environment OTTAWA (AP) Canada is going to throw out about 13.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine because it couldnt find any takers for it either at home or abroad. Canada signed a contract with AstraZeneca in 2020 to get 20 million doses of its vaccine, and 2.3 million Canadians received at least one dose of it, mostly between March and June 2021. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) People in 24 Oregon counties including the county around Portland and 15 counties in Washington state should resume mask-wearing indoors in public and on public transportation, according to recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data from the CDC shows the counties are considered high risk for COVID-19 infection, KPTV reported. The Oregon counties include: Clatsop, Tillamook, Lincoln, Lane, Douglas, Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson, Wasco, Sherman, Hood River, Clackamas, Washington, Multnomah, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Baker, and Malheur counties. In Washington, the counties at high risk include: Clallam, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Lewis, Thurston, Pierce, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Walla Walla, Columbia, Asotin, Lincoln, Ferry and Spokane. That's an increase from six Washington counties at high risk as of June 23. The most recent community levels were calculated June 30. High risk means the counties have had 200 or more new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, or theyve had more than 20 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people within a seven-day period. Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer at Public Health Seattle & King County, said on Twitter Sunday that since April, the health agency has recommended that people wear high-quality masks in indoor public spaces, that people get all recommended COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses, and that indoor air quality should be improved and outdoor venues be prioritized. Duchin said vaccines are working well to halt hospitalizations and death but infections and reinfections are more common with the new variants. The virus has evolved to be more contagious. Emerging research suggests reinfections could put people at higher risk for health problems. Unvaccinated people have a six times higher risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with people with at least a primary series of shots, the CDC estimated based on available data from April. To see updated risk levels and the latest information from the CDC, click here. David Zalubowski/AP DENVER (AP) Gov. Jared Polis barred state agencies Wednesday from arresting or extraditing anyone seeking or providing reproductive care in Colorado, where the right to abortion was codified in state law this year. Polis issued an executive order that prohibits state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state civil or criminal investigations related to seeking, obtaining or providing reproductive health care unless the alleged activity would be illegal in Colorado. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. - The 21-year-old charged with carrying out a mass shooting from a rooftop overlooking a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb confessed to the deadly attack, prosecutors said Wednesday, and investigators said the gunman considered committing a similar shooting in Wisconsin later that same day. Robert Crimo was held without bond because he poses a threat to the community, an Illinois judge ruled during Crimo's first court appearance since allegedly shooting more than 80 rounds from a semiautomatic rifle and then fleeing the scene in women's clothing to disguise his identity. The rampage left seven dead and dozens injured, the latest mass shooting to rattle a traumatized nation. In the hours after the shooting in Highland Park, a lakeside suburb north of Chicago, Crimo drove around and contemplated using a rifle to shoot more people at an Independence Day celebration in Madison, Wis., said Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force. Crimo faces seven counts of first-degree murder, and authorities have said they expect to file dozens more charges against him in the coming weeks. If convicted of the murder charges, Crimo would face life in prison without parole. Appearing via video feed at the bond hearing in Lake County court, Crimo had no reaction as the names of the deceased shooting victims were read - including Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan, Ill., the last of those killed to be publicly identified. Investigators said Wednesday they were still searching for a motive as reports of the suspect's past encounters with police raised questions about how he purchased five firearms in 2020 and 2021 and whether the massacre could have been averted. Police came into contact with Crimo in April 2019, following a report that he had attempted suicide, authorities have said, and again in September of that year when one of Crimo's family members called police saying he had threatened to "kill everyone." Officers confiscated knives and a sword from Crimo's residence during the second encounter but filed no charges against him. Crimo's parents said through their lawyer on Wednesday that they did not see warning signs of the massacre and don't know what motivated him. Crimo's father signed a consent form in 2019 allowing his son, then under 21, to apply for a card that authorizes Illinois residents to own a firearm. "They don't know any more than we do," said lawyer Steve Greenberg. "We can all look in hindsight and say, 'What did we miss?' But if there were really problems that were missed, then co-workers missed them, friends missed them, teachers missed them and family missed them." --- Crimo used a fire escape ladder to climb atop a building along the parade route, prosecutors said at the court appearance. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage and cellphone videos from parade attendees that showed the gunman firing a semiautomatic rifle from the roof of the building into the crowd below. Crimo told police he had fired three full 30-round magazines at the crowd, prosecutors alleged. Investigators found three magazines and 83 spent shell casings on the roof where the shooter opened fire. While the gunman fled down a nearby alley, a semiautomatic rifle wrapped in cloth allegedly spilled out of the gunman's bag. Investigators said the rifle had a serial number that was traced to Crimo. He had purchased the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semiautomatic rifle at a local gun store in 2020, said Assistant State's Attorney Ben Dillon. After allegedly leaving the parade route, Crimo went to his mother's house nearby, took her car and headed north, authorities said. As he drove around the college town of Madison, he allegedly saw another Fourth of July celebration and "seriously contemplated" using a Kel-Tec rifle and about 60 rounds that were in his car to commit another shooting, Covelli said. Questions remain about why Crimo did not go through with the idea, Covelli told reporters, adding that there were indications he had not done enough planning. The FBI recovered Crimo's phone, which he had abandoned in Middleton, Wis., about six miles northwest of Madison, Covelli said. Authorities have released few biographical details about Crimo, who left Highland Park High School early in the 10th grade, dabbled in rap music and has been described by some who knew him as a loner. Before the presidential election in 2020, he became a fixture at local rallies in support of then-President Donald Trump and gatherings of far-right activists, said Rachael Wachstein, a longtime resident who organizes social justice events in the mostly liberal area. Wachstein said she first saw Crimo at a September gathering of Trump supporters held near the site of the July 4 shooting. It drew a crowd of local counterprotesters, according to Wachstein and local news accounts. "He was pretty aggressive," she said. "He was up in my friend's face, shouting." In photos of the event, Crimo, wearing bright red pants and a sweatshirt with a smiley face, can be seen standing near a crowd holding pro-Trump flags, as police officers monitor the gathering. In the weeks that followed, Wachstein said, she spotted Crimo at a similar pro-Trump event in Northbrook and with a group of far-right activists that showed up to stage counterprotests at weekly vigils Wachstein organized in nearby Deerfield. He often dressed like Waldo from the puzzle book series "Where's Waldo?," according to Wachstein and photos of the events. Given Crimo's activism, she said, she now wonders whether Crimo attacked the community because of its liberal views. "I could just see him thinking it would be great fun to ruin everyone's holiday," she said. --- The Highland Park attack has exposed what mass-shooting experts say is the inadequacy of patchwork state and federal gun laws. Though Illinois has a red-flag law and Highland Park has a local ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, Crimo, of neighboring Highwood, Ill., was able to legally purchase guns in the surrounding area. Illinois's red-flag law is meant to prevent individuals from obtaining or possessing a weapon if a court deems them a threat to themselves or others. But officials revealed Tuesday that Crimo had legally obtained weapons less than a year after police had repeated contact with him. Crimo never had a firearm restraining order taken out against him, and there were no firearms to remove from the home when police responded in September 2019, said Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart, a Democrat. Months later, in December 2019, Crimo applied for a firearm owner's identification card, the document required to possess a gun in Illinois. Because Crimo was under 21 at the time, state law required him to have the consent of a parent or guardian before he could own a firearm or ammunition. In a 2021 report, the Illinois auditor general's office said those who apply for such cards are screened against mental health records, and basic biographical information is verified. Following that, background checks are run through state and federal databases. And if nothing prohibitive pops up, the card is printed up and mailed, the audit said. Crimo's father, Robert Crimo Jr., signed the consent form. Greenberg, the attorney for the parents, likened it to a parent consenting to allow a teenager to apply for a driver's license, which the state must decide whether to issue. "Ultimately, the state of Illinois permitted him to lawfully purchase all of these weapons," Greenberg said of the younger Crimo, noting that the permit was renewed by the state when Crimo turned 21. Greenberg said he is not aware that the suspected gunman had any history of mental health issues. "I don't think you can ever make sense of something like this," he said. "I think the parents are going to try to figure out whatever they missed. They are cooperating with law enforcement to find out what went wrong." According to a redacted copy of a Highland Park police report released Wednesday, officers encountered the suspected gunman in September 2019 in response to a call about him threatening violence. The name of the person who made the call and the home's address are both redacted in the report, which was released by the Illinois State Police. The person was "afraid to go home" because of the threat and the knives in the suspect's bedroom, the report said. When officers responded to the home on Sept. 5, 2019, they spoke to the suspected gunman and his mother, police wrote. Crimo, then 18, "admitted to being depressed" three days earlier "and having a history of drug use," police wrote, but said he did not feel like harming himself or others. His father, police wrote, said the knives were his and stored in his son's closet "for safekeeping." Police confiscated 16 knives in a tin lunch box, a 24-inch "Samurai type blade" and a foot-long dagger, according to the report. A few hours later, the report said, Crimo's father retrieved the items. That same day, in compliance with state law, local police submitted a "clear and present danger report" to the Illinois State Police that briefly described the encounter. The reporting forms state that such reports should be used to identify people who would pose a danger if they obtain a gun or ammunition. State police said in a statement Wednesday that a reviewing officer "concluded there was insufficient information for a Clear and Present Danger determination." Based on publicly available information about the case so far, "it is likely there was nothing they could have looked at to deny him the card," said Robert Deters, a criminal defense attorney who practices in Lake County and works on gun card appeals. He noted that neither of the 2019 incidents involved either an arrest or an involuntary hospitalization. "This particular scenario, I've never heard of it happening," he said. "I've never had a client come to me and say, 'I didn't get a FOID because I once had a clear and present danger report filed.'" When reviewing Crimo's firearm application less than six months after the knife confiscation, state police officials again decided there was nothing they could do to stop a gun purchase. "The subject was under 21 and the application was sponsored by the subject's father," the agency said in a statement. "Therefore, at the time of FOID application review in January of 2020, there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application." State police said Crimo had passed four federal background checks when purchasing his firearms - on June 9, July 18 and July 31, 2020, and on Sept. 20, 2021. Rinehart said Wednesday that the United States should renew the federal ban on assault weapons if it wants to curb deadly incidents like the July 4 mass shooting. He stressed there was bipartisan support for the ban, which took effect in 1994 but expired in 2004 when attempts to renew it failed. "Everything shows that these types of horrifying, devastating incidents went down during that time," Rinehart said. --- Berman, Boburg and Iati reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Timothy Bella, Paulina Villegas and Praveena Somasundaram contributed to this report. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) A driver accused of shooting at police officers during a long car chase through the streets of Buffalo that ended with an exchange of gunfire was arraigned Wednesday on five counts of attempted murder. The wild March 29 chase resulted in three officers being struck, along with the suspect, Kente Bell. An investigation by the district attorney's office found that two of those officers were hit by friendly fire, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said at a news conference announcing the charges. Bell, 28, is accused of driving off during a traffic stop, then firing on police as they pursued him through city neighborhoods and on highways for more than 20 minutes. Prosecutors say he drove through a police barricade and drove wildly through several Buffalo neighborhoods before crashing his car. The chase ended in a hail of gunfire in front of a police station at a Buffalo intersection. Bell was shot in his neck, arm, leg and hand and is still recovering. The three police officers who were struck did not suffer life-threatening injuries. Bell fired at least 14 shots from his vehicle. Because he was partially paralyzed, Bell drove a vehicle that did not require him to use his feet, Flynn said. The district attorney said 16 officers fired shots, mostly at the crash scene. But he did not know how many shots police fired. Bell was initially charged days after the chase. He was arraigned Wednesday on the five counts of first-degree attempted murder and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, among other charges. Bell was ordered held without bail. A call seeking comment was made to Bells attorney. Flynn said there would be no criminal proceedings against any of the officers, though he suggested not all of them responded appropriately. There is no penal law violation that articulates common sense, and so I cannot charge any Buffalo police officer with a violation of common sense, Flynn said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRUSSELS (AP) European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc's list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU's executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and now looks set to trigger legal challenges. As the EU wants to set the best global standards in the fight against climate change, the decision could tarnish the bloc's image and question the region's commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050. The European Commission earlier this year made the proposal as part of its plans for building a climate-friendly future, dividing member countries and drawing outcry from environmentalists over what they criticize as greenwashing. EU legislators from the environment and economy committees objected last month to the plan, setting up Wednesday's decisive vote in Strasbourg, France. But MEPs rejected their resolution in a 328-278 vote, with 33 lawmakers abstaining. The result was announced to a salvo of applause. An absolute majority of 353 was needed to veto the proposal. If the European Parliament and member countries dont object to it by July 11, the so-called Taxonomy delegated act will enter into force and apply as of next year. Greenpeace immediately said it will submit a formal request for internal review to the European Commission, and then take legal action at the European Court of Justice if the result isn't conclusive. Its dirty politics and its an outrageous outcome to label gas and nuclear as green and keep more money flowing to (Russian President Vladimir) Putins war chest, but now we will fight this in the courts," said Ariadna Rodrigo, Greenpeace's EU sustainable finance campaigner. European Parliament rapporteur Bas Eickhout rued a dark day for the climate and the energy transition." The green labeling system from the European Commission defines what qualifies as an investment in sustainable energy. Under certain conditions, gas and nuclear energy will now be part of the mix, making it easier for private investors to inject money into both. With the EU aiming to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, the commission says the classification system is crucial to direct investments into sustainable energy. It estimates that about 350 billion euros of investment per year will be needed to meet the 2030 targets. The question of nuclear power has divided environmentalists, energy experts and governments for years, with some arguing it's an important source of energy because it's produced with no emissions and thus clean, while others say the risks of nuclear reactions are too great and infrastructure is slow and costly to build. Liquid natural gas, clearly a fossil fuel, is roundly criticized in environmental circles. Germanys industrial lobby group BDI welcomed the vote, saying it cleared the way for financing the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Gas is our bridge technology to the renewable age, said its deputy head, Holger Loesch. The BDI called for more investments in gas infrastructure, including LNG terminals, to ensure sufficient supply amid the current energy crisis, but added that new gas power plants need to be capable of handling hydrogen eventually. Introducing gas and nuclear into the equation has divided the 27 member countries amid Russias war in Ukraine, and even the parliament's political groups. Luxembourgs energy minister, Claude Turmes, said he deeply regretted the European Parliaments failure to bloc the commission's plan, adding that his country together with Austria would move ahead with legal efforts to block the labeling of nuclear and gas as sustainable. Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that the German government stands by its position and considers nuclear energy as unsustainable. Nevertheless, the German government believes that the taxonomy is an important instrument for achieving climate protection targets, because it is clear that natural gas is an important bridging technology for us on the way to CO2 neutrality and the inclusion of the use of natural gas in the delegated act takes this into account, Hebestreit added. Protests that had started on Tuesday continued Wednesday outside the EU legislature as lawmakers debated the issue. Environmentalists warned the vote could set a precedent for lawmakers elsewhere to label polluting forms of energy as sustainable. We have now officially validated greenwashing by law, said Tsvetelina Kuzmanova of the climate think tank E3G. The process and the decision have been entirely political, not scientific, to only benefit a small number of member states, she said. This would not stand a chance in court and will only create more uncertainty for financial markets and jeopardize (the) EUs climate ambition. The youth activist group Fridays for Future said billions of euros could be pumped into gas infrastructure and nuclear power plants as a result of the decision, diverting much-needed funds from renewable alternatives. One argument for rejecting the proposal is that it will boost Russian gas sales at a time when it is invading neighboring Ukraine, but the European Commission said it had received a letter from the Ukrainian government backing its stance. European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness quoted from the letter from Ukraine's energy minister Tuesday: I strongly believe that the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the taxonomy is an important element of the energy security in Europe, especially with a view to replacing Russian gas." I dont think we should second-guess this letter, McGuinness said. Russia's war in Ukraine has prompted the 27-nation bloc to sever ties with some Russian fossil fuels. Member countries have agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end in addition to a ban on imports of Russian coal that will start in August. But the EU hasn't included gas a fuel used to power factories and generate electricity in its own sanctions for fear of seriously harming the European economy. Before the war in Ukraine, it relied on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas. ___ Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin. TYLER, Texas (AP) A former East Texas chief deputy pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating a prisoners civil rights by using excessive force on him, according to court documents. Steven Craig Shelton was the second-ranked official in the Van Zandt County Sheriffs Office when the Sept. 21 incident happened at the county jail. JACKSON, Calif. (AP) Favorable weather early Wednesday aided the fight against a wildfire in California's Gold Country that has forced evacuations in two counties. The Electra Fire had burned 6.4 square miles (16.6 square kilometers) of rural terrain but it was now 40% contained without any buildings burned, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHOENIX (AP) The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday sued Arizona over a new law requiring people who use a federal form to register to vote to provide additional proof of citizenship if they want to vote for president or using the state's popular vote-by-mail system. The law signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey on March 30 is in direct conflict with a 1993 federal voter registration law and also violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the Justice Department. The law adds requirements for the federal form directly rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2013 Arizona case. The Republican-controlled Legislature was well aware of the federal law and the Supreme Court decision written by the late conservative icon, Justice Antonin Scalia. But they went ahead anyway, arguing the new law would boost election security. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the department's civil rights division called the new law that goes into effect in January "a textbook violation of the National Voter Registration Act. She said the National Voter Registration Act has helped eliminate requirements that make it hard to register to vote. Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections, Clarke said in a statement. The law violates the Civil Right Act by requiring election officials to reject registration forms if they contain a mistake or leave out information that is not needed to determine someone's right to vote, she said. Ducey said in a March 30 signing letter that the law is designed to address a growing number of voters who registered using the federal form who did not have to provide proof that they are citizens. The state's voters added the citizenship proof requirement in 2004 when they enacted Proposition 200, but it does not apply to the federal form. The federal form requires a person to swear they are a citizen, but there is no proof requirement. Those who register using the form and do not respond to election officials' request for citizenship proof are only allowed to vote in federal elections. In 2020, just over 11,600 people were federal-only voters, but the number has since risen. Since the Supreme Court decision, Arizona has allowed those using the form who have not provided citizenship proof to vote only in federal elections. Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin declined to comment, saying the administration doesn't comment on litigation. Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who is running for U.S. Senate, told the Justice Department in a July 1 letter that he would defend the law to the fullest. The bill would prohibit federal-only voters from voting by mail or voting for president. It would require state election officials to cross check registration information with various government databases to try to prove their citizenship, and report anyone they can't find to prosecutors. The bill also requires people to include proof of their address with new voter registrations. Election officials say thats complicated and unnecessary because addresses are verified at the time of voting, and voting rights advocates say it will make registering voters more difficult. The Legislatures own lawyers told lawmakers that much of the measure was unconstitutional, directly contradicts the 2013 Supreme Court decision and is likely to be thrown out in court. It passed with support from only majority Republicans. Voting rights advocates worry the bill is an attempt to get back in front of the now more conservative Supreme Court. "Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote, Ducey said in a letter explaining his decision to sign the bill. He called the bill "a balanced approach that honors Arizonas history of making voting accessible without sacrificing security in our elections. Rep. Jake Hoffman developed the bill along with the conservative Heritage Foundation, and said the measure is about eliminating opportunities for fraud, though cases of noncitizens voting are extremely rare. Hoffman and other supporters say it affects only the roughly 31,500 voters who have not shown proof of citizenship. Voting advocates say it's vague and could go much farther, affecting hundreds of thousands of people who haven't recently updated their voter registration or driver's license. The Justice Department lawsuit is the third to be filed challenging the law since it was passed. Voting rights groups filed the first two challenges, which have been merged into one case. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PARIS (AP) Frances government plans to nationalize indebted French electricity giant EDF amid a broad energy crisis aggravated by Russias invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Wednesday. The French state now holds an 84% stake in the company, one of the worlds biggest electricity producers. Shares in EDF, which has suffered a series of nuclear reactor shutdowns and other problems recently, jumped on the news. We must have full control over our electricity production and performance, Borne said as she laid out her government's priorities in her first major speech to Frances parliament. We must ensure our sovereignty in the face of the consequences of the war (in Ukraine) and the colossal challenges to come. ... Thats why I confirm to you the states intention to own 100% of EDFs capital. The announcement came as France and Europe are scrambling to find other energy sources to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas amid fears of an energy emergency next winter. EDF manages Frances sizable fleet of nuclear reactors, which are facing a raft of technical and other problems. New-generation reactors are years behind schedule and billions over budget. EDF had 84.5 billion euros ($86 billion) in revenue last year and 5.1 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in profits, and serves tens of millions of customers in France and several other countries. It was partially privatized in the early 2000s. The rise in EDF's share price was an apparent sign that investors expect the government to pay a premium to buy up the remaining stock. The shares hit an all-time high in 2007 but have since slid by 90%, falling even lower than the price at which the French government took EDF public in 2005 under a European Union privatization push. France invested heavily in nuclear energy during the oil shocks of the 1970s and depends on atomic plants for some 70% of its electricity, more than any other country. But EDF repeatedly had to reduce its production forecasts over the past several months after a string of reactor shutdowns for maintenance and inspections. Several reactors having problems with pipe corrosion are under investigation. Borne described the nationalization decision as part of a strategy to gain energy sovereignty and build a stronger France in a more independent Europe. We cannot rely anymore on Russian gas and oil, she said. We will gain our sovereignty thanks to nuclear and renewable energies. Her announcement came hours after the European Parliament approved an EU plan to include natural gas and nuclear energy in the blocs list of sustainable activities. Environmental groups fiercely criticized the plan, which France and Germany supported. France's state audit agency published a report Tuesday urging the government to change policy regarding EDF and the electricity market, calling the current structure neither readable nor controllable." According to the agency, France has failed to conform to EU policies on opening electricity markets to competition while maintaining affordable prices for consumers. ___ Jade le Deley in Paris and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report. WASHINGTON (AP) Foreign ministers from the worlds largest nations are looking to address Russia's war in Ukraine and its impact on global energy and food security when they meet in Indonesia this week. Yet instead of providing unity, the talks may well exacerbate existing divides over the Ukraine conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are set to attend the Group of 20 meeting in the Indonesian resort of Bali, which will set the stage for a summit of G-20 leaders at the same venue in November. It will mark the first time Blinken and Lavrov have been in the same room, let alone the same city, since January. Theres no indication the two will meet separately, but even without a one-on-one with Lavrov, Blinken could find himself in some difficult discussions. The State Department announced Tuesday that Blinken will hold separate talks with Wang at a time when already extremely tense U.S.-China relations have been worsened by Beijing's friendly ties with Moscow. And, unlike in recent leader-level meetings with NATO partners and other like-minded partners, Blinken will find himself among diplomats from countries wary of the U.S. approach to Ukraine and concerned about its impact on them. U.S. officials say that aside from Wang, Blinken will have bilateral talks in Bali with counterparts from countries that have not seen eye to eye with the West on the Russian invasion, notably India, which has increased purchases of Russian oil even as the U.S. and Europe have tried to choke off that revenue stream for Moscow. In announcing that Blinken would meet with Wang in Bali, the State Department had little to say about the possibility of him seeing Lavrov, whom the U.S. has shunned since the Ukraine invasion in February. The department said there would not be a formal meeting between Blinken and Lavrov, whom U.S. officials accuse of a lack of seriousness before, during and after the invasion of Ukraine. We would like to see the Russians be serious about diplomacy, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. We have not seen that yet. We would like to have the Russians give us a reason to meet on a bilateral basis with them, with Foreign Minister Lavrov, but the only thing we have seen emanate from Moscow is more brutality and aggression against the people and country of Ukraine. The Biden administration maintains there can be no business as usual with Moscow as long as the war continues. But neither Price nor other U.S. officials could rule out the possibility of a chance Blinken-Lavrov encounter in Bali, which would be their first since they last met in Geneva in January. Price declined to discuss what he called the choreography of the G-20. Like almost all recent international diplomatic gatherings, the Bali meeting will be overshadowed by Ukraine. But unlike the Western-dominated G-7 and NATO summits held in Europe last week, the G-20 will have a different flavor. China and many other participants, including India, South Africa and Brazil, have resisted signing onto U.S. and European full-throated opposition to Russias invasion. Some have outright refused Western entreaties to join condemnations of the conflict, which the U.S. and its allies see as an attack on the international rules-based order that has prevailed since the end of World War II. Thus, there may be difficulty in achieving a G-20 consensus on efforts to mitigate the food and energy impacts of the Ukraine conflict, particularly with China and Russia in the room. That will not stop the U.S. from trying, according to American officials. They want to see the G-20 put its weight behind a U.N.-backed initiative to free up some 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain for export mainly to the Middle East, Africa and Asia. We would like the G-20 to hold Russia accountable and insist that it support this initiative, said Ramin Toloui, the assistant secretary of state for Economic and Business Affairs. While a variety of nations, including G-20 host Indonesia, are pushing for Russia to ease its blockade in the Black Sea to allow grain to enter the global market, they remain wary of antagonizing Moscow and its friends in Beijing. And that divergence has set the stage for a potentially contentious preparatory meeting ahead of November's G-20 summit amid questions about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend. The U.S. has made clear it does not believe Putin should attend but has urged Indonesia to invite Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy should the Russian leader participate. In the meantime, the U.S. and China are separately at severe odds over numerous issues ranging from trade and human rights to Taiwan and disputes in the South China Sea. Blinken's meeting with Wang was announced after Chinas trade envoy with Washington expressed concern about U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports in a call with with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Neither side gave any indication that progress has been made on the matter and U.S. officials downplayed the chances for any breakthroughs in the short term. In his meeting with Wang, U.S. officials said Blinken would instead be pressing to keep lines of communications open and creating guardrails to guide the world's two largest economies as they navigate increasingly complex and potentially explosive matters. Its absolutely critical that we have open lines of communication with our Chinese counterparts, particularly at the senior level ... to ensure that we prevent any miscalculation that could lead inadvertently to conflict and confrontation, said Daniel Kritenbrink, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia. From Bali, Blinken will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, to make up for a trip to the Thai capital that he was forced to cancel late last year due to COVID-19. In addition to Thai officials, Blinken will meet with refugees who have fled ongoing political violence and repression in Myanmar since a coup toppled a civilian government in February 2021. ATLANTA (AP) Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday that his main campaign committee raised $3.8 million in the two months ended June 30, but heavy spending leading up to the Republican's blowout primary win meant that Kemp's total amount of cash on hand continued to decline. Kemp spokesman Cody Hall said the incumbent's main campaign committee had $6.4 million on hand. That reflects spending of more than $8 million before and just after the May 24 primary when Kemp thrashed former U.S. Sen. David Perdue and others. Kemp had $10.7 million in cash on April 30 and $12.7 million on Jan. 31. Kemp also raised $3 million for his Georgians First Leadership Committee, Hall said, giving him a total of $6.8 million raised during the period. That special state fundraising vehicle allows the governor to collect unlimited contributions and coordinate spending with his campaign. The committee also spent about $3 million, leaving it with $650,000 on hand. Democrat Stacey Abrams has yet to report numbers. Other candidates in November are Libertarian Shane Hazel and independent Al Bartell. Georgia candidates have a grace period to file after the June 30 deadline, and Kemp had not filed his actual report with state ethics officials as of Wednesday evening. Abrams has raised more than $20 million for her main campaign committee since announcing her campaign in December. Kemp has raised more than $23 million over a longer period, topping the $22.4 million he raised in his win over Abrams in 2018. The campaign in closely divided Georgia is likely to blow past old spending records, with a torrent of political spending expected from candidates, political parties and outside groups, especially when combined with the U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker. Both Perdue and Abrams sued over the leadership committee, saying it was unfair that Kemp could take in large amounts while Perdue and Abrams were barred until they won their party primaries. After an earlier ruling that Kemp could not spend money from the committee for his campaign against Perdue, U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen ruled that Georgians First Leadership Committee could not solicit or receive contributions until after the primary election made Kemp the Republican nominee for governor. So the $3 million raised for Georgians First would have all come since May 24. ___ Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LOS ANGELES (AP) Los Angeles Countys progressive prosecutor could be tossed from office like his counterpart in San Francisco after opponents on Wednesday said they submitted more than enough petition signatures to qualify for an election to recall District Attorney George Gascon, who they say is soft on crime. The campaign spent about $8 million to gather 717,000 signatures they delivered by truck to the Los Angeles Registrar for verification. Even if 20% of signatures are invalidated, which has been typical in California recall efforts, the number would still exceed the required 567,000. That figure reflects 10% of registered voters in the nations most populous county. Tim Lineberger, a spokesman for the recall campaign, said they'll succeed if they can get the measure before voters. I wouldnt say its in the bag or well be complacent, but as far as public opinion is concerned, George Gascon is toast, he said. If certified, the election would be the latest in a string of recalls in California that have mostly targeted progressives in a state known for its liberal streak. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom was one of the few survivors, winning by a large margin in September. Last month, San Francisco voters frustrated with a rash of property crimes, including brazen shoplifting caught on video and attacks against Asian American people, drove District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a former public defender, from office. The vote came after a special election that ousted three San Francisco school board members in February. Gascon, a former San Francisco police chief who then became DA in that city, won office in Los Angeles in November 2020 as part of a wave of progressive prosecutors elected nationwide. He ran on a criminal justice reform platform after a summer of unrest following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Gascon vowed not to seek the death penalty, not to prosecute juveniles as adults or seek cash bail. He said he'd be tougher than his predecessor, Jackie Lacey, the first woman and Black person to run the office, when it came to prosecuting police who killed someone in the line of duty. But Gascon immediately ran into problems running the nation's largest local prosecutor's office when he told deputies they shouldn't seek longer prison sentences for repeat felons and those carrying guns, among many other changes that were seen as soft on crime. They sued and won a court order to reverse some of his policies. An initial effort to recall him began almost immediately but quickly sputtered when supporters didn't gather enough signatures. The most recent effort, however, has been far more successful and received overwhelming support from the union representing 800 of his offices roughly 1,000 prosecutors. It may have earned additional support after two El Monte police officers were slain by a felon free on probation last month. Gascon defended the plea deal that sent the convicted burglar and car thief to jail for 20 days and then placed him on probation. While the man could have been sent to prison for three years, he had no history of violence and the nature of the offense didn't warrant prison time, the DA said. Gascon has said the effort to bounce him has been fueled by right wing donors, though it also includes people who have lost family members to violence who are upset with or fear the outcome of their court cases. On Wednesday, some of those victims were among a couple dozen recall supporters who gathered outside the registrar's office in Norwalk office as the petitions were dropped off. One man propped up a sign saying Victims Before Killers. Another held a sign saying, Bye Bye George. Aurora Carlos, whose son, Benjamin Salvidres, was killed last year, doesn't think her family will receive justice under Gascon. Gascon needs to go," she said. "If not for my sons case, for everyone elses case. Historically, about 20% of signatures for recall campaigns are thrown out because someone who signed the petition wasnt registered to vote or provided an incorrect address, said Joshua Spivak, a Senior Research Fellow at Berkeley Laws California Constitution Center and author of a book on recall elections. That means they would need about 680,000 signatures to have the cushion needed. If it does qualify for the ballot, history is on the side of the recall supporters, Spivak said. About 60% of recalls that made the ballot nationwide have succeeded. Gascon criticized the signature-gathering process, in which people are paid as much as $15 for each signature they collect. He said some of those people use sleazy tactics to get voters to sign the petition even when they know little about the people they're trying to push out of office. Gascon said he was approached by a person at Costco collecting signatures for his ouster who asked if he wanted to get the rapists out of his neighborhood. The man, who said he was from Florida, didn't realize who Gascon was. It's a very mercenary approach, Gascon said. Most people think that they're all volunteers who care about their community and there's a number of those, don't get me wrong. But the bulk of signatures are being collected by ways that are extremely misleading. If the recall is approved, voters could decide Gascon's fate during the general election in November or mid-December or mid-January, said Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for the registrar. Voters would choose whether to recall Gascon and would then pick from a slate of candidates hoping to replace him. If more than 50% vote to oust him, the replacement candidate with the most votes would be the next DA. Gascon said he was confident he would survive any recall attempt. Much like we saw what happened with the governors race," he said. They got the signatures to put him on the ballot and then they lost miserably and I fully suspect that that will be the same thing here. ___ Associated Press journalist Eugene Garcia contributed to this report from Norwalk. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) An Indianapolis man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for fatally shooting a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier, prosecutors said Wednesday. Tony Cushingberry, 23, entered the plea in the April 27, 2020, slaying of carrier Angela Summers, 45, in Indianapolis, prosecutors said. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A judge in West Virginia's capital struck down a law on Wednesday that would have funneled state money into a program that incentivized families to pull their children out of K-12 public schools. Immediately following the ruling, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his office plans to appeal. Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Joanna Tabit ruled that the Hope Scholarship voucher program, which would have been one of the most far-reaching school choice programs in the country, violates the state's constitutional mandate to provide a thorough and efficient system of free schools. Passed by the GOP-controlled state Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice last year, the law allows families to apply for state funding to support private school tuition, homeschooling fees and a wide range of other expenses. Set to go into effect during the 2022-23 school year, more than 3,000 students had been approved to receive around $4,300 each during the program's inaugural cycle. Families could not receive the money if their children were already homeschooled or attending private school. To qualify, students had to have been enrolled in a West Virginia public school last year or set to begin kindergarten this upcoming school year. In January, three parents filed a lawsuit saying the program incentivizes students to withdraw from public schools and drains funds from the public education system. The suit was supported by the West Virginia Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools. Dale Lee, president of West Virginia's largest educator's union, said Wednesday that parents have the right to choose whether they want to home-school their children or send them to private schools. However, the state shouldn't be using taxpayer dollars to fund that choice, he said. It is one thing to allow parents the choice of where to educate their children, but it is another matter entirely when we entice them away from our public schools with public money as the incentive," he said. State Treasurer Riley Moore, chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board, said he is deeply disappointed in Wednesday's ruling and will support an appeal to the state Supreme Court. More than 3,100 West Virginia students were relying on having this funding in the fall, and now at the last minute they may not be able to get the educational services they want and need," he said in a statement. Moore said he and other state officials firmly believe the program is constitutional. We will vigorously defend our implementation of this Program, which the people of West Virginia have clearly demonstrated they want, so that West Virginia families can choose the educational opportunities best suited for their children, he said. Democratic state Sen. Richard Lindsay, who represents the Charleston metro area, said Wednesday he agrees with the ruling, but feels sad for the families who were granted the voucher and are now "in limbo because of a law that was constitutionally suspect or infirm from the beginning. The HOPE voucher, left unchecked and unregulated, is extreme, unconstitutional and would ultimately lead to consolidation or closure of WV public schools," he said. Photo for The Washington Post by Astrid Riecken WASHINGTON - A month-long federal operation targeting violent crime has led to the arrest of 1,500 fugitives, sex offenders and gang members in 10 large U.S. cities, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. The U.S. Marshals Service focused Operation North Star on municipalities with high rates of homicides and gun violence, including Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Baltimore. The effort aimed to apprehend those who committed the most violent offenses, prioritizing suspects who used firearms, officials said. BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) The man charged with killing his mother at sea in a plot to inherit millions of dollars has asked a federal court Wednesday to authorize his release from custody pending trial. The attorneys for Nathan Carman filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Burlington saying the evidence against him is tenuous at best" and he is not a flight risk or a danger to the community. As conditions of release, Carman is willing to surrender his passport, submit to electronic monitoring and turn over all the money he has, $10,000, to a third party or post some of that money as bail, the filing says. He has also been under criminal investigation for almost a decade and he has been facing civil litigation, but he has always shown up in court. At no time during that lengthy period has Mr. Carman ever attempted to threaten a witness, contact a witness inappropriately or sought to influence a witness in any way," the filing says. There is no evidence to support such a claim now. After Carman's arrest, prosecutors argued he should be held because he poses a flight risk and is a danger to the community. Carman has been held since his arrest in May when he was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Linda Carman of Middletown, Connecticut, during a fishing trip off the Rhode Island coast. Her body has never been found. He was also charged with multiple counts of fraud. Authorities also alleged Carman killed his grandfather, John Chakalos, at his home in Windsor, Connecticut, in 2013 as part of a scheme to obtain money and property from his grandfathers estate, but he was not charged with that killing. The Wednesday motion says that during his eight years living in Vernon, Vermont, Carman led a quiet life with solid ties to the community, participating in town forums, attending a local church and had many local friends. ANNISTON, Ala. (AP) Police in Alabama were searching on Tuesday for a 47-year-old man after a missing 75-year-old woman was found in a house associated with him, in a closet and bound with tape. There's a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of Tony Lamar White, of Anniston, the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office said on its Facebook page Tuesday. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Anita Hannig, Brandeis University (THE CONVERSATION) Several states around the U.S. are currently considering whether to legalize medical aid in dying for terminally ill patients. More than 20% of Americans already live in a state with access to a medically assisted death. Despite this rapidly changing legal climate, the language for describing this new way to die remains surprisingly antiquated. The term that continues to dominate media coverage on the issue is assisted suicide. The American Medical Association uses the term physician-assisted suicide. A quick look at Google Trends reveals that nine times as many people search for assisted suicide as opposed to assisted dying. As a cultural anthropologist, I know that how we name something determines how we think about it. Until just recently, the primary term in the English language for the purposeful, voluntary death of oneself was suicide. Besides martyrdom or sacrifice, there was no other way to refer to an intentional self-death. But times have changed. For the past 25 years, since Oregon enacted the countrys first assisted dying law, a medically assisted death has occupied a new legal and moral category. An assisted death is a medical response to the devastating reality of terminal illness. Equating assisted dying with suicide isnt only antiquated or misleading its actually harmful. I have spent five years shadowing patients, families and physicians involved with assisted dying in America, and I saw how damaging this conflation can be. In my new book, The Day I Die: The Untold Story of Assisted Dying in America, I explore the complexities and constraints of the choices that people who pursue an assisted death face. A loaded term Until well into the 19th century, suicide was viewed as a crime in the United States, punishable with confiscation of the deceaseds property and denial of a Christian burial. Although suicide but not its assistance has been decriminalized today, it remains heavily stigmatized. As philosopher Ian Hackingwrites, News of a suicide among us has an immediate response: horror. Calling assisted dying suicide taps into the social taboos and moral outrage that surround the act of taking ones life. That stigma can lead to very sick patients hiding their desire to pursue an assisted death from loved ones for fear of being judged for suiciding leaving patients without critical support. It also poses a problem for terminally ill patients who have a strong wish to be released from their suffering but whose religion considers committing suicide a sin. One devout homeless patient from Portland with end-stage renal failure spent his last waking moments before he drank the lethal medication agonizing about whether God would forgive him for ending his life. As I found during my research, the conflation of assisted dying with suicide sometimes causes families to feel isolated in the bereavement process. Afraid of being shamed for abetting their loved ones suicide, some have had to mask their grief. Valerie, whose elderly mother used Oregons assisted dying law in 2018, told her supervisor at work about her mothers chosen death. He emitted a hushed groan, offering no condolences for her loss. After that encounter, I only revealed the details to trusted friends and family, Valerie told me. It added a layer of sadness to expend energy trying to figure out what someones reaction might be. Bereavement experts call this type of mourning disenfranchised grief hidden grief that is not fully acknowledged or even allowed by society because of the way someone died, such as from a drug overdose or in utero. A medical procedure From their inception, assisted-dying laws in America were designed to mobilize the tools of medicine to ease suffering at the end of someones life. These laws draw a clear line between assisted dying and a suicidal act. The nations first assisted-dying statute, Oregons 1997 Death with Dignity Act, specifies that Actions taken in accordance with [the Act] shall not, for any purpose, constitute suicide, assisted suicide, mercy killing or homicide, under the law. As Roger Kligler, a physician and cancer patient who is suing the commonwealth of Massachusetts for his right to die, put it, Calling it suicide means that were not talking about end-of-life issues. The participation of medicine and a patients social network, write psychiatrists John Michael Bostwick and Lewis Cohen, are what differentiate assisted dying from suicide. An assisted death is collaborative and sanctioned by a patients support system not unilateral and covert. When they acquiesce to requests to facilitate dying, [physicians] are not abetting suicide or committing homicide, Bostwick and Cohen write. The distinction between clinical suicide and other types of end-of-life decisions demands a new formulation. Key differences Terminally ill patients who seek an assisted death arent suicidal. Absent a terminal prognosis, they have no independent desire to end their life. In fact, prescribing physicians must uphold the distinction between assisted dying and suicide in their clinical work by screening for mental illness, such as depression (which is clinically associated with suicidal thoughts). A patient who shows any signs of mental impairment must undergo further scrutiny by a mental health expert. Patients who pursue medical aid in dying are no longer looking at an open-ended life span either. To qualify for an assisted death in states with these laws they must already be on the verge of dying that is, within six months of the end of their life. These patients dont face a meaningful decision between living and dying, but between one kind of death and another. As more states are inching closer to legalizing assisted dying, its time that we revise and refine our cultural lexicon around this emergent end-of-life practice. A medically assisted death definitively warrants a linguistic and conceptual category of its own. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/medical-aid-in-dying-is-still-called-assisted-suicide-an-anthropologist-explains-the-problem-with-that-183018. New rules proposed by the Biden administration on Wednesday would make it easier for borrowers to get their federal student debt forgiven through several existing programs. The action is intended to overhaul relief programs that have been criticized for their burdensome paperwork requirements and long processing times. It builds on the administrations efforts to expand targeted debt cancellation for certain borrowers while President Joe Biden considers broader student debt forgiveness. We are committed to fixing a broken system, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. If a borrower qualifies for student loan relief, it shouldnt take mountains of paperwork or a law degree to obtain it. The proposal would smooth out a debt forgiveness process for students whose colleges deceive them, along with other programs for borrowers who are disabled and those with careers in public service. Its unlikely to open debt forgiveness to huge swaths of borrowers, but its meant to make it easier for those who already qualify. The Education Department plans to finalize the rules no later than July 1, 2023. Some of the most significant changes are to the borrower defense program, which allows students to get their loans erased if their colleges lie to them or otherwise commit fraud. The program has seen an explosion of claims over the last decade starting with an Obama-era crackdown on for-profit colleges. But political and legal battles have led to a backlog of more than 200,000 applications, with some borrowers waiting years for a decision. Instead of requiring the government to review each claim individually a rule set by the Trump administration the new proposal would allow the Education Department to process groups of similar claims together. If a college is found to have deceived students about their job prospects after graduating, for example, the department would be able to combine all claims from that school and approve them in one action. That option would be available if there's evidence of widespread fraud by a school, determined by state or federal authorities or through a class-action lawsuit. The Biden administration also hopes to hold more colleges financially liable for their students canceled loans. In the past, loan cancellation has typically been passed to taxpayers, but the proposal rules would make it clear that the department plans to recoup costs from colleges that commit fraud. And for the first time, borrowers would known when to expect a decision: The policy would require the Education Department to approve or deny individual claims within three years. The new plan drew condemnation from the for-profit college industry, which faced intense scrutiny from the Obama administration but later found an ally in President Donald Trump. Jason Altmire, president and CEO of the industry trade group Career Education Colleges and Universities, said the policy would be an unprecedented expansion of the Education Departments authority. Todays proposed rule sends a clear and troubling message that the Department intends to use the rulemaking process to discharge federal student loans en masse while hurting unfavored institutions and their students, Altmire said. Critics of the industry applauded what they see as increased accountability. Veterans Education Success, a nonprofit advocacy group, called it a significant improvements over current rules," adding that it would hold unscrupulous schools accountable for federal losses. Also targeted for an overhaul is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was created by Congress as an incentive for government and nonprofit workers but has been criticized for having overly rigid requirements. Under the current rules, workers in eligible jobs who make 120 monthly payments can get the rest of their federal student debt erased. Each monthly payment must be made in full and within 15 days of its due date, otherwise it doesn't count toward the 120 payments. The new action would erase the 15-day rule, allowing payments to count even if they are made late or in multiple installments. It also would allow borrowers to make up to a year of payments in advance instead of making monthly payments. For the first time, borrowers in certain situations could also make progress toward loan forgiveness even if they dont pay. People who get their loans paused for cancer treatment, military service or to join the Peace Corps, for example, would be treated as if they were still making monthly payments during that time. Although the changes would add flexibility, they dont go as far as a temporary overhaul the Biden administration instituted last year in response to the pandemic. That short-term fix allows borrowers to get previous payments counted toward loan forgiveness even if they went toward loans that arent eligible under the programs rules. That flexibility will go away after Oct. 31, and the Education Department urged borrowers to use it before it expires. More flexibility would also be introduced to a separate program intended to help borrowers with disabilities. That program offers to cancel federal student debt for people who are permanently disabled and unable to generate significant income. But many have been granted forgiveness only to have their debt restored later after failing to submit paperwork during a three-year monitoring period. The new action would eliminate the three-year review period and make more types of disabilities eligible for cancellation. The Biden administration temporarily lifted some of the program's rules during the pandemic, but the new changes would be permanent. All the proposed changes are the result of a federal rules process that has been in the works for more than a year. It adds to the Biden administrations effort to expand student debt relief through a patchwork of existing programs. So far it has approved nearly $26 billion in debt forgiveness for more than 1.3 million borrowers. Biden has separately faced pressure to pursue mass debt cancellation, with some Democrats urging him to erase $50,000 across the board. As a candidate, Biden supported $10,000 in forgiveness and in April he said he was taking a hard look at the issue, promising a decision in the next couple of weeks. No decision has been announced. ___ The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) New Mexico residents who say they endured constitutional rights violations, depression and anxiety under aggressive public health restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak have abandoned a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham after most allegations were dismissed by a judge. The move came after a string of adverse rulings in state and federal courts for plaintiffs in several lawsuits that challenged the authority of the Democratic governor and state health officials to impose public health restrictions, such as mask mandates, that were phased out earlier this year. New Mexico imposed some of the most aggressive public health restrictions in the U.S. during the pandemic mandating face masks, halting in-person activity at nonessential businesses and allowing public schools to suspend in-person classroom teaching for about a year. The orders withstood repeated legal challenges. Attorney Jonathan Diener said Tuesday that a dozen plaintiffs dropped their lawsuit against Lujan Grisham and state health officials after a federal magistrate judge last week dismissed most of their claims. The plaintiffs included a pet food business in Rio Rancho, a martial arts studio in Bernalillo, a restaurant in Silver City and a member of an Albuquerque-based megachurch. The lawsuit sought to limit future public health emergency declarations. Diener said the lawsuit no longer appeared viable, though the federal judge had allowed claims to move forward about possible infringements on religious freedoms during the state's initial shutdown of in-person gatherings at churches and other places of worship. One plaintiff, a member of the Albuquerque-based Calvery Chapel, alleged that she was denied expression of her religious beliefs and that she suffered depression and anxiety set in from social isolation during the pandemic. Three lawsuits against Lujan Grisham and her public health orders are still pending in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque and the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. New Mexico state judges have consistently backed the governor's authority to impose broad public health orders. The New Mexico Supreme Court in August 2020 affirmed the authority of the state health secretary to restrict or close businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic, rejecting assertions that a temporary ban on indoor dining services was arbitrary and capricious. In June 2021, the state's top court ruled that there is no constitutional or statutory requirement to compensate businesses for financial losses caused by emergency public health orders. Allegations of economic hardship under the orders were blunted somewhat by billions of dollars in federal and state aid that was funneled to New Mexico residents and businesses to sustain payrolls and unemployment payments without corresponding tax increases. The New Mexico Supreme Court also has ruled that the Legislature was allowed to restrict in-person access to the state Capitol due to the pandemic. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A North Carolina woman who controlled two healthcare companies pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges resulting from a scheme in which she collected $17 million after the companies billed Medicare for medical equipment it never delivered, a prosecutor said. Tanya Parrish Grant, 51, of Raleigh carried out her scheme through her companies, which provided back, shoulder, knee, and wrist braces and other equipment to Medicare beneficiaries, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Environmental officials in Rhode Island are warning residents about tiny jellyfish that pack a powerful sting. The state Department of Environmental Management say clinging jellyfish have recently been found in Potter Pond in South Kingstown and Ninigret Pond in Charlestown. The agency said adult clinging jellyfish are about the size of a dime and have an orange-brown cross mark on their transparent bodies. Officials say their sting can be extremely painful and can lead to hospitalization. In a video posted Friday on the DEM's Facebook page, officials advise quahoggers and others using shallow, protected waterbodies to wear boots, waders, or wetsuits for protection, and avoid aquatic vegetation like eelgrass where they tend to congregate. If stung, officials recommend rinsing with vinegar or hot water. If symptoms worsen, they recommend seeking medical help. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) The Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has died, Nigerian authorities and the oil cartel announced Wednesday. Only hours before his death, he'd met with Nigeria's president and spoken in defense of the energy industry amid increasing climate change pressure. Mohammad Barkindo, 63, died late Tuesday in Abuja, a spokesman for Nigerias petroleum ministry told The Associated Press. The reason for his death was not immediately known. The Vienna-based oil cartel also confirmed his death, saying he was a much-loved leader of OPEC. His death came as a surprise to industry insiders. His second term as head of OPEC was set to end in three weeks on July 31. He'd held the post for six years since 2016. Barkindos death was first confirmed in a tweet by the managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Mele Kyari. OPEC's statement said Barkindo's last words to friends were that he was happy to have concluded his tenure as secretary-general, he'd served the best he could and that he was proud of those who'd served with him. Barkindo led the crude oil bloc through some of its most turbulent times in recent memory, including during the COVID-19 pandemic when oil prices plummeted due to declining demand. He helped guide the group, working to keep the positions of its members unified. OPECs 13 member-states have 1.24 billion proven crude oil reserves among them, or 80% of the worlds share. Of the worlds total crude oil production, OPEC producers share is just under 38%. His role representing OPEC took on even greater significance in past years amid a global effort to tackle climate change. Barkindo used his platform to advocate in favor of a bigger role for the energy industry in conversations about the energy transition. This positioned him firmly on the side of oil producers who say more investments in oil and gas are needed until the world is able to run on alternative forms of energy. Our industry is now facing huge challenges along multiple fronts and these threaten our investment potential now and in the longer term. To put it bluntly, the oil and gas industry is under siege, he said hours before his death at an energy conference in Nigeria. Scientists and authors of U.N.-backed studies say the world needs to cut by more than half its production of coal, oil and gas in the coming decade to maintain a chance of keeping global warming from reaching dangerous levels. To do this, they say investments in oil and gas must stop and be rerouted to cleaner forms of energy. Barkindos legacy, however, is perhaps most tied to his final years steering OPEC as the group entered into an agreement known as OPEC+ with major non-OPEC producer, Russia. That agreement, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and Russia, has helped steady oil markets as the world emerges from the pandemic, though it has come under criticism amid current high oil prices and as the U.S. and other Western nations try to squeeze Russias economy over the war in Ukraine. Brent crude has soared past $100 a barrel this year. OPEC member-states accounted for around 48% of all world crude oil exports last year. Saudi Arabia is by far the biggest exporter of crude within OPEC, with 6.23 million barrels per day of crude exports last year. Non-OPEC producer, Russia, exported 4.5 million barrels of crude last year. Barkindo's successor Haitham al-Ghais, a veteran of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, was set to assume the post in August. Born in Nigerias eastern city of Yola, Barkindo began his career with the Nigerian Mining Corporation in 1982 before holding multiple roles over more than two decades at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, including as its CEO. He also served as deputy managing director of Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas. He'd led Nigerias technical delegation to the U.N. climate change negotiations for years and served several terms as vice president of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties. He attended university in Nigeria before earning a post-graduate degree in petroleum economics from Oxford University in the U.K. and an MBA from Washington University in the U.S. In his meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari told Barkindo: Welcome back home!" according to an OPEC readout of the meeting. Buhari also congratulated him on his tenure at OPEC. Nigeria has been a member of OPEC for 50 years. Barkindo was set to join the Atlantic Council as a distinguished fellow next month, after finishing his term at OPEC. He was a frequent speaker at the Atlantic Council's global energy forum. ___ Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Marcia F. Daily, 26, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of disorderly conduct after being accused of fighting inside Circle K, 602 N. Main St., about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. THEFTS, BURGLARIES An air-conditioning unit was stolen between Thursday and Sunday from a residence in the 300 block of Farrell Street, according to a report filed at 3:47 p.m. Tuesday. VANDALISM People reported being hit by eggs thrown from a passing truck at 11:44 p.m. Monday at West College Avenue and Church Street. FIRES Jacksonville firefighters were called at 12:14 a.m. Tuesday to put out a Dumpster fire at 800 Illinois Ave. Brown County Sheriff ACCIDENTS Christopher J. Moore of Ewing, Missouri, was treated at Blessing Hospital for minor injuries suffered when the car he was driving went off the road at 7:58 p.m. Saturday at U.S. 24 and County Road 1000 North. Pike County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Johnny L. Seal, 46, of Griggsville was booked into Pike County Jail at 8:51 a.m. Sunday on charges of battery and domestic battery. Ian G. Fee, 29, of Independence, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 12:22 p.m. Sunday on a charge of possession of cannabis. Carl B. Henderson, 34, of Louisiana, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 12:45 a.m. Sunday on an aggravated battery charge. Joseph M. Scranton, 39, of New Canton was booked into Pike County Jail at 9:35 a.m. Friday on charges of having no driver's license and leaving the scene of an accident. Victor W. Delong, 59, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 8:57 a.m. Friday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended. Kyle W. Wassell, 37, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 12:42 p.m. Sunday on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Keith E. Wright, 44, of Pleasant Hill was booked into Pike County Jail at 4:02 p.m. Saturday on a charge of threatening a public official. Jude R. Bay, 18, of Pleasant Hill was booked into Pike County Jail at 9:52 a.m. June 23 on a violation of the sex offender registration act. Dylan S. Howell, 29, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 5 p.m. June 28 on a charge of delivery of methamphetamine and on a Calhoun County warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court. Tamera D. Clark, 61, of Martinsburg, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 9:38 a.m. June 27 on a violation of a no-contact order. Rahman S. Henson, 40, of Jefferson City, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 3:50 p.m. June 28 on charges of obstructing identification and aggravated fleeing or eluding of a peace officer. Terrell W. Bell, 49, of Barry was booked into Pike County Jail at 12:13 p.m. June 26 on a warrant accusing him of failing to register as a sex offender. Brittany C. Dove, 24, of Barry was booked into Pike County Jail at 4:04 p.m. June 20 on a domestic battery charge. Pittsfield Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Justin W. Bryant, 34, of Louisiana, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 11:11 a.m. June 26 on a domestic battery charge. Floyd Jr. Johnson, 44, of Houston was booked into Pike County Jail at 8:14 a.m. June 22 on a Texas probation and parole warrant. WARSAW, Poland (AP) Polands prime minister on Wednesday accused Russian agencies of hacking into government systems and manipulating and leaking emails that allegedly expose his administrations links with the judiciary. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki labeled the leaks a provocation by Russian and Belarusian secret services aiming to sow discord in Poland in revenge for Warsaws support for Ukraine amid Russias invasion. In the emails dating from 2019, which the Polish press reported as leaked on Monday, Morawieckis top aide, Michal Dworczyk, is presented as informing him that hes discussed some court cases with somebody described as chairwoman Julia P., and that the cases have been suspended. The description has been seen as fitting the head of Polands controversial Constitutional Tribunal, Julia Przylebska, who was appointed by the ruling party. Under her leadership, the court has been issuing verdicts favorable to the government policies and supporting it in its disputes with the European Union. Late Tuesday, Przylebska reacted saying that she has never discussed any verdicts of the Constitutional Tribunal with anyone, apart from debates among the tribunals judges. She added that she would not be intimidated by any Russian provocateurs. Government influencing of judges is against Polands constitution. However, Morawieckis right-wing government is at odds with EU bodies which say judicial independence and the rule of law are being violated. Poland has been fined over a body disciplining judges. Correspondence allegedly coming from Dworczyks and Morawieckis email boxes has been leaking to the Polish press for some months. The government has denied its authenticity, although some people named in the documents have said they are genuine. Prosecutors are investigating. But on Wednesday Morawiecki didn't directly deny the latest leaks as fakes, rather accusing Russia of hacking Polish government emails. "Post Reports" is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you've come to expect from the newsroom of The Post - for your ears. - - - In this episode: In Highland Park, Ill., a holiday parade became a scene of horror as a gunman opened fire on the crowd. At other celebrations in cities nationwide, the booming sounds of fireworks were apparently mistaken for gunshots, sending scores of revelers fleeing for cover. "I think a big piece of what we saw on Monday is this loss of trust over the last several years," reporter Marc Fisher said. The rise of mass shootings in America has brought up so many complicated and sad questions: How are we supposed to live in a society where we have to be so fearful? What will it take to prevent these shootings from happening? And how do we punish the people who perpetrate unthinkable acts of violence? Today, we are diving into that last question, in an interview with our colleague David Nakamura. In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Buffalo, the Biden administration must decide whether to pursue the death penalty for the 18-year-old suspect. When he visited Buffalo last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland assured survivors and victims' families that a full investigation was taking place. It's a "death penalty eligible crime," Garland said in a news conference. But this Justice Department is conflicted - civil rights advocates have long opposed capital punishment, saying that it is inhumane and disproportionately used against racial minorities. ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) Federal authorities on Wednesday reached a settlement with immigration advocates that restricts the use of a privately run detention center in Virginia that saw a massive coronavirus outbreak two years ago. The settlement in federal court in Alexandria restricts the Farmville Detention Center, run by Immigration Centers of America, from accepting more than 180 detainees at any time over the next two years. That's 25% of the facility's overall capacity. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Democratic governors in states where abortion will remain legal are looking for ways to protect any patients who travel there for the procedure along with the providers who help them from being prosecuted by their home states. The Democratic governors of Colorado and North Carolina on Wednesday issued executive orders to protect abortion providers and patients from extradition to states that have banned the practice. Abortions are legal in North Carolina until fetal viability or in certain medical emergencies, making the state an outlier in the Southeast. This order will help protect North Carolina doctors and nurses and their patients from cruel right-wing criminal laws passed by other states, Gov. Roy Cooper said in announcing the order. The governors of Rhode Island and Maine also signed executive orders late Tuesday, stating that they will not cooperate with other states investigations into people who seek abortions or health care providers that perform them. Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said women should be trusted with their own health care decisions, and Democratic Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos said Rhode Island must do all it can to protect access to reproductive health care as other states attack the fundamental right to choose. Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said she will stand in the way of any effort to undermine, rollback, or outright eliminate the right to safe and legal abortion in Maine. Their offices confirmed Wednesday that they are preemptive, protective moves, and that neither state has received a request to investigate, prosecute or extradite a provider or patient. Their attempts to protect abortion rights come as tighter restrictions and bans are going into effect in conservative states after last month's Dobbs v. Jackson ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned the nearly half-century-old holding from Roe v. Wade that found that the right to abortion was protected by the U.S. Constitution. The issue reverts to the states, many of which have taken steps to curtail or ban abortions. Several states have put new restrictions already in place since the Supreme Court ruling and more are pressing to do so. In Louisiana on Wednesday, the state Supreme Court rejected the attorney general's request to allow immediate enforcement of laws against most abortions saying it was declining to get involved at this preliminary stage. Enforcement was blocked by another court last week. Attorney General Jeff Landry tweeted that Wednesday's decision is delaying the inevitable. Our Legislature fulfilled their constitutional duties, and now the Judiciary must. It is disappointing that time is not immediate. The specific fears of Democratic officials are rooted in a Texas law adopted last year to ban abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected. The law lets any person other than a government official or employee sue anyone who performs an abortion or knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets obtaining one. The person filing the claim would be entitled to $10,000 for every abortion the subject was involved with plus legal costs. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear challenges to the Texas law so far. Bernadette Meyler, a professor at Stanford Law School, said its not clear whether judgments against out-of-state abortion providers would hold up in courts, especially if they are not advertising their services in states with bans. But she also said its not clear that the liberal states are on firm legal ground to protect their residents from any out-of-state litigation. Probably, they assume that some of the laws that theyre passing wont be upheld or may not be upheld, and theyre trying to come up with as much as possible in order to resist the effects of the Dobbs decision, Meyler said. The resistance to cooperating with abortion-related investigations could hold up, though, she said. Places that declared themselves sanctuary cities and refused to cooperate with federal immigration investigations during former President Donald Trumps presidency were able to carry out similar policies. In Raleigh, North Carolina, Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson said her group and other advocates for abortion access are pushing for the protections. Everywhere we can push the imagination of what a free and equal world looks like, she said, we are working with those governors. Connecticut was the first state to pass a law to protect abortion providers, patients and others from legal action taken by other states. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont signed it in May, before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In accordance with Connecticut law, we will resist any attempt by another state to criminalize or intrude on a womans private and lawful healthcare decisions, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement last week. The Democratic governors of Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, California and Washington and the moderate Republican governor in liberal Massachusetts all signed executive orders within days of the ruling to prohibit cooperation with other states that might interfere with abortion access. Residents seeking access will be protected, providers will be protected, and abortion is and will continue to be legal, safe and accessible, period, said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has described the order as a preventative measure. One of the largest abortion providers in Texas announced Wednesday that it's planning to move its operations to bordering New Mexico. Whole Womans Health announced Wednesday that it is looking to establish a new clinic in a New Mexico city near the state line to provide first- and second-trimester abortions. The Democratic-controlled Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a bill that aims to protect abortion providers and people seeking abortions from actions taken by other states. Delawares Democratic governor signed legislation expanding abortion access, with various legal protections for abortion providers and patients, including out-of-state residents receiving abortions in Delaware. New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed two bills Friday that moved swiftly in the Democratic-led Legislature following the ruling. The new laws aim to protect the right of those from outside the state to get abortion services within its borders and bar extradition of people involved in reproductive health care services should they face charges in another state. Murphy said he was overwhelmingly angry that he had to sign the bills, but equally as proud to do so. These laws will make New Jersey a beacon of freedom for every American woman, he said during a signing ceremony in Jersey City, not far from the Statue of Liberty. In Washington state, the governor prohibited the state patrol from cooperating with out-of-state abortion investigations or prosecutions, but he noted that he didnt have jurisdiction over local law enforcement agencies. The executive in the county surrounding Seattle said Tuesday that its sheriffs office and other executive branch departments will not cooperate with out-of-state prosecutions of abortion providers or patients. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's office has said the state will refuse non-fugitive extradition for criminal prosecutions around abortion, but said an executive order is not needed. Some progressive prosecutors around the U.S. have already declared that they wont enforce some of the most restrictive, punitive anti-abortion laws. Police in Nashville on Wednesday released a statement saying they are not abortion police" a day after the city council passed a resolution calling on the department to make abortion investigations a low priority. City council members in two other liberal cities in conservative states New Orleans and Austin, Texas have made called for similar resolutions. ___ Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. AP/Report for America corps member Claire Rush also contributed from Portland, Oregon. Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jim Anderson in Denver; Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville; and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Months after Washington approved billions to significantly expand Amtrak's footprint across the country, an early attempt at growth has reached an impasse in a test case that could define the American rail network for a generation. The escalating clash is playing out on the Gulf Coast, where Amtrak wants to restore service 17 years after Hurricane Katrina flooded the region's rail infrastructure. Amid fanfare over federal money as a president nicknamed "Amtrak Joe" watches from the White House, the passenger rail and the freight railroads that control the tracks are in mediation to resolve disputes over Amtrak's proposed service levels. At the core of the conflict is a mandate that requires freight railroads to give passenger trains access to rail track and preference over other rail traffic. A federal board is weighing the fate of Gulf Coast passenger service in a triallike process pitting Amtrak against freight railroads. Because Amtrak operates mostly on tracks owned by others, the case could set precedent as the passenger railroad embarks on a $75 billion expansion with bipartisan support. "This is the bellwether case for the expansion of any passenger rail in this country," said John Robert Smith, chairman of the policy organization Transportation for America. "If the freights manage to kill this proposed service, it will send a chill through the rest of the nation aspiring for passenger rail." Amtrak's plan for the 140-mile from New Orleans to Mobile, Ala., is one of 39 new routes the railroad is pursuing as part of its plan announced last year to reach dozens more cities and towns. The aspirations coincide with Washington's priorities for more rail and alternate modes of transportation, supported by the bipartisan infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last year. The measure includes $66 billion for the nation's ailing rail network. But any expansion in Amtrak's territory, which has remained nearly unchanged during its five decades, would boost pressure on freight companies and add trains to shared tracks at a time when the industry is under scrutiny over supply chain disruptions. "We figured out the money piece," said Amtrak chief executive Stephen J. Gardner. "We've solved one-half of the problem, and now that puts sort of the spotlight on this relationship with the [host railroads] and how do we find a productive path forward." Amtrak's federal aid lessens the financial barriers to launching new train service, abating Amtrak's biggest impediment to growth. Negotiating track access is the next hurdle. - - - Outside its busy Northeast Corridor, Amtrak mostly operates on tracks owned by private railroads. Under federal law, it pays the companies to use the tracks - a sum that, according to Amtrak, totaled $135 million last fiscal year. The arrangement dates to 1970, when Congress created Amtrak, relieving private railroads from their obligation at the time to provide intercity passenger rail service. Fifty-two years later, tension continues to plague that tenant-owner relationship. Amtrak argues the railroads disregard preference for passenger trains, saying freight trains caused nearly 900,000 minutes of passenger delays last year. The freight industry has countered over the years that Amtrak oversteps its authority. The two sides occasionally strike accords on service increases and new routes. Some agreements have been transformative, as in Virginia, where Amtrak and CSX partnered with the state last year on a $3.7 billion rail expansion. But along the Gulf Coast, six years of talks have led nowhere. The Southern Rail Commission - a panel of state-appointed members from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama - has pushed for a decade to bring trains back, helping to secure $66 million for improvements. The federal government in 2015 convened a group to evaluate the restoration of service, bringing together railroads and the three states that would be served by the line. Negotiations stalled as Amtrak introduced a service plan that was different than before Katrina, with more trains using the corridor during peak hours. The two sides couldn't agree on the capital investment needed to restore service: The Federal Railroad Administration estimated the price tag at $118 million, while CSX said it would take $440 million. CSX, which owns most of the track between New Orleans and Mobile, said it wouldn't oppose Amtrak resuming pre-Katrina service, when long-distance trains arrived overnight, three times a week. But the company says more study is needed before Amtrak brings two daily round trips between the port cities, including stops in the Mississippi cities of Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. CSX said eight to 10 freight trains traverse the full route daily, while other local trains and mechanical equipment use stretches of the line. Officials with the Port of Mobile, the city of Mobile and Alabama have raised objections to Amtrak's proposal, citing possible effects to the port, which city leaders say moves more than 58 million tons of cargo annually. But Amtrak calls the rail "a lightly used mainline" that is far less complicated than Amtrak's Washington-to-Boston tracks, which handle about 2,200 trains daily. "Most of the route [in the Gulf Coast] is single track, but so is the vast majority of Amtrak's route network," Gardner said to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in February. "Yes, it has drawbridges, but not as many per mile as Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in Connecticut. Yet somehow, we still accommodate 68 trains a day over that route." Because the railroads have not agreed to give Amtrak access, federal statute tasks the STB, an independent federal agency that regulates freight rail, with determining whether more passenger trains would "impair unreasonably freight transportation." The Biden administration has taken a prominent seat at pushing Amtrak's petition, saying a resolution along the Gulf Coast is key to the future development of intercity passenger rail across the nation. At stake, it says, is Americans' access to adequate transportation. "Service delayed is service denied," Amit Bose, head of the Federal Railroad Administration, said in February while urging the panel to ensure the "railroads fulfill their fundamental statutory obligations to allow the expansion and improvement of intercity passenger rail services." In a May letter to the STB, John E. Putnam, acting general counsel at the Transportation Department, said efforts such as restoring Gulf Coast rail passenger service are critical to the administration's transportation goals of "combating climate change, ensuring equity in personal mobility and driving economic growth and vitality." "Unfortunately, despite an extended period of examination and the investment of significant funds, Amtrak has been unable to obtain the agreement of the host freight railroads, and there is no clear or imminent path to the restoration of this service, absent the Board's intercession," Putnam wrote. - - - Support for Amtrak is widespread in Louisiana - home to a terminus stop in New Orleans - and across Mississippi, where four of the six stations would be located. Local officials tout the return of Amtrak as an economic asset to boost tourism and an alternative to traffic-clogged highways. Alabama leaders, however, say their port, shippers and freight customers would suffer from disruptions to a tightly managed schedule of freight trains. Alabama House leader Mac McCutcheon (R) told the STB he is also concerned the state might have to foot the cost of Amtrak's passenger operations. The office of Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson declined to comment for this story. In testimony to the STB, Stimpson said it would be premature to grant Amtrak's petition without more study and infrastructure improvements, warning that "any action that stands in the way of the continued efficient and productive operation of the Port of Mobile must be treated with microscopic scrutiny." The dispute has sent shock waves among rail advocates, where supporters of intercity train service and local leaders who want Amtrak in their communities fear the Gulf Coast dispute could translate into freight companies rejecting passenger rail proposals. Several mayors have made pleas before the board on Amtrak's behalf. "People literally stop me on the street and tell me how excited they are that we might get passenger rail here in Madison," Satya Rhodes-Conway, mayor of the Wisconsin city, said in testimony to the board. "However, our ability to implement Amtrak service here would be imperiled by the precedent set in this decision." In the meantime, Amtrak is still easing into other markets. Trains will return to Burlington, Vt., in July for the first time since 1953. Plans are advancing for more trains between Washington and Virginia's Norfolk and Roanoke areas using tracks owned by CSX and Norfolk Southern. Amtrak is also negotiating with Canadian Pacific to add service between Chicago, Milwaukee and the Minneapolis area. But back on the Gulf Coast, the STB in June ordered mediation, eventually giving Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern a month to reach a settlement after the process begins. The five-member panel has listened to more than 80 hours of sworn testimony, examination and cross examination since February. More hearings are expected this summer as the railroads file evidence by a July 13 deadline. Board members have questioned the transparency of Amtrak and the railroads, while admonishing their lack of candor with each other. "Part of me wants to say both sides should lose, but that's really not possible," Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman said in May. "I can't make you play nice, but I think it would be much more productive if you did." - - - In Bay St. Louis, a city of white sand beaches an hour east of New Orleans, a century-old train depot across from shops and restaurants has been restored to include a Mardi Gras museum. Still missing are the passengers. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina brought down homes and buildings, piers and the marina. As the city recovered, a new harbor and a $19 million sea wall were built a decade ago. Antique shops, art galleries and restaurants popped up in downtown. The train depot is now the visitor's welcome center and a space for city festivals and events. "We built back better," said Nikki Moon, a longtime resident of Bay St. Louis, whose home and business were destroyed during Katrina. She said the city's comeback is missing an important piece: trains. "Having this train would show that there is a lot for people to come and see, a lot for them to enjoy in the bay," said Moon, a retired innkeeper and regional tourism leader. "Amtrak coming in would be a game changer for our town and, I believe, for the entire coast." Bay St. Louis, population about 10,000, relies heavily on tourism. Its small-town feel has been a draw for urbanites in the South, fueling growth during the coronavirus pandemic. City officials say tourists arriving in cruise ships in New Orleans or Mobile could hop on a train to visit the Mississippi coast's beaches and casinos. Nondriving visitors, including the international tourists who come to New Orleans, would be able to plan a day trip or an overnight stay. In a corridor where flying between New Orleans and Mobile requires a layover in Atlanta, transportation advocates say a three-hour train ride would be competitive with driving. Amtrak's pre-Katrina service did not offer that choice during daylight hours. The route was so long - from Florida to California - that the train arrived in Mississippi during the overnight hours. Proponents say the shorter route during daylight would give roughly 2 million nearby residents an option to commute by train while offering more reliable and frequent service. "When a train comes through in the middle of the night, three days a week, people don't really buy into it," said Kay Kell, a member of the Southern Rail Commission. "This is an area that has been unserved for quite a while, and we know a large population would use the train." - - - Regardless of whether an agreement between Amtrak and freight railroads is reached through mediation, the board could deliver a verdict by the end of summer. Some railroad experts say the case highlights a growing hostility. "Reasonable people should be able to come to an agreement," said Robert VanderClute, a private consultant who spent 26 years working at Amtrak. "Collaboration is critical, and we had it at one point. I don't know where it went astray." Amtrak set up cameras along the route as hearings were carried out this spring, live-streaming empty tracks and birds singing in the background under the title "CSX's Very Busy Gulf Coast Corridor." Days earlier, Amtrak had argued that freight companies wanted unreasonable investments from the passenger rail and for taxpayers to subsidize infrastructure for the benefit of their shareholders. CSX and Norfolk Southern leaders blasted Amtrak as trying to force itself onto their rails without consideration for the effects on freight customers. The case is about more than a New Orleans-to-Mobile passenger route, CSX president and chief executive James M. Foote said at an STB hearing. "It's about a new national agenda and Amtrak's desire to change the law and create a new road map, proposing new passenger service without working with most carriers or local communities to first add necessary capacity," he said. Amtrak's Gardner said the case represents a turning point for American passenger rail. Amtrak's network today, he said, is smaller than in 1971, even as the nation added 120 million people. "We need to serve more places, serve more people with more trains," he said. "We can't let - as in the case of the Gulf Coast - years and years go by where the public's will and where the federal government's investment is stymied." FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) Thousands of homes and businesses were in the dark Wednesday in northeastern Indiana after waves of storms damaged trees and power lines while swamping some areas with 9 inches of rainfall. Crews were working Wednesday to restore power to about 14,500 Indiana Michigan Power customers, most of them in the Fort Wayne area, after winds up to 70 mph swept the area Tuesday night, the utility said. Outages were also reported in southwestern Michigan. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been dealt a major blow with the resignation of two of his most senior Cabinet ministers, who said they had lost confidence in Johnsons leadership. The departures of Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid came after months of turmoil for Johnson, who has fought off one scandal after another. Here is a timeline of recent key events that have rocked Johnson and his government: __ Nov. 3-4, 2021: Johnson's government orders Conservative lawmakers to support a change in ethics rules to delay the suspension of Owen Paterson, a Johnson supporter who had been censured for breaching lobbying rules. The measure passes. A day later, facing an angry backlash from lawmakers of all parties, Johnson reverses course and allows lawmakers to vote on Patersons suspension. Paterson resigns. Nov. 30, 2021: British media begin reporting allegations that government officials attended parties in government offices during November and December 2020 in violation of COVID-19 lockdown rules. The scandal grows over the coming weeks, ultimately including reports of more than a dozen parties. Johnson maintains that there were no parties and no rules were broken, but opposition leaders criticize the government for breaking the law as people across the country made sacrifices to combat the pandemic. Dec. 8, 2021: Johnson authorizes investigation into the scandal, dubbed Partygate. Pressure initially builds for a leadership challenge, but fizzles. Jan. 2022: Johnson's longtime aide, Munira Mirza, quits Downing Street. Three other top aides resign soon after. March 23, 2022: The government announces a mid-year spending plan that's criticized for doing too little to help people struggling with the soaring cost of living. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak refuses to delay a planned income tax increase or impose a windfall profits tax on oil and gas companies benefiting from rising energy prices. April 9, 2022: Johnson meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, pledging a new package of military and economic support. The move helps bolster Johnson and his supporters, who argue that the government should not focus on domestic political squabbles. April 12, 2022: Johnson is fined 50 pounds ($63) for attending one of the lockdown parties. Opposition parties characterize him as the first U.K. prime minister in history who has been shown to have broken the law while in office. Johnson apologizes but insists he didnt know he was breaking the rules. May 22, 2022: Findings of the Partygate investigation are published, detailing 16 gatherings at Johnson's home and office and other government offices between May 2020 and April 2021. The report details instances of excessive drinking among some of Johnson's staff, at a time when millions of people were unable to see friends and family. May 26, 2022: The government reverses course on its tax decision on oil and gas companies and announces plans for a 25% windfall profits levy. June 6, 2022: Johnson wins a vote of no confidence, with Conservative lawmakers voting by 211 to 148 to back him. But the scale of the revolt some 41% voted against him shakes his grip on power. June 15, 2022: Christopher Geidt quits as ethics adviser to Johnson, accusing the Conservative government of planning to flout conduct rules. June 24, 2022: Johnson's Conservatives lose two former strongholds to opposition parties in special elections. June 29, 2022: Parliament's cross-party Privileges Committee issues a call for evidence for a probe into whether Johnson misled Parliament over lockdown parties. June 30, 2022: Chris Pincher resigns as the Conservative deputy chief whip after allegedly assaulting two fellow guests at a private members club in London. Previous sexual misconduct allegations emerge about Pincher. Questions swirl about whether Johnson knew about the claims when Pincher was given the job. July 5, 2022: Johnson apologizes for his handling of the Pincher scandal and says he had forgotten about being told of the allegations. Two of Johnson's most senior Cabinet ministers, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, quit the government. LONDON (AP) The head of the FBI and the leader of Britains domestic intelligence agency raised fresh alarms Wednesday about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain. FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China as well as the Chinese governments efforts to stifle dissent abroad. But his speech was notable because it took place at MI5s London headquarters and alongside the agencys director general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity. The remarks also showed the extent to which Wray and the FBI regard the Chinese government as not only a law enforcement and intelligence challenge, but are also attuned to the implications of Beijing's foreign policy actions. We consistently see that its the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by our, I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere, Wray said. McCallum said the Chinese government and its covert pressure across the globe amounts to the most game-changing challenge we face. This might feel abstract. But its real and its pressing, he said. We need to talk about it. We need to act. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, rejected the allegations from the Western leaders, saying in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that China firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks and calling the accusations groundless. We will never encourage, support or condone cyber attacks, the statement said. In a nod to current tensions between China and Taiwan, Wray also said during his speech that any forcible takeover of Taipei by Beijing would would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen." Last week, the U.S. governments director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, said at an event in Washington that there were no indications Chinese President Xi Jinping was poised to take Taiwan by military force. But she that did say Xi appeared to be pursuing the potential for such an action as part of a broader Chinese government goal of reunification of Taiwan. After the appearance with his British counterpart, Wray said that he would leave to others the question of whether an invasion of Taiwan was more or less likely after Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. But, he said, I dont have any reason to think their interest in Taiwan has abated in any fashion" and added that he hoped China had learned what happens when you overplay your hand, as he said the Russians have done in Ukraine. The FBI director said there are signs the Chinese, perhaps drawing lessons from Russias experience since the war, have looked for ways to insulate their economy against potential sanctions. In our world, we call that behavior a clue, said Wray, who throughout his speech urged caution from Western companies looking to do business in or with China. He said Western investments in China could collapse in the event of an invasion of Taiwan. Just as in Russia, Western investments built over years could become hostages, capital stranded (and) supply chains and relationships disrupted, he said. President Joe Biden said in May that the U.S. would respond militarily if China invaded Taiwan, offering one of the most forceful White House statements in support of Taiwans self-governing in decades. The White House later tried to soften the impact of the statement, saying Biden was not outlining a change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, a self-governing island that China views as a breakaway province that should be reunified with the mainland. The embassy spokesman said the Taiwan issue was purely Chinas internal affair and said when it comes to questions of Chinas territory and sovereignty, the country has "no room for compromise or concession. We will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts, the statement said, though it noted that China will reserve the option of taking all necessary measures in response to the interference of foreign forces. ____ Follow Eric Tucker at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content. Joseph P. Laycock, Texas State University (THE CONVERSATION) As New York City mayor Eric Adams attends ribbon cuttings, marches in parades and bulldozes dirt bikes, he wears an energy stone bracelet that his supporters gave him. In a recent interview, Adams discussed his belief that New York City has a special energy because it sits atop a store of rare gems and stones the so-called Manhattan schist, which is over 450 million years old and contains over 100 minerals. Adams isnt the only one imbuing rocks with metaphysical significance. During the first year of the pandemic, the crystal industry boomed, with customers hoping the gems might relieve their anxiety. Some people might be confused about the allure of these stones. But crystal enthusiasts arent deviants. Current ideas about crystals come from a larger tradition called metaphysical religion that has always been part of the American spiritual landscape. More than rocks Technically, a crystal is any matter with a repeating pattern of atoms or molecules. The crystals for sale in shops are known as euhedral crystals because they have well-defined surfaces, or faces. For centuries, people have attributed special properties to crystals. Scientist Carl Sagan, in his book The Demon-Haunted World, traces their modern popularity to a series of books written in the 1980s by Katrina Raphaell, who founded The Crystal Academy of Advanced Healing Arts in 1986. Crystals arent just eye-catching stones. Quartz is used in electronics because it possesses piezoelectric properties that cause it to release an electric charge when compressed. But, as skeptics are quick to point out, there is no evidence crystals can bring health, prosperity or any of the other properties that crystal enthusiasts may attribute to them. Mining the metaphysical Yet crystals are part of a broader tradition called metaphysical religion, a term coined by historian Catherine Albanese. Metaphysical religion includes modern New Age movements, a nebulous milieu of alternative spiritual beliefs and practices, such as synchronicity or psychic abilities. Older traditions like Mesmerism, the idea that humans beings emit magnetic energy that can be used for healing, and Spiritualism, the belief that mediums can communicate with the dead, also fall under the metaphysical umbrella. Albanese ascribes four characteristics to metaphysical traditions: a preoccupation with the mind and its powers; correspondences, or the idea of hidden connections between things; a tendency to think in terms of energy and movement; and a yearning for salvation understood as solace, comfort, therapy, and healing. Contagious magic Metaphysical ideas about crystals exhibit each of these characteristics. While crystals are physical objects, not thoughts, many crystal enthusiasts recommend cleansing and charging crystals through visualization and other meditative techniques. So the mind plays a key role in crystal spirituality, as it does in other forms of metaphysical religion. Correspondence refers to the belief found in many occult traditions that ordinary things possess secret qualities or connections to other things. A classic example is astrology, which postulates a correspondence between ones birthday and certain personality traits. Metaphysical claims about crystals also reflect a belief in correspondences. For example, Colleen McCann, a self-described shaman affiliated with the crystal purveyor Goop, described the positive qualities of different crystals: bloodstones promote good health, rose quartzes help with love, and pink mangano calcites are good for sleep. Modern crystal enthusiasts often use words like energy and vibrations that present their ideas in a scientific register. When enthusiasts talk about the energy of crystals like Eric Adams did they really mean that it exerts influence within a certain proximity. This is the principle behind crystal water bottles that can be used to charge water with vibrational energy. Stripped of scientific language, the logic of energy and vibrations is another form of what anthropologist James Frazer called contagious magic found in many cultures, where simply placing one thing next to another is believed to cause an effect. A source of stigma Finally, metaphysical religion tends to focus on solving problems in this life rather than the hereafter. This includes health and prosperity, but also emotional growth and well-being. Crystal spirituality is certainly centered around these worldly goals. This is a big distinction from traditions like Christianity that emphasize salvation in heaven. It is also a factor in why metaphysical ideas are stigmatized despite their popularity. Protestant Christianity, with its emphasis on sola fides faith alone has historically dismissed many forms of material religion, or objects with religious significance, as superstition. So in a culture shaped by its historically Protestant majority, some Americans may be predisposed to look at crystal spirituality as foolish, greedy or even blasphemous. But while claims about the hidden properties of crystals lack scientific validation, so do many of the claims of Christianity and other mainstream religions. From a historical perspective, Adams ideas about crystals dont make him an outlier. As a scholar of religious studies, I see him as a normal part of the American religious landscape. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. The Conversation is wholly responsible for the content. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer HOUSTON (AP) Texas most populous county has hired a new elections administrator after his predecessor resigned over problems with the March primary, including the slow reporting of results. The Harris County Elections Commission on Tuesday announced the hiring of Clifford Tatum, who has served as general counsel for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and executive director of the District of Columbia Board of Elections. He also served as the interim director for the Georgia State Elections Division. Kaitlin Armstrong dramatically altered her appearance, potentially going so far as to have cosmetic surgery, while on the run from murder charges in connection with the killing of professional cyclist Mo Wilson. According to police, Armstrong, 34, fatally shot Wilson on May 11 in Austin, Texas. After being questioned by authorities, Armstrong disappeared, sparking a nationwide manhunt for the fugitive that finally ended in her arrest last Wednesday at a Santa Teresa Beach hostel in Provincia de Puntarenas. Once taken in custody, Armstrongs attempts to obscure her identity became apparent. Her distinctive curly reddish hair was dyed brown and cut shorter. According to investigators from the Marshals Service and Homeland Security, Armstrong used someone else's passport to board United Airlines Flight 1222 from Newark International Airport to San Jose, Costa Rica, on May 18. At a press conference last week, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla said Armstrong "resembled" the person in the passport, but did not explain how she came to be in possession of it. "She looked very similar to that individual, Filla said. So that was a fraudulent use of it, but it wasnt fraudulent in itself because it was issued to a certain individual. When she was arrested, Armstrong had bandages and bruises on her face, which Filla said she attributed to a surfing accident. Her booking photo shows bruising under her eyes and the tip of her nose appears slimmer than previous photos. Inside Edition said it reviewed a receipt found among Armstrongs belongings at the hostel where she was staying; the receipt is for a cosmetic surgery clinic in San Rafael de Escazu, Costa Rica. Marshals say one of the primary ways they tracked Armstrong was by searching for local yoga studios and seeing if Armstrong signed up for courses. "Once she got to Costa Rica, she didnt really move around a lot," Filla said. "We knew she was going to be associated with some type of yoga studio. When foreign officials arrived at that yoga studio, they did find a handwritten login that was the same alias that she was going by when she traveled to Costa Rica. "Once they developed that pattern, it really opened up things and they quickly closed in on Kaitlin Armstrong." Marshals believe Armstrong, who worked as a yoga instructor and real estate agent in Texas, was preparing to give yoga lessons again in Costa Rica. "She was getting really ready to establish that next part of her career," Filla said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Courtesy, Harris County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Wilson Family via GoFundMe Show More Show Less 3 of 3 According to the Marshals Service, Armstrong killed 25-year-old Wilson, a champion mountain biker who lived and worked in San Francisco from 2019 until recently. On May 11, Wilson was staying with a friend in Austin to prepare for an upcoming race. That evening she allegedly went swimming with Armstrong's boyfriend Colin Strickland, a fellow racing competitor and alleged former romantic partner of Wilson. Wilson was later found by her friend at the apartment, bleeding and unconscious in the bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, before being pronounced dead by first responders. Authorities have painted the murder as motivated by jealousy. The complex details of the alleged love triangle-turned-murder involving recently purchased guns, text messages, lies and an anonymous tipster were revealed in an arrest warrant on May 19. In the warrant, an anonymous caller allegedly told police that on discovering Strickland and Wilson were romantically involved, Armstrong "became furious and was shaking with anger" and said she wanted to kill Wilson. After her arrest in Costa Rica, Armstrong was flown back to Texas on Saturday. According to Travis County Sheriffs Office records, Armstrong is in custody at the Travis County Jail and being held on a $3.5 million bond. A hearing is set to be held on July 20. The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and with it, half a century of constitutional precedent. At least 26 states are now likely to criminalize abortions, often without exceptions for rape, incest, or life-threatening pregnancies. In Louisiana, people seeking abortions could even face execution, which doesnt strike me as particularly pro-life. A few states are already rushing to attack contraception too, with officials in Idaho and Louisiana pushing to ban IUDs, the morning after pill, and other common birth control methods. Hardline lawmakers are also likely to ban methods of conception, including in-vitro fertilization, or IVF. Down the line, experts warn that the rights to interracial marriage, same-sex marriage, and even divorce, parental custody, and the right to accept or refuse medical treatment could be in jeopardy. Peoples control over their own intimate decisions and private lives is at stake. But among the most alarming things in the ruling is its sneering pretense that this is somehow about safeguarding democracy. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the peoples elected representatives, wrote Justice Samuel Alito. Thats the same states rights deceit once used to defend segregation. The truth is that in many states, so-called elected representatives pick their voters not vice versa. And thats leading to a new wave of extremism in statehouses. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once called states laboratories of democracy. These days, as former Hamilton County, Ohio commissioner David Pepper put it in his book of the same name, many have become laboratories of autocracy. Pepper and I share a home state thats a case in point. In Ohio, a Trump-appointed federal judge just allowed Ohio Republicans to force illegally gerrymandered maps on voters, who twice voted overwhelmingly for fairer districts. The state Supreme Court ruled four times that the maps illegally diluted Ohioans voting power, but were stuck with them anyway. Most Ohioans are pro-choice, but thanks to maps like these we now have one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. Thats why returning power over basic civil rights to illegally gerrymandered states like Ohio is an absolute disaster in waiting, concludes David DeWitt in the Ohio Capital Journal. It gets even more absurd elsewhere. In states like Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina, Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly gotten more votes than their Republican counterparts. But rigged maps keep giving Republicans sizable majorities which theyve then used in all three states to strip power from Democratic governors elected statewide. Across the country, methods like these are used to ram through extreme legislation that ignores the will of voters. For example, recent polling suggests at least 34 states plus D.C. have pro-choice majorities or pluralities. Many are banning abortion anyway. Its not just abortion. Again and again, unaccountable state governments are showing themselves incapable of decent governance. Florida is ripping up K-12 math books yes, math books that allegedly teach critical race theory. Unhinged Tennessee lawmakers are calling for literal book burnings. And one-party states nationwide are making it harder to vote. Frankly, things arent much better at the federal level and Alito should know. Five of the six conservative seats on the Supreme Court, including Alitos, were appointed by Republican presidents who initially lost the popular vote and confirmed by Republican Senate majorities representing a minority of Americans. The same Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld extreme gerrymandering and voter suppression while lifting bans on money in politics. This court, in short, has made it much harder for people to choose their own representatives. The loser here isnt the big-D Democratic Party. Its small-d democracy. When politicians can do whatever they want to us, everyone loses. Decades ago, it took a national civil rights movement and federal legislation to reclaim common sense and decency from extremist state governments. Today, its also going to take reforming the Supreme Court. U.S. Senator John Cornyn has seen a significant drop in his approval rating among Texas voters following his sponsorship of new gun legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden in June. As reported by The Texas Tribune's Cecilia Lenzen, 50 percent of voters participating in a recent Texas Politics Project poll said they disapproved of Cornyn's work as a senatoran increase of 11 percent from his 39 percent disapproval rating registered in April. The senator's approval rating also saw a drop from 32 percent to 24 percent in the same time frame. The poll didn't ask voters their opinion on Cornyn's sponsorship of the bill, which encourages states to create red flag laws and enhances background checks for individuals under the age of 21 attempting to purchase firearms. Texas Politics Project Director Jim Henson told Lenzen that Cornyn's involvement in negotiating the bill and facilitating its passage likely sits at the root of this recent swing in public sentiment. "We didn't ask 'What do you think of John Cornyn sponsoring the gun bill?' But when you see a drop this big in a such a short period of time, you look for some proximate cause," Henson said. "The best candidate is this gun bill." The Bipartisan Safer Neighborhoods Bill was crafted in response to a spate of mass shooting across the nation in the 2022. Mass casualty events involving a shooter with an assault rifle took the lives of 10 individuals at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York in May and 21 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas in June. Following the tragic events in Uvalde, Cornyn was tapped to lead a bipartisan gun legislation push through the typically gridlocked Senatea job that earned him the lusty boos from members of his own party at the state Republican convention in Houston in early June. Cornyn called the booing "an unpleasant experience" but said he was "not discouraged at all" when it came to pursuing the measure's passage. "This was fundamentally important to the country at a time when things are polarized and people are so intolerant of others that have different points of view," Cornyn told The Texas Tribune. "I thought it was important to demonstrate the Senate could work." WASHINGTON For years, Texas Republicans tried to win the Hispanic vote using a Bush-era brand of compassionate conservatism. The idea was that a moderates touch and softer rhetoric on immigration were key to making inroads with Hispanic voters, particularly in Democratic strongholds along the southern border. Such was the Texas of old. The Trump age has given rise to a new brand of Texas Republicans, one of whom is already walking the halls of Congress: the far-right Latina. Rep. Mayra Flores became the first Republican to represent the Rio Grande Valley in more than a century after she won a special election last month and flipped the congressional seat from blue to red. She also became the first Latina Republican sent by Texas to Congress. Her abbreviated term lasts through the end of the year, and she is seen as a long shot to win reelection to a full one. But what is most striking is that Flores won by shunning moderates, embracing the far right and wearing her support for Donald Trump on her sleeve more Marjorie Taylor Greene than Kay Bailey Hutchison. Her campaign slogan God, family, country was meant to appeal to what she calls the traditional values of her majority-Hispanic district in the border city of Brownsville. She called for President Joe Bidens impeachment. She tweeted QAnon hashtags. And she called the Democratic Party the greatest threat America faces. In an interview in her still-barren office the day after her swearing-in ceremony, Flores was asked whether she considered Biden the legitimately elected president. Hes the worst president of the United States, she said. When asked three more times whether Biden had been legitimately elected, she repeated the same non-answer. Two other Latina Republicans, Monica De La Cruz in McAllen and Cassy Garcia in Laredo, are also on the ballot in congressional races along the Mexican border. All three GOP officials have taken to calling them a triple threat share right-wing views on immigration, the 2020 election and abortion, among other issues. They share the same advisers, have held campaign rallies and fundraisers together and have knocked on doors side by side. They accuse the Democratic Party of taking Hispanic voters for granted and view themselves, as do their supporters, as the embodiment of the American dream: Flores often speaks of working alongside her parents as a teenager in the cotton fields of the Texas Panhandle. Flores, De La Cruz and Garcia grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, a working-class four-county region at the southernmost tip of Texas where Hispanics make up 93% of the population. All three are bilingual; Flores was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and the other two in South Texas. Only De La Cruz has been endorsed by Trump, yet they all remain outspoken advocates for him, his movement and his tough talk on restricting immigration and building the border wall. The Rio Grande Valley has long been a politically liberal yet culturally conservative place. Church pews are packed on Sundays, American flags wave from their poles on front lawns and law enforcement is revered. Flores husband is a Border Patrol agent, a note she often emphasized on the campaign trail. In 2020, the valleys conservative culture started to exert a greater influence on its politics. Trump flipped rural Zapata County and narrowed the Democratic margin of victory in the four valley counties and in other border towns. Growing up down there, you always have closeted Republicans, said Garcia, a former aide to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Now, the desire to embrace Republicans is really spreading. They feel a genuine sense of belonging. Other pro-Trump Latinas are running for House seats in Virginia, Florida and New Mexico, among other places. Republican leaders and strategists say Flores win and the candidacies of other right-wing Hispanic women are proof that Latino voters are increasingly shifting to the right. More than 100 Republican House candidates are Hispanic, a record number, according to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Democrats view the situation much differently. Some Democratic leaders dismiss Flores victory as a fluke the product of a low-turnout special election in which 28,990 people cast ballots and a fleeting one. Flores, who was elected to serve the last six months of a retiring Democratic congressmans term, is running in November for a full term. She faces a popular Democratic incumbent who is switching districts, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. Democratic leaders are optimistic that Gonzalez will defeat Flores and that Garcia will lose her race against Rep. Henry Cuellar, a conservative Democrat who narrowly beat a progressive challenger in a primary runoff. De La Cruz, however, is running in the most competitive House race in Texas and will face Michelle Vallejo, a progressive Democrat. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who heads the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, dismissed Flores win as a public relations coup for Republicans. It does not mean she represents mainstream Hispanic voters, Gallego said. Gonzalez, the Democratic congressman, nearly lost to De La Cruz two years ago when she challenged him in Texas 15th Congressional District. He won by 6,588 votes. Now, he is challenging Flores in the 34th District. This was a profound message to the party, he said of Flores victory. Its really woken up the Democratic base. Ive never had so many people volunteer for free in all my years. As she moved into her congressional office across from the Capitol, Flores, an evangelical Christian, eyed the bare walls. She planned to put up a large photo of the SpaceX launch site in her district as well as images of Jesus. She had campaigned with the support of evangelical churches; her pastor carried out a Make America Godly Again outreach effort and traveled to Washington for her swearing-in. I do believe that pastors should be getting involved in politics and in guiding their congressmen, Flores said. Our pastors know our people better than we do. Flores wasted no time displaying a combative style with Democrats. Minutes after her swearing-in, Speaker Nancy Pelosi posed with Flores and her family for a photo. What happened next is a matter of debate. To Democrats, it looked as if Pelosi had brushed her arm against Flores 8-year-old daughter as the two stood side by side. To Republicans, it looked as if Pelosi had shoved her aside. No child should be pushed to the side for a photo op. PERIOD!! Flores later wrote on Twitter. To hear Flores tell it, her switch to the GOP was inevitable. Early on, she said, she had voted Democratic, primarily because everyone she knew did the same. The first time she cast a ballot for a Republican for president, she said, was for Mitt Romney in 2012. After attending a Republican event for the spouses of Border Patrol agents, Flores began to volunteer for the Hidalgo County Republican Party in McAllen. By 2020, she was organizing pro-Trump caravans through the Rio Grande Valley. She was also posting tweets using the hashtag #QAnon. When asked about QAnon, Flores denied ever having supported the conspiracy theory, which claims that a group of Satan-worshipping elites who run a child sex ring is trying to control the government and the media. Hashtags have long been considered social media shorthand for expressing support for a cause or an idea, but Flores insisted her intention was to express opposition to QAnon. Its just to reach more people so more people can see like, hey, this needs to stop, she said of using the QAnon hashtag. This is only hurting our country. Flores deleted the tweets about QAnon, but she did not refrain from expressing other right-wing views. After the 2020 election, she insisted on Twitter that Trump had won, writing in one post, Ganamos y lo vamos a demostrar! or We won, and we will prove it! Following the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, she retweeted a post falsely calling it a setup by antifa. She has called Biden president in name only and has demanded his impeachment. And as her own oath of office coincided with the hearings by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, Flores largely dismissed the proceedings. Honestly, my district doesnt care about that, she said of the hearings. My district is struggling to pay their bills. Thats what were supposed to be focusing on. Like Flores, De La Cruz describes herself as a former Democrat who walked away from the party. She said she cast her first vote in a Republican primary for Trump in 2016. I believe that the president was bringing to light the terrible things that we were doing to our country, De La Cruz said. After she narrowly lost her challenge to Gonzalez in 2020, De La Cruz suggested, without evidence, that she and Trump had been victims of voter fraud in the district. Garcia, by contrast, said she has been a Republican her whole life. Raised conservative, she went to church three times a week and entered politics soon after college, working as the outreach director for Cruz in McAllen. As a candidate, she has focused on religious liberty, school choice and abortion bans issues on which she said the regions Hispanic voters were increasingly like-minded. The red wave is here, Garcia said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, July 6, 2022 _____ HEAT ADVISORY URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Norman OK 232 AM CDT Wed Jul 6 2022 ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING... ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Heat index values of 105 to 110 expected. * WHERE...Portions of central, northern and northwest Oklahoma. * WHEN...Until 8 PM CDT each evening. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, July 6, 2022 _____ HEAT ADVISORY URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Norman OK 242 PM CDT Wed Jul 6 2022 ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING... ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT THURSDAY... ...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...For the first Heat Advisory, heat index values up to 108. For the second Heat Advisory, heat index values up to 108 expected. For the third Heat Advisory, heat index values up to 109 expected. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central, northern, southeast, southern and southwest Oklahoma and northern Texas. * WHEN...For the first Heat Advisory, until 8 PM CDT this evening. For the second Heat Advisory, from 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Thursday. For the third Heat Advisory, from 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Friday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. * WHAT...Heat index values up to 107 expected. * WHERE...In Oklahoma, Tillman County. In Texas, Wilbarger and Baylor Counties. * WHEN...From 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Friday. ...Strong thunderstorms will impact portions of east central Carson, northwestern Gray and south central Roberts Counties through 315 PM CDT... At 243 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along a line extending from Pampa to 3 miles southeast of Kingsmill to 6 miles southeast of White Deer. Movement was northeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and pea size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Pampa and Kingsmill. If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms and may lead to localized urban flooding in Pampa. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. LAT...LON 3569 10072 3575 10093 3538 10117 3531 10103 TIME...MOT...LOC 1943Z 205DEG 19KT 3552 10097 3545 10102 3536 10109 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather 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 Lucas Goerzen, left, and his brother Aaron on the taps, are the owners of Lakehead Beer Company which serves beer straight from the tanks. 5th Digital China Summit to focus on digital China initiative Xinhua) 08:47, July 06, 2022 BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The 5th Digital China Summit will be held in the city of Fuzhou in east China's Fujian Province from July 23 to 24, the organizers announced Tuesday. The summit, co-sponsored by authorities including the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the provincial government of Fujian, will focus on innovation-driven new changes and digitalization-led new landscapes in pursuing the Digital China initiative. A special exhibition will be held as part of the summit to display the latest achievements in building a "digital China" over the last five years. The organizers said there would also be a digital product expo at the summit. Cao Shumin, deputy head of the CAC, said the summit adheres to its role as a platform to issue the country's policies on information technology development. It also showcases the latest achievements in pursuing the Digital China initiative, conducts exchanges on e-government and digital economy theories, and pools strengths to advance cooperation in relevant aspects. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Canada's Immigration Minister: Today, I am pleased to announce that Express Entry draws have officially resumed and applications will be processed at our 6 month processing standard. I look forward to welcoming skilled workers who will are essential in addressing Canadas labour shortages. Express Entry: Canada invites skilled immigrants overseas for first time since 2020 Canada's Immigration Minister: Today, I am pleased to announce that Express Entry draws have officially resumed and applications will be processed at our 6 month processing standard. I look forward to welcoming skilled workers who will are essential in addressing Canadas labour shortages. Express Entry: Canada invites skilled immigrants overseas for first time since 2020 Canada's Immigration Minister: Today, I am pleased to announce that Express Entry draws have officially resumed and applications will be processed at our 6 month processing standard. I look forward to welcoming skilled workers who will are essential in addressing Canadas labour shortages. Express Entry: Canada invites skilled immigrants overseas for first time since 2020 Canada's Immigration Minister: Today, I am pleased to announce that Express Entry draws have officially resumed and applications will be processed at our 6 month processing standard. I look forward to welcoming skilled workers who will are essential in addressing Canadas labour shortages. Kareem El-Assal Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Canada has invited Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates for the first time since December 2020. Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates were also included in todays Express Entry draw. This marks the first time since September 2021 that CEC candidates have been included in an Express Entry draw. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited a total of 1,500 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off score was 557. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration Ministers statement on todays draw In a written statement to CIC News, Canadas Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said: Today, I am pleased to announce that Express Entry draws have officially resumed and applications will be processed at our 6 month processing standard. I want to thank the candidates from around the world for their patience, as we worked to reduce the backlog before resuming Express Entry draws. I look forward to welcoming skilled workers who will are essential in addressing Canadas labour shortages. Why todays draw is big news The return of all-program draws is significant for several reasons. Since its launch in 1967 until 2020, the Federal Skilled Worker Program was the main way Canada welcomed skilled immigrants. Prior to the pandemic, the FSWP comprised about 45% of all those who received an Express Entry ITA. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration The return of all-program draws is also major news for CEC candidates. The CEC is the primary way for Canadas large international student and foreign worker population to gain permanent residence. The CEC has increased in prominence in recent years as Canada has relied on this pool to achieve its immigration levels targets. Prior to the pandemic, the CEC comprised just 9% of all 341,000 immigrants welcomed under Canadas economic, family, and humanitarian classes combined. Last year, the CEC comprised nearly one-third of the over 405,000 immigrants who landed in Canada. Two weeks ago, Canadas Immigration Minister Sean Fraser told CIC News that IRCC was on track to achieve its goal of holding an all-program Express Entry draw on July 6. This was confirmed by him on Twitter on Monday. IRCC initially made this announcement in April. In addition, IRCC plans to return to processing most Express Entry applications within six months. All-program Express Entry draws occur when IRCC considers all candidates in the Express Entry pool and issues invitations to apply (ITA) for permanent residence only on the basis of their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. Between the launch of Express Entry in 2015 and December 2020, IRCC mostly held all-program draws. This meant that Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) candidates all had a shot at getting an ITA. Beginning in January 2021, IRCC focused on only inviting CEC candidates. IRCC did this because most of these candidates were in Canada and were less likely to face COVID-related challenges than immigration candidates overseas. However, IRCC paused CEC invitations in September 2021 in order to address its application backlogs. In the meantime, IRCC has continued to hold bi-weekly draws only inviting Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates to help the provinces and territories address their labour market needs. How does Express Entry work? Express Entry is a two step process. In step one, candidates need to confirm they meet the criteria of at least one of the three Express Entry programs. If they meet the criteria, candidates can upload their Express Entry profile onto IRCCs website. Candidates receive a Comprehensive Ranking System score based on their human capital characteristics such as age, education, language skills, and work experience. Approximately every two weeks, IRCC invites the highest-scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence. Those invited for permanent residence have 60 days to submit their applications to IRCC. IRCC aims to process most applications within 6 months or less. By 2024, Canada will welcome over 110,000 Express Entry immigrants per year. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. July 5, 2022 - Mayor Tom Henrys office today announced that two delegations from Plock, Poland will be visiting Fort Wayne beginning tomorrow. One of the delegations, which includes Plocks mayor, will stay until July 11, while the second delegation will stay until July 17. Fort Wayne and Plock have been sister cities for 32 years. This years visit will focus on social and recreational activities. Some of the highlights include walking with Mayor Henry and City of Fort Wayne employees in the Three Rivers Festival Parade, attending a Fort Wayne TinCaps game, Wisla Dance Ensemble performances at various locations, an anniversary celebration dinner, and a visit to the Fort Wayne Childrens Zoo. Wislas performance on July 14 at the Foellinger Theatre is free and open to the public. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Were honored to be a sister city with Plock. Im so thankful for the sister cities partnership. The focus on learning and citizen diplomacy is to be commended, said Mayor Henry. Fort Wayne and Plock share a commitment to making our cities and countries as places that give back and think of others. Were honored to be part of a global effort aimed at friendship and peace. Issue date: 06.07.2022 Closing date: 21.07.2022 Call for offers Donau Soja is seeking Certification Body for provision of inspection and certification services according to Donau Soja Standards Donau Soja Association (Representative of Verein Donau Soja from Austria in Moldova) hereby invites Certification bodies approved by Donau Soja Association (hereafter: the service provider) to send in their proposal for the provision of services described in this Call for offers. The selected service provider will be responsible for inspection and certification of farmers and agriculture collectors in accordance with Donau Soja Standard in Moldova within Donau Soja Protein Partnership project. Background The Donau Soja Organisation The Donau Soja Organisation is an independent, international, non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization aiming to effectively meet protein market demand and provide a baseline for the development of high-quality soy cultivation in the Danube region (www.donausoja.org). The Organization seat is in Vienna, Austria with regional offices in Novi Sad Serbia, Kiev Ukraine, and Chisinau Moldova. Strategic Partnership Programme At the beginning of 2017, Donau Soja and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) started the Strategic Partnership Programme in Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina planned to be implemented until August 2023. The overall objective of the program is to build sustainable, inclusive and well-functioning value chains (local, regional and international) for Non-GM soya and organic soya in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine. The Program proposes measures in nine areas (components: Production and processing, Value chain development, Awareness raising and sensitisation, Certification and labelling, Business environment and policy framework, International market development, Knowledge and technology management and transfer, Project development and Technical assistance, General administration and programme management) planned to be implemented by Donau Soja through numerous measures and activities. All Program activities are to be implemented according to General Contract Conditions (Allgemeine Vertragsbedingungen), guidelines and requirements described in Guidelines for Visibility, considering DS and standards in international development, with special emphasis on DECD Standard (http://www.enterprise-development.org/dced-guidance/). Donau Soja Protein Partnership Programme The Donau Soja Protein Partnership Programme (DSPPP) supports small and medium-sized farms in disadvantaged regions, such as rural areas in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Ukraine, in their entry into sustainable and GM-free soya production. In the long term, this will enable physical flows of goods to be established in Europe and certified sustainable soya from Europe to be made available for the European market. By participating in the partnership programme, local farmers receive training and advice regarding soybean production. Furthermore, farmers and agricultural collectors are supported by certification according to Donau Soja Standard and Europe Soya Standard. This leads to the fact that in the non-EU countries, where 2/3 of the European soya is produced, significantly higher EU standards and the Donau Soja / Europe Soya requirement, which are expanding on the EU standards, are fulfilled during soya cultivation. The work of the Certification body Within a framework of Donau Soja project, the selected service provider will fulfil tasks related to coordination, organisation and implementation of inspection and certification of farmers and agriculture collectors according to Donau Soja Standard. The certification process will be organised for farmers and agriculture collectors who are involved in Donau Soja Protein Partnership projects. The particular protein partnership project is planned in Moldova and should involve at least 20 farmers, 2 agricultural collectors with more than 2 silo/warehouse locations.The services should be delivered in Period July -September 2022. Expected outputs The general objective of this service request is the provision of services in the fields of conduction of audits and certification according to Donau Soja Standard. The Certification Body shall perform audits and certification of soybean producer (Donau Soja Requierment 01) and agricultural - and primary collectors (Donau Soja Requirement 02). Each certified company will receive a certificate according to Donau Soja Standard. The service provider will be fully supported by the local Donau Soja team in Moldova as well as relevant team from Donau Soja HQ in Vienna. The Service provider is expected to support and contribute to specific programme outputs, as Certification Body, together with Donau Soja Team. The following table gives an overview of the expected outputs and tasks. Output Tasks 3.1. Until 31.10.2022.The certification process is complete and Donau Soja certificates are issued for all involved soybean producers and agricultural/primary collectors who passed audit successfully. Target: Moldavian value chain participants are certified The service providers job description includes the following list of tasks: Audit and certification: - Regular communication with farmers and agricultural/primary collectors that will be subject of certification; - Scheduling an audit date in consultation with farmers and agricultural/primary collectors and Donau Soja, and preparing and sending audit plan; - Performing on-site audits and finalice alle related documents and steps as rquired by the Donau Soja Standard for the applicable requirement; - Issuing the certifica; - Issuiong LOT certificats for agricultural/primary collectors on request; General tasks: - Work in cooperation with Donau Soja Quality Management team and outsourced technical experts/service providers. - Close cooperation with Donau Soja Quality Management team; - Provision of information about Donau Soja requirements to interested and participating beneficiaries; - Participating in the preparation and conducting of working meetings and, on-line conferences related to project activities; - Demonstrate long-term practical experience and specific knowledge in the field of NON GM auditing and certifications. 2.3 Logistic and timing The intended start date is 15.07.2022 and the period of implementation of the contract will be 4 months from this date. 4. Reporting All services are to be provided in Romanian, Russian and English language, if not defined in a different way. Regular communication, information exchange and updates with Donau Soja, Head of Quality Management, Dagmar Gollan gollan@donausoja.org and Quality Management in Moldova Valentin Crismaru vcrismaru@gmail.com are expected. The defined expected outputs (issued certificates) will serve as reports and proof of service provider work (means of verification). The requirements The following requirements need to be fully fulfield by the service provider. - Certification body is approved by Donau Soja Association; - The certification body shall be in possession of a valid accreditation as a certification body in accordance with standard ISO/IEC 17065:2012 in the agriculture and food sector; - Has a minimum two educated and experienced inspectors and two certifiers, who passed the training about Donau Soja requirements(minimum four employees); - Long-term practical experience and specific knowledge in the field of NON GM auditing and certification of agricultural commodities. The service provider shall be able to fulfill the tasks mentioned in an excellent and professional way. In addition, the service provider is required to support high standards of social and environmental performance in the programme and demonstrate gender and diversity competencies. The assignment and services will be provided based on an activity planning mutually agreed between Certification Body and Donau Soja Organization (Quality Department). The service provider is expected to use his/her own office and technical equipment. Flexibility and readiness for travel, both to Moldova (1-2x annually) and internationally (incl. trainings and/or visits to HQ in Vienna), depending on activity planning is required. Remuneration The service provider will work under a framework agreement. Remuneration instalments will be based on offer and agreement between Donau Soja and the service provider. Payments will be done based on issued invoices. Selection criteria The evaluation will be done based on the following criteria: 1. Financial offer 2. Professional experience and reputation. Documents to be prepared Tenders are to be sent by email to malai@donausoja.org and gollan@donausoja.org by 13.07.2022, indicating Certification Body for provision of inspection and certification services according Donau Soja Standard in the subject, with the following documents (in English): 1. Valid accreditation as a certification body in accordance with standard ISO/IEC 17065:2012 in the agriculture and food sector. 2.Curriculum vitae of inspectors and certifiers expected to be engaged in the work. 3.Financial offer. Annex 1* Table 1. Financial offer No. Service Number of days (up to, if applicable) Fee (price per day or hour or site - please indicate) Total 1.1. Preparation and administration for audit and certification soybean producer 1.2. Preparation and administration for audit and certification agricultural collector 2. Inspection time 3. Travel time and/or driven km fee 4. Certification incl. issuing certificate 5. GMO screening (quantitative and qualitative) 6. Pesticides tests (incl. Glyphosate) 7. Donau Soja lot certificat 8. Total * Please list other related costs and estimate them, if applicable. Primeste notificari pe email Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele Asociatia Promo-LEX invita ucraineni din Republica Moldova si refugiati din Ucraina la doua Scoli De Vara in domeniul activismului civic si de drepturile omului The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the Potanin Foundation, after the charitys founder Vladimir Potanin was sanctioned by the UK government. According to the charitys most recently filed accounts, it has assets in excess of 95m. The objectives of the charity are to develop education and culture in Russia. The charity carries out its objectives by awarding grants principally to support its sister charity in Russia, the Vladimir Potanin Foundation (VPF). In March 2019, the trustees signed a grant agreement with the VPF providing funding of up to $50.6m payable over three years. Mr Potanin is the charitys only member and has controlling rights, including trustee appointment and removal, according to the Commission. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) described oligarch Vladimir Potanin, as Russias second richest man and key supporter of the Kremlin as well as owner of major conglomerate Interros. An announcement by the FCDO last week said Potanin continues to amass wealth as he supports Putins regime, acquiring Rosbank, and shares in Tinkoff Bank in the period since Russias invasion of Ukraine. Mr Potanin is now subject to a full asset freeze and his name appears on the UK Sanctions List as a designated person. The Commissions position is that individuals subject to UK financial sanctions cannot control a charity. A government spokesperson said: As long as Putin continues his abhorrent assault on Ukraine, we will use sanctions to weaken the Russian war machine. sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, Five years ago, I came across an article in The New York Times about a spate of robberies in the Bronx. It was the kind of story that has been a staple in the metro sections of newspapers since there have been metro sections in newspapers, focusing on the reaction of people living in the neighborhood where robberies took place. But there was a notable wrinkle: Confronted by armed antagonists, the article sighed, many people refused to surrender their belongings, even when they had only a few dollars on them. The article tsk-tsked at community members for tempting fate. A criminologist offered a suggestion that it was nuts for the victim to refuse. A few dollars, readers were told, are not worth ones life. The article stuck with me in part because Id once lived nearby that area and understood the realities of crime there. But I also was struck by the ways in which the efforts of a journalist, an editor, an expert, and even neighborhood residents seemed only to further a narrative of liberal condescension, missing crucial facts about life in this place. Heres what I knew: People who live in a rough neighborhood and are confronted with a demand for money are forced to make calculations that people in safer, more affluent areas rarely think about. The few dollars in their pockets may represent their only way to get to work; surrendering cash is not only an immediate loss but also one that jeopardizes a future paycheck. More crucially, people who are known to be easily victimized likely will become frequent targets, a reality that may make their neighborhood virtually unlivable. What to the journalist seemed inscrutable was, to many residents, reasonable. ICYMI: The tweet that derailed a news cycle It was not lost on me that the journalist who wrote the story was white and that the neighborhood was largely black and Latinx. The article represented not simply a case of a journalist missing a story. The story, to me, spoke to the problem of what happens when the demographics of the Timesand American newspapers in generallook nothing like the demographics of the communities they cover. The people who are most likely to appear in these kinds of stories are the least likely to have a say in how those stories are told. Conversations around diversity in media have tended to focus on cozy niceties. Diversity is often partnered with the word inclusion in our racial vocabulary. Since the conflicts of the 1960s, it has been increasingly apparent that our political, educational, and media institutions should not appear to be monochromatically white. But appearance is not the real problem. A democratic media is. A half-century ago, members of the Kerner Commissionan advisory board formed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to a series of race riotsspelled out the role of a mostly white media in failing to cover the cause of unrest. It called on news outlets across the country to diversify. In the decades since, including diverse perspectives in media and elsewhere has become broadly acceptableeight out of 10 Americans view ethnic diversity as at least somewhat important in the workplace. Yet 50 years after Kerner, we still see chronic underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in print and broadcast media. In 2017, only 16.6 percent of journalists at daily newspapers were people of color; in the US population, more than 37 percent of people are nonwhite. According to a 2015 poll, more than three-quarters of the guests on Sunday morning shows were white. There is currently only one person of color, CNNs Don Lemon, hosting a weeknight primetime show on the three biggest cable news networks. This underrepresentation of minorities is a more polite way of saying that there is an overrepresentation of white people in media79 percent of people working in the publishing industry are white. Two years ago, the dearth of people of color at the Oscars generated the satirical #OscarsSoWhite hashtag. A #NewsroomSoWhite hashtag would now be equally fitting. There is something awkward about this kind of racial census takingjournalism is difficult and our media outlets, we like to think, are staffed by people who have the skills to get the job done. This is often the case. But it leaves a question unasked: How many people who have the skills to do this work never even get the opportunity to try? I came to journalism through alternative newspapers in the Washington, DC, area. I contributed to The Hilltop, Howard Universitys student paper, and wrote for a small black-owned weekly, where I learned the fundamentals of writing on deadline. My first job at a majority-white publication was at the Washington City Paper, in 1996. David Carr, who would go on to become a crucial voice in media criticism at the Times before his death, in 2015, arrived at the City Paper from its sister publication, The Twin Cities Reader. The City Paper traditionally had chilly relations with much of the citys majority black population. In addition to the lack of minority representation on staff, the papers critical coverage of the mayoralty of Marion Barry was often read as thinly veiled racial condescension. Carr, with characteristic insouciance, set out to diversify the staff. He started a paid internship program and put out feelers for writers who might be interested in working at the paper. His first class of interns included me; Holly Bass, now a writer and playwright; Neil Drumming, currently a producer with This American Life; and Ta-Nehisi Coates, who would go on to win a National Book Award. Carr did not pat himself on the back for his recruitment style. (To my knowledge, he never even spoke of it outside of an article he wrote explaining the importance of newspaper and magazine internship programs at a point when many outlets were eliminating them.) But equally important was the fact that he did not hire any of us in pursuit of a vague, frankly condescending ideal of inclusion. He explained in straightforward terms that he worried that there were specific stories missing from his newspaper. He wanted a better publication and believed our work would help him build one. And we did. What happens when the demographics of the Timesand American newspapers in generallook nothing like the demographics of the communities they serve? Years later, in 2013, I attended the annual conference of the City and Regional Magazine Association and participated in a panel on media diversity. My session was scheduled to immediately follow a panel, always well-attended, on best-selling magazine issues. The theory was that the huge lead-in would generate a spillover crowd for the diversity panel. Instead, people streamed out of the room, leaving just a handful of outlets left to discuss the disappointing number of people of color in the industry. Afterward, I talked to people from magazines in Detroit, Birmingham, Philadelphia, Washington, and Los Angelesplaces with large black populationsand learned that none of them had any black writers on staff; the only black journalist at Atlantas regional magazine had left a year or so earlier. Not only were outlets overwhelmingly white, it seemed, based on the lousy showing at the conference, that few people were concerned about inequality. The implications of the medias representation problem could not be more clear. As race emerged as a central theme of the 2016 elections, crucial decisions about coverage were being made in institutions employing few of the people Donald Trump maligned. Euphemisms appeared when unblinking assessments of racism and religious bigotry were warranted. A persistent theme of economic anxiety was cited to explain away an animosity that was clearly connected to much darker objections. As a corollary to this, the work of journalists like Adam Serwer, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Jamelle Bouiewhich pointed to the centrality of racism as a motivating factor for Trump voterscame under attack. (Subsequent studies have validated their contentions.) Debates over the role of race in political coverage remain deeply predictable and dispiritingas in the story of crime in the Bronx, where white journalists dominate, the most familiar and comfortable narratives hold sway. Theres another reason why diversity matters. The media exists in a climate of unprecedented hostility. The relationship between the White House and the press, frequently rocky, has devolved into a circumstance in which the president of the United States has referred to us as the enemy of the people. Trumps attacks are facilitated by the fact that, in the past two decades, trust in the media has plummeted. This is a crisis of democracy, since the presss role as a guardian of democracy is founded upon the trust of the public. But at least some portion of that distrust is a product of people who rarely see themselves or their stories depicted in the media they consume. A great deal must be done to rebuild public trust. But it can begin by including the voices of all Americans. The press, tasked with protecting American democracy, is best secured by reflecting the American people. ICYMI: The aggressive campaign that has extinguished 90 percent of Breitbarts advertisers Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jelani Cobb is the director of Columbia Universitys Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights and a staff writer at The New Yorker. At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule. A ceremony marking the handover was attended by dignitaries including Prince Charles, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In the months leading up to the event, British officialsever conscious, as the New York Times wrote at the time, of maintaining appearancesbragged that three and a half thousand journalists would be in attendance; in the end, more than double that number showed up in Hong Kong, making the handover, as the Chicago Tribune put it, one of the biggest media events of the decade. Some of the media workers present were pressed into action as impromptu extras in a Wayne Wang movie about a dying British journalist played by Jeremy Irons; others received branded trinkets including polo shirts and wristwatches. Chinese officials, meanwhile, promised Hong Kong fifty years of liberties not available on the mainland, including press freedom. Last week, twenty-five years on from the handover, Xi Jinping, Chinas current president, traveled to Hong Kong to mark the anniversary. On Friday, he gave a speech extolling Chinas rule over the territory and situating the handover moment as the start of its true democracy. Media coverage of Xis visit and the broader anniversary celebration was tightly restricted: according to the Hong Kong Journalists Association and various media reports, at least thirteen journalists who requested to cover official ceremonies on July 1from a combination of local and international outlets including the South China Morning Post, Reuters, and CNNwere denied accreditation on vague security grounds; those who were granted access had to take daily covid tests and quarantine in a hotel. One of the ceremonies in question was the inauguration of John Lee as Hong Kongs chief executive. In his prior role as a security official, Lee oversaw the arrests of thousands of pro-democracy protesters and the implementation, in 2020, of a draconian national-security law curbing, among other things, press freedom. ICYMI: Highland Park, Jayland Walker, and a holiday weekend defined by shootings The decline of press freedom in Hong Kong has not traced a perfectly straight line from heady days twenty-five years ago to repression now; fears of coming curbs were often expressed in 1997not least in Western media coverage of the handover, which sometimes traded in colonial nostalgiaand threats to reporting have been visible for years since then, as Mary Hui wrote for CJR in 2018. Still, the space the territory once afforded vibrant independent journalism has contracted sharply in the two years since the implementation of the security law, which fell on the twenty-third anniversary of the handover to Chinese rule and marked an escalation in Beijings control over Hong Kongs speech climate. Local journalists have been charged under the new law and much older ones, including a British-era sedition statute; the authorities tilted particularly hard at Apple Daily, a long-running pro-democracy paper, arresting its leadership, raiding its newsroom, and forcing it, ultimately, to shutter a little over a year ago. As Rachel Cheung wrote for CJR in September, Hong Kong media now resembles that of mainland China, where news outlets act like mouthpieces for the government. Cheung profiled a trio of outletsStand News, Citizen News, and HK Featurethat were continuing to operate independently, but as Ronson Chan, an editor at Stand News who also chairs the HKJA, told her, their work risked being uprooted at any moment. Since Cheung wrote, the official crackdown has not let up. In December, the authorities sentenced Jimmy Laithe founder of Apple Daily, who was already in jail on other chargesto thirteen months behind bars for his involvement in a banned vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. A few weeks later, Stand News was uprooted: hundreds of police officers raided its offices, froze assets worth nearly eight million US dollars, and arrested at least six people connected to the outlet, including Chan and Denise Ho, a pop star who had served on its board and whose home was also searched. Soon afterward, the site shut down. Citizen News soon shuttered, too, citing a need to protect its staff and describing the fate of Stand News as the trigger for its decision. Shortly after that, Bloomberg calculated that, in total, 1,115 journalists had lost their jobs in Hong Kong since the security law took effect. As 2021 drew to a close, Hong Kong appeared for the first time on an annual census of imprisoned reporters compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists, jumping from zero behind bars when the survey was conducted in 2020 to eight last year. Then, earlier this year, the territory plummeted sixty-eight places on Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index; it now ranks 148th out of a hundred and eighty countries and territories worldwide. In April, the authorities arrested Allan Au, who had been a columnist for Stand News (his friends began to worry after he failed to post his Wordle score to Facebook, a daily ritual); last month, FactWire, a hard-hitting investigative outlet, became the latest newsroom to shut down, citing a great change in Hong Kongs media landscape without getting into specifics. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Amid the arrests and closuresand with fears mounting among other journaliststhe HKJA, which itself had been investigated by the authorities, called an extraordinary meeting to discuss shutting down as well. It ultimately resolved to stay open for the foreseeable future. Various smaller independent outlets, including HK Feature, have kept going, too, while staffers from shuttered newsrooms have taken to posting news independently on social media or, in at least one case, opened a physical bookstore as a place for discussion. (Two framed newspaper front pages adorn its walls: the inaugural edition of Apple Daily, and a 1997 issue of the South China Morning Post marking the handover.) Chan started working for Channel C HK, a primarily YouTube-based outlet founded by former staffers at Apple Dailythough he told The Guardian that he now focuses less on policy in his work, and tries to avoid provoking the authorities. If the outlook is particularly bleak for local news organizations in Hong Kong, international outlets with a presence in the territory have not been immune to the deteriorating media climate. Shortly after the security law took effect, the Times announced that it would relocate a large part of its Hong Kong operation to Seoul. Individual foreign correspondents have faced administrative obstacles; late last year, officials refused to renew the visa of Sue-Lin Wong, an Australian reporter working for The Economist, without offering any explanation. More recently, Hong Kongs Foreign Correspondents Club scrapped a human rights award that it had given out annually for fear of violating the security law, a decision that led eight members of the clubs press-freedom committee to resign in protest. At least two among them publicly questioned whether the club was still fit for purpose. Timothy McLaughlin, a writer for The Atlantic, claimed that the board had also vetoed a statement that hed prepared in support of Au following his arrest, on the grounds that it didnt want to draw attention to the club. Ming Pao, a Mandarin-language paper, ran a cartoon of the club with a white flag waving above it. (The FCC has said that it will continue to speak out when we can, and recently condemned the media restrictions around the handover anniversary.) McLaughlin accused the FCC of having capitulated to the new, more repressive regime in Hong Kong. Notably, he also expanded that critique beyond the media, applying it to local universities, schools, and professional associations in other industries. Its worth remembering, once again, that while the authorities in Hong Kong have taken aggressive steps to suppress journalism specifically, press freedom everywhere tends to rise and fall with other freedoms and other forms of expression, from the streets to the classroom. Yesterday, five speech therapists went on trial in Hong Kong, charged with sedition. Their supposed crime? Writing childrens books about sheep that draw on allegories about the territorys pro-democracy movement. The authorities in Hong Kong have moved recently to rewrite school history textbooks, which will now claim that the pro-democracy movement was driven by external forces and, bizarrely, that Hong Kong was never a British colony. Louisa Lim, a longtime journalist in Hong Kong, discussed the latter revision in an episode of WNYCs On the Media that dropped this morning, situating it in the context of longer-term efforts by both British and Chinese administrators to impose historical narratives on Hong Kongs people. Lim noted that, when she was growing up, the British didnt teach schoolchildren about the immoral circumstances of how colonial rule came about, for fear of making them angry; the new Chinese plan to dodge teaching this colonial past, Lim said, is a crazy argument, but also shows the mutability of history. When the British left in 1997, they took historical archives with them, denying Hong Kongers full access to their shared history. China is now at work denying them their present. Below, more on press freedom around the world: The Baltics: When RSF published its World Press Freedom Index earlier this year, two Baltic countriesEstonia and Lithuaniawere ranked in the top ten for the first time, with Latvia just behind in twenty-second place. The index, Karolis Vysniauskas writes for Nieman Reports, reminded Baltic journalists how far theyve come since the days of the Cold War when Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were occupied by the Soviet Unionbut the Russian invasion of Ukraine has put that progress at risk. Now journalists in the region are covering the war in Ukraine as if its their ownbecause in many ways it is. When RSF published its World Press Freedom Index earlier this year, two Baltic countriesEstonia and Lithuaniawere ranked in the top ten for the first time, with Latvia just behind in twenty-second place. The index, Karolis Vysniauskas writes for Nieman Reports, reminded Baltic journalists how far theyve come since the days of the Cold War when Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were occupied by the Soviet Unionbut the Russian invasion of Ukraine has put that progress at risk. Now journalists in the region are covering the war in Ukraine as if its their ownbecause in many ways it is. Malta: In a jailhouse interview with a Reuters reporter, George Degiorgio, who stood accused of detonating the car bomb that killed the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta in 2017, confessed to his role in the murder and said that he would soon implicate other culprits. (His lawyers have reportedly tried to secure him a pardon in exchange for his testimony.) Degiorgio said that he was paid to carry out the assassination, which he saw as business as usual, adding that he would have asked for more money if hed known who Caruana Galizia was. In a jailhouse interview with a Reuters reporter, George Degiorgio, who stood accused of detonating the car bomb that killed the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta in 2017, confessed to his role in the murder and said that he would soon implicate other culprits. (His lawyers have reportedly tried to secure him a pardon in exchange for his testimony.) Degiorgio said that he was paid to carry out the assassination, which he saw as business as usual, adding that he would have asked for more money if hed known who Caruana Galizia was. Palestine: Last year, Israeli forces destroyed a building in Gaza that housed a bureau belonging to the Associated Press; Israeli officials said that Hamas was operating out of the building, but have never publicly offered any evidence to support this claim. Yesterday, the AP announced that it has reopened its Gaza bureau in a new permanent location, with Daisy Veerasingham, the APs president and CEO, and Julie Pace, its executive editor, visiting to mark the occasion. APs resilient Gaza team has never wavered, even in the moments our bureau collapsed and in the weeks that followed, Veerasingham said. The Associated Press has operated in Gaza for more than half a century and remains committed to telling the story of Gaza and its people. Last year, Israeli forces destroyed a building in Gaza that housed a bureau belonging to the Associated Press; Israeli officials said that Hamas was operating out of the building, but have never publicly offered any evidence to support this claim. Yesterday, the AP announced that it has reopened its Gaza bureau in a new permanent location, with Daisy Veerasingham, the APs president and CEO, and Julie Pace, its executive editor, visiting to mark the occasion. APs resilient Gaza team has never wavered, even in the moments our bureau collapsed and in the weeks that followed, Veerasingham said. The Associated Press has operated in Gaza for more than half a century and remains committed to telling the story of Gaza and its people. Mexico: According to Natalie Kitroeff and Maria Abi-Habib, of the Times, some Biden administration officials are worried that Ken Salazar, the US ambassador to Mexico, has gone rogue, cozying up to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the countrys president, sometimes in defiance of US wishes. Salazar, Kitroeff and Abi-Habib write, has rehashed debunked claims of a stolen election used by the Mexican president to fuel distrust in the countrys democracy; questioned the integrity of a US-funded anticorruption nonprofit that had gone up against the president; caused a political storm by appearing to signal support for an energy overhaul the US government opposed; and has stayed silent as Mr. Lopez Obrador relentlessly attacks journalists. Other notable stories: ICYMI: The head-spinning coverage of COVID vaccines for the youngest Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop. A controversial oil project that would connect oilfields in a Ugandan National Park to a port in Tanzania breaches global environmental guidelines for banks, according to a new nonprofit report Tuesday. The 897-mile (1443-kilometer) East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), planned by French oil giant TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation has been mired in allegations of human rights abuses and environmental hazard. The 230,000 barrels of oil produced daily will emit 34 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to Ugandan nonprofit the Africa Institute for Energy Governance. Construction will take three years, once a final decision has been taken. At least 20 banks and eight insurers have ruled themselves out of the project, many coming under pressure from environmental groups. South Africas Standard Bank and the Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) are financial advisers and lead debt arrangers. The UKs Standard Chartered bank is also considering financing it. All three signed up to the benchmark Equator Principles, voluntary environmental and human rights guidelines for financing infrastructure projects. A report by the non-governmental organization Inclusive Development International, shared exclusively with The Associated Press, says the project repeatedly breaches these principles and banks would violate them too if they go ahead. Banks are forbidden from financing non-compliant projects. But the scheme is powerless to eject members that do. Oil wells will be drilled within Murchison Falls National Park, western Uganda. Here the Nile plummets some 130 feet (40 meters) through a gap just 20 feet (6 meters) wide, the surrounding wilderness home to hippos, egrets, giraffes and antelope. The pipeline would then pass through seven forest reserves and two game parks, running alongside Lake Victoria, a source of fresh water for 40 million people. An oil spill could prove disastrous for the millions that rely on the lakes watershed for drinking water and food production, the environmental campaign group 350.org has warned. The report says the risk of oil spills breaches an Equator Principle requiring minimal environmental impact. A review of the plans by the nonprofit E-Tech International, which advises communities affected by infrastructure projects, found best practice was not followed. EACOP oil spills will occur over the lifetime of the project, the review concluded. The pipelines environmental assessment doesnt contain a robust oil spill plan, the reports authors contend, a further breach of the Principles. The pipeline will also traverse an earthquake zone the Great Rift Valley the Inclusive Development International report warns. TotalEnergies said the pipelines state of the art design will ensure safety for decades. The oil has a high wax content, solidifying at temperatures below 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius) which would stop oil from spreading as liquid, the company said. Emergency plans are being prepared, the company insisted. Summer temperatures can hit 104 Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) in Uganda. Human rights standards have also allegedly been broken, according to the report. At least four letters from UN Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights, sent to the Ugandan president and TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne over two years, detail various acts of harassment and intimidation against protesting Ugandans. Numerous activists and a journalist have allegedly been intimidated, forced into hiding, arrested and interrogated. The Equator Principles are not being met with regard to the risks facing community members that express criticism, the report finds. TotalEnergies said it was unaware of threats emanating from its own staff. The company said it is vocal about the need for Ugandan security forces to respect human rights, and had written to the Ugandan president to share its concerns. TotalEnergies does not tolerate any threats or attacks against those who peacefully defend and promote human rights, the statement read. The Principles have also been violated by a lack of community engagement free of manipulation, interference, or coercion, or intimidation, according to the analysis. More than 120,000 people will lose land to make way for the project, an evaluation by environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth found. There must be free, prior and informed consultation with people whose lives may be changed, according to the Principles. But the report found these requirements were not sufficiently met. The project has systematically failed to consult and disclose accessible information, it said. TotalEnergies said only 13,300 people would be economically impacted across Uganda and Tanzania. Since 2017, meetings have reached over 200,000 affected individuals along the route, the oil major said. Finally, the project violates standards on land acquisition and resettlement, the report finds. Compensation processes exacerbated, rather than mitigated negative impacts, impoverishing villagers who lost access to farmland and faced long delays awaiting compensation. TotalEnergies said it had already begun paying compensation. The process abides by local laws and is in compliance with the Principles, the company insisted. Equator Principles chair Amit Puri said each member was individually responsible for its own internal procedures to comply. He added that The Equator Principles do not have the authority to respond to concerns about breaching them. Mr Puri is global head of environmental risk at Standard Chartered, one of the banks that the report says would allegedly be breaching the guidelines by financing the pipeline. Standard Chartered itself and SMBC declined to comment. The China National Offshore Oil Corporation did not respond to numerous requests for a statement. Standard Bank said its due diligence on funding the project was being assessed, but no final decision has been made. The decisions subject to a full assessment of climate change strategies, the bank said, while full compliance with the Equator Principles was needed to fund the project. Despite environmental and human rights concerns, the campaign to stop the pipeline is unrealistic, said Angelo Izama, of Ugandan think tank Fanaka Kwa Wote. Uganda is being thrust into this role as a poster child for climate damage, and its really unfair, he said. It amounted to a dismissal of the national interests of Uganda. Ugandan oil officials declined to comment. But President Yoweri Museveni has said oil wealth can lift millions out of poverty, while other government officials hope Uganda can become a middle-income country. Efforts to stop the pipeline have left some dismayed at what they see as concerted efforts to sabotage the project. TotalEnergies and CNOOC have the financial muscle and technical know-how to deliver a world-class project wrote Elison Karuhanga, a prominent oil attorney, in Ugandas Daily Monitor newspaper. Additional reporting by Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A legal malpractice insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify attorneys who were sanctioned for filing frivolous lawsuits against four Ohio school districts, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The appellate panel on Friday affirmed a ruling by a US District Court judge in Cleveland that an award of attorney fees against the Roderick Linton Belfance law firm was a sanction excluded by a professional liability insurance policy issued by Wesco Insurance Co. The panel said that thousands of cases reveal that the legal community routinely describes an attorneys fees award as a sanction when a court grants it because of abusive litigation tactics. This fact dooms the request for insurance coverage by the two lawyers who filed this appeal, the opinion says. Three attorneys with the Roderick law firm Jason Wallace, Daniel Bache and Kristopher Immel filed separate claims against the Akron, Solon, Nordonia Hills and Cleveland Heights school districts in northern Ohio, alleging that they had failed to provide an appropriate education to handicapped students. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act allows parents to file civil rights lawsuits against schools that dont comply with federal guidelines, but they must first exhaust administrative remedies. IDEA allows courts to award fees to attorneys who bring successful lawsuits, but also allows school districts to sue attorneys who file baseless claims to recoup amounts spent on defending themselves. An administrative law judge found in favor of each school district. Wallace and Bache filed a lawsuit in federal court to pursue a claim against the Akron School District, but lost. The four northern Ohio school districts sued the Roderick firm, alleging that its attorneys had made frivolous claims against them. The lawyers submitted sloppy pleadings, misstated basic facts in an administrative complaint and made false allegations, the school districts said. Each school district was awarded attorney fees under the acts fee-shifting provisions. The Roderick law firm asked Wesco to defend it under its professional liability policy. The insurer refused and filed a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that no coverage was owed because of the sanctions exclusion. US District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson ruled that an award of attorney fees is a sanction as commonly understood by legal professionals, so no coverage was owed. Wallace and Bache appealed. The 6th Circuit panel noted that the policy issued by Wesco does not define the term sanctions, so it looked to the meaning an average policyholder would give it. The average lawyer would describe a legal sanction as a penalty or coercive measure that results from failing to comply with a law or rule. The US Supreme Court has repeatedly described a fees award as a permissible sanction for abusive litigation tactics, the opinion says. Whats more, in order to collect attorney fees under IDEA, school districts must show that a complaint was frivolous, unreasonable or without foundation of filed for an improper purpose, such as to harass. This misconduct element makes clear that any awarded fees would constitute a sanction under the ordinary meaning of that term (and so under Wescos policy), the appellate panel concluded. The panel said the District Court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the insurer and affirmed the decision. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Firefighters in Northern California were battling a fresh wildfire that broke out Monday east of Sacramento at a recreation area packed with Fourth of July revelers and forced a number of evacuations. As the fire quickly spread, 85 to 100 people celebrating the holiday at a recreation area known as Vox Beach along a river in the area had to be taken to a nearby Pacific Gas & Electric Co. facility, said Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman. Those people were safe at the facility Monday night, but unable to leave due to the fire danger, Redman said. We cant get in there. Fire cant get in there, Redman told The Associated Press late Monday. The trees keep going down. The whole place is on fire. The fire burning in Amador County quickly spread to 959 acres (388 hectares) as of just after 7 p.m. Monday, according to Cal Fire. The fire agency had said just hours earlier on Twitter that the fire was 75 acres (30 hectares) in size and burning at a dangerous rate of spread in dry grass. Redman said the rate of the fires spread had slowed by 10 p.m. Monday, and he was hopeful those stuck at the PG&E facility would not have to stay overnight. He said firefighters were working to clear a path to the facility so that a bus or patrol cars could be brought in to carry people out. Redman said about 500 other people had been affected by mandatory and recommended evacuations. He said the cause of the fire was not known, but that it did start in the Vox Beach area. He said that could suggest fireworks or a barbecue as a potential cause. Vox Beach is about 55 miles (89 kilometers) east of Sacramento. The fire is one of several burning in the state. Earlier Monday, authorities said evacuation orders and warnings had been lifted in another Northern California county after a wildfire there threatened about 500 homes and other buildings. The Nevada County sheriffs office said the warnings related to the Rices Fire were lifted early Monday. Residents were urged to be careful when returning to the area because of potential damage. The fire broke out last Tuesday near the Yuba River and destroyed 5 homes and 8 other structures, fire officials said. It began with a burning building and the flames spread to nearby dry vegetation in the rural area northeast of Sacramento about halfway between the state Capitol and the Nevada border. The fire has burned about 900 acres (366 hectares) and is 65% contained. It is expected to be fully contained on Tuesday, officials said. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Police said that the three accused helped key accused Abdul Khadar for luring youth and joined in training centre to become as human suicide attackers. (PTI) Hyderabad: A 52-year-old karate instructor with ties to the outlawed SIMI group was apprehended by the Nizamabad police on Wednesday and criminal charges were brought against him under the UAPA Act for allegedly training young people on how to become human suicide bombers. Through his Popular Front of India organisation, Abdul Khader, 52, a resident of Autonagar near the Osmania Masjid in Nizamabad town, allegedly trained young individuals from the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to be human bombs. The police stated that Abdul Khader had connections with activists and members of the outlawed SIMI group who helped build the PFI organisation in order to recruit young people for training. Following a tip-off, the Nizamabad VI town police conducted raids on the accused's residence and seized banners, books, and lethal weapons. The accused, who had ties to banned organisations, allegedly planned to incite communal tensions in sensitive areas across the two Telugu states, while also endangering the safety and integrity of the country by spreading fear among the people. The police registered cases under section 120-A, 120 B (a criminal conspiracy), 153-A (any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies) 141 (To overawe by criminal force, or show of criminal force) read with 34 and section 13 (1) (b) of unlawful activities (Prevention) Act 1967. At least 30 persons were being trained by the accused, both mentally and physically. He was involved in influencing young people to carry out suicide bombs across the nation. Both physically and mentally, they were getting ready, the police stated. Meanwhile, in continuation of probe, the Nizamabad police have arrested three more persons for training youth to make them as human suicide attackers. Based on confessional statements of key accused Abdul Khadar, police have arrested Shaik Shahdulla, 40, Gundaram, Nizam-abad, Mohammed Imran, 22, Nizamabad and Mohammed Abdul Mobin, Nizamabad. Police said that the three accused helped key accused Abdul Khadar for luring youth and joined in training centre to become as human suicide attackers. Commuters wade through a waterlogged road following Monsoon rains, in Mumbai, Tuesday, July 5, 2022. The IMD, Tuesday issued a heavy rainfall alert for Maharashtra over the next four days. (PTI Photo) Mumbai: Incessant rainfall was reported in Mumbai on Wednesday morning, after spells of heavy showers over the last two days, and citizens complained of water-logging in some low-lying areas of the city. An aggrieved citizen in a tweet said they now need a boat to commute, instead of a car. The Central Railway and Western Railway officials said the local trains were operating normally, but some commuters claimed the suburban services were running a little late. Mumbai is likely to witness another wet day as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted moderate to heavy rain in the city and suburbs, with a possibility of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in the next 24 hours, according to civic officials. In the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Wednesday, the island city (south Mumbai) received an average 107 mm rainfall, while the eastern and western suburbs recorded 172 mm and 152 mm downpour, respectively, a civic official said. Some low-lying places like Hindmata, and areas in Dadar and Sion, including the Gandhi Market and road number 24 in Sion, were inundated, forcing pedestrians to wade through the water and making it difficult for motorists to commute. "Flooding in Sion, Matunga, Dadar. Need a boat instead of car to commute," a city resident tweeted. Some buses were diverted due to water-logging in Sion and Gandhi Market, according to sources. The BEST Undertaking spokesperson did not respond to a query on bus operations in the city. A Western Railway spokesperson said "trains are running normally" on their suburban network. The Central Railway's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar in a tweet said, "Train Alert! 9.30AM Trains on all corridors are running." On Tuesday, heavy showers in Mumbai and its adjoining areas caused water-logging at a number of places, including railway tracks, which had led to train delays and affected vehicular movement on roads. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had on Tuesday directed state administration officials to take necessary precautions and ensure there was no loss of life or damage to property. Digital license plates will soon be permitted on Colorado roads, thanks to a new law taking effect next month. The legislation allowing the plates, House Bill 1162, was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis in April. On Wednesday, the digital license plate developer Reviver announced it has complied with state requirements and will begin selling the plates in Colorado when the bill goes into effect. "We are incredibly proud to reach this important milestone," said Neville Boston, co-founder of Reviver. "Our mission is to transform vehicle ownership and registration into a more seamless and modern experience, and we can't thank our many partners throughout the state (enough). At first glance, digital license plates may look like any metal plate. But should a vehicle be stolen, the plate expired, or an Amber Alert issued, a digital license plate could become a public safety tool. Under the bill, the Department of Revenue can permit messaging and other functionalities on the digital plates, such as banners to notify that a vehicle is stolen. The digital plates also offer user security features such as vehicle tracking, and mean no more replacing registration stickers every year. Colorado will be the fifth state to authorize Reviver's digital license plates for sale and DMV registration, joining California, Michigan, Arizona and Texas. More than 10 other states are in various stages of adopting digital license plates, according to Reviver. Though digital license plates are spreading throughout the country, they arent without their critics. The digital plates are significantly more expensive than metal plates and must be bought directly through Reviver, not the DMV. Revivers consumer digital license plate costs between $19.95 and $24.95 per month, and those who buy them will still have to buy the traditional metal plates, as well. In addition, the digital plates emit a wireless signal used for tracking and digital monitoring services, which has raised some concerns about hacking and data privacy. The Department of Revenue and Colorado State Patrol have been charged with developing rules and regulations for the use of digital license plates and their data. "A digital option for license plates embraces Colorado's innovative spirit," said Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. "As this technology is implemented, we will be working together to ensure their deployment is in the best interest of public safety." Under the bill, digital license plates may be used instead of metal plates if the registration number and expiration date are visible from 100 feet away in the sunlight. The digital plate would be at the vehicles rear; the metal plate would still be required for the front. The bill, which takes effect in August, passed the legislature with strong bipartisan support, receiving 30-5 approval in the Senate and 55-5 approval in the House. In this file photo, a boat cruises along Lake Powell near Page, Ariz., on July 31, 2021. Amid drought in the West, the Bureau of Reclamation is calling for the seven states that share the river to conserve 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water next year to preserve power production in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Would you like to receive our news updates? Signup today! Sign up to receive notifications when a new Columbia Gorge News e-Edition is published. Error! There was an error processing your request. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. News and Info from our Community Partners Information from the News and our advertisers (Want to add your business to this to this feed?) Are you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label. New Delhi: The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Thursday the plea of a TV news anchor, facing several FIRs in some states for playing a doctored clip of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, seeking protection from coercive action for the alleged offence. List it tomorrow, a vacation bench of justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheswari said when senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the TV anchor, sought an urgent hearing of the plea in view of registration of several FIRs against him in many states for telecast of the clip. This man was arrested yesterday by UP police at Noida and released on bail as the offence invoked was bailable, he said, adding that the anchor made an error in one of the shows and apologised for that and the news was taken back. Now Chhattisgarh police want to arrest him. Please list this urgently since otherwise he will be in repeated custody, the senior lawyer said. On Tuesday, a police team from Chhattisgarh reached Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad town to arrest the anchor from his home but he was instead arrested by the Noida police who released him on bail later on Tuesday night. "Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan was picked up from his home for questioning on Tuesday morning by a team from Noida Sector-20 police station in connection with an FIR lodged under IPC 505 (public mischief) on a complaint by his own channel over a doctored video played during his show on July 1, a Noida police officer told PTI, seeking anonymity. In Raipur, Senior Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal told PTI that a case was registered against Ranjan and others at Zee News on Sunday for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups and outraging religious feelings of people based on a complaint by Congress MLA Devendra Yadav. In his complaint, Yadav said a video, in which Rahul Gandhi described those attacking his Wayanad office as children and said he had no ill-will against them, was "mischievously" used by the TV channel on July 1 to suggest he was forgiving the killers of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal. The FIR in Raipur was lodged under IPC sections including 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 467 (forgery), 469 (forgery to harm reputation), 504 (intentional insult). On July 2, a day after the video was aired, Ranjan had apologised for mistakenly playing Gandhi's statement out of context by linking it with the Udaipur murder case. "It was a human error for which our team is apologetic. We apologise for it," he had tweeted in Hindi. Offer a personal message of sympathy... By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that below. Otherwise, you can create an account by clicking on the Log in button below, and then register to create your account. I've been a reporter and editor at Missouri community newspapers for 35 years and joined the Columbia Missourian in 2003. My emphasis at the Missourian is on local government and elections. You can reach me at swaffords@missouri.edu or at 573-884-5366. Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The European Commission announced late yesterday that the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) have been voted through, marking a new chapter for how technology companies will be able to operate in the EU. The parliament voted 588 in favor and 11 against for the DMA, while 539 MEPs backed the DSA, with 54 votes against. What is in the DMA and DSA regulations? The DMA enables a range of antitrust action while also addressing issues of interoperability. These include the right to uninstall software on devices, greater personal data access controls, enhanced advertising transparency, an end to vendors self-preferencing their own services, and stopping certain restrictive app store requirements for developers. Meanwhile the DSA sets out new rules for how internet companies should keep European users safe from online disinformation and illegal content, goods and services. The practice of targeting users online based on their religion, gender or sexual preferences, so-called dark patterns to trick users, and deceptive web design aimed at encouraging people to unwillingly click on online content will all be banned under the legislation. Both regulations are expected to start applying early next year after the formal adoption process is completed. According to the Commission, sanctions will be gradual but unprecedented in their scope. For companies found violating the DSA, fines will amount to up to 6% of global turnover. However, in the event of serious and repeated breaches, the legislation will allow national courts to ban companies from operating on European territory. Under the DMA, sanctions will be set at 10% of global turnover, or up to 20% for repeat offenders. A new era for regulation Pinar Akman, a law professor specializing in competition law and the director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Digital Governance at the University of Leeds, said the adoption of the DMA and the DSA is the beginning of a new era for the regulation of digital markets, particularly with the DMA, which focuses on the contestability and fairness of digital markets. However, she cautioned that much of what the legislation can achieve will depend on how it can be implemented and enforced in practice. There are many issues with the text of the DMA, and it is possible that we will see litigation on these, which may mean that we dont see the desired speedy changes in digital markets, Akman said. In a recent paper she highlighted a number of uncertainties in relation to the substantive provisions of the DMA, noting that although the rules are supposedly self-executing, many of the obligations under Article 5 cannot really be self-executing given their contents. As for the tech companies, the large platforms will already be spending considerable effort in order to bring their operations in line with the DMA and the DSA to the extent that they are able to do so without further guidance from the Commission as the rules will be automatically applicable when they enter into force. Jagan, on arrival there, will hold a meeting with party leaders and representatives. Photo BY ARRANGEMENT. ANANTAPUR: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is focusing his immediate attention on the Pulivendula assembly segment, his home turf, where internal bickering is hurting the image of the ruling YSRC. He is also trying to speed up development of the region. Jagan had planned a visit to Pulivendula a week ago, but this was postponed. As per a revised plan, he would spend a day in Pulivendula on Thursday. Official sources said Jagan, on arrival there, will hold a meeting with party leaders and representatives. The CM will lay the foundation stone for the NuTech Biosciences at AP Carl in Pulivendula. Later, he will inaugurate the YSR Memorial Park in Vempally. He will also interact with students at ZP High School in Vempalli. Reaching Vempalli mandal headquarters of his own segment, the CM would inaugurate the YSR Memorial Park and the Girls High School and have interaction with students at Vempalli mandal headquarters. In the evening, he will reach Idupulapaya estate and stay there for the night. The next day, Jagan will pay tributes to his father YS Rajasekhar Reddy at YSR Ghat and return to Vijayawada to attend the party plenary. In Pulivendula area, TD incharge B.Tech Ravi of Vempalle was trying to have a line with YSRC dissidents. Recently, Ravi exposed the severe drinking water problems in several villages of Pulivendula because of alleged lack of initiatives from YSRC leaders. AP Congress unit working president Tulasi Reddy, from Kadapa, was highlighting the lapses of the government in YSR district in the past three years. Further, there was the arrest of a relative of the chief minister in the district over the threats he held out to a construction firm doing the four-lane road works with the alleged aim to take a bribe from it. In addition, Proddatur MLA Rachamallu Sivaprasada was facing trouble from his own party leaders. YSRC MPTC member Padmavatii from Proddatur accused the MLA and his brother-in-law of demanding money from her husband. Pulivendula has been a stronghold for the YSR family and the ruling party leaders are confident the visit of CM would help solve the pending issues of the party in his hometown. Rudolph Giuliani, when he was US Attorney for the Southern District of New York*, personally devised the strategy behind the Commission Case, the first effort by law enforcement to attack the Mafia by way of its ''board of directors. Or, as put forth in the 22-count indictment, the defendants were charged with conducting the affairs of ''the commission of La Cosa Nostra'' in a racketeering pattern that included murders, loan-sharking, labor payoffs, and extortion of the concrete industry in New York City. Mathew Mari's VIEW FROM MULBERRY STREET podcast is a labor of love. Giuliani said his vision began taking shape (yes, to simplify well take Rudy at his word for now) after he read Joseph Bonanno Sr.'s 1983 autobiography, A Man of Honor, which, he said, described the inner workings of the Commission from an earlier historical era. The other vital component of his vision arrived via an August 1983 meeting between Rudy and Ronald Goldstock, head of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force, during which Goldstock detailed tape recordings made via a bugging device planted in a Jaguar that was used to drive the boss of the Luchese crime family on his daily rounds. By November 1986, all eight defendants in the case were convicted following a 10-week racketeering trial in Manhattan.Reputed Bonanno consiglieri Stefano (Stevie Beef) Cannone, who played a role in our recent series of stories on Carmine Galante , became ensnared in the Commission Case by way of a June 1985 superseding indictment that added both him and then alleged Colombo boss Carmine Persico. Death would spare Stevie Beef from the case.The precise date on which he passed presents something of a problem. Newspapers apparently reported his death months after the fact, according to the Writers of Wrong website, which notes that Cannone died in September 1985. So for a few more months anyway, the sick, dying Cannone needed to keep his focus on decidedly less-spiritual matters in the earthly realm and defend himself against a new, super aggressive indictment. Enter Mathew Mari, a young attorney who Cannone knew from the neighborhood and hired to represent him in the Commission Case. It was the biggest case I was ever in, and maybe still is, Mathew says in episode two of VIEW FROM MULBERRY STREET, his new podcast (see below)which is excellent. We love it and believe it just might be the best mob podcast weve ever heard. That was how Mat became Attempting to persuade him, Mari says he told the judge that even FBI agent Pat Marshall (the head agent in the case) will not move Mr. Cannone" Ultimately, the judge gave Cannone house arrest while all the other defendants went to the MCC, Mat explains.That was how Mat became part of the Commission Case , which involved so many wiretap recordings, he said, they filled up two huge tables in the courtroom. He said the judge gave the attorneys a year to go through the recordings and report on any legal issues they found. Bonanno took the position that he was too medically ill to answer the subpoena. The governments response, Mat says, was to relocate the entire Southern District of New York to a They moved the entire court staff of the Southern District to Tucson for a hearing to determine whether Joe was medically able to answer a subpoena. Bonanno took the position that he was too medically ill to answer the subpoena.The governments response, Mat says, was to relocate the entire Southern District of New York to a courthouse in Tucson, Arizona They moved the entire court staff of the Southern District to Tucson for a hearing to determine whether Joe was medically able to answer a subpoena. Mari was among the slew of attorneys who also relocated to Arizona for the hearing. I was 35 and had to fly to Arizona, with I was 35 and had to fly to Arizona, with big shot Jimmy LaRossa leading the pack . LaRossa, the last of the gladiators, made a name for himself defending major figures in organized crime. (He died in 2014.) Mari describes the hearing, which was conducted by Rudy. During a break in the hearing, Mari notes, he was approached by Krieger who asked Mari if he would be willing to meet the man himself.... I was quite excited to talk to Joe, who he had met earlier, when he was 14 years old. (Mat was born in 1950 and grew up He (Bonanno) started off by asking, What do you think is going to happen? I told him they will lock you up until the Commission Case is over, which, he notes, is exactly what they did. (Bonanno) said to me When you go back to New York, I want you to tell the boys that Mr. Joe is no rat. Mari translates that to mean that Bonanno wanted him to tell the defendants in the Commission Case that the book (Man of Honor) There's so much more, but we don't want to ruin it. Mari details his relationship with Carmine Persico, which, decades later, caused him to revisit the Commission Case. The lawyer for Bonanno was Albert Krieger (who died in 2022 at age 96). Krieger, Mat says, was one of the greatest and inspired him to become an attorney.During a break in the hearing, Mari notes, he was approached by Krieger who asked Mari if he would be willing to meet the man himself....I was quite excited to talk to Joe, who he had met earlier, when he was 14 years old. (Mat was born in 1950 and grew up in Knickerbocker Village, the Fourth Ward, "a great place to grow up," as he notes in episodes one and two. He's the first of his family to go into law.)He (Bonanno) started off by asking, What do you think is going to happen? I told him they will lock you up until the Commission Case is over, which, he notes, is exactly what they did.(Bonanno) said to me When you go back to New York, I want you to tell the boys that Mr. Joe is no rat. Mari translates that to mean that Bonanno wanted him to tell the defendants in the Commission Case that the book (Man of Honor) included no accusations of criminal activity and was all about dead people, not actual crimes. (Joe Bonanno nevertheless) realized it was a mistake for the book to go out under his name, and it caused lots of havoc. I appreciated his sincerity. It was quite a meeting --- it had a lot of emotional impact for me.There's so much more, but we don't want to ruin it. Mari details his relationship with Carmine Persico, which, decades later, caused him to revisit the Commission Case. Mat hits his stride toward the latter half of episode two, when he is soberly making a point about what happens when the government overreaches. If you love this kind of stuff like we very much do, then check out this podcast. As Mat explains in the first episode of VIEW FROM MULBERRY STREET, we will be talking about cases like the Commission Case, the Tommy Karate case, we will talk about famous people... You will get a different viewpoint, the other side, the side you never heard about, the side the government doesnt tell you about, the side that the rats dont want you to know about. We wont reveal any secrets, betray any confidences. I hope people will look upon this podcast with respect and not disdain like we see is the case with so much of the nonsense that is overwhelming the internet. Mat, we look upon your podcast with great respect, as well as interest in checking out episode three as soon as it is posted. * Versus whatever the hell you would call whatever Rudy has transformed into these days... One of the major issues, however, wasn't about the tapes but whether Joseph Bonanno, who Rudy alleged at the time was the boss of the Bonanno family, could be made to testify under forced subpoena. Steve was deadly sick with a serious heart condition. Even the FBI was afraid to move him. The judge didn't believe it. Weapon warehouse explosion kills 10, injures 35 in southern Yemen Xinhua) 08:55, July 06, 2022 ADEN, Yemen, July 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed in an explosion that rocked a weapon warehouse in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Tuesday, a security official told Xinhua. A large explosion rocked a building used to store weapons in Abyan's district of Lawdar, leaving at least 10 killed and more than 35 others injured, the local security source said on condition of anonymity. Search for survivors continues at the site, said the source, adding the death toll could rise. A number of nearby residential buildings and business stores were partially damaged as a result of the explosion, the source said. The cause of the explosion is unknown and an investigation was launched by local authorities. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala fisheries and culture minister Saji Cheriyan who denounced the Constitution during a speech the other day, resigned from the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Cabinet on Wednesday evening. Cheriyan called on chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and handed over his resignation. Subsequently he held a press meet at the state secretariat to publicly announce his decision to step down. The 57-year-old minister said it was his independent decision to resign as his remarks had created a wrong impression. Cheriyan said he would continue to uphold the values of the Constitution. Surprisingly, even at the press conference the minister sought to justify his speech yet again and blamed the media for misinterpreting his remarks by taking a portion of it out of context. Cheriyan who hails from Alappuzha district entered assembly after winning Chengannur by election in 2018. He was re-elected from the same constituency in 2021. At a CPM meeting in Mallappally on Sunday, Cheriyan said the constitution of India had been written in such a manner that helped the loot of people. The constitution was prepared and handed over by the British and written by the Indians. Many including those in the opposition felt that his statement amounted to insulting and belittling the architects of the Constitution like Dr B R Ambedkar. Hectic political activities took place in the run up to the resignation on Wednesday. The available state secretariat of the CPM which include chief minister Mr Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM Kerala unit secretary Mr Kodiyeri Balakrishnan met at the party headquarters AKG Centre to discuss the issue. After the meeting when media persons confronted Cherian and asked whether he would resign, the minister shot back; why should I resign? I have already made my position clear in the assembly. His reaction gave an indication that the state leadership had not reached a decision. It was also informed that an extended state secretariat meeting would discuss the matter on Thursday. What also surprised people in Kerala was the chief ministers silence on the issue. Notwithstanding the raging controversy, he neither spoke on the issue within or outside the assembly nor issued a statement since yesterday. Till then the CPM leaders took a position that the ministers remarks were a slip of the tongue and unintentional. However, a concrete indication about Cheriyans position becoming untenable came when CPM general Mr Sitaram Yechury, while replying to questions from media persons in Delhi, said the state leadership had been directed to take appropriate action and announce it. Things were now clear that the central leadership was in no mood to wait till Thursday. It is also learnt that the chief minister had sought legal opinion from the Advocate General on the possible outcome should the matter come before the courts. Finally, the leadership decided to pave the way for his honourable exit. Logic PCI Express 5.0 supporting interface chips from Diodes Date: 06-07-22 Interface and discrete semiconductor maker Diodes has launched a range of semiconductor chips targeting PC interface standard PCI Express 5.0 protocol. The new PCI Express 5.0 interface allows for 32Gb/s of data transfer in a single channel, which doubled the throughput of PCI Express 4.0. A x 16 PCIe Gen 5 connection has a total bandwidth around 128 GB/s. The higher throughput of the data transfer requires even lower jitter clock signal than PCI Express 4.0. Semiconductor devices announced by Diodes include ReDriver, switch, clock generator, and clock buffer devices. ReDriver PI3EQX32908 supports 32Gbps data rates defined by PCIe 5.0 specification with eight differential channels, with independent channel configuration. Linear equalization, output swing, and flat gain parameters are all programmable, so that the signal loss issues can be minimized and PCB trace lengths extended. In line with Modern Standby requirements, this device draws less than 5mW of power when the system in which it is incorporated is in deep standby mode. As well as PCIe 5.0 architecture, the ReDriver also supports SAS4 and CXL protocols. DIODES PI2DBS32212 is claimed as the industrys first PCIe 5.0 switches. Offering bidirectional operation PI2DBS32212 features 2:1 passive Mux and DeMux functionality. With specifications such as Bit-to-bit skew of 3ps (typical), channel-to-channel skew of only 10ps (typical). When operating at 16GHz, both insertion and return losses remain very low, at -2.7dB and -10.8dB respectively. Its 1.8V supply voltage and compact size make this switch highly suited for use in portable electronic equipment, suggests Diodes. The PI2DBS32212 is also compatible with USB4 Gen 2x1/Gen 3x1 and Thunderbolt 3 data signals. DIODES PI6CG330440 is a PCIe 5.0 19-output clock generator. This takes a reference input, and then generates 25MHz and 100MHz frequency outputs. It has seven outputs dedicated to 100MHz and three dedicated to 25MHz clock signals. The remaining nine selectable outputs are capable of driving either 25MHz or 100MHz, as required. The proprietary design used achieves very low jitter performance of less than 50fs. The DIODES PI6CB332001A, is a 20-output fan-out PCIe 5.0 clock buffer that meets the Intel DB2000QL specification. When operating at PCIe 5.0 architecture speeds, this device exhibits minimal additive phase jitter - with 20fs RMS being typical. This gives engineers wider signal integrity margins for their designs. The on-chip termination on the outputs of both the PI6CG330440 and the PI6CB332001A result in far fewer external components being required, saving board space, as per Diodes. Because of their respective Intel CK440Q and Intel DB2000QL compatibility, they present higher performance drop-in replacements for other clock generator/buffers targeted at server applications, claims Diodes. Diodes Incorporated is a valued member of the PCI-SIG and continues to contribute to the progression of PCIe technology within the electronic engineering community, said Al Yanes, PCI-SIG President and Chairperson. Through the semiconductor solutions it introduces, the company is helping the latest generations of PCIe technology gain greater pervasiveness within the market. Emergence of the PCIe 5.0 specification offers the prospect of doubling the bandwidth available, and this will be hugely beneficial in all forms of computing equipment and data storage infrastructure, adds Dr. Jin Zhao, Senior Vice President, Analog Business Group, Diodes Incorporated. As speeds increase, access to technology that will ensure signal integrity and mitigate losses is becoming more important than ever. Diodes has made a major commitment to supporting PCIe technology, releasing innovative products to address each protocol generation that has emerged. Our new PCIe 5.0 product portfolio continues to build on this strong track record. The PI3EQX32908 is supplied in a 62-pin W-QFN package. The PI2DBS32212 comes in a 24-pin X1QFN package taking up only 2.5mm x 2.5mm of PCB space. The PI6CG330440s 100-pin UQFN package has 8mm x 8mm x 0.6mm dimensions, while the PI6CB332001A 80-pin Aqfn package occupies a 6mm x 6mm footprint. The PI3EQX32908 PCIe 5.0 ReDriver and PI2DBS32212 PCIe 5.0 switch are available at $11 and $1.20 respectively in 3500 piece quantities. The PCIe 5.0 PI6CG330440 clock generator and PI6CB332001A clock buffer are available at $6.48 and $4.80 in 3000 piece quantities. Ride share drivers rarely cross paths. A typical workday is never the same. They dont have a route or even a set range. The app tells them where to go, and they follow. However, at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, drivers from all over the state find themselves in the same queue. Frustrations and complaints among drivers who met in the cellphone lot at BDL came to a head Wednesday when about 25 rallied in East Hartford and drove a caravan to the State Capitol in hopes that lawmakers and the ride share companies would hear their plight. Lawmakers have to put more pressure on the companies, said Sohail Rana, senior organizer with Independent Drivers Guild. We are trying to put through ride to bargain legislation so drivers can sit across from these companies and bargain for their own rights. We need a seat at the table. Drivers gathered behind The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Lodge in East Hartford to prepare signs and change into their Independent Drivers Guild T-shirts. Since ride share drivers are not employees, but independent contractors, they cannot form their own union, but exist as a sub-chapter of IAM. The drivers chatted amiably before the caravan departed, most saying they had met the other drivers at BDL. I found out they were forming a party that was going to fight for rights for us to get better benefits, pay and to speak on whats going on out here, said Gordan Doran, an Uber driver from Hartford. Customers need rides from the airport frequently, so Uber and Lyft set up a virtual line in the cellphone lot at BDL. Drivers wait so they can be immediately ready for passengers who get off the plane. Uber and Lyft want a single-minute response from drivers in major metropolitan areas and at airports, but they arent compensating drivers for this, said Bill Hearn, an Uber driver in the Hartford area. There, as many as 30 ride share cars will wait. The cars are numbered on the virtual queue. While demand is high for Ubers and Lyfts at the airport, sometimes drivers will wait up to three hours to get a passenger and leave the queue. Drivers are not paid until they match with a passenger, so the waiting time is in the hope it will pay off with a lengthy ride, but not too long. They do not find out the destination of the passenger until they enter the car the app wont let them see. Sometimes you wait two hours in the queue and they give you a 16-minute ride, said Wahid Ganga, an Uber driver from Waterbury. You cannot decline because if you decline more than two times you lose your spot, even if you have been waiting for three hours. And that is going to affect your rating. If the passenger needs to go somewhere out of state like LaGuardia Airport, the driver will not be allowed to pick up any other passengers in New York. Connecticut ride share drivers cannot pick up out-of-state passengers so the drive back from LaGuardia is unpaid. Drivers of course are paying for all of their gas, Hearn said. They arent getting paid for tolls on the way there, and they certainly arent getting paid for return tolls. If a driver needs to leave the queue to use the bathroom, they will be sent to the back of the queue, forced to wait behind the sometimes 30 other cars that are ahead. This is not a demand, Rana said. Its a basic human need. Ryan Tenny, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Airport Authority, said that the authority is looking into the possibility of a toilet in the future. He said that drivers could come in the airport to use the bathroom like members of the public, but if drivers leave the lot, they lose their spot. The cellphone waiting lot is a public lot intended for short-term waiting; however, given unfortunate sanitary circumstances that have surfaced and the resulting maintenance burden that has fallen on CAA staff members, the CAA was already evaluating portable toilets to improve the overall cleanliness of the area and improve the facilities to all users of the cellphone waiting lot, Tenny said. Rana said a portable toilet is the bare minimum. It should be a trailer where you can wash your hands and have a proper toilet, Rana said. If you are a woman driver, you cannot hold pee for four hours. For each time an Uber or Lyft picks someone up at BDL, there is a $2.25 fee added to the passengers total that goes to the airport. Rana said that since the airport is making money off of the service, the airport should give back to the drivers that make that service possible. The complaints the drivers shared about working as a ride share driver were numerous and drivers. Most highlighted the crushing toll that gas prices were taking on the amount of money they took home at the end of the day. Others said that Uber was seizing their tips. Some complained about the control the app has over their lives and workday. Ganga said he thinks the app and the company knew about the rally because drivers headed to the event set the IAM Lodge as their destination before going offline. You set a destination, I want to be in this place at this time, Ganga said. They should give you all the rides going in that direction. Today they dropped my destination off the app three times. I put the destination as here and they took it down three times. I am pretty sure they know we are going to protest here. The Independent Drivers Guild formed in 2016 in the New York City area as an agreement between Uber and the IAM in New York City. Rana said that the Independent Drivers Guild in Connecticut has nothing to do with Uber, but another local group, Connecticut Drivers United, is skeptical. IDG is trying to create groups paid by IDG to destroy the real benefits of workers, said Carlos Gomez, founder and senior organizer at Connecticut Drivers United. CDU says IDG is not welcome in CT. Return to New York. Rana said that ultimately, organizations aside, the event is about the drivers and the demands they have. Uber and Lyft drivers are being exploited by these companies, Rana said. emily.disalvo@hearstmediact.com WEST HARTFORD As it prepares to depart from its home of 64 years, the Childrens Museum will consider offers to move its iconic 20-ton Conny the Whale statue to a new home across the street. The museum, which needs to move because Kingswood Oxford School sold the 950 Trout Brook Drive property it currently sits on earlier this year, formulated the plan for Conny as they consider locations in East Hartford for their permanent future home. In a legal notice the museum posted, they said they will be receiving competitive bids to move the 60-foot sperm whale that was built by a group of around 100 volunteers from the then-named Connecticut Cetacean Society on the property over 45 years ago. The whale, which became the museums defacto mascot, would find its new home across Trout Brook Drive on a piece of greenway alongside the Trout Brook walking trail. The land is owned by the state and the museum would need permission from the state to use it. The museum said Wednesday they will temporarily be moving its preschool to the former Lollipop Tree Nursery School at the Emanuel Synagogue on Mohegan Drive. They also plan to create a smaller version of the museum at the synagogue, pending the approval of a special use permit from the town. Their plans are to move out of their current site by the fall. The temporary museum would be about 70 percent of the current museum, with many of the museums animals, staff and exhibits not moving over. At that location, the musuem would shift its focus to its younger audience of children ages three to eight and would conduct no field trips or outside activities. In a letter sent to the neighborhood, Rabbi David J. Small said the museum would be a good fit for their space. We believe the presence of an educational nature science center for young children and their caregivers on our lower floor is a great fit for the space and will be consistent with the pleasant and family-oriented atmosphere of our neighborhood, Small said. Welcoming the museum is consistent with Emanuel Synagogues values of being a good community citizen. We are glad to be able to help cherished resource of our community in their time of need. With the move to the synagogue expected to happen in just a few months, the museum needed to make a decision about Conny the Whale. The statues fate was uncertain at the end of 2021 as the museum worried about the high cost of moving it to the museums new location. Some estimates, the museum said, were upwards of $400,000. We had been looking at prices to move it to wherever the permanent home might be, a musuem representative said. The further away you get from the Childrens Museum, the much more expensive it gets, and probably more important the more dangerous it is from Conny. If you have to go under tunnels or under bridges, we were told youd have to cut Conny in two or three pieces. The move across the street would use a combination of private fundraising and state grants, as well as money raised by its original builders, the Cetacean Society International, who also plans to maintain Conny. We believe that moving it to the greenway, it presents the best chance to preserve Conny and prevent damage, and also the most cost effective in allowing the Childrens Museum to use funding for other things like education, the museum said. David Kaplan, the president of the Cetacean Society International, said this would be a perfect ending to the saga of Conny. Theres nothing quite like that whale in the world, Kaplan said. We really hit a homerun. Its really perfect. Kaplan said Conny would likely have been destroyed if there was no plan to move her across the street or no funding to do so. He hopes Conny becomes a source of education, just like his group intended it to be over 45 years ago. We can really expand upon the educational side of what whales mean to Connecticut, Kaplan said. Its an attraction. Its a beautiful thing. I think Conny has a future. The museum will accept bids on moving Conny the Whale through July 14 at 2 p.m. Windsor residents by a small margin favor a local medical marijuana dispensary over a recreational pot shop, but most also want wide buffer zones between such facilities and schools, parks and residential areas, according to preliminary survey results. A good cross section of residents, a total of 611 people as of Wednesday, have answered the online survey, which has no closing date, Town Planner Eric Barz said. The planning and zoning commission is to vote next week on whether to extend a moratorium on local marijuana sales for four months, Barz said. The delay will give officials time to gauge public opinion and learn how other towns are preparing for the sales rollout before making a decision, he said. Retail sales of marijuana are expected to begin in Connecticut by the end of the year. State law legalizing marijuana, effective July 1, 2021, allows municipalities to decide whether to host recreational and medicinal pot sales and where shops can be located, among other issues. The state allows one package store per 3,000 residents and one marijuana dispensary per 25,000 residents in a community. Windsor, with a population of 29,376, is allowed to have nine package stores and one recreational marijuana dispensary, as well as the possibility of a medical marijuana dispensary, or in-lieu of both, a hybrid dispensary. The survey (https://bit.ly/3yLWMrG) asks respondents if they use or will use medical or recreational marijuna and whether Windsor should allow one and only one medical or recreational sales facility in an appropriate location. Survey responses so far show 46% strongly favored a medical dispensary and 40% strongly approved of a recreational shop, Barz said. State law allows communities to distance cannabis establishment from schools, playgrounds, daycare centers and other areas. Given a range of choices on a preferred buffer, from next door to 1,500 feet or more, most respondents so far have chosen the widest distance, Barz said. There are two areas in town, both zoned industrial, that could host a pot dispensary with wide buffering rules in place, Barz said. One is in the northeast corner near the new Amazon facility and the other is off Dayhill Road. Other questions, which the anonymous survey says are important to helping us understand your housing situation and how that informs your answers, include age, length of residency, household income and race. The lead-in to the survey also describes marijuana, including the effects and reported medicinal benefits. Medical marijuana has been proven to provide a safer, less addictive alternative to opioids for long-term pain management, the lead-in says. It also says that debate over whether marijuana is a gateway drug to other more potent drugs has not been clinically settled, though some studies have shown that adolescent use during brain development can impact opioid receptors in the brain, making individuals more susceptible to opioid addiction as adults. Barz said he gathered the information from online studies. The federal government considers marijuana a controlled substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse. The Drug Enforcement Administration (https://bit.ly/3OUrzbu) says the effect of marijuana on perception and coordination are responsible for serious impairments in learning, associative processes and psychomotor behavior (driving abilities). Long-term effects may include bronchitis, emphysema, bronchial asthma and suppression of the immune system, according to the DEA. The Federal Drug Administration has not approved a marketing application for any marijuana product for any clinical indication. NORML, which touts the benefits of marijuana and advocates for legalization, cites studies that either dampen or dismiss the federal governments warnings (Fact Sheets - NORML). For example, under marijuana and psychomotor performance, the organization acknowledges that acute cannabis intoxication may influence reaction time and other abilities necessary to operate a motor vehicle safely, but also says that such effects tend to be relatively short-lived and are far less dramatic than changes in psychomotor performance associated with drivers under the influence of alcohol. Town officials also note that state law on recreational marijuana sales allows participating communities to collect a 3% tax, money that can be used for streetscape improvements, youth employment and training programs and other services. On the other hand, state law also allows a local referendum on whether to allow marijuana sales if at least 10% of voters submit a petition at least 60 days before a regular election. Jesse.Leavenworth@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW MILFORD Authorities returned to New Milford High School on Wednesday morning to assess the damages from Tuesdays substantial roof fire that left several inches of water inside the building and led six firefighters to suffer from smoke inhalation. The fire marshals office is here today to document the entire building and continue with the investigation, Fire Marshal Kevin Reynolds said Wednesday. He was on-site with other first responders and town officials. Six firefighters were sent to a local hospital and were treated and released Tuesday night, Reynolds said. They had minor injuries, he added. More than 100 people were involved bringing the fire under control, including units from Water Witch Hose Company #2, Gaylordsville Fire, Northville Fire, Brookfield Fire, Danbury Fire Department, Wooster Engine, Water Witch Company #7, Sherman Fire, Litchfield County Coordinators, Washington Fire, Newtown Hook and Ladder, Bantam Fire, and Battalion 19, according to a social media post from Water Witch Hose Company #2, one of New Milfords fire departments. The first units to arriving after 2:10 p.m. saw smoke and flames from the roof area to the interior of the building, according to Water Witch. The fire was under control by around 5:40 p.m.. This is the second fire at the school since December and took place while the school was undergoing roof construction for a $4.76 million project. In that fire, students were forced to evacuate and school was canceled the next day. At the time, the fire marshal said workers on the roof were using a torch when some fiberglass insulation caught on fire and spread to the plywood underlay. Reynolds is still investigating the cause of the latest fire, which forced the district to move summer school programs. The school is using the same roofing company as it did when the earlier fire took place United Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. in Brookfield. When reached Wednesday afternoon, the company acknowledged its involved with the New Milford High School fire, and an official said they were unavailable to speak at this time. Assessing damage On Wednesday, the roofing crew used tarps to cover a 40-inch by 60-inch hole to prevent rain from coming in, Reynolds said. The fire department had to cut sections of the roof open so the roofing company can actually repair the entire roof where the fire occurred, he said. He added they would to try to cover the hole Wednesday. Me and my crew are documenting the building and the restoration company is working and the roofers are working, so its a very busy place here today, Reynolds said. There is a lot of damage here. He added he cant speculate when the building will be able to be safely occupied, nor on the cause of the fire. Its still under investigation so I cant give you something specific, he said. Schools Superintendent Alisha DiCorpo said Wednesday shes unsure of the cost of the damage to the school. The building is currently being evaluated by the fire marshal and the remediation company. The insurance company has been notified and as details emerge regarding what items need to be replaced, and remediation costs, we will begin to capture those costs, she said. She added the school district will work closely with New Milford Public Works Director Jack Healy and the town. Shesaid she is unsure when the school can be occupied. As the investigation and remediation unfold, we will learn more, she said. All summer programs scheduled at the high school will be moved to other locations. The goal is to begin the Credit Recovery, Extended School Year and Summer Bridge programs, attended by about 360 students, on Monday. In a letter sent to parents Wednesday afternoon, DiCorpo wrote the start date depends on several factors such as the availability of air conditioning at Schaghticoke Middle School and at Northville Elementary School. We are also ordering curriculum and instructional materials and all other items necessary for the programs to start today, DiCorpo wrote. Once we obtain the items, we can begin. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BEIJING (AP) China launched a scathing attack on the U.S. and NATO on Wednesday, days before a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijians comments underscore the increasingly fractious relationship, along with Chinas increasingly confrontational approach to foreign relations that heatedly rejects criticism. At last weeks NATO summit in Spain, Blinken accused China of seeking to undermine the rules-based international order. In his comments Wednesday, Zhao said the so-called rules-based international order is actually a family rule made by a handful of countries to serve the U.S. self-interest. Washington observes international rules only as it sees fit, he said, adding that NATO must renounce its blind faith in military might. U.S.-China relations are dominated by disputes over issues from trade and human rights to Taiwan and Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, China has refused to condemn Russias four-month-long war against Ukraine, criticized sanctions brought against Moscow by NATO members and accused Washington and its allies of provoking the conflict. Russia and China have strengthened political, economic and military ties, while aligning their foreign policies to oppose the influence of liberal democracies. Weeks before Russias February invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a meeting at which they pledged a partnership that had no limits. At its summit, NATO for the first time singled out China as one of its strategic priorities for the next decade. China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbors, threatening Taiwan monitoring and controlling its own citizens through advanced technology, and spreading Russian lies and disinformation, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after presenting NATOs 10-year Strategic Concept. In his comments at Wednesday's daily briefing, Zhao said the U.S. has been working closely with NATO to hype up competition with China and stoke group confrontation." The history of NATO is the one about creating conflicts and waging wars arbitrarily launching wars and killing innocent civilians, even to this day," Zhao said. Facts have proven that it is not China that poses a systemic challenge to NATO, and instead it is NATO that brings a looming systemic challenge to world peace and security." Blinken is expected to meet with Wang on Saturday at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations on the Indonesian island of Bali. SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) European Council President Charles Michel urged North Macedonia on Tuesday to back a French-proposed compromise on ending a dispute with neighboring Bulgaria that's blocking the country's long-delayed European Union accession bid. Violent protests erupted in North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, where demonstrators tried to storm government buildings, after French President Emmanuel Macron announced the proposal which many in the small Balkan country find controversial last week. Macron said at a NATO summit in Madrid that a compromise solution to lift Bulgaria's opposition to its neighbor's EU aspirations had been achieved, without giving details. A few hundred people took part in a new protest late Tuesday in Skopje against the French proposal. Held during a rainstorm, it ended peacefully, but afterwards a small number of protesters threw stones at police outside parliament before being dispersed. North Macedonias president, Stevo Pendarovski, and the government have backed the proposed deal, which calls for the country to acknowledge in its constitution the existence of an ethnic Bulgarian minority. It would also provide for regular reviews on how the bilateral dispute is being addressed, which could potentially hamper North Macedonia's future accession course. But the center-right main opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, many international law experts and civic organizations say the proposal favors Bulgarian demands which dispute their own country's views of regional history, language, identity and heritage. As an EU member, Bulgaria has the power to block its neighbor's accession bid. At a joint news conference Tuesday with North Macedonias prime minister, Dimitar Kovachevski, Michel stressed that the French proposal is too important an opportunity to be missed. Michel said that if North Macedonia accepts the proposal, then the path for the country to start EU accession talks could open within days. Kovachevski reiterated his support for the balanced proposal," adding that "our aim is to start membership talks. On a third day of mass protests late Monday in Skopje, protesters threw stones, eggs and bottles at the government offices and parliament building in downtown Skopje. Police prevented the crowd of several thousand people from forcing their way into government offices. Four police were injured in front of parliament. Bulgaria has already formally accepted the French proposal, which now requires the backing of North Macedonia's parliament. Bulgaria insists that North Macedonia formally recognizes that its language has Bulgarian roots, acknowledges a Bulgarian minority and quashes hate speech against Bulgaria. North Macedonia has been a candidate for EU membership for 17 years. The country received a green light in 2020 to begin accession talks, but no date for the start of the negotiations has been set. Before Bulgaria raised its objections, North Macedonia settled a decades-old dispute with another neighbor and EU member, Greece, to forward its aim of joining the 27-nation bloc. As a result it added the word North to its previous name, Macedonia, which Greece had complained implied claims on its own territory, history and cultural heritage. The dispute with Bulgaria has also stalled the progress of another Balkan country, Albania, toward EU membership because the bloc is treating the pair as a political package. North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania are all NATO members. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HARTFORD A Connecticut man with a history of threatening public figures mailed threatening letters to local journalists who wrote stories on racial issues, the subjects of those stories, and U.S. Supreme Court justices, federal authorities charged Wednesday. Garrett Santillo, 43 of Washington Avenue, Hamden, appeared in U.S. District Court Wednesday where he was released on a $100,000 non-surety bond set by Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish. Santillo declined to comment as he walked out of court with his family shortly before 5:30 p.m. His next court date was scheduled for July 26. Santillo was arrested Wednesday morning at his apartment, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McGarry. He was charged with mailing threatening communications in some cases across state lines, McGarry said. A native of New Haven, Santillo also has lived in Torrington and Florida. The prosecutor said that because Santillo is accused of threatening U.S. Supreme Court justices, he could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. McGarry told the judge that among the things Santillo wrote to his victims was, You will die. You will all be killed. A number of the more than 100 threatening letters were sent to the homes of reporters and editors at Hearst Connecticut Media Group, the arrest warrant application shows. Those reporters had written stories with subjects who are Black and about race-related issues. A number of the people named in the stories also received threatening letters. Some of the letters threatened the journalists over their coverage of race-related issues, the application shows. All the changes in this letter Must be followed or else punishment at peoples homes including yours will occur! Santillo allegedly wrote. One letter contained a similar threat, the affidavit states: We are telling everyone including the head of the NAACP and the KKK and all similar organizations including all white supremacy organizations. People that dont follow all this will be killed. At least one letter was intercepted by the postal service before it got to a reporter. In court, Santillo, who was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, was polite, referring to the judge as your Honor. At one point, after Farrish did a routine explanation of the defendants rights and a court rule, Santillo said, That makes sense to me. There was a lot of discussion about where Santillo would live, with his lawyer from the federal defenders office, Charles Willson, offering two options. Willson said he could continue to live with his aunt, who has promised to quit her part-time job to keep a closer eye on her nephew, or live with his parents in New Haven. All three relatives agreed to work together to monitor him. McGarry wasnt happy with the first option because the latest round of threatening letters were mailed when Santillo was living with his aunt, the prosecutor said. We have pictures of him with stacks of threatening mail, he said. Farrish said the courts mission, however, is to find the least restrictive conditions for the accused as long as the defendant is not deemed to be a threat to public safety. However, Santillo must adhere to more than a half-dozen conditions which include receiving continued psychiatric treatment, staying away from weapons of any sort, and having to be in the home from 7 p.m. -7 a.m. Also, based on his previous convictions, any time he wants to mail a letter or send an electronic message to someone besides a relative, one of the three close family members must approve it, Farrish said. Santillos convictions for similar threats go back to 2003. In August 2016, Santillo was sentenced to five years of probation for sending threatening letters to public figures in Connecticut, including the New Haven police chief, Yale and Quinnipiac university administrators and federal judges. He was indicted in September 2014 for sending threatening letters to the Connecticut officials about a homicide investigation from 1998, and he pleaded guilty to one count of mailing threatening communications in March 2015. Santillo admitted he sent threatening letters to then Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, forensic scientist Henry Lee, U.S. District judges Robert N. Chatigny and Janet Bond Arterton as well as a former TV news anchor, Janet Peckinpaugh among others. When authorities went to his Florida home on Sept. 29, 2014, Santillo made a statement about killing himself and moved out of the officers sight, prompting them to go through a window and use a Taser on him, documents show. When police searched his home, they found unsent handwritten letters, including one to President Barack Obama in which Santillo threatened to kill the president. Santillo has 2003 and 2008 federal convictions for sending threatening letters and a 2010 violation of his federally supervised release for sending a similar letter. At one previous court appearance, Santillos defense attorney said he had been undergoing treatment at Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. At another, a different lawyer said he has Aspergers syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum. The lawyer attributed Santillos two prior federal convictions and the more recent one as a result of that disorder. In corporate deals we actually care about, Amazon struck a deal with GrubHub this week that includes a year-long GrubHub+ trial for Amazon Prime members in the U.S. starting July 6 just in time for Prime Day. If you have an Amazon Prime membership, you can head to the Prime Grubhub page and from there, activate your free GrubHub+ membership. Youll get free delivery on eligible orders and receive alerts when theres extra savings going on. The new perk comes from a deal made by Amazon and GrubHub Wednesday: Amazon has the option to take a 2% stake in Grubhub, according to CNBC, and part of the bargain is that Amazon Prime members get a free year-long subscription to Grubhub+. The move makes sense for both parties: Amazon Prime members like things fast, and GrubHub just got handed a bigger customer base. Amazon made a similar deal with Deliveroo and U.K. and Irish Prime members last September after taking a stake in Deliveroo, per CNBC. The agreement comes at a challenging time in the food delivery business. GrubHub's owner, Just Eat (Europes largest food-delivery platform), is looking to partially sell off or fully sell GrubHub. According to Bloomberg, GrubHub is struggling among its peers: It has just 13 percent of the U.S. meal delivery market, versus 60 percent for DoorDash and 24% for Uber Eats, plus the lowest per-customer quarterly spend. A host of new customers from Prime could come at a critical time for the company. On this news, the stock of other food delivery businesses, including Uber and DoorDash, fell a respective 3% and as much as 9%, according to CNBC. Looking at the bigger picture, the stocks of Uber and Deliveroo the latter of which Amazon has that stake in are both down nearly 50% this year. While no one knows how this will all play out yet for GrubHub, the easy thing to say is to get your free GrubHub+ while you can. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADISON Hanging high in the back of the Desert Eagles Nest Thrift Store is a vintage Waterford Crystal Avoca, six-arm chandelier, dripping with prisms. The light fixture is wired and brightens up the room. Priced on eBay for up to $5,000, it is $1,500 at the newly opened thrift shop. The 1,100-square-foot store has been open about a month and has developed quite a following. With maroon curtains hanging on the windows and the door open to welcome a breeze, Bob Keiser and store manager Jan Cameron talked about unusual finds and the shops special mission. This is the kind of thing were dealing with here, said Keiser, smiling as he looked up at the chandelier. Cameron spends a great deal of time researching donations to determine their worth. I love it, she said. The unique items that come in and meeting all the people and knowing its going to a good cause, helping veterans. The money, 100 percent of it, goes directly to APK Charities to provide financial aid and material assistance to military personnel and their families. Organizers Keiser and his wife Helen Keiser-Pedersen, of Madison, are passionate about giving back to military families and soldiers. Helen Keiser-Pedersens only son, Army Capt. Andrew Michael Pedersen-Keel, was killed in action on March 11, 2013, in Afghanistan. The 28-year-old was serving as the commander of his special forces detachment. The couple created the nonprofit organization APK Charities to support active, retired, wounded and fallen warriors and their families through financial aid and material assistance. The donations come from a myriad of places. People know us, said Keiser. Were starting to be so well known in the area. Weve been putting stuff out in the church bulletins in town and in Guilford and Jan has a Facebook page and were getting more requests to donate we have another storage [area] because we have so much stuff, he said. Cameron, standing in the store, talked about the wide variety of donations. Everything just changes in here so much, she said. We have unique things always coming in, which is what I love. There is the curious rosewood Chinese corner armchair with either inlaid mother of pearl or tortoise shell. Were trying to determine if its mother of pearl or tortoise shell, said Keiser. Were trying to determine because if it is [mother of pearl] it could be worth up to $2,000. In the jewelry department, a faux pearl necklace bears the famous Coco Chanel logo in gold tone metal with seed pearls. The question is, the pair said, is it a real Chanel piece or a knock off? In the shop, the usual thrift store items can be found in abundance. Lining the shelves are childrens toys, puzzles, games and novelties. Racks are filled with brand name clothing for men, women and children, including high-end labels such as Free People, Brooks Brothers, Reformation Jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch, Victorias Secret, Lord & Taylor and Tommy Bahama. Then there are record players, vinyl records, CDs and tapes, as well as bicycles, strollers, chairs, dressers, side tables and dishware. While Desert Eagles Nest sells its inventory directly to customers to raise money, it also donates items to veterans who are setting up a household or in need of something specific. Cameron said some of the items are donated specifically for a veteran in need. These include dog beds, a dog kennel, a lift chair. It feels good, she said. My husband is a disabled vet, so to see this all come together is just great. Jeff Hodges, a landscaper from East Hartford, is a frequent contributor to the store. He has connections all over the area and personally arranges pickups and deliveries to Desert Eagles Nest, he said. I have several real estate clients and they pass my name to people who are selling their homes or buying new homes and so, I started building momentum, he said. As long as someone can utilize it and it helps them and its in good shape, I pick it up, he said. Hodges has lost track of the number of deliveries he has made to Madison over the last year. Much of it was stored in preparation for the opening. I hope that what Im doing brings joy and happiness to someone, he said. I dont get to see the smiling face of the recipient of items, I dont get to see that, but thats OK. I like the fact that Im helping someone, he said. Keiser talked about the importance of the Desert Eagles Nest Thrift store and APK Charities. Its just something we have to do, he said, standing amidst all the donations, taking a moment to compose himself. Andrews kind of driving us to do this, to be honest, he said, getting emotional. The money coming in to the thrift store will be used by APK Charities to continue their work. Were almost 100 percent helping veterans in Connecticut, Gold Star families and active military, Keiser said. He said requests come from active military coming back from duty and working on assimilating into daily life. We know how difficult it is coming back and sometimes things dont go well when you come back, he said. They are also working with are the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, which provides pro bono work to help veterans. We just got two requests to help two Vietnam veterans who were arrears on their rent and then they started getting late fees and the condo association started eviction procedures, said Keiser. Well write a check for $1,000, or whatever, up to $5,000, he said. Requests for assistance also come from New Havens Columbus House, if they have somebody whos not being helped by the VA because it doesnt fit their need, so well fill in. APK Charities board member Tony Sicignano talked about the importance of the work. The veterans that we help, its just unbelievable what these poor people are going through, he said. If we can help them out in any way its just really heartwarming and satisfying that we help these guys or women that are struggling right now. They gave their service to our country and unfortunately they fell on hard times and if can help out in any way, shape or form thats just tremendous, he said. Desert Eagles Nest Thrift Store, 170 Fort Path Road, Unit 14, Madison; 860-662-6310; Facebook Desert Eagles Nest Thrift Store; apkcharities.org. WESTPORT Nearly $1 million has been allocated to capital items and improvements across Westport as a part of Tuesdays Representative Town Meeting. The list includes a backhoe, truck lift, scale at the transfer station and facade work at town hall. It will be covered with a mix of bonding and using money in the capital and non-recurring account. All items were unanimously approved except for $251,000 to restore the front facade portico columns, pilasters and pediment of Town Hall, which passed 24 to 2 with two abstentions. Lori Church, of District 9, was among those who voted against it. She said she wasnt convinced the cost might not change to get up to standards with the Americans with Disabilities Act. I dont feel like it has been completely said tonight that the structural integrity is fine at the moment, she said. Peter Ratkiewich, the public works director, said the columns are in fair shape, though elements of it are starting to rot away. The Town Hall is on the state historic registry, and a historical architect came up with a restoration plan. The Public Works department was attempting to secure a historic restoration grant, which reimburses up to 50 percent of the project cost through the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community and Development. The grant would require the town to be in compliance with the State Historic Preservation Office for 20 years to change anything involving Town Hall. So, Ratkiewich said, The actual grant is a little too rigid for us. Ratkiewich said the backhoe and loader will replace the 2005 John Deere 410G Backhoe, which required extensive repairs. The appropriation is for $160,000 and includes about $17,000 for the accessories. He said the current backhoe is used every day and needs to be refurbished. Rather than invest large amounts of money in this and still end up with a 17-year-old machine, its recommended to replace it and put the current equipment up for surplus, he said. Harris Falk, of District 2, asked if they had looked into any hybrid or electric machinery that could work. In this case, no, Ratkiewich said. We are pretty much aware that they are not making those yet. But they will, eventually, and then at that time, we will look into them. The $270,000 for the 50,000-pound truck lift in the mechanics bay will also replace old equipment. Ratkiewich said the lift there was last replaced in 2003. By the time we actually order this and install it, it will be 20 years old with the current supply chain, he said. The total cost includes removal, replacement and remediation. The RTM also approved $285,000 to replace the weigh scale at the Westport Transfer Station. This item is also used every day, Ratkiewich said. This scale is more than 50 years old, and he said it is becoming a structural issue. We cant operate without a scale very effectively, Ratkiewich said. He also said there is only one manufacturer that makes this type of scale. kayla.mutchler@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate There must be thousands of jazz clubs in America. There are probably thousands of Veterans of Foreign Wars posts too. But Westport has got to be the only place on earth where the VFW doubles as a music venue. And if its not, its certainly the only one that stars a world renowned saxophonist who doubles as a rabbi. Or vice versa. Jazz at the Post is the brainchild of Greg Wall. Music was the Massachusetts natives first love. He graduated from the New England Conservatory, sought his fortune playing jazz, and through a perhaps godly turn of events, landed gigs in Hasidic Brooklyn. He played weddings there to support his jazz habit, met and married an observant view, and - Im skipping a lot of details here, obviously - for the past several years has been the rabbi at Beit Chaverim, the Post Road West modern Orthodox synagogue. When he was not leading his congregation, Rabbi Wall wailed on his sax. He began playing at Spotted Horse restaurant, then took his show to other local venues. His name and reputation helped land some of the biggest names in jazz. The next step was incorporation, as the Jazz Society of Fairfield County. But COVID hit hard. No one went; music especially was seen as a dangerous way to spread the virus. Pearl at Longshore restaurant - the latest home for the series - closed forever. A beautiful Steinway piano, bought by the Jazz Society from the famed Village Gate club in New York City, went into storage. Not long ago, the rabbi was driving down Riverside Avenue, near his home and synagogue. He passed his wife, out for a run near the VFW. Something clicked. He asked her to stop in, to see if it was suitable for live music. In many ways, Joseph J. Clinton Post 399 is a typical VFW. For more than 100 years its served veterans, and their families. But after a recent renovation its become a popular venue for class reunions, and party and anniversary celebrations. The door was locked. But quartermaster Phil Delgado got out of his car in the parking lot, and asked Rabbi Walls wife if he could help. Soon, he and the rabbi were chatting. Soon after that, the rabbi was blowing his horn at the VFW. Jazz at the Post was born. Its a win-win-win - for the musicians, local music lovers, and the VFW itself. Wall says its a fantastic place to play. (The view out the back of the Saugatuck River is not too shabby either.) As a nonprofit, the VFW does not have to worry about making money. The usual tension between the front of the house and the talent is not only non-existent; post officials actually ask how they can help Wall and his fellow musicians. In fact, Rabbi Wall says, VFW official Bob Tirreno was concerned that not all the cover charges were being collected. That money belongs to the musicians! he said - words that may never have been uttered before by any jazz club manager, ever. For jazz lovers, the series is a chance to enjoy fantastic music, for just $10. (Dinner, courtesy of Derek Furino, is extra - and well worth the also-low price.) Last week, the Jazz Rabbi played with guitar master Paul Bollenback. Before that he hosted Bob Devos, Phil Bowles, Steve Johns, Steve David and Roberta Piket. This Thursday (July 7), the Steinway piano returns. It will be played for the first time since March 12, 2020 - by Janice Friedman the same esteemed pianist who played it last. Upcoming gigs include Westports own Melissa Newman Quartet (July 14), Harvie S. featuring James Weidman (July 21), Sarah Sion (July 28), Rob Henke and the Cook County Stompers (August 4), and Brian Torff (August 11). Shows are 7 and 8:30 p.m. Thats almost wake-up time for a jazz club. But Westport is an early town, Rabbi Wall says. Plus, its fine for musicians who travel here from New York. Theyre home and in bed by the time theyre usually tuning up. There have been a few challenges. For example, the reservation system is still by email (jazzatthepost@gmail.com) and phone (203-227-6796) only. Rabbi Wall hopes to integrate reservations with both the Jazz Society of Fairfield County (jazzfc.org) and VFW (vfw399ct.org) websites soon. But word is getting out. Audiences include a mix of longtime jazz lovers, people who heard about the shows and are just discovering the genre, and curious VFW members and affiliated groups, like Red Cross blood drive volunteers and donors. So add that to the list of world firsts: Westport is without a doubt the only place where the VFW is both a music and a blood drive venue. Dan Woog is a Westport writer. His new column Calendar Close-up appears each Friday and dives into one of the upcoming community events in Westport. He can be reached at dwoog@optonline.net. His personal blog is danwoog06880.com. FAIRFIELD The selectmen held off on voting on the charter revision this week so they could have more time reviewing the document, getting closer to deadlines that would place the changes on Novembers ballot. The issue of the timeline was contentious at the meeting with Selectwoman Nancy Lefkowitz saying the process shouldnt be rushed just meet this deadline and First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick saying the process has been happening for months with the goal of residents voting on it this election. Town Attorney Jim Baldwin and Steven Mednick, the attorney hired to guide the town through the revision process, noted there are tight deadlines in the coming months. In order to get the charter revision on the ballot, the Board of Selectmen has to come up with its recommendations for the Charter Review Commission to discuss by next week. The commission then has 30 days to go through the topics of discussion sent to it to see if it can make changes. By mid-August, the CRC has to send any possible revisions back to the selectmen by mid-August, who can approve or deny the proposed charter and then have to come up with ballot questions for it. Those questions need to be sent to the Secretary of States office by the first week of September. Lefkowitz said she is still going through the proposed document with Baldwin and said that there may be reason for another public hearing, which would make the timeline longer. Kupchick said both attorneys have been available to members of the board for discussion and added selectmen can engage with the CRC at its coming meetings. The selectmen have already started compiling its recommendations to send back to the commission now that that presentations and public hearing process is complete. Certainly on the commissions forthcoming docket is the issue of downsizing the Representative Town Meeting from 40 members to 30, a change that has resulted in vocal push-back from some residents and politicians. Another likely recommended topic will be the change to the contract language for the Board of Education that BOE members said would give the town oversight of contracts the board wishes to enter into. Pamela Iacono, a CRC and RTM member, said the smaller RTM came as a compromise between members who want to transition to a town council-town manager or mayor type of government and those who wanted to stick with the current system. Iacono said the smaller RTM would lay the foundation for a possible future transition to that form of government. She said lowering the number of representatives makes the body more effective and help it avoid parochialism and log-rolling. The proposed charter would create a town administrator position, Iacono noted, and, based on interviews the CRC did with area officials, a professional manager will be reluctant to work with a large size council. Which is understandable if you think about it in practical terms, she said. What professional wants to report to 40 bosses? And while this charter does not call for the administrator to report to the legislative body, its not a leap of faith to draw the conclusion that a smaller RTM affords the opportunity to have a more meaningful relationship collectively with management. Iacono also said the commission saw anecdotal evidence that most Fairfield residents do not know know who their RTM representatives are, that they have four of them or even their district number. She said that about a dozen RTM members are the most vocal in meetings and engaged in the community. During the June RTM committee meeting there were 14 items on the agenda, eight representatives spoke to the items, eight, she said. Eight out of 40. Thats typical. Opponents of reducing the RTM have said the RTM should self-regulate its size. They claim the 40-member body fosters different opinions and backgrounds, allows members to shift the work around when needed and helps political outsiders get involved in town governance. Iacono said four representatives are no longer needed to cover a district, adding technology helps members and residents bring issues to the forefront and address them. She noted that the 4th Congressional District has one representative Jim Himes and that most town bodies have nine members or less. We have a representative government in Fairfield in so many shapes and forms. We cant lose sight of that, she said. What we are looking to achieve at the legislative level is better accountability which will lead to better governance as we look to be as the Model City Charter says, practical and efficient. joshua.labella@hearstmediact.com BERLIN - Hundreds of flyers seeking members for a pro-white neo-Nazi nationalist group were found in a quiet Berlin neighborhood over the weekend, residents said. It was a complete shock, it was quite unsettling, said one York Road resident who went out to walk her dog at about 8:15 a.m. Monday and spotted dozens of pieces of paper scattered throughout her yard and the entire street. The woman was fearful about being named due to the content of the flyers, she said. At first she thought someones garbage had dumped over, but when she realized the content of the flyers she was taken aback, the woman said. Ive been here since 2005 and never, ever has there been anything like that around here, the woman said. The flyers claiming to be from The Nationalist Social Club, asks men of European descent to contact the group if they have concerns or want to join the organization. The missives said the group is a pro-white street-oriented fraternity dedicated to raising authentic resistance to the enemies of our people in the New England area. This takes the form of networking, training, activism, outreach and above all, action, the fliers said. Several residents posted the flyers on Facebook early Monday decrying the message and the fact their neighborhood was targeted. A Berlin officer said on a local Facebook group that the police department was investigating. Police are looking for any videos from residents that may show the culprits, Deputy Chief Christopher Ciuci said. According to the Anti-Defamation League, The Nationalist Social Club is a neo-Nazi group with small chapters throughout New England. Residents on several streets throughout a swath of Berlin from St. Pauls Church to Paper Goods Pond reported that hundreds of flyers were in yards and on roadways as if they had been tossed out of a car like candy at a parade. They were all over the street, they were everywhere, said a woman who lives on Parrish Drive who also didnt want to be identified. I was flabbergasted, the Parrish Drive woman said after reading the flyers. I teach the Holocaust, I was flabbergasted and then I was angry. Similar flyers were strewn about Bristol in early June. As we unfortunately witness on almost a daily basis, racist hate inevitably leads to acts of intimidation and violence, said Farhan Memon, the chair of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in a statement issued Tuesday. We condemn the bigotry espoused by this neo-Nazi group and urge law enforcement authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. CAIR advocates for the empowerment of American Muslims through civil rights, justice and an enhanced understanding of Islam. Memon said his organization and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and white supremacy. Anyone who may have video or information can call Berlin police at 860-828-7080. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT A retirement and a resignation have left one of the citys most important departments zoning without a third of its staff. It was announced via email Tuesday that zoning chief Dennis Buckley and his enforcement officer, Neil Bonney, both veterans of what municipal budget shows is a six-person office, are out. Buckley retired effective Friday. Bonney the sole enforcement officer also retired, though no date was provided. Please be patient with us as the zoning departments duties are reassigned, said the email. City Council members said they were aware Buckley was planning on leaving, but that Bonneys departure was an unwelcome surprise. Council President Aidee Nieves and some of her colleagues expressed concern about the lack of manpower in that busy department, which plays a key role in economic development and in ensuring zoning regulations are followed throughout Connecticuts largest municipality. Also in January a re-write of Bridgeports zoning codes and map took effect. Its my hope the mayor and his administration move quickly to fill these positions, Nieves said. Councilman Matthew McCarthy noted a related problem of the zoning commission canceling some recent monthly meetings due to a lack of quorum, which has slowed important applications like the citys effort to pass more welcoming regulations for legalized marijuana sales. He said Buckleys and Bonneys vacancies could slow things further. Im worried about the impact, McCarthy said. Theyre both very experienced individuals so youre gonna lose a lot of institutional knowledge, said Councilman Scott Burns. Zoning falls under the citys office of planning and economic development, run by Thomas Gill. Gill in an email Tuesday about the plans for replacing Buckley and Bonney wrote, Weve already started the process with the position request form for the zoning official (Buckley). We will shortly process a position request form and advertise for a new zoning enforcement officer. That process takes 60 to 90 days. Gill said that Paul Boucher, another long-time zoning staffer, in the meantime has been made acting head of that office. We still have three zoning inspectors Patrick Kleps, Nicholas Sampieri, and Greg Bukovsky who are out in the field regularly with respect to compliance, Gill said. We also keep good communications with building (department) inspectors as theyre out in the field. Raymond Rizio, a prominent zoning attorney, said Tuesday said he did not expect there to be any backlogs when it comes to the offices review of proposed projects. Paul Boucher, who has been the second-in-command for a decade, is certainly up to the job of making sure things move along, Rizio said. The good news is we have an experienced person in the office who knows they city and the process, inside and out. Dennis will be missed, but I think theyve got the right person in place. Buckleys retirement also comes as Mayor Joe Ganims administration has, after several years, finally whittled down a list of significant acting department heads, recently finding permanent personnel and labor relations directors, launching a search for a new police chief, and advertising for a public facilities head. Editors note This story has been updated after the city clarified that both Dennis Buckley and Neil Bonney have retired. 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. BRIDGEPORT The city has agreed to pay a settlement to a police officer who claimed in a lawsuit that he was removed from his position as an instructor at the police academy because he is white. The city council voted Tuesday to authorize a settlement of $22,500 to Lt. John Gale to settle his federal discrimination lawsuit against the city. Gales lawyer, Thomas Bucci, acknowledged the settlement but declined comment on it. City officials did not comment on the lawsuit. In April 2019, Gale filed a lawsuit against the city in U.S. District Court claiming he was relieved of his teaching assignments at the citys police academy on account of his race and color in violation of the U.S. Civil Rights Act and the provisions of the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act. According to the lawsuit, at the time Gale was authorized by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council to instruct in 17 areas of law and police procedure and for more than eight years had taught, for extra compensation, in-service and basic training courses to police officers including driving under the influence law and accident investigation. But the suit states that in December 2016, Gale was informed by the then-commander of the academy, who is African American, that his instructional duties at the academy were being terminated. Gale subsequently filed a race discrimination complaint against the city with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities stating, on information and belief, defendant will not allow me to teach at the academy because of my race and color. The suit states that then-Capt. Rebeca Garcia, currently the acting police chief, retaliated against Gale for filing the discrimination complaint. As a result of the alleged retaliatory acts of Garcia and others in the department, the suit states that Gale has suffered a substantial loss of income. Throughout his employment with the defendant, the plaintiff has had a capable and successful work record and, as an instructor, he has performed in an exemplary manner, the suit states. The defendant discriminated against the plaintiff because of the plaintiffs opposition to the defendants unlawful race and color discrimination when it refused to employ the services of the plaintiff as an instructor for members of the Bridgeport Police Department without a legitimate reason. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate IDLIB, Syria (AP) Over the past two years, Adila Afesh has seen the food assistance her Syrian family receives shrink by nearly two-thirds. Now, she fears Russia perhaps seeking to retaliate against Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine will block the renewal of a U.N. Security Council resolution that allows aid to be delivered from Turkey to Syrians who, like her family, live in the rebel-run Idlib province. Such a move would mean Afesh and her seven children along with 4 million others in Idlib will have to survive on even less. If, God forbid, aid is stopped, it means that they have sentenced us to death. Death by hunger, she said on a recent day in the tent she lives in with her family, her cat deep asleep in her lap as her children played nearby. The jobless woman says the family survives on two meals a day, mostly made up of rice or bulgur. Soon, she says, we might have to fight in order to get a bite of food. Russia, a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has long wanted to shut down the Turkey route, seeking to have aid delivered solely through government-controlled areas. Opposition activists and residents warn that is something the authorities in Damascus would exploit as a pressure tactic against Syrias main rebel stronghold of Idlib. In 2014, aid flowed into Syria from four border crossings. Since then, U.N. Security Council permanent member Russia forced the council to close three of the four crossings. It kept one in the north, the Bab al-Hawa crossing with Turkey, for aid to flow into the rebel stronghold destroyed by 11 years of war. 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 Idlib. Days later, the council authorized the delivery of aid through just one of those crossings, Bab al-Hawa. That one-year mandate was extended and expires this weekend. A vote to renew it is set for Thursday in New York. Aid agencies warn that if Russia vetoes the resolution, food would be depleted in Idlib and surrounding areas by September, putting the lives of some 4.1 million people, many of them displaced by the conflict and living in tent settlements, at risk. On Wednesday in New York, Russia proposed amendments proposing a six-month renewal, rather than the one year extension sought by others on the Security Council, according to a draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press. Afesh, 37, who was displaced from the northern city of Aleppo in 2016, said her main concern before moving to Idlib province used to be where to hide with her four sons and three daughters from government airstrikes. Since December 2016, the family that lost its main bread winner seven years ago has been living in relative calm close to the Turkish border. But soon they might not have food on the table. Syria's economy is suffering its worst period since the crisis began in 2011. That's the result of an array of troubles, including crippling Western sanctions, widespread corruption, coronavirus, rising food prices because of the war in Ukraine and an economic meltdown in neighboring Lebanon Damascus main gate to the outside world and home to 1 million Syrian refugees. The situation in Syria has always been highly politicized, but this year the stakes are clearly higher with everything thats going on in Ukraine and the tensions between Russia and the United States and European countries, said Mark Cutts, the U.N.s deputy regional humanitarian coordinator. Cutts told The Associated Press that, people will certainly die if the Security Council resolution is not extended. He added there would be a massive crisis as hospitals go without the necessary medical supplies and people will not get the vaccinations they need. Cutts said delivering aid through Turkey is direct and sufficient. If aid has to come through government areas, it will have to pass through an active front line. This is still a war zone, he said. He said that over the past 12 months, five convoys have crossed from government-controlled areas while 800 trucks cross from Turkey every month. He said last year they were reaching 2.4 million people in northwest Syria and if there is funding, more should be reached. Abdul-Razzaq Awad, a manager at Syria Relief, a local aid group, warned that aid agencies now are offering 50% of what they used to give due to the war in Ukraine. He said that if Bab al-Hawa is closed and aid has to come from government-controlled areas, he expects it to drop to about 20% of what used to be delivered before the Ukraine war. In late June, 29 aid agencies came together to share one message, which is that a humanitarian catastrophe will happen should the U.N. Security Council fail to allow lifesaving aid and services to be delivered across the border. At stake is access to food, vaccinations against COVID-19, critical medical supplies and essential services including health care, access to clean water and education for millions of Syrians. Removing this channel of assistance will have devastating humanitarian impacts on civilians and that there is no viable alternative, said the agencies, including International Rescue Committee, CARE International, World Vision International, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and Mercy Corps. Now it is the time for the U.N. Security Council to correct course and show it can put peoples lives above politics, said David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee. Russia has argued that aid delivery should be handled by the government, claiming that militant groups are handling the deliveries in the current setup. In May, Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told the Security Council that we are not okay with preserving the status quo at any cost. The most powerful group in Idlib, al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, threatens humanitarian assistance, Polyansky noted. Cutts, the U.N. official, said the world should do something for residents of northwest Syria. This is actually one of the most vulnerable civilian populations anywhere in the world, he said. ____ Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed from the United Nations. The boss of an Australian marketing agency decided to treat employees to a two-week trip to Bali for a unique working experience. The entire team of Soup Agency, based in Sydney, was taken away on an expenses-paid trip to Bali, Indonesia. However, the trip was not for vacation--it was a working holiday. It means the staff still needed to work on laptops for hours but had lots of time to enjoy various activities for 14 days in the mountainous Ubud region for a teambuilding and wellness extravaganza. It was remote working plus morning hikes, quad biking, yoga, and, of course, eating and drinking. They even dipped in ethereal waterfalls and snorkeled to discover the underwater attractions, per The Sun. For the first time, coworkers from various departments were able to collaborate and form bonds. The agency stated that, as a young business with many team members working remotely, it was interested in challenging the concept of a conventional corporate office. Redefining Remote Work The company boss claimed that their first working holiday allowed team development and improved morale. The COVID-19 pandemic served as an inspiration for them since it demonstrated that people could successfully do their jobs remotely. In an interview with The Daily Mail, Managing Director Katya Vakulenko underscored the importance of fostering good relationships at work. "I think it's important for workplaces to all work together as a team, both inside and outside of working hours," she said."COVID-19 taught us that there are new ways of working and essentially, we can work from anywhere. So we decided to take that to the next level." Read Also: NATO Countries Sign 'Historic' Accession Protocols for Sweden, Finland as They Move a Step Closer To Alliance Membership The group even had a birthday celebration in Bali. Michelle from digital marketing celebrated her 24th birthday by hiking up a volcano in the early morning. Stories shared on the firm's Instagram page showed employees working poolside and holding meetings in stunning locations. Digital marketing executive, Kumi Ho, described her experience as "refreshing." "It was definitely an experience in life that I won't forget." On LinkedIn, Soup Agency posted about its recent remote work experience in Bali: "Work-life balance is important to all of us, that was why we thought a working holiday in Bali was a great opportunity for a team bonding experience! Safe to say that we were able to work productively and collaboratively during work hours. Where should we go next?" According to the report, the agency has already started planning their next "working holiday" - this time to Europe. Indonesia Invites Freelancers To Do Their Jobs in Bali Other companies can also have the same experience in Bali as Indonesia ramps up its tourism industry, per a LAD Bible report. Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia's tourism minister, told the media recently that he hoped the five-year "digital nomad visa" would attract up to 3.6 million foreign tourists and generate one million employment for Indonesians. According to Uno, freelancers can live tax-free on islands like Bali as long as their income originates outside Indonesia under the proposed remote working visa. Uno believes Indonesian tourism should shift from a "sun, sea, and sand" orientation and emphasize "serenity, spirituality, and sustainability" instead. "This way we're getting better quality and better impact on the local economy," the tourism minister added. Related Article: Gas Tax Rebates: These States Are Giving Out More Stimulus Checks If You Meet Their Criteria, Application Deadline @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. What a waste. A tragedy, even. For Boris Johnson is in many respects an exceptional politician who stands head and shoulders above almost all other members of the Cabinet. He did deliver Brexit against the opposition of the British Establishment albeit at the cost of putting a border down the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and for that he will be long remembered in the history books, and revered by many people. But he is also a flawed man. His chief flaw has been his reluctance to tell the truth, which has marked him out even in a profession not celebrated for its veracity. Of course, his untruthfulness was to some degree baked in, since his evasions and falsehoods from adulthood were well known. However, in office they have become intolerable. Had it not been for Covid, Mr Johnson might have prospered. Yet although he should receive credit for the rapid vaccine roll-out, Partygate exposed a lack of truthfulness that is unfortunately fundamental to his character. 'Boris Johnson did deliver Brexit against the opposition of the British Establishment... and for that he will be long remembered in the history books, and revered by many people' His breaking of the law, and his indulgence of near anarchy in Downing Street, were not a storm in a teacup. The hypocrisy was painful to millions of people including many Conservative voters who had willingly submitted to harsh rules which Mr Johnson and colleagues appeared to flout. Just as serious in many ways has been his apparent absence of a political strategy, the constant chopping and changing, the embarrassing U-turns and his embrace of semi-socialist Statist policies of increased taxes and high public spending. Granted, he has been unlucky to be engulfed in an economic crisis which is in large part due to the war in Ukraine. This blow, following so soon after the catastrophe of Covid, would have undermined any leader. Mr Johnson has been an unfortunate Prime Minister. Over Ukraine he has of course led the charge amongst Western leaders in coming to the aid of that unhappy country. This is another achievement that the history books wont forget. I write as though he is finished, and I suppose it is conceivable that this is not the case. He has defied so many conventions in the past that one should perhaps not rule out a miraculous, last-minute escape. Boris will not give in easily. But when the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, and Health Secretary Sajid Javid desert the sinking ship on the same day, it is very hard indeed to see how the Prime Minister can survive. 'Over Ukraine, Johnson has of course led the charge amongst Western leaders in coming to the aid of that unhappy country. This is another achievement that the history books wont forget' How fascinating that it has taken two sons of immigrants to have the guts to wield the knife while other Cabinet ministers, though in some cases privately critical of Mr Johnson, have hung back. That said, it is now expected that others will follow. The resignations of Mr Sunak and Mr Javid, both expressed in pretty brutal language, come less than two weeks after Oliver Dowden resigned as Chairman of the Conservative Party following the Tories defeat in two by-elections. The departure of three Cabinet ministers, so soon after four out of ten Tory MPs publicly expressed no confidence in him, is surely too big a blow even for this extraordinary politician to survive. Nor does the endorsement of last nights resignations by former Brexit Secretary and Johnson ally, Lord Frost, augur well for the Prime Minister. Even friends and erstwhile supporters are turning against him. The last straw was the apparent falsehood over the errant Tory deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher. No10 had denied that the PM was aware of specific allegations against Mr Pincher. Today Mr Johnson admitted he had been told but had forgotten. Who will believe him now? Certainly not those ministers who have been despatched in recent days to defend the Prime Minister on the airwaves, having been given an incorrect version of events by his spin doctors, who had in turn been briefed by Boris. What will happen now? Whether Mr Johnson goes quickly, or fights a desperate but probably hopeless rear-guard action, there is bound to be a period of political turmoil and economic uncertainty. Prospective replacements will jostle for power in what may be an unedifying scramble. The widespread view is that there are no formidable likely successors, though Messrs Sunak and Javid have inevitably put themselves at the head of the pack. I would not be so pessimistic. Leadership contests sometimes throw up previously disregarded though outstanding candidates. The most obvious example was Margaret Thatcher, who was considered by many a risible outsider before the contest to replace Ted Heath as Tory leader in 1975. In the event, she emerged as the unexpected winner. Admittedly, it took her some years to convince all of her party that she would make a good leader, and she had enough time in opposition to prepare herself for office. Boriss successor wont have that luxury. Whoever the Tories choose should have the opportunity to prove him or herself as Prime Minister until the election that must take place in 2024. 'The right Tory leader, championing authentic Conservative policies, could make short shift of the charmless and heavy-footed Sir Keir Starmer' Sir Keir Starmers call last night for a snap election reveals his fear that the Conservatives could pick someone whom electors will regard as a breath of fresh air. Despite Boriss tribulations, Labour is not far ahead in the polls. The right Tory leader, championing authentic Conservative policies, could make short shift of the charmless and heavy-footed Sir Keir. You bet he wants an early election! Dont give him one. Were not there yet. Maybe just maybe Boris will still astonish us. As I write, there are no clues that he is about to throw in the towel. But if he survives he will be a better escapologist than Houdini. Six weeks ago I expressed my fear in these pages that Boriss idiocies over Partygate symbolise a wider unsuitability for office that can never be corrected. That plus his lack of a coherent political plan remains my view. Alas in so many ways. In different circumstances Boris Johnson might have been a lasting success. He has so many gifts. And he is whatever his critics say a decent and a generous man. But after all that has happened, and despite his achievements, he appears now to be a doomed Prime Minister. Yes, what a waste and a tragedy it has been Old Brexit ally Lord Frost reluctantly says: Time to go... Lord Frost tonight told Boris Johnson he should quit for the sake of the country and the Conservative Party. The former Brexit minister, who resigned from his Cabinet post last December, said there needed to be a new leader. In a statement posted on Twitter, the peer wrote: Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid have done the right thing. Lord Frost tonight told Boris Johnson he should quit for the sake of the country and the Conservative Party It gives me no pleasure to say it, and I had hoped that events might have taken a different course, but Im afraid the developments of the last week show there is no chance of the Prime Minister either putting in place the necessary change of approach to running a government or establishing a new policy direction. Boris Johnson has huge achievements to his credit. He has a place in history for delivering Brexit and much more. But it is now time to look forward. Accordingly, and with sadness, I believe the interests of the country, our new-found self-government, and the Conservative Party would be best served by new leadership and a new Prime Minister. Lord Frost has become a vocal critic of Mr Johnson as he has called for him to return to a traditional Conservative agenda. Last month he gave his strongest indication yet that he plans to stand to become a Tory MP at the next general election. He said the confidence vote against Mr Johnson showed the large part of the party is uncomfortable with the direction of travel. Asked if he plans to stand at the next election, Lord Frost told BBC Radio Derby: If the party wants me to and a local party is interested in having me, then obviously Id take that seriously. And I hope by then, the Government will be back on track and have some results that we can credibly campaign on. ...but Jacob Rees-Mogg insists losing chancellors 'happens' Jacob Rees-Mogg tonight issued a staunch defence of Boris Johnson and played down the significance of the Chancellors resignation. The ultra-loyal Brexit Opportunities Minister insisted Mr Johnson had made a minor mistake in the Pincher scandal. Jacob Rees-Mogg told Sky News: If the Prime Minister is hearing endless things about all sorts of public business, he cannot possibly be expected to remember every last detail' He told Sky News: If the Prime Minister is hearing endless things about all sorts of public business, he cannot possibly be expected to remember every last detail. Doesnt that show you a big man who is willing to apologise when he makes a mistake? Im not pretending the Prime Minister didnt make a mistake. Its obvious. The Prime Minister, forgetting one incident, was not swayed by rumour. Mr Johnson acknowledged today he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was found to have behaved inappropriately as a Foreign Office Minister. Mr Rees-Mogg also claimed that losing chancellors is something that happens. The Prime Minister won the vote. The thing about democracy is if you win the vote, youve won and that I think is fundamental, he said, referencing the recent confidence vote in the PM. Mr Rees-Mogg said that to suggest last nights resignations should lead to the Prime Ministers departure was an 18thcentury view of Cabinet government. He said that Mr Johnson relies on the support of a majority in the Commons, not on unanimous support in Cabinet. The Prime Minister is winning votes in the House of Commons and that is fundamental, he added. Scouting is about much more than just tying knots and hammering in tent pegs. Its the biggest mixed-youth movement in Britain, with dedicated volunteers who teach children resilience and self-confidence. But it is being placed at risk by inappropriate teachings around transgender ideology. As the Mail reported at the weekend, children as young as four are being offered badges celebrating sexual identities and ideas about gender including a trans fun badge, a lesbian fun badge, a bisexual fun badge and a Pride fun badge. In promotional material, the Scout Association urges its members to celebrate inclusion and to support the LGBT+ community. It is absolutely right that Scouts should be open and inclusive to all children from all families, whether single-parent households or same-sex parents or anything else. Some youngsters will have gay or trans siblings, and Scout leaders should be aware of this. Children as young as four are being offered badges celebrating sexual identities and ideas about gender including a trans fun badge, a lesbian fun badge, a bisexual fun badge and a Pride fun badge (picture posed by model) These badges are linked to activities overseen by leaders who will have had no training in relationship and sex education (RSE), or who might be confused and anxious about what they are meant to be telling the youth (picture posed by models) But these badges are linked to activities overseen by leaders who will have had no training in relationship and sex education (RSE), or who might be confused and anxious about what they are meant to be telling the youth. I worry that some children could even be placed at risk of sexual abuse if it becomes acceptable for adults other than their parents or teachers to ask them their feelings about sex and about their bodies. At the same time, well-meaning adults might lay themselves open to allegations that destroy their professional and personal lives. I fear, too, that this initiative strays into promoting to children too young to understand the idea that people can be born in the wrong body and choose a gender. Of course, such issues should be discussed with youngsters when the time is right and in an appropriate environment. In schools, RSE is delivered by teachers trained to do so under government guidance which recommends schools work closely with parents. Scout leaders, however, are volunteers, and their training is much less structured. When I raised these fears in my online blog at the weekend, furious trans activists tried to shout me down, accusing me of homophobic and transphobic bigotry. I shouldnt be surprised. Ive spoken out on related matters before and paid the price. In 2012, I took on the role of assistant Cub Scout leader at a local group in Hertfordshire. Six years later, I became increasingly concerned about the Scout Associations policy towards transgender volunteers, and raised my fears about safeguarding. It seemed wrong to me and it still does that a male-bodied Scout leader of 40 who identified as female was able to use the womens showers and changing rooms on Scout premises. If women were in there at the time, they had no right to challenge that leader. In 2018, I wrote about the Associations transgender policy in an article published by the organisation Transgender Trend, which promotes evidence-based care of gender-dysphoric children. When I raised it as a topic of discussion on a Scout leaders forum on Facebook, I and other female leaders who shared my anxiety were called bigots, scum, hateful and transphobes. Trans activists said I was vile and told me I was unfit to be a Scout leader. They dismissed Transgender Trend whose founder, Stephanie Davies-Arai, was recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours for her service to children as a hate group. When I contacted the Scout Association about this, it brushed off my concerns. In fact, it berated me for writing about them. Things quickly escalated after someone from the Facebook forum reported me for transphobia and I found myself under investigation by the Scout movement. It took nearly two years after several reports I had to challenge to receive a formal apology for what I was put through. I left the Scouts. It did update its guidance after this controversy, but there are still real problems. For example, leaders are now told that trans young people should be able to use the toilets or facilities of the gender they identify as, and that parents should not be informed unless the youngster gives consent. I am truly fearful that the Scout Association, at both national and local level, is becoming so intimidated by a minority of aggressive bullies in the trans movement that its members will be terrified to speak at all, lest they say the wrong thing. Clearly, no one dared point out initially, at least one obvious problem with the new badges unveiled last week: their naming is unfortunate, to say the least. I am truly fearful that the Scout Association, at both national and local level, is becoming so intimidated by a minority of aggressive bullies in the trans movement that its members will be terrified to speak at all, lest they say the wrong thing Did it not occur to anyone that many parents would be aghast if their child of 11 came home and announced they had a bisexual fun badge or lesbian fun badge? The double meaning is unintentional and misleading. Fun badges, on sale at 1.50 or handed out by leaders, are collected and swapped by Scouts and signify communal interests and events, such as camps and jamborees. They might be used to decorate a camping blanket or rucksack, for example. They are different from the activity badges Scouts earn by learning new skills and which they wear on their uniforms. Some of these badges do make for good talking points between adults and the youth. For instance, the safer internet fun badge is ideal for starting a conversation about online dangers. In the past 48 hours, the Scout Association does seem to have recognised the problem. The fun reference has been dropped, so the badges are now simply described as trans woven badge or Pride woven badge on its website. That aside, I do not believe it is ever appropriate for adults without training to initiate a chat with children about complex sexual issues, or to raise the idea that some people feel they are born in the wrong body. Guidance from the Scouts head office points leaders to online resources for transgender issues, such as a series of videos by PopnOlly, aimed at pre-teens. I believe these preach the most contentious trans ideology. Olly Pike and his cartoon balloon Pop tell children they are assigned a gender at birth and everyone is able to choose what gender to be. The Scout Association has had to learn traumatic lessons about keeping children safe. A small number of adults with evil intentions have targeted the movement in the past, infiltrating it to commit physical and sexual abuse. We must never forget those lessons nor turn a blind eye when those who are politically and/or ideologically motivated are, as one critic of the new badges said, asking children to be allies to what is essentially an adult political movement. When it comes to sex education, it needs to be done with the best possible content, which has been thoroughly vetted. This should happen in schools, with well-trained teachers not at Scout camps where children may be away from home for the firsttime and facing lots of new experiences at once. But if the Scout Association keeps burying its head in the sand on this issue, I fear for the survival of Scouting. We must not be bullied into holding our tongues. The marquee was erected, the tables set and the limousines were dropping one elegant guest after another at the door. It was Saturday, June 18, and the billionaire hedge-fund tycoon Sir Michael Hintze dubbed the godfather of Tory donors thanks to the 4million he has lavished on the Conservative Party over the years had arranged a lavish dinner at his Gloucestershire estate. The guest of honour was none other than pop princess Kylie Minogue, booked to warble a few tunes to 250 of Sir Michaels closest friends. Several senior Conservatives were in the audience but none was more senior than Sajid Javid, then the Health Secretary. Within weeks of this cultivated occasion, however, Javid had flounced out of the Government, delivering a self-aggrandising Commons statement and knifing his boss, Boris Johnson, in the front, back and sides. We may never know what words passed between Sir Michael and The Saj that night. But if you were, say, plotting to dethrone a sitting prime minister and run for the party leadership yourself, you could do a lot worse than bend a friendly billionaires ear at such an event. Former health secretary Sajid Javid appeared in good spirits today before delivering a personal statement to the House of Commons following his resignation In his speech Mr Javid concluded the government's problems and scandals 'start at the top' Sources have claimed that Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak were not working together when they both publicly resigned within ten minutes of each other Rishi Sunak did not make an appearance at the House of Commons today, which some think is trying to emphasise that he and Javid were not working together Rishi Sunak, who until Tuesday afternoon was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was not at the Cotswolds do. But then again, he doesnt need rich donors to fund his own inevitable upcoming leadership campaign: his heiress wife Akshata Murty (until recently a controversial non-dom for tax purposes) is worth hundreds of millions and can outspend any campaigner. On Tuesday evening, of course, these men rocked the Government with their double resignations and may yet capsize it altogether. Their sudden exit from the Cabinet, just nine minutes apart, shattered Boris Johnsons authority, with Javids blistering Commons speech yesterday pouring yet more petrol on to the blazing pyre of this administration. Now many are asking: To what extent were these plotters colluding? On Tuesday night, as the resignations broke, ITVs flamboyant political editor Robert Peston declared: Treasury source tells me that first [Sunak] knew that [Javid] was resigning was AFTER he put out his own resignation statement. The claim is these resignations were not co-ordinated. Which makes them more damaging for the Prime Minister. Well, as the saying goes: If you believe that, youll believe anything. Yesterday, few among Boriss allies were so credulous that the men had acted individually. One senior minister raged: It is risible and insulting to the intelligence of the rest of the Cabinet that they are still claiming it was all a coincidence. Many MPs have quit after the handling of the Chris Pincher affair So what do we know for sure? Certainly, the two men are very close. Theyre good friends and have a natural affinity, was how one senior source put it yesterday. They speak regularly and are known to have similar politics, even if Javid is more instinctively Thatcherite than the former chancellor. Among friends, they have also made little secret recently of their fury over Downing Streets botched handling of the Chris Pincher groping affair. Last weekend, amid the fallout from those tawdry allegations, Javid was openly talking about quitting talk that Sunak may well have heard. By Monday, keen-eyed observers noticed that upcoming appointments in Javids diary as health secretary had been cancelled. Also on Monday, Sunak is known to have been discussing with his Treasury team the possibility of resigning from the Government. The next morning the mens minds were made up after Lord McDonald, formerly permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, released a devastating letter declaring: No 10 keeps changing their story and are still not telling the truth. He twisted the knife further in an excoriating interview on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 later that morning. Sunak and Javid both heard the interview. The Chancellor was enraged: The fresh claims of No 10 incompetence overshadowed the uplift in national insurance thresholds that launched yesterday, saving British households 6billion. But with the prospect of a government falling, no one was talking about economics. Some hours later, when the Cabinet met, the Chancellor and Health Secretary sat stony-faced near the Prime Minister, in pictures that have become notorious. It was as if they were playing to the cameras, said one source. Their expressions were almost theatrical. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's apology for the Chris Pincher affair was airing while the two cabinet ministers publicly announced they were quitting As it stands, Javid and Sunaks teams insist that the two men have had no contact since that Cabinet meeting. This may be strictly true, but it is perhaps not the whole story. Officials in both Sunak and Javids private offices are in regular contact, and the two ex-ministers do not need to communicate directly to make each other understood. Whatever the truth, Javid went to see Boris that afternoon to tender his resignation. The meeting was short but not very sweet. After quitting, he returned to his office to draft his resignation letter. As for Sunak, relations between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor had been growing increasingly strained in recent weeks. The wording of a planned joint speech next week on the rising cost of living was causing headaches. But unlike Javid, Sunak already had a draft resignation letter handy. He wrote this some weeks ago, after he was fined 50 for briefly attending last years so-called birthday party for Boris in Downing Street. In the end, Sunak rang Boriss team for a short and terse phone call on Tuesday evening, informing the team of his decision. Minutes later, he went public with his resignation letter. As one minister claims: They timed their statements for dramatic effect to hit the 6pm news, knowing that Boriss fightback had begun with a pre-recorded TV interview which they deliberately crashed. The men might have realised that it would be most effective if Javid, as the more junior minister, resigned first. A chancellor quitting minutes later could well prove fatal. This strategy, if it was the one they followed, proved horribly effective. After the Sunak bombshell, the resignations flowed from Cabinet, leaving the Prime Minister on the brink. What also reeks of co-ordination between the two men is that only Javid agreed to deliver a Commons resignation statement the following day. He bragged in his speech yesterday: Despite how it might seem, I am not one of lifes quitters. I did not quit when was told that boys like me do not do maths [or] when old-school bankers said I didnt have the right school ties. But Javid is a quitter: This is the second time he has marched out of the Cabinet in as many years. In February 2020, when Downing Street tried to impose a set of advisers on his Treasury operation, he abandoned his post as Chancellor. One senior Whitehall source said: Sajs speech was over the top. It was treacherous and unpleasant, and will have done him real harm with Tory MPs, even those who thought it was time for Boris to go. And that is yet another reason to suspect collusion between the two ex-ministers: Rishis refusal to deliver a Commons statement, and his curious absence as Javid delivered his. Such histrionic speeches can alienate backbench colleagues. By remaining aloof and watching Javids speech on TV, Sunak has better positioned himself for his future leadership bid. He may also remember Javids willingness to stand up when he hands out jobs in a future administration. The same Whitehall source says: Rishis absence was yet another clunky way of trying to tell everyone the two were not working together, when everyone knows they were. Yet for now, the two camps are sticking to their surely implausible claim. Pranks are fun and allow you to be a little mischievous without any consequences. As long as you dont get too carried away, of course. But some people are definitely in danger of a telling off after taking their antics to the next level, as proven by these snaps from around the world, collated by whythese. One mischievous sort took revenge on a motorist by covering their entire car with sticky notes, including the windows and windscreen. And a McDonald's fan who was looking forward to tucking into 20 Chicken McNuggets was no doubt disappointed to open the box to find chopped vegetables inside. Here Femail reveals some of the most innovative pranks that you can laugh at, while being glad you weren't on the receiving end. No-nut! Its just so diabolical, so heinous, so sickeningly twisted that we bet even the prank gods are appalled. Were truly sorry for the poor person from the US who had to bite into that disgusting dish This one wouldn't be a bad idea for someone's birthday. But waking up to a bathroom full of balloons when you need to use it would be enough to make enough burst. The phantom driver: This trick, played by a prankster from the US, would be simply terrifying, especially for Drive-Thru employees. Its so well crafted that even we were momentarily confused by the hands coming from the seats Not lovin' it! There is nothing worse than expecting a box full of McDonald's nuggets only to find it's been filled with vegetables This car looks like a pinata! If you have a lot of time on your hands, and millions of Post-it notes, why not give a friend's car a colorful upgrade? Your friendship may be a little sticky afterwards, but it might be worth it just to see their reaction. Cupping hell! Some college students in the US created the perfect prank by painstakingly filling the hallway with paper cups Don't let the bed bugs bite....If you know someone with entomophobia(a fear of insects) this simple prank will have them screaming when they switch on their bedside lamp. All you need is scissors,tape, black card and a black heart Imagine finding your butter crunch guilty pleasure is just a block of ice? From the anticipation to realization, this prank, in the US, has several layers of ingenuity that will most definitely cause a tantrum of sorts So-ap disappointing. Add clear nail polish to a soap bar to create a sealant and watch the poor victim become more confused as to why their soap isn't working. A sud-sessful crime! Tooth good to be true. Serve up some Oreos and say they are a 'new mint flavor' by adding toothpaste as the creamy center. How many would you let someone eat before you told them the truth? Few pranks could be quite so satisfying as dressing up a few onions as toffee apples, mixing them up with real caramel apples, and serving them to your friends with a giant grin on your face. This is a glorious one. Imagine the pure disgust as the unsuspecting victims take a bite. If you are feeling extra devilish on Halloween why not serve them up to your kids? This one is a very cute prank - even though the individual in the US might have found it a little unnerving to see the contents of the fridge staring back at them Sandra Lee and her boyfriend Ben Youcef put their love on display while celebrating her 56th birthday in northern Italy. The television chef, who was rumored to be engaged to the actor, took to Instagram on her birthday Sunday to post a photo of Youcef, 43, giving her a passionate smooch while cruising around Lake Como. 'Romantic sunset cruise on Lake Como pre-party with my Ben,' she captioned the image, which was taken the day before. 'So romantic and special for my birthday!!' Sandra Lee celebrated her 56th birthday in northern Italy with her boyfriend Ben Youcef, 43, who gave her a passionate kiss during a sunset cruise on Lake Como The couple also shared a romantic kiss on Juliet's balcony in Verona, a tourist attraction inspired by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Lee and Youcef spent the day of her birthday visiting the village of Torno, where they stopped at a church for a blessing. She later enjoyed a party and fireworks with her closest friends 'Happy birthday everyone may your kisses be filled with love and passion,' she added. 'Loving 56 so far! So gratefulXoxo Sandy.' Lee had previously shared a photo of herself kissing Youcef on Juliet's balcony while they enjoyed a 'magical day' in Verona ahead of their arrival in Lake Como. The renovated 13th-century residence was once occupied by the Cappello family, who locals believe inspired the fictional Capulets in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. Lee, who battled breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy seven years ago, has spent the past four months recovering from a hysterectomy. She explained on Instagram that she is focused on living her life to the fullest following her health scare, writing, 'First and most importantly I am making my years count instead of counting the years.' Lee underwent a hysterotomy in March and spent the past four months recovering before their trip to Italy The Food Network alum announced on Instagram that she was having a hysterectomy after her gynecologists noticed a change in her cells that could have led to cancer Lee said Youcef was by her side when she underwent the procedure to remove her uterus 'After this past year of health struggles, I know that life is too short not [to] celebrate every single chance I can get,' she added. 'So looking forward to Bens next surprise! Yay Birthdays, what a gift they are!!' A few days after her birthday, Lee returned to Instagram to post a photo of herself posing with Youcef in what looked like an Italian courtyard, saying she is 'having the brightest of [birthdays]' in Lake Como. 'Villa dEste is literally the most beautiful hotel I have [ever] seen,' she gushed. 'On my birthday Ben and I visited the neighboring village of Torno and made sure to stop at a gorgeous little church for a blessing before my July 3 party. 'A few of my very dearest friends flew over in to help me celebrate and I got my own fireworks display followed by an incredible birthday cake covered in glittering white gum paste roses. 'My wish for all is a peaceful and lovely life ahead full of health and happiness. Time to go make some more memories!' Lee moved to Malibu, California, and fell for Youcef after she and her ex disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo split in September 2019. Youcef was rumored to have proposed to Lee in August 2021 during their whirlwind trip to France (pictured), but she has never referred to him as her fiance Lee (pictured with her ex, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2012) was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 Cuomo was with her in the hospital when she underwent a double mastectomy in 2015 and started reconstructive surgery a year later She had dated the politician for 14 years and lived with him, but they never got engaged in their decade and a half as a couple. Lee and Youcef are believed to have met at a charity event in Santa Monica back in March 2021. He is a father to five-year-old twins with his soon-to-be ex-wife, California-based realtor Apryl Stephenson. Though the pair are still legally married, they separated in 2019 and they filed for divorce in January 2020. Youcef was rumored to have proposed to Lee in August 2021 during their whirlwind trip to France that coincided with the sexual harassment scandal surrounding Cuomo. 'Ben really wanted to distract Sandra from all the news, so he whisked her away to Paris,' an unnamed source close to Youcef told the New York Post at the time. However, Lee has never referred to Youcef as her fiance, and another unnamed source told People that reports they were engaged last summer were 'just rumors.' An expectant mother who looked like she was pregnant with twins revealed the insulting comments she received about her 'huge' baby bump before she gave birth to her son. Eliana Rodriguez, 29, from Las Vegas, Nevada, welcomed her second child, a baby boy named Sebastian, via an emergency C-section at Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center on June 11. A week before his arrival, she showed off her bare stomach on Instagram while sharing some of the things strangers have said about the size of her bump. Scroll down for video Eliana Rodriguez, 29, from Las Vegas, Nevada, revealed the insulting things strangers have said about her baby bump a week before she gave birth to her son There were some people who bluntly stated she was 'huge' and 'must be in pain' while others were convinced that she was carrying multiple children There were some people who bluntly stated she was 'huge' and 'must be in pain.' Others were convinced that she was carrying multiple children. 'You look like you're having twins,' one person commented. 'Have you checked if there's another baby in there?' someone else asked. As Rodriguez turned from side to side to side, she lip-synced the lyrics 'I didn't even notice' from Doja Cat's hit 'Say So.' There were plenty of viewers who took to the comments to assure Rodriguez she looked great, and mothers who have dealt with similar lines of questioning could relate. As Rodriguez turned from side to side to side, she lip-synced the lyrics 'I didn't even notice' from Doja Cat's hit 'Say So' Some Instagram users predicted her son was going to weigh 10 pounds or more 'Its SO annoying isnt it,' one mom wrote. 'Ive noticed people say this to almost every pregnant woman Theres a whole baby in there what do they expect.' 'I was that big with all of my kids, stuck straight out and had all of these comments,' someone else added. But there were also people who missed the point and couldn't resist asking how many babies she was carrying and how big she thought the baby would be. Some Instagram users predicted her son was going to weigh 10 pounds or more, but he was just 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and 20.5 inches in length when he was born. Rodriguez welcomed her second child, a baby boy named Sebastian, via an emergency C-section on June 11 The baby weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 20.5 inches in length when he was born Rodriguez and her husband also have a three-year-old daughter, Sofia The average newborn weighs around 8 pounds, according to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In a more recent post, the mother of two shared a throwback video of herself lifting her pregnant belly, saying her husband weighed 10 pounds when he was born. She asked her followers who hadn't seen her birth announcement to guess her son's weight, and people were still shocked by the size of her stomach in her final trimester. 'Never seen [someone's] pregnancy belly get this way unless there was twins!!!' one person wrote, while another added, 'I have [never] seen anyone able to lift their baby like that in their tummy.' 'That doesnt even look real,' someone else insisted. 'I have never seen a belly like that.' Products featured in this article are independently selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, DailyMail.com will earn an affiliate commission. Ashley Roberts was spotted in London on Tuesday and, as always, the media personality treated us to some high-street fashion. The former member of The Pussycat Dolls is often seen wearing high-end designer brands like AllSaints, Reiss or Burberry. But more often than not, she is also seen wearing more affordable brands like Zara, Nasty Gal or French Connection. For her most recent outing, Ashley kept it light and summery in a white dress by accessible brand River Island which she teamed with sneakers and a Balenciaga handbag. We love this cream shirred minidress features a smocked waist, gem embellishment and ruffles. This dress working for myriad occasions; you can dress it up with sandals or stilettos or keep things casual, like Ashley, in a pair of white sneakers. The best part is that it's still available so we can all get in this look by clicking the shop button. Bag it now before it sells out forever. Light and breezy! Ashley Roberts stepped out in London in one of our favorite high-street brands, River Island. Specifically, she's wearing the brand's cream shirred minidress and it's currently up for grabs River Island, which is designed in-house and turns out brand new styles every week, has amassed a celebrity following by some of the world's most famous women. Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Perrie Edwards have all been seen wearing the brand. With 300 U.K. and Ireland locations and six online international sites, River Island is widely available to anyone who wants to emulate Ashley. And the brand's recently sustainability push has made buying fast-fashion guilt-free. So nab Ashley's dress or shop one our other five options. We've assembled some lookalikes that will do the trick, no matter your taste or budget. Kardashian stepped out in Paris on Tuesday head-to-toe in Balenciaga as she paid a visit to the couture brand's flagship store in the French Capital Kim Kardashian and the gritty northern town of Barnsley might not seem like natural bedfellows - but the reality star has just given the former South Yorkshire mining town an almighty bottom's up. The 41-year-old reality star stepped out in Paris on Tuesday head-to-toe in Balenciaga as she paid a visit to the couture brand's flagship store in the French Capital. Wearing a black bodysuit over 2,300 Pantaleggings, the outfit promoted the fictional band Speedhunters, listing tour dates in white writing on Kardashian's derriere. Top of the places listed? A January 4th gig in Barnsley, ensuring the northern town - population circa 227,000 - got top billing at Paris Fashion Week on the most famous Kardashian asset. While it's uncertain whether the A-lister has ever actually visited the town in person, it has plenty of endearing claims to fame, including being mentioned in the Domesday book. Broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson was born in the town, remaining a life-long fan of Barnsley FC - 'The Tykes' - and the Arctic Monkeys studied there. Scroll down for video Barnsley's booty call: Kim Kardashian's bodysuit listed fictional 'tour dates' for fake band Speedhunters - and the first port of call was the northern former mining town It was revealed in 2017 by i-D that the Balenciaga 'tour dates' are a nod to the brand's team's birthplaces and birthdays - with Barnsley taking the top spot on the reality star's most famous asset Local pride: Tweeting a peach emoji, @BarnsleyMuseums wrote: 'Kim Kardashian walking around with Barnsley on her bottom is not something we expected to be tweeting about today. Thank you @KimKardashian for putting Barnsley on the map.' The incongruous mention of the down-to-earth northern town, once a goliath in the UK glassmaking industry, in the world's fashion capital unsurprisingly caused ripples on social media. It was revealed in 2017 by i-D that the Balenciaga 'tour dates' are a nod to the brand's team's birthplaces and birthdays. One of the high-end fashion brand's team has been putting Barnsley on the fashion map for the past five years - with the town's name now appearing on Kim's famous bottom. There was plenty of local pride too for an historic town that lies in a region famously dubbed 'God's Own Country' for its natural beauty. Tweeting a peach emoji, @BarnsleyMuseums wrote: 'Kim Kardashian walking around with Barnsley on her bottom is not something we expected to be tweeting about today. Thank you @KimKardashian for putting Barnsley on the map.' FANCY A VISIT, KIM? WHAT BARNSLEY - IN THE HEART OF 'GOD'S OWN COUNTRY' - HAS TO OFFER VISITORS Once a key town in the UK's mining and glass-making industry, Barnsley - population circa 227,000 - is now mostly known for its football team and busy market. Once known for its mining of coal and glass-making, the quiet market town of Barnsley lies on the edge of England's beautiful Peak District Mentioned in the Domesday book, the town and its surrounding villages are awash with ancient history, according to the Visit Barnsley website. Broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson was born in the town, remaining a life-long fan of Barnsley FC - 'The Tykes' - and the Arctic Monkeys studied there. Food and drink? Locally brewed cask ales, Yorkshire pudding and curd tarts - a sort of cheese cake - might feature on the menu. The award-winning Yorkshire Sculpture park and Wentworth Castle are nearby, as are the rolling hills of the Peak District - Yorkshire has long-since been dubbed 'God's Own Country' for its natural beauty. Advertisement Kardashian pictured heading to dinner with daughter North, who was also wearing a matching black Balenciaga ensemble The reality star's bodysuit was worn over 2,300 Balenciaga Pantaleggings and teamed with killer stilettoes According to the Barnsley Gazette, the former mining town in South Yorkshire was until this week Britain's most Covid-hit town, a title now held by Blackpool Others found the marriage of the Hollywood A-lister and the ex mining town to bizarre to comprehend. @SevMagnifique penned: '@KimKardashian rocking some pants that have Barnsley on is just funny.' Others couldn't resist the opportunity to poke fun; @PaulCra47154521 quipped: 'Well, it is the arse-end of nowhere!' And some saw it differently, suggesting that it wasn't a positive thing to be emblazoned across the Kardashian bottom. One Tweeter blasted: 'Unlucky for Barnsley'. According to the latest headlines on the Barnsley Gazette, the former mining town in South Yorkshire was until this week Britain's most Covid-hit town, a title now held by Blackpool. Mentioned in the Domesday book, the town and its surrounding villages are awash with ancient history, according to the Visit Barnsley website. The award-winning Yorkshire Sculpture park and Wentworth Castle are nearby, as are the rolling hills of the Peak District. A group of schoolboys arrived at their prom in unique fashion - from the back of a prison van. Bobby Watson, 16, Noah Currie, 16, Thomas Burgon, 15, and Lennon Cooper, 15, were met with cheers from pals as they exited the old police vehicle outside Castle Park rugby club in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on Thursday. A video shows Aaron Firth of Doncaster Restraint Museum, who kindly supplied the vehicle, dressed head-to-toe in prison security guard uniform. Bobby Watson, 16, Noah Currie, 16, Thomas Burgon, 15, and Lennon Cooper, 15, were met with cheers from pals after they arrived at their prom from the back of a prison van He opened up the door to reveal the makeshift convicts all in handcuffs. The McAuley Catholic High School friends are shown trying not to laugh as they shuffle out of the old criminal transportation vehicle chained to each other. Aaron's wife Clare Firth follows the boys down the stairs in a similar outfit to help give the teens a prom entry to remember. Lennon shared the video on TikTok on Saturday writing: 'There's only one way to turn up at prom.' Noah looked smart in a stylish navy suit as he beamed from the back of the prison van in handcuffs They exited the old police vehicle in handcuffs outside Castle Park rugby club in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on Thursday The video has now collected over 3.6 million views and more than 200,000 likes. Over 1,600 people have comments after being left in stitches by the unconventional arrival method. One said: 'Brilliant I hope it's not the shape of things to come!' Another wrote: 'Only in the UK.' A third commented: 'I don't remember this episode of Prison Break.' A video shows Aaron Firth (pictured) of Doncaster Restraint Museum, who kindly supplied the vehicle, dressed head-to-toe in prison security guard uniform The McAuley Catholic High School friends are shown trying not to laugh as they shuffle out of the old criminal transportation vehicle chained to each other Aaron's wife Clare Firth (pictured) beamed while she is dressed in uniform with a slew of handcuffs for the boys in her hands A fourth added: 'Best prom entrance ever!' Another replied: 'Absolute class that lads.' Lennon said: 'The idea of using the prison van came from Noah, he mentioned it a few months before the prom. 'His dad is friends with Aaron and Clare who set-up and run Doncaster Restraints Museum. 'Me and the other lads agreed to the idea and we looked forward to making a different type of entrance. 'On the day we were collected from our agreed meeting point, Aaron and Clare came and handcuffed us and put us each in a single cell. Thomas had a prom night to remember after their video went viral on TikTok after it was viewed 3.6 million times When the schoolboys arrived at the rugby club they were chained together and they tried not to giggle as they left the van 'When we arrived at the rugby club we were chained together and I agreed to walk from the van first. 'We thought it would be a good idea but had no idea how much other people would enjoy it, and didn't realise what type of reception it would get from other people. 'When I added the video to TikTok I thought it was funny and didn't think for a minute that it would get the reception that it has, we were just a group of mates arriving at our prom. 'Doncaster Restraints Museum didn't accept payment for taking us but Noah's Dad made a considerable donation to Aaron's chosen charity.' The attack on a suburban Fourth of July parade outside of Chicago was planned "for several weeks," according to the authorities, who also revealed that Robert Crimo III, the 21-year-old who carried it out tried to hide his identity by dressing as a woman before merging in with the people fleeing the bloodshed. The shooting spree in Highland Park, Illinois, left six people dead and scores more injured, drove scared partygoers fleeing for cover, and sparked an hours-long manhunt. Highland Park Shooting Suspect Disguised as Woman in a Wig Police identified the shooter as Robert Crimo III, a resident of the adjacent town of Highwood, Illinois. He was arrested shortly after the incident, but as of Tuesday at noon, no charges had been brought against him. According to Christopher Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, at a news briefing on Tuesday, the assailant transported "a high-powered rifle" to the roof of a shop overlooking the procession during the shooting and fired more than 70 bullets from there. According to Covelli, the attacker may have disguised himself by dressing as a woman in order to hide his identity and facial tattoos and join the fleeing parade viewers. Covelli said the strategy appeared to be successful since the shooter really vanished into the masses, The Washington Post reported. The suspect reportedly borrowed a car from his mother, who resided close by, at that point, according to Covelli. He was caught Monday night after being publicly named by officials along with the car he was driving, and when another driver spotted it and dialed 911. Read Also: Harmony Montgomery Case: Missing New Hampshire Girl's Mom Claims Dad Knows Where She Is as Father Faces Multiple Charges Robert Crimo Adores Violent Videos The 21-year-old often uploaded unsettling and violent films, including one showing a beheading, on several sites. In one of his music videos, the amateur rapper known by the stage name "Awake the Rapper" praised death and glamourized school shootings, which led to the shooter being killed by police. Additionally, there is the mysterious fascination with the number 47, which represents the date of July 4 when written backwards. Then, on the morning of July 4, it appears that this fascination with violence left the internet world and moved into the real lives of the good-hearted families, friends, and neighbors who had come out to witness the parade. There are now critical inquiries being directed at law enforcement, tech corporations, and even those close to the suspect regarding whether significant warning signs were ignored before to the assault. His music videos on YouTube under the rap name Awake the Rapper, which promote mass murder and school massacres, are among the frightening internet posts that have followed him. In one music video, Robert Crimo is filmed in a school's classroom. He has his feet up on a desk and is rapping "running out of time" continuously. He eventually reaches into his backpack, which is lying on the floor next to his desk, with one hand, as per The Independent. As creepy laughing can be heard in the background, the video quickly turns to footage of him in the same classroom while wearing tactical gear and a black helmet. The figure who resembles Robert Crimo is depicted laying dead in a pool of blood and is surrounded by highly armed law officers in another animated film named "Toy Soldier." Robert Crimo's Spotify profile had more than 16,000 monthly listeners until the network removed his content. Robert Crimo III's uncle is expressing regret for the horrific act on July Fourth and says he is "deeply, deeply sorry." The 21-year-old resided in a separate apartment at the back of the neighborhood, according to Paul Crimo, who claimed to live with his alleged killer nephew's father and his nephew. Per NY Post, Paul Crimo claimed to be well-known in the neighborhood together with his brother Robert Crimo Jr., who unsuccessfully campaigned for mayor of Highland Park in 2019. According to Paul Crimo, there were no foreshadowing indicators prior to the horrific shooting. He claimed to have last seen his nephew late on Sunday. Paul Crimo claimed that his nephew was a "YouTube rapper" who didn't attend college and who enjoyed sketching but kept to himself. According to the report, he had previously worked at Panera but had recently been unemployed. Related Article: Highland Park Parade Shooting Suspect Arrested After Killing 6, Injuring 24 During Celebration of Independence Day @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Queen Rania of Jordan has shared a heartwarming message with her daughter Princess Iman, following the young royal's engagement to Jameel Thermiotis. Princess Iman, 25, is the second-born child of Queen Rania, 51, and King Abdullah II, 60. According to reports, Venezuela-born Jameel, who is around two years older than the princess, works as a Managing Partner for a Venture Capital fund based in New York. The engagement announcement was a delightful surprise for royal fans, since the couple have kept their relationship under wraps until now, and it's not clear how long they have been dating. In personal statement shared on her Instagram account, Queen Rania said: 'Congratulations my dearest Iman; your smile has always been a gift of love that Ive cherished since the day you were born. I wish you and Jameel a life filled with love and laughter!' Princess Iman bint Abdullah II, 25, has announced her engagement to Jameel Thermiotis Queen Rania (pictured, left) took to Instagram to shared the good news and a heartwarming message to her daughter Princess Iman (pictured, right) Queen Rania shared a sweet message with her daughter on Instagram, describing her smile as 'a gift of love' She also shared an official engagement photo of the couple, which showed the couple embracing. Princess Iman wears a high-necked white dress matched with polished make up and sleek hair in a down 'do. She has her hand placed on her fiance's chest, showing her square cut engagement ring. Meanwhile beaming Jameel looks dapper in a navy, two-piece suit, and crisp white shirt. The princess (pictured) has three siblings, Crown Prince Hussein, 27, Princess Salma, 21, and Prince Hashem, 17 The 25-year-old pictured with her father, King Abdullah II. He and her mother Queen Rania met in 1993 The 25-year-old, who is set to wed fiance Jameel Thermiotis, has received well wishes from her family and from social media users And the whole family shared their well wishes in a statement shared by the Royal Hashemite Court announcing the betrothal. It read: 'The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce the engagement of Her Royal Highness Princess Iman bint Abdullah II to Mr. Jameel Alexander Thermiotis, on Tuesday, 5 July 2022, in the presence of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah, as well as Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, Prince Hashem bin Abdullah II, and Princess Salma bint Abdullah II, in addition to members of Mr. Thermiotis family. 'The Royal Hashemite Court extends its sincere congratulations to Her Royal Highness Princess Iman and Mr. Thermiotis on this occasion and wishes them a lifetime of happiness.' Sporty Iman royal graduated from International Academy Amman in 2014 and was awarded top female athlete in her class. She went on to study at Georgetown University in Washington where her older brother Crown Prince Hussein is majored in international history. Well wishers flocked to the post to congratulate the young royal on her engagement A flood of well wishers took to Queen Rania's post to send their congratulations to the engaged couple. One wrote: 'Wishing both every happiness.' Another added: 'Congratulations princess.' Meanwhile, a third wrote: 'Congratulations to our gorgeous princess may their days be filled with love and happiness.' Others took to the post to flood it with heart emojis. News that top Heinz products have been pulled from Tesco in a row over price increases will strike fear into the hearts of shoppers who are fiercely loyal to their branded ketchup and baked beans. The US brand has temporarily suspended supplies of its key products to the supermarket giant over the row, which is already leading to gaps in shelves in Tesco stores. As the cost of living rises in the UK, Tesco said it 'will not pass on unjustifiable price increases' to its customers. A spokesperson for the retailer also said its customers will soon have 'plenty of alternatives' to the Heinz favourites - including their own brand versions, with customers able to save as much as 1.35 on a bottle of their favourite condiment if they opt for the supermarket version. But will that pass muster with those who recoil in horror at the thought of supermarket ketchup on their chips? FEMAIL has blind tested some popular sauces from the Heinz brand and compared them to Tesco's own offerings, and baked beans, to see if you can actually tell the difference. Heinz condiments are a staple in many kitchen cupboards (or fridges) in the UK - but after a row with Tesco over prices, the products will soon disappear from the supermarket's shelves Tesco has insisted there are 'plenty of alternatives' for customers missing Heinz products while it temporarily suspends the US brand's products from its shelves Tomato ketchup Heinz Tomato Ketchup is a staple in most household cupboards/fridges - but how did it taste compared to Tesco's own brand version? Heinz Top Down Squeezy Tomato Ketchup Sauce 460G 2 vs Tesco Tomato Ketchup 555g, 65p Heinz Tomato Ketchup is a staple in many kitchen cupboards (or fridges, depending on preference) up and down the country. But as it disappears from Tesco's shelves, can the supermarket's own alternative cut it? I asked a happy helper to pour out Tesco's own brand ketchup and Heinz's version into two identical dishes while I turned away, and then compared the two. To carry out my experiment I used microwaveable chips, which conveniently taste of absolutely nothing, so as to absorb the full flavour of each sauce. As a Heinz Tomato Ketchup fiend, I was pleasantly surprised at how similar the two sauces tasted - and I struggled to identify which was which. Both tangy and sweet, each condiment provided a lovely layer of flavour to the entirely bland chip. However one sauce was a little sweeter than the other, and it appeared to be ever-so-slightly thicker too. Personally I'm not a huge fan of very thick condiments, so while it was a very close call, the heavier ketchup fell down the ranks. I also was a bit less keen on the taste of the thicker ketchup, which although pleasant, bordered on being a bit too sweet. After a little bit of deliberation, I settled on the more viscous and slightly less sweet option - which ended up being the classic Heinz flavour. Winner: Heinz Tomato Ketchup (by a small margin) Barbecue sauce Presented with two BBQ sauces, the difference was striking - and one certainly came out on top Heinz BBQ Sauce 480g, 2.30 vs Tesco Bbq Sauce 440G, 1 Presented with two dishes of brown, sticky and sugary barbecue sauce, I had no idea which was which - but there was definitely a difference between them. While one of the dishes contained a smoother, more viscous sauce, the other seemed filled with a congealed mixture that, frankly, I wasn't particularly keen to taste. The smoother sauce definitely came out on top, with a sweet and smoky flavour that went down a treat. Sadly the taste of the more congealed sauce lived up to its appearance and didn't make for a particularly enjoyable condiment. It felt far too thick, wasn't particularly sweet and left an unusual smoky aftertaste that left me gasping for a glass of water. I also couldn't help but wonder what on earth was in the thicker sauce to have created that texture. In fact, after I dipped my bland chip into the thicker sauce, it left an indent that didn't fade afterwards. This wasn't a close one - the smoother sauce came out on top by a long way - and it turned out to be Heinz. Winner: Heinz Sweet & Sticky BBQ Sauce Mayonnaise Getting stuck in! It was fairly easy to tell which mayonnaise was which, however they were both fairly decent options Heinz Mayonnaise Seriously Good 540G, 2 vs Tesco Mayonnaise 500ml, 85p I've always opted for Hellman's mayonnaise, and wasn't even aware that Heinz offered its own version. Nonetheless I asked my helper to pour out some Heinz mayo and spoon some of the Tesco version into dishes. Here is where I have to confess that my blind test wasn't as 'blind' as it perhaps should have been - as it was quite clear from looking at the two dishes which mayonnaise was which. Whereas the Heinz sauce had come out of a squeezy bottle, the Tesco sauce came from a glass jar - and they looked different in their dishes. Nonetheless I suspended my judgment and dipped the flavourless chips into each dish of mayonnaise. I'm pleased to report both sauces were fairly enjoyable - and I'd happily have chosen either of them. While the Tesco condiment was definitely thicker, it was salty and creamy and did a decent job. Although the Heinz mayo was more watery, it certainly wasn't lacking in flavour and had a slightly more subtle salty taste that definitely hit the spot. As a lighter sauce, it went down much more easily. Although the taste of Tesco mayonnaise was nice enough, I don't think I could have eaten much more of it seeing as it was so thick and heavy. Just as with the previous sauces I had tried, it was Heinz that came out on top. Winner: Heinz Seriously Good Mayo Salad cream Did I mention I'm not a great lover of salad cream? Nonetheless, one of the options was significantly more palatable than the other Heinz Salad Cream 425G, 2 vs Tesco Salad Cream 450Ml, 90p Time for another confession - I cannot stand salad cream. This was a taste test in which I had to close my eyes, pinch my nose and deal with the taste of something I intensely dislike. So it was to my surprise that one of the sauces I tried wasn't all that bad - with a mild, creamy flavour that didn't make me wince. Of course, the other sauce was deeply unpleasant and I didn't enjoy eating it at all, but one out of two isn't bad. Whereas the first salad cream was lighter and much smoother to palate, the sweet but sour taste of the second was too much for my tastebuds and it felt almost bitter to eat. Interestingly the texture of both condiments was pretty much exactly the same, making it tricky to tell which was which. As it turns out, the salad cream I didn't hate was Tesco's own brand, which went down much more smoothly. I'm still not a lover of salad cream, but perhaps it was just Heinz's version that wasn't for me. Winner: Tesco Salad Cream Baked beans The Tesco baked beans weren't bad at all, but as someone who is fairly fussy about the product, I could tell instantly which was which Tesco Baked Beans In Tomato Sauce 420G 40p vs Heinz Baked Beans, 1 I'm fairly fussy when it comes to baked beans and rarely consider buying anything other than Heinz. As a keen runner, it's usually a breakfast of egg and beans that sets me up for a long race - and for comfort, a dinner of beans on toast can't be beaten. Heinz Baked Beans were always going to be difficult to beat, and while Tesco put up a good fight, it was never quite going to compete. I identified the Heinz product almost immediately, and knew it was my favourite instantly. The sweet, sugary tomato sauce of Heinz Baked means was unmistakable and filled my mouth with a warm hug. In fairnes to Tesco its alternative wasn't bad - but as with lots of different brands of baked beans, the sauce was the giveaway. It was still sweet and tangy, but Tesco's sauce is slightly more watery than the Heinz version, meaning the flavour isn't quite as intense. For me, when it comes to baked beans, it simply has to be Heinz. Winner: Heinz Baked Beans The daughter of North Carolina Congressman Greg Murphy announced that she has 'rejected' the politician as her father after he supported the Senate's recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, explaining that she now refers to him as her 'sperm donor' rather than her dad and hasn't spoken to him in 'months.' Neve Murphy, who goes by her middle name Caroline online, opened up about her decision to stop speaking to her dad, who has represented North Carolina's third congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019, on TikTok after he shared a tweet claiming that 'no one forces anyone to have sex' while discussing abortion online. Caroline called his post 'very upsetting,' especially since she was sexually assaulted in college - after which, she claimed her father helped her fill out the police report about it. The TikToker added that she was 'really embarrassed' to be related to him, explaining that she now calls her dad her 'sperm donor' because she has 'rejected him as a parent.' DailyMail.com has reached out to Murphy's spokesperson for comment. The daughter of North Carolina Congressman Greg Murphy announced that she has 'rejected' the politician as her father after he supported the Senate's recent overturning of Roe v. Wade Neve Murphy, who goes by her middle name Caroline, opened up about her decision to stop speaking to her dad after he shared a tweet claiming that 'no one forces anyone to have sex' Greg has represented North Carolina's third congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019. He is seen in July 2019 Caroline called his post 'very upsetting,' especially since she was sexually assaulted in college - after which, she claimed her father helped her fill out the police report about it @carmur4 I went no contact with him and my mom 7 months ago and will never speak to them again. Women will always deserve the right to bodily autonomy, full stop. #roevwade original sound - caroline 'Really, really embarrassed to admit this is my sperm donor,' she began in the video, while showing off a screenshot of Greg's tweet, which has since been deleted. 'I was just made aware of this tweet, I don't follow this man on social media for a very specific reason, and that is because of bulls**t like this. 'I was sexually assaulted when I was 21 and he helped me fill out the Title IX report. He came to college and helped me do it. 'Obviously this is very upsetting, women should always have the right to choose, regardless of any other circumstance and that should always be true. The Supreme Court sucks.' According to a 20-year study done by the CDC, almost three million women in the U.S. experienced rape-related pregnancy during their lifetime. Specifically, of women who were raped by an intimate partner, about 20 per cent reported that their partner had tried to get them pregnant when they did not want to or tried to stop them from using birth control. About 23 per cent reported their partner refused to use a condom. In the caption of the TikTok, which has been viewed more than two million times since it was posted last week, Caroline added that she hadn't spoken to either of her parents in seven months, and that she had no plan to ever talk to them again. 'I went no contact with him and my mom seven months ago and will never speak to them again,' she wrote. 'Women will always deserve the right to bodily autonomy, full stop.' The TikToker added that she was 'really embarrassed' to be related to him, explaining that she now calls her dad her 'sperm donor' because she has 'rejected him as a parent' Caroline said she wanted to 'clarify' that he is her biological father, so she shared photos of her and her dad from when she was a kid and from when she was in high school Greg made headlines in the past for controversial comments, stating that President Joe Biden was 'fighting dementia,' and calling Vice President Kamala Harris a 'walking disaster' In the comment section, Caroline said she also wanted to 'clarify' that Greg is her biological parent, explaining that she uses the term 'sperm donor' because she 'rejects him as a parent.' She also shared photos of her and her dad from when she was a kid and from when she was in high school to prove that he is indeed her father. In a follow-up video, Caroline opened up about why it's taken her so long to speak out about the matter, explaining that she was afraid of 'harming the relationship her brothers have with her parents,' as well as 'the relationship her parents have with each other.' 'I never want any woman to feel like I am not on her team to support her decision to do whatever she wants to her own body,' she added. 'You do not need to have a daughter or a daughter who was sexually assaulted or any woman in your entire life to know that a woman deserves the right to choose.' Greg has made headlines in the past for his controversial comments. During Joe Biden's presidential campaign against Donald Trump in 2020, the congressman claimed Biden was 'obviously is fighting the ravages of dementia.' He also called Vice President Kamala Harris a 'walking disaster' who 'was only picked for her color and her race,' in a now-deleted tweet. Many people flooded the comment section with messages of support for Caroline, thanking her for her 'extreme bravery' and for speaking out about the 'incredibly hard topic' Many people flooded the comment section with messages of support for Caroline, with one person writing, 'Trying and failing to not start crying. Thank you for speaking out in relation to this incredibly hard topic, we are proud of you.' 'I'm so sorry,' added someone else. 'The apple fell very far from the tree love. You are amazing.' Another said, 'Thank you for speaking out, sharing your story, and for being strong.' 'I want to hug you. You are extremely brave,' read a fourth comment, while a fifth said, 'I'm sorry, love. It's always worse when it's people who should be protecting you.' 'It's an incredibly difficult thing to realize your parents aren't who you innocently thought they were as a child. Stay strong,' wrote a different user. Caroline's comments come days after the bisexual daughter of a Republican Iowa senator revealed that she cut off her 'narcissistic' and 'abusive' father after he supported a ban on abortion. Korynn Dickey, 20, from Iowa City, said she no longer wanted to speak to her dad, Adrian Dickey, after he joined 59 other legislators who signed a bill urging Iowa's Supreme Court to overturn a previous ruling which called abortion a 'fundamental right.' Caroline's comments come days after the bisexual daughter of a Republican senator revealed that she had cut off her 'narcissistic' and 'abusive' father after he supported a ban on abortion Korynn Dickey, 20, from Iowa, said she no longer wanted to speak to her dad, Adrian Dickey, after signed a bill urging Iowa's Supreme Court to ban abortion in the state She opened up about her decision to end her relationship with her dad to TikTok, after she said he 'contributed to taking her rights away as a woman' While her dad didn't vote on Roe v. Wade, Korynn (seen with her dad and brother) said his support on the brief was 'enough for her to cut him off and no longer claim him as a parent' She opened up about her decision to end her relationship with her dad to TikTok, after she said he 'contributed to taking her rights away as a woman.' 'I had to cut my dad off,' she wrote in the video, which quickly went viral and has since been viewed more than than 572,000 times. 'See, I'm a bisexual Pisces and he is a Republican state senator who contributed to taking my rights as a woman away and the possibility of me being able to marry the girl of my dreams one day.' In 2018, the Planned Parenthood v. Reynolds case ruled that every woman had a 'fundamental right' to terminate a pregnancy in the state of Iowa, but a new brief signed by 60 officials, including her dad, is trying to revoke it. While her dad didn't vote on the recent Roe v. Wade ruling, Korynn said his support on the Iowa brief was 'enough for her to finally cut him off and no longer claim him as a parent.' Advertisement Nashville star Hayden Panettiere has revealed that she battled a years-long addiction to opioids and alcohol, admitting that her substance abuse issues became so severe, she was at risk of liver failure. The 32-year-old actress and mother-of-one opened up about her lengthy addiction struggles in a new interview with People magazine, revealing that her drug abuse began when she was just 15 years old - and then spiraled out of control while she was battling postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter Kaya in 2014. 'As I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn't live without,' Panettiere confessed - revealing that her struggle with postpartum depression combined with her reliance on drugs and alcohol resulted in her making the 'heartbreaking' decision to send her daughter away to live with her father, Wladimir Klitschko, in Ukraine. 'I would have the shakes when I woke up and could only function with sipping alcohol,' she admitted. '[Sending Kaya away] was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But I wanted to be a good mom to her - and sometimes that means letting them go.' Hayden Panettiere has revealed that she spent years battling an addiction to opioids and alcohol, admitting her substance abuse became so severe she almost suffered liver failure The 32-year-old actress told People that her addictions spiraled out of control while she was suffering postpartum depression following the 2014 birth of her daughter Kaya (pictured) Panettiere says she did not drink while she was pregnant with Kaya, but she admits that she fell off the wagon soon after her daughter was born, and from there, her alcohol issues continued to spiral out of control. After she sent her daughter away to live with Klitschko, 46, from whom she had split just months before following a nine-year on-off relationship, Panettiere's drinking continued to worsen - to the point where she had to be hospitalized with jaundice. Panettiere told People magazine that she feels as though she 'ruined' the many opportunities that she was given, noting that she was 'on top of the world' before plummeting into alcohol and substance abuse 'Doctors told me my liver was going to give out,' she admitted. 'I was no longer a 20 year old who could just bounce right back.' The former child star, who began acting on-screen at the age of five, when she landed roles in popular soap operas One Life to Live and Guiding Light, says her drug abuse issues started when she was just 15 - one year before she began filming hit TV series Heroes. At the time, she claims members of her team began giving her 'happy pills' in an effort to make her seem more 'peppy' during interviews. 'I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction,' she explained. Speaking to Good Morning America on Wednesday, the actress explained that her battle with postpartum depression made her alcoholism all the more difficult to deal with because she couldn't see where her battles with substance abuse 'ended' and where her depression 'began'. '[The past four years have] been difficult,' she said, looking back on her struggles since the birth of her daughter. 'The years before were very difficult for me too. I'd been struggling for a long time.' Asking where she sought help for her depression, Panettiere continued: 'The bottle. The bottom of a bottle. 'I didn't have any negative feelings towards my child, I just knew I was deeply depressed. And I didn't know where the alcoholism was ending and the postpartum was beginning and I ran myself pretty ragged. 'People around me were more concerned about my usage of alcohol than they ever were about the postpartum depression.' 'I'd been struggling for a long time,' Panettiere told Good Morning America of the years leading up to her daughter's birth in 2018 She added that her postpartum depression made her alcoholism all the more difficult to deal with because she turned to 'the bottom of the bottle' to try and cope She added that many of those around her were quick to pass off her postpartum depression and alcoholism as signs that she was being 'overly emotional' or acting like 'a crazy woman', which in turn made her feel all the more isolated. 'I felt like I was walking blind and there was nobody there that was able to support me in the way I needed to be supported. 'And I don't like to ask for help either. You know, I want to be that strong, stoic woman, but when you see a [previously] happy-go-lucky girl... suddenly on the floor in a puddle of mess and alcohol, you've got to know something is wrong.' After Panettiere ended up in the hospital, she finally found the strength to seek treatment for her addictions and ultimately entered rehab for eight months, where she says she found the support she needed to face her demons head-on. '[I made] a lot of great friends in treatment who can speak on your same level where you don't feel like you're going crazy,' she told GMA, although she confessed that her experiences in rehab were 'horrible' at times, because she was identified specifically as an alcoholic, rather than someone also battling postpartum depression, which meant she struggled to make herself heard. 'Oh, it was horrible,' she said. 'Once you're the identified patient as the alcoholic - and not as a girl, a woman going through postpartum depression - then they don't believe anything that comes [out of] your mouth. So even when you're telling the truth, even when you're doing well, I've been told "No", almost gaslit, and told, "No, I wasn't." 'It's frustrating. It's heartbreaking. You want to break down and cry, which makes you look even worse. But not being believed, I think to anybody not being believed is - when they're telling the truth - is painful.' While the actress is now sober - and focused on ensuring her daughter Kaya is safe and sound while living in Ukraine - she admits that her struggles are far from over. 'I'm good [but] it's an everyday battle, it really is,' she shared. 'I'm grateful to say I'm sober today.' Although Kaya, seven, is living in a country that has been ravaged by war amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Panettiere (seen with her daughter and Klitschko) insists she is 'safe' It has previously been reported that Kaya was sent out of Ukraine while her father (pictured) and his brother, Kyiv mayor Vitali, threw themselves into the fight against Russian forces She added to People: 'It's an everyday choice, and I'm checking in with myself all the time. But I'm just so grateful to be part of this world again, and I will never take it for granted again.' As for daughter Kaya, now seven, while she is currently living with her father in a country that has been ravaged by war following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Panettiere insists that her daughter is 'very safe' - and even praised the youngster's handling of the situation. 'She's my favorite little person,' she told GMA. 'And watching how she has handled this whole Ukrainian situation has really blown my mind. 'She is very safe and where she is, she also has a lot of friends.' However, it has previously been reported that Kaya was sent out of Ukraine while her father and his brother, Kyiv mayor Vitali, threw themselves into the fight against Russian forces. The brothers took up arms to repel a Russian convoy approaching the capital in March, after declaring they were 'ready to die' to defend their homeland. Wladimir has also called for Russia to be isolated from all sporting competition, warning that Ukrainian women and children are 'dying at the hands of the country's aggression'. He called for governing bodies to follow in the footsteps of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), after the authority recommended banning Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international competitions. Panettiere's interviews with People and GMA come less than four months after the actress found herself at the center of a furious controversy when she was embroiled in a physical brawl with her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and several other people outside a bar in LA. According to TMZ, Hickerson, who is on probation until 2025 for domestically abusing the actress in 2018, sparked the bar brawl when he spat on a fellow patron at Sunset Marquis, which prompted the manager to throw everyone out of the establishment. Panettiere says her abuse battles began at the age of 15 (left) when people on her team gave her 'happy pills' to make her 'peppy' in interviews. Soon after, she went on to star in hit series Heroes, which began in 2006 (right) The actress's drug and alcohol abuse issues were ongoing while she was filming the hit country music show Nashville, which ended in 2018 However, a representative for Panettiere told People that Hickerson 'made a comment to an individual about leaving the waitress a poor tip.' 'That same individual, along with the group he was with, began badgering and shoving Brian, at which point security pushed everyone outside. Brian was attacked by the group, as was Hayden, who in her best effort tried to diffuse the situation,' the representative said. At the time, sensational video of the brawl emerged online - first published by TMZ - in which Panettiere, who is just five feet tall, could be heard screaming 'Brian' while trying to pull Hickerson away from the fight. Panettiere, seen when she was nine years old, began her acting career at the tender age of five, when she was cast in the ABC soap opera One Life to Live The video picks up on the West Hollywood street outside the hotel with security asking other patrons not involved in the fight to go back inside. 'I need everyone back in the bar, please,' an employee said as Hickerson, who was wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, was seen launching toward the group of roughly eight people on the ramp. It appears Hickerson and Panettiere are up against two women - who largely stay out of the fight - and six men. However, the fight is manly between Hickerson and one man. Security grabbed Hickerson - and pulled him away from the group as Panettiere was seen pointing over an employees shoulder. Someone in the group screamed 'It's over, it's over' at the stars. Another male also said: 'Let's f**king go, bro,' while the girl who screamed earlier said: 'I will f**king [unintelligible] your a**.' The group eventually moved away from the front door to the street, where fists and feet started flying. Panettiere mostly stayed near the outer ring of the fight and warningly called her boyfriend's name. At one point, a man in a brown jacket was still launching himself at Hickerson, causing Panettiere to reach out and grab his jacket to pull him off her boyfriend. She fell to the ground in the action, alongside two to three other people and the man Panettiere grabbed was seen held in a headlock by Hickerson. Out of the corner of the frame, the actress can be seen being lifted to her feet by what appears to be a bar employee, but she didn't stay out of the action long, trying to pry her boyfriend from the fight. A woman in a black jacket began pounding Hickerson's back, screaming hysterically: 'Get off. Get the f**k off of him, you f**king a**hole.' Panettiere was seen trying to push people away from her boyfriend on the ground, but only ended up back on the ground, protectively covering the two men. She held one arm to keep attackers away, while calmly saying: 'Back up, back up, everybody.' At one point, the Nashville actress could be heard screaming: 'Brian, jail!' Hickerson, a convicted felony, is on probation until 2025 for domestic violence charges for attacking the star in 2018. Panettiere's interviews come less than four months after the actress found herself at the center of a furious controversy when she was embroiled in a physical brawl with her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and several other people outside a bar in LA At the time, sensational video of the brawl emerged online - first published by TMZ - in which Panettiere, who is just five feet tall, could be heard screaming 'Brian' while trying to pull Hickerson away from the fight (center) Troubled: At the time of the bar brawl, Brian (seen left with the actress in 2018) was already on probation until 2025 for domestically abusing Panettiere in 2018. He was arrested on Valentine's Day 2020 in Wyoming (right) Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail and four years probation in 2021 after the actress accused him of domestic violence in 2018. He also had to attend 52 domestic violence classes, pay $500 in restitution, and was issued five-year protective order. He was arrested on multiple felony charges, including corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, two charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and one for intimidating Panettiere. He also faced a misdemeanor charge for battery on a spouse/cohabitant. Most of his charges were dropped. He allegedly assaulted Panettiere from December 2019 to January 2020 and the actress obtained a restraining order against him in May 2019, which forbade him from coming within 100 yards of her. Panettiere is set to return to the big screen after a four-year hiatus next year when she will reprise the role of Kirby Reed in the sixth installment of the Scream franchise. She is seen in the fourth movie A month later he pleaded not guilty to a count of domestic violence in a case that was later dismissed. He arrested on Valentine's Day 2020 in Wyoming and was charged with domestic battery after he allegedly punch the actress 'with a closed fist on the right side of her face.' She took to Instagram afterward, writing: 'I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.' The couple had been broken up at this time. In July 2021, rumors began to swirl that the couple was rekindling their romance after they were spotted spending time together after he was released from jail. Hickerson confirmed that they were 'working on a friendship' at the time. He said: 'Hayden and I are not back together.' The pair were first linked after Panettiere split with her then-fiance Klitschko, the former two-time heavyweight boxer champion. Although Panettiere has continued to dominate headlines as a result of her on-again-off-again relationship with Klitschko, her drug and alcohol issues, and her roller coaster romance with Hickerson, it has been four years since she filmed a project - something that she now hopes to change. The actress will make her return to the big screen next year, when she will reprise her role as Kirby Reed in the Scream franchise for it as-yet untitled sixth installment. 'I just want to keep that ball rolling,' she said. 'I have a whole new team of people who really believe in me and they have helped me to gain some trust back in myself.' Reports have been flooding the internet this week suggesting that BRIT Award and Mercury Prize-winning rapper Santan Dave has died. However the 24-year-old, who's real name is David Orobosa Omoregie, from Streatham, South London, is very much alive and even posted a snap on his Twitter page on Tuesday. False reports started to circulate that the star had been stabbed on his birthday earlier this week, even though Daves birthday is June 5th, and the rapper's fans rushed to Twitter in distress with one writing 'is Dave acc dead or is this some messed up joke?' Dave, who appeared in the third series of Top Boy, made his debut appearance on a small platform named Street Starz and later progressed to Black Box, a YouTube channel for freestyle rap. His 2016 track Thiago Silva featuring AJ Tracey and 2018 song Funky Friday with Fred are two of his biggest hits, and the rapper has fans across the globe. His debut album Psychodrama won the Mercury Prize as well as Album of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards, and topped the charts in the UK. False reports have been flooding the internet this week suggesting that UK rapper Santan Dave has died, however the 24-year-old, from Streatham, South London, is very much alive Another said:'IS SANTAN DAVE DEAD?' while another wrote:'Is Santan Dave alive or dead ? And why is no one taking about it ??!?' The false claims gained even more attention due to the popularity of a Facebook page called R.I.P. Dave which has almost a million likes. One headline read: Was David Orobosa Omoregie Aka Santan Dave Stabbed On His Birthday? What Happened And Where Is The Rapper Now?' While another said: 'Santan Dave Stabbed On His Birthday Party- Is He Dead Or Still Alive?' Since the rumours started circling he posted a snap of himself in front of a London bus on his Instagram page @santandave The rappers fans rushed to Twitter in distress with one writing 'is Dave acc dead or is this some messed up joke?' Some fans have been trying to clear up the cruel hoax on social media with one writing on Twitter: 'Dave is not dead can you all pls behave.' The rapper is in good health and is set to perform at Wireless festival in Birmingham on July 8. Since the rumours started circling he posted a snap of himself in front of a London bus on his Instagram page @santandave. Dave's debut album Psychodrama, features the voice of his brother who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Sofyen Belamouadden. The boy, 15, was stabbed nine times in the lungs and chest by a teenage gang, dubbed the Samurai Tube killers, in front of commuters at Victoria station in London in 2010. Christopher Orobosa Omoregie, now 28, was a ringleader. He was jailed in 2012 for a minimum of 18 years by a judge who said he failed to show any kind of remorse. On the final track of Psychodrama, 21-year-old Dave rapped about being physically sick on the day his brother was jailed. The musician, from Streatham in south London, also appeared to question the verdict in his brothers trial, rapping: Is it survival of the fittest or is he a killer? Dave went on to describe his brother as my hero. Upon winning the 25,000 Mercury Prize at the Hammersmith Apollo in September 2019, Dave said: I wanna thank my brother Christopher that inspired this album. His debut album Psychodrama won the Mercury Prize as well as Album of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards, and topped the charts in the UK This is your story that we told, and even though you cant be here with us today, I know youre watching this bro. And Im so grateful, thank you guys so much. At the BRIT Awards in February 2020, he famously slammed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, accusing the Conservative leader of being racist as he performed Black, a track from his record, which won Album of the Year. In a surprise moment for viewers and those in attendance at the O2 in London he debuted a brand new verse criticising Mr Johnson. He said: 'It is racist, whether or not it feels racist, the truth is our prime minister's a real racist. They say 'you should be grateful, we're the least racist', I say the least racist is still racist.' Dave also used his performance to pay tribute to prison rehabilitation worker Jack Merritt who was killed in November 2019 in a terror attack. The false claims gained even more attention due to the popularity of a Facebook page called R.I.P. Dave which has almost a million likes Queen Maxima of The Netherlands looked elegant as ever in a white shift dress as she stepped out in Rotterdam this afternoon. The Argentine-born royal paired the dress with tan wedges with an ankle strap and carried a tan handbag with a wildlife pattern. She added a weaved tan belt to the collared dress to clinch it at the waist, and wore flower-shaped pearl earrings. Queen Maxima paired her white shift dress with tan wedges with an ankle strap and clinched at the waist with a belt The Queen looked elegant as she stepped out in Rotterdam at the Erasmus medical centre this afternoon Maxima beamed as the sun shone on her in Rotterdam this afternoon where she met with researchers and children with myopia The mother-of-three, 51, wore her blonde locks down and tucked behind her ears as she arrived at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam. Wearing just a touch of blusher and light eye make-up, the Queen opted for a nude glossy lip for a natural daytime look. The Queen, who is married to King Willem-Alexander, 55, attended the centre to launch a new campaign centred around optical health. Maxima's 'Marble myopia out of the world' campaign is injecting funding into research around the eye condition myopia. Myopia, which many will know as short-sightedness, is a common eye condition making it difficult for people to see objects that are far away. It is usually corrected with glasses or contact lenses. The Argentine-born royal was all smiles as she arrived at the centre to discuss ending myopia Mother-of-three Maxima, who used to work in marketing before meeting her husband King Willem-Alexander, has recently returned from a trip to Vienna Appearing at the campaign launch, The Queen smiled as she prepared to meet with professors to discuss myopia While visiting the medical centre, Maxima, who used to work in marketing before meeting her husband, met with people who suffer from myopia as well as other researchers. Photos showed her watching as a young boy took an eye test and playing with other children at the launch. It has been a busy few weeks for Queen Maxima who has recently returned from a trip to Austria with her husband. Maxima watched as a young boy had an eye test while visiting the launch at the Erasmus Medical Centre The Queen looked deep in conversation as a professional explained the results of the young boy's eye test The King and Queen visited Vienna last week after an official invitation from Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. While in the city, the King and Queen attended a banquet with the president and his wife Doris Schmidauer and also went to watch a performance by the Dutch Chamber Choir. Maxima, who spends much of her time supporting health causes, attended the launch of a mental health foundation in the city of Rotterdam in March this year. With a particular focus on mental health, she has spoken several times about the subject, including on a MIND panel during the Covid pandemic. The notion was startling. When sex and fertility specialists were asked why more couples were turning to IVF in order to conceive, they said it was because we are not having enough sex to do it naturally. At a conference earlier this year, eminent sex experts described a nation having perhaps as little as half as much sex as we had '30 years ago'. Our busy, distracted lives, they said, mean we see sex as a chore, not a pleasure. Among them was Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, who told the Mail: 'Couples seem to have very different expectations of what a healthy sex life is. There are people having sex less than once a week, only every few weeks, or not at all, because modern life has taken the joy out of it and there are too many other things like work and emails competing for our attention.' For doctors and academics, it is an article of faith: we are having less sex than we used to, or than our parents did. But how much less? And why? In an age of internet dating, widespread pornography and no fault divorce, such a decline seems baffling. Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield said that some couples have sex less often due to other thing such as work and emails competing for their attention (stock image) In a bid to discover what's really going on beneath the nation's duvet, the Daily Mail last month commissioned an in-depth survey of attitudes towards sex, asking more than 1,000 men and women both single and in relationships from right across the British Isles to be frank and fearless and reveal the no-holds-barred truth about their sex lives. What's more, to test the theory that distracting modern life has had a calamitous effect on our sex lives in the past three decades, we mirrored some of the questions in a similar Mail sex survey of 1991 31 years ago. The results will shock you. For yes, the nation's sex life has indeed changed beyond all recognition . . . SO HOW OFTEN ARE WE HAVING SEX? It is a common lament among the midlife coffee-morning set that everyone thinks they're horribly deprived of the regular and enthusiastic sex they deserve and now, it seems, our survey bears this out. Statistics from the early 1990s showed that 50 per cent of us were having sex at least once a week. But our 2022 survey shows sex appears to have plummeted down the marital 'to do' list. Today, only 19 per cent have sex once a week on a regular basis. However, when you combine that figure with the 16 per cent of enthusiasts happily at it 'several' times a week you reach a slightly healthier figure of 35 per cent of the population having sex once a week or more. But that's still a significant 15 per cent drop in 30 years. Fourteen per cent say they have sex 'several times a month', while six per cent do it monthly and nine per cent make a effort only on high days and holidays. One in five (many of them in the 65+ age range) is having no sex at all. According to the survey conducted by the Mail, fourteen per cent said that they have sex 'several times a month' (stock image) Derbyshire-based married couple, Sarah, 37, and her 38-year-old husband say they're surprised to have found themselves in what has turned out to be a sexless marriage. 'When my husband and I got together 20 years ago, sex was great and we'd be ripping each other's clothes off three or four times a week,' says Sarah. However, things changed after the birth of their first daughter, who is now 11, and although they have had two more daughters, aged nine and five, they haven't had sex since their youngest was born. 'Our marriage is happy, I still want intimacy, but I'm afraid I have zero sex drive for my husband. These days, sex just isn't a priority for me,' she adds. 'I think it's pretty normal to go off sex when you're in a long-term relationship, but unfortunately there is a degree of shame and stigma surrounding this. So many women end up feeling they should be the perfect wife, mother, housekeeper and a sexual dynamo, too.' LESS SEX, MORE PARTNERS We may be having less sex, but we're having more lovers. Thirty years ago most people had just a handful of sexual partners before settling down. Surveys in the 1990s found men averaged nine partners and women a meagre three and a half in their lifetime. Nearly three-quarters of men and more than 90 per cent of women had fewer than ten partners. Our 2022 survey found only 67 per cent stopped before they reached ten sexual partners 66 per cent of men and 68 per cent of women. Thirteen per cent of men and women put themselves into the '10-15' category, with ten per cent of women and 18 per cent of men admitting to notching up 15 or more. Advertisement It's a similar story for business owner Georgina, 32, and her husband, 36, who is a mechanical engineer. 'Looking at us, you'd think we're an attractive 30-something couple who are bound to be at it like rabbits but that isn't the case at all,' says Georgina. 'We're having a great time with full social lives as well as our careers, and our busy routines just don't leave us time for having sex.' After being together for eight years, they got married during the pandemic: 'Being stuck together meant we lost interest in being intimate,' says Georgina. 'It isn't that we don't want to have sex we just want to do other things more. Since we're lucky enough to live in London, we'd far rather go to the zoo or to the cinema than head to the bedroom.' Sometimes after date night especially if there is alcohol involved Georgina says they will have sex, but she says there isn't any pressure from either side for it to happen. 'I've never felt more loved and secure in my marriage,' she says. 'I think my husband is the sexiest man alive, and I hope he feels I'm sexy, too. 'But I honestly think that having sex several times a week is a 'front' that loads of people feel they need to put on.' The only sticking point in Georgina and her husband's situation is that they are hoping to start trying for a family later this year and Georgina is conscious of the commitment involved in conceiving: 'I know we'll need to plan to have sex we'll probably have to put it in our diaries, otherwise it will never happen. Hopefully when there's a goal, it will be easier for us to have sex regularly.' SO WHY AREN'T WE HAVING SEX? WE'RE TOO BUSY A rather alarming 13 per cent of respondents in our survey said they refuse sex about once a week because they're too tired or busy, while 7 per cent said they turn down the offer a few times a week or even more. Perhaps not surprisingly, in both cases, the refusal comes from twice as many women as men. WE'RE GLUED TO OUR SCREENS Thirty years ago there were only four TV channels and no box sets or streaming services to tempt you to stay up past bedtime. But our survey showed that a staggering 91 per cent of us are quite happy to while away the evenings watching television or films compared with the 46 per cent who said their idea of a good night in was having sex. BUT WE ARE HAVING FEWER AFFAIRS Thirty years ago, when we asked if it was acceptable for people who are married or living together to have affairs we were surprised when 12 per cent in a committed relationship said yes. But when we asked if they'd actually had an affair with someone while either party was married to someone else, an astonishing 29 per cent of married/cohabiting people put their hands up. Twenty-nine per cent of married people having affairs! For this survey we repeated the question, asking married people whether they'd had extra-marital sex in the past year. This time, only 9 per cent said yes double the number of men to women. Advertisement 'If you don't go to bed at the same time, your chances of intimacy decrease dramatically,' says marital therapist and author Andrew G. Marshall. 'An evening spent watching television doesn't necessarily have to ruin your sex life. If you watch something together, preferably side-by-side on a sofa, cuddled up, that can be a great way to relax and connect. But the same cannot be said for those couples watching different shows in different rooms, or doubling up on screens and checking their phones at the same time.' Screens are an issue for Ivy, 32, and her husband, 35, from Berkshire. She admits that they are ruining the couple's sex life. 'Technology is absolutely the third person in our marriage,' she admits. Although she and her spouse have been together for 15 years, married for ten and have two children aged eight and two, Ivy says they now only have sex once a month or so. 'When we relax, we do so on our own and that means screentime,' says Ivy. 'I started my own business three years ago, and, because a lot of what I do is carried out on my phone, I never really disconnect I'm forever checking emails and sorting tasks. 'I don't feel bad about neglecting my husband, because he is more than happy to spend five hours a night playing on his Xbox. He has a high-pressure job and that's how he likes to relax.' 'There is still love between us, and we have great fun when we go on special dates together, but there's none of the burning passion we once shared. It just seems like there's little time or energy left for sex.' SOCIAL MEDIA IS TO BLAME Although 55 per cent of people say they like nothing more than to curl up with a good book before bed (a figure heavily weighted to the over-55s), it's sad to note that 67 per cent of our respondents spend their evenings scrolling through social media. Notably it was the 18 to 34-year-olds who said they were 'very' (as opposed to 'quite') likely to spend their evenings on social media. 'The problem with smartphones and 24-hour communication is that the old boundaries have collapsed,' says Andrew. 'We live in a world of distraction, which means you can get an important work email just ten minutes before bed sexual desire needs time to bubble up and any mood can be instantly destroyed by an uncomfortable text or tweet.' NOT TONIGHT DARLING... Twenty-seven per cent (mostly women) said they'd lied about being tired, stressed or ill to avoid having sex. Twenty-three per cent (again, mostly women) admitted they'd faked an orgasm during sex. Twenty-two per cent confessed they had pretended to be asleep to avoid having sex (31 per cent women v 12 per cent men, but with a possibly acceptable peak during the child-rearing years of 35-44 per cent). Fifty-one per cent said they had never deployed avoidance tactics (70 per cent men). Advertisement One big concern is that so many of us reach for our phone each morning to turn off the alarm, and automatically start scrolling effectively becoming embedded in the cycle of clicks and 'likes' before we've even acknowledged the person lying beside us. Twenty nine per cent of those who share a bed with a partner confessed to spending up to ten minutes on their phone when they wake up, and 18 per cent said they spend up to 20 minutes scrolling in bed. In each case, the phone users are typically more likely to be women than men. 'Using a phone in bed is a big turn-off,' adds Andrew. 'Even if you're checking the news, you're giving out the message that your phone is more interesting than the person lying beside you it's certainly not sexy.' The addiction is real: a staggering 29 per cent of our respondents said they would rather give up sex than their mobile phone or tablet with the surprising response far more prevalent among women (39 per cent of respondents compared with 19 per cent for men). And 8 per cent of people confessed that they had refused sex because they wanted to spend more time on their phone. Admittedly, 45 per cent said they'd be happier to give up their mobile than abandon sex but there's a definite gender bias here: of those respondents, 56 per cent were men and only 35 per cent were women. SO WHO ENJOYS SEX THE MOST? When this question was asked in 1991, the replies showed both sexes thought men got more out of a sexual experience. Twenty six per cent of men and 36 per cent of women believed men had a better time in bed than their female partners. After 30 years of increasing sex equality at work, home and surely in the bedroom, too, we fully expected these figures to have changed. After all, the sex-positive movement allied to feminism, has sought to highlight female desire and the importance of women's pleasure. And yet we found almost no change at all. In fact, in some respects attitudes have actually gone backwards. Today, 29 per cent of men and women said they thought men have a better time in bed (right across the age ranges), and just a tiny fraction of respondents (6 per cent of men and just 7 per cent of women) thought that women have more fun in bed. Where in 1991, 55 per cent of the population thought enjoyment was equal between the sexes, that figure today has dropped to 53 per cent. 'Part of the problem is the widespread proliferation of pornography,' says Andrew. 'Young people get their sex education from watching videos, which are usually more fantasy than reality. It makes them insecure and portrays this idea of 'easy sex', where everyone is in a permanent state of readiness. Andrew said that young people get their sex education from watching videos, which are usually more fantasy than reality (stock image) 'It means that we have no idea how to be sensual and initiate a sexual encounter.' And if such pornography fails to show women prioritising their needs or even to acknowledge them it's hardly surprising that couples who use it think women don't enjoy sex as much as men. Back in 1991, our survey showed that men and women agreed that women were more likely to be happy to live without sex than men. Fifty-three per cent of men said women could live without sex, but only nine per cent of males thought they would be able to abandon carnal pleasures for ever themselves. Women agreed, with an extraordinary 73 per cent saying they'd be quite happy to abstain. Twice as many men as women said sex was 'very important' in their lives. However, in our new survey, although 38 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women said they thought men would find it tough to live without sex, a meagre seven per cent of both genders said they thought women would find it more difficult to live with-out sex. 'One reason women appear to be coming unstuck is because although we might be able to discuss sex with our friends quite happily, we often find it difficult to talk about sex with our partners,' says Andrew. This finding certainly resonates with Sarah, who says she knows her husband is confused about her apparently dwindling libido. 'Initially, he put pressure on me, saying everyone else had a better sex life than us,' she says. 'I knew from conversations with married friends that this was definitely not the case. Plenty of my friends say their husbands don't really know what they like or want.' 'My husband's answer to our problems has been to buy me sex toys, but that just makes me feel uncomfortable, and frankly it's easier for me to say I've got a headache or the kids need me, than thinking about or trying to communicate the sex life I actually want.' Additional reporting by Samantha Brick. Five acres, three children, two horses... and NO SEX: One couple's very frank admission by Helen Carroll for the Daily Mail After work trips forced them apart for a week, Liz and Leigh Brown celebrated their reunion by snuggling up together on the sofa. They swapped news and caught up on their Netflix shows before agreeing to head upstairs for an early night. But rather than a night of passion, they merely exchanged a peck on the cheek before turning away and falling asleep. Although they love each other, with two demanding jobs, three children, two horses, a dog, five ducks and five acres of land to tend to, sex comes so far down the list of the Browns' priorities a situation they are both now resigned to it happens no more than a handful of times a year. 'Given the choice between sex and an extra half-an-hour of sleep, we both choose sleep,' says Liz, 37, a military photographer. 'On the rare occasions we have time alone at home, there are other things that we would rather do, like putting the ironing away or cleaning the cooker. We've put our sex life on hold: Leigh and Liz Brown say that they have sex a couple of times a year due to their busy lives 'I do realise how awful that sounds and our younger selves would be appalled but modern family life, with all its demands, just isn't conducive to a regular sex life. 'We have teenagers who are around in the evenings and think nothing of wandering the house, raiding the fridge at midnight, and a six-year-old who climbs into our bed in the early hours and then is up again at daybreak. 'Like most families these days, we need two incomes to cover our outgoings and both travel a fair bit for work, which leaves one parent at home holding the fort. Living in rural Derbyshire, that involves a lot of taxi-ing our children, to Army Cadet meetings, pre-dawn swimming training, and to school. 'Although we outsource a fair bit now having learnt the hard way that we can't do everything our two horses still need taking care of, then there's walking our dog and maintaining the land around our house. 'Who on earth would have the energy, or inclination, for sex on top of all that?' The Browns agree they found it much easier to make time for intimacy when their children were young and, until four years ago, made love most weeks. They struggle to understand couples with small children whose sex lives go off the boil, given that little ones are tucked up in bed in the early evening, and say they have found it far more challenging now that at least one of theirs is awake whenever they are. Neither can bear the thought of their children, aged 16, 13 and six, hearing or, worse still, walking in on their parents in the act. And, contrary to the belief that men feel deprived by a lack of action in the bedroom, Leigh, 37, a specialist engineering consultant, is just as willing as his wife to allow their sex life to stay on the backburner for the next few years, while work and family responsibilities take precedence. The Browns agree they found it much easier to make time for intimacy when their children were young and, until four years ago, made love most weeks 'I'm open with male friends about the fact Liz and I rarely have sex these days and most of those with demanding jobs and kids in the house completely get it,' says Leigh. 'Some claim they will disappear upstairs with their wives and be as noisy as they like while their kids are downstairs watching TV. 'I'm not sure they're always telling the truth as it sounds like male bravado to me. 'Either way, that's something Liz and I could never do. There were a couple of instances in my childhood that I'd rather not revisit, when I remember hearing noises coming from my parents' bedroom, and I cannot bear the thought of embarrassing our kids in that way. 'We have an open-door policy and never want them to feel uncomfortable coming into our bedroom.' Liz and Leigh go away as a couple no more than once or twice a year, usually to a social event linked to Liz's work, so the opportunities for carefree sex are few and far between. The last time was in early May, when they checked into a hotel in Buckinghamshire to remedy the situation. The couple had been celibate for at least four months before that and have gone as long as six months without sex in the past. They had sex before dinner and again the following morning, proving that the desire and attraction is still very much there. The couple say that they do not have sex because of a lack of attraction to each other and fancy each other more as time goes on Who, I wonder, instigated it and wasn't it a little, well, awkward after going so long without? 'Neither of us had to make a move, we both knew it would happen,' says Liz, laughing. 'Even though we were as tired as ever after a demanding week, we wouldn't dream of not taking full advantage of being alone in a hotel room for the night. 'I guess it might have been awkward if it had been the first time we'd seen one another undressed for months, but we've always been very relaxed about our bodies around each other. We sleep naked and Leigh will brush his teeth while I'm in the bath. 'It was lovely, and afterwards Leigh said: 'Why don't we do this more often?' And I said: 'I don't know!' 'Deep down we both feel we should make more time for it, but as soon as we were back home, faced with work, a laundry mountain, homework supervision, cooking and clearing up after the family dinner every night, neither of us had the energy to even think about it.' Aware of the importance of making time for their relationship, Liz and Leigh have discussed driving their Land Rover to one of their far-flung fields and making the most of the peace and quiet. 'If the kids are all out, playing or walking the dog, we'll joke: 'Well, we've got ten minutes, wink, wink,' but we never see it through,' says Leigh. 'There's always a lawn to mow, a uniform to iron or some other chore we need to be getting on with. 'It's not because of a lack of attraction, I fancy Liz even more as time goes on. 'She's beautiful I tell her, though maybe not every day and I'm in awe of how amazing she is, both at her job and as a wife and mother. She says she's still attracted to me too in fact she's always saying she hit the jackpot when she met me but marriage is about a lot more than sex.' They say that finding time and space for intimacy became harder four years ago when Liz and Leigh both began travelling more for work Although Liz's parents are happy to help look after the children, the Browns use most of their 'childcare credits' on school pick-ups or holiday cover. They feel it would be taking advantage of their kindness to ask them to have the kids overnight more than once or twice a year. As with most couples, sex was a huge priority early on in their relationship, despite Liz already being mum to two children, aged four and one, when they met 12 years ago. (The children no longer see their dad and Leigh has been a very willing father figure for most of their lives.) Liz was a teacher while Leigh worked as a breakdown mechanic back then, and would frequently drop by in the early hours after a night shift for what she teased him was 'a booty call'. 'I'd be up early to take the children to nursery before work but somehow, back then, I had the energy for sex as well,' she says. 'Even six years ago, after our youngest was born, our sex life resumed within three weeks. 'However, in those days, the kids were in bed by 8pm and we had the whole evening to ourselves.' Finding time and space for intimacy became harder four years ago, when Liz and Leigh both began travelling more for work, the elder children started going to bed later and the youngest would wake and want to climb into bed with his parents. 'At first, we both worried that the lack of sex meant we'd gone off each other, that it was the beginning of the end,' says Liz. 'Thankfully, we're a couple that talks about everything and neither of us has any doubts about our commitment to each other. 'We're both very tactile and say, 'I love you' most days, so it didn't take long for us to feel reassured.' The Browns know couples who schedule sex to make sure it happens, but believe a lack of spontaneity would take the fun out of it for them. 'I'd prefer never to do it than know that on a Friday night it's going to happen, come hell or high water,' says Liz. 'Leigh feels the same and we both agree that these couples are no happier, or closer, than we are, just because they can say they have sex every week. 'You have to play the long game in marriage, and in another three years there will be weekends when the elder children are out and the youngest is away camping with the Cubs. 'We're confident we'll still love and fancy one another enough to make the most of the time together.' Advertisement A woman who watched her family get brutally murdered by a hammer-wielding stranger after he sexually assaulted her, her sister, and her mother when she was just three years old has spoken out about the harrowing attack. Vanessa Bennett, now 42, witnessed the horrifying deaths of her parents, Bruce, then 27, and Debra, then 26, as well as her older sister, Melissa, then seven, after a man broke into their Aurora, Colorado, home and bludgeoned them with a hammer in 1984. The then-toddler narrowly survived the gruesome assault - suffering from a shattered jaw and skull, as well as broken bones in both of her arms and legs. Now, she has opened up about the aftermath of the hideous incident in an upcoming episode of People Magazine Investigates, admitting that it affected her for years, resulting in her turning to drugs as a teen and attempting to take her own life at age 17. On January 16, 1984, a man named Alex Ewing, now 61, broke into the Bennett house through their unlocked garage. Vanessa's dad Bruce tried to fight him off, but Ewing ultimately bashed his head in with a hammer, before slashing his throat with a knife, which he had taken from their kitchen. A woman who watched her family get brutally murdered by a hammer-wielding stranger when she was just three years old has spoken out about the harrowing attack. She is pictured as a kid Vanessa Bennett (seen right with her family), now 42, witnessed the horrifying deaths of her parents, Bruce, then 27, and Debra, then 26, as well as her older sister, Melissa, then seven In 1984, a man named Alex Ewing (pictured in 1984), now 61, broke into their Aurora, Colorado, home and bludgeoned them with a hammer He then sexually assaulted the little girls and their mother, before beating all three of them with the tool, resulting in Debra and Melissa dying from the attack. The then-toddler narrowly survived the gruesome assault - suffering from a shattered jaw and skull, as well as broken bones in both of her arms and legs. She is pictured as a child However, Vanessa somehow made it out alive, and she was found unconscious by her grandmother the next morning, covered in blood and clinging to life. 'There's no fixing what he took from me,' Vanessa told the outlet while discussing the episode, entitled The Colorado Hammer Killer, which will air on July 11 on Investigation Discovery and Discovery+. In the years after the attack, Vanessa also told A&E back in May that she suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and attempted suicide by cutting her wrists. 'As a child, I dont think I really acknowledged what happened, but I was made fun of by other kids,' she explained. 'I grew up with my paternal grandma. I had insomnia, and I was always angry. 'I have borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. When I was a teenager, I was a cutter and I slit my wrists.' She was eventually sent to boarding school but became pregnant at age 18. However, three months after she welcomed a son, he was taken from her by child protective services since she admitted she 'didn't know how to be a mother.' She then started doing cocaine and heroine at age 19. She also had run-ins with the law and was homeless for many years. 'I have been homeless. I lived under a bridge with my boyfriend. We went to a hospital nearby to wash our hair,' she recalled to A&E. 'I was in jail for things like shoplifting, assault, domestic violence, trespassing, drug possession.' However, when she turned 30, she decided to 'stop being a victim' and has since gotten clean. Now, Vanessa (seen in 2018) has opened up about the aftermath of the hideous incident in an upcoming episode of People Magazine Investigates On January 16, 1984, Ewing broke into the Bennett house (pictured) through their unlocked garage. He bashed Bruce's head in with a hammer, before slashing his throat with a knife She is now married to a man named Frankie Willard, 39, and works as a public speaker, sharing her story with the world in the hopes of helping other people. She currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, with Frankie and their pet cat, and dreams of finishing her college degree and becoming a drug counselor. Vanessa also connected with her son in 2018, telling A&E, 'He is a straight-A student. Its nice to see that I created somebody ... that portrays good things, because I felt I was so evil. He knows he can call me if he wants to.' He then sexually assaulted the little girls and their mother, before beating all three of them with the tool, resulting in Debra and Melissa dying from the attack. Vanessa is seen recently 'I am in a better place [now],' she continued. 'We are getting by. I am very resourceful. 'Everybody throughout my life asked me how could I go on without my parents. For me, its my will to live. 'My will to live was so strong that I never gave up. Especially as an adult - in any situation, I dont give up.' She added to People that she is 'unbreakable' and 'a survivor,' while calling Ewing 'a coward.' Ewing wrecked havoc in Aurora and other nearby Colorado towns over the span of 12 days throughout 1984, entering into many other homes in the middle of the night and attacking more victims - including Patricia Smith, Jim and Kim Haubenschild, and Donna Holm; the latter three were able to survive. 'I woke up in the early hours with this incredible pain,' Kim recalled in the upcoming People Investigates episode. 'It was right on the top of my head. 'I immediately sat up and there was a person standing at the foot of the bed and he had a hammer. 'I saw his silhouette lift up the hammer and I screamed. At that point, he threw the hammer at me.' However, Vanessa somehow made it out alive. She was found unconscious by her grandmother the next morning, clinging to life. Police are seen outside her home In the years after, Vanessa (seen in 2018) told A&E that she suffered from PTSD and attempted suicide by cutting her wrists. She also struggled with drug addiction but is now clean Ewing wrecked havoc in Colorado over the span of 12 days throughout 1984, entering into many other homes and attacking more victims before he was arrested for attempted murder He then moved to Arizona where he continued his spree, attacking a man named Roy Williams in his home. He also tried to kill Nancy and Chris Barry in Nevada with an axe, which resulted in him getting arrested on August 9, 1984, for attempted murder. He was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years in prison; then, in 2018, DNA evidence linked him to the other attacks, including the assault and slayings of the Bennett family. Ewing was later found guilty for the crimes, and he is now serving four consecutive life sentences. In 2018, while he was already in prison, DNA evidence linked him to the assault and slayings of the Bennett family. Ewing was later found guilty for the crimes, and he is now serving four consecutive life sentences 'Some people may call him an animal, but I wont because I think animals have a purpose in this world,' Vanessa's grandmother, Connie Bennett, told the court during his trial, per 9Wants. 'I feel he has shown no remorse for what he has done. I will not say that he has destroyed our family lives. We are a strong family, and were leading productive lives. 'However what he has done has left us with extreme sorrow and a feeling of loss, and a wound that will never heal.' Vanessa added, 'I didnt just lose my parents and my sister. I lost my trust in people and my dignity and pride. I lost the person I was supposed to be. I lost my sanity. 'I look in the mirror every day and look at myself and I hate who I am. And I hate what I had to go through and still go through.' She told A&E that she was 'shocked' when she found out the killer had been identified, more than three decades after the tragic event. 'I figured they would never catch him,' she admitted. 'I figured he was either in jail or he was dead. Theres only so many roads you can go with that.' When asked if she felt any relief she explained, 'Not really. My life had already been ruined. 'I felt like if it [catching the killer] made everybody comfortable, it was great, and it should be. But for me, the damage had already been done.' The lunch appointment with a respected business contact had been on my calendar for some time. Wed never met, but I admired her enormous success and couldnt wait to greet her in person. It seemed only right that we should meet in one of Londons finest restaurants. The kind of place where snowy white tablecloths, sparkling crystal and tasteful floral centrepieces exude timeless elegance. My formidable guest arrived looking just as stylish as the surroundings all artfully applied make-up and sophisticated designer trouser-suit. Yet any expectation of a graceful dining experience was rapidly skewered when she began tucking into her meal. Frankly, her table manners would have made a hungry toddler wince. Jo Bryant met a business contact in London with bad table manners who ate with her mouth full and picked her teeth (stock image) With her head lowered towards her plate, she shovelled the delicate mushroom risotto into her mouth like a stoker heaping coal into the boiler of a steam engine. Barely pausing for breath, she chattered constantly with her mouth full (making me a captive audience to her mastication) and picked her teeth. Hurrying through the meeting, I couldnt get away fast enough departing with raging indigestion and crumbling respect for a woman I had admired so much. So I cheered a hearty hear, hear when author Dame Susan Hill revealed this week how disgusted she is by bad table manners. I cant stand it when people eat with their mouths open, she said. Its a cliche to say that manners or, rather, table manners cost nothing. Yet its remarkable how many people, by default or design, demonstrate complete disregard for polite conduct when eating. And where once we might have thought such behaviour to be the preserve of the unreconstructed male, it seems a remarkable number of women now have gutchurning dining habits, too. Its something which, as an etiquette expert, I find perplexing and dispiriting. The question is, why? I spent a decade at Debretts as an etiquette tutor; and as the author of more than 15 books on etiquette, I teach people, among other things, table manners. I do wonder whether those who fail in this regard might not have been taught properly as children. (Im teaching my own two, aged seven and 11, a little bit at a time, with lots of positive reinforcement.) Or have those with the conduct of a zoo animal at feeding time simply forgotten manners once drummed into them, since theres no reason to remember them in our more casual modern age? If it is the latter, what a great shame, because they are so fundamental. They telegraph to others that we are polite, that we respect food and those who have prepared it, as well as safeguarding us from messy eating. She says that women might lack good table manners nowadays as they are used to eating in a rush (stock image) Believe me, if you raise your fork to meet your mouth rather than lower your mouth to meet your fork, I guarantee youll have a much neater dining experience. And it might help you to find romance, since one survey found that 74 per cent of men said that they would turn down a second date if their suitors table manners werent up to scratch. HERE'S HOW TO FIX YOUR FAUX PAS Removing food from your mouth: Leave the table if you have something stuck in your teeth. Thats it. Your fingers should not be in your mouth at any point, and hiding behind a napkin is no excuse. Belching or burping: Cover your mouth, swallow it back and dont let the belch break cover. Remember, the slower you eat, the less likely youll be to trap air. Slurping drinks or soup: A deafening slurp is usually because your drink is too hot. If its not cool enough, then wait. The fork shovel: When using a knife and fork, keep your fork turned down at all times. Otherwise it acts like a garden spade. Talking with your mouth full: Your mouth should be closed when you eat. If you are called upon to speak, indicate with your hand that youre finishing your food. Leaning into food to eat: Sit up relatively straight and let the fork travel to your mouth, not the other way round. Noisy eating: This is easily avoidable if you keep your mouth closed and take smaller mouthfuls. Advertisement Perhaps women these days lack good table manners because we are all time-poor and many of us have become used to eating in a rush. They might grab lunch at their desk or gulp something standing up in the kitchen, while trying to fit in with the other needs of their household. As a result, opportunities for communal dining when our manners are on show are less frequent. Meanwhile, since eating provides extensive scope for disgusting conduct be it scraping up chocolate mousse with fingers or picking ones teeth for stray salad leaves lack of practice fails to hold poor comportment in check. This rush-rush culture also translates into talking with a mouthful. Instead of swallowing first before expressing a view, the assumed wisdom is that it cant wait; that everything is so fast-paced, we have no time to think, therefore we speak. Its as if we see a sort of virtue in being too busy to slow down, eat properly and listen with courtesy to our dining companions. Or maybe its fear that unless we respond immediately (despite the spag bol churning round our mouths), the opportunity to get our point across will be lost. But I also think there is a rebelliousness to this kind of macho eating, a culinary hangover from the ladette culture. After all, for too long women were told to conform. Now they are fighting back. To the point where many feel they are simply too busy or too important to observe good table manners. This is trophy behaviour that says the rules are for little people they dont apply to me. One woman I know (very loud and opinionated) will wait until her mouth is full before she makes a point. As if the drama of spluttering indignation or forceful accusation is somehow enhanced by food rotating round her mouth like a washing machine in full spin. Its important to stress that what Im seeing isnt lack of etiquette, such as using a fish knife to eat steak or incorrectly unfolding a napkin. No, what Im talking about is an increasing number of women who simply dont know how, or dont care, to behave politely at the table. Be it leaning over fellow diners to pick, uninvited, at other peoples food or happily burping at the table. Some, of course, might not realise they are doing it. I had to retrain a friend on how to drink tea because she had no idea she was slurping so loudly (tip: wait for anything hot to cool down). Jo was surprised over a working breakfast with a journalist who constantly licked jam from her knife while having tea and pastries (stock image) One of the times I was most surprised by a womans poor table manners was over a working breakfast with a journalist. We dined on tea and pastries, during which time this sophisticated, metropolitan professional constantly licked jam from her knife. The only explanation I could find was that since this was breakfast and a casual catch-up, perhaps she thought the rules didnt count. And that lies at the heart of this problem. When poor manners are routine, they create habits which are hard to break. Hard, however, but not impossible. So ask yourself if youre a serial (or cereal, if its breakfast) offender. Remember no one notices good manners. But bad ones will be your hallmark. As they are with that high-flyer who is still making inroads in her field and who doesnt hesitate to pick her teeth at the table. Deborah Roberts has revealed she lost her oldest sister, Annette, after a years-long battle with Alzheimers disease that 'robbed her everything that made her so special.' The ABC News senior correspondent, 61, announced her sibling's death on social media Tuesday with tributes on both Twitter and Instagram, where she shared photos of Annette over the years, including their last visit together. 'So very sad to lose my oldest sister, Annette. She was a warm and inspirational presence in my life,' Roberts tweeted along with a snapshot of them at dinner together. Deborah Roberts, 61, announced the death of her oldest sister, Annette, on social media Tuesday, saying she passed away after a years-long battle with Alzheimer's disease Roberts included a throwback photo of herself with Annette in her Twitter statement, saying her sister was a 'warm and inspirational presence' in her life 'Dementia claimed her as it does more than 200 thousand Americans each year,' she added, saying it's a 'despicable disease' that she hopes 'we will find a cure for one day.' Roberts went into more detail about her sister's condition on Instagram, explaining that Annette struggled with Alzheimer's disease, which slowly destroys memory and cognitive functioning. 'We have lost the glow of a warm light in my family. My oldest sister, Annette, has left us,' she wrote. 'She struggled against Alzheimers for 5-6 years before succumbing to complications which robbed her of everything that made her so special. I hate this disease.' Roberts explained on Instagram that Annette (pictured) had died from complications related to Alzheimer's after battling the 'despicable disease' for about five to six years 'Annette was my role model as I grew up. She was the first in our family to go to college. And she always managed to look like a movie star to me,' Roberts wrote of her sister (pictured) The journalist recalled how Annette bought her and all of their siblings sets of luggage when they graduated from high school Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia among older adults, according to the National Institute on Aging, a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Roberts shared a few photos of Annette in her younger years while opening up about how she idolized her big sister. 'Annette was my role model as I grew up. She was the first in our family to go to college. And she always managed to look like a movie star to me,' she explained. 'I owe my love of high fashion to her. (Or I blame her for it).' The journalist, who was born and raised in Georgia, recalled how Annette got a job when she was a student at Fort Valley State University and used her money to buy high-end clothing at a shop in their town called Vanity Fair. The ABC News senior correspondent credited Annette for fostering her love of fashion and travel when she was growing up Roberts shared photos of herself with Annette during their last visit together while paying tribute to her big sister Roberts spent Fourth of July weekend in upstate New York with her husband, Al Roker; their 19-year-old son, Nick; and her older brother, retired Air Force Master Sgt. Jackie Bryant 'Id never seen such lovely dresses, scarves, or shoes. Annette was always the picture of elegance,' she said. 'And she was a stickler for order and tidiness. It might explain why she became an account executive.' Roberts also credited Annette for fostering her love of travel, saying her sister lived in Germany for years while her husband was stationed there in the Air Force. 'I marveled at her worldliness as she began to travel. She even gave me and all the sibs a set of luggage when we graduated HS,' she explained. 'Maybe a nudge which I gladly took.' Roberts said Annette and her family eventually moved into a 'beautiful home' in Houston, Texas. 'She was always a bit reserved and held her emotions in check but she was passionate about her son Justin, her husband Richard, and all of her family. Her granddaughter, Alana stole her heart,' she added. The journalist shared photos from their Top Gun-themed holiday celebration on Instagram On Wednesday, the day after she announced Annette's death, she shared a video of a tranquil lake with the caption: 'Peace' Annette's passing comes five months after Roberts mourned the loss of her brother-in-law Lawrence Clarington, who was her sister Tina's partner for more than 40 years 'Annette was a pragmatic and strong woman who believed in possibilities. While Im relieved that her suffering has ended, I will miss her fiercely.' Roberts spent Fourth of July weekend in upstate New York with her husband, Al Roker; their 19-year-old son, Nick; and her older brother, retired Air Force Master Sgt. Jackie Bryant. On Wednesday, the day after she announced Annette's death, she shared a video of a tranquil lake with the caption: 'Peace' Annette's passing comes five months after Roberts mourned the loss of her brother-in-law Lawrence Clarington, who was her sister Tina's high school sweetheart and partner for more than 40 years. 'It is a hard truth for us to accept that this bright light has dimmed. But his memory never will. We miss you terribly Lawrence. Rest In Peace,' she wrote on Instagram in February. The prices of oil plunged by roughly 9% on Tuesday, which is the biggest daily drop observed since March, due to growing fears of a global recession and lockdowns in China that could reduce demand. Specific prices were at $102.77 per barrel for global benchmark Brent crude, which is a $10.73, or 9.5% drop in price. On the other hand, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 8.2% or $8.93 to settle at $99.50 per barrel. There was no settlement for WTI on Monday due to it being a U.S. holiday. Lowering Gas Prices Both benchmarks logged their biggest daily percentage drop since Mar. 9 and hit share prices of major oil and gas companies. In a statement, the director of energy futures at Mizuho, Robert Yawger, said that they were "getting creamed, and the only way you can explain that away is fear of recession." Similar to natural gas, gasoline, and equities, which often serve as a demand indicator for crude, oil futures also sank. On the other hand, mass COVID-19 testing in China fueled fears of potential lockdowns that threaten to deepen cuts to oil consumption, as per Reuters. In a statement, Shanghai authorities said they would start new rounds of mass testing of the roughly 25 million residents of the city over a three-day period. They cited an effort to trace infections linked to an outbreak that was discovered at a karaoke bar. Read Also: Jeff Bezos Slams Joe Biden After POTUS Blames Oil Companies Over High Gas Prices; White House Fires Back The senior vice president for trading at BOK Financial, Dennis Kissler, said that the world was seeing what he called "panic liquidation" due to nervousness about global situations. There have been concerns that U.S. summer driving season demand would drop after the Fourth of July holiday which also weighed on the market. According to Business Insider, despite the drop in price, the price of oil is still relatively high in some markets. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's state-run producer said that it would increase prices next month for its Asian buyers. International Situation Based on AAA data, for 21 consecutive days, the prices of gasoline have been on the decline, which is considered their longest losing streak since April 2020 in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, the average gas price is $4.8 per gallon, which is a decrease from last week's $4.881 per gallon but still a big jump from the year-ago average of $3.134. The recently observed market trends also provide United States President Joe Biden with a little leg room as he faces limited policy options on lowering fuel costs. The Democrat's recent proposal to suspend the federal gas tax was quickly dismissed by other lawmakers. Furthermore, the oil industry has been focused on returning capital to shareholders, despite Biden's calls for companies to ramp up investment and production quicker. Some experts are warning that Americans are getting a little bit too excited ahead of the summer driving season due to dropping gas prices. Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for AAA, said in a Tuesday blog post that domestic gasoline demand recently dipped, taking some pressure off of pump prices. He noted that roughly 80% of stations were now selling regular for under $5 per gallon, Newsweek reported. Related Article: Gas Tax Rebate: These States Provide New Stimulus Checks for Eligible Residents @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Foodies are obsessing over the new Cadbury boysenberry ripple chocolate block after it officially launched in Australia. The decadent sweet treat is made with ripples of dairy milk and dream white chocolate with a boysenberry flavoured jelly and vanilla flavoured creme centre. The decadent offering first launched in New Zealand before landing in Australia and is currently only available at 7-Eleven stores. Cadbury's new boysenberry ripple chocolate block (pictured) is made with a soft boysenberry jelly and vanilla creme centre and is covered in dairy milk and dream white chocolate Chef Nick Vavitis (pictured) recorded himself trying the chocolate for the first time and shared a review with his 104,000 Instagram followers. 'Wow, Cadbury Australia has done a really good job here, guys,' he said Chef Nick Vavitis recorded himself trying the chocolate for the first time and shared a review with his 104,000 Instagram followers. 'Wow, Cadbury Australia has done a really good job here, guys,' he said, adding: 'It reminds me exactly of I can't even speak, it's so good!' In the caption of his social media post, Nick wrote: 'VERYYYY YUM. This reminds me of Whittakers Jelly tip chocolate which is one of my favourites. 'The dream and milk chocolate is mixed well and there's a stronggggggg boysenberry taste which mixed well with the vanilla creme. Super different and super yum.' He then rated the chocolate an astonishing 14 out of ten and seemed lost for words. A photo shared on Facebook showed the tasty centre oozing out of one chocolate square A photo shared on Facebook showed the tasty centre oozing out of one chocolate square. The Instagram account @FoodFindsGeelong also shared an Instagram review, stating the product has a 'good ratio of silky jelly to chocolate' and are pleased it's now available Down Under. 'We love Jelly Tip Whittakers and boysonberry ice cream so this is the perfect combination,' the post read. 'Could always do with more vanilla creme and maybe a stronger boysenberry flavour but really well done and it's great to see a different flavour that hasn't been done - 10/10.' In the comments, others seemed excited to try the new offering themselves. Advertisement An dreamy coastal mansion with a luxurious Mediterranean-inspired design, 10-person sauna, in-house bar and a rooftop terrace with ocean views is wowing all who step through its doors. The incredible beachside property, aptly named Nirvana, is in Palm Beach, half an hour south of the Gold Coast city centre. Behind its towering creamy white facade, the four-storey home features an indoor-outdoor kitchen and a luxurious living area splashed with crisp whites and earthy tones for a coastal holiday feel. Take a look inside an incredibly luxurious beachside mansion, dubbed Nirvana, for its Mediterranean-style design, opulent master bedroom, rooftop terrace, private bar and pool The incredible beachside property, aptly named Nirvana, is in Palm Beach half an hour south of the Gold Coast city centre and has been the second most viewed property in Queensland since it hit the market late last month Behind it's towering creamy white facade with curved details and greenery draped balconies, the chic home is split over four levels with high-end features throughout The semi-covered magnesium pool has a custom cabana and an adjacent stairway takes guests down to a grassy courtyard and powder room Vendors Josh and Courtney Coghlan told realestate.com.au they knocked down a run-down 1950s cottage that was infested with rats and had a leaking roof to make way for the uber-stylish five-bedroom pad they call 'heaven on earth' Owners Josh and Courtney Coghlan told realestate.com.au they knocked down a run-down 1950s cottage that was infested with rats and had a leaking roof to make way for the uber-stylish five-bedroom pad they call 'heaven on earth'. Their love of 90s music and the home's dreamy coastal feel helped them when coming up with a name for the home. 'When we were thinking of the name for our piece of paradise she called me one day and said 'I've got it- it's heaven on earth' and I said 'what do you mean' and she said 'Nirvana',' Josh said. 'It translates to heaven on earth and is also one of our favourite bands of all time.' The kitchen boasts chic gold hardware, custom lighting, open shelves, smooth stone benchtops and a butler's pantry and the lounge opens out to a spacious terrace like those in Greek resorts. Up a curved staircase is the open, indoor-outdoor kitchen and living area with a palette of crisp whites and neutral tones that is the central hub of the home Sleek circular windows, arched doorways the curved staircase create a theme and add to the Mediterranean aesthetic while the three-metre high ceilings give the home a sense of grandeur Upstairs, the sophisticated master suite has two private terraces, a walk-in wardrobe-slash-dressing room fit for a celebrity and an opulent ensuite The stunning ensuite features a huge arched mirror, mosaic tiles, a walk-through double shower, freestanding bathtub and balcony Upstairs, the master suite has two private terraces, a walk-in wardrobe fit for a celebrity and a dreamy ensuite. The stunning ensuite features a huge arched mirror, mosaic tiles, a walk-through double shower, freestanding bathtub and balcony. A gallery space and built-in home study leads up a set of stairs to the spectacular sun-drenched roof terrace that looks over the suburbs to the ocean and has a huge 10-person sauna. On the bottom level, there is a stretching multi-purpose room with a natural stone feature wall, a built-in bar that doubles as a second kitchen and bi-folding glass doors that lead out to another terrace overlooking the pool. A gallery space and built-in home study leads up a set of stairs to the spectacular sun-drenched roof terrace that looks over the suburbs to the ocean A neon sign above the downstairs bar reading 'Come as your are' is a subtle nod to the iconic band and the property's moniker which is proudly displayed on the front wall Other features include a rooftop sauna that fit 10 people, a stretching multi-purpose room with a natural stone feature wall and a built-in bar that doubles as a second kitchen The couple, who live in the home with their two young sons, spared no expense when building the magnificent mansion after buying the block for $628,000 in 2016 The home is set to fetch a high price when it goes under the hammer on Saturday July 16 The magnesium pool has a custom cabana and an adjacent stairway takes guests down to a grassy courtyard and powder room. A neon sign above the downstairs bar reading 'Come as your are' is a subtle nod to the iconic band and the property's moniker which is proudly displayed on the front wall. The couple, who live in the home with their two young sons, spared no expense when building the magnificent mansion after buying the block for $628,000 in 2016. 'We went though a list of wants and needs for the house and we started talking about five bedrooms plus a separate entertaining area, in-house bar and rooftop terrace so there was no scope to just have it on a small scale,' Josh said. Aldi Australia has announced it will be opening its first pop-up bar in the heart of the Sydney CBD - but only for two days. On July 15 and 16, the new experience called 'The Trophy Room' will showcase some of the award-winning wines sold at by the supermarket giant along with cheeses to pair. A night out at the bar will cost just $4.41 and includes a gin cocktail, but you can also order a 'tasting experience' where Aldi wines are paired with the supermarket's cheeses. On July 15 and 16, the new experience called 'The Trophy Room' will showcase some of the most popular wines sold at by the supermarket giant along with cheeses to pair Those interested in attending will need to act quickly and purchase tickets online While the tasting experience itself is complimentary, guests will need to pay extra for glasses of wine and cheese. A glass of Pinot Grigio will cost just 83 cents, with the most expensive glass on the menu, a Pinot Noir from Otago in New Zealand, just $2.49 a glass. Aldi is pairing the wines with some of its popular cheeses, including a triple cream brie for 56 cents a serve, and a smooth blue cheese for 62 cents. The stylish bar launches at a time when Australians are struggling with soaring cost of living. The boujee but affordable bar launches at a time when Australians are most concerned with the rising cost of living A glass of wine is no more than $2.49, and cheese costs up to 90c per serve Jason Bowyer, ALDI Wine Expert and Buying Director said: 'The Trophy Room is a first for Aldi Australia, demonstrating that a fine wine and dining experience doesn't have to dent your wallet. And what's even better, you can replicate the exact experience at home. 'The reality is everyone can have a wine rack and cheese draw worthy of the title the "Trophy Room" if they shop the products on offer at Aldi.' He went on to describe the value of the range as 'undisputable' and is excited to offer customers the unique experience. Aussies who fancy a seat at the bar will have to be quick as The Trophy Room is open for only two nights. To select a sitting and purchase tickets click here. Water births provide 'clear benefits' for mothers and their newborns, with fewer complications, evidence suggests. A water birth involves using a birthing pool to help with relaxation and pain relief during labour. In some instances the mother exits the pool for the final stages of labour, while others remain in the pool for the birth and bring the newborn to the surface to start breathing. Researchers analysed 36 studies involving more than 150,000 women to compare the interventions needed during and after labour between the two different types of water birth compared to standard care, without the use of a birthing pool. Analysis revealed a water birth regardless of whether the woman gave birth in or out of the pool 'has clear benefits to women'. Compared with standard care, a water birth significantly reduced the use of epidurals or injected opioids, and were linked to less pain and heavy bleeding after the birth. A water birth also increased mothers' satisfaction levels and the odds of an intact perineum, however there were more instance of umbilical cord breakage, the scientists said. A water birth involves using a birthing pool to help with relaxation and pain relief during labour (file image) The practice was deemed to be as safe as standard care and did not increase the rate of caesarean sections. Writing in the journal BMJ Open the researchers, from Oxford Brookes University, said: 'Water immersion provides benefits for the mother and newborn when used in the obstetric setting, making water immersion a low-tech intervention for improving quality and satisfaction with care. WHAT IS A WATER BIRTH? A water birth is when a baby is born using a deep bath or birthing pool. Being in water during labour or birth is relaxing for mothers-to-be and may help with pain - however some pain relief is not offered. The water can help support the mother's weight, making it easier to move around and feel more in control during labour. It can help with back pain as well as stretching the vagina as the baby comes out. Not all births are eligible for a water birth. A baby which is breech or preterm cannot be born in water, or twins or triplets. Mothers cannot have pre-eclampsia, and infection, high temperature or active herpes, for example. Babies cannot drown when they are born in the water because it comes from the womb - where it survives in fluid - into the water of the pool. Once it is slowly brought up to the surface, it will take its first breathe and cannot be re-submerged. Advertisement 'Water immersion is an effective method to reduce pain in labour, without increasing risk.' They added that doctors should be 'mindful' to avoid pulling on the umbilical cord when bringing the newborn to the surface of the water, as this could explain the increased risk of umbilical cord breakage in water birth scenarios. The authors cautioned that while most of the studies included were conducted in obstetric units, further research is needed to analyse the effects of a water birth in a midwife-led unit or at home. Commenting on the research Clare Livingstone, professional policy adviser at the Royal College of Midwives, said: 'This is really good news for women choosing to have a water birth or thinking of having one. 'There has been previous research outlining the benefits for women and this significant study adds weight to those. It is also positive because it is more information for women when deciding how they want to give birth. 'Water births are becoming more widely available for women across the UK, but this isn't the case everywhere. The challenge now is to ensure this choice is open to all women wherever they live.' Water births started gaining in popularity when the Department of Health recommended them for pain relief in 1993. They have been on the rise ever since with about 10 per cent of women in the UK giving birth using the method. But in the US it is not as common. This is because health officials don't recommend it because of a lack of conclusive evidence of its risks and benefits. Gwyneth Paltrow, Fearne Cotton and Pamela Anderson reportedly all opted for water births. Being married may help cancer patients survive for longer, if new research is to be believed. Chinese scientists found 72 per cent of married men and women were likely to be alive five years after being diagnosed with gastric cancer. Academics theorised this was due to the 'emotional encouragement' their partner offered them, as well nagging them to get symptoms checked earlier. At the other end of the scale, widows had the worst prognosis (60 per cent). Marital status of patients should now be considered a risk factor, the experts argued, calling for greater support to those who are single or separated. A study of over 3,500 US adults suggests a stomach cancer patient's martial status is a factor that may influence their chances of survival Stomach cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cancer killer globally. Anhui Medical University academics examined data from 3,600 patients diagnosed with early stage stomach cancer between 2010 and 2015. They compared a number of factors, such as a patient's age, tumour size and marital status, to survival rates. The scientists said they were inspired to explore the impact of marital status on stomach cancer survival after previous studies had shown being married boosted the life expectancy of liver and lung cancer patients. What are the signs of stomach cancer? Stomach cancer is a cancer that's found anywhere in the stomach. It has many possible symptoms which can be hard to spot such as: heartburn or acid reflux having problems swallowing (dysphagia) feeling or being sick symptoms of indigestion, such as burping a lot feeling full very quickly when eating loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to a lump at the top of your tummy pain at the top of your tummy feeling tired or having no energy These symptoms can be caused by range of problems and might not be cancer. People experiencing them are advised to contact their GP. Advertisement Study participants were split almost evenly by gender. About 54 per cent were married, 17 per cent widowed, 14 per cent single and 7 per cent divorced. The remaining were either classed as separated or had an unknown marital status. While tumour size was unsurprisingly the biggest single factor in survival, the team said marital status was found to have a 'moderate influence'. 'We speculate this might be due to the fact that married patients had better financial conditions and emotional encouragement,' they said. 'Separated patients might be more likely to experience financial difficulties [and] emotional loss.' They also added having a spouse could also lead to early diagnosis of gastric cancer due to a partner encouraging someone to get their symptoms checked. The main symptoms of stomach cancer include heartburn or acid reflux, problems swallowing, nausea or omitting, indigestion, pain or lumps in the stomach or losing weight without meaning to. About 6,500 new cases of stomach cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year with about 4,000 people dying of the disease each year. About 26,000 Americans are diagnosed with stomach cancer each year, and some 11,000 deaths from the disease are recorded each year. Only about 17 per cent of people diagnosed with stomach cancer survive for 10 years, according to Cancer Research UK. Stomach cancer is more common in people aged 75 and over, with men more likely to get it than women. The latest study was published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine. Women had significantly better survival rates overall, regardless of whether they were married, divorced or widowed. Advertisement Covid's most contagious variant yet is now dominant in England, sequencing data shows as experts warn it could cause send infections to pandemic highs. Data from the Sanger Institute, one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres, shows six in 10 positive swabs it examined in the week to June 25 were the BA.5 version of Omicron. It has now officially displaced BA.2, which caused infections to breach 4million in April and prompted NHS bosses to call for the return of masks just days after No10 abandoned all restrictions. BA.5, which is also gathering steam in the US and across Europe, is thought to be a third more transmissible than its ancestor, considered just as infectious as measles. Government advisers, however, believe it is just as mild. Experts told MailOnline the strain could push daily infections to a 'higher point than previously seen'. Covid cases have already doubled over the last month and NHS hospitals have seen admissions jump. In light of the virus' current resurgence and concerns it could disrupt the health service's efforts to tackle its ever-growing backlog, officials are said to be considering expanding the autumn booster vaccine campaign to cover all over-50s. Hours before resigning over a lack of confidence in Boris Johnson, ex-Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he had told the NHS to gear up for a wider programme than anticipated. Provisional guidance recommended restricting jabs to care home residents, over-65s, frontline health and social workers and vulnerable young people. Data from the Sanger Institute shows BA.5 was behind 58.6 per cent of all infections it swabbed in the week to June 25 up by a fifth from one week earlier when it caused 48.8 per cent of cases. Since the was first detected in South Africa in February it has raised concern over the speed of its growth. Sanger Institute figures shows its prevalence has nearly doubled every week. It caused just 5.8 per cent of infections in the week to May 21, rising to 10.4 per cent in the week May 28, 21.6 per cent up to June 4 and 36.6 per cent in the seven days to June 11 Covid infections have shot up in England to just over 1.8million according to the latest Office of National Statistics data This graph shows the number of deaths directly due to Covid recorded in England and Wales. The number of deaths being recorded these nations currently is far below that of previous waves earlier year and a sheer fraction of those seen at the start of 2021 Hours before resigning over a lack of confidence in Boris Johnson, former Health Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured today) told the Cabinet that an extra six million people should be offered a fourth dose to control hospital admissions amid the increase in infection, over fears about crippling the NHS this winter Over-50s could get a FOURTH Covid jab in autumn to fend off NHS winter crisis as Omicron drives up new cases and hospital admissions Over-50s are set to be offered a Covid booster jab as early as autumn as ministers plan the latest fightback against a surge in the number of infections. Around six million people are understood to be in line for a fourth shot as the latest sub-variants of the Omicron strain continue to rapidly spread. Outbreaks across Europe are being fuelled by Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, which are thought to be even more infectious than the BA.2 strain that caused infections in the UK to spiral to a record 4.1million in April. Hospitalisations have trebled over the past month, with roughly 1,500 virus-infected patients now being taken to wards every day. Former minister Sajid Javid had addressed cabinet colleagues about the recent spike in infections, but The Times reported no new restrictions are understood to be on the cards as of yet. Mr Javid, who resigned as Health Secretary just hours after issuing his warning, had updated the cabinet about the Covid situation for the first time in months after infections soared in recent weeks. Rather than ramp up any return of restrictions, health bosses are said to be prepared to encourage increased vaccination rates over autumn in time for any winter rush. Advertisement Since BA.5 was first detected in South Africa in February, experts have been concerned over the speed of its growth. Data from the Sanger Institute shows it was behind 58.6 per cent of all infections in the week to June 25 up by a fifth from one week earlier. Until now, its prevalence had nearly doubled every week. It caused just 5.8 per cent of infections in mid-May. Meanwhile, the separate but closely-related Omicron sub-strain BA.4, which was labelled as a variant of concern alongside BA.5, seems to have slowed. It was behind just 25.8 per cent of cases in the most recent week, compared to 25.1 per cent one week earlier. While this data provides the most up to date picture, the researchers noted the positive tests it sequences are not a representative sample of the population. And ever since the Government's 2billion-a-month free testing scheme was axed, it has examined fewer swabs which could raise discrepancies in its data. However, figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) paint a similar picture. In a report last week, it noted that BA.5 would 'most likely' become dominant in the UK, estimating that 39.5 per cent of all cases in England were caused by the strain by June 15. Its data shows BA.5 was most prevalent in the South East. The UKHSA said BA.5's growth advantage over BA.2 would 'plausibly lead to increased community transmission'. The formerly dominant strain caused Covid infections to soar to record highs in April. Virus-tracking data from the Office for National Statistics, now considered the best barometer for monitoring the outbreak, showed 4.1million people in England were infected during the last peak. Its most recent update based on tens of thousands of random swabs show that roughly 1.8million were infected towards the end of June, up by a third on the previous week. As well as the new variants, celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, half-term holidays and warm weather are also thought to be fuelling the latest surge. Some have also pointed to Britons mistaking Covid symptoms for hay fever. Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline: 'At present it does look like BA.4/BA.5 together will push total new infections per day to a higher point than previously seen.' But he added that that BA.5 may cause 'less severe disease on average per infection' compared to earlier strains, although it is too early to know for certain. 'But of course the total amount of severe disease depends on both the number of infections and the risk of severe disease per infection, so [it is] not yet [possible] to say have much severe disease/how many deaths will occur in total,' he added. Dr Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds, told MailOnline: 'We have known for some time now that another the third significant wave was due to hit the UK and we are now very much within it.' He said it is predominantly due to BA.5, which 'yet again demonstrates that the virus' capacity to evolve shows no signs of abating'. He said the fact people are going about life largely as normal 'shows how far we have come, in terms of limiting severe disease and deaths due to this virus'. Sky-high immunity rates from the UK's vaccination roll-out and repeated waves have drastically blunted the threat of the virus, rendering it into something that resembles the flu. But Dr Griffin noted that the 'total reliance upon vaccines and antivirals' to control the outbreak rather than also using measures such as masks and testing doesn't take into account that immunity wanes over time and that the virus can evolve. He called for increased access to Covid tests, masks in crowded spaces and support for people to isolate when they are infected, which would 'not only reduce the impact of large waves, but do more to reduce the constant plateau of infections we have seen since last July'. Professor Gary McLean, an immunologist from London Metropolitan University, told MailOnline that whenever a new variant emerges that has a transmission advantage, it 'displaces the previously dominant variant'. He said: 'This could be due to better infection of cells, more virus copies being made, lasting longer in the airways of infected people, or better survival rates in the environment. 'This is normal RNA virus evolution in real time, most mutations we don't see as they don't give the virus an advantage or are detrimental. 'But those mutations that are tolerated and/or provide a fitness advantage become selected over time until they dominate. Data from the Sanger Institute shows BA.5 (dark pink) was behind 58.6 per cent of all infections it swabbed in the week to June 25 up by a fifth from one week earlier when it caused 48.8 per cent of cases Figures from the UK Health Security Agency show that BA.5 (yellow) was behind 39.5 per cent of all cases in England in the week to June 15 Latest NHS England data shows 1,572 people infected with Covid were admitted to hospital on June 29, up 38.7 per cent in a week. The number of patients in hospital jumped by 39.1 per cent to 9,389 in the week to July 1, while the number of severely ill virus patients, who require medical ventilation, increased by 30.4 per cent. However, official figures show that just 37.5 per cent of these patients are primarily admitted to hospital because they are unwell with the virus, while the remaining two-thirds were hospitalised for another reason and also tested positive for the virus Still NO spike in Covid deaths: Just FIVE more virus fatalities were recorded in England and Wales last week - despite cases having more than DOUBLED over the past month Covid deaths in England and Wales remain below 25 per day despite infections having almost doubled over the past month, Government data shows. Advocates of No10's strategy, which saw the final pandemic-era restrictions axed in April, have hailed the figures as more proof that the darkest days of the pandemic are over and that new economically-damaging curbs aren't needed. Yet critics of the approach have already called for a return of mask wearing and for Brits to avoid meeting indoors because of the virus' resurgence. Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today show there were 166 Covid deaths registered across the two countries in the week ending June 24. This was barely a change on the 161 logged in the previous seven-day spell. For comparison, this is just a fraction of April's toll, when cases soared to pandemic highs and deaths peaked at 740. The figures don't reflect the total number of deaths because they look specifically at fatalities due to the virus, as opposed to ones where Covid may have contributed. Although, even when including these deaths which 'involve' the virus, the toll is still only 285 barely a quarter of levels seen earlier in the year. And the impact of the current surge in infections may not be felt for another fortnight, given how long it takes for the infected to become seriously ill. Advertisement 'What we don't want to see is a variant appearing that causes more severe disease or escapes existing immunity entirely. There is always a chance of that happening.' However, the strain is not expected to cause a surge in hospitalisations worse than previous strains this year. The UKHSA noted that there is 'no evidence' that the strain causes more severe illness than previous strains. The agency said BA.5 was linked with only a 'small effect at present' on hospitalisations which may be due to the virus being less severe itself or due to built-up population immunity. Latest NHS England data shows 1,572 people infected with Covid were admitted to hospital on June 29 up 38.7 per cent in a week. However, official figures show that just 37.5 per cent of patients in hospital are primarily admitted because they are unwell with the virus. The proportion of so-called 'incidental admissions' has gradually increased over time, illustrating how the disease has become milder. ICU rates are still a fraction of previous waves and deaths in England and Wales are sitting at below 25 a day. Trust bosses fear Britain's uptick will jeopardise efforts to tackle the record backlogs that built-up during the pandemic. Surging cases can trigger a rise in staff absences and pile extra pressure on hospitals because infected patients still need to be isolated. Critics of No10's approach have already called for a return of mask wearing and for Brits to avoid meeting indoors because of the virus' resurgence. Some trusts have already announced all staff and visitors will have to wear coverings in all settings again unless exempt amid the rise in cases. It comes as it was revealed former Health Secretary Mr Javid yesterday told the Cabinet that he expects that all over-50s will be offered a Covid vaccine as part of the autumn booster rollout, which was previously expected to only target the over-65s. He told his team two weeks ago to 'be ready for it to be the over-50s'. He said the move was in response to the recent spike in infections but set out that no new restrictions are understood to be on the cards as of yet, The Times reported. Mr Javid stepped down last night, saying that the Government was failing to act 'in the national interest' after the Prime Minister admitted he had appointed MP Chris Pincher to Deputy Chief Whip after being informed about his inappropriate conduct. The former Health Secretary has been replaced by the PM's former Chief of Staff Steve Barclay. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the Government on its vaccination campaigns, published interim guidance in May that the over-65s, frontline NHS and social care staff and at-risk 16 to 64-year-olds should be offered a booster jab in the autumn. It said this would increase immunity in the population and protect the most vulnerable against severe illness, hospitalisation and death due to the virus over the winter months. But the JCVI said it was conducting an ongoing review into which groups should get the jab and it would publish final advice in the coming months. While the original Pfizer and Moderna jabs have been favoured in previous booster rollouts, the pharmaceutical giants have now made modified vaccines that target the Omicron strain. Pfizer reported last month that its jab, which was made in response to the original Omicron BA.1 strain, increased antibodies and triggered limited side effects. Although, it noted that the jab was less effective against BA.5. And Moderna said its new jab, which specifically targets BA.5 generated a strong immune response against the fast-spreading strain. Advertisement Steve Barclay has been appointed Health Secretary, replacing Sajid Javid who quit in dramatic fashion last night after questioning the Prime Minister's integrity Newly-appointed Health Secretary Stephen Barclay inherits the mammoth responsibility of clearing record pandemic backlogs, fending off a summer of NHS strikes and fixing crippling staff and bed shortages in the wider health and social care sectors. Mr Barclay, 50, replaces Sajid Javid who quit in dramatic fashion last night after questioning the Prime Minister's integrity and suggesting the Government was no longer 'competent' following a string of scandals and controversies. The new secretary of state is one of Boris Johnson's closest allies and no stranger to top jobs in Government. In his 12 years as an MP he has held a number of positions in the Treasury and Cabinet, serving as Brexit minister under Theresa May and Downing Street's Chief of Staff under Mr Johnson. He was a junior health minister for a little under a year in 2018, where despite his short tenure he earned a reputation for being efficient, reportedly describing the NHS as a 'bottomless pit'. Efficiency will likely be a priority as he tackles the waiting list crisis and justifies the extra 12.5billion post-Covid cash injection being put into the NHS each year, paid for by a controversial national insurance hike of 1.25 per cent. A record 6.5million people are in the queue for routine treatment in England and that number is expected to keep rising for another two years as patients flood back into the NHS following delays during the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of patients have been waiting longer than a year and hospitals are struggling to meet the Government's promise to axe two-year waits by the end of this month. Mr Barclay also faces the threat of strikes as unions representing staff from doctors to cleaners demand a pay rise of up to 30 per cent, claiming the workforce is underpaid. Votes on industrial action are expected in the coming months in what has been dubbed the 'summer of discontent', which could cripple the NHS. Social care staff are also quitting the sector in droves for better-paid and less stressful jobs in supermarkets, pubs and hotels, meaning elderly residents could be getting substandard care. With 160,000 posts currently unfilled, that has a knock-on effect on the bed crisis in the NHS because older patients cannot be discharged. Rapidly rising Covid cases and hospital admissions will mean Mr Barclay will also have to decide whether to reimpose face masks or other light social restrictions that his predecessor opposed, and who to target with the booster vaccine rollout this autumn. Mr Barclay will inherit Mr Javid's white paper on health disparities that was due to be published next week and was supposed to set out how England will tackle smoking and obesity. He is also walking into the role amid a row about woke language making its way into NHS guidance after a series of revelations by MailOnline. Mr Javid had ordered health service bosses to revert changes which removed 'women' or 'breasts' from guidance on the menopause, womb cancer and breastfeeding to be more inclusive to trans people. The new Health Secretary will be expected to get a grip on the crisis in general practice that has seen millions of patients struggle to see a family doctor or get an in-person appointment. MailOnline's analysis of official figures revealed just a quarter of GP appointments in England are face-to-face and with an actual doctor. The rest are a mixture of virtual or telephone consultations and appointments led by practice nurses, physiotherapists and even acupuncturists. Patient rights groups and some medics have said the problems in A&E are partly due to desperate patients turning up in emergency departments because they can't access a doctor. As the NHS crisis deepens, official statistics show that one in nine people (6.48million) were queuing for elective operations such as hip and knee replacements and cataracts surgery by April up from the 6.36m stuck in March. There are now 323,093 who have been waiting for more than a year for their operation, up 5.5 per cent, and 12,735 have been seeking treatment for more than two years, down by a quarter Separate data on A&E performance in May shows a 19,053 people were forced to wait 12 hours or more to be treated, three times longer than the NHS target. The figure is a fifth lower than last month. Less than three-quarters of patients were seen within the four-hour target of arriving at emergency departments, a slight recovery from last month but the third-lowest rate ever recorded Ambulances took an average of 39 minutes and 58 seconds to respond to category two calls, such as burns, epilepsy and strokes. This is 11 minutes and 24 seconds quicker than one month earlier but more than double the 18-minute target WHO IS STEPHEN BARCLAY? Mr Barclay went to Sandhurst military academy and served in the British Army before studying at the University of Cambridge. He has been the MP for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010. He took on a series of junior frontbench roles where he became known as a hard-working, loyal and subservient minister. Mr Barclay was promoted to the Cabinet in 2018 when Theresa May made him Brexit Secretary a job he kept even when Mr Johnson took over, in a sign of his flexibility given their vastly different views on departing the EU. He was demoted to No2 in the Treasury, during Mr Javid's final days in No11, after his Brexit ministerial brief came to an end following the UK's official departure from the EU. He moved back to the cabinet 18 months later as Cabinet Office minister. This February, a hasty reshuffle after a string of scandals including Partygate saw him appointed Mr Johnson's chief of staff, which he juggled with his cabinet role of chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. The appointment highlighted Mr Johnson's faith in the former lawyer from Lancashire. The title used to be referred to as the most powerful unelected official in the UK and Mr Barclay was the first MP to hold the role. He was part of a shake-up of No10 aimed at getting 'grown ups' in the room and stabilising his boss's premiership, which ultimately failed after the Chris Pincher row. His promotion to Health Secretary suggests Mr Johnson's team do not necessarily blame him. Advertisement Responding to the appointment of Mr Barclay, NHS bosses warned he faced 'several big and pressing challenges'. Saffron Cordery, chief executive of NHS Providers, the representative body for trusts, said: 'Trust leaders will welcome the rapid appointment of Steve Barclay as the new secretary of state for health and social care. 'He faces several big and pressing challenges. Covid continues to cast a long shadow over the NHS, with trust leaders bracing themselves for a bumpy ride over the coming months as they grapple with new and unpredictable variants alongside seasonal flu and wider winter pressures. 'NHS staff are working flat out to reduce waiting lists and to ramp up activity across all parts of the health system. But the fact remains that nearly 6.5million are people waiting for treatment, with numbers expected to rise further still. Backlogs of care impact all parts of the NHS, including mental health, community and ambulance services. 'Close attention will be paid to how the new health and social care secretary addresses several major challenges over the coming weeks. 'Top of his in-tray must be the serious workforce shortages right across the NHS, with over 105,000 vacancies across the service and the forthcoming NHS pay award, which will be made against the backdrop of a soaring cost of living crisis.' Mr Barclay went to Sandhurst military academy and served in the British Army before studying at the University of Cambridge. He has been the MP for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010. He took on a series of junior frontbench roles where he became known as a hard-working, loyal and subservient minister. Mr Barclay was promoted to the Cabinet in 2018 when Theresa May made him Brexit Secretary a job he kept even when Mr Johnson took over, in a sign of his flexibility given their vastly different views on departing the EU. He was demoted to No2 in the Treasury, during Mr Javid's final days in No11, after his Brexit ministerial brief came to an end following the UK's official departure from the EU. He moved back to the cabinet 18 months later as Cabinet Office minister. This February, a hasty reshuffle after a string of scandals including Partygate saw him appointed Mr Johnson's chief of staff, which he juggled with his cabinet role of chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. The appointment highlighted Mr Johnson's faith in the former lawyer from Lancashire. The title used to be referred to as the most powerful unelected official in the UK and Mr Barclay was the first MP to hold the role. NHS Digital data shows 64 per cent of total GP appointments were face-to-face in May. The figure is the second-highest since the height of the first Covid wave forced the majority of appointments to be held virtually. But it is still well below pre-pandemic levels, when eight in 10 appointments took place in-person. BARCLAY'S BULGING IN-TRAY LAID BARE WAITING LIST A record 6.5million people are in the queue for routine treatment in England and that number is expected to keep rising for another two years as patients flood back into the NHS following delays during the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of patients have been waiting longer than a year and hospitals are struggling to meet the Government's promise to axe two-year waits by the end of this month. More than 19,000 patients attending casualty units wait 12 hours or more to be given a bed, in conditions described by experts as 'inhumane'. Fewer than three-quarters of patients are seen within the four-hour target of arriving at overwhelmed emergency departments. Meanwhile, figures on ambulance performance in May shows ambulances took an average of 39 minutes and 58 seconds to respond to category two calls, such as burns, epilepsy and strokes double the 18-minute target. Response times for category three calls such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes averaged two hours, nine minutes and 32 seconds. Ambulances are supposed to arrive at nine in 10 category three calls within two hours. SUMMER OF STRIKES Mr Barclay also faces the threat of strikes as unions representing staff from doctors to cleaners demand a pay rise of up to 30 per cent, claiming the workforce is being underpaid. Votes on industrial action are expected in the coming months in what has been dubbed the 'summer of discontent', which could cripple the NHS. SOCIAL CARE Social care staff are also quitting the sector in droves for better-paid and less stressful jobs in shops, supermarkets, pubs and hotels, meaning elderly residents could be getting substandard care. With 160,000 posts currently unfilled, that has a knock-on effect on the bed crisis in the NHS because older patients cannot be discharged. COVID Rapidly rising Covid cases and hospital admissions will mean Mr Barclay will also have to decide whether to reimpose face masks or other light social restrictions that his predecessor opposed, and who to target with the booster vaccine rollout this autumn. Mr Barclay will inherit Mr Javid's white paper on health disparities that was due to be published next week and was supposed to set out how England will tackle smoking and obesity. NHS WOKE ROW He is also walking into the role amid a row about woke language making its way into NHS guidance after a series of revelations by MailOnline. Mr Javid had ordered health service bosses to revert changes which removed 'women' or 'breasts' from guidance on the menopause, womb cancer and breastfeeding to be more inclusive to trans people. GP APPOINTMENTS The new Health Secretary will be expected to get a grip on the crisis in general practice that has seen millions of patients struggle to see a family doctor or get an in-person appointment. MailOnline's analysis of official figures revealed just a quarter of GP appointments in England are face-to-face and with an actual doctor. The rest are a mixture of virtual or telephone consultations and appointments led by practice nurses, physiotherapists and even acupuncturists. Patient rights groups and some medics have said the problems in A&E are partly due to desperate patients turning up in emergency departments because they can't access a doctor. Advertisement He was part of a shake-up of No10 aimed at getting 'grown ups' in the room and stabilising his boss's premiership, which ultimately failed after the Chris Pincher row. His promotion to Health Secretary suggests Mr Johnson's team do not necessarily blame him. The appointment came hours after Mr Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak resigned, saying they no longer had faith in the PM. Mr Javid's resignation came just a year after his return to the Cabinet. It is the second time he has quit Mr Johnson's Government, after resigning as Chancellor in February 2020 over an order to fire his team of aides. In a devastating letter, Mr Javid wrote: 'The tone you set as a leader, and the values you represent, reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country. 'Conservatives at their best are seen as hard-headed decision-makers, guided by strong values. We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest. 'Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither. The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree. It was a moment for humility, grip and new direction. 'I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership and you have therefore lost my confidence too.' Mr Javid joined the Department of Health and Social Care in June 2021, after his predecessor Matt Hancock resigned from his Cabinet role for breaking social distancing rules by kissing and embracing an aide in his office. He faced a baptism of fire, taking the job in the middle of a pandemic. He was appointed on June 26, just days before the UK's so-called 'freedom day', when remaining Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Mr Javid stressed that he was keen to help the NHS resume usual activity and tackle the backlog of care while setting out ambitions to modernise the service. But his plans were waylaid in the autumn as the Omicron wave came to the UK and the national focus returned once more to Covid-19. The national booster programme was extended to all adults and the NHS braced for another challenging winter grappling with coronavirus. It was not until March 2022 that Mr Javid finally gave his first major speech as health secretary, when he set out his priorities for the service 'the four Ps': prevention, personalisation, performance and people. Commenting on Mr Javid's resignation, Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: 'Trust leaders thank Sajid Javid for his service, particularly in seeing through the biggest health reforms in a decade in the shape of the new Health and Social Care Act and his initiation of the Messenger review of leadership in the NHS. 'All eyes will be on how the new health and social care secretary addresses major challenges, including serious workforce shortages right across the NHS, the forthcoming NHS pay award amid the cost of living crisis, and the government's New Hospitals Programme, which promises to give the NHS much-needed capital investment to benefit patients and the quality of care. 'More support for an underfunded and overstretched social care system is also desperately overdue to help to ease mounting pressure in the whole health and care system.' Mr Javid often said that he held a unique perspective on government business, having served in a number of ministerial roles. He left behind a career in finance and became MP for Bromsgrove in 2010. He held roles in the Treasury from 2012 until he was made culture secretary in April 2014, becoming business secretary in May 2015 and housing secretary in July 2016. After being made home secretary in April 2018, Mr Javid talked openly about how he experienced racism at an early age and 'could have had a life of crime' after growing up on 'Britain's most dangerous street'. His appointment to the role made him the first British Asian to hold one of the great offices of state. In July 2019 he was appointed to Mr Johnson's first cabinet as chancellor. But he was just six months into his role, and less than a month away from delivering his first Budget, when he quit, after being told he must sack all his advisers if he wanted to keep his job. Some 16 months later Mr Javid returned to Cabinet as health secretary, making him the 31st person to hold the post since the inception of the NHS on July 5, 1948. He is the son of a bus driver who arrived in England from Pakistan in the 1960s with just a pound in his pocket. To colleagues, he is The Saj. Born in Rochdale and raised in Bristol, he went to a state school and studied economics and politics at Exeter University. Mr Javid made it to the final four in the contest to replace Theresa May as Tory leader in 2019, but dropped out and subsequently endorsed Mr Johnson. Carrie Symonds, the Prime Minister's wife, was once a special adviser to Mr Javid during his tenure as communities secretary. Juul e-cigarettes will temporarily be restored in the U.S., as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews the company's appeal of a decision to pull the products from the market late last month. The FDA chose to reject the company's application to remain on store shelves in late June as part of a larger crackdown on teen smoking and the tobacco industry overall. While many other major e-cigarette manufacturers were allowed to remain on shelves, Juul was instead rejected. The San Francisco, California, company appealed the decision. On Tuesday, America's top regulator agency cited 'scientific issues' as a reason to stay the ban and allow the products to temporarily return. The Biden administration has also cracked down cigarettes, reducing the allowed amount of nicotine in them to 'non-addictive' levels. The FDA will temporarily allow Juul to return to the market in the U.S, citing 'scientific issues' in the decision to reject the company's application to sell in America last month (file photo) 'On July 5, 2022, FDA administratively stayed the marketing denial order. The agency has determined that there are scientific issues unique to the JUUL application that warrant additional review,' the agency wrote in a tweet. 'This administrative stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order during the additional review but does not rescind it. 'All electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS products, including those made by JUUL, are required by law to have FDA authorization to be legally marketed. The stay and the agencys review does not constitute authorization to market, sell, or ship JUUL products.' Juul rocketed to popularity in the U.S. in the 2010s, as its fruit flavored nicotine products became trendy among younger smokers - leading to the company also shouldering blame for increases in teen smoking. To limit rises in teen smoking, the FDA banned fruit flavored e-cigarette devices, and forced each company to apply individually to allow their products to remain on shelves. Juul was expected to have its application approved. Juul has branded its products as devices that can help those addicted to nicotine slowly ween themselves off safely - as vape devices do not have many of the same downsides as smoking tobacco cigarettes do. Instead, though, the fruity and mint flavors in many of its devices have led to many children and teens picking up smoking - when they likely would not have otherwise. This has placed Juul, and the e-cigarette market in general, in the FDA's crosshairs in recent years. In April 2021, the agency banned menthol flavored cigarettes, while also banning all types of flavored cigars. Refillable cartridge e-cigarettes that contain fruit or mint flavors were banned as well, though cartridges that are meant to be disposed of are still allowed for sale. Flavored products in particular are often the target of regulations because they are easier to use as a gateway for people that do not smoke already, since one of the primary deterrents to picking up tobacco is the taste. Devices like JUULs have largely been blamed for recent upticks in teen tobacco usage due to their fruity flavors and an easy way to carry and use them without detection (file photo) It especially plays a role for younger smokers who use vape devices like a Juul. While they may not enjoy the taste of nicotine, it is much easier to get hooked on the fruity, tasteful, flavors. '[The bans last April] will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products,' the FDA wrote in a statement last year. 'With these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth initiation, increase the chances of smoking cessation.' Under the new rules, a company hoping to market a fruit or mint flavored refillable device must first receive approval from the FDA - which rejected hundreds of them. To get around these orders, many companies started to use synthetic forms of the drug in their devices to circumvent regulators. That loophole was closed in April. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also published a study in March finding that more than 2.5 million U.S. students had used a tobacco product of some sort in 2021 - a definition that includes nicotine devices that do not disperse tobacco. Officials reported that 80 percent of tobacco use was attributable to disposable e-cigarettes and cartridge products - like a Juul. In the study, around 2.06 million high schoolers - 13 percent of the study population - and four percent of middle schoolers - 470,000 participants - reported 'current' tobacco use. The CDC reports that more than 2.5 million students in the U.S. were 'current' users of tobacco products in 2021. This includes 13% of high schoolers and 4% of middle schoolers Disposable e-cigarettes and refillable cartridges account for over 80% of teen tobacco product usage in America For comparison, in 2020 the CDC reported that eight percent of high schoolers and three percent of middle schoolers were current tobacco users. Students were also asked if they had ever used tobacco products in their life, with 34 percent of high schoolers and 11 percent of middle schoolers reporting at least one use. E-cigarette devices were most to blame for the increase in nicotine and tobacco use over the past year, according to the CDC study. Of the students who did report being current smokers, 54 percent use a disposable e-cigarette and 29 percent reported using some sort of refillable device - similar to a Juul. Between them, the devices which allow teens to easily and conspicuously use nicotine account for over 80 percent of overall student tobacco use. Nicotine does not carry many of the same negative effects and cancer risks that tobacco, but does increase the risk of high blood pressure, artery shrinking and increased heart rate. E-cigarettes' use among school-aged children can be attributed to their flavors, and the devices resemblance to a USB stick, allowing kids to easily carry them at school without getting caught. Some states and cities have banned the sale of flavored nicotine products, though there have been mixed results as to whether they successfully prevented teens from picking up the habit. Opponents to these bans say that they will push teens to using more harmful tobacco products like cigarettes, instead of nicotine, which carries less risk. 'By bashing safer nicotine products such as vaping we are going to inadvertently encourage high schoolers to smoke instead, which will be an awful outcome,' Mark Oates, director of consumer advocacy group We Vape, told DailyMail.com in March. Monkeypox patients that are being infected as part of the current worldwide outbreak may not be exhibiting all of the typical symptoms of the virus, allowing some cases to go undetected, experts fear. A Belgian study released in pre-print on Tuesday found that some patients who had tested positive for the virus right at the start of the outbreak. It comes a week after a UK study found that many patients in the current outbreak were not experiencing fatigue or a fever - often telltale signs of infection. While this is a signal the strain of monkeypox circulating around the world is likely more mild than previous versions of the virus, it also allows for it to more easily circulate undetected. The findings have some officials alarmed as concerns that the tropical virus will become endemic outside of Africa are raised. In the U.S., 560 cases have been detected so far as part of the outbreak though real figures are likely higher because of poor surveillance in America. In the UK study, published Friday in The Lancet, 54 men who have sex with other men were inspected for potential monkeypox infection. None had any recent travel history to a nation where the virus is endemic or any known exposure to the virus. All also had at least one new sexual partner in the last three weeks. 'The commonly observed symptom of skin lesions in the anal and penile areas, and the fact that a quarter of the patients tested positive for gonorrhoea or chlamydia at the same time as the monkeypox infection, suggests that transmission of the monkeypox virus in this cohort is occurring from close skin-to-skin, for example in the context of sexual activity,' Dr Ruth Byrne, of the NHS, said in a release. The lesions were the primary symptoms experienced by the men, though, with reports of the usual fever and fatigue being limited. A Belgian study, that it still pending peer-review before official publication, made similar findings. Three men tested positive for the virus despite experiencing no symptoms and having no known contact with an infected person. This likely means they picked up the virus from someone else that was asymptomatic, and had they not found out of their own infection, could have continued to spread it to others. 'The existence of asymptomatic monkeypox infection indicates that the virus might be transmitted to close contacts in the absence of symptoms,' researchers wrote. 'Our findings suggest that identification and isolation of symptomatic individuals may not suffice to contain the outbreak,' This undetected spread is the worst fear of health officials around the world. Experts are warning that in the U.S. in particular, the undetected spread is also occurring because of how poorly federal officials have expanded access to testing and vaccines. 'Where we have lagged is streamlining testing, making vaccines available, streamlining access to the best therapeutics,' David Harvey, executive director of the NCSD told The Hill. 'All three areas have been bureaucratic and slow, and that means we haven't contained this outbreak.' First American to go public with monkeypox infection is a gay actor in Los Angeles The first American monkeypox patient to go public with his battle against the tropical virus has slammed health officials for a 'lackluster' job of testing for the virus, which has left many cases undiagnosed. Matt Ford, a self-employed actor who splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City, has spoken out to warn people that the disease 'sucks' and they should take it 'seriously.' He blasted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for their poor testing efforts, saying it took officials three days to diagnose his illness by which point he 'already knew' what they would say. Revealing his diagnosis to Buzzfeed, Ford said he caught the virus after having 'skin-to-skin contact' with another patient. The actor and writer, who describes himself as a 'proud openly gay man,' revealed he initially noticed spots in and around his 'underwear zone,' which indicated to him he had caught the virus. Over the next few days they spread across the rest of his body, including his face, arms, hands and abdomen. In total, he has counted 25 spots and said after appearing they began to 'fill with puss' and became itchy. Several especially in the 'sensitive area' became so painful they left him unable to sleep at night without taking painkillers. Advertisement Testing for the virus has been a slow and arduous process so far. When a patient begins exhibiting symptoms of the virus they are first examined for the orthopox family of viruses. The lineage includes monkeypox - along with the extinct smallpox virus - and it is likely that anyone who tests positive for it does have the tropical infection. In order to confirm a monkeypox case, samples must be sent to the CDC for testing, where it is then confirmed. Testing is slow, though. Access to these test is limited as well. This makes many experts fear that cases are going undetected. The federal government has taken steps to expand capacity but access to tests is still relatively limited. On Wednesday, the CDC announced that it had partnered with Labcorp to expand testing, doubling the capacity of testing to 20,000 per week in the near future. There have also been cases detected so far with no links to international travel or to another case of the virus - meaning there is some undetected circulation of the virus ongoing. 'We've been sort of screaming for a month about how bad the diagnostic situation is for monkeypox,' James Krellenstein, cofounder of Prep4All, told The Hill. 'And that really was a clear error, preventable, and it's very clear that this administration has not learned lessons from early Covid.' The nation's vaccine rollout has been under intense scrutiny as well. American officials have ordered around 4.4 million doses of the Jynneos vaccine - including an additional 2.5 million last week. Getting the shots into arms has been a challenge, though. New York City had its first public vaccine event two weeks ago - ahead of Pride festivities in the Big Apple - but demand for the jabs was so high officials had to cut off walk-in appointments in a matter of hours. People waiting at the clinic for the shot told DailyMail.com that the barely a thousand doses available as 'ridiculous' in a city of nearly eight million. Other eager recipients accused officials of giving 'contradictory' information on how to get jabbed. Some experts are comparing the currently broken response to monkeypox to that of COVID-19 when it first erupted in March 2020. 'I think we'll continue to repeat these mistakes because that's been our track record. That's been our track record,' Jon Andrus, a global health professor at GW, said. 'We've had, what, more than five or six waves of Covid, and we seem every time to be a little bit caught off guard,... stopping transmission requires that we're all reading from the same page. We all have the same road map.' Thousands of people could be prevented from falling victim to online scams every year, thanks to the launch of a revolutionary fraud detection tool. Cyber security awareness website, Get Safe Online, together with fraud prevention service, Cifas, have unveiled an online feature that will allow people to check if a website is safe to use before clicking on it. It is hoped that the 'check-a-website' tool will help prevent Britons from falling foul of the numerous fake websites that litter the web. The scamdemic: The latest data from Cifas has revealed that there was a 43 per cent increase in cases involving identity fraud. With criminals are increasingly turning to the internet to target victims, spoofed websites are becoming increasingly sophisticated. These websites are designed to steal the financial and personal details of users which are often then used towards identity theft. There was a 43 per cent rise in cases involving identity fraud filed to the National Fraud Database during the first three months of 2022 when compared to the same period last year, with nine in 10 instances of identity fraud taking place online. Mike Haley, chief executive for Cifas added: 'This is a great tool for aiding consumers in the continuing fight against online fraud. 'The devastating impact of fraud can result not only in the loss of income or sensitive personal information, but also a loss of confidence when navigating an increasingly digital world. 'By being able to quickly check whether the website you're visiting is credible, you can be safer online, reduce your exposure to illegal websites and have peace of mind knowing that you are defending yourself from cyber criminals.' How does it work? Check-a-website is an online tool that is already live in both the Netherlands and Portgual. It helps determine whether a website is likely to be legitimate or a scam before you visit it. Users simply type in the address of the website they want to check, and then this provides a trust score that will appear within seconds. It does this by using an algorithm based on more than 40 data sources as well as thousands of reports of malicious websites from law enforcement agencies, regulators and consumer brands every week. Tony Neate, chief executive of Get Safe Online added: 'Launching check-a-website today is revolutionary and we are very excited to be able to finally offer individuals the opportunity to literally "check a website" before they use it. 'Now we just want to let as many people know about it as possible so the UK can benefit from this new capability and help improve the united fight against scammers.' United States President Joe Biden bestowed the Medal of Honor to four Vietnam War veterans on Tuesday for their brave acts of valor during the conflict that ended roughly 50 years ago. The bestowment of the medal upgrades the previous honors that the veterans previously received for their acts of courage at the time. The individuals that Biden gave the medal to, which is the most prestigious decoration in the U.S. military, were Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro, Specialist Five Dwight W. Birdwell, Specialist Five Dennis M. Fujii, and retired Maj. John J. Duffy. Medal of Honor The Democratic leader said the four veterans "stood in the way of danger, risked everything to defend our nation and our values." Biden's remarks were made during the ceremony at the White House, where he added that not every service member had received the full recognition they deserved. The president said that the day of the bestowment of the Medal of Honor was setting the record straight. Biden noted that it had been a long journey for the individuals and their families, roughly five decades. However, he said that time had not diminished the veterans' astonishing bravery and selflessness, as per CNN. Kaneshiro and members of his platoon were attacked by North Vietnamese in 1966 when they entered a village on a search and destroyed the mission. The White House said that Kaneshiro destroyed one enemy group with rifle fire and two others using grenades. The success enabled the orderly extrication and reorganization of the platoon and ultimately led to a successful withdrawal from the village. Read Also: Russia, Venezuela Agree To Counter the Long-Term Effects of Western Sanctions Kaneshiro, who was killed in action three months after the incident for which he is being awarded, will receive the award posthumously. Speaking to the fallen soldier's family, Biden said that they had sacrificed so much for the United States. He said he was hoping that the award would let them take pride and comfort in knowing that Kaneshiro's valor is finally receiving the recognition it deserves. According to Fox News, Birdwell's award was for his actions after his tank commander was incapacitated. He moved the official to safety and fired the tank's weapons at the enemy force that was barreling down on them. Later, he dismounted and continued fighting until receiving enemy fire to his face and torso. Vietnam War Veterans He refused evacuation and led a small group of defenders to disrupt the enemy assault until reinforcements arrived to support them. The White House added that he then aided in evacuating the wounded until he was ordered to seek attention for his own wounds. On the other hand, Fujii received his award for his actions when his medevac helicopter took on enemy fire and was forced to crash land. Despite being injured, he waved off a rescue from another helicopter and remained behind as the only American on the battlefield and administered first aid to allied casualties. Duffy was wounded twice when the commander of the 11th Airborne Battalion was killed and refused to be evacuated. He also led evacuees, many of whom were seriously injured, to an evacuation area where he directed gunship fire on enemy positions and marked a landing zone for the helicopters, the New York Times reported. Related Article: NATO Countries Sign 'Historic' Accession Protocols for Sweden, Finland as They Move a Step Closer To Alliance Membership @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Naima Mari paid off a personal loan in January last year, hoping that would be the end of it. The 34-year-old had borrowed 2,000 from 118 118 Money after being signed off work because of her mental health. But nearly a month after repaying the sum in full, Naima began receiving threatening letters and text messages from a debt collector. It emerged that 118 118 Money had sold her details to a third-party agency. Citizens Advice warns that the number of people being contacted by debt collectors on behalf of energy suppliers has increased by a third since last year The case adds to growing concerns over the heavy-handed tactics used by debt collectors amid the cost-of-living crisis. Citizens Advice warns that the number of people being contacted by such agencies on behalf of energy suppliers has increased by a third since 2021. Some 26,000 people have been in touch with Citizens Advice so far this year about debt collectors chasing missed utilities bills. And last month it was reported that a British Gas representative with two third-party debt collectors had broken into the home of a couple who were not even customers. The employee picked the lock after mistaking the homeowners for their neighbour, who hadnt settled his bill. Naima suffered panic attacks after her experience. I had already paid the debt so they should not have been after me, she says. It was such a stressful time. Selling debts to third parties is common practice among creditors. Most debts will be sold on only if the account holder has defaulted on payments. Typically, they will be sold for less than the face value, but it means the creditor gets some of the money owed and does not have to spend time and money chasing payments. The firm that buys the debt will then pursue the borrower for the full amount, which is where their profit comes from. Naima has since received an apology from 118 118 Money for what it describes as an administrative mistake. It says that, owing to a timing error, the account was not removed from the debt sale file and was sold. She was offered 100 compensation, but rejected it. Squeezed budgets: Charities warn of a looming debt crisis as many people are now relying on credit to cover essential spending such as food Her case is similar to that of 52-year-old Ian Funnell, who also received a notice from a debt collector for a payment he had already made. Ian, from Tonbridge, Kent, and his wife, Melissa, 47, ordered a parcel to be delivered by shipping company UPS. When it arrived, he was charged 50.83 for customs tax, which he paid the driver in cash. But a month later, he received an invoice from UPS demanding money. Despite confirming his previous payment with the company, he received another invoice with an additional 4 fee. He paid it in an attempt to get the company off his back. But then the couple received a letter from a debt collection firm called Controlaccount demanding the money. Ian explained the situation to the firm, which agreed to drop the case. But the stress caused him sleepless nights. Hes been so worried about it, says Melissa. It makes you question whether it will affect your credit rating. A UPS spokesperson says the firm is resolving the issue for the recipient, and regrets any inconvenience caused. For more advice on how to manage debt or to make a complaint about how a debt collector has behaved, visit stepchange.org. moneymail@dailymail.co.uk Before he retired 17 years ago, my husband worked for gentlemens outfitters Keogh & Savage in Greenock. Unbeknown to him, the chief executive of the company took out a pension for him with Aviva. The policy was fully paid up, but the document was only found in a safe after his former bosss death last year. Forgotten pension: A reader has struggled to track down an old workplace pension taken out by her husband's boss This pension should have been paid to my husband when he was 65. He is now 82 and an invalid. On his behalf I have been trying to get this pension paid into his bank since October last year and have been made all kinds of promises by Aviva. Earlier this month, I was told it had no idea when the payment will be made. Im so frustrated and do not know what to do next. I am 78 and feel I am pitting my wits against a huge organisation that doesnt really care. I. K., Gourock, Inverclyde. You had mixed feelings about this surprising pension news, delivered by the son of your husbands late employer, after he had cleared out the office safe. With you both well and truly retired, you rightly felt you could have done with this lost treasure over the past 17 years. But you were also philosophical and told me it was better late than never and that the lump sum from the pot, plus a regular income however small would help you both through the looming cost of living crisis. You chased for eight months, with Aviva recently promising that the payment would be sent, and the regular pension arranged. But the constant delays were getting you and your husband down. I decided to give Aviva a prod on your behalf. This appeared to do the trick and, within a few days, a lump sum of 9,800 was finally issued. Scam Watch Beware celebrity endorsed cryptocurrency scams. Victims are being targeted on social media by fraudsters using familiar faces to con people out of life-changing amounts of money. On average, people lose 11,872 to this type of scam, according to Santander. And the bank expects to see an 87 per cent increase in fake adverts this year. Be sure to research thoroughly any investment opportunity before transferring any money, regardless of who may appear to be endorsing it. And be particularly wary of cryptocurrency ads. Even legitimate ventures are very risky and you could lose all your savings. In addition, it promised it would start paying your husband a monthly pension of 178. So far so good or so both you and I thought. Then came a terrible blow. You contacted me to say you had a very upsetting call from Aviva telling you that your husband was not due the 9,800 lump sum that it had just paid you after all, and that you would have to return it. Nor would he be receiving the promised monthly payments for the rest of his life. A red-faced Aviva also contacted me to confirm this bombshell. It had found out that the pension had already been paid out in full a total of 16,000 to your husband back in 2009. You and your husband were not only upset by this turn of events but mortified that anyone might think you were claiming falsely. Neither Aviva nor I think that. Your husbands declining health explains the oversight. In any case, Avivas pension team should have told you as soon as you got in touch with all the relevant details that the pension had been paid out in full 13 years ago. It certainly should not have left you chasing a rainbow for eight months. Aviva held its hands up to this unfortunate error and apologised to you and your husband. An Aviva spokesman says: We are very sorry that we did not identify that we previously paid out the customers pension in 2009, and the time it has taken to communicate this to his wife, who has been looking into her husbands pension on his behalf. In recognition of the blunder and your wasted time, Aviva has paid you a sum of 1,500 in compensation. I hope that suits you, sir sorry, madam. Straight to the point My 90-year-old mother-in-law was charged 25 to be moved on to Virgin Medias new digital phone line system. How can this be right? A. M., Gosport, Hampshire. A Virgin spokesman apologises and says your mother-in-law was given inaccurate information as no one has to pay to move to a digital landline. The charge has been refunded, plus 50 as a goodwill gesture. *** After taking out an equity release loan in July last year, I wrote to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to cancel my pension credit payments. Despite chasing its customer service team multiple times, they have not been stopped. G. M., Newbury, Berks. The DWP has written to you to apologise for the delay and has cancelled your pension credit. You will not have to pay any of the extra payments back. *** We were due to go to New York in April but had to cancel after catching Covid. We made a 4,500 claim to our insurer Breeze, underwritten by AXA, and were told the money would be in our account in three to five days. It has now been more than 40 days and we still havent received it. A. S., Sutton. Although the claim was processed, the money was not transferred due to an administrative error. The payment has now been made and you have been offered 300 in compensation on top. *** My wife and I had a smart meter installed by SSE earlier this year. We were told if we booked it by March 21, we would get 50 off our bill but the reduction was never made. Weve tried to chase but cant get through. B. H., Isle of Wight. An SSE spokesman apologises for the delay, which was down to a shortfall in service. It has credited the missing 50 to your account. Travel insurance less than first class I am a 71-year-old widow living in Cornwall and regularly travel by train to see my very elderly parents in Lincolnshire. This is an eight-hour journey, involving four different trains and the London Underground. I booked the trip through the Trainline website and decided to travel first-class as the ticket was a good price. The drawback was it was non-refundable. But there was an option to book travel insurance so, for peace of mind, I purchased that for an extra 4. A few days before I was due to travel, I experienced flashing lights and large floaters in my right eye. An emergency appointment with my optometrist diagnosed posterior vitreous detachment, which is where the vitreous gel surrounding the retina comes away and, in some cases, can lead to a retinal tear which can then lead to sight loss. She advised me not to lift heavy objects, particularly for the first few weeks. I decided it was not safe to travel as it would have involved lifting my heavy case on and off multiple trains. I put in a claim to Trainline, via its insurer Ergo (part of the Mayday Group). It refused to process my claim and keeps referring me to Ts and Cs, which state I need to provide a report from a medical practitioner detailing my illness. I pointed out that it would have been of no use to visit my GP as she did not have the expertise nor the scans at her fingertips. However, my optometrist emailed my GP the details of my condition and the advice against heavy lifting, a copy of which I emailed to Ergo, along with my unused tickets. Please help. Y. D., Falmouth, Cornwall. You told me that you spend considerable sums of money each year purchasing tickets via Trainline and have always been happy with its service but your view is less rose-tinted after having to cancel your recent trip. I thought it plain to see your claim deserved to be paid so contacted Trainline. It quickly agreed to offer a full refund on your 158 ticket, though it said this was a goodwill gesture and that third-party insurer Ergo was responsible for deciding on any claim. I asked Ergo for a comment but it simply said it was still awaiting your medical documentation. You tell me you will continue using Trainline in future but wont be ticking the insurance option again as you felt its claims process is too inflexible. Marks & Spencer suffered a bloody nose after a significant revolt over executive pay. Nearly 30 per cent of voters opposed the High Street retailers pay policy at its annual general meeting. That made it the latest in a string of major firms to suffer backlash over fat cat salaries. Pay row: Outgoing M&S boss Steve Rowe (pictured) will be employed as a consultant following the end of his full-time job at M&S, which could earn him up to 843,000 The pay report that drew investor ire included a 1.6million bonus for outgoing boss Steve Rowe on top of his 1million of fixed pay and other benefits. He will also be employed as a consultant following the end of his full-time job at M&S, which could earn him up to 843,000. The bumper payday was branded inappropriate by shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis, which highlighted M&S had paid its executives bonuses worth 190 per cent of their base salary in 2021 despite benefiting from 62.2million of taxpayer support during the year and not paying dividends to shareholders. Fellow advisory group ISS also recommended investors reject the payout plans. M&S acknowledged the rebellion but maintained it had acted in shareholders interests regarding Rowes pay. Shares dropped 1.7 per cent, or 2.35p, to 137.45p in the wake of the vote. The revolt may rattle some nerves over at Sainsburys, where chief executive Simon Roberts is due to face shareholders at its AGM tomorrow. Roberts previously came under fire after it emerged the grocer had paid him 3.8million last year, up from 1.3million the year before. The pay packet also meant Roberts was paid 183 times more than the average Sainsburys employee. The Chinese-owned company whose controversial takeover of a UK chipmaker is being reviewed by the Government has told MPs it is here to stay. Toni Versluijs, UK boss of Nexperia, also said the national security review into the deal ordered by Prime Minister Boris Johnson a year ago was causing impatience among customers and investors. Nexperia completed its takeover of Newport Wafer Fab last summer but some MPs say it is madness for such a firm to fall into the hands of a Chinese-controlled company. Assurance: Nexperia completed its takeover of Newport Wafer Fab last summer but some MPs say it is madness for such a firm to fall into the hands of a Chinese-controlled company Versluijs, who gave evidence yesterday to the Commons business select committee, brushed off suggestions that it might close the South Wales-based business and move operations abroad. He told MPs: Were not planning to shut any operations. Netherlands-based Nexperia which is majority owned by Chinese firm Wingtech already has a site in Stockport dating back more than 50 years, and Versluijs said it had invested big time in both sites, creating jobs. We are here to stay, he told the committee. Versluijs agreed that national security matters needed to be investigated in a good and diligent way. At the same time, this investigation also needs to be done swiftly and we see that our customers are becoming impatient on clarity and also for some of our employees, he said. Last week, a young lady in Newport stepped into the office of a general manager and said, Look, I just bought a new house. After this review will I still have a job? I think its in everybodys interest to give clarification, if not for Nexperia, for people like the young lady. When Anton Derlyatka told his 86-year-old mother, Galina, he was going to create a marketplace in which peoples footsteps would be their currency, she immediately understood the concept. Yet Im finding it baffling as I pace breathlessly down my street in order to amass steps that Anton, the 49-year-old chief executive of London tech firm Sweatcoin, really has turned into something I can spend. She got it straight away, but some take a bit longer, he says. Walk and save: Since its launch in 2016, 900 million people worldwide have downloaded the Sweatcoin app... and this number is set to rocket further It can be difficult to take in at first, because people often think theres a catch; theyve been told that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. But, in our case, its not. The idea behind Sweatcoins steps-for-money smartphone app once you get it really is quite simple. Many of us already have gadgets or apps that count our steps. And the more you walk, the better you feel about yourself. But apart from that warm glow, you get nothing for your effort. With Sweatcoins app, you are awarded one Sweatcoin for every 1,000 steps you take. And with these coins you can buy products or earn discounts on goods and services from more than 600 companies from Reebok to Apple all vying for your business. Its a bit like Air Miles for feet. The idea has become so popular that since its launch in 2016, 900 million people worldwide have downloaded the app. Anton, a life-long fitness fanatic, says he and his business partner, consumer tech expert Oleg Fomenko, came up with the idea of incentivising exercise in 2015 after delving into behavioural science and realising the power of nudging people in the direction of better habits. They describe what they came up with as the economy of movement. The problem is, we dont want to do exercise we find it a chore because in nature, our bodies were made to preserve energy, not burn off calories, Anton says. With Sweatcoin, we found a way to incentivise people to get up and walk. The timing could hardly be better. In May, Cancer Research UK issued a report predicting that nearly 40 per cent of all adults in the UK would be obese by 2040. Obesity translates into increased risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and liver and respiratory diseases. The NHS spends 10 billion a year on treating type 2 diabetes a figure predicted to rise to 16.9 billion by 2035 unless we all get more active. The NHS has a diabetes prevention programme that encourages people to exercise more and reduce their body weight by 6 per cent, says Anton. Unfortunately, only 27 per cent of people who start the programme finish it. But last year we conducted a trial with the NHS using Sweatcoin, and among 270 participants that figure jumped to 87 per cent. Translated across the UK, that could have an enormously positive impact. I tried the app for a few days and amassed 40 sweatcoins. There is a free plan on the app, which allows you to earn up to ten sweatcoins a day, and a 4.99-a-month premium membership in which you can earn 100. Hot stepper: Sweatcoin's app awards one 'sweatcoin' for every 1,000 steps you take. It can be used to buy products or earn discounts on goods and services from more than 600firms Part of the app is a marketplace where you can buy, or enjoy discounts on, a range of products from cosmetics, jewellery and Amazon vouchers to wireless earbuds, subscriptions for magazines and fitness classes. Some of these require you to sign up for a trial period, or to pay what seems like inflated postage costs, but there are also some bargains. Recent offers have included 35 per cent off Reebok products in exchange for 25 sweatcoins; three months subscription to the Tidal music streaming service for free; and a Sonos One smart speaker for 4,000 sweatcoins. And 30 of my sweatcoins could have bought some Plant Dpt day cream, while 20 would have entitled me to a 5 Amazon voucher as long as I signed up for Snoop, an app that monitors your spending and offers you advice on saving money. Or, as many users do, you could simply donate your sweatcoins to charity. How much that would be worth is difficult to say. One reviewer in January worked out that a coin was worth about 0.04, but that will change over time and with the introduction of SWEAT crypto, a cryptocurrency you can earn simply by walking. This summer, the company will host a Token Generation Event to launch its digital currency, where walkers will be awarded one new SWEAT crypto token per sweatcoin already earned by walking or running without losing their sweatcoin balance. It is estimated some 860 million SWEAT crypto tokens will be given away in total. And unlike other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, whose values have crashed of late, there is no risk as no money changes hands. Users will then be able to spend this currency on the aforementioned Sweatcoin partner brands, or donate it to charity. Over time, and as the currency appreciates in value, more and more steps will be needed to generate a SWEAT token, encouraging users to keep up with their exercise regimes. And, in future, advertisers who want access to the companys vast membership will have to pay the firm in SWEAT, which will reinforce its value even further. It sounds complicated, but all you really need to do is enjoy a good stroll. Nobody yet knows quite how much a SWEAT token will be worth on the open cryptocurrency trading market, but the thought is exciting. Sweatcoin has been the most downloaded app in more than 30 countries. Of course, the big question is whether Sweatcoin encouraged me to exercise more than I already do, and the answer is: yes. Its rewards are relatively small, but its fun to earn something in return for getting off the sofa and out into the fresh air. And besides, one day, the SWEATS Ill receive later this summer just might make me a gazillionaire. moneymail@dailymail.co.uk A prominent Australian DJ claims five doctors have told him 'privately' his serious health problems were caused by an adverse reaction to two doses of Moderna - but couldn't say so publicly or they would be deregistered. However, Australia's medical regulator has denied it discourages doctors from recording their medical opinions on the effects of Covid vaccines - after being approached by Daily Mail Australia about Tyson Illingworth's claims. The DJ, who goes by the name tyDi, went through a lengthy rehab after waking up partially paralysed just weeks after he was administered his first Moderna shot on October 1 last year. Mr Illingworth claimed five doctors suggested a correlation between his Moderna vaccinations and his paralysis but they refused to go on the record out of fear of backlash or deregistration from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). 'I went from doctor to doctor to have them tell to me in private I would like to tell you what is happening to you, but I would be deregistered,' Tyson told Daily Mail Australia. Electronic music DJ Tyson Illingworth, who is perhaps better known as tyDi, said he needs to take painkillers daily because of neurological conditions The DJ claims he started feeling unwell weeks after his first Moderna shot, administered on October 1, last year About 1.8 million doses of Moderna vaccine have been administered in Australia up to January 2, 2022. The most frequently reported side-effects from the jab include injection-site reactions (such as a sore arm) and more general symptoms, like a headache, muscle pain, fever and chills. Myocarditis and pericarditis, swelling of the heart, is a 'known but incredibly rare side-effect' from mRNA vaccines - Pfizer and Moderna - according to the TGA. The side effects are usually temporary, with most people getting better within a few days. Neuropathy is not one of the recognised side effects of Moderna, where the most serious long-term complications have been associated with heart inflammation. But Mr Illingworth claims that within weeks of receiving his first Moderna jab, he began to experience debilitating neurological pain, had red marks break out on his side and saw a deterioration in his motor skills. One morning he woke up to discover he couldn't his legs or hands - which was 'terrifying for someone who uses their hands for a job'. 'I couldn't even write my name down,' he said. Tyson woke up 'partially paralysed' and claims doctors linked his symptoms to the vaccine He admitted to doing nitrous oxide, more commonly known as 'nangs' or laughing gas, when he was younger A study in the UK observed 26 patients who experienced neuropathic symptoms within three weeks of vaccination but due to methodology limitations, it could not conclude the vaccine was the cause. However, Mr Illingworth also admitted he used nitrous oxide, also known as 'nangs' or laughing gas, when he was younger. Heavy use of nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, can cause neurological damage and peripheral neuropathy, which is damage to the nerves affecting movement and sensation. 'That was a long, long time ago and no more extensive than you would get at the dentist if you got your wisdom teeth out,' he said. Since first telling his story, Mr Illingworth said 'countless' people had been in touch to offer similar stories of suffering severe neurological pain. 'They have been thanking me for speaking up,' he said. 'The stories I am being sent are just heartbreaking. People have come forward to me saying that every doctor they have tried to talk to has been muzzled and not been able to talk about it because of fear of losing their licence. 'I am so surprised to find out I wasn't the only one because I felt like I was going crazy.' He said he had been bombarded with 'countless' supporters who claimed they had suffered similar fates After having a Modern jab at the start of the year, Tyson began experiencing blinding headaches, red marks breaking out on his side and decreased motor skills In March 2021, doctors were advised by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and national medical boards to not 'undermine' the national vaccine rollout. 'Any promotion of anti-vaccination statements or health advice which contradicts the best available scientific evidence or seeks to actively undermine the national immunisation campaign (including via social media) is not supported by national boards and may be in breach of the codes of conduct and subject to investigation and possible regulatory action,' the joint statement said. Tyson says he woke up not being able to 'move my legs, couldn't move my hands, which is terrifying for someone who uses their hands for a job' However, AHPRA denied this should inhibit the way doctors perform their duties. 'Doctors do not need to be afraid to take notes about the vaccine,' a spokesperson for AHPRA said. 'It is good medical practice and a professional obligation for doctors to make accurate medical records. 'We encourage practitioners to discuss the various vaccines with their patients and use their professional judgement and the best available evidence to help the patient make the safest choices.' AHPRA said it only intervenes 'where the public is at serious risk'. 'The Boards' expectations of registered health practitioners in relation to vaccination and public health matters is not new and predates the COVID-19 pandemic,' the AHPRA spokesperson said. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency said that doctors do not need to be afraid to take notes about the vaccines Tyson has been a popular DJ since he was 17 after he was signed to Armin Van Buuren's label Mr Illingworth was told he was fine to take a second Moderna shot but after doing so he said the previous symptoms returned with more severity. 'I'm stuck with a complete numbness in my hands and feet and sleep is the only thing I look forward to,' he posted to Instagram. He was admitted to hospital twice more and had numerous visits with doctors and specialists. Mr Illingworth claimed it was during his hospital visits that doctors told him, privately, that he was likely suffering adverse reactions to the Moderna shots. Tyson says he is still 'pro-vaccine' but wants to have open conversations about them Although he has since regained his motor skills, Mr Illingworth said he suffers constant neurological pain and needs to wait for painkillers to take effect each day before he can begin work. 'It's a very different to breaking your arm or burning your finger it doesn't feel like that it feels like an electric shot, like a buzzing sensation,' he said. Mr Illingworth stressed he was not 'anti-vaccine' and would still encourage people to get vaccinated. 'As a person of science I am still open to the possibility of neuropathy based on a totally different cause but I can't have an open and honest conversation with doctors when they are telling me they are going to be deregistered,' he said. Although he was forced to cancel tour dates, Mr Illingworth, who as a 17-year-old was already signed up to a record label, has resumed his illustrious career. He has released eight albums and won numerous awards during his career. He has also worked with the likes of Disney on Ice as well scoring commercials for brands such as Swarovski and Elle, Stella Artois and Harper's Bazaar. He was awarded the Young Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by Griffith University where he studied at the highly acclaimed Queensland Conservatorium. Boris Johnson was tonight dealt a huge double blow following the resignations of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid. But does this mean Mr Johnson's time as Prime Minister is coming to a close? Might he quit himself? Or can he ride through another storm and remain in Number 10? Here, MailOnline looks at what the consequences could be: What's happened? Mr Sunak and Mr Javid both resigned as Cabinet ministers within minutes of each other tonight. The outgoing Chancellor told the PM that 'we cannot continue like this', adding: 'The public rightly expect Government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously.' Meanwhile, Mr Javid publicly questioned Mr Johnson's integrity, competence and ability to act in the national interest. Why did they quit? The duo left Government amid a fresh Tory sleaze scandal battering Mr Johnson's administration. Chris Pincher resigned as Tory deputy chief whip last week amid claims he drunkenly groped two men. And - just hours before Mr Sunak and Mr Javid's departure - Number 10 admitted the PM had been informed of a past complaint about the 'inappropriate' behaviour of Mr Pincher before he appointed him to the whips' office in February. The admission was the latest in a series of changing positions from Downing Street over what Mr Johnson had known of Mr Pincher's past conduct. In his resignation letter, Mr Sunak also spoke of 'fundamental' differences between himself and the PM on economic policy. Boris Johnson's chances of staying in Number 10 have been dealt a huge blow - but is it fatal? Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid both resigned as Cabinet ministers within minutes of each other to leave the PM teetering on the brink Will the PM now also have to quit? Not necessarily. In fact, the PM's chances of avoiding his own resignation were boosted by the fact that no other Cabinet ministers immediately followed Mr Sunak and Mr Javid out the door. Many declared their support for Mr Johnson although some - such as Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi - were notably quiet. With the PM having already seen off huge pressure to quit over the Partygate scandal, it seems unlikely that he will fall on his sword at this moment. He has even shrugged off the resignation of a Chancellor before when Mr Javid quit the top Treasury role in February 2020. Ex-PM David Cameron famously referred to Mr Johnson as a 'greased piglet' due to his ability to survive various scrapes. So many would back him to escape once again. What will Boris have to do to stay in power? Most pressingly, the PM will have to find a new Chancellor and a new Health Secretary. Due to the importance of the position to governing the country, Mr Johnson can't go too long without having someone in charge of the Treasury. But possible candidates will have to weigh up whether they want to take the role at such a precarious moment in Mr Johnson's premiership. The PM seems to already be struggling to appoint a new Conservative Party chair after Oliver Dowden's resignation from the position 11 days ago. If the PM does successfully replace Mr Sunak and Mr Javid, he will then have to set about shoring up support among the rest of his ministerial ranks and Tory MPs. One dramatic course of action could be Mr Johnson calling a vote of confidence in his leadership himself - thereby daring Conservative MPs to vote him out of office. Or, if he wants to prevent Tory MPs plotting in Westminster, the PM could try and bring Parliament's summer recess forward and send them off to their constituencies earlier than planned. Could the PM call a general election? Another possibility, albeit slim, could be Mr Johnson calling a snap general election in a bid to seek a fresh mandate from the country. If that were to happen, the calculation in No10 would be that - although increasing numbers of Tory MPs want him gone - voters themselves might still back him to remain in office. How else will Tory rebels try to force the PM out? There is already a plot among Tory rebel MPs to change the rules of the Conservative Party in order to force a new vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson. This is despite the PM having won a contest on his leadership last month that granted him 12 months' immunity from another challenge under current rules. The rebel plot will see them try to secure key posts on the 1922 Committee, the powerful Tory body in charge of leadership contests, in a battle with PM loyalists. If they win a majority on the Committee's 18-strong executive, they will be able to force through the rule change they want. But, with elections to the 1922 executive not due to be held until next week and MPs going their summer break later this month, Mr Johnson could yet be safe from another contest until September. What about Labour? Sir Keir Starmer could attempt to force the PM out of Downing Street by tabling a no confidence motion over Mr Johnson's Government in the House of Commons. If he were to do so, the Labour leader would be calculating that Tory MPs are so fed up with Mr Johnson that they would side with the Opposition and vote to bring down their own Government. There is a recent precedent for Sir Keir to follow, although Mr Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, survived a confidence vote in January 2019 after it had been called for by then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. House Oversight Republicans are accusing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen of covering up for President Joe Biden and his family's business dealings Republican Rep. James Comer, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, is again demanding that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen turn over documents relating to suspicious international bank transactions linked to President Joe Biden's family. In a letter sent to Yellen on Wednesday and obtained by DailyMail.com, Comer accused her department of running 'cover for the Biden family and its associates' by failing to fulfill Oversight Committee Republicans' request without bipartisan support. The minority party lawmakers claim the Treasury denied their petition for suspicious financial activity linked to Hunter Biden and the president's brother James Biden 'unless Democrats join the request.' The Treasury did not meet GOP lawmakers' June 8 deadline. According to Comer's letter, department officials refused to provide the notices in a June 13 phone call. He suggested that requiring support on both sides of the aisle for such a request is a change in executive branch policy. He wrote to Yellen that Republicans on his committee 'are investigating whether this change in longstanding policy is motivated by efforts to shield Hunter Biden and potentially President Biden from scrutiny.' Comer wrote a similar memo in May referencing a CBS News report detailing suspicions raised over financial activity of the president's son and brother James Biden. That letter read, 'According to recent media reports, more than 150 of Hunter Biden and the Biden networks international business transactions have generated suspicious activity reports by U.S. banks for further review by the Treasury Department to determine if there is illegal activity or a threat to national security.' In Tuesday's follow-up Comer cited a Wall Street Journal report where the Biden administration expressed confidence in the Treasury Department's disclosure process. Kentucky Rep. James Comer sent Yellen a letter on Tuesday demanding more information on Hunter Biden's international financial activity 'It is troubling that the Biden Administration is willing to provide a false story to the media to create the appearance of transparency while continuing to thwart congressional oversight,' the Kentucky Republican wrote. 'Treasurys actions call for investigation and raise new questions about the degree to which the Biden Administration is using the federal government to provide cover for the Biden family and its associates.' He vowed that Oversight Republicans would 'follow the money trail.' Party leaders have suggested on multiple occasions they would open a formal investigation into the president's son and his business dealings if they win the Congressional majority in November. Biden's press secretary, Karine Jean Pierre, was asked on Tuesday about a voicemail first reported in DailyMail.com that suggests the president may have known more about his son's business than he let on. House Republicans claim to have sent nearly 100 requests for information to Biden about his son during his presidential campaign and since taking office 'Hey pal, its Dad. Its 8:15 on Wednesday night. If you get a chance just give me a call. Nothing urgent. I just wanted to talk to you. I thought the article released online, its going to be printed tomorrow in the Times, was good. I think youre clear. And anyway if you get a chance, give me a call, I love you,' the president said according to the recording. It was obtained from the hard drive of a laptop that apparently belonged to Hunter Biden that he allegedly abandoned in a Delaware repair shop. Biden critics claim the voicemail is proof that the president lied when he said he never discussed his son's business deals. 'What the president said stands, so, if that's what the president said, that is what stands,' Jean Pierre said during her regular press briefing. 'From this podium, I'm not going to talk about alleged materials from the laptop.' 'I refer you to his son's representative,' she said amid Fox News reporter Peter Doocy's protests for more information. Rep. Comer joined House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Judiciary ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan over the weekend in an op-ed detailing their party's efforts to investigate Hunter Biden. They claim to have uncovered evidence that the president's relatives profited off his years-long career in Washington 'despite Democrats refusal to cooperate' with those efforts' in an op-ed published in the New York Post. 'Congressional Republicans investigations to date have found Biden family members used their connections with Joe to enrich themselves through expectations of access and promises about what a Biden administration might do,' the three GOP leaders wrote. 'Weve made almost 100 requests for information relating to Biden family schemes. Many, including every request made to the Biden administration, have been ignored.' Australia is in line to be one of the first countries in the world to get the Omicron booster jab. Moderna has developed a new vaccine targeting the Wuhan and Omicron strains of Covid-19, which is expected to be available in weeks if approved by Australia's top medical regulatory body. The jab - which lab tests have shown to provide strong immunity - is currently being assessed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. 'If approved, the company will be able to supply this new Omicron-containing bivalent booster vaccine within weeks- putting Australia among the first countries in the world to have access to this new Covid vaccine,' Modernas managing director in Australia Michael Azrak told News Corp. Aussies are set to become one of the first in the world to get access to the Omicron booster. Pictured: A woman receives a Covid vaccine in Canberra in August Health Minister Mark Butler said he wants Australia to be front and centre when it comes to accessing the latest vaccines. 'Ive had encouraging discussions with Moderna and Pfizer about the challenges of the new sub-variants and the positive developments in vaccine technology,' Mr Butler said. 'My department is in negotiations about future supply arrangements, including for under 5-year-olds and the variant vaccines.' Epidemiologists and other experts have been calling for the eligibility for a fourth Covid vaccination to be expanded to the wider population as the nation grapples with rising case numbers. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is expected to discuss at a Wednesday meeting whether more people should be eligible for a fourth dose. A fourth vaccination is currently only available for people over-65 and those considered vulnerable. New Omicron strains BA. 4 and BA.5 have quickly become the dominant variants sweeping across Australia, however, they appear to be resistant to existing vaccines - which are only designed to protect against the original Wuhan variant. Existing Covid vaccines have begun to bank up across Australia, with more than 16 million unused doses sitting in warehouses and doctors clinics. It comes as authorities warn the country's most populous state is heading for a resurgence of Covid cases driven by Omicron subvariants, as the NSW health minister labels anyone who hasn't received three vaccine doses as 'crazy'. Modernas managing director in Australia Michael Azrak (pictured) said the vaccine will be available 'in weeks' if approved Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant expects the state's third wave to peak in late July and early August at levels similar to January, when the virus was raging. Health Minister Brad Hazzard is urging people to get their vaccine booster shot as statistics show deaths are disproportionately among those who aren't triple-vaccinated. 'If you've had two (doses), for example, or one and you haven't had your full three - to put it bluntly, you're crazy,' Mr Hazzard told reporters on Tuesday. 'That is what's going to make a difference to stopping, or at least reducing the chances of you ending up in hospital or possibly dying.' NSW has recorded 1232 Covid related deaths this year, with 56 per cent occurring among people who hadn't received three vaccine doses. Some people missed their third jab because they were busy or thought the pandemic was over, Mr Hazzard said. 'On both of those counts, they're wrong,' he said. Covid cases have been soaring across Australia as highly contagious Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 become the country's dominant strains The surge in cases is being driven by two immunity-evading Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, and health experts believe the number of cases and deaths will continue to grow. Mr Hazzard said the availability of antiviral treatments was limited to the elderly and people with co-morbidities but work was being done to expand the criteria. '(Antivirals) definitely make a difference for the majority of people who actually get the Covid virus,' he said. Dr Chant said receiving two vaccine doses no longer meant a person should be considered fully vaccinated against Covid. NATIONAL COVID CASES REPORTED ON TUESDAY NSW: 10,504 cases, 14 deaths, 1782 in hospital with 58 in ICU Tasmania: 1588 cases, two deaths, 76 in hospital with two in ICU Victoria: 8740 cases, 16 deaths, 543 in hospital with 28 in ICU ACT: 1199 cases, one death, 136 in hospital with two in ICU NT: 342 cases, no deaths, 21 in hospital with none in ICU WA: 5234 cases, one death, 238 in hospital with nine in ICU SA: 3141 cases, one death, 234 in hospital with 10 in ICU QLD: 5698 cases, 11 deaths, 710 in hospital with 14 in ICU Source: AAP Advertisement 'The virus has changed ... we need three or in some cases four doses to provide the best protection against getting very sick,' she said. Dr Chant said she was concerned because the coronavirus wave was taking place while the community also dealt with surges of the flu and other respiratory viruses. She called on people to keep up to date with their vaccinations, wear masks indoors and stay at home if they had cold or flu symptoms. Some 68.1 per cent of the eligible population has had three or more vaccine doses. AMA NSW president Michael Bonning said hospitals were already experiencing high levels of demand from COVID-19, flu and other respiratory illnesses. He also urged NSW residents to wear masks indoors as a simple way to curb the spread of viruses. 'If we want to preserve the business as usual this time around, we need to continue following orders and respecting the health and wellbeing of others,' Dr Bonning said. 'Mask-wearing isn't just about protecting yourself but protecting others from your own respiratory droplets.' NSW recorded 10,504 Covid cases and 14 deaths in the latest 24-hour reporting period. Residents in two areas of Melbourne are having to put up with a foul odour that's causing them to feel physically ill. Thousands of residents in Brookland Greens and Botanic Ridge estates in Cranbourne, in the city's south-east, are being forced to live each day unable to go outside their homes without feeling sick. However, Victoria's Environment Protection Authority is encouraging these people to go and see their GP if they have concerns about their health. Thousands of residents in Brookland Greens and Botanic Ridge estates in Cranbourne are being forced to live each day unable to go outside their homes without feeling sick This 'disgusting' smell, spreading from SBI Group's Cranbourne landfill on Ballarto Road (picture), has been plaguing the Botanic Ridge and Brookland Greens areas for years, but it's got significantly worse over the past few months This 'disgusting' smell, spreading from SBI Group's Cranbourne landfill on Ballarto Road, has been plaguing the area for years, but it's got significantly worse over the past few months. The EPA's acting regional manager for the Southern Metro area, Steve Lansdell told Melbourne's Radio 3AW, 'we are doing absolutely everything we can to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.' 'It can cause some short-term impacts but we do know as soon as that dissipates it can really help people get on with their lives,' Mr Lansdell stated. Victoria's Environment Protection Authority is encouraging these people to go and see their GP if they have concerns about their health A mother with a five-week-old daughter, said this constant smell keeps her 'up all night, feeling nauseous, with headaches and feeling unwell' (pictured, Brookland Greens estate) Many concerned residents called in on Tuesday to share their concerns with 3AW. A mother with a five-week-old daughter, said this constant smell keeps her 'up all night, feeling nauseous, with headaches and feeling unwell.' 'I've just packed up my things and her things and taken her down to my parents house two hours away...just so she can have some fresh air,' the woman added. She said: 'It's quite frightening...and it is leaving a 'horrible taste in my mouth.' A second mother, Sally said: 'I am actually seven weeks pregnant and my biggest concern at the moment is the impact that this is having on my unborn baby' (pictured, Botanic Ridge estate) A second mother, Sally said: 'I am actually seven weeks pregnant and my biggest concern at the moment is the impact that this is having on my unborn baby.' 'They say what we are smelling isn't bad in the short term, but it's sort of starting to turn into a long-term issue...it's happening everyday,' she said. She added that this has caused her to vomit more than she had been previously. A third resident, Steven, who has a three and one-year-old, stated: 'The smell is horrific, it is leaking into your house.' 'We even have to decide which door we are going to let our dog out...so the 'smell won't get to our bedrooms, it is that bad.' 'It is disgusting, we live not far from farmland and initially I just thought it was manure,' he added. The residents received an email over the weekend after everyone in the estate reporting the smell. The residents received an email over the weekend after everyone in the estate reporting the smell (pictured, SBI Group's Cranbourne landfill on Ballarto Road) Steven told 3AW: 'They said we can't smell anything, nah there's nothing going on there and no harm to foul.' 'Their machines must be broken, like it is disgusting.' While a fourth resident, Jenny, who's lived in the area for seven to eight years, said it 'originally is smells like a rotten egg, hydrogen sulfide type of smell, other times it smells like it's mixed with other gases.' 'We just can't shut the windows and escape it and hide inside cause within two hours or so, the whole house is smelling like it.' Members of the EPA will be at the local Woolworths again on Friday to provide updates on the situation. They will also be hosting an online community forum on July 14. Community with shared future for mankind unveils secret to sustainable development 08:56, July 06, 2022 By Li Xiaoxiao ( People's Daily The National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru is the largest and oldest museum in Peru. Boasting a history of 200 years, it houses more than 100,000 precious artifacts that mirror the entire history of the country. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan visit an exhibition of Chinese treasures on November 21, 2016, accompanied by Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and his wife Nancy Lange. Prior to that, heads of state and their wives attended the closing ceremony of the 2016 China-Latin America Cultural Exchange Year in Lima, Peru. (Photo/Lan Hongguang) On November 21, 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan joined the closing ceremony of China-Latin America Cultural Exchange Year hosted at the museum and visited the exhibition Long Distance Separates No Bosom Friends - Treasures of China when he was attending the 24th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Lima, Peru. They were accompanied by then President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru and his wife Nancy Lange. For Ivan Ghezzi Solis, then director of the museum, President Xis visit to the museum is still fresh in his memory today. It was early summer in the southern hemisphere. The bright yellow walls of the museum were glaring under the sun. The Chinese folk song Song of Yimeng Mountain and the Peruvian folk song El Condor Pasa reverberated there, Solis recalled. The job of Solis entailed reception of foreign dignitaries. President Xi was quite different. He was great but amiable, which made me realize that I was receiving a leader who would have an impact on the course of human history, Solis told Peoples Daily. In front of a set of comparison images, President Xi introduced to President Kuczynski the origin of the character mu on oracle bone script, Solis said. According to him, jade wares in the Neolithic Age, Tang Dynasty (618-907) three-color glazed potteries, and porcelain mirroring the close bond between the East and the West established through the ancient Silk Road were displayed at the exhibition. Pointing to a Terracotta Warrior, President Xi told President Kuczynski that it was from Shaanxi, the cradle of the Chinese civilization and also his hometown. Pride was all on his face, Solis said. The Terracotta Warrior from China was the most glorious exhibit at the exhibition, Solis told Peoples Daily. Visitors view an exhibit at Shanxi Museum in Taiyuan, capital of north Chinas Shanxi Province, Oct. 10, 2019. A total of 157 exhibits from 11 Peruvian museums are on display at the exhibition featuring the Andean culture. ((Photo/Cao Yang) Terracotta Warriors are a world heritage, and Ive read materials about them. President Xi introduced to us some special details. He said each of the Terracotta Warriors is unique though they were made in moulds. He has well studied Chinese history, Solis noted. President Xi said it calls for both economic development and cultural prosperity to realize our great dreams. What he said triggered my reflections and made me see that I was facing a man who was not only a politician, but also a leader with profound understanding of Chinese history and world civilization, Solis said. Solis believes that the value put on history and culture by a national leader will unquestionably improve the cultural cohesion of the country he leads and lay a solid foundation for the countrys solidarity and prosperity. China has a splendid civilization, and Peru is also proud of its Inca culture. On the same day when President Xi visited the museum, he delivered an important speech titled Sailing Forward to Build a Bright Future of China-Latin America Relations at the Peruvian Congress. When speaking of Peruvian civilization and history, President Xi had accurate points and data basis, which made it hard for me to believe that the speech was delivered by a foreign leader, Solis said. In the speech, President Xi stressed equality, mutual benefit and common development, which have all helped China and Latin America deepen their cultural exchanges, Solis added. The National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru is in cooperation with many Chinese museums. Together, they have presented a number of exhibitions to the people in both countries. Solis told Peoples Daily that he agrees with President Xis view that museums should not be made monotonous. Diversity is a basic feature of the world and what makes human civilization beautiful. To recognize cultural diversity envisions us a brighter future, and mutual learning between civilizations drives human progress. From this point of view, President Xis vision to build a community with a shared future for mankind exactly unveils the secret to sustainable development, Solis explained. The mutual learning between Latin America and China is of unusual significance for the two sides future cooperation and development, Solis said, adding that no country, region or civilization is able to stay aloof or unaffected in front of common challenges. Mankind must work together and cooperate with each other, he said. President Xi, focusing on the sustainable development of mankind, is seeking welfare for not only China, but also the whole world. Lets work together for a better future, Solis noted. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Moscow said foreign mercenaries had been killed while in action in contact with Russian forces that steamrollered Kyiv's forces. These non-Ukrainian casualties were part of those killed as the Russian army steamrolled defenses of the Nationalists and Azov Nazis. Foreign Mercenaries in Ukraine Doomed From the Start According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, in the last ten days of hostilities, about 170 mercenaries are all killed in action. Some reports say that they were used as cannon fodder for the Russian on the frontline, reported RT. Shoigu confirmed these deaths last Tuesday, but these mercenaries were killed while serving alongside Ukrainian troops. He spoke in the ministry and informed the combined forces of Russia and the Donbas republics was a successful offensive. It whittled down soldiers and private military companies in these armed assaults. Along with the 170 foreign mercenaries, 99 left Ukraine and abandoned Kyiv in 10 days of action. The International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, which welcomes foreigners, released a statement on Tuesday through its spokesman Damien Magrou. He confirmed that the Kharkov region had seen the death of a French mercenary named Adrien D., noted the Thread Times. Talking to BFM TV, Magrou claimed that the fighter passed away from injuries on June 25 in a field hospital after briefly going into a coma, citing the Press United. RTL radio remarked the Frenchman was included in the first batch to join Ukraine and the second French national to be killed. Read Also: Donald Trump Net Worth 2022: Did Trump Get Richer Since Leaving the US Presidency? Moscow dealt with foreign mercenaries instead of the goals set by the special operation, leading to many killed in action. Last June 1, another French national, Wilfried Bleriot, was killed in the Kharkov region. On the 30th of June, his funeral was held in France. Mercenaries Are Not Prisoners of War RTL claims that about fifty French nationals are fighting for Kyiv. At the same time, Magrou disclosed in mid-June that foreign nationals from 55 countries serve in the legion. The recent capture of foreign mercenaries prompted him to demand that Russia consider them as part of the Ukrainian forces and have rights as prisoners of war who are protected by the Geneva convention. Foreign nationals won't risk getting sentenced to death by the DPR or LPR authorities. Magrou asked the Russian army and its allies to respect international humanitarian law and said actions were crimes against the Ukrainian military. Russian military spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov, made it clear these foreign mercenaries would rot in jail for a long time if they were not executed. Ukrainian officials gave these mercenaries passports for legal protection, but those captured are still tried. He informed that hundreds of unknown foreign soldiers of fortune were wiped out by precise long-range weaponry, and these camps for their training with tactical units were leveled. One major cause of death is poor training and no actual combat experience. The Russian defense ministry reveals that 6,956 foreign nationals fought for Kyiv between February 24 and June 17. About 1,956 are all KIA, and 1,779 left Ukraine, remarked the ministry. Moscow states that foreign mercenaries were killed in action in the course of the offensive came about as the Ukraine army turned tail and ran from the Russian onslaught. Related Article: Russian-Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelensky Troops Struggling To Operate Advanced Weapons Due To Lack of Training [Report] @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A young boy who plummeted seven metres from a zipline at a popular adventure park fell to the ground because the cable snapped, a witness says. The nine-year-old was visiting TreeTop Challenge in Woombye on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on Sunday when he fell around 3.25pm on Sunday, suffering back and abdomen injuries. He was rushed to Sunshine Coast University Hospital to undergo testing for potential spinal injuries, but was miraculously discharged on Monday. Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland on Monday seizing parts of the zipline and the boy's harness. The boy (not pictured) had been at the TreeTop Challenge in Woombye, on Queensland 's Sunshine Coast, at around 3.25pm on Sunday when the accident occurred (pictured is person at the TreeTop Challenge park) The boy (not pictured) had been at the TreeTop Challenge in Woombye, on Queensland 's Sunshine Coast, at around 3.25pm on Sunday when the accident occurred. Pictured: Two people visit TreeTop Challenges in May Now, a witness has told 7News the boy fell because the zipline broke, leaving other children who say the incident unfold distressed. The witness said the other children still had to finish the course in order to leave the park. However, the TreeTop Challenge operators have rejected the claim, telling the publication the activity was stopped immediately. They said they have apologised to the boy and his family and an internal review has been launched. Daily Mail Australia has contacted TreeTop Challenge for comment. A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Monday the department had 'commenced a comprehensive investigation into the incident'. 'Inspectors, investigators and experts from our Engineering Unit [are] on-site today,' they said. 'Relevant equipment has been seized, including part of the zip line and harness. At this stage, zipline activity has not resumed. 'As an investigation has commenced, WHSQ will not be making any further comment.' Under national laws, inspectors have the power to seize items during investigations due to several circumstances, including to prevent the loss of the evidence or use of the thing where the inspector believes the object is evidence of an offence. Emergency services are seen at the park after the accident on Sunday afternoon Workplace Health and Safety investigators have seized some equipment. Pictured: TreeTop Challenges in Woombye Other reasons for objects to be removed include for the item to be analysed, tested or examined, if the inspector believes the thing, workplace or part of the workplace is defective, hazardous or likely to cause an injury, or if seizing the thing is consistent with the purpose of entry. Meanwhile, many shocked locals are struggling to come to terms with how the accident unfolded, saying the business is very safety conscious. A mother who visited with her husband, son, 14, and daughter, last Wednesday said the staff were 'great' at checking her family's equipment. 'They would check after the group returned off a challenge then checked it all again before starting a challenge,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'They [my husband and kids] weren't allowed to go on difficult challenges until they had successfully completed the beginner ones. 'I just don't understand how he could have fallen off.' Treetop Challenge offers 12 ziplines ranging from three to 35 metres off the ground Treetop Challenge offers 12 ziplines ranging from three to 35 metres off the ground. The park opened in 2019, offering an adult ziplining adventure - one for those aged eight and over - before last year opening its junior course, for children between three to 9 years. The two challenges have several courses, which are each comprised of varying difficulty levels. It's website describes it as the 'highest, largest and most thrilling high ropes adventure park' in the country. 'Each session lasts for 2hrs which includes a 30 minute induction of equipment fitting and training, your child can then conduct as many courses as they would like!' the website reads. 'You don't need any experience as our team are there to ensure your child has an amazing time.' Sky News host Paul Murray has slammed Anthony Albanese for being overseas, demanding that he 'get on with running the country'. Mr Albanese has been dubbed 'Airbus Albo' by critics for the number of days he's been overseas since winning the May 21 election - spending one-third of his time in power in different countries. His overseas trips amidst NSW being hit by a fourth flooding crisis has been compared to Scott Morrison's trip to Hawaii at the height of the 2019 bushfires. The political commentator unleashed on the prime minister for his trips on his program Paul Murray Live yesterday night. Sky News host Paul Murray has slammed prime minister Anthony Albanese (pictured here with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy) for spending time overseas Murray claimed the Prime Minister is 'all excuses, all window dressing, no action'. 'He's spent a third of his time as prime minister overseas, bringing with him $100 million cheques to have a selfie with Volodymyr Zelensky,' he said. He then pointed out that Mr Albanese was preparing to go overseas again at the end of the week to Fiji to attend a forum for Pacific Nations. 'Now remember when, a prime minister who was not there on the sidelines filling the sandbags, was a national disgrace?' 'If you're in a position to make someone's life better and easier, do something! Speak up, make decisions. 'You would have thought the opportunity to go to Ukraine would have been cut short because yet again there are once in a century floods happening right now around the country.' Murray went on to highlight a clip from Anthony Albanese, where he said he 'has not had a day off for a long period of time'. 'Oh darling, you haven't had a day off, if only there were recent examples of people who were pilloried when they did take a day off. When there was a national scandal when somebody took some time off with their family. 'Welcome to the reality of the job, pal. The job that you applied for, the job that you were obsessed with getting that you got fit, and you did everything you could to get it, and you won the trust of the Australian people. 'I don't care that you have not had a day off in six weeks, toughen up, princess. It's the big chair. You will have the rest of your life when your prime ministership is over to have a nap. Until then, you're in charge of the joint. 'This bloke is honestly really full of himself at the moment, but I'm sorry pal, if you're starting to sook in six weeks, let's meet again in six months.' In early June, he went to Indonesia to meet with president Joko Widodo. In the past week, Mr Albanese travelled to Spain for the Nato summit, France to meet president Emmanuel Macron and repair relations between the two countries, Ukraine to meet president Volodymyr Zelenskiy amidst the war with Russia, and the United Arab Emirates to visit Australian soldiers stationed in the country. The conservative political commentator (pictured) demanded the prime minister 'get on with running the country' and respond to the NSW floods crisis On Wednesday, Mr Albanese reacted furiously to the accusation comparing his trip, which has been largely for important international matters, to Scott Morrison's Hawaii holiday. 'I was fulfilling a responsibility that I believe that I had of traveling to Ukraine,' he said. 'To compare that with a holiday is beyond contempt, frankly. 'And it says a lot about the people who made those comments.' He said the new government was delivering on their promise of a change of attitude. 'Some people apparently didn't get the memo about the new politics,' he said. 'New politics is about getting things done and achieving outcomes and working together in the interests of the Australian public. That's my objective.' Mr Albanese was accused of not even picking up the phone to call NSW Premier Dom Perrottet as the state sunk under yet another rain deluge at the weekend. But he said he had to be smuggled into Ukraine, along with national security protection and media, without any phones or internet devices to avoid detection. 'We didn't have any electronic equipment - no phones, no internet, no communication with the outside,' he said. 'That was a matter of keeping us safe, but also keeping safe President Zelensky and and the Ukrainian people that we were meeting. 'Because obviously there is a war going on - [but] apparently that should have just been dismissed.' He insisted he made contact with Premier Perrottet as soon as he returned from Ukraine and arrived back in Poland. 'I immediately spoke to Premier Perrottet, I spoke to [federal emergency] minister [Murray] Watt, I spoke to the acting Prime Minister Richard Marles and made sure that every support was being offered,' he said. 'We were acting. We are not a one person show.' Mr Perrottet also leapt to the PM's defence and welcomed the new relationship between the federal and state government. 'I know in some quarters the Prime Minister has been criticised for being away,' he said. 'What I would say is from my perspective, the federal government needs to balance international concerns and domestic concerns. 'But as soon as he could, he picked up the phone to call me.' He added: 'What we have seen here is a great coordination from the Commonwealth and the state government. 'To have the 100 ADF on the ground very, very quickly, was pleasing.' He admitted the relationship with the previous Coalition government had struggled at times to effectively bring the help required as needed. 'I'm always going to say it as I see it,' he said. 'I had a very constructive relationship with the previous government but that doesn't mean we always agreed on various things. I think people know that.' But he admitted the new Albanese government had helped bring a quicker response for residents hit by the flood disaster around Sydney and the Hunter region. 'We don't have the bureaucracy getting in the way of ministers actually understanding and coordinating and communicating what the issues on the ground are,' he said. 'So you get better outcomes. You get a faster response when ministers are contacting each other directly, understanding the needs and concerns on the ground and responding effectively.' The comments came as it was announced flood-affected residents will be eligible for $1000 disaster payments for adults and $400 for children, which will be transferred into bank accounts as early as Thursday. Eligible local government areas include Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Canterbury Bankstown, Campbelltown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Kiama, Lithgow, Liverpool, Northern Beaches, Penrith, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Sutherland, The Hills, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong. The population of the eligible LGAs combined is 3.67 million. The disaster payments are in addition to initial assistance flagged by the federal and NSW governments announced earlier this week. 'We know this is having a real impact on people. We want to make sure the supports are available as soon as possible,' Mr Albanese said. 'That's why we've been very quick to act in partnership with the NSW government and it is pleasing that we've been able to work together so strongly. We know that these circumstances have impacted people there in the area where you are.' Criticism of the prime minister's time spent overseas comes as opposition leader Peter Dutton has taken two weeks off to go on holidays. Mr Dutton's office announced that he was going on leave on Sunday, with Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley taking over until his return later this month. Australia's cost of living crisis will soon worsen, especially if you're a chardonnay, riesling or semillon drinker. The price of white wine is set to 'go through the roof' in 2023 due to the ever-surging value of white winegrapes, sparking a dire warning from winemakers. The value of white winegrapes has increased for the ninth consecutive year and is tipped to push into the double digits in 2023 as public demand for chardonnay and other white varietals grow. The average value for white winegrapes has jumped two per cent to $548 per tonne, despite a 10 per cent drop in winegrape purchase prices, according to the Wine Australia's National Vintage report. White wine is set to become the latest Australian product to go up in price as popularity among Aussies continues to grow (pictured Sydneysiders enjoying a night out) 'The average value for whites has increased every year since 2014, and in 2022 was at its highest level since 2008,' the report states. For the first time since 2005, the average value for white varieties from the warm inland regions was higher than reds while their value in cool-temperate regions is up 11 per cent. 'The average value for whites in the cool/temperate regions was the highest ever reported on average for Australia at $1324 per tonne,' the report added. Wine Australia Market Insights manager Peter Bailey added demand is shifting back towards white varieties. Sauvignon blanc had the largest increase in average value up by 12 per cent, followed by riesling (up 7 per cent) and semillon (up 5 per cent). Australian winemakers warned prices will continue to soar for not only white wine varietals but also red. 'I think chardonnay, pinot, most white varieties are going up,' Yarra Valley-based Hoddles Creek Estate winemaker Franco D'Anna told 3AW. The value of white winegrapes has grown every year since 2014. Pictured: Grape pickers at a Hunter Valley vineyard 'Prices have gone crazy.' 'Pinot is so popular. Whatever you make you can sell straight away. Then obviously chardonnay and a few other varieties. 'It's going to be interesting to see how the next four or five years sort of go because there's just not the fruit around.' One of the Adelaide Hills' leading winemakers wasn't surprised to hear white prices continue to rise, despite a Chinese ban on Australian wine exports. 'It appears that Adelaide Hills fruit has never been in more demand,' The Lane Vineyard chief executive Jared Stringer told NewsCorp. The value of white winegrapes is set to see a 10 per cent increase in 2023. Pictured are white grapes in WA's Margaret River region Mr Stringer expects white winegrape prices will 'easily' soar to double digit increases in 2023. 'Chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and all of those white varieties are absolutely going gangbusters,' he said. 'I've had to lock in forward contracts for the next three to five years for our business and the prices are just going through the roof. 'I think you'll see, certainly in the next vintage report, that white price is going to skyrocket.' Despite the Chinese ban, Mr Bailey noted a demand for Australian wine in major export market the US and US with growth in a range of Asian markets, including Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan. 'Wine Australia is working with the sector to identify new opportunities in these markets and in others, as well as developing new products and channels within the Australian domestic market,' he said. A man who allegedly stabbed three people outside a pub will face court today after he was pounced on by detectives in Victoria and extradited back to NSW. The 20-year-old man will appear at Downing Centre Local Court today, in Sydney's CBD, accused of stabbing three men just before 4am on May 29 outside a pub in the inner city. The four men, reportedly known to each other, were allegedly in a brawl outside the Norfolk Hotel on Cleveland Street, Redfern when police were first called. A 20-year-old man (left) was extradited from Melbourne to Sydney on Tuesday to face charges for allegedly stabbing three men outside a Sydney pub just before 4am on May 29 The 18-year-old man was treated for critical stab wounds to his abdomen at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. The 19-year-old man was also treated for a critical stab wound to his chest at St Vincents Hospital. The 20-year-old man sustained injuries to his arm but was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital in a stable condition. They've all since been released from hospital. The man allegedly stabbed three men on a street in Redfern, near The Norfolk Hotel (above) in late May The 20-year-old man was spotted by detectives in Preston, Victoria earlier this month and arrested. On Tuesday, NSW detectives travelled to Victoria where they were granted the man's extradition in Melbourne Magistrates Court. He was then taken to Mascot Police Station, in Sydney's inner south, where he was charged with three counts of wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The 20-year-old man (left) was refused bail and will appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday on three counts of wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm He was refused bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday. NSW Ambulance Inspector Dominic Wong said at the time all three men had been at serious risk. 'Any injuries involving a knife have the potential to be life threatening, especially to the chest and stomach where there is serious risk of damaging a patient's vital organs,' he said. Cold case detectives investigating a brazen kidnapping and sexual assault in Sydney's south almost four decades ago have released a photo of the suspect's car as they call on the public's help to track him down. A 19-year-old woman was inside a phone box on Ocean Street, Penshurst, about 9pm on Thursday 17 March 1983 when she was forced into a van by a man. The woman was driven away and sexually assaulted before being released on Roberts Avenue, Mortdale. The incident was reported to local police at the time and, despite extensive investigations, no one has been charged. In November 2020, detectives launched a renewed investigation into the incident. A photo released by NSW Police shows the phone box on Ocean Street, Penshurst, where a woman was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in 1983 As inquiries continue, police on Wednesday release an image of a vehicle of interest and a photo of the phone box, which was near the intersection of Forest Road. The vehicle is described as a light blue Volkswagen Kombi panel van with no rear seats. Police are also appealing to speak to a man who may be able to assist with their inquiries. He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, with an average build, a fair complexion, and brown/auburn wavy hair. He is believed to have been aged in his 20s or 30s at the time of the incident. Investigators are appealing for anyone with information to come forward. Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Advertisement Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise stop to the scene of Monday's Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois after delivering remarks in Chicago Tuesday calling for an assault weapons ban. Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff greeted local officials nearby where a shooter killed seven people who were attending the Chicago suburb's Fourth of July parade. 'We're here for you and we stand with you,' Harris told police and other officials gathered near the crime scene. 'And of course as we always say - because it is true - our prayers are with you.' Strollers, children's bikes and other toys were still scattered along the brick sidewalk, where they were left Monday when the gunman started shooting. 'There's a lot of healing that's going to have to happen that is both physical and emotional,' the vice president continued. 'There is no question that this experience is going to linger in terms of the trauma - so I'd like to urge all the families and all of the individuals to seek the support that you so rightly deserve.' Later Highland Park's Mayor Nancy Rotering said on CNN that she was appreciative of Harris' message to first responders because the scene was 'unbelievably gruesome.' Turning to policy, Harris said, 'We've gotta be smarter as a country in terms of who has access to what and, in particular, assault weapons. And we've got to take this stuff seriously, as seriously as you are because you've been forced to have to take it seriously.' 'The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy and understand that this could happen anywhere - in any peace-loving community,' she added. 'And we should stand together and speak out about why it's got to stop.' Harris had just spoken at the National Education Association's annual meeting in Chicago where she addressed the July 4 shooting, but also remarked that 'our nation is still mourning the loss of those 19 babies and their two teachers in Uvalde.' 'This massacre was the most recent reminder - in Uvalde - of the risks that our children and our educators face every day,' she told the teachers union membership. 'Teachers should not have to practice barricading a classroom. Teachers should not have to know how to treat a gunshot wound. And teachers should not be told that lives would have been saved if only you had a gun,' Harris said, earning applause from those in the room. Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise stop to the scene of Monday's Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff arrive to visit the July 4 parade shooting site in Highland Park, Illinois Tuesday evening Vice President Kamala Harris (right) is greeted by Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering (left) during a surprise stop Tuesday night to the scene of Monday's Fourth of July parade shooting Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering as she meets police officers in Highland Park, Illinois Vice President Kamala Harris shakes the hand of police officers near the site where a gunman murdered seven who were gathered for the Chicago suburb's Fourth of July parade Vice President Kamala Harris addresses the press Tuesday night in Highland Park, Illinois She called the Highland Park parade shooting a 'tragedy.' 'As we all know, yesterday should have been a day to come together with family and friends to celebrate our nation's independence. And instead, that community suffered a violent tragedy. Children, parents, grandparents - victims to a senseless act of gun violence,' Harris said. She said that she and Emhoff were mourning the dead and praying for the surviving. 'And we all grieve, I know, for the lives that are forever changed in that community, including, of course, the students and the teachers of that community who have suffered great loss,' Harris said. 'And I don't need to tell NEA: We need to end this horror. We need to stop this violence,' she continued. 'And we must protect our communities from the terror of gun violence.' 'You know, I've said it before: Enough is enough,' the vice president added. She pointed to the recent bipartisan gun control bill - but said it didn't go far enough, calling for the assault weapons ban to be reinstated. 'You know, I'll talk in a minute about how you as educators teach the children so much. And you teach the children, among many things, reason,' Harris said. 'So, let's talk about what an assault weapon is designed to do,' she continued. 'An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly.' 'There is no reason that we have weapons of war on the streets of America,' she said. 'We need reasonable gun safety laws!' she said to yells and applause from those in the room. Harris had just spoke at the National Education Association's annual meeting in Chicago where she addressed the July 4 shooting, while remarking that 'our nation is still mourning the loss of those 19 babies and their two teachers in Uvalde' An attendee at the National Education Association 2022 Annual Meeting in Chicago holds up a sign supporting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday Vice President Kamala Harris (center right) and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff (right) meet Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (center left) and Illinois Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (left) on the tarmac of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Tuesday Harris also received cheers when she name-dropped First Lady Jill Biden, a college professor who's an NEA member. 'I have watched her go from the classroom directly to events at the White House or across the country and around the world, grading papers in between,' Harris said. 'So, like you, she is a remarkable educator who inspires us all.' Harris got even more political by characterizing many Republican leaders as 'extremists,' blasting them for refusing to boost teacher pay, ban assault rifles and for going after Roe v. Wade. 'While you work hard to teach the principles of liberty and freedom in your classroom, these so-called "leaders" are taking freedoms away: freedom away from women and the freedom to make decisions over their own bodies, freedom away from a kindergarten-to-third-grade teacher in Florida to love openly and with pride; and away from every American as they intentionally try to make it more difficult for folks to vote,' Harris said. She said the 'extremist so-called "leaders" need to attend a civics lesson.' 'I actually think it would benefit us all if they sat in your classroom for a few days to remember how a democracy works,' Harris said. She echoed what President Joe Biden said Monday to mark the Fourth of July - that sometimes a nation goes backward to go forward again. 'As educators, you know, we all know that history has never been an unbroken line toward progress; that even when we have advances, there will be setbacks. In certain times, those setbacks being more drastic than in others,' she said. 'This is one of those moments, but we will not be deterred.' An Australian woman has offered a word of warning to other tourists after she was stabbed and robbed by a man on a motorbike in Bali. Eliza Whitford, a physio student and pilates instructor from Melbourne, took to TikTok to share her traumatic experience. The 23-year-old detailed the horror week, claiming she was not only nursing a stabbing wound but had also been bitten on the eye by a mosquito. Ms Whitford said she briefly spotted the man on the back of the motorbike before he pulled out a knife, stabbing her and stealing her bag, wallet and all of her cash. She later said that she had 'no idea' about the common attack. In the video, she showed the scar and bandages on her thigh after the stabbing. Responding to a comment on TikTok, she explained: 'Insane! Pretty much was just on the scooter with my boyfriend and he came right up next to us on a bike and cut my bag off/leg in the process.' Eliza Whitford, a physio student and pilates instructor, took to TikTok to share her experience in Bali Ms Whitford is not the first Aussie to fall victim to the common attack in Bali. Tourists have complained of motorbike thefts for several years, and those who use their phones on moped or scooters are usually the prime targets. In the common scam, a local on a moped rides up to the tourist and snatches the phone out of their hand before speeding off. Several tourists, from Australians to Brits, have reported falling victim to the attack. Ms Whitford, later said that she had 'no idea' about the common attack - which several Aussies have fallen victim to Responding to a comment on TikTok, she explained: 'Insane! Pretty much was just on the scooter with my boyfriend and he came right up next to us on a bike and cut my bag off/leg in the process' Ms Whitford's leg after she was stabbed and robbed by a man on a moped while out in Bali In 2019, Australian tourist Andrew Bateman and his 17-year-old daughter Hannah were forced to end their Bali holiday early after they were thrown off their scooter by two locals wanting to get their hands on his new iPhone. 'Hannah had my phone on the back with GPS and maps, but out of nowhere two guys came flying alongside and grabbed my mobile from her,' Mr Bateman said. Hannah tried snatch it back, but the men grabbed her arm and pulled them both off the bike at speed. They tumbled off the bike and hit the ground. Mr Bateman, who is an experienced motorbike rider, suffered five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken scapular, and cuts and grazes. The teenage girl had a fractured wrist and deep gashes all over her legs. 'We could have both easily died,' the father said. 'My daughter was absolutely terrified and didnt want to leave motel or go outside.' The pair were helped by friendly locals who gave them a lift back to the hotel where they 'administered first aid on each other'. Mr Bateman said he was in too much pain to go to the police and wasn't comfortable visiting an Indonesian hospital. He quickly changed their flights to leave the next day. Andrew Bateman with his partner Kristy Clebsch pose for a selfie before the Bali trip The father and daughter endured '30 hours of immense pain' during the trip home. They finally made it to the Prince of Wales trauma unit in Sydney where their injuries were treated. While the brand new iPhone XS was lost and his insurance only covered a fraction of the cost, the man acknowledged it 'could have been much worse'. The Australian government advises tourists to 'exercise a high degree of caution' when travelling in Bali. 'Be conscious of your personal security,' Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warns. 'Be aware of risks, particularly in tourist locations such as Bali and Lombok, relating to violent and petty crime; sexual assault; drink-spiking and consumption of alcohol contaminated with harmful substances such as methanol; scams and credit card/ATM fraud.' Jacob Rees-Mogg last night issued a staunch defence of Boris Johnson and played down the significance of the Chancellors resignation. The ultra-loyal Brexit Opportunities Minister insisted Mr Johnson had made a minor mistake in the Pincher scandal. He told Sky News: If the Prime Minister is hearing endless things about all sorts of public business, he cannot possibly be expected to remember every last detail. Doesnt that show you a big man who is willing to apologise when he makes a mistake? Im not pretending the Prime Minister didnt make a mistake. Its obvious. The Prime Minister, forgetting one incident, was not swayed by rumour. Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) played down the significance of the Chancellor's resignation as he defended Boris Johnson last night Mr Rees-Mogg insisted Boris Johnson had made a minor mistake in the Pincher scandal. The PM acknowledged yesterday he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was found to have behaved inappropriately as a Foreign Office Minister Mr Johnson acknowledged yesterday he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was found to have behaved inappropriately as a Foreign Office Minister. Mr Rees-Mogg also claimed that losing chancellors is something that happens. The Prime Minister won the vote. The thing about democracy is if you win the vote, youve won and that I think is fundamental, he said, referencing the recent confidence vote in the PM. Mr Rees-Mogg said that to suggest last nights resignations should lead to the Prime Ministers departure was an 18th-century view of Cabinet government. He said that Mr Johnson relies on the support of a majority in the Commons, not on unanimous support in Cabinet. The Prime Minister is winning votes in the House of Commons and that is fundamental, he added. Old Brexit ally Lord Frost reluctantly says: Time to go... Lord Frost last night told Boris Johnson he should quit for the sake of the country and the Conservative Party. The former Brexit minister, who resigned from his Cabinet post last December, said there needed to be a new leader. In a statement posted on Twitter, the peer wrote: Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid have done the right thing. It gives me no pleasure to say it, and I had hoped that events might have taken a different course, but Im afraid the developments of the last week show there is no chance of the Prime Minister either putting in place the necessary change of approach to running a government or establishing a new policy direction. Former Brexit minister Lord Frost (pictured) last night told Boris Johnson he should quit for the sake of the country. Lord Frost resigned from his Cabinet post last December and is calling for a new leader Boris Johnson has huge achievements to his credit. He has a place in history for delivering Brexit and much more. But it is now time to look forward. Accordingly, and with sadness, I believe the interests of the country, our new-found self-government, and the Conservative Party would be best served by new leadership and a new Prime Minister. Lord Frost has become a vocal critic of Mr Johnson as he has called for him to return to a traditional Conservative agenda. Last month he gave his strongest indication yet that he plans to stand to become a Tory MP at the next general election. He said the confidence vote against Mr Johnson showed the large part of the party is uncomfortable with the direction of travel. Asked if he plans to stand at the next election, Lord Frost told BBC Radio Derby: If the party wants me to and a local party is interested in having me, then obviously Id take that seriously. And I hope by then, the Government will be back on track and have some results that we can credibly campaign on. Old Willy Lott would have no problem recognising this scene two hundred years later. His cottage still stands next to Flatford Mill by the River Stour looking exactly the same as it did in 1821 when John Constable captured it in one of the most famous paintings in history, The Hay Wain. And this quintessential sliver of old England in the Dedham Vale has lost none of its allure, its innocence and its timeless sense of contentment as I study it today in July 2022. This is a scene so compelling that when BBC Radio 4 asked listeners to vote for their favourite painting in any British gallery, The Hay Wain was only just pipped to the post by Turners Fighting Temeraire. Willy Lott an illiterate tenant farmer who spent all but four nights of his entire life in this wonky, cream-coloured cottage might be a tad baffled by the dog litter bin by his gate today, not to mention the electricity pylon a couple of fields back from the river. John Constable the Hay Wain is one of the most recognizable paintings by a British artist The scene beside Willy Lotts Cottage, left, which features in the painting, looks the same But the view over this somnolent stretch of water which marks the boundary between Suffolk and neighbouring Essex hasnt really changed one bit (except that, this afternoon, I find no cart up to its axles, no horses cooling their legs and rather more in the way of weeds). What really would flummox Willy, however, is the hellish vision of the future conjured up by the eco-zealots who, this week, had the affrontery to march into the National Gallery and redecorate The Hay Wain to suit their own warped agenda. Before gluing themselves to the frame of the painting, they slapped their own dystopian paper version of Dedham Vale on top of Constables canvas. It showed a road running past Willy Lotts cottage, a lot of dead trees, an airliner overhead, some abandoned vehicles and a grim industrial wastescape beyond. Their tediously childish message is that the oil industry will rape and pillage the countryside unless the Government refuses to license any more gas and oil projects. Its hard to know where to start with this sort of myopically militant Little Englander wokery. We could point out that the oil industry has long since had its heyday and is already in retreat now that Britain has signed up to the most ambitious and draconian carbon-neutral targets in the world. Or that its a big wide world out there and that every gallon of oil not produced in Britain will only be bought elsewhere, quite possibly from the sort of nations which are not as cuddly and tolerant of middle-class halfwits caught desecrating national works of art. On Monday, eco activists glued themselves to the painting's frame However, what can also be stated with absolute certainty is that this weeks stunt has backfired spectacularly. Because all those we talk to here by Flatford Mill including those with deeply-held fears for the environment think that the protesters have set their own cause back by years. They need to get a life and respect what has been here a long time, says retired bank cashier, Nesta Carpenter, on holiday from Barnstaple, North Devon. I dont dispute their right to protest but doing that sort of thing doesnt help their cause because it turns people like me against them. I dont know what John Constable did to upset them. Martin Beckwith-Brown, a retired IT manager from Danbury, Essex, was more contemptuous. We understand that the planet is dying. Because of people like Attenborough, we know all that, he says. What we dont need is people reinforcing what we already know. They are terrorists, they should be locked up and have the key thrown away. Owned and run by the National Trust, the hamlet of Flatford draws hundreds of thousands every year. They dont all come just because this is a well-known beauty spot. Its when you start talking to some of those who flock here that you realise quite how much this place really means to so many. I meet Adriaan Jooste, from Texas, who has come here as a homage to his Chelmsford-born mother who died during the Covid pandemic. She grew up round here and always loved the painting, he explains. Naile Anderson, is on holiday from Sydney, Australia. Its a magnificent painting an iconic person, location and piece and Ive never seen the area before, he says, adding: Im not sure what we would do without oil at the moment. Former planning officer-turned-painter, Mike Lowe, has even set up his easel next to Flatford Mill where I find him channelling his inner Constable on to a small canvas in watercolours. Im on holiday and am hoping to paint a different Constable scene every day, he explains. Constable had this scene etched in his brain, having grown up here. He was supposed to take over the mill his familys business until he became obsessed with being an artist. In the great tradition of British creative talents, his genius was not fully appreciated in his lifetime and only, initially, recognised abroad. Indeed, it was the French public rather than the British who were first enthralled by The Hay Wain. A Tory by inclination, Constable might be amused by two of the ironies surrounding this weeks protests. First, he finished this painting while living and working in Hampstead, spiritual home of utopian middle-class activism (it has even been suggested, plausibly, that the cart in The Hay Wain was actually one which Constable sketched at a horse trough in what is now London NW3). Second, it is not Big Oil which now threatens the bucolic charm of Constable country. My message to those protesters is not to attack the oil industry but to have a go at what the National Grid are planning, says John Hinton, district councillor for East Bergholt, whose patch includes this spot. He points to the vast new network of super-pylons which is being planned right across this Suffolk/Essex landscape in order to transfer electricity from the new monster wind farms out in the North Sea down to the capital. Pylons are easier and cheaper than putting cables underground. Flatford is so heavily protected and regulated that there will be no pylon within direct sight of the mill itself or the sacred Hay Wain panorama. However, the surrounding area could be desecrated with steel monsters precisely in order to meet those net zero, carbon neutral obligations. Now who is going to demonstrate against that? Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been hit by another hypocrisy storm - after blasting 'the toxicity in our public discourse' just days after crowing 'F**k Clarence Thomas' at an event. Lightfoot made her latest remarks while speaking at a news conference on Tuesday with other city officials regarding the U.S. Senate's Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on gun control after the horrific July 4 gun massacre in Chicago. 'The toxicity in our public discourse is a thing I think we should all be concerned about, right? And it's ironic obviously that we're having this conversation and what happened on Independence Day,' the Democrat mayor began. She was referring to the shooting in Chicago's Highland Park suburb, which saw gunman Robert Crimo III shoot and kill seven people watching a parade. 'You know, we're not like a lot of other countries where their version of Independence Day is marked with troops and tanks. No, what we do in the United States is come together as a community,' she said. But Lightfoot's attempts to position herself as a healing figure were in marked contrast to her foul-mouthed blast at Thomas on June 25, a day after he voted to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed women access to abortions across the US. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot slammed 'the toxicity in our public discourse' in the wake of Highland Park July 4 massacre - days after she shouted 'F**k Clarence Thomas' at an event Lightfoot was speaking about the overturning of Roe v. Wade at an LGBT pride event and someone in the crowd shouted at her on the stage. 'And if you read Clarence Thomas's concurrent opinion, he said -,' as she was interrupted by someone shouting at her from the crowd. Lightfoot, who is a lesbian, responded by saying: 'Thank you. F**k Clarence Thomas!' Lightfoot later doubled down on her comment when she tweeted a photo of herself at the rally pointing to someone in the crowd with a shirt that read, 'F**k Clarence Thomas.' The caption of the photo read: 'I said what I said.' Many gays were angered by a footnote in Thomas's Roe v. Wade opinion which suggested that a 2015 ruling which made same-sex marriage the law of the land should also now be overturned. Last week, Lightfoot declared at a Chicago Pride event on June 25: 'F*** Clarence Thomas!' Thomas - the only black man on the Supreme Court - called for his colleagues to 'reconsider' and potentially overturn other cases decided on the legal authority of 'substantive due process.' Substantive due process refers to the idea that people have fundamental rights that are not specifically laid out in the Constitution - and was the basis for a number of landmark cases including Loving v Virginia. The 1967 case declared that state bans on interracial marriages violated the Equal Process Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Thomas, 74, was one of five Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the Roe v Wade decision, which granted women a constitutional right to an abortion The decision apparently led to Thomas getting married to Virginia Lamp 20 years later. 'In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence and Obergefell,' Thomas wrote. Thomas notably did not mention the Loving case as one he thought the court should overturn. Authorities in Minnesota have focused their search for a missing 6-year-old on a park along the Mississippi River, where his mother was discovered dead following an apparent taking of her own life over the weekend. According to Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott, Elle Ragin has been missing since Sunday, June 19. Officers discovered her mother, 39-year-old Lisa Wade, dead in the family's Maple Brook Court house and cautioned that the deceased woman may have been implicated in the child's disappearance. On Tuesday, police stated they had no additional prospective suspects. 6-Year-Old Girl Went Missing After Mom's Death Police monitored her mother's travels using a search warrant for her mobile information. "Lisa Wade drove from her home in Northfield to Mississippi River Park in Stearns County around noon on June 21," he said. Her phone had shut off at 3 pm that day and had not been turned back on. According to Elliott, Wade made contact with a maintenance worker and a Stearns County deputy in the park on June 23. She was alone at the time and allegedly informed the officer that she had misplaced her phone and the keys to her black Honda CRV while trekking before requesting help. Wade seemed disturbed when she called her family members the week of June 25, he said. Between June 23 and July 2, she was seen on security camera many times, each time without her daughter. Police said they searched the house and surrounding area by land and air but found nothing. They then scoured the park and areas of the Mississippi River and discovered Wade and her smartphones. Elliott stated on Tuesday that authorities discovered Ragin was last seen on June 19. Wade traveled to Mississippi River County Park near Rice in Stearns County two days later, he claimed, where they located mobile phones belonging to both Elle and her mother, according to KMSTP. She shut off her phone at 3 pm and never put it back on again. Investigators say Wade called a deputy at the scene around 9 am two days later, informing him she had misplaced her phone and keys and was locked out of her car. The deputy arranged for Wade to be towed to a shop so he could obtain new tires, Fox News reported. Read Also: Philadelphia Shooting: Police Finds Bullet Stuck in Hat After Getting Shot in Head During July 4 Attack Public Urged To Contact Authorities For More Info According to WCCO reporter Kirsten Mitchell, a police chopper was spotted circling a cornfield near the missing girl's house on Sunday night. Authorities provided an update Sunday evening, sharing a fresh photo of the mother and daughter but providing no other information on the hunt for Elle. Ragin has brown eyes and brown curly hair. She stands 3'6" tall and weighs 45 pounds. Authorities are requesting anybody who has had contact with Wade in the previous two weeks or who knows where Ragin is to call the Northfield Police Department at 507-645-4477. The search for Elle Ragin is taking place fewer than 50 miles from where another Minnesota mother, Molly Cheng, is thought to have murdered herself and her three children on Friday near Lake Vadnais, Minnesota. Their killings occurred just hours after Cheng's spouse, only known as Kos, committed suicide in his bedroom with a gunshot wound. The family belonged to Minnesota's Hmong community. With almost 66,000 Hmong residents, the Twin Cities area has the highest concentration of Hmong people in the United States. Cheng was a Bangkok, Thailand-based beautician and tattoo artist. More information regarding what precipitated the horrific taking of their own life and subsequent triple murder death has not been revealed. If you need help, call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text 741741, as per Daily Mail. Related Article: Highland Park Parade Shooting Suspect Arrested After Killing 6, Injuring 24 During Celebration of Independence Day @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. British Airways and easyJet have axed hundreds more flights for July as plane refuellers voted to go on strike threatening more travel misery for holidaymakers. The two airlines told airport slot authorities over the weekend they were slashing 457 flights to European hotspots this month. According to industry analysis seen by the Mail, BA is axing 319 flights from London City, Heathrow and Gatwick airports to dozens of destinations. Flights to Alicante, Palma and Amsterdam are among the worst hit. It comes on top of the flagship carrier cancelling 650 flights the previous week, affecting up to 105,000 passengers. British Airways and easyJet have axed hundreds more flights for July as plane refuellers voted to go on strike. easyJet is cancelling a further 148 flights from Luton, Gatwick and Manchester airports Around 50 staff at Heathrow who fuel planes will strike for 72 hours on July 21 from 5am. It has been designed to cause maximum damage, covering the first weekend of the school holidays (STOCK) Meanwhile easyJet is cancelling a further 148 flights, from Luton, Gatwick and Manchester airports. Between June 5 and July 3 it pulled more than 1,000 departures. The Unite union announced around 50 staff at Heathrow who fuel planes will strike for 72 hours from 5am on July 21. It has been designed to cause maximum damage, covering the first weekend of the school holidays when millions of families are planning getaways. British Airways is axing 319 flights from London City, Heathrow and Gatwick airports to dozens of destinations. Flights to Alicante, Palma and Amsterdam are among the worst hit (STOCK) The workers are employed by Aviation Fuel Services, one of four firms at Heathrow, who re-fuel around 150 planes daily. BA uses a different firm, meaning their flights will not be hit by major disruption. But 70 airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Air France, will be. Unite wants a double-digit pay rise for workers to call off the strikes after pay fell by 15 per cent over three years, it claims. Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said: Disruption can be avoided if AFS returns to the negotiating table and makes an offer that meets our member expectations. Over-50s are set to be offered a Covid booster jab as early as autumn as ministers plan the latest fightback against a surge in the number of infections. Around six million people are understood to be in line for a fourth shot as the latest sub-variants of the Omicron strain continue to rapidly spread. Outbreaks across Europe are being fuelled by Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, which are thought to be even more infectious than the BA.2 strain that caused infections in the UK to spiral to a record 4.1million in April. Hospitalisations have trebled over the past month, with roughly 1,500 virus-infected patients now being taken to wards every day. Former minister Sajid Javid had addressed cabinet colleagues about the recent spike in infections, but The Times reported no new restrictions are understood to be on the cards as of yet. Mr Javid, who resigned as Health Secretary just hours after issuing his warning, had updated the cabinet about the Covid situation for the first time in months after infections soared in recent weeks. Rather than ramp up any return of restrictions, health bosses are said to be prepared to encourage increased vaccination rates over autumn in time for any winter rush. Over-50s are set to be offered a Covid booster jab as early as autumn as ministers plan the latest fightback against a surge in the number of infections Outbreaks across Europe are being fuelled by Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, which are thought to be even more infectious than the BA.2 strain that caused infections in the UK to spiral to a record 4.1million in April Roughly 2.3million Britons had Covid in the week ending June 24 up by a third on the previous seven-day spell. Even though rates are climbing quickly, they remain a fraction of levels seen in past peaks. Infections in all four nations of the UK are rising, with levels in England back to where they were in late April. Up to one in 18 people are infected in the worst hit parts of the UK. Experts believe the latest flare-up in cases is likely linked to the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron, which could push the total number of patients above April's peak of 16,600. Those variations are thought to be more infectious but just as mild as the original Omicron strain. Covid infections have shot up in England to just over 1.8million according to the latest Office of National Statistics data But intensive care admissions have failed to spike so far despite the recent surge in cases, although they have crept up above the 200 per day mark as of June 28 This graph shows the number of deaths directly due to Covid recorded in England and Wales. The number of deaths being recorded these nations currently is far below that of previous waves earlier year and a sheer fraction of those seen at the start of 2021. The Government has said it is monitoring the situation 'very quickly' but does not yet plan to reintroduce restrictions. GPs in Britain have been told that the NHS is preparing to start its booster campaign on September 1, with officials expressing a 'definite interest' in Moderna's new vaccine. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) previously recommended people over the age of 65 get a booster jab, but the chief medical officer of Moderna has suggested they are given to everyone, including children The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) previously recommended people over the age of 65 get a booster jab, but the chief medical officer of Moderna has suggested they are given to everyone, including children. The recent surge in cases has prompted Independent Sage to call for masks to be worn in public, more Covid jabs to be dished out as well as increased ventilation in indoor spaces. The group, made up of left-leaning scientists and an active Communist party professor, previously lobbied for a Christmas lockdown but quietly softened their stance after the milder Omicron wave subsided naturally and the NHS was not overwhelmed. Infections have doubled in a fortnight across England with around 1,000 patients now being admitted with the virus each day. There are fears that a new sweep of the latest Covid variant could decimate NHS staff levels once more, causing knock-on effects for ambulance wait times and the availability of specialists and operations. The development comes just days before the UK's summer holiday season is expected to ramp up, with millions of passengers bracing for disruption as travel bosses tell airlines to cancel more flights while aviation experts have shared fears over an extended period of 'Airmageddon'. A notorious money lender once dubbed Australia's toughest gangster has adopted an extreme diet that's transformed his appearance as he desperately tries to become a professional dirt bike rider. Former millionaire Tim 'Sharky' Ward, fled from the Gold Coast to the streets of Thailand in 2009 after becoming a target with the Australian police. The heavily tattooed Kiwi expatriate quickly forged a reputation in the Asian nation as the 'Shark of Pattaya', known for his intimidating bodybuilder physique and tough stance towards indebted borrowers. But after stepping out of the spotlight four years ago, the former nightclub owner quietly returned to the Gold Coast during the Covid pandemic - where he has undergone a drastic physical overhaul. Ward has since broken his silence over his new look, saying he shed more than 20kg thanks to a radical change to his diet. 'I got into intermittent fasting because it's good for you,' he told the Courier Mail. 'I'm carrying too much weight to do it properly. You can't be 120kg and go out into the bush on a bike you ride about a kilometre, and then you gas out.' Tim 'Sharky' Ward (pictured left) became an icon in the streets of Thailand after fleeing Australia in 2009 Footage posted online by a fan has revealed Sharky has leaned down his muscle mass in recent years - putting it down to intermittent fasting Ward said he won't return to living the fast life despite moving back to the Gold Coast, where he once owned nightclubs. 'I'll never be part of that again,' he said. 'It was a part of my life, but it's gone now I just want to chill out, ride my dirt bikes and relax.' He also maintained he's never taken any drugs and has removed people from his life who were users, before revealing his plan to eventually return to Thailand when the country lifts its Covid vaccine mandate. 'It doesn't really matter what I do for work does it?' he said. 'I'm in the bush I just want to ride my bikes and chill.' The former millionaire is an ex Gold Coast nightclub owner who has a penchant for luxury cars The bodybuilder has been spending his time going on motorbike jaunts around Queensland and said he was motivated to lose weight to become a better rider Footage posted on TikTok by a fan shows the once burly luxury car fanatic - who built a cult following in the body building community - has lost much of his muscle mass and grown out his formerly close-shaved head and facial hair. 'Sharky lost his size,' the follower lamented, alongside a crying emoji. Ward frequently shares photos of his motorbike rides with his more than 66,000 Facebook followers. Other images show sunsets and sunrises over the picturesque water canals throughout the city. 'I been flat broke and I been a multi-millionaire. The happy place is definitely somewhere in between,' his Facebook bio reads. Despite dropping the kilos, the fitness enthusiast still appears to be hitting the gym, posting pictures of his post-work out physique online and last month giving fans tips on how to save big on protein bars by buying in bulk when they're on sale. Ward told fans in a video (pictured) he plans to head to Thailand when the nation drops its permit requiring travellers to show their vaccination status Ward's colourful life began on the streets of New Zealand where he grew up without parents. 'You have to make it when no-one is going to give it to you. No mummy and daddy to run to so you gotta do what you gotta do. I was given up for adoption at birth,' Ward told the blog Stickman Bangkok in 2017. The former nightclub owner once possessed a number of luxury cars and motorbikes He developed a legion of fans online for his devotion to helping stray animals and abandoned children in Thailand 'I was picked on when I was a kid. A boy brought me home with him and his parents pulled him inside and slammed the door. I was that kid.' He began an obsession with earning quick money by playing pool for cash and first stepped into a gym at age 16. Ward left his hometown of Waitara, Taranaki on New Zealand's North Island in 1990 to pursue his dreams on the Gold Coast. He was a well-known nightclub owner and millionaire personal lender who, at his peak, owned three Lamborghini cars in three different colours - a luxurious life he earned by charging up to 200 per cent interest on his loans. Ward was banned from loaning funds in Queensland in the mid 2000s, and was made to pay $270,000 in fines and $100,000 in court costs after he was prosecuted by the Department of Fair Trading. The musclebound man helped abandoned children and dogs on the streets of Thailand After finding himself in trouble with Australian police in 2009, Ward moved to Thailand where he could finally be 'free'. There, he lived a thrill-seeking lifestyle, previously admitting to sleeping with Thai sex workers and buying his way out of trouble. 'I don't have to wear a shirt. I don't have to abide by the rules and if I do break the rules I just pay,' Ward said previously. 'It is one of the only places in the world where I really do feel free. I f*** up all the time but I pay. It beats going to jail. In Australia I would be in jail.' He also spent four hours every night handing out meat to dozens of stray dogs and cats on the streets of 'sin city'. His benevolence - which extended to defending the animals when drunk tourists took aim at the defenceless creatures and looking out for abandoned kids roaming the dangerous streets - earned him a legion of fans online. Republican-led states are continuing to outperform their Democrat rivals economically, and now have more people in work than there were before COVID. Analysis by Moody's found that red states - those that have voted for a GOP president in the last two elections - are up 341,000 jobs in total, compared to February 2020. But it was a different story in blue states, which are still collectively 1.3 million workers down on totals taken just before the pandemic began two-and-a-half years ago. According to a Moody's Analytics study, 11 of the top 15 states for economic output, employment, retail sales and new home listings are Republican, with Florida leading the way. On the other hand, eight of the bottom ten are Democratic run states. A major reason for the shift is the mass migration of the US workforce that occurred during the pandemic, reports the Wall Street Journal. Between February 2021 and February 2022, 46 million Americans moved, the most in a year since 2010. Republican-led states are continuing to outperform their Democrat rivals economically, and now have more people in work than there were before COVID Analysis by Moody's found that red states - those that have voted for a GOP president in the last two elections - are up 341,000 jobs in total, compared to February 2020 GOP presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis will likely be pointing Florida's amazing economic recovery post Covid-19 when primary season kicks in California Governor Gavin Newsom has overseen some of the most draconian Covid-19 restrictions over the past two years In many cases, this was the result of remote work allowing Americans to seek out cheaper housing and a better quality of life in states away from the pricier coastal areas. Others likely fled to GOP-led states because of their lighter or non-existent lockdown measures, with school and business closures angering millions of Americans The states that saw the most new residents are Florida, Texas and North Carolina, all three of which went for ex-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. The states that lost the most taxpayers, California, New York and Illinois, all went for Biden. In addition to being Republican, all of the states that gained residents were also states with fewer Covid-19 restrictions, with Florida being the primary example. The seven states that never issued work from home orders, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah, all have Republican governors. The 2020 presidential electoral map. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, red states have been outperforming blue states economically Politico reported in June 2021, that the states with the highest levels of unemployment, California, Connecticut and Hawaii, all still had Covid restrictions in place. At the same time, states that had least eased their restrictions, Montana, New Hampshire, Arkansas, South Dakota, Utah, Missouri and Nebraska, which are all red states, were recording pre-pandemic levels of economic activity. During this period, the sluggish economies of blue states such as California, New York and Hawaii, could be partly attributed to a lack of tourism. Whereas states such as Utah and Nebraska count food processing and manufacturing as their most profitable industries, both were sorely needed during the pandemic. By the end of 2021, the states experiencing the highest rates of of Covid-19 related deaths were red and the lowest were blue. But California witnessed similar trends to Florida, and debate continues over whether lockdowns and mask mandates actually made much difference. Cape Coral, Florida, was one of the most popular destinations for those who left the US's bigger cities during the Covid-19 pandemic The ability to work from home as a result of Covid is also thought to be a major motivating factor in encouraging people to move. The Journal notes in their reporting that the long term migration effects of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade remains to be seen. On May 20, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that his state will record its record budget surplus of over $20 billion for the financial year ending June 30. The potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate said in announcing the surplus: 'By keeping our economy open, maintaining a low tax environment, and being fiscally responsible, Florida's budget reserves have never been stronger.' He continued: 'While Washington, D.C., has consistently gotten things wrong, Florida has consistently done things right.' The governor's office says that some of the surplus will be used to raise teacher salaries and to improves schools in the state. Much of it will also be held to tide Floridians over during the next economic downturn. Arkansas, a thoroughly Republican state, recorded a surplus of $1.6 billion for the most recent financial year, a new record. The previous record was set in 2020 when it was $946 million. The last time Arkansas voted blue in a presidential election was when its native son, Bill Clinton, ran for reelection in 1996. Another sign of robust economic recover is in Texas where cities such as Houston and Austin have seen more than 50% office space occupancy. On the other hand, 60% of office space in each of Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose remains unoccupied. The Wall Street Journal goes on to note that the states that gained the most residents have lower income tax rates than those who lost residents. In April 2022, Tennessee, a red state, recorded its all-time lowest unemployment rate of 3.2% while the economy rose by 8.6% in 2021. The state's Republican Governor Bill Lee is raising teacher pay, hiring more law enforcement and freezing tuition at state colleges. For the second year in a row, Arkansas is posting a record budget surplus. The state hasn't voted for a Democrat as president since Bill Clinton's reelection in 1996 In total, 12 states with Republican legislatures reported record-low unemployment, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those statistics says that nine states, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, are recording having more jobs that than pre-pandemic. The same release showed that through March 2022, nine of the top 10 states for jobs recovered since the coronavirus pandemic began are led by Republican governors, and all 10 states have Republican-controlled legislatures. An example of a state economy under stress comes from New York, where with $1.4 billion for child care promised, the New York Times reported that the Democratic lawmakers were concerned about paying for their pledge without federal assistance. A Redfin study found that Cape Coral, Florida, was one of the most popular destinations for those who moved during the pandemic. The city's population has risen nearly 10% in 2021 and 2022 with the majority of migrants coming from Chicago. San Francisco that lost the most residents of any city during the pandemic, according to the study. The majority of those who left the city stayed in California, settling in the Sacramento-area. While Los Angeles lost more than 50,000 residents, with the majority relocating to San Diego. New York City lost 80,000 residents with the most settling in Miami. Bake Off host Prue Leith berated her own son, Tory MP Danny Kruger, for his opposing views on assisted dying, telling him to 'man up'. Kruger recently said a change in the law was a risk, as 'there are a lot of people who want Granny and Grandpa to hurry up and die'. While yesterday Prue stressed that 'everybody should have the choice' with regards to assisted dying. The statement may be the start of a family rift, as in an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV Leith said there was going to be a 'real problem'. The 82-year-old admitted she clashes with Danny regularly, and have again following his efforts to fight any change regarding this aspect to end of life care. The Wiltshire MP also divided opinions recently when he said he does not think women have 'an absolute right to bodily autonomy' following the American abortion ban. Prue Leith, 82, said that if she had six months left to live she may chose assisted dying and that her son, Tory MP Danny Kruger, would need to 'man up and bare it [her death] a few months earlier or a few weeks earlier' Piers Morgan called the scenario of Prue advocating for assisted dying while her son campaigned in parliament against it a 'fascinating situation' Prue said she hopes she will manage to persuade her son on the topic of assisted dying before he eventually votes on the matter (Mr Kruger pictured discussing abortion last month) GBBO Prue Leith's religious son Danny Kruger who was once Boris Johnson's political secretary and a speechwriter for David Cameron: Danny Kruger is the son of Prue and her late husband Rayne Kruger, who died in December 2002, aged 80. He is a former speechwriter to David Cameron - and dreamt up the famous 'hug a hoodie' line and a member of a free-market think-tank, the Legatum Institute. He has been described as 'a passionate Christian' who brought the Gospel to convicted criminals through the prisons charity Only Connect, which he founded, and is also a vocal supporter of legalisation of cannabis. Mr Kruger is an Old Etonian and his 'hug a hoodie' line came back to bite him in 2008 when he and a friend tried to tackle a moped thief and was attacked, 'with all the rage of Cain' by a 'rat faced boy'. Mr Kruger said he still stood by the idea that love 'is a crime fighting device'. The MP received an MBE in 2017 for his charitable work. He has been the Tory MP for Devizes in Wiltshire since 2019 and was a Political Secretary to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson - a key aide who acts as the PM's troubleshooter - the same year. Most recently, in August 2020 Kruger was photographed breaching the rules on the mandatory wearing of masks on public transport. He apologised and stated that he 'simply forgot' and later said he disliked 'absurd masks'. Then in June last year, Mr Kruger was fined after his Jack Russell puppy, Pebbles, caused a stampede when he chased a 200-strong herd of deer in London's Richmond Park. He was fined 120 and told him he must pay 575 costs and a 34 surcharge, totalling 719. Advertisement Prue explained she felt her son's statement may impact their relationship, she said: 'Well, that's gonna be a real problem. 'We are devoted to each other, and he generally has very principled objections. I think he's quite wrong. 'First of all, I'm hoping that he will not manage to muster all his mates in Parliament and vote against it and that I will manage to persuade him before I get there.' Piers laughed and added: 'It's a fascinating situation where your own son is literally in the Houses of the Parliament campaigning for the complete opposite.' 'Many families have disagreements about all sorts of things we happen to have one about this,' she responded. 'But I really think I honestly believe that it I should be in control of my own life. 'I mean, I think the idea that, that somehow human life is so sacred, and it's sacred to whom, it's not sacred to me and it's my life?' Prue suggested she would only having a conversation about euthanasia if she was within six months of dying. 'I don't believe that my son would ruin, make my last six months even more distressing, by refusing me that,' she said. 'No, I'm sorry. When it comes to my own life, it's my life. Tough he's going to lose me within six months anyway. So, man up and bare it a few months earlier or a few weeks earlier.' Prue feels so strongly about the right for people to have the right to assisted dying because she's 'heading for the big decision'. 'I started getting interested in the whole subject when my elder brother died and he died a really horrible death,' she said. 'And recently, my younger brother died and he died at home with his family around him. And, he didn't have assisted suicide because he didn't need it, but he had the sort of death that I think that people who weren't assisted suicide would dearly love to have, you know, at home their own bed surrounded by their family.' Prue stressed that 'everybody should have the choice'. 'I'm not saying that they have to do it, of course Because [as the situation is now] it definitely drives people to Switzerland, if they can afford it, and very often to attempted suicide if they can't afford it.' Piers Morgan Uncensored airs Monday to Thursday at 8pm on TalkTV. Abortion is another similarly contentious topic, and last month Mr Kruger was again unafraid to share his opinion on the topic. He said he doesn't agree women have 'an absolute right to bodily autonomy' in a debate over the American abortion ban. He also acknowledged that he would 'probably disagree' with other MPs about the US Supreme Court decision. 'They think that women have an absolute right to bodily autonomy in this matter, whereas I think in the case of abortion that right is qualified by the fact that another body is involved,' he said. As MPs tried to speak over him, Mr Kruger added: 'I would offer to members who are trying to talk me down that this is a proper topic for political debate and my point to the frontbench is I don't understand why we are lecturing the United States on a judgement to return the power of decision over this political question to the states, to democratic decision-makers, rather than leaving it in the hands of the courts.' Security services have warned the UK it must be braced for a heightened threat of Russian cyber attacks. The National Cyber Security Centre, part of the communications GCHQ, has urged organisations not to let cyber security staff burnout as it could lead to errors. Its guidance told bosses to give frontline cyber staff breaks to recharge. Security services have warned the UK it must be braced for a heightened threat of Russian cyber attacks Officials urged businesses and public bodies to prepare for the long haul as the war in Ukraine continues to rage The British Army's Twitter and YouTube feeds were hijacked on Sunday with adverts promoting crypto currencies Officials urged businesses and public bodies to prepare for the long haul as the war in Ukraine continues to rage. It comes after the Armys Twitter and YouTube accounts were hacked on Sunday to promote cryptocurrency. Though it was thought to be scammers looking for financial gain, the impact could have been far greater had it been an attack from a hostile state. The Cyber Security Centre said it assessed the cyber threat to the UK as heightened, and urged organisations not to let their guard down. It warned that increased workloads for cyber security staff over an extended period can harm wellbeing and lead to lower productivity, with a potential rise in unsafe behaviours or errors. Paul Maddinson, NCSC Director for National Resilience and Strategy, said: From the start of the conflict in Ukraine, we have been asking organisations to strengthen their cyber defences to help keep the UK secure, and many have done so. But its now clear that were in this for the long haul and its vital that organisations support their staff through this demanding period of heightened cyber threat. We have produced new guidance to help organisations do this, and I would encourage them to follow our advice to help sustain their strengthened cyber posture. A Belgian charity worker living in Australia is facing a terrifying ultimatum: cough up more than $80,000 for surgery or lose your foot. Julius Grauls, based in Sydney, has spent the past four years travelling Down Under, helping others by working as a fundraiser for charity organisations all over the world. Now his Aussie friends are racing against the clock to help save his foot after he was in a horrific accident while holidaying in Thailand. Mr Grauls was riding a moped through Ko Pha Ngan about 4pm on Monday when he was hit by a truck, driving alongside him on to the left, that failed to indicate as it turned right. Julius Grauls, 29, (pictured) arrived in Thailand on June 28 for a two week holiday. Less than a week later, he is in hospital with a serious foot injury - facing the possibility of never walking again The heavy vehicle knocked the 29-year-old off his bike and drove over his right foot, leaving him lying on the side of the road with serious injuries. 'I thought I would die,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'I was in shock screaming for help. My foot was falling off. I was totally helpless. 'When I saw my foot was all open with the bones and nerves exposed, I started going in shock but knew I had to stay strong otherwise I would pass out. 'I held every person around me with my eye closed while praying for my life.' After an agonising 10 minute wait, an ambulance finally arrived to take Mr Grauls to the drastically underequipped local hospital, where staff were only able to give him painkillers and bandage the wound. He was eventually transferred via a rickety boat to a hospital in nearby Koh Samui, where he underwent a small operation - with travel and the medical procedure costing $20,000. But doctors say he is still in need of up to five vital surgeries to save his foot that can only be carried out in Bangkok, which will cost more than $80,000. Mr Grauls was hit by a truck in Koh Phangan on Monday. Pictured: A motorcycle accient in Koh Phangan in May 2019 The crash has seriously injured his foot (pictured), leaving it opened and exposed to the bone Now, friends have rallied around the 'gem of a person' by setting up a GoFundMe to help Mr Grauls raise the money. 'Julius is the type of guy that would go out of his way to help someone,' friend Franklin said. 'And now it's him that is the one who needs help.' While Mr Grauls has travel insurance for Australia, he only took out Covid insurance as he did not think he would need more protection as he only planned to holiday in Thailand for two weeks. It was a decision he would come to regret. He is now waiting in a government hospital in a small dingy room with 15 others, where he has been unable to see a doctor for the last 15 hours. Doctors have been uncommunicative and he is still yet to be told the prospects of whether or not he will be able to walk again. He is no longer allowed any more morphene to ease the pain, which has made it difficult to sleep. Friends are rallying to support the charity worker (pictured) as he braces for the long road to recovery ahead 'I'm in the worst place in my life,' he said. 'Unfortunately they can't operate here, they can only clean the wounds.' Since being set up on Tuesday, the fundraiser has garnered $3537 of its $80,000 goal. Mr Grauls said he has been overcome by emotions by the amount of support he has received in the wake of the crash. 'I am very emotional with all the people who have reached out and helped,' he said. 'I didn't expect to get this kind of support. But it is keeping me going.' Donate to the Gofundme at https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-surgery-needed-for-julius?utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&fbclid=IwAR3p6RH5mi0kVlXnE6jGgf87v-ZXoTtovhqIMxMju67RpRFHNTe_kJ3y3Rg Anthony Albanese has blasted critics who have questioned his series of overseas trips after he was branded 'Airbus Albo' for spending one-third of his time in power overseas since winning the election. He returned on Monday from a nine-day trip to Europe where he was invited to the NATO summit followed by meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and took a train to war-torn Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and pledge another $100million to help fight Russia. Anthony Albanese has blasted the 'Airbus Albo' critics of his overseas trips, branding them 'beyond contempt' and adding: 'They didn't get the memo about the new politics' It follows earlier trips to Japan for two days for the Quad summit meeting in Tokyo just after he was elected, and a two-day trip to Indonesia to meet President Joko Widodo. The fact he's been on a public relations mission overseas while NSW was being hit by a fourth flooding crisis has been compared to Scott Morrison's trip to Hawaii at the height of the 2019 bushfire disaster. But on Wednesday, Mr Albanese reacted furiously to the accusation. 'I was fulfilling a responsibility that I believe that I had of traveling to Ukraine,' he said. 'To compare that with a holiday is beyond contempt, frankly. 'And it says a lot about the people who made those comments.' Anthony Albanese's jetset politicking while New South Wales was hit by another flood crisis has been compared to former PM Scott Morrison's trip to Hawaii at the height of the 2019 bushfire disaster He said the new government was delivering on their promise of a change of attitude. 'Some people apparently didn't get the memo about the new politics,' he said. 'New politics is about getting things done and achieving outcomes and working together in the interests of the Australian public. That's my objective.' Mr Albanese was accused of not even picking up the phone to call NSW Premier Dom Perrottet as the state sunk under yet another rain deluge at the weekend. But he said he had to be smuggled into Ukraine, along with national security protection and media, without any phones or internet devices to avoid detection. 'We didn't have any electronic equipment - no phones, no internet, no communication with the outside,' he said. 'That was a matter of keeping us safe, but also keeping safe President Zelensky and and the Ukrainian people that we were meeting. 'Because obviously there is a war going on - [but] apparently that should have just been dismissed.' He insisted he made contact with Premier Perrottet as soon as he returned from Ukraine and arrived back in Poland. 'I immediately spoke to Premier Perrottet, I spoke to [federal emergency] minister [Murray] Watt, I spoke to the acting Prime Minister Richard Marles and made sure that every support was being offered,' he said. 'We were acting. We are not a one person show.' PM Anthony Albanese insisted he made contact with Premier Dom Perrottet as soon as he returned arrived back in Poland from Ukraine (pictured with SES Commissioner Carlene York) Mr Perrottet also leapt to the PM's defence and welcomed the new relationship between the federal and state government. 'I know in some quarters the Prime Minister has been criticised for being away,' he said. 'What I would say is from my perspective, the federal government needs to balance international concerns and domestic concerns. 'But as soon as he could, he picked up the phone to call me.' He added: 'What we have seen here is a great coordination from the Commonwealth and the state government. 'To have the 100 ADF on the ground very, very quickly, was pleasing.' NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (right) also leapt to (left) PM Anthony Albanese's defence and welcomed the new relationship between the federal and state government He admitted the relationship with the previous Coalition government had struggled at times to effectively bring the help required as needed. 'I'm always going to say it as I see it,' he said. 'I had a very constructive relationship with the previous government but that doesn't mean we always agreed on various things. I think people know that.' But he admitted the new Albanese government had helped bring a quicker response for residents hit by the flood disaster around Sydney and the Hunter region. 'We don't have the bureaucracy getting in the way of ministers actually understanding and coordinating and communicating what the issues on the ground are,' he said. 'So you get better outcomes. You get a faster response when ministers are contacting each other directly, understanding the needs and concerns on the ground and responding effectively.' Flood-affected residents will be eligible for $1000 disaster payments for adults and $400 for children, which will be transferred into bank accounts as early as Thursday (pictured, an ADF Bushmaster drives through flooded streets in Sydney's McGrath Hills) The comments came as it was announced flood-affected residents will be eligible for $1000 disaster payments for adults and $400 for children, which will be transferred into bank accounts as early as Thursday. Eligible local government areas include Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Canterbury Bankstown, Campbelltown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Kiama, Lithgow, Liverpool, Northern Beaches, Penrith, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Sutherland, The Hills, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong. The population of the eligible LGAs combined is 3.67 million. The disaster payments are in addition to initial assistance flagged by the federal and NSW governments announced earlier this week. 'We know this is having a real impact on people. We want to make sure the supports are available as soon as possible,' Mr Albanese said. 'That's why we've been very quick to act in partnership with the NSW government and it is pleasing that we've been able to work together so strongly. We know that these circumstances have impacted people there in the area where you are.' Former prime minister Tony Abbott could be making a big return to politics, with a possible run for NSW Liberal party president. The Australian reports that Mr Abbott has 'floated the idea' with close supporters of making a push for the position that is currently held by Philip Ruddock. The publication cited 'well-placed sources' that confirmed Mr Abbott's intention to run. Rumours have circulated that former prime minister Tony Abbott (pictured) may run for NSW Liberal party president as nominations remain open until the end of July Philip Ruddock has been NSW Liberal party president since 2018 and is also currently the mayor of Hornsby. He is reportedly 'weighing his options' as nominations remain open. Mr Abbott has not publicly expressed his desire to run or submitted a formal nomination. Both men are considered to be quite close and friendly with one another. They both served together in federal politics, with Mr Ruddock appointed chief government whip when the Abbott government took office in 2013. He was removed from that position and replaced with Queensland MP Scott Buchholz after the former prime minister survived a leadership spill in early 2015. Liberal MPs and journalists chalked Mr Ruddock's removal to Mr Abbott being dissatisfied with his 'performance' in managing tensions leading up to the spill motion. But Mr Abbott and other former Liberal MPs including Julie Bishop rejected this assertion. Philip Ruddock (left with Mr Abbott) is the current the NSW Liberal party president. The Australian reports that he is 'weighing his options' The former prime minister said that Mr Ruddock was moved to create a 'deeper and stronger engagement in the backbench'. He also described Mr Ruddock as a 'friend', 'colleague' and 'supporter' at the time. Both men declined to comment on Mr Abbott's possible intention to run for NSW Liberal part president when asked by The Australian. Nominations for the position are open until July 23. Nine people died - including five in 24 hours - and several others were hospitalized over the holiday weekend from suspected fentanyl overdoses in a rural Florida county. At least 19 people overdosed over the holiday weekend, leaving nine people dead, four in cardiac arrest and six others have been hospitalized and intubed in Gadsden County, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. All were between the ages of 34 and 67, and at least two of them were women. Gadsden County Sheriff Morris A. Young said investigators believe the deaths are related to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid used as a pain medication, and it is suspected the drug had been mixed with marijuana and cocaine. As little as 2mg of fentanyl can cause a fatal overdose. 'Any illegal drug is dangerous,' Sheriff Morris A. Young said. 'After what we experienced here this weekend, I would hope people think twice before putting an illegal drug in their system. Gadsden County's public information officer told DailyMail.com this is a 'first of this magnitude' in the county and the first fentanyl outbreak. Six deaths have been confirmed as fentanyl overdoses, while three others remain under investigation, the Sheriff's Office told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. County officials said the overdoses occurred in Havana, Gretna, Quincy and Chattahoochee. The Sheriff's Office put out a public alert after two women were found dead on Friday from an alleged overdose. The husband of one became concerned after she missed eight phone calls from him. When he arrived at their Quincy home, he found his wife and friend dead. In a separate incident, a man who was a passenger in a car died after the driver passed out from doing drugs and crashed into another car. Gadsden County Sheriff Morris A. Young said they received around '15 calls' over the holiday weekend about drug overdoses Two women were found inside a Quincy home (pictured) when the Sheriff's Office issued a public warning about the drug. The deaths occurred throughout several incidents and it is unclear if they all got the fentanyl-laced drugs from the same dealer The nine deaths took place in Gadsden County, among four towns: Havana, Chattahoochee, Quincey, and Gretna The county, which has a median population of almost 43,000 people, has a median income of $41,000, according to recent Census data. Law enforcement warned the public that a possibly polluted drug supply was making its rounds, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. Fentanyl-laced cocaine has been seen in Florida since 2018, the publication claims. However, there has not been fentanyl-laced marijuana case in the country yet. according to University of Texas at Austin Pharmacy program coordinator. Young said the county received around '15 calls' about overdoses within the first five days of the month, and several people are hospitalized with cardiac arrest and intubations as the death toll continues to rise. So far, no arrests have been made, but Young said the office is 'fast-tracking the warrants' and do have suspects. Law enforcement told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that no one is currently in custody. 'We're gonna be picking folks up,' he told WCTV. 'We're knocking on doors and up those folks who are responsible for selling this trash in our community. DailyMail.com has reached out to the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office for comment. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also released a statement stating: 'The tragedy demonstrates yet again the extreme danger of fentanyl, which we continue to seize in all 50 states, often hidden in other drugs or made into fake pills.' A deadly dose of fentanyl can be as low as two milligrams and goes by several names, including China Girl, Dance Fever, and Goodfellas The DEA also issued a statement about the nine deaths and warmed about the 'extreme danger' of the drug The DEA also said it believes a different kind of fentanyl has hit Gadsden County, and that could potentially be 1,000 times more potent. 'So we think it hit here in Gadsden County and thats why we had such an influx, and overdoses and deaths all at once,' Young said during a Facebook Live. 'We're going to be working hard to get down to the bottom of this.' Gadsden County is working with federal, state, and local agencies to follow-up on leads to stop this 'deadly circus,' the public information officer told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. Young also said they have been tracking the drugs with the DEA and found many are coming from northern Florida and southern Georgia, he said. More than 70,000 Americans have died from fentanyl in the last year, jumping from 13,000 in 2020, according to the CDC. By 2021, the US overdose rate surpassed 100,000. In Florida, fentanyl was found in 59 percent more cases and death jumped 69 percent, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Medical Examiners Commission. The highest prevalence of the drug was found in Fort Lauderdale, with 642 deaths. Of the 6,089 opioid-related death in Florida in 2020, 5,302 were found to be fentanyl, according to the Medical Examiners Commission. Twitter announced on Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, the latest development in the legal battle between the social media company and the country's attempts to ban its content. The action comes after Indian authorities ordered the social media company to remove a series of accounts and posts that violate the country's obscenity and defamation laws. While Twitter opted to remove the posts, it has also started to seek judicial protection from such orders in the future. Twitter vs Indian Government The tense legal battle between the two sides began last May when India issued new IT rules for online content. This was shortly followed by a police raid on Twitter's India offices and regulators threatening to hold the company liable for any future infractions by its users. However, the social media company has long argued that it complies with local laws concerning speech. But Indian laws concerning obscenity and seditious speech are unusually aggressive compared to other legislation. The country has, in the past, used speech laws to stifle environmental concerns or broader discussion of internal political strife. Prominent author Arundhati Roy, who faced sedition charges for statements about the conflict in Kashmir, described the system as both chaotic and repressive, as per The Verge. "The most frightening thing is that any mad coot can go and lodge a complaint against you. It's a serious amount of harassment," said Roy at the time. Twitter's legal battle with the Indian government is made even more complicated by ongoing confusion about Elon Musk's plan to take the company private. Read Also: Biden Administration Pressures the EU To Launch Economic Sanctions Against Russia The Tesla CEO also pledged to emphasize free speech values as Twitter's new owner but also said that he would work to obey local laws. He hinted at enforcing staff cuts that would make it more difficult to effectively defend the company's position in India. According to TechCrunch, Twitter alleged that New Delhi threatened to open criminal proceedings against its chief compliance officer in India if he did not comply with orders. The lawsuit comes after a year and a half from the start of the legal battle. New Local Laws Many believe that the Indian government's attempts to take down social media posts were objectionable only because they denounced its policies and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. a spokesperson for Twitter declined to comment on the matter amid ongoing legal issues. Twitter officials considered the police raid on its India offices as a form of "intimidation" by the government. They said that the company has "concerns with regard to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global Terms of Service, as well as with core elements of the new IT Rules." During a news conference, India's minister of electronics and information technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that it was everyone's responsibility to abide by the laws passed by the nation's Parliament. For several years, Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have worked to corral the power of the tech companies and to strictly police everything that is published online. They have used the new information technology laws to clamp down on dissent, the New York Times reported. Related Article: NATO Countries Sign 'Historic' Accession Protocols for Sweden, Finland as They Move a Step Closer To Alliance Membership @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A young man who decided to get his face covered with tattoos when he was depressed has revealed the toll his facial ink has taken on his life. Joel Hartgrove, from Queensland, joined the army when he was 21 and felt his service in the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment was his 'forever job'. Then after serving four years as a soldier he suffered a debilitating back injury and found himself struggling to adjust to life outside the Defence Force and fell into a deep depression. The 29-year-old told Daily Mail Australia that after leaving the army he did not know what to do with his life and faced 'racism-like' discrimination due to his tattoos. But Mr Hartgrove eventually decided to become a paramedic, and says he has found it a 'non-judgmental' occupation. Joel Hartgrove became a Queensland Ambulance Service cadet after applying for the organisations indigenous paramedic program (pictured) 'I always had being a paramedic in the back of my mind and did some research into it but I didn't think I met the education requirements for it without completing high school,' he said. The Wiradjuri man applied for multiple universities and was accepted into paramedicine at the Australian Catholic University through the institutes Weemala Indigenous centre. Mr Hartgrove then applied to Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) Indigenous Paramedic Program while on placement in Ipswich, but was apprehensive on how colleagues and patients would react to his tattooed face. 'I was always really self-conscious and worried about them, on my first day I was really nervous,' he said. 'I've had people move their kids away from me and people won't engage in conversation so it can be a bit difficult sometimes. 'In my personal life prior to doing this (paramedic) I found the tattoos held me back.' The Wiradjuri man said he had his face and body tattooed while suffering from depression after he left the army Mr Hartgrove likened the prejudice he received for his face tattoos to racism or discrimination on the basis of culture. When asked how many tattoos he has, Mr Hartgrove said he's not 100 per cent sure because they all start to blend in together. But he said the ambulance service, colleagues and cadet program has been a 'non-judgemental' zone and his facial ink has been a talking point that provides a distraction from distressing situations. 'That's the good thing about this organisation because the role is non-judgemental, everyone's the same, you help everyone,' he said. 'I get to help people at their worst. 'It's a hard time for people when they're at that point so it's nice to be able to give them some reassurance or help them through their journey.' Mr Hartgrove has began the process of removing the prominent face tattoos despite his positive experience with the QAS. Mr Hartgrove said he felt nervous on his first day as a paramedic as he was unsure how people would react to his tattoos 'Definitely coming from a Defence background where it was very strict I was worried about the code the ambulance service had for tattoos so I started the process of getting laser removal when I was accepted into university,' he said. 'I don't personally like them anymore as they're not a true reflection of my character and I want to look more professional.' The paramedic cadet said he enjoys his role and hopes to be an inspiring influence to young people in the indigenous community. 'I found from my experience in all first nations communities there can sometimes be not good influences,' he said. 'The good thing about this program, we get to be a face they see in the community and that can hopefully inspire some people to be a paramedic or something else.' Senior Advisor of the Cultural Capability Unit, which runs the Indigenous Paramedic Program, Angela Parry said the program was first introduced in 2012 after they identified a need for representation in discreet Indigenous communities. Ms Parry said the first inception of the program was primarily around the discreet communities but has grown to be much more than that and is about the workforce representing the community. 'People are reluctant to call a service if they don't see people like them represented in the workforce,' Ms Parry said. 'The program is excellent because we have the benefit of having the rich history from individuals like Joel that we may not have got from other avenues of recruiting. 'We have indigenous cadets making their communities proud and really helps the community see themselves in the ambulance service.' Mr Hartgrove served for four-years in the defence force (pictured) and became a paramedic to help people and be a positive role model for the Aboriginal community The program's current cohort has 57 cadets in 36 communities across Queensland at different levels in the three-stage program. In a Facebook post shared by Queensland Ambulance Services (QAS) on Wednesday Australian's labelled Mr Hartgrove as a 'legend' and shared their admiration for the tattooed cadet. 'Skin is skin Joel it is what is on the inside that truly counts, your true self is within your soul,' one user wrote. 'One role serving the community to another role serving the community - you're a legend Joel,' another comment read. Another user commented: 'Well done and thank you for your service in the forces and for what you're doing now. People should never judge a book by its cover.' Mr Hartgrove will be assigned to represent the QAS at the South Brisbane Ambulance Station once he completes his training in two weeks. He hopes to continue his study and become a critical care paramedic or flight paramedic and mentor to indigenous youths in the community. 'It doesn't matter where you come from or what sort of childhood, influences or education you have had, there is always a pathway to get to where you want to be,' he said. 'It may be harder than some other people ... but there is always a way to get to where you want to be so don't give up.' Australian's world-famous Bushmaster combat trucks have been called in to help with the devastating aftermath of NSW's latest flood crisis. The multi-purpose military vehicles - some of which were shipped to Ukraine to fight the Russians - were pictured in McGraths Hill, in Sydney's north-west, assisting with disaster relief operations on Wednesday. Around 100 troops from the Australian Defence Force and Army have been deployed to the Hawkesbury region this week to assist in evacuation and relief efforts. And the Aussie-designed Bushmasters - lauded overseas for their ability to withstand any environment - will be a huge help. Australia's world famous Bushmasters have been deployed to help in the latest flood crisis. Pictured are vehicle driving through a flooded street in McGraths Hill The vehicles can rapidly deploy up to ten battle ready troops and can withstand mines, artillery shrapnel and small arms fire - as well as floodwaters. Some 20 Bushmaster vehicles donated by the Australian government have been deployed in Ukraine since early April after a special request from President Zelensky. Mr Albanese announced on Sunday 34 additional armoured vehicles will be deployed to the war-torn nation as part of a $100 million military aid package. But first, they have the home front to contend with - with Australia's east coast hit by four flood crises in the past 18 months. Several Army Bushmasters (one pictured in McGraths Hill) have spent recent days assisting in Sydney's latest flood crisis The military vehicles will be needed in flood-devastated suburbs in the coming day. Pictured is debris floating on the streets of Windsor Severe weather warnings and evacuation orders remain in place as the wild weather moves from Sydney to cause more havoc further north on the state's Central Coast. Australia's biggest city has been saturated with more than a month's worth in rain in four days, cutting off communities for the third time in as many months. The city's north-west has been worst hit as the Hawkesbury River at Windsor rose to its highest level in more than 40 years, sparking thousands of evacuations. The clean-up has only just begun for Windsor residents devastated by the the fourth major flooding event in 18 months SES Deputy Commissioner Ashley Sullivan says the danger for flooded communities continues and river levels will stay high for days, prompting fears of landslips. 'This event is certainly still escalating and unfolding,' he told the ABC on Wednesday. Australia is expected to follow other parts of the world in expanding eligibility for a fourth Covid vaccine dose to the wider population, says Anthony Albanese. The prime minister says the immunisation experts will look at available evidence before making a recommendation, as the nation grapples with rising case numbers. 'The pandemic isn't over, so my view is that (Australia) will inevitably follow what has occurred in other parts of the world and roll out a further booster shot,' he said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the immunisation experts will look at available evidence before making a recommendation but says a fourth jab is inevitable 'I'd encourage people who haven't had their booster shots to go out there if they're eligible and do it as a matter of urgency.' The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is expected to discuss the benefits of expanding the fourth dose eligibility at their meeting on Wednesday. It is currently available for Australians over 65 years and vulnerable people. Meanwhile, Victoria has extended its pandemic declaration by three months. The declaration was due to expire before midnight on July 12, but has been extended until at least October 12. In a statement on Tuesday, Premier Daniel Andrews said he was satisfied Covid continues to pose a 'serious risk' to public health throughout the state. This, he said, justified ongoing public health measures over winter to reduce the risk of transmission and hospitalisation. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is expected to discuss the benefits of expanding the fourth dose eligibility at their meeting on Wednesday LATEST 24-HOUR COVID DATA Victoria: 10,056 cases, 23 deaths, 523 in hospital with 29 in ICU NSW: 13,775 cases, 10 deaths, 1822 in hospital with 64 in ICU Tasmania: 1700 cases, one death, 79 in hospital with two in ICU Queensland: 5878 cases, four deaths, 705 in hospital with 18 in ICU ACT: 1477 cases, no deaths, 135 in hospital with five in ICU Advertisement NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard also warned that anyone who is not keeping up with additional vaccinations is 'crazy' as the state braces for a third wave to peak in late July and early August. The surge in cases is being driven by two Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5, and health experts believe the number of cases and deaths will continue to grow. State and territory health experts are also considering whether to reintroduce mask mandates to curb the case increase. As the number of people in Victoria who had Covid in their system when they died topped 4000, Premier Daniel Andrews said he couldn't make it any clearer that vaccines worked. However, he stopped short of telling Victorians to don masks outside of the current mandated settings such as health facilities, aged care and public transport. On Tuesday, there were 3740 people with COVID in hospitals across the country, the highest levels since February during the height of the Omicron wave. More than 36,000 infections were reported nationally and experts warn case numbers will climb even further as winter progresses. International arrivals no longer need to declare their vaccination status to enter the country. Dragon's lawyer's say his client did not realise the images were in the home, because they were given to him as part of a prison art programme He was caught in possession of child images that breached his strict bail conditions A notorious paedophile has been freed on bail despite being thrown back in jail less than two days after his controversial release A notorious paedophile has been freed on bail despite being thrown back in jail less than two days after his controversial release for allegedly being caught with images of children. Bradley Pen Dragon, 62, has spent half of his life in jail, and walked free from prison on June 21st, despite believing his sexual interest in children is 'natural'. But 48 hours after his release, the 62-year-old was caught in possession of child images that breached his strict bail conditions, it was revealed during an appearance at the Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning. A notorious paedophile has been freed on bail despite being thrown back in jail less than two days after his controversial release Dragon's lawyer's say his client did not realise the images were in the home, because they were given to him as part of a prison art programme he had been taking part in, and were still in sealed packaging when found. It comes after the paedophile handed over two pieces of art he had made to his supervision officer after finding them in prison belongings. One of them was a painting of a a woman sitting in a bar, while another was a college of faces. This led to police searching the home and finding the newspaper clippings. He was then taken back into custody. He has pleaded not guilty to contravening a requirement of a supervision order and will stand trial in October. He will be released on bail, and subject to an electronic bracelet and his supervision conditions while in the community. Dragon has spent most of his life in jail on child sex abuse charges in both Perth and Thailand - and continues to hold a belief that his sex with children is natural. He previously told a psychiatrist that 'much of the society doesn't agree with laws relating to the restriction of access to pornographic material about children or sexual contact with children, and much like homosexual relationships, this may be something which is legalised in the future'. Many angry parents were outraged after learning the convicted paedophile was living near them last month, speaking out on community Facebook pages and sharing his address. However they were warned that sharing information of his location was a criminal offence, and the posts were deleted. Mark McGowan promised Perth residents he would be monitored 'very closely'. 'Hes the sort of person that we will crack down on immediately,' Mr McGowan said, hours before his arrest in June. 'If he breaches, a tonne of bricks will come down on him.' He was caught in possession of child images that breached his strict bail conditions Dragon's lawyer's say his client did not realise the images were in the home, because they were given to him as part of a prison art programme Dragon previously said he would willing to undergo physical castration, but a phyciatrist insisted there was no clinic in Australia who would offer such an operation. WA's Shadow Treasurer and spokesman Steve Thomas said prior to Dragon's release that the decision 'absolutely worrying' and the government should be taking a harder stance on repeat offenders. 'I think we've developed to a stage where we're quite soft on law and order issues these days, and it's time for a far bigger focus on holding people responsible for their behaviour,' he said. 'I absolutely believe that a tougher on crime approach and going back to making the punishment fit the crime is where we want to see this government and this society go.' Advertisement The gunman who killed seven people in a shooting at a fourth of July celebration in Highland Park, Illinois, posted videos online of him building his own home and painting a soldier on the wall of his parents' backyard. Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III, 21, is facing seven counts of first degree murder in Lake County, Illinois, for his alleged role in the shooting. Authorities say that Crimo fired on a crowd enjoying an Independence Day parade in the town. Crimo also went by the moniker Awake the Rapper. In a blog archive obtained by DailyMail.com, many of Crimo's bizarre videos have come to light. The suspect archived a livestream of him building the small shed where he lived at the time of the shooting. The shed is located beside his parents home along Pleasant Avenue in Highwood, Illinois, just north of where the shooting took place. Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III, 21, begins this video by asking viewers: 'What's up communists?' Crimo is facing life in prison after being charged with seven counts of first degree murder following the Highland Park Crimo tells viewers that he is building a 'cabin in the city' After describing to the viewers what his home might eventually look like, saying that it will include a window and a bench, Crimo concludes his video by saying: 'Goodbye Mr. FBI agent' Crimo begins the video by asking his followers: 'What's up communists?' He tells viewers that he is building a 'cabin in the city,' a reference to the shed. From there, Crimo takes the camera to show off his car that he refers to as the 'P***y Magnet.' The car, which has the number 47 emblazoned on the side, also has a sticker across the rear window reading: 'P***y Magnet.' It is unclear if that 47 is a reference to the date of the massacre - with Crimo also recently posting a stream of 47s on a now-deactivated Twitter account. Despite being a rapper, Crimo is shown listening to classic rock throughout the video as AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult and Creedence Clearwater Revival's anti war anthem 'Fortunate Son' can be heard. During an interaction with live commenters, Crimo says: 'Death to America.' After describing to the viewers what his home might eventually look like, saying that it will include a window and a bench, Crimo concludes his video by saying: 'Goodbye Mr. FBI agent.' Crimo's car is emblazoned with the number 47 which is ubiquitous around his social media Crimo goes on to show viewers his car which he refers to as the 'p***y magnet' Crimo's car comes equipt with a decal that reads: 'P***y Magnet' The finished product of Crimo's cabin is shown in a separate video titled 'Just do it' The shed is shown fully constructed and painted in a later video titled: 'Just do it.' In a separate video that Crimo titled 'Smiley Face Soldier (Speed Painting),' the suspect paints an image of a man in green and black with a smiley face emoji over his face on the wall of his parent's house. This is all done with the Darth Vader's theme music from 'Star Wars' playing over it. Above the image of the soldier is the words that Crimo earlier painted on the wall: 'God's Not Dead.' In that video, Crimo painted the words with the main theme from 'Star Wars' playing as the soundtrack. 'God's Not Dead' is the title of a series of high commercially successful evangelical Christian movies. In a separate video that Crimo titled 'Smiley Face Soldier (Speed Painting),' the suspect paints an image of a man in green and black with a smiley face emoji over his face on the wall of his parent's house The music that accompanies this video is Darth Vader's theme music from 'Star Wars' Crimo's uncle, Paul, earlier said that the suspect lived in a small apartment beside his family home in Highwood, Illinois In another video, Crimo posts what appears to be an early morning shot of the street in Highland Park where the July fourth shooting took place. The video is titled: 'Where is everyone?' Crimo also posted a video showing him watching President Donald Trump's motorcade leaving an airport. That video is named: 'Awake watches Air Force One arrive.' Other bizarre videos show Crimo repeating the word: 'Freedom' and asking the question: 'Have you been held a prisoner of your own device?' A similar video sees the suspect saying: 'I need you to take a leap of faith.' A group of other videos on his page, appear to show Crimo playing video games including 'Call of Duty,' featuring several missions where the user has to fire from a roof on to enemies. Above the image of the soldier is the words that Crimo earlier painted on the wall: 'God's Not Dead' In this video, Crimo painted the words with the main theme from 'Star Wars' playing as the soundtrack 'God's Not Dead' is the title of a series of high commercially successful evangelical Christian movies A former classmate's of Crimo, named only as Mackenzie, told CNN that the suspect hung around with trouble makers Another friend described Crimo saying: 'He was a skater kid. He would make YouTube videos all the time back then. Kind of DIY videos on how to grip a skateboard or replace a wheel, stuff like that' Another group of videos show a much younger Crimo skateboarding with friends around Highland Park. A former classmate's of Crimo, named only as Mackenzie, told CNN that the suspect hung around with trouble makers. She said: 'They wanted to be the 'anti-' group, like the rebels. The aura they presented was opposite, negative and harsh.' Mackenzie added: 'Whenever I heard him speak, it was very lifeless and negative. He's always been down and not enthusiastic.' Crimo's genre of music is the typically downbeat LoFi hip-hop. A different friend said that he used to skateboard with the suspect. He said: 'He was a skater kid. He would make YouTube videos all the time back then. Kind of DIY videos on how to grip a skateboard or replace a wheel, stuff like that.' In another video, Crimo posts what appears to be an early morning shot of the street in Highland Park where the July fourth shooting took place This unknown symbol that Crimo regularly posted on social media is also seen in his music videos That friend said that by the time Crimo got to high school: 'He was always by himself. No one seemed to try to be hid friend.' Crimo dropped out of high school in 2017. Prior to this, he plastered 'Awake' sticker around the school. A former friend named Molly Handelman told CNN that she was 'not shocked' when she learned that Crimo was a suspect in the Highland Park shooting. Handelman said: 'When he did talk, he was very soft. He didn't seem aggressive ever, at all.' She continued: 'He made it very clear he didn't care about school. His friends got into trouble pretty often in school. He stayed pretty reserved and quiet, so it seemed pretty interesting how he was very quiet but his friends were very rebellious.' Paul Crimo, the suspect's uncle, has told how Crimo was behaving normally on Sunday night. He claims he showed 'no signs of violence' - despite YouTube rap videos in which he glamorized school shootings. The shooter's motive for yesterday's attack remains unknown. 'I'm heartbroken. I'm so heartbroken. There were no signs that I saw that would make him do this. He's a quiet kid. He's usually on his own. He's a lonely, quiet person. He keeps everything to himself,' Paul Crimo, his uncle, told CNN. In the same interview, Paul Crimo confirmed that his nephew lived in a small apartment behind the house owned by Bob Crimo Jr., along Pleasant Avenue in Highwood. 'Everything was as normal,' he said, adding that he was sitting on a recliner in his home the night before the shooting, looking at his computer. We are good people here, and to have this is devastating. I'm so heartbroken for all the families who lost their lives.' In a separate interview with Fox32, Paul Crimo said: 'I saw no signs of trouble. And if I did see signs, I would have said something. I'm deeply heartbroken and I'll be heartbroken for the rest of my life.' A large cargo ship that was stranded at sea for two days after it lost power has been towed safely into Port Botany, following a daring rescue mission. The MV Portland Bay docked at Botany Bay in Sydney's south at about 2pm on Wednesday, after being assisted by four tug boats. The Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier lost power about one kilometre off Garie Beach in the Royal National Park, south of Sydney, on Monday morning leaving 21 crew members stranded in massive seas. The ship started drifting towards the cliffs, sparking fears of a maritime disaster, with the Port Authority of NSW dispatching three tug boats to stop the ship and haul it far offshore. The MV Portland Bay has finally returned to shore after it was stranded at sea for two days off the coast of Sydney The large bulk carrier docked at Port Botany at about 2pm on Wednesday, with all 21 crew on board safe Sydneysiders are seen watching on as the large vessel comes in to berth But the combination of wild weather and 11-metre swells forced the towlines to snap, undoing rescue efforts and sending the ship floating towards shore again. After a second night on Tuesday in stormy seas anchored off Cronulla and held in place by two tugs, the ship was directed to berth at Port Botany on Wednesday. The vessel was told by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority it needed to dock before more severe weather hit on Thursday. Marine pilots had boarded the ship earlier on Wednesday to assess it was safe for it to dock. Crew on board the ship spent two nights on stormy seas after the ship lost power on Monday morning Efforts to take stranded cargo ship Portland Bay (pictured) back out to sea after it lost power stalled on Tuesday Authorities confirmed all 21 crew on board returned safely to shore. Deputy secretary of the Sydney Branch of the Maritime Union, Paul Garrett, described the tugboat crews as 'heroes'. 'I think the most impressive thing is, when most people head for shelter, our members are jumping on board the boat to head out to sea and do their best,' he said. 'The seas were big, they went from five to nine metres ... it is akin to being in a washing machine.' Port Authority of NSW CEO Philip Holliday said an investigation into the situation would be launched. Four tug boats were used to tow the ship into port on Wednesday afternoon A Polair Police helicopter surveys The Portland Bay cargo ship sits stranded approximately 1klm off the cliffs the of Royal National Park, south of Sydney, on Monday afternoon 'If I was going to be critical, I would say it took a little while before the ship let us know how close to the shore they were,' he said on Tuesday. 'It's always nice to know about these things sooner, but all's well that ends well and they notified us in time to give assistance.' Initial plans to winch eight non-essential personnel off the ship on Monday afternoon had to be abandoned due to wild conditions. Emergency helicopters rushed to evacuate the staff as the storm dragged the ship to within 0.6 nautical miles (1.1km) off shore, despite both anchors being down. However, rescuers were forced to turn around as massive waves of more than eight metres and gale winds exceeding 70km/h made the mission too unsafe, with authorities shifting focus to taking the vessel back to sea. As the Engage Marine tugboats arrived at the scene, incident controller John Finch reassured the public the 170m vessel was in a 'stable, anchored position'. The ship was told it needed to dock on Wednesday as more severe weather has been forecast for Thursday 'We've got two tugs in attendance, two anchors deployed, we've got a third that will be arriving in the next 15 or 20 minutes,' he said. 'There was an initial plan this morning to evacuate the non-essential staff but once the vessel deployed its anchors and it was in a stable condition it was no longer drifting towards the rocks, the master asked to keep his crew on board. 'At this point in time they're confident they can make an engine repair once they get into safe, deep water.' Experts estimated the ship was carrying about 1000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and would trigger an 'ecological disaster' if it were to run aground. Footage from Surf Life Saving NSW showed a rescue helicopter circling the ship as it battled powerful waves off the Illawarra coast. 'It's a tricky situation, with tower cranes on the ship interfering with any winching attempts,' Surf Life Saving tweeted on Monday afternoon. Chris Dawson (pictured): His lawyers describe the murder case against him as 'nonsensical' Allegations Christopher Michael Dawson executed the perfect crime in killing his wife without a trace while leaving all her belongings at home have been criticised as nonsensical, a court has heard. At Dawson's murder trial on Wednesday, barrister Pauline David said it would have been extraordinary if her client planned to kill Lynette Dawson and dispose of her body while forgetting to at least pack a suitcase of her clothes to make it look like she had left. 'If he has the capacity to not only kill her ... and dispose of the body in a very short period of time, it seems nonsensical that one would leave all her clothes intact,' Ms David told the NSW Supreme Court. Dawson, now 73, was an honest man who had kept his wife's belongings in their Bayview, Sydney home exactly as she had left them when she walked out in January 1982, the court heard. Dawson is accused of murdering his wife because she was an obstacle to his sexual relationship with his then teenage lover and babysitter, known as JC. Mrs Dawson abandoned the home but left her two daughters with her husband, knowing they would be taken care of, Ms David told the court. 'She knew that they had a loving father, a good home, there was financial security, and (they were) surrounded by a very loving family on both sides.' Mrs Dawson was alive until at least 1984 when a final sighting of her was made working as a nurse at Rockcastle Hospital in the Sydney suburb of Curl Curl by former neighbours Jill and Peter Breese, Ms David said. Justice Ian Harrison questioned her about this alleged sighting, asking why Mrs Dawson would take up work at a hospital a 'stone's throw' from where she previously lived if she wanted to disappear and start a new life. 'It is a curious thing for someone with her putative desire to stay away from everyone to expose herself to an employment position in the very area where she's most likely to be identified,' the judge said. Mr Dawson (right) allegedly murdered his first wife Lynette Dawson (left) on January 8, 1982 Ms David argued that Mrs Dawson could have been there in a temporary role as an agency nurse and that she may have thought the chances of meeting anyone she knew at the hospital were low. Claims by Dawson's brother-in-law Ross Hutcheon that he had spotted Mrs Dawson near Gladesville Hospital in 1982 were also questioned by Justice Harrison. He pointed out that Lynette Hutcheon did not mention the claimed sighting to Dawson in an intercepted phone call made after she and her husband were interviewed by police in 1999. 'How could a relative of the deceased not appreciate the significance of a sighting showing (Mrs Dawson) to be alive in an investigation or discussion with detectives who are trying to find out what happened to her?' the judge asked. The Hutcheons claim they told police of the sighting in 1999 despite notes taken by detectives failing to mention this. Ms David attacked the credibility of the police, saying they omitted to report on alleged sightings of Mrs Dawson alive and well after January 1982. She claimed former detective Damian Loone deliberately misled the investigation and lied to a 2003 inquest into Mrs Dawson's disappearance because of his fixed view she had been murdered. Despite these police failures, the barrister said these sightings should be accepted because they were made by people familiar with Mrs Dawson and not strangers. Chris Dawson is accused of murdering his first wife because she was an obstacle to his sexual relationship with his then teenage lover, known as JC (pictured), the court heard The court heard on Wednesday that Chris Dawson (pictured with his first Lynette on their wedding day) kept her belongings in their Bayview home exactly as she had left them when she walked out in January 1982 Justice Harrison also grappled with the fact that only one person had come forward with a sighting of Mrs Dawson in recent years despite what he called an avalanche of publicity about the case. 'The inference that seems to arise is that you had to be very unobservant not to have your attention drawn to the fact that Lynette Dawson is missing,' he said. Ms David submitted that certain people may not have been interested in true crime stories and that Mrs Dawson would now look very different if she was still alive as a 72-year old woman. The trial continues. More than 1,000 Qantas and Jetstar engineers have threatened to strike, demanding a massive 12 per cent pay rise. The workers are considering 12-hour strikes - the length of a shift - and overtime bans as part of the industrial action which would likely cause havoc for travellers. The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association federal secretary Steve Purvinas said some staff hadn't had their pay increased in four years, while taking a swipe at Qantas CEO Alan Joyce who takes home about $2million a year. 'The airline has not taken negotiations seriously,' said Mr Purvinas. More than 1,000 Qantas and Jetstar engineers have threatened to strike, demanding a massive 12 per cent pay rise 'There have been years of meetings and no progress. The overpaid CEO (Alan Joyce) expects all workers to freeze their wages as the board tucks away bonus and share options for Qantas executives. 'We won't need to target holiday periods, Qantas seem to be doing a good enough job of ruining people's holiday's without our assistance.' The ALAEA has been granted permission by the Fair Work Commission to conduct a vote among members on whether industrial action needs to be taken. The vote closes on August 10, meaning the earliest possible time strikes could be seen would be mid-August. Mr Purvinas said because some workers hadn't been given a raise in four years, the 12 per cent demand would equate to a 3 per bent bump each year. A Qantas spokesperson said: 'We're disappointed the ALAEA has taken this step given we've been negotiating in good faith on the agreements. This action from the union is completely unnecessary. 'With the industry still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, the last thing it needs is the threat of industrial action. Qantas say the proposed industrial action is 'completely unnecessary' and contingency plans are in store to minimise disruptions 'Should the union proceed with industrial action, we have contingency plans to minimise any disruptions. 'The (12 per cent pay rise) is something we simply can't afford and is well above wage increases for other employees across the Group. 'Negotiations for Jetstar and Network Aviation's engineers agreements recommenced in May, so it is completely unreasonable to take this step given we're still early in the process.' Network Aviation is a Qantas-owned airline based in Perth. Qantas has vowed to pay 19,000 staff a one-off $5,000 bonus and the promise of 1000 shares, currently worth around $4,500. The major airline lost $231billion in revenue during the pandemic. A bouffant-haired Colorado funeral home director has admitted selling corpses to medical researchers, then lying to families that the remains had been cremated. Megan Hess, entered the plea to the charge of fraud at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gordon Gallagher in Grand Junction, Colorado, on Tuesday. Despite her admission, Hess initially remained arrogant in court Tuesday, branding the case against herself a travesty. Moments later, she admitted the allegations were true. FBI agents found that Hess forged dozens of body-donor consent forms at her Sunset Mesa funeral home, with the fraudster allegedly giving one family an urn of concrete dust, instead of their loved one's ashes. In court documents, a former employee also said Hess of earning $40,000 by extracting and selling the gold teeth of some of the deceased. She is said to have sold the remains to medical research firms and colleges which use the bodies to train medical and dental students. Hess charged $1,000 per cremation - only to pass on body parts to buyers, and also offered poor families free undertaking services, only to steal their remains. Megan Hess, 45, confessed to illegally selling body parts without obtaining consent from the families of now-deceased loved ones in Colorado Hess, whose mom Shirley Koch is also accused of being a body harvester, was previously accused of spending that money on a trip to Walt Disney World. Gallagher scheduled Hess, who had previously pleaded not guilty, to be sentenced in January, with the prosecution calling for 12 to 15 years in prison. Hess, 45, admitted on Tuesday that through her funeral home, located in the town of Montrose in the western part of the state, she defrauded at least a dozen families seeking cremation services for deceased relatives. Instead of cremating the bodies, court records show, her body broker company harvested heads, spines, arms and legs and then sold them, mostly for surgical training and other educational purposes. Hess had been scheduled to go on trial in three weeks along with her mother, Shirley Koch, who also previously pleaded not guilty. Koch's change-of-plea hearing is set for July 12. Hess, pictured working as Funeral Director at Sunet Mesa in Montrose, Colorado, potentially faces up 12 to 15 years in prison After Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Chaffin made his sentencing recommendation, the lawyer for Hess, Dan Shaffer, urged a lighter sentence of about two years in prison. Hess has been free on bond since her arrest. During the hearing, the judge asked Hess to describe in her own words the crimes she committed. Hess initially called the whole affair a 'legal travesty.' When prodded by the judge, Hess agreed with the prosecution that she defrauded her victims, though she declined to go into detail. Two family members and one friend of deceased people whose body parts were sold without permission by Hess spoke at the hearing. They told the judge that while they were still emotionally reeling from the episode and wanted to learn more details about what occurred, they welcomed the news that Hess had decided to plead guilty. To increase sales, Hess targeted poor and vulnerable families as they grappled with a relative's final days, according to government court filings. She would offer them free cremations, but give out urns which were full of other dusty material. 'Meeting with hospice on the 4th ... opening the floodgates of donors,' Hess wrote to a prospective body-part buyer in 2014. 'They have four or five deaths a day. Get ready!!!! ... How about a deal on full embalmed spines ... $950?' Selling organs such as hearts, kidneys and tendons for transplant is illegal in the United States. But the sale of cadavers and body parts for use in research or education, which is what Hess did, is not regulated by federal law. Few state laws provide any regulation, and almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human body parts. After an investigation first started by Reuters in 2018, Colorado's legislature strengthened the state's oversight. A family affair. Hess (back right) worked at the funeral home with her mother Shirley Koch (front left), who was also involved in the illegal trade of human body parts, and her father Alan Koch (front right). Pictured is also Koch's brother Alan (back left) and another family member Hess charged families up to $1,000 for cremations that never occurred, prosecutors said, and she also offered others a free cremation in exchange for a body donation. Many families received ashes from bins mixed with the remains of different cadavers, authorities said, and one client received concrete mix instead of a relative's ashes. Hess and Koch also shipped bodies and body parts that tested positive for, or belonged to people who died from, infectious diseases including Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, despite certifying to buyers that the remains were disease-free, authorities said. The Reuters series uncovered the actions of Sunset Mesa and Donor Services. Former workers told Reuters about questionable practices at the facility, including the dismembering of bodies without the knowledge or consent of families. About a month after the Reuters stories, the FBI raided the site and state regulators shuttered the funeral home and crematory. A federal grand jury indicted Hess and Koch in 2020. Advertisement Scores of arrests have been made in the largest international police operation of its kind to snare a major people smuggling gang suspected of trafficking 10,000 migrants across the Channel on 'barely sea-worthy boats' shipped over from Turkey. Dramatic video has captured a slew of raids that took place in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands yesterday as part of a joint operation by the UK's National Crime Agency alongside Europol and Eurojust, the EU's criminal justice cooperation agency. How migrants are moving boats from Turkey to the UK Hewa Rahimpur, a 29-year-old Iranian, is accused of overseeing a 'slick' operation to supply boats to be used in illegal Channel crossings. This is how the system allegedly worked: 1 - Gangs source boats in Turkey; 2 - They are smuggled into Europe and kept in warehouses in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands; 3 - Associates then take them to northern France when they are needed to ship migrants to Britain. Advertisement Operation Punjum, led by the NCA in Britain, was carried out alongside Operation Thoren in Europe to smash the gang, which allegedly charged migrants up to 3,500 each to take them to the UK in boats packed with up to 60 people at a time. 'Mr Big' Hewa Rahimpur, a 29-year-old Iranian, is accused of overseeing a 'slick' operation to source the boats in Turkey before having them delivered to warehouses in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Associates then took them to northern France when they were needed to ship migrants to Britain. There have been more than 40 arrests across all the countries involved, with 900 life jackets found and 60 small boats, such as dinghies, recovered at one location alone. More than 12,800 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in dinghies and other small boats, according to provisional Government figures. Official records show 28,526 crossed last year. With the gang accused of smuggling 10,000 people over the last 12 to 18 months, this suggests they are responsible for a large proportion of illegal crossings. However, officers warned that despite foiling the gang 'favourable' weather conditions could still lead to a surge in journeys being attempted in the coming weeks. In London yesterday, officers arrested a 26-year-old man in Rushey Green, Catford, and a 22-year-old man in St Davids Square, on the Isle of Dogs, on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration. The NCA's director of threat leadership, Chris Farrimond, said these men were suspected customers of Rahimpur's network, and were allegedly involved in orchestrating migrant movements and laundering the profits. Despite recent criticism of the French authorities, Mr Farrimond said they had 'upped their game quite considerably'. 'They're putting a lot of effort into stopping the boats going at all now,' he said. Of four other arrests made in the UK, two were 'believed to be illegal migrants' and have been handed over to immigration authorities, while two others were detained on drug offences. Others arrested overseas are suspected of being facilitators within the network. One member of the network was wounded by a gunshot in a migrant camp in France in September 2021. The incident is allegedly linked to a subsequent attempted murder case in Osnabruck, Germany, on November 13, 2021. In London yesterday, officers arrested a 26-year-old man in Rushey Green, Catford, on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration The NCA's director of threat leadership, Chris Farrimond, said these men were suspected customers of Rahimpur's network, and were allegedly involved in orchestrating migrant movements and laundering the profits The arrest in Catford was part of the biggest ever European-wide operation targeting small boat smugglers Another man was arrested in St Davids Square, on the Isle of Dogs, also on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration 'Mr Big' Hewa Rahimpur, a 29-year-old Iranian, is accused of overseeing a 'slick' operation to source the boats in Turkey and before having them delivered to warehouses in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Pictured: Migrant boats in Dover The NCA described the raids as the 'biggest ever international operation targeting criminal networks suspected of using small boats to smuggle thousands of people into the UK'. Prosecutors in the north-western city of Osnabruck were reportedly in charge of the German raids. Some 900 officers from the federal police and the Osnabruck police headquarters were involved in 36 searches of properties, with 18 people arrested in Lower Saxony, Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany's press agency dpa said. The NCA said all of the countries had been working together as part of a long-running taskforce to tackle people smuggling and Channel crossings and investigations began with Rahimpur's arrest in May. Mr Farrimond said action to tackle the supply chain in France over the last few years has made it 'much more difficult' for traffickers to source their boats, engines and life jackets along the French coast so they have turned to another method spanning several countries. He told reporters at a briefing: 'It was actually our intelligence which started this all off and which led to the culmination (on Tuesday). 'Many of those arrested overseas have been targeted as a result of evidence that we provided into the taskforce.' He said of Rahimpur: 'He is the one we believe to have been living in the UK but was coordinating the supply of small boats from Turkey to supply that chain through to France and other locations so he was having boats delivered to Germany, France and the Netherlands. 'So they've been sourcing them via Turkey, and basically warehousing them in Germany and then calling them forward as they require them for the crossings. And it's quite a slick operation.' 'It really required us to get into that small boat supply chain in order to understand what the traffickers were doing and then attack them where it was going to hit their logistics and make life difficult for them.' Mr Farrimond warned the operation would not end cross-Channel trafficking, adding that 'favourable' weather conditions could lead to a rise in people risking the dangerous journey. The NCA deployed officers to Germany where more than 60 boats and 900 life jackets, which would have been used to transport people across the Channel, were recovered from a farm near Osnabruck The boats and life jackets recovered from a farm near Osnabruck will now be examined by NCA specialists The NCA described the conspiracy as a 'slick' operation that has successfully smuggled thousands of migrants over the last 12 to 18 months Asked how much the gang was believed to be charging migrants to cross the Channel after lining up boats, engines and life jackets for them, Mr Farrimond said a 'straight trip across the Channel' was estimated to be charged at between 2,500 and 3,500 euros. But he added that most people ask for help to travel across Europe as well which would cost more. While this operation alone 'will not stop the flow of migrants to the UK', Mr Farrimond said he believes the scale of the work will 'absolutely' make a dent, adding: 'It will take some time for this group, or whichever group succeeds it, to recover. Now we're not going to stop at this point. 'Ideally we'd like to stop the supply of small boats much earlier on so that they really have difficulty getting their hands on them. 'And we'd also like to attack the money flows in a lot more detail than we do right now. So there's plenty more to do. It's not going to stop it but it is going to make a dent.' Home Secretary Priti Patel said the latest operation shows Britain will 'stop at nothing' to end the illegal people-smuggling trade. She said: 'These arrests send a clear message to the criminal gangs who are preying on vulnerable people across Europe and beyond: we will stop at nothing to end your sordid trade, bring you to justice and save lives. 'This hugely significant operation once again shows the NCA and our international partners working diligently to dismantle people-smuggling networks. 'These callous individuals treat human lives as a commodity and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that they feel the full force of our new, tougher laws designed to break their business model and suitably punish them for their despicable crimes.' Seized boats, yet to be inflated, were being stored at a farm near Osnabruck, Germany and have now been seized by police The NCA described the boats as 'cheap, barely sea-worthy vessels'. Pictured, of a group of people thought to be migrants are rescued off the coast of Folkestone, Kent Home Secretary Priti Patel - seen at Silverstone - said the latest operation shows Britain will 'stop at nothing' to end the illegal people-smuggling trade The NCA's Deputy Director of Investigations, Jacque Beer, said that the international investigation is targeting one of the most significant and most prolific crime groups involved in supplying small boats and moving migrants across the Channel. 'Criminal gangs involved in small boat crossings should know that we are committed to throwing the full weight of European law enforcement at curtailing your activities.' Despite widespread criticism in the UK of the failure of the French police to stem the tide of illegal crossings, the NCA'S Chris Farrimond said they had 'upped their game quite considerably. 'They're putting a lot of effort into stopping the boats going at all now,' he said. 'The French assessment is that if they were to be able to stop 75 per cent of the boats leaving the French coast, then that would effectively break the traffickers' model. 'There wouldn't be enough money in the trade to make it worthwhile for them. 'They're not at 75 per cent at the moment, they're much closer to around about 50 per cent. But they really have stepped it up. 'And they've got a lot of coastline to cover, and they're never going to have quite enough officers for it. So they're having more success there.' Migrants arriving at Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel on July 4 after coming across the Channel on a small boat Discussing the scale of migrant crossings with more than 12,800 having arrived in the UK so far this year he said there was a 'degree of supply and demand', adding: 'We've got individuals who have effectively sold their life savings, or else they've borrowed heavily. 'They've made the perilous trek from where they came in order to get to northern France. And they're pretty determined to get across the Channel. 'The only the levers that we can exert from an NCA point of view is that we can make the job of the trafficking groups as difficult as possible so they can't ply their trade.' Highlighting the dangers of interacting with people smuggling groups, he warned there was evidence of violence linked to the organised crime gang currently being investigated by the NCA and law enforcement across Europe, adding: 'One member of the network was wounded by a gunshot in a migrant camp in France in September 2021 ... There are rival groups which is why we've had violence in camps.' The NCA has also been working with social media companies to remove information from their sites as well as banks in a bid to track cash. Alerts have been issued to maritime industries to call on them to report people buying large amounts of certain items which could be used. NCA Deputy Director of Threat Leadership Andrea Wilson said: 'Our intelligence tells us that this is having an impact.' While there has been an increase of 'illegal crossings' through 'lorry drops' in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as rare occasions where small aircraft and larger boats have been used, small boats are still a 'cheap and attractive option for migrants, despite the risks', he added. Hackers have claimed responsibility for the acquisition of personal data of more than one billion Chinese residents taken from a Shanghai police database and have offered to sell them. The incident, if confirmed, would mark one of the largest data breaches in history. It comes as an anonymous user with the handle "ChinaDan" posted on the online hacking forum Breach Forums last week, offering to sell nearly 24 terabytes of data. Chinese Data Leak The hackers claimed that the treasure trove of data includes information on one billion Chinese and "several billion case records" for 10 Bitcoin, worth roughly $200,000. The data purportedly includes information such as national identification numbers and mobile numbers. Despite experts saying that the breach is on a massive scale, they noted that potential harm to individuals is relatively limited, as per Komu. The massive breach also highlights the risks of collecting and storing vast amounts of sensitive personal data online, especially in a country where authorities have broad and unchecked access to such data. The personal information had been publicly accessible via what appeared to be an unsecured backdoor link. Read Also: Highland Park Shooting: Suspect Robert Crimo III Planned Attack for "Several Weeks," Bought High-Powered Rifle Legally It is a shortcut web address that offers unrestricted access to anyone with knowledge of it and has been open since at least April 2021, said LeakIX, a site that detects and indexes exposed databases online. Access to the database, which did not require a password, was later shut down after an anonymous user advertised the sale of the massive treasure trove. The anonymous user posted a sample of 750,000 data entries from the three main indexes of the database to prove his claims. According to CNN, the Shanghai government and police department did not respond to requests for comment regarding the incident. The hackers also claimed that the unsecured database was hosted by Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. In a statement, Alibaba said that it has become aware of the incident and was already investigating it. Leak of Public Information Experts noted that it was the fault of the owner of the data and not the company hosting it that they leaked. A Microsoft regional director based in Australia, Troy Hunt, said that the incident marks the largest leak of public information, especially in terms of the breadth of the impact on China due to its massive scale. The data breach of more than 1 billion personal data information accounts for roughly 70% of China's 1.4 billion residents. Hunt added that the hack is a little bit of a case where the genie is not going to be able to go back in the bottle. The situation comes as one prominent Weibo user said that Chinese authorities had removed a post about the data breach and contacted her to discuss the social media activity. On the other hand, messaging app WeChat reportedly removed news related to the breach as well as posts explaining the potential fallout for Chinese citizens whose information was part of the leak. Chinese search engine Baidu displayed few results related to a data breach, the New York Post reported. Related Article: Anonymous Hacks Russian Government Websites, Waging 'Cyber War' Against Moscow @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A 26-year-old man who broke into a family home told police he was looking for consensual sex and would have found it had his victim been younger. Anthony Doyle was convicted on Tuesday in the Adelaide District Court of assault with intent to rape his 68-year-old victim, reports Adelaidenow. The court was told that Doyle broke into a home in the northern Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth East on September 14, 2020, shed his clothes and climbed on top of the woman in her bed. Having initially thought it might have been her husband, she turned on the light, saw Doyle and said 'Who the f... are you?' He replied 'I'm looking for someone. Do you want me?' He was then grabbed by the woman's husband and held until police arrived. Adelaide man Anthony Doyle (pictured) has been found guilty of breaking into a Elizabeth East home and sexually assaulting a 68-year-old woman The court heard Doyle tell police during an interview that he 'had an aura' there were young women in their 20s inside the house and believed he could persuade them to have consensual sex with him. He had initially tried to break into the property by entering the front and back door, which were locked, before climbing up to the top floor of the property. Once inside, Doyle made his way down to the ground floor to the bedroom where the victim was sleeping Prosecutor Carmen Matteo told the court: 'He heard the person in the bed snoring, moved up next to her and smelt her neck and head area.' She said Doyle moved the blanket and got on top of the victim to straddle her. He then changed his mind when the victim turned on the light and she was older than he expected, the court heard. 'He no longer wanted to put his penis in the person's mouth because it was not the person he was expecting,' Ms Matteo said. Adelaide District Court (pictured) heard on Tuesday that Doyle had broken into the property looking for sex. He extraordinarily told police that if he had found 'someone more his own age' he would not be in trouble 'He said to police that if it had been someone more his own age he had a feeling he would not be in that situation, that the person may have had sex with him and he would not have been in trouble,' Ms Matteo said. Doyle had reportedly told police he 'had a way' with people his own age. The convicted man admitted to smoking marijuana prior to the assault. Doyle's defence lawyer Adam Gaite told the court that his client didn't intend to rape anyone but wanted to have sexual intercourse with someone his own age. 'You might think this is consistent with him not being a predator, an animal but rather a peculiar individual who had a strange mindset about how he can engage in sexual activity,' Mr Gaite said. Doyle had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has been in custody since the assault. He will face court next month for sentencing. A 35-year-old man is facing a murder trial over the death of his girlfriend's toddler, with prosecutors alleging he hit the boy with a heavy table. Stacie Saggers was still mourning her partner's death when she began a relationship with Brendan Pallant and asked him to move in with her days after being introduced. But 24 days later Brendan Pallant, 35, allegedly fatally struck the Melbourne woman's toddler with a metal table while babysitting. Stacie Saggers (left) began a relationship with Brendan Pallant, 35, just 24 days before he allegedly killed her two-year-old son Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao (right) Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao, affectionately known as Snuffles, was just two years old when he died on September 2, 2019. Pallant has pleaded not guilty to the boy's murder and is facing a trial in Victoria's Supreme Court. Prosecutor Mark Gibson told the jury on Wednesday the 35-year-old was frustrated, angry and lost self-control when he allegedly entered the toddler's bedroom and hit him in the head with a 4.5 kilogram table. However, the case will rely on circumstantial evidence as there were no direct witnesses or video evidence to prove Pallant struck Jaidyn. 'It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle,' Mr Gibson said. 'The strength of the case does not depend on any particular piece of the puzzle, but depends on the clarity of the picture when the jigsaw puzzle is completed.' Brendan Pallant, 35, allegedly fatally struck two-year-old Jaidyn (above) with a metal table while babysitting Ms Saggers was introduced to Pallant by a mutual friend in August 2019 and within days they moved in together as she needed help looking after her two children while she was at work. She was still mourning the death of her partner and father to two of her children in a motorcycle crash nine months earlier. The day before Jaidyn died, Ms Saggers noticed he had a bruise over his eye and took photos to document it. She believed it may have been caused by a fallen bookshelf. The following day, she left Pallant to babysit her children while she went to a cleaning job. When Ms Saggers was on her way home, Pallant called her and said Jaidyn was asleep in his room. He told her not to 'rock the boat' and disturb the toddler when she got home. Pallant was left to babysit little Jaidyn (above) while babysit her children while Ms Saggers went to a cleaning job The couple went for a nap in their room, then Pallant checked on Jaidyn just after 4pm. Pallant told police there was resistance when he opened Jaidyn's bedroom door and that he found the toddler lying on the floor with a multi-coloured activity table on top of him. Pallant scooped the little boy up, brought him into the lounge room and laid him on the floor. Ms Saggers was hysterical upon seeing her injured child, emergency services were called and a neighbour rushed over after hearing her screaming. Jaidyn was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, due to injuries to his brain and skull. His body was covered in dozens of bruises and scratches. Pallant's lawyer will address the jury on Wednesday afternoon, as the trial before Justice Jane Dixon continues. Former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell likened Boris Johnson's political survival to the attempts to kill notorious Russian mystic Rasputin today, as he said he has been 'poisoned, stabbed' and 'shot' but 'still he lives'. The senior Conservative backbencher was speaking after the resignations of Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak last night. Their departures plunged Boris Johnson's Government into chaos, with the Prime Minister attempting to shore up his position by quickly replacing his former colleagues. However, Mr Mitchell told Newsnight that the PM's time in Downing Street 'is over' and said Mr Johnson has to think 'very carefully' about what is in the 'best interests' of the country and the Conservative Party. He then drew a direct link between Mr Johnson's insistence on clinging on and the famous account of the protracted assassination of Grigori Rasputin in 1916. The infamous Russian monk was killed by disgruntled noblemen after gaining enormous influence over Russia's last Tsar, Nicholas II, and his wife Alexandra. 'It is a bit like the death of Rasputin. He has been poisoned, stabbed, he has been shot, his body has been dumped in a freezing river and still he lives,' Mr Mitchell said. Former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell likened Boris Johnson's political survival to the attempts to kill notorious Russian mystic Rasputin today, as he said he has been 'poisoned, stabbed' and 'shot' but 'still he lives' Mr Javid announced his resignation in an incendiary letter to the PM last night, with Mr Sunak following just minutes later with a similar broadside. The PM appointed his chief of staff Steve Barclay to replace Mr Javid as Health Secretary, whilst Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi was promoted to become Chancellor. It came after former top civil servant Lord McDonald of Salford released a letter which gave critics of the PM further ammunition over his appointment of alleged groper Chris Pincher to the whips' office. Mr Sunak warned in his resignation letter that 'we cannot continue like this' and said he was going despite accepting that his senior job might be the last position he holds in Government. 'The public rightly expect Government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,' he wrote. Speaking on Newsnight, Mr Mitchell drew a direct comparison between Mr Johnson's insistence on clinging on and the famous account of the protracted assassination of Grigori Rasputin (pictured) in 1916 Meanwhile, Mr Javid questioned Mr Johnson's integrity, competence and ability to act in the national interest. Speaking shortly afterwards, Mr Mitchell said: 'I'm afraid it is over and the question now is how much longer this is going to go on and what damage will be done to the country and indeed to the Conservative Party brand. 'But it is over and tonight the Prime Minister must think very carefully about what is in the best interests of the country and the Conservative Party.' He added: 'This is an abnormal prime minister, a brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character but I am afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our Prime Minister.' The initial attempt on Rasputin's life came in July 1916, when he was stabbed in the stomach by a Russian peasant woman. Despite being seriously injured and needing an operation, he did survive. The most famous account of his subsequent death, written by leading plotter Prince Felix Yussoupov, claimed that Rasputin was initially poisoned with cyanide-laced food and wine, but that he seemed to be unaffected. Suspecting he was protected by supernatural powers, he was then shot. But even then, Rasputin appeared to have miraculously come back to life and managed to escape. He was shot again, but was alleged to still be alive and was found groaning the next morning. The PM appointed his chief of staff Steve Barclay to replace Mr Javid as Health Secretary, whilst Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi (pictured) was promoted to become Chancellor Turning his face up, he groaned and it seemed he rolled his right eye which fixed me, dazed but terrible, claimed Vladimir Purishkevich, a politician who was part of the plot. By then, Rasputin is said to have been viciously beaten with a cudgel by Yussoupov. His body was finally found two days later when the sleeve of his fur coat was seen protruding from the ice of a nearby river. There was reputedly water in his lungs when his remains were found, indicating he had been alive when he entered the water. However, Rasputin's daughter later questioned Yussoupov's account, and the autopsy reports do not mention poison or drowning. Instead, it was recorded that he was shot at close range. A photograph of his dead body shows a bullet wound in his forehead. The resignations of Mr Javid and Mr Sunak were followed last night by a swathe of junior members of the Government. In his resignation letter (left), Mr Sunak told the PM that 'we cannot continue like this'. Meanwhile, Mr Javid (right) publicly questioned Mr Johnson's integrity, competence and ability to act in the national interest Andrew Murrison, the UK trade envoy to Morocco, was the first to follow the pair, before Conservative Party vice-chairman Bim Afolami resigned on live television. Red Wall Tory MP Jonathan Gullis then resigned as a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Northern Ireland Office, launching an attack on Mr Johnson in the process. This move was followed by MP Saqib Bhatti quitting as a PPS in the Department of Health and Social Care. MP Nicola Roberts then resigned as a Department for Transport PPS, saying she did not recognise the current Conservative Party. Later in the evening, Virginia Crosbie resigned as a PPS for the Welsh Office, before Theo Clarke stepped down as a trade envoy for Kenya. The final resignation last night was solicitor general Alex Chalk. Children's minister Will Quince then joined the exodus this morning saying he had repeated 'inaccurate' information from Number 10 about the Chris Pincher allegations. Mr Quince tweeted: 'With great sadness and regret, I have this morning tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister after I accepted and repeated assurances on Monday to the media which have now been found to be inaccurate.' Laura Trott also quit as a junior ministerial aide. The majority of Conservatives now think Boris Johnson should quit, a snap poll of voters revealed today, but there is no clear choice to replace him with 'don't know' still the answer among one in five Tory members. And in more bad news for the Prime Minister, it is now the first time in his premiership that Tory voters have been more likely to want to see him go than stay in No 10. Mr Johnson is fighting for his political life today as rebel MPs try to deliver the fatal blow after the dramatic resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid. And it appears that public support for him is also draining away - including amongst Tory voters who previously catapulted him into Downing Street on a Brexit wave three years ago. A YouGov poll of 3,000 people last night revealed that most 2019 Conservative voters (54%) now also want to see the prime minister resign. And 69 per cent of all voters - more than two out of three - also believe he should fall on his sword. But despite the public desire to see the prime minister evicted from Number 10, far fewer Britons expect Johnson to go willingly. Just one in five (21%) believe he will resign, up from 7% at the beginning of June. Two thirds (68%) expect him to try and stay. A recent survey by the influential ConservativeHome website has said that Ben Wallace and Penny Mordaunt are the favourites to amongst Tory members if and when a new leadership election starts. Liz Truss is in third place followed by Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi. Rishi Sunak is way off the pace in ninth and Sajid Javid in 12th. But editor Paul Goodman said that 'dont know chalked up 20 per cent or above for most contests. Which means that in most pairings, the contenders would have a fifth of the vote to try to squeeze were the contest real'. A YouGov poll has revealed that for the first time the majority of Tory voters believe Boris Johnson should resign The PM has been hit by scandal after scandal that has seen support from his own party falter. In March fewer that 20 per cent of Conservatives wanted him to go. Now it is more than half Leadership candidate Tom Turgendhat has not mentioned Boris Johnson's future - instead concentrating on doing his daughter's hair before school Tellingly the majority of people do not think that Mr Johnson will leave No 10 quietly. Half believe he will not resign The poll of 3,000 people last night also backed Rishi Sunak's decision to resign as Chancellor Boris Johnson was sombre as he addressed his cabinet yesterday. Hours later Sajid Javid (right today) became the first minister to quit over the Chris Pincher scandal Defence Secretary Ben Wallace topped a key ConservativeHome poll of Tory members over who should replace Boris Johnson as the party's next leader Who is the favourite to replace Boris Johnson as the next Tory leader? Penny Mordaunt - 4/1 Rishi Sunak - 4/1 Ben Wallace - 8/1 Liz Truss - 8/1 Nadhim Zahawi - 9/1 Jeremy Hunt - 10/1 Tom Tugendhat - 11/1 George Eustice - 20/1 Michael Gove - 25/1 Dominic Raab - 28/1 Mark Harper - 40/1 Priti Patel - 40/1 Jacob Rees-Mogg - 80/1 Nadine Dorries - 200/1 Advertisement When it comes to Rishi Sunak, most Britons believe the chancellor was right to resign (56%), with Conservative voters tending to agree by 47% to 24%. Mr Sunak remains joint favourite to be the next Tory leader with Penny Mordaunt at 4/1. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is at 8/1, the same odds as Liz Truss. New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is at 9/1, but he is the only candidate whose odds are shortening with very bookmaker. Jeremy Hunt is next at 10/1, but a recent poll of Tory members found that he would lose in a run off against all the main candidates. Ben Wallace topped a key poll of Conservatives over who should replace Boris Johnson as the party's next leader, after helping lead the response to the Ukraine crisis. The Cabinet minister just pipped his predecessor, Penny Mordaunt, to top spot in the survey by the influential ConservativeHome website. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was the third most-favoured among Tory members to take over from the Prime Minister. But Rishi Sunak - who for a long time was viewed as the most likely successor to Mr Johnson - has dramatically fallen out of favour with the Conservative grassroots following the controversy over his family's finances and tax affairs. He will hope that his resignation will help. Of the 755 people surveyed, Mr Wallace - who is at the forefront of Britain's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine - was backed by more than 15 per cent of respondents. His popularity has dramatically increased since Vladimir Putin launched his barbaric assault on Russia's neighbour, despite the Defence Secretary having fallen victim to a hoax call by Russian imposters in the early weeks of the conflict. When ConservativeHome last asked Tory members who they favoured being the party's next leader, in December last year, Mr Wallace wasn't even named by those surveyed. Mr Wallace also topped a separate monthly ConservativeHome survey of Tory members when they were asked how satisfied they were with the performance of Cabinet ministers. He had a net satisfaction rating of more than 85 per cent, while Mr Johnson remained at the bottom of the table for the second month running on -21 per cent. Ms Mordaunt, who was Mr Wallace's predecessor at the Ministry of Defence and is now a trade minister, was the next most popular among Tory members as a future leader. Mr Wallace also topped a separate monthly ConservativeHome survey of Tory members when they were asked how satisfied they were with the performance of Cabinet ministers Anyone but Jeremy Hunt: It appears the former health Secretary would lose to all the main candidates Mr Wallace, pictured at Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, has dramatically increased in popularity during the Ukraine crisis Trade minister Penny Mordaunt was the next most popular among Tory members as a future leader - but Chancellor Rishi Sunak has seen his popularity plummet in recent months A snapshot amongst Britain's bookmakers puts Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt at the top Labour has enjoyed a small but consistent lead over the Conservatives in the opinion polls for the past seven months. The size of the lead has varied, from an average of just three points to as many as 11 points. Sir Keir Starmer's party first moved ahead in the polls in early December 2021, around the time stories first began to emerge of Downing Street parties during Covid-19 lockdowns. Before this point, Labour had spent much of the previous few years trailing well behind the Government. Based on a seven-day rolling average of all national published polls, Labour's vote share stood at 39% on July 5, ahead of the Conservatives on 33%, with the Liberal Democrats on 13% and the Greens on 6%. A year ago, the Conservatives were averaging 41%, Labour 33%, the Lib Dems 9% and the Greens 5%. Opinion polls are snapshots of the prevailing public mood, not projections or forecasts. With the next general election still more than two years away - the latest possible date is January 23 2025 - there is plenty of time for the national numbers to change. But polls both shape and reflect the prevailing mood of the country, in turn affecting morale among politicians and party members alike. The news for the Conservatives is equally grim when looking at Boris Johnson's popularity scores. The Prime Minister's net favourability rating - the difference between the proportion of people saying they have a favourable opinion of him and those who have an unfavourable opinion - has been at or near an all-time low since January. It currently stands at minus 51 points, according to figures compiled by the polling group YouGov. Boris Johnson has had negative favourability ratings for almost his entire premiership, save for a few weeks in spring 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is only in recent months that the score has sunk below minus 40, however. Ministers Ben Wallace, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak tipped to join former high-fliers Jeremy Hunt and Penny Mordaunt in any run to succeed PM Liz Truss: Instagram-friendly Foreign Secretary who loves a Maggie-themed photo 46-year-old Foreign Secretary and South West Norfolk MP Has persistently been linked with a leadership challenge Has used role to recreate some classic images of ex-PM Margaret Thatcher Has faced a tough time with comments on the Ukraine conflict Ms Truss has been regularly linked with a tilt at No10. The former international trade secretary was promoted last year to succeed Dominic Raab. The South West Norfolk MP has held a string of Cabinet posts under successive party leaders and is popular with the party grassroots. But while she has been hawkish over the war in Ukraine, the conflict has hit her prospects after several stumbles. Prior to the February 24 invasion she visited Russia for talks with her Kremlin counterpart Sergei Lavrov, in which she overtly channeled the style of Margaret Thatcher on a similar trip 35 years previously. Her use of Instagram to share images of her looking tough and commanding has also drawn comment. The South West Norfolk MP has held a string of Cabinet posts under successive party leaders and is popular with the party grassroots. Liz Truss posed on a tank during a visit to British troops on deployment to Estonia last November, which drew comparisons with Margaret Thatcher (below) The Foreign Secretary posed for pictures in Red Square in a fur coat and hat, 35 years after the former Tory premier did the same on a visit to the then Soviet Union. But she received a bit of a mauling from Putin's attack dog, who said their talks had been like 'the deaf talking to the blind'. She was also criticised early in the conflict for urging Britons to go to fight for Russia even if they have no military experience, advice later contradicted by senior military figures. But the Remain voter from 2016 has become a born-again Brexiteer in the years since, something that will aid her in any vote. As Foreign Secretary she has taken on responsibility for negotiating changes to the Brexit agreement with the EU to sort out the political impasse in Northern Ireland. A deadlock-breaking agreement is unlikely but unilateral action by the UK is being mooted, which could help boost her credentials. Jeremy Hunt: Former Cabinet minister who wants another go after losing to Boris in 2019 Former foreign secretary and longest-serving health secretary in history 53-year-old lost heavily to Mr Johnson in 2019 leadership vote final Former Remainer who has become a convert to the Brexit cause Has made no secret of desire to run again with increasingly high profile Jeremy Hunt lost heavily to Boris Johnson in the 2019 leadership election that followed the resignation of Theresa May. But he is showing no signs of letting the mauling at the hands of Tory members dissuade him three years later. The former minister turned Health Committee chairman has made a series of increasingly high profile public interventions on health policy in recent weeks. And he has consistently refused to rule out running to replace Boris Johnson if he quits. He tweeted before the no confidence vote: 'Todays decision is change or lose. I will be voting for change.' The former minister turned Health Committee chairman has made a series of increasingly high profile public interventions on health policy in recent weeks. Previously he refused to say whether Boris Johnson was 'honest' as he warned the Prime Minister has a 'big mountain to climb' in winning back Tory voters. The South West Surrey MP cast doubt on the PM's ability to once again prove a Tory vote winner as he insisted it would be a 'mistake' to dismiss the party's local election losses as 'mid-term blues'. But the former Cabinet minister insisted now was not the time for renewed efforts to topple Mr Johnson and said he 'hoped' the PM would lead the Tories into the next general election. The comments were seen as a warning shot to the PM - and a clear message to Tory MPs - that he is waiting in the wings should Mr Johnson continue to stumble. Like Truss he is a former Remain voter who has become a convert to the Brexit cause. He also has his own fair share of gaffs in his locker, including describing his Chinese wife Lucia - with whom he has three children - as 'Japanese' in an interview. Ben Wallace: Hawkish Defence Secretary who has talked tough about 'tonto' Putin 52-year-old former British Army officer is Defence Secretary He is currently the most popular minister with the Tory grassroots Sandhurst-educated father of three has led efforts to arm Ukraine to fight off the Russian invasion Was targeted by Russian pranksters who managed to speak to him on a video call in March Currently the most popular minister with Tory grassroots, according to the Conservative Home website. The Defence Secretary's low profile has risen into full view as he emerged as one of the foremost Cabinet hawks on the Ukraine War. The 52-year-old former Scots Guards officer has been at the forefront of efforts to supply Kyiv with weapons and expertise to fight off the Russian invasion, which has boosted his support base and name recognition. The Sandhurst-educated father of three has overcome a Russian attempt to humiliate him after a Kremlin-backed prankster managed to get through to him on a video call, parts of which were later broadcast on YouTube. He was asked if he supported Ukraine's 'nuclear aims' by a man claiming to be the PM of Ukraine. He has also avoided being implicated in the worst failures of the UK's retreat from Afghanistan last summer, with blame being generally laid at the door of the Foreign Office. The Defence Secretary's low profile has risen into full view as he emerged as one of the foremost Cabinet hawks on the Ukraine War He tweeted before Boris' no confidence vote: 'In 2019 Boris won with a majority of 80. He has delivered victories in seats we have never held before. 'On Covid, on Ukraine he has helped deliver a world leading response. He has my full confidence.' Rishi Sunak: Once high-flying Chancellor who has now resigned Chancellor was top-rated minister at the end of 2021 after Covid largesse He quit his role and Chancellor of the Exchequer this evening His profile went into freefall after a series of controversies in 2022 Wife revealed to be a non-dom taxpayer living in Downing Street Sunak himself also faced questions over US Green Card possession Now At the end of 2021 the Chancellor was the number one candidate to succeed Boris Johnson. His largesse with taxpayers' cash during the Covid crisis - furlough payments and other measures - and slick social media campaigns made him widely popular within the party and with the wider electorate. It was a rapid rise to the top for a minister who only became Chancellor weeks before lockdown kicked in early in 2020. But the popularity of 'Brand Rishi' has taken a tumble in 2022 amid a series of controversies and rows with No10 - culminating in his resignation this evening. Quitting his role and abandoning Boris, may help save his tarnished reputation. At the end of 2021 the Chancellor was the number one candidate to succeed Boris Johnson. Rishi Sunak was hit by a political backlash over the news that his heiress wife Akshata Murty was domiciled in India for tax purposes In the spring it was revealed his multi-millionaire heiress wife Akshata Murty was revealed to be living in Downing Street while having non-dom tax status. She has legally avoided paying a huge UK tax bill by paying 30,000 a year to register as based in India. He insisted she hasn't 'done anything wrong' while accusing his critics of 'smearing her to get at him'. She later agreed to pay full UK tax. Later it emerged Mr Sunak, a father of two and former international banker, himself held a US Green Card for a year into his term leading the Treasury. While the status would not save him any money on his tax bill, it carries a responsibility to make the United States 'your permanent home'. There were also a series of rows with No 10 after recovery spending and his involvement with Partygate: he received a 50 fine for attending Boris Johnson's surprise - and rule-breaking - birthday party in No10 in June 2020, even though he claimed he was just passing through on his way to a meeting. His supporters blamed No10 for embroiling him in the controversy, souring an already acidic relationship within Downing Street. Penny Mordaunt: popular Brexiteer trade minister who pointedly refused to back Boris today Trade minister and Royal Navy reservist who backed Jeremy Hunt in 2019 Ignored other ministers tweeting support for PM to instead write about D-Day She was the first woman to serve as defence secretary and was also international trade secretary Appeared on reality TV show in 2014 wearing just a swimsuit Penny Mordaunt has already emerged as possibly one of the least subtle potential candidates to run. While other ministers tweeted their support of the Prime Minister at the time of his no confidence vote, she pointedly tweeted ... about attending a D-Day ceremony in Portsmouth, where she is an MP. 'Today I will be attending Portsmouth's commemoration service to remember the efforts and sacrifice of #DDay,' she wrote. The Brexiteer, 49, a naval reservist who once appeared on reality TV in a swimsuit, is popular with party members. She was the first woman to serve as defence secretary and was also international trade secretary and is currently a trade minister. Supporters have pushed her credentials as the potential unity candidate any leadership race appears to lack - she is a Brexit voter who backed Jeremy Hunt in 2019. She was the first woman to serve as defence secretary and was also international trade secretary and is currently a trade minister. While other ministers spend this morning tweeting their support of the Prime Minister, she pointedly tweeted ... about attending a D-Day ceremony in Portsmouth, where she is an MP. The Brexiteer, 49, a naval reservist who once appeared on reality TV in a swimsuit, is popular with party members. Ms Mordaunt has already been on resignation watch once this year. In January she spoke out against a proposed 1.2 billion underwater electricity cable project backed by a Russian oligarch and major Tory donor. She opposed plans by Aquind, co-owned by Alexander Temerko, to construct the interconnector under the Channel between Normandy and Portsmouth. Temerko, who previously ran a firm producing weapons for Russias military, and Aquind have given more than 1 million to the Tories and the oligarch has regularly featured in photos at fundraisers with Prime Ministers and their Cabinets. Government sources said Mordaunt was ready to quit if the cable was approved. The project was later rejected. Tom Tugendhat: Iraq and Afghanistan veteran turned China and foreign affairs hawk An Army reservist who served in Iraq and Afghanistan The son of a high court judge and the nephew of a Tory peer. Father of two said in 2017 that it would be 'great to be PM'. Another Tory MP with military experience. Tugendhat, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, is a confirmed Boris critic who has taken aim at the government over its attitude to China and the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Some MPs believe the 48-year-old, an Army reservist who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be well-suited to the role and represents the 'best chance for a fresh start'. However, some are concerned about his lack of political experience and voting for a second posh PM in a row. He is the son of a high court judge and the nephew of a Tory peer. Mr Tugendhat, who is married with two children, has previously made clear that he would fancy a tilt at the top job, saying in 2017 that it would be 'great to be PM'. Some MPs believe the 48-year-old, an Army reservist who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be well-suited to the role and represents the 'best chance for a fresh start'. He was a member of the Territorial Army when the Iraq War broke out in 2003 and he was mobilised as an Arabic-speaking intelligence officer to serve with the Royal Marines. He went into Iraq as part of Operation TELIC - the initial invasion. After the war he returned to a job in the City of London but then went back to Iraq to help with the economic reconstruction of the country. In 2006 the Foreign Office then asked Mr Tugendhat to go to Afghanistan to help grow its national security council. The Tory MP can speak Arabic, Dari and French. The Tory MP was applauded in the House of Commons during a debate on the UK's exit from Afghanistan in August 2021 as he detailed his experience in the country. He told a silent chamber: 'Like many veterans, this last week has seen me struggle through anger, grief and ragethrough the feeling of abandonment of not just a country, but the sacrifice that my friends made. 'I have been to funerals from Poole to Dunblane. I have watched good men go into the earth, taking with them a part of me and a part of all of us. This week has torn open some of those wounds, has left them raw and left us all hurting.' Nadhim Zahawi: Minister who came to the UK as a child refugee and made a fortune Kurdish Iraqi arrived in the UK as a refugee from Saddam Hussein's regime One of the wealthiest members of Parliament, he set up polling company YouGov He is said to have a property empire worth around 100million. Mr Zahawi is seen by some as an outside choice to replace the PM. He has a strong personal back story that culminated in him becoming the first Kurdish Iraqi MP. The Education Secretary fled Saddam Hussein's Iraq with his family when he was a child. Privately-educated at King's College School in West London and University College London where he studied chemical engineering. One of the wealthiest members of Parliament, he went on to be named 'entrepreneur of the year' by Ernst & Young and set up successful polling company YouGov. He is said to have a property empire worth around 100million. The Education Secretary fled Saddam Hussein's Iraq with his family when he was a child. Privately-educated at King's College School in West London and University College London where he studied chemical engineering. The father-of-three was elected MP in 2010 - the first Kurdish Iraqi to be elected to Parliament. The Brexit-supporting minister is trusted by Number 10 and is a regular feature on the morning media round. Despite initially backing Dominic Raab for Conservative party leader in 2019, he has been loyal to Mr Johnson ever since. He was previously children's minister from January 2018 to July 2019, during which time he attended the controversial Presidents Club Ball. He was said to have been given a dressing down by the chief whip after complaints of sexism and harassment at the all-male gathering for the business elite. During the MPs expenses scandal, he was forced to apologise for claiming taxpayers' money to heat his stables on his Warwickshire estate. 'Boris Johnson's career seems over' after his government 'exploded' with the shock resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, leaving him 'hanging by a thread'. That is the grim verdict on the Prime Minister's future from Europe's press today as columnists across the continent speculated on how much time he has left in office. Their verdict: Not long. Portugals Jornal de Noticias carried a picture of a pale-looking Mr Johnson with his eyes shut Repubblica: Boris Johnson's career seems over, according to one of Italy's largest newspapers reporting on the shock resignations of Sunak and Javid El Pais: Johnson's government has 'exploded', was the headline in one of Spain's largest newspapers this morning Der Tagesspiegel: Berlin's largest paper headlined with a quote from MP Andrew Bridgen, who said last night that it is 'time for Boris to go' Perhaps the most-damning assessment came from the Italians, who know first-hand what a collapsing government looks like after a turbulent few years of their own. 'Boris Johnson trembles, that's why his career really seems over,' ran the headline in La Repubblica, one of the country's largest and best-respected newspapers. Johnson's government is 'hanging by a thread' added rival daily Corriere della Sera, while newswire Ansa said Downing Street is 'in pieces' after the shock exits. 'Boris Johnson's government explodes due to the trickle of scandals that corner the prime minister,' is how Spanish broadsheet El Pais summed up a day of drama. Rafael de Miguel, the paper's London correspondent, said the resignations 'mark the beginning of the end of Boris Johnson' - describing him as rushing to 'plug the leaks' in his administration by appointing Nadim Zahawi as Chancellor. 'With Zahawi at his side, he may survive, at least until after the summer,' Miguel adds, but believes the 'continuous calamities' that surround Mr Johnson will surely see him sink sooner or later. Der Spiegel: Germany's largest news website declared that Mr Johnson is 'on the edge' as it rounded up the worst of the criticism in the UK press Irish Examiner: The paper's political editor Daniel McConnell declared that Mr Johnson's 'days are numbered' and politicians in Dublin 'will be glad to see him go' Ansa: Italy's largest newswire said Johnson's government is 'in pieces' after two of his most-senior ministers quit Berlin's largest newspaper Tagesspiegel writes that 'Britain falls into a government crisis', saying that 'under Johnson's leadership, the Conservative Party is not seen by the public as value-led, nor does it serve the national interest.' 'It's time for Boris to go,' the paper's headline says, quoting from Tory MP Andrew Bridgen who spoke out against Mr Johnson last night. Daniel McConnell, the Irish Examiner's political editor, penned an opinion piece in which he declared that Mr Johnson's 'days are numbered.' Any normal Prime Minister would have resigned after two of his most-senior ministers quit the government, Mr McConnell writes, but Boris 'is not normal'. 'He is a liar, a cad, and a serial cheat,' the column continues, and has managed to survive plenty of scandals up until now. But, Mr McConnell says, it now appears 'likely' that Mr Johnson is facing his 'inevitable demise'. The Irish government, he adds, 'will be perfectly happy to see him go' - hamstrung, as it is, by wrangling over post-Brexit customs checks that Mr Johnson agreed to. Irish Times: Shock resignations of Sunak and Javid 'spell the end for Boris Johnson', according to the lead story in the Irish broadsheet Corriere della Sera: Johnson is 'handing by a thread', according to analysis of the latest political scandal by one of Italy's biggest newspapers 'Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resignations spell the end for Boris' is the Irish Times' headline, while the Irish Independent says he is 'battling to save his leadership'. Johnson is 'reeling' according to Spain's La Vanguardia, while Germany's Der Spiegel says he is 'on the edge'. French newspapers Le Figaro and Le Monde say the Prime Minister is 'weakened' as the 'ranks of rebels continue to grow'. Only one newspaper, Germany's Die Welt, has anything even vaguely positive to say: 'Johnson refuses to leave Downing Street', is its headline. The Prime Minister 'showed no signs of relinquishing his post as of Tuesday night', the paper writes, suggesting that Mr Johnson could gamble it all on a snap election that would give him a mandate to continue in office. 'The Conservative Party must face the pressing question of how dangerous Johnson is now to its own power,' the paper adds. A dying Italian man whose final wish was to marry his partner has been given the ultimate wedding gift of a new heart. Maurizio Calorio, 47, was on a life-support machine close to death in the Molinete hospital in Turin after undergoing cardiac arrest last month. While lying in hospital, he decided to marry his long-term partner Silvia Duca, 42, while he still could. Maurizio Calorio is pictured alongside his new wife Silvia Duca after getting married in his Turin hospital The Italian was on a life-support machine close to death in the Molinete hospital in Turin after undergoing cardiac arrest last month Calorio had been on the heart transplant waiting list due to his deteriorating condition but he had had no luck so far by the time of his nuptials Duca said: 'Our wedding was fixed for September and we didn't know if we would get to that day.' A town hall official in a ceremonial sash officiated the ceremony from the foot of the hospital bed which was surrounded by balloons and a bouquet made of caps from blood collection tubes. Calorio had been on the heart transplant waiting list due to his deteriorating condition but he had had no luck so far by the time of his nuptials. Then just hours after he tied the knot, he was told a donated heart had become available in Naples. A special flight was laid on which flew the heart to his Turin hospital and he underwent seven-hour surgery that night. Just hours after he tied the knot, he was told a donated heart had become available in Naples Calorio remains in hospital under surveillance but the operation was a success and doctors expect a full recovery Duca said, according to The Times: 'The miracle happened that night. After the marriage we received a wonderful gift a new heart for Maurizio. Without the transplant he had little chance of surviving.' Calorio remains in hospital under surveillance but the operation was a success and doctors expect a full recovery. The couple have been together for six years and share a three-month-old daughter. They had planned to marry sooner but they decided to delay because of the Covid pandemic. Duca said: 'We were in complete darkness so this gift has filled us with joy. Now we aim to grow old together and bring up our daughter. Thanks to someone's generosity, Maurizio has a new life.' A British man has died after he was found floating unconscious in a hotel pool during a family holiday in Cyprus. The 21-year-old was pulled yesterday afternoon from the pool after he was spotted not moving in the water. A lifeguard and other members of staff gave him first aid and tried to revive him on the spot while they awaited paramedics. A British man has died after he was found floating unconscious in a hotel pool during a family holiday in Cyprus. Pictured: Paphos General Hospital He failed to regain consciousness and he was rushed by ambulance to Paphos General Hospital. He was intubated and admitted to the intensive care unit before he was pronounced dead at 9pm yesterday. The Briton was on holiday with his parents at the time. Paphos (pictured) is a city on the southwestern coast of Cyprus and is a popular tourist resort, particular in the Kato Paphos area where the family were staying An autopsy will be carried out today to determine the cause of death after the tragic incident. Police have already ruled out the possibility of any criminal activity. Paphos is a city on the southwestern coast of Cyprus and is a popular tourist resort, particular in the Kato Paphos area where the family were staying. Advertisement Hundreds of mourners have gathered at dusk to hold a vigil for those killed in the Highland Park mass shooting. The grieving relatives, friends and neighbors of the victims lit candles, laid down flowers on the floor and wrote tributes on Tuesday evening at a memorial near the parade route where the fatal shooting occurred on July 4th. Members of the community hugged each other during the vigil, with some breaking down after becoming overcome with emotion following Monday's shooting. Others wrote the names of the victims alongside tributes on colorful pieces of cloth that were tied to a railing. Eight have so far died and dozens more were injured after 21-year-old shooter Robert Crimo opened fire on the Independence Day parade with an AR-15 style weapon. On Tuesday evening, Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart said Crimo had been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. He said 'dozens' more charges would follow, and that he hopes to send Crimo to prison for life. Hundreds of mourners have gathered at dusk to hold a vigil for those killed in the Highland Park mass shooting The grieving relatives, friends and neighbors of the victims lit candles, laid down flowers on the floor and wrote tributes on Tuesday evening at a memorial near the parade route where the fatal shooting occurred on July 4th Dozens of mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St. Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park on Tuesday Community members embrace at a memorial site near the parade route following the mass shooting on Tuesday Community members gather at a memorial site near the parade route the day after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, on Tuesday A girl lays down a candle amongst flowers and signs at the memorial site for those killed in the mass shooting Others wrote the names of the victims alongside tributes on colorful pieces of cloth that were tied to a railing Community members embrace at a memorial site near the parade route the day after the mass shooting Two teenagers watch on in shock as people gather for the vigil for those killed in the mass shooting in Highland Park Among the victims were Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, whose two-year-old son was found at the scene bloodied and alone. 'At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents,' wrote Irina Colon on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden, who was reunited with his grandparents Monday evening. The account has since raised nearly $2million for Aiden. Friends of the McCarthys said Irina's parents will care for the boy going forward. Four of other others who were killed were identified Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. Every victim was from Highland Park except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico. Officials haven't yet identified the seventh or eight victims, who died of their injuries on Tuesday and Wednesday. Two-year-old Aiden McCarthy (pictured) was left orphaned Monday after his parents were both killed during the Highland Park parade shooting Six people killed in Highland Park July shooting are identified as death toll rises to EIGHT Six of the eight people killed in the Highland Park Fourth of July massacre were identified by authorities on Tuesday. The victims include Steve Straus, 88; Katherine Baldstein, 64; Jacki Sondheim, 63; Nicholas Toledo Zaragoza, 78; and husband and wife Irina and Kevin McCarthy, 35 and 37. The McCarthys leave behind a two-year-old son, Aiden, who was found wandering alone in the aftermath of the shooting. The death toll rose to eight after one of the 47 injured died in hospital on Tuesday afternoon and another on Wednesday, a day after 22-year-old Robert Crimo opened fire on the parade in Highland Park, an affluent suburban city just north of Chicago. The injured count now stands at 46. The release of most of the victims' names comes after a doctor who rushed into the carnage described the shooting victims as being 'blown up' by the attacker's high-powered weapon. Dr. David Baum, a long time obstetrician in Highland Park, was attending the parade with his wife and children to watch his two-year-old grandson participate. When the shots rang out and others fled, he ran into the fray to try to help the victims. In an interview with CNN, Baum described seeing victims with 'wartime' and 'unspeakable' injuries. Katherine Goldstein, pictured left, was among eight people killed following Monday's July 4 massacre in Highland Park, Illinois Steve Straus, 88 (right) was among the eight people who were killed during the Highland Park Fourth of July parade massacre Irina and Kevin McCarthy, 35 and 37, were both killed in the massacre. Their two-year-old son, Aiden, was found wandering alone in the aftermath of the shooting Nicolas Toledo, 76, (left) had not wanted to attend the July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday, his granddaughter told the New York Times. But because of his disabilities that restricted him to a wheelchair, and his family's insistence of going, he obliged. Jacki Sundheim (right), a longtime staffer at North Shore Congregation Israel, was also shot and killed in the attack Advertisement Shooter Robert Crimo Crimo, who was arrested late Monday, used a rifle 'similar to an AR-15' to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore, police said. More than three dozen people were wounded in the attack, which Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks. The assault happened less than three years after police went to the suspect's home following a call from a family member who said he was threatening 'to kill everyone' there. Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said. The suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his father's home. The revelation about his gun purchases is just the latest example of young people who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence. Illinois state police, who issue gun owners' licenses, said the gunman applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application. At the time 'there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger' and deny the application, state police said in a statement. The gunman opened fire at 10:14 a.m. on Monday, barely 15 minutes into the parade. He then fled the scene and hid throughout the day before eventually being arrested at 6:30 p.m. in Lake Forrest, eight miles north of where the massacre unfolded Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. Earlier in the day, FBI agents peeked into trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the scene. The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror. A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade goers remained inside a wide police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some residents drove up to collect blankets and chairs they abandoned. David Shapiro, 47, said the gunfire quickly turned the parade into 'chaos.' 'People didn't know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you,' he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs. The gunman initially evaded capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, Covelli said. The shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together. A police officer pulled over 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III north of the shooting scene several hours after police released his photo and warned that he was likely armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said. His father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran for mayor in 2019. The candidate who won that race, current Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, said she knew Crimo as a boy in Cub Scouts. 'And it's one of those things where you step back and you say, 'What happened?' Rotering told NBC's 'Today' show. 'How did somebody become this angry, this hateful, to then take it out on innocent people who literally were just having a family day out?' Horror on Independence Day: A police officer bows his head in grief next to abandoned strollers and chairs after a shooting that killed eight people in Highland Park First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park Crimo's attorney, Thomas A. Durkin, a prominent Chicago-based lawyer, said he intends to enter a not guilty plea to all charges. Asked about his client's emotional state, Durkin said he has spoken to Crimo only once - for 10 minutes by phone. He declined to comment further. Steve Greenberg, the lawyer for the parents, told The Associated Press Tuesday evening the parents aren't concerned about being charged with anything related to their son's case. 'There is zero chance they will be charged with anything criminal,' he said. 'They didn't do anything wrong. They are as stunned and shocked as anyone.' The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day. Among them was Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting his family in Illinois from Mexico, and Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong congregant and staff member at nearby North Shore Congregation Israel. The Lake County coroner released the names of four other victims. Nine people, ranging from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital officials said. Since the start of the year, the U.S. has seen 15 shootings where four or more people were killed, including the one in Highland Park, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass killing database. Scores of smaller-scale shootings in nearby Chicago also left eight people dead and 60 others wounded over the July 4 weekend. In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburb's stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Court's doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburb's restrictions remain in place. Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or those who are termed 'mental defectives' and capable of harming themselves or others. That might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon. But under the law, just who is a 'mental defective' must be decided by 'a court, board, commission or other legal authority.' The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent. Law enforcement officers continue the investigation into the scene of a mass shooting at a 4th of July celebration and parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on Tuesday In one animated video since taken down by YouTube, Crimo raps about armies 'walking in darkness' as a drawing appears of a man pointing a rifle, a body on the ground and another figure with hands up in the distance. Federal agents were reviewing Crimo's online profiles, and a preliminary examination of his internet history indicated that he had researched mass killings and had downloaded multiple photos depicting violent acts, including a beheading, a law enforcement official said. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Vice President Kamala Harris, who had been in Chicago to address the National Education Association's annual meeting Tuesday, visited the site of the shooting to offer condolences to first responders and local officials. 'The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy, to understand that this can happen anywhere, in any peace loving community,' Harris said in brief comments to reporters in Highland Park. 'And we should stand together and speak out about why it's got to stop.' Shapiro, the Highland Park resident who fled the parade with his family, said his 4-year-old son woke up screaming later that night. 'He is too young to understand what happened,' Shapiro said. 'But he knows something bad happened.' Bosses will soon be able to check if their workers are vaccinated against Covid with unprecedented new laws raising concerns about medical privacy. The impending legislation brought in by Daniel Andrews' government will give Victorian employers the power to request the vaccination status of their employees in the name of pandemic safety. The laws are designed to help private businesses dictate which containment measures are needed to reduce the spread of Covid in their workplace. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has urged businesses to make their own decisions on enforcing measures based on internal risk assessments. It comes as the Premier on Tuesday once against extended Victoria's pandemic 'state of emergency' powers for another three months, after the declaration was due to expire on July 12. Aussie bosses will soon be able to check if their workers are vaccinated as Daniel Andrews extends Victoria's pandemic 'state of emergency' (pictured, commuters in Melbourne) The unprecedented new laws will give Victorian employers the power to request the Covid vaccination status of their employees (pictured, a woman is vaccinated in Melbourne) The premier said he was satisfied there continued to be a serious risk to public health throughout the state, in an official statement. He added that this justified the ongoing public health measures to reduce the risk of transmission and hospitalisation. The declaration has been extended to at least October 12, with the state's chief health officer to provide an update at the end of winter. Mr Sutton and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas will advise the premier whether the virus still poses a 'serious risk' to public health. Daniel Andrews (pictured) announced he would extend Victoria's state of emergency laws for another three months, after the declaration was due to expire on July 12 The new laws are designed to help bosses dictate which safety measures will be needed to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in their workplace (pictured, pedestrians in Melbourne) The new powers accrued to Victorian bosses have been designed to inform decisions on the relevant Covid safety measures in their workplace. Workers are not required to be vaccinated under the rules, with the legislation put in place only to inform employers on the proportion of staff members who have received the jab. Vaccine mandates were scrapped for a series of workers last month, including teachers, and those in food production and quarantine facilities. The legislation will be imposed from July 12, and remain in place for 12 months. Workplace Safety Minister Ingrid Stitt said it was important that workplaces continued to implement ways of reducing the spread of the virus. 'These regulations will mean individual employers can choose to implement their own vaccination policies, to collect and hold Covid-19 vaccination information of their workers,' Ms Stitt said. The new powers accrued to Victorian bosses have been designed to inform decisions on the relevant Covid-19 safety measures in their workplace (pictured, a man is tested for Covid-19) Workplace Safety Minister Ingrid Stitt said it was important that workplaces continued to implement ways of reducing the spread of the virus (pictured, commuters in Melbourne) Victorians who work in high-risk sectors, such as healthcare, are required to have three doses of a Covid vaccine to keep their job. Those in other industries are urged to keep an 'up-to-date' vaccination status. Vaccine advisory body ATAGI met on Wednesday to discuss allowing all Australians to roll up their sleeve for a fourth jab. A fourth vaccine is currently only available to over 65s and younger people with health conditions. In a press conference in Melbourne on Tuesday, Mr Andrews said he was in favour of fourth doses for nurses, doctors and other workers in health settings. 'I would just make the point that the pressure in our health system at the moment is acute,' Mr Andrews told reporters. 'ATAGI will wrestle with all of these issues and come up with the very best answer. 'The point I'm making is the pressure is acute now, and for health workers I think there is a strong case; at least that's what I'm told from those who are on the wards in the hospitals.' In a press conference in Melbourne on Tuesday, Mr Andrews (pictured) said he was in favour of fourth doses for nurses, doctors and other workers in health settings Workers in industries other than healthcare are urged to keep 'up-to-date' with their vaccination status (pictured, a man is swabbed for Covid-19 at Sydney Airport) NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard is also pushing for vaccine advisory body ATAGI to approve fourth doses for the general population. 'I actually raised the issue at the health ministers' meeting last Thursday and Friday... my view is we need to broaden it and we need to move quickly,' he said. 'Let's get a fourth dose if we can do it.' Vaccine rollout data shows Australians are less willing to get third and fourth jabs now that lockdowns are over and jab mandates have been largely removed. More than 95 per cent have had at least one dose but 70.5 per cent of Aussies have had a third jab. The figure is even less for fourth jabs which have been taken up by only 58.7 per cent of Aussies over 65. Experts are warning of a winter wave as people spend more time indoors in close proximity during cold and wet weather. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard is also pushing for vaccine advisory body ATAGI to approve fourth doses for the general population (pictured, healthcare workers in July, 2020) Vaccine rollout data shows Australians are less willing to get third and fourth jabs now that lockdowns are over and jab mandates have been largely removed (pictured, a Covid-19 test) There were 26 deaths from Covid recorded on Monday, as the national total death toll passed 10,000 earlier this month. Hospitalisations have also reached 3,511 across the country, the highest levels since February during the height of the Omicron wave. Nearly 30,000 infections were reported nationally on Monday alone, with experts warning case numbers will climb even further as winter progresses. Some states and territories will weigh up whether to reintroduce mask mandates, as Covid-19 cases spiral across the country. Changes to the Biosecurity Act came into effect on Wednesday, with international arrivals no longer needing to declare their vaccination status to enter the country. A TikTok video of troubled actor Ezra Miller offering to 'knock out' a store worker who wanted a selfie has resurfaced online. The Flash actor, 29, is seen in the video with the smiling store worker who suddenly giggles nervously when Miller demands a response to the offer of violence. The bizarre ten second clip, seemingly taken in 2020 and reposted by the TikTok user @peterknight2800 on Sunday, has been viewed over 3.5 million times with the caption, 'I just wanted a picture dawg!' 'It's an option I present people, always,' Miller, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, says at the start of the video. The store worker starts the video expecting to have a pleasant interaction with Hollywood movie star Ezra Miller But when the non-binary actor says, 'I can always just knock you out and then you won't have to panic,' the mood of the video changes The Flash actor, 29, who has been involved in a string of controversies and altercations in recent times 'I can always just knock you out and then you won't have to panic,' he follows up. 'Okay, you're just going to knock people out,' the store worker nods, not entirely getting Miller's drift. 'You just let me know,' Miller says calmly but menacingly, to which the worker says, 'yeah.' When Miller presses him, the store worker says 'what?' with a nervous giggle, turning to face Miller before the video cuts off. The encounter was just one of a long list of contretemps involving the Justice League actor, who has been involved in a string of controversies and arrests in recent times. Ezra Miller is shown being arrested in Hilo, Hawaii, on March 28 after allegedly spitting in someone's face and pulling a microphone away from another person as they tried to sing karaoke Miller is shown in their mugshot after being arrested for second-degree assault in Hawaii Tuesday, April 19, 2022 The actor was thought to be lying low since they deactivated their Instagram account last month after a series of posts that included an image that read 'you cannot touch me I am in another universe' among several other confusing posts. The performer has a roll call of recent trouble that spreads back to 2020. Miller was caught on camera in April 2020 attacking a woman and choking her outside a pub in the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. The 29-year-old actor was arrested for disorderly conduct and harassment on March 28 after a incident at a bar in Hilo, Hawaii which included spitting in someone's face at karaoke club Margaritas Village. The couple Miller was staying with in Hilo, Hawaii, made allegations against him as well. They alleged that they stole the husband's wallet, and stole the wife's passport and burst into the couple's bedroom yelling 'I will bury you and your sl** wife' just days after his arrest. Before the March 28 incident, the trio had gotten along having originally met each other at a farmer's market - according to Radar Online. Miller, in red, is seen in the April 2020 video appearing to choke a woman at a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland. She told Variety that they had been chatting before, and they lost their temper They were then arrested for a second time in Hawaii on Tuesday April 19, after the actor allegedly threw a chair at a woman's head when she asked them to leave her home. The parents of a teenager accused Miller of taking control of their daughter, plying her with alcohol, LSD and marijuana, and displaying 'cult-like' behavior toward her. They also claim in a lawsuit that the actor, supplied their underage daughter with drugs and alcohol and disrupted her Massachusetts private schooling to such an extent that she dropped out of in December. They said the actor had exhibited a 'pattern of corrupting a minor.' Miller was hit with a fresh restraining order last month over claims the star rubbed up against a non-binary 12 year-old and threatened the youngster's mom with a gun after accusing her of cultural appropriation. The day after Miller's first arrest in Hawaii for spitting in someone's face, Warner Bros held an emergency meeting to halt projects which they were involved in. Insiders told Rolling Stone that Miller, who has a history of 'meltdowns', would not be involved in any public appearances for the DC Cinematic Universe despite Miller's The Flash slated to premier next year. F-35A stealth jets from the United States Air Force landed in South Korea on Tuesday, their first publicly disclosed visit since 2017, as the allies and nuclear-armed North Korea engage in an intensifying cycle of weapon shows. Joint military exercises have been openly reduced back in recent years, first in 2018 due to diplomatic attempts with North Korea, and then in 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. US Conducts Joint Maneuvers With South Korea South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, has wanted to enhance public shows of alliance military force, including drills, in response to North Korea's record number of missile launches this year. North Korea looks to be planning a nuclear test for the first time since 2017. The six F-35As will be in South Korea for 10 days, according to a statement from the South Korean Ministry of Defense. The aircraft took out from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. A USFK spokesperson stated that it was the first public deployment of 5th generation fighter aircraft to South Korea since December 2017, but he did not clarify whether unannounced trips had occurred. A former senior US official earlier told Reuters that several drills had proceeded amid diplomatic negotiations but had not been reported. South Korea has acquired 40 F-35As from the United States and plans to purchase another 20. South Korean air force F-35As will take part in the combined exercises, according to USFK. North Korea has criticized joint drills as well as South Korea's military procurement as examples of hostile measures that demonstrate the US's pledges to dialogue without preconditions are empty, as per Daily Mail. In early June, the United States and its allies launched dozens of planes over the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang's provocations. President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea welcomed President Biden to Seoul in mid-May, during which the two stated a desire to expand coordinated military drills around the Korean Peninsula. Read Also: US Mulls Selling F-35s or F-15s If Egyptian Air Force Cancels Buying Su-35 Flankers From Russia North Korea Recently Slammed US, South Korea Furthermore, the US restated its readiness to deploy key US military assets as needed in a timely and coordinated way, as well as to strengthen such measures and find new or additional methods to bolster deterrence in the face of DPRK disruptive activities, The Hill reported. North Korea lambasted the US, South Korea, and Japan on Sunday for attempting to expand their trilateral military cooperation against the North, saying that the move is generating urgent calls for the nation to strengthen its military power. North Korea has long claimed hostility from the United States and its allies as justification for pursuing a nuclear program. The announcement comes as North Korea's neighbors claim the nation is preparing for its first nuclear test in five years as part of a provocative series of weapons tests this year. The statement criticized a trilateral meeting between US, South Korean, and Japanese leaders on the margins of a NATO summit last week, during which they emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation to cope with North Korean nuclear threats. North Korea sees US-led military drills in the region, notably those with rival South Korea, as a dress rehearsal for an invasion, despite Washington and Seoul's repeated denials that they want to invade the North, according to AP via MSN. Related Article: China, Russia Warships Spotted Yet Again Near Japan-Controlled Senkakus To Show Force Around Country @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Thousands of civilians holed up in two key Ukrainian cities have been told to flee as Putin's army continues its creeping advance in the east under heavy artillery fire. Slovyansk and Kramatorsk have been subjected to a 'massive' Russian bombardment in recent days, local officials said, with a rocket strike on a marketplace Tuesday leaving at least two bystanders dead. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk province where the cities are located, said 'there hasn't been a day this week without shelling.' 'The enemy is shelling chaotically, the attacks are aimed at destroying the local population,' he added. 'So, once again, the main advice is to evacuate.' Firefighters battle to put out a blaze at a market in Slovyansk on Tuesday after it was hit by a Russian rocket, killing at least two people Thousands of civilians who remain in the city have been urged to flee by regional officials who say Russian shelling aims to 'destroy the local population' Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in Slovyansk after a Russian rocket strike on the city's main market on Tuesday Slovyansk and Kramatorsk have found themselves on the frontline of the war after the fall of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, around 30 miles down the road in Luhansk province, to Russia over the last 10 days. The cities now sit the northern end of a defensive line that stretches 20 miles to the west at Siversk, down via the cities of Soledar and Bakhmut, and back east to Toretsk - some 30 miles to the south. Capturing this pocket would go a long way to putting Russian in control of the whole of Donetsk and - combined with the capture of Luhansk - would allow Putin to claim victory over the whole of Donbas, which he claims is his sole war aim. Ukraine can afford to lose this territory but is determined to make Russia bleed for every inch of ground gained, aiming to wear out Putin's army to the point where it can counter-attack and regain land it has lost. On Tuesday, Russian forces were closing in on the smaller city of Siversk after days of shelling there. Two Ukrainian Red Cross minibuses were heading there to evacuate willing civilians, according to AFP reporters on the ground. Slovyansk (pictured) and Kramatorsk find themselves on the frontline of the war after the Russians captured nearby Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in recent days Locals in Slovyansk watch as smoke from Russian artillery strikes rises into the air, with officials saying the city has been bombed every day this week A house in Donetsk province burns after being struck by a Russian shell, as Putin's armies move in with the aim of capturing the last strongholds in Donbas An aerial view shows smoke rising from the central market of Sloviansk, north of Kramatosk, after a Russian rocket hit it 'Heavy fighting is taking place on the outskirts of Lugansk region near Lysychansk,' Lugansk governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Telegram. 'The occupiers are withdrawing equipment to the Donetsk region.' To the southwest, in the Moscow-occupied Kherson region, Russian troops have deployed helicopters and artillery to try to stem Ukrainian counter-attacks. A spokesman for Ukraine's defence ministry said Tuesday that Russian forces outside Donbas were 'trying to bind our troops in order to prevent them from moving to the battle areas'. Kherson city, which lies close to Moscow-annexed Crimea, was the first major city to fall to Russian forces in February, and has seen a campaign of so-called Russification since. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in his evening address Tuesday, said he was continuing to press for upgraded anti-missile systems as air siren alerts sounded across much of the country, including the capital. 'The Russian army does not take any breaks,' he said. 'Our task is to hold on.' Moscow's invasion has encouraged both Sweden and Finland to drop decades of military non-alignment and become part of NATO, which kicked off their accession process on Tuesday. In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland hailed the move as 'historic'. Ukrainian serviceman ride on top of an armored vehicle towards the battlefield in Siverisk frontline, as Russian forces close in Smoke rises from the battlefield near to Siversk, Ukraine 'The membership of both Finland and Sweden will not only contribute to our own security but to the collective security of the alliance,' said Finland's Pekka Haavisto, after protocols were signed launching the required ratification process. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov welcomed Tuesday's 'timely (and) correct' step, adding on Twitter: 'Who will be next...?' And in a sign of regional tension over the invasion, Latvia announced Tuesday it would reinstate compulsory military service. 'The current military system of Latvia has reached its limit. Meanwhile, we have no reason to think that Russia will change its behaviour,' Latvian Defence Minister Artis Pabriks told reporters. NATO offered Ukraine a path towards membership in 2008 but that stalled amid strong Russian opposition and has been further complicated by its invasion. With the war well into its fifth month, Kyiv's allies meeting in the Swiss city of Lugano committed Tuesday to supporting Ukraine through what is likely to be a lengthy and expensive eventual recovery. Two days of talks involving representatives from some 40 countries agreed on the need for reforms to boost transparency and tackle corruption, as they heard rebuilding the war-ravaged country could cost at least $750 billion. More than 10,000 civilian deaths or injuries have been documented across Ukraine as of July 3, according to UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet, who said the real figure is likely to be much higher. At least 335 children were among the 4,889 dead, she said, demanding an end to 'unbearable' civilian suffering and slamming the 'senseless war'. Britons today saw the funny side of the crisis engulfing Boris Johnson's Government by taking to social media to poke fun at the Prime Minister's situation. Mr Johnson is today attempting to shore up his position after the resignations of Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak last night. Their departures triggered walkouts by more junior members of the Government, with ministers Will Quince and Robin Walker the latest to quit today. Amid speculation that Mr Johnson's time in Number 10 could soon be coming to an end, dozens of memes making light of the situation were posted on Twitter. One made reference to the Prime Minister's wife Carrie Johnson and the expensive and controversial refurbishment of the Downing Street flat by designer Lulu Lytle. The tweet read: 'Carrie with the iron frantically steaming off the gold wallpaper and stuffing it into an overnight bag.' Another mentioned horror film Jaws by depicting the film's upbeat mayor of Amity Island outside Downing Street. Referencing the moment where the mayor promised the beaches were safe before the killer shark struck again, the tweet read: 'The Cabinet is open and everyone is having a wonderful time'. A third jokingly quoted Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, depicting him as saying: 'The thing is Boris, you have visited quite a few times already'. It was making reference to previous visits to Kyiv by Mr Johnson which have coincided with domestic criticism of the PM, sparking claims that the trips were attempts to distract from the bad press. Another meme riffed on Mr Johnson's famous Brexit slogan, saying 'Get Exit Done' above a photo of the PM walking out of Number 10. A fifth showed an illustration of the sinking Titanic and said: 'Live scenes from Downing St'. Britons today saw the funny side of the crisis engulfing Boris Johnson's Government by taking to social media to poke fun at the Prime Minister's situation Another jokingly quoted Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, depicting him as saying: 'The thing is Boris, you have visited quite a few times already' A third meme riffed on Mr Johnson's famous Brexit slogan, saying 'Get Exit Done' above a photo of the PM walking out of Number 10 Another showed an illustration of the sinking Titanic and said: 'Live scenes from Downing St' Again on the subject of the Downing Street flat refurbishment, another tweet showed a famous photograph of the frantic US evacuation of Saigon during the Vietnam war and said: 'Scenes from Number 10 as Carrie Johnson flees with the wallpaper.' A third on the subject said the PM could use the resignation letters he has received to 're-wallpaper' the Downing Street flat. Mr Javid announced his resignation in an incendiary letter to the PM last night, with Mr Sunak following just minutes later with a similar broadside. The PM appointed his chief of staff Steve Barclay to replace Mr Javid as Health Secretary, whilst Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi was promoted to become Chancellor. It came after former top civil servant Lord McDonald of Salford released a letter which gave critics of the PM further ammunition over his appointment of alleged groper Chris Pincher to the whips' office. Mr Sunak warned in his resignation letter that 'we cannot continue like this' and said he was going despite accepting that his senior job might be the last position he holds in Government. Making light of the crisis, another meme on Twitter made reference to the Prime Minister's wife Carrie Johnson and the expensive and controversial refurbishment of the Downing Street flat by designer Lulu Lytle On the same theme, another tweet showed a famous photograph of the frantic US evacuation of Saigon during the Vietnam war and said: 'Scenes from Number 10 as Carrie Johnson flees with the wallpaper Comedian Rory Bremner said: Don't panic, everyone. Nadine Dorries, Priti Patel, Jacob Rees Mogg and Dominic Raab staying. We've still got the A team in charge' This Tweeter joked that Mr Johnson and his wife could 're-wallpaper' the Downing Street flat 'with resignation letters' 'The public rightly expect Government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,' he wrote. Today, Mr Zahawi was hit with news of another resignation while he was live on air. Nadhim Zahawi was in the middle of an interview on the BBC's flagship Today programme when he was informed that Children's minister Will Quince had joined the exodus, slamming No10's 'inaccurate' claims about the Chris Pincher allegations. Asked whether it meant Mr Johnson is 'over', a sombre-looking Mr Zahawi responded: 'I am deeply sorry to see colleagues leave government.' Schools minister Robin Walker has now joined his former colleague in walking out, saying the government was being 'overshadowed by mistakes and questions about integrity'. This meme referenced popular show Would I Lie to You, saying 'I once took an 80 seat majority and p****d it up the wall in less than 3 years' A criminologist friend of the latest Gazprom-linked Russian tycoon to die in mysterious circumstances has claimed the multimillionaire was murdered. Yuri Voronov, 61, head of a logistics company that held lucrative contracts with Gazprom in the Arctic, was found shot dead in the swimming pool of his mansion in an ultra-wealthy suburb of St Petersburg around 2pm Monday. Voronov was found floating in the pool with a gunshot wound to his head, a Grand Power pistol nearby, and several spent cases at the bottom of the pool. He is at least the sixth wealthy Russian businessman to die in mysterious circumstances since the start of the year, many of them with links to Gazprom, and two of whom died in the same St Petersburg suburb as Voronov. Professor Oleg Karataev, a top criminologist and dean of the law faculty at a St Petersburg university, said he was a close friend of Voronov and doubts that he took his own life. Asked if it was a suicide, he said: 'He did not do this. He was killed. He didn't have the slightest reason. Did he shoot himself multiple times? I doubt it.' Yuri Voronov (left), 61, was found dead around 2pm Monday at his mansion near St Petersburg with a gunshot wound to the head. Friend and criminologist Professor Oleg Karataev (right) believes it was murder Voronov was found floating in the pool of his mansion in an exclusive suburb of St Petersburg (neighbourhood, pictured above) The Russian Investigative Committee is probing the death, which has been portrayed as coming after he was depressed over a business dispute in which he lost a large sum. His wife has reportedly told investigators that Voronov believed he was being swindled out of 'a lot of money' by 'dishonorable' contractors and partners. Karataev said Voronov had 'financial problems' after a close friend 'robbed him' of almost 2million, but 'he was not depressed because of this,' he said. He told Komsomolskaya Pravda: 'The last time we spoke was a few days ago by phone. 'Yuri was in a great mood. He was generally a cheerful person. Voronov was head of a logistics company that held lucrative contracts with Gazprom in the Arctic 'Yuri admitted that he had been in worse situations. He is the head of a large company, he has a business, huge money.' The professor demanded the case be investigated by a top criminal expert, fearing there would be an attempt to label it suicide and close it. A number of deaths at other mansions near St Petersburg have led to rumours of murders being staged to look like suicides. Alexander Tyulakov, 61, a senior Gazprom financial and security official, was found hanged at his home in the exclusive Leninsky development by a lover in February. Investigators said he had killed himself, but local reports said his body showed signs of a beating - suggesting the hanging was staged. Three weeks earlier, in the same housing development, 60-year-old Leonid Shulman was found stabbed to death in his bathroom. Shulman was the head of transport at Gazprom Invest, a branch of the energy giant that handles its investment projects. Billionaire Alexander Subbotin, 43, a former senior executive at energy giant Lukoil, was also found dead in May after 'taking advice from shamans'. Alexander Tyulakov, 61 (left), and Leonid Shulman, 60 (right), were found dead in the same St Petersburg suburb from hanging and stabbing respectively Vladislav Avayev, 51, who had links with Gazprombank, was found dead earlier this year after apparently killing 41-year-old wife Yelena and their 13-year-old daughter One theory is that he was poisoned by toad venom that triggered a heart attack. In April, wealthy Vladislav Avayev, 51, a former Kremlin official, appeared to have taken his own life after killing his wife Yelena, 47, and daughter, 13. He had high level links to leading Russian financial institution Gazprombank. Friends have disputed reports that he was jealous after his wife admitted she was pregnant by their driver. There are claims he had access to the financial secrets of the Kremlin elite. Several days later multimillionaire Sergey Protosenya, 55, was found hanged in Spain, after evidently killing with an axe his wife Natalia, 53, and their teenage daughter, Maria. Sergey Protosenya, 55, was found hanged in Spain, after apparently killing his wife Natalia, 53, and their teenage daughter, Maria, with an axe Yevgeny Palant, 47, and his wife Olga, 50, both Ukrainian-born, were found with multiple knife wounds by their daughter Polina, 20, last week He was a former deputy chairman of Novatek, a company also closely linked to the Kremlin. As with Avayev, it is suggested this may have been an assassination made to appear a murder-and-suicide. Last week a mobile phone multi-millionaire and his wife were found stabbed to death in another case that has raised questions. Naked Yevgeny Palant, 47, and his wife Olga, 50, both Ukrainian-born, were found with multiple knife wounds by their daughter Polina, 20. Immediate briefing to the media claimed the woman took her own life in a jealous rage after Palant said he was leaving her. Yet this was strongly disputed by the couple's best friend. Advertisement The world's favourite Ukrainian dog who has been awarded a medal for valour and has 250,000 Instagram followers has now got a Twitter account for his fans to keep up with. Patron the two-year-old Jack Russell was recently awarded a medal for valour by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and is the star of billboards symbolising his country's defiance of Vladimir Putin. He is the 'soul and mascot' of the group and helps the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) in clearing explosives. Patron was originally bought to appear in pedigree dog shows, but has detected more than 200 deadly Russian landmines and unexploded bombs. He first found fame when Ukraine's State Emergency Service posted a video online of their mascot working in the war-torn northern city of Chernihiv. He received his medal at the presidential palace in Kyiv with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was visiting, looking on. His owner Mykhailo Iliev is a bomb disposal expert and soon after buying Patron he realised how helpful the dog could be in his work. Mykhailo said: 'This is his life, it is all he has known. It is just a matter of chance that we have such a capable dog. He is not a service dog, he is my pet, but he has an amazing nose and is an avid learner. He was meant to be a show dog but his destiny was to save people's lives, not to win prizes.' From six months, Patron was trained to detect TNT and gunpowder. When he does, he stops rigid and stands with his nose down until Mykhailo and his team approach. But he can sometimes find his job exhausting. 'Some days he is so tired that he does not eat his evening meal. He comes home, has a drink of water and just crashes out,' says Mykhailo. 'But he always wakes up excited to go again the next day.' Patron the two-year-old Jack Russell was recently awarded a medal for valour by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and is the star of billboards symbolising his country's defiance of Vladimir Putin . He is the 'soul and mascot' of the group and helps the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) in clearing explosives. Patron was originally bought to appear in pedigree dog shows, but has detected more than 200 deadly Russian landmines and unexploded bombs. He first found fame when Ukraine's State Emergency Service posted a video online of their mascot working in the war-torn northern city of Chernihiv He received his medal at the presidential palace in Kyiv with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was visiting, looking on (pictured) Zelenskiy made the award at a news conference in Kyiv with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau His owner Mykhailo Iliev is a bomb disposal expert and soon after buying Patron he realised how helpful the dog could be in his work. Mykhailo said: 'This is his life, it is all he has known. It is just a matter of chance that we have such a capable dog. He is not a service dog, he is my pet, but he has an amazing nose and is an avid learner. He was meant to be a show dog but his destiny was to save people's lives, not to win prizes' From six months, Patron was trained to detect TNT and gunpowder. When he does, he stops rigid and stands with his nose down until Mykhailo and his team approach But he can sometimes find his job exhausting. 'Some days he is so tired that he does not eat his evening meal. He comes home, has a drink of water and just crashes out,' says Mykhailo. 'But he always wakes up excited to go again the next day.' Patron poses in his work gear during a quick break on the job in Ukraine Patron is seen standing proudly on bombs that he has found so his team are able to dispose of them safely Patron poses in a miniature version of traditional Ukrainian folk clothing while standing next to a mural on some rocks Patron looks elated as he plays with a ball while he's off the clock and not having to focus on finding Russian landmines The adorable Jack Russell snuggles up in a cosy blanket in the colours of the Ukrainian flag during some downtime from his tiring job Well-trained Patron sits on command while wearing his tiny dog uniform which reads: 'Ukraine DSNS' - The name for the country's State Emergency Service The lovable dog poses in bed with his paws crossed under a cosy blanket Patron is held up for his adoring crowd during the celebration of Children's Day in Lviv, Ukraine, on June 1 A man photographs a mural dedicated to Patron on the facade of a local house in Zaporizhzhia, south-eastern Ukraine A recently painted mural in Vidradnyi park in honour of Jack Russell dog, 'Patron', the landmine finder and mascot of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on June 07 British Airways fares are soaring as the airline cancels thousands of summer flights - after a Heathrow passenger spent three hours wading through luggage at the airport in a failed bid to find her lost bag. BA cancelled 17,600 flights up to the end of June, equivalent to 2.8 million seats, amid warnings that the figure could jump to 18,750 cancellations by the end of this week. Nearly 1,000 further flights have been cancelled so far this month alone, including 785 from Heathrow and 186 at Gatwick. The airline has said it is facing the 'most challenging period in its history' and has 'regrettably' had to make further reductions to its schedule. In May, BA said it would be reducing its schedule by 10 per cent, but this figure has already reached 11 per cent for the summer. Friday marks a deadline for airlines to cancel summer flights without having to hand back unused 'slots', with BA currently holding the majority of permits to take off from and land at Heathrow, The Independent reports. But rival airlines are unlikely to step it and take the slots as it would mean having to launch new flights and the further expense of their marketing. As a result, fares are expected to continue rising as availability falls. In total, 72 flights from Heathrow to Nice have been cancelled to July 15, resulting in fares soaring to an average of 1,180 tomorrow. Lori Harito spent three hours wading through mountains of luggage at Heathrow Airport after she was left without any of clothes for her trip from Toronto When the fitness and wellbeing writer arrived in the UK, she was told by Air Canada staff that her bag had been lost Meanwhile, BA cancelled 17,600 flights up to the end of June, equivalent to 2.8 million seats, amid warnings that the figure could jump to 18,750 cancellations Passengers resorted to sleeping on the floor near rubbish bins at Heathrow this week as they waited for their flights to board A further 58 flights to Dublin, 54 to Amsterdam and 52 to Edinburgh have been cancelled in the coming ten days. A BA spokesperson said: 'We took pre-emptive action earlier this year to reduce our summer schedule to provide customers with as much notice as possible about any changes to their travel plans. 'As the entire aviation industry continues to face into the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions. We're in touch with customers to apologise and offer to rebook them or issue a full refund.' Regarding slot alleviation, a statement added: 'We welcome these new measures, which help us to provide the certainty our customers deserve by making it easier to consolidate some of our quieter daily flights to multi-frequency destinations well in advance, and to protect more of our holiday flights.' It comes as after a passenger spent three hours wading through mountains of luggage at Heathrow Airport after she was left without any of clothes for her trip. Lori Harito, 35, was told by Air Canada staff that her bag had been lost when she flew from Toronto via Montreal on June 20. But after waiting for a week, she decided to take matters into her own hands and travelled to the airport to spend three hours unsuccessfully combing through mountains of baggage herself. She has now said it could take 'months' before she is finally reunited with her belongings and 'there seems to be nothing I can do about it'. Ms Harito recalled having to wade through mountains of luggage in an unsuccessful attempt to find her lost belongings She had to travel to London with only the clothes on her back while desperately waiting for a call from baggage services on the whereabouts of her belongings Ms Harito had walked from her flight to the baggage reclaim area as normal, but was told her bag was 'somewhere in the airport' when she approached a lost baggage desk when it did not arrive on the conveyor belt. Instead, it had been placed on the wrong flight to Heathrow when she caught her connecting flight at Montreal. She had to travel to London with only the clothes on her back while desperately waiting for a call from baggage services with an update to its whereabouts. The fitness and wellness writer said: 'I had to make a claim with lost baggage who told me that my bag was somewhere in the airport, but they didnt know where. 'I was told my bag was lost when I arrived, so after a week I went back to the airport to try and find it myself. 'There were more people with lost luggage than there were people with luggage, which just shows the magnitude of the chaos.' She recalled enormous piles of abandoned suitcases at the airport's lost luggage department. Air Canada has sent her a $60 eCoupon for her lost luggage, but she claims it cost her $75 to check her bag in in the first place. Ms Harito has had tp spend a fortune on clothes while she waits to be reunited with her own. She added: 'The customer service people at the luggage terminal told me they have thousands of bags to process and deliver. 'I still dont have my bag, and you cant even get through to Air Canadas customer service line anymore. 'When I arrived to look for my bag, I was then told the layover caused the issue, and my luggage was actually put on the wrong flight. 'The majority of flights from Montreal were either cancelled or delayed - mine included. 'So when we made it to Montreal from Toronto, the gate for my flight to London changed, but my luggage still went on the flight that was at my original gate.' It comes after holidaymakers were this week forced to sleep by the bins in Heathrow as airport chaos took yet another turn for the worse. A young family were spotted catching up on rest in the most uncomfortable of positions, as terminals up and down the country are once again packed with frustrated, queuing passengers. Misery for passengers at Heathrow appears set to worsen, too, as plane refuellers have voted to go on strike. The Unite union announced around 50 staff at Heathrow who fuel planes will strike for 72 hours from 5am on July 21. Covid infections have shot up in England to over 2 million according to the latest Office of National Statistics data Lengthy queues pictured at Heathrow Airport yesterday as passengers continue to face chaos across the UK And the chaos appears set to worsen amid expected strike action from plane refuellers this month It has been designed to cause maximum damage, covering the first weekend of the school holidays when millions of families are planning getaways. The workers are employed by Aviation Fuel Services, one of four firms at Heathrow, who re-fuel around 150 planes daily. Unite wants a double-digit pay rise for workers to call off the strikes after pay fell by 15 per cent over three years, it claims. Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said: Disruption can be avoided if AFS returns to the negotiating table and makes an offer that meets our member expectations. Covid is also again threatening to jeopardise summer holiday plans for millions of Brits as experts fear foreign destinations may reinstate tough curbs to counter surging infections. Tests, facemasks and vaccine passes could return to favoured holiday hotspots and airports could see further chaos if the number of self-isolating workers skyrockets. Now MPs and experts have publicly shared their concerns for the future of millions of Brits' summer holiday plans which could hang in the balance. Aspiring lawyer Zara Aleena, who was killed on the streets of east London last month, died from head and neck injuries, a coroner's court heard. The 35-year-old was allegedly attacked by an 'opportunistic stranger' in the early hours of June 26 as she walked home from a night out along Cranbrook Road in Redbridge, Ilford. A post-mortem examination has now confirmed the cause of her death as blunt force trauma injury and neck compression. Suspect Jordan McSweeney, 29, was arrested and charged with murder - and he appeared at the Old Bailey last week. He is accused of murder, attempted rape and robbery, and was remanded in custody until September 30. East London Coroner Nadia Persaud was today told by coroner's officer Jean Smyth that Ms Aleena was admitted to the Royal London Hospital shortly before 4.45am with multiple injuries. Miss Aleena (pictured) was attacked as she walked home from a night out along Cranbrook Road in Ilford, towards Gants Hill station, in the early hours of Sunday, June 26 Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jordan McSweeney appearing by video link from HMP Thameside during a hearing at the Old Bailey, London 'She was the rock of our family': Read the full heartbreaking statement from Zara Aleena's family following her death Zara Aleena, 35, died from severe head injuries after she was attacked on her way back from a night out in the early hours of Sunday morning The family of Zara Aleena, who was killed while walking home in east London in the early hours of Sunday morning, released a statement today after a man was arrested over her death. They wrote: 'Zara, 35, a beloved human, child, niece, cousin, granddaughter, friend to all, she was a joy to all of us. She was a carer for her mother, and her grandmother. 'Caring for others came so naturally to her. Zara was friendly, she was everybody's friend. She was everybody's daughter, everybody's niece, everybody's sister, everybody's cousin. She was pure of heart. 'She was a joy to all of us, her sparkling eyes and the curly, jet-black hair. Her glorious laughter and her sweet, smiling voice. Her tiny frame embodied a passionate spirit and indomitable energy. 'Zara was brought up by the whole of our family. She was our love in human form. At the age of 5 she said she was going to be a lawyer. Shrieking with joy when she spotted the birds as a child - she would giggle and make us laugh. She was always the bigger person in any situation. 'She was authentic and refused to try and impress anyone but she impressed us. She was the rock of our family. Zara was stoic and held it all together and never complained. She glued our community together. 'Nobody worked harder than Zara' is what we heard from all who knew her. Zara was happy and at a point in her life when her joy was radiating and blossoming. 'She was ready to make a family of her own. Her sense of justice and fairness led her to a life of giving and caring for others supporting refugees fleeing violence, giving voice to those who had less power. She had that special habit of noticing others in need and always put their needs on her agenda. A carefree spirit, with the most caring heart. 'Zara was happy and at a point in her life that she had worked hard for, she had completed her Legal Practice Course so that she could practise as a solicitor. She only recently started working for the Crown Prosecution Service, to complete her 2-year work placement in order to become a fully qualified solicitor. She was fierce: she didn't just survive, she thrived. 'She walked everywhere. She put her party shoes in a bag and donned her trainers. She walked. Zara believed that a woman should be able to walk home. Now, her dreams of a family are shattered, her future brutally taken. 'Sadly, Zara is not the only one who has had her life taken at the hands of a stranger. We all know women should be safe on our streets. She was in the heart of her community, ten minutes from home. 'We all need to be talking about what happened to OUR ZARA, we all need to be talking about this tragedy. 'These last few days have been shocking and unimaginable. 'She's not the only woman who has lost her life like this. In the moment of this tragedy, we extend our deepest sympathy and love to the families of Bibaa Henry; Nicole Smallman; Sarah Everard; Sabina Nessa; Ashling Murphy and many more women. 'We must PREVENT and STOP violence against women and girls. 'Our loss is irreparable and the void feels insurmountable but the warmth and kindness that our community has shown is testament to the power of Zara's spirit. Her life has been stolen from us. She has been stolen from us all. 'REST IN POWER ZARA NATASHA ALEENA.' Advertisement But her condition worsened and she was pronounced dead a short time later. Her body was identified by her maternal aunt, Farah Naz. No members of Ms Aleena's family or friends were present for the three-minute hearing. Ms Persaud adjourned the inquest until the conclusion of any criminal proceedings. At the time, police have said they believed Ms Aleena was the victim of an 'opportunistic stranger attack'. At Thames Magistrates' Court last month, McSweeney was charged with murder, attempted rape and robbery. Police were called to the tragic scene last month as screams were heard by nearby residents, who frantically dialled 999. Paramedics rushed to the scene where they performed CPR for two hours before taking Ms Aleena to hospital. She was declared dead shortly afterwards. In a statement, her heartbroken family said the aftermath had been 'shocking and unimaginable', describing Zara as 'everybody's friend' and 'pure of heart.' They added that she had wanted to be a lawyer from the age of five and that she 'put her party shoes in her bag' and 'walked everywhere' because 'she believed that a woman should be able to walk home.' It continued: 'She was a joy to all of us, her sparkling eyes and the curly, jet-black hair. Her glorious laughter and her sweet, smiling voice. Her tiny frame embodied a passionate spirit and indomitable energy. 'She was authentic and refused to try and impress anyone but she impressed us. She was the rock of our family. Zara was stoic and held it all together and never complained. She glued our community together. 'Nobody worked harder than Zara' is what we heard from all who knew her. Zara was happy and at a point in her life when her joy was radiating and blossoming.' They added: 'She walked everywhere. She put her party shoes in a bag and donned her trainers. She walked. 'Zara believed that a woman should be able to walk home. Now, her dreams of a family are shattered, her future brutally taken.' Earlier this month, hundreds of mourners have gathered at a silent vigil dedicated to the aspiring lawyer as they traced the walk home the 35-year-old would have taken. The majority of those walking along Cranbrook Road wore white clothing as requested by the family, others held flowers and pictures of Ms Aleena aloft. Dozens of other mourners left bouquets of flowers and cards in tribute to the latest high profile victim of violence against women in the capital. Roads were closed in the area to allow the crowd to walk the 10-minute journey from the scene of her attack to her home. Those attending the vigil met at 1.30pm opposite Cranbrook Rise in Ilford before commencing the walk at 2.17pm - mirroring the time in the morning on June 26 when Ms Aleena was set upon. Her family have requested attendees wear white and remain 'silent and sombre' as 'we walk Zara home in our hearts'. Marai Larasi, a member of campaign group Million Women Rise, said: 'We're here to support the family, we're here to bring her home in spirit, we're here to honour her life, and we're here with absolute exhaustion because we're tired of vigils, we're tired of crying and we're tired of having to bury women of all ages and stages in life.' The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: 'Zara was an incredible woman and an inspiration to us all. 'She rightly believed that every woman should be able to walk home safely and today her loved ones and so many from the local community and across the country came to finish the journey she started. 'My thoughts and prayers are with them all today. 'I'm clear that women should not have to change their behaviour and every woman and girl is entitled to be safe, and to feel safe - whatever the time of day and wherever they are. 'We owe it to Zara to do everything possible to bring an end to violence against women and girls.' Miss Aleena is the 16th woman in London and the 52nd woman in the UK to be killed by a man in 2022, with her case bearing a chilling similarity to those of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard, who were both slain while walking home in the capital last year. Miss Aleena is said to have recently told a friend: 'That won't happen to us', while discussing Ms Everard's case, before tragically suffering a similar fate. Kind and loving: Law graduate Zara Aleena, pictured left, was killed by a stranger as she walked home and had told her best friend Lisa Hodgson, right, 'that won't happen to us' after Sarah Everard's murder The road where Zara was found with horrific injuries was just a short distance from Gants Hill Station Good Morning Britain faced an awkward interruption during a live broadcast this morning when notorious anti-Brexit activist Steve Bray began belting out a modified rendition of Bye Bye Baby outside the Houses of Parliament. GMB presenters Susanna Reid, 51, and Ed Balls, 55, were hosting the ITV breakfast news show live from Westminster when Bray, 53, began singing 'Bye Bye Boris' to the tune of the Bay City Rollers' hit. The 'Stop Brexit Man' was taunting embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is clinging onto his premiership following a slew of resignations, kickstarted by the shock departures of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid last night. At least 15 members of government - including four ministers - have resigned in the past 24 hours following claims that the PM hired Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip despite allegedly having knowledge of allegations of sexual misconduct against him. It came after Pincher was forced to resign on June 30 when two men accused him of groping them while drinking at the Carlton Club in central London the night before. Reid and Balls noticed Bray's 'karaoke' while reporting on the lawn outside Parliament this morning. Reid appeared distracted as the pro-EU protestor started singing, and asked: 'Oh what's Sorry, where's that come from?' GMB presenters Susanna Reid, 51, and Ed Balls, 55, were hosting the ITV breakfast news show live from Westminster when Steve Bray, 53, began singing 'Bye Bye Boris' to the tune of the Bay City Rollers' hit. Bray's signature top hat is seen peeking above a gate during GMB's broadcast this morning The 'Stop Brexit Man' was taunting embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is clinging onto his premiership following a slew of resignations, kickstarted by the shock departures of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid last night (file image of Bray) Balls replied: 'I don't know,' while Reid continued: 'Are we about to do karaoke?', before realising it was Bray. Bray, from Port Talbot in South Wales, has made frequent protests against Brexit on College Green and is known to shout during TV news broadcasts. He is also known for walking into the background of live reports, often wearing an eye-catching outfit and carrying placards with anti-Brexit or anti-Government messages. As Bray's performance picked up, Reid and Balls began dancing along to his rendition of Bye Bye Baby. Reid quickly recognised the performer, saying: 'Oh, it's Steve Bray! It's the latest Steve Bray protest, isn't it?' Despite the interruption, both presenters seemed to be entertained by the inventive performance. 'Oh, come on, Steve,' said Balls. Reid added: 'Well, I suppose if you're no longer allowed to shout, there are other ways of making your voice heard.' It comes after Bray, a failed Lib Dem parliamentary candidate, was silenced by the police last week when they confiscated his powerful music system in Westminster. Chris Pincher (pictured) last week resigned as deputy chief whip after he admitted 'embarrassing himself and others' after drinking 'far too much' at the Carlton Club, a posh London watering hole popular with Conservatives, where he was accused of groping two men Failed Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Steve Bray accused police of harassment as he was prevented from setting up his powerful music system in Westminster on June 28 From Port Talbot to Parliament: EU fanatic's one-man protest Steve Bray has been making noise outside Parliament since September 2017. The coin collector from Port Talbot initially become part of the landscape on Westminster's College Green, with his colourful ensemble of a EU-inspired top hat and a Union Flag cape regularly seen lurking in front of TV cameras. When the grandfather first shot on to the Westminster scene to interrupt news reports by floating behind interviewees with his anti-Brexit signs, the broadcasters forked out for raised towers to keep him out of shot. But he continued to heckle politicians and blast music at Parliament, despite vowing to stop in 2019. But his attempt to enter politics proper failed. Standing for the Lib Dems at the 2019 election in Cynon Valley in Wales, he came sixth with fewer than 1,000 votes and lost his deposit. While the daily protest may seem a thankless task for the numismatist, who uprooted from his Welsh home, Mr Bray has raised thousands of pounds in donations from Remain activists to sustain his comfortable lifestyle. It was revealed in 2019 that he had moved into a plum Westminster townhouse opposite Jacob Rees-Mogg, after receiving a handsome lump sum from Remainer plumbing mogul Charlie Mullins. One of his most memorable spats was with Theresa May's former deputy Damian Green who Mr Bray had asked how he felt about the crunch withdrawal deal vote. Mr Green refused to answer and said: 'No you can't, because you've just tried to shout over an interview I've done like you do everyone else. 'In a competitive field, you are the biggest w***ker.' Advertisement Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which came into force June 28, he was told by the Metropolitan Police that morning that he could not conduct a 'noisy protest' within a designated area outside the palace of Westminster. He branded officers 'a bunch of fascists' as they explained the new rules to him and took away his equipment. He added that he was 'not a happy chap, getting harassed a lot', before seeing a police officer filming the scene and shouting 'up yours Priti Patel' at the camera. He later filmed himself approaching a car carrying the then Health Secretary Sajid Javid, tweeting: 'I'm not relenting or stopping. Nothing has changed.' But minutes later he tweeted a video showing police moving in and removing his sound system, leaving him to shout unaided. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'The man was using the equipment in a zone where the use of amplified equipment is prohibited. 'He was spoken to by officers on multiple occasions in relation to specific legislation regarding the use of the amplifying equipment and that it would be seized if he persisted.' The statement added: 'He was also reported for the offence. (This means that he will be considered for prosecution for the offence).' The laws came as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which included measures to curtail noisy protests. Officers said the equipment was being seized under section 145 of The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, which was extended to a wider area around the Houses of Parliament. Mr Bray started his one-man demonstration shouting about Brexit but has since focused on targeting Boris Johnson and Conservatives. His set list of songs consists of artists like the Bay City Rollers, the Sex Pistols, the Fun Boy Three and Sam Cook, on a heavy rotation. He plays regularly outside the palace on Wednesdays when he knows Mr Johnson will attend for Prime Minister's Questions, but also turns up on other days. People working in the side of the Parliamentary estate facing his protest have made noise complaints but local authorities were until recently unable to take action against a legitimate political protest. Under new laws, an offence of intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance is now available in an effort to crack down on disruptive 'guerrilla protests'. These are the sort of tactics which have been used by climate change protesters who have taken their campaigns to the streets. But rights campaigners fear the laws will erode at people's right to protest. Oliver Feeley-Sprague, Amnesty International UK's policing expert, previously said: 'The measures taken against Steve Bray are likely to be the tip of the iceberg. 'Unfortunately, we fear there is now going to be a cascade of cases where people are being prevented from legitimate protest on grounds that are both petty and punitive. 'The deeply authoritarian new policing laws are a charter for the suppression of legitimate protest a dark day for liberty in our country and something we need to see repealed as soon as possible.' And Grahame Morris, Labour MP for Easington, condemned the action to 'silence' Mr Bray. He told the House of Commons: 'I know many of us have had brushes with Mr Bray but his voice is being silenced today - by tomorrow there could be many others who have never demonstrated previously who are subject to prosecution under this law.' Alex Belfield, 42, is on trial accused of waging a nine year 'campaign of harassment' against BBC staff after being axed from his mid-morning show on BBC Radio Leeds A former BBC DJ who stalked Jeremy Vine and more BBC staff branded his boss 'Gonzo' - after the beaked muppet - because of her nose and wanted to shop for lingerie with her, a court heard. Alex Belfield, 42, is on trial accused of waging a nine year 'campaign of harassment' against BBC staff after being axed from his mid-morning show on BBC Radio Leeds in 2011. The DJ, who now hosts a radio station on YouTube, left BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine 'distressed' and fearing for his family's safety after Mr Belfield accused him of stealing 1,000 donated to a memorial fund. He also bombarded other presenters and colleagues with abusive emails, messages and uploaded videos about them to his own Youtube channel, jurors were told. It is claimed Belfield began targeting BBC workers after they failed to renew his contract at BBC Radio Leeds in 2011. His ex-boss Rozina Breen, also a former head of news for BBC 5 Live, said she was 'mocked and humiliated' by Belfield who branded her Gonzo - a character from The Muppets. Giving evidence, she told the court how she received between 4,000 to 6,000 emails over a five year period bombarding her with insults. Ms Breen told the court: 'It feels like a noose around my neck that every now and then tightens when he wants me to know that he is still there.' She claimed he would also send bizarre messages 'talking about lingerie shopping with me'. Ms Breen told the court she asked for a screen to be put between her and Alex Belfield because it was 'terrifying' being in the same room as him. She also told jurors she was forced to undergo counselling to deal with the abuse. Rozina Breen (pictured), now CEO and Editor in Chief of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and former head of news for BBC 5 Live, claims Alex Belfield 'mocked and humiliated her' by calling her 'Gonzo' - after the character from the Muppets 'He's constantly on my back. There was a sense of paranoia that wherever I went he would know what I was doing,' she told jurors today. 'I did feel stalked and harassed by it. He was just there, he would just communicate at every opportunity. 'He would often be quite rude or crude in his communications. 'I had been mentioned on a number of YouTube videos. They were insulting to me. One took a screen grab of my face. A number, over the years, made reference to me and my family. 'It feels like a noose around my neck that gets tightened when he wants me to know he's there. 'I have an app on my phone that's an emergency app that I was told to put it on by BBC security. 'I'd never been called the "c" word before. Nine years after he left, to hear that, was really unpleasant. #I don't deserve it, I didn't ruin his career. I didn't comment and haven't commented on anything that he has done. 'I have taken up psychological counselling to deal with it. I've taken other kinds of counselling to manage it.' She said: 'There were a couple of issues flagged around the behaviours of Mr Belfield. A conclusion was that contract renewal was not the right thing. 'He was then very prolific on email. He also used Twitter and social media quite prolifically. 'He said that I had bullied and harassed him while in charge at BBC Radio Leeds. There were a deluge of insults. 'The emails would talk about my standing as an editor, talk about lingerie shopping with me. 'They talked about my reputation, my ability to lead people, my understanding of radio. 'The tone seemed to be both angry and an intent to humiliate me. It was very mocking and undermining. 'They were always with a tone of mockery. There were so many of them.' Ex-BBC presenter Alex Belfield , taking a picture on his phone as he arrives at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, July 4, charged with stalking corporation staff members She added: 'Some years later I was head of news at 5 Live, this was six or seven years later, there was a feeling of being followed at every stage of my career. 'I felt I could never escape. Wherever I went I feared he'd be there My fear is that he would hound me wherever he went. 'That feeling of being followed over a 10, 11 year period, I thought at each stage of my career it would go but it didn't. 'We would block his email address but then he would create another email address. There were 4,000 to 6,000 emails from 2011 to 2016. 'He referred to me as Gonzo due to the size of my nose. It felt quite shaming to spout out something so demeaning and degrading. 'It was a bit like being beaten around the head with insults.' The court heard previously how veteran broadcaster Vine was also subjected to vile insults which left him struggling to eat and sleep. It was said the constant abuse left Vine's 'sense of well-being and optimism destroyed' and led him to take security measures to protect his family. 'To be accused of stealing 1,000 that was donated to a memorial fund and then have that false accusation broadcast to thousands of people was a slur on Jeremy Vine's reputation and made him feel ashamed,' Jeremy Vine (pictured) told the court Prosecutor John McGuinness QC said Vine was worried someone would come to his home and attack his family after followers of Belfield sent him threatening messages. He said: 'Jeremy Vine was particularly distressed by Alex Belfield's threats to pay people to harass him. 'Since Alex Belfield started to make his allegations, Jeremy Vine has received threatening and abusive messages on Twitter. 'Jeremy Vine says that the online attacks were such that it felt Alex Belfield had entered his space at home and at work. 'To be accused of stealing 1,000 that was donated to a memorial fund and then have that false accusation broadcast to thousands of people was a slur on Jeremy Vine's reputation and made him feel ashamed. 'In Jeremy Vine's eyes, Alex Belfield's lies did succeed in destroying his sense of well-being and optimism.' The prosecutor continued: 'He struggled to sleep, he lost his appetite and was constantly thinking what Alex Belfield's next broadcast would be. 'He felt he had to take security advice for the protection of himself and his family because he was worried someone might come to his home and attack his family when he was not there. 'One effect of Alex Belfield broadcasting his accusations to a wider audience was that when Jeremy Vine paid an online tribute to his father. 'A follower of Alex Belfield sent him a Facebook message that said: "Did your father know his son was a thieving toe rag?" - something that Jeremy Vine found deeply hurtful.' Belfield's 'ferocious and relentless' abuse were said to have also caused his other victims 'serious alarm and distress' which impacted their daily lives. Belfield, who is representing himself, denies eight counts of stalking at Nottingham Crown Court. The trial continues today. The brother of a schoolgirl feared to have been murdered and cut up into a kebab meat has died of a heroin overdose after never 'getting over' her disappearance. Robert Downes, 30, died last December, 18 years after his sister Charlene, 14, vanished without a trace from Blackpool, Lancashire. Police believe Charlene was murdered by men who had been sexually abusing her but her body has never been found. Prosecutors claimed her body was cut up and minced into kebabs and her bones crushed into tile grouting at a murder trial in 2007. But charges were dropped when a jury was unable to reach a verdict and her heartbroken family never received justice for her. Speaking after an inquest held into Mr Downes's death, his heartbroken mother Karen said that he was never the same after Charlene's disappearance. The body of Robert Downes, 30, was discovered at the family home in Blackpool, Lancashire, on December 4 just a few hours after complaining of feeling unwell. Pictured, Robert with his sister Rebecca She said: 'Robert was never the same after what happened to Charlene. We never got justice. 'It had a massive impact on all of us. He was a lovely, bubbly lad. 'He was kind. Anybody would tell you he would do anything for anybody.' 'But he went to prison and got clean, and I never thought he would do anything like this again. 'He had four beautiful children to live for, three of his own and one he took on as his own. 'He was gorgeous, he was funny, he used to make people laugh with his dry sense of humour. 'He was doing so well. That's why I was so shocked. All I can ask myself is why why, why did this happen?' The tragedy came 18 years after Charlene Downes, 14, vanished without a trace from the seaside resort, sparking one of the biggest police investigations in history The inquest, held at Blackpool Town Hall, heard he was found dead in a pool of his own blood by his father on December 4 last year. He was last seen alive by his mother Karen, 57, at around 6.30pm that day, the court heard. She went to the bottom of the stairs and shouted up to her son to ask if he was okay, to which he replied 'I'm okay, I'm just going to get my head down.' She then fell asleep on the sofa, but was later woken up by his father Robert Sr, 60, shouting 'Karen, Karen, Karen, he's dead, he's dead', the inquest was told. The pair, from Coventry, West Midlands, went into a state of panic and did not call emergency services until around three hours later at 2.50am on December 5. The married-mother-of-four told the court that she had no idea her son had been using heroin after apparently quitting the drug after being sent to prison in 2019. Robert's father, Robert Sr, sister Rebecca and mother Karen outside the coroners court in Blackpool Karen and Bob Downes previously appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show to speak about how the disappearance of their daughter still haunts them and has torn their family apart She said: 'As far as we were aware, he was clean. He seemed absolutely fine.' His girlfriend Enya Cardwell told the court: 'He had issues with heroin in the past but since he left prison he had really made an effort to be a better person, he went to the gym and got a job. 'As far as I'm aware he had not taken any heroin for three years.' Handing down a conclusion of death by misadventure, coroner Alan Wilson said: 'We are dealing with someone who has had a history of drug use, but recently has been avoiding heroin. 'We don't know why he decided to use heroin on this occasion, and maybe having made that decision he used the heroin in a similar quantity to what he used to, and hasn't taken into account that he has lost tolerance and might be more vulnerable to the toxic effects.' Police believe Charlene was murdered by men who had been sexually abusing her but her body has never been found His father, Robert Sr, said after the inquest that his son's death felt like he'd 'been stabbed with a blunt knife'. He said: 'There are no words. It's around you every day. When that's your reality, it hits home. 'Twice now we have been put down. All we have got to do now is bounce back, but how can you?' Robert's sister Rebecca, 45, said the verdict had 'thrown the family sick' and that it 'came as an absolute horrific shock'. Paying tribute to her younger brother, said he was 'spontaneous, cheeky and misunderstood.' She added: 'He was the only boy in the family and had three big sisters and was very cheeky, and very down to earth. 'He has left a massive hole in everyone's hearts. He's with my sister and with my nana now. 'As long as he's at peace, then that's what matters.' Charlene's mother Karen, pictured, said in a documentary that she still sees 14-year-old girls and thinks they are her daughter A Brazilian model-turned-sniper fighting in Ukraine died of asphyxiation when she got trapped inside a burning bunker, her devastated family has revealed. Thalita do Valle, 39, died in a Russian rocket strike on the city of Kharkiv on June 30, with her death first reported this week. Theo Rodrigo Vieira, her brother, has now spoken out to reveal she suffocated to death after getting separated from her unit and then stuck inside a flaming bunker. Thalita do Valle, 39, died fighting for Ukraine in the city of Kharkiv on June 30 after getting trapped in a burning bunker during an artillery barrage Thalita had only been in Ukraine for three weeks before she died, working as a rescuer and a sharpshooter - providing cover for Kyiv's troops A photographer and model in her youth, Thalita trained as a sharpshooter while fighting for Kudish Peshmerga forces in Iraq against ISIS (pictured) Douglas Burigo, 40, a fellow Brazilian also fighting in Ukraine, died in the same attack while trying to rescue her. Brother Theo said: 'There were successive attacks and the battalion was divided. 'Thalita went to the bunker. There was already a fire [and] the bunker closed with her inside. 'Her friend returned to save her in the interval between the bombing and ended up dead. She died of asphyxiation, she wasn't hit by shrapnel.' He revealed Thalita had been born in Ribeirao Preto, in the south of Brazil, but had lived for 30 years in the regional capital of Sao Paulo. She had been a model and actress in her youth before studying law, then went to work with charities helping to rescue animals. Later in life she gained a taste for combat, travelling to join Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq fighting against ISIS who trained her to be a sniper. Theo said she travelled to Ukraine just three weeks ago before being sent to the city of Kharkiv, which is no longer under direct attack by Russia but which is still frequently shelled from across the border. Thalita messaged virtually every day from the front, Theo said, revealing that she was working as a rescuer as well as a sharpshooter. She was also responsible for providing cover from advancing Russian forces, he said. Thalita's brother Theo said she was 'motivated by the feeling of saving people' and denied she was a violent person - despite her military training The attack also killed former Brazilian Army soldier Douglas Burigo (pictured), 40, who returned to the bunker to find Thalita Theo added: 'Thalita has always been involved in humanitarian missions with the foreign legion of some country or here in Brazil. 'She was always moved by the feeling of saving animals and humans. 'My sister was always peaceful, a genuine progressive. Guns are part of a context, war, but she saved lives, she saved animals. 'She never encouraged young people to take up arms. She was a peaceful person.' Her death hit the headlines as Ukraine's forces continue to to fight bloody battles with Russia in the east, with both sides suffering heavy losses. Putin's army is slowly advancing along a small section of the frontline after capturing the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk over the last 10 days. Thalita is pictured during her time with Kurdish forces in Iraq, where she learned to be a sniper Slovyansk and Kramatorsk are now the next targets, after which he can lay plausible claim to having 'liberated' the entire Donbas region. Ukraine's forces continue to be outgunned but are making Russia pay in blood for every yard of territory gained, hoping to wear Putin's armies down before launching a counter-attack to regain areas they have lost. Such attacks are already underway in the south of the country, with Kyiv's forces pushing towards the city of Kherson. Kherson - the only regional capital to fall to Putin's men during the invasion so-far - is a strategically vital stronghold that spans the Dnipro river. Re-taking it is as big ask for Ukraine's military, which has show only limited counter-attacking abilities during the war to-date. However, if they succeed it will deal a heavy blow to Russian claims of 'victory' and make other areas of the south vulnerable. Boris Johnson faces Prime Minister's Questions and the parliamentary Liaison Committee today, less than 24 hours after Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid abruptly quit as members of his cabinet. His chancellor Sunak and health secretary Javid quit on Tuesday evening, sparking a wave of resignations. Two cabinet ministers, one minister, four parliamentary private secretaries, one vice-chair, and two trade envoys were among the 10 Conservative MPs that resigned. UK Ministers Quit Boris Johnson Government The resignations have left the prime minister fighting for his job in the face of criticism about how he handled the issue of MP Chris Pincher's behavior. Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip last week following allegations that he touched two men at a private members' club, but Mr. Johnson had been aware of complaints about his behavior for several years. I have spoken to the Prime Minister to tender my resignation as Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, but I regret that I can no longer continue in good conscience. pic.twitter.com/d5RBFGPqXp Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) July 5, 2022 The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. My letter to the Prime Minister below. pic.twitter.com/vZ1APB1ik1 Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 5, 2022 Sunak's resignation letter, which was shared on Twitter, stated that he could no longer be loyal to the prime minister, who is still embroiled in controversy over the nomination of Pincher, Sky reported. Boris Johnson expects additional resignations, maybe not from the cabinet, but the next rung down the ministerial ladder. After two cabinet resignations, Westminster and the Prime Minister both grew worried about what would happen next. He was losing control of events and phoning around his cabinet to see whether they were still with him. The most dangerous time for him has gone, for the time being, at least. A few more minor resignations followed, but his staff remains defiant; they refer to their mandate from the people at the recent election, in contrast to the rage and misery among many Conservative MPs. Backbencher discontent is growing, with some aiming to modify Conservative Party rules so that the prime leader faces another vote of confidence. The controversy is the latest issue to call into doubt the prime minister's leadership and government policy. In recent months, Johnson's government has been troubled by a succession of issues, not least a police probe into parties in Downing Street during the lockdown. Read Also: Joe Biden Has Read Brittney Griner's Emotional Letter; WNBA Star's Wife in Pain After POTUS Snub Other MPs Worry About Johnson's Response to Several Issues Some Conservative MPs have also raised concerns about tax increases, the government's reaction to growing living expenses, and policy direction. The withdrawals followed a wave of resignations by junior Conservatives, including Bim Afolami, who resigned as party vice-chair live on TV, Solicitor General Alex Chalk, and four ministry aides, as per BBC. Four additional politicians resigned from subordinate government positions while a trade ambassador stepped down and a Conservative Party vice-chairman resigned on live television. In response to Johnson's leadership, British MP for Cheltenham Alex Chalk resigned as solicitor general for England and Wales. After four other parliamentarians resigned from junior government positions, he tweeted his resignation letter. The resignations come after months of scandals and gaffes, with Johnson facing scrutiny for a damning investigation into parties at his Downing Street apartment and office that violated tight COVID-19 lockdowns and resulted in a police fine. Other policy shifts have occurred, including an ill-fated defense of another politician who violated lobbying regulations, and he has been chastised for not doing more to address a cost-of-living problem, with many Britons struggling to keep up with rising gasoline and food prices. Economists believe the country is now on the verge of a major downturn, if not a recession. Sunak and Javid had previously openly backed Johnson; but in their letters, they stated that enough was enough, according to Global News. Related Article: Donald Trump Rails Against January 6 Committee Witness Cassidy Hutchinson, Calls Testimony "All Lies" @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A Japanese manga artist has spent a year collecting the 179 pebbles, 32 pieces of glass and one nut that got stuck in the sole of his shoe. Neruno Daisuki took to Twitter to show off his collection which he went to painstaking lengths to collect over the past year by using a toothpick to remove them from his shoe. He told IT Media: 'When I was removing the pebbles caught in the groove on the back of my newly bought sneakers, I felt that it was a waste to just throw them away, and I thought it would be interesting to collect them.' Neruno Daisuki took to Twitter to show off his collection which he went to painstaking lengths to collect over the past year by using a toothpick to remove them from his shoe He said: 'When I was removing the pebbles caught in the groove on the back of my newly bought sneakers, I felt that it was a waste to just throw them away, and I thought it would be interesting to collect them' Mr Daisuki said he started his collection last June as a hobby during Covid lockdown but he became so enthralled by it he carried on. He says that the walk from his home to the convenience store provides the majority of his collectable items because lots of gravel became stuck in his shoe. But the work was not always easy. Mr Daisuki said he started his collection last June as a hobby during Covid lockdown but he became so enthralled by it he carried on When Mr Daisuki was trying to extract some of the items from the grooves in his sole he realised that if he pulled too hard with a toothpick the item would shoot across the room and he would sometimes lose them. He has presented his collection on a large amount of grid paper to show the sheer volume of the fragments he has gathered. The illustrator now wants to continue his hobby and is thinking about separating the collection between his right and left shoe soles. A couple have suddenly received a $1,500 fine for 'illegally' parking in their own driveway on their steep San Francisco road despite having done so for almost 40 years. Judy and Ed Craine were dumbfounded to receive an email telling them they could no longer park in their own carpad, and that they had been hit with a $1,542 fine, plus $250 a day for as long as the car remained there. 'We got this email saying we can't park in the pad anymore. I said what? That's crazy,' recounted Ed. The ticket came from the city Planning Department, who informed them that planning laws forbid cars from parking in front of houses. 'It was very surprising, to say the least,' Judy said. 'I wrote them back saying I thought this was a mistake.' But the department said they could be willing to make an exemption; if the Craines could prove that parking was a historic use on the lot. 'We could be grandfathered in. If we show them a historical photo that showed a car... or a horse-drawn buggy in the carport,' said Judy. They produced a photo of their daughter from 34 years ago with a part of a car just sticking out in the edge, but officials were not impressed as it was not old enough. San Francisco couple Judy and Ed Craine were dumbfounded to receive an email telling them they could no longer park in their own carpad, and that they had been hit with a $1,542 fine Officials said the couple were violating a code section banning vehicles in a setback in front of a house, even if it isn't blocking a sidewalk The Planning Department said they could be willing to make an exemption; if the Craines could prove that parking was a historic use on the lot. They provided this photo of their daughter with a car visible in the shot 34 years ago, but the department rejected it as not old enough They thought they had hit the jackpot when they found this aerial photo from 1938 that showed what Ed claims to be a car or horse-and-buggy pulling into - or out of - their drive way They set about combing through a mountain of old sepia photos from historic times when there were few streets or homes. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, to find a car or horse in their precise driveway from a period when cameras were not ubiquitous. Ed and Judy had been parking there for 36 years, and as far as they could tell, the space had always been used for parking ever since the house was built in 1920, one of the original houses in their steep Noe Valley neighborhood. But officials told ABC's 7 On Your Side the couple was violating a code section banning vehicles in a setback in front of a house, even if it isn't blocking a sidewalk. Planning Chief Dan Sider said it was enacted decades ago for aesthetic reasons, to 'ensure that front yards don't turn into parking lots.' Someone with knowledge of the arcane planning laws had made an anonymous complaint to the city. Two neighbors had also been hit with the same violation. 'To all of a sudden to be told you can't use something that we could use for years. It's, it's startling. Inexplicable,' Ed said. However, they thought they had hit the jackpot when they found an aerial photo from 1938 that showed what Ed claims to be a car or horse-and-buggy pulling into - or out of - their drive way. City Planning Department enacted a code section decades ago for aesthetic reasons, to 'ensure that front yards don't turn into parking lots' Ed and Judy had been parking there for 36 years, and as far as they could tell, the space had always been used for parking The house was built in 1920, one of the original houses in their steep Noe Valley neighborhood To all of a sudden to be told you can't use something that we could use for years. It's, it's startling. Inexplicable,' Ed said The couple set about combing through a mountain of old sepia photos from historic times when there were few streets or even homes The object in question appeared to be just a black blob in the picture, but Ed argued that all cars in the pictures looked like black blobs and so therefore this was also a car. Again, the Planning Department were unwilling to accept the photographic evidence presented to them. It was okay for neighbors to park in front of their garages - just as aesthetically unpleasing, Ed argued. But not for the Craines to park in their carpad - as they always had. 'I recognize that the property owner is frustrated,' Sider wrote in an email. 'I think I would feel the same way in their situation. But the Planning Code doesn't allow for the City to grandfather illegal uses on account of their having flown below the radar for a length of time.' The city did close the case without charging any penalties after the couple got the car off the carpad and kept it off. And the city says they could build a covered carport or garage to park there - or maybe find that old photo. Los Angeles teachers are being taught that they must challenge the concepts of 'merit' and 'individualism' because they are rooted in 'whiteness' as part of their training into unconscious bias. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has required all teachers and staff to complete 'implicit/unconscious bias training' provided by Tyrone Howard, a critical race theory (CRT) advocate and a professor of education at the University of California. The training materials, obtained by Fox News, teaches staff that they must be 'antiracist' - and they achieve this by challenging 'whiteness' in schools. Howard argued during the training that 'whiteness' exists in the concepts of 'merit' and 'individualism'. 'This idea that white is the standard, white is the norm, white is our default has to be challenged,' Howard said in the training video obtained by Fox News. The training materials, obtained by Fox News, teaches staff that they must be 'antiracist' - and they achieve this by challenging 'whiteness' in schools The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has required all teachers and staff to complete 'implicit/unconscious bias training' provided by Tyrone Howard (pictured), a critical race theory (CRT) advocate and a professor of education at the University of California The training handout said that 'whiteness' refers to the concept or idea that 'white is normal and is the highest standard in the hierarchy'. Meanwhile, merit, or meritocracy, 'assumes that each person operates and achieves based on his or her own personal capacity', the training handout said. It added: 'It incorporates the notion that the work put forth, the effort invested, explains why some groups and individuals do well and others do not. 'It does not consider historical factors or account for opportunities, advantages, and privileges to which some groups have access both historically and in the present.' Howard said in the video: 'The idea of meritocracy, I think we have to challenge that because we have to recognize that some groups have had much more opportunities, some groups have had far more advantages, and some groups have certain types of privileges that other groups have not had.' Meanwhile individualism, according to the handout, 'proposes that each person is responsible for his or her outcomes. 'It is very much tied to merit, wherein group responsibility and accountability are not goals. Personal success and achievement are the goals. This belief operates from a survival-of-the-fittest approach that stresses singular pursuit and accomplishment.' Ben Vallejo instructs students in a physical science class during summer school at Canoga Park High School Howard argued that the 'the notion of individualism runs counter' to many LAUSD students' 'own cultural norms, which say "it's not about me, it's about we".' The teachers and LAUSD staff who went through the training were also required to 'identify the specific ways the constructs of privilege, whiteness, merit and individualism may be present in your setting'. They were also told to 'determine the immediate changes you will personally make, small or large, to promote increased racial and cultural sensitivity, inclusiveness and awareness in your work.' Critical Race Theory in school curriculums has become a point of controversy across the nation, as parents, politicians, students and educators debate the societal theory's place in the classroom. CRT supports the idea that racism is fundamentally embedded in American political and social institutions. Conservatives have taken to using the phrase as a way to describe lessons on racism and 'equity' across all grade levels - and have criticized the theory for claiming that the U.S. is built on racial animus, with skin color determining the social, economic and political differences between people. Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory protest outside of the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia, in June 2021 CRITICAL RACE THEORY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? The fight over critical race theory in schools has escalated in the United States in recent years. The theory has sparked a fierce nationwide debate in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the country over the last year and the introduction of the 1619 Project. The 1619 Project, which was published by the New York Times in 2019 to mark 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived on American shores, reframes American history by 'placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the center of the US narrative'. The debate surrounding critical race theory regards concerns that some children are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist. Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on their skin color. Supporters, however, say the theory is vital to eliminating racism because it examines the ways in which race influence American politics, culture and the law. Advertisement Advocates, however, say its teaching is necessary to underline how deeply racism pervades society. Critics say it is divisive and paints everyone as a victim or oppressor. Joe Biden's new 'disinformation czar,' Nina Jankowicz, dismissed concerns about Critical Race Theory in schools as 'disinformation for profit' in May - despite parents across the country being worried about the teaching of the philosophy in their children's classrooms. 'I live in Virginia, and in Loudoun County that's one of the areas where people have really honed in on this topic. But it's no different than any of the other hot-button issues that have allowed disinformation to flourish,' Jankowicz said during a talk at the City Club of Cleveland in 2021, 'It's weaponizing people's emotion.' Jankowicz was referring to controversy in Loudon County, Virginia, where parents and school administrators have clashed over the place of CRT in county's curriculums. The Loudoun School Board has been mired in controversy as Parents have voiced their frustration with the state's woke school board, saying they did not want their children to be taught CRT. Multiple school board meetings made headlines after parents were filmed clashing with staff over the decision to teach it - and the board's approval of a $6 million 'equity-training' program last year, as well as the approval of a study into whether it would be appropriate to give reparations to black people. Parents voiced their frustration on the Fort Worth ISD school board in December after it emerged that a training course in critical race theory had been offered to teachers. The state legislature has made teaching critical race theory students to illegal. But a conservative watchdog group found a CRT training manual for teachers on the Fort Worth ISD school board, with some parents saying it was an effort to circumvent the law. Russia's ex-president Dmitry Medvedev has warned of the end of the 'existence of mankind' if Moscow is punished for war crimes, in the Kremlin's latest doomsday nuclear threat. The close ally of Vladimir Putin, who now serves as deputy head of the Security Council, said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should refrain from attempting 'legally void' actions against Russia. The savage invasion of Ukraine continues to leave behind a litany of alleged war crimes, including the repeated shelling of civilians, accounts of rape and torture, summary executions and use of banned cluster munitions. Medvedev, who was Putin's stand-in president between 2008 and 2012, said on Telegram today: 'The idea of punishing the country that has the largest nuclear potential is absurd in itself. And potentially threatens the existence of mankind.' He then accuses the US of trying to 'sow chaos and destruction' through the ICC, branding the Western superpower a 'daredevil or an idiot'. Russia's ex-president Dmitry Medvedev has warned of the end of the 'existence of mankind' if Moscow is punished for war crimes In April, Russia test launched its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile in a show of nuclear strength The Kremlin insider said: 'All American history, from the time of the conquest of the Indians, is a bloody war of annihilation. And we are talking about the most brutal extermination of the civilian population. 'It has become a signature style of American politics, whoever is in power there. During World War II, the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in this way - only to justify the huge expenses for the nuclear "Manhattan Project". 'Vietnam and Korea, Yugoslavia and Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan and Syria are well aware of how disastrous the consequences of such invasions are - the list is long, and constantly updated. 'America has killed more than 20million people in 37 countries since the end of World War II, according to a study published in Global Research.' A Ukrainian serviceman inspects the ruins of Lyceum building destroyed in a Russian missile strike near Kharkiv today He accused the United States of wanting to put Moscow in front of international tribunals, while itself never facing punishment for its own wars. Medvedev continued: 'The number of victims of the criminal policy of the United States today is comparable to the victims of the Nazi regime. 'So who's going to give us a show trial? Those who kill people and commit war crimes with impunity, but do not meet real condemnation in the international structures financed by them? Those who so firmly believed in their exclusivity and impunity? Those who believe they have the right to judge others, but be beyond the jurisdiction of any court? 'With Russia, this will not work. They understand this very well. Therefore, the filthy dogs of war stop by with their disgusting bark. A view of a damaged building in Mykolaiv as Russia continues to shell residential buildings across the country 'But the United States and their useless mongrels should remember the words of Scripture: "Judge not, lest you be judged; So that one day 'the great day of His wrath will not come to their house, and who can stand?"' Since Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, Medvedev has regularly taken to social media to lash out at the West and those critical of Moscow. Last month, he called those who 'hate' Russia, 'degenerates' and vowed to work to 'make them disappear.' He also warned any encroachment on the Crimea peninsula by a NATO member-state could amount to a declaration of war which could lead to 'World War Three'. Medvedev said that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, Russia would be ready for 'retaliatory steps' - and that could include installing Iskander hypersonic missiles 'on their threshold'. The International Criminal Court's Assembly of States Parties held in The Hague is pictured, where Britain is sending a police officer and seven lawyers to The Hague to help support investigations into war crimes in Ukraine 'For us, Crimea is a part of Russia. And that means forever. Any attempt to encroach on Crimea is a declaration of war against our country,' Medvedev told the news website Argumenty i Fakty. 'And if this is done by a NATO member-state, this means conflict with the entire North Atlantic alliance; a World War Three. A complete catastrophe.' Britain is sending a police officer and seven lawyers to The Hague to help support investigations into war crimes at the International Criminal Court. The UK and Norway will also deliver war crimes investigation training to Ukrainian police. And officers from Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Unit are assisting with forensic and technical capabilities, such as biometrics and examination of digital devices. Boris Johnson's premiership is on the brink after a whirlwind two days in Westminster that saw 46 Tory MPs sensationally quit their roles in Government. In an historic collapse the PM suffered the highest number of government resignations of any Prime Minister since 1932, as three Cabinet ministers, 16 ministers, 22 parliamentary private secretaries, four trade envoys and one vice-chair tendered their resignations. It is the equivalent of around one in five of the total 'payroll vote' in the House of Commons the number of MPs who hold positions from which they would have to resign in order to oppose the Government. Minister for Children and Families Will Quince was the first to follow the initial wave of resignations when he quit on Wednesday morning. He was followed by a cascade of other ministers and junior aides, including schools standards minister Robin Walker, Treasury minister John Glen and Justice minister Victoria Atkins. Treasury minister told Mr Johnson in his resignation letter: 'I can no longer reconcile my commitment to the role' with 'the complete lack of confidence I have in your continuing leadership of our country'. But the crisis deepened when five ministers, including rising star Kemi Badenoch, the Equalities Minister, quit en masse with a joint letter that said the Government 'cannot function given the issues that have come to light and the way in which they have been handled. And the resignations continued into yesterday evening when Simon Hart became the third cabinet minister to quit, walking out as Welsh Secretary. Below, MailOnline shares the full statements from the Tory MPs who have so far publicly withdrawn support for Mr Johnson since the tumultuous Tuesday evening: In an historic political collapse, two Cabinet ministers, 15 ministers, 17 parliamentary private secretaries, three trade envoys and one vice-chair have so far tendered their resignations Sajid Javid: The former Health Secretary was the first domino to fall on Tuesday evening as he stunned Downing Street with an explosive resignation letter. In a brutal parting shot, Mr Javid said he had lost confidence in the PM and suggested the Government was no longer 'competent'. Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid was the first domino to fall on Tuesday evening as he stunned Downing Street with an explosive resignation letter Rishi Sunak Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he had 'reluctantly come to the conclusion that we cannot continue like this' and that people expected government to be 'conducted properly, competently and seriously'. He also hinted at a split with the Prime Minister over economic policy, saying it has 'become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different'. Mr Sunak's resignation letter came just nine minutes after Mr Javid's at 6.11pm but sources close to the pair insist their departures are not a joint coup. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he had 'reluctantly come to the conclusion that we cannot continue like this' and that people expected government to be 'conducted properly, competently and seriously' Bim Afolami The Conservative Party vice-chair also resigned in spectacular fashion as he quit live on air during a grilling on TalkTV. The MP for Hitchin and Harpenden warned the Prime Minister no longer had the 'support of the party, or indeed the country any more'. His damning comments came just moments after the shock resignations of Mr Javid and Mr Sunak. Jonathan Gullis In a particularly stinging blow for the PM, one of his most loyal supporters Mr Gullis said he was resigning 'with a heavy heart'. He wrote: 'I have been a member of the Conservative Party my entire adult life, a party I believe represents opportunity for all. I feel for too long we have been more focused on dealing with our reputational damage rather than delivering for the people of this country and spreading opportunity for all, which is why I came into politics. 'It is for this reason I can no longer to serve as part of your government.' In a particularly stinging blow for the PM, one of his most loyal supporters Mr Gullis said he was resigning 'with a heavy heart' Nicola Richards Conservative MP Nicola Richards quit her role as PPS to the Department for Transport, stating she cannot serve 'under the current circumstances'. The West Bromwich East MP tweeted : 'At a time where my constituents are worried about the cost of living and I am doing my best to support them, I cannot bring myself to serve as a PPS under the current circumstances, where the focus is skewed by poor judgement that I don't wish to be associated with. 'I am loyal to my constituents and will always put them first. 'I am also loyal to the Conservative Party, of which is currently unrecognisable to me. I believe something must change.' Conservative MP Nicola Richards quit her role as PPS to the Department for Transport, stating she cannot serve 'under the current circumstances' Andrew Murrison Andrew Murrison last night stepped down as the trade envoy to Morocco, citing the Chris Pincher row as the 'last straw in the rolling chaos of the last six months'. He described Mr Johnson's position as 'untenable' and urged him to quit. Andrew Murrison last night stepped down as the trade envoy to Morocco, citing the Chris Pincher row as the 'last straw in the rolling chaos of the last six months'. Alex Chalk Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk also confirmed his resignation as Solicitor General on Tuesday evening. In a letter to Boris Johnson, Mr Chalk said it was 'with great sadness' he was quitting the post but added he could not 'defend the indefensible'. He wrote: 'To be in government is to accept the duty to argue for difficult or even unpopular policy positions where that serves the broader national interest. But it cannot extend to defending the indefensible.' Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk also confirmed his resignation as Solicitor General on Tuesday evening. In a letter to Boris Johnson, Mr Chalk said it was 'with great sadness' he was quitting the post but added he could not 'defend the indefensible'. Sally-Ann Hart Tory MP for Hastings and Rye Sally-Ann Hart, who previously backed Mr Johnson the confidence vote last month, said she is no longer able to support him. She tweeted: 'Considering the further revelations that have come to light, and given that the integrity of Parliament must be upheld, on behalf of my constituents of Hastings and Rye I am no longer able to support Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.' Tory MP for Hastings and Rye Sally-Ann Hart, who previously backed Mr Johnson the confidence vote last month, said she is no longer able to support him Will Quince Minister for Children and Families Will Quince was the first to follow last night's resignations when he quit this morning. Posting his letter, he tweeted: 'With great sadness and regret, I have this morning tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister after I accepted and repeated assurances on Monday to the media which have now been found to be inaccurate'. Minister for Children and Families Will Quince was the first to follow last night's resignations when he quit on Wednesday morning Robin Walker Schools standards minister Robin Walker was the next to go. He said 'recent events' had made clear to him that the Conservative Party had become 'distracted by a relentless focus on questions over leadership' Schools standards minister Robin Walker was the next to go. He said 'recent events' had made clear to him that the Conservative Party had become 'distracted by a relentless focus on questions over leadership' Laura Trott He was followed by Laura Trott, the parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport, who said in a Facebook post: 'Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost' He was followed by Laura Trott, the parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport, who said in a Facebook post: 'Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost' John Glen Treasury minister John Glen then resigned, telling Boris Johnson 'I can no longer reconcile my commitment to the role' with 'the complete lack of confidence I have in your continuing leadership of our country'. Treasury minister John Glen then resigned, telling Boris Johnson 'I can no longer reconcile my commitment to the role' with 'the complete lack of confidence I have in your continuing leadership of our country' Felicity Buchan Felicity Buchan followed him by resigning from her role as parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. She told Mr Johnson he had 'lost the confidence' of her and her constituents. Felicity Buchan followed him by resigning from her role as parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. She told Mr Johnson he had 'lost the confidence' of her and her constituents Victoria Atkins Justice minister Victoria Atkins, who followed Mr Glen out of the door, said in her letter that she had watched with 'growing concern' as values of 'integrity, decency, respect and professionalism' have 'fractured' under Mr Johnson's leadership. Justice minister Victoria Atkins, who followed Mr Glen out of the door, said in her letter that she had watched with 'growing concern' as values of 'integrity, decency, respect and professionalism' have 'fractured' under Mr Johnson's leadership Jo Churchill Jo Churchill then resigned from her role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and took aim at Mr Johnson's 'jocular self-serving approach', which she said 'is bound to have its limitations'. Jo Churchill then resigned from her role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and took aim at Mr Johnson's 'jocular self-serving approach', which she said 'is bound to have its limitations' Stuart Andrew Stuart Andrew, a housing minister, is most recent Government member to resign so far. He said he felt that he had allowed 'loyalty and unity' to 'override' his judgement in recent days and said he had chosen to resign after looking at his 'personal integrity'. Stuart Andrew, a housing minister, is most recent Government member to resign so far. He said he felt that he had allowed 'loyalty and unity' to 'override' his judgement in recent days and said he had chosen to resign after looking at his 'personal integrity' Claire Coutinho PPS Claire Coutinho said in a Facebook post that she was leaving Government after 'the events of recent weeks and months' Selaine Saxby Selaine Saxby resigned this afternoon from her role as a PPS, saying 'trust, truth and integrity' are vital for politicians. She said it had been a privilege to serve at DEFRA and the Treasury, but said she would remain loyal to the Conservative Party and her constituents. Selaine Saxby resigned this afternoon from her role as a PPS, saying 'trust, truth and integrity' are vital for politicians David Johnston David Johnston resigned as a PPS to the Department for Education with a brief post on Facebook. He said the events of recent months have 'made the view of politics and politicians worse'. David Johnston resigned as a PPS to the Department for Education with a post on Facebook. He said the events of recent months have 'made the view of politics and politicians worse' Kemi Badenoch, Neil O'Brien, Alex Burghart, Lee Rowley and Julia Lopez The quintet of Tory MPs dealt a hammer blow to Mr Johnson's chances of surviving the coup as they all quit in one devastating letter on Wednesday. They wrote it had become 'increasingly clear that the Government cannot function' amid the latest string of controversies. The correspondence ended with a simple plea: 'We must ask that, for the good of the party and the country, you step aside'. Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Levelling Up, The Union and the Constitution, Neil O'Brien, Minister for Industry Lee Rowley, Alex Burghart, Minister for Skills and Julia Lopez, Minister of State for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, quit this afternoon in a joint letter that said the Government 'cannot function given the issues that have come to light and the way in which they have been handled'. They called on Mr Johnson to step aside for the 'good of the Party and the country' Craig Williams Craig Williams, the PPS to new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, resigned at around 3.20pm today. He said it was becoming 'impossible' for the Government to focus on 'rebuilding trust with the public and focusing on delivering good policies'. Craig Williams, the PPS to new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, resigned at around 3.20pm today. He said it was becoming 'impossible' for the Government to focus on 'rebuilding trust with the public and focusing on delivering good policies' Mark Logan Mark Logan, PPS to Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, resigned this afternoon. He said in his letter that his constituents in Bolton 'deserve more leadership'. Mark Logan, PPS to Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, resigned this afternoon. He said in his letter that his constituents in Bolton 'deserve more leadership' Rachel Maclean Rachel Maclean, Minister for Safeguarding, said today she 'cannot stand by and do nothing' as she called for the PM to resign. Rachel Maclean, Minister for Safeguarding, said today she 'cannot stand by and do nothing' as she called for the PM to resign Mike Freer Mike Freer, Minister for Exports and Minister for Equalities, said in his resignation letter that he feels the Government is 'moving away from the One Nation Conservative Party' that he joined. Mike Freer, Minister for Exports and Minister for Equalities, said in his letter that he feels the Government is 'moving away from the One Nation Conservative Party' that he joined Sara Britcliffe Sara Britcliffe resigned as a PPS at the Department for Education, saying she 'cannot remain part of the Government'. Sara Britcliffe resigned as a PPS at the Department for Education, saying she 'cannot remain part of the Government' Peter Gibson Darlington MP Peter Gibson resigned as a Trade PPS, saying he does not believe Boris is meeting the 'high standards required' to be Prime Minister. Darlington MP Peter Gibson resigned as a Trade PPS, saying he does not believe Boris is meeting the 'high standards required' to be Prime Minister Ruth Edwards Ruth Edwards resigned as a Scotland PPS, she said it was a 'privilege to work in the Scotland Office'. Ruth Edwards resigned as a Scotland PPS, she said it was a 'privilege to work in the Scotland Office' James Sunderland James Sunderland posted a short update to resign as a DEFRA PPS Mims Davies Mims Davies said she felt the Tory party required 'a fresh start' and that there was no way forward but for Boris to quit Saqib Bhatti Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti quit his role as a PPS, following the example of former boss Mr Javid, stating 'recent events have undermined trust and standards in public life'. Posting his resignation on Twitter, he wrote: 'The Conservative and Union Party has always been the party of integrity and honour. 'I feel that standards in public life are of the utmost importance, and the events of the past few months have undermined the public trust in all of us. 'I have been grappling with these issues for some time and my conscience will not allow me to continue to support this administration. 'It is for that reason I must tender my resignation.' Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti quit his role as a PPS, following the example of former boss Mr Javid, stating 'recent events have undermined trust and standards in public life'. Jacob Young Redcar and Cleveland MP Jacob Young said he was resigning as a parliamentary private secretary in the Department of Levelling Up and called for the Prime Minister to step aside to 'allow the country to move forward'. In a letter to Boris Johnson, he said: 'I hoped that I would not have to do this, and you know I am grateful for all the support you have given to the people of Teesside. 'However, as I told the Chief Whip and your advisers earlier today, your position is no longer tenable. 'Sadly, you no longer commands the support of the parliamentary party and as you have not heeded the advice given to you, I feel I am left with no choice but to step down. You know of my personal loyalty to you, and so you will now how it pains me to withdraw my support in this way.' He added: 'Today you are failing to listen to those most loyal to you. It is out of that same loyalty that I urge you to now step aside, and allow the country to move forward.' Redcar and Cleveland MP Jacob Young said he was resigning as a parliamentary private secretary in the Department of Levelling Up and called for the Prime Minister to step aside to 'allow the country to move forward' David Mundell The MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale has quit as UK Trade Envoy to New Zealand after he said he was 'disappointed' Boris Johnson had not already stood down. David Mundell tweeted: 'I am very disappointed that the Prime Minister has not listened to the counsel of colleagues and stood down voluntarily in the interests of the country. 'Earlier this week I wrote to the Chairman of the 1922 Committee confirming I had no confidence in the Prime Minister and asking that a further vote of confidence be held. I hope this can now take place as a matter of urgency. 'Clearly such views are not compatible with holding a Government role and accordingly I have stood down as UK Trade Envoy to New Zealand.' The MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale has quit as UK Trade Envoy to New Zealand after he said he was 'disappointed' Boris Johnson had not already stood down James Daly Bury North MP James Daly has resigned as a parliamentary private secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions stating he has 'lost confidence' in the Prime Minister. In a letter to Boris Johnson, he wrote: 'Due to recent events, it has become very clear that you are sadly unable to lead our Government and deliver on the policies that will change lives for the better and create opportunity for all. 'As a result of the above, I have lost confidence in your leadership of our great party and therefore as outlined above I must resign.' Bury North MP James Daly has resigned as a parliamentary private secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions stating he has 'lost confidence' in the Prime Minister Danny Kruger Conservative MP Danny Kruger has said he is resigning as parliamentary private secretary for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities following the sacking of Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove. The Devizes MP tweeted: 'Very sorry indeed to hear @michaelgove has been fired by the PM. 'As I told No 10 earlier today it should be the PM leaving office. I am resigning as PPS at @Dluhc'. MP for Devizes Danny Kruger said he was 'very sorry indeed' to hear Michael Gove had been fired by the Prime Minister Simon Hart Simon Hart tonight resigned as Welsh Secretary, becoming the third cabinet minister of the day to quit. Simon Hart tonight resigned as Welsh Secretary, becoming the third cabinet minister of the day to quit Ed Argar Health minister Ed Argar has resigned, according to reports. In a letter to Boris Johnson shared on social media, Mr Argar said 'change was needed' to deliver for the country. He wrote: 'From the earliest days of the pandemic as each day we learned more about the virus, how to counter it, how to treat it, and the the world-leading rollout of the vaccination programme, you have led our country's response from the front. 'I have been, and am, proud to defend that record, and the opportunity to serve our country as part of that team, at such a moment is something I thank you for, and I have been honoured to serve you loyally since you became Prime Minister. 'However, I believe, with regret, that it is now the time to consider the future, and the 'big call' of how we face that future with integrity, and in that that context I fear that a change is needed in order for our Party to continue to deliver on our shared ambitions for the country.' Super loyalist Minister Ed Argar resigns pic.twitter.com/YcpUcNuolc Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) July 6, 2022 James Davies PPS at the Department of Health James Davies also resigned. 'Earlier today, I advised the whips of my intention, with great regret, to resign as PPS,' he wrote on Twitter. 'I said this would follow the completion of my PPS commitments in the Chamber this evening for Minister of State for Health, Ed Argar MP. I have done so, alongside him.' PPS at the Department of Health James Davies also resigned Gareth Davies Conservative MP Gareth Davies has quit as parliamentary private secretary to the Department of Health and Social Care. The Grantham and Stamford MP tweeted: 'It is with great regret that I have informed the whips office of my resignation as a PPS at the Department of Health and Social Care. It has been a privilege to serve in the role and not a decision I have taken lightly.' Dominic Cummings today revelled in Boris Johnson's woes as he compared it to 'the last days of Rome' and said the PM is 'finished'. The Prime Minister's former chief advisor has again urged Tory MPs to 'push what is falling' as Mr Johnson was battered at PMQs and an eviscerating resignation speech by Sajid Javid afterwards as ministers quit en masse. Mr Cummings, who refers to his former boss as 'The Trolley' in tweets because he claims he is always crashing, also urged MPs who have remained in post to 'find a flicker of moral courage'. In a thinly-veiled attack on Mr Johnson, and a heavy hint that he believes his days as PM are numbered, today he retweeted a message from one follower who said he was doing 'some light reading about the fall of Rome this AM'. Sharing his own tweet from February, Mr Cummings said: 'Pretty soon there will be a mad scramble & ministers will be kicking themselves hitting their heads saying "WHY didnt i move faster arghhh". Now's your moment'. Last month he launched a fresh assault on Boris Johnson as he claimed his former boss is 'completely shot' and slammed the 'rotten' Tory MPs supporting him. Dominic Cummings, pictured last month, reacted to Boris Johnson's peril by comparing it to the last days of Rome Mr Cummings shared a string of tweets by himself and others about Mr Johnson's political demise The former Number 10 aide has waged a bitter campaign against Mr Johnson since leaving Downing Street in late 2020. WHO HAS QUIT BORIS'S GOVERNMENT? QUIT Rishi Sunak (Chancellor) Sajid Javid (Health Secretary) Alex Chalk (Solicitor General) Victoria Atkins (Prisons minister) John Glen (City minister) Robin Walker (Schools minister) Will Quince (Children's minister) Nicola Richards (PPS) Jonathan Gullis (PPS) Saqib Bhatti (PPS) Virginia Crosbie (PPS) Theo Clarke (PPS) Bim Afolami (PPS) Laura Trott (PPS) Andrew Murrison (Trade Envoy) NOT QUITTING Dominic Raab Ben Wallace Priti Patel Liz Truss Brandon Lewis Michael Gove Jacob Rees-Mogg Therese Coffey Nadine Dorries Nadhim Zahawi Michelle Donelan ON WATCH George Eustice Penny Mordaunt Advertisement He delivered his latest attack as speculation mounts the PM could face a crunch vote on his future as early as next week. Mr Johnson has been warned by Tory grandees he is 'in real trouble' as the fallout from the Partygate scandal continues. Mr Cummings claimed Mr Sunak was 'out of the running' after he 'blew himself up' following a row over his family's tax affairs. And he branded Ms Truss 'about as close to properly crackers as anybody Ive met in Parliament'. The former Vote Leave boss also continued his bitter feud with the PM's wife, Carrie Johnson, as he accused her of 'causing chaos'. But he claimed Mrs Johnson 'cant be happy with the situation now' as 'it's all blowing up in her face'. The renewed speculation about the PM's political future follows last week's publication of Sue Gray's report into Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street. The senior civil servant concluded in her report that it was 'not appropriate or proportionate' to look further into allegations of a party in the PM's private flat - at which it has been claimed ABBA music was played - on the night Mr Cummings left Downing Street on 13 November, 2020. Ms Gray revealed she took this decision once the Metropolitan Police's own probe into Partygate ended. But Mr Cummings, in an interview with the UnHerd website, branded Ms Gray's report 'brazen' and claimed the alleged gathering in the flat could be heard by 'dozens of people' downstairs in No10. 'All the police had to do was interview any one of them to find out,' he said. 'You dont have a work meeting, at the top of Number 10, where the music is so loud that you can hear it in the f****** press office.' Mr Cummings suggested the continuing Partygate scandal had left the PM 'completely shot' but predicted Mr Johnson would not be leaving No10 soon. He said: 'The Tory party itself is quite rotten now and the sign of that is that they cant think of anyone better than Boris, whos clearly just completely shot. 'They are collectively saying, if we get rid of him, we might get somebody worse. It says a lot about the state of the Tory party. And they actually could get somebody worse: Liz Truss would be even worse than Boris. The former Vote Leave boss also continued his bitter feud with the PM's wife, Carrie Johnson, as he accused her of 'causing chaos' 'Shes about as close to properly crackers as anybody Ive met in Parliament.' As well as his attack on Ms Truss, who is viewed as a likely leading candidate in any contest to succeed Mr Johnson, Mr Cummings also gave little chance of Mr Sunak replacing the PM. 'The fact that Rishi blew himself up makes it much more likely that Boris will somehow survive,' he added. 'I dont want to say no chance, but I think Rishi is out of the running.' The former aide also continued his feud with Mrs Johnson, who he accused of 'sort of injecting more craziness into the whole situation' in Downing Street under Mr Johnson. But he added: 'She cant be happy with the situation now. Obviously its all blowing up in her face.' A nurse has died after plunging 70 feet through a hole in a water park's zip line platform. Yasmili Arauji, 23, had gone to Piracema Park Club in Rio Branco, Brazil, on July 2 with her boyfriend and friends. She was seen climbing to the top of the zip line launch platform without any protection or safety harness. Ms Arauji then disappeared through a hole in the platform and plummeted 70 feet to her death. Yasmili Arauji, 23, had gone to Piracema Park Club in Rio Branco, Brazil, on July 2 with her boyfriend and friends Pictures taken of the platform minutes before nurse Yasmili fell to her death shows the hole in the structure Paramedics rushed her to hospital, but she died of a heart attack on the way. In a statement, the water park wrote: 'Piracema Park Club provided all support and attention to the young woman's family and, after the accident, closed the activities of the attraction, which will only return to operation after investigation by the relevant authorities regarding the causes of the accident.' Lieutenant Eurico Fernando of the Fire Department said the launch platform had not been signed off by an engineer. The park did not respond to this allegation. Lt Fernando added that the platform had only been installed - hastily - that morning. Ms Araujo was seen climbing to the top of the zip line launch platform without any protection or safety harness Yasmili had only recently graduated as a nurse. She was buried in Morada da Paz Cemetery in Rio Branco He said: 'It was assembled at the last minute, it was ready on the morning of the 2nd. 'They did it very quickly, possibly this rush in the assembly of this structure is a preponderant factor in trying to explain what happened.' Images show the hole at the top of the platform through which Yasmili is believed to have fallen. The case has been reported to the police and is under investigation. Yasmili had only recently graduated as a nurse. She was buried in Morada da Paz Cemetery in Rio Branco. Advertisement Sixteen members of Boris Johnson's Government quit today with stinging letters and statements that were posted online, as the crisis engulfing Downing Street continued. Minister for Children and Families Will Quince was the first to follow last night's resignations when he quit this morning. Posting his letter, he tweeted: 'With great sadness and regret, I have this morning tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister after I accepted and repeated assurances on Monday to the media which have now been found to be inaccurate'. He was followed by a cascade of other ministers and junior aides, including schools standards minister Robin Walker, Treasury minister John Glen and Justice minister Victoria Atkins. Treasury minister told Mr Johnson in his resignation letter: 'I can no longer reconcile my commitment to the role' with 'the complete lack of confidence I have in your continuing leadership of our country'. But the crisis deepened this afternoon when five ministers, including rising star Kemi Badenoch, the Equalities Minister, quit en masse with a joint letter that said the Government 'cannot function given the issues that have come to light and the way in which they have been handled. Seven members of Boris Johnson's Government quit today with stinging letters that were posted online, as the crisis engulfing Downing Street continued. Minister for Children and Families Will Quince was the first to follow last night's resignations when he quit this morning. Pictured: Mr Quince's letter He was followed by Laura Trott, the parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport, who said in a Facebook post: 'Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost' Schools standards minister Robin Walker was the next to go. He said 'recent events' had made clear to him that the Conservative Party had become 'distracted by a relentless focus on questions over leadership' Treasury minister John Glen then resigned, telling Boris Johnson 'I can no longer reconcile my commitment to the role' with 'the complete lack of confidence I have in your continuing leadership of our country' Felicity Buchan followed him by resigning from her role as parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. She told Mr Johnson he had 'lost the confidence' of her and her constituents Justice minister Victoria Atkins, who followed Mr Glen out of the door, said in her letter that she had watched with 'growing concern' as values of 'integrity, decency, respect and professionalism' have 'fractured' under Mr Johnson's leadership Jo Churchill then resigned from her role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and took aim at Mr Johnson's 'jocular self-serving approach', which she said 'is bound to have its limitations' Stuart Andrew, a housing minister, is most recent Government member to resign so far. He said he felt that he had allowed 'loyalty and unity' to 'override' his judgement in recent days and said he had chosen to resign after looking at his 'personal integrity' PPS Claire Coutinho said in a Facebook post that she was leaving Government after 'the events of recent weeks and months' Selaine Saxby resigned this afternoon from her role as a PPS, saying 'trust, truth and integrity' are vital for politicians David Johnston resigned as a PPS to the Department for Education with a post on Facebook. He said the events of recent months have 'made the view of politics and politicians worse' Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Levelling Up, The Union and the Constitution, Neil O'Brien, Minister for Industry Lee Rowley, Alex Burghart, Minister for Skills and Julia Lopez, Minister of State for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, quit this afternoon in a joint letter that said the Government 'cannot function given the issues that have come to light and the way in which they have been handled'. They called on Mr Johnson to step aside for the 'good of the Party and the country' Craig Williams, the PPS to new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, resigned at around 3.20pm today. He said it was becoming 'impossible' for the Government to focus on 'rebuilding trust with the public and focusing on delivering good policies' Mark Logan, PPS to Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, resigned this afternoon. He said in his letter that his constituents in Bolton 'deserve more leadership' Rachel Maclean, Minister for Safeguarding, said today she 'cannot stand by and do nothing' as she called for the PM to resign Mike Freer, Minister for Exports and Minister for Equalities, said in his letter that he feels the Government is 'moving away from the One Nation Conservative Party' that he joined Sara Britcliffe resigned as a PPS at the Department for Education, saying she 'cannot remain part of the Government' Darlington MP Peter Gibson resigned as a Trade PPS, saying he does not believe Boris is meeting the 'high standards required' to be Prime Minister Ruth Edwards resigned as a Scotland PPS, she said it was a 'privilege to work in the Scotland Office' Advertisement Cyprus will reintroduce mandatory face masks in response to rising coronavirus cases, in the first sign of summer holiday chaos for British holidaymakers. The ruling which comes into effect for everyone over the age of 12 on Friday will make face coverings a legal requirement in all indoor public venues, including shops, pubs and restaurants. Daily Covid cases on the Mediterranean island have trebled in the past month, with around 1,500 a day on average by July 5 compared to fewer than 300 on June 5. The decision represents a U-turn for the Cyprus Government, which only lifted the previous face mask mandate on June 1. Meanwhile, the mayor of Nice the biggest city on the French Riviera has broken ranks with the French Government by announcing that coverings will become mandatory on public transport once again. There are now concerns that other holiday destinations could follow suit, with cases rising in Spain, Germany and Italy and outbreaks growing in popular Caribbean islands. MailOnline has spoken with Covid experts who have cancelled their foreign summer holiday plans in anticipation of further restrictions. Daily Covid cases have trebled in Cyprus in the past month, with around 1,500 a day on average by July 5 compared to fewer than 300 on June 5 According to last week's health ministry Covid report, three people died from the virus and 75 patients were hospitalised, four in a serious condition The reintroduction of face masks was announced by Cyprus' Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela after a cabinet meeting today. He cited an increase in Covid-related hospital cases and said infected people circulating freely without masks was a contributory factor. According to last week's health ministry Covid report, just three people died from the virus and 75 patients were hospitalised, four in a serious condition. On June 28, face masks were reintroduced for pharmacies, clinical labs and government testing sites for Covid in light of rising csaes. Coverings must also be worn when visiting hospitals, nursing homes and on public transport. Still NO spike in Covid deaths in UK: Just five more virus fatalities were recorded in England and Wales last week Covid deaths in England and Wales remain below 25 per day despite infections having almost doubled over the past month, Government data shows. Advocates of No10's strategy, which saw the final pandemic-era restrictions axed in April, have hailed the figures as more proof that the darkest days of the pandemic are over and that new economically-damaging curbs aren't needed. Yet critics of the approach have already called for a return of mask wearing and for Brits to avoid meeting indoors because of the virus' resurgence. Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today show there were 166 Covid deaths registered across the two countries in the week ending June 24. This was barely a change on the 161 logged in the previous seven-day spell. For comparison, this is just a fraction of April's toll, when cases soared to pandemic highs and deaths peaked at 740. Advertisement Many scientists prompted authorities to reinstate the mask following the latest surge in Covid cases and hospitalisations, attributed to the highly infectious Omicron subvariants BA4 and BA5. Officials were hesitant about bringing them back at peak tourist season, especially when neighbouring countries do not have mask mandates. Meanwhile, Nice is going further than the naitonal Government by reintroducing face masks on public transport from Monday. In the rest of France people are only recommended to wear them in crowded indoor spaces. It came as France's daily cases soared to over 200,000 yesterday. Professor Martin McKee, president at the British Medical Association (BMA), told MailOnline yesterday that holidaymakers face a summer of uncertainty. He said: 'We can look at infection levels now but that doesn't tell us where they will be when we actually travel. Nor does it tell us whether it has hit the people who fly us to our destination or handle our bags.' Professor McKee added: 'We're not out of the woods yet.' However, Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that discrepancies between how nations test means differences in Covid rates are difficult to compare. But he said he doesn't expect nations many of which are reliant on tourism, a sector which has been largely crippled by economically-damaging restrictions used during the pandemic to bring in a swathe of curbs. Professor Hunter said: 'I really don't which if any holiday destinations will change the rules. I doubt many holiday destination countries will make existing rules more restrictive.' However, he noted that 'there is an issue about staffing of airports and airlines if many staff are testing positive and so off work'. When cases soared to pandemic highs in April, thousands of airport workers took time off ill, fuelling chaotic scenes in Heathrow and Birmingham airports. Outbreaks across Europe are also being fuelled by Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. The two newer sub-strains have caused cases in England to more than double in the last month. Data from the Office for National Statistics show 1.8million people were infected in the week to June 24 rising by a third in a week and marking the highest rate in two months. Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at Exeter University, told MailOnline that uncertainty around whether restrictions will be brought in destinations, some nations requiring masks and the risk of catching Covid on the plane or on holiday will leave Britons weighing up whether jetting abroad is worth it. He has already scrapped his villa holiday in Spain for a UK camping staycation over concerns about the virus would wreak havoc on his travels. Dr Strain warned that around one in 20 people will be infected as they get on a flight and up to five in 20 could be carrying the virus when they land which could scupper holiday plans. He urged Britons to consider whether there will be Covid restriction when they arrive at their destination and questioned whether that is a holiday people really want. So, what other holiday destinations are at risk of more curbs? Spain Covid cases in Spain, the UK's top holiday destination, are on the rise. The nation logged 417 cases per million people each day in the week to July 1, up 61.6 per cent from a fortnight earlier when 258 people tested positive daily. However, the figure is still a fraction of the rate seen at the January peak when 3,081 cases were logged were logged per day. Travellers aged 12 and over from the UK have to show proof of vaccination, a previous infection or a negative test on arrival. But Health Minister Carolina Darias last week told local media that everyone in the country should start wearing a face mask when inside in public spaces, warning cases and hospitalisations are at their highest level since February. France Covid infections in France are the highest they have been since April and are continuing to rise. Some 1,639 people per million tested positive in the week to July 4. Infection rates have spiked 78.2 per cent over the last fortnight, when just 920 infections were being detected per million people. The nation's health minister Brigitte Bourguignon last week said people in France have a 'civic duty' to wear masks in crowded places, such as public transport, workplaces and shops, to help control the outbreak. She said: 'I'm not saying it should be mandatory but I do ask the French people to put the mask on in public transport. I'm not merely advising it, I'm asking for it.' Dr Alain Fischer, the country's vaccination chief, last month warned France was in the middle of a new wave of infections and voiced his support for bringing back the requirement to wear face masks on public transport. Portugal Portugal, a favourite tourist hotspot among Britons, this week lifted all Covid entry requirements for travellers. As of July 1, arrivals in the country do not need to show proof of vaccination or a negative test. The country's Government noted that these measures 'may be reviewed in accordance to the evolution of the pandemic'. But cases in the country have been falling for a month. Some 869 people per million tested positive on June 30, a 44.2 per cent drop compared to the infection rate two weeks earlier. And experts told MailOnline those planning to enjoy some sun in Portugal shouldn't face much disruption to their plans. Britons weighing up whether they should go ahead with their summer holiday plans should consider whether they will face restrictions when they arrive, Exeter University senior clinical lecturer Dr David Strain said. Portugal is 'unlikely' to see a return of measures, such as face masks and social distancing, because they have just been through a wave fuelled by the BA.4 and BA.5 Covid strains, he said. Germany Covid cases are at a two-month high in Germany, with infections jumping 49.7 per cent in the last fortnight, from 715 to 1,070 positive tests logger per million people. Britons arriving in Germany have not had to show proof of vaccination, recovery from the virus or a negative test to enter the country. However, surgical FFP2 face masks are required on public transport. And Chancellor Olaf Scholz this week warned that face masks 'will play a bigger role' in the coming months than they currently do. Italy Virus infections in Italy have soared to a five-month high in Italy. Some 1,293 people tested positive per day in the week to July 4 up 36.8 per cent in a fortnight. Covid waves in the country have followed a similar pattern to that in the UK, with waves peaking in January and March before beginning to rise again in June. Those landing in the country have not been required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test since June 1. However, masks are required on public transport and those who test positive in the country must isolate for one week. Health Minister Roberto Speranza this week told local media that 'anyone who is infected must stay at home', saying it was 'unimaginable' that the 650,000 isolating should be able to 'move around'. Greece Greece is logging one of the highest infection rates in Europe, with 1,441 daily cases per million people in the last week more the double the 681 logged two weeks ago. Infections are at their highest rate for three months. Those arriving in the country no longer need display their vaccination status or a negative test. However, face masks are required on public transport, including on cruise ships, yachts and ferries used to explore the island. Greece's National Public Health Organization reports that infections are rising their fastest in tourist hotspots, including Crete, and the Ionian and South Aegean islands. Croatia Cases of the coronavirus are ticking upwards in Croatia. The nation has seen infections nearly triple from 74 per million people per day to 210. Arrivals no longer need to fill out passenger arrival forms, show proof of vaccination or a negative test. Masks are now only required in hospital and care homes. Egypt Egypt has reported zero Covid infections for more than two months. But health ministers told local media that cases have jumped seven per cent in the past week. They blamed the BA.4 and BA.5 variants and waning immunity, with the last lot of vaccinations dished out six months ago. However, hospitalisations and deaths remain at their lowest level since the pandemic began, according to the Ministry of Health. Along with most other countries, arrivals no longer need to fill out arrival documents, prove their vaccinated or provide a negative test. Turkey Virus infections are rising sharply in Turkey. The country logged 141 infections per million people yesterday nearly 11 times more than the 13 it recorded two weeks earlier. Cases had been trending downwards in Turkey since January, when infections soared to pandemic highs of 1,216 per million. However, holidaymakers have been able to arrive in the country without having to prove their are vaccinated or tested negative since June 1. And they are no longer required to wear masks, although health chiefs advise people to wear them in crowded places. Professor Serap Simsek Yavuz, a member of the Health Ministrys Covid advisory board told local Demiroren News Agency that Istanbul, the Turkey's most populated city, is seeing the biggest rise in cases. Tunisia Covid cases are trending upwards in Tunisia, where 66 people per million tested positive per day in the week to June 29 the latest date figures are available for. For comparison, the country logged just 11 infections per day a fortnight earlier a sixth of the current level. Tunisia eased mandatory five-day self-isolation for travellers last month. However, arrivals aged 18 and over still have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test taken within 24 hours of arriving. And after landing in the country, passengers may be tested at random with PCR swabs. Morocco Morocco is in the midst of a fourth wave, logging 80 infections per million people. Cases have double from 40 a fortnight ago and are at a five-month high and half the level of the Omicron-fuelled January peak. Holidaymakers aged 18 and over must show proof of being triple-jabbed or a negative test taken within 72 hour of boarding. Randomly selected passengers will be tested at random on arrival. US Infections are ticking upwards in the US, where 308 people per million tested positive yesterday, up eight per cent in the last fortnight. Positive tests have been on the rise since April, after they plummeted to 80 per million, compared to 2,424 per million in January at the height of the Omicron wave. New York City's test positivity rate reached 10.3 percent for the first time in six months. The BA.5 sub-lineage is believed to be behind the rise. The BA.5 variant now makes up 36.6 percent of sequenced cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mexico Mexico is logging a rise in Covid cases, reporting 140 per million people yesterday, compared to 59 per million two weeks earlier an increase of 137.3 per cent. Infections began creeping upwards in May and are now at their highest level since February, although the prevalence of the virus is less than half of that seen at the January peak. Travellers do not need to provide proof of a negative test or show their vaccination status. But some cities and states have Covid requirements in place. Thailand Cases have increased by a fifth in Thailand over the last fortnight from 29 to 34 per million but are still at very low levels. Last month, cases fell to their lowest level in more than a year. Travellers have to show a vaccination certificate, a negative PCR test or professionally administered lateral flow test to get into the country. Those without proof of a negative test will have to pay for and take one at the airport and those who test positive must pay for any medical expenses. However, masks and other curbs are no longer in place. Vietnam Covid infections are flat in Vietnam, where around eight people per million have been testing positive per day for the last month. The country's latest wave began to retreat in March, after spiking at 2,791 cases per million. The country eased its Covid rules in mid-May, so that arrivals don't need to show their vaccination status or a negative test. Caribbean islands Covid infections are rising steeply in Barbados, with confirmed daily cases jumping 73.9 per cent from 314 to 546 per million over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, Dominican Republic has seen cases climb steadily by 45.3 per cent over the last fortnight, from 75 to 109 per million. Seychelles has seen a slight uptick, from 228 to 257 in the two weeks to July 1. However, the outlook is better in Cuba, where cases have been flat for more than a month, with around three positive tests confirmed per day. And infections are falling in Saint Lucia, where cases have dropped from 139 to 96 over the last two weeks. Australia Daily infections in the former zero-Covid country Australia. The nation yesterday logged 1,294 infections per million people, up by a fifth compared to two weeks prior. International arrivals are no longer required to prove their vaccination status as of tomorrow. However, masks must be worn on all international inbound flights as well as domestic flights. Dr Kerry Chant, the chief health officer in New South Wales, this week urged people to wear masks in indoor public spaces over concerns about the spread. Health leaders in Queensland said a return to mandatory masks is not being considered. But the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the capital Canberra, said the move was not being ruled out. A political commentator said he has reported the comedian Nish Kumar 'for racism' after his tweet about Boris Johnson where he said he 'loves to see a rich white man brought down by Asians'. The 36-year-old took to Twitter to share his views after the resignations of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Heath Secretary Sajid Javid last night - leaving the Prime Minister barely clinging on. He wrote: 'Balancing out the fact that I can't stand Javid or Sunak with the fact that I love to see a rich white man brought down by Asians.' Although the tweet has generated more than 30,000 likes it also attracted a wave of criticism. Robinson, an Anglican deacon, replied to the message saying: 'Reported for racism.' Conservative political commentator Calvin Robinson has clashed with comedian Nish Kumar over comments he made about Boris Johnson Kumar wrote: 'Balancing out the fact that I can't stand Javid or Sunak with the fact that I love to see a rich white man brought down by Asians.' Robinson, an Anglican deacon, replied: 'Reported for racism' Other users also hit out at Kumar's comment, with one writing: 'Why do you have to make it about race?' It was also noted that Mr Sunak and Mr Javid are two of the richest members of Parliament, with far more money than Mr Johnson. Meanwhile, Richard Krawiec took a wry perspective on the dispute, writing of Kumar's tweet: 'I've reported it for not being funny.' Kumar's stand-up routine often centres on political matters and he is no stranger to controversy. Last year his show, the Mash Report, was axed by the BBC after claims of left-wing bias. The broadcaster said it was 'very proud' of the programme but will be axing it 'in order to make room for new comedy shows'. Kumar hit back at the broadcaster's decision to cancel the programme, posting a picture of himself in front of the words 'Boris Johnson is a liar and a racist'. His stand-up routine often centres on political matters and he is no stranger to controversy. He previously had to apologised for giving a platform on The Mash Report to Steve Topple, a 'left-wing journalist who promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories'. After the incident, Kumar promised to be 'more judicious in future'. Kumar is well known for his strident political views. His show, the Mash Report, was axed by the BBC last year after claims of left-wing bias Kumar is well known for his strident political views. Last year his show, the Mash Report, was axed by the BBC after claims of left-wing bias. Kumar hit back at the broadcaster's decision to cancel the programme, posting a picture of himself in front of the words 'Boris Johnson is a liar and a racist' History of racial jibes against Cabinet ministers Members of Boris Johnson's Cabinet who are from Asian backgrounds have long complained about being singled out for abuse by the Left. Priti Patel and Sajid Javid have both been described as 'coconuts- brown on the outside, white on the inside'. In 2020, the Guardian's cartoonist Steve Bell was heavily criticised for his 'racist' cartoon of Priti Patel as a bull with a ring around her nose. Ms Patel was raised as a Hindu. Meanwhile, comedian Leila Navabi landed in trouble after she said Rishi Sunak did not represent most brown people and suggested he resembled 'Prince Charles in brownface'. Advertisement In 2019. the comedian was booed off stage and pelted with a bread roll at the Lord's Taverners' Christmas lunch after the audience reacted against his 'lefty Remain rants'. In staggering scenes at Park Lane's Grosvenor House, Kumar was widely heckled and saw his set cut short after sections of the audience failed to take kindly to his left-wing views on politics and politicians. The charity, which helps give vulnerable children a start in life through sport, had promoted Kumar as 'undoubtedly the UK's hottest comedian' before the event, which cost 149 a head for members. His routine started innocuously enough. He began with a joke about himself either looking like a terrorist or a Brazilian, depending on the angle. But stunned witnesses said the stand-up was then met with boos, jeers and calls for him to leave when he shared his observations on a number of issues, including Brexit. The booing started when he shared his scathing views of Boris Johnson and then on imperial British rule. There was praise for one politician though, as he lauded former Speaker John Bercow - who was in the audience - before launching into an anti-Brexit rant and demanding a second referendum. Kumar has previously said 'the architects of Brexit are a cocktail of lying racists and buffoons'. Meanwhile, at Westminster today, Mr Johnson vowed to 'hang on in' and 'keep going as PM' after a further flood of resignations today. Prisons minister Victoria Atkins, City minister John Glen, schools minister Robin Walker, and children's minister Will Quince all turned the screw by walking out just before the PMQs session. And even as he spoke Environment minister Jo Churchill was tweeting that she had quit. Ms Atkins laid into the government's 'fracture values', while Mr Glen said he had a 'complete lack of confidence' in the premier and Mr Walker slammed 'mistakes and questions about integrity'. Senior backbenchers Robert Halfon and Chris Skidmore, as well as Red Wall MP Lee Anderson have also broken cover to say they have lost confidence in Mr Johnson. But despite fears of massive damage to the Conservative brand Mr Johnson is showing no signs of conceding, apparently responding 'f*** that' when asked by aides about the possibility. The suspected gunman in a mass shooting at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, that killed seven people and wounded dozens has been charged with seven counts of murder on Tuesday--and more charges are expected to come. In a media conference, Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart announced that if the 21-year-old suspect Robert E. Crimo III gets convicted, he may face a mandatory life sentence. Though he emphasized that the charges "are just first of many" cases that will be filed" against Crimo, per CNN. Rinehart said that the other charges that will be slapped against the Highland Park shooting suspect include attempted murder, aggravated discharge, aggravated battery charges, and "dozens of more charges centering around each of the victims." Since being arrested on Monday night, Crimo has been in police custody. Identities of Killed Victims Disclosed On Wednesday morning, at the Lake County courthouse, Rinehart will "ask a judge" to detain Crimo "without the possibility of bail." Police have identified six of the seven individuals killed in the incident as of Tuesday morning. During the press briefing, Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek presented the list of names. These are the victims: 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein of Highland Park 35-year-old Irina McCarthy of Highland Park 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy of Highland Park 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim of Highland Park 88-year-old Stephen Straus of Highland Park 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza of Morelos, Mexico According to Banek, a seventh victim died at a hospital outside of Lake County. The gun attack resulted in the death or injury of a total of 45 people, said Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesperson Christopher Covelli. Read Also: US Government Funds Clandestine Global Proxy Wars as Revealed by Documents Received by The Intercept A Planned Attack Covelli disclosed that Crimo made legitimate purchases of rifles, a pistol, and maybe a shotgun between 2020 and 2021. In Illinois, a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card is required to purchase a firearm. According to a news release from the state police, Crimo was under 21, so his father sponsored him. The Highland Park Shooting Suspect's motive on Monday is still under investigation. As per a story from The New York Times, the police claimed that Robert Crimo appeared to have been preparing for weeks to strike the parade on Monday morning and that he had used a fire exit to climb to the top of a downtown building before opening fire into the crowd using a powerful rifle. Then, they stated, he made his getaway by dropping his gun and disguising himself in women's attire to blend in with the crowd. He appeared to be wearing an American flag scarf around his neck in the photo authorities posted, maybe to cover up his obvious neck tattoos. FBI agents searched picnic blankets and garbage cans at the location where the attacker had fired earlier that day for additional evidence. According to Politico, the shooting was initially mistaken as fireworks until hundreds of people fled in terror. Witness David Shapiro, 47, claimed that the parade swiftly descended into "chaos" as a result of the firing. Describing the scene, Shapiro said: "People didn't know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you." The shooting was merely the most recent incident to disturb American culture. In recent months, the sites of violence have expanded to include schools, churches, supermarkets, and now community festivals. The recent carnage took place as the country celebrates its founding and the ties that continue to keep it united. Related Article: Philadelphia Shooting: Police Finds Bullet Stuck in Hat After Getting Shot in Head During July 4 Attack @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Kentucky Supreme Court would denied on Tuesday the state's attorney general's appeal that would reinstate a law making nearly every abortion illegal in Kentucky. Attorney General Daniel Cameron issued the emergency appeal after a circuit court judge blocked the near-total abortion ban last week allowing exceptions only when the life or physical wellbeing of the mother is at risk. 'The Supreme Court's decision to continue delaying enforcement of Kentucky's Human Life Protection Act and Heartbeat Law is disappointing,' Cameron said Tuesday. He added: 'We will not be deterred in defending these important laws, and our team will make a strong case tomorrow in Jefferson Circuit Court to have the laws reinstated.' Kentucky is one of the 13 states that had so-called 'trigger laws', meaning that once the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, laws went back into effect in the states banning abortion. The Kentucky Supreme Court denied the state's Attorney General Daniel Cameron's request to reinstate a near-total abortion ban that was temporarily blocked by a lower court pending Wednesday's hearing Pro-abortion protesters march June 24, 2022 in Louisville, Kentucky against the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade last month The Kentucky high court has a conservative majority. Two justices were appointed by a Republican governor, one by a Democrat. Of the elected justices, two on the bench are considered mild Republicans while one other is described as a mild Democrat. It is unclear where the remaining justice falls on the political spectrum especially considering judges and justices are supposed to be as nonpartisan as possible. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit last week on behalf of state abortion providers. The progressive nonprofit alleges that the Kentucky law unconstitutionally forces women to 'remain pregnant against their will.' Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Mitch Perry responded by issuing a temporary restraining order on the abortion ban and a separate law that makes abortion illegal at six weeks into a pregnancy, which is usually the time when a fetal heartbeat is detected. The ruling lase week has allowed abortions to continue in the state despite the trigger law. AG Cameron responded to the ruling by requesting a stay on the law from the Kentucky Supreme Court, which was denied on Saturday. The Kentucky ACLU Communications Manager Samuel Crankshaw praised the decision as 'protecting Kentuckians' rights to privacy, bodily autonomy, and self-determination, as outlined in the state constitution.' The Jefferson circuit court will hold a hearing on the lawsuit Wednesday. Roe v. Wade was overturned in the last Supreme Court turn, ending 50 years of federal abortion protections and sending the issue back to the states. Many red states have been pushing the boundaries on abortion bans by imposing increasingly strict timeline restrictions in recent years as the high court became more conservative. There are 13 states with so-called abortion 'trigger laws' that went into effect with the overturn of Roe v. Wade and 18 total that have near-total bans on their books Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was the case that ultimately led to the overturn of the 1973 ruling that gave federal protections to women's right to terminate their pregnancies. The Mississippi case came after a challenge to the 15-week abortion ban in the state. When Roe was overturned, 13 states had laws that immediately went back into effect banning abortion in nearly all cases. Kentucky is the third state to have its abortion trigger law temporarily blocked along with Texas and Louisiana. All three red states will have hearings in July to decide the fate of the lawsuits and abortion rights. Pro-abortion activists swiftly filed a slew of lawsuits at the end of June and into July seeking to stop and delay enforcement of the bans. A father took his own life after he couldn't get over the death of his daughter, who died after a botched 'Brazilian bum lift' surgery in Turkey in 2018, an inquest heard. Craig Cambridge, 51, was found hanged at his home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, last April after his life 'sprialled downwards' - three years after his daughter Leah, 29, died when the operation went wrong. An inquest into his death heard he was never able to get past the loss of his daughter - as the coroner said he would send the report to the surgeon to make him aware of the 'tentacles' of the tragedy. Mr Cambridge also suffered from depression and alcohol dependency in the years after his daughter's death, the inquest heard. Leah Cambridge (right) from Leeds, died on the operating table in 2018 after a Brazilian bum lift surgery. Her father (left) passed away three years after. A senior coroner ruled: 'This was a suicide attributed in part to the death of his daughter who died in surgery in Turkey' Leah Cambridge, 29, passed away after a cosmetic operation to lift her bottom in 2018. Doctors and nurses at the Turkish clinic were unable to save her Wakefield Coroners Court heard today how the partner of his daughter Chelsea Cambridge found his lifeless body in his house on April 5 last year. His tragic death came three years after his daughter died of a pulmonary embolism after Dr Ali Uckan at Can Hastanesi Hospital accidentally injected fat into her veins in Izmir in August 2018. She had three heart attacks on the operating table at the clinic while undergoing the Brazilian bum lift procedure. Senior coroner Kevin McLoughlin, who conducted inquests into both Craig and Leah's deaths, said he was incensed the surgeon had 'stood well clear' of the incident. Returning a verdict of suicide today, Mr McLoughlin said: 'I am reliant on the pathologist for the cause of death, which in this case is hanging. 'This was a suicide attributed in part to the death of his daughter who died in surgery in Turkey.' And he said he intends to write to Dr Ali Uckan and the medical authorities in Turkey to make them aware of the 'tentacles' of grief the botched surgery has had. Addressing Craig's heartbroken daughters Chelsea and Hayley and his ex-partner Theresa Hall today, Mr McLoughlin said: 'Normally I am quite detached and hard-hearted about inquests, but when I saw another tragedy had befallen your family, I felt quite grievous. 'Having conducted the inquest into Leah all those years ago, I was incensed that the surgeon in Turkey stood well clear. 'I am proposing to send the report to the surgeon to make him aware of the tentacles of this. 'I am intending to send it to the medical authorities in Turkey to make them aware of how a tragedy manifests itself years later. 'I feel dreadfully sorry for you as a family.' Leah's inquest heard Dr Ali Uckan (pictured) had admitted the operation 'is a guessing game' to her widower Scott, who travelled to Turkey after hearing of her death. At an inquest into Leah's death in 2019, senior coroner Mr McLoughlin branded the surgeon who carried out the fatal operation a 'coward' for not answering her family's questions Leah Cambridge, a mother of three, had three heart attacks on the operating table at the clinic while undergoing the Brazilian bum lift procedure Leah's father Craig (pictured left) 'never got over' the tragic passing of his daughter (centre) three years ago. Her partner Scott Franks is pictured right The court was told Craig, a former personal trainer, was found by his daughter Chelsea and her partner. They had gone to see him at his house on Monday, April 5, but the door was locked so her partner climbed through a window only to make the tragic discovery of Craig's body. Paramedics were called, but he was pronounced dead at 7.50pm by the ambulance crew. The court heard he left notes for both his daughters indicating that he had intended to take his own life. The inquest heard he had been under the care of a community mental health care team and was given anti-depressants. Tragically, police found that he had tried to call the doctors three times on the morning of his death but they were not open because it was a Bank Holiday. Craig had a history of anxiety and depression, which was made worse after Leah's death and after turning to drink he became dependent on alcohol, it was heard. His daughter Leah had flown to the clinic - which also claimed to have worked with UK TV personalities such as Lauren Goodger, Amber Dowding and Chloe Ferry - in August 2018. The controversial procedure involves extracting fat from areas of the body and re-injecting it into the buttocks to enhance its shape. Leah's inquest heard Dr Uckan had admitted the operation 'is a guessing game' to her widower Scott, who travelled to Turkey after hearing of her death. At an inquest into Leah's death in 2019, Mr McLoughlin branded the surgeon who carried out the fatal operation a 'coward' for not answering her family's questions. Mr McLoughlin said he wrote to Dr Ali Uckan eight times to ask him to give evidence at the inquest, but he did not respond. For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details Advertisement Utah's Great Salt Lake has hit a new historic low for the second time in less than a year, dipping to a water level of only 4,190ft over the weekend. The state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the water levels have sunk past the last record set in October, which at the time had matched a 170-year record low. DNR officials and weather experts warn that the water levels at the Great Salt Lake are expected to drop even further until fall or early winter as the West contends with an ongoing drought. DNR Executive Director Joel Ferry said in a statement, 'This is not the type of record we like to break. Urgent action is needed to help protect and preserve this critical resource. 'It's clear the lake is in trouble. We recognize more action and resources are needed, and we are actively working with the many stakeholders who value the lake.' Slide me An aerial view of the Great Salt Lake in 2022 (left) compared to an 1985 aerial view of the Great Salt Lake via Google Earth Utah's Great Salt Lake's water level fell to 4,190ft over the weekend, the lowest since October, which had matched a 170-year record low for America's 'Dead Sea.' Pictured: a helicopter view of the receding shore line Ship docking stations are left abandoned over the weekend as the water level sank in the Great Salt Lake The lake's water levels had risen slightly over the winter and spring before dipping again in the summer Sinking water levels leave wildlife in danger, threatened the state's $57 billion shrimping industry and leaves arsenic exposed, which could blow poison into residential areas Although rainfall and melting snow typically helps replenish the lake by two feet, this year it only saw six inches The Great Salt Lake has been receding since May (pictured) as officials warn water levels will drop even further It comes as much of the West is experiencing severe or worse drought conditions in the past week AMERICA'S 'DEAD SEA': THE GREAT SALT LAKE IS FIVE TIMES SALTIER THAN THE OCEAN, AND ONCE COVERED 22,400 SQ MILES The Great Salt Lake is a terminal basin, which means the water that pours into the lake from rivers and streams has no outlet other than evaporation. This allows salts and minerals to concentrate in the lake such that it is three to five times saltier than the ocean. It is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River, and the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere, it presently covers approximately 1,700 square miles. The lake is fed from the Jordan, Weber and Bear rivers, which deposit roughly 1.1 million tons of minerals into the lake every year. Since it has no outlet besides evaporation - a term known as endorheic - it has a high salinity and swimming in the lake is similar to floating - like in the famous Dead Sea. Great Salt Lake is the remnant of Lake Bonneville; a great ice age lake that rose dramatically from a small saline lake 30,000 years ago. The prehistoric Lake Bonneville once covered 22,400 square miles. It covered most of Utah, as well Idaho and Nevada during the ice ages of the Pleistocene Epoch. The most conspicuous reminders of Lake Bonneville are the ancient terraces etched into the landscape along the lake's former shorelines. The terraces were eroded by wave action and are relatively flat areas that follow a contour line. Look south from Buffalo Point for an outstanding view of Lake Bonneville terraces carved into the island as high as a thousand feet above the Great Salt Lake's surface. Lake Bonneville existed until roughly 17,000 years ago, when a sizable portion of it was released through the Red Rock Pass, an event that caused massive floods. As the climate began to warm following the last ice age, the remnants of Lake Bonneville started to dry, leaving behind Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, Sevier Lake and Rush Lake. Advertisement Much of the nation has been under sever drought conditions in the past week, according to the latest data from U.S. Drought Monitor, with the Southwest hit by extreme and exceptional droughts. With about 83 percent of the state under extreme drought conditions, the DNR's research found that Utah is dealing with its hottest summer since 1918, hitting 102 degrees for the first time in its history. The data also found that 2022 has been the state's driest year in 128 year, one of the major factors causing the Salt Lake to shrink. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, has begged people to cut back on lawn watering as for years, residents have been diverting water from rivers that flow into the lake to water crops and supply homes. Most years, the Great Salt Lake gains up to 2 feet from spring runoff but this year, it was just six inches. Because the lake is shallow about 35 feet at its deepest less water quickly translates to receding shorelines. The Great Salt Lake is fed from the Jordan, Weber and Bear Eivers, which deposit roughly 1.1 million tons of minerals into it every year. Brine shrimp in the lake support a $57 million industry in Utah but in the coming years, less water could make the salinity too great for even those creatures to survive. More dry lakebed getting exposed could also send arsenic-laced dust into the air breathed by millions. Breathing in high levels of arsenic can cause a sore throat, irritated lungs, arsenic poisoning, or even death, according to the American Cancer Society. The receding waters are already affecting the natural wild life, exposing the nesting spot for pelicans, which are among the many bird species dependent on the lake. Jaimi Butler, coordinator for Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, told the Associated Press that pelicans, the largest birds in North America, typically flock to Gunnison Island, a remote outpost in the lake. Up to 20 percent of the species nests on the island, with male and female birds cooperating to have one watch the eggs at all times. 'Mom goes fishing and dad stays at the nest,' Butler said. But the falling lake levels have exposed a land bridge to the island, allowing foxes and coyotes to come across and hunt for rodents and other foodfrightening the birds into fleeing their nests and leaving eggs at hatchlings to be eaten by gulls. Pelicans aren't the only birds dependent on the Great Salt Lake: Its a stopover for many species to feed on their journey south. A study from Utah State University says that to maintain lake levels, the state would have to decrease the amount of water it diverts from the Great Salt Lake by 30 percent. Pictured: dry lake bed along an abandoned docking area in the Great Salt Lake in the spring Pictured: Utah lawmakers and DNR heads walking by a mirabilite spring bound as they surveyed the lake in May A chair was placed along the lake's southern shore in March as the water levels continued to recede Pictured: Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson looks over a mirabilite spring mound while surveying the Great Salt Lake Along with Utah, Nevada is also contending with extreme drought conditions that have left water levels sinking in Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US, which is formed by the Hoover Dam River and sits about 24 miles from Las Vegas. As of Friday, the water in in the lake was 1,043.5 feet above sea level, the lowest since 1971. The historically low water levels have also caused objects hidden beneath the water to surface, including a World War II era landing craft and skeletal remains. The boat - a Higgins landing craft - was previously about 185 feet beneath the surface of the lake, but now rests halfway out of the water The skeletal body found in a steel barrel along the shores of Lake Mead. Police say the victim inside was killed by an execution style gunshot to the head Another body found along thanks to Lake Mead's receding waters. Todd Kolod thinks these bones may belong to his father, a mobster who died drowned in the lake in 1958 The parched shoreline along Lake Mead. The revealed Higgins boat can be seen in the background The boat - a Higgins landing craft - was previously about 185 feet beneath the surface of the lake, but now rests halfway out of the water. In addition to the Higgins craft and a number of other shipwrecks, the skeletal remains of several bodies that some suspect to be victims of Las Vegas' notorious mob past have been found along the lakes new shorelines. Las Vegas police said the body belonged to a man who had died from an execution-style gunshot wound to the head sometime between the mid-1970s or early 80s. Officials have not confirmed the theory, but many have speculated that it bears all the markings of the sort of gangland hit that would not have been unheard of in the mob-run Las Vegas the victim was killed during. Police in Richmond, Va., seized two assault rifles, one handgun and 232 rounds of ammunition from two men who had planned a mass shooting during Fourth of July celebrations. Police Chief Gerard Smith said officers received a tip from a hero citizen who overheard a conversation between the two individuals planning the attack at Dogwood Dell Amphitheater, where fireworks were displayed. The suspects have been identified as Julio Alvardo-Dubon, 52, and 38-year-old Rolman Balacarcel. They have been charged with with being non-U.S. citizens in possession of a firearm. Authorities said Alvardo-Dubon and Balacarcel were watched closely as local law enforcement worked along with with Homeland Security to gather evidence and make the arrests. Smith lauded law enforcement for the sting operation, which he said saved many lives, and the unnamed citizen's collaboration. 'No community is immune. And this reminds us that this does not have to be our narrative. In Richmond or else in the country,' Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said during a press conference Wednesday. Julio Alvardo-Dubon, 52, (left) and 38-year-old Rolman Balacarcel (right) were arrested during a sting operation after police received a tip that they were planning a mass shooting on Monday 'No community is immune. And this reminds us that this does not have to be our narrative. In Richmond or else in the country,' Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said during a press conference Wednesday Stoney also decried the devastating recent wave of mass shootings in the US. 'It is obvious now, this is an epidemic all across this country at the moment,' he said. 'Whether you are in a cul-de-sac, or in your neighborhood, or at a parade ... you have to keep your head on a swivel, and that's not the country I desire to live in, but those are the facts of the matter.' 'Don't know how he heard it, but he heard it and he did the right thing with the information,' Smith also said. 'He put it into the hands of law enforcement and we are so thankful for him and numerous families and friends and loved ones are as well.' Alvardo-Dubon and Balacarcel are being held at the Richmond city jail. Smith lauded law enforcement for the sting operation, which he said saved many lives, and the citizen's collaborations The report comes at a time of national grief as the Highland Park, Ill., community is still reeling from the mass shooting that took place during another Fourth of July parade. Six fatal victims were initially reported, but the death toll was raised to 7 on Tuesday. Forty-seven others were injured. The United States has seen 309 mass shootings -- meaning that four or more, excluding the killer, were shot or killed -- so far this year. Eleven alone took place over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. President Joe Biden -- who has been calling for gun reform since the Uvalde shooting on May 24 that claimed 19 lives -- issued a statement on Monday saying 'there was a lot of work to do' to address the devastating mass shooting epidemic. Used cars have exploded in value to the point where some older models are selling for more than it costs to buy them it new. Second-hand vehicles are going for big money right across Australia because of lingering supply chain issues stemming from the Covid crisis making it harder to get new models into the country. Motorists hoping to buy are prepared to pay massive amounts instead of waiting months or even years to get a new car shipped in. Data from Moody's Analytics shows used cars have sold for a 65 per cent higher price tag in the first quarter of 2022 than they did three years ago before the pandemic. But in the last six months prices have shot up 18 per cent as the problem becomes even worse. Used cars have exploded in value to the point where some older models are selling for more than it costs to buy then it new How to cash in on the soaring used car market? Used car sellers are getting unprecedented prices for highly sought after models including Toyota HiLux, Teslas, Landcruisers and many more. James Ward, director of content at Drive, said those looking to switch their car and take advantage of the windfall should remember that you'll also be buying at a higher price for your next car. So it's a good idea to lock in what you want to buy first so your not left short. But he added for those who might have a second or third car their not using, now would be the best opportunity to sell. Advertisement Lloyds Auctions has car yards all over Australia and they are experiencing plenty of second hand buyers out looking to cash in on the phenomenon. 'The reality is, we're selling so many of these cars per week, we actually need more,' Lloyds Auctions head of auction operations, Anthony McLeod told A Current Affair. He said this is mostly due to overseas manufacturers being unable to make new vehicles quick enough as they struggle to secure parts. Current delays are ranging anywhere from six months to two years. 'We think what people are starting to realise it is, 'Ok I can either wait 24 months for a brand new car, or I can have a look at the used car market because there's a lot of great used cars on there that are quite modern',' Mr McLeod said. In recent months, two Teslas at the car yard sold at auction for $73,000, some $5,000 more than they retail for, $68,000. Unique vehicles like the Chevrolet Stingray C8 Corvette is also selling second hand at a significant mark up. Mr McLeod said he recently sold one which retails for $160,000 for $255,000 at auction. At the other end of the scale, Toyota Landcruisers are also in hot demand. In recent months, two Teslas at Lloyds Auctions car yard sold at auction for $73,000, some $5,000 more than they retail for, $68,000 Toyota Landcruisers are also in hot demand with a GXL ute selling for$82,000 - some $8,000 above what it would cost to buy new A GXL ute which had done just 34km recently sold for $82,000 - some $8,000 above what it would cost to buy new. James Ward, director of content at Drive, said the market is going 'bananas' with sellers getting unprecedented prices with some highly sought models appreciating in value. 'In many cases, you're able to sell a car that's 18 months old for basically what you paid for it,' he told 9News. 'Used cars actually going up in value is something we've never, ever seen.' The tradie favourite Toyota Hilux is also demanding a big price tag with Dan Baxter from Ballarat saying he bought one in 2014 and sold it for just $1,500 less in February this year, even with 225,000km on the odometer. The tradies favourite Toyota Hilux is soaring on the used market, selling for almost the same price as a new model Mr Ward said those looking to switch their car and take advantage of the windfall should remember that you'll also be buying at a higher price when you buy your new car. So it's a good idea to lock in what you want to buy first so your not left short. But he added for those who might have a second or third car their not using, now would be the best opportunity to sell. Buyers however, are being warned of scammers who wind back odometers to make it appear as though a car has done less kilometres so they can fraudulently ask an even higher price. Chevrolet Stingray C8 Corvette which retails at $160,000 new, recently sold used at Lloyds Auctions for $255,000 at auction NSW Minister for Fair Trading Eleni Petinos said the incidents of this type of scam are on the rise. 'NSW Fair Trading Investigators dished out $112,200 in fines and 76 penalty notices in 2021 and 2022 a huge jump from 22 total penalties in 2020 - so anyone considering conning a potential buyer by odometer tampering should know that when you are caught, it's going to cost you,' Ms Petinos said. In one example investigators found, a seller shaved off more than 400,000km off a 2012 Subaru XV, reducing the odometer from 470,000km down to 52,709km. The vehicle was then sold for $32,000, an $11,000 increase on the original sale price. Used cars have sold for a 65 per cent higher price tag in the first quarter of 2022 In another example, a 2009 Toyota Hilux was resold for $30,980, more than five fold its sale price of $6,000, after the odometer reading was lowered by about 280,000km. But Ms Petinos said there are ways consumers can protect themselves. 'It is important to see the registration paperwork and proof of ownership of the vehicle, as well as meet the owner and sight their identification,' she said. 'Have the vehicle inspected by a licensed repairer and conduct a Personal Property Securities Register check (PPSR) or buy a vehicle history check.' JK Rowling has congratulated a tax expert who lost out on a job after tweeting about her views on gender after she won on three claims in a fresh employment tribunal . Maya Forstater posted a series of tweets in 2018 opposing UK Government proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow people to identify as the opposite sex, saying 'the truth' is that 'men cannot change into women'. Ms Forstater's visiting fellowship at the Centre for Global Development (CGD) was not renewed in March 2019 following the tweets, and she was not offered an employment contract due to them. The company also later removed her bio from its website. The tribunal heard she posted 'inflammatory and objectionable' tweets over transgender people and opposed Government proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow people to identify as the opposite sex. Ms Forstater said today that her case matters to everyone who 'cares about free speech'. Maya Forstater posted a series of tweets in 2018 opposing UK Government proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow people to identify as the opposite sex The Harry Potter author tweeted her support for Ms Forstater after the ruling was published this morning Harry Potter author JK Rowling tweeted in support of the ruling: 'Every woman who's been harassed, silenced, bullied or lost employment because of her gender critical beliefs is freer and safer today, thanks to the warrior that is @MForstater' Since she began her tribunal fight she has become a famous figure advocating for sex-based, rather than gender-based, rights, and has been supported by Harry Potter author JK Rowling and many of her 61,000 Twitter followers. But leading LGBT+ groups, including those who have previously criticised the Harry Potter author, have expressed disappointment about the fresh ruling. In 2018, she wrote: 'What I am so surprised at is that smart people who I admire ... are tying themselves in knots to avoid saying the truth that men cannot change into women'. Ms Forstater said that 'when men wear make-up, heels, dresses they don't become women' and took swipes at the idea of allowing transgender people into single sex spaces such as changing rooms and prisons. In a judgment handed down on Wednesday, employment judge Andrew Glennie said the 'complaints of direct discrimination because of belief are well founded' over the decision to not offer Ms Forstater a contract or renew a fellowship following her tweets. Judge Glennie added that her complaint that she was victimised after being removed from a company website was also 'well founded'. After the ruling was handed down, the complainant tweeted her delight saying she had won on 'all the important bits'. Ms Forstater previously took her case to an employment tribunal on the grounds that this constituted discrimination against her beliefs. Employment judge James Tayler originally dismissed her claim, but High Court judge Mr Justice Choudhury later ruled that the judgment had 'erred in law' - but made clear the ruling did not mean 'that those with gender-critical beliefs can 'misgender' trans persons with impunity.' Finding in favour of Ms Forstater, Mr Justice Choudhury said her views 'may well be profoundly offensive and even distressing', but said they 'must be tolerated in a pluralist society'. Ms Forstater as received praise and support online from her many fans and followers since the ruling In his judgment, Judge Glennie said Ms Forstater's complaints of direct discrimination of belief, victimisation over a withdrawal of an offer to engage her as a consultant and harassment and indirect discrimination over sex and belief were dismissed. Remedies and any issues will be determined at a future hearing. Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who previously voiced her support for Ms Forstater, tweeted in support of her following the ruling. She said: 'Every woman who's been harassed, silenced, bullied or lost employment because of her gender critical beliefs is freer and safer today, thanks to the warrior that is @MForstater. #SexMatters #IStandWithMaya.' Ms Forstater responded to the author's endorsement saying: 'Now I'm crying...' In a statement published following the judgment, Ms Forstater said her case 'matters for everyone who believes in the importance of truth and free speech'. High Court judge Mr Justice Choudhury previously ruled that the original judgment had 'erred in law' - but made clear the ruling did not mean 'that those with gender-critical beliefs can 'misgender' trans persons with impunity' 'We are all free to believe whatever we wish,' she said. 'What we are not free to do is compel others to believe the same thing, to silence those who disagree with us or to force others to deny reality. 'Human beings cannot change sex. It is not hateful to say that; in fact it is important in order to treat everyone fairly and safely. 'It shouldn't take courage to say this and no-one should lose their job for doing so. 'I am pleased that the tribunal has allowed me to put on record what happened to me at the Centre for Global Development. 'The tribunal has found that I was a victim of discrimination because I stated that biological sex is real and important, a view shared by the vast majority of people in this country. I hope employers will take note of the judgment.' A statement from the Centre for Global Development (CGD) Europe said the think tank's primary aim has 'always been to uphold our values and maintain a workplace that is inclusive to all'. Amanda Glassman, chief executive of CGD Europe and executive vice president of the Centre for Global Development, said: 'We are reviewing today's judgment, which found in favour of Ms Forstater on some claims, and dismissed others. 'CGD's primary aim has always been to uphold our values and maintain a workplace and an environment that is welcoming, safe, and inclusive to all, including trans people. 'As we consider our next steps in this case, CGD remains focused on our mission: reducing global poverty and inequality through economic research that drives better policy and practice by the world's top decision makers.' The police watchdog have said the Metropolitan Police must apologise to the family of a black teenager found dead in Epping Forest after a bungled missing persons operation in which an officer told his mother: 'If you can't find your son, how do you expect us to?' Richard Okorogheye's mother, Evidence Joel, said the apology 'is not accepted'. Her 19-year-old son, who had sickle cell disorder, was found dead in a pond in the Essex district on April 5 last year two weeks after he went missing. An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation found the performance of three police officers and three call handlers was substandard. However no officers will face disciplinary procedures after the watchdog said their actions did not meet the threshold - after the investigation following a complaint from Ms Joel. Richard Okorogheye , 19, went missing from his home in Ladbroke Grove, west London, on March 22. His mother Evidence Joel contacted the police the next day 'In the darkest period of my life, I was dismissed by multiple Metropolitan Police staff at all levels of seniority and my son's disappearance was not taken seriously,' said Evidence Joel (left) on the Met Police's investigation into her missing son Richard Okorogheye (right), 19, who was found dead two weeks after he went missing in Essex In a statement issued through her lawyers, Ms Joel said: 'The IOPC investigation has confirmed what I always knew - in the darkest period of my life, I was dismissed by multiple Metropolitan Police staff at all levels of seniority and my son's disappearance was not taken seriously. 'It is a matter of deep regret to me that despite both the IOPC and Metropolitan Police concluding that the performance of three police officers (including an Inspector) and three call handers fell short of the standard expected, nobody will face misconduct proceedings. 'Therefore the apology is not accepted.' The probe found that Mr Okorogheye should have been classed as a missing person earlier and he was classed as low risk for too long. A call handler also inaccurately recorded his medical condition as anaemia rather than sickle cell anaemia on the initial police report and two others failed to update an inspector about the condition A PC also failed to add concerns about Mr Okorogheye's condition to the missing person's report after it was raised by his GP, assuming this was not new information. Ms Joel accused the Met of racism however the IOPC said the evidence did not show that the delay in upgrading the risk level was due to Mr Okorogheye or Ms Joel's race. Ms Joel also claimed a police officer made a racist comment but the watchdog said that, while it could be considered 'unprofessional', it was unable to say the officer was 'influenced by any bias regarding Richard's ethnicity'. He was last seen on CCTV (pictured) in Loughton, walking alone on Smarts Lane towards Epping Forest at 12.39am on March 23 Mr Okorogheye, who had sickle cell disease, was last seen leaving his home on March 22 but he was not officially recorded as missing until 8am on March 24 IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: 'We found that call handlers did not record or pass on information as they should have done and may have given Ms Joel a false impression about how they were treating her son's disappearance, which can only have increased her frustration and anguish. 'In our view, one officer did make a comment which could be considered unprofessional, and which Ms Joel perceived as racist, at a time when she was clearly distressed. 'After carefully examining the evidence, we found the officer handled this call badly but could not conclude the inappropriate comment was influenced by any bias regarding Richard's ethnicity. 'This does not in any way undermine Ms Joel's experience of this call and perception of racial discrimination.' Mr Naseem added: 'Allegations of discrimination which are not overt are often difficult to prove and finely balanced.' The misconduct probe followed concerns from the teenager's mother Evidence Joel about the police response after Mr Okorogheye (pictured) was reported missing He added: 'The evidence shows Ms Joel did have good reason to believe her concerns were not being taken seriously. She made multiple phone calls to police and concerns she raised about his condition were initially either mis-recorded or underestimated. 'This can only have heightened Ms Joel's perception of prejudice, as sickle cell anaemia is particularly common in people with an African or Caribbean family background. 'While officers are not expected to have a specific level of medical knowledge, it does make it vital that concerns raised by family members or medical professionals are given proper consideration, which did not happen in Richard's case.' He went on: 'Clearly there were deficiencies in the way the MPS responded and we welcome their decision to apologise to Richard's family, following our recommendation to do so. 'As part of our investigation, we have identified potential improvements in the handling of missing person reports, including better support for people facing a similar situation to Ms Joel. We will now be raising this with the MPS.' Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bas Javid apologised for the 'substandard level of service' offered by the force Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bas Javid said: 'Our thoughts remain with Richard's family and I would like to apologise for the distress caused by the substandard level of service, as highlighted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. 'It is clear the service we provided in the days following Richard's disappearance was not at a level the public would expect of us, which included Richard not being classified as a missing person; his risk not being upgraded sooner; the communications with his mother not being as informative and precise as they could have been and, regrettably, an insensitive and inappropriate comment made by one of our officers. We will address these issues directly with the officers and staff involved through additional enhanced training. 'We recognise how worrying it must be to not know where a loved one is and we are challenging ourselves to do better at responding when someone does report a missing person. 'To help us improve we are working with partners, such as the charity Missing People, to understand and learn from the experiences of different communities across London. 'We are also introducing a new way to assess all the missing person reports we receive every day.' London Mayor Sadiq Khan welcomed the IOPC's findings A spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the mayor welcomed the IOPC's findings. A spokesman for Mr Khan said: 'The mayor's thoughts are with Richard's family at this difficult time and he welcomes the IOPC report into the Met's handling of this case. 'It's clear that the service provided by the Met to Richard's family in the days following his disappearance fell short of the standards expected. 'It's right therefore that the Met Police have apologised unreservedly and the officers and staff involved will receive enhanced training. 'The mayor will hold the Met to account on addressing all the issues raised by the IOPC report to ensure the same failings are not repeated.' Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell got into a public spat with a podcaster who he claimed 'sided' with the mass shooter from Highland Park because he questioned if he is actually a Trump supporter. Bradley Laborman, a filmmaker and podcast host who is a Republican, said that if he were pictured at an event he wouldn't want to be associated with its cause. He was making reference to the pictures that emerged of the Highland Park shooter at Donald Trump rallies suggesting that maybe he isn't a supporter of the former president. Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III, 21, has been charged with seven counts of murder and he is expected to appear in court on Wednesday. The rapper, who goes by 'Awake', has more than 16,000 listeners per month on Spotify. The gunman opened fire at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park on Monday, a wealthy suburb of Chicago, killing six people and injuring two dozen. 'When you tweet out the #HighlandPark shooter wasn't actually a Trump supporter and then try and slide into my DMs to see if I'll agree with youthis is what you get,' the California Democratic congressman tweeted. Along with the post, Swalwell included an image of a direct message with Laborman where the podcaster asked the lawmaker to apologize for his comments. 'Crimo III was a 22 yr old Trump supporter who was able to legally purchase deadly military-style weapons without background checks because that is what Pro-Killer Republicans in Congress have allowed him to do,' Swalwell tweeted earlier about the shooter. In response to Laborman, Swalwell said: 'F*** you. You're siding with a mass shooter.' 'There's my apology,' he wrote in a second message to Laborman. Representative Eric Swalwell accused a Republican podcaster and filmmaker of 'siding' with the Highland Park mass shooter after Bradley Laborman questioned whether he is actually a Trump supporter Laborman posted a series of tweets asking people not to associate him with certain events and movements if pictures ever emerge of him seeming to be at specific places Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III, 21, has been charged with seven counts of murder and is expected to appear in court on Wednesday. The shooter is shown from a Facebook picture wearing a Trump MAGA flag around his neck The rapper, who goes by 'Awake', has attended multiple Trump rallies in the past. Pictured: Crimo dressed as Where's Waldo at a Trump rally Laborman tweeted on his page in response to Swalwell sharing the private messages publicly: 'Hey @RepSwalwell, it's all good. You misunderstood my question and were used to people attacking you so you were on the defensive.' 'Again, try to clean up the homeless problems and focus on your state issues more!' the podcaster added. 'I just heard the bad news, so I will back off. It gets better!' In a follow-up tweeted, he wrote: 'Really unfortunate news about @RepSwalwell, again sorry!' In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Laborman listed places where he may have been pictured but does not mean that he supports whatever event he was attending, which led Swalwell to accuse him of being a sympathizer with the Highland shooter. 'I once went to a @BernieSanders rally in 2015 in #LIC to troll #BernieBros,' Laborman revealed on Twitter. 'Please, if something happens to me, nobody post a picture of me there and claim I was a Bernie Supporter.' Swalwell referenced Crimo being a Trump supporter on Twitter and accused 'pro-killer Republican in Congress' of allowing the tragedy to happen by not passing more gun reform legislation Laborman asked for an apology from the California Democratic congressman before Swalwell accused him of siding with the shooter. The pdocaster went on Twitter to defend himself He said that Swalwell misunderstood his question on whether there was real proof that the shooter is a Trump supporter 'I once hung out at #OccupyWallstreet for 2 days to shoot a video where I was trolling members of #OWS... please if something happens to me, do not take that footage and claim that I was a member of #OWS,' he wrote in another tweet. In a third he posted: 'I once shot a video where I infiltrated a rally for #WestboroBaptistChurch when they were protesting the #LaramieProject... I was making a videe (sic) showing how stupid they were... please if something happens to me, do not take that footage and claim that I was a member of #wbc'. Laborman said people listening to Swalwell would be 'disappointed' to find that he is not actually 'some sort of like conspiracy theorist'. 'You got lied to,' he said. Laborman posted a statement on the back-and-forth with Swalwell and the accusations that he someone is sympathizing or siding with the shooter who left six dead and two dozen injured after opening fire on an Independence Day parade on Monday Laborman's statement demanded Swalwell retract his accusation Firebrand Republican Representative Lauren Boebert also got in a public back-and-forth with Swalwell on Twitter Tuesday after he seemed to blame her and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for the Independence Day mass shooting in Illinois. Just a day later after the shooting, Swalwell took to social media with side-by-side photos of Boebert holding an assault rifle and an image of the shooter. 'Let's start drawing straight lines,' he wrote. The California lawmaker followed up with a screenshot from one of Greene's campaign ads that shows the Georgia Republican crouched in firing position behind a rifle and text that reads: 'In 2022 I'm going to blow away the Democrats' socialist agenda.' 'How did I forget about this other straight line?' Swalwell quipped. A short while later Boebert shared Swalwell's attack with her own image comparison of Swalwell next to a suspected Chinese spy and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with blue lines drawn between the photos to connect them. She responded to his call to draw 'straight lines' with, 'Yes, let's. How's Fang Fang these days?' When going head-to-head with Swalwell, Boebert often references the report that he was targeted by a Chinese spy during his early years in local elected office. Reps Lauren Boebert and Eric Swalwell are known for being particularly outspoken on Twitter Swalwell suggested Boebert's rhetoric was linked to the mass shooting in Illinois on Tuesday In a follow-up, he also called out outspoken Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene The California congressman was reportedly one of several politicians targeted by a Chinese national named Fang Fang, who helped Swalwell fundraise for his 2014 campaign. Axios first broke the story in 2020. Swalwell, who sits on the powerful House Intelligence Committee, cut all ties with Fang in 2015 after being alerted by federal investigators. Boebert also referenced his short-lived 2020 presidential bid in another jab at the progressive congressman. 'Trying to link responsible gun ownership with murder makes less sense than [Eric Swalwell's' Presidential Campaign,' the Colorado Republican wrote. She followed up later more pointedly stating her insinuations against Swalwell and demanding that other Democrat condemn him. 'Democrats love to talk about dangerous rhetoric. Swalwell is a Russia Hoax conspirator and failed presidential candidate that slept with a Chinese spy,' Boebert said. 'Now he's comparing me to a deranged murderer. When will Democrats condemn HIS dangerous rhetoric?' Greene has yet to publicly respond to Swalwell calling her out, but the far-right lawmaker has made multiple outlandish statements about the case of the deadly shooting in its aftermath. Boebert's response included images of Swalwell, Fang Fang and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Blue lines are drawn to bridge the photos She blamed the massacre on the influence of psychiatrically-prescribed drugs rather than a lack of proper firearm regulation. 'What drugs and/or psychiatric drugs was he on for his mind to be ruined in alternate reality games that caused him to commit a mass shooting?' Greene wrote on Twitter. 'His parents know. The police know. School, arrest, hospital records? The public DESERVES to know.' She claimed the Illinois city's assault weapons ban and other strict gun control measures failed to stop the Monday shooting from taking place. 'Red flag gun laws and some of the most strict gun control laws in the country did NOT prevent the Highland Park shooting because they already had them on the books. Nor do these strict gun control laws prevent shootings and murder in Chicago every single weekend,' Greene wrote. She was called out by fellow House Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger for a similar rant on Monday night blaming 'mental illness' and 'SSRIs' for the shooting and shunning all criticism as 'covering for Big Pharma.' 'Instead of having an ounce of compassion, it's cold hearted insanity,' Kinzinger wrote on Twitter, accusing her of being part of an 'evil movement.' A giant swastika has been uncovered mowed into a field near Berlin. The Nazi symbol, which is banned under German law, was spotted by an eagle-eyed journalist who happened to be flying over Brandenburg state on Tuesday. Julian Ropcke, who edits the policy desk for tabloid Bild, posted images of the field to Twitter - alerting police who are now investigating. Police are investigating after this giant swastika was discovered mowed into a field in Brandenburg state, near Berlin, on Tuesday Mr Ropcke said officers went to the area on Tuesday evening and found the field, but the swastika was gone. The owner of the field admitted it had been recently mowed and is now being investigated for breaking German law on banned political symbols. Mr Ropcke wrote: 'Apparently, because of these tweets, there is now one less 20m swastika less in the world. 'The fact that it had already disappeared when the police arrived last night probably speaks against the thesis that someone just mowed badly here. 'In the meantime, criminal proceedings have been initiated under Section 86 A of the Criminal Code.' Julian Ropcke, an editor for German tabloid Bild, noticed the banned Nazi symbol when he happened to be flying overhead on Tuesday Section 86a bans the 'use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations' outside of 'art or science, research or teaching'. While no official list of 'unconstitutional organizations' exists, the law has mainly been used to outlaw Nazi, Communist, or Islamic extremist flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans or greetings. The law was first adopted during the Cold War, when it was mostly used against German Communist parties. It has since been extensively used to prohibit Nazi symbols, and in more recent times was adopted against fundamentalist Islamist groups. A one-off recording created last year of Bob Dylans 'Blowin in the Wind' is being put up for auction for an estimated 1 million. Originally written in 1962, the new version features a full band which played alongside Dylan as he sang, and is the first new studio recording of the song since its original release. The one-off Dylan record was recorded by Grammy award winner T Bone Burnett in just one take, and features the new track. A one-off recording created last year of Bob Dylans 'Blowin in the Wind' is being put up for auction for an estimated 1 million 'It felt holy,' he told the BBC. 'It always feels holy for me, playing with Bob.' The record, which is the only one of its kind, is being viewed as the 'equivalent of an oil painting', Burnett said. 'I don't know what an original recording of Bob Dylan singing one of the most important songs of the last century is [worth] today, but I know it's not $0.001 divided by 5 billion, which is the reality that musicians face now,' he added. It has an estimated sale price between 600,000 and 1 million, but this may be on the conservative side. The original protest song 'Blowin in the Wind' featured on Dylans 1963 album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan. The record (pictured) has an estimated sale price between 600,000 and 1 million, but this may be on the conservative side Peter Klarnet, Christie's senior specialist in Americana, said nothing of its kind has been sold before, with the closes example the Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, by the Wu-Tang Clan, when a single CD copy was created in 2015. While it was sold for an undisclosed sum to hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli, it was resold for a reported $4 million by the US Department of Justice when Shkreli was convicted of fraud. The Dylan record is made from an aluminium disk with a protective lacquer made from a combination of sapphire and quartz. It uses the same technology as test pressings, also known as acetates, which musicians often say sound better than vinyl. Originally written and released in 1962, the new version features a full band which played alongside Dylan as he sang. Pictured, Bob Dylan recording his first album in 1961 However they have a shorter lifespan, as the needle pushing into the grooves melts the usual lacquer. The new type of record, known as Ionic Original, was developed using Space Station technology, removing enough friction to stop the acetate degrading. It can be played on a normal turntable and was described as the 'pinnacle of sound' by Burnett. The auction will be held at Christie's in London and the record is available to listen to on a 30,000 record player until it goes up for sale. The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called efforts to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons a "collective failure" of international safeguards and warned that Pyongyang could detonate a nuke one of these days. In a lecture at Australian National University in Canberra on Tuesday, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said, "Up until 2006, North Korea did not have nuclear weapons." He added, "A number of initiatives ... failed. And as a consequence of that, in 2006 [there was] the first nuclear weapon test, to be followed by five more." Grossi pointed to the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework as an effort that failed to prevent Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons. The Yongbyon nuclear reactor in North Korea had its operations suspended as part of that deal, which also included two civilian light water reactors, fuel oil, and security assurances, according to a report from UPI. The agreement, however, fell through in 2002. Later six-party negotiations with China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Russia, and the US ultimately failed as well. Expert Warns Pyongyang Now Has a Massive Nuclear Arsenal The IAEA head claimed North Korea now has a "considerable nuclear arsenal" and that its next nuclear test "could take place any day." Hence, Grossi termed the attempts to stop Pyongyang's nuclear program "a big collective failure." He claimed that "satellite imagery" shows that North Korea is "preparing for [a test]." Since 2009, the UN monitoring organization has not directly accessed North Korea. Read Also: Boris Johnson Faces Both PM's Questions, Parliamentary Liaison Committee After 2 Cabinet Members Dramatically Resign In September 2017, Pyongyang conducted its most recent nuclear test by detonating a weapon estimated to have a strength of 140 to 250 kilotons, at least 10 times more destructive than the atomic bomb the United States unleashed on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. In March, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, breaching a self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear testing. Several weeks have passed since Seoul and Washington officials first expressed concern that the North may be about to launch a nuclear blast. The US Is Ready To Respond The IAEA chief's statements come a few days after North Korea lambasted the US, South Korea, and Japan for boosting their trilateral military cooperation against Pyongyang and warned about bolstering its military force "to actively cope with the rapid aggravation of the security environment of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the world." As per a report from The Guardian, one spokesperson of the North Korean foreign ministry remarked that the actions of the three nations "clearly shows that the real purpose of the US spreading the rumor about 'threat from North Korea' is to provide an excuse for attaining military supremacy over the Asia-Pacific region." North Korea has long cited the US and its allies' alleged hostility as justification for pursuing a nuclear program. Last month, per Al Jazeera, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman warned if North Korea pursues conducting a nuclear test, it would be met with a "forceful" response from the US, South Korea, and the rest of the world. After a meeting in Seoul with her South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun-dong, Sherman told the media: "Any nuclear test would be in complete violation of UN Security Council resolutions [and] there would be a swift and forceful response to such a test." "The entire world will respond in a strong and clear manner. We are prepared," she noted. Related Article: NATO Countries Sign 'Historic' Accession Protocols for Sweden, Finland as They Move a Step Closer To Alliance Membership @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A group of British expats have compiled a list of the things they hate about Australia - but admit there are some perks of living Down Under. Members of the Facebook group 'Ping Pong Brits' shared their pros and cons after travelling some 17,000km to forge a new life in Australia. In many instances, the perceived cons outweighed the pros, with homesick Brits admitting they will always feel 'foreign' no matter how much time has passed. One expat joked that no matter how much research is done about living Down Under, the country 'is not like they say in the brochures'. She complained of boring pubs, expensive international flights and 'cold' houses but praised Australia's coffee, picturesque beaches and laidback lifestyle. A group of British expats have compiled a list of the things they hate about Australia - but admit there are some perks of living Down Under (pictured, beach-goers in Bondi) Members of the Facebook group 'Ping Pong Brits' shared their pros and cons of the 'lucky country' after travelling some 17,000 kms to forge a new life (pictured, Sydneysiders) Pros and cons of living in Australia PROS: Laid back Affordable childcare Better work life balance Higher salary Bigger houses Beaches Coffee Summer weather Free outdoor activities Great beaches Good wages Large houses Good coffee More space Good for retirement Wide open spaces and endless blue skies Showers that actually pump water at a decent rate CONS: Distance to events Expensive flights to anywhere Lack of quality pubs Christmas in the heat is weird Driving is appalling: No roads manners (a little wave to say thank you is considered polite, rather than staring at you like you're an alien) Always referred to as a Pom Cold houses as no double glazing and decent insulation Rules, regulations and high levies (aka taxes) Nanny country which stifles you Flies High UV Extreme weather Will say G'day but won't wanna be friends Will always feel foreign no matter how long you live in OZ Advertisement The woman said when travelling overseas 'you're flying over Australia for a long time' and didn't mince her words when she slammed her adopted home for its lack of 'quality pubs'. Also on her cons list was that 'Christmas in the heat is weird'. She described Australian homes as cold due to a lack of double glazing and proper insulation and bemoaned inferior retail stores, high taxes and 'rules'. Some of the more positive things are the 'laidback' lifestyle, affordable childcare, better work-life balance, higher salaries, bigger houses and unsurprisingly the beaches. The woman praised Australia's world-renowned coffee, the balmy summer weather and being able to participate in 'free outdoor activities'. Another expat shared his pros and cons of living Down Under, also lauding Australia's beaches, good coffee and retirement value. In many instances, the perceived cons about Australia outweighed the pros, with some homesick Brits admitting they will always feel 'foreign' (pictured, swimmers in Bondi) A British expat has complained of Australia's lack of 'quality pubs' (pictured, diners in Sydney) Many homesick Brits said they missed enjoying a cold Christmas (pictured, tourists in London) Members of the Facebook group posted their pros and cons about living in Australia However he said a major drawback was always being referred to as a 'Pom' - on top of the flies, high UV index and the 'extreme weather'. The expat claimed that despite Aussies saying 'G'day' they 'won't wanna be friends' and said living in a nanny state 'stifles you'. Brits use the term nanny state to describe a country with a government that overly intervenes with its citizens personal choice or freedoms. Other group members were quick to share their own pros and cons with one Brit admitting they had felt 'grateful' to return to Australia after a trip to the UK. 'I live on acreage in South East Queensland it's heaven, get the four seasons here but our winter is the same temperatures as English Summer,' they wrote. They said after 35 years in Australia they still missed having a cold Christmas but remained in touch with friends back in the UK who kept them in the loop. Australia's world-renowned coffee, the balmy summer weather and being able to participate in free outdoor activities has been praised by a British expat (pictured, Sydney's Opera House) Other group members were quick to share their own pros and cons with one Brit admitting they had been 'grateful' to return to Australia after a trip home (pictured, swimmers at Bondi) 'I waiver at times to 'go home' but lived here longer than 'there',' they wrote. 'I miss the English sense of humour and directness but I'm happy enough. Went back four years ago to visit family and was glad to come back to my life in Oz.' Another said they liked the 'peace and quiet, wide open spaces and endless blue skies' that could be enjoyed on their property located 60km from the closest city. The expat said they valued Australia's diversity, the lower number of students in classrooms and how everybody was treated as equals. 'I waiver at times to 'go home' but lived here longer than 'there',' one British expat explained (pictured, a woman poses in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge) Another expat hey liked the 'peace and quiet, wide open spaces and endless blue skies' on their acre block located 60km from the closest city (pictured, Sydney's Bondi Beach) 'I find money can go a long way when buying food, I only buy what I need, make as much as I can and grow a lot too,' they explained. 'We're lucky, we live on an acre block with sheep over the fence for neighbours, 14km to my nearest shop (tiny supermarket), 60km to bigger cities/towns and we keep chickens for eggs.' The expat said could probably live the same lifestyle in the UK but now had three generations of their family living Down Under. 'You've just got to find your happy place in the world,' the post continued. 'Family was a big pull when we first arrived in Oz, but both sets of parents are no longer alive. Now have our seven grown up kids and 16 grandkids and our Australian family is really well and truely established now.' Two teenagers in a vehicle packed with migrants were apprehended after a high speed chase in Texas on Monday. A 16-year-old boy was driving a stolen Ford F 150 pickup on Texas Highway 97 and refused to stop when he was instructed to do so by U.S. Border Patrol agents and LaSalle County deputies, Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward said. The teen sped towards Charlotte where Atascosa County deputies joined in on the chase as the boy led them through four different roads. It comes after 53 people died in the back of a tractor-trailer in another smuggling operation last week. Two teens were apprehended by Atascosa County deputies in Texas on Monday after they led Border Patrol agents and deputies from two counties on a wild high speed chase after they were ordered to stop the stolen pickup truck they were driving while smuggling 16 migrants One of the two teens arrested for smuggling 16 undocumented migrants in Texas on Monday. He and another suspect were charged with human smuggling and evading arrest The Ford F 150 pickup truck has been previously reported stolen before Texas authorities recovered it Monday during a smuggling incident involving two teenagers, including a 16-year-old boy who drove the vehicle that was packed with 16 undocumented migrants At one point, he stopped on a road in Jourdanton, where 15 migrants hopped out of the pickup truck and were promptly arrested by Border Patrol agents. The teen got back on Texas Highway 97 into Pleasanton and later crashed through a private property. He continued driving into County Road 423 where deputies were waiting to apprehend him. He dropped off a female migrant and kept driving north on US Highway 281 and then east onTexas Highway 97 before he crashed through a fence and wound up inside a private property. The teenager was taken into custody, but a 17-year-old boy jumped out of the vehicle's front passenger seat and ran into a oil company yard where he was eventually arrested. The 17-year-old was booked into the Atascosa County Jail while the 16-year-old driver was taken to the Atascosa County Juvenile Detention Center. Soward said both teens have been charged with human smuggling and evading arrest. It's unknown if the two boys are citizens of the United States. Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, drove the tractor trailer that was crammed with Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran and Honduran migrants before he abandoned it near San Antonio on June 27. A total of 53 migrants were found dead or dying The driver who abandoned the tractor trailer in the sweltering Texas heat, that left 53 migrants dead, was 'very high on meth' when police arrested him The incident came a week after deaths of 53 migrants who were found abandoned inside a tractor trailer near San Antonio. According to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office, 22 of the dead were from Mexico, 19 were from Guatemala and six were from Honduras. Authorities have yet to identify six of the victims who were found dead or dying inside the container that was located near the side of a road on June 27. Among the dead were Wilmer Tulul and Pascual Guachiac, 13-year-old cousins from Guatemala, and two 16-year-olds from Mexico, the medical examiner's office said. Homero Zamorano, 45, who was driving the truck carrying 73 people, was slated to appear in a federal court Wednesday for a detention hearing. Three other people have been arrested in connection with the smuggling incident, the worst in U.S. history. A New York judge has ordered the real estate firm of Cushman & Wakefield to pay $10,000 a day until it turns over documents related to a probe of whether the Trump organization inflated real estate valuations for financial purposes. Judge Arthur Engoron slapped the company with the contempt finding that says the court was 'incredulous' the firm didn't seek an extension until after a court-imposed deadline had passed. The fines take effect July 7th and accrue daily, after Judge Engoron found the company had engaged in 'willful 'non-compliance' and has 'only itself to blame if it chose to treat the looming [document] deadlines cavalierly' after it blew through a June 29 deadline. A New York judge has ordered Cushman & Wakefield to hand over information on property valuations or face fines. The firm provided assessments for Trump Organization properties that state AG Letitia James says were inflated. Pictured is Trump's Seven Springs estate in Bedrod, New York New York Attorney General Letitia James had subpoenaed the documents back in September 2021 and again in February of 2022, in a probe of whether the former president's company boosted the value of its real estate holdings when seeking financing, then low-balled values at tax time. Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the probe a witch hunt. The judge said in his order he was 'is incredulous as to why Cushman & Wakefield would wait until two days after the court-ordered deadline had lapsed to initiate the process of asking for yet another extension.' James said the company turned in higher valuations when seeking financing Trump has repeatedly attacked AG James and called her probe a witch hunt The judge's order imposes fines of $10,000 per day The order said the court was 'incredulous' at the company's response The firm's latest motion 'fails to identify any good cause for filing its motion after its time to comply had already lapsed.' Its motion also fails on the merits, the judge said, and the firm failed to demonstrate 'good cause' citing case law that a litigant 'cannot ignore court orders with impunity,' even while acknowledging the subpoenas cover an 'enormous number of documents.' The subpoena covers not just Trump properties but 'comps,' so that the court can try to discern how it stacks up against other properties. The trial continues to progress, even as Trump signals he could make an early announcement on a potential presidential 2024 campaign. The case has also featured a subpoena battle over the president's children Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. over their testimony. Both are scheduled to testify later this month. Eric Trump gave a deposition in January, and according to James' office invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 500 times. There is 'significant evidence' the Trump Organization relied on misleading financial statements to 'secure economic benefits' like tax breaks and loans James' office said in March. Vladimir Putin has staged nuclear drills with his road-launched intercontinental Yars missiles in a forest in western Siberia. The 7,500-mile range of the missiles means they would be capable of striking Britain or anywhere in Europe. The test come just hours after Russia's former president and current head of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, issued the Kremlin's nuclear threat, warning of of the end of the 'existence of mankind' if Moscow is punished for war crimes. Vladimir Putin has staged nuclear drills with his road-launched intercontinental Yars missiles in a forest in western Siberia The 7,500 mile range of the missiles means they would be capable of striking Britain or anywhere in Europe Putin put his nuclear forces on alert earlier in the war with Ukraine and regular drills continue to be held A statement from the Russian defence ministry said today: 'Over 100 pieces of hardware are taking part in the exercise. 'Launch vehicles of the Yars road-mobile missile systems of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces' Novosibirsk Missile Formation have trained redeployment during a scheduled drill. 'While performing their manoeuvres, missile units and detachments dispersed in a forest to increase concealment.' They trained in killing mock saboteurs, reconnoitring the launch area, and in passing through 'contaminated' areas, said the defence ministry. Putin put his nuclear forces on alert earlier in the war with Ukraine and regular drills continue to be held. Russia has not abated in its nuclear sabre-rattling, with Putin's allies regularly threatening the West with annihilation A statement from the Russian defence ministry said today: 'Over 100 pieces of hardware are taking part in the exercise' Medvedev today warned the International Criminal Court (ICC) should refrain from attempting 'legally void' actions against Russia Russia has not abated in its nuclear sabre-rattling, with Putin's allies regularly threatening the West with annihilation. Medvedev today warned the International Criminal Court (ICC) should refrain from attempting 'legally void' actions against Russia. The savage invasion of Ukraine continues to leave behind a litany of alleged war crimes, including the repeated shelling of civilians, accounts of rape and torture, summary executions and use of banned cluster munitions. Medvedev, who was Putin's stand-in president between 2008 and 2012, said on Telegram today: 'The idea of punishing the country that has the largest nuclear potential is absurd in itself. And potentially threatens the existence of mankind.' He then accuses the US of trying to 'sow chaos and destruction' through the ICC, branding the Western superpower a 'daredevil or an idiot'. Russia's ex-president Dmitry Medvedev has warned of the end of the 'existence of mankind' if Moscow is punished for war crimes In April, Russia test launched its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile in a show of nuclear strength The Kremlin insider said: 'All American history, from the time of the conquest of the Indians, is a bloody war of annihilation. And we are talking about the most brutal extermination of the civilian population. 'It has become a signature style of American politics, whoever is in power there. During World War II, the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in this way - only to justify the huge expenses for the nuclear 'Manhattan Project'. 'Vietnam and Korea, Yugoslavia and Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan and Syria are well aware of how disastrous the consequences of such invasions are - the list is long, and constantly updated. 'America has killed more than 20million people in 37 countries since the end of World War II, according to a study published in Global Research.' A Ukrainian serviceman inspects the ruins of Lyceum building destroyed in a Russian missile strike near Kharkiv today He accused the United States of wanting to put Moscow in front of international tribunals, while itself never facing punishment for its own wars. Medvedev continued: 'The number of victims of the criminal policy of the United States today is comparable to the victims of the Nazi regime. 'So who's going to give us a show trial? Those who kill people and commit war crimes with impunity, but do not meet real condemnation in the international structures financed by them? Those who so firmly believed in their exclusivity and impunity? Those who believe they have the right to judge others, but be beyond the jurisdiction of any court? 'With Russia, this will not work. They understand this very well. Therefore, the filthy dogs of war stop by with their disgusting bark. A view of a damaged building in Mykolaiv as Russia continues to shell residential buildings across the country 'But the United States and their useless mongrels should remember the words of Scripture: 'Judge not, lest you be judged; So that one day 'the great day of His wrath will not come to their house, and who can stand?'' Since Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, Medvedev has regularly taken to social media to lash out at the West and those critical of Moscow. Last month, he called those who 'hate' Russia, 'degenerates' and vowed to work to 'make them disappear.' He also warned any encroachment on the Crimea peninsula by a NATO member-state could amount to a declaration of war which could lead to 'World War Three'. Medvedev said that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, Russia would be ready for 'retaliatory steps' - and that could include installing Iskander hypersonic missiles 'on their threshold'. The International Criminal Court's Assembly of States Parties held in The Hague is pictured, where Britain is sending a police officer and seven lawyers to The Hague to help support investigations into war crimes in Ukraine 'For us, Crimea is a part of Russia. And that means forever. Any attempt to encroach on Crimea is a declaration of war against our country,' Medvedev told the news website Argumenty i Fakty. 'And if this is done by a NATO member-state, this means conflict with the entire North Atlantic alliance; a World War Three. A complete catastrophe.' Britain is sending a police officer and seven lawyers to The Hague to help support investigations into war crimes at the International Criminal Court. The UK and Norway will also deliver 'war crimes investigation training' to Ukrainian police. And officers from Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Unit are assisting with 'forensic and technical capabilities, such as biometrics and examination of digital devices'. Fourth of July celebrations in Minneapolis, Minn., were marked by violence and mayhem as cars driving downtown shot fireworks at bystanders and first responders. Shocking video shows fireworks being launched at residential buildings and people running for shelter as vehicles sped off through main avenues in the Twin Cities' Mill District. At least 10 people were injured, CBS reported. Desperate residents decried the violence while local politicians called for the city to bring in the National Guard to help deal with the chaos. 'It built into quite a chaotic scene with fast and furious donuts in the street, cars going in excess of 60 miles per hour,' a downtown resident, Mike, told CBS. The severely understaffed Minneapolis Police Department addressed the incidents in a Tuesday press conference, with Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman saying roughly 13,000 911 calls were received in a 13-hour period on Monday, the average for an entire day. The department currently staffs around 580 officers, 150 fewer than the required minimum; 80 officers were working on Monday, the general amount for a normal day. Huffman said MPD did not foresee the disruptions that would unfold. Elsewhere in the city, at least nine people were shot and one individual was stabbed. In addition to holiday-related disturbances, the department also responded to mounting calls of fights, overdoses and medical emergencies, authorities said. Shocking video shows fireworks being launched at residential buildings and people running for shelter as vehicles sped off through main avenues in Minneapolis' Mill District Shortly after 1 a.m., all squads had responded to the area to remove people shooting commercial fireworks at first responders Interim MPD Chief Amelia Huffman said roughly 13,000 911 calls were received in a 13-hour period Monday, the average for an entire day. The department currently staffs around 580 officers, 150 fewer than the required minimum Minneapolis resident Troy Austin said he had planned to enjoy the fireworks in the Mill District but had to cut the viewing short when 'fireworks meant to explode way up in the air were exploding a few feet from [him]. 'I wanted to see some fireworks, but not get blown up! If you saw sparks near you or kids running, you needed [to] move quick fast in a hurry,' he wrote on a Facebook post. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Tuesday that officers spent the night dealing with a 'substantial case of whack-a-mole' across the city. 'This kind of garbage cannot be tolerated in this city,' Frey said. 'This is on all of us to do right by our city, and part of doing right by our city is holding each other accountable. That means holding us accountable here. 'It also means whether they are doing shootings or blasting out fireworks in a residential area, they need to be held accountable too,' he added. Frey called the attacks a 'recklessness and callous disregard for residents in our city,' and said they had 'put a damper on a weekend that should otherwise be celebrated.' City Council Member Michael Rainville said the National Guard should be called in while MPD addresses its staffing issues. Frey's office said the city will not resort to that at the moment. Deputy Chief of Patrol Erik Fors said the lawlessness started around 10:00 p.m. in Stone Arch Bridge, where squads responded to reports of fireworks being fired at a large gathering Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Tuesday that officers spent the night dealing with a 'substantial case of whack-a-mole' across the city Police said large unplanned gatherings in unsanctioned areas led to violence. Despite assistance from Park officers and University of Minnesota officers, residents calling 911 reported delays in response. Deputy Chief of Patrol Erik Fors said the lawlessness started around 10:00 p.m. in Stone Arch Bridge, where squads responded to reports of fireworks being fired at a large gathering. Fifteen minutes later several units were moved to Mills Ruin Park as people on foot launched fireworks at bystanders. Around 10:20 p.m., two people were shot 'elsewhere in the city' and seven squads responded to the scene, Fors said. Eleven MPD and nine Park PD squads were then sent to a 'very serious life safety event, where seven people had been shot. A stabbing was also reported in Chicago Ave and Lake Street. Eighty officers were working on Monday, the normal amount for a typical day. The department currently staffs 150 fewer officers than the minimum required Many of the attacks are already under investigation but the department will not disclose further details at the moment, authorities said More troublemakers launched fireworks at residential buildings in the Mill District; shortly after 1 a.m., all squads responded to the area to remove the flamethrowers. Despite the many incidents, MPD made only one arrest, after a police officer sustained minor injuries, Fors said. Fors added that many of the attacks are already under investigation but the department will not disclose further details at the moment. DailyMail.com has reached out to the department for comment. The daughter of a Highland Park shooting victim has described the horrific moment her mother was shot in the chest, and then fell down dead beside her - but she was forced to continue running because the gunman was still firing shots in her direction. Cassie Goldstein, 22, was watching the Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb with her mother, Katherine Goldstein, 64, when police said gunman Robert Crimo, 21, fired into the crowd. 'I was standing there with my mom, and I heard what I thought were firecrackers firing into the street across from me,' Cassie told NBC Nightly News . 'And then I looked up and I saw the shooter shooting down at the kids.' Cassie broke down as she described how her mother was struck by a bullet as they both tried to run for cover. 'He shot her in the chest, and she fell down. And I knew she was dead,' Cassie said. 'So I just told her that I loved her, but I couldn't stop because he was still shooting everyone next to me.' Katherine was among the eight people killed in the massacre. Among them, were parents of a two-year-old boy now left orphaned. Crimo appeared in court on Wednesday, where he was denied bond as he faces life in prison over the deadly shooting. Cassie Goldstein, 22, wept (above) as she recalled the moment her mother, Katherine, 64, was killed dead by accused Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo, 21 Katherine, left, was among eight people killed following Monday's July 4 massacre in Highland Park, Illinois. She is pictured with her daughter at a graduation ceremony Robert 'Bobby' Crimo, 21, is expressionless in the photos that emerged on Wednesday morning. He is wearing a black t-shirt with his dark hair draped over one of his eyes. His cheek and neck tattoos are on full display Crimo, pictured attending court virtually on Wednesday, had his bond denied and will remain in custody until his next court date on July 25 Cassie said the shooting was traumatizing as she could do nothing to help her mother as Crimo fired more than 70 rounds from atop a local store at the parade attendees. 'I just kept running, and I hid behind a trash can,' Cassie told NBC. When the shooting finally stopped, as police allege Crimo ditched his weapon and blended into the terrified crowd, Cassie went back to her mother and wept. 'She was just a good mom, and I got 22 years with her,' Cassie said. 'I got to have 22 years with the best mom in the world... I did everything with her. She was my best friend.' Katherine's husband told NBC: 'She was really selfless, and seemingly always upbeat. She touched so many people in a positive way.' Along with Katherine, the victims include Stephen Straus, 88; Jacki Sundheim, 63; Nicholas Toledo Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, and husband and wife Irina and Kevin McCarthy, 35 and 37. One of the victims has not yet been identified. The McCarthys leave behind a two-year-old son, Aiden, who was found underneath his father's body and wandering alone in the aftermath of the shooting. Sundheim, a longtime teacher at the North Shore Congregation Israel synagogue, was shot and while attending the parade with her family, the synagogue announced in an email to congregants Monday night. Toledo Zaragoza was a beloved grandfather from Mexico. His family said he was shot in the head as he sat in his wheelchair, his blood splattering on them. An estimated 46 additional people were reported injured in the mass shooting. Steve Straus, 88 (right) was among the eight people who were killed during the Highland Park Fourth of July parade massacre Irina and Kevin McCarthy, 35 and 37, were both killed in the massacre. Their two-year-old son, Aiden, was found wandering alone in the aftermath of the shooting Nicolas Toledo, 76, (left) beloved grandfather from Mexico, Jacki Sundheim (right), a longtime teacher at the North Shore Congregation Israel synagogue, were also killed The gunman opened fire at 10.14am on Monday, barely 15 minutes into the parade. He then fled the scene and hid throughout the day before eventually being arrested at 6.30pm in Lake Forrest, eight miles north of where the massacre unfolded Robert 'Bobby' Crimo, 21, is facing seven counts of first degree murder following the July fourth parade shooting in Highland Park, according to state prosecutors Crimo has been charged by the Illinois States Attorneys office with seven counts of first degree murder. The charges were announced in a news conference by the Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart the day after the July 4 parade shooting. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole. In his remarks, Rinehart said that Crimo could be facing nearly a dozen further charges, including assault and attempted murder. He said: 'These are the first of many charges.' During the conference, Rinehart did not speculate on the motive for the shooting. The attorney did praise red flag laws and called for a nationwide ban on assault rifles. He added that when Crimo makes his first appearance in court via Zoom on July 6, prosecutors will be asking for the suspect to be held without bail. The suspect was being represented by high-profile defense attorney Thomas Durkin, who pulled out due to an unknown, last-minute conflict of interest. Now, Crimo will be represented by a public defender. Crimo was denied bond by Judge Theodore S. Potkonjak, and will remain in custody until his next court date on July 25th. It has also been revealed that Crimo drove to Madison, Wisconsin, in his mother's car after the shooting where he happened upon another July 4th celebration. He contemplated a second shooting there because he had 60 rounds left, but decided against it and drove back to Illinois where he was later arrested. The moment showing Crimo's arrest after an hours-long manhunt that involved local and federal law enforcement Bob Crimo Jr. and his wife, Denise, said in a brief statement: 'We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the paradegoers, the community, and our own' Horror on Independence Day: A police officer bows his head in grief next to abandoned strollers and chairs after a shooting that killed six people in Highland Park Panicked paradegoers at the scene on Monday. There were loud sounds from the crowd that some said were gunshots The aftermath of the scene in Highland Park on Monday after a shooter opened fire on the parade. Chairs and strollers were abandoned by attendees Police at first said that Crimo was not known to them but on Tuesday, they revealed he was interviewed twice by authorities in 2019. The first was in April 2019 a week after he threatened to kill himself. The second was in September 2019, after he threatened to 'kill everyone' in his family. Police recovered 16 knives, a dagger and sword from his home but he was not arrested. Instead, he was able to turn 21 and buy two assault rifles in Illinois, along with three other types of gun. It remains unclear why the two previous incidents were not flagged when he legally purchased the weapons. Chris Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office disclosed the prior incidents at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. In the April 2019 incident, 'an individual contacted Highland Park department a week after learning of him attempting to suicide. It was a delayed report. 'They responded to the residence, spoke to him, his parents and the matter was being handled with the mental health profession. There was no law enforcement action to be taken. 'In September 2019, a family remember reported that he said he was going to "kill everyone" and that he had a collection of knives. They responded and took 16 knives and a dagger from his home. 'There was no probable cause to arrest and no complaints assigned by the victims. They did notify the Illinois State Police.' Fox News hosts past and present weighed in on Monday's mass shooting in Highland Park, Ill., attributing women lecturing men on 'privilege' and government officials not prosecuting crimes because they're committed by 'minority gangs' as reason these atrocities keep happening. On Tuesday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said women going on about male 'privilege' is contributing to men 'going nuts' and behaving like Highland Park shooter, Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III, 21, who killed 7 people and injured 47. 'Authorities in their lives, mostly women, never stop lecturing them about their so-called privilege. "You are male, you are privileged." Imagine that, try and imagine an unhealthier, unhappier life than that. So a lot of young men in America are going nuts,' Carlson said. Carlson questioned why Crimo didn't 'raise an alarm' or 'stand out' to authorities, despite the fact police had visited Crimo's home on at least two other occasions -- first, after he threatened to kill himself and, again, after he threatened to kill family members. 'Look at Robert Bobby Crimo. Would you sell a gun to that guy? Does he seem like a nutcase? Of course he does," Carlson said, asking why no one raised an alarm before suggesting an answer. 'Maybe it is because there are a lot of young men in America who suddenly look and act like this guy,' he said. 'That is not an attack, it is just true.' The Fox News host explained that men are becoming inured to drugs -- and then committing heinous acts. 'They are numbed by the endless psychotropic drugs that are handed out in every school in the country by crackpots posing as counselors,' he said. 'Of course, they are angry, they know that their lives will not be better than their parents,' they will be worse. That is all but guaranteed, they know that. They are not stupid.' Tucker Carlson blamed mass shootings on 'drugs' and 'lectures' from women on male privilege Bill O'Reilly, on the other hand, took aim at Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, slamming him for his laser focus on firearms following the Highland Park attack. 'It is devastating that a celebration of America was ripped apart by our uniquely American plague,' Pritzker said in a July 4 press conference. 'A day dedicated to freedom has put into stark relief the one freedom we as a nation refuse to uphold. The freedom of our fellow citizens to live without the daily fear of gun violence.' Pritzker continued, saying: 'We, as a nation, continue' to let mass shootings 'happen.' Speaking about Monday's Highland Park shooting, Pritzker said: 'We, as a nation, continue to let this happen' O'Reilly, in a heated segment on his 'No Spin News' broadcast, furiously responded to Pritzker singling out firearms as cause for the mass violence by claiming the governor wasn't taking the necessary steps to address crime in the state. 'You, J.B., are not going to stop loons, and you won't stop crime - drug crime, drug gangs because they are minority gangs,' he said. 'You phony. You aid and abet this murder in Chicago blankin' day.' The TV hosts' commentary came after seven people were killed in Monday's Fourth of July massacre. Crimo went on the attack shortly after a parade started in Highland Park from a rooftop building. The suspect was armed with a legally purchased rifle -- one of his many firearms. The gunman opened fire at 10: 14 a.m. on Monday, barely 15 minutes into the parade. He then fled the scene and hid throughout the day before eventually being arrested at 6:30 p.m. in Lake Forrest, eight miles north of where the massacre unfolded It has been suggested that this is where shooter Bobby Crimo opened fire The suspect fired 70 rounds before abandoning his weapon and running into the crowd dressed like a girl. Shortly after he arrived at his mother's house and borrowed her car, she being seemingly unaware he was the shooter. He drove eight miles north before being arrested later that evening. The gunman was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. The man who was found not guilty by reason of insanity after he attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, and whose bullet struck him in the torso, has said that mentally ill people should not have access to guns. John Hinckley Jr., 67, who was freed from all court oversight last month after spending 30 years in a mental hospital, told Nightline on Tuesday that America has 'too many guns'. 'I certainly don't think the mentally ill should have access to guns, that's kind of obvious,' he told journalist Juju Chang after she asked him about the Brady Law. The Brady Law went into law in 1994, 13 years after Hinckley's assassination attempt. It mandated federal background checks and waiting periods for firearms purchases, especially for the mentally ill. The bill was named after Reagan's then-Press Secretary Jim 'the Bear' Brady, who was struck in the head by one of Hinckley's bullets. 'Background checks are good, and waiting periods are good. The climate of the country is not good, it's not good to have so many guns,' Hinckley told Nightline. When Chang told him during the interview that it was 'quite a statement' coming from him, Hinckley replied: 'Well, I hope it is.' John Hinckley Jr., 67, said there are 'too many guns in America' and said he thinks 'background checks and waiting periods are good' and that 'the climate of the country is not good, it's not good to have so many guns'. He spent 30 years in a mental hospital after being found not guilty by reason of insanity at trial. In June, he was freed from all court oversight On the day of the attempted assassination in 1981, Reagan happily waved to Americans as he headed toward his car outside the Washington hotel before the attack. A bullet struck the president and left him with severe internal bleeding Then-Press Secretary James Brady (pictured) was shot in the head and later died in 2014. His death was ruled a homicide from a gunshot wound and its consequences. Hinckley was not charged for it A Secret Service agent and a police officer (pictured) were also injured. When Hinckley was asked about the Brady Law - named as the press secretary - he said he doesn't 'think the mentally ill should have access to guns' The 67-year-old told Nightline that he was severely depressed when he decided to assassinate the president and had been estranged from his family. 'It was in ways like a suicide attempt just saying, this is it. This is the end of my life,' he told Nightline. Hinckley was 25 and suffering from acute psychosis when he fired a .22 long rifle bullet that ricocheted off the presidential limousine and struck Reagan in the torso, puncturing a lung and causing serious internal bleeding outside a Washington hotel. The assassination attempt also paralyzed Brady, who died in 2014, and whose death was ruled a homicide from a gunshot wound and its consequences - Hinckley was not charged for it. He also wounded a police officer and a Secret Service agent. Hinckley said he was desperate to impress actress Jodie Foster after seeing her in the 1976 movie Taxi Driver. At his trial, a jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity and he spent more than 30 years at a mental hospital in Washington. He left the hospital in 2016 to be taken care of by his mother and had been placed under heavy restrictions, such as not being able to own a gun and not be able to contact the victim's family or Foster. He told Nightline that being criminally insane is 'not incurable', and that he is now on antipsychotic medication and anti-anxiety medication. He also does not fear that he will relapse, saying 'I still take my meds'. Hinckly said that he prays for the Brady family nightly and hopes they have a good life, Nightline reported. 'If I could take it back, I surely would,' he told Nightline. Hinckley was 25 and suffering from acute psychosis when he attempted to assassinate Reagan in 1981. 'If I could take it back, I surely would,' he told Nightline on Tuesday Hinckley said he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster (pictured in 1981) when he attempted to assassinate Reagan Now, he's trying to change the public's perspective of him and wants to focus on his music and moving forward in life - despite some of Reagan's close confidants being reluctant to accept his apology. Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, called Hinckley a 'narcissist' in a September op-ed, published in the Washington Post, and said she doesn't 'believe that John Hinckley feels remorse.' 'I understand struggling for forgiveness, but it's like peering out from between the prison bars,' she wrote. She also said she feared he attempt to contact her once his restrictions were dropped. Hinckley insisted he was not the same person as the mentally ill man in 1981 and he has since been taking anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic medications and is in therapy. The would-be assassin told CBS Mornings he has been the 'most scrutinized person in the entire mental health system for 41 years.' 'I just have a great mindset now that I don't have the depression that I had. I don't have the isolation that I had. And I just really feel good about things now,' he told Nightline. Hinckley - who plays guitar and sings is now hoping to move on to music in the next portion of his free life. He has been uploading his music to YouTube and has amassed about 27,000 subscribers. He had set up a Redemption Tour, but it was canceled due to safety concerns. Sold-out shows in Brooklyn, New York, on July 8 and another in Chicago on July 23, were set to feature 17 original songs sung by Hinckley. A 1995 civil settlement had banned Hinckley from financially benefiting from his name or story, but in October 2020 he won a ruling to publicly display his artwork and music under his own name after previously being forced to release it anonymously. Most of the music he has written are love songs. Hinckley is an aspiring artist, who plays guitar and sings. He has been uploading his music to YouTube and has amassed about 27,000 subscribers. Hinckley's 'Redemption Tour' has since been canceled due to safety concerns Videos of Hinckley covering Elvis Presley's Can't Stop Falling In Love and Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind have racked up nearly 100,000 views. His self-penned ballads include Majesty of Love, with the lyrics, 'the world is in so much pain, we have much to gain', and Everything Is Gonna Be Alright, where he croons 'there ain't nothing wrong with the rain, it is good to wash away the pain.' Hinckley's obsession with women seemed to continue during his time in institutional psychiatric care. In his time being held at St. Elizabeths, a Washington mental hospital, his loves included woman with severe schizophrenia and Leslie DeVeau, a DC woman who had murdered her own daughter. A 51-year-old New York City bodega worker is in jail for stabbing a would-be thief who climbed over the worktop in a fight over the price of snacks in the store. Video shows the employee- Jose Alba - sitting behind a counter at the Hamilton Heights grocery store, tending to customers on Friday night. A man then pushed Alba into a shelf and appears to confront him, before yelling at another customer trying to purchase something. He pulled Alba up out of the chair, at which point Alba reached to the right toward shelves displaying an assortment of candy, and pulled out a large knife. He plunged it into the man's neck and chest five times. Now, Alba has been charged with murdering the man, identified as 37-year-old Austin Simon - to the fury of his family and many locals who say he was trying to defend himself amid a dizzying spike in crime in New York City. Critics are now furious that Alba, a mostly law-abiding family man and business owner, is being held at Riker's while other repeat offenders are routinely let loose on New York City streets. A GoFundMe account set up for the Alba's legal fund raised $20,000 in 24 hours. Surveillance footage caught the moment Jose Alba, 51, a store clerk at a Hamilton Heights bodega, stabbed 37-year-old Austin Simon after Simon pushed him into some shelves According to the NYPD, the incident began at around 11pm on Friday after a woman entered the store with her 10-year-old daughter to buy several items. But the woman's EBT card was declined, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Daily News, and Alba reached over the counter to take the snacks away from the girl. At that point the woman became enraged and summoned Simon - her boyfriend. 'The lady threw everything from the counter and the machine too,' Maad Ahmad, the owner of the Blue Moon Convenient Store told the Daily News, referring to the card reader. 'She said, 'I'm going to get my man, and he's going to get you,'' he claimed. Simon then walked around the counter and confronted Alba - leading to the confrontation caught on surveillance footage. 'He grabbed Jose by the neck and tried to get him to apologize to the girl,' Ahmad said, adding: 'He pushed Jose first, Jose was just defending himself. 'Jose said 'I don't want any problems.'' But allegedly, he wound up stabbing Simon at least five times. According to police records, Alba told officers on the scene: 'He wanted me to come apologize to the girl. I took the knife we use to open boxes, and I stabbed him.' Court documents also claim that Simon's girlfriend took a knife out of her purse and stabbed Alba in the arm, but she is not being charged. Alba was then reportedly brought to a local hospital for his wounds before being incarcerated. 'The girlfriend is still out there enjoying her life,' a store employee told DailyMail.com on Wednesday, noting she 'ran out' after the alleged stabbing. The incident occurred at the Blue Moon Convenient Store on Friday at around 11pm Several New Yorkers have now tweeted out the #FreeJoseAlba, who is being represented by a public defender, and a GoFundMe set up by his daughter Danny has raised almost $20,000 for his defense. 'Half of the 'hood is so shocked,' a man shopping at the store said of Alba's incarceration, noting that he could not even kill a cockroach. Regulars at the shop described Alba as a hard-working father who was preparing for retirement, and was looking forward to returning to the Dominican Republic next week to visit his family. He worked at the store every day of the week from noon to 6am, they told DailyMail.com, to 'make an honest living.' But during his more than two years working at the store, several patrons have tried to take advantage of him, grabbing items and trying to walk away with them. One man even once held up a gun to him, they said. So when Simon entered the store and starting threatening him last week, he did not know whether he had a gun and could kill him. 'He never wanted no problem,' said Ahmad's son, who was working the counter on Wednesday. 'I picture him as my grandfather being in that situation.' A GoFundMe set up by Alba's daughter Danny on Wednesday already raised more than $200 for his defense as residents claim he was acting in self-defense. By Wednesday night, the total had risen to $20,000 Danny Alba writes on the fundraising page: 'It is with great sadness that I must ask for help for the great injustice that is taking place in my hometown of Harlem, with my own father nevertheless. 'It hurts me knowing that a man cannot defend himself without being made to look like a villain.' She described her father as 'a loving man that always puts his family first whilst also looking after kids and people in bad positions in life that have no other form of guidance.' She added: 'It is truly disgusting how they are trying to keep my dad in jail for protecting himself from a person who physically and verbally assaulted him before he took any action to protect his own life. 'If there is any justice left in the judicial system please let it work here, in the place where I was born and raised, Harlem.' Residents also told DailyMail.com that Simon was a known gang member, and would often talk about being in a gang. Records obtained by DailyMail.com show he has been incarcerated several times - most recently in 2020, on assault and attempted assault charges. He was then released from prison in May 2021. 'We want justice, we want no problems,' store employees said. One regular at the bodega claiming if Alba isn't freed: 'We have no law here in this city.' California Governor Gavin Newsom would fare better in a presidential election against Donald Trump than Vice President Kamala Harris, a new poll shows. The recently released Yahoo News/YouGov survey taken June 24-27 shows that in a head-to-head matchup between Harris and Trump, the two tie at 41 percent with another 18 percent saying they don't know for whom they would cast their ballot in that hypothetical 2024 election. But when the former president was put up against Newsom, the California Democrat had just a 1 percentage point advantage 39 percent to 40 percent. In this case, 21 percent of respondents were unsure how they would vote. When the same two hypothetical races were considered among those who watched the January 6 hearings and those who have not, it was obvious that those following the proceedings are much more likely to go for either Newsom or Harris over Trump. A recently released poll shows that California Governor Gavin Newsom would fare slightly better against Donald Trump in a presidential election than if Vice President Kamala Harris would take on the former president Trump has not yet formally said he is launching another bid for the presidency, but he has teased an announcement almost since the day he vacated the White House last year. Biden has repeatedly said that he plans to run for reelection in 2024, but as his popularity plummets amid a series of economic and social issue failures and his age and mental acuity is brought into question, so has the possibility of another ticket with his name at the top. Harris has also said that she plans to again run on the ticket in 2024 as Biden's No. 2. This hasn't stopped pollsters from speculating on other hypothetical matchups in the next presidential election. Harris has said that she will run on a 2024 ticket as Biden's No. 2 again and speculation has emerged that Newsom could make a run after he released campaign ads in Florida urging residents there to move to California Despite Biden's falling approval rate, he is still the preferred Democratic candidate among left-leaning voters, according to the poll. When asked whether respondents would prefer Newsom or Biden, they preferred the incumbent by a 20 point margin 17 percent to 37 percent. A whopping 40 percent said they were unsure and 6 percent said they would not even vote in that primary. When Biden was put up against his vice president, he still prevailed but by a much smaller margin. In the primary matchup, Biden earned 31 percent to Harris' 25 percent. Another 39 percent were unsure and 5 percent said they would not vote. Speculation emerged that Newsom could make a run after he released campaign ads in Florida urging residents there to move to California. He bought $105,000 worth of ad spots that started airing on Fox News in Florida on Monday, July 4. The ads urge Sunshine State residents who are fed up with their Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to head west. DeSantis is also rumored to be considering a 2024 run despite the fact that Trump is likely to seek the nomination. The 30-second ad doesn't mention DeSantis directly, but does take aim at his conservative legislative accomplishment in Florida like banning critical race theory in classrooms, prohibiting schools from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity to kids from kindergarten to fourth grade and a 15-week abortion ban. 'It's Independence Day,' Newsom says in the ad. 'So let's talk about what's going on in America.' 'Freedom is under attack in your state,' Newsom tells Florida residents watching the ad. 'Republican leaders they are banning books. Making it harder to vote. Restricting speech in classrooms. Even criminalizing women and doctors.' It was detected that Celsius Network had repaid its $120 million loan. Celsius has repaid a substantial amount of its outstanding debt to Maker Protocol since the beginning of the month. Crypto analysts see this move as an indication that the shaky cryptocurrency lending platform was attempting to prevent its ultimate collapse in the face of serious rumors of the company going bankrupt. JUST IN: Celsius Network has paid off another $50 million towards its #Bitcoin loan. Their liquidation price has dropped to $8,840. Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) July 4, 2022 Celsius Pays Back Celsius, a cryptocurrency lending platform, is starting this month with a massive effort to rebuild the strength of its company. Celsius began the month of July by repaying approximately $150 million worth of DAI to Maker. According to FXEmpire, Celsius has repaid almost $120 million of this debt by sending back DAI in three separate batches, consisting of 64 million DAI, 50 million DAI, and 6.2 million DAI. The transactions detected online revealed one payment on July 1 and 3 more payments were made on July 4. Despite this, the lending protocol has an outstanding obligation to Maker in the amount of around $82 million worth of DAI. The DeFi program has recently started experiencing losses as a result of the general bearish trend that has been developing in the market. The crypto industry nowadays seems to have entered a brutal crypto winter season. Traders and investors experienced massive fluctuations in assets, a collective plunge in crypto prices, and a fall of a stablecoin. The protocol's losses increased as the market became more bearish. Despite the Dapp having a value of $1.8 billion invested in it, it is currently suffering losses that are equivalent to roughly $654 million. After extraordinary market conditions produced historic losses across many positions, Celsius is one of several crypto blue-chip enterprises that are on the verge of going bankrupt. On June 13, the company decided to halt withdrawals as a result of the harsh market conditions. As a result of the extremely volatile market conditions, Celsius has decided to stop all withdrawals, swaps, and account transfers until further notice. According to the company, they did that to put Celsius in a stronger position to honor the withdrawal commitments it has made over the course of time. Subsequently, the company hired new legal counsel to provide advice regarding the restructuring. Read Also: 46,000 Americans Have Reported Lost More Than $1 Billion to Crypto Scams Regaining the Solvency of Celsius As reported by CryptoBriefing, large debt repayments like these have the potential to assist Celsius in regaining solvency and put it in a position where it can once again enable withdrawals. As a result of these repayments, the liquidation price of the company has decreased, and the likelihood of the vault being forced to liquidate has decreased. Since Celsius invests in a variety of crypto and DeFi contracts in order to earn cash for its consumers, these Maker debts most likely constitute just one part of Celsius' overall commitments. On July 1, Celsius stated that they are continuing to take significant measures to preserve and protect their assets while also investigating the many potential possibilities. Celsius said, "These options include pursuing strategic transactions as well as a restructuring of our liabilities, among other avenues." The company also noted that, "These exhaustive explorations are complex and take time, but we want the community to know that our teams are working with experts from many different disciplines." Furthermore, it was also reported that despite the rough patch the company went through, Celsius was still paying out rewards as of last week. However, users are still unable to withdraw them due to liquidity problems. Related Article: BEWARE! Fake Copyright Infringement Emails are Actually Infecting Devices with LockBit Ransomware Advertisement A British father arrested on the Greek holiday island of Crete and accused of raping his own daughter has been released after DNA tests proved he did not carry out the attack, local media has claimed. Tammi Forsythe - who waived her anonymity to MailOnline in order speak out about police failings in the case - told officers she had been attacked on an abandoned beach in the town of Malia on June 9. Detectives examined CCTV evidence from a bar where the 33-year-old had been drinking with father Philip, 62, the same night, then sensationally arrested him and accused him of carrying out the attack. But DNA samples taken from Tammi as evidence do not match samples supplied by Mr Forsythe, according to Greek news site Protothema. The stunning development - which Tammi insisted would turn out to be the case - means Mr Forsythe should be free from jail and free to return to the UK. Tammi and her father had maintained throughout the investigation that he could not have attacked her, and have slammed police over their handling of the case. It is just the latest high-profile rape case involving a Briton to be bungled by Greek cops, after a woman who accused a group of men of gang-raping her in Cyprus in 2019 was herself arrested and prosecuted for wasting police time. Tammi Forsythe, 33 (left), told Greek police on the island of Crete she had been raped on June 9 - prompting them to arrest father Philip (together right) and sensationally accuse him of the crime Police were relying on CCTV from a local bar where Mr Forsythe, 62, had been drinking with his daughter before the attack (pictured), that showed the pair being physical with each-other But DNA evidence collected from Tammi after the attack and supplied by Mr Forsythe has proved he did not commit the crime, Greek media reports, meaning he has been released from jail Tammi, a mother-of-four, previously told MailOnline: 'It's not an easy thing for me to come out publicly as a rape victim but the world needs to know how me, and my father are suffering. 'He is 100% innocent, he did not rape me. The Greek police have treated us appallingly. 'As far as they are concerned, this is just a case of a drunken Brit on holiday who got raped. If we were Greek citizens, we would not have been treated like this.' She added: 'The police made up their minds from the start that my father was guilty and have not done anything about finding the real rapist. The time has come for me to speak out so that we can get justice.' Mr Forsythe was arrested on June 11, two days after Tammi reported being raped while on a boozy night out with him along the main strip in the tourist town of Malia, which is lined with rowdy bars and night clubs popular with Brits. He is currently being held in a prison in the city of Tripoli on the Greek mainland and is awaiting the results of DNA tests. Mr Forsythe has denied committing the rape and has been told by Greek prosecutors that he will either face trial within 18 months or could be released depending on the outcome of the results. Under Greek law, he has only been informally charged with the crime. Tammi, who lives with her father in Hull, revealed that she is still in Crete, where she has been speaking to him on the phone each day. She cried: 'I only get to speak to him for a few minutes. He's in a terrible state psychologically and doesn't understand why this has happened because he's not done anything wrong. 'My father suffers from diabetes and a number of other serious medical issues. He's not eaten properly for five days and is close to having a breakdown. I'm really worried that this whole thing might kill him.' Tammi revealed that she fears she might be pregnant following the attack. She is the mother of three sons, aged 12, 10 and five and a daughter, 15 and is separated from their father. Tammi said: 'This holiday has turned into a horror movie. I'm really suffering with stress and anxiety which has only got worse because I'm feeling a bit sick and have missed my period. I'm usually very regular and it's not like me. 'I'm 60% sure that I'm pregnant. I've been told by the British Consulate that I need to go to a medical clinic to have a blood test, but I've been suffering from such bad panic attacks that I need someone to accompany me. But I'm here on my own and have got nobody to help me.' Tammi was on holiday with her father to celebrate his birthday and it was their first time abroad together following the lifting of Covid travel restrictions. They were due to return to the UK on June 19. Referring to the DNA test, Tammi said: 'We were promised that this would be a priority, but that's not proved to be the case. I've not been given any information about when we will get the results. The Greek authorities just don't seem to care. As far as they are concerned, they have got their man and my father can rot in prison.' Tammi (pictured) revealed that she is still in Crete, where she has been speaking to her father on the phone each day Tammi told MailOnline that her dream holiday to Crete (pictured) has turned into a nightmare and she is using up her family's savings to stay there and support her father until she can go home and finally see her own four children again Greek officials insist that they arrested Mr Forsythe after CCTV footage from the Help bar showed that he indulged in 'inappropriate sexual activity' with Tammi in the hours leading up to the attack. The CCTV footage has been obtained by MailOnline and Tammi denies her father did anything wrong, hitting back: 'I was drunk out of my head; I could barely move. He was just trying to get me up to take me back to the hotel and put me to bed. 'I lashed out at him because I was so drunk and angry. At one stage, I think I bit his hand. That's all the CCTV footage shows-a father trying to help his very drunk daughter. There was nothing sexual going on between us. It's a disgusting and ridiculous thing to say.' Recalling the night of the attack, Tammi revealed that she and her father arrived at the Help Bar along Malia's main strip at around 1.30am on Thursday 9 June and left at around 4.55am. She spent most of the night drinking Sambuca shots while he downed pints. Tammi admitted: 'I was so drunk, I could barely stand up. Somehow, I managed to stagger out of the bar, but we continued to argue. I was angry because I just wanted to be left alone so that I could carry on sleeping. 'We got outside and sat on a concrete wall. My father put his arms around me, but I pushed him away and told him to f*** off. I was so drunk I didn't know what I was doing or saying. I just wanted him to leave me alone.' After her father walked off to return to their hotel, Tammi revealed that she staggered along a road and stumbled into a dead-end alley, where she fell and was too drunk to get up. She added: 'It was around 7.15am and I saw a man standing over me. He grabbed me by my legs, dragged me into a bush and raped me. I was left stunned by the whole thing and after it happened, I could not move for about 15 minutes because I was too scared.' She admitted that she was too inebriated to provide an adequate description of her attacker to Greek police and could not recall what he looked like apart from telling them that he was shorter than her and wore a white tee-shirt. Following the attack, Tammi revealed that she returned to her hotel at around 8am, fell asleep for several hours and after waking, recalled the rape and rang the British Consulate in Crete, who told her immediately to report it to the police. The Crete resort town of Malia (above) is a popular holiday destination with Brit tourists flocking to the island every summer She said: 'I told the police the events of the night, where my father and I had been drinking and they took me there to retrace my steps. 'I told them that I was very drunk, but they got it all wrong when they saw the CCTV footage. They completely misunderstood everything I was saying. I told them that my father was wearing all white, but they took that to mean that the attacker was wearing all white. 'I was treated like a criminal not a victim and after suffering this horrendous crime, I'm suffering even more now because of what they're doing to my father.' Praising the British Consulate for their support, she said: 'I dont think I could have got through this without their help. They have been brilliant with me every step of the way. I cannot thank them enough.' Tammi, who is a former nail technician but is currently out of work said that she is determined to stay in Greece until her father is free. One of four sisters, she described him as the 'best dad in the world.' She cried: 'My dad's very protective over his girls and we're all very close to him. This was meant to be a lovely father and daughter holiday that's turned into hell for us.' Tammi estimates that she has already spent close to 4,000 as she remains in Crete waiting for the case to be resolved. She added: 'Luckily, my father's got some savings, which I've been using. I'm not going back to Hull without him and will stay in Greece for as long as it takes.' A former aide to Colonel Gaddafi accused of having a hand in the fatal 1984 shooting of police officer Yvonne Fletcher has today suffered a setback in a bid to clear his name. Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk has been seeking an appeal to overturn a judge's conclusion that he was 'jointly responsible' for the death of PC Fletcher's death in London. In an incident that horrified the nation, the 25-year-old Met officer was shot while policing a demonstration against the former Libyan leader outside the country's embassy in St James's Square. PC Fletcher's former colleague and close friend John Murray, who cradled her as she lay dying and promised to find those responsible, last year brought a civil action at the High Court in London against Mr Mabrouk. At the time of the shooting, Mr Mabrouk was a senior member of the pro-Gaddafi Libyan Revolutionary Committee that ran the embassy. Mr Justice Martin Spencer ruled in November that Mr Mabrouk - who denied any wrongdoing - 'clearly assisted in the commission of the shooting' and was jointly liable with the unknown gunmen. Speaking after the ruling, Mr Murray, then 66, said justice for his friend and colleague was 'finally achieved'. However, Mr Mabrouk - who did not participate in the High Court trial, but previously denied any involvement in PC Fletcher's death - brought a bid to appeal against the ruling. His lawyers asked Court of Appeal judges for permission to challenge the ruling at a hearing on Wednesday. But Lords Justice Coulson and Warby refused to grant permission, saying they would give their full reasons at a later date. Lawyers for Mr Mabrouk say they could now take the case to the UK's Supreme Court. Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk has been seeking an appeal to overturn a judge's conclusion that he was 'jointly responsible' for the death of PC Fletcher's death in London in 1984 In an incident that horrified the nation, the 25-year-old officer (pictured) was shot while policing a demonstration against the former Libyan leader outside the country's embassy in St James's Square Speaking after the hearing, Mr Murray said: 'I am obviously pleased with what has happened today, my faith in British justice has been restored again. 'Now we will be fighting very hard for the costs to be recovered.' Mr Mabrouk's barrister, Samantha Kane, said outside court after the hearing that he may try to take his case to the Supreme Court. Ms Kane said: 'My client asked me to say how appalled and how sorry he is and how much sympathy he has with the deceased... and Mr Murray and her colleagues. 'But justice cannot be achieved without a fair trial, which he would like to have and he will continue fighting.' Ms Kane argued the civil trial last year was not fair because Mr Mabrouk was unable to attend by video-link from Libya due to the damaged electrical and internet infrastructure in the country. She also argued the High Court judge who considered the case should have applied the criminal standard of proof given it was a serious allegation of a murder which 'shook the nation'. However, Philippa Kaufman QC, for Mr Murray, said the issue of Mr Mabrouk's participation in the trial was dealt with during the proceedings and there was no evidence to support his claims that he was unable to attend. During the three-day trial last year, the court heard Mr Murray, who has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the incident, was seeking 'vindicatory' damages for assault and battery. Mr Justice Martin Spencer said in his judgment that 'those responsible for the shooting of Yvonne Fletcher also bear liability' to Mr Murray. PC Fletcher's former colleague and close friend John Murray (pictured), who cradled her as she lay dying and promised to find those responsible, last year brought a civil action at the High Court in London against Mr Mabrouk He added: 'I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that there existed a common design to respond to the planned anti-Gaddafi protest by using violence.' The judge said the evidence pointed to Mr Mabrouk being an 'active participant' in a 'common design to fire upon the demonstrators'. He concluded: 'Mr Murray has succeeded in showing that the defendant Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk is jointly liable with those who carried out the shooting of Yvonne Fletcher, for the battery inflicted upon her'. The High Court heard Mr Mabrouk was arrested in 2015 in connection with PC Fletcher's death, but two years later the Metropolitan Police said charges could not be brought because key evidence had been kept secret to protect national security. While Mr Mabrouk did not engage with the proceedings, the court heard he had previously denied any involvement in the shooting, having highlighted the fact he was under arrest at the time. He had also noted that Libya previously admitted responsibility over PC Fletcher's killing and paid compensation to her mother. In 2019, Mr Mabrouk was 'excluded' from the UK over his 'suspected involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity', the court was told. Mr Murray brought the civil claim for a nominal amount of 1 against Mr Mabrouk as part of his decades-long campaign for justice. He said he was awarding the damages sought by Mr Murray 'to vindicate his 37-year fight to bring to justice at least one of those responsible for the death of his colleague'. The judge added that Mr Murray, who said he blamed himself over his colleague's death, should be 'proud' and feel 'no guilt' over the incident. Hailing the 'incredible bravery' of officers who rushed to help her, the judge added: 'No-one could have foreseen the cowardly shooting of a police officer in the back and the sad fact is that Yvonne Fletcher was, in every sense of the phrase, simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.' Mabrouk, who is thought to live in the Libyan town of Bani Walid, has evaded facing justice for more than 30 years. Without a prospect of a criminal trial, Mr Murray decided to fight in the civil courts, where the bar for success is based on a balance of probabilities rather than guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The High Court (pictured: Library image of the the Royal Courts of Justice in London) heard Mr Mabrouk was arrested in 2015 in connection with Pc Fletcher's death, but two years later the Metropolitan Police said charges could not be brought because key evidence had been kept secret to protect national security Mabrouk, who had been arrested before shots were fired from the embassy in St Jamess Square, emailed Mr Murrays lawyers to deny guilt. But Mr Murray said I made a promise to Yvonne. If it had been me murdered that day, Yvonne would be here doing this. He has used his own savings to fund the legal fight, including trips to Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. He has spent 130,000 and, in November last year, it was reported that he was 40,000 in debt. He is divorced and lives in a rented flat in Chingford, North-East London, with his daughter Laura, 33. His other daughter Sarah, 37, lives in Hertfordshire. Its been worth every penny, he said back in November. As far as my daughters are concerned, I should have been able to give them a lot more than I have. It sounds a sad story, but the sacrifices have been worth it. Yesterday he visited Miss Fletchers grave in Semley, Wiltshire. He said of his daughters: It would be wrong of me to place the grief on to them. One day, when its all over, Ill tell them the full story. Horrified tourists desperately tried to save a British man who drowned in a hotel pool during a family holiday in Cyprus after lifeguards allegedly failed to act quickly. The 21-year-old, who has not been named, was found unconscious floating in the pool by guests, while the lifeguards were allegedly too far away to notice. The man was pulled from the pool by a guest at the five-star King Evelthon Hotel on the west coast of Cyprus at 6pm on Tuesday after he was spotted not moving in the water. Guests desperately tried to revive the man with CPR - and the lifeguards only noticed the victim was unconscious after an entertainer screamed at them that the man had been pulled out of the pool, a witness told The Sun. The man was pulled from the pool by a guest at the five-star King Evelthon Hotel (file image) on the west coast of Cyprus at 6pm on Tuesday after he was spotted not moving in the water Do YOU know the victim? Let us know, email: rachael.bunyan@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement The witness, who was at the pool with his family at the time, said: 'One of the entertainers ran down the stairs screaming to the lifeguards. She had to run past us to reach the lifeguards. 'That's when I saw the man being pulled out of the pool and someone performing CPR.' The lifeguards, who had been seen playing on their phones before the incident, 'panicked' when they were called to action, the British witness said. The source added: 'My wife has a medical background so I told her to run over as she is well trained. 'The entertainer told the lifeguards someone had just been pulled out of the pool. They looked flustered, they were slow, they were lacklustre, it was really really bad. 'One of them ran back and grabbed the defibrillator and went over there. It is atrocious.' The lifeguards eventually performed CPR on the man and tried to revive him at the edge of the pool while they awaited paramedics. Guests desperately tried to revive the man with CPR - and the lifeguards only noticed the victim was unconscious after an entertainer screamed at them that the man had been pulled out of the pool, a witness said (file image of the pool) The source added: 'From where they sit they would not be able to see what's happening, it's a good 100 metres away. 'They were just two lads probably in their early 20s if that and they didn't seem geared up for the job.' The man failed to regain consciousness and he was rushed by ambulance to Paphos General Hospital. He was intubated and admitted to the intensive care unit before he was pronounced dead at 9pm yesterday. The man failed to regain consciousness and he was rushed by ambulance to Paphos General Hospital (pictured) where he died Another holidaymaker said it was 'heartbreaking' to watch people desperately try to revive the man. She said: 'It really was heartbreaking to watch. They were working on him for ages but didn't get anywhere. 'The poor woman that found him is in a right state bless her.' The Briton was on holiday with his parents at the time. Paphos (pictured) is a city on the southwestern coast of Cyprus and is a popular tourist resort, particular in the Kato Paphos area where the family were staying An autopsy will be carried out today to determine the cause of death after the tragic incident. Police have already ruled out the possibility of any criminal activity. Paphos is a city on the southwestern coast of Cyprus and is a popular tourist resort, particular in the Kato Paphos area where the family were staying. A Foreign Office spokesperson told The Sun: 'We are providing consular support to the family of a British national who has died in Cyprus.' MailOnline has contacted The King Evelthon Hotel for comment. Advertisement Tory leadership jostling was on full display on Wednesday afternoon as Boris Johnson teetered on the brink. With the Prime Minister facing a torrent of Conservative MPs calling for him to go, those hoping to replace him were making themselves visible in a variety of ways. Some used Parliament's set-piece occasions while others paraded how they were getting on with their day jobs. And even the family members of leading Tories were thrust into the spotlight as speculation about who could replace Mr Johnson intensified. Rishi Sunak's wife delivers (very expensive) mugs of tea for waiting press Rishi Sunak, 42, was among the first to thrust the knife into the PM as part of the Tory revolt. He dramatically quit as Chancellor last night to throw Mr Johnson's premiership into fresh peril. And while reporters were camped outside his London home today - hoping for a first appearance from Mr Sunak since his departure from Government - the ex-Chancellor's wife popped out to offer refreshments. Akshata Murty, the heiress of an Indian billionaire, was pictured carrying out a tray of hot drinks for waiting members of the press, as well as a bowl of nuts and plate of biscuits. The mugs being carried by Ms Murty were later revealed to be Emma Lacey products - with each one worth 38. Rishi Sunak's wife, Akshata Murty, was today pictured carrying out a tray of hot drinks for waiting members of the press The billionaire-heiress carefully carried the tray across the cobbles in a black pair of sandals The mugs being carried by Ms Murty were later revealed to be Emma Lacey products - with each one worth 38 The recent row over Ms Murty's non-dom tax status was widely viewed as having fatally damaged her husband's hopes of replacing Boris Johnson The scene was immediately compared to when Mr Johnson himself delivered a tray of teas for journalists camped outside his Oxfordshire house in 2018 Mary Archer was also famed for bringing cups of tea to waiting press packs during the many scandals afflicting her husband, Sir Jeffrey Archer, in his political career The scene was immediately compared to when Mr Johnson himself delivered a tray of teas for journalists camped outside his Oxfordshire house in 2018. That came when Mr Johnson was facing a controversy by his comparison of Muslim women wearing the burka to letterboxes and bank robbers. Mary Archer was also famed for bringing cups of tea to waiting press packs gathered outside her Cambridgeshire home during the many scandals afflicting her husband, Sir Jeffrey Archer, in his political career. The recent row over Ms Murty's non-dom tax status was widely viewed as having fatally damaged her husband's hopes of replacing Mr Johnson. But the decision by Mr Sunak, who has two daughters with Ms Murty, to quit the Cabinet - within minutes of Sajid Javid's exit as health secretary - may have helped revive his fortunes among some Tory MPs. Suella Braverman launches leadership bid during TV interview Attorney General and leadership hopeful Suella Braverman outlined her own ambitions on ITV's Peston - telling the network's political editor it was time for Mr Johnson to quit as he said she will run for leadership of the party. Despite her previous staunch support for the Prime Minister, she said he had handled matters 'appallingly' in recent days but said she will not step down owing to her 'statutory legal and constitutional duties'. On Wednesday night, the attorney general for England and Wales called on Johnson to resign and became the first cabinet minister to say they would run to replace him in any Conservative Party leadership contest. 'I do think the time has come for the prime minister to step down,' Braverman said on ITV. She said she did not want to resign from her post. 'If there is a leadership contest I will put my name into the ring.' Attorney General and leadership hopeful Suella Braverman outlined her own ambitions on ITV's Peston - telling the network's political editor it was time for Mr Johnson to quit as he said she will run for leadership of the party Tom Tugendhat moves on from dad duties to grilling PM Tom Tugendhat has been touted as potential leadership candidate and had the chance to quiz the PM in person today. As Mr Johnson appeared before the powerful Liaison Committee - formed of the chairs of all other Commons committees - Mr Tugendhat quizzed the PM about whether he was currently able to 'concentrate' on British support for Ukraine. Mr Tugendhat, 49, the chair of the Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee, also asked Mr Johnson what he viewed as victory for Ukraine. The PM replied: 'That is for them to decide. President Zelensky has set out his ambitions. It will ultimately be for him to decide what the terms that he wants. 'But he has been very clear that he would like to return at least to the status quo ante February 24th.' Tom Tugendhat - a former soldier who has not ruled out a Tory leadership bid - began his day by sharing his attempts in doing his daughter's hair Mr Tugendhat spent their afternoon grilling the PM during his appearance at the Commons' Liaison Committee The PM is teetering on the brink as he faces a torrent of Conservative MPs calling for him to resign and leave Downing Street Mr Tugendhat - a former soldier who has not ruled out a Tory leadership bid - began his day by sharing his attempts in doing his daughter's hair. Despite declaring himself as 'quite pleased' with his efforts, the father-of-two revealed on Twitter how he had been told: 'You're not good at this.' Some MPs believe the 48-year-old, an Army reservist who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be well-suited to the role and represents the 'best chance for a fresh start'. However, some are concerned about his lack of political experience and voting for a second posh PM in a row. He is the son of a high court judge and the nephew of a Tory peer. He was a member of the Territorial Army when the Iraq War broke out in 2003 and he was mobilised as an Arabic-speaking intelligence officer to serve with the Royal Marines. He went into Iraq as part of Operation TELIC - the initial invasion. After the war he returned to a job in the City of London but then went back to Iraq to help with the economic reconstruction of the country. In 2006 the Foreign Office then asked Mr Tugendhat to go to Afghanistan to help grow its national security council. The Tory MP can speak Arabic, Dari and French. The Tory MP was applauded in the House of Commons during a debate on the UK's exit from Afghanistan in August 2021 as he detailed his experience in the country. While 'hero MP' Tobias Ellwood 'stages his own leadership hustings' Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood who also chairs an influential Commons committee has been put forward as a possible replacement leader. Mr Ellwood, 55, who received widespread praise for his efforts in trying to save fallen PC Keith Palmer during the Westminster terror attack in 2017, also grilled the PM during his Liaison Committee appearance. The former minister, now the chair of the Commons' Defence Committee, pressed Mr Johnson over defence spending commitments as he urged the PM to 'invest more'. He demanded Mr Johnson reconsider a shrinking of the size of the Army. Mr Ellwood received widespread praise for his efforts in trying to save fallen PC Keith Palmer during the Westminster terror attack in 2017 MP Tobias Ellwood and Mr Tugendhat also sternly questioned the PM during his appearance at the Commons' Liaison Committee this afternoon Mr Ellwood and his wife, solicitor Hannah Ryan, live in the MP's Bournemouth constituency with their two sons Following his comments, Isabel Hardman - assistant editor of the Spectator, which is often branded the Tory party's 'in-house magazine' - drily noted: 'Tobias Ellwood seems to have mistaken this Liaison Committee meeting for a leadership hustings and has come with a speech about Britain's place in the world.' Mr Ellwood and his wife, solicitor Hannah Ryan, live in the MP's Bournemouth constituency with their two sons. However Mr Ellwood, a Remainer, may faces internal challenges if he tries to become leader having recently called for the UK to rejoin the EU single market. In an article published last month, titled 'We can upgrade Brexit and ease the cost of living by going back to the single market', he argued exports to Europe had shrunk by 20bn and the issue of the Northern Ireland protocol remained unresolved. He said: 'All these challenges would disappear if we dare to advance our Brexit model by rejoining the EU single market (the Norway model).' Sajid Javid blasts PM in farewell speech and hints at beginning of his own leadership campaign Earlier in the day, Mr Javid, 52, took the opportunity of his resignation speech in the Commons chamber to outline what might be the beginnings of his own leadership campaign. The now former health secretary - who competed against Mr Johnson in the 2019 Tory leadership contest - told MPs: 'I got into politics to do something, not to be somebody. 'So it is hard in one way, but not in another. Being a good father, a husband, a son and a citizen is good enough for me. 'If I can continue to contribute to public life and my party from the back benches it will be a privilege to do so.' He also launched a broadside at the PM as he publicly questioned Mr Johnson's 'integrity', adding: 'A team is as good as its team captain, and a captain is as good as his or her team. So loyalty must go both ways. 'The events of recent months have made it increasingly difficult to be in that team.' Mr Javid, who has now resigned from the Cabinet twice in the space of two-and-a-half years, insisted he had 'never been one of life's quitters'. 'I didn't quit when people in my community told me I couldn't marry the love of my life,' he told MPs in reference to his wife, Laura. Liz Truss concentrates on her day job while she waits in the wings Away from Parliament, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss used her frequently updated social media accounts to reveal how she had spent the day ratifying Finland and Sweden's formal applications to join NATO. Ms Truss, 46, was later set to fly away from the dramatic events at Westminster as she is due to attend a G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, later this week. She is married to accountant Hugh O'Leary and the couple have two teenage daughters, Liberty and Frances. Ms Truss has been regularly linked with a tilt at No10. The former international trade secretary was promoted last year to succeed Dominic Raab. The South West Norfolk MP has held a string of Cabinet posts under successive party leaders and is popular with the party grassroots. But while she has been hawkish over the war in Ukraine, the conflict has hit her prospects after several stumbles. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss revealed how she had spent the day ratifying Finland and Sweden's formal applications to join NATO Ms Truss is married to accountant Hugh O'Leary. The couple have two teenage daughters, Liberty and Frances Prior to the February 24 invasion she visited Russia for talks with her Kremlin counterpart Sergei Lavrov, in which she overtly channeled the style of Margaret Thatcher on a similar trip 35 years previously. Her use of Instagram to share images of her looking tough and commanding has also drawn comment. She was also criticised early in the conflict for urging Britons to go to fight for Russia even if they have no military experience, advice later contradicted by senior military figures. But the Remain voter from 2016 has become a born-again Brexiteer in the years since, something that will aid her in any vote. As Foreign Secretary she has taken on responsibility for negotiating changes to the Brexit agreement with the EU to sort out the political impasse in Northern Ireland. A deadlock-breaking agreement is unlikely but unilateral action by the UK is being mooted, which could help boost her credentials. Jeremy Hunt highlights his constituency work while leadership rumours swirl Mr Johnson's long-time leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, 55, the former health secretary, spent the day highlighting his efforts as MP for South West Surrey. He only made a passing reference to 'other events' at Westminster as he publicised his meeting with NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard about a new cancer surgery centre at a local hospital. Mr Hunt went head-to-head with Mr Johnson in the final round of the 2019 Tory leadership contest and has not ruled out another bid for the top job in his recent efforts to topple the PM. The former minister turned Health Committee chairman has made a series of increasingly high profile public interventions on health policy in recent weeks. And he has consistently refused to rule out running to replace Boris Johnson if he quits. He tweeted before the no confidence vote: 'Today's decision is change or lose. I will be voting for change.' Mr Johnson's long-time leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, spent the day highlighting his efforts as MP for South West Surrey Mr Hunt posted about progress towards a new cancer surgery centre and other constituency calls Mr Hunt, pictured with his wife Lucia, went head-to-head with Mr Johnson in the final round of the 2019 Tory leadership contest Last month he refused to say whether Boris Johnson was 'honest' as he warned the Prime Minister has a 'big mountain to climb' in winning back Tory voters. The South West Surrey MP cast doubt on the PM's ability to once again prove a Tory vote winner as he insisted it would be a 'mistake' to dismiss the party's local election losses as 'mid-term blues'. The comments were seen as a warning shot to the PM - and a clear message to Tory MPs - that he is waiting in the wings should Mr Johnson continue to stumble. Like Truss he is a former Remain voter who has become a convert to the Brexit cause. He also has his own fair share of gaffs in his locker, including describing his Chinese wife Lucia - with whom he has three children - as 'Japanese' in an interview. Ben Wallace heads to Ukraine and refuses to take part in 'political parlour games' The Defence Secretary's low profile has risen into full view as he emerged as one of the foremost Cabinet hawks on the Ukraine War. The 52-year-old former Scots Guards officer called the recent mass resignation of ministers 'political parlour games' He said: 'To be clear, I am going on Thursday to see brave Ukrainian men and women training to fight for their lives and their country. 'I wont be indulging in political parlour games nor will I be resigning.' The Defence Secretary's low profile has risen into full view as he emerged as one of the foremost Cabinet hawks on the Ukraine War Mr Wallace has been at the forefront of efforts to supply Kyiv with weapons and expertise to fight off the Russian invasion, which has boosted his support base and name recognition. The Sandhurst-educated father of three has overcome a Russian attempt to humiliate him after a Kremlin-backed prankster managed to get through to him on a video call, parts of which were later broadcast on YouTube. He was asked if he supported Ukraine's 'nuclear aims' by a man claiming to be the PM of Ukraine. He has also avoided being implicated in the worst failures of the UK's retreat from Afghanistan last summer, with blame being generally laid at the door of the Foreign Office. He confirmed Britain is to arm Ukraine with precision-guided M270 rockets that have a range of up to 50 miles to help match Russia's artillery arsenal. Frontrunner Penny Mordaunt ignores bookies and shares ministerial work Betting favourite Penny Mordaunt posted on her Instagram hours after the resignations began, sharing news about trade and investment talks with Egypt. The Minister of State for Trade also retweeted a video shared by Priti Patel which showed human traffickers being arrested, Ms Mordaunt said: 'Great work. We need a relentless focus on this.' Ms Mordaunt, who was fired from her role as defence secretary in 2019 by Boris Johnson, has been notably silent on the matter of his leadership. The Brexiteer, 49, a naval reservist who once appeared on reality TV in a swimsuit, is popular with party members. She was the first woman to serve as defence secretary and was also international trade secretary and is currently a trade minister. Penny Mordaunt was the first woman to serve as defence secretary and was also international trade secretary and is currently a trade minister While other ministers have been posting their support, or lack of, for the Prime Minister, she pointedly posted about he ministerial work The Brexiteer, 49, a naval reservist who once appeared on reality TV in a swimsuit, is popular with party members. Supporters have pushed her credentials as the potential unity candidate any leadership race appears to lack - she is a Brexit voter who backed Jeremy Hunt in 2019. Ms Mordaunt has already been on resignation watch once this year. In January she spoke out against a proposed 1.2 billion underwater electricity cable project backed by a Russian oligarch and major Tory donor. She opposed plans by Aquind, co-owned by Alexander Temerko, to construct the interconnector under the Channel between Normandy and Portsmouth. Temerko, who previously ran a firm producing weapons for Russia's military, and Aquind have given more than 1 million to the Tories and the oligarch has regularly featured in photos at fundraisers with Prime Ministers and their Cabinets. Government sources said Mordaunt was ready to quit if the cable was approved. The project was later rejected. A mother accused of torturing her son to death along with her partner sobbed as she told a court she 'should have died instead of him'. Sebastian Kalinowski, 15, died last August from an infection caused by 'multiple rib fractures'. Prosecutors say he died after weeks of 'cruel assaults and abuse' at the hands of his mother and stepfather at their home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Sebastian had been in the UK for less than a year when he died after moving from Poland to live with his mother Agnieszka Kalinowska and her partner Andrzej Latoszewski, both 36. Jurors at Leeds Crown Court have heard Sebastian was beaten with a bed slat, whipped with an extension cable and forced to perform 'humiliating' exercise drills in what prosecutors say amounted to a campaign of 'torture'. Sebastian Kalinowski died when he was 15 years old of an infection caused by rib fractures. The prosecution said it came after a 'campaign of abuse' Prosecutors say the abuse by the couple was captured on CCTV cameras they had installed to 'monitor Sebastian remotely' at their home. Jurors have heard the footage, seized from the house after Sebastian's death, shows him 'being attacked, principally and most severely by Mr Latoszewski but with his mother being involved at various times'. Agnieszka Kalinowska, 36, denied manslaughter but admitted she 'failed as a mother' The court heard Andrzej Latoszewski, 36, was 'controlling' and abusive, and that he violently attacked Sebastian multiple times The prosecution's case is that both defendants are guilty of murder because 'both of them acted together to inflict the fatal injuries on Sebastian as a course of conduct'. On Wednesday Ms Kalinowska told the court she was 'petrified and scared' of Mr Latoszewski, and that it was a 'controlling relationship'. Ms Kalinowska and Mr Latoszewski both deny murdering Sebastian. Mr Latoszewski, 36, admitted manslaughter on the second day of the trial, while both defendants pleaded guilty to child cruelty a day later. Ms Kalinowska also denies causing or allowing the death of a child. Speaking through a Polish interpreter, Ms Kalinowska told the court she admitted being cruel to Sebastian, but had not pleaded guilty to manslaughter because she did not cause any of his rib injuries, nor did she help or want Latoszewski to break her son's ribs. Asked by her barrister Leonard Smith QC why she was cruel to Sebastian, Ms Kalinowska said: 'Because I listened to Andrzej's words.' Asked why she watched her partner 'inflict the most savage beatings on your own son' without intervening, she replied: 'Because I was petrified and scared.' When Mr Smith said she was thinking of herself instead of her son, she agreed: 'Yes. He was just an ordinary teenager. I failed as a mother. I should have died instead of him.' She described Sebastian as a 'good child' and said Mr Latoszewski's claims to his school that he was 'naughty and lying' were not true. Asked whose decision it was to start punishing Sebastian, she said: 'Andrzej's, because he was the head of the house and he was deciding everything.' The court was shown one CCTV clip of Ms Kalinowska kicking out at Sebastian as Mr Latoszewski beat him. She said: 'Andrzej told me to do something. He said I was just standing there and as his mother I should have intervened.' Asked why she was using her weight on Sebastian's leg during another clip of him being assaulted by Mr Latoszewski, Ms Kalinowska replied: 'Because Andrzej told me to, he told me to hold Sebastian and because I was petrified I was just doing what Andrzej told me to do.' Ms Kalinowska admitted calling Sebastian 'foul and disgusting names', saying it was 'because I was used to those words, because those were the words Andrzej used to address me, so that type of language was being used in the house.' Asked about a recording of her shouting at Sebastian, she said Mr Latoszewski had installed an app to 'record every single conversation on my phone' and she 'wanted Andrzej to know I was disciplining Sebastian in the way he expected me to do'. As Sebastian's punishments became more severe, Mr Smith asked, 'Did you ever think, this has gone too far, I have to save my child?' Ms Kalinowska was tearful as she replied, 'No.' The court heard Ms Kalinowska had Sebastian when she was 19 years old, and that he had lived with her until the age of four, when she moved to the UK 'to earn money to improve Sebastian's life'. Sebastian then went to live with his biological father, the court heard. Ms Kalinowska said she met Mr Latoszewski through friends and he offered her 'this better life in the UK'. She told the court they started a relationship after she moved to England, but that it was 'not a good relationship,' and that Mr Latoszewski started 'controlling me and then beating me up' after around two years. Ms Kalinowska said she brought Sebastian to the UK in 2020 'because I wanted him with me'. The trial continues. A jealous girlfriend who slashed a mum's face while high on cocaine and alcohol after wrongly accusing her of a fling with her boyfriend at a party has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for wounding with intent. Karlie Tuft, 33, cut the face of Bianca Beaumont with a knife - slashing her cheek, lip and nose at the all-night party. A court heard 34-year-old Bianca and a friend had gone to Tuft's flat for a party - and had initially been welcomed guests. But prosecutor Laurence Jones told Cardiff Crown Court that the mood changed when jealous Tuft suspected Bianca of flirting with her boyfriend. She accused Bianca of 'impropriety' with boyfriend John Jackson, 31, before grabbing a knife from the kitchen. Karlie Tuft, 33 (pictured) cut the face of Bianca Beaumont with a knife - slashing her cheek, lip and nose- after falsely accusing the 34-year-old of having an affair with her boyfriend Boyfriend John Jackson then threatened to 'slice your kids worse than you' if Ms Beaumont told the police what had happened A court heard 34-year-old Bianca and a friend had gone to Tuft's flat for a party - and had initially been welcomed guests before the attack Mr Jones said Tuft was high on cocaine and alcohol when she slashed at Bianca in the flat in St Julians, Newport. Jackson witnessed the horror as she was slashed across the face in the row between the two women. But a court heard he then threatened to attack mum-of-two Bianca's children if she told police. The court heard he said: 'If you tell the police Karlie done that to you, if Karlie gets locked up or she goes to jail, I swear to God I will slice your kids worse than you are. 'You will not have any kids.' Cardiff Crown Court heard Bianca feared she would be permanently disfigured following the attack in February last year. Tuft, of Newport, went on the run ahead of her trial but was found guilty of of wounding with intent. Jackson, of Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, denied making threats to kill but was found guilty by a jury. Judge David Wynn Morgan said: 'Miss Beaumont was distraught about the state of her face and anxious to leave the flat. 'Tuft and Jackson were reluctant to allow her to do so. 'They insisted that she not identify Tuft and to say that she had been attacked in the street.' Judge Wynn Morgan told Jackson: 'Your words were malignant, callous, vicious, cruel and intended to cause the maximum fear and anxiety in the mind of a mother of young children as in fact it did. 'And if you committed this offence on the basis that you were scared of Tuft this makes matters worse because it demonstrates beyond any issue that you're a coward.' Judge Wynn Morgan said that after the attack 'Tuft and Jackson carried on their day as if nothing had happened and they visited Tuft's mother for Sunday lunch.' Tuft was jailed for six years and six months and Jackson for four years. Both were also handed restraining orders banning them from contacting Bianca indefinitely. British Airways' helpline has crashed after it announced it will cut a further 10,300 short-haul flights until the end of October, in yet another blow for holidaymakers planning a summer getaway. BA are so overwhelmed with calls due to the announcement they have told customers they will contact them first if their flight has been cancelled. The news comes after BA earlier this year slashed around 17,600 flights in a bid to address the staffing crisis currently gripping airlines and airports across the UK. The move, which BA insists will help reduce the chance of last-minute changes, takes the percentage of cancellations across the UK's flag carrier airline to a total of 13 per cent this summer. BA has been one of the worst affected carriers in terms of schedule disruption in recent months as the aviation industry battles increased demand and staff shortages. In a statement the airline said it was 'not where we wanted to be' but believed the cuts were 'the right thing to do for our customers and colleagues'. It said: 'The whole aviation industry continues to face into significant challenges and we're completely focused on building resilience into our operation to give customers the certainty they deserve. 'The Government recently decided to give the whole industry slot alleviation to minimise potential disruption this summer. 'While taking further action is not where we wanted to be, it's the right thing to do for our customers and our colleagues. British Airways (pictured: Library image) has announced it will cut a further 10,300 short-haul flights until the end of October. It comes after the airline cancelled 17,600 flights up to the end of June - equivalent to 2.8 million seats When the fitness and wellbeing writer arrived in the UK, she was told by Air Canada staff that her bag had been lost Passengers resorted to sleeping on the floor near rubbish bins at Heathrow this week as they waited for their flights to board We're experiencing high call volumes due to current disruption. We'll contact you if your flight has been cancelled. To check the status of your flight go to https://t.co/2Ty8CEO0Dq or if you would like to refund/rebook, please log in to your booking online #BritishAirways British Airways (@British_Airways) July 6, 2022 'This new flexibility means that we can further reduce our schedule and consolidate some of our quieter services so that we can protect as many of our holiday flights as possible. 'While most of our flights are unaffected and the majority of customers will get away as planned, we don't underestimate the impact this will have and we're doing everything we can to get their travel plans back on track. 'We're in touch to apologise and offer rebooking options for new flights with us or another airline as soon as possible or issue a full refund.' It comes after it was reported earlier today that the airline had cancelled 17,600 flights up to the end of June - equivalent to 2.8 million seats. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 further flights have been cancelled so far this month alone, including 785 from Heathrow and 186 at Gatwick. The airline has said it is facing the 'most challenging period in its history' and has 'regrettably' had to make further reductions to its schedule. In May, BA said it would be reducing its schedule by 10 per cent, but this figure has already reached 11 per cent for the summer. Friday marks a deadline for airlines to cancel summer flights without having to hand back unused 'slots', with BA currently holding the majority of permits to take off from and land at Heathrow, The Independent reports. But rival airlines are unlikely to step it and take the slots as it would mean having to launch new flights and the further expense of their marketing. As a result, fares are expected to continue rising as availability falls. In total, 72 flights from Heathrow to Nice have been cancelled to July 15, resulting in fares soaring to an average of 1,180 tomorrow. A further 58 flights to Dublin, 54 to Amsterdam and 52 to Edinburgh have been cancelled in the coming ten days. A BA spokesperson said: 'We took pre-emptive action earlier this year to reduce our summer schedule to provide customers with as much notice as possible about any changes to their travel plans. 'As the entire aviation industry continues to face into the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions. We're in touch with customers to apologise and offer to rebook them or issue a full refund.' Regarding slot alleviation, a statement added: 'We welcome these new measures, which help us to provide the certainty our customers deserve by making it easier to consolidate some of our quieter daily flights to multi-frequency destinations well in advance, and to protect more of our holiday flights.' It comes as after a passenger spent three hours wading through mountains of luggage at Heathrow Airport after she was left without any of clothes for her trip. Lori Harito, 35, was told by Air Canada staff that her bag had been lost when she flew from Toronto via Montreal on June 20. But after waiting for a week, she decided to take matters into her own hands and travelled to the airport to spend three hours unsuccessfully combing through mountains of baggage herself. She has now said it could take 'months' before she is finally reunited with her belongings and 'there seems to be nothing I can do about it'. Lori Harito spent three hours wading through mountains of luggage at Heathrow Airport after she was left without any of clothes for her trip from Toronto Ms Harito recalled having to wade through mountains of luggage in an unsuccessful attempt to find her lost belongings She had to travel to London with only the clothes on her back while desperately waiting for a call from baggage services on the whereabouts of her belongings Ms Harito had walked from her flight to the baggage reclaim area as normal, but was told her bag was 'somewhere in the airport' when she approached a lost baggage desk when it did not arrive on the conveyor belt. Instead, it had been placed on the wrong flight to Heathrow when she caught her connecting flight at Montreal. She had to travel to London with only the clothes on her back while desperately waiting for a call from baggage services with an update to its whereabouts. The fitness and wellness writer said: 'I had to make a claim with lost baggage who told me that my bag was somewhere in the airport, but they didn't know where. 'I was told my bag was lost when I arrived, so after a week I went back to the airport to try and find it myself. 'There were more people with lost luggage than there were people with luggage, which just shows the magnitude of the chaos.' She recalled enormous piles of abandoned suitcases at the airport's lost luggage department. Air Canada has sent her a $60 eCoupon for her lost luggage, but she claims it cost her $75 to check her bag in in the first place. Ms Harito has had tp spend a fortune on clothes while she waits to be reunited with her own. She added: 'The customer service people at the luggage terminal told me they have thousands of bags to process and deliver. 'I still don't have my bag, and you can't even get through to Air Canada's customer service line anymore. 'When I arrived to look for my bag, I was then told the layover caused the issue, and my luggage was actually put on the wrong flight. 'The majority of flights from Montreal were either cancelled or delayed - mine included. 'So when we made it to Montreal from Toronto, the gate for my flight to London changed, but my luggage still went on the flight that was at my original gate.' It comes after holidaymakers were this week forced to sleep by the bins in Heathrow as airport chaos took yet another turn for the worse. A young family were spotted catching up on rest in the most uncomfortable of positions, as terminals up and down the country are once again packed with frustrated, queuing passengers. Misery for passengers at Heathrow appears set to worsen, too, as plane refuellers have voted to go on strike. The Unite union announced around 50 staff at Heathrow who fuel planes will strike for 72 hours from 5am on July 21. Covid infections have shot up in England to over 2 million according to the latest Office of National Statistics data Lengthy queues pictured at Heathrow Airport yesterday as passengers continue to face chaos across the UK And the chaos appears set to worsen amid expected strike action from plane refuellers this month It has been designed to cause maximum damage, covering the first weekend of the school holidays when millions of families are planning getaways. The workers are employed by Aviation Fuel Services, one of four firms at Heathrow, who re-fuel around 150 planes daily. Unite wants a double-digit pay rise for workers to call off the strikes after pay fell by 15 per cent over three years, it claims. Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said: 'Disruption can be avoided if AFS returns to the negotiating table and makes an offer that meets our member expectations.' Covid is also again threatening to jeopardise summer holiday plans for millions of Brits as experts fear foreign destinations may reinstate tough curbs to counter surging infections. Tests, facemasks and vaccine passes could return to favoured holiday hotspots and airports could see further chaos if the number of self-isolating workers skyrockets. Now MPs and experts have publicly shared their concerns for the future of millions of Brits' summer holiday plans which could hang in the balance. Staff at a swanky New York City restaurant are looking for the couple who left behind their wedding ring after having sex in the bathroom over the weekend. Balthazar owner Keith McNally made a raunchy Instagram post Monday detailing how the couple used the men's room as their private sexual oasis over the long holiday weekend. McNally alleged they ran off before staff had a chance to catch them in the act. But in their hurry a wedding ring was left on the restroom floor. Now social media users are wondering who the adventurous lovers are and if they are married to each other. Balthazar owner Keith McNally made a raunchy Instagram post Monday detailing how a couple used the men's room at the swanky NYC restaurant as their private sexual oasis over the long Fourth of July weekend McNally alleged they ran off before staff had a chance to catch them in the act. But in their hurry a wedding ring was left on the restroom floor Balthazar: Fancy French brasserie-style diner in trendy Soho district Balthazar is a French brasserie-style restaurant housed in New York City's Soho neighborhood. The restaurant opened in 1997 in a building formerly used as a tannery, a place where animal hides are treated. It has since become one of owner Keith McNally's benchmark brasseries. The Michelin Guide describes the restaurant as being 'quintessentially SoHo.' The menu features pastries, seafood and other French-inspired delicacies. McNally has since other Balthazar locations across the globe, including in London, UK. His culinary empire also includes NYC hot spots Pastis and Minetta Tavern. Advertisement McNally claims restaurant Manager Zouheir Louhaichy told him about the encounter in a note detailing what ensued at the SoHo hotspot over the Independence Day weekend. 'We had one alleged report of a couple having sex in one of the men's stall downstairs,' Louhaichy reportedly wrote. 'But when I asked floor manager Greg to rush down and check what's going on the couple were nowhere to be found so they remained a mystery.' 'But oddly enough, Greg found a small wedding ring on the floor of the bathroom stall,' he added. Louhaichy said the ring was placed in the restaurant's lost and found. McNally told Page Six on Tuesday the couple had not yet returned to claim the ring. Meanwhile, the internet is loving McNally's post, with Instagram user Erica Forstadt claiming it 'just might be my favorite one' yet. 'I love a good story,' echoed Shari Applebaum. Others have made humorous remarks poking fun at the couple. 'F**k. So that's where mom wandered off to' fashion designer F.E. Castleberry joked. 'Well, where's the ring shot?' questioned Amy Hinkler. 'I'm sure someone can identify the hand it belongs to.' 'Sex, booze and rock 'n roll could hardly ask for more!!' wrote James Dickerman. Sadie Stein added: 'But who snitched on the bathroom couple in the first place?!' McNally claims a couple had sex in the bathroom before scurrying off, leaving behind a wedding ring. The ring has since been placed in lost and found New York restaurateur Keith McNally (pictured) has previously cautioned that '80 percent of Instagram posts are lies,' including his own The couple's sexual escapade wasn't the only chaos staff were met with over the weekend. Louhaichy told McNally they had to 'cut-off' a woman at the bar who was 'clearly intoxicated.' 'She was swaying and two other ladies at the bar grabbed her to help keep her upright,' he recalled. 'She threatened to call her lawyer and then when she was leaving she looked towards the podium and said to me: 'I would like to be escorted out, a**hole!'' The manager said the drunk woman had been escorted out of Balthazar on a previous visit as well. Despite the few unpleasantries, Louhaichy claimed it was a successful weekend for the establishment. They served 480 dinners and many customers issued 'happy comments about the food and service.' McNally's Instagram posts have become popular with some users alleging there's a 'novel in every post' and the stories should be used to 'produce a series for Netflix.' However, the eccentric restaurateur has cautioned that most social media posts are complete lies, including his own. 'Eighty percent of Instagram posts are lies,' he told The Wall Street Journal last month. 'People post stories and photos of how they want to be seen by others, not of how they really are. Mine included. But at least I recognize it and try to change it.' It is unclear if how much of McNally's post about the restroom lovers in factual, but the internet seems eager to believe the story is real. The circumstances surrounding the death of an OnlyFans star remain mysterious following cryptic social media posts from her and her family. Heather Sargent, 31 - who went by Wednesday Nyte - died in Las Vegas on June 18, days after she posted a selfie with with a face-tattoo filter that read 'Pray for me.' Sargent also made a pair of explicit posts on Twitter on the day that she died, one at 4:42 am, and another at 6:03 am. Her last Instagram post - two days before her death - showed her smiling while posing. About a week after Sargent's death, her sister, Haley Sargent, wrote on Twitter that a person she had been looking for in relation to her sister had been located. It is unclear if that person - a male, according to one of Haley's Instagram posts - was suspected of having any involvement in Heather's death. Las Vegas police have not provided details to DailyMail.com about Heather's death. Heather Sargent, 31, died in Las Vegas on June 18, days after she posted this selfie with with a face-tattoo filter that read 'Pray for me' Sargent goes by Wednesday Nyte professionally. She has appeared in a few films, and has a large following on OnlyFans How much the family knows about the death is also unclear, as Haley added in the Twitter post that she would not comment on the death. 'At this time there is nothing further I, nor her family/friends can speak about. Please no questions.' Sargent appeared in several adult films, according to the New York Post, and had a large fanbase on OnlyFans and social media. A GoFundMe page set up by a friend, Lacey Williams, on June 24 to bring Sargent's body back to her home state of Georgia also said the circumstances around the death were unclear. 'Unfortunately at this time we don't have alot (sic) of information surrounding the circumstances,' Williams wrote. 'We ask that any questions at this time just be refrained as honestly, we don't have the answers. We hope this changes dramatically in the very near future.' According to the GoFundMe page, Sargent left behind her parents, an uncle, a nephew, and her sister. 'Our goal is to get our girl home with her family and back to her stomping grounds.' Sargent's last Instagram post was made on June 16 - two days before her death - and showed her smiling while posing (above) Sargent's sister, Haley, posted this tribute to Heather on her Instagram several days after her death Haley said in several social media posts that she would not be answering any questions about her sister's death. She also hinted at some kind of a spat between Heather and fellow adult film star Madison Morgan, 28, in a July 6 Twitter post saying 'The truth always comes to light.' The post referred to an incident - which Morgan briefly discussed on the podcast No Jumper in June - where Morgan was reportedly heavily intoxicated on drugs at a birthday party. Haley claimed that the party had been for Heather. It is unclear if Haley felt Morgan had any connection to her sister's death. The GoFundMe page spoke glowingly of Heather, describing her as a 'free-spirited and adventurous soul.' 'That soul and spirit of hers lead her to some beautiful places with just as beautiful people throughout her journey of life.' A stalker who tried terrorised a leukaemia sufferer for over a year before trying to book them into an assisted suicide clinic has been given an official warning by the social care regulator. Nursery worker Emma Johnston, 50, launched a campaign of false accusations and even tried booking her victim into Dignitas - resulting in her getting sent her own condolences cards and calls stating she had died. Ms Johnston, who was employed at Hazlehead Primary School Nursery in Aberdeen, contacted the assisted suicide clinic to tell them one of her victims required end-of-life care. The victim, aged 71, suffered from leukaemia and received calls and letters from funeral directors stating she had died. During the 13-month period Mrs Johnston also contacted Police Scotland and filed false reports of domestic abuse. And she even contacted one victim's employer claiming they had committed a criminal offence. Nursery worker Emma Johnston, 50, launched a campaign of false accusations and even tried booking her victim into Dignitas - resulting in her getting sent her own condolences cards and calls stating she had died The 50-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of causing fear or alarm by stalking at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in July last year. Parents were shocked after Johnston returned back to work at Hazlehead Primary School on the same day she made her plea. Johnston was warned not to make any further contact with the women or she would face jail time. The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) today issued the carer with a warning on her registration for a period of three years. The SSSC also noted that Johnston's insight into the incident was 'limited'. In making their decision, they said: 'You were convicted of engaging in a course of conduct which caused fear and alarm to two members of the public over a period of approximately 13 months. 'Your behaviour showed a disregard for the wellbeing of others, for the law and for the time and resources of the organisations that you contacted under false pretences. 'Your behaviour was serious. It occurred outside of your employment after the [information redacted]. 'We note there was no harm to any service users. 'You have made some admissions but you have largely focussed on what had been done to you and how you have been treated, rather than looking at the impact your behaviour had on others. Ms Johnston, who was employed at Hazlehead Primary School Nursery in Aberdeen, contacted assisted suicide clinic Dignitas (pictured) to tell them one of her victims required end-of-life care 'Given the circumstances of your convictions, we have considered that the risk of repetition is low as you no longer have contact with [information redacted]. 'Given the low risk of repetition, it is unlikely that you present an ongoing risk to the public. However, your page three of four convictions reflected badly on the profession. 'The public should be able to expect that a social service worker entrusted to care for children in a nursery setting would adhere to the law and not cause fear or alarm to members of the public. 'A finding of current impairment is necessary to reaffirm the clear standards of professional conduct and uphold public confidence in the profession. Making their decision they continued: 'After referring to our Decisions Guidance, we decided the appropriate sanction is to place a warning on your registration for a period of three years. 'We considered that a warning would adequately mark the behaviour as unacceptable and that it should not happen again.' While TikTok shopping is known and popular in Asia, a disastrous experience in the UK made the company rethink if it still want to pursue its plan of bringing it to the US, according to 9to5Mac. The plan to bring "TikTok Shop" to the US have been abandoned after the "social media platform's foray into QVC-style shopping in the UK was hit by internal problems and struggled to gain traction with consumers," as per Financial Times report. TikTok Shop Failed in UK Last year, TikTok Shop was launched in the UK, the Chinese company's first market outside Asia. Using TikTok Shop, brands and influencers broadcast live and sell products. On the screen of the viral short-video app, there's a clickable orange basket. Social media platforms see this form of livestream commerce as the potential future of shopping. The social media app take a commission on sales. Its rivals, YouTube and Instagram, developed similar features in Europe. The sales of Chinese Douyin app was more than triple year per year. The model has proved profitable for TikTok parent ByteDance. In the first half of this year, TikTok had planned to launch the shopping feature in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. And later in 2022, they plan to expand it into the US, according to several people briefed on the matter. But the expansion plans will not be happening anymore after the UK disaster. The UK project "failed to meet targets and influencers dropped out of the scheme," according to Financial Times. "The market just isn't there yet. General consumer awareness and adoption are still low and nascent," a TikTok employee said. Despite TikTok's offering of subsidies and cash incentives to encourage brands and influencers to sell through the app, a lot of TikTok Shop livestreams have achieved poor sales. Read Also: [RUMOR] TikTok Brings Back 'Who Viewed Your Profile' Function; How to Check User Engagement TikTok London Office Has Toxic Work Culture Based on the Financial Times investigation last month, it was revealed there had been a "mass staff exodus from the company's ecommerce team in London." The employees complained that the working culture enforced by the company's Chinese leadership is aggressive. 9to5Mac reported that since TikTok Shop's launch, at least 20 members of the London ecommerce team, or around half of all its original staff, have left. Others say they are on the verge of quitting. As per Financial Times report, Joshua Ma, a senior ByteDance executive who ran TikTok Shop in Europe, was replaced after the revelations. Comments made to London-based staff that he "didn't believe" in maternity leave was investigated by the company. According to TikTok, it had no current plans to make the shopping features available in Europe. At present, the company is focused solely on making the venture a success in the UK. TikTok Shop was recently launched in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. Since last year, it has been available in Indonesia. "We are always looking at ways to enhance our community's experience and regularly test new features that inspire creativity, bring joy and innovate the TikTok experience in markets around the world. We're excited to experiment with new commerce opportunities that enable our community to discover and engage with what they love." TikTok said. Related Article: How to Earn Money on TikTok: How Many Followers Do You Need to Start Getting Monetized? The heads of Britain and America's intelligence agencies have promised more investigations into China as they jointly warned the world faces a 'game changing challenge' from the ruling communist party. Director general Ken McCallum said MI5 is running seven times as many investigations into China as it was four years ago, and plans to 'grow as much again' to tackle the nation's widespread attempts at interference. In an unprecedented joint address with the director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, at MI5's Thames House headquarters in London on Wednesday, business leaders and academic chiefs also heard warnings that a Chinese takeover of Taiwan could 'represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen'. In their historic speech, the security chiefs warned of China's ruling community party, headed up by President Xi Jinping, attempting to 'covertly apply pressure across the globe'. They warned the Chinese government was a looming threat to global economics, technology, businesses and particularly to Taiwan - the tiny East Asian island that has long fought off calls to reintegrate with mainland China. MI5 Director general Ken McCallum (left) and FBI chief Christopher Wray (right) used their historic joint address to warn of the looming threat of China's ruling Communist Party on the established world order In their historic speech, the security chiefs warned of China's ruling community party, headed up by President Xi Jinping, attempting to 'covertly apply pressure across the globe' Mr McCallum said: 'Today is the first time the heads of the FBI and MI5 have shared a public platform. 'We're doing so to send the clearest signal we can on a massive shared challenge: China. 'The most game-changing challenge we face comes from the Chinese communist party. It's covertly applying pressure across the globe. 'MI5 has already more than doubled our previously-constrained effort against Chinese activity of concern. 'Today we're running seven times as many investigations as we were in 2018. 'We plan to grow as much again, while also maintaining significant effort against Russian and Iranian covert threats.' He later told reporters: 'We plan to double again,' adding: 'China is the most game-changing threat in the sense that it pervades so many aspects of our national life.' Mr Wray warned that if China was to try to 'forcibly take over Taiwan' it would 'represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen'. Describing the threat as a 'complex, enduring and pervasive danger' to 'innovative businesses', Mr Wray said: 'We consistently see that it's the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by 'our', I mean both our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere.' He told the audience the Chinese government is 'set on stealing your technology, whatever it is that makes your industry tick, and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market.' It comes just months after Parliament was hit by a major security alert as spooks warned MPs that Labour donor and lawyer Christine Lee (pictured with President Xi Jinping) with links to a former minister was allegedly a Chinese spy. It comes just months after Parliament was hit by a major security alert as spooks warned MPs that a Labour donor with links to a former minister was a Chinese spy. London-based lawyer Christine Lee, 58, was monitored by the security services for some time, parliamentarians were told in a bombshell email in early January. In an interview with the Daily Mail earlier this year, Mr McCallum warned there were 'ongoing attempts' by a range of nations to influence 'our economy, our democracy, our society', warning: 'These other components of UK life the public sector, the academic sector and so forth are still very much central to these ongoing waves of shaping activity, and need to be aware of that and make conscious smart choices. 'We need to be clear that there is in effect a contest of different worlds now taking place, sometimes visibly, sometimes invisibly, between the liberal democrat model West and the more authoritarian model nations. 'What we are dealing with won't, I don't think, become a confrontation of the sort our grandparents would recognise. [And] the UK does not need to cut itself off from the world. 'But we do need to be clear that standing up for our values and our way of life matters and sometimes that involves tough choices.' Rocco Morabito, the second most-wanted fugitive in Italy and a bigwig in the powerful 'Ndrangheta mafia, arrived in Rome on Wednesday after being extradited from Brazil ending some 28 years on the run. Morabito, who was arrested in Brazil in May 2021 and is known as the 'king of cocaine', will now serve a 30-year prison sentence for various drug offences. 'He was a major architect in the internationalisation of the (crime) gangs and became the king of cocaine brokers,' Nicola Morra, head of parliament's anti-mafia commission, wrote on Facebook. The interior ministry said Morabito had been included in its 'special search programme' for absconded criminals. Morabito, 56, had convictions for international drug trafficking from separate cases in the Italian cities of Milan, Palermo and Reggio Calabria. Investigators say he was the point person for the 'Ndrangheta in South America. The 'Ndrangheta is based in the southern region of Calabria, the toe of Italy's boot, and has surpassed Cosa Nostra to become the most powerful mafia group in the country - and one of the largest crime gangs in the world. Morabito's arrest, along with that of another fugitive drugs trafficker in Brazil last year, came some four years after he had managed to escape from jail in Uruguay. Rocco Morabito (pixellated), a fugitive drug lord with ties to the powerful 'Ndrangheta criminal gang, lands at Ciampino airport after being extradited from Brazil to serve a 30-year prison sentence Italian drug lord Rocco Morabito is escorted by federal police, in the hangar of the Federal Police in Brasilia, Brazil, May 25, 2021 This file handout picture taken on February 14, 2018 and released by the Uruguayan Interior Ministry on June 24, 2019, shows Italian Rocco Morabito following his arrest in Montevideo When he was captured in 2017 in Uruguay, Morabito was living in a luxury villa in a seaside resort using an alias and a false Brazilian passport, authorities said at the time. During his arrest in a Montevideo hotel, police also seized a 9mm gun, 13 mobile phones and a stash of cash, as well as a Mercedes coupe. In recent years, Brazil has become a key player in the transatlantic drug trade, with its gangs tying up with Italian, Dutch and Balkan players to move record loads of cocaine to Europe, lured by high prices and growing demand. In addition to drug trafficking, Morabito has been convicted in Italy of Mafia association. Still top of Italys list of most-wanted mafia bosses is Matteo Messina Denaro, considered to still wield top power in the Cosa Nostra in Sicily despite being a fugitive since 1993. Morabito had long been one of Italy's most wanted men prior to his 2017 arrest in Uruguay. By then, he had lived for 13 years under a fake identity in the Uruguayan resort town of Punta del Este. In June 2019, Uruguay's interior ministry announced Morabito and three other inmates had escaped through a hole in the roof of their prison in the capital Montevideo, setting off a massive manhunt and causing Uruguay's prison chief to resign. Morabito had been wanted by Italy since 1994 after he was caught paying 13 billion lire ($8 million) to import almost a tonne of cocaine, Corriere della Sera newspaper reported. Morabito first carved out a reputation for himself as the King of Cocaine after arriving in trendy Milan from his hometown of Africo in Italy's poor southern region of Calabria at the age of 23. Nicknamed 'U Tamunga' in reference to a German military vehicle, the DKW Munga, the young Morabito became a charismatic figure in Milan who frequented bars and parties, according to Italian press reports. Longtime Italian fugitive Rocco Morabito seen before going on the run in 1994 (left) and after he was caught in Uruguay (right) in September 2017 He soon came to the attention of Italian anti-Mafia investigators and they regularly tracked him delivering suitcases filled with millions of lira to Colombian drug traffickers. Police moved in on his birthday as he made what would be his last delivery, in October 1994, but he managed to escape. An international arrest warrant was issued in 1995 with the aim of tracking down Morabito and extraditing him to Italy to serve his sentence. In 2017 he was arrested after living in Uruguay under a false name for 13 years and jailed while Italy's request for extradition was processed. Officials said at the time that he had acquired Uruguayan residence after entering the country with a false Brazilian passport in the name of Francisco Capeletto. A Florida man has been charged with raping a woman at Disney's Dolphin Resort after meeting her at a bar - while he was on holiday with his wife. Eyvor Gomez, 49, of Pembroke Pines, was arrested on Monday and charged with felony sexual battery charges. The victim, who has not been named, said she met Gomez at a bar inside the restaurant at the resort, which is owned by Marriot, and the pair had a drink together, the arrested affidavit, viewed by Click Orlando, said. After the bartender announced last call, Gomez allegedly asked the woman to go outside with him, away from the security cameras, claiming he had his own liquor. Gomez and the victim then went outside, huddling by a glass wall and bushes, where he allegedly made sexual advances toward her. The woman refused and tried to push him away, but Gomez allegedly shoved her against the wall, causing her to blackout, investigators said, according to Click Orlando. Security cameras however show the woman trying to crawl away from Gomez, who at that point was seen forcing himself on her and filming the alleged attack on his cellphone. The woman eventually managed to escape and sat among a group of strangers inside the resort to get away from him. Eyvor Gomez, 49, of Pembroke Pines, was arrested on Monday and charged with felony sexual battery charges after he allegedly tried to rape a woman. He originally denied the assault, but later admitted to investigators to consensual kissing and 'groping' The alleged assault took place at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Lake Buena Vista, which is owned by Marriott. It is unclear if guests can supply their own alcohol on the premises Resort security managed to direct law enforcement to the Gomez after recognizing him from the night before the alleged attack, when he and his wife allegedly got into an argument, according to Fox 35 Orlando. 'There was an argument and his wife was escorted back to their room. Eyvor matched the description and photograph provided by witnesses. Disney confirmed through surveillance video,' the affidavit read. A representative for Disney told DailyMail.com that its resorts typically allow guests to take their own alcohol. However, the Dolphin Resort is owned by Marriot, and a representative refused to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com. When investigators questioned Gomez, he allegedly denied having any contact with the victim, before claiming they consensually kissed and 'groping.' He denied assaulting her, Click Orlando said. He has been charged with sexual battery and booked into the Orange County Jail. DailyMail.com has requested the arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Boris Johnson's former mistress Petronella Wyatt yesterday said the bullish Prime Minister would not resign despite the crisis engulfing him. Ms Wyatt, who had an affair with him between 2000 and 2004, insisted that the prospect of Boris simply resigning is 'as likely as Putin withdrawing Ukraine saying it had all been a terrible mistake'. Speaking at her home in St John's Wood, London, Ms Wyatt predicted that the stubborn Prime Minister will dig his heels in and fill his cabinet with yes men and women, insisting his ego would not allow him to walk out of Number 10 without a fight. The former deputy editor of The Spectator, who got pregnant with his child and had an abortion during their affair, said his staying in Downing Street would be his first priority. 'Boris has undoubted talent and charisma, but is sadly bereft of humility or a sagacious apprehension of the realities of a modern democracy.' She revealed a former Tory Minister telephoned her last night with the prediction that Boris would be gone by the end of the week. But she said: 'Knowing Boris as I well as I do, I could not concur. Boris's obsession with his own divine right will tear apart his party and cause collateral damage to the country.' Boris Johnson's former mistress Petronella Wyatt (pictured) said the bullish Prime Minister's ego would not allow him to walk out of Number 10 without a fight despite the crisis engulfing him Boris Johnson pictured facing a torrent of questions and criticism from MPs during PMQs Boris Johnson and Petronella Wyatt are pictured at The Spectator Magazine Summer Party at the Spectator Offices in Doughty Street - 06 Jul 2006 The Prime Minister's father Stanley Johnson last night told MailOnline that his son had been worthy of his role because he completed the task of delivering Brexit. But Ms Wyatt, 54, tore into Boris's right to claim he masterminded Britain's departure from the EU. 'Boris's remaining supporters can only repeat the mantra that ' he got Brexit done.' That is questionable in itself. Dominic Cummings, was the mastermind behind that achievement. 'But even if it were true Boris has failed to capitalise on it. He won an impressive 80 seat majority against Jeremy Corbyn - hardly an impressive foe, mind you - and one cannot help but feel that he has squandered it.' Ms Wyatt, clearly still angered about her relationship with Boris, added: 'The unpalatable truth is that Boris and Putin share similarities. Johnson's instincts are those of the dictator. 'He once told me that he idolised medieval kings because they didn't 'have to bother with voters' and had 'a free pass to do as they pleased'. 'In the universe of Boris, he is king, not Prime Minister. ' She said the appointment of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid as Chancellor and Health Secretary were 'because they were 'yes men'. 'He dislikes cabinet government, and is pathologically intolerant of competition and has from the very beginning appointed yes men and nodding marionettes. 'He would have been shocked that they are no longer agreeing with him. He cannot take unpalatable truths. 'Had he possessed a strategy or any beliefs beyond the conviction he should be in Downing Street, he might have got away with it. 'It is unfortunate that he has no convictions, has always sought to avoid hard work, and becomes bored by detail. 'If a Prime Minister refuses to delegate, he or she must, like Margaret Thatcher, for example, devote themselves to the job. 'He has devoted himself to long stays at Chequers, starting a new family, and playing the international statesman. 'He does not possess the essential gifts of self knowledge and veracity. Johnson pictured alongside Wyatt in London in 2004 The former deputy editor of The Spectator, who got pregnant with his child and had an abortion during their affair, said staying in Downing Street would be Boris' first priority 'Boris is the best liar we have ever had as Prime Minister, and has successfully perpetuated the notion that all politicians lie, and so he is no worse than the next one. 'This canard has been unforgivable. My father, Woodrow Wyatt, was a politician for forty years and Margaret Thatcher and members of her Cabinet were frequent guests at our home. 'They did not lie their heads off, though sometimes obfuscation is a necessary part of a politician's armory. Thatcher, who had unimpeachable probity, would be horrified by Boris, not only the man, but his determination to cling inelegantly to office to the detriment of the country.' She said the man she knew would probably invest all the resources available to Number 10 to saving his premiership. 'This is a bad new way to do politics, and suggests an utter contempt for the electorate. 'Boris's peculiar qualities once enabled him to emerge as a great populist politician. 'But even Tory voters have woken up to the indubitable and unpleasant fact that the Prime Minister is careless of their interests.' In a revelation that is almost certain to drive more Tory supporters away, she claimed during their relationship Boris had clear contempt for the party's voters. Wyatt is pictured on Good Morning Britain last month amid the vote of confidence over Boris' leadership Boris barks back at MPs in the House of Commons today She said: 'I even recall his once saying to me that most Conservative voters were 'dunderheads' and 'not worth bothering about.' 'These sentiments were also extended to Tory MPs. Boris thinks he has an intellect of 10 gallon capacity, but regards the intelligence of most of his colleagues as on a level with invertebrates. 'I was appalled at his tenure while Foreign Secretary and I recall there were complaints he didn't read his briefs, and refused to listen to those who were better informed. 'In the Foreign Office blunders can be covered up. When you are Prime Minister, you have nowhere to hide. 'His refusal to heed advice has led to the departure from Number 10 of every competent employee. During the past year, the nation has been run by a group of young men and women with no political qualifications save that of sycophancy. It's a poor outlook for the country. We deserve better than this. But as far as Boris in concerned, he is going nowhere. And if his whole cabinet resigned he would simply appoint a new one.' She called for his immediate resignation from Downing Street. 'He should go now, with dignity. It would be the greatest service he could perform for his country. But I'm not holding my breath.' Four Norman Rockwell artworks that adorned the walls of the White House for over 40 years have been replaced with photos of President Joe Biden, it was reported on Tuesday. Aides removed the works, which make up Rockwell's 1943 series So You Want To See The President, because the family that owned them wanted the pieces back, according to Politico. The lively watercolor-and-sketch panels feature various characters like senators, military service members and a fashionably dressed woman on an elongated couch waiting for an audience with the commander-in-chief. Their titles are Gentleman of the Press, Beauty and Publicity Man, The Press Get a News Flash and A Hero is Interviewed, Politico reports. The works are apparently owned by the relatives of Steve Early, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's press secretary, former White House curator Betty Monkman told the outlet. Early's descendants loaned the Rockwells to the White House, she said. The drawings have hung on its walls since the Carder administration in 1978. Monkman, who worked with the White House's art between 1967 until 2002, said Early was gifted the drawings by the artist himself. The four artworks (similar to the prints above) make up a series called So You Want To See The President. Rockwell made it in 1943 after visiting Franklin Delano Roosevelt's White House Rockwell was reportedly inspired by a visit to the White House reception room when FDR was president in 1943. One of the most iconic and prolific American artists of the 20th century, Rockwell's paper-based art has fetched between '$50,000 and $200,000' depending on the market, according to Tuesday's report. His 1951 painting Saying Grace fetched $46 million at a Sotheby's auction in 2013. 'The fact that these pieces came from the White House adds a level of celebrity ownership which could add a layer of value but to value then you would need to have them professionally appraised,' appraiser Barbara Sussman told Politico. Many of Rockwell's works - including So You Want To See The President - were used as covers of The Saturday Evening Post, an American magazine that has been in circulation since 1821. Inside the White House, they have reportedly been swapped with 'several jumbo photos of Biden.' The works were reportedly replaced by 'jumbo' pictures of President Joe Biden, though it's not clear if it's a temporary installation or whether it will be replaced by more art later DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House for more information. Another Rockwell artwork still remains in the People's House, however. Film director Steven Spielberg donated a painting called Working On The Statue of Liberty in 1994, when Bill Clinton was president. Tuesday's report suggests Biden had it moved from the Oval Office to the White House residence last year. The executive branch is in possession of more than 500 artworks, according to the White House Historical Association. That includes a range in types of art from statues to framed pieces. The vast collection began with presidential portraits that were either donated or commissioned by Congress, but expanded as commanders-in-chief invited artists to paint significant moments in American history. It also grew to incorporate landscape works. John F. Kennedy was the first president to hire a White House art curator, a position that has remained and expanded to oversee a full staff since then. Advertisement The devastated mother of Jake McLean has claimed that her son was a skilled driver who could have been distracted, causing the car crash that killed him and injured his girlfriend Yazmin Oukhellou. Anita Walsh told prosecutors in Bodrum that Jake, 33 would not have lost control of the car as it flew off a bend on a mountainous road in the early hours of Sunday morning because of his driving expertise. Anita raised her concerns with Turkish prosecutors who are investigating the crash in which Yazmin, 28 was left with an injured arm. An Assistant Prosecutor who cannot be named under Turkish Law told MailOnline: We have spoken with Jakes mother and she has told us that something was going on in the car that distracted him. She does not believe that this accident was caused by his poor driving. She said that he is a very skilled and experienced driver and would not have lost control of the car like this. Prosecutors plan to speak to Anita in further detail over the coming days as they attempt to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the crash. Jake McLean's mother Anita Walsh (pictured together) does believe his fatal car accident in Turkey over the weekend was caused by his poor driving Photographs have revealed the extent of the damage to the blue Mercedes E class saloon that Jack McClean was driving during the crash Jake (left) was pronounced dead at the scene while Yazmin (right) was rushed to hospital where she had surgery on her arm, and is now recovering Jake McLean died after crashing his car off a road near the party resort of Bodrum, in Turkey Anita arrived in Bodrum on Tuesday accompanied by Jakes uncle. She has already been interviewed by police and is making arrangements for her sons body to be flown back to the UK once the investigation has been completed. Turkish prosecutors revealed that they are working on the basis that Jake was drunk as they await an autopsy report and that Yasmin too may have been drunk. They also believe that he is estimated to have been driving at 'well over' the 40 miles per hour speed limit although they had yet to establish a specific figure for this. Investigators have already revealed how reality TV star Yazmin yelled help me, help me. My friend is dead as she scrambled to safety moments after the horror smash. Yazmin is currently being treated for injuries to her arm in Bodrums Acibadem Hospital where she is being comforted by her mother Lisa. Adil Mert from the hospitals International Patients Department said: The patients mother has been provided with a room so that she can stay with her daughter while she undergoes treatment. We cannot reveal any details about the patient apart from the fact that she is making progress and is being well looked after. Jake's car left the road on a sharp bend, crashed through a sign warning of a sharp turn, tumbled 10ft down a steep embankment and came to rest on its roof (pictured) The driver's side has partially caved in as a result of the impact of the crash Locals say the route where the crash happened is a notorious accident blackspot, particularly for tourists who use it to shuttle between bars and clubs at night Jake and Yazmin were driving in a blue Mercedes E class saloon along a windy, mountainous road between the coastal city of Bodrum and the seaside town of Yalikavak as they returned from a night out. Jake hired the car in Istanbul and then drove down to Bodrum, where Yazmin joined him for a break. The crash took place at around 4.30am and investigators have established that the car hurtled around 70 feet over a left turn bend and landed in a ravine almost 30 feet below. Jake was pronounced dead at the scene while Yazmin was rushed to hospital, where she underwent to her injured arm. After the crash, she clambered through thick, thorny bushes to stop a passing motorist for help. Photographs have revealed the extent of the damage to the blue Mercedes as a result of the accident. The passenger side window, from where Yazmin is believed to have escaped is knocked out while there are blood stains on the inside of the door. The driver's side has partially caved in while the vehicle has also sustained serious damage on the rear of its exterior. The roof, with both front and back sunroofs open, has been crushed while all the air bags are open in the car, which is in a local garage in Yalikavak. Dozens of migrants crossed the English Channel by small boat today after it was revealed that more than 40 people were arrested in an international operation targeting people smugglers. The first arrivals were escorted to Dover, Kent on board Border Force cutter Vigilant shortly before 8am. The mostly male group, who carried their belongings in plastic carrier bags, were escorted along the gangway by soldiers dressed in camouflage fatigues. A second group of around 30 people, which included a number of women and children, was brought into the harbour on Border Force vessel Defender around an hour later. At least two people could be seen carrying small babies in a life jackets as they disembarked the boat, while around three more toddlers were helped off the vessel. Several migrants appeared cold as they stood waiting to be taken along the walkway for processing by UK officials - with blue blankets wrapped around their shoulders. Border Force cutter Defender later returned to the port with a third group of migrants who had been intercepted in the Channel. The migrants landed on British shores just as up to 40 people were arrested in a series of raids across Europe as the National Crime Agency (NCA) this week joined the biggest ever international operation designed to crack down on human traffickers and illegal smuggling operations. Dramatic video captured a slew of raids that took place in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands yesterday as part of the operation. The first arrivals, mainly teenage boys, were escorted to Dover, Kent on board Border Force cutter Vigilant shortly before 8am A migrant woman is wrapped in a blanket as she attempts to recover from the cold crossing earlier today Several migrants appeared cold as they stood waiting to be taken along the walkway for processing by UK officials An individual is arrested by National Crime Agency officers in connection with people smuggling operations Operation Punjum, led by the NCA in Britain, was carried out alongside Operation Thoren in Europe to smash gangs allegedly charging migrants up to 3,500 each to take them to the UK in boats packed with up to 60 people at a time. 'Mr Big' Hewa Rahimpur, a 29-year-old Iranian, is accused of overseeing one 'slick' operation to source boats in Turkey before having them delivered to warehouses in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and eventually moved to northern France. NCA officers arrested six people in London - including two who were detained on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration. Two other men were arrested for immigration offences, while a man and woman were both detained on suspicion of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply. There have been more than 40 arrests across all the countries involved, with 900 life jackets found and 60 small boats, such as dinghies, recovered at one location alone. NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Jacque Beer said: 'This international investigation is targeting one of the most significant and most prolific crime groups involved in supplying small boats and moving migrants across the Channel.' How migrants are moving boats from Turkey to the UK Hewa Rahimpur, a 29-year-old Iranian, is accused of overseeing a 'slick' operation to supply boats to be used in illegal Channel crossings. This is how the system allegedly worked: 1 - Gangs source boats in Turkey; 2 - They are smuggled into Europe and kept in warehouses in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands; 3 - Associates then take them to northern France when they are needed to ship migrants to Britain. Advertisement Beer continued: 'The NCA has played a key role, which has been months in the planning. 'We worked closely with partners in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands to identify suspected members of this network. 'Criminal gangs involved in small boat crossings should know that we are committed to throwing the full weight of European law enforcement at curtailing your activities.' Home Secretary Priti Patel said: 'These arrests send a clear message to the criminal gangs who are preying on vulnerable people across Europe and beyond: we will stop at nothing to end your sordid trade, bring you to justice and save lives. 'This hugely significant operation once again shows the NCA and our international partners working diligently to dismantle people-smuggling networks. 'These callous individuals treat human lives as a commodity and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that they feel the full force of our new, tougher laws designed to break their business model and suitably punish them for their despicable crimes.' A total of 12,855 people have made the treacherous journey across the 21-mile Dover Straits in 383 boats so far this year, according to data released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). A punctured dinghy that was used by migrants to cross the English Channel is pulled into the Port of Dover, in Dover, Britain, June 14, 2022 Around 40 people have been arrested in a series of raids across Europe as the NCA joined the biggest ever international operation targeting small boat people smugglers this week National Crime Agency officers inspect a location in connection with people smuggling Despite the latest measures to deter traffickers, migrant crossings are expected to increase this week as the weather forecast in the Channel improves. A total of 28,526 people made the journey in 2021 - compared to 8,410 who arrived in 2020. A Government spokesperson said: 'The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable. 'Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws, but they risk lives and hinder our ability to help refugees who come to the UK through safe and legal routes. 'The Nationality and Borders Act will enable us to crack down on abuse of the system and the evil people smugglers, who will now be subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. 'Under our new Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, we are continuing preparations to relocate those who are making dangerous, unnecessary and illegal journeys into the UK in order for their claims to be considered and rebuild their lives.' Nicola Sturgeon last night released a letter Boris Johnson wrote to her stating he refuses to agree that 'now is the time' for a second independence referendum. Scotland's First Minister took to Twitter to share her correspondence with the embattled Prime Minister, who wrote to her to say now was not the time to consider another poll on Scottish independence. In his letter to Nicola Sturgeon, shared by the Scottish First Minister on Twitter, Mr Johnson said it was not the time to consider another independence referendum. The PM faced further calls to quit and a barrage of criticism as he desperately tries to cling on despite a swathe of ministers resigning and even loyalists turning on him. Urging a foothold of unity, Mr Johnson highlighted the 'shared priorities' of both Governments in tackling the cost-of-living crisis, the Ukraine war and Covid-19. He wrote: 'I have carefully considered the arguments you set out for a transfer of power from the UK Parliament to the Scottish Parliament to hold another referendum on independence. 'As our country faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, I cannot agree that now is the time to return to a question, which was clearly answered by the people of Scotland in 2014. 'Our shared priorities must be to respond effectively to the global cost of living challenge, to support our NHS and public services as they recover from the huge disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to play our leading part in the international response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. 'These are common challenges across the United Kingdom, which deserve our full attention.' In his letter to Nicola Sturgeon, shared by the Scottish First Minister on Twitter, Boris Johnson said it was not the time to consider another independence referendum despite his premiership hanging by a thread Nicola Sturgeon tonight released a letter Boris Johnson has written to her stating he refuses 'now is the time' for a second independence referendum The embattled PM faced further calls to quit and a barrage of criticism as he desperately tries to cling on despite a swathe more ministers resigning and even loyalists turning on him Behind the famous black door of No10, the PM is embroiled in a final struggle with senior figures including chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris, who are telling him that the 'game is up' after a tidal wave of Tory resignations. More than 35 Tory MPs have now left Government roles with the PM failing to stem the torrent of departures from his administration - with five ministers even resigning in one joint letter to Mr Johnson. Newly-appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps are among the group, while Home Secretary Priti Patel and Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan are in the building. In a spiralling series of events at Westminster, senior Cabinet minister Michael Gove and Tory chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris were also both claimed to have told Mr Johnson his premiership is over. In her tweet, Nicola Sturgeon suggested Boris Johnson's letter was one of his last acts as Prime Minister. Scotland's First Minister took to Twitter to share her correspondence with the embattled Prime Minister, who wrote to her to say now was not the time to consider another poll on Scottish independence In her tweet, Nicola Sturgeon suggested Boris Johnson's letter was one of his last acts as Prime Minister as the Tory coup ramped up late on Wednesday She said: 'Just received this from Johnson (one of his last acts as PM?). To be clear, Scotland will have the opportunity to choose independence - I hope in a referendum on 19 October 2023 but, if not, through a general election. 'Scottish democracy will not be a prisoner of this or any PM.' The PM received jeers and cheers as he took to his feet in the Commons chamber for PMQs with his prospects of survival looking increasingly tiny, but joked that it is a 'big day' because the Government is implementing 'the biggest tax cut in a decade'. Flanked by a stony-faced Dominic Raab and new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, Mr Johnson fended off a series of attacks from Keir Starmer saying Europe was enduring the 'biggest war in 80 years' and he was getting on with the job. The premier was visibly angry when Tory MP Tim Loughton stood up and demanded to know if there are 'any circumstances' under which he would quit. Nadine Dorries has stood firm in her loyalty to Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite over 30 cabinet walkouts - prompting a host of mocking memes on social media. The Culture Secretary was filmed walking into Downing Street this afternoon and batted away suggestions she was telling the PM to quit. 'No,' she told reporters firmly while striding into Number Ten. Britons today saw the funny side of the crisis engulfing Boris Johnson's Government by taking to social media to poke fun at Dorries' loyalty. Nadine Dorries, Secretary of State for Culture, batted away calls for the PM to resign when she arrived at 10 Downing Street this afternoon One mocking tweet claimed the culture secretary has submitted a letter of 'no comprehension' Another humorous tweet used a still from Coronation Street to depict Dorries reacting to the MPS telling Johnson to resign One mocking tweet claimed the culture secretary has submitted a letter of 'no comprehension'. Another humorous tweet used a still from Coronation Street to depict Dorries reacting to the MPS telling Johnson to resign. A further meme showed a woman passed out on the street, mischievously claiming it was Dorries later tonight. A further meme showed a woman passed out on the street, mischievously claiming it was Dorries later tonight A scene from the Vicar of Dibley was another source of material for the online jests Boris and Nadine were sent up with another gung-ho picture of a couple wielding weapons A still from Stranger Things was also sent up as a Nadine meme Another gag imagined Dorries' reaction at seeing the flurry of cabinet resignations today Cold War Steve amassed over 18,000 likes on Twitter in this response to Dorries' tweet declaring her loyalty to the beleaguered PM Mr Johnson is today attempting to shore up his position after the resignations of Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak last night. Their departures triggered walkouts by more junior members of the Government, with ministers Will Quince and Robin Walker the latest to quit today. Amid speculation that Mr Johnson's time in Number 10 could soon be coming to an end, dozens of memes making light of the situation were posted on Twitter. One made reference to the Prime Minister's wife Carrie Johnson and the expensive and controversial refurbishment of the Downing Street flat by designer Lulu Lytle. The tweet read: 'Carrie with the iron frantically steaming off the gold wallpaper and stuffing it into an overnight bag.' Another mentioned horror film Jaws by depicting the film's upbeat mayor of Amity Island outside Downing Street. Ash Sarkar shared this clip of a furry-costumed thug launching an attack in a shopping centre Boris Johnson's past election advert was used to ungraciously mock the PM and culture secretary A picture of an angry staffie was also used by one mischievous Twitter user A snap of comedian David Mitchell also found its way into the Twitterverse Another quip saw Johnson and Dorries derided as Batman's The Joker and a fellow clown Referencing the moment where the mayor promised the beaches were safe before the killer shark struck again, the tweet read: 'The Cabinet is open and everyone is having a wonderful time'. A third jokingly quoted Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, depicting him as saying: 'The thing is Boris, you have visited quite a few times already'. It was making reference to previous visits to Kyiv by Mr Johnson which have coincided with domestic criticism of the PM, sparking claims that the trips were attempts to distract from the bad press. Another meme riffed on Mr Johnson's famous Brexit slogan, saying 'Get Exit Done' above a photo of the PM walking out of Number 10. A fifth showed an illustration of the sinking Titanic and said: 'Live scenes from Downing St'. Britons today saw the funny side of the crisis engulfing Boris Johnson's Government by taking to social media to poke fun at the Prime Minister's situation Another jokingly quoted Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, depicting him as saying: 'The thing is Boris, you have visited quite a few times already' A third meme riffed on Mr Johnson's famous Brexit slogan, saying 'Get Exit Done' above a photo of the PM walking out of Number 10 Another showed an illustration of the sinking Titanic and said: 'Live scenes from Downing St' Again on the subject of the Downing Street flat refurbishment, another tweet showed a famous photograph of the frantic US evacuation of Saigon during the Vietnam war and said: 'Scenes from Number 10 as Carrie Johnson flees with the wallpaper.' A third on the subject said the PM could use the resignation letters he has received to 're-wallpaper' the Downing Street flat. Mr Javid announced his resignation in an incendiary letter to the PM last night, with Mr Sunak following just minutes later with a similar broadside. The PM appointed his chief of staff Steve Barclay to replace Mr Javid as Health Secretary, whilst Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi was promoted to become Chancellor. It came after former top civil servant Lord McDonald of Salford released a letter which gave critics of the PM further ammunition over his appointment of alleged groper Chris Pincher to the whips' office. Mr Sunak warned in his resignation letter that 'we cannot continue like this' and said he was going despite accepting that his senior job might be the last position he holds in Government. Making light of the crisis, another meme on Twitter made reference to the Prime Minister's wife Carrie Johnson and the expensive and controversial refurbishment of the Downing Street flat by designer Lulu Lytle On the same theme, another tweet showed a famous photograph of the frantic US evacuation of Saigon during the Vietnam war and said: 'Scenes from Number 10 as Carrie Johnson flees with the wallpaper Comedian Rory Bremner said: Don't panic, everyone. Nadine Dorries, Priti Patel, Jacob Rees Mogg and Dominic Raab staying. We've still got the A team in charge' This Tweeter joked that Mr Johnson and his wife could 're-wallpaper' the Downing Street flat 'with resignation letters' 'The public rightly expect Government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,' he wrote. Today, Mr Zahawi was hit with news of another resignation while he was live on air. Nadhim Zahawi was in the middle of an interview on the BBC's flagship Today programme when he was informed that Children's minister Will Quince had joined the exodus, slamming No10's 'inaccurate' claims about the Chris Pincher allegations. Asked whether it meant Mr Johnson is 'over', a sombre-looking Mr Zahawi responded: 'I am deeply sorry to see colleagues leave government.' Schools minister Robin Walker has now joined his former colleague in walking out, saying the government was being 'overshadowed by mistakes and questions about integrity'. This meme referenced popular show Would I Lie to You, saying 'I once took an 80 seat majority and p****d it up the wall in less than 3 years' Shocking footage has emerged of the moment a Russian soldier attempted to destroy a Ukrainian missile launcher from close range with dramatic and potentially lethal consequences. The clip, shared on a pro-Russian channel on social media and messaging app Telegram, shows one of Putin's fighters taking aim at an abandoned Ukrainian S-300 missile launcher sitting mere yards away. After taking a few moments to compose himself, the soldier squeezes the trigger of his PKM machine gun, presumably expecting to damage the hardware or perhaps set off a minor explosion to render it inoperable. A split second later the missile launcher erupts into an enormous explosion, sending gouts of flame blasting toward the lone gunman and his comrade holding the camera. The pro-Russian publishers of the video claimed on Telegram that none of the Russian soldiers present at the scene were injured in the explosion. But the video clearly shows how the troops' position was engulfed in the fireball and it is highly unlikely that members of the unit did not suffer at least some injuries. No explanation was offered as to why the soldiers did not open fire on the missile launcher from a greater distance, but the clip appears to showcase the lack of experience among some of the battalions sent by Putin and his warmasters to the front lines. After taking a few moments to compose himself, the soldier squeezes the trigger of his PKM machine gun, presumably in an attempt to damage the Ukrainian hardware or set off a minor explosion A split second later the missiles explode in a huge fireball which engulfed the Russian position The startling footage emerged as Russia continues to slowly inch further into Ukrainian held territory in the east after successfully seizing the Luhansk region just days ago. Ukraine has so far staved off any major Russian advance into the north of its Donetsk region, but pressure is intensifying with heavy shelling, missile and rocket fire on the city of Sloviansk and nearby populated areas, Kyiv's military said on Wednesday. Russia and separatist proxies were already in control of the southern part of Donetsk province when they effectively completed the seizure of the neighbouring Luhansk region on Sunday with the capture of Lysychansk, much of which now lies in ruins. Moscow says ejecting the Ukrainian military out of both regions is now its primary objective after Putin ordered his commanders to keep on pressing after Luhansk was taken fully under Russian control. Donetsk and Luhansk provinces comprise the Donbas, the eastern, heavily industrial region of Ukraine that has become Europe's biggest battlefield. In its evening note on Wednesday, Ukraine's general staff suggested that Russian forces were intensifying pressure on Ukrainian defenders along the northern flanks of the Donetsk region. It said Russian forces were bombarding several Ukrainian towns with heavy weaponry to enable ground forces to advance southward into the region and close in on Sloviansk. A worker stands in a crater in front of a heavily damaged house in a residential area of Kramatorsk on July 4, 2022 A man injured after a bombing by the Russian army on the central market of Sloviansk is treated in the city hospital of Kramatorsk A cyclist rides past a tail section of a rocket embedded in a road in Kramatorsk Ukrainian soldiers on the top of a Ukrainian armoured fighting vehicle gesture as they drive down at the exit of Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, on July 6, 2022 Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, left, and Minister for Veterans Affairs Iulia Laputina, get news that there has been shelling at a market in Sloviansk 'The enemy is trying to improve its tactical position... (They) advanced before being repulsed by our soldiers and retreating with losses,' the Ukrainian military update said. Russian shelling killed at least eight civilians in the region over the past 24 hours and wounded 25 more, Ukrainian officials said earlier today. Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Telegram post that two people died in the city of Avdiivka, while the Donetsk cities of Sloviansk, Krasnohorivka and Kurakhove each reported one civilian killed. 'Every crime will be punished,' he wrote. Kyrylenko urged the region's more than 350,000 remaining residents to flee late Tuesday, saying that evacuating Donetsk was necessary to save lives and allow the Ukrainian army to put up a better defence against the Russian advance. Other Russian forces aimed to seize two towns en route to the city of Kramatorsk, south of Sloviansk, and were also trying to take control of the main highway linking Luhansk and Donetsk provinces. Russia had also carried air strikes in support of ground forces in the region, the general staff added. A woman says goodbye to her son before his evacuation from the city of Sloviansk earlier today Yurii Sherbakov, 53, stands in front of a destroyed house where he was injured during shelling, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, July 5, 2022 A man stands next to the damage caused to the central market in Sloviansk by a suspected missile attack, on July 6, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine 'We are holding back the enemy on the (Luhansk/Donetsk) border,' Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai earlier told Ukrainian TV earlier. Sloviansk Mayor Vadym Lyakh told a video briefing the city had been shelled for the last two weeks. 'The situation is tense,' he said, adding that 17 residents had been killed there since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Russia's defence ministry said it had destroyed two advanced U.S.-made HIMARS rocket systems and their ammunition depots in Donetsk province earlier this week - something later denied by Ukraine whose armed forces said the HIMARS system was being used to great effect. Russia's invasion has killed thousands, displaced millions and flattened cities. It has also raised global energy and food prices, particularly in poorer countries, as Ukraine and Russia are both major grain producers. Hong Kong Palace Museum opens to public 09:02, July 06, 2022 By Cheng Long, Wang Jue ( People's Daily The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) opened to the public on July 3 to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. The museum was welcomed by Hong Kong citizens with high expectations. More than 40,000 tickets were reserved within eight hours on the first day of the public sale. Photo shows the Hong Kong Palace Museum. (Photo from the official page of the Palace Museum on social media Weibo) "When I was a child, I very much wanted to see the grand palaces in Beijing," said Muk Ka-chun, a teacher from Pui Kiu Middle School. Eager to see the cultural relics collected by the Palace Museum, he said he would take his students to the museum as soon as possible. The HKPM is the first collaborative project launched by the Palace Museum outside the Chinese mainland. It was an outcome of the cooperation between the Palace Museum and the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA). Outlined in China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), the HKPM represents a creative combination between traditional Chinese culture represented by the Palace Museum, and Hong Kong's modernity and internationalization. It is a milestone of mainland-Hong Kong cultural cooperation that will further promote exchanges, enhance mutual learning and tighten the people-to-people bond. The sophisticated and elegant golden structure in the shape of an ancient square tripod, which sits by the sea in Tsim Sha Tsui, is expected to become a new cultural landmark with world-class influence. The seven-storey museum occupies some 13,000 square meters and houses nine galleries. Its design was inspired by the collections and architectural styles seen in Beijing's Palace Museum, illustrating its cultural features in a way that combines Chinese and Western culture with both the ancient and the modern. The construction has won 19 awards for its outstanding performance in engineering, safety, and environmental protection, demonstrating a high level of China's construction competence. Photo shows a painting collected by the Palace Museum. (Photo from the official website of the Hong Kong Palace Museum) On July 2, a total of 914 cultural relics from the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing were displayed at seven galleries of the HKPM. Most of them were exhibited in the special administrative region for the first time and 166 were first-class cultural relics recognized as national treasures. It was the largest and highest-level cultural relic exhibition of the Palace Museum outside of the mainland since its establishment in 1925. Respectively presented in seven galleries, thematic exhibitions cover paintings and calligraphy works from Jin (265-420), Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties, collections of the Forbidden City, emperor and empress portraits of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and traditional crafts. Besides, 13 precious art objects from the Louvre in Paris were also exhibited in Gallery 9 themed horse culture, in order to highlight the mutual learning between China and other civilizations. At a thematic exhibition on ceramics staged in Gallery 3, 160 highlights from the 360,000 ceramic works collected by the Palace Museum were displayed. It was the first time the Beijing museum has displayed such a sizable exhibition of its ceramic collections in Hong Kong. The exhibits were fabricated from the Longshan culture (about 3000 to 1900 BC), a late Neolithic civilization to the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1875-1908) in the Qing Dynasty, including the five famous porcelains during the Song Dynasty, as well as ceramics in the imperial kiln of Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi province in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties. A masterpiece of the Qiantang River tidal bore drawn by artist Li Song in the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) is expected to be exhibited at the HKPM soon. The painting was collected by the Palace Museum with help from Hong Kong in the 1950s. Hong Kong has made remarkable contributions to the protection of Chinese cultural relics lost overseas, and many paintings and calligraphy works that are considered national treasures were returned to the motherland thanks to the efforts of Hong Kong patriots. Photo shows a ceramic work collected by the Palace Museum. (Photo from the official website of the Hong Kong Palace Museum) Li Qun, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism and head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, told People's Daily that the HKPM enables Hong Kong citizens to enjoy the beauty of cultural relics and experience the profound Chinese culture from a close distance, and will enhance the cultural confidence of the Hong Kong society. "This is a gift from the motherland to Hong Kong," said Louis Ng Chi-wa, director of the HKPM. The museum both showcases traditional Chinese culture and enhances the sense of recognition of Hong Kong citizens, especially the younger generation, he noted. The museum is a window for spreading Chinese culture overseas, and will help Hong Kong build itself into a center for cultural and art exchanges and contribute to Chinese-foreign cultural communication, he said. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Singapore is proposing new rules for cryptocurrency trading, prohibiting individual bitcoin investors and limiting leverage to protect the public. Vauld, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, decided to immediately stop all deposits, trading, and withdrawals from its platform. Singapore Wants to Regulate Crypto Trading to Safeguard the Public Singapore is considering new regulations for cryptocurrency trading that it claims are required to protect the general public. Restrictions on retail trading and leverage in bitcoin transactions are two examples of this. The information was revealed weeks after the government issued many cautions that cryptocurrency investments were not suited for the general public because of their "sharp speculative price fluctuations." Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a senior minister in Singapore and the head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, reportedly stated that the financial watchdog might consider "putting limits on retail participation" for cryptocurrency investors and introducing regulations on the use of leverage for crypto transactions. Given the international character of bitcoin markets, Shanmugaratnam has advocated for regulatory clarity among financial authorities. The minister also said that the country's Payment Services Act gives MAS the authority to put additional regulations in place to improve consumer protection, uphold financial stability, and defend the efficacy of its monetary policies. However, Singapore had emphasized the need to promote the development of the underlying technologies frequently connected with cryptocurrencies, namely blockchain. Heng Swee Keat, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Deputy Prime Minister, stated last month that measures were required to maximize the benefits of new technology while minimizing the hazards. Read Also: Canon EOS R7 Receives its First Discount Before its Official Launch | What Will EOS R7 Offer? In May, MAS made plans to test asset tokenization use cases and determine if autonomous trading using blockchain technology is feasible. Here, efforts would focus on creating interoperable networks to speed up the trade of digital assets and assessing the rules required to protect against any hazards. Research published in August of last year found that 67 percent of Singapore's investors owned cryptocurrencies, with 78 percent owning Ethereum and 69 percent owning Bitcoin. According to KPMG, investments in Singapore's fintech industry increased by 47% year over year to $3.94 billion last year, with $1.48 billion across 82 acquisitions going to blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Singaporean Cryptocurrency Exchange Suspends Withdrawals The challenging decision to immediately halt all withdrawals, trading, and deposits on the Vauld platform has been made by Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Vauld. The business plans to petition the Singapore courts for a moratorium as Vauld users have attempted to withdraw more than $197.7 million since June 12, 2022, in what seems to be a run on the crypto bank. The decision to halt withdrawals is an abrupt about-face. According to reports, Vauld touted $1 billion in assets under management in May this year, and a corporate email from June 16 said everything would carry on as usual. After only 18 days, the business looks at "possible restructuring possibilities." Vauld's CEO Darshan Bathija tweeted on June 21 that the business has reduced its personnel by 30%, which was the first indication that it was being pressured. Separately, Bathija emphasized that Three Arrows Capital (3AC) had invested in the business early but had pulled out by the end of 2021. According to the statement from Vauld, their decision to freeze clients' money was motivated by the unstable market environment, its primary business partners' financial issues, which had an impact on them, and the present status of the market. Related Article: Meitu Warns Investor After a Collapse of Ether and Bitcoin Value South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said through his lawyers Wednesday he will fight a Georgia grand jury subpoena for his testimony in an election probe that his team blasted as a 'fishing expedition.' Graham, who served as a key Donald Trump loyalist during his presidency and continues to advise Trump and speculate on whether he will run to regain the White House, is defending his post-election contacts with Georgia election officials who were overseeing the vote count in the critical state. He is one of several members of Trump's inner circle who were subpoenaed Tuesday in what Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis calls a 'a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere.' Graham's lawyers, Bart Daniel and Matt Austin, said in a defiant statement said the probe was 'all politics' and that the county was engaged in a 'fishing expedition' and 'working with the January 6 Committee in Washington.' Sen. Lindsey Graham is also among the confidants named in subpoenas by a Georgia grand jury. His lawyers said Wednesday he would fight the subpoena, calling the probe a 'fishing expedition' 'As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections,' the lawyers said. 'Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job. Senator Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail.' The DA's office said in response: 'Should witnesses choose to challenge an order that they testify before the Special Purpose Grand Jury, the District Attorney will respond in the appropriate court to compel their appearance.' The grand jury subpoena mentions Graham's calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger amid Trump's election overturn effort which included the president's repeated allegations of fraud in the state of Georgia, where recounts reaffirmed Joe Biden's victory. Graham's call came amid a pressure campaign that extended all the way up to Trump, who himself phoned Raffensperger Jan. 2, 2021 and told him: 'All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes,' which would have been enough to make him the victor. A grand jury in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani, Graham and other Trump allies as it continues its criminal investigation of interference in the 2020 election. Graham's lawyers called a probe by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis a 'fishing expedition' The names targeted include lawyers and advisers including John Eastman, Kenneth Cheesebro and Jenna Ellis who worked on strategies to overturn Joe Biden's win in key swing states. It shows that the investigation has moved to Trump's inner circle. Copies of the subpoenas, signed off by Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney and obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, also list conservative lawyer and activist Cleta Mitchell as well as attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick. Mitchell advised Trump during the infamous phone conversation with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Trump used the call to urge him to 'find' 11,780 votes - enough to give him the state. Raffensperger also said he was contacted by Graham 10 days after the election asking if he was had the power to reject mailed ballots in certain counties. Graham later denied that he was doing anything improper, and was simply asking for information to understand how the mail ballots were verified. An Atlanta grand jury on Tuesday reportedly subpoenaed Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other allies as it probes claims of election interference The special grand jury was empaneled in May to hear evidence from a Georgia prosecutor's investigation into Trump's alleged effort to influence to election result. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis asked for the jury so that its subpoena power could be used to force witness to testify. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in his call with Raffensperger. Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer and the face of his efforts to overturn the 2020 result, testified three times before Georgia lawmakers in the aftermath of the election. The grand jury is reportedly focused on those appearances when he peddled unfounded claims that tens of thousands of voters committed fraud and called on legislators to pick a new slate of presidential electors. 'There are 10 ways to demonstrate that this election was stolen, that the votes were phony, that there were a lot of them, dead people, felons, phony ballots,' Giuliani when he appeared on December 30. Those appearances contributed to Giuliani having his license to practice law suspended in New York and Washington, D.C. In the subpoena request, Willis says Graham made at least two calls to Raffensberger and his office in the weeks after the election. He asked about reexamining absentee ballots 'to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,' according to Willis. And Giuliani faced ridicule last month when a former Fulton County election worker told the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol last year that she had been harassed and threatened after Giuliani accused of handling a USB drive connected to fake votes. Wandrea ArShaye 'Shaye' Moss testified that it was actually a ginger mint. Eastman, a former law professor, has emerged as another key figure. He helped develop a plan to pressure Mike Pence to use his position as vice president to reject the official slate of Democratic electors sent by Georgia and replace them with an alternative set of Trump loyalists. Former president Trump faces legal jeopardy from different directions, amid a slew of investigations into his business practises and his attempt to hold on to power in 2020 Last month, the House probe revealed that Eastman had asked to be placed on a 'pardon list' circulating among allies - hinting that he knew he was in legal jeopardy. In March, a California federal judge declared it was 'more likely than not' that Trump and Eastman conspired to obstruct certification of the 2020 election, describing their strategy as a 'coup in search of a legal theory.' The subpoenas show how a slew of investigations continues to pursue Trump and his allies since leaving office. A D.C. grand jury is making its way through similar territory to the Atlanta probe. Agents raided the home of Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who played a leading role in Trump's attempt to pressure states to investigate his fraud claims. And the House committee has attempted to show that Trump knew his supporters were intent on trouble when he urged them to walk up to the Capitol building on Jan. 6 last year. Meanwhile, his businesses are under scrutiny in New York. An actress, whose cat was run over and killed, has started a petition to change the law so that drivers have to report hitting cats with their cars. People have to stop if they kill a dog and other animals - but not cats. Olivia Holland-Rose, who is appearing in the Phantom Of The Opera in the West End, was given D'Artagnan, a Somali British Longhair Cross for Christmas by her husband Chris, 34. They re-homed the nine-month-old from a high-rise and he loved being an outdoor cat. Olivia said that she loved the cat 'like a baby' and was devastated when he was killed Olivia and Chris were having a lie-in on a Saturday morning when their neighbours texted them that there was a problem Olivia said D'Artagnan was 'a source of comfort' during the lockdown and said he was well-known in her neighbourhood. D'Artagnan was fed scraps by friends and neighbours and became a 'little character' in the community. But one Saturday morning Olivia received a text from her neighbours. D'Artagnan had been run over and the driver had driven off. A stranger picked up the body of the beloved pet and knocked on doors until they had found someone who recognised the cat. Olivia said: 'As soon as I saw my neighbours' faces I knew. They had him in a Sainsbury's Bag for Life. I was beyond devastated.' She said that online trolls have told her that she should have kept D'Artagnan inside. But the feline was happiest outdoors. The pet was a Christmas present to Olivia from her husband Chris after she spent years asking for a cat Chris, 34, Olivia's husband bought D'Artagnan, a Somali British Longhair Cross for her for Christmas The death of her pet led Olivia to discover the legal loophole which she is now campaigning to close. The Road Traffic Act 1988 requires drivers to report an accident in which they hit a horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog. The legislation is designed to protect working animals but Olivia wants it to change to include common outdoor pets such as cats. The actress has started an online petition to change the law. More than 70,000 people have signed and the petition needs 100,000 signatures before August 2. Olivia said: 'There is no excuse for a driver to hit a cat that you can see is cared for and just leave him.' The cheeky cat would steal scraps from the neighbours and was enjoying life outside the high-rise block where he spent his early months Olivia wants pet owners to be told if their pet has been hit so that they can gain closure. The cat was happiest outdoors and had become a character in the community Politicians have also backed the campaign. Bell Ribiero-Addy, MP for Streatham, said: 'It seems ridiculous that dogs, pigs, cattle, ass and horses are protected under the Road Traffic Act but cats aren't. 'Around 230,000 cats are killed in traffic accidents every year. If drivers are made to stop and report a collision with a cat, we could potentially save thousands of feline lives. 'I'm pleased to be supporting my constituent, Olivia Holland-Rose, with her campaign to protect cats under the Road Traffic Act and hope the Government will take steps to protect the UK's second most popular pet.' The Government is planning to introduce a law this year that will require cat owners to have their pets microchipped. The Government website response says that there are no plans to change the law to include cats in the Road Traffic Act. Swedish police said Wednesday that a woman in her 60s had been killed in a daylight stabbing on the island of Gotland, where the country's top politicians are gathered for a week-long event. The stabbing occurred just before 2pm (12pm British time) in the middle of the city of Visby, which is currently host to a gathering of the country's political parties. 'Unfortunately I can report that the woman has succumbed to her wounds,' Fredrik Persson, chief of Gotland police, told a press conference. Persson added a 33-year-old man had been arrested shortly after the stabbing but declined to comment on a potential motive. Sweden's Expressen newspaper reported the suspect allegedly has ties to Nordic neo-Nazi groups, but this has not yet been verified by police. 'Currently there is an intense investigation under way. Part of that is to establish a motive and background of the arrested,' the police chief said. He added that there were a series of questions they were looking into 'since it happened in a very public place, where there was a lot of people in central Visby in the middle of the day.' The Almedalen political festival is held in Visby every year and typically draws crowds of thousands as politicians from all major parties hold speeches and mingle with voters and tourists. The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) later confirmed that the victim was Ing-Marie Wieselgren, a 64-year-old psychiatrist working as a project manager and coordinator with the organisation. 'We have lost an appreciated and cherished co-worker, colleagues have lost a good friend and all of Sweden has lost one of its strongest voices for mental health,' Carola Gunnarsson, president of SALAR, said in a written comment. Police, emergency services and bystanders give medical aid to a woman who was fatally stabbed at the Almedalen political festival in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland Police arrest a man suspected of stabbing a woman at the Almedalen political festival in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland on July 6, 2022 The woman was stabbed in Visby's central square just minutes before Centre party leader Annie Loof was set to take the stage for a press conference. Bystanders and emergency services attempted to stop the bleeding and administered CPR before the victim was loaded into an ambulance and rushed to a local hospital. 'I can confirm that this has happened and that we found a wounded person and arrested a man,' said police spokesperson Ola Osterling. 'We are currently trying to determine the identity of the injured woman but have no information to share at the moment.' Swedish MP Hanif Bali took to social media to declare the stabbing was 'nothing other than a terror attack'. Police and rescue services erect an awning to prevent photographs as they transfer a woman who was the victim of a stabbing at the Almedalen political festival into an ambulance car, in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland on July 6, 2022 The Almedalen political festival is held in Visby every year and typically draws crowds of thousands as politicians from all major parties hold speeches and mingle with voters and tourists (Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson speaks during a press conference in Visby, Sweden, Sunday, July 3, 2022) The attacker tried to flee the scene but was reportedly obstructed by an elderly bystander who thought he had stolen someone's bag. Lars Reuterberg, 69, told the TT newswire the suspect 'ended up on the end of a mighty shove' which sent him tumbling into door, after which he was detained by police. 'This is the world's most unique political week, a people's festival where you can meet politicians and celebrities and everyone says ''hi'', where there are journalists and everything,' Reuterberg told TT. 'And this nutter goes and wrecks it all.' The BBC have been accused of trying to persuade ministers to resign from government while live on air. An MP furiously tweeted a text from someone claiming to be a producer on the corporation's flagship Today programme, which asked if she would quit while on the radio. More than 30 ministers have resigned from government so far over the PM's handling of the Chris Pincher fiasco, including Bim Afolami who did so while live on TalkTV. Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes and a junior bag carrier in the Department of Health, hit out at the BBC for thinking the situation was all a 'big game'. She had been invited to speak on the Radio 4 show, but instead declined and posted a message online. MP Maria Caulfield (pictured) blasted the BBC after a producer asked if she was thinking of resigning and whether she would consider doing it live on air The text message (pictured) says an on air resignation would be 'even better' Posting the message online, it read: 'I appreciate you may well be staying in place but if you are planning on resigning we'd be very keen to get an interview with you - a resignation live on air would be even better. 'Please do let me know in confidence if that's something you'd consider.' Ms Caulfield said: 'These are very difficult times for all of us working night and day for our constituents. 'Unfortunately for the BBC, it's just one big game.' The Sun reported that a furious senior government source said: 'This type of gotcha journalism is a long way from public service broadcasting the public expects from the BBC. 'It once again goes to their impartiality when reporting on this government and verges on the absurd.' The BBC programme may have been trying to replicate Hitchin and Harpenden MP Bim Afolami's resignation on TV last night. The Tory Party's vice chairman said on TalkTV last night: 'I think that what's been very sad over recent allegations about the former deputy chief whip and other things that have happened over recent weeks, I just don't think the prime minister has, not just my support, but the support of the party or the country anymore. 'And I think for that reason he should step down.' Sarah Matthews is a longtime House GOP aide who served in Donald Trump's White House from June 2019 until January 2021, according to her LinkedIn A White House press aide who quit the Trump administration after the US Capitol riot last year could be the January 6 committee's next public witness, it was reported on Tuesday night. Former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews was subpoenaed and will appear before House lawmakers as early as next week, sources told CNN. It comes after the panel announced a new hearing scheduled for July 12. Matthews resigned the evening of January 6 last year, writing in a statement that she 'was deeply disturbed by what I saw' at the US Capitol that day. The July 12 hearing is one of two more the committee is expected to hold to present the evidence it's gathered so far of Donald Trump's alleged plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election and stay in power. The final two hearings are reportedly going to focus on how Trump's supporters were led to gather at the Capitol on January 6, his encouragement for them to do so, and how the ex-president reacted to the violence that ensued. Accounts and documents already assembled by the committee indicate Trump ignored pleas from his allies to intervene and failed to take any action to stop the mob for more than 180 minutes. It's likely that Matthews' testimony will cover at least some of those final points. She served as Trump's deputy press secretary from June 2019 until January 2021, her LinkedIn profile shows. Matthews currently works as the communications director for the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis' Republican minority. The January 6 committee is expected to hold one more public hearing after its July 12 presentation The final two hearings will largely focus on the mob that assembled outside of the US Capitol on January 6 last year, and what led them to do it Her public hearing will come on the heels of an appearance by fellow former Trump staffer Cassidy Hutchinson. The 25-year-old ex-assistant to Trump's final chief of staff Mark Meadows delivered an explosive account of the former president's efforts to bully staffers and security detail into taking him up to the Capitol with his supporters - some of whom he knew were armed when he encouraged them to march, Hutchinson testified. She also claimed he told his security detail, 'I'm the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now,' and 'lunged' at a Secret Service agent who declined to follow the order. Matthews took to Twitter after Hutchinson's hearing to defend her from criticism amid a slew of character attacks from Trump and his allies. 'Anyone downplaying Cassidy Hutchinsons role or her access in the West Wing either doesnt understand how the Trump WH worked or is attempting to discredit her because theyre scared of how damning this testimony is,' Matthews wrote on June 28. She followed up: 'For those complaining of hearsay, I imagine the Jan. 6 committee would welcome any of those involved to deny these allegations under oath.' DailyMail.com has reached out to both Matthews and the January 6 committee for comment. Earlier on Wednesday it was reported that former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone reached a deal with House lawmakers on a closed-door transcribed testimony, to be delivered on Friday. The January 6 committee sent Cipollone a subpoena on June 29 citing new evidence that he 'repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trumps activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded.' 'While the Select Committee appreciates Mr. Cipollones earlier informal engagement with our investigation, the committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations,' the panel's Chair and Vice Chair, Reps. Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, said in a statement. The Los Angeles's district attorney, George Gascon, has been criticized for his liberal approach to crime. He came to office with promises of sweeping criminal justice reforms that critics say put the interests of criminals before the safety of the community. There have been numerous instances where his 'soft-on-crime' approach has led to terrible consequences for victims. Brianna Kupfer, 24, was murdered in January at a Los Angeles furniture store where she was working. Her alleged killer, Shawn Laval Smith, 31, was tracked down in Pasadena, a day after the Los Angeles Police Department named him as the top suspect in the random, unprovoked slaying. Smith -- who has a rap sheet spanning two coasts -- was out on bail when he allegedly stabbed Kupfer to death. One week before the killing, Smith was arrested and charged with violent crimes in at least three states. At the time of Kupfer's murder, he was free on a $50,000 bond after allegedly firing a weapon toward an occupied vehicle in Charleston, S.C., in November 2019. Jonathan Hatami, a veteran Los Angeles County prosecutor who has been an outspoken critic of Gascon and even sued him for retaliation last year, hit out at his boss in the wake of Kupfer's killing, He argued that his progressive policies are failing the community and that he deserves to be voted out, along with other 'woke' DAs in cities with rising crime rates. 'So now you have a large group of people who are out of custody, who are committing thefts, who are addicted to drugs who are not being held accountable for their actions,' he said. 'And now they're preying on innocent individuals.' The city has also suffered a shocking wave of follow-home robberies and organized smash-and-grab attacks on retailers. Brianna Kupfer, 24, was stabbed to death in a random attack while she was working alone in a luxury furniture store in Los Angeles in January. Shawn Laval Smith, 31, was out on bail at the time of the alleged attack In another incident highlighting Gascon's 'soft' policies, transgender pedophile Hannah Tubbs in February was caught bragging about her light sentence in a juvenile facility. Tubbs was sentenced to two years in jail for molesting a 10-year-old girl inside a restaurant bathroom. After the top prosecutor became aware of troubling comments Tubbs made in jail -- including that she wouldn't have to register as a sex offender and 'nothing' would be done to punish her -- Gascon said he's rethinking his approach. 'It's unfortunate that she gamed the system,' Gascon told the Los Angeles Times. 'If I had to do it all over again, she would be prosecuted in adult court.' His critics, however, say his apparent remorse is just a public stunt as recall efforts against him grow. Tubbs was 17 when she committed the assault. Tubbs also made crude and disparaging comments about the child she abused. Before she was sentenced, prosecutors had pushed for her to stay in a Los Angeles County jail and be tried as an adult, but Gascon declined to file a motion to move the case out of juvenile court, where it was filed because of Tubbs' age at the time of offense. The recording indicated that Tubbs also made crude and disparaging comments about the child she had abused, jokingly talking about her sexual attraction for the 10-year-old. The DA has admitted that Tubbs may have been given too lenient a sentence after he refused to prosecute her as an adult for the crime she committed as a male juvenile. Gascon's critics said he knew about the recordings well before they were publicly released and he didn't take them seriously until they started making him look bad. The convict, who now goes by the name Hannah Tubbs, was 17 when she committed the crime. While serving time in juvenile detention facility, she bragged about not having to register as a sex offender In another instance, Gascon is seeking to commute the death penalty sentence of a career criminal who kidnapped, robbed and shot 'execution-style' a father-of-three in 1992. Scott Collins, 21, kidnapped and killed Rose in 1992. Collins (pictured in 2007) used Rose's debit card to withdraw $200, shot him in the head and dumped his body in North Hollywood, where he was later found by a jogger Scott Forrest Collins, now 51, kidnapped 41-year-old Fred Rose and held him at gunpoint as he left his work office in Palmdale for a lunch break three decades ago. Collins used Rose's debit card to withdraw $200, shot him in the head and dumped his body in North Hollywood, where he was later found by a jogger. Rose died a day later at a hospital, and Collins went on to use Rose's car to participate in a gang-related shooting before crashing and being arrested and charged with murder. Now Gascon, a fierce opponent of the death penalty, who is also facing a second recall attempt from opponents who have criticized his soft-on-crime approach, is seeking to reduce Collins' sentence from the death penalty to life without the possibility of parole. Rose's family claims they were blind-sided by Gascon's push and accused the embattled prosecutor of 'fighting for the murderer.' Gascon's office argues that Collins' good behavior, lack of 'serious rule violations in more than 20 years', and the fact that his crime only had 'one victim,' should grant him the opportunity to avoid the death penalty. Last month, Gascon backtracked on some of his most controversial policies, including not pursuing sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole, and not prosecuting juveniles accused of serious offenses as adults. Gascon's sudden change of heart comes as he faces a second recall effort organized by his critics, who contend that his woke policies are to blame for Los Angeles' rising crime rates. Advertisement Nancy Pelosi took a break from her busy tour of Italy with a trip with her husband Paul to a ritzy Tuscan resort owned by operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli - while millions of Americans face travel chaos and sky-high gas prices. The Democratic House Speaker relaxed at the Alpemare Beach Club in Forte dei Mami while wearing a plunging v-neck one-piece swimsuit and white, long-sleeve coverup after a week where she attended mass at the Vatican and met the Pope. The couple, both aged 82, was pictured on the sand mingling with Bocelli and his wife, Veronica Berti, and other guests. Paul wore black shorts and a navy blue polo short as he mingled with guests on the beach. Their visit comes in the midst of Congress' summer recess and more than a month following Paul's DUI arrest in Napa Valley, California. He is now awaiting charges that could result in jail time if he is convicted. While Pelosi spent her holiday at the expensive resort in Italy, residents of her state spent their Independence Day weekend forking over $6.22 on average for a gallon of gas. The holiday weekend was the first since 2019 to return to pre-pandemic levels, which led to further complications as airlines are already experiencing staff shortages. Pelosi is soaking up the sun ahead of her return to Congress and with just months for the Democrats to try and avoid a mauling by Republicans in the November midterm elections. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continued her Italian vacation during the congressional summer recess with a visit to operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli's Italian beach resort in Forte dei Marmi Pelosi and her husband speak with Bocelli and his wife Veronica Berti (left) as Paul Pelosi (right) awaits trial for his DUI charge in California in May, which could lead to jail time Friday through Sunday there were 1,400 cancellations for flights within, in or out of the United States, stranding some passengers heading on holiday for the long weekend. More than 14,000 flights were delayed this holiday weekend. Reports from insiders, according to The New York Post, claims that patrons did not recognize the California Democratic congresswoman. Some say that people kept asking lifeguards who Speaker Pelosi was. The Pelosi's vacation spot is located between the beach and mountains in Forte dei Marmi, which is about 60 miles west of Florence, Italy. It comes a week after Pelosi's meeting with Pope Francis, when she received Communion during a papal Mass in St. Peter's Basilica despite her position in support of abortion rights. The Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, banned Pelosi a month ago from taking communion due to her pro-abortion stance. Pelosi donned a blue patterned low v-neck one-piece swimsuit and covered up with white pants and an open white long-sleeve shirt as she walked along the beach in Italy Pelosi became animated during her conversation with Bocelli and Berti in the lavish Tuscan resort after a busy tour of Italy Andrea Bocelli (left) speaks to Pelosi at his Alpemare Beach Club. The resort is exclusive, so much so that there are no prices on the website and instead requiring potential customers to contact the club to book a personal cabin While Pelosi spent her holiday at the expensive resort in Italy, residents of her state spent their Independence Day weekend forking over $6.22 on average for a gallon of gas Pelosi attended the morning Mass last Wednesday with her husband as he awaits trial for the DUI he was arrested for in May. The service marked the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul, during which Francis bestowed the woolen pallium stole on newly consecrated archbishops. This booking photo provided by the Napa County Sheriff's Office shows Paul Pelosi on May 29, 2022, following his arrest on suspicion of DUI in Northern California She was seated in a VIP diplomatic section and received Communion along with the rest of the congregants, according to two people who witnessed the moment. Pelosi's home archbishop, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, has said he will no longer allow her to receive the sacrament in his archdiocese because of her support for abortion rights. Cordileone, a conservative, has said Pelosi must either repudiate her support for abortion or stop speaking publicly of her Catholic faith. Pelosi has done neither. She called the recent Supreme Court ruling removing constitutional protections for abortion an 'outrageous and heart-wrenching' decision that fulfils the Republican Party's 'dark and extreme goal of ripping away women's right to make their own reproductive health decisions.' Her husband Paul's trial after he was arrested near his Napa Valley home on May 28 in his Porsche 911 is set to take place in July. Law enforcement confirmed to DailyMail.com that he is allowed to travel and has no restrictions on using a car. The holiday weekend was the first since 2019 to return to pre-pandemic levels, which led to further complications as airlines are already experiencing staff shortages Pelosi took the trip to Italy during Congress' summer recess and as she braces for midterms that could be brutal for her party Pelosi walked across the sand with what appeared to be a security detail trailing her Pelosi and Andrea Bocelli's wife Veronica (right) look at the beach during their break in the sun in Tuscany Pelosi kept her phone handy as she walked along the water's edge with Democrats having a huge mountain to clip ahead of the midterms And she has spoken openly of her Catholic faith, including at a diplomatic reception at the residence of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See on Tuesday evening marking Independence Day. Speaking to a crowd of ambassadors, Vatican officials and other Rome-based Americans, Pelosi spoke about the Catholic virtues of faith, hope and charity and the important role they play in the U.S. Embassys mission. 'Faith is an important gift, not everyone has it but it is the path to so many other things,' she told the crowd. Pelosi met with Francis on Wednesday before the Mass and received a blessing. While Francis presided over the Mass, he did not distribute Communion himself and Pelosi received the sacrament from one of the many priests who distributed it. From the time he was archbishop in Buenos Aires, Francis has rarely distributed Communion, precisely to prevent the sacrament from becoming politicized. Nancy and Paul meet Pope Francis (left) at the Vatican last Wednesday as she and husband Paul attended the morning Mass marking the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul She arrived in Italy Tuesday greeting Italian President Sergio Mattarella (right) at Quirinale Palace in Rome House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a welcome ceremony at Quirinale Palace Tuesday in Rome Last year, President Joe Biden, another Catholic who also supports abortion rights, said after meeting with Francis that the pontiff told him to continue receiving the sacrament. Biden later received Communion during a Mass in a Rome church that is under the authority of Francis as bishop of Rome. Pelosi's partaking of the sacrament inside the Vatican during a Mass presided over by the pope was even more significant, and a sign of Francis' unwillingness to refuse the sacrament. Francis has described the Eucharist as 'not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.' Asked about some U.S. bishops who wanted to refuse Biden the sacrament, Francis told reporters during an airborne press conference in September that priests shouldn't be politicians and condemn their flock but should be pastors who accompany the faithful with tenderness and compassion. Pelosi arrived in Rome Tuesday after her top aide Drew Hammill defended her against accusations that she elbowed the daughter of new Republican Rep. Mayra Flores out of the way during Flores' ceremonial swearing-in last week. 'It's sad to see 'news outlets' that know better misrepresent the Speaker's effort to ensure Rep. Flores' daughters wouldn't be hidden behind her in all of the photos of such an important moment for their family,' Hammill tweeted Monday. It was Flores, not the media, who first made the accusation. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi attends a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Wednesday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Pope Francis on Wednesday before the Mass and received a blessing, according to one of the Mass attendees House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is captured arriving at the Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome on Tuesday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right) walks with Community of Sant'Egidio's President Marco Impagliazzo (left) during a visit Wednesday to the community of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks Wednesday during a visit to the community of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere, a neighborhood in Rome, Italy 'No child should be pushed to the side for a photo op. PERIOD!!' Flores said on Twitter. 'I am so proud of my strong, beautiful daughter for not allowing this to faze her.' 'She continued to smile and pose for the picture like a Queen,' the newly elected congresswoman added. Flores later told Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity that her daughter didn't realize anything was amiss during the event and the congressman only realized what happened when looking at footage afterward. Paul Pelosi, 82, was arrested in May on suspicion of a DUI after his 2021 Porsche was hit by a Jeep. He was formally charged in June. 'You are not to be admitted to Holy Communion': Archbishop Cordileone's letter to Nancy Pelosi in full Cordileone (pictured in 2015) said in a statement on Friday that Pelosi will not be admitted to Holy Communion in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and cannot present herself to receive the Eucharist, until she backs away from her support for abortion The Second Vatican Council, in its Decree on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et spes, reiterated the Church's ancient and consistent teaching that 'from the first moment of conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes' (n. 51). Christians have, indeed, always upheld the dignity of human life in every stage, especially the most vulnerable, beginning with life in the womb. His Holiness, Pope Francis, in keeping with his predecessors, has likewise been quite clear and emphatic in teaching on the dignity of human life in the womb. This fundamental moral truth has consequences for Catholics in how they live their lives, especially those entrusted with promoting and protecting the public good of society. Pope St. John Paul II was also quite consistent in upholding this constant teaching of the Church, and frequently reminded us that 'those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a 'grave and clear obligation to oppose' any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them' (cf. Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life [November 24, 2002], n. 4, 1). A Catholic legislator who supports procured abortion, after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others. Therefore, universal Church law provides that such persons 'are not to be admitted to Holy Communion' (Code of Canon Law, can. 915). With regard to the application of these principles to Catholics in political life, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote to the U.S. bishops in 2004 explaining the approach to be taken: In striving to follow this direction, I am grateful to you for the time you have given me in the past to speak about these matters. Unfortunately, I have not received such an accommodation to my many requests to speak with you again since you vowed to codify the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in federal law following upon passage of Texas Senate Bill 8 last September. That is why I communicated my concerns to you via letter on April 7, 2022, and informed you there that, should you not publically repudiate your advocacy for abortion 'rights' or else refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion, I would have no choice but to make a declaration, in keeping with canon 915, that you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion. As you have not publically repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come. Therefore, in light of my responsibility as the Archbishop of San Francisco to be 'concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to [my] care' (Code of Canon Law, can. 383, 1), by means of this communication I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publically repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance. Please know that I stand ready to continue our conversation at any time, and will continue to offer up prayer and fasting for you. I also ask all of the faithful of the Archdiocese of San Francisco to pray for all of our legislators, especially Catholic legislators who promote procured abortion, that with the help and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they may undergo a conversion of heart in this most grave matter and human life may be protected and fostered in every stage and condition of life. Given at San Francisco, on the nineteenth day of May, in the Year of our Lord 2022. Advertisement White House communications director Kate Bedingfield is stepping down from the Biden administration, it was announced Wednesday. The senior aide is leaving at the end of July to 'spend more time with her husband and young children,' the White House said. Bedingfield's departure is the latest in a series of high-profile staffers who resigned their roles in recent months. It comes at a critical time for President Joe Biden and the Democrats as November's midterm elections loom. Multiple polls have suggested Republicans are set to win the majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and mounting reports indicate that the president's allies are frustrated with his own low approval numbers further dragging the party down. Bedingfield has a long-established working relationship with Biden, dating back to his time as Barack Obama's vice president. She was also one of the president's senior advisers behind his successful 2020 campaign. 'Without Kate Bedingfields talent and tenacity, Donald Trump might still be in the White House, the Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Law might still be unrealized goals, and Ketanji Brown Jackson might not be sitting on the Supreme Court,' White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said in a statement. White House communications director Kate Bedingfield has begun telling her colleagues that she's leaving the administration, according to Politico 'She played a huge role in everything the President has achievedfrom his second term as Vice President, through the campaign and since coming to the White House.' He added that Bedingfield 'will continue to remain a critical player in moving the Biden agenda forward from the outside,' though did not give additional details of her next professional steps. Klain's own departure was rumored at the end of May, with multiple reports claiming the senior aide is looking to wrap up his career in the Biden administration after the midterm elections. Bedingfield's departure was first revealed by the Wall Street Journal. Staff turnover in a high-stress and demanding workplace like the White House is relatively common to a degree, particularly after a major election. But Bedingfield's departure is the latest sign of unrest within the president's press office. In early May, the White House formally announced that former Press Secretary Jen Psaki would be stepping down later that month. It's the latest high profile departure from President Joe Biden's administration, which also lost a press secretary and a senior adviser in recent months But rumors of Psaki's departure and now-confirmed new television job at MSNBC began swirling as early as April. At the time, Bedingfield was propped up in the media as a potential replacement after filling in for Psaki at the podium when the then-press secretary was sick with COVID-19. It's worth noting that while press secretary is a much more public-facing role, it is technically a step down in the executive office hierarchy from communications director. A number of other mid- and lower-level press staffers have also left in recent months, according to Politico. Psaki ended up being replaced by current Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre, who is the first black woman and first LGBTQ person to serve in the role. Veteran political operative Anita Dunn was recruited by Biden to shake up his communications strategy earlier this year, amid reports of Republican lawmakers gearing up for a slew of investigations targeting his administration after the midterms. Among Dunn's duties will be to craft responses to the GOP's probes, the Washington Post reported in April. Dunn lauded Bedingfield as Biden's 'fierce defender' in her own statement on Wednesday on the communications director's departure. 'Her leadership helped us tell the story about the fight Joe Biden is making for the working families of America. Shell always be a core member of this family, even as she takes a little time to put her own family first,' Dunn said. But another high-profile departure in recent months has been that of former Democrat lawmaker Cedric Richmond. After representing Louisiana in the House for a decade, Richmond was tapped to join the White House as a senior adviser. He left early this spring to work with the Democratic National Committee. Richmond was replaced by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. It's not yet clear who will take Bedingfield's spot at the White House, which did not immediately return a request for comment from DailyMail.com. Police-worn body camera caught the moment a rookie cop saved the life of a week-old baby girl by giving her CPR after she suddenly stopped breathing. The video shows Officer Nick Greene following a man outside a Shorty's convenience store in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday and running up to a red truck, where a woman was slouched over in an apparent attempt to protect her baby girl. At that point, Greene's partner, Noah Cole, whose body-worn camera captured the entire ordeal, could be heard calling for an ambulance at the gas station at the intersection of 18th Street and Broadway. Meanwhile, Greene sprang into action, gently hitting the seven-day-old baby's back as she appeared to be motionless. Finally, after a few tries, the girl could be seen crying out as her breath returns and she began to move her arms. 'There we go, there we go, there we go,' Greene could be heard saying before telling his partner that the situation is under control and handing the baby back to her crying mother as she sighed with relief. 'We got it breathing,' Cole radios in on the emergency line. The mother then thanked the helpful officers, who only joined the Louisville Police Department last year. Police-worn body camera filmed the moment rookie police officer Nick Greene performed gentle CPR on a week-old baby, gently tapping her back on Friday Eventually, the baby could be seen crying as she once again started moving her arms Greene then handed the baby, named Emma, back to her grateful mother In an interview, Greene described the ordeal, saying that he and Cole had just started their shift for the day. They normally begin their shift by speaking with local business owners, and had stopped into the Shorty's to talk to the gas station owner. At that point, Greene said: 'A gentleman runs into the gas station and telling us his baby is no good,' he explained, noting that the man barely spoke English but clearly needed help. 'He said my baby's "No bueno" so that means "My baby is no good." So we just ran outside and see what [the] situation was that we had, and the mother was in the backseat with the baby.' Greene said they found the baby, named Emma, not responding in her mother's arms. 'I tried to key up on the radio, but I couldn't key up on the radio, so my partner Cole, he did all the talking on the radio while I tried to perform CPR on this baby,' Greene recounted. 'I couldn't talk on the radio, but when I heard the baby come back crying [I was] like, "Oh, we got it, we got it." 'When the baby started screaming and whining that was like "Ok there's oxygen inside the body." So that was the ultimate sign of relief.' It remains unclear what caused the baby girl to stop breathing. Louisville police say Emma (pictured) is now healthy and back home with her family Greene later admitted he had never done anything like that, and revealed his heart was racing throughout the ordeal Greene also revealed that he has never done something like that before, telling Spectrum News 1: 'My heart was through the roof. At one point in time, my watch clocked my heart rate at like 130 beats per minute within a split second. 'But you know, like I said, with training we have, we are trained to actually know that answer to questions and keep a calm level head as to perform tasks we need.' 'Its just part of our job,' Cole added. 'We signed up to do it, it's something we signed up to do: serve and protect our community. And that's just part of the job, it's another day in the job.' Louisville police say Emma was checked out by Emergency Medical Service on the scene and was brought to a local hospital in the immediate aftermath. She is now healthy and back home with her family. Boris Johnson has played down suggestions he could call a snap general election - despite claims it's his only option left as he defiantly battles to remain as Prime Minister. Mr Johnson's premiership is on life support after he suffered a torrent of resignations from his Government, while vast swathes of Tory MPs have withdrawn their support. The PM is also facing pressure from Cabinet ministers - as well as senior backbencher Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Tories' powerful 1922 Committee - to finally admit defeat. However, appearing before the House of Commons' Liaison Committee yesterday afternoon, Mr Johnson insisted he was 'not going to step down' despite the near-fatal blows being delivered to him by his own party. The PM even set alarm bells ringing at one point when he initially refused to rule out dissolving Parliament in his efforts to cling to office. Boris Johnson's premiership is on life support after he suffered a torrent of resignations from his Government, while vast swathes of Tory MPs have withdrawn their support How can the PM dissolve Parliament and call a general election? Earlier this year, Mr Johnson oversaw the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which means the PM now once again has the power to request a dissolution of Parliament - triggering a general election - at a time of their choosing. It has been speculated that asking the Queen to dissolve Parliament, in order to bring about a general election, is one of Mr Johnson's few options left in his intent to stay in Number 10. If that were to happen, the calculation by the PM would be that - although increasing numbers of Tory MPs want him gone - voters themselves might still back him to remain in office. During his Liaison Committee appearance, Mr Johnson made repeated reference to the 'substantial mandate' he won from millions of voters at the 2019 general election - little more than two-and-a-half years ago. He also highlighted the cost-of-living crisis and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, telling the group of senior MPs: 'I look at the biggest war in Europe for 80 years and I cant for the life of me see how it is responsible just to walk away from that. 'Particularly not when you have a mandate of the kind that we won two, three years ago.' These are a set of circumstances under which the Queen might refuse a request for a dissolution of Parliament from a PM Can the Queen refuse the PM's request to dissolve Parliament? At one point during his committee appearance, Mr Johnson was handed a note by an aide sat behind him as he was quizzed about the so-called 'Lascelles Principles'. These are a set of circumstances under which the Queen might refuse a request for a dissolution of Parliament from a PM. These include the existing Parliament being 'vital, viable and capable of doing its job'; a general election being 'detrimental to the national economy'; or the monarch being able to 'rely on finding another prime minister who could govern for a reasonable period with a working majority in the House of Commons'. Asked if he accepted the Queen had the ability to refuse a request from him to dissolve Parliament, Mr Johnson replied: 'In so far as they're designed to prevent pointless wildcat elections, they sound sensible to me.' How likely is the PM to try and call a snap general election? Senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, the committee's chair, asked Mr Johnson directly if he would resign rather than seek a dissolution of Parliament The PM initially skirted around the question, replying: 'I see absolutely no need whatsoever for an election.' He added: 'I'm not going to step down and the last thing this country needs, frankly, is an election. 'On the contrary, the risk is people begin to focus on this type of thing and I think that is a mistake. 'What we need to do is get on with stable government.' Pressed further on whether he would rule out a dissolution of Parliament, Mr Johnson rejected suggestions of a snap election. He said: 'Of course I rule it out. The earliest date that I can see for a general election is two years from now - or 2024, I think is the most likely date for the next election. 'We have a huge amount to deliver and we're going to get on and do it.' How could the Tory party try to oust Boris? Before any attempt to call a snap election, Boris Johnson is likely to face another attempt by Tory MPs to force him out. One month ago, Mr Johnson survived a no confidence vote in his leadership when he won the support of 211 MPs. This compared to 148 MPs who voted against the PM in a bid to oust him from Number 10. Under Conservative Party rules, that victory granted Mr Johnson 12 months' immunity from another no confidence vote. It means rebel Tory MPs face a series of hurdles in their new efforts to try and force the PM from office. But here's how they might do it: Step 1: Seize control of powerful 1922 Committee The primary task for rebel MPs is to ensure they win a majority on the decision-making body of the Conservatives' powerful 1922 Committee. Elections to the 1922's executive are due to be held next week, with the contest likely to be a fight between Tory rebels and PM loyalists for the top jobs. Both sides will be aiming to win more than half of the 18 positions on the executive in order to give them control of the key Committee in charge of Tory leadership contests. Currently Mr Johnson is safe from another vote of confidence for 12 months after surviving a challenge last month. However, if he is still in place, the new executive is likely to consider a rule change which could allow a second confidence vote - possibly before MPs break for the summer later this month. Step 2: Rip up Conservative Party rules Should the rebels succeed in seizing control of the 1922's executive, they will be able to rip up the current rules that give Mr Johnson a year's immunity from another no confidence vote. They could either just remove the immunity rule and keep the current threshold for a new no confidence vote - meaning 15% of Tory MPs (54 of them) will have to write to the 1922 chair to trigger a new ballot. Or, as has been suggested, they might increase the threshold for another no confidence vote to 25% of Tory MPs (90 of them) or perhaps an even higher mark. This would show that a fresh vote was being held in changed circumstances to last month's contest, while it would also offer greater protection for future Tory leaders from repeated no confidence votes. Step 3: Force through a new no confidence vote If the rebel MPs do rip up the current rules on no confidence votes, they will be keen to hold such a ballot before Parliament's summer recess begins on July 21. If, as expected, Mr Johnson were to lose a fresh no confidence vote, it would trigger his automatic removal as Conservative leader. This would then give the Tories the summer to hold a leadership contest - including a ballot of the party's membership - in order to choose his replacement. A new leader could then be installed before the Conservative Party conference in October. But, as he bids to cling to power, the PM might consider drastic action in trying to bring forward the summer recess. This would curtail the already tight timeframe the rebels have for holding a no confidence vote before MPs disappear from Westminster until September. There's a possibility that rebel MPs might not even have to hold a new no confidence vote. Theresa May's resignation was prompted by 1922 Committee chair, Sir Graham Brady, merely threatening her with a second no confidence vote - after she surivived a first - without the rules actually having to be formally changed. Plan B: Encourage Cabinet ministers to deliver the fatal blow If rebel MPs fail to change the rules in order to hold another no confidence vote, they would instead step up their pressure on Cabinet ministers to bring about the PM's downfall. Many have already been calling on top Government figures to tell Mr Johnson the game is up. And, should a majority of his Cabinet withdraw their support for him, there would be little question of the PM remaining in power and he would be forced to quit. But Mr Johnson and his Number 10 team will be buoyed by the fact that Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid's departure from the Cabinet last night was not followed by more top-level exits. He will be hoping he can retain the backing of his remaining Cabinet loyalists - while attempting to win back the support of Tory MPs - and battle through his current woes. On Tuesday, Meta announced that it filed separate actions in federal court against a company and an individual for scraping data from Facebook and Instagram. Octopus: What Is It and What Does It Do? Meta said that in order to give paying customers access to on-demand scraping software and services, Octopus, a U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese national high-tech company, developed a cloud-based platform. Customers can access a software and use its scraping services to visit any website. Customers pay a fee to use its cloud-based platform to conduct scraping attacks or to engage Octopus to scrape websites for them. The company offers to scrape information from sites including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Target, Walmart, Indeed, Amazon, eBay, and Yelp. According to a Engadget report, before starting to scrape all the data available to that person's accounts, this program first compromises the user's Facebook and Instagram accounts by giving their authentication information to Octopus. Every Facebook and Instagram acquaintance associated with a certain Octopus customer can then have their phone numbers, dates of birth, and other personal information obtained by the software. By participating in unauthorized and automated scraping and attempting to hide their scraping in order to avoid being discovered and blocked from Facebook and Instagram, Octopus, according to Meta's lawsuit, violated both the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Terms of Service of the tech giant. Read More: Here's What You Have to Know About Niantic's Social App, Campfire Ekrem Ates: Who Is He and What Does He Do? The company says defendant Ekrem Ates, a Turkish-based individual, gathered data on more than 350,000 Instagram users using automated accounts, and he later posted that information on a number of clone websites where anyone could access it without the owners' permission. In a separate Meta blog, the tech giant said it monitored more than 100 different clone sites in the first half of 2021. By mid-year, the known clone site ecosystem had been reduced by almost 90% thanks to the company's disruption activities. What does a clone site actually do? A clone site is a website that, without permission, duplicates and displays Instagram profiles, posts, and other information. Meta clarified that clone sites can be used for a variety of things, including showing off people's data that has been scraped, defrauding individuals, and harming the reputation of the actual site. Using self-compromised accounts is one way used by clone sites to gather user information. This frequently occurs when users enter their Facebook or Instagram credentials into websites or applications that promise free likes, followers, or other benefits in exchange for their social media login information. The tech giant pointed out that none of these services are approved by Meta, connected to Meta, or supported by Meta. Aside from using the official Facebook or Instagram websites and applications or the "Login with Facebook" button that the companies permit to use to authorized third-party developers, Meta advises users to never disclose their Facebook or Instagram password anywhere else online. Meanwhile, the tech giant has taken several enforcement measures against Ekrem Ates since February 2021, including blocking accounts, delivering a cease and desist letter, and denying him access to Meta's services. Related Article: Meta Is Ending Support for Novi Soon After Just One Year Dramatic footage shows the helicopter rescue of a climber who plummeted at least 700 feet from the face of Mt. Hood in Oregon on Saturday. The man, identified as Alexander Sorokin, a 43-year-old from the Portland suburb of Happy Valley, reportedly lost his grip on his ice axe while climbing a ridge near the mountain's 11,000 foot summit, by a location known as Old Chute. Witnesses who saw the terrifying plunge said he fell as much as 700 feet, and landed near the Hot Rocks fumarole - a volcanic vent that hot gases are released from - according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. Officials said the victim was tended to by people on the scene, before rescue crews from the Oregon Army National Guard arrived by helicopter to take over and remove the man. It took rescue crews four hours to reach the man, KPTV reported. Sorokin was taken to a hospital in the Portland area. His condition is unknown at this time, but he suffered 'serious injuries' according to KPTV. The man, identified as a 43-year-old from the Portland suburb of Happy Valley, reportedly lost his grip on his ice axe while climbing a ridge near the mountain's 11,000 foot summit, by a location known as Old Chute Mt. hood is over 11,000 feet tall. Saturday's incident was the second in as many weeks involving an air rescue from the same location on the mountain Video shot from the scene showed the helicopter perched on its belly across a crest of snow along a narrow ridge, its nose and tail hanging over thin air as the mountain's faces slope steeply away to either side. As the rotors beat the air, a pair of crew members stepped out onto the ridge and secured the door shut behind them as the helicopter readied for lift off. In the background, the fumes from the fumarole can be seen spewing from the rocks into the cold air, and as the copter lifted off they swirled about its downdraft. A line of people clad in helmets and winter gear watched from from a distance on the crest, their skis and poles thrust into the snow as the rescue carried on. The helicopter can be seen lifting up into the blue sky, before flying away over the mountains. Video shot from the scene showed the helicopter perched on its belly across a crest of snow along a narrow ridge, its nose and tail hanging over thin air as the mountains faces slope steeply away to either side A line of people clad in helmets and winter gear watched from a distance away on the crest, their skis and poles thrust into the snow as the rescue carried on The helicopter can be seen lifting up into the blue sky, before flying away over the mountains The man was taken to a hospital in the Portland area. His condition is unknown at this time, but he suffered 'serious injuries' according to KPTV The incident was the second fall in the same area of Mt. hood in as many weeks, officials said. On June 24, a 31-year-old woman from the Portland area also fell several hundred feet from the summit ridge near Old Chute. That woman was also airlifted off the mountain, and sustained critical injuries according to authorities. Her condition was also not available. Jeremy Vallerand, who witnessed the woman's fall, said she also lost her grip on her axe and slid about 900 feet face first down the mountain before landing inside a fumarole vent. 'She hits the rocks, what appeared to be head-first,' he told KIRO, 'Flips over and then straight down into a fumarole.' Vallerand said he assumed if the fall hadn't killed her, the volcanic fumes would. After it was determined the woman had survived, he and others on the scene improvised a pulley system and pulled the woman to safety. Iranian media reported today the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners of 'espionage' and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones. It was not immediately clear if British deputy ambassador Giles Whitaker and other foreigners were detained. The country's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the foreigners had been arrested, but did not say when or whether they were currently in custody. News outlets claimed that Mr Whitaker, the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, and other foreigners faced 'spying' charges after visiting various forbidden areas in the country while the Guard was carrying out ballistic missile tests. Iranian media also identified a Polish scientist at Kopernik University in Poland as one of the accused foreigners. It similarly said he took samples of soil, water and salt from a forbidden area. Giles Whitaker, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Tehran, was allegedly arrested by the country's Revolutionary Guard - a claim denied by the Foreign Office The IRGC news agency claimed foreign diplomats are typically deployed to locate military sites and report back on equipment, The Jerusalem Post reports. IRGC also alleged embassy workers are providing material for a case regarding 'military aspects of Iran's file in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).' These claims were rebuffed by the UK Foreign Office in a Sky News report, which said any story about a British diplomat arrested in Iran was 'completely false'. Tonight, the Secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights Kazem Gharibabadi blasted the UK for leading what he claimed was an 'anti-Iran project over human rights,' the IRNA reports. The British Embassy in Iran Gharibabadi also alleged most UN special rapporteurs for Iran are paid for by the British government and live within the UK. Iran has in the past arrested dual nationals and those with Western ties, often on espionage charges, and leveraged them as bargaining chips in talks over other issues, such as nuclear negotiations. Talks to revive Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers have stalled for months. A recent effort to break the deadlock between U.S. and Iranian negotiators ended without a breakthrough in Doha last week. 'We all need to stop the war together and bring true freedom to Russia,' she said Legion is made up of hundreds of Russians and Belarusians fighting for Ukraine The widow of a Russian sergeant who was executed by Chechen forces when he refused to lead his troops into battle in Ukraine has joined a legion of disgruntled Russians fighting for Ukraine against their compatriots. The woman, whose chose to conceal her identity, appeared in footage shared by the Freedom for Russia legion - a group of fighters comprised mostly of Russian and Belarusians who switched sides amid Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Sitting in front of a blue and white flag now synonymous with the anti-Putin legion, the defector announced defiantly: 'We all need to stop the war together and bring true freedom to Russia. The Putin regime must be overthrown. 'Stop tolerating the tyrant. Join our legion,' she implored her fellow countrymen and women in an attempt to drum up numbers for the rag-tag unit of defectors. The group's exact numbers are not known but it is thought hundreds of Russians have crossed into Ukraine and signed up since it was formed in March. The widow of a Russian sergeant who was executed by Chechen forces when he refused to lead his troops into battle in Ukraine has joined a legion of disgruntled Russians fighting for Ukraine against their compatriots Sitting in front of a blue and white flag now synonymous with the anti-Putin legion, the defector announced defiantly: 'We all need to stop the war together and bring true freedom to Russia. The Putin regime must be overthrown' Legion members fly a white and blue flag that has become synonymous with the anti-Putin group The widow's Russian husband was executed by Chechen forces loyal to leader and Putin crony Ramzan Kadyrov (centre) The woman told The Times she entered Ukraine in May after her husband was shot by soldiers loyal to Chechen leader and Putin crony Ramzan Kadyrov. The sergeant had reportedly refused to send his men 'to slaughter' in Ukraine and he was promptly executed for insubordination. His widow meanwhile was given the callsign 'First' when she joined the legion of disgruntled Russians because she was the first woman to do so. She is joined in the legion by one extremely notable defector - the former Vice President of one of Russia's biggest banks. Igor Volobuev, 50, was a distinguished member of Gazprombank - the third largest bank in Russia in terms of sheer asset size. But he was shocked to his core when Putin decided to invade neighbouring Ukraine and defected, opting to lead the Freedom for Russia legion in an attempt to fight back. 'Guys from Russia if you hate Putin's regime and want Russia to become a free, democratic country, join us,' Volobuev declared in a call to arms last month. 'I came here to defend my motherland.' Many of the legion's troops are made up of Russian prisoners of war, who upon being treated well by their Ukrainian captors and educated about the impact of Putin's 'special military operation' agreed to switch sides. 'Guys from Russia if you hate Putin's regime and want Russia to become a free, democratic country, join us,' former Gazprombank VP Igor Volobuev declared in a call to arms last month Igor Volobuev, 50, was a distinguished member of Gazprombank - the third largest bank in Russia in terms of sheer asset size - before defecting and joining the Freedom for Russia legion Another legion member, 48-year-old Volodymyr Grotskov, told The Daily Mail last month his anti-Putin awakening began 11 years ago when pro-democracy protests erupted across Russia following ballot-rigging and fraud to fix the success of the Russian president'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.' 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. 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' 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. 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: '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.' Billionaire Bill Ackman donated $18,000 to a fundraiser supporting the family of a two-year-old boy orphaned in the Highland Park parade shooting. Aiden McCarthy, 2, survived the hail of bullets Monday after his father, Kevin McCarthy, shielded him with his own body. Kevin and his wife, Irina McCarthy, were both among the seven people killed when a gunman opened fire on a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, an affluent Chicago suburb, with an AR-15-style weapon. The crowdfunding page was established to help Aiden's grandparents with 'raising, caring for and supporting' him and has already raised over $2.5 million. Confessed shooter Robert Crimo, 21, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart said Tuesday that 'dozens' more charges would follow and he hopes to send Crimo to prison for life. Billionaire Bill Ackman (left) donated $18,000 to a GoFundMe account supporting the family of Aiden McCarthy (right). Aiden was orphaned in the Highland Park parade shooting More than 46,000 people have donated to the GoFundMe account established in Aiden's honor, including investor and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. The billionaire is the largest donor to date after making an $18,000 contribution to the fund. His office confirmed the donation to The Daily Beast on Tuesday. The largest donation in the last few hours was a $10,000 contribution from an anonymous source. Most of the other high contributors are also anonymous. 'At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents,' GoFundMe organizer, Irina Colon, wrote on the page. 'Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. 'He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows.' The crowdfunding page was established to help Aiden's grandparents with 'raising, caring for and supporting' him and has already raised over $2.5 million Aiden McCarthy, 2, (pictured) survived the hail of bullets Monday after his father, Kevin McCarthy, shielded him with his own body Aiden lost his mother, Irina, 35, and father, Kevin, 37, after being separated from them during the chaos of Monday's shooting. He was kept safe by complete strangers after Lauren Silva, 38, of Deerfield, and her boyfriend found him during the chaos. Silva told The Daily Beast they emerged from a parking garage a few blocks away from the shooting just as the violence began to unfold. 'We were just opening the door to walk up the stairs and we heard itboom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,' she told the Beast. 'And it sounded like someone was, like, pounding on the glass doors.' Silva and her boyfriend and his son began running toward those who were injured when her boyfriend suddenly thrusted the little boy into her arms. 'My boyfriend handed me this little boy and said he was underneath this father who was shot in the leg,' she said. 'They were trying to stop the bleeding so I brought the boy downstairs into the garage.' Aiden McCarthy (pictured with an unknown man) has since been placed in the care of his grandparents Aiden lost his mother, Irina, 35, and father, Kevin, 37, after being separated from them during the chaos of Monday's shooting Once inside the garage, she managed to clean out his scrapes and washed the blood off him. She said he was wearing one shoe and his sock was covered in blood. 'He kept asking if mom and dad are going to come back soon,' she said. Silva reemerged from the parking garage after 20 minutes to see how the father was doing. She handed Aiden off to a family she was hunkering down in the garage with, who took him to the hospital and later handed him to police. He was eventually reunited with his grandparents. Dana Ruder Ring, who had taken care of the child until 8 p.m., according to Fox 32 Chicago, posted the original photo of the boy to help identify him. Silva, a mother of two, said she's holding on to the memory of the 'kid's face and his touch and the sound of his voice.' 'I feel like I want to hold on to, like, a little bit of emotion that I feelwhich is telling that boy that his dad was going to come back,' she said. The gunman opened fire at 10:14 a.m. on Monday, barely 15 minutes into the parade. He then fled the scene and hid throughout the day before eventually being arrested at 6:30 p.m. in Lake Forrest, eight miles north of where the massacre unfolded Horror on Independence Day: A police officer bows his head in grief next to abandoned strollers and chairs after a shooting that killed seven people in Highland Park Tributes to the seven people who died in the massacre were left along the parade route The gunman, Robert 'Bobby' Crimo began shooting with an AR-15-style weapon shortly after 10 a.m., from a rooftop along the parade route. Police said Tuesday that Crimo dressed as a woman to disguise himself and easily slipped into the crowd of panicked bystanders, evading law enforcement. Highland Park parade shooter Robert 'Bobby' Crimo, 21, been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder He was eventually arrested about eight hours after the shooting. Crimo has since confessed to the fatal attack that took seven lives and left dozens injured. He was hit with seven counts of first-degree murder and will likely face additional charges. 'He went into details about what he had done. He admitted to what he had done,' Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters Wednesday, NBC News reported. 'We don't want to speculate on motives right now.' After fleeing the shooting scene in Highland Park, Crimo reportedly drove to nearby Madison, Wisconsin, where he 'seriously contemplated' carrying out another attack, police spokesman Christopher Covelli said. 'We don't have information to suggest that he planned on driving to Madison, initially, to commit another attack,' Covelli said. 'We do believe that he was driving around [after] the first attack and saw the celebration.' He added: 'Indications are that he hadn't put enough thought or research into that.' Crimo has been jailed without bond. A rural Georgia monument that some conservative Christians and far-right conspiracy theorists have criticized as satanic was bombed before dawn on Wednesday, damaging one of four granite panels that some people dubbed 'America's Stonehenge.' The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the Georgia Guidestones monument near Elberton was damaged by an explosive device at 4:30 a.m. by 'unknown individuals.' Elberton Granite Association Executive Vice President Chris Kubas told local news outlets that the monument was significantly damaged. Pictures and drone footage show one of the four stone panels in rubble on the ground. The enigmatic roadside attraction was built in 1980 from local granite, commissioned by an unknown person or group under the name R.C. Christian. Footage of the Georgia Guidestones explosion from social media emerged, showing the monument north of Elberton being reduced into rubble in the early hours (4:30 a.m.) of Wednesday morning This aerial image shows one of the damaged pilars after the Georgia Guidestones bombing. Messages written in eight different languages promoting population control, alliance with nature and globalism feature on the monument A supposed suspect was seen racing away from the scene following the huge blast The 19-foot-high (6-meter-high) panels bear a 10-part message in eight different languages including English, Hebrew, Hindi, Swahli, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabaic, as well as four ancient languages Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, Babylonian and Old Egyptian with guidance for living in an 'age of reason.' One part calls for keeping world population at 500 million or below, while another calls to 'guide reproduction wisely improving fitness and diversity.' It also serves as a sundial and astronomical calendar. The pillar in the center is designed to attract sunglight on a daily basis, with rays of sunshine indicating the day of the year, according to WSBTV. The 19-foot-high (6-meter-high) panels is also used as a sundial and astronomical calendar Conservative Christians in Georgia have previously described the monument as 'satanic' due to its vague origin and intentions Drone video footage shows the crumbling remains of the structure after the explosion following the mystery attack The roadside attraction received renewed attention during Georgia's May 24 gubernatorial primary when third-place Republican candidate Kandiss Taylor claimed the guidestones are satanic and made demolishing them part of her platform. 'God is God all by Himself. He can do ANYTHING He wants to do. That includes striking down Satanic Guidestones,' Taylor tweeted on Wednesday morning, just a few hours after the explosion. 'I am the ONLY candidate bold enough to stand up to the Luciferian Cabal. Elect me Governor of Georgia, and I will bring the Satanic Regime to its knees and DEMOLISH the Georgia Guidestones,' she previously tweeted on May 2, two weeks before the state's Republican gubernatorial primaries. 'Join me in my fight to #TearThemDown!' Third-place Georgia gubernatiorial GOP candidate Kandiss Taylor claimed 'God' was involved in Wednesday's explosion, claiming 'He can do ANYTHING He wants to do. That includes striking down Satanic Guidestones' The Republican previously tweeted in May that she would destroy the Guidestones if she were elected Texas-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones praised the bombing of the monument on his show, scaling it 'on an animal level,' but said the destruction was not enough. 'We need that evil edifice there as a confession letter led by a consortium of eugenicists,' Jones added. The Georgia Guidestones are about 7 miles (11 kilometers) north of Elberton, near the South Carolina state line. Granite quarrying is a top local industry. GBI says the bomb appears to have gone off by dynamite, with sheriff's deputies responding to discover the damage. Some residents told local news outlets they heard an explosion at that time. Elbert County sheriff's deputies, Elberton police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were among agencies trying to figure out what happened. The monument had previously been vandalized. Progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman said President Joe Biden 'absolutely' needs to step up - and called on the rest of his party to focus on 'police accountability' and the fight for abortion rights - during a Wednesday afternoon interview. The New York Democratic lawmaker was grilled on CNN about the outlet's recent report indicating that his colleagues are increasingly unhappy with Biden's leadership. He also repeated calls made by his fellow 'Squad' member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to open up abortion clinics on federal land in states where the procedure is banned - something the administration has shot down on multiple occasions. Biden's perceived lack of action in the face of the Supreme Court rolling back privacy rights and increasing gun violence is frustrating his fellow Democrats. CNN quoted one unnamed Democrat lawmaker as complaining that there's 'no fight' in the 79-year-old leader. 'So first of all, it's not just President Biden, members of Congress have to step up and fight as well,' Bowman said while defending his party leader. 'Congress makes laws. We need Republicans and Democrats to get their act together in Congress, get in a room, and figure out how we're going to save this country.' Host Erica Hill pressed the congressman again, 'But is there also a place where the President needs to step up?' 'Oh, absolutely,' Bowman answered. Rep. Jamaal Bowman joined CNN on Wednesday where he was grilled about a report suggesting his fellow House Democrats are unhappy with President Biden Democratic Congressman @JamaalBowmanNY says his constituents are "pissed off" and want Congress to do more @EricaRHill pic.twitter.com/1GbDn5KtLE The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) July 6, 2022 Going into specifics, Bowman suggested, 'He should open up abortion clinics on federal land...He needs to absolutely do that.' 'I appreciate him stepping up and saying that we need to carve out a part of the filibuster so that we could codify Roe v Wade, but we need to talk about getting rid of the filibuster,' the Democrat continued. 'I would love to see the president use the bully pulpit more, be out and about among the American people, and create a vision for how we're going to get out of this mess.' Continuing to defend Biden, Bowman added that it was 'on all of us to do the work.' He said his constituents were 'pissed off' at the state of the country and called on every Democrat in Congress and the White House to work together in pushing for a ban on assault weapons, holding up police accountability and passing a law protecting the right to an abortion. At the tail end of his interview, Hill shot one more question out on his assessment of Democrats' 'frustration' based on CNN's report - but Bowman was unperturbed. 'Again, I don't think it's on President Biden in and of himself, it's on us,' he said. 'What are we doing to be clear on our message, to be concise with our message, to engage with the American people, and do more around police accountability?' Progressives are reportedly frustrated at what they perceive to be insufficient leadership across multiple crises, anonymous Democrats told CNN One of the places Democratic voters have felt let down was over their party's inability to codify federal abortion protections before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade He referenced the police killing of Jayland Walker in Akron, Ohio on June 27. Walker was a 25-year-old black man who was unarmed when he was shot running from police after a failed traffic stop. 'Look at the shooting. Jayland Walker, 60 shots to his body. We need to do more there, and in so many other areas,' Bowman said. The lawmaker's interview comes after an unnamed Democrat criticized the Biden administration as 'rudderless, aimless and hopeless' in yet another damning report of turmoil between the US President and his party on Tuesday. More than 20 Democrats working across Congress and the White House shared private concerns with CNN regarding President Joe Biden's ability to respond to back-to-back crises that have plagued the country for much of his term - and whether he's an effective leader of those behind him working to fix it. Even the president's allies seem to be frustrated with a 'lack of action' as his measures to curb high gas prices and address the baby formula shortage fail to solve either problem. The report also suggests Biden is taking out that frustration on his aides. The president is described as having a 'tendency to berate advisers' when a situation does not pan out as expected. That practice having 'trickled down the ranks in the West Wing' is suggested as a contributing factor in the slew of recent resignations. The Highland Park gunman considered a second attack in a neighboring state, it has emerged, but decided against it because he had not done enough research. Robert Crimo, 21, murdered seven people in the Illinois city during a July 4 parade, shooting at 10:15am from a rooftop along the parade route. He wore women's clothes to escape in the crowd and returned home to Highwood, asking his mother to borrow her car. Crimo then drove 140 miles to Wisconsin, where he came across another July 4 event and considered killing more people. 'It appears when he drove to Madison, he was driving around, however, he did see a celebration that was occurring in Madison and he seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting in Madison,' said Deputy Christopher Covelli, with Lake County sheriff's office in Illinois. Crimo had about 60 rounds of ammunition and a high-powered rifle in his car at the time. Robert Crimo is shown on Wednesday, appearing in court via Zoom. It emerged on Wednesday that he contemplated a second attack, in Madison, Wisconsin Crimo, wearing makeup and dressed in women's clothes, is seen escaping the scene of the crime in Highland Park on Monday Covelli said his decision to drive to Madison appeared to be spontaneous, and Crimo decided against a second shooting in the Madison area because he did not plan for it, as he had in Highland Park. 'Indications are that he had not put enough thought and research into it,' Covelli said. Crimo abandoned his cell phone in the parking lot of Jim's Auto Service Center in the Middleton district of Madison, before driving back south into Illinois, towards his home and the scene of his crime. He was arrested on Monday evening in Lake Forest, Illinois. Shon Barnes, the chief of police for Madison, said the revelation that Crimo contemplated attacking his community was 'upsetting'. 'We are deeply troubled to learn the suspected Illinois parade shooter considered carrying out another attack here in Madison,' Barnes said in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon. 'We feel for the grieving families in Highland Park and all those forever impacted by the events of Monday's shooting. 'We recognize tragedy very well could have taken place in our own community. That reality is upsetting to all of us here in Madison, including the members of the Madison Police Department.' Barnes said they were only informed of Crimo's thought about of attacking his city on Wednesday morning. Covelli, asked why Crimo decided against attacking Madison, said on Wednesday: 'Indications are that he had not put enough thought and research into it' Shon Barnes, chief of police for Madison, Wisconsin, said that the idea Crimo considered attacking their city was 'upsetting' Mourners on Wednesday visit the site of Monday's shooting in Highland Park A memorial has sprung up in Highland Park, paying tribute to the seven who died On Monday afternoon at 5pm, he said, his office was informed by their colleagues in Highland Park that Crimo could be heading their way. They mobilized, only to then be informed he had been arrested at 6:25pm. The mayor of Madison, Satya Rhodes-Conway, called the news 'deeply disturbing' and called on lawmakers to enact tougher gun control laws. 'Weapons of war have no place in our community,' she said. 'This time the shooter wreaked havoc in Highland Park and drove to Madison. Next time, it could be anywhere. 'On his way here, he drove past hundreds of communities celebrating the Fourth of July. All of us are at risk when weapons of war are on our streets.' Crimo appeared in court on Wednesday morning charged with multiple counts of murder, as prosecutors shared more details of his rampage. He spoke softly to tell the court that he did not have a lawyer, and to ask for a public defender. He was dressed in all-black, wore his long dark hair draped over one eye and shifted on his feet as he appeared via Zoom from a room in the Lake County jail. He was denied bond by Judge Theodore S. Potkonjak, and will remain in custody until his next court date on July 25. Tom Durkin, the attorney who had been hired to represent him, pulled out due to an unknown, last-minute conflict of interest. Now, Crimo will be represented by a public defender. During the court appearance, it was revealed; Crimo used a legally purchased Smith & Wesson M&P 15 to carry out the attack He bought the weapon - which costs around $800 - in 2020 Crimo fired 83 rounds in total, reloading his weapon twice before fleeing the roof of the building along the parade route Police tracked him down by tracing the serial number of the gun to his home; he dropped the weapon while running away from the parade Once in custody, he made a full confession and told cops he 'looked down, aimed and fired' into the crowd He said he dressed up 'like a girl' and used make-up to cover his face and neck tattoos Police do not yet know exactly what his motive for the killing spree was but on Wednesday they confirmed his fixation on the numbers 47 - the inverse of 7/4, the date of July 4th. 'His motivation isn't necessarily clear, I don't want to go into specifically what he told investigators, however he had some type of affinity towards the number 4 and 7, and inverse 7 and 4,' said Covelli, after Crimo's court appearance. Earlier, Crimo's mugshots were made public which show him standing expressionless wearing a black t-shirt, with his dark hair draped over one of his eyes. His cheek and neck tattoos are on full display. Crimo used a legally purchased Smith & Wesson M&P 15 to carry out the attack. He bought the weapon - which costs around $800 - in 2020 Meanwhile, his parents' attorney has spoken out in their defense to insist there were 'no red flags' for them to report to police. Crimo's father supported his application for a FOID card - the license needed to buy guns - in 2019 when he was 19 and just two months after an incident when police were called to the family home. Police confiscated 16 knives after that incident because Crimo had 'threatened to kill everyone'. He was not arrested and his family say police gave the knives back two weeks later. Crimo's mother and father have not been charged but they have retained a lawyer - Steve Greenberg, a local man who railed against the shooting on Twitter on Monday, before realizing that his friends' son was responsible for it. Crimo is being represented by two other attorneys from a different firm. On Tuesday night, Greenberg appeared on NewsNation to insist his clients Bob Crimo and Denise Pesina have done nothing wrong, and to deny claims by police that they were called to the family house twice in 2019. 'I don't think anyone's ever aware of any red flags that make them think that their son is gonna go out in their own community and start shooting people. 'Had they seen any signs of it, I think they would have acted. They're responsible parents,' Greenberg said. Amid intense scrutiny of that decision to help his son buy a gun, the father's attorney said on Tuesday that police 'couldn't have been too concerned' because they returned the knives to Bobby two weeks later. Crimo, 21, is expressionless in mugshots that emerged on Wednesday morning. He is wearing a black t-shirt with his dark hair draped over one of his eyes. His cheek and neck tattoos are on full display. Bob Crimo Jr. and his wife, Denise, said in a brief statement: 'We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the parade-goers, the community, and our own. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to everybody' The shooter was on the roof of Ross Cosmetics, left, and fired into the parade after gaining access from a fire escape stairway in a nearby alley An aerial view of the parade route. The gunman told police he 'aimed and fired' his weapon into the crowd 'The police returned those knives to them two weeks after they took the knives. The police couldn't have been too alarmed. There was a dispute and the situation was resolved. 'The bigger issue is why does a 20 year old or 21 year old, why is he able to get a FOID card and purchase a military style weapon. That's the question we need to be asking not how did he get a FOID card when there were no red flags and it was perfectly lawful.' Greenberg denied that Robert Crimo was suicidal. 'They've disputed that he was ever suicidal and that they ever claimed he was suicidal, and that he ever threatened to kill everyone,' said Greenberg. 'If he had, the police would have taken some action, placed him on a psychiatric watch. I'm not sure that's really what happened.' Greenberg said the massacre was a tragedy 'all the way around', including for the shooter's parents. 'Imagine waking up one day and knowing your loved one goes to a parade gets killed imagine knowing your child may never get out of jail. It's just a horrific tragedy all the way around for everybody involved.' He added that since the shooting, Crimo and his parents had spoken and that all were cooperating with police. 'They expressed to him that they love him and he expressed that he loved them,' he said. Crimo's father Bob Sr. was cornered by police as he arrives at home on Tuesday Steve Greenberg, the attorney for the shooter's parents, insisted on Tuesday night that they had done 'nothing wrong' Greenberg said that he had been a friend of the family for years. 'I've known these folks for 30 years now, until very recently I was a resident of the community. My role is to advise them on the law and help them through this process. I know the parents and I have met the son, many years ago. It's a wonderful family.' On Monday, before he knew that Crimo was the shooter, he tweeted: 'This is my hometown where I grew up and raised my kids. WTF is wrong with people. No one needs these high powered weapons!!!!! F Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell and all like them'. In September 2019, Illinois State Police received a 'clear and present danger' report related to Robert Crimo's family after he threatened to kill himself and his family. They removed knives from the property, but later returned those, The Chicago Sun-Times reported. Crimo, who was 19 at the time, was not arrested. He was two years under the legal age minimum to apply for the firearm owner's identification (FOID) card needed to legally obtain a weapon. But despite the murder-suicide threats, Crimo's father sponsored him for a FOID card in December 2019, and it was approved a month later, in January 2020. Officials have since said they approved the permit because there was 'insufficient basis' to deem Crimo dangerous, with the only record on his file a 2016 ordnance violation for possession of tobacco. The attorney railed against gun laws on Twitter on Wednesday That meant Crimo was legally-able to buy the weapon used in Tuesday's massacre. He faces life in prison after being charged by the Illinois State's Attorney's office with seven counts of first-degree murder. Lake County State Attorney Eric Reinhart says Crimo faces 'dozens' of other charges related to the people he injured. Police at first said that Crimo was not known to them but on Tuesday, they revealed he was interviewed twice by authorities in 2019. The first was in April 2019 a week after he threatened to kill himself. The second was in September 2019, after he threatened to 'kill everyone' in his family. Police recovered 16 knives, a dagger and sword from his home but he was not arrested. Instead, he was able to turn 21 and buy two assault rifles in Illinois, along with three other types of gun. It remains unclear why the two previous incidents were not flagged when he legally purchased the weapons. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing some criticism following reports that he's vacationing with his family this week in Montana, which is on a list of places where 'state-funded or state-sponsored travel' is prohibited because of discriminatory LGBTQ policies. Newsom and his family left the state on July 1, and governors office said he was traveling out of state, but didnt initially disclose his location. The governor's office is now pushing back after CalMatters' Emily Hoeven revealed his whereabouts on Twitter, stating the travel ban doesn't apply in this case. Montana was added to the travel ban list for California in 2021 over bills that were deemed hostile to LGBT rights. It was also recently mentioned as one of the states that 'already restrict abortion and are likely to have bans in effect soon.' A spokesperson for the governor's office told KCRA that state's travel ban applies to 'expending state funds' and that Newsom's travel is not being paid for by the state. 'It's a personal trip,' spokesperson Erin Mellon added. 'The ban is on state-funded travel which this is not.' She would not go into detail about travel expenses for security reasons. But backlash on social media was swift, with some pointing out that Newsom's location was not previously disclosed by his office in their most recent statement which some say was a stark contrast from previous announcements of his leaving the state. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing some criticism following reports that he's vacationing with his family this week in Montana, which is on a list of places where 'state-funded or state-sponsored travel' is prohibited because of discriminatory LGBTQ policies CalMatters' Emily Hoeven revealed his whereabouts on Twitter, pointing out that Montana is on a list of banned states for state-funded travel A statement was released on July 1 that read, 'Governor Gavin Newsom has left the state.' But Hoeven pointed out that previous announcements have given more information, like the one in November 2021 that stated Newsom would be joining his wife and children in Mexico. Newsom's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, owns a ranch in Montana where the couple got married in 2008, but there was no mention of a location on the most recent announcement. Newsom's office responded: 'We are not in the business of regulating where people have family or where they spend their vacation. Nor will we persecute them for visiting their family. The press shouldn't either.' A statement further explains that no state funds were used in the trip, and that connecting the travel ban to the trip is 'irresponsible and falsely implies there is something untoward.' A journalist pointed out the stark contrast between a previous announcements of Newsom leaving the state - which included more detail - with the one sent out on July 1 which simply stated that he had gone out of state A statement was released on July 1 that read, 'Governor Gavin Newsom has left the state' Anthony York, a senior adviser to Newsom, tweeted a response to Hoeven that stated that the idea of connecting Newsom's vacation to the state's travel ban 'is an attempt at gotcha journalism that is neither gotcha nor journalism.' 'OK, so why does Newsom ban state money from being spent to travel to states, then go there on his own dime?' the National Review's Dan McLaughlin tweeted. Anthony York, a senior adviser to Newsom, tweeted a response to Hoeven that stated that the idea of connecting Newsom's vacation to the state's travel ban 'is an attempt at gotcha journalism that is neither gotcha nor journalism' 'Suggests the ban is for show & he doesn't actually believe in it as some sort of moral stand.' 'So he's in Montana with no security detail or any assistance paid for by the state at all?' wrote another Twitter user. 'You are going ON RECORD as #GavinNewsom Coms director saying this Right?' Some of Newsom's Republican critics have also slammed him for the trip. Jessica Millan Patterson, the California GOP chairwoman, tweeted that this was an example of 'do as I say, not as I do.' The fatal shooting of two members of the Hamze family may have been an act of 'revenge' for the death of a young man from a rival clan, police said. Salim Hamze, 18, and his father Toufik, 64, were killed in a spray of bullets as they sat in the front seat of a red utility in Guildford, north-west Sydney, on October 20 last year. Police confirmed Salim's name has come up in investigations into other gangland related shootings, including the death of Shady Kanj, a 22-year-old low-level associate of the Alameddines. Kanj was killed in Guildford just two months before Salim and his father were shot dead. Salim Hamze, 18, (pictured) and his father Toufik, 64, were killed in a spray of bullets as they sat in the front seat of a red utility in Guildford, north-west Sydney, on October 20 last year Paramedics desperately tried to revive Toufik before he was raced to Westmead Hospital, where he later died '(Salim's) name has come up in that (Kanj) investigation and his name's come up throughout other investigations,' Homicide Squad Commander Danny Doherty said. 'Unfortunately Salim was the target for the shooting, he was ambushed, and Toufik was the innocent bystander. 'He was the loving father of Salim and ultimately he paid the ultimate price he is paying for the sins of the son. Salim's name has come up in a number of our investigations and as a result of that this was a revenge killing.' Police have since seized a grey Ford Mustang that they allege was used as a getaway car after the Hamzes were shot. Police say Salim Hamze's name has come up in multiple investigations in other gangland related deaths Police say the death of Salim Hamze may have been a 'revenge killing' A burnt-out Lexus SUV which was allegedly used as the initial getaway car by those involved was also seized by police with both vehicles having since undergone forensic examination. 'The Mustang was parked near the intersection of Railway Street and Inkerman Street at Granville late on Tuesday October 19, then moved to Murdock Lane at Guildford in preparation for the murder,' Det Supt Doherty said. 'That location at Murdock Lane is also where the Lexus SUV was driven to and destroyed by fire immediately after the murder took place. 'The movement of these vehicles remains a focus of our investigations and we're seeking information from anyone who saw either car in the days leading up to the incident to come forward.' A new appeal for information by police into the cars was issued on Wednesday, with Det Supt Doherty saying some people 'haven't come forward completely' with information. A burnt out Lexus SUV (pictured) was found 1.8km away in Murdock Lane a short time after the shooting in October last year 'We know there's some people who know information and who may have used these cars prior to the murder, or heard something since the murder,' he said. 'You know people have probably got an opinion on some of the victims of the killings, but you've got a loving family of an innocent 64-year-old man and also an 18-year-old.' Police believe Salim was the intended target and his father was collateral damage. Police are unaware of any criminal involvement of the slain father. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. An explosion erupted at Kazakhstan's biggest oil field Tengiz earlier today, just days after the country's president had reassured the EU it would step up its delivery of oil to Europe. At least two workers died and three were injured in the blast, according to local reports. Kazakh police opened a criminal investigation into the explosion at the facility operated by the country's top oil venture Tengizchevroil, in which Chevron holds a 50 per cent stake. The causes of the mystery explosion are under investigation, but preliminary information indicated the fireball occurred during a hydrotest of a pipe with atmospheric gas. A Russian court yesterday also ordered the 'temporary closure' of Novorossiysk oil terminal, a key link in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) which takes Kazakh oil to the Black Sea and on to the West. This was ostensibly for environmental reasons and to allow regulators to inspect the pipeline, but the Russian court's decision was handed down just a day after Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Monday vowed to send more oil to the EU ahead of winter. The CPC said Wednesday it was 'forced to impose the court's ruling' of a 30-day closure but planned to appeal against it. Any major disruption to the CPC would put further strain on the global oil market which is facing one of its the worst supply crunches since the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s. An explosion erupted at Kazakhstan's biggest oil field Tengiz earlier today, just days after the country's president had reassured the EU it would step up its delivery of oil to Europe (Tengiz facility is pictured) Workers at the Tengiz oil fields in Kazakhstan are pictured evacuating the facility after an explosion killed two employees this morning Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Monday vowed to send more oil to the EU ahead of winter Kazakhstan supplies 67 million tons of oil through Russia to Europe annually, but Tokayev on Monday told EU council president Charles Michel his nation would increase supplies this year in light of the conflict in Ukraine. However, Tokayev recently infuriated Vladimir Putin by refusing to recognise the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - areas of eastern Ukraine under the control of Russian-backed separatists - as independent states, stoking speculation the Tengiz oil facility explosion and CPC pipeline closure could represent payback. The CPC pipeline has been in the spotlight since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, in what it calls a 'special military operation' seen by Ukraine and Western allies as an all-out invasion. Oil prices were up more than 1 per cent on Wednesday at around $104 (88) a barrel, supported by supply concerns. Russia has already reduced gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which supplies Russian gas to Germany and other European states. That pipeline has been operating at 40 per cent capacity because of a dispute over equipment repairs. The United States meanwhile has imposed sanctions on Russian oil but has said flows from Kazakhstan through Russia should run uninterrupted. The European Union has said it wants to wean itself off reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan is pictured at dusk The Kazakh president recently infuriated Vladimir Putin (pictured) by refusing to recognise the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - areas of eastern Ukraine under the control of Russian-backed separatists - as independent states In light of this, EU lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc's list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU's executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups. The European Commission earlier this year made the proposal as part of its plans for building a climate-friendly future, dividing member countries and drawing outcry from environmentalists over what they criticise as 'greenwashing.' EU legislators from the environment and economy committees objected last month to the plan, setting up Wednesday's decisive vote in Strasbourg, France. But MEPs rejected their resolution in a 328-278 vote, with 33 lawmakers abstaining. Greenpeace immediately said it will submit a formal request for internal review to the European Commission, and then take legal action at the European Court of Justice if the result isn't conclusive. 'It's dirty politics and it's an outrageous outcome to label gas and nuclear as green... but now we will fight this in the courts,' said Ariadna Rodrigo, Greenpeace's EU sustainable finance campaigner. European Parliament rapporteur Bas Eickhout rued 'a dark day for the climate and the energy transition.' European lawmakers gather to vote at the European Parliament, Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. European Union lawmakers back plan to include natural gas, nuclear energy as sustainable activities The green labeling system from the European Commission defines what qualifies as an investment in sustainable energy. Under certain conditions, gas and nuclear energy will now be part of the mix, making it easier for private investors to inject money into both. With the EU aiming to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030, the commission says the classification system is crucial to direct investments into sustainable energy. It estimates that about 350 billion euros of investment per year will be needed to meet the 2030 targets. The question of nuclear power has divided environmentalists, energy experts and governments for years. Some argue it is an important source of energy because it is produced with no emissions and thus 'clean,' while others say the risks of devastating nuclear accidents are too great and infrastructure is slow and costly to build. Liquid natural gas, clearly a fossil fuel, is roundly criticised in environmental circles. Introducing gas and nuclear into the equation has divided the 27 member countries amid Russia's war in Ukraine, and even the parliament's political groups. Following a hoax bomb threat made on social media by an 18-year-old passenger, a Spanish fighter jet was dispatched to intercept an easyJet flight. According to the authorities, a teenage passenger on an easyJet flight posed a hoax bomb threat on social media, which led to the interception of the flight by a Spanish fighter jet. South China Morning Post reports that the video clip taken on board the flight of the intercept shows the Spanish F/A-18 Hornet rocking its wings at the easyJet Airbus A319. EasyJet's Fake Bomb Threat The EasyJet flight was later disrupted while on air when a fighter jet decided to accompany the plane. The fighter jet deployed right beside the EasyJet flight was a response from an alleged bomb threat made by an 18-year-old British national. The 18-year-old who faked the threat was a traveler from London going to Menorca, a popular holiday island in Spain along with his five other friends. The fraudster was arrested at the Menorca airport and spent the night in jail. According to the Spanish police, the person is already due for a court hearing. The easyJet flight safely arrived in Menorca without any incident just before 5 o'clock local time. The arrival time was approximately half an hour later than it had been scheduled to do so. According to Gizmodo, the Spanish Civil Guard stated, "The passengers were disembarked and established protocol followed until police were able to confirm it was a false bomb threat, and the person responsible was identified on social media along with five other companions as witnesses." The statement added, "They were taken to a police station so officers could clarify the situation." Afterwards, it was taken to a screening area that was located some distance away from the main terminal. After the plane had touched down, the passengers were escorted off the aircraft one at a time and questioned by authorities regarding the contents of their bags. This process took roughly two hours. Following that, all bags were inspected by dogs trained to sniff out explosives and specialists trained in defusing bombs. Read Also: New Malware Called YTStealer is Targeting YouTube Creators and Their Channels Responding to the Fake Bomb One of the passengers on the flight took a video of the jet of the Spanish Civil Guard flying just outside the window of the aircraft. The fighter plane can be seen rocking from side to side and flapping its wings, which is a signal used in the military to indicate that it has intercepted another aircraft. The passenger Ian Leslie posted his video on Twitter, saying that the pilot received an air traffic radar code while on air. IT The orange wing tips in the video indicate that the aircraft used for the easyJet flight was an A-319, which typically has a capacity of between 120 and 150 passengers. According to Paula Peralta the easyJet spokesperson stated, "easyJet can confirm flight EZY8303 from London Gatwick to Menorca on 3 July was escorted by military aircraft while landing in Menorca and delayed disembarking due to precautionary security checks." The airline company stated that EasyJet's number one concern is always the well-being of its passengers and crew, and the airline would like to express its gratitude to its customers for their understanding in this matter. Related Article: Has Walmart Fallen Victim to a Yanluowang Ransomware Attack? Eurocrats who have battled Britain for months over Brexit backed the Tory plotters today in their attempt to oust Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister has repeatedly frustrated the EU since coming to power in 2019 with a series of high-profile spats over the hated Northern Ireland protocol, fishing rights and Covid vaccines. Just today Maros Sefcovic, the European Commissions Brexit enforcer, insisted there was no legal and political justification for rewriting the trade rules for the province. Last month, the Slovak diplomat launched legal action against the UK over the Governments effort to disapply most of them, claiming that it breaks international law and the Good Friday Agreement. Mr Sefcovic has warned that Brussels could launch a trade war if Britain goes ahead with its threat. But four senior EU sources last night said the slew of ministerial resignations and a possible leadership contest that topples Mr Johnson could help to mend ties with Downing Street. Eurocrats who have battled Britain for months over Brexit backed the Tory plotters today in their attempt to oust Boris Johnson They expected any replacement British prime minister to seek a better relationship with Brussels. One EU diplomat from a country that is traditionally close to Britain said: It is difficult to see how progress can be achieved as long as he remains PM. But with a new Tory leader, those chances could increase. At this point it is about pursuing the lesser evil. Another even referred to the need for regime change in London, a thinly-veiled reference to calls from ex-No10 aide Dominic Cummings to depose the Prime Minister. A third senior source said: Given what is happening in Westminster, we can see that Boris will not be there for much longer. One top official with close ties to French president Emmanuel Macron said Mr Johnsons move to overhaul the Northern Ireland protocol meant he had lost all respect and credibility. We are awaiting his departure so we can resume a proper relationship with the UK, the source said, adding that Britains legislation to unilaterally override part of the Brexit deal had damaged trust in the PM. Both the UK and the EU agreed the protocol during the Brexit talks that would see new checks imposed on goods moving the British mainland to Northern Ireland. Britain blames the rules for severe trade disruption and Eurocrats have refused to renegotiate the deal. It is why the Government has been looking to change them without seeking EU approval, with Unionist politicians worried that the provinces place within the UK is being undermined. The latest EU briefing war against the Prime Minister will raise suspicions that Brussels is playing for time amid Tory infighting before offering any concessions to Britain. It came as former Tory minister and arch-Remainer Anna Soubry said she wanted Labour to win the next general election, which must be held no later than January 2025. I want Keir Starmer in No10, Miss Soubry told Sky News. At least he is decent and honest, and he is competent. That is what I think the British people are crying out for. Alastair Campbell, the pro-Remain former spin doctor for Tony Blair, told Times Radio that Mr Johnson was toast and should resign. The fact is that you are destroying yourself, you are destroying the Conservative Party, and worst of all you are really doing fundamental damage to the country, Mr Campbell said. Theresa May could return as caretaker prime minister if Boris Johnson resigns, Tory sources said last night. A well-placed source said the former PM was uniquely placed to step in if Mr Johnson tries to order a snap election or quits straight after being ousted in a break with convention. The source said Mrs Mays position as a sitting MP with experience as prime minister left her better qualified than any member of the current Cabinet, most of whom are expected to be involved in the contest to succeed the PM. She knows the ropes and the security stuff, shes a party woman through and through, shes definitely not interested in standing for it herself and would be credible, the source added. She is uniquely placed. A Tory MP said last night that this would have an element of epic schadenfreude to it, given he knifed her in the first place. A Tory source suggested that former Prime Minister Theresa May is ideally placed to step in as a caretaker PM if Boris Johnson were to resign Allies of the PM have discussed trying to wrong-foot his enemies by calling an immediate election before they can oust him. One said he had a mandate from the public which could not be overridden by Tory MPs. During a grilling by MPs on the Commons liaison committee yesterday, Mr Johnson equivocated over whether he would countenance calling an election if his MPs tried to remove him. One Tory MP said such a move would put the Queen in a very difficult position, adding: She would have to ask is there anyone else who could command the support of MPs while a broader leadership election took place rather than go to a general election. Catherine Haddon, from the Institute for Government think-tank, said the monarch did have the power to block an election. Informally, the Palace could tell him no. The question is whether he would go against that informal advice and ask anyway which would leave the Queen facing a very political decision, she added. Whatever you argue about the massive constitutional problems if she did refuse, she can act. By convention, ousted leaders stay on to oversee the contest to replace them. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly stated that he will not be resigning from the job David Cameron and Mrs May remained as prime minister while their successors were elected. But one MP close to the PM said: He could just go. It would be humiliating for him to stay on after being ousted. Im not sure hes got the stomach for that. Mr Johnson played a major role in the removal of Mrs May, with his resignation as foreign secretary over Brexit in 2018 seen as a pivotal moment in her downfall. The former Prime Minister has made little secret of her disdain for her successor. Last week she savaged his bid to rewrite parts of the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland, saying: As a patriot, I would not want to do anything that would diminish this country in the eyes of the world. This Bill will not achieve its aims and it will diminish the standing of the UK in the eyes of the world, and I cannot support it. Calls for more Australians to receive a fourth Covid vaccination are mounting even as case numbers and hospitalisations rise around the country and newer strains take over as the main threat. The new wave of BA4 and BA5 subvariants are ripping through Australia due to high transmissibility, with early data suggesting the strains have evolved to evade the existing vaccines and acquired immunity. On Thursday, there were 3,921 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the country, still below the 5,000-plus around the Australia Day peak of Omicron, but an increase of 24 per cent since mid-May. The Australian Technical Advisory Group (ATAGI) will announce Australians over the age of 30 will be eligible for a fourth jab as soon as next week. Queensland's chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said the new forms of the virus are not expected to peak until late July or early August. 'It's very likely that either you or someone you know close to you will be infected, it will be very common. My message is it's important for you to prepare now,' he said, urging the take-up of boosters. There were 3,781 people in hospital with Covid on Wednesday - the highest Australia has seen since the height Omicron wave in February Symptoms of new BA4 and BA5 subvariants Runny nose Sneezing Fatigue Sore throat Dry cough Loss of taste Loss of smell Muscle aches and pains Headache Red or irritated eyes Vomiting Diarrhoea Skin rash Discolouration of fingers or toes Advertisement Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said he doesn't expect to get ATAGI's official advice on the extra shot until Friday. Mr Butler also warned Australia is in the early stages of a fresh wave of Covid-19. 'Case numbers are rising, hospitalisations are up by several hundred just in the fortnight, and most state governments and the federal government are projecting that that's going to continue for some time yet,' he said in Adelaide. 'We are absolutely committed to doing whatever we can as a government to get through this winter and get through this third Omicron wave that's headed our way.' The Therapeutic Goods Administration announced on Wednesday it had granted two provisional determinations to Pfizer Australia for its vaccines Comirnaty Omicron and Comirnaty Bivalent. It means Pfizer is now able to apply to the TGA for provisional registration of the two vaccines and seek authorisation to bring them to market. However, The Australian newspaper reported on Wednesday night that ATAGI will recommend fourth doses for anyone over the age of 50, and allow anyone over the age of 30 to have another booster shot if they wish to have one. This means more Aussies will be able to protect themselves against the new BA4 and BA5 subvariants. The new wave of BA4 and BA5 subvariants are ripping through Australia due to high transmissibility, with early data suggesting the strands are better at avoiding immunity As the nation grapples with rising case numbers, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says immunisation experts will look at available evidence before making a recommendation on a broader fourth dose rollout. 'The pandemic isn't over, so my view is that (Australia) will inevitably follow what has occurred in other parts of the world and roll out a further booster shot,' he told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday. 'I'd encourage people who haven't had their booster shots to go out there if they're eligible and do it as a matter of urgency.' A fourth dose is currently available for Australians aged 65 and older and vulnerable people. Victoria has extended its pandemic declaration by three months until at least October 12. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard also warned that anyone who isn't fully vaccinated is 'crazy' as the state braces for a third wave to peak. Nadhim Zahawi is planning to reverse Rishi Sunaks corporation tax rises, sources said tonight. The new Chancellor vowed to cut taxes and boost the economy in his first day in the job after being promoted from education secretary. It is understood that Mr Zahawi is drawing up a new economic strategy with Andrew Griffith, the head of the PMs Policy Unit, with a big economic reset speech likely as soon as tomorrow that could promise to cut taxes, as well as deregulation, to turbocharge the economy. The PMs parliamentary aide James Duddridge last night said there would be tax cuts next week as part of the new plan. Mr Zahawi, 55, was put in charge of the Treasury late on Tuesday night after Mr Sunaks shock resignation. By early this morning he was already setting out his priorities. New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi (pictured outside the Treasury) is set to scrap Rishi Sunaks corporation tax rises to help the economy, a sources said Nadhim Zahawi took his place next to Boris Johnson during Prime Minister's Questions today, but Rishi Sunak was not present Asked what his plans were for corporation tax which is levied on businesses profits and is due to rise from 19 per cent to 25 per cent next year under his predecessors plan Mr Zahawi replied: Theres nothing off the table. I want to be one of the most competitive countries in the world for investment. When boards around the world make investment decisions... the one tax they can compare globally is corporation tax. I want to make sure that we are as competitive as we can be whilst maintaining fiscal discipline. He told Sky News: My task is to rebuild and grow the economy. I will look at everything to make sure we continue to be on the side of people. Mr Zahawis first day in No 11 also coincided with a rise in the threshold at which workers start paying National Insurance, amounting to a tax cut for millions. But he admitted taxes will have to go up and that next year will be really hard as attempts to recover from the pandemic are buffeted by rising energy and food prices worsened by the war in Ukraine. Denying he had been given the job just to deliver tax cuts, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Ive been appointed because I will be evidence-led and my focus is to rebuild the economy and then return to growth. He promised: Ill come back on your programme and happily talk about where I think we can do more on taxes. We are determined to do that, as was my predecessor. Mr Zahawi also denied that he threatened to resign in order to secure his promotion to Chancellor. Asked if Foreign Secretary Liz Truss had been in line for the job until he said he would step down, Mr Zahawi told Sky News: That is not true. Jerry Harris said 'I am not an evil person' as he was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for crimes relating to child pornography and soliciting sex from minors. The star of hit Netflix series Cheer apologized to his victims and said he was 'still learning who I am' at the hearing at a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday. Prosecutors had pushed for a lengthy sentence, saying that Harris' status as a popular celebrity had enabled him to 'persuade and entice' his young victims to engage in sexual conduct. Judge Manish S Shah told the social media star and cheerleading champion to consider the sentence an 'expression of the seriousness of your crimes, tempered with some hope that all is not lost for you or for your victims, and that in the future some healing can occur'. Harris, 22, who has remained in custody at a federal detention facility since his arrest in September 2020, appeared in court for the sentence, which lasted around seven hours. Addressing his victims before receiving his sentence, he said: 'I am deeply sorry for all the trauma my abuse has caused you. 'I pray deep down that your suffering comes to an end.' He added: 'I'm not an evil person. I'm still learning who I am and what my purpose is.' Cheer star Jerry Harris, shown in 2020, pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal charges of soliciting sex from minors at cheerleading competitions The complaint says that Harris sent this photo to one of the boys on Snapchat asking: 'Would you ever want to ***'. The boy told authorities he interpreted this as Harris asking him to engage in sex acts The criminal complaint related to his arrest includes several photos and message exchanges allegedly between Harris and the boy. In one Snapchat exchange included in the complaint, the boy sent a photo of himself and Harris allegedly responded: 'Do it naked and take a video' Notable figures listed as authors of character letters used by his defense included other stars of Cheer such as Navarro college head coach Monica Aldama, teammate Morgan Simianer, and the parents of Harris' fellow cheerleader, Gabi Butler. Harris, who quickly rose to fame in season one of the cheerleading-related Netflix hit, had entered guilty pleas to two charges - receiving child porn using interstate commerce, and traveling over state lines with intent to illicit sexual conduct with a minor. The Texas native was 19 years old at the time of his arrest. Harris, from the Chicago suburb of Naperville, previously pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of receiving child pornography. His pleas were entered during a plea hearing in a US federal court in Chicago in February. Harris, pictured above on the 'Ellen' show, rose to fame in season one of the cheerleading-related Netflix hit The complaint says Harris first contacted the boy on Instagram in 2018 who told him he was only 13. Harris allegedly responded: 'Oh ok have any pics?', before adding the photos should be of his face and 'booty' Pictured above on the left is a screenshot included in the complaint of several nude photos that he allegedly sent to Harris. Harris' face can be seen in one of the images. Pictured right is a text Harris allegedly sent the boy saying he had 'found a place for us to do stuff' at a cheer competition The complaint said the exchanges between Harris and one of the boys stopped earlier this year. A text message included in the complaint shows the boy asking Harris why he had blocked him on Snapchat. 'I don't think we should be friends on Snap,' Harris said Harris pleaded guilty to two of seven counts against him including persuading a 17-year-old to send him sexually explicit photographs for money. The other count stemmed from a trip he took to Florida for the purpose of 'engaging in illicit sexual conduct' with a 15-year-old. Prosecutors also alleged at the time that he solicited videos and images from two 14-year-old brothers. US prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining five counts under a plea agreement. According to the indictment, Harris allegedly solicited sex from minors at cheerleading competitions and convinced teenage boys to send him obscene photographs and videos of themselves. Harris later admitted to FBI agents to asking a teenage boy to send him photographs of himself, and to requesting child pornography on Snapchat from at least 10 to 15 others he knew to be minors, according to the indictment. 'Harris' sexual assault of (one) boy in such a public place, in an unlocked public bathroom, during an event attended by dozens of responsible adults demonstrates that Harris either does not care about being caught committing his offenses, or simply cannot stop himself,' Assistant US Attorney Christopher Parente wrote of one of Harris' victims. A US child pornography charge carries a sentence ranging from five to 20 years and the second charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. Authorities said Harris coerced minor victims to send him graphic photos and videos of themselves while soliciting sex from boys as young as 13 at cheerleading competitions across the country, according to the Tribune. In December 2020, Harris was indicted on charges alleging misconduct at such competitions in Illinois, Florida and Texas, with federal prosecutors alleging that Harris had attempted to persuade a minor to engage in oral sex at one cheerleading event. Authorities also claim he solicited another minor for sex in a different state, and admitted to having five to 10 victims in all. Prosecutors had painted him as a major figure within the competitive cheerleading community due to his role on the popular Netflix docuseries, which follows a cheerleading squad from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. The popular Netflix docuseries follows a cheerleading squad, pictured above, from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas A still image taken from the Netflix docuseries 'Cheer,' with the Navarro College cheerleading squad pictured above Harris 'Cheer' co-stars address his child pornography charges against him during Season Two The Naperville native has been behind bars since the fall of 2020, when US Magistrate Judge Heather McShain said he would be a danger to the community if released following an initial charge of one count of production of child porn. McShain added that Harris had used his position within the cheerleading community to both meet and proposition his young victims, while rejecting the 'blurred line' between Harris' age and that of his alleged victims. '(Harris) was not a child,' McShain said. 'He was an adult.' On Tuesday, federal prosecutors described Harris as a sexual predator who used his fame to victimize young boys at cheerleading events nationwide. Authorities said Harris continued to pursue minors in a sexual manner even after he learned he was under investigation, with prosecutors asking the court that Harris be denied bond. Meanwhile, Harris' attorneys had requested the courts to release him on house arrest, while adding that he suffers from asthma and is at risk for COVID-19 in jail. Harris is being held without bond in Chicago's downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center, records show. One in four councils is promoting highly contentious race theories in schools, a major report warns today. Town halls are using controversial terms including white privilege and unconscious bias in teacher training materials, research has found. One of the packages claims that children as young as three understand differences between peoples backgrounds and tells staff: You can never start talking about race and racism too early. Another suggests using a diagram called the white supremacy pyramid to teach pupils how bigotry can fuel everything from belittling jokes to mass murder. Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, chief executive of Dont Divide Us (DDU) Yet many parents do not believe their children should be taught that Britain is structurally racist, while the majority think schools should teach in a non-partisan way, according to polling revealed in the study by Dont Divide Us (DDU). Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, chief executive of the campaign group, said: The new anti-racism which asserts that Britain is a systematically racist society which automatically discriminates against racial minorities is being legitimised in schools through the reframing of equality policies by councils. This approach suppresses the distinction between facts, opinions, and beliefs and is in direct conflict with the wishes of parents. Tony Sewell, who led last years landmark government inquiry into racism that was castigated by the Left, added: As I found as chair of the Commission for Ethnic and Racial Disparities, and as this work underlines, it is increasingly apparent that a single, contentious interpretation of anti-racism has taken hold across many of our countrys institutions. Uncovering the ideological drift in schools is of vital importance both for creating a more balanced discussion on race, and for protecting the integrity of education itself. DDU began investigating after learning that Brighton & Hove City Council was recommending pupils as young as five be taught that they are either racists or victims. Researchers wrote to 171 local authorities in England and Wales asking for copies of anti-racism literature from teacher training materials and school curriculums. Tony Sewell led last years landmark government inquiry into racism Of those that responded to the Freedom of Information requests, DDU classified 18 councils as biased (23 per cent), 26 at risk (33.3 per cent) and the remaining 34 unbiased (43.5 per cent). The majority of those deemed biased were Labour-controlled. Portsmouth was branded extremely biased, with teachers told: Children as young as three recognise race and racial differences. However, polling commissioned by DDU suggests that such lessons are opposed by many parents. A survey of 8,337 adults by YouGov of whom 1,376 were parents of school-age children found that 69 per cent believe schools should teach in a non-partisan way, while 38 per cent do not think pupils should be taught that Britain is structurally racist. A health minister criticised the BBC for inviting her to resign live on air amid the leadership crisis. Maria Caulfield, minister for patient safety and primary care, accused the broadcaster of treating the turmoil as just one big game. She took to Twitter on Tuesday to share a message she received from Tom Smithard, a senior journalist at Radio 4s Today programme. MP Maria Caulfield (pictured) blasted the BBC after a producer asked if she was thinking of resigning and whether she would consider doing it live on air The text message (pictured) says an on air resignation would be 'even better' It showed Mr Smithard, who describes himself on social media as a producer/edition editor on the news show, suggesting: Hi Maria, Tom Smithard here from the Today programme. I appreciate you may well be staying in place but if you are planning on resigning wed be very keen to get an interview with you a resignation live on air would be even better. Please do let me know in confidence if thats something youd consider. Miss Caulfield wrote on Twitter: These are very difficult times. Unfortunately for the BBC it is just one big game. It came as the major broadcasters raised eyebrows with some of their coverage. On Tuesday, Sky News Sam Coates was seen repeatedly yelling at Cabinet ministers as they walked along Downing Street. Yesterday BBC News channel presenter Annita McVeigh preceded an interview by saying she would apologise in advance if she had to suddenly turn around and shout in the direction of the Prime Minister. A professor sounded the alarm on Tuesday after finding a 'large' hole in the ozone layer over the tropics that has been developing since the 1980s. Professor Qing-Bin Lu, a researcher at the University of Waterloo, said it is comparable to that of the well-known springtime one over Antarctica - but the new one has an area seven times the size. Its existence, according to Lu, could be detrimental to our environment as it can lead to increases in ground-level UV radiation and affect 50 percent of Earth's surface area. 'These findings will have significances in understanding planetary physics, ozone depletion, climate change, and human health,' reads the study published in the journal AIP Advances. However, not everyone is convinced that Lu's findings are accurate. Dr Paul Young, Lancaster University and a lead author of the 2022 WMO/UNEP Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion, said: 'There is no 'tropical ozone hole', driven by the author's proposed electrons from cosmic rays or otherwise The author's identification of a 'tropical ozone hole' is down to him looking at percentage changes in ozone, rather than absolute changes, with the latter being much more relevant for damaging UV reaching the surface. 'Interestingly, his article also does not draw from the vast literature that explores and documents ozone trends in all regions of the atmosphere.' Scroll down for video A professor sounded the alarm on Tuesday after finding a 'large' hole has been discovered in the ozone layer over the tropics that has been developing since the 1980s The ozone layer is a natural layer of gas located in the stratosphere the second layer in Earth's atmosphere. Although warmer-than-average stratospheric weather conditions have reduced ozone depletion during the past two years, the current ozone hole area is still large compared to the 1980s, when the depletion of the ozone layer above Antarctica was first detected. This is because levels of ozone-depleting substances like chlorine and bromine remain high enough to produce significant ozone loss. In the 1970s, it was recognized that chemicals called CFCs, used for example in refrigeration and aerosols, were destroying ozone in the stratosphere. Professor Qing-Bin Lu, a researcher at the University of Waterloo, said it is comparable to that of the well-known springtime one over Antarctica- but the new one has an area seven times the size In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was agreed, which led to the phase-out of CFCs and, recently, the first signs of recovery of the Antarctic ozone layer. The upper stratosphere at lower latitudes is also showing clear signs of recovery, proving the Montreal Protocol is working well. However, Lu's study warns there is an all-year-round hole right above the tropics. 'The tropics constitute half the planet's surface area and are home to about half the world's population,' said Professor Lu, a researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Departments of Biology and Chemistry at the University of Waterloo. 'The existence of the tropical ozone hole may cause a great global concern.' 'The depletion of the ozone layer can lead to increased ground-level UV radiation, which can increase risk of skin cancer and cataracts in humans, as well as weaken human immune systems, decrease agricultural productivity, and negatively affect sensitive aquatic organisms and ecosystems.' Its existence, according to Lu, could be detrimental to our environment as it can lead to increases in ground-level UV radiation and affect 50 percent of Earth's surface area. However, other experts say there is no hole based on the data used by Lu The discovery of the whole-year ozone hole over the tropics came as a surprise to the scientific community, since it was not predicted by conventional photochemical models. However, Lu said his work 'builds on previous studies of the cosmic-ray-driven electron reaction- (CRE) initiated ozone-depleting mechanism that we originally proposed about two decades ago. 'The present discovery calls for further careful studies of ozone depletion, UV radiation change, increased cancer risks, and other negative effects on health and ecosystems in the tropical regions.' But other experts are calling Lu's bluff and are baffled to why his study was even published in a journal. Professor Martyn Chipperfield, Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Leeds, said: 'I am surprised that this study was published at all in its current form. 'The results of this work will be highly controversial and I'm not convinced they are correct. We already have a good understanding of polar ozone depletion from different, well-established chemical mechanisms which can explain the slow and variable closing of the Antarctic Ozone Hole, and this new research doesn't persuade me otherwise. 'The claim in this research of such large ozone changes in the tropics have not been apparent in other studies which makes me very suspicious. 'Science should never depend on just one study and this new work needs careful verification before it can be accepted as fact.' Advertisement The British Museum has launched a major exhibition showcasing the Rosetta Stone, despite calls for the artefact to be returned to Egypt. The display will also include other Egyptian relics, like an ancient sarcophagus known as 'the enchanted basin' and a bandage from one of the earliest 'mummy unwrapping events' in the 1600s. The exhibition explores the inscriptions and objects that helped academics unlock an 'ancient civilisation' exactly two centuries ago. Curator Ilona Regulski said the Rosetta Stone was 'a very important object', and that the 200-year anniversary of the decipherment of hieroglyphs was 'an opportune moment to celebrate this very important achievement.' At the heart of the new British Museum exhibition will be the Rosetta Stone, which provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs and expanding modern knowledge of Egypt's history Another object in the display, due to open to the public on October 13, will be a large, black granite sarcophagus known as 'the enchanted bath', that was discovered in Cairo The British Museum exhibition will feature conservators cleaning 'the enchanted bath', using a combination of methods to remove the build-up of environmental dust and surface dirt The striking cartonnage and mummy of the lady Baketenhor, on loan from the Natural History Society of Northumbria, was studied by Champollion in the 1820s. In correspondence with colleagues in Newcastle, Champollion correctly identified the inscription on the mummy cover as a prayer addressed to several deities for the soul of the deceased only a few years after he cracked the hieroglyphic writing system. Baketenhor lived to about 2530 years of age, sometime between 945 and 715 BCE The exhibition, named Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt, will bring together more than 240 objects charting the race to decipherment. At its heart will be the Rosetta Stone, which provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs and expanding modern knowledge of Egypt's history. Officials from Egypt have been requesting the stone be given back to its country of origin since its transfer to British possession in 1801. The first official request came in 2003 by Egypts then-Chief of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawas, who said 'the artefacts stolen from Egypt must come back'. In 2018 Dr Tarek Tawfik, the director general of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, suggested the museum could replace it with a virtual reality exhibition. Officials from Egypt have been requesting the Rosetta Stone be returned to its country of origin since its transfer to British possession in 1801, with the first official request in 2003 The exhibition, named Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt, will bring together more than 240 objects charting the race to decipherment, including the 'enchanted bath' (pictured) On display will be the 3,000-year-old illustrated Book of the Dead of Queen Nedjmet papyrus, which is over four metres long WHY IS THE ROSETTA STONE A CONTROVERSIAL ARTEFACT? The Rosetta Stone was rediscovered by the French in 1799, but was transferred to British possession after the Capitulation of Alexandria in 1801. Officials from Egypt have been requesting the stone be given back to its country of origin ever since. The first official request came in 2003, by Egypts then-Chief of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawas who said 'the artefacts stolen from Egypt must come back'. Most recently, in 2018 Dr Tarek Tawfik, the director general of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, suggested the museum could replace it with a virtual reality exhibition. Advertisement Curator Ilona Regulski told the PA news agency: 'We are celebrating 200 years of decipherment of hieroglyphs this year, which happened in 1822. 'The Rosetta Stone was a very important object. It provided the key to decipherment because of the text and transcripts so they could understand the content of the hieroglyphs. 'We thought it was the opportune moment to celebrate this very important achievement and to also share the latest research on Egyptian writing.' The Rosetta Stone is thought to have been carved in 196 BC by priests honouring the king of Egypt Ptolemy V. It was rediscovered by a French officer during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt, after it had been used as a building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid, or Rosetta. When the British defeated the French in 1801, the stone was taken to London and placed in the British Museum the following year. It has three versions of a decree inscribed onto it the bottom in Ancient Greek and the top and middle in Ancient Egyptian, using hieroglyphic and Demotive scripts respectively. French scholar Jean-Francois Champollion announced the transliteration of the Egyptian scripts in 1822. Regulski added: 'We built the exhibition in the spirit of Jean-Francois Champollion. 'He used the Egyptian writing system as a gateway into ancient Egypt, so, by deciphering the hieroglyphs, he really unlocked an ancient civilisation that people didn't really realise was there at all. 'In that spirit, we built the exhibition, so we tell the story of decipherment and how people got to the point where we are now that we can read the text constantly.' Another object in the display, due to open to the public on October 13, will be a large, black granite ritual bath that was discovered near a mosque in Cairo. A 3,000-year-old cubit measuring rod of the pharaoh Amenemope from the 18th Dynasty, from the Museo Egizio Turin in Italy. It features in the 'Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt' exhibition. It was an essential clue for Champollion to unravel Egyptian mathematics, discovering that the Egyptians used units inspired by the human body The temple lintel of King Amenemhat III, from Hawara, Egypt will also be on display in the exhibition Portrait of Dr Thomas Young on a copper medal. The English scholar made progress in the translation of ancient hieroglyphs From love poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the exhibition aims to reveal stories of life in ancient Egypt. Pictured is a statue of a scribe from the Musee du Louvre that will be on display It was found in an area still known as al-Hawd al-Marsud, meaning 'the enchanted basin', and was covered with hieroglyphs from about 600 BCE. The hieroglyphs were believed to have magical powers, and bathing in the basin could offer relief from the torments of love. It was later identified as the sarcophagus of Hapmen a nobleman of the 26th Dynasty. The British Museum exhibition will feature conservators cleaning the sarcophagus, using a combination of methods to remove the build-up of dust and surface dirt. Also on display will be the 3,000-year-old illustrated Book of the Dead of Queen Nedjmet, alongside a set of canopic vessels that preserved the organs of the deceased. It will be the first time a set of jars have been reunited since the 1700s, the museum said. The mummy bandage of Aberuait from the Musee du Louvre in Paris, which has never been displayed in the UK, will also be on show. It was a souvenir from one of the earliest 'mummy unwrapping events' in the 1600s where attendees received a piece of the linen, preferably inscribed with hieroglyphs. The cartonnage and mummy of the lady Baketenhor, on loan from the Natural History Society of Northumbria, was studied by Champollion in the 1820s and will be a part of the exhibition. Champollion and his colleagues correctly identified the inscription on the mummy cover as a prayer addressed to several deities for the soul of the deceased only a few years after he cracked the hieroglyphic writing system. None of the objects in the exhibition are on loan from Egyptian institutions. 'The second half of the exhibition is the impact of decipherment so, what do we know about the ancient culture now that we can read the text?' said Regulski. 'We do that through addressing topics that people perhaps associate with ancient Egypt, such as the pharaohs and the afterlife, but we also talk about the personal stories of the people and really show the diversity of writing and that people in ancient Egypt were concerned about the same things that we are concerned about today. 'So it is really about people and the fact that hieroglyphs represent the spoken language.' British Museum director Hartwig Fischer said: 'Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt marks 200 years since the remarkable breakthrough to decipher a long-lost language. For the first time in millennia the ancient Egyptians could speak directly to us. 'By breaking the code, our understanding of this incredible civilisation has given us an unprecedented window onto the people of the past and their way of life.' Portrait of Jean-Francois Champollion who announced the transliteration of the Egyptian scripts on the Rosetta Stone in 1822 Canopic jars containing the embalmed organs removed from a body at the Louvre museum. The British Museum said their exhibition will mark the first time a set of jars have been reunited since the 1700s Advertisement The smallest mention of a heatwave in the UK leads to ice creams selling out, barbecues heating up and shorts being dusted off as the nation celebrates. In June this year, air temperatures in parts of the country soared to over 90F (33C), while sharp increases were also felt across Europe, the US and Asia. Air temperatures were recorded in excess of 18F (10C) above the average for the time of year in many cities, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. But new heat maps released by the European Space Agency (ESA) show that this might not be such a cause for celebration. They reveal that heat dissipated more slowly in urban areas creating 'heat islands' and make life more of a struggle. Experts are worried that this effect will only be exacerbated as climate change continues to take hold. Heat maps reveal that heat dissipated more slowly in urban areas creating 'heat islands' and make life more of a struggle. Pictured: heat map from ECOSTRESS showing land-surface temperature in Milan on 18 June 2022 Experts are worried that this effect will only be exacerbated as climate change continues to take hold. Pictured: heat map from ECOSTRESS showing land-surface temperature in Paris on 18 June 2022 An instrument onboard the International Space Station has captured the recent land-surface temperature extremes for Milan, Paris and Prague. Pictured: Heat map from ECOSTRESS showing land-surface temperature in Prague on 18 June 2022 The city images taken by ECOSTRESS show the land-surface temperatures in Milan, Paris and Prague on 18 June in the early afternoon. Pictured: Heat map showing land-surface temperature in western Europe on 18 June 2022 WHAT IS AN URBAN HEAT ISLAND? An urban heat island occurs when an urban area experiences warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas where there is more vegetation. This is because natural land cover, like vegetation, has been replaced with surfaces that don't absorb or retain heat, like pavements and buildings. The ECOSTRESS images highlight how hot the surface was in built-up parts of the cities and the cooling effects of grassy parkland, vegetation and water. Advertisement An instrument onboard the International Space Station has captured the recent land-surface temperature extremes for Milan, Paris and Prague. The instrument is called ECOSTRESS and is owned by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It provides geospatial information to that help with planning and managing water resources for future heatwaves. The city images taken by ECOSTRESS show the land-surface temperatures in Milan, Paris and Prague on 18 June in the early afternoon. Land-surface temperature is different to air temperature, as the latter is given in weather forecasts and is a measure of how hot the air is above ground. What ECOSTRESS measures is how hot the actual surface of the land would feel to the touch. This acts as a better indicator of how the warmth rising from Earth's surface influences weather and climate patterns. An urban heat island occurs when an urban area experiences warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas where there is more vegetation. This is because natural land cover, like vegetation, has been replaced with surfaces that don't absorb or retain heat, like pavements and buildings. The ECOSTRESS images highlight how hot the surface was in built-up parts of the cities and the cooling effects of grassy parkland, vegetation and water. Crowds enjoyed the hot weather on June 17 2022 in Bournemouth, England during a heatwave brought on from hot air originating in North Africa and travelling through Spain A man cools off in The Trocadero Fountains across from the Eiffel Tower in Paris on June 18, 2022, amid record high temperatures sweeping across France and western Europe People bathe in the river Limmat in Letten, Switzerland on June 18 2022, during a heat wave Glynn Hulley, a physicist from JPL, said: 'ECOSTRESS continues to image the impact of extreme heat in cities around the world including the recent heatwaves that shattered records in both Europe and the USA. 'These data can be used to identify hotspots, vulnerable regions, and assess the cooling impacts of heat mitigation approaches.' For several consecutive days in mid-June, many European cities endured air temperatures above 104F (40C). In Tokyo, Japan, air temperatures above 95F (35C) were recorded for five days in the row. This marked the worst documented run of hot weather in June since records started in 1875. Over in the US, by 15 June, nearly one-third of the population was under some form of heat advisory. The world has already warmed by about 1.98F (1.1C) since the industrial revolution, which is set to continue rising unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that it is virtually certain that the intensity and duration of heatwaves has increased on a global scale since 1950. Experts widely agreed that this is result of human-induced climate change, and that last month is a reminder of what is to come. The ECOSTRESS instrument onboard the International Space Station has captured the recent land-surface temperature extremes for Milan, Paris and Prague on June 18 2022 The ECOSTRESS also simulates data that will be provided during the future Land Surface Temperature Monitoring (LSTM) mission of a new Copernicus Sentinel satellite The ECOSTRESS also simulates data that will be provided during the future Land Surface Temperature Monitoring (LSTM) mission of a new Copernicus Sentinel satellite. The LSTM will provide systematic measurements of the temperature of the land surface using a thermal infrared sensor. The data will help land planners and farmers understand and respond to climate variability, for example by managing water resources and predicting droughts. Both NASA and the ESA are working together to lead a response to climate change through their separate monitoring missions. The NASAESA Framework Agreement for a Strategic Partnership in Earth System Science was signed last month. ESA's Benjamin Koetz said: 'The instrument is proving extremely valuable in helping us develop and prepare for Europe's LSTM mission, which will offer land-surface temperature data at a similar resolution, of 50 m. 'Envisaged to be launched towards the end of the decade, the main goal of LSTM is to respond to the needs of European farmers to make agricultural production more sustainable as water shortages increase, thereby helping farmers get more "crop for the drop". 'However, it is evident that we are all experiencing more heatwaves and LSTM will also be important for helping authorities address the serious issue of urban heat islands by monitoring city microclimates.' George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States and was in office from 2001 to 2009, meaning that he served two consecutive terms. During his time in office, he helped unite the American people despite the events of 9/11 and created the US Department of Homeland Security to combat potential future terrorist attacks. He also signed a major tax cut program and education reform bill called the No Child Left Behind Act, which aimed to improve public primary and secondary schools and student performance through increased accountability for schools, school districts, and states, per Britannica. However, that was not the only contribution the 43rd US President gave to the American people. He also was the catalyst of many-a technological innovations. Let us explore President Bush's promotions for technological innovation on his 76th birthday. How President Bush Promoted Technological Innovation During His Presidency During Bush's tenure as President of the United States, he announced a series of measures to inspire "a new generation of American innovation." According to the White House Archives, Bush's measures were meant to encourage clean and reliable energy, assure better delivery of health care, and expand access to high-speed internet in every part of America. To accomplish the first, he had the Department of Energy select partners through a competitive process to fund $350 million in hydrogen research projects to overcome obstacles to a hydrogen economy. As for the second goal, President Bush encouraged coordinated public and private sector efforts that would accelerate broader adoption of health information technologies to give every American electronic medical records and the secure exchange of medical information. Read More: NASA Has Lost Contact with the CAPSTONE Cubesat Currently on Its Way to the Moon Finally, President Bush implemented a handful of policy directives to create economic incentives, remove regulatory barriers, and promote new technologies to help make broadband internet, which was the fastest internet service at the time, more affordable. The Fruits of Promoting Technological Innovation Thanks to President Bush's promotion of technological innovation in clean energy, healthcare, and broadband internet, Americans at the time acquired access to a lot of technological advancements. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology was founded to give every American electronic medical records, which eventually became a reality. According to Modern Healthcare, in the first decade of the Office's existence, it has tripled the adoption of electronic health records and brought health information exchange into the common vocabulary, per Dr. John Halamka, chief information officer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston. Meanwhile, the Bush administration was able to double the amount of spectrum available for "innovative wireless broadband applications" such as Wi-Fi and Wi-Max, which can provide a range of new services to consumers in both the public and private sector, per a separate White House Archives page. Additionally, President Bush signed into alw a two-year extension of the Internet Access Tax moratorium to make it permanent, lowering the cost of broadband services. However, the Bush administration failed to make hydrogen energy relevant to the American people. Despite the projects the Department of Energy funded, the US government gave up on research into the use of fuel cells as an alternative for gasoline for cars, per the New York Times. Nevertheless, the study of the use of hydrogen for electricity generation is still ongoing, with the Biden administration announcing it is allocating $25 million to study advanced clean hydrogen technologies for electricity generation, per the DOE's announcement. Related Article: Happy Birthday, Tim-Berners-Lee: What You Have to Know About the Creator of the World Wide Web NASA's CAPSTONE satellite has finally phoned home. The $30 million craft went silent on Monday, shortly after breaking free from its orbit around Earth - NASA said communication was lost after 11 hours of this event. Engineers happily announced Wednesday that they have reopened a line to CAPSTONE that is on its trajectory toward the moon. The microwave-sized device, which launched eight days ago from New Zealand, is tasked with analyzing a unique orbit around the lunar orb, which will be home to a space station called Lunar Gateway. The orbital path, know as a near-rectilinear halo orbit, is a stretched-out egg shape with one end of the orbit passing close to the moon and the other far from it. Scroll down for videos NASA's CAPSTONE satellite has finally phoned home. The $30 million craft went silent on Monday, shortly after breaking free from its orbit around Earth - NASA said communication was lost after 11 hours of this event NASA said Tuesday it was having 'communication issues.' NASA spokesperson Sarah Frazier wrote in a statement: 'Following successful deployment and start of spacecraft commissioning on July 4, the [CAPSTONE] spacecraft experienced communications issues while in contact with the Deep Space Network. 'The spacecraft team currently is working to understand the cause and re-establish contact.' Frazier also said CAPSTONE had 'fuel to delay the initial post-separation trajectory correction maneuver for several days.' NASA is having 'communication issues' with CAPSTONE satellite that is currently on a path toward the moon. The microwave-sized satellite successfully broke free from its orbit around Earth on Monday, but the American space agency was unable to connect to shortly after For now it seems the craft is healthy and steadily heading to the moon. Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck said it was hard to put his excitement into words after CAPSTONE broke free on Monday. 'It's probably going to take a while to sink in. It's been a project that has taken us two, two-and-a-half years and is just incredibly, incredibly difficult to execute,' he said. 'So to see it all come together tonight and see that spacecraft on its way to the moon, it's just absolutely epic.' Lunar Gateway, which is due to launch in 2024, will serve as a 'staging area' for landing humans on the moon for the first time in 50 years, and potentially as a jumping-off point for missions to Mars It will take another four months before CAPSTONE reaches the moon, as it cruises along using minimal energy. The mission is to help NASA prepare for its Lunar Gateway, a multi-module space station in orbit around the moon, which NASA hopes to place in the unique orbit. It is due to launch in 2024 and will serve as a 'staging area' for landing humans on the moon for the first time in 50 years, and potentially as a jumping-off point for missions to Mars. Beck said the advantage of the new orbit is that it minimizes fuel use and allows the satellite or a space station to stay in constant contact with Earth. The orbit's route is located at a precise balance point in the gravities of the Earth and moon, meaning less energy is expended. CAPSTONE will orbit this area around the moon for at least six months to understand 'the characteristics of the orbit', according to NASA, before the space agency deliberately crashes it on the lunar surface. The space agency said: 'It will validate the power and propulsion requirements for maintaining its orbit as predicted by NASA's models, reducing logistical uncertainties. CAPSTONE blasted off on Rocket Lab's Electron rocket from the company's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on June 28 'It will also demonstrate the reliability of innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solutions as well as communication capabilities with Earth.' The first parts for the Lunar Gateway are not set to launch until November 2024 at the very earliest, giving NASA plenty of time to assess the results from CAPSTONE. Described as a 'vital component' of NASA's Artemis program, the Lunar Gateway will be a small space station orbiting the moon, acting as a 'multi-purpose outpost'. The official word is that NASA's Artemis program will land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2025, although this could be pushed back again, NASA Investigator General Paul Martin recently suggested. NASA's original date for landing humans on the moon again was 2024, but last year it delayed the date, largely blamed on litigation from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' firm Blue Origin. Also this year, NASA will be sending manikins to space as part of the Artemis I mission in August 2022. Artemis I will pave the way for crewed flights Artemis II, which will launch in May 2024 and fly by the moon without landing on it, and Artemis III, which will actually touch down on the lunar surface. Artemis III, which will launch 'no earlier than 2025', will be the first to land humans on the moon in more than 50 years, since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The US government warned North Korea-based hackers are attacking healthcare organizations with ransomware. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Wednesday it first observed Maui ransomware on servers, which contain medical records, imaging and intranet services, in May 2021. The advisory note, which is also from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and US Treasury Department, states that the ransomware has caused outages and disruptions of healthcare services for 'prolonged periods.' It is unclear how the hackers are infecting the servers, but the cyberthieves 'likely assume healthcare organizations are willing to pay ransoms because these organization provide serves that are critical to human life and health.' The FBI, CISA and Treasury highly discourage paying ransoms as doing so does not guarantee files and records will be recovered and may pose sanctions risks. Scroll down for video The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Wednesday it has observed Maui ransomware on servers, which contain medical records, imaging and intranet services North Korea is known for ransoming data to steal cryptocurrency hackers in the country stole almost $400 million worth in 2021 and a separate group took more than $600 million this past April. FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran said in a statement: 'The FBI, along with our federal partners, remains vigilant in the fight against North Korea's malicious cyber threats to our healthcare sector. 'We are committed to sharing information and mitigation tactics with our private sector partners to assist them in shoring up their defenses and protecting their systems.' Rahul Prabhakar, Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection, said in a statement: 'Ransomware victimizes people and businesses, large and small, across America. Treasury has worked closely with CISA and FBI to counter ransomware and protect financial sector critical infrastructure. The FBI, CISA, and Treasury highly discourage paying ransoms as doing so does not guarantee files and records will be recovered and may pose sanctions risks 'This joint advisory on Maui ransomware provides guidance that organizations of all sizes across the country can use to help defend themselves. 'We will continue to work closely with our partners to push out actionable information on ransomware and other malicious activity as quickly as possible to help individuals and businesses guard against ever-evolving cyber threats.' North Korean hackers may have also be involved with an attack on June 23 that stole as much as $100 million in cryptocurrency from Horizon Bridge, a service operated by the Harmony blockchain that allows assets to be transferred to other blockchains. Although it has not been confirmed, the FBI says the style of attack and high velocity of structured payments to a mixer - used to obscure the origin of funds - is similar to previous attacks that were attributed to North Korea-linked actors, Chainalysis, a blockchain firm working with Harmony to investigate the attack. There are strong indications that North Koreas Lazarus Group may be responsible for this theft, based on the nature of the hack and the subsequent laundering of the stolen funds, another firm, Elliptic, said on June 29 in a report, 'The thief is attempting to break the transaction trail back to the original theft,' the report said. 'This makes it easier to cash out the funds at an exchange.' If confirmed, the attack would be the eighth exploit this year - totaling $1 billion in stolen funds - that could be attributed to North Korea with confidence, accounting for 60% of total funds stolen in 2022, Chainalysis said. North Korea's ability to cash in on its stolen assets may have been complicated by the recent drop in cryptocurrency values, experts and South Korean officials told Reuters, possibly threatening a key source of funding for the sanctions-strapped country. Advertisement Residents of Sioux Falls, South Dakota felt like they were in an episode of the Netflix series 'Stranger Things' when the sky turned into a haunting green color on Tuesday. The National Weather Service (NWS) revealed it was not due to a tornado as some believed, but stemmed from a derecho. A derecho is an intense wind storm associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms. This one in particular barreled across the northern Midwest with winds up to 99 miles per hour that knocked out power for thousands. Isaac Longley, a meteorologist at AccuWeather, told DailyMail.com: 'While it is relatively common to see these green skies, especially in the Plains, the skies associated with the severe storms that pushed through Sioux Falls during the afternoon of July 5th appeared even greener than normal. 'This of course caught the attention of many who had never seen skies so green.' 'In this particular case, the green skies lasted for around 10-20 minutes as the storms approached the city of Sioux Falls.' Scroll down for video Residents of Sioux Falls, South Dakota felt like they were in an episode of the Netflix series 'Stranger Things' when the sky turned into a haunting green color on Tuesday The storm flowed into the Sioux Falls area around 3pm to 3:30pm CST, carrying a murky green sky along with it. The storm tapered off around 5:30pm and by that time, more than 26,000 people in the city were without power. Crews are assessing damages throughout the city, with several areas expected to be restored by 10pm Wednesday, according to Xcel Energy's power outage map. 'Thunderstorms tend to occur later in the day due to the sun's energy during the day helping to fuel them,' Longley explained to DailyMail.com. The National Weather Service (NWS) revealed it was not due to a tornado as most believed, but stemmed from a derecho. A derecho is an intense wind storm associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms 'As many of us know, the sun appears redder later in the day as it approaches the horizon. However, light underneath a tall thundercloud appears blue due to the scattering by water droplets. 'When the blue light is illuminated by the red light from the setting sun, it appears green, which is why some thunderstorms have that greenish hue to it' Residents shared images and video footage of the storm, with some likening it to the Upside down in Stranger Things or a scene from Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz movie. Isaac Longley, a meteorologist at AccuWeather, told DailyMail.com: 'While it is relatively common to see these green skies, especially in the Plains, the skies associated with the severe storms that pushed through Sioux Falls during the afternoon of July 5th appeared even greener than normal The derecho stretched from South Dakota to Illinois, which caused flooding through the Midwest. By definition, if the wind damage swath extends more than 240 miles and includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph (93 km/h) or greater along most of its length, then the event may be classified as a derecho,' the NWS website states. Some of the highest rainfall totals were in Indiana, with Fort Wayne seeing six inches and Huntertown nearly eight inches. And in Timber Lake, South Dakota, residents reported grapefruit-sized hail was pouring down. Manchester United's revolution finally got underway on Tuesday when the club confirmed its first summer signing with the 14.6million capture of Tyrell Malacia. The left-back has arrived from Feyenoord and marks the first transfer under new boss Erik Ten Hag who will be looking to guide the Red Devils back into the Champions League next season. United fans are sure to be excited at the arrival of the Holland international, who has been congratulated to his move by a former United and Feyenoord favourite Robin van Persie. Congrats on this fantastic move @T_Malacia! 100% deserved, hard work pays off! To all @ManUtd fans, I'm sure you'll enjoy watching Tyrell represent this great club. A huge talent with great fighting spirit - I'm certain he'll be a good fit https://t.co/fh3k2QWDRn Robin van Persie (@Persie_Official) July 5, 2022 Manchester United's new signing Tyrell Malacia (left) has been congratulated on his arrival at the club for former Red Devils and Feyenoord favourite Robin van Persie The Dutchman, whose career was bookended with spells at the Rotterdam outfit, joined the Red Devils for the 2012-13 season from Arsenal and his 26 goals helped fire United to their last league title won during Sir Alex Ferguson's final year in charge. Van Persie ended his career with Feyenoord after two seasons in 2019, which overlapped with Malacia's first two years as a professional at the Dutch outfit. The former striker took to Twitter on Tuesday, in a video also tweeted by Feyenoord's official account, wishing the 22-year-old the best of luck at Old Trafford as well as assuring Red Devils fans their club had made an excellent signing. 'Hi Tyrell, it's Robin here, I would like to congratulate you on your fantastic move to Manchester United,' Van Persie said in a video message posted on Twitter. 'On this big moment in your career. Malacia beams a smile as he pens a Manchester United contract until the summer of 2026 The signing marks the first confirmed transfer under new United manager Erik ten Hag (left) 'You've shown that with self-belief, lots of talent and hard work day in, day out, and I've seen that from close by, that dreams come true. So to all Red Devils fans, you're not only getting a very talented full-back but as well a fantastic person. 'Be nice to him, support him, through good times and bad times, he will give absolutely everything for you guys. So I'm sure it will be a great connection together. 'On behalf of all Feyenoord fans and Feyenoord people, thanks Tyrell for what you've done and for all these years from a young kid when you arrived in the youth academy up until now upon this fantastic moment. You are a true example for the next generation. 'So thank you very much for all your effort and all you've done for our club and I wish you all the very best. Good luck, man.' Malacia arrives at United as a full-back hoping to guide the club back into the top four Van Persie then added in a tweet: 'Congrats on this fantastic move @T_Malacia! 100% deserved, hard work pays off! To all @ManUtd fans, I'm sure you'll enjoy watching Tyrell represent this great club. A huge talent with great fighting spirit - I'm certain he'll be a good fit.' The 22-year-old Holland left back has spent the last two days undergoing a medical at the club's Carrington training base, and United confirmed that he has signed a four-year deal. A statement read: 'Manchester United is please to confirm that Tyrell Malacia has joined the club, signing a contract until June 2026 with the option to extend for a further year.' Malacia is United's first recruit under Ten Hag and he will join in time to go on a pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia on Friday. Red Devils fans will hope the Holland international can make a major impact on the first team Malacia, who has made 136 appearances for Feyenoord and five for Holland, said: 'It's an incredible feeling to have joined Manchester United. This is a new chapter for me, a new league with new team-mates and a tremendous manager leading us. 'I know from playing against his teams in the Eredivisie, the qualities that he has and what he demands of his players. 'Whilst I know that I am still young and will continue to develop, I can promise the United fans that I will leave everything on the pitch every time I pull on the red shirt. 'I'll always be thankful to Feyenoord for all they have given to me and my family. None of this would be possible if it wasn't for them. 'Now I'm ready to focus on the future with United, and help my new club achieve success.' Malacia was pictured with a big smile as he signed his contract alongside Ten Hag, who will be relieved to finally have his first signing secured in the week of the squad jetting off for their pre-season tour. Harry Maguire has been left red-faced after admitting he liked an Instagram post about Cristiano Ronaldo's anger at Manchester United salary cuts - before quickly backtracking and insisting it was done in error. Fans have slammed Maguire and questioned his captain's credentials after the embarrassing gaffe, in which he reacted to a post about United's reported 25 per cent pay cuts after missing out on next season's Champions League. Maguire was quick to pour water on the outrage on Wednesday afternoon, admitting to BBC Sport that he did like the photo - but immediately removed it because he had clicked in error. There had already been calls for the England defender to lose the armband at Old Trafford after a difficult season, and those cries have now increased following his social media blunder. SportBible's post on Instagram was a picture of Ronaldo, alongside a caption explaining that he is 'reportedly upset with the 25% wage cut given to Manchester United players' at the end of the season. Harry Maguire says he accidentally liked an Instagram post about Cristiano Ronaldo United fans have hit out at Maguire (left) after he liked a post about Ronaldo's frustrations Supporters argued Maguire is 'not fit to be Manchester United's captain' after the blunder Underneath the post, it has been liked by Maguire's official account, leading to much anger from United fans at his decision to publicly react to a behind-the-scenes issue. One fan wrote: 'Harry Maguire shouldnt play one more game for Manchester United,' while another added: 'A joke of a captain,' before tagging the player himself. One other equally furious supporter added: 'Harry Maguire is easily the worst player to captain Manchester United. Embodies the awful standards at the club.' While another noted: 'Harry Maguire liking posts like these is what you call unprofessional behaviour. He is no way fit to be Manchester United's captain!' This latest incident is just the latest for new boss Erik ten Hag to deal with after United's return to pre-season training. The week has already been dominated by the absence of Ronaldo, who has refused to return to Carrington as he bids to engineer a summer move away. Maguire returned to pre-season training at Carrington on Monday - but Ronaldo did not Other fans have labelled Maguire a 'joke' of a captain, and 'easily the worst' captain at the club Citing 'family reasons', the Portuguese has not joined back up with his team-mates after the summer break, leaving the likes of Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Napoli on red alert. Maguire has returned, meanwhile, but he may now also face the wrath of Ten Hag if the manager doesn't take kindly to his social media activity. At the end of the week, United will fly to Bangkok to face Liverpool in their opening match of pre-season, before heading Down Under for games against Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. They then return to Europe for a showdown with Atletico Madrid in Oslo, although it is yet to be seen whether Ronaldo is present for any of the five matches. Ronaldo skipped Manchester United pre-season training once again on Wednesday morning Barcelona president Joan Laporta has doubled down on the club's Frenkie de Jong stance - insisting he is not for sale despite transfer interest from Manchester United. Last week Sportsmail reported a deal for the Dutch midfielder was 90 per cent complete. But club chief Laporta has claimed the Catalan giants do not want to transfer him away, seemingly signalling he will be a big part of Xavi's side in the upcoming season. Barcelona president Joan Laporta has insisted midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 25, is not for sale Club chief Laporta (left) doubled down on his stance to keep de Jong while unveiling the signing of midfielder Franck Kessie (right) from AC Milan on a free transfer on Wednesday He said in a press conference presenting new signing Franck Kessie: 'Frenkie is not for sale. He is a Barcelona player. We don't want to transfer him.' Midfield playmaker De Jong is top of new United manager Erik ten Hag's transfer shortlist this summer as he looks to radically overhaul the Red Devils squad. The Dutchman plans to use the 25-year-old Holland international as the anchor of his midfield. Sportsmail sources indicated an agreement between United and Barcelona is for the Holland star is '90 per cent' complete with just the finer details of the deal left to iron out. The news will come as a blow to United boss Erik ten Hag, who sees De Jong as a top priority It is understood United would pay around an initial 55million to the Spanish club for De Jong, the fee potentially rising to close to 70m. Sportsmail reported De Jong was open to signing for United and agreeing personal terms with the Dutchman was unlikely to be a problem. Indeed, the lure of a reunion with Ten Hag was described as a major factor in De Jong's willingness to become a United player this summer. De Jong has played 140 times for Barcelona since joining from Ajax, scoring 13 times in his three seasons. His only trophy at the Nou Camp was the Copa del Rey in 2021. After two sets of a coup, Novak Djokovic headed for the toilets and chatted with the ailing monarch in the mirror. It might just be the most significant conversation hes had since the Australian authorities asked to see his documentation in January. What a peculiar year it has been for this maligned giant of sport, and what a way he found to save it on Tuesday, just as all appeared to be lost. For close to two hours on Centre Court, Djokovic looked done, seven shades beaten out of him by the magnificent Jannik Sinner. Novak Djokovic pulled off a huge comeback to seal a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals The 20-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner (pictured) made an impressive start taking a two set lead The world No 1 found himself two sets down to the 10th seed Sinner in the quarter-final match With the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watching on, we were heading for an uprising of the ages, and a forewarning of a torch that might one day pass from a 20-time Slam champion to a 20-year-old of such considerable talent. Deadly sins indeed. But if you go for the king, you best not miss. And heres the kicker Sinner didnt miss much at all in this quarter-final. He was sublime in taking the first two sets against an off-colour champion, and he was only marginally beneath the same level through the three that followed Djokovics resurrection in the bathroom. But sublime doesnt always cut it. Not against Djokovic. Not when he is prone to those sudden elevations, where in a blink he climbs to a different game, his shots travelling that bit lower and deeper and with more fizz, relentlessly hitting their mark, over and over and over until balls stop coming back. We are used to it, of course, and some might even find it monotonous compared to Roger Federers ballet, but it is never less than astonishing when Djokovic gets to that place of total and devastating efficiency. Across those three sets, the six-time champion didnt so much as face a break point as he engineered a two-set comeback for the seventh time in his career, teeing up a 26th straight win at Wimbledon and a semi-final against Cameron Norrie. The Serb managed to up the intensity and pull a set back himself with a 6-3 win in the third set Djokovic then served out the fourth set to get himself back level with the Italian at Wimbledon To see Sinners expression after his place in the last four was downgraded to pats on the back was to see what it is to face plant into a giant wall at great speed. A fantastic player, as Djokovic called the Italian 10th seed, before discussing the moment it all turned. It was a pep talk in the bathroom, he said. As fake as it looks or sounds to you, it really gives you an effect and support if you are trying to reanimate yourself. So that's what I have done. I did that after I lost two sets in the final of Roland Garros against Stefanos Tsitsipas (which he won in five in 2021), and today it worked. It doesn't always work. But I just felt like I had to change something - I was being dominated by Sinner. Thankfully Grand Slams are played in best-of-five. The match was a brilliant and odd tale of changing rhythms. Djokovic had stormed out of the traps by taking the first seven points and a quick break to go 3-0 up after only nine minutes. From there he worked his way to 4-1 with a further break point, whereupon all the precision and pop of his strokes and serves suddenly vanished. It was that abrupt. The 20-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic then won 6-2 in the fifth set to seal the victory It became most noticeable that his level had slipped at 4-2 ahead, when he botched a pair of drop shots and committed the meekest of double faults to give back the break. From there, Sinner took control of the second half of the set and didnt relent until he was 7-5, 6-2 ahead, excelling with the same sort of low-key domination of rallies that made Djokovic famous. Pushing to become the youngest semi-finalist since Djokovic in 2007, the challenge for Sinner was getting over the line. Given Djokovics form for reversing dire situations, what faced Sinner was one of the longer home straights in sport. As proof, he was broken to love for 3-1 at the start of the third, which was ultimately good enough for the set, and another break came immediately in the fourth. Going into the decider, there was a sense of the inevitable about how this would end. In consideration of what we have seen from Djokovic in his five matches here, the same could be said for the tournament. Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose Depp cut a glamorous figure this week on the Los Angele set of her upcoming miniseries The Idol. With a cast that includes The Weeknd, the HBO show follows a pop star who falls for a cult-leading nightclub owner, according to Deadline. Lily-Rose, 23, whose mother is the French pop star Vanessa Paradis, was spotted hopping into a vintage Rolls-Royce convertible as part of a scene. Looking fab: Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose Depp cut a glamorous figure this week on the Los Angele set of her upcoming miniseries The Idol She was decked out in a sleek black cocktail dress that emphasized her svelte frame and featured a fashionably slanted neckline. Letting her wavy hair down, she went for a naturalistic look where makeup was concerned and warded off the California rays with dark sunglasses. In recent months she has maintained a diplomatic public silence over her father's legal battle with his latest ex-wife Amber Heard. Out and about: With a cast that includes The Weeknd, the HBO show follows a pop star who falls for a cult-leading nightclub owner, according to Deadline Johnny and Amber accused each other of domestic abuse and sued each other for defamation, in a case that eventually came out mainly in Johnny's favor. Lily-Rose's mother Vanessa Paradis, who was involved with Johnny for over a decade, staunchly defended him in 2016 after the abuse allegations were made. 'I believe with all my heart that these recent accusations being made are outrageous. In all the years I have known Johnny, he has never been physically abusive to me and this is nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years,' she wrote to TMZ. Off she goes: Lily-Rose, 23, whose mother is the French pop star Vanessa Paradis, was spotted hopping into a vintage Rolls-Royce convertible as part of a scene Meanwhile Lily-Rose is currently involved with the French rapper Yassine Stein, whom she was spotted enjoying a date night with last month. Rumors had already been swirling about them by the time they publicly confirmed their romance with a kiss in a grocery store parking lot this past November. Lily-Rose's dating history has included movie star Timothee Chalamet, with whom she starred in the Shakespeare adaptation The King on Netflix. Nicole Kidman put on a mysterious display as she left a Balenciaga fitting in a bizarre black eye mask during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. The actress, 55, looked alluring as she donned the bowtie-shaped covering, which appeared opaque, teamed with her more casual ensemble. She teamed the unique accessory with a simple black long-sleeve body and high-waisted jeans. Elusive: Nicole Kidman put on a mysterious display as she left a Balenciaga fitting in a bizarre black eye mask during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday Nicole layered a cross necklace with a simple elegant chain and amped up her glam with a bracelet and rings. The Big Little Lies star paired her outfit with pointed-heel shoes and carried a black leather clutch. The stunning redhead threw her copper tresses into a comfortable updo as she stopped by the couture store. Mysterious: The actress, 55, looked alluring as she donned the bowtie-shaped covering, which appeared opaque, teamed with her more casual ensemble Glam: She teamed the unique accessory with a simple black long-sleeve and high-waisted jeans It comes as Nicole recently revealed how her early days in Hollywood were possible thanks to some of her Australian friends. The actress Academy Award winner told the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in a recorded interview that she was supported by her good pals, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, even sleeping on their couch while auditioning for roles in Los Angeles. '[Deborra-Lee] was one of my best friends,' the Dead Calm star said, adding that the fellow actress always gave her a place to stay when she flew in from Australia. Chic: The Big Little Lies star paired her outfit with pointed-heel shoes and carried a black leather clutch Obscured: The stunning redhead threw her copper tresses into a comfortable updo as she stopped by the couture store Casual: Nicole cut a casual figure in a black, figure-hugging long sleeve top and high-waisted jeans '[I slept on the couch] in the house that Deborra-Lee was renting, and she gave the chance to stay there and we could go and audition,' Nicole said. 'It was expensive, we couldn't afford hotels, so the idea of being in hub out of a house together, was really, I mean, my god.' She added: 'You'd go and come back and you'd go over for a few weeks and do some auditions and hope to crack it.' Nicole has previously revealed how Deborra-Lee, 66, and Hugh, 53, helped her after her divorce from Tom Cruise in 2001. Grateful: Nicole recently revealed how her early days in Hollywood were possible thanks to her Australian friends Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness. Pictured in 2013 'When I got divorced, Hugh and Deb were so much a part of my healing,' she said in a candid interview with Australian Women's Weekly. 'They were some of my best friends through that period,' she added. Like Nicole, Hugh and Deborra-lee were among a small group of budding Australian actors living in Hollywood in the 1980s. Deborra-lee was the first to meet Nicole when she was 'couch surfing' in Los Angeles as a teenager before being cast in Days of Thunder, where she met Tom. 'I do remember Tom Cruise ringing the house when she landed the role [in Days of Thunder]. Nic was always very cool and took it all in her stride,' Deborra-lee said. After splitting with Tom, 59, Nicole went on to meet her second husband, Keith Urban, 54. Jeff Lewis detailed the painful end of his four-month romance with Stuart O'Keeffe after four months of dating on the latest episode of his weekly SiriusXM radio show. While announcing their split on Monday, the 52-year-old Flipping Out star explained he weighed 'the pros and cons' of calling it quits with the 40-year-old Irish chef, who he slammed for 'constantly choosing his social life' over their relationship. 'It was actually a very difficult decision and I'm extremely sad about it,' the father-of-one began. 'But I felt like there really wasn't a future there.' Sad: Jeff Lewis detailed the painful end of his four-month romance with Stuart O'Keeffe after four months of dating on the latest episode of his weekly SiriusXM radio show; seen last month Lewis continued: 'We have very good chemistry, we have a lot of fun together, we're very compatible. I love the guy, I adore the guy.... But we're just not on the same page when it comes to relationship and family.' The television personality, who shares a five-year-old daughter named Monroe with his ex Gage Edwards, said he no longer wants 'the guy at the bar' bur rather 'the guy who stayed home from the bar.' 'I want to prioritize my kid, my house, my businesses all of that,' he explained of his priorities. Tough decision: While announcing their split on Monday, the 52-year-old Flipping Out star explained he weighed 'the pros and cons' of calling it quits with the 40-year-old Irish chef, who he slammed for 'constantly choosing his social life' over their relationship 'It was actually a very difficult decision and I'm extremely sad about it,' the father-of-one began. 'But I felt like there really wasn't a future there' 'This was not a rash decision,' Lewis made clear. 'This has been going on for weeks where I've had signs that this is not a long term thing.' He concluded: 'And it's been fun, and it's been a nice distraction, but we're just not aligned with what I want, what he wants, priorities. And I just don't see this relationship I don't think it has potential to grow.' Following the breakup, O'Keeffe told People he is 'heartbroken' and still loves Lewis 'very much.' Different priorities: Lewis continued: 'We have very good chemistry, we have a lot of fun together, we're very compatible. I love the guy, I adore the guy.... But we're just not on the same page when it comes to relationship and family' In March, Lewis revealed he was dating O'Keeffe on his radio show. 'What's nice about Chef Stu is he's always texting, he's always sending pictures, he's always calling," Lewis said. 'I don't worry about him, he's always including me in whatever he's doing, which, I appreciate that. I'm not anxious, I'm not stressed, I don't worry, I'm not insecure - none of that.' Their relationship began after Lewis ended things with Scott Anderson in January. The GoFundMe campaign raised more than $1.8 Million for a youngster whose parents were killed during the 4th of July Parade. At least 34,742 people gave to the GoFundMe effort, with the biggest donation at $18,000. GoFundMe Campaign For a 2-Year Old Boy Raises More than $1.8 Million As of Wednesday morning, (July 6), a confirmed GoFundMe campaign for a 2-year-old kid who lost both of his parents to gun violence on Monday had collected more than $1.8 million and climbed. At a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, seven people were killed and several more injured, and the boy's parents were shot and killed. The GoFundMe campaign received contributions from at least 34,742 individuals, with the highest gift standing at $18,000 as of the writing of this article. Both strangers and family friends have contributed. When a shooter allegedly began shooting into the crowd from a rooftop perch, the orphaned kid, Aiden McCarthy, was allegedly watching the procession with his parents. It is unclear whether the boy's parents, Irina McCarthy, 35, and Kevin McCarthy, 37, were intentionally targeted or were just unfortunate when the gunshots killed them. In the middle of the turmoil, other attendees led the kid to the rally's sidelines. Later, he met up with his grandparents and other relatives once again. The infant survived, the grandpa said, because his father shielded him with his body. Currently, the youngster has a GoFundMe account created by members of the community, and he is getting thousands of dollars per hour, reaching the $1.8 million milestones with the most significant gift of $18,000 from just one person. People searching for assistance with medical fees, rehabilitation costs, and burial costs may find it on the GoFundMe landing page that has been set up with all of the verified campaigns for the Highland Park Massacre victims. Read Also: Singapore May Impose More Limitations on Cryptocurrencies Burger King Employee Who Never Missed Work Raises $300,000 on GoFundMe Kevin Ford worked as a chef at Burger King for 27 years at the McCarren Las Vegas Airport branch. He never missed a day of work. Therefore, management rushed to acquire a gift to congratulate him for his dedication when he came to work on the 27th anniversary and made jokes about his time working at the firm. He was gifted with a string backpack, a movie ticket, a lanyard, a coffee cup, and some candy. Ford thanked his employees and opened gifts in a TikTok video that immediately amassed millions of views and likes. Online viewers expressed amazement and dismay at the little recompense after his many years of dedication, while other viewers commended his optimism and humility. Following the popularity of the video, his daughter Sernya Ford created a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of raising only $200 more to enable him to see his grandkids. Ford started working as a single parent at the firm and has remained there because of the employer-provided health insurance plan, she said. To the family's amazement, the page collected over $329,000 and was still going strong when this was published. Actor David Spade gave $5,000 and wished Ford luck on Instagram, among other noteworthy contributors. Ford flew to New York after the GoFundMe, and the video both gained a lot of attention when he appeared on the Today program on NBC and was reunited with his grandkids live on air. Related Article: 'Elon Musk' GoFundMe Account Asking Support to Colonize Mars Spotted: How Much Did It Make So Far? She recently underwent a boob job. And Lala Kent proudly showed off the results of the procedure as she posed in a patriotic bikini with her fellow Vanderpump Rules pal, Scheana Shay. Clad in an American flag print bikini top, the swimsuit did little to hide the 31-year-old's newly enhanced cleavage. Revenge body! Lala Kent proudly showed off the results of the procedure as she posed in a patriotic bikini with her fellow Vanderpump Rules pal, Scheana Shay Transformation: The reality star is pictured left on July 4 and right in February She put her svelte abs and long legs on display as she posed in the background in black bikini bottoms. Her blonde hair was worn down and contained with the help of a wide headband. Scheana wore an identical headband as she captured the photo on her phone. She wore a sexy red two piece which showed off underboob and her long legs. Went under the knife: Lala appears to have fully recovered from her recent surgery to get her breast implants replaced and her left ear pinned back. 'I feel really happy': She posted a video of her after her operation in early June Lala appears to have fully recovered from her recent surgery to get her breast implants replaced and her left ear pinned back. She posted a video of her after her operation in early June captioned, 'I continued on the elevator, announcing to everyone who entered, I got my boobs done. Some may wonder why my head is wrapped up. We all got so caught up on boobie talk, we neglected to mention my sweet left ear being pinned back I feel really happy.' Lala announced plans to get her breasts done in celebration of the paperback edition of her memoir back in April. 'I want to celebrate. I'm going into surgery to have my boobies done on Friday,' she said on Behind The Velvet Rope podcast with David Yontef. Called it quits: The reality star is back on the market following the end of her engagement to producer Randall Emmett following allegations he was unfaithful to her. They share one-year-old daughter Ocean together 'I'll be down for a little bit, but the second that I'm up and at 'em, I will be taking my new boobs out to celebrate my national bestseller book,' she added. The reality star is back on the market following the end of her engagement to producer Randall Emmett following allegations he was unfaithful to her. They share one-year-old daughter Ocean together. Randall made headlines last week following the release of a damning bombshell expose about him. According to a shocking Los Angeles Times report, Emmett allegedly used his status as a producer to solicit sexual favors from women in exchange for parts in his movies. Lawyer Gloria Allred said in an October 5, 2021, letter the Times acquired that she is representing a woman who said that when she was 23, Emmett made clear 'that to receive acting work from [him], she would have to perform sexual favors.' The woman, who did not reveal her name out of fear of repercussions, said that she once asked Emmett in a text message if she had received a role she tried out for, and he wrote back, 'Yes. one day of work and u need to f*** me hun.' In the letter Allred released, the woman said that she appeared in a pair of films Emmett had produced, and had massaged him, performed oral sex on him and let him engage in digital penetration on her, also posing naked in his office while he masturbated. The woman said that she did so because she had been 'seeking to further her career' and was fearful of upsetting 'an important producer in the industry.' Emmett, via spokeswoman Sallie Hofmeister, acknowledged he got the letter from Allred and 'staunchly denies the allegations dating back to 2012.' Emmett had come to a $200,000 settlement with the woman on January 2, the paper reported, adding that the amount was to be paid over a two-year period. A separate woman from Las Vegas who is 30 years old said that Emmett began sending her 'unsolicited' Instagram DMs earlier this year, in court documents linked to his custody case with ex-fiancee Lala, according to the paper. The woman said that that Emmett, whom she never met, had sexually propositioned her and asked her to use illegal narcotics with him. The woman told the court that she was 'shocked, concerned and afraid' because Emmett was 'a stranger to' her, and remained persistent 'despite my never responding to a single message.' Hofmeister, who has past represented disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, said that Emmett has maintained sobriety for nearly and year and has drug tests proving so. 'This allegation conveniently arose in his custody proceeding with Lala, who could provide no forensic proof that these texts were not spoofed using one of many apps,' Hofmeister told Page Six, adding Emmett 'provided the Times with unimpeachable proof that he had tested negative for drugs during this period and continues to be drug-free.' A third woman told the Times under condition of anonymity that she was leaving a bar in 2014 when Emmett told her, 'Im not a creep, I promise. Im a movie producer, you can Google me please Google me.' Emmett denied to the paper allegations he would have the women agree to nondisclosure agreements to keep their relations under wraps, and had emailed his attorney to wire the women cash to remain silent about their interactions. 'When I was pregnant, oh my gosh, they were so huge and amazing!': Kent shares daughter Ocean with her ex-fiance Randall Emmett Emmett was accused in the LA Times article of offering $20,000 to a model in Florida to not speak about about their sexual relationship. Hofmeister told Page Six that 'as the Times acknowledged, there is zero proof that Randall paid her any money to sign an NDA' and 'in fact, she said just the opposite.' Kent told the paper that Emmett tried to offer her $14,000 when they began dating during a timeframe he was wed to actress Ambyr Childers. Hofmeister said the allegations were linked to their relationship being showcased on the Bravo series Vanderpump Rules, which she appeared on. 'After four years of resistance,' Hofmeister told Page Six, Emmett 'finally agreed to appear because the producers had threatened to cut Lalas contract if he did not.' In the Times article, Emmett was also accused of leaving a 'lingering emotional toll' on former employees amid a hostile work environment he presided over. Hofmeister said in response that Emmett 'knows he can be demanding and expect the absolute best from his assistants, and regrets if he hurt any of their feelings.' Emmett, via Hofmeister, denied all of the accusations in the article. Hofmeister told Page Six that the sexual misconduct allegation 'stems from one allegation dating back from 2012 that Randall denies.' Hofmeister told Page Six that Emmett attributes the 'false' allegations toward a 'smear campaign orchestrated by' Kent 'to sway their custody dispute,' adding that Kent 'has lied and manipulated others in her desperate attempt to win full custody of her daughter, keep her name in the press and remain relevant in reality television.' A source told Page Six that Kent 'was a small part of this whole story' from the Times, which published the article quoting 'many, many sources over many, many months of reporting.' The source said that 'the article is really focused on Randalls shady business practices for the last 10 years-plus' supported by court documents, business records and interviews with dozens of people corroborating the claims. Lala also claimed in the report that Randall tackled her when she grabbed his cell phone during a heated confrontation about cheating. She told the Los Angeles Times that her Vanderpump Rules castmates had alerted her about pictures of Emmett exiting an elevator with two young women in Nashville were circulating online. When he was back in LA shortly after Kent claims to have demanded to see the contents of Emmett's phone and when he refused, she grabbed it away from him. She explained to the daily newspaper: 'He ran after me, tackled me and knocked me to the ground. 'I used every ounce of strength to get him off of me as he was trying to pry it from my hands... That was when I knew, for sure, that there was a lot he was hiding.' Hofmeister told the LA Times about the images: 'Randall enjoys socializing with friends. In Nashville he was hanging out with a large group of people, men and women.' The publication claims to have spoken to five people who backed Kent's allegation about Emmett tackling her within weeks of the altercation, however, his team denied that a physical fight had happened. A declaration from his longtime nanny, Isabelle Morales, was provided to the publication as she said that 'neither was on the ground.' Morales explained: 'I witnessed Randall and Lala fighting over his phone. The only physical interaction I saw was Randall taking back his phone from Lala.' 90 Day Fiance star Paul Staehle and his three-year-old son Pierre are back in Kentucky after authorities said Pierre was missing last month. Staehle, 39, told TMZ that he and Pierre returned to Louisville Saturday, and he turned his son over to his parents at a local park. Staehle told the outlet that he gave his son to his parents in an effort to avoid dealing with Child Protective Services amid ongoing legal issues with his ex-wife Karine Martins after they lost custody of their children, Pierre and Ethan, one. The latest: 90 Day Fiance star Paul Staehle, 39, and his three-year-old son Pierre are back in Kentucky after law enforcement said they were missing last month. Pierre was taken by CPS and placed into a foster home Both had previously been pictured in a bulletin from Missing People in America, as a Louisville Police Department spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that the child is safe and that the missing person case was closed Sunday. Pierre had first been reported as missing June 9 and was the focus of an alert from The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, InTouch reported. Staehle told TMZ that he needs additional time to work on the situation, as CPS subsequently placed the boy into a foster home with his brother Ethan, one, after Staehle's parents contacted them. Staehle told TMZ he had not kidnapped his son, but they had been on a work trip for around a month. He said that he had been traveling between Pennsylvania and Florida with his son, who he brought because he deals with extreme separation anxiety. Staehle said he had not kidnapped his son, but they had been on a work trip for around a month Staehle said that he gave his son to his parents in an effort to avoid dealing with Child Protective Services amid ongoing legal issues with his ex-wife Karine Martins after they lost custody of their children, Pierre and Ethan, one Staehle and Pierre lost custody of their children in the wake of videos surfacing depicting a longtime abusive relationship between the couple, TMZ reported. Staehle's parents are looking to get full custody of the children in family court, according to the outlet. Martins said Saturday in an Instagram Stories post she had been 'doing well,' translated from Portuguese. The pair exchanged vows in November 2017 and welcomed Ethan in February of 2021. The relationship problems between Staehle and Martins made headlines in the summer of 2020 when Staehle said on Instagram that Martins and Pierre had been missing. He said in a clip, 'Karine took off with Pierre and I dont know where they are,' adding that neighbors had told him Pierre was not securely bucked into a car seat when they left. Staehle later said that Martins had sought a restraining order against him. Mel Greig has been struck down by a double whammy of disease. The former 2Day FM host revealed on Tuesday she'd been diagnosed with Covid-19, just one day after learning she was suffering from a nasty strain of influenza. Mel, who had previously boasted of 'dodging Covid' during the pandemic, ate her words hours later when she received confirmation she was in fact Covid positive. Mel Greig, 39, revealed on Tuesday she'd been struck down by Covid and a nasty strain of influenza at the same time 'Well, that explains why I'm so sick,' the 39-year-old wrote on Instagram next to a text message from her pathologist. 'I have both Covid and Influenza A. Good times,' she sarcastically added. Mel's revelation came just a day after she described her painful symptoms after catching what she believed to be just the flu. 'Everything aches, including my teeth,' she said in a video on Instagram. 'Well, that explains why I'm so sick,' she wrote on Instagram next to a text from her pathologist Earlier on Tuesday, Mel revealed she was suffering from a severe case of the flu, uploading a video of herself sounding croaky as she described her painful symptoms She spoke of how the illness was affecting her both physically and mentally. 'I was not prepared for how awful influenza A actually is. If you haven't had the flu jab, get it. You're just so uncomfortable you can't even sleep. And this is 24 hours on.' Mel also uploaded a photo of four different types of flu medication she was taking. Mel also uploaded this photo of four different types of flu medication she was taking 'Dodged Covid but caught myself some influenza A. Should be a fun week,' Mel sarcastically captioned the post. Mel has had a difficult month thanks to her ongoing battle with Endometriosis, a condition where cells grow outside the uterus lining. Last week, Mel revealed she was experiencing horrific pain after getting her period - a common symptom of Endometriosis. Mel has had a difficult month thanks to her ongoing battle with Endometriosis, a condition where cells grow outside the uterus lining Last week, Mel revealed she was experiencing horrific pain after getting her period - a common symptom of Endometriosis. 'Thanks to my Endometriosis my next 24hrs will be painful with a period from hell,' she wrote next to this photo of herself looking miserable on the couch 'Thanks to my Endometriosis my next 24hrs will be painful with a period from hell,' she wrote next to a photo of herself looking miserable on the couch. 'I stay on the contraceptive pill (even though I don't need it) to help mask the pain and to only have a period every 3-months. I can normally time it to fall on a weekend and here we are, it's the couch and a wheatbag vibe over here,' she wrote next to a photo of herself looking miserable on the couch. 'It's important to share these moments and normalise conversations about periods and Endo... I've encountered way too many people that feel awkward having the conversation or partners that actually express disgust. It's a normal part of a females body and life.' she added. Mel is the former co-host of 2Day FM's Hot30 Countdown program (here with ex co-host Mike Christian) Mel is the former co-anchor of 2Day FM's Hot30 Countdown program, opposite Mike Christian. The pair were at the centre of an international controversy in 2012. One of their prank calls to the English hospital which then-pregnant Kate Middleton was staying at contributed to the suicide of a nurse who transferred their call. Mel has worked at rebuilding her career since the incident and is now working part-time for a public relations agency. If you or anyone you know is struggling, contact Lifeline or Beyond Blue. Tommy Pham has paid tribute to his MasterChef Australia co-star Julie Goodwin following her shock elimination on Tuesday. The 31-year-old posted a series of photos to Instagram of Julie at his son Miles' recent birthday party, as well as throwbacks from their time on the series. 'If you told me 13 years ago that Julie would be someone I would call family I'd smile and slowly walk away from you!' Tommy wrote. Tommy Pham (centre) has paid tribute to his MasterChef Australia co-star Julie Goodwin (right) following her shock elimination on Tuesday 'Julie is literally the kindest and most wonderful person I've ever met, period. Julie always felt like my home away from home and made me feel like family from day dot,' he continued. 'Julie, I hope you know you've still got it and that coming back to MasterChef reinvigorated your love for food and life. 'Miles misses you and he talks about "uncle Julie" all the time. I can't wait for him to see you again.' In one of the photos, Julie is seen smiling alongside Tommy and Miles at the little boy's birthday party. The 31-year-old posted a series of photos to Instagram of Julie at his son Miles' recent birthday party, and wrote: Julie is literally the kindest and most wonderful person I've ever met, period' In another photo, Julie and Tommy smile next to their MasterChef co-stars. It comes after Julie was sent home from MasterChef on Tuesday after her sticky date pudding, ice cream and whiskey caramel sauce fell short during an elimination challenge in Tasmania. 'It looked a million bucks on that plate and more than that, you absolutely smashed the brief,' judge Jock Zonfrillo said at crunch time. 'Julie, I hope you know you've still got it and that coming back to MasterChef reinvigorated your love for food and life,' Tommy said He continued: '[But] the bottom of all of our cakes were burnt. Which left a bitter, burnt flavour in our mouths. 'Which is why - I'm sorry, Julie - for the first time ever, you're going home.' Julie, who won the first season of MasterChef in 2009, said: 'You know, I was there in the first generation of this family and it feels kind of appropriate to be handing over, you know, to a new generation.' Bindi Irwin and her one-year-old daughter Grace Warrior braved the winter chill on Wednesday as they visited a picturesque beach on the Sunshine Coast. The pair enjoyed a spectacular view of the sunrise while taking a stroll along the deserted shoreline. 'Theres something so beautiful about the beach on chilly winter days,' Bindi said. Bindi Irwin and her one-year-old daughter Grace Warrior braved the winter chill on Wednesday as they visited a picturesque beach on the Sunshine Coast The 23-year-old conservationist posted a series of photos of their walk on Instagram. She dressed for comfort in jeans, a black jumper and sneakers, while little Grace wore a brown jumper and off-white pants. It comes after Bindi and her husband Chandler Powell celebrated the Fourth of July by sharing some throwback snaps from their recent U.S. road trip. Bindi uploaded some Instagram snaps on Wednesday of her and Grace having fun along the shoreline on a chilly winter morning The Australian-American couple celebrated Independence Day by posting a gallery of scenic photos as Bindi wrote: 'Absolutely love United States wildlife and wild places.' She added their road trip was 'one of the very best adventures'. The couple married in 2020, and are both devoted to carrying on the legacy of her late father, Steve 'The Crocodile Hunter' Irwin. Bindi and Grace got an intimate view of a spectacular Australian sunrise They welcomed daughter Grace on March 25 last year. That was coincidentally their first wedding anniversary. Bindi and Chandler, 25, live on Queensland's Sunshine Coast and work at Australia Zoo, the Irwin family business. Married at First Sight's Susie Bradley put on a brave face as she headed out with her son Lion Daryl in Jimboomba, Queensland on Tuesday following her split from fiance, NRL bad boy Todd Carney. The reality TV star, 29, cooed over the estranged couple's tot as she made her way to her nearby beauty clinic. The mother-of-two cradled the red-headed little boy in her arms as she juggled his things in a backpack and a bag of doughnuts. Married at First Sight's Susie Bradley put on a brave face as she headed out with her son Lion Daryl in Jimboomba, Queensland on Tuesday following her split from NRL bad boy Todd Carney The reality TV star, 29, cooed over the former couple's tot as she made her way to her nearby beauty clinic Showing off her natural beauty, Susie went for a low-key makeup look with a light foundation and lick of mascara while she left her brunette hair down and loose in light waves. She opted for a low-key winter look in jeans, sandals and a brown polo neck jumper. Little Lion giggled on her hip and sported jeans and a jumper much like his mum. Susie's mother was also on hand to help out, carrying her grandson into the car. The mother-of-two cradled the red-headed little boy in her arms as she juggled his things in a backpack and a bag of doughnuts Showing off her natural beauty, Susie went for a lowkey make-up look with a light foundation and lick of mascara while she left her brunette hair down and loose in light waves The brave appearance comes just a day after Susie vowed to 'never ever' date again after her messy split from former fiance Todd. This bold claim came two weeks after the pair confirmed the end of their three-year relationship. When a fan asked if she was back on the dating scene, Susie said: 'I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever be back on that scene.' She opted for a low key winter look in jeans, sandals and a brown polo neck jumper Two weeks ago, just hours after she confirmed the end of her engagement with Todd, 36, Susie was rushed to hospital when she collapsed at her Gold Coast home The Courier Mail reported she was in a serious condition when emergency services arrived at her Benowa Waters home 'I plan to only be obsessed with myself, my babies and my business moving forward,' she added. Two weeks ago, just hours after she confirmed the end of her engagement with Todd, 36, Susie was rushed to hospital when she collapsed at her Gold Coast home. The Courier Mail reported she was in a serious condition when emergency services arrived at her Benowa Waters home. Susie rose to fame on the fifth season of Married At First Sight, which was filmed in late 2018 and aired the following year Both little Lion and Susie were smiling away during there outing on Tuesday Susie's mum was also on hand to help out, carrying her grandson into the car while Susie went to work at the Jimboomba Beauty Clinic The doting gran opted for a pink 'Living the Dream' jump as she helped out with her grandson's childcare Earlier that day, the cosmetic nurse had shared photos on Instagram of herself posing in a tight grey mini-dress with a glass of wine in hand. She wrote in her caption: 'Officially a member of the Hot Single Girl's Club! What's good to do?' The following week, she uploaded a cryptic post about her mental health and deleted all traces of Todd from her Instagram. The ex-Cronulla Sharks player also deleted his Instagram account. The brave appearance comes just a day after Susie vowed to 'never ever' date again after her messy split from her former fiance Todd In 2019, Todd stepped into the role of stepfather to Susie's eight-year-old daughter, Baby. They welcomed their first child together, Lion, in April last year. Susie rose to fame on the fifth season of Married At First Sight, which was filmed in late 2018 and aired the following year. Susie recently uploaded a cryptic post about her mental health and deleted all traces of Todd from her Instagram She was partnered with barista Billy Vincent, but they split before their final vows. Todd infamously had his $3M contract with the Cronulla Sharks torn up in 2014 after he was pictured urinating in his own mouth at a Sydney pub. He now works as a concreter. Susie was partnered with barista Billy Vincent (left) on Married At First Sight, but they split before their final vows Portia Oduba revealed that her daughter Genie was rushed to hospital after a 'bit of a scare' at the weekend, as she urged parents to 'follow their gut.' Taking to her Instagram Story on Tuesday, the wife of TV presenter Ore, shared a series of black and white images as she cradled their 8-month-old daughter. Alongside the photos Portia, 32, penned: 'Been MIA for a few days... we had to take a visit to A&E whilst in Kent over the weekend.' Feeling better: Ore Oduba's wife Portia, 32, revealed that their daughter, 8-months, was rushed to hospital after a 'bit of a scare' on Tuesday She continued: 'Our little lady gave us a bit of a scare but is a lot better and bouncing back. '24 hours later and little lady was on the mend... and we were home with smiles... Thank you to all the amazing doctors and nurses at Tunbridge Wells Hospital... you are incredible.' 'Just a little reminder to yourself to always trust your gut... you know your baby better than anyone else and you feel if something isn't right or they aren't themselves, act on it. You will never be turned away... thank you NHS.' MailOnline have contact representatives for comment. Scary: Alongside the photos Portia penned: She continued: 'Our little lady gave us a bit of a scare but is a lot better and bouncing back' Taking action: Portia concluded: 'Just a little reminder to yourself to always trust your gut... you know your baby better than anyone else' Genie is Portia's second child with husband Ore, as the pair are parents to son Roman, three. Earlier this year, Ore admitted that welcoming a newborn baby while juggling his hectic work schedule and the adjustments in his family life left him feeling overwhelmed as he detailed his recent panic attack. The TV presenter, 36, opened up on his first panic attack, which occurred the day before a previous Loose Women appearance in November, with the ordeal coming just five weeks after welcoming his second child with wife Portia. Joining the Loose Women ladies, Ore discussed how the 'seismic change' in his life impacted his mental health, with the star admitting that things eventually 'bubbled over'. Tough: Earlier this year, Ore admitted that welcoming a newborn baby while juggling his hectic work schedule left him feeling overwhelmed as he detailed his recent panic attack In a joint interview with his wife, Ore told Charlene White, Denise Welch and Kelle Bryan how he was quickly forced to tell his wife the truth about his attack as he knew he'll likely discuss mental health on the show's Loose Men special the following day. He said: 'That was the first one I had the attack literally the day before I was on the show, I only told Portia because I was going to be on national television the next day and there was a very good chance we were going to talk about mental health and the fact that only 24 hours ago I had this panic attack. 'And the last thing you want is your wife to find out about you having a bit of trouble on air, so I thought it was definitely something we should chat about. I'm so glad that we did, that we chatted about it between us and then to have the platform that is Loose Women and be broadcasting it on ITV... the reaction, the support from everybody is so overwhelming.' Nene Leakes showcased her toned legs in a long sleeve, high-low dress with a low-cut neckline while on a date with boyfriend Nyonisela Sioh in Miami, Florida. While celebrating the Fourth of July with her beau, the 54-year-old reality star rocked a black and white patterned frock, open-toed heels, a fringe handbag and gold hoop earrings. For their fun night out, the mother-of-two sported her blonde hair in a low ponytail, a glossy nude lip gloss and rose-gold eye makeup. Looking good! Nene Leakes showcased her toned legs in a long sleeve, high-low dress with a low-cut neckline while on a date with boyfriend Nyonisela Sioh in Miami, Florida Sioh cut a dapper figure in a black and navy jumpsuit, black sandals and a silver watch. The pair's latest sighting comes after she denied being a 'husband stealer' last month on Instagram Live after being sued by Sioh's estranged wife for $100,000 after her man's estranged wife sued her over affair claims. 'I'm already out here a husband stealer and this is too much,' said the Real Housewives Of Atlanta alum. Working it: While celebrating the Fourth of July with her beau, the 54-year-old reality star rocked a black and white patterned frock, open-toed heels, a fringe handbag and gold hoop earrings Radiant: For their fun night out, the mother-of-two sported her blonde hair in a low ponytail, a glossy nude lip gloss and rose-gold eye makeup 'And ain't nobody out here stealing husbands,' added NeNe who answered questions from followers during the live broadcast. Under North Carolina criminal law, where the suit has been filed, adultery is a misdemeanor, which is defined as when any man and woman, not being married to each other 'lewdly and lasciviously associate, bed and cohabit together.' The alienation of affection law is based on 18th century English common law in which a husband could sue another man for the loss of his wife's affection. Official: The First Wives Club actress and her new beau were first spotted together in December 2021, three months after NeNe's husband, Gregg, died of colon cancer at age 66 Women could not sue at the time, since they were considered the property of their husband's, but now either sex can sue under the statute. Malomine is seeking around $100,000 in damages according to the suit. NeNe and the men's fashion designer were first spotted together in December 2021 in Miami, about three months after NeNe's husband, Gregg Leakes, died of colon cancer at age 66. The Dynasty actress posted some pictures from her birthday on December 15, and her new beau was included in some of the shots. No stealing: Last month, Leakes denied being a 'husband stealer' on her Instagram Live after being sued by the estranged wife of her current boyfriend for $100,000 in damages Since then, the couple have been public, attending various events together. In April, the RHOA alum filed her own lawsuit against the companies that produce the Real Housewives shows, claiming they created a racist work environment. 'NBC, Bravo and True foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated if not, encouraged,' the suit claimed. NeNe alleges she had to endure years of racist remarks from cast member Kim Zolciak, and that her complaints to producers were ignored. Just days before Chris Evans' new Netflix movie The Gray Man debuts, the actor is staying in business with the streaming service. The 41-year-old actor is in final negotiations to join Emily Blunt in the crime drama Pain Hustlers, according to Deadline. Netflix picked up the global rights to the project for $50 million out of Cannes, with Harry Potter director David Yates attached to take the helm. More Netflix: Just days before Chris Evans' new Netflix movie The Gray Man debuts, the actor is staying in business with the streaming service Co-star: The 41-year-old actor is in final negotiations to join Emily Blunt in the crime drama Pain Hustlers, according to Deadline Netflix: The 41-year-old actor is in final negotiations to join Emily Blunt in the crime drama Pain Hustlers, according to Deadline The story centers on Blunt's character Liza Drake, described as a, 'high school dropout dreaming of a better life for her young daughter.' She ends up with a job with a failing pharmaceutical startup in Central Florida in a decaying strip mall. Her tenacity ends up vaulting the company into the upper echelon, though she finds herself in the midst of a criminal conspiracy. Character: The story centers on Blunt's character Liza Drake, described as a, 'high school dropout dreaming of a better life for her young daughter' No details were given regarding Evans' character at this time, or how many other main characters need to be cast. Yates will be directing from a screenplay by Wells Tower, based on a 2018 New York Times article by Evan Hughes. Lawrence Grey is producing through his Grey Matter Productions company with Yates and Yvonne Walcott Yates Wychwood Pictures. No details: No details were given regarding Evans' character at this time, or how many other main characters need to be cast Lewis Taylor and Ben Everard will executive produce, with Cyrus Mojibi, Patrick Wade, Lawrence Kao and Lloyd Everard serving as co-producers. Production is slated to begin in late August, with the project compared tonally to The Big Short, American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street. Aside from The Grey Man, which debuts in select theaters July 15 and on Netflix July 22, Evans currently stars in the animated hit Lightyear. New role: Aside from The Grey Man, which debuts in select theaters July 15 and on Netflix July 22, Evans currently stars in the animated hit Lightyear He also recently wrapped production on Ghosted for Apple with Ana de Armas and Adrien Brody, which doesn't have a release date yet. The actor is also attached to Red One alongside Dwayne Johnson, and Project Artemis, which reunites him with his fellow Avenger, Scarlett Johansson. Blunt will next be seen in director Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which is slated for release next summer. Wrapped: He also recently wrapped production on Ghosted for Apple with Ana de Armas and Adrien Brody, which doesn't have a release date yet Sharna Burgess has returned to Instagram a week after welcoming her first child with boyfriend Brian Austin Green. The Dancing with the Stars pro, who gave birth to baby Zane Walker via C-section on June 28, said on Tuesday she wanted to 'take her time and be in the moment'. 'It's been one heck of a week,' the 37-year-old Aussie told her Instagram followers. Sharna Burgess has returned to Instagram a week after welcoming her first child with boyfriend Brian Austin Green 'I am in newborn bliss,' she added. 'I have so much to share but I'm taking my time and being in my moment.' She explained she ended up having a C-section, and that she will tell the full story of Zane's birth a later date. The Dancing with the Stars pro, who gave birth to baby Zane Walker via C-section on June 28, said on Tuesday she wanted to 'take her time and be in the moment' Sharna said it was 'by no means traumatic' but having a caesarean was 'just the best option for mum and baby'. 'He was going to come out the way he wanted to and the way he meant to. I'm so glad I trusted in that,' she added. 'Had I gone in with a plan of what I thought it was going to be, it would have shaken me to know it was going to change, so I'm grateful for my approach to everything.' The 37-year-old Aussie explained she ended up having a C-section, and that she will tell the full story of Zane's birth a later date The new mother also explained she was planning a video to share her hospital bag list, but is going to reshoot it to reveal what she actually used. She went on to describe her son as 'the most delicious smush', adding: 'If talk about him too much I'm gonna cry'. It comes after Sharna opened up about how her post-partum body was 'unrecognisable' and how she was amazed by the whole process. Sharna's son with boyfriend Brian Austin Green, Zane Walker, was born on June 28 Zane is the first child for the Wagga Wagga-born star and the fifth for Brian, 48. The actor already has three children, Noah, nine, Bodhi, eight, and Journey, five, with ex-wife Megan Fox, 36, as well as a son, Kassius, 20, with his former Beverley Hill, 90210 co-star Vanessa Marcil, 53. The professional dancer shared a photo last week of herself in a robe over post-partum underwear while holding her son. It comes after Sharna opened up about how her post-partum body was 'unrecognisable' and how she was amazed by the whole process 'In other amazing news today I spotted a knee cap!!! Not kidding... they have been MIA until now,' she began with a laugh-cry emoji. 'My body has been utterly unrecognizable after giving birth,' she said, joking, 'Every ounce of water in my body has gone to my vagina and down lol.' 'Post partum is serious business guys. The body just has to work its way through it slowly,' she added. 'Ladies, our bodies are incredible. I'm in awe and wonder of what's happening, all practicing a new level of patience with myself,' Sharna added. 'And it's worth every single bit,' she concluded. She also shared this snap of Brian, whom she has been dating since 2020, taking a nap alongside Zane She also shared a snap of Brian, whom she has been dating since 2020, taking a nap alongside Zane. 'I couldn't be more in love with this stage in our lives. The bliss, the snuggles, the excruciating love. The exhaustion the pain and even the adult diapers,' she said. 'Having @brianaustingreen at my side throughout all of this and being everything and more we could possibly need is something I am grateful for beyond words,' she added. Side: 'Having @brianaustingreen at my side throughout all of this and being everything and more we could possibly need is something I am grateful for beyond words,' she added 'I love you baby. And I appreciate all you do. Heaven is a place on Earth, and I've found it,' she concluded. Sharna shared the same snap in another Instagram post, adding: 'Btw...... I got to take this cos Daddy gave Mummy the night off and did all the feedings. 'I slept a whole night and that is.... an absolute gift. ' American pop-rock band Maroon 5 removed the design of Japan's imperial-era flag from the band's official website Wednesday after the use of the image angered Korean music fans ahead of its world tour that includes stops in Asian countries. According to sources in the music scene, the band deleted the image of the Rising Sun Flag from the website Wednesday morning, replacing it with an image of the band. Maroon 5 used the design in the background of a post released Saturday to announce it will hold a world tour in November, including a stop in Korea. Many Koreans view the Rising Sun Flag, formerly used by the Japanese Imperial Army, as a symbol of the country's past militarism. Since the post was released, many Korean fans have flocked to online communities to express their anger over the move. Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor of Seoul's Sungshin Women's University who is known for his efforts to promote Korean interests abroad, also sent a protest letter to the group, asking it to delete the image. The band will hold a one-day concert at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome on Nov. 30, as part of the world tour. It will mark the band's first performance in the country since February 2019. (Yonhap) Married At First Sight bride Samantha Moitzi has revealed she is unhappy with her nose and wants to correct it with surgery. The brand manager, 27, was asked during an Instagram Q&A on Wednesday if she had ever had Botox on her nose to change its shape. She responded: 'I haven't had anything but I hate it and will one day get a nose job.' Married At First Sight bride Samantha Moitzi (pictured) has revealed she is unhappy with her nose and wants to correct it with surgery Samantha also revealed she regularly gets Botox injections in her forehead and frown lines to keep her looking youthful. 'I've gotten my cheek and lips done a few times and jaw done once the last time was in August 2021,' she added. Samantha was paired with carpenter Al Perkins on the ninth season of MAFS. She was asked during an Instagram Q&A if she had ever had Botox on her nose to change its shape, and responded: 'I haven't had anything but I hate it and will one day get a nose job' Al, 25, was portrayed as a fun-loving party boy while she was edited to look like a boring shrew, which several of their co-stars have said wasn't a fair portrayal. She recently spoke about her challenges finding a wedding dress for the show. Samantha told her Instagram followers earlier this week that producers gave her a tight budget of $2,500 to buy her gown, veil, shoes and jewellery. Samantha explained her past cosmetic work in an Instagram Q&A 'With only 10 days' notice I had to buy off the rack, so it was so hard to find something that fit that was me,' the Gold Coast native said. While her drawn-out break-up with Al was the focus of her journey on MAFS, there was one part of her story that didn't make it to air. During filming, she reluctantly admitted to her 'husband' she was the granddaughter of Shirley Soire, the younger sister of Australia's worst serial killer Ivan Milat. She has been taking in the sights and sounds of Italy after jetting off to Europe with her family and girlfriends to celebrate her 40th birthday. And during her travels in Lake Como on Tuesday, Zoe Foster Blake spotted a rather odd street sign that seemingly indicated a ban on playing trumpets. She posted a photo of the bizarre sign on Instagram, and joked that the Lombardy region also banned triangles, tambourines and maracas in public. During her travels in Lake Como on Tuesday, Zoe Foster Blake spotted a rather odd street sign that seemingly indicated a ban on playing trumpets The Aussie entrepreneur (pictured) is being accompanied on her trip across Europe by her husband, TV presenter Hamish Blake, and their children, Sonny and Rudy The sign wasn't actually about musical instruments at all, but instead to warn drivers not to use their car horns. In urban areas of Italy, sounding the horn is not allowed at any time, except in an emergency, and drivers are advised to flash their lights to give a warning instead. The Aussie entrepreneur is being accompanied on her trip across Europe by her husband, TV presenter Hamish Blake, and their children, Sonny and Rudy. Zoe has shared stunning snaps of the gorgeous landscape of Lake Como, as well as her family enjoying all the town has to offer Zoe has shared stunning snaps of the gorgeous landscape of Lake Como, as well as her family enjoying all the town has to offer. Opting for a green shirt dress, shades and sandals, Zoe posed for one photo outside the Duomo di Como, joking: 'Honey I shrunk the tourist.' In another shot, she tucked into a gelato brioche burger. The sign wasn't actually about musical instruments at all, but instead to warn drivers not to use their car horns. (Pictured: Zoe and husband Hamish exploring Lake Como) One image showed Hamish walking down the steps of the town with their children. Lake Como, on the northern edge of Italy, is a hotspot for A-listers, with the likes of George Clooney and Sting owning homes there. Zoe had donned neon green bikini top while visiting Capri on Monday. The former journalist has been documenting her Euro trip on Instagram She added a red skater skirt to the look, as well as a pair of white cat-eye sunglasses and metallic slides. The former journalist has been documenting her Euro trip on Instagram. Celebrating her milestone birthday last week, Zoe opted for a blue mini dress with a white square pattern and towering heels as she danced the night away The Go-To skincare founder revealed last Thursday her holiday almost turned into a nightmare when she lost her phone and two of her pals suffered from seasickness. Zoe revealed she was having the 'best birthday ever' turning 40 in Italy She is currently expecting her firstborn child. And Twilight actress Ashley Greene draped her blossoming baby bump in a casual T-Shirt while out in Los Angeles this week. The 35-year-old actress opted for a relaxed outfit that included a simple set of black leggings and a pair of flip flops. Baby on board: Twilight actress Ashley Greene draped her blossoming bump in a casual T-Shirt while out in Los Angeles this week Warding off the California rays with a pair of sunglasses, she went between wearing her hair down and sweeping it away from her face into a ponytail. Her latest outing comes just days after she revealed in the caption of an Instagram selfie that she has entered her third trimester. Ashley is pregnant by her dashing husband Paul Khoury, a TV personality whose credits include having hosted Miss World Australia. Off she goes: The 35-year-old actress opted for a relaxed outfit that included a simple set of black leggings and a pair of flip flops The couple married in 2018 and a few months later Ashley dished to Us Weekly that they plan to 'have kids a little bit further down the road.' She announced her pregnancy in March with a romantic black and white Instagram album that included a snap of her and Paul gazing into one another's eyes. 'I love you more than I've ever loved anything and somehow my heart just keeps expanding to love you EVEN more,' she rhapsodized in the caption. 'I cannot wait to watch you share your light, love, and passion with our baby.' 'Poppin': Her latest outing comes just days after she revealed in the caption of an Instagram selfie that she has entered her third trimester As her followers clicked through the album they were treated to a snap of Paul giving his pregnant wife a piggyback ride while proudly holding up a sonogram picture. A couple of months later, Ashley nostalgically posted a throwback snap of herself indulging in a glass of wine during a trip to Paris. 'Already planning my return to Paris with BeBe,' she shared in her caption, revealing that 'one thing I'm truly excited about is being able to share the world with my child and begin to see things through their eyes. Fashion insiders were seeing double on Tuesday. Nicole Kidman, 55, turned heads during Paris Fashion Week wearing a mysterious pair of shades but it turns out she isn't the first celeb to sport the bizarre eyewear. Kim Kardashian, 41, also wore the Balenciaga shades on several occasions in 2021. Seeing double! Nicole Kidman wore the same style of of Balenciaga shades once worn by Kim Kardashian Nicole was seeing wearing the bowtie-shaped covering while leaving a Balenciaga fitting on Tuesday. She teamed the unique accessory with a simple black long-sleeve body and high-waisted jeans. Nicole layered a cross necklace with a simple elegant chain and amped up her glam with a bracelet and rings. The Big Little Lies star paired her outfit with pointed-heel shoes and carried a black leather clutch. The stunning redhead threw her copper tresses into a comfortable updo as she stopped by the couture store. Stepping out: Kim wore the unusual eyewear while out in NYC in 2021 Mysterious: The actress, 55, looked alluring as she donned the bowtie-shaped covering, which appeared opaque, teamed with her more casual ensemble Glam: She teamed the unique accessory with a simple black long-sleeve and high-waisted jeans It comes as Nicole recently revealed how her early days in Hollywood were possible thanks to some of her Australian friends. The actress Academy Award winner told the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in a recorded interview that she was supported by her good pals, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, even sleeping on their couch while auditioning for roles in Los Angeles. '[Deborra-Lee] was one of my best friends,' the Dead Calm star said, adding that the fellow actress always gave her a place to stay when she flew in from Australia. Chic: The Big Little Lies star paired her outfit with pointed-heel shoes and carried a black leather clutch Obscured: The stunning redhead threw her copper tresses into a comfortable updo as she stopped by the couture store Casual: Nicole cut a casual figure in a black, figure-hugging long sleeve top and high-waisted jeans '[I slept on the couch] in the house that Deborra-Lee was renting, and she gave the chance to stay there and we could go and audition,' Nicole said. 'It was expensive, we couldn't afford hotels, so the idea of being in hub out of a house together, was really, I mean, my god.' She added: 'You'd go and come back and you'd go over for a few weeks and do some auditions and hope to crack it.' Nicole has previously revealed how Deborra-Lee, 66, and Hugh, 53, helped her after her divorce from Tom Cruise in 2001. Grateful: Nicole recently revealed how her early days in Hollywood were possible thanks to her Australian friends Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness. Pictured in 2013 'When I got divorced, Hugh and Deb were so much a part of my healing,' she said in a candid interview with Australian Women's Weekly. 'They were some of my best friends through that period,' she added. Like Nicole, Hugh and Deborra-lee were among a small group of budding Australian actors living in Hollywood in the 1980s. Deborra-lee was the first to meet Nicole when she was 'couch surfing' in Los Angeles as a teenager before being cast in Days of Thunder, where she met Tom. 'I do remember Tom Cruise ringing the house when she landed the role [in Days of Thunder]. Nic was always very cool and took it all in her stride,' Deborra-lee said. After splitting with Tom, 59, Nicole went on to meet her second husband, Keith Urban, 54. Carlos Santana collapsed on stage due heat exhaustion and dehydration during a performance in Michigan on Tuesday evening. The guitar player, 74, was playing at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston before being rushed to hospital for checks, his manager Michael Vrionis confirmed. Vrionis told DailyMail.com after that undergoing observations following his dash to the emergency room the singer is recovering and 'doing well'. Santana was around 40 minutes into his set - playing his song Joy - when he collapsed on stage to the shock of his fans, reports Fox 2. Concert organisers were forced to immediately cancel the concert and asked fans to 'pray' for Santana following the medical emergency. The latest: Carlos Santana collapsed on stage due heat exhaustion and dehydration during a performance in Michigan on Tuesday evening A image shared online by a Fox2 anchor showed medics on stage and confirmed reports that concert-goers had been told there was a 'serious medical issue'. A member of the crowd, Lori Pinson, told the outlet: 'Suddenly the music just died down. I didn't see him collapse on stage, but everyone had him off to the side... 'A chair appeared where there was not one before. The medics began to rush up on stage.' She continued: 'Right now he is still on stage. They have pulled a black curtain so you can't see him on directly but he is still on stage.' Journalist Jo-Ann Barnas later shared a photograph of the arena with the lights up in the wake of Santana collapsing. Worrying: A image shared online by a Fox2 anchor showed medics on stage and confirmed reports that concert-goers had been told there was a 'serious medical issue' Reports: Journalist Jo-Ann Barnas shared a shot of the arena with the lights up in the wake of Santana collapsing Helping out: A group of people surrounded the iconic performer onstage at the venue Cancelled: The concert was swiftly cancelled amid Santana's medical issue Barnas tweeted: 'They just told us to leave the venue, but so many are still here, stunned, looking at a near empty stage at Pine Knob, Clarkston... 'Santana was about one minute into a song he had collaborated with Chris Stapleton. Carlos was calling for healing and joy.' According to a member of the audience, Santana 'played all the originals everyone loves like Black Magic Woman' and 'was making several statements on the state of the world, all positive.' Huff Post editor Philip Lewis shared a clip of a group of people escorting the musician off of the stage with the caption: 'Carlos Santana waved to clapping fans as he's helped off the stage.' Earlier: The artist was seen playing his golden guitar earlier in the evening Taking time off: Santana is slated to restart his House of Blues Las Vegas residency September 14, and will play multiple dates that month, prior to a two-week stretch in November Santana's next concert at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania on Wednesday will be postponed to a later date and more details will be posted via Live Nation, his manager told us. The artist famed for classics as Evil Ways and Oye Como Va is in the middle of the Miraculous Supernatural 2022 tour with Earth, Wind & Fire. There are 19 dates remaining on the tour, which is scheduled to end August 27 in Tampa, Florida. He is slated to restart his House of Blues Las Vegas residency September 14, and will play multiple dates that month, prior to a two-week stretch in November. Updates: Journalist Jo-Ann Barnas shared her account of the incident in a series of tweets Santana cancelled a series of concerts in Las Vegas last December after he underwent a procedure after suffering from chest pains. He later explained the course of events in a video clip on Twitter. 'Last Saturday, I had an incident where I asked my wife, Cindy, to take me to the hospital 'cause I had this thing happening in my chest,' Santana said. 'So when we went there, we found out that I needed to take care of it. 'So I am, and I'm going to be taking time off for a little bit to make sure I replenish, and I rest and I catch up with my health so that when I play for you, I will play the way I'm used to and give you 150 percent - I wouldn't show up unless I could do that.' Dailymail.com has reached out to Santana's rep for comment. Olivia Jade showed her fit figure while serving as a bartender in a bikini on the Fourth Of July. The 22-year-old YouTube star wore a tiny brown string bikini while celebrating the holiday with her sister Bella, 23, on a boat in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Olivia at one point held a bottle of tequila and a container with orange juice while on the boat. Bikini bartending: Olivia Jade showed her fit figure while serving as a bartender in a bikini on the Fourth Of July She had her brown hair down around her shoulders and also sported a straw hat. Bella kicked back in a bright pink bikini and also took a turn at wakeboarding as her sister and pals cheered her on. She had her brown hair up and accessorized with black sunglasses. The sisters celebrated the Fourth Of July holiday weekend with Patrick Schwarzenegger, 28, and his younger brother Christopher Schwarzenegger, 24. Family affair: The 22-year-old YouTube star wore a tiny brown bikini while celebrating the holiday with her sister Bella, 23, on a boat in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Cheering on: Bella was cheered on by her younger sister Olivia Good times: Olivia at one point held a bottle of tequila and a container with orange juice while on the boat Holiday spirit: Olivia and Jade spent the holiday weekend on the water with the Schwarzenegger brothers, Patrick and Christopher They were spotted on the water together earlier during the weekend as they soaked up the sun together. A number of members of their large friend group, consisting of at least eight girls and four other women, dove into the water to cool off. Olivia's latest sightings comes after Us Weekly recently reported that she's currently in a relationship with Euphoria star Jacob Elordi, 25. Straw hat: The influencer wore a straw hat on the boat Wake surfing: Bella took her turn at wake surfing Drinks ready: Olivia was prepared to make some drinks Toned physique: The YouTube star regularly works out and showed the results The two first sparked romance rumors back in December when they were spotted getting coffee together in Los Angeles. Olivia has 1.82 million subscribers to her YouTube channel. She competed on season 30 of Dancing With The Stars with pro partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy, 36, and they were eliminated on week eight during Janet Jackson Night finishing in eighth place. Water fun: The group cruised around on a Super Air Nautique outfitted for wakeboarding Pink power: Bella wore a bright pink bikini Safety first: She put on a safety vest before wakeboarding Olivia's participation on DWTS was her first major return to the limelight since her family's involvement in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. Her mother Lori Loughlin, 57, and father Mossimo Giannulli, 59, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to jail time and a fine in August 2020. Mossimo served a five-month prison sentence from November 2020 until April 2021 and Lori served a two-month prison sentence from October 2020 to December 2020. Glasses on: Bella accessorized with black sunglasses Getting ready: She stood on the back of the boat before her ride Pom Klementieff looked effortlessly cool as she attended the premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder in London. The 36-year-old actress turned heads in a belted leather motorcycle jacket layered over a sheer black dress. The Guardians of the Galaxy star added a pair of steel-toed heels with a buckle ankle strap. Pom Klementieff looked effortlessly cool in Alexander McQueen as she attended the premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder in London Pom's asymmetrical dress had a subtle netted pattern and featured an asymmetrical hemline. The number exposed one of her long and lean legs as she struck a pose on the red carpet. Her biker jacket was styled to hang off one shoulder, unveiling one of the dress' thin straps. Klementieff wore her bleach blonde hair in a low ponytail with a long braid arranged over her chest. Showstopper: The 36-year-old actress turned heads in a belted leather motorcycle jacket layered over a sheer black dress The plait was adorned with an interwoven silver-toned chain accoutrement that brought the style to life. The locks were slicked back with a deep side part that was also accented with the chain in the center. Playing up the hardware add-ons, the entertainer kept it going with a chunky row of small hoop earrings. She skipped a necklace but highlighted her red manicure with a steely, statement-making full finger ring. Details: Pom's asymmetrical dress had a subtle netted pattern and featured an asymmetrical hemline; seen with Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson For makeup, the Canadian-born star played up her eyes with a heavy, smokey palette. She used pink blush to give her cheeks rosy dimension and Klementieff used a matte pink lip stain on her pout. The movie star was joined by fellow performers Natalie Portman, 41, and Tessa Thompson, 38, at the premiere. Closer look: Pom's plait was adorned with an interwoven silver-toned chain accoutrement that brought the hairstyle to life The women each brought their fashion A-game and individual sense of style to the star-studded UK event. The Black Swan star arrived in a strapless, red Dior mini dress with a crinkled texture throughout. She teamed it with a beautiful crimson, floral headpiece placed over her slicked back brunette hair. Natalie's glamorous look was rounded out with a pair of satiny, red, open-toe high heels. Standouts: The women each brought their fashion A-game and individual sense of style to the star-studded UK event Meanwhile Tessa commanded attention in a strapless look of her own - hers featuring chain-like fringe. The look, which had a carefully designed shredded look was silver with a nude lining. The 38-year-old superstar wore her light brown hair in extremely long box braids that she arranged with some falling over one shoulder and the rest down her back. Sharing a laugh: The women chuckled together during the high profile UK affair The fourth Thor film sees the hammer-wielding superhero go up against the villainous Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale. The project is set in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, where Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has given up his superhero ways. He enlists the help of Valkyrie (Thompson), Jane Foster (Portman) and other friends to help fight Gorr the God Butcher. Surgery-addicted model Mary Magdalene has started a GoFundMe to pay for her staggering 'damage and cleaning' bill after she allegedly trashed her Airbnb rental. The Canadian social media star, 30, spent three weeks holed up in the West Hollywood apartment partying with her friends, but insists the charge is excessive. The owner of the rental, known as Adrian, billed Mary CA$13,010 (AU$14,636) last week for 'damage or unexpected cleaning' after she checked out. Surgery-addicted model Mary Magdalene (pictured) has started a GoFundMe to pay for her staggering 'damage and cleaning' bill after she allegedly trashed her Airbnb rental Despite initially disputing the hefty reimbursement bill, Mary is now accepting her fate and has asked her fans to help with CA$6,500 (AU$7,322) worth of costs. She also admitted she does have the money, but would prefer not to spend it. 'I would appreciate some assistance in helping my Airbnb recover some costs,' she wrote in her crowdfunding page. She has asked each of her 142,000 Instagram followers to donate $1 to her fund Despite initially disputing the hefty reimbursement bill, claiming it was exorbitant, Mary is now accepting her fate and asking her fans to help with CA$6,500 (AU$7,322) worth of costs She went on to explain it was her birthday weekend and she was on a 'three-week-long bender' and 'tried her best to keep the apartment in good condition'. 'I feel bad because the host was nice to me, although I do feel I could have gotten the stain out if the couch because the maid I hired did before,' she added. 'So I do not feel this is totally fair, but I do feel bad because he did end up getting kicked out so I would like to pay him [sic].' Mary has vowed to turn her life around after her bender left her with a staggering Airbnb bill She explained her guests had offered no assistance, but she wasn't mad at them. 'If you can help pay I would love it, but if you think this is a dumb campaign and rather not, I also don't blame you. Anyways, thank you to those who don't mind contributing,' she concluded. She later tried a different approach by asking each of her 142,000 Instagram followers to donate $1 to the fund. The owner of the rental, known as Adrian, charged Mary CA$13,010 (AU$14,636) last week for 'damage or unexpected cleaning' after she checked out The OnlyFans star certainly seems to have changed her tune since last week, when she complained he $13,000 bill was 'so fake and wrong'. Mary's GoFundMe has raised $555 as of Wednesday afternoon (AEST). Days before receiving the Airbnb bill, Mary said she was ready to return to Canada and start her journey of sobriety following her month-long Hollywood carousal. 'It's been wild as hell. Can't wait to go home in a couple days. No more partying. Back to being boring Mary sober queen,' she wrote on Instagram. She also posted a meme promoting celibacy, calling it 'a beautiful thing'. Following a string of benders and even a brush with death, Los Angeles police were finally called to Mary's Airbnb after weeks of partying. She shared photos on Instagram of two police officers inside the residence, who were responding to a request for a welfare check. Mary had spent weeks holed up in the West Hollywood apartment partying with her friends Days before receiving the bill, Mary said she was ready to return to Canada and start her journey of sobriety following her month-long Hollywood carousal. (Pictured snorting poppers) In one photo, an officer could be seen inspecting something by Mary's bedside table with a flashlight. 'Girl, who called the police on me?' she captioned one image, before adding: 'OMG ew.' Hours later, Mary appeared to be in good spirits as she took to Instagram to share a video thanking her 140,000 followers. 'My supporters, you guys are very ride or die. The people that f**k with me really f**k with me and I love it, really appreciate it,' she said. Mary has spent the last few weeks partying at various nightclubs in West Hollywood, or inside her Airbnb with pals. Last week, she expressed her love for law and order by posing for a photo with a group of local cops. Dressed in an American flag bikini top and skintight jeans, she captioned it: 'I love police. Cop lover.' The content creator shared photos of two police officers inside the residence An officer could be seen inspecting something by Mary's bedside table with a flashlight It comes after Mary was rushed to hospital amid fears she could die from sepsis after illegal silicone injections she had in her buttocks started to 'rot'. Earlier this month, she begged her Instagram followers to help get her to a California hospital after her body started to reject her silicone injections, which she had done by an unlicensed practitioner in May. In a series of frantic posts, she said her injections were 'rotting' and shared graphic photos of the open wounds on her backside. Fresh tattoos on her breasts also became infected and couldn't heal, further adding to her health woes. Mary has spent the last few weeks partying at various nightclubs in West Hollywood, or inside her Airbnb with pals The bombshell posed in the hallway of her Airbnb before heading to a local club 'I'm so scared. My body seems to be fighting off a big infection because all three of my tattoos aren't healing either. They are all infected with open wounds,' she cried. 'I'm in a different country [the U.S.] and I don't know what to do. I feel helpless.' She wrote in a subsequent post: 'Please let me know [a] good wound care clinic in Los Angeles. That sounds like the most logical idea right now, instead of any random walk-in clinic or hospital.' Earlier in the week, she expressed her love for law and order by posing for this photo with a group of local cops A pale-looking Mary later broke down in tears on Instagram Live as she told fans her wounds were bleeding and she didn't know what to do. Fans begged her to go to the emergency room to 'avoid sepsis' and not worry about the cost of American medical care. She eventually made her way to hospital and spent the night being treated, before being prescribed antibiotics. It comes after Mary was rushed to hospital amid fears she could die from sepsis after illegal silicone injections she had in her buttocks started to rot Her wounds appear to be healing now, and the viral star has resumed partying. The heavily injected and tattooed model had her first cosmetic procedure at age 21. Since then, she has had multiple boob and nose jobs, butt lifts and injections, as well as a brow lift, fat transfers, veneers, liposuction and more. In April, the star claimed she was no longer able to fully close her mouth after a lip lift and another round of lip filler. In a series of frantic posts, she said her injections were 'rotting' and shared graphic photos of the open wounds on her backside Mary feared for her life after her tattoos became infected following the butt injections In 2018, Mary almost died on the operating table during an operation to 'inflate' her vagina in Colombia. 'I had to get two blood transfusions,' she told The Sun of the harrowing ordeal. 'The doctor said I was losing so much blood, and turning very pale. He thought I was going to die.' Before her transformation: Ms Magdalene had her first cosmetic work done when she was 21 The star said she wanted the look so she could have 'the world's fattest vagina'. 'So basically there's this contraption that you use and it sucks your p***y and then it makes it very inflated, so I told the doctor that I just want it permanently to look like that,' she told the No Jumper podcast. 'I would say it's a female ball sack. I'm gonna keep just growing it and getting it bigger. I'm gonna get injections.' Feminist academic Dr. Susan Carland has opened up about converting to Islam from Christianity at age 19. The 42-year-old university lecturer revealed on Channel Ten's Dinner Guest, how her family weren't supportive when she made the decision to convert. '[My family] weren't thrilled. I became Muslim before September 11 [attacks] so there really wasn't much known [about the religion],' Susan said. Waleed Aly's wife Susan Carland has revealed her family weren't supportive when she converted to Islam at 19 and admitted putting the headscarf on 'made it harder' for them 'At the time it was a real tough period, it was a real adjustment,' she continued. She also admitted putting the headscarf on 'made it harder' for her family to accept her decision. 'I put the headscarf on really quickly after I became Muslim. I think if I hadn't done that and was just Muslim, I don't think it would have bothered them as much,' she explained. '[My family] weren't thrilled. I became Muslim before September 11 [attacks] so there really wasn't much known [about the religion],' Susan explained Back in 2016, Susan spoke about her decision to convert from Christianity to Islam at the age of 19, saying it 'felt like coming home'. The sociologist admitted she originally thought Islam was a 'barbaric, outdated and sexist religion', but after detailed research she realised this was not the case. She told The Australian Women's Weekly these misconceptions still permeate society, with many still believing 'Muslims are all terrorists and kill people'. Back in 2016, Susan spoke about her decision to convert from Christianity to Islam at the age of 19, saying it 'felt like coming home'. Pictured Susan and husband Waleed Aly Susan, who attended the Uniting Church in Sydney as a child before switching to the Baptist Church as a teenager, said her mother had initially opposed her decision to convert to Islam. But she was determined, saying: 'Becoming Muslim felt like coming home. It felt like a natural fit for me as a person.' The university academic shares two children with Waleed Aly, who describes himself as a 'moderate Muslim'. She has previously said she didn't change religion for her husband, as her faith journey had actually started long before they met. Sam Frost has released the trailer for her upcoming two-part travel series My Road to Adventure, in which she will appear alongside her sister Kris Ross. The new show, which premieres on Sunday, July 17, at 11am on 7two, will follow the sisters as they travel in a motorhome down Victoria's iconic Great Ocean Road. The former Home and Away star, 33, shared the trailer on Instagram, and captioned it: 'My sister Kristine and I had the most incredible time filming this road trip.' Sam Frost (right) has released the trailer for her upcoming two-part travel series My Road to Adventure, in which she will appear alongside her sister Kris Ross (left) She added: 'We love travelling. It's so good for the soul, especially with people you love.' The former Bachelor star told the Herald Sun: 'We are so excited to join the My Road to Adventure crew again - and this time we'll be making the trek to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. 'The Great Ocean Road means a lot to our family and holds a special place in my heart. I can't wait to revisit.' The new show, which premieres on Sunday, July 17, at 11am on 7two, will follow the sisters as they travel in a motorhome down Victoria's iconic Great Ocean Road The former Home and Away star, 33, shared the trailer on Instagram, and captioned it: 'My sister Kristine and I had the most incredible time filming this road trip' Sam and Kris travelled to Hervey Bay and Fraser Island in Queensland on the previous season of the show. It comes after Sam, a former Bachelorette, filmed her last scenes for Home and Away in December at Sydney's Eveleigh Studios. The actress then moved to Melbourne to be closer to her friends and family. This comes after Sam, a former Bachelorette, filmed her last scenes for Home and Away in December at Sydney's Eveleigh Studios Before her exit, Sam had compared the restrictions faced by people who chose not to get the Covid vaccine to 'segregation'. In an emotional video posted to Instagram in October, she said: 'I was really hesitant about doing a video or even speaking up about this sort of thing, but I feel like it's getting to a point now in the world where there's a lot of segregation. 'There's a lot of harsh judgement and opinions being thrown around a lot and it's taking its toll on my mental health for sure, and I know people around me are struggling - particularly if they're on the side of they don't want to get vaccinated, for whatever reason.' Before her exit, Sam had compared the restrictions faced by people who chose not to get the Covid vaccine to 'segregation'. (Pictured as Jasmine Delaney on Home and Away) She continued: 'There are lots of different reasons why people are not getting vaccinated and it might be because of their medical history, their concerns, they might have family history, it could be religious reasons.' Sam then said she hadn't been vaccinated, but claimed she had spoken to her medical doctor as well as a psychologist about her decision. The actress added tearfully: 'It's a really hard time to be in society right now and you feel like you are less of a human and you feel like people judge you. 'And you're too scared to talk about your opinion or your feelings and part of you wants to go, "Well it's none of your damn business why I'm not! And there's good reasons why I'm not and I don't want you to judge me."' She then explained it was important for the unvaccinated to look after their mental health, especially as freedoms return for fully vaccinated Australians. After facing criticism for her video, Sam deactivated her Instagram account and blocked all comments on the account for her mental health charity. She has since received the Covid vaccine. Dealers at Hana Bank work at a dealing room at the lender's headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyung Stock investors are advised to increase cash and other safer assets such as gold and dividend stocks in their asset portfolio, as growing fears of a recession will keep posing a risk to the benchmark KOSPI, analysts said. The main bourse has been on a sharp decline, falling to around 2,300 points for the past month. It closed at 2,292.01 Wednesday, down 49.77 points from the previous day. However, market analysts predicted Korean stocks might tumble further, at least until the end of this year. The outlook came as multiple risk factors, such as the war between Russia and Ukraine, China's zero-COVID policy and strong monetary tightening, have put downward pressure on the economy. Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyoung-min expects the KOSPI to suffer a bigger loss until the first quarter of next year. "The likelihood of recession will keep growing, as rising prices and hawkish monetary policies here and abroad are feared to weaken economic growth and corporate earnings for a year since the second half of this year," he said. The analyst advised retail investors to increase the volume of cash in their asset portfolios due to volatile financial market conditions. "When local stocks achieve a possible technical rally, investors should secure more cash and build a defensive portfolio," he said. The brokerage house estimated the main bourse might achieve a rally in July under its short-term outlook, but the KOSPI is exposed to possible risks of additional falls until the first quarter of next year because of the global downward economic cycle. Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Huh Jae-hwan also expected the main bourse to bottom out at 2,050 points due to possible earnings declines at Korean firms amid widening economic uncertainties. "Given the soaring won-dollar exchange rate, the financial market here considers the status quo worse than the period when the economy was grappling with the pandemic shock," he said. After the U.S Fed started increasing its key rate in March this year, global stocks have nosedived. Monetary authorities including the Bank of Korea have reiterated their intentions to take a more hawkish policy approach. Korean stocks have also lost momentum for a rally in the past few months. The uncertain financial environment also pushed up the valuation of the U.S. dollar by a huge margin this year. The won-dollar exchange rate topped a worrying level of 1,300 won on a growing preference for safer assets. After a health scare that kept him hospitalized for a week, Travis Barker is doing much better. The 46-year-old musician's sister-in-laws Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner sent him a bouquet of flowers following his hospital stay. Along with an Instagram photo of the white floral arrangement he said, 'Thank you,' and tagged each of the women. Doing well: After a health scare that kept him hospitalized for a week, Travis Barker is doing much better Thankful: He took to Instagram to thank Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner for get well flowers The flowers from the thoughtful siblings were set up in a tall, oblong black vase, making a gorgeous center piece. Also on Tuesday, the Blink-182 drummer dropped in on Twitter to tweet 'seven days in the hospital.' A few minutes later he wore, 'Grateful for so much,' and added a prayer hands emoji. Barker was recently discharged from a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a bout of life-threatening pancreatitis. Loved ones: Travis' new extended family, Kim, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie sent him a thoughtful bouquet; seen in Italy for his wedding to Kourtney Kardashian Message: Also on Tuesday, the Blink-182 drummer dropped in on Twitter to tweet 'seven days in the hospital The condition, characterized by an inflammation of the pancreas, was brought on by an endoscopic procedure. 'I went in for an endoscopy Monday feeling great. But After dinner, I developed excruciating pain and have been hospitalized ever since,' he wrote in an Instagram post the following Saturday. He continued, 'During the endoscopy, I had a very small polyp removed right in a very sensitive area, usually handled by specialists, which unfortunately damaged a critical pancreatic drainage tube. 'This resulted in severe life threatening pancreatitis.' Social media engagement: A few minutes later he wore, 'Grateful for so much,' and added a prayer hands emoji Throughout the ordeal Barker's daughter Alabama, 16, repeatedly took to social media to ask for prayers for her dad. In addition to Alabama Travis shares a son, Landon, 18, with his ex-wife Shanna Moakler. Once her dad's health improved the teen appeared online again to thank fans for their support. Sharing an image of her pink-manicured hand next to her father's tattooed hand, she wrote: 'Thank you for all of the prayers and love, I appreciate you & love all of you.' Giving thanks: Once her dad's health improved Alabama Barker appeared online to thank fans for their support On Monday the Barkers were spotted cruising in the music artist's vintage orange Chevy CST pickup truck. The father-of-two wore a black skull hat underneath the hood of a black sweatshirt as he took the wheel. A video posted to Kourtney's Instagram Stories showed her riding in the truck with her daughter Penelope, nine, and son Reign, seven in the backseat. Kardashian shares them, plus her oldest child, Mason, twelve, with ex-boyfriend Scott Disick. Filming for Channel Seven's Australia's Got Talent has got underway in Sydney with the star-studded panel of judges making their first glammed up appearance. The crew of judges - including Home & Away alumni Kate Ritchie, British pop sensation Alesha Dixon, comedian David Walliams and Aussie actor Shane Jacobsen - were greeted by adoring fans as they prepared for live auditions on June 26 at Sydney's ICC theatre. Glamorous Kate wowed in a $1,750 floral mini dress from Australian label Zimmerman. The crew of judges - including Home & Away alumni Kate Ritchie were greeted by adoring fans as they prepared for live auditions on June 26. Glamorous Kate wowed in $1,750 floral mini dress from Australian label Zimmerman Filming for Channel Seven's Australia's Got Talent has got underway in Sydney with the star-studded panel of judges making their first glammed up appearance. From left: David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Kate Ritchie and Shane Jacobsen The hit talent show revamped their judges for 2021, with Shane as the only one returning from the 2019 line-up, which also featured chef Manu Feildel, Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger and musical theatre star Lucy Durack. From left: David, Alesha, Kate and Shane Returning: Alesha, Shane and Kate were on the show last year, with David replacing US actor Neil Patrick Harris The soap star paired the corseted dress with knee high red boots for an added touch of pizzazz. Looking delighted to greet fans, she brushed her hair back into a sleek high ponytail and opted for a glamorous make-up look with dazzling drop diamond earrings and full face of make-up. Meanwhile, co-host Alesha Dixon - who has previously judge Britain's Got Talent and Strictly Come Dancing - showed off her sartorial prowess in head-to-toe pink sequins and a bikini top. Glam: The two female judges dressed to the nines in sequins and floral patterns, while the male half of the panel opted for a lower key look Wow: The soap star paired the corseted dress with knee high red boots for an added touch of pizzazz Walliams, left, who describes his judging style as 'Maverick, like Tom Cruise in Top Gun,' has high expectations of the Aussie contenders Meeting fans: Not one to be shown up, the British beauty added a pair of shades to the look and let her raven tresses loose as she shook hands with a fan The former Mis-Teeq star, paired towering silver heels with a fuchsia glitter suit which featured high-waisted peg trousers and an oversized sized shirt which covered up a skimpy bikini top. Not one to be shown up, the British beauty added a pair of shades to the look and let her raven tresses loose. She added a dainty chain and cuff earring to complete the look. Friendly: The three retuning judges seemed to get on well and spoke to each other before filming began David (left) - who also previously had a judging role on the UK counterpart to Australia's Got Talent - opted for a lowkey navy suit with an open collar powder blue shirt Walliams (left) said the Got Talent's enduring appeal was due to it being something families could watch together David Walliams, pictured leaving a car, has replaced US actor Neil Patrick Harris as a judge on the show Friendly: Looking delighted to greet fans, she brushed her hair back into a sleek high ponytail and opted for a glamorous make-up look with dazzling drop diamond earrings and full face of make-up Meanwhile, fellow Brit David - who also previously had a judging role on the UK counterpart to Australia's Got Talent - opted for a lowkey navy suit with an open collar powder blue shirt. Completing the line-up, Shane Jacobsen also went for the open collar shirt, teaming black trousers with a bottle green blazer and brown suede shoes. David Walliams has replaced US actor Neil Patrick Harris as a judge on the show. Arrivals: The group rolled up to filming in a old-fashioned car - with them quickly snapping selfies with fans Hot: At one point, Kate appeared to use her hand to shield her eyes from the sun Easy style: Kate looked effortlessly cool in red knee-high boots and floral dress from Aussie designer Zimmerman Glam: Kate showed she pays attention to details with a gorgeous red manicure and sparkling jewellery The hit talent show revamped their judges for 2021, with Shane as the only one returning from the 2019 line-up, which also featured chef Manu Feildel, Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger and musical theatre star Lucy Durack. Walliams, who describes his judging style as 'Maverick, like Tom Cruise in Top Gun,' has high expectations of the Aussie contenders. 'All the Australians I've met have been very outgoing, so I don't expect them to be as shy as British people are sometimes,' he said in a statement. Co-host Alesha Dixon (pictured with David Walliams) - who has previously judge Britain's Got Talent and Strictly Come Dancing - showed off her sartorial prowess in head-to-toe pink sequins and a bikini top The former Mis-Teeq star, paired towering silver heels with a fuchsia glitter suit which featured high-waisted peg trousers and an oversized sized shirt which covered up a skimpy bikini top Fan service: Kate waved at the adoring crowds as she headed into Sydney's ICC theatre 'People have had much more time than usual to work on their acts, so I'm expecting the standard to be really high. 'If its anything like BGT, there will be great excitement when people first step out on the stage, as many people haven't done that for a very long time.' He said the Got Talent's enduring appeal was due to it being something families could watch together. Let me take a selfie: Little Britain writer David looked delighted to chat to fans and posed for pictures Wow: Kate's skirt billowed in the winds of Sydney winter, adding a touch of drama to the glamorous look Completing the line-up, Shane Jacobsen (pictured with Kate) also went for the open collar shirt, teaming black trousers with a bottle green blazer and brown suede shoe 'A show like Got Talent brings the whole family together and you want to watch it as it happens.' A source close to production told Daily Mail Australia that LA-based Neil passed at the opportunity to return to the series because he wasn't happy with his previous trip. Harris was forced to return to the US just two days after finishing then mandatory hotel quarantine because lockdown rules prevented the show from being filmed. 'He wasn't putting his children through that again,' claimed the source. The all-new Australia's Got Talent is coming soon to Channel Seven and 7Plus Attention to detail: Alesha, pictured with David, added a dainty chain and cuff earring to complete the look Perfect in Pink! British RnB phenomenon Alesha looked incredible in her pink sequined look Fans and hopefuls: Hundreds of adoring fans were pictured in Sydney's world famous Darling Harbour. One of them was Nikki Webster, pictured centre in pink jacket Kinky boots: Kate looked gorgeous in her dress and boots combo as she chatted to fans Oh baby! Kate seemed to delight one young fan as she smiled at a young mother and her toddler Ready to go! Fans dressed in jeans and trainers were excited to catch a glimpse at the Aussie judging line-up By LILLIAN GISSEN FOR DAILMAIL.COM TV star Nick Cannon is preparing to expand his family once more, revealing that he is expecting his ninth child with baby mama Abby De La Rosa - just five months after he announced that he and his girlfriend Bre Tiesi were also having another child. As he prepares to welcome two new babies, here's a look at the former America's Got Talent host's other children. Daughter Monroe and son Moroccan Scott, 11, with ex wife Mariah Carey Nick and Mariah Carey tied the knot in 2008, and they welcomed the rapper's first kids on April 30, 2011 - a set of twins named Monroe and Moroccan Scott. The family is pictured in 2018 Nick and Mariah Carey tied the knot on in the Bahamas in 2008, and they welcomed the rapper's first kids on April 30, 2011 - a set of twins named Monroe and Moroccan Scott. According to People, Monroe was named after late actress Marilyn Monroe, who was said to be an inspiration to Mariah. They decided not to give her a middle name since Mariah doesn't have one. As for Moroccan, the idea for his name came from the Moroccan decor in Mariah's apartment, which is where Nick proposed to her. His middle name, Scott, is also Nick's middle name and his grandmothers maiden name. Back in December, in the wake of Zen's death, Nick spoke out about how hard it was for him to tell the twins, who are now 11 years old, about Zen's passing - but credited their support, especially Monroe, with helping him get through the tragedy. He said Monroe is so 'so pure and so honest,' and called the 11-year-old his 'best therapist.' 'Having to explain that to [then]-10-year-olds ... is pretty intense,' he admitted to People. 'But their understanding and them being there for me probably helped me keep it together as well as really deal with it. Specifically, Roc and Roe. They were there for the entire journey. 'My daughter, really, she's so in tune and in line and wise beyond her years. I got a lot of therapists, but she's probably my best therapist. 'She keeps me in check. She's so pure and so honest. To be 10, she asks some really strong and powerful questions. 'Really, just it's all out of love. She's my oldest child. Even though they're twins, she came out first and she lets everybody know it. She's helped me keep it strong.' Back in 2016, after the birth of his second son, Golden, Nick opened up about the twins' relationship with their younger sibling, and he revealed that they really enjoyed having a little brother. 'They love hanging out with him, and it is almost like they are more concerned about him having fun than them having fun,' he gushed to Entertainment Tonight. 'They are always trying to make them laugh, and he is walking now, so they are trying to get him all the toys. 'Watching that whole older sibling thing take place, they understand the responsibility of it. They understand that they can teach him things, so it is really cool.' He also called them 'geniuses,' and admitted that he was not happy with how fast they were growing up. 'I'm fine with my son growing up. It's my daughter that I have a problem with,' he joked. 'I mean, shotgun's loaded.' As for how he his ex Mariah were co-parenting the twins, he explained in 2016 that they had come to a place of 'understanding and unconditional love.' 'When you come from a place of understanding and unconditional love for so many things, you can't really go wrong,' he said. 'It would be very easy to throw our egos in - what we believe we want to do with our time and effort - but then you step back. 'When it comes to my kids, it is whatever they want at whatever time, and I build my schedule around it. 'Those children are the most important thing to both of us. It kind of turned her into this wonderful mother, that I feel like the world started to connect with her on that level. 'There will always be unconditional love and a great relationship. That is one of my best friends in life, so it is always going to be that. 'The fact that there is no bad blood and we can still coexist, I think that is the best place for it.' Son Golden, five, and daughter Powerful Queen, one, with Brittany Bell Nick and Phoenix Suns dancer Brittany Bell have son Golden, five, and daughter Powerful Queen, one, together. They are pictured here in 2021 After his split from Mariah, Nick dated Phoenix Suns dancer Brittany Bell on-and-off for years. They welcomed a son together, named Golden Sagon, on February 21, 2017. At the time, Nick gushed on Instagram, 'Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning! 'No matter how hard the world may hit you, God always reminds us of our purpose! Welcome to Earth, son. #TrueHappiness #Awakened.' Reports came out that the couple had split after that, but in November 2020, they were seen walking hand-in-hand at his 33rd birthday celebration - with Brittany sporting a growing baby bump. They then welcomed their second child, Powerful Queen, in December 2020. 'The best gift ever,' Brittany, who is also a model, shared on Instagram at the time. 'We have been surprised with A GIRL! Powerful Queen Cannon came this week, perfect timing for Christmas. 'So much more to share. All I can say is that Nick was my rock through the most intense yet empowering natural water birth. 'It was nothing but POWERFUL. Merry Christmas! THANK YOU GOD.' One month later, Nick was asked by Power 106 radio hosts if her pregnancy had been an 'accident,' and he insisted that it was not. 'Im having these kids on purpose,' he said. 'I didnt have no accident. [There were] a lot of people that I couldve gotten pregnant that I didnt. You only live once.' In December 2021, just after Powerful Queen's first birthday, the Masked Singer host couldn't stop raving over how smart she was on Instagram. He shared a clip of her saying words like 'nose, cat, dog, and tree' while he held up flashcards for her. 'Wow! Look at this brilliant baby!' he captioned it. 'They got mad when we named her POWERFUL QUEEN! Yall lucky I didnt go with my other choice GENIUS EMPRESS! 'LOL. I cant take any of the credit here though! Thats all her amazing mommy.' Sons Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, 11 months, with Abby De La Rosa Nick and Abby De La Rosa, who is a DJ and broadcast professional, kept their relationship a secret until they announced that they were expecting twin boys together in April 2021 The boys - who they named named Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir - were born on June 14, 2021. They are pictured in December 2021 Nick and Abby, who is a DJ and broadcast professional, kept their relationship a secret until they announced that they were expecting twin boys together in April 2021. 'Our dearest sons - my miracle babies, thank you for choosing me to be your mommy,' Abby wrote on Instagram at the time, in a now-deleted post. 'I know the Lord has destined me and prepared me for the gift of not one but two little angels. 'I pray that God gives you both the strength to walk brave and boldly in your individual truth just like your daddy... That God bless you and your brother and guide you into living out your full purpose. 'Your dad and I will always be here for you both; in complete unison and support. 'No matter what this world may throw your way, know that forgiveness is key and what is for you - is for YOU! You both are already so loved and we can't wait to meet you both.' The boys - who they named named Zion and Zillion - were born on June 14, 2021. In an Instagram Q&A, Abby later revealed that she and Nick accidentally got pregnant in April 2020, but sadly, they lost that baby. Then, they became focused on getting pregnant again. 'First pregnancy, April 2020, was definitely not planned, but Nick was such a great friend to me and just so good to me, and then our focus became to have a baby,' she explained. 'Little did we know we would end up having twins. 'Let me just add that this planning wasn't like us sitting down with a calendar and being like, "You gotta be pregnant by this date." It had already been a thought and it happened. 'It had already been out there, it was something we were manifesting and we were just letting it flow.' Now, they are gearing up to welcome their third child together, whose gender is unknown. Son Zen with Alyssa Scott Nick met Alyssa Scott when they both starred in MTV's Wild 'N Out. Years later - in January 2021 - they announced that they were having a baby together Nick met Alyssa Scott when they both starred in MTV's Wild 'N Out. Years later - in January 2021 - they announced that they were having a baby together. Their son, Zen, was born on June 23, 2021, with Alyssa writing at the time, 'I will love you for eternity.' But when the baby was two months old, they noticed he had come down with a cough that wouldn't go away, and decided to have it checked out by doctors. 'I always noticed he had a cough and so I wanted to check it out,' Nick later said on The Nick Cannon Show. 'He had this interesting breathing and by the time he was two months, I noticed he had this nice sized head too, we called it a Cannon head. 'We didnt think anything of it, but I wanted to take him to the doctor for his sinus and breathing.' After taking the newborn in for a 'routine' checkup, they were told he had a malignant tumor and needed emergency surgery immediately. He had also developed hydrocephalus - a condition where fluid builds up in the cavities of the brain causing the head to increase in size and ultimately putting pressure on the brain. He unfortunately passed away on December 5, 2021 - spending his last moments by the ocean. He unfortunately passed away on December 5, 2021 - spending his last moments by the ocean 'He was the most loving. We called him Z Chilling. He was always smiling. He had the most beautiful spirit,' Nick said after his death. On the Today show, Nick praised Alyssa - 'who carried a beautiful child for nine months and nurtured and cared for him every single day through this process' - for her 'strength.' '[Alyssa] is strong,' he said. 'She is definitely one of the strongest individuals I've known. 'I couldn't imagine - I mean, as a father, it's painful, but for a mother who carried a beautiful child for nine months and nurtured and cared for him every single day through this process. 'There were so many medicines and so many trips to the hospital and the doctor, and also she's a mother-of-two so to watch her go through this...' At the time, he said he was using his faith and therapy to get through the immense loss. 'I'm taking it - as my therapist says - five minutes at a time, but I'm optimistic in finding the purpose through all of the pain, so I'm attempting to smile, I'm attempting to be the high-frequency individual that I've set out to be, but along the way there's definitely some curves in the journey, so I'm taking it five minutes at a time. 'Honestly [there] was a lot of fear involved [in telling people about Zen's death]. I'm so used to being upbeat and outspoken and even vulnerable at times, where I'll talk about anything. 'But this was probably the most delicate and the most precious thing I've ever had to talk about. 'And I didn't know how to talk about it, I never imagined having to be in this scenario, so as much as it was such an outpouring of love, there was a lot of fear, there was obviously some hurt. 'I wanted to be the protector as well for all of the rest of my family, Alyssa and [everyone], so I wanted... It's a very delicate thing, even when talking about this. At the time, he said he was using his faith and therapy to get through the immense loss In January 2022, the star admitted that he was 'still missing his little dude' Zen, while sharing a throwback photo of Moroccan, Zion, Zillion, and Monroe sitting with him, as he held Zen 'And that's coming from a person who is used to talking to people each and every day live here on television. It's scary.' After the tragic passing, Nick opened up about the 'guilt' he felt about having to divide his time between working and being a dad. 'I'm a father, first and foremost. There's a lot of guilt that I feel and I talk about this in therapy all the time,' he admitted. 'It's rooted in not having enough time to spend with my loved ones, specifically my children, because I have a lot of children. 'I'm also spread so thin in my work because that's how I cope. That's how I deal with things. 'I have several jobs and several shows and movies and music, all that stuff. And I call myself a provider for many, but one thing no matter how much money I generate, one thing I can't generate is time. 'It's not about quantity, it's about quality. And it's really just having quality moments with my children, quality moments with my family. 'Had a lot of quality moments with Zen in his short time here. I always say time is a manmade thing, but love and energy is a godsend.' In January 2022, just days before his and Bre's gender reveal party, the star admitted that he was 'still missing his little dude' Zen in an emotional Instagram post. 'Still missing my little dude His spirit and brightness were so strong #ZensLight,' he captioned a throwback snap that showed Moroccan, Zion, Zillion, and Monroe sitting with him, as he held Zen. He added: 'The whole family, we ALL miss you young King! Forever Our Angel!' Kieran Hayler's fiancee Michelle Penticost made a thinly-veiled dig at Katie Price after the former glamour model missed her daughter Princess' 15th birthday. Michelle, 39, who has been in embroiled in a legal battle with the star, took a swipe after Katie, 42, jetted off with her fiance Carl Woods before her daughter's birthday. The couple are currently making the most of her freedom after she avoided a jail term for breaking the rules of a restraining order and calling Michelle a 'gutter s**g'. Ouch! Kieran Hayler's fiancee Michelle Penticost made a thinly-veiled dig at Katie Price after the former glamour model missed her daughter's 15th birthday The trip meant that she was only able to wish her eldest daughter well on social media rather than spending the day with her at home in the UK. Appearing to react to the decision, Michelle shared a post on her Instagram Stories that read: 'Kids will always remember who showed up. 'Not who made a Facebook post, or who texted once or twice a year. They will remember who bothered to rearrange their schedule, to make inconvenient choices, and who made them a priority.' Not holding back: Michelle, 39, who has been in embroiled in a legal battle with the star, took a swipe after Katie, 42, jetted off with her fiance Carl Woods before her daughter's birthday Underneath the post, Michelle posted a 'praying hands' emoji. Michelle's post was no doubt a nod to Katie's birthday post to Princess, which she shared from Thailand after landing in the exotic location with her beau. Katie wrote: 'No words to describe my love for my Princess and our unbreakable bond, had 15 years and lots to come, happy birthday.' Princess replied underneath saying: 'Love you'. Appearing to react to the decision, Michelle shared a post on her Instagram Stories that read: 'Kids will always remember who showed up' Katie's followers were quick to criticise the reality personality for not postponing her trip until after her daughter's celebrations. One person wrote: 'Going on holiday when it's your daughter's birthday, without her.' Another said: 'You out the country on her birthday', while someone replied saying: 'Same last year.' Katie wrote: 'No words to describe my love for my Princess and our unbreakable bond, had 15 years and lots to come, happy birthday' One person said: 'Shame you can't be with her then instead of on holiday, blah.' Last year Katie skipped her son Jett and daughter Bunny's - who she shares with her ex Kieran - joint birthday party as she holidayed in St Lucia on holiday. Katie admitted previously that she 'didn't know' when her children's birthdays were and had to google them to find out. Reaction: Katie's followers were quick to criticise the reality personality for not postponing her trip until after her daughter's celebrations Katie narrowly escaped a jail sentence last month after she breached a restraining order. She admitted sending a message to her ex-husband branding his new fiancee, a 'gutter s***.' She was told that she would not face prison for the offence, but instead has to carry out 170 hours of unpaid work. Katie- who was heard to tell a reporter to 'suck my d**k' after she was asked about the prospects of a prison sentence outside court - had been banned from contacting Michelle directly or indirectly for five years in June 2019. It recently emerged that Katie booked her Thailand trip before learning of her fate for breaching the restraining order. During the trip the couple have been posting on her Only Fans - running the risk of breaching Thailand's strict anti-pornography laws. In 2020, the government banned Pornhub and several other pornography websites. While on holiday, Katie successfully dodged yet another speeding conviction back in the UK. She had been charged with one count of exceeding a 60mph speed limit on September 13, 2021, close to her Mucky Mansion in Horsham, West Sussex. Katie was also accused of failing to tell police who was behind the wheel of her 62,000 BMW on January 26, but this was also dismissed as 'no evidence was offered' by police. A court official said: 'I have been informed that the matter against her has been dismissed by Sussex Police, so she will not be appearing.' Marni Little gave an update on her condition from a Brisbane hospital on Tuesday, after her right breast implant became infected and was removed. The ex-wife of Home and Away star Dan Ewing, took part in an Instagram Q&A and revealed that she's now feeling 'really good' after suffering from fever and swelling. Marni, 39, who received a double mastectomy two days before Christmas in 2020 after announcing she was battling breast cancer, had the implants for just one week. Home and Away star Dan Ewing's ex-wife Marni Little (pictured), 39, gave an update on her condition from a Brisbane hospital on Tuesday, after her right breast implant became infected and was removed The comedy writer shared footage of herself dressed casually in her hospital ward and revealed the moment she knew she had contracted sepsis from an infection. Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of an infection, with symptoms including fever, difficulty breathing, low blood pressure and a fast heart rate. Marni revealed her symptoms included a fever and 'lots of swelling everywhere' including her right breast which was 'twice' its normal size. The comedy writer, who received a double mastectomy two days before Christmas in 2020 after announcing she was battling breast cancer, had the implants for just one week Marni revealed her symptoms from sepsis included a fever and 'lots of swelling everywhere' including her right breast which was 'twice' its normal size She revealed she only had the breast implants for one week before the infection and is grateful to be alive. 'I'm honestly now really good. I don't care how I look, I just didn't want to die. And on a Friday I actually thought I might.. so it's just boobs,' she told her followers. Marni revealed her health battle in an Instagram video last Saturday, captioning it 'here's something new I wasn't expecting'. A grateful Marni told her followers, 'I'm honestly now really good. I don't care how I look, I just didn't want to die. And on a Friday I actually thought I might.. so it's just boobs' What is Sepsis? * A life-threatening response to an infection * Can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death * Considered a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment * Symptoms can include fever, difficulty breathing, low blood pressure and a fast heart rate Source: Sepsis.org Advertisement Marni revealed her health battle in an Instagram video last Saturday, captioning it 'here's something new I wasn't expecting' 'Alright, so a bit of an update. I told you guys I was all g (good). I was in fact not all g,' she began in the video. 'My right breast implant got infected, and so I now have one boob. And not conveniently in the middle, it is to the left. She continued: 'So I am normalising one boob. I will create clothing that allows for one boob, and I think I'm going to bring it in. 'That's a bit of a trend. So if you also suffer from one boob, hit me up, we can make some magic.' 'My right breast implant got infected, and so I now have one boob. And not conveniently in the middle, it is to the left,' she told her followers Marni's breast cancer diagnosis in 2020 came just five months after she'd suffered a miscarriage. In an interview with Daily Mail Australia in February last year, the mother of two revealed she was 'thankful' for the highs and lows she experienced. She said she felt 'incredibly lucky' to have her husband, David Robertshaw, and her children, Archie, seven, and Charlie, three, by her side. 'So I am normalising one boob. I will create clothing that allows for one boob, and I think I'm going to bring it in,' she continued. Pictured in hospital on the Gold Coast in December 2020 'It was a beautiful year - there's so much to be thankful for,' Marni said. 'It's easy to say, "Why do these things happen?", but if I hadn't suffered the miscarriage, I would have been seven months pregnant when I got my [cancer] diagnosis,' she added. 'That would have been another entire conversation that we would have had to have, and we don't know how that would have looked.' Marni's breast cancer diagnosis in 2020 came just five months after she'd suffered a miscarriage. In an interview with Daily Mail Australia in February last year, the mother of two revealed she was 'thankful' for the highs and lows she experienced 'It's easy to say, "Why do these things happen?", but if I hadn't suffered the miscarriage, I would have been seven months pregnant when I got my [cancer] diagnosis,' she said. Pictured with her sons, Archie, seven, and Charlie, three Marni married former Home and Away star Dan in 2012 and they welcomed son Archie (all pictured) in 2014. They split in 2016 While she said the pregnancy loss was an 'incredibly sad time' for her and David, she never forgot how blessed she was to have two healthy sons. 'It's terrible to lose a baby, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. But we have two beautiful boys, and I feel incredibly lucky. We caught this very early,' she said. Marni married former Home and Away star Dan in 2012 and they welcomed a son, Archie Grason, in 2014. They split in 2016. She wed David in October 2018 at an intimate ceremony in Strath Creek, Victoria. Their son, Charlie, was born in May 2019. Bec Judd usually gets paid big bucks for endorsements. But the star, 39, who owns athleisure brand Jaggad, promoted rival Henne for free on her Instagram on Wednesday. Bec shared a glamorous shot of herself wearing one the brand's stylish trenches and trousers, and captioned the image 'best pants'. Bec Judd, 39, (pictured) threw her weight behind rival brand Henne', owned by her best friend Nadia Bartel, on Wednesday In the image, Bec wore her long, blonded tresses down as she posed by a white curtain. Henne is owned by Bec's best friend, Nadia Bartel, with the brand doing fortnightly drops after opening its flagship Melbourne store. Mother-of-four Bec has huge influence on the fashion scene with her endorsement likely to generate plenty of sales. Bec has previously donned other items from the premium label including a figure-hugging dress The star owns upscale activewear brand, Jaggad, which features a number of fitness co-ord workout sets and stylish day jackets. Under Bec's leadership, Jaggad has become a roaring success. Bec supported Nadia at her debut at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week earlier this year, where she made her runway debut. Nadia revealed in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald that while she 'can't change' people's opinions of her, she would love for people to see 'how hard' she works Henne, which Nadia founded with her sister in 2019, used to be online-only but has now established a presence on the high street. Speaking to Sydney Morning Herald last month, Nadia said that while she 'can't change' people's opinions of her, she would love for people to see 'how hard' she works. 'Anyone can have their own perception of me, though I can tell you that most of the ones in the media are false,' she said. 'Anyone can have their own perception of me, though I can tell you that most of the ones in the media are false,' the fashion designer told the publication. 'Over time I would love for people to see how hard I work, but I'm not going to tell them what to think' 'Over time I would love for people to see how hard I work, but I'm not going to tell them what to think.' Nadia continued: 'You can't change other people's opinions. Your friends and family know who you are.' At her fashion week debut in May, Nadia looked chic in a black power suit and told the Herald Sun that it's a 'very proud moment' for the brand. Nadia debuted her label Henne at Australian Fashion Week in Sydney in May (pictured) and celebrated the opening of its flagship Melbourne boutique on Wednesday 'When we launched Henne three years ago I always had hoped that one day we could show at AAFW,' Nadia told the publication. 'It is incredibly exciting and a very proud moment for us to be partnering with the festival to showcase a collection that is made for her, a collection that can be intermixed and worn anywhere, anytime.' Henne has been a runaway success with the word being Swedish for 'her'. Daisy Lowe chose an edgy look as she headed out to support the launch of her friend Jade Jagger's first fashion collection in London on Tuesday. The model, 33, showed off her her cleavage in a skintight jumpsuit as she led the well-known faces at boutique Annie's Ibiza. Daisy had her hands full on the night as she not only brought her model boyfriend Jordan Saul along to the event, but also her Maltese Terrier Monty. Chic: Daisy Lowe chose an edgy look as she headed out to support the launch of her friend Jade Jagger's first fashion collection at Annie's Ibiza in London on Tuesday Looking blissfully happy posing for snaps with her pet pooch and beau, Daisy looked radiant in minimal make-up. Jordan, who has been dating the runway star for almost two years, kept things casual in a white Vans T-shirt and black shorts. All eyes were on Jade, 50, for her big night, with the designer looking radiant in an extreme kimono sleeve dress. The former model looked radiant in the plunging, floor length garment, which she teamed with a pair of black heels. Puppy love: The model, 33, showed off her her cleavage in a skintight jumpsuit as she led the well-known faces at the boutique Big night: All eyes were on Jade, 50, for her big night, with the designer looking radiant in an extreme kimono sleeve dress Spicing up the look, Jade accessorised with a black choker and styled her brunette locks in soft voluminous curls. Store owner Annie Doble, who has teamed up with Jade for the collaboration, showed off her style credentials in a floral print metallic mini dress and cowboy boots. American choreographer and former ballerina Melanie Hamrick - the girlfriend of Jade's Rolling Stones rocker father, Mick Jagger - was also on the guest list. The dancer, 35, looked breathtaking in an off the shoulder black bandeau dress. Happy couple: Daisy had her hands full on the night as she not only brought her model boyfriend Jordan Saul along to the event, but also her Maltese Terrier Monty Beauty: American choreographer and former ballerina Melanie Hamrick - the girlfriend of Jade's Rolling Stones rocker father, Mick Jagger - was also on the guest list 90s fashion model Rosemary Ferguson made a fashion statement as she stepped out in a floral-print almond shirt and pink trousers. Also showing off their style credentials at the lavish affair was photographer Lily Bertrand-Webb, who donned a floor length navy coat and black dress. Interior designer Brigitta Spinocchia Freund and former French-model Caroline Sciamma-Massenet also attended. Brigitta caught the eye in a velvet poncho while stylist Caroline looked chic in a vibrant kimono. Trendy: Store owner Annie Doble, who has teamed up with Jade for the collaboration, showed off her style credentials in a floral print metallic mini dress and cowboy boots Elegant: Also showing off their style credentials at the lavish affair was photographer Lily Bertrand-Webb (left) and 90s fashion model Rosemary Ferguson (right) Scott Eastwood looked on fine form on Tuesday as he soaked up the sun at Branco beach, Mykonos with girlfriend Maddie Serviente. The actor, 36, showed off his muscular frame in a pair of patterned swim trunks as he sauntered down the beach following a refreshing swim. Meanwhile, the stunning brunette flaunted her figure in a skimpy mismatched bikini. Beach date: Scott Eastwood looked on fine form on Tuesday as he soaked up the sun at Branco beach, Mykonos with girlfriend Maddie Serviente Maddie, a Texas-born wellness expert, teamed a plunging white bikini top with patterned red bottoms, while finishing off her beach look with dark shades. The duo looked very relaxed in each other's company as they enjoyed a dip in the sea before kicking back on the sun loungers together. Scott was first spotted with Maddie while in Australia in November in 2016, after having met at a music festival two months prior. The son of Clint Eastwood has previously been romantically linked to Ashton Kutcher mistress Sara Leal, One Tree Hill alum Jana Kramer, and Playboy 2015 cover model Brittany Brousseau. While back in 2016, The Outpost actor told GQ Australia that it was 'harder to date' after his girlfriend Jewel Brangman was killed in 2014 from a defective airbag in her car. Mystery woman: Meanwhile, the stunning brunette flaunted her figure in a skimpy mismatched bikini In February, Scott recalled an allegedly 'volatile' on-set moment with fellow actor Shia LaBeouf in an interview with Insider. The actor co-starred with the Honey Boy actor in the 2014 war movie Fury alongside Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman and Jon Bernthal. The incident allegedly occurred after Eastwood spat on a war tank during a scene an action which the LaBeouf was not aware would happen. Cosy: The duo looked very relaxed in each other's company as they enjoyed a dip in the sea before kicking back on the sun loungers together '[LaBeouf] got mad at me and it turned into a volatile moment that Brad Pitt ultimately got in the middle of,' Eastwood claimed. Pitt talked about the issue on-set in an interview with British GQ in 2014, and he chalked it up to an actor really connecting with a set piece. 'I said, in the scene with the cameras rolling, 'You're going to clean that sh*t up,'' Pitt said. 'Shia clocks it, and you have to understand, we've been through severe boot camp already, we've been through a lot in this tank. Shia saw it and felt he's disrespecting our home. So Shia had the same reaction I did, and started having some words.' Volatile: In February, Scott recalled an allegedly 'volatile' on-set moment with fellow actor Shia LaBeouf in an interview with Insider Catalyst: The incident occurred after Eastwood spat on a war tank during a scene an action which the LaBeouf was not aware would happen; (L-R) Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, and Scott Eastwood in Fury (2014) However, Eastwood's more recent comments make it seem pretty clear that the Wrath of Man actor feels LaBeouf took things too far. 'I never think your process as an actor should ever hinder how people are treated on set,' he told Insider. 'It should always enhance the production, not take away and put people in a situation where it's a sh***y work environment or you're rude or people have to be in an uncomfortable situation.' He continued, 'You got to put things in perspective. This is make-believe, it's fun, and at times it's serious and you're doing emotional work and you give people space to do that in, but everything has to have its parameters.' Stepping in: '[LaBeouf] got mad at me and it turned into a volatile moment that Brad Pitt ultimately got in the middle of,' Eastwood said; Pitt pictured in 2020 Advertisement The now-infamous Casa Amor was first introduced to Love Island in the third series and shakes things up with the couples as the boys and girls are sent to separate villas for around a week. This year, the bombshell villa has certainly seen heads already beginning to turn with the shock twist of Andrew Le Page packing on the PDA with Coco Lodge after swaying from Tasha Ghouri when the new girls claimed she had 'settled' for him. And Dami Hope has been cracking on with Summer Botwe while Indiyah has been getting to know Deji Adeniyi as it seems that the fan favourite couple may not be as solid as viewers thought. Congrats hun! The now-infamous Casa Amor was first introduced to Love Island in the third series and shakes things up. Pictured: Shaughna Phillips during Casa Amor recoupling But Gemma Owen and Luca Bish have remained loyal to each other, though there could be an argument as Luca said if Gemma shared a bed with another boy that he would be 'done' as he has been sleeping on the daybed. And Paige Thorne was seen in tears during Tuesday night's episode after growing confused after being told that she likes Jacques O'Neill more than he likes her, while he has been seen getting to know other girls to 'test' their connection. As things heat up during this year's instalment of Casa Amor and cheeky kisses are shared, MailOnline looks back at the most dramatic moments from the holiday villa since its introduction. CONGRATS HUN! SHAUGHNA LEFT GOBSMACKED AFTER CALLUM RECOUPLES WITH BOMBSHELL MOLLY Shaughna Phillips reaction when Callum Jones re-entered the villa with bombshell Molly Smith on his arm has become one of the most infamous Love Island moments of all time. Shaughna's heartache was apparent as she had spent days pining for Callum since his sudden departure just days earlier. Moments before his re-entry, Shaughna had claimed she was 'hopeful' that he would surprise her, and come back single. Drama: Shaughna Phillips reaction when Callum Jones re-entered the villa with bombshell Molly Smith on his arm has become one of the most infamous Love Island moments of all time Speaking as she made her decision before knowing the outcome of Callum's choice, Shaughna said: 'I'm nervous. I'm preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. I don't have much faith. 'The past few days have definitely been an eye opener. They've definitely made me realise that I probably moan at him way too much and I just miss having him around. So I do want him back, preferably on his own. 'He had his loyalty tested with Eve, he had his loyalty tested a little bit with Rebecca, my luck's been good up until here, so I'm hoping that it's still there.' But it was not to be as the scaffolder sheepishly returned and joined host Laura Whitmore at the fire pit with another girl. New couple: When asked how she felt about Callum recoupling with Molly (both pictured), Shaughna then delivered her now-iconic line: 'Congrats hun' This left the original female Islanders aghast, with Paige the most furious, stating 'What the f**k?' loudly. 'I went to Casa Amor, I had the chance to speak to Molly and it brought out a side to me I didn't think I had. The way I felt about her after two, three days just clarified it to be honest,' Callum said upon his reentry. When asked how she felt about the recoupling, Shaughna then delivered her now-iconic line: 'Congrats hun.' MILLIE LEFT IN TEARS AFTER LILLIE EXPOSED HER FLING WITH LIAM IN SHOCK RECOUPLING TWIST Millie Court was over the moon when Liam Reardon returned from Casa Amor alone to recouple with her, but her mood was quickly changed when his secret fling was revealed. New girl Lillie Haynes, 22, appeared at the fire pit and explained she'd shared kisses outside of challenges and a bed with the hunk during the 'lads holiday', which saw him spend four days apart from Millie. Tension: Millie Court was over the moon when Liam Reardon returned from Casa Amor alone to recouple with her, but her mood was quickly changed when his secret fling was revealed Revelation: New girl Lillie Haynes, 22, appeared at the fire pit and explained she'd shared kisses outside of challenges and a bed with the hunk during the 'lads holiday' Asked how she was feeling about not being picked by host Laura Whitmore, a very unimpressed Lillie said: 'I felt like we had a good connection in there. 'I feel like it was very reciprocated, very 50/50 and it's really surprising now. The actions were pretty equal, we shared a bed and kissed outside of the challenges.' The OG girls all looked confused at the revelations, with them unable to hide their shock when Lillie announced that the boy she had the connection was with Liam. Millie quickly slammed her partner, saying: 'F**k off, are you joking? Kissing outside a challenge? That's f*****g disgusting.' In a desperate attempt to salvage the situation Liam tried to explain himself and even attempted to blame Lillie saying she'd 'closed herself off from the other boys'. Disloyal: Millie quickly slammed her partner, saying: 'F**k off, are you joking? Kissing outside a challenge? That's f*****g disgusting' Once the recoupling was called to an end - and Laura made her exit from the villa - the girls retreated to the swing for a chat. Millie told them that she felt 'mugged off' especially after gushing over Liam just moments before his disloyalty was revealed. She said: 'I sat there so happy and then it just switched the happiest I'd been in days to crying. Knew I shouldn't have trusted him. He's fake. 'He obviously didn't think what we had was good enough.' In a real emotional rollercoaster, Millie had just moments before revealed that she'd been cheated on before by an ex partner on a lads holiday. The couple later reunited and went on to win the series. FAYE RECOUPLES WITH SAM AFTER SEEING A POSTCARD OF TEDDY KISSING CLARISSE - ONLY TO FIND OUT HE HAD STAYED LOYAL On series seven of Love Island, Faye Winter chose to re-couple with newcomer Sam after she saw a postcard earlier in the week which showed Teddy Soares locking lips with Clarisse Juliette. But Faye later discovered that the smooch had taken place during a game of truth or dare and Teddy had actually remained faithful to Faye during Casa Amor and walked back in solo. Moving on: Faye Winter chose to re-couple with Sam after she saw a postcard earlier in the week which showed Teddy Soares locking lips with Clarisse Juliette Fans were left devastated after seeing Teddy talk to Faye's stuffed animal Milo in Casa Amor in a sweet moment, before finding out Faye had recoupled with another boy. During the recoupling, the original villa boys were seen looking confused - particularly Jake Cornish who was seen frowning - as Faye implied that Teddy had been unfaithful. Speaking about her decision, Faye said: 'Things change in here very quickly, so people's true colours come out, and pictures say a thousand words. 'As we all know, I was taking my time to let my guard down, and the night before he left, I let it down and then he was gone. Recoupling: But Faye (pictured with Sam during the recoupling) later discovered that the smooch had taken place during a game of truth or dare 'Once I received the postcard, the girl I'd been working so hard on was just closed off again.' Upon returning to the villa, Teddy admitted he was 'disappointed' in Faye's decision, but had followed his 'heart' in coming back to the main villa alone. As they cleared things up in a later chat, Faye burst into tears as she told Teddy how difficult it had been for her to trust him knowing that he'd kissed someone else. She had revealed that the villa had received a postcard, showing him kiss another girl, which had sparked her decision to get to know Sam. Shocked: As they cleared things up in a later chat, Faye burst into tears as she told Teddy how difficult it had been for her to trust him knowing that he'd kissed someone else Although he did kiss another girl, it was during a game of truth or dare, with Faye also kissing the new boys while doing the challenges. Telling Teddy that she had just 'let her guard down' with him, Teddy told her: 'You're not the only one not who let their guard down' before pulling her in for a hug. The pair later reunited and went on to make the final. DANI DYER LEFT IN TEARS AFTER BEING SHOWN FOOTAGE OF JACK'S EX ENTERING CASA AMOR Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham were considered to be one of the strongest couples from the 2018 series of Love Island after coupling up on day one. But Casa Amor saw things get dramatic for the couple after the girls in the main villa were sent footage of what the boys had been up to in Casa Amor. Tears:Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham were considered to be one of the strongest couples from the 2018 series of Love Island but Dani became emotional after seeing Casa Amor footage Georgia Steel received the text, which read: 'Girls you have been sent a Villa story from the boys in Casa Amor.' The story showed Jack's reaction to his ex-girlfriend Ellie Jones arriving as a bombshell in Casa Amor, with Dani being left in tears at the moment. He was seen looking shocked and saying: 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! That's the bird I was seeing before I came in here, I was seeing her before I came in here.' A distraught Dani said through tears: 'It always happens to me that as soon as I'm happy with something, something happens to me! It's like I'm not allowed to be happy, it's such b*****t.' Upset: The story showed Jack's reaction to his ex-girlfriend Ellie Jones arriving as a bombshell in Casa Amor, with Dani being left in tears at the moment Receiving little comfort in her pals' positive affirmations, she made a hasty retreat to the Beach Hut, where she broke down in floods of tears in an emotional moment. But in the end, Dani had nothing to worry about as Jack had been remaining loyal to her and even sleeping on the daybed, despite the arrival of his ex. 'I WAS COMING BACK HERE TO TELL YOU I LOVED YOU!': AMY LEFT DEVASTATED AFTER LEARNING CURTIS WANTED TO RECOUPLE WITH JOURDAN Amy Hart and Curtis Pritchard quickly bonded on series five of Love Island and became 'half' boyfriend and girlfriend early on, with the pair seeming to grow closer as time went on. But after the trials of Casa Amor, Curtis shocked his fellow Islanders as he admitted he had been 'lying' to himself after meeting another girl before deciding to stay single when Amy returned from Casa Amor - unaware of his conflicting speech. Seeing her partner single, Amy was over the moon to be reunited as a couple, with the other Islanders appearing awkward and upset following Curtis's comments. Row: Amy Hart and Curtis Pritchard quickly bonded on series five of Love Island and became 'half' boyfriend and girlfriend early on before he strayed in Casa Amor After they sat down together, Curtis whispered to Amy: 'We need to talk later though.' In an explosive row, Curtis then admitted to Amy that he had planned to recouple with Jourdan despite having only two conversations with her, but stayed single after she said she wouldn't couple up with him. Amy raged: 'I fell in love with you, and I get back to this. I never thought you'd do this to me, you're the perfect man after all, you're f**king not! Do you know how worthless this makes me feel? 'To know that you didn't like me enough and didn't respect me enough to be able to resist.' Voicing her fury at his actions, she said: 'I was coming back here to tell you that I loved you!' Admission: In an explosive row, Curtis told Amy he had planned to recouple with Jourdan despite having only two conversations with her, but stayed single after she said no to his plans Later in the week, Curtis then shockingly dumped Amy after telling her that he 'couldn't promise' that his head wouldn't be turned again. Amy said: 'You were willing to throw away weeks for two chats, she must be bloody special, even if you think you like me you don't, that breaks my heart.' MICHAEL SHOCKED AMBER AFTER HE RECOUPLED WITH JOANNA AND LEFT HER SINGLE Another shocking Casa Amor recoupling twist saw Michael Griffiths pair up with Joanna Chimonides, leaving his former partner Amber Gill single. In his recoupling speech before Amber returned from Casa Amor, Michael said he had 'bitten his tongue' with Amber but that Joanna had brought out a new side to him. Furious: Another shocking Casa Amor recoupling twist saw Michael Griffiths pair up with Joanna Chimonides, leaving his former partner Amber Gill single Michael said: 'The last few days have been quite interesting, they've opened my mind to a few things. I've come to the realisation that I haven't been true to myself. 'I've bitten my tongue when I wouldn't usually. She's brought out the Michael that everyone knows and loves, she's stunning and funny. She doesn't take herself to serious. I want to couple up with Joanna.' Seconds later, Amber looked shocked as she walked into the main villa alone, only to see her love interest with another girl. Their romance hadn't been without drama though even before Casa Amor, with Michael previously branding outspoken Amber 'childish' during a series of rows. New interest: Seconds later, Amber looked shocked as she walked into the main villa alone, only to see her love interest with Joanna The incident took place when Amber walked past Maura after he went on a date with her, with Maura then saying that she hadn't had the best reception from Amber. Michael fumed: 'F**k this, I can't be dealing with childish girls.' Amber then walked over and laughed as she insisted she was just going to greet Elma first, before saying 'f**king hell'. They became embroiled in a tense row which saw Michael accuse Amber of being 'childish' in extremely tense scenes that came soon before Casa Amor. MOLLY BROKE DOWN IN FLOODS OF RELIEVED TEARS AFTER FINDING TOMMY STAYED SINGLE Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury were one of the strongest couples of Love Island series five before they were separated for a week during Casa Amor. But they proved distance makes the heart grow fonder when they enjoyed an emotional reunion during the dramatic post-Casa Amor recoupling. Boxer Tommy, who held onto Molly-Mae's teddy bear in his hand, gushed over their budding romance, saying: 'What we have is so special, it would be a shame to throw it away. I've done everything I can, so let's see if she's done her part.' Smitten: Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury were one of the strongest couples of Love Island series five before they were separated for a week during Casa Amor Emotional: Serving as the only couple who remained faithful to each other during their time apart, the pair couldn't contain their delight as they reunited Serving as the only couple who remained faithful to each other during their time apart, the pair couldn't contain their delight as they reunited. Molly-Mae broke down in floods of tears after returning to the main villa and seeing Tommy waiting for her as she was delighted they could continue their romance. The pair continued their relationship and went on to place as runners-up in the final of the series. AMBER LEFT SHOCKED AFTER SEEING KEM KISSING ANOTHER GIRL AS THEY RECEIVE A NOW-NOTORIOUS POSTCARD The notorious postcard was introduced to Love Island in its third series, with the girls receiving pictures showing what the boys had been up to at Casa Amor. The postcard was dropped under the door of the main villa and was picked up by a gobsmacked Montana Brown, who rushed out to show the other girls. Shock: The notorious postcard was introduced to Love Island in its third series, with the girls receiving pictures showing what the boys had been up to at Casa Amor The postcard included a picture of Kem Cetinay kissing another girl while away from Amber Davies and Chris Hughes sleeping in a bed with another woman while coupled up with Olivia Attwood. Amber was seen breaking down in floods of tears and admitting that she was 'absolutely gutted' after the revelation. Both Amber and Kem recoupled with other people in a dramatic recoupling showdown, when she admitted she was devastated to see the postcard, much to the confusion of the original boys who were unaware of the delivery. Despite the Casa Amor setback, the couple later reunited and went on to win the series. She was at several Paris Fashion Week shows including Dior and ALAIA. And following her jaunt to the French capital, Elle Macpherson was seen arriving at the Eurostar terminal at Kings Cross St Pancras in London on Wednesday. The supermodel, 58, looked effortlessly cool in a red suede jacket and white jeans, which were embroidered with a gold cross print. Here she comes! Elle Macpherson was seen arriving at the Eurostar terminal at Kings Cross St Pancras in London on Wednesday morning She styled her daytime attire with a white T-shirt and printed silk scarf, while she also added a pair of studded beige Birkenstocks. Elle carried her essentials in a small black padded Christian Dior bag, which featured gold lettering and a chain strap. The mother of two finished her outfit with a pair of black aviator sunglasses and a selection of gold jewellery. Strolling: The supermodel, 58, looked effortlessly cool in a red suede jacket and white jeans, which were embroidered with a gold cross print Details: The mother of two finished her outfit with a pair of black aviator sunglasses and a selection of gold jewellery Elle was greeted by her chauffeur from H.R Carriages of Mayfair and was whisked off in a black Mercedes limousine as she arrived back in UK. On Monday, Elle joined A-listers Naomi Watts and Zoe Saldana at the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Dior show. She also took a front row seat at the ALAIA presentation. Stepping out: She styled her daytime attire with a white T-shirt and printed silk scarf, while she also added a pair of studded beige Birkenstocks Feeling good: Elle appeared in high spirits as she flashed a smile upon arrival Although she put on several dazzling displays while in Paris, Elle did confuse fans when she uploaded a picture of herself which appeared to have been doctored. The Instagram photo shows the mother-of-two posing in a luxurious hallway inside the Hotel Plaza Athenee Paris, where she appeared to have been staying. Clad in a long-sleeved black gown, Elle posed in a large gilded mirror with her back slightly turned. Helping hand: Elle was greeted by her chauffeur from H.R Carriages of Mayfair and was whisked off in a black Mercedes limousine as she arrived back in UK Something's not right! Although she put on several dazzling displays while in Paris, Elle did confuse fans when she uploaded a picture of herself which appeared to have been doctored However, a closer look at the image suggests it may have been doctored, as a portion of the wall reflected inside the mirror appears to be warped. While everything else in the mirror appeared normal, the small area behind Elle's back and derriere appears to bend unnaturally towards the right - a tell-tale sign that the image has been manipulated. The most common use of the liquify tool is to change a person's shape, and in this case would have given Elle a slimmer, more curved waist. Wheely good! The chauffeur assisted Elle with her several bags Lot of luggage! Elle had a large suitcase, a small suitcase and two other bags However - this 'bending effect' could simply be an optical illusion caused by a fault in the mirror's surface. Elle's video was taken just moments before she made a glamorous appearance alongside Naomi Campbell and French filmmaker Farida Khelfa at Paris Fashion Week. The trio, who are long-time friends, attended the Alaia runway show, posing for an Instagram snap to commemorate the reunion. Easy does it! She accompanied the driver back to his limousine Careful! Elle kept hold of one of the bags as she walked beside the driver Hours later, the Australian native shared a series of images from her appearance at the Dior show the evening prior. She posed alongside her 24-year-old son Flynn at the prestigious event in photos posted to Instagram. However, there appeared to be a marked difference between images of the beauty taken outside, and some of the images she shared from indoors. Night out: The Australian native shared a series of images from her appearance at the Dior show the evening prior What's going on? Elle's natural freckles and frown lines appeared erased and her visage flawless and porcelain in some photos from Instagram (right). She is seen on the left with a more natural appearance Elle's natural freckles and frown lines appeared erased, her visage flawless and porcelain. Her appearance also differed in images taken by photographers on the evening, compared to those she posted herself. She could have used a beauty app like Facetune, which irons out the features for a perfect look, or an Instagram filter. Alternatively, the differing lighting conditions could have simply been more flattering indoors. Family affair: Elle posed alongside her 24-year-old son Flynn (centre) at the prestigious event in photos posted to Instagram A visitor takes a look at the Album of Paintings by Joseon-era painter Jeong Seon (1676-1759) at the National Palace Museum in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap About 40 cultural heritage items retrieved from overseas collectors on display By Kwak Yeon-soo A lidded bowl decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay, a golden royal seal and a suit of cotton armor worn by a Korean soldier of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), are among the many other returned cultural treasures that will be on display at the National Palace Museum of Korea, starting this Thursday. Titled "Treasures of Ours Treasured by Others: Journey of Korean Cultural Heritage," the special exhibition features some 40 cultural artifacts that had been removed from the country and have been since reclaimed via auctions and other means by the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, established in July 2012 under the Cultural Heritage Administration. "We are happy to share our accomplishments over the course of 10 years. Since 2013, the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation has supported the repatriation of 784 cultural properties from six countries," Foundation Secretary General Kim Kae-sik said during a press conference for the exhibition at the museum, Wednesday. According to the foundation, there are still around 214,208 relics scattered across 25 different countries, including Japan, the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany and China. Numerous items of Korean cultural heritage were taken out of the country under various circumstances. Every time the country underwent a national upheaval, cultural properties were taken out of the country illegally. However, large quantities of cultural heritage items were also brought back through legal purchases, donations, diplomatic gifts and exports. The exhibition is comprised of three sections. The first section, titled, "Korean Cultural Heritage in Overseas Collections," explores the diverse routes through which Korean cultural heritage objects were sent abroad through examples of relics that have been retrieved. They include the Odaesan Copy of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which was stolen during the Japanese colonial occupation (1910-45) and was repatriated in 2006 through the combined efforts of the government and the private sector. The White Porcelain Tube-Shaped Bottle with Design in Copper Underglaze was taken out of the country by an American collector and was purchased and returned to Korea in 2022. A visitor looks at a box with mother-of-pearl inlay at the National Palace Museum in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap Richard Gere looked in good spirits as he met the Dalai Lama at an event to mark his 87th birthday in Dharmsala, India on Wednesday. The actor, 72, was seen shaking hands with the Buddhist spiritual leader after he inaguarated a museum containing the archives of the institution of the Dalai Lama. Richard cut a dapper figure for the event as he donned a black blazer and trousers along with a light blue shirt. Honour: Richard Gere looked in good spirits as he met the Dalai Lama at an event to mark his 87th birthday in Dharmsala, India on Wednesday The film star also wore a bright red ribbon around his neck and sported a face mask as he spoke with other guests at the event. Richard has long been interested in Buddhism and previously studded Zen Buddhism before travelling to India where he met many Tibetan monks and lamas. He has met the Dalai Lama in the past and has previously referred to as 'his holiness'. In an interview with Lion's Roar, Richard said of meeting him: 'That first meeting took place in Dharmsala in a room where I see him quite often now. I can't say that the feeling has changed drastically. Event: The actor, 72, was seen shaking hands with the Buddhist spiritual leader after he inaguarated a museum containing the archives of the institution of the Dalai Lama Smart: Richard cut a dapper figure for the event as he donned a black blazer and trousers along with a light blue shirt Passion: Richard has long been interested in Buddhism and previously studded Zen Buddhism before travelling to India where he met many Tibetan monks and lamas 'I am still incredibly nervous and project all kinds of things on him, which he's used to at this point. He cuts through all that stuff very quickly, because his vows are so powerful, so all-encompassing, that he is very effective and skillful at getting to the point. 'Because the only reason anyone would want to see him is that they want to remove suffering from their consciousness.' Several celebrities have met the Dalai Lama over the years including the likes of Lady Gaga, Sharon Stone and Eva Longoria. Gaga met the spirtitual leader at an event in Indianopolis in 2016 where he spoke to US Mayors about kindness. Meanwhile, Sharon Stone, Eva Longoria, Jeremy Renner and Lupita N'yongo met him at The Lourdes Foundation Leadership in the 21st Century event in Los Angeles in 2014. A-lister: Several celebrities have met the Dalai Lama over the years including the likes of Lady Gaga (pictured in 2016) Stars: Eva Longoria, Jeremy Renner and Lupita N'yongo met him at The Lourdes Foundation Leadership in the 21st Century event in Los Angeles in 2014 Michael Caine ditched his walking stick for a frame as he headed out with his wife Shakira in London on Wednesday, just weeks after undergoing major surgery. The actor, 89, enlisted the help of a minder as he exited his car and headed out into the capital. Michael has altered between using a walking stick and a frame in public since 2018 after a nasty fall on ice left him with a broken ankle. Heading out: Michael Caine, 89, ditched his walking stick for a frame as he headed out with his wife Shakira in London on Wednesday Michael sported a casual blue shirt and a black trousers as he headed out with the assistance of a minder. He was followed close behind by his wife Shakira, who donned a white shirt and a pale blue jumper as she assisted by pulling along the frame beside him. It comes after his wife confirmed in May that Michael had undergone a major operation at a London hospital. 'He had a back operation quite recently,' she told the Daily Mail at the private view of Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection, at Bonhams auction house. 'He had spinal stenosis.' Outing: The actor was accompanied by his spouse as he emerged from a car in the capital Low-key: Michael sported a casual blue shirt and a black trousers as he headed out with the assistance of a minder Relaxed: He was followed close behind by his wife Shakira, who donned a white shirt and a pale blue jumper as she assisted by pulling along the frame beside him She described her husband as a 'strong man' as she confirmed that he was doing 'great' and was 'recovering' following the operation. The Guyanese former model added: 'The operation was fantastic. He'll be up and dancing again soon.' Spinal stenosis is a condition that narrows the spinal canal and can cause back and leg pain. Surgery is usually recommended only when non-surgical treatments have not been effective. In October, Michael announced that he would likely retire from acting as he described his movie Best Sellers co-starring Aubrey Plaza as 'my last part, really'. On the mend: It comes after his wife confirmed in May that Michael had undergone a major operation at a London hospital Strong: She described her husband as a 'strong man' as she confirmed that he was doing 'great' and was 'recovering' following the operation Progress: The Guyanese former model added: 'The operation was fantastic. He'll be up and dancing again soon' He noted that he has limited mobility and added: 'There's not exactly scripts pouring in for a leading man that's 88, you know?' But it seems that the actor is yet to star in other projects, as he is set to take part in Czech action historical drama film Medieval, while it is believed he will reprise his role as Arthur Tressler in Now You See Me 3. Sir Michael, who began acting in 1953 when he took a job at a repertory company in West Sussex, said: 'I haven't worked for two years and I have a spine problem which affects my legs so I can't walk very well'. Further he pointed to the memoirs he has been publishing over the past several years - The Elephant In Hollywood in 2010 and Blowing The Bloody Doors Off in 2018. 'And I also wrote a book, a couple of books which were published and were successful so I'm now not an actor - I'm a writer,' he said. Brad Pitt has detailed his struggle with a rare 'face blindness' condition - admitting that 'nobody believes' him when he talks about it. The actor, 58, believes he suffers from prosopagnosia, an inability to recognize faces that usually affects the person for most or all of their life. Many people with the condition can't even recognize family members, partners or friends and cope by using alternative ways to recognize people, such as remembering the way they walk, or their hairstyle, voice or clothing. While Brad has not been formally diagnosed with the condition he has long believed himself to be a sufferer and admitted he worries that it's led to people thinking he's remote or aloof around people. He told GQ magazine: 'Nobody believes me! I wanna meet another [person with the prosopagnosia].' Struggles: Brad Pitt has detailed his struggle with a rare 'face blindness' condition - admitting that 'nobody believes' him when he talks about it Brad previously spoke about his battle with the condition in 2013, telling Esquire: 'So many people hate me because they think I'm disrespecting them. 'Every now and then, someone will give me context, and I'll say, "Thank you for helping me." But I p**s more people off.' He continued: 'You get this thing, like, "you're being egotistical. You're being conceited." But it's a mystery to me, man. 'I can't grasp a face, and yet I come from such a design/aesthetic point of view. I am going to get it tested.' In 2017 a study has found that children who were considered underweight when they were born are poorer at recognizing faces when they are older. Researchers believe having a low weight at birth is linked to impairments in the way parts of the brain develop, including those areas that deal with visual information. Aloof: Brad (pictured in 2016) has long believed himself to be a sufferer and admitted he worries that it's led to people thinking he's remote or aloof around people What is prosopagnosia? Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, is a disorder of face perception where the ability to recognize faces is impaired, while the ability to recognize other objects may be relatively intact. The term originally referred to a condition following acute brain damage. About two per cent of the population suffer from some sort of facial blindness Few successful therapies have so far been developed for affected people, although individuals often learn to use 'piecemeal' or 'feature by feature' recognition strategies. This may involve secondary clues such as clothing, gait, hair color, body shape, and voice. Because the face seems to function as an important identifying feature in memory, it can also be difficult for people with this condition to keep track of information about people, and socialize normally with others. Advertisement About 2.5 per cent of the population is thought to be affected to some degree, with comedian Stephen Fry and former Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt among those who have admitted suffering from face blindness. Elsewhere in his GQ interview, Brad gave a bleak assessment of the human condition as he moves on from the collapse of his five year marriage to actress Angelina Jolie. The Hollywood star embraced a life of abstinence that began shortly after their divorce was initiated in 2016, and explained his newfound positivity is tempered by the belief that all of us experience wrenching heartache at some point in our lives. 'I think all our hearts are broken,' he said. 'I always felt very alone in my life, alone growing up as a kid, alone even out here, and its really not till recently that I have had a greater embrace of my friends and family. 'Whats that line, it was either Rilke or Einstein, believe it or not, but it was something about when you can walk with the paradox, when you carry real pain and real joy simultaneously, this is maturity, this is growth.' Despite the overriding sense of isolation, he admitted to finding community and friendship through his decision to give up alcohol in 2016. Newly divorced, the actor spent 18-months attending regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings while embracing the group's core principles of abstinence from all mind altering substances. 'I had a really cool mens group here that was really private and selective, so it was safe,' he explained. 'Because Id seen things of other people who had been recorded while they were spilling their guts, and thats just atrocious to me.' Exes: Elsewhere in his GQ interview, Brad gave a bleak assessment of the human condition as he moves on from the collapse of his five year marriage to actress Angelina Jolie (pictured in 2007) Brad, a lifelong smoker, also made the decision to cut cigarettes out of his life, opting instead to substitute tobacco with nicotine flavoured gum. 'I dont have that ability to do just one or two a day,' he said of his past smoking habit. 'Its not in my makeup. Im all in. And Im going to drive into the ground. Ive lost my privileges.' However a sense of impending doom is ever-present, and Pitt admits he is frequently tortured by the same recurring dream, in which he is brutally stabbed. 'For a solid four or five years there, the most predominant dream I would experience would be getting jumped and stabbed,' he explained in an email to GQ. 'And I would awake in a terror. I didnt understand why it/they would want to hurt me. This stopped a year or two ago only when I started going straight back into the dream and asking simply why?' Returning Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has revealed that Jodie Whittaker's farewell to the series is 'full of surprises.' The writer is set to return to the sci-fi series for its 60th Anniversary in 2023, but first viewers will bid farewell to Jodie in a 90-minute special penned by current boss Chris Chibnall that will air in October. Speaking on Tuesday's The One Show, Russell revealed he's already watched the 'epic' episode that will see Jodie regenerate into the next incarnation of The Doctor, with the episode set to air in October as part of BBC's Centenerary celebrations. Insight: Returning Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has revealed that Jodie Whittaker's farewell to the series is 'full of surprises' During the interview, hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas tried to grill Russell on details about Who's Diamond Anniversary next year, but he remained tight-lipped. Instead, the It's A Sin writer offered hints of what fans can expect from Chibnall's swan song, which will see the return of iconic villain The Master Sacha Dhawan as well as classic companions Ace (Sophie Aldred) and Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding). He said: 'Has anyone ever come on The One Show and given away a spoiler? I can't say, honestly, because what is coming up in October, this year, is Jodie Whittaker's farewell. So, I feel like I'm upstaging it slightly.' Not long now! The writer revealed he's already watched the 'epic' 90-minute episode that will see Jodie regenerate into the next incarnation, ahead of its broadcast in October Not yet! During the interview, hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas tried to grill Russell on details about Who's 60th Anniversary next year, but he remained tight-lipped Hints: The It's A Sin writer will return to the show in 2023, after the broadcast of the Centenary Special, which will be the swan song for current showrunner Chris Chibnall 'Love Jodie, and I just saw the finished version of that two days ago. It's a 90-minute epic, it's fantastic. So, that is gorgeous with lots of surprises and I'm going quiet!' Russell also briefly touched on his plans for Who's big anniversary next year, which will see the return of fan favourites David Tennant and Catherine Tate as the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble respectively. Neil Patrick Harris, who starred in Russell's acclaimed drama It's A Sin, has also joined the cast, alongside Heartstopper's Yasmin Finney. No more! Russell said: 'Love Jodie, and I just saw the finished version of that two days ago. It's a 90-minute epic, it's fantastic. So, that is gorgeous with lots of surprises and I'm going quiet!' Anticipated: It's already been confirmed that the special will see the return of classic companions Tegan (right) and Ace (left) Chibnall has penned Jodie's epic concluding episode after taking over as Who's showrunner in 2017, previously hinting that Ace and Tegan will be 'helping the Doctor fight on three fronts, against her deadliest enemies: the Master, Daleks and Cybermen, in one huge story.' An air date for the episode is yet to be confirmed, but it is expected to air around the BBC's 100th Anniversary, which falls on 18th October. Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa is set to take over from Jodie as the next incarnation of The Doctor, though it remains to be seen whether his first scenes will air as part of the 60th Anniversary. The One Show airs weekdays on BBC One. She's one of the top models in the business. And Karlie Kloss proved why she's been so successful as she posed up a storm alongside the equally talented Carla Bruni at the David Yurman Paris Flagship Grand Opening on Tuesday. Taking place at Paris' famous Louvre Museum, the guests were looking picture perfect as they milled around together. Delightful duo: Karlie Kloss dazzles in a champagne satin gown as she joined glamorous Carla Bruni at the David Yurman Paris Flagship Grand Opening on Tuesday in Paris Karlie, 29, looked sensational as she slipped her lithe frame into a champagne slip gown which skimmed over her slender curves. The midi dress featured a thigh high split to flash her toned pins and expose a pair of strappy black heels. Carla, 54, turned heads as she attended in a figure-hugging little black dress that highlighted her phenomenal figure. Wow: Karlie, 29, looked sensational as she slipped her lithe frame into a champagne slip gown which skimmed over her slender curves Legs eleven: The midi dress featured a thigh high split to flash her toned pins and expose a pair of strappy black heels (pictured with Derek Blasberg) The former French First Lady added to the glamour by wearing a dazzling gold necklace with a striking emerald stone that complemented her tanned complexion. The pair were in good company at the swanky soiree, which was also attended by the likes of Olivia Palermo, Coco Rocha and Clemence Poesy. The outing comes after Karlie recently gushed about the 'profound experience' of having a child during an appearance on Today. Stunning: Taking place at Paris' famous Louvre Museum, the guests were looking picture perfect as they milled around together Wow: Carla, 54, turned heads as she attended in a figure-hugging little black dress that highlighted her phenomenal figure Glam: The former French First Lady added to the glamour by wearing a dazzling gold necklace with a striking emerald stone that complemented her tanned complexion 'In the blink of an eye my baby is one,' the model said of her baby boy in March on Instagram. 'Becoming a mama has been the greatest joy of my life, I have never grown more as an individual or loved more deeply. Levi, thank you for choosing us.' 'Did you know the moment Levi was placed in your arms or did it take a minute to fall in love? What was it like for you?' Hoda Kotb asked her. The star said she immediately identified with every parent out there after giving birth to her child. Glamorous guests: The pair were in good company at the swanky soiree, which was also attended by the likes of Taylor Hill and Coco Rocha (pictured) Golden girl: Taylor turned heads in a sequinned jumpsuit with a gold hemmed flare and a dramatic feathered bodice Beautiful in black: Clemence Poesy (left) nailed androgynous chic in a trouser suit while Anna Dello Russo (right) dazzled in a strapless sequinned gown Two's company: Debby Ryan looked stylish in a khaki jumpsuit as she cosied up to Olivia Palermo for snaps outside Stunning: Olivia wowed in a billowing gown with a feathered trim along the cape and sleeves (pictured with George Cortina) Dressed to impress: Lady Amelia Windsor (left) looked radiant in a blush pink midi dress while Carolyn Murphy opted for an embellished little black dress Making a statement: Stylist Law Roach donned a black suit with a pair of platform heeled boots Fantastic four: Carolyn Murphy, Derek Blasberg, Camille Rowe and George Cortin looked great 'The moment he was placed on my arms I literally cry at commercials now, so I might cry right now I just had this moment of, "Now, every woman who has a child, every parent, goes through this." And it's just the most profound experience that I had no idea [about] until having a kid,' she said. Karlie said that now her life and priorities have changed since becoming a mother. 'Everything changes,' she said. 'I think the last few years have changed us as well but becoming a mom? I have become, first of all, so much more efficient with my time. I'm actually on time everywhere now. 'And I'm always a multitasker, you know me, I'm doing a thousand things. But I think priorities just changed,' she said. Striking: Olivia looked sensational as she posed against the backdrop of the night sky Effortlessly chic: Kelsey Asbille (left) dazzled in a black slip dress with a mesh panel while Camille Rowe looked stylish in a jumpsuit with a sequinned bodice She also discussed her coding camp for girls, Koding With Klossy. 'I grew up in a house of all girls and I have parents who helped us realize we can do anything that we set our mind to despite our gender or anything,' she said of what compelled her to begin coding. 'And I just was so infuriated by the fact that there weren't women in these industries at leadership levels, or at even equal representation,' she told Hoda. 'And that's what we really try and do, is create a space that is inclusive, and creative, and fun to learn how to code. And it's all for free.' Karlie shares her son with her husband, businessman and investor Joshua whom she has been in a relationship with since 2012. Working it: Coco Rocha looked incredible in a black jumpsuit with a sexy sheer bodice Loving life: Henry Golding and Liv Lo looked in high spirits as they attended the party Gorgeous in green: Olivia Welch and Debby Ryan were sartorially in sync with their khaki looks Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope seemed to be forming a close connection before the girls were shipped off to Casa Amor and six new boys and girls were introduced. But their romance could be set to hit the rocks as Indiyah admits that she is torn between Dami and newcomer Adeniyi in scenes set to air on Wednesday's episode. Her revelation comes after Dami took new girl Summer Botwe to the terrace for a private smooch as his head appeared to be turning earlier in the week. Decisions: Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope's romance could be set to hit the rocks as Indiyah tells Deji Adeniyi (above) she is torn between him and Dami in scenes set to air on Wednesday In the upcoming episode, Indiyah pulls Deji for a chat to discuss their situation, and even speaks about the possibility of taking him back to the main villa with her. Deji admits his attraction to Indiyah as he says: 'I came in here with an open mind. Naturally I've gravitated more towards you. Not even just attraction, it's just on so many different levels. 'In the back of my mind I still can't help but think about the situation that you're in and obviously it does scare me because I do like you.' Indiyah then admits she does have a connection with Dami before saying that if she did take Deji back to the villa, then she would still want to get to know Dami too. Heating up: Her revelation comes after Dami took new girl Summer Botwe (both pictured) to the terrace for a private smooch as his head appeared to be turning earlier in the week 'Obviously I have a connection with Dami, there's not nothing there. But in the real world, I'm used to dating. It doesn't invalidate my feelings for anything,' she explains. 'Hypothetically speaking, if you were to come back to the villa with me I would have to have those conversations still with Dami.' Deji agrees with her and says that the 'ball is 100 per cent in your court' as he waits to find out what her decision will be. He adds: 'I don't want you to ever be in a situation where you feel pressured to do whatever. Do you know what I mean? The ball's 100% in your court.' And it appears viewers will not have to wait long to find out what Indiyah will do, as both villas receive a text telling them a recoupling looms and they need to decide whether to stay with their original couplings or change. Heads turning? Indiyah admits that she does have a connection with Dami (pictured) before saying that if she did take Deji to the villa, then she would still want to get to know Dami too After hearing the news, Paige says: 'I am one of those people that is a glass half full, I am actually really excited to go back just so I can see Jacques again.' Tasha says: 'Ok things are getting real now' While Dami admits: 'My head's fried, scrambled, whatever way you like your eggs. That's the way my head is right now. I'm scared.' It comes after Dami became embroiled in a tense row with Luca Bish, where he branded the fishmonger as 'fake'. Luca had called out their antics after Andrew Le Page and Davide Sanclimenti both shared snogs with newcomer Coco Lodge, while Dami also kissed Summer. Tensions: It comes after Dami became embroiled in a tense row with Luca Bish, where he branded the fishmonger as 'fake' However the night turned sour when the boys' actions led to Luca claiming Dami 'f***ed up' and now 'regrets it'. A defensive Dami retorted by calling Luca - who throughout Gemma Owen, 19, being away has remained steadfastly loyal - 'fake'. 'You say one thing and do another thing,' the Dublin native hit back, adding: 'I don't feel like I've done anything wrong...shut the f*** up...you're a child.' Luca replied that 'every boy here knows exactly how I feel about Gemma', calling out Dami's actions, but the senior microbiologist said he found him hypocritical. Dami then seemed to throw shade at his relationship with Gemma, adding: 'I don't need to hold the girl hostage just because I'm afraid of what she's gonna do.' Row: Luca was dubbed 'fake' by some of the boys after he called out their antics after Andrew and Davide both shared snogs with newcomer Coco, while Dami also kissed Summer 'I can let the girl be free and if she comes back to me, she comes back to me.' The conversation calmed down as Dami apologised for calling Luca fake but asked him to try and understand where he was coming from. Luca then added that he didn't mean to give off the impression that he was happy to have the girls gone and act like he was on higher moral ground later. 'I was more buzzing for you,' he told the boys. Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub. Episodes are available the following morning on BritBox. They've been enjoying a girls' trip in Paris for Haute Couture Fashion Week. And Kim Kardashian spent some more quality time with daughter North, nine, on Wednesday as they grabbed lunch together before heading to a show. Prior to arriving at the star-studded Balenciaga presentation the duo looked runway ready as they stopped off to sustain themselves. Bonding time: Kim Kardashian spent some more quality time with daughter North, nine, on Wednesday as they grabbed lunch together before heading to a show Kim, 41, exuded glamour as she donned a skintight velvet catsuit with a Bardot neckline. The Balenciaga garment highlighted her famous curves and tiny waist, even more accentuated following her staggering 21lbs weight loss. She completed the look by slicking her ice blonde locks into a topknot and donning a pair of white sunglasses. On the move: Prior to arriving at the star-studded Balenciaga presentation the duo looked runway ready as they stopped off to sustain themselves Dressed to impress: Kim, 41, exuded glamour as she donned a skintight velvet catsuit with a Bardot neckline By her side was mini fashionista North, who looked trendy in an slogan oversized jumper paired with distressed jeans. The adorable youngster also donned hard wedged Balenciaga crocs retailing at 675 and toted a micro handbag. Her look was finished off by a necklace spelling out her name and the Spanish fashion house's iconic large shades. Striking: The Balenciaga garment highlighted her famous curves and tiny waist, even more accentuated following her staggering 21lbs weight loss All about the accessories: She completed the look by slicking her ice blonde locks into a topknot and donning a pair of white sunglasses The pair were joined for lunch by Kim's friend Tracy Romulus and her 10-year-old daughter Ryan. After their girls' outing the group headed to the Balenciaga show, where they were also joined by Kim's mother Kris Jenner. Kim cut an elegant figure as she arrived to the star-studded event in a figure-hugging black dress with long sleeves and a high collar. Stepping out in style: By her side was mini fashionista North, who looked trendy in an slogan oversized jumper paired with distressed jeans Sweet: The adorable youngster also donned hard wedged Balenciaga crocs retailing at 675 and toted a micro handbag The item highlighted her recent weight loss, after revealing she had managed to drop even more pounds after her astonishing weight-loss journey for the Met Gala. Kim famously shed 16lbs in two weeks so that she could attend the Met Ball in the dress Marilyn Monroe wore to John F. Kennedy's birthday party in 1962. Marilyn herself had to be sewn into the gold frock, which she wore while seductively singing: 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President,' three months before her death. Stunning: After their girls' outing the group headed to the Balenciaga show, where Kim cut an elegant figure as she arrived to the star-studded event in a figure-hugging black dress While appearing on the Today show, Kim revealed that she had taken off a further 5lbs since the Met Gala, resulting in a total weight loss of 21lbs. She also denied allegations that she had damaged the Marilyn dress, noting that Ripley's Believe It Or Not!, which has the frock in its possession, took her side. 'Kim Kardashian wearing the "Happy Birthday" dress has been hotly contested, but the fact remains that she did not, in any way, damage the garment in the short amount of time it was worn at the Met Gala,' Ripley's said. Catching up: They were also joined by Kim's mother Kris Jenner, who donned a flowing black gown to attend the fashion show Kim also took a few slings and arrows online over her dramatic weight loss, but she defended her decision on the Today show, saying: 'Yeah, you know, I looked at it like a role.' She added: 'I really wanted to wear this dress. It was really important to me. It actually taught me a lot about my lifestyle and my health and since then, afterwards, I continued to eat really healthy. I am down 21lbs now.' Kim declared: 'I'm not trying to lose any more weight but I have more energy than ever. I cut out so much sugar, a lot of junk food I was eating - I didn't even realise it. A lot of fried foods. And I completely changed my lifestyle.' She is never afraid to make bold fashion choices. And on Wednesday, Christine Quinn showed off her slender frame in a wet look top and skin-tight leggings as she attended the Balenciaga runway show at Paris Fashion Week. The Selling Sunset star, 33, oozed confidence in the form-fitting ensemble, which she teamed with a pointed pair of stilettos to elongate the look. Bold: And on Wednesday, Christine Quinn, 33, showed off her slender frame in a wet look top and skin-tight leggings as she attended the Balenciaga runway show at Paris Fashion Week Christine completed her ensemble with a black backpack and a minimature silver cross body bag from the designer. Adding a final chic element to her look, the reality star opted to slick back her platinum tresses and shield her eyes with angular shades. Making the most of the fashion show in the French capital, Christine walked away with a large branded goodie bag. Edgy: The Selling Sunset star oozed confidence in the form-fitting ensemble, which she teamed with a pointed pair of stilettos to elongate the look Christine gave birth to her first child, a son named Christian Richard last year, and she's now looking to the future and sees herself having another baby with her husband Christian. In an interview with Us Weekly, Christine was asked if she has any plans for baby number two, and she replied: 'Absolutely. I want to have another child in the future.' She recently celebrated her little boy's birthday on May 15, and says she's enjoying her new life as a mum. Christine added: 'I think the overwhelming feeling of being a first-time mom is definitely something that no one is prepared for. I love being a mom. It's a really sacred special thing.' Book smart: Her new book is called How To Be A Boss B*tch and is about getting 'the life you want' The television personality also revealed she sees a lot of herself in her son, but she also sees aspects of her partner Christian too. Christine has been on 'Selling Sunset' since it launched back in 2019, but her future on the series now looks uncertain. The show is focused on glitzy estate agent company the Oppenheim Group, but she recently revealed she has 'terminated' her contract with the firm so she can focus on launching her own crypto real estate business, RealOpen. Christine said: 'I terminated my contract when the brokerage launched. I had to make a business decision that was for me, so I had to terminate the contract so I could move it over to my brokerage.' Advertisement Catwalk veteran Bella Hadid was joined by a host of famous faces as she stormed the Balenciaga show during Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week on Wednesday in the French capital. Bella, 25, was among the likes of Dua Lipa, Nicole Kidman and Kim Kardashian as they modelled the new collection for the luxury fashion house during the intimate presentation. The star-studded list of models will no doubt have drawn eyes to the show, as celebrities from across the globe flock to the city to attend the coveted fashion week. Fashion wrap: Catwalk veteran Bella Hadid was joined by a host of famous faces as she stormed the Balenciaga show during Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week on Wednesday in the French capital (L-R Bella, Dua Lipa, Nicole Kidman and Kim Kardashian) Stunning: No catwalk is quite the same without runway legend Naomi Campbell, who wowed in a regal black Tudor-style gown as she took her turn to walk the show Bella took to the runway in a strapless green gown which was corseted to the waist and then flowed out into a dramatic skirt, teamed with a pair of elegant evening gloves. The Vogue cover girl wore her brunette locks sleeked back into a neat bun and opted for a subtle make-up look with a slick of black winged liner to complete the ensemble. Dua, 26, wore a lemon yellow mini dress, which featured a dramatic train which followed her down the runway, matched a pair of opaque tights and pointed heels. Radiant: Gorgeous in green! Bella took to the runway in a strapless green gown which was corseted to the waist and then flowed out into a dramatic skirt, teamed with a pair of elegant evening gloves Glamour: Nicole also wore a pair of black gloves along with a light palette of makeup Beauty: Nicole Kidman donned a silver metallic off the shoulder dress with a dramatic train Pose: Nicole ensured all eyes were on her as she struck a dramatic pose with a white rose All eyes on her! Naomi's dress featured an incredible dramatic collar Model line up! The women posed holding up their tickets before taking to the runway Hot on their heels was Hollywood icon Nicole Kidman, who looked incredible in a one-shoulder silver gown which featured ruched detailing across the midriff. Her look was also teamed with a pair of the same black gloves as the other models and the exaggerated pointed stilettos seen in Dua's ensemble. Unlike the other stars, Nicole, 55, wore her strawberry blonde locks loose in a wavy style. Balenciaga muse Kim looked nothing short of sensational as she showcased her incredible figure in a form-fitting black gown, which completely covered her legs and arms. Runway: Dua added height to her frame with black heels, pairing them with matching tights Colourful: Dua Lipa turned heads in a bright yellow off the shoulder gown which she wore with black gloves Style: Christine Quinn donned a shimmering silver mini dress with a flowing train while Kim Kardashian wore a skintight black dress with a sweetheart neckline Star: Bella showed off her modelling skills as she posed with a white rose backstage at the show Sensational: The Vogue cover girl wore her brunette locks sleeked back into a neat bun for the show, while Kim sported a figure-hugging dress with a high leg slit No catwalk is quite the same without runway legend Naomi Campbell, who wowed in a regal black Tudor-style gown as she took her turn to walk the show. Naomi, 52, even mirrored a traditional royal walk as she clasped her hands together over her dramatic statement PVC skirt while making her way down the runway. Earlier in the day Kim, Bella and Emily Ratajkowski all looked incredible as they were seen arriving at the venue. Reality star Kim, 41, cut an elegant figure as she arrived to the star-studded event in a figure-hugging black dress with long sleeves. The garment also featured a high collar while Kim - who was joined by her daughter North West, nine - styled her platinum locks into an updo. Also sporting a pair of sunglasses, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star added to her outfit with a pair of silver oversized earrings. A-list: Bella, Dua, Nicole and Kim looked nothing short of sensational as they made their way down the runway Gorgeous in green! Bella's strapless garment featured a bow detailing along the neckline Runway star: Hot on her heels was Hollywood icon Nicole whose gown featured ruched detailing across the midriff Understated glam: Bella opted for a subtle make-up look with a slick of black winged liner to complete the ensemble Bella opted for a trendy look for the event as she arrived in a black mini dress that highlighted her toned pins. The fashion forward star also wore a sleeveless black jacket and added a casual touch to her outfit with a pair of black trainers and white socks. Styling her tresses into a sleek updo, Bella complimented her look with a black handbag and a pair of red-rimmed sunglasses. Stunning: Naomi's incredible garment was a clear standout during the fashion show Regal: Naomi, 52, even mirrored an old-age royal walk as she clasped her hands together over her dramatic statement skirt while making her way down the runway Veteran: Naomi ensured all eyes were on her as she made her way down the runway Eye-catching: Kim's skintight garment highlighted her famous curves Stunning: Christine also sported a pair of high heels and black tights as she took to the runway Rapper Offset sat in the front row at the show and shared several clips of it on his Instagram Stories, including a video of himself and fellow rapper Playboi Carti - who sported eerie clown-like make-up on the runway The rapper's video from inside the show revealed several participants walking down the runway in creepy face coverings Other models sported giant hoods that covered their faces and heads, while one catwalk star donned a lengthy wedding gown-esque design with a veil that went over her face Emily, 31, showcased her jaw-dropping figure in a black strapless top which she wore with a pair of flared trousers. The model cinched her waist with a matching belt and boosted her already statuesque frame with a pair of black heels. The star let her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders and accentuated her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup. Nicole Kidman turned heads at the star-studded event as she once again sported a pair of Balenciaga oversized sunglasses. Incredible: Earlier in the day Kim, Bella and Emily Ratajkowski all looked incredible as they were seen arriving at the venue Glamour: Kim cut an elegant figure as she arrived to the star-studded event in a figure-hugging black dress with long sleeves Stars: Nicole (left, right) turned heads at the star-studded event as she once again sported a pair of Balenciaga oversized sunglasses while Kris Jenner (centre) opted for a black long-sleeved gown Family: Kardashain matriarch Kris looked in good spirits as she posed for a snap with her granddaughter North West Attendees: Emily let her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders as she blew a kiss at the camera while Vogue editor Anna Wintour arrived in a white midi dress with a polka dot print Radiant: Kim donned large silver-frammed sunglasses and accentuated her natural beauty with a dash of makeup Adorable: North grinned from ear to ear as she was joined at the show by Ryan Romulus, the daughter of Kim's executive assistant Tracy Romulus The youngster looked cool and confident as she strolled into the event toting a mini Balenciaga bag and an iPhone with a String Ting chain dangling from it The Big Little Lies star, 55, was seeing wearing the bowtie-shaped covering while leaving a Balenciaga fitting on Tuesday. For the fashion show, Nicole sported a black blouse with a large bow detail and paired it with an aligator print skirt. The actress added height to her frame with a pair of black heels and styled her blonde locks into loose waves for the day. Meanwhile, Kris Jenner arrived to the event in a long-sleeved black gown with a high collar. The momager added to her outfit with a silver clutch bag along with a pair of sunglasses as she posed for the cameras ahead of the event. Kris was joined by her granddaughter North West who wore a long-sleeved black printed Balenciaga shirt along with a pair of ripped black jeans. Elegant: Kris added to her outfit with a silver clutch bag along with a pair of sunglasses as she posed for the cameras ahead of the event Model: Amber Valletta looked incredible as she went braless in a black blazer with a plunging neckline, pairing it with matching thigh-high leather boots Couple: Nicole was joined by her husband Keith Urban who sported a black shirt with jeans and a blazer Amazing: Dua Lipa's sister Rina arrived to the show in a black corset along with a pair of flared trousers North - who Kris' daughter Kim shares with her ex Kanye West - also wore a pair of black boots and large sunglasses while her locks were styled into braids. Anna Wintour was also in attendance at the show, arriving in a white long-sleeved midi dress with a black polka dot print. The garment featured a pleated detail while the Vogue editor also sported her trademark sunglasses and signature bob. Actress Michelle Yeoh caught the eye as she arrived to the show in ablack long-sleeved gow with a ruffled detail along the chest. Smart: Offset (left, right) and Steve McQueen (centre) both opted for all-black looks for the show Guests: Michelle Yeoh caught the eye as she arrived to the show in a black long-sleeved gow with a ruffled detail along the chest while Cici Bussey - a cousin of the Kardashian family - donned a green and yellow floral dress Sensational: Bella Hadid opted for a different look after the show as she departed in a white crop top and a pair of blue jeans with a black jacket Beauty: Bella was all smiles as she greeted dozens of fans who lined the streets of Paris during the event The Memoirs Of A Geisha star wore her locks in a poker straight style and drew further attention to her look with a pair of silver earrings. Amber Valletta looked incredible as she went braless in a black blazer with a plunging neckline, pairing it with matching thigh-high leather boots. The model carried a large black handbag and added glamour to her look with a light palette of makeup and a smokey eye. Wow: Drag queen Alexis Stone donned a skintight animal print jumpsuit while model Nour Arida opted for a black dress with an a-symmetric hemline Casual: Model Alton Mason carried a large bouquet of flowers as he arrived to the show in a navy jacket and blue jeans Dua Lipa's sister Rina arrived to the show in a black corset along with a pair of flared trousers while also wore a pair of gold sunglasses and a matching necklace. Offset also went for an all-black look for the fashion show as he donned an open shirt with flared trousers and a trench coat. Bella Hadid opted for a different look after the show as she departed in a white crop top and a pair of blue jeans with a black jacket. Kate Garraway has revealed her husband Derek Draper is back in hospital amid his ongoing battle with long Covid. The Good Morning Britain presenter, 55, told MailOnline at the TRIC Awards on Wednesday: 'He's OK, he's back in hospital actually, so that's a development. There we are. I don't know what I can say.' Derek, 54 - who is the UK's longest-suffering patient of Covid after being admitted to hospital with the virus in March 2020 - returned home from hospital in April 2021 where he received round-the-clock care. Health update: Kate Garraway has revealed her husband Derek Draper is back in hospital amid his ongoing battle with long Covid Speaking at the TRIC Awards at London's at Grosvenor House, Kate gave an update on her husband's health as she told he was back in the care of medical professionals. Kate also praised the way the couple's two children, Darcey, 16, and Billy, 12, have supported their dad, adding: 'They've been amazing - all the way through.' It comes after Kate thanked her fans for tracking down husband Derek Draper's medical supplies after she begged for 'urgent help' in retrieving them. While he was released from hospital last year he still requires round the clock care and daily medication - which Kate revealed on Friday she had accidentally left in the back of a taxi. Update details: Derek, 54 - who was the UK's longest-suffering patient of Covid after being admitted to hospital with the virus in March 2020 - returned home from hospital in April 2021 Family unit: Kate also praised the way the couple's two children, Darcey, 16, and Billy, 12, have supported their dad, adding: 'They've been amazing - all the way through' Thankfully, after appealing for help on Twitter, Kate was able to track down the driver, sharing on Sunday: 'Its been returned! 'Thanks to all who reached out - the message got to driver lovely Robert who has returned it - phew and thanks to all. #happysundayeveryone.' Kate's campaign started on Friday when she tweeted: '@BC_Lostproperty help!! Have just brought derek home in a mobility black cab from hospital for a weekend visit -& have left a case with all his meds and kit in the front! 'The driver recognised me but may not know its there - please look & get in touch - need urgently!!' Development: The Good Morning Britain presenter, 55, told MailOnline at the TRIC Awards on Wednesday (pictured): 'He's OK, he's back in hospital actually, so that's a development' Reunited: It comes after Kate revealed fans tracked down husband Derek Draper's vital medical supplies after she accidentally left them in the back of a taxi Following her call for assistance, Kate's fans were quick to come to her rescue as one follower revealed they in fact knew the driver who transported the couple and was attempting to contact him. They penned: 'I know the driver Kate as he mentioned he'd taken you and your husband to me this evening. Im trying to get in touch right now.' Other Twitter users also shared their words of support and ideas to help, with one writing: 'Hope u get this back asap Kate. Also sorry to hear that Derek is no longer home with u all. Lots of love and best wishes for Derek xxxx.' The power of Twitter: Thankfully, after appealing for help on Twitter, Kate was able to track down the driver, and thanked her fans for their help With another suggesting: 'Kate. If you paid by card, the drivers details will be on the receipt or the card company should be able to trace him.' And a third sharing: 'Hope you get them back asap. Sorry to hear Derek is in hospital I must have missed that somehow, sending love.' Luckily, the person who knew the driver later confirmed that he did in fact get in touch with them, with the medical supplies swiftly returned to Derek and Kate. Candid: The situation came just days after Kate opened up on finding a new way to be in love with Derek after his Covid-19 battle The situation came just days after Kate opened up on finding a new way to be in love with Derek after his Covid-19 battle. The presenter said that her children Darcy 17, and William, 12, also have had to 'relearn' how to be around their dad amid his continued health struggles. Derek returned home from hospital in April 2021 after a year-long battle and still requires round-the-clock care in the midst of his lengthy recovery. Speaking to Good Housekeeping, Kate said: 'When you nearly lose someone, it certainly brings everything into sharp focus. 'In many ways, we're still learning how we are as man and wife, as so much has changed. 'It's the same for the children they're having to relearn the experience of being with their dad. And, of course, the biggest learning is for poor Derek.' Kate previously admitted that if left unaided for over three days, Derek could die. Ongoing process: The Good Morning Britain host said that her children Darcy 17, and William, 12, also have had to 'relearn' how to be around their dad amid his continued health struggles He is bed-stricken, with Kate doing much of the caring herself as she insists she won't 'ever give up on him'. Elsewhere in the chat, the presenter also spoke about trying to find the joy in the little moments in life after everything that's happened. She explained: 'I try to live in the moment more than ever before. I'll send an email and think, 'Okay, I've sent the email. I can't do anything more about that now, so I'm just going to look out the window and notice how pretty the sky is.' 'I really try to seize those moments because when you do, you realise that life is just a collection of moments and finding more good ones than bad ones is probably the secret to it all.' President Yoon Suk-yeol presides over a meeting of top military commanders at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, July 6. Yonhap South Korea will push to launch a "strategic command" as an overarching organ to implement its "three-axis" defense system aimed at countering North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats, the defense ministry said Wednesday. President Yoon Suk-yeol and top commanders discussed the issue and other key defense priorities during their meeting at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. He presided over the top brass' session for the first time since assuming office in May. The push for the envisioned unit comes as the South is striving to sharpen deterrence following a series of North Korea's ballistic missile launches and preparations for what would be its seventh nuclear test. "They discussed the issue of creating the strategic command in phases to ensure it can effectively command and control the three-axis system and lead the efforts for the systematic force development," the ministry said in a press release. The three-pronged system refers to the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation, an operational plan to incapacitate the North Korean leadership in a major conflict; the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike platform; and the Korea Air and Missile Defense system. The ministry seeks to come up with a specific plan for the creation of the command next year and establish it in 2024, an informed source said, requesting anonymity. If formed, the command is expected to oversee the operations of the country's current and future core military assets, including F-35A radar-evading fighters, reconnaissance satellites, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile interceptors and Hyunmoo-type ballistic missiles. It is also likely to command key assets for security operations in cyberspace and outer space, as the military is striving to enhance cross-domain operational capabilities by improving inter-service cooperation, observers said. At the military gathering, participants agreed to reinforce the South Korean military's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and bolster capabilities that undergird the operation of the three-axis system. "Through this, they agreed to strengthen our military's independent deterrence and capabilities to respond (to North Korean threats)," the ministry said. The ministry also outlined its efforts to expeditiously roll out artificial intelligence (AI)-based defense systems incorporating both unmanned and manned military equipment. The efforts included crafting "more rapid, flexible" defense acquisition procedures and nurturing AI specialists. In line with the modernization efforts, the military plans to conduct the trial operation of units employing cutting-edge technologies and expand such units in phases to all armed services. The Army has already run the Army TIGER trial unit armed with high-tech equipment at its 25th Division since last month. TIGER is short for the transformative innovation of ground forces enhanced by the fourth industrial revolution technology. Participants in the meeting included Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, Joint Chiefs of Staff chief Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lee Jong-ho, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa and Marine Commandant Lt. Gen. Kim Tae-sung. (Yonhap) She's currently awaiting the judge's verdict following the historic Wagatha Christie libel trial. And on Wednesday afternoon, Coleen Rooney, 36, tucked her surgical boot into skinny jeans while picking up groceries from M&S in Cheshire. The mother-of-four who was still wearing her surgical boot after suffering a fall back in March, styled it out with a fuchsia knit cardigan drawing attention to her upper body. Rocking the boot: On Wednesday afternoon, Coleen Rooney, 36, tucked her surgical boot into skinny jeans while picking up groceries from M&S in Cheshire Coleen looked typically polished in her low-key attire, opting to wear a plain black T-shirt beneath her colourful knit. The famous WAG wore a black slider boasting large gold hardware on the foot of her fully functioning leg, and tied her ensemble together with a statement Gucci belt. Coleen slicked her brunette hair back into a sleek ponytail and carried her belongings in a chic black cross body bag. Fashionista: The mother-of-four who was still wearing her surgical boot after suffering a fall back in March, styled it out with a fuchsia knit cardigan drawing attention to her upper body Coleen is currently waiting for the judge's verdict in her Wagatha Christie trial after facing her former pal Rebekah Vardy in court back in May. The two WAGs' ongoing dispute finally reached the High Court after Rebekah claimed Coleen had libelled her when claiming she was leaking personal stories about her to the press, an accusation made in a bombshell social media post by Coleen on 19 October 2019. Coleen, whose husband Wayne is England's all-time top goal scorer, claims the post was a 'last resort' after coming to the conclusion someone was leaking information about her to The Sun, but has defended it as being true. Designer diva: The famous WAG wore a black slider boasting large gold hardware on the foot of her fully functioning leg, and tied her ensemble together with a statement Gucci belt Rebekah claims that the post, which was published while she was pregnant, cost her a book deal and an endorsement for placenta capsules, while also acting as a lightning rod for people to abuse her on social media. The trial, which has captured the attention of the British public, came to an end last month with a written judgement from Mrs Justice Steyn, who has presided over the proceedings, expected at a later date. Despite the expense of the legal battle - it is thought to have cost both parties millions - Coleen is said to be extremely confident she will win, even missing the last day of the case to go on holiday. In her absence her barrister, David Sherborne, blasted Rebekah, branding her a 'highly unreliable witness' while accusing her of lying to the court in her testimony. It is being reported that the mother-of-four told friends that while the trial has been a painful experience, she was glad to the public now know 'the truth' and believes she will win. The two sides will have to wait weeks or even months for the outcome of the case. She's known for showing off her voluptuous figure, with or without clothes, and Wednesday was no exception for Emily Ratajkowski. The Gone Girl star startled fans as she posted an Instagram Story topless, as she posed for the camera while holding her bare breasts. Emily, 31, had minimal make-up on for the shot and left her long brunette hair un-brushed for the sultry snap, tilting her head to the side and showing off her gold hoop earrings. However, later in the day Emily was seen fully clothed as she attended the Balenciaga Couture Fall Winter 2022 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week. Hello again! Emily Ratajkowski poses naked AGAIN as she shares revealing snap holding her bare breasts on Instagram on Wednesday It's only been a matter of days since the American actress stripped off for her 29.4million followers. Last week, Emily gave her fans a very rude awakening as she posed completely naked while laying across a rug alongside her dog Columbo. There appeared to be no rhyme or reason for the photo, which she simply captioned: 'baby boy bumbi.' The cheeky snap showcased her bare bottom as she mirrored the same pose as her pooch, who had his paws up while spread out across the floor. A pair of white trainers with socks in them could be seen in the corner of the photo, presumably where Emily had just stripped off. Friends fur-ever: Emily Ratajkowski bares her bottom in NAKED snap with her dog Columbo as they both share they same pose laid out on a rug The Corrections, a novel by Jonathan Franzen, could also be seen next to the model, which is a sprawling tale about the diaspora of the modern American family. Her husband, film producer Sebastian Bear-McClard, was not pictured - though it is quite possible that he was responsible for taking the racy snap. The pair - who were married in 2018 - keep a relatively low profile as a couple, rarely posting about one another on social media. Fully clothed! Meanwhile, later in the day Emily was seen in clothes as attended the Balenciaga Couture Fall Winter 2022 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week However, they are often spotted together around New York City where they reside, accompanied by their fur baby Columbo. They welcomed their actual child, Sylvester Apollo Bear, last year in March. Last month, the dark-haired beauty celebrated her 31st birthday. Emily has been making plenty of travel plans lately, after she spent some time enjoying the stunning beaches of Tulum, Mexico, earlier in June. Family: Emily and her husband, film producer Sebastian Bear-McClard, reside in NYC with their dog Columbo and son Sylvester Apollo Her vacation south of the border came shortly after she traveled to France for the Cannes Film Festival, where she looked glamorous on the red carpet for David Cronenberg's comeback film Crimes Of The Future. However, her film producer husband was not in attendance. He's best known for producing several films directed by the brothers Benny and Josh Safdie, including Heaven Knows What, the Robert Pattinsonstarring crime film Good Time and Adam Sandler's critically acclaimed thriller Uncut Gems. Advertisement She recently confessed how she has been building muscle after calling herself 'too thin,' and Kristin Cavallari is now showing off the fruits of her labor. The 35-year-old reality star showcased her phenomenal 5ft3in figure in a black bikini this 4th of July weekend, as she cruised around the Turks And Caicos isle of Providenciales with her children. Kristin - who divorced her NFL star ex Jay Cutler in 2020 - looked tanned and toned while on a boat with her six-year-old daughter Saylor James Cutler. Summer body ready! Kristin Cavallari flaunts her toned physique while on yacht with her children in Turks And Caicos 'My goal is sort of, right now, just to maintain the muscle that I have. I'm not trying to lose weight,' the Denver-born star told Us Weekly on June 25. 'I've put on a lot of weight in the last few years, but in a good way...I didn't realize it at the time, how thin I was [before]. So I'm happy that I've put on weight.' The Uncommon James founder then strapped on a life preserver with her mini-me daughter Saylor. Build: Kristin recently opened up about wanting to gain more muscle on her body after admitting that she had previously felt she was 'too thin' The Denver-born 35-year-old told Us Weekly on June 25: 'My goal is sort of, right now, just to maintain the muscle that I have. I'm not trying to lose weight. I've put on a lot of weight in the last few years, but in a good way...I didn't realize it at the time, how thin I was [before]. So I'm happy that I've put on weight' Body journey: The Very Cavallari star has been open and honest about wanting to put on weight Opening up: 'My goal is sort of, right now, just to maintain the muscle that I have. I'm not trying to lose weight,' the Denver-born star said recently Fit form: Kristen wowed in her black two-piece showing off her stunning figure Wowing in the waves: Kristin - who divorced her NFL star ex Jay Cutler in 2020 - looked tanned and toned while on a boat with her six-year-old daughter Saylor James Cutler Not pictured on the yacht on Monday were Cavallari's two sons - eight-year-old Jaxon Wyatt Cutler and Camden Jack Cutler, who turns 10 on August 8. The MTV Movie & TV Awards presenter is 'the happiest' she's 'ever been' since 'settling' her divorce from Outsider Media and Lifestyle founder Jay Cutler in May following six years marriage. 'The scariest thing that I've ever done is get a divorce, but it's been the best thing that I've ever done and that has really jump-started my journey on self-love and figuring out who I am now,' Kristin said on The School of Greatness podcast on June 29. Yacht life: Uncommon James founder Kristin showcased her phenomenal 5ft3in figure Impressive: The star showed off her frame while on holiday Joy ride: The reality star was pictured with her daughter enjoying some activities in the water 'It's interesting because I've been in therapy pretty much my whole life but this is the one time I didn't go to therapy. I, and I'm not just saying this, but I feel the best I've ever felt in my whole life, the happiest I've ever been, and that feels really good. 'And I'm no longer afraid of getting hurt or - I've sort of gotten to a place where if things don't work out, I'm okay with that, because I know something better is coming down the line.' On Wednesday, Cavallari - who doesn't drink alcohol 'that often' - Instastoried a snap of two bottles of Casa Dragones tequila captioned: 'Now this is the kind of present I like coming home to!' Mother-of-three: Not pictured on the yacht on Monday were Cavallari's two sons - eight-year-old Jaxon Wyatt Cutler and Camden Jack Cutler, who turns 10 on August 8 (pictured Tuesday) Ex: The MTV Movie & TV Awards presenter is 'the happiest' she's 'ever been' since 'settling' her divorce from Outsider Media and Lifestyle founder Jay Cutler (pictured Monday) in May following six years marriage Kristin said on The School of Greatness podcast on June 29: 'The scariest thing that I've ever done is get a divorce, but it's been the best thing that I've ever done...I feel the best I've ever felt in my whole life, the happiest I've ever been, and that feels really good' The E! Daily Pop guest co-host also teased steamy footage of herself with The Bachelorette #15 contestant Tyler Cameron in a commercial - dropping Thursday - for her Uncommon James 'Untamed' fall campaign. Kristin made headlines on April 4 for kissing the 29-year-old influencer on the Joshua Tree set, but clarified to ET four days later: 'There is nothing going on. Great guy, [but] we are not dating, I promise.' Cavallari and her $5.5M estate in Franklin, TN will be featured in the 19th season of MTV Cribs, and she's also penning her third cookbook. Dropping Thursday! The E! Daily Pop guest co-host also teased steamy footage of herself with The Bachelorette #15 contestant Tyler Cameron in a commercial for her Uncommon James 'Untamed' fall campaign Natasha Kaplinsky says it was her 'responsibility to step up' and house a Ukrainian family after Russia invaded the country in February this year. The television presenter's father Raphael was a South African political refugee who was given sanctuary in the UK after he took part in Cape Town University's anti-apartheid protests in the 1960s. And newsreader Natasha, 49, says she 'registered to give a home to a Ukranian family straight away' as her family are 'privileged' to have been given a home in the UK, admitting she finds it heartbreaking the family can't go home to see their loved ones. Stepping in: Natasha Kaplinsky, 49, says it was her 'responsibility to step up' and house a Ukrainian family after Russia invaded the country in February this year She told The Telegraph: 'I registered to give a home to a Ukrainian family straight away. Im from a family of refugees and enormously privileged to have the space, so it was my responsibility to step up. 'When I collected the four of them, a father who is partially blind and so couldnt fight, a mother, a 12-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, they had just a small suitcase. 'Theyre the most wonderful family and so grateful, but they just want to be at home. They FaceTime friends and family in Ukraine every day. The worst thing for them is that they cant go home.' Looking back: The television presenter's father Raphael was a South African political refugee who was given sanctuary in the UK Meanwhile, Natasha spoke about her own family, saying that her children are the 'absolute centre of my life'. The broadcaster is married to banker Justin Bower and they share son Arlo, 13, and daughter Angelica, 12. Natasha admits she finds it hard to talk about her struggles to fall pregnant to this day as she suffered multiple miscarriages. However, she says the day she became a mother was 'the best day of my life'. It hasn't always been plain sailing for Natasha and her loved ones, with the screen star recalling a horrific incident in which a leaking fuel pipe exploded on a boat while they were at sea during a holiday in the Greek island of Corfu. She said how her parents were on the boat with her family, with herself and her father suffering burns as a result of the blast. They were in the water for 45 minutes as they waited for a rescue vessel, with Natasha saying she forced herself to remain calm as her father could not swim, praising his life vest for keeping his head above water. Natasha said her whole therapy has been in therapy to help process the resulting trauma from the incident, including Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) - a structured therapy designed for war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She said: 'We were very fortunate. Its left emotional scars, but physically weve all recovered.' Advertisement Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington play three friends framed for murder in the first trailer for David O. Russell's star-studded 1930s-set film Amsterdam, which dropped Wednesday. The doctor, nurse, and attorney - who met in Belgium during WWI - 'find themselves at the center of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history' in the drama, which hits US/UK theaters November 4. Amsterdam also features singer Taylor Swift alongside an A-list group of elite actors including Anya Taylor-Joy, Mike Myers, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldana, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Andrea Riseborough, Alessandro Nivola, Matthias Schoenaerts, and more. The three-minute preview begins with the dead body of an old white man in a pine box. 'A lot of this actually happened': Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington play three friends framed for murder in the first trailer for David O. Russell's star-studded 1930s-set film Amsterdam, which dropped Wednesday Hitting US/UK theaters November 4! The doctor, attorney, and nurse - who met in Belgium during WWI - 'find themselves at the center of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history' in the drama Star power: Amsterdam also features Taylor Swift (pictured), Anya Taylor-Joy, Mike Myers, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldana, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Andrea Riseborough, Alessandro Nivola, Matthias Schoenaerts, and more 'You have a dead white man in a box,' Chris Rock's character notes incredulously. 'Not even a casket. It doesn't even have a top on it. Who do you think is going to get in trouble here?' The trio - who 'formed a pact and we swore to protect each other, no matter what' - enlist the help of Robert De Niro's character, whose friend 'was killed because of something monstrous he had seen.' 'This is all turning out to be a lot larger than any of us,' Margot's character marvels. Corpse: The three-minute preview begins with the dead body of an old white man in a pine box Chris Rock's character notes incredulously: 'You have a dead white man in a box. Not even a casket. It doesn't even have a top on it. Who do you think is going to get in trouble here?' 'I'm about to do something that could cost me my life': The trio - who 'formed a pact and we swore to protect each other, no matter what' - enlist the help of Robert De Niro's character, whose friend 'was killed because of something monstrous he had seen' Margot's character marvels: 'This is all turning out to be a lot larger than any of us. You're going to have to take my lead getting out of this. I had to stab a guy. I had to hit a lady with a brick one time. It's a long story, but with you two it'll be a cake walk' 'You're going to have to take my lead getting out of this. I had to stab a guy. I had to hit a lady with a brick one time. It's a long story, but with you two it'll be a cake walk.' The ensemble who-done-it marks the 63-year-old filmmaker's first movie since his 2015 biopic Joy starring Jennifer Lawrence as Miracle Mop creator Joy Mangano. After the 'harshest chemo around,' she revealed that she has at least four more months of treatment to go The Home Edit star opened up about her latest chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday, telling fans she's in 'more agony than I hope anyone ever has to endure' The Home Edit's Clea Shearer has shared a candid update on her brutal breast cancer battle, admitting that her latest round of chemotherapy was 'nothing short of a living hell'. As the 40-year-old continues her fight against stage 2 mammary carcinoma, she shared vulnerable picture to Instagram of herself receiving her fourth round of AC (Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide) chemo - a therapy used specifically to treat breast cancer. In her heartfelt message, Shearer - who was diagnosed with breast cancer in March - shared that her mother took a picture and vented about how difficult the process has been, explaining that her latest treatment was 'the worst thing I've ever experienced.' In addition to expressing how much she wishes she could have her own 'hazmat suit' like the nurses do so she could protect herself from the cancer inside her, she described the chemo's side effects in full detail. 'I spent the weekend in more agony than I hope anyone ever has to endure. My bones hurt, my skin hurt, it was hard to walk, hard to see, hard to eat,' she penned in the post's caption. 'I couldnt keep my eyes open, but I also couldnt sleep. It was nothing short of a living hell with no escape,' she continued. Shearer claimed she felt 'more agony than I hope anyone ever has to endure' after her fourth chemo treatment Fortunately, the lifestyle guru woke up on Monday 'feeling so much better I almost cried.' Having endured what she calls 'the worst thing I've ever experienced,' she acknowledges that 'it all gets easier from here.' After a bilateral mastectomy, a subsequent surgery, and enduring 'the harshest chemo around,' she wrote that she has at least four more months of treatment - including 12 weeks of Taxol chemo and five weeks of radiation to go. The Home Edit's Joanna Teplin has weighed in on her her friend and partner's diagnosis on April 11. She called Shearer a 'pillar of strength' and shared that she is doing well since her double mastectomy. Shearer revealed last week that she has been diagnosed with stage 2 mammary carcinoma after discovering a lump in her breast earlier this year. On Friday, she underwent a double mastectomy and is currently at home recovering but her 'Get Organized With the Home Edit' co-star Teplin, 41, offered an update on the Today show this morning. 'She's doing well. She is just so strong and such a pillar of strength, that I can't imagine anyone tackling cancer the way that she has and is,' she said. 'She's right now recovering from the surgery. The surgery was very successful. And she's home now just waiting to find out any next steps.' The Home Edit's Joanna Teplin (left) says her friend and partner Clea Shearer (right) is a 'pillar of strength' and is doing well since her double mastectomy 'She's doing well. She is just so strong and such a pillar of strength, that I can't imagine anyone tackling cancer the way that she has and is,' Teplin said Shearer revealed her diagnosis with a candid Instagram post on April 7, explaining that she'd found a lump during a self-exam and, after a mammogram, ultrasound, and triple biopsy, was told she had two aggressive tumors. She underwent a double mastectomy on April 8 and updated Instagram followers this weekend. 'I've been mobile, I've been walking around. I have some pain, don't get me wrong, but, you know, we can do hard things,' she said. 'If anyone can handle cancer, it's me,' she added. Teplin told Savannah Guthrie this morning that it's been hard getting Shearer to just relax since the procedure. 'I told her I'm gonna sit on her like a chicken! She's having a tough time sitting,' she said. Shearer, 40, revealed last week that she has been diagnosed with stage 2 mammary carcinoma after discovering a lump in her breast earlier this year On Friday, she underwent a double mastectomy and is currently at home recovering 'She has the best attitude. I can't imagine having the attitude that she has, but she's just like, "If it's gonna happen to someone, why not me?" instead of, "Why me?" Teplin said She also noted that her friend is keeping an upbeat outlook throughout the whole ordeal. 'She has the best attitude. I can't imagine having the attitude that she has, but she's just like, "If it's gonna happen to someone, why not me?" instead of, "Why me?" she said. 'Because she's able to have that fortitude and that way of thinking about it, she's able to help so many other people,' she added, by being an advocate. 'If there was something to show for this horrible thing she has to go through, then it was all worth being public for,' she said. Shearer had suspected something might be wrong during a self-exam when she noticed a lump. 'She said, "I think I found something, I'm not sure what it is," and we just decided, we're not gonna spiral yet, let's get more information first. And so she decided to try to get an appointment with her OB,' Teplin said. 'They couldn't get her in for a really long time, and so she realized she had to keep pushing,' she continued. Shearer had suspected something might be wrong during a self-exam when she noticed a lump, and soon underwent a mammogram and biopsy Shearer (pictured with her business partner and Reese Witherspoon in March) said she had to advocate herself because her OB wouldn't see her for months Shearer reached out to her general practitioner, who made her a mammogram appointment. 'Thank god she's such an advocate for herself, and she's now becoming an advocate for so many others to self-test and be aware from the start,' Teplin said. Shearer had shared her health news last week shortly before her operation. 'I have breast cancer. Its a hard thing to say, but its easier than keeping it to myself,' she captioned a photo of herself wearing a white robe at the Vanderbilt Breast Center in Nashville, Tennessee. 'Im having a double mastectomy tomorrow (prayers are welcome!), and I wanted to say a few words before I do,' she continued. 'I found a lump myself the last week of February. I had been trying to make an appt with my OB for several months, and even when I told them I found a lump, they couldnt accommodate me. 'I had to request a mammogram from my general doctor, which led to an ultrasound, and then an emergency triple biopsy. I have two tumors, 1 cm each, that are aggressive and fast moving - but I caught it early. Had I not taken this upon myself, I would be in a completely different situation right now. Shearer shares a daughter, Stella, 11, and a son Sutton, 8, with her husband, photographer John Shearer Shearer told People that the hardest part for her is having to tell her children the news 'Its a personal choice to make this public, but sharing my experience makes cancer feel purposeful,' she said. 'If I can convince any of you to self-examine on a regular basis, self-advocate always, and to prioritize your health over your busy schedules then this will have meant something. Its also important to note that I was under 40 when these tumors formed, and have no history of breast cancer in my family. Even if cancer feels improbable, its still very possible. 'I have to admit, for the first few days I endured the why me feelings. But quickly, I started to think honestly, why NOT me?! I have all the support, resources, and a platform to help other people through this. So if anyone has to have breast cancer, Ill gladly let it be me,' she said. Public well-wishes have poured in from Lauren Conrad, Rachel Zoe, and Ali Fedotowsky. Shearer shot to fame after she Teplin founded their home organizing company, The Home Edit, in 2015 and earned a celebrity following. They've organized spaces for everyone from Khloe Kardashian to Reese Witherspoon, whose production company Hello Sunshine recently acquired The Home Edit. She is now awaiting more information about her treatment plan and whether she will need chemotherapy Their business expanded into a book, The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals; an Instagram following of nearly six million, a Netflix series that is in its second season; and most recently a special magazine issue, The Home Edit: Feel-Good Organizing. Shearer, who shares a daughter, Stella, 11, and a son Sutton, 8, with her husband, photographer John Shearer, told People that she was in New York City filming segment for the Today show with Teplin when she discovered two lumps. 'I felt something, a mass, a lump. But I didn't know what a lump actually even felt like, so I was just in my hotel room Googling, "What does a breast tumor feel like?"' she explained. Her test results came back as 'suspicious and concerning,' which led to her having an emergency triple biopsy on the same day. Shearer learned she had breast cancer on March 11, and she said the first person she reached out to was her friend and client Christina Applegate, who is a breast cancer survivor. 'She's just incredible and she has had a very similar situation, so she's been a tremendous support and just someone who's really counseled me going through this,' she said of the 'Dead to Me' star, who was one of their first A-list clients. Shearer shot to fame after she Teplin founded their home organizing company, The Home Edit, in 2015 and earned a celebrity following Shearer also has the support of Teplin, who told her they are 'going to get through this together.' The mother of two shared that the hardest part for her is having to tell her children the news, which she hadn't done as of Tuesday. 'I didn't want to tell them with too much advanced notice before my operation just because I think that it would be really hard for them to be carrying around that anxiety for the whole week,' she explained. 'That's actually the part that I'm most nervous about. I know I'm going to be okay and I know that I'll be fine in surgery and recovery and all of it, but I'm nervous to tell my kids.' Shearer will next find out if she also needs chemotherapy or other further treatment. 'I'm a fighter. If anyone can crush cancer, it is me,' she said. 'I'm literally afraid for cancer and I've got this.' On Instagram, she also encouraged others to put their health first. 'Please prioritize your health. I know how hard it is on a daily basis, to be a mom, to be working, to have a hundred things always on your to do list, but, I mean, what does it all matter if we're not healthy?' she said. She always manages to look effortlessly chic. And Hana Cross didn't disappoint as she attended the Amazon's Prime Day Dream House event in Shoreditch, London on Wednesday. The model, 24, looked casual yet cool as she paired a crop top with on-trend boyfriend jeans. Stylish: She always manages to look effortlessly chic. And Hana Cross didn't disappoint as she attended the Amazon's Prime Day Dream House event in Shoreditch, London on Wednesday The ex-girlfriend of Brooklyn Beckham flashed her toned abs in a fitted black crop top that she layered beneath a leather jacket. Hana paired the garments with a pair of boyfriend jeans and patent black boots, while she accessorised with a small handbag. She attended the event solo, despite romance rumours with Love Island star Eyal Booker. Low-key look: The model, 24, looked casual yet cool as she paired a crop top with on-trend boyfriend jeans Tanned and toned: The ex-girlfriend of Brooklyn Beckham flashed her toned abs in a fitted black crop top that she layered beneath a leather jacket Celebrity offspring: Hana was seen posing with Spice Girl Mel B's daughter Phoenix at the event The pair recently spent time on a working holiday together in Mykonos for a photoshoot. Back in March, the duo were also spotted leaving Chiltern Firehouse in London together, after what seemed to be a cosy dinner. The dinner followed on from Eyal's split from ex-girlfriend Delilah Belle Hamlin at the beginning of the year. Strike a pose: Raye looked stylish as she posed in a pink trousers suit, wearing a matching bra under her jacket along with a pair of ruby red platform boots Born to perform: Raye sung her heart out as she took to the stage at the event Making moves: The singer was seen dancing as she performed for the guests at the event Audience participation: Raye was seen chatting to the crowd as she performed at the Amazon Prime Day Dream House New flame? She attended the event solo, despite romance rumours with Love Island star Eyal Booker Ex: Brooklyn Beckham and Hana dated for nine months in 2019 before she was dumped by Brooklyn, after a series of public rows, including at Glastonbury The pair, who are both single, seemed to be comfortable in each other's company - despite Hana previously being linked with Eyal's pal Scott Disick, 38. In April Hana's ex Brooklyn married actress Nicola in a lavish wedding at her familys $123 million, 44,000-square-foot oceanfront mansion, Montsorrel, in Palm Beach. Brooklyn and Hana dated for nine months in 2019 before eventually called it off. The model was broken up with by Brooklyn, then 21, after a series of public rows, including at Glastonbury, where he partied with his parents Victoria and David. Summer style: Actress Amber Doig-Thorne looked stylish in a floral print mini dress as she posed on the black carpet TOWIE star: James Lock also attended Wednesday's Prime event, looking dapper in a suit Socialising: TikTok star Callum Whitwort cut a casual figure in an all-black outfit while fellow content creator Moyo Alijbade wore a beige shirt over a white T-shirt with black jeans Talented ball players: West Ham United and England footballer and former Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster were in good spirits as they posed at the event Family affair: Holly and Tilly Ramsay flashed broad smiles as they stood arm-in-arm at the bash Advertisement Kim Kardashian showcased her chic sense of style as she arrived at the Balenciaga afterparty during Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday. The television personality, 41, wore a sequinned black dress with a high neckline and an expansive train which trailed on the ground as she walked. The businesswoman was joined by Bella Hadid, 25, who wore a black off-the-shoulder jumpsuit with white polka dots while Emily Ratajkowski, 31, also dressed all in black. In style: Kim Kardashian showcased her chic sense of style as she arrived at the Balenciaga afterparty during Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday where she was joined by Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski Kim's gown glistened under the flashing lights of awaiting photographers, with the Kardashians star wearing a pair of dark sunglasses as she arrived. She carried a small black handbag with her to match the rest of her ensemble while her long bleached blonde tresses tumbled down across her shoulders. She was joined by who Bella Hadid showcased her chic sense of style by wearing a black off-the-shoulder jumpsuit with white polka dots and a sweetheart neckline. Glitterati: Television personality, 41, wore a sequinned black dress with a high neckline and an expansive train which trailed on the ground as she walked Star power: The Kardashians star wore a pair of dark sunglasses as she arrived and carried a small black handbag with her to match the rest of her ensemble Cheeky behind: Kim gave onlookers a full look at her outfit as she cheekily glanced back over her shoulder while heading inside Eye of the storm: Billionaire Kim looked calm as she arrived at the event despite fans screaming her name in a bid to meet her Family affair: Kim's mother Kris Jenner was seen arriving in an all-black outfit, with the Kardashians star walking alongside Cici Bussey Bella completed her look by wearing a pair of black high-heeled shoes and carried a white handbag with her. She was seen waving at fans as she arrived at the event in the French capital, opting for a glamorous look with her make-up to highlight her pretty features. Emily Ratajkowski , 31, looked chic in a black dress with a thigh split, while she wore a pair of black tights underneath. The garment featured a pair of attached gloves and she wore a pair of black heels to accentuate her height. Elsewhere, Dua Lipa wore a black sequinned gown which reached down to the ground, with the sequins glistening under the light of the setting sun at golden hour. Fashion focus: Kim was joined by who Bella Hadid showcased her chic sense of style by wearing a black off-the-shoulder jumpsuit with white polka dots and a sweetheart neckline In the detail: The fashion star wore a pair of elegant drop earrings for her night out at the aprty Out and about: Bella was in good spirits as she stopped to chat to awaiting fans before heading inside to the party Fame game: She was seen waving at fans as she arrived at the event in the French capital, opting for a glamorous look with her make-up to highlight her pretty features All smiles: Emily flashed a broad grin as she arrived at the party, posing outside for pictures Greeting her public: Bella stopped to greet her awaiting fans before heading inside to the star-studded bash The top section of her dress featured a low cut neckline, with her decolletage left exposed to the evening air. One Kiss hitmaker Dua, 26, wore a glistening silver statement necklace and a pair of matching earrings. She wore lashings of make-up, including some dramatic black eyeliner with winged tips. Fashion forward: Emily Ratajkowski , 31, looked chic in a black dress with a thigh split, while she wore a pair of black tights underneath Unique: The garment featured a pair of attached gloves and she wore a pair of black heels to accentuate her height Strutting her stuff: Emily looked sultry as she arrived at the event with the sites of Paris behind her Golden girl: Elsewhere, Dua Lipa wore a black sequinned gown which reached down to the ground, with the sequins glistening under the light of the setting sun at golden hour Elegance: .She wore lashings of make-up, including some dramatic black eyeliner with winged tips. Stepping out: Fashion designer and former actress Mary-Kate Olsen looked stylish as she wore baggy black trousers along with a matching top and coat Feeling blue? Rapper offset showed off his casual sense of style as he dressed all in blue denim while wearing a pair of chunky black boots Nicole Kidman put on a glamorous display as she arrived at the event with husband Keith Urban. The actress, 55, with an off-the-shoulder black dress adorned with silver sequins with a narrow train trailing behind her. She wore a black pair of heels and some quirky shades while holding a black clutch purse in her hand. Hollywood glamour: Nicole Kidman put on a glamorous display as she arrived at the event with husband Keith Urban Completing the look: She wore a black pair of heels and some quirky shades while holding a black clutch purse in her hand Keith wore a black jacket and matching trousers which he teamed with a white T-shirt and chunky boots. He could be seen holding Nicole's wrist after they stepped out of their car and made their way in to the party. Elsewhere, Naomi Campbell looked chic as she wore a floor-length black coat with a satin sheen. The double breasted piece was cinched in at the waist and she wore a pair of sunglasses as she arrived. Queen of fashion: Elsewhere, Naomi Campbell looked chic as she wore a floor-length black coat with a satin sheen Striding out: Naomi shielded her eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses and confidently walked inside Undercover: The supermodel held her leather coat together as she made her way from the car inside Wrapped up: The double breasted piece was cinched in at the waist and she wore a pair of sunglasses as she arrived Elegant: Christine Quinn arrived at the dinner looking sophisticated wearing all-black - pairing a black pleated dress with black tights and padded black heels Details: She accessorised with a diamond choker necklace and sported a pair of distinctive Balenciaga sunglasses, that were also worn by Nicole Erika Jayne was ordered last month to turn in a pair of $750k diamond earrings a court determined were purchased with money stolen by her estranged husband Tom Girardi. Now a source claims to People Jayne, 50, is 'relieved' a decision was made on the matter. The insider alleges Jayne had surrendered the earrings 'months ago', however it was still difficult for her to relinquish them due to their 'sentimental' value. The latest: Erika Jayne is 'relieved' after turning in a pair of $750K diamond earrings a court determined were purchased with money stolen by her estranged husband Tom Girardi; She was snapped in LA in 2019 'It wasn't easy for [Erika] to part ways with something that was sentimental to her,' an insider close to Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills production told the site, 'but she knows she needed to do it and she complied.' 'Now that the ruling has happened, she's somewhat relieved a decision has been made and she can officially focus on moving on,' the insider told People. The insider adds Erika wants to move past the legal war and is 'doing the best she can to move forward with her life.' Last month Judge Barry Russell said that while he did not think Jayne 'was aware the earrings were stolen property,' she must turn them in as they were paid for with 'settlement funds from the trust account created for a class action handled by Thomas' firm Girardi Keese,' Law360 reported, according to US. 'It wasn't easy for [Erika] to part ways with something that was sentimental to her,' an insider close to Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills production told the site, 'but she knows she needed to do it and she complied' Throwback: Jayne and her now estranged husband Tom Girardi pictured on The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Girardi, 83, in March 2007 purchased the jewelry for the Atlanta-born reality star with funds from a client trust account and claimed they were case-related expenditures, Us reported in February, citing court docs in the case. Girardi initially claimed that the earrings were stolen, but they were purportedly located in a safe. Ronald Richards, a lawyer who once worked for the trustee in the case, told US that Jayne 'had tried to argue that too much time had passed and that it was the firm's former clients who should be making this claim, not the trustee. 'The court rejected that argument and said the trustee can bring a turnover order for the earrings and forfeited all of Erika's rights in the earrings.' Richards noted that the court 'found the firm embezzled the funds' and that 'the earrings were ordered property of the estate.' Richards last month told Page Six that 'the ruling was a major milestone in the quest to recover stolen assets by the Girardis,' and that 'it does not matter whether Erika knew they were stolen client funds or not.' Judge Barry Russell said that while he did not think the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star 'was aware the earrings were stolen property,' she must turn them in as they were paid for with stolen funds. She was pictured in NYC in 2019 Girardi, 83, in March 2007 purchased the jewelry for the Atlanta-born reality star with funds from a client trust account and claimed they were case-related expenditures, according to court docs. He was pictured in LA in 2018 Jayne's lawyer Evan Borges said that the reality star 'did nothing wrong' and was facing repercussions due to Girardi's misconduct. 'Once again, Erika is facing consequences for past actions taken by Tom Girardi and Girardi Keese,' Borges told the outlet. 'In fact, the judge specifically found no fault or knowledge on the part of Erika regarding the actions by Tom Girardi and his partners at the law firm. Tom Girardi the lawyer did this. 'Legally, the judge's decision raises an important issue of whether the law allows revisiting transactions of 15 years ago to take away a gift received by an innocent spouse. But that's for a higher court to decide.' Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in November of 2020 after a 21-year marriage, shortly ahead of the filing of the initial suit. She said at the time: 'After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi. This is not a step taken lightly or easily. I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we built together.' Jayne's lawyer Evan Borges said that the reality star 'did nothing wrong' and was facing repercussions due to Girardi's misconduct. She was pictured in LA in 2021 Jayne was originally named with her estranged spouse in the December 2020 class action lawsuit filed by Edelson PC, accusing them of fraud and embezzlement in connection with $2 million in settlement funds earmarked for victims of the 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash, in which all 189 people onboard died. In January, she was dismissed from the ongoing lawsuit filed against against Girardi in Illinois. Girardi has been living in a nursing home after he was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and in July of 2021 was placed into a conservatorship by his brother Robert. In May Jayne spoke with US about her decision to remain on the Bravo reality show. 'This season is about really trying to pull yourself together and go on,' she said. 'It was tough but ultimately, I'll get there and it's part of the human experience. 'You can't go through what I have gone through the previous season and not feel something. I wanted to have some fun and I wanted to not feel so heavy. So that's what I did.' Love Island fans were left less than pleased on Wednesday night, when the show ended on a cliffhanger after teasing a recoupling would be taking place. Viewers were shocked when the episode closed just as host Laura Whitmore walked into the main villa. Many expressed their disappointment that none of the recouplings were seen, despite being teased in Tuesday night's preview. Roll credits... Love Island fans were left less than pleased on Wednesday night, when the show ended on a cliffhanger after teasing a recoupling would be taking place One fan said: 'sending in my ofcom complaint for all these cliffhangers #LoveIsland' While another agreed, tweeting: 'WHO EVER DID THAT CLIFFHANGER DESERVES LIFE IN PRISON'. An annoyed viewer chimed in: 'They teased the whole recoupling just not to show any of it'. Entrance: Viewers were shocked when the episode closed as host Laura Whitmore walked into the main villa Tense: The Casa Amor recoupling is always the most tense episode for the Islanders A fourth echoed: 'A WHOLE 5 MINS OF LAURA FLICKING HER HAIR IN SLOW MO'. And a fifth complained: 'This episode was the biggest waste of time #LoveIsland'. Elsewhere in the episode, the boys continued to crack on with the new girls in the main villa. Annoyed: Many expressed their disappointment that none of the recouplings were seen, despite being teased in Tuesday night's preview Jacques O'Neill made the decision to end things with Mollie Salmon, but went full force with Cheyanne Kerr, leading them to sharing a kiss on the balcony and getting frisky in the swimming pool. But his current partner Paige Thorne remained positive, and after hearing about the recoupling said: 'I am one of those people that is a glass half full, I am actually really excited to go back just so I can see Jacques again.' Meanwhile, Dami said his head was 'scrambled' after he grew closer with Summer Botwe, despite being coupled up with Indiyah Pollack. Mulling over his big decision to stick or twist, Dami admitted: 'My heads fried, scrambled, whatever way you like your eggs. Thats the way my head is right now. Im scared.' And Indiyah herself was having doubts after growing a connection with Deji Adeniyi, but admitted she does still have a connection with Dami before saying that if she did take Deji back to the villa, then she would still want to get to know Dami too. 'Obviously I have a connection with Dami, there's not nothing there. But in the real world, I'm used to dating. It doesn't invalidate my feelings for anything,' she explains. Positive: After learning about the impending coupling via text, Paige Thorne declares: 'I am actually really excited to go back just so I can see Jacques again' 'Hypothetically speaking, if you were to come back to the villa with me I would have to have those conversations still with Dami.' Davide Sanclimenti shared a few kisses in bed with Mollie, but admitted that he was still thinking about his connection with Ekin-Su Culculoglu. Jay Younger - who has been romancing Chyna Mills - gave Davide some advice about his situation. Decisions: Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope's romance could be set to hit the rocks as Indiyah tells Deji Adeniyi she is torn between him and Dami Heating up: Her revelation comes after Dami took new girl Summer Botwe (both pictured) to the terrace for a private smooch as his head appeared to be turning earlier in the week He advised: 'Right now its quite obvious I think you still have a connection with Ekin, and you dont just wanna throw that to the side out of spite, its not right man.' Davide then confessed: 'I make myself many problemsLets see today how it goes.' In the beach hut he added: 'I think about her often and our connection'. While Ekin-Su shared a hot moment with George Tasker in bed, leaving viewers confused over what had gone down. Pulling him for a chat, Ekin-Su said: 'It is something that happened in the heat of the moment, obviously you were sharing a bed with me. I just thought this has to stop because it wasn't right.' 'I didn't even kiss the guy, we were just cuddling and it got a bit heated,' she later confirmed to the beach hut. Chatting: Jay Younger - who has been romancing Chyna Mills - gives Davide Sanclimenti advice about his situation and his feelings for Ekin-Su Culculoglu And Andrew - who has been sharing a bed and more than a few kisses with Coco Lodge - broke down as he thought about Tasha Ghouri. Discussing the betrayal he felt from Tasha he says: 'I literally opened up to her', while Jacques muses: 'You dont need to be afraid to show emotion and be upset though, do you know what I mean? 'I know were supposed to be tough and that but sometimes its just good to get it out.' Emotional times: And Andrew - who has been sharing a bed and more than a few kisses with Coco Lodge - broke down as he thought about Tasha Ghouri When speaking about opening up to Tasha during their time together, Andrew says he feels he was 'with someone and not being enough.' 'I'm just not enough for the girl that I wanted,' Andrew says to Jaques. 'Tasha was what I wanted, I felt like we were building something but I was just there because I was easy for her,' he adds in the beach hut. Meanwhile, Tasha confessed to being nervous about the recoupling, after forming a connection with Billy Brown, saying: 'Ok things are getting real now' She tells the girls about sharing a kiss with Billy, before admitting to him: 'I genuinely think if you were in from the start, it might have been different.' LOVE ISLAND 2022: MEET THE CASA AMOR GIRLS Name: Summer Botwe Age: 22 From: Hertfordshire Occupation: Events decor business co-owner What are you looking forward to in the Villa? I think that Im just genuinely good vibes - very goofy, very silly. Everyone will be fun around me. I dont really take things too seriously. I feel like I might end up bringing some drama because I do want to go full force with Dami Occupation: Jazmine Nichol Age: 21 From: Newcastle Occupation: Nightclub manager Who have you got your eye on in the Villa? Jacques - humours the biggest thing for me in a partner. I never go for looks and I dont have a type at all. Its definitely who makes me laugh Name: Coco Lodge Age: 27 From: Surrey Occupation: Graphic designer/ ring girl/ shot girl How would your friends/ family describe you? Theyd probably describe me as a predator. Im super flirty! I give off big energy and boys gravitate towards me and Im always flirty. Name: Chyna Mills Age: 23 From: Leeds Occupation: Youth support worker Do you fall in love quickly? Im a slow burner, it takes a lot to win me over. People fall in love with me quicker than I fall in love with them. Hopefully I wont break any hearts Name: Mollie Salmon Age: 23 From: Southampton Occupation: Makeup artist Why have you signed up for Love Island? My mum got married at my age and my cousin is already engaged so shes always told me how I should hurry up and find someone. Im terrible at picking men so I thought Love Island would do a better job than me! Name: Cheyanne Kerr Age: 23 From: Barnsley Occupation: Cabin crew Who have you got your eye on in the Villa? Im actually Italian, too. So I really like Davide, he reminds me of a lot of my family and hes gorgeous. Ive never actually seen someone so good looking in my whole life! I Advertisement LOVE ISLAND 2022: MEET THE CASA AMOR BOYS Jack Keating Name: Jack Keating Age: 23 Location: Dublin, London Occupation: Social Media Marketing worker Why Love Island and why now? 'I've been single for a long time, probably 4 or 5 years now and I've really been missing that spark that I haven't been getting on the dating scene, like I've been dating for a long time.' Josh Samuel Le Grove Name: Josh Samuel Le Grove Age: 22 Location: Essex Occupation: Model Why Love Island and why now? 'I've always been single. If you're going to find someone, it'll be in a place where everyone is single and looking for the same thing.' Samuel Agbiji Name: Samuel Agbiji Age: 22 Location: Manchester Occupation: Model Why Love Island and why now? 'I have been in a serious relationship before and I believe I've been in love before and healing from that relationship took a while but also I learnt a lot about myself and a lot about what I want in a partner.' Deji Adeniyi Name: Deji Adeniyi Age: 25 Location: Bedford Occupation: Accounts Manager Why Love Island and why now? 'The reason why is that my sex life is amazing but my love life is awful. I am the master of failed talking stages. My love life isn't going the right way so one night I decided to apply for Love Island and now I'm here!' George Tasker Name: George Tasker Age: 23 Location: Cotswolds Occupation: Labourer Why Love Island and why now? 'I've been single now for three years. I had a relationship with a girl from Australia - my only girlfriend...I'm a lot more mature now and I know what I want in a relationship.' Billy Brown Name: Billy Brown Age: 23 Location: Surrey Occupation: Roofing company director Why Love Island and why now? 'I've had two girlfriends before, I was obviously going to try and find the lucky third one!' Advertisement Suh Hoon, left, and Park Jie-won, former heads of the National Intelligence Service / Yonhap South Korea's state spy agency said Wednesday it has requested formal investigations by prosecutors into allegations that two of its former chiefs mishandled controversial incidents involving North Korea a few years earlier. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors Office against Park Jie-won for "deleting intelligence-related reports without authorization" in regard to North Korea's killing of a South Korean fisheries official in 2020. Park, formerly a longtime lawmaker, is accused of abusing his authority and unlawfully destroying public electronic records during his stint as director of the NIS under the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration. In September 2020, Lee Dae-jun, then 47 years old, was fatally shot by the North's coast guard near the Yellow Sea border between the two Koreas, a day after going missing while on duty on board a fishery inspection boat. A storm of controversy has stirred up here since the South's Coast Guard and the defense ministry recently announced that they have not found any concrete evidence backing the probe results from two years ago that the official might have attempted to defect to North Korea. It marked an about-face from their relevant assessments made public under the Moon government. Park dismissed the allegations, saying that he knew nothing of them. "(The allegations) are completely groundless," he told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. "(Filing such a complaint) is also a needless thing for the NIS to do." The spy agency also requested that the prosecution service look into a suspicion that Suh Hoon ordered an early end to an internal investigation into the case of two North Korean fishermen who were sent back to the North in November 2019 after being captured near the eastern inter-Korean sea border. Suh worked as head of the NIS from 2017 to 2020 and then served as Moon's national security advisor for two years. South Korea went through a power change to the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration via the March 9 presidential election. Yoon has pledged to get tough on North Korea if it continues provocative acts. (Yonhap) Chef Justin Sutherland was hospitalized on Sunday after a boat accident left him with a broken jaw and arm as well as body lacerations. The Southern-raised, Minnesota-based restaurateur was cruising with friends while wearing his favorite captain's hat when it blew off and he fell into the water attempting to retrieve it. 'The propeller did a number on his head and left arm. His arm is broken, but his grip remains strong and there appears to be no nerve damage,' Justin's friend Beth Gillies wrote. On the mend: Chef Justin Sutherland was hospitalized on Sunday after a boat accident left him with a broken jaw and arm as well as body lacerations (pictured June 21) 'His jaw is severely broken, but doctors are optimistic that with several more surgeries he will be grinning in no time. In addition to his broken bones, he sustained many lacerations, but with plastic surgery, they will become a reminder of his survival story. 'The great news is, he is going to be fine. With some time, he will possibly be better than fine. He is adding more character to the face we know and love, and the most important news, his beard is intact.' Since Sutherland had no health insurance, Gillies and four other loved ones started a GoFundMe to help pay his medical and other expenses and - as of press time - it had raised over $106K of a $500K goal. The Taste the Culture host is looking at a long road to recovery having had his jaw wired shut, and he will have to undergo several more surgeries. The infamous hat: The Southern-raised, Minnesota-based restaurateur was cruising with friends while wearing his favorite captain's hat when it blew off and he fell into the water attempting to retrieve it (pictured in 2020) Justin's friend Beth Gillies wrote: 'The propeller did a number on his head and left arm...The great news is, he is going to be fine. With some time, he will possibly be better than fine. He is adding more character to the face we know and love' (pictured July 31) Supporters: Since Sutherland had no health insurance, Gillies and four other loved ones started a GoFundMe to help pay his medical and other expenses and - as of press time - it had raised over $106K of a $500K goal 'The most important news, his beard is intact': The Taste the Culture host is looking at a long road to recovery having had his jaw wired shut, and he will have to undergo several more surgeries (pictured in 2019) When the news broke Monday on his Instagram/Facebook accounts - many of Justin's friends sent well wishes including SNL veteran Bobby Moynihan, chef Rachael Ray, chef Rocco DiSpirito, and comedian Joel McHale. Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi - who boasts 2.5M social media followers - helped spread the word via Instastory by reposting the link to Sutherland's GoFundMe. Meanwhile, chef Brian Ingram pledged to donate 100% of his sales to the Fast Foodies host this Thursday from his Saint Paul restaurant, Hope Breakfast Bar. 'Sending love!' When the news broke Monday on his Instagram/Facebook accounts - many of Justin's friends sent well wishes including SNL veteran Bobby Moynihan, chef Rachael Ray, chef Rocco DiSpirito, and comedian Joel McHale 'My heart goes out to him': Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi - who boasts 2.5M social media followers - helped spread the word via Instastory by reposting the link to Sutherland's GoFundMe 'We will stand with him through his recovery and beyond': Meanwhile, chef Brian Ingram pledged to donate 100% of his sales to the Fast Foodies host this Thursday from his Saint Paul restaurant, Hope Breakfast Bar Justin currently owns Portland egg sandwich chain Big E as well as two restaurants in Saint Paul - Handsome Hog and The Gnome Craft Pub - and one about to open in Minnesota, Northern Soul. Speaking of which, Harvard Common Press will publish Sutherland's new cookbook Northern Soul: Southern-Inspired Home Cooking from a Northern Kitchen on September 20. The Hybrid Nation co-owner first found fame coming in sixth place during the 16th season of Top Chef in 2019 after winning Iron Chef America: The Series in 2018. On the rise: Justin currently owns Portland egg sandwich chain Big E as well as two restaurants in Saint Paul - Handsome Hog (pictured June 9) and The Gnome Craft Pub - and one about to open in Minnesota, Northern Soul Speaking of which! Harvard Common Press will publish Sutherland's new cookbook Northern Soul: Southern-Inspired Home Cooking from a Northern Kitchen on September 20 She took style inspiration from Kim Kardashian earlier this week when she wore a pair of the reality star's favourite Balenciaga sunglasses. And Nicole Kidman, 55, was spotted spending time with the reality superstar, 41, backstage at the French Fashion House's show during Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday. The Aussie actress and the brunette beauty were seen holding hands as they chatted away to British pop star Dua Lipa. Nicole Kidman spent time with Kim Kardashian and Dua Lip backstage at the Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday Kim, who stands at a diminutive five foot two, looked up and smiled with glee at the towering Hollywood actress, who is a statuesque five foot nine. All three women starred in Balenciaga's Haute-Couture Fall Winter 2002-2023 show. Balenciaga muse Kim looked nothing short of sensational as she showcased her incredible figure in a form-fitting black gown, which completely covered her legs and arms. Nicole stunned in one-shoulder silver gown, which featured ruched detailing across the midriff, while Dua, 26, wore a lemon yellow mini dress. Eyes Wide Shut star Nicole shared a photo of the moment on her Instagram page as well as other backstage snaps. One included one of her snuggling into her husband, country music star Keith Urban, as she had her hair and makeup done for the show Nicole also pouted in a mirror selfie as she had her makeup done Eyes Wide Shut star Nicole shared a photo of the moment the trio met on her Instagram page, as well as other backstage snaps. One included one of her snuggling into her husband, country music star Keith Urban, as she had her hair and makeup done for the show. Keith showed off his bulging biceps as he wrapped his arm around his beautiful wife of 16 years. The day before, Nicole wore the same mysterious pair of Balenciaga shades that Kim wore on several occasions in 2021. Nicole Kidman looked incredible in a one-shoulder silver gown which featured ruched detailing across the midriff The day before, Nicole wore the same mysterious pair of Balenciaga shades that Kim wore on several occasions in 2021 Nicole was seeing sporting the bowtie-shaped sunglasses while leaving a Balenciaga fitting on Tuesday. She teamed the unique accessory with a simple black long-sleeve body and high-waisted jeans. Nicole layered a cross necklace with a simple elegant chain and amped up her glam with a bracelet and rings. The Big Little Lies star paired her outfit with pointed-heel shoes and carried a black leather clutch. The stunning redhead threw her copper tresses into a comfortable updo as she stopped by the couture store. Stepping out: Kim wore the unusual eyewear while out in NYC in 2021 It comes as Nicole recently revealed how her early days in Hollywood were possible thanks to some of her Australian friends. The actress Academy Award winner told the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in a recorded interview that she was supported by her good pals, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, even sleeping on their couch while auditioning for roles in Los Angeles. '[Deborra-Lee] was one of my best friends,' the Dead Calm star said, adding that the fellow actress always gave her a place to stay when she flew in from Australia. Nicole was seeing wearing the bowtie-shaped shades while leaving a Balenciaga fitting on Tuesday '[I slept on the couch] in the house that Deborra-Lee was renting, and she gave the chance to stay there and we could go and audition,' Nicole said. 'It was expensive, we couldn't afford hotels, so the idea of being in hub out of a house together, was really, I mean, my god.' She added: 'You'd go and come back and you'd go over for a few weeks and do some auditions and hope to crack it.' Nicole has previously revealed how Deborra-Lee, 66, and Hugh, 53, helped her after her divorce from Tom Cruise in 2001. Grateful: Nicole recently revealed how her early days in Hollywood were possible thanks to her Australian friends Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness. Pictured in 2013 'When I got divorced, Hugh and Deb were so much a part of my healing,' she said in a candid interview with Australian Women's Weekly. 'They were some of my best friends through that period,' she added. Like Nicole, Hugh and Deborra-lee were among a small group of budding Australian actors living in Hollywood in the 1980s. Deborra-lee was the first to meet Nicole when she was 'couch surfing' in Los Angeles as a teenager before being cast in Days of Thunder, where she met Tom. 'I do remember Tom Cruise ringing the house when she landed the role [in Days of Thunder]. Nic was always very cool and took it all in her stride,' Deborra-lee said. After splitting with Tom, 59, Nicole went on to meet her second husband, Keith Urban, 54. LONDON (AP) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been dealt a major blow with the resignation of two of his most senior Cabinet ministers, who said they had lost confidence in Johnsons leadership. The departures of Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid came after months of turmoil for Johnson, who has fought off one scandal after another. Here is a timeline of recent key events that have rocked Johnson and his government: __ Nov. 3-4, 2021: Johnson's government orders Conservative lawmakers to support a change in ethics rules to delay the suspension of Owen Paterson, a Johnson supporter who had been censured for breaching lobbying rules. The measure passes. A day later, facing an angry backlash from lawmakers of all parties, Johnson reverses course and allows lawmakers to vote on Patersons suspension. Paterson resigns. Nov. 30, 2021: British media begin reporting allegations that government officials attended parties in government offices during November and December 2020 in violation of COVID-19 lockdown rules. The scandal grows over the coming weeks, ultimately including reports of more than a dozen parties. Johnson maintains that there were no parties and no rules were broken, but opposition leaders criticize the government for breaking the law as people across the country made sacrifices to combat the pandemic. FILE - An anti-Boris Johnson, anti-Brexit protester stands next to a placard across the street from the Houses of Parliament on the edge of Parliament Square, in London, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Johnson was dealt a major blow Tuesday, July 5, 2022 when two of his most senior Cabinet ministers quit, saying they had lost confidence in Johnson's leadership. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) Dec. 8, 2021: Johnson authorizes investigation into the scandal, dubbed "Partygate." Pressure initially builds for a leadership challenge, but fizzles. Jan. 2022: Johnson's longtime aide, Munira Mirza, quits Downing Street. Three other top aides resign soon after. March 23, 2022: The government announces a mid-year spending plan that's criticized for doing too little to help people struggling with the soaring cost of living. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak refuses to delay a planned income tax increase or impose a windfall profits tax on oil and gas companies benefiting from rising energy prices. April 9, 2022: Johnson meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, pledging a new package of military and economic support. The move helps bolster Johnson and his supporters, who argue that the government should not focus on domestic political squabbles. April 12, 2022: Johnson is fined 50 pounds ($63) for attending one of the lockdown parties. Opposition parties characterize him as the first U.K. prime minister in history who has been shown to have broken the law while in office. Johnson apologizes but insists he didnt know he was breaking the rules. May 22, 2022: Findings of the "Partygate" investigation are published, detailing 16 gatherings at Johnson's home and office and other government offices between May 2020 and April 2021. The report details instances of excessive drinking among some of Johnson's staff, at a time when millions of people were unable to see friends and family. May 26, 2022: The government reverses course on its tax decision on oil and gas companies and announces plans for a 25% windfall profits levy. June 6, 2022: Johnson wins a vote of no confidence, with Conservative lawmakers voting by 211 to 148 to back him. But the scale of the revolt - some 41% voted against him - shakes his grip on power. June 15, 2022: Christopher Geidt quits as ethics adviser to Johnson, accusing the Conservative government of planning to flout conduct rules. June 24, 2022: Johnson's Conservatives lose two former strongholds to opposition parties in special elections. June 29, 2022: Parliament's cross-party Privileges Committee issues a call for evidence for a probe into whether Johnson misled Parliament over lockdown parties. June 30, 2022: Chris Pincher resigns as the Conservative deputy chief whip after allegedly assaulting two fellow guests at a private members club in London. Previous sexual misconduct allegations emerge about Pincher. Questions swirl about whether Johnson knew about the claims when Pincher was given the job. July 5, 2022: Johnson apologizes for his handling of the Pincher scandal and says he had forgotten about being told of the allegations. Two of Johnson's most senior Cabinet ministers, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, quit the government. FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a press conference in London, Saturday Nov. 27, 2021, after cases of the new COVID-19 variant were confirmed in the UK. Johnson was dealt a major blow Tuesday, July 5, 2022, when two of his most senior Cabinet ministers quit, saying they had lost confidence in Johnson's leadership. (Hollie Adams/Pool via AP, File) FILE - British lawmaker Owen Paterson outside the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels on Oct. 22, 2018. In Nov. 2021, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government ordered Conservative lawmakers to support a change in ethics rules to delay the suspension of Johnson supporter Owen Paterson, who had been censured for breaching lobbying rules. The measure passes. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File) FILE - A protester holds a sign showing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he stands in front of the entrance to Downing Street in London, Wednesday, April 13, 2022. In Nov. 30, 2021, British media began reporting allegations that government officials attended parties in government offices during November and December 2020 in violation of COVID-19 lockdown rules. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File) FILE - Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak holds a press conference in the Downing Street briefing room, London, Thursday Feb. 3, 2022. In March, 2022, the government announced a mid-year spending plan that's criticized for doing too little to help people struggling with the soaring cost of living. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak refused to delay a planned income tax increase or impose a windfall profits tax on oil and gas companies benefiting from rising energy prices. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP, File) FILE - In this image provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, and Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center left, walk in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 9, 2022. Johnson met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, pledging a new package of military and economic support. The move helped bolster Johnson and his supporters, who argue that the government should not focus on domestic political squabbles. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP, File ) FILE - An anti-Boris Johnson protester holds a placard as a reference to the Sue Gray report, on the junction of Parliament Street and Parliament Square, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. In May 2022, findings of the "Partygate" investigation are published, detailing 16 gatherings at Johnson's home and office and other government offices between May 2020 and April 2021. The report details instances of excessive drinking among some of Johnson's staff, at a time when millions of people were unable to see friends and family. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, second from right, chairs a cabinet meeting with, from second from left; Britain's Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, Britain's International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Britain's Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Simon Case and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, right, at a pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Thursday, May 12, 2022. Johnson was dealt a major blow Tuesday, July 5, 2022 when two of his most senior Cabinet ministers quit, saying they had lost confidence in Johnson's leadership. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP, File) FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021 file photo, from left, Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak attend a media briefing in Downing Street, London. Johnson was dealt a major blow Tuesday, July 5, 2022 when two of his most senior Cabinet ministers quit, saying they had lost confidence in Johnson's leadership. (Toby Melville/Pool Photo via AP, File) NATO allies sign accession protocols for Sweden, Finland Xinhua) 09:02, July 06, 2022 BRUSSELS, July 5 (Xinhua) -- NATO's 30 allies signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, starting the process to admit the two Nordic countries into the alliance that perhaps poses a grave challenge to global security. "With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger and our people will be even safer, as we face the biggest security crisis in decades," declared NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in a press conference after the signing ceremony. Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto and Foreign Minister of Sweden Ann Linde attended the signing ceremony. NATO's 30 members formally invited Finland and Sweden to join their alliance at the NATO Summit held last week in Madrid, Spain, only seven weeks after both countries handed their applications in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The accession process was initially blocked by Turkey, a NATO member that raised concerns over the fight against terrorism. After signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Finland and Sweden, Turkey lifted its veto ahead of the NATO Madrid summit. The next step is for the parliaments of all 30 NATO members to ratify Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO, according to their own national procedures. The last accession was ratified within a year, said Stoltenberg, but since Sweden's and Finland's accession process has been sped up since the beginning, this could go faster. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon has met with U.S. prosecution officials during a visit to New York and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the investigation of financial crimes, notably cryptocurrency, officials said Wednesday. The meeting between Han and Andrea M. Griswold, co-chief of the Securities and Commodities Task Force at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and Scott Hartman, chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force of the same office, took place on Tuesday, officials said. The two sides discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and information exchange between the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office and the Southern District of New York office in fighting against major securities fraud and financial crimes. The two sides also agreed to share their latest investigation data on ongoing crypto cases, including the high-profile case surrounding the meltdown of stablecoin TerraUSD and its digital coin counterpart, Luna. Korean prosecutors are looking into possible fraud charges surrounding TerraUSD and Luna while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Do Kwon, co-founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, and whether marketing of the TerraUSD before it crashed violated investor-protection regulations. (Yonhap) An appeals court on Wednesday upheld a 2 1/2-year prison term for a 20-year-old man charged with throwing his 15-day-old son and causing a skull fracture. Confirming a lower court's decision, the Daegu High Court rejected the father's appeal. The court also ordered him to undergo 40 hours of child abuse treatment and barred him from employment at children and youth facilities for three years. The defendant, whose identity has been withheld, was found guilty of throwing the infant on a blanket on the floor on Oct. 22, 2021, for crying and refusing to sleep, court documents showed. The father also repeatedly spanked the son with a coat hanger and slapped the infant's face. (Yonhap) Safran Group announced setting up its largest and first aircraft engine MRO (maintenance, repairs and operations) facility in Hyderabad with an initial investment of $150 million (about Rs 1,185 crore). (Image: Twitter/ @KTRTRS) HYDERABAD: Telangana state bagged a major investment from French multinational aviation company Safran, that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines and various aerospace and defence-related equipment and their components. Safran Group announced setting up its largest and first aircraft engine MRO (maintenance, repairs and operations) facility in Hyderabad with an initial investment of $150 million (about Rs 1,185 crore). With this, Telangana further cemented its position as a leading aerospace destination. The new project is expected to create about 1,000 high skilled jobs in the state. The MRO will also give a significant boost to Hyderabad airport and Telangana aviation ecosystem. IT and industries minister K.T. Rama Rao on Wednesday welcomed the Safran groups decision of selecting Hyderabad for its mega aero engine MRO. The MRO facility in Hyderabad will overhaul their market leading Leap 1A and Leap 1B aero engines used by Indian and foreign commercial airlines. The full capacity of a state-of-the-art MRO shop with its engine test cell will be of 250 to 300 engine shop visits a year. This will place this project as the biggest MRO shop of the Safran aircraft engine MRO network globally. This world-class engine MRO facility is expected to have a huge multiplier effect on local aerospace manufacturing ecosystem, with a potential to attract further investments and high value job creation into the state. Safrans recently established two mega aerospace projects in Hyderabad in close succession the Safran Electrical and Power Factory producing engine wire harnesses and Safran aircraft engine factory, manufacturing critical aero engine parts for LEAP engines are located adjacent to the Rajiv Gandhi Airport. It will be inaugurated by Rama Rao in the presence of Olivier Andries, Safran Group chief executive officer and Jean Paul Alary, Safran Aircraft Engine - chief executive officer on Thursday. Attracting repeat mega investments from multiple global aerospace OEMs, Hyderabad had established itself as the most vibrant and happening aerospace valley of India, a media statement issued by Rama Rao said. The study found the presence of the virus in Delhi, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. (Representational image: Pixabay) Hyderabad: The Zika virus has spread to most Indian states, including Telangana, according to a study carried out by the ICMR and NIV, Pune. Zika is a vector-borne disease spread by mosquitoes. Its symptoms include fever, headache, rashes, and joint and muscle pain. Last year, 66 cases were reported in an outbreak of the virus in Kerala. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, states in its conclusion: Our study indicates the spread of the Zika virus to several states of India and an urgent need to strengthen its surveillance. Of 1,475 samples tested as part of the study, 64, which included a sample from Osmania Medical College, tested positive for Zika virus. The retrospective surveillance for ZIKV (Zika virus) undertaken by us demonstrates the silent spread of this virus to almost all parts of India, the study states. The study found the presence of the virus in Delhi, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Dr B.R. Shamanna, epidemiologist and professor, School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad, said the findings showed that scientists were now beginning to recognise the Zika virus. Earlier, we did not know what Zika was, its a recent phenomenon. In our discipline, we have a saying if you look for something you will find it. Chief Minister Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy presents a memento to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the freedom fighter Alluri Seetharama Raju 125th birth anniversary celebrations at Peda Amiram in Bhimavaram on Monday. AP Governor B.Harichandan and Minister for Tourism R.K.Roja are seen. (Photo by arrangement) VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Jagan Reddy on Monday revived the Special Category Status demand, timing his move with the Presidential election in which the YSRC votes are essential for the BJP to ensure victory of the NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu. The CM made a plea for SCS during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to AP to unveil the statue of freedom fighter Alluri Sitaramaraju in Bhimavaram. While giving a send-off to the PM at Gannavaram airport on Monday, Jagan submitted a letter/ memorandum to him, seeking SCS for AP and release of pending central fund arrears. CM Jagan on June 23 announced support to NDA presidential candidate Murmu, who will be the first tribal woman to hold the position if elected. This is the second time the YSRC extended its support to BJP in the presidential elections. The Opposition parties including Telugu Desam has been demanding that the YSRC pressurise Modi for sanctioning the Special Category Status (SCS) to AP in lieu of the YSRC supporting the BJPs presidential candidate. CM Jagan told the PM that grant of SCS would help the state recover from the bifurcation difficulties. In the letter, the CM requested the Centre to release the resource gap grant of Rs.34,125.5 crore and clear the due of Rs.6,627.28 crore which was put by Telangana Discoms to AP Genco. Also, he urged the PM to consider the revised estimates of the Polavaram Project and give approval for Rs.55,548.87 crore. Jagan reminded Modi that the allotment of ration to the state under the National Food Security Act was not rational and this was causing serious damage to the states interests. He also appealed for adequate financial support for newly established medical colleges in the state and clearances for Bhogapuram Airport and allocation of iron ore mines to APMDC. Thiruvananthapuram: A day after Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan triggered a political row with his remarks against the Constitution, the opposition Congress UDF on Wednesday staged protests in the state assembly demanding his resignation following which the Speaker M B Rajesh adjourned the House for the day. As soon as the House proceedings began, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House raising slogans seeking the resignation of Cheriyan. They urged the Speaker to suspend the question hour and take up the notice for their adjournment motion to discuss the issue. Though the Speaker pointed out that it was against the precedents and procedures of the House and requested them to cooperate with the question hour, the UDF members did not pay heed to his request. As the sloganeering continued and they were not willing to go back to their respective seats, Rajesh announced that the House was adjourned for the day following which the opposition members walked out of the House raising slogans against Cheriyan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for not seeking his resignation After staging a brief sit-in protest at the portal of the hall with placards, the UDF members gathered in front of the statue of B R Ambedkar at the Assembly campus and raised slogans charging with Cheriyan 'insulting' the architect of the Indian Constitution through his harsh remarks. Shouting 'jai bhim' slogan, the greeting used by the followers of Ambedkar, they marched out of the Assembly complex. The opposition leaders, who met the media at the gate, said though they came prepared to raise the issue during the zero hour, the government tried to avoid questions being raised by the UDF against Cheriyan. They also claimed that it was "unprecedented" that the entire session was called off by the Speaker in the name of opposition protest during question hour. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan alleged that the CM and the CPI(M) leadership were protecting the minister, who had insulted the Constitution and humiliated its architects. "They did not allow us to seek even the notice for the adjournment motion. We will not surrender before such an autocratic stand by the government. The opposition will continue its fight till Saji Cheriyan submits his resignation," he said. The CM should demand his resignation or he should be removed from his position, he added. Saji Cheriyan, the minister for Cultural Affairs and Fisheries, on Tuesday landed in trouble for his remarks against the Constitution, triggering a huge political row in the state, but expressed regret soon claiming that he is a public servant upholding the noble constitutional values. In the visuals aired by the TV channels, the minister could be seen saying in a recent event that the Constitution of the country "condones exploitation" and is written in a way helping to "plunder" the people of the country, drawing sharp reaction from the opposition parties which sought his immediate removal from the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF cabinet. New Delhi: After eight malfunctioning incidents reported in the last 18 days, the aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Wednesday issued a show cause notice to SpiceJet, raising concerns over safety matters. The DGCA notice says that various incidents from April 1 this year till date have been reviewed by it and it was found that "poor internal safety oversight" and "inadequate maintenance actions" have resulted in the degradation of safety margins. DGCA's audit of SpiceJet in September 2021 found component suppliers not being paid on a regular basis, leading to a shortage of spares. Following the DGCA's notice to SpiceJet, civil aviation minister Jyotiaditya Scindia said passenger safety is paramount and "even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated and course-corrected." "The reported incidents on aircraft operated by SpiceJet Limited from April 1, 2022 till date have been reviewed and it has been observed that at number of occasions the aircraft either tuned back to its originating station of continued landing or continued landing to the destination with degraded safety margins. Financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 has revealed that the airlines has operated on Cash and Carry and suppliers/approved vendors are not being paid on regular basis leading to shortage of spares and frequent invoking of MELsIt may be deduced that SpiceJet Ltd has failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable air services under terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937," the DGCA notice said while flagging technical snags. SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said technical snags and bird hits are the hazards often faced by the aviation industry. "No one can stop bird hit in aviation industry. On average, 30 incidents happen per day in India's air services... Whatever incidents happen, we report them to DGCA and try to minimize them. But if you are thinking that such incidents will stop, it is not possible," Mr Singh said. On Wednesday, SpiceJet's Q400 plane conducted a priority landing in Mumbai after the windshield cracked mid-air, while a Spicejet Delhi-Dubai flight with 150 onboard made a precautionary landing in Karachi on Tuesday. Prior to that, a SpiceJet Q400 plane from Delhi to Jabalpur made a 'May Day' distress call and returned to Delhi after smoke was detected in the cabin. On June 19, a Delhi-bound SpiceJet aircraft, with 185 passengers on board, made an emergency landing in Patna right after take-off as its left engine caught fire following a bird hit. Meanwhile, some other airlines too have reported incidents. On Tuesday, smoke was detected by the cabin crew in IndiGo's Raipur-Indore flight during taxing while a Bangkok-Delhi Vistara flight landed at Delhi on Tuesday on a single-engine. Deliveries in hospitals have gone up to 97 per cent from 91 per cent in 2014 while the child births in government hospitals recorded a whopping jump to 56 per cent. (Representational image) Hyderabad: With constant thrust on healthcare by the Telangana government, the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rates (IMR) have considerably gone down during the past seven years. According to official figures, the MMR has dropped to 56 (national average 103) from 92 in 2014 and IMR shrunk to 23 (national average (32) as against 39 in 2015. Deliveries in hospitals have gone up to 97 per cent from 91 per cent in 2014 while the child births in government hospitals recorded a whopping jump to 56 per cent against 30 per cent in 2014. As per the instructions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, the state government has been providing nutritious food to pregnant and mother-to-newborn through 35,700 Anganwadi centres from January 2015 under Arogya Lakshmi Scheme. As many as 4.72 lakh women and 17.63 children under age six are benefitted through the scheme. The state government has considerably increased the honorarium to Anganwadi teachers. Former union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi at his residence in New Delhi, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Naqvi submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, a day before the completion of his Rajya Sabha term. (PTI Photo) New Delhi: Two Union ministers -- Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and R.C.P. Singh -- whose Rajya Sabha term was coming to an end on July 7, submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. While Mr Naqvi, the sole Muslim face in the Narendra Modi council of ministers, was heading the minority affairs ministry and was also the BJPs deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Singh, a JD(U) leader, held the steel portfolio. Mr Naqvi was also the only Muslim MP of the BJP among its nearly 400-plus members of Parliament. Mr Naqvis name is, incidentally, also doing the rounds as among the likely candidates to succeed vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairman. The election for the next vice-president is scheduled to be held on August 6, and July 19 is the last date for filing nominations. Late on Wednesday evening, the government announced that textiles minister Smriti Irani had been given the additional charge of the minority affairs ministry, while civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia would hold additional charge of the steel ministry. Sources said Mr Modi lauded both Mr Naqvi and Mr Singh at a meeting of the Union Cabinet on Wednesday for their contributions to the nation during their ministerial tenure. Both submitted their resignations in order to fulfil their constitutional obligation as they will cease to be MPs from Friday. After the Cabinet meeting, Mr Naqvi is also learnt to have met BJP president J.P. Nadda. Mr R.C.P. Singh, who was once considered close to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, is a former bureaucrat. Mr Singh resigned on his birthday, one year after joining the Cabinet from his partys quota. The JD(U) denied him another term in the Upper House of Parliament amid reports that he had grown closer to the BJP, that apparently miffed the JD(U)s leadership. The PM wished him a happy birthday in the morning. With Mr Singhs resignation, there are only two ministers at the Centre from the BJPs allies -- Ramdas Athawale from the RPI(A) and Anupriya Patel from the Apna Dal. As the Union Cabinet has two more vacancies and no representation from the BJPs biggest ally, the JD(U), there is a possibility of a Cabinet expansion-cum-reshuffle in the near future. HYDERABAD: As the BJP seeks to unseat the TRS in Telangana, it is intensifying its aggressive outreach to people, and particularly its committed cadre. Beginning later this week, the party will launch the next stage of its strategy, which will involve a series of visits by Union ministers to the state. On Tuesday, the Telangana BJP announced that Union ministers will be visiting the Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, spending at least two nights in each constituency and meeting with constituency leaders and party workers during the day. As part of the partys Lok Sabha Pravas Yojana strategy, the state has been divided into four clusters Adilabad, Hyderabad, Mahbubnagar, and Warangal, party state party general secretary Gujjula Premender Reddy told reporters after Tuesdays meeting of the state BJP office-bearers. Union Minister for Fisheries Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala will be in-charge of the Adilabad cluster, while Prahlad Venkatesh Joshi, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, will lead the reach out in the Hyderabad cluster, he said. While Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister for Heavy Industries will lead the team for the Mahbubnagar cluster, Minister of State for North Eastern Region B.L. Verma, will be heading the party work in the Warangal cluster. During their stays in the state, the Union Ministers will discuss the progress made on various fronts under Modi's government during the past eight years. Premender Reddy said Tuesdays meeting also discussed the success of the Assembly constituency Sampark programme that preceded the national executive meeting. The meeting acknowledged the leadership of State party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar who received a standing ovation and that the party leaders thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president J.P. Nadda, and all the members of the BJPs national executive for their support to the state party unit. Meanwhile, Dugyala Pradeep Kumar, also a state party general secretary, said a staggering 6.5 lakh people from all the 35,000 polling booth limits in the state came to attend Modis public meeting at Parade Grounds, but many of them did not make it to the venue. He said this massive mobilization was the first of its kind in the party's history. Modi and Nadda appreciated the state BJP for its organization of the entire programme, he said. The chief minister would be drawing the roadmap for the YSRC 2024 election push, in the plenary sessions of the party in Guntur on July 8 and 9. (Representational image: By arrangement) Visakhapatnam: Differences among the senior YSRC leaders in urban assembly segments are to be brought to the notice of party president and chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. The chief minister would be drawing the roadmap for the YSRC 2024 election push, in the plenary sessions of the party in Guntur on July 8 and 9. The party had conceded all the four Vizag urban assembly segments to the TD in the 2019 polls. One of these winners, Visakhapatnam South MLA Vasupalli Ganesh, who was successful for the second time on behalf of the TD, later switched over to YSRC. Ganesh is not happy because AP Brahman Corporation chairman S Sudhakar has been interfering in the affairs of the constituency. When Ganeshs complaints on this were ignored by the partys regional coordinator Subba Reddy, the MLA resigned from the coordinator post. Later on, there was a patch-up. But Sudhakar is continuing to "meddle" with the constituency affairs. I asked chief minister to spare five minutes for me to explain my plight. Jagan agreed to talk to me after the plenary session, Ganesh told this correspondent. Similarly, in Visakhapatnam East constituency, the differences between party coordinator Akkaramani Vijayanirmala and MLC Vamsi Yadav came out in the open. Recently, a group of corporators led by Mayor Hari Venkatakumari joined hands with the MLC and had discussions in the presence of four corporators. The MLC is unhappy that Vijaya Nirmala was appointed as East coordinator even after she lost the segment to Velagapudi Ramakrishna of TD, who won the seat for the third time in the 2019 elections. All the three leaders belong to the numerically strong Yadava community that decides the fate of the elections in the East. The appointment of Vijayanirmala as VMRDA chairman further angered Vamsi, local leaders say. In the West constituency, Malla Vijayaprasad was replaced by Adari Anand of the famed Visakha Dairy. The second-rung leaders refused to accompany Vijayaprasad in the Gadapa Gadapaku programme as he was accused of many criminal acts. The YSRC high command was forced to yield to the demand of the party activists. Sources said Vijayaprasad is egging on his followers to sort out their differences with the senior party leaders at the plenary. These issues may not be discussed directly at the plenum but a separate forum is being put in place to hammer out all the differences in the presence of regional coordinators, said a senior party leader. As a day of national celebration turned into tragedy with six deaths and dozens of injuries, the United States of America was left grieving yet another mass shooting. The killings carried out by a gunman with an assault rifle firing serially from a rooftop on a parade in Chicago, Illinois was just one of at least three such incidents on July 4, a day more famous for commemorative fireworks than the display of the destructive power of assault weapons. That there have already been 308 mass shootings in 2022 in the US is ample indication of the harm unfettered access to weapons can cause. In a gun-worshipping nation with more weapons than people, a gun has historically symbolised masculinity and power. Every time a logic-defying mass shooting takes place, the gun reformists are seen to be up in arms but they run into not only a most powerful gun lobby but also a legislature hamstrung by the filibuster and a judiciary inclined towards preserving the right to individual self-defence as guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Its not as if they didnt try in the wake of the shocking shooting at a Texas school in which 19 children and two of their teachers died. However well-intentioned the reform movement was, the bipartisan Bill, signed into law by US President Joe Biden, carries only heavily-watered down measures more than strict gun control particularly required against young people who are still free to access assault rifles and unlimited ammunition. The US Is not the only country to suffer this problem of (mostly) male gun owners losing their minds to open fire at malls, schools and such places where people gather. Many nations like Norway, Britain, Canada and Germany have acted to restrict the sale of military-style firearms and control gun violence as in mass shootings. But nowhere has gun ownership been easier nor an enduring tradition of permitting the carrying of weapons in public perpetuated as in the US. So much so, it has become a civilisational challenge at its most acute in the land of the free. Protesters accuse former president Moon Jae-in of "helping enemies" at Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, May 20. They hold posters that read "Arrest Moon Jae-in" and "Arrest the Enemy Supporter." Newsis Ruling cites inconvenience to local residents By Ko Dong-hwan A court has dismissed a request by protesters to repeal a recent police ban on their rallies at a village in the city of Yangsan where former President Moon Jae-in lives. Ulsan District Court said the rallies, if allowed to continue, will likely cause inconveniences to local residents. The district court on Tuesday dismissed an injunction filed by far-right conservative protesters against Moon demanding that a decision by Yangsan police to ban their demonstrations at Pyeongsan Village in the city be scrapped. Since May of this year, the protesters have been making loud noises in front of the former president's home, accusing him of mishandling state affairs. On pickup trucks equipped with large speakers or using megaphones, they have played songs or blared accusations against Moon, sometimes using coarse language. The rallies went on day after day. The court pointed out that the protesters had already violated repeated orders from police to tone down their activities. After issuing three warnings, police resorted to limiting the time the protesters can use their megaphones and speakers during their rallies. Police also banned the protesters from shouting out foul language. The court judged that the protesters violated the country's 65-decibel noise cap for a legally allowed rally. The court said some residents, after suffering from insomnia and extreme stress because of the noise, had to receive psychological therapy. "It's hard to see that they wouldn't be able to accomplish their goal unless they demonstrate at this specific location," said the court. The protesters aroused the concerns of police and politicians. Not just Yangsan police, but the national police also faced a dilemma trying to figure out how to legally stop the protesters from making noise while respecting their legal rights to protest. The police warned the protesters that illegal activities will not be tolerated, while the protesters kept arguing that it is their constitutional right to hold demonstrations. The protesters came as Moon moved to Pyeongsan when President Yoon Suk-yeol was inaugurated on May 10. Moon said he "wants to be forgotten by the public" as he moved to the southeastern province. But thanks to the protesters, not only Moon but the small rural village also became the subject of unwanted spotlight, triggering debate over whether the protesters should be stopped or allowed. Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Kim Dong-yeon, right, visited Moon Jae-in in Yangsan on June 14. Courtesy of Gyeonggi Provincial Governor's transition committee Authorities in Iran have closed three coffee shops in the central city of Qom because female customers were not wearing their headscarves, local media reported Monday. "Three coffee shops were closed in Qom due to numerous violations, including women's lack of veils and other issues," said a statement by the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's ideological army, published in the newspaper Hamshari. "The owners of the cafes were summoned by police before legal action was taken," the statement added. Qom, a city revered by Shiites as the site where they believe the twelfth imam of Shiite Islam will return, is located 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of the capital Tehran. Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iranian law has required all women, regardless of nationality or religious belief, to cover their bodies with loose clothing and veil their heads in public. India is now planning to hold some events related to the G20 summit in 2023 in Ladakh too although China and Pakistan already opposed its plan to hold some meetings linked to the conclave in Jammu and Kashmir. The Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, R K Mathur, sanctioned the nomination of an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of his administration to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs for preparations for the G20 events to be held in the union territory next year. New Delhis plan to schedule some of the events related to the 2023 G20 summit in Ladakh has come to light ahead of a proposed meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Bali in Indonesia. Jaishankar and Wang will attend the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali on Thursday and Friday. Also Read: Jaishankar, Wang may meet in Indonesia to end stalemate on India-China border stand-off They may hold a bilateral meeting on the sideline of the conclave in order to end the stalemate in negotiations to resolve the more-than-two-year-long military stand-off along the disputed boundary between India and China in eastern Ladakh. The main events of the 2023 G20 summit are proposed to be held in New Delhi and construction works are now going on to give Pragati Maidan in the national capital a facelift and to turn it into the venue for the conclave. New Delhi, however, also has plans to hold some of the events related with the G20 in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, two new Union Territories of India. Islamabad opposed New Delhis plan as it perceived it as a move by India to assert its claim on Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of its territory and reject Pakistans claim on it before the international community. China too echoed its iron brother Pakistan. A spokesperson of the Chinese Governments Ministry of Foreign Affairs told journalists in Beijing that the dispute between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir should be resolved according to the United Nations charter and no side should take unilateral moves that might complicate the situation. Pakistan and China are also likely to oppose Indias plan to hold some events in Ladakh. Also Read: US urges G20 to press Russia to reopen sea lanes for grain delivery The Modi Government had in August 2019 stripped the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and reorganized it into two Union Territories. Pakistan, supported by China and Turkey, had then launched a campaign, making a renewed attempt to internationalize its dispute with India over Jammu and Kashmir. India had blocked all attempts by Pakistan and China to bring the issue of Jammu and Kashmir back on the formal agenda of the United Nations Security Council. In a shocking incident, a Sufi cleric from Afghanistan, has been shot dead in Yeola town of Nashik district of Maharashtra. The deceased was identified as Khwaja Sayyad Chishti, aged 35, popularly known as 'Sufi Baba. On Tuesday evening, four youths shot him dead in the Yeola town. The assailants seized an SUV used by him and fled the spot. #NewsAlert A cleric from #Afghanistan - who was staying in India for last 4 years - was shot dead in Yeola town of #Nashik district late last evening @DeccanHerald #Maharashtra Mrityunjay Bose (@MBTheGuide) July 6, 2022 Nashik Rural Superintendent of Police Sachin Patil confirmed the incident. We have registered a case of murder and investigations are under way. We suspect that four people are behind the incident, Patil told reporters. Property-related dispute seems to be the motive behind the incident, according to initial investigation. According to police, he was an Afghanistan passport holder. He came to India around four years ago. He initially stayed in Delhi, then moved to Karnataka and was now staying in Maharashtra, Patil said, adding that he had the permission from the Centre to stay in India. Senior academician V P Niranjanaradhya on Wednesday dubbed Karnataka School Education & Literacy Minister B C Nagesh as "a fool", while speaking on the controversy over textbooks. "B C Nagesh is such a fool that he has no knowledge on education," Niranjanaradhya of the National Law School of India University, said during a discussion on the revision of textbooks organised by the Vishwamanava Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Kalaniketana. "If the minister had minimum common sense, he would have stopped the person appointed to revise the textbooks citing that there was no curriculum framework available. The committee was formed by the earlier minister, but after taking charge of the portfolio, Nagesh did not even bother to verify whether there were provisions to revise textbooks. This arrogance itself shows that they have revised the textbooks intentionally," Niranjanaradhya said, referring to the now-dissolved textbook revision committee headed by Rohith Chakratirtha. He questioned the government on "what morality it has" to distribute the revised textbooks to schoolchildren. "When the government itself said in its order that the committee chairman will be responsible for any issues after the revision, in what capacity is the department is distributing those books when so many objections were raised?" he said. Meanwhile, writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa, who headed the previous textbook revision committee, said that there was no need to get a certificate from "a person who compared state flag to an undergarment and insulted Dr B R Ambedkar". Defending the textbooks his committee revised, Baraguru said: "We had not given negative information on anybody, even Savarkar." He further said that while it is common for everyone to have a religious ideology, it is "unacceptable" to impose them on children through textbooks. "While writing or revising the textbooks, we must maintain mental distance with our ideology," he said. Retired Karnataka High Court Justice H N Nagamohan Das and others were present at the discussion. Subscriber content preview FRISCO, Texas (AP) The Dallas Cowboys sparked criticism on social media Tuesday after announcing a marketing agreement with a gun-themed coffee company with blends that include AK-47 Espresso, Silencer Smooth and Murdered Out. The partnership with the Black Rifle Coffee Co. was revealed on Twitter the day after more than a half-dozen people died in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago. . . . Subscriber content preview By ALGERNON D'AMMASSA Las Cruces Sun-News Image from Fort Sill Apache document [enlarge] Construction should be finished later this year on an expanded retail facility for the Fort Sill Apache tribe. A casino may be built next. DEMING, N.M. A legal representative of the Fort Sill Apache tribe seemed pleasantly surprised by the prevailing mood at a public scoping meeting for a proposed gaming facility and other developments on a patch of land in Luna County. . . . Subscriber content preview Rendering by d/Arch [enlarge] Looking southeast, the new and old (right, white) buildings are about a 30-minute walk to Northgate Station. An older 15-unit apartment building at 11224 Meridian Ave. N. recently sold for $5 million, according to King County records. The buyer was Prime on Meridian LLC, associated with Heaton Dainard Real Estate, which is planning a new companion building with an additional 57 units. Public records indicate a loan from First Security Bank of Washington. . . . Subscriber content preview FEDERAL WAY The Align, at 35434 25th Ave. S.W. in Federal Way, sold last week for nearly $35.8 million, according to King County records. The seller was CE SAM RED Align Owner LLC, associated with RedHill Realty Investors of San Diego, which acquired the property in 2018 for almost $20.8 million. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE A vacant old bank at 5602 15th Ave N.W. recently sold for $3.4 million, according to King County records. The buyer was 15th Avenue NW LLC, associated with Slattery Properties, which bought out an Edmonds partner. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE The Mercury at 1723 Summit Ave. sold for a bit over $6.1 million, according to King County records. The seller was Mercury Investors LLC, which acquired the property in 2016 for almost $4.3 million. . . . People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, right, speaks during the first meeting of senior ruling party and government officials since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol government held at the prime minister's official residence in Seoul, July 6. Yonhap Ruling People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok spoke about the economy, people's livelihoods and job creation Wednesday as he sought to appear unfazed on the eve of an ethics committee meeting that could unseat him as party leader. The PPP's ethics committee is scheduled to meet Thursday to determine whether and how to discipline Lee over allegations that he received sexual services paid for by a businessman as a bribe in 2013 and attempted to cover up the case. While he has claimed innocence, the scandal is considered to be the biggest crisis yet for Lee, who won the PPP chairmanship last year and became the first person in his 30s to take the helm of a major political party in Korea. It is the first time in the party's history that a party chairman has been referred to the committee. On Wednesday, Lee went about his daily routine without comments on the case, attending a meeting of party leaders and senior government officials and talking about how important it is to bolster the semiconductor industry while at the same time taking better care of people's livelihoods. "I think it is important to revive the value of warm-hearted conservatism," he said. Any punishment stronger than a warning could imperil his political career and prompt the ruling party to elect a new leader, given that Lee's chairmanship is set to end in June. The PPP runs a four-tier disciplinary system, which ranges from a warning to a maximum 3-year suspension in party membership, a recommendation to leave the party and an expulsion. But even if the committee decides to take disciplinary action, it is likely that Lee will not succumb easily. The PPP chairman has stressed that he cannot accept any decision until an ongoing police probe is finalized. The committee's decision is also expected to reshape the party's power structure at a time when Lee is embroiled in a power struggle over party leadership with a pro-Yoon faction of PPP lawmakers. A decision to not punish Lee, meanwhile, is set to bolster Lee's party leadership and set him free from the allegations that have persistently dogged him since a far right-wing YouTube channel raised them in December. The PPP chairman recently launched a reform committee in a move seen as cementing his leadership and gaining firm control of the conservative party against pro-Yoon lawmakers. With either decision expected to sway the party's power structure, some lawmakers projected that the committee may decide to take a more cautious approach. "If the ethics committee decides to take disciplinary action in an arbitrary manner, without (waiting for) the police investigation results, it will rock the party," PPP Rep. Ha Tae-keung said in an interview with radio outlet BBS, saying it would be "most desirable" for the committee to wait for the probe to wrap up. (Yonhap) Telenor's Digi and Axiata's Celcom receive regulatory nod for merger in Malaysia Telenor Groups Malaysian subsidiary Digi.Com Berhad (Digi), and Celcom Axiata Berhad, a member of the Axiata Group, last week said they have received a notice of `No Objection from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on the proposed merger of Celcom and Digis telco operations. Axiata Group Berhad, commonly known as Axiata, formerly known as TM International Berhad, is a Malaysian multinational telecommunications conglomerate with extensive operations in Asia. It is one of the largest wireless carriers in the country. Celcom Axiata Berhad, DBA Celcom, is the oldest mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia. Celcom is a member of the Axiata group of companies With this notice the MCMC has consented for the parties advance to the next phase of the proposed transaction. The completion of the proposed transaction will now be subject to the approval of the Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia, and by both Axiata and Digi shareholders, Telenor stated in a release. We have reached a positive milestone in the Malaysian merger process with this regulatory clearance. We are excited to move towards realising the full potential of bringing these two companies together, establishing a commercially stronger and more resilient digital service provider. With the proposed structural moves in Thailand and Malaysia, Telenor has a clear ambition to create future-fit companies that can better support ambitious national digital aspirations and bring new, advanced services to consumers across the region," said Jorgen Arentz Rostrup, executive vice president and head of Telenor Asia. To ensure that consumers in Malaysia will continue to benefit from effective competition in the telecommunications sector, Axiata and Digi have offered an undertaking to fully addresses preliminary issues identified by the MCMC. The parties remain confident that the merged company will realise the expected synergies, and that the combined entities will establish a stronger, more resilient digital converged service provider well-positioned to respond to shifting market conditions, Telenor said. The merged company will provide better network quality and coverage. In addition, it will be primed to invest in network expansion, drive 5G solutions and catalyse new growth opportunities for large enterprises and SMEs. The merged company will also leverage combined economies of scale, while creating benefits through strengthening core distribution, delivering improved network operations, and realising efficiencies from operational activities, it added. The merged company has proposed to invest up to RM250 million ($55m / NOK 550m) over five years to build a world-class Innovation Centre in Kuala Lumpur that will keep Malaysia at the forefront of the global digital evolution. The Innovation Centre will be pivotal in advancing extensive research and development leveraging 5G, AI and IOT technology as well as supporting local digital start-ups in growing their technology and innovation capabilities. The parties estimate that the proposed merger will be completed within the second half of 2022 as announced previously. At completion, Axiata and Telenor will hold equal ownership of 33.1 per cent each in the new merged company. Irelands premier witnessed the devastation inflicted by invading Russian forces as he visited areas of Kyiv that have borne the brunt of the offensive on the city. Taoiseach Micheal Martin began a trip to the Ukrainian capital by viewing the conflict-scarred suburbs of Borodyanka, Bucha and Irpin. The tour included a sombre visit to the site of a mass grave in the grounds of a church in Bucha. Mr Martin is using the visit to Kyiv to reiterate Irish solidarity with the Ukrainian authorities in the face of the Russian invasion. His day-long itinerary in the war-torn city began with a trip to Borodyanka a town on the outskirts of Kyiv that has suffered widespread damage under Russian shelling. On the 30-minute drive from the railway station, the Taoiseach passed Hostomel airport, where his convoy stopped to observe a demolished bridge. The delegation also drove past bombed-out warehouses, shopping centres and petrol stations. The scale of Ukrainian efforts to defend their capital was evident, with numerous bunkers and fortifications visible on the journey. In Borodyanka, Mr Martin met the towns mayor and viewed apartment blocks gutted by fire during the Russian bombardment. From there, Mr Martin visited the site of a mass grave in Bucha. The grave was discovered in the grounds of the church of St Andrew. A local cleric showed Mr Martin the site and an associated exhibition of graphic photographs of exhumed bodies and pictures of civilians left dead on the streets of the suburb when Russian forces retreated. The Irish delegation then travelled to nearby Irpin where the Taoiseach was shown badly-damaged apartment blocks that had been hit by Russian shells. Afterwards, Mr Martin said: It is difficult to comprehend the devastation and inhumanity of Russias attacks on Irpin, Borodyanka and Bucha. Clear how important it is for women and children to get to Ireland to escape trauma and brutality. We stand with Ukraine. In meetings later on Wednesday, Mr Martin will discuss how Ireland and the EU can support Ukraine. Mr Martin will restate Irelands full backing for continuing sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putins regime, for Ukraines path to full EU membership, as well as Irelands commitment to work with the EU on the reconstruction of Ukraine. The people of Ireland stand with Ukraine and its people in the face of Russias immoral and unprovoked war of terror, he said. The bombardment and attacks on civilians are nothing short of war crimes, and I will use my visit to express Irelands support for moves to hold those behind these attacks fully accountable. The spirit and resolve of the Ukrainian people has inspired us all, and Ireland will provide every support for Ukraines path to full EU membership, and continue to welcome and support civilians fleeing this war. Mr Martins trip comes two weeks after President Volodymyr Zelensky invited him to visit Ukraine. It is the first visit by a Taoiseach to the eastern European country. It also comes after Mr Putin on Monday declared victory in seizing the eastern Ukrainian province of Luhansk, with his troops escalating their offensive in neighbouring Donetsk. Mr Martin has warned previously that the Russian president appeared to be leveraging its natural gas supplies to exert maximum pressure on Europe ahead of the winter period. The Taoiseach has also been a vocal advocate for Ukraines fast-tracked membership of the EU. Mr Zelensky has previously thanked Ireland for its active support of Ukraines European aspirations. Ireland has also taken in more than 36,000 Ukrainian refugees since Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine at the end of February. The Irish State has given 20 million euro in humanitarian support and assistance to the country, as well as health equipment and medical donations worth more than 4.5 million euro. In April, fellow cabinet minister Simon Coveney became the first foreign minister of the UN Security Council to visit Kyiv, and met Ukraines foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and defence minister Oleksii Reznikov. Two international corporations have announced plans to expand their Irish operations with a view to creating up to 40 new jobs in Dublin and the North West. International building services engineering consultancy, Norman Disney & Young (NDY), and global energy and technology company, Trailstone Group, announced news of their planned expansions yesterday (Tuesday July 5). NDY - which seeks to add up to 20 staff - is actively recruiting engineers in Ireland in core engineering disciplines such as mechanical and electrical, as well as in specialist disciplines such as sustainability and digital engineering. The company - which recently established an Irish branch - is focused on securing significant projects throughout Europe using local engineering expertise. The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, welcomed NDY's decision to grow in Ireland. He said, "Im really pleased to congratulate Norman Disney & Young, on this expansion, which will create 20 jobs for Dublin. With the focus of this new venture being on Europe, it highlights Ireland's EU membership and location as a hugely important factor when attracting of FDI to our shores. "These new jobs will provide an exciting opportunity for some of our highly skilled engineering graduates who will become part of Norman Disney & Young's worldwide operations. I wish the company all the best with is expansion and continued growth." Trailstone Group's plan to open a new office location in Sligo will reportedly create up to 20 new jobs over the next 3 years for the North West region. It's expected the group will seek to recruit top tech talent graduating from the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Sligo. Providing risk management, asset optimisation and energy trading services to owners of renewable energy assets, Trailstone aims to tap into Irish tech talent to further support their software applications. Sligo will be Trailstones seventh and newest office location, with other offices located in the US, UK and Germany. Commenting on Trailstone's expansion, the Tanaiste said he is "really glad" the company has chosen Sligo as its newest office location. He said, "Trailstones work in the sustainability software space is more important now than ever. We need to leave the planet in a better condition than we found it. "Renewable energy has a really important role to play, which is why weve committed to transforming our electricity grid to 80% renewables. Congratulations to the Trailstone team, Im sure you will be very happy in Sligo." The new office will reportedly be located within the Sligo Innovation Centre. Protesters gathered outside Department of Social Protection offices in Dublin and Waterford to call for an increase in pay for care and community workers for the first time in more than 10 years. A third protest was held in Eyre Square in Galway city, as part of a 24-hour work stoppage. The Siptu industrial action was held from noon on Wednesday and represents the second day of strike action in a long-running dispute over pay. On Tuesday, a one-day stoppage by Irish Wheelchair Association workers across the country was held as part of a Valuing Community campaign backed by Siptu, Forsa, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Siptu said the Government has claimed it does not have a role to play in resolving the dispute, as it does not directly employ these workers, which is untenable and stands in stark contrast to how community workers pay was linked to public sector workers before 2008. Bernie Donnelly, a community employment supervisor in Finglas, Dublin, who runs a meals-on-wheels programme, told the PA news agency that the last pay increase she received was in 2008. Through it all we have seen the participants every year receive their social welfare payment increase, which would average at around five euro each year and we have received nothing. So in that time we have lost, you could say the equivalent of 75 euro. I would say to the Government for a start these community employment programmes, people working in the community, are saving the Government a fortune. We save the HSE thousands upon thousands of euro every year providing meals services in the community. If they had to pay the going rate for that, it would cost them a hell of a lot more than is being handed out now. So what we want to see is fairness. We want to be paid for the job that were doing. We want to get the recognition for the job that were doing. And we really ask no more than that. Siptu public administration and community division organiser Adrian Kane said our members employed by the Irish Wheelchair Association held a one-day work stoppage. This was very successful in highlighting the demand for pay justice for care and community sector workers. On pickets across the country, our members were overwhelmed by the strong support shown by the public for the strike, with many welcoming the fact the workers were standing up for pay justice in the midst of the worsening cost-of-living crisis. He said that workers demands were simple: For the Government to engage with these workers and their union representatives to discuss funding so they can have their first pay rise in 14 years. This is an open letter to President Yoon Suk-yeol to urge him to make more efforts to help orphans and vulnerable children enjoy their basic right to a family. ED. By Sarah Koh, Steve Morrison Sarah Koh Steve Morrison Figures released today by Revenue in relation to vacant properties, that was compiled from preliminary analysis of the data on vacancy captured as part of the Local Property Tax (LPT) returns, suggest that there are over 1,000 vacant properties in Louth. According to the data as of 20 June, 57,206 properties were indicated by their owners as being vacant as at 1 November 2021, according to the provisional analysis to date. The annual LPT liability associated with these properties is 12.4 million. The report from Revenue says 1.8% of the share of vacant properties nationally were in Louth. This would suggest that there are 1,029 vacant properties in Louth. Overall, 61% of vacant properties in Ireland were reported as being vacant for less than 12 months. In every Local Authority area, except Monaghan, at least 50% of vacant properties were reported as having been vacant for less than 12 months. In Monaghan, this figure is 47%. The reasons for the properties being vacant in Louth and the percentage of each is as follows: Holiday Home - 10.7% Other - 17.3% Undergoing refurbishment - 31.0% For sale - 16.7% Probate application - 7.8% Long term care - 7.8% Between lettings - 4.7% Owner absent - 3.4% Legal dispute - 0.7% According to Central Statistics Office (CSO) preliminary results from Census 2022, the number of vacant dwellings on Sunday 3 April 2022 in Louth was 3,675. However, Revenue says that the total number of properties on Revenues LPT register, for the valuation period 2022 to 2025, is not considered directly equivalent to the CSOs figure for total housing stock as at 3 April 2022. The LPT register comprises properties that have been recorded as liable for LPT, almost entirely via self -assessment notifications from property owners themselves; that is, properties are generally added to the LPT register once their liability for LPT is declared. The CSOs total housing stock is counted by Census enumerators, with each enumerators starting point being an address list for potential dwellings in their enumeration area; that is, dwellings are generally either removed from or categorised within the housing stock. Revenue says therefore, that the LPT register may not include properties such as the following examples: Properties that have not been in use since before LPT commenced in 2013 and which may be uninhabitable for the purposes of LPT; the CSOs figure of 23,483 properties that were recorded as unoccupied in Census 2011, 2016 and 2022 is of relevance here. Properties that are uninhabitable or unsuitable for use as a dwelling as these are not liable for LPT; these may include properties that appear to an external observer to be habitable but that the property owner has assessed to be uninhabitable due to its overall state. Properties that have been abandoned or deserted, such as abandoned farmhouses; these properties may never have been notified to Revenue for LPT purposes. Similarly, Revenue says, the total number of vacant properties, as notified by property owners to Revenue, is not directly equivalent to the total number of vacant dwellings counted by Census enumerators as at 3 April 2022, for two main reasons. While each model is valid for its primary purpose, the data collection methods used by the CSO and Revenue are different. As outlined above, the preliminary LPT vacant property analysis is based on information provided to Revenue directly by property owners themselves based on their own self -assessment of the propertys status. The CSO preliminary results related to vacant dwellings are based on the classification of Census enumerators. The Census definition of a vacant dwelling is a point in time indicator taken on Census Night as to whether the property was inhabited or not on Sunday 3 April 2022. By contrast, some property owners may not have considered their property to be vacant in the context of the four-year LPT valuation period, even if the property was temporarily vacant on the liability date of 1 November 2021 or if the property is periodically unoccupied. More information on this can be found on the Revenue.ie website. By Park Yoon-bae A government has no reason to exist if it neglects or fails to protect people's lives and their property. A case in point could be the previous Moon Jae-in administration's failure to save a fisheries official who was shot to death by the North Korean military in 2020. To the dismay of the bereaved family and the public, the authorities did little to nothing to come to his rescue for six hours after the South Korean military obtained intelligence that the official was at the mercy of North Korean soldiers. What's more dumbfounding is that the Moon government had allegedly attempted to cover up its failure by falsely concluding that the 47-year-old official, Lee Dae-jun, was killed while trying to defect to North Korea. The incident took place in North Korean waters near the inter-Korean maritime border in the West Sea at 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2020, a day after he went missing while on duty aboard a fishery inspection boat. The tragedy could have been prevented if the authorities had taken urgent and decisive action. Six hours before Lee was shot dead, the South's military noticed through wiretapping that North Korean troops caught him in the sea. And the Ministry of National Defense reported the case to then-President Moon three hours before his death. Regrettably, however, Moon did nothing to save Lee. He later said that it was difficult to deal with the case properly because the inter-Korean communication line was cut. But his excuse proved wrong as the South, in fact, was able to contact the North through military communication lines managed by the United Nations Command at the truce village of Panmunjeom. More seriously, the Moon government had tried to shirk its responsibility or downplay the seriousness of the incident by defining the incident as a case of Lee's "voluntary defection." The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in its first report to Cheong Wa Dae that there was little possibility of Lee attempting to flee to the North. However the presidential office had allegedly forced the defense ministry and the Coast Guard to reach a conclusion that Lee was trying to defect at the time of his death because of his gambling debt. The announced conclusion has now proven false. Last month, the ministry and the Coast Guard overturned their previous conclusion, saying that there was no evidence proving the defection allegations. They also apologized for causing a misunderstanding with the bereaved family, which has denied such allegations consistently since the incident occurred. The reversal of the conclusion is belated but welcome. It now offers an opportunity for the nation to reveal the truth behind the case. Yet, it is still difficult to do so because the previous government classified related documents as presidential records that should be kept sealed for 15 years. There are two ways to declassify the records. One is for the National Assembly to endorse their release. For this, more than two-thirds of lawmakers are required to vote for it. Another method is for a high court to issue a warrant to open the documents. Yet it is still hard to get access to presidential records about Lee's death because the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which was the ruling party under Moon's rule, is against making public the documents. (The DPK now holds a majority of 170 seats in the 299-member National Assembly.) The bereaved family and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) have demanded the DPK help release the document. But, DPK interim leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho rejected the demand, saying that the case came to a close after North Korea apologized for the incident. He argued that whether the victim had the intention to defect or not is not important. It is absurd for DPK lawmakers to refuse to cooperate in getting to the bottom of the incident. The party should not try to play politics in order to protect Moon and former presidential officials. Instead, it must go beyond partisan politics to shed light on the case. Turning a deaf ear to the bereaved family's desperate cry for truth is tantamount to "killing the victim twice." The family only wants to know what happened in the incident so that it can restore the honor of the late Lee. Former President Moon should not try to pass the buck on to others. He faces allegations that he might have been deeply involved in playing down or distorting the incident so as not to antagonize the North amid his engagement policy. He must feel ashamed if he indeed broke the promise he made in a letter to Lee's son that he would do his best to reveal the truth. The distortion of facts anywhere is a serious crime, and if committed at the level of government, it goes against the basic principles of democracy. Now the Yoon Suk-yeol administration should do everything it can to lay bare the truth and relieve the pain, frustration and anger of the bereaved family. It also needs to discipline those responsible to prevent a recurrence. Most of all, it should demonstrate why government exists. The author (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times. A young man who panicked when he was approached by two gardai for a drug search tried to hide a piece of cocaine by sticking it into his ear. Now he has been given a nine-month suspended jail term for being in possession of that and another piece of cocaine on the same occasion. On June 30, 2020 at 3.45 p.m. on Douglas Street, Cork, Garda Dean OSullivan was on mobile patrol with Garda Brendan Ryan. While at Douglas Street they observed a man ducking down behind a bin at a house on the side of the road. They approached the man whom they knew as Kenneth Dowling. On seeing gardai he became nervous and started fidgeting with the waistband of his pants. Garda OSullivan formed the opinion he may have drugs on his person and informed him he was being searched. While searching Kenneth Dowling, Garda OSullivan observed him pushing suspected crack cocaine into his ear. Garda OSullivan removed the substance from Kenneth Dowlings ear and then found another rock of crack cocaine on him. Mr Dowling was then arrested for a proper search. Interviewed about the seized items the defendant said the two items were crack cocaine. He pleaded guilty to having the drugs for his own use. He was previously convicted on nine occasions for the same offence of having drugs for his own use. Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said, He has made significant strides from a background that was very very challenging. Ordinarily, I would have expected a custodial sentence. Judge Olann Kelleher told Dowling, of Noonan Rd, Cork: You co-operated with the Probation Service who made certain recommendations. I will impose a sentence of nine months suspended for a period of two years. It is up to you. If you get into any more difficulties it is my obligation to send you to jail. Kakao's logo is seen in its offices in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Courtesy of Kakao By Park Jae-hyuk Google has banned Kakao from offering the latest version of KakaoTalk on the Google Play Store, as the Korean firm refused to follow the U.S. company's in-app payment policy, which has been in effect since last month. According to Kakao, the 9.8.6 version of its mobile messenger app has been unavailable on Google's app market, since the newest version's release on June 30. Google Play Store was only allowing its users to download the previous 9.8.0 version as of Tuesday. "Google rejected the review of the latest version of KakaoTalk, citing our non-compliance with its policy," a Kakao official said. The American tech giant has forced app developers here to use either its own billing system, charging a 30-percent commission or alternative payment options charging a 26-percent commission, in an apparent attempt to circumvent domestic regulations. Korean law mandates that apps distributed by app market operators be allowed to offer an alternative payment processing option within their apps. At the same time, Google has threatened to remove apps on the Google Play Store if the developers of those apps direct their users to external systems for payment, whereby they are not liable for the commissions taken by the U.S. firm. This move has raised criticism from content providers and politicians, concerned about the possibility of app developers shifting higher costs onto consumers. Some civic groups even reported Google's top executives to the police last month. The logo of Google is seen on the window of Google for Startups Campus in Seoul in this 2021 file photo. Yonhap Sarah Slater An Irish man who was killed and another who was seriously injured when the car they were in flipped over and was engulfed in flames in Oregon have been named by US police. Daniel James Slattery (24) from Rathgar, Dublin was fatally injured in the collision while his friend Robert Sweeney (24) from Crumlin, Dublin is in critical condition at a hospital in Hillsboro, Oregon. The crash, according to Hillsboro Police, occurred at 4.31am on Sunday when officers responded to a report of a roll-over, single-vehicle crash near Tanasbourne Drive and Stucki Avenue on the edge of the town and close to Highway 26. When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered the vehicle on its top and fully engulfed on fire. Police Sergeant Stewart Kelsey at Hillsboro Police Department confirmed both of the men involved in the crash were Irish. Members of Mr Slatterys family are here in the United States and will be bringing his remains home shortly. Mr Sweeney was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries where he remains in a critical condition, said Sgt Kelsey. We are investigating several elements around this incident but those details are not being released due to the sensitivity of the accident. It will be several days before there is an update on the accident investigation. Investigation The Washington County Crash Analysis and Reconstruction Team (CART) earlier worked at the accident site for several hours and has now completed the crash scene investigation. CART is a multi-agency team of specially trained law enforcement officers from the Sheriff's Office, local police departments, and the Washington County District Attorney's Office. The team investigates and reconstructs traffic crashes that may result in the prosecution of felony assault or manslaughter charges. The team can also assist with diagramming crime scenes. In a statement, Hillsboro Police Department said: One person was extricated by officers and transported to a local hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. A second occupant was deceased. The cause of the crash is unknown and unknown if drugs or alcohol were involved. The statement continued: Hillsboro Public Works Crews cleared a down tree and debris from the roadway. All roads affected by the crash are now open. Hillsboro is the fifth largest town in Oregon in the west of the US. The future of the worlds largest rainforest looks bleak. A new report for Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development concluded that the Amazon rainforest will collapse and largely become a dry, shrubby plain by 2064. Development, deforestation and the climate crisis are to blame, study author and University of Florida geologist Robert Toovey Walker found, UPI reported. Walker reviewed recent research, offering that heavy development in Amazonian nations depleted the forest and threatens to push it over the edge towards destruction. By nature of being a rainforest, the canopy creates its own precipitation. The local environment and inhabitants rely on the freshwater created therein for survival. The ecosystem can recover from smaller, periodic droughts but longer and more severe events are already diminishing the forests long-term resilience, Interesting Engineering reported. Longer dry seasons, which the rainforest is already experiencing and which are exacerbated by deforestation and the climate crisis, prevent rainforest canopies from recovering from fires. Flammable grasses and shrubs permanently invade and take over the landscape; the tropical rainforest dries out and transforms into a tropical savanna, the study found. A forest cannot survive if its canopy needs more than 4 years to recover from a yearly [drought] event, Walker wrote in the report. Southern Amazonia can expect to reach a tipping point sometime before 2064 at the current rate of dry-season lengthening. Earlier this year, a different study found that the Amazon ecosystem could collapse in less than 50 years with deforestation being the primary culprit. According to UPI, Walkers latest review shaved five years off from that estimate and gave the most specific date of ecosystem demise ever provided, citing the same reason. Fire, deforestation and logging are leading causes of tree loss. Industrial-scale cattle ranching and soybean production, in particular, drive the latter. Additionally, illegal gold mining is laying the forest bare and polluting rivers. Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro has been criticized for opening the forest to exploitation and inciting forest destruction. Under Bolsonaro, Amazon deforestation skyrocketed to a 12-year high, and activists warned that he used the pandemic as a smokescreen to undermine protections for the rainforest. Walker criticized Bolsonaros administration for appear[ing] intent on scrapping all remaining restraints on the unfettered exploitation of Amazonias natural resources. Walker also estimated that the Amazon has shrunk by about 20% since intense development began and that the dry season has already lengthened in the south by an additional 6.5 days per decade, UPI reported. The studys models predict that once deforestation reaches 30-50% in southern Amazonia, rainfall in the west will decrease by up to 40%, cementing the deterioration in that environment from lush, tropical forest to arid, open savanna, Science Alert reported. The best way to think of the forest ecosystem is that its a pump, Walker told UPI. The forest recycles moisture, which supports regional rainfall. If you continue to destroy the forest, the rainfall amount drops and eventually, you wreck the pump. As the forest transforms into a grassland, all the benefits of the massive ecosystem will also disappear and a multidimensional catastrophe will ensue, Walker wrote in the study. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has breached another record this year. The rainforest lost 1,448 square miles between January 1 and June 24 according to satellite data provided by Brasils Space Research Institute (INPE). Thats the largest chunk of forest lost during a six-month period since the agency began monitoring in 2016, according to CNN. The new findings follow reports that deforestation broke records during 2022, both for the first three months of the year and for the month of April. Rainforest advocates have blamed the pro-business policies of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro for the historic losses. The impact of this negligence will be the increasing loss of the resilience of these surroundings, not to mention the damage done to local communities and health, Mariana Napolitano of the Brazilian World Wildlife Fund said, as AFP reported. Bolsonaro has issued executive orders protecting the forest, yet he has also reduced funds for government environmental agencies and argued in favor of opening Indigenous territories to extractive industries, as CNN pointed out. Deforestation increased rapidly since he took office in 2019 and drew international attention following devastating fires in the summer of that year. This years fire season, which typically begins in May and June, is already shaping up to be a destructive one. The INPE recorded 2,287 fires in May, the highest since 2004. It also spotted more than 2,500 fires in June, which is the most since 2007 and an 11 percent uptick compared to last year, according to AFP. Agribusiness is hitting new records for forest destruction as the dry season arrives in the Amazon, Greenpeace Brazil spokesperson Cristiane Mazzetti said in a statement responding to the news. Illegal burnings and deforestation have accelerated over the last three years as a direct result of the Brazilian governments anti-environmental agenda that encourages the destruction of the forest. If this trend does not change we will approach the tipping point of no return in which the Amazon could fail as a rainforest. Scientists have warned that the Amazon could convert to grassland if it is not protected, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide in the process. While environmental activists hold Bolsonaro to account for the uptick in deforestation, they also think the U.S. government could do more to put pressure on the Brazilian regime. Up to now, the Biden administration has only legitimized the Brazilian governments anti-Indigenous and anti-environmental agenda, Greenpeace USA head of forests Diana Ruiz said in a statement. The US has a responsibility to act and stop making deals with President Bolsonaro, who continues to wage an assault against Indigenous Peoples and environmental defenders. Brazil will hold another presidential election in October, but deforestation tends to increase in the runup to elections as restrictions loosen and people want to clear as much as possible in case a new administration passes tougher regulations, Carlos Souza Jr., a researcher at Brazilian research institution Imazon, told CNN. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. A statue depicting a dinosaur painted with radioactive symbols and blue gas flames is displayed by Greenpeace activists outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, in protest against the inclusion of fossil gas and nuclear energy in the EU's list of sustainable investments, on Dec. 7, 2021. JOHN THYS / AFP via Getty Images In a setback for the fight against climate change, 328 of 639 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have voted in favor of plans to label investments in gas and nuclear power plants as green, reported Reuters. Unless 20 of the 27 European Union (EU) member states oppose the proposals adopted by the European Commission in the Complementary Delegated Act, they will pass it into law. This means that some nuclear and gas projects would be added to the EU taxonomy of economic activities that are considered environmentally sustainable, with some conditions, The Guardian reported. Investors would then be able to label and market investments in the gas and nuclear projects as green, reported Reuters. Experts said the vote sets a dangerous precedent for other countries, according to The Guardian. Ukraine, as well as climate activists, had appealed to parliament to reject the proposals, saying they would be beneficial to Russian president Vladimir Putin. This will delay a desperately needed real sustainable transition and deepen our dependency on Russian fuels, said environmental and climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter. The European Parliament just voted to label fossil gas as green energy. This will delay a desperately needed real sustainable transition and deepen our dependency on Russian fuels. The hypocrisy is striking, but unfortunately not surprising. This is still #NotMyTaxonomy Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) July 6, 2022 The proposals allow investments in gas-powered projects to be designated as sustainable as long as the same energy capacity cannot be generated with renewable sources and there are plans to transition to renewable sources or gases that are considered low-carbon, The Guardian reported. Nuclear power can be classed as renewable if a project pledges to take care of its radioactive waste. European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness said the proposals adopted in the Complementary Delegated Act ensure that private investments in gas and nuclear, needed for our energy transition, meet strict criteria, as reported by The Guardian. Some EU member states view gas a fossil fuel that produces dangerous carbon dioxide emissions as an interim substitute for coal during the transition to more sustainable power sources, Reuters reported. Nuclear power, while free of carbon dioxide emissions, results in hazardous radioactive waste. By clearing the way for this delegated act, the EU will have unreliable and greenwashed conditions for green investments in the energy sector, said Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout, who is the vice-president of the European Parliaments environment committee, as reported by The Guardian. Austria and Luxembourg, which dont support nuclear energy or putting a green label on gas, vowed to fight the law. Greenpeace also said it would contest the law in court. I am in shock. Russias war against Ukraine is a war paid for by climate-heating fossil fuels and the European parliament just voted to boost billions of funding to fossil gas from Russia. How in the world is that in line with Europes stance to protect our planet and stand with Ukraine? said Ukrainian climate scientist and member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Svitlana Krakovska, as The Guardian reported. Savanna Beef raises US$9.8 million to develop new Namibian beef export facility Savanna Beef Processors Ltd has raised NAD 146 million (~US$9.8 million; NAD 10 = US$0.67) from 549 Namibian beef producers to develop a new Namibian beef export processing facility, The Namibian reported. The biggest beef exporter in the country is the state-owned firm Meatco, which exports meat to the US, China, Norway, the UK, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, with South Africa its biggest export market. Savanna Beef Processors was formed after discussions among Namibian beef producers at the Beef Value Chain Forum (BVCF). The new facility requires a total of NAD 200 million (~US$13.4 million). An industry-led pre-feasibility study on the BVCF, which was completed in early 2020, reportedly outlined the drawbacks and evaluated the profitability of beef exports, according to a statement from the company. These were addressed, and a thorough feasibility study and a bankable business plan were produced in their wake. These documents were approved by the BVCF members, and Savanna Beef was subsequently registered. During the first round of funding for the new export abattoir, which ran from April 24 to June 24, Cirrus Capital (the corporate/transaction advisers) toured the nation with the BVCF task team to inform Namibia's beef producers of the project's investment strategy and business plan. Mecki Schneider, who chairs the Savanna Beef Processors board, said the raised capital shows there is demand in the industry to boost cattle profitability. The offer was extended to all beef producers listed with the Namibian Meat Board and did not specify farmers on either side of the red line. - The Namibian Pork prices in Malaysia expected to rise further The price of pork in Malaysia has increased for the seventh time in 2022 and has reached MYR 1,300 (~US$293.85; MYR 1 = US$0.23) per 100kg, a MYR 60 (~US$13.56) increase from MYR 1,240 (~US$280.29) per 100 kg on May 16, Kwong Wah Yit Poh reported. The price increase was confirmed by the Penang Pig Slaughtering Association, based in the northern Malaysian state of Penang. The new price took effect from July 4. The chairman of a butcher association said that monthly talks to limit the price of pork with pig farmers had failed. According to the association, some pork vendors' sales decreased by up to 70% as a result of the price hikes. - Kwong Wah Yit Poh UK urged to improve border controls, with ASF threat in horizon The United Kingdom's National Pig Association (NPA) called on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take action to improve the country's border controls, as African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread in western Europe in an alarming way. The decision by the UK government to abandon plans to introduce checks on EU food products coming into the UK on July has caused alarm across the farming sector, which is is only heightened within the pig sector by the seemingly worsening ASF situation in Europe, Pig World reported. Meanwhile, the industry's concerns about the UK's inadequate border controls have been reinforced by Food Standards Agency in a recent report. Additionally, there have been some worrying developments in the spread of ASF in Europe in recent weeks, including three outbreaks in domestic pigs in different parts of Germany. There has been growing concern within the UK farming sector since Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg confirmed in April that the government was abandoning plans to introduce checks on animals and animal products from the European Union on July 1. Instead, it will target the end of 2023 as the revised introduction date for a new digitised control regime. The decision also indefinitely delayed a requirement for documentation, such as health certificates, on EU imports and restrictions on imports of chilled meats from the EU. Rees-Mogg claimed introducing the checks "would have been an act of self-harm," as businesses and individuals are hit by rising costs. UK food exporters have faced additional checks, documentation requirements, disruption, delays and costs on the back of new rules on EU exports from the first day of Brexit on January 1, 2020. In a letter to Boris Johnson, NPA chairman Rob Mutimer pointed out that, between January and August 2021, 300,000 Export Health Certificates were required to export British produce to the EU, costing 40 million (US$41 million) and taking up over 500,000 hours of veterinary resource. "Yet, identical EU products are permitted to move the other way unhindered and at a lower cost, placing European businesses at a competitive advantage," Mutimer wrote. "Not only are we deliberately harming our own business interests, we are advertising an open border approach to anyone who would wish to avoid the customs duties, taxes and biosecurity checks which come with trading with a third country." Mutimer also highlighted the spread of ASF in Europe, which, while predominantly spread by wild boar, can also result from the movement of contaminated meat products, "often being traded illegally from restricted zones where ASF outbreaks have occurred". "If no biosecurity checks are taking place at UK borders to prevent and deter the illegal import of contaminated meats, we are leaving ourselves worryingly vulnerable to a catastrophe," he added. "While the government awaits the introduction of a new digital trading system, we ask that our borders be significantly better protected through more robust checks at all points of entry, including ports, airports and postal hubs." He pointed out that a two-week multi-agency exercise in 2020 at Heathrow and Gatwick airports saw significant quantities of illegal meat imports seized, which appears to be "indicative of a far wider problem". Concerns about the ability of the UK to police import standards were raised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in its annual review of UK food standards in June. It warned that current systems in place were "not sufficient replacement for the introduction of robust import controls" and that the lack of document checks and physical inspections "means we are not receiving official assurance from the exporting country that those imports meet the UK's high food and feed safety standards". "The longer the UK operates without assurance from the exporting country that products meet the UK's high food and feed safety standards, the less confident we can be that we can effectively identify potential safety incidents," FSA said. "It is vital that the UK has the ability to prevent entry of unsafe food and identify and respond to changing risks." - Pig World By Baek Byung-yeul LG Innotek will invest 1.4 trillion won ($1.07 billion) to bolster next-generation substrate and camera module production at its manufacturing facilities in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, the IT component affiliate of LG Group said Wednesday. Its CEO, Jeong Cheol-dong, signed a memorandum of understanding in the southeastern city with Gumi Mayor Kim Jang-ho, inviting government officials including Lee Cheol-woo, the governor of North Gyeongsang Province. The investment will be used to build a fifth plant in the city and establish a manufacturing line for next-generation semiconductor packaging substrates called flip chip ball grid arrays (FCBGA). The money will also go into expanding the production capacity of camera modules. The fourth plant is 230,000 square meters in area. The company added that the investment will help create 1,000 additional jobs. The investment is expected to let LG Innotek accelerate its expansion into the FCBGA business and solidify its leadership position in the camera module business. LG Innotek currently accounts for the biggest share of the global camera module market. In order to diversify its portfolio, LG Innotek officially heralded its advance into the FCBGA market in February. Substrates are used to protect and ensure precise connections between chips and mainboards for the reliable transmission of electrical signals. Industry watchers expect demand for substrates to soar due to increased usage in high-performance chips, thanks to emerging technologies including 5G networks, artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving technologies, which all require strong performance and high-density circuit connections. The camera module business is a major income source for the company and LG Innotek has held the top share of that market since 2011. Its optical solutions division, which produces camera modules, generated sales of 11.8 trillion won in 2021, up 68 percent year-on-year. "The investment will be a good opportunity for LG Innotek to grow together with the community of Gumi and our partner companies," Jeong said, adding "We will continue to make active investments to innovate customer experiences." After it spun out from Huawei, Honor wanted to make a splash with its first flagship, the Magic3 Pro. One of the biggest features the company boasted about was the camera, saying it was good enough to shoot a proper movie with. Armed with one, wed all be turned into miniature Tom Cruises, shooting TikToks as if they were destined for the multiplex. Unfortunately, the phone never left its native China, but Honor is using the same pitch for its successor, the Magic4 Pro, which has arrived in Europe. Certainly, Honor distinguished itself with the spec list, which reads like the company threw the kitchen sink, then the kitchen, then the dining room at the handset. The Pro model has a 50-megapixel primary camera paired with a second 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a 122 degree field of view. On top of that, theres a 64-megapixel telephoto with 100x digital zoom and an 8x8 Direct Time of Flight sensor, giving it whip-fast focusing. The IMAX-enhanced phones cinematic credentials go further: Honor enlisted the help of a professional colorist to devise specific hue palettes for video. Bryan McMahan created a series of Look Up Tables (LUTs) for the phone which act like an Instagram filter for your video. These range from a Sunny mode that makes your footage look like it was shot at the height of summer, and a Gloomy mode which makes everything look like its been through a bleach-pass. One of my favorites was Focus, which dials down all the colors except for skin tone, at least for my caucasian limbs, making everything look like an 80s music video. But the phones real point of interest is its claimed ability to shoot in Log, which is the standard that most Hollywood movies are shot in. Now, technically, its a custom format MagicLog which Honor designed to work with mobile devices, but the point remains the same. Log is short for Logarithmic, and its a way of filming something that preserves as much of the dynamic range and tone as possible. Itll preserve scenes in high contrast, as well as shadows, highlights and whites that a conventional digital camera might try to smooth out or just straight-up fail to capture properly. Unfortunately, it has not been plain sailing by any stretch of the imagination some of the takes I shot for my piece to camera were plagued by strobing. Which was odd, since my LED bulbs shouldnt be strobing, and the camera only seems to pick up on it every now and again. The sound, too, leaves a lot to be desired and I had to record all of my audio on an external microphone. (Yes, this is common for most professional cameras, but the point here is that people are going to be using this as the camera for their vacation videos, right?) Being able to shoot Log means you could also hand over your footage to a colorist and get perfect footage. In theory. The first test shots I took were very flat, and it was hard to pull out a lot of the detail and dynamic range that should be there. Now, Im not a professional colorist but my colleague, Engadgets Steve Dent is, so I sent him the phone, and all of my footage, for him to run his trained eye all over. He said that there was a significant amount of clipping, which means that theres a lot of detail in the footage that cant be accessed. This is likely a consequence of compression since MagicLog is designed to be mobile-friendly, after all. But it means that my clips couldnt, after treatment, get the good pops of color that we were hoping to tease out. Not to mention that Honor doesnt appear to offer a standalone LUT for editing software, which meant that Steve couldnt simply run it through the standard model (which is table stakes for other pro cameras). Shooting with the Magic4 Pro is also, in Steves words, difficult for a couple of other fairly big reasons. First, because it clips highlights, you have to expose for them and not the shadows, which means that theres some guesswork involved. Then theres no easy way to tell if youre shooting safe footage as theres no built-in Display LUT to give you an idea of whats coming. Theres also no video level display, so shooting in MagicLog involves a lot of hitting and hoping. Now, thats not to say that the Magic4 Pro is terrible, awful and a general waste of your money because it isnt. Shooting in the standard mode is easy enough and the results were good enough for me to use as a pro-quality video for Engadget. But fundamentally it feels like until Honor really finishes building out the Log offering, with a display LUT, video level display and making it easier for non-pros to color-correct afterward, this isnt something novices should be playing with and expecting good results. Insulting someone online could land an individual in Japan a one-year prison term under an amendment to the countrys penal code enacted on Thursday morning. Following the apparent suicide of Hana Kimura and a paltry 9,000 (around $81) fine for one of the men accused of bullying the Terrace House star in 2020, government officials began a review of Japans cyberbullying laws. Under the previous version of the countrys penal code, the punishment for posting online insults was a fine of 10,000 or less and fewer than 30 days in prison. Now, the law allows for financial penalties of up to 300,000 or about $2,200. Despite pressure from the public on the government to tackle cyberbullying, the bill that introduced the amendment was controversial. CNN reports it only passed after Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party added a provision that calls on the government to review the law in three years to examine its impact on freedom of expression. As The Verge points out , there are also concerns the law isnt specific enough about what counts as an insult. The countrys penal code defines insults as an effort to demean someone without referencing specific facts about them defamation, by contrast, includes reference to specific traits. "There needs to be a guideline that makes a distinction on what qualifies as an insult," Seiho Cho, a criminal lawyer in Japan, told CNN. At the moment, even if someone calls the leader of Japan an idiot, then maybe under the revised law that could be classed as an insult. By Kim Jae-heun Asiana Airlines has introduced a craft beer called "Asiana Hoppy Lager," company officials said Wednesday, becoming the first carrier to roll out its own suds. Asiana Hoppy Lager is jointly developed by the airline, Korea Brewers Collective and convenience store chain CU. It is made from 95 percent malt and 5 percent hops to give both the aroma of ale and the freshness of lager. Korea Brewers Collective is a brand under Oriental Brewery specializing in the manufacture of craft beer. CU is one of the biggest convenience store chains in the country. Asiana designed the craft beer can with its iconic multicolored stripes featuring "Saekdong," which is found on the sleeves of the Korean traditional attire for girls. "Asiana Hoppy Lager is a product that contains the company's willingness to re-emerge in the travel industry. We hope our customers relish the joy of travel in their daily lives with our craft beer," an Asiana Airlines official said. The craft beer is available at CU conveniences stores across the country starting Wednesday. The beer will be sold to customers traveling on Asiana Airline's international flights. The carrier also said it will produce a short animated film in collaboration with movie director Han Ji-won. The film will portray a story of customers returning to travel after a long break due to COVID-19 pandemic. Marriott confirmed it was the target of yet another data breach after attackers recently breached the company's systems. The company said hackers used social engineering techniques to gain access to an employee's computer. After obtaining around 20GB of data, the person or group behind the attack tried to extort Marriott, but the company refused to pay up. The hackers had access to Marriott's network for less than a day. The company told CyberScoop it was already looking into the breach before it received the extortion attempt. The incident is said to have taken place around a month ago, but it only just came to light. Marriott has informed law enforcement and is assisting with the investigation. It also will notify regulators and between 300 and 400 individuals, most of whom are former employees. "Their information was in archived files that were not detected by the scanning tool we use as part of our proactive security efforts to identify and remove sensitive data from devices," a Marriott spokesperson told Engadget. According to DataBreaches, which first reported on the attack, the hackers gained access to a server at BWI Airport Marriott in Maryland. They provided the publication with screenshots that appear to show reservation documents for flight crews, along with corporate credit card numbers for an airline or travel agency. Marriott said most of the information the hackers accessed was non-sensitive internal business files regarding the operation of the property. "The incident only involved access to one associates device and documents on a connected file share server," the spokesperson said. "The incident did not involve access to Marriotts core network, the guest reservation system at the property or the payment processing system at the property." This is at least the seventh data security incident involving Marriott since 2010, according to DataBreaches. One of the more notable cases emerged in November 2018. The company said hackers gained access to the reservation database of its Starwood subsidiary and obtained personal details of as many as 383 million guests (though some of those were believed to be duplicate records). The data included 5.3 million unencrypted passport numbers. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office fined Marriott 18.4 million (around $21.9 million at today's rates) over the incident. Update 7/6 3:24PM ET: Added more details from Marriott. As stated in the previous review for Ms. Marvel, the show, much like its titular namesake, has grown up. Issues have become more dire. Story, more mature. History is coming to light which much of our world is grossly ignorant of. Episode 5: Time and Again is no different, with the only caveat being that it has a bit of a thud at the climax. Spoilers ahead. Beginning in British occupied India in 1942, the narrative has Kamala (Iman Vellani) transported back to when her grandmother was a child by means of Namja (Nimra Bucha) stabbing the magical bangle during the fight in the last episode. Though her time travel aspects are saved for the final act. Instead viewers are given a history lesson in British colonization of India and the divide of Pakistan which were driving people from their homes to seek refuge elsewhere. This is where we learn Aisha's (Mehwish Hayat) backstory. She was on the run, knowing namja would stop at nothing to get the bangle, open the Veil, and destroy the world as we know it in an attempt to get to her home dimension. She meets a kind activist named Hasan (Fawad Khan). Walking with a cane, this kind soul takes Aisha in, where they fall in love, have a daughter, and eventually have to leave their home to escape the British by train. This is where Kamala comes into play. Kamala's story feels secondary and forced to play out as quickly as possible for sake of time, though it could have had more gravitas if it wasn't just a device to wrap up the episode. Trapped in the past, Kamala finds herself at the train station on the night of her great grandmother's disappearance. Forced to reason with Namja, Aisha leaves her daughter in the care of Hasan to make sure they get away safely only to be stabbed by her old friend. Kamala finds her and is tasked with finding her toddler grandmother and get her back to Hasan who has lost her in the chaos of the crowd. She does and realizes that she created the starlight from teh banglke that led her grandmother onto the train to safety. The show loses a bit of steam once Kamala is transported back to her time. The Veil is open and Namji thinks she can pass through only to be turned into a heap of skeletal remains. Kind of a weak way to get rid of the heavy of the narrative. This puts her Djinn abilities into her son, Kamran (Rish Shah), who seeks refuge back in the states with Bruno (Matt Lintz), who is quickly attacked by Damage Control, who is looking for Kamran. Kamala learns of her mom's (Zenobia Shroff) wild days back when she was a teenager and she learns of Kamala's destiny. Full circle, but rushed, this isn't a bad episode by any means, just more of a rushed final act which could have been a more impactful story beat instead of an info dump. With little in terms of action, this is another clarifying episode which puts the puzzle together. Noble in what it accomplished, it lacks the whiz bang action of the previous one. But then again, a good story takes time and I am still on board to see how this all plays out in the end. The growing demand for electric vehicles drives need for NNG's dedicated, EV-first mobility platform BUDAPEST, Hungary, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NNG, a leading global supplier of location-based technologies, connected services, and automotive software, today announced the launch of NNG iGO.Live, its EV-first, hybrid mobility platform that leverages connectivity and deep vehicle integration to deliver best-in-class EV experiences. "Global legislation and consumer trends have been driving demand for electric vehicles and the market is rapidly expanding. The IEA (International Energy Agency) Global EV Outlook 2022, reports that global sales for electric passenger and commercial vehicles reached more than 6,5 million units in 2021, a more than 100% increase compared to 2020*", said Dr. Martin Pfeifle, CTO of NNG. "The engineering team at NNG has been closely following this demand for EVs, and iGO.Live is a response to that need for a dedicated, hybrid, EV-first mobility platform that maximizes safety, convenience, and efficiency for drivers." Key features of NNG iGO.Live : EV-first mobility platform that scales and grows over the lifetime of the fleet. Real-time delivery of the latest map data to the vehicle, with data streaming and seamless hybrid switching for on- and off-line use cases. Easy integration with an end-to-end Android-based application featuring lightweight APIs for flexible customization. Deep electric powertrain integration that allows NNG iGO.Live to calculate energy consumption in real-time, plan routes that include efficient charging, and simplify EV journeys. "Compared to other solutions on the market, iGO.Live doesn't just add EV features to an already-existing product, but instead builds for EVs from the ground up. As a mobility platform, iGO.Live lets automakers create fully customizable, in-vehicle branded experiences for passenger and commercial vehicles, including trucks and motorbikes. In addition to optional advanced features like iGO.AR Guidance and iGO.AHEAD for ADAS data delivery, lightweight APIs enable easy onboarding of 3rd party functionality from NNG's suite of ready-to-integrate Connected Services.", said Jacint Tordai, Lead Product Manager at NNG. "Projections indicate that EV sales will keep increasing rapidly and by 2030 50% of all vehicles sold will be electric. This will impact not only automakers, but also how navigation is implemented within new vehicles. EVs are reliant on maps and connectivity for fundamental features, and iGO.Live will constantly evolve to serve these needs, delivering the latest features and services that OEMs, and their customers, need.", Tordai added. If you would like to learn more about NNG iGO.Live please watch our latest webinar and download the slides HERE or get in touch with us. About NNG NNG is a leading global supplier of embedded and connected software solutions for the automotive industry. Found in over 60 million devices worldwide, its solutions span Navigation, Connected Services, Cockpit, and Cybersecurity. NNG delivers the next generation of smart, secure, and connected mobility from the cockpit to the cloud. * According to IEA's Global EV Outlook 2022 report . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854298/NNG_LLC_Logo.jpg Criminal defendants free on bail pending trial tend to avoid getting into further legal trouble. In the case of Samantha L. Mueting, founder of a purported commercial real estate firm, her indictment in October for defrauding investors of more than $2.2 million didnt stop her from continuing the scheme. Beginning less than three weeks after she was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Mueting convinced a Smithville business to invest $2 million with her over a three-month span. The money never went for the stated purpose, however. Last week, at a San Antonio federal court hearing originally scheduled to take up the revocation of her bond, Mueting instead entered a guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She faces up to 20 years in prison when shes sentenced in October. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio grand jury indicts real estate executives who allegedly duped investors out of millions As part of her plea deal, federal prosecutors have agreed to dismiss the other pending charges and not bring additional charges. The plea agreement, though, shows, Mueting, 57, agreed that she owes her victims about $7.2 million in restitution. She founded iCore Global, which boasted on its website that it handled more than $47 billion in transactions annually from 156 offices around the world including San Antonio, Luxembourg and Casablanca. In reality, iCore Globals corporate address was a UPS store mailbox in Helotes, where Mueting has resided, according to the indictment. It claimed to employ as many as 5,500 agents and staff, but never had more than six employees. Mueting, who was iCores CEO, had been free on a $50,000 unsecured bail bond until her May 18 arrest in the Houston area on alleged bond violations. According to a court filing that month, a probation official advised the U.S. Secret Service that Mueting had continued to commit similar fraudulent acts, resulting in her new victims sustaining losses of more than $3 million. SA Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox Mueting appeared at a June 14 bond revocation hearing in navy blue prison garb, her hands and legs shackled. But the hearing was continued to June 28, at which time she entered her guilty plea. She was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond pending her sentencing, court records show. One of Muetings lawyers didnt respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew W. Kinskey declined to comment. iCore had stated on its website now shut down that it provided a variety of real estate services including investment sales, leasing, property management and construction management. It said it had been in business for more than 30 years. iCore Global offered prospective customers the opportunity to invest in a hedge fund primarily trading in commercial real estate development. The money was never invested as promised, however. Two other iCore officials were indicted with Mueting. Chief Financial Officer Josephus De Laat, 61, of Spicewood, and operations manager Vodrick L. Perry, 52, of San Antonio, were each charged with a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Perry was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. He has pleaded not guilty. S.A. VOTES Voter Guide: What to know for the Texas runoff election A breakdown of key state and local races and candidates in the May 24 primary runoff. The Docket: Local crime and courtroom news, delivered to your inbox weekly De Laat already has entered into a plea agreement, though it remains under seal pending his plea hearing July 19. State corporate records show iCore and related firms, including iCore Global-San Antonio, are no longer active. The San Antonio firms corporate registration was terminated in 2014. iCore Global, which listed a Frisco address in state corporate records, forfeited its corporate registration in August. According to her plea agreement, Mueting continued to market iCore under the name iCore Capital. The Smithville business wired $2 million to bank accounts specified by Mueting. Two individuals not mentioned in the indictment wired a total of $3 million to Mueting in late 2020 and early 2021. Each wire transfer was made under the representations by Mueting that the wire transfers would result in access to project funding, and no victim nor victim business actually obtained any access to project funding or investment capital, the plea agreement says. pdanner@express-news.net One of the most challenging conundrums in modern American life is the high cost of medical care and prescription medicine, especially compared to other wealthy countries. Although very little about needing health care and medication meets the definition of a market transaction between a willing buyer and seller, many in this country have a powerful fetish for markets over government price caps. Putting health insurance companies in the mix further magnifies price distortions and muddies the picture. Amid thousands of dollars per month in life-saving prescription medications and five-figure life-saving procedures, insurance deductibles, negotiations and copays obscure the true cost to consumers and the true revenue to providers. This is my best explanation for why we have the weirdest health care-pricing mechanisms imaginable. The price obfuscation and results couldnt be worse if they were purposefully designed this way by demons. On ExpressNews.com: Taylor: Sam Bankman-Fried billionaire philosopher at cutting edge of cryptocurrency, philanthropy In any reasonable nonmarket-fetish society, the government would cap prices of certain prescription medications, and Big Pharma and insurance companies would have to deal with it. But in our country, state and federal governments reject such appropriate intervention. Were not socialists. Were not Venezualans or Cubans, the fetishists say. Ah, but theres a different way to be a Cuban. Im particularly interested in the giant experiment launched in January by Mark Cuban. Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks and is a featured investor on the entrepreneurship-related television show Shark Tank. His initial fortune came from building and selling tech companies, in particular Broadcast.com, which he sold to Yahoo.com in 1999, netting about a billion dollars for himself. Yahoos acquisition of Broadcast.com was considered one of the worst internet transactions of all time after it shut down the service in 2002. Cuban has good timing. In a more recent show of apt timing, he launched the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. in January, offering 100 generic prescription drugs for sale online. The idea is for a prospective user to search for a brand-name drug online and find the generic equivalent on the Cost Plus site. This could be 25 percent less expensive than the brand name provided by ones doctor even 95 percent less in some cases. Cost Plus has radical transparency and consistency around its pricing, which it shows on the site. The customer price is always set by the following formula: acquisition cost from the manufacturer, plus 15 percent, plus $3 pharmacy cost, plus about $5 shipping. The difference in clarity between that and the strange way prescription drugs are currently bought by most people is wild. The price savings in many cases are also potentially wild. Since Cost Plus does not take insurance, users must compare the all-in cost of their current medications accounting for their deductibles to an out-of-pocket cost for this service. On ExpressNews.com: Taylor: Why broad-based student loan debt forgiveness is bad idea My friend Venessa is the only one on my social media networks who replied that she uses Cost Plus, which partly tells me that the Cuban experiment is in its early days. Venessa left her job in January, and she and her self-employed husband decided to self-insure, which is to say they pay out of pocket for health care. After giving birth to her second child, Venessa acquired a prescription for Zoloft to manage anxiety. Zoloft is also an appropriate substance to take while breastfeeding. The monthly cost of Zoloft is $150 to $400, depending on dosage and ones insurance. Because she is paying out of pocket, Venessa switched to the generic equivalent, Sertraline, and she buys it from Cost Plus for $8.90 per month. She was pretty excited to tell me about Cost Plus and said shes told her friends to try it. Getting started on the program, she said, involved a back-and-forth process with her prescriber, who did not have the information for Cost Plus in its system, as it likely would for pharmacies at CVS, Walgreens or H-E-B, for example. We discussed a few limitations. Because it takes about four days to arrive, Venessa said that for urgent medications such as antibiotics for an infection of her child she would go to a pharmacy to get medicine on the same day. Also, care providers and family members may not buy prescription drugs through the online system. Only the patient may create an account and order. S.A. VOTES Voter Guide: What to know for the Texas runoff election A breakdown of key state and local races and candidates in the May 24 primary runoff. It is not clear to me and the company did not respond to my query how many customers Cost Plus has acquired since January. It launched with a list of 100 generics. Since then, it has expanded to 200 generics, covering 58 medical conditions. For common conditions, it offers a substantial menu. In addition to Sertraline, the site offers 42 other generics for brand-name mental health medications, including names I recognized like Effexor, Wellbutrin, Prozac and Abilify. For another common condition, high blood pressure, it offers 43 generics. It lists six generics for birth control and nine for high cholesterol. You get the idea. There are an incredible number of prescription meds and generics out there, and certainly Cost Plus wont have them all, but it seems likely it would have a lot of what people commonly need. On ExpressNews.com: Taylor: Social Securitys fate not tied to its trust fund This is clearly a slam dunk for people like Venessa who pay out of pocket. Its less certain whether people with platinum-level health care plans would save money. It depends on an individuals plan and prescription deductibles. The current system of price and market signals on prescription drugs is definitely weird. People with health insurance generally become indifferent to the costs of medicines above their deductibles. As long as the insurance company pays, in a sense, who cares? Except that as a system, it matters. With his company, Cuban is betting that an entrepreneurial, market-based disruptor is the right way to fight the high and opaque medical costs we all experience. I hope it works. I hope we all buy drugs the Cuban way soon. It would bring some needed clarity and price pressure to our current system, with an entrepreneurial market mechanism. Michael Taylor is a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, author of The Financial Rules for New College Graduates and host of the podcast No Hill For A Climber. michael@michaelthesmartmoney.com | twitter.com/michael_taylor Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's (DSME) Okpo shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of DSME By Park Jae-hyuk Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) declared a state of emergency in a statement issued by CEO Park Du-seon, Wednesday, to overcome the worsening business environment caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and unionized subcontracted workers who have occupied its dock for a month. "The recent recovery in orders was expected to solve the long-lasting shortage in production and normalize the management, but these have been uncertain, as the illegal strike by unionized subcontracted workers has continued," Park said. "Including myself, all executives will enter a 24/7 emergency mode to resolve the current crisis as soon as possible and take the lead in making a sustainable company." Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) CEO Park Du-seon / Courtesy of DSME This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Antonio filmmaker Mark A. Zunigas movie Cuerpo started out as a way to answer questions about an earlier script he had written. People had made comments that it would be nice to know a bit more about the supernatural elements, and I was like, OK, Ill see what I can do about that, said Zuniga, 39. I made a quick backstory that became quite interesting, and it became the script for Cuerpo. Cuerpo, which Zuniga said loosely falls in the horror genre, will wrap up the 43rd edition of CineFestival at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Centers annual festival runs today through Sunday. Shot entirely in San Antonio, Cuerpo is set in and around a South Texas mission in the 18th century. I like to say its more of a drama exploring the relationships and clashes between the Spanish settlers, the monks trying to set up the missions and the local natives, Zuniga said. So theres the main conflict being the possession of some land and who truly owns it, and the horror element being there is something there already that they have unwittingly uncovered and its now awake. The movie builds to a bloody, open-ended conclusion that sets up the sequel Zuniga already has written. One of his goals was to set a gothic tale far from the kind of real estate typically associated with the genre. This is the new world; there is no such thing as a haunted castle, he said. The idea was, this is origin of a South Texas gothic story, the event where those horror stories, or warning stories you would tell children, come from. This is the second CineFestival curated by Eugenio del Bosque Gomez. His goal once again was to put most of the focus on local and regional filmmakers, a framework that had been established by Cristina Balli, the Guadalupes executive director, several years before del Bosque Gomez became director of the festival. It was time for a makeover, and I think she actually had a very good idea, he said. She changed it to this Texas focus. We do keep that focus, and I also like to curate a program that includes films from other places made by Latino or indigenous filmmakers and sprinkle it with a little bit of international films. On ExpressNews.com: Chancla Fest block party returns There are some premieres in the festival. But that has become less significant as digital debuts become more common, del Bosque Gomez said. Because things make it online so quickly, one of the things Ive done with the program is not worry so much about premiere status, he said. We include films from the past two years. The 2021 films in the mix include Jockey, which won buzz for Clifton Collins Jr.s portrayal of an aging jockey forced to confront the punishing toll his profession has taken on his body; and Madres, which was co-written by San Antonian Marcella Ochoa and is about a pregnant woman who experiences strange symptoms and visions after she and her husband move to a migrant farming community in California. CineFestival Where: Guadalupe Theater, 1301 Guadalupe When: Today-Sunday Tickets: All-access passes cost $40. Admission to most individual screenings cost $8, though a handful are free. Tickets available at guadalupeculturalarts.org. Free movies: These screenings throughout the festival are free: a family program including "Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon" and "Carlitos Chupacabra," noon Thursday; screenings of international shorts at 2 p.m. Thursday-Friday; U.S. shorts at 4 p.m. Thursday-Friday; Texas shorts at noon Friday and Sunday; shorts by young filmmakers at 10 a.m. Saturday; and "Madres" at 6 p.m. Friday. In addition, the Mezquite Awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Sunday is free. Made in S.A. "Dream Carriers": Esmeralda Hernandez's short film is about a college-bound Chicana taking a final ride through her neighborhood. Noon Saturday as part of an eight-film San Antonio showcase. "Lilith": In this short horror film from Danny Geraldo Martinez, which was an official selection of this year's Texas Frightmare Weekend, a promiscuous gentleman encounters the queen of Hell. 2 p.m. Saturday "A Run for More": Ray Whitehouse's documentary follows transgender woman Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe's 2019 campaign for a seat on San Antonio's City Council. 6 p.m. Saturday. "Cuerpo": The final film was shot in San Antonio by writer/director Mark Zuniga, and is a gothic horror story in which a dispute over land ownership takes a supernatural turn. 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Highlights "Pepe Serna: Life is Art": Director Luis Reyes' documentary digs into the career of Serna, a Corpus Christi native who has appeared in more than 100 films, including "Scarface," "American Me," "Silverado" and "Red Dawn." 7 p.m. today. "Mija": Isabel Castro's documentary is about Doris Munoz, a manager who specializes in Latino indie musicians. 8 p.m. Thursday. "Comala:" Gian Cassini's documentary follows his quest to try to get to know his late father, a hitman and drug trafficker who left Cassini and his mother when he was a child. 8 p.m. Friday. "Jockey": Clifton Collins Jr. plays an aging jockey trying to figure out what comes next as his body starts to fall apart, making it clear that he won't be able to ride much longer. Directed by Clint Bentley. 4 p.m. Saturday. "An Awesome Action Movie": This Mexican comedy directed by Luis Antonio Rodriguez is about two wannabe filmmakers who kidnap a famous actor (Hector Soberon), intent on using the ransom to finance their movie. That becomes more complicated when they discover he is broke. 9 p.m. Saturday. "What We Leave Behind:" Filmmaker Iliana Sosa's documentary captures her grandfather's construction of a house in rural Mexico, something that fills his time after he is no longer physically able to travel across the border into El Paso to visit family as he had done monthly for years. 4:30 p.m. Sunday. See the full schedule at guadalupeculturalarts.org. See More Collapse No matter what a films release date might be, one of the most important things the festival offers to filmmakers and audiences alike is the chance to see movies on a big screen with other people. The energy of the theater, thats something that exists and is real, del Bosque Gomez said. The Guadalupe Theater has its own energy when its empty, but when you fill it and project a film or present a performance, it really does come alive. Cuerpo is one of the films premiering at the festival. Del Bosque Gomez said he was impressed with the ambition of the project as well as the way it showcases the talents of Zuniga and his cast and crew. Its a genre film, its a period piece all of those things are very difficult to pull off, he said. We think it deserves a special place in the program. On ExpressNews.com: Flashback to SA-shot Miss Congeniality Zuniga has made a number of short films and has worked on feature film projects. Cuerpo is the first full-length feature hes made on his own. It means a lot to him that it was chosen for the festival and given such a prominent spot in the schedule. I cannot think of a better place to have the premiere than in San Antonio and at CineFestival, said Zuniga, who was born and raised in Mercedes. I think its a perfect fit. Sundays screening will be the first opportunity that he has had to watch it with an audience. Its exciting and nerve-wracking, he said. You never know how theyre going to react. Are they going to enjoy it, give you puzzling looks? Is it going to be completely quiet and maybe you get a pity applause? Im very curious to see. dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter; @DeborahMartinEN It was a deadly Fourth of July weekend on Texas waterways. Eleven people died between July 1 and July 4, 10 from drownings and one from a boating-related fatality, according to the Texas Game Wardens. There were also 38 reported boating accidents. During the same time period last year, seven drowned in Texas lakes or rivers and two died from boating incidents. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio man dies after lighting firework on his head On Wednesday, the body of a swimmer missing since Monday was found in Travis Lake, officials said. The unidentified swimmer was reported missing at around 6 p.m. near the Hippie Hollow area. Travis County Sheriff's deputies searched the lake but found the body on the shoreline. A San Antonio father died while trying to save his 2-year-old daughter after they went overboard in Canyon Lake on Sunday. The girl was rescued by people in a nearby boat, but 41-year-old Rob Berlingeri went under and never resurfaced. His body was later found Tuesday afternoon. An Austin man identified as Pablo Daniel Calzada Rodriguez drowned in the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels on Monday. People nearby pulled him out of the water and he was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Texas Game Wardens were patrolling lakes throughout the weekend and issued over 1,500 citations. Officials said 332 field sobriety tests were also given in which 49 people were charged with boating while intoxicated. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net Roderick Dewayne Chisley was almost home free. It was nearly Christmas 2021, and all the Louisiana trucker had to do was get the trailer he was hauling from Laredo to San Antonio. Hed collect $50,000 for the one load as much as some truckers make in a year. He told Border Patrol agents at the checkpoint north of Laredo that he was traveling alone. As he was waved through, cameras captured the license plates. Agents ran them and learned the rig was stolen, and so were the license plates on the trailer. Agents stopped the truck. When they opened the trailers back doors, they found 52 undocumented immigrants inside and arrested Chisley, 47, on federal smuggling charges, court records show. Similar scenarios have played out at that checkpoint at least four other times since mid-December, with truck drivers in each case caught illegally transporting dozens of immigrants. One trailer had 145 people in it. Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio, said the number of cases of smugglers using trucks to ferry immigrants hasnt changed much in recent years. But lately theyve been crowding more people into their trailers. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden announced a far-ranging campaign to fight human smuggling, a partnership between multiple federal agencies and foreign governments. Biden said authorities had made 2,400 arrests of smugglers in three months, adding that work will only intensify in the months ahead. However, former federal agents say most truckers were able to pass through the checkpoint north of Laredo without being subjected to thorough inspections, in part because of the volume of traffic. About 20,000 trucks pass through the corridor from Laredo to San Antonio every day, officials said. Finding drivers The drivers in human smuggling cases have told federal investigators that they were recruited on social media or through people they knew or met. And they were lured by the promise of thousands of dollars in pay, sometimes for a single load. At least one previously had made smuggling trips before being caught. Law officers said Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, passed through the same Laredo-area checkpoint last week with a load of 64 migrants, taking advantage of a shift change to slip the tractor-trailer through unchecked. A few hours later, he allegedly abandoned the sweltering trailer its air conditioning unit appears to have stopped working on San Antonios Southwest Side in an incident that claimed the lives of 53 migrants. Zamorano, of Palestine in East Texas, is scheduled for probable cause and bail hearings in San Antonio federal court on Wednesday. He was charged with human smuggling resulting in death. It was the countrys deadliest truck-smuggling episode. But it wasnt the only one this year in the Laredo-San Antonio corridor. Just days before, on June 4, La Salle County sheriffs deputies got 911 calls for help, leading them to a trailer that had been abandoned off Interstate 35 between Encinal and Cotulla past the checkpoint. A La Salle County deputy found the rig with its trailer doors open and as many as 30 immigrants standing nearby, the sheriffs office reported on Facebook. Several people were lying on the ground. Two of them were dead. As police arrived to provide help, some immigrants scattered into the brush. The incident grabbed few headlines. The truck-smuggling cases that preceded it this year likewise received little public attention. Details are buried in court documents. On Feb. 7, Lurther Byrd of Alabama was arrested at the checkpoint after agents found 21 undocumented immigrants in the back of the Freightliner box truck he was driving. In March, the driver of an 18-wheeler that had 60 immigrants inside the tanker it was hauling led police on a chase that ended in Cotulla, about halfway between Laredo and San Antonio. On April 7, Roger William Bain was arrested at the checkpoint after agents found 87 undocumented immigrants in a trailer he was hauling. I just needed some quick money, Bain told agents, according to an affidavit detailing his arrest. I met these guys on the internet, and they told me to come down and pick up a load and they would pay me $20,000. When I got here, I asked them, This isn't drugs, is it? They said, No, its just immigrants. On April 15, agents at the checkpoint found 145 immigrants, the largest load this year, in a trailer hauled by a rig Anthony Alfred Boring was driving. Boring pleaded guilty on June 24 to conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants while placing their lives in jeopardy. Sam Owens, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer It was excessively packed with bodies, and it was very hot, a Guatemalan migrant told agents. There was no water in the trailer. On April 29, Othell Corneilous Brown was arrested after Border Patrol agents opened the trailer he was pulling and found 98 migrants. A criminal complaint affidavit said Brown told agents he was going to be paid $800 to $1000 for transporting the trailer from Laredo to San Antonio. Brown said the individual who hired him told him that the trailer contained chicken. It was the third load hed hauled for the person, Brown told agents. Brown stated he had a feeling he was hauling something illegal but decided not to inquire on it due to needing the money and not wanting any problems with the individual who hired him, authorities said in the affidavit. What about the bosses? Officials say smuggling cases involving tractor-trailers are common in Laredo and along the border. Well see some cases where the truck and trailer belong to the driver, said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fawcett, who prosecuted Chisley, among numerous other truck-smuggling cases. In others, it belongs to the company and the driver goes on a side job, with the company unaware, to pick up a load of immigrants. And then there are cases like the one allegedly involving Zamorano. Sometimes, (the rig) will belong to the human smuggling organizations, Fawcett said. They may use one that is stolen or have cloned company logos. The truck Zamorano was driving, a red Volvo rig, had the same federal and state Department of Transportation numbers registered to a company in the Rio Grande Valley, whose owners denied any connection to the truck Zamorano was driving. They said the smugglers cloned their truck. Meanwhile, the Biden administration and partnering nations have directed more than $50 million to an anti-smuggling campaign as well as more than 1,300 personnel. But if truck drivers and other low-level accomplices are the only ones being caught and prosecuted which is often the result of anti-smuggling crackdowns the criminal organizations that run the smuggling networks can just recruit new people, experts say. Its too early to say whether Bidens plan is working. This is a very important effort, said Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an expert in smuggling networks and professor at George Mason University in Virginia. But we need to know more. Arresting people is not enough. You have to prosecute, you have to dismantle a migrant smuggling network. Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans around the country have attacked Biden for his border policies, blaming him for the influx in migrants. Sam Owens, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Politics aside, prosecutions continue. In the case of Chisley, the Louisiana trucker, his lawyer argued his client didnt know the migrants were in the trailer he was hauling. Thats a common defense, saying they didnt know the immigrants were there, said Fawcett, one of the prosecutors in the case. They were able to convince jurors otherwise. The jury convicted Chisley of two counts of knowingly transporting undocumented immigrants, and one count of conspiracy. Hes awaiting sentencing. guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland GLORIA FERNIZ/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Twenty years ago this week, San Antonio and South Central Texas experienced deadly and destructive flooding. A storm, driven by a low-pressure system that stalled over the region, dropped 25 to 35 inches across the Hill Country from June 30 to July 7. Then, a week later, just as the area was beginning to dry out, more torrential rain caused the waterways to swell again. The 2002 storms hit the upper river basins of the region the hardest, including the Guadalupe River, causing water to spill over Canyon Dam and turning a river normally used for recreational tubing and rafting into a raging waterway. You might also like: Rivers throughout South Texas drying up West of San Antonio, Medina Lake's water level was less than 2 feet from cresting the dam. Officials worried that if it was topped, the water could undermine the 90-year-old dam, which would then topple, hurling more than 83 billion gallons of water downstream. Everything in the dams path, including Castroville and south Bexar County, was at risk, engineers warned were at risk. Texas A&M University-San Antonio officials are celebrating a $2.1 million gift, the second largest in the universitys history and one intended to financially support Latino students. The grant by the Hector and Gloria Lopez Foundation is slated to help cover up to five years of tuition, fees, and other college expenses for 15 students who will be named the Lopez Scholars. A&M-SA is the right partner for one of two inaugural grants the Foundation announced this week, Sergio Rodriguez, the foundations president and CEO and nephew of Hector and Gloria Lopez, said in a written announcement. The fact that they are located in San Antonio and serving a population that adds to the economic vibrancy of the community is important to us. Through the grant, students will receive financial aid to cover additional tuition and fees atop what they can cover with federal Pell grants and other financial aid options. It will also pay for support services such as mentoring, tutoring, internship salaries and leadership development. On ExpressNews.com: New provost selected for Texas A&M San Antonio The students will be selected at random by the Texas A&M-San Antonio Foundation/ The fact that they are admitted (to the university) is enough for us, Rodriguez said, adding that the goal is to diminish the barriers for students to receive needed aid. The Hector and Gloria Lopez Foundation selected El Paso, Austin, San Antonio, South Texas, and the Rio Grande Valley as the focus of its need-based scholarships, aiming to invest in Latino students who will be the first in their families to graduate from college. They know what is needed to make a difference, and they are willing to make the necessary investment, both financial and in terms of time and effort, to work with the university, tracking data to ensure the desired outcomes, Jesse Pisors, vice president for university relations and advancement at A&M- San Antonio, said in the announcement. Hector and Gloria Lopez, now deceased, left their accumulated land and financial assets to the foundation in 2021 with a mission to support post-secondary education for Latino students. The couple were of Mexican descent and grew up in Texas, where they both attended college and later settled. Together they ran a law practice focusing on real estate and oil and gas leases. Its so important that young Latinos see themselves at institutions of higher education and find a network of support that gets them across the stage with a degree that will boost their economic opportunities, Rodriguez said. We are committed to colleges and universities with high numbers of Latino students and faculty, with proven success in building networks that help students succeed while they are in school and after they graduate. danya.perez@express-news.net | @DanyaPH Andrew Brookes/Getty Images/Cultura RF A man is accused of making threats Tuesday to use a weapon at a hotel in Uvalde. Jason Guerra, 21, was arrested in another state and charged with terrorist threat, Uvalde police said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Eisenhower Park the beautiful, rugged recreational oasis visited by hundreds of people daily almost didnt happen. A group of determined men and women passionate about serving youth came together in the 1980s to help secure the hilly, rocky 317-acre parks future and save it. This week, the city is installing signs at the parks lookout tower, grassland restoration area and main park trailhead highlighting the parks history and the work the Harmony Hills Optimist Club did to save it from possible development. The history of this park will forever be interwoven with the Harmony Hills Optimist Club and its stewards who continue to care for it, reads a statement from the San Antonio parks department. In 1972, the federal government deeded the city land adjacent to the Camp Bullis training reservation. But initial plans for a partnership with the San Antonio Zoo to develop an exotic animal refuge never came to life. Then, in the early 1980s, President Ronald Reagan ordered an audit of public lands that could be sold to help defray the federal debt. Some worried that unless the planned Eisenhower Park could be demonstrated as being in active use, the government might reclaim the land. The city secured a grant for the Youth Adult Conservation Corps, a jobs program for people ages 16-23, to begin clearing trails. So they started doing a little trail system at Eisenhower. They worked their way into the middle of the park, made nice rocks around the trails and all that. Then, when the money ran out, it just stopped, recalled Ron Keller, 89. On ExpressNews.com: Eisenhower Park trail rated the citys best for hiking The Optimist Club, which had raised funds and built amenities in McAllister Park, stepped up. Keller, co-chairman of the clubs parks building committee, got the group involved. It held non-competitive Volksmarch events to raise funds and make people aware of the fledgling North Side park, then considered out in the boonies. City officials often encountered the clubs park advocates: the duo of Don and Ron Keller and his Optimist co-chair, Don Harris, who had served as a Navy Seabee in World War II. They were a yin and a yang, said Bill Chapman, a longtime friend of Kellers. Don was aggressive with the city, the politicians, the powers that be. Ron was mister meek and humble. The Optimist Club, whose 35-40 members were mostly educators from the Northeast Independent School District, saw park projects as true to the Optimist International motto, Friend of Youth. Chapman, who was not a member, said Boy Scouts helped build trail bridges. But it often was just Don and Ron working at the park on Saturdays. The club installed a playground and cleared more trails. But a 16-foot lookout tower they placed atop a hill might have been the most iconic feature. Harris, the gung-ho former Seabee, had engaged the wood shop class at Churchill High School to build it. When they installed the wooden tower in 1984, as an afterthought, Harris asked Keller to call the city to make sure they had permission. I called down, and they said, Well, we forgot to tell you no, we turned that down, Keller recalls. I said, Well, its already up. Despite the mixup, the park officially opened in 1988. The city put in playground equipment and parking areas intermingled with pavilions, green spaces and picnic benches. The lookout tower remained standing for 35 years. It was closed out of safety concerns in late 2019 and replaced in 2020 with a steel-frame tower. The park, named after President Dwight Eisenhower, who received his first generals star while stationed here at Fort Sam Houston in 1941, now has about six miles of paved and natural hiking trails. A new extension of the Leon Creek Greenway on adjacent land to the immediate south connects with the Salado Creek Greenway as part of a long-planned vision of creekside parks encircling the city. The City Parks and Recreation Department plans to install natural-surface mountain bike trails along that greenway strip and possibly add new hiking trails to the existing park. But the work the Optimists did decades ago will not be forgotten. On ExpressNews.com: City seeks to strike balance in Brackenridge Park project The new signage will feature archival images provided by Keller. A restored wooden Optimist Club sign originally placed in the park in 1985 will be reinstalled near the playground. The club disbanded in 2008. Keller, one of the few members still living who helped with the park, has kept scrapbooks filled with memories letters, photos and newspaper articles. Im very proud of the work they did, he said. I can see all of them, their faces. Unfortunately, they cant speak for themselves anymore because theyve run out of time. Im very fortunate. shuddleston@express-news.net After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, there has been a national uptick in vasectomy appointments that has been echoed in San Antonio. According to Urology San Antonio, Professional Association, there has been a "significant increase" in vasectomy volume in the past month. The organization, however, said patients have not said whether the abortion ruling influenced their decision. "So some of the increase simply may be tied to the fact that the men have scheduled time off work during the summer months," Alan Winkler, the organization's executive director, wrote in an email. On ExpressNews: CPS customers bills jump 25 percent in May from a year ago, a windfall for city of San Antonio The Austin Urology Institute has experienced a similar rush of interest. Its founder, Dr. Koushik Shaw, said in a statement that there has seen a "significant increase" in men contacting the institute to discuss vasectomy in the wake of recent state and national legislation, with "over 400 phone calls to our office on the Friday the decision was announced, with 70 occurring over just the one hour period after the decision was passed," Shaw told KXAN, a TV station in Austin. On ExpressNews.com: Surgical error at Texas Childrens Hospital led to partial vasectomy of 4-year-old, lawsuit says Shaw previously told the Washington Post there was a 15 percent increase in scheduled vasectomies at the institute on Sept. 1, when Senate Bill 8, which effectively bans abortions at six weeks of pregnancy, took effect. Several urologists across the country told the Post that they have seen an increase in requests for vasectomy procedures as a result of the Supreme Court decision. A vasectomy is a surgical procedure that makes men sterile. On ExpressNews.com: Hundreds hit downtown San Antonio streets to protest overturning of Roe v. Wade "While there are procedures that may reverse a vasectomy, a man should always consider a vasectomy to be permanent," Winkler said. He added that infertility as a result of vasectomy is not immediate, so those receiving the operation should continue using whatever birth control method they and their partner choose. The procedure takes about 20 minutes and is typically performed in one clinic sitting. While prices range for vasectomy operations, urologists at Urology San Antonio typically charge about $900. Insurance coverage varies by plan, but many insurance carriers cover the cost of a vasectomy. The Affordable Care Act, however, does not require all insurance companies to cover the deductible for vasectomies, unlike with women's contraceptives, which are covered as "preventative services." On ExpressNews.com: University Health makes plans to build two new hospitals Recovery from a vasectomy operation usually takes a couple of days with minor discomfort. According to the Mayo Clinic, almost all vasectomies can be reversed, but reversal doesn't guarantee success in conceiving a child. Vasectomy reversal may be attempted even if several years have passed since the original vasectomy, but the longer it has been, the less likely it will work. According to the Mayo Clinic, pregnancy rates after vasectomy reversal range from about 30 percent to over 90 percent, depending on the type of procedure. In March 2021, we wrote how neighborhood associations and residents reached out to help neighbors after the February freeze. We learned during that time that neighborhoods are a natural conduit for delivering city services to vulnerable residents. We recognized that residents are not only in crises when the electric grid fails or because of COVID restrictions but also because of stresses from the threat of displacement and eviction; the need to repair homes with limited resources due to rising taxes and other financial hardships; illness or age-related issues; and food insecurity. The list goes on. Maybe we feel a threat that is more existential in these uncertain times and look to the stability of our communities for comfort and aid. Neighbors who have taken it upon themselves to help others have inspired us: Leticia Sanchez-Retamozo, who has advocated for her neighbors on the West Side and helped them with the paperwork to navigate the system for food and housing; Kelly Reid Walls and Kim Hubbeling, who have chipping, spay/neuter services and adoption opportunities to help neighborhoods address animal welfare issues; Kris Spilker, who stepped in to help a vulnerable senior neighbor and documented the process to aid others in being more effective when they help; Lisa Wood, who has struggled with grace in the face of losing her home; and Barbara Witte-Howell, who has been a tireless advocate for seniors and neighborhood issues. These people represent our best selves. There are such caring people all over San Antonio neighborhoods, and they help us thrive in these unprecedented times. These everyday heroes will be joined on upcoming panels about elder help, housing, animal care and neighborhood resiliency by a number of local experts: Mark Carmona, city of San Antonios chief housing officer; Douglas Melnick, the citys chief sustainability officer; Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank; Melanie Cawthon, co-founder and executive director of DisabilitySA; and staff and administrators from the Department of Human Services, Animal Care Services and Adult Protective Services. Brian Halderman, who is a chair of San Antonio Community Resource Directory, which manages the comprehensive online service directory, will discuss availability and disparity of resources. The Neighbor Helping Neighbor Forum on Saturday, July 16 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Laurel Heights United Methodist Church, 227 W. Woodlawn, is about empowering ourselves to help our neighbors. Lunch will be provided, thanks to City Council Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9. Resiliency, the ability to withstand stress and even catastrophe, needs to be nurtured in our communities. The ability to bounce back is essential. We cant do it alone. This is what neighbors helping neighbors is all about. Recently, a person experiencing health issues called her neighborhood association board member in tears because she was being displaced due to an investor purchasing the rental property she had called home for more than a decade. I have a neighborhood support system, neighbors that help me get groceries and give me rides to appointments, and I cant start over in another part of town, she said. Because of assistance from her neighborhood association she was able to stay near her community. She is an example of why so many of us work so hard to stabilize our neighborhoods and communities, and it takes neighbors reaching out with the support of the city and service organizations to help. Neighbors helping neighbors. We hope youll join us for this forum. Christina Wright and Cynthia Spielman are the co-chairs of the Neighbor Helping Neighbor forum for the Tier One Neighborhood Coalition. For more information: t1nc.sat@gmail.com. NATO indeed systemic challenge against global peace, stability 09:12, July 06, 2022 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily The so-called new Strategic Concept document issued at the just-concluded 2022 NATO Summit distorts Chinas domestic and foreign policies. It claims that China challenges NATOs interests, security and values, and NATO will jointly respond to such systemic challenge posed by China. NATOs efforts to make and spread lies about China and hype the so-called China threat are driven by the organizations reemerging Cold War mentality and ideological bias. It is just an awkward show staged by the U.S. to extend NATOs reach to the Asia-Pacific region. NATOs practice encourages confrontation and threatens global security. Regional countries and the international society must stay alert to it. China follows an independent foreign policy of peace and is always a staunch force for global peace and prosperity. The country has never initiated a war or conflict and never taken an inch of foreign land, nor has it interfered in other countries domestic affairs or exported ideology. It never engages itself in long-arm jurisdiction, unilateral sanctions, or economic coercion. China is firmly committed to upholding multilateralism, supporting the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on the Charter of the UN, international law and the universally recognized basic norms governing international relations. Pursuing a peaceful development path, China is actively building a society with a shared future for mankind and advancing the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. It has proposed and been implementing the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and offered a number of public products to help the international community deal with major issues on peace and development. China presents valuable opportunities for world peace and development. It does not pose systemic challenges, as wrongly purported by NATO. NATO has disregarded facts and confounded black with white when making groundless accusations, smears and attacks against China. However, it will never change the fact or the international societys positive evaluation on China. NATO is a Cold War product that is gradually becoming a tool for the U.S. to maintain its hegemony and instigate a new Cold War. The first-ever mentioning of China in NATOs so-called Strategic Concept document is closely related to U.S. coercion. The incumbent U.S. administration inherits the wrong practices of its predecessor and keeps seeing China as a strategic competitor. It has formed cliques to oppress China. The NATO Summit this year has not only hyped the so-called China threat, but also invited some Asia-Pacific allies of the U.S. It exactly exposed the strategic scheme of the U.S. to make NATOs foray into the Asia-Pacific. China has to pay a high attention and make a systematic response to NATOs so-called systemic challenge rhetoric. Any attempt to hurt Chinas legitimate interests will be met with strong reactions. The country has a firm resolution to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests. The U.S., emboldening itself by involving a few of its allies, will only see its plot fail at the end. NATO has always been haunted by the Cold War mentality though the geopolitical tension has already ended for some 30 years. It has never stopped making enemies out of nothing. Indeed, NATO is a systemic challenge for global security. NATO, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization, always poses as a regional defensive organization. However, it has never stopped geographical expansion. It has started and been involved in a big number of wars, killing innocent civilians, hurting world peace and creating humanitarian disasters. To seek its own absolute security, NATO constantly moved its borders eastward, which led to the bitter fruit of the Ukraine crisis that seriously impacted the peaceful development of Europe and even the world at large. NATOs previous expansions and disruptive practices were all under the disguise of consolidating democracy and extending stability, promoting common values. Today, it is once again playing the same old trick, calling its conspiracy to disrupt the Asia-Pacific region a move to protect international order and safeguard its values. Even former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana warned that a global NATO or NATO plus could divide the world into adversarial blocs. The outdated Cold War script must not be repeated in the Asia-Pacific, neither shall the disorder and conflict currently taking place in Europe be duplicated in the region. We sternly warn NATO that it must immediately stop its groundless accusation and provocative remarks on China, abandon its outworn Cold War mentality and zero-sum game, and halt its dangerous practice of disordering Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Any attempt to reverse the trend of history is doomed to fail. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international relations.) (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Hyundai Motor Group President Gong Young-won, fourth from left, poses with high-ranking officials from Latin America at Hyundai Motor Studio Busan, Wednesday. From left, Rafael Gomez, vice minister of energy of the Dominican Republic, Fernando Mitkiewicz, secretary for digital government of the Ministry of Economy of Brazil, Carlino Velazquez, Paraguay's deputy minister of administration and Finance, Gong, Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina, Adriana Rendon, vice president of Columbian Federation of Enterprises, Ecuador's Vice Foreign Minister Luis Bayas, and El Salvador's Deputy Chief of Innovation, Presidential Office Jonathan Fabricio Mena. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group By Kim Hyun-bin Hyundai Motor Group and LG Electronics are upping their efforts to help Korea win its bid host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it invited 23 high-ranking officials from major countries in Latin America to Hyundai Motor Studio Busan, the automaker's brand experience center, to explain the southern port city's competitiveness as a venue for the global event and to request support for its bid. The officials included Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo Andre, Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina, Jose Angel Lopez, and Guatemala's minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs. They are visiting Busan for two days starting Tuesday to attend the '2022 Korea-Latin America Future Cooperation Forum' co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the city of Busan. Hyundai Motor Group delivered a message highlighting the technological innovation for the future and humanity that Busan can introduce during the Expo. Hyundai Motor Studio Busan transformed into a cultural space a steel factory that used to produce wire ropes for 45 years from the 1960s. Hyundai Motor Group emphasized that Busan is the best location for the 2030 World Expo and asked for support from each country. "The dynamic and future-oriented Busan will be the best place to design a new future for humankind through the 2030 World Expo," Hyundai Motor Group President Gong Young-woon said. Meanwhile, in August of last year, Hyundai Motor Group was the first among domestic conglomerates to set up a group-wide task force (TF) to support the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo. LG Electronics also formed TF to host the '2030 Busan World Expo' and started offering support. According to LG Electronics, the Busan Expo task force will be led by CEO Cho Joo-wan. It is composed of LG Electronics' overseas regional representatives, corporate management, global marketing centers, Korean sales headquarters, and public relations department. Cho Joo-wan. LG Electronics CEO In recent decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, throttled states abilities to regulate firearms in public, slashed the federal governments power to restrict greenhouse gases, and muddled the separation of church and state. Most Americans disagree with one or more of these decisions, and public confidence in the high court sunk to an all-time low of 25 percent last month, according to Gallup. One decision that did not get as much attention but matters significantly for veterans and residents here in Military City, USA, came on June 29. Thats when the court ruled in favor of retired Army Capt. Le Roy Torres, an Iraq war veteran who left his job as a Texas state trooper after his bosses refused to provide accommodations for a respiratory condition from exposure to toxic burn pits during his service. On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: Take care of our veterans, pass burn pit legislation Torres resigned from the Texas Department of Public Safety and sued under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. The law, known as USERRA, protects troops from being fired or losing benefits when they miss work for training or deployments. It also requires employers to make reasonable efforts to accommodate the disabilities of veterans. In its decision, the court held that by ratifying the Constitution, the states agreed their sovereignty would yield to the national power to raise and support the armed forces. Congress may exercise this power to authorize private damages suits against nonconsenting states, as in USERRA. In other words, U.S. veterans can take legal action against state employers that refuse to provide accommodations. We agree with U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who said in a statement that the decision is a a victory for all veterans but it should not take a years-long legal battle to compel the government of Texas to respect their service and sacrifice. On ExpressNews.com: Burn pit vets cant wait, yet Congress dithering Veterans have already sacrificed for this nation. Illnesses and injuries due to that service should be treated and accommodated, not ignored. BRACKETTVILLE Leaders in several Texas border counties declared Tuesday they are under invasion and called on Gov. Greg Abbott to start expelling migrants suspected of crossing into the country illegally. The move aligns with some conservative officials and activists who have privately urged Abbott to begin unilaterally enforcing federal immigration laws. Expelling migrants from the country would be unprecedented for the state but justified, they argue, by the Biden administrations push to expand legal pathways for migrants to enter the country. This is not a photo op today, said Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan, one of several county officials to declare a local state of disaster due to the surge in migrant encounters at the southern border. We dont want to lose America, Shahan said. The Biden administration wont do a thing about it. They could stop this thing this hour. They could stop it now. On ExpressNews.com: Conflicting statements about border wall sowing confusion in Laredo Kinney County was one of at least four counties joined by Goliad, Terrell and Uvalde to issue a disaster declaration this week and call on Abbott to enforce federal immigration laws. The governor said in April that he has declined to do so because hes concerned about legal consequences. Texas would almost certainly face a barrage of legal challenges if Abbott decided to expel migrants instead of turning them over to Border Patrol or detaining them on state trespassing charges, as he has done under his border initiative, Operation Lone Star. There are federal laws that law enforcement could be prosecuted under if they were to take someone, without authority, and immediately return them across the border, Abbott said in April. By rolling back Trump-era immigration measures, local officials argued Tuesday, Biden is abdicating the federal governments constitutional duty to defend states from invasion and domestic violence. Otherwise, they say, states have the constitutional right to protect themselves from imminent danger or invasion. But legal experts say the border invasion strategy would likely run afoul of U.S. asylum laws, along with legal precedent that gives the federal government broad discretion in setting and enforcing immigration policy. The people coming are actively seeking to place themselves under the laws of the United States by seeking asylum, said David Bier, the associate director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. So the idea that the first invasion in the history of the world where invaders seek to subject themselves to the law of the country that theyre invading its a total mischaracterization of what an invasion is. jasper.scherer@chron.com Above, Senator-elect Josh Hawley is applauded in 2018 by wife Erin, a key pro-life lawyer behind the scenes in last month's historic defeat of the federal role in abortion. By Mark Hemingway, RealClearInvestigations July 6, 2022 Erin Hawley didnt know that she would help make history when she took a job in February with the conservative legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom. Two months later, the former law professor was on a plane to Mississippi to serve as co-counsel with the states attorney general, Lynn Fitch, and its solicitor general, Scott Stewart, to win the most momentous Supreme Court case in half a century the overturning of Roe v. Wade. I think it was really meaningful for me because I had a 6-month-old that I actually took to Mississippi to that meeting, Hawley said of her efforts to end the constitutional right to abortion. It made why Dobbs matters really concrete, to be talking about this legal strategy and these issues with a baby in tow. The role of Hawley, wife of Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, and the central role played by the Alliance Defending Freedom, are part of the untold story behind the case that overturned Roe and Thomas E. Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al. v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Their relative anonymity was not an oversight, but instead part of a deliberate strategy reflecting the political sensitivities of todays partisan political landscape. Though Erin Hawley was a Supreme Court clerk under Chief Justice John Roberts and her legal acumen is not in doubt, her husband, a former state attorney general, is a bete noire of abortion activists and other liberals. Knowledge of her involvement behind the scenes would have been an unwelcome distraction to her legal team. And although the Alliance Defending Freedom has won 14 victories at the Supreme Court since 2011 including affirming Christian bakers right to refuse making custom cakes for gay weddings and the right of churches to receive taxpayer-funded state grants it kept its role under wraps for fear of attacks to undermine its case from progressive groups such as Southern Poverty Law Center, which has designated it a hate group for defending traditional Christian sexual ethics. As the state of Mississippi publicly litigated the case, it strategized closely with the alliance, which conceived of the successful legal reasoning behind Dobbs. In interviews with RealClearInvestigations, the groups leaders detailed their internal deliberations and the deep concerns among pro-life allies about the principles and arguments ultimately presented to the court. The overturning of Roe v. Wade can be traced back to the day the court ruled in 1973 that there was a constitutional right to abortion. Through the decades, pro-life forces embraced various strategies to challenge that ruling with limited success. Starting in 2016, the ADF began to focus on challenging a core foundation of Roe the issue of fetal viability. In Roe, the high court established that abortion was legal until the unborn child has the capability of meaningful life outside the mothers womb, wrote Justice Blackmun in the majority opinion. In 1992, another Supreme Court decision on abortion, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, allowed states to place some restrictions on abortion while still embracing the concept that women have a right to get an abortion before viability. At the time, it was hard to define when such viability occurred, leading some abortion-rights advocates to claim it does not occur until birth. But ongoing scientific advances have repeatedly redefined viability in the 50 years since Roe and the 30 years since Casey. Its now generally agreed that children can survive outside the womb after as few as 20 weeks. Along the way, the viability standard had come to be seen as beneficial for pro-life legislatures attempts to restrict abortion to earlier in pregnancy. But if many in the pro-life movement came to rely on the viability standard to make incremental gains in abortion restrictions, viability remained controversial as a legal and ethical matter. We know that at 15 weeks that a baby can do things like open and close her hands. ... Can stretch and move and quite likely feel pain, says Hawley. So why can't a state protect her life at that point when they can a few weeks later? It doesn't make a lot of sense legally as a constitutional matter. Its just junk thats totally made up. At meetings in 2016, the alliance tried to get the pro-life cause on board with a new strategy. It wasnt easy. Candidly, it was it was difficult to get support from a number of life groups, because the consensus was, you know, you should stick with 22-week limitations or 20-week limitations, says Kristen Waggoner, general counsel for the ADF and one of the most experienced Supreme Court lawyers in the country. That was the strong consensus, but it was very clear that Planned Parenthood wasn't challenging 20-week laws, because that was too close to the viability line. There was another challenge. Cases dont just magically appear at the Supreme Court. There would have to be a legal conflict for the court to take up, and that conflict would have to be created. A state legislature would have to essentially pass a law restricting abortion before viability, wait for that law to be challenged under the viability standard established in Roe and Casey and then hope it would be appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court. Even then, there was no guarantee the court would hear the case, let alone rule in their favor. [We were] looking at specific courts, Attorney General's offices, looking at the legislatures in the states to try to figure out where to go, says Waggoner. When you think about, it's not just a campaign that you would run as a case is going through the courts. It's also campaign that you would run to get a bill passed. The ADF found leaders in three states were amenable to the idea. Arkansas and Utah expressed interest in passing laws to challenge the viability standard, and both states eventually passed laws restricting abortion before 18 weeks in 2019. But Mississippi moved more quickly. After reaching out in December 2017, the ADF soon found leaders in Mississippi were also open to the idea. We had some allies on the ground and the governor's office down there, which was Governor [Phil] Bryant at the time, so the legislation took off. The legislators loved it, says the alliances director of government affairs, Kellie Fiedorek. Pro-life politicians in Mississippi had already been working on legal challenges to abortion. In April 2012 the state passed a law requiring doctors performing abortions to be board-certified obstetrician-gynecologists and have admitting privileges at an area hospital. The law was effectively struck down when the Supreme Court in 2016 refused to hear the case. Given another opportunity to overturn Roe, Mississippi leaders jumped at the chance. In March 2018, the state legislature passed the Gestational Age Act, restricting abortions in Mississippi after 15 weeks well before the accepted viability line. Right after signing the bill, Bryant remarked: We'll probably be sued here in about a half hour, and that'll be fine with me. It is worth fighting over. The state was, in fact, promptly sued by the states only abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization. In November 2018, a federal judge in the Southern District of Mississippi invalidated the Gestational Age Act, and that ruling was appealed. In December 2019, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower courts ruling on the ground that the law violated the viability standard created by Roe and Casey. There was only one place left to appeal. The plan to get Dobbs v. Jackson before the Supreme Court was afoot. Still, in the years a case winds its way through the legal system there is plenty of time for things to go wrong. Of particular concern was a lack of continuity between state officials charged with defending the Gestational Age Act, given that the states defense of the law depended on elected officials who come and go. The Fifth Circuit had ruled against the state in December 2019 and the following month in Mississippi a new governor, Tate Reeves, and a new attorney general, Lynn Fitch, would take office. The new officials pursued the conservative legal strategy they inherited with equal zeal. Fitchs office petitioned the Supreme Court to hear Mississippi's case in June 2020. Three months later, liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. A Republican Senate quickly confirmed Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett, and suddenly Republican-appointed justices comprised a solid 6-3 majority on the court. The possibility of the Dobbs case overturning Roe started to seem real. With a lot riding on the case, Fitch appointed Scott Stewart as solicitor general, a role which would ultimately make him the lead litigator in Dobbs v. Jackson and responsible for conducting the oral arguments before the Supreme Court. Aside from being a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Stewart was notable for being at the center of an earlier controversy when he was working for the Justice Department. A 17-year-old illegal immigrant who was staying in a federal shelter had obtained a court order to get an abortion, and the Trump administrations Justice Department told the girl she would have to go through with the pregnancy or leave the country. Stewart was the Justice lawyer tasked with defending the governments position, which was rejected by a federal judge, who allowed the underage girl to go through with the abortion. Now, the Supreme Court having granted a petition for its review of the Mississippi law on May 17, 2021, it limited the review to only one question presented in the state's appeal: Whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional. As the stakes for the case rose, so did the internal pressure and second-guessing. I can tell you without naming names that many, many people who were advising Mississippi informally said that they were crazy to ask for Roe to be overturned in full that this could backfire and lead the court to strike down the law under existing precedent. And that the most they could hope for was a slight tweak to existing precedent to allow 15-week laws, but not much more, says Sherif Girgis, a law professor at Notre Dame. We can easily forget that just a few months ago, it seemed to a lot of seasoned court watchers to be insane for Mississippi to ask for this. In spite of the pressure, Mississippi never wavered from questioning the viability standard as the basis for legal abortion. The Attorney General of Mississippi Lynn Fitch, and the SG Scott Stewart as well, I think they both deserve a huge amount of credit for going whole hog, says Ryan T. Anderson, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. I think it was a good strategy of bringing the Mississippi law limiting abortion to 15 weeks, to make them realize how radical [our abortion] law is 15 weeks puts us in line with [abortion restrictions] in Europe, and no one thinks Europe is like the religious right. With a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, it might be tempting to reduce the outcome of Dobbs v. Jackson to GOP machinations in the appointment and confirmation of Supreme Court justices. But the legal team defending Dobbs also benefited from a widespread sentiment even among liberal legal scholars that Roe v. Wade rested on shaky legal ground. Harvard law professor and prominent constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe has said, One of the most curious things about Roe is that, behind its own verbal smokescreen, the substantive judgment on which it rests is nowhere to be found. Even Justice Ginsburg a pro-choice advocate who remains an icon among the progressive left described Roe as a heavy-handed judicial intervention [that] was difficult to justify and appears to have provoked, not resolved, conflict. Given that defending existing abortion precedents on the legal merits was a difficult task, the opposing litigators tasked with defending the right to an abortion also adopted a maximalist position that didnt leave the court room for compromise. The biggest mistake I think the opponents of the Mississippi law made was to refuse to give the court a middle ground, says Girgis, "to refuse to give the court a way to uphold the regulation while still leaving intact some right to an abortion. Obviously they didn't want to give the court a way to strike down a way to uphold the regulation period. But the fact that they kept saying there's no middle ground made it easier for the court to say: Look, our hands are tied. We just have to decide thumbs up/thumbs down on Roe and on the constitutional rights on abortion.' Waggoner, whos set to present oral arguments before the court for the third time this fall, was also taken aback. I was surprised that the lawyers basically told the court it's one way or the other here, you either have to reverse Roe and Casey or you don't, she says. Facing the weakness of the legal arguments underpinning Roe and the conservative majority on the court, Girgis thinks that the opposing lawyers in the case may not have even tried to preserve the existing precedent. The calculation there seems to be that for the sake of the pro-choice cause, it's better to lose big than to lose small, he says. If Roe and Casey are overturned in full, and the American people know that there's now no constitutional right to an abortion, that has a better chance of rallying people to restore the right [to an abortion] politically. The Center for Reproductive Rights, which tried the case for the opposing side, did not respond to a request for comment. With neither side presenting an argument that pointed the way to a compromise that would allow the court to uphold the existing abortion precedents, the conservative majority on the court went ahead and overturned a 49-year-old precedent. A legal victory that had been doggedly pursued by two generations of conservative legal scholars and pro-life activists had been achieved. The Dobbs victory, which is a product of outside groups working with elected officials to engineer a favorable Supreme Court outcome, may also have a lasting effect on the legal strategy for the conservative movement going forward. Former Governor Bryant observes that the ADFs efforts to aid Mississippi were of tremendous value in Dobbs. When the Alliance Defending Freedom came in, it was the emphasis that we needed to begin this process, he says. You need outside legal review and [someone] watching the [legislative] language, understanding what judicial scrutiny it's going to come under, and understanding that the media are going to hype this. As for the efforts to prod the court, that strategy seems vindicated as well. The left has filed preemptive litigation at least since the civil rights era and they have effectively advocated in the public square for their position, not just to defend the truth, but to be assertive about it. And I think that [the Dobbs victory] vindicates that on the conservative side as well, says Waggoner. In this respect, the Dobbs victory is the result of embracing an activist legal strategy that many conservatives who care about constitutional order havent been entirely at ease with. But other conservative activists have long argued the pro-life movement was a moral cause on par with the civil rights movement and ignoring the strategies commonly used to get the Supreme Courts attention would amount to unilateral disarmament in a lot of important legal battles. The fact that you're percolating those issues up to the Supreme Court is sending a message to the court, this is coming, this is coming, this is coming, youve got to deal with this, says Waggoner. And it creates this momentum, that isn't just a momentum in the law, but a momentum in the culture. Whatever Dobbs portends for the future of conservative legal strategy, after six years of careful legal maneuvering its hard to argue with winning the biggest Supreme Court case in five decades. I lost a lot of sleep, says Waggoner. I think it felt like a dream in certain moments an almost unrealistic dream that was too big to even imagine. Correction, Friday, July 8, 2022, 11:50 AM A quotation in an earlier version of this article included a mischaracterization of a fetus at 15 weeks, an error acknowledged after publication by the speaker, Erin Hawley. A fetus at that stage has eyes and eyelids, she says, not the ability to "open and close her eyes." That part of the quotation has been removed. By Eric Felten, RealClearInvestigations July 6, 2022 Just two years ago, the National Endowment for the Arts made only one grant to an art project that promised to address the issue of climate change, awarding $25,000 to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art to commission work informed by "research on the Earth's dissolving permafrost layer." During the last two years, the federal agency has provided $1,369,000 to fund some 40 climate-focused projects. The 29 such grants approved for fiscal year 2022 include support for multidisciplinary artist Hajra Waheed's collaboration "with researchers and organizers on issues such as land sovereignty and food and climate justice"; development of a Baltimore Center Stage production titled, "A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction"; and a grant to the Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, Maryland, to use "movement and storytelling to explore the ways different landscapes and communities are navigating climate change." Never mind the prospect of reins on executive climate action in light of the Supreme Court's stinging regulatory rebuke last week: These art projects are one small piece of an explosion of climate spending since President Biden called during his first days in office for a "whole-of-government approach to combating the climate crisis." In response, every department, bureau, and agency has climate-related budget lines, responding to Biden's mandate by claiming a slice of the climate pie. Where the Trump administration's 150-page budget overview for the fiscal year 2020 mentioned the word climate just once (and that was a reference to "school climate" that is, educational environment), the current White House 2023 budget overview mentions the word "climate" 187 times and the phrase "climate crisis" 33 times in its 158 pages. The administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 calls for "a total of $44.9 billion to tackle the climate crisis," $16.7 billion more than climate spending in 2021, according to the president's budget. "Climate change is not only a real and growing threat," Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan said, "but it also presents an economic opportunity." These include: The Department of Health and Human Services plans to boost spending on the CDC's Climate and Health Program from $10 million to $110 million, to "identify potential health effects associated with climate change and implement health adaptation plans." The National Institutes of Health are ramping up research on "climate change impact on health," with grants for projects "that address the impact of climate change on health" and technologies for measuring "the effects of climate change and extreme weather events on human health." Even as it struggles with the growing crisis on the southern border, the Department of Homeland Security in its 2023 fiscal year budget asks for $55 million to battle climate change. Of that, $2 million will be spent "to stand up a Climate Change Program Management Office," and $4 million will go to the bureaucratic activities of "tracking, monitoring, and auditing environmental planning compliance actions." DHS is also committed to electrifying half its fleet of motor vehicles by the end of the decade. The State Department is seeking $2.3 billion for a broad range of climate-related expenditures including $2 million on "support for post-led climate diplomacy"; $7 million for "global climate diplomacy"; $2.6 million for the "Climate Change Public Diplomacy Fund"; $7.9 million for the "Center of Climate and Sustainability"; $17 million for "Overseas Climate Resilience, Building Energy, and Sustainability Projects"; and over $16 million to support the "Special Presidential Envoy for Climate" -- aka John Kerry currently. State is also seeking $5 million to buy or lease electric vehicles for the department. Linda J. Bilmes, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government who studies the federal budget, says that the Biden administration is "trying to send a message that in everything we do, we should be attentive to the issue." Part of "the problem of dealing with an issue so big," Bilmes added, "is that responsibility is so fragmented." Increased funding to protect coastlines, inspect wind turbines and solar farms, and promote the use of carbon-free energy sources directly align with Biden's call to address what he calls the "existential threat" of climate change. But there are other organizing principles reflecting progressive concerns that inform the budget requests. Chief among these is Biden's belief that climate should be addressed across the government as an issue of "environmental justice." The NIH supports that agenda, stating that "Research has shown the impact of climate change differs across populations depending on socioeconomic advantages." The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to spend over $1 billion in "climate resilience and energy efficiency improvements." For example, HUD promises to advance "climate resilience and environmental justice by redeveloping and replacing distressed public and multifamily housing and neighborhood amenities with resilient and energy-efficient structures." It might be pointed out, however, that one of HUD's main responsibilities is to redevelop distressed public housing. Is HUD's commitment to confronting the threat of climate change a new imperative, or just a new way to justify the department and its activities? The Environmental Protection Agency is also pursuing environmental justice. Under EPA's new strategic plan, the top goal is to "Tackle the Climate Crisis." Following a close second is Goal 2, which commits the EPA to "Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights." In practice that means embedding environmental justice into all of the agency's "Programs Policies and Activities." It isn't clear, however, whether the EPA will be able to re-invent itself as a ministry of environmental justice, given the Supreme Court's consequential decision Thursday limiting what powers the agency can exercise without explicit authorization by Congress. The Court's ruling in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, with its requirements that regulators stick to their lanes, may also put the brakes on President Biden's efforts to turn every department and agency into climate police. At least for now, the Department of Justice is committed to "environmental justice" too. Don't confuse the new effort with the old. The Environment and Natural Resources Division at DOJ, has been enforcing federal environmental laws for more than a century. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced in May a new DOJ Office of Environmental Justice. "Although violations of our environmental laws can happen anywhere, communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-income communities often bear the brunt of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution, and climate change," he said. The Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with advancing environment justice, as is the Department of Energy. DOE recently awarded $3.6 million in cash prizes to fund "Climate solutions for underrepresented communities." Climate change isn't just a crisis, it is a crisis that demands redistribution, which in turn calls for greater intervention by the federal government. The prizes involved various offices and entities within Energy the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, and the Office of Technology Transitions. In response to the president's call for "climate adaptation plans" across the government, the Department of Education came up with a "Green Ribbon Schools" award for institutions that "teach effective environmental and sustainability education." This year's Green Ribbon School winners were announced in April. One awardee was Escuela Verde in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a public charter school devoted to "ecopedagogy." The Department of Education celebrates the "school's emphasis on food and food justice" which "has led to an entirely vegetarian school lunch." "I've seen this before," says Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute. "When an issue gets hot, every federal agency knows they can maximize their budget by tailoring their programs and messaging around the hot theme." Among the topics that have been used to justify spending are everything from rural broadband to gender and structural racism. "Even the Department of Transportation is receiving money to deal with past racial discrimination related to the Interstate Highway System." The sweeping agenda has also inspired projects that tap into New Deal nostalgia. With overtones of the Great Depression program to put young, unemployed men to work on public lands the Civilian Conservation Corps the Department of the Interior proposes to launch a new Civilian Climate Corps. And Interior is hardly the only department getting into that action: The Department of Labor proposes spending $10 million "to partner with AmeriCorps and other agencies to establish a Civilian Climate Corps." Among those agencies is the department's Employment and Training Administration. Kate DeAngelis, international finance program manager for Friends of the Earth, says she is pleased with the Biden administration's whole-of-government approach. She'd actually like to see even more of it. "Unfortunately," she says, "not every agency is doing its fair share to combat climate change." DeAngelis' complaint is that agencies such as the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the U.S. International Development Corporation continue to support fossil fuel projects around the world, "despite the devastating impacts it will have on the climate." Still, some agencies appear to be hard-pressed to find a slice of the climate pie they can call their own. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is promoting new building codes, calling for research on "the impacts of climate change" to shape those codes. (One easy approach might simply be for state and local governments to deny permits for oceanside high-rises built on sand.) FEMA shows how departments and agencies have been using the specter of a climate crisis to build political support for government actions. One of FEMA's main goals is to "Drive public action on building codes," an effort spurred by using "climate science messaging to increase public demand for building codes and standards." Agencies few Americans have ever heard of are trying to get in on the action. Among the environmental initiatives being promoted at the Department of the Treasury are those found at the office of the Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGTA. With a proposed budget for the 2023 fiscal year of $182 million, TIGTA has many responsibilities. It is tasked with protecting taxpayer information, improving tax compliance, and overseeing Internal Revenue Service "efforts to implement tax law changes." The tax IG investigates scams targeting the elderly; prosecutes cyber criminals who attack IRS web sites; and improves "the integrity of IRS operations by detecting and deterring waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct." Treasury promises that in its audits and investigations TIGTA will support the department's strategic goals. Among them, "Combat Climate Change." But how? TIGTA points to its fleet of 200 vehicles and promises to replace them with electric vehicles. But that may be easier said than done. Plans to replace government cars and trucks with electrics, whether at TIGTA, Homeland Security, or the State Department, "are not to be taken seriously," says Benjamin Zycher, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Eliminate every vehicle used by the federal government and the effect on the climate even under the worst-case scenario calculations would be vanishingly small. Even if one were to eliminate the auto emissions of the entire federal government, the change in expected global temperatures would be "essentially zero." Professor Bilmes says that energy efficiencies are important across the federal government, and particularly at the Department of Defense, given that DOD "is the world's single largest purchaser of fuel and vehicles." "We spend so much money on government," says Bilmes, "that government should be in the vanguard of being energy efficient." The U.S. military budget is the largest in the world, and by a wide margin. The Biden administration recently submitted a defense budget of $773 billion for fiscal 2023 - which is more than the combined budgets of the next 10 highest-spending countries combined. While the size of the defense budget, and exactly how and where all that money should be spent, will be an enduring source of political controversy, the defense spending is a boon for local economies across the United States. According to a recent report, the Department of Defense spent $593.9 billion on contracting and personnel in the 50 states and D.C. in fiscal 2020. This money went to defense contractors that manufacture aircraft, ships, and weapons, in addition to service providers, research and development, as well as wages for active-duty service members, civilians, and reservists. This spending, of course, is not spread evenly, and states that are home to large military bases and contractor operations receive more funds than states where the military and defense industry have a smaller footprint. The DoD spent a reported $0.7 billion in Montana in fiscal 2020, or about 0.1% of its total domestic spending, the sixth lowest share among the 50 states. Of that money, payroll accounted for about 57% while about 43% went to contractors. The overall economic impact of defense spending in the state is lower than average, as annual military spending is equal to about 1.3% of Montana's overall GDP, compared to the 2.8% national average. On a per capita basis, defense spending in Montana is equal to about $655 per person, the seventh least among states. All data in this story is from the Department of Defense report Defense Spending By State Fiscal Year 2020. Producers have doubled down on efficiencies and succeeded in boosting health, fertility, and margins across the board, according to the latest Kingshay Dairy Costings Focus report. Looking at the main health incidences recorded in Kingshay Health Manager, producers have improved herd health and cases of mastitis, lameness, and other diseases have all declined. In the last 5 years, cases of lameness and mastitis have fallen from 43 and 41 cases per cow to 35 and 30 cases per cow, respectively. Downward trends can be attributed to more mobility scoring and improved foot management, and stringent culling protocols have helped reduce both lameness and mastitis cases. Health directly impacts fertility, and the data sets demonstrate the correlation between improved health and fertility gains: Metritis is an important cause of infertility, with infertility being the top reason for culling at 25%. Compared with last year, cases of metritis have fallen by 18.8%. Calving interval rolled back by four days to 393 days and services per conception also improved to 2.3 services per conception. And while there was no change to conception rate (38%) and culling for infertility (6.7%), there was an improvement in both the 100-day in-calf rate and the 200 day not in-calf rate, the latter falling sharply from 16% to 13%. Economically, higher cull values and enhanced efficiencies have seen the cost of infertility drop by 9.6% to 1.87p/litre. Producers are clearly on a strong trajectory of health and fertility improvements, says Kathryn Rowland, senior farm services manager at Kingshay, but further gains can be made. At a cost of 5.23/cow for each extra calving interval day, the sums quickly add up; 1,046 per day in a 200-cow herd. The average cost of all health issues was 29,068; a staggering 28% increase on last years average. Estimated costs per case have all increased on last year; mastitis and lameness going up by 90 and 109, respectively. Indeed, there still remains a huge gap between the top quartile of producers and the average worth some 13,482 in health costs alone. There are also the hidden costs of poor health; reduced milk yields, dumped milk due to medicine withdrawal and so on. And its important to note that these health costs dont include the impact on fertility that is costed separately, advises Mrs Rowland. When it comes to production and financial performance, producers have succeeded in boosting margins. However, these gains are quickly being eaten into by soaring overhead and input costs meaning producers margins are still under pressure. The past year has been one of the most volatile in memory, says Mrs Rowland. Covid, a delayed Brexit impact and the devasting invasion of Ukraine have caused record feed, fuel, and fertiliser costs. Ammonium nitrate (AN) prices rocketed from 228/t to 839/t between January 2021 and March 2022. Fuel prices have seen similar trends with red diesel up from 60p/litre in March 2021 to 96p/litre just one year later. Concentrate costs have risen on last year by 23.8% to 296/t and over a rolling 10-year trend, the average cost has risen from 223/t to 274/t. Milk prices have soared by 24% to 36.79p/litre (March 2022). Spot prices now drive the market and the gap between the top and bottom 10% of milk prices has widened to 10.2p/litre. With prices changing rapidly, these figures will soon be out of date - more price increases have been announced for August. Looking at production, based on actual figures from herds using Kingshays dairy costings service across the UK, average milk yields have dipped slightly on last years highs, from 8,512 litres per cow to average 8,456 litres. Milk from forage dropping back to 2,801 litres may be linked to forage quality and cows not performing as expected. Surprisingly, milk from grazing was the lowest it has been in the past three years, says Mrs Rowland. When comparing production systems, all had an encouraging lift in margin over purchased feed (MOPF) on both a per litre and per cow basis. On average, MOPF increased from 20.16p/litre and 1,716/cow last year to 22.71p/litre and 1,920/cow this year ending March 2022. Average MOPF per litre had organic herds coming out on top at 29.94p/litre for the low/moderate yielders although within the organic systems MOPF variation has widened to 117,252. Comparing MOPF on a per cow basis, saw all year-round calving with a housing focus take the top spot at 2,127. The production system figures provide producers with an opportunity to benchmark against similar herds and identify potential areas for improvement. Organic herds made good use of grazing to help cut reliance on purchased feed, however, feed costs were still up by 7.1% on last year at 10.88ppl. Yields fell back by 4.6% to 6,646 litres, however, the 2022 annual yield performance is the third highest seen in the past 20 years. As for crossbred herds, higher milk prices helped boost margins. There was a slight decline in yield, from 6,856 litres/cow to 6,749 litres, but little change in concentrate use. The major difference was in total feed cost, increasing by 14.8% to 7.68p/litre. Similarly, Channel Island herds experienced yield drops from 6,091 litres/cow to 5,867 litres, with total feed cost rising by 16.6% on last year to 10.91p/litre. However, butterfat and protein increased from 5.41% and 3.88% to 5.44% and 3.9%, respectively. High milk prices and costs offer tremendous opportunities for small improvements to have a big impact. It is important to know your cost of production and to focus on efficiencies to maximise potential income - marginal gains add up and bolster the bottom line, says Mrs Rowland. Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong, second row, second from right, meets with two Ukrainian lawmakers, Sergey Taruta and Andrii Nikolaienko, and Ukraine Ambassador to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Pig producers have called on the prime minister to take action to improve the UKs border controls, in the face of a growing risk of diseases like African swine fever (ASF) reaching the UK. In the absence of formal biosecurity checks on meat products from the EU, the National Pig Association (NPA) has called for more robust checks at points of entry, including the use of sniffer dogs. There have been some developments in the spread of ASF in Europe in recent weeks, including three outbreaks in domestic pigs in different parts of Germany. In June, ASF was confirmed on a small outdoor pig farm in southern Germany, close to the French border, more than 500km from all previous outbreaks in the country. With no nearby detection of the virus in wild boar, human mediated spread was again identified as the likely source. More recently, ASF made another jump of over 300km to a 280 sow unit close to the Dutch border, in Lower Saxony, the first case in pigs in this exceptionally pig dense state, trapping over 195,000 pigs in the 10km zone. Human spread is suspected. The disease has also been found on a farm in Brandenburg, where the disease has been circulating in wild boar since September 2020. APHA data show 1,800 ASF cases were confirmed in domestic pigs in Europe in the 12 months to the end of May, including 1,372 in Romania and more than 100 in each of Serbia, Poland and Russia, with a handful in Germany, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Latvia, Moldova and North Macedonia. Over that period, there have been 9,000 outbreaks recorded in wild boar, including more than 6,000 in Poland and around 500-600 in Germany, Romania, Hungary and Latvia. There has been growing concern within the farming sector since Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg confirmed in April that the government was abandoning plans to introduce checks on animals and animal products from the EU on 1 July Instead, it will target the end of 2023 as the revised introduction date for a new digitised control regime. The decision also indefinitely delayed a requirement for documentation, such as health certificates, on EU imports and restrictions on imports of chilled meats from the EU. Mr Rees-Mogg claimed introducing the checks would have been an act of self-harm, as businesses and individuals are hit by rising costs, saying the move would save British businesses up to 1 billion per year. UK food exporters have faced additional checks, documentation requirements, disruption, delays and costs on the back of new rules on EU exports from Day 1 of Brexit, January 1, 2020. In his letter to the prime minister, NPA chairman Rob Mutimer pointed out that between January and August 2021, 300,000 Export Health Certificates were required to export British produce to the EU, costing 40m and taking up over 500,000 hours of veterinary resource. Yet, identical EU products are permitted to move the other way unhindered and at a lower cost, placing European businesses at a competitive advantage, Mr Mutimer wrote. Not only are we deliberately harming our own business interests, we are advertising an open border approach to anyone who would wish to avoid the customs duties, taxes and biosecurity checks which come with trading with a third country. Mr Mutimer highlighted the spread of ASF in Europe, which, while predominantly spread by wild boar, can also result from the movement of contaminated meat products, often being traded illegally from restricted zones where ASF outbreaks have occurred. If no biosecurity checks are taking place at UK borders to prevent and deter the illegal import of contaminated meats, we are leaving ourselves worryingly vulnerable to a catastrophe, he added. While the government awaits the introduction of a new digital trading system, we ask that our borders be significantly better protected through more robust checks at all points of entry, including ports, airports and postal hubs. He pointed out that a two-week multi-agency exercise in 2020 at Heathrow and Gatwick airports saw significant quantities of illegal meat imports seized, which appears to be indicative of a far wider problem. Since then, Scottish authorities have introduced sniffer dog teams to detect products of animal origin. These are based permanently at key entry points, and we would welcome a UK-wide expansion of this initiative, he said. Farmers in Wales will need to manage and enhance habitats across at least 10% of their farm under new proposals released by the Welsh government. A baseline payment will be made to farmers for undertaking a set of 'Universal Actions', the Welsh government has confirmed, and enhancing habitats across 10% of the farm is one of them. Additional payments will be available for those who choose to undertake extra 'Optional' and 'Collaborative Actions'. The Welsh government's proposed Universal Actions also include the creation of new habitat features where existing habitat does not exist. Another proposed Action is for farmers to make sure biosecurity measures are in place to reduce risks of spreading disease, including the provision of wash stations and ensuring farm boundaries are secure to prevent straying stock. And farmers must also complete an annual benchmarking self-assessment to improve business performance. The Welsh government said it wants to engage with farmers to understand how the proposed actions could work on their farms as part of the next phase of co-design for Wales' post-Brexit Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). A decision on how the final scheme will look will not be made until further consultation on the detailed proposals, in 2023. As part of the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, a transition period will be introduced so stability payments will continue to be a feature of the Sustainable Farming Scheme throughout and beyond this Senedd term. Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths thanked the industry for working with the Welsh government to design the Scheme and encouraged farmers to continue to engage. "I want to see this scheme drastically improve our biodiversity and strengthen the Welsh farming sector," Ms Griffiths said. "The scheme is designed to support farmers with this important role whilst at the same time helping them to continue producing high quality food to high production standards. Todays announcement presents these proposals in significantly more detail than has been shared previously. This includes outlining the structure of the scheme, details on proposed actions, and the process through which farmers can apply. We will be engaging with the sector during the next stage of co-design before consulting on the final proposals next year. "I have always said I want to work with our farmers to ensure this scheme works for them and our nation. Warrenton, VA (20186) Today Thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High near 90F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Cloudy skies after midnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Highland Park Police Chief Louis Jogmen and Mayor Nancy Rotering look on as Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli, of the Lake County sheriff's office and the Lake County major crimes task force, speaks to the media during a news conference outside the Highland Park Police Department in downtown Highland Park, Ill., the day after a deadly mass shooting, July 5. AP-Yonhap A man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder after firing off more than 70 rounds at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said the suspect, if convicted of the first-degree murder charges, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. He promised that dozens more charges would be sought. A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a rifle ''similar to an AR-15'' to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore. The assault happened less than three years after police went to the suspect's home following a call from a family member who said he was threatening ''to kill everyone'' there. Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said. The suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his father's home. The revelation about his gun purchases is just the latest example of young men who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence. Illinois state police, who issue gun owners' licenses, said the gunman applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application. Flowers sit on a curb near a child's bicycle as members of the FBI's Evidence Response Team Unit investigate near Central Avenue and Green Bay Road in downtown Highland Park, Ill., July 5, one day after a gunman killed several people and wounded dozens mo At the time ''there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger'' and deny the application, state police said in a statement. In other developments, authorities reported the death of a seventh person. More than three dozen other people were wounded in the attack, which Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks. Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. Earlier in the day, FBI agents peeked into trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the scene. The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror. A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade goers remained inside a wide police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some residents drove up to collect blankets and chairs they abandoned. David Shapiro, 47, said the gunfire quickly turned the parade into ''chaos.'' ''People didn't know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you,'' he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs. The gunman initially evaded capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, Covelli said. This image taken of video and provided by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, shows Robert (Bobby) E. Crimo III dressed as a woman, July 5. AP-Yonhap The shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together. A police officer pulled over 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III north of the shooting scene several hours after police released his photo and warned that he was likely armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said. His father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran for mayor in 2019. The candidate who won that race, current Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, said she knew Crimo as a boy in Cub Scouts. ''And it's one of those things where you step back and you say, 'What happened?'' Rotering told NBC's ''Today'' show. ''How did somebody become this angry, this hateful, to then take it out on innocent people who literally were just having a family day out?'' Crimo's attorney, Thomas A. Durkin, a prominent Chicago-based lawyer, said he intends to enter a not guilty plea to all charges. Asked about his client's emotional state, Durkin said he has spoken to Crimo only once for 10 minutes by phone. He declined to comment further. Steve Greenberg, the lawyer for the parents, told The Associated Press Tuesday evening the parents aren't concerned about being charged with anything related to their son's case. ''There is zero chance they will be charged with anything criminal,'' he said. ''They didn't do anything wrong. They are as stunned and shocked as anyone.'' The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day. Among them was Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting his family in Illinois from Mexico, and Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong congregant and staff member at nearby North Shore Congregation Israel. The Lake County coroner released the names of four other victims. Benny Roberts, of South Bend, Ind., carries a wooden cross in downtown Highland Park, Ill., the day after a deadly mass shooting, July 5. AP-Yonhap Nine people, ranging from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital officials said. Since the start of the year, the U.S. has seen 15 shootings where four or more people were killed, including the one in Highland Park, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass killing database. Scores of smaller-scale shootings in nearby Chicago also left eight people dead and 60 others wounded over the July 4 weekend. In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburb's stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Court's doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburb's restrictions remain in place. Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or those who are termed ''mental defectives'' and capable of harming themselves or others. That might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon. But under the law, just who is a ''mental defective'' must be decided by ''a court, board, commission or other legal authority.'' The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent. In one animated video since taken down by YouTube, Crimo raps about armies ''walking in darkness'' as a drawing appears of a man pointing a rifle, a body on the ground and another figure with hands up in the distance. Federal agents were reviewing Crimo's online profiles, and a preliminary examination of his internet history indicated that he had researched mass killings and had downloaded multiple photos depicting violent acts, including a beheading, a law enforcement official said. Members of the FBI's evidence response team organize one day after a mass shooting in downtown Highland Park, Ill., July 5. AP-Yonhap The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday evening visited the site of the shooting, offering condolences to first responders and local officials. The vice president was already in Chicago to address the National Education Association's annual meeting. ''The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy, to understand that this can happen anywhere, in any peace loving community,'' Harris said in brief comments to reporters in Highland Park. ''And we should stand together and speak out about why it's got to stop.'' Shapiro, the Highland Park resident who fled the parade with his family, said his 2-year-old son woke up screaming later that night. ''He is too young to understand what happened,'' Shapiro said. ''But he knows something bad happened.'' (AP) Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Ariyippu creates history as it becomes the first Malayalam movie to get selected at the Main Competition Section of the 75th Locarno Film Festival. The festival has chosen Ariyippu (Declaration) to be showcased at the festival. The Film Festival will open on the August 3, 2022. This also marks an Indian movie getting selected after 17 long years. The director of the movie, Mahesh Narayanan opened up about the selection of the film. He said, "It is really an honour to be selected to the international competition section of such a prestigious film festival. I have tried to stay true and honest in finding a different cinematic idiom to tell this story and I now feel grateful that it has been rewarded". Actor and producer Kunchacko Boban also rejoiced at the latest production from his banner getting selected. He said, "It indeed is a personal honour for me as well and a tribute to my grandfather and my father who carried the legacy of making great Malayalam films throughout these years." He also added, "I thank and I am really grateful to my dear friend, writer, co-producer and director Mahesh Narayanan, co-producer Shebin Backer and the entire team of 'Ariyippu' for being part of such a beautiful and unforgettable journey." Ariyippu centers around the lives of a struggling Malayali couple who dream of migrating out of the country for a better life. It also explores emotional, social, and marital imbalances in their relationship. WALTHAM, Mass., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Humatics in partnership with Hitachi Rail are pleased to announce the successful completion of a year-long pilot project evaluating the technical and economic benefits of the Humatics Rail Navigation System (HRNS). The HRNS is the industry leading navigation system based on sensor fusion algorithms that leverage the optimal sensors to solve challenging navigation problems for automated rail vehicles. Ultra-Wideband (UWB) and sensors such as Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) and GNSS are fused together to provide precise position, direction, speed, and acceleration data to train control systems including CBTC, PTC, and ERTMS. Humatics deployed the HRNS on 1.5km of Hitachi Rail's test track in Naples, Italy and on one test vehicle, integrated with a Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) simulator, and completed a series of tests to determine positioning and speed performance compared to ground truth sensors and Hitachi Rail's CBTC odometry requirements. Hitachi Rail concluded that the HRNS met all CBTC odometry requirements. "This is an incredible milestone for Humatics and Hitachi as we both look to provide innovative solutions for the signaling industry," stated Shawn Henry, Chief Executive Officer of Humatics. "Both teams overcame incredible challenges that forced us to find ways to get things done while being apart to achieve these impressive results. Humatics looks forward to continuing our excellent partnership with Hitachi and offering innovative signaling solutions for our mutual customers." Leonardo Impagliazzo, Chief Director, Digital & Innovation, Hitachi Rail, stated, "The Humatics Rail Navigation System is a viable option for future integration with Hitachi Rail's CBTC signaling systems, and part of our wider Digital Railway strategy. We also see its potential application with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based signaling systems such as Positive Train Control (PTC) and European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and for light rail, monorail, and people mover applications. In addition to technology, the execution, delivery, and collaboration with our team sets Humatics apart as an innovative leader in the industry and we look forward to continuing to collaborate." Humatics and Hitachi Rail are moving forward to bring the joint solution to market and to prove its capabilities for other applications. For further information please see: https://humatics.com/mobility_solutions/ or contact transit@humatics.com For information about Hitachi Rail, visit www.hitachirail.com or contact ed.brown@hitachirail.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854072/Humatics_Corporation_Logo.jpg DGAP-News: African Energy Week / Key word(s): Personnel African Energy Week: Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah will Receive African Energy Person of the Year Award 06.07.2022 / 07:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah will Receive African Energy Person of the Year Award JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 5, 2022/APO Group/ -African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) President Benedict Okey Oramah will receive the African Energy Chamber's inaugural African Energy Person of the Year during African Energy Week (www.AECWeek.com) 2022 in Cape Town in October. The African Energy Person of the Year Award recognizes an individual who has been influential or prominent in Africa's energy industry during the year or has championed Africa and its energy sector Dr Oramah, an outstanding advocate for the continent and for a just African energy transition, is a natural choice for this award. In an era when fossil fuels funding are being restricted by wealthy nations, Benedict Oramah has been doing everything he can to strengthen Africa's oil and gas industry. He understands that our oil and gas resources are still very much needed to eradicate our continent's widespread energy poverty and create a pathway to a better economic future. Oramah, who holds a doctorate degree in agricultural economics, has been president and chairman of the board of directors of Afreximbank since 2015. Prior to beginning his career with Afreximbank in 1994, he was an assistant research manager at the Nigerian Export Bank. Oramah is a published author and a frequent speaker at trade finance conferences around the world. In May, he was named African Banker of the Year (for the second time) in recognition of his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Oramah is untiring in his work on behalf of the continent. Under his guidance, Afreximbank distributed more than $7 billion to African countries during the pandemic so they were able to meet their people's health needs and address COVID-19's devastating impact on African economies. Not only that, Afreximbank guaranteed the procurement of 400 million doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, enough to vaccinate 30% of the continent's population." Dr Oramah works equally hard to empower African governments, businesses, and communities to realize a more stable, prosperous future. In his role as Afrexibank's president, he strives to de-risk transactions in Africa through medium- and long-term guarantee programs and is an outspoken voice on behalf of increased intra-African trade. Because Dr Oramah recognizes that Africa's energy sector still have important roles to play in building stronger, more resilient African countries, he continues to find ways to support a strong African sector - a healthy mix of oil, gas, and renewable sources. That became readily apparent in 2021, when Africa tried to convince the international community to respect the continent's priorities, a plea that seemed to fall on deaf ears. During the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, more than 20 countries and financial institutions pledged to stop public financing for overseas fossil fuel projects. Foreign investment in African oil and gas projects was rapidly drying up, and we at the chamber felt the only way forward was an African solution. We started calling for an African energy bank that would finance the continent's energy projects and allow African nations to transition from fossil fuels to renewables on their own timetable. Dr. Oramah immediately put his support behind that idea. That support helped pave the way for Afreximbank and the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) to sign a memorandum of understanding in May 2022 and agree to collaborate on the establishment of an African Energy Transition Bank. "These are challenging times when we must strive to strike the right balance between the imperatives of mitigating climate change and the urgency of averting social upheavals as a result of increasingly difficult economic and financial conditions in Africa," Dr Oramah said at the time. His cooperation with APPO was one of many ways Dr Oramah has shown himself to be a true champion of the continent's energy sector. Under Dr. Oramah's direction, Afreximbank has repeatedly helped national oil companies get the funding they need. Just this year, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited secured a $5 billion corporate finance commitment from Afreximbank, financing that will support major, and critically needed, investments in Nigeria's upstream sector. Oramah has been a voice of reason during a critical time for Africa's energy sector. He has clearly stated that balance is the key to a just energy transition, one that moves the world closer to its net-zero ambitions, and at the same time, gives Africa the same opportunities to capitalize on its petroleum reserves as other countries have realized. The African Energy Chamber is proud to recognize Dr. Oramah, a champion for Africa and a role model for Africans. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Week (AEW). Download image: https://bit.ly/3urAjgU 06.07.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de Indian developer Acme will set up a green hydrogen and ammonia project in Tamil Nadu with 1.5 GW of electrolysis capacity and 1.1 million tons of ammonia synthesis, powered by a 5 GW solar plant.From pv magazine India Indian developer Acme Group has announced plans to invest INR 52,474 crore ($6.61 billion) to build a green hydrogen and green ammonia project in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It signed the initial agreement with the state government during the Tamil Nadu Investment Conclave. The project will produce green ammonia through the ammonia synthesis loop process with electrolysis-based ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Felix Fichtl joins leading cyber security awareness firm, SoSafe, as CFO having formerly led the finance team at global social media advertising giant, Smartly.io Fichtl brings with him more than a decade's experience in building and scaling finance organizations across the SaaS industry He will play a pivotal role in helping SoSafe to build on its recent growth and to help it further scale internationally as it looks to secure global market leadership SoSafe a leading provider of cyber security awareness has hired former Smartly.io exec and experienced SaaS operator Felix Fichtl as CFO. Fichtl brings with him more than a decade's experience in building and scaling finance organisations across the SaaS industry. From both his previous role as CFO at the global social media advertising automation giant, Smartly.io to his time spearheading finance operations for market leaders zoovu (formerly SMARTASSISTANT) and SAP Hybris (now SAP CX). His appointment comes as SoSafe looks to build on its recent growth and bring its human-centric approach to cybersecurity to the assistance of even more companies on an international scale. SoSafe is currently the market leader in cybersecurity awareness in its home country of Germany, and is one of the leading providers across Europe. In January 2022, the company closed a $73 million Series B financing round, led by Highland Europe, to help fuel expansion into new territories and establish the firm as the global market leader. Part of these plans involve further bolstering the strength, experience and expertise of the existing C-suite team, of which Fichtl will now play a pivotal role. With its data-driven and human-centric platform, SoSafe takes a unique, behavioural science approach to cybersecurity. An approach pioneered by its founder and CEO, psychologist Hellemann. Founded on the idea that 85% of cyberattacks on companies and organisations can be traced back to a human factor, SoSafe embeds deep gamification elements into the workflows of employees to foster and scale effective corporate security cultures. SaaS industry leader Felix Fichtl from Smartly.io strengthens SoSafe's leadership team During his tenure at Smartly.io, Fichtl scaled the finance organization and played a key role in the sale of a majority stake of the company to Providence Equity in 2019. During his time at SAP Hybris, he managed the post-merger integration of the Hybris side before taking responsibility as Division CFO for SAP Hybris (now SAP CX). "SoSafe has a crystal-clear value proposition that addresses a key concern for companies worldwide. The company is well on its way to becoming a global champion in the area of cyber security," says Fichtl. "Smartly.io, while initially a European player, became a global market leader during my time there. We need more of these success stories and I feel SoSafe has the potential to see such similar success. I am impressed by the team and the investors behind SoSafe and look forward to working with them," he adds. "SoSafe's C-level is brimming with experienced industry leaders, broad-based and complementary competencies, clear lines of responsibility and transparent structures. With Felix, we have gained an outstanding executive who perfectly complements this team," says Hellemann. "His appointment not only demonstrates our growth and our commitment to our customers, but it showcases our ambitions and will help us cement SoSafe as a global leader in cybersecurity awareness," says Niklas Hellemann, co-founder and CEO of SoSafe. SoSafe is currently scaling internationally and has recently opened hubs in Amsterdam, London, and Paris to manage new markets. _______________ About SoSafe SoSafe empowers organizations to build a security culture and mitigate risk with its GDPR-compliant awareness programs. The company was founded in Cologne, Germany, in 2018 by psychologist and former BCG consultant Niklas Hellemann, Digitalization Expert and previous McKinsey consultant Lukas Schaefer, and seasoned software engineer Felix Schuerholz. Today, it serves more than 2000 customers worldwide and is the market leader in security awareness and training in the DACH region. As one of the leading second-generation awareness platforms, they are powered by behavioral science and smart algorithms and focus on user engagement and the needs of the customer. In doing so, SoSafe delivers engaging, personalized learning experiences and smart attack simulations that turn employees into active assets against online threats. The SoSafe team now consists of more than 350 employees at five locations: Cologne (headquarters), Amsterdam, Berlin, London, and Paris. Website: www.sosafe-awareness.com/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/sosafe-cyber-security/mycompany/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005071/en/ Contacts: Press contact For further questions please contact Mrs. Laura Hartmann via press@sosafe-awareness.com Pinnacle Pet Group to inject significant growth equity to accelerate expansion with the European launch of FIGO, JAB's digital pet insurance offering JAB Holding Company ("JAB") is pleased to announce the signing of a definitive agreement through which Pinnacle Pet Group ("PPG") will acquire 100% of the shares in Veterfina Verzekeringsmaatschappij N.V. and its European subsidiaries ("Veterfina"), one of the largest and fastest growing pet insurance businesses headquartered in the Netherlands. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. As part of the agreement, founder and CEO Nico Schuurbiers will continue in his current role and maintain a minority stake in PPG alongside co-founder Han de Groot. PPG will provide significant growth equity to accelerate the European expansion and development of Veterfina's multi-brand and omni-channel strategy. This will include the introduction of FIGO, JAB's D2C pet insurance brand and digital platform, in select European markets. "We share JAB's ambitions for the pet insurance market and are highly energised by the opportunity to work with the rest of the group," said Mr. Schuurbiers. "We have achieved great success in the Dutch market, but with the support of JAB's pet insurance ecosystem, we can accelerate our geographic expansion and digital offering, starting in Belgium this year Today's news follows JAB's recently announced acquisition of AGILA Tierversicherung AG ("AGILA"), the German market leader in pet insurance, from the WERTGARANTIE Group, and the acquisition of Cardif Pinnacle from BNP Paribas Cardif in October 2021. "We continue to see significant growth opportunities in the European pet insurance and pet healthcare sector," said Joachim Creus, Managing Partner at JAB and Chairman of the JAB pet insurance platform. "Veterfina has a strong customer base and excellent product offerings in the Netherlands with a growing pan-European offering, which we will build on as we look to expand into new markets such as Belgium and France "We are thrilled to welcome Veterfina and its whole team to the Pinnacle Pet Group," said Dirk Beeckman, CEO of JAB pet insurance platform and PPG. "Our ambition is to create the leading pet insurance platform globally, with the group benefiting from the knowledge and capabilities from each addition. About JAB JAB Holding Company invests in consumer-focused industries with attractive long-term dynamics, including strong growth prospects, attractive margin and cash flow characteristics, and proven resiliency. Together with JAB Consumer Partners, JAB Holding Company is the largest shareholder of Keurig Dr Pepper, a leader in the North American beverage market and Krispy Kreme Doughnut, a global leader in doughnuts and other premium-quality sweet treats, and has controlling stakes in JDE Peet's, the largest pure-play fast-moving consumer goods coffee company in the world; NVA, one of the world's largest animal care services platforms; Independence Pet Group, a fully integrated leading North American pet insurance platform; Pinnacle Pet Group, a fully integrated leading pan-European pet insurance platform; Panera Brands, one of the world's largest fast casual restaurant companies, which includes Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bagels; Pret A Manger, a leading company in the ready-to-eat food market; and Espresso House, the largest branded coffee shop chain in Scandinavia. JAB Holding Company is also the largest shareholder in Coty Inc., a global leader in beauty, and owns luxury goods company Bally. About Pinnacle Pet Group Pinnacle Pet Group ("PPG" or "the Group") is a pan-European, fully integrated pet insurance health services platform indirectly owned by JAB Holding Company. PPG's ambition is to create the leading pet insurance and health services platform globally, outside North America. The Group offers a complete range of pet insurance products and services, catering to both animal owners, distribution partners, breeders, shelters, and veterinarians. The Group was established in 2021 through a joint venture with BNP Paribas Cardif, which transferred the majority ownership of Cardif Pinnacle to JAB. As the insurance subsidiary of BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas Cardif is the world leader in bancassurance partnerships and creditor insurance. Within the UK, Cardif Pinnacle developed products and services focused on the Pet Insurance market. In July 2022, JAB and PPG announced the acquisition of AGILA Tierversicherung AG ("AGILA"), the German market leader in pet insurance, from the WERTGARANTIE Group. AGILA AG is based in Hannover and was founded in 1994 as a subsidiary of WERTGARANTIE. AGILA is the market leader in animal health insurance for dogs and cats in Germany and Austria. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005210/en/ Contacts: The One Nine Three Group for JAB Zach Siegel: zach@the193.com Charlie Harrison: charlie.harrison@the193.com Electricity generation with fusion relevant technologies planned by 2024 TOKYO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd. (CEO: Taka Nagao, hereafter referred to as "KF") has completed the preliminary design of an integrated testing facility for fusion power plant equipment, and construction has now started in Japan around August. A world first, this facility, named UNITY: Unique Integrated Testing Facility, is on a path to demonstrate electricity generation using fusion relevant technologies in 2024. UNITY has a pioneering design that can test both the heat extraction and fuel cycle systems required for fusion power plants in a single facility. With the ability to test in flexible conditions, UNITY will be the leading platform for testing power generation systems for private fusion companies, allowing these companies to focus their resources on fusion power core development. UNITY is equipped with a test blanket module, primary cooling loops with both liquid metal and molten salt, heat exchangers, a tritium recovery system, and an electricity generator; further, they will be integrated with a test diverter module, tritium pumps, and a tritium fuel circulation system. First electricity generation is planned for late 2024, whereby all the components relevant for future fusion power plants will be demonstrated simultaneously under commercial conditions. The introductory video about UNITY is available at the link below: https://youtu.be/bQvA4GL8zI4 Fusion has long been heralded as the ultimate energy that could fundamentally solve the world's energy problems. In recent years, momentum towards commercialization has accelerated around the globe, with both the United States and the United Kingdom announcing plans to commercialize fusion within the next 15 years or so. However, key reactor technologies and components, indispensable for future fusion power plants, are still under development. Resolving such critical path engineering challenges represents one of the major hurdles for the commercialization of fusion energy. KF is a startup spun out from Kyoto University, from which the company has adopted and advanced world-leading capabilities in fusion engineering. KF has raised over 17 million USD to date, and now employs 50 staff around the world. KF's cutting-edge engineering products include high-efficiency gyrotron for plasma heating, liquid metal blanket for heat extraction, proprietary tritium pumps, and advanced heat exchangers. To further strengthen our position in the fusion engineering domain, KF has decided to construct UNITY, the world's first integrated testing facility for fusion power plant components. The purpose of UNITY is to demonstrate a suite of equipment used from heat extraction to power generation under conditions close to those of a commercial fusion power plant of KF's clients. UNITY has completed the preliminary design phase and is launching its construction in August, which will be conducted in close collaboration with several major engineering companies in Japan. The initial construction of the testing loop, which is the foundation of the facility, is scheduled to be completed by March 2023. The completion of the full UNITY construction, and the subsequent demonstration of electricity generation, is planned by the end of 2025. UNITY will enable integrated testing of a suite of energy conversion equipment in a fusion power plant without the use of nuclear reactions by engineeringly simulating the thermal and magnetic environment within a fusion power core. Similarly, the tritium permeation will be simulated with deuterium. In addition to the simulation of a fusion power core environment, the facility is equipped with an originally designed blanket for high-temperature heat extraction, liquid metal/molten salt loops for high-temperature heat transfer, which will be via an advanced heat exchanger, to a power generation system. UNITY will also host a plasma heating system, a plasma exhaust, hydrogen tritium pumps, and a fusion fuel cycle demonstration system. Such a suite of components will not only be required for DEMO-type plant, which is being studied around the world in conjunction with the ITER project, but also for innovative power plant designs under development in the private sector. Despite only launching in 2019, KF has established itself as a key fusion technology company, providing services and equipment to partners in the fusion industry. However, by developing and demonstrating the world's first testing facility in UNITY, KF will further establish partnerships with research institutes and fusion developers around the world. With UNITY, KF can now help private fusion companies focus on the fusion power core development. About Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd. Kyoto Fusioneering is a privately funded technology start-up founded in 2019, with its Japanese headquarter in Tokyo and its United Kingdom office in Reading. The company is focused on developing advanced technologies for commercial fusion reactors, including gyrotron systems, tritium fuel cycle technologies, and breeding blankets for tritium production and power generation. The company is focused on innovative solutions that are simultaneously high-performance and commercially viable. Supporting both public and private fusion developers around the world, the company is accelerating the realization of fusion as the ultimate energy source for humankind. Media Contact (English and Japanese language) E-mail: media@kyotofusioneering.com (mailto:media@kyotofusioneering.com) HP: https://kyotofusioneering.com/ (https://kyotofusioneering.com/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyotofusioneer (https://twitter.com/kyotofusioneer) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kyoto-fusioneering/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/kyoto-fusioneering/) A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/41d120d7-b557-4e30-a57a-951f2bfd70d4 ZUG, Switzerland, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Klarpay AG has become a Principal Member of the Visa Network, a world leader in digital payments, to further its mission of democratising global payment, banking, and digital disbursement services for online businesses. Swiss fintech Klarpay AG has signed a global partnership with Visa on becoming a Principal Member of the Visa network - the membership grants Klarpay the ability to access Visa's bank-to-bank cross-border business transactions network, as well as to support direct card issuance. The newly acquired Visa certification further demonstrates Klarpay's commitment to delivering first-in-class services to its growing client base. Direct membership in the Visa network offers Klarpay's merchant clients a fast, simple, and integrated way to manage their funds and conduct their day-to-day cross-border transactions. It is important to note that in order to receive Principal Membership in the Visa Network, Klarpay had to undergo a rigorous application process and pass a multidisciplinary audit conducted by Visa International to ensure that the company meets all applicable operational, and regulatory requirements. Additionally, the Visa Principal Membership comes in addition to Klarpay's existing operational excellence Level 1 Payment Card Industry (PSI) Data Security Standard certification that ensures the quality, transparency, and robustness of Klarpay's payment security systems. As Klarpay CEO Martynas Bieliauskas, underlines: "Becoming a Principal Member of Visa has been one of our key objectives since Klarpay's launch in 2019. Acquiring Principal Membership puts Klarpay in a unique position when it comes to absorbing the growing demand for frictionless, scalable, and accessible payment, banking, and digital disbursement solutions. As the first FINMA licensed Swiss fintech to work exclusively with e-commerce merchants, digital entrepreneurs, and social media influencers, Klarpay seeks to empower online businesses through global, scalable, payment acceptance and remittance solutions. "This latest achievement also represents another milestone for Klarpay, as it enables us to offer products that are even more adaptable to the needs of digital entrepreneurs. Looking to the future, we commit to continuously innovate through our expanding suite of services, and help online businesses of all calibres thrive on a global scale through the provision of all-encompassing business payment and banking technologies." As Santosh Ritter, Country Manager of Visa Switzerland & Liechtenstein states: "We are excited to announce our partnership with Klarpay, which has received principal membership enabling to offer B2B Connect solution for the first time in Central Europe. As part of our fintech commitment, we give Klarpay access to our worldwide Visa network so that they can further empower digital businesses and innovative customer experience. We not only offer our value added services to traditional banking clients but also to fintech companies. We look forward to working with Klarpay to help their bank-to-bank cross-border business grow." About Klarpay AG Klarpay AG is a leading fintech company offering online businesses access to multi-currency IBAN accounts, global payment acceptance, and digital disbursement solutions. As the first Swiss-licensed fintech company to work exclusively with e-commerce, digital entrepreneurs, and social media influencers, Klarpay seeks to empower digital businesses through borderless, scalable, bespoke business accounts and payment solutions. Founded in 2019, Klarpay AG is a deposit-taking financial institution authorised and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) under the Swiss Federal Banking Act, Article 1b. About Visa Visa is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at www.visaeurope.ch . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1853303/Klarpay_Logo.jpg Media contact: www.klarpay.com marketing@klarpay.com LONDON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Gas Union (IGU) is today releasing its 13th annual World LNG Report, the world's most comprehensive public source of information on key developments and trends in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Another exceptional year Since the release of the 2021 report, the LNG sector has continued to face unprecedented conditions. Rapid post-COVID-19 demand recovery and tightening energy markets became further stressed by the supply implications from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This year's report is out during the worst global energy crisis on memory, and at a time when LNG plays a crucial role in security, reliability, and sustainability of energy around the world. It is a vital tool for controlling emissions, as gas produces significantly lower carbon emissions than coal and oil while keeping the air clean. Highlights - LNG has demonstrated its agility by adjusting to rapidly changing market conditions. This confirms LNG as a vital fuel for secure, reliable, and sustainable energy, but long-term policy clarity is necessary for gas project development and rebalancing the markets. Global LNG Trade LNG Exporters & Importers LNG Re-Exports +16.2 MT Growth of global LNG trade Croatia commenced LNG imports in 2021, making it the 40th 1 importing market +0.9 MT Re-exported volumes increased by 34.4% YOY in 2021. Global LNG trade reached an all-time high of 372.3 MT in 2021, 4.5% growth from 2020. China, Kuwait, Indonesia and Brazil increased net imports through expansion of import capacity. Re-export activity increased to 3.5 MT in 2021 (2.6 MT in 2020). China provided 10.4 MT in increased net imports, and Asia increased net imports by 9.5 MT. Growth in exports came from the United States (+22.3 MT), Egypt (+5.2 MT) and Algeria (+1.2 MT). Asia received the largest volume of reexports (1.6 MT), while Europe re-exported the largest volumes (2.3 MT). Contractions were greatest in India (-2.6 MT) and the United Kingdom (-2.4 MT). Source: GIIGNL The LNG sector continued to adjust to rallying demand with incredible agility. Strong post-COVID-19 recovery and growth in LNG demand demonstrated that it remains highly valued as a means of fuelling economies and reaching climate goals, while also highlighting urgent need for greater investment in supply to ensure it is more affordable. IGU Secretary General, Milton Catelin, stressed: "LNG plays a critical role in assuring the fundamentals of global energy security and economic stability, and this role has never been greater than it is now. As the world considers its options for navigating through unprecedented times, policymakers should consider the options that are available and the time that is required to bring new supply online. The industry urgently needs policy clarity, beyond the short-term." Price The world is all too aware of the energy prices rally. LNG price growth began with a rapid post-COVID-19 demand recovery and less rapid additions of supply and continued to get worse as the Russia-Ukraine conflict added more stress to the already fully subscribed market. Spot LNG prices surged to historic highs, and European benchmarks exceeded their Asian counterparts. Addressing supply constraints is going to be critical to energy security and economic stability in the world. LNG brings energy where it is needed and connects remote consumers to supply As of April 2022, the global LNG trade connects 19 exporting markets with 40 markets with importing capabilities. Global LNG trade grew by 4.5%, reaching an all-time high of 372.3 million tonnes (MT) in 2021, as the strong post-pandemic recovery resulted in a surge in LNG imports. The growth in exports was mainly driven by the United States (+22.3MT, +49.8%), Egypt (+5.2 MT, +391.2%) and Algeria (+1.2 MT, +11.4%). Australia remained the largest LNG exporter in 2021, exporting 78.5 MT last year vs. 77.8 MT in 2020. The largest exporting and importing region continued to be Asia Pacific. China overtook Japan as the largest LNG importer, increasing its net imports from 68.9 MT in 2020 to 79.3 MT in 2021. A flexible long-term assurance for security of supply Thanks to LNG's agility, reliability, and flexibility, the lights stay on, industries continue to run, homes and businesses are heated or cooled. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to impact global gas supply, reinforcing LNG's critical role in global energy security. In 2021, Russia contributed 8% of global LNG exports, out of which 43.9% were shipped to Europe, while the remaining 56.1% were shipped to Asia Pacific and Asia. With the European Union committing to eliminate Russia energy imports by 2027, growth in existing LNG exporting markets such as the United States and Qatar, and developing new ones, like growing Africa, are important avenues to diversify energy sources and support European energy security. As of April 2022, 136.2 MTPA of liquefaction capacity was under construction or approved for development. 7.7 MTPA of that overall capacity increase is expected to come online in the second half of 2022, with the rest gradually coming in between 2023 and 2027. In 2021, we witnessed one of the highest volumes of capacity being approved in a single year, with 50.0 MTPA liquefaction capacity reaching a final investment decision (FID). This was mainly contributed by the QatarGas North Field East (NFE) project, which added 32.0 MTPA to global approved liquefaction capacity. The remaining approved capacity was contributed by the Baltic LNG T1-T2 (13.0 MTPA) and Pluto T2 Expansion (5.0 MTPA). A key part of the solution to climate problem "Even if it is becoming increasingly challenging in the current environment, the world must stay the course of energy transition, and natural gas, together with a growing portfolio of decarbonised, low and zero- carbon gases, will be key to making that possible." - IGU Secretary General, Milton Catelin commented - "Gas is the fastest attainable and sustainable long-term vehicle to get the world back onto the energy transition path, and the inherent flexibility of LNG allows to deliver it to almost anywhere in the world." Global gas industry continues to strengthen its vital role in solving the climate change problem and enabling an achievable and sustainable energy transition. Over the past year, we have seen an increased focus on decarbonisation among liquefaction facilities. For example, several proposed projects such as the Cedar LNG 1 (3.0 MTPA), Kitimat LNG (18.0 MTPA) and Woodfibre LNG (2.1 MTPA) in Canada will be powered by clean, renewable hydroelectricity. In the US, Venture Global is currently developing CCS at its LNG facilities (Plaquemines LNG and Calcasieu Pass LNG). Through this undertaking, Venture Global will capture and sequester an estimated 500,000 tonnes of carbon per year from its Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines liquefaction sites. Low-carbon LNG is expected to play a key role in the global energy system. Other innovative solutions are also being explored on some LNG liquefaction plants. For example, Hammerfest LNG has introduced the all-electric concept, which was also applied for Freeport LNG featuring electric motors installed to drive their liquefaction compressors. It is also connected to the local grid, which uses renewable energy as part of the electricity mix. This can significantly reduce emissions, depending on the power mix used to fuel the electric motors. Other decarbonisation solutions being explored include absorption of CO2 from the natural gas feed. Liquefied natural gas today, and progressively decarbonised, low and zero- carbon gases, will contribute to a sustainable energy - now and in the future. Gas is itself a major decarbonisation vehicle, and the only hydrocarbon that can be decarbonised at scale, while continuing to provide flexibility and reliability to energy consumers and feedstock to vital indusial sectors. Gas and renewables will be the two major pillars of decarbonisation. Download full report here About the Report Leveraging the IGU's vast global network of more than 150 members across the entire gas value chain, in 80+ countries around the world, the report provides rich data and analysis on LNG trade, price trends, liquefaction, regasification and shipping, as well as on the significant inroads that the fuel is making as bunker fuel. This helps to inform decision makers in business and government, whilst also demonstrating the critical role that gas plays in giving the world safe, secure and sustainable energy supply to keep the lights on, heat homes and businesses and to run essential industry. The IGU thanks its partners, for their invaluable contributions to the development and production of this year's edition. The 2022 report was compiled with contributions from S&P Global (Price Trends) and GIGNL (Trade), and with Rystad Energy as the knowledge partner. The IGU would also like to thank the report study group members from the IGU LNG Committee for their commitment of time and effort to bring this report to life. About the International Gas Union (IGU) The International Gas Union (IGU) was founded in 1931 and is a worldwide non-profit organisation, which promotes the political, technical, and economic progress of the gas industry, seeking to demonstrate that, gas is an integral part of a sustainable global energy future. The more than 150 members of the IGU are national associations and corporations within the gas industry worldwide, working in every aspect of the gas supply chain, from production of natural, renewable, hydrogen and other low and zero-carbon gases through their transport and use. The IGU organises the main international LNG Conference and Exhibition every three years, with the forthcoming LNG2023 taking place in Vancouver, Canada, in July 2023. www.igu.org Please contact IGU Public Affairs: Tatiana Khanberg, Director, Public Affairs, Tatiana.Khanberg@igu.org HELSINKI (dpa-AFX) - Finland's trade deficit widened in May with imports rising faster than exports, preliminary figures from the Finnish Customs showed on Wednesday. The trade deficit increased to EUR 1.175 billion in May from EUR 225 million in the same month last year. In April, the trade deficit was EUR 935 million. Exports increased 30.7 percent yearly in May and imports rose 46.7 percent. Shipments to EU countries increased 39.6 percent in May and imports from them gained 28.6 percent. Exports to countries outside EU grew 20.6 percent in May and imports from those countries surged 75.1 percent. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks rebounded on Wednesday and natural gas prices fell sharply, as an end to strike by Norwegian oil and gas workers eased worries of energy supply crunch. A major energy crisis in Europe has been averted for now after the Norwegian government reportedly intervened to resolve the dispute over pay. Investors also cheered upbeat regional data. German new industrial orders grew 0.1 percent month-on-month in May, reversing the trend after a third consecutive monthly drop, Destatis reported. That was in contrast to the revised 1.8 percent decline in April and the expected fall of 0.6 percent. Eurozone retail sales rose 0.2 percent in May compared with the previous month, Eurostat said. The April data has been revised to a 1.4 percent decline, instead of the 1.3 percent sequential drop previously estimated. The pan European Stoxx 600 rose over 1 percent to 404.83 after losing 2.1 percent the previous day on recession worries. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 indexes gained around 1 percent each while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1.6 percent. Just Eat Takeaway.com shares jumped 17 percent after Amazon agreed to buy a stake in its unit Grubhub. Evotec AG added 1 percent. The German drug discovery and development company, Boehringer Ingelheim and bioMerieux have established a joint venture Aurobac Therapeutics SAS, with an investment of 40 million euros. French car parts maker Faurecia slumped nearly 6 percent after Barclays double-downgraded its rating on the stock to 'underweight.' Abrdn soared 7.4 percent after the British investment company launched a GBP300-million share buyback program. Online booking site Trainline jumped almost 20 percent after the company upped its sales outlook, citing a recovery in demand for travel across Europe amid an influx of U.S. tourists. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Internet, Everywhere--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) (TSX: SHOP), a provider of essential internet infrastructure for commerce, plans to announce financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2022 before markets open on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Shopify's management team will host a conference call to discuss second-quarter results at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. The conference call will be available via webcast on the investor relations section of Shopify's website at https://investors.shopify.com/news-and-events/. An archived replay of the webcast will be available following the conclusion of the call. About Shopify Shopify is a leading provider of essential internet infrastructure for commerce, offering trusted tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business of any size. Shopify makes commerce better for everyone with a platform and services that are engineered for reliability, while delivering a better shopping experience for consumers everywhere. Proudly founded in Ottawa, Shopify powers millions of businesses in more than 175 countries and is trusted by brands such as Allbirds, Gymshark, Heinz, Tupperware, FTD, Netflix, FIGS, and many more. For more information, visit www.shopify.com. CONTACTS: INVESTORS: Katie Keita Senior Director, Investor Relations 613-241-2828 (ext. 1024) IR@shopify.com MEDIA: Stephanie Ross Communications Lead press@shopify.com SOURCE: Shopify To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130062 Bogota, Colombia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Medcolcanna Organics Inc. (CSE: MCCN) ("Medcolcanna", "MCCN" or the "Company"), a leading Canadian and globally integrated medicinal cannabis company with operations in Colombia, is announcing certain corporate updates. DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION In an effort to reduce the operating costs of the Company and to conserve capital until the Company achieves financial self-sufficiency, the Company has agreed with certain members of the executive management team and Board of Directors to reduce their compensation until such time as Company achieves certain revenue thresholds. Felipe de la Vega, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of the Company, has agreed to a reduction in his salary to CAD$7,000 per month while the other members of the management team (Chris Reid and Nicolas Rodriguez) have agreed to reductions to CAD$5,000 per month. Bonuses will be paid to these executives at such time as the Company achieves certain financial thresholds in order to compensate them for agreeing to the reductions. In addition, Robert Metcalfe, Chairman of the Board of Directors, has agreed to a reduction to CAD$5,000 per quarter for his director fees. This management compensation reduction comes along also with internal restructuration where number of employees has been reduced as well some salaries of second tier management. This will leave MCCN as one of the lowest G&A companies, with a very well-defined strategy that should allow the company to expect to be profitable within the next 12 months. In addition, the Company has implemented a deferred stock unit plan which provides for the issuance of cash bonuses to members of the Board of Directors and members of the executive management team upon certain revenue and share price thresholds being met. A copy of the DSU plan will be filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Board of Directors has also agreed to the issuance of a total of 13,450,000 deferred stock units at an exercise price of $0.06 and which vest upon the occurrence of certain financial and revenue thresholds as determined by the Compensation and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors. Lastly, certain members of the executive team and members of the Board of Directors have agreed to forfeit their stock options, all of which are out of the money, in order to allow more space in the option pool for future grants of options, including the one noted below. INDUSTRIAL HEMP FARMS Further to the press release of the Company dated October 20, 2021, the Company entered into a supply agreement for the provision of dried cannabis flower to Industrial Hemp Farms of Colorado ("IHF") and which provided for certain stock options to be issued to IHF upon the occurrence of certain delivery thresholds. Further to that transaction, the Company has agreed to issue a total of 21 million options to purchase common shares in the capital of the Company at prices ranging from $0.10 to $0.15, such options expiring on various dates between October 31, 2023 and October 31, 2027, upon certain performance metrics being met. Refer to the Company's press release dated October 20, 2021 for more information in respect of same. BOARD UPDATE Additionally, the Company announces that it has recently received the resignation from Thor Borresen as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Borresen has resigned from the Company for personal reasons. The Board of Directors of the Company thanks Mr. Borresen for his contributions to the Company and wishes him well in his future endeavours. DEBENTURE INTEREST Finally, the Company announces that it is issuing a total of 1,736,252 common shares in the capital of the Company ("Common Shares") to the holders of the secured convertible debentures of the Company (the "Debentures") that were issued during fiscal 2020. Pursuant to the terms of the Debentures, interest can be paid either in cash or Common Shares, at the discretion of the Company. In order to conserve cash, the Company has elected to pay the interest owing for the period from January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022 in Common Shares. The Common Shares are being issued at a price of $0.05 per share, such price being the minimum price permitted for securities issued on the facilities of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"). The issuance of the Common Shares allows the Company to settle certain debt owing to various creditors and preserve its working capital for growing the business as it works towards achieving self-sufficiency and being self-financing. The Common Shares are subject to a four month and a day hold period under applicable securities laws, such hold expiring on November 5, 2022. Finalization of the issuance of the Common Shares set forth above is subject to the approval of the CSE. Certain of the issuances described above are considered to be a "related party transactions" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 as several of the creditors and recipients of Common Shares are related parties to the Company, but the Company is availing itself of the exemptions from obtaining a formal valuation and obtaining "majority of the minority" approval due to the exemptions available in Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of said instrument. About Medcolcanna Medcolcanna is a Canadian-integrated medical cannabis company, whose fully licensed operations are based in Colombia. Led by a proven and successful management team, Medcolcanna has a growing number of facilities in optimal growing locations, which positions the Company to become a global leader in the medical cannabis market. Medcolcanna employs state-of-the-art organic agricultural technology and innovative pharmaceutical processes to produce high-quality products. The Company's scalable production model and network of pharmaceutical partnerships globally ensures that they remain at the forefront of the medical cannabis industry. If you would like to receive News Releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: https://medcolcanna.com/contact-us/ or write to info@medcolcanna.com. Additional information about Medcolcanna can be found on its web site at medcolcanna.com Medcolcanna Investor Relations Contact: Chris Reid, CFO Carrera 49b # 93-62 Bogota, Colombia Phone: +571 642-9113 Email: info@medcolcanna.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals for any proposed transaction, including those discussed herein. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Medcolcanna assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130066 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE: IAG) (TSX: IMG) ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results from its 2022 delineation diamond drilling program on its wholly-owned Karita Gold project in north-eastern Guinea. The project is located along the prolific Senegal-Mali Shear Zone in West Africa, between the Company's Boto Gold Project in Senegal eight (8) kilometres to the north, and its Diakha-Siribaya Gold project in Mali three (3) kilometres to the south. Highlights include (refer to Table 1 for detailed interval results): 34.0 metres ("m") at 5.81 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") in drill hole KDD22-006 from 67.0 m including 5.0 m at 33.31 g/t Au from 70.0 m, in drill hole KDD22-006 from 67.0 m - followed by a separate interval of 14.15 m at 6.46 g/t Au from 197.9 m including 3.0 m at 28.73 g/t Au from 203 m; from 197.9 m 50.0 m at 2.85 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-003 from 21.0 m including 7.0 m at 13.47 g/t Au from 36.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-003 from 21.0 m 25.0 m at 5.32 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-033 from 26.0 m including 14.0 m at 9.10 g/t Au from 26.0 m, in drill hole KDD22-033 from 26.0 m - followed by a separate interval of 32.0 m at 1.66 g/t Au from 51.0 m including 2.0 m at 13.14 g/t Au from 68.0 m, from 51.0 m - followed by a separate interval of 21.0 m at 1.9 g/t Au from 156.0 m; from 156.0 m; 37.0 m at 3.50 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-007 from 98.0 m including 6.0 m at 7.46 g/t Au from 116.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-007 from 98.0 m 22.0 m at 5.70 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-028 from 11.0 m including 3.0 m at 31.13 g/t Au from 19.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-028 from 11.0 m 12.0 m at 9.49 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-016 from 129.0 m including 6.0 m at 17.95 g/t Au from 129.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-016 from 129.0 m 21.0 m at 5.33 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-015 from 25.0 m including 6.0 m at 7.42 g/t Au from 25.0 m including 7.0 m at 9.11 g/t Au from 39.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-015 from 25.0 m 21.0 m at 2.71 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-013 from 73.0 m including 7.0 m at 5.15 g/t Au from 80.0 m, in drill hole KDD22-013 from 73.0 m - followed by a separate interval of 20.0 m at 5.33 g/t Au from 104.0 m including 7.0 m at 8.80 g/t Au from 104.0 m including 3.0 m at 11.97 g/t Au from 115.0 m; from 104.0 m 18.0 m at 4.29 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-030 from 45.0 m including 6.0 m at 9.83 g/t Au from 48.0 m including 2.0 m at 8.32 g/t Au from 61.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-030 from 45.0 m 40.0 m at 1.84 g/t Au in drill hole KDD-010 from 159.0 m including 7.0 m at 5.15 g/t Au from 159.0 m including 4.0 m at 6.63 g/t Au from 188.0 m; in drill hole KDD-010 from 159.0 m 20.0 m at 3.32 g/t Au in drill hole KDD-019 from 60.0 m including 6.0 m at 9.03 g/t Au from 60.0 m; in drill hole KDD-019 from 60.0 m Craig MacDougall, Executive Vice President, Growth for IAMGOLD, stated: "The results reported today from our ongoing delineation drilling program are highly encouraging and continue to build on our exploration successes in the region. Karita is located on the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone which extends from B2Gold's Fekola mine 15 kilometres to the north though our previous discoveries at the Boto and Diakha-Siribaya projects to the south. During this program we have intersected multiple, wide zones of mineralization within altered metasedimentary units, several of which include considerable thickness in the shallow oxidized zone, extending nearly 2 kilometres along strike. We would like to recognize the efforts of our exploration team in West Africa, who have worked tirelessly against many logistical challenges to safely implement this drilling program as they advance our evaluation of our newest discovery." The assay results returned represent 42 diamond drill holes ("DDH") totaling 10,230.5 metres from the ongoing 2022 delineation drilling program, which will involve the completion of 22,000 to 24,000 metres of drilling, designed to delineate the mineralized zones on a nominal 100 x 50 metre collar spacing in order to support a future initial mineral resource estimate. To date, approximately 18,225 metres in 70 DDH holes have been completed. Additional assay results will be reported once they are received, validated and compiled. Figure 1 - Karita Drill Hole Plan View To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6077/130082_c2aa54d1f413c833_001full.jpg Figure 2 - Cross Section View L 2200N To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6077/130082_c2aa54d1f413c833_002full.jpg Note: Drill hole intercepts are calculated with a lower cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au and may contain lower grade intervals of up to 5 meters in core length Next Steps Approximately 4,000 to 6,000 metres of additional drilling is planned in the second half of the year as part of the 2022 delineation drilling program. The results of the drilling program will be compiled, validated and interpreted to develop a deposit model to support the completion of an initial mineral resource estimate planned for 2023. The Karita Gold Project The Karita Gold project is wholly-owned by IAMGOLD and is held under an exploration permit that covers approximately 100 square kilometres in Guinea, on the Birimian aged Kedougou-Kenieba inlier of the West African Craton region along the borders with Senegal, Guinea and Mali. In 2017, the Company completed a reconnaissance geology and termite mound geochemical sampling program over the Karita permit to evaluate the interpreted extension of the Boto-Diakha mineralized trend in Guinea. The area is thought to cover an extension of the regionally important and prolific Senegal-Mali Shear Zone along trend between IAMGOLD's Boto Gold deposits in Senegal to the north, and its Diakha deposit on the Siribaya project in Mali to the south. The sampling program identified an extensive gold geochemical anomaly delineated over a nearly 2 kilometre strike length, and similar to that observed to be associated with the deposits occurring at both Boto and Diakha. Figure 3 - Senegal-Mali Shear Zone To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6077/130082_c2aa54d1f413c833_003full.jpg The initial 2019 drilling program was designed to evaluate the geochemical anomaly for the presence of mineralization and involved the completion of wide spaced lines of reverse circulation ("RC") drilling, which confirmed the presence of multiple zones of mineralization hosted within an albite + hematite altered sandstone metasedimentary unit over a 1.6 kilometre strike length. After extensive access restrictions arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic, exploration resumed in 2022 with the objective of delineating this new discovery to evaluate its resource potential. Results to date have confirmed the presence of shallow oxide mineralization extending at depth to fresh rock where mineralization is observed to be hosted in altered and locally brecciated metasedimentary lithologies exhibiting albite - silica - hematite alteration associated with disseminated to locally narrow semi-massive sulphide (pyrite) veins and occasional visible gold. Overall, the mineralization shows similarities to IAMGOLD's Boto and Diakha deposits located along the same trend. Table 1 - 2022 Diamond Drilling Program - Karita Gold Project, Guinea UTM WGS84/Zone29 AZ Dip EOH From To Core Length Gold2 Mineralized Zones HOLE-ID Easting Northing Elevation () () (m) (m) (m) (m) (g/t) KDD22-001 240772.3 1372899 166.8 90 -54 315 0 3 3 0.66 Oxide zone 77 84 7 1.87 94 109 15 0.71 Sulfide zone Including 94 100 6 1.29 132 137 5 3.74 210 214 4 0.51 KDD22-002 240572.3 1372200 178.8 90 -55 350.5 86 139 53 1.88 Sulfide Zone Including 86 95 9 3.9 Including 100 111 11 3.53 115 139 24 1.04 KDD22-003 240672.3 1372199 176.4 90 -55 326 21 71 50 2.85 Oxide zone Including 36 43 7 13.47 84 87 3 2.72 Sulfide zone 145 148 3 3.99 178 181 3 0.55 189 196 7 0.34 KDD22-004 240875.6 1372900 169.1 90 -54 247 0 6 6 1.06 Oxide zone 17 19 2 1.11 96 100 4 2.03 Sulfide zone 127 131 4 0.56 KDD22-005 240926.4 1372901 170.1 90 -54 190 0 13 13 1.05 Oxide zone 30 31 1 29.7 44 66 22 1.81 Including 51 54 3 7.06 KDD22-006 240623.8 1372199 177.7 90 -55 354 39 51 12 0.95 Oxide zone 62 67 5 1.16 67 101 34 5.81 Sulfide zone Including 70 75 5 33.31 197.9 212 14.1 6.46 Including 203 206 3 28.73 338 340 2 1.82 KDD22-007 240723.9 1372199 175.8 90 -55 300 51 69 18 0.65 Oxide zone 98 135 37 3.5 Sulfide zone Including 116 122 6 7.46 249 255 6 0.63 KDD22-008 240775 1372199 175 90 -55 250 32 43 11 0.43 Oxide zone 50 68 18 2.72 Including 62 66 4 6.57 KDD22-009 240826.1 1372900 167.9 90 -53 276 0 6 6 0.6 Oxide zone 19 31 12 1.5 61 63 2 0.79 KDD22-010 240517.8 1372200 179.8 90 -55 351 100 105 5 1 Sulfide zone 159 199 40 1.84 Including 159 166 7 5.15 Including 188 192 4 6.63 203 205 0.73 KDD22-011 240824.9 1372199 174.3 90 -55 160 19 27 8 2.89 Oxide zone 56 62 6 0.63 Sulfide zone 67 73 6 0.6 KDD22-012 240722.5 1372899 166.7 90 -54 300 112 113 1 3.15 Sulfide zone 145 148 3 1.33 257 259 2 1.28 KDD22-013 240628.3 1372302 177.5 90 -54 275 38 46 8 0.38 Oxide zone 53 58 5 0.32 73 94 21 2.71 Sulfide zone Including 80 88 7 5.15 104 124 20 5.33 Including 104 111 7 8.8 Including 115 118 3 11.97 131 135 4 1.82 142 145 3 1.49 197 207 10 0.6 Including 202 204 2 1.64 223 235 12 0.75 KDD22-014 240589.1 1372102 178.3 90 -54 300 75 87 12 0.94 Oxide zone Including 75 77 2 1.8 Including 82 87 5 1.43 91.4 101 9.6 0.97 Sulfide zone 153 159 6 6.52 Including 153 155 2 9.24 Including 157 159 2 10.09 250 252 2 2.43 KDD22-015 240708.8 1372302 176 90 -54 225 25 46 21 5.33 Oxide zone Including 25 31 6 7.42 Including 39 46 7 9.11 76 78 2 5.82 Sulfide zone 85.5 88 2.5 1.17 99 102.1 3.1 1.4 135 141 6 3.31 136 139 3 6.06 162 172 10 0.51 KDD22-016 240670 1372101 176.3 90 -54 250 24 27 3 0.44 Oxide zone 54 55 1 109.9 129 141 12 9.49 Sulfide zone Including 129 135 6 17.95 149 155 6 3.21 172 175 3 0.58 KDD22-017 240700.4 1372700 173.8 90 -54 312 14 35 21 1.19 Oxide zone Including 15 18 3 5.62 83 85 2 1.68 Sulfide zone 115 117 2 0.73 154 156 2 3.12 215 220 5 1.06 KDD22-018 240789.6 1372301 174.2 90 -54 150 28 30 2 6.82 Oxide zone 63 81 18 1.02 Sulfide zone KDD22-019 240748.9 1372101 174.9 90 -54 172 60 80 20 3.32 Oxide zone Including 60 66 6 9.03 125 132 7 0.85 Sulfide zone KDD22-020 240686.1 1372500 177.7 90 -54 275 18 29 11 1.86 Oxide zone Including 25 26 1 17.4 77 81 4 1.1 Sulfide zone 99 103 4 2.2 123 130 7 5.16 Including 123 125 2 16.58 KDD22-021 240766 1372500 176 90 -54 243 26 32 6 10.98 Oxide Zone KDD22-022 240847.8 1372500 175.1 90 -54 174 40 46 6 1.22 Oxide zone 61 67 6 1.03 Sulfide zone KDD22-0023 240780 1372700 176 90 -54 252 35 44 9 0.86 Oxide zone 62 68 6 0.6 Sulfide zone 73 78 1.26 KDD22-024 240860.3 1372700 178.5 31 45 14 2.3 Oxide zone Including 31 34 3 6.42 128 130 2 1.52 Sulfide zone KDD22-025 240620 1372700 174 90 -54 303 158 169 11 0.61 Sulfide zone 213 215 2 2.26 252 269 17 1.42 Including 252 257 5 2.97 Including 265 268 3 3.24 KDD22-026 240606 1372500 178 90 -54 276 71.6 77.9 6.3 0.63 Sulfide zone 102 106 4 12.9 Including 103 106 3 17.04 157 170 13 0.47 198 208 10 12.02 Including 205.1 206 0.9 119.3 KDD22-027 240646 1372500 178 90 -54 275 94 105 11 0.92 Sulfide Zone Including 102.4 104.2 1.8 3.68 171 174 3 1.09 KDD22-028 240741.1 1372700 175.471 90 -54 264 11 33 22 5.7 Oxide Zone Including 19 22 3 31.13 Including 32 33 1 19.9 63 65 2 12.65 Sulfide zone 107 114 7 0.93 KDD22-029 240550 1372300 179.9 90 -54 276 54 57 3 1.03 Oxide zone 73 76 3 21.35 Sulfide zone 116 138 22 1.81 Including 120 124 4 6.12 160 170 10 0.81 192 210 18 0.77 KDD22-030 240723.2 1372500 176.9 90 -54 258 19 21 2 2.96 Oxide Zone 45 63 18 4.29 Sulfide zone Including 48 54 6 9.83 Including 61 63 2 8.32 75 91 16 0.84 Including 86.3 88 1.7 6.67 176.7 178.5 1.8 5.6 KDD22-031 240806 1372500 176 90 -54 210 NSV KDD22-032 240819.6 1372700 178.6 11.5 21 9.5 0.62 Oxide zone 45 56.5 11.5 1.83 Sulfide zone Inclusion 49 50 1 14 160 162 2 2 KDD22-033 240670.1 1372302 176.5 90 -54 250 26 51 25 5.32 Oxide zone Including 26 40 14 9.1 Including 46 51 5 1.11 51 83 32 1.66 Sulfide zone Including 68 70 2 13.14 156 177 21 1.9 KDD22-034 240519.8 1371902 177.2 90 -54 308 25 36 11 1.22 Oxide zone 141 167 26 0.65 Sulfide zone Including 152 162 10 1.32 180 186 6 1.28 206 209 3 1.65 243 267 24 0.83 Including 246 251 5 2.18 KDD22-035 240593.7 1371900 176.0 90 -54 250 26 28 2 4.91 Oxide zone 65 69 4 0.94 Sulfide Zone 101 105 4 0.84 118 128 10 0.54 157 160 3 4.42 Including 157 158 1 12.2 177 210 33 0.41 KDD22-036 240678.7 1371900 175.0 90 -54 190 20 30 10 1.2 Oxide zone 41 44 3 1.69 64 74 10 1.9 Sulfide zone Including 65 66 1 14.3 166 190 24 1.66 Including 173 175 2 8.95 Including 185 187 2 4.37 KDD22-037 240760 1371900 173.0 90 -54 121 75.5 104 28.5 1.01 Sulfide zone Including 80 82 2 4.44 KDD22-038 240560 1371900 176.0 90 -54 275 83 88 5 0.5 Sulfide zone 107 117 10 0.72 128.1 134 5.9 0.57 154 160 6 0.77 214 232 18 0.95 Including 222.5 229 6.5 1.87 KDD22-039 240640 1371900 175.0 90 -54 202.0 79 81 2 0.71 Sulfide zone 90 97 7 0.79 Including 94 97 3 1.7 121 123 2 2.55 KDD22-040 240720 1371900 173.0 90 -54 165 125 164 39 0.61 Sulfide Zone Including 125 133 8 1.21 Including 151 157 6 1.14 KDD22-044 240552 1371300 138.0 90 -55 290 190 180 10 0.8 Sulfide zone 279 284 5 2.04 KDD22-046 240602 1371300 139.1 90 -55 270 40 78 38 0.51 Oxide zone Including 40 46 6 1.57 89 100 11 1.1 Sulfide zone 115 130 15 0.68 137 147 10 0.53 Notes: Drill hole intercepts are calculated with a lower cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au and may contain lower grade intervals of up to 5 metres in core length. Assays intervals are reported uncapped, but high grade sub-intervals are highlighted. NSV - no significant values reported. Insufficient drilling has been completed to establish true widths of the mineralized intercepts, but these are estimated to be between 60-80% of the reported interval. TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND QUALITY CONTROL NOTES The drilling results contained in this news release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The Qualified Person ("QP") responsible for the supervision of the preparation, verification and review of the technical information in this release is Philippe Biron, P. Geo., Regional Senior Geologist, West Africa for IAMGOLD. Mr. Biron is a QP for the purposes of NI 43-101 with respect to the technical information being reported on. The information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Craig MacDougall, P.Geo, Executive Vice President, Growth for IAMGOLD. Mr. MacDougall is a QP for the purposes of NI 43-101. The technical information has been included herein with the consent and prior review of the above noted QPs. The sampling of, and assay data from, DDH core are monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance - quality control (QA-QC) program designed to follow industry best practice and include the insertion of certified reference standards. Core samples from diamond drilling are collected from three diamond rigs, at generally one meter intervals, under the direct supervision of IAMGOLD geologists and field technicians. Core samples are sawed in half, with one half sent to the lab for prep and assay, and the other retained for reference purposes. The assay samples were prepared and assayed at Bureau Veritas Analytical Laboratory in Bamako, using a standard fire assay with a 50-gram charge and an Atomic Absorption finish (FA450). Samples which returned values greater than 10 g/t Au are being re-assayed using a gravimetric finish. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by, but not limited to, the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "would", "continue", "expect", "expected", "budget", "forecast", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "appear" "plan", "schedule", "guidance", "outlook", "potential", "plans", "targeted", "focused", or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, differences in the mineral content within the material identified as mineral resources or mineral reserves from that predicted, the failure to accurately estimate mineral resources or mineral reserves, unexpected increases in capital expenditures, operating expenditures and exploration expenditures, changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, changes in world gold markets and other risks disclosed in IAMGOLD's most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml and Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com, which are incorporated herein. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by applicable law. CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES References to mineral resources contained in this news release are based on the meaning given to such term in NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") - CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council, as amended (the "CIM Standards"). These standards are similar to those used by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Industry Guide No. 7, as interpreted by the SEC staff. However, the definitions in NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ in certain respects from those under Industry Guide 7. Accordingly, mineral resource information contained in this news release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by United States companies. As a result of the adoption of amendments to the SEC's disclosure rules (the "SEC Modernization Rules"), which more closely align its disclosure requirements and policies for mining properties with current industry and global regulatory practices and standards, including NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, and which became effective on February 25, 2019, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources." Issuers were required to comply with the SEC Modernization Rules in their first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, though Canadian issuers that report in the United States using the Multijurisdictional Disclosure System ("MJDS") may still use NI 43-101 rather than the SEC Modernization Rules when using the SEC's MJDS registration statement and annual report forms. United States investors are cautioned that while the SEC now recognizes "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under the SEC Modernization Rules, investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian regulations, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in limited circumstances. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources", or "inferred mineral resources" are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any part or all of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. About IAMGOLD IAMGOLD is a mid-tier gold mining company operating in North America, South America and West Africa. The Company has three operating mines: Essakane (Burkina Faso), Rosebel (Suriname) and Westwood (Canada), and is building the large-scale, long life Cote Gold project (Canada) which is expected to start production towards the end of 2023. In addition, the Company has a robust development and exploration portfolio within high potential mining districts in the Americas and West Africa. IAMGOLD employs approximately 5,000 people and is committed to maintaining its culture of accountable mining through high standards of Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices, including its commitment to Zero Harm, in every aspect of its business. IAMGOLD is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: IAG) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: IMG) and is one of the companies on the Jantzi Social Index ("JSI"), a socially screened market capitalization-weighted consisting of companies which pass a set of broadly based environmental, social and governance rating criteria. IAMGOLD Contact Information Graeme Jennings, Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: 416 360 4743 | Mobile: 416 388 6883 Philip Rabenok, Manager, Investor Relations Tel: 416 933 5783 | Mobile: 647 967 9942 Toll-free: 1 888 464 9999 info@iamgold.com This entire news release may be accessed via e-mail, IAMGOLD's website at www.iamgold.com and through Newsfile's website at www.newsfilecorp.com. All material information on IAMGOLD can be found at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov. Si vous desirez obtenir la version francaise de ce communique, veuillez consulter le www.iamgold.com/French/accueil/default.aspx. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130082 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Signal Gold Inc. ("Signal Gold" or the "Company") (TSX:SGNL)(OTCQX:SGNLF) is pleased to announce results from a recent drill program at its 100%-owned Goldboro Gold Project in Nova Scotia ("Goldboro" or the "Project"). The infill drill program, consisting of 3,865 metres in 31 diamond drill holes, was conducted to aide in the conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources within the East Goldbrook Pit into Indicated Mineral Resources (the "Infill Drill Program"). The existing constrained open pits outlined in the Phase 1 Open Pit Feasibility Study1 were designed using only Measured and Indicated Resources, however they captured 975,000 tonnes of Inferred Mineral Resources at a grade of 2.11 grams per tonne ("g/t"), mainly in the East Goldboro Pit (Exhibit A). This represents an opportunity to positively impact Project economics by upgrading these Inferred Mineral Resources which are currently accounted for as waste tonnes. Selected composited highlights from the Infill Drill Program include: 18.71 g/t gold over 2.5 metres (13.5 to 16.0 metres) including 85.30 g/t gold over 0.5 metres in diamond drill hole BR-22-354; 11.40 g/t gold over 3.0 metres (34.8 to 37.8 metres) including 60.50 g/t gold over 0.5 metres in diamond drill hole BR-22-345; 33.82 g/t gold over 1.2 metres (48.4 to 49.6 metres) in diamond drill hole BR-22-358; 1.36 g/t gold over 8.7 metres (20.3 to 29.0 metres) in diamond drill hole BR-22-349; and 3.91 g/t gold over 3.0 metres (169.0 to 172.0 metres) in diamond drill hole BR-22-370. The results are important as they support the continuity of gold mineralization adjacent to existing Indicated Mineral Resources within the East Goldbrook Pit. "As outlined in the Feasibility Study for the Goldboro Gold Project, we have identified significant opportunities to optimize the value of the Project and potentially increase the overall economics and longevity of the Project. This included the upgrading of Inferred Mineral Resources in the East Goldbrook Pit as well as exploring adjacent to, and along strike, of the existing Mineral Resource. We believe the results of the Infill Drill Program reported today may positively impact the Project's economics as the Inferred Mineral Resources being targeted are currently being accounted for as waste tonnes in the economics outlined in the Feasibility Study. Any Inferred Mineral Resources that we are able to convert would positively impact Project revenues and would reduce the strip ratio. The data gathered during the Infill Drill Program will be used in a future Mineral Resource Estimate anticipated to coincide with detailed engineering studies in 2023." ~ Kevin Bullock, President and CEO, Signal Gold Inc. 1 Please refer to the technical report and Feasibility Study dated January 11, 2022 and titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report and Feasibility Study for the Goldboro Gold Project, Eastern Goldfields District, Nova Scotia", which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.signalgold.com. Drill holes BR-22-237 to BR-22-339 were drilled prior to holes BR-22-240 to BR-22-270, but were drilled for the purposes of testing mineralization, evaluating geotechnical properties as well as water testing. Assays for these holes have not been received and will be reported at a future date once data is available. A table of selected composited assay results from the Infill Drill Program Hole ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Gold (g/t) Visible Gold BR-22-340 40.0 41.0 1.0 1.09 BR-22-343 21.0 24.0 3.0 0.50 and 34.6 35.6 1.0 1.03 BR-22-344 21.0 22.0 1.0 3.09 and 45.5 48.2 2.7 3.50 including 45.5 46.2 0.7 12.40 BR-22-345 14.0 20.0 6.0 0.66 and 34.8 37.8 3.0 11.40 including 36.1 36.6 0.5 60.50 VG and 43.4 44.0 0.6 1.35 and 53.2 63.9 10.7 0.62 BR-22-346 13.0 14.0 1.0 0.70 and 20.0 21.0 1.0 0.72 and 67.6 68.1 0.5 1.50 and 78.0 82.0 4.0 0.86 BR-22-347 47.7 48.7 1.0 1.37 and 148.7 151.7 3.0 1.31 and 178.0 179.0 1.0 1.34 BR-22-348 104.5 110.5 6.0 0.55 and 140.2 140.7 0.5 15.30 VG and 160.0 160.5 0.5 0.58 VG and 167.9 172.5 4.6 0.85 including 167.9 168.9 1.0 3.23 and 191.3 194.5 3.2 0.57 and 209.5 212.4 2.9 1.02 and 220.2 222.2 2.0 2.41 and 232.5 241.0 8.5 0.81 including 232.5 233.0 0.5 7.69 VG BR-22-349 20.3 29.0 8.7 1.36 including 28.0 29.0 1.0 7.75 and 52.7 53.7 1.0 0.66 and 123.7 125.4 1.7 0.79 and 156.8 159.6 2.8 1.01 BR-22-350 16.0 17.6 1.6 1.49 and 27.0 33.1 6.1 0.83 and 50.9 57.4 6.5 0.53 BR-22-351 32.5 34.5 2.0 2.37 and 47.4 48.9 1.5 0.62 VG and 54.6 55.4 0.8 6.18 and 63.0 65.6 2.6 0.63 and 114.3 117.7 3.4 0.96 BR-22-352 32.0 33.0 1.0 0.85 and 44.4 44.9 0.5 2.89 and 151.4 152.0 0.6 2.16 and 169.6 170.1 0.5 72.70 VG BR-22-353 46.5 47.5 1.0 0.52 and 60.0 63.9 3.9 0.74 and 73.5 74.5 1.0 0.89 and 121.5 122.3 0.8 5.47 BR-22-354 13.5 16.0 2.5 18.71 including 14.5 15.0 0.5 85.30 VG and 38.0 38.5 0.5 2.87 VG and 57.6 58.1 0.5 1.12 VG BR-22-356 40.0 41.0 1.0 8.59 BR-22-357 10.9 11.4 0.5 6.88 VG and 88.2 89.2 1.0 4.40 and 122.5 123.5 1.0 5.82 BR-22-358 48.4 49.6 1.2 33.82 including 48.4 48.9 0.5 80.30 VG BR-22-360 108.5 109.5 1.0 0.85 and 138.5 139.0 0.5 0.69 VG BR-22-361 69.4 70.4 1.0 1.07 BR-22-366 15.7 16.7 1.0 1.52 and 82.7 83.7 1.0 0.82 and 99.1 100.1 1.0 0.59 BR-22-367 63.5 64.0 0.5 4.75 BR-22-368 55.8 57.3 1.5 2.70 and 84.5 85.5 1.0 1.29 BR-22-370 29.0 29.5 0.5 9.00 and 40.5 41.5 1.0 8.70 and 105.0 106.0 1.0 0.54 and 136.0 137.0 1.0 1.01 and 169.0 172.0 3.0 3.91 Intervals are reported as core length only. True widths are estimated to be between 70% and 100% of the core length. All drill hole results are reported using fire assay only. See notes on QAQC procedures at the bottom of this press release. All drill holes not reported in the table above did not encounter significant mineralization. Drill holes were oriented along a north-south trend with holes on the north limb of the hosting anticlinal structure drilled southward and holes located south of the anticlinal structure drilled northward. The dip of holes is dependant upon the location relative to the anticline with the goal of intersecting mineralized zones orthogonally. Goldboro Gold Project - Mineral Resource Estimate The Mineral Resource Estimate presented was prepared by Independent Qualified Person Glen Kuntz, P. Geo., of Nordmin Engineering Ltd. The Mineral Resource Estimate is based on validated results of 681 surface and underground drill holes for a total of 121,540 metres of diamond drilling completed between 1984 and the effective date of November 15, 2021, including 55,803 metres conducted by Signal Gold. Mineral Resource Estimate for the Goldboro Gold Project - Effective Date November 15, 2021 Resource Type Gold Cut-off (g/t gold) Category Tonnes Grade (g/t gold) Gold Troy Ounces Open Pit 0.45 Measured 7,680,000 2.76 681,000 Indicated 7,988,000 2.89 741,000 Measured + Indicated 15,668,000 2.82 1,422,000 Inferred 975,000 2.11 66,000 Underground 2.40 Measured 1,576,000 7.45 377,000 Indicated 4,350,000 5.59 782,000 Measured + Indicated 5,925,000 6.09 1,159,000 Inferred 2,206,000 5.89 418,000 Combined Open Pit and Underground* 0.45 and 2.40 Measured 9,255,000 3.56 1,058,000 Indicated 12,338,000 3.84 1,523,000 Measured + Indicated 21,593,000 3.72 2,581,000 Inferred 3,181,000 4.73 484,000 * Combined Open Pit and Underground Mineral Resources; The Open Pit Mineral Resource is based on a 0.45 g/t gold cut-off grade, and the Underground Mineral Resource is based on 2.40 g/t gold cut-off grade. Mineral Resource Estimate Notes Mineral Resources were prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (2014) and the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines (2019). Mineral Resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. This estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves. Open Pit Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.45 g/t gold that is based on a gold price of C$2,000/oz (~US$1,600/oz) and a metallurgical recovery factor of 89% around cut-off as calculated from ((GRADE-(0.0262*LN(GRADE)+0.0712))/GRADE*100)-0.083. Underground Mineral Resource is reported at a cut-off grade of 2.60 g/t gold that is based on a gold price of C$2,000/oz (~US$1,600/oz) and a gold processing recovery factor of 97%. Assays were variably capped on a wireframe-by-wireframe basis. Specific gravity was applied using weighted averages to each individual wireframe. Effective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is November 15, 2021. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates and totals may not add correctly. Excludes unclassified mineralization located within mined out areas. Reported from within a mineralization envelope accounting for mineral continuity. Qualified Person and Technical Report Notes A Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report and Feasibility Study for the Goldboro Gold Project, Eastern Goldfields District, Nova Scotia", prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 for the Goldboro Gold Project Feasibility Study can be found on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under the company's profile. Readers are encouraged to read the Technical Report in its entirety, including all qualifications, assumptions and exclusions that relate to the Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve and Feasibility Study. The Technical Report is intended to be read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context. The Qualified Person responsible for the preparation of the Goldboro Gold Project Mineral Resource Estimate contained in this press release is Glen Kuntz, P. Geo. (Ontario, Nova Scotia) of Nordmin Engineering Ltd. Mr. Kuntz, is considered to be "Independent" of Signal Gold Inc. and a "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101. All samples and the resultant composites referred to in this release are collected using QA/QC protocols including the regular insertion of standards and blanks within the sample batch for analysis and check assays of select samples. All samples quoted in this release were analyzed at Eastern Analytical Ltd. in Springdale, NL, for Au by fire assay (30 g) with an AA finish. All assays in this press release are reported as fire assays only. For samples analyzing greater than 0.5 g/t Au via 30 g fire assay, these samples will be re-analyzed at Eastern Analytical Ltd. via total pulp metallics. For the total pulp metallics analysis, the entire sample is crushed to -10mesh and pulverized to 95% -150mesh. The total sample is then weighed and screened to 150mesh. The +150mesh fraction is fire assayed for Au, and a 30 g subsample of the -150mesh fraction analyzed via fire assay. A weighted average gold grade is calculated for the final reportable gold grade. Total pulp metallics assays for drillholes sited within this press release may be updated in a future news release. Paul McNeill, P. Geo., VP Exploration of Signal Gold, is a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined under NI 43-101 Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information and data included in this press release. A version of this press release will be available in French on Signal Gold's website (www.signalgold.com) in two to three business days. ABOUT SIGNAL GOLD Signal Gold is a TSX and OTCQX-listed gold mining, development, and exploration company, focused in the top-tier Canadian mining jurisdictions of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The Company is advancing the Goldboro Gold Project in Nova Scotia, a significant growth project subject to a positive Feasibility Study (Please see the 'NI 43-101 Technical Report and Feasibility Study for the Goldboro Gold Project, Eastern Goldfields District, Nova Scotia' on January 11, 2022 for further details). Signal Gold also operates mining and milling operations in the prolific Baie Verte Mining District of Newfoundland which includes the fully permitted Pine Cove Mill, tailings facility and deep-water port, as well as ~15,000 hectares of highly prospective mineral property, including those adjacent to the past producing, high-grade Nugget Pond Mine at its Tilt Cove Gold Project. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Signal Gold Inc. Kevin Bullock President and CEO (647) 388-1842 kbullock@signalgold.com Reseau ProMarket Inc. Dany Cenac Robert Investor Relations (514) 722-2276 x456 Dany.Cenac-Robert@ReseauProMarket.com Exhibit A: A map showing the East Goldbrook Pit and the location and highlights of the Infill Drill Program which targeted Inferred Resources coincident with the open pit constrained to Measured and Indicated Resources only. SOURCE: Signal Gold Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707611/Signal-Gold-Intersects-1871-gt-Gold-over-25-metres-and-1140-gt-Gold-over-30-metres-at-the-Goldboro-Gold-Project Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Gowest Gold Ltd. (TSXV: GWA) ("Gowest" or the "Corporation") announces the resignation of Mr. Yungang Wu, P.Geo., as a director of the Board of the Corporation. The Corporation has commenced a search for Mr. Wu's replacement. C. Fraser Elliott, Chairman, commented: "I would like to thank Yungang for his support and dedication as a member of our team over the years as Gowest has continued to develop the Bradshaw mine near Timmins Ontario. He has been a valuable asset both to our technical team and to our Board of Directors and we wish him well in his future endeavours." Dan Gagnon, P. Geo., Gowest's President and CEO, will take over Mr. Wu's role as the Qualified Person for the technical information provided by Gowest under National Instrument 43-101 standards. About Gowest Gowest is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on the delineation and development of its 100% owned Bradshaw Gold Deposit (Bradshaw) on the Frankfield Property, part of the Company's North Timmins Gold Project (NTGP). Gowest is exploring additional gold targets on its +100-square-kilometre NTGP land package and continues to evaluate the area, which is part of the prolific Timmins, Ontario gold camp. Currently, Bradshaw contains a National Instrument 43-101 Indicated Resource estimated at 2.1 million tonnes ("t") grading 6.19 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) containing 422 thousand ounces (oz) Au and an Inferred Resource of 3.6 million t grading 6.47 g/t Au containing 755 thousand oz Au. Further, based on the Pre-Feasibility Study produced by Stantec Mining and announced on June 9, 2015, Bradshaw contains Mineral Reserves (Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves) in the probable category, using a 3 g/t Au cut-off and utilizing a gold price of US$1,200 / oz, totaling 1.8 million t grading 4.82 g/t Au for 277 thousand oz Au. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. For further information please contact: Dan Gagnon Greg Taylor President & CEO Investor Relations Tel: (416) 363-1210 Tel: (416) 605-5120 Email: info@gowestgold.com Email: gregt@gowestgold.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130071 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Fabled Copper Corp. ("Fabled Copper" or the "Company") (CSE:FABL); (FSE:XZ7) announces additional results of 2021 surface field work on its Muskwa Copper Project. See Figure 1 below. Figure 1 - General Property Location The Project is comprised of the Neil Property, the Toro and the Bronson Properties in northern British Columbia. See Figure 2 below. Figure 2 - Location Map Peter Hawley, President, CEO reports; "To date we have reported on 14 copper occurrences and related drone UAV missions and ground geophysics on the Neil Property. This completes the 2021 work on the Neil and now we will report on the 2021 work on the Bronson property to the south of the Neil." See Figure 3 below. Figure 3 - Bronson Property Location The Bronson property comprises 4 mineral tenures covering approximately 2,524.6 hectares where the key objectives of the 2021 work program were to: i) Carry out a field campaign consisting of reconnaissance prospecting across the Bronson claims. ii) Complete a focused program at the Book 6 vein target consisting of detailed sampling, Very Low Frequency Electromagnetic and ground magnetometer geophysical surveys and a UAV photogrammetry survey. iii) Conduct alteration mineral mapping and targeting using Visible Near Infrared (VNIR), Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) and Thermal Infrared (TIR) Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) multispectral satellite data. BRONSON PROPERTY ASTER ALTERATION MINERAL MAPPING - RESULTS The ASTER sensor is a spectral imaging instrument located on-board the EOS/Terra satellite which was launched by NASA in December 1999. ASTER has been designed to acquire land surface temperature, emissivity, reflectance, and elevation data and is a cooperative effort between NASA and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI). ASTER consists of threeseparate subsystems, each acquiring data from different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (VNIR, SWIR and TIR). Each ASTERscene covers an area of 6060 km2. The VNIR bands have a spatial resolution of 15 meters, SWIR bands 30 meters and the TIR bands 90 meters. An additional backward-looking near-infrared band provides stereo coverage. The ASTER channels are more contiguous in the short wave infrared region than those of Landsat, yielding increased accuracy in the spectral identification of rocks and minerals (Gabr et al. 2010). ASTER can acquire data over the entire globe with an average duty cycle of 8% per orbit. This represents acquisition of about 650 scenes per day that are processed to three different levels based on final product (Level-1A, 1B and 1T). All processed scenes are transferred to the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) archive at the EROS Data Center's (EDC) Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP-DAAC) for storage, distribution, and processing to higher-level data products. All ASTER data products are stored in the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF- EOS). ASTER level 1B products (used in this study) represent registered radiance at the sensor product and as such contain radiometrically calibrated and geometrically co-registered data for the acquired channels. Level-1B data is produced by applying the radiometric calibration and geometric correction coefficients to the Level-1A data files. Further image pre-processing is required to generate surfacereflectance and emissivity multiband imagery that is necessary for mineral mapping and analysis. Scenes used for mineral mapping must predate April 30, 2008 when SWIR sensor overheating began resulting in erroneous data for the 6 SWIR bands. One minimally cloud covered Aster Level 1B Scene was acquired for the Bronson claim block, see Figure 4 below. The mapping areais characterized by minor snow and ice cover and moderate vegetation cover at lower elevations. These image feature types, inaddition to topographic shadow will significantly reduce the surface area over which spectral analysis can be carried out. The imagerywas acquired on September 11, 2001 and the Canadian Digital Elevation Data (CDED) 30 m resolution DEM was acquired and usedto orthorectify the ASTER Scene. Note that Crosstalk is an effect in ASTER imagery caused by data signal leakage from band 4 intoadjacent bands 5 and 9. A cross talk correction is applied using open source software (ERSDAC Crosstalk 3). Figure 4 - Bronson Property, ASTER Total Scene Other necessary pre-processing steps after data import includes; Image orthorecification using available DEM, Layer stacking into VNIR-SWIR 9 band layer stack (resampled to 30 m resolution) and TIR 5 band layer stack (90 mresolution), Atmosphere Correction for VNIR-SWIR data to generate surface reflectance data Thermal atmospheric correction for TIR data to generate emissivity data Trimming and mosaicking data to the Bronson Claims and Snow, cloud and vegetation Masking. The VNIR-SWIR image was atmospherically corrected using the module fast line- of-sight atmospheric analysis of spectral hypercubes (FLAASH) in ENVI 5.3. FLAASH uses MODTRAN4 radiation transfermodels for the calculations. These models have been shown to be better than other atmospheric correction techniques for hydrothermal mineral mapping. Band Ratio and Logical Operators Selected ASTER VNIR-SWIR and TIR band ratios and logical operators are extremely effective in mapping hydrothermal alteration forreconnaissance or early stage exploration. Table 1 below summarizes various band ratio and logical operators used in this study to mapspecific alteration minerals. All operators listed in the table were used to generate mineral probability maps, however the following discussion focuses only on minerals that yielded credible anomalies (gossan, silica and general clay). Note vegetation was masked out of final data products to avoid generation of false anomalies. Vegetation has a spectral response that overlaps with clay minerals that are identified using absorption and reflection features in the SWIR portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Table 1 - Bronson Property, Band Ratio's and Logical Operators Alteration Mineral Band Ratio/Logical Operator VNIR-SWIR Hematite - Goethite B2/B1 Kaolinite B4/B6 Sericite (B5+B7)/B6 Clay General (B5*B7)/(B6*B6) Phyllic B4/B7 Muscovite/Illite B7/B6 Carb/Chlorite/Epidote (B7+B9)/B8 Epidote/Chlorite/Amphibole (B6+B9)/(B7+B8) TIR EMISSIVITY Quartz Rich Rocks B14/B12 Silica B11/B10 SiO2 B13/B12 Mineral probability maps for gossan and silica alteration are presented in Figures 5,6 below and a summary map of all alteration targets is presented in Figure 7. Important observations include: Eight areas of anomalous gossan alteration occur within the Bronson claims, See Figure 5 below. Two north-trending linear anomalies occur at the Book 6 and 428 south occurrences, respectively. A NE trending gossan anomaly occurs ~ 500 m NW of the Bronson claims. Eleven areas of silica alteration are present in the Bronson claims, See Figure 6 below, including a large anomaly immediately west of the claims. It is not known whether this anomaly is related to stratigraphy or mineralization and warrants investigation. Fifteen areas of anomalous gossan and silica mineral alteration targets have been identified both on the Bronson claims and immediately adjacent to the claims that warrant field follow-up, See Figure 7 below. Figure 5 - Bronson Property, Gossan Probability Map Figure 6 - Bronson Property, Silica Probability Map Figure 7 - Bronson Property, Summary of Mineral Alteration Targets Going Forwards ASTER mineral alteration mapping over the Bronson Property reveals several areas of silica and gossan probable alteration. A total of 15 anomalous zones warrant field follow-up and reconnaissance of newly defined ASTER alteration anomalies. QA QC Procedure Analytical results of sampling reported by Fabled Copper Corp represent rock samples submitted by Fabled Copper Corp staff directly to ALS Chemex, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. Samples were crushed, split, and pulverized as per ALS Chemex method PREP-31, then analyzed for ME-ICP61 33 element package by four acid digestion with ICP-AES Finish. ME-GRA21 method for Au and Ag by fire assay and gravimetric finish, 30g nominal sample weight. Over Limit Methods For samples triggering precious metal over-limit thresholds of 10 g/t Au or 100 g/t Ag, the following is being used: Au-GRA21 Au by fire assay and gravimetric finish with 30 g sample. Ag-GRA21 Ag by fire assay and gravimetric finish. Fabled Copper Corp. monitors QA/QC using commercially sourced standards and locally sourced blank materials inserted within the sample sequence at regular intervals About Fabled Copper Corp. Fabled Copper is a junior mining exploration company. Its current focus is to creating value for stakeholders through the exploration and development of its existing copper properties located in northern British Columbia. The Muskwa Project comprises a total of 76 claims in two non-contiguous blocks and totals approximately 8,064.9 hectares, located in the Liard Mining Division in northern British Columbia. Mr. Peter J. Hawley, President and C.E.O. Fabled Copper Corp. Phone: (819) 316-0919 peter@fabledcopper.org For further information please contact: info@fabledcopper.org The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Peter J. Hawley, P.Geo. President and C.E.O. of Fabled, who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events and that the Company obtains any required regulatory approvals. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; industry conditions, including fluctuations in commodity prices; governmental regulation of the mining industry, including environmental regulation; geological, technical and drilling problems; unanticipated operating events; competition for and/or inability to retain drilling rigs and other services; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; volatility in market prices for commodities; liabilities inherent in mining operations; changes in tax laws and incentive programs relating to the mining industry; as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com . The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law. SOURCE: Fabled Copper Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707642/Fabled-Reports-on-Aster-Alteration-Survey-on-the-Bronson-Property POSIMIR (bupivacaine solution) for infiltration use reduced mean pain over 72 hours after arthroscopic subacromial decompression surgery compared with vehicle control and improved several measures of postoperative opioid use. Innocoll Pharmaceuticals Limited, a commercial-stage biotechnology company and portfolio business of Gurnet Point Capital, announced today the publication of the results of Study BU-002-IM evaluating the safety and efficacy of POSIMIR (bupivacaine solution) for infiltration use in 107 patients undergoing arthroscopic subacromial decompression. The peer-reviewed paper, entitled "SABER-Bupivacaine Reduces Postoperative Pain and Opioid Consumption After Arthroscopic Subacromial Decompression: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial," was published online on May 17, 2022 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) Global Research Reviews (https://t.co/fsFe6cUYP5 ). According to the report, POSIMIR 5 mL administered into the subacromial space at the end of arthroscopic subacromial decompression surgery in this double-blind, randomized, controlled, multicenter study, reduced mean postoperative pain on movement (shoulder flexion to 90 degrees) over 72 hours by 1.3 points on a 0-10 scale compared with vehicle control, a relative reduction of 20% (P=0.012). Simultaneous improvements in postoperative opioid use during the same 72-hour period provided evidence that the observed pain reduction was clinically meaningful. The median time to first request for opioid rescue medication was 12.4 hours among patients treated with POSIMIR compared with 1.2 hours in patients who received vehicle control (P=0.014). The median total opioid consumption in intravenous (IV) morphine milligram equivalents over 72 hours was 4.0 mg in the POSIMIR group vs 12.0 mg in the vehicle control group (P=0.010). The proportion of patients who were opioid free at 72 hours was 40% in the POSIMIR group vs 16% in the vehicle control group (P=0.027). As reported in the paper, the most common treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs with incidence in the Safety population of >2%) were headache (POSIMIR 5.7% vs vehicle control 4.0%), elevated ALT (1.9% vs 8.0%), nausea (1.9% vs 12.0%), musculoskeletal pain (3.8% vs 4.0%), cardiac disorders (1.9% vs 8.0%), skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders (3.8% vs 8.0%), injury and procedural complications (5.7% vs 4.0%), general disorders and administration site conditions (1.9% vs 8.0%), and respiratory, thoracic, and mediastinal disorders (1.9% vs 0.0%). Of 2 serious adverse events reported among patients in these treatment groups, only 1 (intolerance to tramadol in a POSIMIR-treated patient) occurred during the immediate 2-week postsurgical follow-up period, and none was considered related to treatment. There were no TEAEs leading to study discontinuation. "These very compelling results, demonstrating up to three days of local analgesia after a single intra-operative injection, make POSIMIR an important new tool in treating postoperative pain from arthroscopic subacromial decompression," said Sten Rasmussen, MD PhD, Professor and Head of Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Denmark, the senior author and a principal investigator in the POSIMIR study. "We are excited to publish the positive results of this pivotal clinical trial of POSIMIR, the second approved product in our portfolio of nonopioid, extended-duration, locally-acting analgesics for postsurgical pain control. As the only company with two non-opioid extended release bupivacaine products on the market, we look forward to bringing POSIMIR to the orthopedic community," said Louis Pascarella, Innocoll President and Chief Executive Officer. About POSIMIR POSIMIR (bupivacaine solution) for infiltration use contains more bupivacaine in a single dose than any other approved, sustained-release bupivacaine product. It employs a proprietary extended-release technology that enables the continuous release of bupivacaine, a non-opioid local anesthetic, directly to the surgical site for 3 days after administration. POSIMIR was approved in February, 2021 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). POSIMIR is indicated in adults for administration into the subacromial space under direct arthroscopic visualization to produce post-surgical analgesia for up to 72 hours following arthroscopic subacromial decompression. Use in any other surgical procedure is investigational. POSIMIR is a registered trademark of Innocoll Pharmaceuticals Limited. About Subacromial Decompression Shoulder Surgery Subacromial decompression is a type of shoulder surgery used to treat impingement syndrome, a common repetitive-use injury that causes pain when the arm is raised over the head. The procedure is performed arthroscopically, meaning that several small incisions are made in the skin and muscle of the shoulder through which a camera (arthroscope) and surgical instruments are inserted during surgery. Arthroscopic subacromial decompression is generally performed as outpatient surgery, and most patients go home within a few hours of surgery. The most intense pain typically occurs during the first 3 days and is often managed with a combination of nerve block and oral opioids. There are over 600,000 surgeries involving arthroscopic subacromial decompression performed each year in the U.S. About Innocoll Pharmaceuticals Limited Innocoll Pharmaceuticals Limited is a global biotech pharmaceutical company headquartered in Athlone, Ireland and is a subsidiary of Innocoll Biotherapeutics Holding Limited. The Innocoll group of companies is focused on the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical technologies to meet some of today's most important healthcare challenges. Innocoll is a portfolio business of Gurnet Point Capital. About Gurnet Point Capital Gurnet Point Capital is a unique healthcare investment platform within the B-Flexion Group and led by a team with deep expertise in an industry for which they share a passion, both as investors and senior executives. GPC invests long-term capital and supports entrepreneurs in building a new generation of companies that deliver outsized returns through active ownership. Based in Cambridge, MA, its remit encompasses life sciences and health care focused businesses, with a particular emphasis on businesses that have high growth potential in the product development and commercialization stages of their evolution. With its strategy of driving best in class operational transformation for these businesses, to create social impact while generating significant economic value, Gurnet is able to deliver differentiated results for its investors and partners. www.gurnetpointcapital.com Further Information About POSIMIR INDICATIONS AND USAGE POSIMIR is a bupivacaine solution indicated in adults for administration into the subacromial space under direct arthroscopic visualization to produce post-surgical analgesia for up to 72 hours following arthroscopic subacromial decompression. Limitations of Use Safety and effectiveness have not been established in other surgical procedures, including soft tissue surgical procedures, other orthopedic procedures, including for intra- articular administration, and boney procedures, or when used for neuraxial or peripheral nerve blockade. POSIMIR has not been studied for use in patients younger than 18 years of age. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION BOXED WARNING: RISK OF POTENTIAL ADVERSE EMBOLIC EFFECTS RESULTING FROM INADVERTENT INTRAVASCAULAR INJECTION. Inadvertent intravascular injection could cause POSIMIR droplets to be deposited in the pulmonary and other capillary beds. Administer POSIMIR into the subacromial space at the end of arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Direct arthroscopic visualization must be used to confirm proper placement of the needle tip before injecting POSIMIR. Contraindications POSIMIR is contraindicated in patients with a known hypersensitivity to any amide local anesthetic or to other components of POSIMIR, and in patients undergoing obstetrical paracervical block anesthesia. Warnings and Precautions Risk of Potential Adverse Embolic Effects Resulting from Inadvertent Intravascular Injection: Caution should be taken to avoid accidental intravascular injection of POSIMIR. Direct arthroscopic visualization must be used to confirm proper placement of the needle tip in the subacromial space before injecting POSIMIR. Risk of Joint Cartilage Necrosis with Unapproved Intra-articular Use: The safety and effectiveness of POSIMIR in surgical procedures other than subacromial decompression have not been established, and POSIMIR is not approved for use via intra-articular injection. A study of POSIMIR in dogs following an intra-articular administration demonstrated joint cartilage necrosis. Risk of Systemic Toxicity: Unintended intravascular injection of POSIMIR may be associated with systemic toxicities, including CNS or cardiorespiratory depression and coma, progressing ultimately to respiratory arrest. Careful and constant monitoring of cardiovascular and respiratory (adequacy of ventilation) vital signs and the patient's state of consciousness should be performed after injection of bupivacaine. Possible early warning signs of central nervous system (CNS) toxicity are restlessness, anxiety, incoherent speech, lightheadedness, numbness and tingling of the mouth and lips, metallic taste, tinnitus, dizziness, blurred vision, tremors, twitching, CNS depression, or drowsiness. Avoid additional use of local anesthetics within 168 hours following administration of POSIMIR. Consider increased monitoring for systemic toxicity in debilitated, elderly, or acutely ill patients. Methemoglobinemia: Cases of methemoglobinemia have been reported in association with local anesthetic use. If local anesthetics must be used in patients more susceptible to developing clinical manifestations of methemoglobinemia close monitoring for symptoms and signs of the condition is recommended. Chondrolysis with Intra-Articular Infusion of Local Anesthetics: There have been reports of chondrolysis (mostly in the shoulder joint) following intra-articular infusion of local anesthetics, which is an unapproved use. Risk of Toxicity in Patients with Hepatic Impairment: Consider reduced dosing and increased monitoring for bupivacaine systemic toxicity in patients with moderate to severe hepatic impairment. Risk of Use in Patients with Impaired Cardiovascular Function: Care should be taken when considering the use of POSIMIR in patients with impaired cardiovascular function (e.g., hypotension, heartblock). Consider reduced dosing. Monitor patients closely for blood pressure, heart rate, and ECG changes. Adverse Reactions Adverse events reported with an incidence greater than or equal to 10% and greater than control following POSIMIR administration in shoulder surgery were dizziness, dysgeusia, dysuria, headache, hypoesthesia, paresthesia, tinnitus, and vomiting. Adverse events reported with an incidence greater than or equal to 10% and greater than control following POSIMIR administration in soft tissue surgical procedures were anemia, bradycardia, constipation, C-reactive protein increased, diarrhea, dizziness, dysgeusia, headache, nausea, post-procedural contusion (bruising), procedural pain, pruritus, pyrexia, somnolence, surgical site bleeding, visible bruising and vomiting. Drug Interactions Do not dilute or mix POSIMIR with local anesthetics or other drugs or diluents. Patients who are administered POSIMIR are at increased risk of developing methemoglobinemia when concurrently exposed to drugs associated with methemoglobinemia, which could include other local anesthetics. Special Populations Pregnancy: There are no studies conducted with POSIMIR in pregnant women. Bupivacaine is contraindicated for obstetrical paracervical block anesthesia. Lactation: POSIMIR has not been studied in nursing mothers. Pediatric: Safety and effectiveness in patients below the age of 18 have not been established. Geriatric: Consider increased monitoring for local anesthetic systemic toxicity when administering POSIMIR to elderly patients. Hepatic Impairment: Consider reduced dosing and increased monitoring for bupivacaine toxicity in patients with moderate to severe hepatic impairment. Renal Impairment: Consider increased monitoring for local anesthetic systemic toxicity when administering POSIMIR to patients with impaired renal function Please see full Prescribing Information, including boxed WARNING View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005105/en/ Contacts: Media Blair Hennessy, Abernathy MacGregor bth@abmac.com 212-371-5999 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Sarissa Capital Management LP said it plans to vote for the Alkermes (ALKS) slate of directors at the upcoming annual meeting. However, Sarissa noted that if its representative is not soon appointed to the board, then it will take steps under Irish law to quickly call another shareholder meeting. Sarissa believes that certain of the independent directors of Alkermes are uncomfortable making decisions that are not supported by, or that reflect criticism of, CEO Pops. 'We believe Alkermes' shares are significantly undervalued and that we can help to unlock shareholder value with our representatives on the board. We are hopeful that the current board will agree with us,' Sarissa stated. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Trading Symbol AIM: AYM 6thJuly 2022 Anglesey Mining plc ("Anglesey" or "the Company") Strategic investment by Scully Royalty into Labrador Iron Mines Anglesey Mining plc (AIM:AYM) is pleased to announce that Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited ("LBRMF") (OTC: LBRMF) has announced a US$4,000,000 strategic investment by New York Stock Exchange listed Scully Royalty Ltd ("Scully") (the "Strategic Investment"). Anglesey Mining holds 19.3 million shares in LBRMF, which will equate to 11.0% of the company after the issuance of new shares to Scully Royalty Ltd. The Strategic Investment by Scully in LBRMF consists of a US$3,000,000 equity component alongside a US$1,000,000 convertible credit facility. Pursuant to the equity investment, Scully will hold approximately 7.4% of LBRMF on closing. equity component alongside a convertible credit facility. Pursuant to the equity investment, Scully will hold approximately 7.4% of LBRMF on closing. The proceeds of the Strategic Investment will be used as working capital to advance the Houston Project through a number of initiatives, expected to culminate in a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) in 2023. These initiatives include: Negotiating an off-take agreement, with construction financing and product sale components; Conducting metallurgical test work to refine product characterization and specifications for marketing purposes; and, Advancing commercial negotiations with construction contractors, equipment vendors, rail, port and logistics counterparties. Effective on Closing of the investment, Samuel Morrow , President and Chief Executive Officer of Scully, will be appointed to the Labrador Iron Mines Board of Directors. , President and Chief Executive Officer of Scully, will be appointed to the Labrador Iron Mines Board of Directors. The Houston Preliminary Economic Assessment, released in March 2021 , demonstrated an NPV8 of C$109m using a conservative iron ore price of US$90 /t with the project producing 2.0Mtpa of high-grade direct shipping ore over a 12-yr life, a low capital outlay and short lead-time. Jo Battershill, Chief Executive of Anglesey Mining, commented: "It is very pleasing to see Labrador Iron Mines announce the Strategic Investment from Scully. The inflow of funds is a key development to help unlock the significant value of the Houston project, which has obvious benefits to Anglesey shareholders. Scully is a very well credentialled strategic investor with extensive iron ore mining experience and relationships within the Labrador Trough." "The iron ore assets within Anglesey have significant value and present strategic opportunities in geopolitically safe and mining friendly jurisdictions. The Grangesberg Iron Ore Project in Sweden, in which we hold a 20% direct interest and 50% interest via a right of first refusal, is one of the largest iron ore development opportunities within the EU and could potentially supply up to 2.5Mtpa of high-grade iron ore concentrate to European and Middle Eastern steel mills for at least 16-yrs." "We look forward to updating the market with respect to the Grangesberg PFS update in the near term." About Anglesey Mining plc Anglesey Mining is traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and currently has 248,070,732 ordinary shares on issue. Anglesey is developing its 100% owned Parys Mountain Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au deposit in North Wales, UK with a 2020 reported resource of 5.2 million tonnes at 4.3% combined base metals in the Indicated category and 11.7 million tonnes at 2.8% combined base metals in the Inferred category. Anglesey holds an almost 20% interest in the Grangesberg Iron project in Sweden, together with management rights and a right of first refusal to increase its interest to 70%. Anglesey also holds 11% of Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited, which through its 52% owned subsidiaries, is engaged in the exploration and development of direct shipping iron ore deposits in Labrador and Quebec. For further information, please contact: Anglesey Mining plc Jo Battershill, Chief Executive - Tel: +44 (0)7540 366000 John Kearney, Chairman - Tel: +1 647 728 4106 Davy Nominated Adviser & Joint Corporate Broker Brian Garrahy / Lauren O'Sullivan - Tel: +353 1 679 6363 WH Ireland Joint Corporate Broker Katy Mitchell / Harry Ansell - Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 Canaccord Genuity Limited Joint Corporate Broker James Asensio / Harry Rees - Tel: +44 (0) 20 7523 8000 Scout Advisory Limited Investor Relations Consultant Sean Wade - Tel: +44 (0) 7464 609025 LEI: 213800X8BO8EK2B4HQ71 MAPLEWOOD (dpa-AFX) - 3M Belgium on Wednesday said it has reached an agreement with the Flemish Government to invest more than 571 million euros. 'This agreement cooperatively resolves ongoing disagreements between the Flemish Government and 3M Belgium,' the company said. With the investment, 3M Belgium plans to fulfill certain previous commitments including implementing PFAS treatment technology at the Zwijndrecht site and support qualifying local farmers. The company also entered into certain new commitments including 250 million euros for priority remedial actions identified by the government for the benefit of Zwijndrecht's residents. 'We have already taken significant actions to reduce PFAS discharges and emissions. These actions have enabled us to restart operations at the site,' said John Banovetz, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Environmental Responsibility, 3M Company. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. NEW YORK, July 06, 2022pioneer and AI-enabled consumer intelligence leader, today announced the general release of a ground-breaking solution: Topic Modeling . This artificial intelligenceeasier. "Consumer trends emerge, take hold, then go out of style or evolve faster than most marketers and insights pros can keep up with. For those tasked with understanding consumers, this has increased the pressure to move even faster, anticipate behavioral shifts, and spot trend signals as they emerge. To meet our clients' new needs, we evolved our solution beyond tracking consumer posts, to actually identifying net-new insights and ideas," said Synthesio CEO Heath Podvesker. Topic Modeling was co-built with Ipsos data science experts and inspired by their proven methodologies, productizing over five years of research intelligence, to turn unstructured data into actionable insights. Over the past months, we have seen clients use the beta versions of Topic Modeling to uncover topics and themes they didn't know existed - and, in turn, identify new market and innovation opportunities . "Topic Modeling is unique in the market given its design and development with Ipsos. In action, you simply point the AI engine at a defined data set and let it scan and categorize conversations into related themes. This allows you to explore online conversations through the lens of themes and AI-discovered topics, discover 'authentic moments' and associations - and view each individual post. The bottom-up approach can have a profound impact on the ways marketing and insights teams work," noted Benjamin Payet, Synthesio Product Director. Synthesio's Topic Modeling will be generally available on July 20th on Synthesio's platform with game-changing data science improvements. Among them, users will access a new visualization that gets displayed up to 115 times faster than the beta version, a new treemap widget to quantify findings from Topic Modeling studies, and the ability to run studies on a range of online and offline data. About Synthesio Synthesio , an Ipsos company, is a global leader in AI-enabled consumer intelligence. Our hybrid offering provides companies, brands, and agencies with the most complete, accurate, and predictive picture of their markets and buyers. Our AICI platform, powered by the most advanced natural language understanding and AI algorithms, supports the broadest set of online and offline data sources and fully leverages Ipsos' award-winning analytical frameworks. Synthesio was founded in 2006 and has offices in New York, Paris, London, Singapore, and Brussels. Want to know more about Topic Modeling, and what top brands are doing to spot trends and stay one step ahead of the market? Request a demo with our team now! Join us on July 28 to see Topic Modeling in action for an exclusive webinar . Press Contact Aurore Legentil alegentil@synthesio.com -FDA has set a target action date of December 23, 2022 for the toripalimab BLA - - Toripalimab will be the first and only immuno-oncology agent for NPC in U.S., if approved - SHANGHAI, China and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co., Ltd. ("Junshi Biosciences", HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180) and Coherus BioSciences, Inc. ("Coherus") announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has accepted for review the Biologics License Application ("BLA") resubmission for toripalimab in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin as first-line treatment for patients with advanced recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma ("NPC") and for toripalimab monotherapy for the second-line or later treatment of recurrent or metastatic NPC after platinum-containing chemotherapy. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act ("PDUFA") action date for December 23, 2022. The Agency earlier communicated that the review timeline for the BLA resubmission would be six months, as onsite inspections in China would be required. Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic previously hindered the FDA's ability to complete required inspections. Coherus plans to launch toripalimab in the United States in the first quarter of 2023, if approved. "Although the COVID-19 pandemic has created tremendous challenges for everyone, our dedication to bring better treatment options to patients around the world remains steadfast," said Dr. Patricia Keegan, Chief Medical Officer of Junshi Biosciences. "Through our concerted efforts with our partner, Coherus, we have made continual progress towards obtaining toripalimab's first marketing authorization outside of China. Over the next several months, we will work closely with the FDA to facilitate the review of this novel drug." "Toripalimab would address a critical unmet medical need for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, an aggressive cancer for which there are currently no FDA-approved immunotherapy treatments. We collaborated closely with our partner, Junshi Biosciences, to complete the quality process changes requested by the FDA and facilitate the rapid resubmission of the toripalimab BLA," said Dr. Theresa LaVallee, Chief Development Officer of Coherus. "For Coherus, the toripalimab resubmission is one of several key development and commercialization milestones we are sharply focusing on over the next twelve months, and we are pleased with the Company's execution and progress on all of them," said Denny Lanfear, CEO of Coherus. "We now look forward to the August 2, 2022 target action date for our BLA for CIMERLI, our Lucentis biosimilar, followed by product launch which we are confident will be very successful. The toripalimab December 2022 PDUFA date follows directly, and the projected toripalimab launch in Q1 2023 will formally mark our entry into immuno-oncology, where Coherus will be one of just a handful of companies with a proprietary PD-1 as a foundation stone to build its oncology franchise upon. Lastly, twelve months from now, in July 2023, we expect to begin marketing our Humira biosimilar, YUSIMRY, which was approved by the FDA in December 2021. Preparations for that commercial launch are going very well. Biosimilar market execution is a demonstrated Coherus competency, and we believe that our commercialization strategy provides a robust framework against which we can successfully execute to meet our market expectations and share projections." Following approval of toripalimab for NPC, Coherus' strategy in the US includes evaluating toripalimab's ability to deliver substantial clinical benefit in significant indications, in combination with other cancer drugs and immunotherapies, through co-development agreements. About Toripalimab in NPC NPC is a type of aggressive cancer that starts in the nasopharynx, the upper part of the throat behind the nose and near the base of skull. Due to the location of the primary tumor, surgery is rarely an option, and patients with localized disease are treated primarily with radiation and chemotherapy. In the United States, there are presently no immunotherapies approved for the treatment of NPC. The toripalimab BLA is supported by the results from JUPITER-02, a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, international multi-center Phase 3 clinical trial, as well as POLARIS-02, a multi-center, open-label, pivotal Phase 2 clinical study. The JUPITER-02 results were first presented in June 2021 in a plenary session of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The POLARIS-02 results were published online in January 2021 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation ("BTD") for toripalimab in combination with chemotherapy (gemcitabine and cisplatin) for the 1st line treatment of recurrent, locally advanced or primary metastatic non-keratinizing NPC and for toripalimab monotherapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic non-keratinizing NPC with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy. Additionally, the FDA has granted Orphan Drug designation for toripalimab for NPC. In China, the National Medical Products Administration ("NMPA") in 2021 approved toripalimab for two NPC indications. About Toripalimab Toripalimab is an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody developed for its ability to block PD-1 interactions with its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, and for enhanced receptor internalization (endocytosis function). Blocking PD-1 interactions with PD-L1 and PD-L2 promotes the immune system's ability to attack and kill tumor cells. In China, toripalimab was the first domestic anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody approved for marketing (approved in China as TUOYI). Currently, there are five approved indications for toripalimab in China. About Junshi Biosciences Founded in December 2012, Junshi Biosciences (HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180) is an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapeutics. The company has established a diversified R&D pipeline comprising over 50 drug candidates, with five therapeutic focus areas covering cancer, autoimmune, metabolic, neurological, and infectious diseases. Junshi Biosciences was the first Chinese pharmaceutical company that obtained marketing approval for anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody in China. Its first-in-human anti-BTLA monoclonal antibody for the treatment of various cancers is the first in the world to be approved for clinical trials by the FDA and NMPA and has since entered Phase Ib/II trials in both China and the US. Its anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody was the first in China to be approved for clinical trials by the NMPA. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Junshi Biosciences responded swiftly and strongly, joining forces with Chinese and international scientific research institutions and enterprises to develop an arsenal of drug candidates to combat COVID-19, taking the initiative to shoulder the social responsibility of Chinese pharmaceutical companies by prioritizing and accelerating COVID-19 R&D. Among the many drug candidates is JS016 (etesevimab), China's first neutralizing fully human monoclonal antibody against SARS-CoV-2 and the result of the combined efforts of Junshi Biosciences, the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Science and Lilly. JS016 administered with bamlanivimab has been granted Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) in over 15 countries and regions worldwide. Meanwhile, VV116, a new oral nucleoside analog anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug designed to hinder virus replication, is in global Phase III clinical trials. The JS016 and VV116 programs are a part of the company's continuous innovation for disease control and prevention of the global pandemic. Junshi Biosciences has more than 2,800 employees in the United States. About Coherus BioSciences Coherus is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company building a leading immuno-oncology franchise funded with cash generated by its FDA-approved products. In 2021, Coherus in-licensed toripalimab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, in the United States and Canada. The resubmission of the BLA for toripalimab for the treatment of NPC was accepted by the FDA in July 2022. Toripalimab is also being evaluated in pivotal clinical trials for the treatment of rare and highly prevalent cancers. Coherus markets UDENYCA (pegfilgrastim-cbqv), a biosimilar of Neulasta in the United States, and expects to launch the FDA-approved Humira biosimilar YUSIMRY (adalimumab-aqvh) in the United States in 2023. The FDA is currently reviewing the biologics license application for CIMERLI, a biosimilar of Lucentis (ranibizumab injection), with a target action date of August 2022. Forward-Looking Statements Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Coherus' ability to build its immuno-oncology franchise to achieve a leading market position; Coherus' ability to generate cash; Coherus' investment plans; Coherus' expectations for the launch dates of toripalimab, CIMERL and YUSIMRY; Coherus' plans to file additional BLAs for toripalimab and pursue co-development agreements for other indications; beliefs about toripalimab's ability to address an unmet need for patients; expectations about the success and timing of the FDA review of toripalimab and CIMERLI; and Coherus' ability to meet market expectations and share projections in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause Coherus' actual results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risks and uncertainties inherent in the clinical drug development process; risks relating to the COVID-19 pandemic; risks related to our existing and potential collaboration partners; risks of the drug development position of Coherus' competitors; the risks and uncertainties of the regulatory approval process, including the speed of regulatory review, international aspects of Coherus' business, and the need to have the FDA finish inspections in China during a COVID-19 pandemic; the risk of FDA review issues; the risk of Coherus' execution of its change in strategy from a focus on biosimilars to a strategy using cash from its portfolio to fund an immuno-oncology franchise; the risk that Coherus is unable to complete commercial transactions and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of Coherus' drug candidates; and the risks and uncertainties of possible litigation. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Coherus undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. For a further description of the significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Coherus' business in general, see Coherus' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 5, 2022, including the section therein captioned "Risk Factors" and in other documents Coherus files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. UDENYCA, CIMERLI and YUSIMRY, whether or not appearing in large print or with the trademark symbol, are trademarks of Coherus, its affiliates, related companies or its licensors or joint venture partners, unless otherwise noted. Trademarks and trade names of other companies appearing in this press release are, to the knowledge of Coherus, the property of their respective owners. Junshi Biosciences Contact Information: IR Team: Junshi Biosciences info@junshipharma.com + 86 021-6105 8800 PR Team: Junshi Biosciences Zhi Li zhi_li@junshipharma.com + 86 021-6105 8800 Coherus Contact Information: IR Contact: McDavid Stilwell Chief Financial Officer Coherus BioSciences, Inc. IR@coherus.com Media Contact: Kelli Perkins Red House kelli@redhousecomms.com TOKYO, July 6, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has completed delivery of testing equipment to the Rokkasho Fusion Institute in Aomori Prefecture, part of Japan's National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), to confirm and demonstrate the safety of the "blanket," a core component of a nuclear fusion reactor. The blanket system being developed at this research center will be used as Japan's Test Blanket Module (TBM) for the ITER-TBM project, the world's first test of blanket systems in an actual reactor environment, at ITER(1), the experimental fusion reactor currently under construction in southern France. Following the delivery of testing equipment, MHI has strong intention to contribute to the development of a blanket system for the ITER-TBM project through providing other systems/components such as TBMs.The testing equipment supplied by MHI comprises four systems, the High Heat Flux Test Equipment, In Box Water Eruption Test Equipment, Be-Water Reaction Test Equipment, and Flow Assisted Corrosion Test Loop. These testing systems will be used for various experiments aimed at developing a blanket system for the ITER-TBM project, and to confirm its safety. The blanket is one of the components that comprises the inner wall of the fusion reactor. It is a critical component that extracts the heat generated by the reactor, as well as provides for breeding and self-sustainment(2) of tritium, which is used as fuel.ITER is an international megaproject to demonstrate, both scientifically and technologically, the feasibility of fusion energy. ITER-TBM is a project to conduct functional demonstration testing of different TBM systems, each developed independently by four of the seven participating parties (Japan, the EU, the U.S., Russia, South Korea, China, and India). Because the results from this project will influence the relative merits of blanket systems for commercial reactors in the future, each country is actively developing TBMs with demonstrated functionality and safety. In Japan, QST, as the domestic agency for the ITER Project, is leading the development of the country's blanket system.MHI was previously awarded contracts from QST for manufacture of core components for ITER, including five (of a total of 19) toroidal field (TF) coils(3), four of which have been shipped, and six units of the divertor outer vertical targets(4), which are currently being manufactured. MHI will continue to actively support the ITER project to develop this technology, which will be vital to the stable development of the world, and contribute to the realization of fusion energy.(1) Fusion is the energy source that enables the sun to keep shining. The ultimate goal is achieving fusion on Earth. Fusion reactions fuse light atomic nuclei (deuterium and tritium) in a plasma environment into the heavier element of helium. Fusion reactions emit zero carbon dioxide, and their source of fuel can be extracted from seawater in virtually unlimited quantities (lithium from which tritium is derived, and deuterium). Fusion energy is expected to provide fundamental solutions to many of the world's energy and environmental problems.(2) Fusion reactors use deuterium and tritium as fuel. Neutron irradiation of a lithium compound in the blanket is used to produce and supplement the tritium that is consumed in the reaction process (self-sustainment).(3) For details on the TF coils for ITER that QST ordered from MHI, see the following press release. www.mhi.com/news/210524.html4For details on the divertor outer vertical targets for ITER that QST ordered from MHI, see the following press release. www.mhi.com/news/211213.htmlAbout MHI GroupMitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world's leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC:MCOA) ("the Company"), which operates, invests, and acquires companies exclusively in the cannabis sector; today announced that the Company's cDistro distribution operating entity has signed a Master Distribution agreement with multi-brand cannabis eCommerce and marketing company Mellow, a subsidiary of CBD of Denver, Inc. (OTC: CBDD), a cannabis roll-up company. The agreement covers the launch and distribution of dosist health's award-winning line of high-concentration CBD+ formulas & products and innovative delivery vape devices to the UK & Europe. Mellow will be doing this via its newly established Mellow Distribution division. cDistro distributes CBD brands, along with smoke and vape shop-related products to wholesalers, c-stores, specialty retailers, and consumers in North America. Mellow group operates as a multi-brand eCommerce Marketplace, a full-service digital & performance marketing agency, as well as a market expansion service into the Asian markets and was recently acquired by CBD of Denver. The Master Distribution Agreement is for both companies to launch and distribute dosist health's award-winning line of high-concentration CBD+ formulas & vape products throughout the UK & Europe. dosist is a globally recognized, modern wellness company empowering people to naturally manage their health & happiness through dose-controlled cannabinoid therapy. dosist is best known for its targeted formulas, proprietary award-winning dose-controlled vape devices, rigorous testing, use of medical grade and recyclable materials, and their obsession with providing consumers with a safe, natural experience, all now available in its CBD products under the brand dosist health. dosist was named by Time Magazine as "cannabis that could replace pills", was recognized by Fast Company as a top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the health sector, and was named by LinkedIn as the #2 Top Startup on the top 50 list of hottest U.S. companies to work for. dosist health also recently won the ECRM Buyers' Choice Award for its CBD+ Vegan, Fast-Acting Gummies during ECRM's Hemp/CBD Health & Beauty Care forum held this past November. cDistro and Mellow will be distributing dosist health's complete collection of high-concentration CBD+ formulas & vape products, specifically engineered to target the need-states of sleep, calm, and relief. The dosist health collection features three performance categories including dose drop CBD+ tinctures, a full suite of CBD+ fast-acting topical solutions, and their new rapid onset gummies that are vegan, non-GMO, and made with natural flavors. MCOA's Chief Executive Officer, Jesus Quintero, said, "Not only do we have several new exciting distribution brands and products coming down the pipeline in the CBD/Cannabis sector, but we now have the right partner on-point in the UK and European markets with deep distribution and marketing experience to help us ensure success as we actively build up our international distribution product portfolio on behalf of dosist health and their award-winning product portfolio. "The UK & EU vape/e-cigarette markets and growing extremely quickly and according to Statista are forecast to be valued at $4.2bn and $11bn respectively by 2025, notwithstanding the UK & EU CBD markets are also growing extremely quickly.", said Paul Gurney, CEO of CBD of Denver. Gurney added, "As the vape product markets increasingly blend with the CBD market, we are seeing an increase in customer interest and a blending of purchase trends. We are excited to partner with MCOA's cDistro, to exclusively bring the award-winning dosist brand to the U.K. and European markets. This is a top 3 US brand in the CBD / vape crossover category and allows us to expand our reach to our customers. And the opportunity to distribute the dosist health portfolio offers additional upside to us." About Marijuana Company of America, Inc. Marijuana Company of America (MCOA) operates, invests, and acquires exclusively companies in the cannabis sector. The Company is a multi-state (licensed) operator and the parent company within the cultivation, distribution, and international consumer product sectors. About Mellow Mellow group operates as a multi-brand eCommerce Marketplace, a full-service digital & performance marketing agency, as well as a market expansion service into the Asian markets, added to which is its newly formed distribution division, mellow distribution. Recently acquired by CBD of Denver, mellow is playing a key role in expanding the CBDD business revenue streams, as well as diversifying the brand portfolio, as part of a commercial roll-up strategy. With offices in the UK and Switzerland, CBDD is able to offer an end-to-end service proposition for brands wanting to enter and/or operate across the UK / EU markets, including manufacturing, production, supply-chain, distribution, eCommerce, and Marketing. About CBD of Denver, Inc. CBD of Denver, Inc. owns 100% of Rockflowr a full-line Distributor of CBD and Cannabis flowers and a producer of a full line of CBD oil and unique products sold in Switzerland and throughout Europe. It also owns 100% of mellow, a distributor and eCommerce technology business in the global CBD and Health & Wellness space. As a Cannabis Roll-Up company, CBD of Denver, Inc. is focused on using equity to acquire profitable assets at attractive valuations to create value for all our shareholders and is driven by a passion to improve lives and strengthen communities by unleashing the full potential of cannabis. Through the Rockflowr brand, CBDD has been able to build a very strong European customer base by focusing on top-quality products and meaningful customer relationships. Follow CBDD & mellow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbd-of-denver/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/mellow-store/ Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements," which are not purely historical and may include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs, and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate," "seek," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's" reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based products. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations, and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.marijuanacompanyofamerica.com or visit www.sec.gov. CONTACT: info@marijuanacompanyofamerica.com info@mcoainvestments.com 888-777-4362 SOURCE: Marijuana Company of America Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707592/MCOA-Subsidiary-cDistro-Signs-Master-Distribution-with-Mellow-to-Distribute-Dosist-brand-in-Europe DGAP-News: Ameramex International AmeraMex International Receives Equipment Orders Totaling $574,000 06.07.2022 / 14:10 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTCQB: AMMX), a provider of heavy equipment for logistics companies, infrastructure construction and forestry conservation, announced that it has received equipment orders totaling $574,000. This order brings year-to-date sales to $14.2 million. The first order consisted of a Taylor THDC975 Loaded Container Handler shipping before the end of the third quarter to a customer on the West Coast. The second order consisted of two yard trucks shipping to a logistics customer on the West Coast. Yard trucks, also known as yard jockeys, spotter trucks and terminal tractors, are designed to move trailers and cargo containers. These trucks are commonplace in ports, cross-docking terminals, truck terminals and other cargo yards, but an increasing number of warehouse and distribution centers are starting to use them as well. The trucks are expected to ship before the end of the third quarter. For more information and pricing of equipment for the logistics, construction, and forestry industries, or to book a demonstration of the Kovaco Electric's 100 percent electric skid steer loaders, ASV Posti-Tract and Skid Steer Loaders, Menzi Muck Excavators or a Magni Telescopic Handler, contact the AmeraMex/Hamre Equipment sales team at 530.895.8955. About AmeraMex International AmeraMex International sells, leases and rents heavy equipment to companies within multiple industries including construction, logistics, mining, and lumber. AmeraMex, with a US and international customer base, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment sales and service. Follow AmeraMex on Twitter @ammx_intl and visit the AmeraMex website, www.AMMX.net or www.hamreequipment.com for additional information and equipment videos. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "potential," "continue" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if added information becomes available in the future. Marty Tullio +1 949-632-1900 marty@mccloudcommunications.com https://www.ammx.net 06.07.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de 360-degree view of projects, customers, products, open items, and more. Mindbreeze, a leading provider of appliances and cloud services in the field of information insight, provides EV Group (EVG) with an enterprise-wide knowledge management solution based on artificial intelligence methods. Employees (end users) from different departments can thus gain quick and clear access to the information they need. EVG, a developer and manufacturer of equipment for wafer bonding and lithography applications in the semiconductor, microsystems technology, and nanotechnology industry is driving its digital transformation with various initiatives. As part of this effort, EVG is deploying Mindbreeze InSpire as an enterprise-wide knowledge management solution. The intelligent solution is integrated as an appliance (hardware and software) directly into the corporate IT without any outside connection. "Very few companies know what they know, so the need for knowledge management has never been higher," explains Josef Alexander Buttinger, Corporate IT Security Manager at EVG. "Making unstructured as well as structured data jointly accessible in context for everyone, and always in compliance with the necessary applicable permissions in my view, this is what gives Mindbreeze its competitive edge." Over 1100 EVG employees use Mindbreeze InSpire to search for information and correlations to customers, projects, tickets, and open items. Through the interaction of classic search technologies with innovative AI methods, employees receive the information they need quickly, in the right context, and prepared in a clear 360-degree view according to their access rights. Michael Biebl, Head of Professional Services at Mindbreeze: "Like many companies, EVG was also faced with the challenge of maintaining an overview of their vast amounts of data. We now offer them this added value with Mindbreeze InSpire. We are very proud that such a renowned company as EVG trusts in the performance of our product. This speaks for our product and our team." About EV Group EV Group (EVG) is a leading supplier of high-volume production equipment and process solutions for the manufacture of semiconductors, MEMS, compound semiconductors, power devices and nanotechnology devices. EVG's key products include wafer bonding, thin-wafer processing and lithography/nanoimprint lithography (NIL) equipment, photoresist coaters, as well as cleaning and inspection/metrology systems. With state-of-the-art application labs and cleanrooms at its headquarters in Austria, as well as in North America and Asia, EVG is focused on delivering superior process expertise to its global R&D and production customer and partner base from the initial development through to the final integration at the customer's site. EVG services and supports an elaborate network of global customers and partners all over the world, with more than 1100 employees worldwide and fully-owned subsidiaries in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. About Mindbreeze Mindbreeze is a leading international provider of appliances and cloud services for enterprise search, applied artificial intelligence, and knowledge management. The global partner network enables time-zone-independent customer support worldwide. For more information, visit www.mindbreeze.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @Mindbreeze. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005387/en/ Contacts: Jeremy Wise +1 312 300 6745 pr@mindbreeze.com BARCELONA, Spain, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In the recently held 2022 NGON WDM forum, WOM, a carrier from Chile, shared its strategic plan and vision for optical network construction with industry partners and the media. WOM also provided testimonials about Huawei's all-optical autonomous driving network (ADN) solution. At the forum, Edison Alfaro Leon, director of the Network Planning Department of WOM, Chile, delivered a keynote speech entitled "WOM' s Next Generation Optical Autonomous Network". Edison stated that WOM would work with Huawei to build an intelligent and automated optical network across Chile, leading various industries in Chile into the new optical network era. WOM boasts of more than 80 customer service centers and 7 million subscribers in Chile after just a few years of development. According to Edison, although WOM has the fastest-growing network infrastructure in Chile, it is not easy to deploy an optical network from the north to the south due to Chile's complex geographical environment. Chile has a territory spanning 38 latitudes with multiple climates and complex terrain from the north to the south. Therefore, to make the best use of optical fiber resources, WOM will introduce Huawei's optical cross-connect (OXC) and 400G solutions to deploy optical transport networks (OTNs) on the metropolitan area networks (MANs). Edison also pointed out two strategic directions of WOM for collaborating with Huawei, focusing on optical network O&M efficiency. By introducing Huawei's all-optical ADN solution, the core component Huawei iMaster Network Cloud Engine (NCE) will enable brand-new optical network O&M experience. For the strategy of improving optical network O&M efficiency, Huawei iMaster NCE will help in certain aspects. First, the optical network sub-health prediction identifies fiber performance deterioration with an accuracy of 95%. Second, the combination of EOTDR and GIS maps shortens the locating duration from hours to minutes. The optical network resource assurance shortens the service TTM from weeks to one day. The optical network health assurance feature transforms the manual monitoring to visualized real-time monitoring. In addition, the accuracy of shared risk link group (SRLG) risk detection exceeds 90%, which will reduce the risks of co-cable faults. For the optical network quality monetization strategy, Huawei iMaster NCE will help to improve optical network quality and increase revenue. First, the service provisioning duration will be shortened from weeks to minutes. Second, the bandwidth on demand (BoD) capability provides the optimal solution with high bandwidth and low costs for various industries in Chile. Third, the latency map will provide visualized and marketable latency. Fourth, SLA analysis will help WOM provide deterministic SLA assurance for customers. Fifth, the availability assurance identifies and visualizes service risks, ensuring service stability. With the rapid development of Latin America, a new digital center will certainly be established in South America. According to Edison, WOM will deepen cooperation with Huawei to develop optical networks towards intelligence and automation, and make the next-generation ADN the foundation for the digital transformation of various industries in Chile. The Reception IGAN 2.0 Received From Law Enforcement Has Exceeded the Company's Expectations LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Cytta Corp (OTCQB:CYCA) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that we attended, introduced, and demonstrated our newly redesigned intelligent Incident Command System (ICS), the IGAN 2.0, at the National Sheriffs' Association Annual Conference (the "NSA") in Kansas City, Missouri from June 27th through June 30th, 2022. The Company's attendance and presentation at the NSA resulted in several orders with installations commencing in July. In addition, the Company believes it will rapidly scale based on extensive interactions and numerous demos scheduled with law enforcement agencies nationally. The Cytta IGAN 2.0 Incident Command Vehicle was on full display and garnered significant traffic for the newly installed IGAN 2.0 system. Additionally, Cytta's Michael Collins, the Company's CTO, lead our presentation team with three first responder sales and verification specialists along with the IGAN 2.0 technical development specialist. Mr. Collins stated that, "The new and proprietary software based IGAN 2.0 Intelligent Incident Command System is the culmination of my many years of experience as a first responder, to create and distribute the first comprehensive and fully collaborative ICS system designed by first responders for all first responders." In responding to detailed IGAN 2.0 capability and modeling questions, Mr. Campbell Cytta Corp CEO said, "It was both exciting and inspiring to see the Cytta development and sales team interacting with numerous Sherrif's from across America and experiencing firsthand their excitement at how the Cytta IGAN 2.0 is going to radically improve their interactive capabilities in many and law enforcement and community policing situations." The National Sheriffs' Association is one of the largest non-profit associations of law enforcement professionals in the United States, representing more than 3,000 elected sheriffs across the nation, and with a total membership of approximately 14,000 individuals. NSA is dedicated to raising the level of professionalism among sheriffs, their deputies, and others in the field of law enforcement, public safety, and criminal justice. Throughout its eighty-one-year history, NSA has also served as an information resource for all law enforcement, as well as local, state, and federal government agencies. Cytta has also been asked to make a separate presentation to the NSA Emerging Technology and CJIS (Criminal Justice Information System) Committee at its next meeting by the Association. About Us Cytta Corp (OTCQB: CYCA) develops and distributes proprietary software technology designed to shift how video/audio data is integrated, streamed, consumed, transferred, and stored. Cytta's proprietary intelligent IGAN 2.0 Incident Command System (ICS) system integrates, in real-time, any and all available video and audio streams during emergencies, enabling improved virtual policing, while providing relevant and detailed actionable intelligence on an ongoing basis. The IGAN 2.0 ICS introduces real-time video and audio situational awareness, while concurrently serving as a real-time intelligence collection and integration tool. The IGAN 2.0 is a useful, valuable an irreplaceable tool and platform for police, firefighters, first responders, emergency medical workers, industry, security, military, and all of their command centers in all security, safety or emergency situations. Cytta's proprietary SUPR ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) system delivers real-time compression of video streams for surface, airborne, and underwater ISR applications, including environments where video streams are transmitted beyond line-of-sight. By utilizing a SUPR-enabled encoder onboard an unmanned system, video can be securely streamed in high definition through extremely low bandwidth with ultra-low latency. Our proprietary Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) technology is built around SUPR, a potent software codec, which is the technology at the core of our real-time video compression products. SUPR is explicitly designed for streaming HD, 4K, and higher resolution video in bandwidth-constrained environments while reducing required technical resources. Cytta has created video/audio integration software with intelligence gathering capability, advanced video compression, and portable/SaaS hardware/software systems that solve real-world problems in large markets. Cytta wants its products to enable and empower the world to consume higher quality video/audio/information anywhere and anytime. Cytta's ultimate goal is to create/deliver a high-quality video/audio/information real time platform, that is not readily discernible from on the ground reality, creating a virtual 'Reality Delivered 'system for first responders. For more information, please visit Cytta.com and the Cytta Video Channel on YouTube to view Cytta's vision, products, competitive advantages, marketplace, new product utilization, and markets. Cytta Corp Phone: 855.511.IGAN (4265) http://www.cytta.com info@cytta.com Gary Campbell, CEO Direct (702) 900-7022 Gary@cytta.com Michael Chermak, Chief Administrative Officer Cell: (619) 977-7203 Chermak@Cytta.com Forward-Looking Statement: This document contains forward-looking statements. In addition, our representatives or we may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing from time to time. We base these forward-looking statements on our expectations and projections about future events, which we derive from the available information. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future performance, including our financial performance and projections, our growth in revenue and earnings, and our business prospects and opportunities. You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as "may," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "contemplates," "estimates," "believes," "plans," "projected," "predicts," "potential," or "hopes" or the negative of these or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including our ability to change the direction of the Company, our ability to keep pace with new technology and evolving market needs, and the competitive environment of our business. These and other factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are only predictions. The forward-looking events discussed in this document and other statements made from time to time by our representatives may not occur, and actual events and results may differ materially and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about us. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this document, and other statements made from time to time by our representatives or us might not occur. SOURCE: Cytta Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707640/CYTTA-CORP-Successfully-Launches-its-Intelligent-IGAN-20-ICS-System-at-the-NSA-Conference-with-Several-Orders-Received-and-Installations-Scheduled Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Infinity Stone Ventures Corp. (CSE: GEMS) (OTC Pink: TLOOF) (FSE: B2I) (the "Company" or "Infinity Stone") is pleased to announce, further to its news release dated June 24, 2022, that it has entered into a property option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with Quartier Minerals Inc. ("Quartier") to acquire up to a 100% interest in and to the Galaxy Pegmatite Project located near Mont-Laurier, Quebec (the "Project"). Pursuant to the Option Agreement, the Company will acquire a 100% interest in and to the Project upon: paying $50,000 to Quartier (completed); issuing 500,000 Class A Subordinate Voting Shares of the Company (" Shares ") to Quartier within thirty (30) days of the execution date (the " Execution Date ") of the Option Agreement; ") to Quartier within thirty (30) days of the execution date (the " ") of the Option Agreement; paying $100,000 to Quartier on or before the first anniversary of the Execution Date; issuing 500,000 Shares to Quartier on or before the first anniversary of the Execution Date; incurring $100,000 in exploration expenditures on the Project on or before the first anniversary of the Execution Date; and incurring an additional $200,000 in exploration expenditures on the Project on or before the second anniversary of the Execution Date. Upon the Company acquiring the Project, Quartier will retain a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty (the "NSR") over production from the Project, subject to the Company's right to repurchase 1% of the NSR for $1,500,000. A recent field survey of the Project site recovered a sample of lithium bearing Spodumene. The Company intends to conduct further exploration of the Project in the coming weeks. Figure 1: Sample of Spodumene from Galaxy Pegmatite Project To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8151/130047_5000e23f548f1918_002full.jpg About the Galaxy Pegmatite Project The Galaxy Pegmatite Project covers 22 mineral claims and 2 pending claim applications covering 1,411 hectares in southern Quebec, approximately 45 kilometres northwest of Mont-Laurier, Quebec and 140 kilometres north of the city of Gatineau, Quebec. There is excellent access to all parts of the Property from road La Verendrye 13, via the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy QC-117), which traverses roughly through the middle of the Property. The Property is underlain by at least 30 pegmatite exposures representing 30 pegmatite dikes of Laurentian or more recent rocks of the Precambrian Grenvillian Series. The general strike of the formation is in a northwesterly direction with a near vertical dip. The five minerals associated with the pegmatites are lepidolite, columbite, samarskite, euxenite, and thorianite. The property is largely covered by quaternary till. (1) For further description of the Project, please see the Company's news release dated June 24, 2022. Qualified Person The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Remi Charbonneau, P.Geo., a "Qualified Person" as defined under NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Infinity Stone Ventures Infinity Stone's mission is to be a diversified, single source supplier for the critical energy metals being used in the clean energy revolution alongside its established SaaS solution portfolio. The Company's primary business units include HealthCheck (Stratum Health Technologies LLC) and its energy metals portfolio. Infinity Stone is meeting the demand from battery and wind turbine manufacturers, nuclear and hydrogen energy producers, and energy metals speculators by acquiring 100% interest in critical mineral deposits and occurrences in stable mining-friendly jurisdictions, close to final use destinations in North American manufacturing hubs. To register for investor updates please visit https://infinitystone.ventures. References: (1) Corminboeuf, F., 1956. Preliminary Report on Petawaga Mining Corporation. Quebec SIGEOM Report GM04222. Infinity Stone Ventures Corp. Zayn Kalyan CEO and Director zayn@altuscapital.ca Direct: 778-938-3367 The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "projects", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or result expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including statements respecting: the terms of the Option. Although forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management of Company believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The forward-looking statements may also be affected by risks and uncertainties in the business of the Company, including those described in the Company's public filings available on www.SEDAR.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130047 Developed by Chinese manufacturer Enerack, the carport can host all types and sizes of solar panels and relies on waterproof technology for rain protection.Chinese PV mounting system provider Enerack is offering a solar carport solution for shopping centers, gas stations, public parking lots, and private homes. "The main market for our solar carport is Europe, but we also sold the system in the Middle East, South Africa, Panama, Guatemala and Chile." a spokesperson from the company told pv magazine. According to the company, the carport can host all types and sizes of solar panels. "We started ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. SHENZHEN, China, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- From June 24 to June 26, 2022, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications successfully hosted the 14th International Conference on Computer Modeling and Simulation (ICCMS 2022). According to ICCMS, since its establishment in 2009, ICCMS has been successfully held in Italy, China, Australia, the Netherlands and other countries and regions, with nearly 2,000 experts and scholars from all over the world attending the conference and more than 200 academic sessions. All accepted papers will be published in the International Conference Proceedings Series by ACM, which will be archived in the ACM Digital Library, and indexed by Ei Compendex, Scopus, etc. The committee received numerous submissions from professors and students from a variety of research institutes and businesses engaged in computer modeling and simulation research. After a strict selection procedure, only two Chinese companies were invited to attend the conference. As the only e-cigarette company asked to participate, Geekvape Technology shared its latest research results at the conference. Geekvape Introduced the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) application in structural optimization of the ceramic atomizer. In designing electrically heated atomizers, the heat and mass transfer phenomenon is essential for maximizing the final product's performance. In such a seemingly simple atomizer, the complex thermo-fluidic phenomena in the design becomes the biggest challenge. The engineering team has successfully developed patented product designs with higher heat efficiency and better atomization performance. This indicates that the development of product innovation in the e-cigarette industry has progressed significantly. Dr. Jiadong Zang, the Geekvape's advanced technology and application research Institute's representative, stated: "This invitation is a great honor for Geekvape to communicate with many international experts and scholars in related research fields, to discuss the latest technological progress and share our most recent findings. This has profound implications for the future development of the global e-cigarette industry, as well as for the improvement of scientific and technological innovation to facilitate the industry's high-quality development". According to the "Global E-cigarette Industry Development Trend Special Research Report 2021-2022" published by iiMedia Research, the global e-cigarette retail scale has been growing quickly for the past three years. Chinese companies design and distribute to over 200 nations and regions, accounting for 95 percent of global capacity. This demonstrates that China has a significant advantage in the global market, with Chinese manufacturing driving the e-cigarette industry growth through technological innovation. In recent years, Geekvape has adopted an open stance and taken proactive steps to enhance its own technical intellectual property reserves and retain its own innovative features, as well as to refresh its thorough awareness of technological innovation interdiscipline. The CFD application has not only received widespread acclaim at international conferences, but has also significantly increased Geekvape's global competitiveness. The e-cigarette market is expected to grow rapidly in the next years and has a bright future. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854306/14th_2022_International_Conference_on_Computer_Modeling_and_Simulaton.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854307/14th_ICCMS_2022_CERTIFICATE_FOR_ORAL_PRESENTATION_JIADONG_ZANG_GEEKVAPE_TECHNOLOGY_CO_LTD.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854340/14th_ICCMS_2022_CFD_APPLICATION_IN_STRUCTURAL_OPTIMIZATION_OF_CERAMIC_ATOMIZER_GEEKVAPE_TECH_CO___LT.jpg VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. ("Naturally Splendid", "NSE" or "the Company") (FRANKFURT:50N) (TSX-V:NSP) (OTC:NSPDF) is pleased to announce the latest shipping container of PlanteinTM Plant-Based Foods from Australia has been received. The container was in response to the interest generated from the recent tradeshows, where the Company presented PlanteinTM at the; Canadian Health Food Association NOW; Grocery Food West; and Planted Expo. The Company has replenished its inventories to ensure that there is enough supply to meet the increasing interest we have been receiving. Naturally Splendid Executive VP, Mr. Bryan Carson states, "We were confident that once people tasted the product for themselves that the demand would increase, and it has. Our continuing sales efforts consist of a network of national distributors such as Sysco Canada, Gordon Food Service (GFS), our national food broker Tri-Elite Marketing and our internal sales staff who have all been generating sales opportunities. This combination of professionals has been presenting to prospects interested in our products for their store or restaurant. We look forward to building on the momentum earned from the recent tradeshows and growing sales across both retail and food service channels." About Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. Founded in 2010, NSE operates a food manufacturing facility just outside Vancouver, BC in Canada. The Company has established numerous healthy, functional foods under recognized brands such as Natera Sport, Natera Hemp Foods, CHII, Elevate Me and Woods Wild Bar, and most recently Natera Plant Based Foods, a line of delicious plant-based meat alternatives for the rapidly growing plant-based market segment. The Company has a myriad of new products and line extensions under development that are approaching launch. NSE, through its joint venture Plasm Pharmaceutical, has been approved for conducting a phase 2 clinical trial approved by Health Canada for treatment of COVID-19. NSE has also developed proprietary technologies for the extraction of high-demand, healthy omega 3 and 6 oils from hemp. NSE contract manufacturers for healthy, functional food products and ingredients focusing on plant-based ingredients. The Company provides contract manufacturing services for many healthy food companies, private labeling a wide variety of nutritional food products destined for global healthy food markets. For more information e-mail info@naturallysplendid.com or call Investor Relations at 604-570-0902 (ext. 101) On Behalf of the Board of Directors Mr. J. Craig Goodwin CEO, Director Contact Information Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. (NSP - TSX Venture; NSPDF - OTCQB; 50N - Frankfurt) #108-19100 Airport Way Pitt Meadows, BC, V3Y 0E2 Office: (604) 570-0902 Fax: (604) 465-1128 E-mail: info@naturallysplendid.com Website: www.naturallysplendid.com Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Naturally Splendid cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Naturally Splendid's control including, Naturally Splendid's ability to compete with large food and beverage companies; sales of any potential products developed will be profitable; sales of shelled hemp seed will continue at existing rates or increase; the ability to complete the sales of all bulk hemp seed purchase orders; and the risk that any of the potential applications may not receive all required regulatory or legal approval. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Naturally Splendid undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE: Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707536/Naturally-Splendid-Receives-Additional-Container-of-Plantein-Product Management to Attend Leading Industry Conferences LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Med-X, Inc., a leading innovator of all-natural green scene solutions addressing the pest control, health and wellness markets, will attend industry conferences in July including the Georgia Pest Control Association Summer Conference taking place July 11-14, 2022 and Cardinal Health Retail Business Conference taking place July 13-16, 2022. Management from Med-X will attend the below conferences to promote the Company's variety of natural products providing consumers with safe alternatives to outdated poisonous chemicals and harmful pharmaceutical products often used in pest control and pain management. Georgia Pest Control Association Summer Conference Date: July 11-14, 2022 Location: The Cloister at Sea Island, Sea Island, GA Cardinal Health Retail Business Conference Date: July 13-16, 2022 Location: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV - Booth: 1148 Registration is mandatory for conference participation. To inquire regarding conference attendance, please contact your conference representative. About Med-X, Inc. Med-X, Inc. is a leading innovator of all-natural green scene solutions addressing the international pest control , health and wellness markets. Capitalizing on its diverse family of in-house brands to offer safe alternatives to conventional chemical and pharmaceutical products using all-natural ingredients, Med-X's comprehensive go-to-market strategy includes an integrated e-commerce, brick and mortar distributor and on-site services presence in key national markets. For more information, please visit www.medx-rx.com . Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements The securities offered by Med-X, Inc. hereby are highly speculative. Investing in shares of MED-X, INC. involves significant risk. This investment is suitable only for persons who can afford to lose their entire investment. Furthermore, investors must understand that an investment could be illiquid for an indefinite period of time. No public market currently exists for the securities and if and when a public market develops following this offering it may not continue. You should read the Regulation A+ Offering Circular Securities and Exchange Commission filings before making any investment in the Company. This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding projected business performance, operating results, financial condition, and other aspects of the company, expressed by such language as "expected," "anticipated," "projected" and "forecasted." Please be advised that such statements are estimates only and there is no assurance that the results stated or implied by forward-looking statements will actually be realized by the company. Forward-looking statements may be based on management assumptions that prove to be wrong. The Company and its business are subject to substantial risks and potential events beyond its control that would cause material differences between predicted results and actual results, including the company incurring operating losses and experiencing unexpected material adverse events. Investor Relations Contact Lucas Zimmerman Director MZ Group - MZ North America 949-259-4987 MXRX@mzgroup.us www.mzgroup.us SOURCE: Med-X, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/706526/Med-X-Announces-Participation-in-Upcoming-Industry-Conferences DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Headquartered in Denver, CO, Dema Plumbing is the largest plumbing and mechanical systems installation and services provider to single-family residential homebuilders in Colorado's Front Range (including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins). By combining high-quality workmanship, advanced plumbing knowledge, and the region's largest labor force of licensed plumbing professionals, Dema Plumbing provides unmatched service to national homebuilders throughout the Front Range region. Simultaneous to this acquisition, Dema Plumbing will merge with Mai Mechanical, LLC ("Mai"), an existing portfolio company of Gladstone Investment. Based in Denver, CO, Mai is a leading provider of plumbing and mechanical services focused on multi-family residential construction in the Denver area. "We are very excited to partner with John and his team at Dema, and to continue our relationship with Mai through the formation of a larger platform better positioned to continue expanding in Colorado's Front Range," said Travis Steele, Director of Gladstone Investment. "We believe that these businesses are a natural strategic fit, combining the largest plumbing and mechanical contractors serving the single-family and multi-family residential markets in the Front Range, respectively. We are very excited to partner with this talented team and look forward to helping the company as it enters its next phase of growth," said Peter Roushdy, Managing Director of Gladstone Investment. Gladstone Investment is a publicly traded business development company that seeks to make equity and secured debt investments in lower middle market businesses in the United States in connection with acquisitions, changes in control and recapitalizations. Additional information on the transaction can be found at www.gladstoneinvestment.com. For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly dividend paying Gladstone funds, please visit www.gladstonecompanies.com. Forward-looking Statements: The statements in this press release regarding the longer-term prospects of Gladstone Investment, Dema Plumbing, Mai and their management teams, and the ability of Gladstone Investment, Dema Plumbing, and Mai to grow and expand are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements inherently involve certain risks and uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Although these statements are based on Gladstone Investment's current plans that are believed to be reasonable as of the date of this press release, a number of factors could cause actual results and conditions to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including those factors described from time to time in Gladstone Investment's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gladstone Investment undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For further information: Gladstone Investment Corporation, 703-287-5893 SOURCE: Gladstone Investment Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707322/Gladstone-Investment-Corporation-Acquires-Dema-Plumbing OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR) announced the early mediation between Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.TO, RCI), Shaw, and the Commissioner of Competition did not result in a resolution of the Commissioner's objections to the proposed merger. The review process will continue as previously announced. Rogers and Shaw said they plan to continue to work constructively with the Commissioner to highlight the many benefits of the merger to all Canadians, including maintaining a strong and sustainable fourth wireless carrier across Canada through the proposed divestiture of Freedom Wireless to Quebecor Inc. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Industrial manufacturers successfully find ways [vE1] to optimize operational efficiency within [vE2] sensor-generated data Times-series data [vE3] can be used to make a variety of operational improvements, such as water and wastewater management, energy transitions, and predictive maintenance schedules Upcoming live webinar events will demonstrate how engineers can use TrendMiner to find areas for sustainability improvements [vE4]in their plants HOUSTON, TX, HASSELT, BELGIUM, and DARMSTADT, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / With the help of self-service advanced analytics, engineers are finding a wealth of possibilities [vE5] to improve operations and accelerate their organization's sustainability goals. TrendMiner's advanced analytics solution can be used to evaluate time-series data generated by manufacturing processes. Many customers, such as chemical company LANXESS, [vE6] have experienced great success using the solution to improve sustainability initiatives. "Digitalization is more than just a tool for achieving climate-neutral production; it could be a complete game-changer," said Jorg Hellwig, chief digital officer at LANXESS. "TrendMiner provides a way to lower CO2 emissions and their equivalents, thereby protecting the climate, all while optimizing productivity." Now, TrendMiner is bringing customer experience and inspirational use case [vE7] experience to a wider market through a range of themed webinars.[vE8] "We want companies to think of TrendMiner as a technology partner that develops solutions to meet pressing environmental challenges," said Joan Van De Wettering, general manager of TrendMiner. "Advanced analytics gives a plethora of possibilities to achieve environmental, social, and governance-related goals.[vE9] " Opportunities for sustainable improvements include reducing emissions, preventing water pollution, improving energy efficiency, and increasing asset reliability while maintaining overall profitability. Process experts can use advanced analytics to establish predictive maintenance schedules, set up energy management dashboards, optimize a conveyor belt, report for environmental regulatory compliance, forecast water demand with machine learning, and create anomaly detection models in an energy grid. Process experts who want to learn how they can accelerate sustainability goals can take advantage of three webinar series that TrendMiner will offer from mid-July to October. The series will feature four live webinars each on water and energy improvements. Later this year, the software company will host two similar webinars on data science. Process engineers and controllers, plant managers, operations managers, Industry 4.0 leaders, and operational digital managers are encouraged to attend. To register for the upcoming webinar series, visit https://www.trendminer.com/sustainability-labs-webinar-series/. Registration for each webinar closes the day before the event begins. Signing up for one webinar registers you for all remaining webinars in that series. About TrendMiner TrendMiner, of Software AG, delivers advanced analytics software to optimize process performance in industries such as chemical, petrochemical, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, food & beverages, metals & mining, water & wastewater, and other process manufacturing industries. TrendMiner unlocks the full advantage of its IIoT infrastructure, regardless of vendor, and taps into the available human intelligence for making data-driven decisions. Media Contact Dawn Fontaine Ripple Effect Communications dawn@rippleeffectpr.com +1-617-536-8887 SOURCE: TrendMiner View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707595/Process-Manufacturing-Industry-Accelerates-Sustainability-Goals-Using-Advanced-Analytics FT. LAUDERDALE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Kaya Holdings, Inc., ("KAYS" or the "Company") (OTCQB:KAYS), the first U.S. publ6cly traded company to hold and operate cannabis licenses in all "touch the plant" categories, announced today that its majority owned subsidiary Kaya Farms Greece's second joint venture project, "Greek Kaya," has been issued its crucial Cannabis Installation License, allowing for the development of a planned Medical Cannabis Facility in Epidaurus, Greece. Greek Kaya plans to utilize the facility to cultivate and manufacture KAYS proprietary cannabis brands (CBD/THC) for distribution in the Greek, German and other EU markets as permitted by local regulations. KAYS' newest project with 50K square feet of already constructed buildings is designed to fast-track sales of KAYS proprietary cannabis brands and products to the EU. The Greek Kaya Project is designed to include 25,000 square feet of indoor cannabis cultivation, a 15,000 square foot EU-GMP extraction and processing facility, and a 10,000 square foot EU-GMP packing area. There is ample room for expansion up to an additional 15,000 square feet on site. Management expects to reach an agreement on favorable terms to purchase the property over the coming months, subject to final negotiations and project financing. Management also noted that while they expect to conclude the deal to acquire the property, the license is transferrable to another location in Greece and therefore has intrinsic and strategic value. "This new license further demonstrates our commitment to establishing a Mediterranean (Greece/Israel) based cannabis eco-system that will serve the EU and other global markets," commented KAYS CEO Craig Frank. "We are gaining access to markets expected to rival the U.S. in size and opportunity, but at a fraction of the cost required in the U.S.," Frank continued. "This will prove critical as the cannabis market expands beyond North America." KAYS SHAREHOLDERS- PLEASE UPDATE YOUR SHAREHOLDER CONTACT We routinely receive calls and emails from shareholders asking us questions about KAYS, so we are asking all KAYS shareholders to email us and confirm their contact info. Please email info@kayaholdings.com with "KAYS shareholder update" in the subject line and include your name, address, phone number and number of shares you own so that we may make sure you receive all updates and can respond to any shareholder inquiries. About Kaya Holdings, Inc. (www.kayaholdings.com) Kaya Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:KAYS) is an industry veteran, touch-the-plant, vertically integrated legal cannabis company operating a number of majority-owned subsidiaries that retail, cultivate, produce and distribute premium medical and recreational cannabis products, including flower, concentrates, oils and extracts, cannabis-infused foods and beverages, topicals and cannaceuticals. KAYS is a fully reporting, US-based publicly traded company, listed for trading on the OTCQB Tier of the over-the-counter market under the symbol OTCQB:KAYS. Summary of Operations KAYS corporate structure includes the following three majority-owned subsidiaries, each responding to various demands and opportunities in the cannabis industry: Marijuana Holdings Americas, Inc. owns the Kaya Shack brand of licensed medical and recreational marijuana stores (www.kayashack.com) and the Kaya Farms brand of cannabis production and processing operations that operate in the United States. Kaya Brands USA, Inc. owns a wide range of proprietary brands of cannabis extracts, oils, pre-rolls, topicals, food and beverages, cannaceuticals and related accessories. Kaya Brands International, Inc., was founded to serve as the vehicle for the Company's non-U.S. operations including retail franchising in Canada and cultivation activities in Greece and Israel. Marijuana Holdings Americas, Inc.- U.S. Cannabis Operations Kaya Shack Retail Cannabis Stores In 2014, KAYS became the first United States publicly traded company to own and operate a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. KAYS presently operates two Kaya Shack OLCC licensed marijuana retail stores to service the legal medical and recreational marijuana market in Oregon. Kaya Farms Lebanon, Oregon Farm & Greenhouse Facility: KAYS owns a 26-acre parcel in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon. KAYS has received Linn County Zoning approvals and is awaiting final OLCC inspection and license approval. Kaya Brands USA, Inc.- Brand and Product Development The Company maintains a genetics library of over 150 strains of cannabis and owns a number of proprietary brands in traditional and innovative cannabis categories including Kaya Buddies pre-rolls, Really Happy Glass cannabis accessories, and Kaya Gear, company-related and cannabis-centric fashion. These brands are currently available at Kaya Shack stores. Brands the Company plans to introduce in 2022 include Pakalolo Juice Company, Tony Giggles Pleasure Foods, Wooz Chews, Syzygy Extracts, Sesh Sticks, Soothe Topicals, and Cannamo Pet Treats, Urban Shaman and Aglaea Pharma. Kaya Brands International, Inc.- Foreign Cannabis Operations After over six years of conducting "touch the plant" U.S. cannabis operations inside the strict regulatory confines of a public company, KAYS has formed a subsidiary, Kaya Brands International, Inc. ("KBI") to leverage its experience and expand into worldwide cannabis markets. KBI's current operations and initiatives include: Kaya Kannabis- Kaya Farms Greece S.A. ("Kaya Farms Greece," a Greek Corporation) is a majority owned subsidiary of KBI. Kaya Farms Greece currently has two medical cannabis cultivation and processing projects in Greece- "Greekkannabis" in Thebes and "Greek Kaya" in Epidaurus. Greekkannabis has a development license from the Greek authorities and a purchase option on 15 acres in Thebes, Greece. The farm has large-scale cultivation capacities and the company expects to develop the site once legal cannabis demand warrants an increase in capacity. Greek Kaya is situated on 2.8 acres of land in Epidaurus, Greece. The project recently received its development license from the Greek Authorities and is in process of securing a purchase agreement to acquire the property. The Epidaurus Project will include 25,000 square feet of indoor cannabis cultivation, a 15,000 square foot EU-GMP extraction and cultivation facility, and a 10,000 square foot EU-GMP packing facility, housed in two top-condition connected structures totaling more than 50,000 square feet of under-air space. There is ample room for expansion with room to construct an additional 15,000 square feet on site. Kaya Farms Israel- Kaya Shalvah LTD ("Kaya Farms Israel," an Israeli Corporation) is a majority owned subsidiary of KBI. Kaya Farms Israel has been awarded its cannabis cultivation development license from the Office of Medical Cannabis at the Israeli Ministry of Health ("YAKAR"). The Company is currently evaluating a number of opportunities in Israel and expects to be announcing its updated plans by at the coming Shareholder Meeting update targeted for July 27, 2022. Important Disclosure KAYS is planning execution of its stated business objectives in accordance with current understanding of state and local laws and federal enforcement policies and priorities as it relates to marijuana. Potential investors and shareholders are cautioned that KAYS and MJAI will obtain advice of counsel prior to actualizing any portion of their business plan (including but not limited to license applications for the cultivation, distribution or sale of marijuana products, engaging in said activities or acquiring existing cannabis production/sales operations). Advice of counsel with regard to specific activities of KAYS, federal, state or local legal action or changes in federal government policy and/or state and local laws may adversely affect business operations and shareholder value. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect" or similar statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, acceptance of the Company's current and future products and services in the marketplace, the ability of the Company to develop effective new products and receive regulatory approvals of such products, competitive factors, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release. For more information contact Investor Relations: info@kayaholdings.com SOURCE: Kaya Holdings View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707616/Cannabis-Company-Kaya-Holdings-Incs-Greek-Joint-Venture-Receives-Crucial-Installation-License-for-50K-Sq-Ft-Medical-Cannabis-Facility-in-Epidaurus-Greece VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Searchlight Resources Inc. ("Searchlight" or the "Company") (TSXV:SCLT)(OTC PINK:CNYCF)(FSE:2CC2) is pleased to announce the Company has completed the initial prospecting program on the Kulyk Lake Uranium project, located approximately 165 km north of La Ronge, Saskatchewan, and 65 km south of the Key Lake Uranium Mine. Highlights 2021 Anomalous airborne radiometric results verified Field scintillometer readings up to 13,000 counts per second Searchlight Resources has recently completed the initial prospecting program on the Kulyk Lake Uranium project, designed to confirm a previously unknown uranium target identified by the 2021 airborne radiometric survey (Map 1, [1]). The field program, completed by Axiom Exploration Group Ltd. (Axiom), has located a zone of strong surface radioactivity within newly mapped pegmatites on a bedrock ridge southwest of Kulyk Lake (Map 2). A total of 49 grab samples were collected, along with 84 scintillometer readings. The scintillometer readings included 47 values over 1,000 counts per second (cps), with values up to 13,000 cps. The grab samples will be submitted to the Saskatchewan Research Council laboratory in Saskatoon for complete analysis. "This is an excellent result, with just 3 days of first pass prospecting outlining a radioactive surface showing of at least 150 m x 50 m, in an area with no previous documented work", stated Stephen Wallace, Searchlight's CEO. "This result, along with the potential rare earth results, give Searchlight plenty of targets for follow-up exploration". Map 1. Uranium (ppm) results from 2021 airborne radiometric survey Map 2. Peak counts per second from 2022 ground scintillometer survey About Kulyk Lake The Kulyk Lake project covers 349 square kilometers of 100%-held staked claims located approximately 165 km north of La Ronge, Saskatchewan, and 65 km south of the Key Lake Uranium Mine. Searchlight Resources originally staked the claims based on the Fanta showing, a historically known occurrence of massive monazite, and the Eldorado uranium showing on the south shore of Kulyk Lake. Mineral exploration was previously carried out between 2009 and 2011, primarily on the south shore of Kulyk Lake. This area, including the Eldorado uranium zone and the Fanta rare earths zone and immediate surroundings, were systematically mapped and trenched by Terralogic Consultants [2]. Results included 0.785% U3O8 over 1.1 m from sample DFKJR040 at the Eldorado showing, and 0.793% U3O8 in a sample located near the Yellow Brick Road showing, named for the yellow uranium staining on surface. In September 2021, Searchlight Resources completed an airborne radiometric survey which outlined significant new thorium and uranium targets [3]. About Pegmatites An exceptionally coarse-grained igneous rock with interlocking crystals, usually found as irregular dikes, lenses, or veins, especially at the margins of batholiths. Most grains are at least 1 cm in diameter. Although pegmatites have gross compositions similar to other rock types, their composition is generally that of granite. The composition may be simple or complex and may include rare minerals rich in such elements as lithium, beryllium, cesium, fluorine, niobium, tantalum, uranium, and rare earth elements. Pegmatites represent the last and most hydrous portion of a magma to crystallize, and hence contain high concentrations of minerals present only in trace amounts in granitic rocks. Cautionary Note Natural gamma radiation in surface prospecting reported in this news release was measured in counts per second (cps) using a handheld RS-125/230 gamma-ray scintillometer. The reader is cautioned that Searchlight uses scintillometer readings as a preliminary indication of the presence of radioactive materials (uranium, thorium and/or potassium), and that scintillometer results may not be used directly to quantify or qualify uranium or thorium concentrations of the rock samples measured. References Searchlight Resources Press Release, June 23, 2022. https://searchlightresources.com/news/2022/searchlight-resources-begins-field-work-on-rare-earth-and-uranium-targets-on-kulyk-lake-exploration-project/ McKeough, M. A., & Brown, J. (2011). 2010 Trenching and Prospecting, Baska-Eldorado Property, Terralogic Consultants. Saskatchewan Mineral Assessment Database, File Number: 74A11-0054 Searchlight Resources Press Release, October 25, 2021 https://searchlightresources.com/news/2021/searchlight-resources-defines-new-rare-earth-and-uranium-targets-on-kulyk-lake-exploration-project/ Qualified Person Stephen Wallace, P.Geo., is Searchlight's Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. About Searchlight Resources Inc. Searchlight Resources Inc. (TSXV:SCLT, US:CNYCF, FSE:2CC2) is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on Saskatchewan, Canada, which has been ranked as the top location for mining investment in Canada by the Fraser Institute. Exploration focus is on Rare Earth Elements, uranium, battery minerals and gold throughout the province. Searchlight holds over 1,395 square kilometres of claims in Saskatchewan. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Stephen Wallace" Stephen Wallace, President, CEO and Director SEARCHLIGHT RESOURCES INC. For further information, visit the Company's website at www.searchlightresources.com or contact: Searchlight Resources Inc. Alf Stewart, Chairman (604) 331-9326 info@searchlightresources.com Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE: Searchlight Resources Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707688/Searchlight-ResourcesConfirms-Strong-Radioactivity-at-South-Kulyk-Lake-Uranium-Target Increase in awareness about extended warranty and rise in penetration of laptops, tablets, and smartphones have driven the growth of the global extended warranty market. PORTLAND, Ore., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, "Extended Warranty Market By Distribution Channel (Manufacturers, Retailers, Others), By Coverage (Standard Protection Plan, Accidental Protection Plan), By Application (Automobiles, Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Mobile Devices and PCs, Others), By End User (Individuals, Business): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031". According to the report, the global extended warrantyindustry generated $122.89 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $274.94 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.6% from 2022 to 2031. Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities Increase in awareness about extended warranty and rise in penetration of laptops, tablets, and smartphones have driven the growth of the global extended warranty market. However, declining sales of PCs hamper the market growth. On the other hand, expansion of products and services and untapped potential of emerging economics are projected to pave the way for lucrative opportunities in the industry. Download Sample Report (Get Full Insights in PDF - 312 Pages) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/5022 COVID-19 Scenario: With changing trends and buying behavior, companies are strategically focused on enhancing virtual shopping to provide an integrated physical experience during the pandemic situation. Consumers are demanding extended warranty claim processes, multiple extended warranty coverage options, and self-service videos via online portals, which in turn had a sheer positive impact on the global extended warranty market. The Standard Protection Plan Segment Had the Lion's Share in 2021 By coverage, the standard protection plan segment accounted for the major share in 2021, accounting for around three-fourths of the global extended warranty market. This is due to the fact that it mainly covers mechanical & electrical breakdowns and several other coverages, which do not come under the manufacturer's warranty. However, the accidental protection plan segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR of 12.6% throughout the forecast period. Implementation of advance technologies and growing awareness about the security measures for ATM machines drive the segment growth. Get Detailed Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Extended Warranty Market @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/5022?reqfor=covid The Automobiles Segment to Lead the Trail By 2031 By application, the automobiles segment generated the major share in 2021, garnering more than one-third of the global extended warranty market, owing to surge in sales of extended warranty at the time of purchase of vehicles. The others segment, however, is projected to cite the fastest CAGR of 11.7% during the forecast period. North America Held the Major Share in 2021 By region, the market across North America accounted for the major share in 2021, contributing to nearly two-fifths of the global extended warranty market. On the other hand, the global extended warranty market across Asia-Pacific is expected to cite the fastest CAGR of 11.0% throughout the study period. This is owing to emerging economies, high costs of repairs, several offers & benefits, and better customer experience offered under extended warranties in the province. Interested to Procure the Data? Inquire Here @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/5022 Prominent Market Players American International Group, Inc. Asurion CarShield, LLC. SquareTrade, Inc. Edel Assurance AmTrust Financial AXA CARCHEX Endurance Warranty Services, LLC Access AVENUE - A Subscription-Based Library (Premium On-Demand, Subscription-Based Pricing Model) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Avenue is a user-based library of global market report database, provides comprehensive reports pertaining to the world's largest emerging markets. It further offers e-access to all the available industry reports just in a jiffy. By offering core business insights on the varied industries, economies, and end users worldwide, Avenue ensures that the registered members get an easy as well as single gateway to their all-inclusive requirements. Avenue Library Subscription | Request For 14 Days Free Trial of Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenueTrial Similar Reports: Consumer Electronics Extended Warranty Market to Hit $198.99 Billion By 2030 Auto Extended Warranty Market Expected to Reach $60.82 Billion By 2030 U.S. Extended Warranty Market Projected to Garner $59.52 Billion By 2028 U.S., Brazil & India Extended Warranty Market to Reach $41.51 Billion By 2030 U.S. Auto Extended Warranty Market Estimated to Grow $24.48 Billion By 2030 Financial Guarantee Market Expected to Reach $71.93 Billion By 2030 Bank Guarantee Market Projected to Grow $41.48 Billion By 2030 Cryptocurrency Market Expected to Attain $4.94 Billion By 2030 Pre-Book Now with 10% Discount: Gap Insurance Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2022-2029 Performance Bank Guarantee Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2022-2029 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on LinkedIn and Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) -Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQX: APAAF) (FSE: A0I0) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE) (the "Company" or "Appia") is pleased to announce assay results from the remainder of its 2021 drilling program including results from the "Western Anomaly" area of the 100%-owned Alces Lake high-grade rare earth elements and gallium property, Athabasca Basin area, northern Saskatchewan. The complete assay results are available in Table 1 by clicking on this link. Highlights: Multiple TREO intercepts in three Sweet Chili Heat holes close to surface in the Western Anomaly (WA) (see Table 2) Sweet Chili Heat 21-SCH-001 intersected 3.46 metres of 3.518 wt% TREO including 11.82 wt% TREO over 0.36 metres at a depth of 6.94 metres (see Table 2) Sweet Chili Heat 21-SCH-002 intersected 2.40 metres of 1.271 wt% TREO, including 7.99 wt% TREO over 0.23 metres at a depth of 6.09 metres and 9.67 wt% over 0.24 metres at a depth of 21.06 metres (see Table 2) Sweet Chili Heat 21-SCH-003 intersected 1.30 metres of 3.28 wt% TREO, including 12.65 wt% TREO over 0.32 metres at a depth of 12.20 metres (see Table 2) Diablo 21-DIA-001(also located in the WA) intersected 6.13 metres of 1.836 wt% TREO including 14.96 wt% TREO over 0.66 metres at a depth of 7.64 metres (see Table 2) Phase 1 drilling now complete at Magnet Ridge (formerly Augier) with a total of 34 holes being completed; waiting on assay results A new discovery of anomalous radioactivity at Magnet Ridge West with drilled widths up to 49 metres in 10 new holes Frederick Kozak, President of Appia said "The remaining assay results are better than the channel sample results previously released and confirm rare earths potential in the Western Anomaly area. This is a very promising new discovery area and will be the focus of future exploration. High grades found at Diablo and Sweet Chili Heat point to the potential of these two areas with much more exploration drilling to be done. On completion of drilling in the highly prospective WRCB-Magnet Ridge area, Appia will commence drilling on other prospective areas, including the Western Anomaly targets." Table 2: Summary of Regional Drilling Assay Results To view an enhanced version of this Table, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/130126_table2.jpg Appia drilled a total of 100 holes in 2021 for a total of approximately 8,076 metres. Of these holes, 14 were drilled into the Sweet Chilli Heat prospect and 4 were drilled into the Diablo prospect. Closer to WRCB, a total of 13 holes were drilled into the Biotite Lake prospect and 7 holes were drilled at Danny. Drilling Update As previously announced, Appia commenced drilling in March, 2022 and to date has drilled just over 14,000 metres at WRCB, Magnet Ridge, Magnet Ridge West, Strocen and the Western Limb. Appia plans to drill up to 20,000 metres in the 2022 field season. In the now-completed first phase of drilling at Magnet Ridge (previously known as Augier), a total of 34 holes have been drilled for a total of 5,253 metres. The initial view of the Magnet Ridge zone has been previously described and it outcrops on surface. It is approximately 300 metres in strike length, approximately 175 metres wide and has been penetrated over 100 metres down dip. The zone has similar visual characteristics to the recently discovered AMP zone at WRCB, but assay results will provide a better view of the properties of Magnet Ridge in the near future. A few assay results have been received for a portion of the first hole, but Appia is waiting on the complete results to analyze and interpret this new discovery. Figure 1 - Magnet Ridge/Magnet Ridge West Drilling To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/130126_984b7ad0a42c2996_006full.jpg Appia has now drilled a total of 10 holes into Magnet Ridge West (MRW) and is seeing similar levels of anomalous radioactivity compared to Magnet Ridge. This also appears to be comparable to the AMP zone at WRCB, although no assay results have as yet been received for MRW. Drilled width at MRW has been up to 49 metres, similar to Magnet Ridge. In some of the holes, there has been more than one section of anomalous radioactivity, separated by intervals of non-radioactive rock. Up to 12 holes are planned for MRW. Drilling at Strocen (STR in Figure 2 below) was inconclusive with 587 metres drilled in five holes on that prospect. Recent 2022 field exploration on the Western Limb, southwest of WRCB (WEL shown in Figure 2 below), yielded two surface readings of anomalous radioactivity of 10,000 CPS and 41,000 CPS. To date two holes have been completed at the Western Limb and a third is currently being drilled. Up to eight holes may be drilled in this area. Figure 2 - 2022 Target Areas To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/130126_984b7ad0a42c2996_007full.jpg Update on Maiden Resource Estimate As previously disclosed, Appia is working towards a maiden resource estimate for the area. Industry delays through 2021 continue into 2022 for receipt of assay results. Appia has engaged the services of a second assay lab to process the increased volume of samples being generated by the 2022 drilling program. It is expected that the maiden resources estimate will initially be for the WRCB and Magnet Ridge areas. Timing of the report has yet to be determined but is likely closer to the end of 2022, depending on industry activity. About the Alces Lake Project The Alces Lake project encompasses some of the highest-grade total and critical* REEs and gallium mineralization in the world, hosted within several surface and near-surface monazite occurrences that remain open at depth and along strike. * Critical rare earth elements are defined here as those that are in short-supply and high-demand for use in permanent magnets and modern electronic applications such as electric vehicles and wind turbines (i.e: neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb)). Appia recommenced drilling at Alces Lake in mid-March 2022 and plans to drill significantly deeper holes compared to the 100 holes (approximately 8,076 metres) drilled in 2021. This is designed to allow Appia to determine continuity at depth and along the identified REE mineralization trends as the company works towards a maiden resource estimate to be prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 for the area. With high-grade REE mineralization now identified in many locations within an area covering approximately 27 km2 of the Alces Lake block, the Company believes the project has the potential to be a world-class source of high-grade critical rare earth bearing monazite. The Alces Lake project is located in northern Saskatchewan, the same provincial jurisdiction that is developing a "first-of-its-kind" rare earth processing facility in Canada (currently under construction by the Saskatchewan Research Council and scheduled to become operational in early 2023). The Alces Lake project area is 35,682 hectares (88,173 acres) in size and is 100% owned by Appia. To ensure safe work conditions are met for the workforce, the Company has developed exploration guidelines that comply with the Saskatchewan Public Health Orders and the Public Health Order Respecting the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District in order to maintain social distancing and help prevent the transmission of COVID-19. All lithogeochemical assay results were provided by Saskatchewan Research Council's Geoanalytical Laboratory, an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (CAN-P-4E) certified laboratory in Saskatoon, SK. All analytical results reported herein have passed internal QA/QC review and compilation. The technical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Irvine R. Annesley, P.Geo, Advisor to Appia's Board of Directors, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Appia Appia is a Canadian publicly-listed company in the rare earth element and uranium sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements and gallium on the Alces Lake property, as well as exploring for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Otherside, Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 105,026 hectares (259,525 acres) in Saskatchewan. The Company also has a 100% interest in 12,545 hectares (31,000 acres), with rare earth element and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario. Appia has 123.1 million common shares outstanding, 141.3 million shares fully diluted. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward- looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information, please contact: Tom Drivas, CEO and Director: (cell) 416-876-3957, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) appia@appiareu.com Frederick Kozak, President: (cellular) 403-606-3165 or (email) fkozak@appiareu.com Frank van de Water, Chief Financial Officer and Director, (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) fvandewater@rogers.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130126 Rete Ferroviaria Italiana to Receive Award at Esri User Conference Last year, the Italian rail agency Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) built an application using geographic information system (GIS) technology from Esri, the global leader in location intelligence. Called StationLAND, the application is designed to make railway stations the centerpieces of their communities by increasing connectivity to the stations themselves within towns and cities. StationLAND improves the understanding of how and why rail stations work and how they can work better. StationLAND was designed to address a very specific need. "In Italy, the railways are one of the things that work best. What lagged was our stations," said Luigi Contestabile, RFI head of facilities, who also led the team that built the application. As a result, RFI sought to use technology to understand how rail stations could be better connected to their communities, thereby encouraging more rail travel. "The stations' centricity in our planning is fundamental to developing the sustainable intermodality we need," continued Contestabile. Esri will present an award, Outstanding Innovations in Infrastructure and Public Mobility, to RFI at the Esri User Conference. The award recognizes the agency's use of innovative technology to address modern mobility issues and its pathbreaking work to make rail travel the backbone of mobility options in Italy. "We are excited that RFI chose Esri to create StationLAND, as it is the most comprehensive use of our technology used for smart transportation to date," said Terry Bills, Esri global transportation industry director. "It is ultimately a smart city application scaled to the national level, which is an unprecedented use of GIS in this industry." To learn more about how GIS is being used to innovate and strengthen rail infrastructure, visit esri.com/en-us/industries/rail/business-areas/infrastructure-property-management. About Esri Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations globally and in over 200,000 institutions in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com. Copyright 2022 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, The Science of Where, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005523/en/ Contacts: Jo Ann Pruchniewski Public Relations, Esri Mobile: 301-693-2643 Email: jpruchniewski@esri.com SAN FRANCISCO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global automotive electronic control unit market size is expected to reach USD 156.0 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2022 to 2030. Growing demand for less carbon-emitting and air combating commute is raising the sales of hybrid and battery-powered vehicles in the market. The rising deployment of infotainment, autonomous driving, ADAS, and other body electronics in hybrid, ICE, and battery-powered vehicles is creating demand for electronic controlling devices such as electronic control units in the market. In addition, the rising consumer preference for technologically advanced luxury vehicles is fueling the sales of automotive electronic control units in the market. Key Industry Insights & Findings from the report: The growing popularity of Automotive Driver-Assisted System (ADAS) technology, including parking assistance, Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), has been fueling the growth of the market. By capacity, the 32-Bit segment dominated the market with over 40.0% share in 2021 owing to the increased demand for these components due to their advantages such as decreased design complexity and low energy consumption. Based on vehicle, the increased popularity of luxury vehicles, rise in disposable income, and improved lifestyle of consumers have been propelling the growth of the passenger cars segment. Read 150-page market research report for more Insights, "Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Powertrain, ADAS & Safety System), By Propulsion, By Capacity, By Vehicle, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030", published by Grand View Research. Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market Growth & Trends Moreover, governments across the world are taking various initiatives to improve road safety by mandating the installation of ADAS systems, adaptive cruise control, anti-lock braking system, adaptive front lighting, and others in passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles. For instance, in April 2016, Europe's new car assessment program was introduced to reduce the possibility of road accidents, thus it was mandatory to integrate the anti-lock braking system during production. Increasing implementation of safety systems is creating demand for system-controlling devices; thus, to control these systems, there is an increase in the usage of an automotive electric control unit, which is fostering the growth of the market. Additionally, consumers' growing preference for luxury vehicles boosts spending on the research & development of automotive ECUs, which is expected to create new growth opportunities for the market. The rising demand for personal vehicles and increasing disposable income of consumers based in the emerging nations of the world are encouraging automobile manufacturers to develop and integrate advanced systems in the vehicle. They are incorporating advanced automotive electronic systems for controlling and proper functioning of these systems, which is expected to fuel the growth of the market. However, the growth of the market is negatively affected due to an increase in the number of electronic control unit failures in the vehicle, which is creating unwanted disruptions and severe accidents. Besides, the market expansion is anticipated to be limited by the high costs of repair of electronic control units and the cost of programming and installation. These factors are expected to restrain the growth of the market. Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market Segmentation Grand View Research has segmented the global automotive electronic control unit market based on capacity, vehicle, application, propulsion, and region: Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market - Capacity Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030) 16-Bit 32-Bit 64-Bit Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market - Vehicle Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030) Passenger Cars Commercial Vehicle Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market - Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030) ADAS & Safety System Body Electronics Powertrain Infotainment Others Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market - Propulsion Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030) Battery Powered Hybrid Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market - Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030) North America U.S. Canada Europe U.K. Germany Asia Pacific China Japan India Latin America Brazil Mexico MEA List of Key Players of Automotive Electronic Control Unit Market Robert Bosch GmbH ZF Friedrichshafen AG Autoliv Inc. Continental AG Delphi Technologies Denso Corporation Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. (Hella) Panasonic Corporation Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research: Automotive Electronics Market - The global automotive electronics market size is expected to reach USD 392.49 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is anticipated to register a CAGR of 7.9% from 2021 to 2028. Increasing safety and security concerns to curb the rising road fatalities in developed and developing economies across the globe are the factors anticipated to drive the demand for automotive electronics. The rising demand for electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and state-of-the-art vehicle technology is also expected to fuel the market growth. Accident data recorder systems, emergency call systems, and alcohol ignition interlocks are some of the prominent technologically advanced features that are expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. The global automotive electronics market size is expected to reach by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is anticipated to register a CAGR of 7.9% from 2021 to 2028. Increasing safety and security concerns to curb the rising road fatalities in developed and developing economies across the globe are the factors anticipated to drive the demand for automotive electronics. The rising demand for electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and state-of-the-art vehicle technology is also expected to fuel the market growth. Accident data recorder systems, emergency call systems, and alcohol ignition interlocks are some of the prominent technologically advanced features that are expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. Automotive Semiconductor Market - The global automotive semiconductor market size is expected to reach USD 63.92 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2021 to 2028. The growing focus on vehicle safety systems and a significant increase in the adoption of engine control units (ECUs) in modern automobiles are anticipated to drive the demand for automotive semiconductors. Moreover, emerging technologies such as 5G and IoT are expected to play an instrumental role in increasing the demand for automotive semiconductors. Additionally, electric vehicles and all levels of assisted driving technologies are expected to create considerable growth opportunities over the next eight years. - The global automotive semiconductor market size is expected to reach by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2021 to 2028. The growing focus on vehicle safety systems and a significant increase in the adoption of engine control units (ECUs) in modern automobiles are anticipated to drive the demand for automotive semiconductors. Moreover, emerging technologies such as 5G and IoT are expected to play an instrumental role in increasing the demand for automotive semiconductors. Additionally, electric vehicles and all levels of assisted driving technologies are expected to create considerable growth opportunities over the next eight years. Germany Automotive Aftermarket - The Germany automotive aftermarket size is expected to reach USD 23.4 billion by 2025, registering a 1.1% CAGR from 2019 to 2025, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to be driven by technological advancements, shift in competitive power with the rise of new players, and evolving customer expectations. Browse through Grand View Research's Automotive & Transportation Industry Research Reports. About Grand View Research Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead. Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc. Phone: 1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com Grand View Compass | Astra ESG Solutions Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Dynasty Gold Corp. (TSXV: DYG) (FSE: D5G1) (OTC PINK: DGDCF) ("Dynasty" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of its summer 2022 exploration program in its 100% owned Thundercloud gold property located 47 kilometers southwest of Dryden, in Northwest, Ontario. The field program will begin with a detailed, high resolution, drone supported airborne magnetic survey over the Pelham and West Contact zone exploration areas, and is expected to start in early/mid-July 2022. This work has been contracted to Pioneer Exploration, a leading geophysical contractor specializing in unmanned aerial surveys. It will involve approximately 200-line kilometers of flying at 50 meter-spacing, centered on a mineralized corridor defined by Teck Resources Limited's earlier exploration work. The new magnetic survey will be an improvement on historical geophysical surveys that were conducted along relatively widely spaced survey lines, and in the case of the Pelham area were in part sub-parallel to known mineralized structures. The new survey will involve closely spaced flight lines nearly perpendicular to the known structures and should provide much better resolution of the relationship of the magnetic signatures to known mineralization. New airborne magnetic survey data together with past trenching data is expected to generate new drill targets in the West Contact Zone and define the geometry of the magnetic units associated with the gold mineralization at Pelham. This survey is expected to be completed within a week of startup. The new geophysical data will also assist in prioritising drill targets in the Pelham Zone. The first phase of drilling in the Pelham Zone will be aimed at expanding an NI 43-101 inferred resource of 182,000 oz gold by testing the interpreted down dip and down plunge extensions of the known mineralization occurring in altered gabbros. Initially, up to 3000 meters of drilling is planned. New drill data generated from this drilling will allow the Company to evaluate the existing resource model and design additional drill holes to test mineralization at depth and down plunge. Possible updating of the NI 43-101 resource report is being considered for later this year, together with the drilling data from 15 historic drillholes that were omitted from the initial NI 43-101 resource report. Highlights of the omitted drilling data that will be incorporated into an updated NI 43-101 are as follows: Hole Number From meter To meter Intercepts meter Au g/t 86-PL-06 12.2 14.33 2.13 14.33 88- PH-01 16 18 2.00 7.37 88- PH-05 45 105.4 60.4 1.73 88- PH-10 36 161 125 1.74 Including: 36 37 1 8.57 50 53 3 14.85 52 53 1 38.39 89 90 1 10.97 111 112 1 9.6 120 131 2 7.03 In the West Contact Area south of Pelham, and time permitting, a second phase of drilling which is expected to be about 1500 meters, will test new mineralization located by trenching in 2021 and several untested Induced Polarization anomalies with coincident gold-in-soil positive geochemical anomalous zones. Previous trench samples in the area returned average grade of 5.85 g/t over 69 meters (8.02 g/t over 39 meters, and 3 g/t over 30 meters. The shortened 2021 trenching program defined a new continuous zone of 7 meters in length which averaged 2.0 grams per tonne gold, and within this zone values ranged between 0.82 and 3.9 grams per tonne gold. Elsewhere, grab samples taken from mineralization associated with soil geochemical anomalies returned values of up to 7.04 grams per tonne gold. Across the property, there are a large number of isolated, single samples with highly elevated anomalous gold values taken in soils from a previous work program. A comprehensive sampling program is being planned to follow up on these anomalous values with 25-meter spacing soil sampling around each site, time permitting this season. Positive results will be investigated by additional trenching and /or future drilling. The technical information in this release has been reviewed by A. Lee Barker, a technical advisor to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Dynasty Gold Corp. Dynasty Gold Corp. is a Canadian exploration company currently focused on gold exploration in North America with projects located in the Manitou-Stormy Lake greenstone belt in Ontario and in the Midas gold camp in Nevada. The Company is currently advancing its Thundercloud gold deposit which contains 182,000 oz gold. The 43-101 Mineral Resource report and related press release with details on the resource are available on the Company's website and were filed on www.sedar.com. The 100% owned Golden Repeat gold project in the Midas gold camp in Elko County, Nevada, is surrounded by a number of large-scale operating mines. In addition, Dynasty owns a 70% interest in the Hatu Qi2 gold mine in the Tien Shan Gold belt, Xinjiang, China, with which it is in legal dispute with Xinjiang Non-Ferrous Industrial Metals Group and its subsidiary Western Region Gold Co. Ltd. For more information, please visit the Company's website www.dynastygoldcorp.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DYNASTY GOLD CORP. "Ivy Chong" _________________________________ Ivy Chong, President & CEO For additional information please contact: Vancouver Office: Ivy Chong Phone: 604.633.2100. Email: ichong@dynastygoldcorp.com This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130100 Celebrity Chef Tony Singh blends history and innovation with a delectably delicious food pairing to mark launch of The Singleton. INVERNESS, Scotland, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Singleton, near Inverness, is reopening this week following a complete renovation. Set to welcome guests from around the world, the new attraction has been designed with the brand's Epicurean spirit in mind. Inspired by a passion for making perfectly balanced, delicious whisky, the new distillery site will welcome guests into a tantalising world of taste and flavour. The newly designed distillery bar will serve exceptional food and drink whilst the beautiful deli will be stocked with some of the finest fare Scotland has to offer. With a grand copper-encased entrance and an industrial palette of brick, concrete, wood and copper, every aspect of the new visitor experience has been designed to make guests feel at home. The new distillery tour focuses on the art of whisky-making and the craft of distilling. Taking a deep dive into Singleton's signature 'Slow Craft' process, visitors will learn why and how the brand's methods result in such delicious whisky. Celebrity chef and whisky lover, Tony Singh, created a special menu that pairs perfectly with The Singleton of Glen Ord Celebratory Bottling, a special edition whisky created to commemorate the opening. Born and raised in Leith, Edinburgh, Tony is an iconic Scottish restauranteur best known for using high-quality Scottish produce in an arty yet accessible style. Tony has combined fantastic Scottish produce with his Indian roots, looking at whisky heritage and traditions that date back hundreds of years, to update classic Indian recipes that have been passed down through generations. The result of which are dishes that not only pair perfectly with the new limited-edition liquid but are also steeped in history. Please visit The Singleton Facebook page for Tony's recipes and details on how to create the menu at home. Marking the official opening, Tony Singh said: "Scotland is rich with exceptional quality food and drink, and it is wonderful to see that being celebrated at the new distillery experience. Scotch whisky is the country's leading export to the world and a magnet for international tourism. It is great for Scotland to see Scotch whisky brands like The Singleton making the connection between their delicious single malt and Scotland's rich larder of local produce." Located at the beginning, or end, of the NorthCoast500 - Scotland's answer to Route 66 - The Singleton is perfectly situated to round off any visit to the Scottish Highlands. Barbara Smith, Managing Director of Diageo's Scotland Brand Homes, said: "The Singleton is one of the most exciting single malt brands in the world and we are delighted to be opening the doors to the brand's new home at Glen Ord Distillery. Our 185million pound investment in Scotch whisky tourism is designed to put Scotland at the forefront of the global trend in food and drink tourism by giving consumers a truly world-class experience at our distilleries. This is just the start of an incredible summer of Scotch whisky investment, with Talisker and Caol Ila also launching new visitor experiences, and we want to use that to build momentum in the recovery of Scottish tourism." The Singleton is the latest distillery and visitor experience to open as part of Diageo's investment in whisky tourism in Scotland. Glenkinchie, Clynelish and Cardhu distilleries have recently re-opened as part of the ambitious project which reimagines the traditional whisky tour experience. The centrepiece of the investment programme, the Johnnie Walker Princes Street global visitor attraction, opened in Edinburgh in September last year. Building a modern visitor experience that is inclusive was also integral to the planning and Diageo worked closely with Euan's Guide, a disabled access charity to make The Singleton more accessible, including one of the only Changing Places toilet in the region. The Singleton holds a Green Tourism Gold Award - the highest sustainability accolated for a visitor attraction. To book your tour, please visit THIS LINK. About Diageo Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan's and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness. Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854426/Image_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854425/Image_2.jpg NOIDA, India, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by UnivDatos Markets Insights theEnergy Storage Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2021-2027. The analysis has been segmented into Type (Mechanical (Pumped hydro storage (PHS), Liquid air energy storage (LAES), Compressed air energy storage (CAES), and Others (Flywheel)), Electrochemical (Lithium Battery, Lead-acid battery, Sodium-sulfur battery, and Others), Thermal, Chemical); Region/Country. Click here to view the Report Description & TOC The energy storage market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data on various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the energy storage market. The energy storage market report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors in the market that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the energy storage market at the global and regional levels. Request for Sample Pages Market Overview The demand for energy storage systems is driven by the increasing need to reduce the dependence on oil, gas, and coal for electricity generation to reduce carbon emissions. In 2019, transportation and electricity generation were responsible for nearly 54% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. As a result, nations across the globe are shifting towards renewable energy sources. However, fluctuating power requirements during different times of the day are propelling the demand for energy storage systems from renewable energy power plants. These energy storage devices store the generated energy from power plants during low energy demand and supply the energy during peak hours. COVID-19 Impact The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the growth of many industries which include manufacturing, education, agriculture, finance, healthcare, sports, education, food, and tourism. It also had a profound impact on the energy industry.According to International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy demand decline in 2020 is the largest in the last 70 years. As compared to 2019, the global energy demand in 2020 declined by 6% which is a 7 times greater fall than the 2009 financial crisis. From 2015-2019, the mean electricity generation of 16 European countries dropped by 9% (25 GW) in April 2020. Due to this the energy storage industry was also impacted as the developing projects were postponed and there wasn't enough workforce to complete the ongoing projects. The global energy storage market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated. Based on type, the energy storage market is divided into mechanical, electrochemical, thermal, and chemical storage systems. Among all, mechanical storage methods hold a lucrative market share this is due to the presence of a considerable number of pumped hydro storage systems using water reservoirs. Further, compressed air energy storage is also a type of mechanical storage system and accounts for a considerable market share for energy storage systems. It stores compressed air when surplus energy is produced from wind turbines and there is less energy consumption. Compressed air energy storage involves converting electrical energy into high-pressure compressed air that can be released at a later time to drive a turbine generator to produce electricity Have a Look at the Chapters Energy Storage Market Geographical Segmentation Includes: North America ( United States , Canada , Rest of North America ) ( , , Rest of ) Europe ( Germany , United Kingdom , France , Spain , Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , Rest of ) Asia-Pacific ( China , Japan , India , Australia , Rest of Asia-Pacific ) ( , , , , Rest of ) Rest of the World North America grabbed a significant market share as the economy, health, and safety of citizens along with national security of it depend on the reliable delivery of electricity. The region has witnessed the acceleration in the deployment of technologies that help in improving the reliability and efficiency of utility operations, including the deployment of systems and practices to better engage utility customers in the management of energy. Therefore, there has been a rise in smart grid deployment and investment in countries including the U.S., Canada, etc. For instance, the investment in smart grids rose by 41% between 2014 and 2016 from $3.4 billion to $4.8 billion annually. This investment is expected to rise to $13.8 billion by 2024. The major players targeting the market include Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited Convergent Energy and Power LP Duke Energy Corporation Fluence Energy Inc. General Electric Company Showa Denko NextEra Energy Inc. NEC Energy Solutions Inc. S&C Electric Company Tesla Inc. Competitive Landscape The degree of competition among prominent global companies has been elaborated by analyzing several leading key players operating worldwide. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the energy storage market. The major players have been analyzed by using research methodologies for getting insight views on global competition. Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include: What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the energy storage market? Which factors are influencing the energy storage market over the forecast period? What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the energy storage market? Which factors are propelling and restraining the energy storage market? What are the demanding global regions of the energy storage market? What will be the global market size in the upcoming years? What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by global companies? We understand the requirement of different businesses, regions, and countries, we offer customized reports as per your requirements of business nature and geography. Please let us know If you have any custom needs. About UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) Browse Other Related Research Reports from UnivDatos Market Insights Molten Salt Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Market Energy as a Service Market Solar Tracker Market Wind Energy Market Virtual Power Plant Market About UnivDatos Market Insights UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analysis, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients. Contact: UnivDatos Market Insights Ankita Gupta Director Operations Ph: +91-783860491 Email: Ankita.gupta@univdatos.com Website: https://univdatos.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1225049/UnivDatos_Logo.jpg BANGALORE, India, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Hand Sanitizer Market is Segmented by Type (Waterless Type, Ordinary Type), by Application (Medical Use, Daily Use). It is published in Valuates Reports under the Cleaning Agents Category. The global Hand Sanitizer market is about USD 2.9 Billion in 2021, it will mark a CAGR of 3.3% in the forecast years. Major factors driving the growth of the hand sanitizer market are: The hand sanitizer market is anticipated to develop as a result of factors including the most recent COVID-19 outbreak, an increase in hospitals and the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAI), and government initiatives. Hand sanitizer eliminates pathogens that are already on our hands and reduces the spread of germs from one person to another. Get Your Sample Today: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-24J66/Global_Hand_Sanitizer TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF THE HAND SANITIZER MARKET Due to growing awareness of the effects of COVID-19 on the population, health and hygiene issues are spreading around the world. In the wake of the continuing pandemic issue, the hand sanitizer market has seen substantial changes in the hand sanitizer business globally. However, the industry is currently encountering considerable difficulties with regard to scaling up manufacturing capacities to help relieve the supply deficit due to supply chain interruptions and expanding supply-demand gaps globally. Businesses from other verticals have started using their manufacturing units to produce sanitizers to meet the demand of their home markets. Demand for personal care products is being fueled by a number of government initiatives and campaigns promoting cleanliness and good personal hygiene. This in turn is expected to drive the growth of the hand sanitizer market. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the campaign Seconds Save Lives, Clean Your Hands on May 5, 2021, to raise public awareness of the need for hand cleanliness. Additionally, the growing number of suggestions from medical professionals and health organizations for maintaining clean and hygienic habits is raising awareness of personal care and affecting the market for skin washing products. The market will be also driven by the increasing infrastructure growth of retail establishments, shopping centers, and specialty shops. Hand sanitizer is formulated to get rid of germs and handle that business. Hand sanitizers may eliminate 99.9% of the bacteria on your hands when used properly. Every time you are around food (either creating it or consuming it), animals, trash, and that are just the tip of the iceberg, the CDC advises washing your hands. When you find yourself in situations like these, hand sanitizer is the best supplement to (or occasionally replacement for) cleaning your hands with soap and water. Browse The Table Of Contents And List Of Figures At: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-24J66/global-hand-sanitizer HAND SANITIZER MARKET SHARE Based on application, medical use is expected to be the most lucrative due to the growing demand for sanitizers to maintain a clean environment in hospitals and clinics and a raise in the number of HAI. Additionally, there is a constant need for various personal care products due to the doctors and other hospital and clinic workers having more serious health issues. Based on region, Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market. The increase is ascribed to a rise in hygiene awareness brought on by COVID-19, a virus that began spreading in the region in 2019 and has since become common. As a result, businesses are introducing novel and distinctive categories of personal care and hygiene goods into the market while emphasizing consumer safety. Get Regional Data: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-24J66/Global_Hand_Sanitizer Key Companies Procter & Gamble (US) Unilever (UK) 3M (US) (US) Henkel (Germany) Kao Corporation ( Japan ) ) Reckitt Benckiser (UK) L'Occitane ( France ) ) Medline Industries (US) Amway (US) Lion Corporation ( Japan ) ) Vi-Jon (US) GOJO Industries (US) Ecolab (US) Longrich (China) Kami (China) Lvsan Chemistry (China) Bluemoon (China) Shanghai Jahwa (China) Walch (China) Likang (China) . Inquire for Chapter Cost: https://reports.valuates.com/request/chaptercost/QYRE-Auto-24J66/Global_Hand_Sanitizer Buy Now for Single User + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-24J66&lic=single-user SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. Please leave a note in the Comment Section to know about our subscription plans. SIMILAR REPORTS: - Global Antiseptic and Disinfectant market size is about 46 Billion in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 6.3%. - The global personal hygiene market was valued at USD 508.5 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 720.7 Billion by 2030 registering a CAGR of 3.6% from 2021 to 2030. - In 2020, the global Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitoring Systems market size was USD 94 Million and it is expected to reach USD 163.4 Million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 8.4% during 2021-2027. - The global UV disinfection equipment market was valued at USD 1.3 Billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 5.7 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 17.1% from 2020 to 2027. - The global Surface Disinfectant market was valued at USD 729.5 Million in 2020 and it is expected to reach USD 1215.5 Million by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 7.2% during 2021-2027. - The cleanroom consumables market was valued at USD 3688.38 million in 2020, and it is anticipated to reach USD 6658.35 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of about 5.40% during the forecast period (2021 to 2030). - In 2020, the global Hydrogen Peroxide market size was USD 4909 Million and it is expected to reach USD 6632.6 Million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 4.3% during 2021-2027. - The global Surfactants market size is projected to reach USD 38320 Million by 2027, from USD 31910 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 3.1% during 2021-2027. - The Global sodium hypochlorite market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.01% during the forecast period 2020-2026. - The Global UV Disinfection Market size is about 1900 Million USD and the CAGR will be 12% in next few years. - The global E-beam Sterilization market size is projected to reach US$ 2160.7 million by 2028, from US$ 1072.4 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 10.4% during 2022-2028. - The global Cleanroom Face Masks market size is estimated to be worth US$ 282 million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of US$ 432.7 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 7.4% during the review period. - The global Feminine Hygiene Products market size is projected to reach USD 41860 Million by 2027, from USD 31960 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 4.6% during 2021-2027. - The global Cleanroom Apparel market size is estimated to be worth US$ 460.6 million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of US$ 586.2 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 4.1% during the review period. - The global Peracetic Acid Market size is projected to reach USD 603 Million by 2027, from USD 469.31 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 5.24% during 2021-2027. - The global Phenol market size is projected to reach USD 22250 Million by 2027, from USD 17380 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 4.2% during 2021-2027. - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global Vitamin E market size is estimated to be worth USD 669.7 Million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 882.2 Million by 2028 with a CAGR of 4.7% during the review period. - Global Hand Sanitizer and Hand wash Market Insights and Forecast to 2028 - Global CBD Hand Sanitizer Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022-2028 - Global Touch Free Hand Sanitizer Dispenser Market Insights, Forecast to 2028 - North America Hand Sanitizer Gel and Hand Soap Market - Global Anti-Bacterial Hand Sanitizer Sales Market Report 2021 - Global Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer Market Size, Manufacturers, Supply Chain, Sales Channel and Clients, 2021-2027 - Global Medical Hand Sanitizer Sales Market Report 2021 Click here to see related reports on Hand Sanitizer Market ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains a detailed research methodology employed to generate the report. Please also reach our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources. CONTACT US: Valuates Reports sales@valuates.com For U.S. Toll-Free Call 1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp: +91-9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports LinkedIn - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg BUCHKIRCHEN, AUSTRIA / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / IRW-Press by IR-WORLD.com Finanzkommunikation GmbH ("IRW-Press" or the "company") is pleased to announce that the company was awarded the 2022 Exportpreis (in Silver) in the category "Information and Consulting" on June 27, 2022 at the Exporters' Nite, an event hosted by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (https://news.wko.at/news/oesterreich/exportpreis-2022-ehrung-fuer-oesterreichische-unternehme.html). The awards were presented by Harald Mahrer, President of the Chamber of Commerce, and Susanne Kraus Winkler, State Secretary of Economic Affairs. Image Credits: Frank Helmrich Photographie Joachim Brunner, Chief Executive Officer and owner of IRW-Press, proudly states: "I am truly happy to be able to hold this prize in my hands. Receiving an award like the Exportpreis shows that we offer products that are sought-after and successful internationally. But it is also an award that underscores the performance of our employees and partners, with whom we successfully work together on 3 continents. I would like to thank them for the good cooperation over the past decades and I am already looking forward to the challenges in the future." Image Credits: Frank Helmrich Photographie Image Credits: Frank Helmrich Photographie About IRW-Press by IR-WORLD.com IR-WORLD.com Finanzkommunikation GmbH is a leader in online corporate communications, providing its services to foreign public companies with an investor community in the German-speaking area. With its customer base comprising mainly North American and Australian companies, IR-World.com is a top player in capital market communications. The company's key objective is to translate and distribute international news and press releases for the German-speaking investor community. With its wide portfolio of products, IR-WORLD.com also supports companies listed on the German stock exchange to maintain a good relationship with their regular customers as well as to attract and acquire new shareholders. CEO Joachim Brunner and his team are committed to assisting its customers as a strong and reliable communications partner in the German-speaking financial markets. For further information, please visit our website: https://www.irw-press.com/en/irw-press-en.html Contact: IRW-Press - a Product of IR-WORLD.com Finanzkommunikation GmbH Wickepointgasse 13 A-4611 Buchkirchen Chief Executive Officer: Joachim Brunner MBA Tel.: +43 7242 211930-11 E-Mail: office(at)irw-press.com Web: www.IRW-Press.com In North America: Tamara Faust office@ir-world.com SOURCE: IR-WORLD.com View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707601/2022-Silver-Export-Prize-Awarded-to-IRW-Press-by-IR-WORLDcom-Finanzkommunikation-GmbH WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden will today announce the final rule implementing the American Rescue Plan's Special Financial Assistance program. The President will address union workers and retirees at the Max S. Hayes High School in Cleveland, Ohio, at 3:15 PM ET announcing the final rule. The American Rescue Plan provided critical assistance to working families and helped the country's economic recovery, re-opening 99 percent of schools, helping to create more than 8 million jobs, and generating the fastest economic growth in 40 years. The Special Financial Assistance Program is estimated to protect millions of workers in multiemployer pension plans who faced significant cuts to their benefits due to the pandemic. Before the American Rescue Plan, workers and retirees participating in more than 200 multiemployer pension plans faced the prospect of not receiving the full benefits they earned and need to support them and their families in retirement. These plans are insured by a federal agency, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). PBGC provides partial protection of the benefits of approximately 10.9 million workers and retirees in around 1,400 private-sector multiemployer, union-connected plans. Prior to the America Rescue Plan, the PBGC's multiemployer pension insurance program was projected to become insolvent in 2026. Named for heroic Ohio union leader and pension advocate Butch Lewis, the Special Financial Assistance program will provide financial relief to struggling multiemployer pension plans and ensure that millions of families facing benefit cuts will receive their full benefits they earned. Important policy changes from the Interim Final Rule to the Final Rule ensure that all plans that receive Special Financial Assistance are projected to be solvent and pay full benefits through at least 2051. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As per Zion Market Research study, The global small electric vehicle market was worth around $164 billion in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around $750 billion by 2028 at a CAGR rate of 12% over the forecast period. Key Industry Insights & Finding of the Small Electric Vehicle Market Reports: As per the analysis shared by our research analyst, the Small Electric Vehicle Market is expected to grow annually at a CAGR of around 12 % (2022-2028). (2022-2028). Through the primary research, it was established that the Small Electric Vehicle Market was valued approximately USD 164 Billion in 2021 and is projected to reach to roughly USD 750 Billion by 2028. Billion in 2021 and is projected to reach to roughly Billion by 2028. Growing demand for affordable EVs, Government endorsing fuel-efficient vehicles, and improving infrastructures for the leverage of EVs have contributed to the excessive demand for electric vehicles in Asia-Pacific region. region. The fast-rising economy in this region also instigates expansion of advanced technology and large-scale electrification thereby triggering market growth here. North America is expected to contribute as a revenue factor to the EV market in the future owing to the recent Government regulations on emissions, acceptance of EVs, and rising product innovations here. is expected to contribute as a revenue factor to the EV market in the future owing to the recent Government regulations on emissions, acceptance of EVs, and rising product innovations here. The emanating pollution and emissions from conventional vehicles have resulted in global warming and environmental hazards. Zion Market Research published the latest report titled as 'Small Electric Vehicle Market By Vehicle Drive Type (Front Wheel Drive, Rear Wheel Drive, and All Wheel Drive), By Technology (Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Battery Electric Vehicle, and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle), By Vehicle Type (2 or 3-Wheeler, Passenger Cars, and Light Commercial Vehicle), By Vehicle Class (Luxury and Mid-Priced), and By Region - Global and Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, and Forecasts 2022 - 2028.' into their research database. Small Electric Vehicle Market: Overview Small electric vehicles are a fitting solution to future urban traffic problems. They run on electric motors that require battery power to operate. The batteries range from lithium-ion, molten salt to zinc-air and nickel-based designs. They also evade and reduce environmental pollution by replacing conventional vehicles. There have been multiple innovations in this arena which has catapulted it to fame all over the world. It gives higher mileage, provides fuel economy, and radiates lesser carbon emissions. Home-charging facility and smoother driving instances are additional advantages of the same. The benefits of small electric vehicles over conventional vehicles lie in their operational cost and fuel power. The cost associated with its routine maintenance is much cheaper and it relies on electric power rather than fuel power which is economical relatively. These vehicles are also small in structure and petite for easy leverage. Small electric vehicles are smaller and lighter than normal conventional vehicles and are suited for city driving amidst heavy traffic. These vehicles don't run the risk of sudden oil depletion as they are charged prior to use and can go on for miles depending on the battery power. Get a Free Sample Report with All Related Graphs & Charts (with COVID 19 Impact Analysis): https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/small-electric-vehicle-market Our Free Sample Report Includes: 2022 Updated Report Introduction, Overview, and In-depth industry analysis COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak Impact Analysis Included 255 + Pages Research Report (Inclusion of Updated Research) Provide Chapter-wise guidance on Request 2022 Updated Regional Analysis with Graphical Representation of Size, Share & Trends Includes Updated List of tables & figures Updated Report Includes Top Market Players with their Business Strategy, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis Zion Market Research methodology Industry Dynamics: Small Electric Vehicle Market: Growth Drivers Factors like fuel efficiency, high performance, low emissions combined with Government's support for EVs induce market growth Advantages of electric vehicles like fuel efficiency, high performance, and low emission drive market growth exclusively. People's higher accommodation towards electric vehicle models aids the global small electric vehicle market promptly. Apart from this, Government's regulation and zero tolerance on emission vehicles trigger higher demand for electric vehicles to a larger extent. The government is also keen on launching charging stations and developing infrastructures conducive to the usage of electric vehicles in the near future. This has instigated a global demand along with catapulting the values of the market. The emanating pollution and emissions from conventional vehicles have resulted in global warming and environmental hazards. The automotive industry has come up with an effective solution by bringing forth battery-dependent vehicles as an alternative to fuel vehicles. This factor has improved the supply rate of electric vehicles by augmenting growth in the global market. Apart from all this, government subsidies for purchasing electric cars have influenced people to a large extent to leverage EV cars more than conventional vehicles. Hence there is a growing trend of electric cars across the world which aids market growth during the forecast period. Small Electric Vehicle Market: Restraints High manufacturing costs, lack of charging infrastructure, and range anxiety hinder the market growth. The expense that will be associated with the implementation of infrastructures to aid the leverage of electric vehicles along with its maintenance cost hamper market growth. The poor durability of charge in batteries causes frequent charging of the vehicles which require amenities and equipment needed for it. The cost of batteries, equipment, and installation of infrastructure needed for EV vehicles impacts the growth of the market negatively. Directly Purchase a Copy of the Report at https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/buynow/su/small-electric-vehicle-market Small Electric Vehicle Market: Opportunities Technological advancement, government support, and rising innovations in EV industries provide opportunities for the market growth. The technological advancement and the implementation of communication technologies in charging stations would provide excellent opportunities for market growth. Apart from this, Government initiatives to curtail the CO2 emission from conventional vehicles will turn the focus of the people towards electric vehicles which will trigger opportunities for the market. A potential innovation of self-driving electric vehicle technology will provide a lucrative opportunity for the global electric vehicle market expansion. Small Electric Vehicle Market: Challenges Building the infrastructure needed to satisfy the growing demand for electric vehicles poses a challenge to the global market Government policies to launch charging stations and build infrastructure conducive to the leverage of EVs leads to a massive demand for these vehicles. The charging wires and equipment would be needed in abundance to provide for all the EV consumers. The depletion of conventional fuels has led to a drift toward fuel-efficient vehicles surging the demand for electric vehicles. Installation of infrastructures and providing sufficient equipment to satisfy these excessive demands would be a challenge. Cost of infrastructures batteries and charging equipment poses a challenge for market growth The logistic expense associated with building infrastructures and providing equipment for charging is on the higher side. This factor affects affordability while also bringing down the supply rate to some extent. This poses a challenge for the market as its effective leverage would also be affected because of this. Global Small Electric Vehicle Market: Segmentation The global small electric vehicle market in this research analysis is divided into vehicle type, technology, vehicle class, vehicle drive type, and region. The vehicle type is classified as 2 or 3-wheeler, passenger cars, and light commercial vehicles. The technology includes hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles. The vehicle class comprises luxury and mid-priced. The vehicle drive type is divided into front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive. Get More Insight before Buying at: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/small-electric-vehicle-market List of Key Players of Small Electric Vehicle Market : ChargePoint Inc. Schneider Electric Tesla Inc. BP Chargemaster Shell International BV Webasto Group Siemens AG EVBox Eaton Ingersoll Rand Textron Polaris Baoya Yogomo Renault Nissan Motor Volkswagen AG. Key questions answered in this report: What are the growth rate forecast and market size for Small Electric Vehicle Market ? What are the key driving factors propelling the Small Electric Vehicle Market forward? What are the most important companies in the Small Electric Vehicle Market Industry? What segments does the Small Electric Vehicle Market cover? How can I receive a free copy of the Small Electric Vehicle Market sample report and company profiles? Report Scope: Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2021 USD 164 Billion Revenue forecast in 2028 USD 750 Billion Growth Rate CAGR of almost 12 % 2022-2028 Base Year 2020 Historic Years 2016 - 2021 Forecast Years 2022 - 2028 Segments Covered By Product Type, By Application, and By End Use Forecast Units Value (USD Billion), and Volume (Units) Quantitative Units Revenue in USD million/billion and CAGR from 2022 to 2028 Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa, and Rest of World Countries Covered U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, GCC Countries, and South Africa, among others Companies Covered ChargePoint Inc., Schneider Electric, Tesla Inc., BP Chargemaster, Shell International BV, Webasto Group, Siemens AG, EVBox, Eaton, Ingersoll Rand, Textron, Polaris, Baoya, Yogomo, Renault, Nissan Motor, and Volkswagen AG. Report Coverage Market growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, Porter's five forces analysis, PEST analysis, value chain analysis, regulatory landscape, market attractiveness analysis by segments and region, company market share analysis, and COVID-19 impact analysis. Customization Scope Avail customized purchase options to meet your exact research needs. https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/custom/3293 Free Brochure: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/requestbrochure/small-electric-vehicle-market Recent Developments In July 2020 , BSES Yamuna Power Limited and EV motors built electric vehicle charging stations in multitudes. , BSES Yamuna Power Limited and EV motors built electric vehicle charging stations in multitudes. In July 2021 , ChargePoint Holdings, INC., acquired an E-mobility provider with a European Software Platform. Regional Dominance: Asia-Pacific region dominates the global small electric vehicles market. The Asia-Pacific region dominates the global electric vehicle market driven by the largest growth of EV charging vehicles. Growing demand for affordable EVs, Government endorsing fuel-efficient vehicles, and improving infrastructures for the leverage of EVs have contributed to the excessive demand for electric vehicles in this region. The fast-rising economy in this region also instigates expansion of advanced technology and large-scale electrification thereby triggering market growth here. Europe trails as the second-largest producer of EVs because of the extensive existence and emergence of key players in this region. The adoption rate of EVs and fuel-efficient vehicles here is high which fuels market expansion excessively. North America is expected to contribute as a revenue factor to the EV market in the future owing to the recent Government regulations on emissions, acceptance of EVs, and rising product innovations here. Global Small Electric Vehicle Market is segmented as follows: Small Electric Vehicle Market: By Vehicle Drive Type Outlook (2022-2028) Front Wheel Drive Rear Wheel Drive All Wheel Drive Small Electric Vehicle Market: By Technology Outlook (2022-2028) Hybrid Electric Vehicle Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Battery Electric Vehicle Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Small Electric Vehicle Market: By Vehicle Type Outlook (2022-2028) 2 or 3-wheeler Passenger Cars Light Commercial Vehicles Small Electric Vehicle Market: By Vehicle Class Outlook (2022-2028) Luxury Mid-Priced Small Electric Vehicle Market: By Region Outlook (2022-2028) North America The U.S. Canada Europe France The UK Spain Germany Italy Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Southeast Asia Rest of Asia Pacific Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa GCC South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Press Release For Small Electric Vehicle Market : https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/news/global-small-electric-vehicle-market Browse Other Related Research Reports from Zion Market Research Automotive Panoramic Sunroof Market - Global Industry Analysis : The global automotive panoramic market was worth around USD 2.21 billion in 2021 and is estimated to grow to about USD 4.98 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 15.4 percent over the forecast period. The global automotive panoramic market was worth around in 2021 and is estimated to grow to about by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 15.4 percent over the forecast period. Hopper Car Market - Global Industry Analysis : The global hopper car market is estimated to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.5 percent over the forecast period. The global hopper car market is estimated to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.5 percent over the forecast period. Automotive Engine Oil Market - Global Industry Analysis: The global Automotive Engine Oil Market accrued earnings worth approximately 38.12 (USD Billion) in 2021 and is predicted to gain revenue of about 48.19 (USD Billion) by 2028, is set to record a CAGR of nearly 3.5% over the period from 2022 to 2028. Browse through Zion Market Research's coverage of the Global Automotive Industry Follow Us on: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook About Us Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the client's needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to us-after all-if you do well, a little of the light shines on us. Contact Us: Zion Market Research 244 Fifth Avenue, Suite N202 New York, 10001, United States Tel: +49-322 210 92714 USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651 Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/ Blog : https://zmrblog.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1605489/Zion_Market_Research_Logo.jpg VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Ximen Mining Corp. (TSX.v:XIM) (FRA:1XMA) (OTCQB:XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") announces that it has closed the private placement previously announced on June 28, 2022 and July 4, 2022 for gross proceeds of $560,000. The private placement consisted of 8 million units at a price of $0.07 per unit. Each Unit consists of one common share and one transferable common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase, for a period of 60 months from the date of issue, one additional common share of the Issuer at an exercise price of $0.10 per share. There were no finders fees payable on this placement. All securities issued in connection with the placement closing will be subject to a hold period expiring on November 6, 2022. Christopher Anderson a director and/or officer of the Company, participated in the Offering constituting a related party transaction pursuant to TSX Venture Exchange Policy 5.9 and Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company relied on section 5.5(a) of MI 61-101 for an exemption from the formal valuation requirement and section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 for an exemption from the minority shareholder approval requirement of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the transaction did not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The net proceeds from the Offering will be used by the Company for exploration expenses on the Company's British Columbia mineral properties and general working capital. The closing of the private placement financing is subject to final TSX-V approval. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Christopher R. Anderson" Christopher R. Anderson, President, CEO and Director 604 488-3900 Investor Relations: Sophy Cesar, 604-488-3900, ir@XimenMiningCorp.com About Ximen Mining Corp. Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen's two Gold projects The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under a option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has also acquired control of the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment. Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL. This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Ximen Mining Corp 888 Dunsmuir Street - Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4 Tel: 604-488-3900 SOURCE: Ximen Mining Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707713/Ximen-Mining-Closes-Private-Placement Regulatory News: Sopra Steria (Paris:SOP), a European Tech leader recognised for its consulting, digital services and software development, wins the Transparency Awards 2022 in the CAC Mid 60 category and is ranked second overall this year. Awarded at the 13th Transparency Awards, the Group was also nominated in three other categories: website, URD (Universal Registration Document), SBF 120 (all categories). Sopra Steria also ranked this year second in the overall SBF120 Transparency ranking. The Transparency survey objectively measures the quality of information produced by SBF120 companies for their investors, shareholders, and stakeholders on the basis of the following media: URD, Notice of Meeting brochure, Website. About the Transparency Awards For the past 12 years, the Transparency Awards have assessed and rewarded the quality of reporting by listed French companies. These Awards aim to enable issuers to measure their performance levels each year and identify market best practices with a view to establishing them as standards to be adopted. An annual transparency review, certified by Bureau Veritas Certification, is carried out each year for all of the French-law companies from the SBF 120. For each company, four public financial and sustainability communications resources are audited based on 266 objective and public criteria: their Universal Registration Document, their General Meeting Brochure, their Code of Ethics and their Website. A scientific committee, made up of 10 independent members from institutions representing users of this information, ensures that the research is neutral and the rankings are fair. This committee meets several times a year to define new transparency criteria and approve the results in line with a methodology based on four pillars: information accessibility, accuracy, comparability and availability. The committee members are the French Asset Management Association (AFG), BCP Search, Euronext, the Federation of Individual Investors and Investment Clubs (F2iC), the French Institute of Directors (IFA), Paris Europlace, the French Society of Financial Analysts (SFAF), as well as several members of the board of the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). About Sopra Steria Sopra Steria, a European Tech leader recognised for its consulting, digital services and software development, helps its clients drive their digital transformation to obtain tangible and sustainable benefits. It provides end-to-end solutions to make large companies and organisations more competitive by combining in-depth knowledge of a wide range of business sectors and innovative technologies with a fully collaborative approach. Sopra Steria places people at the heart of everything it does and is committed to making the most of digital technology to build a positive future for its clients. With 47,000 employees in nearly 30 countries, the Group generated revenue of 4.7 billion in 2021. The world is how we shape it. Sopra Steria Group (SOP) is listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment A) ISIN: FR0000050809 For more information, please visit our website www.soprasteria.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005560/en/ Contacts: Press contacts: Sopra Steria: Alexandra Paleologue, +33 (0)6 79 75 48 83 alexandra.paleologue@soprasteria.com On 30 June 2022 and according to Wavestone's agreement with Portzamparc, the following means were dedicated to implement the liquidity contract: 19,028 Wavestone shares; 606,703.31 in cash. Note that at the launch of the contract (on the date of entry into force of the contract, in accordance with AMF decision no 2018-01 of 2 July 2018 - position on 31/12/2018), the means were the following: 36,611 Wavestone shares; 88,633.74 in cash. Trading summary for the first half of 2022: Purchases 78,187 shares 3,712,912.44 889 transactions Sales 75,924 shares 3,613,108.80 840 transactions About Wavestone In a world where knowing how to drive transformation is the key to success, Wavestone's mission is to inform and guide large companies and organizations in their most critical transformations, with the ambition of a positive outcome for all stakeholders. It's an ambition anchored in the firm's DNA and embodied in the signature "The Positive Way." Wavestone draws on about 4,000 employees across Europe - where it is a leading independent player in consulting, the United States and Asia. Wavestone is listed on Euronext Paris and recognized as a Great Place to Work. Wavestone Pascal Imbert CEO Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00 Benjamin Clement Financial Communication Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00 Actus Mathieu Omnes Investor and Analyst Relations Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92 Deborah Schwartz Press relations Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 35 Details[1] of the transactions executed: purchases on the one hand and sales on the other hand; in an aggregated table for each trading day of the 1st half of 2022 PURCHASES SALES Date Number of transactions Number of shares Traded capital in euros Date Number of transactions Number of shares Traded capital in euros TOTAL 889 78,187 3,712,912.44 TOTAL 840 75,924 3,613,108.80 01/03/2022 10 943 50,204.57 01/03/2022 1 100 5,400 01/05/2022 5 500 26,660 01/04/2022 9 900 47,880 01/06/2022 12 900 47,130.03 01/05/2022 4 362 19,500.4 01/07/2022 3 300 15,260.01 01/07/2022 5 500 25,820 01/10/2022 15 1,250 63,540 01/10/2022 2 200 10,380 01/12/2022 5 461 23,526.58 01/11/2022 7 619 31,180.39 01/13/2022 7 700 36,280.02 01/12/2022 7 620 32,047.99 01/14/2022 7 650 33,300.02 01/13/2022 6 455 23,817.61 01/17/2022 1 100 5,020 01/14/2022 1 32 1,644.8 01/18/2022 12 1,100 56,749.99 01/17/2022 10 929 47,779.58 01/19/2022 7 674 33,366.17 01/18/2022 4 400 21,200 01/20/2022 2 200 9,950 01/19/2022 2 200 10,140 01/21/2022 8 700 35,669.97 01/20/2022 15 1,500 75,550.05 01/24/2022 15 1,300 63,169.99 01/25/2022 12 1,200 57,639.96 01/25/2022 7 693 32,448.2 01/26/2022 10 1,000 49,210 01/27/2022 11 1,100 53,800.01 01/27/2022 1 1 49 01/28/2022 8 800 38,540 01/28/2022 9 859 41,805.64 01/31/2022 12 1,200 58,479.96 01/31/2022 4 400 19,720 02/01/2022 1 100 4,940 02/01/2022 10 1,000 49,520 02/02/2022 3 300 14,970 02/02/2022 5 500 25,110 02/03/2022 7 700 34,590.01 02/03/2022 9 900 44,929.98 02/04/2022 5 500 24,590 02/04/2022 6 408 20,279.8 02/07/2022 14 1,200 57,699.96 02/08/2022 6 600 28,720.02 02/08/2022 3 300 14,250 02/09/2022 12 1,101 54,178.12 02/09/2022 2 2 96.2 02/10/2022 5 471 23,418.69 02/10/2022 6 538 26,589.57 02/11/2022 4 400 19,860 02/11/2022 1 100 4,940 02/15/2022 5 500 24,300 02/14/2022 7 700 33,939.99 02/16/2022 7 452 22,304.48 02/15/2022 1 30 1,440 02/17/2022 13 1,153 55,780.99 02/16/2022 10 901 43,618.94 02/18/2022 1 100 4,880 02/17/2022 2 101 4,787.4 02/21/2022 1 100 4,670 02/18/2022 15 1,500 71,650.05 02/22/2022 21 2,100 92,239.98 02/21/2022 9 750 34,392.98 02/23/2022 8 800 35,980 02/22/2022 9 800 33,890 02/24/2022 1 15 636 02/23/2022 9 650 28,990 02/25/2022 16 800 34,520 02/24/2022 6 600 25,189.98 02/28/2022 2 102 4,437.4 02/25/2022 1 100 4,150 03/01/2022 6 600 26,419.98 02/28/2022 11 900 39,009.96 03/02/2022 9 801 35,523.87 03/01/2022 8 800 34,760 03/03/2022 3 299 13,375.29 03/02/2022 9 701 30,513.9 03/04/2022 6 600 25,219.98 03/03/2022 11 901 39,622.2 03/07/2022 20 1,756 74,332.88 03/04/2022 14 1,200 49,620 03/08/2022 11 1,100 48,400 03/07/2022 6 600 23,940 03/09/2022 14 1,132 50,428.45 03/08/2022 9 900 39,130.02 03/10/2022 11 900 41,229.99 03/10/2022 3 300 13,590 03/11/2022 7 700 33,219.97 03/11/2022 10 903 41,997.36 03/14/2022 7 700 32,500.02 03/14/2022 7 700 31,889.97 03/16/2022 11 1,100 48,579.96 03/15/2022 19 1,350 58,730 03/17/2022 6 510 23,060.98 03/17/2022 13 1,131 50,006.15 03/18/2022 10 996 43,126 03/18/2022 14 1,400 59,430 03/21/2022 12 1,056 46,521.24 03/21/2022 4 400 17,300 03/22/2022 9 900 40,449.96 03/22/2022 8 738 32,768.23 03/23/2022 10 901 41,135.34 03/23/2022 11 1,001 45,185.34 03/25/2022 8 701 31,995.18 03/24/2022 12 1,000 45,200 03/28/2022 9 831 37,572.92 03/25/2022 9 801 36,165.23 03/29/2022 8 800 36,250 03/28/2022 6 501 22,234.28 03/30/2022 4 400 18,590 03/29/2022 3 201 8,994.61 03/31/2022 7 700 31,990 03/30/2022 9 900 41,249.97 04/04/2022 8 800 36,460 04/01/2022 9 820 37,325.99 04/05/2022 3 300 13,940.01 04/05/2022 12 1,100 50,180.02 04/06/2022 12 1,103 48,773.78 04/06/2022 7 700 30,590 04/07/2022 10 966 43,326.65 04/07/2022 6 600 26,629.98 04/08/2022 7 616 27,724.8 04/08/2022 5 500 22,300 04/11/2022 9 900 40,950 04/11/2022 2 200 9,000 04/12/2022 4 400 18,220 04/12/2022 8 700 31,695.02 04/13/2022 10 1,000 46,010 04/13/2022 18 1,733 78,643.37 04/14/2022 9 684 31,046.08 04/19/2022 5 304 14,014.1 04/19/2022 4 203 9,449.51 04/20/2022 7 601 27,796.67 04/20/2022 13 1,102 51,774.27 04/21/2022 5 350 16,605.51 04/21/2022 9 702 33,706.18 04/22/2022 5 401 18,952.7 04/22/2022 5 317 15,155.71 04/25/2022 8 600 28,302.48 04/25/2022 11 974 46,317.3 04/26/2022 7 555 26,214.7 04/26/2022 7 601 28,727.5 04/27/2022 4 326 15,186.38 04/27/2022 9 900 42,470.01 04/28/2022 2 44 2,091.4 04/28/2022 8 800 38,540 05/02/2022 4 400 19,900 04/29/2022 13 1,050 52,274.99 05/03/2022 13 1,466 75,209.76 05/02/2022 14 1,250 63,170 05/04/2022 13 1,300 65,830.05 05/03/2022 8 550 28,650 05/05/2022 14 1,301 65,684.89 05/04/2022 4 400 20,490 05/06/2022 10 900 44,720.01 05/05/2022 11 1,000 51,220 05/09/2022 9 900 43,440.03 05/09/2022 4 307 15,044.41 05/10/2022 13 1,050 48,722.52 05/11/2022 7 700 32,198.39 05/11/2022 8 800 36,380 05/12/2022 3 112 5,120 05/12/2022 8 704 32,043.97 05/13/2022 13 1,300 61,425 05/16/2022 5 500 24,485 05/16/2022 8 800 39,710 05/17/2022 8 800 40,420 05/17/2022 9 900 45,819.99 05/18/2022 12 1,038 52,932.81 05/18/2022 17 1,401 72,111.99 05/19/2022 12 970 49,159.02 05/19/2022 2 149 7,598.81 05/20/2022 5 305 15,554.21 05/20/2022 11 1,001 51,581.03 05/23/2022 5 401 20,701.99 05/23/2022 10 801 41,782 05/24/2022 10 809 41,956.6 05/24/2022 11 851 44,672.22 05/25/2022 8 800 41,460 05/25/2022 7 700 36,750 05/26/2022 6 553 28,905.97 05/26/2022 11 800 42,470 05/27/2022 12 810 43,383.03 05/27/2022 2 200 10,750 05/30/2022 8 701 37,404.31 05/30/2022 8 701 38,094.3 05/31/2022 20 1,901 97,720.52 05/31/2022 1 1 53 06/01/2022 12 1,101 54,711 06/01/2022 8 901 46,251.03 06/02/2022 3 146 7,262 06/02/2022 6 698 35,316.99 06/03/2022 8 750 37,507.5 06/03/2022 6 400 20,210 06/06/2022 3 201 10,059.41 06/06/2022 5 500 24,900 06/07/2022 8 800 39,460 06/07/2022 3 300 14,835 06/08/2022 6 500 24,630 06/09/2022 3 340 16,723.99 06/09/2022 8 622 30,444.41 06/10/2022 1 120 5,766 06/10/2022 12 680 32,352.02 06/13/2022 2 200 9,130 06/13/2022 7 500 22,660 06/15/2022 8 800 34,620 06/14/2022 7 350 15,270.01 06/16/2022 2 101 4,308.05 06/15/2022 3 200 8,600 06/17/2022 7 700 30,450 06/16/2022 7 481 20,467.03 06/20/2022 2 200 8,760 06/17/2022 1 70 2,975 06/21/2022 8 650 28,577.51 06/20/2022 5 450 19,459.98 06/22/2022 3 300 13,344.99 06/21/2022 1 7 302.75 06/23/2022 6 530 23,504.02 06/22/2022 6 400 17,640 06/24/2022 12 957 43,489.91 06/23/2022 4 400 17,580 06/27/2022 4 400 18,060 06/24/2022 7 700 31,535 06/28/2022 8 800 36,255.04 06/27/2022 3 300 13,410 06/30/2022 5 423 18,575.45 06/28/2022 1 15 670.5 06/29/2022 7 500 22,160 06/30/2022 3 300 13,065 [1] Number of transactions and volume (number of shares and traded capital) ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: ymeeY5psYm/HmGycZJxtbZVml2ppyJWUamedk5RrY5uanJxpxWhpacqeZnBmmG1v - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-75389-wavestone_cp-bilan-semestriel-contrat-liquidite_060722-en.pdf In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. 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Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns whatsoever about the way in which your data is being processed by emailing the Data Protection Manager at webmaster@marxist.com CHICAGO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Celegence, a global provider of regulatory affairs services and solutions for the life sciences industry, has today announced the addition of new features to CAPTIS to help the device and diagnostic industry produce compliant Post Market Surveillance (PMS) documentation more efficiently. To comply with the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and In-Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) device and diagnostic manufacturers are required to produce and maintain various documentation such as Clinical Evaluation Reports (CER) and Post Market Safety Reports. Writing these reports is a complex and laborious process and CAPTIS, a secure, user-friendly cloud solution, now features a report writing module designed to help medical writers manage systematic literature reviews more efficiently, streamline document lifecycle management, and facilitate the first-time acceptance of regulatory documentation by Notified Bodies. Medical writing teams must write and maintain a significant amount of documentation for a single device. CAPTIS automates this process, saving many hours of manual effort as well as significantly reducing the propensity for human error. By integrating seamlessly with databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar, it streamlines the screening and assessment of literature. A master data "dictionary" also saves time by allowing relevant information to be used consistently across various reports for the same device or device family. Celegence started building CAPTIS in 2019 as it foresaw the compliance challenges facing medical device manufacturers would face, since the company also provides consultancy and regulatory services to the devices and diagnostics industry. Manufacturers can use this web-based solution through their own medical writing team or in collaboration with Celegence's medical writers as an extension of their team. Punya Abbhi, COO at Celegence said: "As service providers to the industry, we appreciate the operational demands of preparing complex, compliant medical device reports as we face them as well. We have invested in the research and development of CAPTIS solution to specifically address the challenges faced by device manufacturers. "Our goal with CAPTIS is to improve outcomes for the life sciences industry. We recognized the need to drive process efficiencies in the development of these reports and ultimately help medical device and diagnostic manufacturers achieve and maintain MDR & IVDR compliance. "In addition to bringing efficiencies to medical writing and document maintenance, CAPTIS also helps improve the review process for Notified Bodies. As medical writing professionals, we work closely with Notified Bodies and recognize the pressures they face when it comes to reviewing huge volumes of information and references for each submission. Submitting these documents using CAPTIS ensures they are easily accessible and presented in compliant templates that are Notified Body approved." Device and diagnostic manufacturers are being invited by Celegence to experience CAPTIS for themselves. To arrange a demo please contact a Celegence representative today at info@celegence.com. About Celegence Celegence helps life sciences companies navigate complex global regulatory requirements by providing consulting services and solutions dedicated to regulatory affairs. Celegence supports life sciences customers in the areas of EU MDR compliance, IVDR compliance, regulatory intelligence, RIMS data management, publishing, regulatory labeling including UDI consulting, medical writing and compliance with new regulations for different product portfolios. Celegence's depth of experience and extensive delivery capability allows regulatory affairs and quality teams to operate more efficiently, reduce cost, and improve compliance. For more information, visit www.celegence.com or follow Celegence on LinkedIn. For further information please contact: Rachel Hollos Marketing director at Celegence rhollos@celegence.com Press contact: Fiona Whyatt Senior PR manager at ramarketing fiona.whyatt@ramarketingpr.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - SolidusGold Inc. (TSXV: SDC) ("Solidus" or the "Company") is announcing that further to their news releases dated November 29, 2021, and February 8, May 19, and June 20, 2022, Solidus has received the conditional approval of TSX Venture Exchange Inc. (the "Exchange") in connection with the proposed reverse takeover transaction (the "Proposed Transaction") with Valhalla Metals, Inc. ("Valhalla"). Solidus also wishes to provide the results of its shareholder meeting held on June 21, 2022 (the "Meeting"). Shareholder Approval Solidus received shareholder approval in respect of all matters set out in the Company's Management Information Circular filed on the Company's profile on SEDAR on May 18, 2022 (the "Circular"). The approval of the Proposed Transaction at the Meeting included minority shareholder approval required by Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The approval of the amendment of the notice of articles and the amendment and restatement of the articles of the Company, altering the rights and restrictions of the existing class of common shares of the Company and re-designating such class as subordinate voting shares, and creating a class of multiple voting shares (the "Share Capital Amendment") at the Meeting included both: (i) minority shareholder approval required by Section 5 of Exchange Policy 3.5; and (ii) majority approval in accordance National Instrument 41-102 - General Prospectus Requirements and OSC Rule 56-501 - Restricted Shares. The approval of both Valhalla Mining, LLC and Marubeni Metals & Minerals (Canada) Inc. as new control persons of the Company (the "Control Persons") included disinterested shareholder approval as required by Exchange polices. More information regarding the above matters can be found in the Circular, available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Completion of the Transaction The Proposed Transaction is expected to close as soon as possible after the private placement completes. The completion of the Proposed transaction is subject to receipt of final approval form the Exchange. Trading Halt The common shares of the Company continue to be halted from trading (the "Trading Halt"), and the trading of the Company shares is expected to remain halted pending completion of the Proposed Transaction. Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information relating to the Trading Halt, the Share Capital Amendment, the Control Persons, obtaining final approval from the Exchange and the Proposed Transaction (including obtaining necessary approvals). The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company, including expectations and assumptions concerning the completion of the Proposed Transaction, the Share Capital Amendment, the Control Persons and the length of the Trading Halt. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based, are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Such factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's Circular that is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange final acceptance. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Proposed Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Proposed Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. For more information on the Company, please contact SolidusGold Inc. Sorin Posescu, Chief Executive Officer Email: info@solidusau.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130153 Regulatory News: ORPEA (Paris:ORP): Due to the expiry of the mandate of Deloitte Associes at the end of the next General Meeting, the Audit Committee, in coordination with the Executive Board, organised a selection process to study the candidates for the position of statutory auditor. After examining the files and the submissions of the firms that responded to the call for tenders, ORPEA's Board of Directors, meeting on 1 July 2022, decided, on the recommendation of the Audit Committee, to submit to the General Meeting of Shareholders of 28 July 2022: The appointment of Mazars S.A. as statutory auditor for a period of six financial years, i.e. until the end of the General Meeting called to approve the accounts for the financial year ending 31 December 2027; The reappointment of Deloitte Associes as statutory auditor of the Company for a period of six financial years, i.e. until the end of the General Meeting called to approve the financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2027. As part of the selection process, the teams from Mazars and Deloitte demonstrated their ability to audit the accounts of ORPEA SA and its subsidiaries according to best practices. Moreover, it appeared that these two candidates were the best able to meet the requirement of a reinforced control of the Company while ensuring continuity alongside the third co-auditor, the firm Saint-Honore BK&A, whose mandate is still in progress. About ORPEA (www.orpea-corp.com) Founded in 1989, ORPEA is one of the world leaders in Dependency care (nursing homes, assisted living, post-acute and rehabilitation hospitals, mental health hospitals, home care services) ORPEA is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN code: FR0000184798) and is a member of the SBF 120, STOXX 600 Europe, MSCI Small Cap Europe and CAC Mid 60 indices. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005718/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations Director ORPEA Benoit Lesieur Investor Relations Director b.lesieur@orpea.net Investor Relations NewCap Dusan Oresansky Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 orpea@newcap.eu Media Relations Image 7 Charlotte Le Barbier Tel.: +33 (0)6 78 37 27 60 clebarbier@image7.fr Laurence Heilbronn Tel.: 06 89 87 61 37 lheilbronn@image7.fr Regulatory News: The Combined General Meeting (ordinary and extraordinary) of the Shareholders of ORPEA (Paris:ORP) (the "Company") will be held on Thursday July 28, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. (Paris time), at the Chateauform' Le Metropolitan, 13 ter, boulevard Berthier, 75017 Paris, France. The preliminary notice to the meeting, including the agenda, the draft resolutions, as well as information regarding the formalities to participate and to vote at the Shareholders' Meeting, was published in the French Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires on June 22, 2022. The notice of meeting was also published in the French Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires and Les Petites Affiches today. It is specified that this notice of meeting modifies and completes the preliminary notice including the draft resolutions submitted to the vote of the Shareholders, following the decision of the Board of Directors of the Company on July 1, 2022 to modify the agenda and the draft resolutions initially presented with: the appointment of four directors, Ms Isabelle Calvez, Mr David Hale, Mr Guillaume Pepy and Mr John Glen, in addition to Mr Laurent Guillot, Chief Executive Officer since 1 July 2022;1 the appointment of Mazars S.A. and the renewal of Deloitte Associes as Statutory Auditors; subject to the approval of the corresponding resolutions, the Company will be audited by three Statutory Auditors: Mazars S.A., Deloitte Associes and Saint-Honore BK&A (whose mandate expires at the end of the 2026 Annual General Meeting);2 the approval of the fixed, variable and exceptional components of the total remuneration and benefits of in kind paid from 1 January to 28 July 2022 to Mr Philippe Charrier, who will step down as director at the end of the next Shareholders' Meeting.3 It is also specified that this notice of meeting mentions the inclusion of an item on the agenda of the Shareholders' Meeting, without a resolution submitted to the vote of the Shareholders, pursuant to Article L. 225-105 of the French Commercial Code. This notice of meeting is available on the Company's website, as are the information and documents related to the Shareholders' Meeting, in particular those referred to in Article R. 22-10-23 of the French Commercial Code, which may be consulted at the following address: https://www.orpea-corp.com/en/2011-12-21-17-09-36/shareholder-meeting/19-shareholders-en/372-%20general-shareholder-meeting-at-july-28-2022. Any Shareholder may request documents and information referred to in Articles R. 225-81 and R. 225-83 of the French Commercial Code from Societe Generale Departement Titres et Bourse Services des Assemblees 32 rue du Champ de Tir, CS 30812, 44308 Nantes Cedex 3, France (the centralizing establishment appointed by the Company). The documents, which will be available on the Shareholders' Meeting's desk, can be consulted by the Shareholders at ORPEA, Service Relations Investisseurs, 12 rue Jean Jaures, CS 10032, 93813 Puteaux Cedex, during a period of 15 days prior to the date of the Shareholders' Meeting. About ORPEA (www.orpea-corp.com) Founded in 1989, ORPEA is one of the world leaders in Dependency care (nursing homes, assisted living, post-acute and rehabilitation hospitals, mental health hospitals, home care services) ORPEA is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN code: FR0000184798) and is a member of the SBF 120, STOXX 600 Europe, MSCI Small Cap Europe and CAC Mid 60 indices. 1 Detailed in the press release of 3 July 2022 "ORPEA announces major changes in its Board of Directors" 2 Detailed in the press release of 6 July 2022 "ORPEA proposes the appointment of Mazars S.A. and Deloitte Associes at the Annual General Meeting of 28 July 2022" 3 Detailed in the press release of 4 July 2022 "Information on the compensation and the financial conditions of the departure of Mr. Philippe Charrier" View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005776/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations Director ORPEA Benoit Lesieur Investor Relations Director b.lesieur@orpea.net Investor Relations NewCap Dusan Oresansky Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 orpea@newcap.eu Media Relations Image 7 Charlotte Le Barbier Tel.: +33 (0)6 78 37 27 60 clebarbier@image7.fr Caroline Simon Tel.: +33(0)6 89 87 61 24 Caroline.simon@image7.fr Capital increase of c. 17 million, which may be increased to c. 17.6 million in case of full exercise of the Over-Allotment Option Market capitalisation of c. 136.7 million, which may be increased to c. 137.3 million in case of full exercise of the Over-Allotment Option Settlement-delivery of the French Public Offering and the International Offering expected on July 8, 2022 Trading commences on Euronext Growth in Paris on July 11, 2022 (ISIN code: FR001400A3Q3 ticker: ALICA) End of the stabilization period at the latest on August 9, 2022 Regulatory News: ICAPE Holding (Paris:ALICA): This press release may not be distributed directly or indirectly in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Japan or South Africa. ICAPE Holding, hereinafter "ICAPE Group" or the "Company", a worldwide technological distributor of printed circuit boards, announces today the success of its initial public offering on the Euronext Growth market in Paris (ISIN code: FR001400A3Q3 ticker: ALICA). Thierry Ballenghien, ICAPE Group's Founder and Chairman, stated: "This success is a key moment in ICAPE Group's journey. First of all, we would like to thank all our new French and international shareholders for the support and confidence they grant us today. These words are also addressed to all our employees who work daily to successfully supply one of the key components of the electronics industry worldwide, whatever the context. Despite the high volatility of the financial markets, ICAPE Group's value proposition and strategy have convinced industrial and financial institutional investors, as well as many individual investors. With solid fundamentals proven over more than 20 years and strengthened by the new resources provided by the stock market listing, we are convinced that ICAPE Group will be able to fully play its role as a consolidator in a major and growing market, and thus further position itself as one of the leading global players in printed circuit board distribution Cyril Calvignac, ICAPE Group's CEO, added: "The funds raised through our successful IPO will enable us to accelerate the external growth strategy that we have been successfully executing for several years. We have already in advanced discussions with about ten international targets, constituting a potential M&A pipeline of c.73.5 million additional revenues. At the same time, ICAPE Group plans to pursue and consolidate its organic growth strategy, which is the Group's DNA since its establishment, while activating strong levers to improve profitability through, in particular, the optimization of purchasing and marketing costs as well as a better absorption of structural costs. Thanks to this clearly defined and effective strategy, our revenue and gross margin indicators for the first five months of the year are in line with our objectives for the year 2022 and we remain fully confident that we will achieve our medium to long-term objectives Reminder of the reasons for the Offering This IPO, as well as the provision of a new credit line dedicated to ICAPE Group's external growth of ICAPE Group, requested from its banking syndicate, aims at providing ICAPE Group with the necessary financial means to deploy its external growth strategy via the acquisition of companies meeting the following criteria: moderate size (with a revenue of less than 20 million), a large portfolio of local customers, a gross margin of over 25% and profitable (in terms of EBIT), with strong potential for commercial and purchasing synergies with the Group. To achieve the external growth objectives announced by ICAPE Group, the Company could also resort to debt and, if necessary, could subsequently raise funds to finance this strategic priority. It is specified that, to date, the Company is not party to a binding agreement to acquire the shares of an identified target in the context of an external growth project. Price and size of the Offering As a reminder, the price of the Offer was set at 16.95 per new ordinary share. The Board of Directors, meeting today, has decided on the issuance of 1,003,000 new shares (the "New Shares"). An over-allotment option (the "Over-Allotment Option") allowing the issuance of a maximum of 34,000 additional new shares (the "Option Shares" and together with the Initial New Shares, the "Offering Shares") has been granted by the Company to Gilbert Dupont as stabilization agent. The deadline for exercising the Over-Allotment Option is August 9, 2022, i.e. the end of the stabilization period. The gross proceeds of the issue amount to 17,000,850, which may be increased to 17,577,150 in case of full exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. Based on the Offering Price of 16.95 per share, the 5,757,400 existing shares, the 1,306,475 new shares resulting from the conversion of the warrants recorded on July 6, 2022 and the issuance of 1,003,000 New Shares, the market capitalization of ICAPE Group amounts to c. 136.7 million, which may be increased to c. 137.3 million in case of full exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. In the framework of the public offering in France, by way of a fixed price offer, (the "French Public Offering" or "OPF") and the international offering for institutional investors (the "International Offering") (together the "Offering"), a total of 1,037,000 Offering Shares were allocated, of which: 134,202 Offering Shares allocated to the French Public Offering, representing 13% of the Offering Shares; 902,798 Offering Shares allocated to the International Offering, representing 87% of the Offering Shares. In the framework of the OPF, A1 orders (from 10 shares up to and including 200 shares) and A2 orders (above 200 shares) will be fully served. The settlement-delivery of the OPF and the International Offering is expected to take place on July 8, 2022 and the trading of the ICAPE Holding shares is expected to commence on July 11, 2022 on Euronext Growth Paris. Lock-up commitments The Company has entered into a lock-up commitment expiring 180 calendar days after the settlement date of the Offering, subject to certain exceptions. Balwen Holding, Mr. Ballenghien, Mr. Calvignac and the main members of the management team1 have granted a lock-up commitments expiring 360 days after the settlement-delivery date of the Offering, subject to certain usual exceptions. The other minority shareholders (including the employees of the Group2) have undertaken, subject to the usual exceptions, to (i) retain all of their shares held at the date of settlement/delivery of the Offer for a period of 180 days, (ii) retain 50% of their shares held at the date of settlement/delivery of the Offer for a period of 270 days, and (iii) retain 25% of their shares held at the date of settlement/delivery of the Offer for a period of 360 days. Breakdown of capital and voting rights Following the IPO, the share capital of ICAPE Holding is split as follows: Shareholders Shareholding structure before the Offer (share capital on a fully-diluted basis) After the Offer (before exercise of the over-allotment option) Structure at the end of the Offer Total number of shares % of capital % of voting rights Total number of shares % of capital number of voting rights % of voting rights Total number of shares % of capital number of voting rights % of voting rights Balwen Holding (3) 2,767,200 39.17% 39.17% 2,767,200 34.30% 2,767,200 25.98% 2,767,200 34.16% 2,767,200 25.90% Mr Thierry Ballenghien 1,383,600 19.59% 19.59% 1,383,600 17.15% 2,767,200 25.98% 1,383,600 17.08% 2,767,200 25.90% Subtotal Ballenghien family 4,150,800 58.76% 58.76% 4,150,800 51.45% 5,534,400 51.97% 4,150,800 51.24% 5,534,400 51.80% Mr Cyril Calvignac 358,825 5.08% 5.08% 358,825 4.45% 676,150 6.35% 358,825 4.43% 676,150 6.33% Other corporate officers (4) 461,675 6.54% 6.54% 461,675 5.72% 782,800 7.35% 461,675 5.70% 782,800 7.33% Censors (5) 399,200 5.65% 5.65% 399,200 4.95% 631,450 5.93% 399,200 4.93% 631,450 5.91% Subtotal concert performers' shareholders (6) 5,370,500 76.03% 76.03% 5,370,500 66.57% 7,624,800 71.59% 5,370,500 66.30% 7,624,800 71.37% Group employees (7) 1,636,500 23.17% 23.17% 1,636,500 20.29% 1,937,850 18.20% 1,636,500 20.20% 1,937,850 18.14% Other (8) 56,875 0.81% 0.81% 56,875 0.71% 84,375 0.79% 56,875 0.70% 84,375 0.79% Subtotal other historical shareholders of the Group 1,693,375 23.97% 23.97% 1,693,375 20.99% 2,022,225 18.99% 1,693,375 20.90% 2,022,225 18.93% Sunshine PCB (HK) Co. 0 0.00% 0.00% 294,985 3.66% 294,985 2.77% 294,985 3.64% 294,985 2.76% Champion Asia International Electronic Limited 0 0.00% 0.00% 106,194 1.32% 106,194 1.00% 106,194 1.31% 106,194 0.99% Other third-party investors 0 0.00% 0.00% 601,821 7.46% 601,821 5.65% 635,821 7.85% 635,821 5.95% Total Public 0 0.00% 0.00% 1,003,000 12.43% 1,003,000 9.42% 1,037,000 12.80% 1,037,000 9.71% Total 7,063,875 100.00% 100.00% 8,066,875 100.00% 10 650 025 100.00% 8,100,875 100.00% 10 684 025 100.00% Subscription commitments As a reminder, the Company has received subscription commitments from third-party investors for a total of c. 8.5 million, namely Sunshine PCB (HK) Co. Limited, Champion Asia International Electronic Limited and CDC Croissance. 294,985, 106,194, and 99,798 New Shares were allocated to Sunshine PCB (HK) Co. Limited, Champion Asia International Electronic Limited and CDC Croissance respectively. Free float The free float will represent c.12.43% of the Company's post-operation capital and may represent up to 12.80% of the share capital in case of full exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. Eligibility of the Offer to PEA PEA/PME and Economic Reinvestment in the context of a transfer (article 150-0 B ter of the French General Tax Code) Finally, ICAPE Group announces that it complies with the eligibility criteria for PEA-PME accounts specified in the provisions of L. 221-32-2 and D.221-113-5 et seq. of the French Monetary and Financial Code. As a result, the Company's shares can be fully integrated into stock savings plans (PEA) and PEA-PME accounts, which benefit from the same tax advantages as traditional PEA. In addition, the subscription is eligible for Economic Reinvestment in the context of a transfer (article 150-0 B ter of the General Tax Code). Next steps in the operation 8 July 2022 Settlement and delivery of the French Public Offering and the International Offering. 11 July 2022 Trading of the shares of the Company on Euronext Growth under the ticker symbol "ALICA"; Beginning of the stabilization period. 9 August 2022 Deadline for the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option; End of the stabilization period. Identification codes of ICAPE Holding securities Name: ICAPE Holding ISIN Code: FR001400A3Q3 Ticker: ALICA Business Line: 10102015 Securities eligible for PEA, PEA-PME9 Financial intermediaries Credit Agricole Joint Global Coordinator, Joint Lead Manager and Joint Bookrunner Gilbert Dupont Joint Global Coordinator, Joint Lead Manager and Joint Bookrunner Alce Equity Advisory Financial Advisor and Listing Sponsor Availability of the Prospectus A Prospectus, consisting of (i) the registration document, approved on April 19, 2022 under number I. 22-008, (ii) the supplement to the registration document approved on June 21, 2022 under number I. 22-028 and (iii) a securities note and a summary of the Prospectus (included in the securities note), was approved by the AMF on June 21, 2022 under number 22-229. This Prospectus is available free of charge and upon request at the Company's registered office and on the AMF website (amf-france.org) as well as on the Company's website dedicated to the transaction (icape-finance.com). The approval of the Prospectus should not be considered as a favorable opinion on the offered securities. The Group draws the attention of potential investors to Chapter 3 "Risk factors" of the registration document and to Chapter 2 "Risk factors relating to the offer" of the securities note. About ICAPE Group Founded in 1999, ICAPE Group acts as a key technological expert in the PCB supply chain. With a global network of 28 subsidiaries and a major presence in China, where most of the world's PCB production is done, the Group is a one-stop-shop provider for the products and services which are essentials for customers. In 2021, ICAPE Group generated consolidated revenue of 169 million. For more information, visit www.icape-group.com. Disclaimer This press release may not be distributed directly or indirectly in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Japan or South Africa. The distribution of this document may, in some countries, be subject to specific regulations or constitute a violation of the legal provisions in force. Persons in possession of this document should inform themselves of and observe any local restrictions. The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer of securities in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Japan or South Africa. This announcement constitutes a promotional communication within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market, as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation") and does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 which forms part of the domestic law of the United Kingdom pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the "EUWA"). Potential investors are advised to read the prospectus before making an investment decision in order to fully understand the potential risks and rewards associated with the decision to invest in the securities. In France, a public offering of securities may only be made pursuant to a prospectus that has been approved by the AMF. The approval of the prospectus by the AMF should not be construed as a favorable opinion on the issuer and on the quality of the financial securities covered by the prospectus. Investors are invited to make their own assessment of the advisability of investing in the financial securities concerned. With respect to the Member States of the European Economic Area other than France (the "Member States"), no action has been or will be taken to permit a public offering of shares requiring the publication of a prospectus in any of the Member States. Accordingly, the shares may be offered in these Member States only: (i) to qualified investors, as defined by the Prospectus Regulation; (ii) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons, other than qualified investors (as defined by the Prospectus Regulation) per Member State; or (iii) in all other cases where the publication by the Company of a prospectus is not required under the provisions of Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation; and provided that none of the offers referred to in paragraphs (i) to (iii) above require the publication by the Company of a prospectus pursuant to the provisions of Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or of a supplement to the prospectus pursuant to the provisions of Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation. With respect to the United Kingdom, no action has been or will be taken to permit an offer to the public of shares in Icape Holding that would require the publication of a prospectus in the United Kingdom. Accordingly, shares in Icape Holding may only be offered in the United Kingdom: (i) to Qualified Investors, as defined in Article 2 of the EUWA; (ii) to fewer than 150 individuals or entities, other than Qualified Investors (as defined by the EUWA), with the prior consent of the Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners (as such terms are defined in the Offering Documents); or (iii) in all other cases in accordance with Section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the "FSMA") provided that such offer does not require the Company to publish a prospectus in accordance with Section 85 of the FSMA or a supplement to the prospectus in accordance with Article 23 of the EUWA. This announcement or any other document relating to the shares of Icape Holding is not being made, and has not been approved, by an authorised person within the meaning of Section 21(1) of the FSMA. Accordingly, this announcement is directed only at persons who (i) are located outside the United Kingdom, (ii) are investment professionals within the meaning of Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the "Order") or (iii) are high net worth entities or any other person to whom this announcement may otherwise be directed pursuant to Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (the persons referred to in paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). The shares of Icape Holding are intended only for Eligible Persons and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe for, purchase or acquire the shares of Icape Holding may only be made to or entered into with Eligible Persons. No person other than a Qualified Person should use or rely on this announcement or the information contained herein. This press release does not constitute a prospectus approved by the Financial Conduct Authority or any other regulatory authority in the United Kingdom within the meaning of Section 85 of the FSMA. This press release does not constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the United States of America or in any other country. The securities mentioned in this release may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under, or in a transaction not subject to, the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The securities mentioned in this press release have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Icape Holding does not intend to conduct a public offering of its securities in the United States. This document contains information relating to the markets in which Icape Holding and its subsidiaries as a whole ("the Group") operate and their competitive position in those markets, in particular information relating to the size of its markets, their competitive environment and dynamics, and their growth prospects. In addition to the Group's own estimates, the information is derived primarily from studies and statistics provided by third parties and professional organizations, as well as from data published by the Group's competitors and customers. Icape Holding cannot guarantee that a third party using a different methodology to collect, analyze or calculate market data would obtain the same results. In addition, although Icape Holding believes them to be reasonable and reliable, such research and estimates, and the methodology and assumptions on which they are based, have not been independently verified for accuracy and completeness and are subject to change without notice. Certain information contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, and not historical data. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, expectations and assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions about the Group's current and future strategy and the environment in which the Group operates. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results or other events, to differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those set forth and detailed in Chapter 3 "Risk Factors" of the registration document. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or corrections to the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect any change in expectations or events, conditions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Forward-looking information and statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Group. Actual results could differ materially from those described in, or suggested or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. ___________________________ 1 Namely: Mr. Cyril Calvignac, Ms. Shora Rokni, Ms. Ranxu Mazet, Mr. Yann Duigou, Mr. Thomas Chea, Mr. Jie Chen, Ms. Bing Ling Li-Sellam, Mr. Marc L'Hoste, Ms. Christelle Bonnevie, Mr. Guillaume Chauvet and Mr. Arthur Mendes. 2 With the exception of three former employees of the Group who, as of the date of the Prospectus, are retired. 3Balwen Holding is a simplified joint stock company with a capital of 8,534,976 euros, whose registered office is located at 8 rue d'Athenes, 75009 Paris, registered in the Paris Trade and Companies Register under number 900 277 146. Balwen Holding is 50.10% owned by Mr. Thierry Ballenghien, the balance of the capital belonging to members of Mr. Thierry Ballenghien's family. At the date of approval of the Prospectus, the Company is controlled, within the meaning of article L. 233-3 of the Commercial Code, by the Ballenghien family. 4 This category includes, at the date of approval of the Prospectus, the Company's corporate officers (with the exception of Mr. Thierry Ballenghien and Mr. Cyril Calvignac). 5 This category includes, as of the date of approval of the Prospectus, the censors of the Board of Directors of the Company (i.e., Mr. Thomas Chea, Mr. Jie Chen and Ms. Christelle Bonnevie) 6 This category includes the parties to the shareholders' agreement concluded on April 12, 2022 (i.e., Mr. Thierry Ballenghien, Balwen Holding, Mr. Cyril Calvignac, Ms. Shora Rokni, Ms. Ranxu Mazet, Mr. Thomas Chea, Mr. Jie Chen, Ms. Christelle Bonnevie and Mr. Yann Duigou) 7 This category includes, as of the date of approval of the Prospectus, current or former employees and corporate officers of the Group (other than corporate officers of the Company and censors) who hold an interest in the Company directly or indirectly (through Manco 1 and Manco 2 (as these terms are defined in the Securities Note approved by the AMF) 8 This category includes, as of the date of approval of the Prospectus, one individual investor, a natural person, and agents of the Group (i.e., two agent partners, bound to the Group by an agent agreement providing for the supply of business to the Group) who hold an interest in the Company directly or indirectly (through Manco 1 and Manco 2) 9 This scheme is conditional and within the limits of the available ceilings. Interested persons are invited to contact their financial advisor View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005774/en/ Contacts: ICAPE Group CFO Shora Rokni +33 1 58 18 39 10 investor@icape.fr Investor Relations NewCap Nicolas Fossiez Louis-Victor Delouvrier +33 1 44 71 94 98 icape@newcap.eu Media Relations NewCap Nicolas Merigeau +33 1 44 71 94 94 icape@newcap.eu Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Conquest Resources Limited (TSXV: CQR) ("Conquest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into an option agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire 100% of the Marr Lake Cu-Ni-PGE Property ("Property"). The Property is a grass roots property that is prospective for Cu-Ni-PGE and Li mineralization in an area that has seen limited exploration in the past. The Property is located 70 km southwest of Atikokan, Ontario, and is contiguous with Green Technology Metals Wisa Lake Property that hosts Li-Ta bearing pegmatite dyke swarms that have been mapped over a strike length of 1.5 km, with widths of up to 20 m having been reported. President and CEO Tom Obradovich stated, "The Marr Lake Project underlines Conquests focus on critical metals with potential for Cu-Ni-PGE and Lithium. Our Nipigon Basin Project has Uranium in addition to NI-Cu-PGE targets and our Temagami Belfast Project is currently being explored for Ni-Cu PGE as well as IOCG potential." The Project falls within the Quetico Subprovince and is primarily underlain by east-west striking metasedimentary rocks that have a mixed clastic composition and are wacke dominated with lesser amounts of conglomerates, mudstones, and carbonates that have been intruded by granitic plutons and ultramafic intrusions. The Property hosts the Marr Lake Ultramafic Intrusive that is interpreted for the most part to fall under the waters of Marr Lake and forms a 500 m by 100 m magnetic feature. The Marr Lake Ni-Cu-PGE occurrence is located along the northeast shoreline where in 2005, a claim owner/geologist collected three samples from a 60 m wide pyroxenite dyke that averaged 1.1% Cu, 0.20% Ni, 0.02% Co, 6 g/t Ag, 1.3 g/t Pt, 1.3 g/t Pd, and 0.40 g/t Au (20003485). In 2015, the Ontario Geological Survey ("OGS") completed a magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometric survey (GDS 1077) that covered a portion of the Property, and identified a magnetic feature at the edge of the survey that may represent an unrecognized ultramafic intrusive. As well, in 2003, the OGS, under Operation Treasure Hunt, completed a report titled "Fertile Peraluminous Granites and Related Rare-Element Mineralization in Pegmatites, Superior Province, Northwest and Northeast Ontario" (OFR 6099) where the authors recognized the potential for additional rare-element pegmatites to be found in the Wisa Lake area. Conquest has contracted Prospectair Geosurveys Inc. to complete a high-resolution airborne magnetic survey totaling 535 line-km flow at 50 m line spacings. The survey will commence mid-July, and will assist with prospecting programs planned for August. Terms of option: Under the terms of the option agreement, Conquest can earn a 100% interest in the Marr Lake Project by making cash payments of $92,000.00 and issuing 940,000 shares over a period of three years. The property is subject to a 2% NSR which the Company has a right to buy back 1% at any time for $1 million. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7183/130170_166a7457a4171b46_002full.jpg ABOUT CONQUEST Conquest Resources Limited, incorporated in 1945, is a mineral exploration company that is exploring for base metals and gold on mineral properties in Ontario. Conquest holds a 100% interest in the Belfast - Teck Mag Project, located in the Temagami Mining Camp at Emerald Lake, approximately 65 kilometers northeast of Sudbury, Ontario, which hosts the former Golden Rose Gold Mine and is underlain by highly prospective Abitibi greenstone geology along a strike length of seventeen (17) kilometers. In October 2020, Conquest completed the acquisition of Canadian Continental Exploration Corp. which holds an extensive package of mining claims which surround Conquest's Golden Rose Mine, and subsequently doubled its land holdings in the Temagami Mining Camp through the staking of 588 mining cells, encompassing approximately 93 sq km., centered on Belfast Township, on the edge of the Temagami Magnetic Anomaly. Conquest now controls over 300 sq km of underexplored territory, including the past producing Golden Rose Mine at Emerald Lake, situated in the Temagami Mining Camp. Conquest also holds a 100% interest in the Alexander Gold Property located immediately east of the Red Lake and Campbell mines in the heart of the Red Lake Gold Camp on the important "Mine Trend" regional structure. Conquest's property is almost entirely surrounded by Evolution Mining land holdings. In addition, Conquest owns a 100% interest in the Smith Lake Gold Property of six patented claims and 181 staked mining claims to the north, west and south of the former Renabie Gold Mine in Rennie Township in northern Ontario, operated by Corona and Barrick that had reported gold production of over 1,000,000 ounces between 1947 and 1991 (Northern Miner March 4, 1991). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: general@conquestresources.com www.conquestresources.com Tom Obradovich President & Chief Executive 416-985-7140 Forward-looking statements. This news release may include certain "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the completion of the Acquisition and the Consolidation, the release of escrowed funds, future cash on hand, potential mineralization, resources and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Conquest, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Conquest's expectations are exploration risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Conquest with securities regulators. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as defined in the policies of TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130170 Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Dash Capital Corp. ("Dash") (TSXV: DCX.P) and Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd. ("SSC") are pleased to announce that SSC has received its Health Canada standard cultivation, standard processing, and sales licenses ("Licenses") and that SSC has closed its previously announced acquisition of the Rocky View cannabis facility (the "Facility"). Dash and SSC also announce that SSC has launched a private placement of convertible debentures for proceeds of $1,000,000 and that Dash, SSC and Dash Subco (as defined below) have entered into a second amending agreement to the Amalgamation Agreement (as defined below) dated June 20, 2022, with effect as of May 31, 2022 (the "Second Amending Agreement"). Health Canada Licenses The Licenses allow SSC to cultivate, manufacture/process, and sell products to all authorized provincial and territorial distributors/retailers as well as to registered medical patients. Prior to receiving the Licenses, SSC built its team, quality management system, processes, and key client relationships while working in the Facility under the prior license holder. With a premier team of hashishins, SSC has successfully commercialized products across the entire solventless spectrum, including dry sift, traditional pressed hash, soft hash, flower rosin, bubble hash, hash/live rosin (and derivatives), and hash/live rosin vape sauce. Rocky View Facility Acquisition In addition to receiving the Licenses, SSC has closed on the previously announced acquisition of the Facility. The Facility totals 33,000 square feet, of which approximately 25,000 is licensed by Health Canada. With industry leading solventless production capacity, the Facility is ideally equipped for SSC to execute on its high-impact business plan and on its mission to provide pure, potent, terpene rich solventless concentrates to discerning cannabis consumers. SSC now has the infrastructure and facility to match its world class team of hashishins! SSC's Near-Term Objectives SSC's core focus is to achieve material revenue and profitability in the near-term. These objectives are underpinned by SSC's team, B2B and tolling contracts with premier cannabis companies, the ability to produce consistently high-quality products at scale, and a reputation for exceptional customer service. SSC is currently in the process of advancing its branded solventless products and expects to "hit shelves" across several product categories in early 2023. SSC Convertible Debenture Financing SSC is currently conducting a non-brokered private placement of convertible debentures of up to $1,000,000, the gross proceeds of which will be used for inventory, minor capital expenditures, the advancement of its branded product strategy and general working capital purposes. For information regarding this financing, please contact SSC. Second Amending Agreement As previously disclosed on August 9, 2021, Dash, SSC and 2366191 Alberta Ltd. ("Dash Subco"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Dash, entered into an amalgamation agreement dated August 6, 2021 (the "Amalgamation Agreement"), which, among other things, sets forth the terms and conditions of the business combination, which will constitute the Qualifying Transaction (as defined in TSX Venture Exchange policies) of Dash (the "Transaction"). On February 3, 2022, Dash announced that Dash, SSC and Dash Subco entered into an amending agreement (the "Amending Agreement") to the Amalgamation Agreement dated January 31, 2022, with effect as of December 31, 2021, which, among other things, extended the outside date for completion of the Transaction. Upon completion of the Transaction, it is intended that Dash (the "Resulting Issuer") will continue SSC's business in the cannabis industry. Details of the Transaction, including the amount and type of proposed consideration, were previously disclosed in the news releases of Dash dated June 11, 2021, August 9, 2021, February 3, 2022 and March 16, 2022. The Second Amending Agreement extended the outside date for the closing date of the Transaction to November 30, 2022 and amended the consolidation of Dash shares contemplated by the Amalgamation Agreement to be on the basis of one Dash share for two existing Dash shares. A copy of the Amalgamation Agreement, Amending Agreement and Second Amending Agreement have been filed on Dash's SEDAR profile and are available for viewing at www.sedar.com. The completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions precedent, including, but not limited to, the satisfaction or waiver of closing conditions customary to transactions of the nature of the Transaction, obtaining all requisite shareholder and corporate approvals, approvals of all regulatory bodies having jurisdiction in connection with the Transaction, and the final approval of the TSXV, including the satisfaction of its initial listing requirements. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. A filing statement in respect of the Transaction will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the TSXV and will be filed under Dash's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. About Dash Capital Corp. Dash is a public company incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta). Dash's principal business is the identification and evaluation of assets or businesses with a view to completing a Qualifying Transaction (as defined in TSX Venture Exchange policies). Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative. About Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd. SSC is a private company incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta). SSC's mission is to provide pure, potent, terpene-rich solventless concentrates to discerning cannabis consumers. For more information regarding SSC, please see www.simplysolventless.ca. Further Information All information contained in this press release with respect to Dash and SSC was supplied by the respective party for inclusion herein, without independent review by the other party, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party. For further information: Dash Capital Corp. Darrell Denney, Chief Executive Officer Phone: 403-651-9009 Email: darrellgdenney@gmail.com Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd. Jeff Swainson, Special Advisor to the Board of Directors Phone: 403-796-3640 Email: jeff@simplysolventless.ca Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Notice on Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "will", "estimates", "believes", "intends" "expects" and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the private placement of convertible debentures of SSC, the use of proceeds from the private placement of convertible debentures of SSC, SSC's sales and operations, SSC's business plan, the timing of SSC commercializing its products, the closing of the Transaction, and certain financial information and forecasts. Dash cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions and expectations, many of which are beyond the control of Dash and SSC, including expectations and assumptions concerning Dash, SSC, the Resulting Issuer, the Transaction, the timely receipt of all required shareholder, court and regulatory approvals (as applicable), including the acceptance of the TSXV, the satisfaction of other closing conditions in accordance with the terms of the Amalgamation Agreement, Amending Agreement and Second Amending Agreement, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Dash's final prospectus dated April 26, 2021 filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Alberta Securities Commission, the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan, and the Ontario Securities Commission and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Dash and SSC. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Dash and SSC do not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by securities law. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction. Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or for dissemination in the United States. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130172 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Trojan Gold Inc. (CSE: TGII) (OTCQB: TRJGF) ("Trojan" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has been approved and has commenced trading of its common shares on the OTCQB Venture Market ("OTCQB"), today under the ticker symbol TRJGF. "We are pleased to offer investors yet another avenue for trading our shares and we look forward to increasing the awareness around our company for U.S. investors," said Charles Elbourne, CEO and Director of the Company. "We believe that trading on the OTCQB can lead to overall enhanced liquidity and visibility in global capital markets." The Company's common shares will continue to trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol TGII. Trojan is also pleased to announce that preliminary prospecting has commenced at its Watershed property in the historically prolific Shebandowan Greenstone Belt, including mapping and a rock/soil sampling program targeting four specific areas previously determined to be prospective. The sampling program is expected to extend through the summer. An application for permits has been submitted to the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry for additional work to be completed beyond the current program. About the OTCQB The OTCQB is a leading market for early-stage and developing U.S. and international companies. Recognized as an established public market by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the OTCQB has helped companies build considerable shareholder value including enhanced liquidity and valuation. Investors may benefit from efficient trading through their preferred broker or financial advisor, transparent pricing with real-time quotes, and trusted disclosure that is made broadly available to broker-dealers and market data providers. About Trojan Gold Inc. Trojan is an active Ontario based prospect generator junior exploration company, led by a team of professionals having exploration, engineering, project financing and permitting experience. Trojan has accumulated land positions in the Hemlo Gold Camp and Shebandowan Greenstone Belt that represent mineral exploration potential. Trojan is a member of the Interbanc Capital Corp. group of companies that include, Strike Copper Corp. and Tashota Resources Inc. ("TRI") (Trojan and TRI each hold a 50% interest in the Hemlo South property). Altogether, these companies have substantial property holdings in the Hemlo Gold Camp, the Shebandowan Greenstone Belt and the Beardmore-Geraldton Gold Camp in Northern Ontario. For further information on the Company, please visit www.trojangold.com. Trojan is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol (CSE: TGII). For further information, please contact: Charles J. Elbourne, President & CEO Trojan Gold Inc. 82 Richmond St. East, Suite 401 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1P1 Telephone: 416-315-6490 Email: elbourne007@gmail.com Website: www.trojangold.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "likely", "should", "would", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "proposed", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions, and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. Forward-looking information contained in this press releases includes, but is not limited to the timing and amount of estimated future exploration potential and success of such exploration activities. Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include, without limitation, that sufficient capital will be available to the Company that will allow it to undertake exploration activities on its properties. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected, or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the impact of the recovery post COVID 19 pandemic and its impact on precious metals; there being no assurance that the exploration program will result in expanded mineral resources; risks and uncertainties inherent to any mineral resource estimates; receipt of necessary approvals; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future gold and other metal prices; accidents, labour disputes and shortages; environmental and other risks of the mining industry. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and are based on the beliefs, estimates, expectations, and opinions of management on such date. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required under applicable securities law. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties, and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130154 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (CSE:FDY) is pleased to announce an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for the Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, U.S. ("Copper Creek"). The MRE was prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. ("SRK") in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Definition Standards and National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Paul Harbidge, President and CEO, commented "The delivery of the first combined open pit and underground resource for Copper Creek marks another key milestone in the advancement of the project. With over 355 million tonnes of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, the project has the potential to provide a U.S. domestic supply of copper for decades, supporting the decarbonization of the global economy." "The geological model, completed earlier this year, provided the foundation to accurately segregate and estimate the updated resources. The deposit remains open along strike and at depth. With the recent completion of the 6,000 metre Phase I drilling program, which was not included in this MRE, there exists the potential for an increase to the resources as part of the technical work for the upcoming Copper Creek Preliminary Economic Assessment, expected to be issued in Q2 2023." Mineral Resource Estimate Highlights Measured Mineral Resources: 65.1 million tonnes ("Mt") at a grade of 0.61% copper, 0.011% molybdenum and 1.7 g/t silver containing 872.9 million pounds ("Mlbs") of copper, 15.7 Mlbs of molybdenum, and 3.5 million ounces ("Moz") of silver, or 927.3 Mlbs copper equivalent ("CuEq") 1 , including open pit resources of 38.9 Mt at a grade of 0.72% CuEq; , including open pit resources of 38.9 Mt at a grade of 0.72% CuEq; Indicated Mineral Resources: 290.0 Mt at a grade of 0.47% copper, 0.007% molybdenum and 1.2 g/t silver containing 3,034.2 Mlbs of copper, 47.2 Mlbs of molybdenum, and 11.0 Moz of silver, or 3,199.0 Mlbs CuEq, including open pit resources of 45.7 Mt at a grade of 0.46% CuEq; Inferred Mineral Resources: 75.0 Mt at a grade of 0.38% copper, 0.007% molybdenum and 0.8 g/t silver containing 634.9 Mlbs of copper, 12.0 Mlbs of molybdenum, and 2.0 Moz of silver, or 673.5 Mlbs CuEq, including open pit resources of 29.3 Mt at a grade of 0.36% CuEq; For the combined resource, 82.6% of the tonnage is within the Measured and Indicated category; Amenable to a combination of open pit and bulk underground extraction methods; and This MRE, together with the pending results of the 2022 Phase I drill program, will form the basis for the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") expected by the end of Q2 2023. 1 See Notes to Table 1 (Mineral Resources Estimate) in this news release for the calculation of copper equivalency. Mineral Resource Estimate This MRE for Copper Creek is based on data with a cut-off date of April 30, 2022 and excludes the majority of drill results currently pending from the Phase 1 drill program. This MRE is reported with an effective date of July 6, 2022, in Table 1. Table 1: Combined Open Pit and Underground Mineral Resource Estimate, Copper Creek Project Category Tonnes (Mt) Grade Contained Metal Cu Mo Ag CuEq Cu Mo Ag CuEq (%) (%) (g/t) (%) (Mlbs) (Mlbs) (Moz) (Mlbs) Open Pit (OP) Measured 38.9 0.68 0.010 1.8 0.72 584.2 8.7 2.2 614.6 Indicated 45.7 0.44 0.007 0.9 0.46 446.4 7.2 1.3 467.8 M&I 84.6 0.55 0.009 1.3 0.58 1,030.6 16.0 3.6 1,082.5 Inferred 29.3 0.35 0.004 0.8 0.36 224.6 2.9 0.8 233.0 Underground (UG) Measured 26.1 0.50 0.012 1.5 0.54 288.7 7.0 1.3 312.7 Indicated 244.4 0.48 0.007 1.2 0.51 2,587.8 39.9 9.7 2,731.1 M&I 270.5 0.48 0.008 1.3 0.51 2,876.5 46.9 11.0 3,043.8 Inferred 45.6 0.41 0.009 0.9 0.44 410.3 9.2 1.3 440.5 Total (OP + UG) Measured 65.1 0.61 0.011 1.7 0.65 872.9 15.7 3.5 927.3 Indicated 290.0 0.47 0.007 1.2 0.50 3,034.2 47.2 11.0 3,199.0 M&I 355.1 0.50 0.008 1.3 0.53 3,907.1 62.9 14.5 4,126.3 Inferred 75.0 0.38 0.007 0.8 0.41 634.9 12.0 2.0 673.5 Notes to Table 1: The Mineral Resources in this estimate were calculated using the CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines (CIM, 2014) prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council. All dollar amounts are presented in U.S. dollars. Pit shell constrained resources with reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction ("RPEEE") are stated as contained within estimation domains above 0.23% CuEq cut-off grade. Pit shells are based on an assumed copper price of $3.80/lb, assumed molybdenum price of $13.00/lb, assumed silver price of $20.00/oz and overall slope angle of 47 degrees based on preliminary geotechnical data. Operating cost assumptions include mining cost of $2.25/tonne ("t"), processing cost of $7.95/t, General & Administrative ("G&A") costs of $1.25/t, and Treatment Charges and Refining Charges ("TCRC") and Freight costs of $6.50/t. Underground constrained resources with RPEEE are stated as contained within estimation domains above 0.31% CuEq cut-off grade. Underground bulk mining footprints are based on an assumed copper price of $3.80/lb, assumed molybdenum price of $13.00/lb, assumed silver price of $20.00/oz, underground mining cost of $9.25/t, processing cost of $7.00/t, G&A costs of $1.25/t, and TCRC and Freight costs of $6.50/t. Average bulk density assigned by domain: 2.33 g/cm 3 for all near-surface breccias; 2.40 g/cm 3 for the Mammoth breccia; 2.56 g/cm 3 for the Keel breccia, porphyry mineralization and all other areas outside of breccias. Variable metallurgical recovery by metal and domain are considered for CuEq, as follows: copper recovery of 92%, 85% and 60% within sulphide, transitional and oxide material, respectively; molybdenum recovery of 78% and 68% for sulphide and transitional material, respectively; silver recovery of 50% and 40% for sulphide and transitional material, respectively. CuEq is calculated by domain based on the above variable recovery. For example, sulphide CuEq = [(Cu grade/100 *0.92 Cu recovery *2204.62 *3.8 Cu price) + (Mo grade/100 *0.78 Mo recovery *2204.62 *13 Mo price) + (Ag grade*0.50 Ag recovery*20 Ag price/31.10348)] / (0.92 Cu recovery *2204.62 *3.8)*100. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral Reserves in the future. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing or other relevant issues. All quantities are rounded to the appropriate number of significant figures; consequently, sums may not add up due to rounding. The near-surface mineralized breccias were subjected to partial in-situ oxidization that transformed part of the sulphides into secondary copper oxides. Three domains are recognized within the open pit resource, referred to as Oxide, Mixed, and Sulphide. The underground resources stated in Table 1 are comprised of only sulphide mineralization. The Copper Creek open pit Mineral Resources are reported by domain in Table 2. Table 2: Open Pit Mineral Resource Estimate by Domain, Copper Creek Project Category Domain Tonnes (Mt) Grade Contained Metal Cu Mo Ag CuEq Cu Mo Ag CuEq (%) (%) (g/t) (%) (Mlbs) (Mlbs) (Moz) (Mlbs) Measured Oxide 2.5 0.51 0.005 1.38 0.51 28.0 0.3 0.1 28.0 Mixed 5.8 0.59 0.005 1.24 0.61 75.1 0.6 0.2 77.3 Sulphide 30.7 0.71 0.012 1.93 0.75 481.0 7.9 1.9 509.3 Total 38.9 0.68 0.010 1.79 0.72 584.2 8.7 2.2 614.6 Indicated Oxide 5.7 0.38 0.007 1.17 0.38 48.3 0.9 0.2 48.3 Mixed 8.6 0.46 0.007 1.03 0.48 86.5 1.4 0.3 91.0 Sulphide 31.3 0.45 0.007 0.84 0.48 311.7 5.0 0.8 328.5 Total 45.7 0.44 0.007 0.91 0.46 446.4 7.2 1.3 467.8 M&I Oxide 8.2 0.42 0.006 1.23 0.42 76.3 1.1 0.3 76.3 Mixed 14.3 0.51 0.006 1.11 0.53 161.6 2.0 0.5 168.3 Sulphide 62.0 0.58 0.009 1.38 0.61 792.7 12.8 2.7 837.8 Total 84.6 0.55 0.009 1.32 0.58 1,030.6 16.0 3.6 1,082.5 Inferred Oxide 5.6 0.29 0.004 0.73 0.29 35.5 0.5 0.1 35.5 Mixed 8.3 0.31 0.005 0.82 0.33 57.1 0.8 0.2 59.9 Sulphide 15.5 0.39 0.004 0.86 0.40 132.0 1.5 0.4 137.6 Total 29.3 0.35 0.004 0.82 0.36 224.6 2.9 0.8 233.0 Notes: Refer to the section titled "Notes to Table 1". The RPEEE pit shells and underground shapes used to constrain the respective estimates, as well as grade distributions, are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Figure 1: RPEEE pit shells used to constrain the open pit MRE, and grade distribution above 0.2% CuEq grade Figure 2: RPEEE underground shapes used to constrain the underground MRE, and grade distribution above 0.2% CuEq grade Sensitivity Analysis The results of grade sensitivity analysis are presented below to illustrate the continuity of the grade estimates at various cut-off increments and the sensitivity of the potentially minable resource to changes in cut-off grade. The reader is cautioned that figures in the following tables should not be misconstrued as Mineral Resource or confused with the Mineral Resource Statement reported above. These figures are only presented to show the sensitivitity of the block model estimated grades and tonnnages to the selection of cut-off grade. The sensitivity analysis for Measured and Indicated blocks have been separated from Inferred blocks for reporting. Combined material type (oxide, mixed, and sulphide) sensitivity results by classification category for the open pit Mineral Resource are shown in Figure 3 and Table 3. The grade-tonnage data presented below for open pit sensitivity reports tonnes and grade of the pit constrained mineral resource at various cut-off increments. Figure 3: Grade-tonnage curves for Open Pit Measured & Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources Notes: See Notes to Table 1 (Mineral Resources Estimate) in this news release for the calculation of copper equivalency. Table 3: Grade-tonnage for Open Pit Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource Open Pit Mineral Resources Measured and Indicated Inferred Cut-off Grade (CuEq %) Tonnes (Mt) CuEq Grade (CuEq %) Contained Metal (CuEq Mlb) Tonnes (Mt) CuEq Grade (CuEq %) Contained Metal (CuEq Mlb) 0.10 153.0 0.39 1,315.7 60.8 0.25 332.9 0.20 94.1 0.54 1,127.6 32.9 0.34 249.8 0.23 84.6 0.58 1,082.5 29.3 0.36 233.0 0.30 63.4 0.69 958.7 14.5 0.46 146.7 0.40 44.3 0.83 813.3 6.9 0.59 89.7 0.50 32.6 0.97 697.5 3.4 0.75 55.2 0.60 24.7 1.11 603.0 2.0 0.89 38.5 The underground resource has been constrained using commercial software packages to define the potential mineable limits (i.e. footprint volumes) applicable to the resource using defined economic assumptions. Multiple footprint volumes were optimized at different costs to approximate sensitivity of the resource to changes in CuEq cut-off grade. As bulk underground mining is not selective, all material within each of the underground block cave footprints are reported. Sensitivity results by classification category for the underground resource are shown in Table 4. Table 4: Grade-tonnage for Underground Measured & Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource Underground Mineral Resources Measured and Indicated Inferred Cut-off Grade (CuEq %) Tonnes (Mt) CuEq Grade (CuEq %) Contained Metal (CuEq Mlb) Tonnes (Mt) CuEq Grade (CuEq %) Contained Metal (CuEq Mlb) 0.20 737.8 0.37 5,981.9 618.5 0.28 3,802.2 0.31 270.5 0.51 3,043.8 45.6 0.44 440.5 0.40 148.4 0.61 1,987.7 3.6 0.50 42.3 0.50 57.0 0.78 976.4 1.4 0.71 21.0 Copper Creek Project Overview Copper Creek is a 100% owned project located ~120 road kilometres ("km") northeast of Tucson, Arizona, and ~24 km northeast of the town of San Manuel, Arizona. The current resource area is ~3 km in length and open in all directions. The property consists of ~41 square km of contiguous patented and unpatented mining claims and state prospecting permits. The area is in a mining friendly and politically stable jurisdiction with extensive infrastructure including power, rail, water, roads, and access to skilled personnel. The property is in the prolific southwest porphyry copper region at the projected intersection of a major northwest belt of copper deposits (Ray, Miami/Globe, Superior/Resolution, Johnson Camp) and a major east-northeast belt of copper deposits (San Manuel/Kalamazoo, Silver Bell, Lakeshore, Safford, Morenci). The project hosts a porphyry copper deposit in addition to high-grade, near-surface, breccia mineralization. With over 200,000 m of historical drilling and modest past production, the Company believes significant exploration upside remains. There are over 400 known breccia occurrences mapped at surface, of which only 35 have been drilled and 14 are included in the MRE. Geological Model The geological model (see news release dated May 12, 2022) was used to constrain the mineralization in the MRE. The geological model is based on the relogging of approximately 15,000 metres ("m") of historical core, observations from new drilling, short wave infrared spectral data and multi-element geochemistry. This data was modeled in Seequent Leapfrog Geo to generate three-dimensional wireframe models. Moreover, the Copper Creek geological model and MRE are delineated at surface by newly acquired detailed one-metre contour topography. The Copper Creek batholith intruded Paleocoene Glory Hole volcanics and Proterozoic to Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and is the main mineralization host. Some of the breccias also crosscut the Glory Hole volcanics. The batholith is compositionally zoned and contains a shallowly west dipping monzogranite domain at depth and a dioritic border phase with the bulk being granodioritic composition. Four main types of granodiorite to quartz diorite porphyry dykes and plugs have been recognized. These largely intruded as narrow steeply dipping dikes and plugs before and during mineralization. The underground resource occurs largely in early halo porphyry style veins and magmatic cupola zones, while the open pit resource is dominantly hosted in magmatic-hydrothermal breccias. Hypogene copper is predominantly contained in chalcopyrite and bornite. Data Verification The data used in this MRE is supported by industry standard Quality Assurance and Quality Control ("QA/QC") procedures, such as the insertion of certified standards and blanks into the sample stream and the utilization of certified independent analytical laboratories for all assays. Historical QA/QC data and methodology on the project were reviewed and will be summarized in the NI 43-101 technical report. No significant QA/QC issues were discovered during review of the data. All geological data used in the MRE was reviewed and verified by Berkley Tracy, PG, CPG, P.Geo, SRK Principal Consultant. Mr. Tracy visited the Copper Creek project from March 7 to 10, 2022. The site visit included: Review of the geology, available outcrop exposures, and general geological understanding; Review of historical and recent drill core and procedures used to collect, record, store and analyze project exploration data; Independent audit of the drilling, logging and sampling techniques in practice during Faraday's Phase 1 drill campaign; and Observation of drill hole locations and an overview of claim/property boundaries in the field. SRK compared a portion of the original laboratory data certificates, geological logs and downhole deviation surveys to entries in the Faraday database. The database subset was compared line-by-line to the fundamental data and no material errors were observed during the review. The verification data was chosen randomly and contained over 11,100 m of drilling in 13 drill holes, which represents approximately 5% of total drilling. Additional discussion on the data verification will be included in the NI 43-101 technical report for the MRE. Mineral Resource Estimation Methodology Sixteen individual breccias were modeled in Leapfrog Geo software (version 2021.2.4) by Faraday and verified as suitable estimation domains by SRK. Fourteen of these breccias contained mineralization above cut-off grade and were included in the MRE. Samples were analyzed for potential outlier capping by metal on a global basis and no top cuts were applied. Historical sample collection was in imperial units and averaged 3.05 m per sample. Raw assay samples were averaged into 6.10 m composites broken on breccia domain boundaries with residual lengths up to 3.05 m added to the previous interval. Certain historical drill holes were selectively sampled within the breccias during previous drilling campaigns and any unsampled intervals were ignored during primary compositing. The estimation was constrained within discrete breccia domains interpreted by Faraday based on geological logging and assay grades. Grade estimation was based on parent block dimensions of 20 m in X-Y-Z and sub-blocked along the domain boundaries to 1 m in X-Y-Z. The sub-blocked resource models and block grade estimates were created using Leapfrog Edge software (version 2021.2.4). The resource was estimated for copper, molybdenum and silver using inverse distance weighting cubed and considering hard boundaries at the breccia unit outer contacts. The grade estimation evaluated all parent blocks with centroids within the estimation domains and sub-blocks are coded based on the parent block centroid. Estimation outside of the defined breccia units, within the deeper porphyry-style mineralization and "halo" zones around the near-surface breccias, considered a 5 m soft boundary with the breccia units. Bulk density was scripted by general domain, based on analysis of specific gravity measurements collected by Faraday and previous project operators. A two-pass search was used to optimize block estimation, so that well-informed blocks are interpolated using a tighter search ellipse than less informed blocks. The estimation search neighborhood was defined for individual breccia units based on the copper data population, as the key economic variable. Estimation parameters for the minor elements were identical to copper. To assess the impact of missing data, additional copper variables were estimated using null and nominal assignments for unsampled data in separate composited data sets. Un-estimated blocks outside of the search neighborhood were scripted with null values equal to one-half of the lower limit of detection. The selection criteria used for search ellipsoid size, number of samples and other conditions are derived based on data spacing to ensure appropriate interpolation, as well as visual and statistical evaluation, during iterative trial estimation runs. Across all breccias, the estimation is informed by an average of nine composites from at least two drill holes with average sample distance of 49 m, although this varies for individual estimation domains. Outside of the breccias, the estimation is informed by an average of 11 composites at average sample distance of 134 m. Limited historical mining has occurred at Copper Creek, mainly in the Old Reliable and Childs-Aldwinkle breccias. Block grades were depleted in the model according to available records of historical mining, which have inherent limitations. For Mineral Resource classification a confidence variable was defined as follows: Class 1 reflects the highest confidence in grade and potential measured classification. These blocks were estimated with seven or more composites in three or more drill holes. The average distance to samples is 40 m or less within breccia domains and 60 m outside. Class 2 reflects potential indicated classification. Blocks are estimated with four or more composites from two or more drill holes. The average distance to samples is 80 m or less within breccia domains and 100 m outside. Class 3 reflects potential inferred classification. Blocks are estimated with two or more composites from at least one drill hole. The average distance to samples is 200 m or less. Class 4 delineates blocks within the modelled estimation domains that are not classified as Mineral Resources. These areas of the model may have exploration potential. Technical Report The effective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is July 6, 2022. A NI 43-101 technical report prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release and will be available at that time on the Faraday website. For readers to fully understand the information in this news release they should read the technical report in its entirety when it is available, including all qualifications, assumptions, exclusions and risks. The technical report is intended to be read as a whole and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context. Qualified Persons The scientific and technical information contained in this news release pertaining to Copper Creek has been reviewed and approved by the following qualified persons under NI 43-101: Geology and Mineral Resources: Berkley Tracy, PG, CPG, P.Geo, SRK Principal Consultant; Geology: Dr. Thomas Bissig, P.Geo., Faraday's Vice President of Exploration; and Mining: Zach Allwright, P.Eng., Faraday's Vice President of Projects and Evaluations. The qualified persons have verified the information disclosed herein, including the sampling, preparation, security and analytical procedures underlying such information, and are not aware of any significant risks and uncertainties that could be expected to affect the reliability or confidence in the information discussed herein. Also see the discussion under the heading "Data Verification". Market Making Services Faraday has retained PI Financial Corp. ("PI") to provide Market Making services in accordance with Canadian Stock Exchange ("CSE") policies in order to make a two-sided market, contribute to market liquidity and depth, and maintain activity in the market for the Company. PI will trade securities of the Company on the CSE for the purpose of maintaining an orderly market of Faraday securities. In consideration of the services provided, Faraday will pay PI a monthly cash fee of C$4,000. PI will not receive shares or options as compensation. However, PI and its clients may have or may acquire a direct interest in the securities of Faraday. Faraday and PI are unrelated and unaffiliated entities. PI is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and can access all Canadian stock exchanges and alternative trading systems. The capital and securities required for any trade undertaken by PI as principal will be provided by PI. The agreement will have a minimum term of 3 months, upon which Faraday may terminate the agreement on 30 days notice. About Faraday Copper Faraday Copper is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing two copper projects in The United States of America. The Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, is one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk underground mining potential. The Contact Copper project, located in Nevada, provides potential for a low-cost open pit, heap leach, oxide project. The Company is well-funded to deliver on its key milestones over the next 18 months and benefits from a management team and board of directors with senior mining company experience and expertise. Faraday trades on the CSE under the symbol "FDY". For additional information please contact: Stacey Pavlova, CFA Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications Faraday Copper Corp. E-mail: info@faradaycopper.com Website: www.faradaycopper.com Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements Some of the statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" and are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Faraday to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the expected timing for the PEA, the expected timing MRE Technical Report, development and future drilling of the Copper Creek property, the extent of future drilling at the Copper Creek property, and the exploration potential of the Copper Creek property. Although Faraday believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include without limitation: market prices for metals; the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses; lower than expected grades and quantities of resources; receipt of regulatory approval; receipt of shareholder approval; mining rates and recovery rates; significant capital requirements; price volatility in the spot and forward markets for commodities; fluctuations in rates of exchange; taxation; controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the countries in which Faraday does or may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, competition; loss of key employees; rising costs of labour, supplies, fuel and equipment; actual results of current exploration or reclamation activities; accidents; labour disputes; defective title to mineral claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties; unexpected delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of Indigenous peoples and other groups; risks, uncertainties and unanticipated delays associated with obtaining and maintaining necessary licenses, permits and authorizations and complying with permitting requirements, including those associated with the Copper Creek property; and uncertainties with respect to any future acquisitions by Faraday. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental events and hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks as well as "Risk Factors" included in Faraday's disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedar.com. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. This press release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, a prospectus, an offering memorandum, an advertisement or a public offering of securities in Faraday in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No securities commission or similar authority in Canada or in the United States has reviewed or in any way passed upon this press release, and any representation to the contrary is an offence. Risks Relating to Mineral Resource Estimates The figures for mineral resources contained herein are estimates only and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved, that the indicated level of recovery will be realized or that the mineral resources could be mined or processed profitably. Actual reserves, if any, may not conform to geological, metallurgical or other expectations, and the volume and grade of ore recovered may be below the estimated levels. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating mineral resources, including many factors beyond the Company's control. Such estimation is a subjective process, and the accuracy of any resource estimate is a function of the quantity and quality of available data and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation. Short-term operating factors relating to the mineral resources , such as the need for orderly development of the ore bodies or the processing of new or different ore grades, may cause the mining operation to be unprofitable in any particular accounting period. In addition, there can be no assurance that metal recoveries in small scale laboratory tests will be duplicated in larger scale tests under on-site conditions or during production. Lower market prices, increased production costs, the presence of deleterious elements, reduced recovery rates and other factors may result in revision of its resource estimates from time to time or may render the Company's resources uneconomic to exploit. Resource data is not indicative of future results of operations. If the Company fails to develop its resource base through the realization of identified mineralized potential, its results of operations or financial condition may be materially and adversely affected. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Faraday does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable securities legislation. For more information on the Faraday, readers should refer to www.sedar.com for the Faraday's filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. SOURCE: Faraday Copper Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707643/Faraday-Copper-Announces-Updated-Mineral-Resource-Estimate-for-the-Copper-Creek-Project-in-Arizona-Measured-and-Indicated-Mineral-Resources-Exceed-39-Billion-Pounds-of-Copper Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Kelt Exploration Ltd. (TSX: KEL) ("Kelt" or the "Company") is providing an operations update and changes to its capital expenditure budget for 2022. Energy related commodity prices during the first half of 2022 have increased substantially compared to the previous year. The global economy staged a recovery in energy demand as the world began to ease away from lockdowns and business interruptions experienced in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pace of near-term energy supply growth continues to be negatively affected by the massive reductions in capital investment on major energy projects around the world, creating a tight supply-to-demand balance. Kelt's board of directors has approved an increase to the Company's capital expenditure program for 2022. Kelt expects to spend $300.0 million in 2022, up 13% from its previous forecast of $265.0 million. By increasing capital expenditures during the second half of 2022 on its large inventory of high rate of return drilling opportunities, the Company is able to take advantage of historically high oil and gas prices resulting in higher rates of return on invested capital and setting the Company up for significant production increases in 2023. Kelt continues to target per share growth in production, reserves, and funds from operations, while maintaining a strong financial position. The Company believes that this strategy will create the most value for Kelt shareholders based on the nature of its asset base and long-term objectives. The following table summarizes average commodity prices during the first five months of 2022 compared to full year average prices during 2020 and 2021: Jan-Dec 2020 Jan-Dec 2021 Jan-May 2022 % Change from 2021 Commodity Prices WTI Crude Oil (USD/bbl) 39.24 68.03 99.06 46% MSW Oil (CAD/bbl) 45.34 80.29 123.47 54% NYMEX Natural Gas (USD/MMBtu) 1.99 3.82 5.18 36% DAWN Natural Gas (CAD/MMBtu) 2.49 4.54 7.01 54% AECO Natural Gas (CAD/MMBtu) 2.23 3.62 5.75 59% Station 2 Natural Gas (CAD/MMBtu) 2.18 3.29 5.52 68% Exchange Rate (CAD/USD) 1.341 1.254 1.269 1% As part of the Company's ongoing commodity price risk management program, Kelt has entered into the following additional contracts in order to protect a portion of its cash flow supporting future capital expenditures and expected payouts/rates of return: Commodity Index Term Type Quantity Contract Price Natural Gas NYMEX Henry Hub Nov/2022 to Mar/2023 Fixed Price 10,000 MMBtu/d CAD $10.15/MMBtu [equivalent to USD $8.00/MMBtu @ exchange of 1.269] Natural Gas NYMEX -AECO Basis Nov/2022 to Mar/2023 Fixed Differential 10,000 MMBtu/d NYMEX minus USD $1.42/MMBtu [translates to AECO CAD $8.35/MMBtu at the fixed NYMEX price of CAD $10.15/MMBtu and @ exchange of 1.269] Natural Gas NYMEX Henry Hub Nov/2022 to Mar/2023 Costless Collar 10,000 MMBtu/d CAD $9.50 Floor & $17.00/MMBtu Ceiling [equivalent to USD $7.49 x $13.40 @ exchange of 1.269] Natural Gas NYMEX Henry Hub Nov/2022 to Mar/2023 Costless Collar 10,000 MMBtu/d CAD $9.00 Floor & $16.40/MMBtu Ceiling [equivalent to USD $7.09 x $12.92 @ exchange of 1.269] Natural Gas NYMEX Henry Hub Nov/2022 to Mar/2023 Costless Collar 10,000 MMBtu/d CAD $9.00 Floor & $18.15/MMBtu Ceiling [equivalent to USD $7.09 x $14.30 @ exchange of 1.269] Natural Gas AESO Power Nov/2022 to Mar/2023 Fixed Heat Factor 7,458 GJ/d Floating AESO $/MWh divided by 16.95 GJ/MWh [translates to an AECO CAD $/GJ price] Pouce Coupe/Progress/Spirit River Division Kelt has been very active in its Pouce Coupe/Progress/Spirit River Division during the first half of 2022. At Pouce Coupe West, the Company completed and brought on production two high deliverability Montney gas wells. At Pouce Coupe, Kelt drilled and completed four Montney oil wells that are expected to be tied-in and commence production in August 2022. In the Company's Charlie Lake play, four wells were drilled and two of the wells were completed, tied-in and put on production during the second quarter at Progress. The other two wells are expected to be tied-in and commence production during the third quarter. The Company has initiated a six well Charlie Lake development program at Spirit River and expects to have these wells drilled, completed and tied-in by the end of the year. Wembley/Pipestone Division Kelt has continued to construct additional infrastructure in the Wembley/Pipestone area providing the Company with scalability for its Wembley/Pipestone Division to become one of Kelt's major production growth areas in the coming years. With its three owned major battery and compression facilities; the recently expanded eastern pipeline system; and access to four gas processing plants, Kelt is in a favourable position to commence larger scale development at Wembley/Pipestone in 2023. The Company's 2022 capital expenditure program includes 14 (12.6 net) drills and 15 (13.6 net) completions at Wembley/Pipestone. To date in 2022, Kelt has drilled eight wells and completed ten wells. Upon execution of 2022's drilling and completion program in the area, the Company expects to be ahead of its current gas processing capacity which will provide Kelt with the ability to keep production relatively flat until it adds additional gas processing capacity expected in the third quarter of 2023. Oak/Flatrock Division The performance of Kelt's first multi-well drilling program at Oak continues to exceed the Company's expectations. The wells are exhibiting lower decline rates compared to other Montney plays in the basin. Kelt has submitted permit applications to the BC Oil and Gas Commission and upon receipt of approved permits, the Company expects to drill an additional four Upper Montney wells at Oak and also complete the previously drilled Middle Montney well at Flatrock located at 13-2-86-16W6 (on the eastern part of Company's land block). Prior to the end of 2022, Kelt expects to complete its electrification project of its newly constructed Oak 6-35 battery and compression facility. Upon electrification, the Company expects to increase gas compression capacity by approximately 10% to accommodate the new wells planned for the second half of 2022. Electrification of Kelt's facility will result in significant reductions of CO2E emissions and will reduce carbon tax expenses. The following table summarizes the rate of drilling and completion expenditure payback for the seven Upper Montney wells at Oak that commenced production at various times during November 2021: Upper Montney Well D&C Capex [$ MM] Cumulative Operating Income (1) (to May/31/22) [$ MM] D&C Capex to Recover (Excess Recovered) [$ MM] Cumulative Production (to May/31/22) [MBOE] Daily Average Production June 2022 (field estimates) [BOE/d] 00/13-05-087-18W6 (sfc 5-31) 6.0 7.9 ( 1.8 ) 182.8 635 00/01-09-087-18W6 (sfc 5-33) 6.0 7.6 ( 1.6 ) 157.4 779 00/04-10-087-18W6 (sfc A5-33) 5.1 7.7 ( 2.6 ) 160.7 711 00/12-12-087-18W6 (sfc B6-35) 5.3 6.5 ( 1.2 ) 137.5 557 00/08-11-087-18W6 (sfc C6-35) 5.8 5.8 ( 0.1 ) 124.6 470 00/08-16-087-18W6 (sfc C13-12) 5.7 5.4 0.3 122.3 609 02/08-16-087-18W6 (sfc D13-12) 5.2 5.1 0.1 106.4 537 Total 39.1 46.0 ( 6.9 ) 991.7 4,298 (1)Refer to advisories regarding Non-GAPP Measures. The payback of drilling and completion expenditures for all 12 wells at Oak is forecasted to occur by August 2022 at current strip commodity prices. Full-cycle economics: despite the short production period for the majority of wells at Oak, Kelt has recovered approximately 41% of all capital expenditures incurred at Oak/Flatrock since inception including acquiring land; geophysical expenditures; drilling and completing wells (including non-producing wells on the eastern land block); well equipment; and facility and pipeline construction. Facility Downtime During the second quarter of 2022, the NRM Gordondale East Gas Plant where Kelt processes approximately 35.0 MMcf per day of raw gas was shut-in for just over two weeks for its planned periodic (every 3-5 years) plant turnaround maintenance. Recently drilled wells at Wembley/Pipestone were restricted from being put on production during June 2022 due to unplanned facility repairs at the Wembley Gas Plant. The plant has installed temporary additional compression that allowed Kelt to commence production on July 2, 2022. Kelt expects to add significant gas processing capability at other gas processing facilities in the Wembley/Pipestone area during 2023 and 2024. During September 2022, the TWM Pipestone Plant where Kelt processes approximately 33.0 MMcf per day of raw gas is expected to be shut-in for approximately two to three weeks as it conducts plant turnaround maintenance operations. During October 2022, the Progress Gas Plant, where Kelt is a 20% owner, is expected to be shut-in for approximately two weeks as the operator conducts a gas plant expansion. Raw gas-handling capability is expected to increase from 142 MMcf per day (net 28.4 MMcf per day) to 160 MMcf per day (net 32.0 MMcf per day). In addition to this plant expansion and facility and pipeline construction at Pouce Coupe West, Kelt will be in a position to advance drilling projects at its high deliverability gas play at Pouce Coupe West; adding production from this area in early 2023. Outlook Kelt remains optimistic about the energy industry and the Company's ability to provide shareholders with high rates of return on capital deployed. Kelt will continue to reinvest cash flow into developing its high-quality Montney and Charlie Lake pools. Changes in forecasted commodity prices and variances in production estimates can have a significant impact on estimated funds from operations and profit. Kelt retains flexibility with its future capital expenditure plans should current market conditions change. Please refer to the advisories regarding forward-looking statements and to the cautionary statement below. Management looks forward to updating shareholders with 2022 second quarter results on or about August 4, 2022. The information set out herein is "financial outlook" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The purpose of this financial outlook is to provide readers with disclosure regarding Kelt's reasonable expectations as to the anticipated results of its proposed business activities for the calendar year 2022. Readers are cautioned that this financial outlook may not be appropriate for other purposes. Advisory Regarding Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "execute", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends", "forecasted" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the following: the expected timing of the drilling and completion of wells, the expected timing of wells being brought on-production, the expected timing of facility expenditures, the expected timing of facility start-up dates, the expected length and timing of facility downtime, timing and approval of permit applications in British Columbia, the expected cost and productivity of capital projects and the estimated future rates of return; and the Company's expected future financial position and operating results. Although Kelt believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because Kelt cannot give any assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general, operational risks in development, exploration and production; risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses; failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals for planned operations; health, safety and environmental risks; uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; volatility of commodity prices, currency exchange rate fluctuations; imprecision of reserve estimates; as well as general economic conditions, stock market volatility; and the ability to access sufficient capital. We caution that the foregoing list of risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. In addition, the reader is cautioned that historical results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless expressly required by applicable securities laws. Certain information set out herein may be considered as "financial outlook" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The purpose of this financial outlook is to provide readers with disclosure regarding Kelt's reasonable expectations as to the anticipated results of its proposed business activities for the periods indicated. Readers are cautioned that the financial outlook may not be appropriate for other purposes. Non-GAAP Measures and Other Key Financial Measures This press release contains certain financial measures, as described below, which do not have standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP. In addition, this press release contains capital management measures, and supplementary financial measures that do not have standardized meanings under the applicable securities legislation. As these non-GAAP and other financial measures are commonly used in the oil and gas industry, the Company believes that their inclusion is useful to investors. The reader is cautioned that these amounts may not be directly comparable to measures for other companies where similar terminology is used. Operating income is a non-GAAP measure calculated by deducting royalties, production expenses and transportation expenses from petroleum and natural gas sales, net of the costs of purchases. The company uses operating income to assess financial performance. In this press release cumulative operating income is presented by well for certain Oak wells and compared to the cost to drill and complete the well. This comparison provides the Company with a measure of economic return for the well. Measurements All dollar amounts are referenced in thousands of Canadian dollars, except when noted otherwise. This press release contains various references to the abbreviation BOE which means barrels of oil equivalent. Where amounts are expressed on a BOE basis, natural gas volumes have been converted to oil equivalence at six thousand cubic feet per barrel and sulphur volumes have been converted to oil equivalence at 0.6 long tons per barrel. The term BOE may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet per barrel is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead and is significantly different than the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil and natural gas. This conversion factor is an industry accepted norm and is not based on either energy content or current prices. Such abbreviation may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. References to "oil" in this press release include crude oil and field condensate. References to "natural gas liquids" or "NGLs" include pentane, butane, propane, and ethane. References to "liquids" include field condensate and NGLs. References to "gas" in this discussion include natural gas and sulphur. Abbreviations A&D Acquisitions and dispositions AECO Alberta Energy Company natural gas pricing hub AESO Alberta Electric System Operator electric power pricing pool AFFO Adjusted funds from operations Bbls Barrels Bbls/d Barrels per day BOE Barrel of oil equivalent BOE/d Barrel of oil equivalent per day CAD or CA$ Canadian dollars CO2E Carbon dioxide equivalent COVID-19 Coronavirus disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus D&C Drill and complete DUC Drilled but uncompleted G&A General and administrative GAAP Generally accepted accounting principles KEL Trading symbol for Kelt Exploration Ltd. common shares on the TSX Mcf Thousand cubic feet Mcf/d Thousand cubic feet per day MM Million MMBtu Million British thermal units MMcf Million cubic feet MMcf/d Million cubic feet per day NGLs Natural gas liquids NYMEX Henry Hub Natural gas pricing hub on the New York Mercantile Exchange P&NG Petroleum and natural gas Sfc Surface location for a well TSX The Toronto Stock Exchange USD or US$ United States of America dollars WTI West Texas Intermediate For further information, please contact: Kelt Exploration Ltd., Suite 300, 311 - 6th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 3H2 David J. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer (403) 201-5340, or Sadiq H. Lalani, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (403) 215-5310. Or visit our website at www.keltexploration.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130182 CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Australia will on Thursday release May figures for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The trade balance is expected to show a surplus of A$10.725 billion, up from A$10.495 billion in April - when imports dipped 0.7 percent on month and exports rose 1.0 percent. Australia also will see June results for the Performance of Services Index from the Australian Industry Group; in May, the index score was 49.2. Japan will release preliminary May figures for its leading and coincident economic indexes; in April, their scores were 102.9 and 96.8, respectively. South Korea will provide May numbers for current account; in April, the balance showed a deficit of $0.08 billion. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Oil fell $8.93 or 8.2 per cent to US$99.50 a barrel to the lowest since mid-May as recession fears mount around the world. Investors are expecting that a recession would lead to a slowdown in global demand over the persistent supply chain disruptions. The price of crude has had a volatile run over the past month due to this concern so it's not unfamiliar news. Adding to the woes, are the supply outages and protests disrupting exports in Libya.Libya has been entangled in conflict since the fall of Moammar Al Qaddafi in 2011. Its now facing a standoff between two politicians, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and Fathi Bashagha. Why? They each claim to be the legitimate Prime Minister.The recent closures are linked to politics with some protests at ports and fields demanding the transfer of power to Bashagha, the fair and transparent distribution of oil revenues and the dismissal of National Oil Corporation chairman Mustafa Sanalla.Investors are also watching the moves in Norway. The strike came to a halt around a few hours ago at time of writing, after the Norwegian government intervened to end a strike, according to Reuters."Workers are going back to work as soon as possible. We are cancelling the planned escalation," Lederne union leader Audun Ingvartsen told Reuters. Asked whether the strike was over, he said,"yes".Norwegian offshore oil and gas workers went on strike over pay on Tuesday, the first day of planned industrial action that had threatened to cut the country's gas exports by almost 60 per cent and exacerbate supply shortages linked to the Ukraine war.Oil and gas from Norway, Europe's second-largest energy supplier after Russia, is in high demand as the country is seen as a reliable and predictable supplier, especially with Russia's Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline due to shut for maintenance from July 11 for 10 days.Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that Saudi Arabia will need to produce more oil to help reduce the cost of living. British wholesale gas price for day-ahead delivery had leapt nearly 16 per cent on Tuesday.Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only countries with significant spare capacity to pump crude. OPEC+ has stuck to their plan of a 648,000 barrels per day increase in August and held back from any talks from September. The Group is more than half a billion barrels behind on its commitment to supply oil to the world with its compliance rate at 256 per cent in May, 2.7 million barrels a day below their collective target.Without a pledge from the two OPEC members to boost output, the pain of high fuel prices are likely to persist.Adding to all of this, President Biden is set to travel to the Middle East from 13 to 16 this month which could be a significant play on the price of crude. Soaring prices at the pump have become a political issue and to supplement the tight market, the Biden Administration has tapped into the strategic petroleum reserve which is only a temporary measure. Currently, the US Energy Department reports that the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is sitting at its lowest levels since April of 1986 so this support is set to come to an end soon.With recession concerns front of mind, the strength of the US dollar rallied against the Aussie dollar. One Australian Dollar at 7:30am has weakened against the US dollar since yesterday, buying 68.02 US cents. Commodities are sold in US dollars which puts commodity prices under pressure.Energy stocks are likely to really feel the pain today and it could be the same with copper and gold stocks.Copper fell 4.3 per cent to US$7,658 a tonAluminium lost 3.2 per cent to US$2,373 a tonNickel added 0.6 per cent to US$22,581 a tonGold lost $37.60 or 2.1 per cent to US$1764 an ounceZinc fell 4.2 per cent to US$3,040 a tonSources: Bloomberg, Reuters, UBS Konsileo, a London, UK-based commercial insurance broker and risk management adviser, raised 4.7M in Series A funding The round was led by Growth Tech VC Committed Capital, which provided 3.23m of the current funding round. New investors include a 900,000 investment from ACF Investors, a UK venture capital fund and angel investors. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its recruitment of UK insurance brokers and further develop its technology platform. Led by CEO John Warburton and CTO Peter Henderson, Konsileo is an FCA authorised and chartered insurance broker which has developed a proprietary broking platform with built-in compliance checks, and policy administration that frees brokers from repetitive tasks and facilitates risk capture and insight and cross-firm collaboration. FinSMEs 04/07/2022 Thabor Therapeutics, a Paris, France-based company developing an innovative treatment for patients living with chronic mucosal inflammatory diseases, secured 2m ($2.09M) in funding. French public investment bank Bpifrance provided the funds as part of the Deeptech Plan. The funding from Bpifrance is another step towards the series A round planned for Q4, 2022. Thabor also intends to use the money This funding will enable the company to accelerate its R&D programs for the industrial development of its monoclonal antibodies and an IND (Investigational New Drug) application and for further staff recruitment to strengthen its team. Led by Jeremie Mariau, CEO, Thabor Therapeutics is a biotech company which specializes in the development of an innovative approach to treat patients living with chronic mucosal inflammatory diseases, in particular Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The companys goal is to develop first-in-class drugs that specifically target newly identified gut-secreted proteins which disrupt epithelial homeostasis. In 2021, the company received seed funding from AdBio partners. Based in Paris, the start-up was founded in June 2021 and currently employs six people. FinSMEs 06/07/2022 On July 1st and 3rd 2022, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Dr. Zhou Pingjian's article So-called Debt Trap Pure Disinformationwas published on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Capital FM, Business Daily and The Standard. The full text goes as follows: Kenyaslargest creditor? Not China.Kenya owes less than 10% of its public debt, or, less than 20% of its foreign debt, to Chinese creditors. Labeling China as the main creditor of Kenya is clearly an overstatement. Western investors, often in the forms of multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors, are the largest creditors of African countries such as Kenya. According to the World Banks 2022 International Debt Statistics, 28.8% of Africas external debt comes form multilateral financial institutions and 41.8% from commercial creditors. Together they account for nearly three-fourths of Africas total debt. Development takes financing support, internal or external. Following their political independence, African countries have made tireless efforts toward national development and economic revitalization. In this process, a shortage of funds for development and the need for external financing are problems that African countries have to face. China-Africa financing cooperation has provided Africa with new options to break the bottleneck of insufficient funds for development. Since the beginning of the 21st century, China and other emerging markets and developing countries have actively supported Africas economic development. We have provided Africa with new financing channels different from the traditional Paris Club to help Africa build capacity for self-generated development. Take China-Kenya financing cooperation. All the loans from China are project-specific based on equal-footed consultation and mutually beneficial cooperation. The fruitful and tangible outcomes of our cooperation are solid there for all to see. Africas debt situation is in nature an issue of development. The solution lies in ensuring the effective use of funds and loans. Fact is, financing from Western countries mainly focuses on non-manufacturing sectors, and often comes with political strings attached, such as reforms in human rights, law and other areas. Instead of truly helping Africa to advance economic growth, generate more tax revenues, and increase exports and earn foreign exchange for improved balance of payments, such financing is used as a means to remold the continent. China always respects the wishes of the African people and Chinas financing to Africa mainly focuses on infrastructure and manufacturing-related sectors to meet the regions real needs. To date, by putting various funds to use, Chinese companies have helped African countries build and upgrade over 10,000 kilometers of railway, around 100,000 kilometers of highway, 1,000 bridges, 100 ports, and many large-scale power plants, hospitals and schools. Such financing support has boosted economic growth, increased tax revenues, created jobs, and improved peoples lives in relevant countries, bringing tangible benefits to the African people. On transparency, China-Africa financing co-operation always follows customary business practices and respects African countries sovereignty, will and domestic legal procedures. There is no interference or covert maneuver. In addition, China has never attached any political strings to debt agreements, never forced any African country to take out loans, and never pressed for debt service by any African country. Not a single Africancountry slid into debt predicaments or has been forced to mortgage its ports, mines or other strategic resources to Chinajust because it has financing cooperation with China.Tarnishing the transparency of China-Africa cooperation is an insult to the governance of African countries and the wisdom of the African people. Such attempts themselves, I am afraid, are driven by the least transparent of intentions. Not a single developing country has ever fallen into the so-called debt trap because of Chinese loans. In fact, the so-called debt trap is a narrative trap created by those who wish to forever plunge Africa into a poverty trap and backwardness trap. It cannot be said that only the loans provided by Western countries in the past were development aids, while these from China now are called debt traps. China is truly committed to supporting Africas development and revitalization, and has always been dedicated to easing Africas debt pressure. China is fully implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative for Poorest Countries (DSSI): it has put off more debt payments than any other G20 member, signed agreement or reached common understanding on debt relief with 19 African countries, and engaged in the case-by-case debt treatment of Chad and Ethiopia under the G20 Common Framework. Unfortunately, commercial creditors as Africas main lenders only have limited participation in the G20 DSSI, and multilateral financial institutions have even refused to adopt debt relief measures under the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI. In doing so, they are forcing Africas bilateral official creditors to offer debt relief, and they claim that this would be good for Africa. Truth is, this is not in the interest of African countries and would only cost Africa once again its access to the international financing market. In November 2021, at the eighth FOCAC Ministerial Conference, President Xi Jinping announced the exemption of debt incurred in the form of interest-free Chinese government loans due by the end of 2021 for LDCs in Africa, and pledged to channel to African countries 10 billion US dollars from its share of the IMFs new allocation of Special Drawing Rights. China has also supported Africa in easing debt burdens by encouraging new means of financing based on market-oriented principles and commercial rules, including BOT, PPP and direct investment. Furthermore, China is exploring suppliers credit in its financing cooperation with Africa. To resolve Africas debt problems requires a systematic plan, which includes both stopgap measures such as debt relief and solutions to step up Africas capacity for independent and sustainable development. China calls on the international community to beef up support to Africa, respect its will, heed its voice, and help African countries realize independent and sustainable development at an early date. On June 13, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a virtual meeting with New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta at the latter's request. Mahuta said, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between New Zealand and China is a significant event in bilateral relations, and New Zealand is committed to developing the New Zealand-China comprehensive strategic partnership and promoting pragmatic cooperation in fields such as economy and trade, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges. New Zealand has long adhered to the one-China principle and appreciates China's respect for New Zealand's independent foreign policy. New Zealand and China can achieve common goals through dialogue, and conduct cooperation in addressing climate change, fighting the pandemic, promoting regional development and prosperity, and other fields. Wang Yi said, since the establishment of diplomatic ties half a century ago, China-New Zealand relations have gone through the evolving international landscape and become a successful example of win-win cooperation between countries that differ in social system, history, culture and development stage. China-New Zealand relations have created many "firsts", playing a steering role in China's relations with developed countries. China appreciates the fact that the New Zealand government has consistently pursued a positive and pragmatic China policy and regards its relations with China as one of the main directions of its foreign relations. China attaches importance to New Zealand's position and role, always regards New Zealand as an important strategic cooperative partner, and is full of confidence in the prospects of bilateral relations. Both sides should conscientiously take stock of the successful experience over the past 50 years, enhance mutual trust, focus on mutually beneficial cooperation, and usher in the next 50 years of bilateral relations featuring greater maturity, stability, mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. Wang Yi said, as Ms. Foreign Minister has said many times, China-New Zealand relations have become increasingly mature and resilient. The most important takeaway from the 50 years of bilateral exchanges is mutual respect. Both sides respect the development path chosen by each other's people, pursue an independent foreign policy, cherish and advocate multilateralism, do not impose one's will on each other, and stick to non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. The valuable experience should be cherished and carried forward. Wang Yi said, China is ready to work with New Zealand to earnestly follow through on the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, enhance political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, tell the story of friendly exchanges between the two countries, and cement the public support for bilateral relations. The two sides should also ensure sound implementation of the protocol on upgrading the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, make good use of the China-New Zealand Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Change, and accelerate green recovery. President Xi Jinping has put forward the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI) in succession, and China welcomes New Zealand's active participation in the two initiatives. Wang Yi said, exchanges and cooperation between China and Pacific Island Countries (PICs), dating back to long ago and enjoying vigorous development, is an important part of South-South cooperation. As the largest developing country, China is ready to share its development opportunities with PICs having diplomatic relations with China, and help them accelerate development. New Zealand is a standard-bearer of regional multilateralism and has always been committed to regional peace and stability. China respects the traditional ties between New Zealand and PICs, as well as the existing regional cooperation mechanisms. The cooperation between China and PICs having diplomatic relations with China can go in parallel with and complement the existing regional arrangements. In light of the wish of PICs, China will continue to carry out more tripartite and multi-party cooperation projects with New Zealand to jointly build a South Pacific featuring openness, inclusiveness, solidarity and cooperation. Mahuta said, PICs are facing severe challenges such as coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, recovering economies and addressing climate change. New Zealand and China should support PICs in overcoming the above challenges through bilateral and multilateral platforms. New Zealand believes that the GDI and the GSI are of strategic significance, and stands ready to make joint efforts with China on global development and security. The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern. On March 30, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who attended the "Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan Plus Afghanistan" Foreign Ministers' Dialogue, in Tunxi, Anhui Province. Mohammed thanked China for inviting him to attend the Dialogue, spoke highly of China's important role on the Afghan issue, highly appreciated China's consistent and fair position on the Palestinian question, and extended congratulations on the successful Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. He said, Qatar cherishes its friendship with China, and the government and people of Qatar always remember the strong support of China when Qatar encountered difficulties. The Qatari side firmly supports the one-China principle and opposes external interference in China's internal affairs. The economic and trade cooperation between Qatar and China continues to expand, with China becoming Qatar's most important energy partner. Qatar is willing to be China's sustained and stable energy supplier and will firmly fulfill the cooperation agreement between the two sides. The Qatari side attaches great importance to and is willing to actively participate in the important Belt and Road Initiative, and will continue to provide convenience for Chinese enterprises to invest in Qatar. Wang Yi said, President Xi Jinping and Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a successful meeting during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and reached important consensus, leading the China-Qatar relations to constantly make new progress. The two sides should continue to support each other in safeguarding core interests and strengthen the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Qatar National Vision 2030. China is willing to be Qatar's long-term, reliable and stable strategic partner in energy cooperation and actively expand cooperation in the whole industrial chain. Wang Yi said, Qatar has participated in the political settlement of various hotspot issues, and contributed to peace and cooperation, making Doha an important stage for small countries to actively carry out a strong foreign policy. The current international situation is turbulent and volatile, and non-peace factors are increasing. However, the Palestinian question should not be marginalized, let alone forgotten. China supports countries in the Middle East in strengthening solidarity and self-improvement, exploring development paths in line with their own choices in the spirit of independence, respecting and accommodating each other's legitimate concerns in an inclusive and reconciliatory manner, and building a collective security architecture in the Middle East. The two sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in culture, education, sports, tourism and other fields, so as to strengthen people-to-people bonds between the two countries. The two sides agreed to upgrade cooperation between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Mohammed expressed support for signing the free trade agreement between China and the GCC as soon as possible. The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation on the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. The two sides also exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue, among others. Chinese FM calls China-Thailand ties "as close as one family" Xinhua) 09:22, July 06, 2022 Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Teng) BANGKOK, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Tuesday that the relations between China and Thailand are "as close as one family". When meeting with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Wang said the two countries should cherish the relationship described as China and Thailand being as close as one family. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Thailand have helped each other overcome difficulties. During the pandemic they have witnessed progress in bilateral pragmatic cooperation, which demonstrated resilience and vitality, said Wang. Both as major developing countries and emerging economies, China and Thailand should strengthen strategic coordination so as to make greater contributions to regional and global peace and stability, he added. China supports Thailand in hosting the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Leaders' Meeting later this year, and having the Asian voices heard and making the Asian contribution to global governance, Wang said. For his part, Don said the two countries have maintained strategic communication, deepened political mutual trust, and expanded practical cooperation in the spirit of Thailand and China being as close as one family. He thanked China for providing medical supplies to help Thailand fight COVID-19, streamlining the customs clearance of Thai farm exports to China, and facilitating the return of Thai students to China. Thailand expects both countries to work towards focusing the APEC 2022 meetings on openness, connectivity and balance, and achieving positive results on Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and bio-circular-green economy, so as to boost the post-pandemic recovery, Don said. The two sides agreed to take the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership as an opportunity to jointly plan the future development of bilateral ties. They pledged commitment to building a more stable, prosperous and sustainable China-Thailand community with a shared future, elevating the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level, enhancing the friendship between the two peoples, and making greater strides in cooperation in various fields. They agreed to work towards an early railway connection among China, Laos and Thailand to enable smoother flow of goods and hence boost economy and trade and industrial development, pushing for an overall advancement of the tripartite cooperation among them, as well as a real elevation of the sub-regional development. The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation on cyber security, jointly combatting telecom fraud. Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He co-chaired the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Bagan, Myanmar. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Since joining the African Development Bank Group as its 81st shareholder in 2020, Ireland has shown steadily increasing interest in strengthening its economic ties with Africa. That mission received a strong boost last week at the 7th Africa Ireland Economic Forum in Dublin, as African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina enjoined the Irish business community to invest more in Africa. If you are not investing in Africa, youre not in business, Adesina told his audience. Foreign direct investment of Ireland in Africa was $572 million at the end of 2020 and represented only 0.05% of Irelands total net foreign direct, Adesina said. This is too low. Ireland should invest a lot more in Africa. Lets set a target of 15% of Irish investments in Africa. The exhortation from Africas premier development finance institutions chief was matched by the Irish authorities publicly expressed enthusiasm about Ireland-Africa cooperation. Speaking at the forum on Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence Simon Coveney talked about Irelands deepening economic and cultural links with Africa. He noted the prospects for closer trading links with the continent, pointing out that trade between Ireland and Africa would likely reach 5 billion by 2025. Receiving the Bank Group chief on Friday, Irish President Michael D. Higgins congratulated Adesina for his work on the recent establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation. Nothing is more important than that, said President Higgins. He spoke about his long-time interest in Africa and his optimism for its economic advancement. Discussing the looming global food crisis prompted by Russias war in Ukraine, President Higgins welcomed the pre-emptive steps the Bank had taken to ensure food security for the continent. Describing their meeting, Adesina said: President Higgins so warmly received me. He has a heart and passion for Africa. He told me: You are doing such an incredible job for Africa with your leadership in running the African Development Bank. I am inspired by your vision. Similar support for continued strong cooperation came from senior Irish officials with whom Adesina met during his visit, notably: Colm Brophy, Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora; John Hogan, Secretary General of the Department of Finance and Alternate Governor for Ireland at the African Development Bank Group; and Paul Ryan, Director of the departments International Finance and Climate Division, which is responsible for managing Irelands shareholding in international financial institutions. Adesina thanked the Irish government for joining the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund, the Bank Groups concessional lending arm, and he expressed appreciation for Irelands contributionannounced by Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Coveney on Thursdayof 2 million to the African Development Bank for climate adaptation. In an address (https://bit.ly/3Ap2qkt) to the forum on Thursday, the African Development Bank head held a packed conference hall captive as he spoke about the current African economic environment, the continents challenges, its many opportunities, and about the African Development Bank Groups role as a solutions bank, a valued partner to its regional member countries, its international development partners, and to the international business community, whose investment he said was desirable. You can count on the African Development Bank as a partner, he stressed. The Bank president was also interviewed (https://bit.ly/3NFm9PZ) at the Institute of International European Affairs (IIEA) by Ambassador David Donoghue, Irelands former Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Welcoming Adesina, he said: Dr Adesina is often described as Africas Optimist-in-Chief and is widely praised for his visionary leadership and passion for the transformation of Africa. Since he took over as President of the African Development Bank in 2015, the Bank has achieved the highest capital increase since its establishment in 1964. In his opening remarks, Paul Ryan said: As well as being Africas Optimist-in-Chief, Id like to say to Dr. Adesina that he is also Irelands closest friend in the African Development Bank and in the continent of Africa as well. He has been a fabulous partner for Ireland for the last couple of years, particularly since we joined the Bank in February of 2020. [] The response by the Bankunder the leadership of the Presidentto Covid and now to the Ukrainian war, has been absolutely exemplary. A lot of future-proofing kicking has been done in relation to food security, renewable energy, economic development, and its exactly in line with our developmesnt objectives. We are very happy to join the bank, very pleased with the level of engagement and really pleased with the work that the Bank has been doing in the continent. Ryan added that Adesinafirst elected President of the Bank in 2015 and unanimously re-elected for another five-year term in August of 2020is a bold reformer who completely transformed the agriculture sector in Nigeria as agriculture minister over four years, and that he has replicated that same success at the African Development Bank. We are very happy with the President. Our fellow colleagues in the constituency are very happy. And more importantly, the wider membership in the continent of Africa are very happy. Adesina spoke about the work of the Bankin particular the High 5 Strategic Priorities that he is credited with developing for the institutionand how he saw these priorities as the fulcrum for both transforming Africa and helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Adesina invited officials and private sector operatives to the next edition of the Banks Africa Investment Forum, taking place in Abidjan in November. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires A new anti-hangover pill that touts itself as the first product in history to break down alcohol effectively is ready to buy in the UK. Weve heard of so many hangover cures before, whether they be specially designed diffuser or a weird concoction brewed together in a dingy flat kitchen somewhere in Dunedin. So what makes this wonder pill - called Myrkl - different from the others, and does it do the job? LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla., June 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via InvestorWire -- Piezo Motion, a Brain Scientific ( OTCQB:BRSF ) company, and DHM, a sales and consultant representative firm based in Brazil, today announce a partnership. Piezo Motion is a developer and leading manufacturer of automation technology. DHM has been serving as a consultant for companies in the industrial automation segment for more than 20 years. Piezo Motions unique motion control technology will provide precision motor solutions and motion control at an affordable price to customers in Brazil and elsewhere in South America that specialize in electronic components, modules and systems, and optimum technical services. Piezo Motions multifaceted rotary and linear motors are built with technology that provides a stable, accurate motor designed specifically for OEMs that require ultimate speed, size and accuracy. It is an honor to be part of a high-tech and innovative company like Piezo Motion, said Daniel Mialich, a sales consultant for DHM. I'm still learning the products, but I can already see the magnitude of the benefits for engineering and science that improve our lives. Piezo Motion motors are used globally for a variety of applications. These include laboratory instruments, biomedicine, optics, semiconductors, nanotechnology industries, and industrial electronic and automotive systems, along with an expanding portfolio of products that combine performance with dramatically lower cost over conventional piezo solutions. Our miniature motors perform with more precision and better efficiency than any other solution in the industry, said Hassan Kotob, chairman and CEO of Piezo Motion. Product engineers and innovators in Brazil will now have access to our technology, which will be game changing for their next-generation devices. About Piezo Motion Piezo Motion ( piezomotion.com ), a Brain Scientific company, is a leader in precision motor technology with multimillion-dollar investments in research and development of affordable piezoelectric motors to meet, and exceed, the needs of today's global markets. The company is committed to the development of innovative technology and motion products that enhance functionality in a multitude of applications. The company works with startups, OEMs, research institutions and industrial companies from around the world, empowering the visionaries behind their products. About Brain Scientific Brain Scientific ( brainscientific.com ) is a medical technology company with multiple patents and FDA-cleared products. Brain Scientific is committed to developing next-gen solutions that advance the future of neurodiagnostic and OEM medical devices. Brain Scientific has two product lines covering neurology and precision motion. The NeuroCap and NeuroEEG are smart neurological diagnostic devices that simplify administration, shorten scan time and cut costs. The Piezo Motion product line consists of ultra-efficient compact precision motors that will drive the next generation of medical devices. To learn more about Brain Scientific's corporate strategy, products or investor relations, please visit brainscientific.com . About DHM For more than 20 years, DHM ( dhm.ind.br ) has been a consultant for companies in industrial automation. The company, based in Brazil, also works with businesses in manufacturing, security sensors, frequency inverters, electrical panels and motion control systems. Forward-Looking Statements Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding (i) the plans and objectives of management for future operations, including plans or objectives relating to the design, development and commercialization of EEG products and services and piezo motor technology; (ii) a projection of income (including income/loss), earnings (including earnings/loss) per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other financial items; (iii) the company's future financial performance; (iv) the successful integration of Piezo Motion with and into Brain Scientific; and (v) the assumptions underlying or relating to any statement described in points (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) above. Such forward-looking statements are not meant to predict or guarantee actual results, performance, events or circumstances and may not be realized because they are based upon the company's current projections, plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and other influences, over many of which the company has no control. Actual results and the timing of certain events and circumstances may differ materially from those described by the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties. Factors that may influence or contribute to the inaccuracy of the forward-looking statements or cause actual results to differ materially from expected or desired results may include, without limitation, the company's inability to obtain additional financing; the significant length of time and resources associated with the development of products and related insufficient cash flows and resulting illiquidity; the company's inability to expand its business; significant government regulation of medical devices and the healthcare industry; lack of product diversification; volatility in the price of the company's raw materials; and the failure to implement the company's business plans or strategies. Some of these and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the company's filings with the SEC. The company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements. CONTACTS INVESTORS ir@brainscientific.com MEDIA pr@brainscientific.com Corporate Communications WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, Mont., July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandfire Resources America Inc. ("Sandfire America" or the "Company") announces that the District Court has issued an order on remedies that will allow Phase I Construction of the Black Butte Copper Project to be completed under the existing permit. Jerry Zieg, Senior Vice President, stated, Although we continue to strongly disagree with the Courts initial April 8th Order, we are pleased with Judge Bidegarays decision today to allow us to continue with its development of the Black Butte Copper Project. Sandfire America maintains that our Black Butte Copper Project is the best and most environmentally sound mining project ever proposed in Montana and that DEQ properly permitted all phases of the Project. The order on remedies is in regard to the April 8th, 2022 ruling in a lawsuit against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (Montana DEQ) and Tintina Montana Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company ("Tintina Montana"), filed by mining adversaries on June 4, 2020, challenging the Black Butte Copper Project. The ruling found that the Montana DEQ had violated aspects of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) and the Montana Metal Mine Reclamation Act (MMRA) in its grant of a Mine Operating Permit for the Black Butte Copper Project. On July 1, 2022, plaintiffs and defendants filed a joint motion recommending a stipulated order for remedies. By granting the stipulated motion, the Judges Order will allow Tintina Montana to complete Phase I Construction under the existing permit while it pursues an appeal of the April 8th Order. The Company is also concurrently working on strategies to complete additional test work, analysis, and reporting for additional authorizations from Montana DEQ with the objective of moving the project past Phase 1 of the Permit. Contact Information: Sandfire Resources America Inc. Nancy Schlepp, VP of Communications Mobile: 406-224-8180 Office: 406-547-3466 Email: nschlepp@sandfireamerica.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this document constitute "forward looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding advancing Phase I Construction to completion, pursuing an appeal of the April 8th Order, completing additional test work, analysis, and reporting for additional authorizations from Montana DEQ and expected outcomes. In making these forward-looking statements, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the Company will receive required regulatory approvals, and will be able to secure additional funding to execute its plans. However, the forward-looking statements in this document are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals, inability to obtain financing. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Washington, D.C., July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the New Civil Liberties Alliance filed an opening brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Norris, et al. v. Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., et al. Jeanna Norris, Kraig Ehm, and DAnn Rohrer, current or former employees of Michigan State University fired for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine, have challenged MSUs unlawful vaccine mandate, which violates their constitutional right to bodily autonomy, conditions their employment on receiving unnecessary medical treatment, and ignores their statutory right to informed consent. In July of 2021, MSU issued a vaccine mandate requiring all employees and students to receive a COVID-19 vaccine unless they receive an approved medical or religious exemption. Any WHO-approved vaccine, including those that are not FDA-approved (e.g., Chinese-developed Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, which have approximately 50% efficacy rates), are sufficient to satisfy MSUs mandate, but Plaintiffs naturally acquired immunity to the virus is not. Disciplinary proceedings against them commenced for declining to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, and two of the three were terminated. Plaintiffs brought suit in federal district court challenging the mandate on federal constitutional and statutory grounds. The district court granted MSUs motion to dismiss the complaint and ruled MSUs vaccine mandate survives the low standard of rational basis review. Plaintiffs maintain that rational basis review is not the appropriate standard by which to evaluate their claim that MSUs vaccine mandate violates their constitutional right to bodily integrity. Nevertheless, even if rational basis applies, Plaintiffs should still prevail because MSUs mandate doesnt satisfy this standard. The governmentincluding a state actor like MSUis not entitled, without a compelling reason, to insert itself into personal health decisions. To hold otherwise would endow the government with carte blanche to wield unconstrained and limitless power over countless personal decisions in everyday life. Forcing a COVID-recovered person with natural immunity to take a vaccine that provides no benefit individually nor to third parties, while risking adverse effects, is not rational. MSUs logic would mean the university could mandate the vaccine for each employee every daybecause doing so might slightly boost their antibody levels. The district court even suggested that were it to decide the case based on the scientific evidence available at the time of the hearing on the motion to dismissFebruary of 2022it may have reached a different conclusion as to the rationality of the mandate. However, it considered itself bound by the state of scientific knowledge as of July 2021, when MSU crafted its vaccine mandate. This was legal error. MSUs vaccine mandate leveraged Plaintiffs employment in order to coerce them into surrendering their rights to bodily autonomy. The mandate did so by threatening Plaintiffs livelihoods despite the fact that the vaccine in question does not stop transmission of the virus. And all of that was accomplished not through democratic means, but through usurpation of legislative authority by an unelected, unaccountable administrator. In the face of these facts, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals should reverse the district courts decision to dismiss the case. NCLA released the following statement: The district court erroneously assumed that Jacobson v. Massachusetts, a case from 1905, means MSUs vaccine mandate is constitutional. The court recognized that the mandate implicates the constitutional right to bodily autonomy, but wrongly concluded that the university had shown sufficient interest in forcing Plaintiffs, who all have natural immunity to COVID-19, to get vaccinated or lose their jobs. Jenin Younes, Litigation Counsel, NCLA For more information visit the case page here or watch the case video here. ABOUT NCLA NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLAs public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans fundamental rights. ### HOUSTON, July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tan Tao Investment & Industry Corporation ("ITACO"), a public company chaired by Dr. Maya Dangelas, launched a billion-dollar arbitration proceeding against Vietnam under the Agreement between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Trade Relations (the "Treaty") pursuant to the 1976 UNCITRAL Rules (the "Arbitration"). ITACO, one of Vietnam's largest publicly traded companies, was faced with no other choice but to commence the Arbitration after Vietnam sought to liquidate ITACO - a multi-billion-dollar company - on the basis of around USD 900,000 in debt that, it claimed, arose from a contract involving ITACO's subcontractor and a third party, a contract to which ITACO was never even a party. Dr. Dangelas elaborated: "The Arbitration follows from a series of attacks by the then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and the Vietnamese corrupted system against my companies such as ITACO. I created ITACO in 1996, and it has been Vietnam's premier builder and operator of industrial parks in order to provide the manpower and material to create a platform with a 'one door service' so that investors could set up in Vietnam without waiting for years of bureaucratic hurdles. ITACO's industrial parks have drawn thousands of foreign investors to Vietnam and transformed many areas of Vietnam by providing jobs and utilities to local citizens. Because of the success of ITACO in changing peoples' lives for the better, I was nominated and elected to the National Assembly as representative of the people from Duc Hoa Province (where one of ITACO's largest industrial parks is located in 2011.) During that time, as a member of the National Assembly, I exposed the corrupted system linked to the then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. I used that position to speak out against corruption and in favor of greater transparency in Vietnam's Statist economy. Because of my bold and outspoken statements, I was dismissed from the National Assembly by the Vietnamese dictatorship on bogus grounds. Subsequently, the then Minister Nguyen Tan Dung continued to use his power engaging in a series of attacks against ITACO's employees, my families, and me. For example, Vietnam's secret police raided my offices and abducted two employees, who were held without being charged for an extended period. At the same time, death threats were made against me after my computers were hacked and vile, sexist attacks were lobbed against me in Vietnam's media." Dr. Dangelas, Chairwoman and representative of ITACO, explains further: "During my life, I have vigorously fought for justice, not only for my companies, my investors, my employees, my family, and me, but also for many others, as I believe with all my heart and soul that we all were born to have a dignified life with 'certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' The most important provision for the pursuit of happiness is justice and freedom. I also draw inspiration from the words of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama: 'Whether we are concerned with suffering ... with denial of freedom, with armed conflict ... we should not view these events in isolation. Eventually, their repercussions are felt by all of us. We, therefore, need effective international action to address these global issues from the perspective of the oneness of humanity, and from a profound understanding of the deeply interconnected nature of today's world.' Armed with the inspired words of the American Founding Fathers and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, I have fought, and I am urgently pleading for effective international action in dealing with the current horrendous injustice in Vietnam." ITACO and Dr. Maya Dangelas are represented by Philippe Pinsolle (Geneve) and Alexander Leventhal (Paris) of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP and Minh-Tam (Tammy Tran) of Tammy Tran Attorneys At Law, LLP (Houston). "Overview of corruption and anti-corruption in Vietnam" Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, available at https://www.u4.no/publications/overview-of-corruption-and-anti-corruption-in-vietnam.pdf; "Corruption in Vietnam: causes and culprits", Yen Duong, Cultural Relations Quarterly Review, Spring 2015, available at http://culturalrelations.org/Review/CRQR_02_02/CRQR_02_02_Duong-Y_Corruption-in-Vietnam.pdf ; "The ruthless truth behind Vietnam's corruption crackdown", Globe, 11 October 2017, available at https://southeastasiaglobe.com/communist-party-secretary-general-power/; "Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged to resign", BBC, dated November 14, 2012, available at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20322830 ; "Vietnam arrests more oil executives amid corruption crackdown", Reuters, dated June 21, 2018 available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vietnam-security-idUSKBN1JH2G3. "A billion dollar thermal power plant of Tan Tao Group is about to be 'wiped out'", Dan Tri, 4 October 2017. "Businesswoman Dang Thi Hoang Yen - Starting a business from two hands, Cafeland, 27 December 2011. "Vietnam tycoon falls foul of the party", Financial Times, 27 April 2012. "Vietnam tycoon falls foul of the party", Financial Times, 27 April 2012 "Vietnam tycoon falls foul of the party", Financial Times, 27 April 2012 ; "Vietnam, Events of 2019", Human Rights Watch. "Turn over Dang Thi hoang Yen", Blogspot, 9 October 2012, available at http://quanlambao111.blogspot.com/2012/10/quan-lam-bao-bi-hack-nhu-nao.html; "Hackers continue to hunt for Ms. Dang Thi Hoang Yen: 'Remove mask of Quan Lam Bao'", Wordpress, 20 April 2013, available at https://danhsachden787.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/dang-thi-hoang-yen-cua-quanlambao/ Letter from Mr. John Rafferty dated December 26, 2012 ; Petition from Dr. Dangelas dated December 5, 2012. Petition from employees of TEC dated December 2, 2012; Petition from Dr. Dangelas dated December 5, 2012. Letter from Mr. John Rafferty dated December 26, 2012 ; Petition from Dr. Dangelas dated December 5, 2012. "Turn over Dang Thi hoang Yen", Blogspot, 9 October 2012, available at http://quanlambao111.blogspot.com/2012/10/quan-lam-bao-bi-hack-nhu-nao.html; "Hackers continue to hunt for Ms. Dang Thi Hoang Yen: 'Remove mask of Quan Lam Bao'", Wordpress, 20 April 2013, available at https://danhsachden787.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/dang-thi-hoang-yen-cua-quanlambao/ "The Declaration of Independence". National Archives. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2020-12-02. Contact: Tammy Tran, The Tammy Tran Law Firm, 832-372-4403, ttran@tt-lawfirm.com DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The formulation development outsourcing market is predicted to account for US$ 66.6 billion in 2032, up from US$ 31 billion in 2021, advancing at a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period (2022-2032). The increased R&D costs are expected to increase demand for formulation development outsourcing. Formulation development outsourcing services are widely used by small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies that lack the necessary resources. The majority of pharmaceutical companies use it to reduce the amount of time spent on outsourcing services for formulation development as a result of trial-related costs. The expansion of the formulation development outsourcing business is responsible for the pharmaceutical industry's increasing reliance on partnerships with academic institutions. Request a sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-15131 The market value of formulation development outsourcing can be significantly harmed by increases in the cost and demand for various medications and raw materials. The medical medication patent protection expiration was a marketing strategy developed by the formulation development outsourcing business to encourage market growth. The formulation development outsourcing market size has increased as a result of the rise in the number of biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies that contract out their work. In North America, the market for formulation development outsourcing held a substantial share of 26.8% in 2021. As an illustration, many clinical trials are conducted in the United States. Furthermore, it is anticipated that Europe will hold the formulation development outsourcing market share. The government's supportive initiatives, sedentary lifestyles, and the rise in chronic illnesses are driving the market in this region. Key Takeaways The formulation development outsourcing market is predicted to develop at a CAGR of 7.2%, with a market share of US$ 66.6 billion through 2032. The formulation development outsourcing market in North America holds a sizable share of 22.8 in 2021. The formulation development outsourcing market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to have a significant CAGR of 8.1% through 2032. The formulation development outsourcing market had a share of US$ 31 billion in 2021. The oral segment of the formulation development outsourcing market, based on formulation, had a revenue share of 63.6% in 2021. The formulation development segment of the formulation development outsourcing market, based on services, had a revenue share of 76.6% in 2021. PDF Broacher @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-15131 Competitive Landscape: Some of the primary measures players are employing to take advantage of the formulation development outsourcing market opportunities include frequent product launches, geographic expansions, and distribution agreements to expand their consumer base. Key Players SGS S.A. Intertek Group plc Recipharm Lonza Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. Eurofins Scientific SE Element Labcorp Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (Patheon) Catalent Inc. Recent Developments: In 2019, Intertek enlarged its Melbourne-based laboratory for pharmaceutical services. In 2021, Cataleny Inc. announced that it had acquired the packaging and manufacturing divisions of Acorda Therapeutics Inc. In 2021, Quotient BioSciences also disclosed plans to acquire Arcinova, a UK-based business. With this acquisition, Quotient Bioscience is able to offer more services, such as medicinal goods, clinical testing, and drug substance development. 2020 saw the announcement by Catalent Inc. of the acquisition of MaStherCell Global Inc. The biotech sector is strengthening its position as a result of this increase, and new methods for gene therapies are made available. Key Segments By Service: Preformulation Formulation Development By Formulation: Oral Injectable By Therapeutic Area: Oncology Infectious Diseases Neurology Hematology Respiratory Cardiovascular Dermatology Others Ask an Analyst@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-15131 Table of Content 1. Executive Summary 1.1. Global Market Outlook 1.2. Demand-side Trends 1.3. Supply-side Trends 1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis 1.5. Analysis and Recommendations 2. Market Overview 2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy 2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations 3. Market Background 3.1. Market Dynamics 3.1.1. Drivers 3.1.2. Restraints 3.1.3. Opportunity 3.1.4. Trends 3.2. Scenario Forecast 3.2.1. Demand in Optimistic Scenario 3.2.2. Demand in Likely Scenario 3.2.3. Demand in Conservative Scenario 3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis 3.4. Investment Feasibility Matrix 3.5. PESTLE and Porters Analysis 3.6. Regulatory Landscape 3.6.1. By Key Regions 3.6.2. By Key Countries 3.7. Regional Parent Market Outlook. Click Here for Full Toc Have a Look at Related Research Reports of Healthcare: Ovulation Microscope Market: The global ovulation microscope market size is anticipated to reach US$ 81.2 Bn in 2032 and exhibit growth at a CAGR of 11.3% in the forecast period from 2022 to 2032. Acoustic Respiration Sensors Market Value: The global acoustic respiration sensors market is estimated to secure a market value of US$ 232.4 Million in 2022. Mobile Operating Rooms Market Demand: The global mobile operating rooms market is forecasted to be appraised at US$ 1,257.8 Mn by 2032. 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Demand is forecast to increase at a 3.4% CAGR over the forecast period, with the market valuation reaching US$ 1.8 Bn by 2032. Intracardiac Echocardiography Market Forecast: The intracardiac echocardiography market is projected to register a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period 2022-2032. About Us Future Market Insights (ESOMAR certified market research organization and a member of Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) provides in-depth insights into governing factors elevating the demand in the market. It discloses opportunities that will favor the market growth in various segments on the basis of Source, Application, Sales Channel and End Use over the next 10-years. Contact: Future Market Insights, 1602-6 Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower, Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/formulation-development-outsourcing-market For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Browse latest Market Reports: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs TORONTO, July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MCI Onehealth Technologies Inc. ("MCI" or the Company) (TSX: DRDR), a clinician-led healthcare technology company focused on increasing access to and quality of healthcare, has entered into a loan agreement (the Loan Agreement) to borrow up to $5,000,000 by way of a secured loan (the Loan) from The First Canadian Wellness Co. Inc. (the Lender). Amounts may be advanced during the term of the Loan in such amounts and at such times as agreed to by the Lender and the Company, up to the maximum amount of the Loan. The Company may pay the Lender a commitment fee of up to $100,000 in respect of the Loan. MCI intends to use the proceeds of the Loan to fund its ongoing operations and for general and administrative expenses, subject to any specific use of proceeds agreed with the Lender in respect of each advance. The Loan bears interest at a rate of prime plus 9% per annum. The Loan is repayable on the earlier of December 31, 2023, the date that there is a change of control of the Company or any refinancing by the Company. The Company may prepay the Loan, in whole or in part, at any time without penalty. Each of the Companys material subsidiaries has provided a guarantee in favour of the Lender with respect to amounts advanced under the Loan. Pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Company and its material subsidiaries have entered into a general security agreement in favour of the Lender and amounts advanced under the Loan are secured against substantially all of the property and undertaking of the Company and such subsidiaries. Dr. George Christodoulou and Dr. Sven Grail, directors, co-chairs and control persons of MCI, control the Lender. Accordingly, the Loan constitutes a related party transaction under the Toronto Stock Exchange Company Manual (the Company Manual) and under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). Pursuant to the Company Manual, the Loan was unanimously approved by the Board with Dr. Christodoulou and Dr. Grail abstaining from voting to approve the Loan in their capacities as directors of MCI. MCI is exempt from the formal valuation requirement under MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the consideration for the Loan does not exceed more than 25% of the market capitalization of MCI as of the date of the Loan Agreement. MCI is also exempt from the minority approval requirement under MI 61-101 on the forgoing basis and because the Loan is not convertible into or repayable in securities of MCI and has been obtained on reasonable commercial terms that are not less advantageous to MCI than if the Loan were obtained from an arms length party. MCI did not file a material change report more than twenty-one (21) days before the expected closing date of the Loan, as the details of the Loan and Loan Agreement were not finalized until immediately prior to the closing and MCI wished to close the transaction as soon as practicable so that MCI could begin using and benefiting from the Loan as soon as possible. About MCI: MCI is a healthcare technology company focused on empowering patients and doctors with advanced technologies to increase access, improve quality, and reduce healthcare costs. As part of the healthcare community for over 30 years, MCI operates one of Canadas leading primary care networks with nearly 260 physicians and specialists, serves more than one million patients annually and had nearly 300,000 telehealth visits last year, including online visits via mciconnect.ca. MCI additionally offers an expanding suite of occupational health service offerings that support a growing list of nearly 600 corporate customers. Led by a proven management team of doctors and experienced executives, MCI remains focused on executing a strategy centered around acquiring technology and health services that complement the Companys current roadmap. For more information, visit mcionehealth.com. For media enquiries please contact: Nolan Reeds | nolan@mcionehealth.com| +1 (416) 440-4040 ext 158 Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (together, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflect MCIs current expectations regarding future events, including statements relating to the Loan. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words or phrases such as may, could, would, might or will. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond MCIs control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include execution risk, market risk, industry risk, the impact of general economic conditions and competition from other industry participants and stock market volatility, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forwardlooking statements and other factors discussed under Risk Factors in the Companys annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2021 which is available under the Companys profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made as of the date hereof and MCI does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. New York, NY, July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FAMEEX, the worlds leading crypto-trading platform, has announced the New User Welcome Gift: Win a Share of Prize Pool to celebrate the 2-year anniversary of FAMEEX. This user welcome campaign has closed with 59,329 trading enthusiasts joining together. To celebrate FAMEEX's 2nd anniversary, which began on Thursday, June 16, FAMEEX dedicated a huge prize pool to new and regular users for supporting us in the past years. This campaign is divided into the trading competition and referral categories, where participants can vie for the abundant prize rewards. The winning trader triumphed in trading volumes either in spot or futures with exceptional trading skills and acute insights in a week. The New User Welcome Gift: Win a Share of Prize Pool has come to an end with great success, thanks to the enthusiasm of our participants and phenomenal support from our community. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winners. As a leading global exchange, FAMEEX is honored to provide a platform for new users to demonstrate their abilities and to sharpen their skills. said Hunter Shannon, one of the founders of FAMEEX. For 2022, the registration period was extended to welcome more users to the overwhelming response. Regrettably, massive malicious users have also led to overload and triggered risk control during periods of high volume, leaving thousands of traders unable to claim their prizes. To those deal hunters who violate the event rules, FAMEEX as the most secure exchange platform stands in a firm position to ensure risk control for all users, and reduce the fraud and malicious manipulation in each campaign. Adhering to FAMEEX core value of fairly protecting each user, FAMEEX is committed to providing comprehensive and secure trading solutions to users globally. Learn More About FAMEEX Launched in 2020. FAMEEX is a global cryptocurrency exchange that currently provides a series of financial services including fiat-to-crypto, crypto-to-crypto, grid trading, futures, token listing, global agent, and the super rebate program. More than 200,000 users across 30 countries and regions around the world to provide the best secure, stable, efficient 24/7 trading experience. Find FAMEEX on: Official Website: https://www.fameex.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FameexGlobal YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMRYZgPUFtrSkAu9_owUbxg Telegram: https://t.me/fameexgroup Trade on-the-go with FAMEEXs crypto trading app ( iOS/Android ) Email: Business@mail.fameex.info Disclaimer: There is no offer to sell, no solicitation of an offer to buy, and no recommendation of any security or any other product or service in this article. Moreover, nothing contained in this PR should be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any investment or security, or to engage in any investment strategy or transaction. It is your responsibility to determine whether any investment, investment strategy, security, or related transaction is appropriate for you based on your investment objectives, financial circumstances, and risk tolerance. Consult your business advisor, attorney, or tax advisor regarding your specific business, legal, or tax situation. For more info, please contact brandnewsproject@gmail.com. Attachment PARIS, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A powerful new app that links Smart Building data and Digital Twins with practical business operations debuts today at the LoRaWAN World Expo in Paris, launched by Philadelphia-based Microshare, a leading Smart Building technology and sustainable data firm. The new app, dubbed React-M, pushes recommendations, alerts and scoring data directly to relevant teams and professionals, allowing for prompt and targeted reactions and providing an important link between the Internet of Things (IoT) data that Microshares solutions produce and Business Process Management (BPM) programs. The app enables large gains in productivity per head among operational staff and third-party contractors, driving cost savings, mitigating risks, and improving service and customer satisfaction. From office environments to multifamily buildings to complex environments such as manufacturing and transportation hubs, the data produced by Microshares EverSmart suite of solutions now drive behavioral change and bring forward the response time to IoT insights. Theres been a lot of money spent on IoT projects, but the business fails to capture their full value because their staff fails to react to the data, says Tim Panagos, Microshare Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder. React-M receives recommended actions triggered by IoT events interpreted by AI on the Microshare cloud. These recommended tasks are displayed as app notifications on the users phone or tablet, making it easy for staff to remediate problems before they get out of hand. Our experience tells us that behavioral change is the elusive last mile that determines the success or failure of most IoT projects. React-M guides the user step-by-step from alert to resolution, recording the time taken at each step. Process reporting allows management to see how their organization is handling challenges across even the largest, global portfolios. It is an ideal fusion of IoT, AI and BPM technologies because it takes the guesswork out of getting the most important things done. Read the new white paper from Panagos and Microshare Chief Product Officer and Co-founder Charles Paumelle describing the philosophy and value proposition of the new IoT-BPM linkup. Microshares EverSmart suite of IoT solutions create data on aspects of building management like occupancy, air quality, energy and water use and other performance and ESG issues. This data, often nonexistent before a Microshare deployment, will help global clients by helping operational teams make the most of tight labor resources supporting sustainability and ESG reporting efforts providing new insights into the safety and responsiveness of indoor spaces to reassure occupants helping portfolio managers and CIOs right-size real estate footprints in line with new remote and hybrid work practices Simple React-M workflow: Service request > Alert > Staff claims task > Remediate > Close task Media Inquiries: North America: Dave Fondiller, dfondiller@microshare.io EMEA: Simon Redgate, sredgate@microshare.io About Microshare Microshare creates data where none existed before, enabling a full spectrum view into the performance, value, safety and sustainability of real estate assets. Our EverSmart suite of Smart Building solutions are deployed at scale around the world to drive cost savings, efficiency gains and labor savings in our clients operations, even as they produce valuable insights for sustainability and ESG programs. Philadelphia-based Microshare is a leader in LoRaWAN applications and a proud member of the LoRa Alliance. www.microshare.io A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/febf5440-8a2e-4739-8006-14b63427d840 York, Maine, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stonewall Kitchen and its family of brands are adding sixty-two new products to their extensive portfolio this summer. The award-winning specialty foods, home goods and personal care producer is now home to nine brands. With our growing family of brands, were now able to introduce even more interesting flavors, great fragrances and gorgeous designs across various categories, Vice President of Marketing and DTC Sales, Janine Somers said. Our Aioli line is one of our fastest growing categories, and with bold new flavors like Parmesan Garlic and Jalapeno Bacon, we dont see that trend changing anytime soon! Also, with warmer weather rolling in those summer cookouts are top of mind! Our new Chimichurri Grille Sauce, Hickory Brown Sugar Grille Sauce and Hot Honey Wing Sauce are perfect for the grill. Try them alongside our new Cucumber Dill Dressing, made with cucumber juice and a splash of lime. Its a refreshing twist for those bright summer salads! Stonewall Kitchens salsa line will also get an addition to the established collection with its new Pickle de Gallo, inspired by Pico de Gallo and combining it with a unique flavor twist with the upward trend of pickles. Vermont Coffee Company, acquired by Stonewall Kitchen in 2021, energizes their collection with a new flavored coffee line, a first for the brand. Popular favorites such as Rich Vanilla, Roasted Hazelnut and Sweet Maple will soon don the shelves. The coffee theme continues with Stonewall Kitchens new Java Coffee Cake Mix with Espresso Glaze. This mix offers an easy-to-make dessert with an abundance of smooth coffee flavor. Though the mix is designed for a cake finish, its versatility allows for it to be baked as a bread or even a muffin. Moving outside the kitchen, youll find Village Candles new Luminary Collections, featuring a unique packaging design. This collection was inspired by the luminary bags that are often seen lining walkways to create a glowing experience during Halloween and the holiday seasons, Somers said. We take that experience inside the home with festive fragrances. The beautiful and whimsical designs of each candle tell a unique seasonal story and creates a beautiful, luminescent glow. Our guests are simply going to love the warmth and vibe of this whole collection! The Village Candle line isnt the only expansion to the Family of Brands candle collection, with three new seasonal candles by Stonewall Kitchens newest brand, Michel Design Works. You can now fill the room with scents such as an autumn pumpkin medley with Pumpkin Prize, winter florals with Christmas Bouquet, or that of a fresh-cut Christmas tree with White Spruce. Stonewall Kitchens July product launch also features their annual holiday packaging collection, featuring one-of-its-kind seasonal designs, created by Stonewall Kitchens Creative Director, to make gift giving convenient for friends and family with no wrapping necessary. Guests can view the full lineup of new products below or online at www.stonewallkitchen.com. The July 2022 Product Launch Includes: Stonewall Kitchen: Parmesan Garlic Aioli, Jalapeno Bacon Cheese Aioli, Strawberry Fig Jam, Maple Apple Jam, Cucumber Dill Dressing, Chimichurri Grille Sauce, Hickory Brown Sugar Grille Sauce, Hot Honey Wing Sauce, Pickle de Gallo, Java Coffee Cake Mix with Espresso Glaze, Coastal Morning Ground Coffee; Seasonal: Sweet & Salty Milk Chocolate Mix, Holiday Spiced Punch Mixer Parmesan Garlic Aioli, Jalapeno Bacon Cheese Aioli, Strawberry Fig Jam, Maple Apple Jam, Cucumber Dill Dressing, Chimichurri Grille Sauce, Hickory Brown Sugar Grille Sauce, Hot Honey Wing Sauce, Pickle de Gallo, Java Coffee Cake Mix with Espresso Glaze, Coastal Morning Ground Coffee; Sweet & Salty Milk Chocolate Mix, Holiday Spiced Punch Mixer Fine Home Keeping: Seasonal: Iced Berry Collection (Soy Candle, Hand Lotion, Hand Soap) Iced Berry Collection (Soy Candle, Hand Lotion, Hand Soap) Stonewall Home: Seasonal: Ginger & Clove Candle, Peppermint Bark Candle (Sizes: Large Apothecary, Medium Apothecary, Bowl) Ginger & Clove Candle, Peppermint Bark Candle (Sizes: Large Apothecary, Medium Apothecary, Bowl) Village Candle: Spiced Pumpkin Bread; Gentlemens Collection: Cinnamon Whiskey; Bergamot & Amber, Black Oak, Clean Musk & Vetiver, Dark Berries & Cedar, Hearthside Pine, Leather & Musk Noir, Moonlit Surf, Silver Birch & Cedar, Spiced Tobac & Honey (New Size); Luminary Bowl Collection (seasonal): Bewitched, Bootiful Night, Feeling Batty, Festive Forest, First Snowfall, Holly Jolly Nights Spiced Pumpkin Bread; Cinnamon Whiskey; Bergamot & Amber, Black Oak, Clean Musk & Vetiver, Dark Berries & Cedar, Hearthside Pine, Leather & Musk Noir, Moonlit Surf, Silver Birch & Cedar, Spiced Tobac & Honey (New Size); Bewitched, Bootiful Night, Feeling Batty, Festive Forest, First Snowfall, Holly Jolly Nights Urban Accents: Smoky Brown Sugar Veggie Roaster Seasoning Blend, Herby Dill Veggie Roaster Seasoning Blend, Plant Based Chili Verde Meatless Mix Tomatillo & Jalapeno, Plant Based Chorizo Meatless Mix Smoky & Savory, Plant Based Red Sauce Meatless Mix Rustic Italian Smoky Brown Sugar Veggie Roaster Seasoning Blend, Herby Dill Veggie Roaster Seasoning Blend, Plant Based Chili Verde Meatless Mix Tomatillo & Jalapeno, Plant Based Chorizo Meatless Mix Smoky & Savory, Plant Based Red Sauce Meatless Mix Rustic Italian Legal Sea Foods: Down East Bloody Mary Mixer Down East Bloody Mary Mixer Vermont Coffee Company: Organic Light Ground Coffee, Organic Half Caff Ground Coffee, Organic Rich Vanilla Ground Coffee, Organic Roasted Hazelnut Ground Coffee, Organic Sweet Maple Ground Coffee Organic Light Ground Coffee, Organic Half Caff Ground Coffee, Organic Rich Vanilla Ground Coffee, Organic Roasted Hazelnut Ground Coffee, Organic Sweet Maple Ground Coffee Michel Design Works: Seasonal: Pumpkin Prize Candle, Christmas Bouquet Candle, White Spruce Candle (Sizes: Large Tumbler) About Stonewall Kitchen: Stonewall Kitchen is a leading specialty food, home goods and personal care producer headquartered in York, Maine. Founded in 1991 by partners Jonathan King and Jim Stott, the two established the Stonewall Kitchen brand by selling jams and jellies at local farmers markets with a flavorful line of distinctive and high-quality products. Over time, they expanded the brand to include sauces, condiments, crackers and baking mixes, always focusing on innovative product development, beautiful packaging, and exceptional guest service. Today, Stonewall Kitchen is the premier specialty food and home goods platform in North America, home to a family of premium quality brands including the flagship Stonewall Kitchen brand; the Michel Design Works brand of elegantly designed and crafted personal and home care products; the Vermont Coffee Company brand of high quality, non-GMO, certified organic coffee; the Urban Accents brand of globally-inspired spice mixes, seasonings, and sauces; the Village Candle brand of fragranced candles, gifts and accessories; the Tillen Farms brand of pickled vegetables and cocktail cherries; the Napa Valley Naturals brand of olive oils, culinary oils, balsamic vinegars and wine vinegars; the Montebello brand of artisan organic pasta imported from Italy; the Vermont Village brand of organic apple sauce and apple cider vinegars; and the Legal Sea Foods brand of restaurant-quality seafood sauces and condiments. The company boasts more than 19,000 stores nationwide and internationally; a thriving catalog and online division; cafe in York, Maine; and eleven retail Company Stores throughout New England. As winners of 34 prestigious awards from the Specialty Food Association and the recipient of the coveted Outstanding Product Line Honors three times, Stonewall Kitchen is proud to be one of the most awarded specialty food companies in the country. For more information about Stonewall Kitchen, please visit: www.stonewallkitchen.com ### Attachment TOKYO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857) will showcase its wide spectrum of semiconductor test technologies at the SEMICON West trade show on July 12-14. The theme of Advantests exhibit will be Beyond the Technology Horizon, reflecting the companys focus on a portfolio of advanced technologies that accelerate the digital transformation. Highlighted within the booth will be recent advancements in developing leading-edge test solutions for applications including AI, High Performance Computing (HPC), 5G communications and Advanced Driver-assistance Systems (ADAS). Exhibition In booth #929 located in South Hall, Advantest will present its broad range of semiconductor test solutions and services, each designed to deliver high value to customers in the rapidly changing semiconductor ecosystem. Among the exhibits will be: NEW: V93000 EXA Scale EX Test System , a compact test station enabling 4X capacity increase in IC engineering labs , a compact test station enabling 4X capacity increase in IC engineering labs T2000 ISS IP Engine 4, an image-processing engine for high-resolution and high-speed image processing ISS IP Engine 4, an image-processing engine for high-resolution and high-speed image processing ACS open ecosystem enabling streaming data access and real-time analytics with integrated test software and hardware monitoring and control to improve semiconductor device yield, quality and capacity MPT3000 test system for evaluating all solid-state drives T5835 all-in-one high-speed memory test solution and T5221 NAND/NVM multi wafer-test solution, both software compatible with the industry-standard T583x test platform all-in-one high-speed memory test solution and NAND/NVM multi wafer-test solution, both software compatible with the industry-standard T583x test platform Remotely operable test handlers, enabling device and data handling from engineering labs to production test floors Software solutions and services including Adaptive Probe Card cleaning and Smart Test Cell Management. Technical Presentations In addition to its exhibits, Advantest will sponsor and actively participate in the Test Vision Symposium on July 13-14 during SEMICON West. During the Symposium, on July 13 in Session 1, Adrian Kwan, Advantest Americas senior business development manager, will discuss 802.11BE WiFi-7 4096 QAM 320 MHz ATE Test Methodology, while Roger Nettles, system/application engineer, Advantest America, will present 5G Millimeter Wave Over the Air Production Testing on ATE. In addition, Don Thompson, director of engineering, R&D Altanova, Advantest Group, will discuss Solving Socket Power Integrity; The Last Link in the Chain, in Session 3 on July 14. Thompson will also be presenting Optimizing PCBs for 5G Load Boards during the poster session on July 13. Sponsorships Advantest will sponsor and participate in the Workforce Development (WFD) Pavilion as well. On July 13, Michael Engelhardt, RF SE director, Advantest America, will talk about A Day in the Life of a Semiconductor Professional, while Pauline Nguyen, senior staffing consultant at Advantest America, will talk to the group about resume building and interviewing skills. Social Media For the latest updates, visit the Advantest LinkedIn and Facebook pages or follow @Advantest_ATE on Twitter for live tweets during events. About Advantest Corporation Advantest (TSE: 6857) is the leading manufacturer of automatic test and measurement equipment used in the design and production of semiconductors for applications including 5G communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, high performance computing (HPC) including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and more. Its leading-edge systems and products are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world. The company also conducts R&D to address emerging testing challenges and applications; develops advanced test-interface solutions for wafer sort and final test; produces scanning electron microscopes essential to photomask manufacturing; and offers system-level test solutions and other test-related accessories. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest is a global company with facilities around the world and an international commitment to sustainable practices and social responsibility. More information is available at www.advantest.com . ADVANTEST CORPORATION 3061 Zanker Road San Jose, CA 95134, USA Cassandra Koenig cassandra.koenig@advantest.com New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Next Generation Advanced Battery Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06290931/?utm_source=GNW The COVID-19 pandemic affected the market ranging from the supply chain issues owing to difficulties in sourcing the raw materials, shutdown of manufacturing facilities, and transportation of finished products. The pandemic also resulted in declining demand for equipment that uses next-generation advanced batteries, in turn affecting the market. The next-generation advanced batteries are the upgraded version of existing batteries that have higher efficiency and cheaper unit cost. Factors such as rising adoption of electric vehicles, rising focus on clean energy usage, and growth in demand for consumer electronic gadgets are likely to drive the market during the forecast period. However, longer recharge time, high manufacturing and R&D costs, short cycle life span, etc., are likely to restrain the market growth during the forecast period. Key Highlights The transportation segment is expected to dominate the next-generation advanced battery market, owing to the rising demand for electric vehicles all over the world. The increasing deployment of renewable energy infrastructure along with developing manufacturing facilities are anticipated to provide huge business opportunities for for next-generation batteries, which is a big boost for the next-generation advanced battery market in the coming years. Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the market, with the majority of the demand coming from the countries such as India and China, etc. Key Market Trends Transportation Segment Expected to Dominate the Market The electrification of the transportation system is gaining popularity, and various government mandates have accelerated the adoption of electric vehicles, which directly aids the growth of next-generation advanced batteries in the transportation sector. ? In 2021, automobile giants announced that General Motors will stop selling petrol and diesel models by 2035, and Audi AG plans to stop producing such vehicles by 2033. The carmakers are rushing to electrify their electric cars, which has led the company to invest in advanced batteries for more efficient and profitable electric vehicles.? In April 2022, Honda Motors announced that it would invest USD 39.84 billion in electrification and software technologies to accelerate its business globally for the next ten years. It will also build a demonstration production line for all-solid-state batteries in North America, allocating approximately USD 342.65 million. The investment company plans to launch two mid-to-large-scale electric vehicle (EV) models by 2024 with a partnership with General Motors. ? According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global electric vehicle stock increased globally from 1.25 million in 2015 to about 10.2 million in 2020. In 2020, battery-electric vehicles accounted for most of the electric vehicles at about 6.85 million, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were about 3.35 million. ? Furthermore, aluminum-air batteries have an advantage over the conventional lithium-ion battery as aluminum acts as a fuel where air reacts with the metal via an electrolyte to produce power. It has a travel range similar to gasoline-powered cars and a higher energy density than the lithium-ion battery. However, it lacks government policy support and attention from automakers to make it a popular battery energy storage system for electric vehicles. ? In December 2021, Mercedes Benz, a German car manufacturer announced to invest USD 100 million in a wide range of electric cars. The company also intends to integrate solid-state battery technology into a limited number of vehicles within the next five years. Mercedes Benz plans to invest tens of millions into Factorial Energy, a battery company to develop solid-state batteries. ? In April 2022, Nissan Motor Company planned to bring laminated solid-state batteries to the market by 2028, with the beginning of a prototype production facility. It is a part of Nissans Ambition 2030 strategy, plus an investment of USD 17 billion for the four new electric vehicle concepts. ? Overall, automobile manufacturers are investing heavily in developing solid-state batteries and metal-air batteries, making automobiles one of the major sectors of the next-generation advanced battery market. Asia-Pacific to Dominate the Market As of 2021, China, India, and Japan were the potential markets for the next generation advanced battery technology in the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 2022, Chinas battery energy storage capacity reached 3 GW, representing an increase of 76.5% compared to 1.7 GW in 2019. Furthermore, the Chinese Government is expected to increase its battery storage capacity to 100 GW by 2030. Such scenarios are creating vast opportunities for various next-generation advanced battery developers in the region. According to the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA), the refinement of policy related to grid ancillary services energy storages primary application as well as policy developments in regions including Qinghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, have created a wave of energy storage construction and development in China. Such government policies will likely boost the demand for advanced battery technologies during the forecast period. At present, various development projects and investments in the next generation advanced battery technologies are happening in China. In July 2021, CATL unveiled the first next-generation sodium-ion battery and its AB battery pack solutions. Also, CATLs quest to shift the electric vehicle market toward a sodium-ion cell received a boost from the central government after the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the creation of standards for such battery types. In addition to the scenario in China, in January 2022, Japans National Institute for Material Science (NIMS) and the Softbank Corp. developed a lithium-air battery with an energy density of over 500Wh/kgsignificantly higher than currently lithium-ion batteries. The research team confirmed that this battery could be charged and discharged at room temperature. The battery developed by the team shows the highest energy densities and best cycle life performances. These results signify a major step toward the practical use of lithium-air batteries. The lithium-air batteries are expected to have the potential to be the ultimate rechargeable batteries: they are lightweight and high capacity, with theoretical energy densities several times that of currently available lithium-ion batteries. Because of these potential advantages, they may use various technologies, such as drones, electric vehicles, and household electricity storage systems. Further, "Make in India"is a high-priority movement for India and has already provided incentives to produce electric cars. Batteries for cars and grid storage are high on the agenda for manufacturing in India. The EV market for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars, and minibusses is more price-sensitive than performance sensitive. If the next generation advanced batteries have a price advantage over a comparable lithium-ion battery whose performance parameters are marginally higher, it would still find a better market opportunity in India than elsewhere. The advanced batteries made with economies of scale have huge market potential in India. In March 2022, India approved bids for four companies to avail incentives under the PLI Scheme for the Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage Manufacturing. Reliance New Energy Solar Limited, Ola Electric Mobility Private Limited, Hyundai Global Motors Company Limited, and Rajesh Exports Limited received incentives under Indias INR 181 billion program to boost local battery cell production. Under the scheme, selected ACC battery storage manufacturers were expected to set up a production facility within two years. Such government-supportive incentives are expected to create an environment for the future development of the next generation advanced battery market. Therefore, the above-mentioned factors are expected to drive the next-generation advanced battery market in the Asia-Pacific region during the forecast period. Competitive Landscape The next-generation advanced battery market is moderately consolidated. Some of the major companies include Sion Power Corporation, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd, PolyPlus Battery Co. Inc., GS Yuasa Corporation, and Saft Groupe SA. Additional Benefits: The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06290931/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Distributed Solar Power Generation Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06290929/?utm_source=GNW 90%. However, this changed in 2021, when for the first time in the last decade, the prices went significantly up by 18%. This rise in 2021 was majorly due to the supply chain constraints of the solar industry caused by COVID-19. Factors such as rising environmental concerns and government policies for incentives and tax benefits for solar panel installation, high cost of grid expansion are expected to be major drivers driving the market. However,in ability of distributed solarto serve as aprime power source is expected to hamper the growth of the market. Key Highlights The declining price and installations cost of solar PV systems over the years are expected to drive the distributed solar power generation market during the forecast period. Technological advancements such as perovskite-based PV cells which offers high ease of manufacture, high efficiency, and excellent semiconductor behavior are expected to create several opportunities for dstributed solar power generation market in the future. Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the market with majority of the demand coming from the countries such as the China and India, over rising environmental concerns. Key Market Trends Declining Price and Installations Cost of Solar PV Systems Expected to Drive the Market Since the last decade, the average cost of a solar PV panel has dropped by nearly 90% across the world. Prices of other components have also fallen significantly since 2011, reducing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for both distributed and utility-scale solar PV generation.? Due to a combination of techno-economic and geopolitical factors, it is estimated that the rate of decline of solar PV panel prices is going to reduce slightly, but solar PV panel prices will continue to decline during the forecast period.? According to the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), since 2010, there has been a 64%, 69%, and 82% reduction in the cost of residential, commercial-rooftop, and utility-scale PV systems in the United States, respectively. The decline in the prices of solar panels in Europe and the United States is primarily due to the drop in solar panel prices. This scenario is expected to positively impact the market and drive the demand for solar panels in these regions.? Due to the decline in prices, many residential and commercial consumers are opting for rooftop solar PV systems to reduce energy costs and recovery time. Further, till 2020, the prices of solar PV modules witnessed a decline of approx. 90%. However, this changed in 2021, when for the first time in the last decade, the prices went significantly up by 18%. This rise in 2021 was majorly due to the supply chain constraints of the solar industry caused by COVID-19. The effect of the pandemic on the prices has already been declining since the start of 2022 and is likely to achieve its initial declining rate soon. The industrialization of these highly modular technologies has yielded impressive benefits from economies of scale and greater competition to improved manufacturing processes and competitive supply chains. The overall decline in the solar PV system costs can also be attributed to the effective feed-in tariff programs in countries like Germany. The decline in cost of solar PV combined with the declining cost of batteries have been major drivers of the distributed solar energy market in recent years. This trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. Prices of lithium-ion batteries have declined by over 86%, from 1,000 USD/kWh in 2010 to 132 USD/kWh in 2021. Thus, the improved cost-effectiveness of batteries and solar PV modules are expected to benefit the distributed solar energy market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific Expected to Dominate the Market Asia-Pacific has dominated the distributed solar power generation market in 2021 and is expected to continue its dominance in the coming years as well. The region holds vast potential for the expansion of distributed energy systems (DES), notably in the form of off-grid and residential solar. Inefficiencies in the power grid infrastructure, power supply shortages, and the scalability of decentralized technology pave way for the deployment in the region, particularly in China and India. The electricity demand in China has been increasing due to economic growth and urbanization. Since 2015, the countrys power demand has risen by 7% per year. The power demand rose by 11% in 2021, reaching 8,312.80 TWh. China had a total installed solar PV capacity of about 306.4 GW in 2021, witnessing an increase of 21% compared to 2020. According to Chinas National Energy Administration (NEA), Chinas newly installed solar PV capacity reached 53 GW in 2021. Of this capacity, 29 GW came from distributed solar power generation projects, and the remaining share came from the large-scale solar plants accounting for the remaining share. The National Energy Administration (NEA) of China revealed that residential solar arrays represent 21.5 GW of the total capacity. Of the countrys 306 GW of cumulative solar capacity in 2021, 107.5 GW of installed power was from solar. China has been focusing on increasing the distributed solar power generation by encouraging the residential and commercial end-users to install rooftop solar panels for quite some time. For instance, in August 2021, the NEA approved a pilot program to encourage the deployment of distributed solar PV installations in the country. The solar power capacity in Singapore has risen over the past several years. According to the Energy Market Authority, Singapores total installed solar PV capacity reached 632.4 MW in 2021, recording a 46% growth compared to 2020. Furthermore, the country aims to generate at least 2 GWp of solar energy by 2030. The majority of solar PV capacity in 2021 came from the non-residential private sector (61.16% of the total installed capacity or 386.8 MWp), town councils, and grassroots (29% or 185.5 MWp), while the installations from public service agencies (6% or 41 MWp) and residential installations (3% or 19.1 MWp) added to the remaining PV capacity. Singapores residential solar PV capacity recorded a decent development from 0.6 MW in 2012 to about 19 MW in 2021. This indicates a growing trend in distributed solar power. India is another country in Asia-Pacific where distributed solar power generation has a noticeable development. Indias cumulative installed solar power capacity reached about 49 GW in 2021, adding around 10 GW in 2021. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing the Rooftop Solar Programme Phase-II for the countrys accelerated deployment of solar rooftop systems. The scheme provides for financial assistance of up to 4 GW of solar rooftop capacity to the residential sector. There is a provision to incentivize the companies for incremental achievement over the previous year. Therefore, owing to the above points, Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the distributed solar power generation market durinf the forecast period. Competitive Landscape The distributed solar power generation market is fragmented with a lot of players. Some of the major companies are Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd, First Solar Inc., Tesla Inc., and Canadian Solar Inc., Sharp Energy Solutions Corporation, among others. Additional Benefits: The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06290929/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Pune, India, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to MarketStudyReport, that worldwide oil condition monitoring market is slated to record a CAGR of 6.1% through 2028 and generate a remuneration of USD 192 million by the end of the analysis timeframe. Proceeding further, a vivid analysis of the various market segmentations based on sampling type, end user scope, and regional expanse is provided in the report. It also investigates the major developments and strategies concerning the leading players to draw conclusions about the competitive dynamics. Apart from this, a thorough study of the entire industry chain in hosted in the document to help businesses in making well-informed decisions. Increasing emphasis on time management and growing inclination towards cost effective approaches among the industrialists is the key factor fueling the industry remuneration. Request Sample copy of this Report @ https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/5042751/ For the unversed, oil condition monitoring (OCM) is a critical aspect of any preventative maintenance agenda. Most common activities employed within OCM include measuring, monitoring, and analyzing any signs of contamination or degradation in the quality of the lubricant or fuel oil. Focus on energy conservation by ensuring efficient working of machineries, and rising demand for electricity are likely to contribute significantly to industry expansion in the forthcoming years. Despite the positive outlook, dearth of skilled workers as well as the cost incurred in renovating existing infrastructures will present major hinderances for the growth trajectory of the market during the analysis period. Segmental outlook: - Based on sampling type, worldwide oil condition monitoring industry is segregated into off-site and on-site. As per credible estimates, the on-site sampling segment is a promising avenue for revenue generation owing to its role in mitigating oil wastage & disposal, improving the efficiency of the equipment as well as saving time and limiting the expenditure on service and repairs. Considering end user scope, the marketplace is bifurcated into transportation, oil & gas, mining, industrial, energy & power generation, and others. The transportation segment is slated to hold a decent industry share by 2028, attributable to growing dependability on oil tracking to prevent engine failures and subsequent mishaps. In addition, growing focus on installing real-time sensors for oil monitoring in automobiles will add to the segmental share. Ask Discount of this research report at: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/5042751/ Regional overview: - North America market is reckoned to garner a decent revenue share during the evaluation period of 2022-2028, ascribed to notable technological advancements in predictive maintenance as well proliferation of end use verticals such as automotive, mining, electricity generation, and oil & gas among others. Competitive framework summary: - Tan Delta Systems Ltd., Poseidon Systems LLC, Chevron Corporation, Eaton Corporation plc, Parker-Hannifin Corporation, Des-Case Corporation, Intertek Group plc, Shell plc, CM Technologies GmbH, Bureau Veritas S.A., SGS S.A., Micromem Applied Sensor Technologies Inc. (MAST), Gill Sensors & Controls Ltd., Bosch Rexroth AG, WIKA Tech S.A.S. (Avenisense), HYDAC Technology Corporation, and Spectro Analytical Instruments GmbH are the key players influencing global oil condition monitoring market trends. To access a sample copy or view this report in detail along with the table of contents, please click the link below: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-oil-condition-monitoring-market-2022-2028 Global Oil Condition Monitoring Market by Sampling Type (Value, USD Million, 2018-2028) On-site Off-site Global Oil Condition Monitoring Market by End User (Value, USD Million, 2018-2028) Oil & Gas Energy & Power Generation Transportation Mining Industrial Others Global Oil Condition Monitoring Market by Region (Value, USD Million, 2018-2028) North America Asia Pacific Europe Rest of the World Global Oil Condition Monitoring Market, Company Profiles (Value, USD Million, 2018-2028) Tan Delta Systems Ltd. Poseidon Systems LLC Chevron Corporation Eaton Corporation plc Parker-Hannifin Corporation Des-Case Corporation Intertek Group plc Shell plc CM Technologies GmbH Bureau Veritas S.A. SGS S.A. Micromem Applied Sensor Technologies Inc. (MAST) Gill Sensors & Controls Ltd. Bosch Rexroth AG WIKA Tech S.A.S. (Avenisense) HYDAC Technology Corporation Spectro Analytical Instruments GmbH Table of Content: FIGURES AND TABLES PART 1. INTRODUCTION Report description Objectives of the study Market segment Years considered for the report Currency Key target audience PART 2. METHODOLOGY PART 3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 4. MARKET OVERVIEW Introduction Drivers Restraints Impact of COVID-19 pandemic PART 5. MARKET BREAKDOWN BY SAMPLING TYPE Off-site On-site PART 6. MARKET BREAKDOWN BY END USER Energy & power generation Industrial Mining Oil & gas Transportation Others PART 7. MARKET BREAKDOWN BY REGION Asia Pacific Europe North America Rest of the World (RoW) PART 8. KEY COMPANIES Related Report: Oil & Gas Infrastructure Market Size, COVID-19 Impact Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2022 - 2030 The global oil & gas infrastructure market is slated to expand substantially through 2030 due to increasing investments in various projects regarding greenfield development to explore unconventional reserves. Recently, rising government initiatives and partnerships among industry players towards the reduction of carbon emissions have been beneficial for oil & gas infrastructure market growth. For instance, in April 2022, Shell Overseas Investment B.V., a fully owned holding of Shell plc, inked a deal with Actis Solenergi Limited, an energy company specializing in sustainable infrastructure, to purchase 100% of Solenergi Power Private Limited and the India-based Sprng Energy group of companies for $1.55 billion. In India, Sprng Energy provides wind and solar energy to electrical distribution firms. From the regional perspective, the Middle East & Africa oil & gas infrastructure market is anticipated to grow at a steady rate through the forthcoming years owing to continuous investments in transportation and distribution infrastructure. Moreover, the relatively lower gas prices are foreseen to further bolster MEA industry growth up to 2030. About US: Market Study Report is a hub for market intelligence products and services. We streamline the purchase of your market research reports and services through a single integrated platform by bringing all the major publishers and their services at one place. Our customers partner with Market Study Report, to ease their search and evaluation of market intelligence products and services and in turn focus on their company's core activities. If you are looking for research reports on global or regional markets, competitive information, emerging markets and trends or just looking to stay on top of the curve then Market Study Report, is the platform that can help you in achieving any of these objectives. New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Automotive After Market: Segmented: By Vehicle Type, By Replacement Part, And Region Global Analysis of Market Size, Share & Trends For 20192020 And Forecasts To 2031" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06288789/?utm_source=GNW This industry includes car components, replacement tires, equipment, service repairs, auto repair, and accessories sold just after the vehicles original sale. It covers businesses that manufacture, distribute, retail, install, and remanufacture all types of automobile parts and accessories. Due to technology improvements, the digitalization of vehicle repair and component sales has emerged, which has aided the automotive aftermarket industrys progress. Market Highlights Global Automotive After-market is expected to project a notable CAGR of 5% in 2031. The market is primarily driven by car owners desire to improve their vehicles overall performance of exhaust noise, speed, and cosmetic factors, among other things. Global Automotive After Segments Wheels and Tires segment to grow with the highest CAGR during 2021-31 The market is divided into batteries, brake pads, filters, gaskets and seals, lighting components, wheels and tires, and others based on the type of replacement parts. In 2020, the global markets wheels and tires sector will account for the majority of revenue. Due to an increased focus on the safety of vehicle occupants, as well as research & development by major aftermarket players to lower the total weight of a vehicle by implementing lightweight and cost-effective solutions, the wheels and tires segment is expected to witness one of the largest market shares. Passenger cars segment to grow with the highest CAGR during 2021-31 The market is divided into Passenger cars and commercial vehicles based on vehicle type. Due to forthcoming emission standards for commercial vehicles, which are likely to affect the maintenance side via higher usage of engine electronics, the commercial vehicles segment is anticipated to see stable growth in this market. The rise in remanufacturing also provides vehicle warranty coverage, extended service life, and improved performance without the high expense of new parts. The commercial vehicle segment is expected to be impacted by these primary variables. Market Dynamics Drivers Price transparency and supply diversity are both improving In both developed and emerging economies, digital platforms such as social media are increasingly influential in customer research & purchasing processes. Online sales channels provide customers with quick access to pricing information for parts, and end-users use these methods to decide which car parts to purchase. Customers can get a peer opinion on the quality and usefulness of seminars by participating in online forums. Suppliers, OEMs, dealers, and workshop chains are developing their online presence, and some major firms, such as Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA, have already established online platforms. A digital sales approach also allows for a leaner, shorter value chain, which helps suppliers. OEM Expansion into Aftermarket Activities to Drive Market Growth The original equipment manufacturer has increased exponentially their participation and attention in the automobile parts aftermarket value chain, for example, by establishing networks of non-car brand-specific repair shops. To compete alongside independent aftermarket companies and retain clients in their networks longer, major market participants have offered second service formats, second brands, or remanufactured parts to stay up with the vehicle-age-driven market. OEMs are also focusing on improving the customer experience and developing differentiated aftermarket service solutions, such as utilizing vehicle connections to retain customers and automate service and repair decision-making. Restraint Adoption of auto safety technology & rising electric vehicle sales. The use of detectors in automobiles, which results in optimal driving behavior, reduces vehicle wear and tear, especially for brakes and tires, that are subjected to tough driving conditions daily. This aspect minimizes the need for replacement parts, which could stifle industry growth. Product penetration is further limited by ongoing research & development for new raw materials to prevent the deterioration of automotive parts. Global Automotive After Key: Players Robert Bosch GmbH Company Overview, Business Strategy, Key Product Offerings, Financial Performance, Key Performance Indicators, Risk Analysis, Recent Development, Regional Presence, SWOT Analysis Denso Corporation Magna International Inc. Continental AG ZF Friedrichshafen AG Aisin Seiki Co. Lear Corp. Valeo SA Bridgestone Corporation Faurecia Other Prominent Players Global Automotive After Regions Global Automotive after-market is segmented based on regional analysis into five major regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. The rising market in the Asia Pacific is characterized by expanding vehicular sales of both passenger automobiles and commercial vehicles. In addition, there has been an increase in consolidation among parts distributors, as a result of new tax reforms, which are significant for displacing the current unorganized sector. These factors are expected to propel APAC to a leading position in the worldwide market. Impact of Covid-19 on Automotive After Market The COVID-19 crisis had a significant and rapid impact on the globally integrated automobile sector. Closures of auto assembly factories, large-scale manufacturing pauses, and disruptions in aftermarket product exports are putting enormous strain on the automotive sector, which is already suffering from a global demand downturn. People stay at home because of COVID-19, and also the economy has entered a slump, causing less wear - and - tear on their vehicles. The pandemic had an impact on aftermarket automobile part sales. The aging fleet of vehicles, on the other hand, is predicted to boost demand for such automotive components in the future years. Global Automotive After is further segmented by region into: North America Market Size, Share, Trends, Opportunities, Y-o-Y Growth, CAGR the United States and Canada Latin America Market Size, Share, Trends, Opportunities, Y-o-Y Growth, CAGR Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Rest of Latin America Europe Market Size, Share, Trends, Opportunities, Y-o-Y Growth, CAGR United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, NORDIC, Russia, Turkey, and Rest of Europe Asia Pacific Market Size, Share, Trends, Opportunities, Y-o-Y Growth, CAGR India, China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, and Rest of APAC the Middle East and Africa Market Size, Share, Trends, Opportunities, Y-o-Y Growth, CAGR North Africa, Israel, GCC, South Africa, and Rest of MENA Global Automotive After report also contains analysis on: Automotive After Segments: By Vehicle Type Passenger Cars Commercial vehicles By Replacement Part Battery Brake Pads Filters Gaskets & Seals Lighting Components Wheels and Tires Automotive After Dynamics Automotive After Size Supply & Demand Current Trends/Issues/Challenges Competition & Companies Involved in the Market Value Chain of the Market Market Drivers and Restraints Automotive After Market Report Scope and Segmentation Report Attribute Details The market size value in 2021 USD 566.1 billion The revenue forecast in 2031 USD 922 billion Growth Rate CAGR of 5% from 2021 to 2031 The base year for estimation 2020 Quantitative units Revenue in USD billion and CAGR from 2021 to 2031 Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends Segments covered Vehicle type, Replacement Part, and Region Regional scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa (MEA) Key companies profiled Robert Bosch GmbH, Denso Corporation, Magna International Inc., Continental AG, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Aisin Seiki Co., Lear Corp., Valeo SA, Bridgestone, Corporation, Faureciaand Other Prominent Players Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06288789/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ GRASS VALLEY, CA, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire Today BrewBilt Manufacturing Inc. (the "Company") (OTCPINK: BBRW) CEO and Chairman Jef Lewis announced that the Company is beering up to bring BrewBilt equipment and craft beer to Europe, starting with a 10 BBL brewhouse and 20 BBL cellar tanks for Mad Finn Brewing Company in Finland. Chairman Jef Lewis stated, Beer has been a part of European culture at least as far back as 3000 BC and retains its importance to this day. The recession-proof U.S. craft beer scene is so fresh and dynamic, and Europeans are becoming just as excited about it. BrewBilt is in position to rapidly increase revenues in Europe. A few American craft brewers have cracked the export code. For example, Brooklyn Brewery, among the largest craft beer exporters, now sees roughly half of its revenues come from exports. Other American craft breweries such as New Belgium Brewing Company and Stone Brewing are increasing sales in the European market. All of Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Taiwan, and Cambodia, are looking at American craft beer, said Casey Kjolhede, who manages export markets for New Belgium. Stone Brewing was acquired recently by Sapporo, and the acquisition could potentially lead to more opportunities as Sapporo says they are planning to produce Sapporo-branded beers for U.S. distribution in Stone's facilities as many as 360,000 barrels by the end of 2024, which will essentially double Stone Brewing's current production. Lewis further stated, The craft brewery market is hot everywhere. BrewBilt is branded and recognized for its systems and upcoming craft beer production and expects stellar profits for 2023-2028. We understand and design systems that have evolved into the most high-quality and technically advanced craft brewhouses available today. Our branding efforts have placed BrewBilt on the forefront of leading Europes American craft beer demands. Good examples of the value placed on BrewBilt includes Stone Brewing with annual revenue that exceeds $500M, Sierra Nevada Brewing with annual revenue exceeding $250M, New Belgium Brewing with annual revenue exceeding $200M, and Brooklyn Brewery with annual revenue exceeding $100M. Follow us on Twitter (@BrewBilt) and Instagram (@BrewBilt_Mfg) ABOUT BREWBILT MANUFACTURING INC.: (http://www.brewbilt.com) BrewBilt is one of the only California companies that designs and manufactures custom brewing and fermentation equipment for craft brewers dedicated to making excellent beer. BrewBilt brewhouses and tanks are fabricated by highly skilled local welders using best-in-class American stainless steel. Whether you're adding cellar tanks, starting a neighborhood brewpub, or expanding a regional microbrewery, look to BrewBilt to design a solution just for you. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance, nor should they be relied upon as representing management's views as of any subsequent date. The forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include, without limitation, the Company's ability to effectively execute its business plans; unforeseen construction delays; the Company's need for additional capital; changes in general economic and financial market conditions; changes in the competitive environment; litigation; losses, customer bankruptcy, claims and assessments; and regulatory or legislative requirements affecting the Company's business. Management may elect to update forward-looking statements at some future point; however, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. Contact: Jef Lewis, Chairman and CEO BrewBilt Manufacturing Inc. - BBRW (530) 802-5023 Info@BrewBilt.com Source: BrewBilt Manufacturing Inc. MIAMI, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) has published a new whitepaper on investment opportunities, challenges and roadblocks in Latin America's six main energy markets as the region transitions to Net Zero. The threat of climate change, a global economy that is outpacing energy supply and geopolitical conflicts are helping accelerate a shift toward renewable resources in Latin America. But many countries in the region are still highly dependent on oil and gas to balance their budgets, creating momentum for the development of lower carbon fossil fuels. AMI's energy practice leaders crafted The Road to Net Zero in Latin America to help investors, energy companies and suppliers understand the challenges and economic potential ahead. "While many countries in Latin America have abundant NCREs they can leverage, strong dependence on fossil fuels, political volatility and regulatory tangles mean that you need deep market intelligence to find investment opportunities and avoid the pitfalls," explains Arthur Deakin, AMI's energy practice co-director. "We relied on our team's decades-long experience and 150 LatAm energy market research/intelligence projects to drive our analysis and insights for this whitepaper," says Deakin. These insights include: Where traditional energy operators are most likely to lose money in Latin America. Of the 100+ renewable projects under construction in Latin America, which assets will offer the best risk-adjusted returns in the region. The slow adoption of electric vehicles in Latin America limits the roll-out of charging infrastructure. How Gustavo Petro will impact the energy sector in Colombia. Why distributed generation is the golden ticket for investors looking at Brazil. The main development risks for green hydrogen in Chile. How energy companies can navigate the remainder of AMLO's term and position themselves for the future in Mexico. Why wind power could be the best NCRE opportunity in Peru. And much more. The Road to Net Zero in Latin America is available for free download from AMI's website. Over the course of 80+ pages, it balances in-depth analysis with easy readability to allow readers to quickly spot the growth areas while understanding the problem areasand how to best work around them. About Americas Market Intelligence Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) is the premier market intelligence and strategy consultancy for Latin America, providing powerful research insights for companies to succeed in a wide range of verticals in the region, including payments, healthcare, logistics, mining, energy, infrastructure, consumer goods and the industrial sector. Its customized research reports deliver data-based clarity and far-reaching strategic direction based on expert sources. Press contact: Abel Delgado, Director of Digital Marketing, adelgado@americasmi.com Related Images Image 1: The Road to Net Zero in Latin America Cover of energy market intelligence report for Latin America detailing investment opportunities in energy This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment TORONTO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smile CDR Inc., a leading health data and integration company, is proud to announce it has won the 2022 Microsoft Canada ISV Breakthrough Partner Impact Award. These annual Canadian awards recognize the Microsoft partners that have focused on bettering the lives of Canadians through skilling initiatives, delivering excellent customer service and embracing digital transformation leveraging Microsoft technology. "Patients are at the forefront of everything we do. Our collaboration with Microsoft has amplified our efforts toward better global health, enhancing and simplifying the digital experience for users of the services we offer," said Duncan Weatherston, Chief Executive Officer, Smile CDR. "We are honored to be recognized for our efforts and look forward to continuing to help power the digital transformation of healthcare and improve patient outcomes." Microsoft Canada presented these awards in 32 categories on July 5, 2022, as part of a lead-up to Microsoft's Inspire conference. Winners were selected based on the outstanding work the companies provided to their customers and community. "We are pleased to recognize Smile CDR as this year's recipient of the ISV Breakthrough Partner Impact Award," said Suzanne Gagliese, Vice President, Global Partner Solutions, Microsoft Canada. "Our partners have demonstrated excellence in innovation and harnessed Microsoft's solutions to enable customers to achieve more. We take great pride in the diversity of our ecosystem and look forward to celebrating their outstanding achievements." About Smile CDR Inc. Smile CDR Inc. is a health information technology company focused on delivering better global health through open standards. Our enterprise-grade, open framework data fabric and integration platform fuels healthcare's digital transformation and accelerates value creation across all patient journeys at scale. Powered by our HL7 FHIR standard-based clinical data repository (#SmileInside), our platform enables collaboration and allows organizations to ingest, transform, store, enrich, analyze, aggregate, and meaningfully share health information to power digital transformation. We prepare healthcare providers, payers, researchers, and life sciences organizations for a connected future beyond legacy systems, adding new value through intelligent use of information and ultimately delivering better patient outcomes. For more information visit: www.smilecdr.com. ### Media Contacts Lucy Railton Director of Marketing Smile CDR Inc. (800) 683-1318 x 712 pr@smilecdr.com Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment OAKLAND PARK, Fla., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Florida-based eyewear manufacturer Hip Optical announces the completion of its robotic lens lab located in Pompano, Florida. The lab will allow the company to manufacture and ship single-vision, progressive, reading, or sunglasses in only one business day. Hip Optical prides itself on having the fastest shipping times in the industry and a wide selection of trendy, high-quality eyewear. Hip Optical believes the customer should get the best pair of prescription glasses for a good price without having to pay extra for upgrades. To support that belief, unlike other optical companies which typically charge extra, Hip Optical includes its thinnest lenses for free with every order. Hip Optical also recently launched its new collection which features over 25 unique styles designed in Florida, along with its prescription sunglasses line. Customers can express themselves and design their own sunglasses with one of six tint options for the frame. With brick-and-mortar locations making a comeback, Hip Optical is adapting its business model by offering a hybrid direct-to-consumer online experience along with physical locations where customers can visit and shop in person. Earlier this year, the company opened its first store in Fort Lauderdale's premier shopping and dining district, Las Olas. Hip Optical plans on continuing its expansion and plans to open another location in Boca Town Center later this year. For each pair of glasses sold in the store or online, Hip Optical donates a pair of glasses to someone in need through its partnership with Restoring Vision, a nonprofit dedicated to providing eyewear to those without access. To date, Hip Optical has donated over 60,000 pairs of glasses to people in need around the world. For more information, please visit www.HipOptical.com. About Hip Optical Hip Optical is a Florida-based eyewear manufacturer that offers quality and designs on par with the most luxurious brands in the world. With the fastest optical lab in America, Hip Optical manufactures and ships eyewear in one business day. Hip Optical is committed to disrupting the eyewear industry by bringing customers a revolutionized experience in all aspects, offering a 30-day satisfaction guarantee on its products. For every pair purchased on the website or in-store, Hip Optical will donate a pair to someone in need. Media Contact: Eric Scarfo (416) 803-6356 escarfo@hipoptical.com www.hipoptical.com Related Images Image 1: Hip Optical Image 2: Hip Optical Image 3: Hip Optical Image 4: Hip Optical Image 5: Hip Optical This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Inglewood, Calif., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zeem Solutions, the innovative zero-emission fleet-as-a-service provider, today announced a $50 million capital commitment from a fund managed by ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC (collectively, ArcLight), a leading infrastructure and energy investor. Funding under the commitment will enable Zeem Solutions to expand its innovative business model, which provides customers the opportunity to operate battery-electric trucks, vans, and shuttle buses for a flat monthly fee inclusive of vehicle lease, charging, maintenance, and insurance at a lower cost than owning and operating a gas or diesel fleet. In conjunction with the ArcLight investment, Zeem Solutions has announced a strategic partnership with LAZ Parking Realty Investors (LPRI), part of LAZ Parking, the largest privately-owned parking operator in the United States. The partnership will enable Zeem Solutions to accelerate growth of their electric vehicle offering by co-developing new charging and service depot locations as part of an aggressive national growth strategy. A leader in commercial real estate development nationwide, LPRI will bring site selection, acquisition, and construction capabilities to match Zeem Solutions fleet electrification expertise. The investment by ArcLight and our partnership with LPRI allows us to rapidly build out commercial electric vehicle depots at locations across California and beyond, said Paul Gioupis, co-founder and CEO of Zeem Solutions. Our growing portfolio of electric vans, trucks, and buses, when bundled with our specialized charging infrastructure and services, will transform the way fleet operators do business using EVs. By operating zero-emission EVs, fleets benefit from a quiet and clean ride for drivers and passengers as well as improved air quality for the communities they serve, including historically disadvantaged communities near transportation centers and freight corridors where Zeem Solutions EV depots will be located. With a national network of more than 3,500 managed locations in 39 states and 444 cities, LAZ Parking is the fastest growing contract parking operator in the United States and a strategic complement to Zeem Solutions fleet-as-a-service depot model. Through the partnership, LPRI will become an equity partner in Zeem Solutions. Our partnership with Zeem Solutions aligns with our continued focus on cutting edge technology and supports our broader investment to build an expansive network of EV charging solutions, said Alan Lazowski, Chairman and CEO of LAZ Parking. As an expert in commercial infrastructure, we provide a critical component to help scale Zeem Solutions model nationwide. The announcement coincides with Zeem Solutions launch of its first LAX-based depot, with nearly 100 currently available electric vehicles, 77 fast charging ports and 53 Level 2 chargers. At its full planned capacity, the LAX depot will be the largest private commercial EV charging facility in the United States. The investment in Zeem Solutions furthers ArcLights strategy of making tactical, scalable investments in the energy transition space, in partnership with leading operators that can leverage our execution capabilities and existing investments in advanced mobility, electric power and real estate, said Jake Erhard, Partner and Head of ESG at ArcLight. On top of Zeem Solutions differentiated competitive positioning in the market, the tangible environmental and social impacts of the companys strategy really stood out to us. We are also thrilled to capitalize in this transaction on our relationship with LAZ Parking Realty Investors, a proven industry leader that is poised to be a key enabler of the decarbonization of transportation. Zeem Solutions is thrilled to establish these relationships with LPRI and ArcLight and to leverage their proven track records in infrastructure funding and development, said Bruce Shalett, Chairman of Zeem Solutions. Zeem Solutions has a bold goal to scale nationally and make the most energy- and cost-efficient vehicle technologies accessible to all fleet operators. We now have significant capital and an experienced national partner to further our ability to execute this vision. The Zeem Solutions EV offering allows fleet operators to overcome barriers to EV adoption, including high vehicle purchase price, limited vehicle inventory, long infrastructure permitting processes and costly installation, complicated hardware and software integration, and specialized vehicle maintenance. All these complexities of EV operations are handled by Zeem Solutions so that fleet customers can focus on their core business. ### About Zeem Solutions Zeem Solutions builds and operates zero-emission fleet depots that transform the way medium- and heavy-duty fleets operate. Basic fleet-as-a-service amenities include vehicle leasing, vehicle charging, secured parking, vehicle maintenance and cleaning, and lounge space for drivers. In addition, depots are used for opportunity charging for high-mileage fleets as needed. Zeem is deploying depots in strategic locations to accelerate fleet electrification and zero emission mobility, serve as centers of technological innovation, and support the growing clean energy economy. For more information, please visit www.zeemsolutions.com. About ArcLight Capital Partners ArcLight is one of the leading investors in energy and related infrastructure. Founded in 2001, the firm helped pioneer an asset-based approach to investing in the energy sector. ArcLight has invested approximately $27 billion in 119 transactions since inception. Based in Boston, the firms investment team employs a hands-on value creation strategy utilizing its in-house technical, operational, and commercial specialists, as well as the firms approximately 1,500-person asset management affiliate. ArcLight has a deep track record of investing in businesses and assets that contribute to a decarbonized future, including over $4 billion invested in renewable transactions. The firm believes that its two decades of power and renewables experience, as well as its deep track record across the energy value chain, provide differentiated insights that will help ArcLight, and its partners contribute to a net zero future. More information about ArcLight can be found at https://www.arclight.com/. About LAZ Parking LAZ Parking is the largest privately-owned parking operator in the United States and a pioneer in digital parking technology. Founded in Hartford, CT in 1981, with four decades of experience providing best-in-class parking management and transportation services, LAZ operates over 1.2 million parking spaces across the country in over 3,500 locations in 39 states and 444 cities. Over the past decade, LAZ has led the industry with business intelligence, remote monitoring, and eCommerce solutions, and more recently, launched its Proximity On-Demand Services "LAZ PODS". Leveraging a national parking network and utilizing connected tech-enabled solutions, LAZ PODS includes EV charging, micro warehousing, and last-mile logistics, and cloud kitchens. LAZ works across various industries, including hospitality, commercial, healthcare, airports, transportation, universities, government, retail, events, residential, and shuttle services. LAZ is a people-first "Conscious Capitalism" company that believes in elevating humanity through business. For more information, visit www.lazparking.com. Attachment New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Automated Test Equipment Market Research Report by Testing Type, Component, Application, Region - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06286839/?utm_source=GNW The Global Automated Test Equipment Market size was estimated at USD 7,291.68 million in 2021 and expected to reach USD 8,391.99 million in 2022, and is projected to grow at a CAGR 15.34% to reach USD 17,171.94 million by 2027. Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2019 and 2020 are considered historical years, 2021 as the base year, 2022 as the estimated year, and years from 2023 to 2027 are considered the forecast period. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Automated Test Equipment to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Testing Type, the market was studied across Hard Disk Drive Testing, Integrated Circuit (IC) Testing, Modules, and Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Testing. Based on Component, the market was studied across Handler, Industrial Personal Computer, Mass Interconnect, Prober, and Semiconductor. Based on Application, the market was studied across Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, and Medical Devices. Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict: We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States. This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia.This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for Automated Test Equipment market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Automated Test Equipment Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Market Share Analysis: The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits. Competitive Scenario: The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service. Company Usability Profiles: The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Automated Test Equipment Market, including AB Controls, Inc., Advantest Corporation, ALL-TEST Pro, LLC, Astronics Corporation, Averna Technologies Inc., Chroma ATE Inc., Cohu, Inc., Innovar Systems Limited, InterTech Development Co., Kokusai, Inc., Marvin Test Solutions, Micro-Epsilon, National Instruments Corporation, OMRON Corporation, Roos Instruments, STAr Technologies, Teradyne, Inc., TRICOR Systems, Inc., Viewpoint Systems, Inc, and Wabtec Corporation. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Automated Test Equipment Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Automated Test Equipment Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Automated Test Equipment Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Automated Test Equipment Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Automated Test Equipment Market? 6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Automated Test Equipment Market? 7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Automated Test Equipment Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06286839/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Electronically Scanned Arrays Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06285581/?utm_source=GNW The global electronically scanned arrays market is expected to grow from $7.42 billion in 2021 to $7.90 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.37%. The market is expected to grow to $10.27 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 6.78%. The electronically scanned arrays market consists of sales of electronically scanned arrays products by entities (organizations, sole traders, and partnerships) that refer to an array or group of antennas producing radio wave beams and rays.Electronically, the released waves are directed in the anticipated direction to a precise point without any physical movement of the antennas. The electronically scanned arrays do not consist of any moving parts as compared to mechanically scanned solid apertures requiring maintenance. The main types of electronically scanned arrays are active and passive.Active electronically scanned array (AESA) consists of an array of antennas which form a beam of radio waves that can be aimed in different directions without physically moving the antennae themselves. AESA technology is primarily used in radars.Electronically scanned arrays are of different geometry such as linear, planar, and frequency scanning, and range such as short, medium, and long. Major end-uses of electronically scanned arrays are on land, navel and airborne. They are mainly used in defense, government, and commercial applications. North America was the largest region in the electronically scanned arrays market in 2021.Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. Increasing government investments in the defense sector are significantly driving the growth of the electronically scanned arrays market.Electronically scanned arrays are used in radars in fighter jets for long-distance detection and track generation in defense industries. For instance, the Indian government has allotted $62.76 billion to the Ministry of Defence for the year 2020-21. The Ministry of Defense received the biggest budgetary allocation among any central government ministry. Defense spending accounts for 15.5% of the central governments budget in 2020-21. Hence, the increasing government investments in the defense sector are expected to propel the growth of the electronically scanned arrays market over the coming years. The development of new AESA (active electronically scanned arrays) technology is a key trend gaining popularity in the electrically scanned arrays market.Companies in the electrically scanned arrays sector are focused on developing new technological solutions to strengthen their position in defense and military. This new AESA technology is mainly used in radars in fighter jets.For instance, in December 2021, the Indian military announced the launch of AESA radar to make IAF fighters more accurate or skillful. The AESA radar is 95% indigenous, with only one imported subsystem. Indian military announced launch of radars by fighter jets Su-30 MKI aircraft as well as carrier-based MiG-29 K fighters. In September 2020, Israel Aerospace, an Israel-based company that provides major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage, acquired BlueBird Aero Systems.Through this acquisition, BlueBird Aero Systems will be part of Israel Aerospace and will operate under the Israel Aerospace division. Also, Israel Aerospace aims to expand its market position, particularly in key growth areas such as aviation and aerospace. BlueBird Aero Systems is a US-based company that develops and manufactures aerial and astronautic systems focused on UAV systems. The countries covered in the Electronically Scanned Arrays market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06285581/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market Research Report by Type, Rated Voltage Range, Dielectric Type, End-user, Region - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06286985/?utm_source=GNW The Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market size was estimated at USD 14.93 billion in 2021 and expected to reach USD 16.85 billion in 2022, and is projected to grow at a CAGR 13.12% to reach USD 31.29 billion by 2027. Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2019 and 2020 are considered historical years, 2021 as the base year, 2022 as the estimated year, and years from 2023 to 2027 are considered the forecast period. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Type, the market was studied across Array?, General Capacitor, Mega Cap?, and Serial Construction?. Based on Rated Voltage Range, the market was studied across High Range, Low Range, and Mid Range. Based on Dielectric Type, the market was studied across C0G?, X5R, X7R, and Y5V. Based on End-user, the market was studied across Automotive?, Electronics?, Industrial, and Telecommunication?. Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict: We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States. This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia.This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Market Share Analysis: The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits. Competitive Scenario: The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service. Company Usability Profiles: The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market, including API Technologies?, Eyang Holdings Group Co. Ltd, KEMET Corporation?, Knowles Capacitors?, Kyocera Corporation?, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd?, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd?, Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd, TDK Corporation?, Vishay Intertechnology Inc.?, Walsin Technology Corporation?, Wurth Elektronik Group?, and Yageo Corporation?. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market? 6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market? 7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06286985/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Villa Charities Italian Canadian Immigrant Tribute Installation at the Columbus Centre | Rendering by Brown + Storey Architects Inc. TORONTO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Villa Charities Inc. (VCI) is proud to announce the Villa Charities Italian Canadian Immigrant Tribute project, to honour Italian Canadian immigrants and their families. For more than 50 years, Villa Charities has been a leading provider of Italian culture and heritage, and with this new fundraising initiative the charitable organization will establish a nationally recognized destination and tribute for Italian heritage. The Immigrant Tribute commemoration will be located on the Villa Charities campus at Lawrence and Dufferin streets in Toronto, as an installation on the north-facing wall of the Columbus Centre. The tribute wall, designed by Brown + Storey Architects Inc., will showcase name plaques honouring individuals of Italian heritage who journeyed to Canada to begin a new life. Villa Charities is extremely proud and excited to launch this important initiative, said Marco DeVuono, President and CEO, Villa Charities Inc. The Immigrant Tribute project will honour the important contributions that Italian Canadians have made to the social, cultural and economic fabric of Canada and will help educate younger generations on their cultural heritage and the immigrant experience. The Immigrant Tribute installation will be a destination for people of Italian heritage to gather, commemorate, celebrate, and reflect on their immigrant heritage and collective achievements. When completed, the wall will feature upwards of 5,000 individual plaques with the names of family members and the year they immigrated from Italy to Canada. Villa Charities led the initial Immigrant Tribute wall, sculpture and website design in collaboration with students and faculty of George Brown College Arts, Design & Information Technology departments. Beginning later this year, the name plaques will be available for the community to purchase. The funds raised from the tribute project through Villa Charities Foundation will go towards support for senior care, youth services, education and scholarships, cultural programming, and capital needs. A dedicated Immigrant Tribute website will support the physical installation and function as the online fundraising portal. Anyone who purchases a name plaque will also have the opportunity to upload photos and a brief family history to the site, creating a repository of immigrant stories. This will be an engaging and creative resource for Villa Charities patrons and donors to share and learn more about the immigration history and experiences of the Italian Canadians in their community. The public on-sale date for the Villa Charities Italian Canadian Immigrant Tribute project will be announced at a later date, with construction of the installation currently planned to begin in spring 2023. About Villa Charities Inc. Villa Charities Inc. (VCI) is a registered charity and non-profit organization that enriches lives through experiences and services that honour Italian culture and heritage. For more than 50 years across the GTA, Villa Charities has provided cultural and educational programs and supported culturally sensitive long-term care and independent living apartments for seniors. VCI fulfills their mandate through a broad range of activities, services and facilities, both directly and in conjunction with its affiliates and independent organizations. Affiliates include Columbus Centre and Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery; Villa Colombo Homes for the Aged Inc. in Toronto; Villa Colombo Seniors Centre (Vaughan) Inc. Di Poce Centre; and Italian Canadian Benevolent Seniors Apartments Corporation/Casa Abruzzo Benevolent Corporation with apartments for independent seniors (Caboto Terrace, Casa Del Zotto and Casa Abruzzo). Each of these organizations is an integral part of the Villa Charities family with separate legal status and its own governance Board. For more information visit villacharities.com. About Villa Charities Foundation Villa Charities Foundation supports experiences and services that honour Italian culture and heritage. As the charitable arm of Villa Charities, the Foundation provides crucial funding for areas such as senior care, youth services, education and scholarships, cultural programming, and capital needs. For more information, visit villacharities.com/give. For further information, please contact: Morgan Lewis MAVERICK 416-618-0443 morgan@wearemaverick.com Kathleen Sloan, CM Director, Marketing and Communications Villa Charities Inc. 416-789-7011 Ext. 309 ksloan@villacharities.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3c0dde66-eec2-4421-9e3e-cf17293b5b5b Portland, OR, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global bifacial solar market generated $8.7 billion in 2021, and bifacial solar market size is projected to reach $31.1 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 13.6% from 2022 to 2031.The report provides an in-depth analysis of the top investment pockets, top winning strategies, drivers & opportunities, market size & estimations, competitive scenario, and wavering market trends. Extensive installations of renewable energy source for power generation in various countries, increase in investment in green energy resources among both developed and developing countries, and rise in awareness regarding the use of low carbon intensive technologies among people are expected to drive the growth of the global bifacial solar market. On the other hand, high cost of bifacial solar panels is expected to hinder the growth to some extent. However, the presence of government incentives and reduction in taxes in developing countries are expected to create remarkable opportunities for the growth of the industry. Download Report Sample (300 Pages PDF with Insights) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/17339 COVID-19 Scenario The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the growth of the global bifacial solar market, owing to the presence of lockdowns in various countries across the globe. Lockdowns resulted in the closure of various industrial operations, including those of solar related equipment, and adversely affected its demand in most of the countries. This was majorly due to the stringent social distancing restrictions imposed by the government in order to limit the spread of the virus during the pandemic. However, the market is expected to recoup soon. The report offers a detailed segmentation on the global bifacial solar market based on cell type, frame type, end use, and region. Based on frame type, the framed segment held the largest market share in 2021, garnering around three-fourths of the global market. The frameless segment, on the other hand, is predicted to cite the fastest CAGR of 14.0% during the forecast period. Get detailed COVID-19 Impact Analysis on the Bifacial Solar Market Request Here Based on end use, the industrial segment held the majority market share in 2021, holding nearly half of the global market. The residential segment, on the other hand, is expected to cite the fastest CAGR of 14.0% during the forecast period. Based on region, the market across Europe held the lions share in 2021, holding more than one-third of the global market. The Asia-Pacific region, on the other hand, is predicted to exhibit the fastest CAGR of 14.3% during the forecast period. Schedule a FREE Consultation Call with Our Analysts/Industry Experts to Find Solution for Your Business @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/17339 The key players analyzed in the global bifacial solar market report include Jinko Solar Holdings, Canadian Solar, Yingli Green Energy, LG Electronics, LONGi, JA Solar Holding Co. Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sun Power Corporation, Trina Solar, and Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenueTrial Get more information: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Similar Reports: (Pre-Book Now with 10% Discount) Concentrated Photovoltaic System Market: Global Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212029 Alternative Solar Photovoltaic Technologies Market: Global Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212029 Thin Film Photovoltaic Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212029 Ultra Efficient Solar Power Market - Global Opportunities and Forecasts, 2022-2029 Next-generation Organic Solar Cell Market: Global Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20222029 Airport Solar Power Market Global Opportunities and Forecast, 2021-2029 Solar Photovoltaic Glass Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Smart Solar Power Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021 - 2030 Solar Panel Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030 Solar Cell Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2021-2030 Photovoltaic Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2019-2026 About us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact us: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: 1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow us on | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn AMAZONAS, Brazil, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brazil Potash Corp., a corporation existing under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada (Brazil Potash or the Company), will be closing its Regulation A, Tier 2 offering of its common shares, no par value per share (Common Shares), at the end of July 2022. The deadline for new investors to start a purchase of Common Shares is July 31, 2022, and any in-progress subscription agreements need to be signed and funds received by August 2, 2022. New investors wishing to subscribe or add to their existing holdings of Common Shares can find additional information on our website https://brazilpotash.com/invest . No sales of the Common Shares will be made in the Regulation A offering after August 2, 2022. Corporate and Industry Update The Company is a mineral exploration and development company with a potash mining project located in the state of Amazonas, Brazil (the Autazes Project). Our technical operations are based in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, and Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and our corporate office is in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We are in the pre-revenue development stage and have not yet commenced mining operations. Potash prices remain above $1,100 USD per tonne and Brazilian demand is currently robust with imports of potash increasing 42% year over year to 3.1 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2022 according to Reuters. Current record prices of potash are the result of a combination of increased global demand for potash and sanctions against Russia and Belarus which hinder their ability to export potash. Since Russia and Belarus historically supply ~40% of the worlds potash, the current sanctions further reinforce the need for domestic potash production in Brazil to help ensure global food security. There are currently two outstanding items required to obtain the Companys Installation License from the Brazilian Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute, which is required prior to commencing construction of the Autazes Project. Both outstanding items are related to consultations with the Mura indigenous people, who make up the over 40 indigenous communities and tribes near the Autazes Project. Consultations with the applicable indigenous communities restarted on April 5th, 2022, post relaxation of COVID-related group gathering constraints, and are currently ongoing. Adriano Espeschit, the President of Potassio do Brasil Ltda., the Companys subsidiary in Brazil, who has been involved in several prior successful consultations with indigenous communities, commented we believe our Companys relationship with the Mura Indigenous people is very positive as Brazil Potash aspires to develop its Autazes Project in a sustainable manner by creating legacy benefits for the local indigenous people. Company management, supported by a third-party specialist team, has finalized Brazil Potashs Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report which will soon be made available on the Companys website. The report affirms managements beliefs that the Autazes Project will be one of the most environmentally clean potash projects in the world as it is expected to emit 79% less greenhouse gas emissions as compared to existing potash producers. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions comes from a combination of 85% of the Autazes Projects energy needs coming from renewable energy sources, and the Company avoiding unnecessarily long distances when transporting its produced potash to customers in Brazil. The Companys management is proud of its efforts to date in developing the Autazes Project in an environmentally and socially responsible way and plans to continue the path of taking concrete actions and developing guiding policies to continually refine the Company to be best-in-class from an ESG perspective. In anticipation of securing the Installation License, ERCOSPLAN, a German engineering firm specializing in the development of potash projects, has been engaged to update the Companys technical report and feasibility study. Ercosplan was involved in completing the Companys initial technical report and feasibility study and is well regarded as a market leader in the planning, optimization, and evaluation of potash projects globally. Support for the development of Brazil Potashs Autazes project from all levels of the Brazilian government is strong. Earlier this year, Brazils Minister of Agriculture came to Canada to meet with several fertilizer companies including Brazil Potash and had specifically asked what Brazils government can do to help accelerate the construction of the Autazes project. More recently, the Governor of Amazon, Wilson Lima, received Adriano Espeschit and our ESG Director, Lucio Rabelo, for an update on the project as seen in the photo below. This opportunity was used to go through the positive findings from the recently completed ESG analysis and to emphasize the importance of the Autazes project to the states economic development and global food security by reducing Brazils dependence on imported fertilizers a key focus of Brazils National Fertilizer Plan. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/56b78575-65f0-4ba2-b191-3f69cf4ace67 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eda7a6d8-8bd0-48e9-a8b0-540257cf5718 Adriano Espeschit, in June 2022, also presented at the Permanent Forum for Sustainable Development in the State of Amazonas, held by the State Secretariat for Economic Development, Science and Technology (Sedecti), in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, as seen in the photos above. Finally, Matt Simpson, CEO of the Company, in June 2022, appeared on the international stage by presenting Brazil Potash at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Convention, one of the worlds largest mineral exploration & mining conferences held annually. For more information, please contact: Brazil Potash Investor Relations invest@brazilpotash.com 647-697-3937 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements and are based on the reasonable expectations, estimates and projections of the Company as of the date of this press release. The words plans, expects, or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might, or will be taken, occur or be achieved and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Companys consultations with indigenous communities, progress and expectations regarding the Companys Regulation A financing, completion of studies and assessments, the receipt of the installation licence and conditions precedent thereto, environmental or community benefits, job creation and skills training for local communities, the growth of the potash market, expected industry demands, the Companys business strategy, currency fluctuations, government regulation and environmental regulation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. The estimates and assumptions contained in this press release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to, the various assumptions of the Company set forth herein. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to fluctuations in the supply and demand for potash, changes in competitive pressures, including pricing pressures, timing and amount of capital expenditures, changes in capital markets and corresponding effects on the Companys investments, changes in currency and exchange rates, unexpected geological or environmental conditions, changes in and the effects of, government legislation, taxation, environmental regulations, controls and regulations and political or economic developments in jurisdictions in which the Company carries on its business or expects to do business, success in retaining or recruiting officers and directors for the future success of the Companys business, officers and directors allocating their time to other ventures; success in obtaining any required additional financing to develop the Autazes Project; employee and community relations, and risks associated with obtaining any necessary licenses or permits. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect the Companys actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Detroit, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The DTE Energy Foundation today announced it has awarded $1.25 million in grants to four Michigan organizations committed to advancing critical education and employment programs that benefit Michigan students and residents. The grant recipients include the Michigan Hispanic Collaborative, Cranbrook Institute of Science, FIRST in Michigan and Inforum Michigan. Education and workforce development programs are the building blocks for any economy, and it is vital that we support and diversify our states employee pipeline in a way that benefits women, minorities and all residents, said Lynette Dowler, president, DTE Foundation. These four organizations conduct programs that deliver meaningful results for K-12 and college age students, strengthening Michigans economy, diversifying our workforce and reducing the legacy of poverty in some of our communities. These latest grants place greater emphasis on programs that create more opportunity and inclusion for underrepresented residents in Michigan. The DTE Foundation is committed to taking intentional steps to support innovative education and employment initiatives in Michigan, especially those that break down barriers of inequity. Supporting Hispanic students and families is a key lever for the economic sustainability of Michigan and the nation, said Michigan Hispanic Collaboratives Executive Director Anita Martinez. We work one-on-one with students to help them succeed, while expanding awareness on cultural relevancy and important professional experiences. As a Latina, born and raised in Southwest Detroit, this work is very important to me, as I recognize myself in the students we assist, and we appreciate the DTE Foundations support in elevating these efforts. GRANT DETAILS $500,000 for Michigan Hispanic Collaborative Through its La Proxima Generacion program, the Michigan Hispanic Collaborative provides resources and support to college-bound students aged 16-26 and their families. The programming addresses access inequities that have been barriers for Hispanic students, limiting their ability to attend college and obtain employment that provides a living wage. MiHC offers in-school seminars and online support that focuses on life skills, college access, career readiness, and mentorship. Today, 40% of Hispanics in Detroit live in poverty. This grant will help reduce the Hispanic poverty rate by opening doors to higher education and improving economic mobility for teens and young adults. $450,000 for Cranbrook Institute of Science This grant will be used to develop climate change education curriculum, cover funding for a Fellowship program and sponsorship of the Women Rock Science event. Over the next three years, staff will develop and deliver climate change education programs to 200 elementary and middle school classes in public schools in Detroit, Ecorse, Hamtramck, Romulus, and Trenton, as well as the Cesar Chavez Academy. All academic programs will be led by program Fellows or experienced Institute educators and will align with State and District standards. The Fellowship program will fund one individual for two years who will develop and deliver programming focused largely on climate change for under-resourced PK-12th grade classrooms. The individual will also participate in Cranbrooks Educational Community Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) learning and engagement opportunities. $200,000 for FIRST in Michigan This funding will support the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge, serving high school and middle school students. These annual competitions involve student robotics team working with professional mentors to develop new innovations. This grant will cover registration fees for legacy and at-risk high school and middle school teams throughout Michigan. They also support the exciting, sports-like competitions where students can test their innovations and make improvements in the hopes of advancing to the next level of play. In the 2021-22 season, the DTE Foundation sponsored 46 high school and middle school FIRST teams throughout Michigan. $100,000 for Inforum inSTEM Inforum accelerates careers for women and is a catalyst for removing barriers and increasing opportunity. The objective of its inSTEM initiative is to deploy female role models to inspire and inform students and young adults that STEM career paths are available to females in addition to men. As of earlier this year, 451 women mentors in STEM careers have influenced 6,064 students and young professional as role models, speakers or project leaders in STEM-oriented events. This grant supports the continuation of this work, as well as other initiatives including career exploration, introduction to opportunities for apprenticeships and skilled trades programs, exposure to companies with workforce opportunities targeted to females and mentoring for girls and women choosing this path. Additionally, the grant will fund the research and development of an app-based mentorship program for high school and college students and young STEM professionals. The DTE Energy Foundation is dedicated to cultivating diverse, inclusive, and equitable communities and supports initiatives focused on arts and culture, community transformation, economic progress, education and employment, environment and human needs. ### About the DTE Energy Foundation The DTE Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE Energy, continuing the legacy of community support and involvement of its electric and natural gas utilities, which serve 2.3 million electric customers in Southeast Michigan and 1.3 million natural gas customers in Michigan. In 2021, the DTE Energy Foundation provided more than $18.9 million in grant support where the company has a business presence with a focus on driving positive, meaningful change on three key areas: jobs, equity and the environment. As one of Michigan's leading corporate citizens, DTE aspires not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world, serving as a force for growth and prosperity in the communities across Michigan. Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more. FREMONT, Calif., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The LoRa Alliance, the global association of companies backing the open LoRaWAN standard for internet of things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), announced the winners of its annual Contribution Awards during a live ceremony at the LoRaWAN World Expo. The awards recognize individuals and companies for their leadership, service, and contributions to the LoRa Alliance over the past year. Every year I am energized by reviewing our members contributions to advancing the LoRaWAN standard. This year is no exception, said Donna Moore, CEO and Chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance. 2021 was truly a breakthrough year for LoRaWAN: It was accepted as a standard by ITU-T, became the leader for LPWAN networking, and led in global deployments at scale. These achievements are only possible thanks to the support and hard work of our members, and I am proud to celebrate them today. This years full list of winners: Lifetime Achievement Award Olivier Beaujard: Senior Director, LoRa Ecosystem, Semtech; Secretary and Member of the LoRa Alliance Board of Directors; Chair of the Regulatory and Roadmap Workgroups, LoRa Alliance Olivier Hersent: Founder & CTO, Actility; Member of the LoRa Alliance Board of Directors Corporate Award Everynet BV was recognized for its work to increase the footprint of LoRaWAN across the world, making massive IoT more accessible in many countries, including Indonesia, Italy, UK, Ireland, Spain, Brazil and the United States, among others, and advancing LoRaWAN roaming. Within the LoRa Alliance, Everynet contributed to the development of DLMS over LoRaWAN, participates actively in events, and is engaged in multiple LoRa Alliance Workgroups and Task Forces. Leadership Award Sandoche Balakrichenan: Head of R&D Partnerships, Afnic; Chair of the Academia Workgroup, LoRa Alliance Tony Tilbrook: CTO/COO, National Narrowband Network Communications (NNNCo); Asia-Pacific Regional Vice Chair and Chair of the Smart Cities Workgroup, LoRa Alliance Distinguished Service Award Jeanette Aaron: Senior Director for Client Strategy at MachineQ, a Comcast Company; Member of the LoRa Alliance Board of Directors Remi Demerle: Alliance Partnerships and Marketing Director for LoRa Ecosystem, Semtech; Chair of the Smart Utilities Workgroup and Chair of the IPv6 over LoRaWAN Task Force, LoRa Alliance Remi Lorrain: Global LoRaWAN Networks Director, Semtech; Network Operator Forum Chair and EMEA Regional Vice Chair, LoRa Alliance Constantine Nfor: Engineer, Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, Inc. Ramez Soss: Senior RF Expert and Wireless Product Manager, Actility Team Award Actility and Arad Technologies, who worked together over three years to get LoRaWAN approved by the Ministry of Communication in Israel Standards Development Organization (SDO) Task Force Team, which secured LoRaWANs acceptance as an international standard by ITU Olivier Beaujard, Semtech, lead; Olivier Dubuisson, Orange; Dave Kjendal, Senet; Olivier Seller, Semtech; Alper Yegin, Actility Innovation Award Acklio, for pioneering SCHC compression technology and its support of the LoRa Alliances work to standardize LoRaWAN over internet protocol, significantly expanding the market for LoRaWAN Actility, for leading the development of LoRaWAN roaming and being the first network vendor to implement, interoperate, and commercially deploy this feature In 2021, Senet and Helium collaborated to deliver the first and most densely deployed commercial nationwide LoRaWAN network in the United States, providing coverage to more than 2,000 cities, at key shipping ports, across major logistics corridors, and in agricultural areas throughout the U.S. Thingy IoT, for positioning LoRaWAN as the go-to-connectivity solution in remote research and smart agriculture, including deployment of a distributed smoke and environmental monitoring network covering the U.S. West Coast in 2021 From Our Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Olivier Beaujard Recognizing over five years of dedication of growing the LPWAN ecosystem, I feel honored to receive this prestigious award. Through Semtechs joint cooperation with LoRa Alliance, one of the fastest-growing technology alliances driving the LoRaWAN standard as the leading open global standard for the Internet of Things, we are providing more choices for our customers, said Beaujard. I am proud to be associated with the LoRa Alliance and to continue strengthening the ecosystem with the LoRaWAN standard and Semtechs LoRa technology. Olivier Hersent My gratitude goes to all the members of the Alliance who contribute every day to this dream of pervasive connectivity, said Hersent. It has been an amazing journey from our early days brainstorming sessions with Nicolas Sornin and Thorsten Kramp 8 years ago all the way to the LoRaWAN World Expo today with all of the top industry players and a booming ecosystem. I think our key innovation has been to enable seamless collaboration both horizontally with roaming between private and public networks, and vertically with end-to-end secure activation of devices. Preserving this collaborative spirit across the ecosystem is Actilitys priority moving forward. From Our Corporate Award Winner Everynet The Everynet team is honored to receive the Corporate Award, stated Lawrence Latham, Everynet CEO. We share the LoRa Alliances commitment to the growth and promotion of LoRaWAN globally and are proud that the expansion of our national networks around the world is playing a key role in that effort. Everynet has been an active member of the LoRa Alliance since its inception, and we look forward to continuing our support of the Alliance in the years to come. To learn more about LoRaWAN, the LoRa Alliance, and the benefits of membership, and to keep up with the alliances latest developments, please follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter or visit our website. About LoRa Alliance The LoRa Alliance is an open, nonprofit association that has become one of the largest and fastest-growing alliances in the technology sector since its inception in 2015. Its members closely collaborate and share expertise to develop and promote the LoRaWAN standard, which is the de facto global standard for secure, carrier-grade IoT LPWAN connectivity. LoRaWAN has the technical flexibility to address a broad range of IoT applications, both fixed and mobile, and a robust LoRaWAN Certification program to guarantee that devices perform as specified. The LoRaWAN standard has been deployed by more than 170 major mobile network operators globally, with connectivity available worldwide. More information: lora-alliance.org LoRa Alliance, LoRaWAN and LoRaWAN CertifiedCM are registered marks. All other product and company names are trademarks of their respective holders. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/faaef9d7-5292-4d80-8985-543005b549b4 Museum to spotlight more than 90 American designers and brands in debut fashion exhibition, announces partnership with CFDA The media kit can be viewed here. Teri Greeves Abstraction Kiowa by Design BENTONVILLE, Ark., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will cast a fresh eye on two centuries of innovative and distinctly American fashion this fall in the museums first exhibition dedicated to fashion Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour. Featuring more than 90 designers and iconic American labels, the exhibition explores and celebrates the nations diverse fashion heritage and spirit of invention while spotlighting the untold stories of underrecognized and underrepresented designers, important contemporary movements shaping the industry, and American fashions resonance in global trends and visual culture. Fashioning America will be on view September 10, 2022, to January 30, 2023. Through seven themed sections showcasing the expanse of American fashion as the amalgamation of all things culture from denim jeans to bathing suits, sneakers to cowboy boots, zoot suits to leisure suits, sportswear to underwear, and Hollywood glamour to street style the exhibition emphasizes the work of Black and Native American designers and features geographical representation of fashion designers and histories from across the country. "I always think of Crystal Bridges as a platform for inclusive storytelling, and we are thrilled to present our debut fashion exhibition boldly focused on the diverse origins and untold narratives of American fashion," says Olivia Walton, museum board chairperson. "Fashion is very much the art of our everyday lives, a medium of self-expression and culture, a wellspring of creativity and vision. We are so excited to bring these voices and stories to the heartland of America. The exhibition will feature pieces on loan from Vogue magazine's global editor at large, Hamish Bowles, plus other private collections and household names such as Ralph Lauren, Nike, Vera Wang, and Levi-Strauss alongside statement-making styles by designers Virgil Abloh, Carolina Herrera, Patricia Michaels, Virgil Ortiz, Anna Sui, and Isabel Toledo. The first-ever interactive digital garment to be displayed in a museum exhibition will debut in Fashioning America through a collaboration with bionic pop artist and futurist Viktoria Modesta. Along with boasting highlights from fashion legends, Fashioning America will lift the veil on little-known fashion heroes such as Ann Lowe, who designed Jackie Kennedys wedding dress, and Bill Whitten, who fashioned Michael Jacksons iconic glove. The exhibition will also tell stories of women designers and female-led businesses that found great success within the male-dominated fashion industry, including streetwear designer Olivia Anthony, corset inventor Emmeline Philbrook, entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie, and famed undergarment designer and industrialist Olga Erteszek, whose category-dominating eponymous brand began with $10 and a sewing machine. Designs by Halston, Rudi Gernreich, Ikire Jones, and Christian Siriano, among others, represent queer culture, gender non-binary inclusivity, body positivity, and social activism, while demonstrations of sustainable fashion are layered in by zero-waste pioneers Shelly Xu and Natalie Alabama Chanin. American fashion reflects the complexity of America writ large, weaving together stories of innovation, immigration, independence, self-invention, and creativity. The sweeping story of American fashion encompasses designers from all walks of life from the rural to the urban, from the regional to the global who embody history past and present and represent issues related to inclusion and exclusion, says the exhibitions curator, Michelle Tolini Finamore. I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to champion work that has too often been overlooked by convention and hope that the exhibition captures the role fashion plays in reflecting the American spirit to the rest of the world. Art features heavily throughout Fashioning America via looks such as a Warhol print-adorned dress by Halston and a Roy Lichtenstein No Thank You dress by Lisa Perry, while works from the Crystal Bridges collection punctuate the exhibition galleries. Jordan Casteels bold 2018 painting, Ourlando, depicts a modern sartorialist gazing at viewers from within the colorful setting of a mens fashion store. Howard Norton Cooks 1930 etching, New England City, displays an early 20th-century industrial center calling back to the legacy of Americas fashion industry roots through depictions of riverside mills and steaming smokestacks in gritty black and white. Lively programming will unfold over the course of the exhibition and include an opening talk on September 9 with Finamore and select designers, panel discussions throughout the run of the exhibition, and fashion and design workshops for all ages. The museum will host a full weekend of public engagements November 12-13 to deepen exploration of the exhibition and its themes through talks, drop-in workshops, fashion pop-ups with emerging designers, an evening fashion party, and more. This program is organized in collaboration with INTERFORM, a Northwest Arkansas-based nonprofit supporting fashion designers and entrepreneurs. CFDA x Crystal Bridges In concert with the exhibition, the museum is partnering with the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA) to explore issues impacting the future of the American fashion industry and celebrate new design talent in the Heartland. The newly created CFDA x Crystal Bridges Heartland Scholars Award through a gift at the direction of Olivia Walton will foster design talent in students based, studying, or raised in the American Heartland (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas). The CFDA will host virtual school and student engagements to guide, inspire and connect with students. An annual call for applications and all scholarship information will launch via CFDA.com in January 2023. The CFDA values all fashion talent from across the U.S. and we have a historic connection to the American Heartland. Our founder, Eleanor Lambert, who established the CFDA 60 years ago, was an Eastern Heartland Indiana native with a vision to place American fashion designers into the global cultural spotlight, CFDA CEO Steven Kolb said. CFDA is thrilled to partner with Crystal Bridges and further our commitment to amplify the important contributions of American fashion from every corner of our country, and with this opportunity, identify and support the exceptional talent from the Heartland region through our organizations resources. A fashion symposium is planned in partnership with the CFDA for October 26, which will bring together leading industry voices to celebrate American fashion design and share stories, experiences and insights on sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusivity. The day will culminate with the museums first-ever gala to support museum education programs. Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, with guest curator Michelle Tolini Finamore, Ph.D. Visual artist Ruben Toledo is serving as design consultant for the exhibition. Visit Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour is on view from September 10, 2022 to January 30, 2023 in the museums Temporary Exhibition Gallery. Paid admission is required for this exhibition. Tickets will be available beginning Tuesday, July 26, 2022 on the museums website. General admission tickets are $12 for adults (other discounts available) and free for members, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participants, veterans, and youth 18 and under. Admission to Crystal Bridges collection galleries is always free. Support Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour is sponsored by The Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation | Blakemans Fine Jewelry | Dillards Inc. | Gelmart International | Jim and Susan von Gremp | Neal and Gina Pendergraft | JT and Imelda Rose | Pamm and Paul Prebil | Diane and Mark Simmons | Tony Waller | Shannon and Charles Holley. The exhibition is also sponsored by our 10th Anniversary Exhibition Season sponsors: The Coca-Cola Company | Goldman Sachs | Tyson Foods | Tyson Family Foundation | The Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation | Walmart I James Dyke and Helen Porter | Christies | Sothebys | Stout Executive Search | Trott Family Foundation | Del Monte Foods, Inc. | Chuck and Terri Erwin | Shelby and Frederick Gans | Sybil Robson Orr | ConAgra Brands | The Kroenke Family Foundation | The Bogle Family | Rick and Beverly Chapman | Pat Cooper | Valorie and Randy Lawson | Lawco Energy Group | Kelly and Marti Sudduth. About Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed six million visitors, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and philanthropist, Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions. The museum is nestled on 120 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house was preserved and relocated to the museum grounds in 2015. Crystal Bridges offers public programs including lectures, performances, classes, and teacher development opportunities. Some 300,000 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost to the schools. Additional museum amenities include a restaurant, gift store, library, and five miles of art and walking trails. In February 2020, the museum opened a satellite contemporary art space in downtown Bentonville called the Momentary (507 SE E Street). For more information, visit CrystalBridges.org. The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712. About CFDA The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA) is a not-for-profit trade association founded by Eleanor Lambert in 1962. The CFDA has a membership of over 450 of Americas foremost womenswear, menswear, jewelry, and accessory designers. Pillars include Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through the IMPACT initiative, as well as sustainability in Fashion. The organization provides its members with timely and relevant thought-leadership and business development support. Emerging designers and students are supported through professional development programming and numerous grant and scholarship opportunities. The CFDA Foundation, Inc. is a separate, not-for-profit organized to mobilize the membership to raise funds for charitable causes and engage in civic initiatives that will strengthen the impact of American fashion in the global economy. Media Contacts K. Angel Horne Interim PR Director, Crystal Bridges and the Momentary Angel.Horne@theMomentary.org 512.618.1841 Amanda Horn VP of Public Relations, 4media group Amanda.Horn@4media-group.com 775.636.2567 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0c1585c2-b25c-46af-9571-77dea8156b46 New York, New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- July 6, 2022 The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) Foundation Board of Directors will host the 2022 Gala, Invest in a Future: Empowering Student Success on Thursday, October 27 2022 at Tribeca 360, 10 Desbrosses Street, New York. Cocktails are at 6 p.m., followed by the dinner and program starting at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the Gala provide scholarships to hundreds of hard-working students who demonstrate their courage and commitment to education in the face of many obstacles, said Karen Wilson-Stevenson, Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Students who are awarded scholarships are nearly four times more likely to graduate within three years, than comparable non-recipients. Your contribution will support BMCCs mission of advancing socioeconomic mobility, equity and inclusion for all students. The 2022 Gala Honoree is Brian Ruane, CEO, Clearance & Collateral Management, Executive Committee Member, BNY Mellon. Mr. Ruane was selected as this years honoree for his leadership in finance, as well as for his and BNY Mellons long-term commitment to BMCC and its students. We are pleased to honor Brian Ruane at this years Gala, said Tony Portannese, Chairman of the BMCC Foundation Board. This years gala is a special celebration as we come together in-person in support of student scholarships. The past two years have been especially challenging for BMCC students, due to the pandemic, and we appreciate Mr. Ruanes dedication and support in this important fundraising event. 2022 GALA HONOREE Brian Ruane is the Chief Executive Officer of BNY Mellons Clearance & Collateral Management, Credit Services, Real Estate and Leasing. He is also a member of BNY Mellons Executive Committee. Mr. Ruane leads BNY Mellons government securities clearance business as well as the firms collateral management franchise. Prior to his current role, he led Global Client Management, Alternative Investment Services and Prime Services. Mr. Ruane has been a member of the Pershing LLCs Executive Committee since 2015. He was a key voice on the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorks Triparty Repo Infrastructure Reform Task Force, which drove systemic changes to ensure that the triparty repo market functions effectively and efficiently. Mr. Ruane is a frequent speaker on market structure, digital trends, and triparty repo. He is also the executive sponsor for the GENEDGE Network, a BNY Mellon Business Resource group focused on diversity and a member of the Deans Advisory Board of Hofstra Universitys Zarb School of Business. Mr. Ruane is also a member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. BMCC Foundation Board members and co-Chairs of the Gala Committee, Jessica Gatti, Aniko DeLaney and Elizabeth Butson shared, The BMCC Gala is a wonderful opportunity for guests to engage and reconnect after a two-year absence due to the pandemic. We invite our alumni, donors, and members of the community to join our cause in supporting the success of BMCC students as they earn a college degree and build a bright future for themselves and their families. EVENT DETAILS EVENT: BMCCs Invest in a Future Gala 2022: Empowering Student Success WHEN: Thursday, October 27, 2022, 6 p.m. (cocktail hour); 7 p.m. (program and dinner) WHERE: Tribeca 360, 10 Desbrosses Street, New York, NY DONATE AND REGISTER HERE for the Invest in a Future Gala 2022. For more information, please contact the BMCC Office of Institutional Advancement at (212) 220-8020 or advancementevents@bmcc.cuny.edu. BMCCs Mission Borough of Manhattan Community College is a diverse teaching and learning community committed to advancing equity and the intellectual and personal growth of students. Working to strengthen a culture of care inside and outside the classroom, we share a passion for learning with students from around the world. We strive to increase degree completion, successful transfer, career achievement and service and leadership within our community, New York City, and beyond. Visit: http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu. ### Attachment CHICAGO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliant Credit Union, a national digital financial institution with a social mission to bridge the digital divide and create equitable digital access for all, is calling on elected leaders to prioritize digital inclusion work and prepare for unprecedented digital equity funding during the Alliant Day of Action on July 20. As states prepare for $65 billion in digital equity funding - the largest investment of broadband infrastructure and digital equity in history - many are scrambling to hire digital inclusion experts to properly allocate funds. This monumental funding comes from recent bipartisan support through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November 2021. "The digital divide impacts millions of people across the nation, from school children to job seekers and our neighbors in rural communities," said Meredith Ritchie, Alliant Foundation Board member and senior vice president general counsel and chief ethics and government affairs officer. "It's crucial that our states recognize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and allocate this money strategically." The digital divide encompasses more than computer access issues. Digital skills gaps impact 52 million adults nationwide and during the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 5 children were unable to complete their homework due to unreliable home internet access. Alliant is engaging their members, national digital inclusion partners, employees, community and credit union leaders to join them in a day of email activism. "We're giving them everything they need to make their voices heard," said Alliant social impact strategist Claire Hegstrom. "We have a prewritten email and the email addresses for policymakers across the country. We want to make it easy for people to engage in activism that can make an impact in their communities." The Alliant Day of Action builds on the financial institution's recent digital equity work. Alliant supports digital inclusion practitioners through national grants, and hosts digital device drives at their Chicago headquarters. More information on the Alliant Day of Action for Digital Equity can be found on their Facebook event, where live updates will be posted throughout the day on July 20. About Alliant Alliant is one of the largest credit unions in the nation with more than 85 years of experience and over 650,000 members nationwide. We're 100% digital and not-for-profit, so we can reward members by offering high savings and checking rates, low loan rates, rich credit card rewards, and fewer fees. As a digital financial institution, part of Alliant's social mission is to bridge the digital divide and create equitable digital access for all. Learn more about Alliant. Media contact Katie Pins Levene PR & Content Specialist, Alliant Credit Union MediaInquiry@alliantcreditunion.com 773-580-9507 Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A campaign by Iranian authorities to uproot the Bahai community in Shiraz took a dark step forward, earlier in June, when Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced 26 Bahais to a combined total of 85 years in prison. Each individual was sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years. Travel bans and orders to report daily to a provincial intelligence office were also issued. A number of the Bahais also received in addition a combined total of 24 years of internal exilewith the individual banishments set for two years. Many of the 26 sentenced to prison are couples with young children. How can parents care for their young children when they are being unjustly imprisoned? said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Bahai International Community to the United Nations. Separating children from parents is inhumane and designed to torment and destroy Irans Bahai community. And just as these parents have a responsibility to their children, so too does Irans government, to all its citizens and in particular its children. The government is committing a gross injustice against these children by separating them from their parents. Each of the 26 Bahais were charged with assembly and collusion for the purpose of causing intellectual and ideological insecurity in Muslim society. The Bahais had, in fact, been gathering across Shiraz as part of their efforts to address local community needs and to assess the severity of the regions water crisis. The sentencing of 26 innocent Bahais to long prison sentences, exile and travel bans is the latest in more than 40 years of systematic persecution of Iranian Bahais, added Ms. Dugal. Two years ago, 40 Bahais in Shiraz were summoned before the court, where an official threatened to uproot the community in the city. We are troubled that the authorities are now carrying out their threat and criminalizing the mere fact of being a Bahai. Yekta Fahandezh Saadi, Lala Salehi, Bahareh Norouzi, Rezvan Yazdani and Mojgan Gholampour, were each sentenced to 5 years in prison under tazir law, banned from leaving the country by revoking their passport for two years and reporting themselves daily to the provincial intelligence office for two years. Nabil Tahzib, Sahba Moslehi, Behnam Azizpour, Esmail Rousta, Ramin Shirvani and Saied Hasani, were each sentenced to 5 years in prison under tazir law, banned from leaving the country for 2 years by revoking their passports and forced residency (exiled from Shiraz) for Nabil Tahzib in Izeh, Sahba Moslehi in Ferdows, Behnam Azizpour in Dehdasht, Esmail Rousta in Bafq, Yazd, Ramin Shirvani in Baghmalek, Saied Hasani in Lordegan, along with daily reporting to the provincial intelligence service. Maryam Eslami, Parisa Rouhizadegan, Marjan Gholampour, Shadi Sadegh Aqdam, Ahdieh Enayati, Samareh Ashnaie, Nasim Kashaninejad, Sahba Farahbakhsh and Noushin Zenhari were each sentenced to two years in prison under tazir law, banned from leaving the country by revoking their passports for two years, along with daily reporting to the provincial intelligence office for two years. Mahyar Sefidi, Varqa Kaviani, Shamim Akhlaghi, Farzad Shadman, Farbud Shadman and Soroush Ighani were each sentenced to two years in prison under tazir law, banned from leaving the country with the revocation of their passport and exiled for two years forced residency for Mahyar Sefidi in Lamerd, Varqa Kaviani in Kashmar, Shamim Akhlaghi in Semirom, Farzad Shadman in Minab, Farbud Shadman in Firuzabad and Soroush Ighani in Mehriz, along with reporting to the provincial intelligence service on a daily basis for two years. The Bahais, Irans largest non-Muslim religious minority, have been persecuted in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A secret memorandum approved by Irans Supreme Leader in 1991 calls for the progress and development of the Bahai community to be blocked by barring them from university, disrupting their ability to earn livelihoods, and through other discriminatory means. New Haven, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra; Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who represents Connecticuts 3rd Congressional District; and other officials gathered in New Haven, Conn., today to kick off HHSs We Can Do This campaign partnership with the National Diaper Bank Network to inform parents about COVID-19 vaccines, which are now available and recommended for children ages 6 months and older. Thanks to the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's rigorous, comprehensive, and independent review of the data, and their strict commitment to following the science, said Secretary Becerra in an earlier statement, we are reaching another major milestone in our efforts to protect more children, their families, and our communities as we work to end the pandemic. We are following the data and science as we make sure all Americans are eligible and have access to COVID-19 vaccines and boosters to prevent severe disease and save lives. Based on CDC and FDA actions, we now know that vaccination for our children 6 months through 5 years old is safe and effective and we are ready to get millions of children vaccinated. HHS is partnering with the National Diaper Bank Network and other community-based organizations to ensure that fact-based information about the vaccines is available to all familiesespecially those in medically underserved communities. Connecticut is so proud to be home to the National Diaper Bank Network, said Rep. DeLauro, which works to get children in all 50 states the diapers and supplies they need to thrive. This partnership means that timely information about COVID vaccines and young children will be available in the communities that have suffered most from the pandemic. Todays kickoff event was held at Fair Haven Community Health Center, which is providing vaccinations for children ages 6 months and older. Children younger than 5 years are receiving their first COVID protection at the clinic. We are dedicated to the idea that every family should have the things they need to thrive, said National Diaper Bank Network CEO Joanne Goldblum. The ZIP Code a baby is born in should not affect their right to be clean, dry, and healthy. Across the country, diaper banks will be including vaccination fact sheets and other resources into every bundle of diapers they give out. Some diaper banks will partner with community health centers to do the kind of clinic families are benefitting from today. During the pandemic, said Janet Stolfi Alfano, executive director of The Diaper Bank of Connecticut, we increased our distribution of diapers, period supplies and other material basic necessities to meet a growing need here in Connecticut. Being part of We Can Do This is another way for us to make sure young children are safe and cared for in this challenging time. About the National Diaper Bank Network The National Diaper Bank Network is a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to eliminating diaper need in America, by leading a national movement to help meet the basic needs of all babies and their families, including access to clean, dry diapers and other material goods. About We Can Do This The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Public Education Campaign is a national initiative to increase public confidence in and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines while reinforcing basic prevention measures. ### Attachments NEW CITY, N.Y., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gotham Cannabis Security & Compliance (GCSC) is a full-service, security firm committed to helping businesses safely thrive within the cannabis industry. With a unique combination of attorneys, public safety and compliance experts, international investigators, former law enforcement officials, and digital security experts, GCSC provides clients with the individual attention needed to ensure and protect their interests and where applicable secure government approval for their operations. GCSC's unique and individualized approach to digital, legal, and structural safety is specifically designed to create a meaningful impact to any licensed cannabis operation in New York State. With deep roots in law enforcement GCSC is proud to have strong relationships with all law enforcement agencies throughout New York because GCSC understands that security is critical not only to comply with regulations but also to build the confidence of the host community. The GCSC expert team is led by President Charles Ribando, a safety and security specialist with a distinguished career in law enforcement, Chief Technology Officer and digital services expert, Ed Eisenstein, Chief Legal Officer and prominent Criminal Defense attorney, David Schwartz, Esq., and Chief of Government and External Affairs, lawyer and lobbyist, Bradley Gerstman, Esq. The GCSC team of professionals specializes in providing businesses with the expertise and foresight needed to properly protect their product and financial interests in the following areas: Cannabis and Dispensary Services: recordings and color photography; immediate system outage notifications; on-site lighting, defense, and fortification; operations assessments; staff trainings Digital Security Services: access control systems; backup power supply systems; commercial grade alarm systems; HD security cameras at all points of entry/exit; intrusion detection software/motion sensors; network and system installation and integration; 24 Hour video surveillance Digital Software Services: on demand crop data; Calculations (cost per gram); reporting systemsinventory & sales; METRC Compliance; management software for employees, delivery services, labeling, printing, packaging, and distribution, seed to sale compliance Business Protection: compliance consulting; government relations support; legal protection and counsel; licensing assistance; operations advisement Charles Ribando, President of GCSC, stated, "The significance of our practice lies in the diverse expertise we offer clients operating within the cannabis industry. GCSC employs a multi-layered approach to protecting your interests as we handle all compliance requirements under one roof. This includes all specifications required by New York State for both manufacturing and dispensing facilities. Whether you're growing or distributing, the future of your business depends on the safety of your product which is why at Gotham Security, we truly leave no stone left unturned." Bradley Gerstman, Esq., Chief of Government and External Affairs for GCSC, stated, "from securing licensing and products, to physically and legally protecting your investment, our cannabis specialists know what it takes to succeed in this budding industry starting with the application process." For more information, please visit: https://gothamcsc.com/ Media Contact: Nicole Epstein 516-880-8170 nepstein@gothamgr.com This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. CALGARY, Alberta, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Total Energy Services Inc. (Total Energy) (TSX:TOT) will conduct a conference call and webcast following the release of its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The financial results will be released prior to the conference call. Daniel Halyk, President and CEO will host the call. Open to: Shareholders and other interested persons Date: August 9, 2022 Time: 9:00 a.m. (Mountain Time) Call: (800) 319-4610 or (416) 915-3239 A live webcast of the conference call will be accessible on Total Energys website at www.totalenergy.ca by selecting Webcasts. Shortly after the live webcast, an archived version will be available on Total Energys website. A recording of the conference call will also be available until September 9, 2022, by dialing (855) 669-9658, passcode 9194. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Total Energy provides contract drilling services, equipment rentals and transportation services, well servicing and compression and process equipment and service to the energy and other resource industries from operation centers in North America and Australia. The common shares of Total Energy are listed and trade on the TSX under the symbol TOT. For further information, please contact Yuliya Gorbach, Vice-President Finance and Chief Financial Officer at (403) 216-3920 or by e-mail at: investorrelations@totalenergy.ca or visit our website at www.totalenergy.ca. The TSX has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein. LILE-DES-SURS, Quebec, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) has just released its residential real estate market statistics for the month of June. The most recent market statistics for the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) are based on the real estate brokers Centris provincial database. Sales continue to slow down significantly in the Montreal area. In this context, new listings, which have been above the historical average since the month of May, are starting to have an impact on the inventory of properties for sale. The sharp increase in active listings translates into a slight increase in the time it takes to clear inventory, a first since 2015 across all periods and in all the areas of the region, notes Charles Brant, director of QPAREBs Market Analysis Department. While market conditions remain very tight in favour of sellers, the next few months will finally usher in a downward trend in overbidding and a winding down of the continuing rise in prices compared to 2021. Overall, prices have been stabilizing since last May, indicating that the Montreal market has reached its peak, especially in a context where it is becoming increasingly difficult for households to qualify for a mortgage loan, he added. June Highlights Residential transactions totalled 4,078 in June in the CMA, an 11 per cent decrease compared to June 2021. These results, which are below the monthly sales average (4,333) since 2017, mark a continuation of a slowing trend seen in 2022. Transactional levels by major area were heterogeneous in June, but the majority followed the CMAs overall trend. Sales in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area remained stable, with a total of 204 residential transactions. The South Shore and Laval saw their sales decrease slightly during the period, with declines of 4 per cent in both areas (944 and 423 sales, respectively). The North Shore experienced a more significant slowdown, with 920 sales, a 7 per cent decrease compared to June 2021. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, which has so far experienced a smaller slowdown than the other sectors (-11 per cent from January to June), experienced a larger decrease in June, with 107 sales, a 13 per cent decrease. However, the Island of Montreal registered the largest decline in the CMA, with a 20 per cent decrease compared to June 2021, for a total of 1,480 sales. Single-family homes and condominiums registered similar levels of slowdown in June, with -9 per cent and -10 per cent compared to June 2021, respectively (sales were 2,086 and 1,576). The rapid decline in plex sales continued during the month, with a total of 412 sales, 25 per cent lower than 2021 (546). The increase in active listings in back-to-back months continued in June in the CMA, with the sixth consecutive month of increases in properties available for sale. Listings reached a total of 12,370, a 15 per cent gain from June 2021. The moderation in median prices continued in June in the CMA. The median price for single-family homes reached $570,000, a 12 per cent increase from June 2021, but a $6,000 decrease from May 2022. Condominium price growth was also at 12 per cent for the month, with a median of $410,000, which represents a month-to-month stabilization from last May. The median price in the plex market climbed in June to $770,000. This price represents a 9 per cent gain from June 2021. Additional information: Detailed and cumulative statistics for the province and regions If you would like additional information from the Market Analysis Department, such as specific data or regional details on the real estate market, please write to us . About the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) is a non-profit association that brings together more than 14,000 real estate brokers and agencies. It is responsible for promoting and defending their interests while taking into account the issues facing the profession and the various professional and regional realities of its members. The QPAREB is also an important player in many real estate dossiers, including the implementation of measures that promote homeownership. The Association reports on Quebecs residential real estate market statistics, provides training, tools and services relating to real estate, and facilitates the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information. The QPAREB has its head office in Quebec City, administrative offices in Montreal and a regional office in Saguenay. It has two subsidiaries: Societe Centris inc. and the College de limmobilier du Quebec. Follow its activities at qpareb.ca or via its social media pages: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. About Centris Centris is a dynamic and innovative technology company in the real estate sector. It collects data and offers solutions that are highly adapted to the needs of professionals. Among these solutions is Centris.ca, the most visited real estate website in Quebec. For more information: Marie-Rose Desautels Morin Relations Publiques media@qpareb.ca Image bank (credit QPAREB) available free of charge. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ddc2f6b3-aebe-4c18-bd92-0ef373cb5428 English French TORONTO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunwing Airlines Inc. has reviewed a copy of Unifor Local 7378s recent complaint to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board. The unions claim that Sunwing was sold to WestJet shortly after a renewal collective agreement was signed with its pilots in early 2021 is not true. Sunwing and the union reached a tentative agreement in bargaining on January 23, 2021 which was fair and reasonable. The renewal collective agreement was ratified by an overwhelming percentage of the union members voting on February 12, 2021. More than one year later, on March 2, 2022, WestJet announced an agreement under which the WestJet Group of Companies would acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. The proposed transaction remains conditional upon regulatory approval. The complaint is without merit, out of time and will be vigorously defended. Sunwing Airlines values all of its employees, who are integral to helping make our customers vacation dreams come true. Our pilots are vital to our operations. Sunwing Airlines will continue to promote positive labour relations in good faith as more of our customers return to travel and we continue to rebound from the pandemic. About Sunwing The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing has more flights to the south than any other leisure carrier with convenient direct service from airports across Canada to popular sun destinations across the U.S.A., Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. This scale enables Sunwing to offer customers exclusive deals at top-rated resorts in the most popular vacation destinations as well as cruise packages and seasonal domestic flight service. Sunwing customers benefit from the assistance of the companys own knowledgeable destination representatives, who greet them upon arrival and support them throughout their vacation journey. The company supports the communities where it operates through the Sunwing Foundation, a charitable initiative focused on the support and development of youth and humanitarian aid. For more information: Melanie Anne Filipp Director, Corporate Communications & Media Relations Sunwing Travel Group 1-800-387-5602 | media@sunwing.ca MIAMI, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (the "Company") (NYSE: PFLT) (TASE:PFLT) announced that it will report results for the third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2022 on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 after the close of the financial markets. The Company will also host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday August 4, 2022 to discuss its financial results. All interested parties are welcome to participate. You can access the conference call by dialing toll-free (800) 289-0720 approximately 5-10 minutes prior to the call. International callers should dial (646) 828-8073. All callers should reference conference ID #1561290 or PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. An archived replay of the call will be available through August 18, 2022, by calling toll-free (888) 203-1112. International callers please dial (719) 457-0820. For all phone replays, please reference conference ID #1561290. ABOUT PENNANTPARK FLOATING RATE CAPITAL LTD. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. is a business development company which primarily invests in U.S. middle-market private companies in the form of floating rate senior secured loans, including first lien secured debt, second lien secured debt and subordinated debt. From time to time, the Company may also invest in equity investments. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. is managed by PennantPark Investment Advisers, LLC. ABOUT PENNANTPARK INVESTMENT ADVISERS, LLC PennantPark Investment Advisers, LLC is a leading middle market credit platform, managing $6.0 billion of investable capital, including potential leverage. Since its inception in 2007, PennantPark Investment Advisers, LLC has provided investors access to middle market credit by offering private equity firms and their portfolio companies as well as other middle-market borrowers a comprehensive range of creative and flexible financing solutions. PennantPark Investment Advisers, LLC is headquartered in Miami and has offices in Chicago, Houston, New York and Los Angeles. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. You should not place undue influence on such forward-looking statements as such statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. CONTACT: Richard T. Allorto, Jr. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (212) 905-1000 www.pennantpark.com SAN FRANCISCO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) investors who suffered significant losses to submit your losses now. Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/GNRC Contact An Attorney Now: GNRC@hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895 Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) Investigation: The investigation focuses on Generacs claims that its acquisitions (including its 80% interest in Pramac and acquisition of Off Grid Energy) support the companys Powering A Smarter World strategic plan and on the role played by Generacs heavily touted strategic distribution partnership with Sunnova. The companys claims came into question on June 22, 2022, when analyst Spruce Point Capital Management published an investment report alleging that Generac is struggling to suppress core business challenges, while pivoting towards a highly speculative and unproven acquisition spree in clean energy products and services. Among other things, Spruce Point: (1) accused Generac of engaging in a pattern of misreporting acquisition revenue contribution between 2019 2021; (2) questioned Pramacs ballooning receivables, calling it a hallmark of channel stuffing; (3) observed Generacs press release announcing the Off Grid Energy acquisition obscured the fact that its 80% Pramac business was the end acquiror and found evidence to suggest a sham revenue transaction at Off Grid Energy; and, (4) highlighted Spruce Points concerns that Generacs distribution partnership with Sunnova may have been structured to enable Generac to round-trip cash flows. In response to Spruce Points report, the price of Generac shares sharply declined during intraday trading on June 22, 2022. Were focused on investors losses and whether Generac may have improperly recognized unearned revenues, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. If you invested in Generac and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman. Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Generac should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email GNRC@hbsslaw.com. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. TORONTO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Element Fleet Management Corp. (TSX: EFN) (Element or the Company), the largest pure-play automotive fleet manager in the world, will hold its Q2 2022 results conference call and webcast for investors and analysts on Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time. Elements financial and operating results for the period will be issued after market close on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 and will be available on the Companys website at elementfleet.com/investor-relations/public-disclosures. The conference call and webcast can be accessed as follows: Webcast: https://services.choruscall.ca/links/elementfleet2022Q2.html Telephone: Click here to join the call most efficiently, or dial one of the following numbers to speak with an operator: Canada/USA toll-free: 1-800-319-4610 International: +1-604-638-5340 The webcast will be available on the Companys website for three months thereafter. A taped recording of the conference call may be accessed through September 11, 2022 by dialing 1-800-319-6413 or +1-604-638-9010 and entering the access code 9159. About Element Fleet Management Corp. Element Fleet Management (TSX: EFN) is the largest pure-play automotive fleet manager in the world, providing the full range of fleet services and solutions to a growing base of loyal, world-class clients corporates, governments and not-for-profits across North America, Australia and New Zealand. Element enjoys proven resilient cash flow, a significant proportion of which is returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks; a scalable operating platform that magnifies revenue growth into earnings growth; and an evolving capital-lighter business model that enhances return on equity. Elements services address every aspect of clients fleet requirements, from vehicle acquisition, maintenance, accidents and remarketing, to integrating EVs and managing the complexity of gradual fleet electrification. Clients benefit from Elements expertise as the largest fleet solutions provider in its markets, offering unmatched economies of scale and insight used to reduce fleet operating costs and improve productivity and performance. For more information, visit elementfleet.com/investor-relations. Contact: Michael Barrett Vice President, Investor Relations (416) 646-5698 mbarrett@elementcorp.com MELBOURNE, Australia, July 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Featuring the latest drops from the best brands, leading Melbourne snowboards retailer Twelve Board Store has launched its new season range for the 2022 ski season. From snowboards to snowboard boots, bindings, outerwear, snowboard gloves and more, everything needed to hit the slopes with confidence can be found at Twelve Board Store. As the Victorian ski resorts emerge from two years of shortened seasons due to pandemic restrictions, the possibility of a bumper season has everyone excited. For those keen to hit the slopes, investing in quality equipment and clothing is more cost effective than hiring gear in the long run, explains Twelve Board Store. The team at Twelve Board Store has years of snow experience and are available in store to help snowboarders find the perfect board and clothing. While it's easy to fall in love with a design solely based on aesthetics, Twelve Board Store recommends prioritising the size, quality of build and type of riding planned to help choose the right snowboard and accessories. With snowboards suitable for all conditions, Twelve Board Store's new range features powder, park, freeride, all-mountain and directional freestyle snowboards. The 2023 range includes new season styles from the most renowned brands including Salomon, Arbor, Korua, K2, Burton, Nitro and more. Offering a one-on-one service, Twelve Board Store helps customers find the best snowboard setup for what they want to do on the hill. The service includes boot fitting, finding the right board and bindings, finding the perfect clothing, helmet and goggles as well as providing snowboard waxing and repairs. Twelve Board Store has over 30 years of combined experience in the snowboard, skateboard and longboard industry. The team prides themselves on helping customers choose the right board for their needs by offering expert advice and stocking the best brands from around the world. With fast shipping for online orders and a dedicated customer support team, customers can shop from Twelve Board Store with confidence. To explore the latest season range, shop online or visit the Twelve Board Stores retail shop in Richmond, Melbourne. For more information call now on 03 9421 2293. Related Images Image 1: Melbourne snowboards This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment MELBOURNE, Australia, July 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aussies in southern states have been spotted pulling their scarves a bit tighter, buttoning their coats and digging their beanies out from the back of their wardrobes over the past few weeks as the beginning of winter has brought with it record-breaking low temperatures. Further north, on the other hand, Queenslanders are still enjoying temperatures in the high 20s, sunny days and balmy nights - that's why travel experts Inspiring Vacations are recommending mid-year tours of Cape York for any Aussie who needs to thaw out. The far north of Australia is calling all freezing Melburnians, Sydney-siders and Adelaidens, says Inspiring Vacations. Aussies are invited to spend some time this winter exploring Cape York by air, by train or by bus. The Cape York tours company offer a range of ways to see this stunning corner of the country, offering a variety of tours ranging from a week to 18 days. According to travel experts, tours are the best way for travellers to ensure they are taking in every single thing beautiful Cape York has to offer. For travellers short on time, Inspiring Vacations recommends their week-long Cape York by air tour, which takes travellers through the UNESCO-listed Daintree Forest, Cape Tribulation, the Coral Sea, Endeavour River and more. Travellers will get the opportunity to take in breathtaking views, swim through crystal clear waters, jump off waterfalls, learn about the rich history of Far North Queensland and more. For the more adventurous traveller, Inspiring Vacations offers an 18-day trek through the Northern Territory and Cape York, riding The Ghan from Adelaide up to Darwin and exploring the north of Australia over the course of nearly three weeks. This tour includes a visit to majestic Uluru, an exploration through Cooktown and the Daintree Rainforest, world-class wining and dining, day tours to Kakadu, Kings Canyon and West MacDonnell Ranges and more. As one of the most awe inspiring, unforgettable locations in the world, Cape York is the ideal destination to swap the coat and scarf for swimmers and sunnies - just don't forget the SPF50. Contact Info: Inspiring Vacations Phone: 1300 88 66 88 Email: bookme@inspiringvacations.com Related Images Image 1: Inspiring Vacations This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment The British Grand Prix provided a lot of spectacle on track, but the early stages of the race were less positive. Guanyu Zhou took the hardest hit in a hard crash, although Alexander Albon was also unlucky. 0 The Williams driver was hoping to score points in England, but had to abandon the race before the first corner. Albon collided with several drivers, damaging his car to such an extent that he had to retire. Read more Albon can leave hospital after multiple medical checks At the FIA press conference, however, the driver stressed that there were no major physical problems. "Obviously, it can sound quite dramatic when people go to hospital," Albon stated. "I just went for precautionary checks. Its standard procedure, really." Albon is therefore ready to show what he can do again this coming weekend in Austria. "Of course, it wasnt ideal, but it ended up being just a few bumps and bruises. There was nothing major at all, so it was all good in the end." Williams working hard on repairs Behind the scenes, meanwhile, the racing team is working hard to get the car finished on time. Williams are planning updates for the race weekend in France and would rather not have the implementation delayed by repairs to Albon's car. It is therefore expected that the team will meet its schedule. Read more Steiner enjoyed the fight between Verstappen and Schumacher Max Verstappen had a tough weekend in Britain, where problems with his car meant he had to work hard to get it across the finish line. The next test awaits him this weekend. 0 In Austria, the Dutchman will be given the opportunity to quickly straighten his back and go for the win. The reigning world champion told in Red Bull Racing's press release that he is confident of a good result. Read more Steiner enjoyed the fight between Verstappen and Schumacher "Its a really interesting track with not many corners," Verstappen said. "Its a lot of fun to drive. The atmosphere is always great, I love seeing the fans in the grandstands and I think people in general just really enjoy the weekend there." Verstappen exudes confidence Verstappen is happy to have the weekend in England behind him. While he managed to drive up front in the early stages of the race, he had to settle for P7 due to damage to his car. It took a lot of strength for him to get six more points for his team. "Silverstone was a tough race but we look ahead and hopefully we can have a good weekend and really maximise the points available over a Sprint weekend at our home circuit. I expect it to be a good weekend for us as a Team." remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. China's top political advisor urges more suggestions on carbon reduction Xinhua) 09:26, July 06, 2022 Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, speaks at a research and consultation symposium in Beijing, capital of China, July 5, 2022. Wang called for redoubled efforts to pool wisdom and make suggestions to help the country realize carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. At the meeting, representatives of non-CPC political parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce shared their views and suggestions. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Tuesday called for redoubled efforts to pool wisdom and make suggestions to help the country realize carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at a research and consultation symposium held in Beijing. At the meeting, representatives of non-CPC political parties shared their views and suggestions on what can be done in various fields to push for green transformation, such as further developing new and clean energy, expanding carbon trading market, and enhancing low-carbon technology research. They discussed the ideas with officials from key governmental departments including the National Development and Reform Commission. Noting that the pursuit of China's carbon reduction goals requires a synergy of wisdom and strength from various fronts, Wang said relevant political parties and people's organizations should continue to conduct in-depth research and make suggestions with a focus on key issues for the realization of the goals, as well as efforts to lead by example through green and low-carbon lifestyles. Relevant authorities and departments should make the best of these research results, and raise the quality of consultations with the non-CPC political parties, Wang said. China has announced that it will strive for peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate John Mayer hopes to see more people become like his dad. This week the Fairfield County native and singer-songwriter told his father, Richard Mayer, that his more than four decades as a Bridgeport educator would not soon be forgotten. To celebrate his fathers 90th birthday, which was a few days before John Mayer turns 40 on Monday, the songwriter set up a college scholarship fund through Fairfield Countys Community Foundation to commemorate his dads legacy. Our moving into another decade has always been in sync, Mayer told Hearst Connecticut Media in an interview. So I wanted to do something of import. Just a few minutes after Mayer told his dad the news, Richard Mayer described the gift as a lightning bolt. I couldnt have expected a better gift than this, he said. I gave 42 years to the Bridgeport education system and they gave me a wonderful life. This is just a wonderful way to be remembered and be doing something positive. The Richard Mayer Scholarship Fund will launch next spring, according to the foundation. Graduates from Bridgeport public high schools, including Central and Harding at which Richard Mayer worked, will be eligible to apply for the four-year scholarship. The specifics of the application process are being worked out, according to Karen Brown, the foundations vice president of innovation and strategic learning, but the recipients will be students with plans to follow in the steps of Richard Mayer by becoming an educator or educational administrator. The scholarships are set to be doled out in $5,000 increments for four years so long as the recipients maintain the required GPA. This will be the third fund that John has set up at the foundation, Brown said. Its a testament to Johns philanthropic leadership and commitment to the region in which he grew up. The nature of the scholarship fund represents a personal tribute to his career, Richard Mayer said. When you consider how many days are in those 42 years, that was a number of days. Looking back on the totality of my career, it was all so positive, he said. I cant think of something more thoughtful. The songwriter doesnt remember when exactly the idea originated, since artists have places, not dates, John Mayer said. But he recalls he was in Denver when someone proposed an idea that ultimately morphed into the scholarship fund. Im proudly my dads son, both in our daring use of metaphor and hair-trigger emotional responses and in wanting to be teachers, John Mayer said. I have my dads desire to be a teacher ingrained in me, and as I become more mature, its emergent. Happy 90th Birthday, Dad! Leave doting comments about my dad below. Hell love scrolling through it. Also please stop this train. Thank you. A post shared by johnmayer (@johnmayer) on Oct 11, 2017 at 6:44pm PDT Richard Mayers impression on his son is significant, the songwriter emphasized, which is evidenced in his ballads, such as In The Blood that was released earlier this year and expresses reflections on the influence of family. Perhaps mimicking thoughts that shaped In The Blood lyrics How much of my father am I destined to become John Mayer said his fathers commitment to ongoing education represents something thats been in my blood my whole life. As I get older, I develop more and more respect for academics. This (scholarship) is a nice cross-section of what my dad has done and what Ive done in a way that I think honors the bloodline, he said. The Richard Mayer Fund is one of about 150 college scholarships totaling $800,000 distributed annually that donors have set up with Fairfield Countys Community Foundation. Contact the writer at mbennett@greenwichtime.com; Twitter @Macaela_ HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The state of Connecticut, after six years of development, has launched a new computer system for processing unemployment benefits, replacing a 40-year-old one that became overwhelmed at times during the COVID-19 pandemic given the historic number of applications. ReEmployCT, which serves about 115,000 businesses across the state which pay into the unemployment trust fund, as well as unemployed workers seeking benefits, began operating at noon Tuesday. Despite some initial slowdowns, Department of Labor Commission Dante Bartolomeo said Wednesday the launch has been successful. About a couple of weeks ago, we heard that Xiaomi's Redmi was planning to launch the Redmi K50i in India. And yesterday, a report claimed that the K50i will debut in India on July 20. Well, that report has turned out to be correct as Redmi has announced that the K50i will launch in India on July 20 after all. Redmi hasn't divulged any specs of the K50i yet, but the teaser shared by the company reveals the smartphone's design. It has a triple camera setup on the rear, and blue is one of the color options you will get to choose from. The Redmi K50i looks similar to the Redmi Note 11T Pro and Redmi Note 11T Pro+ launched in China in May. These are basically the same phones with different batteries and charging speeds. The Note 11T Pro packs a 5,080 mAh battery with 67W charging, whereas the Note 11T Pro+ comes with a 4,400 mAh battery with 120W charging. Rumors claim the Redmi K50i will be a rebranded Redmi Note 11T Pro+, and if that's true, you will get the Dimensity 8100 SoC, 6.6" FullHD+ 144Hz LCD, 16MP selfie camera, 64MP primary camera (joined by 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro units), stereo speakers, and a side-mounted fingerprint reader. Redmi Note 11T Pro+ With the event still two weeks away, you can expect to hear more about the Redmi K50i from the company. And in the meantime, you can head this way to check the detailed specs of the Redmi Note 11T Pro and Redmi Note 11T Pro+. My mind is blown, Ben N Yans Neil Espino said Wednesday after being informed of the national accolade bestowed on the Dededo restaurant after Food & Wine magazine called it one of the best places to eat Filipino food in the country. The magazines June 28 story, The Best Places to Eat Filipino Food in Every State, includes an Instagram photo of the restaurants halo halo topped with ube ice cream and flan. The story called the restaurant the undeniable favorite on island and highlights the restaurants Sizzling Plate Specials. It also recommends what it called a pork chip an apparent misprint on the website of the pork chop dish. Espino, who was unaware of the news until the PDN informed him, said the writers had not contacted him about the story beforehand. Im thinking maybe a foodie came in ... and experienced it, Espino said. Filipino cuisine has surfaced on Americas foodie scene over the last decade thanks to shoutouts from celebrity chefs such as Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern, and Food & Wines coverage is the latest to proclaim the trend. The magazine put the spotlight on Filipino American chefs around the U.S. in the June 28 story, A New Generation of Filipino American Chefs Is Finding Joy and Community in Cooking Their Heritage. And on the cover of its July Innovators issue, the magazine features the Tocino Burger with an ube bun created by Filipino chefs Tom Cunanan and Paolo Dungca of Pogiboy in Washington, D.C. On Guam, however, Filipino food has long dominated the culinary landscape, with staples such as lumpia and pancit a longtime tradition on the fiesta table. Gratifying Nevertheless, its gratifying to see Guam included on the foodie finds list. Its an honor, very humbling, Espino said. Three months after his death at the age of 81, artist Adriano Baza Pangelinan and his work will be celebrated at a new exhibit opening July 12 at the University of Guams Isla Center for the Arts. Coordinated by Benjamin J.F. Cruz, public auditor and retired chief justice, and Monica Guzman of the Galaide Group, Dream in Color will feature pieces from the private collections of Pangelinans family and others in the community. My dad left probably about 200 paintings at his house, combined with my mothers house, said Pangelinans son, Carlos Pangelinan. We gave half of that to Monica so she can pick and choose what she wants for the show. The exhibit is being installed this week, and Guzman said she would end up using about 45 to 60 paintings. Maybe more, if we can fit, she said. He would have loved (the exhibit), Carlos Pangelinan said. My dad (was) not a talkative person. He (didnt) like to show off but he always appreciated people enjoying his work. An homage Considered one of Guams pioneers in contemporary art, Adriano Pangelinan started his prolific career while still in his late teens in the late 1960s. After earning his masters in fine arts from Southern Illinois University, he returned to Guam and taught at the University of Guam for two decades. He worked in watercolor and acrylic. His paintings reflected a strong Eastern influence that depicted fond memories of island life on Guam, its people in harmony with the ocean and the land with its endless beauty and bounty, his daughter, Marilyn Pangelinan Schofield, said in an April 22 PDN story. Although Cruz never met the artist, he has been a longtime admirer of the painters work and acquired some paintings after Carlos Pangelinan came to work for him when Cruz was serving as a senator in the Legislature. So when Carlos told me that his father wasnt doing well, I thought that it would be appropriate to do a retrospective of his work, Cruz said. The exhibit is meant to pay homage to Pangelinan, who influenced generations of local creatives during his career as an artist and educator. Among those were University of Guam art professors Ric Castro and Lewis Rifkowitz, who shared their memories in a 50-minute video about the artist, who was among the first CHamorus to earn a masters degree in fine arts. In the video, Castro credits Adriano Pangelinan, along with Adriano Pangelinans art critic friend Marvin Montvel-Cohen, for his current career in art. Following Montvel-Cohens harsh review of his first solo art show in 1987, it really sparked a little fire in me and I always credit (the two) to change my career to becoming a painter, Castro said. I knew academia didnt respect me as being a painter, so in my head, I said, man, I would love to do this for a living and be part of that group, these elite painters that are so harsh, he said with a laugh. He was brave The video also includes interviews with Cruz and Guam Museum curator Michael Lujan Bevacqua. Adriano Pangelinan was always on the periphery of discussions because two of my professors were Ric Castro and Joe Babauta both of whom held Tun Adriano in high regard because, for many years, he was the only CHamoru artist who was out there and whose work was sought after. Because for many people on Guam, art was sort of an off-island thing; like the art faculty at UOG were primarily white people from the U.S., said Bevacqua, who double-majored in art and literature at the University of Guam. There was a big emphasis for CHamorus after World War II to join the military, go work for the government. If you told your nana, I want to be an artist, your nana, she might sort of say the rosary for you. She might say, No, no, no, dont throw your life away. In the video, Cruz said he admired Adriano Pangelinan because, truthfully, at one point I wanted to get a degree in dance but that just wasnt something a CHamoru man did, or even art. As a consequence, a bunch of young men after him realized there is no shame in getting an MFA and theyd be able to provide for their family, he said. He was brave enough to do it and made a good life of it and mentored and inspired generations after him. That should be the real legacy that should be attributed to him. Bella Wings Aviation announced on July 5, 2022, that the second year of the University of Guam Drone Corps Program has officially commenced. Although Roe v. Wade has been overturned, the 1990 law prohibiting abortions on Guam cant be enforced because it was unconstitutional when it was passed, Attorney General Leevin Camacho stated in an opinion Wednesday. Public Law 20-134 criminalized all abortions on Guam, making it a third-degree felony to perform an abortion, a misdemeanor to solicit or submit to an abortion and a misdemeanor to solicit any woman to have an abortion. The law also provided for a referendum to determine whether the law should be repealed or remain in effect at the next General Election, which would have been Nov. 6, 1990. In August of that year, a federal court ruled the law violated the Constitution and the Organic Act. The court permanently stopped the law from being enforced. The ruling was upheld on appeal and that injunction remains in effect today, the attorney general wrote. Opinion sought Vice Speaker Tina Muna Barnes and Sen. Mary Camacho Torres asked the attorney general to render an opinion on the law because the Supreme Courts Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization ruling granted states and territories the right to regulate abortions. Since the Guam law was enjoined because of Roe v. Wade, and that decision was overturned, the senators wanted to know whether the law was in effect or whether a referendum would need to be held. Camacho said federal courts have invalidated Guam laws in other cases when the Legislature exceeded its authority by passing laws inconsistent with the Organic Act. The abortion law, at its inception, blatantly violated the laws of the United States applicable to Guam at the time, namely Roe v. Wade, and the provisions of the Organic Act extending to Guam the constitutional protections that formed the basis of Roe v. Wade. Camacho wrote that when the law was passed, it was clearly and unequivocally unconstitutional. The attorney generals office and the Legislatures legal counsel advised that the bill was unconstitutional when it was being considered, Camacho wrote. Because the 20th Guam Legislature didnt have the power to pass the law in the first place, it is void ab initio and has no legal effect on Guam since its passage. Reaction Bureau of Womens Affairs Director Jayne Flores said the attorney generals opinion that the law cant be enforced is both consistent with the laws of our nation at the time it was passed, and consistent with who we are as people today. The decision to have an abortion should remain private and personal it should not be dictated by lawmakers, Flores said. She said her office is working toward making abortion the rare option that women and persons who are pregnant seek, by expanding access to birth control and emergency contraception on our island. A dead person found in Dededo June 30 died from natural causes, according to Guam Police Department spokeswoman Officer Berlyn Savella. A judge allowed an attorney to continue asking questions about the accusers occupation as a stripper during a suruhanus criminal sexual conduct trial. The trial for Frank Ko San Nicolas, a suruhanu and former Port Authority of Guam police officer accused of a May 2020 rape, continued on Wednesday morning in the Superior Court of Guam. Attorney Joaquin Jay Arriola Jr. asked the woman about her job at Club USA. However, Assistant Attorney General Richelle Canto objected multiple times, asking the relevance of the womans job to the sexual assault. The stage has two big silver dance poles, correct? Arriola asked the woman. Correct, the woman said before Canto objected. What does the stage have to do with sexual assault? Canto asked. The stage has everything to do with this, Arriola replied. Judge Arthur Barcinas excused the jury to allow Arriola and Canto to argue the issue. Her occupation as a stripper, we just confirmed is relevant. How is it relevant to the ability to say no? When you are being touched improperly, Arriola said. If shes capable of saying no to the 5,000 sailors on the USS Roosevelt, she can sure as heck say no at the appropriate time if she meant no. Canto referred to a previous order Barcinas made about Arriolas questions. The court said he can ask about touching, he can ask about that, but he cant ask about every other portion of the strip club and every other experience in the strip club that doesnt have anything to do with touching, Canto said. Barcinas eventually allowed Arriola to continue his line of questioning and said the place of employment begs the question of consent more or less probable than it would be without (the) evidence. Canto said she understood, but still had the right to make objections. Barcinas agreed. Recess Following the lunch break, Barcinas announced trial will be in recess for the rest of the week and begin again on Monday. Frank San Nicolas faces charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct as misdemeanors. He is accused of sexually assaulting the woman in a cave after meeting her at Tanguisson Beach. A retired police lieutenant has yet to enter a plea to terrorizing charges after not showing to up to court. Former Guam Police Department Lt. Jojo Templo Garcia was scheduled to enter a plea to charges in connection to a February indictment but didnt make an appearance in the Superior Court of Guam. The no-show comes after Garcias initial hearing was rescheduled for Wednesday morning due to a conflict of interest with Magistrate Judge Jonathan R. Quan. Quan disqualified himself due to his history of working with Garcia at GPD. Magistrate Judge Benjamin C. Sison Jr. presided on the case and discovered Garcia knew about the hearing, checked in with probation as previously ordered and still was looking for a lawyer. Sison decided to reschedule the hearing one more time. If Garcia doesnt show up, he could be put in jail. Garcias next scheduled hearing is July 20. Garcia was indicted in February with three counts of terrorizing as a third-degree felony, four counts of reckless conduct and one count of official misconduct as misdemeanors. The indictment doesnt give details of Garcias charges. A video circulated on social media in December 2021, however, showed Garcia arguing with people outside a residence while carrying a rifle. In the video, he appears to point the rifle at others. The Office of the Attorney General was unable to confirm if the charges were linked to the video. Voters will be able to decide whether they want a part-time Legislature, be able to sue government officials directly for breaking the law and eliminate primary elections for independent candidates if several voter initiatives make it onto the ballot this year. Initiatives let voters decide whether they want to adopt a new law at the ballot box. Six were submitted by resident Ken Leon-Guerrero last month and are under review by the Guam Election Commission. Leon-Guerrero said the goal is to have each one placed on the ballot for the 2022 General Election. He is a Republican senatorial candidate this year. In order for us to make government more responsible to the citizens and give us the kinds of government that all of politicians claim theyre going to every two years, were going to have to do it ourselves and take the power out of their hands, Leon-Guerrero said of the initiative effort. The proposed voter initiatives would: Allow candidates who decide to run as independents to skip the primary election, which currently requires independents to get more votes than Republicans or Democrats to make it to the General Election. Make the Guam Legislature part-time, to meet for 60 days at the start of January and again at the start of July each year. So the best and brightest can still serve without having to derail their business or their professional career, according to Leon-Guerrero. Increase the number of senators to 21. We have too much power concentrated in too few hands. And we can literally pass the law with just as little as five (senators), Leon-Guerrero said. Establish a Corrupt Practices Act, to let citizens sue the government or its employees for not less than $10,000 over violations of the law and regulations, and physical or financial harm. The goal is to make every employee personally liable for waste and corruption, Leon-Guerrero said. Create an elected Office of Public Prosecutor, who would be solely responsible for prosecuting crimes on behalf of taxpayers. The attorney general doesnt represent the people of Guam, because first and foremost, he represents the government of Guam, Leon-Guerrero said. Empower the Office of Public Accountability to prosecute government fraud and abuses of taxpayer money. Right now we are on a countdown with Guam Election Commission, Leon-Guerrero said. Signatures A summary of the initiatives is due back to Leon-Guerrero by July 25, according to last weeks GEC meeting, after which hell have to collect enough signatures to have each placed on the ballot come November. Guam law requires that petitions for initiatives are signed by at least 10% of registered voters at the time they are introduced. That requires a minimum 5,209 signatures per initiative, Election Commission Executive Director Maria Pangelinan said, And there are six initiatives, so thats 30,000 signatures we have to vet. Just vetting the signatures is such a big task that the commission has had to cancel village voter outreach that it planned to do during the upcoming early voting period, she added. Besides that, the person proposing a referendum also has to hold public meetings about the initiatives in 10 different villages. But Leon-Guerrero said the initiatives have been in the works since 2019, and hes already hosted all the necessary meetings. You can watch them online at bit.ly/3P4fX5d. The Election Commission will also have to decide whether some of the proposed initiatives are actually referendums. Unlike initiatives, which propose new laws, referendums seek to repeal laws that are already enacted. The bar is also higher for referendums, which need signatures equal to or higher than 20% of the total votes cast for candidates for governor in the last gubernatorial election, or 7,190, based on GEC records. Any initiative needs 50% plus one of all voters who vote during the election to be approved. Read the full proposals submitted to the GEC here: (tncms-asset)bbff009a-fcf0-11ec-8e08-fb9ddb8ab3a1[1](/tncms-asset) A recent article in the South China Morning Post and a news broadcast making the rounds on social media have some residents worried that Guam War survivors gather for a photo during a wreath presentation for the 78th Manenggon Memorial Commemoration at Manenggon Valley in Yona on July 3, 2022. THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) says it will consider another voter registration exercise after statistics showed a 2% increase in registered voters from 2018. On Tuesday, Zec released a statement stating that as at June 10, the countrys registered voters numbered 5 804 975, a 2% increase on 5 695 706 from 2018. Zec spokesperson Jasper Mangwana yesterday told NewsDay that the commission would consider conducting another voter registration blitz before the polls. The voters roll is a changing document. The commission has also been removing the deceased and adding new voters. We removed around 26 000 and 47 000 at some point, he said. As usual, Zec will definitely consider another registration blitz. We really feel for the rural community because theyre very far away from our offices. But people have to wait and hear with the commission. We will share our plan towards 2023. Electoral watchdogs said it was imperative that Zec carries out another voter registration exercise before elections expected next year. The poor turnout of new voters flies in the faces of both the ruling Zanu PF party and the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC)s ambitious plans to attract five million and six million new voters, respectively, for the 2023 polls. Zec said females constitute 53,8% and males 46,1% of the registered voters. The watchdogs said the 2% increase points to high voter apathy in the country. Electoral watchdogs said Zecs figures were disappointing because they showed that young people in the country, who constitute the majority of the population, are not interested in the elections. Its shocking that the registration blitzes that were done by Zec have not achieved the desired results. The commission needs to go back to the drawing board and devise campaigns which can encourage youths to participate in electoral processes assuming that they constitute a large number of potential voters. Remember, Zec is targeting at least two million new youthful voters, Zimbabwe Election Support Network chairperson Andrew Makoni said. It appears elections dont mean anything to our youths and it must be established why. Elections have not changed anything or transformed their lives. Our successive governments have not delivered and the youth are expressing their displeasure through apathy. As stakeholders we must address the root cause of this. Statistics also show that Harare Metropolitan province has the highest number of registered voters at 952 520, while Matabeleland South province has the lowest figure of 267 308. Our greatest undoing has been an indifferent youth population which is not forthcoming. Unfortunately, this is the biggest demographic group. There is need for another round of a voter registration blitz and hopefully there will be improved service delivery from Zec. Previous exercises were marred by a lot of irregularities. Its also incumbent upon the civil society to complement Zecs efforts, Zimbabwe Election Advocacy Trust director Ignatius Sadziwa said. Political analyst Kudakwashe Munemo said: I note that there are about nine million people that remain untapped. Political parties intending to win elections must focus on mobilising between 2,2 and 3,2 million citizens to register to vote. Civil society organisations also have a huge role to play in providing civic and political education. CCC deputy secretary for elections Ellen Shiriyedenga said massive under registration of young voters clearly indicates that there were serious challenges to voter mobilisation efforts. This can also be perceived as a deliberate attempt to suppress the youth because there are no mechanisms to ensure that theyre registered. Most young people were not aware of the registration exercise, while others did not have identity documents. Under the circumstances, another voter registration blitz is very essential. If its not done, the outcome of the 2023 elections will not represent the majority, Shiriyedenga said. Zanu PF party commissar Mike Bimha said: I havent seen the figures yet, so I wouldnt comment on things that I didnt see. Newsday Haiti - News : Zapping... Parliament ready to face an armed attack Joseph Lambert affirms that in the event of a possible attack by gangs, the agents of the parliamentary police are ready to face an armed attack, to avoid a takeover of the premises as happened at the Palace of Justice, occupied by bandits since June 10th. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36885-haiti-flash-the-palace-of-justice-stormed-by-the-5-seconds-gang.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36930-haiti-flash-bandits-make-the-law-at-the-palace-of-justice-in-port-au-prince.html Passports and promises At the beginning of the week Liszt Quitel, the Minister of the Interior declared that the Government had acquired new materials and equipment to increase the production capacity which will increase in Port-au-Prince to more than 4,000 passports per day. Should be noted that in 2018, the country already had such a capacity per day https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24651-haiti-flash-production-of-passports-drop-by-drop-in-haiti.html See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-20812-icihaiti-politics-number-of-passports-in-production-an-illusion-of-progress.html Jean Tolbert Alexis replaces Claude Joseph Jean Tolbert Alexis, one of the members of the government coalition, reacting to the Turkish refusal to extradite Samir Handal in the case of the assassination of President Moise https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37074-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-turkey-rejects-samir-handal-s-extradition-request-and-orders-his-release.html rejects the accusations of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Claude Joseph putting the responsibility of Prime Minister Henry in this failure, recalling that it is not the file of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) which was transmitted to the Turkish judicial authorities, but a file prepared by the Minister Claude Joseph. 1st anniversary of the assassination of President Moise Thursday, July 7 will bring back the first anniversary of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html . Political activists close to the late President denounce the slowness observed in the judicial investigation and announce two days of mobilization on July 7 and 8 to demand justice. On Thursday, the event will leave from the Airport Carrefour then take the Delmas road then Delmas 60 to end at the Champ de Mars. Venezuela: 211th of Independence "Haiti celebrates with the Venezuelan people the 211th anniversary of the declaration of independence of Venezuela, a date that reminds us of the struggle of our heroes for the construction of our great free and independent homeland. Long live the friendship between Bolivar and Petion !" Embassy of Haiti in Venezuela. Washington : Embassy of Haiti closed The Embassy of Haiti in Washington D.C. announces its closure on July 7, 2022 on the occasion of the Commemoration of the first anniversary of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Regular Embassy activities will resume on July 8, 2022. HL/ HaitiLibre County leaders, public to celebrate new Patton Building After two years of renovation and construction, an expansive new learning facility will be unveiled at Blue Ridge Community College this summer. The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the Patton Building is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 12, at 180 W. Campus Drive. Following the outdoor ribbon cutting event, guests will be welcome to enter and tour the building. The public is invited to attend. The event is sponsored by Clark Nexsen architects and Vannoy Construction. Parking is available in Lot A near the west entrance of the campus. In case of inclement weather, the celebration will be held inside the Patton Building. The $23.4 million Patton Building project was funded by the Henderson County Board of Commissioners and features 78,739 square feet of new and renovated modern educational space. The facilitys carefully designed learning environments and technological features will engage and support the students of Blue Ridge Community College while positioning the institution as a strong economic development and industry recruitment partner for Henderson County. The event will feature remarks from John B. Chip Gould, Chairman of the Blue Ridge Community College Board of Trustees; County Manager John Mitchell, Board of Commissioners Chairman William G. Lapsley and BRCC President Laura B. Leatherwood. "The Board of County Commissioners is pleased to continue the financial support of new and improved educational infrastructure to facilitate occupational opportunities for the citizens of Henderson County, Lapsley said. The completion of this upgrade and expansion of the Patton Building is another step forward in raising the skills and training level for the future employees of our growing manufacturing and business community. Thanks to all of the college leadership and staff here at Blue Ridge Community College for sharing your teaching talents and work experiences with our citizens. You can be assured that the taxpayers of Henderson County are proud of this institution and appreciate all that you have done for us over the past 50-plus years and will continue to do in the future. As we work to transform lives through the power of learning, this state-of-the-art and newly constructed Patton Building will create opportunities for generations of Blue Ridge Community College graduates and their families, as well as provide support for industry employers across Western North Carolina, Leatherwood said. Our college and community are grateful for the forward thinking investment of our Henderson County Board of Commissioners that made this collaboration possible. A 21st century higher education and workforce development facility, the new Patton Building features spacious and attractive common areas providing comfortable spaces for students to study and collaborate. Fifteen multi-use classrooms are outfitted with wall-sized touchscreen smart boards called Walltalkers. State-of-the-art science classrooms integrate the equipment needed for chemistry, biology, and physics lessons. The Student Success Center is prominently placed on the first floor for Blue Ridge students to receive academic support through peer and instructor tutoring, one-on-one and computerized instruction, and workshops. More than 6,200 square feet of flexible industrial space called Flex Labs are specially designed to meet the training needs of new and existing manufacturing employers. The two adaptable labs are upfit with gas, water, air, and electrical connections. Large bay doors can accommodate tractor trailers during loading and unloading. Adjacent workforce development classrooms and offices are available to faculty and partner staff. The 2,048-square-foot Steven D. Wyatt Auditorium features a production-ready stage and seats 105 for community events, faculty lectures, and drama department productions. The space also features a green room, dressing room, restrooms and a backstage area. Blue Ridge Community College trustees named the auditorium for County Manager Emeritus Steven D. Wyatt for his support of the Colleges mission. County manager from 2006 through 2021, Wyatt was involved in $91 million worth of capital construction projects on the BRCC campus. The Patton Building project followed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system to create a sustainable project that valued and respected the natural environment throughout every step of the building process, from planning to construction to management. TWO people from Henley who are backing the Ukrainian war effort have raised enough to pay for a 4x4 vehicle. Liz Ledaca and David Eggleton have teamed up with Paul Liczbinski, from Reading, to supply medical supplies and vehicles to be repurposed as ambulances. After several weeks of fundraising, they have been able to fund their first vehicle, including tax and insurance. It is a Toyota 4x4 abd will be painted in camouflage. On Friday they were in Henley market place to promote their appeal with the car that Mr Liczbinski used to drive medical supplies to the Polish border with Ukraine in May. A barcode for their Just Giving page was stuck to one of the windows together with a photo of Ukrainian voluntary defender Roman Shulyar with a campervan he had been using as an ambulance. The car was also decorated with camouflage netting, a red strobe light and a Ukrainian flag attached to a flagpole. The open boot contained medical supplies. The trio raised 160 from passers-by using the barcode and people pledged to donate medical supplies. Mrs Ledaca, of Park Road, said: The Ukrainian flag attracted attention and it was good to keep the situation in peoples minds while Henley Royal Regatta was in full swing. It became a gathering point for several Ukrainians who enjoyed meeting each other. We still need funds and medical supplies. She thanked everyone who donated. Henley Lions Club has made a generous donation and the Gresham Club in London has promised a significant donation towards two more 4x4s. Mr Liczbinski, who was in the military for 29 years, is planning to deliver more aid to the Ukrainian border later this month with two other former military men. A PILE of hay bales was destroyed in a fire in Sonning Common which is thought to have been started deliberately. The incident took place behind the skate park off Woodlands Road and Orchard Avenue at about 4.30pm on Friday. A crew from Henley fire station was called to the scene to extinguish the blaze using a hose reel jet and hay-drags, a type of rake. The firefighters spent more than an hour at the scene. About 15 hay bales were lost. Nearby residents witnessed the drama. Doug Parmenter said there was CCTV footage showing half a dozen boys and two girls going into the field a few minutes before the fire started. Parish councillor Vicky Boorman said she was walking through the field when she met other villagers walking their dogs who told her they had seen children in the area. Matthew Birkett and his daughter Serenna, eight, were on a bike ride when they helped the fire engine find the entrance to the field, which belongs to Graham Payne, of Blackmoor Farm, Sonning Common. Mr Birketts wife Claire said: We are so lucky the fire brigade attended so promptly and prevented the fire spreading. Kat Young, who saw the incident from her house, said: Its a good job the field had been cut as it could have spread very quickly. In 2015, two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of arson after a straw fire in the field. One of them was also arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis. A similar attack took place in 2019. Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101. Thailand, China agree to carry on traditional friendship, expand bilateral cooperation Xinhua) 09:29, July 06, 2022 Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Teng) BANGKOK, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Thailand and China agreed here Tuesday to carry on traditional friendship, expand bilateral cooperation and plan for the future development of relations. While meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said his country attaches great importance to the China-proposed Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative and admires China's great achievements in eliminating extreme poverty. Thailand expects to learn from China's development experience, grasp the trend of the times, seize the historical opportunity and push for the Thailand-China cooperation in all fields, the Thai prime minister said. Wang said China and Thailand have witnessed healthy and stable development of relations, which benefits from the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the traditional friendship of China and Thailand that are close like a family, and the firm political trust between the two countries. Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, Wang said the two sides agreed to set the joint construction of the China-Thailand community with a shared future as a goal and vision, work together to enrich the connotation of "China and Thailand are close like a family," and forge ahead for a more stable, prosperous and sustainable future for the two countries. Wang said China and Thailand could work on building a China-Laos-Thailand Railway to smooth the flow of goods with convenient channels, promote economy and trade with better logistics, and facilitate the growth of industries with robust economy and trade. More cold-chain freight trains, tourism routes and durian expresses could be launched to make cross-border transportation more convenient, less costly, and more efficient, Wang suggested. Prayut said Thailand and China enjoy long-standing friendship and fruitful practical cooperation. It is significant for the two sides to have reached a consensus on jointly building a community with a shared future, and Thailand stands ready to work with China in advancing it. He expressed hope to further synergize the "Thailand 4.0" development strategy with China's Belt and Road Initiative, carry out the third party market cooperation based on Thailand-China-Laos Railway, and unleash the full potential of the border-crossing railway. Both sides exchanged views over the APEC Informal Leaders' Meeting to be held this year. Wang said China fully supports Thailand in playing an important role as the APEC host country for 2022 with focuses on the Asia-Pacific, development and the construction of the Asia-Pacific free trade zone, so as to inject a new and strong impetus into the regional integration process. Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He also co-chaired the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Myanmar. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) easyHotel, the low-carbon, affordable hotel chain, has acquired its first site in Valencia, at 7-8th Rojas Clemente sq. The plot is licensed for the development of a 95-room hotel in the city centre, for travellers looking to make clever travel choices. Savills advised on the sale to easyHotel. It will be easyHotel's first site in the region, and fifth hotel in Spain. This represents the latest step in easyHotel's strategy to become Europe's leader in low-carbon, affordable hotels and highlights its focus on France and Spain. The new hotel, which is expected to open in 2024, will have a breakfast area and parking. It is in a prime location with excellent transport links, including a metro station just a few minutes' walk away, the AVE train station a 15-minute walk away and only a 25-minute journey to Valencia airport. It is also walking distance from some of the city's most popular attractions such as the Central Market and Valencia Cathedral. easyHotel currently has 43 hotels across 11 countries. It offers locals and visitors brilliantly simple hotel rooms in city centre locations, catering for a wide demographic, from those looking for affordable stays, those looking to be more discerning about their money and spending more on meals and activities, and those looking for a simple, "no-fuss" option. This move comes as part of easyHotel's ambitious international expansion strategy as the company plans to more than double its estate to over 100 hotels by 2026. This network will include franchised, owned and rented hotels. In the more immediate future, easyHotel is planning to increase in size to 65 hotels across 15 countries over the next 18 months. Valencia will be the fourth Spanish city in easyHotel's portfolio, adding even more options for travellers. Current locations include Barcelona and Malaga, and easyHotel is excited to open its 230-room Madrid hotel later this year. easyHotel has committed to opening a second owned location in Barcelona, also in 2024. Hotel website Jonathan Wigley, CEO of the Absolute Hotel Services Group has signed a hotel management agreement with Ms. Siraarpa Siriviriyakul, Deputy Managing Director of Siricharoen Sappraiwan Company Limited to bring the popular U Hotels & Resorts brand to Phitsanulok, Thailand. U Phitsanulok is set in 900 rai of lush nature along the Khek River in central Thailand and the existing resort will be renovated, re-branded and re-launched in late 2023. U Phitsanulok will feature 139 guestrooms and chalet houses with full facilities, including a saltwater swimming pool, fitness centre, food & beverage outlets, meeting rooms of various sizes that can accommodate 250-300 people and activity fields and nature zones suitable for outdoor activities. The property will also have close proximity to some of the best white water rafting in the Kingdom and is located next to the Sappraiwan elephant sanctuary that rescues and rehabilitates captive Asian elephants. Hotel website Nikki Beach Global, the first and original luxury beach club concept, announces the appointment of Celia Gumbau-Serra as President of the beach club division. Nikki Beach Global founder Jack Penrod will continue to serve as Owner & Chairman with Lucia Penrod leading the company as CEO. Celia began her career in 1997 at Les Bains Douches, a renowned Paris nightclub as Assistant Artistic Director. Through the relationships she developed at the nightclub, she was offered the opportunity to work directly for Cathy and David Guetta as their assistant. Celia traveled the world with the duo, visiting Milan, New York, Ibiza and finally Miami, where she first experienced Nikki Beach in 1998. A few years later, after meeting Jack and Lucia Penrod at an event in Cannes during the film festival, Celia formally joined the Nikki Beach family where she worked for seven years as the US Marketing Director and Special Events Coordinator focused on securing pop-ups and partnerships. In 2009, Celia was approached by Malaysian billionaire Francis Yeoh, the Managing Director of the YTL group, with the incredible opportunity to create her own hotel brand, MUSE, a boutique hotel in Saint Tropez consisting of just 14 luxury suites. In this role, she developed an innate understanding of the hotel industry and the corporate world and a few years later, Celia brought her expertise back to the Nikki Beach team. During this time, she oversaw both operations and marketing for Nikki Beach Saint Tropez, Nikki Beach Monte Carlo and Nikki Beach Saint Barth. In her years with the brand she has spearheaded the incredibly successful 10 year anniversary of Nikki Beach Miami Beach, took the lead on major events including movie premiere parties at the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, coordinated private concerts for Daft Punk and Alicia Keys, and secured partnerships with Chopard, Gucci, Versace, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gauthier, Valentino and many more. EDITION Hotels, a unique collection of one-of-a-kind hotels conceived through a collaboration between visionary hotelier Ian Schrager and Marriott International, announces Josh Fluhr as Senior Vice President and Global Managing Director effective immediately. A vital member of the EDITION leadership team, Fluhr, who succeeds long-time executive Dan Flannery, will guide the brand through its extensive growth, overseeing all aspects of the brand's culture, training platform, hotel openings, design evolution, marketing and PR strategy, nightlife programming, and food and beverage concept development. "Dan Flannery will be sorely missed as a one-of-a-kind leader and gentleman who embodied everything EDITION tried to achieve" said Ian Schrager, the visionary pioneer of the boutique hotel concept and the EDITION creator. "However, EDITION is so lucky to have a man of Josh's caliber, intelligence, know-how, experience, and expertise to step in right away. Having worked so closely with Dan at EDITION, I'm sure the transition will be seamless, and I personally can rest easy and be totally confident with Josh at the helm for the future of the brand" Fluhr brings over 30 years of luxury hospitality experience to the role. He began his career working in operations at the iconic W New York - Times Square and the W New York - Union Square during the brand's game-changing entry into the Manhattan hotel scene. From there, he joined Starwood Hotels & Resorts' corporate offices to help launch the Aloft Hotels brand, working across both operations and development to set Aloft on a path towards global growth. In 2007, Fluhr became Vice President, Hotel Operations at SBE Hotel Group, helping to create, launch, and open the flagship SLS Hotel Beverly Hills. He played a pivotal role in helping integrate this property into The Luxury Collection portfolio, and as a member of the SBE leadership team, worked on growing the SLS footprint. In 2010, Fluhr joined Marriott International as a senior team member with the newly launched EDITION brand, helping to manage the logistics, training, F&B, and openings of the first two EDITION properties in Waikiki and Istanbul. In 2011, Fluhr led Hotel Operations & Development for the SLS Las Vegas and SLS Miami, and later that year, he joined Morgans Hotel Group, where he worked in senior operations roles, ultimately becoming Chief Operating Officer. In 2016, Fluhr re-joined Marriott and the EDITION team, and has been a key leader in establishing the brand's solid foundation for future growth, overseeing food and beverage development, brand operations, training, pre-opening budgeting and development, and the opening of 11 of the current 14 EDITION properties worldwide. "EDITION has held a huge place in my heart since I assisted with the brand's inception over 10 years ago," says Fluhr. "I am honored to step into this role and usher EDITION into its next chapter as we continue to expand globally and set the standard for luxurious and culturally-connected hospitality." Fluhr assumes his new role at a critical time for EDITION Hotels, which plans to open its 15th property later this year in Tampa, Florida, followed closely by properties in Rome and Riviera Maya. BETHESDA, Md. - Stayntouch, a global leader in cloud hotel property management systems and guest-centric technologies, expands its partnership with HEI Hotels & Resorts, one of Americas leading upscale and luxury hotel management companies. In addition to delivering its guest-centric mobile PMS to five luxury properties, Stayntouch is now a preferred PMS provider for future independent properties and acquisitions. Founded in 1985, HEI Hotels & Resorts is one of the largest premier independent hotel and resort investment and property management companies in the United States. Focusing on large, upscale and luxury properties in urban, super-suburban and resort locations, HEI embraces both the art and science of property management to maximize value for stakeholders, hoteliers and guests alike. HEI chose Stayntouch because they wanted a strategic partner that could quickly deliver a robust and flexible PMS solution to large-scale luxury properties. They also wanted a PMS that would yield the flexibility to creatively manage and sell their cabana experiences. Bradley Koch, Chief Technology Officer at HEI commented, We needed a nimble cloud-based PMS solution that could deliver full functionality for a large and diverse portfolio of premium properties. Stayntouch more than fits the bill: The platform is robust enough to deliver all of the functionality we need, while its intuitive interface and comprehensive integration library is flexible enough to operate in hotels with different operational requirements and brand goals. We were especially impressed with Stayntouchs ability to quickly implement their solution in our properties in under a month, as well as how quickly our hotels staff were able to pick up and learn the system. Michael Heflin, Chief Revenue Officer at Stayntouch, added, We are honored that HEI has chosen to partner with Stayntouch to power their independent portfolio with our cloud-native PMS. Our dedicated implementation specialists have consistently deployed our platform to HEI properties in a streamlined and efficient cadence and we look forward to continuing the same level of support excellence throughout the partnership. Our goal is to fully empower HEI to deliver the best experience for its independent properties and their guests. About Stayntouch Stayntouch provides a cloud-native, guest-centric, and fully mobile hotel property management system (PMS) and over 1100+ integrations, enabling hotels to raise service levels, drive revenues, reduce costs, and ultimately captivate their guests. Backed by a team of professionals with deep roots in the hospitality industry, Stayntouch is a trusted partner to many forward-thinking hotels and resorts, including the TWA Hotel, First Hotels, Conscious Hotels, Margaritaville, Valencia Hotel Group, and Modus Hotels. Stayntouch is also a preferred PMS partner to some of the leading independent hotel collections around the world including; Design Hotels, an Independent Marriott Brand, and Curator Hotel & Resort Collection. Visit Stayntouch at www.stayntouch.com. About HEI Hotels & Resorts HEI Hotels & Resorts, headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., is a leading hospitality investment and management company that owns and/or operates over 90 luxury, upper-upscale and upscale independent and branded hotels and resorts throughout the United States with annual combined revenues in excess of $2.2 billion. HEIs branding partners include Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Accor. Taking a holistic approach to creating value for its investors and employees, HEI sets the highest standards across all aspects of hotel management and operation and focuses on central principles of excellence and continuous improvement. HEI prides itself on some of the highest employee satisfaction scores in the hospitality industry, fuels local economic prosperity by investing in communities and is committed to environmental stewardship and sustainability under HEI Loves. To learn more about HEI, please visit www.heihotels.com. Elliott Mest MFC PR Bangalore - Hotelogix, a globally leading cloud-based, enterprise-grade Hotel Property Management System provider, announced that it has technologically empowered Indias Amritara Hotels and Resorts to gain centralised control over its group operations. With 14 luxurious properties spread across the width and breadth of the country, Amritara Hotels and Resorts is one of the well-known progressive group hospitality entities. It is a part of the UK-based Shanti Hospitality Group that runs multiple popular hotel brands, including Ananda in the Himalayas, Nidra Hotels, and Nira Hotels & Resorts across four continents. It enjoys an edge over its competition in terms of location, decor, amenities, food, and the most-needed human touch in everything it offers. Amritara Hotels and Resorts moved to the cloud with Hotelogix in 2021 as the group couldn't gain centralised control over its operations via different on-premises solutions implemented earlier. Moreover, they lacked the benefits of mobility to execute hotel tasks on the go. "We have overcome this biggest challenge now, with Hotelogix currently powering eight of our properties. Very soon, our other six properties will be running on the Hotelogix platform," said Akash Bhatia, Group General Manager at Amritara Hotels and Resorts. Speaking about the group's expansion plan and the usefulness of the Hotelogix multi-property management system, Akash further added, "Hotelogix has offered us a comprehensive and powerful technological infrastructure to fuel our growth. It will help us add new properties and go live with minimal turnaround time." Additionally, the group has been leveraging some other Hotelogix offerings, including a Central Reservation Office (CRO) and a Mobile Hotel PMS App. Speaking about the business association, Brijesh Surendran, Senior Vice President of Sales at Hotelogix, said, "It is a good time to be a part of the Indian hospitality industry as it is conducive for chain hotels to grow big. We are happy that our solutions are helping Amritara Hotels and Resorts achieve the same." About Hotelogix Hotelogix offers an all-in-one cloud-based Hotel Property Management System that helps group and chain properties with centralised control to automate operations, increase efficiency, sell more rooms, boost revenues, and witness instant ROI while serving guests better. It has earned the trust of many prominent hospitality entities operating across geographies, including India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and matured markets such as North America and Europe. For more information, visit https://www.hotelogix.com/property-management-system-large-hotels.php. Debi Prasad Sarangi Corporate Communications Specialist - Hotelogix +91 804 093 6513 Extn: 1006 AWH Partners, LLC ("AWH"), a vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and management firm, today announced the acquisition of the management and operations of The Grove Resort & Water Park (the "Grove" or the "Resort"), a unique, independent resort located on 106 acres in Orlando, Florida. AWH's wholly-owned hotel management company, Spire Hospitality, has assumed management of The Grove, including its best-in-class condo-hotel rental program and its extensive amenities. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Grove currently consists of 878 two- and three-bedroom suites averaging more than 1,300 square feet, and most of which are enrolled in the rental management program. Opened in phases between 2017 and 2019, the Resort offers four restaurants, a seven-acre water park, three full-sized swimming pools, a full-service spa, a meeting center with 6,000 square feet of meeting space, a children's activity center, an arcade, and a fitness center. The newly built, upscale family resort is located on Lake Austin, an 18-acre resort amenity, and is a 15-minute drive from Walt Disney World. "Located in one of the most visited and robust tourism markets in the U.S., The Grove has a significant competitive advantage offering guests large, newly completed suites, as well as an array of amenities for easily accessible family fun," said Jon Rosenfeld, co-founder and managing partner of AWH Partners. "One of the aspects that attracted us to The Grove was its best-in-class condo-hotel rental management program. By centralizing management across all aspects of the Resort, The Grove ensures a consistently high-quality guest experience." Chad Cooley, co-founder and managing partner of AWH Partners, added, "The Grove, well-positioned to continue to outperform competition in Orlando and beyond, is the perfect anchor investment for our new condo-hotel strategy, and represents a new business line for AWH. In a market environment where opportunities have been few and far between, we believe we have substantial runway to grow this new platform in the coming months and years." "AWH is thrilled to welcome The Grove into our growing portfolio of high-performing hospitality assets, and we are eager to rapidly expand into the condo-hotel space. We are capitalized to aggressively pursue new acquisitions of best-in-class operations across the country and beyond," concluded Russ Flicker, co-founder and managing partner of AWH Partners. About Spire Hospitality Spire Hospitality, led by CEO Chris Russell, is a third-party operator of 7,033 room keys and over 350,000 square feet of meeting space across 20 states. The Spire portfolio, with a focus on large, full-service hotels, includes unique independent properties and premier branded assets across Hilton Hotels & Resorts (HLT), Marriott International (MAR) and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). Spire Hospitality offers expertise in all facets of hospitality management and is committed to preserving, protecting and enhancing the value of hotel real estate. www.spirehotels.com About AWH Partners, LLC AWH Partners, LLC ("AWH") is a privately held, vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and management firm that has invested in over 10,000 hotel rooms across 35 hotels, representing billions of total real estate value. The firm's unique operating model and boutique nature enable it to source, structure and execute hospitality real estate investments on a streamlined and expeditious timeline. Since 2010, AWH and its principals, Russ Flicker, Jon Rosenfeld and Chad Cooley, have amassed a sizeable portfolio of hotels across the country. AWH also owns Spire Hospitality, a top-tier, national hospitality platform and AWH Development, a full-service real estate development company, providing complete vertical integration in the hospitality investment space. For more information, please visit www.awhpartners.com. Winners of the HSMAI Europe Awards 2021 were unveiled at a Gala Ceremony, which took place at the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel in London last week. The event was part of the annual HSMAI Europe Commercial Strategy Week. The aim of the awards is to promote result oriented and innovative leadership among young executives, and to focus on companies that have shown innovation and adaptability. Digitalization is one of the important driving forces in society today and has become even more important during the pandemic. The HSMAI Europe awards take place every year and reflect the passion, determination and innovation of executives working in different disciplines across the region. The Judges Valerie De Corte , Global Alliance & Partnership Director at EHL , Global Alliance & Partnership Director at EHL Monna Nordhagen , Founder & Owner at MARS Brand Agency , Founder & Owner at MARS Brand Agency Eric Brun , Chair of the HSMAI Europe Marketing & Branding Advisory Board , Chair of the HSMAI Europe Marketing & Branding Advisory Board Philippe B. Roy , Director Global Strategic Partnerships Europe Head of the Hospitality Vertical at AMEX , Director Global Strategic Partnerships Europe Head of the Hospitality Vertical at AMEX Terje Olsen, CEO at Broadstone Network Ingunn Hofseth, President and CEO of HSMAI Europe comments: On behalf of the Association, I would like to express our gratitude to the Judges Panel for their time and commitment to the Awards. All the finalists shone as leading lights in the industry and inspirational role models particularly as the industry has had to overcome the unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic. The Awards highlight and reward those who have shown innovation and adaptability through new business models and/ or internal improvements. The finalists clearly showed that in order to not only survive, but also thrive, it is essential to shake up the status-quo. Adapting often means being prepared to change the mindset, stepping outside the norm and creating new solutions to support the industrys recovery. HSMAI Europe Young Talent of the Year (joint winners) Finalist: Olivia Rocky , Marketing Manager at Interstate Hotels & Resort , Marketing Manager at Interstate Hotels & Resort Christopher Thomas Keates, Key Account Director at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Judges comments Winner: Olivia Rocky In creating the Interstate Marketing Taskforce, Liv has brought together numerous creative minds - all with various strengths and experiences. Through Livs innovative leadership she has created a culture of collaboration to produce marketing ideas, plans and campaigns that benefit the entire portfolio. The tools and resources which Liv has created to support performance of the hotels adds real value, they ensure that marketing efforts are focused in the right areas to drive maximum profitability. Liv constantly stays ahead of the trends in the current market conditions and is an invaluable asset to the industry. Winner: Christopher Thomas Keates Chris has always been an advocate for change, winning awards in previous years for change management. He is a natural born leader and winner, someone who finds ways to work smarter and is there for team members. His dedication to move through various focus industries for IHG has been pinnacle to his success, and his desire to apply has shown that he learns quickly and makes a difference. Chris is known for the right things that make him stand out. With such a dynamic situation in 2021 with changes to travel happening so frequently and heavily impacting our industry, we have all had to be agile and flexible, Chris went above and beyond that not only for himself but for his colleagues, peers, and the hotels he represents. HSMAI Europe Sales Professional of the Year Finalists: Mouncef Bencherif, Senior Key Account Director at Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) Senior Key Account Director at Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) Jas Sandhu, Director of Sales & Marketing at Interstate Hotels & Resorts Europe Judges comments: Winner: Mouncef Bencherif Mouncef has had a fantastic year leading by example throughout the crisis, being a great motivator and innovative, adapting to change and turning it to an opportunity. Mouncef mastered every challenge, solving problems, finding solutions, and reaching out for support to drive the RFP 2022 Strategy with a strong pricing position. Mouncef worked flexibly to reflect the changing business environment during 2021 and focused tirelessly on recovery to build and shift share to IHG for 2022. He has been a major advocate of IHG`s CSR green engage and sustainability programme - both internally and externally - and was instrumental in delivering several reports and analysis on carbon emission for each of his clients who were then able to manage their travel policy more efficiently. Fabian Specht Revenue Professional of the Year Finalists: Hayley Jenkins , Regional Revenue Manager at Best Western Hotels & Resorts GB , Regional Revenue Manager at Best Western Hotels & Resorts GB Monika Sand , Corporate Revenue Manager at Lindner Hotels AG , Corporate Revenue Manager at Lindner Hotels AG Justyna Obieglo, Director of Revenue Management at IHG, InterContinental Warsaw Judges comments Winner: Monica Sand This award has been granted to Monika Sand to recognise her contributions to Revenue Optimization for hospitality. Monika is an innovative leader and is permanently developing the organizational structure around her discipline. Thanks to her expertise and initiative, Lindner introduced a cluster revenue structure, which is one of their success factors. She understands revenue as both the basis and the driver in communication and collaboration across all disciplines, working towards un-siloed cooperation and transparency. She understands perfectly how to explain the market needs and to analyze the revenue streams in order to guarantee the most attractive and valuable price point. HSMAI Europe Marketing Professional of the Year Finalists: Diane-Laure Dudoue , Director of Communications at InterContinental Paris le Grand , Director of Communications at InterContinental Paris le Grand Elena Ljiljanic, PR & Marketing Manager at Regent Porto Montenegro Judges comments Winner: Diane-Laure Dudoue Diane-Laure has a proven experience in creating PR strategy and driving results. She has promoted her creative ideas to hotel management, corporate headquarters and agencies. She always innovates by selecting bespoke brands for Kimpton like a dedicated program to pet lovers to surprise and amaze guests. She shows a burning passion for the profession and has brilliantly succeeded by repositioning Le Grand Hotel and implementing Kimpton and its brand awareness in France. This award highlights her exceptional work, and she is a great asset to IHG Hotels. HSMAI Europe Event Inspirer of the Year Sofitel Legend Grand Amsterdam were unfortunately unable to attend the ceremony, but Franck X. Arnold, Managing Director & Regional Vice-President at The Savoy was there to receive the award on their behalf. Judges comments Winner: Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam Many hotels invest in different forms of art, for the pleasure of their guests and staff. Some take this to a higher level, to position the hotel with the help of their long history with art and the focus they give art today. In addition, the winner also wanted to focus more on Corporate Social Responsibility. The solution was to create a project called Artists in Residence. A range of artists are being given a helping hand and invited to stay in the Artists in Residence Suite, to work on a new piece of art. The project encompasses different art disciplines, from painters to poets and from jewelry designers to photographers. Bort young talents and renowned artists participate in the project. The ultimate goal is to support the art world during a difficult time, and further strengthen the hotels position to art and Corporate Social Responsibility. HSMAI Europe Technology Innovator of the Year (joint winners) The following companies were nominated: OTA Insight Oaky RateGain The Hotels Network Cloud Arvoia Cvent MiceRate Judges comments Winner: Global Market Insight by OTA Insight How can hotels make more informed decisions on critical topics like budgeting and forecasting, the return and recruitment of staff, and when to adjust their pricing strategy? One company has come up with an answer. This interactive heatmap can serve as a new industry benchmark to track worldwide recovery for the travel and hospitality industries. It combines recovery trends from the last six months and a demand outlook for the next 90 days, completely free of charge. The insights displayed for each destination include flight and hotel search evolution index, available hotels, lead time trends and the top countries searching for the destination. Winner: Bench Direct by The Hotels Network Hotel benchmarking is essential to every hotel brands growth strategy. How can hotels get more bookings through their own channels and reduce OTA costs? This question has been, and still is, one of the most important for the hotel industry, especially recovering from the pandemic. Hotels need real-time competitive insight to understand better how their recovery is going, compared to the market as a whole. This new tool, launched in 2021, is a powerful new technology for hotel brands. Using this free solution, all hotels regardless of their budgets, can see where their property stand in comparison to their competition, making it easier for hotels to remain competitive. HSMAI Europe Marketing Inspirer of the Year Judges comments Winner: Visit Norway for their campaign Top 13.000 reasons why you should visit Northern Norway 13,000 reasons to visit Norway also received Best in Show at HSMAI Adrian Award in US, a much praised and humorous campaign. This involved the creators getting feed-back from 13,000 visitors to Northern Norway and read aloud in one take, creating the longest review of all time. Read more here Please note two of the categories will be handed out later this year due to challenges with Covid and flight cancellations. These are: HSMAI Europe Best use of Brand HSMAI Europe Young Hotelier of the Year www.hsmai.eu About HSMAI Europe The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Region Europe is committed to growing business for the hotel, event and travel industry and their partners, and is the industry's leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable revenue growth on a local, national and European level. The association provides practical tools, insights, and cutting-edge expertise to enable knowledge sharing and enhance professional development as well as fuel sales, inspire marketing, transform businesses digitally and optimise revenue. Marius Flaskjer HSMAI Europe The price of U.S. oil tumbled below $100 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since May, offering drivers the promise of further relief from record-high gasoline prices. But the reprieve carries with it the prospect of a recession and deeper economic pain. The nearly $9 a barrel decline in the price of West Texas Intermediate to $99.50 comes as gasoline prices plummeted in Houston and across the country over the past week to their lowest levels in a month. While still close to record highs, gasoline prices have fallen for three consecutive weeks, saving Americans an estimated $100 million from what they were spending when the national average peaked above $5 a gallon last month, according to fuel-price tracking service GasBuddy. In Houston, gasoline plunged 14 cents over the week to an average $4.35 a gallon, 17 cents less than a month ago. At some local stations, gasoline was selling for less than $4 a gallon, according to GasBuddy, which reported a price as low as $3.69. On HoustonChronicle.com: Expect more ups and downs for oil prices Prices in Houston are still running $1.62 a gallon higher than a year ago. Nationally, gasoline prices fell 10 cents a gallon to an average $4.78, 7 cents less than a month ago, but $1.66 more than a year earlier. Gasoline prices have moderated with oil prices, which fell 9 percent Tuesday in the worst trading day for crude in months. Traders are worried that a potential recession could cut demand. Historical gasoline prices The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on July 5 in Houston and the U.S. 2021 - Houston: $2.74 / U.S.: $3.12 2020 - Houston: $1.79 / U.S.: $2.17 2019 - Houston: $2.42 / U.S.: $2.75 2018 - Houston: $2.63 / U.S.: $2.87 2017 - Houston: $2.02 / U.S.: $2.24 2016 - Houston: $2.09 / U.S.: $2.26 2015 - Houston: $2.53 / U.S.: $2.77 2014 - Houston: $3.47 / U.S.: $3.66 2013 - Houston: $3.30 / U.S.: $3.47 2012 - Houston: $3.17 / U.S.: $3.33 Source: GasBuddy See More Collapse On its own, the sharp decline in crude prices is likely welcome news for consumers, an energy analyst says. If it brings a little gas price relief along with it, I think consumers will welcome this, said Karr Ingham, a petroleum economist with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, an oil and gas trade group in Wichita Falls. But they wouldnt welcome a recession and its hard to imagine another reason these prices are taking this dip today. Meanwhile, drillers in the U.S. are ramping up oil production to replace Russian barrels lost after Moscows invasion of Ukraine, raising concerns that a recession could catch traders with a glut of crude. In one outlook, Citigroup Inc. said crude could fall to $65 a barrel this year in the event of a recession. Adding to oil market fears, Shanghai launched mass testing for COVID-19 in nine districts after detecting cases the past two days, calling into question the demand recovery in one of the worlds largest oil-consuming countries if lockdowns resume. All of this amounts to a hazy picture of the months ahead. Its very hard to forecast right now; theres a lot of chaos in the market, said Tom McNulty, managing director of Chiron Financial, a Houston-based energy investment banking firm. The market trading off is often a way of saying, Im just going to play it safe. amanda.drane@chron.com The sports bar Revelry on Richmond announced Wednesday it is closing July 31 after eight years of operation in Montrose. Ted Baker, owner of the bar and pub restaurant at 1613 Richmond, said he decided not to renew his lease, opting to focus on his two other concepts, Pennywhistle Pub (located next door at 1625 Richmond) and Bobcat Teddys, 2803 in the Heights. In its 67-year history, Houston Grand Opera had never had a full-time composer-in-residence until Joel Thompsons work changed its mind. One of Americas leading opera companies is his now his sandbox, as it were. I think of it as almost a lab of sorts, for me especially as an artist to figure out how exactly I want to balance the solitary endeavor of composition with the very community-oriented and collaborative spirit that's being fostered at HGO, says Thompson. Im glad I get to be a part of that. Thompsons five-year appointment, which takes effect Aug. 1, comes at an opportune time. A doctoral candidate at Yale, he recently completed the residential coursework portion of his five-year program. What remains is his so-called dossier the portfolio of works it is now his charge to create. Basically, I have to go out into the world for three years and prove myself, says Thompson, who also got his masters at Yale and bachelors at Emory University in Atlanta. HGO seems happy to oblige him. Thompsons remit includes writing a full-length opera for the Wortham Centers larger Brown Theater, scheduled to premiere in the 2026-27 season. Meanwhile, hes already imagining smaller projects such as an oratorio for the HGO chorus, a song cycle for HGO Studio artists, and perhaps a site-specific chamber opera. Most immediately, hes looking forward to meeting with leaders both at HGO and in the wider community to see what ideas might take shape. Im sort of building the plane as I'm flying, Thompson laughs. In recent years, calls for greater inclusion and representation within the opera world have grown too loud to ignore, as the industry undergoes seismic changes. Thompson is well aware of the opportunities that come along with new position, both for himself and others. There's a chance to create a new pipeline, he says. I think opera is an idiom with a lot of baggage as it relates to race and gender and a number of identity markers. To have my voice there is a chance to keep the door open to other voices. Thompsons path to HGO started at the 2017 Aspen Music Festival, where he was a compositional fellow and his orchestral piece, An Act of Resistance, impressed the companys artistic and music director, Patrick Summers. (I knew within 30 seconds of hearing Joels orchestral work that I was in the presence of a rare compositional voice, Summers said in a statement.) After Thompson won the festivals Hermitage Prize, Summers approached him and asked him if he was interested in collaborating on a new project: an adaptation of Ezra Jack Keats beloved The Snowy Day, the first childrens book to feature a person of color as its main character. Thompson was happy to oblige. He actually remembered reading the book, originally published in 1962, while growing up in the Bahamas. (His family then moved to Houston for three years before settling in Atlanta.) The hour-long operas development was inevitably complicated by the pandemic; before Snowy Day premiered in December 2021, HGO released a behind-the-scenes documentary about its creation the year before. Yet despite the delay, it was a success: opening night was live-streamed to 34 countries. It deserves to be performed regularly during the holidays or otherwise and especially in schools, the Chronicle noted in our review. Snowy Day was not Thompsons first brush with acclaim. In 2015, the University of Michigan Mens Glee Club premiered his Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, a choral setting of the dying utterances of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and five more young Black men killed by police. Then working as a choral director at a two-year college in south Georgia, Thompson wrote it as just a way to journal my feelings, but it spoke eloquently and movingly to the times. Above all, anything that I write, I want it to be honest, he says. In the end, each musician is made up of all of the things that they listen to and like; and made up of where they are emotionally, physically, and mentally. So being honest is a huge priority for me in my art. That honesty is one more reason why Thompson believes his HGO residency is such a perfect fit. I think in cities as diverse as Houston, we really get to get a front seat at this experiment of American democracy, he says. A lot of what we're seeing in terms of all of the tragedies and the friction between communities is also a result of the thing that makes us so beautiful, which is our diversity: of opinion, of culture, of ethnicity, of religious beliefs and values, Thompson continues. I feel like we can coexist if we put the effort into doing that, and I feel like art and music especially can show us the way. In matters of love, destiny beats scenery. While the love story starring artists Joe Havel and Mary Flanagan began in a picturesque hillside village in the south of France, it picked up steam when they were marooned in a far less idyllic place his home, foundry and studio compound in a modest neighborhood on Houstons near northwest side. It was a few months after they learned they were inseparable, and day jobs were keeping them 1,900 miles apart. Flanagan teaches at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire; Havel was director of the Glassell School of Art. She came for a visit, bringing only a small suitcase and Pixel, her 4-pound Yorkie. MOVING ON: It's the end of an era for MFAH's Glassell School, as Director Joseph Havel departs after 30 years But that was March 2020. Soon after Flanagan arrived, COVID-19 slammed the world shut. With flights canceled everywhere, she couldnt go home. She ended up staying two years in Havels compound. Slowly, well, I guess not so slowly, she moved here and started to tweak it, Havel says. My very spare kitchen suddenly grew appliances, he teases. Yeah, she fires back, grinning. We got a toaster, and we got some food. Things worked out. When Flanagan and Havel married in January, his home was already theirs, influencing not just their relationship but their art practices. Our processes are so completely different. Were always like, Wow, thats how you do that? Its invigorating, she says. And theres no competition, which is also rare. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer During that stage of the pandemic, Havel was building sculptures and assemblages from boxes pecked by his African gray parrot, Hannah. (One of the shows that resulted, Parrot Architecture, is on view at Dallas Contemporary through Aug. 21.) As Flanagan stocked the pantry, she supplied Havel and the bird with mountains of new materials. Shes the best buyer of boxes on Amazon, Havel says. I learned from her. Shes a little ahead of me on the digital range. ART AMID PANDEMIC: MFAHs Glassell School of Art survives a turbulent 2 years through COVID Flanagan, a researcher who also designs games, creates her art with artificial intelligence software. Living in the compound afforded her multiple rooms, including a loft where she made an installation for her first Houston show, Hope Is the Thing With Feathers, at Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art through July 2. She also started painting. Being around Joes stuff, theres more emphasis on the analog and experiential things, Flanagan says. I have always been online and on screens, doing animation or whatever, for many, many hours. But during COVID, having my art practice, meetings, teaching, all collapse into this one machine really made me want to start going back to more analog processes and more materiality. Its been interesting to play around with that tension. Compound aesthetic The compound was a raw mess when Havel bought it 23 years ago. Built in 1948 as a church, the main building was repurposed in the 1960s as a furniture warehouse, then it became an auto parts business. Windshields and windows were still stacked upstairs when Havel decided to live there in 2015. Aiming to make an aesthetic out of it, as he says, he designed an open living-dining-kitchen space, putting his bedroom through a door at one end where the stairs ascend from his studio. A vaulted ceiling with big cedar columns and beams airily connects those spaces. Havel also built out a studio for his parrot and a flexible guest room/office. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer He did most of the work alongside his then-studio assistant Carlos Rojas, an excellent carpenter who handled the details. It was a huge amount of labor but a labor of love, Havel says. For one thing, those stored windshields were supporting joists. Also, an old claw-foot tub with a working faucet sat inexplicably in the middle of one room. Rather than move it, Havel built the bathroom around it. He furnished it comfortably, not lavishly. His taste in furnishings leans toward utilitarian, Zen minimalism. Flanagan was on board with that from the start. Most of the things Joe has, I would have bought, she says. We have almost identical taste in these things. That made it very easy. 'YOU JUST FEEL HONORED': MFAH's Glassell School of Art $440K benefit Among his treasured possessions are two antique Japanese tansu cabinets, both integrated into the design. One creates a kitchen divider wall. The other functions as a TV console. A handsome Chinese cabinet in the living room holds linens, and Flanagan has claimed another one for her clothes. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The kitchens display of prized ceramics is functional, too. Havel collects dishes and pots by well-known artisans who followed one of his mentors, the great American potter Warren MacKenzie. Working with MacKenzie as an undergraduate, he embraced the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi embracing transience and imperfection. One of the things I loved about him was the way he integrated his artwork, Havel says. It was a complete package. You didnt separate your life from your art, your teaching from your art. Everything was a way of being in the world. Even the architecture. So, yes, we use the pots. And sometimes they chip. Or I drop one and it breaks. If I can glue it together I do, but if not, it goes in the trash. Or it goes to the earth as a shard, Flanagan adds. I now have a new appreciation for these objects. Ceramics are about as far away from my expertise as programming is for Joe. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer She also appreciates the personal warmth of the fine art Havel has collected, including works by Mona Hatoum, Trenton Doyle Hancock and many other great artists he has befriended during his three decades at the Glassell. He keeps a portrait of a monkey by Israeli painter Gilad Efrat across from their bed, just to remind us when we wake up in the morning that were apes, he says. Flanagan thinks of the Houston house as a peaceful haven. Havels big studio, on-site bronze foundry and music room not so much; it stays set up for weekly jam sessions with his longtime rock band buddies. Those spaces are almost like a theme park of art, she says. THE ART IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: AI meets Emily Dickinson in Mary Flanagan exhibit The action also includes a small zoo, as she calls it. Parrot Hannah pretty much rules the roost, but Pixel and a gaggle of studio cats often are under foot, and wilder things occasionally inhabit the compounds welcoming green space. This summer, Flanagan and Havel are returning to their first happy place Menerbes, the village in Provence where they met through the artist residency program at the Dora Maar House. (That 19th-century townhouse was a summer retreat for Maar, the surrealist artist and photographer who was one of Picassos many muses.) Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer They plan to stay for a while. Hes stepping down at the Glassell this month, and shes taking a sabbatical while they settle in to the first place theyve bought together, with Hannah and Pixel in tow: an ancient post office building next door to the Dora Maar residency. Its a shockingly cool house, Flanagan says. Were very excited about that. Not that their Houston aerie has lost its appeal. In fact, theyre still working on it, building out another studio for Flanagan. It was a great house to be locked in, she says. Theres always something happening. But I really would like to get to know more people, see more places and just hang out or have dinner with friends. We havent been able to have that normal life yet. A man was fatally shot Tuesday night outside a west Houston apartment complex, Houston Police Department officials said. Officers responded to reports of the shooting around 9 p.m. in the Urban Palms Apartment Homes on the 10630 block of Beechnut Street near Maplecrest Drive and found a man with gunshot wound to the chest, police said. He was transported by Houston firefighters to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. MORE CRIME: Teen shot, critically injured in neck while handling shotgun, Harris County sheriff's office says The man's mother who reported the shooting initially found him injured outside the apartment in the complex's courtyard area after she heard a gunshot, according to investigators. Police have not released the name of the deceased, a description of the suspect or a motive in the shooting. Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to contact HPD's Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477. Joel.Umanzor@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Eight people in Houston have tested positive for monkeypox and health officials expect that number to rise in the coming weeks as the virus jumps to new hosts. The virus can cause fever, chills and pimple-like blisters in addition to more serious complications. The Houston Health Department confirmed four cases of monkeypox among Houston residents who had recently traveled internationally. Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional four cases in the greater Houston area. VIRAL OUTBREAK: What is monkeypox? Of the 20 infected Texans for whom the state health agency has collected demographic information since the outbreak began earlier this year, one third had not traveled recently, DSHS spokesperson Lara Anton said. Some were close contacts of people who traveled. All were men. Officials from local and state health agencies declined to specify where those infected had traveled, citing patient privacy. Most human cases originate in central and west Africa, where the disease was first observed in 1958. The four Houston residents monkeypox symtoms were first spotted by their healthcare providers, who contacted the citys health department for confirmation, department spokesperson Porfirio Villarreal said Wednesday afternoon. Doctors at the departments Texas Medical Center lab confirmed the diagnoses, as did scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where the doctors sent samples. On HoustonChronicle.com: Which Houston-area county is the healthiest? The health department is monitoring the residents and testing their close contacts, Villarreal said. We ask them to isolate at home until a fresh layer of skin has formed wherever they have blisters or rash, Villarreal added. Monkeypox blisters look different on each person, but tend to appear on a persons face, hands, chest, genitals or inside the mouth, according to the CDC. The lesions can take up to four weeks to heal and are sometimes occompanied by muscle aches and other flu symptons. Texas ranks behind California and New York, which have reported 111 and 96 monkeypox cases respectively. The nationwide outbreak came to Texas in early June, when doctors found the states first infection in a Dallas County resident returning from an international trip. It arrived one year after a Texas resident traveling from Nigeria contracted monkeypox, the first case seen in the U.S. in almost 20 years. FROM JULY 2021: Dallas resident returns from Nigeria with case of monkeypox While the virus is currently not a huge public health concern for the general public, it merits close attention and communication, Houston Methodist infectious disease specialist Dr. Ashley Drews said in a statement. Most, but not all, current cases worldwide have been seen in men who have had sex with men, Drews said, but doctors are still trying to figure out why. There is no clear evidence that the virus is sexually transmitted, but, said Dr. Drews, it can be spread from person-to-person via personal, intimate contact, which includes sexual contact." nora.mishanec@chron.com Juan Martinez-Guevara has gotten used to watching the courts for the latest news on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He has to. As one of the hundreds of thousands of young undocumented people in the country granted temporary protections under the program, his life has hung in the balance as DACA faced near constant threats in recent years. This morning, hell be tuning in as his home state of Texas seeks to convince a federal appeals court that the program that prevents him from being deported, and authorizes him to work here, was illegal and that people like him are a financial drain on the state. It is a very hard thing to deal with, Martinez-Guevara told the editorial board, you feel like your fate is really just in the hands of whatever court decision is coming next. Texas is wrong on both the merits of its case, and about the costs of allowing young immigrants to remain in America and work, pay taxes and otherwise contribute to the nation. President Obama was not the first president to defer prosecution of immigrants, choosing wisely to focus limited immigration enforcement funds on higher priority targets. But as litigation resumes, whats most obvious about the arguments over DACA is that it shouldnt be in court at all. Congress shouldve acted long ago and must act now to provide a permanent pathway to citizenship for people brought here as children who have long called America home. Bad faith arguments Oral arguments beginning today will likely cover familiar ground with the Texas and other states claiming that not only was the executive order itself an overreach but that the recipients of the program have created an economic burden on their home states. This couldnt be further from the reality we see when we look around our diverse metropolitan region where DACA recipients have filled critical roles, particularly during the pandemic. We value our neighbors for more than the bottom line but if Texas wants to make the economic argument, lets consider the numbers: $782.7 million. Thats the estimated amount of federal taxes DACA recipients in Texas contribute annually. Or how about $436.8 million? The annual amount of federal and local taxes they pay in Texas. They are homeowners and renters here, contributing an estimated $124.4 million in mortgage payments and another $293.5 million in rental payments, according to the nonpartisan policy institute, Center for American Progress. Its about politics, not people, Zenobia Lai, a lawyer and executive director of the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative, told the board. Temporary and destabilized protections DACA was born of Obamas frustration with a Congress that refused to address immigration reform. He gave Congress time to take action of its own, and when it didnt, then issued two sets of orders DACA and, later, another that extended protections for parents whose children were U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. . Courts blocked the latter, but DACA was seen by most legal observers as a valid exercise of prosecutorial discretion. Then President Trump announced he was ending DACA, though with a six-month grace period so Congress could act. Congress never did, but meanwhile federal judges ruled that Trumps casual discarding of DACA was itself arbitrary and illegal. Texas 2018 suit was just another way to try to end the program. In 2021, as the results of that suit are pending, a Texas judge effectively froze any new applications for the program. If that sounds like a convoluted mess, its because it is. But just imagine being in Martinez-Guevaras shoes for a day or a decade. Hes a Texas leader of the national youth-led advocacy group, United We Dream, but even he cant say from one day to the next when his protection against immediate deportation might end. Hes not alone. In 2020, some 106,000 immigrants were enrolled in DACA in Texas, according to the American Immigration Council. The typical DACA recipient in Texas was brought to this country at age 7 and has been here since 2000. These are people who have spent their entire life in the US, said Lai. They are American by all measures except for that piece of paper. Even more galling is the fact that with DACA closed to new applicants, some 100,000 graduates of U.S. high schools aged into adulthood this year with no protections at all. Time for Congress to act With the case against DACA likely headed to the Supreme Court, it could be years before its fate is known. Even if DACA survives, it remains but a temporary band-aid. It was never meant to be a permanent fix. Its recent 10-year anniversary was a bittersweet one for recipients who applied for the program with the expectation that something more permanent was on the way. Applying at all, many understood, was an act of faith because it meant becoming visible in a system that could later turn against them and their families. And yet, nothing has materialized. Congress has really not taken action in decades to address immigration, said Martinez-Guevara, and this is really just one example of that. As a result, Congress has left hundreds of thousands of our neighbors hanging in the balance, unable to say for sure whether they will face deportation from the only nation that has ever seemed like home. A permanent solution shouldnt be so difficult. Obama urged Congress to take action. Trump did, too. And so has Biden. Surely, if Sen. John Cornyn can find votes for a bipartisan gun reform deal, then he or others should be able to find votes to finally give Dreamers the relief, and security, theyve been told so often they deserve. Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer A majority of Texas voters favor stricter gun control measures, including "red flag" laws, a ban on some semi-automatic rifles and other policies that have failed to gain traction with Republican state leaders, according to a statewide poll released Wednesday by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. The wide-ranging survey, conducted last month in the wake of the mass shooting at a Uvalde elementary school, reflects several years of polling that has found a majority or plurality of Texas voters want tighter gun restrictions. The latest poll measured a notable spike in support for stricter policies, however, with 52 percent in favor up nine percentage points from a prior Texas Politics Project survey in February. BRACKETTVILLE Leaders in several border counties declared Tuesday they are under invasion and called on Gov. Greg Abbott to start expelling migrants suspected of crossing into the country illegally. The move aligns with some conservative officials and activists who have privately urged Abbott to begin unilaterally enforcing federal immigration laws. Expelling migrants from the country would be unprecedented for the state but justified, they argue, because of the Biden administrations push to roll back Trump-era border policies and expand legal pathways for migrants to enter the country. This is not a photo op today, said Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan, one of several county officials to declare a local state of disaster due to the surge in migrant encounters at the southern border. We dont want to lose America, Shahan said. The Biden administration wont do a thing about it. Kinney County was one of at least four counties joined by Goliad, Terrell and Uvalde to issue a disaster declaration this week and call on Abbott to enforce federal immigration laws. None of the largest border counties, including those in the Rio Grande Valley with the most reported migrant apprehensions, took part in the effort. READ MORE: Remain in Mexico ruling could slow Texas, other states from thwarting immigration policy Kinney officials said they lack the power to enforce immigration laws themselves. Abbott has so far declined to issue a statewide invasion declaration, saying in April that he had concerns about the legal consequences. What these counties have done, declaring an invasion, is more to show support for Gov. Abbott doing the same, said Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith, a Republican. But there is no new authority. A spokeswoman for the governor said Tuesday that all strategies remain on the table. As the challenges on the border continue to increase, Texas will continue to take additional unprecedented action to address those challenges caused by the Biden administration, she said. Texas would almost certainly face a barrage of litigation if Abbott decided to expel migrants instead of turning them over to Border Patrol or detaining them on state trespassing charges, as he has done under his border initiative, Operation Lone Star. There are federal laws that law enforcement could be prosecuted under if they were to take someone, without authority, and immediately return them across the border, Abbott said in April. But critics of the Biden administration say it has abdicated the federal governments duty to defend states from domestic violence. Ken Cuccinelli, a former Homeland Security official under the Trump administration who joined the county leaders at a press conference, said states have the constitutional right to protect themselves from imminent danger or invasion. The declaration that this country is being and has continued to be invaded, as a matter of constitutional law thats not immigration law, its not Title 42, its the U.S. Constitution standing on its own, Cuccinelli, now a senior fellow at the conservative think tank Center for Renewing America, said, referring to a Trump-era immigration policy continued under Biden. Some legal experts believe the border invasion strategy would run afoul of U.S. asylum laws, along with legal precedent that gives the federal government broad discretion in setting and enforcing immigration policy. The people coming are actively seeking to place themselves under the laws of the United States by seeking asylum, said David Bier, the associate director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. So the idea that the first invasion in the history of the world where invaders seek to subject themselves to the law of the country that theyre invading its a total mischaracterization of what an invasion is. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has kept intact some of his Republican predecessors signature border programs some by choice, others by court order. Among those Trump-era policies that have remained is Title 42, a public health order that allows immigration authorities during a pandemic to expel migrants from the country before they can apply for asylum. While Biden has kept Title 42 in place, authorities under his administration have used the policy far less than under former President Donald Trump, when upwards of 80 percent of migrant encounters at the southern border ended with a Title 42 expulsion. The rate has settled at around 50 percent under Biden, with an even steeper drop-off in recent months. Republican critics say Bidens inclusive rhetoric during the 2020 campaign and the early months of his administration have played a leading role in the record surge of migrant apprehensions along the southern border. Biden has defended the administrations work, saying it inherited a broken system. Last fiscal year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended undocumented migrants a record-setting 1.7 million times, a figure on track to be easily eclipsed this year, with 1.5 million encounters reported through May. The figure is being partially propelled by repeat crossers, however. jasper.scherer@chron.com WASHINGTON Attorneys defending an Obama-era program that protects immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the country as children argued in federal court Wednesday that Texas has still not proven the program drives up healthcare and education costs in the state, and said declaring it illegal, as Texas claims it is, would cause significant upheaval. More than 611,000 U.S. residents 101,350 of them living in Texas are enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, widely known as DACA. In the 10 years since it was created, they have graduated high school and college, gone on to work in virtually every sector of the economy and started families of their own in the U.S. Now that were a full decade later, eliminating DACA would cause extraordinary disruption for recipients, employers, their citizen children and states, said Jeremy Feigenbaum, an attorney for New Jersey, which has intervened in the case to defend the program before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The moment there's a final judgment, we would have an individual serving in the armed forces, whos a DACA recipient on a Monday who would no longer be able to serve there on a Tuesday. But Texas, which filed a lawsuit challenging the program in 2018 as the Trump administration worked to end it, argued DACA costs the state hundreds of millions of dollars and at least some of those protected by the program would leave the country if it was ended, relieving the financial burden. IN-DEPTH: In 10 years of DACA, 'Dreamers' have worked to save lives The state argues the Obama administration didnt follow proper procedures to create the program in 2012 and lacked the authority to grant a blanket reprieve from deportation or to offer work authorization for those protected. The arguments before the appeals court the latest in a seemingly endless back-and-forth over the program, whose beneficiaries have been in limbo for years come as the Biden administration is seeking to shore it up after a federal judge in Texas declared it illegal last year. The arguments centered largely on whether Texas and eight other Republican-led states that have joined the lawsuit have standing in the case, and whether the Obama administration had the authority to create DACA in the first place. Judd Stone, an attorney for Texas, said the court should follow its 2015 ruling blocking the administration from creating a similar program that would have protected parents of U.S. citizens and lawful residents. DACA was the foundation for those programs, Stone said. This court should come to the same result. But attorneys defending the program said that Texas had failed this time to provide evidence that DACA increased the use of state services. In the past case, the state argued it would take a financial hit by having to issue drivers licenses to those covered by the program. In this case, it instead says DACA recipients are a drag on social services. Attorneys for those recipients question the assertion. Many DACA recipients have jobs and are covered by private insurance, for instances, and those who were using state services such as attending schools would likely have been using them whether DACA was in place or not. Stone argued the state needed only prove DACA cost them $1 in order to have standing. He pointed to a survey that found roughly 20 percent of DACA recipients said they would leave the country if the program was ended, therefore saving Texas the costs it claims those recipients are responsible for. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox The panel of three 5th Circuit judges, appointed by Republican presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, heard the case after U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ruled last summer that DACA was illegal and blocked the Biden administration from accepting new applicants. But Hanen left the program intact for those already enrolled while the case was appealed. The Department of Homeland Security launched a formal rulemaking process in September, an effort to address shortcomings highlighted by Hanen, and has said it expects the new regulation to take effect in August. A key argument against the DACA program is that the Obama administration did not take similar steps when it created it. The case is almost certain to go to the Supreme Court, which previously blocked Trumps move to end the program two years ago, saying the Trump administration failed to follow proper procedures in winding it down. Its unclear how the high court may rule on this case, however, given its conservative shift. The past ruling was issued before Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and Trump appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The courts recent opinions, including one last week allowing the Biden administration to end the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy, may also factor into Texass DACA challenge. The justices found in that case that lower courts cant temporarily block a wide swath of presidential immigration. Immigration and legal experts have said the ruling should make it harder for states like Texas to challenge federal immigration policies, including DACA. The Biden administration argued in briefs last week that the ruling should prevent lower courts from blocking the policy, as Hanen did. Stone, however, argued the high court ruling doesnt apply in the case and can be waived like anything else. This court simply doesnt need to address it, he said. ben.wermund@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Planned Parenthood has long said that abortion services account for only 3% of the health services its clinics provide across the country. Contraceptive services, by comparison, make up 34%, according to the organization. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federally protected access to abortion and returning power to the states to set their own laws. Since then, where people can access the service in the United States has been severely curtailed. THE IMPACT: How Texas became the testing ground for Post-Roe America And some social media posts are suggesting that Planned Parenthood hasnt been frank about how much the organization relies on abortions for its own financial stability. "Why are Planned Parenthood clinics closing all across the country if abortion is only 3% of their business model?" a June 27 Facebook post said. Other Facebook users are sharing a screenshot of a tweet that says: "Why are Planned Parenthood clinics closing all over the country? I thought abortion was only 3% of their business." Jeff Roberson/Associated Press IN COURT: Abortion providers file suit to stop enforcement of pre-Roe ban These posts were flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. We asked Planned Parenthood about the claim, and Lauren Kokum, director of affiliate communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told us that "no Planned Parenthood health centers have closed since the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe." Providers that offer abortion services are not limited to Planned Parenthood. And theres no doubt that the Supreme Courts ruling is leading to the closure of abortion clinics around the country as the residents of some states come under new restrictions and abortion bans. A MOTHER'S STORY: Pregnant with cancer in a post-Roe world: This is a baby we want. But I dont want to die While there have been news reports of Planned Parenthood clinics suspending or ceasing abortion services in some places, we didnt find evidence to support the claim that clinics themselves have closed since the ruling. We did find news reports of some locations closing this year before the ruling was released, and the reasons for these closures varied. Earlier in June, before the official ruling was released, a Planned Parenthood location in Boise, Idaho, closed. A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana and Kentucky told the Idaho Statesman that the Boise clinic was one of five clinic closures in that region following "a comprehensive review of all our health centers and patient needs across all six of our states." The review was prompted by the "likely overturning of Roe v. Wade," the spokesperson said, referencing the May 3 leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that indicated the courts action was imminent. The Idaho Press reported the Boise clinic was merging with another Planned Parenthood health center, and that the organization would shift its resources partly to expand telemedicine services. THE CLINICS: After Roe, surviving abortion clinics are likely to receive worse harassment than ever before Brett Coomer/Staff photographer In May, Vermont news organizations reported that five Planned Parenthood locations in Vermont and New Hampshire would be closing following the news of the likely ruling, and that the hours would be expanded at seven other health centers that were remaining open. A spokesperson said the changes were due to staffing shortages, political divisiveness and underfunding, and they were necessary to protect the organizations long term sustainability, according to Burlington, Vermont, TV news station WCAX. Another Planned Parenthood health center in Vermont closed in February. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England said then that it "faced challenges delivering care at our Newport health center and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these issues." Elsewhere, Planned Parenthood is opening clinics. After the courts decision came down, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette announced a new clinic would be opening in east Oregon, near the border the state shares with Idaho, where abortions will soon be illegal. Recent news reports about Planned Parenthood are overwhelmingly about abortion services ceasing in states where abortion is or soon will be illegal, and clinics in other states bracing for an influx of patients coming from places where they cant access abortions. Our ruling A Facebook post said that Planned Parenthood clinics are "closing down all over the country" because Roe v. Wade was overturned. Planned Parenthood says it has more than 600 health centers. We found some examples of Planned Parenthood clinics shuttering before the ruling. In some cases, news reports noted that the closures were in anticipation of the ruling and that Planned Parenthood was shifting resources to prepare for a post-Roe reality merging some clinics and opening at least one near the border of a state where abortion will be illegal. But the suggestion that theres a widespread closure of Planned Parenthood clinics across the country because they can no longer perform abortions in some states is wrong. And none have closed since the Supreme Courts ruling. We rate this claim: Mostly False. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Hudson, NY (12534) Today Partly cloudy. High 89F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Low near 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. UPDATE: Motorcyclist Dies in Great Barrington Collision Update: The Great Barrington Police Department reported Wednesday that the victim of the July 4 motor vehicle accident was Antonio Desousa, 68 years of age, from Danbury Conn. The accident remains under investigation by the Great Barrington Police, Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit, Massachusetts State Police CARS Unit, and the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Originally published on July 5, 2022 at 11:44 a.m. GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. A 68 year old Connecticut man died from injuries sustained from a collision with a car near Bistro Box. On Monday July 4 at 12:02 PM, a motor vehicle crash occurred on south end of Main Street in front of the Bistro Box. A grey 2019 Honda Accord, driven by, Tandoh Devine, 22 of Pittsfield, was traveling south bound. Preliminary investigation shows that the Honda Accord was turning left into the driveway of the Bistro Box, crossing the northbound lane into the path of a 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle. As a result of the collision, the operator of the motorcycle, a 68 year old Connecticut resident, was severely injured and flown to Albany Medical Center where he later died from his injuries. The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of his family. The operator and other occupants of the Honda Accord did not suffer any injuries. Officers from the Great Barrington Police Department, the Great Barrington Fire Department, Canaan Ambulance, and Sheffield Police assisted on the scene. The investigation is ongoing by the Great Barrington Police Department, Massachusetts State Police CARS Unit, and the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office. Investigators area asking if anyone eye witnessed the crash to contact the Great Barrington Police Department at 413-528-0306. BAAMS Grand Opening to Feature Allman Brothers Band Drummer Photo credit: Jonathan Bayer NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The Berkshires' Academy for Advanced Musical Studies Inc. will celebrate its grand opening with a live concert at Heritage State Park on Sunday, July 17, from 1 to 5 p.m. The event will feature performances from BAAMS faculty, students and friends including John Lee Johnson, also known as Jaimoe. Jaimoe is a drummer and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. "I believe this will be my first time ever playing in North Adams, and I'm looking forward to playing for BAAMS grand opening with Richard [Boulger] and the BAAMS Faculty, students and friends," Jaimoe said in a statement. "And asking Berkshire County folks to please come out and join us to celebrate and support BAAMS Fundraiser and music education." BAAMS, a music academy for students ages 12 to 18, announced in June that it would be moving into Building 6 in Heritage State Park after primarily only existing virtually through the pandemic. "What makes BAAMS so special and important is BAAMS students learn from faculty who can share what they learned and experienced playing with Miles Davis or Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney or Duke Ellington, Prince, and many others We are building a community of generations of musicians and friends," said Richard Boulger, BAAMS founder, professional trumpet player, and North Adams native. Proceeds from the July 17 fundraiser concert will go to support BAAMS' 4th Berkshires' Summer Jazz Band Day Camp as well as new instruments, and necessary start-up costs for the music academy's new facility at Building 6. In addition to Jaimoe on drums and Boulger on trumpet, the concert will feature BAAMS faculty: drummer Victor Jones, guitarist David Gilmore, bassist Alex Blake, and keyboardist Dario Boente. Other special guests include saxophonist Kris Jensen, Jim Taft, member of Danny Klein's Full House and North Adams native, and Gina Coleman of the Misty Blues. Student performers will include drummer Braden Collins, saxophonist Luke Seto, and bassist Errol Bates. "In all my years of drumming, I never could have imagined playing with a drummer like Jaimoe or any of the other incredible musicians in the BAAMS faculty," Collins said. "We will also be featuring some of our outstanding students. We believe it is paramount for young musicians and older generations to play together and share ideas. We work hard to impart knowledge and glean important memories from iconic musicians we have worked with," Boulger added. The stage will be set up in front of Building 4, and attendees are asked to bring a lawn chair. Free parking is available in downtown North Adams, with handicapped parking on site. The event is rain or shine. Food and drink will be available for sale by the Freight Yard Pub. Tickets can be purchased here or from BAAMS staff and volunteers. For more information, email info@berkshiresacademyams.org , or call 413-663-4424. The Western Gateway Urban Heritage State Park is located at 115 State St. The Classical Beat: Tanglewood, Sevenars, Taconic Music this Week Tanglewood enters its second week, and the glories are many; indeed, every concert will be memorable. Here's a listing of the outstanding scheduled performances and related events all highlights for this weekend and into next week, Friday through Monday, July 8-11. Be sure to also consider the marvelous and diverse programs listed below at Sevenars Music Festival in Worthington, Mass, and by the Taconic Music Festival in Manchester, Vt. Tanglewood Four Shed Concerts with the Boston Symphony and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra Friday, July 8, at 8:00 p.m.: Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in a spectacular opening night program of Leonard Bernstein's "Opening Prayer" and his jazz-inflected Symphony No. 2 ("The Age of Anxiety") and Igor Stravinsky's perfervid, atavistic 'pictures of pagan Russia' paean ("The Rite of Spring") with featured guest pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and baritone Jack Canfield. Saturday, July 9, at 8:00 p.m.: Maestro Nelsons leads the BSO in a program of Carlos Simon, and Samuel Barber's nostalgic ("Knoxville: Summer of 1915") with soprano Nicole Cabell; Duke Ellington ("New World A-Coming") for piano and orchestra, with pianist Aaron Diehl and closing with George Gershwin's scintillating "An American in Paris." Sunday, July 10, 2:30 p.m.: The program will feature the American premiere of Helen Grime's Trumpet Concerto ("Night-Sky Blue") with the virtuoso soloist Hakan Hardenberger, and will open and conclude with two works of Sergei Rachmaninoff - "Vocalise" and the exuberant Symphony No. 3, all under the baton of BSO maestro Andris Nelsons. Monday, July 11, at 8:00 p.m.: Andris Nelsons and TMC Conducting Fellows lead the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in Maurice Ravel's neoclassic "Le Tombeau de Couperin," Richard Strauss' profoundly philosophical "Death and Transfiguration," Schubert's Symphony No. 8, steeped with dark foreboding and Strauss' "Dance of the Seven Veils" from his great and Orientalist-tinged opera "Salome"; this program will also be available as a BSO NOW video-on-demand offering July 28September 30 at bso.org/now Ozawa Hall concerts - the reopening of the Hall since summer 2019 Thursday, July 7, 8:00 p.m.: Program One of "Pathways from Prague," curated by Emanuel Ax and including performances by Mr. Ax, Paul Appleby, the Lorelei Ensemble, and the Dover String Quartet performing music by Leos Jana?ek and Antonin Dvo?ak. Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) and Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI) Activities in Studio E of the Linde Center: Wednesday, July 6, 1:30-3:30 p.m.: TLI Open Vocal Workshop with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC). Thursday, July 7, 1:00-2:00 p.m.: TLI In Conversation with soprano Nicole Cabell. For tickets for all Tanglewood/BSO concerts (lawn and Shed seating) and for special events call (617) 266-1200 or 888-266-1200. TDD/TTY: (617) 638-9289. For local information, call (413) 637-1600. Online: tanglewood.org Sevenars Music Festival Founded in 1968, Sevenars Concerts, Inc., is pleased to announce its 54th anniversary season of summer concerts, held at the Sevenars Academy. The Music Festival will be presenting six concerts at the Sevenars Academy - Sundays, July 10 - August 14 at 4:00 p.m. Sevenars Academy is located at 15 Ireland Street, just off Route 112 in the historic Village of South Worthington, Mass. The 2022 season continues to be true to Sevenars roots as a family festival, with featured Schrade and James family members performing, while also presenting distinguished guest composer-performers and touring artists. Sunday, July 10, at 4:00 p.m.: This will be the opening summer festival concert, presenting the Schrade and James Family and friends. Schrade and James family members will perform the music of Chopin, Schubert, and Liszt, and will be joined by special guests Anita Anderson Cooper (composer/soprano) and Clifton Noble (composer/pianist). The concert will also showcase premieres of new works by these two outstanding American composers. Concert dates and times: Concerts are presented on six consecutive Sundays at 4:00 p.m., from July 10-August 14. For tickets, call (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call), or go online at This will be the opening summer festival concert, presenting the Schrade and James Family and friends. Schrade and James family members will perform the music of Chopin, Schubert, and Liszt, and will be joined by special guests Anita Anderson Cooper (composer/soprano) and Clifton Noble (composer/pianist). The concert will also showcase premieres of new works by these two outstanding American composers. Concert dates and times: Concerts are presented on six consecutive Sundays at 4:00 p.m., from July 10-August 14. For tickets, call (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call), or go online at www.sevenars.org Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20). Refreshments will be available. Key West Gets Restrictions Lifted, Fiesta Will Have Margaritas NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Two requests postponed at last week's License Commission meeting were approved on Tuesday during a heated session. The discussions over a permit and a license condition were at times more a shouting match with an argumentative Commissioner Peter Breen. Peter Oleskiewicz had requested a one-day license for Desperados to sell margaritas at the popular Eagle Street Beach Party and Fiesta, which he's been doing since 2009. But Breen raised issues about the city's open-container ordinance leading to Oleskiewicz having to get an opinion from the city solicitor. That issue had not been raised in April when Bright Ideas Brewing had been granted a seasonal license to sell beer at Joe Wolfe Field during SteepleCats games. Oleskiewicz was back before the commission on Tuesday to get his permit but said Breen had a "terrible tone" and was raising his voice at him. The city councilor said he spoke with the mayor immediately afterward. "His behavior as a committee member was unacceptable and he should not be seated," he said. The fireworks continued with Michael and Laurie Bloom, who were before the commission on a review of the three-month restrictions place on their business, Key West, because of a shooting that had occurred near the bar. The people involved in the shooting had been inside the bar earlier in the night. Breen and Commissioner Rosemari Dickinson had split on whether the license should include a doorman on Friday and Saturday nights. The Blooms had said they always have someone on the door those nights and on nights that may be busy, such as the Monday holiday. A decision had been delayed because Commissioner Michael Goodson was not there to break the tie. Dickinson's argument had been that the Blooms had followed the restrictions, had no violations and should not continue to be punished. Breen kept going back to the original report from March 8 and questioning the Blooms over it, bringing up other hearings, another city's ordinance and the bar's doors. At some points, multiple people were speaking over each other with raised voices. "I do feel like we're treated differently. But not by everybody," said Laurie Bloom. "That's just my feeling. I could be wrong." Dickinson read into the record a letter from Police Chief Jason Wood, in which he stated, "When these provisions were put in place, my interpretation was these were only temporary in order to ensure proper practices were being followed and to ensure public safety ... ." These provisions were met, he continued, and adding doormen on the weekends as a condition of the license "needs to be evaluated carefully." "I would go as far as to say if the provision is to be added to the license, than every other licensed establishment should also be re-evaluated to establish the same thing." The chief further wrote that he anticipated Bloom to continue his normal operating procedure as a "logical and responsible practice" but any future violations could lead to more punitive measures. Breen pointed back to the March 8 report, in which Wood wrote: "It is the opinion of the investigating officers and myself that this incident that we're talking about could have been prevented ... ." "We need to stop," said Dickinson. "We are moving forward with what we're doing today. We're not going back." Breen then motioned for a recess "because we're not accomplishing anything." "If you just take five minutes and listen to yourself and read what we're here for we're not any more in March. We've done it. They've done it," said Dickinson. "The chief is saying ... look at it very carefully. And if you do it for Key West, make sure you do it for all them. That's what it says I'm reading exactly what this says," Breen responded. "What I'm saying is, he said if there was a doorman this wouldn't have happened." He and the Blooms argued about the doorman, who was on duty, had been interviewed by the police and whose statement was referred to in the March 8 meeting. The Blooms pointed out that the initial report had several errors, including allegations of underage drinking and overserving that were unfounded. Dickinson asked for a motion and Breen motioned that Key West have a weekend doorman until a review on Dec. 31. Goodson seconded for more discussion but the motion was never voted. "We're giving the businesses the opportunity for us to trust them to do what's right, and do what's supposed to be done," said Goodson. "I think at this point, we need to go forward and discuss what's on the agenda and complete that." Breen said it was about structure so that police can check for compliance. If they're already doing it, it wouldn't cost more if it was on the license, he said. "If you want to change behavior, then you change the consequences to make sure it's enforced," he said. "Mr. Bloom is smart enough to make sure that there is one there. If there is not one, it's his discretion. And right now, I'm not comfortable knowing that the discretion of having a doorman is on the owner instead of the Police Department." Dickinson said the chief was not calling for this condition and had noted if something else were to happen, stricter punishment could be applied. "We imposed something on him, he complied with what we asked him to do. Like any other punishment at any establishment. If you have a three-day suspension, you are suspended for three days," she said. "We don't revisit their license and we don't impose anything else on them." Breen argued that it wasn't a punishment but rather a positive, like what happened with the State Street T months back in assuring their employees were trained. Michael Bloom said violent actions happen all over the city, including at the Big Y. "If something happens, we react to it, immediately take care of it. Right?" he said. "If you've got to call the police, call the police. If somebody is asked to leave, you say please leave." Goodson made a second motion to lift the doorman restrictions, which was seconded by Breen to Dickinson's surprise. The motion then passed but the discussion continued. ACLU, NAACP Host 'Know Your Sheriff' Zoom Forum PITTSFIELD, Mass. The NAACP's Berkshire County Branch, the League of Women Voters of Central Berkshire County, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts will host the forum "Know Your Sheriff" on Wednesday, July 6, at 6 p.m. via Zoom. "Know Your Sheriff" is a public education campaign by the ACLU of Massachusetts to build voter awareness about the life-changing decisions that sheriffs can make. According to the ACLUM, polling shows that many voters are not familiar with sheriffs but when they learn more, they are more likely to cast a ballot for sheriff in the next election. Polling also shows that voters favor treatment and education over punishment. Through public education campaigns like "Know Your Sheriff" and, in 2017, "What a Difference a DA Makes," ACLUM hopes to educate and empower community members in Massachusetts to demand safer communities and a more just criminal legal system. After the presentation, those in attendance will be able to ask questions to the two candidates running for Berkshire County Sheriff, Alf Barbalunga, and incumbent Thomas Bowler. Both candidates are Democrats and, with no other candidates running, the winner will be determined in the statewide primary on Sept. 6. Bowler is running for a third six-year term; Barbalunga is currently chief probation officer of the Southern Berkshire District. This event is free and open to all, but non-branch members must register for the Zoom link by emailing naacpberkshirecounty@gmail.com . For more information, visit naacpberkshires.org or aclum.org/en/know-your-sheriff. New Appointments at Big Y SPRINGFIELD, Mass. The management of Big Y Foods, Inc. has announced the following new appointments in Berkshire County. "At Big Y, we are committed to providing the tools and training necessary to support our employees in their development," said Michael J. Galat, vice president employee services. "We look forward to their growth in the pursuit of excellence as they personally develop their own skills in order to take on these new levels of responsibility." North Adams resident Vito A. Guerino was promoted to Night Manager in the North Adams Big Y Supermarket. Pittsfield residents Daniel J. Dufur was appointed as Meat & Seafood Sales Manager in the Pittsfield supermarket, Raanan K. Hartman was appointed as District Director in Springfield Big Y Supermarket, and Jonathan A. Hubbard was appointed as Assistant Store Director in the Great Barrington Big Y Supermarket The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, publishers, and leading journalists for media freedom, has formally joined the media stakeholders in Africa engaged in the Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists, having signed a partnership agreement to strengthen the platform. This platform is a joint effort between African media associations and networks, civil society, INGOs, the African Union Bodies with a mandate to promote media freedom on the continent, and with support from the UNESCO Multi-donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists. This new partnership aims at enhancing the capacity of the Platform to monitor and systematically collect data on press freedom violations in Africa. It is also aligned to the platforms mission, which is to promote partnerships, prevent violations, protect journalism and journalists, and provide credible information to facilitate the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes against journalists in Africa. The Platform will further leverage IPIs considerable experience in monitoring press freedom violations to enhance the capacity of the African media stakeholders to monitor, report and advocate for follow-up actions by duty and right bearers, with a view to improving the safety of journalists on the continent. Furthermore, the partnership will bring on board the much-needed expertise and sharing of good practices by IPI through technical assistance to improve the Platforms website usability, functionality and overall navigation. This partnership means a lot to journalists on the continent as the Platform will ensure that violence against journalists and media workers are monitored and reported, and perpetrators are brought to justice. The ultimate aim of the Platform is to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists and to work with media stakeholders and governments to create an enabling environment for the media to flourish. The Chairperson of the African Editors Forum (TAEF), Jovial Ranato, said I welcome this much needed support from our partner, the International Press Institute, which will strengthen further the capacity of this Pan African initiative, designed to protect African journalists and enhance media freedom on the continent. The Chairperson of the Platforms Steering Committee, Pa Louis Thomasi said that as a first step, IPI will partner with the Digital Platform on the editorial and technical levels to promote the collection and categorization of robust, gender-disaggregated data on press freedom violations and attacks on journalists in Africa by local partners and press freedom groups. The partnership will also ensure that the Platforms website is more accessible to the public, researchers, advocates, and policymakers. Speaking during the virtual signing ceremony, IPI Executive Director, Barbara Trionfi, expressed the IPIs commitment to this partnership. We are thrilled to partner with the members of the Platforms steering committee to contribute to its further development, and we look forward to bringing in the knowledge that we have developed from similar platforms and monitoring initiatives in other parts of the world. Trionfi further said that the Digital Platform on Safety of Journalists has tremendous potential as a monitoring and advocacy tool to help defend press freedom and tackle impunity for crimes against journalists across Africa. IPIs new partnership is in line with the multi-stakeholder approach advocated globally in addressing the multifaceted challenges facing the media the world over. UNESCO, therefore, welcomes this new partnership which is aligned to our shared approach in advocating for the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors through engagement with different actors, said Lydia Gachungi, UNESCO's Addis Ababa Liaison Office to AU and UNECA Regional Adviser on Safety of Journalists. The African digital platform is managed by a Steering Committee of 5 representatives of African media stakeholders. They include the media associations, represented by the African Editors Forum (TAEF), the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), and civil society, represented by Article 19. Other members are four African Union Bodies, represented at the Steering Committee by the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and UNESCO, providing technical and financial support. The Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists in Africa is a Pan African project by the African media stakeholders, launched by the Chairperson of the African Union in 2021, H.E the President of South Africa. Its development greatly benefited from the technical guidance and partly modelling on the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists, of which IPI is a member. IPIs work under this partnership is supported by the Government of Canadas Office of Human Rights, Freedoms and Inclusion (OHRFI). RTHK: "Better planning can reduce wild boar conflicts" A wild boar welfare group on Wednesday urged the government to adopt better urban planning practices as a way to manage problems caused by the animals, while repeating its call for an end to the killing of the creatures. Roni Wong from the Hong Kong Wild Boar Concern Group made the comment on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme, a day after the administration announced its latest proposal to stem the problem of feral animals: an extension of a ban on feeding wild animals to all parts of Hong Kong, as well as an increase in penalties. "Our organisation does not oppose the suggestion by the government in stepping up its efforts in combatting the illegal feeding of the wild boars," Wong told RTHK's Ben Tse. "I think what's more important is that the government should firstly terminate the killing wild boars policy" and then return to its contraception and return policy for wild boars. He said he was worried that manpower would be stretched as officials attempt to monitor hotspots for the feeding of wild boards, and said animal-friendly urban planning would be more useful. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Tuesday, the Environment and Ecology Bureau said the feeding of wild boars had become a major nuisance in recent years, adding that there is a need to amend the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance to raise public awareness and increase the deterrent effect. At present, the ordinance only prohibits the feeding of monkeys and other wild animals at specified places, such as country parks. The bureau said it had considered expanding the prohibition to cover what it said were feeding blackspots, but decided on a universal ban. To tackle repeat offenders or illegal feeding of "a serious nature and magnitude", officials propose to raise the maximum penalty to HK$100,000 and one year in jail, up from the current HK$10,000 fine. They also hope to introduce a fixed penalty of HK$5,000 for offenders, which is higher than the current fixed penalty for contamination of public places. Officials introduced the policy of capturing and "humanely dispatching" boars in November, citing an increasing number of cases of people being injured by wild boars. This story has been published on: 2022-07-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China, Thailand reach consensus on future ties, railway, cyber security Xinhua) 09:33, July 06, 2022 BANGKOK, July 5 (Xinhua) -- China and Thailand have agreed to work together to build a community with a shared future, and step up cooperation in areas including railway and cyber security, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday. At a joint press conference with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Wang said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Thailand, and that bilateral relations have made steady progress and enjoy broad prospects. During the visit, Wang said, the two sides had in-depth strategic communication and reached consensus in four aspects. Firstly, both sides agreed to jointly build a community with a shared future between the two countries, and make it the goal and vision for the development of bilateral ties. This will further enrich their relationship as close as one family in keeping with the times, and usher in a brighter future of more stable, prosperous and sustainable bilateral relations. Secondly, both sides agreed to work towards the early opening of the China-Laos-Thailand railway, and foster the development of logistics, economy and trade, and industries. They will launch more cold-chain freight train services, tourism and durian express, and facilitate all-around cooperation in regions along the route, delivering more tangible benefits to the people of the three countries. Thirdly, both sides agreed to jointly safeguard cyber security. The two sides have signed a memorandum of understanding on cyber security cooperation and vowed to crack down on all forms of telecom fraud. Fourthly, both sides agreed to jointly push for positive results at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in Thailand later this year. China will firmly support Thailand in playing its role as the host to lead the meeting to focus on the Asia-Pacific, on development and on the building of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. It is hoped that the meeting will follow the guidance of the Putrajaya Vision 2040, set out on a new journey and inject fresh impetus into APEC development. Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He co-chaired the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Bagan, Myanmar. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist from Indian-administered Kashmir, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, was barred by immigration authorities at the Delhi airport from flying to France. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU), condemn the unjustified travel ban and urge the Indian authorities to allow journalists to travel safely and freely. On Mattoos arrival at Delhi airport on July 2 she was taken aside by immigration officials and told to wait for three hours, missing her flight to Paris. She was not given any explanation for the detainment and was later informed that she is prohibited from flying abroad. Mattoo posted a picture to social media of her passport and ticket, stamped Cancelled without prejudice. Despite procuring a French visa, I was stopped at the immigration desk at Delhi airport, Mattoo said. I was not given any reason but told I would not be able to travel internationally. The Reuters photo-journalist was flying to Paris to participate in a book launch and photography exhibition as one of the 10 award winners of the Serendipity Arles Grant 2020. Mattoo is not the first journalist to be barred from travelling by Indian immigration officials. In March, Indian journalist Rana Ayyub was barred from flying to London, United Kingdom, for a program about the intimidation of journalists in India. In 2019, Kashmiri journalist Gowhar Geelani was prevented from flying to Europe from Delhi airport. The IJU said: The Indian Journalists Union condemns the petty and vindictive action of both the Centre and J&K administration for stopping Kashmiri photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize awardee Sana Irshad Mattoo from flying to Paris to attend a book launch and photography exhibition. This is yet another case of ongoing harassment of journalists and the Press Council of India must take suo moto cognisance. IFJ said: Barring journalists from traveling internationally is systematic harassment and a grave imposition on press freedom. The IFJ condemns the travel ban against photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo and urges the Indian authorities to cease imposing restrictions on independent journalists and media workers. The United States of America published on Monday 4 July the results of their forensic analysis regarding the origin of the bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. While the findings revealed that the shot had likely been fired from an Israeli military's position, they could not conclude that there had been an intention to kill the veteran reporter. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) express their disappointment in the report issued by the American investigation committee and call for justice to be upheld in this murder of the Palestinian journalist. Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by the Israeli army while covering a raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early on 11 May. Journalist Ali Samoudi was present when Shireen was killed and was also shot in the shoulder. Both joined a long list of journalists targeted by the Israeli armed forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. On Monday 4 July, the United States concluded their investigation by independent, third-party examiners that Shireen Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli gunfire and urged accountability. According to AFP, the United States said it could not make a "definitive conclusion" on the origin of the bullet that killed the journalist on 11 May and that there was no reason to believe she was shot intentionally. In a statement , the State Department's spokesperson Ned Price summed up the USSC investigation in these words: By summarising both investigations, the USSC concluded that gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. However, the US Security Coordinator (USSC) found, still in his words, no reason to believe that this was intentional but rather the result of tragic circumstances. This view differs from the findings by the United Nations and several media outlets , which concluded that she was deliberately targeted by Israeli forces. The PJS considered the American experts report unprofessional and defined it as a political security report, aimed at evading Israels responsibility for the deliberate targeting and assassinating of Shireen Abu Aqleh, while reiterating its confidence in the report of the Palestinian Public Prosecutor and the United Nations report. The IFJ strongly condemned this latest targeted killing of a Palestinian media worker and has pledged to add the murder to the communication lodged at the International Criminal Court (ICC) which details the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists. The IFJ is also leading a new complaint to the International Criminal Court , with the support of PJS and the International Center of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP). Our group already submitted a request to the Court in April 2022 for the ICC Prosecutor to launch an investigation into the systematic targeting, maiming and killing of journalists and the destruction of media infrastructure in Palestine. IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: Truth needs to be established about Shireen Abu Akleh's murder. The United States fell short in that by not holding Israeli forces accountable and invoking tragic circumstances. The IFJ is determined to shed light on the true circumstances of her killing and joins the PJS on denouncing this incomplete report. Journalist and media activist Tharindu Uduwaragedara was summoned to appear before the Sri Lanka Computer Crimes Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo on June 28. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Sri Lankan affiliates, the Free Media Movement (FMM) and the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU), urge the CID to withdraw its investigation against the journalist immediately. The CID began investigating Tharindu based on a complaint by the Intelligence Division of the Air Force about content on his YouTube channel, Satahana. According to FMM, the investigation is related to so-called contradictions between the headings and the content in his videos. The journalist was allegedly targeted for criticism of the government that might lead to public unrest, for videos regarding the ongoing socio-political and economic crisis in the country which raised questions of government accountability and transparency. Tharindu, a former president of the Sri Lanka Young Journalist Association and a former executive committee member of IFJ affiliate the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), has filed a Fundamental Rights petition in the Supreme Court seeking an order to prevent the CID from arresting him. Press freedom and journalists rights have been increasingly under threat in Sri Lanka since the country commenced its descent into political and economic turmoil in 2019. The country is experiencing its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1958, a situation further exacerbated by the impacts and lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic. FMM said recent actions against journalists by the CID and Sri Lankas Terrorism Investigation Unit were without legitimate cause and constituted a clear violation of media freedoms. Journalists in the country have faced brutal physical attacks, threats, and arbitrary arrests by police, government officials, and pro-government supporters even after identifying themselves as media workers. A social media blackout and censorship of journalists online and in traditional media outlets has also further curtailed press freedoms. The FMM said, We urge the Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Security, the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, the Inspector General of Police and other authorities to immediately stop this arbitrary action of the CID of summoning and interrogating those who use their freedom of expression through the media or any other medium. The FMETU said, The government continues to use the police and security forces to obstruct journalists and the free media reporting culture in Sri Lanka.As a prominent journalists' organisation in Sri Lanka, FMETU strongly condemns such idiotic actions of the government and the police department. The IFJ said, During the political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka, media workers are performing a vital duty to inform the public, yet they have continued to face an onslaught of legal restrictions, arbitrary arrests, and media rights violations. The IFJ condemns the overreach of the CID in targeting journalists and calls for the investigation against Tharindu Uduwaragedara to be dropped. Following the significant impact of the pandemic on the public transportation sector, GCash, the countrys leading mobile wallet, together with Globe and partner local government units (LGUs), have recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement to solidify its partnership with the PARA app, a digital platform for transportation utilizing tricycles, to help Filipinos have a safer, more convenient, and easier commute. With this, commuters will soon be able to easily and safely book and pay for their tricycle fare and other ancillary services via the GCash app, without having to walk to the terminal and without the need for cash-on-hand, making it safer for both tricycle drivers and commuters. Commuters booking a ride in the Para app will also be able to pay using GCash via Webpay for a seamless transaction. More than just providing Filipinos with safe and convenient financial solutions, GCash aims to make every Filipino's life better. Together with the PARA app, Globe, and our partner LGUs, GCash will continue to strive to help the community get through these challenging times and ultimately, achieve our vision of financial for all, said GCash President and CEO Martha Sazon. When paying for your tricycle fare, all you need is your mobile phone and the GCash app. Simply choose Scan QR on the GCash apps home screen, and point your phones camera to the QR code. We are very honored and grateful to Globe, GCash, and TM, for trusting PARA as we aim to help local government units innovate tricycle operations by incorporating convenient cashless payments through the PARA app. With this partnership, passengers will now have a more efficient payment option that will make commuting safer and more pleasant for them, said PARA-Applications Inc. CEO Atty. Gamaliel S. Taqued. In addition to pushing for safer cashless transactions among tricycle drivers, GCash also previously partnered with Antipolo Market Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (AMTODA), and Antipolo Sumulong College Lores Plaza Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (ASCLP TODA) to roll out GCash QR, enabling drivers and passengers to have a safer and more secure commuting experience. More than just a safe and secure payment option, GCash gives tricycle drivers access to digital finance products that were previously beyond their reach. With Send Money, they can quickly transfer funds to loved ones. GSave lets them open a savings account with no minimum deposit and maintaining balance required. GInvest allows them to invest and grow their finances for as low as P50, to help them prepare for the future. GCredit and GGives are credit products they can easily access. With these products now available to them with just a few taps, GCash continues to achieve its goal of financial inclusion for all. Not yet on GCash? Simply download the GCash app for free on the Google Play or App Store. For more information, visit www.gcash.com. India recently launched two new schemes RAMP and CBFTE to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Both schemes are part of the Udyami Bharat initiative, which will empower MSMEs in India. The RAMP scheme has an outlay of INR 60 billion and will support market access and finance availability for MSMEs. The CBFTE scheme aims to ease the export process for first-time exporters in every possible way be it monetary support or procedural assistance. On June 30, 2022, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched two new schemes for supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) and Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters (CBFTE). The two schemes are launched as components of the governments Udyami Bharat program, which aims to empower MSMEs. RAMP and CBFTE are also expected to amplify Indias self-reliant economy drive (Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan). Other schemes under the Udyami Bharat program include MUDRA Yojana, Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), etc. At the end of financial year (FY) 2021-22, there were over 7.9 million MSMEs in India, contributing approximately 30 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and 48 percent to the countrys overall exports. In FY22, India saw a strong rebound in exports, soaring to a record high of US$418 billion, driven mainly by a surge in demand for products like petroleum, cotton yarn, textiles, chemicals, and engineering goods. What is the RAMP scheme and how will it assist MSMEs? Designed with an outlay of INR 60.62 billion, the RAMP scheme is a World Bank-assisted central sector program, which was first announced in 2020 to support COVID-19-affected MSMEs in their business recovery. RAMP will be operational for a five-year period, starting from FY 2022-23. Out of the total INR 60 billion, INR 37.50 billion will be loaned by the World Bank and the remaining will be contributed by the Indian federal government. Although the scheme will directly and indirectly benefit all MSME units in India, it will specifically target a total of 555,000 MSMEs for enhanced performance. In addition, it intends to target service sectors. The RAMP scheme would function as a: policy provider through the enhanced capacity for evidence-based policy and program design to enable the delivery of more effective and cost-efficient MSME interventions to improve competitiveness and business sustainability. knowledge provider through benchmarking, sharing, and demonstrating best practices and success stories by leveraging international experiences. technology provider to provide MSMEs with access to high-end technology like artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, Internet of things (IoT), machine learning (ML), etc. How will the RAMP scheme be implemented? The primary objectives of the RAMP scheme are: Strengthening institutions and governance of the MSME programs. Support for market access, firm capabilities, and expanding access to finance. The governments allocated funds for RAMP go into the MSME Ministrys budget for disbursement linked indicators (DLIs) that is, to support ongoing MSME programs. The disbursement of funds from the World Bank for RAMP would fulfill the following DLIs: Implementation of the National MSME Reform Agenda. Acceleration of federal and state governments collaboration in the MSME sector. Enhancing the effectiveness of the Technology Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS). Strengthening the receivable financing market for MSMEs. Enhancing the effectiveness of the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) and Greening and Gender delivery. The greening and gender drive aims to aid the transition of MSMEs towards a clean and inclusive future. Reducing the incidence of delayed payments. The implementation of the RAMP scheme includes preparation of strategic investment plans (SIPs), in which all states and union territories will be invited. The SIPs would include an outreach plan for identification and mobilization of MSMEs under RAMP, identify key constraints and gaps, set milestones, and estimate the required budgets for interventions in priority sectors like renewable energy, rural and non-farm business, wholesale and retail trade, village and cottage industries, women enterprises, etc. For monitoring and policy overview, an apex National MSME Council would conduct overall monitoring and policy review of the scheme. This Council will be headed by the federal minister for MSMEs and will include representation from various other ministries. Additionally, for day-to-day implementation, there will be program management units at both the federal and state government levels, comprising of professionals and experts to aid in implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the RAMP program. What are the benefits of the RAMP scheme? The RAMP scheme is expected to play a larger role in the formalization of MSMEs. Core benefits of the RAMP scheme include improvement in capacity building, handholding, skill development, quality enrichment, technological upgradation, digitization, outreach, and marketing promotion. Further, the scheme will assist in achieving self-reliance by encouraging innovation and enhancement in industry standards, practices, and providing necessary technological inputs to the MSMEs. What is the CBFTE scheme? The CBFTE scheme has been launched as a subcomponent of the International Cooperation scheme to ease the export process for first-time exporters, be it in terms of monetary support or procedural support. Its primary objective is to encourage MSMEs to offer products and services of international standards for the global market. The move is intended to help MSMEs improve their participation in the global value chain and realize export potential. Aiwa India, a consumer electronics company, said on Wednesday (05-07-2022) that it expects to generate Rs 8,000 crore in sales over the next 45 years and that it will initially invest roughly Rs 160 crore to grow its business in India. Aiwa, a company founded in Japan in 1951, has joined up with Dixon Technologies to produce televisions in India, according to Ajay Mehta, managing director of Aiwa India. "Over the next 4-5 years, we want to generate about Rs 8,000 crore in income. We anticipate making about Rs 400 crore in income from the sale of television and audio items this year. To reach the bigger goal, we will diversify our portfolio "explained Mehta. He continued by saying that the business will spend Rs 160 crore on marketing over the following two years, concentrating on social media to further its campaign. He was speaking in conjunction with the introduction of the Magnifiq series of Aiwa smart TVs, which will have screens ranging in size from 32 to 65 inches. In the beginning, the business would sell TVs through 300 merchants around the nation. Mehta stated that the business intends to grow its reach to around 3,500 stores within a year and double the number of retailers by September of the current year. "Our main item will be television. Our smart TVs are approved by Google. At first, we would exclusively sell to offline shops "explained Mehta. The current global income of Aiwa is close to Rs 8,000 crore. The firm launched audio items in April 2021 to kick up operations in India. Mehta said that the business will introduce new consumer durable items the next year, such as refrigerators and washing machines. By March 2023, we anticipate selling 1.5 lakh smart TVs, according to Mehta. In five years, the business wants to take 5% of the market. "We want to take our time and go slowly through the market. For this reason, we have maintained a conservative projection of TV's market share at 5% for the next five years "explained Mehta. International flights can be grueling and exhausting. Not everyone can be in the mood for small talk or chit-chat. Several Reddit users have repeatedly shared their celebrity encounters at airports, most of which were bizarre and horrifying. Fans are to be equally blamed for intruding into the private lives of celebrities. But can there be a better way of dealing with inquisitive fans at the airport? Well, trust Keanu Reeves to teach everyone a lesson in humility in the most endearing way possible. Instagram After a recent visit to New York, Keanu Reeves made a remarkable effort to make a young fan's day. Instagram A touching exchange between the 57-year-old Matrix Resurrections actor and a fan as documented by Andrew Kimmel, a TV producer, in a series of tweets he posted online Monday night. And yes, I geeked out a little and asked for a photo. I mean had to. Have a happy 4th everyone! pic.twitter.com/JVR5VTPQHz Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 4, 2022 In a now-viral tweet, Kimmel wrote: "Keanu Reeves was on my flight from London to NYC today." Keanu Reeves was on my flight from London to NYC today. A young boy asked for an autograph at baggage & then began to fire off a series of rapid-fire questions. Keanu happily responded to every single one pic.twitter.com/T7m7PciL5C Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 4, 2022 "A young boy asked for an autograph at baggage & then began to fire off a series of rapid-fire questions. Keanu happily responded to every single one."Kimmel posted a picture of Reeves standing next to the young boy with a luggage cart and some of the conversations he overheard. Young fan's questions for Keanu included "Why was he in London?" ("Filming a documentary," said Reeves), and whether the actor attended this weekend's British Grand Prix?"Yes," said Reeves, "F1! Race cars!" according to Kimmel. Kid: Why were you in London? KR: Filming a documentary. Kid: I saw online you were at the Grand Prix (pronouncing the x) KR: Yes, the Grand Prix (in a French accent, without correcting him). F1! Race cars! Kid: Do you drive? KR: Not F1, but I like riding motorcycles. Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 4, 2022 Keanu's fan also asked if he drove himself. The actor replied, "Not F1, but I like riding motorcycles," Kimmel added. According to Kimmel, the boy then asked Reeves if he lived in New York. When Reeves replied that his home was in Los Angeles, the boy pushed to find out why he had just touched down in the Big Apple. "How long are you gonna be in New York?" said the boy. Kid: Do you live in NY? KR: I live in LA. Kid: How long are you gonna be in New York? KR: Four days! No five. Five days! Kid: Why are you in NY? KR: Gonna see a broadway show! Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 4, 2022 "Four days! No five. Five days!" replied Reeves, before adding, "Gonna see a broadway show!" according to Kimmel, which he later revealed was David Mamet's American Buffalo. "By this time, the kid was running out of questions, so Keanu started grilling him," Kimmel wrote, describing a cute twist. Kid: What broadway show? KR: American Buffalo! Mamet! Kid: Where are you staying in NY? KR: Midtown! By this time the kid was running out of questions, so Keanu started grilling him Why were you in Europe? What galleries did you go to in Paris? What was your favorite? Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 4, 2022 "Why were you in Europe? What galleries did you go to in Paris? What was your favorite?" he added. Reeves "could not have been nicer," Kimmel wrote before sharing the selfie he took with the actor, Kid: What broadway show? KR: American Buffalo! Mamet! Kid: Where are you staying in NY? KR: Midtown! By this time the kid was running out of questions, so Keanu started grilling him Why were you in Europe? What galleries did you go to in Paris? What was your favorite? Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 4, 2022 "especially after an international flight." I thought I'd share this because the dude is a class act and little moments like this can make such a big difference in people's lives. We need more Keanus!" said Kimmel. Keanu is a national treasure https://t.co/27Q0CoHWoC thatstarwarsgirl77 (@thatstarwarsgrl) July 5, 2022 On Saturday, in Northamptonshire, England, Reeves watched a Formula 1 qualifying race at the Silverstone Circuit. Reeves is currently producing a documentary about the 2009 Formula 1 season. Disney+ is expected to premiere Keanu Reeves' Formula 1 docuseries in 2023. (To get the latest updates from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.) The Dalai Lama inaugurated a library and museum in his hillside Indian headquarters on Wednesday to commemorate his 87th birthday. Numerous admirers applauded him, including longtime disciple and American actor Richard Gere. AFP Hundreds of schoolchildren, monks, and residents prayed for the Dalai Lama's health and life at Tsuglakhang Temple near his residence. AFP The Dalai Lama Library and Museum contain artifacts, his teachings, and books on his life and struggle for Tibetan autonomy and the protection of its native Buddhist culture. Today 6 July, 2022, on the occasion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Birthday, His Holiness inaugurated "The Dalai Lama Library and Archive."https://t.co/A3QaATznya pic.twitter.com/2G64aLemr6 Lobsang (@logyal143) July 6, 2022 In a video shared by news agency Reuters, Gere, an active follower and supporter of the Dalai Lama is seen participating in celebrations organized by the Central Tibetan Administration of the Tibetan government-in-exile at the main Buddhist temple of Tsuglagkhang in Dharamshala. Actor Richard Gere joins the Dalai Lama's birthday celebrations pic.twitter.com/X2PZ9Kjt7V Reuters (@Reuters) July 6, 2022 The Dalai Lama, throughout his life in exile, has achieved prominence among the worlds political, religious, and social leaders as a universal icon of peace, harmony, and non-violence. Central Tibetan Administration celebrate 87th birthday anniversary of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in the presence of Chief Guest CM Jai Ram Thakur via video conference, ICT chairman Richard Gere & Rakesh Pathania HP Forest Minister at Tsuglakhang in Dharamshala,6 July 2022. pic.twitter.com/8lUgD2L0e4 Tibet.net (@NetTibet) July 6, 2022 Dalai LamaThe one who is loved and admired AFP He has succeeded in exposing the enormous horrors endured by the Tibetan people under Chinese rule as well as the true nature of China's anti-democratic, anti-religious, and anti-humanistic stance. The Dalai Lama has won widespread international support for the Tibetan independence movement. AFP He has been advocating the Tibetan cause with non-violence for many decades. He has been raising awareness in the international community about the Tibetans right to a homeland and culture, the restoration of the thousands of Buddhist monasteries China destroyed, and the freedom of hundreds of Tibetans captured by Beijing. NBC Since leaving Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese control in 1959, the Dalai Lama has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his base of operations. Despite hosting Tibetan exiles, India views Tibet as a part of China. The Dalai Lama claims he is not a separatist and only supports substantial autonomy for Tibet and preserving its indigenous Buddhist culture. (With ANI inputs) (To get the latest updates from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.) Researchers have discovered a distinct biochemical profile in the urine of those suffering from severe asthma in a breakthrough study that could help offer better treatment, according to a report by News-Medical Life Sciences. Unsplash Also Read: World Asthma Day: Doctors Clear Asthma Misconceptions, That Affect 8% Of Indians Conducted by researchers from the University of Australia, the distinct biochemical profile stood out when compared to those individuals suffering from mild or moderate asthma, or even healthy individuals. Researchers found that severe asthmatics had lowered levels of carnitines, a specific kind of metabolite. To the unaware, carnitines are an important part of our bodys cellular energy generation process alongside immune response. Further research revealed that carnitine is metabolised slower in the body of those suffering from severe asthma. Researchers hope this breakthrough discovery could allow better researchers to develop more effective treatment methodologies. Dr Stacey Reinke from the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, explained, Severe asthma occurs when someone's asthma is uncontrolled, despite being treated with high levels of medication and/or multiple medications. To identify and develop new treatment options, we first need to better understand the underlying mechanisms of the disease. Research into asthma is challenging since invasive procedures in the lungs arent possible. However, the lungs are densely packed with blood vessels and researchers can look for the profile of the blood passing through the lungs. Changes in chemical compositions in the blood get excreted via urine that allowing researchers to investigate easily. Unsplash Also Read: Asthma Patients 30% Less Likely To Contract COVID-19, Claims New Study Reinke added, In this case, we were able to use the urinary metabolome of asthmatics to identify fundamental differences in energy metabolism that may represent a target for new interventions in asthma control. She concluded by stating, that these are preliminary results, and further investigation is needed for carnitine metabolism to evaluate its potential as a new asthma treatment target. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com Two-year-old Aiden McCarthy had left home on the morning of July 4th with his parents for the Independence Day parade. However, the toddler returned home as an orphan to his grandparents. This tragic tale of loss will break your heart. Twitter Aiden McCarthy's maternal grandfather, Michael Levberg, spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times about his son-in-law Kevin's bravery and said, "He had Aiden under his body when he was shot," Twitter Kevin, 37, was killed during the mass shooting. The shooting claimed the lives of seven people and left more than two dozen injured. Sadly, Kevin and his wife, Irina, 35, Levberg's daughter, were killed while taking in the Fourth of July parade in the small Illinois city, leaving Aiden an orphan due to the incident. Twitter According to the report, Aidan, who couldn't understand what was happening around him, was left "walking in the street" in the aftermath of the shooting. Levberg discovered his grandson's location and collected him from the Highland Park police station after he learned his grandchild's photos were circulated. What a tragedy! Jewish toddler, Aiden, was orphaned at the Highland Park mass shooting when his parents Irina Levberg and Kevin McCarthy were killed, among the 7 victims. Aiden reportedly survived because his father shielded him with his body. pic.twitter.com/K0EdE2KrF0 Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) July 6, 2022 Levberg told the outlet that a clueless Aiden kept saying, "Mommy and Daddy are coming soon." He called his daughter Irina, his only child, "the love of my life." "She was everything," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "He added, They were crazy about their child. They were planning two. " According to a New York Times report, Aidan was rescued by Lauren Silva, a 38-year-old former event planner. Talking to the press, she said she and her boyfriend discovered 'a toddler' (who has now been identified as Aidan) pinned beneath his unconscious father. His dad was shot in the leg. For Aiden. Last night I read the heartbreaking story of Kevin and Irina McCarthy. They were killed in the Highland Park shooting and their 2-yr-old son Aiden was found alive afterwards by strangers. I'm so sorry sweet Aiden. #AidenMcCarthy #HighlandPark pic.twitter.com/Aqu9OSHA1N Spaghetti Toes (@Spaghetti_Toes) July 6, 2022 They pulled Aiden out from under his father and rushed him into Silva's arms. Aiden was soaked in his father's blood. She claimed that the kid, still in diapers, had one shoe on and that his sock was stained red. Aiden McCarthy, 2, lost BOTH of his parents (Irina, 35 and Kevin, 37) during the mass shooting in Highland Park. Both. of. his. parents. He was found under his Dads body. Under. his. Dads. body. Aiden deserved more from us. He deserved for us to protect his parents. pic.twitter.com/dQkTIlzzuZ Alicia Donahue for MN SD54 (@aliciadonahue) July 5, 2022 In the wake of the tragedy, a GoFundMe campaign to help Aiden with his "hard journey ahead" helped the family raise close to $2 million. "Aiden will be cared for by his loving grandparents, Misha and Nina Levberg, and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan," organizers wrote. "He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows." You can donate for Aidan here. (For more trending stories, click here.) Cover Image Attribute: Images from Nukus, the capital of the Karakalpakstan region, showed burned-out vehicles reportedly damaged during protests / Source: KUN.UZ/REUTERS On July 1, 2022, protests broke out in the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan over proposed amendments to the Constitution of Uzbekistan. These amendments, proposed by Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of Uzbekistan, would have ended Karakalpakstan's status as an autonomous region of Uzbekistan and eliminated the right of Karakalpakstan to secede from Uzbekistan via referendum. According to the authorities in Uzbekistan, the turmoil that occurred in the autonomous province of Karakalpakstan during the past week resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people and the injuries of 243 others. Karakalpakstan President Mirziyoyev revoked the constitutional modifications a day after demonstrations began in Nukus, the capital city of Karakalpakstan, in response to public outcry. According to the government of Karakalpak, demonstrators made an effort to storm government buildings. The Uzbek government did make some concessions to preserve Karakalpakstan's autonomy; however, demonstrations continued to grow in scale, which led to the blocking of internet access across the entirety of Karakalpakstan on July 2 and the declaration of a state of emergency in the region by President Mirziyoyev. Many people have expressed concerns over the likelihood that the demonstrations may result in a large number of casualties. While President Mirziyoyev has acknowledged that there have been casualties among civilians as well as members of the security forces, he has attributed these deaths to "destructive actions" carried out by the rioters. Pulat Ahunov, an exiled opposition politician, who spoke with Reuters, said at least five people have passed away. It was rumored that a video that went viral on social media showed a significant amount of blood spilled on the street in Nukus. After some time had passed, it was asserted in the regional media that the color red seen in the footage was the result of red-dye water cannons being used by the police. As a result of internet bans, however, it is still impossible to validate the film and determine whether or not the substance seen on the video was blood, according to Amnesty International. The current demonstrations are the second notable instance of unrest in Central Asia this year, following Kazakhstan's violent suppression of mass demonstrations in January. During that crackdown, at least 225 people were killed , and around 10,000 individuals were detained. On Monday, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, referred to Uzbekistan as a "friendly country" and stated that the protests taking place in Karakalpakstan were an "internal matter" that the Kremlin was sure would be resolved by Tashkent. Image Attribute: Images from Nukus, the capital of the Karakalpakstan region, showed burned-out vehicles reportedly damaged during protests / Source: KUN.UZ/REUTERS New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! A lawsuit recently filed by a Baltimore nonprofit alleges the city department that handles police records is improperly shielding police misconduct documents. The suit brought by the transparency advocacy group Open Justice Baltimore and two journalists alleges the Baltimore Law Department has engaged in a pattern and practice of obstructing the release of the records, The Daily Record reported Friday. The complaint alleges the department has ignored requests and deadlines, refused to consider fee waiver requests, demanded huge fees in exchange for public records and offered information in unusable formats, according to the newspaper. The lawsuit claims that in one case, after requesting officer misconduct files, Open Justice Baltimore was told it needed to pay more than $1.3 million for access. Mayor Brandon Scotts office told TV station WJZ it was aware of the lawsuit but had not yet received the complaint. The City and BPD are committed to transparency and compliance with the (Maryland Public Information Act), a spokesperson for Scott said. Once the Law Department is able to review, it will respond to the Complaint in court in accordance with the judicial process. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation to help employers with unpaid workers compensation premiums regain access to coverage through the New York State Insurance Fund, the states largest workers compensation insurer. New York law requires businesses to have workers compensation coverage, which most obtain through NYSIF or a private insurer. But unlike private insurers, NYSIF insures any employer that applies for coverage regardless of risk. NYSIF may only cancel a policy for non-payment of premium and until now was precluded from re-issuing a policy to a business that owed it premium. The new law will enable NYSIF to issue a policy to a business with an outstanding balance, allowing the company to pay the owed premium under an installment plan. Under the new law, policyholders can work with NYSIF to establish a payment plan, for both the outstanding balance and premium on the new policy. All companies must also meet NYSIFs general underwriting standards. Supporters of the legislation said it will give more than 3,000 businesses renewed access to the NYSIFs low-cost insurance market. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of New York businesses struggling to stay afloat lost access to affordable workers compensation coverage when they needed it most, Governor Hochul said. This bill will restore much-needed access, saving businesses across the state millions of dollars in premium and helping their bottom line. With the signing of this piece of legislation, business owners can now start a new insurance policy while paying back their previous policy, said Assembly member Nathalia Fernandez, who sponsored the legislation along with State Senator Jessica Ramos. Topics Workers' Compensation New York New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! A Maine superfund mining site is receiving $21 million in Environmental Protection Agency funding to expedite contamination cleanup efforts. The Callahan Mine superfund site in Brooksville originally received $9 million from the bipartisan federal infrastructure bill passed in November last year, but an additional $12 million has now been approved to address the contamination at the site, the EPA said in a statement Tuesday. Its a priority for EPA to get this site off the Superfund backlog list. Cleaning up this site is key for the Brooksville community to develop alternatives for potential future uses in this area, New Englands EPA director David Cash said in the statement. Brooksville site has been on a priority list for the EPA since 2002 and has been waiting for funding since the current cleanup phase in 2019. The funding is a part of a larger plan the agency has to help cleanup superfund sites in communities across the country. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Training Development Maine Mining Geo Underwriting, The Ardonagh Groups MGA subsidiary, has completed the acquisition of the managing general agent Lorega Holdings Ltd. from Alcuin Capital Partners. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Lorega is the UKs leading supplier of loss recovery insurance, specializing in claims services to help brokers clients prepare, negotiate and settle their insurance claims. Headquartered in Central London and employing a 26-strong team, Loregas management team will continue to retain a shareholding in the new entity. Managing Director Neill Johnstone will continue to lead the business, which will operate independently under the Lorega brand. The transaction marks an exit for Alcuin Capital Partners which backed Loregas management buy-out in February 2016, with management retaining a shareholding in the new entity. We are extremely grateful for the support of Alcuin over the last six years and are thrilled to be joining Geo Underwriting, where we will sit alongside a host of leading industry brands, commented Lorega Managing Director Neill Johnstone. We remain committed to all our UK brokers and to the service excellence we provide to them and their customers. We look forward to continuing to build our relationships with the broking industry across the UK and to bring more policyholders the expert support they need when they encounter an unexpected loss or damage, Johnstone added. Lorega is a real specialist and leader in the loss recovery insurance market with a wealth of experience within the team. We are excited about the potential to support their growth with both commercial and consumer clients and investing in digital platforms to extend the product distribution even more widely to the market, said Derek Coles, Ardonagh MGA CEO. We are very pleased with what is a very successful exit for the Fourth Alcuin Fund, and of course wish management at Lorega the very best for the future. Under this team the business has grown in size and strengthened its formidable position as the UKs leader in loss recovery insurance. It has been a pleasure to have worked with them and we look forward to seeing the business develop further in the future, said Graham Morrison, Investment Director at Alcuin Capital Partners, which specializes in making growth capital investments and supporting management buyouts in lower-middle market companies based in the UK. About Geo Underwriting and The Ardonagh Group An MGA and Lloyds coverholder, Geo Underwriting provides specialist insurance solutions for emerging and existing risks that cater to non-standard and niche sectors, across multiple business lines for both the UK and international markets. Geo employs more than 600 people and houses multiple market-leading specialist brands. Founded in 2017, Ardonagh is the UKs largest independent insurance distribution platform and a top 20 broker globally, employing more than 9,000 people in over 150 locations, according to its website. The companys registered address is St Helier, Jersey (in the Channel Islands). Source: Geo Underwriting Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Underwriting Insurance Wholesale A campaign to legalize marijuana for medicinal use in Nebraska is in danger of missing its signature goal to qualify for the November general election ballot, organizers said. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana still needs to gather thousands of signatures ahead of Thursdays submission deadline set by the state, campaign leaders said. The campaign suffered a major blow when one of its top donors died, forcing organizers to rely primarily on volunteers. The campaign needs valid signatures from 7% of Nebraskas registered voters, roughly 87,000 voters, to appear on the ballot. Voters would decide in November whether to legalize the drug for medical uses. Some prominent elected officials, including Gov. Pete Ricketts, remain firmly opposed to legalization and have actively fought the measure. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Cannabis Nebraska New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! While young underwriters may think that cyber insurance is a recent coverage innovation, the line is actually more than two decades old. Here, Kurtis Suhs, a veteran of the cyber insurance industry who served as an investigator and criminal coordinator for the FDIC early in his career and later as a broker for INSUREtrust in the late 1990s, gives a personal account of the development of the cyber insurance industry from his vantage point and assessment of the market today. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the cyber insurance market. While many industry observers view cyber coverage as a surging phenomenon in response to escalating incidence of random attacks, the first cyber policy was envisioned and crafted in 1997 to address a then perceived risk identified by financial regulators. The journey of cyber insurance launched to protect against a little-known exposure of Internet fraud related to cyber risk is today the hottest, fastest growing sector of the worlds insurance markets. In 1995, Federal bank regulators and financial regulatory authorities met in Atlanta for an annual fraud conference. As part of the agenda, officials were given a presentation by Security First Network Bank, a licensed bank in the state of Georgia, to introduce its proposed business model as the worlds first Internet bank, defined as having no physical branches or brick-and-mortar presence. The presentation via Netscape browser was a straightforward value proposition with drawn images depicting the interconnectivity of various parties engaged in a typical banking transaction. Conference attendees, while intrigued, voiced concern about risk management controls, security and financial soundness issues. The primary concern centered around the banks ability to safely deliver online banking services amidst the conceivable threat of financial institution fraud exposure and hacking of bank assets. Recommendations set forth included the underlying need for insurance coverage to protect the institution in the event of an unforeseen data attack or fraudulent incident. The Atlanta-based insurance broker for Security First Network Bank was charged with securing insurance to protect the online-only bank from Internet risk. At that time, however, coverage for web-driven perils did not exist. Insurance bank underwriters considered such exposures as technology risk, while technology insurance carriers believed the invisible bank risks should be covered within specialty Financial Institutions lines. The insurance broker, Steven Haase, envisioned the need for hacker insurance. He subsequently created Network Risk Management Services LLC (later known as INSUREtrust.com) as a managing general agency (MGA) to launch the first cyber insurance policy at the height of the dot.com era. The MGAs model was based on the proven approach for underwriting certain at-risk commercial operations based on the concept of Highly Protected Risk (HPR). Construction property carriers designed insurance solutions on engineering-based risk management assessments for commercially installed state-of-the-art sprinkler systems. Under commercial HPR policies, construction engineers would identify property risk and establish guidelines for adherence by the insured. Once the insured implemented system criteria and procedures for meeting certain coverage qualifications, they could be certified as an HPR, with inherent benefits of favorable premium rates and pricing options. Periodic reviews for compliance would be conducted by the engineers for continuation of policy coverage. The unfortunate reality is that many organizations and insurance applicants may not qualify in meeting minimum information security insurance requirements or may simply forgo the purchase of cyber insurance due to prohibitive cost barriers. Network Risk Management Services, following the HPR playbook, engaged information security professionals and miliary experts to conduct an external vulnerability assessment against a cyber exposure of insurance applicants computer network systems. Military security professionals from the Air Force were familiar in evaluating potential third-party threats, based on experience with national security risks so defined as Critical Vulnerability Exploits (CVEs). The company would be required to complete a detailed, multi-page insurance application that outlined its risk management controls around people, processes and technology. As a condition of binding coverage, the insurance applicant had to immediately remediate any discovered high vulnerabilities and to fix any identified medium vulnerabilities within 30 days of the policys effective date. In essence, security vulnerability scans are where the industry started 25 years ago; an approach that is continuing to be instituted by cyber InsurTech platforms today. Cyber Insurances Path to Market Relevance Cyber insurance has exploded and captured market share exponentially over the past two decades. Initial standalone cyber policies consisted of two levels of protection: first-party coverage for digital asset restoration, business interruption and network extortion; and third-party liability arising from network security and privacy wrongful acts as well as media liability arising from copyright and trademark infringement. By 2015, the marketplace boasted over 50 cyber insurance carriers, continually offering more lenient terms and conditions with accelerating premium reductions. External vulnerability assessments were no longer an underwriting prerequisite, and cyber insurance applications were reduced to a mere two to three pages. Coverage options broadened to include such cyber risks as: 1) bricking, when malware does not physically damage tangible property but the hardware is rendered useless; 2) business email compromise incidents; and 3) system failure when the insured mistakenly takes their network offline resulting in business interruption loss. While soft market conditions teetered with the prospect of creating an all risks policy, most cyber risk programs are underwritten on a standalone basis with some limited exceptions for supplemental sublimits and packaged policies in admitted markets. By 2017, private equity firms began investing heavily in cyber insurance MGAs to compete with traditional insurance carriers following practiced underwriting processes. This new wave of cyber MGAs touted innovative underwriting prowess by offering external vulnerability scanning at the time of application and process verification during the policy period. In 2020, the market showed signs of hardening as the frequency and severity of claims were amplified by rampant ransomware attacks, data breaches and money theft arising from business email compromise. Further complicating matters, organizations had more complex connectivity of devices, business partners and third-party providers with respect to both information technology and operational technology. According to a recent report by Sophos, the cyber security firm, 66 percent of midsize organizations worldwide were targets of a ransomware attack last year compared with 37 percent the year prior. By 2021, the cyber insurance market hit an unprecedented hard market cycle. Today, cyber insurers have restricted their appetite for certain higher-risk industry classes, increased retentions, reduced overall policy limits, incorporated new coinsurance provisions and introduced other exclusions. As one of the fastest growing lines of business worldwide, cyber insurance premiums have increased anywhere from 25-400 percent over the past year for an insured with or without a cyber claim episode. Cyber insurance spending for standalone coverage in the U.S. reached nearly $3.1 billion last year, an annual increase of 92 percent from the prior year, as reported by Fitch Ratings. Exorbitant price points are compounded by greater underwriting scrutiny and often onerous insurance constraints. The majority of cyber insurers now require enterprisewide multifactor authentication, written strategy of data-backup processes and a privileged access management tool to protect user credentials, among other criteria. Conditions for policy binding also may stipulate that the insured applicant institutionalize protection monitoring and response tools and establish a 24/7 security operations center (SOC). The cyber insurance landscape will continue to evolve and mature. The unfortunate reality is that many organizations and insurance applicants may not qualify in meeting minimum information security insurance requirements or may simply forgo the purchase of cyber insurance due to prohibitive cost barriers. Cyber insurance carriers will be challenged to serve brokers and agents with timely information and relevant resources needed to help their insureds navigate protection options for their respective organizations. Topics Cyber New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! West Virginias insurance commissioner is reminding workers compensation stakeholders about statutory changes that took effect this month on claims and adjudication of claims. As a result of these changes, it is critical that all stakeholders comply with this regulatory guidance, the Office of Insurance Commissioner said in a bulletin. Failure to follow this guidance may result in regulatory action and/or monetary penalty. Claims decisions: When a carrier or self-insured employer reaches a decision on any issue, it must now send the decision and the reasons for the decision to all parties. Parties include the injured worker, the employer and the claimants dependents, if applicable. The OIC should be notified on claims involving the states Old Fund (the state-run system prior to 2008), the Uninsured Employers Fund, the Self-Insured Employer Guaranty Risk Pool, the Self-Insured Employer Security Risk Pool, or the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Fund. The notice should be in writing and should include the time allowed for filing objections to the decision (60 days). Those objections, filed with the states Workers Compensation Board of Review, should also be sent to all parties. The decision notice from the insurer or self-insurer must list all the parties involved, the complete names of the carrier and third-party claims administrator, along with mailing address, jurisdictional claim number, date of injury and other details. This information is necessary for parties to file objections at the Board of Review. Failure to include this information on a written decision or notice may hinder the parties in filing objections, the bulletin reads. If this information is missing from a written decision or notice, the Workers Compensation Board of Review may find good cause or excusable neglect to expand the timeframe for filing an objection, as permitted by state law. The changes were needed after West Virginia revamped its workers comp adjudication and appeal system, the OIC said. Comp coverage notice: All employers must continuously post a notice identifying the workers compensation insurance carrier, along with contact information. The OIC also maintains a website to verify coverage. Topics Claims Workers' Compensation Virginia News Global market trend 2022-2029 The price of container size has also been affected by the drop in some shipping rates by Newsintegra927 Previously high sea freight rates have begun to fall, with some popular routes seeing their rates drop by more than 50 percent year-on-year, as the global logistics supply chain recovers. Industry insiders said the supercycle of shipping has ended and freight rates are expected to accelerate from the second half of the year. Lower sea freight rates According to the FBX index published by the Baltic Maritime Exchange, the average price of FBX container seaborn was $6,583 on June 29, down 40.9 percent from its all-time high in September last year. Among them, the China/Far East - North America west coast route freight rate dropped 63.1% from last year's highest freight rate; China/Far East - East Coast of North America freight fell 54.6% from last year's peak; The China/Far East-Nordic route is down 29.4 percent from its all-time high in January and 26.6 percent from last year's peak. Spot shipping prices fell sharply, even lower than the long-term agreement prices. According to Xeneta, the current spot freight rate for trans-Pacific routes to the U.S. and West is $7,768 per FEU, 2.7 percent lower than the long-term freight rate of $7,981 per FEU. "It is true that there are some cases where shippers negotiate with shipping companies to revise the long agreement price, but very few shipping companies reduce the price." An official of a domestic shipping company told the China Securities Journal, "Unless the loading rate drops significantly, we will consider cutting prices and taking more orders. But the current loading rate is still at normal levels, reducing prices is illogical. The Christmas stocking period will begin in the third quarter, and capacity will be tight again." Freight rates fell, and some shipping companies began to cancel sailings to reduce losses. According to new data released on July 1st by Drury, a shipping consultancy, the world's three largest shipping alliances canceled a combined 61 sailings in the next five weeks (27-31). Among them, 2M Alliance and THE Alliance canceled THE most flights, with 23 flights respectively. Ocean Alliance cancels 15 sailings. Of these, 86 out of a total of 760 scheduled sailings on major routes such as trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic, Asia-Northern Europe and Asia-Mediterranean were canceled between weeks 27 and 31, representing a cancellation rate of 11%. Drury doesn't expect spot rates to collapse because airlines will tighten and adjust their availability to reduce volatility in spot rates. Over the next year, shipping lines will have to deal with weak spot rates falling below contract rates. Factors affecting freight forwarder container size Freight transportation In international freight transport, one of the most concerning issues is the price of freight transport. The cost is directly related to the cost of transportation. Because many exporters do not understand the price of transportation very much, and often have a lot of extra spending, then today to understand the factors of the price of international freight transportation? Do You Need Freight Forwarders? China DDP for World is a full-service and shipping forwarder dedicated to assisting our clients in focusing and growing their businesses. Send an Email to info@ddpforworld.com and get the latest freight price. The transportation prices are different for different container size In the general international trade process, the price of transport according to different modes of transport, price is also different. International freight rates are divided into sea freight, air freight and rail freight. The specific container size freight rate can also be subdivided. For example, rail freight can be divided into passenger freight and freight. Shipping rates are also divided into tramp rates and liner rates. Tramp rates are also affected by market supply and demand relations at that time, while liner transport costs are relatively fixed. Airfreight can be divided into general goods, designated goods and special goods, and the specific transportation price is also determined according to the weight of transportation, at the same time, even if the volume is small, the weight is also counted by weight, but if the opposite is large, small weight, also according to the specific volume to calculate. The choice of international logistics, the quality of logistics will affect the seller's store score, but also affect customer satisfaction rate. Factors affecting the shipping price of container size In the process of international transportation, there are many factors affecting the price of transportation, in addition to some fuel and labor costs, there are many important factors. For example, the nature of the container size, its own value and packaging form, as well as stowage factor and transporter's requirements for transportation, etc. There will be some fixed costs during the use of the ship, such as the ship's maintenance insurance and fuel consumption. There is also the change of supply and demand in the container size market. In the transport off-season, transport prices are relatively low, in the transport of the peak season, transport prices will be relatively high. Logistics advantages of the container size in the destination country and region In Eastern Europe, DHL has advantages in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Hungary and other places while EMS has advantages in Greece, Russia, Turkey and other places. Western Europe, Northern Europe, southern Europe can use DHL international express, TNT international express, these two kinds of customs clearance capacity. TNT has a clear advantage in the Netherlands and Belgium. For Canada, the United States and other American countries, FedEx, UPS and DHL are all suitable for their strong customs clearance capacity and fast time. Applicable to Asia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries DHL, FedEx. DHL and FedEx are time-saving, but THE price of DHL is higher. Indonesia also suggests USING DHL because it has a stronger customs clearance capacity. In Oceania, DHL and UPS aging fast, with high prices; TNT and FedEx have lower prices but relatively few outlets. Particular attention should be paid to the "Made in China" label on the packaging of Australian products. Middle East express ARAMEX, EMS for Middle East region. Commercial express in Africa is very expensive. In remote areas, IT is suggested to send EMS international express. EMS countries have the strongest customs clearance capacity. The air express container size can reach many countries and regions that commercial express and postal express cannot reach, so the wide range of container size transportation is its advantage. Contact a professional freight forwarder- DDPFORWORLD - Professional freight forwarder in China Do You Need Freight Forwarders from China ? DDP for World is a full-service and shipping forwarder dedicated to assisting our clients in focusing and growing their businesses. We do DDP shipping since 2015 by handling home decor, Pet products, battery, power banks, DG cargo, general cargo and Amazon FBA shipping forwarding service. We make your shipping easier and faster by Sea, Air, Express, Truck or Railway. If you have any questions or needs about freight forwarder, please feel free to contact us, we will serve you wholeheartedly. Email: info@ddpforworld.com Inquery us News Global market trend 2022-2030 The drop in freight demand due to the pandemic has also had an impact on the market for container size by Newsintegra927 Factors affecting freight forwarder container size Freight transportation In international freight transport, one of the most concerning issues is the price of freight transport. The cost is directly related to the cost of transportation. Because many exporters do not understand the price of transportation very much, and often have a lot of extra spending, then today to understand the factors of the price of international freight transportation? Do You Need Freight Forwarders? China DDP for World is a full-service and shipping forwarder dedicated to assisting our clients in focusing and growing their businesses. Send an Email to info@ddpforworld.com and get the latest freight price. Reduced freight demand The decline in freight demand and the resumption of logistics are the main reasons for the lower sea freight rates. "Last year, due to the severe impact of the epidemic, there were many waves of buying up supplies overseas, and major retail supermarkets also stepped up stocking, resulting in inventory overstocking. New orders are down 30% to 60% on average this year." Nanjing a foreign trade company sales manager Chen he said. Data show that as of May 8, the INVENTORY of Costco, a US retail supermarket, reached 17.623 billion US dollars, up 26% year on year, as many as hundreds of millions of dollars of goods were the inventory of last year's peak consumption season. In addition, Inventory at Macy's rose 17% from last year, and inventory at Wal-Mart's fulfillment centers rose 32%. "Usually, US shippers prepare their cargo in July and August, but due to the previous increase in freight rates and uncertainties such as the epidemic, many shippers have moved the time to prepare their cargo to May, which has also contributed to the recent drop in freight demand." Ningbo shipping cargo agent Feng Jin told China Securities News reporters. In addition, the logistics supply chain is gradually returning to smooth. "Before, because of the epidemic, workers stopped work, and the cargo at the dock piled up, so the containers could not come back. But recently, the situation has significantly improved, the speed of logistics turnover has significantly accelerated, before you need to book a warehouse 1-2 months in advance, since June, just one week in advance." Feng Jin said. Industry insiders believe that the maritime super cycle has ended, freight rates are expected to accelerate the decline in the second half of the year, global container transport demand will drop from 7% growth in 2021 to 4% and 3% in 2022, 2023. The transportation prices are different for different container size In the general international trade process, the price of transport according to different modes of transport, price is also different. International freight rates are divided into sea freight, air freight and rail freight. The specific container size freight rate can also be subdivided. For example, rail freight can be divided into passenger freight and freight. Shipping rates are also divided into tramp rates and liner rates. Tramp rates are also affected by market supply and demand relations at that time, while liner transport costs are relatively fixed. Airfreight can be divided into general goods, designated goods and special goods, and the specific transportation price is also determined according to the weight of transportation, at the same time, even if the volume is small, the weight is also counted by weight, but if the opposite is large, small weight, also according to the specific volume to calculate. The choice of international logistics, the quality of logistics will affect the seller's store score, but also affect customer satisfaction rate. Logistics advantages of the container size in the destination country and region In Eastern Europe, DHL has advantages in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Hungary and other places while EMS has advantages in Greece, Russia, Turkey and other places. Western Europe, Northern Europe, southern Europe can use DHL international express, TNT international express, these two kinds of customs clearance capacity. TNT has a clear advantage in the Netherlands and Belgium. For Canada, the United States and other American countries, FedEx, UPS and DHL are all suitable for their strong customs clearance capacity and fast time. Applicable to Asia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries DHL, FedEx. DHL and FedEx are time-saving, but THE price of DHL is higher. Indonesia also suggests USING DHL because it has a stronger customs clearance capacity. In Oceania, DHL and UPS aging fast, with high prices; TNT and FedEx have lower prices but relatively few outlets. Particular attention should be paid to the "Made in China" label on the packaging of Australian products. Middle East express ARAMEX, EMS for Middle East region. Commercial express in Africa is very expensive. In remote areas, IT is suggested to send EMS international express. EMS countries have the strongest customs clearance capacity. The air express container size can reach many countries and regions that commercial express and postal express cannot reach, so the wide range of container size transportation is its advantage. Factors affecting the shipping price of container size In the process of international transportation, there are many factors affecting the price of transportation, in addition to some fuel and labor costs, there are many important factors. For example, the nature of the container size, its own value and packaging form, as well as stowage factor and transporter's requirements for transportation, etc. There will be some fixed costs during the use of the ship, such as the ship's maintenance insurance and fuel consumption. There is also the change of supply and demand in the container size market. In the transport off-season, transport prices are relatively low, in the transport of the peak season, transport prices will be relatively high. Contact a professional freight forwarder- DDPFORWORLD - Professional freight forwarder in China Do You Need Freight Forwarders from China ? DDP for World is a full-service and shipping forwarder dedicated to assisting our clients in focusing and growing their businesses. We do DDP shipping since 2015 by handling home decor, Pet products, battery, power banks, DG cargo, general cargo and Amazon FBA shipping forwarding service. We make your shipping easier and faster by Sea, Air, Express, Truck or Railway. If you have any questions or needs about freight forwarder, please feel free to contact us, we will serve you wholeheartedly. Email: info@ddpforworld.com Inquery us Martin Shanahan announced he will step down from his role as CEO of IDA in 2023. Mr Shanahan made the announcement while attending IDAs mid-year update. It has been a huge privilege to lead IDA Ireland for the past eight years. IDA Ireland has continued to reinvent itself for over seven decades in order to position itself to win investment for Ireland, said Mr Shanahan. Mr Shanahan took up his role as CEO of IDA in 2014. During his tenure, the number of multinationals based in Ireland grew from 1096 to 1691, said chairman of IDA Ireland Frank Ryan. In addition to his departure announcement, he also said IDA Ireland has recorded the highest level of investment approvals last year and maintains that outlook for foreign direct investment into Ireland is optimistic despite ongoing business threats. Through the IDA in the last six months, a total of 155 investments were approved, 18,039 jobs were created and 73 projects went underway in regional locations. These are very strong half year results achieved against a backdrop of a global pandemic, Brexit, considerable geo-political uncertainty globally, inflationary pressures, supply chain challenges, climate change and energy issues and, since the start of the year, Russias invasion of Ukraine, said IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan. Investments into Ireland also increased 9% compared to last year and rose 10% in comparison to pre-pandemic levels. Regional investments increase by 7% compared to 2021. Some of the bigger investments in Munster this year, that were completed through the IDA, included the Apple expansion in Cork which will add 1,300 employees to its workforce and US drug giant Lillys investment of 400m into manufacturing facility in Limerick. Mr Shanahan said that investor commitment to Ireland remains strong. However, during the IDAs half-year results presentation, it was suggested that the outlook for the rest of the year is dependent on the future trajectory of the war in Ukraine, inflation and monetary policy. Although Ireland remains a compelling place to invest in said Shanahan, there does need to be significant developments in infrastructure if the country is going to absorb the impact of these threats. The key areas requiring attention remain planning, housing, energy, water and wider infrastructure, said Mr Shanahan. Mr Shanahan said that the supply of power on the grid was also a concern that needed more attention when attracting FDI as businesses continue to grapple with a global energy crisis. It is particularly of concern obviously to technology companies, but also high energy users in other sectors, said Mr Shanahan. We very much welcome government's recent announcements in relation to additional on power generation. But this is clearly an area we are going to continue to focus on, he said. This Saturday, July 9, local activists will host Cork's first Trans+ Pride event, a protest rally that kicks off at 2 pm outside Cork City Library on Grand Parade. "Pride has always been a protest, and that is what Trans Pride is, stated one organiser, Saoirse Mackin. "Over the last number of years, we have seen Trans rights come under attack. This past year has been particularly difficult as we watched the media and politicians at home and abroad attack our right to exist. The reality is that these people dont understand the level of discrimination we face on a daily basis and so, in their eyes, it does not exist." We are delighted to announce Corks first Trans+ Pride. This will be a rally outside Cork City Library Transgender rights are continually coming under attack by media and politicians both at home and abroad. Come out with us in Cork City on 9th July to protest against .. pic.twitter.com/DQd8Gb1u9q Trans+ Pride Cork (@transpridecork) June 29, 2022 Issues discussed in the event's initial statement include the treatment of the transgender community in wider society, including media coverage and participation in sports, as well as the difficulty encountered by the community in seeking equal access to healthcare, including hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming care. "Trans healthcare is almost non-existent in Ireland," says Mackin, "with waiting lists of up to five years just for the initial consultation with an endocrinologist. Healthcare for Trans youth is even worse, with many of them struggling to access housing and education. "Research shows that Trans youth who are accepted by their loved ones and have access to gender-affirming care are 40 percent less likely to end their own lives. "Acceptance and Trans healthcare are literally life-saving. We are not calling for special attention, just equality. We want equal access in employment, housing, education, and society as a whole. "I think it is important that we all show up and support," says co-organiser Louise O'Donnell. "Our Transgender siblings face untold hardship in accessing gender-affirming care in Ireland. They are subject to ignorant media coverage, online furore, and misguided moral panic," she says. "In reality, Trans people face a higher risk of violence and harassment, as well as greater levels of mental ill-health as a result of isolation and bigotry. This event is an opportunity to celebrate the beauty and the vibrance of the Trans community." Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the Irish people for their support as he met with the Taoiseach in Kyiv. Micheal Martin was taken on a tour of the remains of the town of Bucha on Thursday, where Russian shelling had devastated the country, before he met with the Ukrainian president this afternoon. Mr Zelenskyy thanked Ireland for the visas administered to people fleeing war as a gesture to our people, while you fully appreciate the threats by Russian aggression against Ukraine and the democratic world. This joint response to the energy crisis and food crisis and sanctions on Russia, Ukraine appreciates everything Ireland has done, Mr Zelenskyy said. He told Mr Martin of the humanitarian needs in Ukraine, and said: I am thankful for his understanding and Irelands adaption of the resolution of war crimes on Russian occupiers as genocide against Ukrainian people, defending international order and law and punity for Russian war criminals. We agreed with the (Irish) prime minister to work hand in hand along this way to our admission to EU, and we count on your political support and experience which will be very valuable for this. Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is very grateful to Ireland for its interest in the countrys reconstruction after the war. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said a 'Marshall Plan' type of response is needed to cover Ukraine's reconstruction, and said countries could "adopt" parts of the war-torn nation to help with the rebuild. Mr Zelenskyy said: We have to focus on recovery plan to help people to come back home and people can come back to school, that people have place to stay to stay in Ukraine and a community to come back to, thats what matters. Mr Zelenskyy said Ireland and Ukraine had turned a new page. Starting from invasion, we have turned a new page from Ukraine and Ireland and that atmosphere is very powerful and energetic and very a warm and all our society supports you. Micheal Martin said decided quickly to offer protection to Ukrainians coming to Ireland and the Government has never put a limit on that and it is challenging, but we are in a war and it is our moral obligation to respond. He said the sights he saw of the terror and trauma children experienced, there is no choice for Ireland but to do the right thing in a time of barbaric inhumanity. We will do everything we can to facilitate people to come to Ireland. We havent got into numbers on how many more, but we keep finding new accommodation, and it is slowing down. Mr Martin said in his speech he was there to express Ireland's solidarity with the government and people of Ukraine. We admire you and we are with you. Russia's brutal war against this beautiful democratic country is a gross violation of international law. It is an affront to everything that Ireland stands for, it cannot and it will not be allowed to stand, the Taoiseach said. The use of terror against and the deliberate targeting of civilian populations are war crimes, those responsible those kinds of these actions and those directing them will be held fully accountable, and there will be no hiding places. I've always made clear from the outset, our strong view that Ukraine belongs to the European Union. The values that people are fighting and dying for today are European values, our values. The Taoiseach said Irish people have been enormously moved by the suffering of the people of Ukraine. Every Irish town and city is a sea of yellow and blue. We have welcomed almost 40,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war. They are welcome to stay in Ireland for as long as they need to. Our home is your home, but we do know that they want to come home and you want them back as quickly as possible also, and we will work with you in terms of reconstruction. I'm here today to say to you president and to the people of Ukraine, that you have spoken and the world is listening. You are being heard. A war intended to crush and fragment people has instead made you stronger, more united, more convinced of your identity and place in the world. Your language, your culture, your European vocation. The world has been humbled by the strength and resilience of the people of Ukraine. The World Health Organization has called on governments to prepare for winter, with more Covid surges expected and current case numbers believed to be underestimated. Case numbers rose by almost 30% in the last two weeks, director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Testing has been scaled back in many countries, which he said obscures the true picture of what is happening. It also means that treatments are not given early enough to prevent serious illness or death, he warned. In Europe and America, BA.4 and BA.5 are driving waves. In countries like India a new sub-lineage of BA.2.75 has also been detected. He said the next variant's behaviour cannot be predicted, and he called for acceleration of clinical trials. Read More Soaring Covid cases force Kerry hospital to cancel procedures At the same briefing, Dr Mike Ryan, the Irishman heading up the emergency response, said European governments should not relax. The real work for countries now is to really review your national plans, he said. He said winter will come in the Northern hemisphere with children and students again all indoors, and questioned if governments are ready. They need to look at improving genetic sequencing, contact tracing, increasing global trials and closing gaps in immunity with vaccinations, he said. He said: I think we are going to see further waves of disease, and I think we will see them have very differential impact between countries. There has been almost a collapse in testing across Europe, he said despite growing anecdotal evidence of higher case numbers. I do think beyond the actual hard data there is a much more intense wave of infection passing through, he added. He noted vaccines are "very much working", adding that in the main, among people who are fully vaccinated, particularly people who are boosted and in vulnerable groups, there is not a rise in ICU admissions. "We are not seeing a serious rise in deaths," he said. It had been hoped summer would limit infections in Europe but that is not happening. The WHO is not here to tell the world it is time to shutdown or lockdown, he added. Dr Abdi Mahamud said other health measures work, saying: We dont know when this virus will be endemic, but it clearly shows it has the potential. Lets protect our loved ones. Dr Tedros also said price negotiations continue around delivering Paxlovid, a treatment manufactured by Pfizer, to poorer countries. This is delaying access, and some countries may choose to wait for a generic version of the antiviral, probably available in early 2023 and this will cost lives, he said. I call on Pfizer to work closely with health agencies in countries to ensure its new oral antiviral is available quickly. Ireland has ordered 14,000 doses of Paxlovid, with 5,200 delivered, although less than 300 have been used. The briefing also heard from Dr Rosamund Lewis that children, including under 5s, have caught monkeypox through household contacts. The WHO remains extremely concerned about this virus with over 6,000 cases now globally. There were 39 in Ireland up to last week. A convicted mobster who was one of Italys most-wanted fugitives has arrived in Rome after being extradited by Brazil following 28 years on the run. Rocco Morabito was second on the list of Italys most wanted and dangerous mobsters. He was convicted two decades ago in absentia of drug trafficking as part of the Ndrangheta organised crime syndicate. Italian police describe him as one of the worlds top drug dealers. Morabito, 55, must serve a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted in absentia by a court in Milan in 2001. Still top of Italys list of most-wanted mafia bosses is Matteo Messina Denaro, considered to still wield top power in the Cosa Nostra in Sicily despite being a fugitive since 1993.(Alamy/PA) He was arrested in May 2021 by Brazilian police in a joint operation with Italian and US investigators. Morabito had earlier been arrested in Uruguay in 2017 but escaped from prison there two years later. Italian police have been searching for him since 1994. Calabria-based anti-Mafia prosecutors say Morabito played a big role in cocaine trafficking between South America and Milan, a key distribution point for the drug to be sold elsewhere in Italy and across Europe. In addition to drug trafficking, Morabito has been convicted in Italy of Mafia association. When he was captured in 2017 in Uruguay, Morabito was living in a luxury villa in a seaside resort using an alias and a false Brazilian passport, authorities said at the time. During his arrest in a Montevideo hotel, police also seized a 9mm gun, 13 mobile phones and a stash of cash, as well as a Mercedes coupe. Still top of Italys list of most-wanted mafia bosses is Matteo Messina Denaro, considered to still wield top power in the Cosa Nostra in Sicily despite being a fugitive since 1993. Burma 2,200 Myanmar Junta Soldiers Killed Since January: KNU Karen National Union soldiers preparing for combat. / KNU More than 2,200 Myanmar junta troops have been killed in the first half of 2022 in Karen State, according to the Karen National Union (KNU). Myanmars oldest and one of its most powerful rebel groups said in its monthly report released on Tuesday that its armed wings, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Karen National Defence Organization (KNDO) and allied resistance forces, have clashed with junta troops each day in June as the regime increased its activity. The KNU reported 365 clashes with 410 junta and Border Guard Force deaths and 335 injuries in June. The fiercest clashes were in late June at the juntas Ukayit Hta outpost in Waw Lay, Myawaddy Township, which was under attack with 125 junta airstrikes launched against resistance forces. The KNU said 17 resistance fighters were killed and 28 injured in June. The KNU estimated 399 regime deaths in January, 311 in February, 429 in March, 356 in April and 303 in May. The Irrawaddy has not been able to independently verify the numbers. Junta officers, including battalion commanders and majors, were among the dead. The Maw Khee military camp in the KNLAs Brigade 6 Dooplaya territory was captured on March 22. The KNLA and its allies also seized the juntas Thay Baw Boe camp on May 18. In June, the KNDO and its allies seized Waw Lay police station, where junta troops were based. Five regime soldiers were reportedly captured and nine detained resistance fighters were freed. Amid its losses, the junta has aggressively escalated violence against civilians with shelling and airstrikes, torching houses and killing and using civilians as human shields across Karen State. According to the KNU, the regime has killed at least 12 civilians, including children, and injured 28 others in June. Around 200,000 displaced civilians in Karen State need emergency aid, the International Karen Organization said last week. Burma Chinese Foreign Minister Snubs Myanmar Junta Chief Myanmar regime chief Min Aung Hlaing It must be embarrassing for Myanmar regime chief Min Aung Hlaing when the top diplomat from the foreign country he relies upon most declines to pay him a visitparticularly if the diplomat is already in Myanmar. But thats exactly what happened over the weekend and early this week, as visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi failed to meet with Min Aung Hlaing during his stay in Myanmar. Wang, the most senior Chinese diplomat to visit Myanmar since the coup last year, arrived in the countrys UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bagan in Mandalay Region on Saturday and co-chaired the 7th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers meeting on Monday. During his three-day visit, the most senior junta official he met was not regime chief and self-appointed Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing, but Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, according to Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The lack of a meeting between Wang and the coup leader is notable, given that Beijing has not only refused to denounce Min Aung Hlaings coup but has acted, along with Russia, to provide diplomatic cover at the UN for the junta, which has killed more than 2,000 people since the takeover. The last time Wang met Min Aung Hlaing was in January last year during the ministers visit to Myanmar a few weeks before the February 2021 coup. But the meeting was not repeated this time. Min Aung Hlaing has been ostracized internationally since the coup for his bloody response to protesters against his regime. He has even been barred from attending summits by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member state. Internationally, his regime has received very little recognition and many countries have kept their distance from it. They fear meetings with the coup leader could be used as PR tools by the regime, which craves legitimacy. Even China is wary of such meetings. On Monday, when Wang was in Bagan, Chinese government mouthpiece Global Times quoted a director from the Chinese government-controlled Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing as saying that the foreign ministers visit was for the purpose of attending the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers meeting rather than to engage in bilateral talks, and does not hint at China recognizing the current administration. Its widely believed that Wang didnt meet Min Aung Hlaing this time because Beijing wants to avoid criticism internationally, and in particular from Myanmar people. China has a number of infrastructure projects in Myanmar such as a rail line linking Chinas Yunnan Province with a deep water port in Kyaukphyu, Rakhine State in western Myanmar that will give China coveted access to the Indian Ocean. Recently, China-backed projects in Myanmar have come under attack from anti-regime resistance forces and public opinion on China in the country has been tarnished like never before due to Beijings failure to denounce the coup. The only companions Min Aung Hlaing has found so farand rushed to extend hearty welcomes toare some military officials from Russia, one of the regimes arms suppliers, as well as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is the current ASEAN chairman, and his envoy for Myanmar. His eagerness to receive any outside visitor as Myanmars ruling figure was evident in April this year when Min Aung Hlaing welcomed the President of Tatarstan, a republic in Russia with a population of some 3 million, at the Credentials Hall in Naypyitaw. He extended his hospitability by hosting a luncheon for the Tatarstan delegation. So, for such a hospitable person, its impossible that Min Aung Hlaing would let his important gueststhis time Wangreturn home without a meeting. But if the visitor declines, whats the host to do? But while he failed to meet with the junta chief this time, the Chinese foreign minister attempted to appease Min Aung Hlaing with a reaffirmation of Beijings continued support for his regime. In his meeting with his Myanmar counterpart on Sunday, Wang said, Beijing will support Naypyitaw in safeguarding the countrys legitimate interests, as well as its national dignity on international occasions. Furthermore, in Bagan, the Chinese foreign minister told Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, who is the ASEAN Special Envoy on Myanmar tasked with mediating the countrys crisis, that China will help the bloc push Myanmar for democratization while encouraging the grouping to implement its peace plan for the country. Among the plans key points are a call for dialogue among all concerned parties and the immediate cessation of violence. With the regimes ongoing atrocities, including extrajudicial killings and the torching of villages, ASEAN has failed to convince the junta to implement the plan. Were it not for its economic and strategic interests in Myanmar, it seems unlikely China would trouble itself much by engaging with the regimeand would probably prefer to keep its distance. Burma Dozens of Myanmar Troops, 11 PDF Fighters Killed in Clash in Shan State A funeral is held for two resistance fighters who were killed during the fighting in Pekon, Shan State on Monday. / News Light of Karenni More than 40 Myanmar regime soldiers and 11 Peoples Defense Force members were killed during an intense clash following an attempt by resistance groups to raid military outposts in Pekon Township, Shan State on Monday. At 5 a.m. on that morning, a force comprising members of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), the Karenni Army (the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party) and two other PDF groups raided the military outposts near Shwe Pyi Aye and Lwal Pator villages in Pekon Township, southern Shan State, the KNDF said on Wednesday. Just as the resistance forces were about to take control of the outposts, the Myanmar military struck back with heavy artillery strikes and troop reinforcements and held their positions. The KNDF said the resistance fighters had to abandon their attempts to occupy the military outposts in the afternoon due to the intense attacks mounted by the regime reinforcements. During the clashes, 11 resistance fighters were killed. The KNDF also claimed to have killed more than 40 regime troops and injured many others in the raid. However, The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the military casualties. Showing photos of killed PDF members, a pro-regime Telegram Channel reported that regime forces seized the bodies of seven PDF fighters along with their firearms, adding that other bodies were retrieved by the PDFs. Since mid-June, regime forces and ethnic Karenni resistance forces have been engaged in heavy clashes in Hpruso, Demoso and Loilin Lay townships in Kayah State and Pekon Township in neighboring Shan State. The KNDF also said that a total of 30 clashes occurred in Kayah State killing 25 regime troops in June, adding that it seized 13 weapons. Due to the juntas arson attacks and shelling, 12 houses and two religious buildings were destroyed. In the juntas indiscriminate attacks, five civilians were killed and 22 others injured, the KNDF said. Armed resistance to military rule in Kayah State began in late May last year, following the regimes brutal crackdowns on peaceful anti-coup demonstration across the country. Kayah State has become a stronghold of resistance against the junta. You may also like these stories: Top China Official Reaffirms Beijings Support for Myanmar Junta Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Continue in Kayah State Hell Hounds Are Loose in Myanmar; Who Can Stop Them? Burma Nearly 5,000 Civilians Displaced by Regime Raids in Myanmar's Restive Sagaing Tabayin residents displaced by junta raids. / CJ Around 5,000 residents from over 10 villages in Sagaing Regions Tabayin Township have been forced to flee their homes after the Myanmar military airlifted reinforcements into the area. On Monday at around 4.30pm three helicopters carrying over 50 junta soldiers landed in a Tabayin village, forcing the residents to flee the same evening, according to local sources. A volunteer helping the displaced people said on Tuesday: It was not convenient for travel as it rained the whole night. The temporary camps are crowded. People continued to flee their homes until midnight. People fleeing in their cars, motorbikes and motorized trailers formed a long line. There were unspeakable troubles. Junta forces carried out airstrikes on July 2 after a memorial to mark the one-year anniversary of fighting in Tabayins Set Pyar Kyin Village which left over 20 resistance fighters dead. Regime troops have since been raiding villages in Tabayin. Clouds of smoke were seen in Kyauntawlay and Inpin villages on Tuesday. It was unclear how many houses were torched by military regime forces as villagers still cant return home, said a resident. Regime troops stationed in Set Pyar Kyin and Boke villages reportedly used heavy weapons to attack resistance fighters advancing to the villages, according to a local resistance member. One resident said: As they kill not only children but also elderly persons by burning them alive, slitting their throats and shooting them in their heads, people dare not let the soldiers see them. They flee as soon as they hear soldiers are heading to their villages. Over 340,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Sagaing Region, as well as some 110,000 people in neighboring Magwe Region, according to the Institute of Strategy and Policy Myanmar. Burma Rakhine Detainees Denied Visitors by Myanmar Junta Detained residents at Sittwe Township police station. / CJ Myanmars regime has barred Rakhine State residents from seeing their relatives who were detained in response to Arakan Armys (AA) abductions of junta personnel in June. More than 40 residents were detained by the regime between June 16-23 in Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships after the AA seized more than a dozen junta soldiers and police officers in the townships. Some of the civilians have been put on trial and the whereabouts of the majority are still unknown. Daw Aye Khaing, the wife of U Ba Hlaing, who was detained in Ponnagyun, said: [Troops] took my husband after a soldier was seized. I cant find out where he is being held. My husband has no ties with any organization. He does not engage in politics. We make an honest living running a shop. Two Ponnagyun-based Light Infantry Battalion 550 soldiers used U Ba Hlaings shop on June 16 and one was abducted by the AA as he left. Troops then detained eight residents, including U Ba Hlaing. On June 20, three Kyauktaw police were abducted. The following day, the regime detained three residents, including social activist Ko Zaw Win. Their whereabouts are still unknown, according to relatives. Daw Khaing Khaing, the wife of Ko Zaw Win, said: I cant find out where my husband is being held. As time passes, my concerns grow that he might be tortured. I am praying that he will soon be brought to a police station or court. In Mrauk-U, after four military security personnel were abducted on June 20, nine people, including three Muslim villagers, three Mrauk-U town residents and three ethnic Chin residents, who were in Mrauk-U on business, were detained. The three Mrauk-U residents were charged under Article 505(b) of the Penal Code for incitement on Monday, said a resident. But we dont know where the other detainees are being held, he told The Irrawaddy. The regime searched homes and seized at least 25 residents in Sittwe after the AA abducted a navy officer and sailor in the state capital on June 23. Five ethnically Rakhine residents and four Muslims were released on June 29 and 30. Two Rakhine men were sentenced to one month in prison for being out at night. The colonial-era Police Act authorizes the authorities to arrest, without a warrant, anyone who cannot explain why they are out at night. On Monday, eight Sittwe detainees were in court under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code, according to civil society organizations. The whereabouts of the six remaining detainees are still unknown. U Myat Tun of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association said preventing visits violated human rights. GUEST OPINION: By this point in time, most businesses of any size, online or local establishments, know the importance of having an online presence. However, there are some things local brick-and-mortar businesses should know about having a mobile-friendly website. There are several reasons why a mobile-optimised website is to your advantage and if you have a site that is not optimised for the mobile user, it actually might be working against you! 1. Google Set the Stage Way back in 2015 and 2016, Google set the stage for responsive websites. They listened to users who were frustrated with websites that couldnt be viewed well on a small mobile device and so they updated their algorithms that soon became known as Mobilegeddon. If a website wasnt responsive, meaning it couldnt be scaled down to be viewed well on a mobile device, it just didnt rank well in the SERPs, Search Engine Results Pages. Contrary to the misinformation out there, it doesnt mean they wont index your site, but it will be way, way down the list. They have a mobile first policy built into their algorithm. 2. Most People Search for Local Businesses Online Taking Mobilegeddon a step further, this is why it is imperative for you to focus on a mobile-friendly website. Did you know that more people search for local businesses from their mobile phones than from any other device or in any other way? Thats how you will be found if you consider using local web development agencies such as this WordPress agency Birmingham. They know the local market and can not only design an amazing responsive WordPress theme for your business but can cater to the local market in terms of SEO. Of course, any web development agency can run data analytics in the terms most often searched for, but targeting local traffic carries nuances that local SEO specialists do best. They do, after all, speak the local idioms! 3. The Right Audience for SMS Push Notifications Then there is the fact that youve already got their attention on a mobile device so why not ask for consent to send special product and sales notifications? Its a ready-made local audience and those notifications will serve to do more than just sell an occasional product or service. The more push notifications your market receives, the more ingrained your brand will become in their subconscious mind. You want them to think of you whenever they are searching for something you have to offer. There you go! Instant brand recognition. These are just the highlights of why it is important for your local business to have a mobile-optimised website. Yes, a website is important but if you are a local establishment catering primarily to a local market, then you need to get to them where they can be found. That would be on their mobile devices. The right web development agency can create an amazing bespoke WordPress theme that is responsive, and graphically designed for your brand and they can even manage your site for you so that you can do what you do best. Theyll get them in the doors, now you close the sale. Hows that for a mobile optimised site? Its local teamwork at its finest! Sydney-based radiology AI provider annalise.ai has appointed Lakshmi Gudapakkam to the role of CEO and Dr Rick Abramson to that of chief medical officer. "We set out nearly three years ago to create a cutting-edge AI solution that empowers clinicians to make faster, more accurate decisions on radiology diagnosis. With the hard work of our global team, we've built an extremely strong and sustainable business with a proven model and global roadmap," said annalise.ai founding CEO and board director Dimitry Tran. "To truly achieve our goals, and grow globally, we must move into the next phase of our maturity and strategy. I'm excited to welcome Mr Gudapakkam and Dr Abramson to the annalise.ai team to lead the company through this next phase of expansion and to help deliver on our mission to help one million people every day." Gudapakkam brings 30 years' experience to annalise.ai. He joins the company from Quest Diagnostics, where he worked as vice president and regional general manager. Gudapakkam previously worked for Philips (most recently as leader of the company's X-ray based businesses), and for GE Healthcare IT (most recently as vice president and global general manager of engineering). "To meet the growing demands on our global healthcare system, we need smart tools that help specialists diagnose and treat patients more effectively and accurately. The team at annalise.ai have shown an astounding ability to not only provide this capability quickly, but do so with clinical experts and patients at the forefront. I'm excited to join the team and contribute to achieving our goal of helping one million patients every day," said Gudapakkam. Abramson, a board-certified radiologist, brings more than 25 years of healthcare experience to annalise.ai. He previously worked as chief clinical strategy officer at Covera Health, corporate vice president of radiology at HCA Healthcare, associate professor of radiology at Vanderbuilt University Medical Center. He also co-founded Partners in the Imaging Enterprise, worked as an associate at McKinsey & Co and as senior manager at Avalere Health, and interned at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Abramson holds a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard, a master's in health care delivery science from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and an MD from Harvard Medical School. Both Gudapakkam and Abramson will be based in the US. Tran will continue to serve as director of the board and part of the harrison.ai team, while harrison.ai co-founder and CEO will also continue as annalise.ai's chief AI officer. "Dimitry's contribution to annalise.ai cannot be overstated, having tirelessly shepherded the formation and growth of annalise.ai from the beginning. We're delighted that he will continue to have crucial input in the future of annalise.ai as a director of the board," said annalise.ai chair Clare Battellino. Annalise Enterprise CXR, said to be the world's first comprehensive decision-support AI solution for chest X-rays, is already in clinical use at over 400 sites in Australia and the UK, and has also been cleared for clinical use in Europe, South-East Asia, and New Zealand. Curtin University and the Lions Eye Institute have appointed Professor Andrew Turpin as the inaugural Lions Curtin Chair in Ophthalmic Big Data. "Professor Turpin will bring deep expertise that will further develop the Institute's and Curtin's work in artificial intelligence, image analysis, Indigenous, rural and remote eye health, and data linkage," said Lions Eye Institute managing director Professor Bill Morgan. "He will help to drive the research agenda and facilitate the translation of research knowledge into policy and practice." Turpin's research interests include computational problems in human vision, in particular developing new techniques for diagnosing and monitoring glaucoma. Curtin University Faculty of Health Sciences Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Archie Clements welcomed the appointment, saying "Professor Turpin's extensive academic leadership experience will be critical for lifting data science research in the state, with a focus on eye health, an area of significant need here in WA. "Our partnership with the Lions Eye Institute has been incredibly exciting and we look forward to Professor Turpin building on the momentum we have created in eye health research." Turpin is currently the director of the Melbourne Data Analytics Platform and senior academic convenor of the Petascale Campus Initiative at the University of Melbourne, where he has worked for 12 years. He was previously a senior lecturer at RMIT University and a lecturer at Curtin University. Turpin holds bachelor's degrees in commerce and computer science, and a PhD in computer science, all from the University of Melbourne. "I am looking forward to the opportunities that the combined resources of the Lions Eye Institute, Curtin and Western Australia will bring to improve patient outcomes using data and computational techniques," he said. Turpin will take up the chair at Curtin in November 2022. Australias mobile services market bounced back as handheld services in operation grew for the first time since the pandemic started, according to new research by technology analyst firm Telsyte. The Telsyte Australian Mobile Services Market Study 2022 found that mobile services in operation (SIOs) grew 696,000 (1.9%) to 37 million in December 2021 with handheld SIOs adding 271,000 connections. The study tracks SIOs in mobile handsets, mobile broadband and mobile IoT for business applications. Telsyte says the market recovery follows a handheld segment decline of 1.1 million SIOs during the 18 months between January 2020 and June 2021, as a result of closed international borders and stalling population growth. Telstra had the highest mobile SIO growth during the six-month period, followed by MVNO (mobile virtual network operators). Telstras net increase in SIOs was primarily driven by mobile IoT for businesses. However, if mobile IoT is excluded from the numbers, MVNOs outperformed the rest of the market because of more competitive mobile plans and offerings. MVNOs now make up 17% of the total SIOs as of the end of December 2021, up from 14% in 2019 (just before the COVID-19 pandemic) and more than tripled in the last 10 years. A third of the MVNO market is now made up of carrier sub-brands such as amaysim and Belong. Telsyte claims the multi-brand strategy approach has become critical to the carriers ability to compete in more price-sensitive segments. Telstras mobile plan price increases, in line with the CPI (consumer price index), signals that low-price sub-brands might be even more critical to the carriers in the next few years. Telsyte estimates up to one in six mobile service users could be looking at switching providers in 2022 with MVNOs likely to most benefit. Thirty-two percent of consumers are thinking of changing their service provider, lamenting their current plan was too expensive. Network performance factors including coverage and reliability make up the top three churn factors. 5G, eSIMs gather pace Telsyte estimates there were six million 5G mobile services in operation at the end of December 2021, a near three-fold jump from a year ago. This was mainly due to the increased availability of 5G handsets in the sub-$600 price range. Consumers are eyeing 5G with two in five (39%) Australians regarding 5G access as important when choosing a service provider. 5G mobile users, on average, are using 43% more data than those on 4G. However, the study also found 5G users are yet to take advantage of their larger data allowances and have lower data utilisation compared to 4G (20% on 5G vs. 27% on 4G). Telsyte expects handset upgrades will continue to drive 5G uptake with around 60% of SIOs expected to be on 5G by 2025 (currently at 16%). In another boost for the market, the availability of eSIMs devices is reaching mainstream levels with 35% of smartphones in use already supporting eSIMs. eSIMs are increasingly strategic to service providers for improving customer experience, sustainability and supporting new connected devices, Telsyte senior analyst Alvin Lee says. Telsyte anticipates more providers will become eSIM-ready later this year as the carriers expand eSIM support to their MVNO partners. Currently less than one in ten eSIM-capable smartphones are utilising the feature as support is still limited to the main carriers Felix Mobile, Gomo, Kogan Mobile, Lebara, and Woolworth Mobile. This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 5 July 2022. Priority given to livelihood issues in HK China Daily) 09:56, July 06, 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (left) and Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convenor of the Executive Council, meet with reporters at the Central Government Office in Hong Kong, on Tuesday. CALVIN NG/CHINA DAILY Public housing, epidemic control and tourism recovery among key tasks Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has given the greatest priority to livelihood matters since taking office and will discuss the seven most important issues for his administration during his first Legislative Council Question and Answer session on Wednesday. Talking to journalists before his first meeting with Executive Council members on Tuesday, Lee said he had set up two task forces to deal with public housing issues, as promised in his policy platform, and one of them will submit a report in the first 100 days of his administration. To balance the demands of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and encouraging a recovery in tourism, Lee said he had asked Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau to review anti-COVID strategies and explore the possibility of shortening the quarantine period to reduce inconvenience for visitors. Lee said that in matters of government decision-making he will value suggestions offered by members of the Executive Council, which comprises experts with rich experience from diverse backgrounds. Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, the council's convener, who talked to reporters alongside Lee, said the council had already started working on Monday and will try its best to provide constructive suggestions to Lee over the next five years of his term. To make Wednesday's Question and Answer session more focused, the government listed seven areas that it hopes will be discussed, including measures in response to President Xi Jinping's speech on July 1, land and housing supply and anti-pandemic work. In his speech marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Xi outlined four proposals for the city, one of which was that its administrators should address people's concerns and difficulties in daily life. Legislative Council President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen told reporters on Tuesday that the new administration led by Lee urgently needs to listen to different views and generate policies to bring Hong Kong forward, calling on lawmakers to actively offer insights during Wednesday's session. Leung also said he had approved a motion, brought forward by lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king, to deliberate on the best ways to meet Xi's expectations for the city as soon as possible. The chief executive and Executive Council also agreed on Tuesday that they would increase the pay of all civil servants by 2.5 percent for 2022-23, effective retroactively from April 1. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Bianji) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 89F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Tomorrow Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds light and variable. Since its release, "Money Heist Korea" has been receiving acclaim from fans all over the world. In particular, the cast ensemble has been the center of attention, thanks to their unstoppable chemistry and performances. Following the success of the Netflix series, model-actress Jang Yoon Ju talks about her acting role, preparations and more! Jang Yoon Ju on Playing Nairobi, Her Preparations, More "Money Heist Korea," a South Korean remake of the original Spanish series, follows the story of the biggest heist in the Korean Peninsula, after North and South Korea reunited. The series stars Yoo Ji Tae, Park Hae Soo, Jeon Jong Seo, Kim Yun Jin, Kim Ji Hoon and more. In just a day since its release, the series instantly dominated the Netflix Global Charts and took its No. 1 spot. Jang Yoon Ju, who takes on the role of Nairobi, took the Hallyu world by storm with her synchronization with her character. "Money Heist Korea" marks the model-actress' huge scale drama. Jang Yoon Jun accepted the offer after being given the opportunity to incorporate her modeling skills into her acting role. "Nairobi is the only character who requires makeup among my previous roles," Jang Yoon Ju said. "I was able to USE my strengths as a model and knowledge in makeup and styling into the sexy character of Nairobi, which made a change in her appearance." Jang Yoon Ju is a South Korean model and actress who has an exquisite taste for fashion, style and couture. "Although I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to acting, I'm thankful for my colleagues who guided me along the way," Jang Yoon Ju added. Jang Yoon Ju's Honest Thoughts On 'Money Heist' Fans' Divided Reaction "Money Heist Korea" successfully topped the Netflix Global Charts despite the mixed reactions of the audiences. Because of the slight plot changes from the Spanish series, many fans expressed their distaste. Some fans were impressed as the production unit seamlessly incorporated the South Korean culture into the drama. Jang Yoon Ju commented, "Each person has their own preferences. The original series is already big, so we expected negative responses and feedback." "I don't have regrets because the whole team did their best and performed well," she added. What To Expect in 'Money Heist Korea' Season 2 As the second part of the biggest heist in history is at work, Jang Yoon Ju hinted at the possible backstory of Nairobi. Since not much of her story was told, fans will be able to see lots of different sides and perspectives in the second part of "Money Heist Korea." If Netflix renews the work, "Money Heist Korea" Season 2 will most likely hit the screen in the summer of 2023. KDramastars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. "Cafe Minamdang" continues to receive positive feedback from viewers as episode 4 marks its highest viewership rating since its premiere. Officially released on June 27, the mystery-comedy Kdrama stars Seo In Guk as the former criminal profiler, Nam Han Joon, who becomes a fake shaman, running a cafe called Minamdang. In the KBS series, the story also depicts his encounter with detective Han Jae Hee, played by Oh Yeon Seo, who somehow gets involved with Nam Han Joon. 'Cafe Minamdang' Viewership Rating For its fourth episode, Nielsen Korea recorded a nationwide average of 5.7 percent. It is a slight increase from its previous episode with 5.6 percent. However, "Cafe Minamdang" episode 4 marked the same personal best achieved during its premiere. 'Cafe Minamdang' Episode 4: Nam Han Joon Wraps Up the Case with Shin Kyung Ho After several run-ins with the law and with Nam Han Joon's group, police arrested Shin Kyung Ho. It came after Nam Han Joon and the rest of his team set up a fake scenario for Shin Kyun Ho to believe that his wife had returned as a ghost. Unfortunately, their plan was almost busted after the police, headed by lieutenant Han came into Shin Kyung Ho's home. Since he is nowhere to be found inside his home, Han Jae Hee alongside the prosecutor searched the area and found Nam Han Joon performing a "ritual." Here, she is determined that it was just an act but saw Shin Kyung Ho's men looked daunted and said that they are terrified of the ghost. As Lieutenant Han returns to Shin Kyung Ho's home, the police find an envelope that contains a DNA test. The result became evidence against the CEO's past crimes. Nam Han Joon Receives Proposal from Shin Kyung Ho's Wife After Shin Kyung Ho was arrested, his wife's sister became the new vice president of the company. She gave Nam Han Joon a hefty amount of incentive and a proposal to become her husband so he could fulfill his dream to run a conglomerate. Of course, Nam Han Joon accepted the fee but not the proposal. At the hospital, Lieutenant Han saw Nam Han Joon and his right hand, Gong Soo Cheol having a conversation with the wife of Shin Kyung Ho's victim. He gave the briefcase to the wife containing a huge amount of money. At first, she thought that they were with Shin Kyung Ho and wanted to settle the case; however, Nam Han Joon explained that the money was for her family and reminded her not to settle the case with the suspect. Here, Han Jae Hee was surprised at Nam Han Joon's action. During their encounter, he explained that Shin Kyung Ho was not his client but the sister of his wife, who turned out to be the company's Vice-Chairman. At this point, Han Jae Hee's perception of Nam Han Joon changed. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Oh Yeon Seo Did THIS To Prepare For Her Role in New Drama With Seo In Guk KDramastars owns this article Written by Geca Wills We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Mrs. Wisconsin America for 2022 Valerie Kretchmer will host an event at the Kenosha Dream Playground to speak about inclusive playgrounds and raise awareness about federal laws on the topic. The event will take place Saturday from 11 to 1 p.m. Residents are encouraged to bring their children to listen to speakers talk briefly about what inclusive playgrounds are, the history of the dream playground, how to play safely around kids of all abilities and ages. The discussion will also address how people can fight for federally legal inclusive playgrounds in their community. Tammy Conforti, who spearheaded the dream playground project in Kenosha, will be also speak. Afterwards, families are invited to enjoy the playground. Kretchmer said her passion for the topic began when her 12-year-old daughter, who uses a walker, struggled to enjoy the playground at her school. She came home and said, I just want to be able to go on the playground and play with my friends, Kretchmer said. Now, Kretchmer wants to raise awareness about the federal laws that are already in place surrounding playgrounds, with requirements around path of travel, flooring and ramps, among other areas of concern. The event is to just educate people and let them know its federal law, Kretchmer said. Not a lot of people know that, even legislators. That lack of awareness means most community playgrounds are not meeting federal law. Kretchmer hopes to change that, and create more inclusive and accessible playgrounds for kids. 37 Shares Share You always have a choice as to what to negotiate in a contract. You could redline the entire agreement, infuriating your future employer or potential partner in a joint venture, nitpicking things that dont matter, or you can hone in on the areas that will really hurt you. In this article, we are going to discuss four things to focus on in a physician employment contract that will get you the most traction and save you headaches down the road. 1. Compensation is it fair? You have worked hard, so you should always ask for a sign-on bonus and, if necessary, a relocation bonus. Often it just takes asking. Then, take a look at compensation. Start with base pay. That gives you some breathing room to get settled in without feeling like you have to kill yourself on day one. Then, you have an established base in a year, and you can start bringing in a percentage of that revenue. You should also be knowledgeable about the MGMA numbers for your specialty in the area where you work. If the 60 to 70 percent of MGMA in urology in Oklahoma, for example, is $250K per year, and they are offering you $200, you have a reason to push back. Youre not being greedy or a jerk, but you should always push for market value. It wont come across as wrong if you have data to support it. So lets assume its production-based pay. Is it fair? Do you know what percentage split is common? You dont want to push for getting 75 percent of the collections, leaving the group at a loss. Suppose you want to hang your own shingle. In that case, you get to keep it all, but if you are an employed provider, remember it takes a lot to run a medical practice, and they arent likely to give you a huge percentage of collected revenue if they are losing money. But dont get run over either. Do your research about whats standard. 2. Find a way out. Without fail, every contract should have a notice without cause provision. This means either party can walk away without any reason, as long as you give the proper notice. Ninety days is standard, so you have time to go to an interview, get hired, sign a new contract, and start the credentialing process. This also reduces the emotion. You dont have to get into detail about how they are all horrible people, dont follow their own policies, and hired some idiot who screwed up the schedule. And if you are the employer, you dont have to say, Youre a bully and making our practice look bad, or argue breach of contract. You simply put in your notice, and you have an end in sight. 3. Narrow the non-competes. Its really important to realize that non-competes vary from state to state. Some states dont even allow them. Some states can be reformed if found to be too broad, and in other states, they cannot. You need to learn this before you sign your contract. If you live in a state that doesnt allow for them, and your employer tries to squeeze one in, ask for it to be deleted. So lets assume your state allows a non-compete. Whats the range? Do you have any idea whats reasonable? How many years are you bound to the non-compete? Do your homework, so you know whats considered reasonable in your state. Then, narrow this down as much as you can. Think of the non-compete as a circle that is drawn around the place you work. See if you can wrap that circle around where you practice over 75 percent of the time. Thats a general rule. You dont want to round at some remote clinic a few times a year, and then boom thats part of the non-compete. The more specific about where that non-compete attaches, the better. If you live in a state that allows for a buy-out provision, is that even something you can pay? If the customary buy-out is a year of your salary and you make $500K, lowering it to $300K wont make any difference. You arent going to write that check either. In all my years of practicing health law, I have had exactly two doctors buy out their non-competes out of hundreds of clients. Lastly, see if you can weave in some exceptions. Maybe the non-compete wont apply to an outpatient position if youre a hospitalist, or wont apply to locums work, or teaching, or a VA job. Give yourself options. 4. Know your leverage. When you leave a job, you have very little leverage. A group has no incentive to narrow anything at that time. So use whatever leverage you have now before you sign the contra. That can work in your favor later. Or, if you are stuck in a contract now, see what leverage you can create from nothing. If they want you to work longer because there is no other doctor to replace you, use that. Indicate that you may be able to stay, but ask that they let you out of the non-compete. Or make a good case that this new job has zero influence on the employers business. Lastly, if you were going to raise good faith issues of compliance, billing, coding, or sexual harassment before you walk away anyway, consider raising those before you put in your notice so that you have some leverage to negotiate. Moving forward with strength The most important lesson when negotiating contracts is picking your battles and coming at them with optimism and positivity. Yes, you can and should be excited about this new opportunity, but you need to receive whats fair and reasonable in the market. Dont be afraid to push back on things that matter, and be smart enough to let the smaller things go. Amanda Hill is a health care attorney. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 14 Shares Share Since the mass shooting in Uvalde, TX, rapidly after that in Buffalo, NY, I have read and heard several simplistic public media pieces suggesting easy means of preventing these acts. They unanimously indicated that mass shooters (MS), especially those who are younger, can be detected before their fatal actions by their statements or writings online or on paper. If these raise concerns, they can be reported to authorities, and this will result in the individual receiving therapy and medication that will alleviate his (92 percent of MS are males) maladaptive thoughts and possible behaviors. Of course, potential MS do not often leave their paper writings in the open for parents or teachers to see, and those online may be in hidden files that only trusted peers may enter. Even in therapy, they often do not reveal their intent to their therapist. Potential MS often discontinue outpatient therapy a month or more before their fatal action. I would be more concerned about violence committed against family or neighborhood pets, the books they read, the music they play, new peers, changes in appearance (e.g., haircut, tattoos), and the items they collect. I do not know if these articles are written to assuage public fear by giving them something to do or in the honest belief that a public version of I Spy will decrease violent occurrences. However, regardless of the underlying intent, I find several difficulties in this approach, which may well render it unworkable. Initially, many individuals will see far too many potential MS and flood the police with phone calls. This over-reaction might be in accord with outlier formulations of utilitarianism as it protects the many at the expense of the few, but it would also echo fascism of the 1930s and communism under Stalin where children were encouraged to spy on their parents and adults on their neighbors. Brain development, perhaps especially of the amygdalae, is immature in children and does not fully develop until young adulthood; utterances made in anger to peers, family, school, and the public are most often simply that and do not indicate real threats. The same could be said for pretending to shoot someone. Should each require a call to law enforcement and a mental health evaluation? In discussing the current crisis of mass shootings, some senators have downplayed the role that easy access to assault rifles might play in these murders but place full blame on mental illness and offer an expansion of mental health services as the solution to MS. Undoubtedly, we need expansion of these services, but they are not the panacea these politicians think they will be. First, we would need to develop the process and infrastructure through which suspected mass murderers, regardless of age, would be assessed in a manner that is ethical and protective of their individual rights. Secondly, we would need to establish similar processes and structures for those who are determined to be potential future threats that would protect society, for an indeterminate sentence, once again regardless of age, but still in a manner that is ethical and protective of their rights. We would have to be this extreme, as treating them as outpatients would not control their behaviors or medication adherence. At the least, this would necessitate modifying several laws, redefining personal rights, and incarcerating people, possibly for life, without the benefit of trial, based on a possibility of some future action. In essence, we would have to become, at least in part, a police state. Another set of problems would entail a redefinition of mental illness that would be broader than currently used by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Can we assume that every MS is mentally ill, as do these senators? Current estimates are that only 18 to 25 percent of these individuals are severely mentally ill; depending on the researcher, this is either an overestimate or an underestimate. The mental illnesses commonly associated with these shooters are major unipolar depression, bipolar mania, schizophrenia, some personality disorders, or psychotic disorder. But, what about the 79 percent of MS who are not mentally ill under current guidelines? What about those who are misdiagnosed as a potential threat and mistakenly separated from society, are they the price of vigilance? Or will they be reevaluated at some point and released if found to be sane? Would this apply to all those who are kept confined? Too, what about those underdiagnosed as was the Buffalo shooter, who purportedly only received a 15-minute evaluation (a ridiculously brief amount of time), at age 16, who admittedly lied to the evaluator, and who was determined not to be a threat. And, to the evaluators credit, at 16, he may have been joking and not have been a credible threat. In sum, despite the beliefs of some senators that only addressing mental health will solve the issue of mass shootings, the too-easy availability of assault rifles must be addressed. Too, though they are dramatic, we need to put these murders in perspective. More people are murdered in mass killings not involving a firearm, and a far greater number of people are killed annually by handguns in ones and twos than by either form of mass murder. Perhaps, non-legal handgun availability must be curbed as well. M. Bennet Broner is a medical ethicist. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Vhi and the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) have announced details of the 11 projects awarded grants from the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund - Four of those projects will have an impact on young people living in Kilkenny. Now in its second year, the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund, which opened for applications earlier this year, was designed to fund projects that were seeking to strengthen resilience in young people and help them manage anxiety, with an emphasis on early intervention and prevention work. Non-profit charity organisations who work with young people in Kilkenny, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Donegal and Galway were invited to apply for a share of the 85,000 Fund. A panel of judges made up of experts representing the youth sector and those working with young people around managing anxiety came together to review the applications for the Fund with eleven organisations chosen to receive grants. The judges decisions were finalised in recent weeks with grants provided to projects to be carried out in 2022/2023. The winning organisations impacting young people in Kilkenny are: The Acorn Project , who will create "The Journey Home", a nine-month nature immersion and forest therapy programme for young people. The nature-based wellbeing programme will involve a combination of forest therapy, story exchange, mentoring and ancestral skills to resource young people with lifelong wellbeing and resilience practices. , who will create "The Journey Home", a nine-month nature immersion and forest therapy programme for young people. The nature-based wellbeing programme will involve a combination of forest therapy, story exchange, mentoring and ancestral skills to resource young people with lifelong wellbeing and resilience practices. Turn2Me , a national mental health charity, will be delivering 20 mental health seminars for secondary students in schools in the six counties, including Kilkenny, where Vhi have offices. , a national mental health charity, will be delivering 20 mental health seminars for secondary students in schools in the six counties, including Kilkenny, where Vhi have offices. spunout is Irelands youth information and support website and they will be developing a Mental Skills Hub: a library of resources accessible online and promoted to young people who want to strengthen their resilience by gaining a deeper understanding of their thoughts and feelings. is Irelands youth information and support website and they will be developing a Mental Skills Hub: a library of resources accessible online and promoted to young people who want to strengthen their resilience by gaining a deeper understanding of their thoughts and feelings. Way 2 Work Ireland will offer a two-tier support programme to young people with experience of foster care who are struggling with their mental health. Dr Nick Young, Chief Clinical Officer, Vhi Health & Wellbeing said: Through the Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund we aim to live our mission to help people live longer, stronger, healthier lives. This is the second year of the Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund, and this year, we wanted to continue our support of young people and help the organisations they engage with to provide the supports that are so critical at the moment to help them navigate uncertainty, strengthen their resilience and manage their anxiety. Were delighted to be awarding grants to another eleven organisations this year and look forward to seeing these ideas delivered in the coming months. Lucy Masterson, CEO, Irish Youth Foundation, said: We were delighted to partner with Vhi again this year. This current generation of young people have had so much to deal with in the last couple of years that projects like these that invest directly in youth supports are vital to help them overcome the challenges theyve experienced and move ahead with the confidence and resilience to manage their future. The eleven successful organisations have some great project ideas, and I cant wait to see them come to life and hopefully other youth orientated organisations can learn from the impact these projects will have. Ten leading Irish NGOs from both the environmental and anti-poverty sectors are calling for a range of targeted measures to tackle both energy poverty and climate pollution while supporting households most impacted by the energy crisis. They have produced a joint statement which will be presented to politicians at 10am today (Wednesday July 6) in the AV room in Leinster House. With 29% of all Irish households now estimated to be living in energy poverty, the highest recorded rate, urgent action is needed across Government in advance of the coming winter as the energy crisis continues to escalate. The 10 NGOs including Friends of the Earth, Social Justice Ireland and Threshold have jointly called for the Government to target support this winter to those most affected by rising energy costs, and to prioritise low-income households in national retrofitting efforts. They have also reiterated the need for Ireland to reduce its polluting emissions by 51% by 2030. Key demands include: Government must ensure that Ireland reduces its polluting emissions by at least 51% by 2030 in a way that eliminates energy poverty and breaks our dependence on expensive fossil fuels. A ban on disconnections A windfall tax on energy companies that have seen increased profits as a result of the energy price crisis Double the Fuel Allowance & widen eligibility criteria Increase rates of all core social welfare payments by at least 20 per week A requirement on energy providers to put all customers on the lowest available tariff Scale-up and prioritise retrofitting & solar PV on all social housing units Increase grants for attic & cavity wall insulation to 100% for those in or at-risk of fuel poverty. Introduce new retrofitting grants tailored for the private rental sector to ensure tenants are not left in cold, inefficient homes Ensure caravans for Traveller families are built to a residential standard in terms of heating and insulation, and are eligible for grants for solar panels. Ban the installation of oil and gas boilers in new homes this year, with no fossil fuel-based boilers installed in renovated buildings by 2025 at the latest. Clare OConnor, Energy Policy Officer at Friends of the Earth said: The solution to the interconnected problems of energy affordability, supply, and pollution is the same: reduce our dependence on fossil fuels as fast as possible. "We need to see a concerted emergency response from Government that prioritises home insulation and direct supports so that vulnerable Irish households are not left exposed to the crisis this winter. We need to prevent energy-poor households from being locked into fossil fuels and prioritise supports for home retrofitting and solar for those who need it most. "The Government must immediately ban disconnections so no one is left in the cold. A windfall tax should also be introduced on energy companies who have profited, and this should be recycled to support people in energy poverty. Michelle Murphy, Research & Policy Analyst at Social Justice Ireland said: Social Justice Ireland is calling on Government to increase all core social welfare rates by 20 per week and to make tax credits refundable. "These two targeted measures would directly assist people on fixed incomes and people in low paid employment who are most impacted by rising energy costs. Ann-Marie Murphy, Policy Officer at Threshold said: Threshold are deeply concerned about the people living in the private rented sector who are being left behind in Irelands Climate Action Plan. "Tailored measures, targeting landlords and private renters are needed to reduce energy poverty among private renters and ensure they live in warm, healthy and energy efficient homes. "Our respective organisations have put forward a range of proposals to tackle the joint issues of energy poverty and energy pollution. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Ireland for its support amid the Russian invasion as he held talks with the Taoiseach in Kyiv. Micheal Martin restated Irish solidarity with the people of Ukraine as he met Mr Zelensky in the war-torn capital on Wednesday. Earlier, the Irish premier witnessed the devastation inflicted by invading Russian forces as he visited conflict-scarred suburbs of Kyiv that have borne the brunt of the offensive on the city. The tour included a sombre visit to the site of a mass grave in the grounds of a church in Bucha. After holding a bilateral meeting with the Taoiseach, Mr Zelensky said he is grateful for Irelands support in the war and for the countrys aspirations to join the European Union. He also expressed his gratitude for providing refuge for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. We are very grateful and we will remember this always as matter of principle, and the gesture of solidarity towards our people, Mr Zelensky said during a joint press conference with Mr Martin. Our Irish friends fully appreciate the threats created by this Russia aggression against Ukraine and aggression against the whole democratic world. We (Mr Martin) discussed our joint responses to the energy crisis and preparation of the new sanctions package against the Russia. Ukraine appreciates everything that Ireland has done and for Russia to feel the real price of their terrorist attacks. Mr Martin thanked Mr Zelensky for his very warm welcome. I want to thank you for your remarkable leadership which is greatly admired in Ireland, the Taoiseach added. Today, I met with President @ZelenskyyUa in Kyiv. Having witnessed the devastation caused by the illegal invasion of Ukraine, I reiterated Irelands backing for continuing sanctions against Putins regime. We will continue to welcome and support civilians fleeing this war. pic.twitter.com/cNds1WAamE Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) July 6, 2022 Im here to express Irelands solidarity with the Government and people of Ukraine. We admire you and we are with you. Russias brutal war against this beautiful democratic country is a gross violation of international law. It is an afront to everything that Ireland stands for, it cannot and will not be allowed to stand. Mr Martin said he witnessed first hand the horrific reality of war on the people of Ukraine. The use of terror against and the deliberate targeting of civilian populations are war crimes, he added. Those responsible, those carrying out these actions and those directing them will be held fully accountable and there will be no hiding places. I am here to pay tribute to President Zelensky and his government on achieving European Union candidate status. I have always made clear from the outset our strong view that Ukraine belongs to the EU, the values that people are fighting and dying for today are European values. It was the commitment and hard work of the government in Kyiv that convinced the European Commission to come forward with a positive recommendation so quickly. It is a richly deserved outcome. He added: A war intended to crush and fragment a people, has instead made you stronger, more united, more convinced of your identity and place in the world, your language, your culture, your European vocation. The world has been humbled by the strength and resilience of the people of Ukraine. Ireland has taken in more than 36,000 Ukrainian refugees since Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine at the end of February. The Irish government has given 20 million euro in humanitarian support and assistance to the country, as well as health equipment and medical donations worth more than 4.5 million euro. Mr Martin used his visit to restate Irelands full backing for continuing sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putins regime and for Ukraines path to full EU membership, as well as Irelands commitment to work with the EU on the reconstruction of Ukraine. As well as his bilateral meeting with President Zelensky, the Taoiseach also held talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The people of Ireland stand with Ukraine and its people in the face of Russias immoral and unprovoked war of terror, said Mr Martin. The Irish leader said the bombardment and attacks on civilians were nothing short of war crimes as he insisted Russia must be held accountable. The spirit and resolve of the Ukrainian people has inspired us all, and Ireland will provide every support for Ukraines path to full EU membership, and continue to welcome and support civilians fleeing this war, he added. Mr Martins day-long itinerary in the war-torn city began with a trip to Borodyanka a town on the outskirts of Kyiv that has suffered widespread damage under Russian shelling. On the 30-minute drive from the railway station, the Taoiseach passed Hostomel airport, where his convoy stopped to observe a demolished bridge. The delegation also drove past bombed-out warehouses, shopping centres and petrol stations. The scale of Ukrainian efforts to defend their capital was evident, with numerous bunkers and fortifications visible on the journey. In Borodyanka, Mr Martin met the towns mayor and viewed apartment blocks gutted by fire during the Russian bombardment. From there, Mr Martin visited the site of a mass grave in Bucha. The grave was discovered in the grounds of the church of St Andrew. A local cleric showed Mr Martin the site and an associated exhibition of graphic photographs of exhumed bodies and pictures of civilians left dead on the streets of the suburb when Russian forces retreated. The Irish delegation then travelled to nearby Irpin where the Taoiseach was shown badly-damaged apartment blocks that had been hit by Russian shells. Afterwards, Mr Martin said: It is difficult to comprehend the devastation and inhumanity of Russias attacks on Irpin, Borodyanka and Bucha. (It is) clear how important it is for women and children to get to Ireland to escape trauma and brutality. We stand with Ukraine. Prior to the talks with the Ukrainian president, Micheal Martin visited a museum in Kyiv that is exhibiting items from the war, including damaged Russian military vehicles and missile fragments. He placed a teddy bear at a nearby memorial to the children killed in the conflict so far. Mr Martin then visited a memorial commemorating the lives lost in the Holodomor famine in Ukraine in the early 1930s. The Taoiseach placed a wreath at the site and later lit a candle in an underground part of the memorial. Mr Martins trip came two weeks after President Zelensky invited him to visit Ukraine. It is the first visit by a Taoiseach to the eastern European country. On Monday, President Putin declared victory in seizing the eastern Ukrainian province of Luhansk, with his troops escalating their offensive in neighbouring Donetsk. Mr Martin has warned previously that the Russian president appeared to be leveraging its natural gas supplies to exert maximum pressure on Europe ahead of the winter period. The Taoiseach has also been a vocal advocate for Ukraines fast-tracked membership of the EU. In April, fellow cabinet minister Simon Coveney became the first foreign minister of the UN Security Council to visit Kyiv, and met Ukraines foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and defence minister Oleksii Reznikov. Irish men and women who died in past wars or serving with the United Nations will be remembered at a special commemoration ceremony in Kilkenny City, this weekend. An Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr. Pat Fitzpatrick, will host a National Commemoration Day Regional Ceremony this Sunday, July 10, in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle. This is one of a number of regional ceremonies taking place around the country and members of the public are invited to attend. Military personnel and regional public representatives, members of the Defence Forces, An Garda Siochana and religious leaders have been invited to attend. Members of the public wishing to attend this ceremony should arrive at the venue before 11am. Formal proceedings will commence at 11.15 a.m. Following the introduction of the Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council and fellow dignitaries by the Master of Ceremonies, the ceremony formally commences with prayers from the officiating clergy and the laying of a wreath by the Cathaoirleach in honour of all those Irishmen and Irishwomen who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations. Highland Park gunman admitted to firing on parade crowd and contemplated attack in Madison, Wisconsin, officials say The Cheesecake Factory Celebrates National Cheesecake Day by Donating $1 Per Slice to Feeding America and Adding a New Classic to Its Legendary Cheesecake Selection The U.S. military budget is the largest in the world, and by a wide margin. The Biden administration recently submitted a defense budget of $773 billion for fiscal 2023 - which is more than the combined budgets of the next 10 highest-spending countries combined. While the size of the defense budget, and exactly how and where all that money should be spent, will be an enduring source of political controversy, the defense spending is a boon for local economies across the United States. According to a recent report, the Department of Defense spent $593.9 billion on contracting and personnel in the 50 states and D.C. in fiscal 2020. This money went to defense contractors that manufacture aircraft, ships, and weapons, in addition to service providers, research and development, as well as wages for active-duty service members, civilians, and reservists. This spending, of course, is not spread evenly, and states that are home to large military bases and contractor operations receive more funds than states where the military and defense industry have a smaller footprint. The DoD spent a reported $5.4 billion in Indiana in fiscal 2020, or about 0.9% of its total domestic spending, the 24th lowest share among the 50 states. Of that money, payroll accounted for about 26% while about 74% went to contractors. The overall economic impact of defense spending in the state is lower than average, as annual military spending is equal to about 1.4% of Indiana's overall GDP, compared to the 2.8% national average. On a per capita basis, defense spending in Indiana is equal to about $802 per person, the 14th least among states. All data in this story is from the Department of Defense report Defense Spending By State Fiscal Year 2020. In a recent broadcast appearance, Sooyoung, who is in a long-term relationship with Jung Kyung Ho, is drawing attention for her unexpected ideal type! Keep on reading to know more. Girls' Generation Sooyoung Draws Attention for Her Unexpected Ideal Type in Men Recently, Girls' Generation member Sooyoung made a guest appearance on the July 4 episode of tvN Story's variety talk program "Take Care of Me This Week," and joined actors Sung Dong Il and Go Chang Seok as they explore different types of food and drinks. In this episode, Sooyoung, Sung Dong Il, and Go Chang Seok traveled to Gunsan to search for a traditional wine made from a brewery that has been around since the 1930s. They also visited the set of the Netflix Korean drama "Mr. Sunshine." While at the brewery, the three tasted the traditional alcohol made there. In particular, Sooyoung drew attention by talking about her unexpected ideal type following their brewery visit. While looking at Go Chang Seok, Sooyoung noted that he has the right gaze to for romance dramas. She said, "Your eyes are so melodramatic." To this, Sung Dong Il asked Sooyoung if she can act in a romance drama with someone who has a beard, to which Go Chang Suk added that he could shave all of the hair on his body. In response, Sooyoung told Go Chang Suk not to cut his hair and beard. "You can't cut your hair and beard. Those are your charms," Sooyoung said firmly. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: SNSD Sooyoung Draws Attention for the 'Man' Reflected on Her Coffee Cup - But the Plot Twist Is Hilarious Hearing this, Sung Dong Il asked Sooyoung if her ideal type is someone with a manly beard, to which the idol-actress responded by saying "yes" immediately. The two male actors then mentioned Sooyoung's long-term boyfriend and actor, Jung Kyung Ho, with Sung Dong Il saying, "But the guy I know doesn't have a beard." Sooyoung then laughed and wittingly responded with, "Don't you usually go for someone who is the opposite of your ideal type?" Meanwhile, Sooyoung has been in a relationship with Jung Kyung Ho since 2013 after the two met through a mutual friend. Sooyoung Reveals Girls' Generation Will Release Full-Length Album In the same episode, Sooyoung revealed that Girls' Generation is preparing to release a full-length album for the first time in five years. This will mark the girl group's seventh overall Korean-language full-length album, and is their first release since the members began pursuing their solo activities in 2017. Although no specific date has been announced yet, Girls' Generation will be releasing their new album in August in light of their 15th anniversary since their debut. Are you excited for Girls' Generation's comeback? For more K-pop news, follow and subscribe to KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Robyn Joan Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. The Lake County Coroner has identified the victims who were fatally shot on July 4 during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park. The victims are: Catherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park Irina McCarthy, 35, of Highland Park Kevin McCarthy, 37, of Highland Park Jacki Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park Steven Straus, 88, of Highland Park Nicolas Toledo, 78, from Mexico The name of the seventh victim had not yet been released as of Tuesday afternoon, July 5. About the incident The gunman who attacked an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, killing at least seven people, legally bought two high-powered rifles and three other weapons despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 after he threatened suicide and violence, police said Tuesday. A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force told a news conference that the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a high-powered rifle similar to an AR-15" to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore. Police said they were called to the suspect's home in September 2019 after a family member called to say he was threatening to kill everyone there. Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time. The suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his fathers home. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said. It was not clear whether Crimos past contacts with police would have barred him from obtaining an Illinois gun owner's license. State police, who issue the licenses, did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press inquiring about his eligibility. More than three dozen other people were wounded in the attack, which Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks. Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive for the attack or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. Earlier in the day, FBI agents peeked into trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the site where the assailant opened fire. The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror. A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade goers remained inside a wide police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some residents drove up to collect blankets and chairs they abandoned. Foody reported from Chicago. Groves reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Associated Press writers Don Babwin in Chicago, Mike Householder in Highland Park and Mike Balsamo in New York also contributed. Kuwait, Iran vow to combat dust storms Xinhua) 11:04, July 06, 2022 Director General of Kuwait's Environment Public Authority Sheikh Abdullah Al-Humoud Al-Sabah (1st R, Front) and Ali Salajegheh (2nd R, Front), visiting Iranian vice-president and head of the Department of Environment, attend a signing ceremony in Al-Asimah Governorate, Kuwait, on July 5, 2022. Kuwait and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding here on Tuesday to tackle sand and dust storms, a natural hazard in the region that has increasingly been fueled by climate change. (Photo by Ghazy/Xinhua) KUWAIT CITY, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding here on Tuesday to tackle sand and dust storms, a natural hazard in the region that has increasingly been fueled by climate change. In a statement issued after the signing ceremony, Director General of Kuwait's Environment Public Authority Sheikh Abdullah Al-Humoud Al-Sabah said the agency is working extensively with countries in the region to exchange knowledge, experiences, and best practices, and "seeks to cooperate with all government agencies to increase green belts to reduce the effects of these dust storms." He indicated that the reducing flow of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers has negatively affected Kuwait's environment and the water level of upper stream dams in northern Turkey needs to be reduced. For his part, Ali Salajegheh, visiting Iranian vice-president and head of the Department of Environment, said the focus of the agreement is to jointly identify areas where the storms emerge and pose negative impacts on people and the country. "Iran has completed an extensive research program and regional maps showing the source of these storms. We are prepared to share them with the Kuwaiti side to combat this phenomenon," he noted. Speaking of a regional forum Iran will host on Tuesday on desertification and dust storms, Salajegheh stressed Iran's full readiness to present its achievements and projects to support environmental cooperation. Director General of Kuwait's Environment Public Authority Sheikh Abdullah Al-Humoud Al-Sabah (1st R, Front) and Ali Salajegheh (2nd R, Front), visiting Iranian vice-president and head of the Department of Environment, attend a signing ceremony in Al-Asimah Governorate, Kuwait, on July 5, 2022. Kuwait and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding here on Tuesday to tackle sand and dust storms, a natural hazard in the region that has increasingly been fueled by climate change. (Photo by Ghazy/Xinhua) (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday chaired a meeting to review the progress of the projects undertaken under the Prime Minister GatiShakti scheme. The meeting deliberated the progress achieved so far and saw participation of various senior officials from ministries of Railways, MoRTH, MoPSW, department of Food & PDS, ministries of coal, steel; department of fertilisers, department of telecom, ministry of rural development, and Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Also Read | I Am Happy That He Has Resigned. Unbelievable How a Minister Can Be So Stupid as to Use Latest Tweet by ANI. The meeting reviewed the status of the National Master Plan since its launch on October 13, 2022 and discussed plans for faster integration of data into the portal. With over 900 data layers updated by Central Ministries and 316 essential layers by States/UTs, the meeting took note of various Ministries/Departments using the same to share their proposed projects after having been mapped and aligned digitally. Speaking on the occasion, Goyal said that under PM GatiShakti's transformative approach, the government is committed to resolve user issues by overcoming various departmental silos. Also Read | Prophet Remark Row: Hindu Youth Thrashed in Bihars Arrah City for Supporting Nupur Sharma. He added that its role through the National Master Plan and the Institutional Framework is essential to lay down the stepping stones to India's multimodal infrastructure network The meeting also acknowledged the progress made on state-level institutional arrangements. Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT, informed that along with a functioning Empowered Group of Secretaries in 32 States/UTs, 29 among them have also been able to formulate their Network Planning Group and Technical Support Unit. Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary, DPIIT, also highlighted the role that the National Master Plan has been playing in inter-ministerial planning and coordination. He shared that, with portals for Central and State Ministries now fully functional, all essential data layers have been uploaded to enable infrastructure Ministries/Departments extensively utilise the National Master Plan for all pending and future projects. He highlighted the case of the Taranga hill- Ambaji-Abu Road Broad Gauge New Railway Line which had stalled its pre-alignment for nearly 6 months due to the lack of khasra data, field survey on forest and wildlife sanctuary and no visibility of intersection with mining areas. It was completed in just 7 days using the National Master Plan. A senior official representing the MoRTH also shared that the pre-alignment of 5 Greenfield Corridors was fast-tracked using the National Master Plan. The meeting deliberated over releasing the National Master Plan in public domain. Senior officials informed that guidelines for the release are already underway. The meeting particularly emphasised the role that the National Master Plan could play in decision-making for the social sector. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kanpur (UP), Jul 6 (PTI) The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases has arrested two other accused who were allegedly part of a mob that had set a house ablaze during the violence, which had left 127 people dead here. The SIT has so far arrested 13 people in connection with the violence that took place following the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in Delhi. Also Read | Moreh, Manipur | Locals Protest as They Pay Tribute to Two Tamil Youths Who Were Allegedly Latest Tweet by ANI. The fresh arrests were made on Wednesday in a separate case lodged with the Naubasta police. The SIT was formed by the Uttar Pradesh government three years ago to re-investigate the cases related to the riots. Also Read | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Likely To Feature 50MP Primary Camera: Report. The arrested accused -- Sidh Gopal Gupta alias Babbu (66) and Jitendra Kumar Tiwari alias Raja Babu (58) -- are residents of Kidwai Nagar. They were produced before a court, which remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Balendu Bhushan Singh, who is heading the SIT. The accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 396 (dacoity with murder) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house), he said. Efforts are on to arrest all 11 absconding people who were named in the FIR, along with those arrested, at the earliest, the DIG added. The crackdown against the accused had started on June 15 after the SIT held four prime accused from Ghatampur, followed by two more arrests on June 21. Just a fortnight ago, the SIT also nabbed five people. The SIT was constituted by the state government on May 27, 2019 on the orders of the Supreme Court. It has been probing the anti-Sikh riots for the last three years and efforts are on to nab more suspects, the DIG told PTI. The SIT had earlier identified 96 people as prime suspects, of whom 22 have died. The details of about two dozen suspects were gathered and it helped the SIT nab 13 of them, the officer said. The DIG said the arrested duo had accompanied an armed mob to K Block in Kidwai Nagar for attacking the house of Shardul Singh and Gurmukh, who were killed in the attack. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Patna, Jul 6 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday called on RJD president Lalu Prasad and enquired about the health of the septuagenarian, who has been admitted to a private hospital's ICU here, and is scheduled to leave for the national capital for further treatment. Kumar visited the Paras Hospital, where Prasad has been admitted since Monday, a day after he had a fall at his home and fractured his shoulder. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: FIR Lodged Against Man for Posting Objectionable Comments Against Prophet Mohammad on Social Media. The CM spoke to the team of doctors attending to the ailing RJD leader, in presence of Prasad's sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap. Later, talking to reporters, Kumar said, There seems to be some improvement in Laluji's condition since he was admitted. But, it would be proper if he is taken to Delhi for better treatment. I pray for his speedy recovery. Also Read | Satyendar Jain Money Laundering Case: Vaibhav Jains ED Custody Extended Till July 11, Another Accused Sent to Judicial Custody. Kumar was also asked about his old ties with Prasad, with whom his political rivalry has been the stuff of legends. We go a long way back.We have known each other since both of us were young, said the chief minister who, though younger to Prasad, is now himself on the wrong side of 70. He also said the RJD supremo will get help from the state government towards medical expenses, as per rules. Tejashwi, the leader of the opposition, was full of gratitude for people from all political affiliations, who have called up and expressed their sympathy in these trying times. The chief minister has been in touch ever since my father got hospitalised. Yesterday, I received a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi besides Sonia ji (Congress president) and Priyanka ji, said the young leader. He said there were plans to take his father to Singapore for a kidney transplant, but following his recent fracture, we will go by the opinion of what doctors in Delhi suggest. If they allow, we will like to take him abroad. Later, Tejashwi along with mother Rabri Devi, wife Rajshri and close aide Manoj Jha, left for the national capital. According to sources close to the family, Prasad, who is on oxygen support, will be taken to New Delhi by an air ambulance in the evening. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI): Hitting out at Uddhav Thackeray for his jibe at him, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday referred to his past in which he drove an autorickshaw and said "autorickshaw has left Mercedes behind". In an exclusive interview with ANI, Shinde said the government led by him is for common people and is committed to giving justice to all sections of society. He said the government will work in a way that everyone will feel it is their government. Also Read | ED Raids Vivo & Other Chinese Firms in Money Laundering Case: Report. "(Auto) rickshaw has left the Mercedes behind because this government is for common people, this is a government to give justice to every section. We will perform in a way that every constituent, everyone feels it is my government, it will work for me. This will be the difference," Shinde said. Shinde was responding to a question on Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's remarks on Tuesday in which he had said that the BJP used to call the MVA government a three-wheeler government but now the person who drove three-wheeler is running the government. Thackeray also accused Shinde of backstabbing him. Also Read | Saral Vastu Exponent Chandrashekhar Guruji Stabbed to Death in Karnataka Hotel, 2 Held. Shinde led the revolt in Shiv Sena which eventually forced Uddhav Thackeray to resign on June 29 as chief minister of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government which also included the Congress and Shiv Sena. Referring to the BJP's support in forming the government, Shinde said the party had shown to people of the country that they are not only for power but also for ideology. "All were anticipating, there was a perception in the public that BJP does anything for power. But they have shown to the country that these 50 people have taken a Hindutva position, an ideological position and their agenda is of development and Hindutva and they should be supported. And they supported us despite having more numbers, more MLAs. They gave us support for the post of Chief Minister," Shinde said. Shinde said Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him to take the state forward, take it towards development and take forward development works. The Chief Minister said Prime Minister assured of his and the Centre's full support in development endeavours. "This is a big thing. The Centre is also with us. We have not done anything illegal. The pre-poll alliance was between BJP and Shiv Sena. We are allying with that party." Asked about his remark of their alliance winning 200 seats in the next assembly polls, Shinde said 170 MLAs are with the alliance and only 30 more remain. "We can get more than 200 seats," he said. He said BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has become Deputy Chief Minister showing "a big heart". Shinde said it was unexpected for Fadnavis but he followed BJP directions. "It was unexpected for him, but he followed party directions. And a worker like me of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe was made the chief minister, I am thankful to PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda. They have given an opportunity and changed the perception that BJP is not only a part for power but also for ideology," he said. Answering a question on cabinet formation, he said it will be discussed and a decision taken soon. Shinde said he had several times apprised the Shiv Sena leadership that the party was not gaining from being part of the MVA government and was getting damaged. He said that Shiv Sainiks faced "injustice" and "tough laws like MCOCA". "Talked several times that MVA of which we were a part, we are not gaining from it, it is damaging us, our MLAs are worried, how will we fight the polls, win them, we were fourth in local body polls. Despite having a CM, we were number four. It means who is taking advantage of the government, Shiv is not benefitting, other constituents. Is Shiv Sainik gaining, no. What did they get, despite the party being in power, they got nothing, they faced injustice, faced false cases, tough laws like MCOCA, then why is the government?". "When there is power then Shiv Sainik should get justice, they should be enabled to be self-dependent but there was no change in their lives and they faced damage, they faced injustice," he said. Shinde said they tried to make the leadership change its decision to allying with Congress and NCP but did not succeed. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday conducted searches at 16 locations in four states in an ongoing investigation into the allegations of malpractices in the award of the contract worth Rs.2200 crore (approx) of civil works of Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project (HEP) to a private company. The accused named in the FIR have been identified as Navin Kumar Choudhary, IAS, then Chairman, CVPPPL, MS Babu, then MD, CVPPPL, MK Mittal, then Director, CVPPPL, Arun Kumar Mishra, then Director, CVPPPL, M/s Patel Engineering Ltd. and Unknown others. Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: 27-Year-Old Man From Bhiwandi Arrested for Kidnapping, Raping 25-Year-Old Woman in Bihar. The raids were conducted in Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Mumbai and Patna at the premises of associates of the accused, middlemen and others in an ongoing investigation. A case was registered on April 20 on the request of the Jammu and Kashmir Government against the then Chairman (an IAS Officer); then MD; two then Directors; a private company and unknown others on the allegations of malpractices in award of the contract worth Rs.2200 crore (approx) of civil works of Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project (HEP) to a private company in the year 2019. Also Read | Odisha BJD MLA Angada Kanhar Clears Class 10 Board Exams at Age of 58. It was further alleged that in the award of Civil Works package of Kiru Hydroelectric Project, guidelines regarding e-tendering were not followed and though a decision was taken in the Board Meeting of CVPPPL (Chenab Valley Power Projects (P) Ltd) for re-tender through e-tendering with the reverse auction, after the cancellation of the on-going tendering process, same was not implemented (as per the decision taken in the next Board meeting) and tender was finally awarded to said private company. Earlier, searches were also conducted on April 21 at the premises of the accused including the Chairman, then MD, then Directors of CVPPPL etc. During the investigation, shreds of evidence were found revealing the alleged role of middlemen including the then-Chairman financial transactions between these middlemen and public servants and accordingly, searches are being conducted at 16 locations. Further investigations in the case are underway. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Aviation regulator DGCA issued a show-cause notice Wednesday to SpiceJet after its planes reported eight technical malfunctions over the past 18 days, as airline chief Ajay Singh said a lot of these incidents are "minor" in nature but assured the carrier will be "doubly careful" and strengthen aircraft inspection. In its notice to SpiceJet, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the airline has failed to "establish safe, efficient and reliable air services" under the terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. Also Read | Delhi Govts 46 Schools to Have Hobby Hubs to Train Students in Music, Instruments. "The review (of the incidents) transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions (as most of the incidents were related to either component failure or system-related failure) have resulted in degradation of the safety margins," it added. The DGCA has given the airline three weeks to respond to the notice. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Shocker: Another Tribal Woman Beaten, Paraded Carrying Husband on Shoulders in Khargone. "Financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 has also revealed that the airline is operating on 'cash-and-carry' (model) and suppliers/approved vendors are not being paid on a regular basis, leading to shortage of spares and frequent invoking of MELs (minimum equipment lists)," the notice read. However, Singh told PTI that none of the incidents that have happened in the last few weeks have anything to do with shortage of spare parts. "This is an audit that they are referring to from last year (September 2021) that they had done. The aviation sector has been under a great deal of (financial) stress. That does not mean that there can be any compromise on safety," he explained. "All vendors that are relevant to anything related to safety or spare parts are always paid or settlements are reached with them. There is no failure here," he added. Singh said a lot of these incidents that are being reported are relatively minor in nature and happen to every airline. "This is nothing unique". "When you have thousands of flights, sometimes the air conditioning will fail, sometimes a bird will hit the plane, and sometimes a fuel indicator will light up," he said. "These things are going to happen and, of course, we have to minimise that to the greatest extent possible. That is our job and it is the regulator's job to push us to make things better, which we will do," he said. When asked what changes SpiceJet will now undertake to deal with the safety concerns, he said, "We have to be doubly careful. We will rigorously inspect aircraft when they leave for a flight, which we already do, but we will strengthen the inspection." Reacting to the DGCA notice, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted that passenger safety is paramount. "Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated and course-corrected," the minister said in a tweet. In a statement on Wednesday, the airline said it will respond to the DGCA notice within the specified time period. "We are committed to ensuring a safe operation for our passengers and crew. We are an IATA-IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certified airline. SpiceJet successfully completed the meticulous audit program for recertification in October 2021," it stated. The airline said it has been regularly audited by the DGCA. "All our aircraft were audited a month ago by the regulator and found to be safe. All flights of SpiceJet are conducted in compliance with the applicable regulations of the DGCA Civil Aviation Regulations on the subject," it noted. At least eight incidents of technical malfunction have taken place on SpiceJet planes in the last 18 days. On Tuesday, a SpiceJet freighter aircraft, which was heading to Chongqing in China, returned to Kolkata as the pilots realised after the take-off that its weather radar was not working. On the same day, the airline's Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi due to a malfunctioning fuel indicator and its Kandla-Mumbai flight did priority landing in Maharashtra's capital city after cracks developed on its windshield mid-air. On July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at an altitude of around 5,000 feet. Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate SpiceJet planes while taking off on June 24 and June 25, forcing the aircraft to abandon their journeys and return. On June 19, an engine on the carrier's Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 185 passengers caught fire soon after it took off from the Patna airport and the plane made an emergency landing minutes later. The engine malfunctioned because of a bird hit. In another incident on June 19, a SpiceJet flight for Jabalpur had to return to Delhi due to cabin pressurisation issues. The airline has been making losses for the last three years. It incurred a net loss of Rs 316 crore, Rs 934 crore and Rs 998 crore in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. Like SpiceJet, IndiGo and Vistara also suffered to technical malfunction incidents Tuesday. An engine of a Vistara aircraft on way from Bangkok failed after it landed at the Delhi airport but all passengers disembarked safely, officials of the aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday. When approached for comments, the airline said the integrated drive generator (IDG) on the engine developed a "minor" electrical malfunction after it landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Finance ministry on Wednesday released the fourth instalment of revenue deficit grant of Rs 7,183 crore to 14 states for the current fiscal. The states for which Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant has been recommended by the 15th Finance Commission during 2022-23 are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. Also Read | COVID-19 Booster Dose in India: Precautionary Dose Gap Reduced to 6 From 9 Months for All Adults. "The Department of Expenditure has on Wednesday released the 4th monthly instalment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant of Rs 7,183.42 crore to 14 states," the ministry said in a statement. The 15th Finance Commission has recommended a total PDRD Grant of Rs 86,201 crore to 14 states for the financial year 2022-23. The grant is released in 12 equated monthly instalments. Also Read | Delhi High Court Directs City Government To Ensure Uninterrupted Supply of Sanitary Napkins Under Kishori Yojana. The ministry said that with the release of the fourth instalment for the month of July 2022, the total amount of PDRD grants released to the states in 2022-23 stands at Rs 28,733.67 crore. The eligibility of states to receive this grant and the quantum of grant for the period from 2020-21 to 2025-26 was decided by the 15th Finance Commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the states concerned after taking into account the assessed devolution during this period. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ranchi, Jul 6 (PTI) The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has issued a notice to the Garhwa district administration of Jharkhand asking it to immediately probe into a complaint that "Sharia and Islamic practices" were imposed on the students of a school. The apex child rights body also directed the district authorities to submit a report within a week. Also Read | Delhi High Court Directs City Government To Ensure Uninterrupted Supply of Sanitary Napkins Under Kishori Yojana. The NCPCR's notice came following allegations that some Islamic radicals forced the headmaster of a government-run school to change an age-old prayer song from "Daya Kar Dan Vidya (Please impart knowledge)" to "Tu Hi Ram Hai Tu Rahim Hai (You are Ram and you are Rahim)". Children are also being prevented from joining hands during prayers in a middle school at Korwadih village under Sadar block, according to the complaint filed by Legal Rights Observatory, a legal rights body. Also Read | Salman Khan's Lawyer Hastimal Saraswat Gets Death Threat From Lawrence Bishnoi Gang in Rajasthan's Jodhpur. Jharkhand Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto said he has ordered an investigation into it. "We received a complaint on Tuesday that Islamic radicals are trying to impose Sharia and Islamic practices on minors and have changed the school's age-old prayer. We have issued a notice to the district administration and asked them to initiate enquiry and legal action," NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanungo told PTI on Wednesday. According to the notice, the Legal Rights Observatory has complained to the NCPCR that some Islamic radicals in Garhwa District are trying to impose Sharia and Islamic practices on minor school children. "Through the said complaint, it has also been informed to the Commission that the said radicals have forcefully changed the school's age-old prayer and further are also forcing children to not join hands during prayer creating a state of animosity among school children," the notice read. As per the complaint, there is prima facie contravention of Article 25 of the Constitution that deals with freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion, and provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of children) Act, 2015, Kanungo said. Garhwa Deputy Commissioner Ramesh Gholap was asked to initiate an enquiry and take necessary action for the care and protection of the children, he said adding a report has been sought within a week. Jharkhand Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto told PTI: I have already ordered a probe into the incident. Whether Hindu or Muslim, no one is allowed to violate provisions of the Constitution. We will take action based on the probe report. Protesting against the reported incident, the BJP claimed that it is the result of alleged appeasement policy of the JMM-led Jharkhand government. "Such incidents cannot be tolerated in a democracy. Strict action should be taken against the culprits to check the recurrence of such incidents in future," BJP national vice president and former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 6 (ANI): The Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, today approved the enhancement of ex-gratia relief to the next-of-kin (NoK) of defence force personnel, hailing from J-K, who attain martyrdom either in or outside J-K, informed the state Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) on Wednesday. Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, J-K and Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor attended the meeting. Also Read | BSE Odisha 10th Result 2022: 15-Year-Old Girl Sets Herself on Fire in Digapahandi Just Before Board Exam Results. The Administrative Council approved the enhancement of ex-gratia relief from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 25 lakhs in favour of NoK of those defence personnel who hail from J-K and attain martyrdom within the territorial jurisdiction of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, an official statement read. Similarly, the Administrative Council also sanctioned ex-gratia relief of Rs 25 lakh in favour of NoK of those Defence Personnel hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, who attain martyrdom in consequence of official duties outside J-K/ within the country, it added. Also Read | Prophet Remark Row: Hindu Youth Thrashed in Bihars Arrah City for Supporting Nupur Sharma. These provisions will be made effective from February 1, 2022, and will remove the disparity between relief provisions in J-K and other States and UTs. The decision will also boost the morale of the soldiers who hail from J-K and are serving in adverse weather and terrain conditions. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kulgam (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 6 (ANI): Two newly recruited terrorists dropped weapons and surrendered in Kulgam after their parent's requested them to drop their guns and surrender in front of Police, informed the officials on Wednesday. The police also recovered arms and ammunition from the terrorists. Also Read | Air Pollution in 10 Cities Above CPCB Limits in Summer 2022: Data. "An encounter started at Hadigam area of Kulgam in the morning where two terrorists had surrendered upon appeal by parents and police. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition were recovered," informed the police. A joint cordon search operation was launched by the Indian Army and Jammu Kashmir Police in the Hadigam area of Kulgam. Also Read | Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot Appoints Udaipur Tailor Kanhaiya Lals Sons in Govt Service. "If every parent appeals to their terrorist sons to shun the path of violence, whether they are trapped during live encounters or have joined terrorism, many lives can be saved as in today's encounter, two lives were saved," said IGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar It was ascertained both were new recruits. They were kept contained in the house and families were brought in. Both terrorists surrendered after the requests and appeals. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that 'Jan Bhaagidari has played an important role in writing a new story of development for Assam and New India.' "People's movements protected the cultural heritage and Assamese pride, now Assam is writing a new development story with the help of public participation,"he said. Also Read | Odisha BJD MLA Angada Kanhar Clears Class 10 Board Exams at Age of 58. "Agradoot newspapers have always contributed to keeping the spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat alive," he said while addressing the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Agradoot group of newspapers today via video conferencing. "Agradoot newspapers have always contributed to keeping the spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat alive," he said. Also Read | Karnataka: Python Killed, Hung on Door of Forest Village Committee Office in Dakshina Kannada District; Two Held. "Indian language journalism has played a key role in Indian tradition, culture, freedom struggle and the development journey" "People's movements protected the cultural heritage and Assamese pride, now Assam is writing a new development story with the help of public participation" Appreciating the progress in the development of India, the Prime Minister said, "Today, when Assam is fighting floods, I wish to assure the people of the state that the Central and State Governments are working together to ease this difficult situation." "Jan Bhaagidari has played an important role in writing a new story of development for Assam and for #NewIndia," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Agradoot group of newspapers on July 6, 2022 at 4:30 PM via video conferencing. Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is the chief patron of Agradoot's Golden jubilee celebration committee, will also be present on the occasion. Agradoot was started as an Assamese bi-weekly. It was established by Kanak Sen Deka, senior journalist of Assam. In 1995, Dainik Agradoot, a daily newspaper, was started and it has developed as a trusted and influential voice of Assam, the Prime Minister's office said. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mysuru (Karnataka) [India], July 6 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has instructed the officials to conduct a survey of the flood-prone areas to assess whether the residents of the concerned areas needed to be relocated temporarily or permanently, Chief Minister's Office said in a statement. Speaking to media persons at Mysuru airport, Bommai said, some villages are inundated whenever it rains heavily. Also Read | Indian Table Tennis Players Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai Are Facing Huge Latest Tweet by IANS India. Reacting to suggestions on relocating the people of such villages permanently to higher places, Bommai said, "In 2009 after massive flood havoc 60 villages were permanently relocated. But people returned to their earlier habitations once the flood waters receded. We are considering the option of building well-equipped rehabilitation centres in higher places along the river banks and low-lying areas so that people could be shifted there whenever they are affected by floods." The Deputy Commissioners of the affected districts have been instructed to take up rescue and relief works immediately. Those residing in low-lying areas would be shifted to safer places. The Revenue minister is heading to Madikeri to oversee the relief works. All precautionary measures have been taken. Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts are witnessing coastal erosion too. The Deputy Commissioners have been instructed to make alternative housing arrangements for those whose houses have been damaged, Bommai said. Also Read | Assam Floods: Centre, State Working Jointly To Reduce People's Miseries, Says PM Narendra Modi. Replying to a question on coastal erosion, Bommai said, "New technology is available to tackle coastal erosion. It would be used on an experimental basis. NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed for rescue operations. Funds are not an issue for relief works as Rs10 cr each is available with all the DCs." As for the flooding in Bengaluru, Bommai said, the main storm water drains (Rajakaluves) are being developed and augmented at a cost of Rs 1600 crore tender process for the works has been completed. Most of the problems would be solved once these works are completed, he added. Replying to another question on the delay in distribution of bicycles, shoes and socks for government school children, Bommai said, they would be distributed. The Education minister would soon initiate measures in this regard. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra on Tuesday issued a clarification on her earlier statements about Kali and said that she has "never backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking". Taking to Twitter she said, "To all you Sanghis- lying will NOT make you better Hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food and drink are offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara." Also Read | Saral Vastu Exponent Chandrashekhar Guruji Stabbed to Death in Karnataka Hotel, 2 Held. A massive controversy has erupted over the poster of Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai's documentary Kaali. The poster of the film depicted a woman dressed in a costume portraying the goddess and smoking. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background. Earlier today, on being asked about the controversy at India Today Conclave East held in Kolkata, Moitra said, "within Hinduism, being a Kali worshipper I have the freedom to imagine my Kali in that way... that is my freedom and I don't think anyone's sentiments should be hurt. I have the freedom... as much as you have to worship your god." Also Read | Prophet Remark Row: Ajmer Man Salman Chishti Announces Home, Property for Anyone Who Decapitates Nupur Sharma (Watch Video). She stated, "For me, Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. And if you go to Tarapith (a major Shakti peeth in West Bengal's Birbhum district), you will see sadhus smoking. That is the version of Kali people worship (there)." Condemning the remarks made by Moitra, the ruling TMC, however, distanced itself from the comments. "The comments made by @MahuaMoitra at the #IndiaTodayConclaveEast2022 and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments," the party said in a Twitter post. The portrayal of Goddess Kali in the poster did not go down well with a section of social media users who have demanded the poster be withdrawn. Some even demanded strict action against her and the hashtag 'Arrest Leena Manimekal' is trending on Twitter. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that last eight years of the Modi government have changed the very ethos of governance in India. Chairing the third brainstorming session on Mission Karmayogi here, he said, the three important pillars of capacity building are that of implementation of national priorities, citizen-centricity and how best and fast to adapt to new and emerging technologies. Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: 27-Year-Old Man From Bhiwandi Arrested for Kidnapping, Raping 25-Year-Old Woman in Bihar. The National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB), also known as Mission Karmayogi, is aimed at enhancing governance through civil services capacity building. Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, underlined that an ideal public administration must be competitive, efficient, cost effective and accountable to deliver good governance. Also Read | Odisha BJD MLA Angada Kanhar Clears Class 10 Board Exams at Age of 58. He said, in the background of ever-changing demographics, digital penetration as well as growing social and political awareness, there is a need to empower the civil servants to be more dynamic and professional. Last 8 years of the Modi government have changed the very ethos of governance in India, Singh said. He expressed hope India will help and augment the civil services framework of 73 odd commonwealth countries, which inherited British civil service as a legacy. Singh said, the imperative need of shift from "rule" to "role" in governance is essential to meet PM Modi's goal of new India and live up to its aspirations. He said, the era of generalists is over and this is far more relevant to administration as we are entering the age of super-specialisation. Singh said, a civil service fit-for-purpose' and fit-for-future' requires a competency driven capacity building approach that focuses on imparting competencies critical to discharge its roles and that is exactly the main goal of Mission Karmayogi. He said the Capacity Building Commission of India will be publishing an Annual Health of Civil Services Report' (AHCSR) this year itself, which will take a deeper look at the performance of the Indian civil service and how Mission Karmayogi is impacting capacity building in the civil service. Singh opined that the concept of good governance' is not alien to India and is well captured even in the country's ancient literature. He said that in our ancient literature, the foundation of good governance is based on Dharma (righteousness). One who practises Dharma' immediately distinguishes oneself from the present materialistic repository of values, a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry said. For a civil servant following the path of Dharma and supporting it with good Karma will lead to administrative excellence, the minister said. The earliest works on public administration in India have been illustrated in various sacred texts such as Vedas, Buddhist literatures, and Jain canonical works, the statement said. Singh stated that present governments can use the learning of traditional, historical knowledge and recent administrative reform attempts to further improve governance and achieve the goal of maximum governance and minimum government. The minister expressed hope that Mission Karmayogi will be a key enabler in continuously augmenting and enhancing delivery, and over the time will be able to support in achieving the goal of USD 5 trillion economy set by the Prime Minister. He said, the foundations of this mission are rooted in the recognition that a citizen-centric civil service empowered with role right attitude, functional expertise and domain knowledge will result in improved ease of living and ease of doing business. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 6 (ANI): A day after the Assam cabinet approved the identification of five Assamese Muslim sub-groups, Gorias, Moriyas, Jolhas, Deshis and Syeds as indigenous Assamese Muslim communities, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that other Muslims are Assamese too and shouldn't worry. In a conversation with ANI today, Assam chief minister said, "Khilonjia Muslims have lived for 100 yrs in Assam. They were concerned about losing their indigenous identity after migrated Muslims came to the state." Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: Virar Developer Rapes Woman on Pretext of Marriage, Forces Her To Terminate Pregnancy; Arrested. "That is why we declared them as indigenous Assamese Muslims. Other Muslims are Assamese too and shouldn't worry," Assam Chief Minister Sarma said. Five Muslim communities in Assam will soon be offered the status of "indigenous communities" to protect their identity against the large Bengali-speaking Muslim population. The BJP-led government, in its cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening, approved the proposal to offer "indigenous community" status to Goria, Moria, Deshi, Jolah tea tribe and Sayeed communities, in view of their long demand for the same. Also Read | BSE Odisha 10th Result 2022: 15-Year-Old Girl Sets Herself on Fire in Digapahandi Just Before Board Exam Results. "At our weekly Assam Cabinet, we took several decisions pertaining to the scrapping of old vehicles, identification of 5 indigenous Muslim groups, exempting ex-servicemen & their widows from paying property tax, boosting renewable energy, and improving data access, etc," Sarma tweeted. The move came days after the BJP-led government decided to offer identity cards to six religious minority communities, Muslims (except the indigenous Muslims), Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and Parsis. The government said the identity cards would be given for their "identification" and to allow them to get benefits under the schemes meant for the welfare of the minorities. Interestingly, the state government is yet to finalise who forms the indigenous Assamese community. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) The Union Cabinet is learnt to have given its nod to a proposal to grant a fresh six-month extension to the Justice Rohini Commission, set up to examine the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes and equitable distribution of benefits reserved for them, government sources said. This is the 13th extension given to the commission to submit its report. Also Read | COVID-19 Booster Dose in India: Precautionary Dose Gap Reduced to 6 From 9 Months for All Adults. The government had constituted the commission on October 2, 2017 under Article 340 of the Constitution to examine the issues related to the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes. The sources said the extension has been granted up to January 31, 2023. Also Read | Delhi High Court Directs City Government To Ensure Uninterrupted Supply of Sanitary Napkins Under Kishori Yojana. The development comes a month after Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry Secretary R Subrahmanyam had told reporters that the commission had not sought any more extension and would submit its report by this July-end when its present term ends. The mandate of the commission includes examining the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of Other Backward Classes with reference to such classes included in the Central List, working out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for their sub-categorisation. The commission's mandate is also to take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of Other Backward Classes and classifying them into their respective sub-categories. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Karnal (Haryana) [India], July 6 (ANI): Karnal Police has arrested a Patiala-based man for writing "pro-Khalistan slogans" on the walls of two educational institutions on June 20, and said that the accused was promised to pay USD 1,000 by a US-based person for accomplishing the job. The accused has been identified as Manjeet, hailing from Punjab's Patiala. Also Read | IND vs ENG Dream11 Team Prediction: Tips To Pick Best Fantasy Playing XI for India vs England 1st T20I 2022 in Southampton. Manjeet was produced before the court which remanded him to 5-day police custody for further probe. "Haryana Police arrested a person for writing pro-Khalistan slogans in Karnal On June 20, slogans were found written on the walls of two educational institutions. We started probing the matter and arrested an accused identified as Manjeet, a resident of Punjab's Patiala," said Ganga Ram Punia, Superintendent of police, Karnal on Tuesday. Also Read | Nupur Sharma Prophet Remarks: Ajmer Man Who Announced Reward for Decapitating Nupur Sharma Arrested by Police. "The accused was produced in the court, which sent him to 5-day police remand. During interrogation, it came to the fore that the accused was in contact with a US-based person, who promised to pay 1,000 dollars for doing this work. Further probe into the matter is underway," the official added. In a similar incident that occurred in Himachal Pradesh in May, one more Punjab resident was arrested for allegedly putting Khalistani flags and writing slogans on the walls in the Dharamsala city of Himachal Pradesh, informed Chief Minister Jairam Thakur. "Another person who put up Khalistani flags and wrote slogans on the wall in Dharamsala has also been arrested from Punjab. Every Himachali is united against the forces dividing the country. Long live Mother India Jai Hind, Jai Himachal," Thakur had tweeted. "In a joint raid with Himachal Pradesh Police, we arrested a resident of Morinda in connection with putting up pro-Khalistan flags & writing slogans on the wall of Himachal Assembly in Dharamsala," said Rupnagar SSP Dr Sandeep Garg. He further said, "During interrogation, the accused also accepted that he along with his accomplice had put up Khalistan banners outside our office (mini-secretariat complex) in Ropar, Punjab on April 13. The accused have been handed over to Himachal Police." Notably, the 'Khalistan' flags were found tied on the main gate of the Assembly and walls on May 8. Police had also registered an FIR under sections 153-A and 153-B of IPC, section 3 of HP Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1985, and section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) at Dharamshala Police station after the 'Khalistan' flags incident. Police booked banned outfit 'Sikhs for Justice' (SFJ) general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and called him the 'main accused' in the case. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a three-day Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam in Varanasi on Thursday, organized by the Ministry of Education in association with University Grants Commission (UGC) and Banaras Hindu University. According to the Ministry of Education, the three-day seminars will bring together over 300 Vice Chancellors and Directors from public and private universities, educationists, policymakers, as also industry representatives to deliberate on how the implementation of National Education Policy 2020 can be taken further across the country after successful implementation of several initiatives in the last two years. Also Read | Toronto Apologizes for no-beard Mandate; Terminated Sikh Security Guards to Be Latest Tweet by ANI Digital. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will also be present on the occasion. "The Summit will provide a platform for leading Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to discuss, deliberate and share insights on strategies, success stories and best practices in implementing the National Education Policy, 2020," the Education Ministry said in a statement. Also Read | Supreme Court Agrees To Examine News Anchor Rohit Ranjan's Plea Against Multiple FIRs Over Doctored Video of Rahul Gandhi's Speech. The Ministry, along with UGC and AICTE, has brought in several policy initiatives like Academic Bank of Credit, Multiple Entry-Exit, Multi disciplinarity and Flexibility in higher education, regulations aimed at boosting online and open distance learning, revising the National Curriculum Framework to make it more in sync with global standards, promoting multi linguality and Indian Knowledge Systems and making both a part of educational curriculum, mainstreaming skill education and promoting lifelong learning, to name a few. The ministry further said that many universities have already onboarded the reform train, but there are still many who are yet to adopt and adapt to the changes. As the higher educational ecosystem in the country spans centre, states and private entities, extensive consultations are required to take the policy implementation further. "This process of consultation has been going on at the regional and national levels. Prime Minister addressed a seminar of Chief Secretaries in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh last month where states shared their insights on the issue. The Varanasi Shiksha Samagam is next in the series of consultations in this regard," the ministry said. Spanning several sessions spread over three days from July 7 to 9, discussions will be held on themes such as Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education, Skill Development and Employability, Indian Knowledge Systems, Internationalization of Education, Digital Empowerment and Online Education, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Quality, Ranking and Accreditation, Equitable and Inclusive Education, Capacity Building of Teachers for Quality Education. The Summit is expected to provide a platform for thought-provoking discussions that will articulate the roadmap and implementation strategies, foster knowledge exchange and build networks through interdisciplinary deliberations and discuss challenges being faced by educational institutions and articulate solutions. The key highlight of the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam will be the adoption of the Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education which will showcase India's extended vision and a renewed commitment to help achieve the goals of the higher education system, it added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, July 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a three-day seminar at Varanasi on Thursday which will see the participation of over 300 educationists deliberating on the implementation of the National Education Policy, officials said. The Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam will provide a platform for leading Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to discuss, deliberate and share insights on strategies, success stories and best practices in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. Organized by the Ministry of Education in association with University Grants Commission and Banaras Hindu University, the seminar will bring together over 300 Vice Chancellors and Directors from public and private universities, educationists, policy makers, as also industry representatives to deliberate on how the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, can be taken further across the country after successful implementation of several initiatives in the last two years. National Education Policy Not Being Imposed on Anybody. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, will also attend the summit, a senior MoE official said on Wednesday. "The Ministry, along with UGC and AICTE, has brought in several policy initiatives like Academic Bank of Credit, Multiple Entry Exit, Multi disciplinarity and Flexibility in higher education, regulations aimed at boosting online and open distance learning, revising the National Curriculum Framework to make it more in sync with global standards, promoting multi linguality and Indian Knowledge Systems and making both a part of educational curriculum, mainstreaming skill education and promoting lifelong learning, " the official added. The MoE official further explained that many universities have already onboarded the reform train but there are still many who are yet to adopt and adapt to the changes. "As the higher educational ecosystem in the country spans centre, states and private entities, extensive consultations are required to take the policy implementation further. This process of consultation has been going on at the regional and national levels. The Varanasi Shiksha Samagam is next in the series of consultations in this regard," the official said. Spanning several sessions spread over three days from July 7-9, discussions will be held on themes such as Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education, Skill Development and Employability, Indian Knowledge Systems, Internationalization of Education, Digital Empowerment and Online Education, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Quality, Ranking and Accreditation, Equitable and Inclusive Education, Capacity Building of Teachers for Quality Education. PM Modi to Inaugurate 3-day Seminar on National Education Policy in Varanasi. "The summit is expected to provide a platform for thought-provoking discussions that will articulate the roadmap and implementation strategies, foster knowledge exchange and build networks through interdisciplinary deliberations and discuss challenges being faced by educational institutions and articulate solutions, the official said. The key highlight of the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam will be the adoption of the Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education which will showcase India's extended vision and a renewed commitment to help achieve the goals of higher education system. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Yashwant Sinha, the joint opposition candidate for the presidential poll, will visit during his campaign Jammu and Kashmir, which has no legislative assembly, as a mark of solidarity with its people, his campaign manager said on Wednesday. The electoral college for the election of the President of India comprises elected members of the two houses of Parliament and legislative assemblies of states and union territories. The legislative assembly in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has not been elected yet. Also Read | Delhi Govts 46 Schools to Have Hobby Hubs to Train Students in Music, Instruments. "Even though Jammu and Kashmir does not have an assembly and people there are not participating in the presidential election, the idea is to make a political point that it is very unfortunate that the most important part of the Republic - J&K is deprived of the assembly. "Sinha's visit to J&K is to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir," Sudheendra Kulkarni, politician and columnist, who is managing the former union minister's presidential campaign, told PTI. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Shocker: Another Tribal Woman Beaten, Paraded Carrying Husband on Shoulders in Khargone. Sinha will visit J&K on July 9, he said. Meanwhile, senior leaders of opposition parties Wednesday met at the residence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and took stock of Sinha's campaign. Sources close to them said Pawar has assumed charge of the campaign strategy. The leaders who attended the meeting included Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's Bhalchandra Kango and A D Singh of the RJD. Kulkarni was also present.. Some other members of the campaign committee for the July 18 poll also joined them online. It was decided at the meeting that Yashwant Sinha will visit Uttar Pradesh on Thursday and Gujarat on Friday, after which he would go to Jammu and Kashmir on July 9. Kulkarni said he briefed the opposition leaders on Sinha's campaign which started from Kerala, followed by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. He asserted the response to the campaign so far has been excellent, especially in Telangana where Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) took out a big procession on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hyderabad to attend the BJP's national executive meeting. Kulkarni said Sinha will later move to other states, including Bihar and Jharkhand, where he hopes the Congress's allies will back his candidacy. Jharkhand's ruling JMM, a Congress ally, has not yet made up its mind about whom to support in the election. Sinha's campaign will conclude with a visit to Mumbai on July 17, a day before the presidential election. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena combine was ousted from power in Maharashtra a few days back, in a setback to Sinha's presidential bid. "A meeting of opposition parties to discuss about the presidential elections was held at my Delhi residence. In this meeting the campaign strategy was planned. We all are standing strongly with our candidate Shri Yashwant Sinha to fight for the issues faced by our country," Pawar said on Twitter, sharing pictures of the meeting. Sinha is pitted against NDA's Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, in whose favour the scales are heavily tilted given the strength of BJP and its allies in Parliament and state assemblies. Fence-sitter parties like Odisha's ruling BJD have also extended support to her. Last week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said opposition parties might have considered backing Murmu had the BJP held a discussion with them before fielding her. Sinha was vice president of the Trinamool Congress before he was chosen as the joint opposition presidential nominee. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI)The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to cancel the anticipatory bail granted to Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu in an alleged rape case by the high court and asked him not to leave Kerala without prior permission. A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari modified certain bail conditions imposed on Babu by the Kerala High Court and said that he could be interrogated by the police in connection with the case after July 3, if required. Also Read | Rainfall Forecast for Next 5 Days Issued on 6th July by IMD: Very Heavy Rainfall over Latest Tweet by Prasar Bharati News Services. After hearing counsel appearing for the respective parties and after considering the pleadings and other materials on record, we are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order allowing the prayer of the Respondent No.1 (petitioner before the High Court) (Vijay Babu) for grant of pre-arrest bail, the bench said. The bench said that Babu may be interrogated as and when necessary, even after July 3, 2022, and he shall comply with all other conditions imposed by the High Court as also the conditions for grant of pre-arrest bail enumerated in Section 438(2) of the CrPC. Also Read | Kaali Poster Row: FIR Lodged in Bhopal Against TMC MP Mahua Moitra Over Remarks on Hindu Goddess Kali. The bench, which modified the conditions said, The respondent No. 1 (i) shall not leave the State of Kerala without prior permission of the jurisdictional Court; (ii) shall appear before the Investigating Officer as and when called; (iii) shall not contact or interact with the victim or any of the witnesses. The bench further said that Babu shall not indulge in any form of attack on the victim or her family through social media or any other mode and shall not harass, defame, denigrate or ridicule the petitioner or the members of her family in any manner whatsoever or publish or post any comments, writing, picture, etc. concerning the incidents in the social media or otherwise. It said that he shall not commit any other offence while on bail and shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court or any Police officer. The bench while disposing of the appeals said that if the impounded passport of Babu is returned to him or if he is issued with a fresh passport, he shall immediately surrender the same to the Investigating Officer. During the hearing, senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for the state government, said that Babu is an influential person in the film industry, and if the order of anticipatory bail is not set aside, he may influence the witnesses, who are from the film industry or tamper with evidence pertaining to the case. He said that the order needs to be set aside as it restricts the investigating agency from interrogating him for a fixed time frame. The bench said, We don't think that grant of bail is unwarranted but yes restricting time for interrogation is unwarranted. Gupta said that Babu has deleted the WhatsApp messages for a 15-days period which pertains to the time of the incident. The bench said that police can very well retrieve those messages and moreover it appears that the victim has also deleted those messages, which shows some kind of understanding between them. Senior advocate R Basant, appearing for the victim, said that Babu is an influential personality in the film industry and used his dominant position to assault the victim who is in her 20s and just entered the film industry. He said Babu has disclosed her identity on Facebook live and tried to pressurize her and influence the witnesses. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Babu, said that he will join the investigation as and when called by the investigating officer. On Tuesday, the bench had agreed to hear pleas of the Kerala government and an actress, who has alleged rape by Babu challenging the grant of anticipatory bail to him by the high court. On June 22, the high court granted anticipatory bail to Babu. The high court had granted Babu relief subject to the conditions that he shall "surrender" before the investigating officer (IO) on June 27 for interrogation. He can be interrogated for the next seven days from then till July 3 and he shall not contact or interact with the victim or any of the witnesses in the case, it had said. During the period from June 27 to July 3, he shall be deemed to be under the custody of police "for facilitating the requirements of investigation", the court had said allowing his plea seeking anticipatory bail in the rape case. The producer-actor had also alleged in his plea, that there is a "trend" of making allegations against anybody to tarnish the image of a person, who is popular in society and for the sake of publicity. Babu had claimed that he was innocent and was "highly aggrieved" by the one-sided approach of the authorities to make him a "scapegoat for the purpose of news and the media". The woman, who had appeared in movies produced by Babu's production house, lodged a complaint with the police on April 22 and detailed through a Facebook post the physical assault and sexual exploitation she had allegedly suffered at the hands of the producer-actor for the past one-and-half months.PTI MNL SJK MNL (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Goa government's plea against the Bombay High Court order which quashed the State Government's decision to postpone the elections to 186 panchayats in the State. "We find no reason to consider interference in the impugned order dated 28 June 2022 as passed by the High Court of Bombay at Goa in a writ petition... for the order being precisely in conformity with the requirements of Article 243E of the Constitution of India and with the decision of this Court," a vacation bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari said while rejecting the Goa government submission seeking to postpone the polls due to the ongoing monsoon season. Also Read | Karnataka: Python Killed, Hung on Door of Forest Village Committee Office in Dakshina Kannada District; Two Held. The court remarked that monsoon cannot be a ground to stall something in the states like Goa. "Further, it has been noticed that in compliance with the impugned order, notification for the election has already been issued by the petitioner-state on 30 June 2022. That being the position, we find no reason to interfere in the process of elections," the apex court said. Also Read | Kaali Poster Row: FIR Lodged in Bhopal Against TMC MP Mahua Moitra Over Remarks on Hindu Goddess Kali. The Court said that it did not find any reason to interfere with the High Court order. However, the Court granted the State Election Commission to move High Court in case of any difficulty, for the further necessary directions. On June 28, the Bombay High Court quashed the decision of Goa state to postpone elections to 186 panchayats in the State and observed that the State Government and the State Election Commission (SEC) have failed to comply with the constitutional mandate under Article 243E to hold Panchayat elections. The Bombay HC had directed the State Government to "issue a notification under Rule 10 of the Election Procedure Rules, 1996 appointing the date for holding elections to 186 Panchayats in the State of Goa, whose terms have expired or are due to expire shortly." It also directed that the concerned officers of the State Government must confer with the SEC and appoint the precise date for holding elections. However, the State Government and the SEC must ensure that the elections are held and completed no later than 45 days from today, the Bombay HC had said on June 28. The Goa government had moved to the top court challenging the decision the High Court's decision by stating it "erroneous". (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose BJP-backed government is facing attacks and legal challenges from a faction led by Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, has said that "they are not doing anything illegal" and have followed all constitutional steps for the formation of new government in the state. In an interview with ANI, Shinde said that his was a strong government. Also Read | Domestic LPG Cylinder Gets Dearer by Rs 50 Read @ANI Story | Latest Tweet by ANI Digital. "We are not doing anything illegal. In this country, there are rules, laws and the constitution and we have to work according to them. Today, we have more than a two-thirds majority that's why the decision we took is legal and valid. The Speaker also recognised us. The court has pulled up those who approached the court against us," he said. "We have not done anything illegal and for those who did (illegal things), the court will decide against them. The floor test and Speaker elections have been held and the government won the trust vote. This government has the support of 170 MLAs and it is a 'majboot' (strong) government," he added. Also Read | ED Raids Vivo & Other Chinese Firms in Money Laundering Case: Report. Shinde, who led the revolt which forced Uddhav Thackeray to resign as Chief Minister of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on June 30. The MVA government also had Congress and NCP as constituents. The new Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra won the floor test on Monday by a 164-99 margin. "These 40-50 MLAs were facing challenges in their own constituencies as our alliance partners were strengthening those who were defeated. When we win elections, then voters expect development works including water, roads and other basic works, there were expectations but our MLAs were not able to do this due to deficiency of funds and other problems. We talked to our seniors many times that there should be corrective measures. But we could not succeed in this unfortunately. That's why our 40-50 MLAs took this decision," he said. According to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with the anti-defection law, any group of lawmakers can leave a party and form another or merge with another party without disqualification if they are together at least two-thirds of legislators of the party's original strength. Shinde said his government is of common people and will work for giving justice to all sections of society. "This government will give justice to people. This is the government of the common people. This government will do the work of giving justice to all sections of society," he said. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) United Nations, Jul 6 (AP) A UN armoured vehicle hit a mine Tuesday in central Mali, killing two Egyptian peacekeepers and seriously wounding five others in another deadly incident targeting the UN mission in the West African nation that has faced a decade-long Islamic insurgency. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said 10 UN peacekeepers have died in Mali in the first six months of 2022. Also Read | China Livid over NASA Chief Bill Nelsons Charge of Moon Grab, Accuses US of Stoking Space Arms Race. In Tuesday's incident, he said, an armoured vehicle from a UN logistics convoy hit a mine on the route from Tessalit, the north-central oasis town in the Sahara, to the central city of Gao. Dujarric said a UN rapid intervention force was sent to the scene and the injured were evacuated. Also Read | Chinese Property Developers Accept Peaches, Watermelons, Garlic As Down Payment for Homes Amid Recession: Report. The UN peacekeeping mission strongly condemned the attack, which may constitute a war crime under international law. Dujarric said the mission noted with concern the frequent use of improvised explosive devices intended to paralyse the operations of the UN mission and to obstruct the return to peace and stability in Mali. The UN Security Council condemned the attack in the strongest terms and called on Mali's transitional government to swiftly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. Its members expressed their concern about the security situation in Mali and the transnational dimension of the terrorist threat in the Sahel region. Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising prompted mutinous soldiers to overthrow the president. The power vacuum that resulted ultimately led to an Islamic insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. But insurgents remain active and extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali since 2015, stoking animosity and violence between ethnic groups in the region. Mali's current ruling junta seized power in August 2020, and in April the junta leaders said a transition to civilian, democratic rule would take at least two years. The UN mission says over 255 of its peacekeepers and personnel have died since 2013, making Mali the deadliest of the UN's dozen peacekeeping missions worldwide. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Paris, Jul 6 (AP) The suspected ringleader of a network that smuggled as many as 10,000 people on small boats across the English Channel to Britain has been arrested along with 38 others in a vast police operation across Europe. In addition to the arrests, authorities said Wednesday that police found 135 boats in places including a German farmhouse and Dutch warehouses, more than 1,000 life jackets, outboard engines, packs of paddles and cash used for the smuggling. Also Read | UK: Boris Johnson Government Hit by More Resignations. We believe it is the largest operation of its type against this threat, Matt Rivers of the UK National Crime Agency told a news conference. I hope it sends a message." Five countries and the EU's police and justice agencies coordinated on the operation, which led to 18 arrests in Germany, nine in France, six in Britain and six in the Netherlands. The operation is ongoing. Also Read | Pakistan: Christian Man Ashfaq Masih Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'. The suspected ringleader is a 26-year-old Iranian Kurd, Rivers said. No other details were immediately released. Rivers predicted a drop in the number of Channel crossings as a result, even though years of increasingly tough measures by British and French police have done little to deter people determined to attempt the risky journey to get to the UK. More than 28,000 people fleeing conflict or crushing poverty in Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq or elsewhere reached Britain by way of the Channel last year, many in dinghies and other fragile craft traversing one of the world's biggest shipping lanes. That was up from 8,500 in 2020. Dozens have died while attempting the crossing, including 27 people from a packed boat that capsized in November. The network dismantled in this week's police operation is believed to be unconnected to the one behind the November sinking, officials said. Smugglers charge between 2,500 euros and 10,000 euros per person to help people cross into Britain, in a business that generated an estimated 60 million euros in revenue last year, according to Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, deputy executive director of European police agency Europol. This deadly business is highly profitable, he said. The ringleader arrested in London is accused of organising a network that stretched from Turkey across to the UK. He is now facing possible extradition to Belgium. Investigators say the network built an entire logistical supply chain: It acquired Turkish-made or Chinese-made boats as well as engines and life jackets online in Germany and the Netherlands, then transported them to points of departure along the French and Belgian coasts. Christian Bagung, prosecutor from the German city of Osnabruek, called the operation a major step forward in fighting smuggler gangs who aim at gaining profits from the needs of people". Migrants have long used northern France as a launching point to reach Britain, a destination favoured by many for reasons of language or family ties, or because they are told it's easier to get asylum or find work without immigration papers in Britain than on the continent. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Beijing, Jul 6 (AP) China launched a scathing attack on the US and NATO on Wednesday, days before a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian's comments underscore the increasingly fractious relationship, along with China's increasingly confrontational approach to foreign relations that heatedly rejects criticism. Also Read | UK: Boris Johnson Government Hit by More Resignations. At last week's NATO summit in Spain, Blinken accused China of seeking to undermine the rules-based international order. In his comments Wednesday, Zhao said the so-called rules-based international order is actually a family rule made by a handful of countries to serve the US self-interest. Also Read | Pakistan: Christian Man Ashfaq Masih Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'. Washington observes international rules only as it sees fit, he said, adding that NATO must renounce its blind faith in military might. US-China relations are dominated by disputes over issues from trade and human rights to Taiwan and Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, China has refused to condemn Russia's four-month-long war against Ukraine, criticized sanctions brought against Moscow by NATO members and accused Washington and its allies of provoking the conflict. Russia and China have strengthened political, economic and military ties, while aligning their foreign policies to oppose the influence of liberal democracies. Weeks before Russia's February invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a meeting at which they pledged a partnership that had no limits. At its summit, NATO for the first time singled out China as one of its strategic priorities for the next decade. China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbors, threatening Taiwan monitoring and controlling its own citizens through advanced technology, and spreading Russian lies and disinformation, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after presenting NATO's 10-year Strategic Concept. In his comments at Wednesday's daily briefing, Zhao said the U.S. has been working closely with NATO to hype up competition with China and stoke group confrontation." The history of NATO is the one about creating conflicts and waging wars arbitrarily launching wars and killing innocent civilians, even to this day," Zhao said. Facts have proven that it is not China that poses a systemic challenge to NATO, and instead it is NATO that brings a looming systemic challenge to world peace and security." Blinken is expected to meet with Wang on Saturday at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations on the Indonesian island of Bali. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad, Jul 6 (PTI) Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday reaffirmed their mutual desire to strengthen the bilateral relations by expanding cooperation in various fields. Bilawal received a phone call from his US counterpart during which the minister told Blinken that he looked forward to frequent exchange of high-level visits, the Foreign Office said in a statement. Also Read | Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki Claims Russia Hacked, Tweaked, Leaked Govt Emails. He also requested Blinken to ease issuance of visas for Pakistani nationals. The two leaders also discussed need for continuous engagement with the interim Afghan government to deal with the humanitarian crisis, the statement said. Also Read | New Zealand Asks Citizens to Avoid Non-Essential Travel to Sri Lanka Amid Economic Crisis. Bilawal also tweeted about his conversation with Blinken. We agreed to expand our engagement in trade, energy, health & security marking 75 years of our relationship. We must increase people-to-people & business-to-business contacts, he said. Separately, US Ambassador Donald Blome met Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, and discussed matters of mutual interest, the Foreign Office said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 6 (ANI): Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, Wednesday, said that they have the truth on their side and have worked sincerely and as a result, the "Tibetan issue is not a political matter but it's a matter of truth." His remarks were against the anti-humanistic attitude o China and the untold sufferings of the Tibetans under the Chinese administration. Also Read | UK: Boris Johnson Government Hit by More Resignations. An expert Hon-Shiang Lau, Retired Chair Professor, City University of Hong Kong, exposed "forged" claims of China on Tibet. He said that Tibet was never part of China anywhere in its pre-1949 history, reported Tibet Rights Collective (TRC). He also proved that the PRC's evidence of sovereignty over Tibet is based on not only distortions but outright fabrications and forgeries of pre-1949 Chinese records. Also Read | Pakistan: Christian Man Ashfaq Masih Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'. Addressing the gathering in Shimla for his 87th birthday celebration, the Tibetan spiritual leader said, "What we have is truth on our side. We have not been telling lies. We have been sincere in our struggle so for all these years I have worked sincerely respecting the law and as a result of that the Tibetan issue is not only a political matter but it's a matter of truth." The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) of the Tibetan government-in-exile organized the Dalai Lama's 87th birthday in Dharamshala. The Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama turned 87 on Wednesday. Tibetan elected representatives and officers of the welfare office of the Central Tibetan Administration at Shimla lighted the lamp, offered prayers and cut the cake. The Chief Representative Officer of the Central Tibetan Administration said that it is important for everyone to celebrate the Birthday of the Dalai Lama for the promotion of peace and compassion across the globe. "People are celebrating the Birthday of Dalai Lama not only in India but also across the globe excluding the communist countries. We want the young generation to follow the Tibetan tradition and culture and also to know their roots, "the Tibetan Chief Representative Officer of Shimla said. A monk said that Tibetans have been dreaming to celebrate the birthday of the Spiritual leader in Potala Palace in Lhasa, the home of the Dalai Lama. " We are celebrating the birthday of His holiness, it is important for us. We all monks and others offer prayers here for a long life of His holiness. It is important for us to remember his contribution to world peace. We wish to celebrate his birthday in Potala Palace in Tibet someday. All Tibetan Community people are celebrating his birthday across the globe," said a Tibetan Buddhist Monk. Hundreds of Tibetans including monks, nuns, school students, and foreign supporters gather at the main Buddhist temple, Tsuglagkhang here. The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jairam Thakur virtually attended the event. American actor Richard Gere was also present at the event. The Dalai Lama, throughout his life in exile, has achieved prominence among the world's political, religious, and social leaders as a universal icon of peace, harmony and non-violence.Moreover, he has been successful in exposing the true nature of the anti-democratic, anti-religious, and anti-humanistic attitude of China and the untold sufferings of the Tibetans under the Chinese administration. China has always interfered in the matters of Tibet and has tried to prevent the people from exercising their spiritual practices. It continues to sinicize Buddhism, recently by imposing a ban on sharing religious content on social media. The Dalai Lama has won widespread international support for the Tibetan independence movement. He has been fighting with non-violence for the last many decades and has been convincing the international community on the right to their homeland, and culture, the restoration of the thousands of Buddhist monasteries that were destroyed by China, and the freedom of hundreds of Tibetans captured by Beijing. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Toronto [Canada], July 6 (ANI): The Toronto-based Aga Khan Museum, which landed in trouble for the inappropriate depiction of Hindu Gods, has expressed deep regret for "inadvertently causing offence" to members of the Hindu and other faiths. In a statement, the museum said Toronto Metropolitan University brought together works from students of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, as part of Canadian multiculturalism for the project 'Under the Tent.' Also Read | China Livid over NASA Chief Bill Nelsons Charge of Moon Grab, Accuses US of Stoking Space Arms Race. The museum said one of 18 short videos from 'Under the Tent' and its accompanying social media post inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu community. "Toronto Metropolitan University's project presentation was hosted at the Aga Khan Museum in the context of the Museum's mission to foster intercultural understanding and dialogue through the arts. Respect for diverse religious expressions and faith communities forms an integral part of that mission," the statement. Also Read | Chinese Property Developers Accept Peaches, Watermelons, Garlic As Down Payment for Homes Amid Recession: Report. "The Museum deeply regrets that one of the 18 short videos from 'Under the Tent' and its accompanying social media post have inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities," it added. Indian High Commission on Monday urged Canadian authorities to withdraw the disrespectful depiction of Hindu Gods showcased as part of the 'Under the Tent' project at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto. "We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organizers to withdraw all such provocative material," the Indian High Commission in Canada said in a statement. A poster for a documentary directed by filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has drawn flak on social media for hurting religious sentiments with the depiction of Goddess Kaali. The Madurai-born, Toronto-based filmmaker had earlier taken to Twitter to share a poster of her film which depicted a woman dressed in a costume portraying the Goddess and smoking. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background. "Our Consulate General in Toronto has conveyed these concerns to the organizers of the event. We are also informed that several Hindu groups have approached authorities in Canada to take action," the release added. Meanwhile, Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has landed in legal trouble after a police complaint was filed against her for hurting religious sentiments through a poster of her documentary 'Kaali'. The portrayal of Goddess Kali in the poster did not go down well with a section of social media users who have demanded the poster be withdrawn. Some even demanded strict action against her and the hashtag '#ArrestLeenaManimekal' is trending on Twitter. Activist Rahul Easwar has called it a "hate poster" and stated that "this is spreading hate against the Hindu community and defaming our deities." Speaking to ANI regarding the controversy, Easwar said, "Liberty comes along with sensitivity, freedom comes along with responsibility, can we live in the world without being sensitive, respectful and responsible? What happened with the Kali poster is that Leena created a hate poster against Hindu community. She's purposefully demeaning, defaming one of the most revered deities of Hindus, Kaali Maa." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Manila, Jul 6 (AP) New Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with China's top diplomat Wednesday to take up long-simmering disputes in the South China Sea, as he waded into foreign policy dilemmas that include the U.S.-China rivalry in the region. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, wearing a native Filipino formal shirt, met his counterpart for talks at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila and later met Marcos Jr. at the presidential palace. Also Read | UK: Boris Johnson Government Hit by More Resignations. No detailed statement about the talks was immediately released by Philippine officials. Chinese officials have frowned on what they perceive as undue media focus on the territorial conflicts that put Beijing in a bad light. Also Read | Pakistan: Christian Man Ashfaq Masih Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'. In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement quoted Wang as telling National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos in Manila that Marcos Jr.'s election has turned a new page in China-Philippines relations, and the two peoples are full of expectations for the development of bilateral relations. The statement did not say if the territorial disputes were taken up. Our only choice is to be friendly, friendly, and friendly again, Wang said. Wang arrived in Manila Tuesday night as part of a Southeast Asian swing that brought him earlier to Myanmar and Thailand. He will also visit Malaysia and Indonesia, where he will attend a meeting of G-20 foreign ministers in Bali. Wang's visit ushers Marcos Jr. early to touchy foreign diplomacy issues that often had prompted his predecessors to carry out delicate balancing acts. Marcos Jr. was sworn into office last week after a landslide electoral victory in May. He said in a televised news conference Tuesday that he would discuss with Wang possible ways to resolve Manila's disputes with Beijing in the contested South China Sea but would also propose to broaden ties further. China and the Philippines should not only be discussing the West Philippine Sea, Marcos said, using the Philippine name for the disputed waters. Let's do other things too. In that way, it will normalize our relationship. We have many proposals to them in the sense that, as I said, we would like for us to increase the scope, he said, and mentioned possible expansion of cultural, educational and military exchanges. He did not outline how he would handle the territorial issues but has indicated he would generally follow the approach of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who focused on intensifying engagements with China. After taking office in 2016, Duterte put the disputes on the backburner and tried to nurture cozier relations with China. He disregarded calls to aggressively demand that Beijing comply with a landmark 2016 ruling by a U.N.-backed arbitration tribunal that invalidated China's extensive claims in the South China Sea on historical grounds. The tribunal also ruled that China's massive land reclamations and actions against Filipino fishermen at a disputed shoal violated the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. China refused to take part in the arbitration, which was initiated by Duterte's predecessor, the late Benigno Aquino III. Beijing continues to defy the ruling, which was welcomed by the U.S. and other Western governments that have challenged China's flexing of muscles. Duterte's stance was criticised by nationalists and activists as a sellout, which they said squandered the Philippines' arbitration victory. If you're talking about President Duterte's policy of engagement with China, that's really our only option, Marcos Jr. told DZRH radio network in January. War is not an option, he said then, and added that China rejected arbitration so that option is not available to us. Bringing in the U.S. to mediate will right away make China your enemy, he said. Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said Marcos Jr. was aware of the pitfalls of the U.S.-China rivalry and would foster relations with the two global powers in a way that would help the Philippine economy recover from two years of coronavirus pandemic lockdowns and cushion it from the global impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He always cites the saying that these are two elephants and when they fight, they step on the grass. We are the grass, Romualdez said. An initial dilemma would be which of the two capitals Marcos Jr. should visit first. President Joe Biden has sent a letter formally inviting him to Washington. Wang was expected to relay Xi's invitation for the new president to Beijing, Romualdez said. Marcos Jr. is planning to attend the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September, where he could have an initial meeting with Biden on the sidelines. A separate U.S. state visit could be arranged in the near future, Romualdez said. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) London [UK], July 6 (ANI): In another blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, two more ministers resigned from the UK government on Wednesday, following the departure of Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, media reported. Will Quince, minister for children and families and junior transport minister Laura Trott resigned on Wednesday. Also Read | SpiceJets China-Bound Freighter Aircraft Returns to Kolkata Due to Its Unserviceable Weather Radar. In his resignation letter, Quince said he had "no choice but to tender resignation", after being given an "inaccurate" briefing over Prime Minister Boris Johnson's appointment of a politician who was the subject of complaints. "Thank you for meeting with me yesterday evening and for your sincere apology regarding the briefings I received from No. 10 ahead of Monday's media round, which we now know to be inaccurate," he said in his resignation letter to Johnson which was posted on Twitter. Also Read | Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina Says, 'Bangalee Nation Never Bows to Anyone', at PGR Headquarters in Dhaka. "It is with great sadness and regret that I feel that I have no choice but to tender my resignation as Minister for Children and Families as I accepted and repeated those assurances in good faith." Meanwhile, junior transport minister Laura Trott said she was quitting over a loss of "trust" in the government. Earlier, on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson named the new UK Health Secretary and Finance Minister shortly after Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak tendered their resignation, media reports said. UK Cabinet chief of staff Steve Barclay has been appointed as the new health secretary. Meanwhile, UK education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was named as the new finance minister. In his resignation letter, Sunak said he was "sad to be leaving the government", but has come to the conclusion that he "cannot continue like this". "The public rightly expect the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning," Rishi Sunak said. Javid said he had lost confidence in Boris Johnson's ability to govern following multiple scandals, saying he could "no longer continue in good conscience". The minister said that many lawmakers and the public had lost confidence in Johnson's ability to govern in the national interest. In his resignation letter, which he posted to Twitter, Javid told Johnson that "the values you represent reflect on your colleagues," and in light of recent scandals, the public had concluded that their party was neither "competent" nor "acting in the national interest." The exit of the top minister comes amid the row involving the former Conservative party whip Chris Pincher, who was accused of sexual misconduct. Last week, Pincher quit as deputy chief whip after claims that he groped two men but Johnson knew about allegations against him as far back as 2019. Boris acknowledged he should have sacked Pincher when he was found to have behaved inappropriately when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019. The British PM said he regrets giving Pincher a government role as Deputy Chief Whip following the revelation of a misconduct complaint against him. "In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do and I apologise to everyone who has been badly affected by it. I just want to make absolutely clear that there's no place in this government for anybody who is predatory or abuses their position of power," he said. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad, Jul 6 (PTI) A top court in Pakistan on Wednesday refused to intervene in the arrest of a prominent TV journalist known for publicly supporting former Prime Minister Imran Khan and a vocal critic of the Army and its leadership. TV journalist Imran Riaz Khan was arrested by the Punjab police on the outskirts of the capital on Tuesday night. The arrest of the TV journalist comes weeks after a court in Islamabad ordered police not to arrest him and several other journalists after complaints were lodged accusing them of inciting hatred against the military. Also Read | New Zealand Asks Citizens to Avoid Non-Essential Travel to Sri Lanka Amid Economic Crisis. The journalist had moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his arrest. However, the IHC on Wednesday returned the petition over jurisdiction issue by directing him to approach the Lahore High Court (LHC). Khan, the former premier, took to Twitter to condemn the arrest. Earlier, journalist Khan was moved to Attock city police station by the police. Police said he was arrested in a case registered against the journalist at the city police station on June 25 for inciting violence. Also Read | UK: Boris Johnson Government Hit by More Resignations. The journalist is a vocal supporter of ousted premier Khan. He is extremely critical of the Army and its leadership in the wake of the no-confidence vote against Khan. More than dozen FIRs have been registered against him in various cities for hate speech and preaching violence. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf reacted angrily to his arrest and party leader Farrukh Habib said it was violation of free speech. We condemn the arrest of Imran Riaz Khan. Right to differ cannot be suppressed through force and those advising you (government) to do so are your enemies not friends, he tweeted. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) The Hague [Netherlands], July 6 (ANI/Xinhua): Dutch police fired warning shots at a farmers' protest near Heerenveen in the northern province of Friesland on Tuesday evening. According to a police report on Wednesday, the incident happened during a so-called "threatening" situation when farmers began to drive tractors toward officers on a highway near Heerenveen at around 11 pm local time (GMT 2100). Also Read | UK: Boris Johnson Government Hit by More Resignations. Three suspects were arrested, and no one was injured. The gunfire hit one tractor while another drove away, only to be stopped shortly afterwards. The National Criminal Investigation Department will investigate whether the police had the right to shoot. Also Read | Pakistan: Christian Man Ashfaq Masih Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'. Member of Parliament Caroline van der Plas of the farmers' party BoerBurgerBeweging asked for a debate with Prime Minister Mark Rutte regarding the protests, which have been held for several weeks. On June 10, Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy Christianne van der Wal announced the government's plans for nitrogen reduction. One of the consequences was that farmers might have to close their businesses, relocate or make concrete plans to sustain their operations. Farmers have since held several protests, blocked roads and visited the minister's house. Last Monday, protesting farmers blocked several supermarket distribution centers across the country, leading to a lack of products in grocery stores. (ANI/Xinhua) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Highland Park (US), Jul 6 (AP) The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there, authorities said Wednesday. The suspect turned back to Illinois, where he was later arrested, after deciding he was not prepared to pull off a shooting in Wisconsin, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference following a hearing where the 21-year-old man was denied bond. Also Read | Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki Claims Russia Hacked, Tweaked, Leaked Govt Emails. The parade shooting left another American community this time affluent Highland Park, home to about 30,000 people near the Lake Michigan shore reeling. More than two dozen people were wounded, some critically, and hundreds of marchers, parents and children fled in a panic. Covelli said it did not appear that the suspect had planned another attack in Wisconsin, but fled there, saw another Independence Day celebration and seriously contemplated firing on it. The assailant had ditched the rifle he used in Illinois, but he had another rifle and about 60 more rounds with him, according to Covelli. Also Read | New Zealand Asks Citizens to Avoid Non-Essential Travel to Sri Lanka Amid Economic Crisis. Police later found his phone in Middleton, Wisconsin, which is about 135 miles (217 km) from Highland Park. For hours before his arrest, police warned that the gunman was still at large and that he should be considered armed and dangerous. Several nearby cities canceled events including parades and fireworks. Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ben Dillon said in court that the gunman looked down his sights, aimed and fired at people across the street. He left the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop. Some of the wounded remained hospitalised in critical condition, Covelli said, and the death toll could still rise. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said he planned to bring attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm charges for each individual hurt. There will be many, many more charges coming, he said at a news conference, estimating that those charges would be announced later this month. The suspect, Robert Crimo III, wore a black long sleeve shirt as he appeared in court by video. He showed little emotion as the prosecutor described the shooting and said little besides telling the judge that he did not have a lawyer. On Tuesday, Thomas A Durkin, a prominent Chicago-based lawyer, said he would represent Crimo and that he intended to enter a not guilty plea to all charges. But Durkin told the court Wednesday that he had a conflict of interest in taking the case. Crimo has been assigned a public defender. Rinehart also left open the possibility of charging Crimo's parents, telling reporters that he doesn't want to answer that question right now as the investigation continues. Steve Greenberg, the lawyer for Crimo's parents, told The Associated Press that the parents aren't concerned about being charged with anything related to their son's case. Questions also arose about how the suspect could have skirted Illinois' relatively strict gun laws to legally purchase five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide. Police went to the home following a call from a family member who said Crimo was threatening to kill everyone there. Covelli said Tuesday police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said. Crimo legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his father's home. The revelation about his gun purchases is just the latest example of young men who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence. Illinois state police, who issue gun owners' licenses, said Crimo applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application. The state police have defended how the application was handled, saying that at the time there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the application, state police said in a statement. Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. The gunman initially evaded capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, Covelli said. In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburb's stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Court's doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburb's restrictions remain in place. Asked whether Crimo's case demonstrates flaws in state law, Rinehart said that the gap in the state's gun laws would be that we don't ban assault weapons. Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or those deemed capable of harming themselves or others. That last provision might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon. But under the law, who that provision applies to must be decided by a court, board, commission or other legal authority. The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Warsaw, July 6: Poland's prime minister on Wednesday accused Russian agencies of hacking into government systems and manipulating and leaking emails that allegedly expose his administration's links with the judiciary. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki labelled the leaks a provocation by Russian and Belarusian secret services aiming to sow discord in Poland in revenge for Warsaw's support for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion. In the emails dating from 2019, which the Polish press reported as leaked on Monday, Morawiecki's top aide, Michal Dworczyk, is presented as informing him that he's discussed some court cases with somebody described as chairwoman Julia P, and that the cases have been suspended. The description has been seen as fitting the head of Poland's controversial Constitutional Tribunal, Julia Przylebska, who was appointed by the ruling party. Under her leadership, the court has been issuing verdicts favourable to the government policies and supporting it in its disputes with the European Union. New Zealand Asks Citizens to Avoid Non-Essential Travel to Sri Lanka Amid Economic Crisis. Late Tuesday, Przylebska reacted saying that she has never discussed any verdicts of the Constitutional Tribunal with anyone, apart from debates among the tribunal's judges. She added that she would not be intimidated by any Russian provocateurs. Government influencing of judges is against Poland's constitution. However, Morawiecki's right-wing government is at odds with EU bodies which say judicial independence and the rule of law are being violated. Poland has been fined over a body disciplining judges. Correspondence allegedly coming from Dworczyk's and Morawiecki's email boxes has been leaking to the Polish press for some months. The government has denied its authenticity, although some people named in the documents have said they are genuine. Prosecutors are investigating. But on Wednesday Morawiecki didn't directly deny the latest leaks as fakes, rather accusing Russia of hacking Polish government emails. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Colombo, Jul 6 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Cabinet was on Wednesday thrown into turmoil by the resignation of Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva while another senior minister demanded that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe should quit as the finance minister alleging that he halted all the projects that could bring in the much-needed forex to the country facing worst economic crisis. De Silva, Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation, resigned following an allegation made by main Opposition SJB leader Sajith Premadasa in Parliament on Tuesday that a Cabinet Minister had solicited a bribe from Japan's Taisei Corporation. Also Read | UK: Boris Johnson Government Hit by More Resignations. De Silva, in a letter addressed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said although he was not directly accused of demanding a bribe he was resigning in order to allow an impartial investigation as the allegation concerned his ministry. According to media reports, the Japanese firm is involved in the expansion of the Bandaranaike International Airport here. Also Read | Pakistan: Christian Man Ashfaq Masih Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'. Meanwhile, newly-appointed minister of investment promotion, Dhammika Perera, addressing a gathering here, demanded that Wickremesinghe should resign as the minister of finance. Perera, a former business leader, alleged that Wickremesinghe was blocking dollar inflows into the country and he had no cash flow plan to resolve the forex crisis. Wickremesinghe ignored to respond to the Opposition when asked to react in Parliament on Perera's attack on him. Sri Lanka is going through the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948, and needs to obtain at least USD 4 billion to tide over the acute shortage in foreign exchange reserves. The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Beijing, Jul 6 (PTI) China on Wednesday expressed hope that India will conduct the ongoing investigations into the Chinese mobile manufacturer firm Vivo in accordance with the law and regulations and provide a "fair" and "non-discriminatory" business environment to China's firms. Asked about the ongoing raids on Vivo offices in several locations in India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here that the Chinese side is closely following the developments on this matter. Also Read | UK: Boris Johnson Government Hit by More Resignations. "As I have stressed many times, the Chinese government always asks Chinese companies to abide by laws and regulations when doing business overseas," he said. "In the meantime, we firmly support Chinese companies in safeguarding their lawful rights and interests," he said. Also Read | Pakistan: Christian Man Ashfaq Masih Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'. "We hope the Indian side will conduct investigations and law enforcement in accordance with laws and regulations and earnestly provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies investing and operating in India," the spokesman said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided at least 44 places across India on Tuesday in a money-laundering investigation against Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo and related firms. The searches were carried out under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at locations in several states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Maharashtra. A Vivo India spokesperson said they're cooperating with authorities. The action is being seen as part of the Union government's steps to tighten checks on Chinese entities and the continued crackdown on such firms and their linked Indian operatives that are allegedly indulging in serious financial crimes like money laundering and tax evasion while operating in India. The stepped-up action against the Chinese-backed companies or entities operating in India comes in the backdrop of the military stand-off between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh has been ongoing for more than two years now. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New York, Jul 6 (PTI) A resolution commemorating the life of Indian human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and seeking an independent investigation into the death of the Jesuit priest has been introduced in the US Congress, Congressman Juan Vargas has said. Vargas, the Representative from the US state of California, announced that he recently introduced the resolution in Congress to commemorate Swamy and to encourage an independent investigation into his death. Also Read | China Livid over NASA Chief Bill Nelsons Charge of Moon Grab, Accuses US of Stoking Space Arms Race. The resolution, co-sponsored by Representatives Andre Carson and James McGovern, has been introduced in the US House of Representatives and coincides with the first anniversary of 84-year-old Swamy's death in police custody. Vargas, a Democratic Party Congressman, spoke at a webinar titled Persecution of Religious Minorities and their Defenders in India: Commemorating Father Stan's Death in Custody' on Tuesday. Also Read | Chinese Property Developers Accept Peaches, Watermelons, Garlic As Down Payment for Homes Amid Recession: Report. UK MP Neale Hanvey, MEP Alviina Alametsa (EU), Senator David Shoebridge (Australia), and UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor addressed the event. The webinar was co-organised by Front Line Defenders, Hindus for Human Rights, the Humanism Project, India Civil Watch International, and Survival International, and co-sponsored by Adivasi Lives Matter, Dalit Solidarity Forum, the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA), and the Indian American Muslim Council, a joint press release said. The panelists noted Swamy's extensive service fighting for the rights of Adivasi people, it added. I am appalled by the abuse Father Stan faced while in custody. No one who fights for human rights should face such violence and neglect, said Vargas. Swamy died at a Mumbai hospital, where he was admitted on May 29 last year, a day after he suffered a cardiac arrest and was put on ventilator support. He suffered from Parkinson's disease and several other ailments. Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Ranchi, Jharkhand in October 2020 under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad case and lodged at the Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai. The Elgar Parishad case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made by some activists at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. India rejected international criticism over the death of Swamy last year, saying the due process of law was followed in his case and that the authorities act against violations of law and do not restrain the legitimate exercise of rights. "Authorities in India act against violations of law and not against legitimate exercise of rights. All such actions are strictly in accordance with the law," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in July last year in response to media queries relating to reactions over the demise of Swamy. In view of Father Swamy's ailing health, the Bombay High Court had allowed his medical treatment at a private hospital where he was receiving all possible medical attention since May 28, Bagchi said. "India's democratic and constitutional polity is complemented by an independent judiciary, a range of national and state-level human rights commissions that monitor violations, a free media and a vibrant and vocal civil society," Bagchi said. "India remains committed to promotion and protection of human rights of all its citizens," he added. Earlier, the UN body on human rights had said it was "deeply saddened and disturbed" by the death of the activist in pre-trial detention. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad [Pakistan], July 6 (ANI): Pakistan journalist Imran Riaz Khan was arrested on Tuesday on the outskirts of Islamabad, hours after he claimed that his life was under threat. Khan was heading to Islamabad when he was arrested in connection with a treason case registered against him in Attock, Pakistan's Dawn.com reported. He was named in 17 treason cases across Punjab province, the report said. Also Read | China Livid over NASA Chief Bill Nelsons Charge of Moon Grab, Accuses US of Stoking Space Arms Race. In a pre-recorded video on his popular video channel, he said, "This video is being recorded for the time of my arrest. They may kill me. After a gap of five hours, if they will harm me, then I will upload such a video on my channel that will cause a furore. I will name everyone. Just wait for 5 hours." Besides this, he also posted on Twitter condemning the "fascist regime" in Pakistan. "Many of us r facing cases just because of our journalism. 20 cases on me. Where is democracy and freedom of speech." Also Read | Chinese Property Developers Accept Peaches, Watermelons, Garlic As Down Payment for Homes Amid Recession: Report. Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan condemned the arbitrary arrest and said Pakistan is descending into fascism. "I strongly condemn the arbitrary arrest of @ImranRiazKhan by Punjab police tonight. The country is descending into fascism just to make our nation accept an Imported Govt comprising mega crooks. It is time for everyone, esp the media, to unite & stand up against this fascism," Khan tweeted. PTI Secretary General Asad Umar also condemned the arrest, saying that expression of opinions should be met with counterarguments instead of arrests. In a recent video on his Youtube channel, the journalist addressed Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and alleged that he was threatened after asking questions from military sources about the country's current political and economic situation. Several cases have been lodged against journalists in Pakistan for allegedly spreading hate against the army and state institutions. This latest arrest comes in the backdrop of a growing crackdown on journalists in Pakistan. Earlier this week, police raided the home of journalist Rana Abrar Khalid in Rajanpur, Punjab following his investigation last year into former prime minister Imran Khan's use of public funds and Toshakhana. Last week, senior journalist and former parliamentarian Ayaz Amir was assaulted by unknown persons. "We see it as another cowardly act intended to silence independent voices. HRCP demands an investigation and those found responsible for this act must be brought to book," the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kampala [Uganda], July 6 (ANI/Xinhua): Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday urged the United Nations to support the country's environmental protection efforts by providing refugees with alternative means of energy for cooking instead of wood fuel. Museveni made the appeal while meeting with outgoing UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Country Representative Joel Boutroue, according to a State House statement. Also Read | China Livid over NASA Chief Bill Nelsons Charge of Moon Grab, Accuses US of Stoking Space Arms Race. Experts say the over 1.5 million refugees in Uganda are exerting pressure on the environment in areas where they are hosted. Uganda is the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa and the third in the world after Turkey and Colombia, according to UNHCR figures. "Refugees are our people. Our tribes are the same. There is no way we can discriminate against them. We however need support to deal with the relief and other logistics including protecting the environment," Museveni said. Also Read | Chinese Property Developers Accept Peaches, Watermelons, Garlic As Down Payment for Homes Amid Recession: Report. Boutroue described Uganda's relatively inclusive refugee policy as exemplary and called for more attention and support from the United Nations to this country. (ANI/Xinhua) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New York [US], July 6 (ANI): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday (local time) appointed Lieutenant-General Mohan Subramanian of India as Force Commander, United Nations Mission in South Sudan. "United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian of India as his new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)," read a UN press release. Also Read | Canada To Throw Out 13.6 Million Doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Due to Lack of Takers. Lieutenant General Subramanian succeeded Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar of India to whom the Secretary-General said he "is grateful for his tireless dedication, invaluable service and effective leadership as UNMISS Force Commander." He has a distinguished military career with the Indian Army spanning over 36 years. Also Read | China Livid over NASA Chief Bill Nelsons Charge of Moon Grab, Accuses US of Stoking Space Arms Race. Most recently, he served as the General Officer Commanding, Military Region (Operational and Logistic Readiness Zone) in central India, contributing to the Army's operational and logistic preparedness. Previously, he served as the Additional Director General for Procurement and Equipment Management at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army) (2019-2021), General Officer Commanding a Strike Infantry Division (2018-2019), Deputy General Officer Commanding of Infantry Division (2015-2016) and Commander of a Mountain Brigade (2013-2014) among other appointments within the Indian Armed Forces. He also served as India's Defence Attache to Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia (2008-2012) and as a Staff Officer with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone in 2000. Lieutenant General Subramanian holds two master of philosophy degrees in defence and management studies as well as Social Sciences. In addition to Tamil, he is fluent in English and Hindi. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington [US], July 6 (ANI/Sputink): The suspected gunman in a July 4 parade shooting in Illinois was charged with seven counts of first degree murder for allegedly carrying out the attack that left seven people dead, Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said during a press conference. "Today, the Lake County State's Attorney's Office has charged Robert Crimo III with seven counts of first degree murder," Rinehart said on Tuesday. Also Read | China Livid over NASA Chief Bill Nelsons Charge of Moon Grab, Accuses US of Stoking Space Arms Race. Authorities intend on charging Crimo with dozens more crimes in the future, Reinhardt added. Crimo faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted on the charges against him, Reinhardt also said. (ANI/Sputink) Also Read | Chinese Property Developers Accept Peaches, Watermelons, Garlic As Down Payment for Homes Amid Recession: Report. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ayodhya, July 6: Well-known Ayodhya seer, Mahant Raju Das of Hanuman Garhi temple, has issued a threat to filmmaker Leena Manimekalai after the latter shared the poster of her film 'Kaali' which depicts Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. The film poster has triggered an outrage over the goddess' portrayal. Mahant Raju Das told reporters, "Look at the recent events. When Nupur Sharma said the right things, it sparked fire across India, across the world. But you want to insult the Hindu religion? Kya chaahte ho, tumhara bhi sar tan se juda ho jaaye (Do you also want your head to be separated from your body)? Is this what you want?" Maa Kaali Poster Row: Leena Manimekalai Booked by Delhi Police Over Controversial Documentary Poster Showing Hindu Goddess Smoking Cigarette. Raju Das further said, "Filmmaker Leena's documentary movie is an insult to Sanatan dharam and Hindu gods and goddesses." The trailer shows a woman dressed in the costume of Goddess Kaali. She is seen smoking a cigarette in the photo. Along with her usual accoutrements of a trishul (trident) and sickle, the actor playing the goddess is also shown wielding the LGBTQ+ community's pride flag. The seer has urged the Union home ministry to take strict action against the filmmaker. He also asked the government to ban the movie. "I request the Union home ministry to take strictest action against her and to ban the movie. If actions are not taken, we will create a situation that will be difficult to handle," the seer warned. Mahant Raju Das said that the filmmaker can still be forgiven for her audacity if she apologises now. "But if the movie is released, then we will create a situation that you won't be able to handle," he said. Sharad Shukla, former general secretary of Indian Youth Congress, also demanded a ban on the movie. "People who make such web series and documentaries should be put behind bars," Sharad Shukla said. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2022 09:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Indias Civil Aviation Regulator @DGCAIndia issues show cause notice to @flyspicejet Airlines on the basis of Poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions. pic.twitter.com/Ijo4zgmopV DD News (@DDNewslive) July 6, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) Nepal Finance Minister Janardan Sharma resigns from his post. He made the announcement while addressing a meeting of the House of Representatives, today ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) Nigerian government said at least 300 inmates were on the run after unknown gunmen attacked a jail in the capital city #Abuja. The attackers stormed the Kuje Custodial Center in Abuja on Tuesday night, Xinhua news agency reported. pic.twitter.com/wNFtbPNJFV IANS (@ians_india) July 6, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) JUST IN - Poland and Lithuania to convene a high-level meeting on the Suwalki Gap tomorrow, the Polish Ministry of National Defense announced. The presidents and defense ministers of both countries will attend. Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 6, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) New Delhi: In a bid to woo Indian consumers, Japanese consumer electronics brand Aiwa on Wednesday launched a new range of TV series -- Magnifiq -- that comes powered by Android 11 and AI Core 4 Processor. The range extends from the fully-loaded 32-inch series to 43-inch (FHD and UHD), 50-inch (4K UHD), 55-inch (4K UHD) and 65-inch (4K UHD), and is priced from Rs 29,990 to Rs 139,990. Japanese Audio Brand AIWA Launches Five Audio Products in India. "We are excited on the establishing of Aiwa India, as our Regional Headquarter, via which hope to assure Aiwa's permanency to the Indian consumers," Kure Shouichi ci, Managing Director of AIWA Electronics International Co. Ltd., said in a statement. "At the launch of our world-class televisions, we are sure the consumer will feel confident to see Aiwa's legacy of excellence over the past 70 years coupled with the latest and most powerful Android 11 technology," Shouichi ci added, who is also the Global Business Director of AIWA Co. Ltd. The 55-inch and 65-inch models of the range come with a built-in soundbar for enhanced audio that gives users the best-in-class experience. The soundbar has been designed with Aiwa Authentic Signature Sound technology to give users the most optimal audio preference. The high-performance Magnifiq range of premium televisions is powered by Android 11 with built-in Google Assistant. With the certified Android TVs, the user's favorite content is always front and centre for quick and easy access. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2022 05:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted raids at nearly 40 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and in southern states, in connection with a prevention of money laundering case linked to Vivo and associated Chinese firms. Sources said the office of Vivo and the premises of a few other Chinese firms were raided as part of a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Vivo V25 Pro, Vivo V25 Price, India Launch Timeline & Specifications Leaked Online: Report. The CBI has also been probing the case and lodged a separate first information report (FIR). In a statement to IANS, Vivo said that it is cooperating with the authorities to provide them with all required information. "As a responsible corporate, we are committed to be fully compliant with laws," a company spokesperson said. In April, the ED seized Rs 5,551.27 crore of Xiaomi Technology India Private Limited lying in the bank accounts under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) connection with the illegal outward remittances made by the company. The company had released a statement then saying, "We have studied the order from the government authorities carefully. We believe our royalty payments and statements to the bank are all legit and truthful. These royalty payments that Xiaomi India made were for the in-licensed technologies and IPs used in our Indian version products. It is a legitimate commercial arrangement for Xiaomi India to make such royalty payments. However, we are committed to working closely with government authorities to clarify any misunderstandings." On March 3, the Income Tax Department had said that they conducted raids against the Chinese firms dealing in telecom products and learnt that the companies were involved in tax evasion through fake receipts. The I-T department had detected suppression of income of Rs 400 crore at that time. The raids were conducted in the second week of February across India and in the National Capital Region. The searches had revealed that the Chinese firms had made inflated payments against the receipt of technical services from its related parties outside India. The assessee companies could not justify the genuineness of obtaining such alleged technical services in lieu of which payment had been made as also the basis of determination of consideration for the same. The search action had further revealed that the various firms had manipulated its books of account to reduce the taxable income in India through creation of various provisions for expenses, such as provisions for obsolescence, provisions for warranty, doubtful debts and advances, etc., which have little or no financial rationale. During the investigation, the groups had failed to provide any substantial and appropriate justification for such claims. The company had said that they were working with authorities to clarify all misunderstandings. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2022 09:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). ROME Each day, Giacomo Di Giralomo makes a point of asking, Where are you, Matteo? on his talk radio show, which is broadcast across western Sicily. Its a question that the police are asking with greater urgency as they seek Matteo Messina Denaro, the Sicilian Mafias last fugitive godfather, a fixture on Top 10 lists of the worlds most wanted for allegedly killing about 50 people and going on the run 20 years ago. Known for his love of fast cars, women and designer clothes, Messina Denaro, 51, has returned to the spotlight with the opening of a trial in Palermo last month. The case involves senior politicians accused of entering secret talks with the Cosa Nostra during a wave of bombings across Italy that Messina Denaro and other senior members of the group are suspected of carrying out in the 1990s. As a silent network of mobsters, friends and family keeps him hidden, investigators are not just hunting the fugitive but they are also slowly sucking the cash out of his empire by seizing assets worth $3.8 billion since 2009 from entrepreneurs suspected of acting as front men for him. What we are doing to Messina Denaro is like slowly removing the gas from a car, said Arturo De Felice, the head of the Italian Interior Ministrys anti-mafia unit. Advertisement It may still take some degree of siphoning. Although authorities tracking Messina Denaro decline to estimate his wealth, the Mafia in western Sicily remains the hub around which the local economy revolves, making it hard to determine where its revenue ends and legal economic output begins. Though the Cosa Nostra has been overtaken on the global stage by its rival Italian mafia, the Calabrian Ndrangheta, Messina Denaro remains a larger-than-life figure admired and feared across much of western Sicily, similar to the local brigands who battled foreign occupiers through the centuries. I have heard people saying they would do anything for him, said radio broadcaster Di Giralomo, who has written a book about the longtime fugitive. People reminisce about when they gave him a lift or smoked with him. He has the same appeal as [Emiliano] Zapata had in Mexico, Di Giralomo said, referring to the charismatic 20th century Mexican revolutionary. One local mobster, caught on a wiretap planning to abandon his wife and daughter to join his idol on the run, said, Better one day as a lion than 100 as a sheep! The son of a local mob boss, Messina Denaro gained a reputation as a killer in the 1980s, adopting the nickname Diabolik after his favorite Italian comic book villain. The rising Armani-garbed mobster who famously boasted, I filled a cemetery by myself saw himself as a great seducer of women, once allegedly killing a hotel manager who was jealous of his fling with an Austrian receptionist. He is also suspected of strangling the pregnant girlfriend of a rival mob boss. That made him a perfect partner in the murderous reign in the early 1990s of Salvatore Toto Riina, the boss of bosses from Corleone, in central Sicily, who was convicted of ordering the 1992 slayings of two magistrates, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. Seeking to persuade politicians to ease tough conditions for jailed mobsters, the Mafia launched a string of bombings across Italy, with Messina Denaro said to favor attacks on Italys artistic heritage, such as the 1993 bombing in Florence that destroyed three paintings at the famed Uffizi Gallery and damaged 30 others, including works by Rubens and Giotto. Messina Denaro went underground that year, which helped him avoid the fate of Riina, who was arrested, and of Bernardo Provenzano, the man seen as Riinas successor, who was captured in a farmhouse hideaway in 2006 after 43 years on the run. Even if he has not been officially anointed, Messina Denaro is effectively the top boss in Sicily since the others are all in jail, said a senior Palermo law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Unlike traditional mobsters such as Provenzano, who filled coded messages to affiliates with biblical references, Messina Denaro professes no religious belief. I dont love life, and after that there is nothing, he declared bluntly in a letter to a confidant, who later turned it over to authorities. In another he wrote, I am only concerned with protecting my dignity and that of my family. By allegedly relying on close relatives to provide safe houses around Sicily, Messina Denaro has avoided the mistake of bosses betrayed by trusted associates from outside their families. Respect and fear among local residents is also crucial, said Nicola Clemenza, 44, a teacher whose car was burned when he tried to set up a farming cooperative free of mob control. A trusted friend from school, who was one of the first to offer me sympathy, turned out to be the arsonist, Clemenza said. His respect for Messina Denaro was greater than his dignity. Four investigators have stepped forward this year to allege that Messina Denaro has been shielded by corrupt officials. A Carabinieri paramilitary police officer, Saverio Masi, has said he found himself pulled from the investigation after tracking the Mafia don to a rural address. Messina Denaro enjoys protection at a high level, said Teresa Principato, the Palermo magistrate leading the manhunt. The Italian judiciarys self-governing body Wednesday accused Palermos chief prosecutor, Francesco Messineo, of not doing enough to allow the sharing of information among his staff, making it more difficult to run down Messina Denaro. Investigators will not say whether they believe an arrest is imminent, but police have ramped up seizures of businesses they believe are fronting for Messina Denaro. Among them are firms that were involved in hosting Americas Cup races in Trapani in 2005; a chain of supermarkets that specialized in hiring mobsters fresh out of jail; and the business empire of Sicilian entrepreneur Vito Nicastri, who attracted foreign investment and European Union funding for wind farms he set up across Sicily. In April, police concluded the seizure of 43 companies, 98 properties and dozens of accounts totaling $1.7 billion from Nicastri, nicknamed The Lord of the Wind and suspected of being at the Cosa Nostras disposal. The seizures do cut off Messina Denaros oxygen, said Di Giralomo. But the problem is that nine out of 10 companies seized from the Mafia here go bust because they cannot survive without mob backing. Then people get laid off, and the idea of a mafia as a benign provider of jobs is strengthened. Clemenza said Messina Denaro could yet be betrayed by otherwise loyal entrepreneurs exasperated by the growing number of seizures of their bank accounts, properties and businesses. But removing Messina Denaro could prove just a temporary fix. The problem with that is another godfather will just step into the breach, Clemenza said. What is really needed here is a switch from the mentality that accepts the Mafia, not just arrests and seizures. Kington is a special correspondent. SNAP benefits 2022, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a federal aid that provides benefits to eligible low-income individuals and families through an Electronic Benefits Transfer card or EBT card. With the COVID-19 pandemic, procuring goods can prove to be difficult, especially with certain travel restrictions during the onset of the pandemic. Fortunately, the 2014 Farm Bill mandated a pilot to be conducted to test the feasibility and effects of allowing retail food stores to accept SNAP benefits through online transactions, as reported by Food and Nutrition Service of Agriculture Department. However, SNAP benefits cannot be used to pay for fees of any type, such as delivery, service, or convenience fees. In 2017, FNS released the selection of eight retailers for the initial launch of the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot. READ NEXT: SNAP Benefits 2022: Texas, California, Florida, Other States Payment Updates SNAP Benefits Online Payment Individuals and families have options to buy their groceries online using their EBT card in California as of Apr. 28, 2020. The state's Department of Social Services noted that Californians' EBT cards can be used at Amazon and Walmart for home delivery. Instacart and their participating stores also accept SNAP benefits online payment. Groceries can also be bought online for pick up at participating Albertsons, Safeway, and Vons locations. Super King Market, Superior Grocers, and Whole Foods also joined the list of stores accepting SNAP benefits online payment. Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Children and Families announced that it will start a pilot program for SNAP recipients to purchase groceries online using EBT cards as of April 2020. Florida EBT Cardholders can use their SNAP benefits to shop online at Aldi, Amazon, BJ's Wholesale Club, Publix, and Walmart, according to Smarter Florida report. Earth Fare, Freshfields Farm, Whole Foods, and Sprouts Farmers Markets also accept SNAP benefits online payment in Florida. Texas, on the other hand, have retailers in their state accepting SNAP benefits payments online, such as Albertsons, ALDI, Amazon, and Brookshire's Food and Pharmacy. H-E-B, Joe V's Smart Shop, Sam's Club, Sprouts Farmers Market, Walmart, and Whole Foods. SNAP Benefits 2022 Recently, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Health Human Services Commission is handing more than $301.8 million in emergency SNAP food benefits for the month of July. The governor's press release noted that the allotments are seen to help around 1.4 million Texas households. The emergency July allotments are on top of more than $7.2 billion in benefits previously given to Texans since April 2020. Washington D.C. residents could also be getting extra benefits in July 2022, as reported by Houston Case Managers. Meanwhile, Oregon will distribute the SNAP benefits on Jul. 11, Jul. 28, and Aug. 1. Ohio will be uploading SNAP benefits payments to their residents' EBT cards on Jul. 27. In California, there are no updates regarding when the emergency allotments will be deposited into the accounts of CalFresh recipients. Colorado will be uploading emergency SNAP benefits to their residents' EBT cards from Jul. 10 to Jul. 15. READ MORE: SNAP Benefits 2022 Update: $301.8 Million Texas Payments Confirmed for July 2022 This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: SNAP Food Program Gets Boost In Benefits - from NBC News Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday called on Congress to act following the Highland Park shooting on the 4th of July in Illinois. Speaking at a teachers union that occurred miles away from the site of the tragedy, Harris underscored that violence, such as the Highland Park shooting, should be stopped, New York Post reported. Harris also emphasized that communities should be protected against the terror of gun violence. The vice president then shared that the 4th of July should be a day to "come together with family and friends" and celebrate the nation's independence instead of experiencing a "violent tragedy." Harris then called on Congress to act on the assault weapons ban in the light of the Illinois tragedy. "Congress needs to have the courage to act and renew the assault-weapons ban... An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings - quickly," Harris emphasized. Vice President Kamala Harris also pointed out that Congress should stop covering for the gun manufacturers with the liability shield. She added that there is no reason to have "weapons of war" in the streets of the United States, pointing out that reasonable gun-safety laws are needed. READ NEXT: COVID-19 Cases in Florida: CDC Data Reveal 51 Deaths Per Day in Sunshine State, But Virus Slowing Down Joe Biden Comments on Highland Park Shooting in Illinois A day before Harris made her comment, President Joe Biden expressed his thoughts on the Highland Park shooting in Illinois. Biden said in a statement that he and First Lady Jill Biden were shocked with the tragedy, calling it "senseless gun violence." The president added that there is still much more work to do in the epidemic of gun violence, stressing that he will not "give up" on fighting the issue. On Tuesday, Biden told reporters he is "not sure" if he will go to the site of the Highland Park shooting. Biden made his comments when he was asked as he departed from a Medal of Honor event in the White House East Room. Later on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that there is still no plan to send President Joe Biden to Illinois. "I just don't have anything to say about any travel to Illinois," Jean-Pierre noted. Highland Park Shooting in Illinois On the 4th of July, authorities arrested 22-year-old Robert "Bobby" Crime III, who allegedly opened fire from a rooftop, killing at least six people and injuring two dozen others. The shooting occurred at Central Avenue and 2nd Street in downtown Highland Park around 10:14 a.m. Lake County Sgt. Christopher Covelli said that the gunman shot into the parade in Highland Park from a rooftop using a high-powered rifle. He added that the Highland Park shooting appeared to be "completely random." READ NEXT: Texas Deputy Says Arrest of Kaitlin Armstrong in Costa Rica Was a 'Good Time'; Claims Yoga Teacher Might Change Appearance This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: 'This Should Never Have Happened': VP Kamala Harris Visits Highland Park After Mass Shooting - From WGN News The White House has dodged questions regarding U.S. President Joe Biden's leaked voicemails to son Hunter Biden about his overseas business dealings. The Daily Mail reported that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that she would not comment on anything about Hunter's controversial laptop when asked about the 2018 voicemail of the president discussing his son's deal with Chinse oil moguls. Jean-Pierre told Fox News' Peter Doocy during her daily briefing that she will not talk about "alleged materials from the material." Biden has consistently maintained that he has no involvement with Hunter's international business despite what the leaked voicemail suggested. Biden administration officials and those in the president's circle have dubbed the materials from Hunter's alleged laptop as disinformation. However, intelligence officials have said that neither the laptop nor the materials on it are part of any disinformation campaign as far back as October 2020, according to a Fox News report. Hunter is involved in a federal investigation partly by Suspicious Activity Reports about suspicious foreign transactions. One source familiar with the probe involving the president's son noted that the SARs were pertaining to funds from "China and other foreign nations." READ NEXT: Hunter Biden Net Worth 2022: How Wealthy Is President Joe Biden's Youngest Son? Joe Biden Leaked Voice Mail A voicemail first reported by Daily Mail revealed that Biden spoke with Hunter about his business dealings with China despite the president repeatedly denying personally that he ever talked about Hunter's foreign ventures with his son. A voicemail that was left on Hunter's iPhone showed that Biden called his son in December 2018, saying he wanted to talk to him after reading a New York Times article about Hunter's dealings with CEFC. Hunter has reportedly struck a deal with the Chinese company worth millions of dollars after priding himself on his family connections. In the Times' 2018 story, CEFC chairman Ye Jianming had been reported to be arrested along with his top lieutenant Patrick Ho. The Times reported at the time that when Ho was arrested, he called the president's brother, Jim Biden, who told the paper that he believed the call was meant for Hunter. Biden called his son and left a voicemail after seeing the story online. In the voicemail, the president said that the story will be printed tomorrow and that he thinks his son is "clear." Federal agents were monitoring Ho as a potential spy for China, according to a copy of a warrant. Investigation on Hunter Biden The U.S. attorney in Delaware is investigating Hunter's finances, with reports that he recently cut the Internal Revenue Service a check for about $2 million in unpaid taxes. Emails found in Hunter's laptop include one that indicates Biden repeatedly met with his son's business partners while he was still vice president, according to a New York Post report. Hunter's attorney Chris Clark said that Hunter divested a 10% stake in BHR partners after Biden's November summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Other photos and emails found on the laptop suggested that Biden hosted his son and a group of Mexican business associates in 2015 at the vice president's official residence. READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden, a 'Direct Beneficiary' of His Son Hunter Biden's Foreign Deals, Says Head of Government Accountability Institute This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: Biden voicemail telling son Hunter 'you're in the clear' on NYT article - from Daily Mail Riot police in Nicaragua have taken over the city halls of five municipalities held by mayors affiliated with the opposition political party, Citizens Alliance for Liberty Party (CXL), also known as the Citizens for Freedom. Under current president Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua continues its crackdown on the opposition, with municipal elections only four months away. Opposition leader Kitty Monterrey confirmed that police have taken over five towns in the country, including Pantasma, San Sebastian de Yali, El Cua, Murra, and El Almendro. Opposition party member and Pantasma Mayor Oscar Gadea Tinoco also confirmed the police takeover of his town's city hall. Opposition Says Towns in Nicaragua Still Under Riot Police, Pro-Ortega Politicians Name Themselves Mayor Monterrey condemned the takeover of the opposition-held towns as the government continued its crackdowns on any sort of opposition. She said that all the mayors were legitimately elected by the people and called on President Daniel Ortega to respect the well-being of the deposed mayors. NBC News reported that the Nicaraguan government has yet to comment on these takeovers. Deposed San Sebastian de Yali Mayor Noel Moreno said around 50 heavily-armed riot police and Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front members entered his town's offices early Monday. He noted that the town hall is still under the control of riot police. The deposed mayor added that pro-Ortega Sandinista town council members have already appointed themselves as the mayor and vice mayor of the town. In Pantasma, another pro-Ortega Sandinista councilmember was named as the replacement for deposed mayor Gadea Tinoco. The argument for him being booted from his duly-elected position was that the country no longer recognized the political party he was in. So his election as mayor was invalid. Sandinista councilwoman Carmen Obando replaced him. READ NEXT: Argentina Peso Plunges After New Leftist Finance Minister Named Nicaragua Government Worsening Its Repression of the Opposition According to the Associated Press, the CXL legitimately won each of these towns in the 2017 elections. However, the Ortega administration began its purge of any opposition members in last year's presidential elections. The most atrocious of these was Ortega imprisoning seven opposition leaders who tried running against him last year. Last August, the BBC reported that the Ortega-aligned electoral council banned the CXL because its president Kitty Monterrey, also known as Carmella Rogers Amburn, holds dual citizenship between Nicaragua and the United States. The government also revoked the opposition leader's Nicaraguan citizenship soon after and threatened her with deportation. She fled to exile and is currently staying in Costa Rica. Without any legitimate opposition or opponents, Ortega cruised to victory in last year's elections and remained in power for his fourth term in office. Both the United States and the European Union called his victory a "farce." Nicaragua has 153 municipalities, and with the takeover, Ortega's Sandinista Front now controls 140 of them. The other 13 municipalities are under political parties allied with the controversial president. This means that no municipal seats are currently being held by any opposition party. Deposed mayor Morena said that the Ortega administration does not want anybody else to participate in the elections. Meanwhile, the now-exiled Monterrey called the takeovers a serious attack against the people's will and municipal autonomy. READ MORE: Chile President Gabriel Boric Receives New Constitution's Draft | What's in It? This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Repression in Nicaragua: Ortega Attacks Opposition in Run-up to Election - From The Woodrow Wilson Center Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as "El Mencho," is the prominent leader of the notorious Jalisco cartel of Mexico. According to BBC News, El Mencho was born in the town of Naranjo de Chila in Aguililla city in the state of Michoacan. He is currently wanted in Mexico and the United States. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel or Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) is considered one of Mexico's most dangerous and powerful drug cartels. El Mencho's group is believed to be behind attacks on Mexican security forces like the 2015 ambush in Jalisco state that left 15 officers dead. Jalisco cartel was also allegedly behind the attempted assassination of Mexico City's police chief in 2020. The drug cartel is believed to have expanded its presence and operations nationwide in the past years. The Jalisco cartel had risen to power after Mexican security forces killed former Sinaloa Cartel capo Ignacio Coronel, known as "Nacho," in July 2010. Nacho's death resulted in the split of the Sinaloa Cartel into two factions - "La Resistencia" and "Torcidos." The "Torcidos" became what is now the Jalisco cartel, which has since expanded rapidly in Mexico. READ NEXT: Jalisco Cartel Hitmen Broke Into a Mansion to Steal 6 Luxury Cars for Notorious Boss El Mencho Jalisco Cartel Boss El Mencho Net Worth El Mencho is believed to have a fortune as massive as more than $1 billion, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). InsightCrime reported that the Jalisco Cartel boss previously owned 100 Japanese restaurants, real estate, shopping malls, newspapers, and a tequila brand that tried to export to Europe. He also had "luxurious cabins built on a lagoon on Mexico's Pacific Coast" and "gold bars" used to launder money. El Mencho also once owned a ranch with exotic animals, including a Bengal tiger and endangered birds. According to Univision, these are just some of El Mencho's properties and items that the U.S. and Mexican authorities have seized in recent years. The figure released by DEA is only an estimate but gives an idea of the vastness of El Mencho's illegal businesses. Kyle Mori, head of the DEA team tasked with finding El Mencho, told Univision in 2019 that El Mencho already has at least $500 million and could possess more than $1 billion. Mori also believed that the Jalisco cartel boss was no longer in the cities, adding that he could be hiding in mountainous areas in Jalisco, Michoacan, and Colima. The U.S. official said another factor that makes capturing El Mencho difficult is that he practices military discipline and does not use drugs. Thus, he is in good health and in excellent physical condition. The Jalisco Cartel in Mexico The Jalisco cartel is being blamed for the bulk of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and other illegal drugs transported into the U.S. Apart from drug trafficking, El Mencho's group also earns millions from fuel theft and arms smuggling. The Jalisco cartel has already established its presence in at least 20 Mexican states, including Mexico City. Its bases of operations are reportedly in Jalisco and Colima states. El Mencho reportedly prefers to use Pacific routes to move tons of drugs, importing cocaine from Colombia and ephedrine from China through Manzanillo port in Colima. The Mexican drug kingpin once served as a police officer in Cabo Corrientes and Tomatlan in Jalisco. However, he left the police force to continue his drug trafficking activities and join the Milenio Cartel before becoming the head of the Jalisco cartel. The U.S. government has already offered a $10 million reward for information leading to El Mencho's arrest. The Jalisco cartel boss remains one of the world's most elusive criminals. READ MORE: Jalisco Cartel Boss El Mencho's Daughter, La Negra, Freed After More Than 2 Years in U.S. Prison This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: El Mencho: The Drug Lord Filling the Void El Chapo Left Behind - From CBS Mornings Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana collapsed on stage on Tuesday night during a concert in Michigan. According to Marca, Santana was performing at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, when he passed out. Medical personnel rushed to the stage to help the 74-year-old Mexican musician, and his team asked the audience to pray for the artist's health because of a "serious medical" issue. Milenio reported that Santana fainted while performing his hit song "Joy." Images and videos of the fainting incident have already surfaced on social media. A video from an audience of Santana's "Miraculous Supernatural 2022 Tour: Santa + Earth, Wind, & Fire," revealed how the production acted after the famed guitarist fainted. It also showed staff swarming around Santana, with one rushing to the guitarist to give him water. Billboard reporter Garry Graff tweeted that Santana was taken to a hospital after medical personnel carried him off the stage 20 minutes after he fainted. Another video showed that Carlos Santana quickly regained consciousness after a couple of minutes. It also showed Santana waving his hands to the audience while escorted off stage. READ NEXT: Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin: Mexican Boxer Calls GGG an A**hole, Says He'll KO Him in September Bout The Reason Why Carlos Santana Collapsed in Michigan Concert In a statement, Carlos Santana's management confirmed that the legendary guitarist had collapsed due to heat exhaustion and dehydration. The statement further noted that the iconic rocker was transported from the venue to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston, where he was "doing well." Later, Santana dedicated a message to his Facebook fans, thanking them for the prayers they offered for him. "To one and all: Thank you for your precious prayers. Cindy and I we are good. Just taking it easy. Forgot to eat and drink water, so I dehydrated and passed out. Blessings and miracles to you all," Santana wrote. The incident caused a postponement of Carlos Santana's current North American tour. His next stop was supposed to be at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania on July 6. A new date for the said show is yet to be confirmed. Carlos Santana Concert In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Mexican guitarist said that playing in a concert nowadays is "a blessing and an opportunity to go even deeper into our heart and higher in our mind." The guitarist noted that people were reminded that performers were not "a wretched sinner" whenever they played music for them. Santana added that performers become a beam of light that brings "hope and courage" when they play music. Santana's concert happened two years later than it was initially planned because of the pandemic. In the interview, Santana also suggested that his concert with fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Earth, Wind & Fire "should be an exuberant, healing affair at a time people desperately need it." Santana noted that suffering ends when people make a "conscious choice" to focus on the highest good of all people. He then said people should always concentrate on gratitude, deep appreciation, and thankfulness. "Those three things are your armor to protect yourself from yourself. Nobody can mess with you more than your own ego... own negative voice," he added. Carlos Santana also canceled several Las Vegas shows last December following his successful heart procedure. READ MORE: COVID-19 Cases in Florida: CDC Data Reveal 51 Deaths Per Day in Sunshine State, But Virus Slowing Down This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Carlos Santana Collapses on Stage During Performance at Pine Knob in Clarkston - From Click on Detroit Local 4 WDIV The U.S. Embassy has issued a security alert for its citizens in Mexico's Baja California state due to possible confrontations between security forces and Sinaloa Cartel members following the arrest of its leader, "El Tolin." In a statement, the alert warned that these confrontations, as well as cartel assassinations, and territorial disputes, could result in bystanders being injured or killed. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said Americans should expect to encounter increased law enforcement presence in the cities of Tijuana and Rosarito in Baja California in the coming days. The embassy also urged travelers to pay close attention to their surroundings, monitor local media, and call 911 in case of an emergency. Due to crime and kidnapping, the U.S. Department of State issued a new "Level 3" travel warning for Baja California, advising Americans to reconsider travel to the Mexican state. Luis Hector or Luis Edgar Herrera, also known as "El Tolin" and "El Tolin Infante," is a high-ranking leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. He was reportedly the cartel's plaza boss of Rosarito, Mexicali, and Tijuana in Baja California. Attempted Hit on Sinaloa Cartel Leader 'El Tolin' Led to His Arrest in Mexico's Baja California State According to Borderland Beat, El Tolin went to a local barbershop at the Plaza Reforma in the city of Rosarito in Baja California on Saturday. He was accompanied by at least one bodyguard and his three children. However, as they exited the barbershop and walked towards the parking lot, a white pickup truck containing at least four gunmen opened fire, according to witnesses who spoke to Zeta Tijuana. The youngest of the three children, a five-year-old, was wounded. El Tolin and his bodyguard tried to rush the children into their car, but the gunfire did not stop, killing the bodyguard. He then left his bodyguard and managed to escape. The Sinaloa Cartel leader then drove to Rosarito General Hospital for treatment of his injured son. Borderland Beat reported that the child had sustained gunshot wounds in the chest and leg. It was standard procedure to report incidents like children getting shot to the police. Officers arrived at the hospital and questioned El Tolin about how his son was shot. He refused to answer, returned to his truck where his two other children were, and drove away. Police then called in for a backup and set up a trap. They blocked the street with patrol cars so El Tolin's vehicle could not pass. They eventually captured the Sinaloa Cartel leader without firing a single shot. El Tolin had two 9mm firearms found to be in his possession. The Rosarito Municipal Police headquarters was heavily guarded against any attempt to free El Tolin after his arrest. The Sinaloa Cartel leader was later transferred to the facilities of the Attorney General's Office (FGR) in Tijuana. READ NEXT: El Chapo Case: US Officials Sued by Sinaloa Cartel Boss Ask to Dismiss 'Mistreatment' Lawsuit for 2nd Time Who Is Sinaloa Cartel Leader, El Tolin Infante? According to Infobae, El Tolin Infante was born in Chicago to Mexican parents but grew up in California. He grew up poor and hungry and would later build up a bloody criminal career in Los Angeles as part of a gang called the Los Infantes. He later moved to Mexico and settled in Tijuana. El Tolin would later find himself as a cell leader for Los Rusos or the Russians under Felipe Eduardo Barajas Lozano, alias "El Omega." He also previously served as an operator for La Rana/Aquiles. Both La Rana and Los Rusos are loyal to the Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada wing of the Sinaloa Cartel. According to local rumors, the hit on El Tolin was done by elements of the Sinaloa Cartel loyal to Los Chapitos, the four sons of Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera. There is currently a power struggle within the Sinaloa Cartel following the arrest and extradition of El Chapo to the U.S. El Chapo's sons are reportedly looking to assume supreme control of the Sinaloa Cartel, and their father's former right-hand man, El Mayo, appears to be their internal enemy number one. READ MORE: Sinaloa Cartel Boss El Mayo's Son, 'Mayito Gordo,' Gets 9 Years in Prison but Could Be Released Next Year This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Ultima Hora , Balacera en Rosarito Baja California (Tolin Infante Presunto Detenido) - From El Compa Igna Measures designed to ease school costs were welcomed by Laois/Offaly TD, Barry Cowen, while constituency colleague Brian Stanley TD was more cautious insisting more needs to be done. The measures were announced yesterday by Minister for Education Norma Foley in order to help families with school going children. They include an additional 50 million social welfare and 17 million in educational measures. As part of the package, eligible schoolchildren will get a 100 increase in the Back to School Clothing and Footwear allowance. For eligible children between aged 4 to 11 it will bring the allowance up to 260 and for eligible schoolchildren over 12 to 385. A further measure relates to the School Meals Programme, with an additional 310 schools, recently designated as DEIS schools last March, being invited to participate in this programme. Anyone who has applied for and receives a school transport ticket for the academic year 2022/23 will not be charged a fee for their school bus ticket this year. This will provide families with savings of up to 500 on the cost of tickets. Further details on how the scheme will operate will be announced shortly and communicated directly to families. Deputy Cowen said: "We recognise this is an expensive time of year for families, particularly those with a number of children in school. The announcement of a targeted suite of measures to help families with back to education costs this September across transport, clothing, footwear and meals, builds on the additional cost of living supports we have introduced since Budget 2022 and I believe it will be welcomed by many parents. As set out yesterday as part of the publication of the Summer Economic Statement, further measures which will take effect this year to assist with the rising cost of living will be announced as part of the Budget in September. However, it is appropriate that we take action now to help with back to school costs given that these expenses are being incurred at this time of year and todays initiative will be of immediate benefit to parents who are grappling with these costs. His constituency colleague, TD Brian Stanley has said that the Governments three back to school measures are welcome but missed the majority of working families who are under severe financial pressure. He said his party has set out a package of measures to ensure families get a break from the cost of living crisis by extending the Back to School Allowance to middle income families. They also want to see measures to reduce back to school costs such as voluntary contributions, school books, uniforms and transport. Deputy Stanley said: We know families in Laois and Offaly find back-to-school costs a huge burden every year, but even more so this year, with the cost-of-living crisis getting worse. He said: An Irish League of Credit Unions survey found that the average back to school cost for one child at primary school was 1,186 and 1,491 for a secondary school. It also found that 24% of parents get into debt trying to pay these costs, sometimes borrowing from money lenders. "The book lists, uniform and the letters for voluntary contributions are already coming through the door. This is not an issue that can wait until the Budget in October, these bills are hitting people in the here and now, explained Deputy Stanley. Sinn Feins proposal calls on them to act now and ensure working families get this crucial support to deal with school costs over the summer. Our proposals include six measures to support families with these costs, he said. We would give the Back to School allowance to middle income families, targeting those on a Household Gross income of 80,000 and less, with 500,000 additional children qualifying. We would also increase the Back to School allowance by 50% for those who already get it. This would increase supports from 160 to 240 for parents with a child aged 4 to 11 and from 285 to 427.50 for children from the age of 12 up. "> He said his party would also work towards a fully free schoolbook scheme for children. We also set out how we would eliminate fees in the school transport system on a phased basis and provide seats for an additional 10,000 children. This state is 75 years behind the north in introducing school books, where it was done in 1947. We would enact Sinn Feins Affordable School Uniforms Bill straight away alongside our Bill to abolish voluntary contributions, which can put families under pressure to fork out hundreds of euros, said Deputy Stanley. While the new measures are welcome, the working families who missed out on this cannot wait until budget time. Primary and secondary education is intended to be free under the constitution and legislation, but the reality paints a different story, Deputy Stanley concluded. New spending by the Government will be of immediate benefit to parents who are grappling with the costs of sending their children to school in September, Laois Offaly TD and Minister Sean Fleming has claimed. The Fianna Fail representative issued a statement welcoming an additional 50 million in social welfare measures and 17 million for education measures aimed at families. He welcomed a steps which he said are designed to help families with school-going children returning to school in the autumn. Minister Fleming said the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is being increased by 100 for each eligible child under the scheme. He said the amount being paid for each qualified child aged 411 years will be 260 and the rate payable for each eligible child aged 12 and over will be 385. The TD said is estimated that some 151,000 families will benefit from this measure in respect of over 262,000 children. A further measure relates to the School Meals Programme. Currently, some 230,000 school-going children benefit from this programme. From today, an additional 310 schools, recently designated as DEIS schools in March are being invited to participate in this programme. He said struggling families with back-to-school costs, anyone who has applied for and receives a school transport ticket for the academic year 2022/23 will not be charged a fee for their school bus ticket this year. The TD said this would provide families with savings of up to 500 on the cost of tickets. Further details on how the scheme will operate will be announced shortly and communicated directly to families. Minister Fleming said: "We recognise this is an expensive time of year for families, particularly those with a number of children in school. The announcement of a targeted suite of measures to help families with back to education costs this September across transport, clothing, footwear and meals, builds on the additional cost of living supports we have introduced since Budget 2022 and I believe it will be welcomed by many parents. As set out yesterday as part of the publication of the Summer Economic Statement, further measures which will take effect this year to assist with the rising cost of living will be announced as part of the Budget in September. However, it is appropriate that we take action now to help with back to school costs given that these expenses are being incurred at this time of year and todays initiative will be of immediate benefit to parents who are grappling with these costs. The measures were announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath and Minister for Education Norma Foley. Laois people are being urged to support the campaign that is fighting for the retention of emergency services at Navan Hospital. The Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee, which has been involved in a similar campaign for many years, has given its full support to the Co Meath campaign to halt downgrade of the Our Ladys Hospital Navan. The HSE wants to concentrate emergency services in Drogheda. It's a similar to the process which was stalled in Laois in 2017 when the HSE published a report calling for the removal of the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. John Hanniffy is secretary of the Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee. "Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee wishes to express our unreserved support for the people of Navan and Meath, the stafff and patients of Navan Hospital and the local campaigners fighting to retain full services in Navan Hospital Accident and Emergency Department. "The decision of the HSE to downgrade the A&E at Navan Hospital is ill-judged, ill-timed and unsupported by evidence. We fail to see how the HSE can take such a decision without first carrying out an impact assessment on the closures in Cavan and Monaghan (hospitals) or reviewing the situation that exists in University Hospital Limerick following similar downgrades to Nenagh and Ennis hospitals respectively. "Furthermore, as in our case, the HSE has not shown that it has sufficient capacity elsewhere to pick up the proposed increases in volumes," he said. Mr Hanniffy issued an appeal to people to support an upcoming protest which the Portlaoise committee had to mount in 2017 when a report outlining Portlaoise's downgrade was leaked. "We urge anyone from Laois and surrounds to lend their support to the Navan campaign and in particular their March in Navan on Saturday, July 9 at 1pm," he said. The outgoing HSE CEO has backed the downgrade of Navan Hospital. However, the Government has held back on giving the green light. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said on June 14 that no decision regarding the HSEs proposal for the transition of the Emergency Department at Our Ladys Hospital Navan has been agreed by this government. However, he said that the HSE has clinical concerns about the safety of the Emergency Department at Navan. He said he had asked the HSE to outline those concerns and consult with elected representatives on behalf of the local community. He added that has also heard the concerns of clinicians in Navan as to the ongoing safety concerns of operating a small Emergency Department. He said he has also listened to concerns of clinicians at other hospitals that would be impacted at a time when all health services are under such pressure. He said several important issues, including additional capacity in other hospitals impacted, as well as the continued ability of people in the Navan area to access emergency and urgent care, would need to be fully addressed before any proposed transition by the HSE takes place. A knife "heavily stained" with the blood of a fisherman who was stabbed to death after entering the home of a then-teenage boy with a Laois address was found in the accused's kitchen, while a knife recovered from the hallway contained no blood, a Central Criminal Court murder trial has heard. The jury has already heard a 999 call made by the accused Dean Kerrie at 3.44am on July 26, 2018, in which the teenager said that the deceased Jack Power had come "in the front door at him" and tried to hit him. He said he had stabbed Mr Power in the chest with a kitchen knife but that he didn't mean to. Eye witness Christopher Lee, however, has denied that his best friend, Mr Power, forcibly pushed in the front door of the Kerrie house that night and said these were "lies" Mr Kerrie had to make up "to get away with it". Mr Lee has told the trial that Mr Kerrie "deliberately killed" Mr Power. In his opening speech to the jury, prosecution counsel Michael Delaney SC said the accused was asked about the knife and told gardai that it was on the floor in his hall. Mr Delaney said Mr Kerrie was asked several times by gardai not to touch the knife and the accused said he wouldn't. Dean Kerrie (20) with an address at St Brigid's Square, Portarlington in Co Laois has pleaded not guilty to murdering 25-year-old Jack Power at Shanakiel, Dunmore East, Co Waterford on July 26, 2018, when he was 17. Giving evidence on Wednesday, July 6 Detective Sergeant Melissa Lyons from the fingerprint section of An Garda Siochana told Michael Delaney SC, prosecuting, that she found a black and white handled Swiss Line knife on a mat in the hallway of Shanakiel. Det Sgt Lyons said a number of knives were also found on the draining board adjacent to the sink in the kitchen. The witness said one knife was resting on top of another knife. The knife on top was a black and white handled bread knife and had the same coloured handle as the knife that was found in the hallway, she said. Det Garda Sgt Lyons said the knife underneath was a large knife with a black handle and had a blood-like substance on it. A palm mark was also located on the handle of the knife but it had insufficient ridge characteristics to allow it to be compared with any other palm marks. She also said a wooden leg belonging to a broken wooden chair located in the hallway of the house was found in the attic. Detective Garda Janette O'Neill, who went to the accused's house at Shanakiel after the incident, said she observed that most of the front windows were broken. "They were broken from the outside in," she added. Det Garda O'Neill said she took swabs from the blade and handle of the knife in the hallway but no blood was found on it. She said the lower of the two knives found on the draining board in the kitchen was "heavily bloodstained". The blade of the knife contained Mr Power's blood, the witness said. Referring to the upturned chair with the missing leg in the hallway, Det Garda O'Neill said the damage appeared to be recent. She said another detective had found the leg of the chair in the attic and he could physically fit the leg to the chair. There were two contact blood smears on the chair, one on the back and the other underneath the seat, she said. Under cross-examination, Det Garda O'Neill agreed with defence counsel Ciaran O'Loughlin SC that the contact marks found on the chair in the hallway belonged to the accused's mother Ann Fitzgerald. In his opening speech, Mr Delaney said that the jury would likely have to consider the issue of self defence given the circumstances in which Mr Power entered the Kerrie house. The trial continues on Thursday before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of six men and five women. Irish deputy leader Leo Varadkar has said that he is pleased he will not face prosecution over the leaking of a GP contract in 2019. In a statement released this evening, the Tanaiste said: I was informed this evening by my solicitor that the DPP has determined that I have no case to answer in relation to my disclosure of a document to the president of the NAGP in 2019. I have always maintained that the allegations made against me were false. I am pleased at the outcome of what was a very thorough investigation. He thanked the Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, his Fine Gael party colleagues, his staff, his partner and his family for their faith, trust and confidence in me during what was a difficult period for us all. In a statement to the PA news agency, Gardai said: Following a Garda investigation, a comprehensive investigation file was submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Director of Public Prosecutions has directed no prosecution against any individual in this investigation. The Tanaiste had been under investigation for passing a copy of the official document to a friend of his while he was taoiseach. Mr Varadkar has admitted that in April 2019 he sent a copy of a doctors pay deal between the State and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) to Dr Maitiu O Tuathail. Dr O Tuathail was head of the rival organisation, the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP), at the time. Mr Varadkar has apologised for disclosing the document. Mr Varadkar is due to become taoiseach again in December, replacing Micheal Martin, as part of the coalition deal that saw Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party form a government in 2020. A new digital platform at Maynooth University (MUI) aimed at facilitating digital collaboration was officially launched today. The 2022 Innovation Value Institute (IVI) Summit took place earlier today at MUI, which was launched by Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy. The IVI a multidisciplinary research institute focused on digital transformation and technology adoption based in MUI, while the new platform, which is facilitated by the IVI, is designed to help organisations to manage the digital transformation journey. The group's summit featured experienced industry leaders, policy makers and academic speakers addressing key issues concerning digital transformation today and into the future. Subjects covered at the event included: digital transformation for good and its societal impact, the green transition and sustainability, data governance and the work of the SFI Funded Research programme on Data Governance EMPOWER, as well as European digital skills. The theme for this years event was Digital Transformation Shaping the Hybrid Future, with Minister Troy delivering the opening keynote address and officially opening the new Digital Innovation Space (DIS). SHARED INFORMATION According to the organisers behind the platform, the DIS will be able to share best practices and examples of Digital Transformation: "It will enhance the existing IVI portal with access to a repository of digital transformation use cases, examples and descriptions of digital transformation paths from various sectors. "It will link to digital collaboration platforms that allow interactive discussions and workshops. The organisers elaborated: "Combined with the existing Capability Maturity Framework, digital readiness and benchmarking tools, the digital innovation spaces will provide a comprehensive space for collaboration and co-creation to work with a range of stakeholders, from SMEs to Multi-nationals in a range of sectors, including private and public sector." 'WE MUST KEEP EVOLVING AND IMPROVING' Launching the Digital Innovation Space, Minister Troy said: "We cannot stem progress, but we can embrace it. "Technology will continue to evolve and we need to plan for the changes coming; we must keep evolving and improving, and for our economy that means embracing digitalisation." He also called the work of the IVI and its partners across industry, academia, Government, and policy spheres concerning digital transformation 'extremely important,' and added that the Institutes new DIS will be 'a vital asset to support our enterprise base to embrace digitalisation.' Minister Troy concluded: "An ongoing and necessary process, digital transformation will future-proof businesses and the broader economy, enabling growth across all aspects of society at a local, regional, national and global level." Director of the IVI, Professor Markus Helfert, also highlighted the importance of this initiative. He said: "The new ways of collaboration to co-create digital transformation paths will provide an evidence-based repository to understand success and barriers of digital transformation. "With the ambition to address the two essential challenges of this decade, Digital and Green, we need far more insights on how organisation can manage the digital transformation journey. Prof Helfert continued: "The DIS is key to co-design successful digital transformation paths at the IVI with our members, industry, policymakers and the wider stakeholder groups." BACKGROUND The IVI was founded in 2006 in collaboration with Intel. The organisation has developed a close working relationship with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and other research centres. For further information about the IVI, you can visit their official website by clicking here. A disqualified driver who sped through a Covid-19 checkpoint over a year ago, forcing a garda to jump out of the way of his van, has been jailed for one year. Carl Reilly (33) panicked when he was spotted by gardai driving a rented van through the Rathfarnham area of Dublin in May 2020, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today. Reilly was disqualified from driving due to previous road traffic offences but had rented the van to work during the Covid lockdown, his defence counsel said. Reilly was spotted by gardai who recognised him as he drove through Rathfarnham, before he drove straight through a nearby garda checkpoint, the court heard. He then sped down the wrong side of the road at 100km/h in a 50km/h zone, breaking a red light, Garda Declan Buckley told Emmet Nolan BL, prosecuting. Gardai made the decision not to pursue Reilly for safety reasons. He was arrested at a later date. Reilly, of Glenmore Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin, pleaded guilty to one count of endangerment, one count of dangerous driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance at Grange Road, Rathfarnham on May 28, 2020. He has 29 previous convictions, mostly for road traffic offences. Mr Nolan said the garda who was forced to jump out of the way of Reilly's speeding van suffered flashbacks and couldn't sleep in the wake of the incident. Sarah Jane O'Callaghan BL, defending, said her client was not acting out of malice when he drove through the checkpoint, but panicked when he was spotted by gardai because he was disqualified from driving. Sentencing Reilly today/yesterday (TUES), Judge Martin Nolan said Reilly drove straight through the garda checkpoint, causing the garda to take evasive action before he continued on his merry way at speed. He noted Reilly was disqualified from driving at the time and he handed down a one-year sentence. Accra, Ghana (PANA) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, led by Carlo Sdralevich, has arrived in Accra to begin initial discussions with the Ghanaian authorities about a possible IMF-supported programme, according to an official announcement issued on Wednesday Irish Water (IW) has been urged to attend a meeting involving representatives from the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District. The appeal was made by Fine Gael councillor Tim Durkan, above, at the latest MD meeting, which was held on Friday, July 1. He said that IW should discuss the current sewage connections and potable water supply capacity of the IW network within the district. Cllr Tim Durkan, Fine Gael "There seems to be a lot of houses that are being built with no intention of connection," he said. His sentiments were backed up by his party colleague Cllr Brendan Wyse, who said: "This is the biggest thing that is putting people off moving into these areas." Fianna Fail Cllr Naoise O Cearuil also agreed with Cllrs Durkan and Wyse, who questioned if IW are 'future-proofing, especially given the regions rapidly growing population?' A representative for Kildare County Council who was present at the meeting said that they could write to IW, but said that they were unsure if the organisation would attend an MD meeting. However, Cllr Durkan said he saw no reason why IW could not send a member of its staff. The representatives then agreed to send a letter to IW. Bargetrip.ie has been recognized by Tripadvisor as a 2022 Travellers Choice award winner for activities in Ireland. The Kildare firm provides private charter cruises on the Grand Canal for up to 12 people on a traditional canal barge operating out of Sallins. The award celebrates businesses that have received great traveller reviews from visitors around the globe on Tripadvisor over the last 12 months. As challenging as the past year was, Bargetrip.ie stood out by consistently delivering positive experiences to travellers. Welcoming the award, Bargetrip Skipper Ger Loughlin said, this is fantastic news for a small tourism business in Kildare. We have a wonderful crew on the barge and its a team effort to ensure our passengers have a memorable experience. Kanika Soni, Chief Commercial Officer at Tripadvisor, said: The Travellers Choice Awards recognize the best in tourism and hospitality, according to those who matter most: your guests. "Ranking among the Travellers Choice winners is always tough but never more so than this year as we emerge from the pandemic. Whether it's using new technology, implementing safety measures, or hiring outstanding staff, Im impressed by the steps you've taken to meet travellers' new demands. You've adapted brilliantly in the face of adversity." Irelands premier pledged his countrys support for the people of Ukraine as he arrived in Kyiv for a visit to the war-torn capital. Micheal Martin will use the trip to reiterate Irish solidarity with the Ukrainian authorities in the face of the Russian invasion. He will discuss how Ireland and the EU can support the country and will also witness first-hand the devastation caused by the Russian forces. Mr Martin will restate Irelands full backing for continuing sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putins regime, for Ukraines path to full EU membership, as well as Irelands commitment to work with the EU on the reconstruction of Ukraine. The people of Ireland stand with Ukraine and its people in the face of Russias immoral and unprovoked war of terror, he said. The bombardment and attacks on civilians are nothing short of war crimes, and I will use my visit to express Irelands support for moves to hold those behind these attacks fully accountable. The spirit and resolve of the Ukrainian people has inspired us all, and Ireland will provide every support for Ukraines path to full EU membership, and continue to welcome and support civilians fleeing this war. Mr Martins trip comes two weeks after President Volodymyr Zelensky invited him to visit Ukraine. It is the first visit by a Taoiseach to the eastern European country. It also comes after Mr Putin on Monday declared victory in seizing the eastern Ukrainian province of Luhansk, with his troops escalating their offensive in neighbouring Donetsk. Mr Martin has warned previously that the Russian president appeared to be leveraging its natural gas supplies to exert maximum pressure on Europe ahead of the winter period. The Taoiseach has also been a vocal advocate for Ukraines fast-tracked membership of the EU. Mr Zelensky has previously thanked Ireland for its active support of Ukraines European aspirations. Ireland has also taken in more than 36,000 Ukrainian refugees since Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine at the end of February. The Irish State has given 20 million euro in humanitarian support and assistance to the country, as well as health equipment and medical donations worth more than 4.5 million euro. In April, Simon Coveney became the first foreign minister of the UN Security Council to visit Kyiv, and met Ukraines foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and defence minister Oleksii Reznikov. Mr Coveney also visited the town of Bucha, on the outskirts of the capital, where suspected killings of civilians prompted global condemnation. Sinn Fein spokesperson on Justice Martin Kenny TD has welcomed the appointment of Garda Liaison Officers to the Irish Embassies in Abu Dhabi and Bangkok, and the appointment of an Assistant Garda Liaison Officer to Washington. Deputy Kenny said: "I want to welcome today's announcement that new Garda Liaison Officers are to be appointed by the Garda Commissioner; with new officers to be appointed to positions in Abu Dhabi and Bangkok, responsible for the Middle-East and South-East Asia regions respectively. I also welcome the appointment of an additional liaison officer to the Irish Embassy in Washington. "This follows recent moves by the US government to impose sanctions on senior members of the Kinahan crime gang. This co-operation must be built on if we are to take on international criminals and dismantle their criminal networks. "The nature of organised crime, and its international reach, is such that closer international co-operation is required to put these gangs out of business. I hope that these appointments will be finalised soon and that the new appointees can get on with the work of building international links to take on criminals wherever they are in the world." Hundreds of delegates are expected at the University of Limerick as it hosts a major conference which aims to educate the public about a rare medical condition. Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder that results in a range of physical, behavioural and mental health issues. Around 120 people in Ireland have been diagnosed with the condition. Speaking ahead of the conference, which gets underway this Saturday, Anthony Carr, Chairperson of the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Ireland (PWSAI), said: It is a huge honour for the to bring the eleventh international conference to Ireland and to the banks of the Shannon. PWS, named after the Swiss doctors who first identified the condition, happens due to the absence of certain genes and is associated with learning difficulties, problem behaviours and a chronic feeling of hunger that leads to excessive eating and life-threatening obesity. People with Prader-Willi syndrome think about food all the time and live in a constant state of food-related anxiety. There is no cure or treatment for this brain disorder which prevents them from feeling full. It is a lifelong condition and people with Prader-Willi do not have the capacity to keep themselves safe, regardless of levels of intelligence or adaptive functioning, Mr Carr said. The syndrome can also lead to secondary health conditions such as scoliosis, seizures, gastrointestinal, skin problems and mental health issues including depression, anxiety and psychosis. The syndrome is quite rare, with approximately five to six babies being diagnosed each year. Babies with the syndrome are often described as floppy due to their low muscle tone and initially this can result in feeding difficulties, a failure to thrive and impacted growth. While major motor milestones are delayed, they can be achieved with the support from various health professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. The four-day conference taking place in UL is the first to be held in Europe by the International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organisation (IPWSO) since 2013 and it is the first time it will be co-hosted by the PWSAI. With this conference, we look forward to creating better public awareness of the syndrome, how people living with it can be supported and to developing new and better standards of care, Mr Carr stated. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. The Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Daniel Butler, is calling on everyone to show their support for the Limerick senior hurlers and to go green ahead of the All-Ireland final on Sunday week. As part of the Greening of Limerick, the local authority has replaced the Limerick flags along the main entry points to the city at Thomond Bridge and Shannon Bridge, while Council offices across the city and county are being greened to help boost the atmosphere ahead of the match. A further rolling out of greening the city and county is now taking place with hundreds of flags and several kilometres of green and white bunting being hung. As well as flags on Limerick city bridges, key city streets and the boardwalk along with other key locations across the city and county will also be dressed in green as the Limerick hurlers go for a three-in-a-row. Commenting on the initiative, the outgoing mayor said: The build up to an All-Ireland final is always such a huge occasion and one that is full of hopeful anticipation every year. This year is no different and we know our senior hurlers will show pride in the jersey and fight till the final whistle to secure the coveted three-in-a-row. Cllr Butler appealed to all Limerick supporters to show their support by dressing their homes and businesses in green. The floodlighting of the Councils Corporate HQ is green every evening and I am urging all other businesses in Limerick, whose premises are floodlit to go green and show their support for the Limerick hurlers. 4 min read . Updated: 06 Jul 2022, 06:48 PM IST Mumbai Rains News Live Updates: Incessant rainfall was reported in Mumbai on Wednesday morning, after spells of heavy showers over the last two days, and citizens complained of water-logging in some low-lying areas of the city Archaeology is fundamentally the study of humanity and its past. Archaeologists study things that were created, used or changed by humans. They do this by looking at the material remains that we leave behind, such as stone tools, hut dwellings, skeletons covered with gold jewelry or pyramids that majestically rise from a desert floor. Sometimes, archaeologists study modern societies to shed light on those that flourished in the past, a practice that is sometimes called "ethnoarchaeology." Archaeology is practiced around the world by archaeologists who work with people from a wide variety of other disciplines to help answer questions about who we are and where we came from. In doing so, archaeologists find evidence that sheds light on what our future may bring. For example, archaeological studies of how humans responded to previous instances of climate change can provide information on how future climate change will affect modern-day societies, a team of archaeologists wrote in a study published in 2021 in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (opens in new tab). "The archaeology of climate change offers opportunities to identify the factors that promoted human resilience in the past and apply the knowledge gained to the present, contributing a much-needed, long-term perspective to climate research," the team wrote. Who are archaeologists? Archaeologists are sometimes considered to be part of a broader profession called "anthropology," which is the study of humans, early hominids and primates, such as chimpanzees . While archaeologists don't use bullwhips or revolvers like the fictional Indiana Jones, they use a multitude of technologies and techniques to help solve mysteries of the past. The term "archaeologist" is an increasingly broad term. While professional archaeologists may all share some general fieldwork and lab skills, they may have developed expertise that enables them to specialize in the study of certain types of artifacts or sites. Underwater archaeology, textile analysis and the study of plant and animal remains are just a few examples. Some archaeologists may develop language skills that enable them to record and translate texts found at archaeological sites. These language experts may not call themselves archaeologists, but instead refer to themselves as epigraphers or another title related to the language that they study. Similarly, those who specialize in the study of human remains often call themselves "physical" or "biological" anthropologists, rather than archaeologists. Heather Atherton (R) and Meredith Linn use a ground-penetrating radar device during an archaeological survey of a vanished 19th century settlement named Seneca Village in Central Park on August 11, 2005 in New York City. This team of scientists are using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to survey parts of the site which was once home to as many as 260 mostly African Americans before they were evicted in 1856 when Central Park was created. (Image credit: Mario Tama / Staff via Getty Images) As new technologies and disciplines appear, archaeologists develop new skills. For instance, new tools include lidar (light detection and ranging) a non-invasive way to map terrain that involves shooting millions of lasers from a machine on an aircraft flying over an area of interest and ground-penetrating radar a land-based device that sends radio waves beneath the ground to uncover anomalies that may be indicative of archeological remains. Archaeologists also tend to focus their studies on a certain part of the world, or a specific culture, such as Egypt , China or the Maya civilization in Central America. They may also focus on specific timeframes. For instance, an Egyptologist may focus on the Old Kingdom period (2649 B.C. to 2150 B.C.), the time period when the pyramids at Giza were built. Archaeology only studies animals and plants to better understand humanity. A dinosaur fossil, for instance, would not be studied by an archaeologist unless that fossil was used in the past by a human at an archaeological site (in which case the archaeologist would work with a paleontologist to study it). Becoming a professional archaeologist Professional archaeologists often have a master's degree or doctorate. However, this wasn't always the case: Howard Carter, the archaeologist who led the team that discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, had little formal education and learned various archaeological techniques by practice. A large number of universities offer archaeology programs. Some universities may not have an archaeology department, but instead offer archaeology courses in departments dedicated to anthropology, fine art, geography and classics. A number of undergraduate archaeology programs offer only a small number of core archaeology courses and instead encourage students to branch out and take courses from across many other departments at a university, such as at the University of Toronto in Canada, where archaeology students take courses in a variety of departments such as history, geography and physics. Here we see a scuba diver swimming through submerged ancient Roman building ruins with a big still intact stone arch. Dragonara caves, Miseno. Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields), Naples, Campania, Italy. (Image credit: Antonio Busiello via Getty Images) Archaeologists can work for a wide variety of employers. These include museums, art galleries, universities, research institutes, government agencies (the National Park Service, for example), cultural resource management firms (which often work with private companies and governments to survey and excavate sites before development), tourism companies (for example, acting as highly educated guides) and media companies (helping to make documentaries and aiding in the publication of books, journals and magazines). Opportunities for amateurs There are many opportunities for amateurs to become involved in archaeology. Local archaeology societies offer chances for volunteers to become involved in excavation and lab work. Overseas digs will sometimes also offer the chance for people who are able to pay their own way to volunteer and help excavate an archaeological site. Sometimes those who volunteer can get course credit at a university in return. Sometimes archaeologists work with a large number of members of the general public to help excavate a site a practice that is sometimes called "community archaeology" or "public archaeology." Community achaeology's "more important distinguishing characteristic is the relinquishing of at least partial control of the project to the local community," Yvonne Marshall, a senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Southampton in the U.K., wrote in an article published in 2002 in the journal World Archaeology. (opens in new tab) For instance, in North America, archaeologists sometimes work with Native American communities to conduct archaeological excavations. Members of the community may help interpret finds and make decisions on what to excavate. Archaeologists' salary It is hard to give an exact salary range for an archaeologist. An archaeologist who holds a senior management position at a university, government agency, large cultural resource management firm or large museum may earn a salary that reaches into six figures. On the other hand, a junior field archaeologist (sometimes called a "technician") who works for a small cultural resource management firm may earn substantially less. If an archaeologist publishes a book that sells well (something that is difficult to do), they can increase their income further. Few, if any, archaeologists say that they went into the discipline for the money. What happens to archaeological artifacts? Archaeologists today generally do not sell the artifacts they excavate. In the past, this was not always the case. Over a century ago, antiquarians (sometimes little more than looters) would excavate artifacts and sell them. In the past, museums, universities, galleries and private individuals would sometimes help pay the cost of a scientific archaeological excavation, and in return would expect a share of the artifacts. One of the few areas of archaeology where practices like these still legally occur is in the salvage of underwater shipwrecks. Some jurisdictions that don't have the money to pay for an underwater excavation will allow a salvage company to excavate a site using professional archaeologists and scientific techniques. The salvage company in turn recoups its costs (and sometimes makes a profit) by selling some of the artifacts. This practice is deeply controversial among archaeologists and a source of debate among lawmakers. The Elgin Marbles are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures (mostly by the Greek sculptor Phidias and his pupils), inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. (Image credit: markrhiggins via Getty Images) Another notable exception occurs in part of the United Kingdom, where amateurs using metal detectors are allowed to search for artifacts, under a complicated system of laws. If a find is made of precious metal, it may have to be turned over to the government. However if the find is not made of precious metal it is possible that the metal detectorist can keep it, according to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (opens in new tab) (PAS), a non profit organization run by the British Museum and National Museum Wales that tracks finds made by metal detectorists. Again, the use of metal detectors by amateurs is controversial, with some archaeologists saying that they damage archaeological sites and impede scientific investigations. In the past it was common for archaeologists and non-archaeologists from Europe and North America to take artifacts from the countries where they conducted work. Today, some of these countries want the artifacts back. For instance, Lord Elgin took marble sculptures from the Parthenon to Britain in the early 19th century, and Greece has been urging Britain to give them back. Another example is a series of bronze and brass artifacts from Benin City, in Nigeria, that date back centuries and were pillaged by British soldiers during a military expedition in 1897. They are now found in a number of collections around Europe and some have been repatriated to Nigeria, according to The New York Times (opens in new tab). How did archaeology start? In some ways, archaeology is an ancient discipline. It was not unusual for ancient societies to keep old material and take steps to preserve sites and monuments they deemed important. For instance, efforts to preserve the Sphinx at Giza date back 3,400 years. In the early modern period (1500 to 1800), with the onset of the Enlightenment and subsequent scientific revolution, archaeology gradually became more "scientific" as new methods were developed to record sites in greater detail and determine the age of artifacts (for example by studying the sediment in which they were found and analyzing how the style of stone and ceramic artifacts changed over time). Where does archaeology go from here? As technology develops, new methods for studying the past have been incorporated into the discipline. For instance, high-resolution Google Earth imagery enables professional and amateur archaeologists to survey large tracts of land in areas that are sometimes difficult to access, such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Where archaeology will go in the future depends on future technological advances and where humans travel to in the future. With the development of techniques that enable astronomers to detect Earth -size planets, it's even been speculated that archaeologists will increasingly work with astronomers, physicists, biologists and other scientists to search for the remains of non-human civilizations in which case archaeology will move beyond the study of humanity. The Archaeological Institute of America (opens in new tab) (AIA) has a variety of programs and services that promote archaeology. The Society for American Archaeology (opens in new tab) (SAA) also offers a range of services and programs that look at archaeology, particularly the archaeology of the Western Hemisphere. The American Society of Overseas Research (opens in new tab) (ASOR) offers programs and services geared towards archaeology in the Middle East. Bibliography Burke, et al. "The archaeology of climate change: The case for cultural diversity" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118, 30 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2108537118 (opens in new tab) Marshall, Y. "What is Community Archaeology?" World Archaeology, 32, 2 Originally published on Live Science on March 28, 2014 and updated on July 6, 2022. Click here to read the full article. SUN VALLEY, Idaho The moguls have arrived. On Tuesday, dozens of titans of the business, media and tech worlds came out to play at the Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho for the start of Allen & Co.s annual meeting of movers and shakers. The invitation-only conference will include three days of seminars and meetings that are held away from the prying eyes of the public, which kick off Wednesday morning. So today was all about meeting and greeting each other at the posh retreat in Idahos picturesque Sawtooth Mountains. Arrivals began at the Sun Valley Lodge around 11 a.m. local time, with CNNs Anderson Cooper, Comcast chief Brian Roberts, Imagines Brian Grazer, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell, Paramount Global chairman Shari Redstone and investor Jeffrey Katzenberg among the first to check in, receive their agenda briefing books and strap on a mask before receiving a COVID test. Between 12 and 2 p.m., the black sedans and silver vans with the Sun Valley logo plastered on the side shuttled in Netflixs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings, former Disney chief Bob Iger, current Disney CEO Bob Chapek, Warner Bros. Discoverys David Zaslav, Googles Philipp Schindler and name-brand investors Warren Buffett and Henry Kravis (who was in the drivers seat for his entrance). The rush of big-name attendees on the grounds before 3 p.m. was unusual for a Sun Valley start. The traditional peak time for arrivals is in the afternoon, which meant several reporters and camera operators hadnt made it on to the scene to see the impressive lineup of early comers. The later wave included Michael Bloomberg, Sheryl Sandberg (in one of her first big outings since leaving Facebook), Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, investor Wendi Murdoch, CNBC anchor and New York Times writer Andrew Ross Sorkin, author Bari Weiss, Snaps Michael Lynton and Liberty Medias Greg Maffei. Some high-profile invited guests hadnt shown up (at least not through the main entrance) by 6 p.m., including Teslas Elon Musk, Metas Mark Zuckerburg, Fox founder Rupert Murdoch and sons Lachlan Murdoch (current CEO of Fox Corp.) and James Murdoch (now out of the family biz and head of Lupa Systems), and CAAs Bryan Lourd and ICMs Chris Silbermann. Though not all who are invited ended up coming, and a few surprises are possible: Variety reported Monday, Rupert Murdoch, who was not on the initial list of guests obtained by us last month, decided to attend the event at the last minute and arrived Monday during the Fourth of July holiday. Throughout the day, attendees many of whom came with spouses, kids and dogs in tow took very different approaches when it came to seeing and being seen. Zaslav came over to the Duck Pond (aka the media holding pen) outside the lodge to speak with reporters not just when he first arrived, but also as he headed out to dinner. And he had a captive audience, because the Warner Bros. Discovery chief was the only one who stopped by to give a few on-the-record quotes at all. Sandberg and Chapek were among those who seemed to manuever quickly out of sight of cameras and reporters. Hastings and Sarandos avoided the press together, ducking into a dark van posted immediately outside the entrance after check-in. But Sun Valley guests had no problem rubbing elbows with each other. Iger and Grazer were seen eating lunch together with their spouses at the Konditorei cafe on the property. The two spent much of the day together, with Grazer also taking time to sit down and chat with investor John Miller. Zaslav and Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone chatted for a while upon seeing each other right in front of the lodge. On Wednesday, Sun Valley guests will be up bright and early to head into the lodge for the morning sessions that typically focus on global macro-economic issues and global political concerns. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Conakry, Guinea (PANA) - Three influential members of the Guinean pressure group, National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), will be brought before the court on Wednesday, a few hours after agents of the Brigade for the Repression of Major Banditry (BRB) went for them when they were meeting the press, a judicial source said Click here to read the full article. 101 Studios, Grain Media and the Miami Herald are partnering on a documentary about the horrific collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Fla., that killed 98 people in 2021. The film, about one of the deadliest building failures in modern history, will be based on the Heralds Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting. Surviving Surfside will feature interviews with survivors, first-responders, relatives of the victims, and the journalists and engineers examining the event. It will reveal the turbulent history of Miami and examine the suspects that may have contributed to the collapse of the 12-story beachfront condo. The investigation finds that this crisis might have been averted, exposing profound truths about how profit so easily trumps human life, according to a press release. As a newsroom, we poured our hearts into the breaking news and the ongoing daily coverage, and subsequent investigative coverage, of the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse story, said Miami Herald Executive Editor Monica Richardson. It was our story to tell because the people and the families in Surfside who were impacted by this unthinkable tragedy are a part of our community. The doc is the second project in the works about the tragedy. Surfside, a three-part documentary series about the collapse, is also in development from director Stephanie Soechtig and former E! News host Jason Kennedy. David Hutkin, COO of 101 Studios, which produces Yellowstone and Mayor of Kingstown, said Surviving Surfside is a story obviously about an unthinkable tragedy, but it is also one that is a testament to the power of the human spirit and the importance of tenacious journalism fighting for the truth. We are so proud to be partnering with the Herald and Grain Media to bring this high-stakes mystery to audiences in a way that has never been seen before. Indie Rights Acquire Nicola Roses Goodbye, Petrushka Indie Rights has acquired the worldwide rights to the coming-of-age comedy Goodbye, Petrushka, and is set to give the film a rollout in theaters and on streaming. The studio will partner with Parsley Productions for a one-week engagement at Cinelounge Sunset in Los Angeles from July 15 to July 21, as well as a one-night screaming on July 17 in New York. The film will then premiere on Amazon Prime in the United States and Canada, followed by other major streaming platforms. The deal was negotiated by Linda Nelson for Indie Rights and Goodbye, Petrushka Producer Tierney Boorboor. Directed by Nicola Rose, Goodbye, Petrushka stars Lizzie Kehoe as Claire, a college student and puppeteer who impulsively moves to Paris from New York after meeting a French figure skater. The film is executive produced by Mark A. Baum, Ed Cuffe, Mike Reuten and Imraan Farukhi. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The driver of the vehicle that allegedly resulted in the deaths of four individuals during a human smuggling attempt last week in Encinal has been identified. The Texas Department of Public Safety announced on Wednesday that Dorian Nathaniel Pena was the driver of a white Jeep Wrangler that led authorities on a chase on Interstate Highway 35 just beyond the mile marker 29 checkpoint. Pena was a 20-year-old resident of Lake Jackson. DPS added that Pena -- who had sustained a critical head injury that day -- died on July 2. He had been airlifted from the scene to University Medical Center in San Antonio. Pena's death brings the total of deceased to five from the incident. DPS revealed on Tuesday that Leonardo Ramirez Avillaneda, 45; Isaac Cruz Lopez, 27; and Marvin Romeo Xitamul, 27; were also killed in the crash while a fourth male, described only as a Hispanic male, remained unidentified. Of the identified deceased, two were from Guatemala and one was from Mexico. The vehicle in total had seven passengers. There has not yet been word on the medical status of the other two. One male Guatemalan citizen joined Pena on the way to University Medical Center, while another male Guatemalan citizen was transported to Laredo Medical Center. CBP also shared more information about the incident Tuesday stating that Pena had circumvented the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint at mile marker 29 of Interstate Highway 35 by using the west access road. An agent alerted to the vehicle allegedly stopped Pena and asked if he needed help, but he said that he was lost and looking for a wildlife safari. When the agent approached the vehicle, Pena allegedly drove away while his vehicle appeared to be riding low, indicating it was carrying heavy cargo. The agent allegedly pursued him as Pena eclipsed 100 miles per hour before crashing between mile markers 36 and 37 in the parking lot of a Loves Travel Stop. CBP stated that its Office of Professional Responsibility special agents obtained footage of the collision which showed the Wrangler "failed to negotiate the exit ramp, lost control and struck the rear of the tractor trailer parked at the Loves Travel Stop." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) Russia redoubled its push for Ukraine's eastern Donbas region Wednesday, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have repelled some advances and both sides reporting casualties. The Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said troops stopped enemy units advancing towards Sloviansk, a city in Donetsk, one of two provinces in the Donbas whose capture is among Moscows main goals. It also claimed to have repelled Russian attacks on a town and village north of Ukraines second city, Kharkiv, just miles (kilometers) from the Russian border. The Ukrainian presidential office said most civilian casualties were in Donetsk province, where Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said two people died in the city of Avdiivka; the cities of Sloviansk, Krasnohorivka and Kurakhove each reported one civilian killed. Every crime will be punished, he wrote on social media. Kyrylenko urged the province's more than 350,000 remaining residents to flee late Tuesday, saying that evacuating Donetsk was necessary to save lives and allow the Ukrainian army to put up a better defense against the Russian advance. Donetsk is part of the Donbas, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where Ukraines most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Pro-Russian separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two self-proclaimed separatist republics. Putin on Monday declared the complete seizure of Luhansk, after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the last city under their control in the province. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai denied Wednesday that the Russians had completely captured the province. Heavy fighting continued in villages around Lysychansk, the city Ukrainians soldiers withdrew from and which Russian troops took Sunday, he said. The Russians have paid a high price, but the Luhansk region is not fully captured by the Russian army," Haidai said. Some settlements have been overrun by each side several times. He accused Russian forces of scorched earth tactics, burning down and destroying everything on their way." The Russian military pounded Luhansk for weeks from the air and ground, causing mass destruction and large civilian casualties. When Russian troops enter villages and cities, they are largely empty. From pre-war populations each of around 100,000, only up to 15,000 residents remain in Lysychansk and some 8,000 in the nearby city of Sievierodonetsk, which Russian and separatist fighters seized last month, Haidai said. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskky, in his nightly video address Wednesday, said that of all the battles in his country, the most brutal confrontation is raging in the Donbas. The Associated Press on Wednesday saw the bloody aftermath of one attack in the rebel-held Donetsk town of Makiivka and spoke to eyewitnesses who said a Soviet-era missile struck a playground outside a residential home. Local separatists blamed the attack on Ukrainian forces. Blood stained the seat of a swing and pooled on the ground below. Russian media cited the separatists as saying two children were killed and three children and two adults were wounded. The boy was lying on the swings like this and I saw he had blood coming out from this side," said resident Svetlana Lyga. "I did not come close I simply couldnt. The girl was taken by the ambulance. She was alive at that moment. North of Donetsk, Russian forces hit Kharkiv with missile strikes overnight. Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Wednesday on Telegram that one person was killed and three, including a toddler, were injured. First responders crunched through the debris of a Kharkiv university, where Zelenskyy said the main building, lecture halls, museum and library were destroyed. When it comes to the definition of barbarism, this strike fits the bill the most," the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address. "Only an enemy of civilization and humanity can do such things strike missiles at a university, a pedagogical university. The attacks indicated that residents of the city are unlikely to enjoy calm as the war grinds into its fifth month. Providing its account of the fighting in Kharkiv, Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces killed up to 100 Ukrainian troops and destroyed four armored vehicles. The ministry also said its forces struck a Ukrainian air-defense radar and camp housing foreign fighters in southern Ukraines Mykolaiv region. The ministry's chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, claimed air-launched high precision missiles destroyed two HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems the U.S. had sent to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military denied Moscows claims. Elsewhere on the battlefield: Russian rocket strikes wounded four people in the town of Pokrovska in Ukraines eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. He added that four settlements to the west came under relentless shelling Wednesday, burning wheat fields, damaging a solar power plant and destroying a house. In southern Ukraine, a local official said one person died and four were wounded in a blast in a Russian-occupied town, Skadovsk. Mayor Oleksandr Yakovlev told the Suspilne broadcaster a child was among those injured in an explosion that tore through a residential building. Russian state media claimed Wednesday that an oil refinery in Donetsk had caught fire due to Ukrainian shelling. The Tass news agency cited a separatists claim that the refinery fire was one of 27 Ukrainian attacks on Donetsk over the previous 24 hours. Ukrainian authorities didnt immediately confirm the attack. In other developments: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 27-nation European Union needs to make emergency plans to prepare for a complete cut-off of Russian gas. The EU has already imposed sanctions on Russia, including on some energy supplies, and is trying to find other sources. But von der Leyen said the bloc needed to be ready for shock disruptions from Moscow. European Union lawmakers voted to support a plan by the bloc's executive commission to include natural gas and nuclear power on its list of sustainable activities. Environmentalists accused the EU of greenwashing." One argument for rejecting the proposal was that it could boost gas sales that benefit Russia. The European Commission said the Ukrainian government backs its stance. A court in Russia ordered a pipeline bringing oil from Kazakhstan to Europe halted for 30 days for what it said were environmental violations, Russian media reported. Russian food bound for an Arctic coal mining settlement have resumed transiting via mainland Norway after weeks of tension, a Russian representative said Wednesday. Russian officials had accused Oslo of blocking a shipment of essential goods for Russian miners in Barentsburg, on the far-Northern Svalbard archipelago. A top Russian official warned the United States could face the wrath of God if it works to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russias actions in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, denounced the U.S. for what he described as its efforts to spread chaos and destruction across the world for the sake of true democracy. ___ Murru and Cara Anna contributed from Kharkiv. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LONDON (AP) Britain's beleaguered Prime Minister Boris Johnson is determined to cling to power despite an open revolt within his Conservative Party. More than 30 government ministers quit in a mass walkout Wednesday, following in the footsteps of two of Johnson's top Cabinet ministers who said Johnson's government is no longer competent or trustworthy. Numerous Conservatives, including previously loyal allies, openly urged him to go. If Johnson refuses to resign, the spotlight will turn to a small but influential Conservative group known as the 1922 Committee that has the power to rewrite party rules on leadership challenges and oust him before the next general election. The committee could decide as early as Monday whether to change the rules. Heres a look at how the Conservatives can remove Johnson: ___ CAN A NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE TAKE PLACE? Technically, not for another 11 months. A no-confidence vote is triggered if 15% of Conservative lawmakers currently 54 write to Graham Brady, head of the 1922 Committee, to request it. Johnson survived a confidence vote on Jun. 6, though the scale of the revolt 41% of his party's lawmakers voted against him left his future in doubt. Under current party rules, a year must pass before another formal leadership challenge can take place. But the 1922 Committee has the power to change the rules to allow a fresh confidence vote within a shorter timeframe. ___ WHAT IS THE 1922 COMMITTEE? The 1922 Committee is a group of about a dozen Conservative backbenchers - lawmakers not serving in the prime minister's government - who meet regularly to discuss party matters. The committee meets with the party leader monthly to represent the views of the rank and file membership. Crucially, the group determines the rules under which a sitting leader can be challenged. The committee was named because a group of lawmakers elected in 1922 formed it, albeit in 1923. Its members are elected by all Conservative backbenchers, and an election will take place Monday to choose a new executive committee. ___ HOW LIKELY ARE THE RULES TO CHANGE? That's up to the new 1922 Committee executive. Several Conservative lawmakers have said they would stand for the committee and vote for a rule change, if elected. The committee didn't announce any immediate changes to the rules after a private meeting Wednesday. Bob Blackman, the committees joint executive secretary, said earlier Wednesday he believed a very high threshold needs to be reached to warrant a confidence vote so soon after last months ballot. What we have to do is certainly have calm heads here, because one of the other suggestions being made is that youd reduce the timeframe to six months. Six months takes you to the beginning of December, he told British channel TalkTV. In my view, youd have to have a very high threshold indeed to warrant confidence votes very soon after a previous confidence vote, he said. ___ WHAT IF JOHNSON LOSES A CONFIDENCE VOTE? Johnson would fight to stay and win another confidence vote, his press secretary said Wednesday. She described last months result as clear and decisive." Johnson needs backing from 180 out of 359 Conservative lawmakers to survive a confidence vote. If he loses, he would resign and the party would hold an election for a new leader; Johnson would be barred from running. He would remain party leader and prime minister until a replacement is chosen. Any Conservative legislator is eligible to run to replace Johnson as party leader. The winner of the leadership race becomes prime minister, without the need for a national election. ___ Follow all of APs coverage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson at https://apnews.com/hub/boris-johnson TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranian state TV said Wednesday that the countrys paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners in the country of espionage and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones. The country's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the foreigners had been arrested, but did not elaborate on when. The U.K. Foreign Office swiftly denied that its diplomat was arrested, calling the report completely false. Iran's state TV ran footage purporting to show the foreigners collecting samples from the ground while under drone surveillance. The storm of accusations follow escalating tensions over a pickup in Tehran's arrests of foreigners and a rapid advancement of its nuclear work, while talks to revive the landmark 2015 atomic accord remain at a standstill. Iran has detained a number of Europeans in recent months, including two French citizens and a Swedish tourist, as it seeks to gain leverage in negotiations. The report also comes after Iran, in a rare move, replaced the Revolutionary Guard's longstanding intelligence chief. News outlets reported the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, Giles Whitaker, and other foreigners faced spying charges after visiting various forbidden zones in the country while the Guard was carrying out missile tests. The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the Guard, claimed Whitaker was expelled from the area after offering authorities an apology. The accusations splashed across Iranian media as the British public was transfixed by the political fortunes of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who faces growing pressure to step down after defections from his Cabinet. State TV broadcast a photo montage apparently showing Whitaker tour the southwestern desert collecting soil samples against the backdrop of eerie music. Even though there were signs in that area saying this was a forbidden area, he went further and took a sample and took a picture," the narrator said. Intelligence agencies say that these people often pose as tourists, but are looking for military and missile sites to identify equipment and ammunition. Iranian media also identified Maciej Walczak, a Polish scientist at Copernicus University in Poland, as among the accused foreigners. It similarly said he took samples of soil, water and salt from a forbidden area during a missile test in the country's south. The report added that the Guards intelligence wing detained the husband of Austrias cultural attache in Iran after he took soil samples in the country's northeast. Iran has in the past arrested dual nationals and those with Western ties, often on widely criticized espionage charges, and used them as bargaining chips in talks over other issues, such as nuclear negotiations. Tehran denies using detainees to further its political aims. Talks to revive Tehrans tattered nuclear deal with world powers have stalled for months. A recent effort to break the deadlock between U.S. and Iranian negotiators ended without making progress in Doha last week. The U.S. special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, described the latest talks in Qatar as more than a little bit of a wasted occasion." They have and, including in Doha, added demands that I think anyone looking at this would be viewed as having nothing to do with the nuclear deal, things that theyve wanted in the past, Malley said in an interview with National Public Radio on Tuesday, undercutting Tehrans more upbeat assessments. He added that the U.S. is working simultaneously to secure the release of four Americans detained in Iran, saying: Theyve been used as pawns. But we are looking at steps that we could take that would facilitate their return in the shortest time possible. Meanwhile, as a shadow war between Israel and Iran has escalated in Tehran and across the Middle East, Iran announced last month that the head of the Guard's intelligence arm, Hossein Taeb, had been replaced by Gen. Mohammad Kazemi, the former head of the Guards security department. The surprise move followed the deaths of several Guard officers in recent weeks. ___ Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ROME (AP) Italian Premier Mario Draghi's government on Wednesday staved off the immediate prospect of an early election after a key ally indicated he would remain in the coalition for now. Draghi met with former Premier Giuseppe Conte, now the leader of the populist 5-Star Movement, for more than an hour. Draghi, whose coalition partners range from the left to the right of the political spectrum in addition to the populists, has said publicly that his government couldn't continue without the support of the 5-Stars. Conte is caught between the loyalty to the coalition and pressures from the increasingly restless base of his party. "We spoke with Draghi, we delivered a document in the name of the 5-Stars, we have tallied up a strong political discomfort" over government policy, Conte told reporters. Conte said that Draghi will take time to review our requests." Those include more generous financial relief for families and businesses slammed by high energy costs and guarantees of continued funding of a guaranteed monthly salary to those unable to find work a pledge which helped the 5-Stars sweep parliamentary seats in the underdeveloped south in 2018. Draghi issued no immediate assessment of their talks. "I wasn't expecting an immediate response that wouldn't even be serious,'' Conte said. But Italian media indicated more meetings between the two men will be held a further indication that for now, Conte hasn't decided to bolt. "We're willing to share a responsibility of governing as we have done up to now, I stress, in a loyal and construction manner, but what's needed is a strong signal of a break" with policies so far, Conte said. Irritating some fellow leaders of the 5-Stars has been Draghis decision to send more military aid to Ukraine to defend itself from the Russian invasion. Ultimately, populist lawmakers did vote for its passage. Conte is a mediation lawyer who got drafted by the 5-Stars as their choice for the premiership after the Movement triumphed in the last parliamentary elections in 2018, becoming the legislature's largest single political force. But the party's fortunes have been unraveling since then among lawmakers, among the public in opinion polls and among voters, who have trounced them in regional and mayoral elections in the last few years. Dozens of Movement lawmakers have left their party to join other forces in Parliament, be independents or in the recent case of Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, the highest-ranking 5-Star in Draghi's Cabinet, defect to form their own political entity. Di Maio contended that the 5-Stars have been less than stalwart backers of Italy's pro-NATO stance. Conte led two governments before concerns arose that he wouldnt be authoritative enough to guide Italy through the rest of the pandemic and crucially through its economic recovery. Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, then was tapped by Italys president to forge a unity coalition out of the countrys chronically squabbling parties. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said Wednesday that he had a telephone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to request credit support to import fuel for the island nation that is facing its worst economic crisis in memory. Had a very productive telecon with the Russia President Vladimir Putin. While thanking him for all the support extended by his govt to overcome the challenges of the past, I requested an offer of credit support to import fuel to #lka in defeating the current econ challenges, Rajapaksa said in a tweet. Western nations largely have cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said earlier that the government would look for other sources first but it has not been successful. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, global oil prices have skyrocketed, prompting a number of countries to seek out Russian crude, which is being offered at steep discounts. Sri Lanka's economic crisis has led to a dire fuel shortage forcing the government to shut schools and ask employees other than those in essential services to work from home to cut down on consuming the limited stocks. The government said earlier that no entity is willing to supply oil to Sri Lanka even for cash because its petroleum corporation owes a heavy debt. Sri Lanka's foreign currency crunch led to its suspending repayment of foreign debt in April pending outcome of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package. However, Wickremesinghe told Parliament on Tuesday that discussions with the IMF have been complex and difficult because Sri Lanka is now a bankrupt nation. Unlike in the past, when Sri Lanka entered negotiations as a developing country, this time it has to produce a debt sustainability report to the IMF for approval before any agreement could be reached. Sri Lanka's foreign debt stands at $ 51 billion, of which it must repay $28 billion by the end of 2027. It means a payment of an average of $5 billion for the next five years. Sri Lankans for the past months have been forced to stand in long lines to buy the limited stocks of fuel, cooking gas and foods. The crisi has led to monthslong street protests and scuffles with police at gas stations. ISLAMABAD (AP) Taliban supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada said Wednesday that Afghan soil will not be used to launch attacks against other countries, and he asked the international community to not interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs. The Taliban say they are adhering to an agreement they signed with the United States in 2020 before retaking power in which they promised to fight terrorists. Since their takeover last year, they have repeatedly said Afghanistan would not be used as a launching pad for attacks against other countries. We assure our neighbors, the region and the world that we will not allow anyone to use our territory to threaten the security of other countries. We also want other countries not to interfere in our internal affairs, Akhundzada said in an address ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. The Taliban were ousted by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001 for harboring Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The religious group captured power again in mid-August, during the chaotic last weeks of the U.S. and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. The international community has been wary of any recognition or cooperation with the Taliban, especially after they restricted the rights of women and minorities measures that harken back to their harsh rule when they were last in power in the late 1990s. Akhundzada, the spiritual chief of the Taliban, has remained a reclusive figure. He rose to leader of the Islamist movement in a swift transition of power after a 2016 U.S. drone strike killed his predecessor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. After taking over, Akhundzada secured the backing of al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, who showered the cleric with praise, calling him the emir of the faithful. The endorsement by bin Ladens heir helped seal his jihadist credentials with the Talibans longtime allies. However, in his Eid message Akhundzada said: Within the framework of mutual interaction and commitment, we want good, diplomatic, economic and political relations with the world, including the United States, and we consider this in the interest of all sides." A three-day assembly of Islamic clerics and tribal elders in the Afghan capital that concluded Saturday included pledges of support for the Taliban and calls on the international community to recognize the countrys Taliban-led government. In a surprise development, the reclusive Akhundzada came to Kabul from his base in southern Kandahar province and addressed the gathering Friday. It was believed to be his first visit to the Afghan capital since the Taliban seized power. In an hour-long speech at the assembly carried by state radio, Akhundzada called the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan a victory for the Muslim world." A powerful earthquake in June killed more than 1,000 people in eastern Afghanistan, igniting yet another crisis for the economically struggling country. Overstretched aid groups already keeping millions of Afghans alive rushed supplies to the quake victims, but most countries responded tepidly to Taliban calls for international help. The international cut-off of Afghanistans financing has deepened the countrys economic collapse and fueled its humanitarian crises. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Turkish president pledges to boost energy, defense cooperation with Italy Xinhua) 11:07, July 06, 2022 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, on July 5, 2022. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to enhance economic cooperation with Italy, particularly in the fields of energy and defense. Erdogan made the remarks after he held the third intergovernmental meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Ankara, where the two countries signed nine new agreements on bilateral cooperation. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) ANKARA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to enhance economic cooperation with Italy, particularly in the fields of energy and defense. Erdogan made the remarks after he held the third intergovernmental meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Ankara, where the two countries signed nine new agreements on bilateral cooperation. "Italy is an important partner in the energy field. In our meetings, we referred to common projects and interests in energy security, including our cooperation in laying subsea pipes at the Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea," Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Draghi in the capital Ankara. "Our military, defense relations and defense industry cooperation with Italy are of particular importance. We agree that it is in our mutual interest to further deepen our relations in this area," the Turkish president said. Erdogan said Turkey wants to move forward in jointly developing a defense project with France and Italy based on the Eurosam's SAMP/T air-defense missile system. The three countries recently voiced their intention to revive the process that has been blocked by France after Turkey launched a military operation in northern Syria in 2019. Italian Prime Minister Draghi, for his part, said his country wants to work with Turkey on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He welcomed Turkey's "facilitator role" between Ukraine and Russia, particularly its efforts to open a corridor in the Black Sea for the export of Ukrainian grains. "These are the limitations that will cause serious disasters in the world's poorest countries. Turkey has a central role here. It is my wish that Russia will enable this initiative and make an opening to the next peace negotiations," he said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L, Front) welcomes Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Ankara, Turkey, on July 5, 2022. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to enhance economic cooperation with Italy, particularly in the fields of energy and defense. Erdogan made the remarks after he held the third intergovernmental meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Ankara, where the two countries signed nine new agreements on bilateral cooperation. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R, Rear) and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (L, Rear) attend a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, on July 5, 2022. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to enhance economic cooperation with Italy, particularly in the fields of energy and defense. Erdogan made the remarks after he held the third intergovernmental meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Ankara, where the two countries signed nine new agreements on bilateral cooperation. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (1st L, Front) welcomes Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (2nd L, Front) in Ankara, Turkey, on July 5, 2022. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to enhance economic cooperation with Italy, particularly in the fields of energy and defense. Erdogan made the remarks after he held the third intergovernmental meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Ankara, where the two countries signed nine new agreements on bilateral cooperation. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) People salute the casket of Hershel "Woody" Williams set up in the first floor rotunda of the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., for visitation on Saturday, July 2, 2022. Williams, 98, a West Virginian who was the last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, died on Wednesday, June 29. His funeral is set for Sunday, July 3. (Chris Dorst/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP) Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Last week Bord na Mona embarked on the hearts and minds phase of their campaign to develop a 25 wind turbine farm in Derryaroge Bog, Derryadd Bog and Lough Bannow Bog. Against the backdrop of escalating energy prices the semi State body, who harvested peat across the midlands since the 1940s, hopes the public appetite for the wind farm plan has changed since it was first mooted in 2015. That iteration of the project came a cropper following a legal ruling. In June of 2021 the High Court overturned An Bord Pleanala's 2020 decision to grant planning permission for the 96-MW wind farm proposed by Bord na Mona Powergen Limited. In Sweetman v An Bord Pleanala (the Derryadd decision) the Court ruled that the design envelope approach Bord na Mona submitted to planners was contrary to planning regulations. In a nutshell the judge agreed with Mr Sweetman that the planning application did not contain the level of detail required to allow the board grant permission. The height of that proposed windfarms 24 turbines would have been the joint tallest structures in Ireland, with a tip height of 185 metres. Bord na Mona returned to the drawing board and are in the process of re-submitting plans. Prior to that they have commenced their Derryadd Wind Farm Community Engagement meetings. Sessions were held last week in Keenagh and Killashee, while on Tuesday (July 5) they were in Lanesborough and today (Wednesday, July 6) they attend to Newtowncashel. This isn't the first phase either. At the end of last month Bord na Mona made an application to An Bord Pleanala for 'Leave to Apply for Substitute Consent' for peat extraction and all associated bog development works. That case is due to be decided by October 26, 2022. Although Bord na Mona would not provide a spokesperson to talk to the Leader they made arrangements to have all queries answered. In a reply to a series of questions they refer to themselves as the climate solutions company. They outline how the proposed development will consist of 25 turbines and have an overall blade tip height ranging from 170 - 190 metres. The company encouraged the community to attend the sessions to meet the project team and discuss the proposed development. Anecdotal accounts from the first two community engagement sessions suggest attendances by the public were quite low. In their statement Bord na Mona say: The views submitted during this consultation phase on our proposals, along with results from further studies, will help us to identify the best plan to take forward into the planning process. All feedback in relation to the proposed development will be reviewed and considered by the project team. They say the planning application will be lodged in early 2023 for the proposed multi million euro development. Bord na Mona will submit the planning permission application directly to An Bord Pleanala. The company's statement concluded: The development of a wind farm on these bogs will compliment other land uses within the site and across the wider Mountdillon Bog Group, including the companys peatland rehabilitation programme and ongoing amenity development in the area, which includes the Mid Shannon Wilderness Park. The proposed multi-million euro development will contribute to both Irelands and the European Unions renewable energy targets. It will also contribute to increasing the security of Ireland's energy supply and will facilitate a higher level of energy generation and self-sufficiency. Opposing the plans for the project is the group 'No to Derryadd Wind Farm'. Niall Dennigan is the secretary for the group. Established in 2016 the members believe the proposed Bord na Mona development is wrong for these bogs. People are very disappointed BNM have decided to proceed with the development. The people in all surrounding communities made it very clear when BNM initially went for planning that such a development was wrong for these bogs, Niall told the Leader. The 'No to Derryadd Wind Farm' spokesperson says the opposition will proceed: We will be continuing to oppose this development. From what we witnessed so far there will be quite an extensive amount of additional support in opposing when the time comes. Irish Wildlife Trust, ISPCA, and Birdwatch Ireland have all spoke of the significance of the local bog environment for species diversity. Niall says this is one of the key factors in opposing the 190 metre wind turbines: Bogs are one of the most important environmental tools that we have. We should be rewetting our bogs and not causing further damage. These bogs are some of the most important bogs in the Midlands as they support an enormous number of habitats. The opposition group secretary has little faith in the Community Engagement process: It's just a box ticking exercise to comply with wind energy guidelines around planning, Niall says, If BNM had truly listened to the peoples concerns as part of their original application then these events would simply not be happening and they would be working with communities to develop an alternative to safeguard habitats on these bogs and encourage the growth of threatened species whilst achieving energy targets. Niall said the group are still willing to talk to the developer about a more wholistic plan for the three bogs: We've been trying to engage with BNM for years around their wind farm idea, but here we are today, he said, We are happy to sit down and discuss a renewable energy project that would complement the park, not go against it. Ardagh native Maryann Lynch is due to make her professional debut in the musical theatre world, having been cast in the upcoming Commitments Musical. The smash hit West End musical is going on tour from September throughout the UK and Ireland and includes no less than 16 performances in the Olympia in Dublin and as well as in the Grand Opera House in Belfast. Maryann beat out intense competition to land a much-coveted ensemble role . All the more remarkable for a young lady who is not due to graduate from The Brighton Academy (TBA) in the UK, until later this summer. Its a dream come true, Maryann told the Leader. Its a dream that's been building for some time. Having won numerous provincial and national titles with the renowned Shawbrook Dance Academy in Legan and with her own Parish GAA & CG Club ballad groups, led by her mother Riona, this girl was always destined to shine. Ive always had such fantastic support in Longford, she says, from the amazing Anica Louw as a Shawbaby from age 4, to the wonderful people involved in Longford Variety Show and St Mels Musical Society. Of course, Ive been really lucky to have such a totally supportive family. Im sure if Id taken a more traditional route through the CAO it would have been easier on them, but theyre always there for me and encouraging me to follow my dream. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a thrilling journey and Im excited to get started in my professional career. There is no doubt that the girl from Ardagh will have huge support when The Commitments Musical comes to Dublin next year. The first of many shows Im sure for this talented Longford lady. 6th July 2022 Runtime 17:03 London South East spoke to Rainbow Rare Earths' (RBW) CEO George Bennett after the company announced that a groundbreaking chemical Flowsheet process to extract rare earths from the gypsum stacks at Phalaborwa had been achieved. Rainbow and K-Tech have developed a process, underpinned by comprehensive test work, to finesse the extraction process involving the application of K-Technologies IP and extensive testing at the ANSTO laboratory in Sydney. Now George Bennett has announced with confidence they can extract up to 65% of rare earths from their raw material stacks and they are ready top proceed with the development of a pilot plant. "It's crucial to do sufficient chemical processing development work at this stage" said George. "I've been involved in the development of 22 mines in Africa and that experience tells me those who don't do enough development work, it bites them later in the project. I'm making sure we don't make the same mistake at Rainbow. This is critical because this is basically a chemical processing plant that we will be building." "We've now got a flow sheet which has been proven at lab scale, our next stage will be doing continuous laboratory testing of the process to further confirm the Flowsheet, then at Phalaborwa itself we are going to build a large scale pilot plant to do continuous bulk piloting to give our shareholders confidence that it will indeed produce guaranteed results." Rainbow Rare Earths are the London-listed producer of Rare Earth metals with a development project extracting rare earths from gypsumstacks at Phalaborwa, South Africa and a pilot mine in Burundi. RBW are leading the drive towards production of high quality and high value rare earth oxides outside China. Nd and Pr are used to make permanent magnets, whilst Tb and Dy allow permanent magnets to hold their magnetic strength at high temperatures. (Alliance news) Robert Walters PLC on Wednesday reported a rise in quarterly net fee income as it expects full-year profit to be "slightly ahead of current market expectations". For the second quarter of 2022, the London-based recruitment firm reported net fee income of GBP112.0 million, up 26% from GBP89.0 million during the same period a year ago. The company said it opened its first office in Milan, Italy during the period. The Europe business reported 35% growth in net fee income, to GBP31.5 million. In the UK, net fee income grew 13% to GBP20.4 million, the slowest pace of growth by geography. Chief Executive Robert Walters said: "We have continued to invest in additional headcount to ensure we are able to further capitalise on the current demand for talent that exists across our global footprint and specialist disciplines, with staff numbers increasing by 7% since the end of March. "This continued strong performance means that profit for the full year is now expected to be slightly ahead of current market expectations." The company also announced the resignation of Non-Executive Chair Ron Mobed. He will leave on July 15. Robert Walters noted he has led the company through the pandemic to its current "record performance". Mobed said: "With the group performing so well, I have decided to step down from my role to focus on other projects. Robert Walters is a great company and has a strong management team. I am confident that the group will continue to go from strength to strength." Tanith Dodge will undertake the role of Interim Non-Executive Chair while the board decides a successor. Robert Walters shares were up 2.2% at 520.20 pence each on Wednesday morning in London. By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been told by Cabinet ministers that he should resign, after support for his leadership collapsed at Westminster. The prime minister was in No 10 on Thursday night, where Cabinet ministers told him he had lost the confidence of the Tory party and could not continue in office. Home Secretary Priti Patel, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis and Welsh Secretary Simon Hart were among the Cabinet ministers telling Johnson to stand down. The PA news agency understands that Patel spoke to the prime minister to convey the "overwhelming view" of the parliamentary party. Reports even suggested Nadhim Zahawi, who was only appointed Chancellor on Tuesday, was among those taking part in the showdown with Johnson. But allies including Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg all remained supportive of Johnson. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also remained loyal to Johnson and defended him at a session of the backbench 1922 Committee. Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, was thought to have visited Downing Street to communicate the views of backbenchers, following the meeting in Parliament dominated by MPs calling for Johnson to go. On a disastrous day for Johnson, 14 ministers quit along with a string of ministerial aides, as the row over the Chris Pincher scandal unleashed a wave of pent-up frustration with his leadership. The mass resignation was triggered by Tuesday's departure from Cabinet of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, along with the resignation of solicitor general Alex Chalk. The No 10 talks came after the prime minister faced an intense grilling before opposition critics and Tory MPs alike on the Commons Liaison Committee, as the stream of ministerial resignations continued. After being repeatedly pressed for a direct answer, Johnson said "of course" he ruled out triggering a general election if the Tories force him from office. Told that there was a delegation of Cabinet ministers waiting for him at Downing Street, Johnson said he would not give a "running commentary" on his political problems. But in a sign he would fight to stay in office, he referred to the invasion of Ukraine and said "I can't for the life of me see how it is responsible just to walk away from that". He did not deny reports that Cabinet minister Michael Gove told him early on Wednesday that he must stand down, but insisted he would still be leader on Thursday. At Prime Minister's Questions, Johnson said the "colossal mandate" he had been handed by voters in 2019 means he should keep going despite the "difficult circumstances" he faces. But Javid's resignation statement in the House laid bare the problems facing the prime minister and he challenged other Cabinet ministers to consider their positions. Javid said Johnson was not going to change and "enough is enough". He said: "Treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent months. "I will never risk losing my integrity." He said "the problem starts at the top and I believe that is not going to change". In a message to Cabinet ministers who decided not to quit, he said: "It is incumbent on all of us to set high standards for ourselves and to take action when they are not met by others." The speech, which had echoes of Geoffrey Howe's 1990 resignation statement which helped topple Margaret Thatcher, was heard in silence in the Commons, with Johnson sitting grim-faced on the front bench. The 14 ministers to quit on Wednesday were Will Quince, Robin Walker, John Glen, Victoria Atkins, Jo Churchill, Stuart Andrew, Kemi Badenoch, Neil O'Brien, Alex Burghart, Lee Rowley, Julia Lopez, Mims Davies, Rachel Maclean and Mike Freer. In their resignation letters: Ex-children and families minister Quince said he could not accept being sent out to defend the prime minister on television with inaccurate information over the Chris Pincher row. Former justice minister Atkins told Johnson: "I can no longer pirouette around our fractured values. We can and must do better than this." Churchill quit as environment minister, saying: "Recent events have shown integrity, competence and judgment are all essential to the role of Prime Minister, while a jocular self-serving approach is bound to have its limitations." Maclean, who announced her resignation as a Home Office minister while Johnson was giving evidence to the Liaison Committee of senior MPs, said the prime minister should "resign for the good of the country and our party". Freer said he was quitting as equalities minister, complaining about "creating an atmosphere of hostility for LGBT+ people", adding "I can no longer defend policies I fundamentally disagree with". As well as ministers 14% have quit since 1800 BST on Tuesday a series of parliamentary private secretaries resigned and backbench MPs from all wings of the party were also turning away from the prime minister. Education Select Committee Chair Rob Halfon said he would back a change in leadership, criticising not only a "real loss of integrity" but also "a failure of policy". Transport Select Committee Chair Huw Merriman said Johnson's position was untenable while former Cabinet ministers Robert Jenrick and Liam Fox withdrew their support. The leadership crisis followed the scandal surrounding former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. Quince resigned after being one of the ministers sent on the airwaves to defend Johnson's position over Pincher, who quit after allegedly assaulting two men while drunk at London's Carlton Club. Downing Street initially said Johnson had no knowledge of previous allegations against Pincher, but the prime minister later acknowledged he had been informed of inappropriate behaviour dating back to 2019, and said he regretted keeping him in government beyond that point. The prime minister's authority had already been damaged by a confidence vote which saw 41% of his own MPs withdraw their support in June. The loss of crunch by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton later that month triggered the resignation of party chairman Oliver Dowden, while there is still lingering resentment over coronavirus lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street. The prime minister's fate may ultimately lie with backbench MPs if the Tory 1922 Committee's rules are changed to allow another confidence vote within 12 months. The committee's executive did not make any immediate changes to the rules but has scheduled elections for its executive committee to take place on Monday, before a result later that evening. In a sign that discontent stretches across the party, Lee Anderson, one of the MPs elected in 2019 in Red Wall seats who largely owe their political careers to the prime minister, said he too had lost faith in the leader. The Ashfield MP pointed to the row over Pincher's appointment and said: "Integrity should always come first and sadly this has not been the case over the past few days." By David Hughes and Sam Blewett, PA Political Staff source: PA Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted he will not leave No 10 despite a mounting revolt against his leadership. Ministers and aides have continued to submit their resignations, while support is ebbing away from the prime minister among previously-loyal MPs. But Johnson is understood to have told allies that he is "not going anywhere" and his critics should "calm down". On Wednesday morning, Robin Walker resigned as schools standards minister, telling the prime minister the "great achievements" of the government have become "overshadowed by mistakes and questions about integrity". Will Quince quit as children and families minister, saying he could not accept being sent out to defend the prime minister on television with inaccurate information over the Chris Pincher row. Treasury economic secretary John Glen quit, telling the prime minister he could not reconcile staying in the job with "the complete lack of confidence I have in your continuing leadership of our country". Victoria Atkins resigned as a minister in the Ministry of Justice, telling Johnson: "I can no longer pirouette around our fractured values. We can and must do better than this." Laura Trott resigned as a ministerial aide, saying "trust in politics is and must always be of the utmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost", while Felicity Buchan also stood down as a parliamentary private secretary, calling for "fresh leadership". Their resignations followed a string of departures from the government on Tuesday evening, led by Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, who delivered broadsides at Johnson as they quit their Cabinet posts. Former health secretary Javid is expected to add to Johnson's problems with a personal statement in the Commons on Wednesday. This will come after the Conservative leader faces a potentially difficult session of Prime Minister's Questions, while he will also have to endure a grilling by the Liaison Committee of select committee chairmen and women including some senior Tory critics. Education Select Committee chairman Rob Halfon, one of those who will question the prime minister, said he would back a change in leadership, criticising not only a "real loss of integrity" but also "a failure of policy". But Johnson told friends he will continue to "smash on and deliver for the people who gave us a massive mandate", the Daily Mail reported. "Everyone just needs to calm down, stop bickering and let us get on with the job in hand." New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi hinted at reversing a planned rise in corporation tax as part of the effort to win over Tory MPs. But the Cabinet reshuffle does not appear to have persuaded Johnson's critics to hold fire. Quince was one of the ministers sent on the airwaves to defend Johnson's position over Chris Pincher, who quit as deputy chief whip after allegedly assaulting two men while drunk at London's Carlton Club. The prime minister later acknowledged he had previously been informed of allegations against Pincher dating back to 2019 and said he regretted keeping him in government beyond that point. Quince said he had received a "sincere apology" from Johnson for being sent out with an "inaccurate" briefing about the prime minister's knowledge of events. But "I have no choice but to tender my resignation" as "I accepted and repeated those assurances in good faith". Walker's resignation letter to the prime minister said: "Recent events have made it clear to me that our great party, for which I have campaigned all of my adult life, has become distracted from its core missions by a relentless focus on questions over leadership." He added: "I have always believed it is the job of our party to strike the right balance between efficiency and compassion, but the image being projected from the struggles of the last few months is that we risk achieving neither." The prime minister's authority had already been damaged by a confidence vote which saw 41% of his own MPs withdraw their support in June. The loss of crunch by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton later that month triggered the resignation of party chairman Oliver Dowden, while there is still lingering anger over coronavirus lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street. Tory MPs are also uneasy about the government's high-spending, high-taxing approach as a result of the response to the pandemic. Zahawi sought to reassure Conservatives that "nothing is off the table" when questioned about possibly scrapping the planned increase in corporation tax from 19% to 25% in April 2023. "I will look at everything. There's nothing off the table. I want to be one of the most competitive countries in the world for investment," he told Sky News. "I know that boards around the world, when they make investment decisions, they're long term, and the one tax they can compare globally is corporation tax. I want to make sure that we are as competitive as we can be whilst maintaining fiscal discipline." The prime minister's fate may ultimately lie with backbench MPs if the Tory 1922 Committee's rules are changed to allow another confidence vote within 12 months. Elections to the committee's ruling executive are expected next week, which could then lead to a decision on changing the rules. West Dorset MP Chris Loder told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think he does need to go. "I think if he chooses not to, I think the 1922 Committee should act and I certainly would support that approach in the forthcoming 1922 elections." Lee Anderson, one of the MPs elected in 2019 in Red Wall seats who largely owe their political careers to the prime minister, said he too had lost faith in the leader. The Ashfield MP pointed to the row over Pincher's appointment and said: "Integrity should always come first and sadly this has not been the case over the past few days." By David Hughes, PA Political Editor source: PA Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - A defiant UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected calls from Cabinet colleagues to quit. after support for his leadership collapsed at Westminster. The prime minister met ministers in No 10 on Thursday, where he was told he had lost the confidence of the Tory party and could not continue in office. Home Secretary Priti Patel, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis and Welsh Secretary Simon Hart were among the Cabinet ministers telling Johnson to stand down. The PA news agency understands that Patel spoke to the prime minister to convey the "overwhelming view" of the parliamentary party. Shapps is thought to have told Johnson that he stood little chance of winning another confidence vote and should instead set out a timetable for a departure on his own terms. Reports even suggested Nadhim Zahawi, who was only appointed Chancellor on Tuesday, was among those taking part in the showdown with Johnson. But Johnson rejected suggestions he should seek a "more dignified exit" and will instead fight for his political future something which could trigger further Cabinet resignations. A source close to the prime minister said he told his colleagues there would be "chaos" if he quit and the party would almost certainly lose the next election. The source said Johnson was "continuing to focus on delivering for the public" and addressing the "hugely important issues facing the country". Allies including Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg all remained supportive of Johnson. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also remained loyal to Johnson and defended him at a session of the backbench 1922 Committee. Graham Brady, chair of the Conservative 1922 Committee, was thought to have visited Downing Street to communicate the views of backbenchers, following the meeting in Parliament dominated by MPs calling for Johnson to go. If Johnson refuses to go then his fate will ultimately lie with Tory MPs. if the 1922 Committee's rules are changed to allow another confidence vote within 12 months. The committee's executive did not make any immediate changes to the rules on Wednesday, but has scheduled elections for its executive committee to take place on Monday, before a result later that evening. The new executive could decide to alter the rules, with Johnson then facing a fresh battle to remain in office. By David Hughes, PA Political Editor source: PA Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. A showcase of the best of bathroom technology. In a swipe and a scroll. Quite a bit of refreshing news: our digital life just got treated to the best of bathroom technology with the launch of LIXIL VIRTUAL AND DIGITAL SHOWROOMS. Three of the best and well-loved brands in bathroom and shower collections are yours to discover, 24/7, whether in your office, home or even when you are mobile. Such a timely development as life at present has made us all realize that more than ever, our bathrooms and showers are truly our personal sanctuaries: they provide that much needed respite from the hustle and bustle of new normal living. A complete gamut of choices that fit your lifestyle, design aesthetics and pocketbook will get you immersed, as you scroll or swipe. If purposeful design is your must- have, let your finger click the American Standard button and start soaking up innovative technologies and classy, modern, and beautifully appointed products. 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For more information, visit virtualshowroom.lixil.com/ph ABOUT LIXIL LIXIL makes pioneering water and housing products that solve everyday, real-life challenges, making better homes a reality for everyone, everywhere. Drawing on our Japanese heritage, we create world-leading technology and innovate to make high quality products that transform homes. But the LIXIL difference is how we do this; through meaningful design, an entrepreneurial spirit, a dedication to improving accessibility for all, and responsible business growth. Our approach comes to life through industry leading brands, including INAX, GROHE, American Standard, and TOSTEM. With approximately 75,000 colleagues operating in more than 150 countries, we are proud to make products that touch the lives of more than a billion people every day. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Thousands of visitors are expected to flock to the beaches in Benzie and Manistee counties as the busy tourist season gets underway after the Fourth of July holiday. However, visitors should remember there is inherent danger in swimming in Lake Michigan, as well as when venturing out on pier structures. So far, 20 people have drowned in Lake Michigan this year, according to the Great Lakes Surf and Rescue Project, an organization dedicated to teaching water safety and documenting Great Lakes drownings. The Army Corps of Engineers explains some of the dangers of swimming in the Great Lakes and swimming near pier structures, like those found in Frankfort and Manistee, on its website. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, pier structures are meant to be used for navigation, but are often used for recreation. Walking along breakwater structures can be hazardous. The uneven, slippery surfaces, especially when doubled with wave action, increases the risk of falling into the water, the website reads. In addition, large armor stones may be hidden below the water surface. There is significant risk of getting wedged between armor stones or striking a stone with ones body, should an individual fall or jump into the water. While pier structures are most dangerous in the fall, when quickly changing weather patterns bring fall storms and wind, high winds can appear on Lake Michigan at any time, according to the Army Corps. The Army Corps also warns beachgoers to beware of rip currents. Rip currents are fast-moving, narrow currents of water that flow away from shore, the website reads. Structural currents can occur at fixed structures such as breakwaters and piers, and flow away from shore parallel to the structure. Those caught in rip currents are pulled into Lake Michigan from the shore, and trying to swim against the current often results in fatigue. To get out of a rip current, it is advised to flip, float and follow until the current subsides to save your energy and reduce your risk of drowning, the website reads. The flip, float and follow technique involves a person caught in a rip current flipping onto their back and letting the current take them out into the lake until it is no longer pulling, then swimming parallel to the shore until out of the current's grasp, according to the Great Lakes Surf and Rescue Project. After several high-profile drownings off the pier at Frankfort in the past few years, the city joined a pilot program and teamed up with the Benzie Wellness and Aquatics Center to help promote beach safety. The city installed two SwimSmart Warning Systems signs at the beach, which get information from the National Weather Service. The signs have three lights, one green, for when the weather is OK for walking on the pier, an amber light, for when caution is needed and the red light, which means the conditions are dangerous. There also will be clear signage that will educate people about water safety and what the different colored lights mean. After several incidents, including a near drowning of three children in May 2021, the city of Manistee has also taken steps to improve beach safety. SwimSmart Warning Systems signs have been installed at First Street Beach and Fifth Avenue Beach in Manistee. In June, the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, in collaboration with the Wexford-Missaukee-Manistee Great Start Collaborative, held a beach safety event at the Lion's Pavilion at First Street Beach. Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project Cofounders Bob Pratt and Dave Benjamin talked with children. "We're just up here to talk about water safety," Pratt said. "Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in kids ages 1-4, and the second leading cause of accidental death in kids 15 and under. It's a huge, huge problem." Diane Tracy, president of the Benzie Wellness and Aquatic Center Board of Directors, said volunteers also will be at the beach in Frankfort on weekends through Labor Day to teach people how to read the signs and offer other beach safety tips. Were going to be supporting the city of Frankforts pier safety initiative by having volunteers work on the weekends to provide information to beachgoers about how the warning systems works and about our programs, she said. They can answer questions about water safety. Tracy said volunteers will be at Frankfort beach from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 1 p.m. on Sundays. Weve chosen the weekend because a lot of people who might not have experience with the lake will be visiting then; especially in the summer, Tracy said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MANISTEE COUNTY With the Michigan primary election coming up on Aug. 2, the political party conventions in each county will play a minor role in the November general election, but could have some limited influence in the primaries. County political parties have delegates who may have some say in the issues that get put on the ballot for the general election. The process Manistee County Clerk Lindsey Marquardt explained the county delegate process via email. Marquardt explained that the county delegations are part of Michigan election law, and are oftentimes more of a formality than a place where priorities for a political party may be decided. "Precinct delegates will be voted on in the upcoming Aug. 2 primary election and every even-numbered year August primary for a two-year term. A precinct delegate is an elected representative to the local Republican or Democratic party from the precinct. They attend local county and also state conventions if elected at the local level to do so. Every precinct has a least one delegate," Marquardt said. Marquardt explained that Michigan election law states that a precinct delegate candidate must be a qualified and registered elector residing within, as well as having his or her actual bona fide residence within, the election precinct for which he or she desires to become a candidate on the filing deadline. The candidate must also be at least 18 years of age, she added. Marquardt said that any candidate will need to file an Affidavit of Identity with the county clerk to appear on the ballot. The deadline for the upcoming August primary was May 3. Candidates would now have to file a Precinct Delegate Write-In Candidate Declaration of Intent to run as a write-in for precinct delegates, according to Marquardt. She said that write-in candidates can file their declaration of intent with the county clerk until July 29 by 4 p.m. or file with their precinct up until the close of polls, in their precinct, on election day. A formality Manistee County Democratic Party chair John Helge wrote in an email that the Manistee County Democratic Convention does not have much say on the slate of candidates and big issues have been decided prior to the convention. "The Manistee County Democratic Party is required to hold a county convention by the Michigan Democratic Party. Our county convention will be held at 10 a.m. on Aug. 6 at the campaign office at 339 River St.," Helge wrote. "This county convention is merely a formality with the main business being the consideration of proposed resolutions. Selection of candidates for county, township, city and village positions does not take place at these conventions because candidates must already have taken action required by the county clerk to be included on the November ballots," he said. Helge, noted, however, that the party is active year-round, and makes efforts to support candidates. "The Manistee County Democratic Party is active throughout the year recruiting and supporting our candidates. We also meet monthly to provide information and education for our members to help ensure they are best prepared to make informed decisions on election day." Jeff Lawrence, the chair of the Manistee County Republican Party, said the candidates for major offices, with the exception of the governor's race, were chosen in February and that the precinct delegates will be chosen at the August convention. BENZONIA TWP. A Lake Ann woman was recently arraigned for possession of methamphetamine after a traffic stop in Benzie County last month. According to a Michigan State Police news release issued on Wednesday afternoon, Cadillac Post troopers stopped a vehicle on U.S. 31 at about 4:45 p.m. on June 29. The vehicle was stopped on U.S. 31 near Betsie River Court in Benzonia Township for an equipment violation. Mercedies Marie Duric, 30, from Lake Ann, was listed as the driver. During the traffic stop, the trooper noticed several signs of drug use and asked the driver to step out of the vehicle, the release states. During a consent search of the vehicle the trooper found green leafy material, burnt foil and a digital scale with small white crystals on it. Duric had a sunglass case in her possession. When asked what was inside, she opened it and then quickly shut it. A Benzie County Sheriffs Office deputy was on scene and told the trooper he saw a glass pipe inside the case, the release said. Duric opened the case again and threw the glass pipe in tall grass alongside the roadway, the release states. The trooper then found the pipe and placed Duric under arrest for possession of meth. She was lodged at the Benzie County Jail. Duric was arraigned in Benzie Countys 85th District Court on one count of possession of methamphetamine second or subsequent offense on July 1. She was given a $5,000, 10% cash surety bond. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Bill Allen, a central figure in a corruption scandal that rocked Alaska politics, has died. He was 85. Allen's death was reported by Alaska media, citing a brief death announcement on the website for a Colorado funeral home, which said Allen died on June 29. A person who answered the phone there on Wednesday declined to provide more details. Allen was CEO of the oil services company VECO Corp., which did contracting work for oil producers. He also was a former publisher of the now-defunct Anchorage Times newspaper. In 2009, he was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $750,000 on charges including bribery related to efforts to win support for legislation favored by the company. He served a shorter period. Sentencing for Allen and a former VECO vice president was delayed more than two years as they cooperated with federal prosecutors in cases against elected officials. Allen at sentencing said he thought he could do good in pushing tax legislation that was favorable to oil companies. The FBI approached him in 2006 with plans to prosecute. Agents showed him a videotape of him interacting with a legislator in a Juneau hotel room. I could tell I was half drunk and I didnt like what I looked at, he said. He said he decided to quit drinking and to cooperate with investigators. I went over the line, he said. Allen resigned as VECO chairman after his plea agreement. The company also was sold. Allen also was a star witness in the government's case against U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, a one-time friend. Stevens was charged with failing to report gifts, including renovations by Allens company to Stevens home in Girdwood. A jury verdict against Stevens was set aside and the indictment dismissed amid charges of prosecutorial conduct. But by then, he had lost a 2008 bid for reelection. Stevens died in 2010. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JACKSON, Calif. (AP) Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for remote California communities near a wildfire that may have been sparked by fireworks or a barbecue on the Fourth of July in a mountainous region that's a top tourism destination. The Electra Fire in Sierra Nevada Gold Country broke out Monday afternoon and tripled in size to about 6.1 square miles (15.8 square kilometers). It was 5% contained Tuesday night. The fire was making short, uphill runs, fire officials said. The rate of spread isnt what it was like yesterday, but it is still spreading, said Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman. He said firefighters were working to keep flames confined to unpopulated canyon areas. Mandatory evacuation orders and warnings combined affected up to 700 residents in Amador County and 300 to 400 people in Calaveras County, Redman said. Evacuation centers were set up for people and animals. The fire started at a recreation area that was packed with people, forcing 85 to 100 celebrating the holiday at a river to take shelter at a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. facility, Redman said. All were later safely evacuated. This was the closest Ive ever been to a fire. It was literally within feet of us, said Milka Mikula of Valley Springs, who had gone to the river with her husband, her 5-year-old daughter and her 1-year-old son. They had to wait about six hours before they could finally start for home, she told KCRA-TV. I just wanted to get home. I just wanted to get out of there with my babies. I was shaking really, really bad for quite some time, Mikula said. Redman said the cause of the fire was not known, but that it started in the Vox Beach area of the North Fork Mokelumne River. He said that could suggest fireworks or a barbecue as a potential cause. More than 100 fire engines, 1,200 firefighters and 14 helicopters were sent to the fire, which was a threat to power infrastructure, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The terrain was described as steep and rugged. Cal Fire activated an incident management team for the fire. The teams "are made up of trained personnel who provide operational management and support to large-scale, expanding incidents, Cal Fire said. One firefighter from the local fire protection district suffered burn injuries, Redman said. Vox Beach is about 55 miles (89 kilometers) east of Sacramento in the heart of the Sierra Nevada region that is steeped with the history of the mid-1800s Gold Rush. Several other small fires were burning in the state. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MOSCOW (AP) A top Kremlin official warned the U.S. Wednesday that it could face the wrath of God if it pursues efforts to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russia's action in Ukraine, while the Russian lower house speaker urged Washington to remember that Alaska used to belong to Russia. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russias Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, denounced the U.S. for what he described as its efforts to spread chaos and destruction across the world for the sake of 'true democracy.'" The entire U.S. history since the times of subjugation of the native Indian population represents a series of bloody wars, Medvedev charged in a long diatribe on his Telegram channel, pointing out the U.S. nuclear bombing of Japan during World War II and the war in Vietnam. Was anyone held responsible for those crimes? What tribunal condemned the sea of blood spilled by the U.S. there? Responding to the U.S.-backed calls for an international tribunal to prosecute the perceived war crimes by Russia in Ukraine, Medvedev rejected it as an attempt by the U.S. to judge others while staying immune from any trial. It won't work with Russia, they know it well, Medvedev concluded. That's why the rotten dogs of war are barking in such a disgusting way." "The U.S. and its useless stooges should remember the words of the Bible: Do not judge and you will not be judged ... so that the great day of His wrath doesn't come to their home one day, Medvedev said, referring to the Apocalypse. He noted that the idea to punish a country with the largest nuclear potential is absurd and potentially creates the threat to mankind's existence. The warning follows a series of tough statements from Putin and his officials that pointed at the Russian nuclear arsenals to warn the West against interfering with Moscow's action in Ukraine. Medvedev, who served as Russias president in 2008-2012 when Putin shifted into the prime ministers post due to term limits, was widely seen by the West as more liberal compared with his mentor. In recent months, however, he has made remarks that have sounded much tougher than those issued by the most hawkish Kremlin officials. In another blustery warning to the U.S., Vyacheslav Volodin. a longtime Putin aide who serves as the speaker of the lower house of parliament, warned Wednesday that Washington should remember that Alaska was part of Russia when it freezes Russian assets. Russia colonized Alaska and established several settlements there until the U.S. purchased it from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. When they attempt to appropriate our assets abroad, they should be aware that we also have something to claim back, Volodin said during a meeting with lawmakers. BRIDGEPORT A purported gang member pleaded guilty Tuesday and admitted his role in the fatal shooting of a rival in 2019, according to federal prosecutors. Tyrone Moore, 20, of Bridgeport, faces up to 30 years in prison for a racketeering offense stemming from his involvement in Bridgeports East End gang, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said in a news release. While in the gang, Averys office said Moore, who is also known as Ty Ralph Lauren, and another East End member shot and killed Shawn Warren, also known as Kujoe, a member and associate of the Original North End gang on July 12, 2019. The East End gang has been allied with other groups such as the P.T. Barnum Gang, the East Side gang and 150, which is based on the West Side of the city, against rival organizations like the Original North End, or O.N.E., and Greene Homes Boyz, or GHB/Hotz, gangs, Averys office said. The East End Gang began as a local street gang based out of the East End of Bridgeport. Currently the group has members and associates who are either incarcerated or living throughout Bridgeport and surrounding towns, according to Averys office. Averys office said Moore and other East End members sold heroin, crack cocaine, Percocet pills and marijuana. They also used and shared firearms and committed acts of violence against rival gang members. After these violent acts, the members celebrated on social media. They have also intimidated and threatened potential witnesses to protect gang members and associates from law enforcement, Averys office said. Moore pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport on Tuesday to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering. Under the terms of the plea agreement, and if accepted by the court, Moore will be sentenced between 20 to 30 years in prison, Averys office said. Moore will be detained until he is sentenced. His sentencing has not yet been scheduled, according to Averys office. WASHINGTON (AP) Pat Cipollone, Donald Trumps former White House counsel, is scheduled to testify Friday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a person briefed on the matter. Cipollone, whose reported resistance to Trumps schemes to overturn his 2020 election defeat has made him a long-sought and potentially revelatory witness, was subpoenaed by the select committee last week after weeks of public pressure to provide testimony to the panel. The person briefed on the matter, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations, said Cipollone agreed to appear before the committee for a private, transcribed interview. As Trumps top White House lawyer, Cipollone was in the West Wing on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as for key meetings in the turbulent weeks after the election when Trump and associates including Republican lawmakers and lawyer Rudy Giuliani debated and plotted ways to challenge the election. The agreement for Cipollone to speak to the panel follows last week's dramatic testimony from former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. The young aide to former chief of staff Mark Meadows provided the committee with a striking account of what she saw and heard in those weeks and presented lawmakers with arguably their clearest case for how Trump or some of his allies could face criminal liability. Cipollone is said to have stridently and repeatedly warned Trump and his allies against their efforts to challenge the election, threatening to resign as Trump eyed a dramatic reshuffling atop the Justice Department. One witness said Cipollone referred to a proposed letter making false claims about voter fraud as a murder-suicide pact. But while his interview with the committee could prove to be a breakthrough, it remained unclear whether Cipollone would try to limit what he is willing to talk about. As the administrations chief lawyer, he could argue that some or all of his conversations with Trump are privileged. Nevertheless, the nine-member panel believes he is a crucial witness who can provide them with an even closer, first-hand recollection of the several and varied efforts by Trump allies to subvert the Electoral College, including a strategy to organize so-called alternate electors for Trump in seven swing states that Biden won. Lawmakers also said that Cipollone's name came up in a number of private depositions as a voice of reason against efforts to appoint a loyalist as attorney general who championed false theories of voter fraud and a plan to have Trump march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 alongside his supporters. Hutchinson testified last week that days before the Capitol attack, Cipollone warned that there were serious legal concerns if Trump accompanied the protesters to the Capitol, saying, We need to make sure that this doesnt happen. By the morning of Jan. 6, Cipollone was urging Hutchinson to keep in touch about any possible movements by the president and please make sure we dont go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. If Trump did go to the Capitol, Hutchinson recalled Cipollone saying, were going to get charged with every crime imaginable. He had previously identified obstruction of justice or defrauding the electoral count as among the possibilities, she said. While Cipollone sat for an informal interview in April, the committee has reiterated that it required his cooperation on the record after it obtained evidence about which he was uniquely positioned to testify. Our evidence shows that Pat Cipollone and his office tried to do what was right, Rep. Liz Cheney, the Republican vice-chair of the committee, said in a hearing last month. They tried to stop a number of President Trumps plans for Jan. 6. We think the American people deserve to hear from Mr. Cipollone personally," She added. ___ Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson battled to remain in office Wednesday, brushing off calls for his resignation after three Cabinet ministers and a slew of junior officials said they could no longer serve under his scandal-plagued leadership. Johnson rejected demands that he step down during a stormy session of the House of Commons amid a furor over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a senior official. Later in the day, a delegation of some of his most trusted allies in the Cabinet paid a visit to the prime minister at 10 Downing Street to urge him to go, but he remained unmoved, Britain's Press Association reported. The prime minister turned down suggestions he seek a dignified exit and opted instead to fight for his political career, citing hugely important issues facing the country, according to the news agency. It quoted a source close to Johnson as saying he told colleagues there would be chaos if he quit. The 58-year-old leader who pulled Britain out of the European Union and steered it through the COVID-19 outbreak is known for his ability to wiggle out of tight spots, managing to remain in power despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules. He hung on even when 41% of Conservative lawmakers voted to oust him in a no-confidence vote last month. But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a lawmaker before he promoted the man to a senior position pushed him to the brink. In holding on to his office, Johnson is attempting to defy the mathematics of parliamentary government and the traditions of British politics. It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. He is now besmirching our democracy, and if he doesnt do the right thing and go of his own accord, then hell be dragged out," Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told the BBC. Many of Johnson's fellow Conservatives were concerned that he no longer had the moral authority to govern at a time when difficult decisions are needed to address soaring food and energy prices, rising COVID-19 infections and the war in Ukraine. Others worry that he may now be a liability at the ballot box. On Wednesday, members of the opposition Labour Party showered Johnson with shouts of Go! Go! during the weekly ritual of Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer mockingly said of the resignations surrounding Johnson, Isnt it the first recorded case of the sinking ship fleeing the rat? More damningly, members of Johnsons own Conservative Party wearied by the many scandals he has faced also challenged their leader. Frankly the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when hes been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going, Johnson replied with the bluster he has used to fend off critics throughout nearly three years in office. And thats what Im going to do. Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who helped trigger the current crisis when he resigned Tuesday night, captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnsons actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government. At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough, he told fellow lawmakers. I believe that point is now. Under party rules, another no-confidence vote cannot be held for another 11 months, but party members can change the rules. The 1922 Committee, a small but influential group of Conservative lawmakers, could decide as early as Monday whether to do that. Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other over the latest furor. The two Cabinet heavyweights were responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain the cost-of-living crisis and COVID-19. In a scathing letter, Sunak said: The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. The resignations of some 40 junior ministers and ministerial aides followed on Tuesday and Wednesday. A third Cabinet official, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, quit late Wednesday, saying we have passed the point" where it's possible to turn the ship around." As Johnson dug in, critics accused him of refusing to accept the inevitable and of behaving more like a president than a prime minister by referring to his mandate. In Britain, voters elect a party to govern, not the prime minister directly. Former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said late Tuesday that Johnson's time is finally up. Its a bit like the death of Rasputin: Hes been poisoned, stabbed, hes been shot, his bodys been dumped in a freezing river, and still he lives, Mitchell told the BBC. But this is an abnormal prime minister, a brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character. But Im afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister. The final straw for Sunak and Javid was the prime ministers handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations leveled against Pincher and shifting explanations from the government about what Johnson knew when he tapped the man for a senior job enforcing party discipline. ___ This story has ben updated to correct the spelling of the last name of the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce in Britain. It is Drechsler, not Drexler. ___ Follow all of APs coverage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson at https://apnews.com/hub/boris-johnson MADISON, Wis. (AP) A woman accused of killing a man can argue at trial that she was justified because he was sexually trafficking her, Wisconsins Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a decision that could help define the limits of legal immunity for trafficking victims nationwide. The justices ruled 4-3 that a 2008 state law that absolves trafficking victims of criminal liability for any offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked extends to first-degree intentional homicide. However, they said Chrystul Kizer must first provide evidence for a trial judge that her decision to kill Randall Volar was connected to being trafficked before she can invoke immunity. Chrystul Kizer deserves a chance to present her defense and todays decision will allow her to do that, Kizers attorney, Katie York, said. While the legal process on this matter is far from over, we, along with Chrystul and her family, believe the decision today affirms the legal rights provided by Wisconsin statute to victims of sex trafficking facing criminal charges. Kizer, 22, contends she met Volar on a sex-trafficking website. She says he sexually assaulted her and sold her to others for sex. According to court documents, Kizer put a gun in her bookbag in June 2018 and told her boyfriend that she was going to shoot Volar because she was tired of him touching her. She traveled from Milwaukee to Volar's home in Kenosha, shot him in the head, burned down his house and stole his BMW, according to court documents. Kizer was 17 at the time, old enough to be considered an adult in Wisconsin's criminal justice system. She faces multiple charges, including arson and first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a mandatory life sentence. Nearly 40 states have passed laws that give trafficking victims at least some level of criminal immunity, according to Legal Action of Wisconsin, which provides legal help for low-income people. Kizer's attorneys had planned to invoke Wisconsin's immunity law at her trial, but Kenosha County Circuit Judge David Wilk refused to allow it. He ruled that immunity extends only to trafficking-related charges such as restraining someone, extortion, prostitution or slave labor. An appellate court ruled last year, however, that Kizer could argue that the law shields her from prosecution. State attorneys asked the high court to reverse that decision, maintaining that the immunity statutes cant possibly extend to homicide. Assistant Attorney General Timothy Barber argued in March that Kizers interpretation would create an unprecedented expansion of the self-defense doctrine, eliminating any questions about whether killing someone was reasonable or necessary. The court found that the extent of trafficking victims' immunity is ambiguous but doesn't include any limiting language and therefore applies to homicide. If Kizer can show a connection between her actions and being trafficked, prosecutors will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defense doesnt apply, the court said. The defendant must produce some evidence on which a reasonable jury could find that the defense applies," Justice Rebecca Dallet, a liberal, wrote for the majority. "Thus our interpretation does not create the kind of blanket immunity for victims of human trafficking that the State fears. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said the decision brings needed clarity regarding the scope of the affirmative defense for survivors of the vile crime of human trafficking. The Wisconsin Supreme Court decision isnt binding on other states but could inform attorney strategies in similar cases elsewhere in the country, legal experts say. Anti-violence groups lined up to support Kizer, filing briefs saying that trafficking victims often feel so trapped they believe they have to take matters into their own hands. Ian Henderson, policy and systems director for the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, one of the groups that signed onto the briefs, praised the court's decision. He said trafficking victims often react out of a flight-or-fight mentality and the ruling avoids them being criminalized for defending themselves. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are sexual assault victims, but Kizer discussed her case in an interview from jail with The Washington Post that was published in 2019. ___ Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1 Some 40,000 National Guard and 22,000 Reserve soldiers who refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are no longer allowed to participate in their military duties, also effectively cutting them off from some of their military benefits, Army officials announced Friday. "Soldiers who refuse the vaccination order without an approved or pending exemption request are subject to adverse administrative actions, including flags, bars to service, and official reprimands," an Army spokesperson said in a statement. The move comes in the midst of the annual training season, during which part-time soldiers are often ordered to serve from two weeks to a month with their units for summer training exercises. Those training events are usually critical for soldiers to sharpen their military skills and for unit commanders to ensure their formations are ready to deploy if needed. Read Next: Space Force Launches New Intelligence Unit as Congress Voices Concerns over Growth If the soldiers continue to refuse the vaccine, the consequences could be even more dire. "In the future, Soldiers who continue to refuse the vaccination order without an exemption may be subject to additional adverse administrative action, including separation," the Army spokesperson said. The long-term impact may mean many soldiers would be forced to leave, a devastating outcome especially in the middle of a recruiting crisis as Defense Department officials struggle to fill the ranks. Soldiers will be allowed to come on duty and earn their pay in order to be vaccinated or to take part in separation procedures. "We're going to give every soldier every opportunity to get vaccinated and continue their military career," Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, director of the Army Guard, told Military.com in an emailed statement. "We're not giving up on anybody until the separation paperwork is signed and completed." The Army National Guard and Reserve deadline to receive the vaccine was June 30, the latest of all the services, which required vaccination last year. As of July 1, 13% of the Army Guard and 12% of the Reserve is unvaccinated. Part-time soldiers with a pending medical or religious exemption for the vaccine may continue to train with their units and collect pay and benefits. But exemption approvals are rare. The vaccines have some rare side effects, including heart inflammation that has affected at least 22 service members, according to a study from the JAMA Network. Only six Guard soldiers across all states and territories have permanent medical exemptions for the vaccine, out of 53 who requested one, according to Army data. No Reserve soldiers have a medical exemption. No Guard or Reserve soldiers have been approved for a religious exemption after nearly 3,000 requests. It is unclear what would qualify a soldier for a waiver on religious grounds. Soldiers are required to be innoculated against at least a dozen other ailments, including the flu and hepatitis. And no major religious leaders have come out against vaccines. Army officials have stopped short of outlining a clear plan on removing part-time soldiers, particularly Guardsmen, from service for continuing to refuse the vaccine. As of now, Guardsmen are barred only from attending federally funded drills and other training events, which make up the bulk of their service. While Guardsmen technically serve under their respective governors during their typical weekend duties, those weekends are federally funded. Multiple Republican governors have vowed not to kick out Guardsmen who remain unvaccinated. It's unclear how easy it will be for the Defense Department to enforce its decision to bar unvaccinated Guardsmen from pay and benefits. On paper, the only thing an unvaccinated Guard soldier is qualified for now is state active-duty orders, a comparatively rare tool for a governor to activate their Guard for short-term emergencies such as hurricane relief and responding to domestic disturbances. SAD duties are usually short term. However, there are outliers such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has used SAD orders lasting up to a year to mobilize thousands of troops for missions on the U.S.-Mexico border. But SAD duties do not qualify Guardsmen for federal benefits or retirement -- effectively shutting them out of all of the military's service incentives other than a paycheck. Reserve soldiers fall exclusively under the federal government, possibly making it easier to separate them from service. As of Friday, 1,148 active-duty soldiers have been removed from the Army for failing to comply with the vaccine mandate. -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: What Does the Guard Do with 40,000 Unvaccinated Soldiers? No One Knows Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed the ruins of a Byzantine-period luxurious estate and a rare rural mosque in Rahat, a predominantly Bedouin city in the Southern District of Israel. We uncovered a farmhouse of the Byzantine period that apparently housed Christian farmers and included a fortified tower and rooms with strong walls surrounding a courtyard, said IAA archaeologist Dr. Oren Shmueli and colleagues. On a nearby hilltop, we found estates constructed completely differently. They were built about a hundred years later, in the late 7th to 9th centuries (Early Islamic period). The estate buildings, apparently built by Muslims, were constructed with lines of rooms next to large, open courtyards. Many of the clay-lined ovens in the rooms and courtyards were probably used for cooking food. The walls of these buildings were relatively thin and apparently supported mudbrick walls that have not survived. According to the team, the mosque includes a square room and a wall facing the direction of Mecca (qibla), the holy city of Islam. A niche shaped in a half-circle is located along the center of the wall pointing southwards (mihrab). The mosque stands alone on the site and could have been used by several dozen Muslim worshippers, most likely local inhabitants, for prayers, the researchers said. The mosque is about 400 m south from a luxurious estate building constructed around a central courtyard. It includes halls with stone pavement, some paved with marble, and walls decorated with frescos painted in red and yellow. The remains of fine tableware and glass vessels, some illustrated with drawings of plants and animals, which were revealed in the building, manifest the wealth of its inhabitants. The evidence from all of the excavation areas gathered so far: the dwellings, the houses of prayer, the ovens and utensils, sheds light on the beginnings of the historical process that took place in the northern Negev with the introduction of a new religion the religion of Islam, and new rulership and culture in the region, the scientists said. These were gradually established, inheriting the earlier Byzantine government and the Christian faith that held sway over the land for hundreds of years. Women in the U.S. armed forces are diagnosed at significantly higher rates than men for most sexually transmitted diseases, but the greater incidence is likely tied to increased screening of female service members, a new report finds. From 2013 to 2021, active-duty women were diagnosed with chlamydia at three times the rate as male service members. For gonorrhea, they tested positive at nearly 1.4 times the rate of males; for genital herpes, more than 4 times the rate; and human papillomavirus, 9 times the rate. Yet men had a higher rate for syphilis: During the period, 5,128 servicemen, or five per 100,000 troops, were diagnosed with syphilis, compared with 734 women. Read Next: Army Cuts Off More Than 60K Unvaccinated Guard and Reserve Soldiers from Pay and Benefits "With the exception of syphilis, the crude overall incidence rates of all STIs [Sexually Transmitted Infections] were markedly higher among female than male service members," Armed Forces Surveillance Division analysts noted in the Defense Department's May Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, released Tuesday. While the data could be construed to suggest that female service members are engaging in more risky behavior and thereby contracting infections at a higher rate, the study authors, echoing other public health experts, noted that across the services women are more widely screened for sexually transmitted infections than men. Defense Department guidelines call for all potential recruits to be screened for HIV, while women at recruit training are also screened for chlamydia. They then are screened annually up to age 26 as part of their yearly gynecological exams. "Higher incidence rates of most STIs among females compared to males can likely be attributed to implementation of the services' screening programs for STIs among female service members," the report stated. "Because asymptomatic infection with chlamydia, gonorrhea, or HPV [human papillomavirus] is common among sexually active females, widespread screening may result in sustained high numbers of infections diagnosed among young females." Navy Lt. Karli Woollens, a family medicine specialist at the Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Bremerton supporting Naval Hospital Bremerton, Washington, agreed. "They are ... more likely to be screened and therefore diagnosed with STIs due to recommended screening programs for all asymptomatic sexually active young women and pregnant women," Woollens said in a Defense Health Agency press release. The rates for each of the five illnesses have varied across the years, but chlamydia, an infection that can go undetected but has the potential to cause infertility in women, remains the most common STI among service members. The report authors noted some positive findings beginning in 2019: From that year through 2021, the rates actually declined for all illnesses except for syphilis for all service members. Occurrences of chlamydia for both genders were greater than the total of the other four most common sexually transmitted diseases combined, according to the report. Chlamydia infections rose in the U.S. nationwide by 19% from 2015 to 2019, according to the Defense Health Agency, but the illness is not the most common sexually transmitted illness in the country. That title goes to human papillomavirus, or HPV, cases of which have seen a steady decline among military men since 2013 and military women since 2015, according to the report. That decline may be attributable to the availability of an HPV vaccine, which is not mandatory in the military but is encouraged by physicians for adolescents prior to joining the military and by military officials as well, the report noted. The study, which reviewed DoD medical data and reports to the division, did not include any data on sexual behaviors, but noted that some military personnel have indicated in behavioral surveys that they engage in potentially risky sex. The 2018 DoD Health Related Behaviors Survey noted that nearly 35% of those who responded had sex with a new partner without using a condom. That figure was nearly double the rate reported in 2011. According to the new report, nearly 360,000 troops were diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease between 2013 and 2021. That included 233,886 cases of chlamydia, 37,592 cases of gonorrhea, 5,862 cases of syphilis, 27,238 cases of genital herpes and 55,040 cases of HPV. Across the services, rates for chlamydia, gonorrhea and genital herpes simplex virus were highest in the Army. The Navy had the highest overall rate of syphilis and HPV. For all illnesses except HPV, junior enlisted personnel, up to E-3, had the highest incidence rates. Junior officers through O-3 had the highest incidence rate of HPV. Among military occupational specialties, motor transport personnel were diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis at the highest rates, while those in health care specialties had the highest rates of herpes and HPV. The report noted that data was not included from five military medical facilities using the MHS Genesis electronic medical records system from July 2017 to October 2019, mainly locations in the Pacific Northwest. The researchers said adherence to standards for screening, testing, treatment and reporting would improve efforts to detect and characterize health threats related to sexually transmitted diseases, while continued efforts to emphasize risk reduction could further decrease diagnoses. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime Related: Troops Packed On the Pounds in Pandemic's First Year, Posing Risk to Force Health KRAMATORSK, Ukraine The governor of the last remaining eastern province partly under Ukraine's control urged his more than 350,000 residents to flee as Russia escalated its offensive and air alerts were issued across nearly the entire country. Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said that getting people out of Donetsk province is necessary to save lives and enable the Ukrainian army better to defend towns from the Russian advance. The destiny of the whole country will be decided by the Donetsk region, Kyrylenko told reporters in Kramatrosk, the province's administrative center and home to the Ukrainian military's regional headquarters. Once there are less people, we will be able to concentrate more on our enemy and perform our main tasks, Kyrylenko said. The governors call for residents to leave appeared to represent one of the biggest suggested evacuations of the war, although it's unclear whether people will be willing and safely able to flee. According to the U.N. refugee agency, more than 7.1 million Ukrainians are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine, and more than 4.8 million refugees left the country since Russia's invasion started Feb. 24. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said air alerts were issued Tuesday night in nearly all of the country, in many places after a long period of relative calm during which people searched for an explanation. You should not look for logic in the actions of terrorists, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. The Russian army does not take any breaks. It has one task to take peoples lives, to intimidate people so that even a few days without an air alarm already feel like part of the terror. Much of the military activity appeared concentrated in Ukraine's east. The Kramatorsk governor said that because they house critical infrastructure such as water filtration plants, Russias main targets are now his city and a city 16 kilometers (10 miles) to the north, Sloviansk. Kyrylenko described the shelling as very chaotic without a specific target ... only to destroy civilian infrastructure and residential areas. Sloviansk also came under sustained bombardment Tuesday. Mayor Vadim Lyakh said on Facebook that massive shelling pummeled Sloviansk, which had a population of about 107,000 before Russian invaded Ukraine more than four months ago. The mayor, who urged residents hours earlier to evacuate, advised them to take cover in shelters. At least one person was killed and seven were wounded Tuesday, Lyakh said. He said the citys central market and several districts came under attack, adding that authorities were assessing the extent of the damage. The barrage targeting Sloviansk indicated Russian forces were advancing farther into Ukraine's Donbas region, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where the country's most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Sloviansk has previously taken rocket and artillery fire during Russia's war in Ukraine, but the bombardment picked up in recent days after Moscow took the last major city in neighboring Luhansk province, Lyakh said. Its important to evacuate as many people as possible, he warned Tuesday morning, adding that shelling damaged 40 houses on Monday. The Ukrainian military withdrew its troops Sunday from the city of Lysychansk to keep them from being surrounded. Russia's defense minister and Putin said the city's subsequent capture put Moscow in control of all of Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the Donbas, but the regional governor said Tuesday that fighting was continuing on Lysychansk's outskirts. He said Russian forces were moving weaponry to Donetsk. The question now is whether Russia can muster enough strength to complete its seizure of the Donbas by taking Donetsk province, too. Putin acknowledged Monday that Russian troops who fought in Luhansk need to take some rest and beef up their combat capability. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that Moscow's main priorities are preserving the lives and health of its troops and excluding the threat to the security of civilians. When Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine more than four months ago, his stated goals were defending the people of the Donbas against Kyivs alleged aggression, and the demilitarization and denazifaction of Ukraine. Pro-Russia separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before the invasion this year, Putin recognized the independence of the two self-proclaimed separatist republics in the region. He also sought to portray the tactics of Ukrainian forces and the government as akin to Nazi Germany's, claims for which no evidence has emerged. The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said Russian forces also shelled several Donetsk towns and villages around Sloviansk in the past day but were repelled as they tried to advance toward a town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the city's north. South of the city, Russian forces were trying to push toward two more towns and shelling areas near Kramatorsk. Meanwhile, Moscow-installed officials in Ukraines southern Kherson region on Tuesday announced the formation of a new regional government, with a former Russian official at the helm. Sergei Yeliseyev, the head of the new Moscow-backed government in Kherson, is a former deputy prime minister of Russias western exclave of Kaliningrad and also used to work at Russia's Federal Security Service, or the FSB, according to media reports. It wasnt immediately clear what would become of the military-civic administration the Kremlin installed earlier. The administration's head, Vladimir Saldo, said in a Telegram statement that the new government was not a temporary, not a military, not some kind of interim administration, but a proper governing body. The fact that not just Kherson residents, but Russian officials, too, are part of this government speaks clearly about the direction the Kherson region is headed in the future," he said. "This direction is to Russia. Kherson's Russia-installed administration previously stated plans for the region to become part of Russia, either through a referendum or other means. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. LONDON The head of the FBI and the leader of Britains domestic intelligence agency raised alarms Wednesday about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain. FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed previous concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China as well as the Chinese governments efforts to stifle dissent abroad. But his speech was notable because it took place at MI5s London headquarters and alongside the agencys director general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity. It also showed the extent to which Wray and the FBI regard the Chinese government as not only a law enforcement and intelligence challenge, but are also attuned to the implications of Beijing's foreign policy actions. We consistently see that its the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by our, I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere, Wray said. Officials described it as the first time that leaders of the FBI and MI5 had shared a stage for a joint speech. McCallum said the Chinese government and its covert pressure across the globe amounts to the most game-changing challenge we face. This might feel abstract. But its real and its pressing, McCallum said. We need to talk about it. We need to act. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said in an emailed statement that China firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks and called U.S. accusations groundless. In a nod to current tensions between China and Taiwan, Wray said any forcible takeover of Taipei by Beijing would would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen." Last week, the U.S. governments director of national intelligence said there were no indications Chinese President Xi Jinping was poised to take Taiwan by military force. Avril Haines did say Xi appeared to be planning for that potential action as part of a broader goal of reunification of Taiwan. After the appearance with his British counterpart, Wray said that he would leave to others the question of whether an invasion of Taiwan was more or less likely after Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. I don't have any reason to think their interest in Taiwan has abated in any fashion, Wray said, adding that he hoped China had learned what happens when you overplay your hand, as he said the Russians have done in Ukraine. The FBI director said there are signs the Chinese, perhaps drawing lessons from Russia's experience since the war, have looked for ways to insulate their economy against potential sanctions. In our world, we call that behavior a clue, said Wray, who throughout his speech urged caution from Western companies looking to do business in or with China. He said Western investments in China could collapse in the event of an invasion of Taiwan. Just as in Russia, Western investments built over years could become hostages, capital stranded (and) supply chains and relationships disrupted, he said. President Joe Biden said in May that the U.S. would respond militarily if China invaded Taiwan, offering one of the most forceful White House statements in support of Taiwans self-governing in decades. The White House later tried to soften the impact of the statement, saying Biden was not outlining a change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, a self-governing island that China views as a breakaway province that should be reunified with the mainland. The embassy spokesman said the Taiwan issue was purely Chinas internal affair and that when it comes to questions of Chinas territory and sovereignty, the country has no room for compromise or concession. JULY 6: Taylor has landed on the injured list as expected, with utilityman Zach McKinstry reinstated from the IL take his active roster spot. Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged its a safe bet that Taylor wouldnt be back before the All-Star Break, but the club hasnt provided a more specific timetable (via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). JULY 5: Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor was diagnosed with a fracture in his left foot, he told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Hell likely be placed on the injured list tomorrow; a timetable for his return isnt yet clear. Taylor departed last nights contest against the Rockies in the sixth inning. The club called the issue ankle swelling at the time, but he went for a CT scan this afternoon. The testing revealed the presence of a fracture, an injury which seems likely to cost him a fair bit of time. Los Angeles will surely provide more details on Taylors specific diagnosis and recovery outlook over the next few days. Re-signed to a four-year contract over the offseason, Taylor has again served a key role for manager Dave Roberts. Hes gotten the start for 56 of the clubs 79 games in left field, in addition to seven nods in center and right field apiece. Long noted for his defensive versatility, Taylor has played exclusively in the outfield this season but no doubt still retained the ability to step onto the infield dirt if the club needed. It hasnt been a vintage offensive showing for Taylor, who owns a .238/.319/.409 line through 285 plate appearances. Hes still walking at a strong rate and has collected 19 doubles, but hes struck out at a personal-high 35.4% clip. Nevertheless, Taylors five-year track record of solidly above-average offense offered reason to believe hed bounce back from a down month of June. Its the second corner outfield injury in recent weeks for L.A. to navigate. Mookie Betts missed time with a small rib fracture, returning over the weekend. While Roberts suggested Betts could break back in as a second baseman to ease his throwing responsibilities, hes been pencilled into right field in two of three games since his reinstatement. The Dodgers dealt for Trayce Thompson to platoon with Eddy Alvarez once Betts went down; the club has since selected Jake Lamb (whos starting in left field tonight) and optioned Alvarez out, but they figure to turn to another platoon arrangement to handle left field in the short term. Depending on Taylors recovery outlook, its possible the Dodgers could look to the trade market for a more impactful pickup than Thompson. Ian Happ, Anthony Santander and Andrew Benintendi are among the higher-impact, regular outfielders who could be made available over the coming weeks. Theres also the possibility of a prospect promotion to help fill the void. Miguel Vargas, for instance, is hitting very well with Triple-A Oklahoma City and was floated as a potential alternative once Betts was injured. Vargas, a trade baseman by trade, made a pair of minor league starts in left field recently but otherwise has played exclusively on the infield as a pro. Air-defense missile systems en route to designated area China Military Online) 11:10, July 06, 2022 Armored vehicles mounted with air-defense missile systems attached to an air defense brigade under the PLA 72nd Group Army are en route to a designated area during a comprehensive tactical exercise on June 16, 2022. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wang Wenzhou) Armored vehicles mounted with air-defense missile systems attached to an air defense brigade under the PLA 72nd Group Army are en route to a designated area during a comprehensive tactical exercise on June 16, 2022. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wang Wenzhou) (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) An international team of physicists has observed electrons flowing in vortices a hallmark of fluid flow that theorists predicted electrons should exhibit, but that has never been seen until now. When electricity runs through most ordinary metals and semiconductors, the momenta and trajectories of electrons in the current are influenced by impurities in the material and vibrations among the materials atoms. These processes dominate electron behavior in ordinary materials. But theoretical physicists have predicted that in the absence of such ordinary, classical processes, quantum effects should take over. Namely, electrons should pick up on each others delicate quantum behavior and move collectively, as a viscous, honey-like electron fluid. This liquid-like behavior should emerge in ultraclean materials and at near-zero temperatures. In 2017, MIT Professor Leonid Levitov and his colleagues from the University of Manchester reported signatures of such fluid-like electron behavior in graphene. They observed that a current sent through the channel could flow through the constrictions with little resistance. This suggested that the electrons in the current were able to squeeze through the pinch points collectively, much like a fluid, rather than clogging, like individual grains of sand. In a new study, Professor Levitov and physicists from the Weizmann Institute for Science looked to visualize electron vortices. They focused on tungsten ditelluride (WTe 2 ), an ultraclean metallic compound that has been found to exhibit exotic electronic properties when isolated in single-atom-thin, 2D form. Tungsten ditelluride is one of the new quantum materials where electrons are strongly interacting and behave as quantum waves rather than particles, Professor Levitov said. In addition, the material is very clean, which makes the fluid-like behavior directly accessible. The researchers synthesized pure single crystals of tungsten ditelluride, and exfoliated thin flakes of the material. They then used e-beam lithography and plasma etching techniques to pattern each flake into a center channel connected to a circular chamber on either side. They etched the same pattern into thin flakes of gold a standard metal with ordinary, classical electronic properties. They then ran a current through each patterned sample at ultralow temperatures of 4.5 K and measured the current flow at specific points throughout each sample, using a nanoscale scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) on a tip. Using the device to scan each sample, they were able to observe in detail how electrons flowed through the patterned channels in each material. The authors observed that electrons flowing through patterned channels in gold flakes did so without reversing direction, even when some of the current passed through each side chamber before joining back up with the main current. In contrast, electrons flowing through tungsten ditelluride flowed through the channel and swirled into each side chamber, much as water would do when emptying into a bowl. The electrons created small whirlpools in each chamber before flowing back out into the main channel. We observed a change in the flow direction in the chambers, where the flow direction reversed the direction as compared to that in the central strip, Professor Levitov said. That is a very striking thing, and it is the same physics as that in ordinary fluids, but happening with electrons on the nanoscale. Thats a clear signature of electrons being in a fluid-like regime. The results appear today in the journal Nature. _____ A. Aharon-Steinberg et al. Direct observation of vortices in an electron fluid. Nature, published online July 6, 2022; doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04794-y Seasoned Ghanaian rapper, Kwame Nsiah-Apau, known by the stage name Okyeame Kwame, has intimated that the current crop of rappers is more skilful. The legendary musician acknowledged the prowess of current Ghanaian rappers indicating that the existence of legendary rappers and musicians like Reggie Rockstone, Lord Kenya, and others these days has also contributed to this narrative. The rap 'dacta' told Joy Prime's Ibrahim Ben-Bako that the competition forces rappers today to be more creative, exciting, and entertaining. These guys are standing on the shoulders of giants like Reggie Rockstone, Lord Kenya; what people dont know is these young rappers are way better than us. Kwame Yogot and the rest they are much much better than us. When we started to rap, there were just a few rappers Bright of Buk Bak, Exdoe, Chicago, Reggie Rockstone, VIP and Obrafour. We were just a few. Now, everyone knows how to rap and the world has become so small through the internet, he stated. Okyeame Kwame made this statement at a weekend event hosted by Ghanaian rapper Kwame Yogot at the Grand Cassamora hotel in Adjiriganor. 06.07.2022 LISTEN Popular Real Estate Developer Derrick Appiah who alleged that Dancehall Musician Stonebwoy threatened to kill him during a business transaction has revealed that the East legon Police Station Officers told him they cannot arrest him (Stonebwoy) because he is a celebrity. Speaking in an interview with Blogger Attractive Mustapha on the properties and land issues, Evans Appiah said when he was threatened by the Pepper Dem hitmaker, he went straight to the East Legon Police Station but he was surprised the police told him they do not arrest celebrities. According to him, the police told him the only way they can arrest a celebrity like Stonebwoy is if they get a court warrant. To him, he decided to stop pursuing the case leaving everything to God. He believes he will surely get his money back if not physically but spiritually. Background Popular Real Estate Developer Derrick Appiah has alleged that Dancehall Musician Stonebwoy threatened to kill him during a business transaction. Speaking in an interview with Blogger Attractive Mustapha known in real life as Mustapha Nii Okai Inusah, he said it has been a good business with artists and helping celebrities to get their own houses. He said a few of them are difficult to deal with. Derrick Appiah noted that he considers such characters normal because "we are humans and we all have our bad sides." When questioned about a beef between him and Stonebwoy, he confirmed it and revealed that Stonebwoy threatened to kill him. "I rented a house to him peacefully and afterwards sold his current place of residence to him in 2019. "As part of the agreement, Stonebwoy was supposed to pay me 5% out of $440,000 as a commission but he refused to fulfill his part of the agreement by first reducing the agent fee from 5% to 2% which is $8,800. Instead of giving me the 2% $8800, he gave me $500 so I returned the money to him and asked him to pay my money in full because it was supposed to be 5% but for peace's sake, I reluctantly agreed to take the 2%. "Again, Stonebwoy decided to give me $500 instead of the 2% exactly and told me that if I dont take the $500 he wont give me any additional money. So I replied that when they contacted me to search for a house for them to buy, I was initially dealing with his wife and not him. He then angrily told me that if I mention his wifes name again it will be grave and prison, Derrick Appiah stated. According to him, he reported the case to the East Legon Police station but the police failed to arrest Stonebwoy. 05.07.2022 LISTEN The Managing Director of K. Asante Poultry Farm Company located at Atwima Agogo in the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region, Mr Kwadwo Asante has said poultry farmers in the country are losing their businesses if President Nana Akufo-Addo fails to intervene. The President he said, promised to provide some financial relief to poultry farmers following the Bird Flu outbreak that killed 1000s of poultry birds and collapsed poultry farms. Speaking to the Correspondent in an interview, Mr Asante, former National Chairman of the Poultry Farmers Association hinted that the executive members of the Association met the President last year to discuss the challenges confronting them and how best government can step in. He stressed that the said meeting attracted the Minister of Agriculture Hon Afriyie Akoto, Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten Trade Minister and other government officials. According to Mr Asante, the said meeting ended peacefully with the assurance from the President that he would task the sector minister to work out a plan to address the issues raised by the poultry farmers. He noted that the proposal to form a Poultry Council to collaborate with government to deal with the matters arising from the poultry sector was considered. Mr Asante indicated that several follow-ups have been made since last year but nothing fruitful has not come whilst the poultry industry continue to suffer greatly. It is against this background he is appealing to President Nana Akufo-Addo to fulfil his promise. Mr Asante indicated that the cost of all poultry feeds has dramatically increased by 100 percent. Aside the high cost, he added that there is also the issue of shortage of poultry feeds making the situation worst. According to him, maize, soya beans, wheat brand and concentrates are difficult to come by even with ready cash. The situation he said, has compelled many poultry farmers to pack out of business and workers laid off. 06.07.2022 LISTEN The Board Chairman of Brakwa Breman Rural Bank in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa District of the Central Region, Mr Alexander Koomson has disclosed that no rural bank can remain successful if the management fails to adopt an effective control mechanism to stabilize its internal operation. Mr Koomson who also doubles as the Assistant Auditor General with the Audit Service made the assertion during the bank's 36th Annual General Meeting, which was held on Saturday, June 18, 2022, at Breman Anhwiam. At the meeting, the bank declared a substantial profit of GHS363,580.00 for the year 2021 as against 2020 where it recorded GHS101,977.00 profit. Mr. Alexander Koomson said giving flexible loans to customers and ensuring they repay at the right time, in addition to tightening the internal control system have been the secret behind the successful operations of the bank. To this end, Chairman Koomson stressed the need for the rural and community banks to support the small businesses and enterprises within their areas of operation to grow and expand. As financial institutions, Mr. Koomson underscored that it is the responsibility of the banks to motivate and give flexible loans to infant businesses to enable them compete in the market. The Board Chairman assured that management of the bank will continue to cooperate with shareholders and the customers and work hard to maintain the reputation of the bank as one of the best rural banks in the country. Mr Alexander Koomson advised individuals, especially the petty traders to have confidence in rural and community banks and transact business with them since they provide unique services. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro constituency, Sylvester Mathew Tetteh can continue to score cheap political points over government's decision to seek an economic bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He however said the reasons the opposition NDC is attributing to the government's decision to reach out to IMF are not relevant as it will not change the narrative. For me, the back and forth about the IMF doesnt solve the problems. I have said the NDC has the right to score a political point with respect to our position when they went to IMF. For me, politically I give it all to them. Going to IMF is not a crime, we are a member of the IMF. I have said that on many occasions. So, for me, to the NDC, they have the bragging right to say that we said we're not going to the IMF and today you are in the IMF. On the surface of it, they have the right to brag about it, he noted. The lawmaker stated on Accra-based TV3's 'New Day' Show on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, which was monitored by Modernghana News. He stressed that the IMF move was necessary due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the raging Russia-Ukraine war. We are back to the IMF because we are not in normal times, nobody should downplay the effect of Covid 1-9 and then the Russia-Ukraine war, he added. 05.07.2022 LISTEN The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to bring significant economic and social gains to the region, leading to higher incomes, lower poverty, and faster economic growth, according to a new World Bank report done in partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat. If fully implemented to harmonize investment and competition rules, the trade pact could boost regional incomes by as much as 9 percentto $571 billion. It could create almost 18 million more jobs, many of them higher-paying and better-quality jobs, with women workers seeing the biggest gains. By 2035, the resulting jobs and income growth could help up to 50 million people exit extreme poverty. The implementation of the trade agreement would also lead to larger wage gains for women and skilled workers. Wages of female workers are expected to be 11.2 percent higher in 2035 as compared to the wage level without the agreement, outpacing 9.8 percent growth of male workers wages, report made available to the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema indicated. The report, Making the Most of the African Continental Free Trade Area, extends the work done in 2020 (www.worldbank.org/afcfta/2020report), when the World Bank initially assessed the economic potential of AfCFTA. As part of its first phase, which took effect in January 2021, the AfCFTA will gradually eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of goods and reduce barriers to trade in services. The new report released recently examines the effects of the larger trade market on the continents ability to attract investment both from within Africa and outsideand the resulting economic impact. The AfCFTA comes at a critical time when regional cooperation is needed to navigate compounded risks and enhance the resilience of supply chains, to support green, resilient and inclusive growth in Africa, said Mari Pangestu, Managing Director for Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank. Countries must work together to make the AfCFTA a reality and reap its many benefits including reducing barriers to trade and investment, enhancing competition, and ensuring markets function fairly and efficiently through clear and predictable rules. The report discusses two scenarios to assess the benefits for a market of more than 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of US$3.4 trillion. The key findings indicate that the AfCFTA has the potential to encourage greater foreign direct investment (FDI) required for Africa to diversify into new industries, such as agribusiness, manufacturing, and services, and reduce the regions vulnerability to commodity boom-bust cycles. A deeper integration beyond trade and trade facilitation measures, that harmonizes policies on investment, competition, e-commerce, and intellectual property rights could boost market efficiency and competitiveness, reduce regulatory risks, and attract even more foreign direct investment. By 2035, this integration would increase incomes by 9 percent, or $571 billion, and create 18 million new jobs, with 2.5 percent of the continent's workers moving to new industries. This would expand the number of people leaving extreme poverty to 50 million. The report finds that greater FDI could raise Africas exports up to 32 percent by 2035, with intra-African exports growing by 109 percent, especially in the manufactured goods sectors. All countries in Africa will see their intra-African exports increase, that includes Tunisia (165 percent), Cameroon (144percent), Ghana (132percent), Tanzania (126percent), and South Africa (61percent). As barriers to trade and investment are reduced, export sectors likely to grow the most are textiles and apparel; chemical, rubber and plastic products; and processed foods. Deeper integration would lower trade costs and boost capital inflows boosting exports from services sectors such as transport; communications and hospitality. Today Africa is one of the least integrated regions globally. African countries trade more with the outside world than with each other. The pact can help countries to simplify and harmonize trade and transit procedures, improve infrastructure, transport and logistics and spur the flows of goods, services, capital, and people that are so vital for development, said Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat. To unlock these potential gains in trade, investment, and jobs, countries must first successfully conclude the negotiations and the treatys most ambitious goals must be carried out by each country. The report highlights several other areas countries could reform to amplify economic gains from trade. The main French military base in Niger has become a hub of frantic activity for troops and equipment leaving neighbouring Mali. After nine years fighting jihadists in Mali, France is pulling its troops out of the country after falling out with its military junta, and reducing its presence in the wider Sahel region. "This disengagement from Mali is the biggest of our missions," says Colonel Hubert Baudoin, the the deputy chief of the French anti-jihadist mission in the Sahel, Operation Barkhane. Commander Thierry, coordinator of logistical movements across the zone, agrees: "It's a gigantic maneouvre." Every day, two to three air convoys travel from a base in Gao, Mali, to the one in Niger's capital Niamey. Two to three road convoys also make the trip each week between the cities almost 500 kilometres (around 300 miles) apart. After ties ruptured between Paris and the junta that took power in Mali in August 2020, the French began to withdraw in February. After Gossi and Menaka, the troops are due out of Gao by summer's end. Dozing legionnaires At the Niamey base, forklifts shuffle around pallets, while armoured vehicles sit lined up as far as the eye can see. In all, France must fly home 1,000 vehicles and some 4,000 containers. Colonel Laurent Grebil, logistics manager for Operation Barkhane, has already overseen a departure from a military theatre, 10 years ago in northeast Afghanistan. But that was on a much smaller scale, he says. "Here the complexity of the maneouvre arises from the distances to be covered and the volume of equipment and men to get out in a limited time," he says. "It will take a little less than a year to bring everything back to France." At the Niamey military airport, the forklifts handle all kinds of goods, from camp beds to spare parts and electrical equipment, including fridges. Along the dusty road that crosses the base, French legionnaires doze under khaki tarpaulins hitched up between two armoured vehicles, after arriving a day earlier from escorting several dozen civilian vehicles from Gao. They must head back during the night, keeping to the tight deadlines imposed by the French presidency. Last jihadist strike? The road connecting Niamey and Gao crosses semi-desert territory known as the "tri-border area" where the frontiers of Niger, Mali and Burkina converge. It is reputed to serve as a refuge for jihadists linked to the Islamic State group. There, "armed terrorist groups have been avoiding Barkhane for several months. But we remain on our guard," says the French force's deputy chief of operations. Lieutenant-Colonel Eric, of the intelligence unit, warns that a last jihadist strike could take place as a show of strength. "With France leaving, a real security vacuum will be created. Everyone will try to occupy the space, and one of the ways of occupying at least the perceived space would be to deal us a blow. "The disengagement phase is always the most dangerous," he says, speaking on condition his second name be withheld. The withdrawal comes amid a surge of violence in the Sahel. More than 2,000 civilians have been killed in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso since the start of the year, already more than the 2,021 recorded for the whole of 2021, according to an AFP tally of the findings of non-governmental organisation ACLED. Rainy season On the scorched tarmac, two Mirage 2000 fighter jets armed with guided bombs rev up their engines, ready to take off. "We're going to support a convoy on the part of the road identified as the most at risk. The noise of the planes tends to deter armed groups," explains Lieutenant-Colonel Pierre-Henri, commander of the hunting detachment. The base also has six armed drones to ensure the safety of convoys. But the rainy season is now complicating matters. "Rain can ground planes and blind drones," depriving convoys of their guardian angels, says Lieutenant-Colonel Samir, head of the joint operations centre for Barkhane in N'Djamena, Chad. And "unlike military vehicles, civilian trucks... can't leave the tarred roads" or they risk getting stuck. After the massive withdrawal, only 2,500 soldiers will be maintained in the Sahel, compared with more than 5,000 two years ago. France will keep more than 1,000 men in Niger, where a tactical group will continue to work in partnership with the Nigerien forces. But the strain it has placed on the Niamey base will not last, says its commander, Colonel Loic Mandereau. "This base is not intended to grow. We are not transferring Gao to Niamey," he says. Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, John Jinapor has said COVID-19 is not the cause of Ghana's ailing economy. He said even the cedi had begun to depreciate way before the COVID-19 outbreak. Speaking on Accra-based Metro TV today, he indicated that even in 2019 the cedi had depreciated badly. He noted that all was not well with the economy as government is forcing Ghanaians to believe. Let nobody tell that its because of Covid. Egyapa says in 2019 the figures were in the right direction. That's not true. Take Bawumia's own assessment that if the fundamentals are weak the exchange rate will expose you. In 2019 the cedi depreciated by 13%, worse than ever. 2019 they claim everything was good. The economy grew so much. If the economy grew so much why is your currency not stabilizing? If your economy is growing it means productivity is very high, he stated. According to him, government has constantly borrowed from reserves and bonds prior to covid-19. He alleges that Akufo-Addo borrowed GHS2.2 billion from the Eurobond to fund just the Free SHS in 2019 without investing in capital expenditure. According to him, government borrowed $2.5 million dollars and converted it to cedis describing it as domestic debt. Also, IMANI Africa Vice President, Kofi Bentil also stated that the signs of Ghana's economic woes were very visible to everyone even before the Covid-19 pandemic. He indicated that Covid-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war only exacerbated the already ailing economy. Watch full video here: With former Angola president Jose Eduardo dos Santos critically ill at a Barcelona hospital, one of his daughters has filed a case against his wife and personal physician for attempted murder, police and her lawyers said Tuesday. The 79-year-old was rushed to hospital and placed in intensive care after suffering a cardiac arrest on June 23, his family said, describing his condition as "critical". But on Monday, his daughter Tchize Dos Santos filed suit with the Catalan regional police, alleging her father's condition was the result of attempted murder. "Tchize dos Santos, daughter of former Angolan president Eduardo dos Santos, who is hospitalised at the Teknon clinic in Barcelona in an induced coma, has filed a complaint with the Mossos d'Esquadra for the investigation of an alleged offence of attempted murder," the two law firms advising her said. According to the complaint, she believes her father's current wife, Ana Paula, and his personal physician are responsible for the current deterioration in his health, one of her lawyers said. The daughter, whose full name is Welwitschia dos Santos, said her father and his wife had been separated for some time, meaning she did not have the right to make decisions about his health, the lawyer said. The 44-year-old also claimed the wife had not provided legal proof of their marriage to the Spanish authorities. Contacted by AFP, police confirmed receiving a complaint related to the former Angolan leader's state of health and said they had opened an inquiry, without giving further details. In order to protect her father, his daughter requested that only his children be allowed to visit him and also asked the Spanish authorities to ensure his protection and that of his children, most of whom have moved abroad due to friction with the current president, Joao Lourenco. Dos Santos ruled the Portuguese-speaking, oil-rich state of Angola for 38 years until stepping down in September 2017. Born in the slums of Luanda, he was one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, using his nation's oil wealth to turn one of his children into a billionaire while leaving his people among the poorest on the planet. When he stepped down, dos Santos handed over to former defence minister Lourenco whom he handpicked to replace him. But Lourenco quickly turned on his erstwhile patron, starting an anti-corruption drive to recoup the billions he suspected had been embezzled under dos Santos. The man accused of detonating a car bomb that killed a prominent Maltese journalist has confessed to the crime in an interview with a Reuters reporter and says he will soon implicate others in plotting to assassinate the female journalist. Speaking from jail in his first comment on the case, George Degiorgio said if he had known more about Daphne Caruana Galizia - the journalist he and two others are accused of killing in 2017 - then he would have asked for more money to carry out the hit. "If I knew, I would have gone for 10 million. Not 150,000," he said, referring to the sum in euros that he said he was paid for killing the journalist. "For me, it was just business. Yeah. Business as usual!" he told a Reuters reporter. He later added, "Of course I feel sorry." The interview with Degiorgio was conducted during research for a podcast into the Caruana Galizia case, entitled "Who Killed Daphne?" His admission came after several attempts by Degiorgio's lawyers since 2021 to secure a pardon in return for testimony about Degiorgio's role in Caruana Galizia's murder and other alleged crimes involving prominent figures on the island. On June 22, Malta's Appeal Court rejected remaining legal challenges by Degiorgio to the murder charges against him and his brother Alfred, who is co-accused. The judgement clears the way for trial to go ahead. The car-bomb assassination of the investigative journalist and blogger caused shock across Europe. Maltese authorities charged Degiorgio and two other men his brother Alfred and an associate, Vince Muscat with murdering Caruana Galizia in October 2017 at the behest of a top island businessman. Degiorgio told Reuters he would plead guilty ahead of any jury trial. "I'm going to speak to the magistrate," he said. He indicated he would provide testimony to implicate others in the murder and in a previous unrealised plot to kill the journalist. His motive, he said, was to seek a sentence reduction for himself and Alfred and to ensure that "we're not going down alone!" Until now, both of the Degiorgio brothers had denied involvement in the killing. Muscat pleaded guilty to the murder charges in 2020 and was sentenced to a reduced term of 15 years in jail in return for testifying about this case and some other crimes. William Cuschieri, the lawyer for Alfred and George Degiorgio did not respond to requests for comment from either brother. One of the island's richest businessmen, Yorgen Fenech, was also charged in November 2019 with commissioning Degiorgio and his two accomplices to carry out the hit. Fenech has denied the charge but has not yet presented his defence. In a statement, his lawyer, Gianluca Caruana Curran, said Fenech planned to prove in court "he at no point wanted, actively searched for or sponsored" Caruana Galizia's assassination. "While strongly protesting his innocence, Mr Fenech maintains that with the evidence available, independent and serious investigations are capable of leading to the arrest and arraignment of the true perpetrators behind the assassination." Fenech was identified as the mastermind by an alleged middleman, taxi driver Melvin Theuma, who escaped prosecution for his role in the case in return for testifying. Theuma said he arranged the murder with the Degiorgio brothers on Fenech's behalf. He testified that he never told the Degiorgio gang Fenech's identity. In the interview, Degiorgio said he was willing to testify that a top Maltese political figure had tried to arrange a hit on Caruana Galizia in a separate plot two years earlier. Degiorgio also said he would offer to testify about the involvement of two senior former ministers in an armed robbery. Reuters is not at this stage publishing further details of those allegations or naming the individuals accused by Degiorgio, all of whom deny any involvement in any crime. Malta Police Force and the prosecutors handling the murder case did not respond to requests for an official comment on Degiorgio's remarks. William Cuschieri, the lawyer for Alfred and George Degiorgio, did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Caruana Galizia was killed after she levelled a series of corruption allegations against prominent people, including ministers in the island's Labour Party government. Her murder raised suspicions that some of the people she was investigating could be involved in plotting her death. Fenech, who stands accused of ordering up the successful 2017 hit, was first identified in connection with Caruana Galizia in November 2018 articles by Reuters and the Times of Malta. The report named him as the owner of a company known as 17 Black that Caruana Galizia alleged, without citing evidence, was being used to bribe politicians. Fenech was also the head of a controversial power station project in Malta. According to prosecution evidence presented in court in multiple preliminary hearings since 2018, George Degiorgio and his gang had tracked the journalist throughout the summer of 2017. In the early hours of October 16, 2017, prosecutors allege, the gang planted a bomb under a seat in her car. That afternoon, Degiorgio was allegedly on a yacht in the island's Grand Harbour when his brother Alfred, who was watching the house, called to say Caruana Galizia had entered her car and driven off. Degiorgio then sent a text message from the yacht to a mobile device that detonated the bomb, prosecutors told the court. After the car exploded, Caruana Galizia's son Matthew heard the blast, ran out from the family home and discovered his mother's body. He has been campaigning for justice for his mother ever since. Asked about Degiorgio's comments, he told Reuters: "George Degiorgio's own words show he is a stone-cold killer undeserving of any reprieve." Arrested two months after the killing, George Degiorgio said nothing to police, declining even to give his name during interrogation. Until the Reuters interview, he had remained silent, and his lawyers have spent four years denying he was involved in the murder. He has also filed a series of legal challenges contesting the evidence against him. But he is now seeking a deal with the prosecution, ahead of a trial, in return for admitting the charges and providing the new information. Alfred Degiorgio, like his brother, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges but has not presented his case. He too has made several applications to be pardoned of the charges in return for testifying about what he knows. George Degiorgio said that before taking the hit job, he hadn't known much about Caruana Galizia or her family, including the fact that they were ordinary people, not criminals. "That's it. Of course! I never met her in her life," he said. The Degiorgio brothers have made several bids since March 2021 for an official pardon for their crimes. The latest, filed on April 4 by their lawyer, William Cuschieri, said, without giving names or specifics, that the Degiorgios could testify to "Crimes of attempted violent robbery and attempted voluntary homicide in which one of the authors was a Minister and another author who is a Minister." The request was rejected by Malta's government on April 24, citing the national interest and the administration of justice, according to an official statement. Malta's prime minister, Robert Abela, previously condemned attempts by the Degiorgios to win a pardon, calling them "criminals" seeking to buy their freedom. Cuschieri, the lawyer for the Degiorgios, responded by saying the prime minister was breaching their rights to a fair trial and, without providing details, said the brothers had "direct information" about a minister's involvement in crime. Credit: Reuters Synlait Milk Limited (Synlait) has increased its forecast base milk price forecast for the 2022 / 2023 season to $9.50/kgMS from $9.00/kgMS. There is no change to the forecast base milk price for the 2021 / 2022 season, which remains at $9.30/kgMS. Synlait CEO Grant Watson commented: Based on the current dairy commodity prices we believe that $9.50/kgMS is a balanced forecast for the 2022/23 season. The forecasted lift in milk price reflects an improved outlook for 2022/23 dairy commodity prices, following the recent recovery in pricing, and the current strength of the US dollar. Over the next two days well be meeting with our farmers at annual events in the Waikato and Canterbury and it will be great to share this news with them. Forecasts are based on the best information available to Synlait at the time. Synlait will continue to monitor movements and keep its farmer suppliers up to date. 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Related News: EBOS - Advance Notice - Full Year Results Vodafone to sell passive tower assets and IFT reinvestment Radius Care Chief Financial Officer Commences 18th July 2022 Morning Report Donna Smit to retire from Fonterra Board 15th July 2022 Morning Report Skellerup adopts ESG World Platform Cannasouth signs 3-year agreement with German-based WEECO AIR - May 2022 Monthly traffic update and June 2022 Preview 14th July 2022 Morning Report 05.07.2022 LISTEN Some few months ago, I was talking with some friends, all of whom are committed to their local churches and also work for Christian organisations. In our conversation, one of them shared a situation in her work place where an obviously unfair situation was not being dealt with. She expressed worry and her frustration about how it was being permitted to continue. The example of her story led to similar examples coming from the others. In fact, it was all depressingly familiar to me. Over the past 10years I have served as a church Pastor, and now as a member of the Inter-Congregational Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation. I have consistently heard and seen the same picture here and there, we have to be honest about this that too often churches manage their staff or employees badly. Reality is liberating and the truth will set us free as the Holy Book says. Of course such bad management can occur and do occur elsewhere. Nevertheless, I think there are some common symptoms which are manifested in Christian culture which are worth examining. It is common to find that majority of the workers Churches employ either have very little or no knowledge at all about labour laws. If we closely observe, one would realize that, there are two categories of workers who are engaged by the various church institutions: voluntary workers and those who are officially employed. But what does the Law say about who an employee is? An employee is a worker who performs services for the employer, and the employer controls how and what the employee will do (Fair Labor Standard Act). In other words, employee means to be permitted to work for an employer who pays you not less than a minimum wage Voluntary workers on the other hand, are also people who out of sentiments or for fear of God, offer help to their church on daily or regular bases. Voluntarism is a good spirit, but where do we draw the line? When practically, the individual seems to be doing exactly what labor law describe as employment or what others see as normal work, except that they are not officially permitted and are not paid. Labor laws of the State do not permit us to engage or treat people this way and God equally frown on such acts. As Christians, we should not take undue advantage of such kind and generous people. In reality, these voluntary workers engage themselves for the number of hours a normal employee works and for years; to a point that everyone turns to think the person is a normal worker. Unfortunately, when such a person does not show up for work or the said work is not done properly, the person gets queried (sometimes even insulted) by some members of the church for not coming to do his or her duty. Some of the treatment these poor volunteers get from church members and Religious Leaders is un-Christ-like. In most cases, you may even have these volunteers doing an enormous chunk of the work around as compared to the officially employed ones. The other category of workers in the church and religious setting are the officially employed employees. If we examine the conditions under which they serve, some do not have their employment status regularized, some are paid below the minimum wage and their employers get away with the fact that it is a religious institution, others do not get their Social Security paid as well. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that there are a few workers in religious communities and churches who generously, give some incentives besides their pay. However, it is sad that there are some instances, where workers are engaged to do more than what they have been employed for; they worked more than the stipulated hours (over time) and even report to work on days they are not supposed to be working. Most times, church authorities do not consider these as abuses of the rights of workers. Beside these, there are other domestic abuses that are meted out to these workers, particularly, the female workers: sometimes they are sexually abused, employers speak disrespectfully and impolitely to these workers and do not be surprised if some are assaulted. Quite often than not, Church Leaders mostly take it for granted that their workers know it is God's work so the workers would not react to the bad treatment they receive. On the flip side, some of the workers also swallow these bitter treatments from some church members and pastors because they probably do not have any other option or they respect their employers because they are men and women of God (for it is written: touch not the anointed). Jesus, in Mark's Gospel chapter 12:17 said, Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. The Church and State are not two opposing entities but rather complement each other. Paying according to State laws and for that matter labor laws is not optional but mandatory. Treating our workers with dignity, respect and as equal as humans are Christian values, which should be adhered to by every Christian and for that matter every Christian institution. It is absurd for anyone to even perceive that the worst offenders of employment laws would be Churches and other Religious Institutions; the worse form of treatment coming from people impacting the word of God to others. Yes, it is true some workers can be nuisance: cunny, disrespectful and sometimes think nobody can tell them what to do. Yet, that does not exonerate anyone from the treatment meted out to them. Some react the way they do because they might feel fed-up. Therefore, it may not be wrong to say such attitudes may be described as outbursts. And so, when it comes to the best treatment of workers most church authorities are quite lacks and defaulters. Again, concerning volunteering, it would be proper for their employers (church authorities) to sit with such a person(s) and let them understand the intricacies of what it means to be volunteering on regular basis. As much as you do not want to discourage such free and generous acts, do not also involve yourself in acts which will make you default as much as human rights are concern. The voluntary workers should not be encouraged to engage on daily bases. The number of hours is a factor that needs to be looked at; a voluntary worker(s) should not be seen doing the number of hours a normal employee is engaged. As followers of the compassionate Christ we need to be mindful of the workload voluntary workers are engaged in; it should be minimal as compared to a normal worker. On the other hand, church leaders should be encouraged to give regular incentives to their workers at their own discretion; giving of such tokens would serve as a motivation. Honestly speaking, the picture is not so bleak everywhere. In that, there are some sensitive and compassionate pastors and Religious Institutions or Communities, who would occasionally give these volunteers a token or some handout. There are also a couple of cases where some Religious Authorities helped paid school fees or took care of other basic needs of such people. Otherwise, these volunteers labor unnoticed by some church authorities and members. It is very important that a normal employee, after the probationary period (6 months at least) the worker is either made to continue as full worker or he or she is made to discontinue; probationary period should be strictly adhered to. Workers should be paid not less than the minimum wage. Social Security of all workers should be paid. Employer-employee relationship must be good and exemplary after the life of Christ. However, it is very vital not be carried away by the euphoria of such relationships. Create a clear boundary line between work and pleasure (especially female workers). Treat all workers with love, dignity and respect as you would have others treat you. When workers do more than they are required, compensate them to inspire them. It is imperative that we do not lord it over our workers in any way. On the other side, if workers disrespect, disobey or behave unprofessionally they should be treated with love unlike the secular employment, and as it is deemed fit according to the severity of the situation, they should be served a written query and if this persists they should be suspended and consequently dismissed. Nicholas Nibetol Aazine, SVD (Coordinator for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, Ghana-Liberia Province) Divine Word Missionaries: A Catholic Missionary Society [email protected] or [email protected] A lady Pastor and a trader have been put before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly defrauding two hairstylists of GHC 33,000.00. Vivian Norman, the Pastor and Isaac Asare, a trader, are alleged to have collected the money to aid them obtain Albanian visas for the two hairstylists so they could travel to any of the European Countries for greener pastures but failed. Asare has been charged with two counts of defrauding by false pretenses. Vivian is facing a charge of abetment of crime. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on GHC30,000 bail with two sureties to be justified. They are expected to reappear on August 2 before the court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusua Appiah. Narrating the facts of the case, Inspector Wisdom Alorwu, said the complainant Sedro Esinam Venessa and Celestine Kpetsigo were hairstylists residing at Abelemkpe, Accra. The prosecution said Asare resided at Ablekuma and Vivian lived at Oyarifa. It said in June 2021, the complainants wanted to travel to any of the European countries in search of greener pastures. The prosecution said the complainants approached Vivian who was their pastor and she informed them that she knew Asare as someone who assisted prospective travelers to travel abroad. It said Vivian then introduced Asare to the complainants and he assured them of securing Albanian visas at a cost of GHC50,000 per applicant. The prosecution said the accused persons convinced the complainants to make payment for processing of their visas, which would be ready in a month. It said Asare collected GHC22,800 and GHC10,200 from Esinam and Celestine respectively. It said Asare, after collecting the money failed to secure the visa and went into hiding. On December 16, 2021, the accused persons met the complainants at the church premises and the two accused persons had a written undertaking that their visas would be ready in a month. But the accused persons could not fulfil their promise and on February 7, this year, a report was made at the Regional Criminal Investigations, Accra. The prosecution said Asare was involved in a similar matter and was remanded at the Accra Central Police Station where he was identified by the complainants. When Asare was nabbed, he mentioned one Isaac Asante as his accomplice. Vivian was lured and nabbed by the Police. The prosecution said efforts were being made to arrest the said Asante. GNA Morocco called Tuesday for a return to regional roundtable talks on a peace deal over the Western Sahara, a format rejected by neighbouring Algeria which says it masks the nature of the conflict. Morocco's top diplomat Nasser Bourita made the comments in a statement after a meeting with United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura. The Moroccan officials told the UN diplomat that they remained committed to "the political process of roundtables" to reach a "realistic, pragmatic, sustainable and compromise-based" political solution, the statement read. Such talks were last held in Switzerland in 2019 with top officials from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario movement which seeks independence for Western Sahara, but they were frozen after UN envoy Horst Kohler quit the post in May that year. Algiers has rejected a return to the format, arguing that Morocco, by avoiding bilateral talks with the Polisario, is trying to portray the conflict as a "regional, artificial" one rather than one of "decolonisation". Morocco controls some 80 percent of the Western Sahara and has long insisted it must retain sovereignty there, pitting it against the Polisario which demands a referendum on independence as agreed alongside a 1991 ceasefire deal. Tuesday's statement said that "the Moroccan delegation reiterated the constant position of Morocco (calling) for a political solution, based exclusively on the Moroccan autonomy initiative, within the framework of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the kingdom." That was a reference to a 2007 Moroccan plan for limited autonomy in the vast desert territory, which has rich phosphate resources and Atlantic fisheries but where the Polisario has demanded independence since colonial power Spain withdrew in 1975. The group declared a 1991 ceasefire deal null and void in November 2020 after a Moroccan army operation to clear a blockaded highway. Weeks later, the Trump administration recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the territory in exchange for Rabat restoring ties with Israel. In August 2021, Algeria cut ties with Morocco, accusing it of "hostile acts". The UN said Monday that De Mistura had cancelled a planned visit to the Western Sahara. The Polisario said it "deeply regretted" the cancellation and accused Rabat of "preventing him from directly witnessing the situation on the ground in the occupied Saharawi territories". On Tuesday, the UN said De Mistura had had "a useful meeting" with Bourita and could "definitely continue his mission". "He didn't lose freedom of movement. The personal envoy is in control of where he goes and he will decide where he goes," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to bring significant economic and social gains for the region, leading to higher incomes, lower poverty, and faster economic growth, according to a new World Bank report done in partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat. If fully implemented to harmonize investment and competition rules, the trade pact could boost regional incomes by as much as 9 percentto $571 billion. It could create almost 18 million more jobs, many of them higher-paying and better-quality jobs, with women workers seeing the biggest gains. By 2035, the resulting jobs and income growth could help up to 50 million people exit extreme poverty. The implementation of the trade agreement would also lead to larger wage gains for women and skilled workers. Wages of female workers are expected to be 11.2 percent higher in 2035 as compared to the wage level without the agreement, outpacing 9.8 percent growth of male workers wages. The report, Making the Most of the African Continental Free Trade Area, extends the work done in 2020 (www.worldbank.org/afcfta/2020report), when the World Bank initially assessed the economic potential of AfCFTA. As part of its first phase, which took effect in January 2021, the AfCFTA will gradually eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of goods and reduce barriers to trade in services. The new report, released today, examines the effects of the larger trade market on the continents ability to attract investment both from within Africa and outsideand the resulting economic impact. The AfCFTA comes at a critical time when regional cooperation is needed to navigate compounded risks and enhance the resilience of supply chains, to support green, resilient and inclusive growth in Africa, said Mari Pangestu, Managing Director for Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank. Countries must work together to make the AfCFTA a reality and reap its many benefits including reducing barriers to trade and investment, enhancing competition, and ensuring markets function fairly and efficiently through clear and predictable rules. The report discusses two scenarios to assess the benefits for a market of more than 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of US$3.4 trillion. The key findings indicate that the AfCFTA has the potential to encourage greater foreign direct investment (FDI) required for Africa to diversify into new industries, such as agribusiness, manufacturing, and services, and reduce the regions vulnerability to commodity boom-bust cycles. A deeper integration beyond trade and trade facilitation measures, that harmonizes policies on investment, competition, e-commerce, and intellectual property rights could boost market efficiency and competitiveness, reduce regulatory risks, and attract even more foreign direct investment. By 2035, this integration would increase incomes by 9 percent, or $571 billion, and create 18 million new jobs, with 2.5 percent of the continent's workers moving to new industries. This would expand the number of people leaving extreme poverty to 50 million. The report finds that greater FDI could raise Africas exports up to 32 percent by 2035, with intra-African exports growing by 109 percent, especially in the manufactured goods sectors. All countries in Africa will see their intra-African exports increase, that includes Tunisia (165%), Cameroon (144%), Ghana (132%), Tanzania (126%), and South Africa (61%). As barriers to trade and investment are reduced, export sectors likely to grow the most are textiles and apparel; chemical, rubber and plastic products; and processed foods. Deeper integration would lower trade costs and boost capital inflows boosting exports from services sectors such as transport; communications and hospitality. Today Africa is one of the least integrated regions globally. African countries trade more with the outside world than with each other. The pact can help countries to simplify and harmonize trade and transit procedures, improve infrastructure, transport and logistics and spur the flows of goods, services, capital, and people that are so vital for development, said Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat. To unlock these potential gains in trade, investment, and jobs, countries must first successfully conclude the negotiations and the treatys most ambitious goals must be carried out by each country. The report highlights several other areas countries could reform to amplify economic gains from trade. Links to the Report: https://au-afcfta.org/ 05.07.2022 LISTEN Reno Omokri and Femi Fani Kayode is working for Atiku, and Tinubu full time, after goading IPOB and Igbo Youth to take up arms against the state, the North and Muslims. He is scheming to be in the campaign council of either of them, the manner Fani-Kayode is scheming for Bola Tinubu after his alliance with Yahaya Bello failed at APC Primaries . There is nothing wrong with it, but the treachery and deceit is monumental. I wrote a piece on the 18th of May titled Reno Omokri, Fani Kayode Deceived IPOB, Igbo Youth, Now Works for Atiku, Buhari, Bello and warned Igbo Youth that these two IPOB Champions have sold them to the highest bidder. Fani Kayode, his co deceiver, is working for Buhari and Yahaya Bello, after deceiving Igbo Youth on social media to hate everything Buhari, everything Atiku, everything Tinubu , everything Islam and everything Fulani. I warned Igbo Youth in the controversial piece Fani Kayodes Treachery, IPOB Naivety and Pantami Porridge that soon Reno Omokri and others will abandon them. I hope those silly things in IPOB have learnt their lessons. The hatred Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB spewed on northerners in the South East, including the insults, are with full support of these two men. They deceived Igbo until they blew their chances at the presidency. Having used Ndigbo, they jumped ship, declared Igbo Presidency impossible. Now Reno Omokri is the greatest enemy of the new found Igbo Champion, Peter Obi. He uses all in his means to demarket Obi, to the angst of the followers of the former Anambra State Governor, who are mostly frustrated IPOB supporters and sympathizers. FaniFayode and Reno Omokri led the pack that called Buhari all manners of unprintable names. They described Buhari as demon, terrorist, pedophiles, evil, nauseating and called Islam religion of bloodshed. They also described Atiku as corrupt, insensitive, Dubai escapist and foxy. Today, one is salivating at A tikus soup pot after deceiving Igbo Youth to abandon PDP. They wished Buhari and Tinubu dead. Described Tinubu as fraudulent, certificateless, vegetable, criminal, cocaine pusher and all uncomplimentary names. Igbo youth cheered them, adored them and groveled senselessly before them, while those of us who disagreed with the views were called all manner of names. I warned against IPOB mob mentality and hate speech, and asked them to instead build lasting intellectual alliances. They abused me, and held on to these two deceivers. Today, their champions have negotiated themselves into the soup pot of Buhari, Tinubu and Atiku, and showed disdain for their new found champion, Peter Obi. Rev Obinna Akukwe warned the confused, and misguided IPOB Commanders that one day, these emergency champions will sell them for mess of porridge. Immediately Kanu was humiliated into DSS cell, Reno Omokri and Fan Kayode gradually started distancing from them. This is how many emergency friends of IPOB and Ndigbo are abandoning them for greener pastures. Its time Igbo chose their friends carefully. Its time for Igbo youth to learn that those goading them to take up arms against the state are the greatest enemies of Igbo Presidency. This is the admonition of Rev Obinna Akukwe, (Obinna Akukwe, Columnist, Activist, [email protected], facebook, twitter @obinnaakukwe) Biafra Business PLC: Simon Ekpas 3 million dollars Fund Raising Tears IPOB Apart Igbo Mandate Congress Reports Igbo Mandate Congress IMC, the foremost activist group on peace mission in the South East do hereby update Igbo , Elders, Clergy and Elites that the call by Simon Ekpa, Auto Pilot Commander of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra IPOB, for fifty Biafrans that will give him 10,000 dollars monthly for six months, totaling 3 million dollars, in exchange for Biafra by 2023, is about to unleash another round of bloodshed within the IPOB camps and the fragile South East The request by Simon Ekpa is tearing the Biafra family apart and they are threatening anybody tha dares give Ekpa any financial support. On the18th of May, in an internal memo to select Igbo leaders by Rev Obinna Akukwe part of which was published titled Biafra Business PLC: Why Nnamdi Kanu Will Not be Granted Bail , stated clearly that I know that Nnamdi KANU will not be granted bail today (May 18th) .The people who burnt down Anambra State after Governor Soludo visited Nnamdi Kanu did so to frustrate any peace effort. They attacked 33 Onitsha, attacked GRA on Sunday to let Soludo know that nobody can collect teir business. They proceeded to Idemili North Local Govt to burn down the council. Two days later they burnt down Nnewi Local Council. Its not about Biafra, its a multimillion dollar business concern using Biafrans, Ojukwu and Pogrom as bait. The funds coming from US, UK, Germany, others, running into millions of dollars, is too much for one group to swallow alone. Those coming from Nigeria from oliticians, traders and artisans runs into billions annually, and one group cannot monopolize it Once Nnamdi KANU is released, all funds will enter inside one pocket. I pity Kalunta Kalu and his siblings. They have entered One Chance. Those around him are part of the racket. Rev Obinna Akukwe will not reveal more than this. I hope those scrambling for multimillion dollar Biafra business, killing innocent people, should settle their differences so that KANU s bail can sail through during next sitting. Let the DOS group give the Auto-Plot group their share of Biafra cake, and all these bloodshed will stop Today, forty five days after the warnings, the financial warfare has taken a dangerous dimension. The DoS group, ably led by Chika Edozien, is threatening fire, brimstone and recently sacked six leaders of IPOB in the US. The sack is already generating tension. Rev Obinna Akukwe counsels confused Igbo Leaders the umpteenth time, to settle the IPOB Dos and IPOB Auto-Pilot crisis, including financial warfare, before they turn the South East into Afghanistan. (Rev Obinna Akukwe, Columnist, Activist, is the Director General of Igbo Mandate Congress , Vice Chairman BoT Igbo Think Tank ITT, @ igbomanndate , [email protected]) Burkina Faso's ex-president Blaise Compaore, in exile since his ouster in 2014, will return home to meet military authorities this week, a source close to the government and his entourage told AFP Tuesday. "He is expected at the end of the week, he is due to arrive on Thursday or Friday for a short stay" and will "be received by the head of state in the framework of national reconciliation," the source said. A source in Compaore's entourage confirmed the trip. An envoy of junta leader Paul-Henri Damiba, "met him last week in Abidjan to this end," the source said, adding that Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara had also received him. During his stay, he will reside in a government villa where President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who was overthrown in January, was placed under house arrest, the source said. "But if his definitive return is confirmed, he will have to return to his residence in Ziniare, his home village" northeast of Ouagadougou, they added. On social media, supporters of the former president called for a rally at Ouagadougou airport on Friday morning. It appears the junta is attempting to forge a united front in the fight against jihadist groups that have bloodied Burkina Faso since 2015 and whose increasingly deadly attacks have multiplied in recent weeks. Compaore was forced into exile in Ivory Coast in October 2014, a day after violent popular riots and under pressure from the army and the opposition, who opposed his bid to stay in power. On April 6, he was sentenced in absentia to life in prison at the end of a six-month trial before the military court in Ouagadougou, for his role in the assassination of his predecessor Thomas Sankara. The trial opened in October 2021, 34 years after the death of Sankara, a pan-African icon. Compaore's lawyers denounced the trial as a "political trial". The ex-president was suspected of being behind the assassination of his former comrade-in-arms and friend who came to power in a coup in 1983, which he has always denied. The death of Sankara was a taboo subject during Compaore's 27-year rule. Journalist Chilassy Bofumbo (middle) stands with friends following his release and acquittal on July 5, 2022. His shirt has a graphic of his face and says in French, "Free Chilassy Bofumbo. Journalism is not a crime." (Credit: Arnold Mawango) 06.07.2022 LISTEN A judge at the High Court in Mbandaka, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congos western Equateur province, on Tuesday acquitted and released journalist Chilassy Bofumbo, who had been jailed since he covered a November 2021 protest, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ by messaging app and tweeted his release. Two other journalists Patrick Lola and Christian Bofaya remain jailed in the central prison of Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province, according to their lawyer, Pontife Ikolombe, who spoke to CPJ by phone. The acquittal of journalist Chilassy Bofumbo is welcome news, although he should never have been arrested or detained for over seven months, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, from Durban. Authorities in the DRC should swiftly and unconditionally release journalists Patrick Lola and Christian Bofaya, who have spent nearly six months behind bars. Press freedom remains on trial in the DRC. Bofumbo is editor-in-chief of local broadcaster Radio Television Sarah, a correspondent for the Flash Info Plus news website and Radio lEssentiel online broadcaster, and a coordinator for FILIMBI, a nongovernmental organization that promotes civil participation among Congolese youth, according to CPJ research. On June 28, 2022, the prosecutor called for Bofumbo to be imprisoned for three years and fined, according to media reports. Freelance reporter Lola and Bofaya, a reporter for privately owned E Radio, have been held since January 10 over protest coverage. Their case remains under consideration of the national-level Court of Cassation in DRCs capital Kinshasa, as CPJ documented. France has repatriated 35 French children and 16 mothers family members of suspected jihadists who joined the Islamic State armed group before it was ousted in 2019. This is the country's largest repatriation of children since the fall of Islamic State, with the decision to bring back the mothers signalling a significant shift in French policy. The Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that 35 minors had arrived in France, most of them traveling with their mothers, though seven had been living on their own in Kurdish-run refugee camps in north-eastern Syria. They are part of a group of 200 French children still in Syria most under the age of 10 who were either brought there by their parents who had joined the Islamic State armed group (IS), or who were born there. The children were accompanied by 16 women, 12 of whom were traveling with their children, and four who had agreed previously to send their children back to France. Among them was Emilie Konig, known for having recruited dozens of women to go to Syria to become wives of IS jihadists operating there. Why not all the children? Theirry Roy, of the Familles Unies NGO of family members of those who went to Syria and Iraq, said: We are happy that the repatriations have started, but we do not understand why these children have been chosen and not others. His son died in Syria in 2016. A big question mark remains: Why has our President made this choice? he asked. The NGO had recently called on President Emmanuel Macron to start his second term in office by repatriating "all French children" in Syria. Some 126 children of jihadists have been brought back to France since 2016, most without their mothers. France has not repatriated any child in over a year, and very few adults. This latest repatriation "must ring the death knell of an inhuman policy that has lasted for years" tweeted lawyer Marie Dose, who has represented many families. France does not want them Since the Islamic State was defeated in Syria and Iraq in 2019, European countries have been struggling with what to do with their citizens recruited to fight for the group, and the women who were their wives. The timing of the decision to repatriate this group of children and mothers coming after the presidential and legislative elections may not be a coincidence. There is a part of the population that does not want to see the children of these terrorists of those who tried to humiliate France in France, lawyer Samia Maktouf told RFI. Maktouf has worked to get five children back from Syria, and says that France has a responsibility to these children who are French, and deserve all protections from French authorities. Until now, France has considered repatriation on a case-by-case basis, and has refused to bring back adults. In June, Belgium decided to repatriate nearly all Belgian children in Syria. The United Nations has criticised France for abandoning children in camps in deplorable conditions. Rebuilding lives For Roy, leaving mothers behind in Syria will only harm the children in France who he says are victims of their parents' bad decisions. It is important for the wellbeing of a child, for their development, to be with their mother, he told RFI. You cannot raise a child by tearing it away from its mother. While they will remain in France, the children will not stay with their mothers, who have been handed over to judicial authorities. Prosecutors have arrested eight, and eight others are being held for questioning ahead of their arrest. The children will undergo medical examinations and be put into the care of child protection services with an eye to reuniting them with family members, mostly their grandparents. Explanations in court Lawyer Samia Maktouf argues the mothers should also be brought to France to stand trial. For the mothers, we have a responsibility to the victims to allow them to attend an fair trial, she said. They have the right to attend a trial, during which these mothers can explain themselves. Holding trials in France could shine a light on what was happening thousands of kilometres away, where the 2015 Paris attacks were planned, among others. Families of the victims of those attacks, who have been following the trial of those involved that ended last week, have called on France to repatriate the children from Syria. Philippe Duperron, president of the the 13 Onze 15 Fraternite-Verite NGO of victims' parents, says the children of jihadists are also victims, just like his son, Thomas, who was killed at the Bataclan theatre. Justice for them is repatriation and being taken in by child protection services with the goal of being returned with their families notably their grandparents, he told RFI. Justice is also that the mothers stand in front of French courts to answer to what they have done and committed. 06.07.2022 LISTEN The four teacher unions on strike are expected to meet the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations and other stakeholders today over their demands for 20% Cost of Living Allowance. The unions announced the nationwide action on Monday, July 4 following government's inability to pay the allowance demanded. According to the unions, their request has become necessary as the country's economic conditions continue to worsen. In an interview with Citi News, the President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers, Angel Carbonu said the unions expect a significant response from government. I hope Wednesday's meeting will arrive at a concrete answer to the demands that we have made, and not appeal to us that it is in the pipeline. The unions currently on strike are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), and Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT). The teachers are fighting for the payment of between 20% and 30% of their salaries as a Cost of Living Allowance. The allowance according to the teachers will cushion them from current economic conditions and the worsening plight of teachers. The National Labour Commission in a statement urged the teachers to rescind their decision to make way for negotiations. By Citi Newsroom Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi is due to meet with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in Angola amid increasing hostility between the neighboring countries. This Wednesday, the two leaders are to discuss bilateral relations and the armed conflict in eastern DRC, where last month M23 rebels captured a town near the Uganda border. Congolese officials maintain that the M23 is backed by Rwanda and have accused the much smaller neighbor of occupying Congolese territory. DRC government spokesman Patrick Muyaya confirmed the pair would be discussing "Rwanda's aggression in Congo. When asked whether Kinshasa still believes Rwandan troops were fighting alongside M23 rebels in in the east of the country Muyaya replied: "That is obvious." AU diplomacy, EAC peacekeeping Rwanda has long denied supporting M23, disputing the accounts of conflict observers, UN experts and others. M23 is made up mostly of ethnic Tutsi fighters from Congo who say their government hasn't honored past commitments to reintegrate them into the national army. Today's meeting comes after the African Union asked Angolan President Joao Lourenco to mediate the DRC-Rwanda dispute. Kagame had harsh words for Congolese authorities in televised remarks on Monday, accusing Kinshasa of backing a different rebel group that included fighters accused of taking part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. The DRC has continuously denied supporting the group commonly known by its initials as FDLR. Regional leaders within the East African Community which the DRCongo recently joined are working towards deploying a peacekeeping force in eastern Congo's restive Kivu and Ituri provinces. It remains unclear, however, when the force authorised to disarm insurgents will be deployed. Farhad has huge followers and fans for his outspoken philosophical debate on society, religion and politics. by Saleem Samad Padma Bridge possibly received the highest media attention, as well as millions of citizens, mostly proletariat and working class were enthusiasts of the landmark communication in this century. Of course zeal of the leaders, members and sympathisers of the Awami League fervour was at a different height. The bridges pre and post-inauguration obviously received media hype and the issue was a priority on the prime-time talk shows, special newspaper columns and of course the first-page stories and photo features. In one such talkshow hosted by a New York-based exiled journalist, Kanak Sarwar, the show sought the feelings and reactions about Padma Bridge from an acclaimed poet, writer and philosopher Farhad Mazhar. Well, I heard the entire discussion and understand the discussion fairly well. Farhad Mazhar is a trained pharmacist and played a crucial role in the establishment of Gonoshasthaya Pharmaceuticals Ltd. We often met him (Farhad) in Savar while researching with Nadira Majumder writing for Shaptahik Robbar on drug imperialism which resulted in the announcement of a landmark drug policy in 1982. Farhad has huge followers and fans for his outspoken philosophical debate on society, religion and politics. His poetry books are best-sellers in the Ekushey Book Fair. He advocates Sufism and Naya Krishi or the organic agriculture movement. His love and hate for the present regime are very well understood. In his recent interview with BBC Bangla radio, he could not defend many of his deeds, actions and statements in the last decade. In the BBC Bangla video interview, he failed to satisfy the audience regarding his undaunted commitment to the Sunni Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh (Defenders of Islam), a staunch advocate for Sharia Laws. Among the hosts of tainted speakers (including leaders from BNP and other reactionary elements in the society), he also joined the bandwagon of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladeshs showdown in Motijheel in 2013. He was shown live on private TV Channels from Motijheel Shapla Square expressing his alliance with the Islamist movement. The downtown Motijheel, a financial district in the capital Dhaka was blocked for two days. The Islamist and rightist elements had plans to cripple the financial activities and force the secular government of Sheikh Hasina to bow down. The show of political strength ended in chaos and fiasco after riot police with armoured personal carriers(APC) and volleys of stun grenades in a pre-dawn operation literally scared the Mullahs. Farhad defends the shut-down of the Dhaka metropolis by tens of thousands of Islamists and argues that the shadowy outfit is a democratic organisation. His feminist wife Farida Akter, in an article in a popular Bangla daily, defended the misogynist Hefazats opposition to the womens empowerment goals. Many were shocked to read Faridas illogical argument against the proposed Womens Development Policy, 2011. She continues to oppose the policy singing to the tune of Islamists and says the policy is influenced by multinationals, corporates and a donor-driven womens development policy. Unfortunately, despite the nation having a woman-headed government, it has failed to implement the womens policy for fear of Islamist antagonism. Meanwhile, the learned Farhad Mazhar has told Kanak Sarwars audience that the newly build Padma Bridge was in fact the third bridge over the mighty river the Padma. The first was Hardinge Railway Bridge (1912) and the second was Lalon Shah Road Bridge (May 2004) connecting Pakshey, Pabna and Bherapara, Kushtia, he said. He lost in a myriad of hydrological data on the location and position of Padma River and mixed it up with the lower Ganges (Ganga in Bangla) river. In fact, hydrological experts had determined that the Padma River is 120 km in length and begins from Goalondo to Chandpur. While the Ganges basin originates in north India from the Himalayan Mountains. It reaches the Farakka Barrage and continues on the bank of Chapai Nawabganj and flows through Hardinge Bridge and Lalon Shah Bridge. The Ganges merged with the yawning Jamuna River at the confluence of Goalundo (once a vibrant railway and steamer ghat). From here Padma River begins its journey ending the flow of the Jamuna River. Thus Padma Bridge is the first and until now the only longest road and rail communication bridge, beside Bangabandhu Bridge (also popularly known as Jamuna Bridge). The all-knowing poet and philosopher have interpreted the river under Hardinge and Lalon Shah bridges as Padma River based on a myth. The myth says that the Ganges River becomes the Padma River from Chapai Nawabganj bordering India and Bangladesh, which has been challenged by hydrological experts and river morphologists. To continue with the debate, the massive irrigation project is Ganges-Kobadak Irrigation Project (or GK Project). The project is not a Padma-Kobadak Project. The largest surface irrigation system serves the southwestern region of Bangladesh covering Kushtia, Chuadanga, Magura and Jhenaidah districts. Similarly, the Ganges Barrage Project was proposed to hold back rainwater during the monsoon season because of the periodic drying up of the Ganges River in Bangladesh due to the withdrawal of the flow at Farakka Barrage. However, the Ganges Barrage Project was formally cancelled in 2017. Hope these few pieces of information will enlighten Farhad Mazhars knowledge of the location and geo-position of the Padma River and also adopt the scientific knowledge of hydrologists and river morphologists and shun the myths from his mind and heart. Saleem Samad, is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter @saleemsamad The Minority in Parliament wants the government to factor in the creation of new job avenues to employ former toll workers in the mid-year budget. According to the Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, this must be considered if government will not bring back the collection of tolls. Members of the Ghana Toll Workers Union, including persons living with disabilities, yesterday petitioned Parliament over the non-payment of their salaries and the suspension of toll collection. Over 800 workers lost their jobs in November 2021 after the suspension of toll collection across the country by the government. Receiving the petition, Mr. Ibrahim called on government to address the concerns of the disgruntled toll workers. The concerns of the toll booth workers are legitimate. Thankfully, the Minister will come before us on the 13th of July with his mid-year budget. I believe that he has seen the harm the cancellation of the toll collection has caused and will do the needful. A political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has said the team to negotiate with the IMF should include persons who are not party loyalists. He said experts and independent minded persons should be included for the purposes of national interest. In a Facebook post today, he stressed that the selection of a team should not be loaded with winner-takes-all and winner-knows-all. The selection of an IMF bailout must not be saddled with Winner-Takes-All-and Winner-Knows-All. Other experts and independent minds who arent party people must be included for the sake of the national interest, he stated. The team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to begin negotiations on a bailout programme for Ghana. On July 1, the Ministry of Information announced that the President had directed Finance Minister, Ken-Ofori Atta to begin engagements with the IMF for a possible bailout. This was after government had sworn that the E-levy was the saving grace. RFI has received testimony suggesting the government-funded French Development Agency is preparing to take over funding of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Kahuzi-Biega Park from Germany. The alleged murder, rape and immolation of Batwa people living in the park was recently documented in a report by the NGO Minority International. In an article published in April, RFI covered the reported killings and rights abuses of Batwa indigenous people in the Kahuzi-Biega Park. The accusations were based on a report by Minority Rights Group International (MRG), which alleged that guards and Congolese soldiers had carried out attacks between 2019 and 2021 in an effort to expel Batwa from their native land. The park, a haven for endangered gorillas and one of the DRC's biggest tourist attractions, gets most of its funding from the German government in cooperation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, a federal agency, and the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society. In April, following the allegations, German authorities set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged killings. In its findings, published on 1 June, the commission said that no widespread atrocities had occurred on their watch. The Batwa who were killed, it said, had been used as human shields by armed groups during clashes between park guards, DRC army units and poachers. Cover-up One of the investigators was journalist and researcher Robert Flummerfelt, who wrote the original MRG report. He distanced himself from the probe's findings, calling it a cover-up. Immediately afterwards, Flummerfelt was tipped off that armed men were coming to kill both him and his Congolese co-researcher. The two men have since fled the country, and Batwa sources have been forced into hiding. Sources were threatened and investigators laughed about gang rape, says Flummerfelt. French interest The government-funded French Development Agency, AFD, has also shown an interest in supporting the park. While the Germans were carrying out their probe, AFD confirmed to RFI that it was carrying out its own feasibility study. Flummerfelt questions the timing. The French government began publicly exploring the prospect of funding the park in the precise moment that the German government freezes funding in response to documentation of serious atrocities, he says. Contacted by RFI, AFD said their study was ongoing and following its usual procedures. But French senator Guillaume Gontard, a member of the Greens, is deeply concerned. Regardless of the German and American institutional partners, the French Development Agency cannot and must not finance this project, he told RFI. I am obviously worried and outraged. Conflict of interest? While French financing may not yet be signed and sealed, RFI has obtained evidence that a government-funded agency is already playing a key role in the German-backed commission of inquiry, which includes officials from the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), which runs the park. Germany hired Frenchman Baptiste Martin, an independent human rights expert from the Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, to lead the probe. In a letter dated 21 June, German KFW Development Bank confirmed to human rights group Survival International that it supported Martin's appointment. Mr Martin was chosen to support the work of the commission based on his outstanding and highly relevant credentials as an expert in conflict and post-conflict settings and decades of experience working on the protection of civilians in the context of international peace operations in DRC and across the region, the letter reads. Martin was, however, also hired by AFD to conduct its feasibility study. The same 'international expert' was working for both governments at once, investigating atrocities for Germany while working to bring new funding online from France, says Flummerfelt. This is an enormous conflict of interest. Fiore Longo, the head of Survival International's French office, says he is also shocked. I find this disgusting. I don't have any other word to describe this, she told RFI. It's one of the worst scandals I've witnessed in my professional life. It shows that they [conservationists] think they're above everything. Fait accompli RFI has obtained audio recordings in which Baptiste Martin can be heard saying that funding Kahuzi-Biega was theoretically based around the feasibility study he was carrying out. That's the formal process [but] the reality is we've already announced it to ICCN and now we're just working on the details of how to make it happen, Martin can be heard saying. The recordings, which corroborate a separate Al-Jazeera investigation, show Martin was conducting the German on-the-ground probe on 6 April, as per the final report, at the same time as he was organising his participation, and that of AFD team members, in the German inquiry. Members of AFD's team in charge of the environment portfolio were also present from 6 to 10 April. In their written response to RFI, AFD said that, as they were not stakeholders in the German investigation AFD therefore neither assisted nor participated in the investigation activities. But the audio recordings suggest otherwise. AFD wanted to go to the area as well, so we're taking one from AFD, Martin says in the recording. Flummerfelt liaised with Martin over the sites they would visit for the investigation. On the audio file, Martin says he wants to bring the groups to more "touristic" Batwa villages. We're asking questions way far from the specific topic, he laughs. As a number of Batwa villages are outside the area in conflict, this was not hard to organise. The international expert working for the German and French governments specifically sought to organise the trip of the French officials so that, while they rode along for the German-funded investigation, they would not see the direct effects of atrocities, trying to avoid villages where Batwa women were raped or Batwa civilians killed, says Flummerfelt. Given the audio evidence points to AFD showing interest in funding the park, Flummerfelt is calling for a rethink. The French government must be asked to explain whether they are still happy to fund a park that is the centre not only of accounts of organised violence against indigenous people but also of efforts to hunt down and potentially kill indigenous leaders, a Congolese human rights investigator and an American journalist, he says. Senator Gontard, who is also the vice president of the French Senate's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces Commission, has taken action. On 9 June he wrote to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, urging the ministry not to fund Kahuzi-Biega Park. He has not yet received a response. Gontard told RFI that if the allegations of murder and rape outlined in the Minority International report are proven, and AFD decides to go ahead with funding the park, there could be a risk of complicity in the possible prosecution of these crimes. AFD funding would also contravene Law No.2021-1031, he says. Passed by the Senate in August, the legislation explicitly refers to conservation projects carried out in areas where indigenous people live. When their territorial rights are recognised and respected, [indigenous peoples] ensure the effective protection and sustainable management of the natural environment, on which they depend for their subsistence, their health and their way of life, says Gontard, adding that this was an effort to prevent land grabbing. France's participation via AFD would be unacceptable. The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey has indicated that government can do its best to prevent flooding, but the onus lies on citizens to perform their civic duties. He said some citizens do not respect the laws of the land. Speaking on Accra based Joy Prime today on the recent floods in Accra he said every country experiences floods however, the attitude of citizens is also a key factor in solving the issue. Increasingly its becoming like central government has not done its part and its as a result of central government that the city capital is flooding. Without necessarily comparing, these days because of the benefit of social media we tend to see things that ordinarily we would have heard with our ears or something. I dont want to mention countries, but the super countries even experience floods and they will continue to experience floods. Indeed yes, they are there, but apart from the behavioral and attitudinal issues that we have in this country, which leads to indiscipline you would experience floods. So it brings about the directive Mr. President gave, remove all houses on water ways, he explained. Mr. Quartey added that, even when the assemblies identify homes built on waterways and warn residents to evacuate, the warnings fall on deaf ears. Eventually, when the rains set in and residents are left to their fate, they start wailing and blaming government. They blame the assembly. Well, the assembly comes there, they give you first warning, second warning, and third warning and what do they do? They keep building overnight and when it starts to flood, people say the assemblies are not doing their job. How else should the assembly do their jobs? he intimated. He stressed that it was the core responsibility of all citizens to respect the laws of the land as the laws of another mans land. It is the civic responsibility for all of us to respect the laws that government pass because interestingly you board a plane with the greatest of respects from this place, you land in another mans country and all of a sudden everything about them changes. Hes respecting the laws of that country right from the airport from wearing of seatbelts, not dumping refuse, all manner of things. If you are going to go for two weeks holiday, they make sure they dont fall foul of any of those laws. That same person jumps back on a plane two weeks later and right from Kotoka and he or she is arguing with immigration officers at the arrival hall. The next thing he gets out of the airport he has a piece of paper he drops it on the floor. What are the causes of this? he stressed. He added that floods may come, government will play its part, whether its enough is another conversation however, the attitude of citizens and the role they have to play cannot be ruled out. Ellis Otabil, Effutu NPP Communication officer 06.07.2022 LISTEN Communication Officer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Effutu, Ellis Otabil has urged Ghanaians to remain resolute in government despite the intending IMF bailout the country seeks. According to him, the Akufo-Addo-led government is focused and working hard to reform the economy out of the global economic crisis. Commenting on the current ongoing brouhaha ahead of an official meeting on Wednesday led by President Akufo-Addo and officials of IMF in Accra. Effutu Ellis, as affectionately called was of the view the NPP government has delivered diligently to Ghanaians even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic hence can be trusted in these hard times. Meanwhile, Mr. Ellis Otabil expressed gratitude to the hardworking lawmaker for Effutu and Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin and NPP Executives and supporters for their hard work and dedication to the development of Effutu. He was, however, optimistic the NPP will surely break the '8' in the 2024 general elections. While the French daily newspapers continue to sift through the debris in the wake of the announcement of the second Elisabeth Borne cabinet, there is a sense of blessed relief as the same papers report on the intestinal disorders of London's ruling Conservatives. "So far," says Le Monde, "Boris Johnson has seemed capable of surviving any number of scandals." Will the lastest, in which the prime minister is accused of lying to protect an MP, prove his downfall, wonders the centrist daily. "Johnson is struggling to survive," says Le Monde. "Every day could be his last." Le Monde quotes the unequivocal headline from Wednesday morning's Conservative-minded London Times: "Game Over". "Johnson has lost the confidence of his party and the country," thunders The Times, with a thought-provoking inversion of political values: the party first, then the country. On its analysis pages, the once-admirable London paper says "forget about governing the country. The priority is survival." 'Little local difficulties' "Johnson on the brink over ministerial resignations" is how the French press agency AFP summarises the situation. AFP quotes Jacob Rees-Mogg, a doggedly loyal cabinet ally and Johnson's "minister for Brexit opportunities, " as dismissing the resignations as "little local difficulties". "Losing chancellors is something that happens," Rees-Mogg says, with proper public school calm. He might do well to remember that Margaret Thatcher, a far tougher cookie than BoJo, was ultimately felled by a cabinet revolt by top allies. Knife-fighting for gentlemen Right-wing Le Figaro says Downing Street was hit by a double bomb-blast, in reference to the resignations of two senior ministers. "It is clear," writes Rishi Sunak in his letter of resignation, reproduced in Le Figaro, "that the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously." What is less clear is what Sunak has been thinking of over the past few scandal-ridden months. With wonderful aplomb, Sunak ends his letter to the man he has just knifed in the kidneys with the expression "Kind regards". Sajid Javid closes his killer missive with "Yours ever". If they didn't exist, we'd have had to invent them. Left-leaning Liberation tops the story with a single English word: "Out". But the big duffer with the worst hair in world politics has survived so far and is not gone yet. He says he's staying. He may be right. When it comes to unleashing violence, no one can beat the NDC because we have a revolutionary background Mr. John Dramani Mahama, former President of the Republic of Ghana. The Akans say a child knows how to run but it does not know how to hide. If you chase a child in the house, they run into the room and hide behind the door. This is exactly the trademark of the opposition NDC. They try to play smart but they are not clever enough in their attempt to play on the intelligence of Ghanaians who can easily read between the lines. To them, the plan was to bamboozle Ghanaians into thinking that their Arise Ghana Demonstration was an uprising of all the good people of this country but not the NDC alone. Sadly, they exposed themselves in the process. The plan was simple. Robe in Bernard Monnah, the former National Chairman of Dr. Hilla Limann's PNC, who literally donated Limann's party to the NDC on a silver platter, as the spokesperson of the demonstrators. He must be the one to read the petition to the Finance Minister to make it look like the NDC knows nothing about the written script. Bring on board opportunistic half-baked journalists like Bobie Ansah to represent journalists in Ghana. Fish for some rubble-rousers who have no visibility, respect and recognition in relevant quarters as representatives of some political parties. Hire some 'condemned drivers' who cannot get any vehicle to drive because of their bad behavior to represent drivers in Ghana. The rest of the crowd, made up of mostly NDC supporters, will come because in times like these, when supporters of the NDC, who used to do nothing but share booties when the NDC was in power, are no more getting what they used to get. After all, did the sages not say the devil finds jobs for the idle hands? First on the agenda is to provoke confrontation with the police even before the day of the demonstration. Throw reason and commonsense away and insist on what the NDC wants alone. To hell with the Supreme Court if the apex court decides on anything against the demonstration. On the day of the demonstration, Commander Ampofo should assign Arko Gunn, one of the Montie 3 jailbirds to load pick-ups with stones and drive them to the Obra Spot, where the demonstrators will assemble. Armed wee-smoking goons with their imported pistols should be on standby and call into action in case the battle becomes hotter. Gun-toting Arko Gunn was also charged to train the NDC youth how to throw stones the way the Palestinians do to the Israelis. It was a covert or overt operation par excellence. After all, was Arko Gunn the jailbird not the same person who organised stone throwing hooligans to attack the residence of Nana Akufo-Addo in the run-up to the 2012 general election? The result of what the NDC planned was what you saw at the Nkrumah Circle Interchange on the Day 1 of their ill-conceived and evil-minded demonstration. Desperadoes used to roam everywhere in the Wild West of America in the 19th Century. Armed with pistols in holsters fixed on their hips and wearing Cowboy hats, these outlaws strutted the land with absolute impunity, destroying everything on their way as they searched for what they wanted. They were simply criminal bandits who defied the laws of the land. They did not care a hoot about whose ox was goaded. The NDC can be likened to desperados in the Wild West. Just follow this scenario. The NDC leadership, led by their National Chairman, applied to the police to embark on a demonstration. The police agreed but insisted that the time of closure of the demonstration, which was ten o'clock in the night, could not be accepted for security reason. The police also disagreed when the leadership of the demonstration indicated that they will picket at the Jubilee House, the seat of government because, according to the police, the place is a security zone. The leadership of the demonstration insisted on their plan and so the police went to the Supreme Court, pleading with the court to decide on the issue. The Supreme Court, the apex court of the land, ruled in favour of the police and the leadership of the demonstration quickly went to the Appeal Court to apply for stay of execution. Before the Appeal Court could hear the case of stay of execution, the leadership of the planned demonstration called their people to assemble at their starting point and ply the route the police kicked against, which the Supreme Court also supported in their ruling. So my dear reader, if you were the IGP, will you sit down unconcerned for the group to take the law into their own hands and plunge the nation into chaos? What if an opposing group also decided to take the law into their own hands and organised another demonstration to confront Commander Ampofo and his armed marauding and lawless desperados? Think! When the police decided to block the demonstrators on their way, the 'Plan B' of Commander Ampofo and his team was released. The celebrated jailbird, Arko Gunn, and his team of stone throwers, were called to action and the stones started flying like unguarded missiles fired from a warship on the Atlantic Ocean. This time, the Pentecost elder's marauding bandits did not get markets to burn nor children to kidnap but only policemen and women to stone. Commander Ampofo won the battle that day and as a Pentecost Elder, he started speaking in tongues. Mission accomplished. Who say man no dey? Alleluia!!! But on a more serious note, this country should not take the NDC for granted. A party which was born out of a bloody revolution still has their hands soaked with the blood of innocent men, women and children. They are still baying for more blood to satisfy their disturbed and accursed souls. From all indications, they want to see the country ungovernable so that their aim of coming back to power again will come to reality. To them, if even Rome should burn for them to come to power, so be it. Such group of persons is dangerous and so the government should be on the lookout. Their leader, Mr. John Mahama, has already served notice that the 2024 elections will be 'do or die affair' and he means it. Just look at how Mr. Mahama was able to trick supporters of the NDC, including NDC honorable Members of Parliament to hit the streets, burning tyres and destroying properties when he lost the 2020 Presidential election. His co-plotter who joined to trick the NDC supporters was Sammy Gyamfi, the small boy who was able to send senior citizens and wee smokers sweating on the streets by declaring John Mahama the President Elect. Mahama later confessed that he did that to cool down the anger of his supporters when he knew he lost the election. Even when the Supreme Court ruled against his petition to the apex court, he has refused to accept defeat and congratulate his opponent nearly one and half years down the line. He still walks tall with the President Elect tag, donated to him by Sammy Gyamfi, firmly fixed on his broad chest. Watch out, because Bole/Bamboi macho man is in town! Who knows what else he will do if he loses again? And he will surely lose again. Let me relax under my mango tree and just be. Email: [email protected] BY Eric Bawah Lawyer Eric Delanyo Alifo, a former candidate in the Ho West NDC parliamentary primary and an aspirant in the next primary, was the guest speaker at the launch of a welfare scheme by the Sakumono South Ward last Sunday, July 3, 2022 at the N'Joy Hotel in Sakumono, Accra. Lawyer Alifo lauded the Sakumono South Ward of the party for their bold initiative and advised them in his well-received address, which touched on many subjects including the stolen verdict of the 2020 general elections; the NDC's social democratic credentials; the reorganization and internal contests in NDC; the monetization of elections within the party, and in Ghana. "At this juncture, I would like to commend your Sakumono South Ward for this innovative initiative of a welfare scheme to support your members in times of need. It is the best security for assistance to members and far better than having to look up to others for handouts during your times of need. You have indeed given a real meaning to the social democratic ideology of our party, and your efforts are worth emulating by others. Congratulations, comrades," he happily stated. He demonstrated immense humility and was gracious for the honour given him when he started saying, "I am sure many of you did not know me before today." Many may not have even heard about me anywhere before. I have never been a Minister of State or a government official of any sort. I am also not an executive of our party at any level, yet I have been honoured by you to be your Guest Speaker today. I kindly accept the challenge because I believe I have some good ideas to share with you for the good of our party and nation. Many of you, who may be seen as ordinary members of our party, may equally have great ideas, and I hope that all of us shall have the opportunity from time to time to share our opinions with each other." In his very skilful delivery, which transformed an expected speech mainly on a welfare scheme to a full-fledged political speech, Lawyer Alifo observed as follows, "This function is about the launch of a welfare scheme, and to raise some money to support yourselves and your activities. However, all of you are also political activists, who are undoubtedly concerned about the direction of our nation, regarding issues of governance, cost of living, and our democracy." Read full statement below: ADDRESS BY ERIC DELANYO ALIFO, ESQ. AT THE LAUNCH OF A WELFARE SCHEME AND FUNDRAISING BY THE NDC SAKUMONO SOUTH WARD ON JULY 3RD 2022 Fellow Comrades. Introduction: I salute you on this important occasion, and I appreciate your gesture of inviting me not only to participate in this your very special program, but also as the guest speaker for the occasion. I am sure many of you did not know me before today. Many may not have even heard about me anywhere before. I have never been a Minister of State, nor a government official of any sort. I am also not an executive of our party at any level, yet, I have been honoured by you to be your Guest Speaker today. I graciously accept the challenge because I believe I have some good ideas to share with you for the good of our party and nation. Many of you, who may be seen just as ordinary members of our party may equally have great ideas, and I hope that all of us shall have the opportunity from time to time to share our opinions with each other. This function is about the launch of a welfare scheme, and to raise some money to support yourselves and your activities. However, all of you are also political activists, who are undoubtedly concerned about the direction of our nation, regarding issues of governance, cost of living, and our democracy. Your vision of seeking the welfare of your members, is intended to help yourselves in times of need, and to attract new members, and ensure that your Ward shall remain strong and viable enough to carry out your political activities for the benefit of yourselves, and of all Ghanaians. In fact, although your group is an integral part of the NDC, a party of individuals and groups, who share a common determination to build a stable, just, and democratic society, your ultimate purpose as social democrats include fighting for the youth of Ghana, most of whom are unemployed and crying for jobs; for the lowly paid workers and farmers of our nation, who are struggling daily to make ends meet; for our children; the elderly; and the masses, who are constantly calling for development and progress in their lives. Together, we must be worried about uncompleted government projects scattered over the country; and for our brothers and sisters who have been displaced by the rising sea level at the coastline of Anlo, and are crying for assistance. We must be worried about the excessive borrowing by the government of President Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumia, and we must be angry that a substantial part of this borrowed funds is spent on exorbitant foreign trips on chattered private jets. It is important for us to identify with, or join the masses, who are telling the government to fix the country and stop LGBTQ activities in the country. The matters that are causing many of our youths to join the Arise Ghana Movement to rise and demonstrate even in the face of government sponsored brutalities through the police; to wit: high cost of living; looting of state coffers; extreme corruption of Nana Akufo Addos NPP administration; the sharing of state land and property among NPP officials; and the ever-rising prices of goods and services, particularly, petroleum products; affect us also. Accordingly, all of us must be part of the Arise Ghana Movement and demonstrate along others to show our anger and disdain for the corruptors who are ruling our nation and dissipating our resources with impunity. We must be concerned about the general insecurity in the country for the past six years under Nana Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumia. This is of extreme worry to all Ghanaians, who cannot step out of their homes freely without afraid of being robbed, kidnapped, or attacked in various forms. Under the present government, the country is in perpetual fear. Citizens are regularly witnessing broad daylight robbery in front of banks, and on major streets. It is our duty to get all our fellow Ghanaians to understand these concerns, and for as many as possible to come on board to fight for a change, and for the common good. At this juncture, I would like to commend your Sakumono South Ward for this innovative initiative of a welfare scheme to support your members in times of need. It is the best security for assistance to members, and far better than to look up to others for handouts during your times of need. You have indeed given a real meaning to the social democratic ideology of our party, and your efforts are worth emulating by others. Congratulations, comrades. Who is Eric Delanyo Alifo, Esq.? Fellow comrades, may I now tell you a little more about my political activism, which was perhaps the reason why you have selected me to address you this afternoon. I was actually in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology when the NDC was formed in 1992. A few of us became strong student activists straightaway. In 1993, the party had started forming the students wing, the Tertiary Educational Institutions Network (TEIN). The first of them was inaugurated at KNUST in 1993 by the likes of the late JJR, and P.V. Obeng, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, Ibn Chambas, Ohene Agyekum, and others, and I was the first secretary. Since that time, I have not rested. I attended several youth programs, and almost all NDC national congresses until I left Ghana for law school in the United States in 2002. While in the US, and we were in opposition, I defended the party constantly through writings in the name, Bishop Dela, which became a commonplace in NDC circles both in Ghana and abroad. I was acknowledged by many senior members whenever they found out that I was Bishop Dela. I had also worked very closely with my friends, Fifi Kwetey, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Dr. Omane Buamah, Dr. Hannah Bisiw, and others during the 2008 campaign. From 2007 to 2009, I worked with the United Nations Mission in Liberia, and while there, I was able to visit Ghana regularly to join the 2008 campaign, which elected the late Prof. Mills as President. I was able to also mobilize a few thousands of Dollars from my Ghanaian colleagues at the UN Mission in Liberia, which we donated to support the campaign. I returned to Ghana finally in July, 2009 and founded my private legal aid scheme, HelpLaw Ghana to provide free legal services to the poor. I have operated this charity for over 10 years, while I also became very active with party work in various ways. I am a key member of the NDC Professionals Forum, of which I was recently appointed as the Deputy Director, Legal. I am very active in my branch and constituency of Ho West, where I contested in the last parliamentary primary. This is me - a simple ordinary foot-soldier like any of you. By my ordinary nature, I am further humbled by your invitation to me to address you this afternoon. May I now plead that we take some time to address a number of important issues that concern our party, and which all of us have a responsibility to discuss in order to prepare adequately for the 2024 elections. Let me state from the onset that I am not speaking on behalf of the party, and my remarks do not represent any official position of the party. They are solely mine, and based on my close observation of events in the party, and my views on the direction I think the party must move in order to remain attractive to many Ghanaians. Why NDC Remains the Best Political Party for Ghanaians Because of its social democratic ideology, our party remains the best political party for a least-developed country like Ghana, where poverty is at its peak. Our social democratic principles distinguish us sharply from the NPP with its property-owning democracy, which does not translate proportionately to the poor and middle class. In fact, the property-owning agenda does not even transcend all hardworking citizens. You have to be a top NPP functionary, and in the inner circle in order to enjoy the loot from Achimota Forest and Ramsar Site for instance. The NDC and its antecedents, the AFRC and PNDC have always embraced the agenda of involving the masses in political organization and governance. Many of us were witnesses to how our late Founder JJR had carried students and the people of Ghana along during his reign, and how much he was loved by all until career-politicians re-emerged with greed, hatred, and divisive tendencies. The inspirational ideals of probity, accountability, and social justice were adopted and given life during the AFRC and PNDC regimes. It was no wonder that these principles became the defining character and philosophy of the new NDC in 1992. Our partys Constitution, in article 5 provides that the party is a social democratic party that believes in the equality and the egalitarian treatment of each person irrespective of their social, cultural, educational, political, religious, and economic relations in a multi-party environment. This ideology underlies every election manifesto of the NDC since the beginning of the Fourth Republic. Political researchers have established the characteristics that distinguish our party from the extreme capitalist and property-owning NPP as the empowering the ordinary people; equitable distribution of public goods; improving access to social services; and pursuing economic development in partnership with the private sector. Everything you are doing here this afternoon is consistent with these principles, and you must be encouraged to uphold the principles always. As a matter of fact, these principles, which find huge expressions in our manifestos are what endear our party to the hearts of most ordinary Ghanaians, and it was so in the 2020 elections too. Victory in 2020 But Still in Opposition It is heart-breaking, though that we are still in opposition after a tough election in 2020, which I believe we won because of the efforts all of us put into the campaign. The sacrifices of our supporters across the country were truly unprecedented. We had the best manifesto, so it was very easy to propagate our message, and you could see party volunteers out there, everywhere, explaining the contents of the manifesto to the electorate. I believe all of you were also involved. The campaign itself was not very difficult because unlike in 2016 when there had not been the opportunity to compare the alternative of Nana Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumias performance to the solid records of H.E. John Mahama, the story was very different in 2020, when Ghanaians had already seen the gross incompetence of Nana Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumia, and their past rhetoric had lost all of its significance. As a result, except for the die-hard supporters of the NPP, and some independent voters who believed that it might be fair to give a second chance to the ever-failing government to see if they could redeem their bad image, the mood of the country was for change, and a return to the good old days of John Mahama. The fact that eight people were killed by government operatives during the elections in order for both NDC and NPP to have equal number of seats in Parliament; the use of the military, and armed men at multiple election centres to intimidate and maim innocent citizens; the errors in the declaration of the presidential election results by Mrs. Jean Mensa; the circumstances in which the presidential elections result was declared and gazetted; and the refusal of Mrs. Jean Mensa, backed by the Supreme Court, to mount the witness box to give account to Ghanaians of how the election had been conducted and declared were all ample proof that the NPP administration of Nana Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumia indeed lost the elections. Sadly however, they had managed to get the relevant state institutions to assist them to steal the verdict. This is why we have remained in opposition. It is not because we indeed lost the elections in 2020. What is Expected of us while in opposition While we remain in opposition, our responsibility is to remain loyal and dedicated to the party and its ideals. We must encourage the leadership of the party to roll out transparent plans to reorganize the party, particularly at the branches. All of our supporters must show keen interest in the process, and fair elections must be held at all levels to elect hardworking executives to energize the base of the party. These processes began a couple of months ago, and I can say with confidence that they are not going badly at all. I am involved in some NEC task force activities to assist in the reorganization of one or two constituencies, and I can assure you that were on course to winning the general elections massively in 2024. Competition is a cardinal tenet of democracy, so there must be competitive elections as much as possible to elect our leaders. Even if anyone desires to challenge H.E. John Mahama in our next presidential primary the person must be free to exercise that right without harassment and vilification by any of us. John Mahama shall be our flagbearer, but it is important to allow anyone who wants to challenge him to exercise their democratic rights. We must not demonize anyone because the person has decided to contest for any internal positions. Competition does not mean division. We have to learn to accept this principle. It underlies our social democratic agenda of giving equal opportunity to all. But much as we must encourage competition, we must also educate our members to avoid acrimonious campaigns and act in a healthy competition at all times to make our party more attractive to new ambitious members. Leadership and Internal Elections As a democratic party with ever-increasing youthful base, it is common to have very vibrant and ambitious members, who would want to contest for various positions to assist in organizing the party. Unfortunately, it would seem that most of us already in leadership positions, are not very anxious to welcome competitive elections most times. In order to keep our party ever-attractive to outsiders, it is imperative for us to be more accommodating to newcomers, and allow competitive contests regularly. As we yearn to remain the best democratic political party in Ghana, it is critical to encourage the setting up of internal structures to resolve our internal conflicts, controversies, misunderstandings, and disputes. If these structures exist and operate effectively, and in a transparent manner with impartiality, there shall be fewer disputes, and serious disciplinary actions against members shall be rare. Internal dispute resolution mechanisms shall also minimize the tendency of taking our disagreements to the courts for adjudication. Monetization of Elections in Party and Ghana Another subject I would like to discuss is the influence of money in our politics. This is a very dangerous development, especially when instead of looking at it as genuine assistance for our hardworking party executives at the branches, most powerful and rich politicians consider it as buying the consciences of these executives in order to influence them to vote for the highest bidder whether or not the highest bidder is the best among the contestants who are seeking a particular office. These days, because people with very deep pockets can easily buy victory in elections, we are not getting the best people to occupy political office. It is regrettable that some people try very hard to get us to accept this canker as the new norm and to engage in it if we want to serve our people. I am not easily accepting this fact. Because I know the practice is not sustainable in the long run, I would rather recommend a way of rewarding our party executives, such as setting them up in their trades and occupation, so that whatever assistance they shall get from people in high office would go to strengthen their businesses rather than see it as bribes to them to elect a particular person. When I contested a parliamentary primary in 2018, I proposed to the delegates that I would organize an awards night for them at the end of each year and hardworking executives shall be rewarded. A friend of mine also suggested to me recently that council of elders must be set up at the branches, so that our very senior comrades who have held party positions for a very long time could be retired and appointed into this council. Moving forward, proposals such as these must engage our attention for thorough discussion. Why NPP is Gaining Grounds in our Strongholds It is no secret that NPP is making significant gains in some of our strongholds, particularly in the Volta Region. This development must be of great concern to us if we want to remain competitive in future elections. It is absolutely necessary that we maintain our support or increase it in our strong areas, while we strive to make inroads into areas where we do not have much love. The question we must ask ourselves is why our members are leaving and joining the NPP. Why also did many of our members fail to vote in the last two elections? But before we come to these questions, we have to first understand that our supporters who are deserting the party are not the elderly. It is the youth who are leaving in droves. There are specific strategies directed at them by the NPP to poach them, and the strategies seem to be working to a very large extent. Apart from the dominant complaint that our party, when in government, does not assist our youthful supporters very much, there is also a feeling of alienation of the youth by the party even when we are not in power. There is also a feeling among most of the youth that our party has been hijacked by a few individuals with deep-pockets, who manipulate the party structures and delegates for selfish interests only. Our youth feel they are unable to influence any decisions in the party, and so they do not matter. This is one of the main reasons why they are leaving and joining the NPP. When they join the NPP, they are made polling station executives, and given other assignments, so they feel they belong to a better family. In recent times, many of our youthful supporters have deserted the party because they did not want certain aspirants to win elections. Unfortunately, these aspirants have enormous amount of money to bribe the partys delegates, who do not bother about the feelings of other members of the party. They do not consult anyone before they make their choices. All that they think about is who has given them the most money, and they elect that person. Our youth who normally get frustrated by the decisions of the delegates, just abandon the party and join the NPP. We have to find a credible solution to this problem in order to maintain our support base and win back some of our people, whom we have lost to the NPP. The best way to do this, especially in opposition is to open our doors and hearts freely to our youths and encourage them to register as card-bearing members of the party, and to contest for positions if they like. Our delegates must also engage members of their branches before they make decisions on their behalf irrespective of whatever they may receive from office-seekers. What is Required of us for the 2024 Elections I wish to bring my remarks to a close with my thoughts on the upcoming election campaign. Clearly, there had not been any elections since 1992 that our rank and file had been actively involved in as had happened in 2020. We will not have to change much of that strategy. We must work as hard as we did in 2020, by familiarizing with the partys new manifesto, and volunteer in various campaign activities in groups and as individuals. We must intensify our house-to-house exercise and expose the corrupt practices and gross incompetence of the current administration to the people. We must employ the principle of Do and Die by being very bold in policing our ballot till they are accurately declared. The NPP administration of Nana Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumia, seems from every indication to be the worse government Ghana has ever had. Many moderates and independent-minded Ghanaians are looking for a better alternative. In the past, the NPP tried very hard to demonize our party and made it unattractive to the elite. They succeeded to a large extent, but after they have had the opportunity to rule the nation, it became too obvious to Ghanaians that the NPP is worse in every respect that they have ever accused the NDC of. This places our party in a good position to win the hearts of many of our citizens, who are looking for a better alternative to the NPP. It places a responsibility on us to work harder to convince Ghanaians that our weaknesses, which are nothing comparable to NPPs abysmal performance shall be rectified if we should have the chance again to serve the nation. This is why it is important for us to organize our party in a better democratic and dignified manner, with total unity. Activists like us must be selfless in our service to the party. Leadership must recognize and reward hard-work. Extreme lobbying for positions is one of the reasons why some very competent and hardworking comrades have never served in government at any level. I have always maintained that such lobbying denies the appointing authority the opportunity to spot the best materials for positions. I am sure I would have been a very big man by now if I had lobbied very much for a position in the past, especially during the reign of the late Prof. Mills, after I had gotten very close to him at some point in the United States when I attended his campaign event and spoke at the event. I became a friend to Dr. Cadman Mills through that event, and subsequently became friends with other top officials, but I never lobbied to be appointed into government. In spite of the fact that many of my former colleagues and friends were indeed given positions, but I was not, it has never affected my love for my party, and it has not reduced my activism. This is how we must move forward, and I believe that in due course, it shall be the turn of many of you, hardworking and loyal comrades to be assigned responsibilities. Lets remember that our ultimate goal is to get into government and make Ghana a better place for all through good governance. Our focus should never be the benefits we shall get personally and directly from the government we shall form in 2025. Our goal must be to ensure that our party shall be elected, and all of us shall have the opportunity to help the government in diverse ways to deliver its mandate to the people of Ghana. I thank you very much for this opportunity. I hope I have lived up to your expectation, and you shall consider me again when another opportunity comes. God bless you, and God bless our party, the NDC. 06.07.2022 LISTEN LNaada Jinapor Foundation on Monday commissioned a mechanized borehole for Jema Senior High School in the Kintampo South District of Bono East Region to provide portable drinking water for students and teachers. The borehole which cost 40,000.00) is to help resolve the water scarcity the school is faced with. At a short ceremony at Jema Senior High School to commission the project, Mr Dauda Abdeen, Secretary to the Foundation and Personal Assistant to Lawyer Naada Jinapor, the founder, gave assurance of the Foundations readiness to support the school to ensure both students and teachers were comfortable for effective teaching and learning, hence the construction of the borehole. In his welcome address, the Headmaster of Jema Senior High School, Mr Amoateng Nyarko expressed the schools appreciation to Lawyer Naada Jinapor for her quick response to their request. "He who provides water gives life. Water is life so Naada Jinapor and her Foundation have given the school life," Mr Amoateng Nyarko noted. He further revealed other things Naada Jinapor Foundation has done for the school such as reroofing of the boys' dormitory which was ripped off by a violent rainstorm. On her part, the queen mother of Jema, Nana Abena Baadjei praised Naada Jinapor for her philanthropic works and asked for Gods blessings and protection upon her. She also charged Jema citizens abroad to emulate the shining examples of Lawyer Naada Jinapor. The District Chief Executive for Kintampo South, Hon Opoku Nyame commended Lawyer Naada Jinapor for her kind gesture and contribution to the development of the district. He mentioned the provision of water and hospital beds for Mansie CHIPS compound by Naada Jinapor Foundation few months ago as some of her philanthropic works. He said government alone cannot shoulder all responsibilities, therefore there was the need for other well-to-do individuals to help develop the District. He also encouraged the management of the school to cultivate a maintenance culture so as to ensure the facility last longer. Some of the students who spoke to Newsmen expressed gratitude to Lawyer Naada Jinapor Foundation for the borehole. According to the students, they will no more walk long distances to fetch water during class hours. Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey has made it clear that he will not accept any appointment from any political party because of his good works. He said he will wait for his party to return to power to continue his agenda. Speaking on Accra based Joy Prime today, he indicated that, he does not mind serving Ghana however; service through another political party apart from the NPP was a no. According to him, he could still serve his country through media engagements and other backstage efforts. No, I wont do that. I will wait for my party to come back. You see, with the greatest of respects, serving Ghana, yes. Serving Ghana through a political party; I am serving Ghana through a political party and so my political party is in power I serve. Even when they are not in power I am able to serve my country by way of coming here (media) speaking to people, letting them know whats going on and there are other ways of doing so back stage. It shouldnt be through an appointment from another political party, he said in answer to whether he would respond to a call from another party in power to continue his works. The Minister who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central recently deployed a task force to help chase out traders from turning some major streets into trading centres in Accra. Noble Impact Society Ghana Foundation, a non-governmental organization, has organized a free health screening for three communities in the Ahafo Ano South East District of the Ashanti Region. The communities are Pokuase, Amoako and Esienkyem. About 300 people aged between 14 and 80 years were screened for diseases like hypertension, diabetes, pneumonia, eye problems, stomach, gastritis, atheistic, and bilharzia among others. The beneficiaries of the free health screening were given medications while those diagnosed with serious health problems were counseled and referred to the hospital. The NGO as part of its outreach program presented rice, oil, footwear, clothes and stationery to students in the three selected communities to enhance teaching and learning. The Chief Executive Officer for Noble Impact Society Ghana Foundation Mr Prince Nhyiraba Asante during the exercise said the kind gesture was part of the foundation's numerous support to the venerable in society. He added that the NGO was established with a core mandate to solve problems of the needy, aged and the marginalised in society. Mr Asante again noted that the programme was also to sensitize the people on the need to check their health status periodical. Mrs Priscilla Sarkodie, the Acting Health Director for the Ahafo Ano South East District, led a team of health professionals to conduct the health screening. She called on the people to take health and safety precautions serious for their own well-being and do periodic checks. She however commended Noble Impact Society Ghana Foundation for choosing communities in her district and appealed to other benevolent organisations to emulate the move. 06.07.2022 LISTEN Ghanaian authorities have transferred a Nigerian, Blessing Adeleke, age 31, to the US to face criminal charges there. He was arrested on Monday, March 14, 2022, and transferred to the US on June 28, 2022, after court proceedings concluded with a ruling that he could be extradited. The Nigerian national made his initial appearance in a federal court in Cleveland on Friday, July 1, 2022, following his extradition from Ghana to the Northern District of Ohio to face charges for his alleged role in a conspiracy that obtained stolen financial information, made fraudulent and unauthorized purchases of retail goods and gift cards and stole funds from victim bank accounts in Northern Ohio and elsewhere. Blessing Adeleke was charged in a 17-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and 16 counts of bank fraud. During his initial appearance, Adeleke waived his detention hearing and was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals. According to court documents, from January 2014 through October 2016, Adeleke served as an administrator for an online marketplace, Shad0w.info, where compromised data, such as credit numbers and personally identifiable information (PII), were sold. As part of the conspiracy, it is alleged that Adeleke and others obtained stolen credit card information and purchased items, such as retail goods and gift cards, for themselves. It is alleged that Adeleke shared this stolen credit card information with others, including co-defendant Kylie Ann Harlow. The indictment states that Adeleke and Harlow shipped retail goods purchased with the stolen financial information to Harlow and others and, in some instances, returned the goods and gift cards to retail stores to obtain cash. It is alleged that Adeleke and Harlow eventually forwarded the fraudulently obtained goods, gift cards and cash to other members of the conspiracy for their personal enrichment. Additionally, Adeleke is charged with gaining access to online victim bank accounts in Northern Ohio and elsewhere and transferring thousands of dollars to Harlow and other members of the conspiracy. Kylie Ann Harlow previously pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme and was sentenced in June 2021. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial, in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant's sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant's prior criminal records, if any, the defendant's role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum. This case was investigated by the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Riedl and Brian S. Deckert. The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs provided significant support and assistance in securing the defendant's arrest and extradition from Ghana. The U.S. Department of Justice thanks its Ghanian partners, specifically the Ministry of Interior and the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, for supporting this extradition. The FBI Legal Attache in Accra and the U.S. Marshals Service also provided significant support and assistance to Adeleke's extradition. By Citi Newsroom Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh have met publicly for the first time in over five years, on the sidelines of this week's Algerian independence anniversary celebrations. The pair, who last met face-to-face in Doha in October 2016, were brought together by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, whose country has been celebrating the 60th anniversary of independence from France. The 2016 meeting in Doha was intended to bring an end to the internal Palestinian political split, dating from 2007, when the Islamist Hamas took over Gaza by force and ousted the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority from the coastal enclave. Algeria, under Taboune, has pledged to help reunite the major Palestinian parties, but so far, no concrete results have been seen. In April 2014, both parties met in Gaza itself and signed a reconciliation agreement that led to a short-lived consensus government. Palestinian reconciliation still distant Speaking to RFI, Gaza political analyst Dr. Mokhaimar Abu Se'da says he fears reconciliation is still a distant goal. "I cannot count on a meeting on the sideline of celebrations for Algeria's Independence Day. "The handshake is only a mark of respect to Algeria which invited the two leaders. But I do think that a collective international effort towards reconciliation would help reunite Palestinians. "Hamas is still considered by international powers like the US and the European Union as a terrorist group. Unless Hamas recognises Israel, accepts existing peace agreements and renounces violence, reconciliation will remain on a far-off horizon." Israeli stumbling block Abu Se'da suggests that Israel, which continues to fight Hamas, remains a stumbling block on the path to Palestinian reconciliation. Another Palestinian political analyst, Akram Attallah, agrees. "Israel has always blocked reconciliation in one way or another, and the international community has remained handcuffed." In 2007, when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, the western-backed Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, outlawed Hamas and dissolved the Palestinian legislative council, after Hamas had won a majority of seats in the January 2006 elections. Since then, Abbas and his secular Fatah party have ruled the West Bank, with the Islamist Hamas governing the Gaza Strip. In 2008 Israel declared Gaza to be a hostile entity and launched its first war against the coastal territory. Iran on Wednesday accused a French couple detained in May while on holiday in the Islamic Republic, of allegedly "undermining the security" of the country, according to the judicial authorities in Tehran. Cecile Kohler, who is in charge of international relations for the French teachers union FNEC FP-FO, and her partner Jacques Paris, were arrested in early May. The pair are accused of "conspiracy against Iran's national security," judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told the government controlled Mehr News Agency in Tehran. "The prosecution is based on a judicial order and Iran has initiated legal proceedings against them," according to Setayeshi. He added that the investigation is "confidential" and that the two French nationals will be "detained temporarily while the investigation continues." In June, Iranian authorities announced they had arrested a left-wing activist on suspicion of working to "incite sedition and turmoil among the working class," and who was suspected of meeting the French couple. Iranian security forces announced the arrest of the two French nationals on 17 May on charges of attempting to "foment unrest in the country," accroding to Mehr News. Industrial action The French government has condemned their arrest as "baseless" and has demanded their immediate release. Since the beginning of this year, Iran's schools have been hit by months of industrial action by teachers calling for salary increases. There have been regular protests outside education ministry offices across the country, including calls for the release of colleagues arrested during previous rallies. In April, teachers' union member Rasoul Bodaghi was sentenced to five years in prison for taking part in the protests, according to human rights group Front Line Defenders. In May, hundreds of people demonstrated in several cities, after a series of government measures including the lifting of subsidies on flour and the increase in the prices of certain foodstuffs. Kohler and Paris are among the latest western citizens to be detained in Iran. In January, an Iranian court sentenced French national Benjamin Briere to eight years in prison on spying charges. Briere's Paris-based lawyer described the trial as a politically motivated sham and his client as a "bargaining chip". That same month, Iran re-imprisoned Franco-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, sentenced to five years in jail in 2020 but recently living under house arrest. Activists say the arrest of foreigners is part of a deliberate policy by Iran, intended to force concessions from the West, an accusation which is rejected by Tehran. (With AFP) Ndabaningi Sithole was one of the founding fathers of the modern state of Zimbabwe in southern Africa. In August 1963, he became the first president of the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu) , the militant liberation organisation that fought against white minority rule that he led for a decade before being deposed in a palace coup engineered by his rival Robert Mugabe . Mugabe went on to become the post-independence leader of Zimbabwe. Sithole was the most prolific black writer in colonial Rhodesia from the 1950s until the country gained independence as Zimbabwe in 1980. In that period he published nine books (one serialised in African Parade magazine). He also left an incredible archive of the liberation struggle that was generated in real time. Surprisingly, most of Zimbabwe's liberation figures did not leave behind a lot of their own writings. Sithole is unique in that regard. His most important book, African Nationalism , which has recently been republished, is part autobiography and part polemics that provides a history of the liberation movement in Zimbabwe at its nascent stages. It was first published in 1959 and then in 1968. Third edition of African Nationalism. Ndabaningi Sithole Foundation A third edition of African Nationalism is timely. It was released by his family through the Ndabaningi Sithole Foundation which was launched last year to honour and perpetuate his legacy as an advocate for civil rights and pan African democracy through republishing his books and hosting events. It's timely because there is a reconfiguration of the politics of Zimbabwe. Mugabe, who was a dominant force for almost four decades, has since died. There is currently a vigorous contestation for power and legitimacy going on in the country. Figures like Sithole who have been sidelined in Zimbabwe's history offer us an opportunity to reconsider suppressed views and perspectives. The philosopher-politician More than six decades after the publication of African Nationalism, it remains a critical text to think about topical subjects such as self determination, political representation and decolonisation. Sithole's foray into active politics was primarily through his writings and thus his bona fide credentials as a leading intellectual were embraced. His book's wide critical acclaim and translation into half a dozen European languages earned him respect among his peers. Sithole composed the book in the US where he was a student of theology. He explained his impetus in his introduction: I was confronted by what some of my American friends said about African nationalism, which at the time was just beginning to be felt throughout the length and breadth of the continent of Africa, and which was also beginning to make fairly sensational international headlines. The big question which everyone was asking: Is Africa ready for sovereign independence? The majority greatly doubted that Africa was ready. Some regarded the rise of African nationalism as a bad omen for the whitemen in Africa. As historian David Maxwell writes, nationalism supporting the interests of the nation-state has been a powerful force in Zimbabwean history as a mobilising ideology. It continues to play a key part in the arena in which political ideas and participation are imagined. Zimbabwean nationalism, a version of which historian Terence Ranger called patriotic history remains central to debates about who belongs, and who has the right to speak, to vote and to own land. The barrel of a pen Sithole's tenure as leader of Zanu was mostly from prison, between 1964 and 1974. It was a treacherous time. Most of the black political leaders had been rounded up, detained, killed or forced into exile. Besides directing Zanu's insurgent activities from his prison cell, Sithole also filled up time writing books: novels, poetry, and political tracts. He considered writing as a revolutionary tool. From left to right, Chief Jeremiah Chirau, Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, Prime Minister Ian Smith and Bishop Abel Muzorewa in New York, 1978. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images His manuscripts, smuggled from prison with the help of guards and sympathisers, were mostly published abroad to avoid censorship. Two of these included The Polygamist and Obed Mutezo the story of an African Nationalist (Christian) Martyr. Sithole was also a leading contributor to the Zimbabwe News , a newsletter that was published by Zanu to convey its revolutionary messages. As if he knew history was not going to be kind to him, Sithole spent considerable time writing his ideas, but also about people he met as a leader. He partly coordinated the liberation struggle through the barrel of the pen. Sithole writes himself into history. He is not just a chronicler of the liberation struggle, as it is happening in real time, but also acts as an archivist for the future. The teacher and preacher Sithole was a primary school teacher at home before studying theology in the US between 1955 and 1958. He had been mentored by the revered missionaries Garfield and Grace Todd at Dadaya Mission. This relationship was formative to his politics and civic interests. Despite later political disagreements, they maintained a cautious allyship and respect. While in the US, Sithole published AmaNdebele kaMzilikazi in 1956, the first published novel in Ndebele in Zimbabwe. It was released by Longmans, Green & Co. in Cape Town before being republished in 1957 as Umvukela wamaNdebele by the newly established Rhodesia Literature Bureau. The book is inspired by the events of the Ndebele uprisings of 1896 . Sithole was the product of an unusual progeny a father from the Ndau clan and a mother from the Ndebele clan. As such, he was not easily contained by the Shona-Ndebele binary that has informed much of Zimbabwe's modern politics. Growing up in rural Matebeleland, he was raised under Ndebele tradition and culture. It is not surprising that his first published book was inspired by Ndebele traditions. A complicated legacy To look at Sithole's life and career in retrospect is to wade through so much hubris, of his own making and of others. His fall from grace was spectacular. He has been for the modern Zanu-PF a persona non grata. But a figure like Sithole cannot be easily expunged from history, which he actively contributed to as a leading actor and as a writer. At a time when a young generation of Africans are calling for decolonisation, Sithole's ideas resonate even further. In the preface to the new edition of African Nationalism, former Kenyan prime minister, Raila Odinga posits: Reading African Nationalism evokes mixed feelings of sadness and joy. It is sad to imagine that a whole book had to be written to try and explain to fellow humans why Africans were agitating for and deserved self rule. It is always important to look back to the past, in order to navigate the present and the future. His ideas aside, Sithole is also a reminder of the fickleness of politics and history. Tinashe Mushakavanhu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. By Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Junior Research Fellow, University of Oxford The European Parliament on Wednesday gave its support for labelling gas and nuclear power as green under the bloc's taxonomy rules. The move comes despite deep divisions on the issue between member states. During a tight vote in parliament in Strasbourg, a majority of MEPs blocked an objection to the controversial proposal which is now on its way to becoming EU law. The green classification means certain nuclear and gas activities will be eligible for sustainable investment funding from 2023. In order to be considered sustainable, though, electricity generated from nuclear or gas plants must use the most advanced technologies. No 'greenwashing' allowed The rules were first proposed by the European Commission in February after more than a year of delay and intense lobbying from the gas and nuclear industries. EU financial services chief Mairead McGuinness promised that no greenwashing" would be allowed. The EU is hoping to become the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050, and to achieve this Brussels is looking to direct more capital into environmentally friendly projects. The inclusion of gas and nuclear power in the taxonomy rulebook is a divisive subject in Europe, with Brussels rewriting the rules multiple times. While Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg have warned against weakening the bloc's green ambitions, other countries including France and Poland have pushed for at least one of the two fuels to benefit from green finance. Nuclear energy is free from CO2 emissions but produces radioactive waste. It remains the largest source of power in France, generating more than 70 percent of the country's electricity needs. Gas produces planet-warming emissions but some EU states see it as transition fuel in the shift away from dirtier coal. (with wires) OPEC's secretary general, Nigeria's Mohammad Barkindo, has died at the age of 63, leaving the oil cartel in "shock" on Wednesday at a tumultuous time for the markets. Barkindo had headed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries since 2016 and was scheduled to be replaced by Kuwait's Haitham Al-Ghais next month. Under his stewardship, the cartel forged ties with Russia and nine other oil-producing countries to form a wider group known as OPEC+ in a bid to better stabilise oil markets. After OPEC+ slashed output during the pandemic to boost prices, the 23-member group's moves have not calmed markets -- with record high prices -- in recent months amid the war in Ukraine. Barkindo died late Tuesday and will be buried on Wednesday in his home town of Yola, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation's chief executive Mele Kyari. "Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community," Kyari wrote, without providing any further details about the circumstances of Barkindo's death. 'Trailblazer' "This tragedy is a shock to the OPEC Family," Vienna-based OPEC tweeted. "We express our sorrow and deep gratitude for the over 40 years of selfless service that... Barkindo gave to OPEC. His dedication and leadership will inspire OPEC for many years to come." In a statement, OPEC described Barkindo as "a trailblazer widely admired and respected throughout the globe. A dear friend to many." Only a few hours earlier, Barkindo -- who had not shown any sign of being ill -- had met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, where Buhari praised Barkindo's "distinguished achievements at OPEC". "You were able to successfully navigate the organisation through turbulent challenges," Buhari had said. Barkindo himself in a speech last year described serving as OPEC secretary general for two terms as an "honour of a lifetime". The OPEC secretary general does not wield any executive power, but is the cartel's public face and frequently has to act as a diplomat to bring together the different, sometimes conflicting interests of the various member countries. For analysts, Barkindo's death will not have an impact on OPEC's strategy in the long-term. "But in the short-to-medium run, it will increase uncertainty about OPEC's next steps and add to the price volatility as he was a figure of unity for OPEC," said Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya. Spi Asset Management analyst, Stephen Innes, described Barkindo as "a very important figurehead and a stabilising force behind OPEC." "But his death is unlikely to change OPEC direction despite more outside politics entering the picture," the expert said, predicting that his successor, Haitham Al-Ghais "augurs for the status quo given Kuwait close ties with Saudi Arabia, which wields the most influence" within the group. 'True friend' to Russia In a message to Nigeria's Buhari, Russian leader Vladimir Putin hailed Barkindo's "important" and "personal contribution" to the creation of OPEC+, saying Russia would remember him "as a true friend of our country". Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Energy, Alexander Novak, said Barkindo "defended a constructive dialogue with our country". Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Ismail said in a statement that Barkindo "wanted to strengthen OPEC's role in stabilising global markets and addressing challenges affecting the oil sector and the global economy." Born on April 20, 1959, Barkindo graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria's Kaduna State with a degree in political science. He later obtained an MBA in finance and banking in the United States and studied petroleum economics at Oxford. He became Nigeria's representative at OPEC in 1986. Starting from 1992 he occupied a number of positions within NNPC, including as its head from 2009 to 2010. burs-jza/rl The Fourth Annual Lecture of the Bishop of Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese Right Reverent Alfred Agyenta has been held in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. The event was under the theme A Synodal Church, A listening Church. This years Lecture forms part of activities marking the 11th Episcopal Anniversary Ordination of the Chief Shepard Rev. Alfred Agyenta. He indicated that the feeling of incorporating the lecture into the celebration of his anniversary, to educate and inform the people has a far greater impact on transforming the lives of people in the church. Touching on the theme he said, listening is very important in the life of the church as it makes everyone feel belong. This is my beloved son listen to him. This he said, continues to be the live motive of the scriptures, and it is therefore listening is crucial not only in human society but also for us as a church listening to the supernatural voice apart from the human voice," he stated. The special guest of honor for the event, the Anglican Bishop of Tamale Rt Rev. Denis Tong in his address stated that everyone is obliged by Christ's teachings to be his/her fellows keeper, living the exemplary lives of Christ in love and in peace. He explained that Synod is the gathering of the body of Christ purposely to make decisions for the church, and when the synod is gathered, it must first have a listening ear to itself. The Chairman of the occasion, Samuel Zan Akolgo in an interview with this portal in Bolgatanga said the lecture helped the people of the Dioceses to understand the dynamics of times. Mr.Zan noted that the lecture went beyond the synod process which ends in 2023, but it has an ingrained attitude and practices that can be imbibed in the overall management of the diocese since the diocese is not isolated from the entire church in Ghana. He stated that all that transpired at the lecture, could serve as a model for the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference in terms of how they could eventually fashion out an overall pastoral plan for the country. He emphasised that there will always be the need to respond to situations at the national level, for instance, issues of national governance and resource allocation. "Who is benefiting and who is not benefiting, and all the perceptions about bad governance like corruption, the church must have a voice otherwise the church is losing it." Professor Gabriel Eshun, Technical Advisor to the Ghana Tourism Development Project (GTDP) has reiterated the need to innovate and protect tourism infrastructure to boost tourist attractions in the country. Professor Eshun noted that driving consistent innovations in the tourism sector by promoting and providing adequate infrastructural development would boost tourist attractions. He noted that Ghana will become the preferred destination for tourism on the African continent and the world at large. Professor Eshun made the remark when he lead the Technical Advisory Team of the Ghana Tourism Development Project to handover a multi-purpose washroom during the weekend to the Kintampo Water Falls in the Kintampo Municipality of the Bono East Region to improve service delivery at the falls. Professor Eshun indicated that the project was in two phases. He indicated that the second phase would include pavements that would facilitate easy movement of revellers to have a good feel of the place. Professor Eshun pointed out that the move was part of efforts by the Ghana Tourism Authority to promote the sector, indicating that tourism was a key area the country could generate its revenue. According to him, the GTDP in collaboration with stakeholders including government was committed to ensuring investment is put at the sector to drive home revenue to support government achieve its development goals. He hinted that the GTDP was committed to giving a facelift to some major tourist sites including the Buaben Monkey sanctuary, Bono Manso Ancient town, the Slave Camps and the Center of Ghana Point among others to drive home tourist investors. Nana Effah Guakuro IV, Kontehene of the Nkoranza Traditional area commended the GTDP for the initiative indicating that the edifice would augment the existing ones to promote service delivery at the Falls. Nana Guakuro mentioned that the Water Falls covers about 143.72 acre of land which needs to be protected to prevent encroachment as the area was in high demand for development by private investors. He urges the GTDP to fence the facility to prevent encroachment. Nana Guakuro underscored the need to establish forest reserves in and around the falls to promote ecotourism. He suggested effective security in the area to protect lives and property. He urged the management of the Falls to use funds generated to develop it so as to give the facility a good look at all times to attract international tourists. Nana Guakuro call for the establishment of more receptive facilities such as hotels, restrooms and guest houses that would be rented for revellers who may not want to stay far away from the site when they visit. During a visit to the falls, it was observed that the facility is being patronized by people in and around the Kintampo community. About 600 to 700 visitors patronize the facility at weekends, while large numbers are recorded during public holidays. Revellers travel from both the northern and southern parts of the country to have a rest at the falls. Most of the tourists seen during the visit were students, workers and lovers who had come to enjoy their vacations. This reporter also observed that the falls has developed new facilities such as canopy walk ways, visit to the root of the falls and background history of the falls. Sudan's coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Wednesday dismissed the last civilian members of his ruling body as part of a power shift he has proposed, but protesters who have rejected his pledge again took to the streets. "The blood of the martyrs did not flow in vain," hundreds of women protesters chanted in Khartoum about pro-democracy activists who have been killed in street violence, also demanding a return of "the soldiers to the barracks". Burhan -- who grabbed power in a coup last October that drew international condemnation -- in a surprise move Monday vowed to "make room" for civilian groups to form a new transitional government. He also said that the ruling Sovereign Council he chairs would be disbanded and, in an apparent move to carry out the process, issued a decree relieving five little-known civilian members of their posts. Several of them told local press that they had received no formal notification and were surprised to discover that their official vehicles had been taken away. Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. By Ashraf SHAZLY (AFP/File) The transitional government uprooted by Burhan last year had been painstakingly forged between the military and civilian factions in 2019, following mass protests that prompted the army to oust longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir. Sudan's main civilian alliance, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), have labelled Burhan's latest move a "giant ruse" and "tactical retreat". They also called for "continued public pressure", a call heeded by protesters who manned makeshift street barricades of rocks and tyres for a seventh straight day. 'Wolf in sheep's clothing'? Map of Sudan locating the capital Khartoum. By (AFP) Protesters have demanded a restoration of the transition to civilian rule despite repeated crackdowns by the security forces, who have in recent days fired live bullets, launched barrages of tear gas canisters and deployed water cannons, according to medics. Burhan's pledge Monday to step aside for a new civilian "government" was accompanied by another pledge -- the establishment of a new "Supreme Council of the Armed Forces". This body would be in charge of defence and security, he said, feeding into concerns among opponents that it would not be answerable to any government. Burhan said the new body would combine the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a powerful unit commanded by his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Key FFC member and ex-rebel Yasser Arman warned that Burhan's "intention is to choose a prime minister who is a wolf in sheep's clothing and takes his orders from the military council". Arman said that Burhan's announcement was aimed at the "regional and international community, some of whose members are looking for quick solutions" including those who he warned are "prioritising stability over democracy". On the streets of Khartoum, protesters defied security forces and held firm on their makeshift barricades, despite heavy fatalities late last week. By - (AFP) The FFC has so far refused to take part in talks with military leaders, despite pressure from international brokers that range from the United Nations to the African Union and regional bloc IGAD. On Tuesday, following an IGAD emergency summit chaired by Burhan in Kenya, the bloc praised efforts to finding "lasting solutions to the political situation", adding that it "appreciated the positive steps" taken by Sudan's leaders. 'Too early to tell' "The blood of the martyrs did not flow in vain," about 100 women protesters chanted in Khartoum about pro-democracy activists who have been killed in street violence. By - (AFP) Sudan has been rocked by near-weekly protests since the October coup, with thousands marching in multiple cities. Pro-democracy medics said nine demonstrators lost their lives last Thursday, the deadliest violence so far this year, which brought to 114 the number killed in the crackdown since October. Burhan's announcement has been treated cautiously by international players, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres saying he hoped it would create "the opportunity ...to reach an agreement that ultimately leads to a civilian-led transition to democracy". The United States said it was "too early to tell" the impact, with State Department spokesman Ned Price urging all sides to seek a solution towards "a civilian-led government" with "free and fair elections". Sudanese protesters gather in the capital Khartoum on July 5, the latest in a series of rallies since an October military coup. By - (AFP) Protesters argue that the army chief has made such moves before. In November, a month after the coup, Burhan signed a deal with Abdalla Hamdok, the prime minister he had ousted in the power grab and put under house arrest, returning him to power. But many people rejected that pact and took to the streets again, and Hamdok resigned in January warning that Sudan was "crossing a dangerous turning point that threatens its whole survival". 06.07.2022 LISTEN Victims of fire disaster at Eikwe in the Ellembelle District of the Western have received financial relief from some Muslims from Kamgbunli in Ellembelle District living in Europe. The sad incident occurred on 20th April 2022 when a mother together with her three children was almost burnt to death. The victims are Madam Agnes Blaychie, age 37, Theresa Ackah, age 17, Angelo Asmah, age 12 and Antoinette Kwofie, age 9. Describing the incident to the media and a representative of the Muslims of Kamgbunli in Europe, Madam Blaychie said, "I was in the house preparing food in the morning before going to work and when I got near my gas cylinder to test my soup, the gas cylinder flamed and nudged me to the wall and I contrived to rush out to save my life". She added, "when I got out I realized that my children were inside the kitchen burning so I scrambled inside to rescue them and to God be the glory, I was rescued and in some few minutes tumbled into coma and realized that I was on a hospital bed and also saw my children on hospital beds receiving treatment". She gave thanks to Almighty God for saving their lives. "In fact, God has done a lot for us and He deserves our gratitude because if it was not God like I and my children have died". During the visit to the community, it was observed that the whole house has been razed down by the fire. It also detected that all their personal belongings have been burnt. Madam Agnes Blaychie who works at the Eikwe St. Martins De Porres Hospital lamented over her house and personal belongings which have been burnt by the fire. "I work with Eikwe St. Martins De Porres Hospital and I have work in the hospital for 18 good years and in fact, I have acquired so many things but today I have lost them due to the fire, the fire destroyed our TV set, clothes, bags, shoes and sandals, monies, my GHC5,000 which was left with me was burnt into ashes and also someone's GHC2,700.00 with me also got burnt, my husband's money also burnt", she said. She added, "right now we don't have any thing, our house has been destroyed so we are living in a rented house and every month we pay GHC200.00 and it is not easy". She therefore, took the opportunity to appeal to companies and other benevolent individuals and organizations to come to their aid. "I am using God to beg any Ghanaian who will hear our plight to come and help us and God will bless that person, I have already bought a land so I will need building materials to build a new house to stay in but right now, I don't have money to build a new house, I'm begging, I need help, I can't even sleep, I still feel pains in my body, I need help, we are currently living in a rented house at Eikwe here and every month we pay GHC200.00 and it is not easy so we need help," she lamented. Receiving the GHC5,000 financial support from the group living in Europe, Madam Agnes Blaychie expressed her profound gratitude for the kind gesture and prayed to God to help them in abundance. "In fact, today I'm shocked because I wasn't expecting such a support from anybody, I pray to God to bless them to get more money because these people are Muslims and I and my children are Christians but they did not look at our religious background, we are most grateful and this financial support will help us a lot", she appreciated. She motivated them to proceed to support the other vulnerable people in society. The former Assembly Member for Kamgbunli Electoral Area and a former Presiding Member of Ellembelle District Assembly, Mr. Shaibu Issaka who presented the amount on behalf of the group, said when the incident happened he was sent by the leadership of the group to visit the victims to see their conditions and inform them how they could assist. "I was there on that day and our brothers and sisters from Kamgbunli in Ellembelle District of the Western Region who are currently in Europe called me and they have heard that fire has burnt some people at Eikwe so I should go find out and indeed when I went I saw Madam Agnes on admission at Eikwe hospital and in fact, their conditions were terrible quickly informed them and pledged to support them", he disclosed. He added, "so today I have been sent by our brothers and sisters living in Europe to come and present to you the sum of GHC5,000.00 to mitigate your conditions and they are saying that Allah should help you to recover as soon as possible. "This is not the first time they have done this kind gesture, they have been helping people especially their community, Kamgbunli. This is a divine call, even though the victims are not Muslims but as a Muslim, you should see to it that if a non-Muslim goes through a problem and you have, you have to support the person and that's why we have come here to support them." The former Ellembelle Presiding Member and a Court Mediator took the opportunity to appeal to companies in and around the Ellembelle District to come to the aid of the fire victims. "I will use this platform to appeal to other people especially companies in Ellembelle District and outside Ellembelle District to come to the aid of the victims, they have lost all their properties, their houses have been razed down completely so I'm appealing to NGOs, companies in and around Ellembelle District to come to their aid," he pleaded. Dr Samuel Ben Owusu 06.07.2022 LISTEN The United Nations (UN) Eminent Peace Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Samuel Ben Owusu is calling on government to introduce a system that will pay workers per hour. He said workers will be paid what is due them if their work is calculated and paid per hour. In an interview with the media, Dr Samuel Ben Owusu observed that some workers are marked per day and most are paid at the end of the month. He indicated that the situation has contributed to the agitations of workers not being paid what is due them. "Where things have reached right now, it will only take the government to institute a by-law or a system of operation that from today, we are going to pay people per hour, not per day or monthly. As it is now, most people in Ghana are marked daily, let us shift it into per hour, if the Government changes it to per hour, everyone will find a job," he said. He continued, "Just as it is done in the USA and the UK. So if someone likes, he or she can work two hours and close, and get 8 or 16 dollars per hour and they will calculate how much they want to make in a day. If the Government comes up with that concept and makes some institutions run that way, other private sectors will pick it up and there will be jobs for many people." Amb. Samuel Ben Owusu also observed that in most institutions, workers go to work in the morning and close around 5pm. This, he said, was a waste of productive time, suggesting that government can introduce a shift system such that while some workers close, others will also go to work, explaining that it will also help employ more people. "I think in the health sector, there are nurses who do shifts, so why can't we implement that system everywhere?" he quizzes. He then called on the Government to engage experts to fashion out a proper system to address the issues. "You see why Africa is not progressing, we are always way back. While the Europeans, the people around the world are working, we are sleeping and we say we want to have peace. Peace is development, peace is a system, peace is a foundation, if we want peace, we should sit down, some of these political leaders need to meet with some of us who have the understanding and knowledge of other things," he added. 06.07.2022 LISTEN A Cultural Therapy Founder and Member of the Royal Society of Asante Culture and History (ROSACH), Mr. Michael Kojo Boakye Appau-Bonsu has encouraged Africans in the Diaspora, especially Ghanaians living abroad to reunite with their roots. That, he said, will enable them to know much about their culture and as well enable them to get closer to their real families. In an interview with the media, he observed that black descendants of the transatlantic slave trade are technically globally separated distant relatives, who have a collective trauma to deal with, pointing to the Asantes and the Maroon or Kromanti tribes of Jamaica as an example. Mr. Michael Kojo Boakye Appau-Bonsu also observed that during the 'Year of Return' in Ghana, many Diasporans refused to visit the Ashanti Region because they were of the belief that it was the Ashantis who sold them into slavery. The situation, he opined, was a very sensitive topic and common misunderstanding that needs to be discussed peacefully. He, therefore, said his outfit, which is for Cultural Therapy, was acting as an international counseling tool for those broken families through the use of travel therapy and unique cultural approaches from the likes of Chiefs and culturally aligned psychiatrists and psychologists. Cultural therapy is a broader example of family therapy. Black descendants of the transatlantic slave trade are technically globally separated distant relatives, who have a collective trauma to deal with (for example Asantes and the Maroon or Kromanti tribes of Jamaica). Cultural therapy acts as an international counseling tool for this broken family through the use of travel therapy and unique cultural approaches from the likes of Chiefs and culturally aligned psychiatrists and psychologists, he said. He also made it known that an exchange program is in the offing to allow diasporans to discuss difficulties they have discovered abroad and as well how to reunite with their families back home amongst others. Already, Mr. Michael Kojo Boakye Appau-Bonsu said a Member of ROSACH, who is also the General Secretary of the Ashanti Heritage Movement, Mr. Kwaku Adu Gyamfi Ampofo had gone to Jamaica to reunite with the Maroon tribes, saying the impact has so far been positive as most of them agreed to go back to their roots. Meanwhile, he assured the Diasporans that Ghanaians living at home and abroad are one people, encouraging them to get involved for a better experience. "We want Ghanaians in the Diaspora to understand that we are one people and we are from the same place. We are one family and we need to reconnect," he added. The angry Chiefs and Queen mothers of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Council in the Western Region have descended heavily on one Isaac Amihere who has been parading himself as the Overlord (King) of Nzemaland. Nzemaland has three District Assemblies namely Ellembelle, Nzema East and Jomoro with seven (7) gazetted and recognized paramountcies. The seven paramountcies are Nsein Traditional Council, Lower Axim Traditional Council, Upper Axim Traditional Council, Gwira Traditional Council, Eastern Nzema Traditional Council, Western Nzema Traditional Council and Ajomoro Traditional Council. Addressing the media at Esiama Chief Palace Nana Nyanzu Amihere IV, the Chief of Akoto who spoke on behalf of the angry chiefs and their Queen mothers disclosed that the Nzemaland doesn't have an Overlord (King). "We, the Chiefs and Queen mothers of Eastern Nzema Traditional Council in the Ellembelle District, want to let the whole world know and understand our position as Chiefs and Queen mothers of our Traditional Area and to register our displeasure at the behavior of one Isaac Amihere who poses and parades himself as the King Kaku Aka 111 of the Nzemaland", he stated. He added, "We the undersigned Chiefs and Queen mothers today declare to the whole world that our allegiance is to ONE and ONLY ONE Paramountcy, Eastern Nzema Traditional Area with Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III as the Paramount Chief. We completely disassociate and distance ourselves from every claim he (Isaac Amihere) asserts." He also disclosed that Isaac Amihere comes from Awiaso, a village in Ellembelle District and Awiaso and was with Odikro status. "Awiaso is a village serving under the Eastern Nzema Paramountcy with Odikro status not even a Divisional Chief let alone Paramountcy. Therefore, for that self-acclaimed Kaku Aka to assert that Awiaso is his Paramount seat is very deceptive and questionable. This also proofs that Kaku Aka does not understand the traditional systems of Ghana. How can he claim to be a King for the Nzema people when he lives in a village with an Odikro status? The Odikro for Awiaso is Nana Akpanyi Amoh, who then is the so called Kaku Aka, a linguist or Bow man?", he stated. Nana Nyanzu Amihere IV described King Kaku Aka as an impostor who is not recognized by the Regional and National House of Chiefs. "This so called Kaku Aka, the self-styled charlatan and impostor is not known in the Regional House of Chiefs, let alone the National House of Chiefs. Dealing with him on official matters related to Chieftaincy in Nzemaland would be very detrimental. "It would be recalled that on 23rd July, 2021, the National Conference of Council id State Members held at the newly built offices of the Nzema Manle Council at Ampain had a meeting with Nanamo. This self-acclaimed King also joined, though uninvited. He had the disgrace of his when he was sacked by the President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II from taking part in a group photograph with Nanamo", he emphasized. He said the self-acclaimed Overlord of Nzema was visiting some communities in Nzemaland to create divisions among the people and also attacked the Paramount Chiefs of Nzemaland. "He's been going around with disgruntled and misinformed young men and women feeding them with lies and throwing dust into the eyes of the public. These sycophants and boot lickers instead of digging for the truth on Chieftaincy matters from the right source of information rather go about castigating and defaming Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III, Nanamo and the District Chief Executive for no sensible reason", he said. He stressed that "We, Nanamo, unequivocally state that the self-styled King Kaku Aka is not part of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Council and we owe allegiance to Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III alone and all officially recognized Chieftaincy institutions in the Republic of Ghana". He, therefore, took the opportunity to call on the Inspector General of Police and National Security apparatus to investigate the self-acclaimed King Kaku's activities in the area. "...this gross insubordination behavior of his alarming and gradually creating division and tension in the villages or towns and fomenting avoidable security threats in those areas. He is also disturbing the peace enjoyed for decades in the Nzema area. "We are appealing to the National Security apparatus and the Inspector General of Police to investigate into this matter before it gets out of hand sooner than later. Since of the villages are Bomoakpole, Tandan, Anwia etc and even some places in Jomoro and Ahantaland", he urged. He also seized the opportunity to warn companies and institutions in and outside Nzemaland not to engage the self-acclaimed King Kaku Aka in any business. "Again, we emphatically state that anyone or office who deals with him on official matters relating to land acquisition and Chieftaincy administration does so at his or her or their own peril. Moreover, he does not officially or otherwise represent the of good people of Eastern Nzema Traditional Area and the Nzema community as a whole. He must not be given a hearing on any Chieftaincy matters related to Nzemaland", he stressed. He, therefore, dared Isaac Amihere to show to the world his gazetted number which makes him a Paramount Chief or an Overlord of Nzemaland. "Isaac Amihere who poses as King Kaku Aka is not to be recognized as such. If actually he is a King as he claims, what is his gazetted number? He must show it to the world, he is not a Chief or a King", he concluded. 06.07.2022 LISTEN Mr. Thomas Elorm Tagbotor, a Ph.D. Marketing student of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), who won the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG) National Presidency election at its 27th Annual National Delegates Congress, has been sworn into office. The 28th handing over ceremony of GRASAG was held at the Ghana Institute of Management Public Administration (GIMPA) campus on Saturday, 2nd July 2022. The program also witnessed the swearing-in of other elected and appointed executives. They are Mr. Mohammed Shahid, Vice President; Ms. Barbara Deladem Mensah, General Secretary; Mr. Isaac Afful, Financial Controller; Mr. Francis Omane Boidoo, Organizing Coordinator; Ms. Abiba Asoma, Gender Commissioner; Mr. Emmanuel Owusu, Public Relations Officer; Mr. Nicodemus Naamwin-Beter Dometiero Dery, Speaker of Senate; and Chief Justice, Mr. David Worwui Brown Esq. Mr. Thomas Elorm Tagbotor, in his inaugural speech, commended the outgoing President for her tremendous work done together with her other executives in their tenure of office. "Let me take this opportunity to thank H.E. Heartwill Selassie Tamakloe and her capable executives, including Senate Leadership, for their service to GRASAG. AYEKOO. Indeed, you have paved the way for us to carry on the great works that you began." He, however, acknowledged some of the outstanding issues the association faces and went further to indicate that his administration will collectively put a plan together to address all the challenges including the outstanding payment of students' bursaries. "We will collaborate with you over the next 12 months to instill hope in the system and resolve some outstanding issues, one of which is delays in the payment of our bursaries on time by the Government. One of the few actions we will take in the first 100 days of this administration will be to put a spotlight on GRASAG and position the Association in the minds of key stakeholders in this country." The President hinted on the policies he will be embarking on with his executives to ensure the welfare of GRASAG members. Some of his policies include GRASAG Business Model Project, "which will be enrolled later in the administration, and we will support our student entrepreneurs with what I call The GRASAG Business & Innovation Pitch. My executives and I will establish an International Relations desk to strengthen GRASAG's relationship with the international community and to seek work and study abroad opportunities, scholarships, and training programs for our members." The 28th President assured members of the Association that his administration would do everything possible to make GRASAG more visible and a national asset capable of offering development opportunities through collaborative research and strategic partnership. He also called the Senators and the entire membership of the Association to support his administrations transformation agenda. Unable to switch on lights or heaters, cook dinner or charge their phones, South Africans are spending their mid-winter evenings plunged in darkness and low-tech living. Power outages, known here as load shedding, intensified late last month after strikes erupted at the nation's monopoly energy provider Eskom, leaving coal plants unable to operate or undergo maintenance. Electricity cuts in South Africa are a notorious, years-old problem. But the frequency of power losses -- two to three times per day and lasting up to four hours at a time -- is the worst since a bleak episode in December 2019, and many people are livid. "It's like we're back to apartheid life, whereby we're back to candles, paraffin stoves," said Rebecca Bheki-Mogotho, a Johannesburg city employee. Her comparison was with life under South Africa's former segrationist regime, which deprived the black majority of basic infrastructure and services. The leading economy on the continent, South Africa relies on coal to generate more than 80 percent of its electricity. The country has plenty of coal, but most of its plants are ageing, need repair or are scheduled to be decommissioned in the coming decades. "We didn't do what we should have done in the past five to 10 years," energy analyst Clyde Mallinson told AFP. "We've got ourselves caught in a situation where we are desperately trying to plug what's broken rather than get ahead of it." 101 days of blackouts The wage dispute that compounded the crisis concluded Tuesday with Eskom employees accepting a seven percent increase, which the electricity provider said in a statement "will be a struggle for Eskom to afford." But even with workers back on the job, Eskom warned it would "still take some time" for the system to recover due to the backlog of maintenance. South Africa's electricity provider Eskom is struggling with a mountain of debt and a portfolio of ageing coal-fired plants. By MARCO LONGARI (AFP/File) The public entity is already laden with debt and struggling to recover from years of alleged mismanagement and corruption, which made it a key entity investigated during a four-year public inquiry into state graft. To bridge the severe gap in supply, Eskom is relying on back-up gas turbines that blast through 14 litres of diesel (3.7 gallons) per second. Seven of these turbines were in operation Friday. The cost of using diesel as a substitute fuel has been stratospheric. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said the company spent 1.54 billion rand ($93.8 million) in June alone -- more than double its original budget. It has also spent more than double its annual budget for diesel only halfway into the year. The big splurge is still not enough to avoid outages that can cause havoc, from delays at intersections with downed traffic lights to faults at substations prolonging blackouts. In April, the company warned the country could see as many as 101 days of load shedding this year due to breakdowns. Delayed renewables At least 10,000 MW of renewable wind and solar energy should have been brought online since 2015 to keep pace with demand, Mallinson said. An intensive building strategy to make that up in the next two years would relieve the issue. "We have to build rapidly, like our lives depend on it," Mallinson said. Protests erupted outside Eskom's offices near Johannesburg last year after the utility announced a further round of power cuts. By Phill Magakoe (AFP) The mining industry, the country's economic backbone, has begun investing in self-generation with renewables, Henk Langenhoven, chief economist at the trade grouping Minerals Council South Africa, told AFP. "As the problems... with the core energy supply from Eskom are rising and the shortfalls are increasing, the pressure and the inclination to actually move that way is actually getting stronger," Langenhoven said. Eskom's senior officials have similarly made repeated calls for the swift development of new energy sources. But in February, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe declared coal would remain "a mainstay" for South Africa's electricity mix for the "foreseeable future". This comes despite South Africa being promised at least $8.5 billion from rich nations at the UN climate summit last November to aid its low-carbon transition. The country's energy burden is only expected to grow in the coming years. Power demands could triple by 2040 as transportation and other industries move to electrification, Mallinson said. Without rapid investment, load shedding will remain a fixture. 06.07.2022 LISTEN 4th term Member of Parliament for Offinso North Constituency Hon Augustine Collins Ntim has been admonished to voluntarily give up any decision to seek reelection as MP or face stiff contest in the party's parliamentary primaries. This admonishment comes in the heat of agitations and lamentations from a cross-section of constituents for what they described as the lack of commitment toward development and progress of the area. Hundreds of constituents over the past months have been expressing their displeasure at Hon Augustine Ntim and David Akwasi Asare Boakye as M P and DCE respectively in what they termed as poor management of the district. The latest to join the calls is the Afrancho residents' outburst in a media engagement accusing the MP in the area of taking advantage of their loyalty to the ruling NPP government to deliberately deny them development. In their reaction to the agitations by Afrancho youth, the DCE and MP for Offinso North while speaking to some radio stations in Kumasi insisted they are on track towards developing the area with roads and other infrastructural projects under contracts. But in an interview on Cruz FM Morning show, a presidential staffer in Charge of the Project Management Unit, Mr. Adu Boahen Rockson, a native of Nkenkanso said the current MP Hon. Augustine Collins Ntim who doubles as Deputy Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development has to step aside for a fresh brain to take over the leadership mantle. According to him, the MP though has done his best in serving the people of the area for almost 16 years, he sided with the majority of constituents who believes his best is not enough to earn him another term. "Our brother, AC Ntim has contributed all he can towards developing the area but it's time he make a way for someone else with fresh brains to continue from there. "In this era, it is expected of every leader world over to inspire developments in their areas, address road challenges, create job opportunities for their people, get your constituents to access government slots for employment and even welfare initiatives within the party membership to cushion them in times of distress. unfortunately, our district is lagging behind in these areas", Mr. Rockson lamented. He further bemoaned "the current deplorable state of roads in Akumadan, Nkenkanso, Seseku, Nsenoa and Afrancho as appalling and sympathized with residents of Afrancho who recently logged their complaints in the media." Adu Boahen Rockson who disclosed his intent to contest the seat in the 2024 elections believes the incumbent MP could have done better considering the number of years in service and his role in government as deputy minister was enough to lobby for roads to be fixed including other developmental projects. "I am ready to contest in the upcoming NPP primaries and lead the party in the 2024 parliamentary elections", he declared. He added that the decision to contest the seat is borne out of his passion to seek the welfare of constituents and develop the area. "I have personally engaged director of feeder roads to reconsider the contract nature of our inner roads to the challenges. I have also aided a number of youth within the district into the security services and other government agencies for employment and I am keeping that alive", the MP hopeful revealed. Residents of Ampabame No1 in the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region have abandoned a newly-constructed KVIP public toilet to defecate in the open over fears of being killed by a river deity. The ultra-modern toilet facility was under construction when the shrine was moved to its current location, close to the KVIP. Speaking to ClassFMs Ashanti Regional Correspondent Elisha Adarkwah, Assembly Member for the area, Michael Ofosuhene explained that: Thats an old town and so there are no toilet facilities in the various houses. So the Chief was trying to construct a KVIP for them to avoid defecating in plastics and discarding them in the open. He also supported the construction of the KVIP with funds but since it was constructed and commissioned, the people claim theres a deity there. According to them, the deity is demanding for some rituals to be performed else they cannot use the KVIP. He further disclosed that despite the rituals performed by the traditional authorities to enable the residents of the community use the KVIP, they prefer to engage in open defecation instead. The fetish priest in charge also revealed that he heard from his family home that the deity is demanding for 5 human beings for rituals, Mr Ofosuhene noted. He added that there have been series of stakeholder engagements and public education to sensitise residents on the use of the facility but they have declined to use the KVIP. Source: classfmonline.com 06.07.2022 LISTEN The Ghana Police Service has today, taken up the challenge to educate the public regarding demonstrations and special events in the country. The police indicated that the move has been necessitated by the occurrence of violence during the Arise Ghana Demonstration. In a Twitter post on July 6, the police stated that, per law, demonstrations, precessions and all special events to be held must have permission from the police at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled date. A letter in writing seeking permission should contain date, time and routes. Suspicion of violence by the police will mean that routes and dates must be rescheduled within 48 hours. In an impasse, the Ghana Police Service asserts that the next move will be to head to court and go by the court ruling as seen during the Arise Ghana demonstration. According to the police, failure of organizers to go by directives and abide by the law will lead to sanctions. Punishment my come in the form of fines or imprisonment or both. On June 28 and 29, members of the pressure group, Arise Ghana took to the street to protest the high cost of living in the country. On the first day, June 28, the police and demonstrators engaged in a violent clash over the route for the march. Some 12 policemen were injured from the pelting of stones compelling the police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets at the protestors. On the second day June 29, some 29 demonstrators were said to have been arrested for the destruction of public property among others. Subsequently, the Ghana Police Service said it was going to arrest organizers of the demonstration for the destruction of public property and display of violence during what was to be a peaceful demonstration. 06.07.2022 LISTEN The Kumasi Circuit Court has granted bail to a 38-year-old Nigerian, Anthony Mamah who was arrested at Alabar for allegedly selling fake Apsonic motor parts to clients in Kumasi. He is expected to reappear before the court on 20th July 2022. According to the sole agents of the product, they have been receiving complaints from a number of people, who express dissatisfaction with their products, and after conducting investigations into the matter, they realised that some other persons have been selling fake ones. The head of sales and marketing at Apsonic motors, Abdul-Karim Nasam who was in court, told Citi News the phenomenon is affecting their operations badly. We have been having difficulties with fake parts in the country. We are the sole agents of Apsonic products and of late, we have wasted and invested a lot of money to run advertisements to emphasize product quality. But we realised that most of our sister distributors (mostly those from the Nigerian community) have been copying our product case and have fake motor parts, which they also import those inferior ones and sell to the public. A lot of complaints have been coming from our clients, Abdul-Karim Nasam added. Abdul-Karim Nasam says that based on the frequency with which they were receiving complaints, they decided to trace the source of the fake products. We realised that one Nigerian had brought fake parts onto the market, but the clients do not know. When you see the case, it is green with Apsonic embossed on the products. When they buy and fix on their motors, it wont take even a month they will break down. The regional supervisor together with his team helped trace and together with his team and the police, helped to apprehend the person who is selling it and importing as well to spoil the market. The head of Ashanti regional legal and prosecutions, ACP Kofi Blagodzi believes that prosecuting the suspect could help curb the menace. We are prosecuting this case to ensure that theres sanity in our system. ---citinewsroom The Financial Intelligence Center (FIC), at a two-day workshop trained some selected journalists on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing and the raging effects if the country fails to check it. The program, which was held at the Alisa Hotel in Accra from Tuesday, July 5 to Wednesday, July 6, 2022, saw many journalists from several media houses in Accra participating. Facilitating the workshop were Mr. Seth Nana Amoako, the Head of Compliance Unit at the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Manasseh Azure Awuni, an investigative journalist, and other anti-terrorism financing and money laundering facilitators from the FIC. Mr Seth Nana Amoakoh educated the journalists about money laundering, terrorism and its financing and urged them to find interest in writing compelling stories about the effects of these criminal activities to win public support. Manasseh Azure, in his turn, encouraged his colleagues to utilize investigative skills in unearthing stories about money laundering and terrorism and their financing. He also urges journalists to adopt best strategies he outlined to unearth stories that ordinarily they may not have seen with their naked eyes. He again urged the participants to be actively involved in the program and also employ the knowledge they would acquire at the end of the training. As good journalists, it's important to use our investigative skills in dealing with matters regarding money laundering and terrorism and its financing. Such training is very useful in the exercise of our work as journalists. I have learnt many things many I didn't know. So encourage all of us to be interactive and learn from this very important Program, Manasseh Azure said. Money laundering is a financial transaction scheme that conceals the identity, source, and destination of illegally obtained funds. Terrorist financing, according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), also refers to the means and methods used by terrorist organizations to fund their operations. The Financial Intelligence Center (FIC) serves as the National Center for the receipt and analysis of suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to the predicate crimes of money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing (ML/TF & P), as well as the dissemination of actionable intelligence to competent authorities. Suspected Boko Haram jihadists using guns and explosives blasted their way into a prison near Nigeria's capital, freeing dozens of their jailed comrades and hundreds of other inmates, the government said on Wednesday. Tuesday night's brazen attack on the outskirts of Abuja came just hours after an ambush on a presidential security convoy in the northwest, in a startling illustration of Nigeria's security challenges. Residents reported a series of loud explosions and gunfire late Tuesday around the Kuje medium-security prison just 40 km (25 miles) away from the capital and the Aso Rock presidential villa. President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday briefly visited the prison, where the burnt-out wreckage of a bus and cars marked the scene of the attack, and yellow police tape was stretched across a destroyed section of the prison perimeter. Kidnappings, conflicts and insurgency in Nigeria. By Gal ROMA (AFP) "We understand they are Boko Haram, they came specifically for their co-conspirators," senior interior ministry official Shuaibu Belgore told reporters on a visit to the prison. One security official was killed when the gunmen breached the jail using high-grade explosives. Close to 600 inmates had been recaptured by Wednesday evening while less than 100 were still on the run, Nigeria's correctional services spokesman Abubakar Umar said. Boko Haram is one of the jihadist groups involved in Nigeria's grinding 13-year conflict in the country's northeast. Nigerian officials sometimes also use "Boko Haram" as a general phrase to refer to jihadists or other armed groups. 'All escaped' Defence Minister Bashir Magashi told reporters that Boko Haram militants had "mostly likely" carried out the attack and that all 64 jailed jihadists in the prison had escaped. "None of them are inside the prison, they have all escaped," he said. Commanders of another jihadist group Ansaru, including the group's chief Khalid Barnawi, had also been kept in Kuje prison since their conviction in 2017. A forensic investigator gathers cartridges fired by the gunmen. By Kola Sulaimon (AFP) "We heard shooting on my street. We thought it was armed robbers," one local Kuje resident said. "The first explosion came after the shooting. Then a second one sounded and then a third." Some prisoners surrendered while others were recaptured with military roadblocks set up around the penitentiary, officials said. Security forces sent back around 19 recaptured inmates in a black van on Wednesday morning, an AFP correspondent at the site said. Former top police commander Abba Kyari, who was being held in Kuje awaiting trial in a high-profile drug smuggling case, was still in custody, Umar said. 'Ambush positions' Nigeria's security forces are battling Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) jihadists in the country's northeast, where the conflict has killed 40,000 people and displaced 2.2 million more. Some recaptured inmates were brought back to the prison after the breakout. By Kola Sulaimon (AFP) The overstretched military is also fighting heavily armed criminal gangs known locally as bandits who terrorise communities in northwest and central states with raids and mass kidnappings for ransom. In the country's southeast, troops are dealing with separatist militias who demand an independent territory for the local ethnic Igbo people. The Kuje prison raid took place soon after gunmen also ambushed an advance presidential security detail preparing for Buhari's visit to his home state of northwestern Katsina. Buhari was not in the convoy, but two officials were slightly wounded in the attack. It was not clear who was responsible. Burnt vehicles outside Kuje prison. By Kola Sulaimon (AFP) "The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled," the presidency said in a statement. Attacks on prisons in Nigeria have happened in the past, with gunmen seeking to free inmates. More than 1,800 prisoners escaped last year after heavily armed men attacked a prison in southeast Nigeria using explosives. The attackers blasted their way into the Owerri prison in Imo state, engaging guards in a gun battle before storming the prison. Imo state lies in a region that is a hotbed for separatist groups. 06.07.2022 LISTEN Friday, June 24, 2022 Nador-Melilla tragedy caused by the unfortunate aggressive attempt by hundreds of illegal migrants to cross the iron fence separating Nador city in northern Morocco and Melilla should be a wake-up call for the world, especially African leaders. As we mourn the unfortunate death of the 23 migrants and condemn the extreme violence of the migrants and their assault strategy which led to the unfortunate incident, we must also appropriately applaud the high sense of mastery and professionalism demonstrated by the Moroccan police officers. Indeed, Morocco has always put the human element at the heart of its priorities. The tactful conduct of the officers on duty further confirms Moroccos social conscience and awareness of this noble national priority. Obviously, the African failure to deal with the illegal migration issues at the continental level is responsible for the Melilla tragedy, of which Morocco is a victim. Africa is constantly referred to as a continent that is rising. However, not every person is rising in the morning with the strength of the continents roaring economies. We have the resources to feed every man, woman and child in Africa, while also feeding people in global markets. Yet, while the continent has almost half of the worlds fertile land, Africa spends billions on annual food imports. Morocco has forged a unique, authentic and tangible South-South cooperation model which has made it possible not only to consolidate cooperation in the traditional areas of training and technical assistance but also to engage in new, strategic sectors such as food security and infrastructure development. Morocco always offers concrete solutions to African issues and pragmatic strategies for African aspirations. It is worth mentioning that, Morocco where I lived and studied with hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan countries fully assumes its responsibilities when it comes to preserving the dignity of migrants, especially those from neighbourly Africa countries. The conditions of migrants in any country are subjective to immigration policies, sociopolitical conditions of the state and the status of illegality given to them. Though Morocco serves as a buffer state for migrants from sub-Saharan countries attempting to enter Europe, the North African country has given migrants enough reasons to stay in Morocco, while also responsibly making it harder for them to get onto European soil. The Kingdom has put in place measures for immigration whereby migrants are better integrated in the Moroccan society. Moroccos migration policy plan offers equal opportunities for the migrants and improved access to economic, cultural and political rights changing the perception of migration in Moroccan society. The interest of the Kingdom in migration is neither recent nor incidental. It reflects a longstanding, voluntary commitment expressed through a policy which is humane in its philosophy, global in its substance, pragmatic in its methodology and responsible in its approach. Undeniably, Morocco has always been a home for many migrants and offers the prospect of a better life for many thanks to the solidarity, hospitality and generosity of the Moroccan people. It welcomes over 10,000 students from 42 African countries, including students with Moroccan scholarships. This cultural cooperation covers as well the Pacific Island countries that benefit annually Moroccan scholarships. It has indeed allowed hundreds of thousands of African migrants to settle in the kingdom legally, with a job, housing, education for their children and a peaceful family life. Moroccos migration policy is driven by empathy, imbued with fraternity and nurtured by compassion. Even though the economic cost of this migration policy is high, its value and impact on the immigrants is immeasurable. Moroccos vision regarding migration issues consists in anticipating the future to build orderly mobility. The Kingdoms approach consists in invariably seeking to strike a beneficial balance between realism and proactive action between the legitimate interests of States and respect for the human rights of migrants. Since, no single country can, on its own, face up to such a challenge, all Africans must work together to tackle the root causes of risky migration and offer meaningful solutions to the migration issues. Our common interest as Africans lies in working towards the adoption of pertinent, tailored responses so that our young people may realize that their future is in Africa and for Africa. Just as there is no alternative to cooperation, there is no alternative to action, either. Africa must act, and we must act now! PETER PANYIN ANAMAN PRESIDENT- GHANA MOROCCO OLD STUDENTS ASSOCIATION Burkina Faso's former leader Blaise Compaore, who was forced into exile in 2014, is expected to return to Ouagadougou shortly for a summit of ex-presidents, a government spokesman said on Wednesday. "By the end of the week, an important meeting between the former heads of state of Burkina Faso will be held towards accelerating the issue of reconciliation," spokesman Lionel Bilgo said. Compaore, 71, is "very likely and even expected" to attend, he added. A source close to the government and Compaore's entourage told AFP late Tuesday that he was to return to Burkina Faso to meet its military rulers this week. The source said he was "due to arrive on Thursday or Friday for a short stay" and would "be received by the head of state in the framework of national reconciliation". Burkina Faso. By (AFP) A source in Compaore's entourage confirmed the trip. On Wednesday, Ivory Coast government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly said Burkinabe authorities had reached out. "Burkina Faso has engaged in a reconciliation process... All arrangements are being made so that president Compaore actively participates," he said. There was no official announcement of when Compaore, who also holds Ivorian citizenship, would land. Controversial figure Compaore seized power in a coup in October 1987, on the same day that Burkina's revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara -- his former comrade-in-arms -- was gunned down by a hit squad. He went on to rule for 27 years before being forced out by popular protests, supported by the army, over his bid to stay in power. He seized power on the day that Burkina Faso's revolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara, was gunned down. By DOMINIQUE FAGET (AFP) On April 6 this year, he was sentenced in absentia to life in prison by a military court for his role in Sankara's assassination. His return appears to be aimed at shoring up unity at a time when the ruling junta is struggling with a deep crisis. The impoverished, landlocked Sahel state is being battered by a nearly seven-year-old jihadist campaign that has claimed several thousand lives and forced almost two million people from their homes. Forty percent of the country is out of the government's control, a representative of the regional bloc ECOWAS said last month. In January, soldiers disgruntled at failures to stem the insurgency staged a coup, forcing out the elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore. The new strongman, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, was sworn in as president in March. Damiba declared security to be his top priority but after a relative lull, attacks resumed, with the loss of hundreds of lives. In June, 86 people were massacred in the northern border village of Seytenga while at least 34 people were killed in two attacks last weekend. Presidential talks The planned meeting of former leaders will "share energies and synergies... to effectively fight the tragedy striking us but also to reduce internal rifts," said Bilgo. Other former presidents invited to the talks are Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo who was in power from 1982 to 1983, Isaac Zida who briefly took power in 2014 and is currently in exile in Canada, Michel Kafando who was in power from 2014 to 2015, and Kabore himself. On Wednesday, Sankara's lawyers called on judicial authorities to ensure Compaore was arrested as soon as he set foot in Burkina Faso. Coup leader Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, pictured at ceremonies in March where he was sworn in as transitional president. By OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT (AFP) In a statement, the president's office said the talks were an "important meeting for the life of the nation" but "do not impede judicial action that has been undertaken against certain individuals." A source close to the president's office said Compaore would be accommodated in a villa in Ouagadougou that had been used for Kabore when he was placed under a house arrest after the January coup. Compaore supporters on social media have called for a show of support at Ouagadougou airport on Friday morning. Former Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Mr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, has intimated that if he were the finance minister or ever become one in future, he will hand over Ghanas economy to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He said he believes the intervention of the IMF always helps the country's economy to grow better than it is being managed by us. "If I am Finance Minister, I will park the economy at the IMF. It brings discipline. From 2015-2019 we were under a Fund programme. All the successes the NPP chalked 2017-2019, they chalked those successes under a [Mahama] fund programme. That programme was supposed to end in 2018 and the NPP extended it by one year," he said Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Citi TV on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, monitored by Modernghana News, the former Member of Parliament for New Juaben South cited the last IMF move under Mahama's administration as the reason for the success of Akufo-Addos first term in government (2017 to 2021). He added that the current economic challenges started happening soon after Ghana exited the IMF completely . "I argue that when the IMF are in town, we get things done right. If you go back to the programme we had under Atta Mills 2009 - 2012....fantastic. The macro indices at the time, the best we have seen in a long time between 2009 and 2012. The moment the Fund left in 2012, everything went berserk. If I were Finance Minster I'll park the economy at IMF," he emphasised. Teaching and learning in pre-tertiary schools across the country are set to be on hold following an inconclusive meeting between the leadership of the striking teacher unions and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations Ministry. On Monday, July 4, 2022, four teacher unions including the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) declared an indefinite strike over the governments failure to pay COLA to members who they argue are struggling to survive. As part of efforts by the government to get the teachers back to the classrooms to teach, the Ministry in charge of Employment and Labour Relations hosted the leadership of the four unions at a meeting in Accra today. Speaking to Citi News in an interview this evening after the meeting, NAGRAT President Eric Angel Carbonou says no agreement was reached. As a result, the strike is to continue until further notice. The meeting was inconclusive. We have not been able to come to an understanding or an agreement. As Im talking to you we dont see that there is any commitment to find solutions to the problem. They indicated they will be inviting us. We told them even if they invite us 12 midnight today we will be there. Officially we are still on strike and the strike continues, Eric Angel Carbonou shared. Engaging journalists after the meeting, Deputy Employment and Labour Relations Minister Bright Wireko-Brobbey assured that further engagements will be held to find a resolution to the matter. He appealed to the striking teachers to reconsider their demand for 20% COLA, arguing that the struggling times the country finds itself makes things difficult for the government. What we mean is that times are hard because of this global effects on everything and Im a citizen of Ghana, I bear the brunt, I go to the same market as you, I buy fuel. So times are hard. Thats what we call their demand legitimate. Except that because of the hard times we are pleading with them to understand that when things normalise some of these things will be taken care of like we have done in the past, Bright Wireko-Brobbey told journalists. President Nana Akufo-Addo Wednesday launched a $10 million Tourism Grant to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to transform the tourism sector and stimulate economic growth. The Grant is being provided by the International Development Association of the World Bank Group to support Ghana's Government's Tourism Development Project, an initiative to improve tourism performance, upgrade tourism sites and capacities of players in the sector and increase tourism revenues. The grant will revitalize the tourism sector that has been heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some 1,500 SMEs are expected to benefit from the arrangement, which will target mostly women who are majority of the operators in the sector. Speaking at the launch of the Grant in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said the disbursement of the Grant is in line with the government's efforts to support SMEs in the Tourism and Arts value chain to recover quickly from impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and help create jobs for the people. He noted that the hospitality and creative arts sectors were a significant part of the national economy adversely affected by the pandemic, resulting in a 75 per cent decline in international tourism arrivals in 2020 and a 45 per cent reduction in 2021. Thus, it was imperative that the requisite support is offered the sector to drive recovery, he said. The President said that the Government's comprehensive handling of the pandemic and the introduction of tourism-specific measures was enabling the rebound of the sector. The Government, he said, was committed to building a conducive business environment that enhances entrepreneurship to drive economic activity and transform the fortunes of the country. Government remains committed to ensure that the private sector is able to function effectively by building an ecosystem that creates opportunities for businesses to grow and create jobs for the youth, he said. President Akufo-Addo charged players in the tourism, hospitality, and creative arts sectors to institute good corporate governance practices in their businesses to attract investors. "Even though Ghana can boost of several well-round companies that have demonstrated commitment to good corporate governance, poor corporate governance has been sighted as the major factor that has led to the collapse of many businesses in the country". "As Ghanaian companies compete globally to attract foreign investment partnerships, they must be guided by the fact that investors are prepared to pay a premium for shares in a well governed company. "The onus is thus on business owners to position their businesses properly for foreign investment by ensuring that they implement and practice good corporate governance," he advised. The President commended that World Bank for supporting the Ghana Tourism Development project. We continue to value the partnership of the World Bank in our development journey, he said. The Country Director of the World Bank, Pierre Laporte said the funding for the tourism development project by the institution was a sign of growing relations between Ghana and the World Bank. He said the project was a perfect vehicle through which Ghana can grow its economy in the face of the global recession and charged grant recipients to apply the funds wisely. Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture reiterated the government's commitment to resource the tourism sector to enable it to contribute effectively to national transformation and growth He called on industry players to take advantage of the grant, access it and use the funds judiciously to grow their businesses. GNA The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Buem constituency in the Oti Region, Mr Kofi Iddie Adams is appealing for the adoption and upgrading of the Fr Dogli Memorial Vocational and Technical Institute located at New Ayoma in the Jasikan Diocese into a model institution as part of governments Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) transformation agenda. According to him, upgrading the school will greatly honour the memory of an illustrious son of the land- the Very Reverend Fr. Anastasius Odaye Kofi Dogli, who is the first indigenous Catholic priest of the Gold Coast now Ghana. The Buem lawmaker who made the appeal on the floor of parliament in a statement to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the ordination of Fr Dogli as a priest on July 2, 1922 at Cape Coast said the late priest inspired many into the priesthood and formal education. He has therefore appealed to the Minister for Education and the Administrator of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) to help address the infrastructure needs of the school which was established by the Jasikan Diocese of the catholic church in 1997 in memory of the illustrious indigene. I wish to take this opportunity to appeal to the Minister of Education and the Administrator of GETFUND to support the infrastructural needs of this great school. It will not be out of place Mr. Speaker for government to adopt and upgrade this school as one of the programmed TVETs institutions in the country in honor of this respected patriot, Mr Adams stated. In paying glowing tributes to the memory of Fr Dogli, Mr Kofi Adams said he (Fr Dogli) defied all odds to higher heights through God and encouraged students of the school to imbibe ethics of hard work and commitment to God as championed by the great Fr Dogli of blessed memory. He described Fr Dogli as a "saint who braved the challenges of life and left a legacy of hope, and tenacity of purpose. Mr Adam stressed, Mr. Speaker, you will agree with me that we are celebrating the life and ministry of a distinguished son and priest of this country from Buemland. He is our ancestor; and I dare to say also that he is our saint who braved the challenges of life and left us a legacy of courage, hope, and tenacity of purpose. The Buem MP expressed the hope that all citizens pursue the will of God in their quest to achieve their objectives. "It is my hope that we can also trust in the Lord our God, walk in the light of his word, do his good will as we forge ahead to fulfill our individual and collective dreams. As a minister of the Gospel, Fr. Dogli fought a good fight of faith. He finished the race. "We are confident that the Lord, the just judge, has granted him a seat among the angels and saints at the table of the heavenly banquet," he concluded. Fr Dogli was born in Baglo-Buem in August 1888, ordained as a priest on July 2, 1922 and died on May 28, 1970 after 48years in priesthood. The Jasikan Diocese under the leadership of Most Reverend Gabriel Akwasi Ababio Mante as Bishop is organizing a series of activities to commemorate the centenary memorial of his ordination as a priest. The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Wednesday, 6th July 2022, commissioned the first batch of forty-five (45) buses out of one hundred (100) VDL Intercity buses procured for use by the Metro Mass Transit Ltd. Speaking at the event, President Akufo-Addo stated that the event is significant particularly because it has provided the country with an opportunity to boost further the capacity of the public transportation system. According to the President, the presence of an efficient transportation system is a vital contributor to the growth of the economy, and, as President of the Republic, I have made it a priority to re-launch the Metro Mass Transport system throughout the regional capitals through sustained investments in infrastructure and services. He continued, The Minister for Transport tells me this project is being implemented in phases, with the first phase covering the purchase of a total of one hundred (100) buses, and after-sales-services support and sufficient spare parts to restore some fifty (50) broken down buses. In addition to this, the President noted that technical assistance, in the form of a grant from the Belgian Government, is also being provided to cover training of drivers and maintenance staff, and operational support to the company. Expressing his appreciation and gratitude to the Belgian Government for providing both financial and technical support for the buses, President Akufo-Addo noted that the Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of Belgium have a long-standing relationship, which has transitioned into many strategic partnerships in key sectors of the economy, in particular in the road transport services sector. In fact, under the administration of the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, that outstanding Ghanaian statesman, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, some five hundred and thirteen (513) VDL intercity buses were supplied to Metro Mass Transit Ltd. through a concessionary financing from the Belgian Government. I am informed that the Belgian Government is extending yet another concessionary financing for the acquisition of some fifty (50) buses every year for the next five (5) years to augment further the fleet of the company. This is truly timely, and I urge all players to work assiduously, as we seek to revamp fully the operations of MMTL, he said. Re-echoing the words of the Minister for Transport, President Akufo-Addo bemoaned the neglect and mishandling of public assets, which, unfortunately, has eaten into Ghanas social fabric, and represents an enormous drain on national resources. I, therefore, urge the Board and Management to take steps to ensure that these buses, which I am commissioning today, stand the test of time. It is good to see that Metro Mass Transit Ltd is reclaiming its status as a critical public transportation service provider, which serves the Ghanaian people with dedication, the President added. Ethiopian authorities should unconditionally release journalist Abebe Bayu and all other members of the press held for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. At about 10 p.m. on June 29, men in civilian clothes who identified themselves as security personnel arrested Abebe at his home in Addis Ababa, the capital, according to two people familiar with his case who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns, and reports by the privately owned media outlets Addis Standard and Asham TV. Abebe, a reporter and analyst with the YouTube-based outlet Ethio Forum, was arrested one day after Yayesew Shimelis, the outlets administrator, was similarly detained by plainclothes security personnel, as CPJ reported at the time. The two people who spoke to CPJ, who are also familiar with Yayesews case, s aid that authorities had not disclosed the locations of either journalist or the reason for their arrests. Ethiopian journalist Abebe Bayu has been detained for a week, and the silence around his whereabouts is distressing and sends a clear message that authorities will not hesitate to run roughshod on the rights of critical journalists, said CPJs sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. Ethiopian authorities should hold accountable those responsible for Abebes arbitrary detention, and ensure that he and his colleague Yayesew Shimelis are released without delay. That Addis Standard report alleged that Abebe was being held in Awash Arba, a town in Afar state. CPJ was unable to independently confirm that report, which was based on unidentified recently released detainees. Ethio Forum has a history of critical journalism, and both Yayesew and Abebe have been arrested several times over the last two years, including in mid-2021 when they were held for weeks at a military camp in the town of Awash Sebat Kilo, in Afar state, according to CPJs previous documentation and media reports. Ethio Forums YouTube page has not published any new reports since May 26, and one of the people who spoke to CPJ said that this was in part due to Abebes own safety concerns. Separately, privately owned Feteh magazine chief editor Temesgen Desalegn was detained on May 26 and was granted bail by a federal court on July 4, but remains in detention; his lawyer has filed a complaint requesting his release, according to news reports and a Facebook post by Temesgens brother Tariku Desalegn. Temesgen is charged with disclosing military secrets in his writing, which carries up to five years in prison; disseminating inaccurate, hateful, or subversive information calculated to demoralize the public, which carries up to 10 years; and disseminating false information with the intent to cause mutiny or distrust among the military, which can carry up to life in prison, according to court documents reviewed by CPJ and the Ethiopian criminal code. Authorities say the violations were committed in issues of Feteh published between January 2019 and March 2022, according to those documents. CPJ emailed and sent requests for comment via Facebook and Twitter to the Ethiopian federal police, the Addis Ababa police, and the federal Ministry of Justice, but did not receive any replies. Federal police spokesperson Jeylan Abdi did not immediately respond to a query sent via messaging app, while calls to the Addis Ababa police and federal police rang unanswered. Information Minister Legesse Tulu and Deputy Information Minister Kebede Desisas phones rang unanswered, and queries sent via text message and messaging app did not receive an immediate response. Article 19 of Ethiopias constitution requires authorities to produce detainees in court within 48 hours of their arrest and to inform them of the reason for their detention, and Article 21 grants those held in custody the right to access their legal counsel and family. Article 86 of Ethiopias 2021 media law stipulates that people accused of committing offenses through the media should not be held in detention without being charged with a crime. Graphite and battery materials stock Talga Group Ltd [ASX:TLG] updated the market on new drill results at its Sweden graphite project. TLG shares rose as high as 8% in early trade before tailing off by the afternoon. After reaching an all-time high of $2.23 in November last year, the TLG stock has retraced, down 30% year to date. Source: Tradingview.com Talgas Niska Link graphite drill results Today, Talga announced it completed initial drilling of the 2km-long Niska Link site in northern Sweden at its 100%-owned Vittangi graphite. Talgas Niska drilling program consisted of 36 holes along the 2km range between Niska Northern and Southern known graphite deposits first discovered in October 2021. TLG completed its first assay results using 13 drillholes and confirmed high-grade graphite mineralisation with maximum values reaching 46% Cg at 14.7m. Source: Talga Further results from the Vittangi Graphite Resource Project will be due for release in August. Talgas resource growth strategy Talga also reiterated its strategy in todays update. TLG plans to build a vertically integrated operation to supply graphite anode products to lithium-ion battery manufactures. Talga cited figures suggesting Europe will require around 1 million tonnes of anode per year by 2031. TLG revealed that 20 battery manufacturers have received Talgas anode samples as part of offtake and financing arrangements in preparation for commercial production in 2024. Talga said its ongoing drilling campaigns are designed to increase its graphite resource. Commenting on the resource expansion target, Talga said: The resource revision aims to further define what is Europes largest and highest-grade graphite mineral resource to support and optimise potential future anode production expansions. Source: Talga Now, while lithium has snatched much attention away from other battery metals, the mass adoption of EVs is set to boost demand in metals like copper, nickel, cobalt, and graphite. In fact, the flood of capital into the lithium sector is making our team at Money Morning think theres a much smarter way to play the EV boom. It involves what you can call lithiums little brother. Regards, Kiryll Prakapenka, For Money Morning Range anxietylong charging times These are some of the common complaints and fears youll usually hear regarding electric vehicles (EVs). But recently, an electric Mercedes beat the range record. The Vision EQXX drove 1,200 km from Germany to the UK in less than 15 hours and in one charge. Whats more, the Mercedes actually beat its own previous record. Only a couple months before, the EV had travelled from Germany to Cassis, France 1,000 km on one charge. Both trips were done in normal driving conditions. The Mercedes drove through rain and shine, through flat terrain and the Alps. It travelled through busy city traffic and sped through the Autobahn at 140 km per hour. How did Mercedes achieve this? Well, it was through a combination of efficiency, aerodynamics, and battery innovations. It all started a couple of years ago when Mercedes set out on a mission: to build the most efficient Mercedes ever made. As they said, they wanted to push efficiency to the absolute limit. So one thing they did was look at nature and the elements for help. For example, they looked at how birds and fish optimise their shapes to their advantage. They used the Sun to gain up to 25 km in range by adding ultra-thin solar panels onto the roof. And they utilised the wind in their favour by adding sensors that check wind speed. When the wind is blowing in the same direction as the vehicle, it tells the driver to take their foot off the pedal and coast. Clearly, theres a lot to it. You can follow the full story here. But while the Vision EQXX is still a prototype, Mercedes says theyll be using some of its innovations and efficiencies in the cars theyre producing. As Adam Allsopp from Mercedes put it: Completing the journey from Stuttgart to Silverstone on a single charge with even greater efficiency really evidences some great progress in accelerating the technologies underpinning our electrification strategy. But one thing that caught my eye about the whole story was the cars battery The battery is the most important part of an EV In a way, achieving a 1,200 km range isnt that hard, you can just add a bigger battery to the EV. But one thing Mercedes made clear is that they didnt want to have a big, heavy battery. They wanted one that would fit into a compact vehicle. Whats impressive is that the Vision EQXX achieved this range with a 100-kwh battery pack the same as a Tesla Model S, which can achieve around 400 miles (640 km) on one charge. That is, Mercedes doubled the Tesla S range with their innovations. Instead of increasing the size, Mercedes created a whole new battery. The Vision EQXX battery is half the size and 30% lighter than the one used by the all-electric Mercedes EQS. Whats more, the battery achieves a 95% efficiency. In other words, 95% of the energy created in the battery reaches the wheels. To put that in perspective, the most efficient petrol car only achieves 30% efficiency. But much of the improved capacity comes from the anodes. You see, each battery cell has three main parts: the cathode, the anode, and the electrolyte. The cathode is the positive side, which, depending on the cell chemistry can be made of different refined materials that include lithium but also combinations of nickel, cobalt, manganese, iron, and aluminium. The electrolyte transports positively charged lithium ions from the cathode to the anode and back again as the battery charges and discharges. And then theres the anode (negative side), which is usually made of graphite. Along with decreasing the battery weight, Mercedes used state-of-the-art silicon anodes to increase its battery capacity. In theory, silicon has an energy capacity 10-times higher than graphite, so they can increase an EVs range. But, of course, silicon also has its problems. Silicone can expand to 400% of its size during the charging. This can lead to cracking, energy loss, and degradation. For a while now, companies have been experimenting with silicone in the battery to improve battery performance. But my point is Nothing is set in stone when it comes to the EV battery While you may be hearing plenty about lithium and battery metals, battery technology is constantly evolving. And the exact chemistry is yet to be determined. Theres lots of research going on out there to develop more efficient and higher range batteries. So while things are looking gloomy in the economy out there, remember, theres still plenty of opportunity in the battery sector that goes beyond lithium. In fact, thats a point my colleague Callum Newman made recently. Hes just put together a report on his three favourite battery plays. You can access them here. Until next week, Selva Freigedo, For Money Morning Selva is also the Editor of New Energy Investor, a newsletter that looks for opportunities in the energy transition. For information on how to subscribe, click here. July 06, 2022 Will Johnson Finally Fall? Let me admit that I do not understand the details of the political process within British parties. So I do not know if the Tories can force Boris Johnson out of Downing Street No. 10 or not. Over the last 24 hours some 26 government officials from his party resigned over the latest of his many lies: The current row is the scandal over Dickensianly-named Charles Pincher. But Johnson had already taken another hit when and both seats they had held, one previously considered safe, the other snatched from Labour in 2019. It didnt help that Johnson seemed more interested in bolstering Zelensky than fellow MPs, or that he was in Rwanda the day of the special elections. Pincher resigned from the post of deputy chief whip on June 30 due to allegations of sexual misconduct. No. 10 claimed that Johnson had not known Pincher had faced charges of similar impropriety in 2019, at the Foreign Office. That story blew up over the weekend. But Johnson seems unimpressed: Mr Johnson defied calls to resign despite the scathing attack and a fresh wave of ministerial resignations and signs that support from Tory backbenchers is ebbing away. The prime minister told MPs the colossal mandate he had been handed in 2019 meant he should keep going despite the difficult circumstances. Later today the 1922 Committee, the parliament group of the conservatives, will vote on some rule changes that should allow to vote Boris out by next week. Kitty Donaldson @kitty_donaldson - 10:20 UTC Jul 6, 2022 EXC: The 1922 Committee will meet at 5 pm and if it's quorate in favour of changing the leadership rules it will do so and there could be a ballot on Johnson's leadership next week. But what happens when he does not move even after that happens? During the 2019 Brexit fight in the conservative party several Tories voted against Johnson's course. He threw them out of the party and arranged for new election which he then won by a good margin. Mikey Smith @mikeysmith - 12:22 UTC Jul 6, 2022 Well-placed source convinced Boris Johnson wont quit, even if the 22 change the rules, and he loses a VONC. Instead, hell claim he has a mandate from 14m voters, and will threaten to force an election - but not before deselecting everyone who voted against him. Could he now try something similar? He probably could but by now the Tories would likely lose a general election. Energy prices are through the roof and few can still afford to pay for them. Johnson is the billionaires useful idiot. Their donations have put and kept him in office. But even they will at some point cut their support and select some other corrupt but populous idiot to do what they says. That may even be Ken Starmer, the current Labour leader who has castrated the party of any radical thought by throwing out its Corbyn supporters. The policy differences between 'moderate Tories' and the defanged Labour are smaller than many perceive. A Prime Minister Starmer might well turn out to be just another liar like Tony Blair. Two world wars and the Suez crisis have destroyed Britain's imperial state. Brexit has finished it off: Brexit was just a convulsion, as the United Kingdom went through the psychological trauma of accepting its change in status from great power to reasonably senior European state. There is a great treatise to be written on this and the consequent wave of populist English nationalism. You may like to note the constant Tory use of the phrase world-leading in risible circumstances, the fact that even yesterday Starmer felt the need to comment on government collapse while planted between three Union Jacks, the constant militarism and fetishisation of the armed forces on TV, and the desire for reflected glory by fighting a great war to the blood of the very last Ukrainian. ... Johnson is just a part of a process. As the power of an Empire disintegrates, so do its mores. Since the second world war, over sixty states have become independent of British rule. ... As the UKs military, economic and political power have collapsed, so have its political mores both for good and for bad. Johnson is but a turd spewed to the top of the gushing sewer of British decline. It was Boris Johnson who at the end of March pressed the Ukrainian president Zelensky into ending negotiations with Russia and into prolonging the war in his country. That was a crime for which both should receive severe punishment. A shameful forced removal from office is not sufficient as such. Posted by b on July 6, 2022 at 15:33 UTC | Permalink Comments next page Amy Harris/Amy Harris/Invision/AP DETROIT (AP) Guitar icon Carlos Santana collapsed on stage during a show in Michigan and was rushed to a hospital, later blaming the episode on forgetting to eat or drink water. Santana, 74, was doing well Wednesday after being taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, some 40 miles northwest of Detroit, to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation Tuesday night, manager Michael Vrionis in a statement. BRUSSELS (AP) European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that the 27-nation European Union needs to make emergency plans to prepare for a complete cut-off of Russian gas in the wake of the Kremlins war in Ukraine. It is obvious: (Russian President Vladimir) Putin continues to use energy as a weapon. This is why the Commission is working on a European emergency plan, she told legislators in Strasbourg, France. The EU has already imposed sanctions on Russia, including on some energy supplies, and is steering away from Kremlin-controlled deliveries. But the head of the EU's executive branch said the bloc needed to be ready for shock disruptions coming from Moscow, and said the first plans would be presented by the middle of the month. If worst comes to worst, then we have to be prepared, she said, hoping to avoid the chaotic scenes, and the my-country-first attitude that some member states showed early on in the COVID-19 pandemic response. Energy, and the prospect of a winter without enough heating for homes or power to keep factories going, could now pose a similar challenge to EU solidarity and a source for populist-spawned division. It is very important to have a European overview and a coordinated approach to a potential complete cut off of Russian gas, von der Leyen said. A dozen members have already been hit by reductions or full cuts in gas supplies as the political standoff with Moscow over the Ukraine invasion intensifies. Highlighting the potential challenges ahead, Germany said last week it suspects that Russia may not resume natural gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after planned maintenance work in July, complicating the outlook for this winter. Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom blamed a technical problem for the reduction in gas flowing through Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The company said equipment maintenance was affected by Western sanctions. European Union countries already agreed last month that all natural gas storage in the 27-nation bloc should be topped up to at least 80% capacity for next winter to avoid shortages during the cold season. The new regulation also says underground gas storage on EU soil will need to be filled to 90% capacity before the 2023-24 winter. Von der Leyen said that the storage stood at 55% a week ago, adding that liquefied natural gas deliveries from the United States had already tripled. The war in Ukraine has prompted the 27-nation bloc to rethink its energy policies and sever ties with Russian fossil fuels. Member countries have agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end in addition to a ban on imports of Russian coal that will start in August. The EU has not included gas a fuel used to power factories and generate electricity in its own sanctions for fear of seriously harming the European economy. Before the war in Ukraine, it relied on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas. To slash its use of Russian energy, the European Commission has been diversifying suppliers. In the meantime, the average monthly import of Russian pipeline gas is declining by 33% compared with last year, von der Leyen said as she called for a speedy transition toward renewable sources of energy. Some say, in the new security environment after Russias aggression, we have to slow down the green transition. This transition would come at the the cost of basic security, they say. The opposite is true. If we all do nothing but compete about limited fossil fuels, the prices will further explode and fill Putins war chest," she said. Renewables are home-grown. They give us independence from Russian fossil fuels. They are more cost-efficient. And they are cleaner." The EU Council agreed last month to raise the share of renewables in the blocs energy mix to at least 40% by 2030 up from the previous target of 32%. In addition, a 9% energy consumption reduction target for 2030 will become binding on all EU member states for the first time. ROME (AP) A convicted mobster who was one of Italy's most-wanted fugitives and reputedly one of the world's most powerful drug brokers, arrived in Rome Wednesday, extradited by Brazil after 28 years on the lam. Rocco Morabito held the No. 2 position on the list of Italys most wanted and dangerous mobsters. He was convicted two decades ago in absentia of drug trafficking as part of the ndrangheta organized crime syndicate, which does billions of euros (dollars) in cocaine business. Italian police describe him as one of the world's top drug brokers. Morabito, 55, must serve a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted in absentia by a court in Milan in 2001. He was arrested in May 2021 by Brazilian police in a joint operation with Italian and U.S. investigators. Morabito had earlier been arrested in Uruguay in 2017, but escaped from prison there two years later. Italian police have been searching for him since 1994. Calabria-based anti-Mafia prosecutors say Morabito played a big role in cocaine trafficking between South America and Milan, a key distribution point for the drug to be sold elsewhere in Italy and across Europe. In addition to drug trafficking, Morabito has been convicted in Italy of mafia association. When he was captured in 2017 in Uruguay, Morabito was living in a luxury villa in a seaside resort using an alias and a false Brazilian passport, authorities said at the time. During his arrest in a Montevideo hotel, police also seized a 9mm gun, 13 cell phones and a stash of cash, as well as a Mercedes coupe. Still No. 1 on Italys list of most-wanted mafia bosses is Matteo Messina Denaro, considered to still wield top power in Cosa Nostra in Sicily despite being a fugitive since 1993. In recent decades, the ndrangheta has eclipsed the Sicilian Mafia in power and scope, spreading its branches throughout much of Europe as it launders cocaine revenues by infiltrating or buying up legitimate businesses like restaurants and hotels, investigations have found. A small army of turncoats helped prosecutors put many Cosa Nostra bosses behind bars for life. The ndrangheta, built around strong family ties, has been less hurt by devastating betrayals of crime clan loyalties. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) Nearly 900 inmates escaped in a jailbreak in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city, officials said Wednesday, blaming the attack on Islamic extremist rebels. At least 443 of the 879 escapees are still missing, Umar Abubakar, a spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service said, while hundreds of others have either been recaptured or turned themselves in at police stations. Officials will track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody, said Abubakar. Later Wednesday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visited the prison where senior officials showed him around the facility. He then tweeted he was saddened by the attack and disappointed with Nigerias intelligence system. How can terrorists organize, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?" Buhari asked. The very determined rebels attacked the Kuje maximum prison in Abuja on Tuesday night with very high-grade explosives, killing one guard on duty, according to Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary of Nigeria's Ministry of Interior. Explosions and gunfire were heard at about 10 p.m. in the Kuje area when the attackers arrived and forced their way into the prison through a hole created by the blasts. The Islamic extremist rebels who attacked the prison have waged an insurgency in the countrys northeast for over a decade. Their attack on the detention facility freed many of their members who are inmates, prison officials said. We understand they are Boko Haram. They came specifically for their co-conspirators, said Belgore. The Kuje maximum security prison had nearly 1,000 inmates including 64 suspects of the Boko Haram extremist group all of whom have escaped, said Maj. Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi, Nigerias Minister of Defense. He told reporters that security officials on the ground did their best to prevent the jailbreak. We are trying to see what we can do to ensure that all escapees are brought back, he said. As of Wednesday morning, bullet shells lay scattered around the prison premises while helicopters hovered over the Kuje area as security agents combed nearby bushes in search of escapees. A number of vehicles were razed during the late-night shootout. Some recaptured inmates lay on the ground by the prison entrance near the bodies of those who died in the attack. The Abuja jailbreak occurred around the same time that gunmen launched a daring attack on an advance security convoy preparing for the visit of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in the northwest Katsina state. Those attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, a presidential spokesman said. Nigeria's jihadi rebels and other armed groups have carried out several jailbreaks in the country's northeast in recent years, but this is the first in the capital city in recent years. In 2021 more than 2,500 inmates were freed in three jailbreaks. At least 4,307 inmates have escaped from Nigeria's prisons since 2017, Lagos-based online newspaper TheCable reported this month, based on compiled media reports. Most of Nigeria's recent jailbreaks seem unconnected although the attacks are carried out in a similar manner using explosives, according to security analysts. A good number of those who have escaped in such attacks were awaiting trial. Nigerian prisons hold 70,000 inmates but only about 20,000, or 27%, have been convicted, according to government data. Nigeria's extremist insurgency, carried out by Boko Haram and an offshoot known as the Islamic State West Africa Province, is blamed for violence that has caused the deaths of more than 35,000 people and displaced more than 2 million people, according to the U.N. The prolonged instability, hunger and lack of health services caused by the insurgency have indirectly caused the deaths of more than 300,000 additional people, says the U.N. The extremists' violence is the most serious security challenge in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with 206 million people, which also is battling violence in the northwest area by rebellious herdsmen and a separatist movement in the country's south. Uganda urges UN refugee agency to support environmental protection drive Xinhua) 11:24, July 06, 2022 KAMPALA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday urged the United Nations to support the country's environmental protection efforts by providing refugees with alternative means of energy for cooking instead of wood fuel. Museveni made the appeal while meeting with outgoing UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Country Representative Joel Boutroue, according to a State House statement. Experts say the over 1.5 million refugees in Uganda are exerting pressure on the environment in areas where they are hosted. Uganda is the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa and the third in the world after Turkey and Colombia, according to UNHCR figures. "Refugees are our people. Our tribes are the same. There is no way we can discriminate against them. We however need support to deal with the relief and other logistics including protecting the environment," Museveni said. Boutroue described Uganda's relatively inclusive refugee policy as exemplary and called for more attention and support from the United Nations to this country. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Swimwear and food and drink containers are seen discarded near the area where the abandoned boat is marked with caution sign in Tumon Bay. Recently the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which granted women the constitutional right to abortion, and the other ruling nullified a century-old New York law that forbids New Yorkers from carrying firearms in public. Both rulings are despicable as they will only severely undermine the health and security of millions of Americans Righting the Wrong Over the past two weeks, the Supreme Court passed two rulings that history will recall as the most infamous and extremely dangerous for the American people. Last Friday, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 50-year-old ruling that enshrined a womans right to an abortion, which violates their right to choose and acutely compromises their health and wellbeing. The other ruling, overturning New Yorks 100-year-old gun licensing law, put in harms way millions of New Yorkers and other Americans in states with similar laws, as more firearms will be easily accessible. More people will be killed, deliberately or accidentally, as a result of this thoughtless and reckless ruling. The saddest aspect of the Courts first decision, however, is the sharp turn the Court has taken to become deeply ideological and intensely religious, and it will now likely target other civil rights legislation, including same-sex marriage. To be sure, the Court, which has been held in the highest esteem, has now not only lost its reputation but has also abdicated its responsibility and compromised its credibility to render justice, which was the hallmark of the Court. Overturning Roe v. Wade In a May 2022 poll, two-thirds of Americans said they did not support overturning Roe, albeit a similar percentage believe there should be some restrictions on abortion access (ranging from only allowed in cases of rape/incest/to save the mothers life, to permitting it up to the first six months). Only 9 percent believe abortion should be banned under any and all circumstances. Yet, the Supreme Court ruled against established precedent and against the will of the American people to overturn Roe, only to further their own personal religious beliefs. This is religious extremism, plain and simple, inflicted upon a religiously diverse nation that is supposed to be governed under the principle of separation between church and state. It is truly astonishing and alarming to see how far the nations principles have fallen. The overturning of Roe means that abortion will be all but banned in nearly half of the states. Womens healthcare will suffer as a result of this irresponsible and shameful Supreme Court decision. Just imagine, if physicians know they may go to prison for many years because they crossed the line say, by ending a pregnancy that endangered the life of the mother then doctors will go nowhere near that line and consequently many women will likely die. This Court decision will also have ripple effects that go well beyond abortion. The ruling dismisses 50 years of Supreme Court precedence, and in doing so it undermines the right to privacy and personal autonomy which has been used as the backbone of Roe and other rulings, and raises concerns over the future of other civil rights legislation, including same-sex marriage and relationships, access to contraception, and more, as explicitly cited by Clarence Thomas in his opinion. Tragically, overturning Roe v. Wade and banning abortion in a number of states, predominantly across the South, will not stop abortions, but only restrict access to them and make them unsafe. Abortion access should not be a privilege granted only to the wealthy or well-connected, who will always have the resources to travel for abortion care and/or take time off of work to do so. Indeed, it is low-income and marginalized people who will be the most impactedthe mother with two children who already struggles to put food on the table; the underage victim of incest who should not be forced to carry the burden imposed upon them by their rapist and whose body is not developed enough to carry a pregnancy; the transgender man who already faces a heightened risk of violence just for being transgender, and for whom pregnancy can exacerbate gender dysphoria; the woman whose desperately-wanted pregnancy is putting her life at risk due to sepsis, placental abruption, or some other condition; and more. Some anti-abortion advocates speak about the consequences of becoming pregnant, as in If a girl gets pregnant, she must face the consequences. What cruelty, to speak of potential human life as a consequenceto the prospective parent and to the future child itself. Using a living person as punishment for another persons actions will cause a great emotional and financial burden on the parent, and for the child, it is even worseto grow up in a home unwanted and unloved causes untold emotional trauma for a child, which impacts their emotional well-being throughout adulthood as well. This sick and twisted mindset of the six conservative Supreme Court Justices only damages people, and for what? Sadly, it is clear that for many on the right, cruelty is the point. The people impacted by abortion bans will be pushed further into poverty, deteriorated health, and worse. The American people cannot and must not stand for this appalling act and never cease to protest make their voices heard to ensure that at a minimum the individual states will be far more prudent and commit to protecting womens rights where the Supreme Court failed miserably. Gun Control The other contemptible ruling of the Supreme Court relates to gun control, especially egregious in the wake of recent mass shootings that have claimed the lives of 67 Americans and injured a further 265 in the past month alone. In this case, the Court struck down a century-old New York law requiring those seeking to carry firearms in public to demonstrate need. The law was overturned with Justice Clarence Thomas writing the majority opinion, arguing that the provision was inconsistent with the Second Amendment. In other words, at a time when the country is literally consuming itself with gun violence, when mass shootings have reached epidemic proportions when gun violence is the leading cause of death among children in this country, the Supreme Court has decided to make it easier for people to carry guns in public. And this ruling will not affect New York alone: many states have similar laws on the books, and they are all now scrambling to revise these laws so that they honor the Courts ruling while maintaining restrictions wherever possible. To grasp just how epidemic mass shootings have become in this country: since the shooting rampage in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, which left twenty-two dead, there have been 82 mass shootings. The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four victims are shot (injured or killed), not including the shooter. On Saturday, May 28 alone there were five mass shootings, which left two dead and twenty people injured. The very next day, Sunday, May 29, there were seven mass shootings, which left four dead and thirty-five people injured. Since Uvalde, there have been 64 school incidents involving guns. The United States is a country inundated with guns (with over 120 firearms for every 100 citizens): is it any wonder that rarely a day goes by without a mass shooting somewhere? We have grown to accept gun violence as an ineliminable feature of daily life in America, and that perhaps is the greatest tragedy of all. If we grow numb to this horror and shame, we will never mitigate the scourge of mass shootings and other forms of gun violence. The Supreme Court has been politized and lost its credibility and its responsibility to render justice. It is time to revisit the process of appointing Supreme Court Justices to ensure that the highest Court in the land is apolitical, fair, and just. Every sensible American should be disgusted by these two infamous Supreme Court rulings that will endanger the lives of countless Americans, stain the Courts reputation for decades to come, and sadly put America to shame. Getty Images The next Looking for Lincoln Conversations program will look at Abraham Lincolns travels through Vermilion County in eastern Illinois while practicing law in the 8th Judicial Circuit around Danville. Walking in Lincolns Footsteps: Vermilion County will be presented at 7 p.m. Wednesday by Sue Richter, executive director of the Vermilion County Museum in Danville. She has spent many years studying the history of eastern Illinois and Lincoln. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DHARMSALA, India (AP) Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama marked his 87th birthday on Wednesday by inaugurating a library and museum in his hillside Indian headquarters. He was cheered by a large number of followers, including American actor Richard Gere, a longtime disciple. Hundreds of schoolchildren, monks and local residents prayed for the Dalai Lama's health and life at Tsuglakhang Temple near his residence. The Dalai Lama Library and Museum contain artifacts, his teachings, and books on his life and struggle for Tibetan autonomy and protection of its native Buddhist culture. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Dalai Lama by phone and wished him well on his birthday. Conveyed 87th birthday greetings to His Holiness the @DalaiLama over phone earlier today. We pray for his long life and good health, Modi said in a tweet. This is the second time Modi has publicly confirmed speaking with the Dalai Lama since becoming prime minister in 2014. The acknowledgment is significant amid deteriorating ties between India and China, which doesnt recognize the self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile and accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to separate Tibet from China. The Dalai Lama has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be part of China, though it hosts Tibetan exiles. The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of Tibets native Buddhist culture. Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images The state hopes to entice the purchase of electric vehicles by offering up to $4,000 in rebates. Through the Illinois Electric Vehicle Rebate Program, motorists can receive $4,000 for the purchase of an electric passenger vehicle or $1,500 for buying an electric motorcycle, according to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director John J. Kim. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A bid to bring the 2024 Republican National Convention to Nashville has hit a roadblock in the Democratic-leaning city's metro council, where opposition has led proponents to withdraw a proposed agreement about how to host the event. The move Tuesday evening by the proposal's sponsor, Councilmember Robert Swope, casts uncertainty about the city's chances to land the GOP convention. The Nashville 2024 Host Committee has said it hopes the draft agreement with the Republican National Committee will be refiled and the council will begin considering it at a meeting later this month. Officials in the other finalist city, Milwaukee, approved a similar framework early last month that runs through the logistics of hosting it there. The Republican National Committee is expected to announce sometime this summer where the event will land, bringing potentially tens of thousands of visitors. Both Democratic stronghold cities have expressed mixed feelings about hosting it. Milwaukee officials seeking the convention were not immediately claiming victory after Nashville's bid stumbled. As far as we know, there is still a competitive race to win the convention and we will continue to put the citys best foot forward until the RNC makes its final decision, said Peggy Williams-Smith, head of Milwaukees tourism bureau, which is helping with the citys bid. In Nashville, Mayor John Cooper and others have expressed concerns about security issues, the economic trade-off of largely shutting down an already-bustling downtown except for convention activity and the implications of tying up city resources to tend to the event. But some progressive leaders have gone further to argue that hosting the massive Republican party goes against the city's values. Last week, several members on the metro council sent state GOP chairman Scott Golden a letter asking if Tennessee Republicans plan to remain outwardly hostile to the city in its efforts to be welcoming, maintain policies that make it the states economic driver, and manage challenges with the citys massive growth. Republicans have split the city in congressional redistricting in an effort to flip a Democratic seat; applauded the end of the constitutional right to abortion after passing a near-total state ban on the procedure; and installed many laws that target the city with policies many there oppose, including a school voucher program applicable in just two areas that are both Democratic, Nashville and Memphis' Shelby County. For now, a council member on Tuesday sidelined a separate resolution against bringing the convention to Nashville. In a statement, the Nashville 2024 Host Committee said it asked Cooper's administration to withdraw the draft agreement proposal to allow for additional time to address multiple concerns and objections expressed by Metro Council." It is our optimistic view that Nashville is the ideal American city to host one or both of our nations nominating conventions and to demonstrate to the world its ability to host civil and respectful public discourse on issues vital to the future of our country, the committee said. Mayor Cooper's brother Jim Cooper is the Democratic congressman whose seat was chopped up in GOP redistricting, spurring his decision not to seek reelection. Republican Gov. Bill Lee has been pushing for the convention, and has budgeted a $25 million pot of money that could at least partly be used to fund it. Asked Wednesday if Nashville would face any retribution if it didnt support hosting the GOP convention, Lee responded, Theres no plans for that, but we certainly hope that they make the decision to do so." The Tennessee Democratic Party chairman, Hendrell Remus, is on board with the GOP convention, so long as it means Nashville gets considered for the 2028 Democratic convention. Golden agreed on that in a joint statement with Remus late last month. ___ Associated Press writers Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JERSEYVILLE Jerseyvilles living room now has a major addition with the Wow Furnishings and Events Center held a grand opening at its 309 N. State St. location adjacent to Germania Brewhaus. Its only been a few months since Germania Brewhaus opened in Jerseyville. Now the Brynildsen family has added the adjacent center, which will use Germania for the new venue's bar and beverages area. Germania has coffee shops that are like a living room for the community, and this is an extension for bigger parties, said Barbie Brynildsen, who co-owns the Wow Center with her husband, Bryan. We started at the end of April," she said. "July is pretty heavily booked. We are doing a lot of showers and birthday parties, and we also have weddings starting up in October. Brynildsen said the Wow Center is ideal for family and class reunions, weddings, and anything for which you need a gathering space. The center can accommodate about 150 people with space for a dance floor, and an adjacent room is being developed as a ceremony site so an entire wedding and reception can be held under one roof. We are excited to be part of the Jerseyville community. It's a great little town; people are excited to have us here, and we are excited to be a part of it, Brynildsen said. They also have a great chamber of commerce that is working with the local businesses, which is awesome to see. Jerseyville resident Jamie Green was happy to help welcome the center. I love that there is always stuff going on for adults and kids around here and that this facility is really going to add to it, Green said. The event area is a great space and we are frequent fliers at Germania. Every time we come through here there is something new open or a special thing going on. Jamie Kuehnel, who runs Germania for the owners, said the community has been extremely supportive of both the beverage and the new reception establishments. Between the coffee shop and the event space weve seen a huge outpouring of support from the community, Kuehnel said. We now have a place for everybody to come and hang out, so just have fun and enjoy the space. Saturdays grand opening also featured Riverbend Axe Throwing and a patriotic theme with the inclusion of the U.S. Veterans Foundation. We started out just doing hunting and fishing trips free to the veterans, we send them to places all over the United States, said foundation CEO John Kadell. Weve started a new program for recovery where we send veterans to martial arts gyms for a year completely free to them. Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m., noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Story Time: 10 a.m., Jacksonville Public Library, 201 W. College Ave. Free | Stories and a craft. For more information, call 217-243-5435 or email clangdon@jaxpl.org. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Commodity Food Distribution: 1:15 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. Free | For income-eligible residents of Morgan County. Bring proof of residence and a box for food. The Art of Cake Decorating: 1:30 p.m., Morgan County Fairgrounds, 110 N. Westgate Ave. | Presented by Holly Stewart, cake artist and owner of Holly Cakes. Location: 4-H Building Backyard Everlastings: 2:30 p.m., Morgan County Fairgrounds, 110 N. Westgate Ave. | Presented by Penny Moore-Garner, owner of The Simple Heart of Life in rural Bluffs. Location: 4-H Building. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. Community Walking Group: 3:30 p.m., Boyd Hospital Wellness Center, Eighth and School streets, Carrollton. Free for wellness center members, $1 for non-members. | For more information and to sign up, all Dawn at 217-942-6946, extension 1352. County Line Dance Club Class: 6:30 p.m., The Hangout Bar & Grill, 901 W. Superior Ave. $5. Chasing Denver: 6 p.m., Waters Edge Winery & Bistro, 1061 E. Morton Ave. | Live music. Doors open at 5 p.m. Thursday Farmers Market: 7 a.m.-noon, Pathway Plaza, 1905 W. Morton Ave. Prices vary. | Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through Oct. 31. Link cards accepted. Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Kids Day: 1:30-3 p.m., Morgan County Fairground, 110 N. Westgate Ave. | Fun activities for children ages 2-12. Location: 4-H and Adult Buildings. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. Central Park Market: 4-8 p.m., Downtown Jacksonville. Prices vary. | Extended business hours for local bars, shops and restaurants. On the square first Thursday of every month May through September. Poetry Open Mic: 7 p.m., the home of Sue Fishback and Greg Morrison of Lynnville. Free | Read or listen to poetry. For more information call 217-742-5777 or email robertseufert@frontier.com. First Thursday of each month. To submit items to the calendar, go to myjournalcourier.com and select calendar, or email jjcsocial@myjournalcourier.com. Items must be submitted at least 48 hours in advance. Rocker Carlos Santana doing well after collapsing onstage View Photo DETROIT (AP) Guitar icon Carlos Santana collapsed on stage during a show in Michigan and was rushed to a hospital, later blaming the episode on forgetting to eat or drink water. Santana, 74, was doing well Wednesday after being taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, some 40 miles northwest of Detroit, to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation Tuesday night, manager Michael Vrionis in a statement. Just taking it easy, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer posted to Facebook just after midnight. Forgot to eat and drink water so I dehydrated and passed out. Blessings and miracles to you all. Santana was released during the night from the hospital. It was not immediately known when Santana would resume his tour, although Wednesdays show at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, has been postponed. He and his band have been touring with Earth, Wind & Fire. The tour has 21 dates left through late August before Santana the artist behind such hits as Oye Como Va and Black Magic Woman is scheduled to head back to Las Vegas for his residency at the House of Blues. In December, Santana canceled a number of performances in Las Vegas after he underwent an unspecified heart procedure. He and members of his band also tested positive for COVID-19 in February, canceling some dates. By The Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) A prominent Pakistani TV anchorperson known for publicly supporting former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested Tuesday on the outskirts of the capital, his colleagues said. It was unclear on what charges police arrested Imran Riaz Khan, who is not related to the ex-premier. The arrest of the TV journalist comes weeks after a court in Islamabad ordered police not to arrest him and several other journalists after complaints were lodged accusing them of inciting hatred against the military. There was no immediate comment from the government. Khan, the former premier, took to Twitter to condemn the arrest of the anchorperson. Khan was ousted as prime minister through a no-confidence vote in the parliament in April. He contends his removal was part of a U.S. plot, a charge Washington denies. UNITED NATIONS (AP) A U.N. armored vehicle hit a mine Tuesday in central Mali, killing two Egyptian peacekeepers and seriously wounding five others in another deadly incident targeting the U.N. mission in the West African nation that has faced a decade-long Islamic insurgency. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said 10 U.N. peacekeepers have died in Mali in the first six months of 2022. In Tuesdays incident, he said, an armored vehicle from a U.N. logistics convoy hit a mine on the route from Tessalit, the north-central oasis town in the Sahara, to the central city of Gao. Dujarric said a U.N. rapid intervention force was sent to the scene and the injured were evacuated. The U.N. peacekeeping mission strongly condemned the attack, which may constitute a war crime under international law. Dujarric said the mission noted with concern the frequent use of improvised explosive devices intended to paralyze the operations of the U.N. mission and to obstruct the return to peace and stability in Mali. The U.N. Security Council condemned the attack in the strongest terms and called on Malis transitional government to swiftly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. Its members expressed their concern about the security situation in Mali and the transnational dimension of the terrorist threat in the Sahel region. Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising prompted mutinous soldiers to overthrow the president. The power vacuum that resulted ultimately led to an Islamic insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. But insurgents remain active and extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali since 2015, stoking animosity and violence between ethnic groups in the region. Malis current ruling junta seized power in August 2020, and in April the junta leaders said a transition to civilian, democratic rule would take at least two years. The U.N. mission says over 255 of its peacekeepers and personnel have died since 2013, making Mali the deadliest of the U.N.s dozen peacekeeping missions worldwide. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The pro-independence Polisario Front accused Morocco of obstructing a visit by the U.N. envoy for the disputed Western Sahara region and called on the United Nations to reveal the reasons why. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric had said Friday that the secretary-generals personal envoy, Staffan de Mistura, would conduct a new phase of visits to all concerned parties in the region in the coming days, starting in the Moroccan capital of Rabat on Saturday. But Monday, Dujarric said in a note to U.N. correspondents that de Mistura has decided not to proceed with a visit to Western Sahara during this trip, but looks forward to doing so during his upcoming visits to the region. The Polisario Fronts U.N. representative, Sidi Omar, responded in a statement obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press saying the group deeply deplores that Morocco has once again resorted to obstructionism and delay tactics to prevent the personal envoy from conducting his first visit to the territory. Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony believed to have considerable offshore oil deposits and mineral resources, in 1975, sparking a conflict with the Polisario Front. The U.N. brokered a 1991 cease-fire and established a peacekeeping mission to monitor the truce and help prepare a referendum on the territorys future that has never taken place because of disagreements on who is eligible to vote. The Polisario Front ended the 29-year cease-fire with Morocco in November 2020 and resumed its armed struggle following a border confrontation with Morocco that continues today. Morocco has proposed wide-ranging autonomy for Western Sahara. But the Polisario Front insists the local population, which it estimates at 350,000 to 500,000, has the right to a referendum. Omar said in the statement that Moroccos obstruction of de Misturas visit demonstrates beyond any doubt that the occupying state has no political will to engage constructively in the U.N. peace process in Western Sahara. The U.N. spokesman insisted in response to a question Tuesday that de Mistura did not lose freedom of movement and said this was not billed as a regional visit. Dujarric said the U.N. envoy has made clear that there will be, in time, visits to other parties. Dujarric said de Mistura had a useful meeting Tuesday with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on the political process on Western Sahara. Moroccos Foreign Ministry said that at the meeting with de Mistura, the Moroccan delegation reiterated its support for a political resolution that is solely based on the Moroccan autonomy initiative. The ministry said Morocco also reaffirmed its commitment to roundtables and the U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in October extending the peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara and calling for a political resolution that is realistic, pragmatic, sustainable and based on compromise. By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Jihadis attack jail in Nigerias capital, 879 inmates escape View Photo ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) Nearly 900 inmates escaped in a jailbreak in Abuja, Nigerias capital city, officials said Wednesday, blaming the attack on Islamic extremist rebels. At least 443 of the 879 escapees are still missing, Umar Abubakar, a spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service said, while hundreds of others have either been recaptured or turned themselves in at police stations. Officials will track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody, said Abubakar. Later Wednesday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visited the prison where senior officials showed him around the facility. He then tweeted he was saddened by the attack and disappointed with Nigerias intelligence system. How can terrorists organize, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it? Buhari asked. The very determined rebels attacked the Kuje maximum prison in Abuja on Tuesday night with very high-grade explosives, killing one guard on duty, according to Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary of Nigerias Ministry of Interior. Explosions and gunfire were heard at about 10 p.m. in the Kuje area when the attackers arrived and forced their way into the prison through a hole created by the blasts. The Islamic extremist rebels who attacked the prison have waged an insurgency in the countrys northeast for over a decade. Their attack on the detention facility freed many of their members who are inmates, prison officials said. We understand they are Boko Haram. They came specifically for their co-conspirators, said Belgore. The Kuje maximum security prison had nearly 1,000 inmates including 64 suspects of the Boko Haram extremist group all of whom have escaped, said Maj. Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi, Nigerias Minister of Defense. He told reporters that security officials on the ground did their best to prevent the jailbreak. We are trying to see what we can do to ensure that all escapees are brought back, he said. As of Wednesday morning, bullet shells lay scattered around the prison premises while helicopters hovered over the Kuje area as security agents combed nearby bushes in search of escapees. A number of vehicles were razed during the late-night shootout. Some recaptured inmates lay on the ground by the prison entrance near the bodies of those who died in the attack. The Abuja jailbreak occurred around the same time that gunmen launched a daring attack on an advance security convoy preparing for the visit of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in the northwest Katsina state. Those attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, a presidential spokesman said. Nigerias jihadi rebels and other armed groups have carried out several jailbreaks in the countrys northeast in recent years, but this is the first in the capital city in recent years. In 2021 more than 2,500 inmates were freed in three jailbreaks. At least 4,307 inmates have escaped from Nigerias prisons since 2017, Lagos-based online newspaper TheCable reported this month, based on compiled media reports. Most of Nigerias recent jailbreaks seem unconnected although the attacks are carried out in a similar manner using explosives, according to security analysts. A good number of those who have escaped in such attacks were awaiting trial. Nigerian prisons hold 70,000 inmates but only about 20,000, or 27%, have been convicted, according to government data. Nigerias extremist insurgency, carried out by Boko Haram and an offshoot known as the Islamic State West Africa Province, is blamed for violence that has caused the deaths of more than 35,000 people and displaced more than 2 million people, according to the U.N. The prolonged instability, hunger and lack of health services caused by the insurgency have indirectly caused the deaths of more than 300,000 additional people, says the U.N. The extremists violence is the most serious security challenge in Nigeria, Africas most populous country with 206 million people, which also is battling violence in the northwest area by rebellious herdsmen and a separatist movement in the countrys south. By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press Russian foreign minister stops in Vietnam ahead of G-20 View Photo HANOI, Vietnam (AP) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Vietnam on Wednesday as part of an effort to bolster ties with a country that has not openly condemned its invasion of Ukraine or imposed sanctions against it. Lavrov, on his way to the Indonesian island of Bali for a meeting of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations, sought to strengthen ties with Vietnam, which also has a strong relationship with the United States. I expressed my appreciation for the very balanced objective position of Vietnam which is demonstrated by the refusal of this country to join the illegal sanctions, he said at a news conference after meeting his Vietnamese counterpart, Bui Thanh Son. Commenting on the situation in Ukraine, Lavrov said the West should realize its responsibility for the deaths of civilians in the regions where Ukraine is using Western weapons. Lavrov is currently on a trip to Asia to seek support amid his countrys diplomatic isolation by the West and punishing sanctions leveled over its invasion of Ukraine. He visited Mongolia a day before arriving in Vietnams capital, Hanoi. Mongolia also retains ties with Moscow but has burgeoning relations with Washington. The visit comes as the two countries marked 10 years since expanding their relationship to a strategic partnership. The Soviet Union was a close backer of Hanois Communist government during the Vietnam War against the capitalist south and its American and other Western allies. Lavrov was to leave Vietnam later Wednesday to travel to Indonesia for the G-20 foreign ministers meeting. By HAU DINH Associated Press Chanel gets gently geometric in far-flung Paris couture View Photo PARIS (AP) Birds tweeted not fashionistas the day Chanel brought its couture guests to the calm of the Bois de Boulogne forest. On Tuesday morning, bleary-eyed VIPs walked across tons of white sand through the Etrier de Paris equestrian center on the leafy outskirts of Paris, past lines of spinning wheels and inflatable capsules as nature, fashion and art mingled. The dreamscape had been specially made for fall-winter by artist Xavier Veilhan, who had adorned Chanels indoor ring venue with a gargantuan silver mobile. It had guests including Marion Cotillard and Keira Knightley gawping. Haute couture is the age-old Parisian tradition of producing exorbitantly priced, made-to-measure garments for the worlds richest women. Here are some highlights of the days fall-winter 2022 collections: CHANELS SOFTNESS With a somewhat incongruous drum rendition via video recording, Chanel ambassador Pharrell Williams rousingly kicked off proceedings before the real show began to soft music and even softer form. Gentle colors, lines and shapes, punctuated by moments of dazzling buttons, floaty plumes and large hats was the simple formula for Virginie Viard. The French designer was in a soft mood for couture this season, letting subtle twists do the talking. A loose pastel green skirt suit opened, lined with minutely sparkling crystalline buttons made by the stalwarts world-famous atelier. It led on to fastidious embroideries and jacquards on loose coats in speckled mint and sand with often-oversize or upturned collars, laded with an air of the 80s. A-line coats with a weighty swag, dropped waists and statement pockets, meanwhile, introduced subtle tensions alongside hems and fringing in contrasting patterns. Yet the best looks were those that kept it minimal. A ribbed olive green gown with a clean strap across the bust flared out at the bottom in a clever take on a mermaid dress. It towed a perfect line between sporty and chic. Yet, theres a niggling feeling that Viard has been playing it safe ever since replacing Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019. FRONT ROW Its got to be couture week when, to blasting horns of annoyed motorists in tangled traffic, paparazzi skid in the sand for a snap of the celebrity roll call. Keira Knightley, 37, arrived at the far-flung Chanel show amid the most commotion. The actress, whos been a house ambassador since 21, arrived in a velvet and lace halterneck LBD by Chanel, accessorized with shades and her husband, British musician James Righton. French Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard rocked up in a more casual ensemble, comprising a striped Chanel shirt and black micro mini, declining interviews. Actresses Sigourney Weaver, Clemence Poesy and Maggie Gyllenhaal also joined applauding vigorously when the designer came out at the finale. ALEXIS MABILLE BLOOMS French designer Alexis Mabille was in top fall form for a timeless collection of couture that never forgot its whimsy. Draped gowns in luxuriant pastel silks caressed the body, quivering lightly as they were showcased down the dazzling indigo fabric runway. Flowers were never far from the Mabille design universe both literally and figuratively. A pastel gray silk dress had a central curved split at the knee so that the hem cascaded down in folds like an opening flower. Its top bib was made of intricate white lace like the veins of a petal under a microscope. Then came flashes of whimsical fashion design such as one enormous silken flower headdress made of multitudinous shimmering petals. MENSWEAR REIGNS IN PARIS Front row fashion insiders are commenting how Paris menswear week held June 21-26 felt as equally buzzy as this weeks VIP-filled couture. And unusually so. Couture traditionally outperforms menswear in terms of attention and celebrity presence. But could this be a thing of the past? From Justin Timberlake to K-pop sensations BTS, the celebrity presence alone of the menswear spring summer 2023 season was enough to rival this weeks couture. And that signals higher levels of attention than normal in the glossy press and online. This change in gear or fashion levelling out comes as mens luxury brand portfolio has been outperforming womens wear in terms of growth more generally with more and more eyeballs on the mens runway. Of particular note is the proliferation of U.S. menswear brands, which are now opting to show across the pond in Paris to capitalize on the attention. After the ill-fated New York mens fashion week launched in 2016 and then canceled over a dwindling presence reports have noted how myriad U.S.-based houses such as Thom Browne, Amiri, Greg Lauren, KidSuper and Rhude have opted to showcase their designs in the City of Light. ARMANI GOES ART DECO A geometric runway cross-pollinated to gentle geometry for Giorgio Armani. This couture season, the Italian fashion legend wanted to give new space to sparkle and frivolity inspired by the universe of Art Deco Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka. On the runway the heyday of the graphic Art Deco movement the 1930s was evoked through a graphicism in the silhouettes. Art Deco was a movement created in reaction to Art Nouveau, replacing the latters undulating shapes with geometry. A silken gray jacket had the Oriental-feel fashionable at that time with silvery linear trim. Elsewhere, swirls adorned the busts of dark fitted column gowns, while earrings and necklaces came as chunky and graphic. As ever, Armani showcased his signature statement shoulders, shimmering organzas and satins and lashings of sparkle in the longest collection seen all season. There were in total 92 looks. By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Fashion Writer Sonora, CA Sonora Police Department is asking for help with any information on a missing local teenager. Madirose Alarocn Calden was last seen after being dropped off by her father in downtown Sonora on June 30th. She was wearing black shorts, black boots, a black top, and carrying a backpack. She has several small tattoos on her arms and legs. Sonora Police is asking if anyone has any information, please contact the department. Written by Nic Peterson Sign up for our Breaking News Alerts and the myMotherLode.com Daily Newsletters by clicking here. Report breaking news, traffic or weather to our News Hotline (209) 532-6397. Send Mother Lode News Story photos to news@clarkebroadcasting.com . Syrians fear effects of Russia blocking aid to rebel area View Photo IDLIB, Syria (AP) Over the past two years, Adila Afesh has seen the food assistance her Syrian family receives shrink by nearly two-thirds. Now, she fears Russia perhaps seeking to retaliate against Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine will block the renewal of a U.N. Security Council resolution that allows aid to be delivered from Turkey to Syrians who, like her family, live in the rebel-run Idlib province. Such a move would mean Afesh and her seven children along with 4 million others in Idlib will have to survive on even less. If, God forbid, aid is stopped, it means that they have sentenced us to death. Death by hunger, she said on a recent day in the tent she lives in with her family, her cat deep asleep in her lap as her children played nearby. The jobless woman says the family survives on two meals a day, mostly made up of rice or bulgur. Soon, she says, we might have to fight in order to get a bite of food. Russia, a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has long wanted to shut down the Turkey route, seeking to have aid delivered solely through government-controlled areas. Opposition activists and residents warn that is something the authorities in Damascus would exploit as a pressure tactic against Syrias main rebel stronghold of Idlib. In 2014, aid flowed into Syria from four border crossings. Since then, U.N. Security Council permanent member Russia forced the council to close three of the four crossings. It kept one in the north, the Bab al-Hawa crossing with Turkey, for aid to flow into the rebel stronghold destroyed by 11 years of war. 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 Idlib. Days later, the council authorized the delivery of aid through just one of those crossings, Bab al-Hawa. That one-year mandate was extended and expires this weekend. A vote to renew it is set for Thursday in New York. Aid agencies warn that if Russia vetoes the resolution, food would be depleted in Idlib and surrounding areas by September, putting the lives of some 4.1 million people, many of them displaced by the conflict and living in tent settlements, at risk. On Wednesday in New York, Russia proposed amendments proposing a six-month renewal, rather than the one year extension sought by others on the Security Council, according to a draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press. Afesh, 37, who was displaced from the northern city of Aleppo in 2016, said her main concern before moving to Idlib province used to be where to hide with her four sons and three daughters from government airstrikes. Since December 2016, the family that lost its main bread winner seven years ago has been living in relative calm close to the Turkish border. But soon they might not have food on the table. Syrias economy is suffering its worst period since the crisis began in 2011. Thats the result of an array of troubles, including crippling Western sanctions, widespread corruption, coronavirus, rising food prices because of the war in Ukraine and an economic meltdown in neighboring Lebanon Damascus main gate to the outside world and home to 1 million Syrian refugees. The situation in Syria has always been highly politicized, but this year the stakes are clearly higher with everything thats going on in Ukraine and the tensions between Russia and the United States and European countries, said Mark Cutts, the U.N.s deputy regional humanitarian coordinator. Cutts told The Associated Press that, people will certainly die if the Security Council resolution is not extended. He added there would be a massive crisis as hospitals go without the necessary medical supplies and people will not get the vaccinations they need. Cutts said delivering aid through Turkey is direct and sufficient. If aid has to come through government areas, it will have to pass through an active front line. This is still a war zone, he said. He said that over the past 12 months, five convoys have crossed from government-controlled areas while 800 trucks cross from Turkey every month. He said last year they were reaching 2.4 million people in northwest Syria and if there is funding, more should be reached. Abdul-Razzaq Awad, a manager at Syria Relief, a local aid group, warned that aid agencies now are offering 50% of what they used to give due to the war in Ukraine. He said that if Bab al-Hawa is closed and aid has to come from government-controlled areas, he expects it to drop to about 20% of what used to be delivered before the Ukraine war. In late June, 29 aid agencies came together to share one message, which is that a humanitarian catastrophe will happen should the U.N. Security Council fail to allow lifesaving aid and services to be delivered across the border. At stake is access to food, vaccinations against COVID-19, critical medical supplies and essential services including health care, access to clean water and education for millions of Syrians. Removing this channel of assistance will have devastating humanitarian impacts on civilians and that there is no viable alternative, said the agencies, including International Rescue Committee, CARE International, World Vision International, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and Mercy Corps. Now it is the time for the U.N. Security Council to correct course and show it can put peoples lives above politics, said David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee. Russia has argued that aid delivery should be handled by the government, claiming that militant groups are handling the deliveries in the current setup. In May, Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told the Security Council that we are not okay with preserving the status quo at any cost. The most powerful group in Idlib, al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, threatens humanitarian assistance, Polyansky noted. Cutts, the U.N. official, said the world should do something for residents of northwest Syria. This is actually one of the most vulnerable civilian populations anywhere in the world, he said. ____ Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed from the United Nations. By GHAITH AL-SAYED and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press Work at a school or nonprofit? You could erase student loans View Photo NEW YORK (AP) When Melissa Martinez applied to have her student loan debt forgiven more than a decade ago, the U.S. Department of Education told her she was ineligible. Martinez, a professor, tried again this past year and managed to erase the last $6,000 she owed for her doctorate. She wasnt alone according to new federal figures, more than 145,000 borrowers have had the remainder of their federal student loan debt canceled through a program for people who work for schools, governments or nonprofits. Hundreds of thousands more have completed the paperwork for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and officials say many more likely qualify. An Oct. 31 deadline to apply under the less stringent rules is fast approaching. Theres a broader conversation underway in America about how to handle student loan debt. An estimated 43 million Americans carry student loans worth $1.6 trillion, according to federal figures. Federal student loan payments were paused during the coronavirus pandemic and will remain so until at least Aug. 31. President Joe Biden is expected to make some sort of announcement about student loan relief before then. Nearly all of the cancellations through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program have come since last October, when the government temporarily relaxed the complex requirements. Before that, the program had rejected more than 90% of applicants, the Department of Education said in 2019. A spokesperson for the Education Department said Wednesday that most borrowers who were denied then were deemed ineligible because they didnt meet employer eligibility requirements, their employment dates didnt align with the dates of their student loans, or they didnt have the required direct loans. I thought maybe it would work now, said Martinez, who graduated from the University of Texas, Austin in 2010 with a doctorate in educational administration. Martinez said the money will go towards lowering credit card debt and building savings to have on hand for emergencies and unexpected expenses. Knowing that its forgiven lifts some of the worry or stress off my shoulders, she said. Even though the deadline is in October, Martinez advises people who may qualify for the loan forgiveness to apply as soon as possible. She found the process difficult to navigate, even with the relaxed rules. It took her five months to complete the paperwork and another three months to hear back from the program. I remember calling and staying on the line for an hour waiting, she said. Martinez also initially had her proof of employment denied, though it was approved when she re-sent the documents. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, launched in 2007 to steer more graduates to public service, cancels the remainder of a borrowers federal student loan debt after they make 10 years of monthly payments while doing public interest work, or 120 monthly payments over any time span while doing public interest work. Teachers, librarians, nurses, public interest lawyers, military members and other public workers all qualify, along with people who work for non-profits. So far, the forgiveness totals almost $8.1 billion in federal loans, but that amount is just a fraction of the debt that could qualify. The average amount of debt forgiven through the program is $64,968. The program seems really simple people commit ten years to serving their country and communities and the government promises to end their student debt, said Kat Welbeck, Civil Rights Counsel at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Weve seen, throughout the 14 years, so many people set back by administrative hurdles and burdens, not knowing they had access to this program or being told they couldnt get access even though they worked in qualified employment. Under the reformed rules, loan servicers count payments that had previously been deemed unacceptable, such as when borrowers mistakenly or unwittingly signed up for non-qualifying plans. I think its a great incentive, especially for teachers. So many are overworked and underpaid, and theyve got those loans that theyre still working on, Martinez said. The waiver period has been life-changing for loan holders whove been able to receive credit toward forgiveness for years theyve worked in public service after previously being rejected, Welbeck said, describing joyful tears as loan balances drop to zero. There are so many more people to reach, Welbeck added. And its only a year, so were operating with a sense of urgency. Martinez encourages others to apply during the waiver period, despite the frustration. She says it was worth the time and effort to get the balance of her student loan forgiven. Borrowers who are currently jobless or not working in public service may still qualify for forgiveness, according to the Department of Education. And the months during the pandemic since March 2020 in which payments on federal loans have been paused count as credits towards the total number of payments required for the program. The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed new rules for the program that are expected to take effect by July 2023. They would give borrowers more leeway if theyre late on payments or dont pay in full. Under the original rules, borrowers must make payments in full within 15 days of the due date to get credit toward their 120 monthly payments. The proposal would relax that, allowing borrowers to make progress even if theyre late or make the payment in multiple installments. The waiver that expires Oct. 31 was mostly meant to make up for widespread confusion about which types of loans and payment plans are eligible under the program. Some borrowers had made years of payments only to find out they werent in an eligible plan or loan program. The new proposed rules wont change which loans are eligible, but they aim to provide more flexibility so borrowers dont lose progress toward forgiveness because of late payments or paperwork problems. ___ Associated Press Writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism. ___ This story was first published on July 6, 2022. It was updated on July 8, 2022 to correct that borrowers can have the remainder of their loans erased after making 10 years of monthly payments while doing public interest work, or making 120 monthly payments over any time span while doing public interest work. By CORA LEWIS and ADRIANA MORGA The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) A Beverly Hills man has been charged with murder in the drug overdose deaths of two unconscious women who were dumped at hospitals in Southern California, prosecutors announced Tuesday. David Brian Pearce, 40, also was charged with two counts of selling, transporting or furnishing a controlled substance, the Los Angeles County district attorneys office said. Another man, actor Brandt Osborn, 42, was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Pearce was already awaiting trial on charges of sexual assault on seven other women who were attacked between 2007 and 2020, prosecutors said. A message left for Pearces attorney, Jacob Glucksman, wasnt immediately returned Tuesday night. Glucksman previously told the Los Angeles Times that his client adamantly and strongly denies any connection to these womens unfortunate deaths. It wasnt immediately clear whether Osborn had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Pearce was arrested in December in connection with the November deaths of model Christy Giles, 24, and her friend, architect Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26. Giles and Cabrales-Arzola were reportedly last seen attending an East Los Angeles warehouse party. Authorities believe they then went to Pearces townhouse. Detectives said they believe both women were given drugs and overdosed. Giles was found dead outside Southern California Hospital in Culver City after masked men in a car with no license plates dropped her there, police said. Cabrales-Arzola was left at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Hospital, where she died 11 days later after being removed from life support. The Los Angeles County coroners office found the women died from overdoses and had several drugs in their systems. The drugs included cocaine and fentanyl for Giles and cocaine and ecstasy for her friend. DETROIT (AP) Guitar icon Carlos Santana collapsed on stage during a show in Michigan and was rushed to a hospital, later blaming the episode on forgetting to eat or drink water. Santana, 74, was doing well Wednesday after being taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, some 40 miles northwest of Detroit, to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation Tuesday night, manager Michael Vrionis in a statement. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there, authorities said Wednesday. The suspect turned back to Illinois, where he was later arrested, after deciding he was not prepared to pull off another attack in Wisconsin, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference following a hearing where the 21-year-old man was denied bond. The parade shooting left another American community reeling this time affluent Highland Park, home to about 30,000 people near the Lake Michigan shore. More than two dozen people were wounded, some critically, and hundreds of marchers, parents and children fled in a panic. Covelli said it did not appear that the suspect had planned another attack in Wisconsin, but fled there, saw another Independence Day celebration and seriously contemplated firing on it. The assailant had ditched the semi-automatic rifle he used in Illinois, but he had another, similar rifle and about 60 more rounds with him, according to Covelli. Police later found his phone in Middleton, Wisconsin, which is about 135 miles (217 kilometers) from Highland Park. For hours before his arrest, police warned that the gunman was still at large and that he should be considered armed and dangerous. Several nearby cities canceled events including parades and fireworks. Most festivities in and around Wisconsins capital city went ahead. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told a news conference Wednesday that the FBI urged the department on Monday evening to prepare its SWAT team because investigators believed the gunman could be in the area. Barnes said he was not warned at the time that the shooter was considering carrying out further attacks. Lake County Assistant States Attorney Ben Dillon said in court that the gunman climbed up the fire escape of a building above the Highland Park parade, looked down his sights, aimed and fired at people across the street. He left the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop. He initially evaded capture by disguising himself as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, according to police. Some of the wounded remained hospitalized in critical condition, Covelli said, and the death toll could still rise. Already, the deaths from the shooting have left a 2-year-old boy without parents, families mourning the loss of beloved grandparents and a synagogue grieving the death of a congregant who for decades had also worked on the staff. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said he planned to bring attempted murder and aggravated battery charges for each individual who was hurt. There will be many, many more charges coming, he said at a news conference, estimating that those charges would be announced later this month. If convicted of the first-degree murder charges, the gunman would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. The suspect, Robert Crimo III, wore a black long-sleeve shirt as he appeared in court by video. As the prosecutor described the shooting, he said little besides telling the judge that he did not have a lawyer. On Tuesday, Thomas A. Durkin, a prominent Chicago-based lawyer, said he would represent Crimo and that he intended to enter a not guilty plea to all charges. But Durkin told the court Wednesday that he had a conflict of interest with the case. Crimo has been assigned a public defender. Rinehart also left open the possibility of charging Crimo's parents, telling reporters that he doesnt want to answer that question right now as the investigation continues. Steve Greenberg, the lawyer for Crimo's parents, told The Associated Press that the parents arent concerned about being charged with anything related to their sons case. Questions also arose about how the suspect could have skirted Illinois relatively strict gun laws to legally purchase five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide. Police went to the home following a call from a family member who said Crimo was threatening to kill everyone there. Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by Crimo, Covelli said. Illinois state police, who issue gun owners licenses, said Crimo applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application, and he purchased the semi-automatic rifles in 2020, according to Covelli. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his fathers home. He purchased four of the guns while he was under 21 and bought a fifth after his birthday last year. The revelations about his gun purchases offered just the latest example of young men who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence. The state police have defended how the application was handled, saying that at the time there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the application, state police said in a statement. Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburbs stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Courts doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburbs restrictions remain in place. Asked whether Crimos case demonstrates flaws in state law, Rinehart said that the gap in the states gun laws would be that we dont ban assault weapons. Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or those deemed capable of harming themselves or others. That last provision might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon. But under the law, who that provision applies to must be decided by a court, board, commission or other legal authority. The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent. ___ Foody reported from Chicago, Babwin from Waukegan, Illinois. Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Highland Park, Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York also contributed. YORK, Neb. (AP) A child was killed over the weekend when the roof over a hotel pool in southeastern Nebraska collapsed, police there said. The incident happened around 9 p.m. Sunday at a Hampton Inn in York, police said in a news release. Officers and firefighters responding to multiple 911 calls about the roof collapse found one person a boy trapped beneath the debris and pronounced him dead at the scene. His name and age had not been released by midday Tuesday. HANOI, Vietnam (AP) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Vietnam on Wednesday as part of an effort to bolster ties with a country that has not openly condemned its invasion of Ukraine or imposed sanctions against it. Lavrov, on his way to the Indonesian island of Bali for a meeting of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations, sought to strengthen ties with Vietnam, which also has a strong relationship with the United States. Covering Elon Musk, at least as an, ahem, cultural critic is probably the easiest job in the universe. He's always doing something on the bird app that's worthy of derision, or at least light mockery. Well, except for last week when he inexplicably disappeared. Now that he's back, let's see what the world's richest man is doing today. OK! Googling his name or even just opening Twitter also provides a wellspring of the most bountiful online currency, one that, if depleted, would crush our culture. No, not Dogecoin. It's Reading Posts We Hate. And Elon Musk did a weighty one yesterday regarding the Twitter ban on controversial Canadian public intellectual Jordan B. Peterson. Call Peterson what you will. Is he a pronouns-obsessed anti-trans activist? A disgraced professor who refuses to eat vegetables? An annoying culture warrior with a funny accent? Just don't call him late for dinner, which is literally just a slab of beef with salt, washed down with some water. Whatever he is, Peterson has attracted the attention of two high-profile Texas transplants in Joe Rogan and Musk. While the former relishes in providing a platform for Peterson's scrambled-egg-brained rants, Musk recently defended Peterson on a platform he (maybe) would like to purchase. Last week on Twitter, Peterson reminisced about a time when "Pride was a sin" and mentioned a "criminal physician" who removed Elliot Page's breasts. (Peterson used Page's deadname in the now-deleted tweet.) Twitter banned Peterson while the tweet remained up, at which point Peterson said in a video: "The suspension will not be lifted unless I delete the hateful tweet in question. And I would rather die than do that." It's gone now, and Peterson's most recent tweet is from June 28. But in the interim, his defenders implored Musk who does not own Twitter yet to do something, anything about this free speech issue. "Definitely not a free speech platform at the moment @elonmusk," wrote Peterson's daughter, a carnivorous podcaster. Dave Rubin, a conservative cancel-culture obsessive whose audience is turning on him for [checks notes] having a child with his same-sex partner, joined in. "The insanity continues at Twitter. @jordanbpeterson has been suspended for this tweet about Ellen Page. He just told me he will 'never' delete the tweet. Paging @elonmusk," he tweeted. Rubin then echoed a popular theory among right-leaning commentators on Twitter, that they are being shadow-banned and/or censored: "Twitter has been throttling like crazy the last few weeks after that brief bump when @elonmusk got involved. Now I can watch responses be deleted in real-time" This only hammers home the reasons conservatives were so giddy about Musk purchasing Twitter in the first place. Musk would allow hateful comments on the platform without reproach in the name of free speech and reverse the ban on Donald Trump, which made liberals briefly pretend that they were deactivating their accounts. It was unsurprising then, that when a Twitter user asked Musk his opinion on Peterson's ban from the app, the potential future Twitter owner came down on Peterson's side. Musk's defenders and Musk himself have and will say that this is a free speech issue and not an outright endorsement of Peterson or his views. What is conveniently elided in Musk's discussions on how he will make Twitter a haven for free speech, is what kind of free speech he intends to protect. Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated, is how Musk announced his still-ongoing Twitter purchase. But critics have noted that Musk's intentions to, say, un-ban a former president who used the platform to foment an angry mob that still believes he won the 2020 election, don't get at the heart of Twitter's actual free speech issues. I think that Musks conception of free expression is both contradictory and foolish, free speech activist Jillian York told the Guardian in April. Absolutism on a platform like Twitter fails to take into account the very real harms that Twitter can cause as a global platform, for instance being used by malicious actors like ISIS and right-wing extremists. This all takes into account Musk's proclamation of complying with local laws in regard to moderating speech on Twitter. In an article for WIRED, Vittoria Elliott noted that here in the U.S., where free speech is an inalienable right, doxing and hatefulness would be allowed on the platform because they fall within the boundaries of the law. But in countries like Turkey, Russia, and India, where free speech is much more limited, activists and journalists who have used the platform for more than a decade to reveal truths could be shut down. Prateek Waghre, policy director for the Internet Freedom Foundation concludes in the piece that Musk is "setting the content moderation conversation back about decade," in not tackling the larger questions surrounding free speech. Which brings us back to Musk's pal Peterson, who claims his free speech is being infringed upon in not being allowed to intentionally deadname Elliott Page. Alongside the "Flatulence Earther" tweet, the recent news that the Boring Company will accept flailing meme-currency Dogecoin on its Las Vegas transit system, the Cyber Rodeo, and pretty much anything else that comes up in a Google search for his name, it's clear that above all, the man just wants to be "epic." And to be epic, ultimately, is to be loved. After more than 70 years, Bun 'N' Barrel, a landmark San Antonio restaurant, appears to be hitting a pause. The longstanding drive-in style restaurant on Austin Highway is "closed temporarily" according to a sign posted to the front door on Wednesday, July 6. While the notice says the restaurant is temporarily shuttered, calls to the listed contact were unanswered and emails bounced back as undeliverable. The online domain that was originally owned by Bun 'N' Barrel is no longer hosting the restaurant. Additionally, Google lists the restaurant as "permanently closed." It's unclear how long the restaurant has been on hiatus. The timeline of when or if it will reopen is also muddied. Madalyn Mendoza, MySA.com Madalyn Mendoza, MySA.com Smoke Pit, the spin-off restaurant of Bun 'N' Barrel that planned to open in 2020, was also closed during business hours. Cars parked in the Bun 'N' Barrel lot appeared to belong to customers eating lunch at Tong's Thai next door. The restaurant, which has been a San Antonio staple since 1950, is known for burgers and barbecue, as well as a meet-up spot for classic car enthusiasts. Madalyn Mendoza, MySA.com Bun 'N' Barrel has also gotten some screentime throughout its storied history. Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives starring Guy Fieri visited the restaurant in 2011. The restaurant also made an appearance in the 1997 Selena biopic during the scene when Edward James Olmos, who plays Abraham Quintanilla, kicks Chris Perez, played by Jon Seda, off the Tejano icon's tour bus. Syngman Stevens, who also owns Tong's Thai, bought Bun 'N' Barrel in 2007. In 2020, Stevens shared his plans to use Smoke Pit to focus on barbecue while the original Bun 'N' Barrel would emphasize burgers and comfort food. Bun 'N' Barrel was also supposed to add breakfast hours. Stevens and his wife and co-owner Charassri Saemgon told the San Antonio Express-News during that early February conversation that the plan was to open the adjoining barbecue restaurant in April. Of course, that was before the coronavirus pandemic thwarted plans worldwide. It's unclear if the barbecue restaurant ever opened. According to Express-News archives, decorated Air Force pilot Courtney R. Broussard founded the restaurant in 1950 with Gordon Biggs. Broussard died in 2010 of complications with Alzheimer's. The restaurant has been located at 1150 Austin Highway from the start. Ads in the Express-News throughout September 1950 ask for girls over 18 to apply to work the car-hop. The Bun 'N' Barrel sign is one of the city's most iconic neons and remains at the property. Courtesy, KitchData San Antonio wings fans will soon get an extra dose of "Ric Flair drip," but this time it will be in the form of buffalo, barbecue habanero, and sweet and sour sriracha sauce. Wrestling great Ric Flair is entering the food ring and the Alamo City is invited to the show. Starting in late July or early August, locals will be able to order Wooooo! Wings, the professional wrestler's new virtual brand of food, from their Uber Eats delivery apps. A representative for the brand tells MySA that the roll out will be synchronized toward WWE's SummerSlam in Nashville on July 30. Courtesy of San Antonio Zoo On Tuesday evening, July 5, the San Antonio Zoo announced the passing of one of its most beloved and endangered inhabitants. Bubba, the eight-and-a-half foot long, 175-pound Komodo dragon, left behind a large legacy. Maybe one of your childhood photos shows you sitting on top of the sleek statue of him in front of his habitat, or staring in awe through the glass at the noble "real life dragon." First arriving at his San Antonio keep in 1997, the 28-year-old endangered reptile is survived by his zoo caretakers and over a dozen baby Komodos, three of which have gone on to have hatchlings of their own. A Komodo Dragon elder, at the end of it all Bubba lived to be one of the oldest of his species in human care. More than 600,000 immigrants who entered the U.S. as children and lack permanent legal status are anxiously watching a federal appeals court in New Orleans that could determine whether they can remain in the country. The so-called Dreamers are part of a 2012 program under former President Barack Obama called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which offers protection from deportation and provides work permits. But if states including Texas and Missouri succeed in their claim that DACA was created illegally, the immigrants could be kicked out of the U.S. -- where many have built lives and started families. "It's just a paralyzing thought," said Yahel Flores, 28, a DACA recipient and single dad who lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Flores, an immigration advocate for the American Business Immigration Coalition, said that if he loses his legal status, he and his 10-year-old son, who was born in the U.S., will have to rely on extended family for help. While the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 ruled that then-president Donald Trump had no right to abruptly end DACA, the legal fight has shifted to whether Obama had authority to start DACA in the first place. A three-judge appellate panel in New Orleans -- all Republican appointees -- will hear arguments in the case Wednesday. Those currently enrolled in DACA can get work permits renewed, but no new applications will be accepted until the legal quagmire around the program is sorted out. It's most likely to end up back at the Supreme Court because federal judges in different parts of the country have created a patchwork of legal rulings. The coalition of Republican-led states trying to stop DACA claims a president can't legally usurp congressional authority to set immigration policy or alter federal programs without following all required rule making steps. They also complain DACA grants federal benefits -- which the states must pay for -- to whole classes of people in the country illegally in violation of immigration law. A U.S. judge in Texas agreed and declared DACA unconstitutional in July 2021. But he let the program continue in modified form while the court fight played out to avoid disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Dreamers. Federal lawyers argued DACA complies with existing immigration law because agents retain discretion to reject specific applicants on a case-by-case basis, while focusing limited resources on expelling higher-priority offenders. Studies by the Department of Homeland Security show Dreamers and their households contribute $5.6 billion in federal taxes and another $3.1 billion in state and local taxes each year. Biden administration lawyers stressed in court papers that Dreamers' ability to lawfully work, access employer health care, buy homes and pay property taxes reduces the financial burden on states to provide education and health services to undocumented immigrants. "The U.S. will lose out on so much economic opportunity and talent if we don't get this pathway to citizenship," said Enrique Sanchez, a 26-year-old DACA recipient who is an advocate at the American Business Immigration Coalition. He said his legal status prevented him from becoming a law enforcement officer in his home of Park City, Utah. In his ruling, the Texas judge said it was up to Congress to decide immigration policy and the fate of Dreamers. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas agreed, but said the administration is doing all it can to bolster DACA through new regulation while it presses Congress to enact a long-term solution. "The DACA program has changed people's lives for the better and it has enriched our country," Mayorkas said in an emailed statement. "This administration will continue to fight to protect the DACA program, and we will continue to advocate for legislation that is the enduring and permanent solution for such deserving young people." MBABANE The three hotels under Sun International Management Limited have been purchased by Canham Mining International (Pty) Ltd. The highest bidder in the sale of the hotels, situated in Ezulwini, reportedly offered E1 billion. Among the bidders were Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF), Yeoman Properties (PTY) Ltd, WZN Investments (Pty) Ltd and Africa Orbit Holdings (Pty) Ltd. According to a report to the master of the High Court, compiled by the co-liquidators, Marisa Boxshall-Smith and Paul Mulindwa, on April 22, 2022, the Creditors Committee ranked the bidders and on top of the list was Canham Mining International, followed by ENPF, Yeoman Properties, WZN Investments and Africa Orbit Holdings came last. Licence Canham Mining International is not new in the country as in 2016, it was granted a licence to set up a thermal power station. The Australian company obtained the license ahead of JSW Energy and its partners. For this project, Canham Mining International had proposed to invest E1 billion and create jobs for over 30 000 workers. In court papers filed by the master of the High Court on March 18, 2022, the liquidator allegedly reported to the creditors Committee that a sum of E1 billion had already been deposited into a South African bank account. The master of the High Court further reported that the liquidator also allegedly informed the committee that other potential purchasers had made offers of E934 million, E150 million and the liquidated companies had secured financing of E280 million. The sale of the hotels, SwaziSpa Hotel and Casino, Lugogo Sun and the Ezulwini Sun, was previously disclosed by Assistant Attorney General (AG) Mbuso Simelane in court where Sun International Limited is seeking the removal of Mulindwa as co- liquidator. Simelane, at the time, did not mention the names, save to contend that the application by Sun International Limited had been overtaken by events as the sale had taken place. In the report to the master, co-signed by the liquidators, in respect of SwaziSpa Holdings and its subsidiaries dated May 19, 2022, the liquidators provided details on the progress of the bids that had taken place. Creditors The last creditors, shareholders and contributories meeting was held on March 18, 2022. Thereafter, the Joint Liquidators, together with the Creditors Committee, held various meetings on April 11, 2022 and May 16, 2022 to consider and evaluate the bids for the purchase of SwaziSpa Holdings Limited and subsidiaries in liquidation. In the report, the liquidators informed the master of the High Court that during the meeting of April 11, 2022, a discussion was held pertaining to the evaluation of the bids in relation to a set criterion. According to the liquidators in their report, on April 22, 2022, the Joint Liquidators met with the Creditors Committee to give their findings pertaining to the criteria for the respective bidders. They outlined that the most important criteria used by the Joint Liquidators in the evaluation process was among other things, the ability of the bidder to put the assets to productive use, including providing employment to the local people; demonstration that the bidder had the necessary experience to operate such assets; the purchase price offered and the availability of the fund to finance the purchase. The liquidators went on to state that their evaluation of the bidders was reported on April 22, 2022 to the Creditors Committee ranking the bidders in the following order; Canham Mining International (PTY) Limited, Eswatini National Provident Fund, Yeoman Properties (Pty) Limited WZN Investments(PTY) Limited and Africa Orbit Holdings ( PTY) Limited. It was reported that the Creditors Committee was in agreement with the liquidators evaluation of the bidders. According to the report, they (liquidators) and the Creditors Committee agreed that the bidders ranked one to three be further engaged to assess their capabilities to meet the terms and conditions of the sales agreements and that the remainder of the bidders be advised in writing that their bids were not successful. The liquidators went on to inform the master of the High Court that on April 29, 2022 by way of a letter, conditions of sale were proposed to the remaining bidders. Canham Mining International (PTY) Limited and ENPF were reportedly both in agreement with most of the conditions of sale. Yeoman Properties (PTY) Limited is said to have said it would revert to the liquidators on its viewpoint on the conditions of sale. On May 11, 2022, the liquidators met with Eswatini National Provident Fund to discuss the conditions and purchase price. On May 13, 2022 the liquidators met with Canham Mining International (PTY) Limited and thereafter met with Yeoman Properties (PTY) Limited, reads part of the report. According to the report, the Joint Liquidators, after the meetings with the preferred bidders and further evaluation, concluded that Canham Mining was the preferred bidder. Liquidators On May 16, 2022, the Joint Liquidators are reported to have met again with the Creditors Committee to hear the report from the former. It was agreed that an agreement of sale should be entered into with Canham Mining International (PTY) Limited, reads part of the report. In June 2021, the High Court of Eswatini issued a final order for the liquidation of five companies under Sun International Management Limited. Mulindwa is the co-liquidator together with lawyer Marissa Boxshall-Smith. The affected companies included Swazi Spa Holdings, which was operating SwaziSpa Hotel and Casino, Lugogo Sun and the Ezulwini Sun. Sun international Management Limited is a public company, duly registered an external company, in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Other applicants in the application for the removal of Mulindwa are Nedbank Swaziland Limited, former employees of Swazi Spa, Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) and Chick- Fil- A Swaziland (PTY) Limited. Respondents in the matter are the Master of the High Court, Mulindwa, Smith and the attorney general. Sun International and the other applicants wanted the High Court to interdict and restrain Mulindwa from performing the functions of a co-liquidator in the liquidation of Swazi Spa Holding and its subsidiary companies pending finalisation of the relief of setting aside his appointment. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. The man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens of others in a shooting that terrorized a Fourth of July parade had been investigated by local police before. Officers had responded in 2019 after someone reported that he had tried to kill himself. And they came to his home a few months later seizing a knife collection after a family member reported that he had pledged to kill everyone. Still, in the years since, the man, Robert E. Crimo III, 21, was able to legally buy several guns in Illinois, including a high-powered rifle that officials said was used in the attack Monday in Highland Park, a lakefront suburb north of Chicago. On Tuesday, Crimo was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. The details of those prior police visits raised questions about whether Illinois authorities missed opportunities to use their relatively strict firearm laws to block Crimos gun purchases, and about whether a newly signed federal gun law might have made a difference had it been in force earlier. In a statement, the Illinois State Police defended its decision to grant Crimo a permit to own a gun, which he applied for in December 2019, three months after police took the knives from his home. In Highland Park, police said that Crimo appeared to have prepared for weeks to attack the parade Monday morning, and that he had used a fire escape to climb atop a downtown business to fire dozens of rounds from a high-powered rifle into the crowd. Afterward, they said, he escaped by discarding his rifle and blending into the crowd while wearing womens clothing. Authorities released a picture that appeared to show him wearing an American flag scarf around his neck perhaps, they said, to conceal his distinctive neck tattoos. Crimo was arrested about eight hours later when a resident spotted him on a highway in a nearby suburb. Although authorities said they had uncovered no evidence that the shooting was motivated by racial or religious hate, they acknowledged that they did not know what motivated the attack. Prosecutors said Crimo would make an initial court appearance Wednesday. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer. The sequence of events in Highland Park in which law enforcement was told about a troubled young man, one who later acquired guns and was accused of using them to kill was not unique. In a massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, the FBI received tips about the person who has pleaded guilty in the case, Nikolas Cruz, before the shooting occurred. And a judge ruled that the Air Force was mostly responsible for a mass shooting at a Texas church in 2017 because it had not entered the gunmans domestic violence conviction into a federal database. The attack Monday was not the first to raise questions about vulnerabilities in Illinois strict gun laws, which require a permit to own a weapon and which include a red flag provision that allows law enforcement to seize weapons from people deemed dangerous. We must vastly increase awareness and education about this red flag law, Eric Rinehart, the Lake County states attorney, said Tuesday when he announced the murder charges. He also called for the passage of a ban on assault weapons. A man convicted of killing four people at a Waffle House restaurant in Tennessee in 2018 had previously surrendered his guns to law enforcement in his Illinois hometown. But those guns, including the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack, were returned to the gunmans father, officials said at the time. The laws also came under scrutiny in 2019, when a man fatally shot five people at an Aurora, Illinois, factory where he worked. That man, who died in a shootout with police, had been banned from owning a gun for five years but continued to possess one. In Highland Park, officials said Crimo did not have a firearm owners identification card at the time officers seized 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from his home in 2019. They said they believed he bought several guns in the years since, including the rifle used Monday and another that was in his car when he was arrested. Those guns were bought legally by Crimo in Illinois, officials said, meaning he would have had to have applied for and received a FOID card from state police. A spokesperson for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat who supports gun control laws, declined to answer questions Tuesday about whether the governor believed that the states laws had worked as intended in the Highland Park case, but issued a statement calling for stricter gun laws and greater awareness of existing restrictions. Unfortunately, every time a mass shooting occurs it serves as a stark reminder that our gun laws often fall short of the rigorous standards that feel like common sense to most Americans, the governor said. Pritzkers office directed inquiries about Crimos case to the state police, who defended how they handled it, saying, in part, that at the time of FOID application review in January of 2020, there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application. The state police said that Crimos father had sponsored his application for the permit. Steven Greenberg, a lawyer representing the father, acknowledged that the father had done so and said there were possible explanations why. Greenberg said his client did not believe there was an issue and might not have understood what happened with the knife seizure because it did not happen in his house. It was perfectly legal, he said of sponsoring the gun permit. The shooting in Highland Park also closely followed the passage of a federal law that has been hailed as the most significant piece of gun legislation in decades. That measure, passed in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, enhances background checks for buyers ages 18 to 21, requiring for the first time that juvenile records, including mental health records beginning at age 16, be vetted for material that identifies young buyers as a danger to themselves or others. While many details about Crimos personal history remained hazy, it was possible but not certain that he could have been flagged for additional scrutiny had the federal law been passed earlier. Officials did not provide the exact dates that Crimo bought his rifles but indicated that they had been bought in 2020 and 2021. Crimo turned 21 last year. As prosecutors announced charges, residents of Highland Park gathered for prayer vigils, lamented a shattered sense of suburban security and grieved the deaths of their neighbors. The victims included Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, who had recently moved back to Highland Park from Mexico, and who went to the parade with his family despite not wanting to; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, a beloved employee of a local synagogue whom one friend called a beautiful ray of light; Stephen Straus, a financial adviser who, at age 88, still took the train every day to his office at a brokerage firm in Chicago; Katherine Goldstein, 64; and Irina and Kevin McCarthy, ages 35 and 37, a couple who left behind a toddler son. Its just sad, said Adrienne Rosenblatt, a neighbor of the McCarthys. Authorities had not yet publicly identified a seventh victim whose death was announced Tuesday. Around Highland Park, questions also spread about Crimo, who was from a well-known local family and whose father once ran unsuccessfully for mayor. Nicolas and Andres Lopez, brothers who went to Highland Park High School with Crimo, said they used to be friends with him. Crimo at one point dropped out of high school, the brothers said, but they found nothing during the time when they were friends to suggest a problem. He wasnt a quiet kid who was dark then, said Andres Lopez, 23. He was quiet because he was nerdy. He wasnt sinister. In the years since, concerning signs mounted. Crimo posted music videos online that seemed to refer to mass shootings, one of which included cartoon images of a gunman pointing a large rifle, and of other figures spurting blood. Later in that video, the gunman lies in a pool of blood near police cars. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg called out Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for using "fear-mongering" rhetoric toward the Latino and Hispanic immigrant communities amid the border control conversation in Texas. Nirenberg's comments come after Patrick went onto Fox News and repeatedly said Texas is being "invaded" by migrants on Tuesday, July 5. Patrick said, "It makes me ill every time I hear because they are just lying to people. We are being invaded." Despite saying in a public statement in June that there is no coverup, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin is now accusing the Texas Department of Public Safety of covering up the investigation in the Robb Elementary mass shooting. McLaughlin told CNN in an interview on Tuesday, July 5, that he no longer has faith in how local leaders are investigating law enforcement's response to the May 24 massacre, where a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers. "I'm not confident, 100%, in DPS because I think it's a coverup," McLaughlin told CNN. McLaughlin said that he believes DPS director Col. Steven McCraw is covering up for his agency's involvement. Local law enforcement has been criticized for its response after the gunman was inside the classroom with kids for an hour with an assault-style rifle before being killed by Border Patrol special units. Josie Norris, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer McCraw would later tell a Texas Senate committee in June that despite law enforcement saying the gunman locked the classroom doors, the doors were unlocked and officers never checked despite Uvalde CISD Chief Pete Arredondo asking for keys. Arredondo, who is said to be the incident commander on that day, has received most of the criticism. DPS press secretary Ericka Beltran sent a statement to CNN saying, "The Texas Department of Public Safety is committed to working with multiple law enforcement agencies to get the answers we all seek." McLaughlin's claim comes after he said in a statement in June that there was no coverup as multiple news outlets' requests to the city of Uvalde for records and body cam footage went ignored. The mayor told CNN that he feels the full story about the May 24 shooting is not coming out because DPS is not being transparent. He said every law enforcement agency must share the blame. McLaughlin claims he has not had a briefing from any agency, including Uvalde District Attorney Christina Busbee, who ordered an investigation by the Texas Rangers. McLaughlin said he has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate law enforcement response. "I lost confidence because the narrative changed from DPS so many times and when we asked questions, we weren't getting answers," McLaughlin said in the interview. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Uvalde police say that a man was arrested on Tuesday, July 5, for calling a local hotel and threatening to use a weapon. The man's phone call came from out of state. Jason Guerra, 21, is facing charges for making a terroristic threat to the Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Uvalde on Tuesday, Fox 29 reported. Law enforcement didn't say from what state Guerra made the phone call. Law enforcement shut down Highway 90 when the call was made and negotiated with Guerra over the phone to get his location. Following the Supreme Court's June decision to return the question of abortion law to individual states, activists and lawmakers across the U.S. have begun crafting rafts of local legislation. Each seeks to enshrine and expand new anti-abortion measures to criminalize the performance and abetting of such procedures within their jurisdictions. Individuals at the forefront of these efforts include Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. On Thursday Paxton filed an emergency motion that on Saturday successfully removed a temporary restraining order blocking state prosecutors from charging abortion recipients during the 30-day enforcement limitation period set forth under Texas' abortion trigger law. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday night ruled against the temporary restraining order, leaving Texans abortion providers subject to civil lawsuits. The court's ruling does not allow prosecutors to bring criminal charges against providers. Other formerly Roe-protected measures seemingly subject to new litigation include the availability of medical abortion pills. In December, Texas lawmakers passed a new measure limiting the use of abortion-inducing medication to the first seven weeks of pregnancy and outlawing the mailing of abortive pills. The policy will likely serve as the blueprint for other states passing anti-abortion statutes in the coming months, according to remarks by a Texas-based anti-abortion advocate published Tuesday in the New York Times. "We have legislation ready to roll out for every single state you live in to protect life regardless of the Supreme Court, regardless of your circuit court," said Chelsey Youman, national legislative adviser of the Human Coalition Action, according to writer Katharine Stewart. As the anti-abortion group's Texas state director, Youman foreshadowed new, even stricter anti-abortion laws being introduced that build upon those that originated in the Lone Star State. "Our next big bill is going to make the Heartbeat Act look tame," Youman said. "It's designed specifically to siphon off these illegal pills." In a November 2021 Texas Tribune article covering the Supreme Court's hearing of Texas' Heartbeat Act, Youman claimed to have worked on the measure seen by some as the beginning of Roe's unraveling. "Today is a huge day, it's a pivotal day," Youman told the Tribune. "I worked on this bill." Human Coalition Action's site features a landing video in which Youman celebrates the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe. Calling the decision "a celebratory day for our movement," the Texas A&M alum offers thanks to God and the high court for the dissolution of abortion rights in many states. "We are so grateful to the Supreme Court, but also to God, for having mercy on us, for finally allowing us to be able to save lives," Youman said. The Human Coalition Action site states the group's goal is "to solidify victory over abortion" by "creating a culture of collaboration; providing policy expertise; and generating momentum from the grassroots to the government." A request for comment was not immediately returned by the Human Coalition Action. Correction: Fridays Texas Supreme Court ruling allows abortion providers in Texas to be sued in civil court, but does not allow state prosecutors to seek criminal charges against providers at this time. A previous version of this story stated prosecutors are now allowed to file criminal cases as a result of the ruling. Although UK readers are likely suffering from Boris-Johnson-on-the-ropes overload, forgive me for attempting to step back and give context for readers in other parts of the world. Feel free to correct any errors or omissions. The short version is that after two senior Cabinet ministers, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resigned (letters here and here), four Parliamentary Private secretaries plus the deputy party chair and trade envoy for Morocco followed. Despite these blows, a YouGov snap poll shows that even though 69% of British voters and 54% of Tories, think Johnson should go, only 21% of respondents believe Johnson will resign soon. A quick look at Twitter confirms that the mainstream press is broadcasting these results. See also: Johnson on the brink: what the papers said about Boris Johnsons cabinet resignations https://t.co/LUoIJiDrdP The Guardian (@guardian) July 6, 2022 Recall that Boris Johnson swept into office, first based on democratically dubious vote of a small number of paying Tory party members, but then seemingly confirmed by a landslide win in the 2019 contest, with the Tories winning by the biggest margin since 1987, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister. More careful analysts pointed out that the Labour popular vote result was not terrible in historical terms, and Labour lost votes much more to other parties than the Tories. But it didnt matter much whether the great performance of the SNP was important in breaching the famed Labour red wall. Johnson, riding the wave of Brexit dominating the news and Labours voter-alienating ambivalence (compounded by effective smearing of Jeremy Corbyn as an anti-Semite). However, even though voters chose their MP and not their Prime Minister, it was still clear that Tory voters would be getting Johnson. And Johnson was a known quantity, in not a good way: an aristocratic, charming liar with no interest or acumen in governing.1 In the old days when the UK had a strong civil service, Johnson could conceivably had a successful-seeming time in office, with the experts preventing at least some of the worst outcomes of bad policies. But Johnson and his unimpressive ministers have had little in the way of private sanity checks. Johnson has been a dead man walking since he was badly bloodied in a June 7 vote of no confidence, with the immediate trigger the Partygate scandal. Even though Johnson on paper looked to score a solid win, at 211 v. 148, the reality is that the Prime Minister is assured the 100+ votes of MPs serving in government (and getting stipends). Anyone in Government who opposes the Prime Minister should resign and only then cast a no-confidence vote. So Johnson got less than half the votes of the backbenchers. Prime Ministers whove gotten similarly low votes have not lasted long. The current row is the scandal over Dickensianly-named Charles Pincher. But Johnson had already taken another hit when and both seats they had held, one previously considered safe, the other snatched from Labour in 2019. It didnt help that Johnson seemed more interested in bolstering Zelensky than fellow MPs, or that he was in Rwanda the day of the special elections. Pincher resigned from the post of deputy chief whip on June 30 due to allegations of sexual misconduct. No. 10 claimed that Johnson had not known Pincher had faced charges of similar impropriety in 2019, at the Foreign Office. That story blew up over the weekend. From the BBC: Following the resignation, No 10 and a series of government ministers initially denied that Boris Johnson was aware of specific complaints against Mr Pincher before appointing him as deputy chief whip. (No 10 is the prime ministers office and briefs journalists on his behalf). But Lord McDonald a former top civil servant in the Foreign Office accused No 10 of not telling the truth and stated that Mr Johnson was briefed in person about a formal complaint into Mr Pinchers conduct in 2019, when Mr Pincher was a Foreign Office minister. The government now says the prime minister was indeed briefed at the time but could not recall this when the latest allegations emerged last week. Mr Johnson has confirmed this and says he bitterly regrets not acting on the information. By 12:30 on Monday, No 10 had changed its line. The prime ministers official spokesperson said Mr Johnson knew of allegations that were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint adding that it was deemed not appropriate to stop an appointment simply because of unsubstantiated allegations. That evening, BBC political correspondent Ione Wells revealed that Boris Johnson was made aware of a formal complaint about Chris Pinchers inappropriate behaviour while Mr Pincher was a Foreign Office minister from 2019-20. The complaint led to a disciplinary process which confirmed his misconduct. Leading civil servants at Downing St. are officially unable to comment, of course. pic.twitter.com/IaliUooKuD Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) July 5, 2022 While we are keeping count: Alleged & admitted Tory sexual predators: Boris Johnson groped female staff Chris Pincher groped men (twice) Charles Elphicke jailed for sexual assault James Grundy exposed himself in pub Rob Roberts sexual harassment David Warburton sexual assault#r4today #bbcaq Incorrigible FCA (@ImIncorrigible) July 1, 2022 I would rather see Johnson held to account for more destructive actions, starting with sabotaging the Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul at the end of March. But at a minimum, this mini-history shows that toxic masculinity is something about which Johnson knows a great deal. The problem, as we said at the time of the June no-confidence vote, is the big reason Johnson may soldier on for a while is the replacement pickings are so poor. ConservativeHome had posted the results of its periodic poll on potential Tory leaders on July 3, so before the Javid-Sunak resignations: ConservativeHomes comments: Far from licking our lips at the prospect of a leadership election, ConservativeHome hasnt asked this question for over six months. When we did, Liz Truss led Rishi Sunak by 20 votes 181 to 161; 23 per cent to 20 per cent. Since then, the Chancellor has been engulfed by the controversy about his wifes former non-dom status and his previous possession of a U.S green card. He is now ninth in the table on five per cent. Ben Wallace, who wasnt even named in the December question, comes top in this survey. He has 119 votes and is on 16 per cent. Penny Mordaunt is second by only a sliver. She has 117 votes and is on the same percentage. The Defence Secretary has topped our Cabinet League Table since February, so that he also leads our Next Leader Survey is perhaps unsurprising. Mordaunts second place, above seven Cabinet members, is more startling. Its very hard for a non-Cabinet Minister to gain the profile of a Cabinet Minister or of a prominent backbencher either, who will be free to say what he thinks. But the Trade Minister is somehow managing a bit of both. She makes no pretence of having backed Boris Johnson in the recent leadership ballot, operates in the Government as a semi-independent, and has a way of pushing populist buttons on tax cuts, for example. The Prime Minister may not be in a strong enough position to fire her, and either way she is making hay while the sun shines. Truss is third with 14 per cent. It may be that the association of the top Cabinet members with Johnson is tarnishing their brand among some members of the panel. On the other hand, 39 panel members have refused to answer the question. This is a higher refusenik total than elsewhere in the survey, and these will be the Prime Ministerial loyalists believing that there is no vacancy and that the question is premature. Accordingly, the Times reports that Johnson has found replacements: Nadhim Zahawi as Chancellor, Steve Barclay as Health Secretary and Michelle Donelan as Education Secretary. The knives are very much out. Johnson appeared to be trying to position Liz Truss as his successor, which is logical since shes the most likely to make Johnson look good by comparison. But the worm may finally have turned: Just seen a tweet saying Johnson wants to makes Liz Truss chancellor, and its utterly fucking staggering how a person with all the personality of a well-used bog brush and the intelligence of a half-eaten bag of chips can fail upwards so repeatedly, and to such dizzying heights. Fancy Brenda (they/them) (@SpillerOfTea) July 5, 2022 #r4today Nadhim Zahawi didnt agree to be promoted to Chancellor. Boris Johnson wanted Liz Truss but Zahawi threatened to resign if he didnt get the gig! Effectively securing a promotion by blackmailing a Prime Minister so weak he cant even choose his own Cabinet! Stephen McBarron (@ambridge2020) July 6, 2022 Ben Wallace and Liz Truss currently keeping their heads so low they're at risk of going full ostrich. Both are clearly hopeful of pinching the Johnson rump vote in a leadership battle. If they sniff the wind has entirely turned they'll jump. John Bull (@garius) July 6, 2022 But. Liz Truss has made a grave error standing 100% with Boris Johnson, She will now never be leader. MimiJ (@MimiJ9) July 5, 2022 Maybe Im missing something, but Theresa May looks better than the choices on offer. ____ 1 One of many examples. Boris and his Brexiteering allies took almost no interest in what Brexit would mean in practice, above all for traders. Had the Tories operated responsibly, they would have made considerable effort in preparing businesses for the upcoming major changes and provided them with considerable assistance, at a minimum detailed guides and help lines. But that sort of preparation would have been contrary to the Glorious Brexit narrative. SAFARI USERS: Patient readers, it has come to our attention that some Safari users are having trouble with the Links page: It will not scroll, or react to clicks. My solution was to turn off JavaScript (Preferences -> Security -> uncheck Enable JavaScript). When I did that, Links behaved as expected. So try this temporary solution until we find out whats going on. Opera, a Chrome clone, and Firefox worked for me as normal. lambert Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war both real fog and stage fog in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked. And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders. Yves P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies: Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please dont do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them. * * * Cause Of Neurological Staggering Disease Affecting Cats May Have Been Revealed IFL Science If the U.S. Is in a Recession, Its a Very Strange One Wall Street Journal A Crisis Historian Has Some Bad News For Us The Atlantic. For some definition of us. Fortune favors the prepared mind. Louis Pasteur Climate #COVID19 Yikes: Selective visuoconstructional impairment following mild COVID-19 with inflammatory and neuroimaging correlation findings Nature. From the Abstract: [I]t is important to understand what are the implications of mild COVID-19, which is the largest and understudied pool of COVID-19 cases. In approximately one-quarter of mild-COVID-19 individuals, we detected a specific visuoconstructive deficit, which was associated with changes in molecular and structural brain imaging, and correlated with upregulation of peripheral immune markers. Our findings provide evidence of neuroinflammatory burden causing cognitive deficit, in an already large and growing fraction of the world population. While living with a multitude of mild COVID-19 cases, action is required for a more comprehensive assessment and follow-up of the cognitive impairment, allowing to better understand symptom persistence and the necessity of rehabilitation of the affected individuals. And from the Discussion: We observed significant cognitive impairment only in the ROCF, a drawing task test used to assess visuospatial abilities, executive functions and memory.. Visuoconstructive deficits are usually defined as an atypical difficulty in using visual and spatial information to guide complex behaviors like drawing, assembling objects or organizing multiple pieces of a more sophisticated stimuli . Im not a biological determinist, but perhaps were in the stupidest timeline for a reason. (I wanted to underline the conclusion, so I didnt underline denialist cant like mild and living with, which seems to infect everything.) * * * CureVac files patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over mRNA technology Reuters Were getting an Omicron-optimized booster many months too late Matt Yglesias, Slow Boring. Remember when new mRNA vaccines would be a software point release? Good times. * * * Leading Causes of Death in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 2020 to October 2021 Nature China? India UK/EU New Not-So-Cold War * * * Tens of thousands gather in pro-EU, anti-government demonstrations in Georgia Agence France Presse Biden Administration The Supremes Fourth of July Post-Game Analysis Gunz Abortion The Bezzle Will the crypto crash derail the next web revolution? FT. No, because there isnt one. Web3 is a Silicon Valley honeypot for stupid money. Healthcare The Fatal Flaw in Hospital Price Transparency Rules MedPage Today. Immortal deck: There is too much room for interpretation in the definition of compliance. Our Famously Free Press Propaganda (1): Yep. "Philip Cross" has an editing schedule that normal, rank-and-file members of the public simply cannot compete with.https://t.co/MOk4bppkVchttps://t.co/onjV4WLAL6 pic.twitter.com/8TWcgP69FR Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) July 5, 2022 Propaganda (2): OK, Zelensky is the woman in the tub. 'One Week' (1920) Directed by Buster Keaton A hand breaks the fourth wall to preserve Sybil Seely's dignity. pic.twitter.com/2eEMSwgzhg World Cinema (@WorldCinemania) July 3, 2022 Zeitgeist Watch This service retrieves your dead loved ones tattoos and preserves them as framed mementos Boing Boing (Re Silc). Imperial Collapse Watch 10, 9, 8. The last 30 seconds of US Empire re-enacted by an American family. #WhoDidThat pic.twitter.com/IS7Hr4ZejV Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) July 6, 2022 The cost of information acquisition by natural selection (preprint) bioRxiv. From the Abstract: We note that natural selection is a highly effective learning process in that selection is an asymptotically optimal algorithm for the problem faced by evolving populations, and no other algorithm can consistently outperform selection in general. Our results highlight the centrality of information to natural selection and the value of computational learning theory as a perspective on evolutionary biology. From one of the authors: 14. The labeled colonies are kind of cool to look atand you can actually see the substitution process proceeding down each stack of plates at right. pic.twitter.com/iFBcvqvQHf Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) July 5, 2022 Stunned by UFOs, exasperated fighter pilots get little help from Pentagon The Hill Antidote du jour (via): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Yves here. On the one hand, I have complained for a while about the general lack of interest among stereotypical liberal blue city/suburban women voters for the plight of their supposed sisters in flyover, where abortion rights were restricted even before the Roe v. Wade reversal, both as a matter of law (required hearing of guilt trips and 24 hour or more cooling periods) and via lack of economic assistance. I was even more annoyed when this cohort was up in arms about the Supreme Court ruling but seemed prepared only to whinge and maybe demonstrate the weekend after. On the other hand, that view maligned the efforts of grass roots activists, often in the same locations, to help women in the wrong parts of the US to get access. But confirming my prejudices, despite THE CITY depicting organizations like that in NYC gearing up to provide more assistance, I have yet to see anyone prominent in Team Dem supporting these groups. By Samantha Maldonado, smaldonado@thecity.nyc. Originally published at THE CITY on July 5, 2022 Activist Bleu Grano stands next to a mural she created in Bushwick with information about accessing abortion pills, June 26, 2022. Samantha Maldonado/THE CITY For activists, advocates and providers working on the ground in New York, the day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade was one theyd expected, even before Politico published a leaked draft of the opinion in May. People like Niharika Rao, an organizer with NYC for Abortion Rights, have long understood the obstacles pregnant people both in and out of state face in affording and securing a safe abortion. Their dedication to that mission has only grown as they navigate a new legal landscape that could prove risky to abortion-seekers crossing state lines. Now were not only fighting for New Yorkers, were fighting for the massive increase in abortion patients were going to be seeing coming from all over the country, said Rao, who is also a co-founder of the Reproductive Justice Collective, based at Columbia University. This is the opposite of the moment to sit on our laurels and be like, We codified Roe in 2019, but were fine! It requires thinking about things like responsibility and privilege to access, Rao added. (In 2019, New York become one of the first states to codify the right to an abortion.) While abortion is legal in New York, the overturning of Roe in the ruling for Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization opens the door for more than half of states to outlaw or severely restrict abortion. Lawyers, doulas, hosts with extra bedrooms, medical professionals and grassroots organizers are all working to increase access to both medical and surgical abortions, as well as provide educational, legal, financial and emotional support. This comes as the New York legislature on Friday approved a measure to add abortion rights in the state constution through amending the Equal Protection Clause to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive healthcare and autonomy. Physical Help Officials and reproductive health advocates expect to see an influx of people seeking abortion coming to New York City from states where abortion procedures are banned or limited. Out-of-state residents accounted for 9.4% of abortions performed in New York City in 2019, according to CDC data. Judith Plaskow, a retired professor who lives in Washington Heights, nearly a decade ago began volunteering with the Haven Coalition, an organization that pairs hosts with people who travel to the city for abortions. Before the pandemic, she offered her guests who had driven down from upstate, taken a 22-hour bus from the Midwest and flown in from the South an extra room and a meal. She plans to start up again soon. Most of the time they havent been in New York that many times. Its an overwhelming city, Plaskow, 75, said. Its been a very positive experience to be able to give people a comfortable welcome, to point out some [iconic] New York sites as we walk out of the clinic so the abortion isnt the only thing theyre experiencing. A nonprofit called Elevated Access has begun lining up volunteer pilots to transport for free people who live in restrictive states to states where they can access abortions and gender-affirming healthcare procedures. A pilot flew the first passenger through the program this past June. At least one pilot in New York state has signed up to fly patients so far, according to the nonprofit. New York may also welcome doctors to train them to provide abortion care, as nearly half of obstetrics and gynecology residents in other states wouldnt be able to learn abortion care. Since the leak of the draft opinion, Dr. Antoinette Danvers, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and womens health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the director for complex family planning division at Montefiore Health System, has been having conversations with out-of-state institutions. Theyre trying to figure out how they might be able to send medical residents and those whove completed their residencies to The Bronx for further training in abortion care. Were trying to ensure that there is a future where we have clinicians who are still able to do this procedure, Danvers said, warning against the devastating long-term impact on patients especially women of color that will result from a lack of training. Offering training for doctors from out-of-state will mean figuring out several logistical complexities, like license and insurance requirements, developing partnerships with distant clinics and ensuring efforts stay within legal bounds. Were working through those different challenges and barriers, but we are very committed to finding a solution and working with a program, said Danvers. Its really heartbreaking to think about the patients that are going to lose access to abortion care, and being in the clinical environment, we have a picture of what it looks like to take care of someone where pregnancy is harmful to their health, and needing a life-saving procedure that you cant offer seems devastating. Recently, the doctor noted, a patient at Montefiore experienced a pregnancy complication and began bleeding. To stop the hemorrhaging, she needed an abortion, which helped prevent an even more tragic outcome. Medical Help People in areas with limited access to legal procedures will have little choice but to increasingly rely on abortions induced by medications, experts say. Those accounted for more than half of abortions in the United States in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit which advocates for reproductive and sexual rights. The pills, which are FDA-approved, can be sent via mail. People can take them alone or with the help of a provider. The pills induce an abortion that is indistinguishable from a spontaneous miscarriage in fact, some people who miscarry must ensure the process completes through taking the same pills. This summer, the New York City-based Doula Project, which supports outcomes ranging from birth to miscarriage or the elected end of a pregnancy, will launch a virtual program that will enable people to remotely receive doula care while self-managing abortions. Jess Byrne, 44, who works as one of about 40 volunteer doulas on the project, said the virtual program was originally aimed to meet a need borne of the pandemic, when the doulas could not be present in clinics to chat with patients and make them more comfortable during and after procedures. Regardless of how people end up getting an abortion or getting access to medication, they still deserve care and support, Byrne said. Groups like NYC for Abortion Rights and Fund Abortion Not Police have and will continue to host workshops on how to get abortion pills delivered by mail, how they work, and how to inform others about whats available encouraging participants, for example, to speak in the third person, not in the second person, to avoid possible liability. Everyone needs to be prepared to make themselves a resource to other people, said Bleu Grano, who started Fund Abortion Not Police to raise money for abortion funds. Grano also volunteers for a Spanish-language hotline based in Texas. Because Ive been volunteering in the south for all these years, I know how hard it is for people to get abortions. That has made me less susceptible to that giving-up mindset that I know a lot of people in safe states may be more inclined to. Grano, a 31-year-old Bushwick resident, has also been working with the group Feminist Collages NYC to wheatpaste messages onto walls in Brooklyn and Manhattan that include websites where people can learn more about abortion pills or get them from abroad. The messages, painted in block letters on white paper, are often near places where Grano has seen anti-abortion billboards. She thinks of it as free advertising. Rao, in her work through the Reproductive Justice Collective, wants institutions of higher learning to provide abortion pills on campus, as California requirespublic colleges to do. A bill at the state level for that was first introduced in Albany in 2019 but again did not pass this most recent legislative session. When Theres No Other Help Some states have already been limiting and will increasingly do so peoples access to abortion pills, even attempting to bar seekers from crossing state lines, noted Terry McGovern, a lawyer and professor of population and family health at Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health. Theres a lot of questions about how the legality of any of this will play out, McGovern said. Before this particular SCOTUS [U.S. Supreme Court] majority, I would have said none of these things could be legal, you cant prosecute people across state lines, and bounty hunt across state lines when theyre complying with the laws of another state, but its all crazy now. States like Idaho, Oklahoma and Texas passed laws that allows lawsuits against abortion providers or helpers. McGovern believes New Yorkers will be shielded from prosecution thanks to a package of laws Gov. Kathy Hochul signed to protect providers and people from out-of-state seeking abortions in New York. Few states have laws that specifically criminalize self-managed abortion, yet research from If/When/How, a network of lawyers for reproductive justice, found that least 60 people nationwide from 2000 to 2020 were criminally investigated, arrested, or convicted for allegedly ending their own pregnancy or helping someone else do so, according to a spokesperson for the group. Rafa Kidvai, director of Repro Legal Defense Fund, attends a Manhattan protest after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, June 24, 2022.Samantha Maldonado/THE CITY Rafa Kidvai, director of the Repro Legal Defense Fund, a national organization that offers money for bail and legal expenses in cases where people are investigated, arrested or prosecuted for self-managed abortions, expects more people to face legal consequences as access to clinics shrinks. Such cases can look like a Texas district attorney charging a woman for murder when she self-managed her abortion. (The case was later dismissed.) People who miscarry or deliver a stillbirth can and have been prosecuted, as well. What were really going to see is an escalation of stigma and reproductive control and the surveillance of pregnant people, Kidvai said. Were seeing criminalization of people directly for their pregnancy outcomes. If/When/How also runs a helpline to provide information on legal rights around self-managed abortion. Last week, New York Attorney General Letitia James launched a hotline that offers legal guidance to out-of-state patients seeking abortions, healthcare providers and those who support in other ways. A lot of the fear that people have right now is that the helpers and advocates and activists that are working around this will also be criminalized, added Kidvai. Today I am risking being too glib, but my excuse is aspiring to meet the Einstein standard, Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. Its not hard to see that as rough as economic conditions are now, they are set to get worse. And its not hard to see that despite the considerable blowback from the sanctions against Russia, the West is not going to relent. Heres a simple baseline forecast. Russia wins in Ukraine. The West may try to define it somehow as not a victory, but its hard to see how Russia does not take the entire Black Sea coast plus Ukraine east of the Dneiper by the end of the year, and I hazard to guess sooner, say October-November. What Russia decides to do with the western part is path dependent and so in play (consider how possible military coup/Zelensky flight, Democratic November wipeout, rising political strife in Europe, Poland deciding to get expansionist could all factor into Russian decisions). Some Russians are already getting cocky: Many of you asked for the capitulation of Zelensky with subtitles,so here it is ENJOY pic.twitter.com/t46YIxlUQl AZ (@AZmilitary1) July 5, 2022 The West will remain fixated on making Russia pay for taking Ukraine. But the West lacks the ability to do so via conventional warfare (see this devastating analysis, The Return of Industrial Warfare, which shows that the West lacks the manufacturing capacity to match, let alone beat, Russia). So the only means left is economic war. Despite the fact that the West is losing decisively there too, it is determined to escalate, no matter how much harm it does to itself. Russia has been measured in its responses. Perhaps the Russian leadership hoped that the West would recognize the balance of power and cool off after Russia force a Minsk-Accords-type solution plus a guarantee of neutrality upon Ukraine, which seemed a possible outcome as of the end-of-March negotiations in Istanbul, which the UK and US got Zelensky to undo. Russia knows theres no point in negotiating with the West, or at least not the current actors. Russia is nevertheless far from tit-for-tat-level retaliation; one assumes if nothing else Russia is now playing to China and India and the Global South to show that it is being pretty reasonable given the givens and trying to balance respecting contracts with not being ripped off. Merely requiring gas for roubles, and now other commodities for roubles as a way to prevent another $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves from being stolen was hardly a big ask,1 yet some buyers went ballistic. Poland and Bulgaria refused to comply with the new payment procedure and so Russia stopped shipping their contracted amounts. Now the Western press is regularly complaining that Russia is not sending all the gas that is is supposed to. Austria complained in June (on the fourth day this happened) that was only getting 50% of the gas it expected. The article made no mention of the fact that this was in the period when Gazprom pointed, and it was confirmed, that Siemens had sent turbine used in St. Petersburg to Montreal and Canada would not send it back, and Gazprom had to cut deliveries on Nord Stream 1 by 40%. The other nation-level shortfalls could be due to Germany backfilling Poland and Bulgaria. Recall also that Russia sanctioned 31 Gazprom European entities connected to Gazprom Germania because Germany stole Gazprom assets there, including storage facilities. At least one of those entities was Austrian. In other words, its hard to unpack how much of the alleged shortfalls are the direct result of sanctions-related measures and specific counter-sanctions by Russia, as opposed to the Russia jerking the EU around because it can. So far, it looks to be mainly or entirely the former, but with more and more provocations like the Kaliningrad partial blockade, theres a lot of room for Russia to get nasty. For instance, continuing on the economic front, Austria is about to seize a partly-Gazrprom owned facility in Austria, but youd never know that from the press accounts unless youd been paying attention. From Reuters: Austria is following through on a use it or lose it threat to eject Russias Gazprom from its large Haidach gas storage facility for systematically failing to fill its portion of the capacity there, the government said on Wednesday. Austria obtains around 80% of its gas from Russia but since the war in Ukraine it has accused Moscow of weaponising that supply and has been seeking alternatives. Fearing that Russia will cut it off, it is racing to fill its gas storage facilities, which are at just under half their capacity. Since Gazprom has not been filling its portion of the Haidach facility near Salzburg, the conservative-led government told the Russian firm in May that if it did not use its storage there the capacity would be handed over to others. Legislation making that possible came into force on July 1. If customers do not store (gas) then the capacity must be handed over to others. It is critical infrastructure. We need it now in such a crisis. That is exactly what is happening now in the case of Gazprom and its storage at Haidach, energy minister Leonore Gewessler told a news conference, adding that gas regulator E-Control had started the process of ejecting Gazprom. First, its not clear if Russia was actually short on its contractual deliveries. Second, one wonders where Austria could possibly get the gas needed to fill its storage all the way up (as if the tanks were always full, something I doubt). Third, it is acting on fears Russia will cut it off, when it looks like Austria is in the process of triggering that outcome. The key omission is who owns the facility. Per Bloomberg: Haidach was built by Gazprom and Germanys Wingas Gmbh. As we wrote, Wingas was one of the entities sanctioned by Russia as a result of Germany seizing Gazprom Germania assets. So the cutback in deliveries may also be the result of those counter-sanctions. So Austrias response will be to copy Germany, steal the unsanctioned part of Gazprom asset and they expect Russia to continue supplying gas? They posture as if they have an alternative when they dont. Weve gone through this example long form to show that so far, Russia has been responding in targeted ways to Western actions, and so far in nothing even remotely approaching the magnitude of the central bank asset heist. But Austria shows that the Wests impulse when Russia respond is to engage in yet another round of escalation. And in parallel we also see the West trying to impose new punishments, like its oil price cap, which even if it kinda-sorta gets done, will result in lower to much lower oil deliveries to the unfriendly country participants, much higher oil prices, and Russia still fat and happy since at prices over say $200 a barrel, it can sell even less energy and prosper. With enemies like this, who needs friends? This is a long-winded way of making a point most readers already likely accept: no matter how bad things get in the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea, absent the violent overthrow of governments, Russias opponents will not relent on their economic sanctions. We will hoist from India Punchline as to where this trajectory too obviously is going: Germany is heading for a major economic crisis. The head of the German Federation of Trade Unions has been quoted as saying in the weekend, Entire industries are in danger of collapsing forever because of the gas bottlenecks especially, chemicals, glass-making, and aluminium industries, which are major suppliers to key automotive sector. Massive unemployment is likely. When Germany sneezes, of course, Europe catches cold not only the Eurozone but even post-Brexit Britain. Welcome to the European Unions sanctions from hell. The US literally hustled the Europeans into the Ukraine crisis. How many times did Secretary of State Antony Blinken travel to Europe in those critical months in the run-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine to ensure that the door to any meaningful talks with the Kremlin remained shut! And American energy companies are today making windfall profits selling gas to Europeans. Wont Europeans have the common intelligence to realise they have been had? Now, Biden has washed his hands off the gas crisis. He brusquely stated at a press conference in Madrid on June 30 that such premium on oil prices will continue as long as it takes, so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world. Here we are. Why do we have NATO? But even if thats the case [that Russia per Biden is suffering economically and will eventually crumble], how does all that help the Europeans? On the other hand, President Putins strategic calculations with respect to the war remain very much on track.Five months into the war, Ukrainians are staring at defeat and Russian army generals know it. Russia didnt wander into Ukraine unprepared, either. Evidently, it took precautionary steps both before and since the war to shield its economy. And this enables the Russian economy to settle down to a new normal. Washingtons options are quite limited under the circumstances. Fundamentally, western sanctions do not address the causes of the Russian behaviour, and therefore, they are doomed to fail to solve the problem at hand. Remember, Germany just announced its first trade deficit in decades. Energy rationing will favor households over businesses. Businesses will fail. That means a loss of salaries and spending. And unless theres a fast rebound, most of those losses will become permanent. Italy is also dependent on Russian gas, and it has a chronically sick economy and very weak banks. Eurozone fiscal rules provide for limited spending headroom when things fall apart. And fiscal operations cant remedy a shortfall of energy and food (a separate stressor weve skipped over). Japans severely weakened currency means even it if can play nice with Russia despite being an American military protectorate, some businesses may go wobbly due to high energy prices breaking their budgets. Remember both Japanese and German part (as well as inputs from other EU nations) are parts of some American just-in-time manufacturing. And if the EU has a full bore banking or sovereign debt crisis, the industry effects could extend beyond energy/oil product hungry businesses. And we havent factored in Covid outbreaks making it even more difficult to keep businesses and essential services functioning. So the image that keeps coming to mind is a tsunami. Remember that those on a beach first see a placid scene, with the ocean pulling back much further than a normal low tide. And then the water comes in and sweeps everything before it: It would be better if I were wrong. But what is coming has the feeling of destiny, in a bad way. ______ 1 The point of the mechanism is actually not the roubles; the roubles are the pretext for forcing paying to be made via a Russian bank, as in outside the Western sanctions regime. Recall the payments are still made in the original contracted currency, be it euros or dollars or sterling. The Russian bank makes the currency swap. Yves here. This article not only shows that welfare does produce broader societal benefits than previously assumed, it also demonstrates how unskilled/low skilled jobs had been hollowed out to the degree that crime was either an attractive or the only option for some young adults. Of course, another issue is that income from crime is tax free. By Manasi Deshpande, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Chicago and Michael Mueller-Smith, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Michigan. Originally published at VoxEU Cuts to welfare programmes have historically been motivated by concerns that they can discourage educational achievement and work. This column uses the natural experiment of the 1996 welfare reform law in the US to examine the effect of welfare programmes on a different type of work: criminal activity intended to generate income. The authors find that removing young adults from the US Supplemental Security Income programme increases criminal justice involvement, and especially illicit income-generating activity. While the programme does indeed discourage formal employment among young adults, its much larger effect is to discourage criminal activity. In the past few decades, developed countries have seen substantial overhauls of social assistance programmes. In the US, the 1996 welfare reform law slashed welfare programmes and implemented barriers to enrolment, including work requirements and recertification. The austerity measures enacted in Europe during the Great Recession introduced similar cuts. Cuts to welfare programmes have historically been motivated by concerns that such programmes can discourage educational achievement and work in effect, that they can make people lazy. Studies on the effect of welfare programmes on work have found mixed results. In general, they find that welfare programmes do discourage work to some extent, though often this is among individuals who would not earn much even in the absence of the programmes (e.g. Maestas et al. 2013, Hoynes and Schanzenbach 2012, Garthwaite et al. 2014). In a new paper (Deshpande and Mueller-Smith 2022), we study the effect of welfare programmes on a different type of work: criminal activity intended to generate income. Using a natural experiment created by the 1996 welfare reform law, we find that removing young adults from the US Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programme increases criminal justice involvement, and especially illicit activity intended to generate income. We estimate that removing a young adult from SSI increases the total number of criminal charges associated with income generation (theft, burglary, robbery, drug distribution, prostitution, and fraud) by 60% over the following two decades. This increase in criminal activity leads to a 60% increase in the likelihood of being in incarcerated in a given year over the same time period. Effects of Supplemental Security Income on Crime We use a policy change created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, more commonly known as welfare reform. Among its many restrictions on welfare programmes, the Act included a rule that children receiving SSI benefits for a disability had to be re-evaluated for SSI under the stricter adult rules when they turned 18. Under the new rule, any child with an 18th birthday after the laws enactment (on 22 August 1996) was to be re-evaluated as an adult. Figure 1 illustrates the natural experiment we exploit. Most children who had an 18th birthday after 22 August 1996, were re-evaluated, and many removed from SSI as adults. In contrast, nearly all children with an 18th birthday before this date escaped the re-evaluation and were allowed onto the adult programme. This rule thus created an unlucky group of young adults just after the birthdate cut-off who, despite being no different in health or earnings potential than the individuals just before the cut-off, were much more likely to be removed from SSI at the age of 18. Since the only difference between the young adults on either side of the cut-off is their likelihood of being reviewed and removed, we can compare the adult outcomes between the two sides to measure the effect of being removed from SSI at age 18. We focus on two main outcomes: formal employment (also evaluated in Deshpande 2016) and criminal justice involvement (new to Deshpande and Mueller-Smith 2022). To measure criminal charges and incarceration, we create the first-ever link of data from the Social Security Administration to criminal records using data from the Criminal Justice Administrative Records System. We find that SSI removal at age 18 increases the number of criminal charges by 30%. The bottom panel of Figure 1 shows the sharp increase in the number of criminal charges at the cut-off, meaning that those young adults who received a review and were removed from SSI had more criminal charges as a result. Importantly, the increase in charges is concentrated almost entirely in illicit activities that are intended to generate income i.e. theft, burglary, robbery, fraud, drug distribution, and prostitution. For men the effects are concentrated in theft, burglary, and drug distribution, while for women they are concentrated in theft, fraud (e.g. identity theft), and prostitution. In contrast, there is very little increase in violent crime or other non-income-generating crimes. Figure 1 SSI removal increases criminal justice involvement Notes: Top figure plots the likelihood of receiving an age 18 medical review and the likelihood of receiving unfavourable age 18 review (i.e., removed from SSI at age 18). Bottom figure plots total number of income-generating charges between the ages of 18 and 38. Sample is SSI children with an 18th birthday within 18 months of the 22 August 1996 cut-off who reside in a county with CJARS coverage. See Deshpande and Mueller-Smith (2022) for details. This finding suggests that many of these young adults attempt to replace the SSI income they have lost with income from illicit activity. In fact, over the two decades following SSI removal, the effect of SSI removal on the likelihood of having a criminal charge associated with income generation is about twice as large as the effect of SSI removal on the likelihood of maintaining steady employment. Moreover, the effects on criminal activity are highly persistent: even as the young adults approach the age of 40, the effect of being removed from SSI at age 18 continues to have an effect on the likelihood of facing a criminal charge. Much of the persistence can be explained by the Great Recession, which appears to have amplified the effects of SSI removal. The increase in criminal charges resulting from SSI removal has real consequences for both the young adults removed from SSI and for society. For the young adults, the likelihood of incarceration in a given year increases from 5% to 8%, a 60% increase, as a result of SSI removal. There is substantial evidence that being incarcerated and having a criminal record have adverse consequences for future outcomes (Aizer and Doyle 2015, Mueller-Smith 2015, Mueller-Smith and Schnepel 2021, Agan et al. 2021, Augustine et al. 2021). Regarding the implications for society, we calculate that the costs of enforcement and incarceration nearly eliminate the savings to the government from lower spending on SSI benefits. Moreover, the cost to the victims of the increased criminal activity (Binder and Ketel 2022) is staggering: $85,600 per SSI removal based on our calculations using conservative assumptions. Implications for welfare policy What do the effects of removing young adults from SSI tell us about the effects of cash welfare more generally? To be sure, young adults removed from SSI are a specific population: they had disabilities as children and come from poor families. But other factors suggest that the results may be generalisable to programmes such as the expanded child tax credit or a universal basic income. Like those proposed programmes, SSI provides a sizable cash benefit to low-income households. The population of SSI recipients who are removed from SSI are more similar to the general population than the average SSI recipient. Moreover, we find effects of SSI removal on criminal justice involvement on every observable subgroup. Our results are consistent with other research suggesting that income affects criminal justice involvement (Akee 2008). More generally, the results question the historical focus of welfare policy on the discouragement of work. We show that while SSI does indeed discourage formal employment among young adults, its much larger effect is to discourage criminal activity. For these young adults, maintaining steady employment in the formal labour market may not be feasible whether or not they receive SSI benefits. There may be insufficient jobs to absorb them into the labour market, or they may have insufficient skills to compete for employment. Many turn instead to criminal activity to recover the lost income after they are removed from SSI, with staggering consequences for their own lives and for society at large. See original post for references There is something admirable about people who give in social spaces. More that it is the capacity to pour into the cup of those who are yet to experience the fulfilment of making it and making their dreams come true. One might stand in front of the mirror and have a perception that the point from which they stand is not sufficient enough to pour into another. For example, that guy who has only just registered their business could feel that they are not good enough to educate or teach anyone something about business, and the reality is different because the best teacher is not merely one who has experience, it is also one who has the empathy of experience as quoted in an upcoming book by Bandiswa Vilane. An empathy of experience is the ability to learn from other peoples mistakes and their experience, and this entails being at the governance to hold yourself in the position of the experience in order to understand the dynamics and the lessons of those mistakes and the good that may come out of it. In so doing, one does not need to mess up or make a loss in order to learn, the experiences and mistakes of others should be sufficient enough to be a reflective measure and a guide of not making the same mistakes. This means that even the guy who has just registered his business has the capacity to bring something to the table and to give advice to someone, more so because there is always someone who looks at where you are, as far ahead from where they are, and that gives you the space to share with those who are yet to reach where you are. This means that every person you are further from has something to benefit from you, they have something that they can get from your cup. Even if your cup is not overflowing, it flows enough to fill another cup and remains open for others to fill yours, and this is the currency of exchange. Grow It is the necessary chain for young people to grow and to help others grow, especially in a scope where there is a lack of information and resources of many things. This means that we must and should be able to grow ourselves in a chain of development; the guy who has registered can teach and advice the guy who has a great idea and wants to register their business. Or the guy who has 10 years experience running their farm can advise the lady who only has a huge plot of land that is good for farming and has no idea where to start; the guy who only has a logo and branding done can help the guy who has only thought of a name and is not sure where to go from there. It is a chain of development and helping each other grow. Value As young people we need to be able to understand the value of the work we have put in, no matter how small it is, to understand the value of what we do know and the value of the experience we gained in the little we have done. This means understanding the significance of what you know and what you have learnt and how it can be useful to someone else, even after it is no longer useful to you. Networking is and should go beyond the parameters of what you stand to gain and rather what you stand to exude towards the rest of the market itself in order to create a platform for those who come after you as a means to grow the market in the same way that you grow in your personal business endeavours. This means sculpting the environment in which your business will grow in because those behind you will eventually grow and once in they are in the growing process, they become pillars that will aid in times of need. As a growing business owner, you cannot rely on rubbing shoulders with big people as the only means of surviving or making it, you need a stokvel of like people and one that consists of people who will, in their development, be your wings and umbrellas of support in your business. A community of business development is a necessity because it discards the notion of affiliation with only big businesses as a one size fits all method to grow and to make it. My Nashville Post role has evolved since 2000 when I joined the now-defunct The City Paper. TCP became a Post sister publication in 2008 (when I began doing some Post work) and folded in 2013. I have been managing editor of the Post since late 2011. Follow William Williams Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today (Natural News) Of the many adverse impacts of COVID vaccines, this brain disease is the most frightening. (Article by Dr. Joel S. Hirschhorn republished from TheBlueStateConservative.com) If you are a critical thinker who appreciates truth-telling about COVID vaccines, then you should deeply be concerned that there are data indicating the vaccines can produce one of the deadliest diseases known to medicine. The disease is always fatal. Normally, only about a thousand Americans die from it annually. Now, who knows? The government is not working hard to track Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CID). It is known as a prion disease. According to Mayo Clinic, CJD is a degenerative brain disorder that leads to dementia and, ultimately, death. CJD is a rare deadly disease caused by an abnormal protein in the brain called a prion. Some years ago, a form of this disease was known as mad cow disease. The point is not just about getting this lethal disease, but rather that COVID vaccines that can cause it should be seen as incredibly dangerous in a great many ways. New research The mainstream media have ignored truly amazing research. A recent French pre-print on CJD and COVID vaccination has indicated that the COVID vaccine may have contributed to the emergence of a new type of sporadic CJD disease that is a lot more aggressive and rapid in disease progression as compared to the traditional CJD. The French found within days of receiving a first or second dose of Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines patients got the disease. Prions naturally occur in the brain and are usually harmless, but when they become diseased or misfolded, they will affect nearby prions to also become misshapen, leading to the deterioration of brain tissue and death. To be clear, the disease is incurable as once one prion becomes infected, it will continue to propagate to other prions with no treatment capable of stopping its progress. The majority of people with CJD have sporadic CJD; they become infected for no apparent reason. However, small subsets of people are diagnosed due to inheritance. Sporadic CJD, though occurring at random, has been linked to consumption of meat that has been infected with diseased prions, such as affecting individuals that ingest beef from a cow that has been infected. Though the Omicron variant of COVID does not carry a prion region in its spike protein, the first Wuhan COVID-19 variant has a prion region on its spike protein. A U.S. study indicates that the prion area is able to interact with human cells. Therefore, when the Wuhan variants spike protein gene information was made into a vaccine as part of the mRNA and adenovirus vaccines, the prion region was also incorporated. As part of the natural cellular process, once the mRNA is incorporated into the cells, the cell will turn the mRNA instructions into a COVID spike protein, tricking the cells into believing that it has been infected so that they create an immunological memory against a component of the virus. However, the biological process of translating mRNA information into proteins is not perfect and immune to mistakes. A U.S. study has speculated that a misfolded spike protein could in turn create a misfolded prion region that may be able to interact with healthy prions to cause damage, leading to CJD disease. Here is the big news. A peer-reviewed study in Turkey (pdf) and the French preprint have identified sudden CJD cases appearing after getting the Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines, suggesting links between getting vaccinated and being infected. The French study found an onset of symptoms within 11.38 days of being vaccinated while the case study in Turkey has found symptoms appearing 1 day after vaccination. All 26 French patients with the disease died. Among them, 8 of them lead to a sudden death (2.5 months), In a few weeks, noted the French researchers, more than 50 cases of almost spontaneous emergence of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have appeared in France and Europe very soon after the injection of the first or second dose of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines. U.S. cases A U.S. case report in March highlighted 64-year-old Cheryl Cohens battle with CJD, which developed within days of her second dose of Pfizers COVID vaccine. The report stated: Here, we highlight a case of a 64-year-old woman who presents with rapidly declining memory loss, behavior changes, headaches and gait disturbance approximately one week following administration of the second dose of the novel Pfizer-BioNTech messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) COVID vaccine. After extensive investigation, conclusive evidence identified the fatal diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Cohens daughter, Gianni, said her mothers regression was mind-blowing, confusing and truly heartbreaking. She went from being able to work and do normal everyday activities to being unable to walk, speak or control her bodys movement, Gianni said. Cohen felt as if her head was going to explode and died within three months of receiving her second dose of Pfizer. Her physician said: This case identifies potential adverse events that could occur with the administration of the novel COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, clinicians need to consider neurodegenerative diseases such as prion disease (e.g. sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), autoimmune encephalitis, infection, non-epileptic seizure, toxic-metabolic disorders, etc. in their differential diagnoses when a patient presents with rapidly progressive dementia, particularly in the setting of recent vaccination. Although there is currently no cure for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), early diagnosis is crucial to avoid the unnecessary administration of empiric medications for suspected psychological or neurological disorders. Furthermore, tracking adverse events could potentially lead to further characterization and understanding of both the novel COVID-19 messenger ribonucleic nucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine as well as the etiology of sCJD. More importantly, recognizing adverse effects provides individuals with vital information to make a more educated decision regarding their health. Jeffrey Beauchine said his mother, Carol, knew her Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease was related to the Moderna shot. Watching her death was like something you see out of a movie, he said. Beauchine said his mother received her first dose of Moderna on Feb. 16, 2021, and didnt report any complaints. After getting the second dose on March 17, Carol immediately said she felt different. Carols symptoms began with numbness that spread from the arm in which she received her injection to the entire left side of her body. She complained that something was wrong with her brain, couldnt put thoughts together or make sense of things, developed double vision and blindness and began to experience hallucinations. Doctors initially thought Carol had suffered a stroke or anxiety. Scans later showed there were abnormalities with her cerebellum. Carols condition progressed rapidly and she was eventually diagnosed with CJD and given days to live. She died within months of receiving her second dose of Moderna. Carols doctors filed a report with the CDCs Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS I.D. 2180699). To date, the CDC has not reached out to the family despite an autopsy confirming her death was caused by CJD a condition she did not have prior to receiving her COVID vaccine. Richard Sprague said his wife, Jennifer, developed CJD after the Pfizer COVID shot and died within five months of the second dose. Jennifer received the first dose of Pfizer on Aug. 29, 2021, and her second dose on Sept. 21, 2021. Although her husband remained unvaccinated, Jennifer was required to get vaccinated as part of her employment. Four days after the second dose, Jennifer experienced her first episode of a sudden strange event she couldnt explain. Jennifer started having more episodes and her left hand and side began to tremble. On Oct. 13, 2021, Jennifer went back to the doctor, who prescribed Xanax for anxiety. Jennifers disease progressed rapidly until she was unable to sit up and walk independently. Scans confirmed Jennifer had significant changes on the right side of her brain. A new medical team performed a spinal tab and confirmed Jennifer had CJD. By this time, Jennifer was unable to get out of bed. Your brain is just disappearing. Its crazy, Sprague said. Youre in this perfect healthy body and your brain just dies within the course of a few months. After Jennifer was diagnosed with CJD on Feb. 12, her insurance company said it would no longer pay for her care and Sprague was told his wife would not recover. Jennifer died on Feb. 21 five months after receiving her second dose of Pfizer. According to the latest data from VAERS, 56 cases of rapid-onset CJD have been reported following COVID-19 vaccines since Dec. 14, 2021. Historically, VAERS has been shown to report only 1% of actual vaccine adverse events. And many vaccine-related deaths may have been CJD and gone undiagnosed because it takes a large effort to confirm CJD. By Dr. Joel S. Hirschhorn Read more at: TheBlueStateConservative.com (Natural News) The Health Ranger Mike Adams warned the public that the global elites are deliberately planning and organizing totalitarian efforts to wipe out humanity. In the United States, the total entitlement obligation financially to the American people is $169 trillion. So to clear the balance sheets and never have to pay this amount to the people, its very simple: Kill them all genocide, he said during the June 27 episode of The Dr. Hotze Report on Brighteon.TV. Adams used the word holocaust to describe the genocide plan by the global elites, noting that the Third Reich holocaust killed about six million Jews. Were talking 1,000 times bigger now. Six billion human beings may be killed in this holocaust, which is a combination of laws, vaccines, bioweapons, economic collapse and food scarcity, which is an engineered collapse of the food system, he said. (Related: In new video, Mike Adams and Steve Quayle warn about the planned and orchestrated extermination of the human race.) Show host Dr. Steve Hotze, who has been a leader in the wellness revolution since 1989, added that the totalitarian governments created fear through war, pestilence and starvation to cause panic and make people put their confidence and trust in the state. Hotze and Adams also tackled another form of dictatorship measure: the governments censorship laws. The Biden administration has tried and failed to launch the Ministry of Truth in the form of the Disinformation Governance Board. The Biden-Obama regime did steal the election and is considered illegitimate. Its a criminal cartel that is trying to now outlaw all political opposition by declaring them to be extremists, or declaring them to be engaged in disinformation or misinformation, Hotze said. This is exactly the same thing that happened during the holocaust, Hotze noted, except that theyre burning digital platforms and channels instead of books. Adams agreed, adding that the globalists need totalitarianism in order to carry out the maximum number of mass deaths and global extermination. He also mentioned the latest move to authorize abortion of born babies or infanticide. This, he said, strengthens the argument for the efforts of world extermination. Back in the 1970s and 80s, abortion should be the last resort. Today, they drool over the mass murder of children, both unborn and born, Adams said. But thats not the end of it all. So if your child whos lucky enough to not be murdered in an abortion center, then now at six months of age thanks to the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] decision just this week your kids can now be injected with a biological weapon that will kill them in the next few years. The Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination campaign could be the deadliest tyrannical move in history. A lot of studies and research have reported that the vaccines adversely affect the cardiovascular system, causing blood clots and strokes and heart attacks. They also infect the mind with prion diseases. More pandemics may also be on the way. Hotze reminded his viewers that Bill Gates previously said: If you think this (COVID-19) is bad, wait till the next pandemic. The doctor pointed out that the enemies are telling the public exactly what they are going to do. They said they had a plan. They telegraphed in October 2019 what they were going to do in 2020 and onward with coronavirus, and now theyve come up with whats going I happen with monkeypox. Theyve telegraphed to us that theyre going to start this in May and said that by 2023, its going to spread throughout the whole world, the host said. Food supply and energy sabotage There is also a deliberate sabotage of food facilities, and Adams provided proof of this. My crew has documented and sourced 100 of those events over the last year and a half. Were about to publish that list, by the way, thats going to be public, he said. Food distribution hubs, meat plants, and all institutions related to the food industry that is sufficiently large are being burned down and sabotaged. Americas energy infrastructure is being taken down in the same way, the Natural News founder said. So there was the explosion at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Texas earlier this June. The blast has taken off that LNG plant now until the end of the year. And when you look deeper into that, 70 percent of their exports go to Europe. Europe wont have energy due to the sanctions placed on Russia and now they wont get LNG exports from the United States. Because of this, Germany and Denmark have announced theyre reopening their coal power plants. Hotze also cited Adams Union Pacific report, which included the railroad system refusing to transport any diesel fuel in their trains. Thats going to have a dramatic impact on the trucking industry in the U.S, which of course, transports food. Its going to drive up the cost of diesel fuel, which is already extraordinarily high. Naturally, thats going to be translated into much higher costs in the supermarket, if you can even get your food, Hotze said. What to do in an SHTF scenario Adams provided three major points to consider now in order to be prepared in case the Great Reset commences. First of all, you definitely need to stockpile food and learn how to grow some food. Whatever food you purchase today will be the cheapest food that youll see for years to come, he advised. Secondly, Adams said that there is a need to exit the currency system, which is the fiat currency dollar. If youre not into something real and physical, such as gold and silver or land, then youre going to lose almost all of your money as the currency collapses, he said. Lastly, he recommended getting out of high-density cities, or at least having a bug-out plan to get out immediately when necessary. There will surely be hordes of angry mobs, starving food riots, total collapse, and Mad Max scenarios in many U.S. cities, he forecasted. Watch the full June 27 episode of The Dr. Hotze Report below. Catch new episodes of the program every Monday at 5 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Steve Quayle tells Mike Adams: Globalists want to achieve the extermination of the human race through nuclear war. URGENT Health Ranger mega thread on Russia, nuclear war, cyber attacks and impending financial collapse. Health freedom at RISK: If Democrats win the midterms, pharmaceutical genocide also wins. Sources include: Brighteon.com LifeSiteNews.com RightToLifeLeague.org TheEpochTimes.com SHTFplan.com Subscriber.Politicopro.com (Natural News) The mother who drove to the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in late May and was handcuffed by police because she tried to rescue her children while cowardly cops did nothing is now being harassed by some of those same officers. Angeli Rose Gomez said, The police were doing nothing. They were just standing outside the fence. They werent going in there or running anywhere. At the time, The Post Millennial noted: While state officials said that police were at the school mere moments after the teen gunman entered the school, barricading himself in a classroom and opening fire on young students, they also said that officers were unable to gain access to the classroom. Gomez said that she was only one of several parents at the school demanding that officers stop waiting around and go into the school. It was then that federal marshals approached her and put her in handcuffs. Eventually, she was able to convince local police to free her, but she also said that she saw a father pepper-sprayed and another tackled and thrown to the ground by law enforcement personnel as he attempted to get past them and get into the school to rescue his child, a 10-year-old daughter who was one of the 19 victims slaughtered by the 18-year-old psycho. After she was freed, Gomez quietly moved away from the crowd before breaking into a run and jumping a fence. She then ran inside the school and rescued her kids. After she got them, she sprinted out of the school with them. Cops, meanwhile, waited more than 75 minutes to engage the 18-year-old shooter when the incident could have been over within three minutes. In the end, 19 4th grade children were dead along with two adults. Now, Gomez says shes being harassed. Ever since that harrowing day, she tells Fox29, she has faced scrutiny from law enforcement, even at her own home, the other night we were exercising and we had a cop parked at the corner like, flickering us with his headlights. Because of those incidents, the mother said she has had to separate from her boys, just so my sons dont feel like they have to watch cops passing by, stopping, parking. Fox29 adds: Earlier on Saturday, Gomez went to Uvaldes Town Square to continue protesting with other members of the community. With signs in hands that read, Fire Pete Arredondo, Gomez said she wants to see Arredondo gone without pay. Her goal moving forward is to file a lawsuit. Gomezs lawyer, Mark Di Carlo, a criminal defense attorney from Corpus Christi said: The fact that he wasnt fired immediately based upon whatever it is, hours of video, from testimonies such as Angelis; is an indication that there is some sort of what, corruption or wrong-doing. Di Carlo said he is representing about 15 parents of Robb Elementary School children in lawsuits that are coming down the pipeline. Asked when he planned to file the first of those, he demurred, saying that he was still in the process of gathering evidence. What is known so far about the incident, however, is damning enough. The top Texas law enforcement officer testified last month regarding a claim that officers could have actually engaged with, and stopped, the 18-year-old gunman within minutes. The fact that they did not was an abject failure on their part, according to Col. Steve McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Theres compelling evidence that the law enforcement response to the attack at Robb Elementary was an abject failure and antithetical to everything weve learned over the last two decades since the Columbine massacre, McCraw said. Three minutes after the subject entered the West building, there was a sufficient number of armed officers wearing body armor to isolate, distract, and neutralize the subject, McCraw continued. The only thing stopping the hallway of dedicated officers from entering rooms 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children, he added. One error; 14 minutes and eight seconds, the director said of the young students desperately waiting in two classrooms for someone to come save them from the lunatic who was murdering them. Sources include: FoxSanAntonio.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The United States Navy is planning to close down a key fuel storage facility at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii after an investigation discovered that poor management and several errors at the facility caused a fuel leak in the tap water system that poisoned thousands of people last year. The investigation is the first detailed account of how jet fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, a massive World War II-era military-run tank farm in the hills above Pearl Harbor, leaked into a well that supplied water to housing and offices in and around the sprawling base. Some 6,000 people suffered nausea, headaches, rashes and other symptoms, the Associated Press said in a report. Hawaii Department of Health Deputy Director Kathleen Ho said the facility needs to be shut down as quickly as possible and the state expects the Navy will marshal all possible available resources to defuel and decommission the facility. However, with the extensive repairs needed and the Navys history of spills from unsafe pipelines, our first priority continues to be ensuring that all defueling activities are performed safely for the sake of the people and environment of Hawaii, Ho added. The investigation discovered that the mistakes began in May 2021 when an operator caused a pipe to break while it was being moved, contributing to tens of thousands of gallons of oil being spilled. The investigation report listed a cascading series of mistakes from May 6, 2021, when operator error caused a pipe to rupture and 21,000 gallons (80,000 liters) of fuel to spill when fuel was being transferred between tanks. Most of this fuel spilled into a fire suppression line and sat there for six months, causing the line to sag. A cart rammed into this sagging line on Nov. 20, releasing 20,000 gallons (75,700 liters) of fuel, reported AP. The team incorrectly assumes that all of the fuel has been sopped up. Meanwhile, over the course of eight days, that fuel enters this French drain that is under the concrete and seeps slowly and quietly into the Red Hill well. And that fuel into the Red Hill well is then pumped into the Navy system, said Admiral Sam Paparo, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The Department of Defense (DOD) stated that it would take nearly two years for the tanks to be defueled in a safe manner. Red Hill officials said only 1,618 gallons had leaked during the May spill and they were able to recover all but 38 gallons. They noted that one of the tanks was 20,000 gallons short but thought it had flowed through the pipes and didnt know it had gone into the fire suppression line. The discrepancy was not reported to senior leadership. When people began to get sick, the military moved around 4,000 mainly military families into hotels for months. Spill contaminated the Navys water system The Navys water system was contaminated by the spill, but the fuel didnt get into the Honolulu municipal water supply. However, concerns that the oil might move through the aquifer and enter the citys wells prompted the Honolulu Board of Water Supply in December to shut down a key well serving some 400,000 people. (Related: Pollution in the ground water: Well water in Maine is contaminated with PFAs, and its compounding) The agency has been requesting residents to conserve water because of the incident and extremely dry weather. The report added that officials reneged on presuming the best about what was occurring when the spills happened rather than assuming the worst, and this led to their overlooking the harshness of the situation. Paparo stated the Navy was trying to move away from that situation and called it a continuing process to get real with ourselves and being honest about our deficiencies. He suggested that the Navy review operations at 48 defense fuel storage facilities around the world. We cannot assume Red Hill represents an outlier, and similar problems may exist at other locations, Paparo said in the report. The report added that the investigation concluded that inadequate training and supervision, inefficient leadership and lack of ownership concerning operational safety have contributed to the incident. Watch the video below about the Navy abandoning the victims of Red Hill fuel leak. This video is from the Fearless Nation channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Toxic chemicals leak from US base in Okinawa, threatening the health of residents. Brighteon Conversations: Americas water supply has been systematically poisoned long before COVID. Americans are most worried about water pollution, survey reveals. Sources include: DailyWire.com DailyMailOnline.co.uk Brighteon.com (Natural News) Canada is known for having some of the most draconian Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandates in the world, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blaming what he termed anti-vaxxer mobs for spreading the illness in the country and violators of vaccine mandates facing steep fines. Now, the decision to force the jab on so many Canadians is coming back to haunt him as statistics show that vaccinated Canadians made up around 9 out of every 10 Covid deaths in Canada in the past month, with 80 percent of these deaths occurring in people who were triple vaccinated. The data can be difficult to parse as the Canadian government only reports epidemiology data sporadically and unpredictably using time frames that many observers suspect are chosen to obscure this shocking trend. However, analysis by Expose-News found that both hospitalizations and deaths in the country were largely made up of those who had been jabbed, particularly those who had also rolled up their sleeve for the boosters being pushed on the population. In a five-week period from May 1 to June 5, Canada saw 7,625 Covid-19 hospitalizations. 6,560 of these individuals were vaccinated, with 4,590 of them being triple-vaccinated. According to the publications calculations, the vaccinated population made up 86 percent of hospitalizations, 70 percent of which were among those who were triple vaccinated. The unvaccinated population, meanwhile, made up just 14 percent of hospitalizations. The effect is very similar when it comes to Covid-19 deaths. Across the same period, 1,707 Covid-19 deaths were registered across Canada, with the vaccinated accounting for 1,472 of those fatalities. The breakdown was 41 deaths in those who were partly vaccinated, 318 deaths in double-vaccinated Canadians, and 1,113 deaths among the triple jabbed. Percentage-wise, this means that vaccinated individuals made up 86 percent of the Covid-19 deaths in Canada during the time period studied, 76 percent of whom were triple-jabbed. The unvaccinated population, meanwhile, made up just 14 percent of the countrys Covid-related deaths. Canada continues to push boosters on the public despite concerning death rate among the vaccinated The Canadian governments mass booster campaign rages on and the data coverup continues despite the analysis showing that 9 out of every 10 cases, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 in Canada were among the vaccinated population from May 1 to June 5. As of June 1, around 40 percent of adults in Canada who had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines had not returned to get a booster, and federal health officials there have been appealing to the public to get up to date on their shots and prepare for a coming resurgence as they warn of more contagious and evasive variants circulating in the country. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos even went so far as to say in a briefing that people who have received the first booster should find out if they are eligible to get a second or third one. He noted that the immunity that Canadians may have received from two doses last year has waned by now, and those who have been infected still face a high likelihood of reinfection. Trudeau, who claims to be triple-vaccinated, has tested positive for the disease twice. On the most recent occasion, in early June, he tweeted that he was feeling okay because he had received his shots. Of course, that is impossible to prove, and there are countless people in the world who have experienced very mild cases of COVID despite never getting the vaccine. If it is true that he is triple-vaccinated, however, he should consider himself lucky to not have been hospitalized or died like so many of his citizens. Sources for this article include: Expose-News.com VancouverSun.com (Natural News) The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), has declared that firefighting is a cancer-causing occupation. The IARC Monographs program convened 25 international experts from eight countries for a meeting in Lyon. The summary of the meeting was published online in the Lancet Oncology. It classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic to humans on the basis of sufficient evidence for cancer in humans. From Group 2B Possibly carcinogenic to humans, firefighting has been moved to Group 1 Carcinogenic to humans. The detailed assessment will be published in 2023 as Volume 132 of the IARC Monographs. Greg McConville, national secretary of the United Firefighters Union of Australia, said WHO IARC had confirmed beyond any doubt the profession of firefighting causes cancer in firefighters and this has important implications for Australias governments and fire services. Studies show that in the first three years of a firefighters career, the cancer risk they face increases by 150 percent, and thats from looking at actual changes in the DNA of firefighters, McConville noted. United Kingdoms Fire Brigades Union (FBU) General Secretary Matt Wrack also announced this significant and alarming news in a circular on their official website. He further said that the classification can be applied to all types of firefighters, and also to both men and women. IARC reports that positive associations were observed for mesothelioma and cancers of the bladder, colon, prostate, and testis, and for melanoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, he said. Wrack pointed out that the IARC categorization strengthens their call for improved decontamination procedures, regular health screening, recording of exposures and presumptive legislation. Sadly, the union has all too often found ourselves to be a lone voice in the campaign to do more to protect firefighters from cancer and disease. Hopefully, now those with the responsibility to act in the sector will sit up and listen to our critical safety demands, he said. Study: World Trade Center firefighters more likely to develop cancer than colleagues A study published last year found that firefighters who responded at the World Trade Center (WTC) following the 9/11 attack in 2001 were 13 percent more likely to develop cancer than colleagues who didnt work at the site. Findings of the study can be found online in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine. It stated that some 915 cancers were diagnosed in 841 of the WTC firefighters and 1002 cases were diagnosed in 909 of the other firefighters. (Related: A deadly profession: 68 percent of firefighters fall victim to cancer.) The WTC firefighters were 39 percent more likely to develop prostate cancers and twice more likely to develop thyroid cancer. On average, the WTC firefighters were also around four years younger when they were diagnosed and they tended to have an early-stage disease that hadnt yet spread. When materials of houses or buildings burn or catch fire, they release carcinogens or cancer-causing agents like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which is a group of more than 100 chemicals. This is because materials used in modern houses and buildings are mostly synthetic that create more smoke compared to natural materials. It is also possible for firefighters to inhale asbestos and diesel exhaust. These carcinogens can also be absorbed through the skin. So wearing the proper personal protective equipment, including self-contained breathing apparatuses, offers protection and lessens exposure. But toxic chemicals can still penetrate the turnout gear and expose the skin to toxins. On July 7, 2018, the United States Firefighter Cancer Registry Act (H.R. 931) was signed by then-President Donald Trump and became public law. The bill mandates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and maintain a voluntary registry of firefighters history and occupational information, which may be linked to existing data in state cancer registries. Visit CancerCauses.news for more news about cancer-causing agents. Watch the below video that talks about the forbidden cures for cancer. This video is from the Puretrauma357 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: After a decade of denial, US government finally admits 9/11 toxic dust causes cancer. Toxic firefighting foam contaminated the water at a Colorado Air Force base, now veterans and residents are coming down with cancer. NYC begs for volunteer firefighters as one-third of force stands strong against covid jab mandate. Sources include: 6pr.com.au IARC.WHO.int TheLancet.com FBU.org.uk BMJ.com Congress.gov NFPA.org Brighteon.com (Natural News) Russia has invaded Ukraine and is threatening to also invade neighboring Baltic states that are members of NATO, which would trigger an Article 5 mutual response and lead to World War III. Meanwhile, China has built the worlds largest navy, is continuing to expand its fleet of aircraft carriers, and is threatening to take Taiwan by force. Iran, at the same time, has restarted its nuclear program and continues to enrich uranium to make warheads. North Korea is also advancing its nuclear program and has resumed missile launches to that end. So, what is Joe Bidens Pentagon focused on? Celebrating Pride month and ensuring female troops can still get abortions. Within hours after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the murder of unborn babies nationwide in 1973, there was Bidens chief Pentagon lackey, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, pledging to defy the courts final say in the matter. In a statement over the weekend, Austin said the Pentagon would continue to ensure readiness and resilience following the ruling. At present, the DoD does not have any procedures in place for allowing female service members to have abortions if they are stationed in one of the states that ban or tightly restrict the practice. But thats going to change. One of the ideas floated is to open up federal health facilities to military members, say on military bases themselves, in defiance of state laws. Nothing is more important to me or to this Department than the health and well-being of our Service members, the civilian workforce and DOD families, said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, addressing concerns about abortion access in a statement. I am committed to taking care of our people and ensuring the readiness and resilience of our Force. The Department is examining this decision closely and evaluating our policies to ensure we continue to provide seamless access to reproductive health care as permitted by federal law, he continued. The Daily Caller adds: Austin has taken the initiative to develop new abortion policies for the military, Defense officials told Politico. However, it is not clear whether a new policy will be forthcoming any time soon. Although military bases throughout the country provide independent medical services to troops, federal law only allows women to seek abortions at military facilities in case of rape, incest, or life-threatening pregnancies, according to a fact sheet issued by the Navy. The military health plan only covers abortions sought in private abortion centers for the same reasons, leaving women to pay for elective abortions, according to the fact sheet. Abortion advocates with prior military service decried the decision for negatively affecting their ability to perform their duties after a draft opinion leaked in May, according to reports. The proposed House Defense bill for 2023 restricts the Defense Department from denying leave requests to female service members who are seeking abortions but it does not include funding for them to travel to states that have fewer restrictive abortion policies. Markups to the Senate version have not been made public, so it isnt clear if Democrats in that evenly-divided chamber have added that coverage. House Democrats introduced a bill in May that would instruct the military to finance abortions for service members, the report added. Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a meltdown over the high courts ruling during a press conference that was broadcast on MSNBC. What is happening here? What is happening here? A womans fundamental health decisions are her own to make in consultation with her doctor, her faith, her family. Not some right-wing politicians that Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell packed the court with, Pelosi began, obviously annoyed. While Republicans seek to punish and control women, Democrats will keep fighting ferociously to enshrine Roe v. Wade into the law of the land. This cruel ruling is outrageous and heart-wrenching. But make no mistake, again, its all on the ballot in November. The Supreme Court has ended a constitutional right, Pelosi, who is Catholic, added. This is 50 years proclaimed a constitutional right. What happened today was historic in many respects. Historic in that it had not granted, recognized that constitutional right, and then reversed it. This is a first. And, again, just before it imposed a constitutional right to allow for concealed weapons. How about those justices coming before the senators and saying that they they respect that stare decisis, the precedent of the court, that they respected the right of privacy in the Constitution of the United States? Did you hear that? Were they not telling the truth then? she said. There is no constitutional right to an abortion and there never was; that was the Supreme Court majoritys point in reversing Roe. Furthermore, the court does not grant rights it merely rules on whether existing laws and statutes infringe on rights recognized within the Constitution. This pro-abortion woman knows as much about the Constitution as she does about being a faithful Catholic. Sources include: PatriotsForAmerica.news AmericanWireNews.com The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has published Decision Notices taking action against Stuart Coles and three related companies of which Coles was the sole owner and director. The three firms are Coworth Fintech Ltd, Coworth Investments Ltd and Novus Fintech Ltd. The DFSA imposed a financial penalty of $240,000 (AED881,400) on Coles. The DFSA has also restricted Coles from performing any function in connection with the provision of Financial Services in or from the DIFC and prohibited Coles from holding office in or being an employee of any Authorised Person, DNFBP, Reporting Entity or Domestic Fund in the DIFC. The DFSA decided to impose public censures on the three firms involved in this matter. Findings disputed Coles disputes the DFSAs findings and has referred the decisions to the Financial Markets Tribunal (FMT) for review, where the parties will present their respective cases. The DFSAs decision is therefore provisional and reflects the DFSAs belief as to what occurred and how it considers Coles conduct should be characterised. The FMT will determine what, if any, is the appropriate action for the DFSA to take. The DFSAs decision may be confirmed, varied or overturned as a result of the FMTs review. In April 2021, the DFSA commenced an investigation under the Regulatory Law because it suspected that Coworth Fintech, Novus Fintech and others may have engaged in Financial Service activities in or from the DIFC without being authorised to do so. Investigation expanded The DFSA later expanded the investigation to include Coworth Investments which had a trading address and registered office in the UK. In May 2021, the DFSA attended the offices of Coworth Fintech and Novus Fintech in the DIFC to obtain specified information and documents the DFSA considered relevant to the investigation. As the sole owner and director of the three firms, Coles instructed people present in the offices not to allow the DFSA to inspect and copy the requested information stored on computers and other devices that were being used at the offices in the DIFC. Coles did not have a reasonable excuse for his refusal and his failure to comply with the DFSAs information-gathering requests obstructed the DFSA investigation. Patrick Meaney, Head of Enforcement at the DFSA, said: The DFSA will not permit individuals or companies to obstruct lawful investigations. Such behaviour undermines the core objectives of the DFSA and demonstrates that those engaging in this conduct are entirely unsuitable to carry out business in the DIFC. The significant fine imposed on Coles also demonstrates the DFSA will take appropriate action against individuals that are most culpable for misconduct.-- TradeArabia News Service (Natural News) Far fewer women are delivering babies in Hungary ever since Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines were brought into the country, says Dora Duro, deputy president of the Our Homeland Movement. Speaking on the floor of the national parliament on June 27, Duro warned that since the beginning of the year, birth rates in Hungary have plummeted by about 20 percent. This comes almost nine months after the jabs first started going into arms last year as part of Operation Warp Speed. Duro, a member of parliament (MP), spoke about the need for more childbearing in Hungary, which is seeing deteriorating demographic indicators. That was not the case prior to the jabs being unleashed, or at least not to the degree being seen currently. Calling it a brutal decline, Duro went on to explain that a full investigation is warranted into the safety of the mRNA (messenger RNA) injections that were widely administered throughout the country, in some cases through compulsion. Our Homeland Movement is the only party that opposed the introduction of compulsory vaccination, Duro said. We are still the only party to advocate the policy of honestly facing the problem, even though it is the states duty to investigate whether this brutal decline is linked to that factor. Are covid vaccines a mass sterilization and depopulation tool? Hungarys current population hovers around 10 million people. In order to keep that up, Duro explained, each woman in the country of childbearing age needs to have at least four children. That is not possible, however, if sterilizing injections continue to go into womens arms, which Duro warned could be taking place under the guise of public health for a plandemic. As you may recall, German lawyer Reiner Fuellmich warned the world that covid injections are, in fact, a depopulation tool being used as an experiment on the human race to thin the herd. One of Fuellmichs grand jury lawyers was taken into custody to try to stop the truth from getting out, but it is far too late for that. Dont forget to arrest: Biden, Fauci, Schwab, Harari, Ghebreyesus, Gates, Trudeau, Marin, Macron, Draghi, Ardern, von der Leyen, Merkel, Scholz, all Big Pharma CEOs, and all doctors and nurses that committed the genocide, etc., etc., etc, wrote one reader at the Rair Foundation USA about how those who perpetrated these crimes against humanity must be held accountable. Its a complete and total genocide plan by the 1% elites so they can party, plunder, and play, wrote another. Yep, and the world just says gimme more, gimme more, gimme more, responded someone else. Another person speculated that another contributing factor to the decline in birth rates being seen all around the world could be modern technology such as smartphones, which millions upon millions of people are glued to all day long. I think the decline in birthrates is because we have about 3 billion people who cannot look up from their phones long enough to reproduce, this person said. Its the phone zombie apocalypse. Over at Natural News, a reader explained that reducing birth rates is part of the plan for a new world order, which will see a global population in the hundreds of millions range as opposed to billions like it is currently. As a 70-year-old with a lousy immune system, and who had a liver transplant in 2005, and who does not drink alcohol or smoke and is far from overweight, I refuse to let the tyrants put that bioweapon-grade poison into my body, said another fiery disabled veteran and patriot about the so-called vaccine for covid. The latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: RairFoundation.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) New research out of France suggests that Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines are linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), formerly known as mad cow disease. This degenerative brain disorder can lead to dementia, and in some cases death. It is said to be rare or at least it was rare before the launch of Operation Warp Speed back in late 2020. CJD, it turns out, is a prion disease, which we now know to be triggered by the contents of Fauci Flu shots. It is not only debilitating but likely lethal, which suggests that mass covid vaccination will eventually become a mass casualty event. The pre-print study explains that covid injections appear to have spawned a new type of sporadic CJD that is actually much worse, and much more aggressive, than the traditional kind that existed pre-Operation Warp Speed. It causes disease to progress much more quickly, the paper explains, and victims to die much more quickly. Experts say that it can be observed just days after a person receives the first or second dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA (messenger RNA) injection. Prions naturally occur in the brain and are usually harmless, but when they become diseased or misfolded, they will affect nearby prions to also become misshapen, leading to the deterioration of brain tissue and death, reports The Blue State Conservative. To be clear, the disease is incurable as once one prion becomes infected, it will continue to propagate to other prions with no treatment capable of stopping its progress. U.S. study reveals that misfolded spike proteins caused by vaccines can lead to prion diseases like CJD The story goes something like this: the so-called Omicron, or Moronic, variant of the Chinese Virus does not carry a prion region in its spike protein. Earlier variants such as Delta, however, do. These prion regions are where diseases like CJD are able to form based on the programming technology used in the so-called vaccines. As part of the natural cellular process, once the mRNA is incorporated into the cells, the cell will turn the mRNA instructions into a COVID spike protein, tricking the cells into believing that it has been infected so that they create an immunological memory against a component of the virus, The Blue State Conservative adds. However, the biological process of translating mRNA information into proteins is not perfect and immune to mistakes. Several other studies corroborate the latest findings, including one out of the United States which found that vaccine-induced spike protein misfolding can create a situation in which prion diseases like CJD develop, seemingly out of the blue. Another paper out of Turkey found much the same thing, linking the viral vector covid jabs from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) to CJD as well. The French study found an onset of symptoms within 11.38 days of being vaccinated while the case study in Turkey has found symptoms appearing 1 day after vaccination, reports explain. All 26 French patients with the disease died. Among them, 8 of them lead to a sudden death (2.5 months). In a few weeks, noted the French researchers, more than 50 cases of almost spontaneous emergence of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have appeared in France and Europe very soon after the injection of the first or second dose of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines. As the weeks and months go on, we are likely to hear about increasingly more cases of CJD among the fully vaccinated. The endgame of Operation Warp Speed has only just begun. The latest news about the health damage caused by Fauci Flu shots can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: TheBlueStateConservative.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) If you think gas prices are bad now, consider what JPMorgan analysts are now saying about the price of a barrel of oil tripling in the not-too-distant future. Right now, a barrel of oil costs about $111. But if JPMorgan analysts are correct, then that same barrel of oil will soon be $380 and the culprit, as always, is Russia. Should Vladimir Putins country cut output, then gas will skyrocket even higher than its current price, decimating the American and global economies in a matter of weeks or days. It is likely that the government could retaliate by cutting output as a way to inflict pain on the West, the analysts wrote. The tightness of the global market is on Russias side. JPMorgan head Jamie Dimon recently warned about an economic hurricane soon to come, and it appears that this latest analysis is fleshing out what it might look like. If Russia cuts oil production by three million barrels per day, or so we are told, then a barrel of oil on the global market will increase in price to $190. In a worst-case scenario, Russia could cut oil production by five million barrels per day, driving a single barrel price up to $380. Many Western countries, especially in Europe, rely on Russian oil and other fuels to power their economies. Germany, Europes largest economy, is already suffering due to its refusal to pay for fuel in Russian rubles following the Ukraine war sanctions. The Group of Seven, as they are called, which lead many industrialized nations, is working on a complex plan, reports indicate, to cap the price that Russia can charge from oil sales to non-G7 countries as part of their next-level sanctions against the country. The goal here is to starve Russia starve Putin of his main source of cash and force down the price of Russian oil to help blunt the impact of Putins war at the pump, announced a senior official in the Biden regime, once again blaming Putin for the situation. The dual objectives of G7 leaders have been to take direct aim at Putins revenues, particularly through energy, but also to minimize the spillovers and the impact on the G7 economies and the rest of the world. Capping oil prices could actually strengthen Putin rather than punish him There is almost nothing that happens anymore that Western authorities do not end up blaming on Russia, even though the energy crisis would not be a crisis at all if America was still energy independent. Thanks in part to the Biden regimes green economic policies, America is more energy dependent than it has been in a long time, and the consequences of this are still unfolding. The most obvious and likely risk with a price cap is that Russia might choose not to participate and instead retaliate by reducing exports, warned JPMorgan analysts about how the latest G7 proposal could end up backfiring and hurting the West even more. When asked recently how long he expects Americans to be paying sky-high gas prices, Joe Biden, Americas fake president, said: As long as it takes so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world. Here we are. Should Putin attempt anything more that upsets Biden and his handlers, the United States plans to take steps to strengthen NATO across the board, Biden added. This is about the future of the liberal world order, and we have to stand firm, added Brian Deese, the White House Director of the National Economic Council, about how Americans need to suck it up and continue draining their wallets at the gas pump on behalf of globalists whose personal interests are being shaken and threatened by Putins special operation in Ukraine. More related news stories can be found at Collapse.news. Sources for this article include: NeonNettle.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) An illegal alien invasion is occurring at the southern border of Texas, claims one border county. And a coalition comprised of that county and five others is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to at least acknowledge the situation. Kinney County, Tex., has declared the existence of an invasion' along the Texas border. And Uvalde, Terrell, Medina, Burnet and Goliad Counties say that they, too, agree with this assessment. Officials from all of them convened in Bracketteville this week to discuss the situation, which involves lots of human smuggling activity, they say. During the month of June, Kinney County law enforcement has prevented over 67 smuggling attempts along our roadways, a joint statement from the six counties reads. This past weekend included the unfortunate deaths of 3 illegal aliens who were involved with human smuggling in Kinney County. Because of this, Kinney County supposedly had no choice but to militarize our school campus with vehicle barriers to prevent high-speed chases from entering campus and injuring children. As a Texan, this is not acceptable, said County Judge Tully Shahan. We will no longer allow the sovereignty of Texas to be invaded by those unwilling to obey our laws. Shahan went on to officially announce the existence of an invasion as used in Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution and in Article 4, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution. We are taking these steps in hopes of encouraging our Governor to acknowledge the existence of an invasion on our border with Mexico and take the necessary actions to preserve and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Texas. So far, Gov. Abbott has not even acknowledged the declaration, let alone addressed it. How come Article IV, Section 4 is not being declared against Biden? Things do seem a bit more out of control down there than usual, especially after a large tractor-trailer was discovered on a rural road in San Antonio filled with trafficked people, most of them dead. A country can only take so much illegal onslaught before it collapses under the weight of it all. The United States is pretty much there, and these border counties seem to be taking matters into their own hands as a last-ditch effort to actually do something about the problem. What took so long for the invasion declaration, let alone a lawsuit against the commie-run fed government? wrote a commenter at Breitbart News. U.S. Const, Art. IV, Sec. 4 (The United States SHALL protect each [State] against invasion) U.S. Const., Art. II, Sec. 3 ([The President] SHALL take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.) 8 USC 1325 (Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States . . . SHALL . . . be fined . . . or imprisoned . . . or both) 8 USC 1324 (Any person who(iv) encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States; or (v)(I) . . . conspir[es]or (II) aids or abets [these] acts, SHALL be punishedfor each alien.) 8 USC 1324 (Any person who . . . conceals, harbors, or shields [an] alien . . . SHALL be imprisoned not more than 5 years.). Another expressed wonder why the same Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution is not called out every time Joe Biden, Americas fake president, steps foot into the Oval Office. Plain as day and yet the federal government completely ignores the United States Constitution, this person added about the illegal usurper. Its a requirement and they need to abide by it. Others noted that illegal aliens are fueling the economy in places like Texas, working low-wage jobs while replacing native conservatives, many of whom are low-income whites. More related news about the illegal alien invasion across Americas southern border can be found at InvasionUSA.news. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The following article covers the rapidly growing water crisis in the Western US. It covers how overpopulation, overconsumption, the megadrought and terrible urban planning are contributing to this catastrophe. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink (Article republished from StrangeSounds.org) The Colorado River Basin and Great Salt Lake are in troubleboth facing historically unprecedented risks. Both may be headed towards ecological disasters, years in the making, the result of a pernicious combination of aridification and poor water management, not adequately prioritizing the environment. In the Colorado River Basin and at Great Salt Lake, warming temperatures and declining river flows threaten people and nature. Birds tell us that water-dependent habitats across the arid West are essential oases and they are in decline. The water issues created by a century of law and infrastructure development are magnified by todays Earth changes crisis. For over 100 years, weve operated under a legal framework in the West where water has been developed without consideration for the Indigenous communities that have been on the land since time immemorial, and at the expense of the environment, sometimes draining the last drops of water that supported habitats. Across the West, water stress is evidentand people and birds will feel its effects. Big headlines include: With Great Salt Lake reaching its lowest ever recorded water levels, ongoing drought and increasing development pressures diverting the water flowing down rivers to the lake, a drying Great Salt Lake threatens the health of Salt Lake City residents, the future of key Utah industries, and the survival of millions of migratory shorebirds, waterfowl, and other wildlife. We are currently in uncharted territory as we test thresholds of water levels and this could have cascading effects that would ripple throughout the ecosystem. Great Salt Lake generates enormous impact for Utah and the region with $1.56 billion annually in economic contributions through mineral, aquaculture, and ski industries, and other recreation activities. The potential economic cost of the drying Great Salt Lake could reach $25.4 billion to $32.6 billion over 20 years, according to a 2019 report from the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council. Much like the Salton Sea in California another giant salt lakewhich is already experiencing severe air quality issues from the exposed dry lakebed, the public health and quality of life for communities around Great Salt Lake are at risk from increased dust from larger areas of exposed lakebed. Increased dust on snow also has the potential to compound the timing of snowmelt and thus water availability. By the way, a new interesting study has quantified the evaporation volume from 1.42 million global lakes from 1985 to 2018. Scientists have found that the long-term average lake evaporation is 1500??150?km3/year and it has increased at a rate of 3.12?km3/year. In other words, droughts are everywhere and loss of water is not something that will change. Sooner or later it will evaporate. (But normally some of it should reappear in rain or snow) Even more stunning is the realization that the Colorado Rivers major reservoirswater supply for some 40 million peopleare on life support. The federal U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in March took the unprecedented step of claiming a human health and safety emergency to justify reducing the water it releases from one of those reservoirs. At a U.S. Senate hearing in mid-June, Reclamation Commissioner Touton stated that net Colorado River water uses must be reduced in the next year by 2-4 million acre-feet, a staggering volume that amounts to about 30 percent of average consumptive use. Our water supplies across the dry West are in severe crisis because of historic over-development, compounded today by a megadrought. Warming temperatures are creating hot droughts that deplete flows in rivers, the flows that people and nature depend on. Today there is no longer enough water to supply all of the demands. Colorado River flows in the first two decades of the 21st century are 20 percent lower than flows in the last century. In years when we see average snowpack levels in the mountains, river flows are low: last year in the Colorado Rivers headwater mountains, a 91 percent snowpack yielded only a 55 percent flow. Snowmelt isnt reaching the rivers in the same way; warmer temperatures drive evaporation, turning the soils into thirsty sponges. At the recent Colorado River-focused Getches-Wilkinson Centers Colorado Law Conference aptly named Hard Conversations About Really Complicated Issues, Reclamations Jim Prairie shared the numbers behind the problem. The volume of water flowing into the Colorado Rivers largest reservoirsLakes Powell and Meadhas declined, while uses have not. Over the past 20 years, this imbalance has resulted in a 40 million acre-foot decline in Colorado River reservoir storage a volume that exceeds by a factor of three the Colorado Rivers annual average flow. With so little water remaining in the reservoirs, the risks including infrastructure failure, inability to deliver water to major population centers, and even the risk of no water flowing in the Grand Canyon are untenable. Moreover, while Reclamations call for additional water conservation in the coming year should prevent things from getting worse in 2023, it is not projected to address recovery of the reservoirs, and is not expected to solve the problem beyond 2023 unless those enormous volumes of water can be conserved year after year. Stakes are high, and mitigation will be costly. We learned that lesson at Owens Lake in California, where the costs to remediate the lakes historic drying after Los Angeles diverted 100 percent of its water continue to grow. In order to address extreme dust pollution and loss of migratory bird habitat, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power invested hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild the ecosystem with pumping and piping of water, infrastructure and many dust control methods resulting in annual maintenance costs estimated at $17 million. And the costs of restoring a small portion of flows and habitat in the once-vast Colorado River Delta underscore how much more expensive it is to try and fix rivers and lakes once they have been decimated. This should be a wake-up call to everyone. This water crisis isnt just impacting those of us who live in the West; it affects people who live in the East too. Not only did the Colorado River form beloved places like the Grand Canyon, it supports an enormous part of our American economy, and has outsized importance to wildlife and birds, with around 70 percent of all species in the region depending on the riparian corridor at some point in their life-cycle. On top of that, Great Salt Lake is essential to the worlds populations of Wilsons Phalaropes, Eared Grebe, and American Avocet. The buzz is around shared sacrifice. Politically, all sectors need to shoulder some of the burden of reducing water use. In all likelihood, despite having senior water rights, agricultural producers who rely on irrigation with Colorado River water will be required to take compensated cuts in their water use. As was pointed out at the Colorado River conference, we cannot conserve the 2-4 million acre-feet of water needed by evacuating the cities that rely on Colorado River water. Water conservation in the agricultural sector has implications for rural economies and the environment. Its a terrible situation, and important that we are doing what we can to support rural economies and to increase investments in freshwater-dependent ecosystems. Water management systems in the West are breaking. As decision-makers revise the rules that shape water management systems, we need to urge them to incorporate todays 21st century values, including equitable treatment of vulnerable communities that lack access to water, and emphasis on supporting water needs in the natural world around us. With even less water, the hard conversations on water conservation efforts should include both using less water while also ensuring water supply to all households in the Colorado River region, as well as minimum water flows to protect hydrologic connections and quality habitats as crucial steps to preserving our future in this landscape. We cant let the water crisis allow bad projects to get approvalsthey would create both short-term and long-term issues for the landscape. We are at a fundamental inflection point for the Colorado River and for Great Salt Lake. While this is a dire update, we need to stay focused to protect our future in the West. [Audubon] Read more at: StrangeSounds.org (Natural News) The horrors that come following transgender surgical procedures are now coming to light, thanks to British whistleblowers who have stepped forward to share their stories. Newcastle resident Ritchie Herron is one such individual who revealed the dangers of such surgeries. The former male-to-female (MTF) trans individual went back to living as a man after going under the knife in 2018 to remove his genitals. He said he plans to sue the U.K.s National Health Service (NHS) for the irreversible damage the surgery caused him. Theres a conveyor belt system going on, where theyre just trying to rush through people as quickly as possible because the waiting list is like five years in some areas now, Herron told the Times. He added that this system of NHS rushing gender transition surgeries resulted in him having chronic pain, difficulty urinating and no sex drive. The 35-year-old was initially diagnosed as a transsexual in 2014, during two half-hour appointments with a psychiatrist in the NHS Northern Region Gender Dysphoria Service. Herron was immediately prescribed testosterone-blocking drugs and was referred to surgery months after his initial diagnosis. However, he declined the first offer for surgery as he was too worried to accept it at that time. (Related: Reckless, profit-driven doctors prescribing children as young as 12 sex-change hormones.) Herron also mentioned how NHS medical professionals chalked his concerns about the gender reassignment surgery to his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). I had voiced doubts early on and because I came in at the service with a high diagnosis of OCD, they put everything down to it being a rumination or an obsession, he recounted. Aside from OCD, Herron had long struggled with depression. He received another referral in 2017, with a warning that he would be discharged from the NHS gender clinic if he refused to submit. He then underwent surgery in May 2018 without even seeing the doctor responsible for the procedure. But after the surgery, Herron expressed immediate regret. Peter Harthan, Herrons lawyer, said his client and others like him are now subject to a lifetime of medical care and consequences and cannot be put back together again. Former FTM Keira Bell also exposing the medical establishment Activist and former female-to-male (FTM) trans Keira Bell also stepped forward to reveal how the NHS failed to outline the lifelong consequences of gender reassignment procedures. She shared her story in an April 2021 post on the official Substack page for Persuasion. Initially identifying as one of the boys, Bell recounted that she no longer identified with both girls and boys when puberty set in by age 14. A year later, she was referred to the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London which ran a gender clinic. Bell went on puberty blockers when she turned 16 and started receiving testosterone shots at age 17. By the time she turned 20, she already had a double mastectomy. Five years after beginning my medical transition to becoming male, I began the process of de-transitioning, wrote Bell. The consequences of what happened to me have been profound possible infertility, loss of my breasts and inability to breastfeed, atrophied genitals, a permanently changed voice [and] facial hair. The former FTM individual then listed her name as a plaintiff in a complaint against the London facility. The High Court of Justice ruled in favor of Bell and other plaintiffs in December 2020, pointing out that children 16 years old and below were unlikely to be able to give informed consent toward experimental treatments such as puberty blockers. She wrote that the London hospital had failed to protect young patients who sought its services and conducted what amounted to uncontrolled experiments. Bell concluded her piece: I was an unhappy girl who needed help. Instead, I was treated like an experiment. Watch former MTF trans individual and Sex Change Regret Founder Walt Heyer warning against gender reassignment surgeries below. This video is from the Counter Culture Mom channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: YouTube censors ex-transgender for medical information on gender dysphoria. THOUGHT POLICE: U.K. to throw people in prison for criticizing transgender surgery that maims children. MUTILATION NATION: Transgender organization says children should be allowed to transition at age 14. Transgender surgery is rooted in the idea that doctors can cure mental illness by permanently maiming patients. U.K. government formally endorses medical child abuse by promoting transgender surgery for children under 16. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com TheTimes.co.uk Persuasion.community BBC.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Western Europe is on suicide watch as virtue signaling nations tore down their fossil fuel infrastructure (and nuclear power plants) to appease the greenies. Now, countries like Germany, France and the UK are facing an energy catastrophe as Russia steadily reduces natural gas outflows from pipelines like Nord Stream 1, which is also scheduled to be taken offline in just five days for routine maintenance. Many European nations are worried that Nord Stream wont be turned back on, believing Russia will find an excuse to keep the pipeline offline for an extended period of time. This would be catastrophic for nations like Germany, which depend heavily on Russian gas to generate electricity and power domestic industry. Some fear the Kremlin could use planned maintenance works to turn off the taps for good, reports CNBC: If it doesnt come back after maintenance because President Putin plays games or wants to hit Europe while it hurts, then the plan to fill up gas storage by the end of summer will probably not work, said Eurasia Groups Henning Gloystein. Eurasia Group said that if Putin orchestrated a total cut-off of gas supplies beyond the scheduled end of maintenance works on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in what Gloystein described as a maximum economic warfare scenario Germany would likely be forced to move to level three of its three-stage emergency gas plan. And why wouldnt Russia cut off energy supplies to Europe when Europe is sending weapons to Ukraine to kill Russian soldiers? Why do European leaders think they can wage economic and kinetic warfare against Russia but demand that Russia avoid carrying out economic warfare against Europe? Europe seems to be saying, We will KILL you, Russia! But please sell us your gas while we keep killing you. The stupidity of Europes policies is beyond comprehension. Famine across Europe: No fertilizer, fuel or food In late June, Putin announced a total ban on Russian exports to unfriendly countries. As TheConsul.com.pk writes: This step is a complete disaster for the European Union. It is basically signing a death warrant for all European economies. It is feared that European economies might not survive this draconian action. A year from now, the standard of living of all Europeans will be substantially lower than what it is today. It is the right time now for all Europeans to consider what is about to come and how will their lives be affected by this decree. This crisis is, of course, entirely man-made. It was created by the financially illiterate socialists running Germany, France, Italy, the UK and other Western European nations. In their arrogance, they tried to take down Russias economy, but they only ended up making Russia rich while destroying their own local economies and supply chains: Economists believe that the Europeans have committed financial suicide by imposing sanctions against Russia. They enforced sanctions and imposed total economic warfare on Russia thinking that Russias economy would collapse because of the European sanctions Europeans are likely to go hungry and cold and all European products and services will be scarce or suspended. This is what happens when you try to shut off the country that provides most of the energy and fertilizer that keeps your own nation afloat. Now, in their arrogance and belligerence, Western European nations are facing a total economic and social collapse over the coming winter as Russia cuts off energy flows. The false claims of the green movement handed Putin the power to destroy western nations without firing a single shot In effect, the green movement that has been mindlessly prostituted by the leaders of Western Europe has created such striking domestic vulnerabilities that Putin now has the power to destroy Western Europe by simply shutting of all exports from Russia. Western European nations are already years behind the curve in restarting coal and natural gas operations, meaning they will experience catastrophic suffering for years to come, even if they try to switch back to coal and gas right now. Yet the mindless, incomprehensibly shortsighted leaders of Europe are still pushing their green agenda, demanding that somehow the world transition to wind and solar, even when there are no wind-powered trains or solar-powered tractors. A world that relies solely on green energy is a world that experiences the deaths of billions of human beings, followed by total economic and social collapse. Thats the world that Western Europe is begging for, it turns out, which is why Western Europe is acting like a suicidal death cult. The Euro will collapse, likely within the next 18 months. Germanys economy will implode. Mass starvation will spread across the continent, and much of Western Europe in 2023 will look like Sri Lanka today. When a country can no longer provide food, fuel, transportation or basic security, a mass uprising becomes inevitable. Starving, freezing, desperate people do desperate things. We are witnessing the suicide of Western Civilization, spurred by the idiocy of socialism and the green movement, whose ideas are rooted in delusion and virtue signaling. This winter, maybe they can burn their bad ideas in wood stoves to keep warm if only wood stoves were still available anywhere across Europe (which they arent). Millions of Europeans are going to find themselves freezing and starving this winter, while their political leaders blame Putin instead of themselves. Because libtards are incapable of learning from their own bad decisions. They just double down on stupidity and blame someone else. Get more details on all this and much more in todays Situation Update podcast: Brighteon.com/b5d278b6-4f91-4abe-a2b2-fbde646db60d Discover more information-packaged podcasts, raw intel reports and interviews each day: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/HRreport Follow me on: Brighteon.social: Brighteon.social/@HealthRanger (my breaking news gets posted here first) Telegram: t.me/RealHealthRanger (breaking news is posted here second) Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@healthranger Gettr: GETTR.com/user/healthranger Parler: Parler.com/user/HealthRanger Rumble: Rumble.com/c/HealthRangerReport BitChute: Bitchute.com/channel/9EB8glubb0Ns/ Clouthub: app.clouthub.com/#/users/u/naturalnews/posts Join the free NaturalNews.com email newsletter to stay alerted about breaking news each day. Download my current audiobooks including Ghost World, Survival Nutrition, The Global Reset Survival Guide and The Contagious Mind at: https://Audiobooks.NaturalNews.com/ Download my new audiobook, Resilient Prepping at ResilientPrepping.com it teaches you how to survive the total collapse of civilization and the loss of both the power grid and combustion engines. Researchers have noted that sharks are becoming increasingly uncommon along the border of South Africa, wherein they normally cluster. The unexpected absence was originally attributed to human action, notably overfishing. Orca Attacks Pose Threat to Great White Sharks Science Alert covered the story upon the great white (Carcharodon carcharias) which are commonly recognized as being among the sea's large carnivores due to its compact form ideal for foraging, keen fangs, and notoriety for liking human meat. That is correct - yet there is one that perhaps the great white dread. As per recent study posted under the African Journal of Marine Science nowadays has established the actual underlying cause: a couple of orcas chasing sharks and gobbling their tasty, healthy, vitamin-rich hepatocytes. The orcas are pursuing relied great white sharks, that can have a detrimental effect on an existing fragile shark community because to their sluggish development and late-maturing survival approach. Employing long-term observation and collecting information from labeled sharks, a group of researchers led by Dyer Island Conservation Trust aquatic researcher Alison Towner discovered that orcas are the rationale sharks are beginning to forsake what seemed to be among of their top choices, as per The Royal Society Publishing. In the disappearance of great white sharks, copper sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) are filling the environmental void. Additional research has shown that the sight of orcas can effectively deter great white sharks offshore. Furthermore, UICN revealed that eight great white sharks reportedly come up at Gansbaai since 2017, seven of them lacking livers (and some without hearts) - the hallmark of an orca assault. Conversely, stability is vital in coastal environment; for instance, without great white sharks limiting Cape fur seal conduct, the markings can prompt on threatened species African penguins or contend for the tiny cetaceans they intake, which are encroached on by the great whites; with no great whites approximately, orcas search the coppers alternatively. Also read: Viruses from Mosquito Bites Could Alter Your Body Odor to be More Attractive to Mosquitoes The Diminishing Population of Great White Shark Briefly, solitary great white sharks hardly emerge for extended periods of time, after an orca assault in Gansbaai. Exactly twice previously, great white sharks were reported missing for a week or longer at Gansbaai. Records commenced: one week in 2007, and three weeks in 2017. The greater the number of orcas that visit these areas, the lengthier the great white sharks steer clear. Researchers suggest in unpublished research those certain orcas are adjusting to selectively target sharks, possibly in reaction to dwindling populations of their favorite food. To sum it up, albeit this is merely a theory for the time being, there is merely so much strain an environment can withstand, and the consequences of orcas eradicating sharks are expected to be far-reaching. The scientists monitored 14 GPS-tagged sharks as they departed the region when orcas were there throughout the duration of 5 years. For quite a while, the coastal hamlet of Gansbaai on the South African peninsula was a shark-spotting hotspot - so densely packed with the creatures that adjacent Dyer Island is called the globe's great white shark headquarters, the T&F Newsroom reported. It's definitely interesting thinking about why orcas would be targeting sharks. Occurrences of great white sharks are likewise much lower in numerous bays. Related article: Antarctica's Only Native Insect is in Danger of Extinction as Winter Warms Numerous Antarctic fish have been discovered to have skin tumors all over their bodies. These tumors are thought to be caused by a parasite, according to research. Climate change makes the infection worse. Tumor-Ridden Fish The weird-looking fish was found by the authors in 2018 during their expedition to West Antarctica. They discovered that about 30% of the specimens from two species of crowned notothen had tumors. The skin tumors usually covered more than a third of the fish's body. The tumors are raised, pale pink, and rough. Four years before the publication of the study, the researchers visited the region, including Dallmann Bay and Andcord Bay, but there were no instances of fish with these tumors during the time. The team quickly discovered that one species was widespread and that many of them had large tumors, according to Thomas Desvignes, the study's lead author, in a statement. Fish Cancer and Climate Change The research team examined the tumors once they got back to the lab and discovered that the fish had X-cell disease, a cancerous infection brought on by a new species of Xcellidae, a parasitic alveolate. This protozoan is the same kind that causes malaria. Prior reports of Xcellidae infections in wild fisheries in Iceland and Norway exist, but the mode of transmission is still unknown. Fish belonging to the notothenioid family are infamous for their adaptations, which enable them to survive in the world's coldest waters. To survive in the chilly Antarctic waters, the fish evolved a glycoprotein that lowers their blood's freezing point to just below that of seawater (28.4 F). According to the researchers, the sudden and sharp increase in Xcellidae infections may be linked to rising seawater temperatures as a result of climate change. The West Antarctic Peninsula's glaciers are melting quickly, according to the study's authors, although sea bottom temperatures at the capture sites were not significantly different from those at other nearby localities. Antarctic bottom waters, which have been warming and getting fresher for a while, are being impacted by this. The new Xcellidae species discovered to be infecting the Antarctic fish may spread more readily or be more infectious due to the warmer waters, or they may weaken the icefish, making them more vulnerable to infection. Desvignes explains that when circumstances in life become difficult, some animals develop a higher risk of illness, Newsweek reports. The ocean is becoming warmer as a result of rising global temperatures brought on by climate change. Since 1955, the upper ocean has warmed by more than 34 degrees Fahrenheit to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula, with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current warming the Southern Ocean more quickly than the rest of it. This, along with the resulting sea ice melting, is already having an impact on the entire Antarctic ecosystem, with changes in penguin distribution and a long-term decline in Antarctic krill abundance. Read also: Frankenstein Fish Spooks Social Media Current Progress and Future Plans The team currently lacks the information and expertise to forecast how X-cells might be impacted by a changing climate. The dramatic situation in this population, as the authors noted, may foreshadow widespread biotic changes in host-parasite interactions brought on by changes in the abiotic environment, despite alarming predictions for continued changes in Antarctic climates. To better comprehend and quantify the parasitic infection, how it spreads among fish, and how long-term climate change will affect it, the authors concluded that more research is necessary. In a statement, Desvignes stated that they are putting together project proposals to return there and examine this specific outbreak, how it changed since 2018, and explore nearby areas to see if they can find the pathogen elsewhere or in other species. Related article: Seabream Shipment with Parasitic Infestation of Tongue-Eating Lice Denied Port Entry Due to climate change and rising greenhouse gas levels, or GHG, humpback whales may eventually steer clear of Hawaii waters, according to the findings of a recent paper by a team of researchers. Three graduate students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa make up the team: Renee Setter, Hannah von Hammerstein, and Martin van Aswegen from the Institute for Marine Biology's Marine Mammal Research Program and Department of Geography and Environment, respectively. Humpback Whales It is known that humpback whales migrate to tropical coastal waters, like those off the coast of Hawaii, where they give birth to their calves. The whales frequently return to the same locations each year in these regions, which have sea surface temperatures between 21 and 28 degrees Celsius. The Possible Scenarios Anthropogenic climate change, according to von Hammerstein, Setter, van Aswegen, and colleagues from the Pacific Whale Foundation, is heating the oceans at previously unheard-of rates. Over the course of the next century, some of these breeding grounds will likely reach temperatures higher than the 21-28C range. Increasing the resolution of global sea surface temperatures and monitoring the critical 21-28C isotherms that surround humpback whale breeding grounds over the course of the twenty-first century. Isotherms are lines connecting points with the same temperature on a map or chart. Two potential scenarios for climate change are presented by the research: In a worst-case scenario with continued high development and unabated carbon emissions, by 2100, 67% of humpback whale breeding grounds will have a sea surface temperature above the critical threshold of 28C. That percentage would drop to 35% of breeding grounds in a "middle-of-the-road" scenario with international and global institutions working toward emission mitigation goals. In some of the breeding grounds, critical warming was anticipated, according to von Hammerstein, but the sheer number of critically affected areas was unexpected. Even though the study's findings are sobering, they also show how the two emission scenarios differ and what can still be accomplished by taking emission mitigation measures. Read also: Another Humpback Whale 'Unlikely to Survive' After Getting Entangled in Fishing Net Call for Global Effort Setter continued to say that there needs to be a global effort to try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and try to stay in that middle-of-the-road greenhouse gas emissions scenario at the very least, just so that saving many of those breeding grounds is possible from exceeding that critical temperature threshold. Although it is currently unknown whether humpback whales will continue to migrate to breeding grounds above 28C, the researchers note that they still hope that their findings will serve as motivation for policymakers to work toward reducing emissions, not only in Hawaii but also on a global scale. Van Aswegen emphasized that while humpback whales are only one impacted species, their findings offer yet another illustration of what anthropogenic climate change will eventually bring. For mitigation measures to be implemented effectively and on schedule, our understanding of how ecosystems will change must be improved. Related article: Fishing Gear Entanglements Increase Death Count for Endangered Whales in the North Atlantic CFA Society-Bahrain, the local society of the CFA Institute, has partnered with Sico, a leading regional asset manager, broker and investment bank, to launch a Women in Investment (WIM) Boot Camp Programme. This marks the commencement of a new flagship programme focused on developing women in the investment management field. The training will be delivered by Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) as the knowledge partner. Each module has been designed with interactive learning and fireside sessions that provide a unique opportunity for participants to interact with high-profile industry professionals, and pull-out relevant insights from them. Executive mentoring Through the CFA Society mentorship programme, Qodwa, the participants will receive ongoing executive mentoring to support their progression. Sico is the strategic partner in launching this women-focused investment programme. The overarching objective of the programme is to develop a pipeline of women investment leaders within the kingdom. The set of proposed trainings aim to enhance the investment skillset of graduates and professionals in Bahrains investment field through a full range of courses that include soft skills, business fundamentals, and investment universe workshops. Internship programme An internship programme will be arranged at the end to provide participants with an opportunity for on-the-job learning experience and development. Enabling Bahraini women with the practical skills and training that are aligned with the future needs of the job market is one of the most important contributions that we can make as responsible corporate citizens and it has always been a key pillar of Sicos corporate social responsibility programme, said Najla Al Shirawi, Sicos CEO. As an organisation that prides itself as an equal opportunity employer, we are pleased to partner with like-minded entities like the CFA Society Bahrain to help usher in the new era of diversity in the workforce and a culture of women empowerment, she added. Flagship initiative Zeeba Askar, Chairperson Women Inclusion Committee and Vice President CFA Society Bahrain said: As we play a significant role in advancing the investment profession, not only locally, but globally, the launch of this programme marks the beginning of a new flagship programme to be added to our current major initiatives, such as Mutamahin and Qodwa. We look forward to delivering this programme which is aimed particularly at preparing and training young women aspiring to join the investment field. Having a strong strategic partner such as Sico is a major success factor in this programme and reinforces its strong potential. Noorhan AlZann Chairperson Qodwa and Board Member CFA Society Bahrain commented: Our commitment to serve the local investment community and contribute to creating enhanced opportunities in the Kingdom continues with the launch of this flagship programme. With the integration of technical training and executive mentorship through Qodwa, we aspire to boost the skillset and employability of the participants.-- TradeArabia News Service As four US volcanoes are at elevated risk or have a WATCH / ORANGE status due to recent volcanic activity, the USGS will continue to monitor them throughout this holiday weekend. The Great Sitkin Volcano, Semisopochnoi, Pavlof, and Kilauea are the four US volcanoes. Mount Cleveland and Mauna Loa volcanoes both received an ADVISORY/YELLOW status. Other volcanoes that USGS is keeping an eye on are all currently GREEN or unrated. According to experts, the ongoing earthquake swarms that have been occurring in South Carolina, Missouri, and Puerto Rico are not currently connected to volcanic eruptions. Monitoring Authorities The USGS keeps tabs on 161 volcanoes that could be active within the country. At any given time, there are typically about two dozen volcanoes erupting worldwide, according to USGS. Around 500 of the 1,500 volcanoes that are potentially active around the world have erupted in recent memory. More than 130 volcanoes and volcanic fields can be found in Alaska. Hawaii is another location well-known for its volcanoes. The Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO) keeps track of the volcanoes in Hawaii, while the Alaska Volcano Observatory keeps track of the volcanoes in Alaska (AVO.) The California Volcano Observatory, Cascades Volcano Observatory, Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, and Northern Mariana Islands Volcano Observatory are additional observatories to the AVO and HVO. Aviation Codes and Volcanic Activity Alert Levels are published by the USGS and volcano observatory units. Green, yellow, orange, or red is the different aviation codes. The USGS also keeps track of the numerous volcanoes in the western United States. Volcano observatories have been established in Yellowstone, the Cascades, and California. Great Sitkin Volcano, Alaska (ORANGE) A member of the Andreanof Islands group in the central Aleutian Islands, the Great Sitkin Volcano is a basaltic andesite volcano that takes up the majority of Great Sitkin Island's northern half. It is 1,192 miles southwest of Anchorage and about 26 miles east of Adak.The volcano has a composite structure made up of a younger parasitic cone with a summit crater that is 1.8 miles in diameter and an older dissected volcano. The crater's interior is dominated by a lava dome with a steep incline that was created during an eruption in 1974. Currently, USGS warns, that explosive activity could occur with little or no warning. Semisopochnoi, Alaska (ORANGE) Just 9.7 miles west of Alaska's 180th Meridian, Semisopochnoi is the most easterly land in both North America and the United States. The Aleutian Islands, a group of 14 sizable volcanic islands, include Semisopochnoi. The USGS adds a warning that small explosions and related ash emissions might continue and be challenging to find, particularly when dense cloud cover hides the volcano and 55 other smaller islands. Pavlof, Alaska (ORANGE) A stratovolcano called Pavlof Volcano is situated on the southwest tip of the Alaskan Peninsula, less than 600 miles from Anchorage. The volcano has active vents close to the summit on its north and east sides, which have a diameter of about 4.4 miles. One of the Aleutian Arc's most frequently active volcanoes, the volcano has experienced more than 40 historic eruptions. The Aleutian Arc is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The progression to more significant eruptive activity can occur with little or no notice, according to the current AVO warning. Kilauea, Hawaii (ORANGE) The only erupting volcano in the United States that attracts tourists is Kilauea Volcano. USGS and HVO do issue warnings about the dangers present there even though Hawaii and the national park where the volcano is located are welcoming to visitors. The current eruption at Kilauea's summit is taking place within a portion of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that is off-limits. High volcanic gas concentrations are the main threat because they can have a significant impact downwind. Visitors to the nearby Kilauea Volcano and Hawaii Volcano National Park are urged by HVO and USGS to always proceed with extreme caution. Read also: Volcanic Eruption: New Study Finds Water Affects Magma Depth Mauna Loa, Hawaii (YELLOW) With a height of 13,681 feet above sea level, Mauna Loa is regarded as the planet's largest active volcano. At a depth of about three miles, Mauna Loa rises from the Central Pacific ocean floor. The ocean floor directly beneath Mauna Loa is depressed by an additional 5 miles due to the volcano's size and mass. The massive volcano, also referred to as the "Big Island of Hawaii," spans half of the Hawaiian island. HVO warns that communities on the east and west sides of the Big Island, from Kona to Hilo, may be affected by the large, swiftly moving lava flows that frequently result from Mauna Loa eruptions. Cleveland Volcano, Alaska (YELLOW) A stratovolcano named Mount Cleveland or Cleveland Volcano is situated in Alaska's Islands of Four Mountains group of the Aleutian chain. It is symmetrical and 5,676 feet tall. Cleveland, one of the Aleutian Arc's most active volcanoes, has erupted at least 22 times over the past 230 years. Cloudy conditions otherwise obstructed satellite views, AVO noted, adding that Elevated surface temperatures in the summit crater were seen in satellite data over the past 24 hours. There was no discernible infrasound activity on local or regional networks, Weatherboy reports. Related article: USGS Discovers Growing Bulge Near Three Sisters Volcano Due to Increased Seismic Activity Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories are currently in place as a massive heat wave is "consuming" most parts of the Midwest into the Southern US, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The extreme heat is reportedly causing hazy, hot, and humid conditions that could persist in the latter part of the week. The NWS consider the weather hazards as dangerous conditions, which could cause heat-related illnesses and even death as it did in recent years, including last month. With this, additional heat alerts are possible in other areas across the country, especially in states where wildfire are ongoing. In June, the deaths of several people have been linked to a prolonged heat dome in multiple regions of the US, particularly the West. Related incidents have also been reported as thousands of cattle died in Kansas due to heat stress amid scorching temperatures that reached at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit. As the country progresses into the summer season, the hot weather confirms predictions of previous scientific studies and reports that increased heat will continue this year, potentially damaging power grids and causing power outages. This comes as the Pacific Northwest in 2021 led to hundred of reported deaths in Washington and Oregon attributed to a summer heat wave. Meanwhile, some scientists asserted that climate change is the driving force behind such natural phenomenon. Heat Wave Forecast The NWS' Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said on Tuesday, July 5, that the dangerous heat and humidity will continue over areas of the central and southern Great Plains on Thursday, July 6. It will then move to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast US. The NWS also issued a forecast for showers and thunderstorms from the Northern Rockies and High Plains to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. This could overlap with the weather system causing the heat wave in the said regions. The latest weather advisory coincides with the AccuWeather forecast that summer heat will continue to shape damaging and intense thunderstorms this week, affecting millions of Americans who may face power outages through mid-week. Also Read: Record-breaking Heat Wave Strains 'Limits of Human Survivability' in India and Pakistan Heat Wave Alert Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories remain in effect for a portion of the central and southern Plains, middle and lower Mississippi Valley, lower Ohio Valley, and lower Tennessee Valley. The same heat alerts are in place for the coastal Mid-Atlantic and Southeast US. The US weather agency said that the Central US and Eastern US remains hot in general. The said dry conditions are expected to continue as the country is still at the early phase of its summer season. Climate Change: US Heat Wave Various assessments this year alone revealed that climate change and global warming have contributed to the worsening heatwaves across the US. One of these reports included citations not only from meteorologists but also experts from the US government. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the following "heat wave characteristics" have increased significantly between 1961 and 2019: Heat wave frequency Heat wave duration Heat wave season Heat wave intensity Based on its report, the EPA shows that there has been a gradual yet consistent spike when it comes to the overall heat wave threat in the US, especially from 2010. Related Article: Kansas Heat Wave Kills Around 10,000 Fat Cattle as Temperatures Reach over 100 Degrees Fahrenheit Major flooding continues to threaten Sydney and areas across New South Wales, Australia, as torrential rain is expected to persist until Wednesday, July 6, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). A new round of evacuation is still possible as dozens of thousands of NSW residents have been forced to leave their homes over the past week. Approximately 50,000 residents have been told by local authorities to evacuate and leave their homes as of Tuesday, July 5. The latest evacuee number has been at a 66.6% increase compared to the initial evacuation of 30,000 people in the region on Monday, July 4. Other residents have been reportedly informed by the authorities to prepare for potential evacuation orders in the short-term future. The threat comes from the risk of river overflow as water levels in some rivers have started to increase beyond their danger levels. A so-called "east coast low" is causing the adverse weather that has besieged the state with heavy rain and flash flooding over the past week. The BoM has started issuing major flood warnings and severe weather warnings since the weather disturbance started last Friday, July 1. Australia is currently in its winter season, where its onset in June was marked by a winter storm of heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures. The ongoing east coast low likely deviates from the said season but is more affected by the changing climate and the recent La Nina that gripped the region this year. NSW Major Flooding The BoM reminded citizens on Tuesday that several major flood warnings are still ongoing and could continue for some of the following NSW areas below: Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment Wollombi Brook Macquarie River Tuggerah Lake Paterson Cooks Georges Woronora Macquarie Shoalhaven St. Georges Basin Other risks posed by the inclement weather are landslips and riverine flooding, which continues for many parts of the state. Also Read: New South Wales Announces Another Evacuation Warning to Residents Due to the Extreme Flooding Evacuations Orders Flooding and rainfall in general have subsided across the region compared to previous days. Still, the tens of thousands of NSW residents are still displaced due to the ongoing threat. A total of 85,000 people, including Sydney residents, are currently under evacuation orders and evacuation warnings as of Wednesday morning, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. In response, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to coordinate with all levels of government to address the developing NSW flood crisis, as cited by the Australian media agency. PM Albanese and NSW premier Dominic Perrottet on Wednesday visited Windsor and its surrounding areas Climate Drivers In a separate yet related report, the BoM issued its assessment of the heavy rainfall in eastern NSW by identifying key climate drivers behind the above-average rainfall in the region. The Australian weather agency said that it is not attributing the current weather event to the 2021 to 2022 La Nina season, which it had declared to have ended already. Rather, the agency points toward the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), which pertains to the varying sea surface temperatures between the western and eastern Indian Ocean. In addition, the adverse weather is being caused by the so-called Southern Annular Mode (SAM), which depicts the movement of strong westerly winds in the higher latitudes of the southern hemisphere. Related Article: Life-Threatening Floods Due to Heavy Rain Forces Thousands to Evacuate in Sydney Humpback whales were entangled in shark nets off the Queensland coast for several hours on Tuesday, July 5. Two whales were rescued on the same day. One of the humpbacks was stuck on the waters off Kirra beach on the Gold Coast. The second whale was trapped off Marcoola beach along the Sunshine Coast. The two humpbacks were freed following the quick response from local authorities, who were operating under calls for a 24-hour shark hotline. The Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol and Sea World managed to save the marine animals, which were largely unharmed. The two humpbacks were caught in a site considered to be a major whale migration pathway. Marine conservationists in the past have called the Queensland state government for the complete eradication of shark nets; which were perceived to be outdated and fail to mitigate or prevent any shark attacks in the state's coastal area. For almost a decade, there have been multiple related incidents concerning the entanglement of whales in Queensland's coastline. Authorities claimed that despite the erection of the so-called "shark traps," the number of shark attacks in East Coast Australia has not diminished. Whale Entanglements Australian Marine Conservation Society shark specialist, Dr. Leonardo Guida, stated that entanglements occur each year and could lead to major physiological trauma for trapped whales, even if they were freed afterwards, as cited by The Guardian. Guida exclaimed that the "nets have to come out now" since the recent incident is the fourth whale entanglement in past several weeks. The region is still only a quarter through the whale season, as reported by the UK media outlet. The shark specialist argued that the beach safety standards of Queensland is as old as over 60 years, suggesting drone monitoring over beaches and improved resourcing for lifeguards are far more efficient than laying nets into the sea. Guida added that the shark nets are not making anyone safer, instead it only harms marine life rather than protect them. The rationale for the demand was due to the continued shark attacks in Queensland, and the behavior of sharks to evade the said traps. In December 2021, a spear fisher survived a bull shark attack off the Far North Queensland coast, according to ABC News. Also Read: Endangered: Whale Sharks, Winghead Sharks And Bornean Orangutans Now A Step Closer To Extinction Queensland Shark Attacks According to the Florida Museum, the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) database shows that there is a total of hundreds of shark attacks across Australia since old and modern recordings started in the 1700s. The following statistics enumerate the number of attacks for each territory, with New South Wales being the highest followed by Queensland: New South Wales - 267 Queensland - 199 Western Australia - 107 South Australia - 42 Victoria - 42 Tasmania - 14 Northern Territory - 7 Experts claimed that shark attacks are extremely rare and most attacks are considered to be unprovoked, a situation when the attack occurs in the shark's territory and without the use of any means to intentionally provoke the marine predator. Related Article: Humpback Whale Freed After Being Entangled in Shark Net in Australia [VIDEO] Scientists onboard the Thompson attempt to answer complex questions regarding what makes volcanoes tick, notably the Axial Seamount. However, even the most serious scientific investigation may be "crabotaged." Undersea Mission Being out in the middle of the ocean aboard the research vessel Thompson means never truly hearing the sea. There's engine noise, exhaust blowers, temperature control, winches, and wind, but there aren't many real waves. The science never stops aboard a research ship 250 miles from land. It's a nonstop whirlwind of planning, launching, and recovering geologic instruments from answering intricate questions about what makes volcanoes tick - especially the underwater Axial Seamount, roughly 250 miles west of Cannon Beach. Studying an undersea volcano without a spider crab interfering is difficult enough. Jes Burns of Oregon Public Broadcasting narrates the story of a crab, some geologists merely trying to set up their equipment, and a remotely driven vehicle dubbed Jason, which appears to be embroiled in an almost perpetual crustacean battle. "We anticipate sabotage, crab sabotage." Because there's a war going on between Jason and the crabs at Axial Seamount," said Bill Chadwick, a volcanologist at Oregon State University. Also Read: After Outliving the Dinosaurs, Crustaceans Used to Fight Covid Now at Risk of Extinction Crabotaged by the Crustaceans Burns is on a ship with Chadwick and other scientists, reporting on the serious scientific endeavor to examine the Axial Seamount, an undersea volcano 300 miles off the coast of Oregon. The scientists were seeking to put seismometers on the ocean bottom as part of their research: sensors that monitor movement and teach them about the volcano's inner workings. But, before they could use a giant plastic bubble to cover up one of that equipment, a big, spiky spider crab thought it would make an excellent perch. Animal interference is a relatively common problem with seismometers, especially on land. They are intended to detect earthquakes, but any type of motion and animals move a lot. Picking up on animal movement can be useful: scientists have used the technology to detect the rumble of elephant herds in the past. However, it can be moderately irritating. Whale sounds have been found to obscure earthquake evidence. And bears, in particular, are known to savage geological equipment. (Bears "encounter" seismometers frequently in Alaska, prompting scientists to warn that "future seismic investigations in isolated locations of bear territory should carefully examine the consequences of bears." Crabs, it turns out, are moderately bothersome, and scientists aboard the boat had to find out how to persuade the crab to go so they could collect their volcanic data - would they "slurp" it with the vacuum? Jason's titanium claw to the rescue? Is it all of the above? Will the crab that was ultimately removed return for vengeance? How Smart are Crabs? A crab species may learn to negotiate a maze and remember it for up to two weeks. According to the findings, crustaceans, which include crabs, lobsters, and shrimp, have the cognitive potential for complex learning despite having considerably smaller brains than many other creatures. "In terms of neuronal count, crustaceans have a brain around ten times the size of a bee's," says Edward Pope of Swansea University in the United Kingdom. Pope and his colleagues trained 12 shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) to navigate an aquarium maze. The maze contained a single proper path to the conclusion, which took five turns and had three dead ends. As an attractive incentive, the researchers placed a single crushed mussel at the end of the maze. Pope's team plans to explore how changing ocean conditions, such as acidity and rising temperatures, may affect crabs' capacity to learn in the future. Related Article: Deadly Crustaceans: Xanthidaes Among the Most Poisonous Crabs in the World For more animal news, don't forget to follow Nature World News! AD Ports Group, the leading facilitator of global trade, logistics, and industry, has launched a joint venture with SEG, one of the largest oil and gas companies in Uzbekistan, to open new logistics and freight businesses. The two companies also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a food trading hub in Uzbekistan, according to statmentt issued by AD Ports Group. At a signing ceremony in Tashkent, the two companies signed the key agreements to support the collaboration, which aims to develop logistics infrastructure and services that will enable Uzbek and SEGs refined products to reach global markets at competitive costs. The ceremony attendees from the UAE included Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED); Dr Saeed Matar Al Qemzi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan; Captain Mohammed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO AD Ports Group; Saeed Al-Bahri Salem Al-Ameri, Director General of Abu Dhabi Department of Agriculture and Food Safety; and Hamad Al Hammadi, Executive Director, Energy and Utilities at ADQ. Attendees from Uzbekistan included Ilkhom Makhkamov, Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan; Aziz Voitov, First Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan; Sherzod Khodjayev, Deputy Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan; Kakhramon Yuldashev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan; and Bakhtiyor Fazilov, Chairman of the Board of SEG. The signing ceremony saw the announcement of AD Ports Groups office in Uzbekistan, the Group's first in the Central Asia region. The office will oversee the projects announced within the agreements signed in Tashkent. Under the joint venture agreement, the two companies will create a partnership for logistics and freight forwarding services including intermodal freight forwarding, road, rail and air transport services, the development of inland ports and container depots, warehousing and other logistics infrastructure, contract logistics and custom clearance. Furthermore, the joint venture will deploy new technology and specialised processes to address the challenges caused by Uzbekistans double-landlocked geographical location, surrounded as it is by five additional landlocked nations. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed to support the development of an integrated food storage and distribution hub to enhance Uzbekistans food trade across global markets and drive Central Asian food security. Under the MoU, the two companies will collaborate on mutual opportunities relating to food storage, transportation, and security, and will explore related end-to-end solutions for the project. Based upon the Regional Food Hub Abu Dhabi currently under development in KIZAD, AD Ports Group will share their expertise and provide best practice guidance toward the new project. The food hub will collaborate with Rungis International Market, the wholesale fresh food market, to bring buyers, sellers, logistics players, consolidators, and distributors together to expand access to fresh food and boost exports for Uzbekistan. The hub is planned to be operated near Samarkand International Airport by a subsidiary of SEG - Marakand Logair. Falah Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Chairman of AD Ports Group, said: This agreement will support the direction of our wise leadership and strengthen our strategic partnership with Uzbekistan. We are delighted to be able to deploy the expertise and resources of AD Ports Group to address the core logistics challenges and opportunities present within the country. We believe that we will be able to contribute to unlocking the wider economic potential of the nation by building new supply chains and opening new trade routes. Our capacity to build one-stop economic hubs and logistics centres will be put to good use through the creation of a dedicated food hub, as well as the creation of inland ports and depots. Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group, said: This is a major new agreement that will help transform trade and logistics for Uzbekistan, which has a fast-growing economy and rich natural resources. With our expertise, we will develop multi-modal transport connections that will bring goods to market faster and more efficiently. Our strategic investment in infrastructure and capabilities will help support international companies by opening new points of entry into Central Asian markets and ensuring the highest levels of service and support. In line with the direction of the UAEs leadership, we are positioning Abu Dhabi as a global leader in logistics and industry. Bakhtiyor Fazilov, Chairman of the Board of SEG said: This agreement will have significant impact on the economic progress of our nation, creating new jobs and new opportunities for trade and development. Through working with AD Ports Group, we will establish new trade corridors that will be facilitated by advanced digital services and supported by world-class logistics facilities, including intermodal freight forwarding. Uzbekistan is a major producer of key exports, including oil, natural gas and gold, as well as being the second largest exporter of cotton in the world. Through these new joint ventures, we will be able to bring a wider range of products to more markets around the world, transforming our trade potential. The UAE and Uzbekistan signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote the exchange of knowledge, expertise and successful experiences in June 2022. The expanded strategic partnership with Uzbekistan covers 27 sectors, including the financial sector, education sector, economy, government leadership, food security and agriculture, ports and customs--TradeArabia News Service Industrial robots on march amid demand from new energy plays 14:27, July 06, 2022 By MA SI ( China Daily Two technicians test an industrial robot at a tech company in Binzhou, Shandong province. CHU BAORUI/FOR CHINA DAILY Industrial robots are expected to see rapid growth in China as the recovery of the downstream manufacturing sector and the expansion of production of lithium batteries, new energy vehicles and other industries drives demand. Estun Automation Co Ltd, a leading Chinese industrial robot company, said the company is working overtime to complete orders. The Nanjing, Jiangsu province-based company said that since May, market demand for industrial robots represented by medium and large-load robots has grown rapidly, and its industrial robot production lines are running at high speed. Estun is not alone. A string of Chinese industrial robot companies are seeing a revival of demand for their products, as customers such as new energy industry players have resumed work and stepped up production capacities amid better containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid rising demand, some companies have raised prices of industrial robot products. Efort Intelligent Equipment Co Ltd, for instance, issued a price adjustment letter saying that starting from July 1, prices of all robot products would jump by 3 to 10 percent. Meng Pengfei, an analyst at Chinese securities company Kaiyuan Securities, said new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaics and other highly prosperous downstream industries are accelerating production expansion, which increasingly rely on automated manufacturing and spur demand for industrial robots. "Industrial robots have become an important tool for lithium battery production. High-performance, high-speed, and high-stability industrial robots can provide more economical and efficient production solutions for lithium battery production," Meng said. China's factory activity expanded in June for the first time in four months, with the official purchasing managers index for China's manufacturing sector in June coming in at 50.2, said the National Bureau of Statistics. The data suggest that the country's economic recovery is gathering pace amid better containment of the COVID-19 pandemic and more substantial policy support. China has been the world's largest market for industrial robots for eight consecutive years. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a five-year plan that the operating income of China's robotics industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 20 percent from 2021 to 2025. In 2020, the manufacturing robot density, a metric used to measure a country's level of automation, reached 246 units per 10,000 people in China, nearly twice the global average. Wang Weiming, an official with the ministry, said China aims to double its manufacturing robot density by 2025. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Alpago Properties, a leading high-end real estate developer with key residential, commercial and hospitality projects in the UK and Turkey, has announced the completion and release of its second beachfront signature villa, Serene Versante on Frond G of Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. Unveiling the ultra-luxury property, Alpago said this comes following the successful release of its first signature villa on Billionaires Row located at the iconic master development. Serene Versante is located on a plot of 16,000 sq ft, and includes an enclosed area of about 17,000 sq ft built over four levels comprising a basement, ground, first, and second floors, stated the developer. The property features 6 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a private cinema hall, an infinity swimming pool, a hitech private gym, an expansive outdoor terrace with barbecue area and custom-made basement parking that can comfortably fit 8 cars. This custom-made luxury basement parking can be found only among the villas developed by Alpago Properties in the Billionaires Row of Palm Jumeirah, it added. According to Alpago, Serene Versante is an architectural and interior design work of art from two experienced and award-winning firms: LW Design & CK architecture interiors. LW Design is a multiawards winning conglomerate of architects & interior designers with offices in Dubai, Hong-Kong, Sao Paulo and Aarhus (Denmark) offering expertise in the high-end real instate industry across the globe. CK Architecture interiors an international firm, based in Dubai, specialized in the real estate luxury industry. Serene Versante is the second beachfront Signature Villa of six to be completed in Q4 2022 on the Billionaires Row of Palm Jumeirah Alpago Properties, a dreamchild of the Ayyildiz brothers - Murat and Ridvan - is shaping the landscape of Dubai with its signature villas. Having already released their first villa, Riva Del Lusso, and now announcing its second outstanding villa, Serene Versante, onto the market, the brothers are shaping the Dubai landscape on "one luxury development at a time" model. "We are delighted to announce the completion of our second signature villa Serene Versante as we continue to offer buyers unrivalled luxury. This underlines our commitment to contribute to UAEs efforts as it becomes the regions preferred destination for HNWIs," remarked Murat, the founder and Ridvan its chairman. "With this latest villa, we are continuing our push to be seen as the first choice for high-end properties in Dubai and worldwide. Boasting world-class amenities and tailored specially to suit the needs of the Dubai elite, Serene Versante is at the peak of excellence," he added. The Ayyildiz brothers said in line with its mission, Redefining Luxury Living Alpago Properties is projected to deliver six top class signature villas this year, specifically designed to respond to the sophisticated demand of the Dubai elite clientele. "Serene Versante blends modernity, comfort, and serenity on one of the most iconic manmade islands on the planet. Its open plan living spaces gives the privilege of enjoying uninterrupted views of the crystal-clear waters of the Arabian Gulf and offers a high-luxury experience with every detail selectively designed to combine exquisite luxury and functionality," they added.-TradeArabia News Service Samsung Engineering, one of the worlds leading engineering, procurement, construction and project management (EPC&PM) companies, has signed an agreement with Aramco for the National EPC Champions initiative. The National EPC Champions initiative is tailored for investments in the EPC sector to foster local industries through the Namaat programme. The Namaat programme aims to build national champions, create a robust industrial ecosystem and introduce unique job opportunities. The official signing happened on July 5, during the Saudi Aramco Namaat Industrial Investment Programme event, held in the Al-Ghawar Hall at Aramcos main office in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The formal agreement signing between Samsung Engineering, Al Rushaid Petroleum Investment Company (Arpic), and Aramco took place earlier. Samsung Engineering's President and CEO Sungan Choi, Aramcos Vice President of Project Management, Abdulkarim Ghamdi, and Arpics CEO and Chairman, Rasheed Al Rushaid, attended the Namaat event following the signing of the agreement. Joint venture Samsung Engineering, as an International EPC contractor, with Arpic, as a local EPC contractor, will establish a joint venture with the objective of increasing Saudisation levels, maximising iktva targets, and deploying leading construction technologies. Arpic has several collaborations in the oil and gas industry, including joint ventures and affiliates in the areas of manufacturing, construction, and engineering. As a National EPC Champion, Samsung Engineering showcases its prominent presence in Saudi Arabia. Samsung Engineering has solidified its position in Saudi Arabia by carrying out over 30 projects over the past 20 years, including 16 projects with Aramco. Strengthening its position Samsung Engineering plans to successfully carry out the National EPC Champions initiative projects, based on its experience in the Saudi Arabian market and network of suppliers and partners, and to further strengthen its position in the local market through digital technology and automation solutions. Samsung Engineering is strengthening its competitiveness in business execution by optimising the execution system according to the characteristics of each global region, while promoting shared growth for the client in the performing country. It is building its own EPC execution systems by region through collaborations with local partners with technical skills and local production systems. In addition to Saudi Arabia, Samsung Engineering plans to expand its global operation strategy to other regions in the Middle East and Asia. Choi said: "It is always Samsung Engineerings mission to put our commitments for long-term development in the kingdom as a priority and through this National EPC Champions initiative, we are proud to say that we will continue to do so in upholding that mission. We are confident to provide the best digital technology and automation solution services to Aramco, while leveraging our comprehensive experience of working with Arpic. -- TradeArabia News Service Virginia Theatre acts, absentee farmland ownership in Champaign County, progress on the Hotel Royer, violence concerns at Carle Foundation Hospital and attendance at last week's Trump rally in Quincy ... plus much, much more. Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). Srinagar, July 6 (UNI) Two militants surrendered during a gun battle on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, police said. They said the duo surrendered on the appeal of parents and police during the encounter which had started at Hadigam village of Kulgam during a cordon and a search operation. "During the encounter, 2 local terrorists surrendered on the appeal of their parents and police. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition recovered," a police spokesman said. The identity and the group affiliation of surrendered militants could not be established immediately. Police said the search operation is underway. The gun battle had erupted when a joint of team of security forces launched a cordon and a search operation in Hadigam village of Kulgam around midnight following an input about militant presence. "As the searches were underway, the hiding militants fired upon the party, which was retaliated to, thus triggering an encounter," a security official said. UNI MJR RNJ AP Police in Richmond, Virginia, say they thwarted a planned Fourth of July mass shooting after receiving a tip that led to arrests and the seizure of multiple guns Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Submit New Delhi, July 6 (UNI) Indian Coast Guard on Wednesday rescued all 22 crew of a distressed vessel MT Global King in a swift operation 185 km off Porbandar coast. All crew, including one Pakistani and one Sri Lankan are safe and healthy. The distressed vessel was facing uncontrolled flooding onboard. "At about 0820 hrs, ICG received distress alert regarding uncontrolled flooding onboard merchant vessel Global King-1. The ship was reportedly 185 km off Porbandar coast. ICG immediately responded and alerted all stake holders," the Coast Guard said in a statement. Despite adverse weather conditions, one Dornier aircraft was launched from Indian Coast Guard Air Station Porbandar at 0900 hrs for assessment of the situation and relaying of information to the vessels in vicinity, it added. "The Dornier on reaching area dropped life raft for the crew. ICGS Shoor, CG OPV already at sea was also directed to immediately reach the area. The ICG ship braving very rough seas proceeded to the area with maximum speed. The indigenously built twin engine Advanced Light Helicopters from ICG air station Porbandar were also launched in search and rescue configuration for any eventuality," the statement added. The crew after failing to arrest flooding, abandoned the vessel in liferaft. Later, in a sea air coordinated effort, all 22 personnel were successfully rescued. The distressed vessel was on way from Khor Fakkan UAE-Karwar India, carrying 6000 T of Bitumen. UNI ASU SHK1947 Introduction The history of adaptogens The adaptogen concept Notable adaptogens Cautions References Further reading An adaptogen is a non-toxic substance that is believed to heighten the ability of the human body to resist the effects of stress and restore or support normal physiological functioning. They are thought to improve the range of capabilities through structure-functional adaptation. Image Credit: marilyn barbone/Shutterstock The history of adaptogens Adaptogens have been known for greater than 60 years, and thoroughly reviewed with regard to their pharmacology, physiology, potential uses in medicine, and toxicology. They are predominantly substances that can increase resistance to harmful effects, also known as stressors, across physical, chemical, and biological types. Moreover, they serve as metabolic regulators, which increases the ability of an organism to avoid damage from these factors by adapting to them. In traditional Chinese medicine and Indian Ayurveda, adaptogenic plants have been used over several centuries to promote physical and mental health, enhance longevity, and boost the body's immune system. Despite these anecdotal claims, further evidence based on randomized controlled clinical trials is required to substantiate these claims and establish them as efficacious herbal medicines appropriate for use in modern medicine. In addition, knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of action is required for understanding the pharmacological activity of adaptogens. The adaptogen concept Stress-induced responses of the innate and adaptive immune systems are required mediators of stress signaling. These include the new endocrine immune complex that supports the process of maintaining homeostasis through the adaptive change (allostasis) in the organism. Through repeated mild exposure to stress, cells become increasingly resistant to subsequent stress exposure, culminating in a survival adaptation. This adaptation was first described in 1936 by Hans Selye in an experiment that involved exposing rats to low temperatures, low oxygen tension, adrenaline, muscular exercise, and morphine. Nonspecific reactions resulted, which include adrenal hyperplasia, stomach ulcers, and increased secretion of cortisol and catecholamines. These non-specific reactions were termed general adaptation syndrome (GAS). This is composed of three stages: Recognition of stress, causing symptoms to emerge The acquisition of nonspecific resistance, causing symptoms to disappear Exhaustion, causing the same symptoms to reappear, causing death Image: Foxyliam/Shutterstock Research in the 1950s on 60s suggested that herbal extracts, termed adaptogens, could increase the duration of the recognition stage. The adaptogens were characterized as compounds that were nontoxic and polyvalent (acting through more than one mechanism to elicit an effect) in action and pharmacological effects to produce beneficial outcomes on adaptability and survival. The adaptive stress response occurs on the cellular and organ level. At the cellular level, signaling pathways upregulate proteins that prevent apoptosis, neuropeptides, and antioxidant enzymes are active in the first phase. These adaptive stress response signaling pathways protect against neurodegeneration and increase the plasticity of the synapses, thereby reducing the risk of neurodegeneration in the future. Consequently, types based adaptogens service metabolic regulators that improve adaptability to stress, thereby increasing survival. A hallmark feature of adaptogens is their role as stressors (good stressors) and act as mild stress mimetics and can safely induce protective responses to stress. An example of this is the compound diglucosyl-cucurbitacin R (DCR), a stress mimetic that can lower corticosteroids and releases in response to resistant stress in vivo. Similar effects can be observed with the ginsenosides and Rhodiola extract. Therefore, adaptogens exert a vaccination-like effect. Mild (survivable) stress induces a form of immunity to subsequent stress exposure. This resistance does not carry any memory function, and repeated exposure to the adaptogen is necessary to prolong the adaptive state. To illustrate this effect, the plastic adaptive state in response to stress-induced resistance can be compared with repetitive physical exercise, which increases endurance and performance over time. A state of non-specific resistance (SNSR) can be achieved by gradual training of an organism to adaptogens and the resulting stress-protective responses are produced in a way that is comparable to repeated physical exercise that leads to prolonged SNSR, stamina, and increased endurance. Adaptogenic foods. Image: marilyn barbone/Shutterstock Notable adaptogens Adaptogens have polyvalent activity when interacting with the endocrine and immune systems, which have resulted in their consideration as excellent plants to use. Specifically, they can alter the amplitude, duration, and intensity of the endocrine response. Among the adaptogens, Rhodiola is the most efficient. Rhodiola can produce an effect on white blood cells (leukocytes) and red blood cells. As such, Rhodelia is leukogenic and capable of regulating estrogens which subsequently affects the production of leukocytes. Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover) and Cupressus sempervirens (cypress) support the function of the lymphatic system and lymphoid tissue. Cypress is predominantly used as an essential oil, which is diluted over superficial lymphoid tissue or in tincture. In total, there are at least 70 types of herbal plants which are characterized as adaptogens. The most popular include ashwagandha, an evergreen shrub from India, the Middle East, and regions of Africa. This has been shown to relieve symptoms of anxiety, as well as combat aging. Tulsi, a fragrant plant from India, is another traditional medicine used in the treatment of respiratory disorders. Other notable adaptogens include ginseng and astragalus. Read Next: Science and Ginseng Cautions The European Medicines Agency, in the Evaluation of Medicines for Human Use report, concluded that principles of the adaptogenic action require further clarification. They note that studies in preclinical and clinical areas contain several shortcomings; namely, lack of clear inclusion and exclusion criteria, medication description, study design, analysis, etc. Although the data is not sufficient to support their use in medicine/ suitable for marketing authorization, the data does justify further research into the concept of the adaptogenic action. In Europe, and the USA, the term adaptogen is not permitted for use in marketing materials. However, the concept of adaptogens is considered to be acceptable when applied to traditional herbal medicines. References Panossian A, Wikman G. (2010) Effects of Adaptogens on the Central Nervous System and the Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Their Stress-Protective Activity. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). doi:10.3390/ph3010188. Liao LY, He YF, Li L, et al. (2018) A preliminary review of studies on adaptogens: comparison of their bioactivity in TCM with that of ginseng-like herbs used worldwide. Chin Med. doi:10.1186/s13020-018-0214-9. Panossian AG, Wagener H. (2011) Adaptogens. A Review of their History, Biological Activity, and Clinical Benefits. Available at: https://www.herbalgram.org/resources/herbalgram/issues/90/table-of-contents/feat_adaptogens/. Last accessed November 2021. Further Reading The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a wide range of effects on multiple healthcare services. A new Women and Birth study discusses the impact of the pandemic on breastfeeding practices. Study: Impact of COVID-19 on Breastfeeding Intention and Behaviour Among Postpartum Women in Five Countries. Image Credit: A3pfamily / Shutterstock.com Introduction Breastfeeding is an important baby care practice that enhances child health and survival, while also supporting maternal health in both the short- and long-term. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of life; however, this recommendation is not followed in almost two out of three babies born on earth. The WHO also supports breastfeeding when the infant is born to a mother with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, as long as the mother abides by appropriate hygiene measures to prevent transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to the infant through aerosols. Breastfeeding provides both nutrients to the infant, as well as passive immunity through the transfer of antibodies, anti-infective factors, and both immunological memory and competence. The benefits of breastfeeding are particularly important when healthcare services and community support systems are disrupted. Loneliness, lack of support, anxiety, and confusion were all reported to be increased among new mothers during the current pandemic. Coupled with reduced support from medical staff, this led to a negative impact on breastfeeding, according to some researchers. Comparatively, other researchers observed a positive trend, as mothers reported having more time with their babies. The current study examines the decision to breastfeed and actual breastfeeding behaviors among women immediately after childbirth during the pandemic. By studying these practices in five different countries, the researchers looked at various potential risk factors and breastfeeding outcomes. Study findings Of the over 3,500 postpartum women included in the current study, almost 90% had a term birth, 75% had been vaccinated against COVID-19, and 13% had been tested for the infection. Almost 60% were on maternity leave, with the vast majority of these mothers on paid leave. About one in ten women in the current study had experienced food insecurity at some point during the pandemic and self-reported continuous food insecurity. Almost 90% of women reported their intentions to breastfeed during pregnancy. These women were more likely to have one or more other children, have tested positive for COVID-19, and have a positive attitude towards breastfeeding. The same proportion of women had been breastfeeding over the last 24 hours. While almost 75% of these mothers fed their babies directly from the breast, about 40% used expressed breast milk (EBM). The proportion of breastfeeding women varied from 74% in Taiwan to 95% in Brazil. In the East Asian countries of Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea, over half the women used EBM. Interestingly, two of every three women who practiced direct breastfeeding, as compared to just over 50% of women who used EBM, continued breastfeeding as long as they had originally intended. However, this proportion varied between countries, with up to 85% and 75% of direct-breastfeeding mothers in the United Kingdom and Brazil, respectively, reporting success in breastfeeding as long as originally intended, or longer, during the pandemic. Of these, women with higher education, those who had other children, as well as a negative COVID-19 test status at any point, were more likely to report these outcomes. Similarly, women who gave birth vaginally and/or believed in the benefits of breastfeeding were more likely to fulfill or surpass their breastfeeding goals. For mothers who used EBM, being employed or on maternity leave predicted success, while a lower level of education and worsening or poor food security were negative indicators. For both groups, support by family, friends, online support groups, and/or medical professionals was a predictive factor in the ability of the mother to breastfeed for as long as they had planned to. Implications Most mothers in the current study were able to begin and continue breastfeeding during the pandemic for at least six months after childbirth. This corroborates an earlier study by these authors, wherein they found that mothers were able to 'room-in' with their babies and practice exclusive breastfeeding at a rate comparable to pre-pandemic rates. About half the total number of participants were unable to breastfeed for as long as they had planned, which was similarly reported in earlier reports. The reasons for this need to be explored, but may include inadequate support for breastfeeding mothers, as well as a lack of social support and medical expertise to handle problems with breastfeeding. The significantly increased success rate among those who used direct breastfeeding relative to those who used EBM, even though many mothers used both, may indicate the superiority of the former approach in supporting continued breastfeeding. Thus, providing information on the physical and emotional benefits of breastfeeding, as well as ensuring adequate food supply to expecting and newly delivered mothers, should be prioritized to promote good breastfeeding outcomes. Early on in the pandemic, the initial reluctance of most healthcare providers to allow breastfeeding if the mother had suspected or confirmed COVID-19 was due to fears that the mother might transmit the virus to their babies. This might explain why mothers with a history of testing positive for COVID-19 were less likely to breastfeed as they had intended. Regardless of whether mothers or their infants have suspected or confirmed COVID-19 or not, UNICEF recommends that mothers should be encouraged to breastfeed and practice skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth and during the establishment of breastfeeding. A new policy brief from the University of Michigans Poverty Solutions initiative offers recommendations for ways to target funding to key programs and priorities, focus on program implementation, and consider long-term impacts as Washtenaw County leaders decide how to allocate the rest of its American Rescue Plan Act money. With about half of Washtenaw Countys $71 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated, U-M researchers evaluated the countys spending priorities to offer new insights on strategies to maximize long-term impact and promote equity with the one-time spending. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides $350 billion in federal funding for state and local governments to assist with pandemic recovery for small businesses, households and hard-hit industries, and replace lost revenue for government services. Washtenaw County has received the $71 million over two allotments in May 2021 and May 2022, and the countys Board of Commissioners has voted on how to spend $36 million of the funds so far. These funds will be substantial in aiding the countys pandemic recovery efforts. With more money to be allocated and distribution decisions still undetermined, this is an opportunity to maximize the impact of the ARPA funds to increase equity within Washtenaw County. One-time Spending for Long-term Impact: Evaluating Washtenaw Countys American Rescue Plan Act Allocations. Amanda Nothaft, senior data and evaluation manager at Poverty Solutions and author of the policy brief While Washtenaw County boasts high levels of educational attainment, relatively high incomes and good health outcomes, these overall metrics hide wide disparities in outcomes for residents in different parts of the county. Access to opportunity in Washtenaw County is often tied to race and place. Poverty Solutions partnered with the countys Office of Community and Economic Development to revamp the Washtenaw County Opportunity Index, which combines 16 indicators into five categories of opportunityhealth, job access, economic well-being, education and training, and community engagement and stabilityto identify which parts of the county experience the highest and lowest levels of access to opportunity. Washtenaw County commissioners formally committed in 2021 to use the Opportunity Index to apply an equity lens to their decision making and county initiatives. ARPA funds provide a unique opportunity to bolster the countys current efforts to eliminate gaps in opportunity and promote equity, Nothaft said. The policy brief offers an evaluation of Washtenaw Countys current ARPA allocations, which include: Navigation and financial assistance to help families find child care Creation of Childrens Savings Accounts for all public school students Broadband expansion Expanding access to home weatherization services Investing in the Washtenaw County Health Department Launching a Mobile Support Services Initiative Creating a Community Priority Fund to provide funding to organizations serving communities with low access to opportunity that were hit hard by the pandemic The evaluation recommends considering the number of people eligible and amount of money dedicated to the currently-funded initiatives to determine whether additional funds are necessary to achieve the intended impact. The policy brief also cautions against creating too many new initiatives and programs that will not have sustainable funding sources once the ARPA money is spent, and instead points to the value of investing in projects like water, transportation, and neighborhood infrastructure that will have long-term impact after a single infusion of funds. Distributing ARPA money via grants and in partnership with community organizations should include a process to ensure the recipients have the capacity and track record to accomplish what they propose and that their interventions are backed by evidence and have measurable outcomes. According to the policy brief, the goals of closing gaps in educational, economic and health outcomes by bringing services to people in need and providing funding to organizations that work within the community can only be met if these programs are fully funded and carefully implemented. Exploring the predictive properties of neuronal metabolism can contribute to our understanding of how humans learn and remember. This key finding from a consideration of molecular mechanisms of learning and memory conducted by scientists from Russia and the U.S. has been published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. The emerging trend in neuroscience is to consider the work of neurons as anticipatory and future-oriented, although this approach is not yet mainstream and features in just a few publications. In a paper entitled 'Neuronal metabolism in learning and memory: The anticipatory activity perspective,' Yuri I. Alexandrov, HSE Professor and Head of the V.B. Shvyrkov Laboratory of Psychophysiology at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Psychology, and Mikhail V. Pletnikov, Professor of the Department of Physiology at the State University of New York, University at Buffalo, argue that neurons behave proactively because they strive to survive-; just as all living organisms. Neurons use microenvironmental metabolites as 'food', and neuronal impulse activity is aimed at obtaining these metabolites. Rather than responding to an incoming signal, neurons proactively trigger an influx of needed substances to the cell, such as neurotransmitters. When a specialized set of our neurons fire together, we act to obtain a behavioral outcome, while the neurons also obtain their own micro-outcome in the form of needed metabolites. This process can be described as metabolic cooperation of cells, involving not only neurons but also glial, somatic, glandular, muscle and other cells throughout the body. This principle of how cells work is central to learning, which essentially means creating systemwide groups of metabolically cooperating cells that drive human behavior." Yuri Alexandrov, Professor at HSE School of Psychology The researchers note that for a long time, the 'stimulus-response' paradigm was dominant in the study of molecular mechanisms of learning and memory; it was assumed that just as the entire human body responds to environmental stimuli, neurons respond to incoming impulses which cause excitation of certain parts of the neuron's membrane. The neuron either fires or does not fire, depending on whether or not the excitation reaches a certain threshold. Back in 1930s1970s, the Russian physiologist Peter Anokhin developed his theory of functional systems, including the concept of 'integrative activity of neurons', according to which a neuron's excitation causes intraneuronal chemical processes-; rather than a summation of local excitations on the membrane. These chemical processes lead to a neuronal spike. Building on Anokhin's theory, his student Vyacheslav Shvyrkov and colleagues developed a systems-oriented approach to the study of neurons. However, Anokhin's understanding of the sequence of events was traditional: excitation of a neuron comes first, followed by a response. 'An important recent step in understanding how neurons work has been the idea that a neuron's anticipatory activity, rather than an external impulse, is what comes first. The neuron does not respond to incoming excitation but proactively triggers an influx of activity,' Alexandrov explains. The authors argue that exploring systemwide intercellular metabolic cooperation as a learning mechanism could be a promising area of focus for further experimental research. This approach, they believe, could lead to breakthroughs in studying the behavior of malignant cells and in developing new cancer treatments. 'Malignancies consist of cells that metabolically cooperate not only with their immediate environment but also with other cells in the body. We plan to conduct experimental studies to explore tumor cell responses to diametrically opposed individual behaviors, such as striving towards a desirable event or avoiding an undesirable or dangerous one. This can give us insight into how various systemwide cellular integrations impact tumor cells' survival. As a result, we hope to propose an effective approach to influencing tumor cells through human behavior, Alexandrov concludes. More than half of all people incarcerated in the U.S. smoke cigarettes, a hidden health crisis that has long been under-researched and under-resourced. Pamela Valera, an assistant professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health, is leading efforts to change both. Together with colleagues from Rutgers and the University of Southern California, as well as funding from the National Institutes of Health, Valera and her team implemented a tobacco-cessation program in seven prisons in one Northeastern state. They then measured rates of smoking relapse. What they found is that for programs in prison to effectively curb smoking, at least four weeks of direct intervention is required, followed by months of substance dependence group counseling. The results are published in the Journal of Correctional Health Care. Tobacco smoke is a vital part of prison culture because people who are incarcerated smoke as a way to have social support and to distract themselves from emotional distress. Quitting can be very hard on anyone. It's doubly hard for an inmate." Pamela Valera, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban-Global Public Health, Rutgers School of Public Health To determine optimal program duration and to assess how interest, confidence, motivation and expectations are associated with smoking abstinence in prison researchers recruited 177 male smokers. On average, participants had been smoking cigarettes for about 27 years and were moderately or highly dependent. Using a group-based counseling model, inmates were provided access to nicotine patches and enrolled in a six-week smoking cessation program. At the end of each session, participants were given an exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) test to determine whether they continued to smoke or had abstained. At the end of the course, 54 participants were recorded as having quit. Divergence in CO levels among those who had stopped smoking and those who continued began in the fourth week. Incarcerated smokers typically don't have the appropriate cessation resources to help them quit. Despite many prisons adopting smoke-free policies, nicotine consumption remains high in many prison settings, said Valera. For instance, in some jails and prison facilities, electric cigarette use has spiked in recent years, as has a robust black market for tobacco. What this means for those who want to stop is that they must do so "cold turkey," Valera said. Valera said reining in this hidden health crisis is essential. "Taxpayers pay for the health care of incarcerated people," she said. "As smokers in prison age, the cost to treat them goes up. Correctional settings provide an opportunity to address the high cost of addiction and tobacco dependence." "My ultimate goal is to get more attention to this space and for the academic community to consider working with and for people in correctional settings," Valera said. Convalescent plasma, widely given to severely ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the pandemic, does not improve their ability to survive or recover, according to a national clinical trial led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and published in the journal CHEST. The multicenter blinded, randomized placebo-controlled, Passive Immunity Trial for our Nation (PassITON), looked at the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 convalescent plasma therapy for adults hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19 within 14 days of the onset of symptoms. The rationale for using convalescent plasma for acute viral infections like COVID-19 has been that transfusing the plasma component of blood from a patient who has recently recovered from the same disease to a patient early in the stage of infection might provide the currently infected patient with antibodies against the infecting virus, helping them recover more quickly. During this trial, we were fortunate to have tremendous collaboration among thousands of people across the country, including patients, families, clinicians, study personnel at 25 hospitals and a wonderful team at VUMC. We asked a very specific question in this study: At time of hospital admission when a patient is severely ill with COVID, does the transfusion of convalescent plasma available to clinicians in the U.S. improve the ability to recover and survive? The answer is clearly no." Wesley Self, MD, MPH, associate professor of Emergency Medicine, vice president for Clinical Research Networks and Strategy at VUMC and lead author of the study "Providing passive immunity with convalescent plasma does not appear to benefit patients once their illness has progressed to the point of needing treatment in the hospital. Despite receiving convalescent plasma with a higher titer of neutralizing antibodies, the therapy did not help hospitalized patients," said Todd Rice, MD, MSc, associate professor of Medicine, vice president for Clinical Trial Innovations and Operations at VUMC, and senior author of the study. In the study 960 adults hospitalized with COVID-19 were randomized into two groups -; those receiving one unit of convalescent therapy and those receiving placebo. The results showed that the two groups had nearly identical clinical outcomes; at 28 days following treatment, 18.5% of patients in the convalescent plasma group and 17.2% of patients in the placebo group had died. The study was led by the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR). It was funded at the beginning by the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund, then expanded into a multicenter study in September 2020 with funding from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. COVID-19 caused about 450 million people to become ill and 6 million deaths worldwide during the first two years of the pandemic. From the beginning, convalescent plasma was heralded as a potentially promising treatment. But rather than administering an unproven therapy to patients, the clinical and research enterprise at VUMC decided to take a safe and controlled approach, looking at the evidence behind the idea that convalescent plasma would help. "We decided instead of jumping on the ship and giving convalescent plasma to all of our COVID-19 patients at Vanderbilt, we were going to do a proper trial," Self said. "VUMC is a true academic medical center, and conceptualized, coordinated and/or participated in a large number of randomized clinical trials," said Jill Pulley, MBA, research professor of Medicine and VICTR executive director. "This trial investigated an unproven interventionit was beautifully executed, and although the results are unfortunate -; we wish the therapy did work -; they illustrate why trials are always needed," she said. Self said although the VUMC study is the most well-controlled trial of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in hospitalized patients, other studies have been conducted over the past couple of years showing similar results -; that convalescent plasma as a therapy for those hospitalized with COVID-19, at least as currently deployed, doesn't work. "It's solid evidence," he said. For more than a year VUMC enrolled patients, and with the help of Blood Assurance, a blood donation center, developed its own "pipeline" of convalescent plasma. Jillian Rhoads, PhD, senior scientific project manager at VICTR, said that blood for the convalescent plasma trial was collected at VUMC and shipped across the country to the other 24 hospitals participating in the study. "So many generous Vanderbilt employees and community members donated plasma and truly kept our study going," she said. "It was amazing that they were able to give enough plasma to enable a nearly 1,000-patient, 25-center trial." The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named five new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators. The recipients of this prestigious award are outstanding, early-career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented cancer research at major research centers under the mentorship of the nation's leading scientists and clinicians. The Clinical Investigator Award program was designed to help address the shortage of physicians capable of translating scientific discovery into new breakthroughs for cancer patients. Each awardee will receive $600,000 over three years, as well as assistance with research costs such as the purchase of equipment. Because the need to repay medical school loans is often cited as a deterrent to pursuing research, Damon Runyon will also retire up to $100,000 of medical school debt owed by the awardee. The Foundation also awarded Continuation Grants to three Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators for an additional two years of funding, totaling $400,000 each. The Continuation Grants are designed to support Clinical Investigators who are approaching the end of their original award and need more time to work on a promising avenue of research or a clinical trial. This program is possible through the generous support of the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation. The quality of research proposed by our Clinical Investigators is exceptionally strong. We are thrilled to be funding brave and bold physician-scientists who are taking risks to experimentally address the most important questions in cancer research and then translate them into improving patients' lives. We are helping to launch the careers of tomorrow's brightest cancer researchers." Yung S. Lie, PhD, Damon Runyon's President and Chief Executive Officer Through partnerships with generous donors, industry sponsors, and its Accelerating Cancer Cures initiative, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has committed over $80 million to support the careers of 119 physician-scientists across the United States since 2000. 2022 Clinical Investigators Daniel J. Delitto, MD, PhD, with mentor Michael T. Longaker, MD, DSc, at Stanford University, Stanford Pancreatic cancer develops in the midst of intense scarring and fibrous connective tissue (fibrosis). The architects of this scarring are cells called fibroblasts, known to fuel cancer growth and promote treatment resistance. Dr. Delitto's research is focused on the interface between cancer-induced fibrosis and the immune system. He has shown that fibroblasts play a significant role in shielding cancer cells from immune cells. By altering how fibroblasts sense tissue damage, Dr. Delitto has uncovered a mechanism that reactivates the immune system to fight the tumor. He aims to further develop these findings into a novel immunotherapy regimen for pancreatic cancer. Xiuning Le, MD, PhD, with mentor John V. Heymach, MD, PhD, at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston Mutations in the EGFR gene were identified as the first targetable mutations in lung cancer about two decades ago. Since then, multiple targeted therapies have been approved and prolonged many lives. However, about 15% of EGFR mutations are atypical and do not have a current approved targeted therapy. Dr. Le is leading multiple clinical trials to address this unmet need. With new treatments potentially entering the clinic, new mechanisms of treatment resistance will likely evolve. Dr. Le aims to comprehensively characterize resistance mechanisms and compare resistance predisposition across different types of EGFR-linked lung cancers. She will leverage cutting-edge techniques to determine the mutations at single-cell level and develop rational therapeutic strategies to overcome resistance. This project has the potential not only to bring new FDA-approved treatments to patients but also establish clinical strategies to predict and target major resistance mechanisms. Nathan Singh, MD [Bakewell Foundation Clinical Investigator], with mentor John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, at Washington University, St. Louis Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T cell) therapy, in which a patient's own immune cells are engineered to target their cancer, has changed the treatment landscape for many blood cancers. Despite promising early results, however, long-term follow-up has revealed that nearly half of patients treated with CAR T cells eventually experience cancer recurrence. Using a variety of techniques in cell lines and patient samples, Dr. Singh aims to understand how interactions between engineered T cells and blood cancer cells in some cases lead to long-term remission, and in others to therapeutic failure. The broad goals of his lab are to understand the biological signals that cause these therapies to fail, and to use this knowledge to design next-generation immunotherapies that can cure more patients. Melody Smith, MD, with mentor Robert S. Negrin, MD, at Stanford University, Stanford The microorganisms that live in the digestive tract, also known as the intestinal microbiome, have emerged as important factors in patients' response to cancer therapy. Studies have found that the intestinal microbiome can modulate the anti-tumor immune response to several types of therapy, including chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T cell) therapy, in which a patient's own immune cells are genetically modified to target their cancer. CAR T therapy has led to unprecedented responses in patients with high-risk blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. However, patients may experience disease relapse or CAR-mediated toxicities. Dr. Smith has found that responses to CAR T therapy are linked to alterations in and abundances of the intestinal microbiome. Her research will investigate how the intestinal microbiome mediates this impact on CAR T cells. Dr. Smith was previously a Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist, a complementary award program designed for clinicians interested in research to acquire the skills needed to become physician-scientists. Aaron D. Viny, MD [Damon Runyon-Doris Duke Clinical Investigator], with mentors Emmanuelle Passegue, PhD, and Joseph G. Jurcic, MD, at Columbia University, New York Up to 50% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have a genetic alteration called DNA methylation, in which a carbon methyl group is added to the DNA molecule, typically turning the methylated gene "off." A mainstay of therapy is the use of hypomethylating agents, which prevent copying of these modifications during cell division, but this therapy is effective in only 20-30% of patients. Using chemical and genetic manipulation in mouse bone marrow, Dr. Viny aims to determine the effect of DNA methylation on the ability of specific regions of the genome to be accessible to proteins involved with gene expression and other regions to be inaccessible and "silenced." In a prospective phase II clinical trial, he will treat relapsed AML patients with dual hypomethylating agents. By studying these patients' genetic profiles, he aims to determine the genetic features that contribute to therapy response, paving the way for more effective interventions to be developed for patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Dr. Viny was previously a Damon Runyon Fellow. 2022 Continuation Grantees Jennifer M. Kalish, MD, PhD, with mentors Marisa S. Bartolomei, PhD, and Garrett M. Brodeur, MD, at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Dr. Kalish is studying a rare hereditary syndrome called Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), which increases the risk of children developing kidney and liver cancers. These individuals have epigenetic changes on chromosome 11 that are found in other types of cancers. Epigenetic markers modify DNA so gene expression is turned on or off; changes in this process can cause cancer. By understanding how cancer is triggered in BWS, Dr. Kalish aims to identify pathways that can be targeted for the development of new treatments both for BWS patients and for others with cancers that have similar epigenetic changes. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Kalish established the BWS Registry, which compiles both clinical data and patient samples, and created the first human cell-based models of BWS. Matthew G. Oser, MD, PhD, with mentor William G. Kaelin, Jr., MD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Although small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is initially highly responsive to chemotherapy, the disease recurs in nearly all patients in less than a year. There are currently no approved targeted therapies for when the cancer returns. Previous studies have demonstrated that SCLCs require sustained neuroendocrine differentiation for survival, suggesting that targeting this process could be a good therapeutic strategy. Dr. Oser will use SCLC patient-derived xenograft models and a novel SCLC genetically engineered mouse model to identify new enzymes required for neuroendocrine differentiation and to develop targeted therapies that can block this process. He aims to identify molecular targets that could be developed into new lasting therapies for SCLC patients. Kavita Y. Sarin, MD, PhD [D.G. 'Mitch' Mitchell Clinical Investigator], with mentors Jean Y. Tang, MD, PhD, and Anthony E. Oro, MD, PhD, at Stanford University, Stanford Basal cell cancer (BCC) is the most common cancer in the United States with 2 million cases annually resulting in $5 billion in societal cost. Although the majority of BCCs are small and surgically accessible, some individuals develop frequent recurrences of BCC and suffer from severe disability related to surgery and decreased quality of life. Dr. Sarin will focus on a group of 100 patients who develop extreme numbers of this skin lesion, in order to identify the genetic mechanisms that contribute to cancer susceptibility. While most BCCs are thought to develop from DNA damage caused by the sun's ultraviolet rays, a patient's genetics also play a critical role in disease progression. Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to cancer susceptibility will help identify at-risk individuals so they can be monitored for earlier diagnosis and prevention. She also aims to develop new non-surgical therapies for these patients. In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers illustrated that hybrid severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunity widens effective humoral signatures of SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations. Study: Hybrid immunity expands the functional humoral footprint of both mRNA and vector-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Image Credit: vitstudio / Shutterstock Background The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic sparked a breakthrough in vaccine development, resulting in the screening and approval of a range of global vaccine platforms that have demonstrated great promise in containing the pandemic. However, declining immunity and the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) associated with an increase in breakthrough infections in vaccinees have begun to emphasize opportunities to enhance vaccine platforms and administration. The lowered risk of breakthrough infections and diseases in those SARS-CoV-2-infected and vaccinated, also known as hybrid immunity, has been underlined by real-world CoV disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine effectiveness. The hybrid immunity suggests the possibility for a more robust or unique immunity prepped by the infection and might provide better protection from COVID-19. It is possible to characterize the immunologic correlates of COVID-19 protection to direct judicious booster vaccinating and next-generation vaccine development against newly developing viral VOCs by identifying platform-specific immune programming variations and how these may be modified through hybrid immunity. About the study The current study aimed to determine whether hybrid immunity might influence the functional humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 other than enhanced T cell immunity and neutralizing antibodies following vaccination with Moderna mRNA1273 and Pfizer/BNT162b2 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based, ChadOx1/AZ1222 and Ad26.COV2.S vector-based COVID-19 vaccines. The team examined serum samples from individuals with and without COVID-19 history with a complete vaccination status using any of the four existing SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Subjects got either two doses of BNT162b2 (Pfizer) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna) mRNA vaccines, one dose of human adenovirus type 26 (Ad26)-vectored Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen) vaccine, or two shots of the ChAdOx-vectored vaccine AZ1222 (AstraZeneca). Blood samples were collected at the peak immunogenicity timestamps specified for each vaccine for averages of eight, eight, 34, and seven days following the final dose of Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen, and AstraZeneca vaccines, respectively. Results and conclusions The study results indicated that each COVID-19 vaccination under examination displayed distinct functional humoral immune characteristics in the context of hybrid or naive immunity. The different inflammatory signals elicited at the moment of vaccination were linked probably to the peculiar antibody functional profile produced by each vaccine. The distinct antibody functional profile directs specific class switch recombination and fragment crystallizable (Fc)-glycosylation patterns in helper T cell and B cell reactions. They collectively mold the overall Fc receptor (FcR) attachment and effector characteristics of vaccine-triggered polyclonal colonies of antibodies. The authors found that hybrid immunity also influences antibody effector activities, with drastic enhancements in antibody reaction and FcR attachment following a single vectored vaccine dose and a tendency towards an added expansion of concentrations and function after the second AZD1222 dose. IgA and IgG titers for SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) subunit 2 (S2)-specific mRNA vaccines significantly increased as a result of hybrid immunity, indicating a preferential increase of immunity to the conserved region of the S antigen, with only patterns in IgG1 titer and rises upon the second dose of mRNA. In contrast, ADNP elevated markedly following the initial and second doses of mRNA vaccinations in those with hybrid immunity. Furthermore, after considering demographics, S2-specific FcR attachment was preferentially enhanced within mRNA vaccinees having hybrid immunity. Indeed, the AZD1222 vaccinees also exhibited this trait. The structural sustainability of the S2-domain and the cross-reactivity and neutralization capacity of the S2 antibodies may lessen the impact of sequence-altering mutations. As a result, they might increase the effectiveness of vaccines against seasonal common cold CoVs and newly arising VOCs. Overall, the study data emphasize the immunodominant impact of the S1-domain in the context of natural SARS-CoV-2 immunity. SARS-CoV-2 S1 domain was substantially variable in viral evolution. The present research further points out the significance of natural infection in overcoming the S1 immunodominance and triggering immunity to the S2 areas of the SARS-CoV-2 S2 domain, more conserved among the VOCs. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. New York, July 6 (UNI) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of India's Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian as new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Subramanian succeeded Lt Gen Shailesh Tinaikar of India to whom the Secretary General was grateful for his tireless dedication, invaluable service and effective leadership as UNMISS Force Commander, official statement said. Subramanian has a distinguished military career with the Indian Army spanning over 36 years. He has tenated wide range of command, staff and instructional appointments. Most recently, he served as the General Officer Commanding, Military Region (Operational and Logistic Readiness Zone) in central India, contributing to the Armys operational and logistic preparedness. Previously, he served as the Additional Director General for Procurement and Equipment Management at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army) (2019-2021), General Officer Commanding a Strike Infantry Division (2018-2019), Deputy General Officer Commanding of Infantry Division (2015-2016) and Commander of a Mountain Brigade (2013-2014) among other appointments within the Indian Armed Forces. Subramanian served as Indias Defence Attache to Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia (2008-2012) and as a Staff Officer with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone in 2000. He holds two master of philosophy degrees in defence and management studies as well as Social Sciences. Subramanian is an alumnus of Sainik School, Amaravatinagar, Tamil Nadu, National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He is serving as the Commandant of Defence Services Staff College since February 1. UNI ASU ING In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers assessed the differences between the generation-interval distributions and incubation periods of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta and Omicron variants. Estimation of the differences between SARS-CoV-2 variants with respect to the serial interval, incubation periods, and generation interval distributions is essential to understanding the transmission of these variants. However, the effect of epidemic dynamics is mostly overlooked while estimating the duration of infection and its transmission. About the study In the present study, researchers analyzed the serial interval data as well as the incubation periods that describe the transmission patterns corresponding to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta variants. The team analyzed time series related to the reported coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and the number of SARS-CoV-2 variants found from 29 November 2021 to 30 January 2022 in the Netherlands. Pairs of infector-infectee were recognized through contact tracing while data related to the symptom onset was collected from the national surveillance database. The serial intervals were subsequently calculated by taking into account the difference between the dates of symptom onset corresponding to the infectee and the infector. One infectee was randomly chosen for each infector to prevent any dependence between the two serial intervals. Furthermore, publicly available data were aggregated according to the duration of the serial interval and did not include information like symptom onset dates, exposure dates, or age. The data aggregated comprised a total of 2,529 transmission pairs which were further divided as per the presence or absence of the SARS-CoV-2 spike gene target failure (SGTF), the week in which the symptom onset date of the infector was, and whether the transmission was incident within- or between- households. The team combined information reported between 13 December and 26 December 2021 which were divided into weeks 50 and 51. In the study, the transmission pairs who did and did not display SGTF were termed Omicron and Delta pairs, respectively. Incubation period data were obtained from a total of 513 individuals which included 255 Delta and 258 Omicron cases who reported onset of symptoms between 1 December 2021 and 2 January 2022. The team took into account the growth rates in order to accurately evaluate the generation-interval distributions and incubation period of the Omicron and Delta variants. The growth rates for the two variants were estimated by first calculating the total number of COVID-19 cases caused by each variant by multiplying the number of cases reported per week by the proportion of Omicron and Delta variants detected. Incubation periods were estimated in two distinct ways: forward and backward. The team calculated forward incubation periods from a group of patients who were infected at almost the same time. On the other hand, backward incubation periods from a group of patients who displayed symptoms at almost the same time. Results The study results showed that the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant continued to decline throughout the source of the study while the time-varying growth rates reduced from almost -0.01 per day to -0.09 per day by 16 January 2022. The growth rate subsequently increased to -0.04 per day by 31 January 2022. The team noted that the variations in the growth rate coincided with the beginning of the lockdown regulations on 19 December 2021 and their relaxation from 15 January 2022. Furthermore, the differences in the growth rates between the Omicron and Delta variants reduced over time. When the growth rate differences were accounted for, the Delta and the Omicron variants were found to have comparable incubation-period distributions with an average of 4.1 days for the Delta variant and 4.2 days for the Omicron variant. Furthermore, the difference between the average forward and backward incubation periods was 7% and -22% bias for the Delta and Omicron variants, respectively. In the case of within-household transmission pairs, the Omicron variant displayed a shorter average serial interval of 3.1 days as opposed to that of the Delta variant which had an interval of 3.7 days. Accounting for the growth rate variations revealed that the mean forward generation interval was 3.0 days for Omicron and 3.8 days for Delta. On the other hand, between-household transmission pairs showed that the Omicron variant had an average serial interval of 3.0 days while the Delta variant had an interval of 3.3 days. Conclusion Overall, the study findings showed that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infections had similar incubation periods but shorter generation intervals than Delta infections. The researchers believe that surveilling the changes in the important epidemiological parameters related to SARS-CoV-2 evolution is essential in estimating its future dynamics. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. New research by a scientist at the Milner Center for Evolution at the University of Bath suggests that "selfish chromosomes" explain why most human embryos die very early on. The study, published in PLoS, Biology, explaining why fish embryos are fine but sadly humans' embryos often don't survive, has implications for the treatment of infertility. About half of fertilized eggs die very early on, before a mother even knows she is pregnant. Tragically, many of those that survive to become a recognized pregnancy will be spontaneously aborted after a few weeks. Such miscarriages are both remarkably common and highly distressing. Professor Laurence Hurst, Director of the Milner Center for Evolution, investigated why, despite hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, it's still so comparatively hard for humans to have a baby. The immediate cause of much of these early deaths is that the embryos have the wrong number of chromosomes. Fertilized eggs should have 46 chromosomes, 23 from mum in the eggs, 23 from dad in the sperm. Very many embryos have the wrong number of chromosomes, often 45 or 47, and nearly all of these die in the womb. Even in cases like Down syndrome with three copies of chromosome 21, about 80% sadly will not make it to term." Laurence Hurst, Professor and Director of the Milner Center for Evolution, University of Bath Why then should gain or loss of one chromosome be so very common when it is also so lethal? There are number of clues that Hurst put together. Firstly, when the embryo has the wrong number of chromosomes it is usually due to mistakes that occur when the eggs are made in the mother, not when the sperm is made in the father. In fact, over 70% of eggs made have the wrong number of chromosomes. Secondly, the mistakes happen in the first of two steps in the manufacture of eggs. This first step, it had been noticed before, is vulnerable to mutations that interfere with the process, such that the mutation can "selfishly" sneak into more than 50% of the eggs, forcing the partner chromosome to be destroyed, a process known as centromeric drive. This is well studied in mice, long suspected in humans and previously suggested to somehow relate to the problem of chromosome loss or gain. What Hurst noticed was that, in mammals, a selfish mutation that tries to do this but fails, resulting in an egg with one too many or one too few chromosomes, can still be evolutionarily better off. In mammals, because the mother continuously feeds the developing fetus in the womb, it is evolutionarily beneficial for embryos developing from faulty eggs to be lost earlier rather than be carried to full term. This means that the surviving offspring do better than the average. Hurst explained: "This first step of making eggs is odd. One chromosome of a pair will go to the egg the other will be destroyed. But if a chromosome 'knows' it is going to be destroyed it has nothing to lose, so to speak. Remarkable recent molecular evidence has found that when some chromosomes detect that they are about to be destroyed during this first step, they change what they do to prevent being destroyed, potentially causing chromosome loss or gain, and the death of the embryo. "What is remarkable, is that if the death of the embryo benefits the other offspring of that mother, as the selfish chromosome will often be in the brothers and sisters that get the extra food, the mutation is better off because it kills embryos". "Fish and amphibians don't have this problem", Hurst commented. "In over 2000 fish embryos not one was found with chromosomal errors from mum". Rates in birds are also very low, about 1/25th the rate in mammals. This, Hurst notes, is as predicted as there is some competition between nestlings after they hatch, but not before. By contrast, chromosome loss or gain is a problem for every mammal that has been looked at. Hurst commented, "It is a downside of feeding our offspring in the womb. If they die early on, the survivors benefit. It leaves us vulnerable to this sort of mutation." Hurst suspects that humans may indeed be especially vulnerable. In mice the death of an embryo gives resources to the survivors in the same brood. This is gives about a 10% increase in survival chance of the others. Humans, however, usually just have one baby at a time and the death of an embryo early on enables a mother to rapidly reproduce again she probably never even knew her egg had been fertilized. Preliminary data shows mammals such as cows, with one embryo at a time seem to have especially high embryo death rates owing to chromosomal errors, while those with many embryos in a brood, like mice and pigs, seem to have somewhat lower rates. Hurst's research also suggests that low levels of a protein called Bub1 could cause loss or gain of a chromosome in humans as well as mice. Hurst said: "The levels of Bub1 go down as mothers get older and as the rate of embryonic chromosomal problems goes up. Identifying these suppressor proteins and increasing their level in older mothers could restore fertility. "I would hope too that these insights will be one step to helping those women who experience difficulties getting pregnant, or suffer recurrent miscarriage." In a recent study published in Euro Surveillance, researchers investigated the contamination of surfaces in hospital rooms housing monkeypox patients. Background Outbreaks other than monkeypox infections have a zoonotic transmission as the main mechanism of infection spread. On the other hand, the monkeypox outbreak involves the transmission of the virus among persons in close physical contact with infected and symptomatic individuals. However, the extent to which the monkeypox virus can contaminate environmental surfaces is still unclear. About the study In the present study, researchers assessed surfaces in two hospital rooms occupied by two monkeypox-infected patients and adjacent anterooms. The team performed environmental sampling by carefully swabbing the surfaces in the patients rooms and the adjacent anterooms on day 4 of the corresponding patients hospital stay. The two patients were admitted to isolation rooms having associated bathrooms. The patients rooms were segregated from the ward corridor, using anterooms for donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE). Defined areas were swabbed on the flat as well as larger smooth surfaces along with fabrics. The swabbing allowed the team to maintain bioburden control. The team also swabbed the entire touch screen of mobile phones and estimated their dimensions and total surface area. Moreover, complex structures like door handles were evaluated and swabbed. The team obtained lesion samples as well as throat swabs from the patients. The patient or environmental samples were diluted to detect the monkeypox virus deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) using automated real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR). Subsequently, the sample was quantified using digital PCR, which further resulted in digital viral copies. The various contamination levels were compared by calculating the measured total viral load per cm2 of surface area. The viral cultures were also tested for cytopathic effect (CE) after every two days. Results The study results showed that both the monkeypox patients were males in their 30s. The first patient had skin lesions including pustules, erythema, and excoriations with crustae in the anus, penis, perianal region, scrotum, and a few isolated lesions on the buccal mucosa, tongue, trunk, and legs. The second patient had lesions only in the anus and the perianal region. The highest viral loads detected in the lesion samples and throat swabs were 2.7108 cp and 1.3106 cp for the first patient and 4.4108 cp and 2.1107 cp for the second patient, respectively. The team observed that the surfaces the patients directly touched with their hands displayed contamination with the highest viral loads in both the bathrooms. The viral contamination found on the tap control lever present in the wash basin of the first patient was 2.4105 cp/cm2, while that on the operating lever present on the soap dispenser of the second patient was 4.7104 cp/cm2. Moreover, the toilet seats of the first and the second patients had viral contamination of 1.3105 and 1.3103 cp/cm2, respectively. Furthermore, the seats of chairs which were reported to be the most frequently used by the patients, had almost 1.4103 cp/cm2, while the touch display of the mobile devices had up to 1.5102 cp/cm2. The team also found monkeypox DNA on the surfaces present in the patients rooms, presumably touched by medical personnel. Viral contamination of 1.3103 cp/cm2 was detected on the door handles of the upper wall cabinet in the first patients room. Viral DNA was also observed on all the surfaces investigated in the patients rooms. Fabrics that the patient often used also had 105 cp/cm2. The team also tested the palmar side of the investigators gloved hands right after they handled the fabrics, which showed high viral contamination associated with both the patient rooms. In the anteroom, the investigated hand-points showed the presence of viral DNA. Interestingly, the doors that led to the patients rooms had only 3 cp/cm2 of the monkeypox DNA. Viral DNA traces were detected on the handles of both the anterooms present in the ward corridor. Conclusion Overall, the study findings showed that high levels of monkeypox DNA contaminate the environmental surfaces in direct contact with monkeypox patients. The researchers believe that hospital personnel must follow all protective measures recommended against monkeypox transmission. In a recent study posted to the EcoEvoRxiv* preprint server, researchers developed a spatial and quantitative framework to explore the biogeography of and map the evolutionary risk of bat-origin beta coronaviruses (CoVs) such as severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2 and the Middle East CoV (MERS-CoV) based on the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution (GMTC). Background The evolution of pathogens is one of the least predictable aspects of disease emergence. The regions highly prone to bat CoV emergence are the ones where pathogen pools are genetically diverse with a high propensity for virus transmission across species. Identifying zones of high emergence risks could benefit both bat conservation and pandemic prevention. About the study In the present study, researchers attempted to determine the association between macroevolutionary dynamics and the macroecology and symbiotic interaction biogeography by GMTC-based risk evaluation of bat-origin CoVs (SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV) emergence. A trivariate system for risk assessment was developed that linked GMTC mechanisms to host-virus interaction aspects such as (i) viral sharing propensity, (ii) phylogenetic diversity of the host, and (iii) uniqueness of the host. The rates of viral sharing among host communities represented the potential of host-virus interactions, i.e., regions of constant viral host-switching could be coldspots for coevolution. The viral sharing propensity aspect represented that frequent virtual transmission across species could be considered selection pressure buffers, while reduced exchange rates could enable simultaneous viral specialization trajectories to coexist in a community. Phylogenetic host diversities were considered a proxy for viral antagonizing-immune variations (the selected mosaic) and comprised highly diverse evolution histories that expose viruses to immunological host trait variations. The host communitys uniqueness was based on exposure to heterogeneous host traits that could lead to the creation of viral evolutionary branches of high uniqueness. Locally distinct bat communities represented the virus exposure potential for new traits of the host (e.g., receptor sequence variations). The trivariate risk assessment system was combined with transmission processes such as animal-human contacts and the prevalence of viruses in reservoirs to identify and map the drivers of evolution to determine the emergence risks of bat CoVs from bats. Results Emergence risk was maximal under high phylogenetic diversity (viruses exposed to differing host clades), increased host uniqueness (virus exposure to new and heterogeneous traits of the host), and medium or low viral sharing (independent host-virus coevolution although divergent viruses could recombine). GMTC principles indicated that high-risk geographical areas were distinct from the coldspots and hotspots rich in host populations. Bat community-based assemblies were responsible for the global viral evolutionary mosaic. The distinct geographical subgroups were South Asia and Southeast Asia; the Mediterranean coast, East Asia (inclusive of North China) and West Asia; Eurasia above 40 northings; and Latin America and Africa. A high codivergence rate was found in Latin America, contrasting to high viral distinctiveness and host richness, but low viral sharing was observed in Southeast Asia. The framework could explain patterns such as unique merbecoviruses pools in the Neotropical region (especially the Amazon), a recently-detected divergent norovirus variant in Madagascar, and of paramount importancediversified hotspots in South East Asia, the Middle East, and the sub-Saharan regions of Africa corresponding to the region of previous zoonotic emergence events. Most parts of Europe and South America were identified as low-risk regions, whereas the Northern Australian coast and Malaysia were identified as high-risk regions. India, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan regions of Africa were identified as high-risk regions due to overlapping between the human population and cross-species CoV transmission opportunities in the natural environment. The team mentioned that SARS-CoV-2 originated from a sarbecovirus variant in Indochina, which was not characterized well before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and SARS-CoV originated from cave-residing horseshoe bats of Yunnan. The team reported increased MERS-CoV prevalence in the Middle East and East Africa, although bat-to-camel transmission is uncertain. The global pattern of CoV phylogenetic distinctiveness was quite distinct from bat host richness and phylogenetic distinctiveness. Central and South America had the most evolutionary distinct hosts and viruses, followed by secondary hotspots in regions of the Rift Valley and the southeastern parts of Asia. High viral sharing regions such as Eurasia above northing of 30 and Latin America would have lower risks of zoonotic emergence. Regions comprising unique hosts with high viral sharing could lead to viral codivergence-facilitated hotspot creation. The association between the pathogen pools and the zoonotic emergence risk was mediated by human-animal contact (spillover probability) and horizontal transmission opportunities (spillover transforming to epidemic probability). New World merbecoviruses bat species such as Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, and Molossidae could be considered hosts for CoV coevolution. Rhinolophidae (Horseshoe bats) were reservoirs of SARS-like sarbecoviruses. High host-enriched hotspots and virus diversity were observed in Southeast Asia, considering adaptive virus radiation via host switching as drivers of bat richness. Conclusion Overall, the study findings highlighted the coevolutionary dynamics of bat CoVs using a spatial framework and showed that bat and CoV biogeography were largely consistent with distinct hotspots. Local-scale coevolutionary mosaics could form in cophylogenetic regions, and human landscapes filtered the geography of emergence risk. The framework could aid in identifying potential high-risk hotspots such as West Africa and India and could contribute to understanding virus diversification and evolution based on host ecology. *Important notice EcoEvoRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Disposable gowns designed to deflect the splatter of bodily fluids, used in thousands of U.S. hospitals, have underperformed in recent and ongoing laboratory tests and may fall short of safety standards, leaving health care workers with a greater risk of infection than advertised. A peer-reviewed academic study, published to little notice amid the coronavirus pandemic, found that isolation gowns commonly worn in medical units or intensive care units ripped too easily and allowed about four to 14 times the expected amount of liquid to seep through when sprayed or splashed. "I'm amazed that facilities are using them," said study co-author Elizabeth Easter, a textile expert at the University of Kentucky, of the thinnest disposable gowns. "Because, technically, you can see through the fabric." Now a similar study is underway at ECRI, a nonprofit focused on health care safety, which began testing disposable isolation gowns after receiving anecdotal reports of "blood or other body fluids leaking through," said ECRI Engineering Director Chris Lavanchy. He told KHN that preliminary test results raised concerns that disposable gowns may not meet safety standards. Isolation gowns are worn by hospital workers to cover their torso and arms before entering rooms of contagious patients, blocking the spray of fluids that could otherwise cling to workers' clothing and end up in their eyes or mouth. Germs are thought to rarely seep through gowns and sicken the wearer, but with gowns used constantly in hospitals every day, even a small gap in protection could be magnified millions of times over. "It's an expected principle of infection control that you don't want that body fluid getting through," Lavanchy said. "A very reasonable expectation is that if you do get liquids through, there is a risk." Lavanchy declined to provide more details about ECRI's findings, stressing that testing is ongoing. The organization is in discussions with gown companies that will get a chance to question or dispute the findings in advance of a full report's release, planned for later this year. Neither ECRI nor the academic study identified the specific gowns or brands that were tested, but officials involved with both studies said the gowns were purchased from some of the primary suppliers of U.S. hospitals. KHN reached out to three of the largest suppliers of hospital gowns for comment. None responded. The testing of isolation gowns comes as the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically heightened concerns about infection control in hospitals and the limitations of supply chains for personal protective equipment, including gowns. Disposable gowns were a scarce resource in the first year of the pandemic, forcing some nurses to resort to wearing trash bags and some hospitals to hurriedly buy from manufacturers with no gown experience or foreign suppliers that did not meet U.S. standards. ECRI testing showed that many of these gowns offered lackluster protection, which drew attention to the lack of quality control in the gown industry, ultimately motivating the organization's current testing of gowns from more traditional suppliers. Supply shortages and questions about the quality of disposable gowns may persuade some hospitals to reconsider reusable isolation gowns, which can be laundered about 75 times. A handful of studies and pilot programs suggest reusable gowns offer at least as much protection and lower costs and are far better for the environment. Additionally, reusable gowns have been readily available throughout the pandemic, allowing hospitals to avoid supply shortages and surging prices. Inova Health System, near Washington, D.C., transitioned two of its hospitals to reusable gowns in 2021 to insulate itself from supply chain woes and hopes to introduce the gowns at its remaining three facilities by the end of this year. Before the change, Inova used about 3 million disposable gowns in a year, creating 213 tons of waste, company officials said. "There was a lot of trial and error going through this process," said Michelle Peninger, Inova's assistant vice president of infection prevention and control. "But it will all pay off in the end." Chana Luria, who has worked as a nurse in California for about 30 years, said she has long preferred the washable gowns that were common in the first decade of her career. They felt thicker, safer, and far less wasteful, she said. Fluid that splashed onto those gowns would slide to the floor - sometimes creating a slipping hazard - but never seeped through to her clothes or skin, she said. Many nurses favor disposable gowns because they have a reputation for being cooler and more breathable, Luria said, but infection control should be prioritized over comfort. "I would rather be sweating in a Hefty bag and have some sort of actual protection," Luria said. "It's called personal protective equipment. If it doesn't protect you, it's a waste of time." 'We were spending millions of dollars on gowns' Regardless of whether they are washed or trashed, isolation gowns are often worn for mere minutes. And all those minutes add up. At UCLA Health, a four-hospital chain in the Los Angeles area that transitioned to reusable gowns over the past decade, a single liver transplant unit once used as many as 1,000 disposable gowns a day, said Norm Lantz, senior director of general services. "We were spending millions of dollars on gowns," Lantz said. "And then we realized, of all that money, what we were buying was filling landfills." Most isolation gowns are classified as either "level one" gowns, designed to be worn in standard medical units and during basic care, or slightly thicker "level two" gowns, which are worn in ICUs and during blood draws and suturing, according to the FDA. The agency recognizes standards for isolation gowns created by three organizations - the American National Standards Institute, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, and ASTM International - but there is no independent check to ensure gowns adhere to these standards. Unlike surgical gowns, which are subjected to more scrutiny, isolation gowns are classified by the FDA as low-risk medical devices that are exempt from government review before sale. Gown companies are largely responsible for their own quality control. But disposable isolation gowns fell far short of industry standards in the recent academic study, conducted by Easter and a textile-testing expert at Florida State University and published in the American Journal of Infection Control in 2021. The tests were performed in 2018, before pandemic shortages eroded the quality of available gowns. To test the gowns' ability to repel bodily fluids, the researchers sprayed them with water using something akin to a showerhead and determined whether the weight of the blotter paper on the other side of the protective material increased. Level one disposable gowns were found to let through an average of 16.2 grams of liquid, much more than the 4.5-gram standard, according to the study. Level two disposable gowns averaged 13.5 grams but were supposed to let through no more than 1 gram. Both levels of disposable gowns also failed to meet a standard for tensile strength, which was not recognized by the FDA at the time of testing but has been since. The gowns were expected to withstand at least 7 pounds of force. But when pressure was applied widthwise, the level one gowns broke with less than 1 pound of force, and the level two gowns broke with less than 5, according to the study. Several brands of reusable gowns passed both tests by comfortable margins, even after being laundered 75 times. Meredith McQuerry, supervisor of Florida State's Textile Testing Lab, who co-authored the study, said the failures of disposable gowns demonstrate the effect of standards "not being fully enforced." "One hundred percent this should not only constitute further study," she said. "It most definitely should cause some alarm in the medical profession in terms of PPE concerns." Now, ECRI is undertaking a separate study in its Philadelphia laboratory that will repeat the tests of the academic one. In addition, ECRI said it will launch a survey through which health care workers can report gown failures. The organization also named "insufficient" disposable gowns one of its "top 10 health technology hazards for 2022." Tim Browne, ECRI's vice president of supply chain solutions, said alarms began to sound amid the supply shortages at the start of the pandemic as desperate hospitals turned to gowns of questionable quality, often imported from Chinese companies. In 2020, ECRI tested 34 gown models from foreign and "non-traditional" suppliers and found that about half the gowns did not meet their claimed protection level and half failed to meet even the lowest standard, according to documents provided by the organization. "There was more fraudulent product in the marketplace than ever," Browne said, "and that's what really raised the level of concern from a quality standpoint." 'We weren't wearing trash bags' Although the supply chain issues of 2020 triggered doubts about disposable gowns, they were reaffirming for hospitals that years ago transitioned to reusable alternatives. Officials at UCLA Health and Carilion Clinic, a seven-hospital chain based in Virginia, both of which are outspoken proponents of reusable gowns, said they had no shortages and simply laundered faster to keep up with pandemic demand. The hospital groups also said they were insulated from surge pricing, which at times drove the cost of a single disposable gown from about 80 cents to nearly $3. Lantz said UCLA Health had prevented approximately 1,200 tons of waste and now saves $450,000 a year after transitioning its inpatient units and emergency rooms to reusable gowns. At Carilion Clinic, reusable gowns were saving the hospitals about 40 cents per use even before the pandemic, said Jim Buchbinder, the company's director of laundry services. Laundry workers prepare Carilion Clinic's reusable isolation gowns and other linens to be washed.(Jared Ladia / Carilion Clinic) "Forty cents a gown when we're using 120,000 gowns a week during the pandemic that's substantial," Buchbinder said. "Plus, we had them to wear. We weren't wearing trash bags at Carilion." On 28 and 29 June 2022, the WCO East and Southern Africa (ESA) Region gathered for a seminar to discuss progress achieved in the implementation of the seventh edition of the Harmonized System (HS), which entered into force on 1 January 2022. The seminar was hosted by the Ethiopian Customs Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was organized within the framework of the EU-WCO Programme for Harmonized System in Africa (HS-Africa Programme), funded by the European Union. The seminar brought together representatives of all main stakeholders of the HS implementation process: Customs administrations, Regional Economic Communities (COMESA, EAC, SACU and SADC), the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Africa Union Commission as well as the EU Delegation to the African Union. Officers of the ESA Regional Office for Capacity Building and the Regional Training Centres from Kenya, Mauritius and Zimbabwe also attended the seminar. In his opening remarks, Mr. Debele Kabeta Hursa, Ethiopian Customs Commissioner, highlighted the significance of the HS in ensuring the smooth flow of legitimate trade, a higher degree of market integration, and an environment conducive to modernization and investment. He expressed his appreciation to the WCO, the EU and the HS-Africa Programme for the assistance provided to Ethiopia, which had been vital in delivering timely implementation of the HS 2022 amendments in the country, based on the strategic approach developed with the support of the Programme. Apart from discussions of the content of the HS 2022, participants shared experience of their organizations and countries on the implementation of HS amendments. Representatives of Botswana, Ethiopia, Mauritius, the EAC and the SACU offered presentations on transposition of Common External Tariffs and national tariff and statistical nomenclatures to new versions of the HS, highlighting the challenges faced in the process, solutions provided and lessons learned. The AfCFTA Secretariat presented an update on the state of implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area and the results achieved and stressed the paramount importance and relevance of the implementation of HS amendments for a successful AfCFTA implementation. The seminar was an occasion to discuss digital transformation in Customs work related to tariffs and commodity classification by presenting some of the projects recently implemented in the region, namely the electronic tariff platforms in Eswatini and Lesotho. It was felt that such initiatives would make a tangible difference for all stakeholders involved in international trade by making accurate information on applicable duty rates easily available. In conclusion of the seminar, a panel discussion on capacity building aspects of HS-related work was held, chaired by Mr. Larry Liza, ESA ROCB Director, with representatives of RTCs as panellists. During the discussion, emphasis was placed on the importance of reaching out to relevant stakeholders to deliver capacity building support, challenges brought by Covid-19, as well as ways of measuring training efficiency. Participants took note of the strategic guidance on competency development in the area of the HS, as well as new e-learning tools and the training package developed with the support of the HS-Africa Programme. The seminar took stock of the progress achieved by the ESA Region on the implementation of the HS 2022, with three quarters of ESA Members having already migrated to the new version of the HS. The HS-Africa Programme pledged continued support for the countries and the RECs of the region and will keep delivering assistance to African partners and stakeholders, in accordance with its mandate. For more details, please contact hs@wcoomd.org. (Newser) The CDC has linked a deadly listeria outbreak to an ice cream company in Florida. Per the Wall Street Journal, the outbreak has killed one person and sickened at least 22 others. It dates back to early 2021; however, 16 of the cases occurred this year, including 10 since March. Through its investigation, the CDC determined that most of those sickened either lived in Florida or had been there before becoming ill. People in 10 other states were affected, including as far way as Minnesota, Colorado, New York, and Massachusetts. The person who died lived in Illinois; additionally, five pregnant women became ill, and one of those illnesses resulted in fetal loss. Of the 17 people interviewed by the CDC, 14 recalled eating ice cream, and 6 of those said they had eaten Big Olaf Creamery brand, which is only sold in Florida shops, per US News. That was enough for the CDC to issue an alert telling consumers to throw away their Big Olaf and to clean all areas, containers, and utensils that may have come in contact with it. Likewise, retailers are advised not to sell it until further notice, and Sarasota-based Big Olaf is voluntarily contacting retail locations to make sure that happens, per ABC News. The CDC says the listeria infection, or listeriosis, is caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Symptoms include fatigue, muscle aches, and fever and can appear within days or up to 10 weeks later. It mainly affects adults over 65, newborns, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems. As the CDC, FDA, and state agencies continue investigating, Big Olaf Creamery put out a Facebook post July 3 saying the link to its brand is "only speculation" and it's "not sure why only Big Olaf is being mentioned and targeted." The company also said it is cooperating fully with health officials. (Read more listeria stories.) (Newser) Climate change protesters in Britain have a new tactic: gluing themselves to famous paintings. On Monday, two protesters from the "Just Stop Oil" group were arrested at the National Gallery in London after they glued themselves to the frame of John Constable's "The Hay Wain," one of the country's most famous paintings, CNN reports. The protesters covered the 1821 oil painting, which depicts three horses pulling a wagon across the River Stour, with what they called an "apocalyptic vision of the future," depicting the same rural scene with a plane and wrecked cars, the Telegraph reports. Experts at the London gallery said the protesters caused minor damage to the frame and the painting's varnish, which was "successfully dealt with." "I want to work in the arts, not disrupt them," said one of the protesters, 22-year-old music student Eben Lazarus. "But the situation we're in means we have to do everything non-violently possible to prevent the civilizational collapse that we are hurtling towards." Members of the group, which is demanding an end to licenses for new oil and gas projects, glued themselves to the frames of paintings including Vincent van Gogh's "Peach Trees in Blossom" last week. On Tuesday, they struck again, the AP reports. Five activists were arrested at London's Royal Academy of Arts after they glued themselves to the frame of a full-sized copy of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" and spray-painted "No New Oil" underneath it. On Sunday, six activists were arrested after they disrupted the British Grand Prix race by sitting down on the Silverstone racetrack (Read more climate change stories.) (Newser) As attorneys argued about abortion laws across the South on Tuesday, a Mississippi judge rejected a request by the states only abortion clinic to temporarily block a law that would ban most abortions. Without other developments in the clinics lawsuit, the clinic will close at the end of business Wednesday and the state law will take effect Thursday. Mississippi legislators passed the "trigger" law before the US Supreme Court recently overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, sought a temporary restraining order that would have allowed it to remain open while the lawsuit played out in court, the AP reports. The clinics lawsuit cited a 1998 Mississippi Supreme Court ruling that said the state constitution invokes a right to privacy that "includes an implied right to choose whether or not to have an abortion." The state attorney generals office said the Mississippi Constitution does not recognize a right to abortion and the state has a long history of restricting the procedure. The closely watched lawsuit was part of a flurry of activity nationwide since the Supreme Court ruling. Conservative states have moved to halt or limit abortions while others have sought to ensure abortion rights, all as some women try to obtain the medical procedure against the changing legal landscape. Floridas new 15-week abortion ban was blocked but then quickly reinstated Tuesday after an appeal from the state attorney general in a lawsuit challenging the restriction. Judge John C. Cooper issued the order temporarily halting the law after reproductive health providers argued that the state constitution guarantees a right to the procedure. The state quickly appealed his order, automatically putting the law back into effect. In Louisiana, the state attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on most abortions. Louisianas anti-abortion statutes include so-called triggers that were designed to instantly take effect if the US Supreme Court were to reverse abortion rights. But a state judge in New Orleans last week blocked enforcement of the law pending a court hearing on a lawsuit filed by a north Louisiana abortion clinic and others. (Read more abortion stories.) (Newser) With the long-delayed release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, the world of Despicable Me is back on the big screen for the first time in five yearsand some movie theaters having problems with overenthusiastic fans. Groups of teens inspired by the TIkTok #Gentleminions fad have been attending screenings wearing suits, and several British cinemas have banned young people in formal attire because of bad behavior, the BBC reports. Staff at one theater in Cornwall says the well-dressed young people have been "cheering, clapping, whooping," and rising to their feet, making it hard for younger fans to enjoy the movie. Other theaters have reported "stunningly bad behavior," including vandalism and throwing things at the screen. Some theaters in the Odeon chain have put up signs reading, "Due to recent disturbances following the #GentleMinions trend, any group of guests in formal attire will be refused entry for showings of Minions: The Rise of Gru." The trend apparently started in Australia, where the movie was released on June 23, earlier than other markets, Variety reports. Obie, a teenager in Maryland, tells Variety that everybody was well behaved when he joined friends for a Rise of Gru screening, where they encountered another group of young people in suits. He says the trend may have taken off because people who grew up with the Despicable Me series "now have nostalgia and enough money to see it on our own. Well be inclined to do so in our own way. Its funny to see how that turns into such a big trend." Universal Pictures, meanwhile, has embraced the fad. To "everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you," Universal, the movie's distributor, tweeted Friday. (Read more movie theaters stories.) (Newser) Update: The man charged with killing seven people when he shot at parade-watchers in Highland Park, Ill., confessed to police that he fired on the crowd, a prosecutor said Wednesday, though no plea has been entered in the case. Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ben Dillon added that police recovered the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop where the gunman allegedly stationed himself. An Illinois judge ordered that he be held without bail, reports the AP. Lake County Major Crime Task Force rep Christopher Covelli on Wednesday also revealed the suspect fled to the Madison, Wis., area, in the shooting's aftermath and considered firing upon an event there, but instead returned to Illinois. Our original story from Tuesday follows: A seventh victim of the Highland Park mass shooting died Tuesdayand the suspected gunman was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek disclosed the names of six people who died at the scene or in hospitals in the county, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. They included Highland Park residents Katherine Goldstein, 64; Irina McCarthy, 35; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Jacqueline Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88. Nicolas Toledo, a 78-year-old from Morelos, Mexico who was reportedly reluctant to attend the parade, was also killed. Authorities have yet to release the name of the seventh victim. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said Tuesday that the suspect taken into custody Monday, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder for the "premeditated and calculated attack" on the Chicago suburb's Fourth of July parade, CBS reports. Rinehart said those were "just the first of many charges that will be filed," including numerous charges in connection with the dozens of injured survivors. He said that if the suspect is convicted on the murder charges, he will face a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the suspect used a legally purchased rifle "similar to an AR-15" to fire on the crowd from the top of a building, the AP reports. Covelli said police went to the suspect's home in April 2019 after a reported suicide attempt and in September 2019 because a family member said he was threatening "to kill everyone. Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger, and a sword. According to Illinois state police, the suspect's father sponsored his application for a gun owners license in December 2019, when the suspect was 19 years old. (Read more Highland Park mass shooting stories.) (Newser) The governor of the last remaining eastern province partly under Ukraine's control urged more than 350,000 remaining residents to flee as Russia escalated its offensive and air alerts were issued across nearly the entire country. Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said that getting people out of Donetsk province is necessary to save lives and enable the Ukrainian army better to defend towns from the Russian advance, the AP reports. "The destiny of the whole country will be decided by the Donetsk region," Kyrylenko told reporters in Kramatorsk, the province's administrative center and home to the Ukrainian military's regional headquarters. The governors call for residents to leave appeared to represent one of the biggest suggested evacuations of the war, although it's unclear whether people will be willing and safely able to flee. According to the UN refugee agency, more than 7.1 million Ukrainians are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine, and more than 4.8 million refugees have left the country since Russia's invasion started Feb. 24. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said air alerts were issued Tuesday night in nearly all of the country, in many places after a long period of relative calm. "You should not look for logic in the actions of terrorists," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "The Russian army does not take any breaks. It has one taskto take peoples lives, to intimidate peopleso that even a few days without an air alarm already feel like part of the terror." Much of the military activity appeared concentrated in Ukraine's east. Kyrylenko described the shelling as "very chaotic" without "a specific target ... only to destroy civilian infrastructure and residential areas." Putin declared victory in Luhansk, the other province in the Donbas region, on Monday. The question now is whether Russia can muster enough strength to complete its seizure of the Donbas by taking Donetsk province, too. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) The Justice Department is suing Arizona over a new law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in presidential elections, calling it a "textbook violation" of the National Voter Registration Act. The lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks to overturn House Bill 2492, passed in March and scheduled to take effect in January, which state Republicans tout as a safeguard against voter fraud. Arizona state law requires proof of citizenship to vote in state elections. Those who register to vote in federal elections using the federal form must swear they are citizens, but they don't have to produce proof of that. The new law seeks to close that gap. Democrats argue the law is actually designed to keep certain groups, such as immigrants and Native Americans (who may not have birth certificates if they were born on reservations), from voting, per the Washington Post. Critics say it could disenfranchise at least 31,500 voters who are only registered to vote at the federal level, per the New York Times, which explains the state would need to track down and verify their citizenship information. President Biden won the state in 2020 by about 10,000 votes, meaning that number in question is significant (some critics say the impacted number could be higher). The legally questionable nature of the new law has been clear from the get-go. Per the DOJ, it conflicts with a 1993 federal voter registration law and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Further, the Supreme Court struck down a similar Arizona law in 2013, but that ruling referenced only congressional elections; state Republicans hope the presidential angle will allow for a more successful outcome. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, has vowed to fight the lawsuit he paints as an effort to allow undocumented immigrants "a chance to vote." Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke says "the Justice Department will continue to use every available tool to protect all Americans' right to vote and to ensure that their voices are heard." (The department has also sued over voting laws in Texas and Georgia.) (Newser) For one funeral home operator in Colorado, it wasnt enough to charge bereaved families for cremation and burial services. Megan Hess allegedly struck on what authorities call an "illegal body part scheme" to pad her income. According to the New York Times, Hess, 45, has pleaded guilty in a Grand Junction, Colo., federal court to a single count of mail fraud. In exchange for her plea, prosecutors will drop eight other criminal charges, but she still faces up to 20 years behind bars. Her mother, Shirley Koch, is also implicated. Both originally pleaded not guilty to all charges; Koch's change-of-plea hearing is July 12. Prosecutors say Hess led the scheme between 2010 and 2018 by establishing a nonprofit "body broker" as an offshoot of her business, Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors. She and her mother "sometimes obtained consent from families to donate small tissue samples or tumors of their dead relative," as the Times puts it. Whether consent requests were accepted hardly mattered, authorities said, and the operation involved a lot more than tissue samples. In hundreds of transactions, or "transfers," they allegedly sold parts including heads, arms, legs, and even whole bodies for scientific and medical use. The extra income enabled them to undercut the competition's prices, authorities said, thus increasing their supply of bodies to be cremated. They were also accused of often delivering urns that didn't actually contain the remains of the deceased and allegedly shipped parts they certified as disease-free, even though they'd tested positive for infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis, per CBS News. A former employee also accused Hess of harvesting and selling $40,000 worth of gold teeth, per Fox Business. At the plea hearing, Hess said, "I'm taking responsibility. ... The families believe I went beyond the scope of the consent forms." Victims of the scheme were unimpressed, saying the plea was too generous, per the Daily Sentinel, which also notes Assistant US Attorney Jeremy Chaffin said Hess' statements and the remorse she showed (or lack thereof) would be considered during sentencing in January. (Read more funeral home stories.) From 28-30 June 2022, the SECO-WCO Global Trade Facilitation Programme (GTFP) organized a study visit of the Customs Administration of Bolivia (AN) to Bogota, Colombia, to foster and facilitate the exchange of experiences and lessons learned between Bolivia and Colombia, as well as, promote the bilateral and regional cooperation to facilitate safe international trade. This activity was designed to support the strengthening of the Bolivian AEO Programme and the recently created National Trade Facilitation Committee, to share best practices and successful measures, aiming to ensure the sustainability of trade facilitation measures in Bolivia. During the study visit, the Bolivian delegation participated in a Trade Facilitation Forum where Customs officers and the private sector analyzed concrete examples of the impact of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement on National competitiveness, application of disruptive technologies and the future of Customs, among other topics. Furthermore, the Bolivian officers had the opportunity to meet with the Customs Administration of Colombia (DIAN) and the private sector to discuss lessons learned pertaining to the implementation of the AEO in Colombia. The agenda also included a session with the Colombian National Trade Facilitation Committee to analyze the Colombian experience and national trade facilitation strategy. For more information on the GTFP please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org. (Newser) The Great Salt Lake has hit a new historic low for the second time in less than a year as the ongoing megadrought worsened by climate change continues to shrink the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi. The Utah Department of Natural Resources said Monday in a news release that the Great Salt Lake dipped Sunday to 4,190.1 feet. That's lower than the previous historic low set in October, which at the time matched a 170-year record low. Lake levels are expected to keep dropping until fall or winter, the agency said, per the AP. The dwindling water level at the giant lake just west of Salt Lake City puts millions of migrating birds at risk and threatens a lake-based economy that's worth an estimated $1.3 billion in mineral extraction, brine shrimp, and recreation. The expanding amount of dry lake bed could also send arsenic-laced dust into the air that millions breathe, scientists say. The state's Republican-led Legislature is trying to find ways to reverse the trend, but it won't be easy. Water has been diverted away from the lake for years for homes and crops in the nation's fastest-growing state, which is also one of the driest. (Read more Great Salt Lake stories.) (Newser) More resignations are streaming out of the British government, but still not the big one. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is clinging on despite the Wednesday resignations of six more junior ministers, which the BBC reports means the tally of ministers and aides who have resigned stands at 27. Five of them resigned en masse via a single letter that closes by asking Johnson to "step aside." The Guardian called their joint move "a novelty" and says the fivethe ministers for equalities; media, data, and digital infrastructure; leveling up; skills; and business"are regarded as rising stars." The weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ) session was held in Parliament Wednesday, with members of the opposition Labour Party greeting Johnson with "Go! Go!" The AP observes that "more damningly," he fielded a challenge from within his Conservative Party, with lawmaker Tim Loughton asking whether anything might lead him to resign. "Frankly, the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when he's been given a colossal mandate, is to keep going," Johnson replied. After the PMQ, Johnson's press secretary maintained that Johnson is assured he could win a second confidence vote if necessary. Whether one can be held is another story. As the AP explains, Johnson survived a confidence vote on June 6, meaning another no-confidence vote can't technically be held until June 2023. But the 1922 Committee could change that. The AP defines the group as "about a dozen Conservative backbencherslegislators who hold no government officewho meet regularly to discuss party matters. It meets with the party leader monthly to represent the views of the rank and file within the party." It establishes the rules by which a sitting leader can be challenged, and CNN reports the 1922 executives are slated to meet Wednesday to set a date for committee elections. If more anti-Johnson MPs join the executive, the likelihood of a rules change skyrockets. "Until that point, the real question is just how much public humiliation can the Prime Minister take?" the outlet notes. (Read more Boris Johnson stories.) (Newser) The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack will resume its hearings next Tuesday, and while the public won't hear from the White House counsel to former President Trump, the New York Times reports the panel will hear from him in private on Friday. Pat Cipollone has reportedly agreed to sit for what a source tells the Times will be "a videotaped, transcribed interview." The panel has long sought Cipollone's cooperation and subpoenaed him to that end last week. He was present in the West Wing on Jan. 6 and reportedly resisted Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election during meetings in the weeks after the election. Axios reports White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified before the committee that Cipollone had warned in advance of the riot that Trump and his aides could be charged with "every crime imaginable" if Trump participated alongside protesters at the Capitol. She also said that on Jan. 6, Cipollone told then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, "Mark, we need to do something more ... they're literally calling for the vice president to be f'ing hung." When Meadows responded that the president thought Pence deserved it, Hutchinson said Cipollone said something along the lines of "this is f'ing crazy, we need to be doing something more." Still, the AP sounds a note of caution: "While his interview with the committee could prove to be a breakthrough, it remained unclear whether Cipollone would try to limit what he is willing to talk about. As the administration's chief lawyer, he could argue that some or all of his conversations with Trump are privileged." (Read more Pat Cipollone stories.) (Newser) An Indianapolis man on his way to a family function ordered a Lyftbut police say instead of paying for a ride, he murdered the driver and stole his vehicle. Devlin Powell, 24, was arrested and charged with murder and robbery after police tracked the stolen vehicle to Merrillville, around two hours north of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Star reports. According to court documents, investigators used GPS to locate the vehicle after driver Anthony Garland, 34, was found dead in a grassy area near a roadway by firefighters responding to an unrelated call. He had been shot multiple times. Investigators determined that Garland was a Lyft driver who had been reported missing by his wife, CBS4 reports. Records from the company showed that Powell was his last customer. According to an arrest affidavit, Powell was found driving Garland's white 2013 GMC Acadia, which still had blood stains on the center console. A man in the passenger seat told detectives that Powell was his cousin and had driven up that day for a family event. Police said Powell initially claimed to have found the vehicle running with the door open and nobody inside. The suspect later admitted shooting Garland, but claimed he had done so in self-defense after the driver tried to "screw him over and take his money," according to court documents. Investigators said that after Powell shot Garland and dragged his body out of the vehicle, he changed clothes and bought new seat covers before driving to Merrillville. (Read more Indiana stories.) (Newser) Russia is making gains in its relentless assault on eastern Ukraine's Donbas regionbut at a heavy cost. With the Russian military low on manpower due to casualties, and with Vladimir Putin reluctant to declare the "special military operation" a war (which would allow the mobilization of fighting-age men), the Telegraph reports prisoners are being recruited to join the fight. Relatives of inmates at two St. Petersburg-area prison colonies have told Russian news outlets that recruiters from the Wagner Group military contractor offered prisoners around $3,000 a month to fightand freedom if they survive for six months. Relatives said inmates were told "volunteers" would be sent to Ukraine, but paperwork would show they had been sent to a different prison. They were told not everybody would make it back alive, but the families of those who died would receive around $80,000, relatives said. After he declared victory in Luhansk province Monday, Putin acknowledged that troops who fought there would need to "take some rest and beef up their combat capability," the AP reports. Western analysts believe Russia has lost around 15,000 troops in Ukraine, with many more injured. Russia has also taken steps including offering well-paid short-term contracts and scrapping the age limit for military recruits, allowing people over 40 to enlist. With manpower low, the Russian military has been relying on using artillery to break down Ukrainian defenses. "What we are seeing are very limited shallow attacks that maximize on artillery support," Ben Barry, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, tells the Wall Street Journal. "Thats a reflection they understand the weaknesses of their own forces." With more than 100 soldiers killed each day, Ukraine is also low on troops, but its forces are trying to extend the fight until more weapons from the West arrive. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) Three major opportunites to thwart the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School were missed and two of them involved police, according to the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training CenterALERRTat Texas State University. The report was commissioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety to examine the much-criticized law enforcement response to the May 24 massacre in Uvalde, Texas, the Dallas Morning News reports. The missed chances: An unlocked door. The report found that a teacher who closed an exterior door when the school was locked down didn't check to see that it was lockedand she didn't have "the proper key or tool to engage the locking mechanism on the door." The report says the gunman was able to "immediately access" the school through the door, though even if it was locked, the glass inlay was not made of ballistic glass so the shooter could have shot through the glass to get in even if it had been locked. An unaware officer. An officer arriving at the scene drove through a school parking lot "at a high rate of speed" and didn't spot that the gunman was there, the report says. "The officer had driven more slowly or had parked his car at the edge of the school property and approached on foot, he might have seen the suspect and been able to engage him before the suspect entered the building," ALERRT says. An officer arriving at the scene drove through a school parking lot "at a high rate of speed" and didn't spot that the gunman was there, the report says. "The officer had driven more slowly or had parked his car at the edge of the school property and approached on foot, he might have seen the suspect and been able to engage him before the suspect entered the building," ALERRT says. A decision not to shoot. The report found that a Uvalde officer 148 yards away from the door aimed his rifle at the gunman as he entered the school and asked a supervisor for permission to fire, but the supervisor " either did not hear or responded too late." The officer turned away to speak to the supervisor and when he turned back, the shooter was already inside. "A reasonable officer would conclude in this case, based upon the totality of the circumstances, that use of deadly force was warranted," the report says. The report found that some of the 21 victims19 children and two teacherscould possibly have been saved if they had received medical attention sooner, but police waited for more than an hour to enter the classroom where the gunman was, the AP reports. The report states that "effective incident command" was never established and officers waiting in the hallway outside the classroom apparently never tested the door to see if it was locked. The officers, the report states, had weapons, body armor, training, and back up, while "the victims in the classrooms had none of these things." Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin has accused state law enforcement of orchestrating a "cover-up" of state and federal failings, Fox reports. (Read more Uvalde mass shooting stories.) Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High near 60F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 48F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High around 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low 48F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrains fight against terrorism and terrorist financing got stronger yesterday, with Bahrain signing three deals in this direction with the United States of America. The Memorandum of Understandings with the US focuses on boosting cooperation in combating terrorist financing, cybersecurity and unmanned aircraft systems. General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Minister of Interior and Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, signed the deals. Alejandro Mayorkas termed Bahrain a key partner and ally of the United States in fighting security threats and risks in the regional and international arenas. Mayorkas also expressed the readiness to provide necessary support and exchange experience with the Kingdom. It is important to enhance cooperation with friends and partners around the world against human trafficking, Shaikh Rashid told Mayorkas, praising the efforts of the US in training and information exchange. Bahrain, like the United States, has always been aware of the need for a comprehensive approach to combating terrorism, including measures to cut off sources of terrorist funding and support, the minister stressed. HM the Kings approach focuses on promoting the values of democracy, tolerance, coexistence and openness to the other had a great impact consolidating justice, reform security and stability, said Interior Minister. The minister further reminded the meeting that continued international cooperation is vital to combat cyber-attacks and building cybersecurity capabilities, citing the rising threat posed by unmanned aircraft systems in recent years. The Interior Minister also praised the role of the United States in developing the capabilities of the police in the field of combating terrorism. Shaikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al-Khalifa, the Ambassador of Bahrain to the United States, Shaikh Hesham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, the Interior Ministrys Undersecretary for Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs and the accompanying delegation of the minister were present at the meeting held yesterday. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Movenpick Hotel Bahrain was chosen the Best Airport Hotel in the Middle East at the 2022 Skytrax World Airport Awards which was held at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Paris, France. The awards are the most prestigious accolades for the airport industry, voted by customers in the largest, annual global airport customer satisfaction survey. They are regarded as the quality benchmark for the world airport industry and are based on nominations by 13.42 million airport travelers, including guests from more than 550 airport hotels worldwide. They recognize hotels that combine convenience, comfort and top-quality service as an integrated package for todays travellers. Movenpick Hotel Bahrain General Manager, Pasquale Baiguera, stated: We will continue to provide unparalleled experiences to our guests as well as develop our team members in order to support our aim of remaining as one of the best 5-star hotels in Bahrain. This can only be achieved by the great commitment of our team and the full continued support we receive from our stakeholders. Agencies | Jeddah The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com British pilgrim Adam Mohammed has fulfilled his dream of traveling to Makkah on foot to perform the Hajj. The 52-year-old pilgrim walked through the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan to reach Saudi Arabia, covering a distance of almost 6,500 kilometers in 11 months and 26 days. He walked an average of 17.8 km a day and reached Ayesha Mosque in Makkah on June 26. A huge crowd of pilgrims, local residents, and his two daughters who had flown from the UK welcomed him in the holy city. Mohammed said: I was so happy to finish my journey and I am overwhelmed by the great welcome, generosity, and love of Saudis and other nationalities. I am so eager to perform Hajj because Hajj has been my greatest dream. He spoke about what he would do when standing on Mount Arafat. I will thank Allah for making this journey possible and for making my all-time goal come true to perform Hajj. This was not an easy journey for me but I had to sacrifice everything for the sake of Allah and humanity. I have been preoccupied with reading the Holy Quran ever since restrictions were imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Suddenly, I woke up one day and something inside me told me to go to Makkah all the way by foot from my home. I could not ignore this voice and decided to go for it. It took him just two months to prepare for the arduous journey with help from a British organization and donations from his fellow countrymen. Mohammed, who is Iraqi-Kurdish, began his journey on Aug. 1, 2021, from his home in Wolverhampton. He had a cart weighing up to 250 kilos for his personal belongings. Actually, I built it myself. It is where I ate, slept, and cooked for the journey. He told Arab News that, except for weather and traveling, he did not face any other challenge on his way to Makkah. There were no big difficulties, except for a few stops by police authorities in several countries to inquire about my presence in their land. But they were surprised when they came to know about my unique journey. Many people came forward to help him during this journey, with some pushing his trolley and others offering him food and a place to rest. He documented and live-streamed his experience through his channels on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, while also using his platform to spread messages of peace and equality. Even with 2.8 million likes on TikTok, Mohammed said his journey was not for fame but religion. Agencies | Abuja The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The secretary general of oil producers group OPEC, Mohammad Barkindo, has died, the boss of Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC) announced on Wednesday. Barkindo, 63, was due to step down at the end of this month after six years in the top job at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Reuters reported. "We lost our esteemed Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo," NNPC CEO Mele Kyari wrote on Twitter, adding that he died late on Tuesday. The death is a "great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community," Kyari added. Kyari said Barkindo died hours after meeting Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and giving the main speech at an energy summit in Abuja. Barkindo said the oil and gas industry is "under siege" due to years of under-investment and that allowing trade in oil from Iran and Venezuela could help address the market's current tight supply. Barkindo's career in the oil industry began in Nigeria in the early 1980s. He served in various capacities at the NNPC and represented Nigeria on OPEC's Economic Commission Board. He served as acting OPEC secretary general in 2006 before returning to the position 10 years later and has led the organisation through a turbulent oil market period including steering it towards greater cooperation with non-OPEC oil producers. After leaving OPEC Barkindo was due to join U.S. think tank the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center as a distinguished fellow, the Council recently announced. Japan's health ministry has asked municipalities nationwide to make sure that hospitals have enough beds and testing capacities amid the recent rise in coronavirus cases nationwide. Data compiled by NHK shows that new infections continue to climb. Tuesday's figure of about 36,000 cases was up 90 percent from a week earlier. The ministry's notification sent out to municipalities on Tuesday night asked that capacity at medical facilities be expanded in order to properly test people with fever and other symptoms. The ministry also asked that municipalities be ready to hand out test kits before people develop symptoms. The ministry wants municipalities to secure enough beds to deal with a possible rise in elderly patients and make preparations to set up temporary medical facilities. It also requested that municipalities establish systems for sending doctors and nurses to elderly care facilities when needed. Health ministry officials say the more transmissible BA.5 subvariant of Omicron may come to dominate new cases. They say municipalities need to be prepared for a surge in cases because the effect of booster shots is starting to wane and the summer holidays will see a rise in occasions for people to get together. Fort Polk, LA (71446) Today A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 99F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few passing clouds. Low 77F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW FAIRFIELD Another busy Fourth of July weekend at Squantz Park State Park revived concerns about people walking along narrow Route 39 to reach the popular park. The town was grateful to have extra support from state police to help keep traffic moving, First Selectman Pat Del Monaco said, but with the crowds of beach-goers came the usual problems and safety concerns about walk-ins. As we experience every year, the biggest safety issue that we face is walk-ins into the park, she said. Were always very concerned about the safety of people who park illegally and then walk along Route 39. The problem arises every summer, when visitation at the park tends to pick up and Squantz Ponds parking lots quickly reach capacity. The 250-car lot reached capacity before 9:30 a.m. on Sunday and Monday, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. After that, new cars are not permitted and the only way to access the park is by walking in. With no alternative parking available, some people will park in other parts of town and walk along Route 39 a busy road with little- to- no- shoulder to get to Squantz. For years, town officials have called it a safety concern and tried to restrict people walking along the road to get to the park either by asking the state to restrict walk-ins, or cracking down on illegal parking in town. There were at least 12 parking violations in the area of Squantz Pond over the holiday weekend, according to state police. But despite the towns enforcement efforts, Del Monaco said people continue to do it including this past weekend. We definitely did have people who were walking on Route 39, she said. With not much more the town can do, Del Monaco said she believes the Squantz Pond walk-in problem is something that would have to be addressed by the state legislature. The state legislatures Regulation Review Committee rejected a proposal supported by New Fairfield officials to ban walk-in visitors at all state parks in 2017. At the time, state legislators were concerned about how the proposal could negatively affect other parks across the state. I know that there are many parks in the state that depend on walk-ins, but there are some like Squantz Pond where walk-ins present a safety issue, Del Monaco said. It would be wonderful if there was a way to address that difference legislatively and allow for no walk-ins where there may be a safety concern. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) David Shapiro and his wife brought their two young kids to enjoy the Independence Day parade in their hometown north of Chicago, snagging a spot in front of a boutique winery. The children's parade in downtown Highland Park had already gone by, with about 50 school-age children riding bikes, scooters and tricycles. The musicians of the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, complete with full drum set and brass section, were starting to play atop a flatbed trailer. Then came the sound that Shapiro knew did not fit: pop pop pop pop pop. Before he knew what was happening, parade-goers from farther down the route began running toward the 47-year-old and his family, screaming about someone with a gun. It was chaos, Shapiro recalled. People didnt know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you. For many people, the mass shooting that killed at least seven people and injured more than 30 others adds to the fear that any place, any event in the U.S. can turn dangerous or deadly, even though most gun violence is personal. Highland Park is one of the country's safest towns, and July 4th parades among the most American of celebrations. Even before Monday's killings, some people already were on edge, questioning whether to venture into large gatherings, looking over their shoulders during even the most run-of-the-mill activities, from grocery shopping to going to school or catching a movie. But as the shots rang out in Highland Park on Monday, all most people at the July 4 parade knew at first was confusion, then terror as they searched for a safe place to hide or any way to escape. ___ The atmosphere along the short but crowded parade route was exuberant as the kids stepped along around 9:40 a.m., said Vivian Visconti, a 19-year-old Highland Park Park District counselor who helped organize and direct the childrens parade Parents and other attendees smiled and waved at that first group, while Visconti instructed younger kids to keep moving if they slowed or momentarily veered off the designated route. It was fun, cheerful, and hot, she recalled about passing through Central Avenue business district, lined with tony boutiques, cafes and restaurants. On either side of the street, attendees sat on blankets and lawn tables, some snacking on potato chips or cookies as they watched. It took the children on the cycles no more than 20 minutes to traverse the entire parade route, which ended at the bottom of a hill near a park, where a bouncy house was set up for youngsters to play in after they completed the trek. We may have been one of the only groups who finished the parade route, Visconti said. One of the reasons the smaller kids went first was so they could run back up the hill and watch the rest of the parade. Visconti, too, made her way back up the hill, to the other end of Central Avenue, near the Shapiro family. It was around 10:20 a.m. when she heard several slower booming sounds followed immediately by a rapid secession of what seemed 20 loud pops, she said. I thought it was blanks, part of the parade at first, she said. But my friend turned to me and told me, No, its real! After a pause of around five seconds, she heard another rapid series of shots. She and her friend ran. Like most others who heard shots, they never saw the shooter, who had climbed a fire escape to perch atop a row of specialty stores. As he fired, some parade-goers fell, mortally wounded. Many others lay bleeding or were carried away by family and friends. Not far from Visconti, 16-year-old Yonatan Garfinkle, of Highland Park, understood he had to get away fast. A friends dad happened to be passing by in his Jeep. Fifteen other people were already in the vehicle or holding onto it. He jumped on its side, too, hugging it tightly as the vehicle sped away from the city center. ___ Staging for the parade was on St. John's Avenue, near a parking garage and train station. Floats, bands and politicians headed north a bit, then turned west down Central. Greg Gilberg, 45, was on a float with his wife just minutes from making the turn when he saw crowds of frightened parade goers bolt from the avenue. The Highland Park man didnt hear any shots clearly, but he knew they needed to flee. So he and his wife hurried to where he had left his bike nearby; she jumped on the back with him and Gilberg pedaled as fast as he could home. As he passed the Highland Park library, Gilberg said, he saw dozens of people streaming inside for safety. The sound of the shots was much louder on Central Avenue the parades main thoroughfare where Richard Isenberg and his wife were watching the parade near a shop that sells outdoor gear. Though they could not see who was firing or where they were, Isenberg could tell from the sound that the shooter was close. The couple fled, turning around a corner and into a lot full of large dumpsters. They saw a man lift his children into one of the dumpsters. He asked the Isenbergs to keep an eye on them as he ran back to the street for other relatives who had come to the parade with him. The couple returned to the scene Tuesday to try to retrieve their car, which was still in an area cordoned-off by police investigating the crime. Recalling the thunderous sound of gunfire, Isenberg's wife, who declined to share her name, covered her ears and closed her eyes. I cant stop hearing it, she said. Amid the mayhem, the shooter, dressed as a woman, slipped into the panicked crowds and, for the moment, got away. ___ For Howard Diamond, 45, of Highland Park, attending the Independence Parade each year was a family tradition. He was sitting in a lawn chair with his wife, 9-year-old son and other members of his extended family when he heard loud bangs about 500 feet away. Someone said it was fireworks. But he said he knew better, telling everyone they were shots and they needed to move now. Lets go, lets go, lets go! he recalled yelling. Speaking Tuesday from outside a police cordon on Central Avenue, he pointed to a childs blue miniature car, toppled over amid the pandemonium the day before, saying it belonged to his sister-in-laws son. He had hoped to retrieve his cellphone, but was told he couldn't because it was still a crime scene. ___ The Shapiro family wasn't sure of the best escape route, so they decided to run all the way to their nearby home. Shapiro grabbed his daughter in his arms and they sprinted away as fast as they could, leaving behind their childrens stroller and lawn chairs as they fled. Later that night, his 4-year-old son woke up screaming, Shapiro said as he returned to downtown Tuesday to pick up the items the family abandoned. He is too young to understand what happened. But he knows something bad happened, he said. Thats chilling." ___ Burnett reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporter Martha Irvine contributed. ___ This story has been corrected to show Shapiro's son was 4. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PARIS (AP) French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne vowed Wednesday to boost jobs, cut taxes, support purchasing power, tackle climate issues and help France better face the consequences of the war in Ukraine including by nationalizing electricity giant EDF. Borne laid out her main priorities in her first major speech to the National Assembly after parliamentary elections last month cost French President Emmanuel Macrons government its majority. She said the government plans to nationalize French electricity giant EDF one of the worlds biggest electricity producers amid an energy crisis aggravated by Russias invasion of Ukraine. The French state now holds an 84% stake in the company. Its share price jumped on the news. EDF manages Frances sizable fleet of nuclear reactors, which are facing a raft of technical and other problems. New-generation reactors are years behind schedule and billions over budget. The war in Ukraine, at Europes doors, reminds us how peace is fragile. Energy prices are rising and we must keep protecting the French. The (COVID-19) pandemic is still there and our vigilance must remain total, Borne said. The announcement on EDF came as she detailed the governments agenda for coming years in front of very vocal lawmakers from the left and from the right, who together outnumber members of the presidents centrist alliance in the National Assembly. The French have elected an Assembly without a straight majority. They invite us to have new practices and an intensive dialogue to actively look for compromises, Borne said. Macrons camp suffered big losses in the parliamentary elections. His alliance, Together!, won the most seats in the Assembly but fell 44 seats short of a majority as voters opted for the leftist coalition or the far right. Having the largest group of lawmakers, Macrons government still has the ability to rule, but only by bargaining with opposition legislators. To prevent deadlock, Borne promised to negotiate on a case-by-case basis on future bills. She called on lawmakers and the government to build together, saying she is ready to hear proposals from opposition members and in some cases, accept their amendments a very unusual method in France. Disorder and instability are not options, she said. We may not agree on all the solutions, but we are all aware of the urgent need to act. A bill to be presented at a Cabinet meeting Thursday is to focus on helping struggling households amid rising energy and food prices. It is to include measures worth 25 billion euros ($25.5 billion), including increasing pensions and some welfare payments by 4%. Borne said gas and electricity prices will remained capped as they are now. She confirmed that civil servants will see their salaries increased by 3.5%. In addition, rent increases will be capped. Borne also addressed key economic changes promised by Macron as he successfully ran for reelection in April. Full employment is not an illusion, she said. It is within our reach. Frances unemployment rate recently decreased to 7,3%, from more than 10% when Macron came into power in 2017. Stressing that the French are retiring earlier that all our European neighbors, she vowed to implement pension changes meant to make the French gradually work longer, prompting boos both from the left and from the far-right. Macron promised to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 65 and bring the minimum pension to 1,100 euros ($1120). Borne also urged lawmakers to take action on climate-related issues and vowed to reach the goal set by France and the European Union to slash greenhouse gases by at least 55% in 2030 compared with 1990. We want to be, we will be, the first great nation to exit from fossil energies, she promised. Borne also had strong words to promote gender equality; she is the second woman ever named to the post of prime minister. The leftist coalition, known as Nupes, formally requested a no-confidence motion to symbolically mark its opposition to the government. The motion has very little chance of passing since it is highly unlikely to get approval from more than half of all lawmakers. The major opposition group, the far-right National Rally, as well as The Republicans, have already said their representatives would abstain. The no-confidence vote is to be organized within a week, but no earlier than Friday afternoon. On Monday, Macron reshuffled his Cabinet and called on his new government to stand strong amid Russias war in Ukraine and transform the heavily indebted French economy. Three out of Macrons 15 ministers failed to keep their seats in last month's elections and were replaced. In addition, Damien Abad, who was minister of policies for the disabled and is under investigation for alleged rape and sexual misconduct, was also replaced. Abad firmly denies the allegations. ___ Angela Charlton contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A group seeking a statewide vote on whether to fully legalize adult use of marijuana in Oklahoma submitted boxes of signatures on Tuesday with hopes of getting the question on the November ballot. Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws submitted more than 164,000 signatures to the Office of the Secretary of State, far more than the roughly 95,000 they need to qualify State Question 820 for the ballot. They also beat the Aug. 1 deadline they had by nearly a month. Campaign advisor Ryan Kiesel, an attorney and former Democratic state lawmaker, said the extra signatures and the additional time should ensure the question makes it on the November general election ballot. I think it's very unlikely that there's a credible challenge to our process that could delay this," Kiesel said. If approved by voters, the question would legalize the use of marijuana for any adult over the age of 21. Marijuana sales would be subjected to a 15% excise tax on top of the standard sales tax, and the revenue it generates would be used to help fund local municipalities, the court system, public schools, substance abuse treatment and the state's general revenue fund. The current 7% excise tax on medical marijuana sales generates about $5 million in state revenue each month, plus another roughly $6 million each month in state and local sales taxes, according to figures from the Oklahoma Tax Commission. The proposal also outlines a judicial process for people to seek expungement or dismissal of prior marijuana-related convictions. We create a very simple, efficient, low-cost way for Oklahomans to be able to get those charges and convictions off their record," Kiesel said. Oklahoma already has one of the most robust medical marijuana programs in the country, with roughly 10% of the state's residents having state-issued medical cards that allow them to purchase, grow and consume marijuana. Kiesel said full legalization would dovetail with the state's existing medical marijuana program, but allow adults without a license, including those who visit from out of state, to purchase marijuana. The Yes on 820 campaign raised about $70,000, all of it from two advocacy groups: New York-based Drug Policy Action, which advocates for sensible drug laws, and Washington, D.C.-based New Approach Advocacy Fund, which supports cannabis reform in states. It's also likely that a marijuana question on the ballot in November could increase voter turnout. About 892,000 voters cast ballots on the medical marijuana question in June 2018 midterm primary election. By comparison, only about 528,000 voters cast ballots in the governor's race in last week's midterm primary election. A separate proposal that would legalize marijuana in Oklahoma through a constitutional amendment is still in the signature gathering phase. ___ Follow Sean Murphy at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy LAC-MEGANTIC, QC, July 5, 2022 /CNW/ - There is no solution to climate change, biodiversity loss and a net-zero future that does not involve Canada's forests. Forests serve Canadians in innumerable ways: as stores of carbon, as habitat for wildlife, as necessary for human health and well-being, and as a source of employment and good jobs. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting innovation and transformative technology in Canada's forest sector to increase resiliency in the sector and to maximize what long-lived wood products can bring to a net-zero economy. That's why the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, is pleased to celebrate the inauguration of Tafisa Canada's new facility and its new lacquered panel line, called LUMMIA, in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. The new line project is benefiting from $4 million from the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program, which supports Canada's forest sector in becoming more economically competitive and environmentally sustainable through targeted investments in advanced technologies. This innovative project will reduce Tafisa's environmental footprint, including through the use of recycled wood, thereby saving millions of trees every year. It furthers competitiveness in a new market while strengthening local supply chains and diversifying Tafisa's product line. The project consists of the installation and commissioning of the new product line, as well as performance upgrades to one of Tafisa's Lac-Megantic facilities that supports hundreds of jobs. Tafisa's introduction of this lacquered panel line will not only add a new product line to their portfolio but also feature some of the most cutting-edge technology in North America for low-carbon building materials. Natural Resources Canada's IFIT program facilitates the adoption of transformative technologies and products by bridging the gap between development and commercialization. IFIT-funded projects help diversify the forest product market through high-value bioproducts such as bioenergy, biomaterials, biochemicals and next-generation building products. Quotes "The Government of Canada is pleased to be providing $4 million in investment for this innovative project in partnership with Tafisa. This funding represents an investment in jobs, clean growth and innovative forest technologies and products in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, and across Canada." The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Natural Resources "We are very proud of these innovative projects, which will allow Tafisa to continue to distinguish itself in the market, pursue its commitment to its North American customers and offer them innovative and quality products. A special thank-you to our partners and our team for their efforts and energy, without which these achievements would not have been possible." Louis Brassard Chief Executive Officer of Tafisa Associated Links Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan ( http://twitter.com/nrcan ) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada For further information: Contacts: Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected], Keean Nembhard, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 613-323-7892, [email protected] Last month, Nupur Sharma allegedly made remarks against the religion during a television news debate on the Gyanvapi issue. Rajasthan Police, late Tuesday night, arrested the Khadim of Ajmer Dargah, Salman Chishti, over provocative statements against suspended BJP Spokesperson, Nupur Sharma. In a video that was posted across several social media platforms, the cleric is seen calling for the beheading of Nupur Sharma. Chishti allegedly offered his house to anyone who brings him the now-suspended BJP spokespersons head for her remark on Prophet Mohammad. An FIR was registered Monday night after a complaint was filed over the video clip. In the video, Chishti can be heard saying, You wanted to send a message to all Muslim countries. I am saying this from Ajmer, Rajasthan and this message is from Huzur Khwaja Baba ka Darbar. Last month, Nupur Sharma allegedly made remarks against the religion during a television news debate on the Gyanvapi issue. In response to the IMD advisory, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) sent teams to a number of locations, including Mumbai, Nagpur, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, and Mahad, Raigad. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed its teams in a number of locations, including Mumbai, Nagpur, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, and Mahad, Raigad, in response to the National Disaster Response Force (IMD) issuing an orange alert for severe rainfall over the following five days. Eknath Shinde, the recently appointed chief minister of Maharashtra, gave the collectors of the Raigad and Ratnagiri districts instructions to take precautions in the aftermath of the alert. In a press release, the Chief Ministers Office stated that several rivers have reached the warning threshold. In the Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts, heavy to very heavy rains are expected from June 4 to June 8 in isolated locations, according to the orange advisory from the IMD. #WATCH | Mumbai: Waterlogging at Khandeshwar Railway Station amid heavy rains in Navi Mumbai as commuters wade through water pic.twitter.com/jwHQfy6iSU ANI (@ANI) July 4, 2022 For the Mumbai and Thane districts, a yellow signal has been issued, foreseeing isolated areas of heavy to very heavy rains. Additionally, the Palghar district has received a yellow alert for the following two days and an orange alert for the following three days. Massive floods struck the cities of Chiplun and Mahad last year, leading authorities to organise extensive rescue efforts. Landslide incidents were also reported. Meanwhile, Mumbai had heavy rains again on Monday after a brief pause. Civic officials report that the island city experienced 21mm of rain from 8am to 6pm, compared to 17mm and 25mm of rain in the eastern and western suburbs, respectively. The conference was attended by senior police authorities as well as Champat Rai, general secretary of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security plan for Ram Janmabhoomi was addressed in a high-level meeting in Ayodhya on Monday. The CISF had been tasked by the government to conduct a security audit of Ram Janmabhoomi. The conference covered a variety of topics, including the security of the entire site and the locker area where devotees will store their stuff, Rai told reporters following the meeting. We emphasised that worshippers should not be mistreated in the name of security, Rai added. Brij Bhushan, assistant director general of police, Lucknow zone, who was also present at the meeting, stated that the newest equipment and gadgets will be deployed to secure Ram Janmabhoomi. BK Singh, additional director general of police (security), indicated that state and central troops are working on a security plan for Ram Janmabhoomi. Singh noted that all security considerations of Ram Janmabhoomi were discussed while keeping the final structure of Ram Mandir in mind. The sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram Mandir will be open for devotees to worship Ram Lalla by the end of 2023, according to plans. Gasoline prices in Connecticut are continuing their steady descent after peaking in mid-June, according to officials with AAA Northeast The statewide average price for regular gas hit $4.77 a gallon on Tuesday, down 9 cents from a week ago and 21 cents from June 14 when the average price of gas in Connecticut was $4.98. Even with the modest price drop, the price of gasoline in the state is still $1.64 per gallon higher than it was at this time a year ago. Fran Mayko, AAA Northeast spokeswoman, cautioned Connecticut motorists not to count on sustained gas price decreases over the remainder of the summer. Were on the cusp of hurricane season and one good storm could wreak havoc in the Gulf, Mayko said. Federal offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico accounts for 15 percent of total U.S. crude oil production, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. And over 47 percent of total U.S. petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf coast, agency officials say. Mayko said another factor that may work against a sustained decline in gasoline prices in Connecticut is that July typically has been the month of greatest gas demand in this country. Officials at the Energy Information Administration and other entities that make fuel price projections say substantial relief at the pump is unlikely before the end of the year. In its most recent short-term forecast for energy prices, which was released last month, the EIA projected that gasoline prices will reach $4.27 per gallon over the next three months. Kiplinger, the Washington, D.C.-based publisher of economic forecasts, is less optimistic about the price of gas over the remainder of the summer. In a newsletter published last week, Kiplinger predicted the national average gas ptice to hover in the high-$4 range this summer. EIA officials are a bit more optimistic where gasoline prices will be next year with an expectation of the national average to fall to $3.66 per gallon. But for now, Connecticuts current average gasoline price is 3 cents per gallon less than the national average. The cheapest average gasoline price in Connecticut Tuesday was in Windham and Middlesex counties as well as in the Greater Hartford area, where the cost was $4.72 a gallon. For many years, Connecticut was one 10 most expensive states in which to buy gas. Now, the state is ranked 26th. Some of that is due to the fact that Connecticuts gas tax has been suspended since April 1 and is not scheduled to resume until the end of November. California has the most expensive gasoline in the United States with an average price of $6.24 per gallon. South Carolina has the countrys cheapest gas with an average of $4.29 per gallon. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com DEEP RIVER Civil rights activists on Wednesday said they had spoken with the states attorneys office to push for hate crimes charges against a local man caught on video knocking a Black child from his bicycle. Video taken by the friend of the 11-year-old boy shows 48-year-old Jameson Chapman cursing at the boy, and telling him to get the (expletive) out of my town. State police have charged Chapman with second-degree breach of peace, risk of injury to a child and third-degree assault in the June 27 incident. Yes the individual was arrested, but we feel as though this is more of a hate crime than it is a risk of injury to a young kid, said the Rev. Boise Kimber, pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven. He described Chapman as a violent person, who should be monitored by the police and judicial system. This is serious; this is nothing to play with, Kimber said during a press conference in Deep River Wednesday morning. Chapman was released from custody following his arrest, court records show. He was ordered to have no contact with the boy or his friend who shot the videos of the encounter. Asked whether it would be difficult for law enforcement to prove Chapman had committed a hate crime, Kimber said the boy had other white children with him. Why didnt he go push them over? Why did he have to single out this one biracial, Black individual, he said. The boys mother, who spoke at the press conference Wednesday, said the incident left him traumatized. Hes avoiding places and people, she said, saying he remains afraid to leave home. Kimber said he and the family welcomed a conversation with Deep Rivers first selectman, and the community at large. Its amazing, its a shame that we are standing in front of city hall talking about a baby being pushed over by a grown man -11-year-olds - come on, what year is that from? he said. He added that if the states attorney does not commit to a thorough investigation, we will be back, and when we come back we will bring more people with us. A state police report from the incident said the boys first encountered Chapman while riding their bikes to a restaurant on Main Street around 5:30 p.m. The report claims Chapman became angered when the boys bumped into him. He raised his voice, asking the boys whether they were from Connecticut. The boys then went to a convenience store where they encountered Chapman again, who began to yell and curse at them. They waited in the parking lot for him to leave, but encountered him a third time because they were headed in the same direction as he was, according to the report. At that point, Chapman cursed at the 11-year-old boy and pushed him off his bike, according to the video and the report. The boy sustained cuts and scrapes on his legs and arms after being pushed to the ground, the report says. China vessels' activities 'legitimate' near Diaoyu Islands: MFA (People's Daily App) 15:24, July 06, 2022 China on Tuesday said that its coastguard vessels' activities near the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea were "legitimate." Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks in response to a question about Japan's protest to China over the activities. Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands were part of China's territory, Zhao said at a regular press briefing in Beijing. "Recently right-wing Japanese fishing boats repeatedly made incursions into the adjacent waters of the Diaoyu Islands, seriously infringing on China's sovereignty," Zhao said. "Chinese coastguard vessels were enforcing law on site against a right-wing Japanese fishing boat in accordance with law, which was a legitimate move to safeguard China's sovereignty." (Subtitles by Li Peitian; With input from CGTN) (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) A young girl with her arm in a cast after being shot. document Nairobi Peace, Prosperity and Regional Integration - The 39th Heads of State and of State and Government Extraordinary Assembly of the IGAD Heads of State and Government was held on Tuesday, 5th of July 2022 in Nairobi, Republic of Kenya, chaired by H.E. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of the Sudan. The Assembly was attended by H.E. Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti; H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; H.E. Uhuru Muigai Kenya , President of the Republic of Kenya; H.E. Dr. James Wani Igga, Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan; H.E. Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia; and H.E. Vincent Bamulakangi Ssempijja, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Uganda. . Also in attendance were: H.E. Amb. Bankole Odeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security; representatives of the IGAD Council of Ministers and Committee of Ambassadors; H.E. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of !GAD; H.E. Hanna Tetteh, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for theHorn of Africa; H.E. Annette Weber, EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa; H.E. Amb. Ismail Wais, !GAD Special Envoy for South Sudan; H.E. Amb. Mohamed Ali Guyo, IGAD Special Envoy for the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Somalia; and H.E. Amb. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai, the Interim Chair of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission. Arising from deliberations that followed statements by H.E. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of the Sudan and Chairperson of the Assembly; Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and reports tabled by H.E. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of IGAD; The Assembly, H.E. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the summit host, H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta, for the instrumental role they played in bringing the region together at this very important time; Congratulated H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on his election as the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and lauded the people and Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia for the democratic and peaceful transfer of power; Peace and Security Situation Underscored the need to collaboratively address and diplomatically tackle national political and security related issues that bear greater ramifications on the IGAD region; Commended the ongoing all-inclusive Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led talks with a view to finding lasting solutions to the political situation in the country, and appreciated the positive steps taken by the Government of Sudan to this end; Further Welcomed the establishment of the Trilateral AU-IGAD-UN Mechanism to facilitate an inclusive Sudanese-owned and Sudanese led talks with a view to find lasting solutions to the political situation in the country; and further commended the Trilateral Mechanism for the work done thus far in facilitating dialogue between the differing parties; Appreciated the positive steps taken by the government of Ethiopia towards humanitarian access and the peaceful resolution of the conflict affecting the northern part of Ethiopia and the National All-Inclusive Dialogue; and inthis regard, IGAD expressed its readiness to support ongoing efforts; Commended the progress made so far in implementing key provisions of Chapter Two of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) regarding the unification of forces and further Observed that only eight 8) months remain to the end of the Transition Period in the South Sudan peace process while a number of critical tasks are still outstanding, called upon the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity and the Parties to draw up a roadmap with clear benchmarks and realistic timelines to complete the remaining tasks including the conduct of elections; Appealed to key partners of the South Sudan Peace Process particularly the United States of America to reconsider their decision to significantly scale down their support to the peace process in South Sudan that is crippling the work of critical agreement mechanisms such as the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) and the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) and agencies supporting the delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance; Drought and Natural Disaster Situation 9. Expressed Alarm regarding the serious drought situation in the region, predicted to be the worst in 40 years, and fully aware of the need to manage it early and effectively, resolved that Member States shall work more collaboratively and closely to.respond to the current situation and further continue to come up with permanent solutions to the chronic challenge of drought and food insecurity that continues to plague the region; 10. Noted with concern that the humanitarian and health situation in the IGAD region continues to deteriorate due to the widespread and prolonged drought further compounded by the shortage of food supplies caused by the conflict in Ukraine; the impact of COVID-19 on health systems and infrastructure; and heavy flooding in some parts of the region: a. Called on international partners and donors to urgently scale up humanitarian assistance and recommit resources particularly-to the health sector; b. Urged respective governments, humanitarian and development partners, and international donors to direct all efforts and commitments to prevent the further worsening of the humanitarian crisis in the region; c. Further urged for livelihood programs to be scaled-up to protect the lives and livelihoods of farmers, agro-pastoralists, and pastoralist communities; . 11. Recognized the impact of the ongoing humanltarian crises and conflicts on vulnerable, mobile and displaced populations, and Committed to sustain the momentum of the IGAD Support Platform in order to promote collective regi1onaJ res.ponses towards creating enabling conditions for durable solutions by addressing the protection, humanitarian, development and peace-related needs of communities affected by forced displacement; 12. Acknowledged the increasing impacts of climate variability and change in the IGAD region and its role as a threat-multiplier to the security, socio-economic wellbeing and development ambitions of the countries and communities in Greater Horn of Africa; and Called upon Member States to strengthen climate prediction, conflict and drought early warning systems by developing early warning protocols at regional and national levels; Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines East Africa Kenya Uganda By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. 13. Commended Kenya's commitment as a member of the UN Security Council in advancing the interest of the region in the area of peace and security; and urged to continue doing so in consultation with regional leaders; 14. Appreciated AU's continued complementary role and support to IGAD's efforts in the area of political transition and the fight against violent extremism and terrorism in the region, and called for better coordination and synchronization of efforts between the two organizations; 15. Welcomed and Recognized the initiative of the Government of the Republic of the Sudan to host the IGAD Centre of Health Emergency Preparedness and Response; 16. Welcomed the establishment of the IGAD Leadership Academy to be hosted in the Republic of Kenya under the patronage of H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta; 17. Appreciated and recognized the role H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya has played as an ardent advocate of the IGAD vision of a peaceful, prosperous and integrated region throughout his term of office. And; Decided to remain actively seized of these matters. Done on 5th of July 2022 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 5 of 5 NEW HAVEN Democratic state treasurer candidate Karen DuBois-Walton has qualified for state public financing for her August primary battle against Democratic State Central Committee-endorsed candidate and fellow New Havener Erick Russell, her campaign said. DuBois-Walton, president of Elm City Communities - The Housing Authority of New Haven, said in a release that her campaign qualified for a Connecticut Citizens Election Program grant by raising more than $99,000 from 752 individual donors. HARTFORD A New Haven man was sentenced to 61/2 years in prison Tuesday for assaulting a federal correctional officer and selling drugs while on supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorneys office. Shawn Hill, 38, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base, or crack, and heroin and assault of a correctional officer in September 2020, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said in a news release. Hill, also known as SB, assaulted the officer while serving a six-year sentence in a high-security prison in Waymart, Pa., for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Averys office said. In June 2017, a correctional officer found a 6-inch ice pick-style weapon in Hills left sock. About an hour later, as prison staff tried to restrain Hills hands and take him to the prisons Special Housing Unit, Hill slipped his arm out of the restraints. He then struck an officer in the head with a restraint that was still attached to one of his hands, injuring the correctional officer, according to Averys office. A grand jury in the Middle District of Pennsylvania indicted Hill on the assault charge, as well as possessing contraband in prison, in September 2017, Averys office said. Hill was later released on bond on April 4, 2019 after completing his six-year sentence. His charges from Pennsylvania were still pending, according to Averys office. A week later, investigators heard Hill on a court-authorized wiretap. The FBIs New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force and the New Haven Police Department were investigating drug trafficking and related acts of violence by members, former members and associates of the Island Brothers street gang in New Haven. During the investigation, law enforcement confirmed Hill was acquiring and distributing heroin and crack cocaine, Averys office said. In July 2019, a grand jury in New Haven returned a 15-count indictment charging 25 people with federal narcotics offenses related to their distribution of crack cocaine, cocaine and heroin. Hill and another individual were added in a superseding indictment on Nov. 25, 2019, according to Averys office. Hill was arrested on Nov. 26, 2019 and has been detained since. His case in Pennsylvania was later transferred to Connecticut. On Sept. 22, 2020, Hill pleaded guilty. He also admitted to violating the conditions of his supervised release, Averys office said. U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny in Hartford sentenced Hill to 78 months in prison 57 months for the narcotics and assault offenses, and 21 months for violating the conditions of his supervised release followed by three years of supervised release. After the sentence, Chatigny ordered for Hill to spend the first six months of his supervised release in a halfway house, and the next six months on curfew with electronic monitoring, according to Averys office. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday refused to rebut recently revealed remarks made by a charter school president who claimed that teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges during a reception the Republican attended. Instead, Lee praised Tennessee's educators and argued that the comments from Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn were criticizing activism from the left. Frankly, it really was a national conversation that wasnt about Tennessee teachers from Tennessee schools as much it was about activism, in education in this country," Lee told reporters. "And I agree that that is a concern. Lee has been on the defense after WTVF-TV published footage last week of Arnn and the governor at a private reception showing the Michigan-based conservative college president making disparaging remarks about public school teachers. Left-wing activism was not mentioned or discussed in the clips released by the news station. The teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country," Arnn said to the crowd, who laughed in response. Arnn also vowed to show that teachers "don't have to be an expert to educate a child because basically anybody can do it. Lee later sat down with Arnn for a Q&A but the governor did not push back on what was said about teachers, the news station reported. Education advocates, Democratic lawmakers and the state's top two highest Republican legislative leaders have blasted Arnn's characterizations of teachers and the education system. Larry Arnns comments are reprehensible and irresponsible. What was even more hurtful than Arnns comments is that Tennessee Governor Bill Lee sat there while educators, Colleges of Education, and public education were disparaged. Bill Lees silence spoke volumes," J.C. Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee tweeted. Senate Speaker Randy McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge, said Arnn's comments were ill-conceived, unfortunate and untrue, while House Speaker Cameron Sexton said he would never agree with or support Mr. Arnns comments. He has insulted generations of teachers who have made a difference for countless students. Both Republicans, however, stopped short of what many Democrats and education advocates have requested that Lee denounce Arnn's remarks. Lee has repeatedly touted his friendship with Arnn, even referencing Hillsdale College in this year's annual State of the State address by praising the school as being the standard bearer in quality curriculum and the responsibility of preserving American liberty." The name-drop came as Hillsdale announced plans to launch classical charter schools in Tennessee, with three applications already in the works across the state and a request from Lee to eventually open at least 100. Arnn has said he could open 50. Meanwhile, Arnn has spearheaded the release of Hillsdale's 1776 Curriculum instructional material that focuses attention on the country's founders while playing down America's role in slavery. The curriculum, which is licensed to charter schools for free, also condemns the rise of progressive politics and argues that the civil rights movement ran afoul of the lofty ideals espoused by the Founding Fathers. Connecticut officials this week confirmed the states first case of monkeypox. State Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said the patient, identified as a man in his 40s, was recovering at home and that the risk to Connecticut residents from this case is low. The United States is currently experiencing a monkeypox outbreak, and there will likely be additional cases in Connecticut in the weeks ahead, Juthani said. By July 1, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 400 confirmed cases of monkeypox were in 32 states. Here are six things to know about monkeypox. 1. Smallpox and monkeypox are related Smallpox and monkeypox are directly related, so the smallpox vaccine does work against monkeypox, according to University of Connecticut virologist Paulo Verardi. The important difference is that smallpox only affects humans. Smallpox had one benefit to it: It did not have an animal reservoir. Its one of those few diseases that is only a human disease, period, Verardi said. Its very, very unusual. Verardi said researchers have tried to infect monkeys with smallpox and basically failed: They are kind of a dead end for smallpox. That means there is no animal reservoir of the disease. No bats, no pangolins, no apes, no rodents, no ticks can be infected or infect humans. Smallpox is very specific to humans, he said. Once you get rid of it in humans you can declare it eradicated. Monkeypox is able to spread because smallpox has been eradicated. The two diseases are so alike that one vaccine will work, but because the smallpox vaccination is no more, the population is naive, Verardi said, and vulnerable to monkeypox. It occupies the niche that smallpox had, because once you stop vaccination, and once you no longer have natural infection, new people that are born are going to be completely naive, he said. Youre going to be susceptible again to monkeypox, or smallpox or whatever. 2. This is not the first outbreak In 2003, the disease spread through pet rodents, including prairie dogs and mice. It then moved to humans in a process called zoonotic transfer. The 2003 outbreak was contained after infecting 71 humans in the United States. The worry this time is the opposite. There is no animal reservoir of monkeypox on this continent but reverse zoonosis is a real concern. In Africa, they found a lot in squirrels. You know how many squirrels you have in the backyard, Verardi said. The concern is that it gets transmitted out back to the rodent population in any particular country, and therefore gets established there, and then we cant get rid of it. Then it becomes endemic, like it is in Africa. 3. The virus can be transmitted in several ways Juthani said,Monkeypox can spread through close prolonged contact with an infected person. This might include coming into contact with skin lesions, or body fluids, sharing clothes or other materials that have been used by an infected person, or inhaling respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact, she said. The primary course of transmission, Verardi said, is direct, skin-to-skin contact, particularly with the lesions caused by the disease. But indirect transmission is a concern. Indirect contact is when you touch an object or material or something, and then you get transmission that way. So, its not by directly contacting the person, Verardi said. Thats because the virus, this class of viruses, theyre very thermo-stable. They can stay in nature for a long period of time, and still be infectious. But Verardi said the likeliest source of transmission is skin-to-skin. I will probably put the respiratory second and then the indirect as a possibility as well, he said. 4. This outbreak has lower mortality rates Monkeypox has two different clades or strains. One, endemic in Africa, has a 17 percent mortality rate. The other strain, commonly found in west Africa, has a far lower mortality rate, as low as 1 percent. Luckily, this is the one that has mostly been getting transmitted out to the rest of us, Verardi said. Verardi believes that the current monkeypox outbreak may have lower mortality than that, for several reasons. The variants have evolved, he said. One thing that we know is that the virus originally was affecting mostly the lower respiratory tract. This virus seems to be replicating in the upper respiratory tract which Verardi believes has made it more tramssible but a little less severe, though there is nothing proven yet. Despite lower mortality, Verardi said the virus can cause other health issues, including blindness when a lesion comes in contact with the eye. If you touch on the lesions and then touch your eye, it gets transmitted to your eye, you can get an infection in your eye, and you may have ulceration of the cornea which may lead to blindness even after you get better and resolve the infection, he said. 5. Its not a sexually transmitted infection, but its behaving like one Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, but the variant is behaving in some ways like an STI. The current outbreak is primarily affecting men who have sex with men, according to the CDC. Its not clear how the people were exposed to monkeypox, but early data suggest that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up a high number of cases, the CDC said. That, Verardi said, is in part due to where the outbreak originated. They are disproportionately affected because it seems that the original, big super-spreading events, so to speak, were in the sauna, he said. So, because the outbreak began in a specific population, that is the population it is affecting. But Verardi said the virus has mutated. Whereas other variants of the virus produced lesions over the entire body of an infected patient, this variant is producing fewer lesions, and mostly on and around the genitals. There seems to be a disproportionate number of them in the genital area, in the anus, around the anus, he said. That could be another explanation of why it was easier for it to establish these initial clusters of transmission in men who have sex with men. 6. It could fizzle out, or it could spread Verardi said it is possible the outbreak will be self-limiting. It could be that it will burn itself out and well take care of it, he said. Which is very possible, even though the numbers are increasing. It is possible because were becoming more aware of it, were going to become very much better at contact tracing for monkeypox. If it does not burn itself out, Veradi said children are particularly at risk, as are the immunocompromised. If it continues expanding, I would expect that were going to be offering the vaccine also to people that are immunosuppressed, specific at-risk people, immunosuppressed, pregnant women and so on, he said. The vaccine, however, is only approved for patients over the age of 18. Children are one of the groups of people that are at higher risk, Verardi said. Clinical trials, I guess, will be considered now for children. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW HAVEN Karl Jacobson took the reigns as the Police Departments new chief Wednesday, vowing to citizens and police officers alike that as your chief you have my word that I will do all I can to support you. After being sworn in by Mayor Justin Elicker, who had nominated him, and having his badge pinned on him by his daughter, Kelly Jacobson, Jacobson also pledged that under his leadership, our level of success will not be measured in numbers of arrests but in our interaction with the community. Elicker said that today is a good day in New Haven today we are swearing-in Karl Jacobson as the next chief of police. Jacobson has served the city with distinction for 15 years and I am confident that he is the right person for the job, Elicker said. About 80 people many of them police officers attended the Wednesday morning ceremony at City Hall. Jacobson told them that as technology and society undergo changes, our fundamental responsibilities remain the same and as your chief, I believe in you. He told the officers present that among the things he expects to see from them is compassion ... I expect you to be leaders, he said. You are responsible for the morale and reputation of the Police Department as much as I am. I want all parts of the New Haven community to feel safe when the police arrive, Jacobson said. That is our goal. At the same time, what I expect in return from every neighborhood in New Haven is the understanding that public safety is not a spectator sport, he said, suggested that residents are part of the equation to ensure and preserve it. Elicker thanked city Chief Administrative Officer Regina Rush-Kittle, who had served as interim chief for the past several weeks, saying, The overall confirmation process has been challenging. Jacobson has shown that he is ready to connect with people and we share similar visions for public safety, Elicker said. We have a lot more work to do and I think the events of the last week-and-a-half have shown that, Elicker said, referring to the injury of Richard Randy Cox, who was seriously injured June 19 while in the custody of New Haven police after being arrested for possession of a firearm at a Fathers Day/Juneteenth celebration. Cox is paralyzed from the chest down after he was thrown while being transported for arrest, his family and city officials say. He allegedly was handcuffed but otherwise unrestrained in the back of a transport van when officer Oscar Diaz stopped abruptly, causing him to hit the front wall of the van. Five New Haven officers have been placed on paid administrative leave and state police are conducting an investigation. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said her office was closely monitoring the ongoing investigations, and that we will continue to coordinate with them and our other law enforcement partners at the state and federal levels. If federal action is warranted, the Justice Department will pursue every available avenue to the full extent of the law. Wednesdays ceremony followed Board of Alders approval of the Jacobson, with many of those present offering praise of Jacobson, echoing the sentiments of members of the public who addressed alders a week earlier. Im happy and I appreciate the Board of Alders putting their faith and hope in me, Jacobson said immediately after the 21-0 vote. I want to be that person to restore the faith and trust in the community. Jacobson, a 15-year veteran of the department, has served as an assistant chief in New Haven since October 2019. Jacobson said his first orders of business will be to appoint two assistant chiefs on July 15 and make sure things are fixed with the Police Departments prisoner transport vans. He said he was referring to department policies, not just seat belts in department transport vans. For the last fifteen years, Karl Jacobson has served the City of New Haven with distinction, and I am confident he is the right person to lead the New Haven Police Department at this critical time, Elicker said following alders approval Tuesday night. ... As we saw in the public testimony at last weeks committee hearing and in todays unanimous vote by the full Board of Alders, Karl Jacobson is deeply respected and supported by both the New Haven community and the New Haven Police Department, he said. Alders speaking in favor of Jacobson before Tuesdays vote included Honda Smith, D-30; Alex Guznay, D-1; Gerald Antunes, D-12; Frank Douglass Jr., D-2; Evelyn Rodriguez, D-4; Anna Festa, D-10; Devin Avshalom-Smith, D-20; Kampton Singh, D-5; Richard Furlow, D-27; and Ron Hurt, D-3. Mr. Jacobson is a man of integrity, said Smith, who represents the West Rock and West Hills neighborhoods. I believe by him becoming the new chief, he will bring the department into a new era. ... We need someone who is going to be able to listen to people in the community and Jacobson also will listen to his own people, she said. Antunes, a retired police captain, said he was impressed when Jacobson met with the alders last month that he had both long-term and short-term goals set. I think Chief Jacobson truly believes in this (community-based policing) concept. Douglass said Jacobson values accountability and is approachable. Rodriguez, who represents part of the Hill, also cited Jacobsons support for community-based policing, as well as his inclusivity. Avshalom-Smith said Jacobson has demonstrated that when he says something, hell do it. Jacobson came to New Haven after serving as a police officer in East Providence, R.I., from 1998 to 2007, according to the city. Over the years, he rose through the ranks, serving as assistant chief of the detective division, among other roles. He holds a Bachelor of Science in sociology and justice studies from Rhode Island College and a Master of Science in criminal justice from the University of New Haven, officials said. In a previous statement offered after he was nominated to become police chief, Jacobson expressed his fondness for the city and its residents, vowing to do what he can to keep them safe. I love the City of New Haven, I love our residents and I love our police officers, and I am committed to doing everything I can to keep our residents, officers, streets and community safe, said Jacobson. New Haven is a great place to live, work and raise a family, and working together we are going to keep it that way and build an even safer city, a stronger city and a city with deeper police-community bonds than ever before. Rush-Kittle had been working as acting police chief since the retirement of former interim chief Renee Dominguez. Rush-Kittle said after the alders meeting that she is looking forward to getting back to her responsibilities as chief administrative and I will start be part of the team, as one of her responsibilities is overseeing the Police Department. The Board of Alders rejected Elickers nomination of Dominguez for the full-time role in December 2021 through a voice vote that did not require them to go on record as either for or against the idea. Local clergy, including the Rev. Boise Kimber, had expressed doubts about her in the days prior, citing a perceived lack of connection with the community. Dominguez had served in the stead of former police chief Otoniel Reyes, who retired from the department last June. mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com; william.lambert@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW HAVEN Politicians, officials and medical professionals gathered at the Fair Haven Community Health Center on Grand Avenue to promote the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for children under five years old. But the real star of the event, as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra put it, was Dalia Weinreb, fresh off her first dose of the vaccine, cooing and burbling in her mothers arms. What she is saying is: I got vaccinated. I got vaccinated right after I turned six months, Becerra said, reacting to an exclamation from Dalia. And guess what? Im feeling good. In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children between six months and five years old receive COVID-19 vaccination, prompting the We Can Do This public education campaign, an ongoing effort by the federal government and partners around the country to spread awareness and reinforce trust in the nascent medication. Becerra, joined by former House colleague U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, Fair Haven Community Health Care CEO Suzanne Lagarde, National Diaper Bank Network CEO Joanne Goldblum and Jody Terranova, vice president and president-elect of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, spoke to the importance of the vaccine Wednesday, urging parents to consider vaccinating their children. The federal government has delivered more than 5 million doses for children under five so far, Becerra said, including about 55,000 for Connecticut. He suggested parents discuss the idea with someone they trust, such as a pediatrician. Its a very simple statement yes we can. Yes we can be safe; yes we can now vaccinate our children, our youngest children; yes, we can preserve life, said Becerra. Please, each and every one of you listen to that trusted voice. Lagarde noted the health centers roots in the community founded by the Alliance for Latin American Progress in 1971, it strives to deliver health care in a culturally-sensitive manner, treating more than 32,000 people, largely immigrants and people of color. During the pandemic, it has distributed more than 30,000 vaccine doses and performed nearly 100,000 tests, she noted. Trust is not easily, nor rapidly, acquired, said Lagarde. Its taken literally those decades, but one of the most important resources we have gained is the trust and belief patients place in us. Now it is our job ... to parlay that trust into effective public health measures, such as the vaccination of the youngest among us. Lagarde urged Becerra to a little of the the soul of the community back to Washington, and fight for access to the very basics for all Americans, including food, health care and safe housing. Terranova, also an assistant professor for pediatrics with the UConn School of Medicine, noted the commonality and efficacy of vaccination. As your childs pediatrician, were there from the day they were born to help raise them to be healthy and safe. Vaccines, for decades, have been a tool to allow us to help you as parents, do that, said Terranova. We have in our office now, the tools to keep our children healthy and safe and we must use it. David Weinreb and Marlene Edelstein, city residents and Dalias parents, said the decision was straightforward. They researched the matter, including speaking with their pediatrician; they were both vaccinated; the process was simple. Edelstein said they received an appointment within two days and said Dalia experienced no side effects. Now we know that being in day care, gathering with our immunocompromised cousins, gathering in community, even grocery shopping, is safer for our child and everyone around her. We chose to vaccinate Dalia because we know this is a safe and highly effective mRNA vaccine. We know its endured rigorous scientific review by the FDA and CDC. We trust our pediatricians recommendation. Were gaining peace of mind, and are grateful that our baby will emerge from this pandemic safeguarded from severe illness, said Edelstein. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Police in Richmond, Virginia, said Wednesday that they thwarted a planned July 4 mass shooting after receiving a tip that led to the arrest of two men and the seizure of multiple guns an announcement that came just two days after a deadly mass shooting on the holiday in a Chicago suburb. A hero citizen overheard a conversation indicating there was an attack being planned on an Independence Day celebration in the capital city and called police to report it, Police Chief Gerald Smith said at a news conference. The caller said the attack was planned for the Dogwood Dell Amphitheater, where an annual fireworks show is held, Smith said. One phone call saved numerous lives on the Fourth of July, Smith said. Police initiated an investigation along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, which led to the arrests of two men on charges of being non-U.S. citizens in possession of a firearm, Smith said. He said additional charges are possible. Julio Alvarado-Dubon, 52, was arrested on July 1, the same day police received the tip, Smith said. He said police put a second suspect, Rolman Alberto Balacarcel, 38, under surveillance beginning that day, but did not initially have probable cause to arrest him. He was arrested Tuesday in Albemarle County, near Charlottesville, and was being held in a local jail. Police spokesperson Tracy Walker said both men are from Guatemala. Initial documents filed in General District Court in Richmond say both Alvarado-Dubon and Balacarcel are not in the U.S. legally. The documents, which say Alvarado-Dubon has an expired visa, did not include any details about the alleged plot. Court documents note bond was set at $15,000 for Alvarado-Dubon on Wednesday, but it was unclear if he had been released. The documents say he has lived in the Richmond area for three years and works full time in the construction industry. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled in Richmond on Aug. 2. Alvarado-Dubons attorney, Jose Aponte, declined to comment Wednesday. It wasnt immediately clear if Balacarcel had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Smith said the two men lived together at a Richmond house, where officers seized two assault rifles, a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition that were in plain view. He said police have not determined a motive for the planned attack. l want to thank and applaud the hero in Virginia that stopped a potential massacre by alerting our brave Richmond Police Department Officers that work tirelessly every day to protect our communities, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a tweet. Its a great reminder that if you see something, say something to your local PD. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who joined the news conference along with members of the city council, decried what he called an epidemic of gun violence across the country. Whether youre at home in your cul-de-sac, or in your neighborhood, or in a park, or at a parade, out dining you have to keep your head on a swivel, Stoney said. And thats not the country that I know I desire to live in ... but those are the facts of the matter at this moment. Smith said the apparent plot was unconnected to another shooting that wounded six people in Richmond in the early morning hours of July 4. The same day, a gunman opened fire from a rooftop during a Fourth of July parade in the affluent Chicago suburb of Highland Park, killing seven people and injuring more than three dozen. Robert E. Crimo III was charged with seven counts of murder Tuesday. The shooting sent hundreds of people fleeing in fear and set off an hourslong manhunt. Authorities have not yet identified a motive in that shooting. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CAIRO (AP) Sudanese security forces descended on an anti-coup sit-in to try and disperse protesters in the capital of Khartoum, wounding at least 11 people, a medical group said Tuesday. The crackdown came shortly after Sudan's military ruler promised to step down once a civilian government is formed. Security forces used tear gas on the demonstrators in the citys neighborhoods of Burri and al-Jawda late Monday, according to the Sudans Doctors Committee, which tracks protest casualties. Some of those hurt were hit by tear gas canisters and other solid objects in the head and elsewhere, tweeted the group. Earlier in the day, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan said in a televised speech that the military will withdraw from negotiations meant to solve the ongoing political crisis, and promised to dissolve the military-led sovereign council after a new transitional government is formed. The council has governed the country since the military seized power in a coup last year. Burhan's statement was unclear and gave no timeframe on his own stepdown. It was also not immediately known what Burhan meant by saying the military would withdraw from the internationally mediated talks between the ruling generals and the country's pro-democracy movement, which has denounced the October coup and demanded an immediate transfer of power top a civilian government. On Tuesday, Sudan's leading pro-democracy group, the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, dismissed Burhan's promises as a clear maneuver and a tactical pullback that ostensibly accepts the idea of having the military return to the barracks but practically deprives it of all meanings. A resolution lies first in having the military relinquish power and letting revolutionary forces form a fully civilian transitional government, a statement released by the group said. Sudanese pro-democracy activists have been holding sit-ins in different parts of Khartoum demanding that the generals return to the barracks and hand over power. The sit-ins began a day after authorities carried out a brutal clampdown on anti-coup marches that killed nine people and wounded 629 on Thursday alone, according to the medical group. Sudanese military authorities have met the near-weekly street protests since the coup with a crackdown that has so far killed 113 people, including 18 children. Sudan has been plunged into turmoil since the Oct. 25 military takeover upended its short-lived transition to democracy after three decades of repressive rule by former strongman Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir and his Islamist-backed government were removed by the military in a popular uprising in April 2019. Since the coup, the U.N. political mission in Sudan, the African Union and the eight-nation east African regional Intergovernmental Authority in Development group have been trying to broker a way out of the political impasse. But talks have yielded no results so far. Pro-democracy groups have repeatedly said they will not negotiate with the military, and have called for them to immediately hand the reins to a civilian government. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Sudan's military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday to settle a border dispute that has led to violent clashes in recent weeks. "We both made a commitment for dialogue (and) peaceful resolution to outstanding issues," Abiy tweeted after the meeting on the sidelines of a summit for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-member regional bloc for the horn of Africa and neighboring states. Burhan, who took power after a military coup last year, said the IGAD meeting gave them an opportunity "to take stock of the response" to challenges in the region, but he did not elaborate. "We are happy to convene in a very short time to discuss matters of great importance," he said. Sudan's ruling sovereign council said only that there had been a "closed-door meeting" between Burhan and Abiy. Trading accusations The longtime dispute between the two countries over the fertile border region of al-Fashqa. The region, which lies close to Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray, has long been cultivated by Ethiopian farmers but is claimed by Sudan, fueling a surge in tensions that has sometimes turned violent. Most recently, Sudan said that seven of its soldiers and a civilian were killed on June 22 after Ethiopian forces took them captive on the Sudanese side of the border and then brought them back into Ethiopia. Ahmed's government has denied responsibilty, blaming the killings on a local militia. The two nations traded accusations again the next day, with an Ethiopian official saying Sudan's armed forces had fired heavy artillery in the disputed area. es/rt (AFP, Reuters) The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, has said that his visitation to Rivers State earlier last month was not for a... The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, has said that his visitation to Rivers State earlier last month was not for a gang-up. Following Governor Nyesom Wikes arrival from Abuja after he lost the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, ticket to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Obi was one of the prominent politicians that visited the Rivers State capital to meet the Governor behind closed doors. There were suggestions that the former Anambra Governor, who dumped the PDP prior to the main opposition partys presidential primaries, was in Port Harcourt to form an alliance with Wike or to convince him to join the Labour Party. But Obi, while featuring on Arise TVs Morning Show on Wednesday, said he met Wike to discuss issues concerning the Port Harcourt Port, pointing out that Wike is also his close friend. According to him, as a Minister of Education, Wike helped him with funds to resolve some financial issues in the educational sector when he(Obi) was the Anambra State Governor. I met Governor Wike because he is the Governor of a state that is creative enough to have a future, Obi said. The Port in Port Harcourt can help decongest the Port in Lagos and help to what I.want to do with the Port. We must generate the appropriate revenue that were doing today. I didnt go to see Wike to be another gang up or anything. Notwithstanding anything, I and Wike have been very close and very cordial. Everything I have invited him. Dont forget that earlier this year I went to commission things for him. Were friends. Hes one of all those who even supported me when I was Governor. He gave methe Ministry of Education, when he was there had issues with teachers and he came and supported me with the UBEC money and everything. So, Im going to visit every Governor to speak to them to understand that we should build a better Nigeria. Ansaru terrorists, a bandit group, which claimed responsibility for the abduction of Kaduna-Abuja train passengers early March, has again ... Ansaru terrorists, a bandit group, which claimed responsibility for the abduction of Kaduna-Abuja train passengers early March, has again threatened to slaughter the remaining 51 victims. Recall that a few days ago, Tukur Mamu, a negotiator between the bandits and the Federal Government raised an alarm over the health condition of the victims, as they are being bitten by snakes and reptiles. He later confirmed that one of the victims was shot, as a warning to hasten the response to the agreement between the Federal Government and the bandits. However, in an audio in circulation, which is believed to be a voice of one of the group members, they threatened to slaughter the victims because the government failed to seek for their release. A Kaduna based publisher, Tukur Mamu, a negotiator, confirmed on Wednesday, that the audio was real and that the group had fixed Wednesday (today) to carry out the threat. According to him, they became provoked on Monday after giving us another opportunity. I was crying and pleading with them that since there is a delay from the government, they should discuss with the family members directly to negotiate the victims release. Based on the plea, they agreed to negotiate directly with the victims families. But they said they are giving us till Wednesday, that if there was nothing concrete from those that are interested in the negotiation, they will start slaughtering some of the victims, he said. The Dutsinma Area Commander of the Nigeria Police in Katsina State, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Aminu Umar Dayi, has been killed by ... The Dutsinma Area Commander of the Nigeria Police in Katsina State, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Aminu Umar Dayi, has been killed by bandits. NE gathered that the late Assistant Commissioner of Police led an attack to one of the bandits hideout in Safana forest where he and one other officer paid the ultimate price after being overpowered by the hoodlums in a fierce gun duel on Tuesday. Confirming the report, spokesman of the Katsina Command, SP Gambo, said the late Aminu and his team were ambushed by over 300 bandits riding on motorcycles with AK-47 rifles and General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG) while on clearance operation of recalcitrant bandits/terrorists, in Zakka forest in Safana LGA of Katsina State and consequently, killed the Area Commander and one other gallant officer during a cross exchange of gun fire. The Commissioner of Police, CP Idrisu Dabban Dauda, has on behalf of the officers and men of the Command expressed his deep sympathy to the family of the deceased and pray to almighty Allah to repose their souls in Jannatul Firdausi, reaffirming the Nigeria Police Forces commitment in the ongoing onslaught against terrorism in the state until it is completely routed out. It was learnt that the late Aminu will be buried in his hometown, Dayi, Malumfashi, Katsina State on Wednesday, according to Islamic rights. The Presiding Bishop and General Superintendent of the Grace of God Mission International, Bishop Paul Nwachukwu has denied rumours of attac... The Presiding Bishop and General Superintendent of the Grace of God Mission International, Bishop Paul Nwachukwu has denied rumours of attacks on his church by terrorists. There had been rumours last Sunday that four men suspected to be Fulani terrorists had invaded a branch of the church in Onitsha, Anambra State with plans to attack worshippers when they were detected. One of the men was alleged to have been apprehended and burnt alive, while three had fled. But the state police command while reacting to the story said the men were not Fulani terrorists, but petty thieves who attacked a victim in the neighbourhood, but one was apprehended and burnt alive. The Presiding Bishop of the church in a press release he signed and made available to newsmen said rumours of the attack were untrue. The Bishop described the news as fake, false and malicious, insisting that at no time was his church invaded by any unknown persons last Sunday. Part of Nwachukwus press release read: Our attention has been drawn to a Facebook post by one Chinasa Nworu which alleged that four Fulani terrorists sneaked into one of the branches of the church at Awada in an attempt to blow up the church. According to the post, one of the terrorists was captured and set ablaze while the other three escaped. We wish to unequivocally state that our church in Awada was not attacked, and nobody or group of persons attempted to detonate a bomb in the church. The post is false misleading and mischievous. We urge the general public to disregard the news as it is a complete falsehood. The cleric enjoined members of the church to feel free to worship in any branch of the church, saying that the Almighty God whom they serve will not allow harm to come their way. President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday swore in seven new Ministers who have been screened and confirmed by the Senate. The swearin... President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday swore in seven new Ministers who have been screened and confirmed by the Senate. The swearing-in at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was done in two batches of four and three each. The first set was Henry Ikechukwu Ikoh Abia State, Umana Okon Umana Akwa Ibom State, Odum Odih Rivers State, and Ademola Adewole Adegoroye Ondo State. The second batch included Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub Kano State, Goodluck Nnana Opiah Imo State and Egwumakama Joseph Nkama Ebonyi State. Before the swearing-in, a minutes silence was observed in honour of Mohammed Barkindo, the 4th Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General, who died at the age of 63 on Tuesday. Last Tuesday, the Senate eventually received the list of seven nominees from Buhari for consideration and confirmation as Ministers. They will replace Ministers who resigned in May 2022 to pursue their political ambition. The new Ministers will now join the Buhari administration which has less than one year left in office. President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday visited the Kuje correctional facility where terrorists attacked on Tuesday. Recall that gunmen susp... President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday visited the Kuje correctional facility where terrorists attacked on Tuesday. Recall that gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram fighters stormed the facility on Tuesday night, blew up parts of the facility using dynamites and freed at least 600 inmates. However, the President on Wednesday visited the prison facility to assess the level of damage. He was surrounded by a host of security operatives, including the DSS, the Military and the Police during the brief tour. The President inspected vehicles that were destroyed and was escorted around the facility for an assessment of damaged infrastructure. Buhari was reportedly on his way out of the FCT to a conference in Senegal but detoured for an impromptu visit to the correctional centre. He has, however, not made any comments on the situation following his visit. A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted permission to former Imo State Governor, Anayo Rochas Okorocha to travel to the United ... A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted permission to former Imo State Governor, Anayo Rochas Okorocha to travel to the United Kingdom for medical attention. Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo, who granted the permission, ordered the Registrar of the court to release the traveling passport of the former governor to him to undertake the medical trip. The order of the judge followed an application argued by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Ola Olanipekun who notified the court that his client has been having health challenges in recent times. The senior lawyer argued that Okorocha, now a Senator representing Imo North in the Senate, will not abuse the order and will return to the country for his trial. Although, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, represented by Mr Chile Okoroma had sought to vehemently oppose the request, the Commission soft-pedalled when Justice Ekwo explained that the request would be granted with a caveat by the court. While granting the request, Justice Ekwo ordered Okorocha to return the passport to the court registrar not later than three days of his arrival in the country. The judge held that he would declare Okorocha wanted if he attempts to abuse the favour granted him. Justice Ekwo subsequently fixed November 7 for his trial in the money laundering criminal charges brought against him by the Federal Government. opinion The Hague, Netherlands On 1 July 2022, the International Criminal Court (ICC) turns 20. The entry into force on 1 July 2002 of the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, officially created the Court and marked the start of its work towards building a more just world. The Court was created with the "millions of children, women and men" in mind who "have been victims of unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity". 1 The ICC is the world's first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and the crime of aggression. https://www.icc-cpi.int/ Today, as we look to the future, one can ask: Can the Court fulfil the promises made in the Rome Statute? Promises of justice for the gravest crimes. Promises of fair proceedings. And promises of inclusion for the victims. With the support of 123 States Parties, from all continents, the ICC has established itself as a permanent, impartial and independent judicial institution. The Court has 17 ongoing investigations into some of the world's most violent conflicts such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Georgia, or Ukraine. During its first twenty years, the Court has tried and resolved cases of significance for international justice, shedding light on the crimes of using child soldiers, the destruction of cultural heritage, sexual violence or attacks of innocent civilians. 31 cases have been opened. Its judges have delivered 10 convictions and 4 acquittals. The Court has ensured trials respecting both the rights of the defence and those of the victims. More than 10,000 victims of atrocities have participated in ICC proceedings. The ICC Trust Fund for Victims is currently implementing the Court's first orders on reparations to victims of grave crimes. The Fund has also provided physical and psychological rehabilitation as well as socio-economic support to more than 450,000 victims through its assistance programs. The Court has faced incredible challenges, not only due to the nature of the crimes or working in conflict or post-conflict situations, but also due to the need for further support, for example, in making arrests. Despite the challenges, the Court has responded with resilience and flexibility. Even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it continued to deal with trials, arrests, investigations, reparations and other activities. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Even as the Court is making progress in carrying out its mission, serious violence is rapidly intensifying. The ICC can only deal with a small number of cases simultaneously and its resources remain limited. Unlike national tribunals, the Court does not have its own police. It depends on the cooperation of States to investigate cases and to implement its arrest warrants or summonses to appear. Nor does it have territory to relocate witnesses who are at risk due to their interaction with the Court. The ICC thus depends, to a great extent, on the support and cooperation of States. As we mark the 20th anniversary of the ICC, States around the world should renew their support for the Court in concrete ways. By providing political and financial support. By arresting suspects and freezing their assets. By adopting legislation implementing key Rome Statute provisions in national law. By signing voluntary cooperation agreements including agreements to relocate ICC witnesses. Only the joint commitment of the international community can help make the promises of the Rome Statute a tangible reality. 1 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Preamble. The writer has been the Registrar of the International Criminal Court since April 2018. Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau The Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere has reacted to the attack on President Muhammadu Buharis presidential advance team to ... The Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere has reacted to the attack on President Muhammadu Buharis presidential advance team to Daura, Katsina State and the explosive attack on Kuje Prison by gunmen. Afenifere said the attack on Buharis advance team was a signal to the government and security agencies. Jare Ajayi, the spokesman of Afenifere, said the enemies are informing Nigerians and security agencies that they are not afraid of anyone with the attack on Buharis convoy. Ajayi said the attacks are affirmations that the insecurity situation in Nigeria is getting out of hand at a rate faster than is acknowledged by the authorities who should deal with it. A terrorist group had on Tuesday, at Dutsinma, Katsina State, attacked the advance team of security guards, protocol and media officers ahead of Buharis trip to Daura for Sallah. The President is billed to be in Daura this week Friday for this years Ed-il-Kabir festival. Evening of same day, suspected Boko Haram members stormed Kuje Prison in the Federal Capital Territory with explosives. Reacting, Ajayi regretted that the two attacks were not isolated as reports of terrorism attacks occasioning loss of lives, kidnapping, raping, bodily harms etc occur on a daily basis. He stated that what set the ones of this week apart was its derring-do nature. Another indication that the country is under siege. A statement by Ajayi reads: The nature of these attacks should send serious signals to the governments, to the security agencies and indeed to all Nigerians. The one on the Presidential Team seems to be a coded language by enemies of the nation that they are not afraid of anyone notwithstanding the status of such a person. For, it goes without saying that a Presidential Team would normally be fortified. So, for a group to attack such a team must be out of sheer bravado which unfortunately further exposed how vulnerable our security situation is. Ajayi went further to state that the attack on Kuje Correctional Centre, like some other attacks that occurred in such areas, appears to be a statement by those enemies of Nigeria that they can strike anywhere and at any time. For, this Kuje attack, taken together with the fatal attack on a military team in Niger State last month, keeps reminding one of the build-up of the Afghanistan saga that led to the forceful take-over of government in that country last year. Everything needs to be done to ensure that such does not occur here. He added that were federal government to be sincere in the way it has been handling security breaches in the past, The situation would not have degenerated to this sorry pass. By this we are referring to the kid-glove manner by which the government and its security arms have been dealing with those caught in banditry and terrorism. Normally, anyone around the President or Governor ought to have a sense of safety just as the presence of government ought to be an assurance for the citizens regarding their security. The attacks on the Presidential Team and on Kuje Prison, like the ones that had taken place in different parts of the country before, make Nigerians to feel more and more insecure. On a number of times, armed bandits have attacked governors, particularly those of Borno and Benue. They have attacked transport centres like airport and rail lines as well as military and police formations. These are places one should have a sense of highest safety and security. Their attacks on religious places and on clerics too seem to have become a routine. In that kind of situation, peoples sense of helplessness became heightened. Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Okunola Kola Kamaldeen, in charge of zone six, Calabar, has disclosed that they can now monito... Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Okunola Kola Kamaldeen, in charge of zone six, Calabar, has disclosed that they can now monitor excesses on social media. This was made known Wednesday morning in a statement signed by the zonal PPRO, DSP Nelson Okpabi, where he commended the Globacom Nigeria Limited for donating the equipment to them. The AIG said the donation, which is part of their corporate social responsibility, will go a long way in fighting crimes emanating from the negative use of social media. He called on other public spirited entities and individuals to see crime fighting as everybodys business. The AIG said, The general public and other telecom network providers should embrace the Inspector General Polices citizendriven Community Policing approach by partnering with security agencies to rid the society of criminal elements. He commended the firm for identifying with the Police and demonstrating the security friendly status through the numerous outreach programmes. The regional manager, Mr. Simon Ithime, said the presentation was in response to the request by the Zone for a customized line and data for its social media handles and e-mail, with which the Zone can receive information and reach out to the public. Sydney and Kuala Lumpur Long seen as means to seek advantage on the pretext of providing mutual benefit, free trade agreements (FTAs) may increasingly be used as economic weapons in the emerging new Cold War. Pivot to Asia, containing China In November 2009, President Obama observed, "in an inter-connected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game... the United States does not seek to contain China". But Obama soon changed course with his 'pivot to Asia', first announced in November 2011. After his re-election in 2012, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) became the economic centrepiece of the new US strategy to check China's growth and technological progress. His US Trade Representative (USTR) claimed the TPP was based on principles the US champions, such as protecting intellectual property (IP) and human rights. While claiming all who accept its principles would be welcome to join, China was conspicuously not among countries negotiating the TPP. For Washington, this new rivalry with China involves strengthened US alliances with Japan, South Korea and Australia. In October 2011, the US Congress ratified the Korea-US (KORUS) FTA. With the military and economic containment of China central to US security strategy, the TPP was concluded in 2015. Obama emphasized, "TPP allows America - and not countries like China - to write the rules of the road in the 21st century." Creating an "anyone but China club" was the US motive for establishing the TPP. But with changed public sentiment since Trump's presidency, once Obama's loyal Vice-President, now President Biden did not attempt to revive the TPP during his presidential campaign, or since. Security alliances "American prosperity and security are challenged by an economic competition playing out in a broader strategic context... We must work with like-minded allies and partners to ensure our principles prevail and the rules are enforced so that our economies prosper", noted President Trump's national security strategy. Accordingly, the 'Quad' - Quadrilateral Security Dialogue group for maritime cooperation of the US, Australia, India and Japan, initiated after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami - has become a putative anti-China security arrangement. By 2020, leaders of all four countries were more aligned in their concerns about China's rise. In November 2020, navies of all four countries participated in their first joint military exercise in over a decade. Meanwhile, under Shinzo Abe, Japan radically transformed its security policy. Abe has greatly expanded the Japan Self-Defence Forces' role, mission and capabilities within and beyond the US-Japan alliance, especially in East Asia. 'Defence cooperation' has also been enhanced through country-to-country arrangements, such as the recent Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement as well as the earlier Japan-India Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement. The US security profile in the region has been boosted by the AUKUS (Australia-UK-USA) alliance. Its clear intention is to enhance the US and its allies military presence in the Indo-Pacific, with the greatest 'China focus' of all regional security arrangements. World hegemony The US is also linking trade to its national security strategy, especially to contain China, in Africa and Latin America. As the USTR notes, "The Biden Administration is conducting a comprehensive review of U.S. trade policy toward China as part of its development of its overall China strategy". Her office also emphasizes, "Addressing the China challenge will require a comprehensive strategy and more systematic approach than the piecemeal approach of the recent past." Reflecting his Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, Biden emphasizes, "The United States must renew its enduring advantages... ; modernize our military capabilities... ; and revitalize America's unmatched network of alliances and partnerships". He notes "growing rivalry with China, Russia... reshaping every aspect of our lives". Biden insists his administration "will make sure that the rules of the international economy are not tilted against the United States. We will enforce existing trade rules and create new ones... This agenda will strengthen our enduring advantages, and allow us to prevail in strategic competition with China or any other nation". His administration announced a review of all Trump-era trade negotiations. Due to expire in 2025, President Clinton's African Growth and Opportunity Act has offered enhanced US market access to qualifying African countries since 2000. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Trade Africa U.S., Canada and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In April 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed US-Kenya FTA talks would resume. Observers believe the US-Kenya FTA, initiated by Trump in 2020, would help expand US 'carrot and stick' trade and security policies on the continent to counter China. In the US 'Monroe doctrine backyard', six US FTAs already involve 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries. On 8 June, Biden announced a new regional economic partnership to counter China. His speech inaugurated a Summit of the Americas, criticized for omitting countries seen as friendly to China. But Biden's Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity is still seen as a work in progress. Not even offering FTAs' standard tariff relief, the US anticipates initially focusing on "like-minded partners". Although Biden hailed his "ground-breaking, integrated new approach", responses suggest "waning" US influence. Now, five years after Trump withdrew from the TPP, Biden has revived Obama's China strategy with his own Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Smug, he could not help but echo Obama's TPP brag, "We're writing the new rules". IPS UN Bureau Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau You read all about it in the newspaper last fall. Now you can lay eyes on the painting called Belizaire and the Frey Children in person, at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The painting is an antebellum enigma. It features portraits of the three White children of a wealthy New Orleanian named Frederick Frey. The kids Elizabeth, Leontine and Frederick Jr. are posed in a Louisiana landscape with an enslaved Black teen named Belizaire. The three White kids have the sort of pleased, mannerly expressions youd expect. But Belizaire is a scene stealer. The enslaved youth doesnt seem especially servile. In fact, based on his bearing and expression, Belizaire was quite self-assured. He has the terse, impatient expression of teenagers across the ages. The enslaved youths role in the painting and therefore in the Frey family seems quite important. Almost like hes just one of the kids. As Jeremy K. Simien, the owner of Belizaire and the Frey Children, put it in a previous interview, you cant help but ask What the hell is going on here? But the story gets richer. Sometime in the 185-year history of the painting, Belizaire was blotted out, blended into the background landscape like he was never there. Nobodys sure why. Its easy to imagine that the heirs of Frederick Frey Sr. didnt care to be reminded that their forebear was a slave holder. Or maybe the apparent intimacy of Belizaire and the White family had been an embarrassment in the segregated South. Or maybe theres a whole other explanation. After Belizaire and the Frey Children first appeared in the Times-Picayune on November 2021, one observer suggested that maybe the portrait of the enslaved teen had been painted first, then blotted out to make room for the triple portrait of the Frey children afterwards. Happily, sometime after the 1970s, somebody got curious about the ghostly outline of Belizaire that could vaguely be seen beneath the surface of the painting. An antique painting expert stripped off the paint that covered the terse teen and put him back in the picture. Of course, well probably never know much more about Belizaire and the Frey Children than we do right now. And thats OK, because the best art doesnt answer questions, it asks them. Belizaire and the Frey Children is a sparkplug for conversation about the historic complexity of New Orleans culture and the legacy of slavery. It may have been painted in 1837, but as a work of art, its very 2022. Belizaire remains on view through Oct. 2 at the Ogden, 925 Camp St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 daily. Adult admission is $13.50. For more details, visit the museum website. +3 Famous portrait of someone who is not Marie Laveau sells for almost $1 million If you close your eyes and try to visualize Marie Laveau, theres a pretty good chance youll summon up frontier artist George Catlins 1837 p +3 Race, paternity, identity and $704,000 the story of Louisianas most intriguing painting The trouble with this story is you cant really be sure of anything. A famous 19th-century artist was long thought to be a free Black man, con +16 Slave Trails high-tech art display marks where some slaves were sold in French Quarter Artist Marcus Browns Slavery Trails sculptures dont exist in the real world. But if you stand beneath the oaks on Esplanade Avenue on the opinion Brussels The writer is executive director of HealthforAnimals, the global animal health association World Zoonoses Day, which will be commemorated on July 6, celebrates the success of the first vaccine which was created against the zoonotic disease 'rabies'. It was developed by Louis Pasteur, a French biologist on 6 July, 1985. The ongoing discussions at the World Health Organization (WHO) around a new, landmark 'pandemic prevention treaty' shows that the world is starting to act on the lessons it learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, countries have already taken the first steps towards amending the International Health Regulations that govern the reporting and national responses to emerging pandemics, which were subsequently found to fall short during the initial outbreak of COVID-19. Yet, with countries set to discuss a working draft of the pandemic prevention treaty in August, time is increasingly of the essence to fully codify these learnings if we are to prevent future zoonotic disease outbreaks. The recent monkeypox outbreak shows that the world can ill afford to stall when building its defences to emerging diseases. And at the same time, new vector-borne health threats - whether they originate in humans or animals - are emerging across the world, particularly as climate change creates new opportunities for disruptive outbreaks in previously less impacted regions of the world. Preventing the next pandemic is clearly no straight-forward task. This is why a 'One Health' approach, one which recognizes the interconnectivity of environmental, human, and animal health, offers us the greatest chance of shoring up global defences against emerging diseases, of which an estimated 70 per cent originate from wild animals. Clearly, a 'One Health' approach should be the foundation of global efforts to prevent the next pandemic. To begin with, countries should focus their efforts to create a new One Health Preparedness Unit, which will bolster and unify international preparations against emerging disease outbreaks. Presently, government disease detection and surveillance programs are too often overstretched and under-resourced, leaving countries - and by extension, the global community - unprepared for new threats. In this context, a new international One Health Preparedness Unit could bring together existing resources, such as the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS), USAID's PREDICT project for boosting pandemic preparedness, or the environmental health monitoring undertaken by non-profits like the EcoHealth Alliance, in the most effective and efficient way, while also having a greater capability to undertake wargame-style planning. In doing so, the international community could better map out potential disease threats and reach collective decisions on how best to respond when they emerge. Secondly, countries could also prioritize new rules and protocols to help products get to market faster to address acute and ongoing crises as part of any draft agreement. The COVID-19 pandemic showed that fast-tracking critical health tools, like vaccines, can save lives and help respond more rapidly to emerging pandemics. Streamlining regulatory approval could dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes for vaccines to make their way into the hands of veterinarians, which, in turn, will build the resistance of pets and livestock to disease outbreaks. As it stands, any tweaks to the existing stock of animal vaccines requires new safety assessments, which means it may take months or years to respond to an emerging disease variant. Allowing previous safety assessments to be used to support vaccines for new strains would streamline this process, lowering the barriers to vaccinating animals and reducing the public health risk in the case of zoonotic disease. Finally, governments should also agree to fund and adopt new policies that expand global access to preventative animal health tools as part of any future pandemic prevention treaty. Prevention of diseases is always better than cure, yet the defences required to prevent the spill-over of zoonotic diseases from animals is uneven around the world. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Health Wildlife By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. More investment in preventative measures, particularly biosecurity on farms but also diagnostic technologies which can detect changes in health before serious, observable symptoms emerge, can not only reduce the frequency, but also the severity, of disease outbreaks, as it already has in many developed countries. Europe, for instance, has not seen the emergence of a major zoonotic disease since Q Fever more than a decade ago, while the UK reduced salmonella outbreaks by 87 per cent from their 1992 peak - thanks to poultry vaccination. The lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic are clear: the world can no longer afford to treat the threats facing the health of humans and animals, as well as the environment at large, as distinct. To ensure the world is fully prepared to face the next pandemic, the interconnected principles of a 'One Health' approach should be at the core of any future pandemic prevention treaty. IPS UN Bureau Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau opinion If we're serious about achieving these goals, we must pay more attention to companies from emerging and developing economies as their impact is ever growing. When we talk about sustainability and business, we usually talk about well-known brands. From big tech companies such as Apple and Amazon to food companies like Cargill or Unilever, social and environmental scrutiny is growing. Given that these companies are typically headquartered in Western, 'developed' markets - are we overlooking the ones with the potential for the biggest impact? We know that the private sector has a crucial role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, most high-profile initiatives and reports tend to focus on how listed, multinational companies from the global north can capitalise on and contribute to achieving the SDGs. If we're serious about achieving these goals, we must pay more attention to companies from emerging and developing economies as their impact is ever growing. Some serve huge domestic and regional markets. Chinese state-owned electric utility company State Grid, for example, covers almost 90% of Chinese national territory and supplies power to more than one billion people. MTN, a South African telecommunications operator, serves 280 million people across sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Companies from these markets often have strong knowledge of the local context, structures and institutions. They offer products and services that are usually more tailored to local and often lower-income customers. By doing so they have revolutionised entire markets - take for example mobile operators from Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and electric vehicles in China. They also tend to invest in neighbouring countries with similar or lower levels of development than the country that they're headquartered in. Ultimately, they often make important contributions to the development of their home markets and are well positioned to address the SDGs that are most critical to their country and region. Since the 2008 financial crisis, large companies from emerging and developing markets have become increasingly global, often with support of their home country governments. A significant share of these companies is state-owned. Their size and the fact that they are often active in high-impact sectors such as commodities, banking, utilities and transportation makes them particularly important for the SDGs. Large family businesses also play an impactful role as they're often dominant market players in emerging and developing economies. When it comes to having Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies, companies headquartered in Europe are ahead of the curve as they experience pressure from investors, customers and regulators to consider and report on ESG risks. Whilst companies from emerging and developing economies are beginning to adopt such policies and targets and become increasingly transparent due to increasing interest by middle-class consumers, there are still big data gaps which makes it difficult to understand their impact on people and planet. Such companies are underrepresented in sustainability ratings, rankings and indices. They tend to perform lower on social and environmental expectations compared to their developed market competitors, for example. While such companies do lead in areas such as digital inclusion, our data - although a small sample size - suggests that companies from developing and emerging markets are less involved in sustainability initiatives working to shape the private sector's contribution to achieving the SDGs. If we want the private sector to play its part in putting the planet on a fairer and more sustainable path, now is the time to pay more attention to companies from emerging and developing markets. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Sustainable Development Business Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. From working conditions to environmental pollution, demographics and economics show that this importance is only growing. If we really want to "leave no one behind" - the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - we must ensure that we leave no company behind - whether they are private or public, state or family-owned, or from a so-called developed or developing economy. We must actively involve and hold the companies poised to have the greatest social and environmental impact accountable - not just the well-known brands with the biggest market cap. Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation. Lisanne Urlings is lead research at the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA); Samantha Ndiwalana and Jennifer van Beek are research analysts at WBA. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, speaks to the press following the plenary meeting of the third African Union-United Nations annual conference in 2019. analysis Will decisions on addressing terrorism and coups taken at the AU extraordinary summit bear fruit or fall on fallow ground? The African Union's (AU) 16th extraordinary summit on 28 May sought solutions to the threats of terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government (UCGs) in Africa. These were 'hindering Africa from achieving its goals of becoming a peaceful and prosperous continent,' said AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. The summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, which came at a time of increasing terrorist attacks and UCGs in Africa, resulted in a draft declaration and draft decision. African heads of state endorsed previous recommendations by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) and other organs that could enhance AU responses to these threats. The outcomes are a continental commitment to addressing these problems, without signalling a significant policy shift in AU responses to them. Whether and how these decisions are implemented remains to be seen. Especially considering the significant financial and human resource restrictions the AU faces, particularly the AU Commission, which is expected to be central to implementing these decisions. The summit declaration adopted the theme 'robust response, deepening democracy and collective security.' It's mostly a political statement that reiterates AU member states' commitment to previous AU decisions, frameworks and mechanisms on terrorism and UCGs. The summit's success can be measured only to the extent that decisions are implemented It acknowledges how severely the two issues threaten African peace and security, and calls on member states to ratify and implement AU decisions and instruments on both. It also reaffirms AU decisions, including establishing a counter-terrorism unit under the African Standby Force (ASF) and implementing a fund to fight terrorism and violent extremism. The declaration endorses the AU Specialised Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security's May 2022 recommendation for an AU and regional economic communities (RECs) agreement on the ASF. It further recommends establishing a counter-terrorism coordination task force at ministerial level to enhance synergy and harmonise counter-terrorism responses at different levels. The more succinct draft decision includes seven major action-oriented resolutions that provide more guidance on AU responses to UCGs beyond the declaration. The draft decision seeks immediate reactivation of the sanctions sub-committee and establishment of a PSC sub-committee on UCGs to monitor other potential UCGs, including national constitution amendments. The AU Commission has been tasked with developing guidelines for such amendments by the February 2023 summit. The draft calls for prompt activation of the PSC sub-committee on counter-terrorism established in 2010, which has never been functional. It also tasks the AU Commission with consolidating a comprehensive continental strategic plan of action for countering terrorism and violent extremism. This should synthesise the AU's policy frameworks on countering terrorism, mercenarism, small arms and light weapons, transnational organised crime and criminalisation of ransom payments. Implementing the summit's decisions will have serious cost implications At their July executive council meeting, foreign ministers are expected to determine how much funding to allocate to the AU's rapid response capability for emerging conflicts, including terrorism. The funds will come from the Peace Fund's Crisis Reserve Facility. The other two decisions focus on implementing the African Governance Architecture and the African Peace and Security Architecture, and for the next African Peer Review Mechanism governance report to focus on UCGs. Establishing a sub-committee on UCGs, independent of the sanctions sub-committee, and renewed commitment to developing guidelines for national constitution amendments, signal AU readiness to go beyond sanctions to manage UCGs. The sub-committee would focus increasingly on preventing and responding early to UCGs, including monitoring incumbents' attempts to amend constitutions to expand their powers or extend terms. This is a move in the right direction. Contestations over constitutional amendments have contributed to political instability and triggered public protests leading to military interventions in some African countries. Consolidating a continental strategic action plan to counter terrorism and violent extremism also shows the realisation that a more holistic and coordinated response is needed. However while the summit's outcomes widened the AU's response to UCGs and terrorism, governance deficits that drive both were again off the table. Addressing governance continentally is challenging due to the sovereignty issue. The AU can only encourage states to make changes. But it can ensure continental policy frameworks provide a holistic response to the threats. The sub-committees on counter-terrorism and sanctions have never operated The summit outcomes also seem to have overlooked complementarity between new provisions and previous summit decisions. For example, the February 2022 summit stipulated that a high-level hybrid committee of sitting and former heads of state and government would be established. It would engage incumbents who try to amend national constitutions 'without national consensus.' The last summit had also decided that a monitoring and oversight committee be established including the AU Commission, RECs, the APRM and member states. It's unclear whether the sub-committee on UCGs will now take over its responsibilities or if they'll work together in a structure yet to be established. Implementing the summit decisions will have serious cost implications. The declaration promises a budget for national and regional response to terrorism and violent extremism. However, given the AU's track record of allocating funding to initiatives, member states will have difficulty deciding on a budget and meeting their commitments. It's also unclear whether this finance will come from the AU's regular budget, the Peace Fund Crisis Reserve Facility or the newly established special counter-terrorism fund. While establishing the counter-terror unit under the ASF was endorsed by the summit, its realisation will face similar financial challenges. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The decision to develop guidelines for the amendment of national constitutions is also not new. Since 2010, member states have asked the AU Commission to develop such a guideline that will be universally applicable to its members. The Commission, however, can't do with its constrained human and financial resources. The sub-committees on counter-terrorism and sanctions have never operated due to inadequate human resources in delegations of member states and the AU Commission. The AU lacks the human resources and financial capacity to monitor and enforce sanction regimes. Moreover, while various AU agencies working on terrorism and violent extremism might actively support that sub-committee, there are no active units focusing on governance issues to support the UCGs sub-committee. The AGA is a coordination platform rather than a governance advisory body, while the APRM operates by the invitation of member states. The PSC is the only member of the AGA platform with a mandate to scrutinise the governance performance of member states. However it has always shied away from this responsibility. While the summit may have made significant strides in responding to terrorism and UCGs, its success can be measured only to the extent that these decisions are implemented. Shewit Woldemichael, Researcher, Africa Peace and Security Governance, ISS This article was first published by the ISS' PSC Report. Xiaomi has only just unveiled the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, as well as the Xiaomi 12S and Xiaomi 12S Pro. While Xiaomi has since confirmed that the Xiaomi 12S series will not be available outside mainland China, third-party retailers are offering the likes of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, if you are happy importing a smartphone from China. Somehow, WekiHome has obtained a Xiaomi 12S Ultra and has already disassembled it, highlighting the smartphone's elaborate design. President Joe Bidens administration on July 5 sued Arizona over a law that requires voters to prove theyre U.S. citizens. The law, House Bill 2492, violates two federal statutes, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a 17-page complaint filed in federal court in Phoenix. One of those statutes requires states to accept a federal form to register voters, and the form does not require voters to prove their citizenship, the complaint says. As long as an individual completes the Federal Form and meets all its requirements, and is otherwise eligible to vote, states must register that individual to vote in all federal elections in the state, including presidential elections, it says. The Law The Arizona law (pdf) requires applicants to provide satisfactory evidence of citizenship. Examples of such evidence include a copy of a birth certificate, a copy of a passport, and a copy of naturalization documents. County recorders, under the law, are ordered to reject applicants who do not satisfy the requirement. State lawmakers passed the law in March, and Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, signed the bill into law that month. Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote, Ducey said in a letter outlining why he supported the bill. State Rep. Jake Hoffman, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said the signing was a giant step toward ensuring elections are easy, convenient, and secure in our state. Opposition Portions of the law violate the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act, DOJ lawyers allege. The former bars state officials from requiring citizenship proof beyond a voters attestation, under penalty of perjury, on the form used to register applicants to vote in federal elections, the new suit states. The act specifically precludes any state requirement that an applicant seeking to register to vote using a Federal Form also submit [proof of citizenship], the lawyers wrote. The law also violates the part of the Civil Rights Act that bars officials from rejecting voter applicants because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election, the suit asserts. Relief should be entered in declarations that parts of the Arizona law violate federal law, the lawyers told the court. Additionally, Arizona officials should be blocked from enforcing the sections requiring proof of citizenship. Brnovich Knew Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, said Friday that the DOJ planned to file the suit, and that he would fight the legal action. Brnovich said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke wrote to him recently, alerting him to the suit. Please be assured that I will defend this law to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary, he wrote, before questioning why the administration would use its resources to challenge a common sense law in Arizona designed to guard against non-citizen voting, while the Biden Administration is simultaneously opening our borders to encourage a flood of illegal immigration. Under Biden, the United States has recorded record levels of apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the U.S.Mexico border, with no signs of the crisis abating. Is the federal government attempting to undermine our sovereignty and destabilize our election infrastructure? Brnovich asked Clarke. I hope that is not your intention. I strongly urge you to reconsider your pursuit of this misguided suit and to instead recognize Arizonas constitutional authority to conduct lawful and secure elections. After the suit was filed, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said it was frivolous. Arizona law requires one to be a citizen to vote. As does federal law, he wrote on Twitter. Just like showing ID to buy alcohol or rent a hotel room, none of which are discriminatory showing your ID to vote is easy, common and necessary. But Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) was among other lawmakers speaking out in support of the DOJs filing. Its wrong to force Arizonans to jump through hoops to vote, and AZ Republicans are betting on the radical right-wing Supreme Court to uphold these new laws, he said on social media. Glad to see @TheJusticeDept file suit to protect the rights of Arizona voters. From The Epoch Times Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Moscow has no problem if Finland and Sweden join NATO, but he warned that the Kremlin would respond in kind if troops and infrastructure would be deployed in the two Nordic countries. In regard to Finland and Sweden, we dont have problems with Finland and Sweden that, unfortunately, we have with Ukraine, Putin said during a news conference on June 29 in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat after completing talks with regional leaders in the central Asian ex-Soviet state. Please go ahead, the Russian president said in reference to the two countries seeking to become NATO members, adding that Moscow doesnt have territorial differences. However, Putin noted that Helsinki and Stockholm should clearly understand that they didnt face any threats prior to joining the military alliance. He warned last week that Moscow will respond to any kind of action that makes Russia feels threatened. If NATO troops and infrastructure are deployed, we will be compelled to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created, the Russian president said. Everything was going fine between us, but now there will be tensions, there certainly will, he added. This is obvious and inevitable, I repeat, if there is a threat to us. Putin made his comment a day after NATO member Turkey lifted its veto over the bid by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after the three nations agreed to protect each others security. The move means Helsinki and Stockholm can proceed with their application to join NATO, marking the biggest shift in European security in decades. On July 5, NATO ambassadors signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden that will allow them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once parliaments ratify the decision, its most significant expansion since the 1990s. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it was a historic day for Finland, for Sweden, for NATO, and for Euro-Atlantic security. Finland and Sweden will make strong and important contributions to our alliance, Stoltenberg said after Tuesdays ceremony. I commend all allies for moving so quickly in accepting Finland and Swedens applications for membership, and I want to thank Turkey, Finland and Sweden for their constructive approach. The protocol means Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence but will not be protected by the NATO defense clausethat an attack on one ally is an attack against alluntil ratification. That is likely to take up to a year. The move for Helsinki and Stockholm to become members of the alliance was accelerated following Russias attack on Ukraine, prompting Russian neighbors to appeal for NATOs additional security guarantees. Finland, which has a population of 5.5 million, shares the EUs longest border with Russia, an 833-mile frontier. The two Nordic countries were traditionally military nonaligned, but the ongoing war in Ukraine has triggered a surge in support for joining NATO. Russia, for its part, has previously warned the countries against joining NATO, with Kremlin officials saying it wouldnt contribute to stability in Europe. Moscow said in the past it would respond to such a move with retaliatory measures that would cause military and political consequences for Helsinki and Stockholm. Reuters contributed to this report. A 2-year-old boy was left orphaned after both of his parents were killed in Highland Park, Illinois, in a mass shooting that killed seven people in total and injured more than 30 others. Kevin McCarthy, 37, and his wife Irina McCarthy, 35, died at the scene of a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb when a gunman on a rooftop opened fire on the crowd. The couples child, Aiden McCarthy, was found under his father, according to Lauren Silva, who was at the scene, reported The Daily Beast. My boyfriend handed me this little boy and said he was underneath this father who was shot in the leg, Silva told the outlet. She said her boyfriend later told her that the father had passed. Silva later told The New York Times that first responders informed her they were unable to stop the fathers bleeding and had covered him with a blanket. A GoFundMe account has been created to raise funds for the toddlers future care. Irina Colon, the organizer of the page, said it was created on behalf of Aidens family and with their permission. In the aftermath of the Highland Park, IL shootings on July 4, the North Shore community rallied to help a boy who we knew nothing about. We took him to safety under tragic circumstances, came together to locate his grandparents, and prayed for the safety of his family, she wrote on the page. At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents. Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows. The fundraiser has collected $1,121,020 as of 8:00 p.m. in Illinois on July 5. From The Epoch Times Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, commonly known as Hushpuppi is a Nigerian Instagram celebrity who is facing criminal charges in the United States of conspiracy to launder money obtained from business email compromise frauds and other scams. The sentencing of Hushpuppi was initially moved from February 14 to July 11, and has now been moved to September at the counsel's request. The U. S. Central District Court in California has again postponed the sentencing of a Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abass, popularly known as Hushpuppi, for the multi-million-dollar fraud charges he has pleaded guilty to. Arrested in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) in June 2020, and subsequently flown to the U.S., Hushpuppi pleaded guilty to the charges in July 2021 and was ordered to remain in custody pending sentencing. Judge Otis Wright has fixed September 21 as the new sentencing date. "At the request of counsel, the Sentencing is CONTINUED to 9/21/2022 at 1:30 PM before Judge Otis D. Wright II, as to Defendant Ramon Olorunwa Abbas," the court's announcement made June 24 read. PREMIUM TIMES just became aware of the announcement. The sentence hearing was initially moved by Judge Wright from February 14 to July 11 and has now been moved to September 21 at the counsel's request. Mr Abass, in July 2021 agreed to plead guilty to the multi-million-dollar fraud charges filed against him by the United States government. He has been in custody since his arrest in Dubai and rendition to the U. S. in June 2020. After initially maintaining his innocence, Mr Abass made a volte-face, entering into a plea bargain agreement with the U.S. government in July 2021, in the hope of getting a lighter punishment.He pleaded guilty to Count Two which is "Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering," an offence that attracts a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment among other punishments including full restitution, his plea agreement with the U.S. government states in part. Despite pleading guilty, Mr Abass will not be exempted from paying restitution. "Defendant understands that the defendant will be required to pay full restitution to the victim(s) of the offence to which the defendant is pleading guilty. "Defendant agrees that, in return for the USAO's compliance with its obligations under this agreement, the court may order restitution to persons other than the victim(s) of the offenses to which defendant is pleading guilty and in amounts greater than those alleged in the count to which defendant is pleading guilty," the plea agreement seen by PREMIUM TIMES in July 2021 read. The exact sentence to be imposed on Mr Abass remains unknown. However, provided Mr Abass "demonstrates an acceptance of responsibility for the offence up to and including the time of sentencing," the prosecution said it recommends "a two-level reduction in the applicable Sentencing Guidelines offence level". "If necessary," the prosecution adds, it may "move for an additional one-level reduction if available under that section." Not being an American citizen, he will be deported after completing his jail term and paying up the amount to be restituted. The maximum penalty for the offence which Mr Abass hopes will be reduced at his sentencing include: "20 years' imprisonment; a 3-year period of supervised release; a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest; and a mandatory special assessment of $100." Earlier in June 2020, the 38-year-old known for flaunting his opulent lifestyle on social media was arrested in Dubai by special agents including the Emerati police officers and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operatives. The FBI stated in an affidavit obtained by PREMIUM TIMES that its investigations revealed that Mr Abbas financed this extravagant lifestyle with proceeds of crime. Details of offence The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California states in the agreement that beginning no later than on or about January 18, 2019, through on or about June 9, 2020, Hushpuppi "knowingly combined, agreed, and conspired with multiple other persons ("co-conspirators") to conduct financial transactions into, within, and outside the United States involving property that represented the proceeds of wire fraud." The co-conspirators, according to USAO, targeted multiple victims and laundered and/or attempted to launder funds fraudulently obtained, and attempted to be fraudulently obtained, through bank cyber-heists, business email compromise (BEC) frauds, and other fraud schemes. The intended victims of the conspiracy were said to include a foreign financial institution (which was a bank in Malta), the victim's law firm (located in New York State), and two companies located in the United Kingdom.Mr Abass was said to have known that "these fraudulent schemes included bank cyber-heists, BEC schemes, and other fraud schemes." A top Nigerian police officer, Abba Kyari, was later indicted over his roles in facilitating the crime. He is awaiting court's rulingon the request for his extradition to face charges in the U. S. The foreign financial institution (a bank in Malta) was an intended victim of a cyber-heist, while the other victims identified above were victims of BEC schemes. In some BEC schemes involving victim companies in the United Kingdom, Mr Abass was said to have with one co-conspirator on May 12, 2019, how they anticipated fraudulent payments of approximately 6 million per week. "Once a victim deposited funds into a bank account, the defendant would coordinate with other co-conspirators to obtain or move the funds, and then to further launder the funds," the U.S. government said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs Entertainment By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In addition to admitting defendant's involvement in the schemes intending to defraud the victims listed above, Mr Abass was also said to have admitted involvement in a scheme to defraud a victim company in Qatar that was building an international school (the Qatari Victim Company) and the owner of that company. He was also said to have in December 2019, begun conspiring with a co-conspirator to defraud the owner of the Qatari company "who was seeking a lender to invest $15,000,000 in a project to build an international school". Mr Abass' alleged co-conspirator was said to have already defrauded the victim of funds at the time that the defendant joined the scheme. "Beginning on or around December 11, 2019, the defendant began to communicate with the Victim Businessperson, fraudulently using the name Malik," it was stated. As Malik, the prosecution said further, Huspuppi falsely told the victim that he would open a bank account in the United States where the $15,000,000 loan could initially be deposited. "In truth, defendant and Coconspirator A did not intend to assist the Victim Businessperson in securing a loan; they were defrauding the Victim Businessperson," the prosecution alleged. Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. The Economic Development Corporation Michigan City plans to honor businesses throughout the community at its 25th Silver Anniversary Gala. The economic development agency will confer its Business Investment Awards and celebrate its 25th anniversary at the gala at 5:30 p.m. July 21 in the Stardust Event Center at the Blue Chip Hotel & Casino at 777 Blue Chip Drive. Ric Federighi of WIMS Radio will emcee the event. The Michigan City Chamber Music Festival will perform. EDCMC Executive Director Clarence Hulse said awards will spotlight companies who have invested in the city and helped build on its economic development momentum. We are planning an epic event as we have not had our awards in years due to the concerns of the ongoing pandemic, Hulse said. So, we are recognizing accomplishments from 2018 through 2021 that spotlight how our city has remained vital and strong in the wake of the challenges of the last few years. The EDMC will give out Projects of the Year awards from 2018 through 2021, Phoenix Awards to companies that have reinvented existing buildings and Milestone Awards that highlight businesses that have been around for 10 to 100 years. These Real Estate Reuse awards showcase a sort of rising-from-the-ashes as these areas were in need of a burst of new life. We are recognizing three projects that have resulted in new investment in their businesses, new jobs and enhanced offerings, Hulse said. About eight community and business leaders will be surprised with awards like the Leadership Award for Economic Development and Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Economic Development. Each and every one of these individuals has made a lasting imprint on our communities through their roles and we look forward to celebrating their accomplishments, he said. Tickets are $75. For more information or to register, visit www.edcmc.com/edcmc-silver-anniversary-gala-investment-awards/. The United States imported 2.736 million tons of steel in May, up 0.2% versus April. That included 2.334 million tons of finished steel that would not need to be further processed by American workers, such as those at steel companies at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor. Finished steel imports were up 3.1% from April, according to preliminary U.S. Census Bureau data. So far this year, total steel imports are up 47.5% as compared to the same period in 2021. Finished steel imports are up 55% through the end of May as compared to the first five months of last year, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Finished steel imports grabbed 25% of the market share in May and 24% so far this year. In May, imports of key steel products rose by 120%, standard pipe by 46%, mechanical tubing by 23%, hot rolled bars by 20% and hot rolled sheets by 11%, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. So far in 2022, imports of oil country goods grew by 135%, wire rods by 120%, cold rolled sheets by 79%, plates in coils by 74% and hot rolled sheets by 68%. Last month, the largest suppliers of foreign-made steel were Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil. Imports rose by 3% from Canada, 23% from Mexico, and 70% from Turkey and fell by 7% from South Korea and 47% from Brazil. Over the last 12 months, imports are up 19% to 6.98 million tons from Canada, up 63% to 5.51 million tons from Mexico, down 6% to 3.48 million tons from Brazil, up 35% to 2.782 million tons from South Korea and up 149% to 1.429 million tons from Russia. SCHERERVILLE Just a little more than a year after its dedication, the Safe Haven Baby Box at the Schererville Fire Station No. 2 was put to good use. "A newborn infant girl was safely surrendered Tuesday morning July 5th," the department announced. "The newborn was checked out by our Paramedics and taken to an local hospital for precautionary evaluation." When the baby box in question at 280 Plum Creek Drive was unveiled in May 2021, the creator of the program, Monica Kelsey, said, "This baby box is now available. No shame, no name, no blame." According to the Safe Haven Baby Box website, a baby box is a safety device provided for under the state's Safe Haven Law and legally permits a mother in crisis to safely, securely, and anonymously surrender her newborn if she is unable to care for the child. A Baby Box is installed in an exterior wall of a designated fire station or hospital, the site says. It has an exterior door that automatically locks upon placement of a newborn inside the Baby Box, and an interior door which allows a medical staff member to secure the surrendered newborn from inside the designated building. "We want the mother involved to know that this infant will be taken care of, will be loved, and will have a great life," firefighters said. The cost for the $15,000 baby box was raised by the Tri Kappa Associate Chapter of Dyer, Schererville and St. John. "The baby box will be a beacon of hope for a young mom or dad," Colleen DeVries, a charter member of Tri Kappa, said during last year's dedication ceremony. The Safe Haven Baby Boxes National 24-hour hotline (1-866-99BABY1) offers counseling services to a parent who is unable or unwilling to care for their newborn. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24, led to the disruption of lives and activities in Ukraine including education. The Federal Government of Nigeria on Monday announced a platform to facilitate the placement of Nigerian students evacuated from Ukraine into Nigerian tertiary institutions. This is despite the over four months' strike by university lecturers in Nigeria. The spokesperson of the ministry of foreign affairs, Francisca Omayuli, said this was to enable them to continue their studies. "In this connection, Interested students should visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs websiteand complete the online Nigerian Student in Ukraine (NSU) registration form with the required information on or before 15th July, 2022," it said. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24, led to the disruption of lives and activities in Ukraine including education. Millions of people have been displaced in Ukraine with different governments including Nigeria's evacuating their citizens from the war-torn country. Nigeria received over 1,000 evacuees from Ukraine in March; most of them being students. Many of the students have been undergoing online classes in their Ukrainian universities while others have had their education stalled until this announcement. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council (MDCN) recently announcedthat it will not accept Ukrainian certificates issued during the war because it does not recognise online studies for medical students. The MDCN advised the affected medical students to continue their education in Nigerian universities. Nigerian lawmakers last week opposedthe stance of the MDCN and asked the council to allow students in the 5th year of their medical programmes in Ukraine to be absorbed into medical schools in Nigerian universities to complete their 6th year. It asked the federal government to, through relevant MDAs, discuss with Ukrainian authorities for universities to release the transcripts of years completed from year 1 to year 6 (as applicable) for Nigerian students willing to transfer to medical schools in Nigeria or other nations. PREMIUM TIMES reportedhow the Nigerian students stuck in Ukraine cried out for help when the war started. Over 300 of the students were trappedin Sumy, a Ukrainian city that shares borders with Russia. Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. HAMMOND Hammond firefighters were racing from blaze to blaze through Fourth of July weekend as houses, garages and cars went up in flames. Preliminary investigations have revealed many of them were due to improper use and disposal of fireworks, officials said. Hammond Fire Department Chief Fire Inspector Dan Misiak called the last three days "chaotic" as crews rushed from scene to scene. Between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Sunday, several structures caught fire in Hammond, Misiak said. First, a fire spread through garages in the 1600 block of Roberts Street. Two garages were destroyed and another was partially damaged. The heat from the fire also melted the siding of a nearby house. Shortly after, a fire erupted in the 6700 block of Alexander Avenue. A house, a car port and two vehicles were destroyed, as well as a neighbor's truck. On Monday night, fireworks were found at the base of a garage fire in the 1400 block of Roberts Street, Misiak said. Luckily a Whiting officer quickly extinguished the flames before it could spread. During the span of the holiday weekend, crews were called to eight garbage can fires, two dumpster fires and two brush fires. Neither civilians or first responders were injured in any of the instances, Misiak said. He said that while investigations continue, in most of the instances fireworks were found to be the likely cause. "Everything has been so dry, and it's been so hot," Misiak said. "If people are throwing away fireworks without dowsing them in water and have them piled up in a garbage can or in the streets, if the conditions are right, it can ignite very fast." Misiak said residents should soak fireworks in a bucket of water before disposing of them. He also said aerial bombs being lit near garage roofs can cause major fires. "The guys would unpack the hose, hook it up to the hydrant and then hurry to the next fire," Misiak said. "It was go, go, go. Our crews did great in the last three days. That house fire could have burned down the entire neighborhood if it wasn't stopped. The crews also put out a lot of garbage can fires before they could spread and cause more damage." GARY A cousin of Gary Mayor Jerome Prince was among three people gunned down early Tuesday during what appears to have been an Independence Day block party in the city. "Our family is heartbroken and outraged at this loss," Prince said of the death of cousin Marquise Hall, 26, of Lafayette. "Obviously, this hits close to home." "However, we're also angry and frustrated at the fact we continue to lose Gary residents to needless violence, including young people gunned down before they even reach adulthood," the mayor said. "I never stop thinking about the victims and their families and the incredible losses these senseless deaths leave." Hall, as well as Laurence Mangum, 25, of Merrillville, and Ashanti Brown, 20, of Olympia Fields, Illinois, were killed, and seven others were sent to the hospital following a shooting reported shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday in the 1900 block of Missouri Street. Merrillville resident Andre P. Cobb said that when he got word his "baby cousin," Mangum, was among those killed, he raced to the site. "When I got to the scene, I was hoping it was false," Cobb said. Unfortunately for him, the reports were true and Cobb said late Wednesday morning he was still struggling to accept that fact. "I just want to know why," he said. The Lake County/Gary Metro Homicide Unit, which is investigating the shooting, had no updates as of early Wednesday afternoon, according to a spokesperson. "Public safety remains my top priority," Prince said. "We are committed to doing everything in our power to prevent and reduce gun violence, including investing in anti-violence initiatives that focus on violence intervention and violence prevention for our younger residents." "These types of investments are critical," he said. "We must continue to act with urgency to find solutions to prevent violence before it happens and to support victims and their families when it does happen. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to reduce violence in our City." It was Cobb's understanding that his cousin was hanging out that night with childhood friends and that he had not been involved in any gang activity. Mangum's passion was drumming, and he played regularly at several area churches, including Fresh Oil Ministries in East Chicago, according to Pastor Staci Bennett. "He was very well known in the church community," she said. Bennett said she had just seen Mangum at church a couple days before the shooting and was devastated upon hearing he had been killed. "He was very loyal," she said. Bennett said Mangum had been part of the church's music ministry for the past three to four years and was an extremely talented drummer. The death is the first of its type for the church, and Bennett said she faces the challenge of helping shepherd members through their shared grief. Cobb said his cousin's death is sadly part of a growing dysfunction in this country that transcends demographics such as race, as seen in Monday's mass shooting that left at least seven dead and dozens more injured during an Independence Day celebration in the affluent community of Highland Park, Illinois. "I think psychologically we are messed up as a nation," he said. Cobb said the violent death of his cousin has had a tremendous impact on his family. "You never expect for this to happen in your circle," Cobb said. Anyone with information about the Gary shooting is urged to contact the Lake County/Gary Metro Homicide Unit at 219-755-3855 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-CRIME-GP. CROWN POINT An East Chicago man posted bond Wednesday on charges he attempted to murder his estranged wife's relative after the man slashed a tire on the defendant's vehicle. Andres Perez, 43, is accused of shooting the man in the arm about 11 p.m. Sunday during a confrontation in the 3500 block of Hemlock Street. A Lake Criminal Court magistrate entered not guilty pleas on Perez's behalf to felony counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery, battery by means of a deadly weapon and battery resulting in serious bodily injury and a misdemeanor count of resisting law enforcement. The magistrate set Perez's bail at $100,000 surety or $10,000 cash. Perez posted bond later that day, records show. East Chicago police were dispatched to the area of East 140th Street and Euclid Avenue, where they found the man seated in a vehicle and applied a tourniquet to his arm, Lake Criminal Court records state. The man told police Perez shot him at the location on Hemlock before he was taken by ambulance to St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, according to court documents. The man later was transferred to an Illinois hospital for surgery. Police went to the location on Hemlock and spoke with Perez, who alleged the man slashed a tire on his GMC Yukon. He told police, "I have a right to defend my property," records state. When police told Perez he was under arrest, he became irate and began to pull away from them, according to documents. Police wrestled him to the ground and recovered a white and brass folding knife from his pants pocket, records state. Perez's relatives allowed police access to a Ring doorbell video, which showed Perez run up to the man as the man got into a vehicle and fire six shots, according to court documents. The video also showed Perez picked up spent shell casings from the street. After Perez's arrest, his family gave police his .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, records state. At the hospital, the man admitted he went to the location on Hemlock to slash Perez's tires. He told police his relative and Perez were going through a divorce, and he was upset about allegations that Perez had been "beating up" on the woman and mistreating her children, records state. He told police he got back into his vehicle after popping Perez's tire and suddenly saw Perez next to his truck. Perez fired several shots at point-blank range through his driver's side window, records state. Porter Superior Court records show Perez was charged in March with three felony counts of domestic battery, including two involving a person younger than 14. That domestic battery case and a misdemeanor invasion of privacy case stemming from an incident June 30 in Porter County remain pending against Perez. MERRILLVILLE Theres lots of help wanted in Merrillville. The town has several open positions, many of which are in the Public Works Department. Steve King, Merrillvilles engineering administrator/public works director, said two people are being interviewed for the available Labor Class One positions, and the department is looking for another four or five people to serve in that role. These are full-time positions and decent pay, Town Council President Rick Bella, D-5th said. The starting pay is $21.64 an hour, King said. Town Councilman Richard Hardaway, D-2nd, said public works employees typically work 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday except for the winter and special events. King said the employees receive full benefits and a paid lunch hour. King said Merrillville has lost public works employees to the private sector. Although Merrillville offers competitive wages, outside companies are providing signing bonuses and other incentives to lure workers. Hardaway said the Merrillville Police Department is accepting applications, and the town also has an open code enforcement officer position. Were looking to fill that as quick as we possibly can, he said. The hourly rate is about $15.50 an hour for the code enforcement position, Hardaway said. And basically thats Monday through Friday, he said. Every once in a while, we ask code enforcement to work some Saturdays. Hardaway said Merrillville also is hiring an administrative assistant in the Planning and Building Department, and that job has an annual salary of $43,000. Town Manager Pat Reardon said Merrillville also has started interviewing individuals for the towns IT position after Merrillvilles former IT employee resigned. Its possible Merrillville could outsource the IT position, officials said. We hope to have information back to the council soon, given the importance of the position, Reardon said. Hardaway said Merrillville also is searching for a part-time site supervisor and a part-time front desk employee to work at the Dean and Barbara White Community Center. Those interested in available positions in Merrillville can contact the Town Managers office at 219-769-5711 for information. The alleged shooter who attacked an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois and came to Madison "seriously contemplated" using a gun and 60 rounds in his car to attack a celebration in Madison on the same day, police said. Robert Crimo III, who police say killed seven people and injured more than 30 in the Illinois shooting, had come to Madison shortly after the shooting before driving back to Illinois, where police apprehended him, said Christopher Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriffs Office, at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. At a Wednesday press conference, Covelli said that Crimo did not drive to Wisconsin intending to attack, but considered the option. He decided against it because he "didn't put enough thought and research into it," Covelli said. Police did not specify which celebration Crimo considered attacking. Crimo later left his phone behind in Middleton, which police have now recovered, Covelli said. The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee asked the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to investigate whether TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app, had misled the public about whether Beijing could have access to American user data. In a letter to Lina Khan, the chair of the F.T.C., Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat who heads the Intelligence Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, the panels top Republican, said they were concerned about recent reports that TikToks user data was accessible to employees of its parent company, ByteDance, in China. They also said they were worried that ByteDance was more involved in TikToks decision making than the app had claimed in the past. In light of repeated misrepresentations by TikTok concerning its data security, data processing and corporate governance practices, we urge you to act promptly on this matter, the lawmakers said. Before I hop into the questions, a special thanks to my colleague Becky Hughes for filling in last week. I feel well rested and energized to answer another round of reader questions. Today we have a newbie looking to try different cuisines, a visitor seeking great Cantonese and a diner who wants to eat in a beautiful space. As always, if you have your own recommendations or questions, shoot me an email at wheretoeat@nytimes.com. For the last 20 years, the plan to dig new train tunnels under the Hudson River among the most ambitious and important transportation projects in the country has been repeatedly tripped up by political wrangling. So when the governors of New York and New Jersey agreed on Tuesday to split evenly their share of the $14 billion first phase of the project known as Gateway the announcement struck a familiar note. After all, two different governors had reached a similar agreement in 2015, when Chris Christie was New Jerseys chief executive and Andrew M. Cuomo was still in charge in Albany. To say that progress on the tunnels has been slow since then would be an understatement. The operator of a Colorado funeral home who was accused of stealing body parts and selling them to medical and scientific buyers, making hundreds of thousands of dollars in what the authorities called an illegal body part scheme, pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Tuesday, the Justice Department said. The woman, Megan Hess, 45, the principal figure in the scheme, was assisted by her mother, Shirley Koch, who is in her late 60s, prosecutors said. As part of a plea agreement, eight other criminal charges against Ms. Hess were dropped. She could face up to 20 years in prison. I exceeded the scope of the consent and Im trying to make an effort to make it right, Ms. Hess said in United States District Court in Grand Junction, Colo., on Tuesday, according to The Daily Sentinel. Im taking responsibility. ... Also named Best Corporate Governance Bank at World Finance 2022 Awards Zenith Bank Plc has emerged as the Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Banking Awards 2022, retaining the award for a second consecutive year. The bank was also named as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022. The awards, which were presented to the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Ebenener Onyeagwu at the London Stock Exchange yesterday, were in recognition of the bank's ability to embrace digital transformation and best-in-class sustainability and corporate governance practices, leading to a stellar business performance in a difficult economic climate. Commenting on the double recognition, Onyeagwu said that: "These awards reflect our strong business fundamentals, resilience and ability to adapt to the ever-changing dynamics of the market through our innovative solutions, as well as our commitment to global best practices. As a member and signatory to various domestic and international sustainability frameworks including the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles, we continue to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by creating value for our shareholders, customers, clients, investors, communities and the environment through our practices, operations and investments." He dedicated the awards to the Founder and Group Chairman, Jim Ovia, CON, for his pioneering role in building the structures and laying the foundation for an enduring and very successful institution; the Board for the outstanding leadership they provide; the staff for their commitment and dedication; and the bank's customers for making Zenith Bank their preferred financial Institution. World Finance is a leading international magazine providing comprehensive coverage and analysis of the financial industry, international business and the global economy. The editorial combines award-winning reportage, covering a broad range of topics from banking and insurance to wealth management and infrastructure investment, with contributions from some of the world's most well-respected economists and theorists as well as consultants in government think tanks and the World Economic Forum. Zenith Bank's track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, with these latest accolades coming on the heels of several recognitions including being voted as Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World's Best Banks Awards; Best in Corporate Governance 'Financial Services' Africa, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, by the Ethical Boardroom; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation In Retail Banking, Nigeria in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards; and Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker's Bank of the Year Awards 2020. Also, the Bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021, Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the "2021 Top 1000 World Banks" Ranking by The Banker Magazine and the Retail Bank of the year at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards 2020 and 2021. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Banking By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Similarly, Zenith Bank was honoured as Bank of the Decade (People's Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020 and emerged winner in four categories at the Sustainability, Enterprise, and Responsibility (SERAS) Awards 2021, carting home the awards for "Best Company in Reporting and Transparency", "Best Company in Infrastructure Development", "Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment", and the coveted "Most Responsible Organisation in Africa. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. The man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens of others in a shooting that terrorized a Fourth of July parade had been investigated by the local police before. Officers had responded in 2019 after someone reported that he had tried to kill himself. And they came to his home a few months later seizing a knife collection after a family member reported that he had pledged to kill everyone. Still, in the years since, the man, Robert E. Crimo III, 21, was able to legally buy several guns in Illinois, including a high-powered rifle that officials said was used in the attack on Monday in Highland Park, a lakefront suburb north of Chicago. On Tuesday, Mr. Crimo was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. The details of those prior police visits raised questions about whether the Illinois authorities missed opportunities to use their relatively strict firearm laws to block Mr. Crimos gun purchases, and about whether a newly signed federal gun law might have made a difference had it been in force earlier. In a statement, the Illinois State Police defended its decision to grant Mr. Crimo a permit to own a gun, which he applied for in December 2019, three months after the police took the knives from his home. Even before the Republican-controlled Legislature passed the measure, existing state law required all voters to provide proof of citizenship to vote in state elections. Federal voting registration forms still required voters to attest that they were citizens, but not to provide documentary proof. In 2013, the Supreme Court upheld that law but added that Arizona must accept the federal voter registration form for federal elections. That essentially created a bifurcated system in Arizona that would require documented proof of citizenship to vote in state elections but allow those simply registering with the federal voter registration form the ability to vote in federal elections. The new law could threaten the registrations of those voters, preventing tens of thousands of them from casting a ballot in presidential elections, voting rights groups contend. Theres certainly going to be some people in Arizona that are not going to be able to vote under the proof-of-citizenship requirement, said Jon Greenbaum, the chief counsel for the nonpartisan Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and a former Justice Department lawyer. While the new law would have sprawling consequences for many groups, local election officials have noted that delivering documentary proof of citizenship can be especially hard among Native American populations, which were key to helping flip Arizona to Mr. Biden in 2020. You may have folks who were born on reservations who may not have birth certificates, and therefore may find it very difficult to prove citizenship on paper somehow, said Adrian Fontes, the former election administrator for Maricopa County and a current Democratic candidate for secretary of state. Things of this nature have always been of great concern for election administrators in Arizona. Update: This article has been updated with the revised time for the July 12 hearing. WASHINGTON The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans to hold a hearing Tuesday to reveal its findings about the connections between former President Donald J. Trumps effort to overturn the 2020 election and the domestic violent extremist groups that helped to organize the siege on Congress. The panel announced that the session would take place at 1 p.m. It is expected to be led by Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, and Representative Stephanie Murphy, Democrat of Florida, who plan to chart the rise of the right-wing domestic violent extremist groups that attacked the Capitol and how Mr. Trump amassed and inspired the mob. The panel also plans to detail known links and conversations between political actors close to Mr. Trump and extremists. The hearing will be the first since the explosive, surprise testimony last week by Cassidy Hutchinson, a junior-level aide in Mr. Trumps White House who came forward to provide a damning account of the presidents actions on Jan. 6, 2021. She recounted how Mr. Trump, knowing his supporters were armed and threatening violence, wanted to relax security measures to allow them to move around Washington freely, urging them to march to the Capitol and seeking to join them there. When asked to share their candid thoughts about the Democrats chances of hanging onto their House majority in the coming election, party strategists often use words that cannot be printed in a family newsletter. But a brighter picture is coming together for Democrats on the Senate side. There, Republicans are assembling what one top strategist laughingly described as an island of misfit toys a motley collection of candidates the Democratic Party hopes to portray as out of the mainstream on policy, personally compromised and too cozy with Donald Trump. These vulnerabilities have led to a rough few weeks for Republican Senate candidates in several of the most competitive races: Arizona: Blake Masters, a venture capitalist who secured Trumps endorsement and is leading the polls in the Republican primary, has been criticized for saying that Black people, frankly are responsible for most of the gun violence in the U.S. Other Republicans have attacked him for past comments supporting unrestricted immigration. Georgia: Herschel Walker, the G.O.P. nominee facing Senator Raphael Warnock, acknowledged being the parent of three previously undisclosed children. Walker regularly inveighs against absentee fathers. Pennsylvania: Dr. Mehmet Oz, who lived in New Jersey before announcing his Senate run, risks looking inauthentic. Oz recently misspelled the name of his new hometown on an official document. Nevada: Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general, said at a pancake breakfast last month that Roe v. Wade was always a joke. Thats an unpopular stance in socially liberal Nevada, where 63 percent of adults say abortion should be mostly legal. Wisconsin: Senator Ron Johnson made a cameo in the Jan. 6 hearings when it emerged that, on the day of the attack, he wanted to hand-deliver a fraudulent list of electors to former Vice President Mike Pence. Republicans counter with some politically potent arguments of their own, blaming Democrats for rising prices and saying that they have veered too far left for mainstream voters. LONDON Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain suffered a potentially lethal political blow on Tuesday when two of his most senior ministers quit in an apparently coordinated rebellion against his scandal-tainted leadership. The two ministers the chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, and the health secretary, Sajid Javid submitted their resignations after Mr. Johnson apologized for the latest scandal to engulf his government, one that involves allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking by a Conservative Party lawmaker. The sudden departures opened another fissure in Mr. Johnsons government at a time when he is already battling a mutiny among lawmakers in his party, who are angry after months of embarrassing reports of social gatherings at Downing Street that violated the governments own coronavirus lockdown rules. Sothebys respects and maintains the confidentiality of its consignors and buyers, and does not comment on matters that are not of public record, the statement said, adding: This particular work was known to the market, and was traded multiple times prior to the auction in 1994. Image A page from the 1994 Sothebys catalog on which the auction house identified the painting as a Chagall and listed a provenance for the work. The Chagall hung for years on the wall of the bedroom that Ms. Clegg shared with her husband, Alfred John Clegg, before going into storage when she moved to a smaller home. Thats where it was, she said, when Sothebys suggested in early 2020 that if she were interested in selling items, her Chagall, among others, might do well. The work was subsequently shipped to the Comite Marc Chagall, a panel of experts that was founded in 1988 and which makes decisions on the authenticity of works attributed to the artist. In late 2020, the panel released its findings regarding her work. In a letter to Ms. Clegg, Meret Meyer, one of Chagalls granddaughters and a member of the panel, reported that it had unanimously found the work to be inauthentic, adding that it is an amalgam of several other works including Le couple au bouquet, from about 1952, and Les amoureux au cheval from 1961. Ms. Cleggs painting included recurrent iconographic elements of Chagalls work, including a bouquet, lovers, a horse profile, a rooster profile, a village silhouette and a crescent moon, the committee wrote, but those lacked real presence, according to a translation provided by Ms. Cleggs lawyer. The letter went on to say that Chagalls heirs were requesting the judicial seizure of the painting so that the work may be destroyed. In France, courts have recognized the authority of expert panels to destroy works determined to be counterfeit. LONDON Room 34 of the National Gallery in London was jammed with tourists Monday afternoon studying the masterpieces of British art on its walls, including J.M.W. Turners The Fighting Temeraire, which depicts a warship being towed to a breakers yard, and George Stubbss Whistlejacket, a huge painting of a horse rearing skyward. Then, suddenly, two visitors broke the reverential mood. At 2:15 p.m., Eben Lazarus, 22, a music student, pulled three posters from a tube. Then, with the help of Hannah Hunt, 23, a psychology student, he stuck them over John Constables The Hay Wain, a famed 19th-century painting, transforming its bucolic landscape into one with airplanes, fire-ravaged trees and a rusty car. The couple then removed their jackets to reveal T-shirts bearing the slogan Just Stop Oil, glued themselves to the paintings frame and shouted about the need for action on climate change. Art is important, Lazarus said, his voice booming around the gallery. But it was not more important than the lives of my siblings and every generation that we are condemning to an unlivable future. Increasingly, the personal and professional integrity of librarians is also being called into question. In May, a Republican state representative in Virginia Beach, Tim Anderson, filed a Freedom of Information Act Request to learn the identities of librarians at schools that had copies of books some parents complained included sexually explicit material. The question is, how are pervasively vulgar books getting into the schools? he said in an interview. Is it the librarians that are doing this? Some of the conflicts have gotten so heated that community members have tried to seek criminal charges against librarians. In Ms. Hicksons district in New Jersey, a complaint was made to the Clinton Township Police Department about obscene materials in a library book. The Hunterdon County Prosecutors Office said none of the information it received indicated criminal conduct. In Granbury, Tex., a county constable opened an investigation about books available in a high school library after receiving a complaint. Many librarians have quit or lost their jobs after clashes over books. Suzette Baker was fired from her job at the head of Kingsland Library branch in Llano County, Tex., after she repeatedly refused to remove books as county officials had demanded, according to a lawsuit. The suit was filed this spring by residents against county officials, saying they violated the First Amendment by censoring books. Among the titles officials wanted removed were How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, and Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Llano County officials and the county attorney did not respond to a request for comment. This story is part of a new series exploring the world through books. Weve asked some of our favorite writers to recommend reading that helps you get to know their cities and tips on literary landmarks to check out. Well be traveling the world with them for the next few months, from Madrid to Mexico City to Istanbul and beyond. Sign up for the Books newsletter to make sure you dont miss any stops! Berlin is not pretty. You should know that beforehand. You dont come here for the beautiful architecture of an old European city. The Berlin Cathedral feels oversized. Across the street, there is the absurd Stadtschloss a castle that was torn down in 1950, replaced by a rather Brutalist building and then recently rebuilt from scratch true to its 19th century facade, with a hyper-modern interior. On Potsdamer Platz, a tent-like glass roof serves as a strange time capsule of what people in the early 1990s thought their future would look like. Just down the road stands the Brandenburg Gate, a neoclassical monument that became a symbol of the new, reunited Germany. The 20th century has left deep marks on this city. Not too long ago, Berlin was still divided by a wall. And history before the wall was darker still: Watch for the small golden rectangles on the pavement the Stolpersteine, or stumbling stones each one carrying the name of a Jewish resident of Berlin killed by the Nazis, and a constant reminder of the people whose children and grandchildren could be living here now. In Berlin, if you know your history, you will find pain on every corner. SON OF ELSEWHERE A Memoir in Pieces By Elamin Abdelmahmoud 268 pages. $17. Ballantine Books. As an immigrant kid in Kingston, one of the whitest cities in Canada, Elamin Abdelmahmoud learned pretty quickly that he was Black. At first this was news to him: He had spent the first 12 years of his life in Sudan identifying as Arab when he thought about his identity at all. In my corner of Kingston, the only place I saw Blackness was in the world of hip-hop, Abdelmahmoud writes in Son of Elsewhere, his buoyant collection of essays, or what he calls a memoir in pieces. But having grown up in a conservative Sudanese family, he felt totally bewildered by Sisqos Thong Song and the music videos of Ja Rule. He paid close attention to how the Kingstonians around him talked. I listened to the rock radio station, because 1) they spoke like the people I was trying to mimic and 2) absolutely no Ja Rule. This book is full of confessions like these: funny and frank, delivered in such a generous spirit that almost any reader (even the most dedicated Ja Rule fan) is bound to be won over by Abdelmahmouds story of trying to figure out who he was. In Sudan, his identity was a given. His father owned a publishing house in the capital city of Khartoum, and until the authoritarian government shut it down, the family had some social standing; they lived within earshot of four mosques, whose calls to prayer structured the rhythms of their days. Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: PM says Ukraine's economy to shrink by at least 35 pct this year Xinhua) 15:38, July 06, 2022 BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis: Ukraine's GDP will shrink at least 35 percent this year due to the conflict with Russia, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. While addressing the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Switzerland, Shmyhal said that the Ukrainian economy has started recovering from the "shock coma" of the first weeks of the conflict. The government carried out a "relatively successful" grain sowing campaign and resumed logistics across the western border, Shmyhal said, noting that the economy still faces many challenges. - - - - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted on Tuesday that he had discussed security issues with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. At the talks, Zelensky thanked Johnson for the recent decision to provide Ukraine with 1 billion pounds (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) in security aid and a new military support package of 100 million pounds (about 120 million dollars). The parties also discussed the issues of global food security and security guarantees for Ukraine. - - - - Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych on Monday described as "successful" Ukraine's military operation in the key cities in eastern Lugansk. Currently, Ukraine is carrying out counterattacking actions in eastern Donetsk, Arestovych said. Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has informed President Vladimir Putin of the control of Lugansk, the Defense Ministry said Sunday. The region has been "liberated" after Russian troops and the armed forces of Lugansk took full control of Lysychansk, a key city of Lugansk, and its nearby settlements, according to a brief statement by the ministry. - - - - The United States is considering the possibility of providing training to the Ukrainian military, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Monday, citing the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. "I can't tell the exact number or the plan, but I can say that I talked about it with officials from the Pentagon," Brink said after her visit to Washington. The United States is working to provide Kiev with more aid designed to strengthen Ukraine's positions on the frontline, the ambassador said. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) The funding will cover about 57 projects, including nature-based measures to reduce climate change vulnerability, combating deforestation and desertification, and a waste-to-energy initiative in Cross River State. Nigeria will receive 1.29 billion euros ($1.3 billion) as support from the European Union (EU) to help diversify its economy away from oil. According to Reuters, a document from the EU on Monday showed that the funding will be provided until 2027 under the EU's "Green Deal" initiative. It will, among other things, focus on enhancing access to renewable energy and boosting the development of the agricultural sector in the country. The funding will cover about 57 projects, including nature-based measures to reduce climate change vulnerability, combating deforestation and desertification, and a waste-to-energy initiative in Cross River State. Over the years, the Nigerian government has tried to diversify its economy away from oil but has achieved very little success. Oil revenue accounts for more than 50 per cent of government earnings and 90 per cent of its foreign exchange revenues. Oil ahd gas contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) is however less than 10 per cent. "In parallel, the EIB (European Investment Bank) sovereign lending will support the agri-food sector access to markets by financing rural roads, as well as climate adaptation and mitigation efforts," Reuters quoted the document as stating. Its hard to imagine how we get back from this, she said in an interview, when this is how our elected representatives are behaving when we cant agree on, you know, what is the truth. The threats from disinformation today involve issues that not long ago might have transcended partisan politics. Instead, disinformation has become mired in the countrys deepening partisan and geographical divides over issues like abortion, guns and climate change. Even during the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security recognized the threat. The agency, along with the director of national intelligence, commissioned a 2019 study that concluded that disinformation could, among other things, aggravate existing societal fissures and cause panic that reverberates through financial markets. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department and the Pentagon warned repeatedly of threats from foreign sources of disinformation. The Federal Election Commission held a symposium before the 2020 elections to address the issue as well. By then, however, a partisan divide over the issue had already begun to take shape. Its roots began in Russias interference in the 2016 election of President Donald J. Trump, which he and his allies repeatedly denounced as fake despite evidence compiled by federal investigators about Russian complicity. Disinformation that continues to swirl around Covid-19 and the 2020 election of President Biden which Mr. Trump continues to insist, against all evidence, was a fraud has made many Republicans view the very fight against disinformation as a partisan assault. I.V.F. is illegal for unmarried women almost everywhere in the country, so Li Xueke traveled to Thailand when she was 29 to have the procedure performed there. An entrepreneur who made her wealth running modeling schools, Ms. Li told herself that if she had not found a man she wanted to marry by 30, she would have a baby on her own. She ended up with triplets, and nearly three years on, she does not regret her decision. I think Id rather live a high-quality life as a single mother than get married and settle for less, said Ms. Li, who does not need any financial assistance from the government and can hire nannies to help take care of her children. But even among the most educated and accomplished women in China, Ms. Li is an outlier. Many successful women who want to have a child but are put off by the countrys policies toward single mothers have decided not to get pregnant. If you really want to have a baby without a man, said Ms. Zhang, the faculty member, you have to fight for it. Claire Fu and Zixu Wang contributed research. He was often credited with helping to revive and strengthen OPEC when it was on the defensive because of surging oil production in the United States. In a statement on Wednesday, OPEC said Mr. Barkindo had played a key role in forming the wider group that came to be called OPEC Plus, which includes Russia, in 2016. OPEC also said Mr. Barkindo had helped the group navigate major downturns, including oil price falls in 2015-16 and during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Bringing Russia into decision-making on oil output was likely the most important change that occurred under Mr. Barkindos leadership. During the last five years, Riyadh and Moscow have often called the shots on production, with other OPEC members largely forced to go along. Having Russia as an ally bolstered OPECs clout in its efforts to manage markets, but Riyadh now has a problem in deciding whether Moscow should continue as a co-leader of OPEC Plus. Russian production is being slowed by sanctions over the war in Ukraine, and it is no longer clear that Saudi Arabia and Russia share interests to the extent that they did. For instance, the Saudis will probably want to send more oil to Europe to replace supplies from Russia as Europes embargo tightens, while Moscow might prefer that Europe felt the strain of the measures it is taking to punish the Kremlin for the war in Ukraine. In his last speech, at an oil conference in Nigeria, Mr. Barkindo warned that the oil industry, in which he had spent his career, was facing huge challenges, including volatile commodity prices because of geopolitics as well as pressures to reduce oil and gas consumption to mitigate climate change. The company sought volunteers who were already in the hospital for Covid. To be eligible for the trial, the patients had to be receiving oxygen or relying on a ventilator. They also had to be at high risk of dying of Covid, with risk factors such as hypertension, advanced age or obesity. The patients were allowed to simultaneously receive other treatments that have been shown to be effective at saving lives of hospitalized Covid patients. A steroid called dexamethasone, for example, reduces the risk of death by one-third. In the latest trial, 134 volunteers received sabizabulin and 70 a placebo. Over the course of 60 days, the death rates of the two groups were significantly different: 45.1 percent of the placebo group died compared with just 20.2 percent of those who received the new drug. That difference translated to a 55.2 percent reduction in the risk of death. Dr. David Boulware, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, cautioned that the large number of deaths in the placebo group could be a sign the study was too small to draw firm conclusions. The 45 percent mortality rate in the control group jumps out at me as rather high, he said. By contrast, in a trial of an arthritis drug called baricitinib, researchers gave the drug to 515 Covid patients while 518 received a placebo. Only 7.8 percent of the placebo group died. A number of antiviral drugs have proved effective at keeping Covid patients out of the hospital, but only if theyre given early in the course of their disease. Paxlovid, for instance, can reduce the risk of hospitalization for unvaccinated people with Covid risk factors by about 90 percent. On June 23, the F.D.A. took many by surprise when it issued an order telling Juul to stop selling its e-cigarette products in the United States. In a statement, the agency said that Juuls applications to remain on the market lacked evidence to prove they would benefit public health and included insufficient and conflicting data about potentially harmful chemicals leaching from its e-liquid pods. In a statement on Wednesday, Joe Murillo, Juuls chief regulatory officer, said he believed the company would meet the standard of being appropriate for the protection of the public health as it moved forward with the F.D.A. in an evidence-based process. The initial ban was celebrated by those who said the company should be held to account for luring teenagers to use its product with appealing mango and creme brulee flavors and ads depicting young people. The F.D.A.s decision was panned by those who pointed to e-cigarettes as a cessation alternative for millions of adult smokers who switched to the devices, which are widely credited with being less toxic than traditional cigarettes. Vaping companies have been required to seek the F.D.A.s authorization to sell their products, and many are going through that process now. The F.D.A. has said that it had approved a handful of vaping devices and denied more than a million applications. A good biscuit is a miracle. Its own holy ritual and a hangover cure-all. No matter how foolproof your recipe may be, or how many generations have passed it down, the moment a biscuit departs an oven follows a familiar pattern: expectation, followed by suspense, before the elation payoff. Success is immediately recognizable, weightless in your hands. You know it when you see it. You remember it when you taste it. My first encounters felt routine. As a kid, I ate buttermilk biscuits after church, beside runny eggs, cheesy grits and fried catfish. Even if I wasnt stoked to face a pulpit for four hours, the thought of biscuits in the back room was enough to tide me over. And long after I fell out of religion disturbed by the homophobia the thought of those biscuits lingered. They were light where they needed to be, and soft to the touch, and you could run through maybe four before you realized they were gone. But regardless of where youre eating a biscuit, the chemistrys the same. A little flour, a little liquid, your freezing butter, a pair of deft hands and an oven to bring them home. (As Edna Lewis has noted in The Taste of Country Cooking, biscuits brown more beautifully on a bright, shining pan than on a dull one, and a thick bottom keeps them from browning too much on the bottom.) A biscuit can be the epigraph to your meal, or it can be the vehicle for your protein, whether thats bacon, ham, sausage or beyond. Dosa and her editors also had to make sense of the hundreds of hours of footage. Jocelyne Chaput, one of the editors of Fire of Love, said that on some reels, I got the impression that someone had swept the cutting-room floor of Maurices house and then respliced it all together, and that was that reel. Erin Casper, the other editor, said that making sure they were staying accurate with footage that was loosely arranged geographically but not necessarily chronologically was difficult as well. Furthermore, none of the Kraffts 16-millimeter footage had sound; all the audio of churning lava, for example, had to be added. The finished version of Fire of Love draws on a mix of Foley effects and a library of field recordings that the sound designer, Patrice LeBlanc, said had been accumulated over 30 years. Using sound wouldnt have been alien to Katia or Maurice, Chaput and Casper suggested: Some of the Kraffts films used sound effects or voice-over, or would run while Maurice was lecturing over them. Ken Hon, the scientist in charge at the United States Geological Surveys Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, knew the Kraffts beginning in the late 1980s, and remembers that filming volcanoes then was unusual. There wasnt a lot of footage of volcanic eruptions at that time, and certainly not stuff that was up close, he said. You had to be a volcanologist to film like they did because you had to be able to point the camera at the correct thing to understand the process thats going on. Today, such footage is much more common thanks to lighter and cheaper equipment. Maurice, he said, would be so in love with drones right now. When the Kraffts traveled through Hawaii, Hon recalled, he sometimes accompanied them into closed areas, like the town of Kalapana when it was overrun by lava in 1990. The narration, read by Miranda July, underlines temperamental contrasts between the scientists that are seemingly confirmed by the pictures. Katia, birdlike and ironical, kept track of the data and took the still photographs, while Maurice, who resembles a curly-headed lion cub, gave public lectures and wielded the movie camera. Out in the field, tiptoeing across lava streams or trudging through ash and mud, they wore matching red wool caps and silver insulated jumpsuits and, sometimes, metal helmets that extend over their shoulders to protect them from molten debris. Fire of Love, which also includes animated sequences, has some of the willful enchantment of a childrens book. Even Maurices flights of philosophical rhetoric he and Katia were French intellectuals, after all have a naive charm, expressing a sense of inexhaustible, starry-eyed wonder. The objects of that fascination are lethally destructive and scarily unpredictable, but, for the Kraffts, the danger was part of the allure. Fire of Love is a romance shadowed by tragedy. The fact of the couples death is established early on, and by the time the details are filled in at the end of the movie, you more or less know whats coming. What might look like recklessness is part of a devotion that takes on a moral even spiritual dimension. Like the sweepers brandishing their whirligig brushes and trailing clouds of dust and leaves a majestic sight that inspired my oldest childs first compound word, broom truck! the return of the mandated car-moving schedule brought some commotion. A row of parked cars with fresh parking tickets on their windshields could be seen Tuesday on a stretch of Riverside Drive in Morningside Heights, my colleagues Hurubie Meko and Corey Kilgannon report. A lot of people didnt get the memo, said Michael Bergelson, surveying that scene. He added a common urban drivers lament, perhaps channeling some 1,700 people who had signed a petition as of Tuesday to maintain the once-a-week schedule: If you live in New York and own a car, your life revolves around alternate-side parking. But thats just it: If you live in New York and own a car. Mayor Eric Adams did not emphasize this when he announced in April that the rules were returning to normal, but climate experts say that making it more expensive and less convenient to drive around the nations densest city is a key step in cleaning up New Yorks air and reducing its contribution to the climate crisis. Another issue with the new guidelines is that they dont discuss maternal mental health but include the statement that medical contraindications to breastfeeding are rare. This, even though one in seven women can develop postpartum depression and some mothers experience a phenomenon called D-MER dysphoric milk ejection reflex which is characterized by dysphoria starting shortly before ejection of milk and progressing for several minutes. In my clinical practice, feeding and sleep deprivation which, of course, are connected are two of the biggest triggers for moms anxiety and mood disturbances, Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, a psychiatrist specializing in womens mental health, told me in an email. I worry that the lack of centering of mothers mental health continues to reinforce a narrative that in order to be good moms, women must sacrifice their own emotional and mental well-being for the sake of their families, when, in fact, the data supports the opposite. Prioritizing moms mental health positively impacts the whole family. But the most glaring problem with the new policy statement may be its seeming disregard for the lived financial realities of so many families. In a technical report published alongside its new guidelines, the organization suggests that pediatricians should not give out free formula at their offices because it provides mixed messaging to families about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. This runs counter to one recommendation cited during the formula shortage: that parents should call their pediatricians to help find formula. Mothers who are beneficiaries of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, colloquially known as WIC, need government help to afford formula. WIC recipients often find that they still need extra supplies to feed their babies for the full month and struggle to afford them even when there isnt a shortage, potentially relying on a diaper bank that stocks formula to fill the gap. Considering the frayed state of the American social safety net, any guidance that might encourage cutting off a source of free formula seems painfully out of touch. The tone of a lot of breastfeeding literature carries an implication that if mothers just had enough education about how to nurse and about the advertised benefits of breastfeeding, more of them would fall in line with the recommendations and would embrace exclusive breastfeeding instead of feeding their babies any formula at all. And I dont doubt that many American moms need more comprehensive information about and support for breastfeeding which they should absolutely have available, free. But in a country where, as of March 2021, only 23 percent of civilian workers had access to paid family leave, three months of paid leave is considered generous and on-site child care has been described as extremely rare, even for Fortune 100 companies, I dont think a lack of education is the main barrier. Its that for a lot of moms, exclusive, prolonged breastfeeding is quite difficult to accomplish. Poor remuneration and unpaid salaries have forced many journalists to opt for "brown envelopes," a syndrome that has corrupted the sector. Charles Okogene started his journalism career in Daily Times in 1991. About 12 years after, in 2003, when an offer came from Independent Newspaper, he made the switch. Mr Okogene worked first as a correspondent, then as Saturday Editor for the newspaper, headquartered in Lagos. Everything went smoothly until 2015 when his employer could no longer pay his monthly salary. From 2015 to 2016, Mr Okogene struggled to send his four children to school as a result of his unpaid salaries, which had accumulated. He said for 16 months, the Independent Newspaper failed to remunerate its workers. Eventually, Mr Okogene said, he was asked to leave in October 2016. "As of the time I was asked to go, my salary was N150,000 and I was owed for 16 months. I was asked to leave because the company said my services were no longer required. I was sacked via an e-mail by the Human Resources Manager," he lamented. In an effort to see that he was paid his salary arrears and gratuity worth over three million naira, he hired a lawyer, Osa Director. Mr Okogene and the lawyer held several meetings with the Managing Director of the newspaper, Steve Omanufeme, but all to no fruition. When this reporter contacted Mr Omanufeme, he blamed the development on the economic situation in Nigeria, which he argued, had forced many organisations to owe salaries and that the Independent Newspaper was not an exception. "I am the MD but I did not meet Charles Okogene in the company, he left before I became the MD. Yes, there is a continuum but Charles has personalised it by using my name as if I owe him", he told this reporter over the phone. Mr Omanufeme added that he and some of the people who are owed by the Independent Newspaper have mapped out a scheme to offset all wages. "We even have a scheme. You bring an advert and collect the money, that way, we pay you," he said. That repayment proposal is, however, not recognised by any Nigerian law, Mr Okogene's experience with the Independent Newspaper captures the experience of many Nigerian journalists. Newspapers' dwindling fortunes Digital disruption, which had drastically reduced circulation of print, dwindling economy, and an unethical culture of 'your ID card is your meal ticket' has kept many journalists at the mercy of media executives. Although item 7 of the Nigerian journalists' code of ethics clearly frowns at gratification, some media executives reportedly encourage tips and payment to publish (or not publish) stories. For instance, the publisher of Tracknews blog, Bara Ogidi, was arrested by Nigeria's secret police for a blackmail scandal in January 2022. His name came up in a U.S. court in a libel suit by the Executive of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabote, against Jackson Ude, publisher of Pointblanknews. Mr Ogidi was said to have demanded payment to 'kill' a story published against Mr Wabote. More work, no pay In 2018, Abubakar Sadiq, a young graduate of Mass Communication from Bayero University joined a state television in Nigeria's North-east as a correspondent for the state's House of Assembly. This was his first job and he had a remuneration of N12,000. "I can remember being owed for four months, but it's more than that because the payment was irregular, sometimes we would be paid salary for the previous months and then deliberately ignored." Mr Sadiq said he believes that poor management and poor governance contributed to the irregular payment of salaries of journalists at the television station. "I say this because despite having miniature funding from the state government, when the money comes, it is usually diverted to negligible goods like buying generators for the management staff." It became unbearable for him when he could not care for his siblings and parents. He joined other unpaid staff in writing letters to management, expressing their grievances, and also lobbying through close friends to their bosses. However, their efforts were to no avail. "The management saw the letters the wrong way and subsequently decided to disengage my (our) services in April 2021." Mr Sadiq now works with a paramilitary institution and receives his salary when due. Nevertheless, a former colleague of his, Salmanu Isah, still works at the television station. He has worked as a temporary staff with the organisation for seven years and has supplemented his income by teaching at a private school in Bauchi state. Although casualisation of workers is seen as a cost reduction strategy by employers, it is only allowed for a three-month period by the Nigerian Labour Act. Section (7)1 of the law states that "No later than three months after the beginning of a worker's period of employment with an employer, the employer shall give to the worker a written statement specifying the nature of the employment and the duration a contract expires". A bill to amend the law seeks to extend the duration of temporary staff to six months. The bill, which has been passed by the House of Representatives, mandates the regularisation of employees after six months of employment. Mr Isah said a week after many officials (including Mr Abubakar) were laid off at the Bauchi State Television Station, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), intervened. "As a result of the intervention from NUJ, half of the backlog allowance was settled". Nonetheless, he is sceptical that the salaries for the remaining months would be paid. Worrying trend A survey conducted by Cosmas Obateru in 2017 on 204 journalists in the dissertation "Socio-cultural Dynamics and 'Survival Struggle' in Professional Journalism Practice in Nigeria" surmised that 42 per cent of the respondents agreed that they were paid regularly, while 37.2 per cent did not get regular payments from their employers. About 20 per cent chose to be 'neutral.' Since it was impossible for respondents not to know whether their salaries were being paid regularly or not, choosing to be neutral suggested that they were freelancers who were not receiving regular salary or were, in fact, being paid irregularly, the researcher noted. In Abuja, Asari Ndem had to resign as a copy/managing editor with her former employer in December 2018 having been owed a salary for six months. The management failed to state the reasons for the lack of payments. 'We are not the first to owe our employees salaries, even big newsrooms owe their staff', that was the only reason they provided," Ms Ndem said "When I resigned, I noted that I am still waiting for my remaining pay. I sent them a follow-up email after that but I received no response," she added. Gender Disparity too Apart from irregular payment of salaries, another factor that characterises Nigerian media is gender disparity. According to the 2021 Global Gender Gap Report authored by the World Economic Forum, in Nigeria, a man earns on average 71 per cent more than a woman. Also, there are fewer women in journalism in Nigeria compared to men: women make up seven per cent of print reporters and 36 per cent of radio reporters. Less representation of women in the journalism field also adds to the challenges they encounter at the workplace, especially during remuneration. The welfare of journalists has been a significant concern for media practitioners all over the world. Poor remuneration and unpaid salaries have forced many journalists to opt for "brown envelopes," a syndrome that has corrupted the sector. It involves monetary bribes enclosed in envelopes and seeks to influence journalists to produce more positive reporting on an issue or to kill a negative story. Lawyers have stated that non-payment of salaries is a breach of contract under the current Nigeria Labour Act. Section 5(1) of the law states that: "Except where it is expressly permitted by this Act or any other law no employer shall make any deduction or make any agreement or contract with a worker for any deduction from the wages to be paid by the employer to the worker, or for any payment to the employer by the worker, for or in respect of any fines... " Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Labour Media By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. NUJ is concerned The President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chris Isiguzo, admitted that many journalists are either poorly paid or not paid regularly by their employers. He noted that at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, many media employers complained of limited revenue to pay workers' salaries, forcing them to disengage some of their workers. "But we did not listen to all that because we also have our own way of ensuring that people who work are paid... our engagements are yielding results." When asked why the NUJ is not embarking on mass protests or industrial disputes over the non-payment of journalists' salaries, he said the union must first exhaust all internal mechanisms for resolving problems before taking those steps. "It is when we have tried all of them and we don't get the result that we expect, that we may have to resort to an industrial dispute. We believe that something positive comes out of it." Meanwhile, a lawyer, Olumide Babalola, said journalists who are not being paid on the job by employers can reach out to legal firms who offer pro bono services to seek justice. Stephanie Adams-Douglas, a media rights activist with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), advised journalists to engage the services of the judiciary rather than settling for out-of-court as a means to get justice. She said media independence has been interpreted in political terms without due consideration to the economic conditions such as remuneration and adequate welfare, which allows the media to function. "Non-payment of salaries contributes to the economic conditions of the newsroom which affects the ethics of journalism and influences report in a subjective manner," she said. To the Editor: Re The American Flag Belongs to Me, Too, and This Year Im Taking It Back, by Margaret Renkl (Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, July 2): As a member of the Silent Generation (meaning that I am in my 80s), I applaud Ms. Renkls article. I am a registered independent, not comfortable with extreme views of any political party. And as I sat watching both Republican and Democratic speeches on television during the last election, I remember thinking: Why are the Republicans claiming ownership of our flag? Why arent the Democrats lining the stage with the flag too? So, thank you, Ms. Renkl, for stating so eloquently what I could not: We all own this symbol of democracy, imperfect though it may be. It shouldnt ever be commandeered by either party as their flag. Donna Powell Santa Rosa, Calif. To the Editor: As a Black American woman with South Carolina roots, I write in response to Margaret Renkls essay. Lately, Ive wrestled with whether the American flag, my nations flag, belongs to me, too. The reconciliation that Ms. Renkl has discovered is one I wonder if Ill ever find, at odds with the only place I can call home. I respect Ms. Renkls journey, but I cant help being reminded of the unique tension of my Black American experience. Under immense pain and dehumanization, my ancestors forced labor built America to be the dominant force it is today. My Black ancestors were American, although they werent even considered human. So I ask: How do I make sense of the flag, one that seemingly excludes me and embraces so-called patriots? Like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, I ponder my own versions of their questions: Aint I an American? and What does the flag mean to the Black American? Somewhere inside, I know the flag belongs to me, too, but its weight makes it difficult to raise. Chantal Hinds Brooklyn Spain and Morocco arent the only countries engaging in such deals. To prevent migrants from reaching it, the European Union has embarked on a decade-long effort to outsource its border enforcement to countries far away. It has signed agreements with Libya and Tunisia to intercept Europe-bound migrants in the Mediterranean Sea and take them to detention centers in their own countries. It has arranged for its border agents to deploy in Senegal to prevent migrants from reaching the Canary Islands. And it has erected a network of walls and fences between Greece and Turkey to stop migrants from the south and between Poland and Belarus to stop those coming from the east. The union has also spent millions on virtual walls the technology that makes it possible to police borders, detect human movement and identify migrants. This process turns a highly visible issue into an invisible one. People in Europes metropolises are shielded from the violence and suffering that take place at their borders because these borders are, in fact, policed by other governments thousands of miles away. The policy makes a mockery of the human rights that Europe claims to cherish and uphold, including the right to asylum. Here is a story. Tell me if youve heard it before. People lose their homes and livelihoods to war, natural disaster or financial ruin, so they must move somewhere else. If the lottery of life gives them the right papers, they can resettle and build new lives for themselves. But if they happen to be from an undesirable nation, they will be repelled by any means necessary. Whether this story takes place at the doors of Europe or America, it has the same moral. No one chooses to be a refugee. We choose only how we respond to refugees. Sending migrants back to Morocco, as Europe is doing; flying them to Rwanda, as Britain is planning to do; or telling them to remain in Mexico, as America has been doing these are all cruel, shortsighted responses. For until their homes are safe, refugees will continue to come. John Marini, the Claremont Institutes vigorous critic of the administrative state, has called it not merely unconstitutional but anti-constitutional. His preferred solution may be inferred from the fact that he saw the real tragedy of Watergate as having prevented President Richard Nixon from bringing a (reduced) administrative state more fully under his personal control. Adrian Vermeule, a Harvard professor and prominent Catholic integralist, has made common cause with some liberals to argue that the administrative state can be redeemed by infusing it with the proper moral spirit. In 2017, Steve Bannon declared that to deconstruct[ ] the administrative state was a top priority for a new populist movement. And in April, J.D. Vance, the Ohio Republican candidate for the Senate, said that in a prospective second Trump administration, the president should fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people. This critique is as much cultural as political or economic. It argues that precisely because it is staffed with technocratic professionals, the administrative state derives its legitimacy from the credentials of that class and a pretension to rational analysis. The bureaucracys own interests and the ideological orientation of its staff will increasingly bring it into conflict with the people whose lives and livelihoods it regulates. Meanwhile, the administrative state will tend to view democratic accountability itself as an intrusion on its own prerogatives. To solve this problem, as these critics see it, it isnt enough to clip the administrative states wings or even to overthrow it, because the same phenomenon is manifested in large corporations, the media, academia any large institution that values educational credentials. So populists like Mr. Bannon and Mr. Vance seek to restaff the administrative state with politically friendly people who can be relied on to turn its regulatory powers on those same organizations. Its a culture-war twist on the progressive goal of using centralized government power to check concentrated private interests. Populist governments in Hungary and Poland have transformed their respective governments in just this manner, transformations that have been denounced as corrupt because they are indistinguishable from corruption. But Hungary and Poland have also transformed their judiciaries to bring them into line with regime goals. By contrast, a move by a second Trump administration (or a DeSantis administration) to seize and transform the American administrative state could put it on a collision course with a conservative judiciary. After all, if an executive branch agency exceeds its power when it makes rules under a broad grant of power from Congress, surely it exceeds them when it ignores explicit instructions from Congress, which a wholesale politicization of the administrative state would certainly do. This is where the two visions from the right could come into sharp conflict. Would a conservative Supreme Court rebuke a conservative administration if it acts outside the bounds of what the court sees as legitimate? Its not clear. Viruses have been responsible for other mass stranding events among marine mammals, and previous versions of avian influenza have caused fatal outbreaks in seals. The seals are likely catching the virus when they come into close contact with infected birds, or virus-laden bird droppings, after coming ashore, Dr. Deborah Fauquier, a veterinary medical officer at N.O.A.A, said in an email. Officials have not found any bird remains in the stomachs of the seals that have been necropsied, she added. Seals can spread at least some versions of the flu to other seals. However, there is not yet any evidence that this has happened in Maine, said Bryan Richards, the emerging disease coordinator at the U.S. Geological Surveys National Wildlife Health Center. With all of the scavenging mammals, and now with seals, I dont think we have any evidence at all suggesting that each individual animal is anything other than, literally, a dead-end host, he said. Although the risk to humans remains low, the infection of mammals increases the odds that the virus could mutate in ways that make it more likely to pose a danger to people. Versions of avian flu that have been isolated from seals during previous outbreaks have shown signs of adaptation to mammals. In the past, similar versions of bird flu have tended to peter out in the summer, when temperatures rise. It is too soon to say whether that will happen this year, Dr. Lenoch said: This particular avian influenza is acting a little bit different, so were going to remain on high alert. When Alex Hams, a land conservation manager at Bush Heritage Australia, was giving a tour to visiting scientists and volunteers in mid-June, he got more than he bargained for. He opened the lid of a nest box for western pygmy possums at the Monjebup Nature Reserve, which his organization manages in southwestern Australia. There, among the leaves, he found not just a family of pygmy possums, but also a small, orange-eyed lizard known as a western spiny-tailed gecko. They were climbing all over each other and neither seemed to mind, he said. They were more concerned about the big human heads that were peering in through the top. Hed never seen anything like it, and neither had anyone he asked. Mr. Hams returned twice in the following two weeks and little had changed. The pygmy possum mother, her litter of babies, and the two- to three-inch gecko were not just passing through. They were genuine roommates, sharing a crowded space that was no more than eight inches deep and the same length across. Fritz, a thunderous server who also can pound his groundstrokes, upset Nadal to win the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., in March in a match Fritz played with an injured ankle and Nadal played with a stress fracture in his rib cage. Fritz was on the verge of a more significant breakthrough on Wednesday and won, in the end, just as many points as Nadal did (168 apiece). But for all Fritzs power and hustle, he could not win the points that mattered most; he could not capitalize on Nadals abdominal injury or on a two-set-to-one lead. He quickly lost command of the decisive tiebreaker, falling behind, 0-5, as Nadal summoned the shotmaking and guile that have made him a 22-time Grand Slam singles champion. Rafa did what Rafa does: He figures stuff out, said Paul Annacone, one of Fritzs coaches. He figures out what hes got on the day, and he never makes it easy for the opponent. Thats why hes thus far the most accomplished guy in the history of tennis. Nadal, still chasing the Grand Slam at age 36, will face the Australian Nick Kyrgios, another big server with a much more volatile personality, on Friday for a place in the mens singles final. Two hours into the show, the shop had filled up. People stood with arms full of products: tote bags, hats, posters, mugs, sweatshirts, postcards, stickers, key chains and shirts. By 1:30 p.m., the line stretched across two rooms of the exhibition, snaking along the walls near the full-scale wooden house that is the shows centerpiece. Some were disappointed that things they had wanted to buy had already sold out, but others were glad to have the chance to soak up some of Mr. Ablohs work and legacy. Akinyemi, a 27-year-old musical artist who lives in Brooklyn, remarked on the difference between those buying merch for themselves and those who planned to resell it: Were getting it for ourselves, too, you know? They get it just to make the most money on whatever platform theyre on. But this is like, We like the clothes, and we want to wear them. Some were there mainly to support Mr. Abloh and to see the show, curious about it from an artistic and cultural point of view. Im always interested in people from the diaspora that are able to be put on display and youre able to see their art and their thought process, Kristel St. Omer, 38, a high school teacher who lives in Brooklyn, said. So Im just here supporting, looking to see what I did not know, what I can learn about him. At the Jerk Cafe, a storefront tucked into a strip mall in the Cape Cod village of South Yarmouth, Mass., sweet-smelling smoke greets guests as soon as they open the front door. So does the cafes proprietor, Glenroy Burke, who bounces around the wide-open kitchen stirring pots, tending the grill and plating dishes. I dont like to be hidden in the kitchen, Mr. Burke said, whos also known as Chef Shrimpy. For more than three decades, Jamaican cooks and chefs have been coming to Cape Cod through the H-2B visa program, which provides foreign workers with a pathway toward temporary nonagricultural jobs. A modest number of seasonal workers have become permanent residents or citizens. This summer, as international travel resumes and the domestic labor market remains strong, Jamaicans are again staffing kitchens of traditional Cape seafood restaurants, fine dining destinations, resorts and inns. For hours after the shooting, which resulted in seven deaths, the authorities searched for the suspect. Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriffs Office said investigators believed that he fled to Madison, Wis., after the attack but then returned to Illinois, where he was arrested. Chief Covelli said the police believed that Mr. Crimo saw a holiday celebration in Madison and considered using a second rifle he had with him in the car to carry out another shooting there, but decided against it. In an Illinois State Police news conference on Wednesday, officials defended how they handled Mr. Crimos application for a gun license, and released records showing that he had told Highland Park officers in 2019 that he had been depressed and used drugs. Under Illinois law, there are several opportunities for the authorities to intervene if a gun owner is deemed to pose a dangerous risk. This begins with the application process for a gun license, known in Illinois as a Firearm Owners Identification card. The application includes a long list of questions about past felony convictions, failed drug tests or recent hospitalizations for mental illness. It is submitted to the State Police, where it goes through dozens of steps, involving electronic and manual checks of national and state databases. At any point in that process, the state could determine that a person is not eligible. However, a vast majority are approved; according to a 2021 report by the Illinois auditor general, fewer than 4 percent of nearly 600,000 applications were denied in 2018 and 2019. NAIROBI, Kenya Crises are multiplying across Ethiopia: hunger from the worst drought in four decades, skirmishes with neighboring Sudan and a brutal 20-month-long civil war in the northern region of Tigray. Now, ethnic violence is escalating in the Oromia region, where hundreds are said to have been killed in massacres in recent weeks stoking yet another crisis in Ethiopia, Africas second-most-populous nation. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday accused a militant group, the Oromo Liberation Army, of carrying out a massacre in the region the second in the last two weeks. But the group denied it, instead accusing militias allied with the government and the facts are unclear. The Borno governor inaugurated a committee on the repatriation of Borno citizens leaving in Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno has inaugurated a committee on the repatriation of Borno citizens leaving in Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Inaugurating the committee on Monday in Government House Maiduguri, Mr Zulum said the committee would also manage repentant insurgents, particularly how they are to come out of the bush, their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Mr Zulum said proper handling of the task assigned to the committee, which has the state's Deputy Governor, Umar Kadafur, as chairman, would lead to the increased surrender of remnants of the insurgents and bring peace to Borno for the needed development. He explained that already the Federal Government had constituted a similar committee on repatriation of victims of insurgency taking refuge in neighbouring countries. The federal committee is headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and would collaborate with that of Borno State. The governor, however, noted that there was currently a challenge of lack of space to accommodate surrendering insurgents as all the three camps provided for them had been filled to capacity. He said the government had discussed with the head of the military operation in Borno, the need to have bigger camps. While reiterating the commitment of the state to fund the activities of the committee, Mr Zulum said it should also look for other sources of funding from public and private organisations. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He explained that a few months ago, the state secured 15 million Euros as support from Germany and the money was being managed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The co-chairman, Kaka Shehu, who thanked the governor for the confidence reposed in the committee, assured the government and people of Borno of their commitment to delivering on their task. Mr Shehu said the committee would work in close synergy with its federal counterpart for maximum results. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Zulum also inaugurated a committee for the resettlement of residents of Mairari and Gudumbali, the headquarters of Guzamala Local Government area. The area is the only remaining local government headquarters in Borno whose residents were yet to return since its recovery from insurgents. (NAN) The warring gangs took over several neighborhoods around Port-au-Prince weeks ago, going door to door, raping women and girls, killing the men, beheading many of the adults and then forcing the newly orphaned children into their ranks. One woman, Kenide Charles, took cover with her 4-month-old baby underneath a bed, waiting for the fighting to subside. It never did and she fled, crossing gang checkpoints with her son raised above her head, like a human white flag. This week marks a year since President Jovenel Moise of Haiti was murdered in his home in one of the capitals wealthiest neighborhoods as dozens of police stepped aside, letting the assassins through. Many Haitians had no love for the deeply unpopular president, but thought his assassination would be the countrys new rock bottom and believed they could start climbing back up. I will say that I dont have any reason to think their interest in Taiwan has abated in any fashion, he said. We certainly hope that they are learning valuable lessons of what happens when you overplay your hand in a way that the Russians clearly have in Ukraine Some American officials have argued that failing to take a tough stand against Russias war on Ukraine would tempt Beijing into acting against Taiwan. During the Trump administration, Mr. Wray was one of a series of senior national security officials delivering speeches describing China as a rising threat. But his latest speech comes as the Biden administration has been focused on the immediate threat of Russia and its invasion of Ukraine and has taken steps to change some of the Trump administrations programs to counter China. Earlier this year the Justice Department modified a Trump-era initiative to combat Chinese espionage, treating many cases of academics failing to disclose ties or funding from China as civil violations, not crimes. While some prosecutions had resulted in convictions, others had led to acquittal or dismissal. Officials in China have held up the initiative as an example of the United States hypocrisy and systemic discrimination against ethnic minorities. MELBOURNE, Australia The police have charged 12 members of a religious group with murder in connection with the death of Elizabeth Struhs, 8, of Queensland state several months ago. The police say she was denied care over a period of days for an underlying medical condition. After Elizabeths death in January, her parents, Jason Struhs, 50, and Kerrie Struhs, 47, were charged with murder, torture and failure to provide necessities of life. They face up to life in prison on the murder charge. They have not yet entered pleas. On Tuesday, after a six-month investigation, the police charged 12 more people with murder, all members of a small, insular religious group. Authorities said that those people, who ranged in age from 19 to 65, were with Elizabeth before her death but did not seek help as her condition deteriorated. In a landmark vote for Europes climate and energy policies, the European Parliament on Wednesday endorsed labeling some gas and nuclear energy projects as green, allowing them access to hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans and even state subsidies. The decision placed the European Unions heavy thumb on the scale of a global debate about how and how quickly major industrialized economies can move from their heavy reliance on fossil fuels and it immediately proved controversial, prompting boos from opponents inside and outside the parliamentary building in Strasbourg, France. Critics said it would lock in and prolong Europes reliance on fossil fuels, while the measures proponents, including in the European Commission, the E.U. executive arm that drafted it, said it was part of a pragmatic approach to the transition to renewable energy, especially as Europe seeks to wean itself off Russian fuel imports in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. BERLIN Leaders in Europe, facing their worst energy crisis in decades, are taking extraordinary steps to secure supplies for winter amid fears of fuel shortages and near-record electricity and natural gas prices. In Berlin, lawmakers prepared to approve legislation that would pave the way for Germany to bail out the countrys largest importer of Russian gas. In Paris, the prime minister announced her governments intention to take full control of Frances state-backed electric utility provider. There are mounting fears that skyrocketing energy costs, driven by steadily diminishing Russian gas shipments, will force energy companies into collapse a spiral that Germanys energy minister has likened to the way the fall of Lehman Brothers triggered the global financial crisis in 2008. In his statement, Mr. Quince said Downing Street had given him a categorical assurance that Mr. Johnson had not been aware of any specific allegation against the Conservative lawmaker, Chris Pincher, before appointing him to the post of the partys deputy chief whip this year. Downing Street later admitted that was not true. Robin Walker, the minister of state for school standards, also stepped down on Wednesday, citing Mr. Johnsons increasingly tumultuous tenure, including the resignation of Rishi Sunak as chancellor of the Exchequer and Sajid Javid as health secretary. Unfortunately, Mr. Walker wrote in a letter that he then posted on Twitter, recent events have made it clear to me that our great party, for which I have campaigned all of my adult life, has become distracted from its core missions by a relentless focus on questions over leadership. Mr. Walker added that the loss of Mr. Sunak and Mr. Javid whom he described as two of our broadest talents reflected a worrying narrowing of the broad church that I believe any Conservative government should seek to achieve. According to figures from the ministry, 19,503 people in the republic tested positive between June 25 and July 5, with a positive rate of 13 percent. The average number of new cases reported daily has more than tripled in the last two weeks, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The epidemiological development over the last few days raises the need to review the protective measures, as part of efforts to stop the spread of the virus and safeguard public health, the ministry said in a statement. The authorities said the mask mandate would be enforced with spot inspections and fines of up to 300 euros ($305) for violators. The mandate will not apply in private homes, nor in private vehicles when traveling only with family members, nor during the consumption of food or beverages. People exercising in gyms or dance schools will be exempt; so will cooks when they are grilling, and people with illnesses that make it difficult for them to wear face masks. Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said the situation at Cypriot hospitals was under control now, and that there were no plans for additional measures beyond the mask mandate, though that may change if the situation worsens. Keisuke Inagaki, who describes himself as the otaku chef of La Ricetta Restaurant in Zama, Japan, has combined his two biggest passions cooking and anime to create his own style of pancake art. The 51-year-old Japanese chef started making cute pancakes in 2011, as a way of lifting the spirits of kids in his home city of Fukushima, after it was devastated by a tsunami. He had volunteered for a program to take care of young children in a safe area after the nuclear disaster, and was looking for ways to get their attention. He had seen the pancake art of Nathan Shields on the internet, so he decided to give it a try himself, to impress the kids. That was only his starting point in the world of pancake art, though, as today Inagaki as on a whole other level. Photo: Keisuke Inagaki/Instagram Keisukes pancakes are made with ordinary batter mix with no coloring materials, but he does have a secret ingredient: soy milk instead of dairy milk. Apparently, this helps him obtain a whiter pancake dough, to contrast the browned outline of his design. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) The talented food artist begins by drawing the outline of his artwork on the pan with a squeeze bottle, cooking it for a few seconds and then gradually adding the rest of the batter. According to Caters Media, he can complete simpler designs in just 5 minutes, while more complex projects can take up to 30 minutes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) My pancake art is a premium option for the customers who have lunch or dinner at our restaurant, Keisuke Inagaki said. Our pancake art is only available by making a reservation at least three weeks in advance now. I make only two pancakes in a day. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) Inagakis pancake art took him years to develop to the current level, but he still considers it a work in progress. His biggest fear when making his art? That the pancake doesnt flip properly, and the design is ruined. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) Apart from visiting the La Ricetta restaurant in Zama, Japan, you can admire Keisuke Inagakis amazing pancakes on Instagram and on YouTube. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Keisuke (@keinagaki) Weve featured some pretty amazing pancake art in the past as well, with Dan Drakes edible masterpieces, being the most impressive example. A so-called career exam taker in China was investigated by authorities for allegedly acing the worlds toughest university admittance exam three years in a row and reportedly earning $300,000. The Gaokao is a notoriously difficult university entrance exam that many Chinese spend years, sometimes decades to pass. The King of Gaokao, for example, has been trying to get into his dream college for 25 years now, but Chinas top schools are just too tough to get into for the vast majority of Gaokao takers. Then there are the lucky few that manage to get into these elite learning institutions, like Peking University or Tsinghua University, and finally, there are the career exam takers, who earn high sums of money by acing the worlds toughest university exam year after year. Because the Gaokao is so ridiculously hard to ace, many reputed schools in China offer their students considerable monetary prizes for getting into the countrys top-rated universities. And because there is no limit on how many times a student can take the Gaokao, some exceptionally-gifted individuals get to earn a nice living by simply acing the exam years in a row. Photo: Jeswin Thomas/Unsplash A student surnamed Quan has recently been investigated by Chinese authorities after reportedly acing the Gaokao exam three times in the last three years and earning a whopping 2 million yuan in prizes. Quan allegedly got into Peking University in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and because students get to accept or refuse to attend a university, there is nothing preventing them from getting invited every time they do well enough on their exam. Quans case was recently featured by Chinese media after it was revealed that he aced the Gaokao in the last three years, while attending three different private schools, and getting rewarded by all of them. These students see retaking the gaokao as a way to make money. For both students and institutions, its short-sighted and mercenary, said Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, adding that while most students take the Gaokao exam in hopes of getting into a good university, these specialized career candidates do it solely for profit. Photo: Weibo There are also those who claim that some of the blame also lies with Chinese private schools who recruit and reward these career exam takers to repeatedly ace the Gaokao and polish the schools reputation, helping them attract more students. Quans case is currently under investigation, but the story has already sparked a heated debate on social media. This student won a place at Peking University but didnt enter. What he did is unfair to other students, one person wrote on Weibo, Chinas most popular microblogging platform. Photo: Pexels He makes money with his academic ability. I just want to say that even graduates from Peking University cant make that much money in 2 years, someone else wrote. A Japanese man who spent a whole year fishing small pebbles out of the soles of his sneakers may have inspired a new bobby in his home country. Neruno Daisuki, an illustrator and manga artist from Japan, recently got his five minutes of fame on Twitter after showing off the collection of pebbles and glass fragments he fished out of the soles of his shoes over the last year. You know, small stones get stuck in the grooves of our footwear soles all the time, but who would ever think of collecting them? Well, this guy did, and after a year of painstaking work, Daisuki showed off his collection of 179 pebbles, 32 glass fragments, and 1 nut. Photo: Neruno Daisuki/Twitter When I was removing the pebbles caught in the groove on the back of my newly bought sneakers, I felt that it was a waste to just throw them away, and I thought, It would be interesting to collect them,' Daisuki told IT Media. The Japanese collector revealed that the stretch of road between his home and the convenience store was his most productive proving ground, as thats where most gravel would get stuck in the soles of his sneakers. Getting them out was not as simple as you might think though, as pulling too hard with toothpicks could catapult the small fragments too strongly and he would lose them. Photo: Neruno Daisuki/Twitter Neruno Daisuki started collecting sole pebbles last June, as a way to pass the time during the SarsCov2 lockdown, but the bizarre hobby grew on him, and he managed to keep it up for a year. He recently showed off his stash, with rocks and glass fragments separated neatly on grid-like boards. While some wondered why anyone would spend time on such a thing for a whole year, the general reaction to Daisukis collection was very positive, with most people admiring his patience and his ingenuity, and some even declaring themselves inspired to start their own shoe sole gravel collection. Photo: Neruno Daisuki/Twitter I want to use this idea for the summer vacation of elementary school, one Twitter user commented, while another wrote: I really like this idea! As for Neruno, he wants to keep growing his collection for a while, and is considering separating his collection between his right and left shoe soles until he comes up with a more interesting project. A representative of The Sea Turtle Sanctuary (TSTS) said it is challenging to convince local fishermen to release sea turtles after the catch. The World Sustainability Organisation (WSO) has urged Nigerians to desist from sea turtle consumption. In an event held in Lagos on Tuesday, the founder and director of the group, Paolo Bray, told journalists that sea turtles act as a check on predatory species, especially jellyfish which feed on other fish of commercial value. The group under its project, Friend of the Sea, said that excess jellyfish population can disrupt marine environments. "So in areas where we have seen a decrease in turtles populations due to the accidental bycatch in fisheries as in the Gulf of Mexico, which is the case study, we have seen amazing growth in jellyfish population with the detrimental consequences for the other fish stocks which have decreased dramatically," Mr Bray said. "And this could very soon be up and although it's also in the waters of Nigeria and also causes the decrease of bycatches of other important commercial species." He said Nigeria has five of the seven species of sea turtles and they should not be allowed to go into extinction. "They come to the land to lay eggs which exposes them to poaching. They lay up to 10,000 eggs," he said. Threats Mr Bray said the sea turtles are faced with natural and man-made threats. He listed the natural threats as habitat destruction, poaching, entanglement in fishing gears, pollution & oil spills and climate change. While the man-made threats include, mangrove destruction for firewood, light pollution, lack of research data, real estate, and plastic debris. He further said that sea turtles are hunted for food and shell (nest predation), and traditional use. He said that there is a need to create awareness and alternatives to poaching. Challenges Doyinsola Ogunye, a representative of The Sea Turtle Sanctuary (TSTS), said it is challenging to convince local fishermen to release sea turtles after the catch. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "It's a huge challenge in blood and sweat from getting the calls that the turtles are being poached. To find your way there and having to convince these people and take the turtle back, sometimes the turtle is already distressed," Mrs Ogunye said. "And now in Nigeria, we don't have any space on our shorelines that cater to turtles that we find. So it's between, you know, the devil and the deep blue sea type of thing, where we have to release the turtles to fend for themselves, as opposed to you know, taking the turtle in for one or two days to find out if it's fit for that journey. Mrs Ogunye said the major challenges are ignorance and lack of enforcement of the law. "They need to put in more effort. In a lot of places all around the world, turtles are being conserved, turtles are being protected, and that's because it's critically endangered," she said. During the event, Atlantic Shrimpers Limited was awarded for the "company's engagement to reduce turtle bycatch." V2 Communications V2 Communications 500 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118 617/426-2222; fax: 617/426-1026 Employees: 35. Founded: 2006. Agency Statement: V2 Communications is the public relations and digital communications firm for disruptive global brands, redefining what it means to be a strategic communications partner. The agency helps brands navigate the complexities that define communications today to drive business success and growth. V2's skilled professionals combine a business mindset and creative thinking to provide the strategic counsel, campaign ideas and results that move businesses forward. V2 works with a broad spectrum of clients from technology innovators to higher education to non-profitsand 85% of business consists of repeat clients and referrals. Jean Serra, CEO and co-founder; Katelyn Holbrook, exec. VP & mng. dir., content, and enterprise tech lead; Melissa Mahoney, exec. VP, crisis, corp. comms. and cleantech lead; Kristen Leathers, sr. VP, healthcare tech lead Offices in Boston, New York. Clients Include: Act!ArdoqBreakthrough Energy VenturesBuilding EnginesCarePort HealthCurrent HealthChaosSearchChurnZeroDirectPathECi Software SolutionsEmergnKinaxisLobNAVEX GlobalNova CreditNielsenPlymouth RockQstreamRave Mobile SafetyReadSpeakerRocket SoftwareStratusTelliusToriiUiPathUplightVeevaWiTricity V2 Communications in the news with O'Dwyer's: On the Move: Greentarget Adds WSJ's Jennifer Smith Mon., Mar. 7, 2022 ...and will further our mission to create unique positions of authority for our clients. Jean Serra V2 Communications is now being led by co-founder Jean Serra, who takes on the role of... PR's Top Pros Talk: Maura Fitzgerald Fri., Nov. 19, 2021 ...As communicators begin to move back toward working in the office, V2 Communications founder and partner Maura Fitzgerald has a few basic ground rules for how companies... Ireland's Housing Commission Needs PR Help Wed., Jul. 13, 2022 Irelands Housing Commission is looking to hire a PR firm as it works to identify and report on ways to create a long-term sustainable and affordable housing system on the island. ROSCREA'S Damer House Gallery is hosting a seminar on Ageing and Creativity in the Black Mills on Saturday, July 16 from 12pm to 5.30pm. The keynote speaker is Prof. Colin Doherty, Consultant Neurologist in St. Jamess Hospital, Consultant, Clinical Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin and the Na Cailleacha Collective. Prof. Doherty will speak on the Neurobiology of drawing in health and disease: How the ageing brain works to represent reality. Research into ageing suggests that participating in the arts could support the well-being of older adults and that creativity can lead to greater longevity. This seminar will explore creativity and ageing using the knowledge and experience of the Na Cailleacha Collective, both as a group and as individual artists. Na Cailleacha is a collective of five visual artists, one jazz musician and a curator/writer who have come together as a collective. The artists involved are Therry Rudin, Patricia Hurl, Helen Comerford, Gerda Teljeur, Barbara Freeman and Rachel Parry. Catherine Marshall is a curator, writer and art historian and Carole Nelson is a jazz composer, pianist, and saxophonist. Between them they share over 500 years of experience of being women, as artists, as curator/writer/historian and as composer. While the theme is creativity and ageing, this does not confine the seminar to older people, and the organisers are encouraging people of all ages to join them. Admission: 15 Concessions 10 (over 55s, unwaged, students). Spaces are limited and booking is essential. You can book through Eventbrite or alternatively email kate.damerhousegallery@gmail.com IT'S almost 20 year ago since the Ballydaly-Tinnycross Sewerage Scheme in Tullamore, sought connection to the town's sewerage network. Now Irish Water have suggested the residents build the infrastructure required for the connection themselves, at an estimated cost of 1million. Dominic Guinan who is the secretary of the group said that, ''following completion, we are obliged to hand over the finished project to Irish Water for free and then pay Irish Water 3,499 per house to be allowed connect to the scheme that we ourselves had built. The maximum grant available per house is 7,650. If any householder in the area did not contribute to the initial cost of the scheme, then they could join the scheme for 3,499, the same as those who paid to build the project.'' There are 45 houses in the scheme and in March 2003 with the support of Offaly County Council the group forged ahead with plans to get connected. An engineer was appointed, a map was drawn up, soil testing took place, and tenders were sought. Up to 6 people expressed an interest in carrying out the work. It was shovel ready. However, after all of that they didn't get approval. Then there was fresh hope when a new private hospital was being built by the Flanagan Group on the N52 just off the Tullamore by-pass. ''There was a tentative agreement with the Flanagan Group that we could hook in with their system and get into the town scheme through that. We have a letter on file from the Flanagan group. We thought this will solve our problems,'' said Dominic. However, the hospital didn't proceed and it was back to square one for the group. John Flanagan Developments Ltd received permission last year to build a nursing home, step down facility, rehabilitation and convalescence unit on the same site. We contacted the company for comment and Joint Managing Director, Dominic Doheny said ''There is an agreement in principal and that agreement still stands.'' However, he said it will depend if it is ''viable and designable.'' Meanwhile Irish Water have said they received a pre-connection enquiry for the proposed sewerage scheme at Ballydaly-Tinnycross and a confirmation of feasibility letter was issued in July 2021 confirming that a connection to the Irish Water foul sewer network was feasible. In a statement they said; ''Irish Water are not the responsible body in relation to the grant of funding for schemes of this nature, this falls under the Dept. of Housing, Local Government and Heritage who approve funding under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme. The Rural Water Section of the Local Authority provides support to schemes wishing to make submissions to the funding programme. Once the proposed scheme receives a grant of funding, Irish Water will work with the scheme and the Local Authority Rural Water Section to facilitate a connection to the Irish Water network.'' Dominic Guinan said Irish Water took over in 2016. ''When Irish Water took over, they decided to take 6 schemes and use them as a template as to how to get this done. I saw the list of schemes that was submitted for the second scheme and ours wasn't on it. We had done everything, but we weren't approved, '' said Dominic. He said they were told they would have to wait for another three years before they could apply again. They did wait, but when they applied they found out that none of the 6 schemes had been completed. Dominic said he was annoyed at a recent report from the Environmental Protection Agency EPA indicating the issues surrounding septic tanks and their potential for pollution. Yet he said Irish Water is doing nothing to solve the problems. ''If these two organisations the EPA and Irish Water worked together and instead of saying the potential for pollution from septic tanks is a huge problem, maybe they should be saying let's look at the problem.'' He said his septic tank has never been inspected. A neighbour believes his septic tank wouldn't pass as it's too close to the house. The neighbour who built his house 45 years ago had no option but to put the septic tank at this location as he was told to build his house well back from the road which gave very little room at the back to allow for the septic tank and there is not enough soakage. ''There are three people I know of that spent over 10,000 putting in a new percolation area and it's still overflowing because there is not enough soakage.'' said Dominic. ''Little wonder then that there are ongoing problems with septic tanks countrywide and our committee believe that all houses in our area will continue to be serviced by their tanks, thus increasing the potential danger of causing pollution, for the foreseeable future. Should any member of our community be brought to court over the inefficiency of their septic tanks, we trust that our efforts to deal with the problems over the past almost 20 years will be a major mitigating factor,'' concluded Dominic. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over half of septic tanks inspected failed and more than one quarter were a risk to human health or the environment. ''The National Inspection Plan 2022-2026 requires increased enforcement by local authorities to resolve failed systems.'' A report from the EPA said. DEARLY beloved brethren, let us pray. Let us pray that Boris Johnson sees out his full term as Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Similarly, let us pray that Liz Truss will continue as UK Foreign Secretary until then, that Brandon Lewis continues as Northern Ireland Secretary, as well as the deeply compassionate Priti Patel as Home Secretary, the astonishing learned Nadine Dorres as Culture Secretary, the ingenious deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab, and the Minister for Brexit Opportunities (hilarious!) and Government Efficiency, as well as being the Honourable Member for the 18th century, Jacob Rees-Mogg. What a collection of rogues! Where is Spitting Image when it is most needed, that blistering puppet show that so cruelly and accurately mocked the Thatcher government of the 1980s? What fun it would have with this lot! Please, please let them continue in office and lead the Tory party into the next general election in Britain for, verily it is writ, should that happen we are unlikely to see a Tory-led government in Westminster again for at least a decade. Let it be longer! Let them remain in office long enough so the British electorate can see the effects on their country of this woeful administration, probably the worst in its countrys history. Bad in the sense of incompetent but also bad due to lack of any standards whatsoever, beset, as they are, by amorality and sleaze. But they must remain in office long enough so the full misery they have inflicted on their people, through such as Brexit for instance, cannot be argued away by lies, blaming the pandemic or the war in Ukraine. It would be gravely unjust for another party to take over government in the UK in the interim and have to deal with the aftermath of this woeful administration. It would even be unfair to more moderate Tories who might take over should Johnson and his cohort be forced out. No let the axe fall where it should. Upon their heads be it. And, truly, the longer this administration remains in office the greater the damage to the Tory party, something we on this island are unlikely to lament. Since the late 19th century, when Lord Randolph Churchill played the orange card for internal Tory party-political reasons, they have toyed with Irelands destiny as a casual plaything not caring how their behaviour would impact on lives on this island, leading even to deaths. Now they play the Northern Ireland protocol, again to satisfy the hardliners in their own party, without any regard for the implications on this island or their own relations with the EU. They are behaving in true Tory superior fashion before whom no interest is higher than theirs, in secula seculorum amen. But their reputation goes before them. It was a laugh and pertinent to see that tweet at the weekend from the Chinese Embassy in Dublin taunting Boris Johnson et cabal when he marked the 25th anniversary of the handover of the former British colony of Hong Kong to China with the tweet: 25 years ago we made a promise to the people of Hong Kong. We intend to keep it. The Chinese embassy in Ireland screen-grabbed that tweet and responded: Two years ago we made a promise to the Northern Ireland Protocol. We are determined to break it. Last week Johnson accused China of failing to comply with its commitment in 1997 to respect a`One Country, Two Systems arrangement agreed under the deal that ended British rule in Hong Kong. Yes, Boris, its all going swimmingly. A majority in Northern Ireland, including a majority of MLAs at Stormont, want the protocol. Increasingly more and more Scots are talking about independence, spurred on by a Brexit they voted against and theres that upstart Nicola Sturgeon talking about another independence referendum in October of next year. Who does she think she is? While in the US, the Biden administration raised concerns at multiple levels last month with the British Government over this new law which would allow London to unilaterally disapply key provisions of the Northern Ireland protocol. Towards the end of June the US let London know that, while there is no formal linkage between the planned British legislation and a free trade deal with the US, the current situation does not create a conducive environment for that, as a spokesman for the US put it. In other words, Boris, feck off! No trade deal with then US if you breach the one you concluded with the EU in December 2019. This was raised with Liz Truss directly by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and by US trade representative Katherine Tai with UK secretary of state for international trade, the unfortunately surnamed, Anne-Marie Trevelyan. Despite which Ms Truss gallantly went ahead and the Tory sheep followed her into the lobby to push the unilateral piece of legislation through the House of Commons. So lets look at who Boris and crew have pissed off to date: the EU, the US, the Irish, a majority in Northern Ireland, the Scots, - most of the known world. Who would have thought it possible? What an achievement! Yet, all hope is not lost. It seems Liz Trusss Northern Ireland Protocol legislation may not get through the House of Lords and/or will be delayed there at least for a year. But neither Ireland, the EU, or the UK should be in this situation. It is brought about by an outrageous, flagrant, breach of an international agreement by one dishonourable party. You guessed it, the perfidious Tories. However, we cannot take the House of Lords for granted either. Ireland must prepare for a possible EU/UK trade war. It wont be pretty and well be in the frontline. The issue will be the EU single market and its protection. If the UK Government allows an unchecked free-flow of goods into and out of Northern Ireland then mechanisms will have to be put in place to stop those goods coming into the single market/the Republic. It hardly bears thinking about what that may mean, but think about it we must. There is no question but we are not going to be forced out of the EU single market by the current shenanigans in Westminster. Since, indeed even before the 2016 Brexit referendum in the UK, the Irish Government successfully persuaded all of our EU partner countries that the avoidance of a land border on this island was essential to protect its peace and to protect the Good Friday Agreement. If, in the event of the British using their new legislation to allow free trade between the UK and Northern Ireland the border on this island takes on a new relevance as some form of surveillance with be necessary along it to monitor trade between the two jurisdictions on the island. Any physical infrastructure will become an immediate target for paramilitaries, as was the case in the past, and so a resurgence of paramilitary violence would be an inevitability. They havent gone away you know. Do they care in Downing St? Do they what! This island never crossed what may pass for their minds during the Brexit campaign in 2016. It didnt even feature in the monumental lies they told the British people helped by Russian money at the time. Ireland, where they are concerned, is of no interest or ever has been except when it comes to internal Tory party politics. We are and remain that ever-disposable plaything to the west, of more trouble than use throughout the noble history of Britain. As they would have you believe. The best thing that ever happened us was when we voted to get from inside their leaky umbrella in 1972, 50 years after independence. The best thing for us now, come hell or high water, is to remain in the EU single market even if the Brits go on to make us pay dear for that. Theres no going back there for us. FR. Eamonn Kelly (Parish Priest in Raphoe, Co Donegal) will walk this year from Thurles to Knock Shrine and invites you to join him as he passes through Roscrea, Birr and Templemore. Marys Meals began feeding 200 children in Malawi in 2002 and is now feeding 2,279,941 children every day in places of education. Our vision is that every hungry child receives a daily meal and that all who have more than they need, share with those who are in need. With our no frills policy, it costs with Mary's Meals 18.30 to give a child a meal every day for a full school year. Step by Step to Feed the Next Child is a project to raise funds and awareness of Mary's Meals. Walks are taking place throughout Ireland and are starting on August 7 from Kilkenny, Malin, Derry, Armagh, Dublin, Kilkenny, Limerick and Thurles and are all arriving in Knock Co Mayo on August 15. Maybe you could get involved in Step by Step to Feed the Next Child. You are invited to visit our website www.marysmeals.ie Fr Eamonn Kelly (Parish Priest in Raphoe, Co Donegal) will walk this year from Thurles and invites you to join him. For more information you can phone Fr Eamonn on 087-9077985 or eamonnkelly1949@gmail.com or contact local volunteer Angela Moore at (089) 4959519. The Thurles walk will go through Templemore, Roscrea, Birr, Ferbane, Athlone, Roscommon, Ballymoe and Ballyhaunis and people can join the walk along the way. The Sinn Fein leader has accused the Government of leaving behind middle income families, as she called for the back to school allowance to be extended to another 500,000 children. Mary Lou McDonald said that a household with income of 621 euro a week will not be eligible for the school allowance. She told the Dail that families on modest incomes are fighting to stay afloat amid the cost-of-living crisis. The Government on Tuesday announced that the back to school allowance is to increase by 100 euro per child, as part of a 67 million euro package announced to help with the cost-of-living crisis. The Government must extend the Back to School Allowance to those on modest and middle incomes. The Government cannot leave these families and children struggling on their own. @MaryLouMcDonald pic.twitter.com/cZPFMFcVFG Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) July 6, 2022 The allowance of 160 euro is currently available to children who are aged between four and 11 on September 30. However, the Government is under pressure to extend the eligibility criteria to include more families. Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath said that while the announcement of further funding will not offset all costs, it will assist thousands of struggling families. Ms McDonald accused Mr McGrath and the Government of leaving behind middle income families who are in dire straits. Any family with a household income of 621 euro a week wont get a red cent a back to school allowance, Ms McDonald said. A household income of 621 euro is modest. These are families who received very little support from the state but now are fighting to stay afloat. Youve left behind these families who struggle to pay the mortgage and the rent, who cant afford to put fuel in the car to get to work or pay extortionate energy bills. Families whose grocery bill is now through the roof to such an extent that many have started to cut back on basics. Middle income parents went out to work this morning feeling let down again and they have no idea, many of them, where they will get hundreds of euro to send their children back to school in September. I am always amazed at the ability of this government to refuse to do those things that patiently need to be done and to do them correctly and fully. She called on Mr McGrath to extend the back-to-school allowance to cover an additional 500,000 children of middle-income parents. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said the increase in the allowance would be paid to 120,000 families automatically, with a further 30,000 families receiving their payment over the coming weeks, affecting some 262,000 children in total. The one-off measure will result in an allowance of 260 euro for children aged four to 11, and 385 euro for those aged 12 and over. Mr McGrath said the move was an important intervention by government. Does it go as far as some people would like? Of course it doesnt, Mr McGrath added. Does it offset all of the costs? We never claimed that it does, but it is of assistance to many thousands of families. It is a targeted measure, in particular in relation to the back to school allowance and also the extension of hot meals to children attending schools. There are very targeted measures for people who will benefit from it. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the new measures are not enough. There is no radical move to introduce the free schoolbooks scheme that my colleague Aodhan O Riordain has proposed, which would cost 40 million euro and would make a significant difference to so many families. Booklists are starting to arrive into homes, and families will be forced to do without more to give their children a chance. School books should be free Take our survey here an tell us the impact back to school costs is having on you https://t.co/kklrGyYPFM pic.twitter.com/r4cHpKORWB The Labour Party (@labour) July 6, 2022 No move either to increase eligibility for the back to school allowance which could be done at the stroke of a pen and again would make a real difference. No move on real reform of the outdated school transport system either. We need to see bigger vision and more substantive change. Mr McGrath replied: I would make the case that providing a free hot meal to a child in a DEIS school is real change and this is the government that has expanded the DEIS programme, the single largest amount ever, over 300 schools and it is the right thing to do. The change were making on the back to school clothing and footwear allowance, for many it wont go far enough. We acknowledge that point. But it is a genuine effort by government to help and to make a difference and it comes on the back of all of the other initiatives that we have taken since the last Budget to address what is a cost of living crisis for many, not for everyone, but for many it is. Earlier, the Minister for Education Norma Foley suggested that the eligibility criteria for the back-to-school allowance could be widened to allow more cash-strapped families to receive the payment. Norma Foley said she accepts many struggling families will not qualify for the means-tested Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. It wasnt possible to do everything yesterday in one fell swoop, she told RTE Morning Ireland. Its very much part of a process and I have every confidence that Minister Humphreys will be looking at all the aspects in terms of back to school in terms of perhaps widening the eligibility criteria. That is important. We were in a position yesterday to make the announcement in terms of those who are in receipt of it, that they would now be in receipt of an additional 100 euro. We are not in a budget situation. This is not the budget. These are measures that there was an opportunity to look at now in the month of July. We are saying that theres a further opportunity and this is a cumulative process, that theres a further opportunity to look further at these measures and indeed other measures on September 27. Ms Humphreys also announced on Tuesday that the school meals programme would be expanded to include an additional 60,000 children from 310 DEIS schools. Ms Foley also announced that school transport fees would be waived for the coming academic year, calling it a significant investment affecting all 121,000 families who would normally pay those fees. *Says posterity will be kind to outgoing OPEC secretary general for making nation proud President Muhammadu Buhari has described the outgoing Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Barkindo, as a worthy ambassador of Nigeria. Speaking Tuesday at the State House, Abuja, while playing host to Barkindo, the President expressed the nation's gratitude to him saying posterity will remember him kindly for making the nation and himself proud during his six years of meritorious service at the helm of affairs as the fourth OPEC Secretary-General from Nigeria. His words: "You have indeed been a worthy ambassador of our country. We are proud of your achievements before and during your appointment at OPEC and the proud legacies you will leave behind. "Your time in charge of the affairs of OPEC has been a very challenging one for the global oil industry. Oil producers were finding it difficult to come together to address challenges that were crippling the oil market. "Not long after, the world was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic that sent crude prices spiralling down at an alarming rate. You showed incredible leadership to rally industry players and pushed through the turbulent times. "There is no doubt about your efforts in putting together the Declaration of Cooperation which is the largest in the history of OPEC and the global oil industry and also the longest in duration in the history of the organization. This was a herculean task". President Buhari heaped more praises on his compatriot for providing experienced administrative management to OPEC, adding that his efforts have placed the organization in a stronger position to confront the challenges it will face in the coming years. He therefore directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to mobilise the oil and gas industry to organise a befitting welcome reception in honour of Barkindo. Earlier in his remarks, Barkindo attributed his success to the tremendous guidance, charisma and international gravitas of President Buhari; support from OPEC secretariat in Vienna; and cooperation by members of the organisation. He recalled how the counsel from President Buhari helped in the birthing of the Declaration of Cooperation of OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries, after he assumed office in Vienna, Austria in 2016 during a downturn in the sector when oil prices plunged to less than 10 U.S dollars per barrel. According to him: "It was very obvious to me that this was beyond OPEC alone to address. We needed to get the support of other leading oil producers around the world. "I recall that I did consult with you and I drank from your fountain of wisdom and your deep reservoir of knowledge of OPEC and global affairs. "With your advice and guidance, I set out to various capitals around the world to try to persuade them to understand the gravity of the situation and the need for them to urgently join hands with OPEC. "I did explain to them that they do not have to be full members of OPEC but we could work together in a framework of cooperation and on the 10th December, 2016 we signed this historic agreement in Vienna and on the 1st January, we started working together and we were able to assist the oil market restore stability." Barkindo noted that the Declaration of Cooperation, which is now in its sixth year, also helped the organisation to navigate the turbulence in the market occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He explained that amid COVID-19, the organisation took a decision to withdraw 9.6 million barrels per day from the market- the highest ever adjustment in its history- for a duration of two years. He added that OPEC is now in the final lap of restoring the production figures due to rebound in the global market and economy. Barkindo stressed that "throughout the period of my tenure I have continued to benefit from the President's international goodwill and everywhere I visited in the world both within OPEC and outside OPEC, the first person your fellow Presidents, Prime Ministers and Kings, ask me of is; how is my brother, President Muhamamdu Buhari." Having survived the major turbulences in 2016 and 2020, Barkindo expressed confidence that the worst is over and the future looks very promising for the organisation. He, therefore, thanked President Buhari for giving him the opportunity to serve, pledging that Nigeria would continue to play its leadership role in OPEC as well as in the global oil industry. The federal government has called for the speedy dispensation of cases concerning the maritime industry in order to have a vibrant sector. The call was made by the minister of state for transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, at the international maritime seminar for judges organised by the Nigerian Shippers' Council (NSC) in Abuja on Tuesday. Speaking at the function, the minister said, "the importance of speedy and efficient dispensation of maritime matters by the courts can never be over-emphasized because, as we all know, in international commercial transactions, time is money and it is even more so in a multi-billion dollar industry like ours." Also speaking on the seminar, the minister said, "I must commend the sustainability of the partnership between the Nigerian Shippers' Council and National Judicial Institute which dates back to 1995. This strategic partnership stemmed from the recognition of the need to specially furnish our judicial officers with the requisite knowledge to assist them in facilitating expeditious dispensation of justice in maritime causes in our courts. "The lacuna created by the low penetration level in maritime law at the undergraduate levels of our universities, coupled with the fast pace of development in international trade, exerts a lot of strain on our judicial officers some of whom are confronted with this special area of the law for the first time when admiralty matters are brought before their courts for adjudication. "It is therefore commendable that this seminar has created a veritable forum where prominent jurists and legal luminaries come together to rub minds on how to enhance the competitiveness and economic viability of our maritime industry, not only through the capacity building of the judicial officers, but indeed also in tackling some of the crucial issues on the front burner of maritime discourse both locally and globally. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "This will no doubt increase the confidence of investors in the industry, since it is obvious that an efficient, lucid, predictable and stable legal system plays a very significant role in attracting investors. "It is worth mentioning that this seminar series have contributed immensely in charting the policy direction of government in the maritime sector. I am happy to state that government will continue to rely on the important outcomes of this forum for policy enunciation." While speaking at the function, the chairman of the occasion, Hon. Justice Bode Rhodes Vivour of the Supreme Court, said the seminar provides a specialised form for the judicial officers to be equipped with requisite skill and knowledge as a means to an efficient and effective judicial resolution of maritime cases. He stated that "the judiciary as we all know, is the lifeline of democratic societies. The need to strengthen our respective judiciary cannot be overemphasized. A strong and independent judiciary, which practices international best standards, promote stability, protects rights, and guarantees fair and expeditious outcomes. "Judiciary's importance pertains to the political and social life of the people and acts as a catalyst for economic change and development of a nation. An effective judicial system is a key pillar of an efficient economy and plays a vital role in a nation's economic performance." --> Queensland health authorities are urging people to show personal responsibility as they rule out mask or vaccine mandates in the face of a third Omicron wave. In his first visit to the region Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to heed the lessons of the emergency and work with all levels of government on flood mitigation strategies in the national interest. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. The last G7 meeting in Germany took place in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea. Seven years later, leaders are back to confront the costly consequences of decisions that led up to the war in Ukraine. Joe Biden has finally gotten into contact with the wife of Brittney Griner ... and, according to the White House, POTUS assured her they're doing everything they can to bring the WNBA star home. The White House said in a statement that both Biden The UK estimates that Russian forces are within 16 kilometers of the town of Sloviansk in Donetsk, which appears to be Russia's next major target after seizing Lysychansk. Follow DW for the latest. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to "turbo charge" renewable power and limit Russia's influence on energy policy. Meanwhile, Kyiv denied Russia's claims that it destroyed US-supplied rocket systems. DW has the latest. BBC News 06 Jul 2022 The airline says the cancellations will affect short-haul flights between August and the end of October. Seven people were killed and dozens wounded when a gunman opened fire on people attending a July 4 parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. Authorities said the accused had planned the attack for weeks. A campaign to raise funds for a toddler found wandering the streets of Highland Park, Illinois after Mondays mass shooting has.. Mediaite 05 Jul 2022 analysis Sandfish are migratory freshwater fish found only in South Africa that can grow to over half a metre in length. They sport a pronounced downturned mouth which is used to graze algae off rocks and to grub in mud and sand on the stream bed. As one of the largest grazers in South Africa's Doring River system, sandfish keep the rivers clean and the food web balanced. They also act as an umbrella species - protecting them indirectly protects river ecosystems and other species that inhabit them. That's by virtue of their migratory life cycle: sandfish move over long distances of river at different life stages. To thrive, they need healthy, connected rivers that hold water year-round and don't harbour alien species. Unfortunately, their migratory life cycle also makes them particularly vulnerable to human-linked impacts. Sandfish were once abundant and widespread across the Olifants and Doring River systems, but have recently disappeared from the Olifants. Their numbers in the Doring are in sharp decline. We published a study showing that sandfish numbers in a critical tributary had declined significantly over just five years. Between 2013 and 2018, rangers from the Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve in the Northern Cape province surveyed the fish in the Oorlogskloof River. The results were sobering: a population decline of 92.6% by 2018, led by a 99.6% decrease in numbers of young sandfish. Catastrophic unseasonal flows due to climate change during the 2013 spawning season likely catalysed this decline. The long drought that followed prevented population recovery. Adding to the problem was the presence of non-native black bass and bluegill sunfish. Where these were found, sandfish were all but absent, effectively isolating the Oorlogskloof sandfish population from those in the Doring River and creating a population sink - a low quality habitat which only contributes to a population's decline. These conditions, ubiquitous throughout the sandfish's remaining range, have resulted in bringing the species to the brink of extinction. This sort of knowledge is invaluable in focusing South Africa's limited freshwater conservation resources where they are needed most. Threats and sanctuaries The historical range of the sandfish has more than halved in the last century. This is the result of decades of predation by introduced non-native fishes, the construction of dams that block upstream spawning migrations, extreme climatic events, and rivers that are drying due to climate change, thirsty alien plants, and the excessive withdrawal of water to supply agriculture and towns in arid regions. The biggest worry is the lack of juvenile and subadult sandfish in the Doring River. It indicates an ageing population with few, if any, young sandfish surviving the precarious early life stages. In 2013, a colleague accidentally stumbled on some tiny sandfish in the Doring River and discovered that they were still spawning despite the odds. It catalysed the first sandfish conservation efforts, which were followed in 2018 by the Saving Sandfish Project. The goal was to better understand the most pressing threats to the sandfish and restore the species to sustainable numbers. The sandfish has an impressive spawning strategy. It migrates dozens (perhaps even hundreds) of kilometres each year to reach its tributary spawning grounds. Protecting the species therefore requires collaboration with landowners whose farms and lands are crossed by the rivers that the sandfish inhabit. Since the project's inception, six sets of landowners in the Doring River catchment have transformed their off-stream farm dams into "sandfish sanctuaries". The safe stop-over habitats for juvenile sandfish are free of alien fish that would eat them. Tributaries that once provided nurseries for young sandfish now dry up completely each year by the end of summer, so these fish are rescued en masse and relocated to the sanctuary dams - a vital step for sandfish to complete their life cycle. Once sandfish reach a predator-proof size of around 20cm, they are released back into the wild. They are tagged to allow for monitoring of how many survive and return to spawn in later years. The first release took place in 2021, so data from this year's spawning migration will give us an indication of whether our efforts have been successful. Working with farmers In addition to providing sanctuary dams, landowners help to transport rescued sandfish, replace old in-stream fencing with sandfish-friendly fencing, provide accommodation for scientists, and even help with river monitoring. The project's approach has been unusual in partnering with farmers who directly influence the rivers. Several fruit and livestock farmers in the Biedouw River valley take water out of the river for irrigation. The conservation project recognises that farming is an equally important part of the landscape and that it is only through collaboration that progress is possible for the mutual benefit of biodiversity and people. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Environment Wildlife By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. All the stakeholders in the project, be they goat farmers, guest farm owners, or nature reserve management staff, are heavily invested in the outcome of the conservation efforts. Moving forward While still in its infancy, this conservation project can already count a series of successes. Thousands of sandfish have been successfully reared in off-stream farm dams, creating source populations for reintroductions for years to come. Over 1,200 nursery-reared sandfish have been released back into the wild. Countless relationships have been forged with landowners, farmworkers and other stakeholders in the Doring River catchment which will ensure the sustainability of the project into the future. Perhaps most importantly, the Saving Sandfish project has created awareness of the problems of river conservation in this arid region. And it acts as a rallying point for a community of diverse land-users who share a common goal: to protect the natural environment for the benefit of all. Charles L. Griffiths, Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town Cecilia Cerrilla, PhD student, University of Cape Town Newsy 08 Jul 2022 Watch VideoMemorial services and funerals for three of the seven people killed when a gunman opened fire on a July Fourth parade in.. Newsy 06 Jul 2022 Watch VideoA man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder after firing off more than 70 rounds at an Independence Day parade in.. Denunciations in Russia began soon after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine. DW spoke with an anthropologist, a psychologist and a historian about people's motivations for turning dissidents in. Facing arrest and draconian prison sentences, some Russians are still finding ways to voice their opposition to the Kremlin's aggression in Ukraine. The boss of OPEC - the powerful cartel that represents many of the world's biggest oil producers - has died at the age of 63. "We will take in as many Ukrainian citizens fleeing the brutal war foisted upon them through no fault of their own as we must. We will not introduce any caps in that regard." In the year since President Jovenel Moise was killed, the countrys despair has deepened. Gangs now vie with the government for control. Football.london 06 Jul 2022 England got their Women's Euro 2022 campaign off to the perfect start in front of a record crowd at Old Trafford The Wall Street Journal has been banned from the next two Budget lockups after enraging the Treasury with an embargo breach this year.The Treasury will not allow the WSJ to attend future Budget briefings in Wellington or other major... The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that Pyongyang could detonate a nuke one of these days. opinion London Digitisation may be useful for donors and humanitarian organisations, but their application can look very different from the perspective of people in crises. Aid groups are driving deeper into digitalisation through biometric verification, satellite mapping, and social media analytics, all of which purport to bring faster and cheaper aid. Yet when designing these tools, a cost-benefit analysis for the user is rarely considered. That often leaves people living in the midst of crises to deal with a new system that may be inconvenient, offers them little direct benefit, and forces them to take on more risk. This is a mistake. Humanitarians must ensure that the people who are actually going to use the digital tools to access goods and services get to participate in their design. They must also consider how such tools often deepen - rather than reduce - power inequalities in a humanitarian system where those who are trying to rebuild their lives and livelihoods still have far too little say in decisions that affect their lives. Recently, a biometric system for Syrian refugees was introduced in Jordan to offer stronger assurance to donors that cash assistance was reaching the right recipients. However, it turned out that older people, and those with eye conditions or limited mobility, struggled to use the biometric registration. Most preferred the previous ATM cards. The goals of delivering greater oversight and accountability for donors clearly clashed with those of appropriate and inclusive assistance. Narratives around having to do "more with less" and the need for stringent monitoring requirements - as well as greater remote management due to COVID access restrictions - have encouraged such digitalisation trends. Many of these technologies offer scale and distance: tools to remotely assess and manage from afar, or to disburse funds rapidly during a response. Benefits also include more granular, real-time monitoring of programmes that donors see as key for reducing aid diversion and fraud, and that can be a necessary condition for further, more flexible funding. The risks of digital compounding exclusion Recent data breaches of aid users' personal information and the passing of refugee biometric data to hostile governments have drawn important attention to digital risk in the humanitarian space. What's often still missing, though, is a critical consideration of the impact such applications will have for inclusion. Humanitarians need to ask how a technology can be adapted to fit a particular context, and what the limitations are in understanding a place or group of people through data. What are the biases and assumptions within it? Do aid recipients actually want to move to this new system of registration or verification? These questions are often overlooked, with considerations centering more on technical processes. Inclusion means engaging with the particular needs and wishes of marginalised groups - and being prepared to offer an alternative means of administering support if aid users do not consent to using digital tools, such as biometrics. This is far from standard practice. There are plenty of examples where digital technologies have furthered inclusion in crises - just not yet many from the formal humanitarian sector. Participatory mapping, for example, is one way communities are able to advocate for better services and recognition. Many of these more grassroots initiatives - for example, "Geochicas", "MapBeks", and Map Kibera - come from outside the sector, and cast the scope of their work more widely. Social media, too, plays an increasingly prominent role for many people affected by crises and for civil society groups, yet the humanitarian sector has not effectively engaged with such spaces. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa ICT Aid and Assistance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Groups that have prioritised inclusion, including WeRobotics' Flying Labs Network, Localization Lab, and the 'Signpost' initiative that uses social media to provide information for displaced people, stress that in-person and mixed-methods approaches are still needed to mitigate the exclusions that digital tools can amplify. For the humanitarian sector, these kinds of approaches are up against a lot of disincentives - prohibitive cost, a lack of contextual expertise, and short-term funding cycles. But as research by the Humanitarian Policy Group recently outlined, the costs of not doing so are high too. By failing to address such concerns, humanitarians risk entrenching a set of tools and ways of looking at the world that are unsuitable for the most-marginalised people and deepening their exclusion in aid. Edited by Jessica Alexander. John Bryant, Senior Research Officer, Humanitarian Policy Group, at ODI Boris Johnson is asked whether he will rule out dissolving parliament if he doesn't have his MPs confidence. The boys photo was shared across Chicago-area social media groups after the July 4 parade shooting, where he was found bloodied and alone. He was identified as Aiden McCarthy, 2, now orphaned. Boris Johnson was battling to save his premiership last night after two of his most senior Cabinet ministers resigned within 10 minutes of each other.Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, then Chancellor Rishi Sunak published letters... By Dr. J Scott Younger* *T*he war in Ukraine goes painfully on. After 4 months, the Russians show slow gains and have taken much of the Donbas, E Ukraine. In fact, if we count Crimea and the land along the south coast as well, Russia has grabbed almost 20% of Ukraine land, and most of it the most valuable, including where the... Iranian media reported on Wednesday that the countrys paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners in the country of espionage Sports Illustrated 07 Jul 2022 Rafael Nadal announced he has withdrawn from his Wimbledon semifinal match Friday against Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal tear he.. B. G., Opalesque Geneva: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is concerned about the discretionary activity of information providers and wants your opinion on the matter. In June, the SEC said it was requesting information and public comment on matters related to the activities of certain information providers. The Request specifically focuses on index providers, model portfolio providers, and pricing services. Are information providers, under particular facts and circumstances, acting as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940? How should SEC's framework for registering and regulating investment advisers apply to those providers (if at all)? "In recent decades, the use of information providers has grown, changing the asset management industry," said SEC chair Gary Gensler. "The role of these information providers today raises important questions under the securities laws as to when they are providing investment advice rather than merely information." "Index providers, model portfolio providers, and pricing services have come to play prominent roles in today's asset management industry," said commissioner Caroline Censhaw. "Take index providers as an example. In 2020, there were approximately 3 million indexes, ra...................... To view our full article Click here Murang'a The Service Party (TSP) leader Mwangi Kiunjuri has urged Mt Kenya leaders to maintain their political parties and use them as bargaining tools in the next government. Kiunjuri cautioned leaders saying the parties will be the only weapon left for the leaders to bargain for the interests of their people after this year's general election. Speaking in Kangema, Murang'a County, Kiunjuri observed that it will be unlikely for any of the major parties to garner the required majority in Parliament. "I don't think there is a party which will manage to get over 100 members of parliament and our parties will come in handy to save the situation," he said, Kiunjuri noted that after the August 9 election, the instruments of power shall be handed over to someone who is not a native to the area and the local leaders need to be prepared to negotiate for the interests of the region. For the first time in Kenya's histoty, the vote-rich region does not have a presidential candidate, even though two of them picked their running mates from the region. Azimio La Umoja One Kenya candidate Raila Odinga picked Martha Karua while his main competitor Deputy President William Ruto settled on Mathira Member of Parliament Rigathi Gachagua. "We should not give away all our weapons, if we give out an arrow, we keep the shield and vice versa so that we have something to bargain with," Kiunjuri stated, Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary has dismissed efforts by the larger parties to dissolve and merge all the 'small parties' terming this move as political suicide. "We have been here before in 2017 when we were told to fold our parties to join Jubilee but soon after things became messy leading to a fallout," he said. "We cannot make the same mistake again and I am urging other leaders from the region to stay put and not to be convinced by anybody to dissolve their parties," Kiunjuri added. The party leader also expressed dissatisfaction with the current zoning of the parties under the Kenya Kwanza coalition saying the smaller outfits are being undercut. "These big parties undermining us should know they will need us soon so that we can boost their numbers and thus they should accord us respect," he said. Kiunjuri also established that he has not given up on his ambition to become the president of this country saying he will be patient enough until his time comes. Comparing himself to President Mwai Kibaki, he said he is still young, and he could wait even for up to five more elections before he attains the age at which Kibaki was elected president. He further defended his move to vie for the Laikipia East parliamentary seat saying he is still on course, and it is not a political setback. - Kna Kisii Lawyer Danstan Omari has asked the Azimio one Kenya Alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga to assure the Kisii community publicly if Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred MatinagI will retain his position if he takes over the government in August polls. While speaking in West Mugirango Constituency, Omari said the Azimio presidential candidate should make it clear to the Kisii community about Matiangis fate like he did to Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho who will head the Ministry of lands while Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya will take over the treasury and Peter Munya head the agriculture ministry. This comes after the Azimio tour in Nyamira County where Ondinga said he will accommodate Fred Matiangi in his Government after the elections. "Our presidential candidate said he will accommodate our son in the next government, we would like him to make it clear for the assurance of our community that Matiangi will still head the ministry of interior, "said Omari. He said the Kisii Community are in Azimio and they have promised to cast their votes for the Azimio Government and therefore they will not be left behind in the Azimio stake if it takes over the government. "We are not in Azimio by accident, as a community we decided support leaders who will accommodate as because we have decided to put our votes in one basket," said Omari. He said the Kisii people at the top positions in the jubilee government should be retained because of the handshake between Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta in the Azimio government including solister general, chairman of lands commission, the controller of budget and the chairman of the central bank. The Jubilee parliamentary candidate for west Mugirango constituency Stephen Mogaka said it was important for Odinga pronouncing the benefits and take away of the kisii people during his tour in Nyamira. "We welcome the decision of the Azimio presidential candidate for accommodating Matinagi in the Azimio government," said Stephen Matiangi. Fred Matiangi publicly came out and announced his support and campaigning for the Azimio candidate Raila Odinga a head of the General elections. In overturning a half-century of nationwide legal protection for abortion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Roe v. Wade had been wrongly decided and that it was time to return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives in the states. Whether those elected officials are truly representative of the people is a matter of debate, thanks to another high court decision that has enabled control of state legislatures to be skewed to the right or left. In June 2019, three years before its momentous abortion ruling, the Supreme Court decided that it has no role in restraining partisan gerrymandering, in which Republicans or Democrats manipulate the boundaries of voting districts to give their candidates an edge. The result is that many legislatures are more heavily partisan than the state's population as a whole. Gerrymandering again flourished as politicians used the 2020 census data to redraw districts that could benefit their party both for this year's elections and the next decade. In some swing states with Republican-led legislatures, such as Michigan and Wisconsin, arguably gerrymandering really is the primary reason that abortion is likely to be illegal, said Chris Warshaw, a political scientist at George Washington University who analyzes redistricting data. Meanwhile, in states where Democrats have gerrymandered, its going to help probably make abortion laws more liberal than people would like, he added. A majority of Americans support abortion access in general, though many say there should be some restrictions, according to public opinion polls. States have sometimes been viewed as laboratories for democracy institutions most closely connected to the people where public policies are tested, take root and potentially spread. Writing for the Supreme Court's majority in its June 24 abortion decision, Justice Samuel Alito noted that 30 states had prohibited abortion when the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling short-circuited the democratic process, usurped lawmakers and imposed abortion rights nationwide. Our decision returns the issue of abortion to those legislative bodies, and it allows women on both sides of the abortion issue to seek to affect the legislative process by influencing public opinion, lobbying legislators, voting, and running for office, Alito wrote. The 2010 midterms, two years after former President Barack Obama was elected, were a pivot point for control of statehouses across the country. Coming into that election, Democrats fully controlled 27 state legislatures and Republicans 14, with the rest split. But sweeping GOP victories put the party in charge of redistricting in many states. By 2015, after two elections under the new maps, Republicans fully controlled 30 legislatures and Democrats just 11. That Republican legislative advantage largely persisted through the 2020 elections, including in states that otherwise are narrowly divided between Democrats and Republicans, such as Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Michigan could provide one of the biggest tests of representative government in the nation's new abortion battle. Republicans drew Michigan legislative districts after the 2010 census and created such a sizable advantage for their party that it may have helped the GOP maintain control of the closely divided House, according to an Associated Press analysis. As in Wisconsin, Democrats in Michigan won the governor's race and every other major statewide office in 2018 but could not overcome legislative districts tilted toward Republicans. The dynamics have changed for this year's elections. The GOP's edge was cut in half under new legislative districts drawn by a voter-approved citizens' redistricting commission, according to the PlanScore data. That could improve Democrats' chances of winning a chamber and influencing abortion policy. Michigan's Republican gubernatorial challengers generally support a 1931 state law temporarily placed on hold by a judge that bans abortions unless a woman's health is at risk. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is running for reelection, wants to repeal that law. Republican state Rep. Steve Carra said lawmakers are looking to replace it with "something that would be enforceable in the 21st century. "Its more important to protect life than it is a womans right to choose to take that life, said Carra, who leads a coalition of 321 lawmakers from 35 states that had urged the Supreme Court to return abortion policy to the states. Unsure about their legislative prospects, abortion rights advocates are gathering signatures for a November ballot initiative that would create a state constitutional right to abortion, allowing its regulation only after fetal viability. Its the best shot that we have at securing abortion access, Democratic state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky said. "I think if this is put in voters hands, they will want to see this ballot measure succeed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The deadline is approaching to sign petitions for a potential ballot initiative that could enshrine voter rights in the Michigan Constitution. Voters Not Politicians, a non-partisan advocacy organization, has spent the last few months collecting signatures for Promote the Vote 2022. If this proposal gets on the November ballot, it could lead to a constitutional amendment which the organization says would strengthen democracy by putting political power back in the hands of citizens. Voters Not Politicians is part of a larger coalition of organizations that are behind the Promote the Vote 2022 initiative. Voters Not Politicians is the largest volunteer effort of signature gatherers within the coalition. Voters not Politicians' goal is to obtain between 600,000-700,000 signatures by the July 11 deadline. Here is what the bill would do: Ensure that the Board of State Canvassers is the only entity authorized to certify election results, and require that those results be determined solely by votes cast by registered Michigan voters Require voters to prove their identity by showing a photo ID or signing an affidavit Allow voters to prove their identity by providing their signature when voting by mail Here is how you can get involved: Information about how to sign the petition and volunteer to collect signatures is accessible on the "Voters Not Politicians" website. See More Collapse Create a state-funded ballot tracking system that would track absentee ballot applications and ballots and would provide voters with electronic notifications (if opted in) Allow voters to request that an absentee ballot be mailed to them for all future elections without having to submit an application each time Provide registered voters with more options to cast their ballot, with the goal that lines will be shorter for in-person voters on an election day Provide for nine days of early voting (eight hours per day) before statewide and federal elections Require pre-paid postage to be provided by Michigan election officials on absentee ballot applications and absentee ballot envelopes Require at least one drop box in every municipality and at least one drop box for every 15,000 registered voters in a municipality Require donation disclosure of polling places and other charitable donations Prohibit intimidating conduct that interferes with the right to vote Prohibit the use of laws, rules, or procedures that interfere with the right to vote Noting that jobs and family responsibilities keep many voters from getting to the polls on voting day, Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters not Politicians, said when people have increased access to drop boxes, clerks and expanded voting hours, more people will be able to go out and vote. We know that the more access people have, the more options we have, the more we can make our voices heard, Wang said. That's what our goal should be. Wang said voter rights are still in need of some protection, but her group is building off of the success of the 2020 presidential election, which had a record turnout of voters. More than 1,000 people have been out collecting signatures for Promote the Vote from all 83 counties in Michigan. Wang said some volunteers only collect five signatures from their family members, while other volunteers have collected 1,500 signatures each. She described the initiative as a voter-led effort, where every contribution counts. It's all everyday Michiganders that are passionate about putting this on the ballot and protecting our voting rights in the Constitution, Wang said. She encourages people to sign and to also volunteer as circulators in their communities to gather more signatures across the state. Our volunteers will physically drive (you) a clipboard and petitions, and give you the training you need to collect signatures, right there in your community, Wang said. Voters not Politicians previously achieved a successful anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative in 2018 to create a fair, impartial, and transparent redistricting process in Michigan, which led to the creation of the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Wang said the campaigns to end gerrymandering and to protect voting rights ensure that eligible voters aren't prevented from casting their votes. That gives me a lot of hope and encouragement that even as politics are seemingly getting more polarized and more toxic on the party level, with respect to voters we're still able to connect on a lot of issues, including voting rights that we all care about, Wang said. Midland County added 88 COVID-19 cases from June 22-28, according to the State of Michigan's website on Tuesday. The state recently shifted its weekly reporting day to Tuesdays. COVID-19 numbers June 22-28 Midland County added 88 cases from June 22-28. Overall, Midland County has 18,568 cases, 1,786 probable cases, 213 deaths and 19 probable deaths. Bay County added 67 cases and one death. Overall, Bay County has 25,691 cases, 2,896 probable cases, 567 deaths and 32 probable deaths. Gladwin County added 13 cases. Overall, Gladwin County has 4,978 cases, 852 probable cases, 111 deaths and four probable deaths. Isabella County added 46 cases and three deaths. Overall, Isabella County has 13,878 cases, 2,521 probable cases, 197 deaths and 22 probable deaths. Saginaw County added 209 cases and two deaths. Overall, Saginaw County has 48,848 cases, 4,336 probable cases, 914 deaths and 53 probable deaths. Overall, Michigan is at 2,606,431 confirmed and probable cases and 36,918 confirmed and probable deaths. MyMichigan Health statistics As of June 13, MyMichigan Medical Center in Midland was listed as having a 77% bed occupancy with six COVID patients and none in the ICU. MyMichigan Medical Center in Gladwin was listed as having a 32% bed occupancy with one COVID patient and none in the ICU. Both medical centers reported having at least 15-30 days worth of personal protection equipment (N95 masks, surgical masks, gowns, gloves and eye protection) on hand. Recovered According to the Midland County Health Department website, 18,451 Midland County individuals have recovered from COVID. This data was last updated on June 21. Testing Midland Countys seven-day rolling test positivity rate between June 17-23 was listed at 15.1%, and Gladwin Countys was listed at 7.5%. Midland County has high community transmission while Gladwin County has substantial community transmission. Our 12-county region was listed at 12.6% and Michigan was at 12.4%. Every household in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests for free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. To place an order for at-home COVID tests, visit covidtests.gov. Midland County vaccinations Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at clinics administered by the health department at the Midland County Services Building, 220 W. Ellsworth St., Midland. The health department will vaccinate anyone who needs a first or second dose; those who need their second dose must bring their vaccination card. Following FDA approval, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is urging all eligible Michiganders to get a Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer booster vaccine if they have received their primary COVID-19 vaccines. Following CDC approval, MDHHS is urging all eligible Michiganders aged 12 and up to get the Pfizer booster vaccine if they have received their two primary COVID-19 vaccines. Currently, Pfizer is the only authorized vaccine for under age 18. The Midland County Department of Public Health has vaccine booster shots available for children ages 5-11. Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some people may prefer the vaccine type they originally received and others may prefer to get a different type of booster vaccine. CDCs recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots. Consult your healthcare provider if there is a question which vaccine is appropriate for you. Michiganders should bring their COVID-19 vaccine card or immunization record with them when getting their booster dose, which is available at any vaccine provider. Downloadable immunization records are accessible free at the Michigan Immunization Portal. To obtain their record, Michiganders must create a MILogin account at Michigan.gov/MiImmsportal and upload a valid government issued photo ID such as a driver's license, state ID or passport. If you do not have records in the portal, contact your healthcare provider or local health department. Future COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Midland County are listed at www.co.midland.mi.us/HealthDepartment/COVIDVaccineInformation.aspx. Those with questions may call 989-832-6380 or email MCDPH@co.midland.mi.us. Photo provided/MyMichigan Health Julie Ward, Ed.D. a human resources leader with more than 30 years of experience, has been named senior vice president and chief human resources officer at MyMichigan Health. She has been with the health system in the role of system vice president of human resources since 2021 and will now transition to senior vice president and chief human resources officer. Julies commitment to excellence and human resources administration has been very evident during her time with the health system, said Greg Rogers, president and CEO of MyMichigan Health. One of her many accomplishments was evaluating and implementing a critical staffing stabilization plan during the peak of the pandemic that was very well received. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Courtesy photo/Geri Valentine Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy photo/Geri Valentine Show More Show Less 3 of 3 PoWeR! Book Bags continued to support summer literacy for kids in June with its annual School Vacation Literacy Giveaway in Grand Traverse five-county area schools, delivering books and literacy supplies to students as they departed for summer vacation. Students at 12 participating schools were invited to select brand new books of their choice to keep and enjoy all summer long. PoWeR! Book Bags additionally provided each student with two create-your-own story booklets designed to help kids continue to practice writing as they tell their own tales, narrate their feelings and explore their thoughts. MANISTEE A public hearing on amending some of the city zoning ordinances is scheduled for the next city of Manistee Planning Commission meeting on July 7. There are two proposed changes to different sections of the zoning ordinance. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on July 7 in council chambers at Manistee City Hall. Storage shed Some of the proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance would be in clarifying certain definitions, such as what could be considered a storage shed. A proposed amendment would change the definition of a storage shed, which is, in section 220 2 S of the Manistee Zoning ordinance, to include this language: "A building or structure of 144 square feet or less and not exceeding a height of eight feet at the eave line." Manistee County Planner Katie Mehl said that the proposed change to the language regarding the definition of a storage shed is important. "The ordinance currently allows for one detached accessory building in the residential districts but does not give regulation for a minimum size for the detached accessory building," she said. "Incorporating this language would allow for a detached accessory building such as a garage, and a small storage shed in addition to the one detached accessory building on a parcel." She added that "the storage shed amendments were proposed by the [planning department after discussion with the planning commission, because of the number of requests that have come in this past month for small storage sheds." Special use permit Another amendment would create an automatic expiration date of two years for special use permits if a site did not build up or use the permitted site within the two years of the original permit approval. Mehl said the two-year deadline for special use permits is needed because "the planning commission almost always stipulates a two-year deadline for special use permits so that a property owner must commence the use within a reasonable amount of time after approval." "Adding this language would make it so the (planning commission) does not have to stipulate a deadline because it will be spelled out in the zoning ordinance," Mehl said. "The language for Special Land Use termination date was also brought forward by the planning department due to the planning commission typically stipulating a two-year deadline," Mehl said. She noted that the timing was right for these amendments as there are "no new special land use requests coming forward to the planning commission this month." Wheels on China's Zhurong rover keep stable with novel material Xinhua) 16:18, July 06, 2022 BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- New material has been maintaining high stability of the rover Zhurong on China's Tianwen-1 probe, according to the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The researchers from the institute developed the wheels on the rover. The novel material of the wheels is an aluminum matrix silicon carbide composite. Its plasticity was enhanced apparently, with high strength, resistance and stability. The reliability of the novel material was proved by the complex conditions on the surface of Mars, said Ma Zongyi, a researcher with the institute. The researchers have also developed more than 50 types of components such as driving systems and detectors for Zhurong. As of June 29, the orbiter of the Tianwen-1 probe has been operating normally for 706 days. It has acquired medium-resolution image data covering the whole globe of Mars, according to the China National Space Administration. The Tianwen-1 probe consists of an orbiter, a lander, and the rover Zhurong. On May 15, 2021, it touched down at its pre-selected landing area in Utopia Planitia, a vast Martian plain, marking the first time that China has landed a probe on the planet. The rover Zhurong started patrolling Mars on May 22, 2021. As of Aug. 15, 2021, Zhurong had finished the designed 90-Martian-day mission and continued to work for further exploration. Having traveled around 1,921.5 meters on the surface of Mars, on May 18, 2022, Zhurong switched to the dormant mode due to the chilly winter and dusty weather on the red planet. It will resume operations around this December when the working conditions get better. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Nairobi Kenya has overtaken South Africa to become Africa's top exporter of avocados. In Central Kenya, where the majority of the country's small-scale avocado farmers are found, coffee bushes are fast being replaced by avocado trees amid global demand and higher earnings. There is a problem, however, theft. Avocado thieves are keeping farmers in the county awake as they opt to form vigilante groups to guard their crops. Mary Gitau walks through her farm in Central Kenya. She combs through her avocado trees with a sense of despair. Without money to employ people to watch over her crop, she patrols the farm with the machete in hand hoping to keep away the marauding avocado thieves. "I can't count the number of times, my avocadoes have been stolen, but the ones I can recall, I caught some thieves, just down there, where we are standing, this latest one is the 5th time," says Gitau. The 70-year-old mother should be enjoying the fruits of her labour but avocado thieves have left her penniless with nothing to show for the years that her late husband and herself spent tending the trees. "When we were planting these trees, we knew they would benefit us in old age because now nobody can employ somebody like me, but I have not gained anything, especially during this harvest period." Growing demand for avocados Murang'a county is Kenya's top producer of avocados and farmers like Mary are now uprooting other cash crops like coffee and tea to plant avocados also known as the Green Gold. The billion-dollar avocado industry has been fuelled by surges in international interest, health and wellness experts now call it a super fruit. "So, what we have seen is a lot of demand both locally and internationally for the fruit, as people come to realize what the benefit is, that is leading more farmers coming to the industry," says MD of Afrex Gold Ltd, Shiro Ndirango. Inside an agro-processing factory, we witness the rigorous quality checks that fruits meant for export undergo, they are checked for everything from size to shape, and most markets demand spotless fruits. "We are selling to wholesalers and supermarkets," Ndirango explains. Kenya is currently the world's third-largest producer of avocados. It is the country's leading export fruit. Last year, the East African nation overtook South Africa to become Africa's top exporter of avocados. Farmers protect their crops So, to reap these benefits, farmers are employing unorthodox methods to protect their crops; they are employing vigilantes that roam the farms 24 hours 7 days a week to ensure no theft takes place in the farms. Martin Muriri is one such farmer. "I have employed three young men, we patrol the farm throughout the night, I don't sleep at night, we have torches and clubs when they see us they run away. I decided to do this because I can't continue losing my hard-earned money, so we go out either they injure us or we injure them. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Trade By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The farmers have also formed a cooperative union that helps them push exporters for better prices. "The avocado has turned our lives around, since the formation of cooperatives, the price of the fruit as sold to exporters moved from 50 cents to about 15 shillings a piece, people here have built palatial homes from living in mud houses, people are also keeping livestock, but they also know how to look for markets," says Chairperson of the Muranga Avocado Association John Mwaniki. However, the association says it is spending more time begging the government to help protect its produce from thieves. "There are a lot of young men without jobs, so middlemen approach them and tell them, I will give you five shillings a kilo and because they know the union pays 15 shillings a kilo, they are left with no choice but to steal, every day I get calls about farmers who have lost their produce to thieves and it seems these thieves are working with local administrators because when you report, no arrests are made." While the government says the theft of avocados is treated like any other crime - farmers are demanding stiffer penalties equivalent to those meted out on those who commit economic crimes. - Cgtn MECOSTA COUNTY Deputies with the Mecosta County Sheriffs Office responded to the following calls. All calls may not be reported. All suspects are assumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Deputies responded to one car-deer crash. An assault was reported in the 200 block of South Webber Street in Morton Township. A male allegedly assaulted another male. The victim was transported by EMS for possible broken right hand. Suspect left the scene prior to arrival. Case is still under investigation. An attempted traffic stop led to a flee and elude pursuit on 3 Mile Road from 130th to 145th. A 16-year-old male driver allegedly attempted to flee from a traffic stop. Once he finally was stopped, he allegedly fled into the woods. K9 unit was able to track and locate him. He was turned over to a parental guardian. Charges are pending. Deputies responded to the 10000 block of Belle Isle Drive in Morton Township where a female has personal protective order on her next door neighbor. Police said she was upset and wanted him arrested for being in her sight while he was cutting his grass on his own property. Advised her he was not in violation. Deputies responded to a civil custody dispute in the 17000 block of Arthur Road in Colfax Township. Caller said her grandmother allegedly is refusing to turn over her 9-year-old son. Grandma reportedly doesnt like callers boyfriends criminal history and current behavior, police said. Child was returned to mom, and grandma was given information about how to file with Child Protective Services. Deputies executed a warrant arrest on a male in the 100 block of West Main Street in Morton Township. Male has two misdemeanor warrants and was lodged in the Mecosta County Sheriff's Jail. A civil dispute was reported in the 14000 block of Percy Drive in Martiny Township. A female wanted to report that her and her husband, who was in Kentwood, we're not getting along over text messages. A civil dispute was reported in the 600 block of Heron Drive in Aetna Township. Caller reported that a female who moved out months ago allegedly showed up that day and was trying to move back in. Domestic violence incidence was reported in the 17000 block of Point Drive in Martiny Township. A male allegedly was assaulted by his brother. Male was transport to the hospital for his injuries. Brother alleged he was feloniously assaulted first. A case of harassment was reported in the 1000 block of Gunn Avenue in Aetna Township. Caller said he had sold a lot to a male in Newaygo County. Caller alleged that he is getting nonstop calls and texts from the male and wants them to stop. Deputies responded to a domestic incidence in the 23000 block of 21 Mile Road in Green Township. A male allegedly assaulted his sister while at a party. The male is on probation and fled the scene prior to deputies arrival. Charges are being sought. Tuesday, July 5 Deputies responded to two car-deer crashes and four car crashes without injury. A traffic stop on South Front Street in Mecosta Township led to the passenger being arrested and lodged at the Mecosta County Sheriff's Jail on a warrant. A female walked into the Mecosta County Sheriff's Office to report a fraud complaint. Female reported receiving scam mail from someone claiming she won a prize from Publishers Clearing House. A larceny was reported in the 7000 block of 230th in Mecosta Township. Sometime over the last month, the caller's gravel pit allegedly had wiring and a battery charger stolen. A case of fraud was reported in the 2000 block of 19 Mile Road in Fork Township. Complainant reported receiving an overdue bill from Progressive for a car she doesn't own. Deputies responded to the 6000 block of Second Street in Martiny Township for a check wellbeing request and fraud complaint. An elderly couple was trying to buy a dog for $200. They reportedly have now sent the seller over $5,700. Investigation is ongoing. Deputies executed a warrant arrest in the 10000 block of Sunset Drive in Morton Township. Male had multiple warrants for his arrest out of Big Rapids Police Department. He was lodged without incident. A runaway was reported in the 21000 block of 1 Mile Road in Aetna Township. Dad called and reported that his son had run away from home. Upon arrival, deputies found the son down the road in the bushes. Son alleged they would not let him eat, as well as several other concerns. He was turned over to parents and a DHS referral was called in. Deputies responded to the 15000 block of McKinley Road for a property check request. The caller reported hearing that people were squatting on her grandfather's property, which had not been lived in for more than 40 years. Neighbors confirmed that someone was staying there, police said, and claimed they were fixing the property up for the owner, however they couldn't provide the owner's information. Later that night, a caller reported that the suspects were at the property. Upon arrival, deputies found two people sleeping. Both were removed. The male had five failure to appear warrants, one contempt of court warrant, one conditional release violation warrant and one warrant that was advised and release from Allegan County. He was lodged without incident. Photo: (Photo : PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP via Getty Images) Casey Ward was working in Charleston, South Carolina, as a paramedic when she was suddenly struck by a sharp pain in her upper right abdomen. According to the now-33-year-old, she immediately went to the emergency room (ER), where clinicians ran a few tests on her. They told her that she was likely just constipated but that diagnosis did not match the pain Ward was experiencing or where in her belly it festered. She was in agony for months, with the pain coming back in waves, according to Insider. Doctors eventually settled on a bad gallbladder as their diagnosis for Ward, but no tests indicating gallbladder issues came back positive, which was perplexing to her. She had become pregnant with her second child by then, so even if it was her gallbladder, a removal surgery had to wait. Ward shocked after late cancer diagnosis Ward's pain intensified throughout the pregnancy, saying she barely left her house because it hurt to walk. She added that even a deep breath would spark sharp pain, with Ward begging her doctors to operate at this point. Her pregnancy prevented them from doing so, with doctors telling Ward that they didn't want to hurt the baby. She said that it was a very long nine months for her. Ward went to the ER again with unbearable pain a couple of months after her daughter was born. She could not wait for the scheduled surgery just two days later as an ultrasound spotted a tumor the size of a grapefruit this time around. The doctor still assured Ward that the tumor was likely benign, telling her that she was young and healthy. Unfortunately for Ward, that was not the case, as biopsy results showed the tumor as cancerous two weeks later. The cancer had already spread from her bile duct to her leg and lung, with one doctor giving her anywhere from a day to six months to live. Ward said she was just having such a typical day and was shocked because you never think that will happen to you at 31. A GoFundMe page was set up to help in her treatment. Read Also: Angry Mom Wants to Sever Ties With Parents Who Hosted Party Despite Their Kid Having Chickenpox Pregnancy may have accelerated the spread of Ward's cancer Ward is continuing treatments more than two years later, and she is sharing her story now to urge people to demand answers when they think something is wrong with their bodies. She said that if they don't advocate for themselves, no one will. According to the Mayo Clinic, bile duct cancers affect the liver's small tubes to the intestines and gallbladder. They are often diagnosed in late stages, making them difficult to treat. The five-year survival rate for those that have spread to other organs is only 2 percent. Doctors told Ward that the hormones from her pregnancy may have accelerated her cancer spread. Ward's love for her 1-year-old daughter overshadows any regrets about not getting an earlier diagnosis. Related Article: Indiana Mom Draws a Heart on Her Children's Hands Every Morning in Case of School Shooting Photo: (Photo : Jim Vondruska/Getty Images) An Illinois father hid with his two-year-old son and their dog inside a dumpster as a 22-year-old man instigated the Highland Park parade shooting. Seven people were killed following the incident, and 30 people have been treated for their injuries. Alexander Sandoval, a construction contractor, relayed to the New York Times that he immediately grabbed his son and tried to get to safety when he heard the gunshots. He couldn't get inside the buildings, so he went to a corner, found a dumpster, and placed his son and dog inside. The dad was in tears as he recounted what he witnessed to the press. He also saw other adults carrying children to safety with pure terror on their faces. One of them was mom, Erin Vine, who was watching the parade with her 6-year-old daughter, Nina. They also hid in one of the bins as Vine tried to keep her daughter calm. Vine sent her husband a text message to tell him they had hidden to safety. The mother heard screams and could see many police officers on the scene who were attempting to stop the shooter. Read Also: Father of Uvalde School Shooter Says Son Should Have Killed Him, Not the Kids Blood-Soaked toddler loses both parents Lauren Silva was at a breakfast spot near the route of the Highland Park parade when the shooting started. The mom of two said she and her boyfriend rushed to help the people on the ground when she was handed a blood-smeared toddler. All she could remember was that the boy's father was hit in the leg, and other people were helping control the bleeding. Silva brought the toddler to a house garage, where the Ring family was already hiding from the shooter. Mom, Dana Ring, was shaking in fear, but she helped out Silva in cleaning the toddler who kept asking for his parents. Dana and her husband, Greg Ring, told Silva they could take the toddler if she needed to leave. The child stayed with them and their in-laws until the police came to reunite him with his grandparents. Unfortunately, Silva later found out that the toddler's parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, died on the scene. Family and friends have set up a GoFundMe for Aiden, now an orphan, who his grandmother and grandfather will raise. The fundraiser has already raised over a million and is still ongoing. Uncle of Highland Park Parade shooter heartbroken Around 6:30 p.m., the Highland Park police arrested Robert E. Crimo III, 22, in relation to the Highland Park parade shooting. The suspect's uncle, Paul Crimo, told the press that his nephew had no indications he was a violent or troubled person. Paul also had no idea what triggered his nephew to open fire on innocent people. He said the incident shattered his heart. He expressed his apologies to the families of the dead and the injured. Per the Chicago SunTimes, Robert or Bobby was described as a quiet person who attended church services regularly. Neighbors said they rarely see Bobby as he keeps to himself and prefers to listen to blaring music. He also didn't seem to have a lot of friends his age. Charlotte Banks, his friend from church, said she was supposed to go by his house that Monday, and he canceled. She noted that Bobby never talked about politics or guns. The police, however, have uncovered troubling messages about violence and mass shootings posted by Bobby on social media. His uncle said that he was unaware of these. Related Article: Father's Day: Fatherlessness and Family Breakdown Blamed for Mass Shooting Increase in the US This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Nairobi A recent opinion poll has put the popularity rating of Deputy President William Ruto ahead of his close competitor Raila Odinga at 49.9 percent. According to the study by Intel Research Solutions, Odinga had a rating of 42.5 percent with 3.7 of those polled being undecided. Roots Party Presidential candidate George Wajackoyah and his Agano Party counterpart David Mwaure had ratings of 2.8 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. Intel Research in their study showed that Ruto is likely to manage a round one win against his competitors stating that a runoff is not a possibility with a less than a month to the general elections. The poll attributed Rutos lead to his popularity in both Mt Kenya region who have continued to support his presidential bid despite efforts by Odingas campaign team to scuttle his influence. Ruto has a majority of backing in the Mt. Kenya East at 73.1 percent with Odinga at 18.4 percent, with Wajackoyah and Mwaure with 3.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. In Mt.Kenya West, Ruto holds 66.6 percent ,Odinga 24.8 percent, Wajackoyah 3.3 percent and Mwaure 1.4 percent. The mountain has significantly rallied behind the DP despite the intense lobby by the Odinga camp. The significant difference is likely to produce the swing vote for the election, the opinion poll stated. Despite Ruto being ranked as the most popular candidate, Odinga has still maintained the grip of the coastal region at 50.2 percent while Ruto follows closely at 41 percent. The Coastal region which has turned out to be a battle ground for different candidates ranked Wajackoyah populous at 3 percent with Mwaure trailing at 1 percent. The Intel Research polls further showed that Northern Kenya which traditionally has been an ODM stronghold is said to have shifted ground in favor of DP Ruto. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Ruto is leading with a small margin at 47.4 percent while Odinga follows closely at 45.5 percent, Wajackoyah is a distant third with 2.3 percent and Mwaure fourth at 1.4 percent. The Maa rift has been portrayed as a battle ground for the presidential candidate with the two front runners, Ruto and Odinga intensifying campaign to win over the region. Ruto is however leading with a 46.1 percent while Odinga has 46.0 percent. The poll study also shows that the United Democratic Alliance presidential candidate has won over popularity in Nairobi and South Nyanza regions. In Nairobi, Ruto is leading with 53.7 percent, Ruto at 38.1 percent, Wajackoyah 3.2 percent and Mwaure at 1 percent. Further, intense campaign by Kenya Kwanza coupled by the ANC Leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya Moses Wetangula support for Ruto at 48.3 percent with Odinga having 43.3 percent. The Member of Parliament for Buem in the Oti Region, Kofi Adams has joined the Roman Catholic Church of Ghana and the diocese of Jasikan to celebrate the centenary memorial of the ordination of the Very Reverend Father Anastasius Odaye Kofi Dogli, the first indigenous Catholic Priest of the Gold Coast. In statement read on the floor of Parliament on Friday July 1, 2022, Mr. Adams said Father Dogli impacted significantly on the expansion of the Catholic Church, as his ordination inspired many. He noted that there was a spike in baptisms and many of the locals were keen to have one of their own baptize their children. The House was informed that Father Dogli encouraged young men and women to enroll in the seminaries and encouraged parents to send their boys and girls to school to receive formal education. Father Doglis first station was Kpando. He travelled with Bishop Herman (on bicycle) to Papase and Kete Krachi where he opened stations. He was sent to Gbi-Bla from Kpando in 1928. While at Kpando, he was requested by Bishop Herman to open and to start the Catholic Church at Jasikan. He worked at Kpando, Jasikan, Hohoe, Abor, Liati, Baglo and Lome, Mr. Adams stated. The Buem MP said he was exceptionally pleased that in memory of Father Dogli, a Vocational and Technical institute has been established in New Ayoma to eulogise the first indigenous Catholic Priest. He called on the Minister of Education and the GETFUND to support the infrastructural needs of the school. Father Dogli who spent 48 years in priesthood died on May 28, 1970. Kofi Adams expressed his sincere appreciation to the Most Reverend Gabriel Akwasi Ababio Mante, the Bishop of the Jasikan Diocese and the organising committees for the planning and celebration of such a memorable centenary memorial of the ordination of an illustrious son of Buem. Below is the full text of Hon. Kofi Adams statement to Parliament: STATEMENT ON THE ORDINATION ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL OF THE LATE REVEREND FATHER ANASTASIUS DOGLI, BY HONOURABLE KOFI ADAMS, MP FOR BUEM. Mr. Speaker, 2nd July 2022 marks a significant day in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana and especially the Catholic Dioceses of Jasikan. It is an exceptionally special day for the peoples of Baglo in particular and Buem in general. It is in this respect Mr. Speaker that I begin this statement by rendering my sincerest appreciation and gratitude to the Most Reverend Gabriel Akwasi Ababio Mante, the Bishop of Jasikan Diocese and the organizing committees for the planning and celebration of such a memorable centenary memorial of the ordination of an illustrious son of Buem, Very Reverend Fr. Anastasius Odaye Kofi Dogli, the first indigenous catholic priest of the Gold coast. Birth and Provenance Mr. Speaker Odaye Kofi Dogli was born in Baglo in August 1888 to his father Yawo Okanta Dogli and his mother Justine Nzowu Englobe. Baglo is one of the towns of the Buem traditional area, a group of indigenes belonging to the Lelemi-speaking people with the paramountcy located at Bodada. Anastasius Dogli was the third of five siblings. Baptism On 25th December 1904, Dogli was baptized at Baglo by Fr. Heinrich Schroder, SVD, his name appearing in the baptismal register in Kpalime. The entry NLB 156 records his name as Anastasius Deikofi which is probably a corruption of the name Odaye Kofi. Formal Education Fr. Doglis formal education began about 1902 at Lipke Avedzeme. In 1903, having impressed the missionaries who found him to be a brilliant and zealous soul, he was taken to Agome where he received training as a catechist under a three year bond with the German SVD missionaries. Having completed his formation, he subsequently served as a teacher-catechist and organist from 1907 through 1912. He was appointed to teach at Gbi-Atabu. In 1909, Dogli was promoted Head-teacher after he successfully completed training at the Ackerbauschule in Notse. It was after this that Dogli was transferred to Adzanu Fiagbe. Marriage, Family and Widowhood On April 19, 1909, in the Church of the Holy Spirit, in Agoue, Kpalime, Anastasius Dogli married Agnes Doklo. Mr. Speaker their marriage was blessed with a daughter, Philothea Akosiwa Dogli. The joy of the family was however to be short-lived as in April 1912, Agnes passed away leaving Dogli behind with their fourteen-month-old infant. He would take his daughter Philothea to the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles in Keta later and request of them to raise her up. Vocation to the Priesthood The death of Doglis wife, turned a page in his life. Dogli was now set on becoming a priest. According to Bishop Hummel, Dogli during his days as a teacher with the missionaries had manifested the desire to become a priest. He again recounted that Doglis request to the Divine Word Missionaries to be accepted as a seminarian in 1912 was born out of a desire he had nurtured for a long time rather than out of shock from the death of his wife. Preparation for the Priesthood Dogli was admitted as a mature student at the minor seminary at Bla (Hohoe) in 1913 where he began his study of Latin. In the 1914 academic year, Dogli was permitted to work as a teacher at Gbi-Atabu during the day and take lessons at the seminary in the evening. His formators, realizing the challenge the situation posed, recommended that Dogli be transferred to Anecho (in Togo), in 1915 as a full-time seminarian. In 1917 due to the First World War, the missionaries left Anecho and this brought Dogli to Lome where he continued his formation to the priesthood. In June 1919, after having successfully completed two years of philosophical studies, Dogli commenced his theological studies. It was during this period that Dogli received the first tonsure. Dogli was subsequently sent to continue his theological studies at Keta to study under Fr. James Fisher. In August 1920, the minor orders were conferred on him. He was subsequently received into the subdiaconate on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1922 and was ordained deacon on Pentecost Sunday, June 4, 1922. Both events took place in Cape Coast. The First Indigenous Catholic Priest of the Gold Coast The period of immediate preparation for Doglis ordination to the presbyteral order began in December 1921 when Bishop Hummel wrote to Cardinal Van Rossum in Rome requesting to ordain Dogli after having completed three years of theological studies. A positive response of Cardinal van Rossum led to the ordination of Anastasius Dogli to the priesthood on Sunday, July 2, 1922. The event was one of great joy for the entire city of Cape Coast and the Catholic Mission. A large and compact crowd attended the celebration, including protestants and pagans as well as many youths, who saw in Dogli, a role-model for perseverance and success, one who had demonstrated that it was not impossible for one of their own to arrive at the altar. In response to a presentation made to him on the said day, Dogli is reported to have said that he was no extraordinary person. It was God in his mercy who had been good to him. He thus urged other young people to follow this example and come to the assistance of the missionaries. On July 23, 1922, Dogli was in the Cathedral in Lome to celebrate his first Holy Mass. According to Bishop Cessou, the celebration began on the vigil of that Sunday with a procession which took about two hours. A dense crowd welcomed Fr. Dogli with songs and acclamation. The reception received by Fr. Dogli, made a deep impression on the European missionaries some of whom remarked to Bishop Cessou, that not even the governor would have had such a reception. This Bishop Cessou observes was the final evidence, that a black person could become a Catholic priest. The faithful listened with rapt attention to his homily, as he also narrated his vocational journey to the priesthood, emphasizing the need for indigenous priests, while urging the youth to respond to the vocation to the priesthood and religious life and encouraging parents not to oppose the call of their children. The impact of the celebration on the people was huge. For the seminarians in particular, to see before their eyes a man like themselves climb the altar as a priest, represented the greatest encouragement to their vocations. Other communities Fr. Dogli visited after his ordination were very welcoming. He was very warmly received in Keta, Kpalime, Gbi-Bla, Kpando and in his own hometown of Baglo during the months of August and September of 1922. On August 6, 1922, the first record of Fr. Doglis baptisms appears in the Baptismal Register at Kpando. Similarly, Fr. Doglis first baptism at Baglo is dated August 30, 1922. Twenty-nine baptisms are recorded between this date and September 17, 1922, with Fr. Dogli as minister, indicating a spike in baptisms on his arrival, and suggesting that some locals might have been eager to have their children baptized by the indigenous priest. Fr. Doglis charisma as a man who earned the respect and admiration of his people is not in doubt. The above testimony of Bishop Cessou is ample evidence of the kind of impact his ordination had on the faith of the ordinary Christian of his day. His personal validation of struggles as necessary for achieving the goal of an indigenous clergy, must have been crucial in encouraging the young seminarians present to persevere in their own vocations. This would have led to the altering of perceptions both among the faithful and of potential indigenous candidates for the priesthood, that it was indeed possible for an African to become a Catholic priest. Activities as a priest Fr. Dogliss first station was Kpando. He travelled with Bishop Herman (on bicycle) to Papase and Kete Krachi where he opened stations. He was sent to Gbi-Bla from Kpando in 1928. While at Kpando, he was requested by Bishop Herman to open and to start the Catholic Church at Jasikan. He worked at Kpando, Jasikan, Hohoe, Abor, Liati, Baglo and Lome. In his zeal to have financial support for the printing of the Lelemi Book (Vol. 1-12), he went to Rome and Holland. He finally settled at Baglo to continue his ministry. He died on May 28, 1970 after 48 years of priesthood. May his soul rest in perfect peace. Mr. Speaker, it is worth knowing that, Fr. Dogli did not only encouraged young men and women to enroll in the seminaries and novitiates. He also whipped up the interests of his compatriots to allow boys and girls to pursue formal education. I am personally happy (and am sure Fr. Dogli is happy too in heaven) that a Vocational/Technical Institute has been established in his memory at New Ayoma. I entreat the students of Fr. Dogli Memorial School to embrace the ethic of hard work and commitment to God as championed by the great Fr. Dogli of blessed memory. I wish to take this opportunity to appeal to the Minister of Education and the Administrator of GETFUND to support the infrastructural needs of this great school. It will not be out of place Mr. Speaker for government to adopt and upgrade this school as one of the programmed TVETs institutions in the country in honor of this respected patriot Mr. Speaker, you will agree with me that we are celebrating the life and ministry of a distinguished son and priest of this country from Buemland. He is our ancestor; and I dare to say also that he is our saint who braved the challenges of life and left us a legacy of courage, hope, and tenacity of purpose. Mr. Speaker who would have thought that our great, great grandfather, Fr. Anastasius Dogli, will learn different foreign languages, marry, raise a child, go through Catechism, Philosophical and Theological studies and become a priest in the Roman Catholic Church? It sounds very impossible and daunting tasks to fulfill by the poor son from Baglo-Buem at the time he did it. But, with God all things are possible. He followed his dreams and aspirations with determination and faith. He trusted in the Lord and in his capacities to succeed. It is my hope that we can also trust in the Lord our God, walk in the light of his word, do his good will as we forge ahead to fulfill our individual and collective dreams. As a minister of the Gospel, Fr. Dogli fought a good fight of faith. He finished the race. We are confident that the Lord, the just judge, has granted him a seat among the angels and saints at the table of the heavenly banquet. Fr. Anastasius Dogli!!! We honor and salute you!!! Ye ma wo mmo!!! Buteo Yiiduu!!! Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Nigerian government has offered slots for students who fled the war in Ukraine to continue their education at local universities and other tertiary institutions in the country. In a statement, the Nigerian foreign affairs ministry says efforts are being made to "facilitate their placement into various Nigerian tertiary institutions". The ministry has provided a registration form that interested Nigerian students can fill in on its website. Thousands of Nigerian students were evacuated from Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion of the country - disrupting their studies. But even if they get placements to complete their studies in Nigeria, it is likely to prove difficult because lecturers in local public universities have been on strike for several months over pay and working conditions. It is not clear when the institutions will reopen. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video John Peter Amewu, Minister of Railway Development, has mounted a defense for embattled cabinet colleague, Ken Ofori-Atta, stating that the Finance Minister is one of the best brains in the country. Amewu, who is also Member of Parliament for Hohoe Constituency, added that by his achievements since he took office, Ofori-Atta has proven himself to be one of the best Finance Ministers under the Fourth Republic. The Finance Minister has done extremely well and I think that so far he has been one of the best Finance Ministers we have seen in the Fourth Republic. President Akufo-Addo on July 1 ordered Ofori-Atta to commence formal engagements with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, which move the Minister had repeatedly said was not going to happen. Opposition voices have since mounted campaigns calling for Ofori-Atta to be sacked citing the fact that he has mismanaged the economy putting in a position where it required help from the global lender. This Finance Minister has been one of the best brains so far, everybody can attest to the fact, Amewu said in an interview on Accra-based TV3s on Tuesday July 5. On the issue of the Minister's borrowing spree, Amewu said: What is wrong with borrowing? If you borrow for a good reason there is nothing wrong, when you borrow for consumption, that is when you have a problem. The infrastructural development that we are seeing today, it is part of the borrowing and we are borrowing for good reason. These projects as have clearly demonstrated, are bankable projects, so if you borrow to finance a bankable project that has shown all elements of bankability, I dont think there is anything wrong about it." Ofori-Atta is part of a government taskforce headed by the President relative to engagements with the IMF. The Fund's team arrived in Accra on July 5 and are expected to start their meetings today. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Zulaiha Dobia Abdallah, the founder and CEO of Divaloper, has challenged Africans throughout the world to focus and strive for quality education for a better future. Speaking at the third APRM Youth Symposium under the theme: [email protected]: Reposition the youth agenda for a transformative continent, she said: I always believe that everybody has a skill thats supposed to be taught and we do not want to localise it where only people in Ghana can access that education. So, we are going to open the tentacles for people outside Ghana and hopefully in the worldwide market where somebody in Ghana can teach somebody in Uganda something that they know about the Ghanaian culture or something in education, she said. Abdallah added: And also to spread quality education because theres one thing that we know, that is the focus or the aim for everybody to go for quality education. You can go to school but if you dont have quality education that means that you are just wasting your years, and you will come out and you will not add any value to the universe. Abdallah said Africans can maximise their potentials. Theres one thing that I know also in Africa is that we have a lot of potential and its time for us to actually expand and show the world that we have so much potential. We have so much resources that the world needs currently and so we need to add ICT, and quality education to actually push this narrative so that people can actually start respecting us for the people that we are, she said. The objective of the symposium was to empower the youth in governance, leadership and development. 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 Officials in Nigeria say dozens of Boko Haram suspects are missing after prison in the capital, Abuja, was attacked by armed men on Tuesday night. The authorities have not said the total number of inmates who are on the run. Witnesses described hearing loud explosions and gunfire around the Kuje prison. The security forces said they later retook control of the facility. Islamist militants have carried out several jailbreaks across Nigeria in recent years. Other armed criminal gangs have also carried out similar attacks. More than 5,000 inmates have escaped since 2020. Hours before the latest prison attack, gunmen opened fire on a presidential in the north of the country. President Muhammadu Buhari was not in any of the vehicles. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Christ Apostolic Church International (CACI), Bantama Central Assembly, has donated quantities of relief items to three needy institutions in Ashanti Region. The institutions are the Bekwai Destitute Infirmary, Kumasi Childrens Home and Remar Rehabilitation Centre. The items worth GHc40,000.00 included bags of maize, rice, bags of beans, gari, tins of milo and milk, boxes of oats, 300 pieces of bread, drinking water, soft drinks, cooking oil, cleaning detergents, toilet tissues, clothes and shoes among other things. The Church also presented an undisclosed amount to the beneficiary institutions. Apostle Samuel Amponsah Frimpong, the General Secretary, CACI, presenting the items to the beneficiary institutions, said the church had a responsibility to reach out to the less privileged in the society. He indicated that it was a blessing and relief when Christians offered such gestures towards the welfare of people in the community. The donations, according to the Church, were to climax activities of a 40-day fasting and prayer organised by the Church. It has since 2018 donated quantities of such items to the needy in society, assuring them of hope, love, selflessness and task of being Christians. Apostle Frimpong commended CACI Bantama Central Assembly for their continued support to the disadvantaged and called on other religious bodies to make efforts of donating to needy people. He used the occasion to counsel Ghanaians to refrain from undertaking actions that were likely to cause chaos and turmoil to the peace that the country was enjoying. Every Ghanaian has the right to express him or herself but we must be conscious of our actions, especially, when demonstrating against pressing issues. The least careful you are can turn a peaceful demonstration into a bloody one, and this can mar the peaceful Ghana we enjoy today, he observed. Apostle Frimpong pledged that the Church would continue to reach out to the less privileged in the society and give hope to them. Mr Samuel Joe Amissah, the Director of Remar Rehabilitation Centre, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiary institutions, expressed appreciation to the Church for its support to them in the past years. He said the donations had come at a timely hour where the economic situation in the country had challenges, indicating that the items would go a long way in addressing their feeding and clothing needs. Mr. Amissah called on individuals and corporate organizations to continually reach out to needy institutions with help. 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 President Akufo-Addo has warned persons who are engaged in stealing railway tracks and other properties belonging to the company to desist or be made to face the law. He said the acts of these miscreants are thwarting the governments efforts in revamping the railway sector in the country. Apart from illegal mining which has a negative impact on the development of the right of way leading to the high cost of construction, some unpatriotic saboteurs in our communities have chosen to steal components of the railway system including the tracks. I want to sound a strong word of warning to those perpetrating these acts that the law will take its course when arrested and the appropriate sanctions will be meted out to them, the president noted. The President gave the warning when he cut sod to mark the commencement of the Manso to Huni Valley part of the Western Rail Line yesterday. The Manso to Huni Valley line is approximately 78 kilometers and the contract price is 500,000,000.00 (Euro). The project will be executed by Amandi Investment Limited with funds from a Deutsche Bank Credit Facility secured by the Government of Ghana and would be completed within 42 months. The Manso-Huni Valley line would be on a standard gauge and it forms part of the development and reconstruction of the entire western railway line. The western line which starts from Sekondi-Takoradi to Kumasi was constructed in 1903 and is the major route for the transportation of minerals and other bulk commodities such as cocoa, bauxite, manganese, cement, flour, and petroleum products. The President said one of the great tragedies of the countrys post-colonial era was allowing the Railway infrastructure bequeathed to the country by the colonial masters to deteriorate completely. The President said upon assumption of office in 2017, he was determined to change the statistics because he believed that the presence of an efficient railway system was critical to the countrys progress. Todays sod cutting is a clear manifestation of the Akufo Addos governments policy of developing the countrys railway system, he added. He noted that in recent times, the railway sector has received considerable investment. He stressed that the government was committed to providing the necessary support to expand and modernize the railway infrastructure to help improve economic activities. 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 Pope Francis has expressed his support of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade. He compared abortion to "hiring a hitman to solve a problem" and reiterated the position of the Catholic Church that life begins at conception. Speaking from his residence at the Vatican, he said: "I ask, is it legitimate? Is it right to eliminate a human life to resolve a problem?" The 85-year-old Pontiff was then asked whether someone, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is pro-choice, should be allowed to receive communion. Recall that Nancy Pelosi was denied communion by the archbishop in San Francisco. Responding to the question, Pope Francis said: "When the Church loses its pastoral nature, when a bishop loses his pastoral nature, it causes a political problem. That's all I can say." 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 Following the success of its innovative smart tech clean water pilot in Abomosu, Grundfos Ghana Water Initiative (GWI) announced that it is developing 12 additional sites in collaboration with the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) to give over 100,000 people across rural Ghana access to clean water by the end of 2023. The Ghana Water Initiative (GWI), a project by SafeWater, a strategic business unit within Grundfos, aims to reach one million people in underserved communities in Ghana with clean water by 2026, providing drinking water that is both safe and easily accessible, from a reliable source that is sustainable and efficiently run. In 2019, GWI installed seven centrally located, solar-powered, digital AQTaps (water ATMs) to serve the first pilot community in Abomosu village, located in Atiwa West District, Eastern region of Ghana, in partnership with the Community Water and Sanitation Agency and the Atiwa West District Assembly. The innovative, smart water ATMs by Grundfos allow the user to manage their usage, and access treated, potable water using a pre-paid card, topped up via mobile money, from a source that is reliable and accessible 24/7, all year round. Today, safe running water is available throughout the community, pumped from a 90m borehole 1.5km from the village to a 120m water tank. Over 8,000 local residents now have reliable access to clean water for the first time, including 262 smart household water connections going directly into residents homes. Anise Sacranie, SafeWaters Senior Partnership Development Manager commented: We have demonstrated that this model is successful, so working closely with the CWSA, the next step is to take the model to scale, encouraging private sector engagement and entrepreneurship to establish financially sustainable, high-quality water services to underserved communities across Ghana. We are about to finalise our next project (in Otoase) which is a completely new build and are on track to have a total of 13 projects running by the end of next year, including Abomosu, giving over 100,000 people access to clean drinking water within the next 18 months. Xorlali Yao-Kuma Kpodo, Grundfos Ghana Water Initiatives Engagement Manager said, Over 8 million people in Ghana still do not have access to safe, drinkable water because the current water supply in many areas is inefficient and untreated and therefore unsafe to drink when it flows. Since the start of the Abomosu pilot initiative 2 years ago, the feedback from local residents has been overwhelmingly positive so we are excited to be moving to the next phase, providing clean water to more underserved rural areas. GWIs approach to improving water access is to refurbish existing CWSA systems or establish new infrastructure where no system exists, providing water to both households, public standpipes and refillable water dispensers. The Abomosu project involved upgrading an existing system that had fallen into disrepair, requiring two new boreholes, piping, and treatment system, as well as the Grundfos AQ Taps (water ATMs). GWI staff work with local teams to maintain the new system and are developing a vocational curriculum for water system operations and maintenance to ensure skills are transferred to local staff for ongoing maintenance of the project in the future. 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 Nairobi Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has defended the Sh2 maize import tax relief saying it is better than nothing. Speaking on the sidelines of the IGAD heads of state meeting in Nairobi Munya indicated that other measures being out in place to cushion Kenyans against the shortage. He stated that Kenya is looking to involve regional communities like COMESA and countries like Zambia to assist in boosting the supply of maize in kenya. According to Munya, the horn of Africa is also prone to cyclical drought and the IGAD meeting will come up with solutions for regional heads to work together and come up with resources to curb the issue. He stated that there is already a program in place that looks to tap into the livestock sector that will contribute to the region's economy. He says that they are looking to lay down measures that will be implemented when they work together as a region Bright Wereko-Brobby, deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations has conceded that striking teachers at the pre-tertiary level have a legitimate reason to lay down their tools. He added during a press briefing on Tuesday, July 5, that Ministry had scheduled a meeting with the four striking groups and will impress on them to return to their duty posts. The deputy m, who is also lawmaker for the Hemang Lower-Denkyira Constituency pointed to the impact of COVID-19 on government finances recalling how teachers like all civil servants were fully paid their salaries despite being at home for close to a year at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. We have gotten to where we are today because this government has tried its best to try and make sure everybody has life regardless of the global pandemics. I have said that they have a legitimate demand and we are going to meet them and discuss it, but let me also say that for some nine months, our teachers were at home but this government continued to pay them and if today we have a global crisis He cited the recent move by government to approach the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for support amid an economic downturn. According to him, that alone should have sent a signal to the teachers that all was not well, just a day or two, you say we should go and give COLA, we are meeting them tomorrow God willing we will have discussions with them and plead with them to understand that we are not in normal times. COLA is the Cost of Living Allowance that teachers are demanding from government which allowance was agreed after talks months back but has yet to be honoured. Addressing members of the press present, the Minister concluded: All of you, I am pleading with you, start begging our teachers, so that when we meet them tomorrow, it becomes easy for us, say amen! The four groups involved in the industrial action are: The Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT; the National Association of Graduate Teachers, NARAAT; Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana, CCT and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union, TEWU. Their principal reason was over failure of government to honour the payment of their 20% Cost-Of-Living-Allowance, COLA. We have been compelled under the current circumstances to publicly communicate to Ghanaians on our intention to go on strike having gone passed the June 30, 2022 deadline we gave government for the payment of Cost-of-Living-Allowance. Consequently, we have decided to embark on a Strike Action, effective today, Monday, July 4, 2022. By this, we are informing the general public that, we are withdrawing all our services in all the Pre-tertiary educational space. (Teaching & Non-Teaching Staff), the group stated in a press release. Meanwhile, GES as ordered that all schools are to remain open despite the announcement of an immediate strike by teaching and non-teaching staff in public schools nationwide. The order was contained in a statement from the Ghana Education Service, GES, which said it had heard about the strike action in the media. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, has stressed the need for a fair, honest and efficient justice system in the country. He said a justice system that guaranteed all elements of the rule of law and assured a speedy and efficient resolution of disputes would produce a business operating environment characterised by transparency, certainty and fairness. Mr Dame said this at the launch of the National Baseline Assessment Report on business and human rights, on Monday in Accra. The report was compiled by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in collaboration with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), with funding support from the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR). He said the relationship between business and human rights was of utmost importance in the increasingly globalised economy. He noted that on the African continent, for many years, business had been linked to gross violations of human rights, and as such, the importance of a national baseline assessment report on the interaction between business and human rights could not be overemphasised. Human rights are basic rights and freedoms that protect all. They are based on dignity, fairness, equality and respect. Businesses have a significant impact on the way we live our lives and enjoy these human rights, whether as an employee or a customer or simply living alongside companies that share our cities and towns. Mr Dame said the development of the baseline assessment report had constitutional grounding in Article 36 of the Constitution of Ghana on the economic objectives of the country. Clauses 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10 of article 36, in particular, lay down firm imperatives for the State in the building of an economic order, which guarantees ample opportunity for individual initiative and provides a fair, realistic remuneration as an incentive for continued production and higher productivity. He said the ownership and possession of property as well as the encouragement of foreign investment within the constraints of regulations enacted by the State are primary concerns of articles 36, 18 and 20 of the Constitution. He said the promotion and observance of human rights of the business community was a collective role of both public and private sector, hence businesses must endeavour to do the right thing by respecting human rights. Mr Joseph Whittal, Commissioner, CHRAJ, said during the third Cycle Review of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council in 2017, Ghana accepted the recommendation to integrate and apply the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to all its relevant policies, including licensing extractive business. He said for that to be achieved, there was the need to undertake a national baseline assessment of business and human rights situation in Ghana to identify gaps in the application of the Guiding Principles and subsequently develop a National Action Plan that would propose specific interventions or policies to deal with the gaps and the adverse human rights impacts by business enterprises. Mr Whittal said as part of measures to ensure that Ghana achieved the recommendation that it supported on business and human rights during the UPR, the Commission conducted the assessment to evaluate the implementation of the UNGPs in Ghana. The Commissioner said the assessment focused on four critical sectors of the economy: Petroleum, Finance, Telecommunication, and Mining. Overall, it was found that although some government policies, laws, treaties, and institutions meet the standards set by the UNGPs, there remains some gaps that require urgent attention to enhance the State and businesses protection of and respect for human rights, and remedy to human right violations in Ghana. The gaps as identified are discussed in the report across the three pillars of Protect, Respect and Remedy framework. He said the Commission was committed to the process and would take all necessary steps to support the Government in achieving its target and called on stakeholders to support the process by way of both technical and funding support. The Minister later inaugurated an 18-member steering committee to develop a national action plan on business and human rights. 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 NDC Member of Parliament(MP) for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, believes President Akufo-Addo can blame no one but himself for the current state of economic affairs after surrounding himself with virtually all his family members who had poor appreciation of the economy. To him, Akufo-Addo will go down in the annals of the country's political history as the worst president ever. Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he accused the NPP Government of having relied so much on borrowing to such unprecedented levels even though there was nothing to show for it that the country lost all avenues for future borrowing. "The argument about Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war should not be mentioned as the cause of the collapse of the economy. The NPP government borrowed and spent the money on irrelevant projects that did not aid in the country's development. The Finance Minister has mismanaged the economy to an extent that no institution does not want to even lend the country money again," he asserted. He added that some projects like the National Cathedral which has already swallowed more than 35 million dollars and the Agyapa deal will forever cease to exist when IMF looks into the books of the country and decide to assist the country. "The Finance Minister who has poor knowledge in finance and economic management should be no where near the IMF team to help design a policy for the rebound of the economy. "But President Akufo-Addo has caused his own failure because he has surrounded himself with his family members who had poor appreciation of the economy and they have eventually ruined his administration. President Akufo-Addo will go down in history as one of the worst presidents the country has witnessed. The woes of the economy are due to wrong decisions taken by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta," he added. However, he is confident that the IMF will insist on the protection of the poor during negotiations, adding that he will support any eventual plan that will protect the interest of the poor and vulnerable. The poor must have an economy in order to be protected. We currently dont just have an economy and so if there is anything that will bring back an economy that supports the poor, it is very important that we support it. 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 Information Minister Kojo has said: I dont think its about an apology or no apology in response to demands for an apology by the government to the people of Ghana for seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund despite the insistence of some government officials that the Akufo-Addo administration would never resort to the Bretton Woods institution for help in coming out of the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the collateral damage caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. In Mr Oppong Nkrumahs view, Its about dealing with the realities of the situations in front of us, adding: The reality of the situation is that we have a twin crisis that has exacerbated our domestic challenges. Early this year, Mr Ofori-Atta said Ghana is a proud nation of strong people with the capability to find her own solutions to problems and, thus, will not run to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help. Speaking at the third in a series of town hall meetings in the Northern regional capital of Tamale in February, Mr Ofori-Atta said: I can tell you, as my colleague Deputy Minister said, we are not going to the IMF; whatever we do, we are not; the consequences are dire, we are a proud nation, we have the resources, we have the capacity. Dont let anybody tell you like when Joshua, Caleb and the 10 others went to spy on the Promised Land and only two of them came to say that, We can do it, and the 10 went around the community murmuring, You cant; da da da da da da; we are not people of short sight and we had to move on, so, lets think of us as who we are: a proud, strong people, the shining star of Africa and we have the capacity to do what we want to do if only we can speak by one language and ensure that we burden-share in the issues ahead. However, upon the orders of President Akufo-Addo, Mr Ofori-Atta recently opened discussions with the IMF for a bailout. Mr Oppong Nkrumah explained the reason for the U-turn in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM on Monday, 4 July 2022. The domestic programme, which would have enabled us to deal with it has had its own challenges. The president has asked that we open the IMF window and start engagement with the fund. Lets give ourselves the opportunity to go through it, he added. According to Mr Oppong Nkrumah, Mr Ofori-Atta will be leading Ghanas negotiation team. He admitted the Fund may not hold all the answers to Ghanas economic problems talking to. The Fund is not a single bullet to answer all the questions that we have but if they can come to support the programme that we have on the table. The President has made that decision, and we have started putting in place the mechanisms, Mr Oppong Nkrumah added. On calls for Mr Ofori-Attas resignation, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the Finance Minister is responsible for fiscal policy and had earlier expressed a view supported by the government that it is better to use domestic measures to deal with some of these challenges than to find yourself in a situation where you need external help of this nature. Unfortunately, the domestic measures have been challenged. At the time theyve been challenged, theres a twin global crisis that is biting hard. Any president that is feeling the pain of his people, would explore what options work best. This is the window the president wants us to open and engage with to deal with the short-term problem but at the same time deal with the bigger economic problem. People think the Finance Minister is responsible for the economy. The Minister of Finance is responsible for fiscal policy, and the Bank of Ghana is responsible for monetary policy. The real sector, and broader economic policy, sit with the president, he has an economic management team under him. The president was the one who spoke to the funds managing director on the phone. Source: class fm 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 group calling itself Akyem for ALAN has urged delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to honor tradition in voting for the candidate to lead the party come 2024 election. Speaking to Starr News during the launch of Akyem 4 Alan campaign at Kyebi in the Eastern region, lead convener for the group, Fiifi Ofori-Atta reiterated the need to respect tradition and vote for the Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen. The line from 1992 Adu Boahen then to Kuffuor and he handed it over to Nana. Kuffuor told Nana that I will go and then you take over and in the same way Nana told Alan at the famous Legon in December 2007 and I was there. Nana told Alan that everything that he has done and he said that Alan after me you are next. So what has changed and in this party if we dont stick to our traditions, if we dont stick to it then we are doomed. A Society without respect for their culture and tradition is doomed so NPP is not going to get doomed because the delegates and people know that it is Alans time, Mr. Ofori-Atta disclosed. He said Alan is the one that has the message and Ghanaians want him to come and transform this country. Ghana with all these challenges that we are going through we need industrialization. We need to build our industries and Alan is the only person who can do that and do it successfully so that our GDP can be better for job creation, the Convener stated. According to him, the move is an announcement to tell the whole Akyem State that we are bringing or we have to support our brother and our in-law. The whole Ghana must know that we are going to support our brother and after this we are going to do the hard work going to the ground and meet with each and every delegate in the Akyem State, he added. 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 Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi has expressed gratitude to some party kingpins who helped him to retain his position. His office in a statement said "thank you" ahead of a dinner night to have a chitchat with them. "The office of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) wishes to express sincere gratitude to Asantes in Accra for their decision to host a dinner in his honour towards unifying the party for victory 2024." "The Ashanti Regional Chairman sees this event as an opportunity to court the support of all interested parties and institutions towards the 'Ashanti Agenda To Break The 8'." "It will also afford the Regional Chairman and his team the chance to interact with appointees of Asante root on how to better address challenges facing the region." "Once the Regional Chairman wishes to express his heartfelt gratitude for this important invitation."The statement reads 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 Seasoned Journalist, Kwesi Pratt says corruption is not the cause of Ghana's problems. As the nation returns to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) despite calls on the President not to consider such move, especially when he promised Ghanaians he wouldn't take that route, government officials and members of the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP) have begun to build a defence for this decision. According to Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Akufo-Addo government is going to the IMF for a "balance of payment" support, therefore shot down arguments that the President and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) should apologize for deceiving Ghanaians as they berated the previous Mahama government for doing same. The Minister argued that the former President John Mahama and his government went to the IMF because they had messed up the economy, but President Nana Akufo-Addo is going for a bailout due to external factors; referring to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine/Russia war among others. " . . when the country was handed over to former President Mahama, there was no external global crisis. It was his own domestic management but at the end, he said to us that they have chewed the meat to the bone, so they are going to the Fund for bailout. This is his words, not mine. What tended up happening is that when they went for the bailout and we came into power, from 2017 to 2019, we saw how the Ghanaian economy performed. "Today, our economic state has called for us to also go for bailout but it's a different scenario. It's not our internal domestic management that is the cause but the external issues and external pressures that have necessitated our decision to go for this facility," he said in an interview on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" Monday morning. Contributing to the Tuesday edition of 'Kokrokoo' programme, Kwesi Pratt spoke against the IMF bailout saying the government should spare Ghanaians the stories about external factors affecting Ghana so bad that the government must resort to the IMF. "Did the external factors jump over Togo, Burkina Faso and La Cote D'Ivoire to affect Ghana alone? . . . How is that possible?", he queried. He also opposed the notion in the minds of Ghanaians that the country's progress is crawling because of corruption. To him, he doesn't believe "corruption is the cause of what we are facing today". He stressed; "Corruption is a problem, no doubt but it is not the main cause of the problems we are facing today". Mr. Pratt stated emphatically that "the problems we are facing today are a structural economic problems; fundamental structural economic problems". Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former General Secretary of the People's National Convention (PNC), Atik Mohammed, has raised concerns over President Nana Akufo-Addo taking Ghana back to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the government is going to the IMF for financial support for its economic program. In an interview on Peace FM's morning show on Monday, the Minister said; "...when the country was handed over to former President Mahama, there was no external global crisis. It was his own domestic management but at the end, he said to us that they have chewed the meat to the bone, so they are going to the Fund for bailout. This is his words, not mine. What tended up happening is that when they went for the bailout and we came into power, from 2017 to 2019, we saw how the Ghanaian economy performed. "Today, our economic state has called for us to also go for bailout but it's a different scenario. It's not our internal domestic management that is the cause but the external issues and external pressures that have necessitated our decision to go for this facility." Also, in a statement issued by Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the President has directed the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to formally engage with the International Monetary Fund to "provide balance of payment support as part of a broader effort to quicken Ghana's build back in the face of challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and, recently, the Russia-Ukraine crises". Addressing the issue during 'Kokrokoo' Wednesday morning, Atik Mohammed, who is well-versed in Economics, believed Ghana's economy hasn't been well-managed under the Akufo-Addo regime. He noted that the government has been taking decisions that are rather making Ghana more indebted instead of salvaging the economy. "We have always been borrowing. Just in 2021, we went to float sovereign bonds, Eurobonds and other bonds combined to raise 3.025 billion dollars. I'm not sure we are likely to get such amount of money with this IMF bailout...It doesn't matter whichever program we go for, I don't believe we will get money more than 3 billion," he said. "We have overborrowed than we ordinarily should," he added. Atik Mohammed shared some judicious economic insight on how the government is making all the wrong decisions and how it could turn the situation around for the better, but stressed, "we have become loan addicts and the IMF is the rehab center for loan addicts...We have a problem with the leadership of our economic management". He also referenced the President and his officials assuring Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic that they had recovery plans, so asked them "what are the results of your recovery plans?" Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Carole Dumestre, second from left, and some of her new crew at her Creperie Ooolala which reopened on Lakeshore Drive. Nairobi Azimio la Umoja - One Kenya running mate Martha Karua has termed Deputy President William Ruto a man totally unfit for leadership. While in his tour in Nyeri County, Karua elaborated that Ruto's show of disrespect to his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta is a clear sign he is not the best man suited for the top seat in government. "If you can't respect your own boss then how will you respect a fellow Kenyan who has no rank or authority? My people someone who has no respect leave him alone," she said. Karua faulted the move by Ruto to openly show disrespect to President Kenyatta which has been displayed recently as the duo exchange bitter words on who is to blame for the failed delivery of Jubilee promises. "There is no school with two headmasters and even the country can't have two presidents. When you are called Deputy, just accept it. Wait for days ahead when you have respect maybe Kenyans will uplift you then," Karua stated. This comes a day after Ruto admitted that he sharply differed with President Uhuru Kenyatta following the nullification of the 2017 presidential poll so as to defend the hard-won victory by the Jubilee party. Speaking during a rally in Meru on Monday, Ruto revealed that he almost slapped President Kenyatta as he was almost letting go of his presidential victory to his handshake partner Raila Odinga, which was largely propelled by his campaign wing. He stated that he had to be firm and force the Jubilee Leader to stay put in the race after the Supreme Court nullified his presidential victory. "Ata kama nyinyi mungekua mimi mungekubali ati Uhuru Kenyatta atuache kwa mataa na ati vile tulikuwa tumemskuma mpaka amepata kiti.Ati tuachie mzee wa Kitendawili?Kwani sisi ni wajinga? Nyinyi(Azimio) kwendeni uko," Ruto stated. Loosely translated; "If you were me, would you have accepted that President Uhuru Kenyatta to leave us just like that and the way we had pushed him till he got the seat. So that he leaves the seat for the Kitendawili man (Odinga), we are not fools," Ruto stated. Ruto accused the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition for drawing a wedge between him and President Kenyatta calling them hypocrites saying he is the man who ensured President Kenyatta emerged victorious in the highly contested 2017 presidential election. "Na niambie hao watu wa kuzimia(Azimio) kwanza mimi nilifanya campaign kubwa nlikuwa naamka mapema nafanya kampeni tatu kabla Rais hajafika na kwa sababu ni rafiki yangu nlimsaidia na hakuna vile ningeacha mtu wa kitendawili amnyaganye hio kiti.Hata kama nikuskuma yeye lazima ningeskuma yeye,"he said. Loosely translated;"I want to tell those people in Azimio that am the one who woke up early to did three campaigns for Uhuru before he even arrived because he us my friend and there is no way I could let Odinga take that sit from him. If I had to push him,I had to push him," Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance secretary general Junet Mohammed leaked an audio where Ruto was confessing how he almost slapped President Kenyatta in the aftermath of nullified polls after he suggested that he would throw in the towel. Ruto despite admitting that he almost slapped his boss called the Odinga-led bandwagon as hypocrites who now pretend as President Kenyatta's political allies yet they did nothing to propel him to power. "You people have never voted for Uhuru and you don't know what we did to propel him to presidency. Right now you are here saying what I have done or not done? You have no business giving us lectures on our relationship with President Kenyatta. Stop the hypocrisy," he stated. In the leaked audio the United Democratic Alliance flag bearer was having a meeting with elders from Kikuyu community at his residence in Karen, Nairobi. "So, ndiyo huyo... Oh, sasa, hii maneno, sijui nini, mimi sitaki, mimi nataki kuenda Ichaweri, sasa mimi sitaki, wacha tuachane na hii kitu." (Here is the President and he says he is not keen on participating in the repeat presidential election and that he wants to go to Ichaweri (his home village in Kiambu County), that we should abandon this thing," Ruto is heard saying. "Mimi nikamwangalia, nikamwambia 'wewe'! Ni vile tu nilikua na heshima, ningemchapa kofi. Ati sisi tuache?" (I looked at him and told him 'you!' It's only that I was being respectful, I would have slapped him. How could we just quit?) Ravi Kahlon speaks in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. The New Democrat cabinet minister has taken himself out of the party's leadership contest to replace British Columbia Premier John Horgan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Matt Glantz Finds the $1 Million WSOP Bounty July 05, 2022 Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S. Matt Glantz drew the lucky $1 million bounty on Tuesday afternoon at Paris Las Vegas in the first ever $1,000 buy-in World Series of Poker (WSOP) Million Dollar Bounty, a no-limit hold'em tournament with 14,112 entrants. Glantz dug through a chest full of envelopes, all with mystery cash prizes ranging from $25,000 to $1 million, most on the low end, and only one person would go home with the grand prize. The Pennsylvania native slowly opened his envelope and initially noticed a "1" symbol followed by a comma, but as he continued peeling to further reveal, he discovered he'd hit the jackpot. Glantz won't take home the full seven-figure payday as he disclosed that Shaun Deeb and Paul Volpe each had 10% of his action in the tournament. "I figured I was going to win because I had two swaps with Shaun Deeb and Paul Volpe, both have 10% and they're the luckiest guys in poker," Glantz told PokerNews. "The rich are getting richer." That means Deeb, who is still in the hunt for the 2022 WSOP Player of the Year award, and Volpe, will each take $100,000 of the mystery bounty win, and $800,000 would then go to Glantz. Opportunity to Win More Glantz then wrote on Twitter that he'll be giving $5,000 to Justin Lett, a player he delivered a bad beat to on Day 2 to win the mystery bounty. Winning the grand prize was a bit odd for Glantz considering a tweet he sent out just one day earlier criticizing the tournament. "Never seen so much FOMO over a nonsense circus bounty event," Glantz tweeted on Day 1. It appears his opinion of the tournament has since changed based on a Tuesday evening tweet. I get it now... https://t.co/Cl04k0kG6b Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz) Not only did he win big on the mystery bounty envelope portion of the event. He also has a shot at winning additional money in the actual poker tournament. Matt Glantz hugs PokerGO's Jeff Platt after finding the $1 million mystery bounty. At the time of publishing, with 360 players remaining, Glantz was sixth in chips. When the tournament concludes on Wednesday, the champion will take home $750,120. Follow PokerNews Million Dollar Bounty Live Coverage Sharelines Find out who won the $1 million WSOP Mystery Bounty. Nairobi Social media users found discrediting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ahead of the August polls risk being fined or sentenced to jail if found guilty. UWIANO Platform for Peace that brings together state and non-state organizations has committed to unmask the individuals who will be found running a smear campaign on the electoral body. "Individuals running accounts that participate in campaigns aimed at discrediting institutions such as the IEBC, using disinformation and propaganda to be identified and prosecuted," the platforms Principal and Chairperson of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission Samuel Kobia said. The platform noted that the sustained smear campaign against IEBC on social media is "is one of the road blocks to peace as they lead to apathetic citizens who are more likely to be incited to violence". "This method aims to project the IEBC as incompetent, thus sowing doubt in citizens' perception on the ability of the IEBC to deliver credible results they can believe in," Kobia said. The peace crusaders observed that cases of discrediting the electoral commission are bound to rise as compared to what was witnessed in the previous election in 2013 and 2017 if nothing is done to tame the campaign activities. "The campaign to discredit the IEBC was well coordinated on Twitter, with evidence of artificial amplification of this message using manipulated/ photo shopped images and bot account," Kobia said. Kenyans who feel their peace is at risk ahead of the polls have in the meantime been encouraged to report such situations by sending a text to 108 and 1547. With 34 days to go before Kenyans cast their vote at the ballot in the high-stake polls, Kobia revealed that they have witnessed pockets of heightened tension in the country. He pointed out that the tension has been fuelled by "hate speech and ethnic contempt with politicians inflaming ethnic passions through public statements and social media posts have been on the rise". The platform decried that the social media is the most used tool that is triggering the unnecessary tension in the country. In the month of June, the platform flagged 31 cases of hate speech in social media. "As peace actors under the Uwiano Platform, we are concerned by the increasing number of hate speech cases in the social media platforms with chaotic rallies being a trigger for incitement on social media," Kobia said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In the period under review, Twitter was identified to be the main platform for hate speech. In the Twitter platform, UWIANO raised concerns on the sustained campaign by a section of Kenyans to discredit the credibility of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). "Individuals running accounts that participate in campaigns aimed at discrediting institutions such as the IEBC, using disinformation and propaganda to be identified and prosecuted," Kobia said. Uwiano membership is comprised of the National Steering Committee on Peace Building and Conflict Management (NSC) (co-chair), NCIC (co-chair), Peace and Development Network Trust (PeaceNet), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), IEBC, Other members include: National Police Service (NPS), Office Of The Registrar Of Political Parties (ORPP), Council of Governors (CoG), Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), Media Council of Kenya (MCK), Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. High 89F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. High around 90F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy skies. Low 73F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. The first shop to open in a new North Charleston retail center soon will welcome customers. Clothing retailer Ross Dress for Less will open July 16 in Cedar Grove Shopping Center on Dorchester Road. The 22,000-square-foot store will carry off-price apparel and home fashions near the juncture of Dorchester Road and Riverbluff Parkway. It will be the retailer's fourth location in the Charleston area and the 28th store in South Carolina. The California-based company has 1,655 locations in the U.S. Other stores coming to the shopping center include Five Below, Home Goods, Ulta, PetSmart, Firehouse Subs, Stella Nails and Buff City Soap. They, along with nearby discount grocer Lidl, have not announced opening dates. What's cooking? A new restaurant is on the way to the growing Cainhoy area. Ye Ole Fashioned Cafe & Ice Cream Parlor plans to open in a new retail center planned in the developing Point Hope community on Clements Ferry Road. The building is set to be completed in June 2023, and the restaurant will likely follow within a few months after the end-cap space is upfitted, according to Rod Lapin, the restaurant franchise owner. The owners of the planned 3,000-square-foot shop will be Cole Spradling and Aaron Statts of Charleston, according to Bryan Fogle of the real estate firm Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic, who handled the transaction for the tenant. Fritz Meyer with the commercial real estate firm Meyer Kapp & Associates represented the landlord. The new restaurant is part of a planned five-building, 38,000-square-foot retail, dining and office complex called Foundation Place at Point Hope. The undeveloped site is north of a Refuel gas station that opened recently on an outparcel space of the Publix-anchored Point Hope Shopping Center. The developer is Vulcan Property Group of Fort Mill. The ice cream and sandwich shop recently opened a new venue at 1319 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. in Ashley Landing Shopping Center as the second location in West Ashley. The other is at 474 Savannah Highway. Ye Ole Fashioned also operates two restaurants in Summerville and one each in Goose Creek, Mount Pleasant and North Charleston. Final days A longtime Mount Pleasant restaurant that specializes in Italian fare is closing this month. "What a journey its been, but unfortunately after 15 years we have to say 'Ciao,' Bacco posted on its Facebook page on July 5. Lunch service came to an end Tuesday, and July 23 will be the last dinner service. Bacco was opened in the summer of 2007 in Northcutt Plaza near Houston Northcutt and Coleman boulevards by chef and owner Michael Scognamiglio, who was 25 at the time. "It has been an amazing run that weve had through cooking some great Italian dishes, making some unforgettable memories, and meeting some amazing people along the way," according to the social post. "Thanks to the staff, past and present, who all have helped us bring a little bit of Italy to Mount Pleasant. Thanks to all the purveyors and professional colleagues for the unparalleled support that only be given by the hospitality industry. And lastly I want to thank all of our friends and guests for their support over the years who made coming to Bacco a joy and possible." Wheeling in A new tire store recently rolled into North Charleston. Mavis Tires & Brakes is now open at 8511 Dorchester Road. It's the Millwood, N.Y.-based company's fifth store in the Charleston area and its 21st in South Carolina. The new eight-bay shop offers a full array of auto services for tires, brakes, batteries, mufflers and oil changes. Thrift shopping The Thrift Store at 1379 Ashley River Road in Wespanee Center in West Ashley recently closed, and the operator is looking for a larger space. Shop owner Adria Lanier moved her former Helping Kids With Cancer Thrift Store from Savannah Highway two years ago when the property was redeveloped into a collection of shops now called The Victory in Avondale. At the time she said the move to Ashley River Road was temporary until she could find a larger venue. Lanier said she is in talks with a landlord, but a deal has not been struck. Making a home An Awendaw native recently opened a new real estate office with a home decor storefront in North Charleston. Lisa Grant launched See Wee Homes at 8636 Dorchester Road. It's named after Seewee Road, the street where she grew up. The store features handcrafted mosaic and Peruvian artwork, banana bark craft from Tanzania, handmade textile throw pillows from Zimbabwe and Charleston-made home goods. With room to grow, the 1,400-square-foot shop also includes a conference room, training room, private office and kitchenette area. A New York-based technology company that provides "internet of things" devices for airports, hospitals and other commercial buildings has selected the Charleston region as the home for its new national sales office. Kontakt.io said it plans to hire 10 to 15 workers for immediate positions as sales account executives and a few marketing roles to open later. When fully staffed, 20 employees will work out of the company's North Charleston office at 4900 O'Hear Ave. The outpost will focus on expanding the firm's reach into the health care and corporate real estate markets. After a search, Kontakt.io decided that the Lowcountry was the "sweet spot" it was looking for, said Aneta Ciurkot, director of product marketing. "And we don't just mean your iced tea," she said last month. "Charleston has a strong local talent pool of the kind of professionals that we need to succeed," Ciurkot said. "It has a growing tech community that promotes the kind of culture that helps businesses like ours thrive and is part of a larger business-friendly climate in South Carolina." Another draw was the region's lifestyle and variety, which are "increasingly important to the workforce that we depend on," she said. We decided to avoid the tech centers in California and New York, instead looking for a location allowing a balanced lifestyle for our employees," said Rom Eizenberg, chief revenue officer. "In Charleston we found a hub for young, college-graduated talent, a growing tech scene, and I look forward to growing our involvement in the local community Ernest Andrade, executive director of the nonprofit Charleston Digital Corridor, which promotes the area as a destination for expanding tech employers but wasn't involved in recruiting Kontakt.io, said the influx of companies like Kontakt.io is "a trend that we continue to see and is very positive for our region." The firm provides "indoor location services," saying its sensors, beacons, badges, tags and other products can be tied into into a commercial building's digital network to handle an array of facility-management tasks, such as environmental monitoring, space optimization analysis and security. The company said its devices are in thousands of buildings in the U.S. It also has an office in Poland. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some passing clouds. Low 76F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. When Alexander AJ Jennings was offered a job on the Netflix series Outer Banks, he was over the moon, his mother, LuJean Jennings, said. The 22 year old from Grand Island, New York a town between Buffalo and Niagara Falls moved to Charleston in May to pursue his acting career. On the set of the hit action-adventure teen series, which debuted in 2020 and is currently filming its third season, Jennings served as a double for the shows lead male actor, Chase Stokes, who plays the charismatic John B. Instantly, Jennings loved the Palmetto State, the mother said. He told his mom he loved Charleston for its beautiful nature and weather which fit his active and adventurous lifestyle far more than Buffalo, where the sun sets by 5 p.m. in the winter. Once he got there, even after the first couple of days on set, he said it was the happiest period of his life, LuJean Jennings said. And, therefore, I was excited for him. I mean this is what you want for your child. But tragedy struck early July 5. As the actor was walking on Sol Legare Road near Crozet Drive on James Island, he was struck by two different vehicles, authorities say. He later died at Medical University of South Carolina. Both vehicles fled after the collisions. One vehicle was later located in downtown Charleston, but authorities continued to search July 6 for the second one, Charleston County sheriffs spokesman Andrew Knapp said. No arrests have been in the case, Knapp said, and no description of the second vehicle was available. LuJean Jennings told The Post and Courier that her son called her shortly after midnight telling her that he had been separated from his friends at a Fourth of July party and was unable to reach an Uber driver to take him home. LuJean Jennings said she called several local cab companies to pick her son up outside the Harris Teeter on Trolly Road, where he said he was located, but her calls went straight to recordings. At 1:30 a.m., the mother and son spoke again. He had good news: an Uber driver was scheduled to pick him up in 24 minutes. His phone battery had drained to 1 percent, however. LuJean Jennings told her son to remain patient. The mother said she called her son to check in 30 minutes later but her call went straight to his voicemail. After waiting up a while longer in her New York home, she decided to sleep for a few hours and give her son a wake-up call at 6:30 a.m. his call time for Outer Banks was 7:30 a.m., he had told her. That call also went straight to voicemail. She said she was not panicking yet, but within a couple of minutes after me making that call [a] state trooper was banging at my front door. The officer delivered the terrible news: Her son had been hit and killed by a car. Outer Banks cast and crew members mourned Jennings death. Jonas Pate, creator of Outer Banks, said he and the cast and crew are heartbroken by Jennings death. He was a vibrant and loved young man and we are saddened beyond words by this tragedy, Pate said. We extend our sincere condolences and love to the entire Jennings family. We are all in complete shock right now, casting director Kimmie Stewart said in a message to The Post and Courier, adding that Jennings was one of the kindest humans Ive ever known. Most contagious laugh Born in Tver, Russia, Alexander was adopted in 2001 by LuJean, a cardiovascular surgeon in Buffalo and single mom. Alexander was LuJeans third child and her baby she had already adopted Katlyn from China in 1997, and Nick from New York in 1999. Alex was in the orphanage until he was 18-months, she said. He wasnt an infant when he came. He had had some trauma just from being in the orphanage for so long. The family of five overcame initial growing pains, however. Everyone was happy, she said. Alex eventually just had tons of friends. He was a talented athlete in high school and was voted most contagious laugh by his graduating class at Grand Island High School in 2017, the mother said. Alexander enrolled at Buffalo State College, where he was recruited to play football, but developed an interest in acting and modeling. After playing two seasons for the Bengals, he took a leave of absence from college and went to Toronto to train with Vogue Models & Talents. When he crossed the border back into America, Alexander began landing small acting parts in television shows and movies, including HBOs Succession, Netflixs Stranger Things, and Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7, according to his IMDb profile. In April, he was offered the job to stand in as a double for Stokes, the Outer Banks male lead. Stokes said in an Instagram post his heart is shattered. Still trying to process why certain things happen, and why the world works in the way that it does, the actor said. Your life was just starting. We just talked about how pumped you were about your tunes, how far youd come with that ole 6 string and your want to keep creating art. Always always making others hearts warm and being so damn selfless. We all love you, you touched all of our lives and made us all better people, Stokes added. Kalyn Oyer contributed to this report. Ron Nagy has been in the hospitality industry for over three decades. He started in high school, getting his first taste working at pizzerias and frozen yogurt shops. Eventually, he moved into the hotels sector, focusing a large portion of his career on beach resorts. A little under a decade ago, he joined the Kessler Collection the company that owns the soon-to-open Grand Bohemian Hotel near the Reedy River Falls in Greenville. Nagy anticipates the hotel could be completed by the end of August or the start of September. Before Nagy moved to the Upstate to work at the massive hotel on East Camperdown Way, he worked for eight years in Florida with Kessler. Kessler, which has 12 hotels across the country, has three in Florida two in Orlando and one in St. Augustine. Nagy worked for one year as the general manager at the downtown Orlando site and then seven years as general manager at the Bohemian Hotel Celebration property, almost seven miles outside of Disney World. Now, he will serve as the general manager at the Grand Bohemian in Greenville. "I've loved almost every piece of my journey," Nagy said. "I feel very humbled to be part of this operation." Nicolas Abello will be the head chef of the hotel. The restaurant will use local produce, and the menu will have influences from Europe and locally. It will turn almost every season, Abello said. "We really want people to come and experience some new food," Abello said. "We want to do something different in Greenville and bring something different to our customers." He is originally from France but is coming to the Upstate from New York. He opened a French market in 2016 where his small restaurant L'Appart was located. The restaurant earned a Michelin star nine months after it opened. He ran the restaurant until 2022. Those looking to work at the Greenville Grand Bohemian can search for jobs on the company's website. Chicken tenders restaurant opens in Greenville A fast food chicken tenders restaurant opened in Greenville. Huey Magoo's, a franchise based in Florida, opened its Greenville location at 2029 Wade Hampton Blvd. The hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The Greenville restaurant is the first of 12 to be opened in the Upstate by Bo and John Knapp, who have run family-owned and -operated Papa John's franchises for over three decades. The restaurant offers dine-in, take out, drive-thru options along with third-party delivery through Uber Eats and DoorDash starting Aug. 1. In other news... Richard Stratton has been named the dean of Bob Jones University's School of Business , succeeding Mike Buiter who has transitioned to a part-time faculty role and will serve as dean emeritus. Stratton's position is effective Aug. 1. Stratton is a Bob Jones University alum, receiving a bachelor's from the school in 1981 for accounting. He served as an accounting instructor at the school in 1983 and as Division of Accounting chair, and was dean of the School of Business from 1998 to 2002. He left the school to become the president of Clearwater Christian College in Florida. He has returned to the Upstate and will serve again as the dean. has been named the dean of , succeeding Mike Buiter who has transitioned to a part-time faculty role and will serve as dean emeritus. Stratton's position is effective Aug. 1. Stratton is a Bob Jones University alum, receiving a bachelor's from the school in 1981 for accounting. He served as an accounting instructor at the school in 1983 and as Division of Accounting chair, and was dean of the School of Business from 1998 to 2002. He left the school to become the president of Clearwater Christian College in Florida. He has returned to the Upstate and will serve again as the dean. Bon Secours and North Carolina-based health consultant Compass Surgical Partners have plans for a new surgery center that will offer orthopedic, spine and ENT procedures. These surgeries most commonly occur in hospitals. The Millennium Surgery Center is set to open in 2024 and will occupy 20,000 square feet on the Bon Secours St. Francis Millennium campus off Innovation Drive in Greenville. The health system has been awarded a certificate of need to develop and ambulatory surgery center with six operating rooms and two procedure rooms, according to a news release. and North Carolina-based health consultant have plans for a new surgery center that will offer orthopedic, spine and ENT procedures. These surgeries most commonly occur in hospitals. The is set to open in 2024 and will occupy 20,000 square feet on the Bon Secours St. Francis Millennium campus off Innovation Drive in Greenville. The health system has been awarded a certificate of need to develop and ambulatory surgery center with six operating rooms and two procedure rooms, according to a news release. The Inland Port Greer added 2,600 feet of processing track at its facility, a milestone in its larger expansion according to a news release from June 9 by the South Carolina Ports Authority. This gives rubber-tiered gantry cranes more room to access rail cars for loading and unloading purposes. The inland port now also has 4,800 more feet of rail car storage track to accommodate longer trains. The $28 million expansion was originally announced last year. The authority announced in 2021 it would use $25 million in federal grant money, with port revenues covering additional costs, to enhance rail infrastructure, increase the terminals container capacity, expand the chassis yard and add two operations buildings. Thats all for this week. Email your thoughts, tips, releases and newsy bits to smirah@postandcourier.com. Nairobi Roots Party Presidential candidate George Wajackoyah is on the spot over his British citizenship. Peter Gichira who vied for presidency in 2017 and attempted to vie in 2022 has written to the British High Commission querying the status of Wajackoyah's citizenship to the United Kingdom (UK). Gichira in the letter, sought clarification on whether the Roots Party leader was indeed a British citizen and in the event he was had renounced his rights to be eligible to vie for the position of President in Kenya. The Former Presidential Candidate emphasised that the clarification was urgent since Wajackoyah should be barred from vying in the presidential race in case he hadn't denounced his rights. "We write on behalf of our client to get clear clarification on whether the above-named candidate is a British Citizen, and if so, has he renounced such citizenship rights?" read the letter. Through Gachie Mwanza advocates, Gichira argued that Article 78 of the constitution stipulates that a state officer or a member of the defence forces must not hold dual citizenship. With the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) having commenced the process of printing ballot papers, Gichira urged the British High Commission to pronounce themselves urgently on the matter. "Your urgent and considerate assistance shall be highly appreciated noting the strict timelines with which the upcoming elections are to be held and the ballot papers ought to be printed in advance," read the letter. Gichira in his letter hinged his request on the fact that Wajackoyah once revealed that he was disqualified from vying for a Member of Parliament seat in Tottenham, UK. The Roots Party Presidential candidate said he was eliminated because he was not married. He explained at the primary level after filling a questionnaire, he skipped the married part because he was not legally married. Wajackoyah said they had children, but they were yet to officiate the marriage. Kingstree, SC (29556) Today A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Clear to partly cloudy. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Clear to partly cloudy. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning. Partly cloudy skies late. High near 90F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 76F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Goose Creek, SC (29445) Today Mainly cloudy. A few peeks of sunshine possible. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some passing clouds. Low around 75F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. COLUMBIA U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has hired a pair of high-powered Charleston attorneys to represent him as a Georgia grand jury investigates allegations of interference by former President Donald Trump and his associates in the 2020 presidential election. In a letter distributed to reporters July 6, Nelson Mullins attorneys Matt Austin and Bart Daniel said Graham was neither a subject nor a target of the investigation, and that the Fulton County District Attorney's Office is engaging in a "fishing trip" to advance the political goals of the House committee investigating the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The statement said Graham, R-S.C., would fight having to appear for the Georgia proceedings after being sent a subpoena tied to the probe earlier this week. "As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections," the letter read. "Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a member of Congress to do their job," the note added. "Senator Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail." Graham was chairman until February 2021. Graham, a key member of Trump's inner circle in the lead-up to riot on Jan. 6, 2021, was allegedly among a group of lawmakers responsible for vetting Trump's unproven claims of systemic fraud in the election. He was subpoenaed July 5 as part of an investigation into the former presidents attempts to overturn his election loss in Georgia. In the days following Trump's loss in the state, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Graham had reached out in a phone call and asked a number of questions about the integrity of the state's elections as well as his authority to reject certain absentee ballots a critical component of Trump's alleged strategy to overturn the results in the state. Graham has since disputed Raffensperger's characterization of the call in media interviews, saying he was simply curious about how the state's election offices verified voter signatures. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Neither the Fulton County District Attorney's Office nor a spokesperson for the Jan. 6 Select Committee immediately responded to a request for comment. But a spokesman told The Associated Press that Graham could be compelled to show. Should witnesses choose to challenge an order that they testify before the Special Purpose Grand Jury, the District Attorney will respond in the appropriate court to compel their appearance," Fulton County district attorney's office spokesperson Jeff DiSantis told the wire service in an email. Because Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is trying to compel testimony from people who live outside of Georgia, Willis had to submit petitions for a judge's approval. The judge overseeing the special grand jury signed off on her petitions, the AP said. Someone failing to honor a subpoena can be found guilty of contempt. Daniel, who served three years as U.S. attorney for South Carolina under President George H.W. Bush before a career advising South Carolina's business and political figures, has close ties to Graham. The pair attended law school together and have rubbed shoulders at a number of the senator's star-studded social gatherings, including a 2012 breakfast with Graham and the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Daniel himself has represented a number of high-profile clients through scandal as well. In the 2000s he notably represented onetime South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel against a deluge of ethics charges amassed while serving as Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign chairman in South Carolina ahead of the 2008 Republican primary. He was also lead prosecutor in the federal Operation Lost Trust corruption probe of South Carolina Statehouse lawmakers. Graham's name was included in a list of people from Trumps inner circle asked to appear before the special grand jury in Fulton County this week. Others included Trumps personal lawyer Giuliani, along with attorneys John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis. Kisumu Deputy Senate Speaker Margaret Kamar has called for the protection of the Senate to be able to ensure devolution works in the country. Kamar who addressed the Senate staff during an exit retreat between the Senate leadership and employees in Kisumu on Tuesday says devolution is only 10 years and has made good strides in terms of development. She called upon the employees to ensure they guide the new coming Senators for the third Senate to continue with the good work they started. Kamar, who is the Uasin Gishu Senator, says she will not be defending her seat and wished her colleagues who are bound to make a return in the Senate best of luck. She further told the Senators who are vying for gubernatorial positions and will be successful to address the shortcomings that were done by the current Governors. The Senate Majority Leader Samuel Phogisio noted that some amendments need to be done to strengthen the work of the Senate. Phogisio, who is set to defend his seat as the West Pokot Senator, says the Senate has the potential to deliver devolution but still lacks some key instruments. He says the 3rd Senate must work extra hard to put in place the necessary instruments needed to fully function the Senate in the Country. Nairobi The government has released Sh8.6 billion to cushion over one million beneficiaries enrolled under the Inua Jamii programme. The funds will be channelled through the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programmes. The Ministry said that the Sh8.6 billion kitty will fund a total of 278,945 households for orphans and vulnerable children, 37,023 households for persons with severe disabilities and 756,935 households for older persons. According to the Ministry's Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia, the vulnerable citizens to benefit from the funds include Persons with severe disabilities who will each receive Sh8,000 to cover the March, April, May and June payment cycle. Kobia said that the beneficiaries will have access to their funds by July 11. "The funds which cover March-April and May-June 2022 payment cycles will commence payment on 11th July 2022 with each beneficiary set to receive KES. 8000," the ministry tweeted. The Inua Jamii Programme is a Cash Transfer Programme that supports the most vulnerable citizens in society. The insecurity in Nigeria on Tuesday assumed a frightening dimension with separate attacks on different government institutions and officials including officials working with President Muhammadu Buhari. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the attack on a presidential convoy led to at least two injuries, according to the official narrative, while the main prison in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, was also attacked. Also, two police officers were killed in the same Katsina State where the attack on the presidents convoy took place. Another senior police officer was also killed in a separate state. The killing of the police officers adds to the over 40 security personnel killed by non-state actors last week in the country. Yesterdays attacks have been highlighted by some observers as a major need for concern in an already troubled country. In the past 24 hours in Nigeria, suspected armed bandits kidnapped a Chinese national in Kwara; attacked the advanced convoy of President Buhari in Katsina; and launched a raid on the Kuje prison in Abuja. These actors could play a defining role in the February 2023 elections, Ryan Cummings, a security analyst, wrote on Twitter. In the past 24 hours in Nigeria, suspected armed bandits kidnapped a Chinese national in Kwara; attacked the advanced convoy of President Buhari in Katsina; and launched a raid on the Kuje prison in Abuja. These actors could play a defining role in the February 2023 elections Ryan Cummings (@Pol_Sec_Analyst) July 6, 2022 As of the time of this report, apart from confirming the attack on the presidential convoy, the presidency has yet to speak on the other attacks. Below are some of the other attacks that happened in Nigeria on Tuesday. Gunmen on Tuesday attacked an advance team of presidential aides leading to injuries to two people, a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, confirmed. Mr Shehu, who described the shooting incident as sad, said the attack occurred near Dutsinma, Katsina State, at the convoy of cars carrying the Advance Team of security guards, protocol and media officers ahead of the President, Muhammadu Buharis trip to Daura for Sallah. Mr Buhari hails from Daura, Katsina State, North-west Nigeria. Police Commissioner killed in ambush In the same state, armed persons also killed the area commander of the Dutsin Ma Police Area command, Aminu Umar, in an ambush on Tuesday morning. Mr Umar, an assistant police commissioner, was killed alongside one other officer. Family sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the body of Mr Umar was handed over to his relatives in his home town in Dabai, Daja Local Government Area of Katsina State, on Wednesday morning for burial. Abuja Correctional Centre attacked In the Nigerian capital, Abuja, the Kuje Custodial Centre was attacked late Tuesday night despite an earlier warning by the countrys intelligence service. While confirming the incident on Wednesday, the spokesperson of the agency, Abubakar Umar, said the attack was repelled but did not give specific details as to how many prisoners escaped and the number of officers affected. Many inmates are believed to have escaped during the attack. Police Inspector killed in Kwara In Kwara State, the police confirmed the killing of a police inspector, Adebayo Adeforiti, and the abduction of a Chinese national by some gunmen at CGC construction company along Shao/Oloru Expressway. This was contained in a statement issued by the Kwara police spokesman, Okasanmi Ajayi, on Tuesday in Ilorin, the state capital. Gunmen have attacked an advance team of presidential aides leading to injuries to two people, an official has said. President Muhammadu Buharis spokesperson, Garba Shehu, confirmed the shooting in a statement on Tuesday. Mr Shehu, who described the incident as sad said the attack occurred near Dutsinma, Katsina State, at the convoy of cars carrying the Advance Team of security guards, protocol and media officers ahead of the President, Muhammadu Buharis trip to Daura for Sallah. The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police and DSS personnel accompanying the convoy. Two persons in the convoy are receiving treatment for the minor injuries they suffered. All the other personnel, staff and vehicles made it safely to Daura, he wrote. The advance team are believed to have travelled to Katsina to await the trip of Mr Buhari to the state for the Islamic Eid-el-Kabir festival. Katsina is one of the states most affected by banditry. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands kidnapped in the state since Mr Buhari, who is from the state, assumed office. Apart from Katsina, other states that have suffered from similar attacks include Sokoto, Zamfara and Kaduna. The attacks have continued despite the repeated promises of Mr Buhari and other government officials. Read Mr Shehus full statement on the attack on the presidential team below. GALLANT PRESIDENTIAL GUARDS REPEL ATTACK ON ADVANCE TEAM AHEAD OF PRESIDENTS VISIT The Presidency has described as sad and unwelcome, the shooting incident near Dutsinma, Katsina State, at the convoy of cars carrying the Advance Team of security guards, protocol and media officers ahead of the President, Muhammadu Buharis trip to Daura for Sallah. ALSO READ: Gunmen abduct Catholic priest in Kaduna The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police and DSS personnel accompanying the convoy. Two persons in the convoy are receiving treatment for the minor injuries they suffered. All the other personnel, staff and vehicles made it safely to Daura. Garba Shehu Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) The police in Kwara State have confirmed the killing of a police inspector, Adebayo Adeforiti, and the abduction of a Chinese national by some gunmen at CGC construction company along Shao/Oloru Expressway. The kidnap occurred on July 2 at about 16:15hrs. This is contained in a statement issued by the Kwara police spokesman, Okasanmi Ajayi, on Tuesday in Ilorin. Some armed men suspected to be kidnappers invaded the premises of CGC construction company along Shao/Oloru Expressway, shot and killed Inspector Adebayo Adeforiti attached to PMF 15, Ilorin, who was on guard duty at the company, and abducted a Chinese national working in the site and escaped into the bushes. The Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Police Command, CP Tuesday Assayomo, on receipt of the information, ordered an intense and discreet search, rescue and arrest operation into the matter with the deployment of the Commands Tactical teams, vigilante and local hunters into the area for possible rescue and arrest of the perpetrators. The good people of Kwara State are advised to be vigilant, make available to the police any information that could aid the success of this special rescue operation. The CP commensurates with the families of the deceased police Inspector and that of the abducted Chinese, promising that no stone would be left unturned towards ensuring that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are apprehended and made to face the full wrath of the law, the statement read in part. (NAN) The Kuje Custodial Centre located in Nigerias Federal Capital Territory came under attack late Tuesday night apparently to free jailed criminals, despite an earlier warning by the countrys intelligence service. A prison source told PREMIUM TIMES that the State Security Service had earlier today (Tuesday) warned of an impending attack on Kuje prison. The source, however, could not describe the level of measures put in place to forestall the attack. Kuje prison is under massive bomb, armed attack, a prison staff told PREMIUM TIMES as the attack was being carried out late Tuesday. In the later update that emerged, the source said the attackers used three bombs and forcibly gained control of four entry and exit points. The prison is in Kuje Area Council of the FCT, lying outside the Abuja city centre, 47 kilometres to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, and 24 kilometres to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Dangerous criminals, including apprehended Boko Haram terrorists, are held in the prison, which also houses high profile public officers standing trial or already convicted. Three weeks ago, several high profile terrorists were relocated to Kuje prison, the prison source said, the earliest link officials are analysing to trace the motivation for the attack. Kuje has a capacity of about 550 but currently detains about 1000 inmates, a prison source said. PREMIUM TIMES understands that the custodial service sought and got reinforcements from the army, police, and the SSS. Specifically, soldiers of the 176 Special Forces Guards Brigade Battalion, Gwagwalada, were deployed by the army, officials told PREMIUM TIMES. The impact of the attack is not immediately known but officials are suspecting a terrorist motivation to free dangerous criminals. Recent prison attacks across Nigeria in Oyo, Plateau, Imo, and Edo States had caused massive illegal release of inmates. FCT communities, lying outside the city centre, have increasingly become prone to violent crimes, including abductions believed to be carried out by terrorists, often called bandits, operating in the Northwest and parts of the Northcentral, including the federal capital. In the neighbouring Niger State, Boko Haram terrorists, according to the state government, are controlling communities while Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, has claimed attacks in Kogi State, another neighbouring state. On March 28, a Kaduna-bound train leaving Abuja was attacked in Katari by terrorists, suspected to be of Ansaru, a Boko Haram splinter group, believed to be collaborating with bandits. The attack involved bombing and mass shooting resulting in the deaths of at least eight persons and abduction of more than 60 travellers. About 50 victims are still in captivity more than three months after. In video releases, the abductors have said the government knows what they want to free the captives. Intelligence sources say they are seeking release of their jailed members in exchange for the freedom of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack victims. Armed persons killed the area commander of the Dutsin Ma Police Area command, Aminu Umar, in an ambush on Tuesday morning. Mr Umar, an assistant police commissioner, was killed alongside one other officer. Family sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the body of Mr Umar was handed over to his relatives in his home town in Dabai, Daja Local Government Area of Katsina State, on Wednesday morning for burial. The spokesperson of the Katsina State police command, Gambo Isa, also confirmed the death of the two officers in a statement. A resident of Safana Lawali Shamsu said the police officers were alerted by some motorists that they saw some bandits on motorcycles heading to Zakka community in Safana Local Government Area Unknown to the policemen, the bandits had divided themselves into two. While some of them went into the village, a large number of them were asked to stay outside the village and take out threats, he said. He said the policemen killed several bandits but the two police officers were killed by a few of the bandits hiding on some trees. Though he did not provide further details about how the police commander was killed, Mr Isa, the police spokesperson, said there were more than 300 gunmen with assault rifles. He said the slain officers were killed while on a clearance operation. Consequently, the Area Commander and one other gallantly lost their lives during a cross-exchange of gunfire, he said Not the first PREMIUM TIMES reports that Mr Umar was not the first senior police officer to be killed by gunmen, called bandits, in Katsina this year. In February, a deputy superintendent of police, Abdullahi Rano, was killed in an ambush while he was leading police officers to repel an attack on Magama Jibia town. Mr Rano was killed on his way back to the Jibia main town to bring reinforcement. In that attack, two other policemen and a civilian were killed while two soldiers were wounded. Katsina, like most North-west states and a part of North-central Nigeria, has witnessed several bandits attacks in the past few years. Efforts by both conventional and unofficial security agents to combat the menace have proved not enough just as security containment measures taken by the governors of the states failed to achieve the desired results. The Katsina State Government says bandits have burnt down two primary health centres in Batsari Local Government Area of the state. The Executive Secretary, Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Shamsudeen Yahaya, disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Katsina. According to him, 69 out of the over 1,800 healthcare centres in the state were also temporarily closed as a result of insecurity in some local government areas. Most of the health facilities in the area were taken over by the miscreants, and the solar refrigerators provided in such facilities have been converted to use by the bandits. The affected primary healthcare facilities are located in different areas of Jibia, Safana, Batsari, Faskari, Sabuwa and other frontline LGAs of the state, he said. Mr Yahaya also said some of the health workers were kidnapped, but later released. The agencys boss said the situation has led to increased request for redeployment by health workers in the affected areas. Mr Yahaya, however, said the government had concluded plans to renovate one health centre in each of the 361 wards across the state. He also expressed the commitment of the government to complete the rehabilitation of dilapidated health centres in the state. Mr Yahaya said that the state government would recruit 272 health workers to tackle the problem of manpower shortage in the health sector. (NAN) About 300 inmates have been declared missing by the Nigeria government after an attack on Kuje Custodial Centre on Tuesday despite an early warning. The attack, according to witnesses, started around 10 p.m. and lasted for over an hour before the security operatives repelled the terrorists, who accessed the venue using explosives. The inmates here are 994. We understand they are Boko Haram terrorists and came specifically came for their conspirators. Many of them are returned, some were retrieved from the bushes they were hiding right. We have retrieved about 300 out of about 600 that got out of the jail, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Interior, Shuaibu Belgore, told journalists on Wednesday. The attackers, suspected to be Boko-Haram members, stormed the facility in high numbers to rescue their co-conspirators. Mr Belgore said the terrorists succeed after placing high explosives on different parts of the building walls. There have been several attacks on our facilities, most of them being repelled but every now and then there is one that they have succeeded. In this is one they came very determined with high explosives. The initial entry attempt was unsuccessful then they attacked another section of the wall with higher grade explosives which brought the wall down. The forces on ground did everything they could to repel them but the number they came with were high which they were not able to defend against. They kept on fighting gallantly unfortunately the breach happened, the Permanent Secretary narrated. While the number of the casualties from the part of the attackers and escaped prisoners was not revealed, the prison authorities said only an unnamed officer of the NSCDC died during the attack. Three officers were also injured. Apart from over four cars and big buses destroyed during the attack, PREMIUM TIMES can report that the high gate into the venue was also brought down by the explosives. In addition to the figures earlier quoted by Mr Belgore, this newspaper witnessed the arrival of wounded prisoners retrieved by security operatives from surrounding forests. This newspaper counted over 20 additional persons brought into Toyota Hilux vans as well as 16 passenger buses. Some of the retrieved criminals were dripping of blood from injuries suffered while trying to escape. Abba Kyari remains with us Prison source Contrary to reports, a senior official of the prison, who preferred not to be named, said the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, remains within the prison wall. The official did not categorically confirm whether Mr Kyaris cell was among those destroyed by the attackers. All I can tell you is that he is still here with us. He is a smart officer and those the terrorists came for a specific purpose, the officer said after the departure Nigerias Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, who visited the correctional facility. By definition, a standard medium prison which Kuje falls under, is a facility with cage-style housing, armed guards, and a much more regimented daily routine than minimum security. President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday inaugurated seven ministers who were recently screened and cleared by the Senate. Those inaugurated are Henry Ikechukwu Ikoh (Abia State), Umana Umana (Akwa Ibom State) Odum Odih (Rivers State) and Ademola Adegoroye (Ondo State). The others are Umar El-Yakub (Kano State), Goodluck Opiah (Imo State), and Egwumakama Joseph Nkama (Ebonyi State). The new ministers were inaugurated by Mr Buhari in two batches at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The president did not announce their portfolios. They were screened and confirmed by the Senate on June 29. They are replacing the ministers who resigned their positions in May, to pursue their political ambitions. Before the swearing in, FEC observed a minute silence in honour of the late Secretary General of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Barkindo. Mr Barkindo, who died at about 11pm on Tuesday, had visited the president earlier that day. He was 63 years. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; and Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, attended the FEC meeting physically. Ministers physically present were Abubakar Malami (Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice), Chris Ngige (Labour and Employment), Adamu Adamu (Education), Isa Pantami (Communication and Digital Economy), Olamilekan Adegbite (Mines and Steel), Timipre Sylva (Minister of State for Petroleum Resources), Clem Agba (Minister of State Budget, National Planning), and Maryam Katagum (Minister of State, Trade and Investment). The Head of the Service of the Federation (HOCSF), Folasade Yemi-Esan, and other ministers are attending the meeting virtually. Details later A day after Nigeria witnessed some of the most daring attacks by gunmen, President Muhammadu Buhari is set to travel out of the country. PREMIUM TIMES reported the Tuesday attack on a presidential team in Katsina, the ambush of security officials in the same state, the attack on a major prison in Abuja and another killing of a police officer and kidnap of an expatriate in Kwara. While Nigerians are still lamenting the daring nature of the attacks, a presidential aide announced that Mr Buhari will travel to Dakar today. President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Wednesday, July 6, to participate in the International Development Association (IDA) for Africa Summit in Dakar, Senegal, the presidents office said in a Wednesday statement. Many Nigerians have also condemned the frequent trips by the president while the nation suffers deteriorating security and economic situation. However, Mr Buharis spokesperson, Femi Adesina, defended the frequent foreign trips including the latest Senegal visit. Yes, the president should go, Mr Adesina told State House journalists Wednesday. Because theres an international conference meant for heads of states and presidents, he should attend. You should never give in to terrorists. The moment theories begin to stop you from doing things, then we might as well throw up our hands in surrender. The President should go ahead. Yes, its an international obligation. Frequent Foreign Trips Daily Trust had reported that in 2022 alone, President Buhari embarked on at least 10 foreign trips, with the latest being a state visit to Portugal, last week. Before this, President Buhari had attended the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held from June 20 to 26, 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda. Also, on June 4, the president attended an Extraordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government on the political situation in Mali and other parts of the sub-region in Accra, Ghana, amongst others. Read below, the full statement by Mr Buharis office on his latest trip. President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Wednesday, July 6, to participate in the International Development Association (IDA) for Africa Summit in Dakar, Senegal An institution of the World Bank Group, IDA is deepening its support to drive a resilient recovery for countries hit by the global crises of climate and COVID -19, growing levels of insecurity and more recently, by the impact of the war in Ukraine through its historic $93 billion 20th replenishment cycle (IDA20) which goes into effect between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025. At the High-Level event slated for Thursday, July 7 and hosted by President Macky Sall of the Republic of Senegal, President Buhari is expected to join other African leaders in an open Dialogue on Development Challenges and priorities as well as transformational initiatives that will lead to an outcome document, the Dakar Declaration. This commitment is expected to chart the way forward for the transformation of the economies of these nations in partnership with the World Bank/IDA. Topics slated for discussion include: Financing for Recovery and Economic Transformation in Africa; Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security; Human Capital; Digital and Technological Innovation; and Energy Transition and Climate Change. The President will be accompanied on the trip by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama; Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; as well as Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo. Others on the entourage are the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; Director-General, Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha; and the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Olukayode Pitan. President Buhari is expected back in the country at the end of the Summit on Thursday, July 7. Nairobi Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Dorcas Oduor says her experience makes her suitable for the position of the Appeal court judge. Oduor, also the Secretary Public Prosecutions on Tuesday told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that she has been actively involved in major transformative agendas while at the office of the DPP, which have assisted the office to effectively carry out its mandate. She disclosed that currently there are 1,300 employees who are all working under her office. "I have worked on policies, guidelines , the structure of the office, HR manual, if I am selected to this position I will be able to help the judiciary deal with the backlog of cases and work with my colleagues to demystify the court of appeal," she stated. She also highlighted several other responsibilities she has undertaken both locally and internationally, which she says makes her competent. This includes offering expertise to the UN, the commonwealth, carrying out local and regional training on prosecutions. "I bring a wealth of experience from diverse contexts, I am strongly trained in management, and I am ready to learn," she stated. Oduor also told the Commission that integrity is an integral part in the DPP, and that she intends to impart that into the Judiciary. "As a prosecutor integrity is one of our core values, and I am called upon to be accountable both in public and private.Integrity can interfere with the independence of institutions and therefore it must be protected," she said. The interviews to fill six positions for the Court of Appeal judge kicked off on June 27, 2022 and will end on July 12, 2022. Nigerias Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, says the 64 Boko-Haram terrorists who are inmates of the Kuje Custodial Centre, are still at large. Mr Magashi stated this while speaking with journalists during his visit to the centre on Wednesday. The members of the sect escaped along with over 600 inmates on Tuesday night after the facility was attacked by terrorists. While the Ministry of Interior confirmed that about 300 inmates have been retrieved by security operatives on Wednesday, more remain at large. Among the missing inmates are the 64 members of Boko-Haram, who share the medium prison with other criminals. Mr Magashi said the government has yet to ascertain the criminal records of the inmates who are still at large. About 994 inmates, we have about 600 already inside now. Many people are being recaptured. The people who came to do this from the records belong to a particular group, from all indicators they are Boko-Haram. Presently, we could not locate any of them. Currently there are about 64 of them as inmates and we could not locate them, the minister said after assessing the extent of damage at the facility. PREMIUM TIMES can report that additional four persons are dead as a result of the attack. The four persons were earlier retrieved and brought into the facility with several degrees of injuries sustained while they were trying to escape. Their bodies were later moved into a covered Toyota Hilux around 12 noon after spending sometime on the bare floor within the facility. Two passengers died after a boat mishap in Ikorodu, Lagos State, on Wednesday, according to the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA). The General Manager, LASWA, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said in a statement that the boat submerged immediately after it departed the Ipakodo ferry terminal in Ikorodu, Lagos. Mr Emmanuel said the 20-passenger ferry, named R & N 2, carrying 17 passengers, capsized at about 7.45 a.m., not more than 200 metres from the Ipakodo terminal, Ikorodu. He said that two female passengers were unconscious, rushed to the nearest hospital for treatment, but later confirmed dead. Mr Emmanuel said the water guards and the search and rescue team of the LASWA, who were mobilised to the scene of the incident, rescued 15 persons. The boat captain is being investigated by relevant authorities while a full investigation into the cause of the mishap was ongoing as of the time of the statement. (NAN) At least 443 inmates who escaped from the prison in Abuja are still at large, an official has said. The spokesperson of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Umar Abubakar, Wednesday afternoon provided more details about the attack on the custodial facility in Kuje, Abuja. He said one security official (a member of the civil defence, NSCDC) and four inmates were killed in the Tuesday night attack. A total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility during the unfortunate attack. As at the time of this report, 443 have been recaptured, 551 inmates are currently in custody, 443 inmates are still at large, 4 inmates dead and 16 inmates sustained various degree of injuries and are being treated at the moment. However, efforts are ongoing to recapture all fleeing inmates, Mr Abubakar wrote in a statement sent to journalists. Earlier, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the defence minister, Bashir Magashi, said 64 Boko-Haram terrorists who were inmates at the Kuje Custodial Centre, were among those who escaped and were still at large. In his statement, the NCoS spokesperson also said that over three dozen soldiers were stationed at the prison facility before the attack. As at the time of the attack on the Kuje facility, we have 38 military personnel on ground in addition to personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Civil Defence, DSS and our Armed Squad, Mr Abubakar wrote. He also said the suspended former police commissioner, Abba Kyari, who was detained at the prison did not escape. Mr Kyari and other VIPs at the facility are safe and accounted for, Mr Abubakar said. Read the full statement by the spokesperson below. In furtherance to my earlier press release on the unfortunate attack by gunmen suspected to be terrorists, I wish to state that the attackers broke into the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje using explosive devices through the main entrance and the fence of the facility respectively, killing a personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to the Custodial Centre and leaving three (3) personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service seriously injured. A total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility during the unfortunate attack. As at the time of this report, 443 have been recaptured, 551 inmates are currently in custody, 443 inmates are still at large, 4 inmates dead and 16 inmates sustained various degree of injuries and are being treated at the moment. However, efforts are ongoing to recapture all fleeing inmates. The Service will deploy its Corrections Information Management System (CIMS) in synergy with National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody. This is also to confirm to the general public that DCP Abba Kyari and other VIPs held in the facility did not escape. They are presently in custody, hale and hearty. Recall that after the attack at the Medium Custodial Centre in Agbolongo, Oyo state, the Honourable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, met with the heads of the security agencies under his supervision where the idea of Joint SecurityTaskforce comprising the Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps was formed to forestall further breaches on custodial facilities. As at the time of the attack on the Kuje facility, we have 38 military personnel on ground in addition to personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Civil Defence, DSS and our Armed Squad. This is the Ministers efforts to rejig the security architecture of our facilities. The public is also informed that some of the attackers were killed while some escaped with gunshot wounds. We, therefore, appeal to hospitals and other medical institutions and practitioners to report anyone that comes to them for treatment for gunshot injuries to the nearest law enforcement agency. The Controller General of Corrections Haliru Nababa FICMC, mni appreciates the efforts of other security agencies for coming to the rescue of the Service in a timely manner. He calls on the public to volunteer useful information that may lead to the arrest of the fleeing inmates. The CG has reassured the public that the unfortunate incident is been handled with every sense of dedication and professionalism. He further extends his condolence to the families of those who lost their lives during the attack and wishes the injured ones a quick recovery. Umar Abubakar AICMC, ANIPR. Chief Superintendent of Corrections. Public Relations officer For: Controller General of Corrections. President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday afternoon visited the Kuje custodial facility in Abuja that was attacked by terrorists Tuesday night. PREMIUM TIMES reported how hundreds of inmates were freed by the attackers. An official also said four inmates and a security official were killed during the attack. About 443 inmates are still at large while another 443 have been recaptured, a spokesperson said. About 63 of the inmates still at large are members of the terror group, Boko Haram. The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) has said that human factor is mostly responsible for why things have not been working in Nigeria. Mr Obi said this when he appeared as a guest on Arise TV programme, The Morning Show, on Wednesday. He said he has travelled to study some countries who have excelled in their economic policies. Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and a former chairman of Fidelity Bank, said although the strategies adopted by successful countries were the same with those of Nigeria, the problem with Nigerias strategies has been the inability of the countrys leaders to deal with existing human factor problem. (For instance) it takes you three months to clear goods at Nigerian Ports. To clear goods in Cotonu (Togo), (takes you) two days. The same in Ghana, Ivory Coast. I have actually travelled to Singapore, and other countries because of ports. I studied what works for the ports, he said. On how to replicate the same in Nigeria, Mr Obi said the human factor which serves as obstacles to government programmes should be addressed to enable the country move forward. It is a human factor problem, the former governor said. What we need to do is to deal with human factor (problem). Everything you are seeing in Nigeria that has not worked, whether it is scanning, is because of the human factor problem. You deal with it decisively, Mr Obi said. The LP presidential candidate said when he was the governor of Anambra State, he removed the human factor problem affecting the education sector in the state before the sector recorded positive growths. I tell people what we did in education in Anambra State. We moved from 26 to 21 (in ranking). We didnt change the teachers. They were the same teachers and we didnt hire new people. But when they saw the body language of the leader and that people were being asked to go if they dont deliver it, they delivered it, he said. He said the country is in coma and is yearning for a specialist to save it from total collapse. This election will not be based on ethnicity or religion. It will be based on Nigerian agenda to save this country, he said. Nigeria is in coma, and it needs a specialist. And thats why I am offering (myself) to save its life or it will die, Mr Obi added. Subsidy removal Mr Obi said the LP has not been opposed to the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He said Nigerians have been critical of the subsidy regime because the Nigerian government has not achieved anything with the initiative. He said the government could have better utilised the funds being used to sustain the subsidy regime on other projects in the country. You have to convince people. People are against removal of subsidy because whenever it is done, they did not see its benefit. We did privatisation, we didnt see the benefits. What we did is (that) we privatise profits, we socialise nothing, he said. Mr Obi expressed worry that Nigeria is not exporting enough products for foreign exchange to service the countrys debt. The former governor said if elected as president in 2023, his administration would pay more attention to production and exporting to grow the economy and revenue of the country. There is no reason Nigeria should not be exporting at least N300 billion worth of products, he said. Attack on opponents The LP presidential candidate said those who attack his opponents on social media are not his supporters. He said they were people paid by his opponents to vilify people to give him a bad name. The former governor said he is contesting because of his competence, and that people should vote for him on the basis of his ability to transform the country and not on ethnic and regional sentiments. Two turtles rescued last month from a roadside trader in Akwa Ibom State, Nigerias South-south have found a safe home in a conservation centre in Uyo. Enim Akwa, a pilot in Akwa Ibom, bought the turtles off the trader who stood by the roadside, along a highway, seeking buyers. The poor animals would have probably become meat in a family soup pot somewhere, if not for Mr Akwas intervention. Animals from the wild, otherwise called bushmeat, are considered a rich source of protein for many Nigerian families. Over 70% of urban Nigerians have consumed bushmeat at some point in their lives, according to a research conducted in 2020 by Wildaid, an organisation that is working to reduce global consumption of wildlife. Mr Akwa, accompanied by his wife, Enwongo, took the rescued turtles to the Biodiversity Preservation Centre, Uyo, and handed them over to Edem Eniang, a professor of wildlife and head of the centre. I truly admire Enim, and the way he is firmly rooted where wildlife and the environment is concerned. He walks the talk, truly, Mrs Enwongo said of her husband in a Facebook post. Mr Akwa had a similar turtle rescue mission about two years ago, the wife said. Turtle trade point There are over 40 turtles at the Biodiversity Preservation Centre, brought in by various people who rescued them, according to Mr Eniang. Some of them injured and traumatised. One of the turtles brought to the centre by Mr Akwa had a cracked shell. It would be evaluated and helped to get healed before it would be eventually released into the wild with the others, Mr Eniang said. The locals usually hunt for the turtles around the swamps close to the Atlantic Oceans. Besides, Mr Eniang said several others are brought into Akwa Ibom from the neighbouring Cross River State, where people are scared to sell them openly because the rangers at the National Park in the state are empowered to arrest and prosecute anyone caught trading in wildlife. The spot along the highway where Mr Akwa bought the turtles has been known as a turtle trade point in Akwa Ibom, according to Mr Eniang. Most times one passes there youll see them hanging them upside down for sale, he said. So, Inim (Akwa) is in the habit of, if he sees them when he is coming back from work, he will take them from those people and bring them for rehabilitation and release into the forest. I am really amazed at his interest in the preservation of that species, the professor added. The turtles Mr Akwa rescued are called terrapin, found mostly in fresh water. Mr Eniang said they are endangered species, and should, therefore, not be hunted, eaten, or traded. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prohibits the trade on this species. CITES is domiciled in Nigeria at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mr Eniang said. Number two, the Convention of Biological Diversity which Nigeria is also signatory forbids us from trading on them. But most importantly, the Nigeria Endangered Species Act also forbids, likewise the National Park Act of Nigeria, the trade on this species. The challenge Mr Akwa said his love for conservation began right from when he was a little boy because of the way his dad brought him up in Lagos, Nigerias commercial capital. If you catch a bird, for example, my dad will just watch you. He will ask you whats this bird for. And you say Oh, I want to keep it. Hell say no problem, can you feed it? And when you say yes, hell say lets see. And if you are not feeding it, by the time you come back from school, he would have released the bird to fly away. He inculcated it into our heads that you have to take care of nature, he said. Mr Akwa said when he got into secondary school, he joined conservation organisations which helped to increase his knowledge and love for conservation. Challenge But the snag here is that the people who hunt down turtles and other wildlife in Akwa Ibom, and other parts of Nigeria, may never stop it unless they understand the importance of conservation and practice it too. Mr Eniang succinctly captured this challenge when he said to PREMIUM TIMES in a previous report: But how can you plant conservation etiquette in a mind that is hungry? Theres so much hunger in the land, theres so much challenge for survival. So, nobody will listen to you except you give them an alternative. We need to build that into the conservation plan. Funny enough, on my way back again today I saw one (turtle) again. I paid for it. I will take it to the professor, said Mr Akwa, who narrated to PREMIUM TIMES how he tried to enlighten the woman on why she should not be trading on the poor animal. Todays own, they wanted me to pay N5,000, but I ended up paying N3,000 for it, he said. A terrorist group, Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP), has claimed responsibility for Tuesdays attack on the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja. In a video shared by the terrorist group on Wednesday, many of the inmates were seen fleeing the prison while the terrorists chanted Allahu Akbar. ISWAP is a breakaway faction of the Boko Haram sect that has terrorised the North-east region of Nigeria for over a decade. Africa, particularly the Lake chad region which the North-eastern part of Nigeria is part of, also battles ISWAP terrorists who are believed to be affiliated with ISIS. PREMIUM TIMES reported how hundreds of inmates were freed by the attackers. An official also said four inmates and a security official were killed during the attack. About 443 inmates are still at large while another 443 have been recaptured, a spokesperson said. About 64 of the inmates still at large are members of the terror group, Boko Haram. The terrorists were said to have also released a statement, claiming responsibility for the attack. PREMIUM TIMES is, however, yet to verify the statement. More details shortly. The senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Nicholas Tofowomo, has asked a Federal High Court in Akure to disqualify former deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, as the senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the district. His pleas were based on alleged questionable academic records tendered by Mr Ajayi. Mr Ajayi, who had contested the last governorship election under Zenith Labour Party, is back to the PDP and wants to be a senator. He defeated Mr Tofowomo, who is the incumbent senator for Ondo South during the last party primaries, ruling out the senators chances of returning to the upper chamber. In the suit, Mr Tofowomo said Mr Agboola did not meet the constitutional requirements for contesting the 2023 general election as contained in the interpretation and application of Section 66(1)(i) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 29(5) & (6) of the 2022 Electoral Act, 2022. Mr Tofowomo through his lawyer, Femi Emodamori, claimed that the court should determine if the first defendant (Mr Ajayi) presented false information or forged certificate(s) in his INEC Form EC9. He prayed the court to disqualify Mr Ajayi and declare him (Mr Tofomowo) the PDP candidate for Ondo South Senatorial District for the 2023 general election. Mr Tofowomo also asked the court to order the PDP to substitute Mr Ajayis name with his as the partys candidate for Ondo South Senatorial District. Mr Ajayi, while reacting to the development, said he respects Mr Tofowomo as a brother; recognises him as a leader, and as such counts on his support for the partys victory in the forthcoming general election. He, however, noted that it was within the exclusive right of the senator to approach the court of law wherever he feels that his right had been infringed upon. He also said in the present case, it fell within the Nigerian electoral process to do so. Apparently, it should be noted that leaders of our great party have been working hard to appeal and persuade all aggrieved persons in the party to work together in a view to ensuring the victory of the party at the 2023 General Elections, Mr Ajayi said in a statement signed by his media aide, Allen Sowore. We are very confident as loyal party members that total reconciliation among the critical stakeholders is achievable. This is not the first time the former deputy governor would be sued over his academic qualifications. In 2020, a chieftain of the PDP, Konstante Timi Olopele, sued him in an Akure High Court, seeking his disqualification from the July 22, 2020, primary election of the party. The ex parte motion brought before the court was instituted with originating summon that was dated July 17, 2020, with suit number AK/45M/2020, filed on behalf of Mr Olopele and others by Akpofiwei Anthony Macleans of AMAC Solicitors The counsel prayed, among others, for the disqualification of Mr Ajayi on the breach of the provisions of the regulations of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Act, Cap W4 Law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004. The plaintiffs claimed in the suit that Mr Ajayi had breached the extant laws that regulate WAEC and Nigerian Law School attendance while he was serving as elected Local Government Chairman and member of the Federal House of Representatives respectively. The Nigerian government on Tuesday announced the restructuring of five out of the countrys 11 electricity distribution companies. The affected companies are Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna, Ibadan and Benin distribution companies. The privately-owned firms have struggled to provide power since the government ceded control in 2013. The government maintains 40 per cent holding in the firms, however, through the Bureau of Public Enterprise, BPE. Nigerias electricity sector has remained largely dysfunctional for decades, generating and sharing an average 4,000 megawatts to about 200 million people. The government said the five DISCOs had been unable to repay loans taken from Fidelity Bank to acquire their asset during the 2013 privatisation, and the bank has activated its right to take over the firms. This was disclosed in a statement jointly signed by the heads of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sanusi Garba, and the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), Alex Okoh. The majority equity in the firms will be sold to qualified private sector investors who will re-capitalise and effectively operate the entities, they said, according to Channels TV. The government said it has assurances that Fidelity Bank would fully take part in all current market activities aimed at enhancing the industry (e.g. National Mass Metering Program). Today we were informed by Fidelity Bank that they have activated the call on the collateralized shares of Kano, Benin, and Kaduna (Fidelity and AFREXIM) DISCOs and that they have initiated action to take over the Boards of these DISCOs and exercise the rights on the shares, the statement said. Fidelity Banks action is a contractual and commercial intervention and is between the Core Investors in the DISCOs and the lender. BPE is involved because of the 40 percent shareholding of the Government in the DISCOs, it added. The restructuring The statement said the new board members of Kano DISCOs will be chaired by Hasan Tukur while Nelson Ahaneku, Rabiu Suleiman will serve as members of the board. The Benin DISCO will be led by KC Akuma as chairman, while Adeola Ijose and Charles Onwera will be members of its board. The Kaduna DISCO will have Abbas Jega as chairman, Ameenu Abubakar and Marlene Ngoyi will be members of the board. Three independent directors were nominated by the BPE, Bashir Gwandu (Kano), Yomi Adeyemi (Benin), and Umar Abdullahi (Kaduna) to represent the governments 40 per cent interest in the three DISCOs respectively, during this transition. We are engaging with the Central Bank of Nigeria (as the banking sector regulator) to ensure an orderly transition and to ensure that Fidelity Bank does not hold the DISCOs shares in perpetuity, it said. For the Kano Disco, Ahmad Dangana will temporarily serve as the managing director while Henry Ajagbawa and Yusuf Yahaya were placed at the Benin and Kaduna DISCOs respectively. Also, with the takeover of Ibadan DISCO by AMCON, the BPE has obtained approval from NERC to appoint Kingsley Achife as the interim Managing Director, it said. In a temporary capacity the leadership of AMCON will be a placeholder Board for the Ibadan franchise (Ahmed Kuru Chair, Eberechukwu Uneze Member, Aminu Ismail Member). Oluwaseyi Akinwale will represent the interest of the government on the Board alongside the DG of BPE, it noted. For Port Harcourt DISCO, Iboroma Akpana will take over as the chairman of the board. Emmanuel Okotete, Eyo Ekpo, Ismaila Shuaibu and the DG of BPE will form the interim board. As part of the changes, Benson Uwheru will take over as the managing director of PHEDC. The government promised to support the activation of emergency funds through the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization Facility to support the entity while it goes through restructuring and repositioning to serve the citizens of the franchise area better. We are working with the Honourable Minister of Power to ensure no service disruptions during these transitions. We remain committed to supporting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry to serve Nigerians better, the statement said. The police in Enugu State have declared a manhunt for those responsible for the lynching of two people around Nsukka on July 4. An angry mob set the two ablaze after they were accused of raping and killing a 10-year-old girl in Ede-Oballa, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State. The girls corpse was found in a nearby bush with her breast and vagina removed, a witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). The two persons were first arrested by a vigilante group, the Neighbourhood Watch, before the mob overpowered the vigilantes, dragged the two men outside and then set fire on them. Investigation has been launched to fish out those responsible for the alleged mobbing and setting ablaze of the duo at Ede-Oballa community in Nsukka axis, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, said in Enugu on Wednesday. The two persons were killed on the trumped-up allegation of being responsible for the murder of a 10-year-old girl for ritual purposes. Preliminary investigation shows that the girl was initially reported missing on June 28 at about 1p.m. Her decomposing body found in a bush in the community on July 2, led to the action of the irate mob, said Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police. ALSO READ: Nsukka community reacts to N100 million lawsuit against UNN He urged members of the community to keep supporting the police to properly investigate criminal cases. Residents of the community should desist from resorting to self-help of this nature, which attracts dire legal consequences, the police spokesperson warned. (NAN) Kirinyaga Kirinyaga County has changed the scheme service of Early Childhood Education (ECDE) teachers to permanent and pensionable terms. Kirinyaga Governor, Ann Waiguru, through her Education County Executive James Kinyua announced the plan during the meeting with the teachers at Kaitheri Polytechnic in Kerugoya. Kinyua said the teachers drawn from all sub-counties have been serving on a contract basis. He lauded the teachers for working diligently to give academic nourishment to the children. The CEC said the delay has been due to legal frameworks and no it has been implemented in strict observance of labour laws and all relevant legal statutes. Finance CEC, Jackline Mugo, said they have added Ksh 106 million in new financial year to cater for the teachers. She added the county government is committed to making Early Childhood education vibrant, saying it was the strongest foundation for education. - Kna Twenty-three members of the Oyo State House of Assembly, on Wednesday, passed a motion directing the state Chief Judge to appoint a seven-member panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the state deputy governor, Rauf Olaniyan. The motion, jointly sponsored by the Majority Leader, Sanjo Adedoyin (Ogbomoso South) and Akintunde Olajide, representing Lagelu State constituency, directed that the panel should report back to the Assembly in three months. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that on June 17, a correspondence/petition titled: Notice of Allegations of Gross Misconduct against the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Mr Rauf Olaniyan, was read at the plenary. In the petition, the 23 members accused the deputy governor of gross misconduct, abuse of office, financial recklessness, abandonment of office, and insubordination. The lawmakers, thereafter, served the deputy governor and all other members of the legislature a copy of the allegations. While reading the motion, Mr Adedoyin said that up till now, the deputy governor has not responded to the allegations served him by the assembly. The motion read: With this development, the House needs to invoke the provision specified in Section 188 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). In accordance with the provision of Section 188 (4) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to request the Chief Judge of Oyo State to appoint panel of seven persons of unquestionable integrity to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct against Mr Rauf Olaniyan. And the panel is to report its findings to the House within three months of its appointment. Commenting, the Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin, said the issue was no more with the Assembly, as it has been handed over to the State Chief Judge, Muntar Abimbola. Mr Ogundoyin said: We have no say, whether Olaniyan is guilty or not. The issue will be determined by the seven members to be constituted by the state Chief Judge. We are only working in line with the Constitution. Once the report is submitted within or at the expiration of the three months that is what we are going to act upon. We are not in a position to judge in this case. We will ensure due process is followed. The vote was unanimous and we shall wait for the outcome of the report and investigation of the panel. The legislators, therefore, adjourned the plenary until July 19. Court case NAN recalls that the deputy governor had jointly taken the state House of Assembly, Mr Ogundoyin, and the House Clerk to court over the impeachment move against him by the lawmakers. Counsel to the claimant, Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), said he received the respondents scanned reply to his earlier filed application only on Saturday. Mr Fashanu had earlier filed an application for an interim injunction restraining the House from taking any step in pursuant of the impeachment suit. Meanwhile, Counsel to the House, Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN), said he served his response to the claimants application on Friday. Mr Kalejaiye said that adjourning the case for a long time would delay the House from performing its constitutional duties. Thereafter, Justice Ladiran Akintola, gave a short adjournment until Wednesday to enable the claimant to serve his reply to the respondents interlocutory injunction and originating summons. The ruled that the state House of Assembly should, however, still maintain status quo on the impeachment process.(NAN) The Nigerian Correctional Service, Ogun State Command, has denied media reports that a suspect involved in the death of a lady, Sofiat Okeowo, slumped and died in prison. Victor Oyeleke, the prisons spokesperson in the state, in a statement, described the reports as false. The attention of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Ogun State Command has been drawn to an online media and radio programme reports that one of the suspected killers of Sofiat Okeowo, a lady alleged to have been murdered for ritual purposes in Abeokuta, Ogun State in January 2022 and remanded in the custody of Nigerian Correctional Service, Ogun State Command, is dead, the statement read. The Nigerian Correctional Service Ogun State Command has deemed it necessary to refute the reports as it is not true. To set the records straight, the command wishes to state that three of the suspects presently in our custody are hale and hearty. The police in February charged three teenagers and a 20-year-old over the murder of Ms Okeowo, 20. Balogun Mustakeem, 20; Majekodunmi Soliudeen, 18; Abdulgafar Lukman, 19; and Waris Oladeinde, 18, were accused of beheading Ms Okeowo, who was a girlfriend of Mr Soliudeen. The police said the suspect committed the act for ritual purposes. They also said upon interrogation, they claimed they saw guidelines on how to be rich on Facebook. The suspects were arraigned before Magistrate I.O Abudu on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder. Magistrate Abudu ordered that the teenagers be remanded in Oba Correctional Center pending legal advice from the Ogun State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). In March, one of the teenagers, Mr Oladeinde, was discharged by the court on the DPPs advice. According to the magistrate, no charge was recorded against Oladeinde in the legal advice. The FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello, on Wednesday in Abuja tasked traditional rulers in Kuje Area Council to work with relevant security operatives to fish out all escapees from the Kuje Prison. Mr Bello gave the directive during an on-the-spot assessment of damage following the attack at the Kuje Medium Correctional Facility by suspected terrorists, which led to the escape of many inmates. He also urged the Gomo of Kuje, Haruna Jibrin, to summon all traditional chiefs in the council to combine intelligence with security agencies to fish out the escaped inmates from the community. Similarly, the minister also called on members of the community to provide appropriate intelligence to the security agencies to enable them to do their work. He expressed confidence that with maximum cooperation from the communities, all those who escaped would be traced, found and returned. According to Mr Bello, no one can go into any community and blend without being spotted by members of the community. The minister, who described the incident as very sad and unfortunate, added that such incidents threatened everybody, hence the need for everyone to support the security agencies in carrying out their assignments. He stated that efforts were being made to strengthen security, not only around the facility but the Kuje Area Council and other parts of the territory. Mr Bello expressed condolences to the Gomo of Kuje, and sympathised with the family of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps officer who lost his life during the incident, describing him as a very fine and gallant officer. (NAN) The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says Imo State has the least number of newly registered voters in the country, with 97, 371 registrants. INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Francis Ezeonu, disclosed this at a news briefing on Tuesday in Owerri. Mr Ezeonu said the figure excluded those who had applied for review, transfer of polling units and replacement of permanent voter cards (PVCs) as of June 27. He said that in the first two quarters of the exercise, which lasted from June to December 2021, the state registered 16,511, out of which 7,145 (43 per cent) were invalid due to double registration. Mr Ezeonu, however, said that following public demand, the voter registration exercise, which ought to have ended on June 30, had been extended till further notice. He said that other windows for review, transfer of polling units and replacement of lost, defaced or broken PVCs were still open online. Contrary to the rumours doing the rounds, PVC does not expire. If you have lost your PVC, be honest enough to say so rather than attempting a fresh registration, as that will be fruitless. You are also reminded that it is an electoral offence to attempt multiple registrations, he said. The REC urged those who had earlier registered to visit their local government areas for collection of their PVCs. Mr Ezeonu, whose five-year tenure as REC expires on July 6, commended President Mohammadu Buhari for the opportunity given to him to serve the country. He also commended the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, national commissioners, members of staff in the state and Governor Hope Uzodinma, among others, for their support. (NAN) An official of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) is on the run after physically assaulting a party-goer, Quam Adelakun, at an event in Lagos Island, the police have said. Morufu Okoya, the LNSC official, allegedly used his baton to repeatedly hit the face of Mr Adelakun, 27, causing one of his eyes to pop out of its socket. The incident happened on Sunday during an event hosted by a Lagos island resident popularly known as LAGO. The event host had reportedly invited LNSC officials to provide security at the venue at Bamgbose Street, Lagos Island. It was gathered that Mr Adelakun had gone to the event to see his father, who is a friend of the host. According to a witness, Gideon Orinya, the LNSC officials barred Mr Adelakun from entering the venue, resulting in a heated argument before Mr Okoyas arrival. During the argument, Mr Okoya used his baton on the victim multiple times, causing his left eye to pop out of its socket, said Mr Orinya. While still trying to fight back, the victim picked a bottle but he was too destabilised to use it because blood was already gushing out of his left eye. Mr Orinya added that Mr Adelakun was immediately taken to a nearby chemist but he was rejected before they proceeded to the Lagos Island General Hospital where he is currently receiving treatment. He said the incident has been reported to the Adeniji Police Station. This newspaper confirmed that the official and the victim live on the same street where the incident happened. LNSC management, police react Speaking on the incident, the general manager of LNSC, Ifalade Oyekan, told PREMIUM TIMES that the agency never assigned its officials to the event. We didnt post anybody to that party, we were not even aware of the party not until the incident, he said. Officials know their timetable and daily routine, during the weekends, those on duty are expected to secure religious centres, while they replicate the same for school during school hours. I never minuted this particular event and the head of that division also confirmed to me that it was not an official assignment. He added that the official has been summoned to report to the headquarters by 11 a.m. on Wednesday before he is handed over to the police for further investigation. When contacted, the police officer in charge of the case at Adeniji Police Station, Ibrahim Abdulazeez, told PREMIUM TIMES that the LNSC officer is still on the run. But we are now working with the management who have promised to provide the suspect as soon as they can, he said. The Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC) is a uniformed security agency established by a law of the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2016 to assist the police and other security agencies to maintain law and order in the state. They operate in all the 57 LGA/LCDA in Lagos and their officers are indigenous locals from the various LGA/LCDA where they operate. Katsina State says it has recommended its first case of Monkeypox disease, treated and discharged the patient. The states Commissioner for Health, Yakubu Danja, confirmed this at the distribution of medicare and free medicines to the 34 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state in Katsina. Mr Danja also disclosed that the medicare and free medicine would be distributed to call centres across the state. He said the government had proactively activated all emergency response teams to curtail the spread of the disease in the state. According to him, the state has about 15 suspected cases, whose samples have been taken to Abuja, and are awaiting the results. He added that the distribution of the medicines was to proactively deal with the disease, as well as cholera and other rainy season-related diseases. The commissioner also inspected the fully equipped Emergency Operations Centre, called the Call Centre, and the 140 Solar Direct Drive Vaccine Refrigerators. He said that the facility was donated by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, to ensure vaccine potency, and to reduce the cost of distribution. The Executive Secretary of the Agency, Shamsudeen Yahaya, said all the interventions, especially the distribution of medicare in the state, are to be readily proactive against any unforeseen circumstances, especially with the setting in of the rainy season. According to him, the call centre will serve as a mechanism to log field or community reports on suspected diseases or deaths. He added that it would also enhance the ability for the early detection, prevention and response to disease outbreaks, or other events of public health importance. (NAN) The Nigeria Correctional Service have confirmed that there was an attack on the Medium Security Custodial, Kuje on Tuesday night. The Spokesperson of the agency, Abubakar Umar, confirmed the incident in a statement obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday. The attack comes few hours after the State Security Service (SSS) alerted the authorities of an impending attack on Kuje prison. While stating that the attack was repelled, the official did not give specific details as to how many prisoners escaped and officers affected. I wish to confirm that about 20hrs, some yet to be identified gunmen attacked the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje in the Federal Capital Territory. However, men of the Armed Squad of the Nigerian Correctional Service and other security agencies attached to the Custodial centre have responded and calm has been restored to the facility and the situation is under control, he said. He said more details will be available soon. PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the custodial center came under attack late Tuesday night apparently to free jailed criminals. Dangerous criminals, including apprehended Boko Haram terrorists, are held in the prison, which also houses high profile public officers standing trial or already convicted. Serial attacks The attack on Kuje Prison is the latest of the series of attacks on correctional facilities in Nigeria. The attack comes less than a year after arsonists invaded the Jos prison and freed many inmates. At least five prisons have been attacked in the last 18 months across Nigeria. They are those of Jos, Oyo, Kabba, and Owerri. The Kuje Area Council where the incident took place has been the hotbed of crime and criminalities in the FCT. There have been abductions in the area believed to be carried out by terrorists, often called bandits, operating in the North-west and parts of the North-central, including the federal capital. President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday assigned portfolios to seven newly appointed ministers, charging them to serve the nation diligently, maintain unalloyed loyalty to the country and office of the President. The President also announced the reassignment of portfolios in his cabinet, saying the new redeployment is aimed at reinvigorating certain sectors where the government desires to accomplish improved results. Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, which preceded the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the President said as his administration is now on the home-stretch of its second term, more work still needs to be done in diverse areas of the economy and national life. The newly appointed ministers and their portfolios are: Ikechukwu Ikoh, Minister of State, Science and Technology; Umana Umana, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs; Udi Odum , Minister of State, Environment; Ademola Adegoroye, Minister of State, Transport; Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, Minister of State, Works and Housing; Goodluck Opiah, Minister of State, Education and Nkama Ekumankama, Minister of State, Health. The following ministers were re-assigned: Senator Adeleke Mamora, Minister of Science and Technology (formerly Minister of State, Health); Muazu Jaji Sambo, Minister of Transportation (formerly Minister of State, Works and Housing); Sharon Ikeazor, Minister of State, Niger Delta (formerly Minister of State, Environment) and Sen. Gbemisola Saraki, Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development (formerly Minister of State, Transportation). President Buhari urged the newest members of his cabinet to consult and collaborate with older cabinet colleagues and focus on driving key programmes already initiated by this administration. He also warned all members of the cabinet against corrupt practices, reiterating that public officers must be above board and those caught in corrupt practices would face the full wrath of the law. I begin this address by welcoming on board, all newly sworn-in members of the Federal Executive Council, Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, quoted Mr Buhari as saying. I also congratulate you because the process that you all passed through to reach this stage has been rigorous and meticulous. The appointment of these new Ministers is in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which prescribes that the Federal Executive Council shall be made up of members from every state of the Federation. I therefore urge you to consider your emergence out of millions of equally qualified Nigerians within the purview of selection from your State, as a call to duty which imposes the obligation to serve the nation diligently and presents to you the unique opportunity to work hard in service to the Government and the country. At the valedictory session for six former Ministers that departed to pursue other political careers, I promised that their replacement shall be a matter of priority so that the business of governance would not experience delays or setbacks. ALSO READ: Five Nigeria health sector challenges new Ministers should urgently tackle This administration has been in the saddle since 2015 and is now on the home-stretch of its second term, as the nation prepares for the 2023 general elections. All through, it has vigorously pursued the three main electoral objectives namely: Securing the nation; Diversifying & growing the economy as well as fighting corruption. You are all coming on-board at this time with new energy, ideas, experiences and vigour, to join the existing team so that the implementation of policies, programs and projects associated with these electoral objectives would be escalated and accelerated. There is still so much to be done for our country in the areas of infrastructure development, energy, access to finance, access to justice, technology and innovation, trade, agriculture, education and security. The list is inexhaustible, he said. President Buhari urged the newly appointed ministers to be conscious that time is of the essence as they assume office. As I assign you portfolios, therefore, I expect you to carefully study your sectors, take wise counsel, reach out to key stakeholders, consult and collaborate with older cabinet colleagues and focus on driving key programs already initiated by this administration. Above all, be loyal to your President and your country. Underscoring the need for the old and new members of his Cabinet to work with common objectives of leaving indelible legacies for Nigerians and ending strongly with verifiable accomplishments, the President warned: You must resist bad counsel, resist temptation and be circumspect in your utterances and conduct. You must totally eschew corruption and be above board because if caught there will be no sacred cows, he said. President Buhari told the newly appointed ministers to await further communication on their appropriate Ministerial Mandates from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Prior to the commencement of the FEC meeting and swearing-in ceremony, the Council observed a minute of silence in honour of the Secretary-General of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Barkindo, who died on Tuesday in Abuja. The Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN), South-East chapter, will withdraw its services from July 13, as directed by its national body. The Zonal Chairman of the association, Dominic Nwibe, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abakaliki. NAN reported that on June 26, the National President of AMBCN, Mansur Umar, directed members to begin a two-week strike from July 13, citing an increase in prices of bakery materials. We had a zonal meeting in Abakaliki and decided to follow the directive, which is supposed to last for two weeks. A bag of baking flour which hitherto cost N25,000 now costs N28,000 and is worrisome that it will keep increasing. A bag of sugar which hitherto cost N9,000 presently cost N30,000 while 20 litres of groundnut oil costs about N20,000, the South-east zonal chairman of the association, Mr Nwibe said. He said the members felt it was unnecessary to keep increasing the prices of bakery products such as bread to the detriment of customers. The customers would feel that we are greedy and we want to let the federal government know that the situation has become unbearable. We are asking for the liberalisation of the sugar importation process to break the monopoly by two or three firms. These firms import sugar and control its price mechanisms as the withdrawal of services will make our customers know we are telling the truth about reasons for price increases. The zonal chairman regretted that the authorities blamed the high cost of materials on the economic effects of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We dont see any justification to this assertion as flour, for instance, can be sourced from nearby countries, he said. Also speaking, the South-east Zonal Secretary of the association, Okey Ezeanata said bakers have been seriously affected by the development as most of them have closed shops. We urge the federal government to allow mass participation in our materials importation process just like in the telecommunication sector, he said. The association said the National Wheat Cultivation Committee constituted over a year ago was yet to be inaugurated. The bakers, in March, complained that the hike in diesel price and exchange rate volatility caused many of its members across the country to shut down their businesses. (NAN) The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, granted permission to former Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, to travel to the United Kingdom for medical care. Mr Okorocha and his co-defendant, Anyim Nyerere, last May, pleaded not guilty to charges of diverting N2.9 billio in public funds while the former was in office. The judge, Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling, ordered the registrar of the court to release Mr Okorochas passport to him to undertake the medical trip. Mr Okorochas lawyer, Ola Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had told the court that his client had been battling with health issues. Mr Olanipekun argued that Mr Okorocha, now the senator representing Imo North at the National Assembly, would not breach the terms and conditions of the travel permission and would return to the country for his trial, which has been slated to commence in November. EFCC drops objection to travel request Initially, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer, Chile Okoroma, opposed the request, he later withdrew his objection when the judge explained that the request would be granted with a caveat by the court. While granting the request, Mr Ekwo ordered Mr Okorocha to return his passport to the court registrar not later than three days of his arrival in the country. The judge held that he would declare Mr Okorocha wanted if he attempts to abuse the indulgence granted him. Subsequently, the suit was adjourned until November 7, for Mr Okorochas trial. Background The EFCC had, in January, filed a 17-count charge against Mr Okorocha over allegations of diverting N2.9 billion public funds while in office. But efforts to get the former Imo State governor stand trial were unsuccessful until the anti-corruption agency raided Mr Okorochas Abuja residence. Mr Okorocha, who was a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was arrested after a six-hour siege to his home in Abuja. After four months of filing charges against Mr Okorocha, the EFCC, on May 30, brought Mr Okorocha to the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he was arraigned. Messrs Okorocha and Nyerere both pleaded not guilty to the charges and were subsequently granted bail two days later. Mr Okorocha, 59, was a two-term governor of Imo State, serving from 2011 to 2019 when he lost an intense political battle to install his son-in-law and Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu, as a successor. He, however, succeeded in winning the Imo West senatorial election for himself as a candidate of the APC. His co-accused, Mr Nyerere, open-source searches show, was the APC governorship candidate in the 2015 Abia State election and currently serves as a commissioner at the National Pension Commission. Mr Nyerere features in all the 17 charges and is accused of conspiring with Mr Okorocha to steal and launder N2.9 billion belonging to Imo State and local government areas in the state, in contravention of the Money Laundering Act 2011. As Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) searches by PREMIUM TIMES showed, he owns or controls three of the charged companies, namely Consolid, Pramif, and Legend World, all registered in Abuja. According to the EFCC charges, the stolen funds were diverted between October 2014 and February 2016 from the Imo State Government House account and Imo State Joint Local Government Project account. Timeline of the alleged diversions: 1. February 11, 2014: N67,500,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited 2. August 28, 2014: N486,000,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited. 3. October 14, 2014: N900,000,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Naphtali International Limited 4. August 4, 2015: N279,000,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Naphtali International Limited 5. February 10, 2016: N243,000,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Consolid Projects Consulting Limited 6. February 10, 2016: N200,000,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Consolid Projects Consulting Limited 7. February 10, 2016: N243,000,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Pramif International Limited 8. February 11, 2016: N243,000,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited 9. February 12, 2016: 243,000,000 conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Legend World Concepts Limited. RTHK: Top ministers quit on UK's scandal-tainted PM UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered two high-profile departures from his government on Tuesday, including that of his finance minister, in the first stirrings of a cabinet uprising after a slew of scandals. Rishi Sunak quit as chancellor of the exchequer and Sajid Javid resigned as health secretary with both saying they could no longer tolerate the culture of scandal that has stalked Johnson for months. Their resignations were announced minutes after the prime minister apologised for appointing a senior Conservative who quit last week after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men. Days of shifting explanations followed the resignation of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, with Downing Street initially denying Johnson knew of prior allegations against Pincher when appointing him in February. But by Tuesday, that defence had collapsed after a former top civil servant said Johnson, as foreign minister, was told in 2019 about another incident involving his ally. "I think it was a mistake and I apologise for it," the prime minister told reporters, after opposition MPs and some Tories accused him of lying over what he knew when he appointed Pincher. "In hindsight, it was the wrong thing to do." The Pincher affair appears to have been the final straw for Sunak and Javid, coming after Johnson only narrowly survived a vote of no confidence among Conservative MPs a month ago. In particular, the departure of the finance minister in the middle of policy differences over a cost-of-living crisis sweeping Britain is dismal news for Johnson. In a caustic resignation letter, Sunak said "the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously". He added: "I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning." Javid, who preceded Sunak at the Treasury before quitting over a prior bust-up with Johnson, wrote that the British public "expect integrity from their government". The prime minister's survival in last month's no-confidence vote gave him the opportunity to show "humility, grip and new direction", Javid said. "I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership and you have therefore lost my confidence too." (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-07-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Chinese experts complete translation of Japanese germ warfare trial recordings Xinhua) 16:30, July 06, 2022 HARBIN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese research team, funded by the National Social Science Foundation, said it has completed the translation and compilation of the recordings of the Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials ahead of the 85th anniversary of the "July 7 Incident." In 1949, 12 members of the Japanese Kwantung Army were tried as war criminals in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk for manufacturing and using biological weapons and carrying out inhuman medical experiments during WWII. The trial recordings, lasting 22 hours, 5 minutes and 57 seconds, contain contents concerning the transformation and organization of Unit 731, a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Japanese Imperial Army, as well as the live human experiments, field toxicity tests, preparation and implementation of germ warfare by Unit 731, From 1946 to November 1948, during the Tokyo Trial, the United States and Japan reached a secret deal, in which the United States obtained data on human experiments, bacteria experiments, germ warfare and gas experiments conducted by Unit 731 on the condition that the unit members were exempted from their war responsibilities. As a result, the Japanese germ war criminals escaped the Tokyo Trial. According to Jiao Hongshuang, chief expert of the research team, the Soviet Union repeatedly demanded the extradition of Japanese germ war criminals before December 1949, but it proved futile. As a result, it conducted the Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials from Dec. 25-30, 1949. "The trials revealed for the first time the crimes of human experimentation and germ warfare committed by the Japan army in northeast China during its invasion," Jiao said, adding that the recordings also confirmed the establishment of the germ warfare system centered on Unit 731 was a top-down organized war crime committed by the Japanese state. On July 7, 1937, Japanese soldiers attacked Chinese forces at the Lugou Bridge, marking the beginning of Japan's full-scale invasion of China. It was known as the "July 7 Incident." (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Nairobi President Uhuru Kenyatta has called on IGAD Heads of State and Government to work together towards sustainable solutions to challenges that pose a threat to regional peace and security. The President cited violent extremism, drought and armed conflicts as some of the challenges that require urgent attention from the IGAD leaders. "In the past two years alone, the region has experienced a desert locust invasion, a crushing drought that is still ongoing, numerous threats related to violent extremism, armed conflicts and, like the rest of the world, the region has not been spared from the Covid-19 pandemic. "Further, the drought, the worst in 40 years, has intensified food insecurity, dried up water sources and forced displacement of people, raising tensions that could trigger new conflicts. We urgently need to manage the drought before it becomes a threat multiplier," said the President. President Kenyatta spoke in Nairobi on Tuesday during the 39th Extraordinary Assembly of the IGAD Heads of State and Government. Noting that a stable region was beneficial to all IGAD member states, the President said no progress would be realized without peace and security. "As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to work together boldly and creatively to navigate the multiple crises we face, seize opportunities as they emerge and define a path of peace and sustainable economic development," President Kenyatta said. At the summit chaired by the President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of Sudan, General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, President Kenyatta assured that Kenya will continue to invest in regional efforts to secure peace and stability. "Our discussions today are, therefore, of immense importance to Kenya because we recognize that our political and economic stability is dependent on the stability of the IGAD region. This is why we are invested in regional efforts to secure peace and stability," he said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines East Africa Peacekeeping By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The Head of State reiterated that Kenya will not waiver in its commitment to collaborating with regional and international partners in strengthening conflict prevention and promoting sustainable peace and development. Leaders, who spoke at the summit, thanked President Kenyatta for his steadfast commitment to peace and stability in the region. "You have indeed provided critical leadership in regional and global peace and security. You have distinguished yourself as a beacon of hope for the population affected by conflicts. Your promotion of dialogue, political tolerance and respect for diversity as an instrument for national cohesion and integration is beyond reproach," said IGAD special envoy Amb. Ismail Guyo on behalf of the IGAD leaders. African Union Commission representative Amb. Bankole Adeoye who is also the commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, echoed President Kenyatta's call for IGAD member states to work together in bolstering regional peace and security as well as in addressing emerging issues such as violent extremism and climate change. "The African Union Commission stands ready to scale up support for IGAD initiatives in all these areas. We work together to consolidate political transitions, to address the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism, and to ensure collective security remains our overriding goal," he said. Other IGAD leaders who attended the summit included Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, South Sudan 2nd Vice President Taban Deng Gai, Somali Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid while Uganda was represented by Defence Minister Vincent Ssempijja. The OPEC Secretary-General, Mohammad Barkindo, who died Tuesday in Nigeria, will be buried at his home town Yola, Adamawa State, by 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced. Mr Barkindo died at about 11p.m on Tuesday at the age of 63 years. His passing was announced by Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Limited in the early hours of Wednesday. Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo will be buried in his home town of Yola at 4 pm today 6th July 2022. The Janaiza prayers will be offered at the Yola Central mosque by the Lamido of Adamawas palace. May Allah forgive him and have mercy upon him, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, posted on his verified Twitter handle Wednesday afternoon. The circumstances surrounding Mr Barkindos death remained unclear. On Tuesday, he held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari during which he announced that his six-year tenure as OPEC scribe was coming to an end. At that event, Mr Buhari thanked him for being a worthy ambassador of the country and asked the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to mobilise the oil and gas industry to organise a befitting welcome reception in his honour when he finally returns home. In response, Mr Barkindo attributed his success to the tremendous guidance, charisma and international gravitas of President Buhari; support from the OPEC secretariat in Vienna; and cooperation by members of the organisation. ALSO READ: OPEC agrees to increase output as EU bans Russian oil Mr Barkindo also on Tuesday delivered a speech at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja. A former managing director of the NNPC, Mr Barkindo was appointed OPEC Secretary-General in 2016. He was the fourth Nigerian to hold that position and the 28th person in the role overall. He was GMD of the NNPC between 2009 and 2010. Before leading the NNPC, Mr Barkindo served as the Deputy Managing Director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, a joint venture between NNPC and Shell, Total and Eni. The embattled UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, continues to hang on to his office despite the resignation of two of his most senior ministers. Health Minister Sajid Javid and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced their resignations on Tuesday. This is coming weeks after the party gates report was published and Mr Johnson survived a no-confidence vote. Minister Javid in a letter to the prime minister wrote, So it is with enormous regret that I must tell you that I can no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this Government. I am instinctively a team player but the British people also rightly expect integrity from their Government. He added that the prime ministers actions reflect on every member of the government and as such led to Britons losing confidence in the government. The tone you set as a leader, and the values you represent, reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country. Conservatives at their best are seen as hard-headed decision-makers, guided by strong values. We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest. Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither, Mr Javid said. I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership and you have therefore lost my confidence too, he added. A few minutes after Mr Javid announced his resignation, Mr Sunak towed the same part with a tweet that read, The public rightly expects the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. According to Al Jazeera, the resignations, which were followed by similar announcements by several junior ministers, came as Mr Johnson was apologising for what he said was a mistake for not realising that a former minister in charge of pastoral care was unsuitable for a job in government after complaints of sexual misconduct were made against him. BBC reports that Will Quince has resigned as education minister and Laura Trott also quit as a ministerial aide at the transport department, saying the government has lost trust. Mr Johnson is billed to appear for Prime Ministers Questions at noon and is also due to give evidence to senior MPs on the Liaison Committee later. He has also replaced the two ministers who quit by appointing his chief of staff Steve Barclay as his next health minister and Nadhim Zahawi, previously the education minister, as his new finance minister. Will Boris Johnson survive this time? Ministers Javid and Sunak were seen as major pillars of the Johnson administration. Their resignation on Tuesday begs answers to the question if the prime minister will remain the proverbial cat with nine lives. According to Al Jazeera, the leader of the UKs opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, said it was clear that Mr Johnsons government was now collapsing following the resignation of two senior ministers. After all the sleaze, the scandals and the failure, its clear that this Government is now collapsing, Al Jazeera quoted Mr Starmer as saying. He added that the resigning cabinet ministers have been complicit as Mr Johnson disgraced his office. Mr Starmer said Messrs Sunak and Javid have been his cheerleaders throughout this sorry saga: backing him when he broke the law, backing him when he lied repeatedly, backing him when he mocked the sacrifices of the British people. He was referring to previous public outcry over COVID-19 lockdown parties and alleged poor handling of the pandemic. In doing so, they have been complicit every step of the way as he has disgraced his office and let down his country, Mr Starmer said, adding that the ministers would have gone months ago if they had a shred of integrity. Their resignations were followed by that of other Conservatives: Bim Afolami quit as the partys vice-chair on live TV and Andrew Murrison resigned as a trade envoy to Morocco. Some parliamentary private secretaries from the Conservative Party also quit their junior-ranking government posts in protest at Johnsons leadership. Jonathan Gullis and Saqib Bhatti posted resignation letters on social media. Parliamentary private secretaries assist ministers in their roles. However, some senior cabinet ministers, including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, indicated they would be staying. Ms Truss said she is 100 per cent behind the prime minister, the BBC reported. Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. The management of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, has received the donation of 1,000 litres of diesel from a Nigerian who said he was worried by the newly introduced additional N1,000 charges for electricity from patients on admission at the facility. The hospital, in a post on its official Facebook Page on Tuesday, thanked the donor, Lanre Laoshe, a former member of Nigerias House of Representatives, for the gesture. The post said the hospitals chief medical director, Jesse Otegbayo, lauded Mr Laoshe for having such a large heart to seek a solution to the problem of power instead of joining those who were condemning the purported charge. Prof. Otegbayo, therefore, called on all Nigerians to be part of the solution in making adequate healthcare delivery in Nigeria a reality, the post added. Appeal for more According to its public relations officer, Toye Akinrinola, the hospital is experiencing a recurring power outage from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) as they have to run power generating sets for hours. We need diesel. Nigerians should focus on helping us rather than castigating us over the N1,000 electricity fee. IBEDC is also having internal issues that are affecting us here, so we need more diesel. Everyone should emulate Mr Lanre Laoshe who called the hospital from Lagos to sympathise with UCH over the current power problem and later promised 1,000 litres of diesel as his contribution. Interestingly, by about 5 p.m. on Monday, July 4, 2022, the promised diesel was delivered to the hospital, Mr Akinrinola said. Backstory PREMIUM TIMES had reported earlier that the hospital confirmed the addition of N1,000 to the service charge of admitted patients due to the high cost of electricity tariffs and diesel. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Wednesday mourned the demise of its outgoing secretary-general, Mohammad Barkindo. 63-year-old Mr Barkindo died at about 11p.m on Tuesday. His demise was announced by Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Limited in the early hours of Wednesday. Mr Kyari confirmed that Mr Barkindo will be buried in his home town in Yola, Adamawa State, on Wednesday. The circumstances surrounding Mr Barkindos death remained unclear as of press time Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, he held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari during which he announced that his six-year tenure as OPEC scribe was coming to an end. At that event, Mr Buhari thanked him for being a worthy ambassador of the country. The president also directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to mobilise the oil and gas industry to organise a befitting welcome reception in his honour when he finally returns home. Tragedy OPEC in a statement on Wednesday described Mr Barkindos death as a tragedy and a great loss to the energy and oil community in Nigeria and across the world. It is with immense sorrow and sadness that the OPEC Secretariat learnt of the passing of the OPEC Secretary-General, His Excellency, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, in his home country of Nigeria, the oil cartel said in its statement. He was the much-loved leader of the OPEC Secretariat and his passing is a profound loss to the entire OPEC Family, the oil industry and the international community. OPEC extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, loved ones and his home country, Nigeria. It is a day in which words are not enough, but it is also important to express our deep gratitude for the over 40 years of selfless service that HE Barkindo gave to OPEC. His dedication and leadership will inspire OPEC for many years and decades to come. Throughout HE Barkindos long career, there have been several central themes that have driven him: an infectious passion for the petroleum industry; an unwavering belief in oils poverty eradicating potential; a steadfast commitment to sustainable development; the importance of dialogue and multilateralism; and, most fundamentally of all, treating everyone with respect and kindness. As OPEC Secretary-General, a position he assumed on August 1, 2016, HE Barkindo was a visionary leader and an eloquent communicator who played a key role in forming the historic Declaration of Cooperation at the end of 2016. He served the Organization with great distinction and helped it successfully navigate through two major industry downturns (2015-2016 and 2020-2021), was instrumental in the setting up of the Charter of Cooperation (CoC), and was a consummate diplomat in further advancing dialogue and cooperation with a variety of industry stakeholders. OPEC said that dspite the attainment of so many heights in his career, Mr Barkindo remained a selfless man of great humility and decency who treated everyone, irrespective of rank or office, with dignity and courtesy. The oil cartel described the late scribe as a trailblazer widely admired and respected throughout the globe. To those who were fortunate enough to know and work alongside him, they will miss his warmth, kindness and sense of humour. His example of dedication and duty will inspire future leaders in the industry, the statement said. To the last, he was always true to his respectful nature, always there to listen, offer guidance and show leadership; a genuine OPEC icon. His last words to friends were that he was happy to have concluded his tenure as Secretary-General, he had served the best he could, and that he was proud of those who had served with him. HE Barkindo elevated the Organizations position and role as an active and responsible partner in the oil industry and international community through both his deeds and words. Given his scholarly nature, and the fact that his speeches regularly used quotes to emphasize points and opinions, it is perhaps apt to leave the final word to one of Barkindos favourite scribes, the famous poet, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, varied its earlier order compelling the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to release David Nwaminis biodata information to a former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. Mr Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, had applied for the court order to enable them to back their claim that Mr Nwamini whom they took to London, United Kingdom (U.K.), in June, to harvest his kidney for their ailing daughter, was not a minor. But following an application by the NIMC on Wednesday, the judge, Inyang Ekwo, ruled that instead of releasing Mr Nwaminis biodata information directly to the Ekweremadus as earlier ordered, it should be released to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) for onward transmission to the United Kingdom. The Ekweremadus were arrested in June in the U.K., with the London Metropolitan Police insisting that Mr Nwanini was 15 years old while the couple maintained that he was 21. Determined to establish their innocence, the Ekweremadus filed their suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to seek an order to compel NIMC and other relevant bodies to release Mr Nwaminis biodata information for the purposes of tendering same before the Uxbridge Magistrate Court where the couple is being tried. On Monday, the judge granted the request and ordered relevant agencies of the Nigerian government to release Mr Nwaminis biodata information to Mr Ekweremadu and his wife. Wednesdays proceedings But at Wednesday proceedings, Ekweremadus lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), told the judge that NIMC had yet to comply with the court order. Responding, NIMCs lawyer, Muazu Mohammed, informed the judge that the commission was reluctant to comply with the court order because it was not served with the hearing notice prior to the issuance of the order. Mr Mohammed, who earlier asked for revocation of the order, said the law did not allow the commission to release an individuals biodata to another individual. He expressed fear that if the order was complied with as issued, it could expose the commissions system to future abuse. He added that because the applicants to whom Mr Nwaminis biodata information was ordered to be released, such opportunities might be abused in future. The judge, however, said the order was not made because of the status of the applicants, adding that it could have been issued to any ordinary Nigerian in need of the protection of the court under similar circumstances. Mr Ekwo then advised the NIMC lawyer to make an appropriate application should he need another order to enable the commission to enforce the earlier order. Mr Mohammed then urged the court to direct the agency to supply the biodata information of Nwamini to the AGF instead of handing it over directly to the Ekweremadus. The applicants lawyer, Mr Awomolo, did not oppose the application. Ruling, the judge, Mr Ekwo, ordered NIMC to supply the information of biodata of Mr Nwamini to the AGF for onward transmission to the U.K. Background In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2022, the plaintiffs had asked the court to direct the NIMC to avail them the Certified True Copy of Mr Nwaminis biodata information for the purposes of tendering same before the British Court in the pending criminal charge against them. The suit followed the disclosure by immigration authorities in Nigeria that Mr Nwaninis records from the National Population Commission (NPC) and NIMC gave his date of birth as October 12, 2000, as against the alleged claims by the organ donor that he is a 15-year-old. In the court papers, Mr Ekweremadus lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, said Mr Nwanini was flown to the UK with his consent to be a kidney donor for their daughter. But upon a medical examination of Mr Nwaminis kidneys, it was discovered that none was a match for the couples daughter, the documents stated. The couple are being held in the UK in connection with the allegation of organ harvesting of Mr Nwamini. The police in Nigerias South-west states have warned cult groups in the region against celebrating the 7/7 day on Thursday. 7/7, which means the seventh day of the seventh month, is set aside by cult groups, particularly the Neo Black Movement, as a day of freedom. According to the police, it is also a day new members are initiated into the groups, which they also use as an opportunity to foment violence. Lagos In Lagos, the police said they have uncovered plans by some members of the Neo Black Movement of Africa, also known as Black Axe, to celebrate the day in the state. A statement by Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in the state, officers will collaborate with other security agencies to clamp down heavily on organisers, leaders and progenitors of such sinister groups whose aim is to cause wanton violence in the State. The Command is therefore using this medium to appeal to parents and guardians to warn their children/wards to steer clear of any unlawful gathering or society before, during and after the said date. Also, hoteliers are by this release warned not to allow their facilities to be used for any cult related gathering as owners of such facilities will be liable to prosecutions. Osun Yemisi Opalola, the police spokesperson in Osun, appealed to parents to warn their children as any unlawful gathering will not be tolerated. Ms Opalola said the police have intelligence that cult members are planning for the celebration on Thursday. In view of this, the Commissioner of Police, Julius Okoro, warned cultists and other unscrupulous elements in the state to stop the plan or any of such action(s) forthwith. Consequently, the command, in collaboration with other security agents and Civilian JTF, will not tolerate any unlawful gathering or assembly that will endanger the peaceful atmosphere of the state. Ogun In Ogun, the police told cult groups to rethink their plans for the July 7 event or have themselves to blame. Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesperson in the state, appealed to parents and guardians to warn their children to steer clear of any unlawful gathering to prevent a had I known situation. Also, hoteliers are by this release warned not to allow their facilities to be used for any cult related gathering as owners of such facilities will be liable to prosecutions. Ekiti The police in Ekiti said they would not allow misguided elements to disrupt the peace of the state. Sunday Abutu, the spokesperson in the state, said the police would pursue anyone caught in such unlawful gathering to the pit of hell. We implore residents to be security conscious, vigilant, and go about their lawful businesses as adequate security measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of lives and properties of all law abiding citizen. The police also urged the public to call 08062335577/07031620186 if they are in distress. Oyo In Oyo State, the police advised cult groups to either leave the state or rescind their plans to hold the event. Adewale Osifeso, spokesperson, said they have put measures in place to check the activities of cultists tomorrow. He enjoined members of the public to report any suspicious activity to the police. He also encouraged the residents to go about their businesses without the fear of harassment or molestation from anyone. In cases of emergency, the Command can always be reached through these emergency control room numbers: 615 (toll-free) (OYO STATE SECURITY TRUST FUND), and Oyo State Police Command emergency lines 07055495413 and 08081768614. The NPF rescue me app is also available for free download on both Android and Apple IOS, for Android and iphone users respectively. Ondo The police spokesperson in Ondo, Funmilayo Odunlami, said they put measures in place against the period, noting that 7/7 will not happen in the state. At least 32 government officials have resigned from Boris Johnsons administration since the prime minister apologised for not realising that one of his ministers was not suitable for the job. The resignations started Tuesday with health minister Sajid Javid sending in his resignation and stating that he had lost confidence in the prime minister. A few minutes later, finance minister Rishi Sunak tendered his resignation stating that Britons deserved a better government. Shortly after the two senior ministers who are seen as pillars of the Johnson administration resigned, other ministers joined the queue. Will Quince resigned as education minister and Laura Trott as a ministerial aide at the transport department, saying the government has lost trust. The resignation kept trickling in from Tuesday until the time of this report. Andrew Murrison, Trade Envoy to Morocco; Bim Afolami, Conservative Party Vice-Chair; Jonathan Gullis, PPS Northern Ireland; Sagib Bhatti, PPS-Health and Social Care; Nicola Richards, PPS Transport, have also resigned for similar reasons. Others include Virginia Crosbie, PPS Wales; Theo Clarke, Trade envoy to Kenya; Alex Chalk, Solicitor General; Robin Walker, Education Minister; Felicity Buchan, PPS Business; John Glen, Economic Secretary to Treasury; Victoria Atkins, Justice Minister; Jo Churchill, Environment minister; Stuart Andrew, Housing minister; Claire Coutinho, PPS Treasury; David Johnston PPS Education; Selaine Saxby, PPS Treasury; Kemi Badenoch, Equalities Minister. Others are Alex Burghart Minister DFE; Julia Lopez, Minister DCMS; Neil OBrien Minister at Levelling UP; Lee Rowley, Minister for industry; Mims Davies, Employment Minister; Duncan Baker, PPS- Levelling up, Housing and Communities; Rachael Maclean, Home Office minister; Mike Freer, Exports minister; Felicity Buchan, PPS Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; Mark Fletcher, PPS Business; Sara Britcliffe, PPS Education; Ruth Edwards, PPS Scotland Office. Hanging on a thin line is Fay Jones who said if the Prime minister does not resign tomorrow, she will after helping him with business questions tomorrow. PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Johnson came under severe public scrutiny after it emerged that parties were held in Downing Street when the world was under lock and key in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The prime minister had initially denied that any such parties happened. This newspaper also reported that an investigation into the allegation found that the parties indeed happened and blamed senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, and said they must bear responsibility for this culture. Recently, Mr Johnson came under fire for lying about not being aware of Christopher Pinchers misconduct. Mr Pincher had resigned on June 30 as deputy chief whip of the Conservative Party amid complaints that he had allegedly groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations levelled against Mr Pincher and questions about why Mr Johnson promoted him to a senior job. The prime minister apologised for appointing Mr Pincher to a role involved in offering pastoral care to his party, even after being briefed that the politician had been the subject of complaints about sexual misconduct. Some still standing by struggling Johnson Despite the numerous resignations that have greeted the prime minister, he remains resolute and insists on delivering his partys promises to Britons. He said this at the House of Commons Wednesday afternoon at the prime ministers questions. Mr Johnsons courage perhaps stems from the support of government officials who are resolute in their support for him to continue as prime minister. After Messrs Javid and Sunak resigned, the prime minister replaced them by appointing his chief of staff Steve Barclay as his next health minister and Nadhim Zahawi, previously the education minister, as his new finance minister. Others standing by the prime minister include Housing Secretary Michael Gove; Dominic Raab, Justice Secretary; Nadine Dorries, Culture Secretary; Alister Jack, Scotland Secretary; Kwasi Kwarteng, Business Secretary; Priti Patel, Home Secretary; Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace; Anne-Marie Trevelyan, International Trade Secretary; Suella Braverman, Attorney General; Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary. Others include Wales Secretary, Simon Hart; Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps; Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis; Chief whip, Chris Heaton-Harris; Cabinet minister Alok Sharma; Cabinet minister Michael Ellis; Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke; Lord Privy Seal, and Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Evans; Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, Therese Coffey. Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg told Sky News the prime minister won a large mandate in a general election, a vote of the British people and that should not be taken away from him because a number of people resigned. The Oyo State High Court in Ibadan on Wednesday fixed July 26 for judgment in a suit filed by Rauf Olaniyan, the state Deputy Governor, challenging the impeachment process served on him by the state House of Assembly. Justice Ladiran Akintola adjourned the case for judgment after the submission of written addresses and responses to the originating summons and counter-affidavits by the parties. Mr Olaniyan had jointly filed a suit against the state House of Assembly; the Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin, and the House Clerk over the impeachment process against him by the lawmakers. On Tuesday, the judge adjourned the hearing of the matter until Wednesday to enable the claimants counsel, Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), to respond to the respondents interlocutory injunction and originating summons. Mr Fashanu had filed an application for the court to restrain the House from taking steps toward the deputy governors impeachment. He prayed that the court should grant the originating summons, saying that the misconduct allegation against Mr Olaniyan was vague and without particulars, according to Section 188 of the 1999 constitution. Mr Fashanu said, An impeachment is a process and all the items listed in the Constitution should be strictly followed. Also, counsel to the respondents, Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN), said the removal of the deputy governor under the 1999 Constitution was a legislative constitutional affair outside the jurisdiction of the court. Mr Kalejaiye argued that the notice served by the claimant did not have particulars and that the submission was unsustainable, implying that the claimant did not understand the allegations against him. The removal of Olaniyan is not a criminal trial, the claimant jumped the gun, crying foul when no foul has been committed. The court should therefore dismiss the originating summons by the claimant, he submitted. NAN reports that earlier, a member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Lateef Adebunmi, from Oorelope State Constituency had through his lawyer, Sunday Aborisade, sought the leave of the court through an application, to be joined as a party in the case. Mr Fashanu moved against the application on the point that he is a member of the House, who had already been joined in the suit. Mr Kalejaiye prayed the court to grant the application. Ruling on the application, Mr Akintola, said the interest of the lawmaker, who filed the application, had already been taken care of in the suit. He said that granting the application would draw back the proceeding. Mr Akintola, therefore, set aside the application for joinder in the suit. While the court was still sitting, Mr Fashanu told the judge that the House of Assembly had directed the Chief Judge, Munta Abimbola, to constitute a seven-man panel to investigate the allegations against Mr Olaniyan. Responding, Mr Akintola replied that it was outside the case brought before him. The lawmakers had initiated an impeachment move against the deputy governor, accusing him of financial recklessness, gross misconduct, and insubordination, among other allegations following Mr Olaniyans defection from the PDP to APC. (NAN) A former employee at Inspiration FM, Ibukun Orebiyi, has petitioned the Chief Judge of Oyo State over the bail conditions slammed on him by a Chief Magistrate of the Ibadan Magisterial District in a legal dispute with his former employer. Mr Orebiyi had sued the radio station in 2020 after he was laid off, despite being owed salaries. Two years later, however, the station sued the former employee accusing him of stealing a hard disk while he was still under their employment. According to the radio station, the hard disk has content worth N150 million. Mr Orebiyi was arrested and arraigned before Chief Magistrate S.H Adebisi. He was granted bail of N100 million and two sureties in like some. Petition to chief judge A copy of Mr Orebiyis petition obtained by PREMIUM TIMES quoted the chief magistrates bail conditions to include one of the sureties to the Defendant must be a developed landed property owner with registered and approved survey plan. The photograph of the surety must be taken with that building. The other surety must be taken with that building. The other surety must be at least a serving level 12 officer in the Government of Oyo State. The property owner must attach to the bail bond the tax receipts of the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. Mr Orebiyi is currently being held at the Abolongo correctional centre due to his inability to meet the bail conditions since June 21. The petition, written by Danielle Chambers, who is representing Mr Orebiyi, accused him of siding with the claimant and condemning the defendant even before the commencement of trial. It described the bail conditions slammed on its client as excessive, outrageous, and laughable. Part of the petition read: Our clients former employer had threatened him that they would use their connection with the judiciary, particularly the Magistracy to ensure our client suffers and gets nothing when they have dealt with him, hence the institution of a criminal charge against our client. The threat against our client became glaring in our faces by the bail terms granted by the chief magistrate which gives room and equally no doubt in our minds and in the eyes of the public that our clients former employer and the Chief Magistrate are in sync and are using their respective offices to pervert justice and punish our client with the Chief Magistrate perpetuating injustice by hiding under the veil of his exalted office. Respectfully sir, the bail terms are not only excessive, they are outrageous and cannot be easily perfected as our client seems to have been found guilty by the chief magistrate and condemned even before the commencement of trial. The petition added that the bail conditions would hinder Mr Orebiyi from preparing adequately for his defence, which is his fundamental right. It also stated that there is no Level 12 civil servant that is worth N100 million, not even the Chief Magistrate himself who is above the cadre. With due respect sir, how will a Level 12 Officer of the Government of Oyo State be worth a N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira)? This term is not only laughable but an indictment on the chief magistrate himself, whose cadre is above the said level in the bail terms and does not worth the same. The petitioner pleaded with the chief judge to review the bail conditions and transfer the case to another magistrate as Mr Adebisi may have been compromised. It is, therefore, our humble prayer that the act of Mr S.H Adebisi (Chief Magistrate) be questioned and we believe that our client already being condemned by the outrageous and unachievable bail terms will not get justice before the chief magistrate, hence our prayer that the case file be transferred and given to another Magistrate who is upright and will serve the cause of Justice, the petition read. President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed disappointment in Nigerias intelligence following the attacks on Kuje prison by suspected Boko-Haram terrorists. The sect, in their numbers, stormed the medium-security prison on Tuesday night with high explosives and successfully released their co-conspirators along with over 600 other inmates. A casualty has been recorded on the part of the security operatives while four dead bodies of escaped inmates were later accounted for. In his usual tone, Mr Buhari condemned the attack after his visit to the scene on Wednesday. He questioned the competence of Nigerias security operatives. The president, who departed for Dakar, Senegal, shortly after his visit, expressed shock at the courage of the attackers and raised questions about the ease at which the operation of non-state actors scaled through. In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Wednesday, Mr Buhari called for a comprehensive report on the shocking development. How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work? I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it? the president inquired. While many of the questions raised by Nigerias Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces remain unanswered, PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that over 400 of the inmates, including 64 members of the terrorist group, Biko-Haram, are still at large. In response to many Nigerians who opined that the president should have cancelled his scheduled trip to Senegal as a form of solidarity, his spokesperson said the government cannot stop working because of such an attack. The Presidency wishes to use this opportunity to react to mounting criticism of the trip to Dakar, Senegal by the President, and to stress that Governments dont stop working because nations face terrorist threats. To cancel the trip to Senegal would mean that the terrorists are successful in calling the shots, something that no responsible government in the world will allow, Mr Shehu said. Nairobi Deputy President William Ruto says some of his opponents are his biggest supporters but they can't come out publicly for fear of persecution. Ruto disclosed on Tuesday during the Kenya Kwanza rally in Isiolo County that he continues to receive calls at night from some of his perceived opponents who back his candidature. The Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Alliance whose presidential flag bearer is Raila Odinga is the biggest critic of Ruto. Ruto and Odinga will face off in the August 9 presidential race. "Some of these leaders oppose me during the day but call me at night telling me that they support me. They tell me that if they support me during the day they will be followed by the state and will be dragged to courts," he said. Ruto has in the past alleged that some of his loyal allies have been targeted by the State where trumped-up charges were opened against them soon after he severed links with his boss and President Uhuru Kenyatta who is backing Odinga to succeed him. "They tell me that they cannot be seen associating with me because they fear that they will be pursued by the Director of Criminal Investigations," Ruto said. While drumming up support for his bid, Ruto noted his administration will address the pertinent issues facing Kenyans notably the high-cost of living. "President Kenyatta and his friends are the ones to blame for the high cost of living and that is no secret. My government will do all it takes to bring down the cost of living," he said. The Kenya Kwanza presidential flag bearer at the same time shrugged off claims that his votes will be rigged and asked his supporters to vote for him overwhelmingly in August to remove any doubt of his win. "My opponents have resulted to threatening the votes that they have the deep state and that votes will be rigged but I want to assure you that I am the Deputy President and no votes will be rigged. We are going to win," he said. Ruto will face-off with two other competitors in the August high-stake polls namely George Wajackoyah of Roots Party and David Mwaure of Agano Party. Odinga enjoys the backing of President Kenyatta who has publicly declared that the former Prime Minister is the most suited candidate to succeed him in August. Tukur Manu, an aide to a popular Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, on Wednesday, said he had prior knowledge of the attack on Kuje prison and shared his intelligence with security forces, but nothing was done to avert the attack. Mr Mamu, who also publishes the Desert Herald Newspaper, claimed the group that attacked the prison is the same group that attacked a Kaduna-bound train in March. The attackers of the prison freed at least 64 inmates suspected to be members of the Islamist group Boko Haram after the prison was successfully attacked on Tuesday night. Mr Mamu helped to negotiate the release of 11 hostages who were abducted from the Kaduna-bound train. At least 51 of the hostages are still with the terror group. Mr Mamu, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday evening, said since he facilitated the release of the hostages, he has consistently raised the alarm on the deplorable condition of the remaining hostages, calling on the Federal Government to act fast by listening to the terrorists to save the lives of the innocent Nigerians in captivity. He said his life is under threat, thus, he has withdrawn from the negotiations to secure the release of the remaining captives. This is probably the last I will ever dabble on the above subject matter, because of the frustrations and failure of relevant official stakeholders to take prompt and painful decisions, in the interest of the citizens of a nation that has been consumed by insecurity and avoidable attacks. With all the billions in budgetary allocations on security, with instances of few becoming billionaires at the expense of innocent lives, we must accept the fact that the current system has collapsed. This is also to confirm to Nigerians that after unnecessary delays and despite the milestone we reached in efforts to secure the release of the remaining victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack there was indeed a fresh threat by the abductors that they will start slaughtering their victims yesterday, Tuesday, 5th July 2022. I was crying on audio after listening to their recorded message and pleading with them. Their renewed threat was a result of our (FGs) failure to convey to them a definite response regarding their two demands I consider worth giving speedy approval especially if one will take into cognisance the value of the innocent lives that are with them and in a country where one person will steal far more than what they are requesting for. As a result of my engagement they gave us the opportunity to respond to their demands but we failed to do so on four different occasions which resulted in the recent threat. For me, theres no difference between corrupt officials or contractors that are committing treason against the nation by way of stealing the resources that will benefit everybody, monies that will stop preventable deaths in our hospitals due to decaying structures, improve standards of education and even stop insecurity and crimes with the terrorists that emerged because of this sad reality and now unleashing terror on the entire society. It was after the failure of the fourth opportunity that they angrily issued the fresh threat to start slaughtering their victims yesterday, Tuesday. After much pleading with them, tolerated abuses and begged them to allow individual family members to contact them directly, they gave today, Wednesday, 6th July, that if there is nothing definite from family members they will start executing their threat. I immediately passed this disturbing intelligence to all the relevant security agencies, the National Assembly leadership and other stakeholders. But sadly as of today, Wednesday, which is the deadline they gave, there is no word from anybody. I have nevertheless sent words to them to reconsider their threat and allow family members to reach out to them. And even on the tendency and threat to attack targets and other facilities of interest like the Kuje Correctional Centre attacks I have shared that intelligence with the security agencies and the committee that was constituted by CDS (Chief of Defense Staff) Gen. Lucky Irabo. I can confirm without a doubt that the Kuje Correctional Centre attack was executed and coordinated by the same group that attacked the Abuja-Kaduna bound train because they gave indications of imminent attacks to that effect which I shared. For the records, they requested for the release of 51 of their members. But through the power of dialogue and engagement, I was able to singlehandedly scale that number to only 10 and communicated with audio backing the development to the relevant authorities. There was an unnecessary delay on giving them even precise feedback by the government and now they have not only succeeded in carrying out another successful attack that indicts the nature of our intelligence and capacity to respond promptly but has also succeeded in releasing doses of their members which would have been averted if the action has been taken to give them only 10 and secure the release of the train victims. In all this risky, painful and frustrating engagement which government is yet to acknowledge and appreciate I have more than 100 documented audios that I shared with the relevant authorities. For the purpose of this important press release and to authenticate my claims, I will also share 4 of the latest audios. And for the records, since after our successful mission that led to the release of the 11 victims I have made up my mind then to disengage completely from this voluntary service to a nation that doesnt appreciate sacrifices because of the above reasons and many more but I was instructed on humanitarian grounds by my principal, Sheikh Dr Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi to exercise patience and continue. But with the current sad development at the highest official level of government, I am formally announcing my withdrawal completely from this service and to announce to the world that my life is also being threatened. It should also be on record that if anything happens to me certainly it is not the terrorists but within the corrupt society, we are in. May Allah preserves the lives of the innocent victims of the train attack and may He secure their release in safety, Mr Mamu said. As it stands, what legacy will the ninth National Assembly, under the chairmanship of Ahmad Lawan, be leaving as the lawmakers vacate office in less than a year from now? Certainly, they cannot be divorced from the performance of the Buhari administration when the score card is released on May 29, 2023. In the absence of an 11th hour miracle, when assessments of the performance of the executive arm of government will be carried out on May 29 next year, using the economy, security and corruption as indices of the discourses, President Muhammadu Buhari may likely go down as a failed leader. If this happens, the legislative arm of government should largely be blamed. In the first instance, for failing to invoke the doctrine of checks and balances to ensure that the president discharges his statutory obligations, in line with national interest and aspirations. In the second place, for failing to halt the breach of the federal character principle by the president. Thirdly, for failing to interrogate the executive for sliding economic indices, worsening corruption, rising insecurity, capital flight, mounting loans, a multiple tax burden, unemployment, and decaying infrastructure, including poor electricity and education. For these flops, the ninth National Assembly is an accessory to the current woes of the country, and cannot be absolved. The legislature is the second organ of government, free and independent of the control of the executive, yet the lawmakers have made it an extension and apron string of the president. Signs that the ninth National Assembly will be a weakling and lack a mind of its own emerged when the Senate president, Ahmad Lawan said any request that comes from Mr. President is a request that will make Nigeria a better place, and would therefore be expeditiously passed into legislation. I am most certain that even the chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professo Itse Sagay (SAN), whom Lawan was receiving at the time he made this remark, would have been shocked at the statement. With that declaration by the Senate president and head of the National Assembly, the legislature had violated the doctrine of separation of powers and checks and balances as enunciated by French philosopher, Charles Baron Montesquieu, in his book, The Spirit of Law. The intention of Montesquieu was the need to separate the three organs of government, namely, the executive, legislature and judiciary, to enable each arm serve as check on the other in order to ensure equilibrium. The principle is aimed at protecting the respective liberties of the different arms of government, and preventing any of the organs from becoming too powerful as to transmute into tyranny and authoritarianism. The doctrine has become a template for good governance and global reference for the protection and advancement of egalitarianism. It forms part of the constitution in countries where democracy is practiced. For undermining this doctrine, Lawan has not only sacrificed the trust of the people on the altar of self-aggrandisement but projected President Buhari as a all-knowing and omniscient leader who can do no wrong, and whose intellectual capacity is beyond the competence of both the Senate and House of Representatives. Besides, the National Assembly (NASS) has encouraged the creation and emergence of an all-powerful president with the uninhibited liberty to go off-course at will, even on matters of national interest. For example, the federal character principle, as contained in the 1999 Constitution, has been breached with impunity by President Buhari, who despite criticism, has shown no remorse about this. In advanced democracies, the Senate would have compelled the president to reverse such appointments to reflect the federal character or face impeachment. But the National Assembly lacks the courage to reject Buharis nominees or even initiate a threat of impeachment, obviously for fear of the intimidation of the executive. Section 14, Sub-section 3 of the 1999 Constitution says that, The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies. The Buhari administration has done exactly the opposite. All key national appointments contravene Section 14, Sub-section 3, as evidently reflected in the dominance of people from the North, and particularly from the Fulani ethnic group. Yet, the Senate sees nothing wrong with this imbalance, as long as it originates from the president. By this, the president has promoted what the constitution intended to avoid disunity and national disloyalty. All key and juicy ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government, including security agencies, are headed and firmly in the hands of Northerners, just as all the three organs of government were headed by Northerners up till a few weeks ago, when Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad resigned as Chief Justice of Nigeria, paving the way for the most senior justice, Olukayode Ariwoola, a Southerner, in acting capacity. It is small wonder, therefore, that Nigeria is currently plagued by disunity, disloyalty and suspicion, induced by disenchantment arising from the dominance of other sections of the country by the Northern region. This is an aberration for a country that is made up of different ethnic nationalities, which have agreed to come together under a federation of equal partners, anchored on sincerity, equity and justice, particularly in matters pertaining to appointments and the distribution of national resources. In advanced democracies, the Senate would have compelled the president to reverse such appointments to reflect the federal character or face impeachment. But the National Assembly lacks the courage to reject Buharis nominees or even initiate a threat of impeachment, obviously for fear of the intimidation of the executive. Put differently, despite the dangers posed to the unity of the country by this constitutional contravention, the Senate has seen no reason to veto the presidents nominees, despite concerns about backlashes and the fear of disunity and national disloyalty, as envisaged by the Constitution. When a country deliberately closes its doors against other sections and ethnic groups, just to achieve ethnic dominance, it unwittingly misses the contributions of intelligent and bright minds from the neglected areas to national development. That the country has been on a downward swing in the last seven years, is the price of nepotism. Ironically, those who have been favoured by this structural abnormality do not see anything wrong with it, even within the context of the constitution. They keep blind eyes, reminding others that Nigerias unity is not negotiable. This is an illusion. Attaining peace in the face of the obvious mismanagement of diversities and dishonest policies, is a tall order. Since the National Assembly has abdicated its autonomy and authority, who then can challenge the executive over breaches of federal character principle and other statutory obligations, including those on economic and security management? If Chief Gani Fawehinmi of blessed memory were alive, no doubt, he would have instituted litigation pertaining to this. From the demeanour of the National Assembly, the lawmakers are overwhelmed by subservient corporatism and the loss of liberty. This has eroded its influence and degraded the premium placed on it by the executive. This is evident during NASS committee meetings when some ministers, including senior officials of the executive, flagrantly snub summons, particularly during budget review sessions by the Committee on Finance and Appropriation. Yet, these same ministers and senior officials are the first to raise grounds for further amendments after budgets have been transmitted to the president, leading, in some cases, to delay in passage of the countrys national budget. Unfortunately, the judiciary is also unable to invoke the doctrine of checks and balances, as it appears not to have recovered from the intimidation it suffered in the hands of the executive when operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) raided the homes of some federal judges, including serving Supreme Court justices, in 2016. Perhaps, if the law makers were courageous enough, and the judiciary lives up to its billings to restrain the president appropriately, the executive would have been shaped up. Calls for federalism, and emergence of separatist movements in Nigeria are symptoms of national discontent. When the majority of people are not happy owing to the domination of one ethnic group or section over others, coupled with rising insecurity and a worsening economy, this implies that the government is inefficient. An efficient government is one that is able to ensure the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. This is a measurement performance tool developed by English philosopher and jurist, Jeremy Bentham, which world researchers and political scientists deploy to assess governments globally. Since the National Assembly has abdicated its autonomy and authority, who then can challenge the executive over breaches of federal character principle and other statutory obligations, including those on economic and security management? If Chief Gani Fawehinmi of blessed memory were alive, no doubt, he would have instituted litigation pertaining to this. The National Assembly appears not to understand the essence of Montesquieus theory. Therefore, it will do the country good for lawmakers to take basic courses in Political Science during their training at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies. As it stands, what legacy will the ninth National Assembly, under the chairmanship of Ahmad Lawan, be leaving as the lawmakers vacate office in less than a year from now? Certainly, they cannot be divorced from the performance of the Buhari administration when the score card is released on May 29, 2023. Mike Owhoko is a Lagos-based journalist and author. The non-inclusion of State Police in the Constitution was an error. It was a grave omission. The lapse occurred in 1976, forty-six years ago. No one could have imagined forty-six years ago that our security challenges would become so grave to this level, that we now live in perpetual fear at the mercy of terrorists, kidnappers, Boko Haram, Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP), political thugs, armed robbers and the rest. Who could have imagined that our country will be so mismanaged like this, to the extent that we are experiencing depression and bewilderment of crippling fear like a nagging hound of hell pursuing our every footstep; certainly no one. Instead of emotional lamentation, bewailing or grieving, if we really wanted State Police, we could have had it. No need crying over spilled milk. There is no use stressing out over things that have already happened. But if we have really wanted State Police, that blunder should have been corrected by now. And perhaps our security apparatus would have improved. For some of us who grew up in this country before independence and even during the first Republic, we experienced the services of regional police and the local government native police called Akoda. If you look at Section 106(4) of the 1963 Constitution, the establishment of regional police was recognised. The Section states that, Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, the Commissioner of Police of a Region shall comply with the directions of the Premier of the Region or such other Minister of the Government of the Region as may be authorised in that behalf by the Premier with respect to the maintaining and securing of public safety and public order within the Region or cause them to be complied with. When we have issues like the creation of State Police, we have no choice than to trace how the Presidential Constitution was made with particular reference to the founding fathers. No matter how often we make that reference, they are the framers of our constitution. Moreso, our Presidential Constitution did not pass through a referendum, plebiscite, initiative or mandate. General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi MVO, MBE (March 3, 1924July 29, 1966), the first Military Head of State of Nigeria, on assuming power on January 1, 1966, suspended the 1963 Constitution and with it the Regional Police. General Ironsi promulgated the Constitution (Suspension and Modification Decree 1966), Decree 1 dated January 17, 1966 but not published in the official gazette until March 4, 1966. The decree pronounced the death of Regional Police. Even in his speech at the Lugard Hall in Kaduna on April 19, 1967, at a meeting with Emirs and Chiefs, the then Military Governor of the Northern Region, Lt-Colonel Hassan Usman Katsina (March 31, 1933 July 24, 1995) emphasised that Regional Police and native authority had become a thing of the past. He said on that day that, one of the main features of the Panels recommendations was a closer control of the native courts of the Government. The taking over of the native courts by the Government was in fact accepted in principle by the civilian Government and judging from some of the legislation it had passed since 1958 there is no doubt that it was working towards the goal, he declared. Throughout the tenure of General Yakubu Gowon (GCFR) from 1966-1975, there was no mention on the need to create the State Police. It was against this background that the Constitutional Drafting Committee was announced by the then Head of State, General Ramat Murtala Mohammed (November 8, 1938 February 13, 1976) in his broadcast on October 1, 1975. The committee was headed by Chief Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams (QC, SAN; December 16, 1920 March 26, 2005). The committee then established seven subcommittees. The subcommittee on Public Services, including the Armed forces and the Police, was headed by Dr Obi Wali (February 27, 1932-26 April, 1993). Other members of the subcommittee were Alhaji Ahmed Talib, Colonel M. Pedro Martins, Dr O. Idris, Mr A. Makele, Alhaji Mamman Daura and Chief Ekanem Ita. Alhaji Ahmed Talib was the chairman of New Nigerian Development Bank and the former deputy governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. Chief Ekanem Ita, who died on Thursday, September 3, 2009, was a former Registrar and Secretary to the Council of the University of Ibadan (19821994). High Chief Ekanem-Ita attended the University College, Ibadan (19601963); Columbia University, New York, U.S.A. (1972-1973) and University of Londons Institute of Education (1989). He obtained a B.A. (Hons) History (Ibadan), a Masters Degree (Columbia), a Certificate in University Administration (London) and was honoured with a Doctor of Literature degree by the University of Calabar. High Chief Ekanem-Ita was a government, a Rockefeller Foundation and a British Council scholar. He joined the services of the University of Ibadan as a Graduate Assistant/Administrative Officer in 1963, was promoted Assistant/Senior Assistant Registrar (1968 -1975), became a Deputy/Senior Deputy Registrar (1975-1982) and was the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Senate, Congregation and Convocation from 1982 to 1994. The late High Chief Ekanem-Ita was a member of the American Association for Higher Education, Washington; Association of Commonwealth Universities; International Association of World Universities and the International Committee of University Administrators. He was a member of the Federal Government/National Universities Commission Panels on University Administration Review; a Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Councils of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (1997-2000) and Cross River State University of Technology (20002003). Some other national assignments included membership of the Constitution Drafting Committee (1975-76) and membership of the Visitation Panel to Rivers State University of Science and Technology (1995-1996 and 2005-2006). A traditional title holder, late High Chief Ekanem-Ita was the Ada-idaha-ke-Eburutu; Etonwed Efik Eburutu; Mkpisong Ukara Ekondo Efik; Ikpamfum Calabar and Ntufam of Qua Nation, Calabar. High Chief Ekanem-Ita who was nick-named Registrar Emeritus held the record of being the longest serving Registrar in any Nigerian University for twelve years! Dr Tajudeen Olawale Ayinla Idris (1940-2018) later served as Commissioner of Education in Lagos State. He was born in Epe in Lagos State. He had his education at the Native Authority School, Epe, 1947-1948 Catholic School, Lekki, 1949-1952; Ansar-Ud-Deen School, Epe, 1953-1954; Ahmadiyya College, Agege, 1955-1959; Northwestern Polytechnic, London, 1961-1962; London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, 1962-1966; Nigerian Law School, Lagos, 1966-1967. He was called to the Bar, Lagos, and enrolled as a Solicitor, Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1967. He was a clerk in the office of the Prime Minister, Lagos, 1960; Clerk, Standard Bank of West Africa, 1960-1961; research fellow, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, 1968-1972; and legal officer, Nigerian Oil Corporation, 1972-1976. He was in private practice in Lagos from 1976 to 1979, and became Commissioner for Education, Lagos State from 1979 to 1983. Dr Ayinla Idris was arrested in January 1984, sentenced to life imprisonment in 1985, with the sentence reduced to 15 years in 1986. He was a member of the Nigeria Bar Association; member, British Bar Association; member, Nigeria Constitution Drafting Committee, 1975-1976; former member, Electoral Law Committee; member, Nigerian Society of International Law; and fellow, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, 1968. Monsignor (Colonel) Pedro Ayodele Martins (1910-2014) was the first Lagosian to be ordained a Catholic priest, and he was also the first Catholic chaplain for the Nigerian Army, and the first director of the Nigerian Army Chaplain Services (Catholic). After his military service, he served as vicar-general to the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Olubunmi (as he then was) Okogie. Monsignor Martins carried out the task with his accustomed fairness. Born in Lagos in 1910, he was the grandson of a Brazilian slaver. His paternal grandmother was an ethnic Hausa, and hte grew up in a household that observed the Christian and Moslem traditions. This background would seem to explain his approach to his work as a priest, soldier, and public servant; indeed his entire life. He was religious without being dogmatic or doctrinaire. Alhaji Mamman Ali Makele was born on August 20, 1940 in Agbaja, Kwara State. He had his education at a secondary school in Okene between 1954 and 1959; Kings College, Lagos, 1960-61; University of Ibadan, 1962-65; Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, USA, 1969-70; University of Wisconsin, USA, 1970 University of Kent, Canterbury, 1985-86; University of London, 1986-87. He was Assistant Executive Officer, Ministry of Establishment, Lagos, from JanuarySeptember, 1962; Assistant Executive Officer, Cabinet Office, Lagos; June September, 1963; Assistant Executive Officer, Parliament, Lagos, June September 1964; Assistant Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economic Development, Lagos, July October, 1965; Administrative Officer, University of Lagos, 1965-67; Assistant Registrar/Principal Assistant Registrar, Unilag, 1967-76; Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, 1971-75; Commissioner for Economic Development, Kwara State, 1975-77; member, Constitution Drafting Committee, 1976-77; Deputy Registrar, University of Lagos, 1976-80; Chairman, Leventis Group of Companies Scholarship Committee, 1976-80; Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Kwara State, 1977-79; Director and Chair man, Chase Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, 1977-80; Acting Cabinet Minister, Department of Steel Development, Office of the President of Nigeria, 1980-81; Cabinet Minister for Steel Development, 1981-83; Political Parties: member, defunct Northern Peoples Congress Students Wing, University of Ibadan, 1963-65; member, National Executive Committee, banned National Party of Nigeria, 1978-83; member, Kwara State Economic Planning Board, 1972-75. Alhaji Mamman Daura, was born on November 9, 1939 in Daura, in the present day Katsina State. He started his education at the Daura Elementary School, 1946-1949, Katsina Middle Secondary School, 1949-1954, Bournemouth College of Technology, England, 1958-1962, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Eire, 1962-1966, 1968; employee, Daura Native Authority, 1955-1958, programme assistant, , Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Kaduna, 1958, deputy secretary, Executive Council of Northern Nigeria, 1967-1968, Senior Assistant Secretary, Political Section, Military Governors Office, 1969, Editor, New Nigeria, 1969, Managing Director, New Nigerian Newspapers, 1974-1976, member, Board of Directors, News Agency of Nigeria, 1978, later appointed Chairman, Nigeria Television Authority, 1986; member, NBC Committee of Inquiry, 1970-1971, member, Committee of Inquiry, Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria, 1974, member, State Drought Relief Committee, 1974, chairman, North Central State Campaign against Drug Addiction and Allied Evils, 1974, member, Governing Council, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, member, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, director, Nigerian Building Society, director, Dunlop Nigeria Industries since 1974, director, Northern Nigeria Investments since January 1974, appointed chairman, Board of Directors, Bank of Credit and Commerce International (Nigeria) Ltd. Dr Obi Wali (February 27, 1932 April 26, 1993) was an intellectual giant compared to his height. Dr Wali would take you on intellectual voyage and you will never be the same again. The manner of his death is still a shock to me till today. He was violently murdered and dismembered at home in his bedroom by suspected hired assassins on April 26, 1993. Dr Obi Wali was in the league of intellectuals like S.G. Ikoku, Chief Bola Ige, Dr Ibrahim Tahir, Comrade Ola Oni, Gani Fawehinmi, Kanmi Ishola Osobu, Odia Ofeimun, Dr Bala Usman, Professor Godini Gabriel Darah, Comrade Laoye Sanda, Professor Akin Oyebode, Arthur Nwankwo, Chinua Achebe, Professor Wole Soyinka, Dr Tai Solarin, Professor Kole Omotoso, Professor Ladipo Adamolekun, Professor Bayo Williams, Professor Ralph Akinfeleye and a host of others too numerous to mention. They all live in a world of ideas. Dr Obi Wali was a member of the Constituent Assembly. In 1979, he was elected to represent Port Harcourt senatorial zone of Rivers State. Others elected to represent Rivers State at that time were Senators Francis Ajie John Ellah (Ahoada/Ikwere/Etche), Gbene Cyrus Nwidonane Nunieh (Bonny/Bori), O. Eberewariye (Degema) and Amatari Zuofa (Brass/Sagbama/Yenogoa). Dr Obi Wali later became the deputy Nigeria Peoples Party Senate leader to Senator Jaja Anucha Nwachukwu (January 1, 1918- November 7, 1996) from Aba. That was when I became his friend. His intellectual contributions in the Senate were exceptional. In 2014, the Obi Wali International Conference Centre was opened to the public in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, created and named in the memory of Obi Walis political and literary contributions. Till today, the Ikwerre people organise an annual memorial lecture in Obi Walis honour. Dr Obi Walis Committee did not recommend the creation of a State Police. What the committee recommended was documented thus: The Sub-Committee in discussing the structure of the police for the country raised the question whether the unified Police system, now in operation, accords with the spirit of federalism. The preponderance of sentiments however was for the continuation of a unified structure. However, while the Sub-Committee favours the continuation of a unified police structure for the country, it believes that a different arrangement from what now obtains should be made in the operatio of the Police. This is because each level of government, central state and local has responsibility for the maintenance of law and order, and each should share in the operational control of the Police commensurate with the level of its responsibilities. The Sub-Committee recommends that the Police force that operates at the local authority area should be under the operational direction of the local authorities, where such local authorities have been entrusted with the responsibility for maintenance of law and order. Conflicts between the local authority and local police command could be resolved through a system of appeals, the police appealing through the State Command and local authority through the State Ministry of Local Government. It is also suggested that an advisory committee established at the local level could be useful in discussing issues concerning the local authority/local Police relations. The Sub-Committee discussed Section 106(4) of the 1963 Constitution which requires the Commissioner of Police of a region to comply with the direction of the Premier of a Region and that in case of disagreement with such direction, the Commissioner may request that the matter be referred to the Prime Minister of the Federation. It was argued that the recourse directly to the Prime Minister, rather than through the intermediary of the Inspector-General of Police, undermines his authority as the Inspector-General (who) has the constitutional responsibility for the operational control of the Police. However, it was agreed that it is not proper that any disagreement involving the Governor of a state be passed through the Inspector-General who is a public official. The issue of possible conflict between the State and Central government on the control of police operations, especially where the state government concerned is from a party which is not a the same as the party in control of the central government was raised. It was thought that this issue is not limited to control of police only and that it is a question of state/federal relations to be dealt with by the appropriate Sub-Committee. There shall be a Police Force for Nigeria, which shall be styled the Nigeria Police Force 2. Subject to the provision of this Constitution, the Nigeria Police Force shall be organised and administered in accordance with such provision as may be made in that behalf by the legislature. 3. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the members of the Nigeria Police Force shall have such powers and duties as may be conferred upon them by any law in force in Nigeria. 4. No police forces other than the Nigeria Police Force shall be established for Nigeria or any part thereof. 5. The Legislature may make provision during emergencies for Police Forces forming part of the armed forces of the Federation, or for protection of harbours, waterways, railways and airfields. 6. There shall be an Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police and a Commissioner of Police for each state of the Federation, whose offices shall be offices in the Public Service of the Federation. 7. The Nigeria Police Force shall be under the command of the Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police. 8. The President or such other Minister of the Government of the Federation as may be authorised in that behalf by the President may give to the Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police such directions with respect to the maintaining and securing of public safety and public order as he may consider necessary and the Inspector-General shall comply with those directions or cause them to be complied with. 9. Subject to (3) above, the Commissioner of Police of a State shall comply with the directions of the Governor of the State or such other Commissioner of the Government of the State as may be authorised in that behalf by the Governor with respect to the maintaining and securing of public safety and public order within the State or cause them to be complied with: Provided that before carrying out any such directions the Commissioner may request that the matter should be referred to the President or such other Commissioner of the Government of the Federation as may be authorised in that behalf by the President for his directions. 10. Subject to (3) and (4) above the Police Command at the local authority area shall comply with the directions of the local authority of the area with respect to the maintaining and securing of public safety and public order within the local authority area. Provided that before carrying out such directions the local police command may request that the matter should be referred to the Governor of the state or other Commissioner of the State Government as may be authorised in that behalf by the Governor for his directions. 11. There shall be a Nigeria Police Council, which shall consist of: (a) The President (b) State Governors (c) The Inspector-General of Police (d) The Attorney-General of the Federation (e) The Chairman of the Police Service Commission of the Federation. The Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police shall attend the meetings of the Nigeria Police Council and, save for the purpose of voting, may take part in the proceedings of the Council. 12. The policy, organisation and administration of the Nigeria Police Force and all other matters relating thereto (not being matters relating to the use and operational control of the force of the appointment, disciplinary control and dismissal of members of the force) shall be under the general supervision of the Nigeria Police Council. 13. The President shall cause the Nigeria Police Council to be kept fully informed concerning the matters under its supervision and shall cause the Council to be furnished with such information as the Council may require with respect to any particular matter under its supervision. 14. The Nigeria Police Council may take recommendations to the Government of the Federation with respect to any matter under its supervision, and if in any case the Government acts otherwise than in accordance with any such recommendations it shall cause a statement containing that recommendation and its reasons for acting otherwise than in accordance with that recommendation to be laid before the National Assembly. And that is why Chief Rotimi Williams in his speech on November 1, 1977, did not include State Police creation when he presented his bill to the Constituent Assembly presided over by Justice Egbert Udo Udoma((June 21, 1917 February 2, 1998), who was the Chief Justice of Uganda from 1963-1969. The regimes of President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (GCFR; February 25, 1925December 28, 2018), Turakin Sokoto, Major General Muhammadu Buhari GCFR (79), General Ibrahim Babangida(80) GCFR, Chief Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan GCFR (9 May 193611 January 2022, General Sani Abacha GCFR (20 September 1943- 8 June 1993) and General Abdusalam Abubakar GCFR (80) did not create state Police. After his inauguration as President on May 29,199, President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR then set up a Presidential Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution. The Committee was inaugurated on behalf of President Obasanjo by his then Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi (76). The Committee which was later headed by Chief Clement David Ebri(69) former Governor Cross River State, submitted its reports to President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR on February 28, 2001, unfortunately the committee did not recommend the creation of State Police. Prominent members of the Committee were Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Ayo Opadokun, Chief Barnabas Gemade, Chief A.K. Horsfall, Alhaji Iro Abubakar Dan Musa, Chief Arthur Nwankwo, Barrister Adeniyi Akintola, Chief Solomon Asemota (SAN), Mrs. Ayoka Lawani and others. What the committee recommend was this Two positions were canvassed by Nigerians on the desirability or otherwise of allowing States to establish and maintain their Police. Proponents of separate Police for the States rested their demand on the strong ground that it was consistent with federal practice. The arrangement, they argued, enabled the Federating States to effectively maintain law and order, especially during other social upheavals such as inter-communal riots, youth restiveness, riots and ethnic militancy without the often costly delays in obtaining Federal approval by the Commissioner of Police e ewe a State Governor has so directed/requested. The handling of the various inter communal upheavals in the various states of the federation since the beginning of the current democratic governance left much to be desired. This, many people believe was due to the provision of Section 215 (4) of the Constitution which hinders a Governor from exercising his power as Chief Security Officer of the State. Another example mentioned for the failure or weaknesses in the present centralized Police structure was the inability of the Nigeria Police to contend with the high rate of violent crimes which ravaged major towns all over the country. In response to the hostage-like situation in which the States were held by hoodlums, some State Governments have resorted to establishing Vigilante Groups which they claim have successfully dealt with the crime situation in those States. In some instances however, people often accuse these groups as some kind of local militia who would not hesitate to take the laws into their hands at will and molest people. The recent experiences in some parts of this country constitute sufficient lessons not to allow local militia to be formed. The Nigeria Police is however so badly equipped and unmotivated and so could not effectively deal with the crime and security situation in the country. Representations against State Police bordered on the fear of abuses to which State Governors may subject their Police. These fears included those of intimidation and harassment of political opponents and perpetuation of electoral frauds. References were made to the experiences in the Country during the former Regional Governments when the authorities put the Regional and Local Authority Police to abuse a development which led to occasional breakdown of law and order. The fall of the first Republic was partly blamed on the ignoble use of the Regional and local Police. It was, therefore, feared that it Was too soon in the life of Nigerias nascent democracy for the idea of State Police to be entertained. For this school of thought, it was argued that the need for State Commissioners of Police to occasionally clear operational instructions with the Inspector-General was intended to check abuses and ensure that the orders by Governors were actually lawful What the Nigeria Police needed in order to function properly and serve Nigerians more effectively, was a retraining programme, proper funding and adequate and up-to-date equipment while steps should be taken to sanitise the institution and rid it of corruption and other vices. The Committee weighed the agitations for and against allowing States to establish their Police Force. Both sides of the argument have their merits and demerits. However, the Committee notes that while the idea of State Police at some future date could not be wished away as Nigeria gradually matures in democratic governance, the prevailing situation today does not warrant the establishment of a parallel Police Force at the state level let alone at Local Government level. By so doing, there is the inherent danger of threatening the corporate existence of the nation. The Committee maintains that national stability and unity at all times should be the overriding concern of all Nigerians. In view of the possible destabilising effect of having parallel Police at the State and Federal levels, the Committee recommends that the existing constitutional provisions as provided in Sections 214, 215 and 216 be retained. It however agrees that there is need for reorientation, reorganization and repositioning of the Nigeria Police to enable it meet the requirements of public order, public safety and democratic governance at all levels. I could not believe what I read in Clement Ebris committees report. Even in the United States, the state police is a police body unique to each U.S. state, having statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations. In general, state police officers, known as state troopers, perform functions that do not fall within the jurisdiction of the county sheriff (Vermont being a notable exception), such as enforcing traffic laws on state highways and interstate expressways, overseeing the security of the state capitol complex, protecting the governor, training new officers for local police forces too small to operate an academy and providing technological and scientific services. They support local police and help to coordinate multi-jurisdictional task force activity in serious or complicated cases in those states that grant full police powers statewide. In many states, the state police are known by different names: the various terms used are State Police, Highway Patrol, State Highway Patrol, State Patrol, and State Troopers. However, the jurisdictions and functions of these agencies are usually the same, regardless of title. Some agencies names are actually misnomers with respect to the work regularly done by their members. All but two state police entities use the term trooper to refer to their commissioned members. I am aware that Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, India, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Argentina and many countries have state police. And this has helped the security outfit of those countries. Since 1999, we have been attempting to amend the Constitution but till today, we have not created state police. Since 1999, every deputy Senate President to date, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu(2003-2007), Ike Ekweremadu(June 6 2007-June 11, 2019), Obansi Ovie Omo Agege(11 June 2019 to date) and deputy speakers of the House of Representatives from 1999 to date, Chibubom Nwuche (61), Austin Adiele Opara(58), Emeka Ihedioha(57), Yusuf Sulaiman Lasun(61), Ahmed Idris Wuse(58) have all been charged as Chairmen of various committees to amend the Constitution. Huge amount of money have been allocated for these exercise, we are yet to have state police included in the constitution. The question now is, do we need State Police and is it desirable. Of course we do and it is urgently desirable. It is hereby advocated. Eric Teniola, a former director in the Presidency, writes from Lagos. Akanni Aluko was a devout Catholic. He served God to the end. He put in so much, both in material and spiritual terms, to ensure the gospel of God was spread to all. He donated a Church near his residence in Ilesa to the Catholic Church. As if he had a premonition about his death, he contracted a media group to move around Nigeria to interview his closest friends on video. I woke up in the early hours of July 1 around 2 a.m. I felt in my body some kind of chilly feelings, broke into praise worship, read the days portion of the Bible and said my prayers. Usually, I should have read Chief Akanni Alukos usual new month message forwarded at the end of every month, but did not see it before I went to bed. I went to his message platform at 4.45 am, but still it was not there. I shrugged it off and shifted to doing other things. At 6.02 am, my phone rang. Lo and behold!, it was Akannis Alukos name on my screen. With excitement, I bellowed our usual greetings, Chief OOO, happy new month but before I ended this, it was the shivering voice of his wife, Mama Kemi, that came on and tearfully I heard her say: Akanni Aluko ti lo, meaning Akanni Aluko is gone. Lo sibo, meaning Gone where, was what I heard myself saying. She came back: Akanni ti ku, meaning Akanni is dead. That was it. I blanked out for a few minutes to regain my composure and started recalling how I met Akanni, the camaraderie that existed between us, and how much he had impacted on my life. Akanni Aluko was not only an elderly brother, he was a friend indeed, a confidant and someone I owed so much that I cannot tell it all. My relationship with Akanni started in the early 70s when I started as a cub reporter with the Nigerian Tribune. He was a young businessman in his early 30s. One thing led to one another that I became so crafted to him, not in terms of monetary gains, but in a true friendship built on love, trust and integrity. Gradually, he introduced me to his friends, the late Chief Adeseun Ogundoyin, the Ogiyan of Ejigbo; Oba Omowonuola Oyesosin II; and Late Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Azeez Arisekola Alao. The foursome dominated the social space from the 70s to late 90s that they became the toast of the low and the mighty. Of all the four, only Baba Ogiyan, a forthright royal father, is still standing. Akanni would have clocked 80 on July 23, 2023 which would have made him to live more than ten years above his other two compatriots who had passed on much more earlier. Our friendship, as I earlier stated, started in the 70s from his rented office at Adamasingba. He was a big dealer in frozen fish, which later made him so popular in Ibadan and beyond. However his flair for writing incisive political analysis wetted his appetite to love Journalism. At this period I had risen to the position of Sunday Tribune editor. He, therefore, sharpened his talent for intellectual discourse on diverse issues, be it social, political, or economic. He went on to buy two pages of advertorial every week in the Sunday Tribune under the headline, Third Eye, to critically assess the performances of the military leaders in government and proferred quality solutions. This paid column became so popular that it turned out to be the Sunday, Sunday tonic elixir for those in government and the populace. By this time, Akanni had become so prosperous that he decided to plunge into newspaper business, and set up The Third Eye newspapers. While I was the Editor of the Nigerian Tribune, I became his unofficial consultant. During this period the military shut down a number of so called unfriendly newspapers. Third Eye therefore became haven for journalists, especially from Lagos, who were thrown out of jobs. Many of them like Raheem Adedoyin and Fred Ohwahwa moved down from The Guardian newspapers. Aluko took me out of the pack of journalists to become one of his closest family members, who had the freedom to move in and out his bedroom. In many instances, he provided succour, making me feel so comfortable in a pen profession with a poor wage package. He spoilt me with everything I needed. I remember when I told him I would soon be 40 and that it was my desire to be a landlord. I told him how Chief Obafemi Awolowo spurred me to begin the project. He told me to calm down and assured me that before the end of that year you would perform your housewarming. By the Grace of God it happened. I remember the day he and Mama Kemi stood in front of my completed abode in Ibadan and watched Akanni beaming with smiles of satisfaction. He delightedly prayed for me. It was a landmark in my life, which I would never forget. His philanthropic gesture knew no bound. Those who came through me for one problem or another to Akanni always smiled home. Those I could not recount got houses and vehicles. Whenever Akanni was feeling unwell, I would be the first person he would call. Then I had a doctor friend who is now late, Bob Owolade, who was at his beck and call. As busy as I was as the Editor of Nigerian Tribune, I made sure I was with him before I retired home. My main visit was for the intellectual tonic that helped me in no small measure in producing the second largest newspapers after Daily Times in Nigeria. I earned the name: Peoples Editor. I did not miss the opportunity until his death, to make sure, whenever I was in Ibadan to see him. Akanni Aluko was a devout Catholic. He served God to the end. He put in so much, both in material and spiritual terms, to ensure the gospel of God was spread to all. He donated a Church near his residence in Ilesa to the Catholic Church. As if he had a premonition about his death, he contracted a media group to move around Nigeria to interview his closest friends on video. Chief Akanni OOO!, as was my usual banter of greetings, while he too would say Editor oooo!!, will no more be heard until the second coming of Christ. You came, saw and conquered. Akanni Aluko was a devout Catholic. He served God to the end. He put in so much, both in material and spiritual terms, to ensure the gospel of God was spread to all. He donated a Church near his residence in Ilesa to the Catholic Church. As if he had a premonition about his death, he contracted a media group to move around Nigeria to interview his closest friends on video. Amen. Folu Olamiti, a former executive director at Tribune Newspapers, is a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (FNGE). The Governor of Jigawa state, Muhammad Badaru, has nominated his Aide on New Media, Auwal Sankara, a commissioner and member of the State Executive Council. Mr Sankara, 32, from Ringim Local Government Area, was introduced to the members of the states House of Assembly during plenary on Tuesday. At the plenary presided by the speaker, Idris Garba, Mr Sankara presented his academic records and his contribution to the state while at as a media aide to the governor. Aminu Sule, the lawmaker representing Ringim Local Government Area, said Mr Sankara having served meritoriously as the aide on New Media to the governor since 2015 should take a bow in recognition of his performance, and commitments to the development of the state and the party- the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Sules motion was seconded by his colleague, Abubakar Jallo, a member representing the Hadejia constituency. Mr Garba, subsequently asked the house to vote in support or against the motion to approve his nomination as commissioner, and the House unanimously voted yes. Mr Sankara is expected to assume duty as the states commissioner for special duties, after being sworn in. He is the son of incumbent senator Danladi Sankara, representing Jigawa North-west District. The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said he had been making international trips to learn how to make Nigeria better. He spoke on Arise TVs The Morning Show on Wednesday. All my trips these days, you can ask. I came back with Pat Utomi, you can ask the type of people Im meeting. This is time for me to meet all those that can help, he said. Not when I go into the office and I start looking for them, Im talking to people that can help us to find the funding, find the support, to be able to turn around the situation we are in. Why I wont be a Vice-President The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria peoples party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, had advised Mr Obi to accept an offer of being his running mate in the 2023 presidential election. But Mr Obi, while on the show, said that he is competent to be a president and would not take the offer to be a vice president. He said many people including Dino Melaye, a former senator, can attest to his competence in dealing with Nigerias economic problem. They are saying, Peter, is competent to deal with the economy. But Im saying we have economic problems, he said. So you dont need somebody to be on top of me when I can solve the problem. Thats why I said Im contesting to be the president of Nigeria. I might be coming from a section of the country. But I want to solve the problem of Nigeria. I want to start building a new Nigeria when Nigerians can be proud of their country. Visit to Wike The former governor of Anambra said that his visit to Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State governor, was to discuss how to decongest the Lagos ports. Of course, he is the governor of a state that is strategically important to the future, he said. The port in Port-Harcourt can help to decongest the port in Lagos and help towards what I want to do with the port. We must generate proper revenue. Nairobi Nairobi Senator and UDA Governor candidate Johnson Sakaja has called for an end to illegal and inhuman evictions in the city, especially in low income areas. Sakaja was speaking at a town hall meeting with residents of Mukuru Kwa Reuben who lamented the many times they have watched their homes being flattened by people protected by police. "We have proposed that people who need to be moved from public or private land should be given two-years notice, and if possible allocated alternative space before their homes are demolished. These incidents where people leave their homes to go to work and return to find no home, or worse are woken up in the middle of the night by bulldozers, should and must come to an end," Sakaja said. In December last year, one person died and hundreds of homes demolished by a government multiagency team backed by hundreds of police officers. The residents yesterday said many of them were yet to recover from the losses they incurred during the incident. Before the town hall meeting, Sakaja was hosted by a community radio station, Reuben FM, where he spoke of his record in the Senate defending the rights of victims of previous evictions. He however restated his commitment to repossess grabbed public land and restore public facilities for community use. "Some people have been saying these land where Mukuru centre is belongs to them. We are assuring you the ownership title will revert to the public and the centre will continue to serve the people of Mukuru," Sakaja added. Sakaja also said that he will work hand in hand with Kenya Power and Nairobi Water Company to streamline electricity and water distribution within the Nairobi informal settlements like Mukuru. The resort company unveils today what's next for the treasured resort as it makes its long-wished-for return to the Sandals portfolio from first-of-its-kind suite designs, to exclusive restaurant concepts and bars, to entirely new ways to experience Jamaica's natural wonders. Beloved by couples since its initial addition to the all-inclusive resort company's portfolio in 1991, Sandals Dunn's River will return as a brand new resort, reclaiming its edge as the pinnacle of Sandals luxury. The all-new 260-room Sandals Dunn's River is undergoing a thoughtful, top-to-bottom restoration designed to embrace the essence of Jamaica, its curving rivers, lush forests, and majestic banyan trees with amenities, accommodations and culinary concepts brought forward by the brand's uncompromising quest for innovation. "Today is marked with very special intention, as we accept reservations for Sandals Dunn's River in honor of our founder and my late father, Gordon 'Butch' Stewart's birthday just a small homage to him that we know will make him smile," said Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman of SRI. "This was an extraordinary project and the last I worked on with him as his final masterpiece. He handpicked this location more than three decades ago for its white-sand coastline, cool breeze, azure waters and its close proximity to the destination's archetypical falls. It will not only serve to breathe new excitement into a corner of Jamaica loved and cherished by so many, but it will set a new standard of luxury for tourism right here in our backyard with a next-generation resort worthy of its nostalgic past." Accommodation Highlights: Taking Luxury to New Heights A first look into the expanded suite concepts reveals the addition of brand new Tufa SkyPool Butler Suites, which will feature glass panels spanning the length of oceanfront balconies, for a cascading infinity effect clear to the Caribbean Sea. At the Coyaba Swim-Up Rondoval Butler Suites with Private Pools, Sandals' iconic, standalone villas are reimagined with vast open-air rooftops featuring private soaking tubs, sun-lounging areas and privileged views of the surrounding flora. Luxurious Mammee Bay Beachfront Butler Suites will be equipped with spacious balconies directly overlooking the ocean waters, with gold fixtures and green accents speckled throughout the resort's various unique accommodations for a nature-meets-luxury effect that immerses guests in the setting's unequivocal beauty. More on the Menu Culinary offerings at Sandals Dunn's River will now include 12 Global Gourmet restaurants with ten concepts entirely new to Sandals. Infused with the classic cooking techniques found in the finest establishments in France, L'Amande will serve an exquisite melange of French delicacy and Jamaican fare in a chic setting. A Greek concept, Edessa, is where the Caribbean and Aegean seas will meet, elegantly named for the ancient city of abundant waters. From Thailand to Japan, the Asian-fusion menu at Banyu will offer a blend of cultures all in a single dish. Beloved staples, old and new, will satisfy cravings and please palates from the Central and South American flavors at Zuka, debuted first at Sandals Royal Curacao, to the rustic yet soulful Jerk Shack and its traditional sweet and peppery delights. High spirits will long live at nine bars, each with a distinct identity including the hip and sophisticated Dunn's Rum Club, where the island's signature libation will be shaken and stirred into authentic Jamaican craft cocktails expertly mixed with locally-sourced ingredients like coconut and sorrel-smoked rum. A first-of-its-kind experience, guests will enjoy an expertly curated list of smooth rums while trying their hand at a game of Jamaican-rules dominoes, where the best out of six wins. The Laughing Waters beach bar will offer bed-style seating for a truly effervescent experience right on the sand, with a jovial name and sparkling champagne cocktails to match. A 'Sandals First' in Jamaica, the rooftop bar, Ocarina, will pair spirits with the gentle sea breeze, while the chic Lapidus Lounge pays homage to renowned architect Morris Lapidus who designed the resort when it was first built as the Arawak Hotel in the 1950s. Inspired by Jamaica's quintessential Blue Mountains, where the beans are harvested and roasted exclusively for the resort, guests can experience a fresh cup of pour-over coffee at BLUM cafe, along with Japanese-style and nitro cold brew best enjoyed with island inspired treats. Where the Fresh Water Flows Cascading waters collected from the depths of the Dunn's River Falls will greet guests upon arrival, with all water features sourced from the natural reserves of the rivers throughout the resort. Jamaica's largest pool designed to mimic the flow of the river makes its way back into the Sandals Resorts fold. Featuring a glass panel edge, the pool will be brilliantly leveled to the sand for a water-meets-sand-meets-ocean effect, and is one of five refreshing pools from where to bask under the warm Jamaican sun. The Red Lane Spa at Sandals Dunn's River will debut as one of the most luxurious for the brand, speaking to the heart of Jamaica, the land of wood and water, with the sound of flowing water from Dunn's River and Roaring Waters River cascading into the spa's pools against an ethereal backdrop that is ever present. Moments away, at one of Jamaica's natural wonders the honored Dunn's River Falls guests will absorb the natural abundance of the Earth and experience a place where love flows naturally, forming natural connections and bringing the Sandals Dunn's River experience full circle. "Ocho Rios is the place where my father grew up, where he first learned to fish and felt the breeze blow along the West-facing beach and where he first saw the pure joy of the island on the faces of visitors," said Stewart. "Here along Jamaica's North Coast, he witnessed a blossoming tourism industry and became aware of how to please and serve a new Caribbean customer. Every touchpoint at the new Sandals Dunn's River is designed to do that and more." Fly Straight in and Experience All of Ocho Rios Guests can get to know the other corners of Jamaica through the brand's "Stay at One, Play at All Sandals" exchange program and check out additional Sandals Resorts in the area with complimentary transfers between resorts in Ocho Rios. To enjoy even more time in paradise, travelers can land right in Ocho Rios with American Airlines' brand-new service from Miami on flight AA4007 with faster and more convenient processing times, shorter lines, and private transfers before and after their vacation. Special Savings Guests who book a stay at Sandals Dunn's River now through August 31, 2022, will receive a special Grand Opening Offer with instant credit savings of up to $605 off on stays of seven paid nights or longer. The offer is combinable with other Sandals' saving promotions, for travel May 24, 2023 through December 31, 2025. Extending a warm welcome back to past guests of the original Sandals Dunn's River, returning guests who are Sandals Select Reward Members will enjoy a complimentary Dunn's River Catamaran Cruise for two. For more information, visit https://www.sandals.com/dunns-river/ . Hear more about the new Sandals Dunn's River from Sandals Resorts' Executive Chairman, Adam Stewart, on the Sandals Palmcast. About Sandals Resorts Sandals Resorts offers two people in love the most romantic, Luxury Included vacation experience in the Caribbean. With 16 and soon to be 17 stunning beachfront settings in Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, and Curacao, Sandals Resorts offers more quality inclusions than any other resort company on the planet. Signature Love Nest Butler Suites for the ultimate in privacy and service; butlers trained by the Guild of Professional English Butlers; the Red Lane Spa; 5-Star Global Gourmet dining, ensuring top-shelf liquor, premium wines, and gourmet specialty restaurants; Aqua Centers with expert PADI certification and training; fast Wi-Fi from beach to bedroom; and Sandals Customizable Weddings are all Sandals Resorts exclusives. Sandals Resorts is part of family-owned Sandals Resorts International (SRI), founded by the late Gordon "Butch" Stewart, which includes Beaches Resorts and is the Caribbean's leading all-inclusive resort company. For more information about the Sandals Resorts Luxury Included difference, visit www.sandals.com . Contact: The Decker/Royal Agency [email protected] SOURCE Sandals Resorts International The New Lexington Cafe Opens Strong During the Brands Signature Friends and Family Weekend LEXINGTON, S.C., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Another Broken Egg Cafe expanded on June 27 to Lexington, South Carolina by opening its fifth location in the state. In addition to being the only national daytime cafe with a bar producing hand-crafted cocktails, the award-winning cafe is one of the fastest-growing, national breakfast and brunch concepts. Another Broken Egg Cafe, Lexington, SC Another Broken Egg Cafe Crab Cake Benedict Prior to its official opening, the new cafe hosted a "Friends & Family" day on Saturday, June 25, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guests had the opportunity to support the local charity The Nancy K. Perry Children's Shelter and Family Services. This event provided guests a preview of the new restaurant before the grand opening on Monday, June 27. Another Broken Egg Cafe hosts "Friends and Family" weekend events as part of its commitment to community involvement. Not only do guests of the event get to try the cafe offerings before its grand opening, but they get the opportunity to make a meaningful impact. The Lexington Cafe is owned and operated by Another Broken Egg of America Franchising, LLC. With locations spread across South Carolina, this new cafe will bring the same fresh and exciting menu items to Lexington. Opening in this popular town was an easy decision for the brand, which features Southern-inspired menu items. The brand is one of the fastest-growing, franchised breakfast and brunch concepts in the nation and the only franchised brand in the daytime cafe segment with a full bar producing signature, hand-crafted cocktails. Another Broken Egg Cafe offers a Southern-inspired menu, featuring traditional options like Lemon Blueberry Goat Cheese Pancakes, Crab Cake Benedict, and Shrimp 'N Grits; a seasonal menu which currently features items such as the Louisiana Creole Benedict and Bloody Molly; as well as an abundance of signature cocktails, including the Spiked Spiced Rum Cold Brew, Pomegranate Mule, and ABE Famous Infused Mary. The new restaurant is located at 931 North Lake Drive, Lexington, SC 29072 and is open daily 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. About Another Broken Egg Cafe Another Broken Egg of America Franchising, LLC is an upscale breakfast, brunch and lunch restaurant that specializes in award-winning, Southern-inspired menu options with innovative twists and signature cocktails. Another Broken Egg Cafe is one of the fastest-growing, daytime-only franchised concepts in the country, with more than 80 locations in 15 states and dozens more in development. With over 26-years' experience in the daytime cafe category, the company was honored by FSR magazine as its Breakout Franchise Brand of the Year for 2020, one of the most challenging years ever for the restaurant industry. The brand is well-positioned for expanded growth in 2022 with a new prototype, re-engineered menu and bar of the future initiatives designed to drive incremental sales and profits for the individual cafes. For more information about franchising opportunities, please visit https://anotherbrokeneggfranchise.com Media Contact: Jan Barnett, Another Broken Egg of America Franchising, LLC [email protected] 720.280.6743 SOURCE Another Broken Egg of America Franchising, LLC. Headquartered in Bellevue, WA, Wipliance is one of the nation's leading custom integration companies specializing in audio/video, theater, automation, lighting, and shading. Since 2006, Wipliance has been creating smart spaces in Arizona, Washington, and surrounding areas that are easy to use and enjoyable to own. Family-owned and operated since 1908, Huppin's has a history of innovation. In 1994, the Huppin's business expanded online as "OneCall" to tap into the budding internet marketplace. OneCall quietly grew in Spokane to become a leading online retailer nationally. "Since 1908, when my great grandfather Sam opened his tailor shop in downtown Spokane, the Huppin's brand has put its customers first," said Murray Huppin, Huppin's President. "Over time, we have seen a shift from customers wanting traditional retail options to either online for DIY, or customized, professionally integrated solutions. The industry has diverged, and we believe Wipliance is the right choice to offer these services to our community." Wipliance Owner Lee Travis, immediately saw similarities between their company and Huppin's. "We have been inspired by the Huppin's brand and its legacy since we started our company back in 2006. Our own mission statement centers around delighting clients. Huppin's has operated with this mission in mind for the last 114 years and we are proud to be adding their team to our family." With Wipliance, Eastern Washington and North Idaho residents can now access turnkey solutions, which require significantly higher collaboration than traditional retail transactions. Wipliance's experience in this area combined with the talented Eastern Washington team of experts is a perfect match. "The last few years have made us all realize how important our spaces are to our overall health and well-being," said Travis. "For 16 years, our customers have seen firsthand how Wipliance's solutions can help them get back to the things they love instead of messing with technology." The transition to the Wipliance brand will occur gradually over the next year. The North Division retail space is now a by-appointment design center featuring Wipliance's robust family of products and services. OneCall, Huppin's online division, is not part of the acquisition and will continue to be led by Murray Huppin. "For 114 years, the most important thing to my family has been to put our customers first," said Huppin. "We're grateful to our community for their support and to the talented employees who have driven the growth and evolution of the business. The team at Wipliance operates in the same way, and I wouldn't trust our brand, and our company's future, to anyone else." About Huppin's Since 1908, Huppin's has called Eastern Washington home, serving the community from the inside out. Previously known locally for its brick & mortar focus, Huppin's saw the value in transitioning to innovative customer-focused services, especially custom integration and connected home solutions. Over the years, Huppin's business model has evolved to provide full-service solutions including consultation, system design and engineering, lighting design, design and documentation, project management, installation, programming, system monitoring, and support. Huppin's is life and technology, connected. To learn more, visit https://huppins.com/. About Wipliance Wipliance, LLC, headquartered in Bellevue, WA, is a privately-held corporation founded in 2006 specializing in providing solutions for your home or business that are simple to use, reliable to own, and deliver best-in-class performance. Wipliance specializes in audio/video, theater, automation, lighting, and shading. The company has been recognized in the CEPro Top 100 for the last 12 years and has won numerous awards including Integrator of the Year, Lutron Excellence Awards and Control4 Circle of Excellence. Industry memberships include the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA), American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and the Seattle Executives Association. To learn more, visit https://www.wipliance.com/. SOURCE Wipliance AWH affiliate Spire Hospitality to manage resort operations NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AWH Partners, LLC ("AWH"), a vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and management firm, today announced the acquisition of the management and operations of The Grove Resort & Water Park (the "Grove" or the "Resort"), a unique, independent resort located on 106 acres in Orlando, Florida. AWH's wholly-owned hotel management company, Spire Hospitality, has assumed management of The Grove, including its best-in-class condo-hotel rental program and its extensive amenities. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Grove currently consists of 878 two- and three-bedroom suites averaging more than 1,300 square feet, and most of which are enrolled in the rental management program. Opened in phases between 2017 and 2019, the Resort offers four restaurants, a seven-acre water park, three full-sized swimming pools, a full-service spa, a meeting center with 6,000 square feet of meeting space, a children's activity center, an arcade, and a fitness center. The newly built, upscale family resort is located on Lake Austin, an 18-acre resort amenity, and is a 15-minute drive from Walt Disney World. "Located in one of the most visited and robust tourism markets in the U.S., The Grove has a significant competitive advantage offering guests large, newly completed suites, as well as an array of amenities for easily accessible family fun," said Jon Rosenfeld, co-founder and managing partner of AWH Partners. "One of the aspects that attracted us to The Grove was its best-in-class condo-hotel rental management program. By centralizing management across all aspects of the Resort, The Grove ensures a consistently high-quality guest experience." Chad Cooley, co-founder and managing partner of AWH Partners, added, "The Grove, well-positioned to continue to outperform competition in Orlando and beyond, is the perfect anchor investment for our new condo-hotel strategy, and represents a new business line for AWH. In a market environment where opportunities have been few and far between, we believe we have substantial runway to grow this new platform in the coming months and years." "AWH is thrilled to welcome The Grove into our growing portfolio of high-performing hospitality assets, and we are eager to rapidly expand into the condo-hotel space. We are capitalized to aggressively pursue new acquisitions of best-in-class operations across the country and beyond," concluded Russ Flicker, co-founder and managing partner of AWH Partners. About AWH Partners, LLC AWH Partners, LLC ("AWH") is a privately held, vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and management firm that has invested in over 10,000 hotel rooms across 35 hotels, representing billions of total real estate value. The firm's unique operating model and boutique nature enable it to source, structure and execute hospitality real estate investments on a streamlined and expeditious timeline. Since 2010, AWH and its principals, Russ Flicker, Jon Rosenfeld and Chad Cooley, have amassed a sizeable portfolio of hotels across the country. AWH also owns Spire Hospitality, a top-tier, national hospitality platform and AWH Development, a full-service real estate development company, providing complete vertical integration in the hospitality investment space. For more information, please visit www.awhpartners.com. About Spire Hospitality Spire Hospitality, led by CEO Chris Russell, is a third-party operator of 7,033 room keys and over 350,000 square feet of meeting space across 20 states. The Spire portfolio, with a focus on large, full-service hotels, includes unique independent properties and premier branded assets across Hilton Hotels & Resorts (HLT), Marriott International (MAR) and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). Spire Hospitality offers expertise in all facets of hospitality management and is committed to preserving, protecting and enhancing the value of hotel real estate. www.spirehotels.com Media Contact: Columbia Clancy / Kevin Siegel / Danielle Berg FGS Global [email protected] SOURCE AWH Partners Each year, Bluestone Bank partners with local schools to award outstanding and deserving students with scholarships RAYNHAM, Mass., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bluestone Bank is proud to announce that with the completion of its 2022 scholarships awards, over $500,000 has been donated through their Scholarship Program. As a way to invest back into its community, Bluestone Bank partners with local schools each year and awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors. This program provides support for those graduating seniors who are continuing their education at an accredited institution of higher learning or continuing their career in a Trade. The scholarships are awarded based on the following criteria: financial need, academic performance, and citizenship/volunteerism. Bluestone Bank consults with local high school guidance counselors and teachers who identify students and award the scholarships. The Scholarship Program also brings awareness to the importance of financial stability and independence for high school students going to college and fosters relationships with families in the community, positioning Bluestone Bank as a trusted bank partner. "Our Scholarship Program is just one of the ways we are able to invest back into our community. We view Bluestone Bank as a resource to community members in all stages of life and strive to be their banking partner every step of the way. Playing a small part in these graduating seniors' journey is so rewarding and we are excited to celebrate their future successes," said Bluestone Bank President, Meg McIsaac. In 2022, Bluestone Bank partnered with 19 schools to award 24 scholarships, totaling $35,000 the most impactful in the Bank's history. Scholarships were awarded to students of Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, Brockton High School, Mansfield High School and more. Bluestone Bank is proud to have close ties to its community. With many locations in close proximity to colleges, including branches in Bridgewater and Norton, Bluestone values its relationships with local schools and students. About Bluestone Bank: Bluestone Bank, with $1.3 billion in assets, is a full-service bank offering individual and business banking services, and financial planning services through its Bluestone Wealth and Trust division. The bank has 12 banking offices and 2 loan production offices across southeastern Massachusetts with branches in Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Lakeville, Mansfield, Norton, Pembroke, Plainville, Raynham, Taunton, and West Bridgewater. Visit bluestone.bank for more information. Bluestone Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a member of the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF). Bluestone Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. Media Contact Bonnie Taylor [email protected] 702-300-5690 SOURCE Bluestone Bank The Company is working closely with its commercial partners to supply the combination therapy to patients in need Brii Bio progressed the combination therapy from discovery to global Phase 3 data readout and first regulatory approval by the China NMPA in less than 20 months, validating the Company's R&D expertise and capabilities DURHAM, N.C. and BEIJING, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Brii Biosciences Limited ("Brii Bio" or the "Company", stock code: 2137.HK) a multi-national company developing innovative therapies for diseases with significant unmet medical needs and large public health burdens, and TSB Therapeutics (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("TSB Therapeutics"), a joint venture majority-owned by the Company, today announced the commercial launch of the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination, a long-acting COVID-19 neutralizing antibody therapy, in China. Today, the first commercial batch of the antibodies was released, marking an important milestone in the commercialization of the combination therapy. The amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination was approved by China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in December 2021 for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients (age 12-17 weighing at least 40 kg) with mild and normal type of COVID-19 at high risk for progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death. The indication of pediatric patients (age 12-17 weighing at least 40 kg) is under a conditional approval. In March 2022, the National Health Commission of China added the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination to its COVID-19 Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines (9th Pilot Edition) ("Guidelines") for the treatment of COVID-19. On March 21, 2022, the National Healthcare Security Administration of China issued a notice to temporarily include the newly added drugs in the Guidelines in reimbursement by the provincial health insurance fund. Since March 22, 2022, the Healthcare Security Administrations of various provinces and cities have successively implemented the instructions of the notice and included the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination into the reimbursement of the local health insurance fund. "We're proud to bring the first locally-discovered and approved COVID-19 treatment in China to patients in need with the support and guidance of relevant government authorities. The global Phase 3 clinical trial demonstrated clear patient benefit with 80% reduction of hospitalization and death. In addition, the live virus and pseudovirus testing data from multiple independent labs demonstrate that the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination retains neutralizing activity against the live Omicron BA.2 subvariants prevalent in China and all previous variants of concern. These accomplishments reinforce Brii Bio's scientific expertise in infectious disease and underscore our mission to tackle the biggest public health challenges with breakthrough innovation and insight. Our employees are the heroes who have given their all to achieving this great honor," said Rogers Luo, President and General Manager, Greater China of Brii Bio, and Chief Executive Officer of TSB Therapeutics. "Our first priority will be to coordinate with our commercial partners to manage the distribution of the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination in China to patients with the highest unmet need for our novel treatment to protect peoples' lives." In 2021, Brii Bio donated nearly 3,000 doses of the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination for emergency use in 22 hospitals in 21 cities as part of its commitment to ensure humanitarian access and to help curb the outbreaks of the delta variants. "Despite the progress being made with vaccines, the pandemic continues to affect the health of communities in China, and we believebased on the clinical data generated in partnership with top-tier global research institutionsthat the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination treatment has the potential to bring significant clinical benefit to patients in need and support communities under threat of SARS-CoV-2 infection," said Qing Zhu, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Head of Biopharmaceutical Research of Brii Bio. "When we made the decision to invest significant resources and expertise in the fight against COVID-19, we knew this would be a considerable undertaking and we must play our part. We could not have made it to this point of bringing our much-needed medicine to patients throughout China without the support of our world-class partners and we look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders across the industry to enable the timely distribution of the combination therapy to healthcare providers and patients." About Long-Acting COVID-19 Neutralizing Antibody Therapy, Amubarvimab/Romlusevimab Combination Amubarvimab and Romlusevimab are non-competing SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal neutralizing antibodies derived from convalesced COVID-19 patients developed in collaboration with the 3rd People's Hospital of Shenzhen and Tsinghua University. They have been specifically engineered to reduce the risk of antibody-dependent enhancement and prolong the plasma half-lives for potentially more durable treatment effect. Based on the final results from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Allery and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-sponsored ACTIV-2 Phase 3 clinical trial with 837 enrolled outpatients, the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination demonstrates a statistically significant 80% reduction of hospitalization and death with fewer deaths through 28 days in the treatment arm (0) relative to placebo (9), and improved safety outcome over placebo in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients at high risk of clinical progression to severe disease. Similar efficacy rates were observed in participants initiating therapy early (0-5 days) and late (6-10 days), following symptom onset, providing critically needed clinical evidence in COVID-19 patients who were late for treatment. The live virus testing data as well as pseudovirus testing data from multiple independent labs have demonstrated that the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination retains activity against major SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including the following commonly identified variants, B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.429 (Epsilon), B.1.617.2 (Delta), AY.4.2 (Delta Plus), C.37 (Lambda), B.1.621 (Mu), B.1.1.529-BA.1 (Omicron), and BA.1.1 and BA.2 (Omicron subvariants). Additional testings including live virus assays are being conducted to confirm the neutralizing activity against BA.4/5 and BA.2.12.1. About Brii Bio Brii Biosciences Limited ("Brii Bio", stock code: 2137.HK) is a biotechnology company based in China and the United States committed to advancing therapies for significant infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B, COVID-19, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, multi-drug resistant (MDR) or extensive drug resistant (XDR) gram-negative infections, and other illnesses, such as the central nervous system (CNS) diseases, which have significant public health burdens in China and worldwide. For more information, visit www.briibio.com. About TSB Therapeutics TSB Therapeutics (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("TSB Therapeutics", or the "Company") is a holding company of Brii Bio. TSB Therapeutics was jointly established in Beijing in May 2020 by Brii Bio, the 3rd People's Hospital of Shenzhen and Tsinghua University. The Company is committed to developing the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination. TSB Therapeutics holds exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination in Greater China. SOURCE Brii Biosciences Limited Nairobi Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot is now pushing for the resignation of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati for failing to clear him and other candidates based on "unconstitutional regulations". With 34 days to the General Election, Aukot says Chebukati failed to interpret and uphold the law correctly in the presidential nomination exercise in which he was locked out for failing to present signatures. Justice Anthony Mrima declared Regulation 18 2C of the Elections Act unconstitutional even though it was the basis of the nomination process. "While we advised the Chairman through a letter dated June 5, 2022, that Regulation 18 2C was unconstitutional and ought to be discarded, the chairman was unable to interpret the law correctly and proceeded," said Aukot. Aukot faulted Chebukati for "unconstitutionally amending article 137(1)(d) in the presidential nomination process which he termed as subjective and predetermined." The Thirdway Alliance Party Leader now wants the ongoing preparation for the presidential race quashed and the nomination exercise of presidential candidate started afresh. "The unconstitutional presidential nominations of Raila Odinga, William Ruto, George Wajackoya, and Mwaure Waihiga be immediately quashed and the presidential ballot printing be shelved until a proper nomination exercise is carried out," Aukot stated. According to Aukot, Chebukati is unfit to oversee the 2022 general election having presided over the 2017 polls that was nullified by the Supreme Court which he says resulted to loss of taxpayers' money. "It is not tenable to allow such an incompetent individual like Wafula Chebukati to oversee this year's general elections. This country has no shortage of competent and upright people and the said Wafula must exit the IEBC now!"he stated. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Aukot, who contested in the 2017 presidential election, in his case argued that the Commission failed to give him an opportunity to remedy some of the areas that the Commission purportedly determined as having not met the threshold. He argued that the Commission gave other candidates more time to comply with the requirements which they lacked but the Commission failed to grant Thirdway Alliance the same. "This clearly reinforces the Complainants' conviction that the Chebukati, had a predetermined outcome that clearly shows his bias and discrimination," Aukot said as he pleaded with the tribunal to set aside Chebukati's decision until his complaint is fully heard and determined. While rejecting Aukot's bid, the Commission among other things noted that some of the Complainant's supporters' signatures did not meet the required threshold, that the Presidential Candidate's degree certificate was not certified, that they did not present copies of IDs of their supporters and that the Banker's Cheque for payment of required fees was incorrectly addressed. Aukot is among 51 candidates who failed to meet the threshold set by the electoral commission. Roberto Herencia Brings New Perspective to Catholic Investment Manager's Board CHICAGO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc. ("CBIS"), a leading Catholic, socially responsible investment management firm and registered investment advisor to Catholic investors around the world, announced the appointment of Roberto Herencia to its board of directors. A 30-year veteran of the financial services industry, Mr. Herencia has served as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago-based Byline Bancorp since February 2021 and Chairman of Byline Bancorp and Byline Bank since June 2013. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of BXM Holdings, Inc., an investment fund specializing in community bank investments, since 2010, where he led the recapitalization of Byline's predecessor, Metropolitan Bank Group. "From its inception, CBIS has sought to help Catholic investors around the world unify their faith with responsible management of their assets," says Jeff McCroy, President & Chief Executive Officer of CBIS. "It's a great challenge and I couldn't be more pleased to have a quality individual like Roberto Herencia join us in our efforts. His expertise and experience beyond the U.S. financial markets will no doubt prove invaluable as we continue to expand our global business." Mr. Herencia currently serves as a trustee of DePaul University and Northwestern Memorial Foundation in Chicago, is on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Chicago and Polk Bros. Foundation, and serves as a member of the Archdiocese of Chicago's Finance Council. He was appointed by President Obama in 2011 to serve on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation's board of directors. "These are particularly empowering times for us here at CBIS," says Bill Rybak, CBIS Board Chair. "I'm thrilled to be working with a veteran professional like Roberto in our aggressive efforts to help Catholic investors looking to transform the world." In addition to executive roles with BXM, Midwest Banc Holdings, and Banco Popular North America, Mr. Herencia has served in director roles with Banner Corporation, FirstBank Puerto Rico, American West Bank, and First National Bank of Starbuck. "I've served in many roles throughout my career, but I consider none more important than being a fiduciary of Catholic assets," says Mr. Herencia. "I feel particularly blessed to have this opportunity to help a great company like CBIS deliver on its commitments to Catholic investors and shareholders around the world. It's a chance, I believe, to answer a higher calling." CBIS is the Catholic responsible investment firm of choice for a diverse range of Catholic investors. For more information on the firm and its investment efforts, please visit cbisonline.com. About Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) CBIS is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm amplifying the power of Catholic investors to transform the world. Responsible for more than $10 billion in assets under management, Chicago-based CBIS works with Catholic investors to develop socially responsible investment strategies and solutions that uphold Catholic beliefs and values without sacrificing returns for investors, often taking an engaged ownership role to command change in its investments. Founded in 1981 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, CBIS engages third-party institutional investment firms to actively sub-advise its portfolios. For more information, visit cbisonline.com, or call 877-550-2247. Media Contact: Sarah McClain, Chief Marketing Officer 312-803-4721 SOURCE CBIS In the early 1990s, economic exchanges across the Taiwan Straits were gradually being restored as the reform and opening-up policy went deeper and further across the nation. With its enormous market potential, the Chinese mainland soon generated significant interest from entrepreneurs based in the Taiwan region. And Fuzhou, the capital city of southeast China's Fujian Province, only 200 km away from the island, quickly became the second biggest destination for investment from Taiwan. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm of investors soon cooled down when they were confronted with the daunting administrative process. In 1990, Xi became the secretary of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) Fuzhou Municipal Committee. After carefully examining the situation, he proposed the adoption of a new approach called "Do It Now," which aimed at cutting the red tape. The approach unleashed Fuzhou's potential. From 1990 to 1995, the city's GDP shot up to over 40 billion yuan, from less than 10 billion yuan, far outstripping the national average growth rate. Fuzhou was soon recognized as a major boom town. "Right now we're faced with lots of problems for which there's no lack of proper solutions," Xi said at the time. "What it takes is the will to get things done. That's why I insist on action, which is essential in implementing our theories, guidelines and policies. Effective implementation is the key to success." Twenty years on, the Fuzhou government remains committed to the policy of "Do It Now." Another trademark of Xi's governing style is his determination to root out corruption, regardless of the perpetrators' status. As early as 1988 in Ningde, Fujian Province, Xi led a successful drive to end illegal land occupation. Xi was the party chief of the CPC Ningde Prefectural Committee from 1988 to 1990, the youngest member of the committee. Shortly after taking office, Xi spent a month in villages, companies, schools and government departments to conduct surveys. People told him that some officials illegally used public land to build their own houses. He was determined to stop the illegal land occupation. He led a team on the first steps of an anti-corruption drive in Ningde. When Xi asked an official of the discipline commission if he thinks ordinary people are content with the situation, the official answered negatively. Xi then asked the official if he thinks the situation is harming people's productivity, to which the official answered affirmatively. "Then I asked if we should upset about three million people or thousands of officials who violated the Party's discipline," Xi revealed during an interview in 2003. "He said, 'Of course we would rather offend the two or three thousand officials.' I replied, 'We shall do this, and strive for it without turning back." https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-07-04/How-Xi-Jinping-practices-governance-through-working-in-the-field-1bmqAdWr3UY/index.html SOURCE CGTN "I am delighted to announce the well-earned appointment of Dr. Benjamin Laskin to Chief of our Division of Nephrology," said Joseph St. Geme, MD, Physician-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. "Dr. Laskin is a highly accomplished physician, educator, and scholar with an impressive background in nephrology. I look forward to watching the division grow to an even higher level of excellence under Dr. Laskin's leadership. Additionally, we thank Dr. Madhura Pradhan for her time as interim Chief of Nephrology and are eager to see her continue her important roles in the Division and across CHOP." Dr. Laskin's research interests include infections and kidney disease in immunosuppressed children, particularly those receiving a bone marrow or solid organ transplant. His research aims to prevent, treat, or slow the progression of kidney disease in children receiving a hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). He is the principal investigator on a National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) research study to test the association between viral infection and kidney and bladder disease in children receiving an allogeneic HCT. Dr. Laskin has conducted several clinical research projects on disease in immunosuppressed children, resulting in numerous publications on the study of infections after kidney transplant and HCT and the study of thrombotic microangiopathy after HCT. Dr. Laskin has served as the medical director for quality improvement and is currently the operations director for the Transplant Center at CHOP. He oversees several projects, including improving vaccination rates and screening efforts for Epstein-Barr virus infection in children who have received a solid organ transplant. In addition to his roles at CHOP, Dr. Laskin is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his undergraduate degree at Duke University and attended the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed both his pediatrics residency and pediatric nephrology fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. After fellowship, he joined the faculty at CHOP. He has been the recipient of numerous research awards, including a New Investigator Award from the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He has published over 70 manuscripts and several book chapters and serves as a mentor to numerous fellows and junior faculty members. About Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 595-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu. Contact: Kaila Revello Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (610) 457-5916 [email protected] SOURCE Children's Hospital of Philadelphia "James is well-known and highly respected among our commissioners, staff and airline partners," said Atif Elkadi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). "James's experience and depth of knowledge have been critical to our airport's success since the transfer to local ownership and his ongoing work will be vital to Ontario International's position as an economic driver for Southern California as we move forward." In his consulting role, Kesler helped bring Amazon to ONT as an air cargo tenant, increased real estate revenue by more than $3.5 million and played a leading role in attracting new airline passenger service. "I am honored to work with so many people who are passionate about creating a dynamic international aviation gateway in the Inland Empire," Kesler said. "I firmly believe my background as an innovator and problem solver will be invaluable to achieving success for our airport, tenant airlines and other business partners." A Utah native, Kesler earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University. About Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport (ONT) is the fastest growing airport in the United States, according to Global Traveler, a leading publication for frequent fliers. Located in the Inland Empire, ONT is approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport which offers nonstop commercial jet service to 33 major airports in the U.S., Mexico, Central America and Taiwan. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com. Follow @flyONT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA Commissioners are Ontario Mayor Pro Tem Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario City Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner). OIAA Media Contact: Steve Lambert (909) 841-7527 [email protected] SOURCE Ontario International Airport ATLANTA, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ClassOne Equipment (classoneequipment.com) will be showing the new high-performance Takano WM-7SR particle inspection system in its exhibit at SEMICON West in San Francisco next week. Designed specifically for 200mm unpatterned wafer inspection, this advanced tool now offers an even higher sensitivity option. This enables it to deliver class-leading 61nm particle sensitivity and COP defect detection. The new WM-7SR also features sensitivity mode switching, high dynamic range, and high throughput. Takano Wafer Particle Inspection System from ClassOne Equipment Both ClassOne and Takano personnel will be available at the SEMICON West booth to discuss the process and performance details of this new system. Those interested are encouraged to schedule individual consultation sessions in advance by contacting [email protected]. ClassOne also noted that it has a fully-functioning WM-7SR demonstration system set up in its corporate cleanroom facility in Atlanta. Customer consultations, equipment reviews, and running of samples may also be scheduled there. In 2022, ClassOne Equipment became the exclusive full-service representative for two new state-of-the-art Takano inspection systems in North America, Europe and Israel. The Takano WM-7SR is designed for inspecting 50mm to 200mm unpatterned silicon wafers and has open-cassette handling. The Takano WM-10 inspects 150mm to 300mm bare wafers with single and dual open-cassette, or single and dual FOUP handler configurations. The new Takano tools fill a critical need in the semiconductor industry today, replacing long-outdated legacy equipment for inspecting 200mm and 300mm wafers. It means that today users can obtain brand-new particle inspection systems with leading-edge specifications and performance and at very attractive prices, only marginally higher than refurbished legacy systems. All Takano inspection systems come with a one-year warranty; and OEM parts and support are available long term, all through ClassOne Equipment. SEMICON West 2022, July 12-14, will take place in person at the Moscone Center in San Francisco and also virtually online 24/7. ClassOne Equipment will be in South Hall booth 1460. For further show information, go to https://www.semiconwest.org/ About ClassOne Equipment Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, ClassOne Equipment has long been known as the industry's premier provider of professionally-refurbished name-brand semiconductor processing equipment delivering like-new performance at a fraction of new-tool cost. Now, in addition, ClassOne sells and supports the all-new Takano line of high-performance wafer particle inspection systems. ClassOne Equipment has been selected as Takano's exclusive representative for North America, Europe, and Israel. ClassOne Equipment supplies turnkey equipment solutions that include installation, service, support, spare parts, and warranty. About Takano Established in 1941, and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Takano Co., Ltd., designs and manufactures a very diverse array of advanced products, including state-of-the-art optical inspection and measurement systems, image processing, electromagnetic actuators, laser machining and marking, precision springs, medical and healthcare equipment, and much more. Additional information can be found at https://www.takano-net.co.jp/portal/en/ For more information, contact: Byron Exarcos ClassOne Equipment 5302 Snapfinger Woods Drive Atlanta, GA 30035 tel: +1 (678) 772-9086 email: [email protected] SOURCE ClassOne Equipment POTOMAC, Md., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Curbio, Inc., the leading fix now, pay-at-closing home improvement solution for real estate agents and their clients, today announced that it has expanded its services into the Jersey Shore area of New Jersey. This expansion includes Tom's River, Atlantic City, Cape May, and the surrounding areas. Curbio is a groundbreaking PropTech solution that has set out to transform the way that real estate agents, brokerages, and their clients get listings ready for market. Curbio's expertise in pre-listing home improvements, combined with its proprietary technology, enable the company to complete pre-listing updates of any size efficiently and reliably, so that realtors and their clients can sell their home for more without the hassle of traditional home improvement. Curbio takes care of all sourcing, project management and communication, and acts as the licensed, insured general contractor on all projects. The company does not have any project minimums or maximums, making their pay-at-closing solution ideal for listings of any size. From basic listing preparations to whole home makeovers, Curbio helps any listing become market-ready quickly and reliably. "We couldn't be more excited to be bringing Curbio to the Jersey Shore. Buyers in the Jersey Shore want move-in-ready homes, and Curbio is here to help with that. We are the only completely turnkey pre-listing home improvement solution that allows real estate agents and their clients to update their listings and sell for more, without taking on the stress of traditional home improvement. Plus, homeowners don't pay any cash until the home sells, with zero interest, fees, or premiums," said Olivia Mariani, VP of Marketing at Curbio. This is the seventh new-market expansion for Curbio this year, following their launches in Nashville, Tenn., Richmond, Va., Wilmington, Del., Charlotte, N.C., Virginia Beach, Va., and Raleigh, N.C. The company now serves 31 markets across the United States. About Curbio Curbio was founded in 2017 to transform the multi-billion-dollar home improvement industry and has quickly become the nation's leading pay-at-closing home improvement solution. The company partners exclusively with real estate agents and their clients to get any home ready for the market, allowing it to sell faster and for top dollar. Using technology to power their service, Curbio completes pre-listing home improvement projects of any size quickly and without hassle, from start to finish, with zero payment due until the home sells. Curbio is trusted by thousands of realtors and brokerages nationwide, and has been continuously recognized for its exemplary solution, receiving nods in HousingWire, Qualified Remodeler and Comparably, to name a few. SOURCE Curbio VANCOUVER, BC, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Deep-South Resources Inc. ("Deep-South" or the Company) (TSXV: DSM) announces that it has closed an option agreement entered on March 28, 2022 (the "Option Agreement") with World Class Minerals Venture Ltd ("WCMV"), a private company of Zambia, to acquire up to 80% undivided interest in three copper Large Scale Exploration Licences (the "Licences") in the center of the Zambian Copper belt, one of the most prolific copper belts in the world. The Option Agreement: WCMV has granted the Company the sole and exclusive right to acquire up to a 80% undivided interest over a period of five (5) years following the execution of the Option Agreement in the Licences LEL 23246, LEL 23247 and LEL 23248 in Zambia. Pursuant to the Option Agreement, Deep-South has to make a cash payment of USD $150,000, the issuance of a total 1.75 million common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") and total work expenditures of USD $3,000,000. As of today, the Company has already paid a total amount of USD $30,000 and issued 500,000 Common Shares. During the Option Agreement, the other payments will be made as follow: Milestone Cash Securities Exploration Work Commitments Year 2 USD$30,000 250,000 common shares - Year 3 USD$30,000 - Not less than USD$1,000,000 Year 4 USD$30,000 1,000,000 common shares Not less than USD$1,000,000 Year 5 USD$30,000 - Not less than USD$1,000,000 Before the end of the second anniversary of the Option Agreement, Deep-South will also complete the collection and analysis of 100 soil samples over the identified anomalies on Licence LEL 23246 and 350 soil samples over the identified targets on each of Licences LEL 23247 and LEL 23248. Deep-South will then decide whether to proceed with more intensive sampling or to evaluate any drilling targets. Upon completion of the payments due in the second year, Deep-South will have acquired an undivided interest in 51% of the Licences. Data Acquisition: In connection with the Option Agreement, Deep-South has acquired all of the exploration data for the Licences held by Mr. Nathan Sabao (the "geological consultant") by entering into a mining exploration data agreement dated March 28, 2022 (the "Mining Exploration Data Agreement"). Deep-South will issue 500,000 Common Shares to the geological consultant. Furthermore, on the first anniversary of the Mining Exploration Data Agreement, the geological consultant will transfer to Deep-South all of the exploration data for the Licences in consideration of the issuance of a further 500,000 Common Shares. Finder's fee: In connection with the entering into the Option Agreement and the Mining Exploration Data Agreement, Deep-South has issued 300,000 Common Shares as a finder's fee to Gestion Karl Mansour Inc., an arm's length party to the Company and WCMV. 50,000 Common Shares will be issued to Gestion Karl Mansour Inc. at the same time the payments described above for Year 3 of the Option Agreement are made. All securities to be issued in connection with the Option Agreement, the Mining Exploration Data Agreement and the finder's fee will be subject to a hold period of 4 months and one day from their date of issuance. The Licences: Luanshya West project (LEL 23247). The licence is situated in the center of the Zambian Copper belt which forms part of the Central African Copper belt, one of the most prolific copper belts in the world. The Large Exploration Licence covers 5,423.26 hectares (54.24 Sq. Km). A National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("43-101") compliant technical qualifying report is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under Deep-South's profile. The project prospectivity is based on the location of the subject property over the unconformable contact zone between basement granites and Lower Roan Group sediments where most copper belt mines in both Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (the "DRC") are located. This prospectivity is reinforced by a positive series of coincident soil geochemical anomalies over the contact zone. The project area is close to established copper / cobalt mines with Chibuluma mine some 35Km to the north-east, Chambishi mine 41Km north-northeast, N'changa mine 53Km north-northwest and Luanshya mine some 40Km east-southeast from the centre of the project area. Some 850 soil samples and some geophysical data were collected over the subject property by Teal (a subsidiary of African Rainbow Minerals Ltd) between 2007 and 2009. The airborne geophysical data was evaluated by the geophysical consultant K. P. Knupp on behalf of Teal. Knupp identified a total of 11 targets for strata- bound vein-hosted Cu, Pb, Zn, Co, Ni, Ag and Au mineralisation and 1 target for stratiform Cu-Co mineralisation over the larger exploration property then held by Teal. Chililabombwe project (LEL 23247). The licence is situated in the north of the Zambia Copper belt near the DRC border. The Large Exploration Licence covers 2,200 hectares (22.5 Sq, Km). The project prospectivity is based on the location of the subject property over the unconformable contact zone between basement granites and Lower Roan Group sediments where most copper belt mines in both Zambia and the DRC are located. The project area is close to established copper / cobalt mines with Konkola mine 12 km west and the Lubambe mine 30 km to the north-west from the center of the project area. Mpongwe project (LEL 23248). The licence is situated in the center of the Zambian Copper belt. The Large Exploration Licence covers 67,500 hectares (675 Sq. Km). The project prospectivity is based on the location of the subject property over the unconformable contact zone between basement granites and Lower Roan Group sediments where most copper belt mines in both Zambia and the DRC are located. More information about the Licences and the planned programs will be disclosed after closing of the transactions described herein. Mineral Resources have not been estimated yet on the project nor has it demonstrated economic viability at this stage. The historical geophysical survey and sampling results demonstrate potential to classify the project as one of merit but are considered too speculative geologically to complete a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimation at this time and it is uncertain that those historic results will be converted into minerals resources. Qualified Person Peter Walker B.Sc. (Hons.) MBA Pr.Sci.Nat. of P & E Walker Consultancy is the main author of the 43-101 resource qualification report on LEL 23246, and is a Qualified Person as such term is defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Walker is responsible for the technical part of this press release. About World Class Mineral Ventures Ltd: WCMV is a Zambian private exploration company held in equal part by Mr. Kavumba Ngoma, Mr. Nathan Sabao and Mr. Chisunka Chileya Mpundu On another matter, the Company also announces that the board has approved the grant of 450,000 stock options to two directors at an exercise price of $0.08 per share for a term of three years from the date of the grant. The stock options were granted in accordance with the Company's Stock Option Plan. About Deep-South Resources Inc. Deep-South Resources is a mineral exploration and development company. Deep-South's growth strategy is to focus on the exploration and development of quality assets in significant mineralized trends and in proximity to infrastructure in stable countries. In using and assessing environmentally friendly technologies in the development of its copper project, Deep-South embraces the green revolution. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information Information contained in this news release which are not statements of historical facts may be "forward-looking information" for the purposes of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking information. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "contemplate", "plan", "intends", "continue", "budget", "estimate", "may", "will", "schedule", "understand" and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things: the Minister's refusal to renew the Company's Licence, the Company's intention to contest the Minister's decision before the Courts of Namibia and the outcome of such proceedings. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Deep-South, are inherently subject to significant technical, political, business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Factors and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: political risks associated with the Company's operations in Namibia; the failure of the Namibian Government to comply with its continuing obligations under the Act to allow for the renewal of the Licence; the impact of changes in, or to the more aggressive enforcement of, laws, regulations and government practices; the inability of the Company and its subsidiaries to enforce their legal rights in certain circumstances. For additional risk factors, please see the Company's most recently filed Management Discussions & Analysis available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurances that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as many factors and future events, both known and unknown could cause actual results, performance or achievements to vary or differ materially from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained herein or incorporated by reference. Accordingly, all such factors should be considered carefully when making decisions with respect to Deep-South, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release is made as at the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable legislation. SOURCE Deep-South Resources Inc. Yu continues distinguished career in education as leader of Scholarship America's innovation in solutions, services and student support MINNEAPOLIS, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholarship America a leading education nonprofit that helps students fulfill their college dreams, and the nation's top provider of private scholarships announces the hiring of Don Yu as its Chief Strategy & Product Officer. Don will join the organization's Executive Team and lead the Product Team. In this newly created role, Yu will be responsible for developing Scholarship America's strategy, product roadmap, expanding current initiatives and leading the design and execution of new projects, all with the goal of increasing student success and reducing systemic disparities for underserved communities of students. Prior to joining Scholarship America, Yu served as the Chief Operating Officer for former First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative, and as the Vice President for Applied Policy & Advancement at Common App. There, he oversaw the development and implementation of strategic initiatives, particularly those that impacted low-income and marginalized students. "We're beyond excited to welcome Don Yu to Scholarship America," said Mike Nylund, the organization's president and CEO. "I've been fortunate to know and work with Don for several years and few leaders have Don's diverse and distinguished career as a leader in education, government, nonprofit organizations, and the law. I have a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for Don's passion to create a more equitable society by harnessing the power of education. That passion will serve us well as we continue on our journey to transform Scholarship America to an organization that delivers equitable pathways for all students, particularly those traditionally marginalized and underserved." Prior to joining Reach Higher, he served in a variety of positions as an appointee in the Obama Administration, including chief transformation officer at the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Education and special advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. In his time at the U.S. Department of Education, he played a lead role in the creation of presidential Executive Order 13592, Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities. He also helped establish the department's Green Ribbon Schools program, which honors secondary and postsecondary institutions for achievements in sustainability, health and wellness and the reduction of environmental impact. Yu began his role on July 5, 2022. Contact: Matt Hager Director, Marketing Communications 952.853.0674 [email protected] SOURCE Scholarship America NOIDA, India, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by UnivDatos Markets Insights the Energy Storage Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2021-2027. The analysis has been segmented into Type (Mechanical (Pumped hydro storage (PHS), Liquid air energy storage (LAES), Compressed air energy storage (CAES), and Others (Flywheel)), Electrochemical (Lithium Battery, Lead-acid battery, Sodium-sulfur battery, and Others), Thermal, Chemical); Region/Country. Click here to view the Report Description & TOC The energy storage market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data on various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the energy storage market. The energy storage market report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors in the market that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the energy storage market at the global and regional levels. Request for Sample Pages Market Overview The demand for energy storage systems is driven by the increasing need to reduce the dependence on oil, gas, and coal for electricity generation to reduce carbon emissions. In 2019, transportation and electricity generation were responsible for nearly 54% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. As a result, nations across the globe are shifting towards renewable energy sources. However, fluctuating power requirements during different times of the day are propelling the demand for energy storage systems from renewable energy power plants. These energy storage devices store the generated energy from power plants during low energy demand and supply the energy during peak hours. COVID-19 Impact The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the growth of many industries which include manufacturing, education, agriculture, finance, healthcare, sports, education, food, and tourism. It also had a profound impact on the energy industry. According to International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy demand decline in 2020 is the largest in the last 70 years. As compared to 2019, the global energy demand in 2020 declined by 6% which is a 7 times greater fall than the 2009 financial crisis. From 2015-2019, the mean electricity generation of 16 European countries dropped by 9% (25 GW) in April 2020. Due to this the energy storage industry was also impacted as the developing projects were postponed and there wasn't enough workforce to complete the ongoing projects. The global energy storage market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated. Based on type, the energy storage market is divided into mechanical, electrochemical, thermal, and chemical storage systems. Among all, mechanical storage methods hold a lucrative market share this is due to the presence of a considerable number of pumped hydro storage systems using water reservoirs. Further, compressed air energy storage is also a type of mechanical storage system and accounts for a considerable market share for energy storage systems. It stores compressed air when surplus energy is produced from wind turbines and there is less energy consumption. Compressed air energy storage involves converting electrical energy into high-pressure compressed air that can be released at a later time to drive a turbine generator to produce electricity Have a Look at the Chapters Energy Storage Market Geographical Segmentation Includes: North America ( United States , Canada , Rest of North America ) ( , , Rest of ) Europe ( Germany , United Kingdom , France , Spain , Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , Rest of ) Asia-Pacific ( China , Japan , India , Australia , Rest of Asia-Pacific ) ( , , , , Rest of ) Rest of the World North America grabbed a significant market share as the economy, health, and safety of citizens along with national security of it depend on the reliable delivery of electricity. The region has witnessed the acceleration in the deployment of technologies that help in improving the reliability and efficiency of utility operations, including the deployment of systems and practices to better engage utility customers in the management of energy. Therefore, there has been a rise in smart grid deployment and investment in countries including the U.S., Canada, etc. For instance, the investment in smart grids rose by 41% between 2014 and 2016 from $3.4 billion to $4.8 billion annually. This investment is expected to rise to $13.8 billion by 2024. The major players targeting the market include Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited Convergent Energy and Power LP Duke Energy Corporation Fluence Energy Inc. General Electric Company Showa Denko NextEra Energy Inc. NEC Energy Solutions Inc. S&C Electric Company Tesla Inc. Competitive Landscape The degree of competition among prominent global companies has been elaborated by analyzing several leading key players operating worldwide. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the energy storage market. The major players have been analyzed by using research methodologies for getting insight views on global competition. Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include: What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the energy storage market? Which factors are influencing the energy storage market over the forecast period? What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the energy storage market? Which factors are propelling and restraining the energy storage market? What are the demanding global regions of the energy storage market? What will be the global market size in the upcoming years? What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by global companies? We understand the requirement of different businesses, regions, and countries, we offer customized reports as per your requirements of business nature and geography. Please let us know If you have any custom needs. About UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) Browse Other Related Research Reports from UnivDatos Market Insights About UnivDatos Market Insights UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analysis, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients. Contact: UnivDatos Market Insights Ankita Gupta Director Operations Ph: +91-783860491 Email: [email protected] Website: https://univdatos.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1225049/UnivDatos_Logo.jpg SOURCE UnivDatos Market Insights Findings reveal Florida's coastlines have been exposed to PFAS and other toxic chemicals MIAMI, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Some say, the world is your oyster, but the world especially human impacts on the environment can actually be found inside an oyster, according to a new study. When FIU Institute of Environment scientists sampled 156 oysters from Biscayne Bay, Marco Island and Tampa Bay, they detected contaminants perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) and phthalate esters (PAEs) in every single one. These contaminants pose serious health risks to people and wildlife, and the oysters prove they are in the water and have crept into the food chain. The findings were recently published in Science of the Total Environment . "I wanted to look into what we're eating and if it might be contaminating us," said Leila Lemos, the study's lead author and an FIU distinguished postdoctoral scholar. "These findings are definitely a red flag, especially for areas like Biscayne Bay." As filter-feeders, oysters are among the best sentinels and can reveal a lot about the overall health of an ecosystem including levels of contamination. Biscayne Bay oysters had the highest concentrations of contaminants compared to the other study sites. Lemos says this was somewhat surprising since they were among the smallest oysters sampled. The more time an oyster has to grow, the more time it also has to accumulate toxic chemicals. Tampa Bay oysters were among the largest in the study, but they didn't have nearly the amount of PFAS or PAEs as the tinier Biscayne Bay oysters. This means Biscayne Bay could be so contaminated, the oysters are bombarded with such high concentrations they accumulate contaminants more quickly, Lemos said. The contaminants are likely interfering with the oysters' growth, she said, making their small size another clue. In fact, there was a strong correlation between the amount of PFAS in the water and an oyster's shell thickness and weight. The oysters with the highest concentrations of contaminants had the thinnest shells. The number of contaminants in the area could impair their development which raises concerns for how chemical contaminants could threaten oyster farming in other parts of the country. The study also assessed the human health risk of consuming oysters. In this study, the Tampa Bay oysters originated from an oyster farm, so Lemos examined those samples. The good news is the health risk is low. However, Lemos points out current assessments only include four PFAS and four PAEs compounds and don't look at the majority of compounds. The assessment also does not look at the risks of consuming other marine life that may live the same waters with the oysters with high contamination. To read the full release, click here. Media Contact: Angela Nicoletti 305-348-4493 [email protected] SOURCE Florida International University Sudan's military strongman, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has said the army will make way for a civilian government. The pledge follows months of street protests and repeated calls from the international community for a return to a parliamentary administration. Speaking on Monday, Burhan said the military would no longer participate in national talks facilitated by the United Nations and regional blocs, wanting instead "to make room for political and revolutionary forces and other national factions" to form a civilian government. His announcement comes months after the October 2021 coup ousted civilians from a transitional administration, sparking widespread international condemnation and aid cuts to the country which has seen only rare interludes of civilian rule. Burhan's televised address came as hundreds of anti-coup demonstrators were on their fifth day of sit-in protests. Last Thursday saw the deadliest violence so far this year. #Sudan's Burhan Says the Army Is Pulling Back to Allow for a Civilian GovernmentSudan's coup commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stated on Monday that the army would "not engage" in national negotiations organised by the UN and regional blocs....#AfricaFirst #NewsCentralTV pic.twitter.com/8R85rdYmpb-- News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) July 4, 2022 Blood on the streets Pro-democracy medics said nine demonstrators lost their lives, bringing to 114 the number killed in the crackdown against anti-coup protesters since October. Demonstrators were unmoved by the general's words, and in the Burri district of Khartoum new protests broke out almost immediately. One demonstrator in central Khartoum called on Burhan to be "judged for all those killed since the coup" and vowed that protesters "are going to topple him like we did to Bashir". The 2019 overthrow of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir came after mass demonstrations led to a civilian-military transitional administration. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Sudan Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Tens of thousands took to streets last Thursday, almost matching numbers at the peak of demonstrations in the wake of the coup. Ruling council to be dissolved In the weeks following the coup, military and civilian leaders promised general elections by July 2023. However, Sudan's main civilian representatives have refused to take part in talks with the military. The United Nations, African Union and regional bloc IGAD have been attempting to facilitate dialogue. The talks were boycotted by Sudan's main civilian bloc, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), which was ousted from power in the coup, and also by the influential Umma Party. Late Monday, the FFC reportedly held an "emergency meeting" to discuss their response to Burhan's announcements. Burhan has said that the formation of the executive government will be followed by "the dissolution of the Sovereign Council," the ruling authority formed under the power-sharing agreement between the army and civilians in 2019. Burhan added that a supreme council of armed forces will take its place, intergrating the Sudanese army with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary unit commanded by Burhan's deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The RSF incorporated members of the Janjaweed militia, which was accused by rights groups of atrocities during the conflict that erupted in 2003 in the western region of Darfur. More recently, the RSF has been accused of taking part in crackdowns against anti-coup protesters. DUBLIN, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Silicon Carbide Market (2022-2027) by Product, Application, Geography, Competitive Analysis, and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Silicon Carbide Market is estimated to be USD 766.32 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 1395.11 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 12.73%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Silicon Carbide Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Silicon Carbide Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The report analyses the Global Silicon Carbide Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Silicon Carbide Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Increasing Application from the Power Electronics and Semiconductor Industry 4.1.2 Growing Demand for Small Devices to Enable Size Reduction 4.1.3 Rising Demand from the Steel Industry for Various Applications 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 Relatively High Cost Attributed to Low Manufacturing Yield and Volume 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Emerging Demand for Electric Vehicle Across the World 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 Availability of Other Substitutes Such as Gallium Nitride 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Silicon Carbide Market, By Product 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Black Silicon Carbide 6.3 Green Silicon Carbide 7 Global Silicon Carbide Market, By Application 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Aerospace & Aviation 7.3 Chemical 7.4 Consumer Electronic 7.5 Medical & Healthcare 7.6 Military & Defense 7.7 Steel & Energy 8 Americas' Silicon Carbide Market 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Argentina 8.3 Brazil 8.4 Canada 8.5 Chile 8.6 Colombia 8.7 Mexico 8.8 Peru 8.9 United States 8.10 Rest of Americas 9 Europe's Silicon Carbide Market 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Austria 9.3 Belgium 9.4 Denmark 9.5 Finland 9.6 France 9.7 Germany 9.8 Italy 9.9 Netherlands 9.10 Norway 9.11 Poland 9.12 Russia 9.13 Spain 9.14 Sweden 9.15 Switzerland 9.16 United Kingdom 9.17 Rest of Europe 10 Middle East and Africa's Silicon Carbide Market 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Egypt 10.3 Israel 10.4 Qatar 10.5 Saudi Arabia 10.6 South Africa 10.7 United Arab Emirates 10.8 Rest of MEA 11 APAC's Silicon Carbide Market 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Australia 11.3 Bangladesh 11.4 China 11.5 India 11.6 Indonesia 11.7 Japan 11.8 Malaysia 11.9 Philippines 11.10 Singapore 11.11 South Korea 11.12 Sri Lanka 11.13 Thailand 11.14 Taiwan 11.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 12 Competitive Landscape 12.1 Competitive Quadrant 12.2 Market Share Analysis 12.3 Strategic Initiatives 12.3.1 M&A and Investments 12.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 12.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 13 Company Profiles 13.1 AGSCO 13.2 CUMI EMD 13.3 EETech Media 13.4 Entegris 13.5 Fuji Electric 13.6 General Electric Company 13.7 GeneSiC Semiconductor 13.8 II-VI 13.9 Infineon Technologies AG 13.10 Microchip Technology 13.11 Renesas Electronics 13.12 ROHM 13.13 Saint-Gobain Ceramic Materials 13.14 SEMIKRON International 13.15 STMicroelectronics 13.16 The Dow Chemical Company 13.17 Toshiba 13.18 Versum Materials 13.19 Wolfspeed 13.20 Xiamen Powerway Advanced Material 14 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/73y8x5 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets PULASKI, Wis., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Adam Hammerbeck of Hammerbeck Dental is proud to announce the addition of Dr. Shayna Zalec to their esteemed practice. Dr. Zalec was born and raised in De Pere, Wisconsin, and is excited to be serving her extended Green Bay community. She is passionate about providing outstanding general dentistry for patients of all ages and brings a wealth of expertise in the area of sleep dentistry involving sleep apnea, bruxism, and the airway. "We are delighted to add a talented dentist to our growing practice," says Dr. Adam Hammerbeck. "It is our pleasure to provide the highest level of dental care to the greater Green Bay community, and we are looking forward to serving even more members of our community with the addition of Dr. Zalec." Dr. Zalec's college career started at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. While in college, she participated in a dental mission trip to Costa Rica and worked for an oral surgeon in Onalaska before beginning dental school at LECOM. Today, she continues to stay up-to-date with new developments in the field, regularly taking courses in dental sleep medicine, craniofacial pain/treatment, medically complex patients, and general dentistry as well as specialty care. She is currently a member of the American Dental Association, the Wisconsin Dental Association, and Spear Education. Dr. Zalec is excited to be joining this team and to get to know the community. "I can't wait to become immersed in our great community and get to know you all," she adds. Hammerbeck Dental provides comprehensive dental care to patients of all ages in the communities of Pulaski, Green Bay, Bellevue, DePere, and other surrounding communities in Wisconsin. The practice offers a wide range of oral health services such as preventive dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, endodontics, periodontics, implant dentistry, and sleep apnea treatment, among many others. To learn more about Hammerbeck Dental and the services provided, please visit their website. https://hammerbeckdental.com Contact: Hammerbeck Dental Dr. Adam Hammerbeck 920-822-8388 https://hammerbeckdental.com/contact/ [email protected] SOURCE Dr. Adam Hammerbeck Rise in the prevalence of hemophilia, technological advancements in hemophilia treatment, and supportive government initiatives for hemophilia management drive the growth of the global hemophilia treatment market. PORTLAND, Ore., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "Hemophilia Treatment Market by Type (Hemophilia A, Hemophilia B), by Drug Therapy (Recombinant coagulation factor concentrates therapy, Plasma derived coagulation factor concentrates therapy, Non-factor replacement therapy, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031." According to the report, the global hemophilia treatment industry generated $12.8 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $26.9 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 7.5% from 2022 to 2031. Download Sample PDF at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/301 Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities Rise in the prevalence of hemophilia, technological advancements in hemophilia treatment, and supportive government initiatives for hemophilia management drive the growth of the global hemophilia treatment market. However, high cost of hemophilia treatments and adverse effects associated with plasma-derived products restrain the market growth. On the other hand, increase in R&D activities regarding treatment therapies, rise in the usage of prophylactic treatment, and surge in rate of diagnosis create new opportunities for the market growth in the coming years. Covid-19 Scenario Owing to social distancing measures, possibility of cross contamination, and postponement of non-elective surgeries, the number of hemophilia treatments reduced considerably during the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to a negative impact on the global hemophilia treatment market. Manufacturers also suffered huge losses during the pandemic, due to decline in demand for hemophilia medicines for treatments. However, the market is expected to recover post-pandemic. The hemophilia A segment to maintain its lead status throughout the forecast period Based on type, the hemophilia A segment accounted for the highest market share in 2021, contributing to more than four-fifths of the global hemophilia treatment market, and is estimated to maintain its lead status throughout the forecast period. Moreover, this segment is expected to manifest the fastest CAGR of 7.6% from 2022 to 2031. This is attributed to increase in incidence of hemophilia A, rise in use of factor VIII, and product approvals by the regulating authorities. The report also analyzes the hemophilia B segment. Specific Requirement on COVID-19? Ask to Our Industry Expert: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/301?reqfor=covid The recombinant coagulation factor concentrates therapy segment to maintain its leadership status by 2031 Based on drug therapy, the recombinant coagulation factor concentrates therapy segment held the highest share in 2021, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global hemophilia treatment market, and is projected to maintain its leadership status by 2031. This is due to rise in the number of recombinant technology products available for the treatment. However, the non-factor replacement therapy segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR of 8.6% from 2022 to 2031, owing to increase in target population and rise in R&D activities for the treatment therapies. Europe to continue its lead position by 2031 Based on region, Europe contributed to the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2021, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global hemophilia treatment market, and is projected to continue its lead position by 2031. This is attributed to the well-established healthcare facilities, technological advancements, and surge in demand for early diagnosis of hemophilia. However, Asia-Pacific is estimated to witness the largest CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period. This is due to surge in incidence of population suffering from hemophilia and rise in healthcare expenditure. Leading Market Players Bayer AG CSL Ltd. (CSL Behring) F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG Grifols, S.A Medexus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Novo Nordisk A/S Octapharma AG Pfizer Inc. Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd. Avenue Basic Plan | Library Access | 1 Year Subscription | Sign up for Avenue subscription to access more than 12,000+ company profiles and 2,000+ niche industry market research reports at $699 per month, per seat. For a year, the client needs to purchase minimum 2 seat plan. Request for 14 days free trial: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter "We have also published few syndicated market studies in the similar area that might be of your interest. Below are the report title for your reference, considering Impact of Covid-19 Over This Market which will help you to assess aftereffects of pandemic on short-term and long-term growth trends of this market." Trending Reports in Healthcare Industry (Book Now with 10% Discount): Fertility Supplements Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Infection Control Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2028 Clinical Trial Imaging Services Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2028 Neurodiagnostics Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Sperm Bank Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Contraceptive Drugs Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 E-health Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Spirometer Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Digital Health Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Healthcare CRM Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/life-sciences Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/life-sciences-industry-research/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research ANAHEIM, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In light of ongoing world conflicts, the achievements of the international peace organization Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) and the organization's Chairman, Man Hee Lee in the contribution of peace in Mindanao, Philippines presents a 'New model of peace' to the world. Fernando Capella, former Archbishop of Davao, and Esmael Mangudadatu Maguindanao, Governor, Signing the World Peace Agreement to End Wars (Mindanao Peace Agreement). HWPL Peace Monument Unveiling Ceremony in Mindanao (2015.5.25 Buluan in province of Maguindanao in the Philippines). In the 2010s, Mindanao was the site of the largest armed conflict in Southeast Asia, between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government, lasting 40 years and resulting in over 120,000 casualties. In September 2013, Antonio Ledesma, former Catholic Archbishop from Cagayan de Oro, requested Chairman Lee to mediate the settlement of this conflict. On January 24, 2014, Chairman Lee visited Mindanao, held a Peace Walk with over 1,000 participants, and called to stop any acts that might encourage conflict in the name of religion. The government and MILF agreed on the final annex of the Preliminary Peace Agreement on January 25, 2014, which would recognize Muslim autonomy and gradually disarm the MILF in the Bangsamoro region. In May 2014, the Philippines Parliament began to enter the Bangsamoro Basic Law into the legislative process, and the civil war of Mindanao ended when President Rodrigo Duterte finally signed the law in August 2018. Starting with signing MOUs with 70 educational institutions in February 2016, HWPL has implemented peace education to the students and citizens in the Philippines. HWPL signed an MOU with The Commission on Higher Education in 2018, which managed to train 2,551 teachers from 557 educational institutions, to teach peace education to up to 23,000 students. As a result of efforts to achieve peace in the Philippines, peace events are held every year. On May 25, 2015, the 2nd anniversary of the Peace Walk was held in Buluan, Maguindanao Province. On January 24, 2016, an HWPL Peace Monument was erected in Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao, to commemorate the Civil Peace Agreement, and MILF Chairman Hon. Ahod Ebrahim declared January 24 as 'HWPL Day.' In 2022, John Rommel Garces, Chief Branch Manager of HWPL's Philippines, said they will focus on the establishment of peace monuments in Mindanao, realization of the autonomy in Bangsamoro's Muslim region, cooperative projects for peace building and establishment of the HWPL interfaith Religious Peace Office in Davao City and other places. https://www.hwpl.kr/language/en/about-hwpl-_en/ Contact: Shane Sanchez 7472623264 [email protected] SOURCE HWPL PARIS, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mnemo Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing transformational immunotherapies, today announced a publication in Nature Communications demonstrating that the histone lysine methyltransferase enzyme Suv39h1 plays not only a key role in T cell persistence, but also in T cell activation and exhaustion. This research was conducted at Institut Curie between the lab of Sebastian Amigorena, Ph.D., CNRS research director, head of the Immune Responses and Cancer Team (Immunity and Cancer Unit Institut Curie/Inserm) and scientific co-founder of Mnemo, and the lab of Eliane Piaggio, Ph.D., Inserm research director and head of the Translational Immunotherapy Team (Immunity and Cancer Unit, Institut Curie/Inserm). "T cell exhaustion and lack of persistence are two key challenges that hinder effective and durable immunotherapy treatments for tumors," said Mnemo Chief Executive Officer, Robert LaCaze. "Through Suv39h1 inactivation, Mnemo aims to create therapies with increased durability and activity." Previous research, exclusively licensed to Mnemo from the lab of Dr. Amigorena, demonstrated that Suv39h1 is a key enzyme involved in the epigenetic regulation of immune cell memory, and that deletion of Suv39h1 results in increased immune cell memory and more durable therapeutic responses. The research demonstrated in the Nature publication goes on to show that this enzyme is a key factor in regulating T cell exhaustion. "As is known, the potency of current treatments such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (i.e. anti-PD-1) is limited by repeated stimulation of T cells in a tumor rich environment, resulting in T cell exhaustion," said Dr. Amigorena. "The current study showcases that Suv39h1 acts as an epigenetic checkpoint inhibitor that, when coupled with anti-PD-1 treatment, results in increased T cell activity and decreased T cell exhaustion." Key takeaways from the study include: Suv39h1 KO CD8+ T cells are more responsive to T-cell receptor (TCR) activation and become highly cytolytic following PD-1 blockade, resulting in increased tumor killing potency. KO CD8+ T cells are more responsive to T-cell receptor (TCR) activation and become highly cytolytic following PD-1 blockade, resulting in increased tumor killing potency. Deletion of Suv39h1 resulted in higher CD8+ T cell tumor infiltration when coupled with anti-PD-1 treatment. resulted in higher CD8+ T cell tumor infiltration when coupled with anti-PD-1 treatment. CD8+ T cells in Suv39h1 KO mice treated with anti-PD-1 displayed the highest level of a protease (GZMb) responsible for T cell induced apoptosis of tumor cells, despite displaying elevated levels of biomarkers associated with exhaustion. KO mice treated with anti-PD-1 displayed the highest level of a protease (GZMb) responsible for T cell induced apoptosis of tumor cells, despite displaying elevated levels of biomarkers associated with exhaustion. Suv39h1 deletion resulted in increased chromatin accessibility in regions responsible for immune cell signaling and cytotoxicity during anti-PD-1 treatment, compared to WT with anti-PD-1 treatment. deletion resulted in increased chromatin accessibility in regions responsible for immune cell signaling and cytotoxicity during anti-PD-1 treatment, compared to WT with anti-PD-1 treatment. Inhibition of Suv39h1 via small molecules mimicked Suv39h1 deletion in mouse models, reinforcing that this enzyme is playing a direct role in T cell activity. "Limited potency, durability, and cancer-specific targets impede the efficacy of current immunotherapies, leading to off-target side effects and patient relapse," said Mnemo Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Alain Maiore. "Alongside our EnfiniT Discovery Engine that identifies novel cancer targets, this research demonstrates Mnemo's commitment to addressing multiple bottlenecks in the efficacy of immunotherapy, as well as bringing solutions to patients." References: CD8+T cell responsiveness to anti-PD-1 is epigenetically regulated by Suv39h1 in melanomas. Leticia Laura Niborski, Paul Gueguen, Mengliang Ye, Allan Thiolat, Rodrigo Nalio Ramos, Pamela Caudana, Jordan Denizeau, Ludovic Colombeau, Raphael Rodriguez, Christel Goudot, Jean-Michel Luccarini, Anne Soude, Bruno Bournique, Pierre Broqua, Luigia Pace, Sylvain Baulande, Christine Sedlik, Jean-Pierre Quivy, Genevieve Almouzni, Jose L. Cohen, Elina Zueva, Joshua J. Waterfall, Sebastian Amigorena & Eliane Piaggio. About Mnemo Therapeutics Mnemo is developing transformational immunotherapies to improve the body's ability to fight and overcome cancer. Integral to Mnemo's approach is the EnfiniT Discovery Engine, composed of key technologies that work to identify novel cancer-specific antigens and enhance immune cells' memory and persistence. Mnemo will harness these technologies with multiple modalities across a range of oncology indications, engineering the future of immunotherapies to transform the lives of people with cancer. Mnemo is headquartered in Paris with an office in New York City, and it maintains state of the art laboratories in Paris, New York, and Princeton, New Jersey. The company leverages an international talent pool and global resources in its quest to create immunological cures. To learn more, visit https://mnemo-tx.com and follow Mnemo Therapeutics on Twitter (@MnemoTx) and LinkedIn. SOURCE Mnemo Therapeutics The new partnership will provide market-leading end-to-end connectivity solutions to prevent downtime for radio users in Middle East enterprise businesses DUBAI, UAE, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Beam Telecom, Inmarsat and Cobham Satcom announce the launch of a new Push-To-Talk (PTT) offering, BGAN PRISM PTT+, in partnership with Hytera. This complete satellite-enhanced connectivity solution, now available through Hytera mobile radios, will help businesses overcome coverage redundancy and operational downtime associated with traditional radio systems. This new unified network solution combines leading expertise in satellite connectivity, radio systems (LMR/DMR) and cellular devices (3G/LTE) to create a unique PTT offering that will accelerate advanced connectivity adoption among businesses in the Middle East. Supported by Inmarsat's BGAN service powered by the company's unparalleled, global ELERA (L-band) satellite network the solution provides industry-leading reliability of 99.9%+ uptime and enables seamless radio over internet protocol (IP) capabilities. It will ensure businesses have access to real-time communications and telemetry capabilities, increasing their visibility of operations and the safety of remote workers and assets. Mike Carter, President of Inmarsat Enterprise said "In this new partnership, Inmarsat is proud to build on our longstanding relationships with Global Beam Telecom and Cobham Satcom, by welcoming Hytera into the fold. This collaboration will be a game-changer for remote workers in the Middle East. It will combine top-of-the-range hardware and software with the best connectivity to provide a new, unmatched PTT service for customers. "The expertise and technological strength in ELERA, Inmarsat's industry-leading narrowband network, makes us the perfect connectivity partner to power this new PTT solution. Combined with the immense capabilities of our collaborators, this partnership will keep remote workers safe and connected wherever they are, even in the most remote locations." The sophisticated solution will transform customer experience across three key areas: coverage, interoperability, and capability. Incorporating satellite coverage provides exceptional network resilience, enabling seamless switching between radio and satellite while sustaining constant coverage anywhere in the world. Enhanced interoperability will allow for a range of communication methods to mix and connect effortlessly and encourage cross entity transmission, while digitalisation will provide enhanced end-user capabilities such as conversation recall, replay, and expanded data-analysis possibilities. The unique BGAN PRISM PTT+, one of Global Beam Telecom's integrated connectivity solutions, features Inmarsat's highly-reliable ELERA capabilities and brings together hardware components from Cobham's EXPLORER 323 Terminal and EXPLORER Mobile Gateway, Hytera's lightweight but robust digital two-way radio (PD505) and professional Digital Mobile Radio (MD785i). The partnership provides the ultimate offering, supplying real-time GPS, telemetry, and PTT capabilities to create a consistent solution for businesses. Shabeer Mohammad, Managing Director at Global Beam Telecom said "We are looking forward to sharing BGAN PRISM PTT+ with our customers. As the system integrator, configuring the expertise of the four companies all of which boast years of experience in their respective fields provided us the perfect opportunity to bring the ultimate flexible connectivity solution to enterprise customers." Stanley Song, Deputy General Manager of Hytera Overseas Sales Department and Sales Director of Hytera MENA said "Following the successful completion of our two-phase testing process, we have established a solution that is exceptionally well-suited to the Middle East. With robust hardware capable of withstanding temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius combined with the durability of Inmarsat's global BGAN offering, we are able to provide customers with the most impressive solution currently on the market, ensuring the ultimate safety and operational efficiency of their fleets." Henrik Nrrelykke, Vice President and Head of Critical Communications at Cobham Satcom said "We are excited to help bring this powerful and very cost-effective platform to customers across the Middle East. By building on existing terrestrial infrastructure, it enables enterprise customers to enhance their operations by adding the extensive capabilities of satellite connectivity without the need for significant CAPEX investment. This allows them to prioritise the day-to-day expenses of quality operations and implement a more scalable business model in the long-term." Inmarsat's ELERA network is the world's most reliable satellite network for IoT and secure narrowband connectivity. ELERA offers more global spectrum than any L-band provider, with its recently launched I-6 F1 satellite (and I-6 F2 launching in Q1 2023) making the best use of the available spectrum and providing 50% more capacity per beam. ABOUT INMARSAT Inmarsat delivers world leading, innovative, advanced and exceptionally reliable global, mobile communications across the world in the air, at sea and on land - that are enabling a new generation of commercial, government and mission-critical services. Inmarsat is powering the digitalisation of the maritime industry, making operations more efficient and safer than ever before. It is driving a new era of inflight passenger services for aviation, while ensuring that aircraft can fly with maximum efficiency and safety. Furthermore, Inmarsat is enabling the rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and enabling the next wave of world-changing technologies that will underpin the connected society and help build a sustainable future. And now Inmarsat is developing the first-of-its-kind, multi-dimensional communications network of the future, ORCHESTRA. In November 2021, Inmarsat and Viasat announced the planned combination of the two companies, to create a new leader in global communications. The deal is scheduled to close in the second half of 2022. For further information, follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram. ABOUT GLOBAL BEAM TELECOM Global Beam Telecom (GBT) is a Platinum partner of both Inmarsat and Hytera and is headquartered in Dubai, UAE. The company is a provider of reliable, secure and state-of-the-art satellite communication solutions that connect customers anywhere, at any time and under all conditions. Their world-class products and service span the entire spectrum of reliable satellite communications, including fixed and mobile turnkey solutions to address the networking and communication needs of different sectors. The company is led and managed by a team of highly experienced global professionals with cutting-edge skills and expertise in the SATCOM industry. With their strategically located head office in Dubai, corporate offices across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and their partnership with the world's leading network operators, they provide best-in-class remote and mobile connectivity solutions to clients across the MEA region. ABOUT HYTERA Hytera Communications Corporation Limited (SZSE: 002583) is a leading global provider of professional communications technologies and solutions. With a global sales and service network consisting of more than 90 subsidiaries, Hytera products and solutions are serving a user base of over 15 million. Empowered by advanced voice, video, and data capabilities, Hytera provides faster, safer, and more versatile connectivity for business and mission-critical users around the world. It enables its customers to achieve more in both daily operations and emergency response to make the world more efficient and safer. ABOUT COBHAM SATCOM Cobham Satcom is a global leader in satellite communications solutions for the maritime and land segments, providing business- and mission-critical connectivity to a broad range of service providers, enterprise, and government customers. Cobham Satcom designs and manufactures high-performance satellite communications and critical communications products under the EXPLORER, SAILOR, Sea Tel, and TRACKER brands. We offer outstanding performance and value, with unrivalled support through our global sales and service network. Cobham Satcom is the market leader in tracking antennas for maritime, fixed, and mobile applications across GEO, LEO, and MEO systems. We are the trusted provider and partner for multiple NGSO constellation operators, who rely on our gateway antennas to ensure highly reliable, carrier grade backbone connectivity, as well as user terminals to enable innovative new commercial and government services around the globe. SOURCE Global Beam Telecom NYC Tri-State based team strengthens JLL's capacity to 30 dedicated valuations professionals helping investors and lenders navigate the changing face of real estate values CHICAGO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- JLL (NYSE: JLL) today announced it has acquired Metropolitan Valuation Services ("MVS"), one of the largest independent commercial property appraisal and real estate consulting firms in the greater New York metropolitan area. The addition of 20 valuations professionals to JLL's existing team of 10 creates an advisory powerhouse during a period of intensive pricing discovery. MVS's core competency extends to multi-housing, CBD and suburban office buildings, industrial/warehouse and shopping/retail properties, land, property transfers and market rent studies and appraisals for HUD section 8 properties. MVS was founded in 2003 by Principal and Co-Founder Steven Schleider. Clients include major financial institutions, Fortune 500 corporations, REITs, commercial real estate developers, investors, insurance companies, law firms, City of New York and government agencies. "MVS, a 20-year-old experienced Tri-State team of highly seasoned professionals with a deep and intimate knowledge of New York, is well placed to empower clients with information and knowledge to help them make the best decisions for their real estate assets. Joining forces with MVS enables JLL to enhance our service for existing clients, strengthen our multi-housing capabilities within this buoyant segment and scale our footprint across the U.S.," said Tony Lenamon, Head of Valuation Advisory at JLL in the Americas. Executive Vice President Ross Friedman and the existing JLL NYC Tri-State team will join forces with MVS Executive Vice Presidents Peter Rastetter and David Lyon under the leadership of Steven Schleider. "We have a unique and detailed understanding of the Tri-State area and I'm excited by the opportunity to expand our capabilities to better serve our clients as part of JLL," said Steven Schleider, President of Metropolitan Valuation Services. "With JLL, we will have the resources to scale faster, broaden our existing practice areas, serve new asset sectors and to continue assisting investors and lenders in the NYC Tri-State area. We will also advise lenders and owners on navigating the valuation impacts that the energy mandates and sustainability regulations will have on commercial properties. This will all lead to a better understanding of the upside to be gained by creating healthy, sustainable buildings while helping New York City achieve its net zero targets." As the top investment market globally over the last decade and a top-two market for cross-border investment over this time period, New York remains a key gateway city for national portfolios and global capital. As economic conditions, mobility patterns, consumer spending and tourism are improving in New York, the market is increasingly solidifying its position as a leading global hub for talent and resilient market for investment. JLL's 2,000 qualified valuation professionals are connected across more than 50 countries, sharing insights and real-time data to advise on changing market dynamics and trends before they happen. A global community of sector-based specialists, the team delivers tailored client solutions for your real estate and business asset interests, giving an accurate picture of value and risk across any opportunity. U.S. property valuation and tax consulting services are performed by JLL Valuation & Advisory Services, LLC, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit our newsroom. About Metropolitan Valuation Services Metropolitan Valuation Services is one of the largest independent commercial property appraisal and real estate consulting firms in the greater New York metropolitan area. Our clients include major financial institutions, Fortune 500 corporations, REITs, commercial real estate developers, investors, insurance companies, law firms, and government agencies. About JLL JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $19.4 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 100,000 as of March 31, 2022. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit ir.jll.com. Connect with us https://www.linkedin.com/company/jll https://www.facebook.com/jll https://twitter.com/jll https://www.instagram.com/jll Contact: Gayle Kantro Phone: +1 312 228 2795 Email: [email protected] SOURCE JLL-IR NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- K2 Integrity ("K2), the leading risk and financial crimes advisory firm, today announced the launch of a first-of-its kind solution for independent certification of environmental, social and governance ("ESG") strategies for funds and fund managers. The offering will build on K2's global reputation for assisting clients in addressing risk, meet regulations and compliance requirements, and proven track record in assessing, designing and implementing certifications and trainings for the marketplace. Applying proprietary framework, K2 Integrity will conduct a detailed review of qualitative and quantitative metrics to verify that a fund and manager is compliant with ESG best practices. K2's assessment takes into consideration applicable regulations that improve trust and transparency as these relate to ESG criteria. It also mitigates the risk of "greenwashing," which has become more prevalent as interest in ESG investments has grown. "The need to validate and quantify ESG initiatives has never been greater, as investors, regulators and other stakeholders pay closer scrutiny to funds' activities," said Andrew Rabinowitz, Co-CEO of K2 Integrity. "Funds and fund managers must make sure they are following through on their ESG commitments. This assessment certification complements K2 Integrity's existing financial crime risk management services and will allow us to remain best-in-class in serving our global clientele through all of their needs, by bringing together ESG, regulatory, legal, industry, training and certification expertise." This proprietary ESG certification is based on a fund's voluntary self-disclosure and independent review by K2 Integrity experts, who analyze, assess and validate the fund's own commitment to investors. Rather than rely on self-reporting by a manager, independent certification provides a robust review of approach and processes, as well as demonstrates alignment with the industry's best practices. According to a recent survey by Callan, 78 percent of asset managers now incorporate ESG into their investment allocations. According to Morningstar, as of the first quarter of 2022, more than 2,000 asset managers globally handle some $343 billion in sustainable funds, with such strategies taking in more than $96.6 billion in net new deposits over the period. Under the leadership of Andrew Rabinowitz, K2 Integrity is collaborating with select leading firms such as Maples Group, Kalmus Capital, Novata, Reed Smith, Ernst & Young, RepRisk, Citco Fund Services and academics from renowned institutions, including Yale University, Cornell University, University College-London, Carnegie Mellon University, and Columbia University, in the development of ongoing criteria for the certification, ensuring a thorough, meaningful, and independent assessment for funds and fund managers. About K2 Integrity K2 Integrity is the leading risk and financial crimes advisory firm helping clients understand and manage their risk so they can lead with confidence. With some of the most knowledgeable practitioners in the industry, K2 brings together deep subject matter expertise with proprietary technology and digital offerings to help clients creatively solve today's issues while also planning for the future. With offices in New York and London and more than 400 employees globally, K2 has deep knowledge and experience working in every region and numerous jurisdictions around the world. To learn more about how K2 Integrity is revolutionizing the management of risk, visit www.k2integrity.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn. Media Contacts Prosek Partners [email protected] SOURCE K2 Integrity "NHBWA Woman of the Year is an incredible honor to recognize the impact that Kristin has not only in her environmental work but also in her passion and dedication to supporting her local community," said Yuval Steiman, director, eco-compliance and research, Hyundai Motor North America. "From implementing eco-initiatives to advocating for youth programs, Kristin's commitment to building a better tomorrow for future generations is an inspiration." Gomez is president of the associate board and a longtime volunteer at Project Youth Orange County Bar Foundation (OCBF), an Orange County-based nonprofit which helps at-risk youth in Santa Ana with education resources. She is an active member of Hyundai's "Amigos Unidos" employee resource group, which is tasked with community engagement and raising cultural awareness at Hyundai. Woman of the Year is awarded to women who are active in the community or with the NHBWA and have a history of business and entrepreneurial professional achievements. Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Motor America focuses on 'Progress for Humanity' and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs and electrified vehicles. Our 820 dealers sold more than 738,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2021, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com. Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn SOURCE Hyundai Motor America Khiron's Medical Clinics and Distribution Growth Throughout Europe Follows Success in Latin American Marketplace Since establishing a Spanish subsidiary in 2019, Khiron's scientific and medical team is recognized as cannabinoid experts in Spain Khiron continues its long-standing relationship with the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) and actively contributes to several educational initiatives in Spain Khiron provides comprehensive and certified medical education, used worldwide to successfully educate thousands of prescribers and created in close cooperation with renowned University Tecnologico of Monterrey in Mexico TORONTO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Khiron Life Sciences Corp. ("Khiron" or the "Company") (TSXV: KHRN) (OTCQX: KHRNF) (Frankfurt: A2JMZC), a global leader in medical cannabis throughout Europe and Latin America, applauds recent developments regarding the regulation of medical cannabis in Spain. The company now looks forward to bringing its clinical expertise and evidence from Khiron-owned Zerenia Clinics in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and the UK to Spanish patients to guide medical professionals for the benefit of Spanish patients. Spain has been an important exporter of medical cannabis in Europe, but Spain itself has not had national medical cannabis legislation in place. With a population of more than 47 million people in Spain, experts in the medical cannabis industry in Europe estimate that the potential market size for the medical cannabis market is at least 700,000 patients or 1.5% of the country's total population. Khiron has been active in Spain since establishing its subsidiary Khiron Life Sciences Spain in 2019. For the past 3 years, Khiron has worked to encourage this regulatory shift in Spain by promoting educational initiatives together with a network of national collaborators such as the Spanish Society for Research on Cannabinoids (SEIC), the Iberoamerican Cannabinoid Research Network (CANNALATAN), Cannabmed (ICEERS), the Cannabis Hub (Polytechnic University of Barcelona), the Sociedad Clinica de Endocannabinologia (SCE) and the Technological Agroalimentary Center in Extremadura (CTAEX). For Khiron, which already offers its cannabinoid-based medicines and clinical services in two of the largest markets for medical cannabis in Europe (Germany and the United Kingdom), it is a logical step into Spain, one which the company has been preparing for years. This process is further supported by the steady expansion of Khiron Europe's medical portfolio, which will grow with the recent acquisition of an EU GMP-certified German pharmaceuticals manufacturer and wholesaler. The acquisition will accelerate Khiron's growth in Europe by controlling the complete value chain for its products and gaining direct access to European pharmacies. Franziska Katterbach, President of Khiron Europe, said: "We welcome the planned regulation for medical cannabis in Spain. For Khiron, Spain is another important European market with great potential in which we have been active since 2019 - but the opening of the market for medical cannabis in Spain is even more important for the hundreds of thousands of potential patients in Spain who do not have access to cannabinoid-based therapies. As a company, we look back on years of operational and physical presence in Spain, with participation in medical congresses, lectures at universities, long-standing business relationships with national partners, and cooperation with Spanish institutions. Khiron is well prepared for the coming developments in Spain." About Khiron Life Sciences Corp. Khiron is a leading global medical cannabis company with core operations in Latin America and Europe. Leveraging wholly-owned medical health clinics and proprietary telemedicine platforms, Khiron combines a patient-oriented approach, physician education programs, scientific expertise, product innovation, and a focus on creating access to drive prescriptions and brand loyalty with patients worldwide. The Company has a sales presence in Colombia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Peru, and Brazil and is positioned to commence sales in Mexico. The Company is led by its co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alvaro Torres, together with an experienced and diverse executive team and board of directors. Visit Khiron online at https://investors.khiron.ca LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/khiron-life-sciences-corp/ Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking information and statements contained herein reflect management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available and on assumptions that management believes to be reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, assumptions regarding the future regulatory developments and economic conditions, the Company's ability to continue its growth and reduce costs. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law. SOURCE Khiron Life Sciences Corp. The World Food Programme distributes food to displaced people in Batangafo in the Central African Republic (file photo). A sharp increase in essential goods in the Central African Republic (CAR) linked to war in Ukraine will likely have a devastating impact on the already dire humanitarian situation there in coming weeks, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. Some 2.2 million people are already acutely food insecure in the Central African Republic, meaning that the global food, fuel and fertilizer crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of its neighbour on 24 February, will put basic food commodities and staples "out of the reach of many people", warned Tomson Phiri, WFP spokesperson. A sharp increase in the prices of essential goods in the Central African Republic linked to the war in Ukraine will likely have a devastating impact on the already dire humanitarian situation there, warns @PhiriTomson of @WFP at today's @ungeneva press briefing. pic.twitter.com/eoxhnnH4PP-- UN Geneva (@UNGeneva) July 5, 2022 "The figure may not shock you out of your seats, but when you look at the population size, that's nearly half the population of the Central African Republic," he told journalists in Geneva. Priced-out To help, the UN agency needs $68.4 million urgently. "Without immediate funding, food and nutrition insecurity will only increase for millions of people," Mr. Phiri warned, adding that a sharp increase in commodity prices is only weeks away. "We expect a 30 per cent increase in rice, a 67 per cent increase for the price of wheat flour and a staggering 70 per cent increase in the price of vegetable oil." As bad as it gets To put CAR's food insecurity crisis into context, the country is on a par with Yemen, South Sudan and Afghanistan, in terms of its proportion of acutely food insecure people. Its problems stem from protracted internal armed conflict since 2012 that has killed thousands, driven mass displacement and left two out of three civilians dependent on humanitarian aid, amid fighting between the mostly Christian anti-Balaka militia and the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines International Organisations Central African Republic Aid and Assistance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Just last month, the senior UN official in the country, Valentine Rugwabiza, told the Security Council that horrific attacks against civilians had risen, while efforts to chart a peaceful future for the country had lapsed into a state of "de facto lethargy". The Secretary-General's Special Representative for the Central African Republic was referring to CAR's adoption of its Joint Road Map for Peace in October 2021, which represented an attempt to implement a 2019 peace agreement, known as the Khartoum Accord, signed between the Government and 14 non-State armed groups. Chronic decline Structural factors have also contributed to a "progressive deterioration" of livelihoods and food security, such as high demographic growth, widespread poverty, unemployment and the degradation of natural resources. Although the country often sees fuel shortages between May and July that correspond to the beginning of the rainy season, this year, CAR started running dry this year in mid-March. The impact on the UN agency's relief efforts and local populations will likely be dramatic and lead to "an early hunger gap", it warned in a statement. "At the back of our minds as well, is the impact that fuel - which is out of reach - high transport costs, is having on our own operations," said Mr. Phiri. "Now, because we are struggling as well as an agency, what that means is that our teams on the ground are making last-ditch efforts to preposition food into deficit areas. Now, prepositioning is when we move food in advance of the lean season and the rainy season which cuts access to nearly half the country." IRVINE, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Modulim, a health technology company that delivers point-of-care microvascular and data insights to save limbs and improve lives, announced today that it has launched its Limb Assessment, Management, & Preservation (LAMP) solution to enable accountable care organizations to achieve better outcomes for high-risk Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients. With the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) 2022 launch of the Kidney Care Choices (KCC) Model, participating nephrology practices are implementing new processess to provide more holistic and cost-effective care for their patients. The new KCC value-based care program incentivizes proactive care coordination to reduce preventable hospitalizations, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the total cost of care. "Renal patients with diabetes are at increased risk for amputations due to their underlying microvascular and peripheral arterial disease. We have published findings discussing circulatory signatures that are specific to the 'renal foot'. As stated by the International Working Group of the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF), these patients can benefit from a programmatic and multidisciplinary approach to reduce these complications and improve patient outcomes" said David G. Armstrong, Professor of Surgery and Director, Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) at Keck School of Medicine. Modulim has developed the LAMP solution that integrates Clarifi Imaging System and Modulim Cloud to deliver actionable clinical insights for the management of high-risk patients. Studies have shown that the prevalence rate of ulcers (25.7%), hospitalizations related to limb complications (15.5%), amputations (8.8%), and death (1.3%) for dialysis patients with diabetes is extremely high and represents a large burden on healthcare systems worldwide.1 LAMP provides value-based care groups an easy-to-implement programmatic solution that integrates limb microvascular assessment to facilitate population health management and multidisciplinary care coordination for these high-need patients. "The new KCC value-based care programs incentivize proactive care coordination to reduce preventable hospitalizations and improve outcomes. Our high-risk renal patients are at elevated risk for amputations due to their underlying diabetes and peripheral arterial disease and there is a need to manage and reduce these complications and improve patient outcomes with coordinated care" said Terry Ketchersid, Chief Medical Officer for the Integrated Care Group at Fresenius Medical Care North America. The announcement to enter this market comes after Modulim conducted a successful multi-site pilot at several dialysis clinics in Southern California. "When we look at the statistics, every 7 seconds someone dies from diabetes, every 20 seconds a diabetic patient is amputated, and the cost of diabetic foot ulcers is greater than the 5 most deadly forms of cancer. It is clear that we have an unmet epidemic in our healthcare system," said Charlie Huiner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Modulim. "We are 100% focused on improving outcomes by changing healthcare from reactive to proactive for these patients. We are excited to work with leading dialysis providers, nephrology groups, and specialists to improve the lives of the estimated 600,000 kidney disease patients on dialysis in the U.S. who commonly suffer from lower limb circulatory complications." About Modulim Modulim delivers transformative imaging and data solutions that empower clinicians to better diagnose, treat, and manage lower limb complications. Clarifi, powered by Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (SFDI) technology, quantifies and maps tissue health at the point-of-care through non-contact rapid microvascular assessment. Modulim Cloud promotes timely, proactive data-driven decisions to better manage patient care by digitally connecting clinicians and healthcare systems. Modulim is based in Irvine, CA, with a team dedicated to delivering powerful healthcare solutions that revolutionize the standard of care for patients with diabetes, kidney disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Clarifi is a registered trademark of Modulated Imaging (dba Modulim). References: Kaminski, M.R., Lambert, K.A., Raspovic, A. et al. Risk factors for foot ulceration in adults with end-stage renal disease on dialysis: a prospective observational cohort study. BMC Nephrol 20, 423 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12882-019-1594-5 Contacts Blake Byrne Director of Marketing (949) 825-5095 [email protected] SOURCE Modulim TORONTO, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Nickel Creek Platinum Corp. (TSX: NCP) ("Nickel Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company formally commenced the drilling portion of its 2022 field program on July 1, 2022 at its 100%-owned Nickel Creek's Nickel Shaw Project in the Yukon, Canada. Following successful completion of the recent C$2.7 million private placement, which included a Flow-Through Offering of C$2.4 million, the Company has secured the necessary funding required to perform an exploration program for the 2022 field season to collect data to facilitate completion of a Prefeasibility Study ("PFS"). This work will include PFS drilling on the Wellgreen deposit to support conversion of inferred mineral resources to indicated mineral resources and to collect additional geotechnical and hydrogeological data including the characterization of the proposed waste dump and tailings sites. Further drilling is also planned at the Arch exploration target to define the extent of mineralization. Stuart Harshaw, President and CEO commented "We are looking forward to advancing the Nickel Shaw Project with our extensive program this summer. The nickel market needs projects like ours to develop in order to supply the increasing demand for nickel and copper to produce electric vehicles." As part of the 2022 field program, the Company will be supported by the Kluane First Nation, the Company's First Nations partner via its operating companies, Kluane Development LP and Kluane Energy LP. Scientific and Technical Information The scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release was reviewed and approved by Cam Bell, an independent geologist on a consulting retainer contract with the Company and a "qualified person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Nickel Creek Platinum Corp. Nickel Creek Platinum Corp. (TSX: NCP;OTCQB: NCPCF) is a Canadian mining exploration and development company and its flagship asset is its 100%-owned Nickel Shaw Project. The Nickel Shaw Project is a large undeveloped nickel sulphide project with a unique mix of metals including copper, cobalt and platinum group metals, located in the Yukon, Canada, one of the most favourable jurisdictions in the world. The Nickel Shaw Project has exceptional access to infrastructure, located three hours west of Whitehorse via the paved Alaska Highway, which further offers year-round access to deep-sea shipping ports in southern Alaska. The Company is also investigating other opportunities for shareholder value creation. The Company is led by a management team with a proven track record of successful discovery, development, financing and operation of large-scale projects. Our vision is to create value for our shareholders by becoming a leading North American nickel, copper, cobalt and PGM producer. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain information that may be deemed "forward-looking information". Forward-looking information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology, or negative connotations thereof. All information in this release, other than information of historical facts, including, without limitation, statements relating to general future plans and objectives for the Company and the Nickel Shaw Project, are forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in such forward-looking information are based on reasonable assumptions, such expectations are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking information. For more information on the Company and the key assumptions, risks and challenges with respect to the forward-looking information discussed herein, and about our business in general, investors should review the Company's most recently filed annual information form, and other continuous disclosure filings which are available at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. SOURCE Nickel Creek Platinum Corp. SAN FRANCISCO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nova Ukraine has received a generous $1 million donation from Zapier to support Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers. This amount represents every dollar Zapier has made from Russian and Belarusian accounts. We're proud to have been selected by Zapier as the recipient of a $1 million donation, said Igor Markov, Director of Nova Ukraine. As we continue to face unprecedented aggression from Russia, this donation will help us save lives in Ukraine by delivering food and medical supplies, supporting evacuation, building bomb shelters and funding basic infrastructure. You can find Zapier's full statement here. About Zapier: Zapier is the leader in no-code automation, always making it easier to automate workflows and move data across 5000+ apps. Learn more at Zapier.com About Nova Ukraine: Nova Ukraine is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine and strengthening the country's democratic society. Founded in 2014, Nova Ukraine has redoubled its efforts in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We work with our partners in Ukraine and around the world to help refugees and provide humanitarian efforts to those impacted by the war. For more information, contact [email protected] or see our website, Novaukraine.org. Contact Igor Markov [email protected] +1 734-255-9719 NovaUkraine website SOURCE Nova Ukraine NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Onward Energy today announced that it has entered into a binding agreement to purchase 100% of the cash equity interests in a 1,171 MW operating solar portfolio from Global Atlantic Financial Group ("Global Atlantic"). The portfolio includes 11 projects in 8 states and will be the largest renewable investment in Onward Energy's history, further expanding the company's portfolio to over 6 GW of diverse power generation assets. Steve Doyon, Onward Energy's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We believe that this acquisition of high quality solar assets is a strong fit with our existing portfolio, consistent with our view of the energy transition and complementary to our growth strategy. Working with Global Atlantic and their exemplary team, we were able to sign the agreement quickly and seamlessly." Anup Agarwal, Chief Investment Officer of Global Atlantic, said: "This portfolio is part of a diverse set of solar investments that we're proud to have built over the past seven years, and we believe that Onward Energy will be an excellent steward of these assets. We were pleased to reach an agreement and are committed to building our presence in this space as global demand for clean power continues to rise." Onpeak Capital LLC served as financial advisor and Mayer Brown LLP served as legal advisor to Global Atlantic. Milbank LLP served as legal adviser to Onward. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions. About Onward Energy Onward Energy is an independent power generator that currently owns and operates over 5 GW of solar, wind, and gas generation projects in the U.S. With 45 projects in 18 states, Onward Energy is a national leader in the clean energy transition, investing in the next generation of reliable, clean technologies that will enable our customers and communities to meet their decarbonization goals faster. About Global Atlantic Global Atlantic Financial Group is a leader in the U.S. life insurance and annuity industry, serving the needs of individuals and institutions. With differentiated investment and risk management capabilities, deep client relationships, and a strong financial foundation, the company has established a track record of delivering proven, value-added solutions and long-term growth. Global Atlantic is a majority-owned subsidiary of KKR, a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management across multiple strategies and capital markets solutions. KKR's parent company is KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR). SOURCE Onward Energy New partnership supports low-code, customizable solutions to professional and enterprise markets PARIS, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RAKwireless , a pioneer in IoT solutions, is pleased to announce its very first co-branding partnership with Arduino , the world's most popular open-source hardware company. RAK is co-branding white-label IoT products with Arduino, describing them as "Powered by RAKwireless," to supply low-code, customizable solutions to professional and enterprise markets. This follows a decision by Arduino to scale up and diversify its operations. The partnership is a natural step for both companies. RAK prides itself on its low-power long-range LoRaWAN WisGate gateways being easy to connect and code. Its user-friendly WisGateOS2 software makes it easy to monitor and manage gateways too. This thinking is very much in line with Arduino's longstanding vision for a more open-access IoT. Together, RAK and Arduino are a powerful and strategic alliance providing robust and expandable IoT solutions for a variety of projects in both indoor and outdoor environments. "To execute Arduino Pro's vision, it was crucial to add a strong LoRaWAN gateway offering," said Massimo Banzi, co-founder of Arduino. "We are thrilled to have found a perfect fit in RAKwireless WisGate Edge products. We look forward to delivering compelling solutions to our customers." The prestigious partnership will be announced at LoRaWan World Expo in Paris, France on July 6th and 7th 2022. RAKwireless and Arduino will be attending and ready to showcase their new range of innovative products. "At RAKwireless we have spent the last 8 years developing best-in-class hardware and software for the LoRaWAN ecosystem," added Ken Yu, CEO of RAKwireless. "We are very proud to see our gateways, both indoors and outdoors, selected to join the Arduino Pro lineup. Together we will help our customers build and expand LoRaWAN infrastructures with reliable equipment." Both companies anticipate this partnership to accelerate their common mission of creating a better-connected world, and an Internet of Things for all. About RAKwireless RAKwireless is a multinational technology company established in June 2014. Headquartered in Shenzhen, RAK is changing the IoT landscape by eliminating design complexity and accelerating time-to-market, for underserved and emerging markets, including open-source and industrial communities. Creating easy-to-deploy solutions and modular IoT products, RAKwireless is working to grow a community of system integrators, developers, and IoT solution providers, who are passionate about taking IoT solutions further than ever before. https://www.rakwireless.com/en-us Media Contact Ludington Media [email protected] www.ludingtonmedia.com 551-795-5950 SOURCE RAKwireless Reviver products will soon be available for Colorado consumer and commercial business vehicles as the state becomes the fifth to authorize road use of digital license plate technology. SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Reviver , a technology company and developer of the digital license plate, today announced the passage of the Motor Vehicle Digital Number Plates bill (HB22-1162). The bill authorizes digital license plates to be used in place of metal license plates if the registration number and expiration date are visible from 100 feet away in the sunlight. The bill also allows the Department of Revenue to permit messaging and other functionality on digital plates, and prompts the Department, in consultation with Colorado State Patrol, to adopt rules for using digital license plates. "We are incredibly proud to reach this important milestone as we look to expand access to Reviver's products and make digital license plates available to vehicle owners in the great state of Colorado," said Neville Boston, Reviver Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer. "Our mission is to transform vehicle ownership and registration into a more seamless and modern experience, and we can't thank our many partners throughout the state legislators, government representatives, transportation officials, and others who have supported us on this journey and helped open the doors of opportunity in yet another state." Soon to be available in Colorado, The RPlate Reviver's consumer digital license plate product offers two device options: a battery-powered, self-installed model with a replaceable 5-year battery available at $19.95/month; and a hard-wired, professionally installed model with integrated telematics features and a backlit display, at $24.95/month. Both devices offer users a new platform to connect their vehicle with a set of services including registration renewal, vehicle location services, and security features such as easily reporting it stolen. Commercial fleet businesses in Colorado will soon be able to access digital license plates via RFleet , which combines the RPlate, a tamper-proof digital license plate device with integrated telematics capabilities, along with the RFleet Software Dashboard. RFleet offers a suite of features tailored to businesses managing vehicle fleets, including automated vehicle registration and compliance, as well as a robust set of telematics and safety features. "As everything in automotive and society in general is going electronic, now so can your vehicle registration and license in the state of Colorado," said Tim Jackson, President and CEO, Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. "To benefit both safety and convenience, the Colorado General Assembly teamed with Reviver to enable the most technologically advanced electronic license plate available anywhere, so it will soon be available for Colorado residents." "A digital option for license plates embraces Colorado's innovative spirit," stated Col. Matthew C. Packard, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. "As this technology is implemented, we will be working together to ensure their deployment is in the best interest of public safety." Reviver's digital license plates are currently legal for sale and DMV registration in California, Michigan, Arizona, and Texas for commercial fleet vehicles. More than 10 additional U.S. states are in various stages of adoption. ABOUT REVIVER Reviver is a technology company on a mission to modernize the driving experience. As developer of the world's first digital license plate platform, Reviver products transform the license plate into a connected vehicle platform, enabling consumers and commercial businesses to digitize vehicle registration renewals and experience a growing set of personalization, convenience, and safety features, all managed through a mobile or web app interface. Reviver's digital license plates are legal for sale in Arizona, California, and Michigan, along with Texas for commercial fleet vehicles. Ten additional states are in various stages of adoption. Founded in 2009, Reviver is headquartered in Northern California. For more information, visit www.reviver.com. Media Contact Matt Jaffe [email protected] SOURCE Reviver "AllStars" recognition is the highest level of achievement for a School of Rock student CANTON, Mass., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 160 School of Rock students have been selected to participate and perform in the 2022 School of Rock AllStars Music Program. These elite musicians are among the most accomplished students from School of Rock's global network of 300+ schools and will enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience during July 2024 and July 2731, performing and recording music at professional recording studios and iconic live venues. "AllStars is always thrilling for School of Rock," said Rob Price, CEO of School of Rock. "We celebrate students who excel in both musicianship and performance. This global talent epitomizes the creative magic being unleashed in our schools throughout the world everyday." School of Rock AllStars represent the highest level of achievement for School of Rock students. Less than 1% are chosen each year from School of Rock Performance Program students. The AllStars program consists of both vocal/instrument performance as well as songwriting. The songwriting component of the program was added in 2021 and allows students to write and arrange original works with notable guest mentors and producers who will provide professional feedback and tips, insightful truths about the songwriting industry, and share their personal experiences. The students then have the opportunity to record and perform their original songs with their fellow AllStars. The eight regional teams of School of Rock AllStars will partake in extensive rehearsals that will culminate in a professional recording studio session and live performances at notable local venues. School of Rock is partnering with the music industry's biggest music brands, such as Gibson, to solidify noteworthy artist mentors, including Tyler Cain and Sarah Zimmermann, as well as other gear sponsors, including Earasers to maximize learning and safety during this once-in-a-lifetime experience for the students. School of Rock provides students of all ages an exciting and engaging music education experience, which includes bass lessons, guitar lessons, singing lessons, drum lessons, and piano lessons. Drawing from all styles of rock and roll, School of Rock students learn theory and techniques via songs from legendary artists such as Aretha Franklin, Lenny Kravitz, and Led Zeppelin. Thanks to the school's performance-based approach, students around the world have gained superior musical proficiency, with some moving on to record deals and larger platforms such as American Idol, The Voice and Broadway. About School of Rock School of Rock helps aspiring musicians master skills, unleash creativity, and develop tools they need to thrive in life. Founded as a single school in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1998, School of Rock has become a rapidly growing international franchise with over 500 schools open and in development across 15 global markets. Since 2009, School of Rock has grown its student count from 4,000 to 55,000. School of Rock offers a wide variety of music lessons, including guitar lessons, singing lessons and piano lessons. The company also sells musical instruments and music gear through its GearSelect program. School of Rock was awarded US Patent 10,891,872 in 2021 for its innovative music education method. School of Rock also has garnered the following industry awards: 2022 and 2021 Global Franchise's Awards Best Children's Service and Education Franchise; 2022 Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 Top Children's Music Enrichment Brand; 2021 Franchise Innovation Award for Most Innovative Use of Customer-Facing Digital Tools; Franchise Business Review's 2021 Top 200 Franchises and Culture 100 list; 2020 Entrepreneur Magazine's Top 200 Franchise and the #1 Child Enrichment Franchise; and 2018 Forbes # 2 Best Franchise Medium-Level Investment Award and the #1 Music Franchise in America. Follow School of Rock on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SchoolofRockUSA and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SchoolofRockUSA. For more information on School of Rock visit www.SchoolofRock.com or call 866-695-5515. To learn more about School of Rock franchise opportunities head to http://franchising.schoolofrock.com/ SOURCE School of Rock NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of First High-School Education Group Co., Ltd. (""or the "Company") (NYSE: FHS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether FHS and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On or around March 11, 2021, FHS conducted its initial public offering ("IPO") of 7.5 million American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") priced at $10.00 per share. Soon after the IPO, media reports stated that Chinese policymakers had proposed stricter regulations to rein in the for-profit education industry, such as regulations aimed at enhancing teacher quality, limiting fee scams, reducing market abuse, and reducing the stress that for-profit educational companies had placed on students in the Chinese educational system. On May 12, 2021, news reports revealed that the impending government crackdown on for-profit educational companies in China would be much more drastic and far reaching than previously publicly known. Sources stated that anticipated rules would include measures such as banning on-campus tutoring classes, prohibiting tutoring services during weekend hours, and the imposition of industry-wide fee limitations. On May 14, 2021, China's state council announced that it would further tighten regulations on compulsory education and training institutions with new rules set to take effect on September 1, 2021. On July 23, 2021, China unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its education sector, banning companies that teach the school curriculum from making profits, raising capital or going public. These drastic measures effectively ended any potential growth in the for-profit tutoring sector in China. On July 26, 2021, FHS issued a press release announcing that the Company "will follow the spirit of the Opinion and comply with all relevant rules and regulations in providing high school education services." In a series of disclosures beginning on September 28, 2021, FHS reported, among other things, disappointing financial and operating results due to the impact of the regulatory crackdown on China's for-profit education sector; the resignation of the Company's Chief Financial Officer; the dismissal of the Company's auditor, KPMG Huazhen LLP; the receipt of a letter from the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") stating that the Company was in non-compliance with the NYSE's listing requirements because its total market capitalization and stockholders' equity had fallen below compliance standards; and that the Company would be unable to timely filed its annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. By May 10, 2022, FHS ADSs closed below $1.00 per share, representing a decline of more than 90% from the offering price. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Teladoc Health, Inc. ("Teladoc" or the "Company") (NYSE: TDOC) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and docketed under 22-cv-04687, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Teladoc securities between October 28, 2021 and April 27, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials. If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Teladoc securities during the Class Period, you have until August 5, 2022 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here for information about joining the class action] Teladoc provides virtual healthcare services in the U.S. and internationally through Business-to-Business and Direct-to-Consumer ("D2C") distribution channels. The Company offers its customers various virtual products and services addressing, among other medical issues, mental health through its BetterHelp D2C product, and chronic conditions. Teladoc touts itself as "the first and only company to provide a comprehensive and integrated whole person virtual healthcare solution that both provides and enables care for a full spectrum of clinical conditions[.]" Despite recent market concerns over new entrants to the telehealth field, such Amazon.com, Inc. and Walmart Inc., the Company has continued to assure investors of the Company's dominant market position in the industry. In fact, as recently as February 2022, Teladoc forecasted full year ("FY") 2022 revenue of $2.55 - $2.65 billion, as well as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA") of $330 - $355 million, on anticipated continued growth through its competitive advantages. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) increased competition, among other factors, was negatively impacting Teladoc's BetterHelp and chronic care businesses; (ii) accordingly, the growth of those businesses was less sustainable than Defendants had led investors to believe; (iii) as a result, Teladoc's revenue and adjusted EBITDA projections for FY 2022 were unrealistic; (iv) as a result of all the foregoing, Teladoc would be forced to recognize a significant non-cash goodwill impairment charge; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On April 27, 2022, Teladoc announced its first quarter ("Q1") 2022 financial results, including revenue of $565.4 million, which missed consensus estimates by $3.23 million, and "[n]et loss per share of $41.58, primarily driven by [a] non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $6.6 billion or $41.11 per share[.]" Additionally, the Company revised its FY 2022 revenue guidance to $2.4 - $2.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $240 - $265 million "to reflect dynamics we are currently experiencing in the [D2C] mental health and chronic condition markets." On a conference call with investors and analysts that day to discuss Teladoc's Q1 2022 results, Defendants largely attributed the Company's poor performance, revised FY 2022 guidance, and $6.6 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge to increased competition in its BetterHelp and chronic care businesses. On this news, Teladoc's stock price fell $22.48 per share, or 40.15%, to close at $33.51 per share on April 28, 2022. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Lauren Bloom Promoted to Head of Canada; Samantha Cleyn Promoted to Head of Institutional for Canada BALTIMORE, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- T. Rowe Price announced that Lauren Bloom has been named head of Canada. Bloom is responsible for leading and executing T. Rowe Price's distribution business strategy in Canada. In her new role, she will report to Chris Newman, head of Americas distribution for the firm. Bloom was previously head of intermediary and defined contribution, Canada. Since joining T. Rowe Price in 2018, she has helped grow and diversify distribution of the firm's investment strategies through Canadian intermediary partners. In her new position, Bloom will focus on leveraging T. Rowe Price's global investment platform to best serve consultants, financial intermediaries, and institutional clients throughout Canada. Prior to her tenure at T. Rowe Price, Bloom spent 10 years in various roles with CI Institutional Asset Management. Her last position was vice president, strategic alliances, where she was responsible for institutional business development and client service for banks, insurance company platforms, pension plans, consultants, and multi-family offices. "T. Rowe Price is committed to growing its business in Canada," said Newman. "Lauren brings many years of experience and is well positioned to take on the role of head of Canada. Under her leadership, continued attention will be given to providing clients with the full depth and breadth of T. Rowe Price's investment expertise, which encompasses strategies across every sector and region of the global financial markets equities, fixed income, and alternative securities markets, as well as multi-asset, and specialty strategies." "I am honored to take on this new role as we continue to grow and bring T. Rowe Price's investment capabilities to the Canadian market," said Bloom. "Since opening our Canadian office in 2007, we have been fortunate to partner with large Canadian institutional and intermediary clients from coast to coast. Today we manage over $22.9 billion CAD1 and offer strategies to Canadian clients via separate accounts' sub-advisory, Canadian pooled funds and model delivery." Samantha Cleyn has been promoted to head of institutional for Canada. In this role she is responsible for developing and executing a business plan for serving institutional clients. Cleyn was previously head of Eastern Canada for T. Rowe Price's Americas division; this new position expands her responsibilities to the entire country. Throughout her 15-year career, Cleyn has worked exclusively with institutional investment clients and brings longstanding business relationships to her new role. Prior to joining T. Rowe Price in 2020, she was a senior investment consultant at Mercer in Montreal. Cleyn will report to Bloom. These promotions follow a strategic business and organizational review following the retirement of Bruce Winch, previously head of Canada for T. Rowe Price, who retired from the firm on March 1, 2022. The team comprises seven people focused on serving the Canadian market; its office is in the TD North Tower in Toronto. "In this highly relationship-driven business, our team has demonstrated their dedication to supporting distribution efforts across consultants, intermediaries, and institutional clients. They are committed to improving customer experience and engagement by pairing our global platform with a local presence," said Newman. "T. Rowe Price greatly values its client relationships in Canada, and Lauren and Sam's promotions highlight our continued commitment to client success." 1 As of May 31, 2022 ABOUT T. ROWE PRICE Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ-GS: TROW), is a global investment management organization with $1.40 trillion in assets under management as of May 31, 2022. The organization provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. The organization also offers a variety of sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools. T. Rowe Price's disciplined, risk-aware investment approach focuses on diversification, style consistency, and fundamental research. For more information, visit troweprice.com, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Facebook. SOURCE T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. Geneva The World Food Program warns the Central African Republic is facing unprecedented levels of food insecurity due to conflict, population displacement, widespread poverty, and underemployment. WFP officials say they anticipate a sharp increase in commodity prices this year and extending well into 2023. They say the price of rice is expected to rise by 30%, wheat flour by 67%, and vegetable oil by a staggering 70%. That, they note, will make staple food products unaffordable for millions of people, leading to more hunger and more distress as people are forced to resort to extreme measures to put food on the table. WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri says 2.2 million people are food insecure in C.A.R. "The figure might not shock you out of your seats but when you look at the population size, that is nearly half the population of the Central African Republic," said Phiri. "And the country now joins the league of nations, such as Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan with the highest proportion of acutely food insecure." As less food becomes available, Phiri says more children will suffer from malnutrition. UNICEF says the number of severely acutely malnourished children under age five is expected to rise in the country by 10% this year to 69,000. Children suffering from the condition are at risk of dying if they do not get the right medical and nutritional care. Phiri says the WFP is struggling to provide the food and specialized treatment needed by children, women, and other vulnerable people in the C.A.R. and a lack of money is hindering those efforts. "Our costs of operating are skyrocketing," said Phiri. "The United Nations World Food Program is appealing urgently for $68.4 million. Without immediate funding, food and nutrition insecurity will only increase for millions of people." Phiri says the challenges facing the C.A.R. are well documented and pre-date the crisis in Ukraine. But noting the impact of the war on rising commodity and fuel prices, he says humanitarian assistance will be required well beyond this year and into 2023. VANCOUVER, Wash., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- When you have traffic and parking on loose surfaces such as grass, gravel or dirt, ParkingZone has a solution to deploy delineators and sign posts to designate traffic and pedestrian patterns. With summer comes warm weather and more outdoor activities. Millions of Americans will attend live performances, concerts, trade shows, and other outdoor events this year. Music festivals alone are expected to draw more than 32 million visitors this year, more people than the population of Texas, according to Billboard magazine. Easy to install and remove, the Gorilla Post will flex and spring back into position when bumped by a pedestrian or vehicle. Deploy tamper resistant delineators and sign posts to designate traffic and pedestrian patterns on loose surfaces such as grass, gravel or dirt. While mass transit options will transport many attendees to the festivals and events, many will travel there in private vehicles. Much of the challenge involved in managing traffic and parking during events involves establishing an orderly system for getting visitors into and out of the parking facility. Parking cones and barricades can help, but these can be moved without authorization. Event traffic problems are frequently complained about by visitors. A survey published in Successful Event Management: A Practical Handbook found that 48 percent of attendees of a music festival felt post-event congestion in the parking lot was a major problem. Many outdoor events have temporary parking areas on dirt, grass or gravel. The Drivable Soil Base Gorilla Post is designed to be used effectively on these loose surfaces. Parking logistics are everything when it comes to delivering a safe and enjoyable experience to attendees. A one-foot-long corrugated steel square tube is first driven into the ground to create an anchor base for the delineator or sign post. The special base on the 2-1/3" Gorilla Post is then installed onto the steel tube using the provided mounting hardware. The installed Gorilla Post will flex and spring back into position when bumped by a pedestrian or vehicle. The post can be removed when not in use and be returned to the square tube for the next event. Gorilla Post Drivable Soil Base Advantages: Gravel, grass and dirt application Can be used with 12" x 18" aluminum or plastic sign Flexes on impact reducing damage to post and vehicle Returns to upright position after impact Lightweight, weighs under 10 pounds Delineators can be deployed permanently or temporarily ParkingZone is proud to supply the parking industry with the best products available. Call us at 1-800-292-7275, chat with us from our website, or message us online if you have any questions about your needs and challenges. We are available from 8am to 5pm PST, Monday through Friday. CONTACT PERSON: Lyle Peters Director of U.S. Sales for the Gorilla Post System Pacific Cascade Corporation 14208 N.W. 3rd Court Suite 200 Vancouver, WA 98685 1-800-292-7275 ext. 207 [email protected] ParkingZone.com ABOUT PACIFIC CASCADE CORPORATION AND PARKINGZONE Since 1987, Pacific Cascade Corporation has been providing the Parking, Hospitality, Traffic Enforcement, and Environmental Sustainability Industries with products to manage and support their effective operational needs. SOURCE ParkingZone HAMILTON, Bermuda, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Government of Bermuda (the "Government") announced today the commencement of offers to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offers") its outstanding 4.138% Senior Notes due 2023 (the "2023 Notes") and 4.854% Senior Notes due 2024 (the "2024 Notes" and, together with the 2023 Notes, the "Existing Notes"). The terms and conditions of the Tender Offers are set forth in the Offer to Purchase, dated July 6, 2022 (the "Offer to Purchase"). The tender period (the "Tender Period") will commence on July 6, 2022 and expire at 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on July 12, 2022 unless extended or earlier terminated by the Government in its sole discretion (the "Expiration Time"). The settlement of the Tender Offers is scheduled to occur on July 15, 2022 (the "Settlement Date"). Tenders of the Existing Notes may be subject to proration, in accordance with the terms of the Tender Offers described in the Offer to Purchase. The Government will determine in its sole discretion the aggregate principal amount of Existing Notes of each series validly tendered in accordance with the terms and conditions that it will accept for purchase. The Tender Offers are not conditioned upon any minimum participation by the holders of any series of Existing Notes but are conditioned on (a) the satisfaction or waiver by the Government of the conditions described in the Offer to Purchase, (b) the closing of an offering of new notes (the "New Notes") by the Government (the "New Notes Offering"), which is intended to settle prior to or concurrently with the Tender Offers, and (c) the dealer manager agreement relating to the Tender Offers not being terminated prior to or at the time of the settlement of the Tender Offers. The table below summarizes certain terms of the Tender Offers: Title of Existing Notes Outstanding Principal Amount as of the ate hereof ISIN/CUSIP Numbers Maturity Date Reference U.S. Treasury Security(1) Bloomberg Reference Page Fixed Spread (Basis Points) Hypothetical Purchase Price(2) 4.138% Senior Notes due 2023 $353,905,000 USG10367AA14 / G10367 AA1 (Reg S) US085209AB07 / 085209 AB0 (144A) January 3, 2023 0.125% due December 31, 2022 PX3 +35 $1,005.44 4.854% Senior Notes due 2024 $402,203,000 USG10367AB96 / G10367 AB9 (Reg S) US085209AC89 / 085209 AC8 (144A) February 6, 2024 0.875% due January 31, 2024 PX4 +35 $1,024.64 _____________________ (1) The Purchase Price payable per $1,000 principal amount for each series of Existing Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase will be based on the fixed spread specified for the applicable series of Existing Notes, plus the yield of the specified Reference U.S. Treasury Security for that series as of 10:00 a.m. (New York City time) on July 12, 2022, unless extended or earlier terminated with respect to the applicable Tender Offer. Applicable Accrued Interest will be payable in cash in addition to the Purchase Price. (2) Hypothetical Purchase Price payable per each $1,000 principal amount of each series of Existing Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase, assuming the Reference Yield (as defined herein) had been measured at 10:00 a.m. (New York City time) on July 5, 2022 and assuming a hypothetical settlement date of July 15, 2022. The Government makes no representation with respect to the actual consideration that may be paid, and such amounts may be greater or lower than those shown, depending on the yield of the applicable Reference U.S. Treasury Security as of the price determination time. For each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes validly tendered and made in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Tender Offers ("Tenders") on or prior to the Expiration Time, and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offers, the Government will pay the applicable Purchase Price indicated in the table above (each, a "Purchase Price"), plus Accrued Interest (as defined below) on each series of Existing Notes accepted for purchase. The applicable Purchase Price payable by the Government for each $1,000 principal amount of each series of Existing Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Time and accepted by the Government pursuant to the Tender Offers, will be the price, determined by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC ("GS") and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. ("HSBC" and, together with GS in such capacity, the "Dealer Managers"), as dealer managers, in accordance with standard market practice, as described in the Offer to Purchase, that equates to a yield using the applicable maturity date equal to the sum of (a) the applicable fixed spread specified in the table above for each such series of Existing Notes, plus (b) the applicable reference yield, which shall be based on the bid-side price of the applicable Reference U.S. Treasury Security (specified in the table above) at the price determination time. The Government will announce the applicable Purchase Price for each series of Existing Notes as soon as practicable after they are determined by the Dealer Managers at the price determination time. Holders of Existing Notes participating in the Tender Offers whose Existing Notes are accepted for purchase will also receive any accrued and unpaid interest on their Existing Notes from, and including, the last interest payment date for such Existing Notes to, but not including, the Settlement Date ("Accrued Interest"). Tenders that are accepted will be settled solely by the Government on the Settlement Date, subject to the terms and conditions of the Tender Offers. During the Tender Period, a holder of Existing Notes may submit such Existing Notes to be tendered through The Depository Trust Company ("DTC"), Euroclear Bank SA/NV, as operator of the Euroclear System ("Euroclear") or Clearstream Banking, S.A. ("Clearstream"). No letter of transmittal or guaranteed delivery procedures are being offered in connection with the Tender Offers. As holders of Existing Notes are authorized to tender their Existing Notes only through DTC, Euroclear or Clearstream, beneficial owners of Existing Notes that are held in the name of a custodian must contact such entity sufficiently in advance of the Expiration Time if they wish to tender their Existing Notes and be eligible to receive the applicable Purchase Price for such Existing Notes. Holders who tender their Existing Notes will not have withdrawal rights with respect to the Tender Offers, unless required by applicable law. The Government reserves the right, in its sole discretion, not to accept any tender for any reason or to extend, re-open, amend or terminate the Tender Offers, or to close a Tender Offer to further Tenders, in its sole discretion. Any extension, termination or amendment of the Tender Offers will be followed, as promptly as practicable, by public announcement thereof. The Government shall communicate such public announcement by issuing a press release in accordance with applicable law and by an announcement on the website of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (www.bourse.lu) and the website of the Bermuda Stock Exchange (www.bsx.com), which websites are not incorporated herein by reference and on the website for the Tender Offers run by the Tender and Information Agent (http://www.gbsc-usa.com/Bermuda). The Dealer Managers for the Tender Offers are: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC 200 West Street New York, New York 10282 United States Attn: Liability Management Group Collect: +1 (212) 357-1452 Toll-Free: +1 (800) 828-3182 HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. 452 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10018 United States Attn: Global Liability Management Group Collect: +1 (212) 525-5552 Toll-Free: +1 (888) HSBC 4LM Questions regarding the Tender Offers may be directed to the Dealer Managers at the above contacts. The Offer to Purchase, as well as other relevant notices and documents, will also be available on http://www.gbsc-usa.com/Bermuda, the website for the Tender Offers operated by the Tender and Information Agent. The Tender and Information Agent for the Tender Offers is Global Bondholder Services Corporation. Global Bondholder Services Corporation 65 Broadway, Suite 404 New York, New York 10006 United States Banks and Brokers call: +1 (212) 430-3774 Toll-Free: +1 (855) 654-2014 Email: [email protected] By facsimile: (for Eligible Institutions only): +1 (212) 430-3775 Confirmation: +1 (212) 430-3774 Holders of Existing Notes are urged to read the Offer to Purchase carefully. Any questions or requests for assistance in relation to the Offer to Purchase may be directed to the Dealer Managers at their respective telephone number set forth above or to the holder's broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Tender Offers. Requests for additional copies of the Offer to Purchase may be directed to the Tender and Information Agent at the address and telephone number set forth above. This release shall not be construed as an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any of the Existing Notes or any other securities. The Tender Offers are not being made in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction. None of the Government, the Bank of New York Mellon as trustee for each series of Existing Notes, the Dealer Managers or the Tender and Information Agent makes any recommendation as to whether or not holders should tender their Existing Notes pursuant to the Tender Offers. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Government, to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses the Government has made in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. The Government cautions you that a number of important factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. The information contained in this press release identifies important factors that could cause such differences. The Government undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements. SOURCE The Government of Bermuda ALICANTE, Spain, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ocean Race is launching One Blue Voice , a new initiative to drive public support for ocean rights. The ambitious campaign aims to give the ocean a voice and put in place a global framework for protecting the marine environment, which is critical to maintaining the health of the planet. One Blue Voice is calling on the public people to sign-up to support ocean rights (image credit Elianne Dipp). The Ocean Race is campaigning for a Universal Declaration of Ocean Right (image credit Martin Keruzore). Through the campaign, the round-the-world sailing race is calling on members of the public to show their support for a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights by signing a petition which will be presented to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in September 2023, alongside draft principles underpinning ocean rights. Richard Brisius, Race Chairman at The Ocean Race said: "We're all connected to the ocean. But though it is critical to all life on Earth, the seas are deteriorating at an alarming rate, as sailors we've witnessed this first-hand. "We need to take action and create a global approach to protecting the ocean with collaboration at its heart. By joining forces and speaking as one, we can create the kind of noise that will be heard by the world's decision-makers. Individually it can be hard to create impact, but together, we can make a difference by giving the ocean the voice that it desperately needs." One Blue Voice has been created in collaboration with 11th Hour Racing, founding partner of The Ocean Race's Racing with Purpose sustainability programme. The campaign will raise awareness of the declining state of the seas, highlight how the ocean's rights are being ignored and help to shift perception of the ocean from a resource to use and exploit, to an entity that has a right to thrive. The call comes as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres last week issued a warning that the planet is facing an "ocean emergency." While One Blue Voice focuses on gathering public support, The Ocean Race has been working for over a year to explore the concept and build support with key decision-makers across the world through The Ocean Race Summits. The series of high-level events brings together a range of insights on ocean rights, which are later analysed and explored with experts in international law, policy, diplomacy and ocean science. Draft principles underpinning ocean rights will be produced from this work and shared at UNGA in September 2023 alongside the petition, to create a powerful proposition for member countries' consideration. The Ocean Race's work on ocean rights has got traction from a number of high-level supporters, including Cabo Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva, who said: "As a Small Island Developing State, Cabo Verde's economy and future is inextricably linked to the health of the ocean. We need the seas to be protected and well-managed, yet Earth's ocean has no voice, no advocate, and no guardian. Clearly the time has come for a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights, and we stand with The Ocean Race in working to make this a reality by 2030." Media Contact: Heather Carswell +34660860690 [email protected] SOURCE The Ocean Race "We've seen firsthand the effect that ParkMobile has on our university by making parking a seamless experience. Now our students, faculty, and visitors will be able to use the app year-round to pay for parking on campus," said Gary Becker, Director of Parking & Transportation Services at the University of Louisville. "ParkMobile significantly decreased the traffic congestion on campus last fall, so we look forward to furthering our partnership with them." ParkMobile recently launched in the City of Louisville through a partnership with the Parking Authority of River City. The app is also available at the Kentucky Exposition Center, as well as in other markets across Kentucky including Lexington, Bowling Green, and Richmond. ParkMobile has over 36 million users across North America, is available for both iPhone and Android devices, or can also be accessed on a mobile web browser. To pay for zone parking using the mobile or web app, a user enters the zone number posted on signs around the parking spot, selects the amount of time needed, and touches the "Start Parking" button to begin the session. The user can also extend the time of the parking session on their mobile device. "It's great to see an already active university expand on their ParkMobile offerings and now have our most popular features available on campus," added Jeff Perkins, CEO of ParkMobile. "The partnership launches just in time for students to start returning to campus following their summer vacation next month." About ParkMobile: ParkMobile, LLC is the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America, using a contactless approach to help millions of people easily find, reserve, and pay for parking on their mobile devices. The company's technology is used in thousands of locations across the country, including 8 of the top 10 cities as well as college campuses, airports, and stadiums. People can use ParkMobile solutions to quickly pay for on street and off-street parking without having to use a meter or kiosk. Additionally, ParkMobile offers parking reservations at stadium venues for concerts and sporting events. Reservations are also available in metro area garages, allowing people to drive into the city without having to worry about finding parking. ParkMobile has been named to the Inc. 5000, Deloitte Fast 500, Smart Cities Connect "Smart 50," and the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Top Workplaces. Additionally, the company won the 2022 Stevie Awards for Best Mobile On-Demand Application, the 2020 Stevie Awards for Achievement in Product Innovation, and the 2019 Stevie Awards for Most Innovative Tech Company and Best Travel App. For more information, visit ParkMobile.io or @ParkMobile on Twitter. ParkMobile Contact: Mark Lister, SVP of Marketing, [email protected] University of Louisville Contact: Gary Becker, Director of Parking & Transportation Services, [email protected] SOURCE ParkMobile DUBLIN, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 'Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market: Analysis By Application, By Category, By Region Size and Trends with Impact of COVID-19 and Forecast up to 2026' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) market in 2021 was valued at US$1.02 billion, and is likely to reach US$1.86 billion by 2026. Semiconductors and associated low-dimensional nanostructures are critical in today's world. They have been extensively researched and used in industries and militaries such as ultraviolet optoelectronics, light emitting diodes, quantum-dot photodetectors, and lasers. The understanding of the development dynamics of semiconductor nanostructures by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is therefore critical. MOCVD is a chemical vapor deposition method of epitaxial growth for compound semiconductors that is widely used in industry. Market Segmentation Analysis: By Application: The report splits the global metal organic chemical vapor deposition market into six different segments based on the type of application: microelectronics, data storage, solar products, cutting tools, medical equipment, and others. The microelectronic MOCVD segment held around 26.5% share in metal organic chemical vapor deposition market in 2021, owing to increasing adoption of microelectronics devices such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, and others in various industries across the globe. By Category: The market report has segmented the global metal organic chemical vapor deposition market into three segments on the basis of category: MOCVD Equipment, MOCVD Materials, and MOCVD Services. MOCVD services is the fastest growing segment expanding at a CAGR of 10.6% during the forecast period of 2022-2026, due to the growing demand for advancement in technology in coming years. By Region: According to this report, the global market can be divided into five major regions, on the basis of geographical areas: Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea and Rest of Asia Pacific), Europe (Germany, Italy, UK, France, and Rest of Europe), North America (The US, Canada, and Mexico), Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific enjoyed the major share of 47% of the total of the global market share in 2021, primarily owing to the increasing production and sales of passenger vehicles, and the high demand for automobiles and increasing income levels which have resulted in the rising growth of mid-sized premium and luxury car segments in the region. Therefore, augmenting the MOCVD market growth. China MOCVD market is booming at a rapid pace, thanks to the favorable Government intervention and high production of LED. Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market Dynamics: Growth Drivers: The surge in demand for consumer electronics is directly impacting the growth in MOCVD market, especially due to growth in demand for semiconductor market, which is a major end-user of MOCVD market. The market is further expected to increase due to rapid urbanization, rise in automotive industry, etc. in recent years. Challenges: Carbon contamination and unintentional hydrogen incorporation are a major problem in MOCVD. MOCVD precursors are very hazardous, as they are formed of highly toxic, hybride, gases due to formation of phosphine. As the human body absorbs organic compounds very easily, the metal organics are very easily absorbed by humans, thus, poisoning the body with heavy metals that often cannot be easily removed by normal bodily functions. This has been a major drawback of the market. Additionally, other factors like, high cost associated with MOCVD manufacturing, etc. are some challenges to the market. Trends: The rising use of MOCVD in the manufacturing of multilayer semiconductor structure that is used across optoelectronic or electronic equipment is a major trend for the global MOCVD market. The use of advanced MOCVD equipment in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device increases performance, delivers high switching, speed, and also increases efficiency. More trends in the market are believed to grow the metal organic chemical vapor deposition market during the forecasted period, which may include increasing penetration of AI applications, growing global demand for photovoltaic cells, growing popularity of micro-LEDs, etc. Impact Analysis of COVID-19 and Way Forward: The global metal organic chemical vapor deposition market benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since MOCVD is used to grow semiconductors, its influence on semiconductor production has had a considerable market impact. Furthermore, the use of MOCVD as a basic material in solar cells and transistors resulted in some positive developments throughout the pandemic. Understanding the demand drivers for MOCVD end-applications would help assess the influence of COVID on the global MOCVD market. The market is expected to develop quicker in the next years as a result of changes brought about by the pandemic, such as increased semiconductor demand, reconfiguration of MOCVD firms' supply chains to improve robustness, and so on. Competitive Landscape and Recent Developments: The metal organic chemical vapor deposition market currently has only three competitors; however, the potential for rapid expansion has made many semiconductor equipment manufacturers interested in this market opportunity. The global market for MOCVD is concentrated, with three companies accounting for more than 95% of the market. With a market share of more than 70%, Aixtron SE is the world's top supplier of MOCVD equipment, followed by AMEC in China and Veeco Instruments Inc. in the US. MOCVD equipment demand is cyclical, resulting in inconsistent income inflows for MOCVD companies. This is also expected to reduce the number of new producers entering the market. Further, key players of the metal organic chemical vapor deposition market are: AIXTRON SE Toshiba Corporation (NuFlare Technology Inc.) Veeco Instruments Inc. Nippon Sanso Holding Corporation (Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation) CVD Equipment Corporation JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co. Ltd. Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China Agnitron Technology, Inc. Samco Inc. Nichia Corporation Qingdao Jason Electric Co. Ltd. Alliance MOCVD, LLC. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Introduction 2.1 Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD): An Overview 2.1.1 Benefits of Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) 2.2 Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD)Segmentation: An Overview 2.2.1 Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) Segmentation 3. Global Market Analysis 3.1 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market: An Analysis 3.1.1 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Value 3.1.2 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Application (microelectronics, data storage, solar products, cutting tools, medical equipment, and others) 3.1.3 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Category (MOCVD Equipment, MOCVD Materials, and MOCVD Services) 3.1.4 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Region (Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) 3.2 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market: Application Analysis 3.2.1 Global Microelectronics Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Value 3.2.2 Global Data Storage Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Value 3.2.3 Global Solar Products Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Value 3.2.4 Global Cutting Tools Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Value 3.2.5 Global Medical Equipment Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Value 3.2.6 Global Others Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market by Value 3.3 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Market: Category Analysis 3.3.1 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Market by Value 3.3.2 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Material Market by Value 3.3.3 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Services Market by Value 4. Regional Market Analysis 5. Impact of COVID 5.1 Impact of COVID-19 on Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) Market 5.2 post-COVID-19 Impact on Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) Market 6. Market Dynamics 6.1 Growth Driver 6.1.1 Rapid Urbanization 6.1.2 Increased Demand for Consumer Electronic Devices 6.1.3 Rise in Automotive Industry 6.1.4 Rapid installation of MOCVD base 6.1.5 Escalating Use of Advanced Medical Equipment 6.1.6 Rising Demand for Technology in Microelectronics 6.1.7 Replacement of Silicon Technology by Gallium Nitride (GaN) in Power Semiconductor Industry 6.2 Challenges 6.2.1 High Cost Associated with MOCVD Manufacturing 6.2.2 Health Concerns Associated with MOCVD Manufacturing 6.3 Market Trends 6.3.1 Increasing Penetration of AI applications 6.3.2 Growing Global Demand for Photovoltaic Cells 6.3.3 Rising Use of MOCVD in the Manufacturing Of Multilayer Semiconductor Structure 6.3.4 Growing Popularity of Micro-LEDs 7. Competitive Landscape 7.1 Global Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) Players by Market Share 8. Company Profiles 8.1 AIXTRON SE 8.1.1 Business Overview 8.1.2 Operating Region 8.1.3 Business Strategy 8.2 Toshiba Corporation (NuFlare Technology Inc.) 8.2.1 Business Overview 8.2.2 Operating Segment 8.2.3 Business Strategy 8.3 Veeco Instruments Inc. 8.3.1 Business Overview 8.3.2 Sales by End Market 8.3.3 Business Strategy 8.4 Nippon Sanso Holding Corporation (Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation) 8.4.1 Business Overview 8.4.2 Operating Segment 8.4.3 Business Strategy 8.5 CVD Equipment Corporation 8.5.1 Business Overview 8.5.2 Operating Segment 8.5.3 Business Strategy 8.6 JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co. Ltd. 8.6.1 Business Overview 8.6.2 Operating Segment 8.7 Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China 8.7.1 Business Overview 8.7.2 Business Strategy 8.8 Agnitron Technology, Inc. 8.8.1 Business Overview 8.8.2 Business Strategy 8.9 Samco Inc. 8.9.1 Business Overview 8.9.2 Business Strategy 8.10 Nichia Corporation 8.10.1 Business Overview 8.10.2 Business Strategy 8.11 Qingdao Jason Electric Co. Ltd. 8.11.1 Business Overview 8.12 Alliance MOCVD, LLC 8.12.1 Business Overview For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kevrd6 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets "As a first lady of both California and the nation, she built a legacy of public service throughout her eventful life," said DeJoy. "Whether she was giving voice to the needs of America's Vietnam Veterans, promoting foster grandparent programs, or raising visibility for important health issues she was a passionate and effective public advocate for a wide range of causes close to her heart." "As did the five first ladies before her that were memorialized on a stamp, Nancy Reagan helped define the role of presidential spouse for her successors," said Revell. "It's fitting that this fiercely vigilant and politically astute First Lady, who left her stamp on one of the most consequential presidencies of the 20th century, should now be celebrated and commemorated on a Forever stamp of her own!" Wilson said, "I'm pleased to represent the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute Board of Trustees at Mrs. Reagan's Forever stamp first-day-of-issue program. To honor her in this way on what would have been her 101st birthday is a way for Americans to remember her lasting legacy of service." Nancy Davis Reagan (1921-2016), wife of the 40th president, was First Lady from 1981 to 1989 and most trusted advisor and champion to her husband. Throughout her life, Reagan held a deep passion for her country, championing many causes along the way. Chief among these were the Foster Grandparents Program; assistance to Vietnam veterans and the plight of POWs and MIAs; drug and alcohol abuse prevention among youth; breast cancer awareness; and Alzheimer's research. As First Lady, she worked hand in hand with her husband, both at home and abroad, and advocated for issues on the national and international stage. Reagan's partnership with her husband and devotion to his success, behind-the-scenes influence and her legacy of public service made her one of the most significant first ladies in modern times. The Nancy Reagan stamp art is a detail from the official 1987 White House portrait by Aaron Shikler the full-body portrait was cropped to accommodate the stamp format. The oil-on-canvas portrait features Reagan dressed in a flowing gown, in her signature red color. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp. The Nancy Reagan Forever stamp is being issued in panes of 20. News of the stamp will be shared with the hashtag #NancyReaganStamp. A feature story about the stamp will be available at facebook.com/usps following the ceremony. Postal Products Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps , by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Please Note: For U.S. Postal Service media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube channel, like us on Facebook and enjoy our Postal Posts blog. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com. National contact: James McKean (C) 202-258-6586 [email protected] usps.com/news Local contact: Natashi Garvins (C) 323-312-7834 [email protected] usps.com/news SOURCE U.S. Postal Service Files Voluntary Petitions for Chapter 11 Protection to Implement Restructuring; Proposed Plan of Reorganization Creates Efficient Path to Resume Account Access and Return Value to Customers Voyager Has Approximately $1.3 Billion of Crypto Assets on the Platform, More Than $350 Million of Cash Held in the FBO Account for Customers at Metropolitan Commercial Bank, and Claims Against Three Arrows Capital of More Than $650 Million1 NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Voyager Digital Ltd. ("Voyager" or the "Company") (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQX: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2), today announced that it has commenced a voluntary Chapter 11 process to maximize value for all stakeholders. As part of this process, the Company and its main operating subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York (the "Court"). The Company intends to seek recognition of the Chapter 11 case of Voyager in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) pursuant to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. "This comprehensive reorganization is the best way to protect assets on the platform and maximize value for all stakeholders, including customers," said Stephen Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer of Voyager. "Voyager's platform was built to empower investors by providing access to crypto asset trading with simplicity, speed, liquidity, and transparency. While I strongly believe in this future, the prolonged volatility and contagion in the crypto markets over the past few months, and the default of Three Arrows Capital ("3AC") on a loan from the Company's subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, require us to take deliberate and decisive action now. The chapter 11 process provides an efficient and equitable mechanism to maximize recovery." The proposed Plan of Reorganization ("Plan") would, upon implementation, resume account access and return value to customers. Under this Plan, which is subject to change given ongoing discussions with other parties, and requires Court approval, customers with crypto in their account(s) will receive in exchange a combination of the crypto in their account(s), proceeds from the 3AC recovery, common shares in the newly reorganized Company, and Voyager tokens. The plan contemplates an opportunity for customers to elect the proportion of common equity and crypto they will receive, subject to certain maximum thresholds. Customers with USD deposits in their account(s) will receive access to those funds after a reconciliation and fraud prevention process is completed with Metropolitan Commercial Bank. The Company continues to evaluate all strategic alternatives to maximize value for stakeholders. The Company has over $110 million of cash and owned crypto assets on hand, which will provide liquidity to support day-to-day operations during the Chapter 11 process, in addition to more than $350 million of cash held in the For Benefit of Customers (FBO) account at Metropolitan Commercial Bank. Voyager also has approximately $1.3 billion of crypto assets on its platform, plus claims against Three Arrows Capital ("3AC") of more than $650 million. Voyager previously announced that its subsidiary, Voyager Digital LLC, issued a notice of default to 3AC for failure to make the required payments on its previously disclosed loan of 15,250 BTC and $350 million USDC. Voyager is actively pursuing all available remedies for recovery from 3AC, including through the court-supervised processes in the British Virgin Islands and New York. The Company also announced the appointment of a four new independent directors: Matthew Ray at Voyager Digital Ltd.; Scott Vogel at Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc.; and Jill Frizzley and Timothy Pohl at Voyager Digital LLC. Information regarding their backgrounds and relevant experience is included at the end of this release. As part of the reorganization process, the Company will file customary "First Day" motions to allow it to maintain operations in the ordinary course. Voyager intends to pay its employees in the usual manner and continue their primary benefits and certain customer programs without disruption. The Company expects to receive court approval for all these routine requests. Trading, deposits, withdrawals and loyalty rewards on the Voyager platform remain temporarily suspended. Parties with questions about the chapter 11 process may contact the Company's Claims Agent, Stretto, at +1 (855) 473-8665 (toll-free in the U.S.) or +1 (949) 271-6507 (for parties outside the U.S.). They have also set up a website at http://cases.stretto.com/Voyager, which includes court documents and other information. To effectuate the restructuring process, the Company has engaged Moelis & Company and The Consello Group as financial advisors, Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal advisors, and Berkeley Research Group, LLC, as restructuring advisor. New Independent Directors to Provide Additional Leadership and Expertise Matthew Ray joins as an independent director of Voyager Digital Ltd. Mr. Ray is the Founder and Managing Partner of Portage Point Partners where he has served as Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chairman, Lead Independent Director, Special Restructuring Committee Chairperson and Strategic Advisor leading wide-ranging transformations and restructurings for both private and public companies. Scott Vogel joins as an independent director of Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc. Mr. Vogel has broad experience sitting on numerous boards of directors for financially distressed companies in a diverse set of industries. Mr. Vogel carefully and skillfully manages complex situations, develops restructuring plans and post-restructuring organizational priorities, builds consensus amongst and between stakeholders and management, executes complex capital market and corporate transactions, facilitates clear lines of communication, and aligns management incentives to ensure accountability. Jill Frizzley joins as an independent director of Voyager Digital LLC. Ms. Frizzley is a corporate governance expert with significant experience serving on boards of directors and advising on corporate governance, restructuring, bankruptcies, and mergers and acquisitions. Leveraging over two decades of legal practice in financial restructuring and insolvency, Ms. Frizzley has a deep wealth of knowledge encompassing corporate, financial, and governance matters across a wide range of industries. Timothy Pohl joins as an independent director of Voyager Digital LLC. Mr. Pohl has extensive experience and expertise in all aspects of corporate restructurings and financing, mergers and acquisitions, valuation, liquidity and balance sheet assessment and analysis, capital markets, corporate law, restructuring law, and litigation. Mr. Pohl currently serves as a Senior Advisor in a number of situations, as well as an Independent Director for a number of corporations. Mr. Pohl has also advised across a wide range of industries and has provided expert testimony on valuation and corporate and restructuring matters. About Voyager Digital Ltd. Voyager Digital Ltd.'s (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQX: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2) US subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, is a cryptocurrency platform in the United States founded in 2018 to bring choice, transparency, and cost-efficiency to the marketplace. Voyager offers a secure way to trade over 100 different crypto assets using its easy-to-use mobile application. Through its subsidiary Coinify ApS, Voyager provides crypto payment solutions for both consumers and merchants around the globe. To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com . Forward Looking Statements Certain information in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the restructuring process, the restructuring Plan, available remedies for recovery from 3AC, intended filings as part of the restructuring process, resumption of account access, return of value to customers, the ability of Voyager to continue as a going concern, exploration of strategic alternatives, discussions with third parties in respect of strategic alternatives and the results of those discussions, the temporary nature of the suspension of the platform, future growth and performance of the business, the exploration of strategic alternatives, future adoption of digital assets, anticipated trends and challenges in our business and industry, the regulation of digital assets offerings, the impact of the 3AC default on the Company, the Company's liquidity and ability to satisfy customer orders and withdrawals and the Company's anticipated results may constitute forward looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements), which can be identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate," "intend," "continue" or "believe" (or the negatives) or other similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Voyager's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any of its future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. It is uncertain as to the timing or results of the restructuring process or the terms of the final restructuring plan, when account access will resume, the value to be returned to customers, what amount Voyager will be able to recover from 3AC for non-payment or the legal remedies available to Voyager in connection with such non-payment or the impact on the future business, cash flows, liquidity and prospects of Voyager as a result of 3AC's non-payment. Forward looking statements are subject to the risk that the global economy, industry, or the Company's businesses and investments do not perform as anticipated, that revenue or expenses estimates may not be met or may be materially less or more than those anticipated, that parties to whom the Company lends assets are able to repay such loans in full and in a timely manner, that trading momentum does not continue or the demand for trading solutions declines, customer acquisition does not increase as planned, product and international expansion do not occur as planned, risks of compliance with laws and regulations that currently apply or become applicable to the business and those other risks contained in the Company's public filings, including in its Management Discussion and Analysis and its Annual Information Form (AIF). Factors that could cause actual results of the Company and its businesses to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the results of the restructuring process and the terms of the restructuring plan, if such a plan is ultimately agreed to, the results from the exploration of strategic alternatives, the inability to resume trading, deposits, withdrawals and rewards on the platform in a timely manner, an inability to drawdown under the credit facility or access other sources of financing, an increase in customer demands for withdrawals from the platform, any insolvency or similar proceedings with respect to 3AC, our ability to find a strategic alternative, a decline in the digital asset market or general economic conditions; changes in laws or approaches to regulation, the failure or delay in the adoption of digital assets and the blockchain ecosystem by institutions; changes in the volatility of crypto currency, changes in demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum, changes in the status or classification of cryptocurrency assets, cybersecurity breaches, a delay or failure in developing infrastructure for the trading businesses or achieving mandates and gaining traction; failure to grow assets under management, an adverse development with respect to an issuer or party to the transaction or failure to obtain a required regulatory approval. Readers are cautioned that Assets on Platform and trading volumes fluctuate and may increase and decrease from time to time and that such fluctuations are beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements, past and present performance and trends are not guarantees of future performance, accordingly, you should not put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, current or past performance, or current or past trends. Information identifying assumptions, risks, and uncertainties relating to the Company are contained in its filings with the Canadian securities regulators available at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements in this press release are applicable only as of the date of this release or as of the date specified in the relevant forward-looking statement and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after that date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. The Company assumes no obligation to provide operational updates, except as required by law. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements, unless required by law. Readers are cautioned that past performance is not indicative of future performance. There is no assurance that the funds available under the loan agreement will be available or, even if available will, together with any other assets of Voyager be sufficient to safeguard assets. The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein. __________________ 1 The amounts are as of June 30, 2022, and are preliminary, non-reviewed and unaudited, and subject to final adjustments following completion of quarterly and year-end close procedures. SOURCE Voyager Digital Ltd. FORT WORTH, Texas, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesway, one of the country's fastest growing convenience store chains, announced today the opening of its newest Allsup's-branded stores in Breckenridge, Canyon, and Robert Lee, Texas. These most recent new-to-industry and relocated stores further expand the Yesway portfolio to 406 stores in total. The latest new-to-market stores, at 5240 4th Avenue in Canyon, Texas and 820 Commerce Street in Robert Lee, Texas, along with the new Breckenridge, Texas Allsup's store now located at 2817 West Walker, each contain 5,630 square feet of merchandising space, have 24 fueling positions, with high-speed diesel fueling lanes also available at the Breckenridge and Canyon locations. These represent the latest of the new large-format stores Yesway has developed and is bringing to market. All are open 24 hours per day and customers visiting these new stores will find their favorite Allsup's world-famous burritos, a full array of Yesway and Allsup's private label snacks; a new trucker/automotive section; high quality fresh Allsup's bread, milk, and eggs; and a beer cave; along with amenities including Western Union service, ATM availability, and Coin Cloud digital currency machines offering 30+ digital currencies. "Our loyal customers in Texas have shared with us how excited they are that our new, large- format stores have come to their communities," said Tom Trkla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yesway. "The velocity at which our team has been working to bring these new stores to market is truly inspiring." These follow the previously announced openings of new Allsup's stores in Mineral Wells, Texas, and both Alamogordo and Artesia, New Mexico, as well as numerous Grand Opening celebrations of new Allsup's stores located in Azle, Bangs, Decatur, Friona, Hereford, Tuscola, and Wall, Texas this year. To find the Yesway or Allsup's store closest to you, please visit www.Yesway.com/locations or www.Allsups.com/allsups-locations/ . Editor note: Contact Erin Vadala, Warner Communications; (978) 468-3076; [email protected] to arrange interviews. High-resolution images and graphics are available upon request. About Yesway Yesway is one of the fastest-growing convenience store operators in the United States. Established in 2015, Yesway is a multi-branded platform that acquires, transforms, and enhances portfolios of convenience stores by leveraging expertise in real estate and technology, and by implementing data-driven decision making. Yesway was named the "2021 Convenience Store Chain of the Year" by CStore Decisions and is currently ranked #21 on the "2022 CSP Top 202 Chains" list by total portfolio size. Yesway ranked #2 in year-over-year relative store growth on the Convenience Store News "2020 Top 20 Growth Chains" list and its CEO has been named a "CSP 2020 Power 20 Deal Maker." Yesway's portfolio currently consists of 406 stores located in Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, including the Allsup's Convenience Store chain. www.yesway.com SOURCE Yesway LONDON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - The International Gas Union (IGU) is today releasing its 13th annual World LNG Report, the world's most comprehensive public source of information on key developments and trends in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Another exceptional year Since the release of the 2021 report, the LNG sector has continued to face unprecedented conditions. Rapid post-COVID-19 demand recovery and tightening energy markets became further stressed by the supply implications from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This year's report is out during the worst global energy crisis on memory, and at a time when LNG plays a crucial role in security, reliability, and sustainability of energy around the world. It is a vital tool for controlling emissions, as gas produces significantly lower carbon emissions than coal and oil while keeping the air clean. Highlights LNG has demonstrated its agility by adjusting to rapidly changing market conditions. This confirms LNG as a vital fuel for secure, reliable, and sustainable energy, but long-term policy clarity is necessary for gas project development and rebalancing the markets. Global LNG Trade LNG Exporters & Importers LNG Re-Exports +16.2 MT Growth of global LNG trade Croatia commenced LNG imports in 2021, making it the 40th 1 importing market +0.9 MT Re-exported volumes increased by 34.4% YOY in 2021. Global LNG trade reached an all-time high of 372.3 MT in 2021, 4.5% growth from 2020. China, Kuwait, Indonesia and Brazil increased net imports through expansion of import capacity. Re-export activity increased to 3.5 MT in 2021 (2.6 MT in 2020). China provided 10.4 MT in increased net imports, and Asia increased net imports by 9.5 MT. Growth in exports came from the United States (+22.3 MT), Egypt (+5.2 MT) and Algeria (+1.2 MT). Asia received the largest volume of reexports (1.6 MT), while Europe re-exported the largest volumes (2.3 MT). Contractions were greatest in India (-2.6 MT) and the United Kingdom (-2.4 MT). Source: GIIGNL The LNG sector continued to adjust to rallying demand with incredible agility. Strong post-COVID-19 recovery and growth in LNG demand demonstrated that it remains highly valued as a means of fuelling economies and reaching climate goals, while also highlighting urgent need for greater investment in supply to ensure it is more affordable. IGU Secretary General, Milton Catelin, stressed: "LNG plays a critical role in assuring the fundamentals of global energy security and economic stability, and this role has never been greater than it is now. As the world considers its options for navigating through unprecedented times, policymakers should consider the options that are available and the time that is required to bring new supply online. The industry urgently needs policy clarity, beyond the short-term." Price The world is all too aware of the energy prices rally. LNG price growth began with a rapid post-COVID-19 demand recovery and less rapid additions of supply and continued to get worse as the Russia-Ukraine conflict added more stress to the already fully subscribed market. Spot LNG prices surged to historic highs, and European benchmarks exceeded their Asian counterparts. Addressing supply constraints is going to be critical to energy security and economic stability in the world. LNG brings energy where it is needed and connects remote consumers to supply As of April 2022, the global LNG trade connects 19 exporting markets with 40 markets with importing capabilities. Global LNG trade grew by 4.5%, reaching an all-time high of 372.3 million tonnes (MT) in 2021, as the strong post-pandemic recovery resulted in a surge in LNG imports. The growth in exports was mainly driven by the United States (+22.3MT, +49.8%), Egypt (+5.2 MT, +391.2%) and Algeria (+1.2 MT, +11.4%). Australia remained the largest LNG exporter in 2021, exporting 78.5 MT last year vs. 77.8 MT in 2020. The largest exporting and importing region continued to be Asia Pacific. China overtook Japan as the largest LNG importer, increasing its net imports from 68.9 MT in 2020 to 79.3 MT in 2021. A flexible long-term assurance for security of supply Thanks to LNG's agility, reliability, and flexibility, the lights stay on, industries continue to run, homes and businesses are heated or cooled. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to impact global gas supply, reinforcing LNG's critical role in global energy security. In 2021, Russia contributed 8% of global LNG exports, out of which 43.9% were shipped to Europe, while the remaining 56.1% were shipped to Asia Pacific and Asia. With the European Union committing to eliminate Russia energy imports by 2027, growth in existing LNG exporting markets such as the United States and Qatar, and developing new ones, like growing Africa, are important avenues to diversify energy sources and support European energy security. As of April 2022, 136.2 MTPA of liquefaction capacity was under construction or approved for development. 7.7 MTPA of that overall capacity increase is expected to come online in the second half of 2022, with the rest gradually coming in between 2023 and 2027. In 2021, we witnessed one of the highest volumes of capacity being approved in a single year, with 50.0 MTPA liquefaction capacity reaching a final investment decision (FID). This was mainly contributed by the QatarGas North Field East (NFE) project, which added 32.0 MTPA to global approved liquefaction capacity. The remaining approved capacity was contributed by the Baltic LNG T1T2 (13.0 MTPA) and Pluto T2 Expansion (5.0 MTPA). A key part of the solution to climate problem "Even if it is becoming increasingly challenging in the current environment, the world must stay the course of energy transition, and natural gas, together with a growing portfolio of decarbonised, low and zero- carbon gases, will be key to making that possible." IGU Secretary General, Milton Catelin commented "Gas is the fastest attainable and sustainable long-term vehicle to get the world back onto the energy transition path, and the inherent flexibility of LNG allows to deliver it to almost anywhere in the world." Global gas industry continues to strengthen its vital role in solving the climate change problem and enabling an achievable and sustainable energy transition. Over the past year, we have seen an increased focus on decarbonisation among liquefaction facilities. For example, several proposed projects such as the Cedar LNG 1 (3.0 MTPA), Kitimat LNG (18.0 MTPA) and Woodfibre LNG (2.1 MTPA) in Canada will be powered by clean, renewable hydroelectricity. In the US, Venture Global is currently developing CCS at its LNG facilities (Plaquemines LNG and Calcasieu Pass LNG). Through this undertaking, Venture Global will capture and sequester an estimated 500,000 tonnes of carbon per year from its Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines liquefaction sites. Low-carbon LNG is expected to play a key role in the global energy system. Other innovative solutions are also being explored on some LNG liquefaction plants. For example, Hammerfest LNG has introduced the all-electric concept, which was also applied for Freeport LNG featuring electric motors installed to drive their liquefaction compressors. It is also connected to the local grid, which uses renewable energy as part of the electricity mix. This can significantly reduce emissions, depending on the power mix used to fuel the electric motors. Other decarbonisation solutions being explored include absorption of CO2 from the natural gas feed. Liquefied natural gas today, and progressively decarbonised, low and zero- carbon gases, will contribute to a sustainable energy now and in the future. Gas is itself a major decarbonisation vehicle, and the only hydrocarbon that can be decarbonised at scale, while continuing to provide flexibility and reliability to energy consumers and feedstock to vital indusial sectors. Gas and renewables will be the two major pillars of decarbonisation. Download full report here About the Report Leveraging the IGU's vast global network of more than 150 members across the entire gas value chain, in 80+ countries around the world, the report provides rich data and analysis on LNG trade, price trends, liquefaction, regasification and shipping, as well as on the significant inroads that the fuel is making as bunker fuel. This helps to inform decision makers in business and government, whilst also demonstrating the critical role that gas plays in giving the world safe, secure and sustainable energy supply to keep the lights on, heat homes and businesses and to run essential industry. The IGU thanks its partners, for their invaluable contributions to the development and production of this year's edition. The 2022 report was compiled with contributions from S&P Global (Price Trends) and GIGNL (Trade), and with Rystad Energy as the knowledge partner. The IGU would also like to thank the report study group members from the IGU LNG Committee for their commitment of time and effort to bring this report to life. About the International Gas Union (IGU) The International Gas Union (IGU) was founded in 1931 and is a worldwide non-profit organisation, which promotes the political, technical, and economic progress of the gas industry, seeking to demonstrate that, gas is an integral part of a sustainable global energy future. The more than 150 members of the IGU are national associations and corporations within the gas industry worldwide, working in every aspect of the gas supply chain, from production of natural, renewable, hydrogen and other low and zero-carbon gases through their transport and use. The IGU organises the main international LNG Conference and Exhibition every three years, with the forthcoming LNG2023 taking place in Vancouver, Canada, in July 2023. www.igu.org SOURCE International Gas Union Madrid Southern European states including Italy and Spain are urging NATO allies to address threats from North Africa, after the alliance agreed on a new "strategic concept" at its summit last week in Madrid. 'Hostile actors' While the war in Ukraine dominates NATO's agenda, member states bordering the Mediterranean want the alliance to prepare for other potential flashpoints from the south, including a rapid increase in irregular migration. Spain warned it could be used as a pressure tactic by what it called "hostile actors." Hundreds of migrants attempted to breach the border fence separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco last month. At least 23 people died during the attempted crossing. The migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, are desperate to reach Europe to claim asylum and find a better life. Many migrants also arrive by boat on the Spanish Canary Islands, 100 kilometers off the African coast. The numbers arriving in the first six months of the year have more than doubled since 2021 -- and Spain fears the pressure on its borders could be about to worsen. Ukraine war Ukraine is one of the world's top suppliers of grain, but the Russian invasion has cut its exports by around two-thirds. The United Nations has warned that the situation will exacerbate an already worsening hunger crisis in Africa. Europe is readying for an increase in migration. "We have been looking at whether there is more movement of people linked to the increase in prices, to the difficulty of these countries in accessing grain and wheat," Txema Santana, a migration advisor to the government of the Canary Islands, told the Reuters news agency. "What we have been told is that for the moment there is not, but it is a matter of time." Russian mercenaries A resurgent Islamist militancy in parts of the Sahel is also driving migrant flows. Europe also says Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group are exacerbating the conflict. The European Union has imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, which it says works for the Kremlin. Moscow denies any links but says it is providing "military assistance" through state channels. "It is very clear that the Wagner company is there and that there are foreign troops in several countries of the Sahel," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told the Reuters news agency last month. "And definitely it is not foreign troops that the Sahel needs. What the Sahel needs is development and stability," he added. Morocco deal Spain is seeking international help. In March it struck a deal with Morocco to secure a clampdown on irregular migration. "What the war in Ukraine meant for this migratory route is that Morocco changed its international relations profile, accentuated it, and proposed a change in relations with Spain to ensure that at this time of conflict the arrival of people would be lower. In return, Spain was asked, among other things, to change its diplomatic relations with Western Sahara. "Spain has accepted this and this is leading to many geopolitical changes and will lead to many changes in the borders and the situation of migrants in Western Sahara and Morocco," explained government adviser Txema Santana. Critics accuse Madrid of outsourcing migration policy to a country with a history of human rights abuses. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, along with the Spanish migration charity Walking Borders, cited the incident at the Morocco-Melilla border in June, describing it as a "tragic symbol of European policies of externalizing borders of the EU." A Moroccan official told Reuters that security personnel "had not used undue force." NATO At last week's NATO summit, Spain secured official recognition by the alliance of the threats emanating from North Africa. At a press conference at the close of the summit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he had achieved his aims for the meeting. "We are really glad to have included the southern flank in the strategic concept ... especially about the African sub-Saharan and Sahel area, which is one of the major concerns for Europe and particularly for our country as a consequence of instability and risks coming from the irregular flux of migrants, terrorism, food crisis, energy crisis and the climate emergency too," Sanchez said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines North Africa Europe and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Meanwhile, NATO forces held exercises in recent days just off the Spanish and North African coasts. The FLOTEX-22 drills included forces from Spain, Britain, Belgium and the United States, along with other European units integrated into the EU's maritime force. Residents of the Spanish town of Tarifa had a front-row view of the drills. One resident, who asked not to be named, welcomed the focus on North Africa. "It is a very unstable area; it is a ticking time bomb, you know what the Maghreb is, anything can come of it, a war, conflict," he told VOA. He was referring to northwestern Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. Spain maintains it is not calling for any NATO intervention in North Africa, but instead recognition of what it calls hybrid threats. VOA's Alfonso Beato contributed to this report. BEIJING, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by C114: After three years of licensing spectrum for 5G, China has seen faster-than-expected 5G growth, and is now one of the world's main drivers behind the rapid development of 5G and its upstream and downstream ecosystem. While continuing to promote the development of 5G, the industry had started to work on bringing 5G into a new phase: 5G-Advanced, which has become a hot topic of discussions among operators and industry partners. 5G has proved to be a breakthrough technology enabling a digital, intelligent world with ubiquitous gigabit experience and 10 billion-level connectivity. 5G-Advanced is set to further up its predecessor with a ubiquitous 10 Gbps experience and 100 billion-level connectivity, further deepening the digital, intelligent transformation. One year after 3GPP officially defined 5G-Advanced for 5G evolution, operators, equipment vendors, and industry partners have reached consensus on the use cases, requirements, and key directions of 5G-Advanced. Release 18 will be the first release of specifications that will make this consensus to a reality. At a conference on the achievements of 5G-Advanced innovation-industry chain convergence on June 6, 2022, China Mobile unveiled its first-ever 5G-Advanced E2E industry showcases, along with Huawei and other partners, and released a white paper on new capabilities and development prospects for 5G-Advanced. China Mobile also announced new plans to promote the in-depth convergence between 5G-advanced innovation and industry chains. The white paper proposed three major directions for 5G-advanced: high-quality networks, intelligent and simplified networks, and low carbon goals, along with 10 key technologies based on the three directions. China Unicom proposed three technical solutions for 5G-Advanced: smart new vision, smart high uplink, and smart super sensing on May 15, 2022 at its conference covering innovations and practice achievements. These technical proposals will form a crucial part of its new efforts to explore new capabilities of 5G-Advanced, including 10 Gbps downlink, Gbps uplink, and new spectrum deployments. The company also called for collaboration among industry partners to grow the size of the market at large. China Telecom launched Super TimeFreq Folding for 5G-Advanced at a joint conference on May 10, 2022. This new solution works on the 3.5 GHz band, and supports an up to 100 MHz of equivalent uplink width and 1 Gbps of uplink peak rate, while reducing E2E latency for 10 ms to below 4 ms. China Telecom also shared its new plans for improvements of this solution by using the mmWave band, potentially to cut the latency even below 1 ms. This level of ultra-large capacity and high reliability will provide industry customers with better and more cost-effective solutions to accelerate digital transformation. As the move to 5G-Advanced has become a matter of consensus, it is the high time for the industry to define the key features, deployment strategies, and product directions of 5G-advanced based on operator requirements, and develop new the technologies required to bring it to a reality. All stakeholders both in and outside the telecom industry chain now still need to work together on the technological, system, and business verification required to upgrade 5G to 5G-Advanced to fully harness it's potential for bringing digital intelligence to all. SOURCE C114 SPICEWOOD, Texas, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Abracon LLC, (Abracon) a leader in passive components, today announced it has been acquired by Genstar Capital, a leading private equity firm focused on investments in targeted segments of the industrials, financial services, healthcare, and software industries. Abracon's technical expertise and product offerings span frequency control and timing devices, inductor and connectivity products, and RF and antenna solutions through a global distribution network. Premier brands powered by Abracon include Ecliptek, Fox, and ProAnt which enable innovative and connected IoT solutions in markets spanning communication, consumer, transportation, medical, industrial, aerospace, and defense. With this announcement, Mike Calabria, who has led the growth and transformation of the company for the past seven years assumes the position of Executive Chairman. Tony Roybal, who joined the company in 2021 as Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. Rob Rutledge, Managing Director at Genstar Capital, said, "Abracon is uniquely positioned to drive industry-leading product breadth and fulfillment speeds to grow its footprint and deliver products for global platforms in all critical markets around the world. The management team has done an excellent job building a strong reputation and loyal customer base, and we are excited to support the company's organic and inorganic growth strategy." "Building on a foundation of quality, technical expertise, and customer focus, Abracon is positioning itself for rapid growth and we are excited to partner with Genstar," voices Michael Calabria. I look forward to serving as Executive Chairman and I am extremely confident in Tony and the executive leadership team to guide Abracon forward." Tony Roybal, commented, "Genstar has a history of investing in industrial businesses underpinned with strong technology, and we look forward to the partnership. It will help enhance our ongoing customer value creation capabilities in engineering, design & innovative business solutions across the supply chain - as well as further accelerate organic growth via new product introductions in our rapidly growing markets. Together, we will also pursue focused M&A activity for continued growth in our core and adjacent markets. I would like to thank Mike for his many contributions to Abracon and look forward to his continued leadership and partnership as Executive Chairman." Weil, Gotshal & Manges served as legal counsel to Genstar in the transaction. Guggenheim Partners, Lincoln International, and Jones Day served as advisors to Abracon in the transaction. About Genstar Capital Genstar Capital (http://www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for over 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar currently has approximately $35 billion of assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the software, financial services, industrials, and healthcare industries. About Abracon Founded in 1992, Abracon, LLC is an industry leader in passive components, providing timing devices, RF & antenna, and inductor & connectivity solutions through a global distribution network. Headquartered outside of Austin, Texas, Abracon is innovating for tomorrow's designs with engineering, sales, and operations located around the globe. With service, quality, and technical expertise at the company's core, Abracon powers the Ecliptek, Fox and the ProAnt brands and enables innovative, connected IoT solutions in markets spanning data communication, transportation, industrial, medical, aerospace, defense, and beyond. Learn more at http://www.abracon.com/. Contacts: For Abracon Amy Keller, VP, Global Marketing 720-838-9571 For Genstar Chris Tofalli Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC 914-834-4334 SOURCE Abracon, LLC LAS VEGAS, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Absolute Dental Group, LLC ("Absolute Dental"), Nevada's largest branded Dental Service Organization ("DSO"), has just completed the acquisition of two dental practices in southern Nevada. These newest practices are conveniently located at 8445 W. Flamingo Road at the intersection of Flamingo and Durango in Summerlin and 2660 Windmill Parkway at the intersection of Windmill and Pecos in Henderson. Both locations will accept the uninsured and privately insured patients while offering "All Dentistry in One Place" dental care, which includes general dentistry, orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, oral hygiene and pediatric dentistry, creating a convenient, one stop experience for patients. Absolute Dental has now affiliated 3 additional offices in 2022, expanding its total network to 40 locations in Nevada. "This is an important and exciting milestone for all team members and affiliated providers," shared CEO Dave Drzewiecki. "With a total of 40 locations now, and a patient-focused strategy of offering all dentistry in one place, we're very pleased to be able to continue to expand access to the local community here in Nevada." About Absolute Dental Headquartered in Las Vegas, Absolute Dental is Nevada's largest branded Dental Service Organization (DSO) with 40 affiliated dental practices throughout northern and southern Nevada. With practices in Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin, Reno, Minden and Carson City, Absolute Dental's affiliated dentists change lives one smile at a time. Beginning with one practice in 2002, Absolute Dental has positioned itself as a leading DSO dedicated to complete oral healthcare and exceptional service for patients. Absolute Dental's mission is to offer all dentistry in one place and provide trusted dental care to the communities it serves. For more information, visit www.absolutedental.com. Contact: Julie Cotton 702-816-1292 [email protected] SOURCE Absolute Dental No matter which reference source, the cybersecurity workforce gap is significant and growing, cited at nearly 2 million cybersecurity defenders needed to put a stop to the exploitation of sensitive data, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. "If this gap persists, we'll lose the war," says Philip Niedermair, Senior Advisor to the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and National Cyber Group Board Director. "We're finally getting the support to prioritize people skills in the equation of arming our nation properly, and at the same time, helping anyone who seeks a career change." This proven solution is attracting more than 45% women in the academy cohorts, where learners get trained as a Cybersecurity Analyst in order to become one. "Inclusion ensures we have more holistic critical thinking, and we need everyone at the table," Niedermair emphasizes. With a median annual salary of $99,000 USD, depending on experience according to ZipRecruiter, how does one obtain experience for the Cybersecurity Analyst role, which is foundational and yet job listings seem to require multiple years of experience? Answer: an 'un'bootcamp program that ensures graduates hit the ground running day one on the job because they are trained in an actual SOC, using real networks, real technologies, and real attacks, according to Omer Arslan, co-founder of National Cyber Group's CyberNow Labs division. Why the term unbootcamp? "Because we're not just preparing people to cram for a test in a week, and we don't have time to wait years for expensive, theoretical degrees to solve this gap," says Arslan. Elena Popova, CyberNow Labs (CNL) cohort 8 graduate and now Cybersecurity Analyst Incident Responder with General Electrics, states that "even the Tek recruiter said the CNL program is awesome, and she recommends it to her friends." Elena also interviewed with Georgetown University, whose IT Director told her she was "the only person who described exactly how the SOC should operate." "Working directly with trainees when they reach the career services phase of the program is completely gratifying," says Alexandria Bushrod, Director of Career Services at National Cyber Group. "Helping anyone get that first job is a win for everyone the certified graduates who eagerly want to put their training to use, the hiring employers who anxiously need qualified staff, our nation that needs protecting. When they work the plan, the plan works," Bushrod reports. MORE SUCCESS STORIES Hardworking former stay-at-home mom to 4 children, who struggled to leverage her Engineering background and started down a path toward a Master's in Public Education when she came to the U.S., Pinar Bahceci gained interest in this field when one of her kids got involved in a Cyber Patriot Program teaching kids basic security rules while online. A CyberNow Labs graduate, Pinar is now a Cybersecurity Specialist at Deloitte, which has the largest SOC globally. Watch her story> JULY OPEN ENROLLMENT Pre-applications are being accepted for the Cohort starting July 23, 2022 For more information, view the Recorded June Q&A Session, go to https://cybernowlabs.com/application.php or contact us at: [email protected]. ABOUT NATIONAL CYBER GROUP LLC National Cyber Group (NCG) has taken the high road to engineer a national cybersecurity workforce accelerator that is affordable, accessible, and outcome oriented. With the acquisition of Total Seminars and CyberNow Labs in 2022, NCG brings scaled outreach, job placement, community development, and thought leadership to the pressing need for developing an elite corps of cybersecurity professionals to arm our nation against growing threats present in our economy. Learn more at NationalCyber.com. Media Contact: Tricia Sacchetti, [email protected] SOURCE National Cyber Group CALABASAS, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) today announced that the Company will release its second quarter 2022 financial and operating results on Thursday, August 4, 2022, after the market closes. The Company will host a conference call on Friday, August 5, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time to review second quarter results, discuss recent events, and conduct a question-and-answer period. Live conference call Toll free number: (877) 451-6152 (for domestic callers) Direct dial number: (201) 389-0879 (for international callers) Passcode: Not required Simultaneous audio webcast link: www.americanhomes4rent.com under "Investor relations" Conference call replay Toll free number: (844) 512-2921 (for domestic callers) Direct dial number: (412) 317-6671 (for international callers) Passcode: 13731291# Webcast link: www.americanhomes4rent.com under "Investor relations" Date accessible through: August 19, 2022 About American Homes 4 Rent American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leading single-family property owner, leasing operator, and build-to-rent developer. Recent achievements include being named a 2022 Great Place to Work, a 2022 Top U.S. Homebuilder by Builder100, one of America's Most Responsible Companies 2022 and America's Most Trusted Companies 2022 by Newsweek and Statista, and a Top ESG Regional Performer by Sustainalytics. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and managing homes as rental properties. As of March 31, 2022, we owned 57,984 single-family properties in select submarkets in 22 states. Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at http://www.americanhomes4rent.com. Contacts: American Homes 4 Rent Investor Relations Nicholas Fromm Phone: (855) 794-2447 Email: [email protected] American Homes 4 Rent Media Relations Megan Grabos Phone: (805) 413-5088 Email: [email protected] SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AMPEL BioSolutions today announces a breakthrough in precision and personalized medicine that could modernize the way doctors treat patients across a wide variety of diseases including autoimmunity, infectious disease and cancer. Revealed at the Precision Medicine World Conference in Silicon Valley California, the first-in-class platform technology utilizes RNA analytics and machine learning to characterize an individual's gene expression and provide clinical decision support to physicians for treatment options for their patients. The technology, only a concept for the last few years, is being utilized to launch a portfolio of 10+ clinical tests over the next five years to provide decision support for diseases that affect more than 50 million Americans. AMPEL's innovative machine learning approach, which is now ready to be developed as a clinical decision support biomarker test, could greatly impact health care by allowing physicians to identify the cause of patient disease symptoms and select appropriate treatment more precisely. AMPEL's approach is sufficiently sensitive to detect early signs of disease and group patients by the severity of their condition. The application of AMPEL's technology is already assisting 15+ pharmaceutical companies in drug development and clinical trials. Patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases often suffer from unpredictable disease activity that impacts daily activities like work and family life. Since unpredictable symptoms often result in trips to the Emergency Room, the ability to predict worsening disease and systemic involvement with routine testing has important health care and health economics implications. AMPEL expects to bring it's first two products to market in the next few years, LuGENE blood test for Lupus and DermaGENE skin biopsy test for Psoriasis, Atopic Dermatitis, Scleroderma and Lupus. In addition, AMPEL's CovGENE blood test that predicts how severe a disease course a COVID patient may experience and may be applicable to "long COVID" is ready for licensing/co-development with a company already offering COVID diagnostic testing. Paired with AMPEL's pipeline of tools to analyze very large and complex clinical datasets ("Big Data"), AMPEL's Genomic Platform technology with machine learning is a significant step towards implementing routine testing to monitor disease activity and provide decision support for treatment based on a patient's gene expression. This will transform the way doctors treat patients by using the information gathered by the lab test and analyzed by machine learning to diagnose, characterize the precise molecular abnormalities and treat diseases before damage begins, saving patients from pain and inconvenience of diseases that otherwise drastically affect their lives. Pharmaceutical companies test drugs in clinical trials and face the challenge of enrolling patients that have the best potential to respond to the treatment being tested. Enrolling the "wrong" patients can result in trial failure, often leading to cancellation of a drug's development towards FDA approval that may have benefit in a sub-group of the overall patient population. AMPEL's technology helps pharmaceutical companies proactively identify the patients most likely to respond to specific treatments, thereby helping improve outcomes in clinical trials and quality of life for patients in need. AMPEL's Pharma work was highlighted by Dr. Peter Lipsky at the Precision Medicine World Conference in a panel discussing the use of machine learning in clinical trial patient selection and outcome prediction and by Dr. Amrie Grammer at a Google-Reuters webinar focused on machine learning approaches to select the right patient for the right trial at the right time. Dr. Peter Lipsky, AMPEL Co-Founder, CEO and Chief Medical Officer: "It is very gratifying to see a concept develop into a reality that can help patients. When we began some years ago we thought that analyzing gene expression data could subset patients effectively and allow the molecular profile of each patient to be used to help identify the best treatment for each individual. By applying novel machine learning approaches, we are now ready to launch our first application that we believe should be a major step toward providing patients with autoimmune diseases true precision medicine." Dr. Amrie Grammer, AMPEL Co-Founder, President and CSO: ""Our team has developed a genomic platform technology with machine learning that supports clinical precision medicine tests that predict drug options based on gene expression. AMPEL is changing the paradigm of treatment in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. We are proud to be doing this work in Virginia and will continue to recruit talent and grow our business here." Background Information Machine learning is an analytic technique to train computers to assess information and make predictions. AMPEL has used this approach in a novel way to train a computer to analyze data obtained from assessing a kind of "Big Data", namely that obtained by assessing gene expression information, to predict whether an individual living with lupus, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis or scleroderma is experiencing a flare in disease activity. Gene expression analysis examines the number and pattern of the genes expressed at a given moment and can provide insight into the entire spectrum of genomic abnormalities. Many chronic diseases have unexpected flares that dramatically affect patient quality of life. Further, treatments for chronic disease have been developed based on a patient population as a group, so some individuals will respond differently or not at all to available treatments. For the past nine years, the scientists and clinicians at AMPEL have been working on ways to address this problem, by designing concepts to personalize treatments for an individual patient as opposed to a patient population. Peer reviewed publications confirm the practicality of AMPEL's concept, which are now in the commercialization phase. AMPEL's initial focus was lupus but the test can be used for many autoimmune or inflammatory diseases. AMPEL's blood and tissue biopsy tests are prognostic and staging biomarkers that will provide decision support for their physician with the most appropriate drugs for the patient at that moment in time. About AMPEL BioSolutions LLC (2013-present) AMPEL BioSolutions is a precision medicine company commercializing a development pipeline of CLIA-certified gene expression tests for blood or tissue samples that provide clinical decision support by determining disease status, identifying molecular pathway and predicting drug options. AMPEL's technology is a cloud-based platform that hosts proprietary RNA analytic tools and machine learning algorithms covered by 25+ filed/pending patents and 80+ peer-reviewed publications in high impact journals. Disease Areas for AMPEL's precision medicine test portfolio include Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma, Atopic Dermatitis, Lupus Nephritis, Fibromyalgia, Cardiovascular, Sjogren's Syndrome, ASD, Wellness, Lung Cancer and SARS-Cov2. AMPEL's technology covers over 95% of all known genes and AMPEL's exclusive curated database of >15,000 individual gene expression profiles with rich clinical information fuels machine learning predictions based on evidence. AMPEL BioSolutions was elected to the Coalition for 21st Century Precision Medicine in early 2022. Media Contact: Amrie Grammer, [email protected] SOURCE AMPEL BioSolutions Thierry Ehrmann, CEO, and Founder of Artmarket.com: " We are very proud to have played a leading role for 25 years, with Artprice, in the process of democratizing the art market. Restricted to an elite group of connoisseurs until the end of the 20th century, the art market is now accessssible to a much larger number of people. Our services offer affordable information that can be consulted anywhere, without limit and it is updated every hour. With our value-added data, art professionals and enthusiasts can buy and sell exceptional and family works with complete peace of mind ". Frequently, it seems, the Art World is shaken by a sensational story. From the discovery of a Turner in the bric-a-brac of a garage sale to the sudden increase in value of a self-destructing Banksy at the end of its sale there appears to be many different ways to make a substantial profit on the art market. But in reality, these sensational stories remain exceptional, and for each of them, tens of thousands of works change hands every year in a much more discreet and reasonable manner. Reducing uncertainty Risk, in the financial sense, is an integral part of any form of investment, and art is no exception to this rule; indeed quite the contrary. Fortunately, this risk can be partly controlled in several ways, notably by knowing how to recognize the value of a work and by buying at the best price. The buyer who dared to acquire Christopher Wool's Untitled (1990) in 2000 for $35,250, completed an extraordinary operation by reselling it fifteen years later for $2,405,000. Nevertheless, that investment involved significant financial risks linked to a high level of uncertainty. The value accretion of works by Christopher Wool essentially began after the financial crisis of 2008, as revealed by the price index calculated by Artprice for original works by this artist. In fact, a collector who bought a canvas (or a drawing) by Christopher Wool just after he joined the Gagosian and Simon Lee galleries in 2006, would have benefited almost as much from Wool's success, but without taking the same risks as the buyer who bought in 2000. Investment Strategy The second way to reduce volatility is as with any other asset class to diversify a portfolio. This is the practical raison d'etre of the Artprice100: to simulate a collection that follows a simple and objective diversification strategy. Like the major stock market indices, the Artprice100 invests in the hundred best-performing signatures on the secondary art market. Description of the Artprice100 and its methodology: https://www.artprice.com/artmarketinsight/artprice-launches-its-blue-chip-art-market-index-artprice100-designed-for-financiers-and-investors-2 The benefits of diversification do however have certain limits. While the Artprice100 shows an increase of +36%, substantially higher than that of the S&P 500 (+27% over the year 2021), the Artprice Global Index reveals that the value of a general portfolio, i.e. relating to the entire art market, would have fallen by -1% during the same year 2021. The "division" of artworks "fractional" investing The Artprice100 is by nature a purely theoretical exercise since it is practically impossible to constitute a portfolio that would unite works representative of the markets of the world's one hundred most successful artists. Nevertheless, many investors like the idea of instruments that allow them to participate in the art market in a flexible way. In this domain, a number of new proposals have recently been made notably by the companies Masterworks and ARTBnk that offer investors the opportunity to acquire shares in collections for which the risks and returns have been estimated. These offers include a particularly interesting feature: the freedom to buy and resell your shares at any time. This type of instrument has the distinct advantage of obviating the need for what can be a long and costly operation when it comes to reselling a unique work in the best place and at the best time. In this context, NFTs open up highly original perspectives. With NFTs, you can exchange a digital title (of a unique or a limited edition work) on ultra-secure blockchain networks. Transaction costs are much lower (around 2% to 3%) compared to those practiced on the traditional art market. However, these low costs reflect the absence of expert appraisal and promotion work provided by art dealers and auction houses. The information and econometric studies sold or published by Artmarket.com provide an analysis of the trends and statistical evolution of the art market and should not in any way be considered as a solicitation, incentive, or advice to invest in the art market. Copyright 1987-2022 thierry Ehrmann www.artprice.com - www.artmarket.com Don't hesitate to contact our Econometrics Department for your requirements regarding statistics and personalized studies: [email protected] for your requirements regarding statistics and personalized studies: Try our services (free demo): https://www.artprice.com/demo Subscribe to our services: https://www.artprice.com/subscription About Artmarket: Artmarket.com is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris, SRD long only and Euroclear: 7478 - Bloomberg: PRC - Reuters: ARTF. Discover Artmarket and its Artprice department on video: www.artprice.com/video Artmarket and its Artprice department was founded in 1997 by its CEO, thierry Ehrmann. Artmarket and its Artprice department is controlled by Groupe Serveur, created in 1987. See certified biography in Who's who : Biographie_thierry_Ehrmann_2022_WhosWhoInFrance.pdf Artmarket is a global player in the Art Market with, among other structures, its Artprice department, world leader in the accumulation, management and exploitation of historical and current art market information in databanks containing over 30 million indices and auction results, covering more than 784,000 artists. Artprice by Artmarket, the world leader in information on the art market, has set itself the ambition through its Global Standardized Marketplace to be the world's leading Fine Art NFT platform. Artprice Images allows unlimited access to the largest Art Market image bank in the world: no less than 180 million digital images of photographs or engraved reproductions of artworks from 1700 to the present day, commented by our art historians. Artmarket with its Artprice department accumulates data on a permanent basis from 6300 Auction Houses and produces key Art Market information for the main press and media agencies (7,200 publications). Its 5.4 million ('members log in'+social media) users have access to ads posted by other members, a network that today represents the leading Global Standardized Marketplace to buy and sell artworks at a fixed or bid price (auctions regulated by paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article L 321.3 of France's Commercial Code). Artmarket with its Artprice department, has been awarded the State label "Innovative Company" by the Public Investment Bank (BPI) (for the second time in November 2018 for a new period of 3 years) which is supporting the company in its project to consolidate its position as a global player in the market art. Artprice by Artmarket's 2020 Global Art Market Report published in March 2022: https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2021 Artprice's 2020/21 Contemporary Art Market Report by Artmarket.com: https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-contemporary-art-market-report-2021 Index of press releases posted by Artmarket with its Artprice department: serveur.serveur.com/Press_Release/pressreleaseEN.htm Follow all the Art Market news in real time with Artmarket and its Artprice department on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/artpricedotcom/ (over 5.8 million followers) twitter.com/artmarketdotcom twitter.com/artpricedotcom Discover the alchemy and universe of Artmarket and its artprice department https://www.artprice.com/video headquartered at the famous Organe Contemporary Art Museum "The Abode of Chaos" (dixit The New York Times): https://issuu.com/demeureduchaos/docs/demeureduchaos-abodeofchaos-opus-ix-1999-2013 L'Obs - The Museum of the Future: https://youtu.be/29LXBPJrs-o www.facebook.com/la.demeure.du.chaos.theabodeofchaos999 (4.3 million followers) https://vimeo.com/124643720 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854366/Artprice_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854357/Artprice_2.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1009603/Art_Market_logo.jpg SOURCE Artmarket.com LONDON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Barings, one of the world's leading investment managers, today announced the successful completion of fundraising of its European Private Loan Fund and associated vehicles, attracting total investable capital of 7 billion. Barings has garnered interest from a global investor base, a mix of public and private pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and family offices. Barings saw support from both new and existing investors with more than two thirds of commitments raised from investors in prior funds. The 7 billion raised exceeded Barings' initial target. The European investment team has deployed 6 billion in the last 18 months across more than 80 transactions, resulting in the third vintage being over 50% invested. "In these tumultuous times, Barings European Private Debt strategies offer investors exposure to a highly diversified pan-European strategy. Our clear and consistent investment philosophy, disciplined approach, and focus on defensive companies that have a fundamental reason to exist resonated with our clients. We will continue to endeavour to deliver our clients strong performance and consistency in these challenging times," said Adam Wheeler, Managing Director and Co-Head of Barings Global Private Finance Group. This successful fundraise brings Barings' total committed capital in Europe to 12.8 billion with 10 billion invested. "Since joining Barings over 15 years ago, we have completed over 300 private market loan transactions in Europe. We have spent many years creating a leading European Private Debt platform, serving both our investors and private equity customers. Whilst there have been many notable milestones on the way, this fundraising cycle is a clear highlight and is attributed to our team across Europe who have worked hard to make this happen," said Mark Wilton, Managing Director and Co-Portfolio Manager for Barings European Private Finance Group. "We firmly believe a disciplined approach and strong credit selection can continue to offer investors attractive, through-the-cycle, risk-adjusted returns. As more investors turn to private credit, scale, relationships and incumbency have become increasingly critical to accessing and evaluating deal flow. At Barings, we believe our local presence in Europe, as well as our ability to leverage our large global team for cross-border deal flow, leaves us well positioned," said Ian Fowler, Managing Director and Co-Head of Barings Global Private Finance Group. The successful European capital raise follows the $9.5 billion closed in 2021 for the firm's North American Private Loan Fund II and associated accounts. With more than 90 investment professionals focused solely on private finance, and a presence across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, Barings leverages the scale and resources of its team to source private credit investment opportunities across developed markets worldwide. The firm has a long track record in the space, lending to private equity sponsor-backed companies for more than 30 years. As a principal investor for its parent company, Barings also invests its own capital alongside its clients in most transactions. Over the last 12 months, Barings has invested $14 billion globally in private credit. About Barings Barings is a $371+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment. Learn more at www.barings.com. *Assets under management as of March 31, 2022 Contact [email protected] SOURCE Barings PARIS, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Binance , the world's leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, is celebrating its 5th anniversary by eliminating trading fees on a wide range of bitcoin spot trading pairs. While Binance has long maintained one of the lowest spot trading fees in the industry, it is establishing itself as the global leader in pricing with this latest move. From July 8, users will be able to enjoy fee-free trading on thirteen stablecoin and fiat combinations including BTC/USDT, BTC/BUSD, BTC/USDC, BTC/EUR, BTC/TRY, and more. The new trading fees will be in effect until further notice, allowing Binance users globally to enjoy the fee-free feeling beyond the two weeks of anniversary celebrations. Binance Founder and CEO "CZ" (Changpeng Zhao) said: "In line with our user-first philosophy, Binance has always strived to provide the most competitive fees in the industry. At its core, Binance is an inclusive platform with accessibility in mind. Eliminating the trading fees on selected BTC spot trading pairs is another move towards that direction." "Within the span of five years, Binance has amassed an amazing community that believes in us and supports our vision. Our growth and achievements would not have been possible without them. We hope to give back to the community by providing them with the world's best products and services," added CZ. Binance launched in July 2017 as a crypto-to-crypto exchange and within six months, became the world's largest crypto exchange. Today, Binance is a global blockchain ecosystem spanning across trading services, infrastructure solutions, educational resources, research, social good and charitable programs, investment and incubation initiatives, and more. By providing access to broad financial tools while maintaining one of the lowest fees in the business, Binance is making crypto accessible to everyone. To learn more about Binance's new fee structure, click here . About Binance Binance is the world's leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume. Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users, and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including: trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more. For more information, visit: https://www.binance.com . Disclaimer: Binance.com services are not available in the United States. U.S persons should sign-up with Binance.US. SOURCE Binance Opening was held in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Investment and Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources Middle East region plays a strategic role in the Company's growth plans in the international market DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BRF Sadia, one of the largest food companies in the world, has inaugurated its new plant 'Al Joody' in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The unit was acquired in January 2021 and received investments of around US$ 18 million, which has increased its monthly production capacity to 1,200 tons of food. Present at the ceremony were Marcos Molina, BRF Sadia Chairman of the Board; Lorival Luz, BRF Sadia Global CEO; and Igor Marti, BRF Sadia Vice President for the Halal Market, as well as representatives from the ministries of investment and industry and mineral resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Eastern region municipality and Modon. "The expansion of BRF Sadia in the Saudi market to manufacture its products locally is a landmark step which will play an integral role in the growth and development of the poultry industry locally, in the interest of the Saudi consumer," said Engineer Abdulhamid Bin Mohammed Al-Shawan, Regional Director of Investment Advisory & Relations about the launch. BRF Sadia's history in Saudi Arabia began in the mid-1970s, when Sadia was the first company to introduce and democratize frozen chicken products in the Middle East. Currently, BRF Sadia has more than 500 employees in this country. The Halal market plays a strategic role in the Company's plans for sustainable growth. Today, BRF Sadia's products produced in the Halal region are exported to 14 countries, and there are plans to reach even more markets in the coming years. "It is a very positive time for the Middle Eastern markets and, with the great work from our local team, we are managing to achieve our goals while demonstrating our long-term commitment to the region and the local government's strategy," says Lorival Luz. He added, "The opening of the new factory comes after a careful analysis and study of the Saudi market. It aligns with the Saudi Vision 2030, which encourages foreign companies to invest in the local market. Today, we look forward to providing the citizens and residents in the Kingdom with products of the highest quality." In addition to Saudi Arabia, BRF Sadia is present in all main countries within the Halal region. Currently, the company has more than 7,500 employees including other production units such as Al Wafi factory in the United Arab Emirates and three Banvit plants in Turkey. About BRF Sadia One of the largest food companies in the world, BRF Sadia is present in 117 countries. Its purpose is to offer increasingly tasty and convenient quality food - for people and their pets all over the world - through sustainable management of a long, complex, living chain that provides a better life for everyone, from the farm to the table. Owner of iconic brands such as Sadia, Perdigao, Perdix, Banvit and Qualy, the Company bases its actions on the fundamental commitments of safety, quality and integrity. The company bases its strategy on a long-term vision and aims to generate value for its more than 100,000 employees worldwide, more than 300,000 customers and approximately 10,000 integrated farmers in Brazil, all its shareholders and for society. SOURCE BRF Sadia Solange Nyirangiruwonsanga, who is suspected of murdering a nine-year-old boy, will on Monday, July 11, appear before Gasabo Intermediate Court where she is expected to seek bail. The suspect was working as a maid at the victim's home in Ndera Sector, Gasabo District where the incident happened on June 12, when his father had left the house to go jogging while his mother was also away for work. Nyirangiruwonsanga was arrested on June 12, and her case was submitted to the prosecution on June 20. Meanwhile, according to the investigation body, preliminary investigations have revealed that there is evidence to suspect that the woman killed the victim. "During the investigation, she admitted to assassinating him," Thierry Murangira, the spokesperson of the Rwanda Investigation Bureau, told The New Times. In addition, RIB reminded the public that murder is a crime and anyone who commits it should be brought to justice. People were also urged to be cautious with their maids. The suspect is currently being detained at Remera RIB station. So far, there is not much information revealed about the motive behind the murder. Moreover, murdering is a serious charge where according to the law, upon conviction, it attracts a life sentence. Daniel Doll, CEO of Bushwick Kitchen, explains, "At Bushwick Kitchen, we believe food can taste extraordinary in its simplicity. It all begins with beautiful ingredients. And what is more simple and pure than 100% raw honeycomb? It was a natural fit." The 7 ounce container features raw acacia honey that is uniquely light in flavor and aroma. The delicate taste is due to its floral source, which is from the nectar of the Acacia trees in Hungary's vast Acacia forests, known for producing exceptionally pure, high-quality honey. Those who prefer a more gentle, mildly sweet honey will appreciate this varietal with subtle vanilla undertones. Doll adds, "We are proud to offer one of nature's finest ingredients and celebrate the hardworking honey bee. No other ingredient on earth can compare to honey, especially when offered in a comb form." He continues, "We encourage people to get creative when using this golden ingredient. You'd be surprised there are so many ways to enjoy it, including eating it in its entirety!" And for those asking yes, the wax is edible (although many people prefer to chew as gum). In addition to the popular inclusion of honeycomb on charcuterie boards, Bushwick Kitchen also recommends: Topping pancakes, waffles and oatmeal Spreading across bread and baked goods Garnishing a cocktail or mocktail Melting on pepperoni pizza Mixing in with salad or yogurt Stirring into tea or coffee Adding to vanilla ice cream Enjoying as is The latest product retails for $14.99 and can be found on Amazon as well as directly on Bushwick Kitchen's website at bushwickkitchen.com. About Bushwick Kitchen Bushwick Kitchen is a sauce company that's here to serve up finger-licking, flavor-addicting sauces and condiments for every kitchen creative and foodie looking to elevate their meals or share a unique culinary gift to inspire friends and family. Bushwick Kitchen was founded in January 2014 by an entrepreneur and a culinary enthusiast with the ambitious goal of launching a business from concept to finished product in 30 days. The first product, Bees Knees Spicy Honey, was born. By the end of the first year, Bushwick Kitchen shipped over 9,000 bottles of honey all bottled, one at a time, by hand, in Brooklyn, NY to every state in the USA and 27 countries. Since then, the line has grown to 15 lip-smacking, tongue-drooling products with our Trees Knees maples, Weak Knees sriracha and our Bees Knees honey collection. Media contact: Matt Kovacs [email protected] 310-395-5050 SOURCE Bushwick Kitchen Sky Systemz Reaches for the Sky from the 18th Floor! LEXINGTON, Ky., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sky Systemz , a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company focused on digital payment and business management solutions, is moving its offices to the top floor of a downtown Lexington high-rise. Brian Nichols, CEO of Sky Systemz, signs paperwork for their new home office in Lexington, KY. The 18th floor of the Vine Center is the new home of Sky Systemz. Sky will relocate from their 2,700-square-foot office space in Harrodsburg, KY to a near 14,000-square-foot commercial space atop the Vine Center in the heart of downtown Lexington. Over the last year, Sky has quickly outgrown its humble beginnings and is focused on scaling their business for the big stage. The company's growth has exceeded 1,000% over the last two years! "It was no longer sustainable running our operations, sales, distribution, and service center with everyone piled into a single room," said CEO Brian Nichols. "With our goals to surpass a compound annualized growth rate (CAGR) of 300% over the next three years, coupled with our hiring initiatives to add 100 new staff over the next 24 months - we needed a large place to support our growth and expand even more when ready." Sky was founded in 2017, then launched in late 2019 as a point-of-sale system and payment processor. Since 2017, Sky has grown from a small team of Nichols, a few family members and a couple friends, to over 50 employees after recently hiring 15 new staff in June. The new location will allow Sky to hire and relocate talent in Kentucky. As the platform has expanded over the last two years, Sky is no longer the 'little Cloud POS that could', but has established itself as a serious contender in the fintech market with its innovative "bolt-on"cloud tech to run complex applications. Competitors in the industry include: Square primarily works with small businesses that fit in their out of the box solution; Toast aims to serve restaurants; Shopify is focused on e-commerce first businesses. Meanwhile, Sky was built to serve an unmet need for professional service customers that require customizable solutions - a market they believe has been overlooked. The company plans to move into the office in mid-July. Current plans include private offices for leadership, multiple conference rooms, an open collaborative environment for sales & customer success teams, and an audio/video studio for the marketing team. Nichols concludes, "this new office gives us the space to hire and train staff, support our customers, and build new features efficiently from a central office. Now, with a streamlined growth process in place, I am very excited to see what we accomplish in the years ahead as we scale nationwide." Learn more about Sky Systemz at skysystemz.com Sky Systemz is a cloud-based digital payments and financial technology company. With no contracts, no monthly fees, and low rates, Sky is a partner to businesses nationwide who want to grow their business while keeping more of their profits. Sky Systemz Dr. Michael Carr 844-398-3884 [email protected] SkySystemz.com SOURCE Sky Systemz - Leading Fast Casual Seafood Brand Brings Real Estate Conversion Success to Florida for Company and Franchise Development - NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Captain D's, the nation's leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced today the opening of its newest company-owned location in Spring Hill, Florida. Located at 2096 Mariner Blvd., the Spring Hill restaurant is the first of several Florida locations the brand plans to develop in the coming months. A Brooksville opening is on tap later this summer, and new restaurants are in the pipeline for New Port Richey and Cocoa as well. This is Captain D's 34th location overall in the state and the first in the Spring Hill market. "Captain D's has a history of successful growth throughout Florida, and this year will be no exception," said Brad Reed, chief development officer of Captain D's. "We have accelerated development plans for Florida as we continue to develop corporate locations alongside our franchisees, showing equal investment within new and existing territories. We are thrilled to be in the Spring Hill market and look forward to serving the community." The new Spring Hill restaurant features Captain D's vibrant, coastal design and welcoming atmosphere, serving high-quality seafood with warm hospitality at an affordable price. With dining room seating for 18, the restaurant also has drive-thru, carry out, and call-ahead ordering options. The site was previously a Burger King, showcasing Captain D's successful real estate strategy of converting former restaurant spaces. "Real estate innovation has been a key priority for us over the past few years, with industry-wide restaurant closures leading to increased conversion opportunities," added Reed. "Captain D's has a turnkey process that has enabled us to capitalize on existing real estate and get new restaurants open with lower construction costs and quick turnarounds." The brand's approach has led to other successful conversions this year, such as a Bojangles in Elberton, Georgia, in March and the future conversion of a Taco Bell in Brooksville slated for a September opening. Captain D's continues to identify Florida as a prime market for franchise development and is targeting key areas like Ocala and Lakeland for future development. Since launching its development strategy for Florida, Captain D's has experienced tremendous success growing its footprint in key markets throughout the state, including new restaurant openings in Pensacola, Palatka and Union Park over the last two years. The brand's unique proposition in the fast casual segment coupled with the quality of product and reasonable prices continues to attract best-in-class restaurant operators. Captain D's in Spring Hill is open Sunday Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Call-ahead orders can be placed by calling 352-410-1580. With more than 530 restaurants in 23 states, Captain D's is the fast-casual seafood leader and number one seafood franchise in America ranked by average unit volume. The company is currently seeking single and multi-unit operators to join in the brand's rapid expansion. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit www.captaindsfranchising.com or call 800-314-4819. ABOUT CAPTAIN D'S Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D's has more than 530 restaurants in 23 states. Captain D's is the nation's leading fast casual seafood restaurant and was named the #1 seafood chain in the QSR 50, ranked by AUV. Founded in 1969, Captain D's has been offering its customers high-quality seafood at reasonable prices in a welcoming atmosphere for 50 years. Captain D's serves a wide variety of seafood that includes freshly prepared entrees and the company's signature batter dipped fish. The restaurants also offer premium-quality, grilled items such as shrimp, Tilapia and Salmon, as well as hushpuppies, desserts and freshly brewed, Southern-style sweet tea, a Captain D's favorite. For more information, please visit www.captainds.com. Contact: Nate Rubinstein Fish Consulting 954-893-9150 [email protected] SOURCE Captain D's "Randy and I opened up the first Newport location over 20 years ago, starting this incredible journey," said Daniel Biello, Chronic Tacos CO-Founder. "As we celebrate this milestone, we also celebrate Chronic Tacos' commitment to provide our customers with the best quality ingredients and service which continues throughout our expansion into the rest of the Southern California market." Daniel Biello and Randy Wyner opened the first Chronic Tacos in Newport Beach, California in 2002. Their initial concept was one inspired by the local taquerias they had grown up eating at, but they wanted to create something that allowed for more customization. The restaurant now finds itself successfully in business for an impressive 20 years since it first opened the doors. The new Newport Beach - Balboa location of Chronic tacos is Biello's 4th restaurant. To celebrate Chronic Tacos' success, the 20-year tour will include a raffle along with a meet and greet opportunity with Weeman at multiple restaurant locations. The raffle will provide an opportunity for winners to receive a plethora of prizes including a free beach cruiser, Angels tickets, free catering and a year's supply of free tacos! Follow Chronic Tacos on Twitter and Instagram or become a fan on Facebook . About Chronic Tacos Chronic Tacos is a California-inspired Taco Shop that celebrates authenticity and the individuality of guests through the #TacoLife. They respect tradition and keep it real. Founded in 2002, the Southern California-based brand has over 50 locations operating across the United States, Canada and Japan. The #Tacolife consists of undeniable tacos and the most authentic recipes, a laid back So Cal vibe with an irresistible edge, and only the most personal, friendly service. Chronic Tacos prides itself on serving the highest quality ingredients, with bold flavor profiles, made from authentic Mexican recipes. On the menu, you'll find a wide variety of traditional Mexican items including tacos, burritos, and bowl-ritos, along with some non-traditional items such as California burrito and Chronic Fries. The menu also features kid's meals, all day breakfast, and an array of vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan options, as well as choices of: Carne Asada (Premium, Grass-Fed Steak, Carnitas (Pork), Al Pastor (Pork), Pollo Asado (Chicken), Beyond Beef (100% Plant-Based Protein), and Beer-Battered or Sauteed Mahi Mahi (Fish) and Shrimp. The #Tacolife is all about good food, good vibes and good experiences, so to capitalize on this, each taco shop features original artistic designs inspired by traditional "Day of the Dead" art along with lively, engaging music. No matter what Chronic Tacos you visit, you are sure to have an unforgettable experience. For more information, or to find the nearest Chronic Tacos, visit www.chronictacos.com Media Contact: Matt Kovacs Blaze Public Relations [email protected] SOURCE Chronic Tacos Request a Sample Report to gain further insights into market dynamics Citric Acid Market 2021-2025: Scope The citric acid market report covers the following areas: Citric Acid Market 2021-2025: Market Challenge Potential substitutes such as lactic acid will challenge the citric acid market during the forecast period. In the food and beverage industry, lactic acid is used in various applications, such as meat products, frozen food products, dairy, confectioneries, snacks, soft drinks, beer, fruit juices, pickles, cheese, and dried food casein. It enhances the flavor of beer and wine. Lactic acid is also used as an antibacterial agent in several food products, such as meat, frozen foods, and pickles. It inhibits spoilage and fermentation and works as a preservative in packaged vegetables and fruits such as pickled cucumber (gherkins), green olives, cucumbers, mushrooms, and baby carrots. These features of lactic acid may hinder the growth of the global citric acid market during the forecast period. Citric Acid Market 2021-2025: Segmentation Application Food And Beverage Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products Detergents And Cleaners Others Geography Europe North America APAC MEA South America Learn more about the contribution of each segment of the market. Download a Sample Report Citric Acid Market 2021-2025: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the citric acid market, including Archer Daniels Midland Co., Cargill Inc., COFCO Corp., Foodchem International Corp., Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd., Huangshi Xinghua Biochemical Co. Ltd., Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG, RZBC Group Co. Ltd., S.A. Citrique Belge N.V., and Tate and Lyle Plc among others. The key offerings of some of these vendors are listed below: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - The company offers citric acid. The company offers citric acid. Cargill Inc. - The company offers liquid or anhydrous citric acid. The company offers liquid or anhydrous citric acid. COFCO Corp. - The company offers citric acid. Subscribe to our "Basic Plan" billed annually at USD 5000. Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights Citric Acid Market 2021-2025: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025 Detailed information on factors that will assist citric acid market growth during the next five years Estimation of the citric acid market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the citric acid market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of citric acid market vendors Related Reports: Monochloroacetic Acid Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Glyoxylic Acid Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Citric Acid Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.2% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 1.86 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 7.40 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution Europe at 37% Key consumer countries US, Germany, UK, China, and India Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Archer Daniels Midland Co., Cargill Inc., COFCO Corp., Foodchem International Corp., Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd., Huangshi Xinghua Biochemical Co. Ltd., Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG, RZBC Group Co. Ltd., S.A. Citrique Belge N.V., and Tate and Lyle Plc Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table Of Contents : 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem 2.2 Value chain analysis Exhibit 01: Parent market Exhibit 02: Market characteristics Exhibit 03: Value Chain Analysis: Commodity chemicals 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.3 Market size 2020 Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.7 Market condition 5 Market Segmentation by Application 5.1 Market segments 5.2 Comparison by Application 5.3 Food and beverage - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 15: Application - Market share 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 16: Comparison by Application 5.4 Pharmaceuticals and personal care products - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 17: Food and beverage - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 18: Food and beverage - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.5 Detergents and cleaners - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 19: Pharmaceuticals and personal care products - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 20: Pharmaceuticals and personal care products - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 21: Detergents and cleaners - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 22: Detergents and cleaners - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.7 Market opportunity by Application Exhibit 23: Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 6 Customer landscape 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation 7.2 Geographic comparison 7.3 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 27: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 28: Geographic comparison Exhibit 29: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 7.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 30: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 31: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 32: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.6 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 33: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 34: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 35: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 36: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.8 Key leading countries Exhibit 37: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 7.9 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 38: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 39: Key leading countries 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges 8.3 Market trends Exhibit 41: Impact of drivers and challenges 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview 9.2 Landscape disruption Exhibit 42: Vendor landscape 9.3 Competitive scenario Exhibit 43: Landscape disruption 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 45: Vendors covered 10.3 Archer Daniels Midland Co. Exhibit 46: Market positioning of vendors 10.4 Cargill Inc. Exhibit 47: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - Overview Exhibit 48: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - Business segments Exhibit 49: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - Key offerings Exhibit 50: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - Segment focus Exhibit 51: Cargill Inc. - Overview Exhibit 52: Cargill Inc. - Product and service 10.5 COFCO Corp. 10.6 Foodchem International Corp. Exhibit 54: Cargill Inc. - Key offerings 10.7 Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd. Exhibit 55: COFCO Corp. - Overview Exhibit 56: COFCO Corp. - Product and service Exhibit 57: COFCO Corp. - Key offerings 10.8 Huangshi Xinghua Biochemical Co. Ltd. Exhibit 58: Foodchem International Corp. - Overview Exhibit 59: Foodchem International Corp. - Product and service Exhibit 60: Foodchem International Corp. - Key offerings 10.9 Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG Exhibit 61: Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 62: Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 63: Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd. - Key offerings 10.10 RZBC Group Co. Ltd. Exhibit 64: Huangshi Xinghua Biochemical Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 65: Huangshi Xinghua Biochemical Co. Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 66: Huangshi Xinghua Biochemical Co. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.11 S.A. Citrique Belge N.V. Exhibit 67: Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG - Overview Exhibit 68: Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG - Product and service Exhibit 69: Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG - Key offerings 10.12 Tate and Lyle Plc Exhibit 70: RZBC Group Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 71: RZBC Group Co. Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 72: RZBC Group Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 73: S.A. Citrique Belge N.V. - Overview Exhibit 74: S.A. Citrique Belge N.V. - Product and service Exhibit 75: S.A. Citrique Belge N.V. - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.3 Research methodology Exhibit 81: Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 82: Research Methodology 11.4 List of abbreviations Exhibit 83: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 84: Information sources Exhibit 85: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ClearMind Biomedical's novel neurosurgical endoscope, the Axonpen System, has completed its First in Man (FIM) clinical trial in Taiwan with outstanding results. The Axonpen System which received US FDA 510(k) clearance in 2020 and from the Taiwan FDA in 2021, is designed to enable neurosurgeons worldwide to perform the least invasive brain surgeries for their patients. With the device requiring only a 6.5mm channel to access the intracranial space, the Axonpen System has broken ground as the least invasive treatment for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in the industry. Once past the skull, the device can illuminate and visualize intracranial tissues and fluids and, typically in cases of ICH and subdural hematomas, carry out controlled aspiration and irrigation where needed. All 10 trial participants demonstrated speedier recovery times, spending just an average of three days in the intensive care unit. This is more than a 50% reduction in time when compared with the 10 to 14 days needed for recovery from traditional treatment methods. Patients demonstrated a full recovery of motor skills in most cases. Furthermore, post-treatment ICH blood remnants were below 15ml across the cohort. For a better prognosis, a minimum of 70% or more of the hemorrhage should be removed, with no more than 15ml of blood remnants at the injury site. Every additional 1ml of clotted blood removed enhances the chances of a good recovery by 10%. "We set out to develop a fully integrated neurosurgical endoscope that is not only safe with minimal downtime but also optimal with every function needed by neurologists performing the procedure, which our trial has proven. While achieving this, we remain compliant of international regulations and standards to meet the needs of medical practitioners and ensuring patients' safety during treatment," said Carrey Yang, CEO of ClearMind Biomedical. Prioritizing patients' wellbeing, ClearMind Biomedical's motto when it comes to treating ICH is "One Doctor, One Hour." The company intended for the Axonpen System to empower doctors at regional hospitals to complete ICH surgeries in one hour, a challenge it has successfully met. Presently, ClearMind Biomedical's second trial for the Axonpen System is underway in Taiwan and the company is looking to conduct its next trial in the US. The Axonpen System is the most integrated minimally invasive neurosurgical tool, combining over eight key features including tissue visualization, a debrider and a flexible tip. Thus far, surgeons have provided feedback that the integrated functions lead to simpler operations which is key to reducing surgery time and risks. Similar devices on the market are more costly and often require pairing with other devices such as endoscopes to perform surgeries that the Axonpen System can single-handedly carry out. Involving multiple devices during surgery increases complexity while requiring more personnel in the operating theatre which can be unfeasible in regional hospitals. With the company's steadfast focus on minimally invasive brain surgeries and successful results from the FIM clinical trial, ClearMind Biomedical has recently concluded a funding round that will help finance upcoming clinical trials for the Axonpen System, research and development for future products, and market expansion. About the Company ClearMind Biomedical was established in 2014 with backing from Y Combinator, one of the largest venture capital funds in the US. The founders of ClearMind are members of the Stanford-Taiwan Biomedical Fellowship Program, where they were inspired to start their company. ClearMind Biomedical's vision is to save lives and help patients recover from otherwise debilitating brain injuries. For more information, visit www.clearmindbiomedicalgroup.com. SOURCE ClearMind Biomedical Inc. SAN FRANCISCO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating the fraud reimbursement practices of major U.S. banks using the Zelle peer-to-peer payment system, including Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, Truist, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. Despite Federal laws requiring the reimbursement of unauthorized electronic fund transfers, several major U.S. banks have refused to cover some customers' fraud claims related to scams taking place on the Zelle payment system, which is owned and operated by the consortium of banks listed above. These practices have led consumers to file multiple class action lawsuits in several U.S. jurisdictions, including Federal courts in California, Washington, and Florida. One industry analyst recently told The New York Times that "organized crime is rampant" and that scams and fraud on peer-to-peer payment systems, including Zelle, are "common and everywhere." If you have been a victim of fraud on the Zelle payment system and your bank has refused to reimburse you, please contact us today or visit our website at https://www.classactionlawyers.com/zelle. About Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe represents shareholders, employees, and consumers in class actions against corporate defendants, as well as shareholders in derivative actions against their officers and directors. The firm is based in San Francisco, and with the help of co-counsel, litigates cases nationwide. Contact Noah Schubert Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP [email protected] Tel: 415-299-8257 SOURCE Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP Copper Financial Recognized for Wealth Management 360 Portal, Providing Credit Union Members Seamless Access to Multiple Accounts with Single Sign-On Capability LENEXA, Kan., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Copper Financial today announced it was named a finalist in the 2022 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards for its Wealth Management 360 Portal. The firm, which is the only broker-dealer offering credit unions an interface where members can view their holistic financial picture in their online banking portal, was nominated among other leaders in the Broker-Dealers (fewer than 1,000 advisors) Technology category. Copper Financial's Wealth Management 360 Portal is a new technology developed to streamline credit union members' access to their financial data. It provides a modernized member experience by eliminating the hassle of logging into separate systems to view banking and investment accounts. The Wealth Management 360 portal operates a proprietary technology stack that uses single sign-on technology to allow members to view their banking and investment accounts in a credit union's online banking system. This helps increase member satisfaction, leading to more referrals and greater investment volumeand ultimately driving member engagement to enhance the experience that puts members on a path to thrive. "Through our proprietary, customizable technology, Copper Financial is revolutionizing the way credit union members interact with their online banking, and positioning credit unions as the main financial hub for their members," said Justin Steitz, Chief Operating Officer of Copper Financial. "We are honored that our industry peers have recognized our Wealth Management 360 Portal as a game-changing innovation which can help credit union members across the country achieve financial peace of mind." The WealthManagement.com Industry Awards program recognizes organizations and individuals that support financial advisor success. Winners will be announced at a black-tie awards ceremony on September 8, 2022 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City. For more information, please visit https://www.wealthmanagement.com/wealthies-circle/. The Wealth Management 360 Portal is pioneering the path for an enhanced wealth management experience for credit union members. The portal will revolutionize the industry by functioning as a hub for members' planning and investing needs within a credit union's online banking system. This is the first of many technology enhancements Copper Financial is seeking to provide to credit unions and their members. To learn more about what Copper Financial can do for credit unions, please visit https://cu.financial/credit-unions/. About Copper Financial Copper Financial ("CuFi") is an SEC-registered investment advisor, FINRA-registered Broker-Dealer, and state-registered insurance agency offering a breadth of investment and financial planning services to credit union members across the country. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of CommunityAmerica Credit Union, we understand the importance of meeting your members' unique needs wherever they are in their financial journey. Our fully digital experience and best-in-class technology platform allows members access to their accounts from anywhere at any time, and ensures the advisor and member have more time to focus on what mattersthe path to financial peace of mind. Additionally, we are the only credit union-owned Broker-Dealer that offers special needs planning for families, further assisting credit unions in their mission to serve all their members' needs. To learn more about CuFi, visit cu.financial. Media Contact: Laura Simpson JConnelly for Copper Financial [email protected] SOURCE Copper Financial ATLANTA, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cousins Properties (NYSE: CUZ) announced today that it will release its second quarter 2022 earnings after the market closes on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Cousins will hold its second quarter 2022 earnings conference call on Friday, July 29, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). The number for this call is (877) 247-1056. The live webcast of this call can be accessed on the Company's website, www.cousins.com, through the "Cousins Properties Second Quarter Conference Call" link on the Investor Relations page. A playback will be available shortly after the call on Friday, July 29, 2022 and run through Friday, August 5, 2022. The number for the playback is (877) 344-7529, passcode 3907355. The playback can also be accessed on the Company's website through the "Cousins Properties Second Quarter Conference Call" link on the Investor Relations page. Financial information will be placed on the Company's website promptly after the earnings release announcement. This information will be available in the "Featured Reports" section on the Investor Relations page. This information will also be available through the "SEC Filings" and "Supplemental Information" links on the Investor Relations page. About Cousins Properties Cousins Properties is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta, GA and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets and opportunistic investments. For more information, please visit www.cousins.com. CONTACT: Roni Imbeaux Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations 404-407-1104 [email protected] SOURCE Cousins Properties Addis Abeba Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said that the EU was finalizing "measures worth 81.5 million to support the basic needs of vulnerable population of Ethiopia." Mr. Michael and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held a telephone conversation Monday 04 July "to follow-up on their meeting in the margins of the AU-EU Summit and on the recent visit of Commissioner Lenarcic to the country." The "recent visit" to Ethiopia Janez Lenarcic, Commissioner for Crisis Management, in charge of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, took place on 20 -21 June, and included a visit to the capital of Tigray state, Mekelle, and meeting with Tigray state President Debretsion Gebremichael (Dr.) Up on his retrun from Mekelle, Commissioner Lenarcic said that "Tigrayans have suffered enough." "Much of the blockade of Tigray still remains. The desperate situation requires urgent scaling up so that humanitarian workers can deliver assistance to all in need. Fuel is much needed. Basic services for the population need to be restored," he tweeted. According to a readout of Monday's telephone conversation, "President Charles Michel took note of the recent efforts to improve humanitarian access in Tigray since the humanitarian truce. President Michel stressed that these efforts should be increased and sustained, notably via alternative roads and restoration of basic services, notably telecommunications. The President also highlighted that fuel and fertilizers are urgently needed to fight food insecurity which is a major consequence of Russia's war in Ukraine." Furthermore, the two also "discussed relations with Sudan and negotiations with partners on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Damn (GERD)," according to the readout. It's recalled that following the last meeting held on 20 June, the Council of the European Union, has said that although there is "some progress" in Ethiopia, it is "not enough for the full normalization" relationships between the EU and Ethiopia. Speaking after the meeting, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President, the situation in Ethiopia was "the big discussion." The Council believes "there is some progress but not enough for the full normalization of our relationship." We commend Northern College for proactively adopting Canada's National Cyber Security Standard to mitigate cyber risk. Tweet this The CIO Strategy Council has partnered with CyberCatch to provide the cyber security solution -CAN/CIOSC 104 Compliance Manager - powered by CyberCatch - to help SMOs implement all cyber security controls prescribed and then automatically test the controls to enable continuous compliance, security and cyber risk mitigation cost-effectively. "We are honoured to have Northern College take the lead and sign up as the first educational institution in Canada for the CAN/CIOSC Compliance Manager solution," said Sai Huda, founder, chairman and CEO, CyberCatch. "Cyberattacks are increasing across Canada and educational institutions are in the line of sight of attackers. We commend Northern College for proactively adopting Canada's National Cyber Security Standard to mitigate cyber risk and keep the institution one step ahead of cyber threats." "Northern College is proud to adopt Canada's National Cyber Security Standard. Complying with the National Standard is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do, given the increasing level of cyber threats to all educational institutions in Canada," stated Dr. Audrey J. Penner, Northern College President & CEO. "Using the CAN/CIOSC 104 Compliance Manager solution makes it easy to implement prescribed cyber security controls and stay compliant and secure. Our mission and passion is to excel in delivering quality, accessible education through innovative programs and services to our students, and mitigating cyber risk enables us to continue enhancing our customer experience from an IT perspective. This partnership with CyberCatch is an important milestone as part of Northern College's recently launched Digital Transformation initiative," stated Frederic Nickner, CIO & Director of IT at Northern College. About Northern College Northern College is an innovative educational institution in Ontario, Canada, offering over 75 full-time, part-time, certificate, diploma and apprenticeship programs, and hundreds of in-class, web-based and correspondence courses via its four campus locations in northern Ontario, Canada. About CyberCatch CyberCatch is a unique cybersecurity Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company that protects small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from cyberattacks by focusing on the root cause why SMBs fall victim: security holes. It provides an innovative cloud-based SaaS platform coupled with deep subject matter expertise to help SMBs implement just the right type and amount of cybersecurity controls. The platform then performs automated testing of controls from three dimensions: outside-in, inside-out and social engineering. It generates the Cyber Breach Score to continuously measure cyber risk, and finds security holes and guides the SMB to fix them promptly, so attackers can't exploit any missing or broken controls to break in and steal data or infect ransomware. CyberCatch's continuous value proposition: Test. Fix. Secure. Learn more at: https://cybercatch.com Media Contact For inquiries, PRmediaNow: [email protected] SOURCE CyberCatch For businesses, the project represents an opportunity to have direct access to users, avoiding the multitude of additional costs levied by intermediaries. It will also grant them access to consumer behaviour and purchasing actions, which is currently limited by centralised platforms, in turn allowing more effective marketing and higher profits. Additionally, both travel businesses and DeFi projects will be encouraged to build independent dApps on the database, with the latter being able to provide their tokens for direct use on the platform. Indeed, at the time of writing there are currently 13 cryptocurrencies which can be actively used to pay for accommodation using the dedicated application, (including DBNB, the project's native token) with more due to become available in the coming weeks as the company scales. The app itself is already fully operational and downloadable from the IOS and Android application stores, featuring approximately 2500 active members and 300 different rentable accommodation sites, situated globally. The project is overseen by CEO Abdoulaye Diop, better known by his artist title, Majestic Drama a platinum-selling music producer and songwriter, as well as keen cryptocurrency entrepreneur. The project recently won the Innovation award at the at the March 2022 Cryptocurrency Conference in Dubai, the country where DecentraBNB company also houses its headquarters, and has recently undergone a complete brand and image shift in time for its official release. In that regard, DecentraBNB will fair-launch on the Ethereum network via Pinksale on Friday July 1 at 3PM UTC, and will bridge to the Binance Smart Chain shortly afterwards, due to the latter's lower gas fees, ensuring minimal charges to the end user. The project is also set to quickly be listed on XY Finance, which allows cross-chain cryptocurrency transactions. Given that the travel industry remains one of the world's most profitable market, currently valued at over $8 trillion dollars, but remains largely monopolised by a small number of companies, it is only logical that an evolution is on the horizon. A shift towards a decentralised modality of travel therefore seems inevitable, given the recent blowback against big business and its misuse of market pricing, traffic flow, and particularly personal data. To this end, DecentraBNB aims to not simply emulate current industry leaders, such as Airbnb and Booking.com, but surpass them by providing more autonomy, transparency, and connection on both the consumer and business sides. Arriving at a pivotal time of shifting business and consumer interaction gives DecentraBNB the capability to be a major disruptor in the sector. If the project can capitalise on its innovative idea and scale in tandem to the increasing adoption of decentralised finance, then it could well be a project worth keeping a keen eye on. Telegram: https://t.me/decentraBNB Website: https://decentrabnb.com This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. # # # SOURCE DecentraBNB TAIPEI, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DFI Inc. (2397), the world's leading embedded motherboard and industrial computer brand announced that the company had received ISO 14064-1 certification for greenhouse gas inventory from an international third party this year. Stemming from its mission to protect the Earth and achieve sustainable corporate management, DFI has conducted carbon inventories for three consecutive years. DFI is responding to the Taiwan 2050 net-zero carbon policy through action and working towards energy transitions. The harsh effects of climate change have been proven by science. Therefore, the climate has become a highly significant global issue. Net-zero emissions have become a prominent part of corporations. In response to the international net-zero trend, the National Development Council (NDC) announced "Taiwan's Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions in 2050 and General Strategy Description" this year. The NDC stated that the pathway to net-zero emissions in 2050 is based on the four primary directions of "Energy Transition," "Industrial Transition," "Lifestyle Transition," and "Social Transition." To respond to the net-zero emissions by 2050 goal, in addition to conducting ISO 14064-1 greenhouse gas inventory certification, DFI is also planning to implement ISO 50001 energy management certification in the future to ensure the tracking of greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of the head offices, emissions in 2021 were reduced by around 12 tons compared to the base year of 2019. The President of DFI, Alexander Su, expressed that DFI regards sustainability as its responsibility and hopes to promote energy transitions externally. DFI aims to help companies implement energy conservation and carbon reduction to reduce corporate operations' impact on the natural environment. Through industrial computers with high computing power and wide temperature and voltage ranges, the products can be used in solar power, wind power generation, automotive computers, and charging pylons, allowing the company to provide solutions for green energy, electric vehicles, and energy needs. The wave of new infrastructure brought on by global production automation and the digital transformation will make smart applications a long-term, rigid demand. DFI will work with its group partners and subsidiaries to implement various energy-saving and carbon-reducing operations and improve energy efficiency. While fulfilling its social responsibilities, DFI will help companies accelerate their transformations and deployments and satisfy their foundational needs. The company will continue innovating and improving production capacity to seize new market opportunities. For more information, please visit: https://www.dfi.com/ or contact us. CONTACT: DFI MARCOM, [email protected], 886-2-2697-2986 SOURCE DFI Inc. It is estimated that the business opportunities of smart cities will reach $2.6 trillion in 2025, mainly in the Asia Pacific region. This includes sectors such as smart poles, building, parking, monitor, government, transportation, fire protection, water conservancy and WITMED. Smart cities, with a massive business potential, will become the future momentum! DIGITIMES will have Dr. Ayesha Khanna, Co-Founder and CEO of Addo, to share her observation of new smart city applications as well as how technologies can improve people's life and government efficiency on July 21 smart city webinar. In the pre-event interview that asked about Taiwan's role in the smart city market, Dr. Khanna pointed out that Taiwan's expertise in semiconductor and hardware is important to smart cities' development as more data is being used to improve AI systems, resulting in rising demand for stronger infrastructure and hardware with next-generation AI semiconductors. Dr. Khanna believes that whether it is AI, robots, 3D printing, Internet of things or 5G, smart city's development should not start purely with technologies but the idea of assisting people to solve their problems or become the aspirational goal for citizens. When people want to have better energy and waste management in their city, designers can create an AI solution for monitoring energy usage that can turn streetlights on and off with a built-in smart lighting system. They can also build a centralized trash collection mechanism with sensors and have robots powered by AI to collect waste all around the neighborhoods to reduce traffic and road congestions. It is also important to collect and integrate publicly available data and data from the ecosystem's private firms to form a system. By combining data of taxi companies and traffic light operation, it reduces people's waiting time for taxies, while traffic congestion can also be significantly lowered with the system's assistance in rerouting or changing the traffic lights. Nowadays, because of the pandemic, the number of hospital visits via online meeting software or telemedicine services increased dramatically as people find it more convenient and efficient. The technologies used by medical care system are also making improvements with some designers beginning to adopt biometric sensors onto the terminals for the machines to collect more patients' data, giving doctors more information to make intelligent diagnosis, such as handheld ultrasound products that can be connected via smartphones for patients to check on themselves via AI or by medical staff nearby and then send results to their doctors. Technologies for remote medical care are a key area that many IT companies have devoted their R&D effort to. Ambulances built with remote medical care system can connect doctors with ambulances care assistants for them to do checkups while transporting patents to the hospital. The doctors can also make an examination over patients' injuries via a head-mounted display (HMD) to save time. However, all these innovations still rely on 5G to form connections. The technology allows devices to communicate with each other with its fast transmission speed and has brought a revolution to the manufacturing industry and factories. In Singapore, a lot of investments are being made for deploying 5G infrastructure throughout the city. This is also the case for many countries including the US. As smart systems are adopting more sensors to enhance their data collection ability, 5G's commercialization has become the key to unlock the potential of IoT. With telecom carriers worldwide keenly expanding their 5G infrastructure, Dr. Khanna is optimistic about the birth of more new smart systems and the rapid development of smart cities worldwide soon. In the end, the future of smart city will not be operated by one large central AI, but multiple small ones. Issues within smart cities' key sectors such as healthcare, energy and education will continue to be handled by government departments or public sector companies with them using AIs to optimize and create innovations for their services, Dr. Khanna said. Join DIGITIMES Asia smart city webinar in discovering the digital transformation of smart cities, find out how to build a smart city, and what are the applications and connected solutions that drive city extensive improvements, creating better quality of life for residents and business opportunities for enterprises. For more webinar information, please visit https://reurl.cc/j1KRgZ SOURCE DIGITIMES ASIA Key Market Dynamics: Market Driver Market Challenges The expanding number of stores and retail outlets is one of the main reasons fueling growth in the doughnut business. Urban teenagers are increasingly embracing the cafe socializing culture. A rise in the number of food service outlets is necessary due to the rising population in metropolitan areas and the sizeable white-collar workforce. Doughnut shops, coffee shops, and quick-service restaurants have all grown as a result of people's diverse interests and preferences for various foods and beverages, such as freshly baked products and hot beverages (QSRs). Another factor boosting the increase of the doughnut market share is the rising desire for healthier doughnuts. However, the fluctuating prices of raw materials will be a major challenge for the doughnuts market during the forecast period. To learn about additional key drivers, trends, and challenges available with Technavio. Read Sample Report right now! Key Segment Analysis The doughnuts market share growth by the yeast doughnuts segment will be significant during the forecast period. The majority of conventional yeast-raised doughnuts are sold in large retail establishments like Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (a division of JAB Holding Co. Sarl) and Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. Around the world, glazed yeast doughnuts are the most popular variety. Vegan consumers are increasingly favouring vegan yeast-raised doughnuts, particularly in industrialized nations like the US and Canada. Such doughnuts are widely available from vendors in the market. As a result, during the forecast period, such vendor offerings are anticipated to help the yeast doughnuts market segment flourish. View the sample report for additional insights into the contribution of all the segments, and regional opportunities in the report. Vendor Insights The Doughnuts Market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying various organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Some vendors are also adopting inorganic growth strategies such as M&As to remain competitive in the market. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including: Daylight Donut Flour Co. LLC Doughnut Time Ltd. Focus Brands LLC Glory Hole Doughnuts Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV Inspire Brands Inc. J.CO Donuts & Coffee JAB Holding Co. Sarl McDonald Corp. Restaurant Brands International Inc. Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read Sample Report . Customize Your Report Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about this market report. Our analysts can also help you customize this report according to your needs. Our analysts and industry experts will work directly with you to understand your requirements and provide you with customized data in a short amount of time. Do reach out to our analysts for more customized reports as per your requirements. Speak to Analyst Now! Related Reports: Grape Juice Market by Distribution Channel and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Vegan Food Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Doughnuts Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 5.02 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 2.10 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 35% Key consumer countries US, UK, Germany, Japan, France, and Canada Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Daylight Donut Flour Co. LLC, Doughnut Time Ltd., Focus Brands LLC, Glory Hole Doughnuts, Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV, Inspire Brands Inc., J.CO Donuts & Coffee, JAB Holding Co. Sarl, McDonald Corp., and Restaurant Brands International Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2020 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Five Forces Analysis Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition Market Segmentation by Product Market segments Comparison by Product Yeast doughnuts - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Cake doughnuts - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Market opportunity by Product Market Segmentation by End-user Market segments Comparison by End-user Foodservice - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Retail - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Market opportunity by End-user Customer landscape Customer landscape Geographic Landscape Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Key leading countries Market opportunity by geography Market drivers Market challenges Market trends Vendor Landscape Vendor landscape Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors Daylight Donut Flour Co. LLC Doughnut Time Ltd. Focus Brands LLC Glory Hole Doughnuts Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV Inspire Brands Inc. J.CO Donuts & Coffee JAB Holding Co. Sarl McDonald Corp. Restaurant Brands International Inc. Appendix Scope of the report Currency conversion rates for US$ Research methodology List of abbreviations About Us: Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio As a world leader in patient safety and clinical innovation, Dr. Pronovost will serve as a senior advisor aiding the firm's portfolio companies in scaling and succeeding TEL AVIV, Israel & CHICAGO , July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LionBird , a venture capital firm based in Israel and the U.S. investing in pre-scale digital health companies, today announced that Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., F.C.C.M, a world leader in patient safety and clinical innovation, will be joining as a senior advisor in the LionBird Rings, a community of proven executives and entrepreneurs who have partnered with LionBird in the past and are available to help the next generation of digital health leaders. Dr. Pronovost is a world-renowned patient safety champion, innovator, critical care physician, researcher (publishing over 1000 peer review publications), entrepreneur (founding two health care startups that were acquired), and a global thought leader, informing US and global health policy. His scientific work leveraging checklists to reduce catheter-related bloodstream infections has saved thousands of lives and earned him high-profile accolades, including being named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, receiving a coveted MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" in 2008. Dr. Pronovost currently serves as University Health's Chief Quality & Clinical Transformation Officer, a role in which he is charged with fostering ideation and implementation for new protocols to eliminate defects in value and thereby enhance quality of care. Previously, Dr. Pronovost served as the Senior Vice President for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine as well as the founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. In this role, he worked to eliminate all harms in one health system following on his success in eliminating one harm in most health systems across the U.S. Dr. Pronovost also served as the Senior Vice President for Clinical Strategy and the Chief Medical officer for UnitedHealthcare. "For nearly two decades, it has been impossible to talk about quality, safety and value in healthcare without referencing the work of Peter Pronovost," said LionBird Partner Robert Lord. "At LionBird, we set out to find and support entrepreneurs who are reimagining our healthcare system and working to drive it towards higher quality, value and safety through resetting patients' and providers' relationship with health technology. While we knew Dr. Pronovost by reputation, as we got to know him personally, we saw that he uniquely embodied this ideal, and had a vision for the future of healthcare in America that could inspire and inform our work. Dr. Pronovost's role is another example of ways that we work hard to create unique value and insight for our portfolio companies and investors." Dr. Pronovost, in his role as senior advisor, will be leveraging his unique perspective with the LionBird partners to develop long-term strategy and portfolio positioning, as well as aiding portfolio companies directly with their strategic, commercial, and operational endeavors. "LionBird's mission of resetting healthcare's relationship with technology resonates deeply with me, as a clinician, researcher and leader who has spent the entirety of his career challenging orthodoxy and demonstrating better ways to care for our patients and organize our healthcare systems," said Pronovost. "After getting to know the LionBird team, it became clear that there was a unique alignment in our worldview and goals for the healthcare system, and I am excited to support the firm and our portfolio companies moving forward." To learn more about LionBird and the LionBird Rings community, visit www.lionbird.com. About LionBird LionBird is a venture capital firm investing in pre-scale digital health companies with operations in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Founded in 2012 by veteran entrepreneurs and Fortune 100 executives in the software and healthcare industries, LionBird provides capital and assistance to mission-driven teams realigning the human-technology relationship in healthcare. Since its inception, the firm has invested in more than 30 founding teams across the U.S. and Israel. The firm is currently investing out of its third fund, LionBird III, exclusively focused on early-stage digital health. Media Contact Sasha Hayman Investor Relations Director, LionBird Tel: 847-840-8951 Email: [email protected] SOURCE LionBird Vendor Landscape The e-book market is fragmented, and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as offerings different methods of payments, such as pay-as-you-go, to compete in the market. The global e-book market is highly competitive due to the presence of various established publishers and emerging startups that offer innovative solutions. This has resulted in various mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the market, contributing to players' product portfolios and helping them increase their geographic presence. Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Bertelsmann SE and Co. KGaA, Cengage Learning Inc., Hachette Livre, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley and Sons Inc., Kensington publishing corp., Macmillan publishers, and McGraw Hill, among others, are some of the few key vendors competing to maintain their market position in the market. Learn more about the market's vendor landscape highlights with a comprehensive list of vendors and their offerings. Key Market Segmentation Segmentation by Product: Consumer e-book: The consumer e-book segment will contribute largely to the overall market growth during the forecast period. Consumer e-books include adult fiction and other fiction genres. They are primarily bought by individual end-users. The demand for fiction books is growing due to the evolving reading habits of individuals. Professional e-book Educational e-book Request a Sample of this report for more highlights into the market segments. Regional Market Outlook By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA. North America will contribute to 45% of the market growth during the forecast period. The growth of this region can be attributed to the benefits of e-books, including better accessibility, lower costs, and better student engagement through interactive content. If we look at the country-wise market growth, the US and Canada will contribute to the highest market growth. Download our sample report for more key highlights on the regional market share of most of the above-mentioned countries. Latest Trends and Driv ers in the E-Book Market Market Driver: Benefits and reader engagement of e-books: Some of the interactive components being integrated into e-books include verbal interaction, augmented reality (AR), and gaming. These features, along with traditional aspects of story plots and illustrations, are making e-books popular. Thus, the demand for interactive e-books will continue to increase, which, in turn, will drive the growth of the global e-book market during the forecast period. Market Trend: Rising adoption of online local language translation modules in e-books: The localization of content and online local language translations are gaining prominence. Publishers are translating e-books into various local languages. For example, UK-based First Editions Translations has been serving various clients across Europe in translating books in a wide range of local languages. Thus, the localization of e-books will foster the growth of the market in focus in the long run. Find additional information about various other market drivers & trends mentioned in our sample report . Related Reports: E-learning Market in the UK by Product and End-user - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 E-learning Market by End-users and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 E-Book Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.25% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 6.93 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 6.04 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 45% Key consumer countries US, Canada, UK, Germany, China, and Italy Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Bertelsmann SE and Co. KGaA, Cengage Learning Inc., Hachette Livre, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley and Sons Inc., Kensington publishing corp., Macmillan publishers, and McGraw Hill Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market Exhibit 02: Market characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis Exhibit 03: Value Chain Analysis: Education Services 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million) Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five Forces Summary Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020 5 Market Segmentation by Product 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 15: Product - Market share 2020-2025 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Product Exhibit 16: Comparison by Product 5.3 Consumer eBook - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 17: Consumer eBook - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 18: Consumer eBook - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.4 Professional eBook - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 19: Professional eBook - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 20: Professional eBook - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.5 Educational eBook - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 21: Educational eBook - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 22: Educational eBook - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.6 Market opportunity by Product Exhibit 23: Market opportunity by Product 6 Customer landscape 7 Segment by Platform Usage 7.1 Smartphones 7.2 Tablets 7.3 Others 8 Geographic Landscape 8.1 Geographic segmentation 8.2 Geographic comparison 8.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 8.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 8.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 8.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 8.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 8.8 Key leading countries 8.9 Market opportunity by geography 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 9.1 Market drivers 9.2 Market challenges 9.3 Market trends 10 Vendor Landscape 10.1 Overview 10.2 Vendor landscape 10.3 Landscape disruption 11 Vendor Analysis 11.1 Vendors covered 11.2 Market positioning of vendors 11.3 Amazon.com Inc. 11.4 Apple Inc. 11.5 Bertelsmann SE and Co. KGaA 11.6 Cengage Learning Inc. 11.7 Hachette Livre 11.8 HarperCollins Publishers 11.9 John Wiley and Sons Inc. 11.10 Kensington publishing corp. 11.11 Macmillan publishers 11.12 McGraw Hill 12 Appendix 12.1 Scope of the report 12.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ 12.3 Research methodology 12.4 List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Enel X was awarded POWER Magazine's Distributed Energy Award for its microgrid project with Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA). First awarded in 2018, POWER's Distributed Energy Award looks for projects that c reatively implement reliable and sustainable power solutions utilizing distributed energy technology. Enel X won this award in 2021 for its virtual power plant (VPP) project with the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). BOSTON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Enel X, the advanced energy services arm of the Enel Group, won POWER Magazine's Distributed Energy Award for the second year in a row for its installation of a solar-plus-storage microgrid to power an all-electric bus fleet for the Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA). This award is given to projects that creatively implement reliable and sustainable power solutions utilizing distributed energy technology. Enel X's microgrid creates a resilient independent energy source for the island of Martha's Vineyard and significantly reduces the VTA's carbon footprint by transitioning its bus fleet from diesel to solar power. "We are proud to be recognized for our work helping the VTA achieve its sustainability goals and ensure continuity of service for its riders," said Philip Martin, Vice President of Energy Storage at Enel X North America. "Not only is the microgrid making the island more resilient and energy independent, but it is also projected to help the VTA avoid 36,000 tons of CO2 emissions over 10 years. We hope this serves as a model for what other island and coastal communities can do." Enel X's microgrid combines a state-of-the-art solar carport that charges the VTA's fleet with a 1.5 MWh battery storage system, delivering backup power with always-on dependability, which is especially important for island communities like Martha's Vineyard that have a higher risk of extreme weather. The battery acts as a behind-the-meter resource, enabling the VTA to sell energy back to the grid. With the VTA's goal of fully electrifying its fleet by 2027, Enel X has provided 16 VTA e-buses or half of the transit agency's total bus fleet. "Our selection committee was very impressed with the award submissions received this year. There was stiff competition in all categories, and much discussion and debate took place during the selection process," said Aaron Larson, Executive Editor of POWER Magazine. "Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority's microgrid and solar charging port projectcompleted with the help of Enel X North America and solar firm Borregostood out as a really impressive power system, well worthy of our 2022 Distributed Energy Award." Over its lifetime, this project is estimated to generate $1 million from the battery's market revenue and serve as a blueprint for other island and coastal communities. This project has a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) locked in which includes 30% savings for power produced over the next two decades. The project is a public-private partnership with multiple funding sources including $2 million from a partnership between Enel X and VTA and another $2 million financed by the Federal Transit Administration, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. Massachusetts is Enel North America's headquarters, with offices in Boston's Seaport District and Andover. This project highlights Enel X's commitment to providing smart value-added services and solutions throughout North America that enable businesses and communities to create, store, use and manage energy more efficiently, sustainably and strategically. About Enel X Enel X is Enel Group's global business line offering services that accelerate innovation and drive the energy transition. In North America, Enel X has around 4,500 business customers, spanning more than 35,000 sites and representing approximately $10.5B in energy spend under management. Enel X North America has approximately 4.7 GW of demand response capacity, over 140 battery storage projects that are operational and under contract. Enel X advises large energy users on energy procurement, sustainability, and risk management, and has completed 65,000 energy procurement events including 3,500 MW of long-term renewable energy contracts. The company's intelligent DER Optimization Software is designed to analyze real-time energy and utility bill data, improve performance, and manage distributed energy assets across a number of different value streams and applications. Contact: Matt Epting 405-358-3446 [email protected] SOURCE Enel X North America Expanding the Contact Center Business in Central Europe LEIPZIG, Germany and INNSBRUCK, Austria, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Enghouse AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Enghouse Systems Limited (TSX: ENGH), announced today it has acquired NTW Software GmbH, based in Innsbruck, Austria and Munich, Germany. Enghouse AG, based in Germany, acquired NTW which provides a suite of products, ranging from attendant console to contact centers for organizations of all sizes primarily within the Cisco market segment. With a focus on modern communications solutions, NTW's modular software supports Cisco's Unified Communication solutions of any size. NTW customers and partners use the company's products to address the requirements of modern communications solutions. These include call center functions in real time, in conjunction with customer service, CRM integrations, help desk and attendant consoles. "NTW's team and products expand our existing console and contact center business in Central Europe, adding Unified Communication products to Enghouse's channel product portfolio," said Steve Sadler, Chairman & CEO of Enghouse. "We are very pleased to welcome NTW's customers, partners and employees to Enghouse." "We are excited to join Enghouse, particularly because of the synergies between the two companies," said Markus Gruber, one of the co-founders of NTW. Florian Tiefenbrunner, the other co-founder, added: "Together, we look forward to expanding our geographical capabilities and product offerings to our partners and customers." About Enghouse Enghouse is a Canadian publicly traded company (TSX:ENGH) that provides enterprise software solutions focusing on contact centers, video communications, healthcare, telecommunications, public safety and the transit market. Enghouse has a two-pronged growth strategy that focuses on internal growth and acquisitions, which are funded through operating cash flows. The company has no external debt financing and is organized around two business segments: the Interactive Management Group and the Asset Management Group. Further information about Enghouse may be obtained from the company's website at www.enghouse.com. About NTW Software Founded in 2006, NTW Software GmbH, is a modern communication software provider covering all aspects of Attendant Consoles and Contact Center capabilities for enterprises of all sizes. Its products provide Phone Services, Intelligent Routing as well as Multi-Channel and Recording capabilities that can easily be deployed and provisioned within a Cisco UC environment. NTW's product portfolio also includes integrations to several CRM systems and offers Real-time Usage Statistics, Call Accounting and Billing features. More information can be obtained on the company's website at: www.ntw-software.com. SOURCE Enghouse Systems Limited TALLINN, Estonia, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Centurion Invest, an Estonian regulated and currently Europe's fastest growing Cryptocurrency Platform with operations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Canada, Southeast Asia and LATAM announced today the public sales launch of their native utility token - $CIX. The launch of the Public Sale follows the successful completion of their pre and private sale. Speaking to the media, George Seroukas, CRO & CEO North America of Centurion Invest said "We are very pleased to announce that $CIX has received a lot of attention among the crypto community. Centurion Invest made the private sale accessible to an exclusive list of whitelisted investors, and happy to announce that within two weeks we achieved 100% of our sales target for the pre and public sales phase, raising over $7 Million Dollars." At Centurion Invest, our mission is to enable the mass adoption of Cryptocurrency. All our initiatives and products we adopt enable us towards building our ecosystem. With the launch of $CIX for public purchase we are able to offer a unique investment opportunity for the public to be part of the ecosystem and make available the massive benefits across the various utilities of the platform", said H.E. Ali Kassab, the Chairman of Centurion Invest. The Centurion Invest token $CIX, is an ERC20 deflationary token, natively based on the Ethereum Network and has a total circulating supply of 2.4 Billion tokens. Centurion Invest also boasts integration and partnerships with reputable financial institutions, simple enabling FIAT to Crypto conversion resulting in one of the best deposit and withdrawal user experiences currently available. Centurion Invest CI hub platform, offers a wallet with the latest security protocols with a simplified user experience. CI-Wallet, a Defi wallet with an abundance of features to buy, sell and hold crypto. It is the Ideal bridge between fiat and crypto. CI-Card is a debit card, in partnership with Visa and MasterCard that provides users access to millions of merchants and service providers around the world. The debit card features cash backs, discounts, loyalty benefits and reward programs. $CIX public sale will be available on https://www.centurioninvest.com/CIXtoken Official community link: Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin Youtube Telegram SOURCE Centurion Invest 3,500-year-old cypress tree in Beijing regains vitality Xinhua) 16:33, July 06, 2022 BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A 3,500-year-old cypress tree in Beijing's suburban Miyun District has regained its vitality as evidenced by its young sprouts and fresh fruits, thanks to the government's protection efforts. Believed to be the oldest tree in the Chinese capital, the cypress is 11.5 meters in height with the circumference of its trunk measuring about 8.2 meters. Nine adults had to stand hand in hand to encircle its massive trunk, said Jiang Xin, who works with the forestry and parks bureau of Miyun. Jiang added that the tree was once struggling to survive due to an adjacent stone fence and an adjoining cement road that prevented its roots from growing, resulting in malnutrition. "Ancient trees are of great cultural, historical and ecological significance," said Qu Hong, a staff member with the Office of Beijing Greening Commission. To save this ancient tree, botanists and experts from the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau, Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Beijing Forestry University made multiple on-site visits to thoroughly examine the tree. "We decided to reroute the road away from the cypress and demolish the surrounding buildings that cover an area of about 1,400 square meters, to make room for the tree," Jiang said. Cong Richen, an expert with the Beijing Institute of Landscape Architecture, explained that the specific distribution of the intertwined roots was detected through radar, and after four days of careful efforts, the stone fence was demolished in March this year. In May, a park was built around the cypress, creating a forest ecosystem that is conducive to the plant's growth and beneficial for the surrounding ecological environment. "The park has become a place of leisure and recreation and has also helped boost local tourism," said Feng Xiaogang, deputy head of Xinchengzi Township in Miyun District. According to the Office of Beijing Greening Commission, 20 pilot protection zones for ancient trees have been set up in the city and such protection efforts for ancient trees will continue to be promoted. Thanks to effective environmental conservation measures, Beijing today has a more resilient and sustainable ecosystem than before, Qu noted. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Addis Abeba The families of Journalist Abebe Bayu, the YouTube based "Ethio Forum" media, said they were told by freed detainees that he is in Awash Arba, located in the Afar Regional state. Abebe's close family member told Addis Standard that his whereabouts was unknown since Friday 01 July after around 10 PM local time when security forces in plain clothes took him from his residence. Now they received information from freed detainees that he was held in Awash Arba. Abebe was one of several journalists who was detained for months without charges and released by Awash Fentale District Court in Afar regional state, on 5,000 ETB bail. Abebe Bayu and Yayesew Shimeles of "Ethio-Forum" were first arrested on 02 July 2021 alongside staff members of Awlo Media, another YouTube based media that has since been closed. In a similar development, family members of Yayesew Shimelis told Addis Standard today that they were still not able to trace the whereabouts of Yayesew after he was detained, again, on 28 June. On 20 June Yayesew was released on 10, 000 birr bail from police custody after he was detained on 26 May. MELBOURNE, Fla., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 14th and 15th, 2022, Eve Holding, Inc. ("Eve" or "the Company") (NYSE: EVEX; EVEXW) brought together representatives from its customers and partners to debate important aspects of the Urban Air Mobility ("UAM") environment, including operations, services and support, aircraft performance, Urban Air Traffic Management ("UATM"), cabin design and passenger journey. The event took place in Lisbon, Portugal, where more than 20 participants from over 10 countries gathered to help shape our shared approach to urban air mobility. Eve's broad spectrum of customers joined the event, including fixed-wing and rotorcraft operators, rideshare platforms and lessors, all with the objective of co-creating the future of UAM. "We have been passionately working on our vision for the future of UAM. Eve's first advisory board is the epitome of our human-centric design mindset valued by our customers and significantly contributed by them. Interactions like this throughout the development of our solutions are essential to creating the right products and services for the market needs," said Flavia Ciaccia, Vice President of User Experience of Eve. Companies such as Republic Airways, Halo Aviation, Blade, Falko, Fahari Aviation (a subsidiary of Kenya Airways), Bristow Group, Helisul Aviacao, Flapper, Helipass, Widere Zero, Falcon Aviation, Avantto and others joined multiple collaborative workshops and presentations where votes and feedback were captured to incorporate insights into the development processes. Andre Stein, Co-CEO of Eve, said: "It was incredibly constructive spending those couple of days with our customers and partners who could collaborate with insights on our UAM solutions based on their experience within their respective fields. All the feedback gathered will contribute to the evolution and maturity of our programs, including the eVTOL, services & support and UATM software. The result was extraordinary, reinforcing that we are on the right path with our collaborative approach toward the future of urban air mobility." Included in this event was the unveiling of Eve's cabin mock-up, the most advanced yet, allowing the Advisory Board's participants to share their operational knowledge and advocate on behalf of their end customers. The mock-up will be also featured in the next Farnborough International Airshow. Image: https://bit.ly/3upw7Ow Follow Eve on Twitter: @Eveairmobility About Eve Eve is dedicated to accelerating the Urban Air Mobility ecosystem. Benefitting from a start-up mindset, backed by Embraer S.A.'s more than 50-year history of aerospace expertise, and with a singular focus, Eve is taking a holistic approach to progressing the UAM ecosystem, with an advanced eVTOL project, a comprehensive global services and support network and a unique air traffic management solution. Since May 10, 2022, Eve is listed on the New York Stock Exchange where its shares of common stock and public warrants trade under the tickers "EVEX" and "EVEXW". For more information, please visit www.eveairmobility.com. About Avantto Avantto is the number one fractional ownership provider for both fixed and rotary wing in Latin America. It is also the largest Embraer operator for private aviation in the region. Performing several daily helicopters flights over metro areas such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Avantto is ready to take a leading position in the new electrified urban air mobility industry. For more information, visit www.avantto.com.br. About Bristow Group Bristow Group Inc. is the leading global provider of innovative and sustainable vertical flight solutions. Bristow primarily provides aviation services to a broad base of major integrated, national and independent offshore energy companies. Bristow provides commercial search and rescue (SAR) services in several countries and public sector SAR services in the United Kingdom (U.K.) on behalf of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). Additionally, the Company offers ad hoc helicopter and fixed wing transportation services. Bristow currently has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dutch Caribbean, Guyana, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the U.K. and the U.S. To learn more, visit our website at www.bristowgroup.com. About Fahari Aviation and Kenya Airways Fahari Aviation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kenya Airways PLC that will lead the application of Emerging Aviation technology in the region and continent. Fahari's initial focus will be the application of drone technology in training, operations, and traffic management with a view to growing into maintenance distribution and design, and production of drones. Kenya Airways, a member of the Sky Team Alliance, is a leading African airline flying to 41 destinations worldwide, 34 of which are in Africa, and carries over four million passengers annually. In 2020 KQ was named Africa's Leading Airline by the World Travel Awards. It continues to modernize its fleet, with its 32 aircraft being some of the youngest in Africa. This includes its flagship B787 Dreamliner aircraft. The on-board service is renowned, and the lie-flat business class seat on the wide-body aircraft is consistently voted among the world's top 10. Kenya Airways takes pride in being at the forefront of connecting Africa to the World and the World to Africa through its hub at the new ultra-modern Terminal 1A at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. About Falko Falko is ultimately wholly owned by Chorus Aviation Inc., one of the world's leading regional aviation groups with over 380 aircraft and approximately $4.6 billion in aircraft assets under management as of June 30, 2022. www.falko.com. About Helipass Helipass, the Paris-France headquarter platform for Tourism and Air Mobility is serving helicopter industry with more than 700 worldwide destinations and 136 companies engaged. Already 82,000 people have flown helicopters. The transition to eVTOL is the next challenge for a better world, quieter and zero-emission footprint. Helipass is developing new routes for airport to city service and preparing new flying experiences. Helipass has chosen Eve and the partnership aims to fly Eve's electric aircraft for a total of 50,000 flight hours per year. The company is committed as laureate with Choose Paris Region to offer electric air vehicle during Paris Olympic games 2024. www.helipass.com. About Republic Airways Founded in 1974, Republic Airways is one of the largest regional airlines in the U.S. Republic operates a fleet of more than 220 Embraer 170/175 aircraft and offers scheduled passenger service with daily flights to 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Central America. The airline provides fixed-fee flights operated under its codeshare partners' brands: American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express. The airline employs about 6,000 aviation professionals. Learn more at www.rjet.com. Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure Certain statements in this press release include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "target", "may", "intend", "predict", "should", "would", "predict", "potential", "seem", "future", "outlook" or other similar expressions (or negative versions of such words or expressions) that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's expectations with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the business combination. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified herein, and on the current expectations of the Company's management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and may differ from assumptions, and such differences may be material. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including: (i) changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; (ii) failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the business combination; (iii) risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to the Company; (iv) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company following the completion of the business combination; (v) future global, regional or local economic and market conditions, including the growth and development of the urban air mobility market; (vi) the development, effects and enforcement of laws and regulations; (vii) the Company's ability to grow and manage future growth, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its key employees; (viii) the Company's ability to develop new products and solutions, bring them to market in a timely manner, and make enhancements to its platform; (ix) the Company's ability to successfully develop, obtain certification for and commercialize its aircraft, (x) the effects of competition on the Company's future business; (xi) the outcome of any potential litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries; (xi) the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and (xii) those factors discussed in the Company's Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on April 13, 2022 (the "Proxy Statement") under the heading "Risk Factors," and other documents of the Company filed, or to be filed, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that the Company does not presently know or that the Company currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's assessments to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release and undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements. Investor Information https://ir.eveairmobility.com/ Contacts [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Eve Holding, Inc. Increase in awareness about extended warranty and rise in penetration of laptops, tablets, and smartphones have driven the growth of the global extended warranty market. PORTLAND, Ore., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, "Extended Warranty Market By Distribution Channel (Manufacturers, Retailers, Others), By Coverage (Standard Protection Plan, Accidental Protection Plan), By Application (Automobiles, Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Mobile Devices and PCs, Others), By End User (Individuals, Business): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031". According to the report, the global extended warranty industry generated $122.89 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $274.94 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.6% from 2022 to 2031. Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities Increase in awareness about extended warranty and rise in penetration of laptops, tablets, and smartphones have driven the growth of the global extended warranty market. However, declining sales of PCs hamper the market growth. On the other hand, expansion of products and services and untapped potential of emerging economics are projected to pave the way for lucrative opportunities in the industry. Download Sample Report (Get Full Insights in PDF - 312 Pages) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/5022 COVID-19 Scenario: With changing trends and buying behavior, companies are strategically focused on enhancing virtual shopping to provide an integrated physical experience during the pandemic situation. Consumers are demanding extended warranty claim processes, multiple extended warranty coverage options, and self-service videos via online portals, which in turn had a sheer positive impact on the global extended warranty market. The Standard Protection Plan Segment Had the Lion's Share in 2021 By coverage, the standard protection plan segment accounted for the major share in 2021, accounting for around three-fourths of the global extended warranty market. This is due to the fact that it mainly covers mechanical & electrical breakdowns and several other coverages, which do not come under the manufacturer's warranty. However, the accidental protection plan segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR of 12.6% throughout the forecast period. Implementation of advance technologies and growing awareness about the security measures for ATM machines drive the segment growth. Get Detailed Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Extended Warranty Market @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/5022?reqfor=covid The Automobiles Segment to Lead the Trail By 2031 By application, the automobiles segment generated the major share in 2021, garnering more than one-third of the global extended warranty market, owing to surge in sales of extended warranty at the time of purchase of vehicles. The others segment, however, is projected to cite the fastest CAGR of 11.7% during the forecast period. North America Held the Major Share in 2021 By region, the market across North America accounted for the major share in 2021, contributing to nearly two-fifths of the global extended warranty market. On the other hand, the global extended warranty market across Asia-Pacific is expected to cite the fastest CAGR of 11.0% throughout the study period. This is owing to emerging economies, high costs of repairs, several offers & benefits, and better customer experience offered under extended warranties in the province. Interested to Procure the Data? Inquire Here @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/5022 Prominent Market Players American International Group, Inc. Asurion CarShield, LLC. SquareTrade, Inc. Edel Assurance AmTrust Financial AXA CARCHEX Endurance Warranty Services, LLC Access AVENUE - A Subscription-Based Library (Premium On-Demand, Subscription-Based Pricing Model) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Avenue is a user-based library of global market report database, provides comprehensive reports pertaining to the world's largest emerging markets. It further offers e-access to all the available industry reports just in a jiffy. By offering core business insights on the varied industries, economies, and end users worldwide, Avenue ensures that the registered members get an easy as well as single gateway to their all-inclusive requirements. Avenue Library Subscription | Request For 14 Days Free Trial of Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenueTrial Similar Reports: Consumer Electronics Extended Warranty Market to Hit $198.99 Billion By 2030 Auto Extended Warranty Market Expected to Reach $60.82 Billion By 2030 U.S. Extended Warranty Market Projected to Garner $59.52 Billion By 2028 U.S., Brazil & India Extended Warranty Market to Reach $41.51 Billion By 2030 U.S. Auto Extended Warranty Market Estimated to Grow $24.48 Billion By 2030 Financial Guarantee Market Expected to Reach $71.93 Billion By 2030 Bank Guarantee Market Projected to Grow $41.48 Billion By 2030 Cryptocurrency Market Expected to Attain $4.94 Billion By 2030 Pre-Book Now with 10% Discount: Gap Insurance Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2022-2029 Performance Bank Guarantee Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2022-2029 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on LinkedIn and Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research SILVER SPRING, Md., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an update on additional steps it has taken that will lead to more infant formula available in the U.S. under the agency's recent increased flexibilities . Company (Product Origin): Vitaflo USA LLC (The Netherlands) Product(s): PKU Start Type of Formula: Specialty/metabolic formula for infants with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare genetic disorder in which the amino acid phenylalanine builds up in the body. Estimated Quantity: 3,192 cans (about 2,815 pounds or about 39,844 full-size, 8-ounce bottles) Availability: Product will be available within two weeks through direct purchase from Vitaflo and medical distribution channels, with a second round of product expected to be available in September. More Information and Where to Find the Products: PKU Start must be used under medical supervision and is available directly from Vitaflo with a medical prescription. It will be distributed through medical distribution channels such as pharmacies, durable medical equipment providers, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and home care providers. These designated providers can place an order on behalf of patients by calling Vitaflo at 888-848-2356. The FDA is exercising enforcement discretion for the importation of the infant formula products listed above following the review of information provided pertaining to nutritional adequacy and safety, including microbiological testing, labeling and additional information about facility production and inspection history. The agency is leveraging a number of flexibilities to bolster the supply of products that serve as the sole source of nutrition for many infants while ensuring the infant formula can be used safely and provides adequate nutrition. The FDA remains in further discussions with manufacturers and suppliers regarding additional supply to ensure there's adequate infant formula available wherever and whenever parents and caregivers need it. The FDA issued guidance on May 16 that outlined a process by which the agency would not object to the importation of certain infant formula products intended for a foreign market or distribution in the U.S. of products manufactured here for export to foreign countries. This guidance also may provide flexibilities to those who manufacture infant formula products domestically and may be able to further increase the quantity of domestically-produced product for the U.S. market. The agency has posted a webpage that will be updated with information about additional products headed to the U.S. Ongoing FDA Steps to Increase Availability of Safe, Nutritious Infant Formula The agency's around-the-clock work as part of the all-of-government efforts has already begun to improve supply and availability. The agency expects that the measures and steps it is taking, and the resumption of production at the Abbott Nutrition's Sturgis, Mich., facility, will mean more and more supply is on the way or on store shelves moving forward. The FDA continues to advise against making infant formulas at home or diluting formula. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to work with their child's health care provider for recommendations on changing feeding practices, if needed. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also has additional information available at HHS.gov/formula, including information to help families find infant formula. The agency also monitors online marketplaces for fraudulent products and works with major online retailers to remove violative and harmful products offered for sale on their sites. Additionally, since many of these fraudulent products originate overseas, the agency targets and examines these products at ports of entry. The FDA also monitors and follows up on various external signals such as consumer complaints about potential counterfeit and fraudulent products. The FDA will continue to dedicate all available resources to help ensure that safe and nutritious infant formula products remain available for use in the U.S. and will keep the public informed of progress updates. Additional Information: ### Media Contact: FDA Office of Media Affairs, 301-796-4540 Consumer Inquiries: 888-723-3366 The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products. SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration "The Top 100 List recognizes the bottom line of business. At Fox that number tells a bigger story than just money," shared Mike Romney, Fox Pest Control co-founder and co-CEO. "Our revenue and impressive year-over-year growth is a testament to the hard work and steadfast commitment of our team to unparalleled service; it reinforces that our customers trust us to keep them safe and pest free; and, most importantly, it signifies that our growth is a result of a strong foundation from doing business the right way." In total, the pest control companies that made this year's Top 100 List earned total revenues of more than $9.9 billion in 2021, a significant increase compared to the $8.8 billion garnered in 2020. "The pest control industry is experiencing explosive growth right now. Homeowners are spending more time in their home due to the pandemic, resulting in an increase in customers and service requests across the industry. Additionally, we've seen a lot of people move from apartments into homes during this time as well. To protect their investment, it's clear that new homeowners are making pest control a top priority," explained Bryant White, co-founder and co-CEO of Fox Pest Control. Headquartered in Logan, Utah, Fox Pest Control operates more than 30 branches in 13 states and has helped more than 160,000 homeowners keep their homes pest free. The company, which currently employs more than 750, is looking to immediately hire more than 100 individuals to support customer service and sales departments. Details on job openings and information on how to apply are posted on Fox Pest Control's career page . More information about Fox Pest Control is available at www.fox-pest.com . About Fox Pest Control Fox Pest Control operates more than 30 branches in 13 states, bringing superior pest control services to homeowners and businesses. The company ranked #13 on Pest Control Technology's Top 100 Pest Control Companies in 2022 and #1807 on the 40th annual Inc. 5000 List. Learn more about Fox Pest Control at fox-pest.com . Media Contact: Amanda Triest, [email protected] SOURCE Fox Pest Control Discuss your concerns about reporting requirements for your overseas assets with the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing by calling us today at (800) 681-1295 or visiting the contact us page of our website to schedule a reduced rate initial consultation . Why Do You Have to Report Your Foreign Accounts to the Government? In 1970, Congress passed the Bank Secrecy Act, a package of legislation that was meant to make it harder for Americans to use offshore accounts to conceal their offshore taxable income from the IRS. Included in the legislative effort was the requirement that all taxpayers with a certain amount of assets in foreign control must file an information return known as the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or FBAR. Though the value of the American dollar has changed dramatically since this time, the reporting threshold has not, meaning that more American taxpayers are subject to FBAR disclosure requirements than ever before. To enforce the FBAR requirements for a growing number of applicable taxpayers, Congress passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2010. FATCA imposes a withholding tax on any foreign bank or firm that fails to report account balances and transaction details of their American clients to the IRS. The government uses the information they obtain through these disclosures to determine whether taxpayers with foreign assets met their FBAR obligations. Who Has to Report Their Foreign Accounts to the Government? If you are an American taxpayer who has over $10,000 in assets held or controlled by a foreign bank, firm, or other financial entity at any point during the tax year, you are required to submit an FBAR. Whether you resided in the continental United States during the calendar tax year or not has no bearing on the requirement. The threshold is calculated by combining all foreign accounts. Thus, you must file an FBAR if your combined foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000, even if no single account reached that value by itself during the year. The number that the government uses to evaluate whether you meet the threshold is the peak value of the assets during the taxable year. Even if the total value of your assets only exceeded $10,000 for one day out of the calendar year, you still must file an FBAR. Which Foreign Accounts Do You Have to Report in an FBAR? FBAR requirements apply to any foreign registered financial accounts with a positive balance that the taxpayer has signatory authority over. This may include foreign registered checking and savings accounts, individual stock holdings or investment portfolios, pensions, joint accounts, business accounts, life insurance accounts and trusts. Do You Have to Pay Taxes on an FBAR? The FBAR is an information return, not a tax return. Therefore, you do not owe the government any payment solely in connection with your FBAR filing. It is quite common that you may already be paying tax on your offshore income generating assets to the government of the foreign country where they are held. U.S. taxpayers are taxed on their worldwide net income. To alleviate double taxation, a foreign tax credit can often be claimed to offset your U.S. tax obligations where income is taxed both offshore and, in the U.S. However, you will unfortunately owe the government substantial amounts of money in penalties if you fail to meet your FBAR reporting requirements. Even if your failure to file your FBAR was an honest mistake, the penalties available start at up to $10,000 per violation per calendar year. With a 6-year statute of limitations this can amount to $60,000 of penalties. If the IRS concludes that you willfully failed to file, filed incorrectly, or filed late, they could impose a penalty of up to either $100,000 or 50% of the balance of the overseas assets, whichever is greater . How to Report Your Foreign Accounts to the IRS Technically, taxpayers who are required to submit FBARs must file them with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (or FinCEN) rather than with the IRS. The FBAR is not filed by mail like a traditional income tax return. Instead, you must file online through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. In your filing, you will need information on hand, such as the entity where the assets are held, the relevant account number, and the peak balance of each account during that tax year. FBARs are due on the traditional tax return deadline of April 15 but have an automatic extension that gives you until October 15 to properly file. However, for the sake of organization, it is always ideal to file your FBAR at the same time that you file your income tax return. CAUTION, if you file your tax returns on April 17th for example while on extension, and file your FBARS on April 18th, they will be considered delinquent. What Should You Do If You Have Already Missed Your FBAR Filing Deadline? If you did not file an FBAR for past taxable years because you were not aware of the requirement, you have more options than just waiting for the government to figure it out. For taxpayers who were filing their federal income tax returns from abroad but not their FBAR disclosures, the best method is often to use the IRS's expat streamlined voluntary disclosure program where the taxpayer's noncompliance was inadvertent rather than willful. Taxpayers that qualify for this program will not face FBAR penalties. Types of Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs You should not attempt to use any of the available offshore voluntary disclosure programs without the help of a knowledgeable International Tax Attorney and CPA. Attempting disclosure too late or disclosing incorrect information can have unexpected and often draconian negative effects on your situation, which can leave you even worse off than you were in the first place. Get the Facts on FBAR Disclosure Requirements from the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing To hear more about the services that our dual licensed International Tax Attorneys and CPAs can provide, call our offices today at (800) 681-1295 or schedule online here. See our FBAR Compliance and Disclosure Q and A Library See our Foreign Audit Q and A Library Here is a link to our YouTube channel: click here. Public Contact: Dave Klasing Esq. M.S.-Tax CPA, [email protected] SOURCE Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, PC According to ICCMS, since its establishment in 2009, ICCMS has been successfully held in Italy, China, Australia, the Netherlands and other countries and regions, with nearly 2,000 experts and scholars from all over the world attending the conference and more than 200 academic sessions. All accepted papers will be published in the International Conference Proceedings Series by ACM, which will be archived in the ACM Digital Library, and indexed by Ei Compendex, Scopus, etc. The committee received numerous submissions from professors and students from a variety of research institutes and businesses engaged in computer modeling and simulation research. After a strict selection procedure, only two Chinese companies were invited to attend the conference. As the only e-cigarette company asked to participate, Geekvape Technology shared its latest research results at the conference. Geekvape Introduced the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) application in structural optimization of the ceramic atomizer. In designing electrically heated atomizers, the heat and mass transfer phenomenon is essential for maximizing the final product's performance. In such a seemingly simple atomizer, the complex thermo-fluidic phenomena in the design becomes the biggest challenge. The engineering team has successfully developed patented product designs with higher heat efficiency and better atomization performance. This indicates that the development of product innovation in the e-cigarette industry has progressed significantly. Dr. Jiadong Zang, the Geekvape's advanced technology and application research Institute's representative, stated: "This invitation is a great honor for Geekvape to communicate with many international experts and scholars in related research fields, to discuss the latest technological progress and share our most recent findings. This has profound implications for the future development of the global e-cigarette industry, as well as for the improvement of scientific and technological innovation to facilitate the industry's high-quality development". According to the "Global E-cigarette Industry Development Trend Special Research Report 2021-2022" published by iiMedia Research, the global e-cigarette retail scale has been growing quickly for the past three years. Chinese companies design and distribute to over 200 nations and regions, accounting for 95 percent of global capacity. This demonstrates that China has a significant advantage in the global market, with Chinese manufacturing driving the e-cigarette industry growth through technological innovation. In recent years, Geekvape has adopted an open stance and taken proactive steps to enhance its own technical intellectual property reserves and retain its own innovative features, as well as to refresh its thorough awareness of technological innovation interdiscipline. The CFD application has not only received widespread acclaim at international conferences, but has also significantly increased Geekvape's global competitiveness. The e-cigarette market is expected to grow rapidly in the next years and has a bright future. SOURCE GEEKVAPE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD Recognition underscores Genpact's continued excellence in cybersecurity and commitment to driving client value with its security practices NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Genpact (NYSE: G), a global professional services firm focused on delivering digital transformation, today announced that it has been honored with the 2022 CSO50 Award from Foundry's CSO, the premier content and community resource for security decision-makers leading business risk management efforts. This year's award recognizes Genpact for implementing holistic risk management practices through its Client Lifecycle Risk Management (CLRM) program. The pandemic-induced acceleration of digitization has increased cyber risk worldwide, impacting businesses financially, legally, and causing reputational damage. In this environment, data security, privacy and cybersecurity resilience have emerged as one of the primary requirements from clients across sectors and geographies. Operationally, this translates to faster identification, escalation and mitigation of these risks starting from the initial pitch for a new deal all the way through contract management and delivering services to clients. To accomplish this, Genpact implemented an integrated risk management program, empowering its sales and operations teams, as well as clients, to make real-time risk decisions in an agile manner with minimal impact on the deal closure cycle. "With the number of cyber-attacks reaching an all-time high in the past 24 months, businesses everywhere are aggressively working to identify and prevent security breaches to avoid losing years of customer trust, loyalty, and brand reputation in a matter of minutes," said Vidya Srinivasan, global infrastructure, and risk leader, Genpact. "At Genpact, digitally transforming clients' businesses, securely and compliant with various regulations is a critical focus for us. This award is a testament to the end-to-end value we are delivering." This is the sixth consecutive year Genpact has received a CSO50 award for leading specific security projects and initiatives that demonstrate outstanding business value and thought leadership. Genpact received this award in 2021 for its "Secure Work-From-Anywhere" initiative; in 2020 and 2018 for its "Cyber Defense Center Transformation and Automation" initiatives; in 2019 for its "Cloud Security Automation" initiative; and in 2017, for its "Data Loss Prevention 2.0" program. "As the global business environment continues to change with new technologies and ways to connect with one another, new security challenges are surfacing each day that security leaders and organizations must deal with," said Amy Bennett, executive editor of CSO. "The annual CSO50 and CSO Hall of Fame Awards give recognition to the leaders and teams that are establishing new solutions for dealing with the many current and emerging threats their organizations are confronted with. We are looking forward to giving Genpact and other standout teams and leaders the recognition they deserve at the upcoming event in September." Genpact will accept its award at the CSO50 Conference + Awards to be held September 19-21, 2022 at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland. About Genpact Genpact (NYSE: G) is a global professional services firm that makes business transformation real. Led by our purpose the relentless pursuit of a world that works better for people we drive digital-led innovation and digitally enabled intelligent operations for our clients. Guided by our experience reinventing and running thousands of processes for hundreds of clients, many of them Global Fortune 500 companies, we drive real-world transformation at scale. We think with design, dream in digital, and solve problems with data and analytics. Combining our expertise in end-to-end operations and our AI-based platform, Genpact Cora, we focus on the details all 100,000+ of us. From New York to New Delhi, and more than 30 countries in between, we connect every dot, reimagine every process, and reinvent the ways companies work. We know that reimagining each step from start to finish creates better business outcomes. Whatever it is, we'll be there with you accelerating digital transformation to create bold, lasting results because transformation happens here. Get to know us at Genpact.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. About the CSO50 Awards The CSO50 Awards recognizes 50 organizations for security projects and initiatives that demonstrate outstanding business value and thought leadership. The CSO50 Awards are scored according to a uniform set of criteria by a panel of judges that includes security leaders, industry experts and academics. The 2022 awards will be presented at the CSO50 Conference + Awards to be held September 19-21, 2022 at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland. Past winners include Adobe, Allstate, American Express, City of Raleigh, The Clorox Company, Comcast, Delta Dental, Genpact, HBO Latin America, Home Depot, Microsoft, University of Pennsylvania, Verizon and many more. A complete list of the 2021 winners can be viewed on FoundryCo.com About CSO CSO is the premier content and community resource for security decision makers leading business risk management efforts within their organizations. For more than a decade, CSO's award-winning website (CSOonline.com), executive conferences, strategic marketing services and research have equipped security decision makers to mitigate both IT and corporate/physical risk for their organizations and provided opportunities for security vendors looking to reach this audience. CSO is published by Foundry (formerly IDG Communications, Inc.). Company information is available at www.foundryco.com MEDIA CONTACTS: Siya Belliappa Global Genpact Media Relations +1 718-561-9843 [email protected] SOURCE Genpact DUBLIN, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 'Digital Therapeutics Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global digital therapeutics market reached a value of US$ 4.2 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 13.4 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 21.33% during 2021-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Digital therapeutics (DTx) deliver evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients. They aid in enhancing the existing medical treatments, providing therapy solutions, and reducing reliance on pharmaceuticals using high-quality software programs. They also prevent, manage and treat physical, mental, and behavioral health and find application in diagnosing conditions like Alzheimer's disease, type II diabetes, and respiratory disorders, such as asthma, gastrointestinal problems, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. At present, there is a significant rise in the demand for DTx as they reduce health care costs and support the overall health of patients. The boosting sales of smart devices like mobile phones and tablets, rising internet penetration and the increasing number of healthcare applications are among the major factors strengthening the growth of the market. DTx finds application in a diverse range of neuroscience indications, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disease. Additionally, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity, along with the increasing need for controlling costs of healthcare treatments, are supporting the growth of the market. Furthermore, pharmaceutical companies around the world are investing and engaging in strategic partnerships to expand their product portfolio and market reach. They are also focusing on providing patients with information concerning different conditions and subsequent treatments as well as organizing, tracking, and self-managing their diseases. These initiatives undertaken by pharmaceutical companies are anticipated to impel the growth of the market. Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being 2Morrow Inc., Canary Health Inc., Click Therapeutics Inc., Mango Health Inc. (TrialCard Incorporated), Noom Health Inc., Omada Health Inc., Pear Therapeutics, Inc., Propeller Health (ResMed), Teladoc Health Inc., Voluntis Inc. and WellDoc Inc. Key Questions Answered in This Report 1. What was the size of the global digital therapeutics market in 2021? 2. What is the expected growth rate of the global digital therapeutics market during 2022-2027? 3. What are the key factors driving the global digital therapeutics market? 4. What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global digital therapeutics market? 5. What is the breakup of the global digital therapeutics market based on the application? 6. What is the breakup of the global digital therapeutics market based on the end use? 7. What are the key regions in the global digital therapeutics market? 8. Who are the key players/companies in the global digital therapeutics market? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Digital Therapeutics Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Application 6.1 Diabetes 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Obesity 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 CVD 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 6.4 CNS Disease 6.4.1 Market Trends 6.4.2 Market Forecast 6.5 Respiratory Diseases 6.5.1 Market Trends 6.5.2 Market Forecast 6.6 Smoking Cessation 6.6.1 Market Trends 6.6.2 Market Forecast 6.7 Others 6.7.1 Market Trends 6.7.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by End Use 7.1 Patients 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Providers 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 7.3 Payers 7.3.1 Market Trends 7.3.2 Market Forecast 7.4 Employers 7.4.1 Market Trends 7.4.2 Market Forecast 7.5 Others 7.5.1 Market Trends 7.5.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Region 9 SWOT Analysis 10 Value Chain Analysis 11 Porters Five Forces Analysis 12 Price Analysis 13 Competitive Landscape 13.1 Market Structure 13.2 Key Players 13.3 Profiles of Key Players 13.3.1 2Morrow Inc. 13.3.1.1 Company Overview 13.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.2 Canary Health Inc. 13.3.2.1 Company Overview 13.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.3 Click Therapeutics Inc. 13.3.3.1 Company Overview 13.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.4 Mango Health Inc. (TrialCard Incorporated) 13.3.4.1 Company Overview 13.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.5 Noom Health Inc. 13.3.5.1 Company Overview 13.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.6 Omada Health Inc. 13.3.6.1 Company Overview 13.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7 Pear Therapeutics, Inc. 13.3.7.1 Company Overview 13.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.8 Propeller Health (ResMed) 13.3.8.1 Company Overview 13.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.9 Teladoc Health Inc. 13.3.9.1 Company Overview 13.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.10 Voluntis Inc. 13.3.10.1 Company Overview 13.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.11 WellDoc Inc. 13.3.11.1 Company Overview 13.3.11.2 Product Portfolio For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/zhjfnu Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Precast Concrete Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global precast concrete market reached a value of US$ 115 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach a value of US$ 158.2 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.46% during 2021-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Precast concrete is produced by preparing, casting, and curing the concrete using a reusable mold in a controlled environment. The casted concrete is then transported to the construction site, where it is used for structural components like wall panels, tunnels, floors, beams, columns, pipes, girders and staircases. The precast structural elements are more economical and practical in nature compared to in-situ concrete. Precast concrete components can be bolted together by embedding steel connectors in the concrete at the time of casting. They offer dimensional accuracy and a choice of developing unique and breakthrough constructions of exceptional quality. As a result, precast concrete is generally used for building affordable projects with identical structures. It also provides the advantage of planning for future construction projects as the components can be rearranged easily. Precast Concrete Market Trends: The global precast concrete market is primarily driven by rapid urbanization and the growing demand for residential and commercial spaces. With the rising environmental concerns, precast concrete is being increasingly used to construct buildings, bridges, and stadiums as it can be recycled and reused, which helps in minimizing the impact of raw materials on the environment. Besides this, governments across the globe are investing in infrastructural development projects, which is providing a positive outlook to the market. They are also undertaking various initiatives for the employment of precast concrete as it significantly reduces the overall project timeline and generates savings in raw material and labor costs. Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being Balfour Beatty plc, Boral Limited, CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., Elementbau Osthessen GmbH & Co. ELO KG, Forterra Inc., Gulf Precast Concrete Co LLC, Holcim Group, Laing O'Rourke, Olson Precast Company, Spancrete Inc. (Wells Concrete) and Tindall Corporation. Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global precast concrete market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global precast concrete market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the type? What is the breakup of the market based on the product? What is the breakup of the market based on the end use? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global precast concrete market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Precast Concrete Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Type 6.1 Floors and Roofs 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Columns and Beams 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 Stairs and Landing 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 6.4 Walls 6.4.1 Market Trends 6.4.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Product 7.1 Structural Building Components 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Architectural Building Components 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 7.3 Transportation Products 7.3.1 Market Trends 7.3.2 Market Forecast 7.4 Water and Waste Handling Products 7.4.1 Market Trends 7.4.2 Market Forecast 7.5 Others 7.5.1 Market Trends 7.5.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by End Use 8.1 Residential 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Non-residential 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Region 10 SWOT Analysis 11 Value Chain Analysis 12 Porters Five Forces Analysis 13 Price Analysis 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Market Structure 14.2 Key Players 14.3 Profiles of Key Players 14.3.1 Balfour Beatty plc 14.3.1.1 Company Overview 14.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.1.3 Financials 14.3.1.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.2 Boral Limited 14.3.2.1 Company Overview 14.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.2.3 Financials 14.3.2.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.3 CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V. 14.3.3.1 Company Overview 14.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.3.3 Financials 14.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.4 Elementbau Osthessen GmbH & Co. ELO KG 14.3.4.1 Company Overview 14.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.5 Forterra Inc. 14.3.5.1 Company Overview 14.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.6 Gulf Precast Concrete Co LLC 14.3.6.1 Company Overview 14.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.7 Holcim Group 14.3.7.1 Company Overview 14.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.7.3 Financials 14.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.8 Laing O'Rourke 14.3.8.1 Company Overview 14.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.9 Olson Precast Company 14.3.9.1 Company Overview 14.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.10 Spancrete Inc. (Wells Concrete) 14.3.10.1 Company Overview 14.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.11 Tindall Corporation 14.3.11.1 Company Overview 14.3.11.2 Product Portfolio For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/c8qyim? Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets "Our continued drilling program at El Favor East shows additional positive results. Our program is also focussing on Gran Cabrera in the northerly section of Los Ricos North, and we expect to provide an update on that shortly," said Brad Langille, President and CEO. "In addition to our drilling, we continue to work on consolidation of additional ground in Los Ricos South and expect to have an update on this in the coming weeks." Table 1: Drill Hole Intersections Hole ID Area / Vein From To Length1 Au Ag AuEq2 AgEq2 (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) LRGF-22-115 El Favor East 51.0 53.8 2.8 0.36 75.7 1.37 102.5 and 194.4 196.3 2.0 0.37 127.0 2.06 154.9 and 345.1 346.0 0.9 0.19 120.9 1.80 135.0 LRGF-22-116 El Favor East 134.6 135.3 0.8 0.56 240.6 3.76 282.3 and 227.3 229.1 1.8 0.24 137.6 2.07 155.5 and 271.0 273.2 2.2 0.80 226.7 3.82 286.8 including 272.2 272.7 0.5 2.87 847.0 14.17 1,062.4 LRGF-22-118 El Favor East 223.0 241.8 18.8 0.62 156.4 2.71 203.2 including 233.7 241.1 7.4 1.50 344.5 6.09 456.9 including 238.2 240.2 2.0 3.59 854.5 14.98 1,123.8 LRGF-22-120 El Favor East 125.0 125.7 0.7 0.82 225.0 3.82 286.8 and 235.7 245.0 9.3 0.64 154.7 2.71 203.0 including 243.3 244.0 0.7 5.23 1,195.0 21.16 1,587.0 and 339.1 339.6 0.5 0.21 95.6 1.49 111.5 and 351.5 352.2 0.7 0.24 107.7 1.67 125.6 and 357.1 357.8 0.7 4.34 1,294.9 21.60 1,620.2 LRGF-22-122 El Favor East 190.9 195.4 4.5 0.27 75.8 1.28 96.3 and 271.1 273.0 1.9 0.49 83.6 1.60 120.3 including 272.1 273.0 0.9 0.90 152.8 2.94 220.6 LRGF-22-127 El Favor East 69.3 80.7 11.4 0.37 89.8 1.57 117.7 including 73.1 73.6 0.5 1.92 213.7 4.76 357.3 Not true width AqEq converted using a silver to gold ratio of 75:1 at recoveries of 100% Holes LRGF-22-117, LRGF-22-119, and LRGF 22-121 did not intercept significant mineralization Holes LRGF-22-123 to 126 are pending assays. Figure 1: El Favor Drill Hole Locations In early 2022, the exploration team began a systematic stepout drilling program to test the eastern strike extension of the El Favor deposit in the area between Discovery Hole 48 and the underground workings at the Constancia Mine. This area is known as the El Favor East zone, and the mapping and drilling program has extended the presence of mineralization 900m to the east of hole 48 (El Favor East zone discovery hole), as shown in Figure 1. To date, approximately 800m of El Favor East has been drilled showing the strong mineralization. The drill holes in this release were not included in the initial Mineral Resource Estimate for Los Ricos North released on December 7, 2021, hole LRGF-21-094 was the final drill hole included in that resource. Table 2: Drill Hole Locations Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Length LRGF-22-115 586554 2336781 1322 180 -50 346 LRGF-22-116 587028 2336809 1263 180 -45 515 LRGF-22-118 586880 2336845 1233 180 -45 435 LRGF-22-120 586977 2336827 1264 180 -45 504 LRGF-22-122 586858 2336828 1235 180 -45 487 LRGF-22-127 586499 2336939 1337 180 -46 101 In September, the company commissioned TMC Exploracion to complete an IP survey using the Pole:Dipole array on the El Favor property. The grid consists of a network of 28 N/S profiles spaced every 100 m from L-2W to L-25E ranging in length from 0.85 to 2.0 km. The survey outlined several high chargeability anomalies representative of the sulphide mineralization along the El Favor El Favor East zone. A geophysical map showing anomalies and drilling targets is included as Figure 2 below. Figure 2: Geophysical Map El Favor El Favor is located approximately 800 meters along strike to the east of the El Orito deposit. The combined systems cover approximately 2.9km in mineralized strike length over a 3.7km distance. At El Orito, wide zones of precious and base metal mineralization were cut by drill holes at El Orito at elevations between 600 to 900m. The drill holes at El Favor have cut primarily silver-gold mineralization with trace to minor amounts of base metals at a higher elevation in the system, between 1,050m to 1,400m, compared to the semi-massive to massive base metal sulphide mineralization seen deeper in the El Orito deposit. Figure 3: Favor Long Section VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation VRIFY is a platform being used by companies to communicate with investors using 360 virtual tours of remote mining assets, 3D models and interactive presentations. VRIFY can be accessed by website and with the VRIFY iOS and Android apps. The VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation for GoGold can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/decks/10437 and on the Company's website at: www.gogoldresources.com. Los Ricos District Exploration Projects The Company's two exploration projects at its Los Ricos Property are in Jalisco state, Mexico. The Los Ricos South Project began in March 2019 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on July 29, 2020 which disclosed a Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource of 63.7 million ounces AgEq grading 199 g/t AgEq contained in 10.0 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 19.9 million ounces AgEq grading 190 g/t AgEq contained in 3.3 million tonnes. An initial PEA on the project was announced on January 20, 2021 indicating an NPV 5% of US$295M. The Los Ricos North Project was launched in March 2020 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on December 7, 2021, which disclosed an Indicated Mineral Resource of 87.8 million ounces AgEq grading 122 g/t AgEq contained in 22.3 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 73.2 million ounces AgEq grading 111 g/t AgEq contained in 20.5 million tonnes. The Company has a drill program for an additional 100,000 metres of drilling for 2022 in place. Procedure, Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one half of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining half portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work. The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ActLabs facility in Zacatecas, Mexico. ActLabs crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 50-gram charge by fire assay (Code 1A2-50) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 1A3-50). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code 1F2 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 8-Ag FA-GRAV Ag). Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed GoGold's QA/QC protocols. Mr. David Duncan, P. Geo. is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information of this release. About GoGold Resources GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD) is a Canadian-based silver and gold producer focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring high quality projects in Mexico. The Company operates the Parral Tailings mine in the state of Chihuahua and has the Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North exploration projects in the state of Jalisco. Headquartered in Halifax, NS, GoGold is building a portfolio of low cost, high margin projects. For more information visit gogoldresources.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy of any of GoGold's securities in the United States. This news release may contain "forward-looking information" as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Los Ricos South and North projects, and future plans and objectives of GoGold, including the intention to undertake further exploration at Los Ricos North, and the prospect of further discoveries there, constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions in connection with the continuance of GoGold and its subsidiaries as a going concern, general economic and market conditions, mineral prices, the accuracy of mineral resource estimates, and the performance of the Parral project. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from GoGold's expectations include exploration and development risks associated with GoGold's projects, the failure to establish estimated mineral resources or mineral reserves, volatility of commodity prices, variations of recovery rates, and global economic conditions. For additional information with respect to risk factors applicable to GoGold, reference should be made to GoGold's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with securities regulators, including, but not limited to, GoGold's Annual Information Form. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date of this release. SOURCE GoGold Resources Inc. Addis Abeba "There were an unknown number of deaths and casualties following a peaceful demonstration in Shewa Robit town of the Amhara region," residents told Addis Standard. There are still some detainees in police custody after security forced attempted to disperse crowed of protesters last week. Relative calm has returned to the city this week after a tense weekend. Tades, who chose to go by his last name, told Addis Standard the town's high school students held a peaceful demonstration on Thursday, 28th June of 2022 denouncing the killings of ethnic Amharas in Wollega and demanding the government to dispose of its constitutional responsibilities to help law and order prevail in the country. According to Tades, the next day, security forces and law enforcers went door-to-door and arrested students, political leaders [including the woreda's branch head of the opposition party, the National Movement of Amhara] and individuals whom they believed were involved in coordinating the demonstration. Following the arrests, he went on explaining, on the same day Friday, high school students and residents of the town went to the police stations where the detainees were held captives and demanded their release. "With the involvement of emotions, the situation escalated when the security forces and the public argued in a heated manner," adding," then the shooting started which claimed an unknown number of deaths and casualties," he said recalling the happenings at the scene. Another witness, Sahle [name changed upon request] said: "There were deaths, casualties, and arrests, though I don't know how many in numbers," reinforcing Tades's words. For the subsequent three days, Shewa Robit town was consumed in unusual silence. Businesses were closed. Most of the residents stayed at their homes for fear of what would happen next, he added. Deutsche Welle Amharic, in its part, reported quoting eye witnesses that up to 12 civilians were killed following disagreements between the security forces and the residents who were demanding the release of the detainees. Addis Standard called the office of the mayor of the city for further explanation. "I cannot give you any details at this moment. The town is under the joint command post of the woreda and the city's administration," a representative from the office stated. A statement released by the city's administration read that it was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and injuries caused by the conflict and said it was working with the woreda and 'other security forces' and elders to bring back the normalcy of the town. It further stated the command post passed an indefinite curfew against any transport vehicles, especially three wheeled bajaj vehicles and motorcycles to operate only from 6 am to 6 pm local time. It also stated that "No person shall carry any ammunition other than government security forces," adding," any business centers and service providers shall only operate from 6 am to 8 pm [local time]." It also prohibited any individual or group from movement between 8 pm to 6 am other than authorized security forces. Strictly forbidding any government employee to be outside the workplace during government working hours, the statement further demanded the employees and other service providers to render their services to the localities. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The command post warned that it would take legal and appropriate action against any individual or institution that does not comply with the curfew provisions. It was recently reported that more than 200 Amharas were killed by armed groups on Saturday June 18 in Tole Kebele, Gimbi Woreda of West Wollega zone, in what many have described as 'the deadliest attack' in recent months. Addis Standard's attempts to speak to the said command post for further comment was unsuccessful. New report shows how mission-driven investing can drive change and how Greensoil's portfolio companies are setting a pace NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Investment funds that provide the opportunity to participate in sustainable innovations in the fields of AgTech, FoodTech and PropTech are achieving record inflows and quickly becoming sector norms, not niche investments, according to a new report by Greensoil Investments. Greensoil's Impact Report 2022 (available here: http://www.greensoil-investments.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Greensoil-Impact-Investing-Report.pdf) catalogs how mission-driven investing is transforming the face of the current and future marketplace. Notable results in 2021 included: Greensoil Investments team, from left to right: Robert Smith, VP Technology & Head of GBIS, Gideon Soesman, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Jamie James, Managing Partner, Dave Harris Kolada, Managing Partner, Alan Greenberg, Co-founder and Chair, Lisa Wilkinson, Office Manager, Malcolm Cameron, Principal, Dana Goldman Szekely, Senior Principal, Shirley Soon, VP Finance & Operations Sustainable funds attracted $69.2 billion in net inflows in 2021, a new record high. in net inflows in 2021, a new record high. Year-over-year, sustainable funds experienced a 35% increase in net inflows. 2021 marked the sixth consecutive year that net inflows into sustainable funds set a new high-water mark. More specifically, this report: Highlights the need to more accurately benchmark the impact of portfolio companies and provides an inaugural process to assess, set metrics and inform future investment targets. Tracks how many of Greensoil's portfolio companies are making a substantial impact, both environmentally and socially and establishes a benchmark for future investment metrics. "Profits are only sustainable if we preserve the Earth and everyone has a chance to survive and thrive," said Alan Greenberg, Co-founder and Chair of Greensoil Investments. "We believe these can, and in fact must, coexist. Only investors and inventors can provide the ingenuity and funding to address humanity's biggest challenges." Approximately $17.1 trillion, or roughly one-third of all assets under professional management in America at the end of 2019, were managed with some form of sustainable investment strategy and/or ESG goals, a 42% increase since 2017, according to U.S. SIF. The total number of sustainable open-end and exchange-traded funds available to U.S. investors, meanwhile, grew to 534 in 2021, up fivefold from 2012 (104 funds) and 36% just since 2020 (392 funds). All told, sustainable funds attracted a record $69.2 billion in net flows in 2021, a 35% increase over the previous record of $51.1 billion set in 2020 and the sixth year in a row for record deal flows. "As impact investors, achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and creating a more just, equitable world are our market-making missions," said Gideon Soesman, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Greensoil Investments. "Greensoil Investments believes in the venerated Hebraic ideal known as 'tikkun olam' that we bear a fundamental responsibility to repair and improve the world." Most importantly, to hold itself accountable, the fund has set its own target of directing at least two-thirds of investments toward companies that reduce carbon emissions, with the remaining one-third having alternative impact goals. Portfolio companies are required to gauge their progress and share their measurements and assessments to meet carbon-reduction targets and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Some of the innovative assets within the Greensoil portfolio include: Oxygen8, a Vancouver -based HVAC maker which lowers HVAC energy spending a factor that typically accounts for roughly 40% of a building's total energy consumption. -based HVAC maker which lowers HVAC energy spending a factor that typically accounts for roughly 40% of a building's total energy consumption. Electriq Power of San Leandro, California , develops smart building energy storage, management, and monitoring solutions. Last year, the City of Parlier, California selected Electriq Power to run the city's new Home Solar and Energy Efficiency Program, providing the battery systems necessary for lower income homes to reliably use variable renewable energy sources such as the sun. , develops smart building energy storage, management, and monitoring solutions. Last year, the selected Electriq Power to run the city's new Home Solar and Energy Efficiency Program, providing the battery systems necessary for lower income homes to reliably use variable renewable energy sources such as the sun. Miru Smart Technologies of Vancouver is bringing next-generation electrochromic windows to the residential and commercial real estate markets, blocking unwanted UV rays and controlling building temperatures with automated tinting. Miru's glass also could extend the battery life of electric vehicles by reducing the energy needed to heat and cool cars, which could allow vehicles to travel up to 10% farther. is bringing next-generation electrochromic windows to the residential and commercial real estate markets, blocking unwanted UV rays and controlling building temperatures with automated tinting. Miru's glass also could extend the battery life of electric vehicles by reducing the energy needed to heat and cool cars, which could allow vehicles to travel up to 10% farther. Tipa, an 11-year-old Israeli firm, has developed packaging solutions that biodegrade into nourishing compost. Conventional flexible plastic packaging is a rapidly growing segment, yet historically less than 4% of flexible packaging is recycled, causing a huge global environmental hazard, from toxic residue to microplastics and other pollutants. Halifax -based CarbonCure, which is revolutionizing concrete production, has attracted attention from the likes of 60 Minutes and Bill Gates . CarbonCure's proprietary technology injects CO2 into concrete, a major source of worldwide CO2, to accelerate the curing process and decrease the cement needed in concrete mix. To date, CarbonCure's technologies have saved approximately 175,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. -based CarbonCure, which is revolutionizing concrete production, has attracted attention from the likes of 60 Minutes and . CarbonCure's proprietary technology injects CO2 into concrete, a major source of worldwide CO2, to accelerate the curing process and decrease the cement needed in concrete mix. To date, CarbonCure's technologies have saved approximately 175,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. Bay Area Wynd Technologies makes air purification technology that decreases HVAC systems' carbon emissions and improves CO2 levels in offices, protecting against pollutants such as smog and smoke, while reducing energy consumption. CropX, an Israeli firm, helps farmers make science-based decisions that reduce the water, fertilizer, energy and labor necessary to farm. Its software has led to 20% reduction in fertilizers, 13% fewer Greenhouse gas emissions, and up to 50% water savings in pivot irrigation, while increasing yields more than 10%. ABOUT GREENSOIL INVESTMENTS Greensoil Investments funds companies with transformative technologies that change the way we use the world's resources. Our portfolio companies enable smart and efficient use of energy, water and land in the AgTech, FoodTech and PropTech sectors. Established in 2011, Greensoil launched two Greensoil Agro & Food Technologies Funds (GAFT I in 2011, GAFT II in 2013) raising a total of $40 million, in addition to establishing the $59 million Greensoil Building Innovation Fund (GBIF) in 2015 and Greensoil PropTech Ventures II in 2020. GSPV II is targeting a $100 million final close in 2022, and is currently three-quarters committed. For more information, visit greensoil-investments.com or gspv.vc and follow GSPV on Twitter and LinkedIn . MEDIA Daniel Axelrod, Shea Communications, [email protected], 646-599-9998 Sayla Nordin, Greensoil PropTech Ventures, 339962[email protected], 416-557-0939 SOURCE Greensoil Investments The Mountain State Acquisition marks the 25th for the company in less than 6 years VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Groundworks, the nation's leading foundation, and water management solutions company, announced that it will acquire Basement Systems of West Virginia. As the leading foundation repair and basement waterproofing specialist in the area, the company will now operate as Basement Authority of West Virginia and will significantly expand and bolster the Groundworks service area throughout the state. Founded in 2003 by Pat and Ricki Edwardson, Basement Authority of West Virginia maintains it reputation as the region's trusted expert, specializing in basement waterproofing, foundation repair, crawlspace encapsulation, and concrete leveling and lifting. The company has been serving residential and commercial customers throughout the Greater Charleston region, offering unmatched customer service and industry-leading solutions for over 19 years. "We are thrilled to welcome the team at Basement Authority of West Virginia to our mission," said Matt Malone, Groundworks Founder and CEO. "As we continue to evolve an industry, this acquisition was strategic. Expansion to the great state of West Virginia was a natural step for Groundworks," said Malone. "With our sights set on protecting our customer's homes while growing the careers of our employees, we are thrilled to join the Groundworks family. With world class employee training, resources for brand expansion and superior products, we now have enhanced solutions to help more customers and create exponential career development opportunities for our employees," said founder Ricki Edwardson. "By combining the national strength and resources of Groundworks with the local experience of our dedicated team of industry experts, remarkable opportunities will result to expand our reach and take advantage of new market dynamics," said Founder Pat Edwardson. Since 2016, Groundworks has been disrupting an industry, building the country's first national foundation solutions company through a combination of acquiring industry-leading local brands and opening new locations across the country. This announcement further strengthens its market-leading position. About Groundworks Groundworks, headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, is the nation's leading and fastest-growing foundation and water management solutions company. Groundworks Companies provide residential foundation and water management solutions, including foundation repair, basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and encapsulation, plumbing, gutters installation, and concrete lifting services. Since inception, our combined brands have helped nearly 1.5 million homeowners protect and repair their most valuable asset, their home. Groundworks operates over forty-five offices and has been named numerous times to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies, Qualified Remodeler Top 500, BBB integrity award, and Best Places to Work. For more information about Groundworks, please visit: https://www.groundworks.com. SOURCE Groundworks LOS ANGELES, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Oak Capital Markets, LLC, an alternative investment distributor, announced today that financial services industry veteran Hans Henselman has rejoined the company as CEO, where he will be responsible for overall firm strategy and providing strategic and tactical guidance to the organization. Henselman previously served as the chief compliance officer of Pacific Oak Capital Advisor and Pacific Oak Capital Markets. "Hans' previous service in the role of CCO combined with his passion for the value that alternative investments bring to investment portfolios make him an ideal choice to lead this organization," said Keith Hall, co-founder of Pacific Oak Capital Advisors. "We see significant growth ahead, and are confident that his intuition and understanding of the retail marketplace will further enhance sales across our offering platform." In his new role, Henselman will focus on product development, distribution, business planning, compliance, operations and oversight of the firm's wholesaling operations and activities. Henselman was an instrumental part of the leadership team that formed Pacific Oak Capital Markets in 2019, and he brings more than 25 years of experience in compliance, operations, sales, financial distribution, broker-dealer formation and team building to his role. "My decision to return to Pacific Oak Capital Markets to be its CEO is one that was easy to make," said Henselman. "The alternative investment arena is compelling and dynamic and there are a host of exciting opportunities that we are eager to capitalize on. I am excited to work with our talented team and to lead them into a future filled with optimism and opportunity." Henselman graduated from California State University Long Beach with a degree in finance and an emphasis in investments. He holds his FINRA Series 7 and Series 24 licenses. With the addition of Henselman as CEO, Jeff Kremin continues in his role as managing director of distribution and has accepted the additional responsibility of president of Pacific Oak Capital Markets. About Pacific Oak Capital Advisors Pacific Oak Capital Advisors is an alternative investment company that sponsors and manages quality real estate-based investment opportunities for clients of financial advisors and registered investment advisors as well as institutional investors. Formed in 2018, the company is advisor to Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT and Keppel-Pacific Oak REIT, and sponsor to numerous private real estate investment programs. In total, Pacific Oak Capital Advisors and its affiliated companies currently manage a diverse portfolio of real estate valued in excess of $4 billion. For additional information, please visit PacificOakCapitalAdvisors.com. About Pacific Oak Capital Markets Pacific Oak Capital Markets is a wholesaler and managing broker-dealer for alternative investment offerings. Pacific Oak Capital Markets is committed to representing products where financial professionals can match capital with opportunity for their clients. The Pacific Oak Capital Markets team focuses on providing financial solutions to financial advisors and registered investment advisors. Its investment professionals are dedicated to delivering offerings that produce compelling risk-adjusted returns through real estate, private equity, and other alternative investments, including a qualified opportunity zone fund, Delaware Statutory Trust, and other private and public offerings such as SmartStop Strategic Storage Trust VI (SST VI). For additional information, please visit PacificOakCapitalMarkets.com. Contact: Jennifer Franklin Spotlight Marketing Communications (949) 427-1385 [email protected] SOURCE Pacific Oak Capital Markets Leading technology provider in the healthcare benefits space honored for its HR practices and enriching workplace environment. MILWAUKEE, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Payment Systems, Inc. (HPS, the "Company"), an innovator in the healthcare payments space, today announced its recognition as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For 2022 Winners in Milwaukee by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR). HPS was chosen based on the company's commitment to excellence in its human resources practices and employee enrichment. Every year, companies throughout the greater Milwaukee region compete to be named one of Milwaukee's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For is a program conducted by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR), recognizing companies that demonstrate exceptional, innovative human resource practices and set high standards for all businesses. NABR is a leader in benchmarking employment standards, with over two decades of hosting Best and Brightest competitions. The 2022 competition included 139 national winners from various regions throughout the US, selected from 1,100 nominations. HPS was independently assessed and evaluated on key measures in various categories, including compensation, benefits and employee solutions, employee enrichment, engagement and retention, work-life balance, community initiatives and corporate responsibility, leadership, strategic company performance, and more. "It is an honor for our team to be recognized with this award because it reflects one of our important core values: 'Taking Care of our Fellow Human.' This value starts with each other so that we may be of better service to those outside of the company," says Terry Rowinski, president of HPS. "In today's dynamic workplace environment, it is truly great to be recognized by our team as an employer of choice in our community, and we work hard every day to live up to that honor." Prior to this recognition, HPS launched PayMedix and announced accelerating momentum, fueled by a perfect storm of challenges for HR and self-funded insurers related to an evolving healthcare landscape. In 2022, HPS plans to expand its PPO offering to neighboring Wisconsin states, Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan to support current employer-employee populations. ABOUT THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST TO WORK FOR PROGRAM The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For program identifies and honors organizations that display a commitment to excellence in operations and employee engagement that lead to increased productivity and financial performance. This competition scores potential winners based on regional data of company performance and a set standard across the nation. This program celebrates those companies that are making better business, creating richer lives and building a stronger community as a whole. ABOUT HEALTH PAYMENT SYSTEMS, INC. HPS is a privately held independent insurance company with a competitive PPO network in the state of Wisconsin. HPS is the parent company to PayMedix, an EOB consolidation tool that serves all contracted providers and enrolled members. The PayMedix single-statement billing helps families combat confusing and unaffordable medical bills, while its guaranteed payment model eliminates provider collection costs and risk. HPS is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To learn more, visit Health Payment Systems . Media Contact: Lauren Gill, MAG PR at [email protected] and 978-473-1362 SOURCE Health Payment Systems HERSHEY, Pa., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) announced today that it will release its second-quarter sales and earnings results on Thursday, July 28, 2022, and hold a conference call with analysts at 8:30 a.m. ET on that date. The company will host the conference call via a live webcast on the Hershey corporate website. Please click here and navigate to "CALENDAR OF EVENTS" for webcast details. If you are unable to click on the link above, please copy and paste the URL below into a web browser https://www.thehersheycompany.com/content/corporate_SSF/en_us/investors/events-reports-releases/calendar-of-events.html SOURCE The Hershey Company MANCHESTER, Ga., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Multi-media and multi-medium artist, Barbara Kendall Reed releases her new book, Messages from a Butterfly for Humanity. It is for sale as an e-book now on Amazon.com, Blurb.com and in the Apple Bookstore. It releases in print for purchase online at Blurb.com/bookstore on June 27. Barbara Kendall Reed Messages from a Butterfly for Humanity Messages from a Butterfly for Humanity is an artistic, global book about humanity and the possibilities that each person can explore to shift many of the current, societal challenges. The author shares her visions and possibilities for humankind through using her artistic skills in original art, poetry, illustrations, short narratives, and a butterfly name Sasha, whose name means, "helper of mankind." The butterfly symbol is reflected throughout the book in numerous creative ways to represent transformation. Barbara is a graduate of Xavier University, in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she earned a BFA degree and studied under MacArthur genius award recipient, John T. Scott. Under Scott's tutelage, she received training in most of the visual art forms. What she didn't learn in school, she learned from life. Barbara started writing poems from the time she was given pen and paper. Barbara Kendall Reed, is known for saying, "I wear black, but make no mistake, I'm a very colorful soul!" Although she is a formally trained artist, she is known for sharing that her most important artistic skills and lessons expressed in her art have come from living a passionate and compassionate life with humankind. In her most recent book, Barbara shares many relatable experiences and feelings that human beings encounter from love, fulfillment, fear, and whimsy, to apathy and then possible actions to transform what is to what is wanted for their lives and humankind. The butterfly, Sasha, observes human beings' choices and actions and shares her thoughts on how she assesses humankind while providing some comparisons to that of the butterfly. The book is filled with amazing art and illustrations and is beautifully laid out in a newspaper format with many engaging poems, and short stories about ordinary people making extraordinary contributions in the world. These examples let the reader know they can do the same using their skill sets and passions. The ultimate results of each story shared is the diversity and the connectivity of the human experiences being more similar than different. The more we embrace diversity, the more we minimize the divisiveness that feeds judgement and creates a hierarchy of human value. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Barbara has been a multi-media | multi-medium artist for over thirty years and is of Creole heritage, from New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition to her strong background in interior decorating and the visual arts; she has written poems, segued into song lyrics and from there, created characters to sing the songs. She lives organically and surrenders to the creative process. In 2014, she authored, Life iZ Colorful, a book about lessons in life expressed through art and poetry. She is completing her first animation project for children where she wrote the music, lyrics, and created the character singing the inspirational song about many life possibilities for children. For Barbara, everything is a possibility! Barbara resides in Manchester, Georgia. For more information or to contact Barbara, go to her website www.lifeizcolorful.com, Email [email protected] or call 404-202-9231. Contact Barbara Kendall Reed [email protected] 404-202-9231 SOURCE Barbara Kendall Reed MENLO PARK, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to productivity, workers share more similarities than differences, new research from talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half shows. A survey of more than 2,400 professionals in the U.S. reveals five productivity trends that have taken shape since the shift to remote work. Highlights from Robert Half's worker productivity research Robert Half research reveals workers' most productive day of the week. Robert Half research reveals workers' most productive time of the day. Productivity peaks early in the week. Employees get the most done on Monday and Tuesday, whether at home or in the office. Results are consistent with a similar survey conducted in 2019, before the rise of remote and hybrid work. Professionals have defined power hours. Most workers hit their stride in the late morning ( 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ) and early afternoon ( 1 to 4 p.m. ), regardless of where they sit. Very few tackle their to-dos during lunch or evening hours. Meetings are getting in the way. When asked to share what most impedes their productivity, the top response was unnecessary calls and meetings (35%), followed by conversations with colleagues (25%). Home is where it happens. While 1 in 5 professionals (21%) said they're equally productive wherever they work, 35% reported accomplishing more at home. Those commuting to the office perform best in a private space (43%) versus a collaborative one (16%). Concerns about flexible work are waning. Two-thirds of employees (66%) feel their boss cares more about their contributions to the company than when and where they work. Separate research from Robert Half shows 27% of managers don't mind if their direct reports put in fewer than 40 hours a week, as long as the job gets done. "Trust and open communication are essential when it comes to flexible work," said Paul McDonald, senior executive director of Robert Half. "Employees need to show they can manage their time by meeting deadlines and being available to collaborate. And in turn, managers need to lead by example and evaluate performance based on achieving business and individual goals." McDonald added, "Understanding work habits and preferences and focusing on results is key to maximizing productivity. When team members communicate their schedules and are aligned on goals, they're more effective." View a video of the research highlights and visit the Robert Half blog for additional tips on maximizing productivity, whether working from home or the office. About the Research The online survey was developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. It includes responses from more than 2,400 workers 18 years of age or older in finance, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, human resources, and other areas at companies with 20 or more employees in the U.S. (conducted May 17-30, 2022). About Robert Half Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) is the world's first and largest specialized talent solutions and business consulting firm that connects opportunities at great companies with highly skilled job seekers. Robert Half offers contract and permanent placement solutions and is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm. Visit roberthalf.com and download the company's award-winning mobile app. SOURCE Robert Half As a premier container drayage and warehousing provider, PDS has locations strategically positioned at the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Tracy and, now, Bakersfield. With a focus on being an asset-based industry leader, the PDS fleet is made up entirely of company trucks and drivers. PDS is part of IMC Companies, the nation's largest intermodal drayage provider. For more information on PDS, call 1-844-903-4737 or visit www.pdsusa.com. About IMC Companies: IMC Companies is the largest marine drayage company in the United States. Equipped with the largest fleet of trucks and chassis and an integrated network of smart depots, IMC Companies moves cargo to and from all major rails and ports in the nation. For more than 40 years, IMC Companies has focused on delivering innovative solutions to its valued clients. To learn more about IMC Companies, visit www.imcc.com. SOURCE IMC Companies DUBLIN, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Deodorants Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global deodorants market reached a value of US$ 26.0 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 34.4 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.78% during 2021-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. A deodorant refers to a personal grooming product used for preventing or removing body odor. It minimizes the odor originating from the bacterial breakdown and perspiration in feet, armpits and other parts of the body. Deodorants consist of various anti-microbial agents, fragrances and alcohol-based carriers to prevent bacterial breakdown and control the production of sweat. They are commonly available in the form of aerosol, sprays, gels, roll-ons, wipes and sticks, which are stored in cans, plastic containers and hollow tubes. They are also used for minimizing various skin-related issues, such as itching, skin rashes and redness. The increasing demand for personal grooming products, along with the rise in female workforce participation, represents one of the key factors driving the growth of the market. Furthermore, the rising demand for novel and innovative fragrances and scented products among the masses, especially amidst millennials, is creating a positive outlook for the market. Various product innovations, such as the development of natural and aluminum-free deodorants, are acting as other growth-inducing factors. These variants are manufactured using organic ingredients, such as activated charcoal, baking soda, coconut oil, essential oils and floral extracts, and use aesthetically appealing green packaging to attract a wider consumer base. In line with this, aggressive promotional activities by the manufacturers through various social media platforms and the proliferation of e-commerce retail channels, are also contributing to the market growth. Other factors, including rising expenditure capacities of the consumers, along with rapid urbanization across the globe, are anticipated to drive the market further. Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being Adidas AG, Avon Products Inc. (Natura & Co.), Beiersdorf AG (maxingvest ag), Cavinkare Private Limited, Church & Dwight Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Company, Estee Lauder Companies, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Lion Corporation, L'Oreal, The Procter & Gamble Company and Unilever Plc. Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global deodorants market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global deodorants market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the product type? What is the breakup of the market based on the distribution channel? What is the breakup of the market based on the packaging type? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global deodorants market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Deodorants Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Product Type 6.1 Sprays 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Roll-On 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 Creams 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 6.4 Gels 6.4.1 Market Trends 6.4.2 Market Forecast 6.5 Wipes 6.5.1 Market Trends 6.5.2 Market Forecast 6.6 Sticks 6.6.1 Market Trends 6.6.2 Market Forecast 6.7 Others 6.7.1 Market Trends 6.7.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel 7.1 Supermarkets and Hypermarkets 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Convenience Stores 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 7.3 Pharmacies 7.3.1 Market Trends 7.3.2 Market Forecast 7.4 Online Stores 7.4.1 Market Trends 7.4.2 Market Forecast 7.5 Others 7.5.1 Market Trends 7.5.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Packaging Type 8.1 Metal 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Plastic 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 8.3 Others 8.3.1 Market Trends 8.3.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Region 10 SWOT Analysis 11 Value Chain Analysis 12 Porters Five Forces Analysis 13 Price Analysis 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Market Structure 14.2 Key Players 14.3 Profiles of Key Players 14.3.1 Adidas AG 14.3.1.1 Company Overview 14.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.1.3 Financials 14.3.1.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.2 Avon Products Inc. (Natura & Co.) 14.3.2.1 Company Overview 14.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.3 Beiersdorf AG (maxingvest ag) 14.3.3.1 Company Overview 14.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.3.3 Financials 14.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.4 Cavinkare Private Limited 14.3.4.1 Company Overview 14.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.5 Church & Dwight Co. Inc. 14.3.5.1 Company Overview 14.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.5.3 Financials 14.3.5.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.6 Colgate-Palmolive Company 14.3.6.1 Company Overview 14.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.6.3 Financials 14.3.6.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.7 Estee Lauder Companies 14.3.7.1 Company Overview 14.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.7.3 Financials 14.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.8 Godrej Consumer Products Limited 14.3.8.1 Company Overview 14.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.8.3 Financials 14.3.9 Henkel AG & Co. KGaA 14.3.9.1 Company Overview 14.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.9.3 Financials 14.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.10 Lion Corporation 14.3.10.1 Company Overview 14.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.10.3 Financials 14.3.10.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.11 L'Oreal 14.3.11.1 Company Overview 14.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.11.3 Financials 14.3.11.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.12 The Procter & Gamble Company 14.3.12.1 Company Overview 14.3.12.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.12.3 Financials 14.3.12.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.13 Unilever Plc 14.3.13.1 Company Overview 14.3.13.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.13.3 Financials For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/b4e3xo Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Khartoum / Khartoum North (Bahri) / Omdurman / Wad Madani / Sennar The number of sit-ins demanding the overthrow of the military coup regime expanded widely in Khartoum and its twin cities. Activists began a sit-in at El Rousi station in Omdurman's El Fitihab area yesterday, bringing the number of sit-ins in the capital to six. Other Sudanese cities are following swiftly. The five other sit-ins - two in front of the El Jawda Hospital in Ed Deyoum El Shargiya and in El Rumeila in Khartoum, one in El Muassasa in Khartoum North (Bahri), and two near the house of Ismail El Azhari and in El Arbaeen Street in Omdurman - continued yesterday. Ismail El Azhari was the first Prime Minister of Sudan (1954- 1956) and elected President of Sudan between 1965 and 1969. Resistance committees in Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, announced earlier that they will start a sit-in today. In Sennar, a sit-in is also taking place and it looks like more cities are joining in. Following the June 30 anti-junta Marches of the Millions that witnessed a huge turnout in more than 40 Sudanese cities and towns, activists in greater Khartoum set up these sit-ins to call for democracy and the overthrow of the military junta. Yesterday evening it seemed like the security forces were going to disperse the sit-ins in Khartoum state simultaneously. However, the participants of the sit-in in front of the El Jawda Hospital and El Rousi station withdrew before the forces reached them and returned again after they had left. In a statement published yesterday, the Khartoum North (Bahri) Neighbourhood Committees reported on a plan to disperse the sit-in of El Muassasa and called on all revolutionaries to come to the sit-in area, to monitor defend all the sit-in's outer edges, and to install video cameras to monitor the actions of security forces and record any human rights violations during a possible dispersal. Throttling power In an interview in Radio Dabanga's Sudan Today programme, spokesperson for the Omdurman Resistance Committees Mohamed Taher said that the sit-ins aim to limit and control the authorities' powers after the increased repression of anti-coup demonstrations. He added that the sit-ins also aim to manage discussions among the demonstrators in order to continue the mass-movement of June 30 protests, which were the biggest since the October 25 military coup but were violently repressed. Taher emphasised that the sit-ins will remain in place until the coup regime is overthrown, although he could not rule out the possibility that peaceful sit-ins would be dissolved by the authorities but stressed that the resistance committees will take the necessary measures to avoid this scenario. Central Security Room The Emergency Lawyers warned the authorities against any attempt to break up the sit-ins in Khartoum yesterday. Rehab Abdallah, member of the Emergency Lawyers, told Radio Dabanga that they support the idea of sit-ins leading to the overthrow of the coup. In the past days, the Emergency Lawyers formed a special central room to follow up on the sit-ins and monitor human rights violations. Support for the sit-ins and barricades The Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC) reiterated their support for sit-ins at public squares yesterday and stressed the need for tight coordination between all forces of the revolution to establish a united civil front to overthrow the coup. On Saturday, the group already said that they "stand with the street movement, the protest marches and sit-ins" and stressed that "the rumours about an 80 percent agreement" with the military are incorrect. "We did and do not communicate with [those responsible for] the coup d'etat. There is no political process possible with all this killing". 'There is no political process possible with all this killing' - FFC-CC In a statement yesterday, the mainstream FFC-CC called for continuous presence in neighbourhoods and roads, taking into account the daily needs of the people. The opposition group stressed the need to organise specific strikes and to escalate preparations to reach mass civil disobedience and a comprehensive political strike as soon as possible through unified coordination between the revolutionary forces. They also called for extensive campaigns for the release of detainees. It is noteworthy that the Forces of Freedom and Change sent letters to all the Resistance Committees in the country to collaborate on establishing a 'united civil front'. Diversity of resistance tools The Communist Party of Sudan also announced its support for the sit-ins in Khartoum and considered them a diversification of the tools of peaceful resistance to reach a comprehensive political strike and mass civil disobedience. The party called on the Sudanese to join or set up sit-ins to form "centres of resistance and daily revolutionary action" across the country. Military withdrawal Yesterday evening, Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, announced that the military will no longer participate in the current national negotiations facilitated by the AU-IGAD-UNITAMS Trilateral Mechanism. A High Council of the Armed Forces will be formed by commanders from the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Deputy-Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemeti' Dagalo, "to assume the supreme command of the regular forces and be responsible for security and defence tasks, and related responsibilities, provided that its tasks are completed in agreement with the government that is formed". Both commanders and Sovereignty Council leaders are responsible for the October 25 military coup. On social media, the reactions by activists are sceptical. "El Burhan's speech is a testimony to mounting popular pressure but in substance it's simply the snake changing its skin. While pretending to exit politics, the army is creating a defence council of SAF and RSF controlling the coercive power of the state with no civilian oversight", one wrote. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Sudan Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Another reiterated this point, stating that "El Burhan's speech is evidence of the success of the revolutionary escalation and shows that he knows that the military cannot rule directly, but what he proposed does not suffice. The proposed security council that will lead the armed forces is made up of the army and RSF and is not subject to any civil authority. And most importantly, it is not possible to accept any scenario that keeps El Burhan and Hemeti in any position of power without accountability". 'It is not possible to accept any scenario that keeps El Burhan and Hemeti in any position of power without accountability' - social media activist Someone else also stressed that "his [El Burhan's] council, which proposed to establish an authority parallel to the civilian government, and his claim to withdraw from the political scene are nothing but misleading. We must all continue our escalation through peaceful resistance and unite the revolutionary forces". "The military want to buy time by showing the international community that the Sudanese civilian opposition is not united", another stressed whilst someone explained that "the military only want to protect their properties". Backpacks filled with school supplies will be distributed to nonprofit community and school partners in New York ROCHESTER, N.Y., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to support families and children, Kinecta Federal Credit Union helps make going back to school a little brighter for children in underserved communities by hosting its 13th Annual Backpack Drive. From July 5 through August 22, Kinecta will collect new backpacks and school supplies for underserved students grades 3-12 who are preparing for the 2022-2023 school year. "A typical family spends roughly $850 annually on school supplies. At Kinecta, we want to help ease the burden for families in need," said Latrice McGlothin, Executive Director, Kinecta Community Foundation. "We invite the community to join our 2022 Backpack Drive to help students get off to a great start and achieve academic success." How to donate: Kinecta members and the public are invited to bring new backpacks and school supplies to any Kinecta branch or donate through Kinecta's Backpack Drive Amazon Wish List . For branch locations and hours, visit our locations page. Items must be new and unused. School supplies needed include colored pencils, highlighters, folders, notebooks, glue, pencils, pens, pencil cases, pencil sharpeners, rulers, paper, binders, scissors, erasers, backpacks and calculators. The 2022 Backpack Drive will support children through the following organizations in New York: National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Rochester Education Foundation, Excellus Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Foodlink, Pirate Toy Fund, the Mayor's Office of Community Wealth Building, the City of Rochester Department of Recreation and Human Services, and others. Kinecta launched the Backpack Drive in 2010 and has helped nearly 6,000 students in need. This year, its goal is to collect 600 backpacks and the school supplies to fill them for students in underserved areas. During 2021, Kinecta, its subsidiaries, and employees donated over $880,000 to charitable causes, volunteered over 5,100 hours, and participated in over 225 community events. To learn more about Kinecta's community outreach programs and activities, visit kinecta.org/community About Kinecta Federal Credit Union Kinecta Federal Credit Union is the country's 35th largest credit union, with assets of $6.6 billion and over 270,000 member-owners. Its 800+ employees serve members from 32 credit union-owned branches, a variety of specialty offices, and highly responsive call centers on both coasts. Banking the Southern California area for more than 80 years, with recent expansion into New York, New Jersey, and Northern California, Kinecta offers its members a full range of financial products through the Credit Union and its subsidiaries, Kinecta Wealth Management and Kinecta Insurance Services. Kinecta has been recognized by the Mortgage Bankers Association as a recipient of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Residential Leadership Award, and received the Best of Show award granted by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Technology Council. Daily Breeze readers have named Kinecta a top credit union for the past 11 years in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. Kinecta supports its communities in a variety of ways, by giving back through the Kinecta Community Foundation as well as serving as the official financial services partner of the LA Galaxy, and sponsor of the Rochester Americans and Rochester Red Wings. To learn more about Kinecta, visit kinecta.org. SOURCE Kinecta Federal Credit Union Backpacks filled with school supplies will be distributed to nonprofit community and school partners in California MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to support families and children, Kinecta Federal Credit Union helps make going back to school a little brighter for children in underserved communities by hosting its 13th Annual Backpack Drive. From July 5 through July 31, Kinecta will collect new backpacks and school supplies for underserved students grades 3-12 who are preparing for the 2022-2023 school year. "A typical family spends roughly $850 annually on school supplies. At Kinecta, we want to help ease the burden for families in need," said Latrice McGlothin, Executive Director, Kinecta Community Foundation. "We invite the community to join our 2022 Backpack Drive to help students get off to a great start and achieve academic success." How to donate: Kinecta members and the public are invited to bring new backpacks and school supplies to any Kinecta branch or donate through Kinecta's Backpack Drive Amazon Wish List . For branch locations and hours, visit our locations page. Items must be new and unused. School supplies needed include colored pencils, highlighters, folders, notebooks, glue, pencils, pens, pencil cases, pencil sharpeners, rulers, paper, binders, scissors, erasers, backpacks and calculators. The 2022 Backpack Drive will support children through the following organizations in California: Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center, East Side Riders Bike Club, Environmental Charter School, GRYD Foundation, Los Angeles Police Department Southeast Division, Parents of Watts, Richstone Family Center, St. Albert the Great, Thomas House Family Shelter, Verbum Dei High School, Watts/Century Latino Organization, and others. Kinecta launched the Backpack Drive in 2010 and has helped nearly 6,000 students in need. This year, its goal is to collect 600 backpacks and the school supplies to fill them for students in underserved areas. During 2021, Kinecta, its subsidiaries, and employees donated over $880,000 to charitable causes, volunteered over 5,100 hours, and participated in over 225 community events. To learn more about Kinecta's community outreach programs and activities, visit kinecta.org/community About Kinecta Federal Credit Union Kinecta Federal Credit Union is the country's 35th largest credit union, with assets of $6.6 billion and over 270,000 member-owners. Its 800+ employees serve members from 32 credit union-owned branches, a variety of specialty offices, and highly responsive call centers on both coasts. Banking the Southern California area for more than 80 years, with recent expansion into New York, New Jersey, and Northern California, Kinecta offers its members a full range of financial products through the Credit Union and its subsidiaries, Kinecta Wealth Management and Kinecta Insurance Services. Kinecta has been recognized by the Mortgage Bankers Association as a recipient of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Residential Leadership Award, and received the Best of Show award granted by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Technology Council. Daily Breeze readers have named Kinecta a top credit union for the past 11 years in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. Kinecta supports its communities in a variety of ways, by giving back through the Kinecta Community Foundation as well as serving as the official financial services partner of the LA Galaxy, and sponsor of the Rochester Americans and Rochester Red Wings. To learn more about Kinecta, visit kinecta.org. SOURCE Kinecta Federal Credit Union ZUG, Switzerland, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Klarpay AG has become a Principal Member of the Visa Network, a world leader in digital payments, to further its mission of democratising global payment, banking, and digital disbursement services for online businesses. Swiss fintech Klarpay AG has signed a global partnership with Visa on becoming a Principal Member of the Visa network the membership grants Klarpay the ability to access Visa's bank-to-bank cross-border business transactions network, as well as to support direct card issuance. The newly acquired Visa certification further demonstrates Klarpay's commitment to delivering first-in-class services to its growing client base. Direct membership in the Visa network offers Klarpay's merchant clients a fast, simple, and integrated way to manage their funds and conduct their day-to-day cross-border transactions. It is important to note that in order to receive Principal Membership in the Visa Network, Klarpay had to undergo a rigorous application process and pass a multidisciplinary audit conducted by Visa International to ensure that the company meets all applicable operational, and regulatory requirements. Additionally, the Visa Principal Membership comes in addition to Klarpay's existing operational excellence Level 1 Payment Card Industry (PSI) Data Security Standard certification that ensures the quality, transparency, and robustness of Klarpay's payment security systems. As Klarpay CEO Martynas Bieliauskas, underlines: "Becoming a Principal Member of Visa has been one of our key objectives since Klarpay's launch in 2019. Acquiring Principal Membership puts Klarpay in a unique position when it comes to absorbing the growing demand for frictionless, scalable, and accessible payment, banking, and digital disbursement solutions. As the first FINMA licensed Swiss fintech to work exclusively with e-commerce merchants, digital entrepreneurs, and social media influencers, Klarpay seeks to empower online businesses through global, scalable, payment acceptance and remittance solutions. "This latest achievement also represents another milestone for Klarpay, as it enables us to offer products that are even more adaptable to the needs of digital entrepreneurs. Looking to the future, we commit to continuously innovate through our expanding suite of services, and help online businesses of all calibres thrive on a global scale through the provision of all-encompassing business payment and banking technologies." As Santosh Ritter, Country Manager of Visa Switzerland & Liechtenstein states: "We are excited to announce our partnership with Klarpay, which has received principal membership enabling to offer B2B Connect solution for the first time in Central Europe. As part of our fintech commitment, we give Klarpay access to our worldwide Visa network so that they can further empower digital businesses and innovative customer experience. We not only offer our value added services to traditional banking clients but also to fintech companies. We look forward to working with Klarpay to help their bank-to-bank cross-border business grow." About Klarpay AG Klarpay AG is a leading fintech company offering online businesses access to multi-currency IBAN accounts, global payment acceptance, and digital disbursement solutions. As the first Swiss-licensed fintech company to work exclusively with e-commerce, digital entrepreneurs, and social media influencers, Klarpay seeks to empower digital businesses through borderless, scalable, bespoke business accounts and payment solutions. Founded in 2019, Klarpay AG is a deposit-taking financial institution authorised and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) under the Swiss Federal Banking Act, Article 1b. About Visa Visa is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at www.visaeurope.ch . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1853303/Klarpay_Logo.jpg Media contact: www.klarpay.com [email protected] SOURCE Klarpay AG. LONDON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EDGE Strategy, a global leader in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), has rebranded its offering and launched EDGE Empower, an integrated SaaS-based DE&I solution that brings the power of the latest tech, expert knowledge and experience, and independent verification and certification into a single solution. An integral part of the launch is a new campaign to bring the EDGE Empower brand to life, with striking imagery uniting under a brand promise to help organizations deliver significant and meaningful Real. World. Change. EDGE Empower effectively comprises four specific tools and services to support an organization in achieving DE&I success. At its core is EDGE Insights, which is rooted into the previous EDGE Strategy Tool, providing detailed analytics of where an organization stands in relation to workplace gender and/or intersectional equity. It also provides powerful benchmarking against peers and the EDGE global Standards and identifies impactful action plans to accelerate progress. EDGE Insights is complemented by EDGE Knowledge, giving DE&I experts practical support shaped by EDGE's thinking and real-world experience and the latest DE&I thought leadership from EDGE's Academic and Scientific Advisory Council. As well as sharing its own knowledge and insight, EDGE also empowers its customers to connect with like-minded professionals through EDGE Connections a network of DE&I and HR professionals to support mutual learning and the collaborative exchange of ideas. An organization's progress towards DE&I can be independently verified through EDGE Certification, carried out by third-party auditors to bring credibility both within and outside of the organization. It allows all stakeholders to see and share how the organization is making meaningful and visible DE&I change. Aniela Unguresan, Founder of the EDGE Certified Foundation and CEO of EDGE Strategy, believes EDGE Empower has the potential to fundamentally change the DE&I landscape: "Through EDGE Empower, we are providing organizations with a solution which brings the same discipline and rigor to the topic of DE&I as they would apply for any/all of their business-critical goals," she explains. "We provide their employees and potential employees with trusted information to empower their career choices. And we are delivering to the investor community a way of measuring DE&I in a way that can be objectively measured and tracked, benchmarked against a global standard, and get independently verified certification." Aniela is similarly excited by the new imagery and branding: "Organizations that work with us and seek to have their DE&I progress verified are not addressing DE&I superficially," she explains. "They are seeking to empower organizations and their HR/ DE&I professionals to craft strategies, determine priorities and define action plans that are 'real', meaningful and measurable. They are wanting to do so in their 'world', the world in which they work and live. And they are committed to delivering change that is transformational, that should not be seen as having a start, middle and end, but rather one that is part of a continuous journey." "It is time for organizations to get real," she says, "to acknowledge that the world has moved on, that it's time to act, and in doing so we can make visible change today." SOURCE EDGE Strategy InnerClean Interior Quick Detailer Car Wipes are convenient and versatile, made to wipe away dirt, light grime, debris, fingerprints, grease, and oils from your vehicle's interior surface in seconds. They can be used on anything from dashboards to door panels, steering wheels to shift knobs, seats, glass, LCD screens and even center consoles to quickly restore that OEM sheen. Like Chemical Guys' best-selling InnerClean Quick Detailer bottled spray, InnerClean Wipes feature an anti-static and zero-residue formula that repels light dust and dirt to maintain a crisp, clean feel across surfaces, keeping interiors cleaner for longer. Total Interior Car Cleaning Wipes are the perfect all-in-one solution to clean, maintain and protect virtually all surfaces inside your car. They finish streak-free, leaving no greasy or oily look behind. The unique formula is also blended with durable UV blockers that help shield interior car parts from harsh sunlight, preventing cracking and fading on dashboard plastics, door panels, cup holders, center consoles and sun visors. Like InnerClean Wipes, Total Interior Wipes are easily transportable for unexpected messes on-the-go, made to fit in your glove box or center console, with each package containing 50 ready-to-use wipes. "One of the great strengths at Chemical Guys is the direct connection we have with the enthusiasts and professionals using our products to help keep their rides shining. Through that connection we are constantly listening, brainstorming, and developing solutions to meet their needs," said John Mansfield, Chemical Guys' Chief Revenue Officer. "The launch of our new wipes product line is a result of that connection, as one of the most frequent requests we've received is for on-the-go adaptations of our most popular bottled formulations." InnerClean Interior Quick Detailer and Total Interior Car Cleaning Wipes are available starting today on ChemicalGuys.com and at Detail Garage locations nationwide. Both products will also be available on Amazon Friday, July 8. ABOUT CHEMICAL GUYS Chemical Guys is a worldwide leader in automotive detailing products for car care enthusiasts and professionals. From exclusive small-batch waxes to cutting edge ceramic coatings, and specialty cleaners for exteriors and interiors, Chemical Guys sets the industry standard when it comes to product innovation, technological advancement and education. Based in Southern California, Chemical Guys has evolved from a handful of passionate car fanatics to a global lifestyle brand with the largest digital library of automotive detailing "how to" content available. Learn more and join the Chemical Guys family at ChemicalGuys.com . ABOUT DETAIL GARAGE Detail Garage is the country's fastest-growing car care superstore. The nationwide retail franchise is the ultimate destination for auto detailing supplies, equipment, car care accessories and training. By combining the highest-quality products with educational detailing classes, Detail Garage has become the country's go-to retail store for car care enthusiasts, passionate car owners, and detailing professionals. After launching its initial location in Southern California, the brand has quickly expanded to over 90 locations over the last 6 years throughout the US, UK and Canada. To find a Detail Garage near you or for more information on products, training or franchising opportunities visit www.detailgarage.com . SOURCE Chemical Guys Locus's collaborative AMR lauded for its high degree of innovation and high market relevance to meet the demand for high-productivity, cost-effective robotics automation solutions. WILMINGTON, Mass., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Locus Robotics, the leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for fulfillment warehouses, has won the 2022 IFOY Award for its Autonomous Mobile Robot Solution in the Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV/AMR) category following a comprehensive, three-stage audit held over a 5-day period. "Locus Robotics is honored to be chosen as a 2022 IFOY Award winner," said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. "The rigorous IFOY testing and evaluation process and the prestige of the award itself, validates the innovation and completeness of the Locus solution to deliver proven and cost-effective automation solutions for our customers around the world." Now in its tenth year, the IFOY awards are considered the industry's premier award recognizing the year's best intralogistics products and solutions for their outstanding technical and strategic achievements. A total of 14 products from 12 companies were tested and evaluated during grueling IFOY Test Days, held in March at the Messe Dortmund exhibition center. "The 10 years of the IFOY Award stand for 10 years of outstanding innovations," emphasized jury chair Anita Wurmser. "In 2022, the finalists have once again presented top products in the competition that will shape the future of intralogistics in the long term." "The IFOY Award represents the best of the world's most innovative logistics technologies," said Denis Niezgoda, Vice President, EMEA & APAC of Locus Robotics. "We're proud to have been selected for this prestigious award and to have competed alongside such an innovative group of nominees." All finalists competed in a standardized, in-depth, threestage audit that began on March 18th in Dortmund, Germany. The IFOY jury was comprised of 26 internationally recognized trade journalists and leading logistics media representing over 21 countries. Judges assessed each finalist across a range of key categories, including innovation value, technology, ergonomics and handling, safety, marketability, design, customer benefits, costeffectiveness, and sustainability. In addition, for the third year in a row, numerous potential buyers were also on site during the Test Camp Intralogistics. About Locus Robotics Locus Robotics' revolutionary, multibot solution incorporates powerful and intelligent autonomous mobile robots that operate collaboratively with human workers to dramatically improve piecehandling productivity 23x, with less labor compared to traditional piece handling systems. Locus helps retailers, 3PLs and specialty warehouses efficiently meet and exceed the increasingly complex and demanding requirements of fulfillment environments. Easily integrating into existing warehouse infrastructures without disrupting workflows, Locus transforms productivity without transforming the warehouse. Locus's European presence is centrally located in Amsterdam to better serve the European region. In 2021 Locus Robotics joined the Inc. 500, ranking number 428. For more information, visit www.locusrobotics.com. About the IFOY Award The International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY AWARD) recognizes the year's best intralogistics products and system solutions. The aim of the organization is to document the performance capability and innovative drive of intralogistics, helping to boost competitiveness and raise the profile of the entire sector in the public arena. The winners of the IFOY AWARD are selected once a year by an independent jury of international trade journalists. The sponsor of the IFOY AWARD is the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Sector Association. IFOY partners are Messe Dortmund and the worlds leading forklift attachment manufacturer Cascade. The IFOY pallet partner is CHEP, the global market leader in pallet pooling. Logistics real estate partner is GARBE. The headquarters of the IFOY organization is in Ismaning, near Munich. The IFOY AWARD is under the patronage of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany. CONTACT: Christina Gorini, [email protected] SOURCE Locus Robotics DENVER, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN), will release its second quarter 2022 results on August 3, 2022. The company will broadcast a live conference call on its Investor Relations website at http://ir.lumen.com at 5 p.m. ET. Additional information regarding the second quarter 2022 results, including the company's earnings release, investor presentation, and related materials will be available on Lumen's Investor Relations website. If you are unable to join the call via the web, the call can be accessed live at +1 877-283-5145 (U.S. Domestic) or +1 312-281-1201 (International). The call will be archived and available as an audio replay on Lumen's Investor Relations website starting at 8 p.m. ET on Aug. 3, until 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 1, 2022. The replay can be accessed by dialing +1 800-633-8284 (U.S. Domestic) or +1 402-977-9140 (International), reservation code 22019603. About Lumen Technologies and the People of Lumen: Lumen is guided by our belief that humanity is at its best when technology advances the way we live and work. With approximately 500,000 route fiber miles and serving customers in more than 60 countries, we deliver the fastest, most secure platform for applications and data to help businesses, government and communities deliver amazing experiences. Learn more about the Lumen network, edge cloud, security, communication and collaboration solutions and our purpose to further human progress through technology at news.lumen.com/home, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, Twitter: @lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks in the United States. SOURCE Lumen Technologies "Listeria linked to the outbreak was present in the ice cream beginning in 2021," said food safety attorney Bill Marler. Tweet this Mrs. Billman's symptoms persisted, and on January 27, 2022, she woke up with a fever over 103 degrees. Her daughter called an ambulance and Mrs. Billman was rushed to the emergency department at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, where she soon began treatment for a septic illness. Over the course of the next two days, Mrs. Billman's organs began to shut down due to her septic illness. By the time her family was able to see her again, she was unconscious. She would never regain consciousness, and died on January 29, 2022, leaving behind her husband, the Plaintiff; three daughters named Kelli Mitsdarfer, Kara Gray, and Richelle Brown; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. On July 2, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the preliminary results of an epidemiologic investigation conducted into the Listeria monocytogenes illnesses of 23 people who live, or who lived prior to their deaths, in 10 different states. The investigation into these illnesses had shown that that the cause of the outbreak was Big Olaf's ice cream products. "What is shocking is that the Listeria linked to the outbreak was present in this ice cream beginning in 2021, this shows a complete failure to keep the manufacturing facility clean and in good repair," said food safety lawyer, Bill Marler. The first case of illness in the outbreak experienced onset of symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection in January 2021. Illnesses occurred sporadically over the course of the year and a half since the first case became ill, continuing to cause illnesses through June of 2022. Due to the delay in symptom onset and illness reporting, the total number of people sickened in this outbreak is not yet known. The 10 states where cases in this outbreak live, including the number of cases in each state, are as follows: Florida (12), Colorado (1), Georgia (1), Illinois (1), Kansas (1), Massachusetts (2), Minnesota (1), New Jersey (1), New York (2), Pennsylvania (1). Among the 10 cases who did not live in Florida, 8 of them had traveled to Florida in the month before onset of symptoms. This outbreak investigation is on-going. The Marler Clark Listeria lawyers have unmatched experience representing victims of Listeria. Our Listeria lawyers have represented thousands of victims of notable Listeria outbreaks such as the 2011 Jensen Farms Listeria outbreak where over 33 people died, the 2010 Sangar Fresh Cut Produce Listeria outbreak, the 2007 Whittier Farms Listeria outbreak, the 2012 Marte brand Fescolina ricotta salata cheese Listeria outbreak, the 2015 Blue Bell Ice Cream Listeria outbreak, the 2016 Dole Lettuce Listeria outbreak and the 2017 Vulto Creamery Listeria outbreak. We are presently assisting in a Listeria outbreak in South Africa that sickened over 1,000 and killed over 200. Marler Clark has represented countless Listeria victims and is the only firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on plaintiff foodborne illness litigation. If you believe you are part of this outbreak fill out the Marler Clark contact form or call toll-free at 800-884-9840. There is no cost to you. SOURCE Marler Clark, The Nation's Food Safety Law Firm Users can now custody, trade, exchange and participate in 'Flexible Staking' and 'Fixed Income' investment products with Toncoin SINGAPORE, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Matrixport, one of the world's largest digital assets financial services ecosystem, has announced support for The Open Network (TON) ecosystem across its range of crypto financial services with the listing of Toncoin on the Matrixport app. The collaboration reflects Matrixport's ongoing commitment to grow the wider blockchain ecosystem and support the next wave of digital asset adoption. This includes the world's first institutional custody and escrow services of TON's native token Toncoin, via Cactus Custody, Matrixport's third-party institutional custody service. Designed by Telegram as a fully decentralized layer-1 blockchain for mass adoption and distribution, the TON network boasts ultra-fast transactions, low fees and easy-to-use dApps. Steve Yun, Founding Member of TON Foundation, said: "Matrixport has become an integral part of the TON ecosystem. With Cactus Custody, TON participants can now access the innovative products of TON with the maximum comfort that the crypto industry can offer. We are impressed at the quality of execution demonstrated by the Cactus Custody team and thrilled for many more cutting-edge products to come. We are grateful to be partners with Matrixport." Cynthia Wu, Chief Operating Officer of Matrixport & Head of Cactus Custody, said: "We are delighted to work with TON as the first custodian to support the TON blockchain and its native token, and look forward to contributing to its community. TON's heritage and roadmap, along with its strong performance, have given us confidence in its immense potential. We expect our clients to recognise its value and embrace it. Matrixport's wide range of innovative products, trading and asset management tools will help accelerate the growth of the TON ecosystem." Toncoin holders will benefit from Matrixport's rich offerings to get more out of their Toncoin. Users can earn passive income with 'Flexible Staking' and 'Fixed Income' investment products, with transactions settled in Toncoin. Additionally, those seeking to collateralize Toncoin can look forward to secure, transparent, and efficient institutional grade custodian services. Through Cactus Custody, users can look forward to making instant, low-cost transfers of Toncoin, 24/7 on TON, Ethereum and BNB blockchain networks, as well as a seamless and secure connection with DeFi protocols, through Cactus Custody's MetaMask Institutional (MMI) integration. About TON TON is a third-generation proof-of-stake blockchain designed in 2018 by the Durov brothers, who are most famous for founding Telegram Messenger. The Open Network (TON) is a fully decentralized layer-1 blockchain designed by Telegram to onboard billions of users. It boasts ultra-fast transactions, tiny fees, easy-to-use apps, and is environmentally friendly. Toncoin, the native token of TON, is used for paying transaction fees, securing the blockchain through staking, deciding how the network develops, and settling payments. For more information, go to https://ton.org/ About Matrixport Matrxiport is one of the world's largest and most trusted digital assets financial services ecosystem and forges strategic collaborations with early stage Web3 innovators, helping them build, grow and scale. With USD4B in digital assets actively managed, it provides one-stop crypto financial services to meet the emerging needs of generating long term wealth in digital assets. The company's services include Cactus Custody, spot OTC, fixed income, structured products, lending as well as asset management. With its mission to make crypto easy for everyone, Matrixport has a relentless focus on product innovation and offers a comprehensive suite of market leading crypto investment products. In 2021, the number of investors using its app increased by 427%, year-on-year, and the fintech company achieved pre-money unicorn valuation within two years after its inception. Headquartered in Singapore, Matrixport serves both institutions and retail customers across Asia and Europe. The company holds licenses in Hong Kong and Switzerland. For more information, visit www.matrixport.com. Instagram: @matrixport_ Twitter: @realMatrixport LinkedIn: @Matrixport SOURCE Matrixport Hoyme brings experience from Boston Scientific, Adventium Labs, and Honeywell to the proactive medical device cybersecurity provider SAN DIEGO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MedCrypt Inc. , the leading provider of proactive security solutions for the healthcare space, today announced the addition of Ken Hoyme to its advisory board. Ken brings 40 years of experience in designing regulated, safety-critical secure systems as well as his knowledge of medical device security and regulation. In this role, Ken will advise MedCrypt's strategy and support the company on its path of continual growth as a leading provider of medical device cybersecurity solutions. "Having seen the importance of security in healthcare and the rapid changes within the industry throughout my career, I'm excited to join an organization that I firmly believe is at the forefront of medical device security, functioning with a high standard of excellence and ethics," said Ken Hoyme, former Sr. Product Security Fellow for Boston Scientific. "The excellent work I've seen from MedCrypt will truly drive change in the industry and I look forward to working with an organization that is pushing for software that will secure critical medical devices." Ken recently retired from Boston Scientific as a Senior Product Security Fellow, where he established the company-wide product security program, incorporating security requirements across their Quality System. He has been active in many industry initiatives, including: The co-chair of H-ISAC's Medical Device Security Information Sharing Council (MDSISC) One of the original co-chairs of AAMI's Device Security Working Group, which produced AAMI TIR57, a report outlining the principles of medical device security and risk management A member of AAMI's BI&T Editorial Board A participant in several HSCC JCWG working groups including the development of the Joint Security Plan A participant and lead for cybersecurity projects with the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC) A participant in every meeting of the Archimedes Center for Healthcare and Device Security at the University of Michigan An instigator in the creation of the Center for Medical Device Cybersecurity (CMDC) at the University of Minnesota , and co-instructor for their initial short courses "MedCrypt is delighted to announce the addition of Ken Hoyme to our advisory board. Ken is a true industry pioneer, having sat at the forefront of some of the biggest cybersecurity organizations within the industry," said Mike Kijewski, CEO of MedCrypt. "We're excited to gain further insights from Ken and benefit from the vast knowledge and innovation he has to offer." Previously, Ken was a Distinguished Scientist at Adventium Labs performing government-funded research on the intersection of safety and security for cyber-physical systems. He won a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contract to develop a medical device platform using separation architectures to simplify the implementation of safety and security controls. Before that, he was a Senior Fellow at Boston Scientific in their Cardiac Rhythm Management division where he led the development of the LATITUDE Remote Patient Management system. This system, released in 2005, incorporates secure protocols between the implant, programmer, home monitor, and web server to maintain safety and privacy. Prior to Boston Scientific, Ken spent 18 years at Honeywell's Corporate Research lab, where he was a Senior Fellow. He was awarded Honeywell's highest technical recognition for his work on the Boeing 777. Ken has been granted 40 U.S. and 9 International patents and he received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. "Having Ken Hoyme join our advisory board shows MedCrypt's continued commitment to providing safety-focused cybersecurity solutions to medical device manufacturers. We are looking forward to his contribution and leadership to support our mission," added Axel Wirth, MedCrypt's chief security strategist. Ken joins as an advisor alongside Michael McNeil, who was added to MedCrypt's Board of Directors in 2020. MedCrypt currently provides enhanced security features and services for seven of the top 10 medical device manufacturers as well as startups and mid-sized companies, specifically for medical products by Accuray, Liberate Medical, and RefleXion. About MedCrypt MedCrypt is the first firm to combine cybersecurity technology products with management consulting, decision science, and regulatory strategy that is 100% focused on supporting medical device manufacturers. MedCrypt has raised more than $9.4 million in funding to date with participation from Eniac Ventures, Section 32, Y Combinator, and more. For more, please visit www.medcrypt.com. PRESS CONTACT Jenny Bourne https://www.medcrypt.co/ SOURCE MedCrypt Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has said that the media buzz generated over his missing West African School Certificate (WASC) was not a big deal but merely an attempt by some people to play politics with practically everything. Okowa said that although he actually lost his secondary school certificate, his alma mater, Edo College, Benin-City, Edo State had clarified the matter by printing out his results at the ordinary level and higher level examinations results, noting that his HSC result was the second best in Nigeria at the time. The governor and Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said on Tuesday that it was mischievous for anyone to say that he had no WASC certificate from the examination he sat for in 1976. Okowa made the clarification when he inspected ongoing projects at the Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro in Isoko North Local Government Area. Okowa said, "On the issue of my certificate, I think it is a misconception. People try to play politics with everything. "Yes, I lost my WAEC certificate, but I have the print out from Edo College, Benin-City, which clearly stated that I have distinction in all subjects. "The Higher School Certificate was attached and it has been acknowledged by Edo College and the school put it out there that I made an 'A' 'B' 'B'. "I do not pride myself but it was very difficult to make such grade in higher school at that time. "My high school result was the second best nationally in 1976, when I finished. So, many universities admitted me through Telegram as at that time, and I had to start making choices of which to accept. "Of course, it's very clear that I finished medical school at the University of Ibadan. I was 21years and some months; I was less than 22 years of age." On the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the governor called on the Federal Government to expedite action in resolving the issues, adding that every government should be sincere enough to keep to promises and agreements at all times. "We continue to sympathise with our students who have been at home for several months now rather than being in school. "I use this opportunity to call on the Federal government to do something urgently to end the strike. "It's not a good thing for the children, parents and even education in general. It is unfortunate that the Federal government has not been able to attend to issues, as requested by ASUU. "For every government, if promises are made, we must ensure that we keep to our promises and if there are things that cannot be done, you let people know," he said. Okowa remarked that lecturers were not on strike in the four universities owned by the state, "for us in Delta State, we are fulfilling all the requirements and that's why you can see that this university and our three other universities are all active and in session because we do not have any issues with our lecturers. "All our four universities are in session because we pay special attention to education in Delta State, and our Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has also assured that education occupies a prime position in our 'Rescue Nigeria' mission." He expressed satisfaction with the Management of the university in Ozorro for successfully admitting 1,850 students in the first year, disclosing that no fewer than 3,000 applicants chose the university as first choice in the new session, starting in October. "That over 3,000 applicants have chosen the University of Science and Technology, Ozoro, as first choice is very heart-warming and it goes to show that our decision to upgrade the Polytechnic to a University of Science and Technology is a very good decision." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Education By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The governor also commended the authorities if the university for using the engineering students of the school to execute some projects in the school. Okowa said, "We walked through some concrete paved roads executed by the university with engineering students and it is very encouraging that they are putting their students to practice and their lecturers also have the opportunity to practicalise what they teach. "You will recall in the same manner when the school was a polytechnic that they used their students and their engineering staff to build the stadium in the campus. "This is very encouraging because it is important that we actually ensure that our students are not only groomed up in theory but also put to practice what they learn and that's exactly what we look forward to." GUANGZHOU, China, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MINISO Group Holding Limited (NYSE: MNSO) ("MINISO," "MINISO Group" or the "Company"), a global retailer offering a variety of design-led lifestyle products, today announced the pricing of its global offering (the "Global Offering") of an aggregate of 41,100,000 ordinary shares of the Company. The Global Offering is comprised of a Hong Kong public offering (the "Hong Kong Public Offering") and an international offering (the "International Offering"). The final offer price for both the International Offering and the Hong Kong Public Offering (the "Offer Price") has been set as HK$13.80 per share. Based on the ratio of four ordinary shares per NYSE-listed American depositary share ("ADS"), the Offer Price translates to approximately US$7.08 per ADS, based on an exchange rate of HK$7.7996 to US$1.00 as of the year end of 2021 for illustration purposes. Subject to approval from The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange"), the ordinary shares of the Company are expected to begin trading on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on or about Wednesday, July 13, 2022 under the stock code "9896." The Global Offering is expected to close on the same day, subject to customary closing conditions. The Company has granted an over-allotment option to the international underwriters, exercisable by the stabilizing manager on behalf of the international underwriters, until the 30th day from the day following the last day for lodging applications under the Hong Kong Public Offering, to purchase up to 6,165,000 additional ordinary shares of the Company at the Offer Price. The net proceeds to the Company from the Global Offering, after deducting underwriting fees and the offering expenses payable by the Company, are expected to be approximately HK$475.7million (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). The Company plans to use the net proceeds from the Global Offering for its store network expansion and upgrade, supply chain improvement and product development, strengthening its technology capabilities, continuing to invest in brand promotion and incubation, capital expenditures, and working capital and general corporate purposes. Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited, Haitong International Capital Limited and UBS Securities Hong Kong Limited (in alphabetical order) are the joint sponsors for the proposed Global Offering. Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited, Haitong International Securities Company Limited and UBS AG Hong Kong Branch (in alphabetical order) act as the joint global coordinators for the proposed Global Offering. Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited, Haitong International Securities Company Limited, UBS AG Hong Kong Branch and UBS Securities LLC (in relation to International Offering only) (in alphabetical order) are the joint bookrunners for the proposed Global Offering. Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited, Haitong International Securities Company Limited, UBS AG Hong Kong Branch, UBS Securities LLC (in relation to International Offering only) (in alphabetical order), Futu Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited and GF Securities (Hong Kong) Brokerage Limited are the joint lead managers for the proposed Global Offering. The International Offering is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The accompanying prospectus is included in an automatic shelf registration statement on Form F-3 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 31, 2022, which automatically became effective upon filing. The automatic shelf registration statement on Form F-3 and the preliminary prospectus supplement dated June 29, 2022 are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The final prospectus supplement will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. When available, copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may also be obtained from BofA Securities, Inc., NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, United States of America, Attention: Prospectus Department, by telephone at +1 (800) 294-1322 or by email at [email protected]; Haitong International Securities Company Limited, 22/F, Li Po Chun Chambers, 189 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong, Attention: Equity Capital Markets, or by telephone at +852-2848-4333 or by email at [email protected]; UBS Securities Hong Kong Limited, 52/F, Two International Finance Centre, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong, Attention: Equity Capital Market, by telephone at +852 2971-8888 or by email at [email protected]. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer or an invitation to buy any securities, nor shall there be any offer or sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. This press release does not constitute a prospectus (including as defined under the laws of Hong Kong) and potential investors should read the prospectus of the Company for detailed information about the Company and the offering, before deciding whether or not to invest in the Company. This press release has not been reviewed or approved by Hong Kong Stock Exchange or the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. The price of the shares offered in the Global Offering may be stabilized in accordance with the Securities and Futures (Price Stabilizing) Rules. The details of the intended stabilization and how it will be regulated under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong) are contained in the prospectus of the Company dated June 30, 2022. About MINISO Group MINISO is a global retailer offering a variety of design-led lifestyle products. The Company serves consumers primarily through its large network of MINISO stores, and promotes a relaxing, treasure-hunting and engaging shopping experience full of delightful surprises that appeals to all demographics. Design, quality and affordability are at the core of every MINISO product it delivers, and the Company continually and frequently rolls out products of these qualities. Since the opening of its first store in China in 2013, the Company has built its flagship brand "MINISO" as a globally recognized retail brand and established a store network worldwide. For more information, please visit https://ir.miniso.com/. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "is/are likely to," "potential," "continue," or other similar expressions. MINISO may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about MINISO's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's reports filed with, or furnished to the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and MINISO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. SOURCE MINISO Group Holding Limited Company's digital wallet and accounts payable platform will help track, report and facilitate distribution of up to $93 million during the 2022-23 school year MIAMI and JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Missouri State Treasurer's Office have each selected ClassWallet's digital wallet and accounts payable platform to track, report and facilitate the distribution of funds for two educational support programs that will benefit non-public schools and families in the state. The Missouri DESE is engaging ClassWallet's technology to expedite the disbursement of $68 million from the federal government's American Rescue Plan Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS II) program to help them recover from the educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our office administered the first round of EANS funding last year and found the process was cumbersome. While our staff worked hard to assist non-public schools, we wanted to expedite the process to improve our service," said Chris Neale, assistant commissioner, DESE's Federal Relief Aid programs. "ClassWallet's detailed response to our complex needs gave us confidence that its platform would alleviate the tedious and time-consuming paperwork and oversight normally associated with purchasing items for classrooms throughout the statefrom books and pencils to COVID-19 tests and mitigation supplies that help keep students in school safely." Separately, ClassWallet's platform will support MOScholars, the Missouri State Treasurer's Office educational savings account (ESA) program, that will distribute scholarships of up to $6,375 from six non-profit Educational Assistance Organizations (EAO) to Missouri students with approved Individual Education Plans or who live in lower-income households. The program provides state tax credits for contributions to the certified EAOs, which include ACSI Children Education Fund (dba Children's Tuition Fund of MO), Agudath Israel of Illinois (dba Agudath Israel of Missouri), Bright Futures Fund, Herzog Tomorrow Foundation, Missouri District of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation. The program is currently slated to spend $14 million dollars on scholarships for the 2022-2023 school year, with the opportunity grow to as much as $25 million by the end of the year and up to $50 million in subsequent years. The ClassWallet platform was selected for its ability to allow the EAOs to allocate funds to families rapidly while enabling the Treasurer's Office to audit the flow of resources in real-time by simply logging into the ClassWallet portal. To further ensure funds are used properly, the program requires pre-approvals of expenditures at the EAO level. "Our ESA program is unique in terms of how it is funded and how scholarship funds are allowed to be spent," said Mike Price, Deputy State Treasurer. "We needed a solution that allowed for the funds to be distributed efficiently, while still providing necessary oversight to ensure the integrity of the program." "The agreements in Missouri illustrate our ability to solve multiple fund oversight pain points in government agencies and schools with our extremely flexible and easy-to-use digital wallet and accounts payable platform," said Jamie Rosenberg, CEO, ClassWallet. "While Missouri's two programs are very different in terms of where the funds are sourced and how they will be utilized, their needs are quite similar. They each require a means to allocate funds efficiently with built-in oversight allowing them complete control, tracking and auditing." ClassWallet provides eligible schools, teachers, support staff and families with digital wallets which provide them with access to an integrated e-commerce marketplace with reputable national, regional and local education resource providers such as Staples, Office Depot, Scholastic, School Specialty and Really Good Stuff. Authorized users on the ClassWallet e-commerce platform can order the materials they need without the need to lay out cash, collect receipts or submit expense reports since all reporting and documentation is managed through the platform. For purchases made outside of the e-commerce marketplace, such as in brick-and-mortar establishments or with service providers, ClassWallet enables users to submit receipts and invoices for review. When approved, the platform automates an ACH direct deposit reimbursement or payment. For more information about ClassWallet, send an email to [email protected] or call 877-969-5536. About ClassWallet Founded in 2014, ClassWallet ( www.classwallet.com ) is the leading digital wallet and automated accounts payable platform for federal, state and district education. Saving valuable time and overhead costs to track, pay and report on decentralized purchases, ClassWallet is used in 27 states and by 19 state agencies, across 6,200 schools serving 4.1 million students. ClassWallet's integrated marketplace of leading suppliers and learning curricula includes top retailers like Amazon, Office Depot, Staples, Scholastic, School Specialty, Lakeshore Learning and more. Headquartered in Miami, ClassWallet ranked #33 on Inc. Magazine's 2022 list of fastest-growing private companies in the Southeast. CONTACTS: Doug Wright / Ashley Blas Feintuch Communications 646-753-5711 / 646-753-5713 [email protected] Media room SOURCE ClassWallet Iconic wildlife, scenic drives and trails don't stop at Yellowstone National Park's border HELENA, Mont., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Visitors planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park this summer are encouraged to keep their travel plans. The North and South Loop have reopened, and access is available through the West Entrance, South Entrance and East Entrance. As of July 2, 93% of roadways in the park are open. "Our businesses and attractions are excited to continue to welcome visitors to Montana this summer," said Scott Osterman, Director for the Montana Department of Commerce. "With over 147,000 miles of terrain, we urge travelers to consider exploring beyond Yellowstone." Although Yellowstone National Park is a destination known for its natural wonders, there's so much more to experience outside of its borders. Discover ghost towns off the beaten path, drive through scenic landscapes, appease your appetite for outdoor adventures and experience the state's signature small-town charm. Just a little over an hour away from West Yellowstone is Ennis. Most famous as one of Montana's best fly-fishing destinations, it's often referred to as the trout capital of the world. Trout love the "Fifty Mile Riffle" of the Madison River that stretches from Quake Lake to Bear Trap Canyon, and as a result, so do fly-fishermen. There's no better way to breathe in fresh Montana air than biking your way through beautiful scenery and towns. From road biking routes to mountain biking trails, there are endless places to ride. Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, between Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, is the town of Butte. Whether you are a casual biker or an avid cyclist, there's a reason mountain bike enthusiasts travel to Butte from all across the state. Plus, Butte itself is steeped in history. Called the "Richest Hill on Earth," Butte was once a hotbed of culture and today has a beautiful, immersive and diverse history that's easy to explore. For those who prefer scenic rides in a vehicle rather than on singletrack, less than 40 minutes away from Butte is Wise River. Travel the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest for scenic vistas, mountain meadows and lodgepole pine forests. Or try your luck on one of the state's blue-ribbon trout streams, the Big Hole River. For a deeper dive into Montana history, visit Virginia City and Nevada City. A taste of the original Old West, these cities mark the site of the richest placer gold strike in the Rocky Mountains. Great for those who are young and young-at-heart, visitors can pan for gold, ride the rails and more. Trip inspiration, things to do and itineraries can be found at VISITMT.COM . The Visit Montana call center also has staff on hand to help with trip planning and can be reached at 800-847-4868. The latest information from Yellowstone National Park is available here . Travelers are encouraged to visit the following sites for up-to-date information: Road conditions: www.511mt.net Yellowstone National Park : https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/ To sign up for text alerts for Yellowstone National Park: Text "82190" to 888-7777 (an automatic text reply will confirm receipt and provide instructions). ABOUT VISIT MONTANA Visit Montana markets Montana's spectacular unspoiled nature, vibrant and charming small towns, breathtaking experiences, relaxing hospitality and competitive business climate to promote the state as a place to visit and do business. For more information, please visit VISITMT.COM . SOURCE Visit Montana New NCES data also show increase in student and teacher absenteeism WASHINGTON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eighty-seven percent of public schools reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted student socio-emotional development during the 202122 school year, according to data released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES is the statistical office of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Similarly, 83 percent of public schools agreed or strongly agreed that students' behavioral development has also been negatively impacted. Specifically, respondents attributed increased incidents of classroom disruptions from student misconduct (56 percent), rowdiness outside of the classroom (49 percent), acts of disrespect towards teachers and staff (48 percent), and prohibited use of electronic devices (42 percent) to the COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering effects. "Students thrive in an environment with effective social, emotional, and behavioral support," said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. "So when we see 72 percent of our public schools report an increase in chronic absenteeism among our students, it poses an opportunity for education leaders to act quickly using tested approaches that work. It is our responsibility at NCES to disseminate data describing the severity of the situation." In addition to student behavior in school, school leaders were asked about student chronic absenteeismdefined as those missing at least 10 percent of the school year. School leaders reported increased student absenteeism as a COVID-19-related problem consistently across a wide range of school types, including in elementary schools (75 percent), schools with lower student poverty rates (73 percent), and rural schools (71 percent). Additionally, problems that stemmed from teachers being absent more often were exacerbated by the fact that 77 percent of public schools also reported that finding substitute teachers has become more difficult during the pandemic. Compared to the 202021 school year, 61 percent of public schools reported that finding substitute teachers is difficult. "Data from the monthly study are critical for understanding challenges our public schools are facing in real time, allowing policymakers to provide timely help," said NCES Associate Commissioner Chris Chapman. "We are continuously grateful to the public primary, middle, high, and combined-grade schools that participated." The findings released today are part of the sixth experimental data product from the School Pulse Panelthe latest round of the monthly data collection. The May data were collected from a total of 846 participating schools between May 10 and May 24, 2022. The School Pulse Panel is part of NCES's innovative approach to delivering timely information regarding the pandemic's impact on public K12 schools in the U.S. The May survey provides reliable data focused on teacher absences and the availability of substitute teachers, learning modes offered by schools, student and staff quarantine prevalence, mental health, absenteeism, and classroom management as reported by principals in U.S. public schools. Experimental data products are innovative statistical products created using new data sources or methodologies. Experimental data may not meet all NCES quality standards but are of sufficient benefit to data users in the absence of other relevant products to justify release. NCES clearly identifies experimental data products upon their release. The data released today can be found at the COVID-19 dashboard at https://ies.ed.gov/schoolsurvey/. Key Findings Student Behavior and Development Public school leaders have seen a marked impact of the pandemic on their students' socio-emotional and behavioral development. Eighty-seven percent of public schools agreed or strongly agreed that the pandemic has negatively impacted student socio-emotional development. Similarly, 83 percent of public schools agreed or strongly agreed that students' behavioral development has been negatively impacted. The following student behaviors were most frequently reported as having increased during the 202122 school year (compared to a typical school year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic) in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering effects: Classroom disruptions from student misconduct (56 percent) Acts of disrespect towards teachers and staff (48 percent) Rowdiness outside of the classroom (49 percent) The prohibited use of electronic devices (42 percent) Public schools reported needing more support for student and/or staff mental health (79 percent), training on supporting students' socio-emotional development (70 percent), hiring of more staff (60 percent), and training on classroom management strategies (51 percent). Student and Teacher Absenteeism and Need for Substitute Teachers Schools across the country have seen a rise in chronic absenteeism. Compared to a typical school year prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 72 percent of U.S. public schools reported an increase in chronic absenteeism among their students. Compared to last school year (202021), 39 percent of public schools reported that chronic absenteeism has increased. The average percent of chronically absent students reported by public school leaders during the 2021-22 school year was 17 percent. Compared to a typical school year prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 72 percent of U.S. public schools reported an increase in teacher absences during the 202122 school year. Compared to last school year (202021), 49 percent of public schools reported that the rate of teacher absences had increased. Seventy-seven percent of public schools reported that it has been more difficult to find substitute teachers during the 202122 school year compared to years prior to the pandemic. Compared to the 202021 school year, 61 percent of public schools reported that finding substitute teachers is difficult. Nearly all public schools (99 percent) reported not being able to always find substitute teachers when necessary. When substitutes cannot be found, public schools reported relying on administrators (74 percent), non-teaching staff (71 percent), and other teachers on their prep period (68 percent) to cover classes. Additionally, 51 percent of public schools reported combining separate classes into one room when they cannot find a substitute. The use of these alternative coverage strategies is not uncommon; 59 percent of public schools reported "always" or "very frequently" having to use these strategies during the 202122 school year. Learning Modes and Quarantine Prevalence Nearly all (99 percent) public schools continued to offer full-time in-person learning, while 33 percent offered full-time remote learning and 9 percent offered hybrid learning. This has been a consistent trend throughout the 202122 school year. For the first time since quarantine data were collected in January, both student and staff quarantine prevalence have increased from the prior month. In May, 47 percent of public schools reported having at least one student in quarantine (compared to 30 percent in April), with the average number of students in quarantine at eight (compared to six students in April). Thirty-five percent of public schools reported having at least one staff member in quarantine (compared to 15 percent in April), with the average number of staff in quarantine at two (compared to one staff member in April). The data released today can be found at the COVID-19 dashboard at https://ies.ed.gov/schoolsurvey/. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, is the statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education and the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES, located within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent and nonpartisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Its mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to share this information in formats that are useful and accessible to educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public. CONTACT: Josh Delarosa, National Center for Education Statistics, [email protected] James Elias, Hager Sharp, [email protected] SOURCE National Center for Education Statistics JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. announces the release of a market assessment report on the " Global Neuroimmunology Drugs Market By Indication (Alzheimer's disease (A.D.), Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.), Parkinson's Disease (P.D.), Myasthenia Gravis (M.G.), Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Others), Product Type (Small Molecules, Monoclonal Antibodies, Recombinant Protein, and Others))- Trends, Industry Competition Analysis, Revenue and Forecast To 2030." According to the latest research by InsightAce Analytic, global neuroimmunology drugs market is valued at US$ 20.78 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach US$ 37.32 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 6.93% during the forecast period of 2022-2030. Request for Sample Pages: https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/request-sample/1171 Neuroimmunological disorders are diseases that appear to be caused by the immune system attacking the nervous system (central or peripheral). A neuroimmunology drug aims to regulate immune system activity to treat neurological diseases with underlying immune pathologies. For treating neurological conditions, various neuroimmunology therapeutic strategies are being researched and used, including medicines that Product different cytokine subtypes, medications that bind only to specific receptors, and drugs that affect the migration of immune cells. In the coming forecasting period, the presence of a large number of drugs in the pipeline for the treatment of neuroimmunology diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) and Alzheimer's disease (A.D.) is likely to create enormous opportunities for the market. Biogen and Eisai had launched several initiatives to assist patients with Alzheimer's disease in gaining access to ADUHELMTM. It is the first new Alzheimer's treatment approved in the United States. These initiatives seek to assist patients and their families in understanding the disease, navigating the diagnostic process, obtaining culturally competent care, and affording treatment. Currently, there are almost 220 neuroimmunology drugs in Phase I, II, III, and later stages of development. The rising prevalence of neuroimmunology diseases is expected to drive significant demand for advanced treatment options worldwide. However, the high cost of mAb-based therapy may significantly impede the market growth. However, research and development activities among research universities, hospitals, and market participants are expected to generate enormous opportunities for global market growth. Considering the high R&D spending and rapid research on dementia, immunology diseases, and strong product pipeline, North America is expected to lead the neuroimmunology market during the forecast period, followed by Europe. Furthermore, significant funding for Alzheimer's Disease will be responsible for the growth in upcoming forecast period. Major market players operating in the market includes F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Biogen, AstraZeneca Plc, Johnson & Johnson, Merck KGaA, Novartis AG, Sanofi, UCB SA, Eisai Co Ltd, Eli Lilly, AB Science S.A., Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd., AstronauTx, Alector, AZTherapies Inc., Celgene Corp., INmune Bio, Inc., Lundbeck, Genetech Inc., Grifols SA, Tiaki Therapeutics, T.G. Therapeutics Inc., AevisBio Inc., Monument Tx, ImmunoBrain Checkpoint, Talisman Therapeutics, Inflammasome Therapeutics, T3D Therapeutics, TauRX Therapeutics Ltd and among others. Key Developments In The Market: In Jan 2022 , Exscientia and Sanofi announced a ground-breaking research partnership and licence agreement to create up to 15 novel small molecule candidates in the fields of immunology and oncology by utilizing Exscientia's end-to-end AI-driven platform and real patient samples. Exscientia and Sanofi announced a ground-breaking research partnership and licence agreement to create up to 15 novel small molecule candidates in the fields of immunology and oncology by utilizing Exscientia's end-to-end AI-driven platform and real patient samples. In June 2021 , the European Commission approved Roche's Enspryng for use in neuromyelitis optical spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Roche is trying to distinguish Enspryng from Alexion's Soliris in the E.U. by using subcutaneous administration, which could support dosing at home. the European Commission approved Roche's Enspryng for use in neuromyelitis optical spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Roche is trying to distinguish Enspryng from Alexion's Soliris in the E.U. by using subcutaneous administration, which could support dosing at home. In Aug 2020 , Johnson & Johnson will purchase Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., strengthening Janssen's position as a leader in cutting-edge therapies for autoimmune diseases. Nipocalimab (M281), a clinically proven and possibly best-in-class anti-FcRn antibody, will be included in the deal with full worldwide rights. Acquisition of Momenta for $6.5 billion through an all-cash tender offer priced at $52.50 per share. Johnson & Johnson will purchase Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., strengthening Janssen's position as a leader in cutting-edge therapies for autoimmune diseases. Nipocalimab (M281), a clinically proven and possibly best-in-class anti-FcRn antibody, will be included in the deal with full worldwide rights. Acquisition of Momenta for through an all-cash tender offer priced at per share. In Jan 2020 , Biogen to Acquire Novel Clinical Stage Asset with Application in Alzheimer's Disease (A.D.) and Parkinson's Disease (P.D.) from Pfizer Inc. The agreement will include a $75 million upfront payment, up to $635 million in potential future commercialization and development milestone payments, and tiered royalties ranging from the high single digits to the low teens. Curious about this latest version of the report? Obtain Report Details @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/enquiry-before-buying/1171 Global Neuroimmunology Drugs Market, by By Indications, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Mn) Alzheimer's disease (A.D.) Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) Parkinson's Disease (P.D.) Myasthenia Gravis (M.G.) Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Others Global Neuroimmunology Drugs Market, by Product Type, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Mn) Small Molecules Monoclonal Antibodies Recombinant Protein Others Global Neuroimmunology Drugs Market, by Region, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Mn) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa North America Neuroimmunology Drugs Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Mn) U.S. Canada Europe Neuroimmunology Drugs Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Mn) Germany France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific Neuroimmunology Drugs Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Mn) India China Japan South Korea Australia & New Zealand Latin America Neuroimmunology Drugs Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Mn) Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa Neuroimmunology Drugs Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Mn) GCC Countries South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Why should buy this report: To receive a comprehensive clinical trial/pipeline product analysis of the prospects for the global neuroimmunology drugs market To receive an industry overview and future trends of the neuroimmunology drugs market To analyze neuroimmunology drugs market drivers and challenges To get information on the neuroimmunology drugs market size (Value US$ Bn) forecast to 2030 To get detailed insights regarding significant investments, mergers & acquisitions in the neuroimmunology drugs market industry For More Customization @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/customisation/1171 Other Related Reports Published by InsightAce Analytic: Global Neuropsychiatric Drugs Market Global Neurodegenerative Disease Market Global Preclinical Oncology Models Market Global Immuno-Oncology Cell Therapy Market About Us: InsightAce Analytic is a market research and consulting firm that enables clients to make strategic decisions. Our qualitative and quantitative market intelligence solutions inform the need for market and competitive intelligence to expand businesses. We help clients gain a competitive advantage by identifying untapped markets, exploring new and competing technologies, segmenting potential markets, and repositioning products. Our expertise is in providing syndicated and custom market intelligence reports with an in-depth analysis with key market insights in a timely and cost-effective manner. Contact Us: InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. Tel.: +1 551 226 6109 Email: [email protected] Site Visit: www.insightaceanalytic.com Follow Us on LinkedIn @ bit.ly/2tBXsgS Follow Us On Facebook @ bit.ly/2H9jnDZ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1729637/InsightAce_Analytic_Logo.jpg SOURCE InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. RALEIGH, N.C., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The North Carolina State University (NCSU) Computer Science Department Senior Design Center rejected and deemed a cryptocurrency project unethical for their students. The proposed student project titled "Proof of Publishing (POP) Protocol" was submitted by the Digital Currency Monetary Authority (DCMA) based in Washington, D.C. on June 23, 2022. Cryptocurrency and Education The purpose of the POP Protocol is to provide an innovative incentive and monetization platform for publicists, writers, and journalists to write news articles about a company and to be compensated in cryptocurrency once proof that the article has been published online. Companies around the world could subscribe to the POP Protocol and stake cryptocurrency to cover payments to their network of opt-in writers. Writers could author articles at will and submit the articles to the POP Protocol. Once approved and published, a rules-based engine, determines the monetary value of the published article based on various configuration details such as word count, embedded media assets, publication, and the size of publication's monthly readership. The DCMA proposed to sponsor this as a computer science student project for the Fall 2022 school year. Although the POP Protocol would be engineered to support many corporate subscribers, the DCMA is seeking to obtain proof of concept by building a global news network for its recent release of Unicoin. Upon a committee's review of the proposed POP Protocol, Margaret Heil, the Director of the Senior Design Center, responded "The idea of building a protocol system that would pay participants (in cryptocurrency) for favorable reviews of DCMA and Unicoin may be viewed as unethical to many of our students, and thus the project is inappropriate for our program." The crypto industry has received a lot of scrutiny since its recent market crash led by Bitcoin with over a recent seventy percent (70%) price drop from its all-time high. This has prompted many to doubt the viability of the cryptocurrency market sector. This raises the question of the role universities should play as intermediaries between innovation sectors and student and faculty research and development. Darrell Hubbard, a founding member of the DCMA, received his Master of Science from NCSU and is currently a member of the NCSU Computer Science Strategic Advisory Board (SAB). He states, "I will continue to donate and to identify innovative research and development projects aligned with university and student interests." Unicoin is a Crypto 2.0 innovation for governments and central banks and has game-changing potential for the long-term viability of the cryptocurrency industry according to the DCMA. Cryptocurrencies are following the same innovation life cycle as the Internet. Like Amazon, eBay, and Priceline and other companies that crashed in the dot com bubble, the most resilient and viable innovators in the cryptocurrency space will rebound. The DCMA has introduced several banking compliant innovations with Unicoin and expects Unicoin to lead the next wave of cryptocurrency purchasing volume over the next decade and years to come. After receiving criticism over its decision, the Senior Design Center has offered dates for a meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the project in more detail. The DCMA is hopeful NCSU will reconsider its decision and recognize the collaborative value the DCMA, Unicoin, and NCSU students can make on the future growth and acceptance of cryptocurrencies. According to the US News & World Report, the College of Engineering at NC State University, which includes the Computer Science Department, is ranked 25th nationally and 12th among public institutions on a list of the top graduate engineering programs in the country. Contact: Darrell Hubbard Digital Currency Monetary Authority [email protected] 704-303-5359 SOURCE Digital Currency Monetary Authority KALISPELL, Mont., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Endpoint Utility Corp, a Montana-based IT support provider for small businesses and individuals, today announced a new partnership with the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors (NMAR). This partnership will provide NMAR's nearly 1,300 Realtor members with the IT support needed to stay productive and secure. "Today's real estate agents rely heavily on technology to conduct business but a common theme is time wasted on trying to support their own IT, as well as cybersecurity threats. Secure devices and apps, speed, and performance are mission critical for Realtors, especially at the pace needed to stay competitive in this market," said David Mayer, CEO of Endpoint Utility Corp. "That's why we built On Demand Tech Support for Realtors. It empowers them to stay focused on their clients, closing transactions, and growing their businessnot troubleshooting technology issues or worrying about data security." "Even NMAR has had their IT troubles. I'm so grateful we found Endpoint!" said Jeri Moon, NMAR Association Executive. "The days of frantically trying to fix A/V problems have been solved. They've proven to be available at a moment's notice and that's why we're excited to be able to extend the same great support NMAR has received from Endpoint Utility out to all our membership." Key features of On-Demand Tech Support for Realtors include: User Support Questions and issues with Realtor apps Security Up to date and protected data and devices Device Support Proactive and reactive support and repair Connectivity Plans and devices to keep you always connected For more Information as well as pricing, visit: https://www.endpointutilitycorp.com/NMAR About Endpoint Utility Corporation: Endpoint Utility Corporation is a Kalispell, Montana based IT support provider for small businesses and individuals. Endpoint Utility provides an affordable, expertly managed set of technology solutions for customers that have been dramatically underserved by the current IT ecosystem. About Northwest Montana Association of Realtors: Northwest Montana Association of Realtors is the voice of real estate in Northwest Montana, supporting more than 1,300 members serving land, commercial and residential real estate. NMAR is dedicated to helping local Realtors succeed by providing a full range of member services and benefits, professional development opportunities, and legislative advocacy. David Mayer Endpoint Utility Corp 406-884-2420 [email protected] SOURCE Endpoint Utility Corp NUDESTIX's newest product will debut live during the stream. LOS ANGELES , July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TalkShopLive, the leading livestreaming, social selling online network today announces it will host the no-fuss makeup brand and millennial favorite, NUDESTIX, on Thursday, July 7 at 6 p.m. EDT for the brand's first Master Class. NUDESTIX co-founder, Taylor Frankel will host the livestream on TalkShopLive and be joined by special guest, Stephanie Valentine, the professional makeup artist and leading TikTok content creator, fondly known to the beauty community as Glamzilla. During the live show, attendees will have "early access" to NUDESTIX newest product before it officially launches to the public as well as exclusive bundles only available on TalkShopLive. The first 100 orders will also receive a signed pouch by Glamzilla! "Beauty is complicated. Makeup shouldn't be! Nudestix makes beauty simple. And that's what our community needs," says Valentine (Glamzilla). "I believe that natural beauty is the best beauty because it's you." Glamzilla is a Filipino-Canadian content creator who has turned her love for beauty into an online movement. Her mission is to promote fearlessness and confidence as a plus-size beauty creator while showcasing her passion and expertise in raw, unedited, and unfiltered content. As a proud member of the Hispanic and Filipino communities, Stephanie hopes to be a champion for AAPI voices and make the beauty industry a positive and safe space for all. Bryan Moore, Co-Founder and CEO of TalkShopLive says, "As the beauty vertical continues to be one of TalkShopLive's fastest growing verticals, we are thrilled to partner with a brand as innovative as NUDESTIX and to be working with a creator as beloved as Glamzilla. TalkShopLive is where content, commerce and creators come together to create meaningful shoppable experiences. This collaboration is a perfect example of just that." Watch and Buy here: https://talkshop.live/watch/nNxRGK1jnyxJ Media and others are encouraged to Embed with the following: About TalkShopLive TalkShopLive is the leading live streaming, social selling online network. Sellers showcase their products via live shows, displaying product details and chat in real-time with customers that they can purchase with one-click on the buy button. The platform and iOS app are full service for sellers - from live show creation to order processing to ease of shipping and payouts. Buyers are able to access unlimited channels and live product shows. With talkshoplive, buying has never been more interactive and entertaining. An incredible lineup of stars and brands have launched their own TalkShopLive channels including Best Buy, Fred Segal, Walmart, Mattel, Vogue, Allure, GQ, Bon Appetit, Buzzfeed, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, Alicia Keys, Kevin Jonas, Jamie Foxx, Drew Barrymore, Julie Andrews, Meghan Trainor, Tim Tebow, Kristin Cavallari, Tim McGraw, Jenna Dewan, Kathy Ireland Worldwide and many more! About Nudestix NUDESTIX is the brainchild of sisters Ally and Taylor Frankel (as well as their chemical engineer mother, Jenny Frankel), whose love of minimalist makeup lead them to create an easy-to-use beauty line that allows people to accentuate their finest features with just a hint of color. NUDESTIX believes that your natural skin should thrive, and that you only need to cover here and there to get that perfectly, "go nude but better" look. SOURCE talkshoplive SAN FRANCISCO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global nurse call systems market size is expected to reach USD 4.2 billion by 2030, based on a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 11.96% from 2022 to 2030. The growth of the market can be attributed to the rising use of digital healthcare and the increasing need for patient safety and care. Furthermore, continuous technological advancements to bring new levels of communication enabling the widest range of applications configuration at home care, hospitals, or residential facilities are predicted to boost market demand. Key Industry Insights & Findings from the report: Based on technology, the wired communication equipment segment dominated the market in 2021. Wired systems have traditionally been used in several healthcare facilities to inform caregivers of a patient's needs. The high growth of the wireless communication equipment technology segment can be attributed to factors such as low cost of installation, easy integration with other devices, and ease of mobility. In January 2019 , the Hill Rom launched its LINQ mobile application for improvement in communication between the patient and caregiver formerly in the U.S. and Canada with further expansion to Europe . , the Hill Rom launched its LINQ mobile application for improvement in communication between the patient and caregiver formerly in the U.S. and with further expansion to . In the type segment, integrated communication systems held the largest revenue share in 2021 owing to the advancement in communication devices, availability of data to be used by healthcare personnel, and rising demand for improved quality of care. On the basis of application, the wanderer control segment dominated the market in 2021 owing to the ease of communication, growing demand for digital technology, and rising aging population. North America dominated the market in 2021 owing to the adoption of the latest technology, the presence of established healthcare infrastructure, and advanced digital healthcare in the region. Read 135-page market research report for more Insights, 'Nurse Call Systems Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Technology (Wired Communication Equipment, Wireless Communication Equipment), By Type, By Application, By End-use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030', published by Grand View Research. Nurse Call Systems Market Growth & Trends The growing elderly population and rising risk of diseases such as chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes are increasing the demand for healthcare services. This patient population needs assistance to complete their day-to-day activities, thereby surging the demand for nurse call systems in some healthcare facilities. It ensures the safety of patients in the ward. Increasing demand for integrated and diversified hospital communication systems is anticipated to favor the market growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has indiscriminately increased the pressure on healthcare facilities and professionals. As a result, the need for wireless communication devices increased in hospitals. Nurse call systems helped to decrease the burden on the existing staff force during the pandemic when hospitals were managing COVID-19 patients above their occupancy levels. Various manufacturers expanded their manufacturing capacity to meet the sudden surge in demand. Nurse Call Systems Market Segmentation Grand View Research has segmented the global nurse call systems market based on technology, type, application, end-use, and region: Nurse Call Systems Market - Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2030) Wired Communication Equipment Wireless Communication Equipment Nurse Call Systems Market - Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2030) Integrated Communication Systems Buttons Mobile Systems Intercoms Nurse Call Systems Market - Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2030) Alarms & Communications Workflow Optimization Wanderer Control Fall Detection & Prevention Nurse Call Systems Market - End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2030) Hospitals ASCs/Clinics Long-Term Care Facilities Nurse Call Systems Market - Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2030) North America U.S. Canada Europe U.K. Germany France Italy Spain Asia Pacific Japan China India Australia South Korea Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Middle East & Africa & South Africa UAE Saudi Arabia List of Key Players of the Nurse Call Systems Market Hill-Rom Holding, Inc. Rauland Corporation Honeywell International, Inc. Ascom Holding AG TekTone Sound and Signal Mfg., Inc. Austco Healthcare Stanley Healthcare Critical Alert Systems LLC West-Com Nurse Call Systems, Inc. JNL Technologies Cornell Communications Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research: Healthcare Staffing Market - The global healthcare staffing market size is expected to reach USD 62.8 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 6.89% over the forecast period, based on a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is being driven by the increased demand for temporary nursing workers, particularly among the elderly, aiding the market growth in the coming years. The global healthcare staffing market size is expected to reach by 2030, registering a CAGR of 6.89% over the forecast period, based on a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is being driven by the increased demand for temporary nursing workers, particularly among the elderly, aiding the market growth in the coming years. Personal Mobility Devices Market - The global personal mobility devices market size is expected to reach USD 29.8 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2022 to 2030. The increasing R&D investments for the development of advanced mobility products and government initiatives to support reimbursement policies are some of the key factors boosting the market growth. - The global personal mobility devices market size is expected to reach by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2022 to 2030. The increasing R&D investments for the development of advanced mobility products and government initiatives to support reimbursement policies are some of the key factors boosting the market growth. Home Healthcare Market - The global home healthcare market size is expected to reach USD 634.9 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2022 to 2030. This growth can be attributed to cost-efficiency, improved patient outcomes, and convenience offered by home healthcare agencies. Browse through Grand View Research's Medical Devices Industry Research Reports. About Grand View Research Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead. Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc. Phone: 1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com Grand View Compass | Astra ESG Solutions Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter Logo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. The 5.5 acre parcel of land was purchased from the City of London and approved by City Council on July 5, 2022. The site is located on Innovation Drive, an Industrial Park created by the City of London in order to attract innovative and sustainable manufacturing businesses to the region. The site is fully serviced by municipal services including water, sewage, storm drainage and has access to sufficient electricity and natural gas utilities. The land will initially house a 50,000 sq. ft. new building, and can be expanded to nearly 150,000 sq. ft. of building space as the need arises to increase manufacturing capacity in the future. The new facility, when completed, is expected to be operated by Odd Burger's food technology and manufacturing subsidiary, Preposterous Foods Inc., and is anticpated to produce the Company's line of innovative plant-based proteins and dairy-free sauces. The increased capacity, when completed, at the new facility will allow Preposterous Foods to support hundreds of Odd Burger franchised restaurant locations across North America, as well as supply select products to external food service customers. With the new expansion, Preposterous Foods also plans to launch a retail product line, which will be targeted for sale in grocery stores and direct-to-consumer sales channels. Odd Burger worked closely with the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) to secure the Land Purchase Agreement from the City of London and will continue this partnership throughout the construction process as well as into the operational phase of the facility. "We are thrilled to commence this next chapter of growth for our company and we believe that London is the best place in the world to execute our vision for a more sustainable future," said James McInnes, Co-Founder and CEO of Odd Burger. "We will be creating one of Canada's most advanced plant-based food manufacturing facilities and we believe that through this investment we will be able to make a tremendous change in the industry by creating more affordable, healthy and sustainable food." "Odd Burger is an innovative addition to our thriving proteins cluster in London," said Kapil Lakhotia, President & CEO of LEDC. "Our industrial lands, infrastructure, talent and supply chains continue to put London on the radar for sustainable food production and plant-based proteins development." Preposterous Foods has engaged Mallot Creek Group Inc. to assist the company with plant design and equipment specifications, as well as process engineering. Mallot Creek is one of Canada's premier food and beverage manufacturing experts and has been involved in some of Canada's largest industrial food projects. Once the design phase is complete with Mallot Creek, Preposterous Foods will submit permits to the City of London and begin the construction process. The facility should take between one to two years to build once permits are approved and is expected to create between 50-100 jobs in London, ON once fully operational. "This investment by Odd Burger is just the latest in a long list of recent examples demonstrating why London's economy continues to be among the best in all of Canada," said Josh Morgan, Acting Mayor of London, ON. "As a Council, and with strong support from LEDC, we have worked exceptionally hard to ensure businesses and industries choose London when it comes time to launch or expand their operations. On behalf of Council, I wish Odd Burger nothing but success in the years to come." In March, 2022 Odd Burger signed an Area Representative Agreement with Sai-Ganesh Enterprises to bring 36 additional locations to Alberta and British Columbia over the next 7 years. In June, 2022 Odd Burger signed a second Area Representative Agreement for Ontario with Starke Corporation that will bring 40 new locations to the province over 8 years. In total, Odd Burger has 92 locations operational or under Area Representative Agreements in Canada, making it one of the fastest growing vegan restaurant chains in the country. Odd Burger is also seeking similar development agreements in the U.S., as it plans to launch its first set of locations outside of Canada. Securing Area Representative Agreements in territories throughout North America provides Odd Burger with contractual growth targets. These agreements allow the company to better project its manufacturing needs in the future and make strategic investments to meet this demand. Those interested in Odd Burger franchising opportunities can visit https://oddburger.com/pages/franchise-what-we-offer. Those interested in Preposterous Foods can visit https://preposterousfoods.com/ About Odd Burger Corporation Odd Burger Corporation is a chain of company-owned and franchised vegan fast-food restaurants as well as a food technology company that manufactures and distributes a line of plant-based protein and dairy alternatives under the brand Preposterous Foods to foodservice channels. Odd Burger restaurants operate as smart kitchens, which use state-of-the art cooking technology and automation solutions to deliver a delicious food experience to customers craving healthier and more sustainable fast food. With small store footprints optimized for delivery and takeout, advanced cooking technology, competitive pricing, a vertically integrated supply chain along with healthier ingredients, Odd Burger is revolutionizing the fast-food industry by creating guilt-free fast food. Odd Burger Corporation is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ODD, on the OTCQB under ODDAF, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under IA9. For more information visit https://www.oddburger.com. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements that relate to among other things, the Company's strategies, intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "likely", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "objective" and "continue" and words and expressions of similar import. Forward looking information contained or referred to in this news release includes statements relating but not limited to: completion of the new manufacturing facitly,the impact of the development agreement in the areas discussed; the expected future expansion of Odd Burger locations and the number of franchises and the benefits the Company expects to derive therefrom; as well as the number of retail outlets to be opened and the Canada Small Business Financing Program discussed herein. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include but are not limited to: financing risk, general business and economic conditions (including but not limited to currency rates); changes in laws and regulations; legal and regulatory proceedings; and the ability to execute strategic plans. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements contained in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. SOURCE Odd Burger Corporation analysis Representatives of a group of civil society organisations are calling for the United Nations Development Programme to retract a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone that could contribute up to 10% of South Africa's total emissions from all sectors combined -- and threaten water security from Limpopo to Zimbabwe. Representatives of a group of civil society organisations have registered their discontent -- by way of an open letter -- with a decision by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in Limpopo. They slammed the MoU on the basis that the joint China-South Africa industrial mega-project -- located in the Unesco Vhembe Biosphere Reserve -- "violates every principle of sustainable development which the UNDP purports to serve". They added that it "lends this fundamentally flawed project undeserved credibility that is being used to attract investors and deflect criticism". Our Burning Planet's Kevin Bloom has previously reported that the MMSEZ is a proposed China-funded 8,000ha metallurgical cluster in the baobab-filled Limpopo River Valley, which would be powered by its own 3,000MW coal-fired plant, draw water from drought- and famine-stricken Zimbabwe, and generally lay waste... Megan Wood is organization's first female leader after national search COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ohio History Connection board of trustees has named Megan Wood, 41, of Worthington as the organization's next executive director and CEO, effective Aug. 1. Wood, who has served as director of cultural resources for the Ohio History Connection since 2019, is the first woman to lead the private, nonprofit organization that was established in 1885. The organization functions as the state's partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio's history, archaeology, natural history and historic architecture across a network of 58 sites, 1.8 million collections items and hundreds of exhibits. "Megan was the clear choice among a large and diverse pool of national candidates," said Charles R. Moses, president of the Ohio History Connection board of trustees. "She represents the Ohio History Connection's ongoing commitment to cultivating talent within its own ranks. Her vision for the organization is in line with the board's, and she is the ideal leader to guide the Ohio History Connection into its next era as we continue our enduring mission of embracing the present, sharing the past and transforming the future." Wood emerged as the Ohio History Connection's next leader after a nationwide search yielded a deep pool of diverse and talented candidates from elite institutions across the country. "I am pleased that the Ohio History Connection will be led by Ohioan Megan Wood," said Governor Mike DeWine. "Ohio has an important and remarkable past, and with Megan Wood as the new CEO, the Ohio History Connection will continue to ensure that Ohio's many historic places and fascinating stories reach a wide variety of audiences." "I believe in the power of history as a way to better understand ourselves and our place in this world," Wood said. "I plan to help the Ohio History Connection embrace its role of sharing Ohio's diverse stories and making Ohio communities better as a partner with other governmental, nonprofit and private partners. The Ohio History Connection will continue to grow as a vibrant organization that improves every community we touch by cultivating pride, encouraging economic development and bringing people together." Wood succeeds Burt Logan, who in late March announced his plans to retire in 2023. Effective Aug. 1, Logan will transition into a role of executive consultant to the board of trustees through Feb. 28, 2023. For more information, photos and video, go to: http://www.ohiohistory.org/newCEO . Contact: Neil Thompson, Ohio History Connection [email protected] | 614.297.2330 SOURCE Ohio History Connection CLAYTON, Mo., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Olin Corporation (NYSE: OLN) announced today that on Friday, July 29, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, Olin's senior management will review the company's second quarter 2022 financial results. Prepared remarks will be followed by a question and answer period. A press release, including financial statements and segment information, will be distributed after the market closes on Thursday, July 28, 2022, together with the associated slides. CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION Interested participants may access the conference call by dialing (877) 883-0383 [Canadian callers, please dial (877) 885-0477; International callers, please dial (412) 902-6506], using the pass code 0034640. The call will also be webcast live on the company's website at www.olin.com, accessible under the second quarter conference call icons. Participants should log on to the website 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. Following the event, the webcast will remain available for replay on the company's website for one year. A telephonic replay of this conference call will be available beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time for 14 days by dialing (877) 344-7529 [Canadian callers, please dial (855) 669-9658; International callers, please dial (412) 317-0088], using the pass code of 7400034. COMPANY DESCRIPTION Olin Corporation is a leading vertically-integrated global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products and a leading U.S. manufacturer of ammunition. The chemical products produced include chlorine and caustic soda, vinyls, epoxies, chlorinated organics, bleach, hydrogen and hydrochloric acid. Winchester's principal manufacturing facilities produce and distribute sporting ammunition, law enforcement ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and components, and industrial cartridges. Visit www.olin.com for more information on Olin. 2022-12 SOURCE Olin Corporation Stuart will help existing customers migrate to new solutions for better customer satisfaction and bottom-line results. Tweet this "From our earliest deployments in LatAm to our work with the largest operators in the region, providers consistently have recognized the business and market benefits of OpenVault technology," said Mark Trudeau, CEO and Founder of OpenVault. "Stuart Eaton's connections and expertise will bring new operators into the OpenVault community, and will help existing customers migrate to new solutions for better customer satisfaction and bottom-line results." "LatAm opportunities are almost never one-size-fits-all," said Eaton. "Using OpenVault's rich portfolio of tools and products, we'll work closely to tailor results to each customer's individual needs. We help operators adapt to a challenging marketplace as our research and development team pioneers new breakthroughs." Eaton has more than 15 years experience within the Latin America telecom community, including sales leadership positions with Avantel in Mexico and Embratel in Brazil, Embratel Americas and PeerApp. Prior to OpenVault, Eaton was global VP of sales for IS5 Communications and headed Americas business development for both Akleza and PCCW Global. About OpenVault OpenVault and OpenVault Europe GmbH are market-leading sources of broadband technology solutions and data-driven insights into worldwide broadband consumption patterns. Using the companies' cloud-based SaaS or on-premises solutions and tools, service providers can optimize network performance, increase revenue, and improve subscriber satisfaction. OpenVault and OpenVault Europe aggregate and analyze the resulting market data to provide unparalleled granular views of consumer usage that can be used to anticipate residential and business broadband trends. For more information, please visit openvault.com. Media contacts: Kristen Nihamin, [email protected], 917-509-9028 Paul Schneider, [email protected], 215-817-4384 SOURCE OpenVault DUBLIN, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market (2022-2027) by Technology, Product, Application, End User, Geography, Competitive Analysis, and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market is estimated to be USD 4.84 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 7.85 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 10.16%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are AbbVie, Aerolase, Alma Lasers, Candela Medical, Cutera, Cynosure, Fotona, Hologic, Lumenis Be, Lutronic, Lynton Lasers, Sciton, Sharp Light Technologies, Sisram Medical, etc. Countries Studied America ( Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Peru , United States , Rest of Americas) , , , , , , , , Rest of Americas) Europe ( Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Russia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom , Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Rest of ) Middle-East and Africa ( Egypt , Israel , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , United Arab Emirates , Rest of MEA) and ( , , , , , , Rest of MEA) Asia-Pacific ( Australia , Bangladesh , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Taiwan , Rest of Asia-Pacific ) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The report analyses the Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Growing Adoption of Non-Invasive Aesthetic Procedures 4.1.2 Growing Disposable Income 4.1.3 Increasing Awareness About the Safe Use and Advantages of Energy-Based Aesthetic Devices 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 Social Stigma Associated with Cosmetic Treatments 4.2.2 Stringent Safety Regulations for Aesthetic Procedures 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Development of Low-Cost Cosmetic Lasers 4.3.2 Advancement in Technology 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 Rising Adoption of Branded Beauty and Cosmetic Products 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market, By Technology 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Laser-Based Technology 6.3 Light-Based Technology 6.3.1 Dynamic Pulse Control (DPC) technology 6.3.2 Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) technology 6.4 Energy-based Technology 6.4.1 UV technology 6.4.2 Infrared technology 6.4.3 Radiofrequency technology 6.4.4 Low temperature-based technology 6.4.5 Suction based technology 6.4.6 Others 7 Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market, By Product 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Laser resurfacing devices 7.2.1 Fractional Ablative Skin Resurfacing Devices 7.2.2 Conventional Laser Resurfacing Devices 7.3 Body contouring devices 7.3.1 Liposuction Devices 7.3.2 Fat Reduction devices 7.3.3 Cellulite Reduction Devices 7.3.4 Non-Surgical Skin Tightening Devices 7.4 Aesthetic Ophthalmology Devices 8 Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market, By Application 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Hair removal 8.3 Scar removal/skin resurfacing 8.4 Skin rejuvenation 8.5 Skin tightening 9 Global Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market, By End User 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Multi-specialty centers 9.3 Standalone Centers 9.4 Cosmetic Surgery Centers/Clinics 10 Americas' Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Argentina 10.3 Brazil 10.4 Canada 10.5 Chile 10.6 Colombia 10.7 Mexico 10.8 Peru 10.9 United States 10.10 Rest of Americas 11 Europe's Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Austria 11.3 Belgium 11.4 Denmark 11.5 Finland 11.6 France 11.7 Germany 11.8 Italy 11.9 Netherlands 11.10 Norway 11.11 Poland 11.12 Russia 11.13 Spain 11.14 Sweden 11.15 Switzerland 11.16 United Kingdom 11.17 Rest of Europe 12 Middle East and Africa's Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Egypt 12.3 Israel 12.4 Qatar 12.5 Saudi Arabia 12.6 South Africa 12.7 United Arab Emirates 12.8 Rest of MEA 13 APAC's Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Australia 13.3 Bangladesh 13.4 China 13.5 India 13.6 Indonesia 13.7 Japan 13.8 Malaysia 13.9 Philippines 13.10 Singapore 13.11 South Korea 13.12 Sri Lanka 13.13 Thailand 13.14 Taiwan 13.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Competitive Quadrant 14.2 Market Share Analysis 14.3 Strategic Initiatives 14.3.1 M&A and Investments 14.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 14.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 15 Company Profiles 15.1 AbbVie 15.2 Aerolase 15.3 Alma Lasers 15.4 Candela Medical 15.5 Cutera 15.6 Cynosure 15.7 Fotona 15.8 Hologic 15.9 Lumenis Be 15.10 Lutronic 15.11 Lynton Lasers 15.12 Sciton 15.13 Sharp Light Technologies 15.14 Sisram Medical 16 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qkpcd Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets New exhibits open and longtime favorite experiences return SEATTLE , July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Science Center (PacSci) today announced it will reopen many of its signature experiences to the public on Wednesday, July 6. PacSci will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the summer season. Tickets are available for purchase online and on site. "We are thrilled to welcome visitors back to PacSci for brand new experiences as well as familiar ones that our community knows and loves," said PacSci CEO Will Daugherty. "We are proud of the ways we were able to serve the community over the past two years and look forward to igniting curiosity with our in-person experiences again." Both longtime and new fans of PacSci will enjoy exploring the Tropical Butterfly House with over 1,000 colorful butterflies and plants from around the world; traveling to far-away galaxies in the live and immersive Planetarium; hands-on experimenting, building, and inventing in the Tinker Tank Makerspace; and journeying through time in the Dinosaurs exhibit. The Live Science Stage, Waterworks and Courtyard with its fountains and reflecting pools are also reopen to the public. Experiences include new and updated Augmented Reality exhibits as well as the new maze Water's Extreme Journey, which takes visitors on an exciting and important adventure quest for clean water. Visitors will have a chance to experience the life of a water drop, exploring first-hand the science behind the water cycle, and discovering how our daily decisions impact local wildlife and ecosystems. PacSci is also home to the world's largest dedicated Laser Dome, with live laser artists that adapt shows in real time based on the crowd's reaction. For the first time ever, daytime Laser Dome shows will now also be included as part of general admission. Additionally, PacSci houses two IMAX theaters, where moviegoers can watch blockbusters as well as documentaries on the most advanced digital projection systems, designed specifically for giant IMAX screens. Films come to life on the 60 feet high (that's six stories!) and 80 feet wide screen; The Boeing IMAX screen at PacSci is the biggest IMAX screen in the Pacific Northwest. PacSci is also launching a new membership program. Stay tuned to the PacSci website for updates. The past two years have been a time of remarkable growth for PacSci. In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, doors closed in March 2020. During that time, PacSci remained committed to igniting curiosity and providing informal science education to the community. PacSci continued to prioritize opportunities for youth to engage in STEM exploration at home by creating a free digital catalogue of programming, offering virtual summer camps, launching virtual field trips, and more. After the site reopens, PacSci will continue to offer this comprehensive digital programming to meet students' needs wherever they are. More details about PacSci's reopening can be found below and on the PacSci website, including entrance, parking, and accessibility information. Click here for more images. Summer Opening Hours Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Last admission at 4 p.m.) Ticket Prices All general admission tickets are available for sale on site and online, with a 20% discount offered for advance purchase. Both Planetarium shows and daytime Laser Dome shows are included as part of general admission. Adult (18-64) $27.95 Senior (Ages 65+) $25.95 Youth (Age 3-17) $19.95 Toddler (Under 3) Free COVID-19 Policy Masks and proof of vaccination are not required for entry. About Pacific Science Center Pacific Science Center is an independent, not-for-profit institution in Seattle and has been a gateway to access science education and innovation for nearly 60 years. The institution's mission is to ignite curiosity in every child and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us. Prior to COVID-19, Pacific Science Center's award-winning, interactive programs reached nearly 1 million people each year in their communities across the state of Washington, classrooms, and on the Seattle Center campus and at Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center in Bellevue. Throughout the pandemic, Pacific Science Center has continued to serve the community and ignite curiosity from everywhere through digital and virtual programming. Visit the PacSci website to learn more. SOURCE Pacific Science Center (All financial information is in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise stated) Strategic transaction to accelerate Paper Excellence's growth strategy, bringing complementary capabilities in lumber and pulp MONTREAL, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - The Paper Excellence Group (the "Group"), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Domtar Corporation ("Domtar"), a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers, and Resolute Forest Products Inc. ("Resolute") (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP), a global forest products company, have entered into an agreement under which Domtar will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Resolute stock. With this addition to its family of companies, the Paper Excellence Group will further build out its portfolio in North America following the successful acquisition of Domtar last year. Patrick Loulou, vice chair and chief strategy officer of the Paper Excellence Group, commented, "We are excited to welcome Resolute and its employees to the Paper Excellence family. Resolute is an ideal fit for our long-term growth strategy. It complements our existing pulp, paper and packaging businesses and adds capabilities in lumber and tissue. We have seen firsthand that Resolute prides itself on its great people, strong assets and a culture of excellence going back more than two hundred years." Resolute will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Domtar, under the auspices of the Group, and continue to operate on a business-as-usual basis under the Resolute name. The Resolute management team will remain in place at the company's headquarters. Considering the quality workforce available with Resolute and Domtar, Montreal will become an important hub for the Group's North American businesses. Furthermore, the Group plans to retain Resolute's production locations and levels of jobs. Growing Together "With this transaction, Resolute will accelerate its growth as it gains access to more tools, capital and opportunities to pursue our ambitions with the combined resources of the Paper Excellence Group," stated Remi G. Lalonde, Resolute's president and chief executive officer. "This is good for employees and the communities where Resolute operates because we will continue to grow in a manner consistent with our core values of accountability, caring and trust that we hold dear. Together, we will form a stronger and more resilient, diversified forest products company, positioned to compete on a truly global scale, with a shared commitment to being a trusted business partner, dedicated to sustainability and to caring for its people and communities." As part of its commitment to building a premier North American diversified forest products company and creating long-term growth, the Group intends to support Resolute management's existing growth strategy, focused on strategic investments in its lumber and pulp businesses, and maximizing the value of its paper and tissue businesses. It also plans to undertake a detailed feasibility study for the eventual conversion of Resolute's Gatineau, Quebec, newsprint mill to the production of packaging paper. "This is a good example of how the Paper Excellence Group's diversified business, financial resources, and technical capabilities can open up new strategic avenues for assets that may otherwise face an uncertain future. This is but one example of our support and intention to implement significant investments aligned with Resolute's strategic plan for the future," concluded Mr. Loulou. Furthermore, the Group intends to form long-term partnerships with one or more universities in Quebec and Ontario to spearhead innovation in the field of fiber-based biomaterials. Transaction Details The cash portion of the merger consideration represents a premium of approximately 64% to Resolute's closing share price on NYSE on July 5, 2022. The cash consideration represents an enterprise value of approximately $2.7 billion, including pension liabilities and excluding the Contingent Value Right (CVR) on softwood lumber duty deposit refunds. "This agreement offers our stockholders the opportunity to realize a significant premium for their shares in cash, plus additional value with contingent value rights tied to the prospective recovery of accumulated deposits on estimated softwood lumber duties through the second quarter," added Mr. Lalonde. The transaction will be carried out by way of a merger of Resolute with a newly created subsidiary of Domtar, providing for conversion of each share of Resolute common stock into the right to receive $20.50 per share, together with a CVR entitling the holder to a share of future softwood lumber duty deposit refunds. Each share, on a fully diluted basis at closing, will be entitled to receive one CVR. "The addition of Resolute enables us to continue executing our long-term business plan to drive growth to the benefit of all stakeholders," said John D. Williams, president and chief executive officer of Domtar. "After the close of the transaction, the Paper Excellence Group will own or operate a collection of diverse, strategic assets across North America that allows us to deliver a wider range of high-quality products to our customers. This transaction continues to demonstrate the strong belief in the potential of our business model and we look forward to continuing to operate successfully and efficiently into the future." Under the CVR, stockholders will receive any refunds on approximately $500 million of deposits on estimated softwood lumber duties paid by Resolute through June 30, 2022, including any interest thereon, net of certain expenses and of applicable tax and withholding. Any proceeds attributable to the CVR will be distributed proportionally to CVR holders, and the value will ultimately be determined by the terms and timing of the resolution of the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the United States. The terms and timing of such resolution is uncertain. The CVRs will not be tradeable and will be subject to prohibitions on transfer. Resolute stockholders will have the opportunity to vote on the transaction at a stockholders' meeting to be held in early fall. The merger will require the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of Resolute. Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, a significant stockholder of Resolute, has entered into a voting and support agreement to vote its shares in favor of the transaction. As of July 5, 2022, Fairfax Financial Holdings held approximately 30,548,190 shares, or 40% of the outstanding shares as of that date. A full description of the transaction will be outlined in the proxy statement of Resolute, to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") at www.sec.gov/edgar/browse ("EDGAR"), and with the Canadian securities regulators on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com and mailed to stockholders of Resolute. In addition to stockholder approval, the transaction is subject to applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions. Approvals and Recommendation The board of directors of Resolute unanimously determined that the terms of the transaction are fair to, and in the best interests of, Resolute and its stockholders and resolved to recommend that Resolute stockholders vote for the transaction. The transaction is expected to close as soon as possible following stockholder and regulatory approvals, and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, which is currently expected in the first half of 2023. Advisors Barclays is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Paper Excellence, and Latham & Watkins LLP, McMillan LLP, and McCarthy Tetrault LLP, are serving as legal advisors. Barclays, CoBank, and Bank of Montreal are providing acquisition financing to Domtar in connection with the transaction. CIBC Capital Markets is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Resolute, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and Stikeman Elliott LLP are serving as legal advisors. Additional Information and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed transaction, Resolute intends to file the relevant materials with the SEC, including a proxy statement on Schedule 14A. Promptly after filing its definitive proxy statement with the SEC, Resolute will mail the definitive proxy statement and a proxy card to each stockholder entitled to vote at the special meeting relating to the transaction. The materials to be filed by Resolute will be made available to the company's investors and stockholders at no expense to them and copies may be obtained free of charge on Resolute's website at www.resolutefp.com. In addition, all of those materials will be available at no charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Investors and security holders will also be able to obtain copies of the proxy statement (when available) and other documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities by Resolute at no charge through the website maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators at www.sedar.com. Investors and stockholders of Resolute are urged to read the proxy statement and the other relevant materials when they become available before making any voting or investment decision with respect to the proposed transaction because they contain important information about Resolute and the proposed transaction. Resolute and its directors, executive officers, other members of its management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies of Resolute stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction under SEC rules. Investors and stockholders may obtain more detailed information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of Resolute's executive officers and directors in the solicitation by reading Resolute's proxy statement for its 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, and the proxy statement and other relevant materials that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction when they become available. Information concerning the interests of Resolute's participants in the solicitation, which may, in some cases, be different than those of the company's stockholders generally, will be set forth in the proxy statement relating to the proposed transaction when it becomes available. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this document that are not reported financial results or other historical information of Resolute are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, for example, statements included in this document relating to the potential benefits of the proposed transaction between Resolute and Domtar Corporation; the prospective performance and outlook of Resolute's business, performance and opportunities; the ability of the parties to complete the proposed transaction and the expected timing of completion of the proposed transaction; as well as any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as the words "should," "would," "could," "will," "may," "expect," "believe," "see," "intends," "continue," "positioned," "maintain," "remain," "build," "pursue," "accelerate," "plan," "grow," "allow," "look," "provide," "create," "support," "estimated," "drive," "maximize" and other terms with similar meaning indicating possible future events or potential impact on Resolute's business or its stockholders. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance. These statements are based on management's current assumptions, beliefs, and expectations, all of which involve a number of business risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document, including but not limited to: uncertainties as to the timing of the proposed transaction; the risk that the proposed transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all; the possibility that competing offers or acquisition proposals for Resolute will be made; the possibility that any or all of the various conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied or waived, including the failure to receive any required regulatory approvals from any applicable governmental entities (or any conditions, limitations or restrictions placed on such approvals); the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, including in circumstances that would require Resolute to pay a termination fee or other expenses; the inability to recover softwood lumber duty refunds in a timely manner or at all; the effect of the pendency of the proposed transaction on Resolute's ability to retain and hire key personnel, its ability to maintain relationships with its customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business, its business generally or its stock price; and risks related to diverting management's attention from the company's ongoing business operations. In addition, please refer to the documents that Resolute files with the SEC on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties with respect to Resolute and its business that could cause events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements set forth in this document. All forward-looking statements in this document are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements contained or referred to above and in Resolute's other filings with the SEC and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Resolute disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. About Resolute Forest Products Resolute is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including market pulp, tissue, wood products and papers, which are marketed in over 60 countries. The company owns or operates some 40 facilities, as well as power generation assets, in the United States and Canada. Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to internationally recognized sustainable forest management standards. The shares of Resolute trade under the stock symbol RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Resolute has received regional, North American and global recognition for its leadership in corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, as well as for its business practices. Visit www.resolutefp.com for more information. About Domtar Domtar is a leading provider of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and airlaid nonwovens. With approximately 6,400 employees serving more than 50 countries around the world, Domtar is driven by a commitment to turn sustainable wood fiber into useful products that people rely on every day. Domtar's principal executive office is in Fort Mill, South Carolina and Domtar is part of the Paper Excellence group of companies. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com. About Paper Excellence The Paper Excellence Group is a privately-held holding company that oversees individual pulp and paper business units. Its operations include the manufacturing of pulp and specialty, printing and writing, and packaging papers, producing over 7 million tons annually with a workforce of over 10,000 in its nearly 40 locations across the Americas and Europe. For more information on Paper Excellence, please visit www.paperexcellence.com. SOURCE Resolute Forest Products Inc. CALGARY, AB, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Pembina Pipeline Corporation ("Pembina" or the "Company") (TSX: PPL) (NYSE: PBA) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a common share cash dividend for July 2022 of $0.21 per share to be paid, subject to applicable law, on August 15, 2022 to shareholders of record on July 25, 2022. The common share dividends are designated "eligible dividends" for Canadian income tax purposes. For non-resident shareholders, Pembina's common share dividends should be considered "qualified dividends" and may be subject to Canadian withholding tax. For shareholders receiving their common share dividends in U.S. funds, the July 2022 cash dividend is expected to be approximately U.S. $0.1611 per share (before deduction of any applicable Canadian withholding tax) based on a currency exchange rate of 0.7670. The actual U.S. dollar dividend will depend on the Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate on the payment date and will be subject to applicable withholding taxes. Pembina's Board of Directors also declared quarterly dividends for the Company's preferred shares, Series 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23 and 25. Series 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 21 preferred share dividends are payable on September 1, 2022 to shareholders of record on August 2, 2022. Series 15, 17 and 19 preferred share dividends are payable on October 3, 2022 to shareholders of record on September 15, 2022. Series 23 and 25 preferred share dividends are payable on August 15, 2022 to shareholders of record on August 2, 2022. Series Dividend Amount Preferred Shares, Series 1 (PPL.PR.A) $0.306625 Preferred Shares, Series 3 (PPL.PR.C) $0.279875 Preferred Shares, Series 5 (PPL.PR.E) $0.285813 Preferred Shares, Series 7 (PPL.PR.G) $0.273750 Preferred Shares, Series 9 (PPL.PR.I) $0.268875 Preferred Shares, Series 15 (PPL.PR.O) $0.279000 Preferred Shares, Series 17 (PPL.PR.Q) $0.301313 Preferred Shares, Series 19 (PPL.PR.S) $0.292750 Preferred Shares, Series 21 (PPL.PF.A) $0.306250 Preferred Shares, Series 23 (PPL.PF.C) $0.328125 Preferred Shares, Series 25 (PPL.PF.E) $0.325000 Confirmation of Record and Payment Date Policy Pembina pays cash dividends on its common shares in Canadian dollars on a monthly basis to shareholders of record on the 25th day of each month (except for the December record date, which is December 31st), if, as and when determined by the Board of Directors. Should the record date fall on a weekend or a statutory holiday, the effective record date will be the previous business day. The dividend payment date is the 15th day of the month following the record date. Should the payment date fall on a weekend or on a statutory holiday, the business day prior to the weekend or statutory holiday becomes the payment date. Dividends on the preferred shares Series 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 21 are payable on the first day of March, June, September and December in each year, if, as and when declared by the Board of Directors to shareholders of record on the first day of the preceding month, or, if such payment or record date is not a business day, the next succeeding business day after the weekend or statutory holiday. Dividends on the preferred shares Series 15, 17 and 19 are payable on the last day of March, June, September and December in each year, if, as and when declared by the Board of Directors to shareholders of record on the 15th day of the same month, or, if such payment or record date is not a business day, the next succeeding business day after the weekend or statutory holiday. Dividends on the preferred shares Series 23 and 25 are payable on the 15th day of February, May, August and November in each year, if, as and when declared by the Board of Directors to shareholders of record on the last day of the preceding month, or, if such payment or record date is not a business day, the next succeeding business day after the weekend or statutory holiday. Conference Call and Webcast Details for Second Quarter 2022 Results Pembina will release its second quarter 2022 results on Thursday, August 4, 2022 after markets close. A conference call and webcast have been scheduled for Friday, August 5, 2022, at 8:00 a.m. MT (10:00 a.m. ET) for interested investors, analysts, brokers and media representatives. The conference call dial-in numbers for Canada and the U.S. are 1-647-792-1240 or 1-800-437-2398. A recording of the conference call will be available for replay until August 12, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET. To access the replay, please dial either 1-647-436-0148 or 1-888-203-1112 and enter the password 3331229. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed on Pembina's website at www.pembina.com under Investor Centre, Presentation & Events, or by entering: https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1501654&tp_key=8352814379 in your web browser. Shortly after the call, an audio archive will be posted on the website for a minimum of 90 days. About Pembina Pembina Pipeline Corporation is a leading energy transportation and midstream service provider that has served North America's energy industry for more than 65 years. Pembina owns an integrated network of hydrocarbon liquids and natural gas pipelines, gas gathering and processing facilities, oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure and logistics services, and a growing export terminals business. Through our integrated value chain, we seek to provide safe and reliable infrastructure solutions which connect producers and consumers of energy across the world, support a more sustainable future and benefit our customers, investors, employees and communities. For more information, please visit pembina.com. Purpose of Pembina: To be the leader in delivering integrated infrastructure solutions connecting global markets: Customers choose us first for reliable and value-added services; choose us first for reliable and value-added services; Investors receive sustainable industry-leading total returns; receive sustainable industry-leading total returns; Employees say we are the 'employer of choice' and value our safe, respectful, collaborative and inclusive work culture; and say we are the 'employer of choice' and value our safe, respectful, collaborative and inclusive work culture; and Communities welcome us and recognize the net positive impact of our social and environmental commitment. Pembina is structured into three Divisions: Pipelines Division, Facilities Division and Marketing & New Ventures Division. Pembina's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under PPL and PBA, respectively. For more information, visit www.pembina.com. Forward-Looking Information and Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of applicable securities legislation, that are based on Pembina's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "continue", "anticipate", "schedule", "will", "expects", "estimate", "potential", "planned", "future", "outlook", "strategy", "protect", "trend", "commit", "maintain", "focus", "ongoing", "believe" and similar expressions suggesting future events or future performance. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements relating to: future dividends which may be declared on Pembina's common and preferred shares; the timing and the amount of such dividend payments; and the expected tax treatment thereof. The forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that Pembina has made in respect thereof as at the date of this news release regarding, among other things: the success of Pembina's operations and growth projects; prevailing commodity prices, margins, volumes and exchange rates; that Pembina's future results of operations will be consistent with past performance and management expectations in relation thereto; the availability of capital to fund future capital requirements relating to existing assets and projects; future operating costs; that all required regulatory and environmental approvals can be obtained on the necessary terms in a timely manner; prevailing regulatory, tax and environmental laws and regulations; maintenance of operating margins; and the availability of coverage under Pembina's insurance policies (including in respect of Pembina's business interruption insurance policy). Although Pembina believes the expectations and material factors and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that these expectations, factors and assumptions will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: the regulatory environment and decisions; Indigenous and landowner consultation requirements; the impact of competitive entities and pricing; reliance on third parties to successfully operate and maintain certain assets; the strength and operations of the oil and natural gas production industry and related commodity prices; non-performance or default by counterparties to agreements which Pembina or one or more of its affiliates has entered into in respect of its business; actions by governmental or regulatory authorities; the ability of Pembina to acquire or develop the necessary infrastructure in respect of future development projects; fluctuations in operating results; adverse general economic and market conditions in Canada, North America and worldwide; risks relating to the current and potential adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; the ability to access various sources of debt and equity capital; changes in credit ratings; counterparty credit risk; the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and its potential impact on, among other things, global market conditions and supply and demand, energy and commodity prices; interest rates, supply chains and the global economy generally; and certain other risks and uncertainties detailed in Pembina's management's discussion and analysis and annual information form, each for the year ended December 31, 2021, and from time to time in Pembina's public disclosure documents available at www.sedar.com, www.sec.gov and through Pembina's website at www.pembina.com. This list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date hereof. Pembina does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. SOURCE Pembina Pipeline Corporation Best score among Mainland China's insurance companies HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An" or the "Group", HKEx:2318; SSE:601318) has been rated as low ESG risk by Sustainalytics, a global leading ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) rating firm. With a score of 18.3, Ping An earned the best score among Mainland China's insurance companies, a testament to the Group's excellent ESG risk management capability. Sustainalytics considered seven material ESG issues that could impact Ping An's financials and operation results: Corporate Governance, Business Ethics, Human Capital, Data Privacy and Security, ESG Integration-Financials and Resilience. Based on their assessment, Ping An's overall ESG Risk Rating was 18.3, a "Low ESG Risk" score. Sustainalytics gave Ping An a "Negligible" ESG Risk Rating in Product Governance, ESG Integration-Financials and Resilience, the most favorable rating in its five-tiered system from "Negligible" to "Severe". Sustainalytics has rated over 14,500 companies in different industries, including over 290 insurance companies around the world. Ping An ranks first among Mainland China insurers. As an integrated financial conglomerate, Ping An has taken a leading role in the practice of ESG risk management, integrating core theories and standards of ESG into the Group's risk management system. In 2022, with more than 30 years' experience in the industry, Ping An upgraded its comprehensive risk management system based on its observations of regulatory and industry changes. The risk management system identified 11 general risk categories including compliance risks, credit risks, liquidity risks, and information technology risks, and four risk categories specific to insurance companies. Management of these risks promote and ensure stable long-term development of the Group. In particular, Ping An is focusing on the impact of climate change on its business. As suggested by the global Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), Ping An has developed a risk identification framework for climate change-related risks, and applied risk identification results to the insurance and investment screening process to reduce those risks. Sustainalytics noted that the company's overall management of material ESG issues is strong. Information security management is one of the most critical aspects of Ping An's business development, and the Company's information security management system is ISO 27001 certified, which is considered global best practice in information security. Ping An focuses on the impact of business ethics on its stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, partners and the community, as well as the impact on the environment. On the business ethics front, the company strives to train employees regularly and has board-level oversight on compliance. In addition, Ping An encourages key employees to serve the Company on a long-term basis with a comprehensive long-term incentive and discipline mechanism. Ping An's Key Employee Share Purchase Plan and Long-term Service Plan help to strengthen the Company's governance structure and promote long-term sustainable development. As of December 31, 2021, the number of employees participating in Ping An's Key Employee Share Purchase Plan and Long-term Service Plan reached 89,304. End About Ping An Group Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An") strives to become a world-leading retail financial services group. With over 223 million retail customers and nearly 657 million internet users, Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies in the world. Ping An focuses on two over-arching domains of activity, "integrated finance" and "healthcare", covering the provision of financial and health care services through its integrated financial services platform and ecosystems in financial services, healthcare, auto services and smart city services. The "finance + technology" and "finance + ecosystem" strategies aim to provide customers and internet users with innovative and simple products and services using technology. As China's first joint stock insurance company, Ping An is committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate reporting and corporate governance. The Group is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Ping An ranked 6th in the Forbes Global 2000 list in 2021 and ranked 16th in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2021. For more information, please visit www.group.pingan.com and follow us on LinkedIn - PING AN. About Sustainalytics Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company, is a leading independent ESG research, ratings and data firm that supports investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. Sustainalytics works with hundreds of the world's leading asset managers and pension funds who incorporate ESG and corporate governance information and assessments into their investment processes. The firm also works with hundreds of companies and their financial intermediaries to help them consider sustainability in policies, practices and capital projects. For more information, visit www.sustainalytics.com. Copyright 2022 Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This [publication/ article/ section] contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics.com). Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers. SOURCE Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. DUBLIN, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Portugal Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The report considers the present scenario of the Portugal data center market and its market dynamics for 2022?2027. It covers a detailed overview of several growth enablers, restraints, and trends in the market. The study includes the demand and supply aspects of the market. Portugal data center market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.02% during 2022-2027. KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT AR Telecom, Pioneer Point Partners & Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Merlin Properties & Edged Energy, and NOS are colocation data center operators expected to develop data centers in the country during the forecast period. Increasing cloud connectivity will boost the digital economy of the country and will lead to higher demand for high-bandwidth networking and processing infrastructure. For instance, CloudZone has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate cloud services and improve the digital economy of Portugal. Colocation facilities expect to witness an increase in the adoption of flexible design, which supports 42U to 47U rack cabinets. In 2021, AR Telecom planned to build a data center in Lisbon with around 150 racks. with around 150 racks. In Portugal, Madeira International Business center and Santa Maria Island are free to trade zones where the data center investors can invest as the operators can get various tax exemptions and various incentives. In February 2022 , Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced that it is planning to launch local edge zones in 32 cities across 26 countries worldwide, including Lisbon . SEGMENT ANALYSIS This report analyses the Portugal data center market share. It elaboratively analyses the existing and upcoming facilities and investments in IT, electrical, mechanical infrastructure, general construction, and tier standards. It discusses market sizing and investment estimation for different segments. The segmentation includes: IT Infrastructure Servers Storage Systems Network Infrastructure Electrical Infrastructure UPS Systems Generators Switches & Switchgears PDUs Other Electrical Infrastructure Mechanical Infrastructure Cooling Systems Rack Cabinets Other Mechanical Infrastructure By Cooling Systems CRAC & CRAH Units Chiller Units Cooling Towers, Condensers, and Dry Coolers Economizers and Evaporative Coolers Other Cooling units General Construction Building Development Installation & commissioning Services Building Design Fire Detection & Suppression Systems Physical Security Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Tier Standard Tier I & Tier II Tier III Tier IV Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Existing & Upcoming Third-Party Data Centers in Portugal 15+ Unique Data Center Properties Data Center It Load Capacity Data Center White Floor Area Space Existing Vs Upcoming Data Center Capacity by Cities Cities Covered Lisbon Other Cities Chapter 2 Investment Opportunities in Portugal Data Center Investments Investment by Area Investment by Power Capacity Chapter 3 Data Center Colocation Market in Portugal Colocation Services Market in Portugal Retail Colocation Colocation Pricing (Quarter Rack, Half Rack, Full Rack) & Add-Ons Chapter 4 Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Trends Market Restraints Chapter 5 Market Segmentation It Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast Electrical Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast Mechanical Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast General Construction Services: Market Size & Forecast Chapter 6 Tier Standard Investment Tier I & Ii Tier Iii Tier Iv Chapter 7 Key Market Participants It Infrastructure Providers Construction Contractors Support Infrastructure Providers Data Center Investors Chapter 8 Appendix Market Derivation Quantitative Summary Companies Mentioned Cisco Systems Dell Technologies Fujitsu Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) IBM Lenovo Oracle NEC Corporation Pure Storage ARSMAGNA CAP DC O/M ABB Caterpillar Daikin Applied ebm-papst Johnson Controls Legrand Siemens Altice Portugal Ar Telecom Equinix NOS Sistemas WebTuga REN For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gwfow Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets MINNEAPOLIS , July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders are rare autoimmune and neurological disorders that most often cause muscle stiffness and spasms in the torso and limbs. According to a small, preliminary study released today, a blood treatment called plasmapheresis, also known as therapeutic plasma exchange, may be a safe way to treat stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders. The research will be presented at the new American Academy of Neurology Summer Conference: Autoimmune Neurology and Neurology Year in Review in San Francisco, July 15 to 16, 2022. Researchers also found that many study participants also experienced an improvement in symptoms or function, or both, while being treated with this therapy. For people with these disorders, symptoms may come and go early in the disease, but eventually become constant. Stiffness and spasms usually begin in the leg and torso muscles and over time can affect the arms and even the face. Other symptoms such as gait unsteadiness and unexplained falls can occur. Most people with these disorders are women. "Stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders are rare, and while there are some treatments for varying forms of these disorders, they are not always effective at reducing symptoms or preventing worsening of function," said study author Scott D. Newsome, DO, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. "Finding a new way to treat a debilitating and painful disease that has few side effects or risks is a big win. The findings of our research help promote awareness of a treatment that may lead to relief for some people living with stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders." For the study, researchers looked at the medical records of 36 people with stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders who underwent plasmapheresis. This process cleans the blood by removing and replacing a person's blood plasma with albumin, a product manufactured from donated plasma to treat certain diseases. Of the participants, the majority had classic stiff person syndrome. Researchers found that this therapeutic plasma exchange process was both a safe and tolerable form of treatment for people with stiff person syndrome spectrum disorder. Four of the people studied, or 11%, had complications from the treatment, such as catheter infection or hemorrhage, but no deaths or anaphylaxis were reported. Additionally, 20 people, or 56%, saw improvement with these treatments. Twelve people needed fewer medications to treat their symptoms three months after the treatment. Researchers also reviewed other cases and identified an additional 42 people with stiff person syndrome who underwent the same treatment and found 69% reported a temporary improvement in their condition. "While the main focus of the study was safety, and we showed that complications from this treatment in people with stiff person syndrome are rare and manageable, it's very important that many people saw improvements or maintained the same level of function," Newsome said. "Further studies could confirm these results and help inform doctors when to use this treatment for stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders." One limitation of this study was that it was retrospective, meaning that researchers looked back at medical records rather than following study participants in real time. Another limitation was that it included a small number of participants. Newsome noted this is the largest case series to date. Learn more about stiff person syndrome at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtags #Neurology, #AANscience, and the Summer Conference hashtag #AANSC. The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 38,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. SOURCE American Academy of Neurology A prison source told PREMIUM TIMES that the State Security Service had "earlier today (Tuesday)" warned of an impending attack on Kuje prison. The Kuje Custodial Centre located in Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory came under attack late Tuesday night apparently to free jailed criminals, despite an earlier warning by the country's intelligence service. A prison source told PREMIUM TIMES that the State Security Service had "earlier today (Tuesday)" warned of an impending attack on Kuje prison. The source, however, could not describe the level of measures put in place to forestall the attack. "Kuje prison is under massive bomb, armed attack," a prison staff told PREMIUM TIMES as the attack was being carried out late Tuesday. In the later update that emerged, the source said the attackers used three bombs and forcibly gained control of four entry and exit points. The prison is in Kuje Area Council of the FCT, lying outside the Abuja city centre, 47 kilometres to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, and 24 kilometres to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Dangerous criminals, including apprehended Boko Haram terrorists, are held in the prison, which also houses high profile public officers standing trial or already convicted. "Three weeks ago, several high profile terrorists were relocated to Kuje prison," the prison source said, the earliest link officials are analysing to trace the motivation for the attack. Kuje has a capacity of about 550 but currently detains about 1000 inmates, a prison source said. PREMIUM TIMES understands that the custodial service sought and got reinforcements from the army, police, and the SSS. Specifically, soldiers of the 176 Special Forces Guards Brigade Battalion, Gwagwalada, were deployed by the army, officials told PREMIUM TIMES. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Legal Affairs Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The impact of the attack is not immediately known but officials are suspecting a terrorist motivation to free dangerous criminals. Recent prison attacks across Nigeria - in Oyo, Plateau, Imo, and Edo States - had caused massive illegal release of inmates. FCT communities, lying outside the city centre, have increasingly become prone to violent crimes, including abductions believed to be carried out by terrorists, often called bandits, operating in the Northwest and parts of the Northcentral, including the federal capital. In the neighbouring Niger State, Boko Haram terrorists, according to the state government, are controlling communities while Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, has claimed attacks in Kogi State, another neighbouring state. On March 28, a Kaduna-bound train leaving Abuja was attacked in Katari by terrorists, suspected to be of Ansaru, a Boko Haram splinter group, believed to be collaborating with bandits. The attack involved bombing and mass shooting resulting in the deaths of at least eight persons and abduction of more than 60 travellers. About 50 victims are still in captivity more than three months after. In video releases, the abductors have said the government knows what they want to free the captives. Intelligence sources say they are seeking release of their jailed members in exchange for the freedom of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack victims. PyraMax Bank departs LPL, choosing Cetera for its hands-on management and growth strategy LOS ANGELES, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera Financial Group, one of America's largest networks of financial professionals, announced today that it has welcomed Milwaukee-area PyraMax Bank to its Cetera Financial Institutions community. Together, the organizations will expand PyraMax Bank's menu of investment services and seek to grow the team by actively recruiting top financial professionals. Cetera will provide integrated technology, robust growth and operations support, and an advice-focused platform. PyraMax Bank serves clients across Southeastern Wisconsin and was formerly affiliated with LPL. This marks the third strategic relationship Cetera has formed with a bank this year. "As the PyraMax Bank team evolves its business and grows as an organization, partnering with Cetera Financial Institutions is a natural step to reach our goals and better serve our clients," said Jennelle Bettinger, Vice President of Retail Banking at PyraMax Bank. "In working with Cetera, we are gaining more intimate and direct access to management, innovative technology, and best-in-class client solutions. We are also excited to work with an organization that is deeply committed to celebrating our legacy and longstanding client relationships." Since 1983, Cetera Financial Institutions has set the industry standard for serving bank and credit union wealth management programs. It empowers financial institutions to deepen their client connections and expand their services in meeting their clients' full lifecycle needs. The team's unmatched knowledge of supporting the unique needs of financial institutions means its organizations have access to the client-centric capabilities to deliver a superior and collaborative experience, along with robust technology and tools designed specifically for banks and credit unions. The Cetera Financial Institutions partnership provides PyraMax Bank financial consultants access to a wider array of tools, technologies, and solutions, including AdviceWorks Cetera's award-winning platform for financial professionals and members and Growth360, Cetera's peer-based methodology that helps financial professionals learn from and incorporate the successes of their fastest-growing peers. "We're thrilled to welcome PyraMax Bank to the Cetera family and further expand our presence in the Midwest," said LeAnn Rummel, president and CEO of Cetera's financial institutions community. "We are confident our solutions, technology, and growth strategies will complement PyraMax Bank's model and their long-term vision. Together, with my leadership team, we are excited to take their business to new heights." Click here to learn more about Cetera's resources and support for financial institutions. About Cetera Financial Group Cetera Financial Group (Cetera) is a leading financial services firm whose purpose is to enable the delivery of best-in-class financial advice to as many Americans as possible. Cetera empowers its financial professional communities to help clients achieve their version of financial wellbeing through the Advice-Centric Experience. Cetera proudly serves independent financial professionals, tax professionals, banks and credit unions in providing wide-ranging financial planning and wealth management services. Cetera oversees approximately $353 billion in assets under administration and $122 billion in assets under management, as of December 31, 2021. Visit www.cetera.com, and follow Cetera on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. "Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), Cetera Financial Specialists LLC, and First Allied Securities, Inc. All firms are members FINRA/SIPC. Located at: 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101. Individuals affiliated with Cetera firms are either Registered Representatives who offer only brokerage services and receive transaction-based compensation (commissions), Investment Adviser Representatives who offer only investment advisory services and receive fees based on assets, or both Registered Representatives and Investment Adviser Representatives, who can offer both types of services. About PyraMax Bank PyraMax Bank opened in 1895 and currently operates six full-service offices serving customers in the counties of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, and Waukesha Wisconsin. It is part of 1895 Bancorp of Wisconsin, a federal corporation based in Greenfield, Wisconsin. SOURCE Cetera Financial Group Founded in 2020, Lasagna Love aims to positively impact communities by connecting neighbors with neighbors through delivery of homemade lasagnas. Powered by more than 35,000 volunteers, Lasagna Love is active across all 50 U.S. states, as well as in Australia and Canada, delivering gestures of kindness and goodwill when needed most. From now until National Lasagna Day (July 29), RAGU invites consumers to sign up to become a Lasagna Love Chef, who will make and deliver lasagnas to those in need locally. The first 250 consumers to sign up at www.lasagnalove.org/ragu as a new Lasagna Love volunteer will receive a special thank you gift from RAGU, including a spoon perfect for mixing lasagna ingredients and a coupon for a free jar of delicious RAGU sauce. Lasagna Love is celebrating National Lasagna Day through a week-long calendar of activities that begin on July 23 and run through July 30. The organization will be hosting live-stream events with guest chefs, local-level events where lasagnas will be delivered to homeless shelters, retirement homes, food banks and more. Collectively, the volunteers will be working towards the goal of breaking the record for the most volunteer lasagnas ever made on National Lasagna Day. "As part of the RAGU team, we believe that anyone 'Can Cook Like a Mother' regardless of gender or culinary skill set. That's why we're empowering consumers to 'Cook Like a Mother for Others' and volunteer with Lasagna Love to help those in need in their communitieson National Lasagna Day and beyond," said Megan Frank, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Mizkan America, Inc., the maker of RAGU. "Just as RAGU Sauce has been crafted with passion since 1937, Lasagna Love's passion for kindness has inspired volunteers to feed over a million people in need of some extra love and comfort. We're proud to partner with them to support this important mission." The RAGU brand's "Cook Like a Mother" tagline is a reminder that, with a delicious jar of RAGU sauce in hand, anyone and everyone can whip up a mother of a lasagna. The phrase celebrates the iconic sauce brand at the heart of real-world home cooking. Even if you are not a skilled cook, RAGU empowers anyone to step up to the stove with confidence and serve up taste-tempting homemade meals for yourself or others. "By becoming a part of Lasagna Love, volunteers join a community of thousands of incredible people around the world looking to make and deliver lasagnas to those in need of a culinary hug. We're honored to partner with RAGU to inspire more volunteers to spread kindness and strengthen their own communities, one lasagna at a time," said Rhiannon Menn, founder of Lasagna Love. About Lasagna Love Lasagna Love is a community impact program that connects neighbors through gestures of kindness, goodwill, and support. The nonprofit has joined together more than 30,000 volunteers from around the world and abides by three simple principles: feed families, spread kindness and strengthen communities. Lasagna Love fosters a culture of positivity, empathy, zero-judgment, and maintains a steadfast resolve to deliver comfort when needed most. Lasagna Love volunteers share a seminal purpose: exist to assist. To learn more about Lasagna Love and how to can get involved, visit www.lasagnalove.org or its social channels, @WeAreLasagnaLove ( Instagram and Facebook ). About The RAGU Brand The RAGU brand was founded in 1937 by Assunta and Giovani Cantisano and their sauce was originally sold from their home in Rochester, New York. Assunta carried her family's recipe from Italy when she immigrated to New York in 1914, and it has now been enjoyed by American families for over 85 years. With a wide selection of sauce varieties ranging from the beloved Old-World Style to the Chunky Line, Cheese Creations and Simply, RAGU sauce can empower anyone to "Cook Like a Mother" regardless of gender or culinary skill. Today, RAGU sauce is the go-to pasta sauce for families coming together to share a quick and delicious meal and an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to "Cook Like a Mother" in the kitchen. For the very latest news, recipes and more from the RAGU brand, please check out the brand at www.RAGU.com. You can also follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok. About Mizkan America, Inc. Based in Mount Prospect, IL, Mizkan America, Inc., is a subsidiary of the Mizkan Group, a global, family-owned company that has been Bringing Flavor To Life for more than 215 years. As one of the leading makers of condiments and sauces in the United States, Mizkan America maintains 13 manufacturing facilities that serve the retail, foodservice, specialty Asian and food-ingredient trade channels. Since 2005, Mizkan America has seen dramatic growth and their portfolio now includes a wide variety of vinegars, Italian and Asian sauces, cooking wines, wine reductions, sushi seasoning and salad dressings. Mizkan America brands include: RAGU, Bertolli, Holland House, Nakano, Mizkan, Four Monks, Barengo and Born Simple. Mizkan America is also the exclusive distributor/sales agent for Angostura Bitters in North America. For more information, go to www.Mizkan.com . About The Mizkan Group The Mizkan Group is a privately held, international food manufacturer, headquartered in Handa City, Japan, with a heritage that spans more than 215 years. Always guided by the company's Two Principles (Offer customers only the finest products; and Continually challenge the status quo), the Mizkan Group offers a line-up of well-known international brands under the Mizkan umbrella and is a leader in the liquid-condiment category. The Mizkan Group has operating facilities around the globe in places including Japan, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. More information about the Mizkan Group can be found at: www.mizkanholdings.com/en/. CONTACT: Grace Hong [email protected] (213) 631-5486 SOURCE RAGU PHILADELPHIA, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OnCall Staffing ("OnCall"), a leading provider of staffing and moonlighting solutions to healthcare systems and practices, announced a partnership with RC Capital, a healthcarefocused growth equity firm. The growth financing will accelerate OnCall's mission to provide flexible, costeffective alternative solutions to locum tenens to relieve healthcare systems from the immense workforce shortages. Started by Dr. Scott Shapiro in his residency, Oncall provides a comprehensive portfolio of local clinicians that eliminates unnecessary travel expenses, offering a more costeffective alternative to locum tenens. Additionally, outsourcing the staffing for hard-to-staff overnight and weekend shifts can alleviate the painful cycles of trying to recruit, hire and retain professionals for those needs, while simultaneously reducing provider burnout, one of the most prominent challenges in the medical profession today. Importantly, OnCall also provides a site-specific, physician chief medical officer to assist with credentialing and day-to-day administrative needs which eases the burden on its clinicians and healthcare system partners. Our goal is to alleviate the administrative burden on practices by providing affordable, ondemand qualified staffing. Tweet this "By partnering with RC Capital, a tenured healthcare investor with decades of experience building healthcare companies, we are thrilled to be able to serve more health systems who are eager for affordable clinical workforce solutions, while also providing more clinicians with flexible and supplemental income opportunities," says Dr. Shapiro. Founded in Philadelphia, OnCall serves leading health systems such as Jefferson Health and University of Pennsylvania Health System and plans to rapidly expand into new markets. As part of the transaction, Mark Hamm, a 20+ year healthcare staffing veteran will become Executive Chairman of the OnCall Board of Directors and Dale Jenkins, former CEO of Curi and an experienced Board member for leading academic medical centers and healthcare systems, will also join the Board. "The use of temporary labor is up 130% from prepandemic levels and overtime pay is up over 50% resulting in US health systems cumulatively paying $24B more per year for clinical labor," says Hamm. "OnCall is uniquely positioned to address the healthcare workforce crisis by partnering with hospitals and practices across the nation in a longterm capacity to alleviate administrative burden and staffing gaps by providing local, affordable, on demand talent solutions." "We look forward to partnering with Dr. Scott Shapiro and the company to scale OnCall's staffing solutions in new markets, providing health systems alternatives to expensive and transitory locum tenens, while also addressing clinician burnout," says Patrick Dunnigan, Partner at RC Capital who also joins the OnCall Board of Directors along with Dan Fleming, Managing Director at RCC. Bass, Berry & Sims LLP provided legal counsel to RCC and HMB provided legal counsel to OnCall. About OnCall Physician Staffing OnCall Staffing partners with hospitals and practices across the nation, providing leading staffing and moonlighting solutions. Our goal is to alleviate the administrative burden on practices by providing affordable, ondemand and qualified staffing. OnCall helps physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners find flexible medical moonlighting positions that support their lifestyles. For more information, please visit www.oncallsolutions.com. About RC Capital RC Capital (RCC) is a growth equity firm focused on building highpotential healthcare companies by leveraging the unique interplay of our segments of focus: medical device, healthcare services and healthcare IT. We are dedicated to investing on the right side of healthcare, building companies that enable clinicians to improve the delivery of care and the experiences and outcomes for patients. We seek to be a business partner first and a capital provider second, leveraging a network of deep healthcare relationships assembled over our 28year history. For more information, please visit rccf.com. Contact: RC Capital Britney Hamberg [email protected] SOURCE OnCall Staffing Sales of Cool Roof Coatings to Remain Mostly Concentrated in Residential Industry Fact.MR's latest report on the cool roof coating market offers 10-year forecast for 2022 and 2032. The report explicates on vital dynamics, such as drivers, restraints and emerging opportunities shaping the market dynamics. It uncovers hidden opportunities across various segments in terms of roof type, material type, technology and application. NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest Fact.MR analysis, the global cool roof coating market size is estimated to be worth around US$ 4.5 Bn in 2022. With blooming residential and commercial industries, the overall market is anticipated grow at a healthy CAGR of 6.8% between 2022 and 2032, reaching a valuation of US$ 8.3 Bn by 2032. Growing demand for cool roof coatings across commercial and residential sectors, increasing consumer awareness regarding the benefits of cool roof coating, advancement in cool roof coating technology and favorable government support are some of the factors driving the global cool roof coating market. In a modern world where energy prices are skyrocketing, cool roof coatings have become ideal solutions for both reducing energy consumption as well as costs. They have gained huge traction in the growing green construction sector. For more insights into the Market, Get A Sample of this Report! https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2364 Cool roof coatings are special reflective pigments or substances that reflect majority of sunlight, thereby lowering the temperature of the buildings. They are designed to protect the roof surfaces from ultra violet light, chemical damage and other corrosive agents. Increasing usage of cool roof coatings for improving comfort and safety as well as reducing energy bills is projected to boost the growth of cool roof coating market. Employment of these coatings significantly reduce the dependency on air conditioning and other cooling systems. Rising consumer inclination towards energy saving coupled with favorable government support will continue to push the sales of cool roof coatings. Governments across the world are launching various initiatives and programs to promote cool roof building. For instance, in 2019, the government of Telangana, India initiated a pilot Cool Roof program to save energy, increase thermal comfort and reduce cooling demand in the long run, across the state. Moreover, large amounts are being invested in research activities for developing innovative products which can provide superior and durable features. For instance, in December 2021, scientists of Berkeley Lab developed a smart roof coating that keeps homes cool in summer and warm during the winter. As per Fact.MR, residential segment will emerge as the most lucrative application for cool roof coatings, growing at a CAGR of 8% between 2022 and 2032. Increasing population, rapid urbanization and rising government initiatives to promote the construction of cool roofs in residential buildings are some of the factors augmenting the sales of cool roof coatings With a market value of US$ 1.4 Bn (2022), North America is anticipated to continue its dominance in the global cool roof coating market during the forecast period. Growth in the region is attributed to rising consumer preference, presence of leading market players, rapid urbanization and increasing governmental support for green building. "Rising concerns regarding global warming, high energy consumption and carbon emission levels is prompting governments across the world to promote green building establishments. As a result, various cool roof programs are being launched. This is in turn boosting the sales of cool roof coatings," says a Fact.MR analyst Key Takeaways from Cool Roof Coating Market Survey The U.S. cool roof coating market is anticipated to reach a valuation of around US$ 2.2 Bn by the end of 2032. by the end of 2032. With expanding construction activities and increasing acceptance of green building codes, the China market is forecast to expand at a robust CAGR of 8.2% between 2022 and 2032. market is forecast to expand at a robust CAGR of 8.2% between 2022 and 2032. Europe is likely to experience strong growth on account of rising consumer inclination towards reducing energy costs and presence of leading market players. is likely to experience strong growth on account of rising consumer inclination towards reducing energy costs and presence of leading market players. Low slope roof type will continue to dominate the cool roof coating market, growing at a CAGR of 7.8% between 2022 and 2032. Based on material type, sales of silicon based cool roof coating are anticipated to rise at an exponential rate over the forecast period. Key Drivers Rising adoption of cool roof coatings to counter urban heat island effect is spurring the growth of the market. Flourishing construction industry across the globe will continue to boost the sales of cool roof coatings during the forecast period. Growing popularity of green buildings is anticipated to support the growth of cool roof coating market. Implementation of stringent government regulations pertaining to rising carbon emission levels will fuel the sales of cool roof coatings during the forecast period. Key Restraints Volatility in raw material prices is restraining the growth of cool roof coating market. Get Customization on this Report for Specific Research Solutions https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=2364 Competitive Landscape Leading players operating in the cool roof coating market are focusing on introducing advanced products with ecofriendly features. Besides this, they have adopted various organic and inorganic growth strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and collaborations to expand their global footprint. In May 2020 , Nouryon announced the launch of new elastomeric cool roof coatings solution for the building and construction market. The new solution significantly reduces the energy consumption. , Nouryon announced the launch of new elastomeric cool roof coatings solution for the building and construction market. The new solution significantly reduces the energy consumption. In July 2021 , Sika acquired American Hydrotech Inc. And its affiliate Hydrotech Membrane Corporation in Canada to expand its roofing and waterproofing portfolio , Sika acquired American Hydrotech Inc. And its affiliate Hydrotech Membrane Corporation in to expand its roofing and waterproofing portfolio Similarly in 2021, Sika launched Sikalastic-701, the latest generation of polyurethane-based hybrid top-coat, with improved UV resistance for roofing applications. Some of the prominent players operating in the cool roof coating market profiled by Fact.MR are: Sherwin Williams Valspar Corporation Nippon Paints Monarch Industries GAF Materials DowDupont Nutech Paints Excel Coatings PPG Industries Inc. Akzo Nobel Sika AG BASF SE Asian Paints Ltd. National, Coating Corporation Kansai Paints Co. Ltd. More Insights on the Global Cool Roof Coating Sales Outlook Fact MR provides an unbiased analysis of cool roof coating market, presenting historical demand data (2017-2021) and forecast statistics for the period from 2022-2032. The study divulges compelling insights on the global demand for cool roof coating with a detailed segmentation on the basis of: Roof Type Low-slope type Steep-slope type Material Type Elastomeric Plastic Silicon Tiles Metals Technology Water-based Solvent-based Application Residential Commercial Hospitality Healthcare Interested to Procure The Data? Inquire here https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=EB&rep_id=2364 Key Questions Covered in the Cool Roof Coating Market Outlook Report The report offers insight into cool roof coating demand outlook for 2022-2032 The market study also highlights projected sales growth for cool roof coating market between 2022 and 2032 Cool roof coating market survey identifies key growth drivers, restraints, and other forces impacting prevailing trends and evaluation of current market size and forecast and technological advancements within the industry Cool roof coating market share analysis of the key companies within the industry and coverage of strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborations or partnerships, and others Check Fact.MR's Similar Reports on Chemical & Materials Industry Coating Additives Market Report: Growth of the construction industry is expected to drive the demand for paints & coatings which in turn coating additives market is projected to witness growth over coming years, registering a CAGR of 5% to reach above US$ 11 Bn by 2031. Packaging Coating Market Research: Historically, from 2016 to 2020, use of packaging coatings increased at around 5.7% CAGR, wherein, developed countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the U.K. held significant share in the global market. Market expected to add US$ 231 Mn to total market value by 2031. Carbon Fiber Coatings Market Analysis: The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. Steel Pipe Coatings Market Growth: Growing concerns of end users towards cost reduction in pipeline integrity management increase the requirement of steel pipe coatings. The market for steel pipe coatings is prognosticated to expand at a CAGR of 4.7% over the forecast period of 2021-2031. Automotive Coatings Market Study: Asia-Pacific has the largest automotive coatings market. Automotive output in China is expected to raise Asia-Pacific demand for automotive coatings. In China, rising pre-owned vehicle sales, expanding taxi services, and expanding vehicle repair and body shops are all expected to enhance demand for automotive coatings. Textile Coatings Market Share: According to the report, a valuation of US$ 3.4 Bn by 2021, ultimately reaching US$ 5 Bn by 2031. Demand for thermoplastic polyurethane coatings will account for 4/5th of total sales. U.S. High Temperature Coatings Market: The South-West U.S. high temperature coatings market dominates the United States high temperature coatings market with 27.2% share and is projected to register 3.9% CAGR through 2032. Stain Resistant Coatings Market Size: A latest market study on stain resistant coatings by Fact.MR offers detailed insights of demand-supply trajectories, with special focus on key regions such as Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America for the forecast period of 2021 to 2031. Graphite Coatings Market Demand: Recently published graphite coatings business analysis by Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, showcases the image of strong market growth for graphite coatings on the back of rapid developments in the coatings and automotive industry. About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a market research and consulting agency with deep expertise in emerging market intelligence. Spanning a wide range from automotive & industry 4.0 to healthcare, technology, chemical and materials, to even the most niche categories. 80% of Fortune 1000's trusts us in critical decision making. We provide both qualitative and quantitative research, spanning market forecast, market segmentation, competitor analysis, and consumer sentiment analysis. Contact: Mahendra Singh US Sales Office 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Tel: +1 (628) 251-1583 E: [email protected] Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/713666/FactMR_Logo.jpg SOURCE Fact.MR Former American Bankers Association Executive to Focus on Membership, Growth, Regulations WASHINGTON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The USDF Consortium, founded to build a network of banks to further the adoption and interoperability of a bank-minted tokenized deposit (USDF), announced that Rob Morgan has joined as chief executive officer. The Consortium launched in January and is currently developing its first phase, where it will operate as a payment rail or an interbank messaging mechanism. Over time, USDF will expand into a platform that will allow banks to bring an expansive set of traditional financial services onto modern blockchain infrastructure. Morgan, who had been the senior vice president of innovation and strategy at the American Bankers Association, the 147-year-old organization that represents the $24 trillion banking industry, said USDF will be well-positioned in the future as its member banks are experienced with navigating regulations at a time when lawmakers and regulators are focused on stablecoins. "Banks have a strong history of bringing responsible innovations to market," said Morgan. "I believe USDF is the single most important opportunity for banks to build on this success, providing their customers with the latest digital asset innovations from a well-regulated partner that they already trust. This is the perfect time to be part of USDF, which is on the cutting edge of where banking is headed." Recent volatility among digital assets has brought new focus to the industry, highlighting how USDF is prepared to provide a highly regulated alternative to existing stablecoins. Morgan said he looks forward to working with regulators as USDF grows. "For those who want to unlock the potential of stablecoins but think there are risks, USDF is ideally-situated to navigate customer, bank, and regulator needs," he added. Morgan was with the American Bankers Association for more than 11 years, where he built and led the Office of Innovation, designed to help banks define their innovation strategy, identify promising startups, as well as work with policymakers to help regulation adapt to new technology and business models. As a bank-minted alternative to existing stablecoins, USDF digital markers represent deposits of an individual depositor at U.S.-insured depository institutions and are redeemable on a 1:1 basis from a Consortium member bank. USDF addresses the consumer protection and regulatory concerns of non-bank-issued stablecoins and offers a more secure option for transacting on blockchain. Since its launch, USDF has been in lockstep with the recommendations of the President's Working Group Report on Stablecoins as well as President Biden's executive order focused on digital assets. "The USDF Consortium's members are at the leading edge of creating a highly-regulated, bank-centric alternative to existing stablecoins, and we are thrilled to have Rob Morgan lead the next phase of the Consortium's growth," said Ashley Harris, the chair of the board of directors for the USDF Consortium. "Rob brings extensive regulatory, government and banking expertise to the Consortium." ABOUT USDF CONSORTIUM The USDF Consortium is a membership-based association and is not an FDIC-insured bank. We are working to coordinate the efforts of banks in minting USDF in a regulatory compliant manner; build out the bank network; and ensure interoperability of USDF to realize the full potential of blockchain technology to better serve consumers. The USDF Consortium is making the market safer, cheaper, and more reliable for consumers who want to transact on blockchain by ensuring banks continue to play an important role in the financial ecosystem as blockchain adoption proliferates. We are committed to building the foundation and advancing responsible innovation that will allow banks to harness this technology. To learn more, and for a full list of the founding member companies, please visit the Consortium's website at www.usdfconsortium.com . Media Contact: Bill McQuillen [email protected] 202.320.2590 SOURCE USDF Consortium NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) between October 28, 2021 and April 27, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 5, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased Teladoc Health securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Teladoc Health class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6818 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 5, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) increased competition, among other factors, was negatively impacting Teladoc Health's BetterHelp and chronic care businesses; (2) accordingly, the growth of those businesses was less sustainable than defendants had led investors to believe; (3) as a result, Teladoc Health's revenue and adjusted EBITDA projections for its fiscal year 2022 were unrealistic; (4) as a result of all the foregoing, Teladoc Health would be forced to recognize a significant non-cash goodwill impairment charge; and (5) as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Teladoc Health class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6818 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Honoring the family ties that bind, Russell's Reserve 13-Year-Old is a fitting offering to celebrate Master Distiller Eddie Russell who celebrated his 41st anniversary at the distillery this summer. Paying tribute to the distillery's heritage and the legacy pioneered by celebrated Master Distiller Jimmy Russell, the exemplary 13-Year-Old Bourbon showcases his son Eddie's innovative talents and expert ability to develop complex flavors through careful aging and a keen sense for identifying only the highest quality barrels. Eddie Russell first introduced the 114.8-proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon in June 2021, serving as a shining example of the Russell family's mastery of bourbon-making. By maintaining the barrel proof and opting not to chill filter the 13-year-old whiskey, Eddie retains all the natural character of the bourbon, resulting in a more robust mouthfeel, just as he intended it. "Given the tremendous response to our last release, we are excited to release another small quantity of our Russell's Reserve 13-Year-Old Bourbon," said Eddie Russell, Master Distiller at the Wild Turkey distillery. "This bourbon is one that's near and dear to my heart, and I'm proud to be able to share a glass with my dad and son, Bruce, as we celebrate our family's legacy and this special distillery that we all call home." Savoring Russell's Reserve 13-Year-Old is a one-of-a-kind tasting experience. Described by Minnick as showing both "power and elegance in a single glass," the barrel-proof bourbon coats the palate with sweet and warming flavors rising from the harmonious marriage of dried dark fruit and charred confectionary notes. Those sweet and woody notes give way to rich flavors of honey, chocolate and nougat throughout, followed by a strong and lasting finish. As Minnick said, it's the whiskey he'd "love to sip every day for the rest of my life." The re-introduction of Russell's Reserve 13-Year-Old is the latest in the Russell's Reserve lineup, which boasts an award-winning portfolio of bourbon and rye whiskeys to suit the palate of any drinker, regardless of where they are on their journey of bourbon enjoyment. Best enjoyed neat or on the rocks, Russell's Reserve 13-Year-Old will be available nationally at $100 SRP per 750 ML bottle for a limited time at select retailers in the U.S. Whether you're enjoying Russell's Reserve 13-Year-Old with your family or with friends, please remember to do so responsibly. To sign up for brand and product availability alerts for future releases, please visit russellsreserve.com. About Campari America Campari America LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Davide Campari-Milano N.V. (Reuters CPRI.MI - Bloomberg CPR IM). At the heart of Campari America are two legends in the American spirits industry. The first, Skyy Spirits, was founded in San Francisco back in 1992 by the entrepreneur who invented iconic SKYY Vodka. The second is the world-famous Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, where they have been making the world's finest whiskeys since the 1800's. Both companies were purchased by Davide Campari-Milano and together they form Campari America, which has built a portfolio unrivaled in its quality, innovation and style, making it a top choice among distributors, retailers and consumers. Campari America manages Campari Group's portfolio in the US with such leading brands as SKYY Vodka, SKYY Infusions, Grand Marnier, Campari, Aperol, Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon, American Honey, Russell's Reserve, The Glen Grant Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Forty Creek Canadian Whisky, BULLDOG Gin, Cabo Wabo Tequila, Espolon Tequila, Montelobos Mezcal, Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur, Appleton Estate Rum, Wray & Nephew Rum, Coruba Rum, Ouzo 12, X-Rated Fusion Liqueur, Frangelico, Cynar, Averna, Braulio, Cinzano, Mondoro and Jean-Marc XO Vodka. Campari America is headquartered in New York, New York. More information on the company can be found at www.campariamerica.com, www.facebook.com/campariamerica, Twitter: @CampariAmerica, Instagram: @CampariAmerica, and www.camparigroup.com. Please enjoy Campari America brands responsibly and in moderation. About Fred Minnick World-renowned spirits critic and best-selling author Fred Minnick has been deemed a leader in the bourbon and spirits industry featured in The TODAY Show, Men's Health, Forbes and many others. Minnick continuously revives the age-old traditions and cultures of bourbon and spirits through his media empire which includes the Bourbon Pursuit Podcast, DASH Radio's "Minnick Minute" show and his Hermes Creative Awards Platinum-winning Podcast The Fred Minnick Show (PodcastOne). A Louisville, KY-based father of two, Minnick is also an avid music fan, curating his annual Bourbon and Beyond festival which has welcomed acts like Lynn Kravitz, John Mayer and Stevie Nicks to its stages. He has authored several books, including Wall Street Journal best-seller Bourbon Curious. For the full list of Minnick's Top 100 American Whiskeys of 2021, visit fredminnick.com/2021/12/30/best-american-whiskeys-of-2021. SOURCE Russells Reserve PITTSBURGH, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Downs, one of the 60 largest certified public accounting and business advisory firms in the United States, is proud to announce the addition of five new shareholders, as well as one new partner, to its affiliate, Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors, LP. "We are thrilled to add these new members to our leadership team. At Schneider Downs, we are committed to the professional development of our people, so it is especially rewarding when we can draw from existing talent to expand our ownership group," says Christopher S. McElroy, Co-CEO of Schneider Downs. "We have watched these talented individuals grow throughout their years with us, and we are confident that each of them will advance the future of our firm and community in their new roles. What is particularly exciting is that these leaders join 7 new shareholders and partners from last yearas well as the recent additions of 3 lateral shareholder hiresto bring our new leader total to 15 in just the past two years. Growth creates opportunities." The new promotions reach across several areas of the firm's service offerings, including the firm's tax, audit and consulting practices, as well as the growing wealth management practice. Included among those promoted to Shareholder at Schneider Downs are: David J. Mitros joined the firm in 2019. He has 14 years of experience working with national and regional firms, providing tax services to a variety of manufacturing, construction and real estate clients. David has a focus on privately held organizations, working with management, owners and other stakeholders to identify and achieve tax related objectives. With Schneider Downs, he has frequently been a valuable resource, assisting the firm's clients in significant M&A activity by leading transaction structuring negotiations. He is a graduate of Miami University and a member of both the American Institutes of Certified Public Accountants and the Ohio Society of Public Accountants. Patricia R. Giudici joined the firm in 2016, following 12 years working for a regional and national firm. She has experience serving a diverse group of privately owned companies within the technology, distribution and logistics, manufacturing, real-estate and employee benefit plan industries, including significant experience working with start-up, private equity and venture capital backed companies. She is a graduate of Clarion University and is a member of the American and Pennsylvania Institutes of Certified Public Accountants. Patricia leads the firm's Employee Benefit Plan Group. She is also a board member of Bethlehem Haven, an advisory council member for Standing Firm, a member of the planning committee for the St. Jude Gala, and a member of the Women's Executive Board for the Pittsburgh Chapter of ACG. Carley R. Taslov began her career at Schneider Downs in 2009 after graduation from Washington & Jefferson College. She specializes in helping clients identify, assess and manage risks through internal audit and risk management services. She delivers additional value to organizations in a variety of ways, including business process optimization and digital transformation. Carley's expertise spans multiple industries and her contributions to the firm have come from within the Risk Advisory Services and External Audit departments. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accounts (PICPA) and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), as well as a board member for Lending Hearts, a Pittsburgh-based not-for-profit. Eric M. Fair joined Schneider Downs in 2011 and has 11 years of experience leading teams and clients collaboratively through IT governance, risk & compliance initiatives, including but not limited to IT internal audit co-sourcing and outsourcing, SSAE 18, business continuity, disaster recovery, data privacy and cybersecurity consulting. Eric holds an M.S. in Internet Information Systems from Robert Morris University, a B.S. in Information Systems Management from Robert Morris University and an M.S. in Accounting from Liberty University. He currently serves on a local advisory board and as a co-chair to a local chapter dedicated to the industry. He has previously served on a local non-profit board and continues to participate in the mentorship program for his alma mater. Eric is one of only 95 active Certified Business Continuity Lead Auditors (CBCLA) globally and is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Derek J. Eichelberger has been with Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors, LP (SDWMA) since 2015 and serves as the practice's Managing Partner. He advises high net-worth individuals, foundations, endowments and retirement plans. He is a graduate of Penn State University and received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors, LP (SDWMA) also announced the promotion of a team member to the role of partner: Michael J. Bucci has been with Schneider Downs for 12 years and currently leads the Investment Advisory practice for the SD Retirement Solutions division of Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors. He is a graduate of East Carolina University and a Certified Investment Management Analyst About Schneider Downs: Schneider Downs is a top 60 independent Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm providing accounting, tax, audit and business consulting services to public and private companies, not-for-profit organizations and global companies. The firm offers Risk Advisory; Technology Consulting; Software Solutions; Personal Financial Services; Retirement Plan Solutions and Corporate Finance Services. Schneider Downs serves individuals and companies in Pennsylvania (PA), Ohio (OH), West Virginia (WV), New York (NY), Maryland (MD), and additional states in the United States with offices in Pittsburgh, PA, Columbus, OH and Washington D.C. About Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors, LP Schneider Downs Wealth Management, LP ("SD Wealth Management" or "SDWMA") is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor specializing in the Investment Management and Financial Planning Services for Individual Investors; Investment Management and Investment Committee Services for Institutions and Non-Profits; and Corporate Solutions and ERISA Fiduciary Services. Registration with the SEC does not imply any level of skill or training. Contact: Alicia Furlan [email protected] SOURCE Schneider Downs Inspired by a passion for making perfectly balanced, delicious whisky, the new distillery site will welcome guests into a tantalising world of taste and flavour. The newly designed distillery bar will serve exceptional food and drink whilst the beautiful deli will be stocked with some of the finest fare Scotland has to offer. With a grand copper-encased entrance and an industrial palette of brick, concrete, wood and copper, every aspect of the new visitor experience has been designed to make guests feel at home. The new distillery tour focuses on the art of whisky-making and the craft of distilling. Taking a deep dive into Singleton's signature 'Slow Craft' process, visitors will learn why and how the brand's methods result in such delicious whisky. Celebrity chef and whisky lover, Tony Singh, created a special menu that pairs perfectly with The Singleton of Glen Ord Celebratory Bottling, a special edition whisky created to commemorate the opening. Born and raised in Leith, Edinburgh, Tony is an iconic Scottish restauranteur best known for using high-quality Scottish produce in an arty yet accessible style. Tony has combined fantastic Scottish produce with his Indian roots, looking at whisky heritage and traditions that date back hundreds of years, to update classic Indian recipes that have been passed down through generations. The result of which are dishes that not only pair perfectly with the new limited-edition liquid but are also steeped in history. Please visit The Singleton Facebook page for Tony's recipes and details on how to create the menu at home. Marking the official opening, Tony Singh said: "Scotland is rich with exceptional quality food and drink, and it is wonderful to see that being celebrated at the new distillery experience. Scotch whisky is the country's leading export to the world and a magnet for international tourism. It is great for Scotland to see Scotch whisky brands like The Singleton making the connection between their delicious single malt and Scotland's rich larder of local produce." Located at the beginning, or end, of the NorthCoast500 - Scotland's answer to Route 66 - The Singleton is perfectly situated to round off any visit to the Scottish Highlands. Barbara Smith, Managing Director of Diageo's Scotland Brand Homes, said: "The Singleton is one of the most exciting single malt brands in the world and we are delighted to be opening the doors to the brand's new home at Glen Ord Distillery. Our 185million pound investment in Scotch whisky tourism is designed to put Scotland at the forefront of the global trend in food and drink tourism by giving consumers a truly world-class experience at our distilleries. This is just the start of an incredible summer of Scotch whisky investment, with Talisker and Caol Ila also launching new visitor experiences, and we want to use that to build momentum in the recovery of Scottish tourism." The Singleton is the latest distillery and visitor experience to open as part of Diageo's investment in whisky tourism in Scotland. Glenkinchie, Clynelish and Cardhu distilleries have recently re-opened as part of the ambitious project which re-imagines the traditional whisky tour experience. The centrepiece of the investment programme, the Johnnie Walker Princes Street global visitor attraction, opened in Edinburgh in September last year. Building a modern visitor experience that is inclusive was also integral to the planning and Diageo worked closely with Euan's Guide, a disabled access charity to make The Singleton more accessible, including one of the only Changing Places toilet in the region. The Singleton holds a Green Tourism Gold Award the highest sustainability accolated for a visitor attraction. To book your tour, please visit THIS LINK. About Diageo Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan's and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness. Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854426/Image_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854425/Image_2.jpg SOURCE Diageo Market Dynamics The emergence of advanced and compact consumer electronic devices is the key factor driving the growth of the market. The high adoption of smartphones across the world has increased the demand for compact electronic devices. Also, the rising consumer demand for smart devices has increased the consumption of ICs in the electronic industry. This has subsequently increased the demand for silicon wafers. Thus, with electronic device manufacturers introducing new-age electronic gadgets with smart features, including touch displays, keypads, in-built memory-based appliances, and others, the market growth is expected to accelerate during the forecast period. In addition, the rise in the number of fabs will have a positive impact on the growth of the market. But the high inventory levels in the supply chain will reduce the growth potential in the market. Competitive Analysis The semiconductor silicon wafer market report provides complete insights on key vendors including Addison Engineering Inc., GlobalWafers Co. Ltd., Lanco Infratech Ltd., Okmetic Oy, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., Siltronic AG, SK Siltron Co. Ltd., SUMCO Corp., Virginia Semiconductor Inc., and Wafer World Inc. The report includes the competitive analysis which analyzes and evaluates the position of companies based on their industry position score and market performance score. Some of the factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. The global silicon wafers market is concentrated and highly competitive. Rapid advances in technology, intense competition, and the changing dynamics of the market are intensifying the competition among vendors. With the increasing competition, the market is expected to see consolidation in the forecast period. Market Segmentation by Application By application, the market is classified into consumer electronics, telecommunication, automotive, and others. The consumer electronics segment will have the largest share of the market. The segment is driven by the high adoption of smartphones and smart wearables. Also, the introduction of new-age electronic gadgets with smart features, including touch displays, keypads, in-built memory-based appliances, and automated machines are contributing to the growth of the segment. Market Segmentation by Geography By Geography, the market is classified as APAC, North America , Europe , South America , and MEA. , , , and MEA. APAC will have the largest share of the market. The growth of the regional market is driven by the presence of semiconductor manufacturing units. In addition, the growth of the telecommunications and consumer electronics industries in China and Japan are contributing to the growth of the semiconductor silicon wafer market in APAC. View Our Sample Report Now for more insights into the vendor landscape and market growth across various segments and regions. Related Reports: Semiconductor Silicon Wafer Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.73% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 4.14 billion Market structure Concentrated YoY growth (%) 6.23 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 78% Key consumer countries Taiwan, South Korea (Republic of Korea), China, Japan, and US Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Addison Engineering Inc., GlobalWafers Co. Ltd., Lanco Infratech Ltd., Okmetic Oy, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., Siltronic AG, SK Siltron Co. Ltd., SUMCO Corp., Virginia Semiconductor Inc., and Wafer World Inc. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market Exhibit 02: Market characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis Exhibit 03: Value chain analysis: Semiconductors 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million) Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces analysis Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020 5 Market Segmentation by Application 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 15: Application - Market share 2020-2025 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Application Exhibit 16: Comparison by Application 5.3 Consumer electronics - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 17: Consumer electronics - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 18: Consumer electronics - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.4 Telecommunication - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 19: Telecommunication - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 20: Telecommunication - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.5 Automotive - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 21: Automotive - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 22: Automotive - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 23: Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 24: Others - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.7 Market opportunity by Application Exhibit 25: Market opportunity by Application 6 Customer landscape 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 27: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 28: Geographic comparison 7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 29: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 30: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 31: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 32: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 33: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 35: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 36: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 37: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 38: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.8 Key leading countries Exhibit 39: Key leading countries 7.9 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 40: Market opportunity by geography 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges Exhibit 41: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview 9.2 Vendor landscape 9.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 43: Landscape disruption Exhibit 44: Industry risks 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 45: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 46: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 Addison Engineering Inc. Exhibit 47: Addison Engineering Inc. - Overview Exhibit 48: Addison Engineering Inc. - Product and service Exhibit 49: Addison Engineering Inc. - Key offerings 10.4 GlobalWafers Co. Ltd. Exhibit 50: GlobalWafers Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 51: GlobalWafers Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 52: GlobalWafers Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 53: GlobalWafers Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 10.5 Lanco Infratech Ltd. Exhibit 54: Lanco Infratech Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 55: Lanco Infratech Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 56: Lanco Infratech Ltd. - Key offerings 10.6 Okmetic Oy Exhibit 57: Okmetic Oy - Overview Exhibit 58: Okmetic Oy - Business segments Exhibit 59: Okmetic Oy - Key offerings Exhibit 60: Okmetic Oy - Segment focus 10.7 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. Exhibit 61: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 62: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 63: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 64: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 10.8 Siltronic AG Exhibit 65: Siltronic AG - Overview Exhibit 66: Siltronic AG - Business segments Exhibit 67: Siltronic AG - Key offerings Exhibit 68: Siltronic AG - Segment focus 10.9 SK Siltron Co. Ltd. Exhibit 69: SK Siltron Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 70: SK Siltron Co. Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 71: SK Siltron Co. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.10 SUMCO Corp. Exhibit 72: SUMCO Corp. - Overview Exhibit 73: SUMCO Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 74: SUMCO Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 75: SUMCO Corp. - Segment focus 10.11 Virginia Semiconductor Inc. Exhibit 76: Virginia Semiconductor Inc. - Overview Exhibit 77: Virginia Semiconductor Inc. - Product and service Exhibit 78: Virginia Semiconductor Inc. - Key offerings 10.12 Wafer World Inc. Exhibit 79: Wafer World Inc. - Overview Exhibit 80: Wafer World Inc. - Product and service Exhibit 81: Wafer World Inc. - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 82: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.3 Research methodology Exhibit 83: Research Methodology Exhibit 84: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 85: Information sources 11.4 List of abbreviations Exhibit 86: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio "Some armed men suspected to be kidnappers invaded the premises of CGC construction company along Shao/Oloru Expressway, shot and killed Inspector Adebayo Adeforiti attached to PMF 15..." The police in Kwara State have confirmed the killing of a police inspector, Adebayo Adeforiti, and the abduction of a Chinese national by some gunmen at CGC construction company along Shao/Oloru Expressway. The kidnap occurred on July 2 at about 16:15hrs. This is contained in a statement issued by the Kwara police spokesman, Okasanmi Ajayi, on Tuesday in Ilorin. "Some armed men suspected to be kidnappers invaded the premises of CGC construction company along Shao/Oloru Expressway, shot and killed Inspector Adebayo Adeforiti attached to PMF 15, Ilorin, who was on guard duty at the company, and abducted a Chinese national working in the site and escaped into the bushes. "The Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Police Command, CP Tuesday Assayomo, on receipt of the information, ordered an intense and discreet search, rescue and arrest operation into the matter with the deployment of the Command's Tactical teams, vigilante and local hunters into the area for possible rescue and arrest of the perpetrators. "The good people of Kwara State are advised to be vigilant, make available to the police any information that could aid the success of this special rescue operation. "The CP commensurates with the families of the deceased police Inspector and that of the abducted Chinese, promising that no stone would be left unturned towards ensuring that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are apprehended and made to face the full wrath of the law," the statement read in part. NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner of the class action firm Monteverde & Associates PC (the "M&A Class Action Firm"), a national securities firm rated Top 50 in the 2018-2021 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report and headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating: ManTech International Corp. (MANT), relating to its proposed acquisition by funds managed by The Carlyle Group Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, MANT shareholders will receive $96.00 in cash per share they own. Click here for more information: https://www.monteverdelaw.com/case/mantech-international-corp. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. (MANT), relating to its proposed acquisition by funds managed by The Carlyle Group Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, MANT shareholders will receive in cash per share they own. Turning Point Therapeutics, Inc. (TPTX), relating to its proposed acquisition by Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. Under the terms of the agreement, TPTX shareholders will receive $76.00 in cash per share they own. Click here for more information: https://www.monteverdelaw.com/case/turning-point-therapeutics-inc . It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. (TPTX), relating to its proposed acquisition by Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. Under the terms of the agreement, TPTX shareholders will receive in cash per share they own. BioHaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. (BHVN) , relating to its proposed merger with Pfizer Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, BHVN shareholders will receive 0.5 shares of New Biohaven and $148.50 in cash per share. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/biohaven-pharmaceutical-holding-company-ltd. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. (BHVN) relating to its proposed merger with Pfizer Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, BHVN shareholders will receive 0.5 shares of New Biohaven and in cash per share. Manning & Napier, Inc. (MN), relating to its proposed acquisition by Callodine Group, LLC. Under the terms of the agreement, MN shareholders will receive $12.85 in cash per share they own. Click here for more information: https://www.monteverdelaw.com/case/manning-napier-inc . It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. (MN), relating to its proposed acquisition by Callodine Group, LLC. Under the terms of the agreement, MN shareholders will receive in cash per share they own. Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. (HMTV), relating to its proposed acquisition by a subsidiary of Gato Investments LP. Under the terms of the agreement, HMTV shareholders will receive $7.00 in cash per share they own. Click here for more information: https://www.monteverdelaw.com/case/hemisphere-media-group-inc. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. (HMTV), relating to its proposed acquisition by a subsidiary of Gato Investments LP. Under the terms of the agreement, HMTV shareholders will receive in cash per share they own. Covetrus, Inc. (CVET), relating to its proposed acquisition by funds affiliated with TPG Capital and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. Under the terms of the agreement, CVET shareholders will receive $21.00 in cash per share they own. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/covetrus-inc. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. About Monteverde & Associates PC We are a national class action securities litigation law firm that has recovered millions of dollars and is committed to protecting shareholders from corporate wrongdoing. We were listed in the Top 50 in the 2018-2021 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. Our lawyers have significant experience litigating Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Class Actions. Mr. Monteverde is recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation in 2013, 2017-2019, an award given to less than 2.5% of attorneys in a particular field. He has also been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2017-2021 Top Rated Lawyer. Our firm's recent successes include changing the law in a significant victory that lowered the standard of liability under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act in the Ninth Circuit. Thereafter, our firm successfully preserved this victory by obtaining dismissal of a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted at the United States Supreme Court. Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, 139 S. Ct. 1407 (2019). Also, in 2019 we recovered or secured six cash common funds for shareholders in mergers & acquisitions class action cases. If you own common stock in any of the above listed companies and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 971-1341. Contact: Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4405 New York, NY 10118 United States of America [email protected] Tel: (212) 971-1341 Attorney Advertising. (C) 2022 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC ( www.monteverdelaw.com ). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. SOURCE Monteverde & Associates PC NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Oscar Health, Inc. ("Oscar" or the "Company") (NYSE: OSCR) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and docketed under 22-cv-04103, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Oscar Class A common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus (collectively, the "Registration Statement") issued in connection with the Company's March 2021 initial public offering ("IPO" or the "Offering"). Plaintiff pursues claims against under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"). If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Oscar Class A common stock, pursuant and/or traceable to the company's IPO, you have until July 11, 2022 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here for information about joining the class action] Oscar is a health insurance company that claims to be the first such company "built around a full stack technology platform" which will "allow [Oscar] to continue to innovate like a technology company and not a traditional insurer." On March 4, 2021, the Company filed its prospectus on Form 424B4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which forms part of the Registration Statement. In the IPO, the Company sold 36,391,946 shares of Class A common stock at a price of $39.00 per share. The Company received net proceeds of approximately $1.3 billion from the Offering. The proceeds from the IPO were purportedly to be used to repay in full outstanding borrowings, including fees and expenses, under Oscar's Term Loan Facility ($167 million), and the remainder proceeds were to be used for general corporate purposes. The complaint alleges that, the Registration Statement was materially false and misleading and omitted to state: (1) that Oscar was experiencing growing COVID-19 testing and treatment costs; (2) that Oscar was experiencing growing net COVID costs; (3) that Oscar would be negatively impacted by an unfavorable prior year Risk Adjustment Data Validation ("RADV") result relating to 2019 and 2020; (4) that Oscar was on track to be negatively impacted by significant Special Enrollment Period ("SEP") membership growth; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. On August 12, 2021, Oscar disclosed that the Company's Medical Loss Ratio ("MLR") for the second quarter of 2021 was 82.4%, an increase of 2170 basis points year-over year. The Company claimed that "[t]he MLR increased to 82.4% in 2Q21 from 60.7% in 2Q20, primarily driven by meaningfully lower utilization in 2Q20 as a result of COVID-19, as well as higher COVID-19 testing and treatment costs and a return to more normalized utilization in 2Q21." The Company also disclosed that its net loss for the quarter was $73.1 million, an increase of $32.1 million year-over-year. On November 10, 2021, Oscar disclosed that its third quarter 2021 MLR increased 920 basis points year-over-year, to 99.7%. The Company claimed that the MLR increase was "primarily driven by higher net COVID costs as compared to the net benefit in 3Q20, an unfavorable prior year Risk Adjustment Data Validation (RADV) result, and the impact of significant SEP membership growth." The Company also disclosed that its net loss for the quarter was $212.7 million, an increase of $133.6 million year-over-year. During a conference call held the same day, Scott Blackley, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, stated: "We recognized approximately $20 million of risk adjustment expense this quarter related to our risk adjustment data validation audit or RADV results. The RADV exercise is atypical this year due to COVID. It spans two years, 2019 and 2020. The majority of the RADV headwinds relate to the 2019 audit results, which were recently completed." On this news, Oscar's share price fell $4.05 per share, or 24.5%, to close at 12.47 per share on November 11, 2021. By the commencement of this action, Oscar stock has traded as low as $5.47 per share, a nearly 86% decline from the $39.00 per share IPO price. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Tupperware Brands Corporation ("Tupperware" or the "Company") (NYSE: TUP) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and docketed under 22-cv-04976, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Tupperware securities between November 3, 2021 and May 3, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials. If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Tupperware securities during the Class Period, you have until August 15, 2022 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here for information about joining the class action] Tupperware operates as a consumer products company worldwide. The Company manufactures, markets, and sells design-centric preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as a line of cookware, knives, microwave products, microfiber textiles, water-filtration related items, and an array of products for on-the-go consumers under the Tupperware brand name. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Tupperware was facing significant challenges in maintaining its earnings and sales performance; (ii) accordingly, Tupperware's full year 2022 guidance was unrealistic and/or unsustainable; (iii) all the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to have a material negative impact on Tupperware's financial condition; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On May 4, 2022, Tupperware announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2022. Among other items, Tupperware reported adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations and net sales that fell well short of consensus estimates and withdrew its full year 2022 guidance and named a new Chief Financial Officer. The Company attributed the poor performance to the conflict in Russia and Ukraine. However, when pressed by analysts on a conference call, the Company acknowledged that Russia and Ukraine only accounted for 2% of its revenue. On this news, Tupperware's stock price fell $5.76 per share, or 32.16%, to close at $12.15 per share on May 4, 2022. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo & Company ("Wells Fargo" or the "Company") (NYSE: WFC) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and docketed under 22-cv-03811, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Wells Fargo common stock between February 24, 2021 and June 9, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials. If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Wells Fargo common stock during the Class Period, you have until August 29, 2022 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here for information about joining the class action] Wells Fargo is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the U.S. and internationally. In 2020, Wells Fargo expanded its so-called "Diverse Search Requirement", also referred to as a diverse slate hiring policy, requiring that at least 50% of interview candidates must represent a historically underrepresented group with respect to at least one diversity dimension (including race/ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ, veterans, and people with disabilities) for most posted roles in the U.S. with total direct compensation greater than $100,000 per year. In addition, at least one interviewer on the hiring panel must represent a historically underrepresented group with respect to at least one diversity dimension. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Wells Fargo had misrepresented its commitment to diversity in the Company's workplace; (ii) Wells Fargo conducted fake job interviews in order to meet its Diverse Search Requirement; (iii) the foregoing conduct subjected Wells Fargo to an increased risk of regulatory and/or governmental scrutiny and enforcement action, including criminal charges; (iv) all of the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to negatively impact Wells Fargo's reputation; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On May 19, 2022, the New York Times published an article entitled "At Wells Fargo, a Quest to Increase Diversity Leads to Fake Job Interviews". Citing discussions with "seven current and former Wells Fargo employees", including Joe Bruno, a former executive in the Company's wealth management division, the article reported, in relevant part, that "[f]or many open positions, employees would interview a 'diverse' candidate", but that "often, the so-called diverse candidate would be interviewed for a job that had already been promised to someone else." The article further reported that Mr. Bruno was fired after "complain[ing] to his bosses" about the practice. On this news, Wells Fargo's common stock price fell $0.44 per share, or 1.04%, over two trading sessions, closing at $41.67 per share on May 20, 2022. On June 6, 2022, Reuters published an article entitled "Wells Fargo pauses diverse slate hiring policy after reports of fake job interviews." The article reported that "Wells Fargo . . . is pausing a hiring policy that requires recruiters to interview a diverse pool of candidates, after the New York Times reported such interviews were often fake and conducted even though the job had already been promised to someone else." The same article also reported that "[t]he bank also plans to conduct a review of its diverse slate guidelines, Chief Executive Officer Charles Scharf told staff on Monday, according to a memo seen by Reuters." Then, on June 9, 2022, the New York Times published an article entitled "Federal Prosecutors Open Criminal Inquiry of Wells Fargo's Hiring Practices." The article reported that federal prosecutors are investigating whether Wells Fargo violated federal laws by conducting fake job interviews in order to meet the Company's Diverse Search Requirement. The article also revealed that, since the New York Times' May 19, 2022 article focusing on the bank's wealth management business, "another 10 current and former employees have shared stories about how they were subject to fake interviews, or conducted them, or saw paperwork documenting the practice", and that "sham interviews occurred across multiple business lines, including its mortgage servicing, home lending and retail banking operations." That same day, Wells Fargo issued a press release entitled "Wells Fargo response to New York Times article", which confirmed that "[e]arlier this week, the [C]ompany temporarily paused the use of its diverse slate guidelines", and that, "[d]uring this pause, the [C]ompany is conducting a review so that hiring managers, senior leaders and recruiters fully understand how the guidelines should be implemented and so we can have confidence that our guidelines live up to their promise." Following these disclosures, Wells Fargo's common stock price fell $3.68 per share, or 8.62%, over the following two trading sessions, closing at $38.99 per share on June 13, 2022. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of The Charles Schwab Corporation ("Charles Schwab" or the "Company") (NYSE: SCHW). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Charles Schwab Therapeutics and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On July 2, 2021, Charles Schwab disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") that the Company "has been responding to an investigation by the [SEC] arising from a compliance examination" and that "[t]he investigation largely concerns historic disclosures related to the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios (SIP) digital advisory solution." Accordingly, Charles Schwab disclosed that "[g]iven the investigation's status, Schwab's second quarter 2021 financial results will include a liability and related non-deductible charge of $200 million." On this news, Charles Schwab's stock price fell $2.03 per share, or 2.79%, to close at $70.77 per share on July 6, 2021, the next trading day. Then, on June 13, 2022, the SEC announced that it "charged three Charles Schwab investment adviser subsidiaries" who "agreed to pay $187 million to harmed clients to settle the charges." The SEC charged Charles Schwab with misleading investors that used its robo-adviser product, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Instead of the touted "disciplined portfolio construction methodology" that sought "optimal return[s]", Charles Schwab's "own data showed that under most market conditions, the cash in the portfolios would cause clients to make less money even while taking on the same amount of risk." On this news, Charles Schwab's stock price fell $1.98 per share, or 3.18%, to close at $60.24 per share on June 13, 2022. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP STIIIZY Western is located in and among communities that are already loyal to the brand, bringing them safe access and competitive prices. The 2,081 square feet store features STIIIZY's signature layout, which allows customers to shop at their own pace while managing crowd flow. This location delivers on customer demand for exclusive STIIIZY cannabis product in addition to 55+ California-based cannabis brands as well as STIIIZY brand merchandise, including apparel and smoking accessories. "Everything about STIIIZY is inspired by SoCal culture and growing up in LA, and it means a lot to me personally and us as a company to bring this new store to the city and the people that shaped us," said Shryne Group President Tak Sato. "We believe we have a responsibility to improve every community we serve, and that's especially true for our hometown. This new location will make high quality and affordable cannabis more accessible while growing into an ongoing resource for the community." For Shryne Group, the vertically integrated company behind STIIIZY, STIIIZY Western represents its 22nd retail operation in California, the biggest cannabis market in the world, along with a presence in Washington, Nevada, Michigan, and Arizona. Market research firm BDSA crowned STIIIZY as the #1 brand in California and the #1 selling US brand overall in Q1 of this year based on the number of products we sold nationally. STIIIZY Western (state license number: C10-0001015-LIC) is located at 1570 Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90006. Hours of operation are Monday through Sunday, 9AM to 10PM. Customers can order from the store online at weedmaps.com , visit STIIIZY for the latest on brand and retail news. About Shryne Group Shryne Group Inc. is a vertically integrated cannabis company with the most successful retail stores in California and the most popular cannabis products nationally. The company has 22 open retail locations across California with plans for over 35 locations open by the end of 2022. Shryne has cultivation, manufacturing and distribution facilities in Humboldt County, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Lompoc and is composed of 2,500 employees across business lines. While rooted in California, the company also sells its products in Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan. Shryne's flagship brand STIIIZY has a passionate following and is inspired by authentic cannabis culture, with the goal of providing high quality cannabis products at affordable prices. The STIIIZY product line is the #1 selling cannabis brand overall nationally. CONTACT: Christian Averill [email protected] SOURCE Shryne Group Inc. LOS ANGELES, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyryse , a transportation company building the future of general aviation, has announced the appointment of its first Chief Financial Officer, Stephen Koo, and its new Chief Operating Officer, Justin Ryan. Both leaders will be based out of Skyryse's headquarters in El Segundo, CA. "Our skies are ready to welcome more people and more packages if we can make flying safer and more intuitive, and welcoming these two new leaders brings us another step closer to that," said Dr. Mark Groden, Skyryse's founder and CEO. "With his diverse financial experience across public and private companies, Stephen will help Skyryse pioneer new business models for the transportation industry. Justin knows firsthand the challenges of piloting and the challenges of this industry, and his extensive aviation work with civilian and military organizations will make our FlightOS system even stronger." Prior to joining Skyryse, Koo served as the CFO of NEOGOV, a market-leading provider of HR and policy management SaaS solutions for the public sector where he oversaw rapid growth, as well as the CFO of INNOVA Gaming Group, a gaming technology supplier that he helped take public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015. Earlier in his career, he worked for many years as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, advising technology, media and telecommunication clients on a variety of strategic and capital raising activities. "At this point in my career, what drives me is a powerful mission and team," said Koo. "The more I got to know Mark and everyone at Skyryse, the more I appreciated what a rare opportunity this is to be part of something revolutionary. I truly believe this company can execute on their mission to make flying safer, and I am excited to build the internal infrastructure to help Skyryse reach those heights." Ryan will serve as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing Skyryse's operations across all functions of business development, engineering, operations, product and marketing. He started his career as a Navy jet pilot and then worked at McKinsey for several years before focusing on the aerospace industry. Notably, Ryan was the Vice President of Honeywell's Airbus Business Segment where he led the company's initiative to develop more than 200 pieces of equipment for the A350. He has since founded manufacturing and aerospace equipment companies and also serves on the board of Tamarack Aerospace Group. He flies frequently in his Beechcraft Baron. "As an aerospace veteran, I was skeptical about another technology startup trying to revolutionize air mobility, but I was quickly proven wrong with Skyryse," said Ryan. "Skyryse's FlightOS system will change outcomes when lives are at stake, tackle the pilot shortage we're facing and finally bring commercial aviation-level safety to general aviation. Fly-by wire has delivered proven safety benefits in air transport aircraft, and now we're taking that technology to general aviation, coupled with revolutionary, easy to use flight controls and flight deck. The industry is ready for simpler, safer systems so we can always fly like the most experienced pilots on their best days." Skyryse has tripled its headcount over the past year and now has partnerships with five of the world's largest fixed wing and rotorcraft original equipment manufacturers, which collectively produce over half of the world's new general aviation aircraft. The company also recently signed a partnership with Air Methods , one of the nation's largest EMS helicopter operators, to retrofit their fleet with FlightOS. About Skyryse Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, Skyryse is a transportation technology company built by transportation experts from Airbus, Boeing, Ford, General Atomics, JetBlue, Moog, SpaceX, Tesla, Uber, the U.S. Military and Zoox. The company is building the future of general aviation, and its flagship automation technology, FlightOS, enables anyone to fly in any aircraft, just as safely as the best pilots in the world on their best day. Skyryse has raised $250 million to date and is backed by leading investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Monashee Investment Management, ArrowMark Partners, Venrock, Eclipse Ventures, Cantos, Stanford University, and Bill Ford, the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.skyryse.com CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE SkyRyse We placed our billboards in the middle of Atlanta . . . to send a message to Coke executives. Tweet this "We placed our two billboards in the middle of Atlantanear World of Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola's World Headquarters -- to send a message to Coke executives," said Jenny Boyter, committee member. "Let's meet and discuss creative solutions for making TaB available for consumers, because we're not giving up." In addition to the billboards, the committee runs email and phone campaigns while urging fans to sign its petition to help keep pressure on the company. Committee member Adam Burbach sees hope in Coca-Cola's recent product releases. "I recently saw advertisements for space-flavored and pixel-flavored Coke, close on the heels of recent launches of other new products which quickly disappeared from shelves," said Burbach. "Instead of throwing random ideas against the wall to see what sticks, wouldn't it be cool to bring back one of its most iconic brands with nearly 60 years of success? Taco Bell listened to its customers and brought back the Mexican Pizza, why couldn't Coke bring back TaB?" TaB was Coca-Cola's first zero sugar cola, created in 1963. It was discontinued in 2020, with consumers soon turning to platforms like Amazon as supplies dwindled. "TaB became one of Amazon's best-selling soft drinks, and there was a 50/50 chance it'd sell out before I could check out," said Trish Priest, committee member. "We're confident with the right approach - maybe pre-ordered online or working through an exclusive distribution partner - Coke can both make TaB available to its devoted fans and turn a profit." Those who wish to help, visit savetabsoda.com to sign the petition and please contact Coca-Cola. About SaveTaBSoda Committee An organization of TaB drinkers, the SaveTabSoda Committee focuses on activities and events to convince Coca-Cola to once again make TaB soda available to consumers. The committee works on behalf of and with the help of TaB fans everywhere! In August 2021, the committee formally organized as a nonprofit corporation. Contact: Jenny Boyter | 206.552.8218 | [email protected] SOURCE SaveTabSoda NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tandym Group ("Tandym"), a leading national recruitment, contract staffing, consulting, and workforce solutions company, has acquired Metro Systems, Inc. ("Metro Systems"), a Virginia-based technology staffing firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Tandym is backed by Mill Rock Capital, a growth and operations oriented private investment firm that invests in well-positioned industrial businesses in North America. Metro Systems provides nationwide technology staffing and direct hire services to clients spanning a broad range of end markets. The company's central value proposition is predicated on providing a complete employment and services solution to each client, while matching technology candidates to the best possible technology careers. The acquisition substantially enhances the scale and scope of Tandym Tech, Tandym's technology vertical, strengthening its position as a trusted technology partner to its clients. As a result of the combination with Tandym Group, Metro's clients will be able to access a much broader suite of services and expanded capabilities. "We're very excited to welcome the Metro Systems team to Tandym. By combining our current service offerings with Metro Systems' expertise, our total solution is significantly bolstered to serve our client and candidate partners with an even broader array of services," said Larry Dolinko, CEO of Tandym Group. "Metro Systems has carried out a 17-year legacy of commitment to client success and unparalleled service that aligns perfectly with Tandym's mission." Kirk Casey and Dave Steinbraker, co-CEOs of Metro Systems stated, "In choosing the right partner, our most important criterion was finding one who shared our values. Nothing is more important to us than our clients, candidates, and employees. Tandym shares these values and can offer all of our stakeholders a remarkable opportunity for growth." Charles Heskett, Executive Chairman of Tandym Group and Senior Partner at Mill Rock Capital, added, "Metro Systems is a highly strategic acquisition, expanding our client base, skillset, and geographic presence. I look forward to welcoming the Metro Systems team and accelerating the growth of our combined platform." Alvarez & Marsal Transaction Advisory Group, Lake Partners Strategy Consultants and White & Case LLP advised Tandym Group on the transaction. About Tandym Group Tandym Group (fka The Execu|Search Group) is a leading national recruitment, contract staffing, consulting, and workforce solutions company with offices throughout the U.S. The company serves clients across a broad range of verticals, including Healthcare, Technology, Life Sciences, and Professional Services (which includes Accounting, Financial Services, HR/People & Operations, and Legal). For more information, please visit: tandymgroup.com. About Metro Systems Metro Systems is a leading information technology staffing company that began in the Washington D.C. marketplace and has since expanded to serve a national customer base from two physical and five virtual offices across the U.S. Metro provides IT staffing and direct hire services, working with companies in a variety of industries including Financial Services, e-Commerce, Telecommunications and Government Services. They offer a wide array of solutions to customers by leveraging a deep base of consultants who possess skillsets including, but not limited to, data center tech, development, software, database, and big data engineering and project management. About Mill Rock Capital Great Mill Rock LLC dba Mill Rock Capital is a growth and operations oriented private investment firm that invests in well-positioned middle market industrial businesses in North America. Founded by Christopher Whalen and Adi Pekmezovic, Mill Rock Capital is purpose-built to invest in family-owned businesses, owner-operators and founder-led companies across six industry verticals. Focus sectors include chemicals, materials and packaging; industrial distribution; services; metals and engineered materials; transportation and logistics; and specialty manufacturing and industrial technology. This strategy leverages the deep expertise of the firm's principals, a majority of whom have direct operating experience in these same industries. Mill Rock Capital supports business transformation through a dual-sourcing strategy encompassing majority equity and Activ Capital debt, senior equity or hybrid investments which provide business owners value-added financial partnership without relinquishing a controlling stake. For more information, please visit millrock-cap.com/. Media Contact: Stephanie Klemperer, 212-871-0607, [email protected], SOURCE Tandym Group Attend the most influential congress on educational innovation in Latin America . Presentations will be delivered on Educational Trends, Technologies for Education, Management of Educational Innovation, Academic Innovation in Health Sciences, Training throughout Life, and EdTech Entrepreneurship. MONTERREY, Mexico, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For the ninth consecutive year, Tecnologico de Monterrey (Tec) calls all those interested in participating in the International Conference on Educational Innovation 2023, the most influential congress on educational innovation in the Spanish-speaking world. The call will remain open until July 29, 2022. Presentations will be delivered on six topics: Educational Trends, Technologies for Education, Management of Educational Innovation, Academic Innovation in Health Sciences, Training throughout Life, and EdTech Entrepreneurship. Participation will occur in various modalities, such as research or innovation presentations, expert panels, book presentations, networking tables, or EdTech conferences. "Events like this allow us to reflect on the challenges currently facing the educational ecosystem and generate knowledge about educational innovation, such as the new teaching/learning methods and tools demanded by the new generations," said Jose Escamilla, director of the Institute for the Future of Education at Tecnologico de Monterrey. For UNESCO, educational innovation means "a deliberate and planned act of problem-solving that aims to achieve higher quality in student learning, overcoming the traditional paradigm." Since its foundation, Tecnologico de Monterrey has been an institution with an innovative spirit. To achieve its purpose of training people to become change agents willing to benefit others requires continuous transformation. Hence, Tec created the Institute for the Future of Education, a center focused on the future of education to improve the lives of millions of people. As part of its transformative agenda for transmitting and disseminating knowledge in higher education and lifelong learning, the IFE opens its doors beyond the borders of Ibero-America. In the eight prior editions of this congress open to external audiences (2014 to 2021), interest has been increasing: In 2019, contributions and participation came from 23 countries, which increased to 30 participating nations in 2021. Therefore, it is expected that in 2023, the event will have an even greater scope of speakers and participants. The International Conference on Educational Innovation 2023 will take place from January 16-18, 2023. Another of its main objectives is to continue forming a multidisciplinary network of specialists who exchange experiences, knowledge, and valuable proposals regarding educational innovation. Click here to view call for papers. About Tecnologico de Monterrey Tecnologico de Monterrey (http://www.tec.mx) is a private, non-profit, multi-campus university system. Since its founding in 1943, Tec has stood for academic excellence, educational innovation, entrepreneurship and internationalization, its connections with industry and employers, and its great capacity for execution. It has campuses in 29 cities in Mexico, an enrollment of more than 67,000 professional undergraduate and graduate students and almost 7,000 teachers. In addition, the system has more than 26,000 high school students and 2,500 teachers at that level. The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC) has accredited the institution since 1950. According to the QS World University Rankings (2023), Tec ranks 170th and 30th among the private universities in the world. In the QS Graduate Employability Rankings (2022), Tec is number 1 in Latin America and 26th globally. In the Times Higher Education Latin America University Rankings (2022), Tec ranks 4th in Latin America. It is also the only university outside the U.S. in the Top Schools for Entrepreneurship Ranking (2022) performed by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur, occupying the 6th position in entrepreneurship programs at the undergraduate level. It belongs to various networks of international prestige, such as the Association of Universities of the Pacific Rim (APRU), Universitas 21 (U21), and the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), among others. Press contacts: Oscar Santoyo Fernanda Velez Tecnologico de Monterrey Alterpraxis oscar.santoyo @tec.mx [email protected] T.: 33 3467 7080 T.: (55) 3029 2231 SOURCE Tecnologico de Monterrey ATLANTA, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TerraCap Management LLC, a privately held investment firm with its headquarters in Naples, Florida, announced today the acquisition of Eleven 85, a 2014-built, 288-unit apartment complex located in Atlanta, GA. Amenities at the property include a swimming pool, an outdoor kitchen with grilling stations, a fire pit, a children's playground, a business center, and a bocce ball court. TerraCap Management, LLC Steve Hagenbuckle, TerraCap Founder and Managing Partner, said, "The TerraCap team is enthusiastic about adding the Eleven 85 multifamily community to our growing residential portfolio. The location, nearby amenities, and quality of the surrounding communities and employment centers is consistent with our team's thesis and overall strategy of investing in only desirable high growth markets." Eleven 85 features one, two, and three-bedroom units. The units feature modern design features such as built-in Bluetooth audio systems and energy efficient appliances. The property is located in Atlanta's Upper Westside Enclave, just off of I-75, providing connectivity to employment throughout the Atlanta metro. Matt Stewart, TerraCap Partner and Director of Asset Management, said, "Eleven 85 is a Class A apartment community in a neighborhood that we have studied closely since 2017. Nestled among single-family home neighborhoods currently averaging $650,000, the property enjoys walkable neighborhood amenities and has direct access to Buckhead and Midtown where there are a significant number of new inbound jobs that are currently paying well in excess of the current median income for the area. We are excited to add what we believe is another best-in-class community to our portfolio." David Gutting of Newmark represented the seller in the disposition. First Communities Management was hired as property manager. About TerraCap Management LLC TerraCap Management LLC considers thematic factors such as business formation, employment growth and population growth on a market-by-market basis, as most metros and submarkets have different economic-based industries and therefore move through their economic cycles differently. TerraCap makes moderate strategic overweighting or underweighting to markets, depending on the specific economic drivers influencing supply and demand. The Investment Manager has been in operation since 2008 with its headquarters located in Naples, FL, the firm also has offices in Tampa, FL, Atlanta, GA, and Denver, CO. As operators, TerraCap believes it can make decisions more efficiently while leveraging expertise from property to property. The firm has over 9 million square feet of commercial assets within its portfolio, with over 2.0 billion dollars of assets under management. More information can be found at terracapmgmt.com. For More Information, Contact: Matthew Hart 239.494.8922 TerraCap Management LLC SOURCE TerraCap Management Introduces its House of Brands, Led by Monogram, to Maryland Consumers. Initial Product Launch to be Featured at Curio's Far & Dotter Dispensaries in Maryland SAN JOSE, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - TPCO Holding Corp. ("The Parent Company" or the "Company") (NEO: GRAM.U) (OTCQX: GRAMF), a leading consumer-focused California cannabis company, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive brand licensing and cultivation and production agreement (the "Licensing Agreement") with Curio Wellness ("Curio"), to bring the Company's brands and top-quality products to the State of Maryland, with anticipated market launch in late 2022. Initial brands to be introduced under the terms of the Licensing Agreement include Monogram, Caliva, Mirayo by Santana, Deli and other TPCO owned brands, in a variety of product form factors including jarred fresh flower, prerolls, premium vapes, and infused gummies and chocolates. Some of the products will feature signature strains of cannabis cultivated by Curio in collaboration with The Parent Company. The Parent Company brands are expected to initially be available at Curio's Far & Dotter dispensaries, with broad wholesale distribution to dispensaries across the State to follow. "We are thrilled to complete our first out of state expansion and excited to introduce Maryland to our high-quality branded products," said Troy Datcher, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of The Parent Company. "Curio's premier indoor-grown cannabis, cGMP certification, and proven execution make them a great partner to provide Maryland's patients with access to our well-known California brands." Mr. Datcher added, "This is an important first step as we build our presence outside of California and I look forward to continuing to partner with operators that share our values, passion for crafting the highest quality products and building brands that resonate with their consumers." Michael Bronfein, CEO of Curio Wellness said, "We are focused on providing Maryland's patients with some of the highest quality, most innovative products that promote a better quality of life. I'm thrilled to welcome The Parent Company's brands to the Curio family and look forward to working with their team to introduce new bespoke offerings for this important market." Under the terms of the Licensing Agreement Curio will exclusively manufacture, distribute, market and sell the Company's branded products in the state of Maryland according to the highest product specifications and quality standards as established by The Parent Company. The Licensing Agreement has an initial term of four years with further renewal terms and anticipates a potential expanded partnership into additional states. About The Parent Company The Parent Company is a leading consumer-focused, vertically integrated cannabis company with eleven retail locations, six delivery hubs and a curated product portfolio including Monogram, Caliva, Mirayo by Santana, Fun Uncle and Deli. The Parent Company is committed to leveraging its status to help build a more equitable cannabis industry. Its social equity venture fund aims to eliminate systematic barriers to entry and provide minority entrepreneurs with meaningful participation, growth, and leadership opportunities in the multibillion-dollar legal cannabis industry. Shares of The Parent Company common stock are traded on NEO Exchange under the ticker symbol "GRAM.U" and on the OTCQX under the ticker symbol "GRAMF." For the latest news, activities, and media coverage, please visit www.theparent.co or connect with us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. About Curio Wellness Founded in 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland, Curio Wellness is a cGMP certified, vertically integrated medical cannabis company and trusted healthcare partner. Recognized as the leading wellness brand in cannabis by BDS Analytics, Curio is committed to serving patients with targeted, effective, and reliable cannabis-based medicine. For more information visit https://curiowellness.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation which reflects The Parent Company's current expectations regarding future events. The words "will", "expects", "intends", "believes" and similar expressions are often intended to identify forward looking information, although not all forward-looking information contains these identifying words. Specific forward-looking information contained in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements concerning the availability of the Parent Company's branded products, the potential product formats to be launched, and the growth potential of the Maryland market. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond The Parent Company's control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, changes in applicable laws, the U.S. and Canadian regulatory landscapes and enforcement related to cannabis, changes in public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry, reliance on the expertise and judgment of senior management, as well as the factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in The Parent Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022 and in the Company's periodic reports subsequently filed with the SEC and in the Company's filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Parent Company undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Caution Regarding Cannabis Operations in the United States Investors should note that there are significant legal restrictions and regulations that govern the cannabis industry in the United States. Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal under federal law in the United States to, among other things, cultivate, distribute, or possess cannabis in the United States. Financial transactions involving proceeds generated by, or intended to promote, cannabis-related business activities in the United States may form the basis for prosecution under applicable U.S. federal money laundering legislation. While the approach to enforcement of such laws by the federal government in the United States has trended toward non-enforcement against individuals and businesses that comply with medical or adult-use cannabis programs in states where such programs are legal, strict compliance with state laws with respect to cannabis will neither absolve The Parent Company of liability under U.S. federal law, nor will it provide a defense to any federal proceeding which may be brought against the Company. The enforcement of federal laws in the United States is a significant risk to the business of The Parent Company and any proceedings brought against the Company thereunder may adversely affect the Company's operations and financial performance. SOURCE TPCO Holding Corp. TORONTO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Think Research Corporation (TSXV: THNK) (OTCQB: THKKF) ("Think" or the "Company"), a healthcare technology company focused on transforming healthcare through knowledge-based digital health software solutions, is pleased to announce it has signed a contract to provide Care Pathways nursing content to St. George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a major teaching hospital in London, England and part of the largest public healthcare system in the world. Through the partnership, Think will deliver customized care plans to St. George's that will standardize nursing care and documentation across the hospital, ensuring the delivery of best-practice and evidence-supported care to at-risk patients and leading-edge preventive interventions. Think will also assist with building the care plans into St. George's electronic patient record (EPR) system, Cerner Millennium, which shares the same instance of Cerner with two other Trusts in the South West London Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, and Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Cerner is a major EPR provider in the UK, with its Millennium platform used in 22 Trusts and is the largest electronic health record (EPR) provider in the world, with its solutions deployed in over 27,000 facilities around the globe. Funding for the project comes from the NHS's United Tech Frontline Digitization Fund, which supports the digital transformation and digitization of healthcare across NHS locations. Jenny Muir, ICT Chief Nursing Informatics Officer said, "Ensuring every patient receives the highest quality of evidence-based care is paramount at St. George's. This partnership will help ensure we deliver. Having access to evidence-based, custom care plans will provide essential guidance to our nursing staff, enhance efficiencies, and most importantly, improve patient outcomes." Sachin Aggarwal, Think, CEO said, "Standardizing care has countless proven benefits. We are incredibly proud our solution has been selected to provide the latest evidence-based knowledge and information that St. George's nursing staff require to assess and treat patients with confidence. We are delighted that this is our company's first foray into the world's largest publicly funded healthcare system, the NHS, and doing so will result in our evidence-based content being deployed in the world's largest EPR provider, Cerner." About Think Research Think Research Corporation is an industry leader in delivering knowledge-based digital health software solutions. The Company's focused mission is to organize the world's health knowledge so everyone gets the best care. Its evidence-based healthcare technology solutions support the clinical decision-making process, standardize care, and improve patient outcomes. For over a decade, Think's cloud-based, EMR- agnostic digital tools have empowered clinicians around the world and positively impacted millions of patients across the continuum of care including primary physician care, acute care hospitals and surgical suites as well as community and seniors care. Think is proud to serve as a trusted health system partner to a rapidly growing, global client base that spans five continents across more than 13,000 healthcare facilities, with a clinical audience of over 300,000 doctors, nurses and pharmacists. Visit www.thinkresearch.com For more information: https://www.thinkresearch.com/ca/investors/ SOURCE Think Research Corporation MILWAUKEE, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TKO Miller is pleased to announce the sale of Curtis Learning, LLC, an outsourced scientific education and training provider, to Renovus Capital Partners. Jon Curtis, the Company's founder, and other senior management team members will retain significant ownership in Curtis Learning. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. About Curtis Learning Founded in 2009, Curtis Learning has established itself as one of the nation's premier scientific training agencies. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, Curtis Learning is a scientific education and training provider to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. The Company designs and develops customized programs to educate and train sales teams, medical science liaisons, clinical nurse educators, patient services professionals, and pre-commercial teams on the science behind the world's most complex medical treatments across all phases of the product launch continuum, including pre-approval preparation, market introduction, and growth and label expansion. Curtis Learning also develops educational resources for healthcare providers and patients. For more information, please visit www.curtislearning.com About Renovus Capital Partners Founded in 2010, Renovus Capital Partners is a lower middle market private equity firm specializing in the Knowledge and Talent industries. From its base in the Philadelphia area, Renovus manages over $1 billion across its three sector focused funds and other strategies. The firm's current portfolio includes over 20 U.S. based businesses specializing in education and training, healthcare services, technology services and professional services. Renovus typically partners with founder-led businesses, leveraging its experience within the industry and access to debt and equity capital to make operational improvements, recruit top talent, pursue add-on acquisitions and oversee strategic growth initiatives. For more information, please visit www.renovuscapital.com About TKO Miller TKO Miller, LLC is an independent, advisory-focused, middle-market investment bank. With over 130 years of collective transaction experience, TKO Miller provides merger and acquisition and financial advisory services for privately held and private equity-owned businesses nationwide, with a special focus on family- and founder-held businesses. TKO Miller aims to bring value to clients by combining outstanding people with a results-oriented, flexible approach to transactions. Our services include company sales, recapitalizations, asset divestitures, and management buyouts. TKO Miller has a generalist focus but has served clients in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, business services, consumer products, and industrial products and services. For more information, visit our website www.tkomiller.com Contact: Katie Yde, (414) 375-2660 SOURCE TKO Miller KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TNG Consulting, LLC , is pleased to announce the promotion of Makenzie Schiemann, M.S., Ph.D., Vice President, Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment and President of NABITA, and Joseph Vincent, M.L.S., Senior Supervising Consultant, to Partner effective July 4, 2022. Makenzie Schiemann, M.S., Ph.D. Joseph Vincent, M.L.S. Since joining TNG in August 2018, Dr. Schiemann has proven herself an accomplished trainer, content developer, leader, and consultant. She has extensive expertise in behavioral intervention and threat assessment and has served as Consultant, Executive Director of NABITA, President of NABITA, and Vice President, Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment for TNG. She will continue to focus on Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment consulting and training as one of TNG's practice leaders in the field. Before joining TNG, Dr. Schiemann served as the Director for Student Outreach and Support, the Director for the Center for Victim Advocacy, and the Chair of the Students of Concern Assistance Team at the University of South Florida, and as the Director of Outreach Services and Health Promotion at Eckerd College. She holds a B.S. in education from Ashland University, an M.S. in educational psychology and community counseling from Southern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, higher education administration from the University of South Florida. Since joining TNG in September 2018, Mr. Vincent has progressed from Consultant to Senior Supervising Consultant, consistently demonstrating exceptional training ability, content development, and policy work. He serves as an external investigator and adjudicator, as well as an advisor for policy development and implementation for higher education institutions and K-12 school districts. Mr. Vincent frequently serves as an expert witness and third-party neutral hearing advisor and decision-maker. He will continue to train and consult, as well as focus on TNG's Title IX and Civil Rights investigation processes, helping ensure a consistent standard of excellence and efficiency for TNG's investigations approach. Before joining TNG, Mr. Vincent worked in higher education as a Title IX Coordinator and Civil Rights Investigator for a graduate healthcare professions university system. He received his B.S. in Political Science from Truman State University and his Master of Legal Studies degree from West Virginia University. TNG Chief Executive Officer Martha E.M. Kopacz, M.B.A., said, "Makenzie and Joe are admired by their colleagues and clients as trusted advisors and gifted trainers. We are pleased to acknowledge their dedication and achievements as we continue to expand the firm as more and more institutions and organizations place their confidence in TNG's ability to help them manage risks." TNG Consulting, LLC, is the risk management touchstone for thousands of schools, colleges, universities, and workplaces across the country. Since 2000, TNG, along with membership organizations the National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment (NABITA) and the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), has been dedicated to empowering schools, colleges, workplaces, and organizations to create safer and healthier communities. We leverage hundreds of years of combined expertise in education-sector risk management to support clients in mitigating risk, advancing compliance, avoiding litigation, enhancing reputations, and preventing crises. For more information, visit www.tngconsulting.com or follow our press and media relations account on Twitter at @presstng. Media Contact: Chrystin McHugh 6105297017 [email protected] SOURCE TNG Lewis most recently served as Chief Litigation Counsel at Honeywell, Inc. for its Safety and Productivity Solutions and Building Technologies businesses. He joined King & Spalding as an associate in 2009 and was promoted to partner in 2016 before he joined Honeywell in early 2021. "During his previous time at King & Spalding, Antonio proved himself a capable and poised trial lawyer with the skills, judgement, and character to successfully represent our consumer products clients' interests in their complex trials," said Andy Bayman, head of the firm's Trial and Global Disputes practice group. "His versatility and his extensive trial experience are huge assets for us." "Antonio was a vital part of our Charlotte office and a key player in our trial practice for many years, and we are thrilled to welcome him back," said Mark Thigpen, managing partner of the firm's Charlotte office. Lewis earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University in 2001 and his J.D. from Wake Forest Law School in 2006. He is licensed to practice in both North Carolina and Florida. "In the courtroom is where I am at my best, so I'm really excited to reunite with my King & Spalding colleagues and the firm's leading consumer products litigation practice to return to trial work," said Lewis. "I am fortunate to know first-hand the way this team collaborates to best serve clients and the opportunity that provides me to expand my practice. It's great to be back." About King & Spalding Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 1,200 lawyers in 23 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com . SOURCE K&S VANCOUVER, BC, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Trilogy Metals Inc. (TSX: TMQ) (NYSE American: TMQ) ("Trilogy", "Trilogy Metals" or "the Company") announces its financial results for the second quarter ended May 31, 2022. Details of the Company's financial results are contained in the interim unaudited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis which will be available on the Company's website at www.trilogymetals.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. All amounts are in United States dollars unless otherwise stated. Highlights Exploration field season commenced for the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects ("UKMP"). UKMP fiscal 2022 budget updated to approximately $26.2 million . . Projects are well funded with the joint venture holding $52.8 million in cash and $53.5 million loan receivable from South32 Limited ("South32") as at May 31, 2022 . in cash and loan receivable from South32 Limited ("South32") as at . Subsequent to the quarter end, South32 repaid the entire loan resulting in the joint venture holding over $100 million in cash. in cash. Trilogy cash position of $3.5 million and working capital of $3.4 million as at May 31, 2022 sufficient to fund head office operations for the next twelve months. Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects In a press release dated June 8, 2022, the Company announced that Ambler Metals LLC ("Ambler Metals"), the joint venture company owned 50/50 by Trilogy and South32 had commenced mobilization for the summer 2022 field program at the UKMP. The drill program will be helicopter-supported and will be based out of Ambler Metals' expanded 90-person camp at Bornite. The previously announced $28.5 million fiscal 2022 budget was updated to approximately $26.2 million. The field season is entirely funded by Ambler Metals and consists of a minimum 10,000 meters of diamond drilling with additional meters contingent on drill performance, weather and approval of supplementary budgets. The field season program prioritizes advancing the Arctic Project with additional infill drilling to further improve the confidence in the resource and the completion of a geotechnical study to further de-risk the project. Exploration outside of the Arctic deposit will focus on discovering copper-rich satellite deposits near Arctic, the Cosmos Hills and the Ambler Lowlands. The 2022 Arctic program involves a minimum 6,000 meters in 27 holes, as part of an 8,400-meter infill program to increase confidence from the Indicated to Measured category. In addition, three to five holes totaling 500 to 750 meters are planned to complete a geotechnical and hydrogeological assessment of Arctic that was initiated last year. The 2022 exploration program for the Cosmos Hills and Ambler Lowlands includes drilling of approximately 2,400 meters as well as detailed mapping and soil sampling to build on the work performed during the prior year. In addition, a minimum 2,000 meters of trenching is planned around Pardner Hill and the Bornite East target area. Annual General Meeting of Shareholders The Annual General Meeting of shareholders was held on May 13, 2022. All directors nominated by the Company and standing for election were elected by shareholders of the Company. Other items of business included the approval of amendments to, and unallocated entitlements under, the Company's Restricted Share Unit Plan ("RSU Plan") and Deferred Share Unit Plan ("DSU Plan"). Selected Results The following selected financial information is prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. in thousands of dollars, except for per share amounts Three months ended Six months ended Selected expenses May 31, 2022 $ May 31, 2021 $ May 31, 2022 $ May 31, 2021 $ General and administrative 338 351 735 762 Investor relations 38 116 137 270 Professional fees 192 275 437 504 Salaries 261 407 675 846 Salaries and directors expense stock-based compensation 662 524 2,584 2,672 Share of loss on equity investment 2,460 1,700 4,370 2,820 Comprehensive loss for the period (4,074) (3,413) (9,097) (7,929) Basic and diluted loss per common share (0.03) (0.02) (0.06) (0.05) For the three-month period ended May 31, 2022, cash preservation strategies resulted in overall cash savings of $0.3 million in general and administrative expenses, investor relations, professional fees and salaries when compared to budget. For the three-month period ended May 31, 2022, Trilogy reported a net loss of $4.1 million (or $0.03 basic and diluted loss per common share). For the comparable period in 2021, the Company reported a net loss of $3.4 million (or $0.02 basic and diluted loss per common share). This difference is primarily due to a $0.8 million increase in the Company's equity pick-up of Ambler Metals' comprehensive loss in the current period. The current quarter includes pre-development costs for the Ambler Access Project for which there are no prior year comparatives. This increase in the equity pick-up is offset by reductions in general and administrative expenses, investor relations and professional fees due to management implemented cost savings strategies during the quarter. The combined total of salaries and stock-based compensation is consistent between the current period quarter and the comparative period. For the six-month period ended May 31, 2022, Trilogy reported a net a loss of $9.1 million (or $0.06 basic and diluted loss per common share). For the comparable period in 2021, the Company reported a net loss of $7.9 million (or $0.05 basic and diluted loss per common share). The difference for the six-month period ended May 31, 2022, when compared to the same period in 2021, is primarily due to a $1.6 million increase in the Company's equity pick up of Ambler Metals comprehensive loss for the six-month period ending May 31, 2022. The current period includes pre-development costs for the Ambler Access Project for which there are no prior year comparatives as well as higher engineering and project related salaries and wages versus the comparative period. Other variances noted for the comparative six-month period ended May 31, 2022 consist of: i) a decrease of $0.13 million in investor relations activities; ii) a decrease of $0.2 million in salaries as the executive team agreed to receive a portion of their salary in Restricted Share Units; and iii) a decrease of $0.1 million in stock-based compensation, driven by a $0.3 million decrease in the fair value amortization of awards granted during the period (due to a 0.7 million units reduction of overall stock-based awards granted versus the comparative period), and offset by $0.2 million increase from executives and directors taking equity in lieu of cash compensation. Liquidity and Capital Resources Trilogy expended $2.9 million on operating activities during the six months ended May 31, 2022 with the majority of cash spent on corporate salaries, annual insurance renewal, annual fees paid to the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American Exchange and professional fees related to the Company's annual regulatory filings with the American and Canadian securities commissions. At May 31, 2022, Trilogy had $3.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and working capital of $3.4 million. The Company continues to manage its cash expenditures through its working capital. Management continues to review the fiscal 2022 budget for cash preservation opportunities and has reduced cash expenditures where feasible, including but not limited to, reductions in marketing and investor conferences and office expenses. In addition, the Company's Board of Directors have agreed to take all of their fees in shares of the Company in an effort to preserve cash and increase share ownership. The Company's senior management team are also taking a portion of their base salaries in shares of the Company to preserve cash. Management believes that the combination of these cost reduction efforts results in sufficient cash to fund the Company's operations for the next twelve months. All project related costs are funded by the joint venture. Amber Metals is well funded to advance the UKMP with $52.8 million in cash and $53.5 million loan receivable from South32 as at May 31, 2022. Subsequent to the quarter end, South32 repaid the full balance of the loan, consisting of $53.1 million principal and $0.5 million interest, resulting in Ambler Metals having over $100 million in cash. There are sufficient funds at the joint venture to fund the updated budgets for the UKMP of $26.2 million and the Ambler Access Project of $15.4 million for fiscal 2022. Trilogy does not anticipate having to fund the activities of Ambler Metals until the current cash balance of approximately $100 million is expended. Qualified Persons Richard Gosse, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration for Trilogy Metals Inc., is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Gosse has reviewed the technical information in this news release and approves the disclosure contained herein. About Trilogy Metals Trilogy Metals Inc. is a metals exploration and development company which holds a 50 percent interest in Ambler Metals LLC, which has a 100 percent interest in the UKMP in northwestern Alaska. On December 19, 2019, South32, a globally diversified mining and metals company, exercised its option to form a 50/50 joint venture with Trilogy. The UKMP is located within the Ambler Mining District which is one of the richest and most-prospective known copper-dominant districts in the world. It hosts world-class polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which have been found to host high-grade copper and cobalt mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler mining district - the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within a land package that spans approximately 181,387 hectares. Ambler Metals has an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., an Alaska Native Corporation that provides a framework for the exploration and potential development of the Ambler Mining District in cooperation with local communities. Trilogy's vision is to develop the Ambler Mining District into a premier North American copper producer. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, perceived merit of properties, expectations regarding the 2022 field season and budgets for the UKMP and the continued willingness of the Company's director and executives to receive their compensation in equity, the Company's plans to look for opportunities to reduce its cash spend for the year, management's expectations regarding the effects of cash conservation efforts and the sufficiency of cash for the next twelve months, the Company's expectation of raising additional funds, and the Company's plans to provide further updates and the timing thereof are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the uncertainties involving our ability to conserve cash and to raise capital at terms favorable to the Company, or at all and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2021 filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other Company reports and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The Company's forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. SOURCE Trilogy Metals Inc. True IDC's infrastructure expansion investment enabled it to achieve above-industry revenue growth in 2021, and its four data centers are strategically located in North Muangthong, midtown Pattanakan, midtown Ratchada, and East Bangna, strengthening its domestic reach. The company's fifth facility in Yangon, Myanmar, provides services beyond the borders of Thailand. The company leverages a one-stop-shop approach to continue expanding and enhancing its data center and cloud services offering. Bangna is an alternative site to Bangkok because of its economic cost of land, infrastructure, and network connectivity that supports high-scale data operations. As a result, True IDC is developing an East Bangna data center hub of four buildings as a data center campus. The first phase on eight acres of land started in 2018, while the second uptime-certified building is set to start working in 2022. According to Nishchal Khorana, Vice President and Global Program Leader, ICT at Frost & Sullivan, "True IDC has plans to expand its Myanmar data center in Yangon and targets Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia for future expansion. It has already contracted teams to acquire land for its development plans in Vietnam and Cambodia." Furthermore, True IDC offers customer value as a strategic imperative to complement its extensive expertise and best-in-class capabilities. The company's premium colocation offerings meet the growing business demand of medium-to-large enterprises and government agencies. True IDC brings the control, operation, and surveillance features of its five data centers under a single roof through its Regional Command Center. The software-defined fabric network eliminates boundaries between data centers to enable seamless resource sharing and to reduce latency, leading to guaranteed service continuity and optimal availability. The company works closely with customers to assess their needs and customize their solutions for seamless execution. True IDC's purpose-built service allows customers to devise their equipment arrangement and energy consumption, while internationally recognized certifications enable customers to run their businesses with ease. As a result, True IDC continues to establish ongoing trust with customers for long-lasting relationships that extend throughout service lifecycles. The company enhances customer experience value through the following: Green, sustainable data centers and an eco-friendly operation system Transparent and reliable relationships with global customers (hyperscalers and enterprises) to address risks and safeguard customer data Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools within the system to add predictive capabilities; improve the efficiency in power utilization; and foster proactive, preventive maintenance A portal that enables customers to place and track requests for changes or extra services for a seamless experience Technology backbone at its interactive data and cloud data centers "True IDC excels with its strong leadership focus that incorporates customer-centric strategies and exemplifies best practices implementation. The company remains a trusted partner, earning a reputation for offering the overall best in the data center services industry," said Khorana. The company achieved strategic customer wins based on its continued expansion to address demand, in addition to its value proposition for integrated offerings and focus on operational excellence and innovation. True IDC's impressive growth momentum and trajectory testify to its leadership, providing clients with greater value and enabling the company to capture market share. With its strong overall performance, True IDC earns Frost & Sullivan's 2022 Thailand Company of the Year Award in the data center services industry. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents a Company of the Year award to the organization that demonstrates excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation in its field. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies and the resulting leadership in terms of customer value and market penetration. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry. About Frost & Sullivan For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. Contact: Kala Mani. S. P: +603.2023.2037 E: [email protected] About True IDC True IDC is the leading carrier neutral data center and cloud service provider in Bangkok, Thailand and throughout major territories in ASEAN. It offers superior colocation services, connectivity services, cloud services and professional services with the most numbers of internationally-recognized certifications and consecutive global awards. True IDC partners with best-in-class technology providers including Alibaba, Amazon Web Services, Avaya, Cisco, Google, Huawei, Microsoft, Tencent and VMware to deliver the end-to-end digital infrastructure experience to its customers in all business verticals. Contact us at: www.trueidc.com Contact: Waraporn Nintiem M: +66 80 441 4211 E: [email protected] SOURCE Frost & Sullivan ORLANDO, Fla., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP), a leading global consumer products company, is scheduled to release its second quarter 2022 financial results on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, before the market opens. The company will host a conference call at 8:30a.m. ET that day to discuss its financial results. Call Information To access the live webcast, visit https://ir.tupperwarebrands.com. To listen to the conference call via telephone, dial (888) 550-5326 and enter conference ID number 4436100 when prompted. Participants outside the U.S. who are not able to access the webcast should dial +1 (646) 960-0829 and enter the conference ID number provided above. Replay A replay of the conference call will be available at https://ir.tupperwarebrands.com approximately two hours after the live call has ended. An audio replay of the conference call will be available via telephone starting at 11:30am ET on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, through 11:30am ET on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. To listen to the recorded conference call via telephone, dial (800) 770-2030 and enter the conference ID provided above. Outside the U.S., dial +1 (647) 362-9199 and enter the conference ID number provided above. About Tupperware Brands Corporation Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) is a leading global consumer products company that designs innovative, functional and environmentally responsible products that people love and trust. Founded in 1946, Tupperware's signature container created the modern food storage category that revolutionized the way the world stores, serves and prepares food. Today, this iconic brand has more than 8,500 functional design and utility patents for solution-oriented kitchen and home products. With a purpose to nurture a better future, Tupperware products are an alternative to single-use items. The company distributes its products into nearly 70 countries, primarily through independent representatives around the world. For more information, visit Tupperwarebrands.com or follow Tupperware on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Investors: Alexis Callahan, [email protected], (321) 588-5129 Media: Cameron Klaus, [email protected], (407) 371-9784 SOURCE Tupperware Brands Corporation Union's commencement speaker is Edgar L. Smith, Jr., a visionary, compassionate leader who embodies Union's mission to engage, enlighten, and empower those around him. Smith serves as chair of the Union Institute & University Board of Trustees and founder, chairman, and CEO of Cincinnati, Ohio-based World Pac Paper. World Pac Paper is a privately held Inc. 500 and BE 100 company and an award-winning national, independent distributor of high-quality papers and packaging solutions. In 2004, Smith founded World Pac Paper, which was named an Inc. 500 Top Black-Run Company in 2009. In his role as chairman and CEO, Smith leads and provides strategic direction, planning, and business development. Mr. Smith has extensive experience in sales and marketing, working in large corporations such as Coca-Cola North America, Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and James River Corporation. Smith is a dedicated community volunteer, serving the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, ArtsWave, Cincinnati Arts Association, American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Join Union's Board of Trustees, staff, faculty, students, and alumni in welcoming Union's graduates to Cincinnati. To learn more about Union Institute & University, consider attending "Ecologies of Hope and Change: Confronting Environmental Injustice from Climate to the Classroom and Beyond," with featured keynote Richard Blanco. SOURCE Union Institute & University Get more insights into the current market scenario, future growth opportunities, and other important statistics. Read Our Sample Report Now Market Dynamics The market is mainly driven by the increase in government initiatives. Governments across the world are undertaking various initiatives to eradicate FMD. For instance, the US Congress passed a Farm Bill in December 2018 to provide funding for an animal vaccine bank emphasizing the development of FMD vaccines. Similarly, in India, the Prayagraj animal husbandry department in Uttar Pradesh state launched a massive drive to treat cows and other cattle from the deadly foot and mouth disease. Such initiatives are creating a high demand for FMD vaccines across the globe. In addition, frequent foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in Asia and the Middle East and the increase in demand for livestock products will have a positive impact on the growth of the market. However, the increase in vaccine failures is expected to hinder the growth of the market. Competitive Analysis Some of the companies covered in this report are Biogenesis Bago SA, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Ceva Sante Animale, Indian Immunologicals Ltd., Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., LIMOR DE COLOMBIA SA, Merck & Co. Inc., SEPPIC SA, VECOL SA, and VETAL Animal Health Products Inc., etc. The competitive scenario provided in the foot and mouth disease vaccines market report analyzes, evaluates, and positions companies based on various performance indicators. Some of the factors considered for this analysis include the financial performance of companies over the past few years, growth strategies, product innovations, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. The market is concentrated. Vendors in the market are focusing on implementing new technologies and new product offerings. They are adopting various strategies to increase their market shares and remain competitive in the market. Some of the major strategies adopted by them include product launches, M&A, distribution through partnerships, participation in medical trade shows, and product development through the use of advanced technologies. View Sample Report to gain more insights into the market dynamics and the vendor landscape. Market Segmentation by Product: By product, the market is classified into conventional vaccines and emergency vaccines. The market growth in the conventional vaccines segment will be significant during the forecast period. The segment is driven by the presence of FMD endemic in various countries such as India , China , Bangladesh , South Korea , Pakistan , and Hong Kong . Market Segmentation by Product: By geography, the market is classified as Asia , Europe , North America , and ROW. , , , and ROW. Asia will have the largest share of the market. will have the largest share of the market. The presence of a large patient pool and developing veterinary infrastructure are driving the regional market's growth. Related Reports: Foot And Mouth Disease Vaccines Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.81% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 1.08 billion Market structure Concentrated YoY growth (%) 8.50 Regional analysis Asia, Europe, North America, and ROW Performing market contribution Asia at 63% Key consumer countries China, South Korea (Republic of Korea), South Africa, Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran), and India Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Biogenesis Bago SA, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Ceva Sante Animale, Indian Immunologicals Ltd., Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., LIMOR DE COLOMBIA SA , Merck & Co. Inc., SEPPIC SA, VECOL SA, and VETAL Animal Health Products Inc. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market Exhibit 02: Market characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis Exhibit 03: Value Chain Analysis: Pharmaceuticals 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million) Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five Forces Summary Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020 5 Market Segmentation by Product 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 15: Product - Market share 2020-2025 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Product Exhibit 16: Comparison by Product 5.3 Conventional vaccines - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 17: Conventional vaccines - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 18: Conventional vaccines - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.4 Emergency vaccines - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 19: Emergency vaccines - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 20: Emergency vaccines - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.5 Market opportunity by Product Exhibit 21: Market opportunity by Product 6 Customer Landscape 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 23: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 24: Geographic comparison 7.3 Asia - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 25: Asia - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 26: Asia - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 27: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 28: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 29: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 30: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.6 ROW - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 31: ROW - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 32: ROW - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.7 Key leading countries Exhibit 33: Key leading countries 7.8 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 34: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges Exhibit 35: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview 9.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 36: Vendor landscape 9.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 37: Landscape disruption Exhibit 38: Industry risks 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 39: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 40: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 Biogenesis Bago SA Exhibit 41: Biogenesis Bago SA - Overview Exhibit 42: Biogenesis Bago SA - Product and service Exhibit 43: Biogenesis Bago SA - Key news Exhibit 44: Biogenesis Bago SA - Key offerings 10.4 Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH Exhibit 45: Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH - Overview Exhibit 46: Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH - Business segments Exhibit 47: Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH - Key news Exhibit 48: Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH - Key offerings Exhibit 49: Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH - Segment focus 10.5 Ceva Sante Animale Exhibit 50: Ceva Sante Animale - Overview Exhibit 51: Ceva Sante Animale - Product and service Exhibit 52: Ceva Sante Animale - Key offerings 10.6 Indian Immunologicals Ltd. Exhibit 53: Indian Immunologicals Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 54: Indian Immunologicals Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 55: Indian Immunologicals Ltd. - Key offerings 10.7 Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. 10.8 LIMOR DE COLOMBIA SA SA Exhibit 60: LIMOR DE COLOMBIA SA - Overview SA - Overview Exhibit 61: LIMOR DE COLOMBIA SA - Product and service SA - Product and service Exhibit 62: LIMOR DE COLOMBIA SA - Key offerings 10.9 Merck & Co. Inc. Exhibit 63: Merck & Co. Inc. - Overview Exhibit 64: Merck & Co. Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 65: Merck & Co. Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 66: Merck & Co. Inc. - Segment focus 10.10 SEPPIC SA Exhibit 67: SEPPIC SA - Overview Exhibit 68: SEPPIC SA - Product and service Exhibit 69: SEPPIC SA - Key offerings 10.11 VECOL SA Exhibit 70: VECOL SA - Overview Exhibit 71: VECOL SA - Product and service Exhibit 72: VECOL SA - Key offerings 10.12 VETAL Animal Health Products Inc. Exhibit 73: VETAL Animal Health Products Inc. - Overview Exhibit 74: VETAL Animal Health Products Inc. - Product and service Exhibit 75: VETAL Animal Health Products Inc. - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 76: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.3 Research methodology Exhibit 77: Research Methodology Exhibit 78: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 79: Information sources 11.4 List of abbreviations Exhibit 80: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Infiniti Research, Inc. The North American region is a significant contributor to world Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market growth. Innovative and appealing packaging solutions like whiskey pouches, ceramic glass bottles or bag-in box will foster alcoholic beverage market growth NEWARK, Del., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global demand for alcoholic beverages packaging market is estimated to grow to a valuation of US$ 47,225.2 Mn in 2022, exhibiting a CAGR of 3.9% from 2022 to 2032. Alcoholic beverages packaging market is predicted to reach US$ 69,235.6 Mn by 2032. Rising consumption of alcoholic beverages is driving growth for the alcoholic beverages packaging market. Successful brand promotion of alcoholic beverages relies heavily on the packaging of the beverage. With superior branding and unconventional packaging formats, the alcohol beverages market is rapidly moving towards growth. As per a study report published by Lancelot, global alcohol per-capita consumption increased from 5.9 liters in 1990 to 6.5 liters in 2017. This rise in consumption is further expected to grow by 17% and reach 7.6 liters in 2030. Request a Sample of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4789 Unique and attractive packaging drives market growth for alcoholic beverages. Expansion of the beverages market will drive sales of the alcoholic beverages packaging in the market. Appealing packaging arrangements offered by the packaging and manufacturing industry to the beverages sector and the growth experienced by the food and beverages sector are factors that will likely propel growth. "Rising demand for premium alcoholic beverages like craft beer and popularity of shim drinks along with rising in consumption of alcohol will bolster the growth in the alcoholic beverages packaging market over the forecast period," says an FMI analyst. Key Takeaways: Rising demand for sustainable packaging material is anticipated to propel market growth over the assessment period. Innovative and appealing packaging solutions like whiskey pouches, ceramic glass bottles, and bag-in-box will foster alcoholic beverage packaging market growth. Evolving e-commerce industry, consumer preferences, and rising disposable income will indirectly promote market growth North America is expected to own a 19% share of the alcoholic beverages packaging market in 2022. is expected to own a 19% share of the alcoholic beverages packaging market in 2022. Europe is anticipated to capture 16% of market revenue by the end of 2022. is anticipated to capture 16% of market revenue by the end of 2022. Regional market players in North America notably contribute to global market growth Ask an [email protected] https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-4789 Global Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market - Key Players Few of the key players that currently operate in the alcoholic beverages packaging market are - Mondi Amcor Plc. ProAmpac Crown Ardagh Group S.A. BALL CORPORATION Berry Global Inc. Tetra Pak Group Saint-Gobain Group. O-I Glass, Inc. Vetreria Etrusca Encore Glas Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd Creative Glass Brick Packaging Bemis Manufacturing Company Nampak Ltd. Krones AG Sidel Group and Sonoco Products Company and many more Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/alcoholic-beverages-packaging-market More Insights into the Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market Report In its latest report, FMI offers an unbiased analysis of the global alcoholic beverages packaging market, providing historical data from 2017 to 2021 and forecast statistics for the period 2022-to 2032. According to FMI reports, visually attractive, biodegradable, and sustainable packaging materials are gaining traction in the alcoholic beverages packaging market. Key players in the market are investing in research and development activities so as to introduce sustainable packaging solutions into the market. Along with increasing alcohol consumption, rising brand awareness among consumers will create a favorable environment for the alcoholic beverages packaging market. Though challenges like stringent government regulations and a growing health-conscious consumer base might hinder market growth, the forecast for the alcoholic beverages packaging market is fairly good for the forecast period. Key Segments Profiled in the Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Industry Survey Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market By Material Used: Metal Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Glass Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Plastic Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Paper Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Other (wood, etc.) Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Material Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market By Product Type: Alcoholic Beverage Cans Alcoholic Beverage Kegs Alcoholic Beverage Bottles Alcoholic Beverage Jars Other Alcoholic Beverage Product Types Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market By Alcoholic Beverages: Un-distilled Fermented Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Beer Wines Cider Distilled Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Vodka Tequila Rum Whisky Gin Others Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market By Region: North America Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market Latin America Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market Europe Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market Asia Pacific Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market Middle East & Africa Alcoholic Beverages Packaging Market Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/brochure/rep-gb-4789 Table of Content 1. Executive Summary 1.1. Global Market Outlook 1.2. Demand-side Trends 1.3. Supply-side Trends 1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis 2. Market Overview 2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy 2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations 3. Market Background 3.1. Market Dynamics 3.2. Impact of Covid-19 3.3. Macro Factors and Forecast Factors 3.4. Value Chain Analysis 4. Global Alcoholic Beverage Packaging Market Analysis 2015-2021 and Forecast, 2022-2032 4.1. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Mn) & Volume (Units) Analysis, 2015-2021 4.2. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Mn) & Volume (Units) Projections, 2022-2032 TOC continued..! About FMI Packaging The Packaging team of FMI offers a specific, reliable, and accurate analysis of the global packaging industry. This exhaustive research ranges from the material type, alcohol type, product types, retailing, and distribution of packaging materials to supply-demand-trade assessment, and relevant advancements occurring in the industry. Have a Look at Packaging Domain Related Research Reports: FMCG Packaging Market Size - The global FMCG packaging market is expected to reach US$ 418.8 Bn in 2022, with sales growing at a CAGR of 5.7% through 2032. Beverage Packaging Market Shares - The global beverage packaging market is estimated at USD 104.8 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 128.2 Bn by 2027, at a CAGR of 4.1% from 2022 to 2027. Flexible Packaging Paper Market Trends - The flexible packaging paper market is on track to grow at an estimated CAGR of 4% during 2022-2032. Anti-counterfeit Packaging for Food & Beverages Market Growth - Anti-counterfeit packaging is defined as the process of assigning a product to a secure packaging in order to minimize counterfeiting or infringement. Insulated Coolers Market Outlook - The insulated coolers market is estated at USD 699 Mn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 1,094 Mn by 2029, at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2022 to 2029. About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights (ESOMAR certified market research organization and a member of Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) provides in-depth insights into governing factors elevating the demand in the market. It discloses opportunities that will favor the market growth in various segments on the basis of Source, Application, Sales Channel and End Use over the next 10-years. Contact: Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA T: +1-845-579-5705 For Sales Enquiries: [email protected] Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/alcoholic-beverages-packaging-market LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197648/FMI_Logo.jpg SOURCE Future Market Insights OTTAWA, ON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill") (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF) subsidiary WiLAN Inc. ("WiLAN") today announced that it has entered into a license agreement with a company in the automotive industry. The licensed patents relate to wireless technology. "We are very pleased to have now signed a second major automotive maker to our wireless technology patents," said Andrew Parolin, President and CEO of WiLAN. "We believe this license demonstrates the continued strength of WiLAN's wireless portfolio and, in particular, its relevance to LTE and 5G technology used in many vehicles today." The license fees payable to WiLAN and all other terms and conditions of this agreement are confidential. About WiLAN WiLAN, a Quarterhill company, is one of the most successful patent monetization companies in the world and partners with its customers to unlock the value of intellectual property through various patent monetization models. WiLAN operates in a variety of markets including automotive, digital television, Internet, medical, semiconductor and wireless communication technologies. For more information: www.wilan.com . About Quarterhill Quarterhill is a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry, as well as, through its Wi-LAN Inc. subsidiary, a leader in Intellectual Property licensing. Our goal is global leadership in ITS, via organic growth of the Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC (ETC) and International Road Dynamics, Inc. (IRD) platforms, and by continuing an acquisition-oriented investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS and its adjacent markets. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information: www.quarterhill.com All trademarks and brands mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE Quarterhill Inc. LEEDS, United Kingdom, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global skilled business support services firm Williams Lea held a grand opening today for its 320-person onshore delivery centre on 6 July, 2022. Located in Darwin House at Leeds Valley Park, Savannah Way, LS10 1AB, the centre will deliver centralised, virtual support services to leading legal, financial, and professional services firms. The Leeds delivery centre is the fifth such location for the global company and will join with the United States operations in Wheeling, WV and Columbus, OH and those in Chennai and Cochin, India to provide world-class business and administrative support to UK and global clients. The four other centres have experienced fast-paced growth in recent years, adding hundreds of jobs in their respective cities. As the fastest growing city in the United Kingdom, Leeds was selected as Williams Lea's UK delivery centre location for its access to top talent and vast cultural diversity. The company's strategy is built on leveraging technology and standardising workflows to provide seamless virtual service for clients all over the world. Williams Lea CEO Clare Hart said, "As the largest legal and financial hub outside of London, it just made sense for us to establish our new UK operation in Leeds. It is a great place to find top talent to service our leading legal, financial and professional services clients." The Leeds delivery centre will be staffed 24/7, and hiring is already underway to fill vacant positions. The local business community welcomes Williams Lea as a global organizations establishing a presence in Leeds. "It's great to have another high-quality business like Williams Lea coming to Leeds. Another firm of their calibre joining the already great organisations here only adds to the city's kudos, making it even more attractive to others," said Mike Cartwright, Policy and Representation Executive for West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. Cartwright continued, "We look forward to engaging closely with [Williams Lea] in the future, to hearing of their plans for growth and expansion, and I'm sure that their plans will help drive the city forwards in a positive direction. We're striving to ensure Leeds becomes a top international city, and Williams Lea can be part of the jigsaw in achieving that." About Williams Lea Williams Lea is the global provider of skilled business-critical support services to financial, legal and professional services firms, connecting people, processes and technology to streamline key business and administrative functions and helping companies adapt to a more virtual and digital workplace. Built on a strong heritage, great client relationships and a talented team, Williams Lea is the trusted global outsourcing provider to clients in highly regulated environments. Williams Lea serves clients in 20 countries across four continents and has 5,500 employees worldwide. Williams Lea is backed by Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. For more information, please visit www.williamslea.com. Contact: Jennifer Materkoski Director, Communications +01 304-559-9491 [email protected] SOURCE Williams Lea With more than 25 years' experience in professional information services, Mr. Bartolone oversees Wolters Kluwer's International Group while leading the overall strategy and vision for the international business. The International Group is known globally for producing products and services that cross boundaries and jurisdictions, with information, insights and tools that enable professionals to navigate the increasingly global aspect of law. At this year's Annual Conference, he will participate in a panel on the ever-changing landscape of international legal research. On the panel, led by Masoud Gerami of vLex, Mr. Bartolone will join Junior Browne of CARILAW, University of the West Indies; Sarah Kennedy of Mishcon de Reya; and Robin Chesterman of vLex. "I am looking forward to discussing the future of international legal research at this year's conference," said David Bartolone, General Manager at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. "As the regulatory landscape continues to shift across several countries, it is more important than ever for legal professionals to have the right tools and knowledge to make informed decisions, and I hope that participants at this panel will come away from the discussion with useful information and best practices." The British and Irish Association of Law Librarians 52nd Annual Conference will be held from July 6-8 at Wyboston Lakes Resort in the United Kingdom. The theme of this year's conference will be Our Journey to New Horizons: Leading Innovation and Knowledge. This conference brings together leading professionals working with legal information in the UK and Ireland. The conference provides an opportunity to learn about and discuss, formally and informally, the key issues affecting the legal information profession. To learn more about the conference, visit: https://web.cvent.com/event/0409fdce-52f8-488d-bb2b-f625928c26d8/summary. To learn more about Kluwer Law International's portfolio, visit booth #20 on the event's exhibition floor to meet representatives in person, or go to www.KluwerLaw.com. About Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance, risk, and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2021 annual revenues of 4.8 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,800 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY). For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com , follow us on LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook , and YouTube . MEDIA CONTACT: Linda Gharib Director, Brand & Communications Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Tel: +1 (646) 887-7962 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory DUBLIN, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Base Oil Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global base oil market reached a volume of 31.2 Million Tons in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach a volume of 36.7 Million Tons by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 2.74% during 2021-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Base oil refers to a blend stock aiding in formulating numerous lubricating oils that are used in engines and other machinery. It is produced by extracting and treating high-viscosity material from narrow distillation cuts of vacuum gasoil (VGO) or residue, which requires special processing through different units. It helps create a thin film for enhancing heat transfer and reducing tension between moving parts. At present, there is a significant rise in the utilization of lubricants in automobile and truck engines, which in turn, is positively influencing the requirement of base oil across the globe. Nowadays, base oils find extensive applications in greases and transmission and gear lubricants. This, in confluence with the increasing utilization of hydraulic oil in the automotive industry and rising sales of automobiles, represents one of the key factors propelling the growth of the market. Moreover, base oils are generally made from crude oil, a non-renewable resource that produces greenhouse gases (GHGs) and causes damage to the environment. As a result, other alternatives for base oils are being researched and implemented in newer engine oil products, such as bio-olefins, which are derived from renewable resources like biomass. Besides this, vegetable oils are increasingly being utilized as base oils in lubricants instead of mineral oils as they offer numerous advantages. These include nontoxicity, biodegradability, resource renewability, affordable application cost, and high viscosity index. In addition, vegetable oils are cheaper than ester-based oils and provide more potential for the successful implementation as lubricants in base oils. This, along with the rising sales of cars around the world, is projected to drive the market in the upcoming years. Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BP plc, Chevron Corporation, China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Evonik Industries AG, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), Phillips 66 Company, PT Pertamina(Persero), Repsol S.A., Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Shell plc and TotalEnergies SE. Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global base oil market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global base oil market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the type? What is the breakup of the market based on the group? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global base oil market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Base Oil Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Type 6.1 Mineral 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Synthetic 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 Bio-Based 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Group 7.1 Group I 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Group II 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 7.3 Group III 7.3.1 Market Trends 7.3.2 Market Forecast 7.4 Group IV 7.4.1 Market Trends 7.4.2 Market Forecast 7.5 Group V 7.5.1 Market Trends 7.5.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Application 8.1 Automotive Oil 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Industrial Oil 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 8.3 Metalworking Fluids 8.3.1 Market Trends 8.3.2 Market Forecast 8.4 Hydraulic Oil 8.4.1 Market Trends 8.4.2 Market Forecast 8.5 Greases 8.5.1 Market Trends 8.5.2 Market Forecast 8.6 Others 8.6.1 Market Trends 8.6.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Region 10 SWOT Analysis 11 Value Chain Analysis 12 Porters Five Forces Analysis 13 Price Analysis 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Market Structure 14.2 Key Players 14.3 Profiles of Key Players 14.3.1 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company 14.3.1.1 Company Overview 14.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.2 Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited 14.3.2.1 Company Overview 14.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.2.3 Financials 14.3.2.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.3 BP plc 14.3.3.1 Company Overview 14.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.3.3 Financials 14.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.4 Chevron Corporation 14.3.4.1 Company Overview 14.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.4.3 Financials 14.3.4.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.5 China National Petroleum Corporation 14.3.5.1 Company Overview 14.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.5.3 SWOT Analysis 14.3.6 China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation 14.3.6.1 Company Overview 14.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.6.3 Financials 14.3.6.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.7 Evonik Industries AG 14.3.7.1 Company Overview 14.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.7.3 Financials 14.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.8 Exxon Mobil Corporation 14.3.8.1 Company Overview 14.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.8.3 Financials 14.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.9 Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) 14.3.9.1 Company Overview 14.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.9.3 SWOT Analysis 14.3.10 Phillips 66 Company 14.3.10.1 Company Overview 14.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.10.3 Financials 14.3.10.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.11 PT Pertamina(Persero) 14.3.11.1 Company Overview 14.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.11.3 SWOT Analysis 14.3.12 Repsol S.A. 14.3.12.1 Company Overview 14.3.12.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.12.3 Financials 14.3.12.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.13 Saudi Arabian Oil Co. 14.3.13.1 Company Overview 14.3.13.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.13.3 Financials 14.3.13.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.14 Shell plc 14.3.14.1 Company Overview 14.3.14.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.14.3 Financials 14.3.15 TotalEnergies SE 14.3.15.1 Company Overview 14.3.15.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.15.3 Financials 14.3.15.4 SWOT Analysis For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/l5fym3 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Vicious Citrus is a non-carbonated THC infused lemonade beverage, with a tangy Citrus flavour and a 5:1 THC / CBN ratio. With the maximum amount of psychoactive cannabinoids allowed in any Canadian listed beverage, Vicious Citrus combines 10mg of THC with 2mg of CBN (Cannabinol). Vicious Citrus is one of only a few beverages in Canada containing CBN, a unique cannabinoid that is booming in interest across North America. Xebra expects to launch additional Vicious Citrus cannabis infused beverages into the Canadian market later this year and into 2023. In addition, Xebra is evaluating opportunities to introduce Vicious Citrus and other Cannabis infused beverage brands into other countries. ABOUT XEBRA Xebra is a cannabis cultivation and product company, with global brands and intellectual property. Our focus includes beverages, wellness and leisure. Xebra is an absolute first mover in the Mexican cannabis sector. In Canada, Xebra is launching its unique Vicious Citrus THC/CBN Lemonade in August 2022. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD: Jay Garnett CEO Certain information contained in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, these include, without limitation, statements regarding Xebra Brands Ltd.'s expectations in respect of its ability to successfully execute its business plan or business model; its ability to provide economic, environmental, social, or any benefits of any type, in the communities it operates in or may operate it in the future; its ability to be a first mover in a country, or to obtain or retain government licenses, permits or authorizations in general, or specifically in Mexico, Colombia, Canada, the Netherlands, or elsewhere; its ability to successfully apply for and obtain trademarks and other intellectual property in any jurisdiction; its ability to be cost competitive; its ability to commercialize, cultivate, grow, or process hemp or cannabis in Mexico, Colombia, Canada, the Netherlands, or elsewhere and related plans and timing; its ability to manufacture cannabis beverages, wellness products, or other products; its ability to commercialize or sell cannabis beverages, wellness products, or other products, in Mexico, Colombia, Canada, the Netherlands, or elsewhere; its ability to launch, commercialize or to sell Vicious Citrus Lemonade or any additional cannabis infused beverage brands or products, at any time, in any jurisdiction, and its related plans and claims, including market interest; its ability to commercialize or to sell Elements wellness products in any jurisdiction at any time; its ability to create wellness products that have a therapeutic effect or benefit; plans for future growth and the direction of the business; financial projections including expected revenues, gross profits, and EBITDA (which is a non-GAAP financial measure); plans to increase product volumes, the capacity of existing facilities, supplies from third party growers and contractors; expected growth of the cannabis industry generally; management's expectations, beliefs and assumptions in general, including manufacturing costs, production activity and market potential in Mexico or any jurisdiction; events or developments that XEBRA expects to take place in the future; general economic conditions; and other risk factors described in the prospectus of the Company dated September 30, 2021. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking information and statements. The words "aim", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "contemplate", "target", "intends", "continue", "plans", "budget", "estimate", "may", "will", and similar expressions identify forward-looking information and statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by XEBRA as of the dates of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the inability of XEBRA to generate sufficient revenues or to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plan; changes in government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in various countries; risks associated with agriculture and cultivation activities generally, including inclement weather, access to supply of seeds, poor crop yields, and spoilage; compliance with import and export laws of various countries; significant fluctuations in cannabis prices and transportation costs; the risk of obtaining necessary licenses and permits; inability to identify, negotiate and complete a potential acquisition for any reason; the ability to retain key employees; dependence on third parties for services and supplies; non-performance by contractual counter-parties; general economic conditions; and the continued growth in global demand for cannabis products and the continued increase in jurisdictions legalizing cannabis; the impact of DTC eligibility, or lack of, on the liquidity of the shares of XEBRA and the timely receipt of regulatory approval for license applications. In addition, there is no assurance Xebra will: be a low-cost producer or exporter; obtain a dominant market position in any jurisdiction; have products that will be unique; launch Vicious Citrus "OG" or other Vicious Citrus SKUs; or monetize any asset sales from its Colombian and Dutch subsidiaries. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and XEBRA undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of the foregoing except as required by law. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies could affect XEBRA's actual performance and cause its actual performance to differ materially from what has been expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, XEBRA. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those set out in such statements. SOURCE Xebra Brands Ltd. Backed by military-grade automation and A.I., BreachBits constantly monitors a company's susceptibility of being hacked through exhaustive security testing. Through this risk assessment, BreachBits has deemed ZeroEyes one of the most secure companies in its client portfolio. "Our mission is to shorten emergency response times to save lives across America," says ZeroEyes Chief of Staff Kieran Carroll. "Monitoring our risk of a cyber attack on a continued basis is paramount. While most companies assess their cyber security annually, BreachBits allows us to monitor our security weekly and communicate a transparent BreachRisk Score, which is critical to maintaining the high standard of security our clients expect from us." ZeroEyes' proprietary A.I. gun detection technology integrates with existing security cameras to instantly detect visible guns within range of the cameras. When a weapon is detected, ZeroEyes' military-trained operations center analysts verify the detection and alert first responders within 3-5 seconds. The company's A.I. security solution is currently in use in K-12 schools, universities, and businesses across the country and is monitored 24/7 by military veterans. Because of the critical nature of ZeroEyes' technology in crisis situations, cyber security is a necessity to ensure its systems are online and protected at all times. "ZeroEyes has one of the best BreachRisk Scores we've seen, " says J. Foster Davis, Co-Founder of BreachBits. "Many of our clients operate in areas where lives are on the line including ZeroEyes and the highest standards of security matter. We're proud to provide our services to assist ZeroEyes in their critical mission to save lives." About ZeroEyes ZeroEyes delivers a proactive, human-verified A.I. gun detection software solution that integrates into existing security cameras and mitigates mass shootings and gun-related violence by reducing response times, providing actionable intelligence with images and delivering clarity among chaos ultimately saving lives. ZeroEyes has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a promising anti-terrorism technology and is the first video analytics technology to receive SAFETY Act DT&E Designation. Founded by Navy SEALs and Special Operations military veterans, ZeroEyes delivers accurate and real-time actionable intelligence about the brandishing of a gun near or in an occupied area or building, to local staff and law enforcement with an image of the shooter(s) and location of the threat, within 3 to 5 seconds from the moment the gun is detected. The ZeroEyes team also provides tech consulting, installation assistance and practice drills for active shooter events to enhance safety at schools, corporate and government facilities. Headquartered in the Greater Philadelphia area, the company's affordable and effective gun detection solution has been adopted by the US Department of Defense, leading public K-12 school districts, colleges/universities, commercial property groups, manufacturing plants, Fortune 500 corporate campuses, shopping malls, big-box retail stores and more. Learn more about ZeroEyes at ZeroEyes.com. About BreachBits BreachBits is a cyber risk-rating firm that's revolutionizing the way defenders talk about cyber risk, empowering stakeholders and all parts of an organization with easy-to-understand cyber risk scores. Led by a team of cyber warfare veterans and multi-disciplined professionals, we help defenders predict cyber attacks before they happen and communicate threats to key stakeholders. Organizations are both enabled and threatened by cyberspace today, but BreachBits helps leaders make informed business risk decisions. Learn more at: breachbits.com SOURCE ZeroEyes ECR Minerals PLC (AIM:ECR) said its chief executive will discuss the companys exploration activities in Australia and provide an updated strategic plan for the year ahead at the Proactive One2One Investor Forum this evening in London. As part of the strategic plan, CEO Andrew Haythorpe will discuss the potential disposal of some of the companys non-core assets. Having undergone a significant transition during the first part of 2022, ECR Minerals is now at an exciting and pivotal stage in its evolution as a gold exploration company, he said in a statement. The AIM-traded company hailed the progress made at its flagship Creswick and Bailieston assets in Australia as it reported its interim results last week. READ: ECR Minerals hails progress made at flagship Creswick and Bailieston assets Savannah Resources PLC (AIM:SAV, ETR:SAV, OTC:SAVNF) saw its shares drop 30% after the company announced an additional stage in the environmental licensing process for its Barroso lithium project in Portugal and the departure of its chief executive. The company said David Archer was stepping down immediately after almost nine years as chief executive and that Dale Ferguson, the company's technical director, will assume the role on an interim basis while Savannah searches for a new full-time replacement. Portugal's environmental regulator, Agencia Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA), has proposed that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project should now continue under Article 16, an intermediate and optional step in the EIA evaluation process, before the APA makes its final Declaration of Environmental Impact (DIA) decision. Under Article 16, Savannah has up to six months to work with APA to further optimise certain physical aspects of the project's design and associated environment, ecology and socio-economic considerations and resubmit them for consideration. "While this additional stage in the environmental licensing of the project adds to the overall development schedule, it does have a clearly defined timeline in law," said Ferguson. Savannah's team will make its best endeavours to submit any revised plans to APA as soon as practicable, but under the legislation, a DIA decision point would be reached no later than March 2023. Assuming a positive DIA decision is received at that time, or before, we believe the project's development would still be on track for it to be able to supply concentrate to Europe's first generation of lithium conversion plants as they come online in the mid-2020s. The company had hoped to secure EIA approval for the project this year. Chairman Matthew King recently said he shared the frustrations of shareholders regarding the time taken for the EIA review process - it passed the second anniversary of lodging the EIA in May 2022 - and noted it was a political process over which the company has little control. READ: Savannah Resources keen to make progress at Barroso lithium project Under Article 16, some adjustments may have to be made to the project's infrastructure, such as the access road and waste storage areas, and the management of local water resources, landscape impacts and ecological systems. Socio-economic considerations include the impact of the project on other local businesses, availability of Savannah's resources and technical expertise to stakeholders, and finding further ways to deepen the links between the project and the local population. Savannah said it has a healthy cash position that will enable it to get through the licensing process and into the next phase of the definitive feasibility study. Barroso is Europe's most significant lithium spodumene deposit. The company has said it believes Barroso will be able to supply a material proportion of Europe's lithium demand over the coming decades. Interim CEO Ferguson has been involved with the project since the beginning and has been a member of Savannahs board for nine years. He also has a strong financial interest in the company, both directly and via his holding in Savannahs second-largest shareholder, Slipstream Resources Investments, amounting to a 2.94% stake in Savannah. "I am delighted to have been asked to fill the position of CEO on an interim basis and help the company achieve its next phase of development, Ferguson said. I will increasingly be based in Portugal and London to progress licencing, commercial matters, and conclude the ongoing process to appoint a senior in country leader in Portugal. The companys shares dropped as much as 37% in early trading, before recovering some losses to trade 31% lower at 2.30 pence by mid morning. --Adds details on environmental licencing, CEO departure MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (LSE:MXC, OTC:MGCLF, ASX:MXC) and developer Caba Tech have launched ZAM, a data collection app with a machine learning algorithm. With the ZAM app, which will be launched on app stores this quarter, patients will receive instructions in line with their medical practitioners advice on how and when to take medication wherever they are in the world, but will also measure treatment progress, and have the ability for a qualified doctor to prescribe alternative medication following a consultation, MGC Pharma said. Once an initial phase of data collection is underway, the app's machine learning artificial intelligence (AI) will kick in, using data collected from the app and results from academic and clinical studies to predict potential conflicting side effects from multiple treatments, as well as allowing users to order existing prescriptions. It will also provide the app user's doctor with a comprehensive set of data on treatment and medical history. ZAM is a joint venture between Caba Tech and MGC Pharma, with MGC currently in discussions with Caba Tech to acquire a 40% stake in the application, leaving Caba Tech responsible for the app development. The app will will serve as an 'online doctor', both collecting data and learning from it to predict conflicts in treatments, increasing efficiency for medical practitioners, said MGC co-founder and managing director Roby Zomer. MGC Pharma said it will gain some immediate benefits from the app, as it will enable improved data collection from patients enrolled in clinical trials, and taking MGC Pharma products, which will help improve the accuracy of our clinical trials and dosing of our products. Zomer added: Our conversations across the medical research industry and with patients have shown there is a real need for this app, and we truly believe that it can revolutionise the delivery of medical services for people globally. 6 July 2022 *A corporate client of Hybridan LLP Dish of the day Joiners: LifeSafe Holdings (LIFS.L) joins AIM. The fire safety technology business with innovative fire safety products, has developed what the Directors believe to be market disrupting, eco-friendly fire safety protection products to both protect (via fire extinguishers) and detect (via carbon monoxide, smoke and heat alarms) fires. The Company raised 3m on Admission. Market Cap approximately 16.6m. Leavers: No leavers today. Whats cooking in the IPO kitchen? Immediate acquisitions (IME.L) is to re-join AIM via a Reverse Takeover of Fiinu Holdings Limited. Once complete the Company is proposing to change its name to Fiinu Group plc. Fiinu intends to be a provider of a consumer banking product, the Plugin Overdraft , which is designed to provide customers with an overdraft facility without having to change their current account or request an overdraft from their existing bank. Fiinu's technology arm manages and develops the platform, using open banking, and once the platform is fully operational will also look to develop secondary revenue streams by licensing Fiinu's intellectual property rights. Capital to be raised 8.01m. Target Mkt Cap c.53m. Due 8 July. MicrosSalt, a portfolio company of Tekcapital PLC (LSE:TEK) (AIM: TEK), is eyeing a listing on the London market in 2023. MicroSalt is the U.S. operating subsidiary of Salarius, Ltd. With MicroSalt, companies can make full flavour snacks with the same saltiness as traditional snacks yet with half of the sodium. MicroSalt has recently executed its first bulk B2B MicroSalt order in the US. This progress follows on the heels of the expansion of MicroSalt's SaltMe brand of low-sodium potato chips into over 3,000 retail stores nationwide in the U.S., up from 2,400 stores last quarter. Banquet Buffet ActiveOps (LON: AOM) 73.5p 52.5m The provider of Management Process Automation software for global back-offices announced its results for the year ended 31 March 2022 (FY22). Total revenue grew 12% to 22.9m. Gross margins remained strong at 81%, supported by remote implementations. A loss of 0.3m was recorded at the adjusted EBITDA level (FY21 profit 0.4m), reflecting additional investment in sales and R&D. The company had a net cash of 13.8m exiting FY22 (FY21: 13.1m). Trading in the new financial year has begun in line with management expectations and on target to generate a positive run-rate EBITDA at the end of the current financial year. LON:AO 45.5p 228.3m The online electricals retailer announced its intention to conduct a placing of new ordinary shares at 43p per share. There will be a separate offer of new ordinary shares to retail investors via the PrimaryBid platform. The placing of new ordinary shares and the PrimaryBid offer together are intended to raise gross proceeds of approximately 40m. The net proceeds of will be used to strengthen the balance sheet and increase liquidity back to historic levels (relative to revenue base). The company has decided to close its German operations. The successful execution of this realigned and simplified UK plan is targeting to deliver in the medium term: average revenue growth of 10+% p.a., EBITDA margin of 5+% and improved cash generation with FY23 capex expected to be c. 5m. Argentex Group PLC (AIM:AGFX) 76.9p 87.1m The international provider of foreign exchange services to institutions, corporates and high net worth private individuals, issued its results for the year ended 31 March 2022. Group revenue increased by 23% to 34.5m, including 8.0m from new clients. Adjusted operating profit went up 26% to 11.0m. Earnings per share was 6.6p (basic) and 7.0p (adjusted) (2021: 5.2p basic and 5.9p adjusted). Over 80% of volumes comprised trades in sterling, euro and US dollar, significantly limiting impact of risks in emerging market currencies. Current trading has been positive with first quarter revenue increasing by 22% to 10.1m. C4X Discovery Holdings PLC (AIM:C4XD) 21.7p 49.7m The drug discovery company focused on small molecules announced the receipt of the first milestone payment of EUR3m from Sanofi under the oral IL-17A Inhibitor programme license agreement entered into in April 2021. Under the terms of the deal, C4XD is entitled to up to a total of EUR414m in upfront, pre-clinical, development, regulatory and commercialisation milestone payments plus royalties on future net sales. D4t4 Solutions (D4t4 Solutions PLC (AIM:D4T4, OTC:DFORF)) 238.5p 95.8m The data solutions provider, announced its results for the year ended 31 March 2022. Total revenues grew 7.3% to 24.5m (2021: 22.8m). Annual recurring revenue as percentage of total revenue increased to 57% (2021: 47%), delivering significant progress against medium term target of 65%. Adjusted profit before tax was 3.3m (2021: 4.4m) and statutory profit before tax of 1.8m (2021: 3.0m). Proposed final dividend is 2.07p (2021: 2.00p) and a special dividend of 12.5p per share. Trading during the new financial year has been in line with the Board's expectations, given good levels of both existing and new client activity. Distil (AIM:DIS) 1.3p 8.9m The owner of premium drinks RedLeg Spiced Rum, Blackwoods Gin and Vodka, TRVE Botanical Vodka, Blavod Black Vodka, and Diva Vodka announced the appointment of Commercial Director, Alex Baker, as it remodels for accelerated growth. Alex will be responsible for directly managing major UK off-trade customers and developing new export markets. Meanwhile, Distil (AIM:DIS) will be entering a new distribution agreement with Marussia Beverages UK, following the decision to withdraw its portfolio of spirits from long-term UK distributor, Hi-Spirits. This move will give Distil direct contact with customers, allowing for closer and more agile account management. Inland Homes PLC (AIM:INL) 30.1p 68.3m The housebuilder, partnership housing developer and regeneration specialist focused on the South and South East of England announced that it has exchanged contracts for the sale of 22 existing homes along with a plot of land for one single dwelling with Wilton Park, Beaconsfield for a sum of 12.7m. The net receipt of 12.7m will be used to repay gross debt of 9.5m, with the balance of 3.2m improving the companys working capital. ProCook Group PLC (LSE:PROC) 41.3p 44.9m The UK-based direct-to-consumer specialist kitchenware brand reported its preliminary results for the year ended 3 April 2022. Revenue grew 29.5% to 69.2m, with retail stores re-opened following the end of Covid-19 restrictions. Underlying profit before tax of 9.5m (FY21: 8.3m) reflects the shift back to more normal operating costs post-pandemic. Final dividend of 0.9p is proposed by the Board. The company estimate the UK kitchenware market contracted in its Q1 FY23 by approximately -12%. In light of this macro-economic backdrop and the companys strategic exit of Amazon UK in June 2021, revenue in the first quarter of 11.4m was -21.6% year on year. The Board expects that revenue for FY23, will be broadly in line with the last year, with underlying profit before tax of between 4-6m. Savannah Resources PLC (AIM:SAV, ETR:SAV, OTC:SAVNF) 2.3p 39.3m The European lithium development company announced that it has been notified by Portugal's environmental regulator, Agencia Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA), regarding the next stage of the Environmental Impact Assessment (the EIA) of the Barroso Lithium Project. APA proposed to move the EIA review process into the Article 16 phase. Under Article 16, Savannah has up to six months to work collaboratively with APA to further optimise certain physical aspects of the project's design and associated environment, ecology and socio-economic considerations and resubmit them for consideration. Trakm8 Holdings PLC (AIM:TRAK) 16p 8.0m The global telematics and data insight provider announced that it has been awarded a contract with Love Your Miles to provide devices, a custom app and platform services for Love Your Miles' insurance propositions. This contract is expected to commence writing insurance policies in July 2022. Love Your Miles is an insure-tech start-up. This contract facilitates the launch of Love Your Miles mileage-based telematics insurance products. 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Any reference to a partner in relation to Hybridan LLP is to a member of Hybridan LLP or an employee with equivalent standing and qualifications. A list of the members of Hybridan LLP is available for inspection at the registered office, 2 Jardine House, The Harrovian Business Village, Bessborough Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3EX. It appears weve reached the point in the stock market cycle where buying shares in Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) is pitched as an investment idea. Buy Vodafone may not be the most novel or rousing investment call anybody is likely to encounter, nonetheless, Deutsche Bank today claimed that telecom share thats ordinarily a staple of long-term portfolios presently offers a short-term opportunity. Moreover, with a price target of 225p, Deutsches buy recommendation suggests more than 70% upside to the current market price of around 127p. Deutsche Bank analyst Robert Grindle, in a note, said Vodafone is valued favourably compared to its peers. Grindle added theres little reason why telcos such as Vodafone won't continue to be a relative safe harbour in difficult markets. Vodafone is set for a 6.2% dividend yield for the 2023 financial year, outperforming a sector forecast of 4.4%, the analyst noted, who similarly pointed to a predicted free cash flow yield of greater than 10% versus 6.7% for the sector. Evidently, Grindle reckons picking up Vodafone shares as more than a reactionary or defensive play. If the market rallies, Vodafone shares should not suffer and the group has high exposure to the infrastructure thematic (we expect more deals across the sector), the group's mobile price-volume mix is improving in favour of more flexibility in capital intensity, and management are taking steps to improve operations and value visibility and to grow the business by mid-single digit in the medium term, Grindle said. He, meanwhile, added: Vodafone is well-exposed to the infrastructure thematic via [its interest in] Vantage Towers), the deconsolidation of which should prove cathartic (and see leverage below target which could be good for returns) and cable has negligible implied value - which in our opinion is unsustainable. In terms of downside threats, the analyst noted that emerging markets risk and forex should be factored in, whilst conversely noting that the telcos 11-year fixed debt position is supportive. Anglesey Mining PLC (AIM:AYM) told investors that part-owned associate Labrador Iron Mines has received a US$4mln strategic investment for NYSE-listed Scully Royalty, with the funding tipped to unlock value in the Houston project. Scully is providing US$3mln in an equity component plus US$1mln through a convertible loan facility. The proceeds are expected to provide working capital whilst Labrador Iron Mines advances a number of project initiatives including the negotiation of an off-take deal (with construction finance and product sales components), continuing metallurgical test work, and advancing commercial negotiations with contractors, vendors, and logistics providers. Altogether it is expected to culminate in a preliminary feasibility study by 2023. The inflow of funds is a key development to help unlock the significant value of the Houston project, which has obvious benefits to Anglesey shareholders, said Anglesey Mining chief executive Jo Battershill. Scully is a very well credentialled strategic investor with extensive iron ore mining experience and relationships within the Labrador Trough. Battershill added: The iron ore assets within Anglesey have significant value and present strategic opportunities in geopolitically safe and mining friendly jurisdictions. The Grangesberg Iron Ore Project in Sweden, in which we hold a 20% direct interest and 50% interest via a right of first refusal, is one of the largest iron ore development opportunities within the EU and could potentially supply up to 2.5Mtpa of high-grade iron ore concentrate to European and Middle Eastern steel mills for at least 16-yrs. Angleseys shareholding in Labrador will equate to 11% of the Canadian company as a result of the Scully investment, reduced from 19%. Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:PAR) has activated the first UK site in a Phase 3 study assessing the effect of Zilosul on osteoarthritis, beginning the screening and recruitment process after receiving regulatory and ethics approval from the UK. This first site is at the University of Leeds, led by investigator professor Hemant Pandit, and Paradigm is planning to open a total of seven sites in the UK in the coming months. Canada Health has also given regulatory approval for the trial, although ethics approval is still pending. Paradigm expects to activate up to 10 clinical sites in Canada once such approval has been received. Approval received from four jurisdictions I am pleased we are moving forward with regulatory approval within another planned jurisdiction for the global phase 3 program, Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals chief medical officer Dr Donna Skerrett said. The interaction with Health Canada was positive throughout the regulatory process and the company looks forward to announcing anticipated ethics approval and subsequent participant recruitment in Canada. Equally, the achievement by the Paradigm team to activate participant recruitment in the UK highlights Paradigm's ongoing execution of activities for this global phase 3 trial in knee OA. Paradigm has now secured regulatory approval from four major jurisdictions for its Phase 3 trial; the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Health Canada, and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Galileo Mining Ltd (ASX:GAL) has raised $20.4 million in a placement to sophisticated and institutional investors with funds to be used to accelerate and expand diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drill programs at the Callisto palladium-nickel discovery within the Norseman Project. The oversubscribed placement saw 17 million shares issued at $1.20 per share, with confidence in the company illustrated by cornerstone investments coming from major shareholders Mark Creasy and IGO Ltd. Aggressive exploration planned Galileo managing director Brad Underwood said: We are delighted with the strong market support for our placement which puts us in an excellent position to expand the drilling programs at our recent Callisto palladium-nickel discovery. "The high level of interest has allowed us to complete the $20.4 million placement with $8.7 million of the funds coming from our major shareholders, Mark Creasy and IGO. The placement will increase our total cash to approximately $26.5 million and allow us to aggressively explore this significant new palladium province within our Norseman Project area. "With over five kilometres of strike length at the Callisto discovery, and highly prospective targets at the Jimberlana and Mission Sill prospects, the potential for additional mineralisation is very high. We are currently completing our second RC drill campaign at Callisto with a geological update to be provided to the market on the completion of the program. In addition, we are waiting for the assay results from the first four drill holes of the present drill program which are expected to be returned from the laboratory shortly. The third RC drill program is scheduled to begin at the end of July with diamond drilling planned to commence in August. We look forward to updating the market with results from this exciting new West Australian discovery. Use of funds Funds raised will primarily be used for: Alligator Energy Ltd (ASX:AGE) continues to progress evaluation of the Samphire Uranium Project in South Australia and is aiming to increase its tenure in the highly prospective area. The company has applied for two additional exploration licences surrounding the Samphire Project tenure, which would take its landholding from 370.7 square kilometres to 551.8 square kilometres once granted. In addition, AGE has also kicked off resource re-estimation and a scoping study at the Blackbush deposit. The company has received assays from six remaining holes in a phase one sonic core drill program, which validate the consistency of uranium grades previously reported from the Blackbush West deposit. The best grade thickness (GT) result received was 4.33 metres at 0.289% (2,892ppm) triuranium octoxide for a GT of 12,522 in sonic hole BBS21- 010, with most intersections continuing to be above the initial estimated GT cut-off of 2,000. Looking ahead, ANSTO test-work on the representative core is well underway with promising results so far. Palaeochannel location interpretation Alligator CEO Greg Hall said: The review and updated interpretations of the available gravity data, along with review of historical drill logs in detail plus our recent sonic and rotary mud drilling is providing additional clarity on the palaeochannel location interpretation. We will continue this work as we plan our next drilling program for later this year. ANSTO test-work is showing very promising initial leach results, with further work continuing." Expanded tenure Alligator Energy is seeking two new mineral exploration licences (2022/0026 & 2022/0025) surrounding its current tenements EL 5926 and 6350. This will further stabilise the tenure in this region, particularly as the companys regional exploration strategy is highlighting significant opportunities for extensions of the Samphire palaeochannel system which hosts the Blackbush and Plumbush resources. An in-house re-interpretation of the existing ground gravity data, along with current and historical drilling data, has been undertaken. This work confirms that the palaeochannel hosting the known deposits is part of a much larger palaeochannel system, with approximately 50 lineal kilometres of channels identified for investigation between Blackbush and Plumbush resources. Location map of exploration licence applications. Sonic core assays AGEs assays continue to validate the presence of high-grade uranium in anticipated intervals within unconsolidated basal sands of the Tertiary Kanaka Beds 55 to 80 metres below the surface in the Samphire palaeochannel system, consistent with the companys initial estimated GT cut-off of 2,000. Receipt of these results has been added to the data provided for the resource re-estimation by AMC Consultants (Perth) to assess what portion of the 32 million pounds global inferred resource in the ISR amenable portion of the Blackbush deposit can be upgraded to an indicated category. Forward plan AGE has planned further ground gravity surveys to extend this coverage within EL 6350 and 5926, to investigate the high likelihood of further expansion of the palaeochannel system, an area of more than 200 square kilometres. Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec (Adelaide) has been engaged to commence a scoping study on the Blackbush deposit. Results from the AMC resource estimation and the completion of ANSTO leach/ion exchange recovery test-work will drive the delivery date of the study as they are critical inputs. The scoping study is planned to be delivered next quarter. Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd (ASX:WMC, OTC:WMXCF) has appointed Rowan Johnston as interim non-executive chairman and Michael Monaghan as acting CEO, following the immediate resignation of executive chairman Milan Jerkovic. The pair will be supported by acting COO Robert Ryan and a dedicated on-site team led by Jon Pluckhahn. This new team will be tasked with resetting the mine plan to take advantage of the 5.5 million ounce gold resource reported at the Wiluna operations. Wiluna controls more than 1,600 square kilometres of the Yilgarn Region in the Northern Goldfields of Western Australia. Onwards and upwards This change in management structure comes after a successful and well supported capital raising as the company looks to execute its mine plan. Interim chairman Rowan Johnston said: With the new flotation plant producing saleable concentrate and operating at a higher than name-plate capacity and improved specifications, the question of metallurgy has been answered. The gold is there, it can be extracted and recovered. "With most of the upfront capital expenditure on the WilTails project already spent and its commissioning currently being targeted for October 2022, we will have a further revenue stream coming online. Now we will focus on finalising a realistic, executable mine plan over the coming months that will provide a return to our shareholders, whilst also ensuring a focus on cost management. "This is reflected in the addition of Mike and Robert to the executive management team both well respected and experienced in underground mining engineering. And on behalf of the company and myself, I would like to thank Milan for his tireless efforts, belief and contribution to the company and wish him all the best for the future. About Mike Monaghan Mike Monaghan is a mining engineer with more than 30 years of management experience in underground and open pit operations across a number of commodities as well as commissioning, mine management, turnaround management and environmental and safety compliance in Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe. He was most recently chief operating officer for Highland Gold and prior to that held chief operating officer and general manager roles for Akara Resources in Thailand, a subsidiary of Kingsgate Consolidated, general manager and mining manager positions at AngloGold Ashanti (ASX:AGG)'s Geita Gold Mine in Tanzania, Etruscan Resources Youga Gold Mine in Burkina Faso and Redback Minings Chirano Gold Mine in Ghana. Kingfisher Mining Ltd (ASX:KFM)s James Farrell speaks with Proactives Elisha Newell about the high-grade rare earths it has just returned from the latest drilling at its 100%-owned Mick Well Rare Earth Elements (REE) Project in the Gascoyne Mineral Field in Western Australia. He also delves into the discovery of a second mineralisation zone consisting predominantly of fresh monazite. Farrell highlights the results including hole MWRC011 at MW2 prospect which returned up to 5 metres at 3.45% total rare earth oxides (TREO), including 3 metres at 5.21% TREO and 1-metre at 7.13% TREO. The KFM CEO says these results point to the emergence of an exciting and previously unrecognised REE region. Follow up drilling is now planned along with extensive and targeted exploration programs for its Gascoyne projects for 2022. China cracks down on ecological damage through environmental inspections Xinhua) 16:36, July 06, 2022 BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- China has implemented two rounds of nationwide inspections on ecological conservation and environmental protection in seven years and tackled problems in multiple fields, an official said Wednesday. Aiming to solve environmental problems closely related to people's lives, China accepted and handled 287,000 complaints from the public during the inspections and has made 285,000 rectifications so far, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment Zhai Qing told a press conference. These inspections have a particular focus on typical problems. Some 262 cases have been released to the public, of which nearly half relate to pollution and weak links in environmental infrastructure, and 33.2 percent are in the field of ecology and sustainable development. "When choosing typical cases, we paid special attention to problems causing severe pollution with pressing concerns of the people, such as malicious discharge of pollutants into waters and illegal dumping of large amounts of industrial waste in rivers," Zhai said. "We also stressed acts that harm the ecology and hamper sustainable development," he added, giving examples including illegal construction in protected areas, unlawful land reclamation at seas and lakes, deforestation for housing, and illegal mining. Chinese central authorities started the scrutiny in late 2015 and finished the first round of inspections at the local level by 2018. In the second round, teams inspected over 30 provincial-level regions, two government departments, and six centrally administered state-owned enterprises from 2019 to the first half of 2022. Some 95 percent of the 3,294 problems revealed in the first round of scrutiny and its review period have been rectified, Zhai noted. He said half of the 1,227 issues already found in the second round of inspections have also been solved. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Alligator Energy Ltd (ASX:AGE)s Greg Hall discusses with Proactives Elisha Newell, the companys aim to increase its tenure in the highly prospective Samphire Uranium Project area in South Australia. He discusses the merging of recent data with historical data and how the company intends to work up an Indicated Resource. The company continues to evaluate the area and has just applied for two additional exploration licences surrounding the tenure. These additions would take Alligators landholding from 370.7 square kilometres to 551.8 square kilometres once granted. Hall also talks about the resource re-estimation and scoping study at the Blackbush deposit, which the company has just started and recently returned assays from the Blackbush West deposit. Investors can expect to see further ground gravity surveys to extend coverage within the newly applied for licences, results from the AMC resource estimation and the completion of ANSTO leach/ion exchange recovery test-work that will drive the delivery date of the study. Alkane Resources Limited (ASX:ALK) has exceeded FY2022 production guidance of between 55,000 to 60,000 ounces at its Tomingley Gold Operations in Central West New South Wales as the company looks to become Australias next multi-mine gold producer. Tomingley produced 66,804 ounces of gold for the 12 months to June 30, 2022. Impressively, ALKs Tomingley operation has met or exceeded guidance in every year of operation and the company remains in a strong financial position with unaudited cash, bullion and listed investments at June 30, 2022, totalling A$124.3 million, comprising A$77.9 million cash, A$8.2 million of bullion in hand and A$38.1 million of listed investments. Preliminary all in sustaining costs (AISC) are expected to fall slightly below guidance ($1,500/ounce to $1,650/ounce) for the same period, however, the overall strong 12-month performance at Tomingley has been underpinned by above forecast mined grade from several areas, as well as the ALKs team ability to overcome the impact of weather and COVID-19. Outstanding performance Alkane managing director Nic Earner said: Tomingley continues its outstanding performance, consistently meeting or exceeding guidance. "With approvals in progress to extend the life of Tomingley to at least 2031 at increased production rates, and our excellent initial Boda resource, were looking forward to the year ahead. Alkanes board and management acknowledge and thank the employees and contractors of the company for their strong and continued commitment to safety, production and exploration performance. Alkane is currently expediting a development pathway to extend the mines life beyond 2030. Westwater Resources is developing the Kellyton graphite processing facility that is under construction in east-central Alabama Water Tower Research has initiated coverage of graphite company Westwater Resources Inc (NYSE-A:WWR), calling it a green energy materials company with a laser focus on becoming a US supplier of battery-grade graphite products. NYSE American exchange-listed Westwater Resources is developing the Kellyton graphite processing facility that is under construction in east-central Alabama. In addition, Westwaters Coosa graphite deposit is the most advanced natural flake graphite deposit in the contiguous United States, located across 41,900 acres (around 17,000 hectares) in Coosa County, Alabama. Analysts at Water Tower noted Westwaters plan to develop its processing plant before exploring Coosa could lead to faster value creation. Unlike similar early-stage resource development companies, Westwater made the strategic decision to bring on initial processing capacity utilizing a non-Chinese third-party graphite flake supply and develop its own graphite mine later, which should allow the company to achieve commercial revenues and generate operating cash faster than would otherwise be the case, analysts at Water Tower wrote. This should provide Westwater the means to potentially self-fund, in part, Phase 2 expansion as well as the development of its mine. They also highlighted the firms proprietary, patent-pending purification process that is less environmentally impactful than current technologies used by Chinese producers. The process allows the company to process graphite flake from different sources to produce 99.95%-plus purity materials required by the battery industry. Plant-first approach should pay off Westwater is on track to complete the construction of production facilities and associated infrastructure of Phase 1, keeping the project on plan for completion by the end of the second quarter of 2023, Water Tower noted. By focusing on processing and production capacity for battery-grade graphite products before developing its own mine, Westwater should be able to develop a profitable business even while purchasing graphite flake from third parties, analysts wrote. Water Tower added that Westwaters continued progress on the conversion plant construction should result in the company being first to market when it comes to the domestic supply of both coated and uncoated spherical purified graphite, which it called an important driver of higher shareholder value creation and ultimately a higher stock price. It is here that we believe managements plant-first strategy will ultimately pay off, Water Tower concluded. The full research report is available here. Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas 'Our efforts in the food and beverage sector will allow us to provide differentiating additives enabling producers to offer new and unique products,' said Forward Water CEO Howie Honeyman Forward Water Technologies Corp announced that it has continued to expand its use of its proprietary technology to develop new treatments for the food and beverage industry. The Vancouver-based company, which is focused on saving the earth's water supply using its patented Forward Osmosis (FO) technology, noted that research from Forward Water labs has illustrated a patent-pending concept which is now being scaled to engineering demonstration levels. While focused on the solid commercial leads for water treatment, reuse, and brine management, the cold concentration capabilities of Forward Osmosis coupled with the use of a low-energy recyclable FO draw has the potential to make new high-quality unique extracts and flavourings for the food and beverage sector, said the company. Forward Water said that with the new technology solution, it will be able to explore a whole new world of food concentrates ensuring that the quality and taste of natural concentrates are close to identical to that of fresh original products, while at the same time achieving a better carbon footprint. In the food and beverage industry, volatile aromas and flavours are lost through processing and several factors contribute to the losses including thermal treatments, noted the company. Obtaining a desirable quality concentrate can become challenging when consumers place significant importance on taste and smell. In a statement, Forward Water Technologies CEO Howie Honeyman pointed out that with the firms Forward Osmosis technology, the losses are minimized to boost consumer enjoyment. "Forward Water continues to push the limits of the technology it has access to, added Honeyman. We anticipate that our efforts in the food and beverage sector will allow us to provide differentiating additives enabling producers to offer new and unique products." The company said the new technology solution has a direct effect on the manufacturer's carbon footprint both in the manufacturing process and the emission of greenhouse gasses. Using the new technology, compared to the current thermal evaporation manufacturing process for concentrates, offers large energy savings, and thus a reduction in the associated carbon footprint, said Forward Water. Concentrates also require significantly less energy to transport which directly correlates with the reduction in carbon dioxide. Honeyman added: "The ability to provide higher quality products but to do so in a manner that reduces the carbon footprint is a win-win scenario for Forward Water and the food and beverage sector." Forward Water Technologies was founded by Green Centre Canada, a top technology innovation centre supported by the Canadian government. The company's technology allows for the reduction of waste streams, while simultaneously returning fresh water for reuse or surface release. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive Bitcoin continued to straddle the US$20,000 support line as Wednesdays trade kicked into gear, fluctuating between a high of US$20,300 and a low of US$19,820 in the opening hours. Ethereums price followed a similar trend, having touched US$1,143 as the day commenced before dropping to US$1,128 soon after. In the news, the Italian government went bullish on blockchain, announcing a US$46mln subsidy programme extended to public and private research firms starting from September 2022. Toronto-based crypto lender Voyager Digital (CSE:VYGR, OTCQX:VYGVF) (Voyager Digital (CSE:VYGR, OTCQX:VYGVF), Voyager Digital (CSE:VYGR, OTCQX:VYGVF)) officially filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York, following a large-scale loan default by defunct hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. Voyagers chief executive officer Stephen Ehrlich said: This comprehensive reorganization is the best way to protect assets on the platform and maximize value for all stakeholders, including customers. Kangra , July 6 : The 87th birthday of spiritual leader Dalai Lama will be celebrated with great fanfare on Wednesday at McLeod Ganj Buddhist temple near Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district, where Chief Minister Jairam Thakur would take part as the chief guest. Followers and Tibetans in exile, living in the country and abroad, commemorate July 6 every year as the "incarnation day" of the 14th Dalai Lama. However, due to Covid-19 pandemic, the day could not be celebrated during 2020 and 2021. Now, with the decreasing Covid cases and with no travel restrictions, the Tibetan government-in-exile has decided to celebrate the day with great pomp. The Dalai Lama Temple, also known as Tsuglagkhang, located in McLeod Ganj, is preparing to celebrate the Dalai Lama's birthday in a grand manner. Cultural programmes, not just the Tibetan but also the Ladakhi, Nepali and Gaddi folk culture of Dharamsala, will be organised here to mark the day. Sharing the information, Tenzin Lekshay, official spokesman of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said that the 87th birthday of the Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama will be celebrated "with great pomp, in which Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur will take part as the chief guest". It is worth mentioning that the 14th Dalai Lama, who was born in Tibet on the July 6, 1935, had to leave Tibet due to the situation there and take refuge in India with his followers. The government of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru given Dalai Lama shelter in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. Since then till now the he has been living in Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama is considered the "messenger of peace" all over the world. Chicago, July 6 : The death toll of a massive shooting during a July 4 parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park on Monday has risen to seven, as police updated the number of people wounded to 46. Sergeant Christopher Covelli from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force confirmed the death at a news conference, Xinhua news agency reported. Covelli said 22-year-old suspect Robert "Bobby" Crimo III used a high-powered rifle and fired more than 70 rounds into the crowd. The police said Crimo pre-planned the attack for several weeks, and acted alone in the attack. During an Independence Day parade held in Highland Park in the northeastern part of US state Illinois, Crimo used a high-powered rifle and fired from a rooftop into parade participants. The rifle has been recovered at the scene. The police found a second rifle in Crimo's vehicle when he was arrested Monday evening. Highland Park is an affluent neighborhood 40 km north of Chicago, and residents there will hold a candlelight vigil for the deceased Tuesday night. Srinagar, July 6 : An encounter has started between terrorists and security forces at Hadigam area in South Kashmir's Kulgam district, officials said on Wednesday. "Encounter has been started at Hadigam area of Kulgam. Police and security forces are on the job," police said. The firefight started after a joint team of police and security forces got an input about the presence of terrorists in that area. The security forces cordoned off the area. Terrorists hiding there started firing drawing retaliation by the security forces. There have been a series of encounters between terrorists and security forces across Kashmir over the last few months. Many terrorists and their commanders have been eliminated. Most of the operations have been jointly conducted by the police and the army on the basis of specific intelligence inputs. Istanbul, July 6 : Turkey has established a ministerial council with Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia to boost regional transport and logistics cooperation. At the first meeting of the Quadrilateral Ministerial Coordination Council, the delegates from the four countries signed deals on implementing projects for improving the railroads between the countries, Xinhua news agency reported. "We are taking a new step every day in the development of the Middle Corridor, which has become a center of attraction," Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu said in a press release. The Middle Corridor is a trans-Caspian transport route that links Turkey and Europe with China. The Turkish minister noted that the cooperation among the four countries would significantly contribute to the improvement of this trade corridor. "The increase in trade volume between China and Europe alone signifies the geopolitical importance of our countries," he stressed. Karaismailoglu noted that it takes only about 12 days for a freight train from China to reach Turkey by using the Middle Corridor, referring to the 8,693-km railroad linking Istanbul and the Chinese city of Xi'an. The council's first declared ambition is to have a railroad transportation volume of over 440 million tonnes through the Middle Corridor within 30 years, compared to today's about 38 million, he said. Dharamsala, July 6 : Globetrotting Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama -- an icon of ahimsa (non-violence) and karuna (compassion) -- turned 87 on Wednesday. As the world celebrates his birthday, IANS looks at the commitments of the globe-trotting Tibetan spiritual leader, the global face of the Tibetan exile movement, and his vision and love for India. Besides promoting human values, non-violence and religious harmony, one of His Holiness' commitments is to introduce and revive ancient Indian knowledge in modern India through education and with a secular approach, says an aide of the Dalai Lama. The Buddhist scholar, known for his simplicity and typical jovial style and for whom Mahatma Gandhi is the most influential leader of the 20th century for his idea of non-violence, prefers to participate in meetings with religious leaders, and lectures students and businessmen on ethics for the new millennium and the art of happiness. He believes India is the only country with the potential to combine its ancient knowledge with modern education. Talking to a congregation of Tibetans, who organised the long-life offering ceremony of His Holiness here last month, the spiritual leader said, "I'm in my eighties now, but I'm determined that even when I'm in nineties or past one hundred, I will strive to work for Tibet. "I'm in good health and my brain is clear, so I intend to live for at least the next 25 years. The sun will shine once more on Tibet. Freedom will recover." At the same time, the Dalai Lama, often quoted as saying "although physically I am in India, my mind often goes to Tibet", said he has retired from political responsibilities and he remains a guest of the government of India here in the Kangra Valley, a location chosen for me by Pandit Nehru, the first Prime Minister. According to a Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) post of October 2019, His Holiness, referring to his fourth commitment, remarked he has been focusing on the revival of ancient Indian knowledge in the latter part of his life that mainly promotes ahimsa and karuna. "The world needs more of this knowledge," he said while addressing students and faculty members of a six-month certificate course in ancient India wisdom started by a government college in his abode in Dharamsala, a town in Himalayan foothills where a community of Tibetans live in exile with the Dalai Lama, hoping to sustain their struggle to secure complete autonomy in Chinese-ruled homeland Tibet. The Dalai Lama apprised the students and the faculty that ahimsa and karuna cannot be revived through prayers or rituals but rather through education. In 1959, the occupying Chinese troops suppressed the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa and forced the Dalai Lama and over 80,000 Tibetans into exile in India and neighbouring countries. On reaching India after a three-week-long treacherous journey, the Dalai Lama first took up residence for about a year in Mussoorie in Uttarakhand. On March 10, 1960 just before moving to Dharamsala, which also serves as the headquarters of the exiled Tibetan establishment, the Dalai Lama said: "For those of us in exile, I said that our priority must be resettlement and the continuity of our cultural traditions. We, Tibetans, would eventually prevail in regaining freedom for Tibet." Currently, India is home to around 100,000 Tibetans and the government-in-exile, which has never won recognition from any country. As the world wrestles with instability and crises, India is the only country which has the ability to combine modern technology and science with ancient knowledge and train minds with more compassion and peace, says another post quoting the spiritual scholar. Commenting on fourth and final commitment of the Dalai Lama on revival of the ancient Indian wisdom, Geshe Ngawang Samten, Vice-Chancellor of Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, explained His Holiness belief that ancient Indian knowledge is more than a study of religion and its relevance beyond the religious doctrine to contribute significantly to the well being of human beings. "Given every talk and teachings, His Holiness has always lauded the ancient tradition of the Nalanda institution and expressed his earnest pursuit to restore and revive the ancient Indian knowledge," added Samten. The Nalanda tradition, in particular, considers His Holiness a great potential of making a significant contribution in the fields of philosophy, epistemology, and logic, etc., thus making it a highly intellectual and spiritual tradition. The Dalai Lama, whom Beijing regards as a dangerous "splittist", or separatist, considers himself a son of India. "All particles in my mind contain thoughts from Nalanda. And it's Indian 'dal' and 'chapati' that has built this body. I am mentally and physically a son of India," the Dalai Lama, recipient of over 150 global awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize and the US Congressional Gold Medal, in his addresses is often quoted as saying. "India and Tibet share a relationship of 'guru' (teacher) and 'chela' (disciple). When I see some part of my 'guru' being corrupt, as a 'chela' I feel ashamed." Time and again, a demand from Indian parliamentarians and his believers is being raised that India should confer its highest civilian award -- Bharat Ratna -- on him in recognition of his services to humanity. The 14th Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935, in a small village in the remote Amdo region of Tibet. (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in) Ayodhya, July 6 : Well-known Ayodhya seer, Mahant Raju Das of Hanuman Garhi temple, has issued a threat to filmmaker Leena Manimekalai after the latter shared the poster of her film 'Kaali' which depicts Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. The film poster has triggered an outrage over the goddess' portrayal. Mahant Raju Das told reporters, "Look at the recent events. When Nupur Sharma said the right things, it sparked fire across India, across the world. But you want to insult the Hindu religion? Kya chaahte ho, tumhara bhi sar tan se juda ho jaaye (Do you also want your head to be separated from your body)? Is this what you want?" Raju Das further said, "Filmmaker Leena's documentary movie is an insult to Sanatan dharam and Hindu gods and goddesses." The trailer shows a woman dressed in the costume of Goddess Kaali. She is seen smoking a cigarette in the photo. Along with her usual accoutrements of a trishul (trident) and sickle, the actor playing the goddess is also shown wielding the LGBTQ+ community's pride flag. The seer has urged the Union home ministry to take strict action against the filmmaker. He also asked the government to ban the movie. "I request the Union home ministry to take strictest action against her and to ban the movie. If actions are not taken, we will create a situation that will be difficult to handle," the seer warned. Mahant Raju Das said that the filmmaker can still be forgiven for her audacity if she apologises now. "But if the movie is released, then we will create a situation that you won't be able to handle," he said. Sharad Shukla, former general secretary of Indian Youth Congress, also demanded a ban on the movie. "People who make such web series and documentaries should be put behind bars," Sharad Shukla said. Lucknow, July 6 : In a shocking incident, a car dealer was allegedly kidnapped by a group of 13 men led by a Government Railway Police (GRP) constable from outside KGMU Trauma Centre and taken to a garage where he was subjected to physical torture. The victim was allegedly beaten, kicked, given electric shocks and filmed naked by the accused for two days after he was abducted. He finally managed to escape and contacted the police who arrested one of the accused. The remaining accused are absconding. An FIR has been lodged against Alok Tiwari, Sanjay Singh and Vinay Singh and their ten unidentified aides under the charges of attempt to murder, kidnapping, rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult and criminal intimidation. ACP Chowk, I.P Singh, on Wednesday said: "Tiwari is a GRP constable and the one arrested on Tuesday was among unnamed accused. Police teams are hunting those who are on the run." The victim, Mohan Vishwakarma, is a car dealer and Tiwari used to bring customers to him. However, they separated sometime back due to a financial dispute. Police suspect that this dispute was behind the incident. In his FIR, Vishwakarma said that he was at trauma centre on July 2 night to attend to his niece who later died during treatment. "I was standing near the hospital gate when Tiwari and his aides came in an SUV and forced me to go with them. They took me to a garage where they thrashed me, gave me an electric shock and filmed me naked," he said. "They then took him to the house of one Sanjay Singh where they told me to bring Rs 10 lakh from my home. However, I managed to dodge them and reached the Vibhuti Khand police station but was denied help. They asked me to contact Chowk police as the incident took place in its jurisdiction," he said. New Delhi, July 6 : Much like the strategy for the presidential election, the Opposition is working on a joint candidate for the Vice Presidential poll. Though deliberations are going on among the like-minded parties, no candidate has been finalised yet. When asked, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh said, "We will tell you at an appropriate time." The opposition is contemplating putting up a joint candidate so that it can pose some challenge to the ruling party candidate. Sources in the opposition said a joint candidate will be fielded for the post. However, the opposition has very less chance to do so since in this election the voters are the members of Parliament only and the BJP has a huge mandate in the Lower House while in the Upper House it is the single largest party having more than 95 seats. Sources said that in view of the political turmoil in Maharashtra, someone from the state could be fielded from the opposition camp. The opposition in the Presidential election has fielded Yashwant Sinha but not all the opposition parties have backed him. In the last election, the opposition fielded Gopalkrishna Gandhi, but he lost to Venkaiah Naidu. This time also Gandhi's name was proposed for the Presidential candidate but he declined the offer. Venkaiah Naidu in 2017 polled 516 votes defeating the opposition's Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who could manage only 244 votes. The Vice Presidential election which is scheduled to be held on August 6 (Saturday). The date on which counting, if required, will be taken on the same day, said the Election Commission in an official statement. Bengaluru, July 6 : Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has submitted a 1,975-page charge sheet against 34 accused before a court in connection with the sensational Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scandal, sources in the investigating agency stated on Wednesday. The PSI recruitment scandal made national news after the CID arrested Amrit Paul, an on-duty senior IPS officer of the ADGP rank. He was suspended following the development. The charge sheet has been submitted to Third JMFC (Judicial Magistrate of First Class) Court. It contains the charges against arrested BJP leader Divya Hagaragi and illegalities that had taken place in Jnana Jyothi English Medium School examination centre. The school is owned by Divya Hagaragi. Further probe is on into the examination frauds committed at MS Irani College and Nobel Examination Centers. The allegations include use of Bluetooth devices in examination halls, OMR Sheet fabrication, violation of examination rules, sale of PSI posts and destruction of evidence. Besides Divya Hagaragi, her husband Rajesh Hagaragi, Afzalpur Block Congress president Mahantesh Patil and his brother R.D. Patil who are allegedly close to Congress senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Circle Police Inspector Ananda Metri, DySP Mallikarjuna Saali, Engineer attached to Irrigation department Manjunatha Melakundi and senior IPS officer Amrit Paul have also been arrested in connection with the case among others. Senior IPS officer Amrit Paul, who was arrested on Monday, has denied all charges against him and is not cooperating with the investigators, sources in the CID explained. Investigations have revealed that the accused IPS officer who was in charge of recruitments as an ADGP was in constant touch with DySP Shanthakumar through Whatsapp calls. They have spoken after the exams and on the days of fabrication of OMR sheets. The officers are using the call list as evidence to prove the collusion, the sources said. The investigators have pointed out that both the officers could have used official phones and making of Whatsapp calls indicates foul play, the sources said. DySP Shantakumar has confessed to the crime and revealed information about involvement of ADPG Amrit Paul. However, Amrit Paul maintains that he does not know anything about the scandal. CID probe has also revealed that many candidates who managed to crack PSI exams sat idle in examination halls. The CCTV footage of the examination halls proved this fact. Many of the candidates were also found napping during the exams, sources say. Sources stated that candidates not writing in the answer sheets and getting selected was a clear sign of scandal. Several cases have been lodged in this connection. Investigation into the Police Sub Inspector (PSI) recruitment scandal by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has exposed the nexus between politicians and the Karnataka Police Department. Never in the history has the state police department faced such an embarrassing phase. Opposition Congress has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra following the arrest of ADGP Amrit Paul. It has led to the war of words between Congress and ruling BJP. Both leaders from ruling BJP and Opposition Congress have been arrested by the CID causing major embarrassment to both the parties. The CID officers are now focusing on the kingpins behind the scandal. The Karnataka government had announced re-exams for 545 PSI posts after the scandal came to light. The exams were held for these posts on October 3, 2021. As many as 54,041 candidates appeared for exams. The results were announced this January. Later, the allegations surfaced that candidates who gave very poor performance in descriptive writing got maximum marks in Paper 2. However, the police department and the Home Minister denied any irregularities in PSI exams. One of the candidates filed an RTI application seeking information on OMR sheets of one of the candidates. Though the application was rejected, the OMR sheet of the candidate appeared in public domain. Police sources say that Veeresh, the candidate, had attended only 21 questions in paper 2 but got 100 marks. He was given seventh rank. Congress MLA Priyank Kharge had alleged that more than 300 of the 545 candidates had paid Rs 70 to 80 lakh bribe to officials and ministers to become PSI. The government had handed over the case to CID for further investigation. Bengaluru, July 6 : Next- generation analog computing chipsets for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, could become a whole lot faster and consume less power, thanks to a design framework developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Using their novel design framework, the team has built a prototype of an analog chipset called ARYABHAT-1 (Analog Reconfigurable technologY And Bias-scalable Hardware for AI Tasks). This type of chipset can be especially helpful for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based applications like object or speech recognition -- think Alexa or Siri -- or those that require massive parallel computing operations at high speeds, an IISc statement noted. Most electronic devices, particularly those that involve computing, use digital chips because the design process is simple and scalable. "But the advantage of analog is huge. You will get orders of magnitude improvement in power and size," explains Chetan Singh Thakur, Assistant Professor at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE), IISc, whose lab is leading the efforts to develop the analog chipset. In applications that don't require precise calculations, analog computing has the potential to outperform digital computing as the former is more energy-efficient. However, there are several technology hurdles to overcome while designing analog chips. Unlike digital chips, testing and co-design of analog processors is difficult. Large-scale digital processors can be easily synthesised by compiling a high-level code, and the same design can be ported across different generations of technology development -- say, from a 7 nm chipset to a 3 nm chipset -- with minimal modifications. Because analog chips don't scale easily - they need to be individually customised when transitioning to the next generation technology or to a new application -- their design is expensive. Another challenge is that trading off precision and speed with power and area is not easy when it comes to analog design. In digital design, simply adding more components like logic units to the same chip can increase precision, and the power at which they operate can be adjusted without affecting the device performance. To overcome these challenges, the team has designed a novel framework that allows the development of analog processors which scale just like digital processors. Their chipset can be reconfigured and programmed so that the same analog modules can be ported across different generations of process design and across different applications. "You can synthesise the same kind of chip at either 180 nm or at 7 nm, just like digital design," adds Thakur. Different machine learning architectures can be programmed on ARYABHAT, and like digital processors, can operate robustly across a wide range of temperatures, the researchers say. They add that the architecture is also "bias-scalable" -- its performance remains the same when the operating conditions like voltage or current are modified. This means that the same chipset can be configured for either ultra-energy-efficient Internet of Things (IoT) applications or for high-speed tasks like object detection. The design framework was developed as part of IISc student Pratik Kumar's PhD work, and in collaboration with Shantanu Chakrabartty, Professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St Louis (WashU), the US, who also serves as WashU's McDonnell Academy ambassador to IISc. "It's good to see the theory of analog bias-scalable computing being manifested in reality and for practical applications," says Chakrabartty, who had earlier proposed bias-scalable analog circuits. The researchers have outlined their findings in two pre-print studies that are currently under peer review. They have also filed patents and are planning to work with industry partners to commercialise the technology. Bamako, July 6 : Two peacekeepers of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were killed and five others injured by a mine explosion in northern Mali. The tragedy occurred when an armored vehicle from a UN logistics convoy hit a mine on the route from Tessalit to Gao, MINUSMA said in a statement on Tuesday, adding a rapid intervention force was sent to the site. MINUSMA strongly condemned the attack, saying it may constitute a war crime under international law, and expressing concern over "the frequent use of improvised explosive devices intended to paralyse the operations of the UN mission and to obstruct the return to peace and stability in Mali," said the statement. Head of MINUSMA El-Ghassim Wane paid tribute to the peacekeepers "who died in the service of peace in Mali in the accomplishment of their mission", Xinhua news agency reported. MINUSMA on May 27 reported losing 258 peacekeepers since its establishment in Mali in 2013. New Delhi, July 6 : Roopa Nabar remembers waking up to the smell of breakfast infused with the aroma of a wood fire at her "colossal" ancestral house in Prabhanvalli, near Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. "While on most days, it would be simple rice porridge or bhaatachi pej and a spicy tangy backyard vegetable preparation called dabdabit, the woody aroma from the clay chullah would be new every day," says Nabar, who fell in love with cooking in her mother-in-law's kitchen and after 16 years of working a 9-5 job as a paramedic, put down her lab coat, put on a chef's hat and turned her hobby into a passion -- and to record Konkani cuisine for posterity. "This is an ode to the invisible connect of recipes and culinary traditions that the bind families to communities, communities to villages and villages to culture," Nabar told IANS in an interview of her book, 'My Romance With Food - Varan Bhaat To Biryani' (Popular Prakashan) that details the cuisine of a large swathe that encompasses Maharashtra's Mumbai, Raigad, and Ratnagiri regions; Goa; and Karnataka's Mangalore region along India's West coast. The book covers the cuisines of mainly Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSBs), Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus (CKPs), Kolhapuris, Malvanis, Goans and Karwaris. "As a homemaker, over the years I have gathered a lot of recipes, some from my family and some from friends. Some of the wonderful dishes made in my native village during family gatherings and festivals were on the verge of extinction as the people who created them are no more and those recipes are not replicated often. "I realised that preservation of this culinary heritage, the family recipes, the forgotten recipes is essential for the next generation so that they remain rooted to their soil. This inspired me to go beyond my digital footprints and write a book which has not only recipes but also a lot of information about the local ingredients, some anecdotes, some twists and some tips for the novices. I also took this opportunity to showcase our traditional family GSB cuisine which is simple yet underrated," Nabar, who has a YouTube show titled 'My Coastal Kitchen' on the India Food Network, explained. GSB food, Nabar said, is predominantly simple, staple and coconut based. "I had a lot of traditional family recipes from my 'aai' (mother) and 'aaji' (mother-in-law) in the form of worksheets. Many recipes were incomplete for which I had to do R&D in my kitchen to make them authentic. "Our fish is shallow fried in coconut oil and not deep fried. Dry fish is used in salads. Predominantly backyard vegetables like root vegetables, various types of gourds, forest foliage like 'akur' (wild ferns), 'alambi' (wild mushrooms), 'shewala' (dragon stalk yam) and fruits like pineapples, mangoes, jackfruits are used. These indigenous ingredients are seasonal and very local hence I was always on a look out for their availability and a lot of permutations and combinations were done to curate the recipes," Nabar elaborated. Beginning with beverages, the book guides you through the preparation of snacks and starters, vegetables, chicken and eggs, mutton, seafood, rice and bread, dal and curries, accompaniments, sweets, and spices of the hand-ground variety. The contents are listed in 11 sections and the recipes in a different format to ease the mix-and-match concept. "The content is in standard format as other cookbooks but the flow of recipes is as per the kitchens that influenced me in my culinary journey. The three sections in the book namely Native kitchen, Grandmother's Kitchen and Mother's Kitchen and Mother-in-Law's kitchen contain the traditional 'dadi', 'naani' recipes which are forgotten and which I have tried to revive. "In my kitchen section I have taken the liberty and added a few of my signature recipes which are not classical GSB recipes. The mix-and- match concept is to keep the essence of 'My Romance with Food'. The recipes are interwoven with stories depicting my journey from 'Varan Bhaat (dal-rice) to Biryani'. Feeling adventurous? Start with Sol Kadhi (a coconut and kokum beverage), accompanied by Kolhapuri Missal Pav. Then take in Alambi Sukke (stir-fried mushrooms), Malwani Prawns Curry, Rawas Ambat Tikhat (Indian salmon in sour and spicy gravy), Chutney Paplet (stuffed pomfret), Konkani Chicken Curry, Kalva Masala (oyster in brown masala), Kolhapuri Anda Sukka (spicy egg masala), Kaale Mutton (roasted spiced mutton masala), Stuffed Crabs, and Kachche Ghost Ki Dum Biryani. Pair this with Aamboli (savoury pancakes), Valachi Khichadi (field bean rice), Haath Churme Pohe (flattened rice with fresh coconut), Vade (multigrain puri), not forgetting to spice it up with some Mutton Lonche (mutton pickle), Panchamrit (dry fruit chutney). There is an equally wide variety to top it all, including Gulachi Karanji (jaggery coconut puffs), Kakdicha Dhondas (cucumber cake), and Mangana (chana dal kheer). Kokum, the big daddy of tamarind, is an important seasoning in Konkani cuisine. "The kokum fruit called 'Raatambe' is used to make kokum sherbet and 'Phuti Kadhi'. Kokum petals are the dried form of Raatambe. It is one of most hyper-local indigenous ingredients used in GSB kitchen. The fruit is super sour and its dried petals (aamsul) are used as base or souring agent in many recipes. It adds tanginess to curries and stir fries, adds unique flavour to the dishes, gives beautiful pink colour to the favourite Sol kadhi. It is abundantly available in the region in summer and dried and stored for the year. We don't use tomatoes, aamchur, curd, lemon as souring agents. Sometimes tamarind is used as an option and if the dish has Portuguese influence, vinegar is used," Nabar explained. How important are home-ground spices against the packed variety when it comes to authentic Konkani cuisine? How much of the flavour is lost in the latter? "In most of our fish curries or 'sukkes' (stir fried), fresh coconut is used. Our masalas are simple and made up of ground coconut, coriander seeds, pepper and dry red 'byadgi' chillies and in this we toss backyard vegetables or fish. Most of our masala is freshly ground on grinding stone as it retains its flavour. "We don't use powdered garam masala. We use sambar powder which is slightly different from south Indian sambar powder. We grind it and store it in powder form and this we use for fish fry and 'sukk'. If it is Kolhapuri cuisine we use 'kandalasoon masala' and for Malvani cuisine we use 'Malvani masala'. These can be ground in small quantity at home for freshness, fragrance and flavour. But they are also available in market in packets, which are nor bad. But I prefer freshly ground masalas," Nabar maintained. Does she have any favourite recipes from the book? "Some of my favourite dishes: Varan Bhaat, a basic food along with dollop of ghee (toop), lemon (limbu), is an original wholesome meal packed with carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and plenty of flavours. It is a dish that every member of Maharashtra household irrespective of age, taste preferences will mutually agree that it is a favourite. "Chutney Paplet: several communities in India make a green masala style fish - Parsi Patrani Machchi to Bengali Macher Paruri. My version is a whole white pomfrets stuffed with lightly spiced green mint chutney. Chutney Paplet is definitely a special occasion treat in my home. Thanks to all the TLC (tender love and care) that goes into making it," Nabar said. What next? What's her next book going to be on? "I'm currently busy promoting this book. There are few digital commitments that I need to fulfil. I would like to get my food on people's table in form of pop-ups or weekend menus. The next book will be -- Beyond Biryani! It might even be party cuisine or International cuisine," Nabar concluded. (Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in) Los Angeles, July 6 : Legendary filmmaker-writer Woody Allen has plans of shooting his next movie in Paris for which some French actors have been approached. The auteur shared plans of his Paris movie while promoting the French release of his 2020 film 'Rifkin's Festival', reports 'Variety'. The New York-based director told the French newspaper aLe Journal du Dimanche' that he was aiming to relocate to Paris in September to lens his next project which he said will be a French-language movie with a local cast. According to Variety', while Allen said he was able to find the financing in the US but didn't give any further detail, a source close to the project said the financing was not yet in place. The cast will be confirmed once the financing is locked and shooting dates confirmed. The budget is in the $10 million range. 'Variety' quoted Allen saying that the story of the film will be "in the same vein as 'Match Point,' a sort of poisonous romantic thriller. He further said, "I kept a wonderful souvenir of the filming of 'Midnight in Paris' in 2010. I love this city very much and I've visited it often, discovering magical places every time. He revealed that his daughter Manzie Tio was currently on the shoot of 'Emily in Paris' in the French capital. Allen won an Oscar for best original screenplay with Midnight in Paris in 2011. Reiterating what he had told Alec Baldwin in an interview on the actor's Instagram account, Allen said he was considering ending his directing career after this next movie. "This will be my 50th feature. It might be the last one," said the 86-year-old director. Chennai, July 6 : Tamil Nadu will hold its 31st mega vaccination camp against Covid-19 on July 10. The mega vaccination camp to be held on Sunday will target 1,45,00,000 people, state public health department officials told IANS. The first camp was held on September 12, 2021. According to the health department, a total of 37,33,689 people are yet to take the first dose of vaccine and 1,08,39,989 persons are to receive their second vaccine. The state public health department is conducting door-to-door campaigning to motivate the people to inoculate themselves. The department has pressed into service nurses and health officials with the state primary health centres for the awareness campaign among the public. Tamil Nadu health minister, Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said, "We have already conducted 30 mega vaccine camps against Covid-19 and I request all those who have to take the jab to inoculate themselves during the mega camp to be held on July 10. We are expecting to inoculate 1,45,00,000 people during this mega camp which is the 31st camp the state has conducted since September 12, 2021 when the first mega camp was held." He also said that vaccination and adhering to Covid-19 protocols are the only way out against the disease and added that nearly 110 countries in the world are affected by the BA 4 and BA.5 sub variants of Omicron. Ma Subramanian said that the state government has directed the secretaries of all the departments to enforce the mask mandate in the state. He said that the department of School education and higher education were monitoring the mask mandate in schools and higher educational institutions while local bodies and police were directed to monitor public places and meetings. The Tamil Nadu health department has stepped up surveillance against Cholera in Myladuthurai, Nagapattinam, and Thiruvarur districts as the disease has been reported at the neighbouring Karaikal in Puducherry. New Delhi, July 6 : The pandemic saw the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in providing timely and quality healthcare for millions. Healthtech startup Qure.ai created a niche for itself with advanced technology that reads and interprets medical images like X-rays, CTs, and ultrasounds in less than a minute, making equitable and high-quality healthcare a reality across the globe. Its automated medical imaging tools can shorten the time to diagnosis while enabling physicians to triage medical cases more effectively, especially in time-sensitive situations. In conversation with IANS, Rohit Ghosh, Founding Member at Qure.ai, revealed how their solutions have been playing crucial roles in positively impacting patient outcomes -- be it in public health screening programmes to primary care to tertiary care to private care to the Ministry of Health. Below are edited excerpts from the interview: Q: The Covid-19 pandemic has cemented the use of AI in public health, being used from radiology to preventive health checks in India. What distinguishes Qure.ai from other companies using AI/ML for radiology? A: AI enabled healthcare has emerged as a sunrise sector across the globe, especially since COVID-19. The use of AI in global health scenarios will become prevalent as technology becomes more nuanced and applied. This is where Qure.ai has the upper hand among its competitors. The biggest difference is that we are present in more than 600 sites in over 60 countries across the UK, the US, SEA, LATAM, Australia and Africa, making us the most deployed AI in medical imaging solution globally. That is the difference. During COVID, we worked with partners across the spectrum - including Oman's Ministry of Health, for patient monitoring; NHS Bolton in the UK, one of the first NHS Trusts to adopt AI-aided technology for COVID detection, and the BMC in Mumbai, India for screening and monitoring COVID positive cases. The sheer volume of scans we were able to process validates the scalability of our team and the ease with which we can deploy AI, irrespective of the partner's unique settings or their caseload. Our unique positioning stems from the fact that we are present at every touch point on the healthcare delivery pathway. From public health screening programs to primary care to tertiary care to private care to the Ministry of Health, our solutions have been playing crucial roles in positively impacting patient outcomes. We work with large teleradiology firms like Medica -- the UK's largest teleradiology, which serves over 200 NHS Trusts along with vRad which is US's largest teleradiology serving more that 2,000 hospitals in the US. Similarly, Lumius Imaging from Australia uses the AI in over 130+ imaging centres. In the UK, we have the most deployed AI solutions -- over 20 NHS Trust hospitals use the AI solution. We work with the largest GP network in Malaysia while at the same time work with MOH in countries like the UAE, South Africa, Philippines, India etc. The diversity and the huge scale of the user-base is the real advantage we have. Q: What are the challenges faced by medical practitioners in adopting and leveraging AI in India? How are you working with relevant stakeholders in making this adoption seamless? A: AI in healthcare is a fast-advancing field with multiple players innovating across the spectrum. The biggest challenge is physicians not being aware of the exact way AI can help them in delivering patient care better.Educating radiology teams and resources to use AI optimally in their daily workflow will be crucial in bringing about the change. Qure.ai works very closely with partners to help their resources integrate the solution as seamlessly as possible and leverage it to the maximum for the best results. Educating and informing professionals about the advantages of AI is crucial in changing its perception. Q: How do you ensure that the quality of data used in your AI & ML models is optimal? A: Qure's solutions are trained on one of the largest data sets in the market. Our algorithm is trained to detect sub-optimal scans automatically and flag them if needed. We ensure that the AI is regularly trained with the help of radiologists and specialists to maintain clinical accuracy. We do double reading along with a strong ground-truthing mechanism. We also use an ideal mix of optimal and sub-optimal scans to improve the sensitivity of our solutions. The conscious decision to include sub-optimal and ill-captured scans into the data set was to make it sensitive to these during real-world deployment. Our AI can read and report on images that are captured using handheld devices like a mobile camera in cases of Analog X-Ray setups. This makes it extremely relevant in remote deployment sites in developing markets. It is also able to read scans from different machines with similar accuracy, making it machine-agnostic. The variety and quantity of data coupled with proper annotation makes the AI extremely robust. Q: Tell us about your expansion plans in India. A: We are deeply integrated with the country's public health infrastructure -- our solutions are in use across the band -- from government PHCs to NGOs and private healthcare providers. There approximately 24,855 rural PHCs and 5,190 urban PHCs are operational in India. Our aim is to be present in every single one of them and bring in an equitable standard of care, irrespective of the location. With schemes like Ayushman Bharat, our aim is to help strengthen the comprehensive primary healthcare system for all of India. Currently, Qure.ai is working with NITI Aayog and Municipal Corporation for Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for the past few years and is continuing to be their AI partner across districts to actively screen and test for TB and other pulmonary diseases. PATH, an international NGO, has also been one of the early adopters of AI for Tuberculosis using Chest X-rays and other innovations. Most recently, we had received funding from USAID under the Samridh programme for lung health screening across select locations in India and have an active IHF grant that enables us to cater to multiple rural and semi urban healthcare networks and augment their lung health care pathways. Q: How do you ensure the safety of data/patient information on the cloud? A: As a responsible healthcare technology provider, we are committed to ensuring that our AI software is safe and effective. Qure's solutions are GDPR and HIPPA compliant. Our solutions also meet world-class regulatory standards -- FDA and CE. We have rigorous cybersecurity controls in place to keep our information system up to date and secure. Moreover, we have protected and encrypted data at every level, both at source and in transit by ensuring that any data is de-identified before it leaves a client's premises for cloud processing. Q: What has cloud technology enabled you to do better? A: Qure.ai is tackling AI challenges in the healthcare industry and advancing digital healthcare through medical imaging AI solutions. We are deployed through AWS cloud solutions across our sites. On AWS, we are using EC2 for heavy processing and easy scalability with better performance. It provides us with 99.8 per cent SLA, which improves our performance while keeping the downtime to a minimum. We have also enabled automated backups and failovers in real time. When it comes to data security and privacy, our data is stored in S3 for better security, scalability, performance, and data availability. Also, we have RDS for database reliability. We are using CloudTrail & CloudWatch which monitors and records servers and account activity throughout AWS infrastructure. Moreover, we have AWS WAF, which is a web application firewall at perimeter level to secure our web apps and APIs against malicious traffic, web exploits, botnets, etc. Being on AWS has numerous benefits, cost effective scalability and compliance being the major ones. We can deploy our solutions to the remotest part of the world, powered by AWS, all the while keeping the cost incurred in check. Being present globally also comes with the added responsibility of being compliant with the respective data privacy guidelines of the region, AWS plays a crucial role in this as well. Los Angeles, July 6 : 'Captain America' star Chris Evans is set to join Emily Blunt in the streaming movie 'Pain Hustlers'. The project was first reported out of Cannes by Deadline where the streamer landed global rights to the film. Pain Hustlers, a Netflix movie, will be directed by David Yates. The script is written by Wells Tower. Netflix, which had offered no comment on Evans potentially joining the film, bagged the rights to the film for $50 million during the French Riviera Film Fest. Deadline further reports that the film centres on Liza Drake (played by Blunt), a high-school drop-out dreaming of a better life for her and her young daughter. Liz lands a job with a failing pharmaceutical startup in a yellowing strip mall in Central Florida. Her charm, guts and drive catapult the company and her into the high life, where she soon finds herself at the centre of a criminal conspiracy with deadly consequences. Cameras are expected to start rolling in late August. The film has been billed as being tonally similar to The Big Short, American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street. Lawrence Grey is producing Pain Hustlers under his Grey Matter Productions banner alongside Yates and Yvonne Walcott Yates' Wychwood Pictures. Lewis Taylor and Ben Everard are EPs, with Cyrus Mojibi, Patrick Wade, Lawrence Kao and Lloyd Everard serving as co-producers. Evans is reteaming with the Russo Brothers after his streak with them on The Avengers and Captain America as well as Netflix's The Gray Mana opposite Ryan Gosling. He recently wrapped production on the Dexter Fletcher-directed Ghosted for Apple. Bhopal, July 6 : Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Wednesday warned to impose a ban on the film 'Kaali' if the objectionable posters showing the Goddess smoking a cigarette are not removed. Calling it an insult of Goddess Kaali, the minister also said that if posters were not removed, the government will lodge an FIR against the film's director. "Maa Kaali's insult will not be tolerated, strict action will be taken. We will ask for the registration of an FIR. We will also ban the film in the state. Strict action will be taken if the posters are not removed," Mishra said. An infuriated minister further said that filmmakers find it easy to insult Hindu Gods and Goddess but not any other religion because they know that they will be punished. "It is a well planned conspiracy against Hindus, he added. The poster of the performance documentary Kaali showed the Goddess smoking a cigarette and holding a LGBTQ flag. Madurai-born filmmaker based in Toronto in Canada Leena Manimekalai came under sharp criticism after she shared the poster of 'Kaali' on Twitter allegedly depicting the goddess in a "disrespectful" manner. The poster of the movie has evoked sharp reactions on social media with some people alleging that it hurt their religious sentiments and demanding the arrest of the filmmaker. Amid the immense backlash, the director had said she was willing to pay with her life and added that she had nothing to lose. New Delhi, July 6 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to interfere with the anticipatory bail granted to Malayalam film producer-actor Vijay Babu in an alleged case of rape of an actor. The top court made it clear that Babu would have to restrain from making social media posts in connection with the case and also, he cannot leave Kerala without the permission of the court. A vacation bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and J.K. Maheshwari said Babu would not tamper with the evidence or try to interfere with any witness whatsoever, and also, not harass the victim. The top court passed the order on petitions filed by the victim and the Kerala government challenging the Kerala High Court granting anticipatory bail to Babu. Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing the Kerala government, contended that Babu is an influential person in the movie industry and the witness and the evidence pertaining to the case is also connected with the film industry. Gupta added that he deleted WhatsApp messages of 15 critical days and also informed the court that the impugned order restricted investigation up to July 3, and curbed the time on interrogation. "We don't think that grant of bail is unwarranted but restricting time for investigation is unwarranted," said the bench. The top court said the restrictions on proceeding with the investigation could not be sustained and modified the order of the high court. "We make it clear that the petitioner may be interrogated beyond July 3, 2022, if necessary," it said. Senior advocate R. Basant, representing the victim, said Babu disclosed her identity on Facebook Live to pressurise his client and he also fled to Georgia, where there is no extradition treaty, as he opposed the anticipatory bail granted to Babu. The top court on Tuesday had agreed to hear the plea by the Kerala actor, who was allegedly raped by Babu, challenging the High Court's order granting conditional anticipatory bail to Babu. During the mentioning of the case on Tuesday, the top court was informed that anticipatory bail has been granted to a person, who initially ran away to Dubai and then to Georgia and came back to India only because his passport was impounded here. The Kerala government counsel contended that the high court says that he will be granted bail if he is to be arrested and it also says that his interrogation is restricted from June 27 to July 3. Seoul, July 6 : South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the military on Wednesday to swiftly punish North Korea in case of provocations as he presided over a meeting of top commanders for the first time since taking office. "(The president) ordered our military to swiftly and firmly punish North Korea in the event that it carries out a provocation," his office said after Yoon's meeting with the commanders from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. "He stressed that it is the military's mission to defend the people's lives, property, territory and sovereignty at all costs, and that we must firmly show our resolve to do so," the office said in a statement. North Korea has carried out a series of short-to long-range missile tests since Yoon's inauguration in May and showed signs of preparing for what would be its seventh nuclear test, Yonhap news agency reported. Yoon has made clear any provocation will be met with a strong and united response from South Korea in close coordination with the United States while also offering to keep the door open to dialogue with Pyongyang. "President Yoon stressed that at a time when security uncertainties in the Republic of Korea and in Northeast Asia are growing more than ever, we must secure a strong defense capability to defend the country's security and national interest," the presidential office said. Yoon called for building a strong response capability that includes the three-axis system to deter North Korea's use of nuclear weapons and missiles, and reduce its potential for provocations. The three-axis system refers to Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation, an operational plan to incapacitate the North Korean leadership in a major conflict; the Kill Chain preemptive strike platform; and the Korea Air and Missile Defense system. Yoon urged the commanders to fully invest in artificial intelligence and other science and technology platforms to help address a shortage in troops and prepare for future security threats. He also stressed the need to establish a clear awareness of the enemy and strict military discipline in order to win the people's trust. Moreover, he asked the commanders to take a special interest in improving barracks life for service members. "As commander-in-chief, President Yoon expressed his commitment to providing active support to establish a defense posture in which our military can fight and win, and to achieve national defense innovation," the office said. Participants in the meeting included Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup, Joint Chiefs of Staff chief Army Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lee Jong-ho, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa and Marine Commandant Lt. Gen. Kim Tae-sung. Chennai, July 6 : The Coimbatore police has busted a gang of Jharkhand natives who used to rob people in Tamil Nadu towns after creating a sudden rush in market places. The gang members used minor boys to break into shops and steal mobile phones as well as to rob people of money in market places or where a large number of people assemble including temples, churches, mosques, and places of exhibitions. Police arrested, R. Bahadur Mahto, 36, who is the gang leader, L. Santosh Mahto, 33, L. Babu Mahto, 28 in all from Jharkhand, and Manish Maholi, 22, of Bhagalpur in Bihar. They were booked under Section 392 (robbery) of the IPC and remanded in judicial custody. Three minor boys were arrested and sent to Don Bosco Juvenile home in Coimbatore. The gang was busted after they robbed a person of Rs 1000 while creating an artificial rush at a vegetable market at Uppalam road in Coimbatore. Police said that local people gave a chase and surrounded them and handed them over to the police. On detailed interrogation, the gang members said that they travel in flight on a rotational basis and stay in good hotels. They rob people and shops using the minor boys and after ten days in a town, they make good their escape and sell the commodities including in their home town in Jharkhand. They told police that they had robbed several people in Chennai, Tiruchi, Tiruppur, and Salem. Chennai, July 6 : Actor Silambarasan aka Simbu has returned from the United States and resumed shooting for his films after his dad, director and actor T. Rajendar who was taken to the US for treatment, made a complete recovery. Sources close to the actor said that only Silambarasan T.R. has returned to Chennai and that other members of his family, including his dad are still in the US. It all began with actor-producer T. Rajendar suddendly developing chest pain recently. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital, where doctors treated him. After complete examination, the director was diagnosed with internal bleeding in the stomach. Rajendar was advised to go for advanced treatment. As soon as Silambarasan learnt of his dad's condition, he postponed all his professional and personal commitments to ensure that he was fully available for his father's treatment. As doctors have advised him a long stretch of rest, family members have decided to stay back in the US for a month. Actor Silambarasan has been handling all the processes pertaining to the treatment of his father and made arrangements for all the amenities required for a month before returning to Chennai. New Delhi, July 6 : Delhi Police has arrested a man who sexually harassed a woman at the Jorbagh station of the Delhi Metro in the first week of June, an official said on Wednesday. The incident took place on June 2 at around 1.50 p.m. and came to light after the victim woman shared her ordeal on social media, prompting the Delhi Police to take action. The victim woman, in a 8-post long thread on Twitter, narrated the entire incident as to how she was sexually harrased at the Jor Bagh metro station. She said that she was approached by a man who asked her for help with an address during the metro ride. "I helped him, then got off at my station and sat on the platform to book a cab. The man approached me again at the station under the garb of confirming the address. Believing that he needed help, I peered into his file that he was trying to show me. At this point I noticed that he was trying to thrust his uncovered penis in my face. He attempted to do this thrice. As soon as I noticed, I got up and ran back, I was scared & couldn't think straight," she wrote on Twitter. She further alleged that soon after the incident she approached a policeman standing on the platform, but he flatly refused to help her and asked her to go upstairs to talk about it. Later she went to the CCTV room and checked the footage where she recognised the sexual offender, however, despite raising the complaint the personnel there took no action. "Ultimately, I got no help from the @OfficialDMRC police. I am now extremely paranoid and scared to step out of my house," the woman stated. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Metro) Harendra Kumar Singh said they took cognizance of the social media post and approached the victim woman who is a resident of Gurugram. "We got her statement. We have registered the case. We are examining the CCTV footage. Different teams have been assigned different tasks," the DCP had said a day after the woman was molested. DCP Harendra also mentioned about the victim woman's allegation in which she had stated that she approached a policeman but the cop didn't help her. "Those are the security personnel of CISF and we are taking this matter with their higher-ups to find out under what circumstance the incident was not brought to our notice," he said. Delhi Police Spokesperson Suman Nalwa assured all the women in the national capital that the police take such complaints very seriously and they should not hesitate to approach police in such matters. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had also issued a statement stating that their organisation has zero-tolerance for any act amounting to indecent behaviour and sexual harassment. "We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for traveling at all times. In the context of the recent incident reported at Jorbagh, we have already taken up the issue with the concerned security agencies. Delhi Police has already taken cognizance of the complaint and are investigating into the matter," the DMRC said. It further said that the Delhi Metro premises and trains are covered by CCTV cameras at multiple locations and the footage of this incident has already been shared with the police authorities, who are actively pursuing the case further. "Apart from CCTV cameras, the Delhi Metro trains are equipped with Passenger Emergency Alarms (PEA) through which the passengers can communicate with the train operator. The stations are well lit at all locations to avert any mishap and the Delhi Metro helpline number 155370 is also operational round the clock," it said. Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal had also taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and issued a notice to Delhi Police. "Strongest action must be taken against the man and he needs to be urgently arrested!," Maliwal had said. The details of the arrest of the accused are yet to be shared by the Delhi Police. Kolkata, July 6 : West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, on Wednesday, appealed to the members of the civil society and intellectuals to protest against the ongoing violence and corruption in the state. After playing floral tributes at the statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary, Dhankhar said that the "appeasement politics and patronising communalism were the two biggest dangers" for West Bengal now. "The Constitution of India speaks of equality in treatment and rights. The Union government is exactly doing that. But West Bengal has become a laboratory for destruction of human rights and democracy. I appeal to the intellectuals and members of the civil society to come out of their slumber against this culture of extortion, corruption and violence. I am deeply saddened by their silence," the governor said. He also pointed out that even the Calcutta High Court had once observed that in West Bengal the excesses of the syndicates and events of extortion have become rampant. "It is high time, all people with good senses prevailing should come together and resist such menaces," the Governor said. Speaking on the occasion, the Governor described Syama Prasad Mookerjee as the "true martyr of Bharat Mata" and a "true patriot". "Jammu & Kashmir is an inseparable part of India. A situation almost evolved that Jammu & Kashmir was about to be separated from India. Its was his philosophy that resulted in the abolition of Article 370. It was because of Syama Prasad Mookerjee that West Bengal was born," Dhankhar said. Reacting to the comments of the Governor, veteran Trinamool Congress leader and three- time Lok Sabha member, Saugata Roy said that it was nothing new that the Governor was behaving like a spokesman of a particular political party. "He is acting beyond the constitutional limits and in a sense maligning the chair of the governor. We have great respect towards Syama Prasad Mookerjee. I feel that the position of governor is nothing but a white elephant and this post should be abolished immediately. I am sure that Syama Prasad Mookerjee himself would have expressed a similar opinion," Roy said. New Delhi, July 6 : Arjun Kapoor, who has been in the industry for a decade now, hopes that people see the improvement, growth and the evolution in him as an actor with his upcoming lineup including films such as 'Ek Villain Returns', 'Kuttey' and 'The LadyKiller', which marks his 18th film in the Hindi film business. With a decade-long-journey in Hindi cinema, how has Arjun evolved as an actor? In a conversation with IANS, the actor said: "I would like to say I am a student of cinema. I have evolved in all aspects by working on so many different films. 'LadyKiller' is my 18th film and at the end of the day for me every film is a learning experience...." "I might have done a few films that might have not been my best work but its not been because of my lack of trying but today I feel that the three films that are coming out... starting from 'Sardar Ka Grandson' to 'Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar' and 'Bhoot Police' you can see the variety of roles that have tried to do and do justice to all the three roles. The 37-year-old star added: "Now I have 'Ek Villain Returns', 'Kuttey' and 'The LadyKiller' so I hope people see improvement and the growth in me and evolution in me as an actor and the choices I am making." 'Ek Villain Returns', which also stars John Abraham, Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria, will debut in theatres release worldwide on July 29. The movie is directed by Mohit Suri and jointly produced by T-Series and Balaji Telefilms. Nashik, July 6 : In a shocking crime, a refugee Sufi cleric from Afghanistan was sprayed with bullets in the Yeola town of Maharashtra's Nashik district, police said here on Wednesday. According to the Investigation Officer, the incident occurred around 7.15 p.m. on Tuesday in an open deserted plot near the MIDC industrial zone in the town. Preliminary probe revealed that at least four unidentified persons suddenly came there and fired multiple rounds at the Afghan cleric, targeting him in the head and neck, leading to his instant death. The victim has been identified as Khwaja Sayyed Chishti, 35, a refugee from Afghanistan, popular locally as 'Sufibaba' and used to preach in several religious gatherings or mausoleums. After committing the crime, the four assailants fled with an SUV parked nearby, reportedly owned by the Chishti, and efforts are on to track it. Nashik Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sachin Patil said that a case of murder has been registered and investigations were underway to trace the four suspected assailants. The police officer said that Chishti was an Afghanistan passport holder who had come to India around four years ago and was living legally. "Initially he was in Delhi, then moved to Karnataka and since recently was living in Maharashtra, having permission from the Centre to stay in the country," said Patil. The motive behind the ghastly crime -- tentatively suspected to be a property-linked matter -- is being probed, and a manhunt has been launched for the killers and efforts to find the getaway vehicle. The Yeola Police have formed a special team to probe the incident which has sent shockwaves in the local Muslim communities. Singapore, July 6 : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday met Singapore Deputy Minister Lawrence Wong in the island country and discussed strengthening bilateral ties. Besides, both the leaders also exchanged views on the global political and economic situation. Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Dr Jaishankar said, "Glad to meet DPM and Finance Minister@LawrenceWongST in Singapore. "A good discussion on taking our bilateral partnership to the next level. "Also exchanged views on global political and economic situation." The EAM also thanked the Singapore Defence Minister for hosting him and said, "Always benefit from his (Lawrence Wong's) insights and perspectives. India and Singapore relations are based on shared values, convergence of interests on key issues and economic opportunities. Both the nations have regular political engagement while economic and technological ties are growing and extensive. Sydney, July 6 : Health authorities in Australia's most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) warned on Wednesday that monkeypox is likely to be transmitted within the country, as two cases may have been acquired domestically. The NSW health department said 11 cases of monkeypox have been identified in the state, among which nine cases are likely to have been acquired overseas. NSW Health's Executive Director of Health Protection Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the local transmission of the virus may be occurring, particularly among men who have sex with men. "The virus is mainly spread through skin-to-skin contact with the lesions or rarely through close contact with large respiratory droplets from a person early on in their infection," Xinhua news agency reported quoting Jeremy McAnulty. "So far, in the cases we have seen in NSW, monkeypox is not presenting the way some people expect, such as an extensive rash or lesions all over the body." "It could just be a couple of what seem to be pimples in the genital area or buttocks, so people need to pay careful attention to any potential symptoms. Most of our cases to date have presented to sexual health clinics, rather than GPs." But McAnulty warned people to be on alert for all monkeypox symptoms, which can include fever, headache, body aches, and a rash or lesions on the genital area. Patients should immediately get access to health services and make sure they wear a mask as a precaution. The NSW Health statement said monkeypox is a rare viral infection previously associated with travel to Central and West Africa. However, thousands of cases of monkeypox have been reported from several countries that are not endemic to the virus this year, including several European countries and the United States. Latest updates on Monkeypox Virus Outbreak Hubballi : , July 6 (IANS) The wife of one of the killers of popular Sarala Vaastu expert Chandrashekar Guruji in Karnataka said on Wednesday that her husband must get punished for his crime. Vanajakshi, the wife of one of the killers, Mahantesh Shiroora, speaking to media persons, said, "Chandrashekar Guruji was a good human being. My husband committed a big mistake by killing Guruji." She further clarified that there was no financial dispute between Guruji and them. "This is wrong to say that Guruji had bought flat in my name. We had bought the apartment by obtaining loan from bank," she maintained. "I had joined Sarala Jeevan organization run by Guruji in 2005. I had resigned after being transferred to Mumbai. My husband also left the job in 2016. I don't know the reason for his action," she said. She further stated that she does not know whether Guruji had bought properties in the name of her husband. "My husband did not come home for 4-5 days. Whenever I called, he claimed to be busy. However, I came to know about his action after watching the news on Guruji's murder on television," she added. "I have given all information to Vidyanagar police who are investigating the case," Vanajakshi said. Chandrashekar Guruji was stabbed to death at a private hotel at Hubballi on Tuesday. Karnataka Police have nabbed two killers -- Manjunath Dummavada and Mahantesh Shirur, within 4 hours of the commission of crime in Ramdurg town in Belagavi district. Guruji was stabbed more than 60 times on his chest and abdomen. After he collapsed, the miscreants escaped from the spot. The chilling brutal video of the act went viral on social media causing panic among public. Chandrashekar Guruji was one of the most popular vaastu expert. He regularly featured on television and was one of the known faces in the state. Police sources say that Guruji had bought properties in the name of former employee Vanajakshi. His firm suffered losses due to the pandemic. Guruji had asked Vanajakshi to return certain property to him. However, Vanajakshi's husband did not want to return any property to Guruji who has been putting pressure on them to do so and was killed for the same reason, police sources say. Family sources say that his final rites would be conducted as per the Veerashaiva-Lingayat traditions. Further investigation is on. Beijing, July 6 : Crippled by heavy US sanctions, telecom conglomerate Huawei is seeking ideas from employees on how to build a better future and get revenues back on track, the media reported on Wednesday. Huawei Founder Ren Zhengfei has written a memo to employees, calling them to contribute ideas about the company's future direction, reports South China Morning Post. The memo comes at a time when the Chinese company is struggling to find a revenue source that matches the profitability of its once-thriving smartphone business. "Huawei's strategy should not be decided by a handful of people as it should come from tens of thousands of experts who study our future direction and the path to get there," Zhengfei said in the memo. He urged 6,000 experts and hundreds of thousands of engineers to join the discussions. "The transformation from ideas to projects and products will depend on the review by decision makers, and I hope everything the company does is within boundaries and creates short or long term value," the Huawei CEO stated. "Your innovation should have business value, rather than just being an idea," he added. Huawei's consumer business, which includes smartphones, suffered the most from the US sanctions. The company's revenue was down by half from a year earlier to $38.24 billion. In May this year, Canada moved to ban Chinese telecommunication giants Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks in order to ensure the "long term safety of our telecommunications infrastructure". Following the steps of its partners -- including the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand -- Canada decided to ban the two Chinese tech companies by the start of 2028. US President Joe Biden in November last year signed the law to ban Huawei and ZTE from getting approval for network equipment licences in the country. Earlier, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats to communications networks -- making it harder for the US firms to buy equipment from them. Chennai, July 6 : Getting into lithium ion battery making, automotive and industrial battery major Amara Raja Batteries Ltd is looking at acquisitions overseas to expand its lead acid battery business, said a top company official. "In the lead acid battery business, we are looking at geographical expansion. We are looking at Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia. We have studied the markets and are on the lookout for acquisitions," Jayadev Galla, Co-Founder and Chairman said. He said the worsening power situation augurs well for the battery companies as they sell batteries for uninterrupted power systems (UPS)/inverter, telecom and other sectors. On the company's lithium ion battery plans, Galla said the company will set up a commercial pilot plant in 12-18 months time as talks are on for technology. He said the company has a research and development (R&D) plant in Tirupati for making battery cells to validate the product and not the process. Seoul, July 6 : 'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-jae said that his directorial debut 'Hunt' is a mix of his decades-long experience as an actor and his dream of making a new type of spy movie. Hunt is a story about two rival intelligence agents in South Korea, Park Pyong-ho (Lee) and Lee Jung-do (Jung Woo-sung), who separately chase after a North Korean spy leaking top secret information that could jeopardise national security. The two end up discovering a plot to assassinate the South Korean president, Yonhap news agency reported. It premiered as part of the non-competition Midnight Screening section at this year's Cannes Film Festival held in May. It is Lee's first film where he works behind the camera in his 30-year acting career, during which he has starred in about 40 films and TV series. He also wrote the script of his maiden film. "Although I've been in this world for a long time, I thought writing and directing are different from acting. So I hesitated a lot," Lee said in a press conference. "But I decided to take charge of this project and dived into it." For his directorial debut, he said that he spent most of preproduction, which lasted for four years, in writing the script. He tried to build emotions of each character who confronts unknown and unseen spies, and combines them with his own style of suspense, thrill and action from the beginning. "As many male actors do, I used to enjoy espionage films. As a director, I wanted to create a new type of spy film with Hunt," said Lee, who rose to international fame with the global sensation Squid Game. "Before going into an action sequence, I help actors build their emotions and get deeply immersed in the situation. I think this emotional building explains the violence and rage behind the action scenes." The 48-year old actor-director-writer said it was not easy for him to direct himself. "I know I can't do both well. I kept that in mind from the beginning," he said. "So I tried to focus more on acting when actors stood out, while I concentrate on directing when directorial parts are more important." Hunt is his first project following the global sensation Squid Game, which brought him a number of major acting prizes in the United States, including best lead actor at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. It has also been in the media spotlight due to the reunion of the lead actors, Lee and Jung, from the 1999 drama film City Of The Rising Sun. Actor Jung Woo-sung, who is well known as an old friend of Lee, said he accepted Lee's offer to star in his directorial debut because of Lee's passion in the project, not because of their decades-long friendship. "I tried to distance myself from his project and see it from an objective point of view," he said. "I thought he was ready to do it. I know how much effort he has put into it." Hunt will hit Korean screens on August 10. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, July 6 : A Delhi Court has allowed Jamia Millia Islamia scholar and activist Safoora Zargar, an accused in the alleged larger conspiracy case behind the northeast Delhi riots, to visit her hometown in Kashmir's Kishtwar for Eid-ul-Adha. Granting permission to leave the capital city where she is currently staying, Additional Sessions Judge Naveen Gupta directed the applicant to furnish the itinerary of her visit to the investigating officer through official email. Zargar's counsel submitted that she was granted regular bail on June 23, 2020, by the Delhi High Court and one of the conditions of the bail was that permission from the concerned Court is required if the applicant wants to leave the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The applicant is presently residing at her matrimonial home in Delhi, her counsel said. The festival of Eid-ul-Adha is to be observed on July 10 and the entire family and in-laws of the applicant would be in their hometown Kishtwar for the festival. "Since the hometown of the applicant/accused and her husband is in Kishtwar, the festival of Eid-ul-Adha will have to be performed there only," he submitted. It is further submitted that the applicant has been complying with all other conditions of bail as ordered by the High Court. The applicant has attended all previous hearings in this case and undertakes to attend all future hearings whether physical or virtual as and when notified. The applicant is not a "flight risk" and is ready to abide by any condition imposed by this court, it said further. The court, in its order passed on Monday, also directed Zargar to share her location through Google maps to enable the Investigating Officer to verify her location. Allowing her visit from July 7 to July 31, the judge directed the applicant to join the further proceedings on August 1. New Delhi, July 6 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Madras High Court order, which restrained the passing of resolutions in AIADMK general council meeting and executive councils in connection with the single leadership of the party. A vacation bench comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari said: "In view of the facts and circumstances of case and subject matter of litigation and high court orders, it is considered appropriate that operation and effect of order June 23, 2022 shall remain stayed..". The top court also issued notice on the plea of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) against the Madras High Court order. On July 4, Senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan mentioned the plea before a vacation bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and J.K. Maheshwari and urged the court for an urgent hearing in the matter. Vaidyanathan contended the high court held an extraordinary sitting at midnight at the residence of one of the judges on the bench and an order was passed restraining the general council from passing any resolutions. A counsel - representing the M. Shanmugham of O. Paneerselvam group on caveat -- said there was no urgency to list the matter during the court's vacation. The counsel contended that contempt petitions were filed due to breach of court's directions. Vaidyanathan submitted before the top court that this is judicial interference with a political party's internal functioning. He added, alleging violation of the interim order, contempt petitions have been filed and they are scheduled for consideration before a division bench today. After briefly hearing arguments advanced by counsel, the top court agreed to list the matter on July 6, subject to the approval of the Chief Justice of India. The high court division bench ruled that no unannounced resolutions could be taken up at the meeting of the AIADMK general and executive councils. The high court's order was passed in an intra-court appeal filed by M. Shanmugham, AIADMK's general council member challenging single judge order, declining to restrain the party from making any amendments to its bye-laws. The dispute is connected with the changing of the dual-leadership structure of AIADMK, where O. Paneerselvam (OPS) and EPS, were leading it as coordinator and joint coordinator. EPS group pressing for unitary leadership. London, July 6 : In a fresh blow to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recently survived a leadership challenge, three more have resigned from his government on Wednesday, media reports said. Education ministers Will Quince and Robin Walker and ministerial aide Laura Trott on Wednesday, BBC reported. Will Quince said he had "no choice but to tender my resignation" while Laura Trott said she was quitting over a loss of "trust" in the government. The resignations have added to the pressure on the Prime Minister following the departure of his health and finance ministers. Two of Boris Johnson's top ministers -- Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid -- quit the government on Tuesday. "I have spoken to the Prime Minister to tender my resignation as Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, but I regret that I can no longer continue in good conscience," Javid had said in a tweet. Javid said he can no longer serve in Boris Johnson's government in "good conscience" as he has "lost confidence" in the Prime Minister. Setting out his decision to quit in a letter, he wrote: "I am instinctively a team player but the British people also rightly expect integrity from their Government. The tone you set as a leader, and the values you represent, reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country. Conservatives at their best are seen as hard-headed decision makers, guided by strong values. We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest. "Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither. The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree. It was a moment for humility, grip and a new direction. I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership - and you have therefore lost my confidence too." Soon after, Sunak also put in his paper, saying "we're fundamentally too different". In his letter, he said "the public rightly expect the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning." Noting that "our country is facing immense challenges", he said: "I publicly believe the public are ready to hear that truth. Our people know that if something is too good to be true then it's not true. They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one. "In preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different." "I am sad to be leaving government but I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we cannot continue like this," he added. Bengaluru, July 6 : The authorities have lodged a separate case against ten accused arrested in Bajrang Dal activist Harsha murder case for using mobile phones in highly secured central prison here, police said on Wednesday. The photos and videos of the accused lodged in the Central Prison of Parappana Agrahara, Bengaluru, talking to their family members, friends and relatives on video call, have gone viral on social media. The prison authorities and the state government came under flak for giving preferential treatment to the accused. Harsha's mother even said that it is better to set the accused free instead of keeping them in prison, if this is how someone is punished. She has also said that the system has betrayed them. Considering the sensitivity of the issue, Alok Mohan, ADGP of Prisons has shunted out Chief Superintendent of Central Prison, Ranganath and 6 officers. The investigations have proved that the accused were using mobile phones in the prison. A separate case has been lodged against them which will attract additional imprisonment up to 5 years for the offence, said prison authorities. The raids have been conducted under the Chief Superintendent of Central Prison P.S. Ramesh. The officers conducted checks on 900 under-trials and more than 300 prisoners lodged in the jail. The police recovered Rs 80,000 cash, memory cards, SIM cards, pen drives and knives from the prison, sources said. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the government has taken the case seriously and action will be initiated immediately. Harsha was hacked to death by a gang of miscreants on February 20 amid the height of hijab crisis triggering concerns on law and order situation. Harsha who was popularly known as Harsha Hindu, was in the forefront of Hindutva activities and questioned illegal transportation of cows. He shared fierce Hindutva messages on his social media accounts and also commented on the hijab issue. The murder led to widespread violence in the state. The BJP claimed that some organisations are trying to give a message through the murder. The opposition Congress said that as elections are nearing, the BJP wants to take political advantage of the incident. The case is now being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The police have arrested 10 persons in connection with the Harsha murder case so far. They have also invoked sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against them. Abuja, July 6 : Two persons in the convoy of cars carrying the advance team of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari were injured in an ambush by gunmen in the country's north region, the presidency said. The shooting incident occurred on Tuesday near Dustinma, a town in the northern state of Katsina, when the advance team of security guards, protocol, and media officers were going ahead of Buhari's trip to his country home in Daura for the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebration, senior presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement. "Two persons in the convoy are receiving treatment for the minor injuries they suffered. All the other personnel, staff and vehicles made it safely to Daura," Xinhua news agency reported quoting Garba Shehu. The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police and secret police personnel accompanying the convoy, Shehu said. New Delhi, July 6: On Sunday, July 3, 2022, residents of Tuskan Dhok village in Jammu's Reasi district captured two of the top wanted operatives of the Pakistan-based global terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and handed them over to the Police with their arms and ammunition. They were identified as Talib Hussain Shah of Draj Kotranka, Rajouri, and Faizal Ahmad Dar of Kashmir's Pulwama district. Two AK-47 rifles, seven grenades, a pistol, and a large quantity of ammunition were seized from the militants. On their custodial disclosures, the Police subsequently recovered another pistol besides a number of sticky bombs, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs). While Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for the residents, Director General of the Jammu & Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh announced another reward of Rs 2 lakh from his organisation. "This kind of determination by the villagers shows that, the end of terrorism is not far away", an elated Sinha observed. On Monday, DGP Dilbag Singh along with Additional DG Jammu Mukesh Singh visited Reasi to appreciate the residents' act of gallantry. Talib Shah's capture, however, caused a flutter not only in the Union Territory but also across the country as until recently he had remained closely associated with the BJP. According to BJP's Minority Morcha head in Jammu & Kashmir, Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, Talib had been appointed as incharge of the Morcha's Social Media and Information Technology head in Rajouri district on May 9 after working with the party for some time. However, without joining his post, he tendered resignation on May 27. According to the police, both the apprehended militants had remained in touch with a Pakistan-based handler 'Salman' while Talib Shah had a liaison with the Pakistan-based Lashkar terrorist Qasim. On his Facebook page "Talib Shah Bjp Bjp", Talib Shah claimed to be working with BJP. His account also has a purported photograph of him with BJP's J&K president Raina at the party headquarters in Jammu. Another photograph carried a message: "I support NaMo (Prime Minister Narendra Modi)". After the duo's capture, pictures in the social media purportedly clicked in New Delhi showed Talib in company of some top- ranking BJP leaders and Ministers. Sources in the J&K Police described Talib Shah as the "mastermind of all terror activities, including some killings and grenade attacks, in the last 2-3 years in Rajouri and Poonch districts" bordering the Line of Control (LoC). "He had also motivated many local youth to carry out terror activities in Rajouri, include Shabir and Sadiq, who were arrested before their capture", sources maintained. They said that Talib Shah and Faizal Dar went into hiding soon after Shabir and Sadiq were arrested in Rajouri last week. As the Police published a lookout notice, both Talib and Faizal were seized by the residents in a hilly terrain in Reasi's Mahore area. Sections of hate in the social media began hitting right, left and centre, while assailing everybody from the BJP to the Muslims for varied reasons. Some went to the extent of blaming the BJP for what they called "saffron terror". From the party, some leaders completely disowned Talib Shah while others pleaded that nobody's terrorist credentials were written on one's face. The BJP's J&K President Ravinder Raina alleged that Talib's entry into his party ranks was a "Pakistan-sponsored conspiracy". Many of the social media users commented that all the Muslims were "terrorists" and that the BJP should never trust them. While there is no point to counter cynicism, the fact remains that the people who seized Talib and Faizal are also Muslims. According to the Police, they have several times in the past helped the Police and security forces to conduct counter-terrorism operations up on the hills and virtually finished the separatist insurgency in Pir Panjal and Chenab valleys. Quite a large number from these hill districts, with substantial Muslim population, work in the Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces. The dramatic seizure of the two LeT terrorists is, among many identical incidents, reminiscent of the unparalleled bravery of the then 20-year-old Gujjar girl Rukhsana Kausar who had hacked to death a dreaded Pakistani terrorist of LeT Abu Osama on the night of 27 September 2009 at her residence at Upper Kalsi in Rajouri. Three LeT terrorists led by Osama barged into the house of Noor Hussain and Rashida Begam and asked them to hand over their daughter Rukhsana to them. The couple and their son Aijaz, who had already protected Rukhsana under a cot, offered resistance. Thereupon the terrorists opened fire causing minor injuries to Noor Hussain's brother. Suddenly Rukhsana came out with an axe and hit Osama straight in his head from behind. She quickly picked up Osama's AK-47 rifle and shot him dead. Osama's two accomplices escaped, one of them injured. Subsequently, Rukhsana and her family trekked a long distance over the hills and handed over the slain terrorist's weapons to the local Police Station. Rukhsana and her brother Aijaz were showered with a large number of rewards including the National Bravery Award in 2009 and Kirti Chakra, India's second highest gallantry award in peace time, in 2010. They were also honoured by different civil society organisations and governments of several States and Union Territories. Rajouri is also known for the legendary bravery of an enfant terrible, a female Muslim Police officer from an adjoining hill district, who volunteered to head the counterinsurgent Special Operations Group (SOG), then called Special Task Force (STF), in the border area in 1997-2002. While breaking the glass ceiling and taking the formidable LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen head on, the lady Sub Inspector is credited with having killed more than 80 terrorists in different encounters and operations. On several occasions, she had providential escapes, even as the only female member of her team was gunned down at a dargah in front of 60-70 people in broad daylight. On one occasion, terrorists tried to trap her in an ambush but she had a serendipitous escape. As many as 15 members of her group were killed. Later, the lady Police officer was elevated to the ranks of Inspector and Deputy Superintendent of Police on account of her brilliant counterinsurgency performance and profile. In 2002, she was given the prestigious President's Police Medal for Gallantry. A number of the Muslim Police officers from the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch became role models for thousands of the recruits in the counterinsurgency domain. Even today, all the units of SOG in the Kashmir valley, now called Police Component (PC), are dominated by dedicated personnel, mostly Muslims, from Rajouri and Poonch. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative New Delhi, July 6 : The popularity of Google Pixel devices have substantially dropped in the past few years globally and 36 per cent of Pixel owners are willing to switch to another brand, a new report showed on Wednesday. According to an analysis by Trading Platforms, Google's latest smartphone models, despite mostly positive reviews, seem to have a hard time keeping up with their rivals in terms of customer experience. "Additionally, Google and its Pixel phones gained popularity early on for at least the first few generations but not anymore," said Edith Reads of Trading Platforms. Recently, consumers have reported many bugs and other concerns with their new Pixels devices. Additionally, some analysts believe the problems are down to hardware issues that plague many Pixel owners, not to mention it had the shortest lifespan. "For the first time, the Pixel 6 series has a fingerprint scanner integrated into the display. Unfortunately, as a result, many people find that the fingerprint sensor on their Pixel 6 is slow or not working," the report mentioned. Some Pixel owners are having issues charging their devices. "Charge times for the Pixel devices are slower than planned compared to other brands. The more severe problem is that some chargers and cords from third parties appear to be incompatible," the report mentioned. The fact that Google doesn't offer a charger makes this even more concerning. It's possible that chargers that use a USB-A to USB-C cord won't function, too. "The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro displays are spectacular when they're working. However, users have reported several faults with the phone's display," said Reads. "Google must come up with better solutions to cope with software bugs present in Pixel phones. Google should also roll out quality control processes and ensure timely support to its users. And finally, it should incorporate a more user-friendly interface," the report mentioned. Google is set to bring its Pixel 6a smartphone to India, after a gap of nearly two years. The newly-launched Pixel 6a is coming soon to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, the UK and the US. The device will be available for pre-order starting at $449 on July 21 and on shelves on July 28. Lahore, July 6 : A Pakistan court has sentenced a Christian man to death after finding him guilty of blasphemy. The Lahore court gave its verdict in the case after keeping Ashfaq Masih in jail since 2017, when he was accused of committing blasphemy after being involved in a heated argument with a Muslim customer, who had come to get his bicycle fixed at Masih's shop. As per details, the Muslim man got into a heated argument with Masih after he refused to pay the latter Rs 40 for fixing his bicycle. The Muslim man asked Masih to consider a discount for him, as he was a devotee of Prophet Muhammad. Masih allegedly refused to offer any discount and stated that he was a Christian and believed that Jesus Christ was the last Prophet. This flared up the Muslim man, who later got Masih arrested on charges of blasphemy. Masih was arrested in June 2017 and since then he has been in jail as his case was hit by repeated adjournments in Pakistani courts. However, after five long years, a Lahore court sentenced Masih to death after convicting him on charges of blasphemy. Masih has a wife and a daughter, who have been pleading and demanding Masih's safe return. Masih's mother died in 2019 when he was behind bars. Masih was granted a release on parole to attend his mother's funeral. It was reported that after Masih was arrested, his family was forced to leave Lahore and relocate amid fears of reactionary attacks by various Muslim religions groups. Masih's conviction has spread a wave of concern among the civil society groups and voices of human rights, who expressed deep concern over the continued targeting of non-Muslim minorities, including Hindus, Christians and others, who are, at times, falsely accused of blasphemy. Masih's case is not the first when the court handed over death sentence to an individual from the minority community. In the past, there have been many cases where people have been accused of blasphemy and have ended up being handed with death sentence. A Lahore court had sentenced the principal of a school to death after convicting her of committing blasphemy for claiming to be the Prophet of Islam in pamphlets, denying the finality of Prophet Muhammad. The issue is blasphemy is a sensitive matter in this country which has often been wrongly used to settle personal rivalries. Vienna/Abuja, July 6 : Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo died in Nigeria at the age of 63, the Vienna-based oil organisation said Wednesday. Barkindo was visiting his home country Nigeria to attend an energy conference in the capital city of Abuja, according to an OPEC statement. Mele Kyari, head of Nigeria's National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), tweeted on Wednesday morning that Barkindo died at about 11 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Tuesday. Barkindo's death is "certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community. Burial arrangements will be announced shortly," Xinhua news agency reported quoting Kyari. OPEC said on Twitter on Wednesday that Barkindo's death is "a shock to the OPEC family." "He was the much-loved leader of the OPEC Secretariat and his passing is a profound loss to the entire OPEC family, the oil industry and the international community," said OPEC. Born in April 1959 in northeast Nigeria's Adamawa state, Barkindo assumed the office of the OPEC secretary general in 2016. His tenure was scheduled to expire in July. New Delhi, July 6 : The Consultative Committee of Defence Ministry will meet to discuss the new recruitment scheme Agnipath on July 8 (Friday). Ahead of the commencement of monsoon session of Parliament, this meeting is supposed to discuss the new recruitment scheme in detail and the members of parliament will be given information about it in the meeting on behalf of the ministry. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will preside over the meeting. The committee consists of 20 members of parliament -- 13 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha. The monsoon session is scheduled to start from July 18 and is expected to witness heated debate on the recruitment scheme. The Centre's Agniath Army recruitment scheme for Indian youth, which was termed historic and transformative, has however met with unprecedented spate of agitation and protest in several states across India. The Agnipath Army Recruitment Scheme was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security last month. Under the scheme, around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited between the ages of 17-and-a-half years and 21 years into the three services on a contract basis for four years. However, the upper-age limit for the scheme was raised to 23 years from 21 years for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme for the year 2022 after the protest. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also announced 10 per cent reservation in the Defence Ministry for Agniveers later. New Delhi, July 6 : In a bid to woo Indian consumers, Japanese consumer electronics brand Aiwa on Wednesday launched a new range of TV series -- Magnifiq -- that comes powered by Android 11 and AI Core 4 Processor. The range extends from the fully-loaded 32-inch series to 43-inch (FHD and UHD), 50-inch (4K UHD), 55-inch (4K UHD) and 65-inch (4K UHD), and is priced from Rs 29,990 to Rs 139,990. "We are excited on the establishing of Aiwa India, as our Regional Headquarter, via which hope to assure Aiwa's permanency to the Indian consumers," Kure Shouichi ci, Managing Director of AIWA Electronics International Co. Ltd., said in a statement. "At the launch of our world-class televisions, we are sure the consumer will feel confident to see Aiwa's legacy of excellence over the past 70 years coupled with the latest and most powerful Android 11 technology," Shouichi ci added, who is also the Global Business Director of AIWA Co. Ltd. The 55-inch and 65-inch models of the range come with a built-in soundbar for enhanced audio that gives users the best-in-class experience. The soundbar has been designed with Aiwa Authentic Signature Sound technology to give users the most optimal audio preference. The high-performance Magnifiq range of premium televisions is powered by Android 11 with built-in Google Assistant. With the certified Android TVs, the user's favorite content is always front and centre for quick and easy access. Amaravati, July 6 : Andhra Pradesh's opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has accused Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of diverting public money to his own newspaper. TDP politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu alleged that Jagan Mohan Reddy is doing business with cunning ideas. He came down heavily on the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government for its latest order for spending Rs.5.5 crore on village volunteers every month so that they can buy Telugu daily aSakshi'. The former finance minister alleged that Jagan is diverting funds from taxes and hiked charges to his own newspaper. He also slammed the chief minister for ignoring the welfare of government employees and distributing the 'looted public money to the village volunteers who are his own party workers.' "Employees are the bridge between the government and the public. Their efforts are needed for proper administration by the government. But Jagan Reddy is treating the employees as his slaves. The employees are not getting salaries in time. In the past three years of Y.S. Jagan, the state government employees rarely got their salaries on day one. On the other hand, their salaries are cut off with reverse PRC," Ramakrishnudu said. The TDP leader alleged that Jagan Reddy is doing gross injustice to the employees but promoting the village volunteers. He said the volunteers have been looting the public with their corrupt practices. "They are taking bribes for any welfare scheme. Public think it is more than enough to give them Rs 5,000 salaries. But Jagan Reddy has fed them Rs 485.44 crore on the name of Seva Ratna and Seva Vajra awards. Now, Jagan government has issued a G.O. to pay Rs 200 per month for the sake of buying newspapers," he said. The TDP leader pointed out that there are almost 2.66 lakh village/ ward volunteers in the state and it needs Rs 5.5 crore every month for purchasing newspapers. He alleged that the Chief Minister is giving money to the volunteers from the government exchequer and they will purchase Jagan's own newspaper. "Thus Jagan Reddy is diverting public money to his own 'Khazana'. He is doing business with cunning ideas. Can't he, who claims to be in politics for public service, distribute his own paper to his own party workers free of cost?" he asked. He said Jagan Reddy cancelled many schemes brought by previous TDP government like overseas education, Anna Canteens, Dulhan scheme for Muslim girls, Adarana instruments for Backward Class employment, corporation loans for self employment of SC, ST, Backward Class and Minority youth. The TDP leaders alleged YSRCP leaders and workers are looting all natural resources in the state, grabbing government lands and amassing wealth. Jagan government is imposing heavy taxes on the public, and diverting those funds to his own media. "The spending on public welfare is less than the advertisements given to his own paper. Jagan government has spent Rs 280 crore public money in just 3 years, for Sakshi newspaper alone," he said. New Delhi, July 6 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the city government to ensure that female students in government schools get uninterrupted supply of sanitary napkins under the Kishori Yojana. A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), in which it was stated that sanitary napkins in Delhi's government schools are not being provided since January 2021, causing problems for girls. "In order to ensure that the supply of sanitary napkins is not discontinued, all Heads of Schools, Deputy Director of Education, and other officers have been empowered and given sufficient funds to procure sanitary napkins from Government e-marketplace for distribution," said the court. In the course of the hearing, the court was apprised that the city government has issued a tender for the distribution of sanitary napkins and in the meantime, school authorities have been provided funds to procure napkins from the government e-marketplace for distribution. Accordingly, disposing off the PIL, the court said: "The government shall also in future ensure an uninterrupted supply of sanitary napkins to girl students under the Kishori Yojana Scheme." Petitioner NGO Social Jurist, through advocate Ashok Agarwal, submitted that the city government's Directorate of Education had adopted the Kishori Yojana scheme under which girl students enrolled in its schools will be provided sanitary napkins to maintain personal hygiene and general health in addition to eliminating obstacles in their studies, and prayed for the restoration of the facility. "DoE, vide circulars, directed heads of government and government-aided schools to distribute sanitary napkins to girl students," the plea read. Not providing sanitary napkins to the girl students is irrational, unreasonable, arbitrary, and violative of the fundamental right to education of girl students as guaranteed under the Constitution, read with the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act and the Delhi School Education Act, it stated. Chennai, July 6 : The students of Adhiyan community in Tamil Nadu who live in Nagamangalam in Tiruchi district are suffering as they are not given Scheduled Tribe certificates by the authorities. The community members vouch that they are tribes and their forefathers were fortune-tellers who reach houses with ox to tell fortunes. The members of the Adhiyan community said that they are from tribal communities and are from Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. The members said that an anthropological study in 2001 recorded their origin from the tribal community but the revenue authorities and the village officer level authorities have not provided any certificate to validate that they are from the tribal community. K.R. Kannayian, 53, a farmer from the Adhiyan community told IANS, "After some of our family friends got the certificate, we thought that it would be useful for getting ST reservations for our children. However, the village officers and the revenue department officials informed us that they cannot provide ST certificate based on the studies from the Anthropological studies." He said that many students have ended their higher education dreams as they are not able to pay high tuition fees for collegiate education. It is to be noted that if they had the ST certificate, the students could have availed of free education and also received a scholarship. The tribal farmer said that they are now directed to approach the Tribal Research Centre, Ooty, for getting certificates. Kannayian told IANS that in 2017 a few families got the certificates but at present, they are not able to get as the Tribal Research Centre in Ooty is now the agency to issue the tribal certificates. An official with the Tiruchi district collector's office when contacted told IANS that they are awaiting a report from the Tribal Research Centre to provide the ST status to the community. M. Kannan, a member of Adhiyan community told IANS, "If we had received the ST certificate earlier, our children would have been in government service and we request the authorities to clear this issue and help our children get the reservation. New Delhi, July 6 : Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has come out in defence of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra backing her on her comments on goddess Kali which led to a huge controversy in West Bengal. Tharoor said that her intention was not to hurt any body's sentiment and religion should be left for individual practice. Tharoor in his tweet said, "I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on @MahuaMoitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog says more about them than about the goddess." "We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. It's obvious that @MahuaMoitra wasn't trying to offend anyone. I urge every1 to lighten up and leave religion to individuals to practice privately," Tharoor said further. However, the Congress has categorically said that party does not approve anyone hurting religious sentiments of others. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, party's senior spokesperson in Bengaluru said during a press conference, "I don't want to comment on other parties, but a balance must be maintained in symbols and essence of our faith and people must be careful when they play with emotions of people which are reflected in such symbols, culture and faith." Mahua Moitra, on Wednesday, reportedly unfollowed the official Twitter handle of her party, the Trinamool Congress. However, she has continued following the official Twitter handle of West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. The development is a likely fallout of her growing differences with the party leadership over her comments about Goddess Kali at a recent media conclave in Kolkata. While responding to a question on a controversial film poster showing a woman decked as Goddess Kali smoking, Moitra said that for her Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol accepting goddess. In support of her arguments, she drew the reference of the iconic Tarapith Shakti Peeth temple in West Bengal's Birbhum district, where meat and alcohol are offered while worshipping Goddess Kali's "Maa Tara" version. Her remarks evoked strong criticism by the state BJP leaders who described Moitra's comments as an insult to the traditional Hindu religion. The BJP leaders even demanded Mamata Banerjee to take action against her party MP.As things started getting serious, Trinamool Congress leadership distanced itself from the comments of the outspoken party MP and also issued a Twitter message condemning the comments of Moitra on this count. New Delhi, July 6 : With Twitter once again taking the Indian government to court, the debate has reignited over insufficient IT laws -- demanding the clearance of new IT Rules, 2021 as soon as possible -- to tame Big Tech and penalise them if found not complying with the law of the land, amid a completely changed digital landscape from two decades ago. When the IT Act, 2000 was passed, there was no social media presence. Today, platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are dictating the public discourse and being used for disseminating fake news and trolls from across the spectrum. The Information Technology Act, 2000, which got amended only in 2008, is neither a data privacy law nor a data protection law. In such a scenario, is its Section 69A sufficient to book social media biggies and even penalise them for not complying with the government content blocking orders, especially when it comes to national security? According to New Delhi-based cyberlaw expert Virag Gupta, two decades back, intermediaries were acting as the messenger carrying a message from point A to point B, without interfering in it in any manner. "Nowadays, social media platforms are aggressively active and no longer playing the role of a conventional intermediary," Gupta told IANS. Twitter is an intermediary as per the Indian law which has to compulsorily comply with directions issued by the authorities under section 69A of the IT Act. According to experts, failure to comply with any such directions would take away the indemnity provided under section 79 of the IT Act. "Section 69A of the IT Act gives immense and extraordinary power to the government for blocking the content, which can be challenged before the High Court or Supreme Court," said Gupta. However, its purpose is to maintain public order, prevent cognisable offences and protect sovereignty, integrity, defence, security and India's friendly relation with foreign states. Freedom of speech is guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution. However there are many restrictions under Article 19(2), which are part of the Section 69A of the IT Act. "So in such matters of national security, judicial review of the government orders may not be normally allowed," Gupta told IANS. Twitter was also involved in a legal battle in the Delhi High Court last year with the Centre over not complying with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, that aim to redefine India's digital landscape. After Twitter went to the Karnataka High Court this time, the government reiterated that all Internet intermediaries and social media platforms have to comply with the law of the land. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that "be it any company, in any sector, they should abide by the laws of India". Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that all foreign intermediaries and platforms have a right to approach the court and judicial review in India. "But equally, all intermediary/platforms operating here have an unambiguous obligation to comply with our laws and rules," Chandrasekhar emphasised. The IT Minister has given the hint for a new IT Act to fight multiple cyber challenges faced by the authorities and users. The republished draft by the IT Ministry has revealed a plan to form an appeals panel that can reverse content moderation decisions by Big Tech companies like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The new IT rules also require big social media platforms to help the government trace the originator of messages in special cases. "The intermediary shall respect the rights accorded to citizens under the constitution," according to the new draft. By virtue of Rule 7 of the IT Rules, 2021, the moment any intermediary including any significant social media intermediary does not comply with the Information Technology Rules, they automatically lose their statutory exemption from legal liability. Further, they become liable for being punished for various offences under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Indian Penal Code, 1860. "There is actually no rationale for any service providers not to comply with the applicable law in India. The Internet service providers and social media platforms ought to comply with the rules immediately so as to prevent any potential future legal consequences," said Pavan Duggal, a seasoned Supreme Court advocate and a cyber law expert. The government is clearly entitled to take action for criminal prosecution against the service provider as per Rule 7 of the IT Rules, 2021. Further, all affected persons who have been affected by the inactions of the service provider, can sue the service provider, both for legal action and also for criminal liability, Duggal added. "The ultimate idea is to give a deterrent message to all service providers that they will have to ensure compliance with the applicable laws, otherwise they will continue to keep on facing legal consequences under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules and regulations," Duggal told IANS. "The thumb rule is very clear: if you have to operate in India, then you have to ensure compliance with the applicable Indian law, otherwise you will be prepared to face the legal consequences emerging there from," he added. (Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in) Chennai, July 6 : India's largest retailer Reliance Retail Ltd on Wednesday said it has entered a long-term partnership with Gap Inc. to bring iconic American fashion brand to India. Through the long-term franchise agreement, Reliance Retail has become the official retailer for Gap across all channels in India, Reliance Retail said. Reliance Retail will introduce Gap's latest fashion offerings to Indian consumers through a mix of exclusive brand stores, multi-brand store expressions, and digital commerce platforms. The partnership is aimed at leveraging Gap's position as a leading casual lifestyle brand, and Reliance Retail's established competencies in operating robust omni-channel retail networks and scaling local manufacturing and driving sourcing efficiencies. Founded in San Francisco in 1969, Gap continues to build on its heritage grounded in denim and connect with customers online and in company-operated and franchise retail locations globally. Reliance Retail brings Gap's shopping experience to customers in India, offering the brand's youthful, optimistic fashion for men, women, and kids. "At Reliance Retail, we pride ourselves in bringing the latest and best to our customers and we are happy to announce the addition of iconic American brand, Gap to our fashion and lifestyle portfolio," said Akhilesh Prasad, CEO, Fashion & Lifestyle, Reliance Retail. "We look forward to growing the Gap business across key international markets," said Adrienne Gernand, Managing Director of International, Global Licensing and Wholesale at Gap Inc. Tehran, July 6 : The Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday asked the US to choose between clinching an agreement in the ongoing nuclear talks or insisting on its unilateral demands. "Agreement is possible only based on mutual understanding and interests," Amir-Abdollahian tweeted after a phone conversation with EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Tuesday night. "We remain ready to negotiate a strong and durable agreement," he said, insisting that the United States "must decide if it wants a deal or insists on sticking to its unilateral demands." The conversation between Tehran and Brussels followed recent attempts by the EU to engage the United States and Iran in a fresh round of indirect talks over the revival of the Iranian 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Xinhua news agency reported. Tehran and Washington held indirect talks last week in the Qatari capital of Doha. EU coordinator for the Vienna talks, Enrique Mora, mediated the negotiations to revive the JCPOA, with no agreement reached after two days. Iran signed the JCPOA with major countries in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for removing sanctions on the country. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact. The Iranian nuclear talks began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March over political differences between Tehran and Washington. New Delhi, July 6 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a plea by the Goa government challenging a Bombay High Court judgment, which quashed the state's decision to postpone elections to 186 panchayats, due to the monsoon season. A vacation bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari said it is not inclined to interfere with the high court order or the process of election. "In the interest of justice, we deem it appropriate to observe that in case of any difficulty, it would be open for the State Election Commission to approach the high court for necessary directions. Subject to the observations foregoing, these Special Leave Petitions stand dismissed. Pending applications also stand disposed of," it said. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing the state government, contended that while some would say monsoon is not a calamity, but their contention is it can lead to flash floods etc. "Who will give the machinery for relief work amidst polls?" he asked. However, the bench was not convinced, telling counsel: "You know that there will not be any calamity at that time?" Later, it dismissed the plea. In the order, the bench said: "Having heard learned counsel for the petitioner state and having perused the material placed on record, we find no reason to consider interference in the impugned order dated June 28, as passed by the High Court of Bombay at Goa... for the order being precisely in conformity with the requirements of Article 243-E of the Constitution of India and with the decision of this Court in the case of Suresh Mahajan vs. State of M.P." The bench noted that notification for election has already been issued by the state government on June 30. "That being the position, we find no reason to interfere in the process of elections," it said. The high court told the state government, in connection with postponement of election, that such defiance to comply with constitutional mandate to hold elections has become a regular feature. It had observed that it was the fourth instance in the last two decades when the state government and the State Election Commission have failed to comply with the constitutional mandate under Article 243E to hold Panchayat elections. The Goa government moved the apex court against the high court claiming it was erroneous and as it would have to hold election amidst rough weather -- which includes heavy rains and cyclones. The tenure of 186 village panchayats had ended on June 18, this year. Chennai, July 6 : Essar Oil (UK) Ltd said on Wednesday that it closed the first quarter ended June 30 with higher sales - both in value and volume - and ceased imports from Russia from April onwards. The company also said that it has successfully replaced any shortfall from not importing from Russia by maximising indigenous diesel production as well as sourcing non-Russian diesel. According to Essar Oil (UK), during the first quarter of the current fiscal, its sales volume increased by 10 per cent to 1.72 million tonne as compared to 1.57 million tonne the previous year. The company's consolidated revenue during the quarter under review (on an IFRS basis) was $3.72 billion as against $2.03 billion during the comparable period of the previous year. Deepak Maheshwari, Chief Executive Officer, Essar Oil (UK) Ltd, said the sales volumes are now largely at pre-Covid levels, adding that the company has strengthened its balance sheet and operating performance. "We accelerated our support of the UK's transition away from relying on Russian products and have ceased all Russian imports, while ramping up production of UK-made diesel," Maheshwari said. The UK has historically been reliant on Russia to meet its diesel needs, and a key industry-wide challenge is to source these barrels from alternative domestic or non-Russian sources. In support of the UK government's announced ban on Russian imports to be implemented by the end of this calendar year, Essar Oil (UK) ceased importing all Russian products (including diesel) from mid-April, the company said. All crude processed at Stanlow comes from the US, West African and North Sea sources, the company statement added. On transitioning to a low-carbon future, the company said it has formed Vertex Hydrogen to build the UK's largest hydrogen hub at Stanlow. "Vertex Hydrogen is a critical investment for Essar in helping us achieve our vision of becoming the UK's first low-carbon refinery while supplying UK markets with the sustainable fuels of the future," the statement said. The 1 billion pound investment, which will sit at the heart of the HyNet low-carbon cluster, will produce a total of 1GW per year of hydrogen from 2026, equivalent to the domestic heating energy used by a major British city region. In February, Essar had announced plans to install the UK's first 45 million pound hydrogen-powered furnace to become the country's first low-carbon refinery. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War New Delhi, July 6 : The Centre on Wednesday reduced the gap for administration of Covid vaccine booster doses from existing 9 months or 39 weeks to 6 months or 26 weeks. The Union Health Ministry said that as per the recommendation, it has been decided all beneficiaries from 18-59 years will be administered the booster after completion of 6 months or 26 weeks from the date of administration of 2nd dose. "In view of the evolving scientific evidence and global practices, the Standing Technical Sub Committee (STSCI) of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has recommended to revise the duration between 2nd dose and precaution dose from existing 9 months or 39 weeks to 6 months or 26 weeks," it said, adding that the NTAGI has endorsed it. "Therefore it has now been decided that the precaution dose for all beneficiaries from 18-59 years will be administered after completion of 6 months or 26 weeks from the date of administration of 2nd dose at Private Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs)," the ministry said in a letter to the states. It also said that for beneficiaries aged above 60 years and above as well as the Health Care Workers (HCWs) and Front Line Workers (FLWs), the precaution dose would be administered after completion of 6 months or 26 weeks from the date of administration of 2nd dose at Government CVCs free of charge. "Instructions in this regard may be issued to all the concerned officials and it may also be publicised widely. I look forward to your support and leadership for extending the benefits of precaution dose to all due beneficiaries at Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) as well as at household level during the ongoing Har Ghar Dastak 2.0 Campaign," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in the letter. Jaipur, July 6 : Bollywood star Salman Khan's lawyer Hastimal Saraswat has filed a complaint at Jodhpur police station alleging that he has received death threats through letter which says that 'enemy's friend is enemy'. This threat is similar to that which Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan received recently. Also the letter is similar to what given to Salman Khan. Letter to Advocate Saraswat says, "Enemy's friend is an enemy. Will do something like Moosewala." The threatening person wrote 'LB-GB' on Salman's letter. 'LB-GB' is also written on the letter sent to the Advocate. Saraswat on Tuesday gave a complaint at Mahamandir police station in Jodhpur. He said, "I was in America for a month and a half. When I reached Jodhpur on the evening of June 30, my junior advocate Jitendra Prasad Bishnoi came to my house at around 11 p.m. on July 3 and said, that on July 1, at 10.30 a.m., a letter was found stuck in the latch of room number 8 of Jubilee Chamber located in the Old High Court." "The letter had threatened to kill me and my family. Had to go to Jaipur to meet the Governor on 4th July. Therefore, forwarded this letter to the Mahamandir police station officer on WhatsApp to give him complete information," said Saraswat. Mahamandir police station officer Lekhraj Siyag said that the police has registered a case and a gunman has been posted outside his house on Pawta B Road. The investigation has been started. Saraswat said that sender has quoted himself as LB and GB. It is written - "The enemy's friend is our enemy. We will kill you and your entire family like Moosa." LB refers to Lawrence Bishnoi and GB as Goldie Brar. The enemy is being referred as Salman Khan. It is believed that Salman Khan is the enemy of this gang. However, this is a matter of investigation. Advocate Saraswat said, "Salman is not our friend. He is just a client. This is our profession and I am his counsel, just like other people who come to me with a case and we give counsel." Gandhinagar, July 6 : The Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat has decided to field Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates on general seats for the panchayat elections. The decision came after the State Election Commission (SEC), following a Supreme Court directive, dereserved 10 per cent seats meant for OBC candidates in the village panchayats. Now political parties can field general category candidates on these seats. Elections to 3252 village panchayats, which were put on hold in April, will now be held under the new norms, said N.K. Damor, Joint Commissioner of SEC. The BJP has decided to go with the SEC decision and also ensure that OBC representation does not decrease in the village panchayats. To achieve balance, the party will nominate OBC candidates on general category seats that were reserved for OBC nominees till the last elections, said Yagnesh Dave, the party's media coordinator. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded to restore reservation for OBC candidates. Congress MLA Punja Vansh in a letter addressed to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has expressed concern over the SEC's decision. He said that in January, the Supreme Court had directed all states to constitute a commission that will prepare a new rotation policy for the OBC category based on its population and vote share, but Gujarat never bothered to constitute such a commission, because of which OBC candidates will lose its 10 per cent reserved seats in the village panchayats. He requested the state government to constitute a commission and fix the issue before the village panchayat elections are held. Hyderabad, July 6 : Buoyed by the national executive committee meeting and the public meeting addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend, the BJP in Telangana is now focusing on poaching leaders of other political parties. The saffron party has formed a committee to lure the leaders from other parties, especially ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Former minister Eatala Rajender, who had switched loyalties to BJP last year after being dropped from the state Cabinet by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, is heading the committee. Rajender, who was re-elected from Huzurabad Assembly constituency late last year on BJP ticket, has been tasked with the responsibility of holding talks with leaders of other parties and inviting them to join saffron camp. The former minister, who was associated with TRS since its inception two decades ago, is said to be in touch with some TRS leaders who are unhappy with CM KCR's style of functioning. Though Rajender's resignation from TRS and his joining of BJP was expected to bring many TRS leaders to the saffron camp, this has not happened. However, the BJP leaders are now hopeful that with the central leadership focusing on Telangana, the fence-sitters will now be more willing to switch sides. The Vijaya Sankalpa Sabha organised by the BJP on Sunday at the end of two-day national executive saw former minister Konda Vishweshwar Reddy joining the BJP. Reddy, one of the richest politicians in India, was quickly appointed a member of the committee to lure leaders from other parties. He exuded confidence on Wednesday that he would bring one leader to BJP every month. "BJP has appointed me on an appropriate committee. I will bring one leader to the party every month," said Reddy, who quit the Congress party last year. He was with TRS till 2018. Vishweshwar Reddy had fought and won the Lok Sabha elections from Chevella on TRS ticket in 2014. During his term, he was one of the richest serving MPs. An engineer and entrepreneur, Vishweshwar Reddy is husband of Sangita Reddy, managing director of Apollo Hospitals. HeAhad declared assets worth Rs 895 crore in the 2019 elections. After resigning from the Congress, he had hinted at floating a new regional party with an aim to defeat TRS in the 2023 Assembly elections. He was planning to bring together leaders of various smaller parties and even those TRS leaders who are unhappy with CM KCR to form an alternative. However, he now feels that a new party has no scope in Telangana. He said only BJP can take on TRS. The former MP believes that only the saffron party can stop KCR. BJP's state president Bandi Sanjay felicitated Vishweshwar Reddy, when the latter visited the party office on Wednesday. The national executive and success of the public meeting has boosted the morale of the party, which is now drawing a new strategy to strengthen the organization at the grass root level ahead of 2023 elections. The saffron party is confident of capturing power in the state in 2023 and the resolution passed at the national executive generated euphoria in the party ranks. The state leadership of BJP is now looking to take swift steps to implement the resolution of the national executive and convey its message to people across the state that a double-engine government can fast track Telangana's development. As part of its strategy, BJP is planning a series of visits by union ministers to the state. They will visit Lok Sabha constituencies, spending at least two nights in each constituency and meeting party leaders and workers during the day. All 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana have been divided into four clusters -- Adilabad, Hyderabad, Mahabubnagar and Warangal. Four central ministers have been made in-charge of the clusters. Union Minister for Fisheries Parshottam Kohodabhai Rupala will be in-charge of Adilabad cluster while minister for parliamentary affairs Prahlad Joshi will lead the outreach initiative in Hyderabad cluster. Minister for heavy industries Mahendra Nath Pandey will be in-charge for Mahabubnagar cluster while the Warangal cluster will be headed by Minister of state for north-eastern region B.L. Verma. New Delhi, July 6 : A day before the end of their Rajya Sabha term, Union Ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and R.C.P. Singh on Wednesday resigned from the Union Cabinet. Naqvi, the Minority Affairs Minister, and Singh, the Steel Minister, have submitted their resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources said that the Prime Minister has lauded the contribution of Naqvi and Singh as ministers during a meeting of the Union Cabinet - the last for both ministers - earlier in the day. Sources said that after the Cabinet meeting, Naqvi, who was also the Deputy Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, met BJP chief J.P. Nadda at party headquarters here. Singh, who is from the Janata Dal-United, was made minister during last year's cabinet reshuffle. The BJP and the JD-U both did not give ticket to Naqvi and Singh during last month's biennial Rajya Sabha polls. There is speculation doing rounds in political circles that Naqvi may be made the BJP- led NDA candidate for the post of Vice President. "Several names are doing rounds and Naqvi's name is one of them. There is also speculation that he may be appointed Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir," a party insider said. Mumbai, July 6 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday ordered the appointment of a nodal officer who can coordinate with the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Indian Railways especially during the monsoon. He called upon the Railways - the Central Railway, Western Railway and Mumbai Metro - to remain vigilant and coordinate with the BMC to ensure that train services do not break down during heavy rain in the city. Saying that commuters should not be inconvenienced in case of torrential rain, Shinde asked the Railways to seek help from BEST, the local state transport service, while taking an overview of the monsoon situation in the state. The CM also asked for sufficient information on the rainfall status to be relayed to the people for which various agencies should appoint liaison officers or coordinators. "Deploy the officers to go and work in the field. The situation can be better managed if the officers work in actual ground conditions," Shinde said. Recalling deaths on bad roads during monsoon in Mumbai and other cities, he called upon the civic administration to fill up all the potholes carefully with cold-mix methods to avoid casualties. The BMC must monitor the flood situation and take care that lives are not lost in the flood-prone areas, and the administration should be prepared to shift the affected people to safer locations in time. In areas facing the risk of landslides or hillslides, the CM said the local people must be urged to remain cautious, be prepared to move them and in case they are shifted to safer locations, suitable arrangements for their accommodation and meals should be made. The CM's proposal is considered important as in the past, during monsoon tragedies, various central, state and civic departments have pointed fingers at each other. Since Monday evening, Mumbai, the coastal Konkan region and other districts of the state have been lashed by heavy rain, with many towns inundated disrupting normal life even as the IMD has issued Orange and Red Alerts for several districts till Friday. London, July 6 : The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday announced a formal investigation into Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard. The UK watchdog has invited comments from "any interested party" on the merger enquiry till July 20 and will announce its decision on September 1. "The CMA is considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act, 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services," the UK agency said in a statement. In the biggest deal ever in the world of gaming, Microsoft in January this year announced to acquire Activision Blizzard, the maker of popular games like Call of Duty (CoD) and Warcraft, for $68.7 billion. In April, South Korea's antitrust regulator started to review the proposed deal. The South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it plans to see if the merger of the two US firms could hurt competition in the online game market. The US competition watchdog Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is also reviewing Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Lina Khan-led FTC is scrutinising whether Satya Nadella-run tech giant's move to expand its video game business will "substantially lessen competition". The acquisition is yet another play by the tech giant to secure its stake in the nascent Metaverse and bring more intellectual property (IP) under the Xbox and Game Pass umbrella. When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. Following on the 2014 acquisitions of Mojang (makers of Minecraft) and 2021 acquisition of ZeniMax Media/Bethesda (makers of Doom, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout), Activision Blizzard brings IP, like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush to Microsoft's portfolio. Bhopal, July 6 : The Madhya Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered a case against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for her controversial remarks on Goddess Kali. In the FIR registered by the Crime Branch in Bhopal, Moitra has been booked under Section 295A (outraging religious sentiments) of the India Penal Code. The development came after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned Moitra's remarks, saying, "The statement was made with the sole intention of demeaning Goddess Kali." Moitra triggered a row on Tuesday while addressing a conclave where she said that she had every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess, as each person had his or her unique way of worshipping deities. Chouhan alleged that Moitra deliberately made the remarks without knowing anything about Hindu religion and religious beliefs. The Chief Minister added that Moitra's statement has hurt the religious feelings of Hindus. "We will not tolerate disrespect towards Hindu gods and goddesses at any cost," he added. The police have confirmed registering an FIR against Moitra, though its copy has not been made public. Apart from Madhya Pradesh, the Bengal unit of the BJP has also filed two complaints against Moitra for 'insulting' Goddess Kali. While the first complaint was lodged by some BJP workers on Wednesday morning, the second was lodged by Bengal BJP leader Rajarshi Lahiri at the Rabindra Sarobar police station, as per reports. New Delhi, July 6: Nepal's Lumbini, the birthplace of the Lord Buddha, witnessed a the rise in the number of Indian tourists in the past two months after the official visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, authorities here said. Compared to previous months of this year, the number of Indian tourists visiting Lumbini has increased in May and June, giving much-needed fillip to the tourism sector which is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The sacred religious site received 20137 Indian tourists in May and 25065 in June, according to the statistics provided by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), a government body which is entrusted to carry out overall development of Lumbini. Lumbini had welcomed 7775, 7745, 18834 and 15284 Indian tourists in the months of January, February, March and April respectively, statistics show. The sacred religious site received 20137 Indian tourists in May and 25065 in June, according to the statistics provided by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), a government body which is entrusted to carry out overall development of Lumbini. Lumbini had welcomed 7775, 7745, 18834 and 15284 Indian tourists in the months of January, February, March and April respectively, statistics show. Prime Minister Modi paid a day-long official visit to Lumbini on May 16 at the invitation of his Nepali counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. During the visit, Modi along with Deuba offered special worship at the revered Mayadevi Temple on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, commemorating the birth, awakening, and death of the Buddha. Modi and Deuba jointly laid the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Lumbini. Once completed, the centre will be a world-class facility welcoming pilgrims from various parts of the world, mostly Buddhists, to enjoy the essence of spiritual aspects of Buddhism, projecting India's growing soft power. Rajan Basnet, an information officer at the Lumbini Development Trust, said that the number of Indian tourists has gone up in Lumbini after Modi visited there. "The much-awaited visit of Modi, a charismatic leader of the world and Prime Minister of our closest neighbour, was important for us in many senses. First, Modi highlighted the importance of Lumbini as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, second he also appealed to the Buddhist and other pilgrimages to visit Lumbini in his historic address on the premises of Lumbini," Basnet told Indian Narrative over phone on Wednesday. Basnet said that Modi's visit has made significant contributions in promoting pilgrim tourism not only in Lumbini but throughout Nepal. In his address, Modi had given the message that all Buddhist pilgrims around the world that they have to first visit Lumbini, where Buddha was born, before going to Bodh Gaya in Bihar, and Sarnath and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh -- the other important sites associated with Buddha's life. During Modi's official visit, the two countries discussed promotion of religious and cultural tourism by jointly developing the Buddhist Circuit connecting Lumbini, Bodh Gaya in Bihar, and Sarnath and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. Modi was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Lumbini, the sacred UNESCO-listed Buddhist site in the Himalayan nation. This was also the fifth visit of Modi to Nepal since he became Prime Minister of India for the first time back in 2014. In his previous visits to Nepal, Modi had visited three sacred Hindu sites, namely Pashupatinath, Muktinath and Janakpur to further strengthen multi-faceted age-old civilisational ties. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative New Delhi, July 6: Russian energy major Rosneft has announced the discovery of a huge oil deposit on the shelf of the Pechora Sea flowing from the Ural Mountains to the Arctic Ocean in the northwest of Russia. Containing an estimated 82 million tonnes of oil, it is believed to be one of the largest discoveries on the Russian shelf in recent times. "The field was discovered based on the results of drilling a prospecting and appraisal well at the structure of the same name in the Medynsko-Varandeysky license area. The work was carried out by specialists from RN-Bureniye and RN-Shelf-Arktika (part of Rosneft) using advanced Russian equipment and in accordance with the highest standards of industrial safety and environmental protection. The resulting oil is light, low-sulfur, low viscosity," the company said in a statement recently. As geological explorations continue in the region, the latest discovery comes at a time when the Western countries remain committed to phase out dependency on Russian energy, including by phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil, due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. With Finland and Sweden set to join the North Atlantic Alliance - which Russia says will bring the "Collective West" to its doorstep - it will also be interesting to see how countries manage the natural assets of the Barents Euro-Arctic region. India, meanwhile, too will be watching the developments closely given its robust and growing bilateral energy cooperation which is a key pillar of the special partnership with Moscow. Not only that, New Delhi has highlighted the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route, which passes through Pechora Sea waters, through the promotion of investment and trade linkages. India sees the Northern Sea Route becoming a major shipping lane in future. Russia is the largest investor in India's oil and gas sector with India encouraging further investments by Russian companies, including Rosneft, GazpromNeft and Sibur. Indian public sector companies too have made investments in Russia of about US$ 16 billion, including in the Far East and East Siberia, in oil and gas assets such as Sakhalin-1, Vankor and Taas-Yuryakh. "India is very interested in such large deposits as ours on the Arctic shelf. Relevant negotiations are underway with the Indians. Gazprom is already supplying liquefied natural gas to India. As part of the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin last year in December, Rosneft and the Indian company Indian Oil Corporation also signed a major contract for the supply of oil to India. Indian companies own half of the share in the development of the Vangkor field," Denis Alipov, the Russian Ambassador to India, had said in an interview to Russia Today in February. Moscow and New Delhi also continue to have "promising interactions" on the development of maritime trade routes. "The Indian side is showing undoubted interest in the Northern Sea Route. For our part, we plan that by 2035 the NSR will become a global transport corridor that will connect the Asia-Pacific region with Europe and ensure efficient and safe transportation of goods. It is 40 per cent shorter than the route through the Suez Canal and makes it eight days faster from the largest ports in the Asia-Pacific region to Rotterdam," Alipov had commented during the interview. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Kolkata, July 6 : An undertrial and accused in the Maoist attack on the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) camp at Sildah in West Midnapore district of West Bengal was granted bail on Wednesday by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court after spending over 12 years behind bars. As many as 24 EFR personnel were killed in the attack by the left-wing extremist cadres on February 15, 2010. In the follow-up police action, a Maoist activist, Prasanta Patra was among the many arrested in the same year. Since then, Patra had been languishing behind bars as the trial under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) continued against him for years. However, on Wednesday, Calcutta High Court's division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Ananya Bandyopadhyay made a strong observation that there is little possibility of the trial concluding in the near future. "Out of 70 witnesses, only 34 witnesses have been examined as yet. It also appears evidence against the petitioner is general and omnibus. Petitioner is suffering from psychiatric problems and had been admitted in the institute of psychiatry in the correctional home," the division bench observed. While granting bail to the petitioner, the division bench also pointed out that according to Section 57 of the Indian Penal Code in calculating fractions of terms of punishment, (imprisonment) for life shall be reckoned as equivalent to 20 years. According to the bench, since in this particular case, the petitioner has already crossed half of the limit of 20 years and he is in custody for more than 12 years and since nothing is placed before the bench to show he had contributed to the delay or had played an egregious role in the crime disentitling him, there is no reason to deny his bail plea. "For the aforesaid reasons, we are persuaded to extend the privilege of bail to the petitioner," the court added. Speaking to IANS, counsel for the petitioners in this case, Kaushik Gupta said this verdict by the division bench is crucial not just for this particular petitioner but for all those undertrials booked under UAPA and who have spent years behind bars. "This verdict upholds their rights to be entitled for bail even before the trial is completed," Gupta added. Patna, July 6 : The health status of RJD chief and former Bihar Chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is slightly improving, and he is being taken to Delhi for further treatment, his son and party leader Tejashwi Yadav said on Wednesday. "Due to the good wishes of every person, his health is improving. He is showing signs of recovery. We are currently taking him to Delhi for treatment in AIIMS. If necessary, we will go to Singapore for his treatment," Tejashwi Yadav said while interacting with media persons in Patna's Paras hospital. "People are enquiring with me to get the update of his health status. PM Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders have called me and enquired about his health. Everyone's concerned about his health. Due to their good wishes and treatments of the doctor, Lalu Prasad Yadav will soon return home," he said. Besides Tejashwi Yadav, other family members including Lalu Prasad's wife and former CM Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharti, eldest son Tej Pratap Yadav and others also reached Paras hospital. After that, they will go with Lalu Prasad Yadav in the air ambulance from Patna airport to Delhi. Lalu Prasad Yadav is currently suffering from kidney and lung infections. Besides, he is also having other health issues. On Sunday, Lalu Prasad fell from the stairs and sustained a fracture in right shoulder. Besides, he is also having an injury in his hip. Earlier in the day, CM Nitish Kumar, former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, Health Minister Mangal Pandey and other leaders went to Paras hospital to know his health status. Baroda, July 6 : Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara has started Hindu Studies centre at its campus offering course in basic knowledge of Hindu culture and the status of Hindu values in the current context. The Government of India introduced a new education policy in 2019. Under this, Maharaja Sayajirao University has started the undergraduate course in Hindu Studies with an objective to help students understand the Hindu concepts of individual, family, relationships, society, state, environment, and the entire universe. The course will introduce Bhagwad Gita, Ramayana, Ayurveda. Introduction to Hindu Philosophy, Yoga, ancient India, medieval India, advanced Sanskrit, environmental science, Vedas, Upanishads, practices in Dharmashastra, Bhakti Movement, Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shakti Tradition, Buddha and Jain tradition, etc. Dilip Kataria, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Maharaja Sayajirao University, said, "We have been discussing this course for six months. Its workshops have also been conducted and the professors have also been trained. We are going to start a 3-year bachelor and 2-year masters degree course." Educationist and sociologist Manishi Jani said that it is wrong to divide education on the basis of religion. If students have to study culture, teach them Indian culture, which includes the diversity of each religion and culture. The word Hindutva is associated with religion and it is religious. In this way, a pro-curriculum course also violates the constitution. According to the constitution, religion is a matter of personal choice. This type of curriculum will narrow the mindset rather than benefit the student. London, July 6 : Juventus have reached an agreement to sign Paul Pogba on a free transfer on a four-year contract. According to a report in Sky Sports, Pogba is expected in Turin on Saturday (July 9) for a medical and to formally sign the contract. The France international has been free to negotiate with clubs over his next move since January. Pogba left Manchester United at the end of his contract last month. The move to Juventus would mark a return to a club where Pogba spent four years before rejoining United in 2016. For Pogba, it will represent an emotional homecoming to the club he left in 2016, having first come to Juve from United in the early stages of his senior career. Chandigarh, July 6 : In a major relief to households, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday gave approval to provide 600 units of free power to every household per billing cycle in the state with effect from July 1. A spokesman for the Chief Minister's office said all domestic consumers in the state would be eligible to get zero bills if their consumption is up to 600 units in every billing cycle. This will give a big reprieve to the domestic consumers who have to hitherto shell out huge money every month in the form of power tariff. As per the decision, the Scheduled Castes (SC), none SC BPL and backward class domestic consumers, who are currently eligible for free 400 units (per billing cycle), will also get subsidy of 600 units now. Likewise, freedom fighters of Punjab and their successors, up to grandchildren, and domestic consumers, who are currently eligible for free 400 units, will also get subsidy of 600 units per billing cycle. In case, the consumption of the SC, non-SC BPL, backward class and freedom fighter categories exceeds units per billing cycle then they will pay only for units consumed in addition to 600 units along with full fixed charges, meter rentals and government levies as applicable. Similarly, the Cabinet also gave green signal for waiving off pending arrears of all domestic consumers as on December 31, 2021, and unpaid up to June 30, 2022. This move will give relief to around 28.10 lakh domestic consumers with a total benefit of Rs 1,298 crore. Guwahati/Shillong, July 6 : NDA presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu who is on a visit to the northeastern states as part of her campaign for the July 18 Presidential poll has received a rousing welcome in all the states. Murmu accompanied by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and senior BJP leaders visited Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland on Wednesday. Murmu -- the first woman tribal leader to contest for the country's highest constitutional post, visited Tripura and Manipur on Tuesday and then went to Assam late on Tuesday night. From Guwahati, the 64-year-old Murmu went to Shillong on Wednesday. In all the states, Chief Ministers and other seniors ministers along with leaders received her at the airports while artistes from different communities welcomed her with colourful traditional performances. According to sources, Murmu held a series of meetings with the ministers, MLAs and MPs of BJP and its allies in the northeastern states and sought support for her candidature. Union Minister of State Pratima Bhowmik also accompanied Murmu, who was also the minister in Odisha, and governor of Jharkhand. Supporting the candidature of Murmu, Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP President Conrad K. Sangma tweeted: "Meghalaya extends its support to NDA's Presidential Candidate, Smti. Draupadi Murmu Ji. As a tribal community, it will be our honour to offer our support to India's 1st Indigenous Tribal Woman as our country's President." "As President, Smti. Draupadi Ji will represent a New India. She represents hope for every tribal, every girl, every woman, and will carry with her the aspirations of small communities of India. We are proud of her & wish her all the best for the upcoming Presidential Election," Sangma said in another tweet. Manipur Chief Minister N.Biren Singh also sounded optimistic about Murmu's victory. "Held a meeting with all the MLAs of BJP-led Govt and Hon'ble MPs of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha today and deliberated on the preparation for the upcoming Presidential election. We are confident that, Smt Draupadi Murmu Ji will become the next President of India," Singh tweeted. Before the meeting with all MLAs and MPs began, Murmu led a condolence prayer of the victims of the recent landslides in Noney district of Manipur by observing one-minute silence, the Chief Minister said. Chennai, July 6 : In a shocking incident, a 21-year-old youth named D. Sathish Kumar, who is a B.Sc student at a private institute in Vellore, slit the throat of his former girlfriend at a bus stop in Katpadi on Wednesday. The 19-year-old girl, who is a nursing student in Vellore, has been admitted to the Christian Medical College (CMC) where she is said to be out of danger at present. The police said that Satish and the girl, who are from the same village, were in a relationship for the past three years. The boy's family had recently met the girl's family with a marriage proposal which was turned down by the latter. The police also said that the girl's relatives strictly told her not to meet the boy after which she started avoiding him. Satish tried to meet the girl several times, but the girl refused to meet him. On Wednesday morning, Satish followed the girl while she was going to her college. He stopped his bike in front of her and an argument broke out between the two. Satish, according to the police, took out a knife and slit her throat. The girl fell unconscious, bleeding profusely. She was rushed to the Christian Medical College where she is presently recovering. Satish tried to flee from the spot but the local people overpowered him and handed him over to the police. After the incident came to light, the family members of the girl tried to attack Satish's family, leading to the deployment of a strong police contingent in the village near Vellore to prevent any untoward incident. It may be recalled that in May this year, a lady doctor working at a hospital in Vellore was raped by a group of men, including juveniles, when she was returning to the hospital along with her male friend. The male friend was beaten and tied up while the lady doctor was raped. In another recent incident, a nurse working at a private hospital was raped when she was returning to her residence after midnight duty. After the incidents, Vellore district Superintendent of Police, Rajesh Kannan, had directed the local police to conduct regular patrolling at all vital points in the city. New Delhi, July 6 : The BJP on Wednesday said that Mamata Banerjee's politics, steeped in brazen minority appeasement, is the reason why her MP made that outright insulting comment on Goddess Kaali. Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor came out in support of Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha Member Mahua Moitra. While responding to a question on a controversial film poster showing a woman decked as Goddess Kaali smoking, Moitra said that for her Goddess Kaali is a meat-eating and alcohol accepting goddess. West Bengal BJP co-incharge Amit Malviya tweeted, "After TMC MP insults Maa Kaali, Congress, as expected, jumps in to defend her obnoxious comment. The problem with secularists, champions of free speech and those who advocate religion as a private matter, is their selectivity. Their views apply only to Hindus and their deities." Malviya also asked Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi to clarify her party's stand after Tharoor's support. "Mamata Banerjee's politics, steeped in brazen minority appeasement, is the reason why her MP made that outright insulting comment on Maa Kaali. TMC must suspend her, ask WB police to file FIR. Sonia Gandhi must also clarify Congress' stand on it after Shashi Tharoor's support," Malviya said. In a series of tweets, Tharoor said, "I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on @MahuaMoitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog says more about them than about the goddess." "We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. It's obvious that @MahuaMoitra wasn't trying to offend anyone. I urge every1 to lighten up & leave religion to individuals to practice privately," Tharoor added. Ahmedabad, July 6 : Gujarat Health Minister Hrishikesh Patel paid a surprise visit to a community health centre in Dhandhuka city after attending a programme elsewhere in the area. After inspecting the work underway in the health centre, he interacted with the patients and the parents of the malnourished children. Patel also met the women cooks at the child care centre there. He later visited the newly constructed Child Service Centre. The minister inter-acted with the staff and doctors serving at the health centre, and replied to their queries. State Minister, Brijesh Merja joined Health Minister Hrishikesh Patel during his visit. Hyderabad, July 6 : Eminent breast surgeon Dr. P. Raghu Ram has become the youngest surgeon of Indian origin to be conferred Honorary FRCS by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Ram, director, KIMS-Ushalakshmi Centre for Breast Diseases, Hyderabad, has achieved the distinction to be the youngest surgeon of Indian origin to be conferred FRCS (Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons) in the 482 years history of the Royal College of Surgeons. He had received the honour in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the art and science of surgery. The award was presented by Prof. Neil Mortensen, President, The Royal College of Surgeons of England during a glittering 'Diplomates Ceremony' held on Thursday at the Royal College in London. Dr Ram was also given the singular honour to address the 'Diplomates' who had recently passed the MRCS & Intercollegiate FRCS examinations. He highlighted the importance of safeguarding the trust that the patients place in their doctors and being ethical not just in the medical profession, but in all aspects of life. "I am deeply grateful to the College Council for conferring me this high honour. Over the past 15 years, I have strived to replicate the best of British practices in my motherland and feel immensely proud to have been a 'living bridge' between the UK and India. I dedicate this high honour to my family, my patients, my Colleagues at KIMS Hospitals and to the Indian Surgical fraternity world over," he said. Dr Raghu Ram is also one of the youngest recipients of the prestigious Padma Shri and Dr BC Roy National awards conferred in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Last year he was conferred Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He is a Fellow of all four Surgical Royal Colleges in the British Isles (London, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Ireland), Fellow of American College of Surgeons, and conferred Honorary Fellowships from several other prestigious surgical organisations from the world over, which includes Hon.Fellowship from the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain & Ireland, Hon. FRCS (Thailand), Hon. FCSSL (Sri Lanka), Hon. FCCS (China). He established South Asia's first dedicated comprehensive Breast Health Centre, founded a breast cancer charity to raise awareness about the importance of early detection, implemented South Asia's largest population based breast cancer Screening programme in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which has saved many lives and has been the driving force behind the formation of The Association of Breast Surgeons of India, a dedicated organization that brings together surgeons practicing breast surgery under one platform. Bhopal, July 6 : Yet another shameful incident of atrocity against women came to light in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday when a tribal woman in Khargone was beaten up, thrashed by her own family members and was paraded carrying her husband on shoulders. It came just two days after a woman was beaten up, thrashed and was forced to carry her husband on shoulders as punishment for having an alleged extra-marital affair in Dewas district of the state. According to police, the incident in Khargone occurred on July 2, however, it came to light on Wednesday after a video surfaced on social media which showed a woman being beaten up brutally by her own family members, and was forced to carry her husband on her shoulders. Police said that the incident was reported in Keli village under Unn police station in Khargone district on July 2. During preliminary investigation it was revealed that a 42-year-old woman, mother of two, left her in-laws about five-month ago and came to her parents house. Instead of staying with her brothers, she started staying in her uncle's house. On July 2, her in-laws came there and first beat her uncle and then dragged her out of the house and forced her to carry her husband on shoulders as punishment. The woman was married in Nalgwadi village of Barwani district. The couple were often involved in arguments over petty issues and her husband used to beat her. Upset, she left her in-laws' house and started living with her uncle. Khargone district police said that five persons have been arrested in this connection. Those arrested have been identified as Magan Manasya (Husband of the woman), Cashia Soyla Bhatnagar, Thawaria Lalsingh Mandloi, Kalu Chhabra and Nurla Falya, said Khargone SP Dharamveer Singh Yadav. San Francisco, July 6 : Tech giant MetaAhas created a single artificial intelligence (AI)-based model capable of translating across 200 different languages, including many not supported by current commercial tools. According to The Verge, the company is open-sourcing the project in the hopes that others will build on its work. The AI model is part of an ambitious R&D project by Meta to create a so-called "universal speech translator," which the company sees as important for growth across its many platforms -- from Facebook and Instagram to developing domains like VR and AR. Machine translation not only allows Meta to better understand its users (and so improve the advertising systems that generate 97 per cent of its revenue) but could also be the foundation of a killer app for future projects like its augmented reality glasses. Experts in machine translation told the website that Meta's latest research was ambitious and thorough, but noted that the quality of some of the model's translations would likely be well below that of better-supported languages like Italian or German. Meta AI research scientist Angela Fan, who worked on the project, told The Verge that the team was inspired by the lack of attention paid to such lower-resource languages in this field. London, July 6 : The governments of India and Pakistan may be at daggers drawn. But Indian and Pakistani origin senior cabinet ministers in the British government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson have combined to almost oust him from the job. Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health, and Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced their resignations from the Cabinet within 10 minutes of each other on Tuesday to significantly deepen the 10-month crisis that's been brewing for Johnson because of alleged serial untruths and incompetence on his part. While both Javid and Sunak denied to have conspired to evict Johnson, BBC reported that the two had met over the weekend. On Wednesday, immediately after the leader of the opposition Labour party, Sir Keir Starmer, drove the knife into the Prime Minister in the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons, Javid made a devastating personal statement about his resignation in the house - as is customary for an outgoing senior minister. He said: "I have concluded that the problem starts at the top and that it's not going to change. Enough is enough." "He made it clear in the bluntest of terms that he had been lied to over Partygate (the law-breaking parties at Johnson's office-cum-residence during the Covid-19 pandemic)," BBC wrote. The broadcaster described it as a 'rallying cry' to the members of Javid's ruling Conservative party. His fellow MPs listened to him in grim silence. Many even cheered him. Sunak did not directly accuse Johnson of impropriety in his letter of resignation. He instead highlighted ideological and policy differences, which sounded like him advocating fiscal prudence versus Johnson wanting to borrow and spend. Sunak stated: "I have always tried to compromise in order to deliver the things you want to achieve. On those occasions where I disagreed with you privately, I have supported you publicly." He, however, added: "Our people know that if something is too good to be true, then it's not true." Sunak mentioned in his correspondence: "The public rightly expect the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning." Unless Sunak has plans of quitting politics, few believe he will not be a minister again. Indeed, there is speculation that he is likely to be a candidate when Johnson is forced to step down - which now seems to be on the cards. Historically in the Conservative party, one who openly rebels doesn't generally become the successor. An apparent loyalist in the Cabinet or a former Cabinet minister presently in the backbenches does. Michael Heseltine went public in his opposition to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but didn't replace her. John Major, who remained in the Cabinet, did. Other Cabinet ministers of Indian extraction in the British government have not said anything publicly. Priti Patel, who is the Home Secretary and widely seen to be standing up for Johnson, was reported to have expressed her continued allegiance to Johnson. But she was silent on record. 'COP 26' President Alok Sharma and Attorney General Suella Braverman's views are unknown. All three could potentially jump ship, although Patel's future under another Prime Minister could be in doubt, considering her controversial and inept performance in government. In the Palace of Westminster, which accommodates the Commons and the House of Lords, unofficial reports are rife that the '1922 Committee' of the Conservative Parliamentary Party, which conducts no confidence votes and leadership contests, is on the verge of informing Johnson that if he doesn't depart voluntarily, the committee will change its rules to hold another vote of confidence on him immediately. Under the existing rules, such votes cannot take place more than once a year. The last one occurred a month ago, thereby giving Johnson breathing space until next June. A vote next week - which is said to be the warning the committee could issue to Johnson - will almost certainly give rise to a majority casting their ballots against him. Thus, the Sunak-Javid 'jugalbandi' -- deliberately designed or not -- has, if not anything else, acted as a catalyst to hasten Johnson's exit. It is no longer if he will go, but when. Chennai, July 6 : In wake of the Covid pandemic, colleges in Tamil Nadu have seen a heavy rush for getting admission to undergraduate psychology courses. While commerce and computer science are preferred courses graduation, psychology has become a hot subject of late, various college managements told IANS. Criminology is another subject that has gained momentum as far as admission is concerned in the state's colleges. With the increase in demand for psychology and criminology on the rise, the cut-off marks for these courses are also likely to show an upward trend. Sources in Women Christian College told IANS that the department has already received 890 applications for 50 seats in the Psychology stream for Shift I. The college has 50 more seats in Shift II and this would mean a total of around 900 applicants for 100 seats available in the college. With the increase in number of ailments related to anxiety, stress, and mental illness on the rise, almost all the companies are hiring trained psychologists and most of them prefer graduates in psychology for these posts. This is considered the major reason for the surge in demand for psychology courses. Educational consultants also said that there is an increase in the number of trained psychologists globally and this is also a reason for the demand for admission to psychology courses. S. Kothai, Principal of Chennai's prestigious Ethiraj College for Women, told IANS that the number of applications for undergraduate courses in psychology has risen to 800 this year. The college has a postgraduate course in applied psychology and the number of students who passed out of the college was placed in prestigious companies as psychologists. The DG Vaishnav college has received 300 applications for its 50 undergraduate seats for psychology course. The college also has undergraduate courses in criminology and police administration which are also seeing a high demand. K. Kasinathan, a senior HR professional in Chennai, told IANS that applied psychology is in high demand across the globe and the demand for undergraduate courses in psychology in the Chennai colleges is for further pursuing post-graduation in this subject and to land up a good job. London, July 6 : An experimental cancer vaccine developed on the lines of AstraZeneca's Covid jab has shown promise in treating patients with head and neck cancers. The vaccine, made from individual patients' own DNA, was given to eight head and neck cancers in the UK, after they had received standard treatment, Sky News reported. None of the patients went on to relapse several months later, according to preliminary data from a clinical trial being run at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. On the other hand, the cancer has returned in two of eight patients who weren't immunised. However, since the trial numbers are too small to draw firm statistical conclusions, Professor Christian Ottensmeier, a consultant medical oncologist and director of clinical research at the centre, told Sky News he was "cautiously optimistic". "I am really hopeful, yes. I am quite excited about it. All the data are pointing in the right direction," he was quoted as saying. A small clinical trial of the vaccine on patients with ovarian cancer in France and the US is also showing promising results, the report said. The jab, codenamed TG4050, developed by a French company called Transgene uses DNA from an individual patient's tumour and pastes into a harmless virus. When the genetically modified virus is injected into the body, it trains the immune system to be on watch for cancer cells, hopefully destroying them at an early stage before there is even a lump, the report said. "The immune system can see things we can't see on scans," said Ottensmeier. "It's much smarter than human beings. "If we can train the immune system to pick those cells that would otherwise lead to a relapse at a time when we can't even see them, then the long-term survival chances for our patients are much higher," Ottensmeier noted. Thirty patients are taking part in the trial for head and neck cancer. Half will be given the vaccine as soon as they finish conventional treatment, with the other half receiving it only when they relapse, the report said. Bhopal, July 6 : The Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MPMRCL) has awarded French mobility company Alstom the contract to supply 156 Movia metro cars with 15 years of comprehensive maintenance for the Bhopal and Indore Metro projects, official said on Wednesday. A contract (memorandum of understanding) was singed between MPMRCL and Alstom worth Rs 3200 crore aiming to provide benefit of Metro services to over 5.7 million people in Bhopal and Indore. As per the MPMRCL, Alstom will be responsible for installation of latest generation of communications-based train control (CBTC) signalling system as well as train control and telecommunication systems, each with seven years of comprehensive maintenance. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Altsom stated that it would be responsible for the design, manufacture, supply, installation, tests and commissioning of 52 standard gauge Movia metro passenger trains of 3-car configuration each. It said that 27 trains will be delivered for Bhopal and 25 trains for Indore. These metro trains would be built at Alstom's state-of-the-art rolling stock manufacturing facility in Savli (Gujarat). These ultramodern, light-weight trains will operate at a top speed of 80 km/h, across the 31 km line in Bhopal with 30 stations and the 31.5 km line in Indore with 29 stations. "We are delighted to be awarded this significant contract from MPMRCL and this collaboration will lay a strong foundation for an efficient and sustainable mass transport system for the cities of Bhopal and Indore. As India moves towards its vision of using green and clean energy for public mobility, Alstom takes pride in being its long-standing partner in this journey and help write the country's growth story. Following the Agra-Kanpur metro project, winning this contract is a strong validation of our commitment to deliver mobility solutions that meet the specific requirements of our customers," said Olivier Loison, Managing Director, Alstom India cluster. "Alstom India has a history of successfully delivering world-class metro trains for major cities, including Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow, Kochi in India and internationally for Sydney, Queensland and Montreal. The company is currently manufacturing metro trains for Agra-Kanpur, Mumbai Metro Line 3 and modern trainsets for India's first semi high-speed Delhi-Meerut RRTS project," Loison added. New Delhi, July 6 : A cancer patient in US' Connecticut has become the second longest-known in the world to be infected with Covid as he suffered the infection 471 days, according to a pre-print study, not peer-reviewed. An immunocompromised person in the UK is known to have been the world's longest-known Covid sufferer -- at 505 days. A team of researchers from the universities of Yale and North Carolina found that the US patient's immune system has been weakened by cancer, providing opportunity for the emergence of genetically divergent and potentially highly transmissible variants as seen with Delta and Omicron. Further, during the Covid infection, the person also evolved at least three distinct lineages of the virus in the bloodstream. "Each of the lineages was genetically divergent enough (about 20-40 mutations from the original virus) that they would be classified as separate lineages if they were to spread into the wider population," Chrispin Chaguza from Yale school of Public Health wrote on Twitter. "Our study provides evidence that chronic SARS-CoV-2 infections could be a source for the emergence of genetically diverse variants capable of causing future Covid-19 outbreaks. We have seen this scenario recently with the emergence of Omicron sister lineages (BA.1 and BA.2)," Chaguza added. Scientists have for long stated that immunocompromised people serve as hosts for Covid's evolution. Previously, scientists in South Africa have speculated that Omicron may have evolved mutations in one person, as part of a long-term infection. The person, in 60s, was chronically infected with B.1.517 with a history of large B-cell lymphoma and had undergone a stem cell transplantation in 2019. But in early 2020, the patient's disease relapsed and was started on a new chemotherapy regimen. The patient was noted to have persistent but improving disease up until November 2020 when it started to relapse again. The team collected 30 swab samples from the patient between February 2021 and March 2022, that is from day 79 to 471. They concluded that the virus might be evolving twice as fast inside the patient as it did in the general population. "We showed accelerated SARS-CoV-2 evolution during the chronic infection, approx twice as faster as the parental B.1.517 strain and the global SARS-CoV-2 evolutionary rate, suggesting that it could be a mechanism for the emergence of genetically divergent variants," the team wrote in the study. The patient first tested positive for Covid in November 2020, and continued to be positive for the virus at least till March this year. "The patient continues to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 471 days, and counting after the initial diagnosis," the researchers said. Besides the initial presentation of several days with mild upper respiratory tract symptoms not requiring oxygenation or hospitalisation, the patient has remained asymptomatic for much of the duration of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The only Covid treatment the patient received was a bamlanivimab monoclonal antibody infusion on day 90, after which the patient did not wish to obtain any additional Covid-19 therapies or vaccines. Hyderabad, July 6 : Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand on Wednesday asked animal activists and Hindu organisations not to chase vehicles carrying cattle for sacrifice on Bakrid. During a meeting with them, he appealed to them not to indulge in tailgating cattle carrying vehicles and restrain from intervening at the check posts. "No one will be allowed to take law into their hands. Any scuffles between the groups can affect communal harmony," the Commissioner of Police said. The city police are maintaining high vigil as other prominent festivities are coinciding with Bakrid (July 10). Instructions were given to officers to take firm action against communal offenders. The meeting apprised the attendees on the stringent measures taken up by the city police to stop the illegal transport of livestock. The activists were asked to pass on any information to the officers and a quick response was assured. The officers also explained the prevailing norms and Acts. Officers assured participants that their requests and suggestions will be considered. The meeting discussed in length about the specific role of various organisations in controlling the illegal transport and slaughter. According to police, representatives of all organisations agreed to the fact that selling of aged animals has to be addressed at gross root level by taking up campaigns, and acknowledged the efforts of city police in controlling this menace. Animal activists also aired an opinion that a separate wing for Animal Welfare has to be instituted under the government. Senior police officials and representatives of organizations like Love for Cow, Telangana Goshala, Cow Gyan Foundation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and others attended the meeting. Navsari : , July 6 (IANS) Navsari Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court in Gujarat on Wednesday evening sent five persons to judicial custody for causing religious enmity. Navsari town Police Inspector D.J. Patel said, "It had come to our notice that messages are circulated on social media, that were creating religious enmity. We asked the cyber cell team to track down the cell numbers from where the messages were generated. After tracking those numbers, five persons were arrested on Tuesday evening and produced before the court." Cell phones of all five persons are sent to FSL team, only after their confirmation, police will be able to say that these five had generated or circulated the message, said the officer. Police are yet to make sure about since when these messages are in circulation, and to how many people it has already reached. The officer refused to divulge names of the accused stating that the case is sensitive and under investigation, revealing names can cause hurdles. Police have invoked Indian Penal Code sections for committing offence for creating religious enmity for worship of place, conspiracy, and some sections of the Information and Technology Act. Sources from the police department said the message which was circulated, read, "we have learned that members of minority community are thrown out of a specific area of the Navsari town." "This is a complete lie and misleading message," said the source. Kolkata, July 6 : Chief minister Mamata Banerjee's pet project, the West Bengal Student Credit Card (WBSCC) scheme, seems to be losing appeal among the students and their parents who have shown reluctance in attending a programme where Banerjee herself is scheduled to distribute such cards. The state education department will hold a camp in Kolkata on Thursday, where the Chief Minister will handover the cards to the students. However, with less than 24 hours left for the programme, the response from the students and their guardians has been weak. Sources in the education department said that although 18,000 recipients were slotted for attending the programme on Thursday, till Wednesday afternoon, only 6,000 have applied for attendance, which is just one-third of the targeted slot. The district-level officials of the department are now personally calling up the prospective recipients and asking them to be present at the programme on Thursday. A senior official in the education department told IANS on condition of anonymity that the reluctance has been probably caused by large-scale rejection of loan applications under the WBSCC scheme. "After the scheme was launched following the Assembly elections last year, around 1.25 lakh loan applications have been received. However, till date, only around 18,000 such loan applications, which is just 14 per cent of the total applications, have been sanctioned. "For example, an engineering student who is currently in his third semester applied for a bank loan under the scheme when he was in the first semester last year, but his application is yet to get sanctioned," he said. In almost all the meetings of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), the representatives of the state government had been insisting on larger participation of the banks in the WBSCC scheme. The state government had assured the bankers that since the loan scheme will contain a state government guarantee, there is no possibility of the loans turning into bad loans or non-performing assets (NPA). However, all these efforts have failed and the banks have shown reluctance in participation. Former secretary of the State Bank of India Staff Association, Ashoke Mukherjee, told IANS that sheer state government guarantee is not an assurance for sanction of loans. "There have been instances of loans carrying state government guarantee becoming NPAs. Secondly, if the loan amount exceeds a certain limit, there is a requirement of collateral security irrespective of the state government guarantee. At times loan applications are rejected because of lack of supporting documents. There can be many reasons for rejection of bank loans," he said. New Delhi, July 6 : Two motorcycle-borne assailants fired shots at a convicted man who was jailed for the murder of one of the assailant's brother and was currently out on parole, a police official said on Wednesday. According to the official, the incident took place on the intervening night of July 1-2 when Mukhtiyar alias Hanni, the brother of Mustafa who was killed by the convicted man Kapil, and one Aman opened fire on Kapil and then fled from the spot. Kapil is under treatment in a hospital. "On investigation of the incident it came to notice that the victim Kapil had murdered one Mustafa in 2017 and was on parole in that case till July. It also came to the notice that the brother of Mustafa, namely Mukhtiyar, wanted to take revenge for his brother's death," Deputy Commissioner of Police M. Harsh Wardhan said. During call detail record analysis of Mukhtiyar's mobile number, the police found that suspect Mukhtiyar was in touch with one Gaurav alias Rahul of Vishwas Park, just before the incident. "Accused Gaurav was interrogated and he disclosed his involvement in the incident as a conspirator to take revenge on Mustafa," the DCP said. The main conspirator of the crime, the person who gave the information about the movement of the victim, was Gaurav, who is working as Multi Tasking Staff at the Ministry of Finance. It was learnt that after committing the crime Mukhtiyar and Aman met Gaurav and one Manprit alias Ricky of Vishwas Park in Bhalswa Chowk, Jahangirpuri, Delhi and handed over the weapons of crime to Manprit. Apart from Gaurav, the police have also arrested Manprit and on his instance 6 illegal firearms and 18 live cartridges were recovered. Further investigation is on in the case to nab the remaining accused, the official added. Mumbai, July 6 : In an anticipated move, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday removed its Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, MP Bhavana Gawali, party sources said here. Gawali - five-time MP from Yavatmal-Washim constituency - has been replaced by Rajan Vichare, a two-time MP from Thane. Since the past few months, the beleaguered Gawali has been on the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and recently, she was allegedly hobnobbing with the group of Shiv Sena rebels. Shiv Sena Rajya Parliamentary Party Leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut conveyed the changes in a letter to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi. "It is to inform you that the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party (SSPP) has nominated Rajan Vichare, MP (LS) as the Chief Whip in Lok Sabha in place of Bhavana Gawali, MP (LS), with immediate effect," he said. After the rebellion erupted on June 20, Gawali was among the leaders who had demanded that the Shiv Sena should dump the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress and go back to the partnership with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The development came amidst claims by several leaders of the group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde that "many MPs are in touch with them" as they are the real Shiv Sena. Shinde took charge as CM along with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as Deputy CM on June 30 and the new government won the vote of confidence in the Assembly on July 4. The embattled Shiv Sena led by ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray - who quit on June 29 - is currently making all-out efforts to plug further "leaks" at various levels and also pinning its hopes on the Supreme Court case, to come up on July 11. With the claims and counter-claims by the Thackeray-Shinde sides, a fierce legal battle is likely to take place for the control of the 56-year-old Shiv Sena and its various other electoral and physical assets. Srinagar, July 6 : Congress' J&K President Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Wednesday submitted his resignation to party chief Sonia Gandhi. In his letter of resignation to Gandhi, he said that he would abide by the party high command decision on the selection of his successor. Mir, who was the party chief in J&K since 2015, said that following the best traditions of the party, he had put in his papers to facilitate the Congress President's appointment of the next chief of J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC). The Congress in J&K has remained faction-ridden for last many years with a tug of war going on between supporters and opponents of senior Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad. Sources said the decision to replace Mir has been prompted by reports that the Assembly elections could be held in J&K by the year end. Reports here also said that the name of Azad loyalist, Vichar Rasool Wani is being considered by the Congress high command as Mir's successor. Patna, July 6 : A Hindu youth was thrashed in Bihar's Arrah city by around two-dozen people for reportedly supporting suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammed. The victim, identified as Dipak Kumar, was having tea with another person named Rais at a roadside eatery on Tuesday. During their conversation, Kumar claimed to have said that he supported Nupur Sharma's statement in a Facebook post. When Rais asked him not to support Sharma which Kumar refused, an altercation broke out between the two. Rais soon called around two-dozen of his friends, who brutally threshed Kumar. The SHO of the town police station, however, said that the incident was not triggered by Kumar supporting Nupur Sharma. "The duo knew each other and had an old monetary dispute. The victim has not registered any FIR," the SHO said. Kolkata, July 6 : Anit Thapa, whose newly formed political outfit Bhratiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) recently won a landslide victory in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) polls, on Wednesday said that the decision of major political forces in the hills to support BJP was a disaster. "We have supported the BJP for 15 years. It was a mistake. Nothing positive has happened in the hills. Now we want to work in close association with the state government for the positive development in the hills," Thapa said after a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat of Nabanna on Wednesday afternoon. He said that the Chief Minister has accepted his invitation to be present in the hills on July 12 to attend a function on the formation of a new GTA board. Speaking to the media persons after the meeting with the Chief Minister, Thapa said that till Tuesday the hill people were victims of sentimental politics. "There was no scope for practical politics in the hills as a result of which the GTA system collapsed. This system needs to be functional again and for that purpose I wish to work closely with the state government. The people of the hills seem to have understood that finally and hence they have elected us," Thapa said. In the recently concluded GTA polls, BGPM emerged as the biggest political force after bagging 27 out of 45 seats. Ajay Edward-founded Hamro Party, which bagged victory in the Darjeeling Municipality polls last year came second bagging eight seats. Trinamool Congress and the Independents won in five seats each. The contest in the GTA polls were mostly one sided as BJP, Bimal Gurung's Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Gorkha National Liberation Front did not contest elections. Their contention was that without a permanent political solution in the hills, which include the demand for separate Gorkhaland state, the polls for GTA were useless. Srinagar, July 6 : Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar on Wednesday reiterated his appeal to the parents to keep strict vigil on their wards to prevent them from indulging in any anti-national activities, especially joining the terror ranks. The IGP said that if every parent persuades and appeal their terrorist sons to shun the path of violence, be it soon after joining terror ranks or during the time they are trapped in encounters, many lives can be saved as two lives were saved in Wednesday's encounter. On Wednesday, based on specific input generated by police about the presence of terrorists in Hadigam village, Kulgam, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by the police and the army. During the search operation, as the presence of terrorists got ascertained, they fired indiscriminately upon the search party which was retaliated leading to an encounter. Initially, the civilians trapped around the encounter site were evacuated safely by the joint team. "In the meantime, as the identity of the trapped terrorists got ascertained, the joint team showed utmost restraint and provided the trapped terrorists an opportunity to surrender. Their family members were also called to the encounter site to motivate and persuade them to surrender," police said. "After repeated surrender appeals made by their parents, police and security forces, both the trapped terrorists finally surrendered before the joint team of police and security forces." They have been identified as Kafeel Ahmad Mir, resident of Mirpora Qaimoh and Nadeem Abbas Bhat, resident of Reshipora Qaimoh. Incriminating material including arms and ammunition and other war like substances have been recovered from their possession. "As per police records, both the terrorists were part of recently recruited module of proscribed terror outfit LeT. These youth were brainwashed and tasked to carry out anti-national activities and killings at the behest of LeT terror outfit," police said. In this connection, police have registered a case under relevant sections of law and investigation has been initiated. Patna, July 6 : The Patna High Court on Wednesday directed the Patna district administration to stop demolitions in the Rajiv Nagar and Nepali Nagar areas until its final order in the matter. The Patna district administration demolished more than 150 houses in these two localities on Sunday and Monday. Due to the demolition drive, more than 200 families were forced to stay on roads and in the demolished structures. The court has also asked the administration to provide electricity and water supply in the affected areas. "The Patna High Court has asked the authorities including the district administration and the Bihar Rajya Awas Board not to undertake any further demolition. The structures should remain in the current position until the final judgement," said Shivnandan Bharti, the lawyer representing the affected residents of these areas. "The court has also asked the Bihar Rajya Awas Board to reply about what action it had taken in the past when the land was sold and people constructed the buildings. The land owners had constructed the building right under the nose of the Managing Director of the Bihar Rajya Awas Board. "The court has also asked the Patna District Magistrate to inform the court about why he has chosen Sunday for the demolition drive," Bharti said, adding that both officials have been asked to affidavits in this regard. The next hearing of this case is scheduled on July 14, he said. New Delhi, July 6 : Close on the current heat wave over Europe, a new study has found that the heat waves over Europe have increased three to four times faster than in the rest of the northern mid-latitudes such as the US or Canada. An international team of scientists looked at observational data from the past 40 years and showed, for the first time, that this rapid increase is linked to changes in the atmospheric circulation. Large-scale winds at 5 to 10 kms height, the so-called jet stream, are changing over Eurasia. Periods during which the jet stream is split into two branches - so called double jet states - have become longer lasting. These double jet states explain almost the upward trend in heat waves in Western Europe, and around 30 per cent over the larger European domain. "While summer heat waves are not a new phenomenon, what is new is that extreme heat events in Europe have been occurring with greater frequency and intensity in the past years. Just think about the hot and dry summers of 2018, 2019, 2020 and the recent heat wave in Europe - and this is expected to get worse," said Efi Rousi from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), lead author of the paper published in Nature Communications. "Our study shows that these heat extremes in Europe are linked to double jet streams and their increasing persistence over the Eurasian sector." In the study published on Monday, the scientists looked at how the jet stream -- a fast-flowing air current that travels west-to-east around the globe's Northern hemisphere at around 10 kms height -- might have contributed to the observed heat wave trends. To conduct the analysis, the scientists defined persistent heat waves as at least six consecutive days during which the maximum air temperature exceeded the threshold of the 10 per cent hottest days in a given location. They examined daily climate data for the two hottest European months, July and August, over a period of 42 years. There is an important role for atmosphere dynamics in fuelling western European mega-heat waves. "We found that there are typically three states of the jet stream, one of them being the double jet state, consisting of two jet stream branches with increased wind, one over Southern and one over Northern Eurasia," co-author Kai Kornhuber, scientist at the Columbia University in New York and PIK, explained. While the number of double jet events per year did not change much, the double jet events became longer and thus more persistent. This increased persistence then acts on top of the temperature increases from human-made warming to fuel more intense heat waves. Kornhuber explained further: "Our new results highlight the importance of understanding atmospheric dynamical processes to anticipate future risks of extreme heat and to identify global hotspots such as Western Europe." The researchers found that the increasing persistence of double jets explained about 30 per cent of heat wave trends for the whole of Europe. "Yet, if we only look at the smaller Western European region, it explains almost 100 per cent," said Efi Rousi. "Double jets can be triggered by a variety of reasons including chaotic variability in the atmosphere," explained another co-author, Dim Coumou, a researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). "A possible explanation for its persistence is the enhanced warming of high-latitudes, in particular over land regions such as Siberia, northern Canada and Alaska. In summer, those regions have warmed much faster than the Arctic Ocean, as over the ocean the excess energy is used to melt sea ice. The land surrounding the Arctic Ocean has seen very rapid warming in summer associated with rapid retreat in late spring snow cover. This increasing temperature difference between land and ocean favours the persistence of double jet states in summer," Coumou said. New Delhi, July 6 : Realising that people cutting across religious line voting for the party in northeastern state, the BJP has decided to reach out to the Christians in Kerala by highlighting welfare measures of union government schemes. To win their support, BJP is planning to send its Christian lawmakers from the northeast to Kerala. In the recent BJP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Hyderabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the party leaders to explore new social equations within minority communities. Sources said that the Prime Minister has asked the party leaders to hold programmes with the Christian community of Kerala. "Despite all efforts, our electoral success in Kerala is not up to expectation. Our electoral fortunes will turn around if we win the support of Christian community in Kerala. The idea is to hold a conclave or meeting of influencers in Kerala where Christian leaders or lawmakers from the northeastern states will explain the changes that have happened in their area and what BJP plans to do for Kerala through its welfare and developmental agenda," a BJP leader said. In the meeting Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma pointed out that the BJP had won seats in Muslim dominated areas during local polls only due to developmental agenda of the party. Sources said that Sarma stressed that the party has focused on the developmental agenda of the BJP government. It is learnt that acting on Prime Minister Modi's statement, the BJP has decided to implement it at the earliest and asked party Christian leaders to come out with a detailed plan. "It is time to tell people of Kerala, especially Christians in the state that BJP believes in 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas', and our government's welfare schemes are meant for everyone irrespective of religion. Interactive sessions will help to reach out to the people of Kerala," sources said. Another senior party leader said the Christian community is in dominating position in around 40 assembly constituencies falling in Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta which also termed the Christian heartland and their support will be crucial for every political party. "Traditionally, Christians in Kerala are not BJP voters and through these reach out programmes we are trying to change it to turn around our electoral fortunes by winning their support," a party leader said. New Delhi, July 6 : A 22-year-old woman and mother of two kids was killed by her neighbour after she refused his sexual advances, the police said on Wednesday. The police have arrested the accused, who has been identified as Maan Singh (25), a resident of Kaushambi district in Uttar Pradesh. Sharing details of the case, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara), R. Sathiyasundaram, said a PCR call informing about a woman lying in an unconscious condition after slipping from the stairs of her house was received at the Gandhi Nagar police station on July 1. When the police reached the spot, they found the woman in an unconscious state, lying in a pool of blood on the stairs between the roof and the second floor. "Her 'mangal sutra' was found sunk on her throat and blood was oozing from there," the DCP said. The deceased woman along with her husband and two children lived on the ground floor on rent. The husband of the deceased, who works as a helper in a nearby cloth factory, was at his work place at the time of the incident. "There were no eyewitnesses in the entire building or the nearby places. Even the husband did not express any suspicion about the incident," Sathiyasundaram said. The spot was examined by the crime team of Delhi Police along with a team from the Forensic Science Laboratory. The police then started questioning the victim's husband, the man who made the PCR call, the person who first saw the dead body, and her neighbours, among others. Shahdara being a densely-populated area, the first challenge before the police was to identify the culprit and to find out the motive behind the murder. Several teams were constituted to crack the blind muder case. "We questioned over 100 tenants from the area. It was difficult for the police to establish the identity of the accused person," the senior official said. From the analysis of CCTV footage, the activities of some tenants were found to be suspicious. The cops also used the help of a psychologist, who examined the behaviour, body language and versions of the suspected tenants. Finally on Wednesday, the accused Maan Singh was identified. He was statying in a room adjacent to the stairs on the second floor of the building and used to work at a nearby factory of readymade garments. On sustained interrogation, Maan Singh confessed to his crime and said that on July 1, he did not go to his factory due to whitewash work going on there but was working in his room. After 10 am, when all the tenants left the building for work, the accused started consuming beer. At about 11:45 am, the victim lady went to the terrace to put wet clothes on a rope from drying. But the accused blocked her way and asked her for sexual favour, but she scolded him and said that she would report his gesture to her husband. Angered by the refusal, the accused assaulted the woman with scissors. "When the woman fell down, he slit her throat and went back to his room to wash his hands and scissors which were soaked in blood," the officer said. Jaipur, July 6 : The Rajasthan government in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday decided to give government jobs to sons of Kanhaiya Lal Teli, who was beheaded in Udaipur in Talibani kind of attack on June 28. In his tweet Gehlot said, "Taking a sensitive decision, the cabinet has decided to appoint Yash Teli and Tarun Teli, sons of Shri Kanhaiyalal Teli, in government service." Relaxation has been given in the rules for appointment, he said further adding, "This appointment will be provided under Rule 6C of Rajasthan Subordinate Office Clerk Service (Amendment) Rules, 2008 and 2009." Gehlot said, "There is no other source of livelihood in the family of the deceased. If the dependents are given appointment, their life will go smooth. The family will get financial and mental help," he added. Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, was murdered in broad daylight in Rajasthan's Udaipur on June 28 for supporting suspended former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma whose controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad had set off a huge controversy at home and abroad. Aizawl/Agartala, July 6 : In a major blow to the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), the Assam Rifles and Mizoram Police, in a joint operation, apprehended its chief Jacob Hrangkhawl from Aizawl on Wednesday, officials said. A Defence spokesman said that the 55-year-old militant leader, who is a resident of Teliamura in western Tripura, was arrested and two mobile sets, some incriminating documents and diaries recovered from his possession. A police official in Agartala said that a team of Tripura Police would soon go to Aizawl to bring back Hrangkhawl and initiate legal proceedings against him. The NLFT was formed in 1989 under the leadership of Biwamohan Debbarma and set up camps in different parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar before it was banned by the Union Home Ministry in 1991. However, a large number of its leaders and cadres surrendered over the years with their arms and ammunition, leading to the outfit almost becoming non-existent. New Delhi, July 6 : Delhi on Wednesday reported marginal decline in new Covid cases in last 24 hours, at 600 against 615 on the previous day, while there was one more Covid-related death, as per the government health bulletin. Meanwhile, the Covid positivity rate has marginally declined to 3.27, while the number of active cases stands at 2,590, out of which 1,856 patients are being treated in home isolation. With 516 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, the total number of recoveries has gone to 19,09,782. With new Covid cases, the total caseload of the city has jumped to 19,38,648 while the death toll has reached at 26,276. The number of Covid containment zones in the city total 349. A total of 18,361 new tests -- 13,087 RT-PCR and 5,274 Rapid Antigen - were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 3,91,58,159 while 23,270 vaccines were administered - 1384 first doses, 4,280 second doses, and 17,606 precaution doses. The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 3,51,25,595, according to the health bulletin. New Delhi, July 6 : Calling out as "blatant and willful negligence of hazardous hydropower dams in Himachal Pradesh", a people's movement protesting hydropower projects has shot off a letter to the World Bank and boycotted the stakeholder consultation on Wednesday. In its letter to the World Bank and Himachal Pradesh's directorate of energy, Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective (Himdhara) explained why its members -- comprising dam affected people and other local activists -- refused to attend the World Bank 'Stakeholder Consultation' for the proposed $200 million 'Himachal Pradesh Power Sector Development Programme'. "The World Bank cannot be lending support to the Himachal government without a fair review of the impacts of the state's hydropower development programme up to date and a transparent and participatory critical review of the current energy policy," it said in the letter shared with IANS. With an aim to make Himachal Pradesh a green state, the World Bank had recently announced a new project, which according to its own documents, "is a 200-million-dollar loan to support the development of environment social safety systems for the state's large scale renewable energy plans," Himdhara said in its letter and added, "It lauds the HP government for large scale hydropower development instead of bringing on the table any of the issues raised (by us)." The points raised in the letter include the impact of hydropower projects ranging from deforestation to acquisition of scarce and precious agricultural land to irreversible shifts in sensitive terrestrial, geological and hydrological regimes, which have caused immense damage to local property and livelihoods. "Cascade of hydropower dams have disrupted environmental flows and riverine ecosystems like no other activity ever has in the history of the Himalayas," it said. Himdhara also pointed out the time and cost overruns to the projects prompting the private players to pull out of the sector as "the clean energy carbon credits have dried up as projects run into inordinate delays" and left it for the public sector entities in the name of 'development', 'national interest' and 'green growth'. The letter, after drawing attention to the irregularities by the government, even going against the court decisions, non-compliance of legal provisions, faulty environmental impact assessments etc., accused that the "institutions like the World Bank and ADB have failed to carry out an honest assessment of the existing projects that were built with their support. Public resentment against the World Bank's Nathpa Jhakri and Rampur projects continues to exist to this day". Last year, a landslide in Nigulseri, located in the affected area of the Nathpa Jhakri's tunnel had claimed 28 lives. Aussie health authorities warn against local transmission of monkeypox in most populous state Xinhua) 16:42, July 06, 2022 SYDNEY, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in Australia's most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) warned on Wednesday that monkeypox is likely to be transmitted within the country, as two cases may have been acquired domestically. The NSW health department said 11 cases of monkeypox have been identified in the state, among which nine cases are likely to have been acquired overseas. NSW Health's Executive Director of Health Protection Dr. Jeremy McAnulty said the local transmission of the virus may be occurring, particularly among men who have sex with men. "The virus is mainly spread through skin-to-skin contact with the lesions or rarely through close contact with large respiratory droplets from a person early on in their infection," he said. "So far, in the cases we have seen in NSW, monkeypox is not presenting the way some people expect, such as an extensive rash or lesions all over the body." "It could just be a couple of what seem to be pimples in the genital area or buttocks, so people need to pay careful attention to any potential symptoms. Most of our cases to date have presented to sexual health clinics, rather than GPs." But McAnulty warned people to be on alert for all monkeypox symptoms, which can include fever, headache, body aches, and a rash or lesions on the genital area. Patients should immediately get access to health services and make sure they wear a mask as a precaution. The NSW Health statement said monkeypox is a rare viral infection previously associated with travel to Central and West Africa. However, thousands of cases of monkeypox have been reported from several countries that are not endemic to the virus this year, including several European countries and the United States. (Web editor: Sheng Chuyi, Liang Jun) Panaji, July 6 : Goa PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral on Wednesday appealed to the people of the state to post photos of potholes on the specially developed app rather than posting them on social media. Cabral was speaking after launching a 'Jetpatcher machine', which helps fix potholes, at Taleigao in North Goa. With constant complaints coming from the public and allegations by opposition over potholes on roads, the state government has launched an app to identify them, along with engaging 'Jetpatcher' machines to repair roads. The Congress had launched a 'Spot the Potholes' campaign before the Assembly election and had targeted the BJP government for failing to repair potholes. Cabral said that initially the app will be accessible only to PWD engineers and later it will be opened for the public. "Engineers will visit various areas for the next two months and click pictures of potholes which will be sent to the contractors, who will repair the potholes. Later the app will be opened for the public, who can then post photos on it rather than posting them on social media. "It will be easy for us to get information of potholes on the app," he said. Cabral said the Jetpatcher machine is used not only in India, but across the globe in various forms to fill potholes. He said that through this app, all the activities of repairing potholes will be monitored. "Not only potholes, but roads also get washed out during monsoon. We will get details of all such incidents. We want to put the system in place through this app," he said. He also said that one machine each will be stationed in both the districts. London, July 6 : Hit by a wave of resignations of top ministers, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday came under fresh pressure from his Cabinet to quit. Newly-named Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, who succeeded Rishi Sunak who announced his resignation on Tuesday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart are among those at 10 Downing Street to convince Johnson to quit over his handling of sexual misconduct claims against former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher, the BBC reported. Chief Whip Chris Heaton-Harris is also understood to be there. The new development comes as mass resignations from MPs in government roles continue, but Johnson has so far said he will not quit and even ruled out a mid-term poll. Meanwhile, the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers has decided not to change the rules to allow a second confidence vote against Johnson. It will instead hold an election on Monday to choose its new executive, which will decide any rule changes. Johnson survived a confidence vote by Conservative MPs last month. Under existing rules, he is immune from another confidence vote for a year now. Guwahati, July 6 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday assured the people of Assam that the Central and state governments are working together to reduce their difficulties in the ongoing monsoon floods in the state. The Prime Minister empathised that for the past few days, Assam is also facing great challenges and difficulties in the form of floods. Normal life has been greatly affected in many districts of Assam. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his team are working very hard day and night for relief and rescue of the flood-hit people, Modi said after inaugurating the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Agradoot group of newspapers on Wednesday virtually from Delhi. The Prime Minister underlined the sterling contribution of Indian language journalism to Indian tradition, culture, freedom struggle and the development journey. Assam has played a key role in the development of language journalism in India as the state has been a very vibrant place from the point of view of journalism. Journalism started 150 years ago in the Assamese language and kept on getting stronger with time, he added. The Prime Minister remarked that under the guidance of Kanak Sen Deka, the Agradoot always kept the national interest paramount. "Even during the emergency, when the biggest attack on democracy took place, even then Agradoot daily and Deka ji did not compromise on journalistic values. He created a new generation of value-based journalism." People's movements have played an important role in realising this change, Modi said adding that people's movements have protected the cultural heritage and Assamese pride of Assam. And now, Assam is writing a new development story with the help of public participation, he said. The Prime Minister said when there is dialogue, there is a solution. It is through dialogue that possibilities expand. Therefore, along with the flow of knowledge in Indian democracy, the flow of information is also flowing continuously. Agradoot is part of that tradition, he said. The Prime Minister said the expansion of Indian languages was stopped during the long period of slavery, and in modern epistemology, research was limited to a few languages. A large section of India had no access to those languages, to that knowledge. He added that the scope of intellect's expertise kept shrinking. Due to this, the pool of invention and innovation has also become limited. In the 4th Industrial revolution, there is a massive opportunity for India to lead the world. This opportunity is due to our data power and digital inclusion. The Prime Minister stressed that "no Indian should be deprived of the best information, best knowledge, best skill and best opportunity just because of language, this is our effort. That's why we encouraged studies in Indian languages in the National Policy on Education". The Prime Minister continued on the theme of knowledge in mother tongue and said that "it is now our endeavour to make the world's best content available in Indian languages. For this, we are working on the national language translation mission. The effort is that the Internet, which is a huge storehouse of knowledge, and information, can be used by every Indian in his own language." He also talked of the Bhashini Platform, a Unified Language Interface launched recently. "It is important from every aspect, social and economic, to make the Internet available to crores of Indians in their own language", he added. Underlining the biodiversity and cultural richness of Assam and Northeast, the Prime Minister said Assam has a rich legacy of music and that it needs to reach the world at large. He said efforts of the last 8 years with regard to physical and digital connectivity of the region will be hugely beneficial for the tribal tradition, tourism and culture of Assam. The Prime Minister said the positive role played by our media in campaigns like the Swachh Bharat Mission is appreciated all over the country and the world even today. "Well-informed, better-informed society should be the goal for all of us, let us all work together for this," the Prime Minister stated. New Delhi, July 6 : Aam Aadmi Party MLA Akhilesh Tripathi was booked on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting two men in the national capital, the police said. According to the police, a PCR call was received at Ashok Vihar police station regarding a case of physical assault near the Lal Bagh area at around 4.30 p.m. after which the police reached the spot. "During inquiry, it was revealed that Akhilesh Tripathi, the AAP MLA from Model Town constituency, reportedly assaulted two persons named Guddu Halwai and Mukesh Babu, who received injuries and were shifted to the BJRM hospital in Jahangirpuri," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest), Usha Rangnani. She said that the statement of Guddu Halwai has been recorded in which he said that he was present at a function in Ashok Vihar where he was providing catering services. "During this function, he met Tripathi and complained about sewage problems in the area, which angered the MLA who reportedly hit him on his head with a broken piece of brick," the DCP said. Mahesh Babu, a relative of Guddu Halwai, came to mediate in the matter but he was also reportedly assaulted by Tripathi, the official said. "Guddu Halwai has sustained a minor injury on his head while Mukesh Babu has no external injury," Rangnani informed. The police have launched a probe into the matter after registering an FIR under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. No arrest has been made so far. Bengaluru, July 6 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has expressed happiness over the nomination of D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, as member of Rajya Sabha. The Chief Minister in a media release congratulated Heggade and expressed confidence that his immense work and experience in rural development, education, health and women's empowerment sectors would raise the quality of the debates in the Parliament. Bommai conveyed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recommending a highly deserving personality like Heggade for Rajya Sabha. The Chief Minister has also congratulated other nominees -- Olympian Athlete P.T. Usha, legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja and renowned film screenplay writer K.V. Vijayendra Prasad, as well. Patna, July 6 : The police in Bihar's Rohtas district on Wednesday arrested a person for allegedly threatening to kill a district convener of Bajrang Dal. Confirming the development, Rohtas SP Ashish Bharti said that the accused has been identified as Pratik Sharma, a native of Dharahra village under the Darihat police station. The police also seized Sharma's Android phone which was used for issuing threats to Bajrang Dal member Sunny Kumar alias Arya Rajput through WhatsApp calls and messages. "We have arrested a person named Pratik Sharma for allegedly threatening Sunny Kumar, the district convener of Bajrang Dal. The accused had threatened Kumar four days ago following which the latter immediately lodged a police complaint," Bharti said. "We are on alert mode ever since the Udaipur incident happened. As the matter was related to a Bajrang Dal leader, we immediately constituted a team of experts to crack the case. The accused has confessed to the crime," he added. Chennai, July 6 : Several celebrities from the film industry, including two of Tamil cinema's top stars -- Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan -- congratulated Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja on being nominated to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his happiness over Ilaiyaraaja's nomination to the Rajya Sabha in a tweet in which he said: "The creative genius of Ilaiyaraaja Ji has enthralled people across generations. His works beautifully reflect many emotions. "What is equally inspiring is his life journey -- he rose from a humble background and achieved so much. Glad that he has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha." Superstar Rajinikanth tweeted, "My hearty congratulations to my dear friend Ilaiyaraaja who has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha." He and Ilaiyaraaja are going to reunite after 28 years for R. Balki's next film with Rajinikanth in the lead. Khushbu Sundar, actress and influential BJP member, was among the first to react to the news. She tweeted: "The greatest. The magician. The Maestro. Illayaraja gets nominated to the Rajya Sabha. What more can we ask for! The most happiest craziest fan like me can't ask for more. Vaazthukkal (congratulations, sir)." Kamal Haasan, who shares a very close bond with Ilaiyaraaja, also congratulated the Maestro. But his tweet was not a simple one. Writing in Tamil, Kamal Haasan put out a tweet that said, "If it is to honour the incomparable and greatest Ilaiyaraaja for his art, he could be offered the post of the President unanimously. Even then, let us congratulate him for his nomination to the Rajya Sabha." Telugu Mega Star Chiranjeevi also wholeheartedly congratulated Ilaiyaraaja. He tweeted: "Heartiest congratulations to Shri Ilaiyaraaja, the unparalleled music genius. Your presence in the Rajya Sabha would certainly add the touch of genius to the Upper House." On a personal note, he added: "A matter of personal delight for me as I had the good fortune of you composing music for several of my films." Chiranjeevi went on to thank the Prime Minister for nominating Ilaiyaraaja. "Grateful thanks to Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji for bestowing the well-deserved honour of Presidential nomination as Rajya Sabha members on extremely deserving stalwarts from the film Industry -- Shri K.V, Vijayendra Prasad garu and Shri Ilaiyaraaja garu." K.V. Vijayendra Prasad, incidentally, was most recently in the news for being the 'RRR' screenwriter. One of the greatest music composers of the country, Ilaiyaraaja hails from a small village called Pannaiyapuram in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu. He has scored music for more than 1,400 movies and composed over 7,000 songs, many of which have gone on to emerge as chartbusters and timeless classics. Winner of five National Awards, Ilaiyaraaja was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2010 and the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award in 2018. Dhaka, July 6 : Protests were held in several parts of Bangladesh to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the Urumqi massacre in Xinjiang, when the Chinese government launched a crackdown against Uyghurs protesting against the killing of two community members. A discussion and demonstration, including forming of a human chain, was organised by Bangladesh Social Activist Forum at the National Press Club here. Several demonstrations were held in various places including elsewhere in Dhaka and Narayanganj on the capital's outskirts. Protests by people holding banners and posters with human chains and railing against the Chinese government's oppression of Uyghurs were organized by Sochetan Nagorik Samaj, Narayanganj. The Bharat Bangladesh Sampriti Sangsad (BBSS) welfare forum organised a cycle race in Dhaka, which was attended by a large number of people, coming forward in support of minorities on the Chinese mainland. Chinese authorities have been accused of imposing mass arbitrary detention, forced labour, systematic forced birth control, sterilisation, and torture, separating children from incarcerated parents, destroying culture, and other human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Thirteen years ago, on July 5, 2009, violent riots broke out in Urumqi, leaving 197 people dead with 1,721 others injured. The Chinese government launched a crackdown against Uyghurs. London, July 6 : Temperamental Australian star Nick Kyrgios overcame Chilean Cristian Garin in straight sets to reach the men's singles semifinals at Wimbledon here on Wednesday. The mercurial Kyrgios defeated Garin 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) at Court No. 1 to become the first Australian male player to reach the last four stage at a Grand Slam since Lleyton Hewitt did that at the US Open in 2005. The 27-year-old Kyrgios overpowered Garin with his thunderous ball striking, while he also demonstrated great touch from all areas of the court to earn the biggest win of his season after two hours and 13 minutes. Ranked No 40 in the ATP Rankings, Kyrgios, who was playing in his third major quarterfinal and first since the 2015 Australian Open, will next meet second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal or American Taylor Fritz. Kyrgios trails 22-time major champion Nadal 3-6 in their head-to-head, while he has never played Indian Wells titlist, Fritz. Garin was off to a fast start in his first meeting with Kyrgios, quickly finding his rhythm from the baseline to earn an early break. However, having earned confidence-boosting wins in the past week, Kyrgios never looked worried and swiftly worked his way back in the set by increasing his intensity. The Australian hit his flat backhand with control, while he played aggressively off his forehand wing and serve, firing 20 winners, including 10 aces in the first and second sets to take control. Fuelled by momentum, the 27-year-old soaked up the pressure in the third set as Garin started to demonstrate great footwork to dictate on the forehand. The Australian, who lost in the quarter-finals on debut at SW19 in 2014, saved all three break points he faced in the set, before he produced moments of magic in the tie-break, rallying from 3/5 to advance. The Australian collapsed to the ground following his standout victory. With his win, Kyrgios has become the lowest-ranked men's semifinalist and first unseeded men's semifinalist at Wimbledon since 2008, when World No. 75 Marat Safin and World No. 94 Rainer Schuettler both reached the last four, according to a report on the ATP website. Kyrgios is now 12-2 on grass this season, the most wins by any player on this surface, having advanced to consecutive semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle last month. The Australian has edged Paul Jubb and Brandon Nakashima in five sets, while also eliminating Filip Krajinovic and upsetting World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous rounds here. New Delhi, July 6 : Chinese smartphone company Vivo's top executives, Directors Zhengshen Ou and Zhang Jie, likely fled India on Wednesday after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at its offices in connection with a prevention of money laundering case. Sources said that Zhengshen and Zhang may have fled the country via the Nepal route amid fears that they may be arrested. Vivo did not comment on the development. The raids were conducted at nearly 44 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and in southern states, on Tuesday in connection with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Sources said the office of Vivo and the premises of a few other Chinese firms were raided. The CBI has also been probing the case and lodged a separate first information report. In a statement to IANS, Vivo had said that it is cooperating with the authorities to provide them with all required information. "As a responsible corporate, we are committed to be fully compliant with laws," a company spokesperson said. In April, the ED seized Rs 5,551.27 crore of Xiaomi Technology India Private Ltd lying in the bank accounts under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) connection with the illegal outward remittances made by the company. Bhubaneswar, July 6 : Odisha's transformational food security story is going to be a role model for the world as the state, which was known for its hunger issues in the pre-2000 era, has been ranked No. 1 in India in the domain of food security. From importing rice from other states in the pre-2000 era, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's food security model has transformed Odisha into the No. 1 state in India in the domain of food security. In the recently released State Ranking Index for National Food Security Act (NFSA) by the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, Odisha has been placed at the top. Apart from successfully implementing the National Food Security Programme by providing food grains to 3.24 crore people of Odisha, the Patnaik-led state government has also more than doubled the production of food grains in the coastal state. Today, Odisha is the third largest contributor of rice to India's PDS system. The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) headquartered in Rome recently invited Patnaik to share the transformational progress made by Odisha in strengthening livelihood and food security, with specific focus on marginalised communities and women. Patnaik delivered an address in the presence of United Nations' WFP Executive Director David Beasley on how over the last two decades, Odisha has been through a transformational journey in the field of food production, food security, livelihood and disaster management, among others. The Chief Minister shared how Odisha attained food sufficiency, initiated large-scale growth-related programmes, designed and created climate-resilient livelihoods and nutrition, and focussed on partnerships so that the state consistently kept moving towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Beasley during the meeting stated how it is exciting to see Odisha's progress towards achieving 'Zero Hunger' and the other UN Sustainable Development Goals. The UN-FWP Executive Director further praised and appreciated the transformational work of the state government in the fields of disaster management, food production and food security. Beasley said that the success story of Odisha can provide learning insights for other similarly placed countries. Odisha has become a role model for the world and especially for the developing nations on how to ensure food security for its people, he said. Since the implementation of the National Food Security Act in the state in 2015, Odisha has followed it up with a robust end-to-end computerisation of TPDS operations. A digitised beneficiaries' database has been hosted in the public domain, and dynamically updated in 378 ration card management system (RCMS) centres, one each in 314 blocks and 64 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). All the 152 food storage depots of food supplies and consumer welfare department have been fully automated with provision for real-time electronic recording of doorstep delivery of 1.87 lakh MT foodgrains per month from 12,133 fair price shops across the state. All the fair price shops are equipped with electronic Point of Sale (e-PoS) devices which ensure distribution to PDS beneficiaries through automated mode. The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) programme has been implemented across the coastal state since July 2021. Around 1.10 lakh families are receiving ration through the intra-state facility every month. Patna, July 6 : A man in his early 20s in Bihar's Araria district died on Wednesday after he was allegedly given electric shock by the family members of a woman with whom he was in a relation, the police said. The deceased has been identified as Chotu Yadav -- a native of Raharia village. He was dating a woman of Barauwa village whose family members were opposed to their relation. The woman, also in early 20s, had called Chotu to meet her in Barauwa on Wednesday. When he was talking to the woman, the latter's father Dhirendra Yadav, his son and son in-law caught hold of Chotu, overpowered him and confined him inside a room. "The trio brutally assaulted Chotu in the room. They had also given electric shocks to him which led to his death," a police officer said. The accused had kept the body inside the house. When Chotu's family including his father went to the house of Dhirendra Yadav, and enquired about the matter with the help of Panchayat members, they initially refused. However, when the police went to the village and confronted Dhirendra, he confessed to the crime. "During investigation, it was revealed that the accused had given electric shocks to Chotu until his death. The accused have confessed the crime. We have sent the body for the postmortem and arrested the accused on the charge of murder," the police officer added. New Delhi, July 7 : As the Enforcement Directorate (ED) continued searches at the premises of Chinese companies, including smartphone maker Vivo, at 44 locations in 22 states on Wednesday, the directors of one of the companies associated with Vivo have fled India. According to sources, two of the Chinese directors of Solan, Himachal Pradesh-based company, that was associated with Vivo, have likely fled India, as ED registered a prevention of money laundering case. The Chinese nationals were made directors in the Indian entities with fake documents. The enforcement agency has so far received information about money laundering worth Rs 10,000 crore during the raids, according to ED sources. More details will emerge later in the case, the sources added. The CBI has also been probing the case and lodged a separate first information report. In a statement to IANS, Vivo had said that it is cooperating with the authorities to provide them with all required information. "As a responsible corporate, we are committed to be fully compliant with laws," a company spokesperson said. In April, the ED seized Rs 5,551.27 crore of Xiaomi Technology India Private Ltd lying in the bank accounts under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) connection with the illegal outward remittances made by the company. Ahmedabad, July 7 : The AAP has accused the BJP of misleading the people of Gujarat by holding programmes like Vikas Yatra "with public money". The BJP does "contrary" to what it promises, AAP National Joint General Secretary Isudan Gadhvi said while addressing the media here. The AAP leader said, "The BJP government repeatedly plays with the sentiments of the people. It had promised to make Gujarat malnutrition free in 2012; now there are more than three lakh malnourished children in Gujarat in 2022. Recently Gujarat Chief Minister said that the BJP works upon what they promised. But I would say, in Gujarat, whatever the BJP promises, it does the exact opposite." Gadhvi claimed that former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and BJP state chief C.R. Patil have "admitted that corruption is rampant in many government departments". Despite this, non of the corruption allegations were investigated till now. "In 2017, the BJP had said that the income of farmers will be doubled by 2022 but today the situation is such that their expenses have increased. It had said that by 2022, the water of Narmada will be delivered to 18,45,000 hectares of land. This is also not made possible. In 2007 and in 2012, 'bhumipujan' of the land for Kalpasar Project was performed twice, but today even in 2022, corruption of crores of rupees happened and no work is done for that project," the AAP leader added. He said, "In 2013, Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, had said that he would implement the report of the Swaminathan Committee, but even after eight years, it has not been implemented yet. He had also promised that no one will live in slums in Gujarat by 2022, but today more than one crore people are living in slums in the state. Apart from this, there were plans to extract gas from the KG basin but crores of rupees of corruption took place in it too." "The AAP government in Punjab has made electricity free within three months of the formation of the government. The government should be the one that fulfills its promise as soon as possible and serves the people," Gadhvi concluded. MicroCapsule Pigment Manufacturer Daehyun is focused on plans using a sense of sight and smell. Daehyun has the technology to provide customized products to customers requirements. In the future, we will develop technology continuously and will do our best to grow into a global corporation. To better accommodate our clients and provide a high-quality microcapsule pigment to a larger area, Daehyun recently expanded by supplying thermochromic products worldwide. This expansion not only increased the companys manufacturing capacity but it extended the reach of the area they cover. Within the last 12 months, lots of manufacturing machines were installed to enlarge the capacity for supplying and exporting worldwide their pigment products. Each received an extensive hardware expansion and enlarged the number of employees to support the increased business demands not only from more clients in Korea but also other global clients worldwide. Buyers may choose from a variety of different pigment products for their business industry. Our microcapsule pigment products can be categorized by below six pigment products area. Thermochromic pigment - The thermochromic capsule is a property of the material that reversibly changes color due to temperature changes. A Thermochromic is a pigment that typically changes reversibly when the temperature change is heated or cooled. Daehyuns is the best thermochromic Powder Supplier . Photochromic Pigment - The photochromic capsule is a property of the material that reversibly changes color due to changes in light. Photochromic is a pigment that typically changes reversibly when the light changes bright or dark Aroma Capsule Pigment - Aroma capsule is a microcapsule that can keep the fragrance for a long time. It controls the emission of fragrance and applies to various industrial fields according to the users purpose. Hydrochloric ink - Water color change ink is irreversibly changing with the water or the moisture Ink. Ordinally Hydrochromic ink has a yellow color, and it changes to a blue color when it is wet. Hydrochromic water re-active color changing Ink from yellow to blue. Functional capsule - Functional pigment microcapsule types include anti-mosquito capsules, and anti-bacterial capsules. The principle of this capsule is similar to an Aroma capsule. Direct or indirect factors such as wind or rub. Phase change materials - PCM is a microcapsule containing thermal phase change materials. The external environment temperature changes cause the material inside the microcapsule to change phase and heat absorption, or heat emission occurs In addition to the pigment products above, DaeHyun ( microcapsule pigment manufacturer ) also expanded into larger areas by making custom-demanded temperature and color matching pigment development. As a result, their pigment product coverage increased to include all custom specifications, as well as the supplying variety of developed new pigment applications, oil base vs water-based, pigment capsule size adjustment for custom demand, custom color, and temperature accepting all pigment application industry request. With the increased pigment product manufacturing coverage, buyers will now be able to order a custom demand pigment capsule for their purpose pigment characteristic capsule. Completing DaeHyuns recent expansion ( microcapsule pigment ) is another office located in China opened to provide more timely service for the China pigment capsule market. DaeHyun strives to deliver ( thermochromic pigment manufacturer ): Microcapsule Pigment Manufacturer Supplier Global chemical company that develops and produces microcapsule Microcapsule synthesis through its technology Applicable Oil / Water-based pigment supply worldwide Adjustable capsule size development Customized temperature and color adjustment pigment manufacturing Customized flavor and concentration aroma pigment supply Applicable high light fastness About the Company Daehyun is focused on plans using the sense of sight and smell. Daehyun has the technology to provide customized products to customers requirements. In the future, we will develop technology continuously, and we will do our best to grow into a global corporation. 7 Generation Capital (7Gen) announced today the close of an $8-million Series A financing round that will accelerate the deployment of electric trucks and buses through the companys innovative EV-as-a-service model. The round was led by Quebec-based pension fund Fonds de solidarite FTQ and Siemens Financial Services (SFS), which both add significant strategic value and can help 7Gen expand. Vancouver-based 7Gen helps medium- and heavy-duty fleets deploy electric vehicles (EVs) and chargers. Focused on supporting commercial fleet operators, 7Gens advisory and leasing service integrates technology selection, planning, financing, software, installation, and maintenance. This allows their client fleets to focus on their core businesses while moving more easily, quickly, confidently, and profitably towards integrating zero-emission vehicles, from various OEMs, into their fleets. 7Gens offerings make it much easier and more predictable for a fleet manager to go ahead with an EV deployment project, and this investment shows a lot of confidence in our approach as we scale up to serve the Canadian and American markets, said 7Gen CEO and Co-Founder Frans Tjallingii. FTQ and Siemens are established, long-term strategic investors, and we are very proud to have them as partners on our journey. FTQ has investments in more than 3,400 companies, and its partnership with 7Gen encompasses serving many of the fleets in its portfolio as they transition to electrification. With its global presence and expertise in the e-mobility space, SFS will assist 7Gen navigate the evolving and growing EV industry. The partnership also provides insight and potential synergies in the charging infrastructure side of 7Gens business, as well as the backing of a major multinational company to support scale. Transportation is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, so the shift to zero-emissions vehicles is essential for the sector to meet global net-zero targets, said FTQ Investment Manager Dany Sarazin-Sullivan. At the same time, there is a promise of increased efficiency through the lower total costs of ownership of EVs compared to internal combustion engines. An integrator like 7Gen creates the right combination of advice and technologies to accelerate that transition. We look forward to supporting their expansion across Canada and within our portfolio of companies. "This show of support from two top-tier investors affords 7Gen the type of capital to scale that we are working to provide to more home-grown firms here in Metro Vancouver," said David Flaks, President of Invest Vancouver, the regions economic development leadership service. "I know from my time witnessing the growth in the U.S. mobility market that smartly focused funding, combined with market access, can be game-changing." According to Christian Bell, Head of Equity Investments for the Americas at SFS, This investment signals our belief in the future of vehicle electrification and the importance of knowledge and experience when electrifying commercial fleets. SFS is investing in the next generation of transportation, and is excited to partner with a company like 7Gen to accelerate the deployment of charging infrastructure and zero-emission vehicles. The complexity involved in electrifying fleets has created an urgent need for third-party simplification, 7Gens Tjallingii said. We work with our customers to think through feasibility and business continuity issues to get to a project that works. We are excited about this investment in our company because it will enable 7Gen to expand our vehicle and charger offerings, improve our financing capabilities, and develop our software platform to facilitate project development and ongoing decision-making with our customer fleets. About 7 Generation Capital (7Gen) 7Gen is an electric vehicle (EV) and charging infrastructure leasing company, focused on working with medium and heavy-duty fleets. 7Gen aims to make EV integration easier as an obvious alternative to current internal combustion engine equivalents. It provides turnkey EV-as-a-service fleet electrification execution support, financing, and software for fleet managers, marine terminals and airports that want to join the EV revolution. To learn more, visit 7gen.com. About Siemens Financial Services (SFS) The B2B financing arm of Siemens provides financing that makes a difference. At SFS, we empower customers around the globe to access technology with purpose and increase their competitiveness. Based on our unique combination of financial expertise, risk management, and industry know-how we provide tailored financing solutions including flexible leasing and working capital products, project-related and structured financing, corporate lending, equity investments, finance advisory, as well as trade and receivables financing. With highly experienced and passionate teams in 20+ countries, SFS paves the way for industrial productivity, smart infrastructure, and sustainable mobility, facilitating the energy transition and enabling high-quality healthcare. Supporting the Siemens DEGREE framework, SFS is one of the leading providers in financing greenfield renewable projects. http://www.siemens.com/finance. About Fonds de solidarite FTQ The Fonds de solidarite FTQ invests to build a better society by channelling the savings of its 748,371 shareholders into development and risk capital investments to help Quebec transition to a green economy, to a human-centred world of work, and to a healthier society. The Fonds offers businesses unsecured financing and strategic support. With $17.4 billion in net assets as of May 31, 2022, the Fonds has supported 3,620 partner companies and 296,927 jobs. See fondftq.ca MEDIA CONTACTS English Kathleen Reid, Switchboard Public Relations kreid@switchboardpr.com / 604-724-1242 French Bertrand Legret, TACT Conseil blegret@tactconseil.ca / 514 804-2481 BUSINESS CONTACT Shayna Rector Bleeker, Cofounder & VP Strategic Partnerships, 7Gen shayna@7gen.com / 604-355-8693 "We are grateful for the funding and expanded partnerships which support our mission to help improve health equity for all Indonesians," Evan Tanotogono, Rey CEO. Rey Assurance (Rey or the Company), the first dedicated and integrated health, life and critical illness insurtech company in Indonesia, today announced $4.2M in seed funding to advance its digital health products and leading technology platform. In addition to announcing the funding from the Trans-Pacific Technology Fund (TPTF), Genesia Ventures, and RDS, the Company is launching a new, disruptive suite of outpatient and inpatient products that have received approval from the Indonesian insurance regulator, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK). The new products enable Reys Members to personalize services with the level of cover that best matches their needs. Reys products are linked to the Companys proprietary cashless claims system, eliminating the tedious admission and discharging process at all healthcare providers. The claim system includes ReyCard, a debit card that enables Reys Members to make payment simply and immediately at any healthcare provider of choice, even outside the traditional hospital network. The combination of customizable products, cashless claims, provider flexibility, and the other optimizations the ecosystem provides delivers significant cost savings for Members compared to traditional insurance. Unlike most legacy insurers, Rey prioritizes outpatient products that are affordable and painless, complemented by our best value inpatient products, which all feature experience-centric care and wellness features into our end-to-end health solution, said Evan Tanotogono, Rey CEO and Co-Founder. We are grateful for the funding and expanded partnerships which support our mission to help improve health equity for all Indonesians while also shining a spotlight for other countries seeking to create a new paradigm for providing innovative insurance solutions for their population. In another first for an Indonesian insurtech, Rey received ISO/IEC 27001 certification with the scope of "Information Security Management for Digital Insurance with Integrated Health Ecosystem". This certification demonstrates Reys commitment to the quality use of its Members data in the Companys proprietary end-to-end health and wellness ecosystem that integrates 360-degree EHR, claim database and analytics, and primary care system with pharmacy formularium management. The opportunity to deliver life-changing products and services to address the significant unmet needs for the ~97% of the ~270 million Indonesian population is one of the major reasons TPTF decided to jointly lead the round with Genesia Ventures, said Glenn Kline, Managing Partner of the Trans-Pacific Technology Fund. In addition to Reys CEO Evan Tanotogono, who previously served as the Head of Digital Channel at Sequis, a major local life & health insurer in Indonesia, Reys other co-founders include: David Nugroho, Chief Business Officer: David is a 25+-year insurance industry veteran who most recently served as Chief Digital Partnership Officer at Prudential. Bobby Siagian, Chief Technology Officer: Bobby has over 10+ years of experience, having worked as a senior technology leader for over 10 years at IBM, Sea, and recently Tokopedia. Rosi Setyo Nugroho, Vice President of Product: A licensed pharmacist and with a Masters degree from New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School in Health Policy & Management, Rosi has ~10 years healthcare experience including playing a critical role in building a digital primary care system that is used by one of the largest managed care insurers in Indonesia. It is not often that you find a team with this level of technology and industry expertise coupled with a ground-breaking concept of an integrated health and wellness ecosystem with cashless claims, telemedicine, managed care, life insurance, health insurance, critical illness insurance, said Takahiro Suzuki, General Partner of Genesia Ventures. We are excited about collaborating with Reys leadership, TPTF and other world-class partners to solve a critical problem facing Indonesia. About Rey Assurance Pte Ltd Headquartered in Jakarta, Rey, led by an executive team with combined ~150 years of insurance industry experience, is the pioneer of a new age of insurance in Indonesia. The Company has redesigned the end-to-end insurance value chain by blending its unique technology platform including AI, big data analytics, and cashless claim payments with its proprietary health, life and critical illness insurance policies bundled into subscription-based offers for individuals and groups that eliminate complicated paper-based processes. Rey integrates ground-breaking technologies into its insurance offerings, coupled with its health and wellness ecosystem, via strategic partners encompassing such areas as pharmacy, telemedicine, and cashless payment to provide the most holistic insurance offerings in Indonesia designed to improve the wellbeing of its individual and group members throughout all stages of life. About the Trans-Pacific Technology Fund, L.P. The Trans-Pacific Technology Fund (TPTF) is an international venture capital fund with offices in Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. TPTF makes multi-stage investments in high-growth technology companies across Asia and in the United States. Please visit http://www.tptf.co, for more information on TPTF and our portfolio companies. About the Genesia Ventures Genesia Ventures is a Japan-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage tech startups across Japan and Southeast Asia, with three funds and more than $100M of assets under management. With three offices in Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Genesia Ventures works with startups, corporations, investors, governments, non-profit organizations, and other stakeholders to create a better society, and has supported and invested in more than 100 startups globally. Learn more at genesiaventures.com. Theres a lot of downward pressure on direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands right now, as some of the bigger names of the last few years (think Peloton, Casper, Warby Parker) appear to be faltering. This is calling the sustainability of the DTC business playbook into question. And with the added uncertainty of looming recessionary headwinds, DTC brands are under pressure to respond with more mature, more diverse marketing tactics and strategies. Unless they do, theyre unlikely to push into big gains. HipArrays latest report The Future of DTC Marketing addresses the shortcomings of the existing DTC playbook, while providing new perspectives on the tools DTC natives and larger (incumbent) brands use to fuel high growth rates. In the context of HipArray's proprietary "Brand Growth Framework," it is clear that DTC tactics are too narrow and short-sighted. Theyre great for igniting start-up momentum, but inadequate for sustained growth and scale. Digital-focused, performance-centric DTC tactics play only a small part in the larger growth marketing playbook. HipArray's "Brand Growth Framework" identifies six key characteristics for accelerating and sustaining growth. These six characteristics are essential ingredients for both DTC brands and larger, incumbent brands. When it comes to making big gains in brand equity, there are three characteristics that help move DTCs from start-up to growth-stage (and help mature brands recapture high-growth potential): Owning a culture / category: When a brand becomes synonymous with a culture, and becomes intertwined with it at every level. Brand bravery: Brands that have a purpose and resolve to take a stand. These brands venture big gains with bold, compelling campaigns. New media mindset: Investing into underpriced platforms ahead of the curve, with well-timed investments earning brands big rewards. "Having evaluated thousands of DTC and mature brands, these three characteristics standout as success factors. These are the tools that the best brands are using to expand and consolidate successes with consumers. The best part is these characteristics represent a bridge between start-up energy and potential, with the gravitas of market leaders says Chris Baker, HipArray founder. DTC serves as a great startup toolkit, but they tend to stall out at around USD10 million using performance tactics alone. To manage growth they have to think bigger. Having worked with high growth brands like Nike and Disney, we've seen how these characteristics drive sustained value and impact with customers." Cannabis Training University (CTU) "Our Master of Cannabis Certification Program teaches students everything they need to know to succeed in the highly competitive cannabis industry, said Jeff Zorn, CEO of Cannabis Training University. On January 23, 2022, Cannabis Training University (CTU) announced the launch of Master of Cannabis, a comprehensive training program for entrepreneurs and professionals in the marijuana industry. The online cannabis career training program has been receiving high satisfaction scores from students, said Karen Getchell, CTUs Director of Content Development. So far, students have given the course an average satisfaction rating of 4.59 on a scale of 1 to 5. The 42-hour program provides in-depth training in marijuana growing, extraction, cooking, budtending, dispensary management, business startup and operation, work permits, business licensing, careers, laws, regulations, and medicineincluding information on 16 ancillary careers and 20 ancillary business opportunities. The extensive curriculum prepares students to work at, manage, or own a business in any sector of the cannabis industry, anywhere in the world. Our Master of Cannabis Certification Program teaches students everything they need to know to succeed in the highly competitive cannabis industry, said Jeff Zorn, CEO of Cannabis Training University. CTU is the only school that provides in-depth training for all of the primary industry sectorscultivation, manufacturing, medicine, and retailall in one comprehensive program. With the Master of Cannabis Certification Program, students receive a curated, streamlined learning experience with a clear, easy-to-navigate structure. The expanded curriculum builds on CTUs impressive e-library of in-depth videos and written content and adds several hours of new, up-to-date, written and video content from leading industry experts. When students successfully complete the program, they will receive ten separate cannabis certifications: one certificate for each topic in the course. In addition to eight comprehensive cannabis classes, students get access to six textbooks written by Master Cannabis Trainer Ed Rosenthal, the undisputed world leader in cannabis education. Students also receive 72 downloadable resourcesincluding informational handouts, resume and cover letter templates, and marijuana calculatorsthat they can use at their own businesses. The course also provides access to CTUs exclusive job board, where they can find CTU-certified employees and jobs. For a limited time, students can enroll in Master of Cannabis for a low introductory price of $299 (or four payments of $74.75 each with approved credit through Sezzle). After the initial offering, the price will increase to $2,500. Cannabis Training Universitys self-paced learning environment gives students the freedom to earn their certification at their own pace. Once enrolled, students receive access to the course for a full year. That includes access to CTUs frequently updated licensing, work permit, medical program, and legal information for every US state, Canadian province, and Canadian territory. The Master of Cannabis program also includes information about federal cannabis programs in 50 countries. Entrepreneur Kevin OLeary from ABCs Shark Tank advises, If you want to stay on the legal side, there is a way to pursue it. Thats the training you get from the Cannabis Training University. The cannabis career training course can be accessed from any device, at any time, from anywhere in the world. After previewing the course, PJ Gauthier, a small cannabis business owner and adult learning consultant, said, The nice thingis you can access it with any device. You can use a tablet, a laptop, orphone. You could pick it up wherever you wanted at any time. According to the Leafly Jobs Report, legal cannabis now supports 428,059 full-time jobs in the United States. With recent adult-use legalization in Arizona, Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia, job opportunities will experience huge growth in 2022 and beyond. There has never been a better time to invest in the cannabis industry! About Cannabis Training University: Cannabis Training University, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is the leading online source for cannabis education. Founded in late 2009 by Jeff Zorn, CTU began as a series of live seminars across the United States. After a year of highly successful seminars, CTU migrated to an online format in order to give students everywhere access to CTUs expansive content at an affordable rate. The CTU faculty and staff includes leading cannabis attorneys, accountants, world-renowned cannabis horticulturists, dispensary managers, budtenders, point of sale software companies, cannabis chefs, and canna-business owners and vendors. First to market in the cannabis education space and at the forefront of the cannabis education movement, CTU provides valuable training to students all over the globe. In the past year, many thousands of students in the US, Canada, and other countries have successfully completed Cannabis Training University training programs. Over 75,000 students to date have successfully completed training at CTU, the most of any online cannabis college worldwide, grossing in the tens of millions of dollars for CTU. Today, Elevent, a platform connecting event providers and companies to deliver unique experiences that build trust and connections, announced it has launched in-person events in New York and Austin to complement its vast offering of virtual experiences. Starting immediately employers in these cities who are looking to build lasting connections among their workforce will have the additional option to host in-person events. The addition of in-person events offers employers who are looking to nurture workplace community as well as build client engagement a fresh way to connect and create meaningful relationships. The company now offers more than 615 unique experiences across in-person and virtual formats. Launching in-person events is a big milestone for us. Our goal is to help people connect and bond with one another by participating together in unique events. We believe, in todays hybrid work environment this happens both through in-person and virtual community team building, says Jon Conelias, CEO of Elevent. Both New York and Austin felt like natural fits to be the first cities that we launched in-person events due to their sheer size and growing tech scenes with companies looking for team building events. In-person events in both New York and Austin will reflect the uniqueness of each region including a BBQ & Brew Tour in Austin and a Little Italy Food and Walking Tour in New York. This will be in addition to employee favorites such as escape rooms, paint parties, walking tours, scavenger hunts, and cooking classes. To date, Elevent has held more than 5,000 events for more than 150,000 people serving companies that highly value employee engagement and retention. The company serves employers that understand the value of social outings as key to strengthening bonds amongst their employees. To find out more about the companys in-person and virtual event offerings, please visit: http://www.bookelevent.com About Elevent: Born out of a need to connect virtually, Elevent is the go-to marketplace for fun. The company hosts experiences for team bonding, client engagement, remote celebrations, and rewards while creating lasting connections. The company has held more than 5,000 events for more than 150,000 people including escape rooms, cocktail classes, murder mysteries, and more. Mployer Advisor announces the 2022 winners of the "Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards" for the Florida Panhandle. We scored these brokerages utilizing sophisticated, industry-first algorithms, and we applaud the winners demonstrated commitment to service, quality, and positive employer feedback. Mployer Advisor, the leading independent platform for employers to research, review, and evaluate insurance brokers is pleased to announce the winners of its Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards based in the Florida Panhandle. Mployer Advisor has named more than 600 winners in over 50 regions as part of its second annual 2022 awards. The class of 2022 winners account for less than 5% of all brokerages nationwide. Mployer Advisors Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards Program evaluates brokerages based on the breadth and depth of their experience across employer industries, sizes, insurance products, and employer reviews. We recognize esteemed brokers that demonstrate market-leading competencies and a proven track record of success among employers, insurance providers, and peers. The team at Mployer Advisor is proud to honor this group of top insurance consultants as part of the 2022 class for our second annual Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards, said Brian Freeman, the Founder and CEO of Mployer Advisor. Employer-sponsored healthcare and benefits cover over 150M Americans. Who an employer selects as their benefits advisor has more impact on cost and quality than who they choose as the insurance carrier. We scored these brokerages utilizing sophisticated, industry-first algorithms, and we applaud the winners demonstrated commitment to service, quality, and positive employer feedback. Mployer Advisor determined the winners of the second annual Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards by analyzing each brokerage based on historical data, online reviews, their M Score rating, and demonstrated business experience. The Florida Panhandle is one of the most competitive markets in the U.S. Southeast, employing over 132,000 people. Offering competitive employee benefits is a critical factor in hiring top talent for the regions employers. Finding and partnering with a highly rated insurance consultant is imperative to retaining talent in any market. The recipients of the 2022 Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards for the Florida Panhandle are as follows: The above winners are a snapshot of Mployer Advisors matrices and proprietary M Score on June 1, 2022. To view a full list of consultants in the Florida Panhandle, visit MployerAdvisor.com. To view a complete list of the 2022 recipients of Mployer Advisors Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards, visit https://mployeradvisor.com/best-insurance-brokers. About Mployer Advisor: Mployer Advisor is changing the way employers search, evaluate, and select insurance advisors. The intuitive platform connects employers and employees to great benefits and insurance plans by providing employers with actionable data to easily evaluate and select the best advisor for a companys specific needs. Most brokerages have a profile on Mployer Advisor, which provides independent ratings of insurance advisors to support employers. Insurance brokers cannot pay to influence their Mployer Advisor rating. Only highly rated brokerages are allowed to advertise on the platform. To learn more about Mployer Advisor, visit https://mployeradvisor.com and follow us on LinkedIn. Disclaimer: Rankings are dynamic, and this report may not reflect the rankings currently listed on Mployer Advisors website. Because Mployer Advisors research is ongoing, interested companies that want to join next years list are encouraged to claim their free profile on Mployer Advisor. Media Contact: Abbey Dean (Head of Content) Abbey.dean@mployeradvisor.com Mployer Advisor announces the 2022 winners of the "Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards" for Columbus, Ohio. We scored these brokerages utilizing sophisticated, industry-first algorithms, and we applaud the winners demonstrated commitment to service, quality, and positive employer feedback. Mployer Advisor, the leading independent platform for employers to research, review, and evaluate insurance brokers is pleased to announce the winners of its Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards based in Columbus, Ohio. Mployer Advisor has named more than 600 winners in over 50 regions as part of its second annual 2022 awards. The class of 2022 winners account for less than 5% of all brokerages nationwide. Mployer Advisors Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards Program evaluates brokerages based on the breadth and depth of their experience across employer industries, sizes, insurance products, and employer reviews. We recognize esteemed brokers that demonstrate market-leading competencies and a proven track record of success among employers, insurance providers, and peers. The team at Mployer Advisor is proud to honor this group of top insurance consultants as part of the 2022 class for our second annual Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards, said Brian Freeman, the Founder and CEO of Mployer Advisor. Employer-sponsored healthcare and benefits cover over 150M Americans. Who an employer selects as their benefits advisor has more impact on cost and quality than who they choose as the insurance carrier. We scored these brokerages utilizing sophisticated, industry-first algorithms, and we applaud the winners demonstrated commitment to service, quality, and positive employer feedback. Mployer Advisor determined the winners of the second annual Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards by analyzing each brokerage based on historical data, online reviews, their M Score rating, and demonstrated business experience. The Columbus job market is one of the most competitive in the U.S. Midwest, employing over 1 million people and boasting an unemployment rate of 2.9%. Offering competitive employee benefits is a critical factor in hiring top talent for the regions employers. Finding and partnering with a highly rated insurance consultant is imperative to retaining talent in any market. The recipients of the 2022 Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards for Columbus, Ohio are as follows: The above winners are a snapshot of Mployer Advisors matrices and proprietary M Score on June 1, 2022. To view a full list of consultants in Columbus, Ohio, visit MployerAdvisor.com. To view a complete list of the 2022 recipients of Mployer Advisors Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards, visit https://mployeradvisor.com/best-insurance-brokers. About Mployer Advisor: Mployer Advisor is changing the way employers search, evaluate, and select insurance advisors. The intuitive platform connects employers and employees to great benefits and insurance plans by providing employers with actionable data to easily evaluate and select the best advisor for a companys specific needs. Most brokerages have a profile on Mployer Advisor, which provides independent ratings of insurance advisors to support employers. Insurance brokers cannot pay to influence their Mployer Advisor rating. Only highly rated brokerages are allowed to advertise on the platform. To learn more about Mployer Advisor, visit https://mployeradvisor.com and follow us on LinkedIn. Disclaimer: Rankings are dynamic, and this report may not reflect the rankings currently listed on Mployer Advisors website. Because Mployer Advisors research is ongoing, interested companies that want to join next years list are encouraged to claim their free profile on Mployer Advisor. Media Contact Abbey Dean (Head of Content) Abbey.dean@mployeradvisor.com ### When GWI presented this opportunity, we immediately recognized how instrumental this data could be in propelling not only the wellness real estate market sector forward, but also the entire wellness economy here in Brazil The nonprofit Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the leading research and educational resource for the $4.4 trillion global wellness industry, today announced Brazil as the second country partner for its recently launched Geography of Wellness microsite. AG7, Brazils leading wellness building and real estate firm, stepped up to sponsor Brazils inclusion. AG7 develops and invests in innovative housing that combines the concepts of health, modern architecture and well-being, transforming the way individuals and families live. GWIs Geography of Wellness takes a deep dive into the data points behind a countrys wellness economy, painting a clear picture of where it is positioned and giving countries a platform to showcase their unique wellness assets to potential visitors. Last month, GWI announced Singapore as the first country to go live. Now anyone who wants to explore Brazils wellness economy and gain a deeper understanding of where it is positioned in relation to its peers and competitors will be able to access this valuable data, said Susie Ellis, GWI chair and CEO. This includes access to the first-ever dedicated wellness economy report for the country, free to download thanks to AG7, that clearly outlines the size of Brazils wellness economy and its place within each of the 11 wellness sectors our researchers measure. According to GWI data, Brazil offers a wide array of wellness assets and has a wellness economy valued at $82.6B, making it the stand-out performer (#1 out of 46 countries) in the Latin America-Caribbean region. The country is ranked #11 worldwide, just behind Australia. In 2020, Brazils global ranking in the 11 wellness sectors (among the 218 countries where GWI collects data) illustrates a comprehensive and diverse wellness economy. Some key numbers: Brazil ranks #5 in Personal Care & Beauty, a reflection of the regions focus on self-care; #7 for Healthy Eating, Nutrition & Weight Loss, a real determiner of overall wellness; #10 for its large number of Thermal/Mineral Springs; an impressive #7 for Public Health, Prevention & Personalized Medicine; #12 for Mental Wellness; and #23 for Wellness Tourism. GWI researchers latest report, The Global Wellness Economy: Looking Beyond Covid, forecasts that the wellness economy is on track to expand to $7 trillion by 2025(1). There are significant industry growth opportunities across the globe. As a company that is leading the wellness real estate movement in Brazil, AG7 recognizes the importance of evangelizing and embracing the country's entire wellness ecosystem. We are proud to play a key role in sharing this important research with large and small companies alike, and with the institutions involved in wellness market development, said Andressa Gulin, MD, head of innovations at AG7. When GWI presented this opportunity, we immediately recognized how instrumental this data could be in propelling not only the wellness real estate market sector forward, but also the entire wellness economy here in Brazil. Wellness in Brazil Brazils warm and welcoming local population embraces, charms and captivates visitors a crucial component of any successful wellness destination. Besides amazing places to explore, historical landmarks to see, beaches and mountains to trek, mineral springs to bath in and incredible Amazonian adventures to partake in, Brazil is also a place to rest and reconnect with oneself. The country is stunningly beautiful and prides itself in prioritizing sustainability and the environment. Brazil also unites the best of all worlds: nature and culture collide while the ancient and the modern co-exist in harmony. Whether its a modern hotel peeking through the mist in the Amazon or one of the best spas in the world located in Sao Paulo or Curitiba, locals and tourists alike are immersed in nature, rich culture, gastronomic delights, diverse physical activities, and beautiful scenery. Brazil is a destination that celebrates the joy of a life well experienced and well lived. Every destination in the world is unique with wellness assets not found anywhere else. Forward-looking countries and regions are realizing that now is the time to plant seeds designed to accelerate the positive impact wellness has on citizens, communities, and its economy in the future, continued Ellis. Interest in GWIs Geography of Wellness microsite has been robust and the research organization is preparing additional country reports to be released soon. About the Global Wellness Institute: The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is considered the leading global research and educational resource for the global wellness industry and is known for introducing major industry initiatives and regional events that bring together leaders to chart the future. GWI positively impacts global health and wellness by educating public institutions, businesses and individuals on how they can work to prevent disease, reduce stress and enhance the overall quality of life. Its mission is to empower wellness worldwide. (1) https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/press-room/press-releases/2021-gwi-research-report/ $17.5 Million Construction Loan for Centre Point Self Storage in Santa Clarita, California Because Aries has relationships with multiple types of capital sources eager to finance self-storage, we are able to provide creative structures for our clients at each stage of their business plans and whether they are looking to build, add value, acquire or refinance. - Brandon Perdeck Aries Capital of Chicago has closed $46 million in construction, bridge and permanent debt financing for over 414,000 square feet of new and existing self-storage facilities in California, Colorado, Florida and Texas. The financing was arranged on behalf of three separate clients by Aries Capital Director of Capital Markets Brandon Perdeck, Director of Acquisitions Matt Carney and Assistant Vice President Steve Adams. The transactions include a $17.5 million construction loan for a self-storage facility in Santa Clarita, California for Diamond Development Partners, a unit of Salazar Construction Co., Inc.; an $8.65 million, full-term interest-only, CMBS permanent loan for the acquisition of a portfolio of four self-storage facilities in Colorado, Florida and Texas by Southern Star Self Storage; and a $19.875 million interest-only loan for the refinancing and phase two construction of Vineburg Wine & Self Storage in Sonoma, California. Self-storage has been an active asset class for Aries Capital. Lenders like its stability and sustainable cash flow and are willing to finance self-storage properties at higher leverage and better pricing than retail and other commercial assets. said Perdeck. Because Aries has relationships with multiple types of capital sources eager to finance self-storage, we are able to provide creative structures for our clients at each stage of their business plans and whether they are looking to build, add value, acquire or refinance. The $17.5 million construction loan was closed on behalf of Diamond Development Partners. Diamond is a unit of Salazar Construction Co., a family-run construction, investment and fully-integrated development firm based in California. The financing will be used to build a new 1,361-unit, 100% climate controlled self-storage facility, Centre Point Self Storage, at 21145 Diamond Place in Santa Clarita, California. The state-of-the-art facility is situated within a 1.5-acre office/industrial complex in a stabilized infill urban area with convenient local and regional access, and good visibility. Salazar owns multiple flex-industrial spaces within the market and Centre Point Self Storage is its first self-storage project. The Diamond/Salazar team has extensive experience in industrial and commercial real estate throughout Southern California and was looking to expand into self-storage. We brought in a bank with whom Aries Capital has a longstanding relationship and effectively delivered the financing Salazar needed to diversify and grow its portfolio, said Adams. Lila Haimoff, chief financial officer of Salazar, said Ive had good support from Aries Capital in establishing a relationship with the bank. Its gone smoothly. Brandon was very diligent in following up on all the details to ensure a smooth closing. In the second transaction, Aries arranged an $8.65 million, non-recourse, full-term interest-only, CMBS permanent loan for the acquisition of a portfolio of four self-storage facilities located in Colorado, Florida and Texas. The 10-year loan was closed on behalf of the Houston-based buyer, Southern Star Self Storage, in just 35 days at 60% loan-to-value. The buyer purchased the portfolio for $14.4 million. The existing loan on one of the assets was maturing and the seller needed the buyer to find financing quickly. We were able to arrange the interest-only financing our clients needed to execute the purchase on time and closed on the four properties in just 35 days, said Perdeck. All of the properties are well located, and our clients will be able to use their platform and extensive storage experience to add value. The properties total 152,000 square feet and include Montrose Airport Storage at 63224 La Salle Road in Montrose, Colorado; Southern Star Storage at 3250 N.E. Candice Avenue in Jensen Beach, Florida; Addison Airport Self Storage at 4485 Glenn Curtis Drive in Addison, Texas; and Southern Star Storage at 3608 US-281 in George West, Texas. Were very pleased with the support and thoroughness of Aries Capital, said Mark Torok, CEO of Southern Star Self Storage. The transaction involved four properties over three states and Aries did a stellar job of coordinating all of the moving pieces. In the third transaction, a $19.875 million, interest-only bridge and construction loan was arranged on behalf of Vineburg Wine & Self Storage at 1010 Napa Road in Sonoma, California to refinance an existing construction loan and fund a second phase of construction. Completed in July 2021, the class A self-storage property has experienced unprecedented demand from local area wine collectors, restaurants and micro-wineries. The facility offers 396 climate-controlled and standard storage units including wine pallet storage. The financing Aries Capital secured will enable the borrower to add another 65,000 square feet of storage space consisting of 489 additional units. Once complete, the facility will offer a total of 885 units. As a class-A property with broad wine storage options, the property leased up to over 50% in the first few months of phase one. Aries was able to garner significant lender interest due to the high demand for new storage product in the market. We sourced a qualified lender that understood the significant value the additional units would add and delivered an attractive solution to both refinance the existing loan and provide the capital needed for phase two of the project, said Perdeck. Brandon and the Aries Capital team were highly effective securing the right loan for the project. From introduction to closing, Aries Capital worked hard to ensure a seamless execution. I look forward to working with the Aries team on future deals, said Greg Van Cleave, principal for Vineburg Wine & Self Storage. About Aries Capital, LLC. Aries Capital is a diversified commercial real estate banking and investment firm headquartered in Chicago with offices in Miami and Los Angeles. Since its founding in 1991 by Neil Freeman, Aries has arranged and/or directly funded over $8 billion for commercial real estate assets nationwide. Our banking team specializes in arranging debt and equity capital for clients nationwide through deep-rooted relationships with CMBS lenders, banks/credit unions, debt funds, family offices, insurance companies and other institutional equity investors. Our investment teamoperating as Aries Capital Private Equity---is focused on the acquisition and operation of mission-critical light industrial and logistics properties with a particular emphasis on net lease assets and sale-leaseback opportunities throughout the southeast. Aries and affiliated entities hold equity interest in excess of $250 million in diversified commercial real estate assets nationwide. AriesCapital.com Alain Chamorin, a French native and proud husband who now resides in California, has completed his new book Mosaic: a compelling coming of age tale. In the sixties, Marseille, rebellious and radiant, was contaminated with bloodshed between Italian mobsters and forthcoming Corsican Mafia. The city, a colorful melting pot of cultures, was founded by Greek settlers who first named it Massalia (circa 600 BC). In the sixties, a young orphan raised by a humble Italian family was confronted with the passing of his foster mother. Mayhem follows as the child becomes defiant towards the institution and strolls the citys narrow streets in search of the true meaning of his youth. As a dark cloud shares his confusion, the young man is struck with another chance at salvation in a form of an invitation to move to South America. From the concrete jungle to the Amazonian jungle, he rediscovers himself, face-to-face with animal cruelty, racism, and intolerance from the civilization of domestication. According to a Spanish legend, the Holy Grails whereabouts had been engraved inside a massive bell lost deep inside the Guyana forest by the conquistadors. The thrilling experience will plunge the teenager inside the fathomless wild to prove once more how unpredicted life remains. After the lingering excitement fades away, he revisits the cradle of his affliction, back to the ruthless streets of Marseille. Published by Page Publishing, Alain Chamorins captivating tale is filled with adventure, conquest, and drama to comprise an incredible journey based on a true story. Readers who wish to experience this gripping work can purchase Mosaic online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Bridgette Schwindt, a Wyoming native who works as a teacher and is a proud mother, has completed her new book Life Interrupted: a captivating story of survival and perseverance. Life can change in an instant. One moment a person is enjoying dinner out with her significant other, the next she is lying in a hospital bed with no guarantee of ever being the same again or even surviving. Things seem to be going so well, and then suddenly, without warning, life is interrupted with a tragic, life-changing event. This is the true story, my story, of one of those interruptions and how one can continue living through them with hope, courage, and love. Published by Page Publishing, Bridgette Schwindts inspiring tale shares of her own personal experience at the fork in the road of life and making a conscious choice to live to the fullest despite near impossible odds. Readers who wish to experience this moving work can purchase Life Interrupted at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. James M. Wright is a conservative author and blogger who has always had an interest in politics. He blogs about politics at the Always Wright Blog (http://www.alwayswrightblog.com) and has completed his new book Hurricane in a Teacup: The Relentless Myth of Man-Made Climate Change: an impassioned denunciation of one of the main tenets of progressive policy agendas. The world is ending because of climate change! Every day we are bombarded with apocalyptic warnings telling us that if we do not change our ways and dismantle our economies, we will destroy the planet. But what if it is all a cynical hoax perpetrated by power-hungry activists and politicians for their own purposes? In this book, James Wright asks that question, joining a multitude of skeptics who challenge the increasingly hysterical claims of climate fanatics and the science that supposedly underpins them. Published by Page Publishing, James M. Wrights engrossing book is a conservative argument against the so-called scientific consensus regarding anthropogenic climate change. Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Hurricane in a Teacup: The Relentless Myth of Man-Made Climate Change at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing understands that authors should be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Patricia McKee-Capuccio, a retired insurance executive, grew up in New York City. She has completed her new book Little Princess of Venice: an engaging childrens story about a magical cat named Little Princess. Little Princess meets a young girl, Charlotte, in Saint Marks square in Venice, Italy. Charlotte is from the United States and adopts Little and brings her home with her to the United States. Author Patricia McKee-Capuccio takes readers into her enchanting story, writing, Venice is a magical and ancient city. A city of water and wonder. In this city, a family of royal cats lived under the Rialto BridgeSophia, the mother, and her kittens: Dominic, Angelo, and Piccola Principessa di Venezia or Little Princess of Venice. Published by Page Publishing, Patricia McKee-Capuccios imaginative tale follows Little Princess and Charlotte as they share many exciting adventures together both in Venice, Italy and Princeton, New Jersey. Readers who wish to experience this creative work can purchase Little Princess of Venice at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Rev. Charles Nowell, a North Carolina native and the youngest of eleven children with an extensive biblical education background, serving as second vice president of New York Progressive Baptist State Convention Congress of Christian Education, has completed his new book When Midnight Comes!: a compelling personal tale. It is of great honor and privilege that I present to the readers writing that will give those who possess these words in their view all that can have many to tell others what they have purchased as a powerful reminder of past, present, and future writings. During my years of sharecroppers son for nineteen years. God bless to have an Afro-American father and mother who were able to buy and farm many produce for market purchases. It was there on this farmland in Hobbsville, North Carolina. As the youngest of eleven children, it was in rural North Carolina where my father and mother have one large farm. During these years, Daddy purchased the farm, owned a small store, was a preacher of the gospel, was a pastor, and was a leader of a rural country congregation. But it was never his obligation and duty as a father of eleven children, but he maintained who he was. I grew up going to school in a red brick schoolhouse attended only by Afro-Americans (Negros) for many of my younger years. By now, I came accustomed to the beginning of freedom but still slaves; it was there in rural North Carolina that I learn what slavery was all about. Published by Page Publishing, Rev. Charles Nowells captivating tale shares his lifes journey, past and present, along with the accomplishments of his own as well as those of his siblings. He divulges the struggles the family faced along with the ways their faith saw them through. Readers who wish to experience this inspiring work can purchase When Midnight Comes! at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Blake Olson Its the team culture for which they are recognized throughout the industry that drew me to Planet Depos. Planet Depos LLC, an international court reporting firm and a leader in the industry, is excited to announce that Blake Olson has joined the company as Account Executive servicing Southern California. Mr. Olson is responsible for demonstrating the scope of services and technology solutions available to litigation teams from the inception of a case through trial. The addition of Blake to our growing team in California allows us to better assist the law firms in the Golden State and their case matters, remarked Jennifer Parratt, Vice President of Sales at Planet Depos. His experience in the legal industry, as an attorney and also as an executive in the court reporting business, means he can hit the ground running, ensuring success for new clients. He has established relationships in California, and we look forward to enriching those relationships and building new ones throughout the state. Mr. Olson was most recently Vice President of Business Development at TSG Reporting. Prior to that he spent 10 years as a commercial litigator, with his last firm being McGuireWoods in Los Angeles (an Am Law top 50 firm). With over 15 years of litigation and related industry experience, he understands that each case presents unique and often time-sensitive challenges and is able to anticipate and narrowly tailor a clients individual needs. Olson received his B.S. and J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is licensed to practice law in California. Its the team culture for which they are recognized throughout the industry that drew me to Planet Depos, commented Olson. Combine that with the exceptional client service and state-of-the-art technology, and I knew it was a good fit for myself and for my clients. About Planet Depos Headquartered in Washington, DC, and with over 50 offices around the world, Planet Depos is the only international court reporting agency led by court reporters and world-renowned industry experts. Planet Depos provides court reporting and litigation technology services throughout the United States and abroad to international law firms, worldwide corporations, and government entities. The company has extensive experience reporting complex matters around the globe, including arbitrations, trials, and depositions. A forward-thinking company, Planet Depos is conversant with the latest technologies and works closely with clients to implement case-winning tools, including remote depositions, streaming text and video, digital court reporting, and digital exhibits. Learn more about Planet Depos Follow Planet Depos on LinkedIn Follow Planet Depos on Twitter Follow Planet Depos on Facebook Read our blog Crimson Engineered Solutions, LLC d/b/a Certrec Corporation (Certrec), a leading provider of regulatory compliance software and services, has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Fort Worth, TX, against former employee JC Culberson. Mr. Culberson is a former manager in Certrecs North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliance department. The lawsuit alleges that prior to Mr. Culbersons departure to his new employer, Electric Power Engineers, LLC, Mr. Culberson breached his fiduciary duties by improperly soliciting Certrec employees to depart with him to a competitor while he was still employed by Certrec. The lawsuit also alleges additional claims including misappropriating Certrecs trade secrets related to its regulatory compliance services, and breaching his employee confidentiality agreements with Certrec. Discovery and depositions are proceeding in the case. Certrec is committed to protecting its intellectual property, trade secrets, and confidential information, including but not limited to, its regulatory compliance materials that it has spent thousands of employee-hours to develop and revise, which form the bases of its claims against Mr. Culberson. Certrec is committed to a compliance marketplace and environment in which a level playing field in competition is the standard. The case is Crimson Engineered Solutions, LLC d/b/a Certrec Corporation v. Culberson, Civil Action No. 4:21-cv-01126, in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. About Certrec: Certrec is a leading provider of regulatory compliance solutions for the energy industry with the mission of helping ensure a stable, reliable, bulk electric supply. Since 1988, Certrecs SaaS applications and consulting know-how have helped hundreds of power generating facilities manage their regulatory compliance and reduce their risks. Certrecs engineers and business teams bring a cumulative 1,500 years of working experience in regulatory areas of compliance, engineering, and operations, including nuclear, fossil, solar, wind facilities, and other Registered Entities generation and transmission. Certrec has helped more than 120 generating facilities establish and maintain NERC Compliance Programs. We manage the entire NERC compliance program for 50+ registered entities in the US and Canada that trust us to decrease their regulatory and reputational risk. Certrec is ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified and has successfully completed a SOC 2 Type 2 examination. Quickened: an enjoyable opportunity for reflection. Quickened is the creation of published author,Cherie Hughes, a loving mother and grandmother who was born and raised in Maryland. Hughes shares, Cherie would find words in her heart ever so often and commit them to paper. One day, she was inundated. Words and phrases would come to her faster than she could write them. She kept pen and paper in her pocket so she could write before she lost the thought. She was writing multiple poems a day, which was a lot being a full-time employee and a single parent. The words just kept coming. It was like someone turned on a faucet. It was like she had been asleep and someone awakened herlike quickening! Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Cherie Hughess new book will charm and encourage as readers immerse themselves in Hughess writings. Hughes presents personal and reflective poems inspired by moments of faith. Consumers can purchase Quickened at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Quickened, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. As pandemic-inspired rule changes expire this year, its essential that consumers understand their FSA deadlines, and take time to budget for their health needs over the coming six months so they can make the most of their tax-free healthcare dollars. As Americans are battling increasing costs on everything from food to furniture to travel, the December 31 use-it-or-lose-it deadline for flexible spending account (FSA) funds may not be top of mind. However, confusion about temporary deadline extensions and rollover changes introduced during the pandemic is leading to increased FSA forfeitures, and this will continue if account holders dont take time to plan ahead. Health-E Commerce, parent brand to FSAstore.com the first and leading online marketplace dedicated exclusively to selling FSA-eligible products is releasing tips and reminders to increase consumer understanding so account holders can use, not lose, their valuable healthcare dollars. Why is this year different? The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 provided much-needed flexibility for FSA users during the COVID-19 pandemic, by giving employers who offer FSAs the option to extend their normal plan year deadline and balance carryover option. Those extensions all of which were optional and offered by less than half of employer plan sponsors will expire in 2022, creating more confusion and perhaps higher balances to spend down than ever before. Deadlines and extensions may include: December 31 use-it-or-lose-it deadline. The majority of employers that offer an FSA have a December 31 deadline, which means that all FSA funds must be spent by December 31 or they are forfeited back to the employer. During the pandemic, employers had the option to change their deadline; however, many did not and this deadline may still hold true. Grace period deadline. Employers may opt to give employees a grace period of two-and-a-half months (for a December 31 deadline, until March 15) to spend down FSA funds from the previous calendar year. During the pandemic, employers were given the option to extend the grace period up to 12 months for plan years ending in 2021. This means that employees may still have 2021 grace period funds that will expire on December 31, 2022, in addition to their 2022 FSA dollars to consider. Carryover extension. Employers may allow employees to carryover up to $570 (2022) in FSA funds to the next plan year. During the pandemic, employers had the option to allow employees to carryover their entire unused FSA balance to 2021 and 2022. This option also expires in 2022, so if an employee had a 2021 carryover of their full remaining balance, those funds combined with their 2022 election could mean more funds than ever before to spend ahead of the renewed deadline. Education and access to consumer-friendly tools is key to making the most of FSA funds, particularly during times of change and economic uncertainty, said Rachel Rouleau, chief compliance officer for Health-E Commerce. As pandemic-inspired rule changes expire this year, its essential that consumers understand their FSA deadlines, and take time to budget for their health needs over the coming six months so they can make the most of their tax-free healthcare dollars. Steps to take now To avoid losing FSA funds this year, Health-E Commerce suggests consumers take the following steps: Check your FSA balance. Check your online FSA portal or contact your FSA administrator to confirm your remaining account balance. Know your deadline. Confirm what your FSA deadline is and if your employer offers a grace period or carryover option, and know and track when that deadline date is. Map your spending for the next six months. Use a comprehensive eligibility list to map your spending for the remainder of the year to ensure you dont leave any tax-free funds on the table due to a missed deadline. To help consumers map their spending for the next six months, Health-E Commerce recently launched interactive online eligibility lists designed to simplify understanding and spending of tax-free healthcare dollars. The new resource can be personalized to individual preferences, so account holders can shop by product, category, lifestyle, or health need. To learn more about FSA deadlines, visit the FSA Learning Center at FSAstore.com. ### Media contact: Barbara Tabor, barbara@taborpr.com, 651-230-9192 About Health-E Commerce Health-E Commerce is the parent brand to FSA Store, HSA Store and WellDeservedHealth, a family of online marketplaces that serve the 70+ million consumers enrolled in pre-tax health and wellness accounts. The company also created Caring Mill, a popular private-label line of health products that benefits Childrens Health Fund and enables customers to make a donation with each purchase. Since 2010, the Health-E Commerce brands have led the direct-to-consumer e-commerce market for exclusively pre-tax health and wellness benefits. Health-E Commerce plays an essential role in expanding product eligibility for important new categories within the list of eligible medical expenses. These aren't the kind of insights youll find anywhere else, making it a must-attend event for anyone focused on the kind of impact drone technology can make today. Organizers of Commercial UAV Expo, the worlds leading commercial drone trade show and conference, have announced an impressive lineup of keynote speakers who will cover topics ranging from the latest updates in regulation to the realities of implementation. The event will take place September 6 8, 2022 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. The keynotes will explore what it means to go from regulation to reality with drone technology, identifying what it means to provide value and keep people safe, said Lee Corkhill, Group Event Director of Diversified Communications, and organizer of Commercial UAV Expo. These aren't the kind of insights youll find anywhere else, making it a must-attend event for anyone focused on the kind of impact drone technology can make today. 2022 Keynote Presentations include: The Transformative Power of Instant Logistics Keller Rinaudo, Chief Executive Officer, Zipline Lisa Ellman, Executive Director, Commercial Drone Alliance & Partner, Hogan Lovells US LLP (Moderator) Defining the Future of Drone Delivery Dallas Brooks, Aviation Regulatory Lead, Wing Jim OSullivan, VP, Regulatory & Special Projects, Matternet Tom Walker, Chief Executive Officer, DroneUp Jay Merkle, Executive Director, UAS Integration Office, Federal Aviation Administration (Moderator) The Keynote presentations that open Commercial UAV Expo set the framework for the event by providing essential regulatory and technological updates that are explored in greater detail throughout the show floor and in the conference program. In the Wednesday, September 7 Opening Keynote, The Transformative Power of Instant Logistics, Keller Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline, will detail the power of autonomous, instant logistics to decarbonize transportation, increase healthcare access, and improve daily life in US communities and beyond. The opening Keynote will be moderated by Lisa Ellman, Executive Director of the Commercial Drone Alliance. The Thursday, September 8 Keynote, Defining the Future of Drone Delivery, will see leaders from top organizations in the drone delivery space come together to explore the value of delivery applications that are being realized today and opening opportunities for tomorrow. These leaders will further discuss how they are approaching the future of the airspace within their own organizations and detail what it means for them to work together to enable a collective vision for the airspace that benefits everyone. The panel will include Dallas Brooks of Wing, Jim OSullivan of Matternet, and Tom Walker of DroneUp. The keynote will be moderated by Jay Merkle, Executive Director of the UAS Integration Office at the Federal Aviation Administration. The keynotes are part of a robust conference program delivering practical, actionable education developed in conjunction with commercial drone leaders. Programming includes deep dive vertical industry sessions for professionals in construction, drone delivery, energy & utilities, forestry & agriculture, infrastructure & transportation, mining & aggregates, security, and surveying & mapping. Industry Update Sessions provide up-to-the-minute information on topics that affect everyone in UAS, such as AAM, BVLOS, and autonomy. The exhibit hall will feature 200+ top UAS companies from around the globe. Additional features of the exhibit hall show floor include a Startup Pavilion and University Pavilion as well as a Welcome Happy Hour, Networking Reception, and educational programming in the Exhibit Hall Theater. Additional special events include Live Outdoor Flying Demonstrations, the DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Summit, and Workshops and Trainings, all of which allow for hands-on learning and industry connections. The 2022 edition of Commercial UAV Expo is building on the momentum from last years event, which drew 1,955 verified professionals and 130 exhibitors, representing 24 countries. The full list of organizations that took part in 2021 can be found here. The 2022 event boasts more than 300 media and association supporters from six continents. Visit http://www.expouav.com for more information on attending or exhibiting. Register before July 15, 2022, for early bird rates. About Commercial UAV Expo Commercial UAV Expo, presented by Commercial UAV News, is an international conference and expo exclusively focused on commercial UAS integration and operation covering industries including Construction; Drone Delivery; Energy & Utilities; Forestry & Agriculture; Infrastructure & Transportation; Mining & Aggregates; Public Safety & Emergency Services; Security; and Surveying & Mapping. It takes place September 6 8, 2022 at Caesars Forum, Las Vegas NV. For more information, visit http://www.expouav.com. Commercial UAV Expo is produced by Diversified Communications technology portfolio which also includes Commercial UAV News; Geo Week, Geo Week Newsletter, 3D Technology Newsletter, AEC Innovations Newsletter, Geo Business (UK) and Digital Construction Week (UK). For more information about exhibiting at Commercial UAV Expo, visit Exhibiting Information or contact Katherine Dow, Sales Manager, at kdow@divcom.com or +1.207-842-5497. For attending information, visit http://www.expouav.com or email info@expouav.com. Questions? Lora Burns Commercial UAV Expo Marketing Manager lburns@divcom.com Successful military leaders know their enemies and the threats they present. Understanding current malware and security breaches that dominate the threat environment informs security strategy. A NYC area cyber security consultant and managed services provider (MSP) examines current malware and security breaches in a new article on the eMazzanti Technologies website. The informative article first asserts that recent cyber-attacks in the news show ransomware on the rise. The author then explains how the RansomHouse Gang took advantage of bad passwords to hack semiconductor giant AMD. He then discusses how the Lapsus$ Hacker Group and others used social engineering and exploited insider threats to compromise data at Microsoft and authentication company, Okta. Successful military leaders know their enemies and the threats they present, stated Almi Dumi, CISO, eMazzanti Technologies. Understanding current malware and security breaches that dominate the threat environment informs security strategy. Below are a few excerpts from the article, Current Malware and Security Breaches and How to Defend Against Them. Ransomware on the Rise After a decline in ransomware in 2021, ransomware attacks have begun to rise again. In fact, the first quarter of 2022 saw twice as many ransomware attacks as reported in the entire previous year. While high profile attacks on Colonial Pipeline, Apple and JBS gathered attention in 2021, hackers seem to be turning their focus to small and midsize businesses (SMBs). RansomHouse Gang Takes Advantage of Bad Passwords Recently, the RansomHouse gang announced that it had stolen 450 GB of sensitive data from semiconductor giant AMD. RansomHouse seems to have appeared on the scene near the end of 2021, previously hijacking targets in Africa and Canada. In this instance, the gang mocks poor passwords at AMD that effectively left a door wide open for bad actors. Lapsus$ Hacker Group Exploits Insider Threats Another hacker group, Lapsus$, has also carried out significant attacks this spring. Using social engineering, the group exploits insider threats to gain entrance to its victim organizations. In the case of Microsoft, for instance, they took over a single account, then compromised several key projects. Fortunately, customer data remained safe. Top Malware Threats Employ Social Engineering Social engineering features prominently in lists of top malware threats published by security experts this spring. For instance, the Shlayer virus continues to plague organizations by using malvertisements (malicious advertisements) to spread malware. Clicking the fake ads, often for Adobe Flash Player updates, leads victims to unwittingly install malicious code. Essential Cyber Security Practices By implementing essential security practices, organizations guard against most threats. Critical practices include updating password policies and deploying multi-factor authentication (MFA), as well as strengthening email filters. Additionally, organizations guard against social engineering by increasing security awareness among all employees. eMazzanti Technologies delivers the security tools necessary, from email defense to MFA, employee training, 24/7 network monitoring, and more. Have you read? Improve Cyber Security with SIEM as Part of an Overall Security Solution Russian Hackers May Be Aiming at Your Business About eMazzanti Technologies eMazzantis team of trained, certified IT experts rapidly deliver increased revenue growth, data security and productivity for clients ranging from law firms to high-end global retailers, expertly providing advanced retail and payment technology, digital marketing services, cloud and mobile solutions, multi-site implementations, 247 outsourced network management, remote monitoring, and support. eMazzanti has made the Inc. 5000 list 9X, is a 4X Microsoft Partner of the Year, the #1 ranked NYC area MSP, NJ Business of the Year and 5X WatchGuard Partner of the Year! Contact: 1-866-362-9926, info@emazzanti.net or http://www.emazzanti.net Twitter: @emazzanti Facebook: Facebook.com/emazzantitechnologies. Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the lawsuit against Good Son, LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. The Los Angeles employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a lawsuit against Good Son, LLC alleging the company violated Labor Code 2699, et seq. seeking penalties for DEFENDANTs alleged violation of California Labor Code 201, 202, 203, 204 et seq., 210, 221, 226(a), 226.7, 227.3, 510, 512, 558(a)(1)(2), 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 1198, and 2802. The lawsuit against Good Son, LLC is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 22TRCV00452. To read a copy of the Complaint, please click here. According to the lawsuit filed, Good Son, LLC allegedly failed to fully relieve Plaintiff and other Aggrieved Employees for their legally required thirty (30) minute meals breaks. Employees were also allegedly required, from time to time, to work in excess of four (4) hours without being provided the legally required ten (10) minute rest periods. The California Supreme Court defines off-duty rest periods as time during which an employee is relieved from all work related duties and free from employer control. PAGA is a mechanism by which the State of California itself can enforce state labor laws through the employee suing under the PAGA who do so as the proxy or agent of the state's labor law enforcement agencies. An action to recover civil penalties under PAGA is fundamentally a law enforcement action designed to protect the public and not to benefit private parties. The purpose of PAGA is not to recover damages or restitution, but to create a means of "deputizing" citizens as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code. For more information about the lawsuit against Good Son, LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is a labor law firm with law offices located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, Santa Clara County, Orange County and San Francisco County. The firm has a statewide practice of representing employees on a contingency basis for violations involving unpaid wages, overtime pay, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and other types of illegal workplace conduct. ***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT*** Express Employment Professionals offers entrepreneurs the best of both worldsthe freedom to own a business with the backing of a proven system through a reputable international franchisor." - Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller International staffing company Express Employment Professionals was recently featured on Franchise Business Reviews 2022 Culture100 list, which recognizes the top 100 franchise brands for their exemplary company culture. Franchise Business Review, a franchise market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction, provides the only rankings of franchises based solely on actual franchisee satisfaction and performance. The entity publishes its rankings of top franchises in its annual Guide to Todays Top Franchises and special interest reports throughout the year that identify the top franchises in specific sectors. Express has also been named a 2022 top franchise and a top recession-proof franchise by Franchise Business Review. Express Employment Professionals offers entrepreneurs the best of both worldsthe freedom to own a business with the backing of a proven system through a reputable international franchisor, Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller said. We are fortunate to have a uniquely servant-minded network of franchisees and strive to provide the support they need every day to be successful. Express was one of more than 300 franchise brands, representing more than 30,000 franchise owners, that participated in Franchise Business Reviews research on the best franchise cultures. Franchisees were surveyed on 33 benchmark questions about their experience and satisfaction regarding critical areas of their franchise systems. The brands selected for the Culture100 list received the highest overall ratings based on 12 questions that pertained to the perception of brand vision, team culture, honesty and integrity and overall support. Every franchise organization has a different culture and vibe. Some franchises are more serious and formal, while others are more relaxed and casual, said Michelle Rowan, president and COO of Franchise Business Review. A franchise companys cultureand your potential fit into that cultureshould guide your franchise investment decision. Expresss long-term goal of putting a million people to work annually is at the heart of its companys vision: to help as many people as possible find good jobs by helping as many clients as possible find good people. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Express Employment Professionals, contact Vinny Provenzano at Vinny.Provenzano@ExpressPros.com or ExpressFranchsing.com. *** If you would like to arrange for an interview with Bill Stoller to discuss this topic, please contact Sheena Hollander, Director of Corporate Communications and PR, at (405) 717-5966. About Bill Stoller William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. About Express Employment Professionals At Express Employment Professionals, were in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 586,000 people globally in 2021 and more than 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com. Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce that Rachel Fiorill has joined its National Security and Global Risk + Crisis Management Groups as of counsel in Washington, D.C. Fiorill brings to the firm a varied experience working on economic sanctions, including compliance, investigations, enforcement, and due diligence, from the perspective of previous U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and private sector experience. Fiorill joins Morrison Foerster from another leading global law firm, where she advised U.S. and global companies on economic sanctions, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML), anti-corruption, and export control matters. She has assisted global financial institutions and investment, technology, and other financial services companies in a variety of sanctions and BSA/AML-related investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, OFAC, federal regulators, and Congress, as well as the New York Department of Financial Services. Rachels extensive experience with sanctions, BSA/AML, and export control matters will allow her to guide our clients through their most complex issues on a global scale, said John Smith, co-head of the firms highly rated National Security practice. Her blend of OFAC enforcement and private practice experience will be a tremendous asset for our clients. Prior to her most recent private practice role, Fiorill served as an enforcement section chief of OFAC where she developed extensive knowledge of economic sanctions laws and regulations. At OFAC, she led the investigations and resolutions of hundreds of enforcement actions, including several groundbreaking civil monetary penalties. Fiorill served as coordinator for the Enforcement Divisions Ukraine/Russia and Syria-related investigations and developed particular expertise in OFACs Iran sanctions while representing the Enforcement Division in agency-wide Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action implementation matters. She is the third former OFAC official to join the firms Washington, D.C. office in recent years, following in the footsteps of John Smith, former OFAC director; Andrea Delisi, former assistant chief counsel of OFAC; and Brandon Van Grack, who oversaw criminal investigation of sanctions and export control matters during his tenure at the Department of Justice. Im incredibly excited to join the firms leading National Security team, said Fiorill. I look forward to joining forces with my Morrison Foerster colleagues and drawing on my experiences at OFAC and in private practice to help our clients navigate the rapidly evolving and complex environment of sanctions and export controls we are experiencing right now. Prior to joining OFAC, Rachel spent many years in private practice handling a wide array of regulatory matters related to economic sanctions and export controls, as well as white-collar and other defense matters. She earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, her M.P.P. from Georgetown Universitys McCourt School of Public Policy, and her B.A. from Brandeis University. ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firms commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster was recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyers 2021 A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia-Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment. Gina Rubel We are honored to be recognized by the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce for our contributions to the community over the past 20 years as a public relations and marketing agency, said Gina Rubel, Furia Rubels Founder and CEO. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. is thrilled to announce that the agency has been selected to receive the Business Achievement Award from the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce. This honor is bestowed on businesses that have made a significant impact on the community of Central Bucks County in Pennsylvania. We are honored to be recognized by the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce for our contributions to the community over the past 20 years as a public relations and marketing agency, said Gina Rubel, Furia Rubels Founder and CEO. Central Bucks County has been an ideal location for us to grow our business due to its rich cultural legacy, its proximity to major markets, and the opportunity to support the local business and institutional community with high-level expertise. I am deeply honored that Kimberly Cambra, the Executive Director of CB Cares, and one who gives so much to our community, nominated us. We owe her our thanks, too. The Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) Achievement Awards are given annually to Bucks County organizations for achievement in the arts, hospitality, business, entrepreneurship, and humanitarian efforts. The CBCC offers hundreds of events and programs each year to boost businesses and provide community leaders with development opportunities. The Chamber also offers a host of arts and cultural events as well as chances to network with others in the local business community. Other recipients of awards this year include Dot Bunn for Bucks County Arts, Bucks County Childrens Museum for Bucks County Hospitality, Allyson Gilmore for Entrepreneurial Spirit, and Georgiana Coles with the Humanitarian Award. The event sponsor is M&T Bank. Award sponsors include Syd and Sharon Martin, Parx Casino, Costco Wholesale, First Bank and Dontech, Inc. Founded in 2002 by Rubel, Furia Rubel is a full-service marketing and public relations agency with a wide variety of local, national, and international clients. With a niche in law firm marketing, the agency provides crisis communications, litigation communications and trial publicity, communication advisory services, and professional development training. A certified woman-owned company since 2006, and one that supports flexibility and a family-first environment, Furia Rubel has been the home to many heads of households with financial and caregiving responsibilities for their families. The agency has served more than 50 corporations in Bucks County, some of the larger entities being the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, the Hepatitis B Foundation, Pine Run Retirement Community, Penn Community Bank, Eiseman Construction, Doylestown Borough, Fox Rothschild LLP, the County of Bucks, James A. Michener Art Museum, the Mercer Museum, and the Bucks County Bar Association. Furia Rubel also hosts a podcast, http://www.OnRecordPR.com, which provides listeners with timely, relevant, and compelling information about law firm marketing, public relations, media relations, and law practice management. In its third season, and listened to in more than 20 countries, On Record PR is available on every podcast streaming platform. Furia Rubel Marketing and Public Relations is a corporate communications and crisis management agency serving clients internationally. The certified woman-owned agency provides strategic planning, marketing, public relations, crisis management, business development, content marketing, and social media services to a wide array of professional service clients. Furia Rubel represents law firms and legaltech organizations, financial, banking and accounting companies, governments and municipalities, and behavioral health and elder care organizations. For more information, visit http://www.furiarubel.com. The Life of a Complete Single: a potent reminder that single does not mean less. The Life of a Complete Single is the creation of published author K. Michelle Thompson, a family-oriented native of upstate New York, who moved to Atlanta and married in June 2020. Thompson shares, The purpose of this book is to encourage singles as they wait on the Lord to send His chosen mate for their lives and to inspire those who feel incomplete in their singleness. It is my desire to help others understand that marriage does not make you complete, but as children of God, we are already complete in Christ Jesus. We are not half a person. God never made half a person; everything He makes is whole and complete. We are single, complete people waiting on God to bring to us His complete chosen mate for our lives. Allowing God to complete us is a process. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, K. Michelle Thompsons new book will encourage and comfort those who may find themselves struggling with the concept of being single. Thompson shares in hopes of bringing comfort to those who have not yet met their partner and to provide encouragement as they navigate singlehood. Consumers can purchase The Life of a Complete Single at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Life of a Complete Single, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Kent Willmeth, who lives in Kansas, has completed his debut title When the Twits Came to Town, an entertaining childrens story full of colorful illustrations and a not so subtle message about the importance of free thought. Told through engaging rhymes, this unique story depicts the events that unfold as an unsuspecting town is overtaken by yellow-footed, check-crested, hot-headed Twits, a flock of annoying blue birds who are small and mean and love to throw fits. Author Kent Willmeth describes these unfriendly creatures, writing, If a Twit hears a thought that they think is no good, // Theyll furrow their brow and throw back their hood. // To the world, theyll make clear that because of your thoughts, // You shouldnt speak, and you shouldnt think. Oh no, you should not! Published by Page Publishing, Kent Willmeths imaginative tale shares a valuable message about the importance of protecting free thought and expression. Author Kent Willmeth is happily married and has a dog named Oscar. Kents family and friends are all very supportive and were a huge help to him as he wrote this book. Art has always been his passion, and he has always played with the idea of writing and illustrating a childrens book. He decided that the time was right to do so. Kent doesnt think he would have ever achieved this if he hadnt decided to ignore the Twits of the world. He thinks it is important that as you go through life, to remember that your thoughts are yours and that only you can decide how to express them. Readers who wish to experience this creative work can purchaseWhen the Twits Came to Town at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. "Leopard has seen rapid growth over the last year and significantly expanding our office space has been an essential step to support this progression. The decision to expand our office space was a logical step in our business growth strategy, says Laura Leopard, CEO of Leopard Solutions. Leopard Solutions, a leading provider of legal market intelligence solutions to law firms, legal service providers, recruiters, law schools and corporations, has moved into new office space at 232 Madison Avenue in New York City, which will allow for further expansion as the company continues on its growth trajectory. The new office space doubles the office footprint and supports Leopards growth strategy. Over the past year alone, Leopard Solutions has expanded its client success, sales and marketing teams to meet client needs. Laura Leopard, Founder and CEO of Leopard Solutions says, Leopard has seen rapid growth over the last year and significantly expanding our office space has been an essential step to support this progression. She continues, The decision to expand our office space was a logical step in our business growth strategy. The new office space better accommodates our growing team and enables us to hire additional talent to continue to provide industry-leading support and service to our clients. The additional space will also help drive innovation and provide the opportunity for further expansion into additional services. Leopard Solutions new open office space will help support employee collaboration with improved meeting areas and encourage networking by providing more opportunities to recharge during breaks in large, communal spaces. Laura says, The new space provides us with a collaborative environment that have already had a big impact on our projects. We offer our employees a hybrid work schedule, and we believe this added flexibility will be beneficial to them and further separate us as an employer of choice in the legal market. We invite our clients and friends to stop by our office and visit us. Leopard Solutions new office is located at 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. About Leopard Solutions From business development solutions to competitive intelligence to lateral recruitment to our curated and customizable market research reports, Leopard Solutions offers the highest quality, most accurate and in-depth data on the legal market for law firms, legal recruiters and legal departments. Developed in direct response to the professional needs of our clients and emerging industry trends, our technology is continuously updated to ensure relevancy and the true competitive edge of a law firm. Leopard's data and technology is continuously updated to ensure market relevance and competitive edge. We believe in telling the complete and accurate story of lawyers and law firms through innovative and intuitive products. We are committed to providing the highest quality of data and service to our clients. Our diverse data solutions are designed to fulfill a wide variety of intelligence needs, from job searches to recruitment to competitive intelligence for attorneys, corporations and law firms. Established in 2002, Leopard Solutions has grown into one of the most recognized and trusted legal market data providers in the United States. We are proud to be a diverse employer and a certified Womens Business Enterprise. Holy Ghost Power: The Third Person of the Trinity: a fascinating account that brings a new awareness to days of Jesus. Holy Ghost Power: The Third Person of the Trinity is the creation of published author Patricia Doctor-Lott, a native of Lackawanna, New York, and a life-long member of the Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Lackawanna. Doctor-Lott has served as a Sunday school teacher for more than twenty-five years and superintendent of Mt. Olive Sunday School for fourteen years. Doctor-Lott shares, Understanding what the Holy Spirit does in ones life is compelling. Having the gift of the Holy Spirit marks one as belonging to the Most High. The Holy Spirit is Christ living within us, thus, giving us power to live transformed holy and righteous lives. Eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard the things the Church can do if theyd use the Holy Ghosts power collectively. Apostle John shares a riveting story of events leading up to coming of the Holy Spirit and his dynamic and powerful entrance into the hearts of those who believed. The apostle tells how it was the plan of God to manifest Christ in believers through the power of his resurrection. John traces the power and moving of the Holy Spirit in his own life, how he was born in sin and, thus, subjected to its power and that he needed a greater power to release him from the prison of sin. He leads us to the Roman Empire who dared to say that they are all powerful with reigning authority over all land and humanity with its deified Caesars serving as gods. The display of Gods sovereignty proved that the Holy Ghosts power supersedes the false power of Rome and its Caesars. The footsteps of Jesus rumbles across the pages as John reminds his audience of Jesuss departure as comforter and how another Comforter would come and continue the work of salvation. So profound is this plan of eternal salvation, the saints awesome inspired testimonies poured from their hearts with such warmth and gladness. Apostle John journeys to Pentecost to speak of the great advent of the Holy Ghost as promised by Jesus. Cloven tongues like fire entered an Upper Room and sealed all the believers with the presence of Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirits power was demonstrated in such a way that it left no doubt that this he that is, was, and who was to come. The Power did not tarry in his coming and his presence forever. He deals with the Holy Ghosts working in the lives of the chosen and within the body of Christ with such force and power. Finally John reminisces on the attributes of the person of the Spirit and how he is one with the Father and the Son. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Patricia Doctor-Lotts new book will captivate readers from the start as she explores the world of Christs time. Doctor-Lotts carefully researched and engaging narrative is certain to stir up readers faith as they immerse themselves in the lives of key biblical figures. Consumers can purchase Holy Ghost Power: The Third Person of the Trinity at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Holy Ghost Power: The Third Person of the Trinity, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Shari L. Heyen, managing shareholder of the Houston office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP and global co-chair of the firms Restructuring & Bankruptcy Practice, and Diane N. Ibrahim, managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurigs Delaware office, are among the 2022 Profiles in Diversity Journal Women Worth Watching Award winners, the publication announced. Additionally, Magan Pritam Ray, Greenberg Traurig shareholder and co-chair of the firms Global Employee Benefits & Compensation Practice, is among the publications 2022 Asian Leaders Worth Watching Award winners. In addition to their talent and skill, the winners are leaders who demonstrate a dedication to excellence in everything they do, a deep commitment to mentoring and supporting the next generation of leaders, and a genuine involvement with the larger community, demonstrating courage, persistence, commitment, and generosity of spirit, according to Profiles in Diversity. As a diverse individual who has worked hard to earn a seat at the table, I believe it is my responsibility and honor to use my position to positively impact the lives of others, Heyen said. I am grateful to be with Greenberg Traurig, a firm at the forefront of change in the legal profession, especially with regards to diversity. Heyen has experience in complex restructuring, bankruptcy, insolvency, and complex commercial litigation matters. She has represented numerous creditors committees, debtors, bank groups, acquirers, and other significant constituencies in national Chapter 11 cases and workout proceedings, including complex oil, gas, and energy cases. She has broad experience in the prosecution and defense of fiduciary litigation, real estate, oil and gas, health care, receiverships, and alternative energy matters. As a young lawyer, I always had a vision of what I wanted to achieve. But it was difficult to find other women who achieved these things in quite the same way that I hoped that I would, Ibrahim said. Today, I work arduously to be a visible and approachable role model for other women and to support them in whatever they want to achieve no matter what it looks like for them. Over the course of her career, Ibrahim has handled virtually every type of corporate transactional matter involving Delaware corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and statutory trusts, including mergers and acquisitions, asset and stock sales, equity security offerings, conversions, dissolutions and recapitalizations, and the structuring and operation of private equity funds and joint ventures. Her broad knowledge and breadth of experience allow her to efficiently counsel clients on a wide range of corporate transactions from start to finish using her business acumen to structure, draft, and negotiate complex and sophisticated agreements. I chose the law as a career for its power and promise. Its power to liberate lives or incarcerate lives. Its promise of equal treatment, justice, and fairness, Ray said. My career has afforded me the opportunity to achieve a life full of the blessings of prosperity, intellectual satisfaction, and security. These blessings demand that I do my part to dismantle the structural racism and inequity that plagues America today. Ray has wide-ranging experience in all facets of employee benefits and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 matters, including the design, implementation, and operation of retirement plans, health and welfare benefit plans, cafeteria plans, fringe benefit plans, and non-qualified deferred compensation programs. She focuses on counseling clients on the business impact, strategic response, plan design and compliance with the evolving legal requirements and industry changes impacting health care. In addition to her employment benefits counseling practice, Ray serves as the co-chair of the Greenberg Traurig Asian Affinity Group. About Greenberg Traurigs Diversity Initiative: From its inception, Greenberg Traurig has been committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Greenberg Traurig is a uniquely empowering and diverse firm built on a foundation of fairness, equality, and authenticity. Through its Social, Racial, and Economic Justice Action Plan, the firm has committed $5 million over five years to help combat systemic racism and support impoverished communities. In addition, the firms efforts have been recognized through its Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certification Plus, administered by The Diversity Lab, and by local, national, and global publications and organizations including Chambers and Partners. Web: https://www.gtlaw.com/en/general/our-firm/diversity Twitter: @GT_Drives. About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2400 attorneys in 43 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm, often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021. The firm is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com. Rare Cannabinoid Company is giving away THCV and CBD oil gummies with purchases for 710 Oil Day. THCV boosts energy, fitness, and suppresses appetite. THCV gummies help people feel great for 710 Oil Day and get in shape for summer fitness Rare Cannabinoid Company has announced its 710 Oil Day offer of free extra strength THCV and CBD gummies. 710 spells OIL upside down. 710 Oil Day, July 10, is a day for those who enjoy hemp and cannabis oils to celebrate. The Hawaiian brand's offer is on extra strength THCV gummies for energy and appetite suppression, which may aid weight loss, and CBD gummies for stress resilience. Combining CBD with THCV can also enhance THCV effects. "THCV gummies help people feel great for 710 Oil Day and get in shape for summer fitness," said a company spokesperson. The Hawaiian company's 710 Oil Day deal is: Get 1 Free packet of THCV and CBD Gummies ($20 value) when you spend $100 or more. Triple the Deal! Get 3 Free packets of THCV and CBD gummies ($60 value) when you spend $200 or more. Each extra strength packet of gummies contains 2 THCV Gummies (25mg THCV each) and 2 CBD Gummies (30mg CBD each). THCV gummies have become popular thanks to the potential THCV weight loss effect. Like CBD and THC, THCV is a cannabinoid found in hemp and cannabis. However, it has very unique effects. THCV has been found to "boost energy, increase metabolism, and suppress appetite, making it a useful remedy for weight loss, obesity and type 2 diabetes," according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Rare Cannabinoid Company was the first to produce a purified THCV oil and THCV CBD blend oil. The premium Hawaiian brand's THCV gummies are the strongest on the market, with each all-natural, vegan, non-GMO lemon-flavored gummy containing 25mg THCV. Due to their strength, customers are advised to take half to one THCV gummy at a time and combine it with half to one CBD gummy for the entourage effect. When THCV and CBD are combined with each other they enhance each other's effects and become even stronger. CBD gummies contain 30mg CBD each and are designed to relieve stress as well as pain and inflammation after exercise. Like the THCV gummies, the tasty strawberry flavored calming CBD gummies are are all-natural, vegan, non-GMO and low in sugar. "THCV and CBD gummies are a perfect match for summertime fun, exercise, and getting in shape for beach barbeques," said the company spokesperson. Rare Cannabinoid Company's 710 Oil Day summertime offer is available now and while supplies last. The sample-size packets of THCV gummies and CBD gummies are ideal for popping in a purse or backpack for on-the-go energy and appetite suppression. The offer can help customers try new products or give them as a gift. In addition to CBD and THCV gummies, Rare Cannabinoid Company offers a full apothecary of single rare cannabinoids, blended full spectrum CBD oils, and extra strength gummies. Each cannabinoid offers many health and wellness benefits. Here are the primary reasons people take specific rare cannabinoids: CBC oil for mood (CBC raises levels of the brain's "bliss" molecule anandamide) CBDA oil for nausea CBD oil for calm, balance, stress relief (full spectrum Hawaiian CBD and extra strength CBD options) CBDV oil and autism (CBDV is being studied on children and adults with autism spectrum disorder as well as for seizures) CBG oil for joint support, occasional pain and inflammation CBGA oil for immune support CBN oil for sleep (rest, relaxation and deep, restful sleep) Terpene-only tinctures are unique blends of aromatic terpene oils designed to aid relaxation and sleep or relief from discomfort and soreness. All Rare Cannabinoid Company oil tinctures and gummies are produced in a cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) certified facility and undergo multiple third-party independent lab tests. Lab test results for each batch of every product are available online and by QR code on the product packaging. Rare Cannabinoid Company grew out of its sister brand, Hawaiian Choice, a luxury, lifestyle CBD company. Hawaiian Choice is the most-popular CBD brand in Hawaii. All products are infused with organic or wild gathered Hawaiian fruits, essential oils or honey. The companies' products are sold in more than 250 locations across the United States, Japan, Mariana Islands, and by prescription in Brazil. Brick-and-mortar locations interested in stocking Rare Cannabinoid Company and Hawaiian Choice CBD products can inquire at Wellness Orders, the wholesale ordering website for both brands. Roland Adickes, a retired government lawyer, has completed his new book The Decline of the Constitutional Government in the United States: a potent volume that discusses the long history of the American Constitution. Adickes shows the innocent intentions of the Founders upon drafting the Constitution and he also provided an unbiased portrayal of the abuse made by the federal power towards it. Adickes shares, Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the American people conscientiously amended the Constitution in accordance with Article V. Beginning with the New Deal, majorities in Congress, in effect, amended the Constitution by mere acts of Congress, which were upheld by the Supreme Court. The Court, acting on its own, also, in effect, amended the Constitution in several cases over the years. This change deprived the people in the less populous States of their right to participate in the shaping of amendments. The Declaration of True Meaning procedure proposed in this book would be a small step toward restoring the Founders plan of self-government. Published by Page Publishing, Roland Adickes edifying piece is a call for action. It is meant as an eye opener for some members of Congress, some Supreme Court Justices, and some State governors, to restore the type of government that the Founders had worked so hard to achieve. America will be great again and it starts with upholding the Constitution. Readers who wish to experience this insightful work can purchase The Decline of the Constitutional Government in the United States at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. ESGR has served our country for more than 45 years, fostering a culture in which all employers support and value the employment and military service of members of the National Guard and Reserve in the United States. These citizen warriors could not defend and protect us at home and abroad without the continued promise of meaningful civilian employment for themselves and their families. ESGR has continued to adapt to meet the needs of Reserve Component members, their families, and Americas employers by joining forces with a network of other national, state, and local government and professional trade organizations. Together, We All Serve! Maryland Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves State Chair Dr. Stephen Maguire interviewed the ESGR Seven Seals Award Winner, Frederick based company, FoodPRO Corps President, Scott Brunk and FoodPRO employee and National Guard Reserve SPC Samuel Hernandez, during Maryland's celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the ESGR at the Maryland National Guard's Headquarters Fifth Regiment Armory, Baltimore, MD on June 29, 2022. Back in December, Mr. Brunk was nominated for the seven Seals Award by a FoodPRO team member, SPC Samuel A. Hernandez, who was overseas at the time. SPC Hernandez is in the 29th Millitary Police Company of the Maryland Army National Gaurd in Westminster. Mr. Brunk signed a Letter of Support to ESGR at the 50th Anniversary Celebration followed by the interview. In his interview he expressed how important it is for FoodPRO to support men and women who serve our country. Helping those who serve our country comes easy to him as he mentioned ...without those who do what they do to serve and protect this country, we dont have jobs. About FoodPRO Corporation FoodPRO is a trusted wholesale restaurant supplier and food-service distributor of fresh cut steaks, fish, and produce, as well as non-perishable groceries and food service supplies. FoodPRO has served a loyal clientele for over 85 years throughout Maryland, Northern Virginia, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Employee ownership fits perfectly with the FoodPRO philosophy of freshness, and yields a happier, more motivated workforce, which makes a difference on all levels. About ESGR ESGR, a Department of Defense program, was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment. ESGR is supported by a network of more than 3,000 volunteers in 54 committees located across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam- CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Volunteers, hailing from small business and industry, government, education, and prior military service bring a vast wealth of experience to assist in serving employers, Service members, and their families. Together with Headquarters ESGR staff and a small cadre of support staff for each State Committee, volunteers work to promote and enhance employer support for military service in the Guard and Reserve. Lexmark, a global imaging and IoT solutions leader, today announced it has been named among Seramounts 2022 Top 75 Companies for Executive Women. The ranking announced by Seramount, part of EAB, was formerly published in Working Mother Magazine. Lexmark was named to the Working Mother Top Companies for Executive Women in both 2019 and 2020. Although the rankings have rebranded, the evaluation continues to explore ways organizations can move more women into top positions, while highlighting the successes of these trailblazing companies. Seramount describes this as a definitive list of top workplaces for women who want to advance through the corporate ranks. It celebrates companies that champion womens advancement, with a focus on succession planning, profit-and-loss roles, gender pay parity, support programs, and flexibility programs. We are proud to be once again recognized as a Top Company for Executive Women, said Sharon Votaw, senior vice president and chief human resources officer, Lexmark. Lexmark is committed to gender equity, leadership development and workplace flexibility to allow all employees to reach their full potential. The 2022 Top 75 Companies application includes more than 200 questions on pertinent topics, including female representation at all levels, but focuses on the corporate officer and profit-and-loss leadership ranks. The application, based on 2021 data, tracks and examines how many employees have access to programs and policies that promote the advancement of women and how many female employees take advantage of them, as well as how companies train managers to help women advance. We are pleased to report that our 2022 list of Top Companies for Executive Women shows a small increase from 2021 in the number of women in senior leadership roles and in the prevalence of policies to train and advance them, said Betty Spence, Ph.D., head, Womens Advancement at Seramount. We are relieved to learn that women continued to move into leadership despite the pandemic, and we hope that in todays hybrid work environment, womens advancement will progress at an even faster pace. To be considered for rankings, companies must have a minimum of two women on their boards of directors and at least 500 U.S. employees. The full list of companies can be found here. Supporting Resources Learn more about Lexmarks diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Subscribe to the Lexmark News Blog. Follow Lexmark on LinkedIn and Twitter. About Lexmark Lexmark creates cloud-enabled imaging and IoT technologies that help customers worldwide quickly realize business outcomes. Through a powerful combination of proven technologies and deep industry expertise, Lexmark accelerates business transformation, turning information into insights, data into decisions, and analytics into action. Lexmark and the Lexmark logo are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. About Seramount Seramount, now part of EAB, is a strategic professional services and research firm dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Over four decades, partnering with over 450 of the most iconic companies in the world, weve built a deep, data-driven understanding of the employee experience, which lays the groundwork for everything we do. We meet each clients needs no matter where they are on their journey and guide them along an ever-changing talent landscape. Learn more at http://www.seramount.com. With the addition of onsite cost-savings and IT experts, we can provide better support to our customers in Shenzhen and throughout Asia. Smith, a leading global distributor of electronic components and semiconductors, today announces the expansion of its sales office in Shenzhen, China. The additional space will increase the offices footprint by 45 percent to support the growing employee base in one of Chinas most thriving and fastest evolving tech markets. The company opened its Shenzhen office in 2008 and moved to its current location in 2018. Since then, the office has more than doubled its employee headcount, adding specialists across multiple departments to fuel growth in the region. Over the last four years, our Shenzhen office has expanded from about 20 employees to nearly 50 employees, said Claudio Chan, Smiths Managing Director, China. With the addition of onsite cost-savings and IT experts, we can provide better support to our customers in Shenzhen and throughout Asia. Shenzhen is home to many major technology manufacturers who are headquartered or have key facilities within the city and is also a worldwide hotspot for hardware development. Smiths office is located in the heart of the citys central business district, within the city center. Its surroundings include the Shenzhen Civic Center, Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, and a high-speed train station that connects Shenzhen to other major Chinese cities. Shenzhen is the epicenter of electronic components in China, and the market is still growing rapidly, said Claudio. Our larger office space will allow Smith to continue to attract new talent and build our business. The updated office address is: Units 1806-09, Gemdale Center Jintian Road, Futian District Shenzhen, CN 518048 About Smith Founded in 1984, Smith sources, manages, and distributes the electronic components that go into everything from mobile phones and computers to appliances and directional drilling systems. In 17 cities around the world, Smiths legion of employees communicates in 50 languages and dialects and buys and sells components 24 hours per day, generating global annual sales in excess of $3.4 billion in 2021. Smith is always moving: helping manufacturers navigate market shifts; customizing supply chain solutions; testing components using cutting-edge technology. The support of Smiths flexible Intelligent DistributionTM model optimizes customers supply chains from beginning to end, including offering customized options for IT asset disposition that deliver maximum ROI, sustainability, and security. Smiths testing and logistics hubs in Houston, Hong Kong, and Amsterdam cover critical areas like quality management, counterfeit prevention, and environmental safety. Smiths operations, purchasing, and sales worldwide are seamlessly integrated with the companys global IT infrastructure, offering real-time, global inventory and logistics visibility. Smith is the leading independent distributor of electronic components and ranks number seven among all global distributors. For more information, please visit http://www.smithweb.com or reach out to a Smith representative any time of day at +1 713.430.3000. ### We are so pleasedthis is an incredible result. Our client was charged with murder and looking a life in prison. With our representation, he is home. The Rosenfeld Law Firm announces that a juvenile client originally convicted of adult murder charges (Case# CR-2015-5572) and later transferred to juvenile court for his disposition has been released into a probation program, thanks to the efforts of California criminal defense attorney Ken Rosenfeld. According to the September 3, 2021, court documents filed with the San Joaquin County Superior Court, E.G. was 15 years old when he was apprehended for murder. Charges were subsequently filed against him by the San Joaquin County District Attorneys Office. Prior to E.G.s trial, Proposition 57, which requires cases involving minors to begin in juvenile court, passed in the general election, and E.G. was sent for a transfer hearing in juvenile court. Finding that the case should be transferred back to adult court, the juvenile court judge returned E.G. to adult court, where he was tried and convicted of murder. Prior to E.G.s sentencing, the Supreme Court of California upheld an amendment to Proposition 57 that previously had been challenged as unconstitutional by the district attorneys officeSenate Bill No. 1391, which disallows the transfer of juveniles under the age of 16 to adult court. Intervening on behalf of his client, Juvenile Defense Attorney Rosenfeld convinced the court that E.G. had been a youthful offender at the time he was apprehended and should therefore be transferred back to the juvenile court for a disposition in line with his constitutional rights. According to December 17, 2021, San Joaquin Juvenile Court documents, in a subsequent rehabilitation plan hearing Rosenfeld put forth that his client had satisfied his baseline term of seven years served. E.G. was consequently released on probation. We are so pleasedthis is an incredible result, said Rosenfeld. Our client was charged with murder and looking a life in prison. With our representation, he is home. About The Rosenfeld Law Firm With offices in Sacramento, San Jose, and Palm Springs, The Rosenfeld Law Firm provides an aggressive defense of a wide range of high-profile criminal defense cases. California criminal defense attorney Ken Rosenfeld defends such cases as first-degree murder and sex offense cases, and also provides DUI defense. In addition to mental health criminal defense, The Rosenfeld Law Firm also practices federal criminal defense and juvenile defense, as well as appellate law and prison law. As a skilled criminal law commentator, Rosenfeld makes regular appearances on KTXL TV and FOX40's Ask An Attorney. Rosenfeld was named 2020 Litigator of the Year by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers. For more information, please contact Ken Rosenfeld directly at (916) 447-2070, or visit http://www.therosenfeldlawfirm.com. Press release writing by WebSiteText and Proofreading Services by The Proofreaders. Ken Rosenfeld recommends Brian Murphy, Wrongful Death Attorney for Elder Abuse & Nursing Home Malpractice Lawsuits. Alex Fotouhi, Founder of Stoop & Gable Homes I cant do this work without my team, family, friends, and clients, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do even more under my new brand Stoop & Gable Homes today announced its partnership with Side, the only real estate technology company that exclusively partners with high-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages to transform them into market-leading boutique brands. The alliance will ensure that Stoop & Gable Homes, a design-forward, ultra-modern real estate boutique, is powered by the industrys most advanced platform. Stoop & Gable Homes was founded by Alex Fotouhi, who comes from a Fortune 500 brokerage that ranked her in the top 3% of brokers nationwide from 2019 to 2021. Fotouhis high sales $20 million in 2021 and $99 million since the start of her career have also resulted in her being named a Rising Star by Five Star Professional and receiving Homesnaps Excellence in Client Service Award. Fotouhi brings a blend of specialized experience, tech savvy, and sustained energy to Stoop & Gable Homes, a seasoned team with $145 million in transaction volume and 184 units sold. The company specializes in listings, home preparation and renovation, first-time homebuyers, digital marketing, move-up buying strategy, and estate and trust sales throughout Greater Seattle. I love my career, and I love my people. I cant do this work without my team, family, friends, and clients, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do even more under my new brand, Fotouhi said. At Stoop & Gable Homes, buyers and sellers can expect unwavering care, attention, and communication from the get-go. Partnering with Side will ensure Stoop & Gable Homes remains on the cutting edge of the evolving real estate market while continuing to deliver premium services to its clients. Side works behind the scenes, supporting Stoop & Gable Homes with a one-of-a-kind brokerage platform that includes proprietary technology, transaction management, branding and marketing services, public relations, legal support, lead generation, vendor management, infrastructure solutions, and more. Additionally, Stoop & Gable Homes will join an exclusive group of Side partners, tapping into an expansive network from coast to coast. Sides technology, marketing, and behind-the-scenes services will support Stoop & Gables growth and save my clients valuable time, Fotouhi said. This alliance also gives me the freedom to take my business in the direction I want to go. About Stoop & Gable Homes Stoop & Gable Homes is an approachable, results-driven, people-first real estate boutique headquartered in Seattle. Its agents are super communicators who empower buyers and sellers to make informed decisions without challenging their comfort zone. They offer clients compassionate care and consistent communication while delivering robust data and marketing solutions that lead to ideal outcomes. For more information, visit http://www.stoopandgable.com. About Side Side is a behind-the-scenes brokerage platform that exclusively partners with top-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages to create and grow their own boutique brands without the cost, time, or risk of operating a brokerage. Sides proprietary technology platform and premier support solutions empower its agent partners to be more productive, grow their business, and focus on serving their clients. Side is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.sideinc.com. What Hope Looks Like: an encouraging tool for Bible education. What Hope Looks Like is the creation of published author Tamie Stockman-Heagy, who has enjoyed teaching Sunday school for a number of years and is also the proud mother of a grown son. Stockman-Heagy shares, Time brings so many changes may be the understatement of 2020 as the pandemic has affected so many so quickly. When we may have otherwise been able to gain our footing, if only given more time to learn and find another way to work through our problems, time itself seemed to be the enemy, often passing by too quickly before we found solid ground and while we were still searching for what we can trust and in whom we can place our hope. Im hoping the story inside these pages passes on the story of true Hope found only in Christ, who knows our days before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16 NIV) and who holds us in His right hand (Psalm 139:10 NIV). As we learn of Him by reading His Word and hearing of the life He led, Christ teaches all of us (even Santa) to follow His example and help each other all through the year, not just December 25, and to remember the one thing [that] is needful is Gods message of love and hope (Luke 10:42 KJV). Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Tamie Stockman-Heagys new book expresses a profound appreciation for God and His promise of salvation. Stockman-Heagy shares in hopes of helping others along their spiritual journey to find a deep and comforting relationship with Christ as He tells us of His love for us through His Word. Consumers can purchase What Hope Looks Like at traditional brick & mortar bookstores or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about What Hope Looks Like, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Bringing fresh, exciting flavors to the menu, Togos, the over 160-unit California based sandwich franchise, is adding a new cheese steak to its menu. Starting Wednesday, July 6th, customers will be able to order the new Pastrami Cheese Steak. The new item features a quarter pound of Togos world-famous hot pastrami and combines it with sauteed mushrooms, roasted red bell peppers and sliced onions that are then topped with melty American cheese and zesty chipotle mayo that is made from scratch in all of its restaurants. This new twist on the classic cheese steak will only be available at Togos. "We're always looking for ways to provide new flavors to our guests, and the success of our cheese steak line is just another example of that," said Anna Nero, SVP of Marketing for Togo's. "This Pastrami Cheese Steak combines our most popular ingredient with a dialed up cheese steak flavor profile! The new Pastrami Cheese Steak joins a lineup of all-star cheese steak sandwiches that are already available: Cheese Steak: This classic sandwich features a quarter pound of warm, tender steak combined with sauteed mushrooms, roasted red bell peppers and sliced onions thats covered in melty American cheese and chipotle mayo. Chicken Cheese Steak: This sandwich offers the same fixings as the classic option but instead comes with a quarter pound of Togos all-natural, rotisserie-style chicken. Special offers will be available for Rewards Members who order the new Pastrami Cheese Steak, and there will also be social contests where guests have the ability to win prizes. ABOUT TOGOS EATERIES, LLC Togo's Sandwiches was founded in 1971 in San Jose, California, by a young college student with a large appetite and little money who was looking to make sandwiches the way he liked them big, fresh and meaty. Today, that spirit of the founder and the original sandwich shop continues. Like the first days of the brand, Togo's products are still made with only the highest quality ingredients, including fresh artisan breads, hand sliced premium pastrami, turkey and roast beef, as well as Hass avocados hand-mashed in-house daily. Togo's is a franchised business that offers entrepreneurs a terrific opportunity to own their own business. With over 160 locations open and under development throughout the West, the brand is a restaurant staying ahead of the pack. For more information, to find your closest Togos location, or to order online, please visit http://www.togos.com. The current initial investment for a Togos franchise ranges from $216,500 to $451,500, which includes a $30,000 franchise fee. For more information, visit https://togosfranchise.com/. We work really hard as a team to make learning EMDR the best experience possible, and are excited for a new group of therapists to join our community. Trauma Specialists Training Institute (TSTI), a new training platform for counselors, social workers, and psychologists, offers ongoing training classes to help specialists reach their continuing education requirements. The classes are available throughout the United States, along with 24/7 access to training resources. The Institute exists to provide coursework and accreditation in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy in a supportive, flexible, online environment. These classes are designed to be flexible enough to fit any schedule while still providing tactical and easily implemented approaches. Rachel Harrison, LCPC, NCC is the founder and owner of TSTI. Harrison first learned EMDR in 2011. It changed her practice so much that she went on to become a consultant and trainer. Working with patients through their trauma can be difficult. EMDR is a technique therapists can utilize that lead to healing and growth for their clients. EMDR is a mental health process designed to treat conditions arising from PTSD. Its focus is to allow the participant to process traumatic memories in a way that eliminates the fight, flight, or freeze responses associated with remembering painful events. It can be used alone or in conjunction with other traditional therapies. Specialists will find it to be a helpful tool for many patients suffering from PTSD. TSTI offers several training sessions throughout the year, including informative webinars and basic training classes. All sessions are EMDRIA approved and endorsed by NASW. Providers can further benefit from joining the EMDR Circle, which provides 24/7 access to consultation, training, resources, practice groups, and demo groups. The classes provide six days of lessons and ten hours of consultation video calls with a training partner. Participants participate in didactic teaching, discussion, and practice. They then get a chance to break out into smaller groups to practice the skills they have learned. This comprehensive training method means participants will experience EMDR therapy as a client, a therapist, and an observer as required for the certification. Harrison and her fellow TSTI trainers are looking forward to helping their next cohort of students. We work really hard as a team to make learning EMDR the best experience possible, and are excited for a new group of therapists to join our community. All TSTI classes offer continuing education credits along with a certificate of completion. For more information about available classes or to sign up for continuing education classes, please visit traumaspecialiststraining.com. About Trauma Specialists Training Institute TSTI provides continuing education classes and credits for counselors, social workers, and psychologists. They are focused on creating useful and informative training sessions that are relatable, transformative, and impactful. These classes are rooted in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy to help professionals treat patients suffering from severe PTSD. VHS Learning partners with all types of schools urban, rural, public, and private to expand their catalogs and offer instructor-led courses that would often be unavailable due to scheduling or resource constraints. To meet the needs of its growing roster of school partners in all 50 states, two U.S. territories, and 63 countries, VHS Learning has expanded its operations team. Alysha Hearn has been promoted to Associate Vice President (AVP) of School Services, and Shannon Osgood has been hired as Director of Operations. Hearn joined VHS Learning in July 2021 as Director of Operations. In her new role as AVP of School Services, she will lead the School Services team, develop new school partnerships, and build upon relationships with existing school partners. Before joining VHS Learning, Hearn worked with organizations serving the secondary education, higher education, and adult education markets. She holds an M.S. in Global Studies and International Relations, and a B.A. in Art. Alysha has a wealth of experience in customer service and support, strategic planning, and account management, and is a wonderful fit for this new position, President & CEO of VHS Learning Carol DeFuria, said. Alysha and her team of School Services Managers are poised to provide both new and returning school partners with robust, engaging educational experiences for their students. As Director of Operations, Osgood will manage the Operations team and its activities. She will also conduct program outreach and support for a Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) grant that will provide Massachusetts high schools with expanded access to online AP STEM courses. Prior to joining VHS Learning, Osgood was an AP Psychology teacher at Newburyport High School, where she also served as the VHS Learning site coordinator for 13 years. She holds an M.S. in Education and a B.S. in History. Shannon is a long-time advocate for VHS Learning, added DeFuria. Her first-hand experience with the VHS Learning program in her role as her schools site coordinator, coupled with her enthusiasm for expanding AP opportunities for students and schools everywhere, is a tremendous asset to our team. With both Alysha and Shannon on our team, our nonprofit is well-prepared for the 2022-2023 academic year, our 27th year providing online education to schools. VHS Learning partners with all types of schools urban, rural, public, and private to expand their catalogs and offer instructor-led courses that would often be unavailable due to scheduling or resource constraints. The nonprofit provides small class sizes, qualified certified teachers, global classroom experiences, and flexible scheduling, with coursework that is accessible anywhere students have internet access. About VHS Learning VHS Learning is a nonprofit organization with over 25 years of experience providing world-class online programs to students and schools everywhere. Offering more than 300 unique online courses for high school credit, including 25 AP courses, credit recovery, and enrichment courses, VHS Learning is accredited by Middle States Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS), Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC), and Cognia. Courses are approved for initial eligibility by NCAA. For more information about VHS Learning please visit https://www.vhslearning.org/ and follow on Twitter at @VHSLearning. # # # Dans extensive strategic account experience in the semiconductor industry has contributed to our rapid growth, said Rezwan Lateef, President of YES. Yield Engineering Systems, Inc. (YES), a leading manufacturer of process equipment for semiconductor advanced packaging, life sciences, and More-than-Moore applications, today announced that it has promoted Dan OConnell to Vice President of Strategic Accounts. Mr. OConnell joined YES in November of 2021 as Senior Director of Key Account Management. In his newly expanded role, he will work closely with the companys Sales, Marketing and Technology teams to nurture strategic customer relationships and ensure YESs alignment with current and future customer technology requirements. Dans extensive strategic account experience in the semiconductor industry has contributed to our rapid growth, said Rezwan Lateef, President of YES. His proven ability to develop strong industry relationships aimed at enabling technology roadmaps, coupled with his intimate knowledge of Advanced Packaging processes, make Dan a valued addition to our senior leadership team. Prior to joining YES, Mr. OConnell held senior key account management positions of increasing responsibility at ASM Pacific Technology Ltd., Tokyo Electron (TEL), LAM/Novellus, and Ebara. He holds a bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. About YES Yield Engineering Systems, Inc. (YES) is a preferred provider of high-tech, cost-effective equipment for enhancing surfaces and materials. The companys product lines include thermal processing systems, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems, and wet process equipment used for the precise surface modification of semiconductor substrates, semiconductor and MEMS devices, LED displays, and biodevices. Customers ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies rely on YES systems to create and volume-produce innovative products in a wide range of markets. YES is headquartered in Fremont, California, with a growing global presence. For more information, please visit yieldengineering.com. Belle by Kim Gravel Button & Tie Front Blouse is rated 4.2 out of 5 by 32 . Rated 5 out of 5 by LeeLee71 from My Favorite Blouse I absolutely love everything about this blouse, from the color and style to the fit. I get so many compliments when I wear it. Wish I got more colors. Kim, please bring this style back with some new colors for Spring. Rated 5 out of 5 by stephanieg from great blouse for the office I got this blouse in the deep green color. it does run a little big. I love it! In the age of Covid, it's perfect for going to the office since we dress casual business. I can wear with my jeans or capris and it fits with whatever. I love the fabric and it's not too heavy. I'm going to order a second one. Rated 5 out of 5 by cjlawa from Easy Pairing With Jeans Or Dress Trousers Glad I caught this in black. No need to size up. Really easy to wear everyday. Rated 5 out of 5 by MsChristmas from Love It! I ordered and received this top in black and military green. I love them both. The fabric is light-weight and drapes nicely on me. I typically wear and XL or XXL depending on brand and style of top. I took a chance and ordered an XL and while I could have gone with an XXL I think that might have been too big. I love the tie front (you do have to tie it - it is not pre-tied or permanently tied). It does not look right leaving it untied. I love this top with jeans. I plan on wearing these tops with the Belle TripleLuxe Twill Ankle Jean in Camo. It looks great with the camo jean. I have a few other Belle tops and I love those. I really like this brand. Rated 5 out of 5 by 2KsandanM from Perfection Loved this top. Mine had an animal print design which is very slimming because the print goes from light to dark as it goes from top to bottom and gives the illusion of slimness. Love having a collar on the blouse as well. Material is light and flowing. It made me feel good all day when wearing. Will get another color. Rated 5 out of 5 by Firecracker Babs from GREAT TOP! I am pleased with my purchase. Great style, and I especially love the graduated darkening of the black & white animal print, as it nears the waist. Very flattering. Rated 5 out of 5 by kappa girl from The Perfect Blouse Love the fabric and the style. Its the perfect blouse and I hope they will bring more back because I would reorder in 2 more colors but all sold out. Please restock this blouse!! Google is celebrating what would be Native American comedian Charlie Hill's 71st birthday with a Doodle. ADVERTISEMENT Born on this day in 1951 in Detroit, Hill became the first Native American stand-up comedian to appear on television. Hill had Oneida, Mohawk and Cree heritage. He moved to the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin's reservation when he was 11 years old and often spent weekends watching comedy specials with his family. Hill was inspired by Dick Gregory, who combined activism and comedy to support the Native American civil rights movement, and set on a similar path. He started by majoring in speech and drama at University of Wisconsin-Madison Through the years, Hill lived and performed in New York City, Seattle and Los Angeles. He was also a musician and would play harmonica during performances. Hill started becoming better known in the 1970s, after performing at the Comedy Store in Hollywood and his first television appearance was in 1977, on The Richard Prior Show. When the writers asked Hill to portray a negative Native stereotype on the show, he refused. After Prior, he performed on Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and appeared on Roseanne and Moesha. The stand-up comedian went on to tour the world and won several awards. Wednesday's Google Doodle was illustrated by French-First Nations artist from Oneida Nation of the Thames, Alanah Astehsi Otsistohkwa (Morningstar) Jewell. It features Hill holding a microphone, with an eagle, microphone, book and a harmonica floating by. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 07/06/2022 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Which couples are still together and which MAFS couples have split up and divorced? And where are they now? 's first fourteen seasons featured 54 different couples getting married at first sight -- so which couples are still together, who split up and divorced, and where are they all now?Each season of -- which premiered in the United States seven years ago and is based on a Danish series -- features couples (previously three couples, but four couples on Seasons 8 and 9, and five couples beginning with Season 10) being matched together by relationship experts and agree to marry when they first meet.Complete strangers become husband and wife in a matter of minutes, and the couples' lives are then documented by TV cameras over the course of the next four to eight weeks (eight weeks, in the case of 's most recent seasons).The couples typically enjoy their first night together in a hotel after exchanging vows -- with some couples deciding to consummate their marriage immediately -- and then embark on a honeymoon, move in together, and simply attempt to deal with the struggles of daily life as man and wife.At the end of the extreme marriage experiment, each couple must decide whether they'd like to stay married or get a divorce on "Decision Day."has experienced very mixed results over the years. While a significant number of couples decide to stay together and continue their new marriage at the end of their season, the real world seems to hit them hard after the cameras leave, resulting in the couple splitting up only months later.Do cast members see a different side of their spouses once cameras are gone, or do the romances naturally fizzle over time?Some couples are still together to this day and are extremely happy. Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner from Season 1, for example, have had two children.Several other couples have also had children -- including Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico Shawniece Jackson and Jephte Pierre Danielle Bergman and Bobby Dodd Deonna McNeill and Greg Okotie , and Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd However, there are also relationships that ended badly. Jessica Castro from Season 2, for instance, accused Ryan De Nino of alleged death threats, and she went on to file a restraining order and lawsuit against him.Some couples have also never even made it to "Decision Day" and ended their marriage prematurely, including Season 4 couple Heather Seidel and Derek Schwartz as well as Season 6 couple Molly Duff and Jonathan Francetic Are the remaining couples now lovers, friends or enemies?! What about early season couples like Cortney Hendrix and Jason Carrion, Jaclyn Methuen and Ryan Ranellone, Vanessa Nelson and Tres Russell, Sonia Granados and Nick Pendergrast, and Lillian Vilchez and Tom Wilson?And how about more recent season couples like Danielle DeGroot and Cody Knapek Sheila Downs and Nate Duhon Jaclyn Schwartzberg and Ryan Buckley Dave Flaherty and Amber Martorana , and Tristan Thompson and Mia Bally Keith Dewar and Kristine Killingsworth , and AJ Vollmoeller and Stephanie Sersen Click thelink below to see photos of each couple and find out! BEGIN GALLERY >> Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Thunderstorms with locally heavy downpours. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High around 75F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 69F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 76F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 69F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) The Energy Department is teaming with actor Robert Downey Jr. to recruit up to 1,000 new workers focused on climate change and clean energy. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Wednesday released a video with the Iron Man actor encouraging applicants from diverse backgrounds to join the department's clean energy corps and take on jobs aimed at accelerating deployment of clean energy such as wind and solar power. Participants will help build thousands of miles of electric transmission lines to carry wind and solar power and take on other jobs to research, develop and deploy ways to produce energy while cutting planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, Granholm said. The new job corps is part of $62 billion awarded to the Energy Department under the bipartisan infrastructure law signed last year by President Joe Biden. In the animated video, Downey says viewers may know him from one of his "many day jobs as a billionaire superhero in Iron Man or worlds greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. But now I've got this sweet new office over the Department of Energy, and Ive already been putting in some crazy hours helping out the Clean Energy Corps,'' Downey says. "Ive been working with some amazing people on fantastic new solutions" to climate change. Granholm, who also appears the video, tells Downey the Energy Department is looking for folks to help us with pretty much everything,'' from scientists to IT specialists, civil engineers, electrical engineers and more. My gosh, we mean everybody! exclaims Downey, holding a coffee cup declaring him the "world's best DOE intern.'' So why not come work with us and help the planet while you are at it?'' he adds, as Granholm extols the nice benefits, including a healthier Earth. The video will be played on the Energy Department's YouTube channel and featured on social media. Emily M. Olson / Hearst Connecticut Media TORRINGTON The Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce will hold the fourth annual Great Giveaway Business Showcase, 5-7 p.m. July 14 at the Warner Theatres Carole & Ray Neag Performing Arts Center, 82 Main St., Torrington. The event is open to the public and includes free admission, free food and a cash bar. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TORRINGTON Imagine a school building filled with students, teachers and staff during a normal school day. Suddenly, the buildings alarms sound, and the building is locked down. A shooter has been reported inside the building. The 911 calls begin flooding into the closest police department, and a now-common scenario unfolds police rush to the scene, along with concerned parents, who by now know whats happening through emails and texts they are receiving from their children, neighbors and friends. On television, there are scenes of children leaving the school with their hands over their heads, police and emergency vehicles across the campus, and distraught parents. What if this was the scene in Torrington? Would there be enough security to keep students safe? A company called Mutualink claims to have the answer, and is providing its digital security system to schools around the state, as well as Arizona and other locations. Schools and municipalities long have sought ways to improve security and safety. According to a recent story by U.S. News & World Report, more school shootings with casualties occurred during the 2020-21 school year than in any other year since data collection began, according to a new federal report on school crime and safety. Automated emergency response Mutualink uses an automated emergency response system that gives police video access to the interior of a building and the location of an armed suspect. Using digital communication and video, school staff can communicate directly with police inside and outside the building, locating the shooter more quickly and enabling police to intervene. Thats the gist of Mutualinks work, according to Fred Manteghian, a strategic adviser with Mutualink and O&G Industries, a construction company in Torrington. Manteghian, a Wolcott resident, believes Mutualink can protect schools from mass shootings and other dangers and he is working to spread the word about the system it offers and what it can do. I spoke with Mayor Elinor Carbone about a month ago at City Hall, he said. Torrington Police Chief (William) Baldwin thought it would be great to get City Hall hooked up with us. Baldwin acknowledged that he has had conversations with representatives from Mutualink for a number of years. He said its an excellent product. As a police chief, I cant endorse one product over another, but from what I have learned, its a very effective platform, the chief said. Manteghian is hoping to meet next with the Torrington Board of Education. Meanwhile, Mutualink is installing security cameras at KidsPlay Childrens Museum on Main Street that directly connect with the Police Department. Its a way to further protect the children and families there, he said. Ed Arum, co-chairman of the Torrington School Building Committee, said Mutualink sent information on its security systems to the Board of Education last week. They want to make a presentation, he said. The Board of Education will decide if they want to have that. Mutualink reached out to the school board in 2019, but no decisions were made, Arum said. They were talking to us way before the school building project was submitted, he said. But Mutualink was never in the project. The way it works is, the projects architect hires a separate security company to help us decide what to go with. Most recently, Mutualink systems have been installed in schools in Waterbury, Plainville and Danbury, Manteghian said. Mutualink began its school security program by working with law enforcement to create better connections between departments in different towns and cities, Manteghian said. If theres an incident, theyre all together, they know whats going on, he said. But now were involved with schools. In Arizona, were in four counties. What were trying to do belongs everywhere. How it works The confusion that happens inside a school building during an incident starts with the first 911 call, Manteghian said. Everyones on the phone, trying to find out whats up, he said. Theres confusion, a lot of back and forth, and then the police arrive. They dont always know what to expect. When that first 911 call is made, the Mutualink system immediately connects the school to the police. Cameras that have been installed around the building are on and a floor plan shows where the cameras are located. With our system, in about five seconds, the police know the school has a situation. The cameras have panic buttons, so if a person is trapped in the school library and hits that button, for example, the police can immediately see whats happening, Manteghian said. They can identify where the shooter is. Theres no delay. Its real-time information and visuals that the police can use. Connecting the school to police outside the building is key, he said. Its not just the police on the phone and radios, its the high school principal, who has an app on his phone to talk to the police, he said. When the cops get there, they may not be familiar with the building. Having that information can really help. Theres a PA system that can be used to tell kids to stay in the classroom, to tell teachers to stay put. If ambulances are connected to this system, we can tell them exactly where to go. So its real-time communication, Manteghian said. Mutualink in Torrington Manteghian would like to see Torringtons public schools connected to Mutualink. The Board of Education has to invite us in, and we hope theyll do that, he said. The costs and installation varies from school to school. Every town is different cameras, sensors for the doors; there are different areas of costs, Manteghian said. If police, fire and schools have their own communication equipment, if theyre using radios, for example, it might be different from what state police use, he said. We can pull all those resources together. When you hit a button, theyre all singing the same song, like theyre on the same radio station. The point is, how long does it take? Maybe we can resolve something in less time, because police have the tools they need, and more officers arriving have the same information. That can save lives. The Torrington Police Department can connect easily with the Mutualink system, according to the police chief. We have the technology in our department .... so it makes sense that it could be seriously considered for the schools project, since we already have it in place, Baldwin said. The Connecticut State University System uses Mutualink, and other agencies are signing on, too, he said. If we have it, and the state has it, it would allow us to collaborate and communicate with each other, he said. Interoperability allows us to share vital information with responding agencies, in an emergency. NEW YORK (AP) Attorneys representing Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Wednesday he intends to challenge a subpoena compelling him to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies' actions after the 2020 election. Graham was one of a handful of Trump confidants and lawyers named Tuesday in petitions filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of her investigation into what she alleges was a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere. Graham attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin said in a statement Wednesday that the Republican senator "plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail, and they slammed the probe as politically motivated. This is all politics. Fulton County is engaged in a fishing expedition and working in concert with the January 6 Committee in Washington, they wrote, adding that, As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections. Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job, they went on. They also said they had been informed by Fulton County investigators that Graham is neither a subject nor target of the investigation. Should witnesses choose to challenge an order that they testify before the Special Purpose Grand Jury, the District Attorney will respond in the appropriate court to compel their appearance," Fulton County district attorney's office spokesperson Jeff DiSantis said in an email. In the petition submitted Tuesday, Willis wrote that Graham, a longtime Trump ally, made at least two telephone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and members of his staff in the weeks after the November 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. During those calls, Graham asked about reexamining certain absentee ballots to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump, she wrote. Willis also filed petitions to compel cooperation from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was one of Trump's primary lawyers during the failed efforts to overturn the result of the election, as well as lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, Cleta Mitchell, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman and Jacki Pick Deason. Giuliani was recovering Tuesday after undergoing surgery to have two heart stents put in, his son, Andrew Giuliani, said while filling in for him as co-host on radios The Rudy Giuliani Show. Because she is trying to compel testimony from people who live outside of Georgia, Willis had to submit petitions for a judge's approval. The judge overseeing the special grand jury signed off on her petitions. The next step is to deliver the documents to a prosecutor wherever each potential witness lives so that they can be presented to a local judge to hold a hearing. If that judge determines that the person is a "material and necessary witness and that the trip to Atlanta to testify would not be an undue burden on the potential witness, the judge would issue a subpoena to compel the person to testify before the special grand jury. Someone who fails to comply with a subpoena can be found in contempt. ____ Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed reporting. STAMFORD A city teen was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to a role in an armed robbery-turned-shootout. Saequan McCandies, 16, was sentenced during a hearing at state Superior Court in Stamford Wednesday to 12 years in prison suspended after three years. In March, McCandies pleaded guilty to one count of criminal attempt at first-degree robbery before Judge John Blawie for what he said was his role in a May 6, 2021, shootout in broad daylight in Stamfords West Side. In addition to his jail sentence, McCandies will also be required to serve five years of probation. McCandies was one of three teenagers arrested on charges of criminal attempt at first-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in connection to an attempted robbery-turned-shootout that happened two days earlier. According to an arrest warrant, McCandies, Kevin Piersaint, 18, and Erik Chico, 19, conspired to rob a local marijuana dealer. The warrant states that Chico allegedly set up a drug deal in a parking lot on Liberty Street. Once set in motion, McCandies and Piersaint hid in nearby bushes and waited to ambush the alleged dealer, the warrant said. When the alleged dealer arrived, a shootout ensued, according to the warrant. Investigator Damien Rosa wrote in the warrant that Piersaint was seen on surveillance footage exchanging shots with the targeted individual. No one is believed to have been struck by the gunfire, according to police. Piersaint recently accepted a similar offer made by the state to plead guilty to criminal attempt at first-degree robbery in return for a 12-year prison sentence suspended after five years. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 27. Chico was recently granted accelerated rehabilitation, a pretrial probationary program that could result in the charges hes facing being dropped. SAN ANTONIO (AP) All but six of the 53 migrants found dead or dying in a tractor-trailer in Texas last week have been identified, officials said Wednesday. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office said 22 of the dead were from Mexico, 19 were from Guatemala and six were from Honduras. The migrants were found in an abandoned trailer June 27 on a back road on the edge of San Antonio. The alleged driver of the truck was due in federal court Wednesday for a detention hearing. The dead included a 13-year-old and 14-year-old from Guatemala and two 16-year-olds from Mexico, the medical examiner's office said. One survivor of the journey, a 20-year-old from Guatemala, told The Associated Press that smugglers had covered the trailers floor with what she believes was powdered chicken bouillon, apparently to throw off any dogs at checkpoint. The truck was carrying 73 people in all when it was found June 27. Federal prosecutors say four people have been arrested in connection with the discovery of the truck, including the driver. Guatemalas investigation into the smuggling networks is moving slowly, said Stuardo Campo, the prosecutor who is overseeing the case. So far we believe that there were four smuggling structures involved in this case," Campo said. His office is working with counterparts in Mexico and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Guatemalas Foreign Relations Ministry has said that the majority of the 22 victims from that country were from the San Marcos department that borders Mexico. ___ Associated Press journalist Sonia Perez D. contributed to this report from Guatemala City. Some party leaders want to form an alliance to oppose Hun Sen and his firmly entrenched ruling party. Candlelight Party Vice President Son Chhay [right] appeals to voters on the final day of campaigning June 3, two days before commune council elections. UPDATED at 1:30 p.m. EDT on 2022-07-12 Representatives from five Cambodian opposition parties, including the main opposition Candlelight Party, met on Wednesday to demand electoral reforms and greater political freedom, but were unable to reach a deal on forming a political alliance, one of the party leaders told RFA. The Candlelight Party took about 19 percent of the countrys 11,622 local council seats in last months commune elections, but is outnumbered on the councils by Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) by about five to one. Prior to the election, the Candlelight Party candidates reported harassment and intimidation by members of the CPP and its supporters, including government officials. On Wednesday, Candlelight joined the Grassroots Democratic Party, the Cambodian Reform Party, the Khmer Will Party and the Kampucheanimym Party to issue eight joint statements demanding free and fair elections and the right to compete on equal ground with the ruling party. The statements will be submitted to the Cambodian government and the National Election Committee (NEC), Yang Saing Koma, the Grassroots Democratic Partys founder, told RFAs Khmer Service. The next step, he said, was for the parties to iron out the details on establishing an alliance. The Grassroots Democratic Party has coordinated our efforts and built upon what we have previously accomplished to show that the Khmer political parties, even though we are separate, can cooperate to work toward a common goal, Yang Saing Koma said. The five parties are studying their past experiences to create a new framework for their alliance, he said. Two scenarios are under discussion. The first would merge all of the parties into a single party and the second would keep the parties separate, but alliance candidates would not compete against each other for the same seat, he said. The five parties will hold a joint press conference on July 11 to release their statements and announce their goals. RFA was unable to reach NEC spokesman Hang Puthea and government spokesman Phay Siphan for comment. Kong Monika, president of the Khmer Will Party, told RFA his party advocates a merger before next years general elections, when Cambodians will choose members of the 125-seat National Assembly. The Candlelight Partys vice president, Thach Setha, said Candlelights focus is on working with the other four parties to push for greater freedom and to improve the electoral process. Candlelight has not internally discussed an alliance with the others. Merging into a singular party has been tried before with moderate success, said Ros Sothea, director of the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, a local alliance NGOs. During the 2013 election, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was able to take 55 seats in the assembly, while the CPP took 68. The CNRP was an alliance between the Kem Sokha-led Human Rights Party and the Sam Rainsy Party, named after its leader who went into self-imposed exile in France in 2015 after he was accused of crimes that his supporters say are politically motivated and groundless. Hun Sen had Cambodias Supreme Court dissolve the CNRP in 2017 after it performed well in that years commune council elections. The move allowed the CPP to take all 125 of the assembly seats in 2018s general election. The dissolution began a five-year crackdown on the opposition that made political activities under the CNRP banner illegal and forced many former CNRP members into exile. Many of those who stayed were later imprisoned. The Sam Rainsy Party was technically a separate entity from the CNRP and not affected by the 2017 Supreme Court ruling. It rebranded itself as the Candlelight Party, and many former CNRP members have joined Candlelight, which after this years commune elections is firmly established as the main opposition party. To me, if the parties can combine forces to get free and fair competition, it would be better because of Cambodias electoral system, Ros Sothea said. The four smaller parties that participated in Wednesdays meeting won a combined seven seats in this years commune council elections. The Grassroots Democratic Party won six seats, and the Kampucheanimym Party won one. The other two parties did not win a single seat but had a higher number of total votes for their candidates than the Kampucheanimym Party. Four other smaller parties that did not participate in Wednesdays discussion also won seats in this years commune elections. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. CORRECTION: A previous version of this report referred to the NEC as the National Election Commission. It is the National Election Committee. Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee vowed on Wednesday to press ahead with more "effective" security laws that could draw on security forces in mainland China to implement them. "The National Security Law for Hong Kong currently deals with the most pressing risks to national security," Lee said of a law that has criminalized public criticism of the authorities anywhere in the world. But further laws will be need "to deal with any conceivable serious security risk ... and the timing needs to be as soon as possible," he told the city's Legislative Council (LegCo). "The cities in the Greater Bay Area [of the Pearl River delta] are like brothers and sisters to us ... so what kind of help will they provide, if we need it?" Lee said. "That's what we need to figure out." Lee's comments to LegCo came after he reiterated his commitment to enacting further security laws under Article 23 of the city's Basic Law, a move that prompted mass protests in 2003. "We will legislate as soon as possible, but ... we must also consider whether the laws we make can really deal with the most serious national security risks we can imagine," Lee said. Current affairs commentator Johnny Lau said the new laws are part of a package of four requirements given to Lee by ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping when he visited the city last week to mark the 25th anniversary of its handover to Chinese rule. "Xi Jinping came to Hong Kong to put forward four requirements, the first of which was to improve governance," Lau said. "I don't think it will be long [before they act on Article 23]." "They want this legislation to cover anything and be infinitely expandable," Lau said. "It will definitely be stricter than the initial draft [that was shelved] back in 2003." Singapore as model? Current affairs commentator Sang Pu said Lee may be considering far tighter controls on the internet, looking to Singapore as a model. "Singapore passed a law last year that allows the government to order social media sites and Internet providers to disclose users' personal data or block content they deem hostile or risky, which you could call [the power to] shut down the internet, and enhanced use of AI," Sang told RFA. "It's like 24/7 monitoring." "As long as the government thinks there is hostile intent, and it has the absolute right to decide this, it can block something," he said. Lee's comments came as five speech therapists stood trial for "conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications" in connection with a series of children's books about a village of sheep defending itself against wolves. The defendants -- all of whom are members of the Hong Kong Speech Therapists General Union -- were arrested in connection with three children's picture books titled "The Guardians of Sheep Village," "The Garbage Collectors of Sheep Village" and "The 12 Heroes of Sheep Village." Police said the sheep were intended to represent protesters who fought back against riot police in 2019, and depicted the authorities as wolves, "beautifying bad behavior" and "poisoning" children's impressionable minds. One book characterizes the wolves as dirty and the sheep as clean, while another lauds the actions of heroic sheep who use their horns to fight back despite being naturally peaceful, police said at the time of the therapists' arrests. The indictment alleges that the books were intended to "provoke hatred or contempt for, betrayal of, or to incite violence against the government ... and judiciary." The defense said its arguments would seek to disprove any violent or disruptive intent, and draw on the constitutional right to freedom of expression in the Basic Law. Back to pre-reform era Dozens of former members of the pro-democracy camp in LegCo have been arrested in recent months, either for public order offenses linked to peaceful protests during the 2019 anti-extradition and pro-democracy movement, or under the national security law. Observers have told RFA that changes to Hong Kong's election system imposed on the city by the CCP since the law took effect have set the city's political life back by decades, to the pre-reform colonial era in the mid-20th century. The rule changes mean that opposition candidates are highly unlikely to be allowed to run, but even when candidates make it into the race, they will now be chosen by a tiny number of voters compared with the previous system. Under the "one country, two systems" terms of the 1997 handover agreement, Hong Kong was promised the continuation of its traditional freedoms of speech, association, and expression, as well as progress towards fully democratic elections and a separate legal jurisdiction. But plans to allow extradition to mainland China sparked a city-wide mass movement in 2019 that broadened to demand fully democratic elections and an independent inquiry into police violence. Rights groups and foreign governments have hit out at the rapid deterioration of human rights protections since the national security law was imposed. Chinese and Hong Kong officials say the law was needed to deal with an attempt by foreign powers to foment a "color revolution" in Hong Kong. Its sweeping provisions allowed China's feared state security police to set up a headquarters in Hong Kong, granted sweeping powers to police to search private property and require the deletion of public content, and criminalized criticism of the city government and the authorities in Beijing. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Jailed Chinese NGO worker Cheng Yuan has been subjected to torture in a 'high security' sector of Hunan province's Chishan Prison, according to his family. Cheng, who founded the Changsha Funeng NGO, was tried in secret at the Changsha Intermediate People's Court in September 2020 for "subversion of state power" alongside two colleagues, after being held incommunicado for nearly 18 months, according to Cheng's wife Shi Minglei, who arrived in the U.S. with the couple's daughter on April 7, 2021. Since his transfer to Chishan Prison on Jan. 18, 2022, he has been detained in the high-security wing in a tiny cell and subjected to bright lights and chronic sleep deprivation, according to three handwritten letters received by Cheng's family on July 5, Shi told RFA. "We're talking about a tiny cell with room only for a single bed, no room to move around, and no windows, with very strong lights on 24 hours a day," Shi said. "They don't let you sleep under a quilt ... and you're not allowed to sleep on your side." She cited Taiwanese democracy activist Lee Ming-cheh -- who also served time in Chishan Prison -- as saying that high-security detainees suffer from extreme constipation due to reduced rations. "We think it's very likely that they are trying to get Cheng Yuan to implicate other people, but that he is very unwilling to do so," Shi said. "So they used this very cruel form of torture to force him ... locking him in there for three months." Weight loss, white hair Shi said Cheng's hair had turned white in prison, and he had lost a large amount of weight, reading out a section from one of the letters: "You may be sad and upset to see me: I have lost 12 pounds now, and my hair is nearly totally white," she quoted Cheng's letter as saying. "My husband used to weigh more than 120 pounds, so basically he's a little over 100 pounds now ... actually, very, very thin," Shi said. "Our family all cried for a long time when they read those two sentences." Patrick Poon, a visiting researcher at the Institute of Comparative Law at Japan's Meiji University, believes that the confinement has likely caused significant physical and psychological harm to Cheng Yuan. "He can't even see a lawyer, so they can't help him file a complaint," Poon said. "Being locked up in such conditions for several months will have long-term effects and cause damage to his mind and body." Poon said Chinese law bans torture and cruel or degrading treatment of prisoners and detainees -- in theory, at least. "In actual fact, [prisons] are able to get away without any regulation, basically," Poon said. "It's a very serious violation of detainees' rights." Lawyers fired Cheng, Liu Dazhi, and Wuge Jianxiong all stood trial sometime between Aug. 31 and Sept. 4, 2020, according to the overseas-based rights group Front Line Defenders. Their families weren't informed of the trial, and were therefore unable to attend. Wu's father, the Zhejiang-based lawyer Wu Youshui, said his son had been handed a three-year jail term, while Liu was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in a judgment handed down on July 20, 2021. But there was no information given on the sentence handed down to Cheng, he said. The three defendants have been denied meetings with attorneys hired by their families since being detained on July 22, 2019. The lawyers were told in March 2020 that the defenders had "dismissed" them and that the government had assigned them government-funded lawyers. But the families said they believe that the lawyers were fired under duress, and said they have had no contact with the government-appointed lawyers. Changsha Funeng co-founder Yang Zhanqing, who now lives in the U.S., has previously said that the three men were targeted because their rights work had received overseas funding, which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regards as "collusion with hostile foreign forces," and a threat to its national security. In a statement co-signed by the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) and the Rights Practice, Front Line Defenders said the three men had "advocated for the rights of marginalized groups and worked to protect the rights of the most vulnerable people in society." Changsha Funeng sought to prevent discrimination and ensure equality in line with Chinese law by using the courts to strengthen protections for individuals living with disabilities and with HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, it said. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The certificate used to give families of war dead special privileges, but it is now essentially worthless. Military personnel take part in a nighttime military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 26, 2022. North Korean soldiers who died of COVID-19 symptoms after participating in a military parade in April are receiving an honorable war death certificate that used to confer bereaved families with special privileges, but is essentially worthless these days, sources in the country told RFA. After two years of denying the coronavirus had penetrated its closed borders, North Korea in May acknowledged coronavirus had begun to spread among participants of the large-scale military parade held at the end of the previous month and declared a maximum emergency to fight the disease. The soldiers who developed symptoms of COVID-19 after the parade and died while in quarantine were quickly cremated and their remains were returned to their families along with the once prestigious Certificate of Honor for War Death. In years past, the certificate was given out only in the rarest of circumstances, such as when a soldier died in combat training or during the infrequent skirmishes with the South Korean military that occasionally erupt along the demilitarized zone that separates North from South. Bereaved families who received the certificate would also get extra food rations or special preference when applying for government jobs or party positions. But the sheer number of certificates sent out these days, combined with North Koreas struggling economy, make the certificates essentially worthless, sources told RFA. Immediately after the massive military parade held in Kim Il Sung Square in April, the soldiers who were confirmed to have COVID-19 received intensive treatment at an isolation facility in Pyongyang, a resident of the North Korean capital told RFAs Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons. But hundreds of the severely ill patients died and they were promptly cremated at the Obongsan crematory, he said. The cremations were ordered even before families were aware that their soldier had died, the source said. When they informed the families, they said the soldiers died while receiving treatment for an acute respiratory infection, stopping short of calling the infection COVID-19. Because the military parade was considered a success thanks to the sacrifice of the dead soldiers, the authorities awarded the families with the Certificate of Honor for War Death when they returned the ashes of their loved ones, he said. The bereaved families wept at the sudden news, and they returned home with a cremation urn and the certificate as gifts from the state. A month and a half later, many of the families are still angry at the authorities, who they say have put these young soldiers in unnecessary danger, even killing some of them, for the sake of a military parade, said the source. The parade involved more than 100,000 military officers, soldiers and college students from all over the country, with students from the military university in Pyongyang participating in large numbers, another source from the city, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told RFA. I heard from an official of the Capital Quarantine Committee that many of the students were among the participants in the parade who died from COVID-19, the second source said. The authorities secretly transported the dead bodies to the Obongsan crematory in Pyongyang. They cremated the bodies and gave the bereaved family an urn and the Certificate of Honor for War Death, she said. The certificate this time carries less meaning than it did in the past, according to the second source. It is customary to hold a public award ceremony as a national event for recipients of the Certificate of Honor for War Death, but the authorities quietly called on the bereaved families, because they want to keep secret the total number of parade participants who died from COVID-19, she said. The bereaved families were unable to say anything and wept while receiving the certificate. They are resentful at the thought that their healthy sons died because of a military parade, she said. While technically not fighting and dying in a battle, the parade participants are eligible for the certificate because they carried their military ID cards during the parade. On this technicality the parade was designated as combat training. The certificate is merely a means to placate the bereaved families though, according to the second source. Under normal circumstances the state would give many perks to the families who received the certificate including priority in personnel decisions, because the soldier died in battle or in combat training. But these days, due to North Koreas extreme economic hardship, and because most personnel decisions are decided through bribery, the certificate is no longer valued as it once was. In fact, the state has been widening the circumstances where soldiers can receive the certificate to justify giving more of them out, according to the second source. If soldiers die while working at a construction site, that should be treated as a labor safety accident, but there have been many cases where the Certificate of Honor for War Death is given when soldiers die while working on the Pyongyang Household Construction project, because it is a priority of the Highest Dignity, said the second source, using an honorific term for the countrys leader Kim Jong Un. Kim has vowed to build 10,000 new homes in the capital per year for a total of 50,000 homes by the end of 2025. The builders failed to reach their goal of 10,000 homes in 2021 but are still trying to hit 20,000 by the end of this year, so speed, rather than safety is the main concern, the second source said. Giving out the war death certificate for deaths that are clearly unrelated to combat is becoming more common, a former high-ranking military official, who has resettled in South Korea after escaping the North, told RFA on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. Its just a trick to avoid complaints from the bereaved families and residents. They are angry at the leaders who held the parade [amid the pandemic], causing so many young people to die, he said. The North Korean government has only reported a handful of confirmed COVID-19 cases, but it has been tracking fever symptoms since it declared a maximum emergency after the post-parade breakout. According to the most recent data published by the state-run Korea Central News Agency, more than 4.75 million people have come down with fever, at least 99.9 percent of whom have made full recoveries, while 74 people have died. RFA was not able to determine if North Korea has counted any soldiers who participated in the parade among the 74 reported deaths. Translated by Claire Shinyoung O. Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Land surrounding a new railway station in the capital is in high demand, sources say. A plot of land behind a railway station in Vientiane is advertised for sale in Chinese, March 22, 2022. Chinese businesses investing in Laos are quickly buying up land for factories, hotels and other development projects, as Chinas influence continues to grow in the impoverished, landlocked country to its south. A lot of Chinese are buying land for future investments, a real estate agent in the Lao capital Vientiane told RFA on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. The price of land near the Vientiane railway station is 2,500 Thai baht ($70) per square meter, and the land listed with my company has now almost all been sold to the Chinese. Foreign investors looking to buy land in Laos are required for now to make the purchase in the name of a Lao citizen with legal residency in the country, Lao sources told RFA, also asking for anonymity in order to speak freely. One Chinese businessman came to Dan Xang Village in Vientianes Xaythany District and legally married a Lao woman there, another real estate agent in the capital said. Later, the Chinese bought 10 hectares of land in the name of his wife and then built a hotel resort, karaoke bar and restaurant there that are now patronized mostly by other Chinese, he said. A landowner in the Phon Hong District of Vientiane Province said that he has already sold one hectare of a 9 hectare plot, but is refusing Chinese offers of 300,000 baht ($8,337) per hectare to buy the rest. This price is too low, so Im not going to sell it, and Im waiting for other offers to come in, he said. Also speaking to RFA, a landowner in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist town in Vientiane Province, said that he had been approached by Chinese investors asking to buy or lease his land for use in storing minerals waiting to be transported by train to China. Apart from my land, there is no more land left for sale in the area surrounding the Vang Vieng Railway Station because the Chinese companies have bought it all, he said. Chinese businesses are now looking to buy land in Vientiane close to a station of the new $6 billion high-speed railway linking Laos with China, a real estate expert told RFA, also declining to be named. They want to build hotels, apartments and restaurants on the land within a radius of 200 meters from the station, which will be the center of a new and modern city planned by the Lao government, he said. Its expected that a lot of Chinese businesspeople will be coming to work and live in that new city, he added. Reports have increased in recent years of growing resentment in Laos over Chinese business presence in the country, over Chinese casinos and special economic zones linked to human trafficking and crime, and over the often high-handed treatment of Lao workers by their Chinese bosses. China is Laos largest foreign investor and aid provider, and its second-largest trade partner after Thailand. Translated by Max Avary for RFA Lao. Written in English by Richard Finney. Sources say the Pyu Saw Htee shot dead two young Indians visiting friends in Sagaing region. Authorities in Indias Manipur state have temporarily closed the Indo-Burmese border after pro-military militiamen killed two Indian nationals in Myanmars war-torn Sagaing region, prompting Indian protesters to attack a junta border checkpoint on Wednesday. A source in Sagaings Tamu township told RFA Burmese that Indian nationals M. Pyanar, 32, and P. Mohan, 28, were visiting friends in the area on Tuesday when they were stopped by members of the pro-military Pyu Saw Htee militia at an unofficial checkpoint in Tamus Saw Bwar ward and shot dead. Theres a school we call Saw Bwar 10 No. 4. The two were shot near there, said the resident, speaking on condition of anonymity. Witnesses said that the shots were fired by Pyu Saw Htee. The two men were shot in the head and died instantly. The source said the bodies of the two men were brought to the Tamu Peoples Hospital, where they are being held in the morgue. He said that residents of Moreh township across the border in Indias Manipur state are demanding that the bodies be returned to their families, prompting Indian authorities to shut down their side of the border crossing on Wednesday. At the moment, we are not allowed to enter India at all, the source said. A Tamu resident who is close to the families of the victims told RFA that the area where they were killed is Pyu Saw Htee territory. The two Indians were killed in that area. [The perpetrators] found out only later that they were Indian citizens, said the source, who also declined to be named. Both were shot in the head. They had a motorcycle with them. One wore a ring on his hand and the other had two. When the bodies arrived at the morgue, [the motorbike and rings] were gone. RFA was unable to independently confirm the details of the deaths. Indias Tamil Guardian on Wednesday also reported the killings as having been carried out by the military proxy Pyu Saw Htee. The Myanmar army might have suspected them to be spies and shot them dead, the report said, citing the local Tamil Sangam. There is a killing every day by the army in this part of Myanmar. An official order issued on Wednesday by the deputy commissioner of Tengnoupal township, under the government of Manipur, announced that no one would be permitted to cross the border from Moreh into Myanmar without a special permit, citing the prevailing law and order situation in the country. Indian residents of Manipurs Moreh township protest near the Myanmar-India border, demanding the return of the bodies of two Indian nationals killed in Myanmars Sagaing region, July 6, 2022. Credit: Citizen journalist Indian outrage A Myanmar national living in Moreh told RFA that local youths were outraged over the deaths and said around 200 people had gathered near the border on Wednesday, demanding that the bodies of the victims be returned to their families. Young people have gathered near the border gate and are challenging the Myanmar authorities, he said. They also beat up some people from the Myanmar side who crossed the border this morning [prior to the closure]. They are all furious. Another resident of Moreh said the protests began when Myanmar authorities failed to deliver the bodies back to India by noon on Wednesday, as had been originally promised. They are protesting because [the bodies were] not sent, he said. They have been gathering since the morning. Myanmar nationals in Moreh have not been able to go out in fear. The protesters set fire to a Myanmar border patrol checkpoint between Tamu and Moreh. Indian media reported that shops had been closed amid increased security in Moreh, citing the unrest over the killings. Repeated attempts by RFA to contact the Indian Embassy in Yangon for comment went unanswered Wednesday, as did attempts to reach junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun. The Tamu-Moreh border crossing was reopened on June 4 after being closed for nearly two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Residents of Tamu told RFA that around 50 traders travel across the border to the neighboring Indian township daily for work. Myanmar refugees in India say more than 300 families displaced by conflict between junta troops and armed opposition groups in Sagaing have crossed the border seeking shelter in Moreh, and that anger over Tuesdays killings forced many Myanmar nationals living there to flee the area. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Staff members select goods ordered online at Jiamei Supermarket in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) East China's Anhui Province, which is combating the latest COVID-19 resurgence, has taken a range of measures to guarantee the supply of daily necessities. From June 26 to July 4, a total of 186 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 895 asymptomatic carriers had been logged in the latest epidemic resurgence in Anhui, with the majority of cases being reported in Sixian County, the provincial health commission said Tuesday. More than 60 supermarkets have been arranged to supply daily necessities to residents in the virus-hit Sixian, where 52 confirmed cases and 164 asymptomatic carriers were reported on Monday alone. To reduce people-to-people contact, residents can place orders online. Nearly 30,000 orders of individual and collective buying are delivered per day on average in Sixian, according to Lu Qiang, head of the county's bureau of commerce. "I bought two packages of chicken wings, four apples, eight steamed buns and some vegetables. It cost me less than 80 yuan (around 12 U.S. dollars), which is about the same price at normal times," said a resident surnamed Yao, who did the grocery shopping online. Local authorities are also monitoring prices and cracking down on illegal behaviors such as hoarding, fabricating information and price gouging. At present, daily necessities such as flour, rice, meat, cooking oil and more are in stable supply in Sixian. "We deliver about 3,000 orders of groceries per day on average," said Meng Tao, general manager of Jiamei supermarket in the county. Meng and 94 other supermarket employees have been living in the supermarket or designated hotels since the latest COVID-19 emergence. "We try to arrange one delivery vehicle for each residential community after we gather all the orders. The groceries will be picked up by volunteers waiting at community gates and then sent to each household after disinfection," said Meng. A management system of "three heads" has been implemented in the county to ensure the smooth delivery of supplies and the needs of residents are met in a timely and orderly manner. Xu Ke, 27, a local government official, is appointed as the head of the Taoliwenyuan community in Sixian. Together with 14 building heads and 68 unit heads, Xu is responsible for collecting the needs of and delivering supplies to the households in the community. Each unit head is in charge of the daily supplies of 13 households. For the vulnerable group such as the aged and the disabled, the unit heads will call them or go to their homes to provide services. "The management system breaks down our work to each individual, which enables us to respond to people's needs more precisely," Xu said. "Some residents have also donated rice, vegetables and instant noodles to those in need in the community. We are all like a big family in this special situation, trying to weather through the difficult time together," she added. Aerial photo taken on July 4, 2022 shows a delivery vehicle of Jiamei Supermarket delivering ordered goods to a residential community in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) Staff members of a residential community transport ordered goods of residents in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) A staff member packs goods at Jiamei Supermarket in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) A staff member packs goods at Jiamei Supermarket in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) Staff members select goods ordered online at Jiamei Supermarket in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) A staff member selects goods ordered online at Jiamei Supermarket in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) Staff members pack goods ordered online at Jiamei Supermarket in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) Staff members select goods ordered online at Jiamei Supermarket in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) A staff member packs goods at Jiamei Supermarket in Sixian County, Suzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, July 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) Sea Shield 2022 fed fears the truce between the junta and the Arakan Army is close to collapse. Warships and a submarine take part in the military exercise off the Rakhine coast on July 5. Myanmars military staged a five-day show of strength, starting last Friday, with warships, helicopters and two submarines, leading to fears the military is preparing for a major battle with the Arakan Army (AA). The junta-run newspaper, Myanma Alin (New light of Myanmar), said on Wednesday that the military exercise was carried out in the Bay of Bengal 1,300 miles (2,080 kilometers) off the coast of Rakhine state. Peoples Assembly member Pe Than, who is closely monitoring the military situation, said the exercise shows that the military is prepared to make full use of the navy if fighting breaks out with the AA in Rakhine. It is impossible to prevent international hostilities with such a force and there is no country planning a war with this country either, he said This is just an exercise to allow the systematic use of the navy in the event of a battle in Rakhine. The main thing is that they can show their strength. Military Council Chairman joins top brass to watch war games Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing joins high ranking military staff to watch the exercise on Tuesday. CREDIT: DSINFO The drill was overseen by military council chairman Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. High-level members of the army, navy and air force attended on Tuesday. Min Aung Hlaing ordered the warships to be constantly prepared for combat, according to comments carried in Wednesdays edition of the Myanmar Alin Newspaper. The naval warships must be ready. Also weapons and weapons systems must be ready. The navy personnel must be ready. They also need to be constantly trained to be ready for battle, and these three levels of readiness must be maintained, he said. Sea Shield 2022 aimed to cover the 12 nautical miles (22.2 kilometers/13.8 miles) of Myanmars territorial waters and protect the Myanmar Exclusive Economic Zone at sea, the junta chairman said. Myanmars exclusive economic zone is adjacent to its territorial waters and extends for 200 nautical miles (370.4 kilometers/230 miles) from the coastal baseline. One of the submarines used in the military drills, arrived in Kyaukphyu, Rakhine state, on May 31. Kyauk Phyu is home to some of Chinas largest economic projects, and locals have criticized the military council for apparently preparing to protect Chinese businesses in the event of a battle with the AA. AA spokesman, Khing Thukha gave an online news conference on June 14, saying that the military council is expanding its forces and weapons in Rakhine to prepare for a full-scale attack in the event of a renewed fighting with the AA. Local residents said tensions have been further heightened due to arrests of AA members or sympathisers in retailiation for AA abductions of junta troops. Last June, the AA abducted more than 10 police and soldiers and the junta responded by arresting 40 civilians from the four townships of Sittwe, Kyauktaw, Ponna Kyun and Mrauk-U. The AA fought a fierce campaign against Myanmars military from December 2018 to November 2020, demanding autonomy for ethnic Arakanese. More than 300 civilians were killed and more than 700 injured during the fighting in Rakhine state according to figures compiled by RFA. The two sides agreed an informal ceasefire shortly before the coup on February 1, 2021 and an uneasy truce has held for more than a year. However, locals told RFA tensions have risen in the last two months, due to the arrests and the arrival of military reinforcements. Tensions are simmering even outside Rakhine state since the AA also has a presence in Chin, Kayin and Shan states. On Monday a military air strike killed six AA members and injured dozens when junta jets targeted a camp in Kayin (Karen) state near the Thailand-Myanmar border, a region controlled by AA allies the Karenni National Liberation Army. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs nearly 78,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Rakhine and Chin states as of March 6 this year due to fighting between junta forces and the AA. Protestors call on governments to pressure China to end its persecution of Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslims. Uyghur protesters in the Netherlands demand that China end its persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, during a demonstration marking the anniversary of deadly 2009 ethnic violence in the region, in Amsterdam, July 5, 2022. Uyghur exile groups around the world on Tuesday demanded that China end its persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang in a series of protests marking the 13th anniversary of deadly ethnic violence in the regions capital. Uyghurs demonstrated in the capital cities of European Union countries, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Canada, and in New York and Washington, D.C., to commemorate the crackdown in Urumqi, which became a catalyst for the Chinese governments efforts to repress Uyghur culture, language and religion through a mass surveillance and internment campaign. We gathered here to commemorate the massacre that occurred on July 5 in Urumqi and to remember the ongoing genocide taking place in East Turkestan today, said Hidayetulla Oghuzhan, chairman of East Turkestan Organizational Alliance in Istanbul, using Uyghurs preferred name for the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). We call upon the international community to not to remain silent and to take action against this genocide, he said. In Paris, one protester told RFA that he lost many of his friends in the July 5 clash and that remembering that day was very important for him. Smaller demonstrations were held in other cities. About 15 members of the Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Womens Association protested outside a mall in Adelaide to mark the anniversary of the massacre and demand that the Australian government ban the importation of goods made with Uyghur forced labor in the XUAR, according to Indias The Print online news service. Muslims in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and in Narayanganj district, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) southeast of the city, also staged protests against the Chinese governments oppression of Uyghurs, according to the same news source. About 200 people died and 1,700 were injured in three days of violence between ethnic minority Uyghurs and Han Chinese that began on July 5, 2009, in Xinjiangs largest city, Urumqi (in Chinese, Wulumuqi), according to Chinas official figures. Uyghur rights groups say the numbers of dead and injured were much higher, however. The unrest was set off by a clash between Uyghur and Han Chinese toy factory workers in southern Chinas Guangdong province in late June that year that left two Uyghurs dead. News of the deaths reached Uyghurs in Urumqi, sparking a peaceful protest the spiraled into beatings and killings of Chinese, with deaths occurring on both sides. Chinese mobs later staged revenge attacks on Uyghurs in the citys streets with sticks and metal bars. We mourn the past Dolkun Isa, president of Germany-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC), called July 5 a day of mourning. We have to remember that day, he told RFA on Tuesday. That day is the turning point in from Chinas ethnic segregation and discrimination policy to the beginning of the genocidal ethnic policy. 2009 is the starting point of the ongoing ethnic genocide since 2016. In late 2016 and 2017, authorities ramped up their clampdown on Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in the XUAR through abductions and arbitrary arrests and detentions in what China called re-education camps or prisons. An estimated 1.8 million members of these groups have been held in internment camps, where detainees who were later freed reported widespread maltreatment, including severe human rights abuses, torture, rape and forced labor. The U.S. and the parliaments of the EU have said the repression of Uyghurs in the XUAR is a genocide and crime against humanity. The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), based in Washington D.C., demanded the protection of Uyghur refugees and asylum seekers residing abroad. Saving Uyghur refugees is the least that the world can do for Uyghurs, as we experience the 6th year of an ongoing genocide, UHRP Executive Director Omer Kanat said in a statement. It is urgent that all countries recognize the threat posed to Uyghurs abroad, and develop their own resettlement programs on an emergency basis. Because China has sought the forcible return of some Uyghurs living abroad, UHRP said governments should immediately implement resettlement programs for those at risk of refoulement forcing refugees to return to a country where they will likely face persecution. UHRP called on the U.S. Congress to pass the Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act, which would make Uyghurs and other persecuted Turkic peoples eligible for priority refugee processing by the U.N., designating them as Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern. The Washington, D.C-based Campaign for Uyghurs said the Urumqi Massacre was a reminder of the brutality of the Chinese government and the loss that Uyghurs have experienced in their fight for equality. The world no longer believes Chinas whitewashed tales stating the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] is innocent and a victim in the Urumqi massacre, Rushan Abbas, the groups executive director, said in a statement. While we mourn the past, we continue to fight for the living, fight for the future of this free and democratic world. Justice is on our side reclaiming this correct history. We labor ensuring those who perished in 2009 will not have sacrificed their lives in vain, she said. With courage and hard work, justice shall prevail. Translated by Mamatjan Juma for RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Bui Van Thuan could face up to 12 years in prison if found guilty of spreading anti-state information. A police probe into a well-known Vietnamese Facebook user will end soon with Bui Van Thuan facing anti-state propaganda charges. The case is being investigated by the Security Investigation Agency of Thanh Hoa provincial police who said they would charge him under Article 117 of the Criminal Code "Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam." If convicted he faces a sentence of five to 12 years. Two police investigators, Le Hong Ky and Mai Van Tinh, spoke to the political bloggers wife on Tuesday morning according to a summons sent the previous day. Before his arrest in August last year, Bui Van Thuan was well known as a daily compiler of Vietnamese political news. His posts featured many of the political struggles going on between provincial officials, which he nicknamed the "dog fighting ring. Thuans wife went to the Thanh Hoa Police station for two hours on Tuesday morning, during which the police told her that her husband would soon have his day in court. They said that Thuan's case is about to be finished with investigations nearly complete and they will bring him to trial this year, she said. They told me Thuan asked the police to return to me some belongings unrelated to the case [confiscated during a house search]. They said they would return them but I should pick them up another day. Nhung told RFA the main reason she was summoned to the police station was to discuss posts she made on her Facebook page and that of her husband. The two investigators said she should not have posted the letter of summons and should not have posted the content of the meeting with security officers on Facebook because it was against the rules. Nhung said the two officers told her they were aware of her meetings with friends of her husband and wives of prisoners of conscience. Thuan was arrested on August 30, 2021, just days after the visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to Hanoi. He has been kept in solitary confinement in a single room since then, unable to meet relatives and lawyers. His wife says Thuans health has deteriorated as a result of his detention. In March, I received a letter from Thuan that had been written by the police, she said. It said his health was fine with the exception of pain in his legs but the medicine provided by the detention facility is not very effective. I asked to be allowed to provide some medicine but the police refused saying that the medicine provided by prison clinics should be sufficient. Nhung said she bought liver and eye tonics to send to her husband, but the police did not allow it, saying a doctors prescription was needed in order to send medicine to a prisoner. She added that the police only allowed her to send food worth no more than VND60,000 (U.S.$2.70) on each visit, up to a maximum of three times a month. However, she was given a deposit of about VND1.6 million (U.S.68) per month so her husband could buy food and other essentials from the prison canteen. This is the second time Thanh Hoa police have summoned Nhung for interrogation related to her husband but the latest document, dated July 4, said it was the first summons. On March 17, during the first summons, the police threatened Nhung over her actions to defend her husband and told her she could be arrested at any time if she did not cooperate with the investigation into her husband's activities. She was also asked repeatedly to confirm details of Thuans and her own Facebook accounts. Bui Van Thuan was born in 1981, and is an ethnic Muong. He graduated from Hanoi National University of Education and worked as a chemistry teacher for a while, before becoming a famous Facebooker in Vietnam with the nickname "Old Father of the Nation," a reference to political propaganda which refers to Ho Chi Minh as the father of the nation. Vietnam reassures the Russian foreign minister a 10-year special relationship is only likely to get stronger. UDPATED at 12:15 p.m. on 2022-07-06 Sergey Lavrov is on a two-day visit to Russias closest Southeast Asian ally, Vietnam, before heading to the G20 foreign ministers meeting where the welcome won't be as warm. The Russian foreign minister held talks in Hanoi Wednesday before he travels to a G20 meeting in Bali, where Lavrovs Canadian counterpart has warned she would not shake his hand. Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told Canadian media she would instead confront him with facts and expose Russias narrative for what it is: lies and disinformation about the war in Ukraine. Canada, alongside a number of Western countries, has imposed sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, now in its fifth month. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to snub Lavrov in Bali, with the State Department saying "it cannot be business as usual with the Russian Federation. Vietnam on the other hand has repeatedly refused to condemn the Russian war and also objected to a U.S.-led effort to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council. Lavrov is the first Russian cabinet minister to visit Hanoi since President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation against Ukraine in February. His visit is taking place as Hanoi and Moscow celebrate the 10th anniversary of the so-called comprehensive strategic partnership that Vietnam has forged with only three nations in the world. Besides Russia, the two other comprehensive strategic partners are China and India. The most important partner The Russian foreign minister and his Vietnamese host Bui Thanh Son held a meeting on Wednesday morning, during which Foreign Affairs Minister Son was quoted by Russian state media as saying that hed like to reassure you that Russia will always be our most important partner and the main priority in Vietnams policy. Son said he deeply believed that with the high level of political trust and a long-term interest, the Vietnam-Russia relationship would continue to develop. Moscow is Hanois traditional ally and its biggest arms supplier. Most Vietnamese weaponry used by the navy and air force was bought from Russia, leading to a future dependence on Russian maintenance and spare parts, despite efforts to diversify arms supplies. Russian anti-submarine ship Marshal Shaposhnikov seen in a file photo. CREDIT: ITAR TASS A Russian presence in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims historical rights over almost 80 per cent, could also be seen as a counterweight for competing China-U.S. rivalry as well as keeping Chinas aggression at bay, say analysts. On June 25-28, three warships of the Russian Navys Pacific Fleet, led by the Udaloy-class anti-submarine destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, visited Cam Ranh in central Vietnam where Russia operated a major naval base until 2002. Lavrov was quoted as telling his Vietnamese counterpart on Wednesday that in the context of current world affairs, once again we should unite and strive to maintain international laws, the principle of national sovereignty and non-interference in other countries internal affairs. The full agenda of the Russian ministers visit has not been disclosed but some analysts, such as Artyom Lukin, Deputy Director for Research at the School of Regional and International Studies at Russias Far Eastern Federal University, said boosting economic cooperation at a time when Moscow has been isolated and sanctioned would be one of the main topics. The Kremlin should already be more or less satisfied with Hanoi's position on the Ukraine crisis since Vietnam's stance all along has been strictly neutral, Lukin said. Rather than securing Vietnam's political neutrality, which is already there, Moscow needs to ensure that Vietnam continues, and expands, economic links with Russia. Between a rock and a hard place What is important for Russia now is how to restructure economic ties, trade, cooperation in industry and technologies with the non-Western world, said Fyodor Lukyanov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defense Policy. It is highly important for Russia to intensify all possible ties to find ways to avoid and bypass the economic warfare applied by the West, said the Moscow-based analyst. Lukin from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok pointed out that amid Western sanctions, Asia and the Middle East are replacing Europe as Russia's main geo-economic partners. Vietnam is the only ASEAN country to have a Free Trade Agreement with Moscow and Vietnam's economic significance for Russia will now grow substantially, both as a market in itself and as a gateway for Russia's business interactions with Asia, he added. Despite COVID-19, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Russia reached U.S.$5.54 billion in 2021, a 14-percent increase from the previous year, according to official statistics. Yet the Ukrainian crisis that severely disrupted the global supply chain of food, fertilizer and energy has put Hanoi in an uneasy position. Vietnam has established some important strategic links with foreign powers including the U.S. and Japan, both strongly opposed to the Russian war in Ukraine and both are considered supportive of Hanois interests in the South China Sea. Being seen as too close to Moscow would give Hanoi a disadvantage unless it could act as a go-between to mediate Russias interactions with the West, said a Vietnamese expert who didnt want to be named as they are not authorized to speak to foreign media. Vietnam also has to be watchful for Russia-China joint maritime activities that may hurt its interests in the South China Sea. On Monday Chinese and Russian warships were spotted just outside Japanese territorial waters around the disputed, Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing about the incident that happened amid China's growing maritime assertiveness and increasingly robust China-Russia military ties, Kyodo News reported. Chinese media responded that the Russian Navy's recent military activities in the West Pacific are a warning to Japan amid Japanese sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis. This story has been updated to make minor edits. Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking China's resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. I'm RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and here's what I'm following right now. The Contradictions In Beijing's Russia Ties From oil deals to diplomatic cover in international institutions, there's no denying that Beijing has supported Moscow throughout its war with Ukraine, but to what extent remains an issue of contention and highlights the deep contradictions in the China-Russia relationship. Finding Perspective: China's growing appetite for discounted Russian oil made headlines in late June as Beijing overtook Germany as the biggest single buyer of Russian energy. India, which also has historic and complicated ties to Moscow, has also bought up Russian oil. Despite being sold at a steep discount, the purchases -- along with climbing oil prices -- have allowed Russian revenues to grow in the face of Western pressure and given Moscow a crucial financial lifeline to keep funding its war effort. But as Maria Shagina, a fellow at Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies, told me : "China's rhetoric and deeds diverge quite a lot and that has been clear since 2014." "China is eager to capitalize on Russia's isolation, including purchasing Russian cheap crude oil," she added. "But when it comes to violating Western sanctions, the Chinese private sector is usually quite cautious." A recent study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that Chinese exports to Russia have plummeted during five months of war. The study, which relied on data until the end of April, coupled with another analysis by the institute of China-only data through the end of May, shows that China's exports to Russia remained well below prewar levels. Why It Matters: China has denounced sanctions and proclaimed that it will maintain normal economic relations with Russia, but Chinese exporters don't appear willing to risk violating export controls and sanctions. At the end of June, the United States also placed five Chinese companies on an export blacklist for violating sanctions by allegedly providing support to Russia's military and defense companies before and during the invasion of Ukraine. It wasn't specified what kind of support was provided, but a White House official clarified that they "have not seen China provide Russia with military equipment or systematic evasion of sanctions." The Washington Post also reported that Russian officials are growing frustrated with Beijing pushing back against their calls for deeper economic support. Another area that the Russians are hoping to get more Chinese support on is with advanced electronics and semiconductors, something that Russian officials have been outspoken about recently, including Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov. "Of course, we are counting on help from colleagues in China, who received technological sovereignty 10 years ago," Borisov said on June 29. Read More As Beijing has turned to cheap Russian oil, Iran -- another major supplier that relies on China -- is being forced to discount its already cheap oil even more to stay competitive on the Chinese market, Bloomberg reports . Whether the current state of close relations between China and Russia can last is a top question on many minds at the moment. Foreign Affairs surveyed a group of leading experts to see where they think things are headed. Expert Corner: Kyrgyzstan's China Debt Readers asked: "Kyrgyzstan has raised the alarm about its large debt owed to China and what could happen if it doesn't meet its payments. How likely is it that Bishkek won't be able to pay and what cards does the government have to play as it deals with payments owed to Beijing?" To find out more, I asked Kubat Kasymbekov, a journalist with RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service: "Kyrgyzstan's debt to China's Exim Bank has increased by almost 12 times since 2010, reaching $1.8 billion. Now it makes up 42 percent of the country's total foreign debt. The foreign-debt-repayment volume is rising year by year. If $200 million were enough to settle the debt payment owed in 2020, the country will need to find at least twice that by 2024. "This means that risks are high, as the government has warned, China might take control of some strategic Kyrgyz facilities where it invested, if payments are not met. Some experts believe extending China's involvement in Kyrgyzstan's mining sector could be one of the options to relieve the debt. Repeated warnings about 'the worst-case scenarios' could also galvanize public support for these previously unpopular government proposals. "Despite growing debt pressure, the authorities seem to have a plan and an urgency to make their payment to China, with President Sadyr Japarov promising not to delay foreign debt repayment even for one hour.'" Do you have a question about China's growing footprint in Eurasia? Send it to me at StandishR@rferl.org or reply directly to this e-mail and I'll get it answered by leading experts and policymakers. Three More Stories From Eurasia 1. Watching South Asia Citing Pakistani government sources, Nikkei Asian Review reported that China wants its own security companies to guard its citizens and assets in Pakistan after a series of attacks on Chinese interests over the last year. The Details: According to the report, Islamabad denied the request, but Beijing is likely to push again as it faces a new era of security threats in Pakistan and across South Asia more broadly. (The Chinese Foreign Ministry denied that it had made such requests). Pakistan is home to the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a massive bundle of infrastructure and investment deals that is part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. But while China's economic footprint has grown and more Chinese workers have come to Pakistan, they've also increasingly been targeted. Frustrated with this situation, Beijing is clearly not satisfied with the status quo when it comes to security in the region. Things also remain volatile in neighboring Afghanistan and despite warming ties with the Taliban and lots of rhetoric coming from Beijing, China is still treading cautiously in its engagement with the country. That's tough news for Kabul and Islamabad, who see their economic futures relying heavily on Chinese investment, something Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said recently. 2. A Footprint In Bosnia Despite lacking the necessary legal permits and facing growing pushback from local activists, a Chinese company is moving forward with plans to build a hydroelectric plant in southeastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, my colleague Goran Katic from RFE/RL's Balkan Service reported . What It Means: The proposed plant is located close to the town of Foca within the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska, some 25 kilometers from the Bosnian-Montenegrin border. The entire project is worth some $107 million and is the result of an agreement signed in Beijing in 2019 between Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and the state-owned China National Aero-technology International Engineering Corporation (AVIC). But activists have sounded the alarm over the project, noting that it still does not have the necessary environmental permits to begin construction and is lacking an environmental-impact study on how the plant will affect the nearby Bistrica River. Despite these lingering concerns, ground was broken on the hydroelectric complex in December 2021 at a ceremony attended by Republika Srpska officials and representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Sarajevo. Boris Mrkela from the investment-monitoring group Just Finance International says that such cases are becoming more common in the Balkans. "According to our research, the constant among all Chinese investors in the Western Balkans is the readiness to start work on projects that lack significant permits," he said. 3. Unrest In Central Asia At least 18 people were killed and 243 wounded during unrest in Uzbekistan's autonomous province of Karakalpakstan that began on July 1, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported . What You Need To Know: Security forces detained hundreds during the protests that erupted over plans to curtail Karakalpakstan's autonomy. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev dropped plans to amend articles of the constitution concerning Karakalpakstan's sovereignty and also declared a monthlong state of emergency. Beijing has been comparatively silent on the protests, but Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on July 4 that China supported the Uzbek government in maintaining national stability and believes in Mirziyoev's leadership. China already watched unrest overtake Kazakhstan back in January and the prospect of deeper unrest spreading to another Chinese partner in Central Asia is worrying. Across The Supercontinent NATO and Asia: Following its summit in Madrid, NATO adopted a new strategic concept for the next decade, where it formally defined China for the first time as "a challenge." My colleague Rikard Jozwiac was in Madrid covering the summit and broke down the key takeaways here . Beijing Responds: This didn't go unnoticed in China, which was already growing critical of NATO due to its growing ties with Asian countries. With an eye on NATO as it's set to expand, Beijing called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to oppose what it called " hegemonic bullying " by the military alliance. The Springboard: A new study by the Digital Forensic Center finds that more than half of the investments or loans from Chinese companies in Europe have gone into the Balkans, RFE/RL's Balkan Service reported . An Extra "I": Iran applied to join the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa that both Beijing and Moscow portray as an emerging-market alternative to the West. One Thing To Watch TikTok, the prolific social-media app that is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is under scrutiny after a series of investigations and lawsuits pertaining to the Chinese government being able to access the data of users collected through the platform. The Trump administration launched an all-out war on TikTok, attempting to have the app shut down in the United States unless it fully spun off from ByteDance. His administration announced an ownership deal that would have moved TikTok's headquarters to the United States, but the deal was ultimately scuttled. While the Biden administration has not followed its predecessor's scorched-earth approach, the White House has continued national-security negotiations with the company to make sure the data of Americans is safe and new measures could be on the way. That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have. Until next time, Reid Standish Britain's Foreign Office said on July 6 that reports of the arrest of a British diplomat in Iran "are completely false." Iranian media reported earlier that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) detained several foreign nationals, including Britain's second-ranking diplomat, over accusations of spying. The IRGC identified and arrested the foreigners, saying they were observed by drones taking soil samples in a prohibited area in the central desert of Iran, the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency said. The country's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the foreigners had been arrested but did not say when or whether they were currently in custody. Britain's deputy ambassador is among the people who went to the Shahdad desert with his family as a tourist, Fars reported. A photo accompanying the Fars report showed four people in a desert setting. Another photo showed two people who appear to be looking for soil samples after parking their bicycles. "These spies were taking earth samples in Iran's central desert where the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace missile exercises were conducted," state TV said. Fars claimed the British diplomat, Giles Whitaker, was expelled from the country after apologizing. A spokesperson for Britain's Foreign Office said: "Reports of the arrest of a British diplomat in Iran are completely false." State TV also identified Maciej Walczak, a Polish scientist at Kopernik University in Poland, as one of the accused foreigners. The report said another of the detained individuals is the husband of Austria's cultural attache in Iran. It said their sample collection coincided with a missile test in Iran's southern Kerman Province. The United States earlier on July 6 designated 15 individuals and entities for alleged engagement in illegally selling and shipping Iranian oil and oil products. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the entities -- located in Iran, Vietnam, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong -- "have supported Iranian energy trade generating millions of dollars' worth of illicit revenue." The U.S. Treasury Department said the entities and individuals used a web of Persian Gulf-based front companies to facilitate the delivery and sale of the Iranian oil and oil products from Iranian companies to East Asia. "While the United States is committed to achieving an agreement with Iran that seeks a mutual return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, we will continue to use all our authorities to enforce sanctions on the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals," Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said. Talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal have been stalled for months. Iran has said it is ready for new indirect talks to overcome the last hurdles to revive the 2015 nuclear deal amid a growing crisis over the countrys nuclear program. With reporting by Reuters, Fars, and AP Belgian lawmakers have given initial clearance to a prisoner-exchange treaty with Iran that could pave the way for the release of an Iranian diplomat convicted of planning to bomb the rally of an exiled opposition group outside Paris. The Foreign Relations Committee of Belgium's lower house of parliament debated the treaty over two days before finally approving it on July 6. The measure still needs to be put before the full 150-member lower house, most likely in the next two weeks, but the chamber normally follows the votes of its committees, given that they have similar party compositions. The prisoner exchange might secure the release of a Belgian aid worker who was detained in Iran in February. It could also help Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali, who has taught in Belgium and been sentenced to death in Iran. Iran has called for the release of Assadollah Assadi, sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium in 2021 for a plot to bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an exiled opposition group, near Paris in June 2018. Several lawmakers voiced concern that the treaty, as proposed, might lead to "hostage diplomacy" and put other Belgians at risk of detention. Amnesty International called on Belgium to ensure that the bill is fully consistent with the country's obligations under international human rights law. "In particular, the bill should include adequate judicial safeguards to prevent the treaty being used to grant impunity for state officials and agents responsible for serious human rights violations and crimes under international law," the London-based rights group said on July 5. Based on reporting by Reuters Iran has accused a French couple detained in May of "undermining the security" of the country. The pair stand "accused of association and collusion with the aim of undermining the security of the country", judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told reporters in Tehran on July 6. French teachers' union official Cecile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, were arrested in early May in Tehran while on vacation sightseeing in the Islamic republic. They are accused by the authorities of seeking to stir up labor protests. Iran said they were accused of "entering the country to sow chaos and destabilize society." The French government has condemned their arrest as "baseless" and demanded their immediate release. "These two people are currently in police custody," Setayeshi said, adding that "the prosecution is dealing with this case." In June, Iranian authorities announced they had arrested a left-wing activist on suspicion of working to "incite sedition and turmoil among the working class," and who they said was suspected of meeting the French couple. Teachers have in recent months taken to the streets on several occasions to protest their conditions and demand higher wages. They have also called for the release of their jailed colleagues. In April, a court sentenced Rasoul Bodaghi, a member of the teachers' union and a civil activist, to five years in prison after convicting him of illegal assembly and propaganda. The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said Bodaghi had been sentenced solely for "peaceful activism." Kohler and Paris are among the latest Western citizens to be detained in Iran. Western countries and rights groups have repeatedly charged that Iran is trying to take advantage of foreign countries by taking dual and foreign nationals hostage. With reporting by AFP and ISNA Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has filed a lawsuit against the Islamic republic over the 2020 shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger jet by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The lawsuit, seen by Radio Farda, filed in a court in Ontario, is dated January 2022. It lists the Islamic Republic of Iran and the IRGC as the two defendants and demands compensation from Iran. UIA flight PS752 crashed on January 8, 2020, while en route to Kyiv, killing all 176 people on board. After days of official denials, Iran admitted that an IRGC unit had inadvertently shot down the plane amid heightened tensions with the United States over the U.S. drone assassination of a top IRGC commander, Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad. Most of the victims were Iranians and Canadians but 11 were citizens of Ukraine. The families have demanded transparency and accountability. The Iranian government has allocated $150,000 to compensate the family of each passenger, but some families have refused the money. Canada said last year that it found no evidence of premeditation in the downing of the airliner. A Canadian court awarded $84 million and interest to the families of six of the victims. On June 28, the Group of Seven industrialized economies, at the end of their three-day summit in southern Germany, said in a joint statement that Iran should be held accountable for the shooting down of flight PS752. "We continue to support international efforts to hold Iran accountable for the illegal downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752", the statement said. With writing and reporting by Ardeshir Tayebi A Russian court has ordered the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which brings oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea, to suspend activity for 30 days. The CPC, which handles about 1 percent of global oil and includes U.S. majors Chevron and Exxon, said on July 6 the ruling to suspend its operations concerned issues related to the handling of oil spills and that the consortium had to abide by the ruling. In a statement posted on its website, the CPC added that it planned to appeal against the decision. "The Caspian Pipeline Consortium acts within the legal framework of the Russian Federation and is forced to execute the court ruling. The ruling will be appealed in accordance with the procedure established by law," the CPC said in the statement. Some 80 percent of Kazakhstan's oil exports flow through the terminal in Russia's southern port city of Novorossiisk. The terminal can transport 67 million tons of oil annually. The United States has imposed sanctions on Russian oil over the Kremlin's unprovoked war on Ukraine but has said flows from Kazakhstan through Russia should run uninterrupted. The CPC said on July 6 that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko ordered regulators, including industrial safety regulator Rostekhnadzor, to inspect the facilities of the Russian part of the consortium. It said that the inspection had found some "documentary" irregularities on plans how to tackle oil spills. An oil spill occurred at the terminal last year. An inspection by Russian authorities found that documentation for emergency plans to deal with oil spills was incomplete, the CPC said. The authorities originally gave the CPC until November 30 to correct the violations, but the regional transport regulator unexpectedly demanded the terminal's closure on July 6, which the court approved. The court said the stoppage was necessary to prevent possible environmental damage, Interfax reported late on July 5. The pipeline's operations have already been interrupted by damage to the Black Sea's terminal equipment this year. With reporting by Reuters and dpa For a teenager from a distant, impoverished village in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, Andrei Pozdeyev probably could never imagine his child-like face would go viral. But for the former welder, recognition at home is a liability that could impact him for years to come. Pozdeyev was among the Russian conscripts captured by Ukrainian forces after President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to invade the country in February. Ukraine displayed Pozdeyev and four other barely trained Russian soldiers in Kyiv before global media on March 14 to embarrass the Kremlin, which had repeatedly denied conscripts were taking part in the war. A nervous Pozdeyev said in a shaky voice that he had no idea he was being sent into battle and voiced criticism of Putin for launching the war. His family said he was visibly under duress at the time. Russians on the whole back the war, according to polls, and some took to social media at the time to denigrate the conscripts, calling them -- among other things -- wimps and recommending they don't come back to Russia. Late last month, Pozdeyev safely returned to his village in Siberia following a prisoner swap and a monthslong stop in the Moscow region for rest and medical treatment to remove shrapnel from his cheek. But his family remains concerned about the long-term impact of any psychological and physical trauma he may have endured during the war, including his two-week captivity. "What kind of person he will be when he returns, we don't know yet," his sister, Oksana, told RFE/RL a few weeks before his June 26 return home on condition her last name not be used. "How will all this affect his psyche? Will he be able to work right away, or will he still have to recover," she asked rhetorically. The family still hasn't received an official explanation as to how Pozdeyev ended up in battle despite being a conscript. Oksana said Pozdeyev should be entitled to compensation if he is unable to work and called for people to be punished for the egregious mistake. "I will not not stand for this," she said. Brother Against Brother Seryodkina, which has slightly more than 1,000 people, is located along the Angara River about 300 kilometers north of Irkutsk. Like many remote Russian villages, it has fallen on hard times since the collapse of communism in 1991. Priangarsky, the local state-run collective farm and main employer, folded in the early 2000s. So too did the sausage and milk plants, as well as the bakery. Irina Gutnyk, Pozdeyev's mother, says there are few places to work in the village. The 49-year-old, who is unemployed, used to work as a cleaner at the local school. She says it probably has more workers than pupils now. Pozdeyev's father holds a job that requires him to leave the village for weeks at a time. Some homes stand abandoned, their owners either having passed away or left for greener pastures. Russian conscripts often come from such hard-scrabble places. They have fewer connections and less wealth to get an exemption from the mandatory one-year service, but some see it as a stepping stone to a better life. Pozdeyev had been working as a welder in Irkutsk after dropping out of an aviation technical school when he was conscripted in June 2021. After training several months as a gunner in a BMP-2, an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, he was sent to serve the rest of his time in the Moscow region. But as Russia began massing forces near Ukraine at the end of 2021 amid speculation of an invasion, Pozdeyev's unit was sent closer to the border. "Don't worry, they will not send us into Ukraine," his mother recalled him saying in February. Days later, on February 24, Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine. Pozdeyev says he learned of the invasion only after he had crossed the border while sleeping, a claim backed up by accounts from other conscripts. Pozdeyev was captured on March 7 near the Ukrainian city of Sumy as he was being evacuated back to Russia. Gutnyk says she first learned of her son's capture on March 9, when a local villager knocked on the door to show her a photo online of an injured Pozdeyev. Ukraine began posting the names and photos of captured soldiers in the early days of the war in the hopes of getting around Kremlin censorship and undermining support for the invasion inside Russia. It later organized the press conference with the five conscripts. Gutnyk says she was so overwhelmed by the news of her son's capture that paramedics were called to her house. "They were tricked into going to war! How can a child voluntarily end up there? What did they learn there in six months of training," she told RFE/RL. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has not just caused trauma for Gutnyk's only son, it has also frayed her relations with her siblings. Gutnyk, whose mother was born in Ukraine, has three sisters and a brother living in the Sumy region, where Pozdeyev was captured. Gutnyk's siblings have children currently serving in the Ukrainian armed forces. "So, it turns out its brother against brother?" Gutnyk asked. She says she stopped calling her sisters and brother in Ukraine after February 24. Her youngest sister recognized Pozdeyev in the news and lashed out at Gutnyk in a message, saying her son had come to "kill our husbands and sons." Gutnyk dismisses her younger sister as a "Banderite," a Russian term synonymous with "fascist." It derives from the name of Stepan Bandera, a controversial Ukrainian nationalist leader who led an anti-Soviet independence movement. Putin has tried to justify his invasion to Russian citizens in part on the absurd idea that Ukraine is led by "Nazis." Oksana says she first learned that her brother had been part of a prisoner swap only after contacting the family of another Russian conscript who was held along with Pozdeyev. When Oksana finally reached Pozdeyev by phone in Moscow, he declined to tell her much, saying he would share more information with her when he got back home to Seryodkina. Oksana says that aside from getting medical treatment in Moscow, her brother had been called into a meeting with the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the Soviet KGB. "Thus, I don't know if he will say anything at all," she said. RFE/RL called Pozdeyev after he returned home on June 26 but he did not answer his phone. RFE/RL then contacted Oksana again. She said she was with her brother in Seryodkina but claimed she had not discussed the war with him or his time in prison. She said if he wants to talk about the events, he will call. Written by Todd Prince based on reporting by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities Sergei had for years been clinging to hope that his hometown of Sovetskaya Gavan, a once bustling port city in Russia's Far East, would soon see better days. Sovetskaya Gavan had been home to ship construction and repair factories, a vibrant fishing industry, and military personnel of all stripes during Soviet times. However, the factories closed and the military largely left with the fall of communism and the economic turbulence that followed. The population of the greater Sovetskaya Gavan area has tumbled by a staggering 40 percent over the ensuing three decades to about 38,000 as well-paying jobs became hard to find. But plans by Polymetal, one of Russia's largest gold producers, to build a $730 million plant on the outskirts of the city to process ore had raised some hopes of an economic turnaround. Mayor Pavel Borovsky called the processing plant a launchpad for the city's future development. The gold plant could have opened the door to further investments in the economically depressed city, including the expansion of the local power plant, Sovetskaya Gavan's largest employer. Ore processing consumes a large amount of energy. It could have also helped build the case for the extension to Sovetskaya Gavan of the second leg of the Baikal-Amur rail line, the lack of which has kept some investors away, Sergei says. Now Western financial and technology sanctions imposed on Russia to punish the Kremlin for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine have upended Polymetal's plans. The gold company announced in April that it had "suspended indefinitely" plans to build the ore-processing plant in Sovetskaya Gavan and is now studying options to construct one in neighboring Kazakhstan. "As soon as I found out that the plant would not be built, to be honest, I sat down in the evening, poured myself a shot, and decided: 'Stop living with dreams. It's time for us to leave,'" Sergei told RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities. "We haven't been bombed, but we too have been destroyed," he said, referring to the war-driven sanctions. Sergei says he will likely join the exodus from the city and move to Krasnodar in Russia's south, a popular destination for people leaving the Far East. Mass Project Delays Similar stories of dashed hope are playing out around Russia, especially in its Far East regions, as domestic companies scale back, delay, or cancel large-scale investment projects due to the financial and technology sanctions, while foreign companies simply leave. Polymetal had planned to invest as much as $700 million in 2022, according to its February presentation to investors. Two months later, it cut that to $650 million. Apart from suspending the Sovetskaya Gavan project, Polymetal announced that it would delay the construction of a $450 million gold project in Eastern Siberia by 12 to 18 months and a second ore-processing plant in the Far East by six months. Russian metals, mining, and energy companies rely heavily on Western equipment and technology to build and operate plants, as well as to develop mines and energy fields, and they are struggling to get access to them amid harsh sanctions and Western firms' fear of doing any business with the country. Russian imports have fallen by nearly half following the imposition of sanctions. Polymetal management said it had become expensive and difficult to import equipment directly from Europe. Although the company is not under sanctions itself, Western transportation firms are refusing to deliver containers with equipment and spare parts to Russia, it said. The gold miner must gather large volumes of documents to show it is not violating Western sanctions when buying equipment. The company said it had been forced to import Western equipment via China, which delays delivery by at least two months. Polymetal said the trouble importing equipment forced it to delay development of its Eastern Siberian gold mine. Steep Economic Decline The sharp drop in imports necessary for investment projects is driving what may be Russia's steepest economic decline in three decades. Russia's economic output could fall by as much as 7 percent this year and 10 percent next year, German Gref, the CEO of Sberbank, the country's largest lender, said at a state-sponsored business forum in June. Russia has not experienced consecutive years of economic decline since the early 1990s. The punishing sanctions are also forcing Russia to turn further to China for trade and investment. And while China has emerged as a major producer of equipment and high technology, the Kremlin can't look to it as a savior, experts say. Not all Western equipment and technologies have analogues in China, meaning more projects could be indefinitely canceled. "I have said more than once that China will not be able to replace all the equipment that we imported [from the West]," Natalia Zubarevich, a professor at Moscow State University, told RFE/RL. "This is impossible, not because China will be afraid of secondary sanctions, but because, in principle, it cannot produce everything. It simply does not have the competencies for everything high-tech." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video message late on July 6 that artillery that Ukraine has received from Western partners has had an effect on the battlefield. "Finally, it is felt that the Western artillery -- the weapons we received from our partners -- has worked very powerfully, he said, praising its accuracy. Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, Western military aid, worldwide reaction, and the plight of civilians and refugees. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. The Ukrainian military has inflicted very noticeable blows on warehouses and other points that are important for the logistics of the occupiers, he said. And this significantly reduces the offensive potential of the Russian Army. Ukrainian forces are currently advancing in several directions, including in the south in the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhya, he said. "We are fighting for our entire south, for the entire Ukrainian Donbas," he said, noting a "most brutal confrontation" near Slovyansk and Bakhmut and adding that Ukrainian forces also are fighting for the Kharkiv region. "Let the occupiers not think that their time on this land is long, and the superiority of their artillery is eternal," Zelenskiy said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter that he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on July 6, and they "coordinated steps to accelerate the delivery of heavy weapons from the U.S. and other partners." Kuleba said he had a similar conversation with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in which he emphasized the urgent need to increase supplies of German self-propelled howitzers and multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Ukraine. Ukrainian officials earlier called on civilians to urgently evacuate the city of Slovyansk and other parts of the Donetsk region as Russia escalates its offensive in the east. Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, said in a Telegram post that two people died in the city of Avdyivka, which is north of the regional capital. The Donetsk cities of Slovyansk, Krasnohorivka, and Kurakhove each reported one civilian killed on July 6. Slovyansk has been subjected to "massive" Russian bombardment in recent days, with at least two people killed and seven others wounded in an attack on a marketplace on July 5, officials said. "Russia has turned the entire Donetsk region into a hot spot where it is dangerous to remain a civilian," Kyrylenko said on Telegram. "I call on everyone to evacuate. Evacuation saves lives." Moscow-backed separatists in the region said attacks by Ukrainian forces killed four civilians. The claims could not be independently verified. An intelligence report from the British Defense Ministry on July 6 said that "there is a realistic possibility that the battle for [Slovyansk] will be the next key contest in the struggle for the Donbas." "Russian forces from the Eastern and Western Groups of Forces are likely now around 16 km north from the town of [Slovyansk]," the intelligence report said. Speaking on July 6, officials said Ukraine had so far thwarted an attempted Russian advance into the north of the Donetsk region. Russia-backed separatists and Russian forces are already in control of the southern part of the Donetsk region. "We are holding back the enemy on the border of Luhansk region and Donetsk region," Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Hayday told Ukrainian television. He said Russian regular army and reserve forces had been sent there in an apparent effort to cross the Siverskiy Donets River and that two small settlements just inside Luhansk's borders were the scene of fierce fighting. "Luhansk region even now is fighting. Almost all the territory has been captured, but in two settlements fighting is ongoing" he told a video briefing. Vadym Lyakh, the mayor of Slovyansk, told a video briefing on July 6 that the city had been shelled for the last two weeks. "The situation is tense," he said. The southern port city of Mykolayiv was also being heavily shelled, Oleksandr Senkevych, its mayor, told a briefing. Russian forces were using multiple-launch rocket systems to shell the city, which has shed about half of its prewar population of half a million people, he said. "There are no safe areas in Mykolayiv," he said. "I am telling the people of the city that they need to leave." To the north of Donetsk, Russian forces also hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, with missile strikes overnight, the regional governor said on July 6 on Telegram. Three districts of the city were targeted, Oleh Synyehubov said. Three people, including a toddler, sustained injuries, he added. Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces killed up to 100 Ukrainian troops and destroyed four armored vehicles in Kharkiv, and in the Mykolayiv region struck a Ukrainian air-defense radar and a camp housing foreign fighters. Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said air-launched high-precision missiles also destroyed two HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems sent by the United States along with ammunition for the systems. The Ukrainian military denied Moscow's claims. Zelenskiy, speaking at a briefing in Kyiv with visiting Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, said the terms of how the war will end depend on international sanctions pressure on Russia and the supply of weapons to Ukraine. He said the answer to how long the war will last depends on "how quickly we can make Russia think about peace because we believe that they have not even begun to think about it." Russia has yet to feel the effects of powerful sanctions in part because "unfortunately, there are still some allies who help the Russian Federation or their business," he added. Martin used the visit to restate Ireland's full backing for continued sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime and for Ukraine's path to membership in the European Union. "I am grateful that Ireland stands by our side in this crucial time for our country," Zelenskiy told Martin. Ireland has taken in more than 36,000 Ukrainian refugees and has given 20 million euros ($20.4 million) in humanitarian support and assistance to the country in addition to health equipment and medical donations worth more than 4.5 million euros. With reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, and TASS U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will call on Group of 20 members this week to put pressure on Russia to support UN efforts to reopen sea lanes blocked by the Ukraine conflict and repeat warnings to China not to support Moscow's war effort. Blinken heads to Asia on July 6 for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Bali on July 8. He is due to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, but no meeting is expected with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Ramin Toloui, the assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, told reporters Blinken would raise energy security and a UN initiative to try to get Ukrainian and Russian foodstuffs and fertilizer back to global markets. "G20 countries should hold Russia accountable and insist that it support ongoing UN efforts to reopen the sea lanes for grain delivery," he said. "Whether that happens at the level of the G20, or the level of individual G20 countries, that's an important point that Secretary Blinken will make," Toloui said. Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing its grain during the invasion and blockading its ports to keep grain from leaving the country, which has helped contribute to a global food shortage. Ukraine, said this week it is holding talks with Turkey and the United Nations to secure guarantees for grain exports. Moscow has denied taking Ukrainian grain but satellite images and GPS data have been used to back up the allegations that Russia has been transporting grain out of Ukraine through the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, said he expected a "candid" exchange on Ukraine in Blinken's talks with China's Wang. "This will be another opportunity...to convey our expectations about what we would expect China to do and not to do in the context of Ukraine," he said. China has refused to condemn Russia's actions and has criticized the sweeping sanctions. U.S. officials have warned of consequences should China start offering material support for Russia's war effort. "It's absolutely critical that we have open lines of communication with our Chinese counterparts, particularly at the senior level...to ensure that we prevent any miscalculation that could lead inadvertently to conflict and confrontation," Kritenbrink said. Lavrov and Blinken have not met since before Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said now was not the right time for another meeting. "We would like to see the Russians be serious about diplomacy. We have not seen that yet," he said. Price did not rule out the possibility of a chance Blinken-Lavrov encounter in Bali, which would be their first since they last met in Geneva in January. Price declined to discuss what he called the "choreography" of the G20. With reporting by Reuters and AP UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet and the United States have called for an independent investigation into the deaths of at least 18 people in protests in Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan region. "The reports we have received about serious violence, including killings, during the protests are very concerning. I call on the authorities to exercise utmost restraint," Bachelet said in a statement on July 5. "I urge the authorities to immediately open a transparent and independent investigation into any allegations of criminal acts committed in that context, including violations by agents of the state." The United States separately voiced concern and urged all sides to seek a "peaceful resolution" to the tensions and refrain from violence. "We urge authorities to pursue a full, credible, and transparent investigation into the violence, consistent with international norms and best practices," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on July 5. Authorities in Uzbekistan said on July 4 that 18 people died in clashes in the autonomous Karakalpakstan region when demonstrations erupted over planned constitutional changes affecting the territory's status. The unrest, pitting protesters against security forces, represented the most significant challenge yet to the rule of President Shavkat Mirziyoev since he rose to power from the post of prime minister in 2016 following the death of his predecessor, Islam Karimov. Large protests broke out in the regional capital, Nukus, and other cities after changes initiated by Mirziyoev were proposed on June 27 to the Uzbek Constitution, including removal of language that guaranteed the right of Karakalpakstan to seek independence should citizens choose so in a referendum. On July 2, Mirziyoev backed off the plans and said the language would not be removed from the constitution. He said on July 6 that the commission appointed to investigate the unrest will include members of the public and independent activists. He also said that possible use of excessive force against protesters will also be investigated. Bachelet said more than 500 people were detained and voiced concern that one person had already been charged, and could face up to 20 years in prison. "People should not be criminalized for exercising their rights," the former Chilean president said. "Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Uzbekistan is a state party, everyone has the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and the right to participate in public affairs." All detainees should have prompt access to a lawyer, and their due process and fair trial guarantees must be ensured, said the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. Bachelet urged the Uzbek government to lift the Internet shutdown immediately, saying the measure had an indiscriminate reach and broadly impacted upon the fundamental rights to freedom of expression and to access information. She also reminded the authorities that the restrictions under emergency law must abide by international law, and be necessary, proportionate, and nondiscriminatory. They also need to be limited in duration and key safeguards against excesses must be put in place. With reporting by AFP and RFE/RL's Uzbek Service The role of business in the life of indigenous peoples as well as ways of interaction between large companies and local ethnic groups were discussed as part of the final stage of the All-Russian competitive educational program Indigenous Minorities of Russia. School of Public Diplomacy. Vasily Zakharov, Head of Regional Programs at Norilsk Nickel, held a meeting with the finalists of the All-Russian Competitive Educational Program Indigenous Minorities of Russia. School of Public Diplomacy". He talked about the active economic activity of the mining and metallurgical companies in the places of traditional settlements of indigenous peoples and spoke about the successful completion of the unique FPIC procedure in Taimyr. It is reported by Komsomolskaya Pravda. The final stage of the competition included a course of lectures and master classes, as well as acquaintance with the work of relevant state bodies: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federation Council, the Federal Agency for Nationalities. Why did we invite Norilsk Nickel today? Because their approaches in the field of interaction with indigenous peoples are the best in the country," Grigory Dyukarev, Chairman of the Council of Representatives of Indigenous Minorities of the Krasnoyarsk Territory was quoted as saying. "If these approaches are widely discussed and disseminated, then we can apply something in other territories, and perhaps even international financial institutions will begin to take into account the experience of Norilsk Nickel in their policies." Vasily Zakharov, Head of Regional Programs at Norilsk Nickel, also spoke about increasing the potential of indigenous peoples. According to him, learning and development in the field of indigenous peoples will help "many trainees become leaders among their peoples and accumulate, express their point of view and help people make decisions within the established procedures." Earlier, Grigory Dyukarev, Chairman of the Taimyr Indigenous Minorities Association, confirmed that Norilsk Nickel's work on interaction with indigenous peoples is being carried out promptly and in a timely manner. Including in terms of joint activities with the Research Institute of Agriculture and Ecology of the Arctic. The company is the general sponsor of the competition. The meeting was held at the site of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and the Far East of the Russian Federation. Best CBD Gummies In 2022: Top 5 CBD Online Stores To Buy Hemp Gummies For Sale Tired of facing everyday stressors? Cannabidiol might help you deal with negative emotions, especially when choosing the best CBD gummies on the market. Best CBD Oil For Dogs 2022: Top 5 CBD Stores To Celebrate The Fourth Of July With Your Pet For Anxiety Relief & Seizures Californias recently expired pandemic eviction ban didnt prevent nearly 36,000 households from being hit with eviction lawsuits last year. The data comes from the most recent annual report by the Judicial Branch of California and underscores the limits of state efforts to mute the pandemics effects on financially vulnerable residents. Renter advocates fear its also a preview of evictions to come after two years of upheaval in one of the countrys most expensive places to live. Whatever the court eviction numbers are, the real displacement is bigger, said Shanti Singh, communications and legislative director for statewide advocacy group Tenants Together. Were concerned about seeing a spike in homelessness. The report shows that 35,727 eviction lawsuits were filed in the states local superior courts from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, or what is considered the 2021 fiscal year. Those numbers dont include many tenants who left under threat of eviction, negotiated move-out deals or who still owe back rent from the pandemic groups that advocates warn are hard to track and still growing as emergency state renter protections expire. In the nine-county Bay Area, 3,966 eviction lawsuits were filed in the last fiscal year, about 11% of the statewide total. Most of those unlawful detainer lawsuits were brought in Santa Clara (866), Contra Costa (728) and San Francisco (688) counties. What happens next to tenants under threat of eviction is even more complicated. As of July 1, a remaining state eviction ban expired for nearly 86,000 tenants still awaiting answers to applications for an unprecedented $5 billion in state COVID-19 rent relief funds, according to one estimate by the National Equity Atlas. More tenant-friendly jurisdictions, including San Francisco and Alameda County, have opted for stronger local eviction measures, much to landlords frustration. For analysts like Sarah Treuhaft, who has spent the pandemic analyzing data on rent debt and census surveys of California households unable to pay rent some 738,000 as of May the most recent expired moratorium will lead to more uncertainty for those who have already done the work to apply for rent relief. People will still be waiting in line, and they will be exposed to eviction, said Treuhaft, vice president of research at Oakland renter advocacy group PolicyLink, during a news conference ahead of the June 30 deadline. While Californias approach to pandemic evictions continues to evolve, the 2021 data offers a window into the state of housing at the deadliest, most destabilizing peak of the COVID-19 era. Lockdowns that took effect in March 2020 sent unemployment claims soaring that summer, while hospitalizations and deaths from the virus were on an upward trajectory that reached unmatched highs by January 2021. With that backdrop in mind, Francisco Duenas, executive director of statewide tenants rights organization Housing Now, said he found the number of eviction lawsuits staggering. I cant help but think these are the families who we werent able to reach to let them know how to access the protections that they did have, Duenas wrote in an email. Statewide eviction protections that were cobbled together in real time from gubernatorial executive orders, state judicial decrees, public health orders and legislative action were supposed to buy time for residential tenants struggling to pay rent and other living costs as a result of pandemic economic quakes. The protections were extended multiple times, and finally expired after 27 months on July 1. The most recent extension came in March, when lawmakers agreed to extend the eviction moratorium for a fourth and final time. But the deal came with caveats that meant only those who managed to thread a complex web of state and local rent relief programs before March 31 qualified for the three-month eviction reprieve, and it also temporarily nullified stronger tenant protections in San Francisco, Berkeley and Los Angeles. In the meantime, the state says it has paid out more than $3.9 billion to nearly 340,000 households dealing with COVID-related rent debt. But the state has denied rent relief applications for nearly 158,000 California households, despite the vast majority being income-eligible, according to a recent analysis of rent relief data by the National Equity Atlas, Housing Now and the Western Center on Law & Poverty. The analysis of tenants denied rent relief funds didnt include information about the 25 cities and counties that ran their own local rent relief programs. And even now, renters in cities including San Francisco can still apply for local rent relief funds, even after state applications closed in March. Day to day, Singh of Tenants Together said, patchwork state and local programs leave renters in cities such as San Francisco with more rights to legal representation, and many people unsure about other protections. Previous state law changes, for example, permanently barred eviction for tenants who submitted declarations of financial distress from March through August 2020, or who paid at least 25% of debt owed from September 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. To cut through the confusion, Singh said. Dont leave your home until the sheriff comes. The 2021 eviction tally also marks a sixth straight year of decline in unlawful detainers, though its only a partial view; evictions are notoriously difficult to track because of privacy laws, piecemeal court data and the complex personal nature of housing disputes. Of the 4,292 eviction lawsuits disposed of in the nine-county Bay Area last year, 3,915 or 91% were resolved before a trial, with only a handful decided by the courts. Thats much higher than the states 55% rate of eviction lawsuits resolved before trial, which property owner advocates attribute to landlords seeking to avoid high trial costs and settlement agreements in high-priced parts of the Bay Area. In the meantime, evictions are on the rise in suburbs with fewer local tenant laws on the books. In Richmond, its still unclear what kind of fate awaits renters like Sulima Navarrete. The mother of three said her husband was laid off from a job installing office equipment early in the pandemic. Her family has yet to get a response to a state rent relief application filed last October, Navarrete said on a video conference convened last week by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. As tenant activists called for cities like hers to enact more local eviction protections, she leafed through a series of recent three-day notices to pay back rent or face eviction. No quiero terminar en la calle. Se apure, por favor, Navarrete said: I dont want to end up on the street. Please hurry. Lauren Hepler and Raheem Hosseini are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: lauren.hepler@sfchronicle.com, raheem.hosseini@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @lahepler, @raheemfh DeWayne Cox of Los Angeles spends 15 hours a week hooked up to an artificial kidney machine. During that time, Cox is strapped into a chair and cant move his arms not even to answer a phone call. For him, receiving dialysis treatment has been routine for the past 12 years. And for Californians, voting on measures to regulate the dialysis industry that Cox depends on has also become routine. Theyll do so once again in November. Cox is one of roughly 80,000 Californians undergoing dialysis. Most patients visit clinics for four-hour sessions three times a week. Missing even one session increases a patients risk of death by 30%. It will all be once again at stake under Proposition 29, a ballot measure that would enact various requirements on dialysis clinics. A nearly identical version of Prop. 29 appeared on the states 2020 ballot and failed. Voters also rejected Prop. 8, a related measure, in 2018. All three were filed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), an Oakland-based union that represents medical workers. The big-picture arguments remain the same as the last go-round: The measures proponents still say more needs to be done to ensure patient safety, while its opponents maintain that the measure is merely one unions effort to juice its membership. Like its predecessor, Prop. 29 is once again primarily funded by the SEIU-UHW, and the opposition is funded mainly by for-profit dialysis companies DaVita Inc. and Fresenius Medical Care, the two main industry players. But the California Medical Association and the National Hispanic Medical Association also oppose the measure. Prop. 29s main point of contention is its provision requiring an on-site doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant during treatment hours. The version of the measure that appeared before voters in 2020 similarly required a doctor on site Prop. 29 loosened that slightly by including other types of medical professionals to address opponents concerns about the states existing health care provider shortage, said SEIU-UHW research director David Miller. Prop. 29 also includes a new provision requiring that patients be informed if their physician has more than a 5% stake in a clinics ownership. Proponents say that adds an extra layer of transparency; if the measure passes, patients can seek care with the understanding that their physicians medical recommendations may be driven by financial considerations. Opponents contend placing an on-site obligation on Californias approximately 600 dialysis clinics would cause shutdowns. A 2021 report by the states nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office revealed that each clinic would have to shell out an additional several hundred thousand dollars annually to meet the requirement for an on-site medical professional should the measure pass. Dialysis patients are very vulnerable, and this measure jeopardizes patients access to care while needlessly scaring them, said Kelly Goss, advocacy director of Dialysis Patient Citizens. If SEIU-UHW really wants to help patients, they should focus on making dialysis more accessible instead of pursuing policies that will shut down clinics and whittle patients confidence. But in Cecilia Gomez-Gonzalezs experience, having an on-site doctor, nurse or physician assistant at all times is a necessity. The San Gabriel Valley native said she lost both her parents to dialysis complications after serving as their caretaker for 12 years. Many times, my daddy bled while receiving treatment, and I was there to catch it and do something to help immediately, Gomez-Gonzalez said. Technicians are always around, but they dont sit on top of each patient because they have so many. Gomez-Gonzalez said she even witnessed a patient death while at a dialysis clinic and believes having more on-site medical professionals would enhance patient safety. Per federal regulations, each dialysis center already has an assigned nephrologist a type of doctor who specializes in kidney treatment serving as the sites medical director. But medical directors are usually only present in person 25% of the time, Miller said. Opponents of the measure argue that having a physician on-site would be useless in emergency situations because clinics simply do not have the resources available to handle such crises, nurse Dahlia Ackerman said. The physician on-site would have a bureaucratic or an administrative duty, said Ackerman, who has been working in dialysis clinics for 20 years. The only thing that we, including a physician, can do in an emergency would be to call 911. Nephrologist Bryan Wong, who has been serving the Oakland community for nearly 30 years, agreed. Wong added that clinic shutdowns would especially affect marginalized community members particularly Black, Hispanic and Asian patients, who disproportionately represent those on dialysis. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Ackerman and Kathy Fairbanks, a spokesperson for the No on Prop. 29 campaign, are among those who allege that the measure is a unionization attempt masquerading as a patient-protection initiative. No on Prop. 29 is a coalition of patients, health care workers and business and taxpayer groups. It receives the majority of its funding from DaVita and Fresenius, according to its website. Ackerman said she recalls being approached by SEIU-UHW in parking lots and witnessing door-to-door efforts to get dialysis employees to unionize. If thats the way they want to go, thats fine those are grassroots efforts. However, using patients as pawns is unacceptable, Ackerman said. In 2020, supporters of Prop. 23, mainly SEIU-UHW, spent around $9.6 million on the measure. Opponents, led by for-profit dialysis companies and groups representing medical professionals, spent more than $105 million to combat it. Over 91% of the $105 million came from DaVita and Fresenius. The lack of resources SEIU-UHW put into the campaign shows that the propositions are merely underhanded unionization efforts, Fairbanks said. There are currently no unionized employees in California dialysis clinics, said SEIU-UHW senior communications specialist David Tokaji. Theyre floating these ballot measures, and I think their expectation for previous ones was that the dialysis providers would acquiesce. But that didnt happen, Fairbanks said. UHW is pursuing a top-down approach, targeting the providers and looking to them to force unionization onto their employees. Miller said Prop. 29 stems from SEIU-UHW just wanting to get more resources spent on patient care and figuring out ways to improve the patient experience inside dialysis clinics. There is nothing in the initiative that speaks to unionization, Tokaji said. We think this claim is an effort by the dialysis industry to dodge dealing with their well-documented patient safety issues. Camryn Pak is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: camryn.pak@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @camrynpak San Francisco plans to create a pilot program to have community workers instead of police respond to low-level emergency calls about homelessness a year after supervisors set aside $3 million for the initiative. But the program is still up to a year away from launching, officials said. Mary Ellen Carroll, director of the Department of Emergency Management, told The Chronicle that the funding set aside last year wasnt allocated to her department, which runs 911 and will oversee the program, until a new budget passed this year. The city will soon issue a request for proposals to have a nonprofit organization run the program, but it will take another eight to 12 months to start, Carroll said. The programs advocates welcomed progress but were frustrated at the timeline after lobbying for more than a year. Theres a million questions about how to make this work logistically, but theyre not insurmountable, and weve been in conversation for the last year, Carroll said. The Compassionate Alternative Response Team, or CART, would respond to diverted 911 and 311 calls, which are nonemergency requests for other city services, related to homelessness that are low priority and dont pose a danger such as a homeless person blocking the door of a business. The teams would be nonprofit workers, not city staff, with a goal to minimize the chance for situations to escalate into violence when police respond. The city estimates police spend $18.5 million a year responding to homelessness. CARTs goal is to handle all of the lowest-level C-Priority calls, which in 2019 amounted to 65,000. CARTs estimated annual budget is $6.8 million. Current funding would cover a six-month pilot program. Sara Shortt, director of policy and community organizing at nonprofit Community Housing Partnership and a member of the coalition pushing CART, said the program aims to cut response time for low-level calls and police workload. We might as well take it out of their hands for efficiency and cost-saving and allow them to do their real jobs, and allow them to have a community response that is more effective and compassionate, Shortt said. The new program will come to fruition as Mayor London Breed and other San Francisco leaders try to balance providing long-term solutions to the citys homelessness crisis and improving conditions on downtown streets struggling to recover from the pandemic. Theyre facing community pressure to invest in police as well as alternatives to addressing social issues. This year, Breed and supervisors agreed to hike the police budget to hire more officers as the department says it is understaffed. At the same time, the city is ramping up non-police teams responding to people in crisis on the streets. Breed did not support CART when supervisors unanimously passed a resolution in support last year, saying it would replicate the efforts of her existing street outreach teams. She also did not support non-city staff responding to emergency calls. Breeds spokesperson Parisa Safarzadeh said in an email Wednesday that over the past year, the city implemented a comprehensive plan that provides alternatives to replace law enforcement response. That includes teams responding to people in mental crisis or who need wellness checks, plus funding for a 911 crisis counselor program integrated into dispatch. The framework and concept for this new pilot program is not new for the city, but instead is a new component that will build on this ongoing behavioral health response work, Safarzadeh said. She said new teams could include medical professionals, clinicians and peers with firsthand experience. CARTs supporters said their program was unique because it would handle all calls related to homelessness. Workers trained in mental health and de-escalation could connect people to resources to help them off the street, although advocates acknowledged that resources such as housing are in short supply. The CART model is if unhoused folks need to move, instead of sending cops for them to move, you would have people from the community and homelessness talk to folks and hopefully they are able to expedite them into services, said Tyler Kyser, policy director with the Coalition on Homelessness. At the hearing Thursday on the subject, Carroll said CART will complement the work of other street response teams and allow the city to respond to low-level calls it currently doesn't have the capacity to field properly. She also said the team could help unhoused people get connected faster to any services they may need if the city has them to offer. "If we do not have services available and ready when a person is ready, then that's a problem, and we still have some struggles with that," she said. Disagreements about CARTs model have come up, said Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who is holding the hearing Thursday to push the program forward. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Some advocates said CART should have its own hotline for people who dont feel comfortable calling 911 for fear they will get a police response, while others said it was too complicated to recreate the system. Carroll said there are no plans for a separate hotline. Melgar said it was crucial to get the details right, especially training for 911 dispatchers. If, for example, a dispatcher accidentally sent a call about someone with a weapon or overdosing to CART, we run the risk of peoples lives being at risk and also liability on the citys part. But if done right, Melgar said she believed it could be a game changer. She said community members who work with people who are homeless have invaluable knowledge, cultural competence and trust that can get somebody to accept services that they wouldnt from somebody in uniform. At Thursdays hearing, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman expressed some reservations about CART. He said he supports alternatives to policing but did not want city leaders to see CART as a way to fully resolve the range of neighborhood health and safety concerns that can arise in connection with homeless encampments. "Having more people going out and offering some humanity to people who need humanity is not a thing that I would ever oppose," Mandelman said. "But what I get concerned about is when it starts sounding like CART is gonna be an excuse for the city to respond less or to continue to respond to things that are illegal in a less than adequate way." Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents the Tenderloin, said CART's arrival can't come soon enough."There's such damage being done by responding to non-police matters with police," he said. "The quicker we move away from that, the better." Staff writer J.D. Morris contributed to this report. Mallory Moench (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Update: Weather conditions aid firefight as containment more than doubles The Electra Fire southeast of Jackson in Amador County continued to burn on Wednesday, scorching 4,112 acres by late evening, according to Cal Fire. Firefighters had increased containment on the surging wildfire to 40%, with another 17% of the blaze controlled as of 7 p.m. The fire sparked Monday at Vox Beach and continued to swell by the end of Tuesday night, Cal Fire officials said. The confluence of favorable conditions, such as unseasonably cool temperatures and high humidities for this time of the year, have helped moderate the fire behavior, fire behavior analyst Brian Newman said during a Wednesday evening update. While temperatures may be a couple degrees warmer, and humidity will be a couple percent drier on Thursday, Newman said our winds are really slackening off to less than they were today, with just 6 or 7 mph-winds expected on Thursday. Mike Blankenheim, the unit chief for Cal Fires Amador-El Dorado Unit said the weather conditions has been in the firefighters favor compared to another fire that burned in the same general area in 2015, the Butte Fire, which scorched 70,868 acres, according to the fires Cal Fire Incident Page. It started very much in the same place as the fire in 2015, it crossed the river very much in the same place in 2015, and in the first few hours it was really shaping up like we were going to have a repeat of the disaster that we had in 2015, Blankenheim said. It was much cooler than it was in 2015. The humidities were way higher, and the fuel wasnt quite as dry as it was when we got to the one in 2015. Some of those conditions were in our favor. Fire officials said the percentage-controlled figure refers to the status of a wildfire suppression action signifying that there is no longer smoke activity or hotspots within the fire perimeter. Chris Vestal, public information officer for the Electra Fire operation, said late Tuesday that firefighters were pleased with the progress of the day but worried about upcoming weather. The weather is getting hotter, drier coming up the next couple of days, he told The Chronicle. Cal Fire noted in a report early Wednesday that the fire was actively burning the first half of the night with short upslope runs, but humidity in the early morning helped moderate fire activity. Residents in Amador County, located east of Sacramento, and in the Butte Mountain Road area were under mandatory evacuation orders, with evacuation orders and warnings extending as of Tuesday afternoon to encompass an area just east of Jackson stretching to an area west of Pine Grove. Cal Fire also issued evacuation orders for all residents within a 2-mile radius around Lake Tabeaud early Tuesday. Cal Fire updated evacuation orders Wednesday afternoon to allow residents who live along Clinton Road and Butte Mountain Road to return to their homes. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. reported it was able to restore power to about 4,000 customers Tuesday night. The utility on Wednesday continued to respond to about 8,000 additional customers with outages, a decrease from 15,000 early Tuesday morning, a spokeperson for the company said. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California As of Wednesday, one first responder had been injured, and more than 1,200 structures remained in danger as a result of the blaze, according to Cal Fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation. A spokesperson for PG&E said Tuesday that the utilitys equipment was determined not to have caused the fires ignition. Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman said that while the fires cause was not known, its origin in a beach area along the North Fork Mokelumne River could suggest fireworks or a barbecue played a role, the Associated Press reported. Staff writer Lauren Hernandez contributed to this report. Jordan Parker (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jordan.parker@ sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @jparkerwrites. A beer-theme water park is coming to Napa, the advertisements announced, with a rollercoaster made of reclaimed beer barrels, a 25,000-watt concert stage and a wave pool filled with 130,000 gallons of hazy IPA. But plans for the Voodoo Ranger IPA Action Park, whose website promises its coming soon to Napa, are not real, as far as county officials can tell. It may be an elaborate ad campaign by its parent company, Colorados New Belgium Brewing though the company, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment, still hasnt broken character. The mere idea of the park has inspired an earnest opposition movement, which organized a protest in downtown Napa last weekend. Marching from the Napa Farmers Market, protesters chanted voo-dont, voodoo while brandishing STOP THE BEER PARK signs. We believe its a publicity stunt, said David Morrison, Napa Countys planning commissioner, in an email. There has been no application filed with the County. Nor is there a record of New Belgium holding a liquor license in Napa, according to a search in the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Controls license database. Yet, absent confirmation from New Belgium, speculation about the parks legitimacy continues to run rampant in the community. On a Reddit thread, opinion is divided between skeptics who insist it must be a prank and those who take New Belgium at its word. One letter to the editor printed in the Napa Valley Register entertains the notion that Voodoo Ranger must be a bad joke, but still says that the ads are an assault upon the minds of folks who are just trying to read the newspaper. The sentiment in Napa seems to be: It cant be real right? Courtesy Jack Pala The outlandishness of a 136-acre water park with an attraction called the XTreme Brew Flume in Napa did not deter concerned citizens from jumping to action. Not in Napa, a group that has a website and a Facebook page, objects to Voodoo Ranger on the grounds that it will worsen traffic, damage the environment, present safety concerns and turn Napa into a spring-break destination. We do not want our area overrun with a theme park based on an IPA beer, Not in Napa organizers wrote in an email announcing their plans for Saturdays protest. The group believes the parks proposed location is near the intersection of Trancas Street and Silverado Trail, according to the email. When asked whether the group thought that the proposal might be a publicity stunt, protest organizers said they had considered the possibility. We thought that too but they keep promoting it, Tina OMalle wrote in an email. I attended a focus group and it seemed real to me, wrote Jack Pala, another organizer. I am not totally sure but I want to make sure, if it is real, that it does not come to Napa. Details about the focus group remain unclear, though the phone number on Voodoo Rangers website prompts a voice recording inviting listeners to participate in market research. Pala and OMalle did not respond to requests for a phone interview. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Protests around new attractions in Napa are nothing new; the county has a vocal contingent of residents who reliably oppose the construction of large new developments. Most of the time, those developments are wineries, vineyards or hotels, and even the most controversial ones look modest relative to the scope of Voodoo Ranger IPA Action Park. Last year, a neighborhood fought one Rutherford winerys petition to host as many as 44 tourists per day. The beer park, meanwhile, promises to summon 30,000 monthly visitors. Voodoo Ranger IPA is one of the popular beers produced by New Belgium Brewing Co., which was founded in Fort Collins, Colo. in 1991 and grew to become one of the largest craft breweries in the U.S. The brewery made a notable expansion into the Bay Area in 2017 when it purchased San Franciscos Magnolia Brewing out of bankruptcy. In 2019, New Belgium was acquired by Little Lion World Beverages, and last year it opened a large taproom in San Franciscos Mission Bay. Even if New Belgium does file an application for Voodoo Ranger IPA Action Park, chances of its approval would be slim, said Morrison, the planning commissioner. The proposal would not be consistent with the General Plan (and) would require a public vote under Measure P, Morrison said. And there has been no identified source for where the water would be coming from for an amusement park in the midst of a very serious drought. Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles senior wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley California kids will be allowed to go to school without face masks when classes resume in the fall. But public health officials still will recommend face coverings for students and staff in an effort to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks at K-12 schools. The states guidance, updated last week, allows a continuation of the mask-free classrooms that returned this spring. COVID-19 is here to stay, but we have learned methods and gained tools to decrease its impact on our health and well-being, the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. Californias schools can manage this disease in sustainable and adaptive manners. As part of its mitigation strategies, the state strongly recommends that individuals stay up-to-date on vaccinations, that schools optimize indoor air quality and rely on rapid antigen tests over PCR tests to detect infections. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Due to the increased travel and social interactions that often occurs during school breaks, it is recommended that students and staff get tested for COVID-19 prior to returning to school following major break, the guidance states. If a student or administrator tests positive for the virus, they should stay home for at least five days and wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days. California stopped requiring masks in K-12 schools March 12, leaving it up to counties and school districts to keep or ditch the pandemic mandate. All Bay Area school districts eventually adopted the state guidance while strongly recommending students and staff continue to wear masks. After rising steadily after the mandate was lifted and community restrictions eased, childrens coronavirus cases in the U.S. started falling in mid-May when schools closed for the summer, according to data published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Childrens Hospital Association. Public health has essentially said, Youre on your own, you do what you want, said John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert with UC Berkeley. I do think that ship has sailed in terms of mandates. Unless we have another new variant thats driving up hospitalizations, its not going to come back. Infectious disease experts have cautioned that newer coronavirus variants could drive another surge in the fall. The highly infectious and immune-evasive BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages of omicron made up about 70% of the coronavirus variants sequenced in the Northern California region last week, according to data published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Californias coronavirus test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of tests coming back positive, grew to 14.8% on Friday. Thirty-eight of Californias 58 counties including those in the Bay Area are classified as having high infection levels under the CDCs classifications, triggering a CDC recommendation for indoor masking and other safety precautions. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Im just worried about the fall, mainly for disruptions, said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert with UCSF. Not enough parents are going to have their kids vaccinated. Vaccination also will not be required for California students for the 2022-2023 school year, but since August 2021, teachers and school employees have been required to get their shots or test weekly for the virus. In April, state officials announced that they will delay the implementation of Gov. Gavin Newsoms coronavirus vaccination requirement for school kids until at least July 1, 2023, pointing to the lack thus far of Food and Drug Administration full approval of the vaccine for children of younger ages. Aidin Vaziri (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com On Monday, police say another discontented young man took a legally obtained automatic rifle, killed seven people and injured more than 30 near Chicago. Ten mass shootings occurred Monday in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive. Tribalism has long been a feature of American society, but now, its in the open. This mindset says Im special. Youre not. I matter. You dont. I have a grievance. Once that mindset invades the psyche, its nearly impossible to dislodge it. Everything becomes filtered through it. This mentality says: The white race or Christianity is in danger. Violence is necessary. It says: I am a right-to-life Christian. I speak for God. You dont. This allows them to use the fetus as a shield to justify every political goal that harms our countrys collective life. It says: 1 million-plus people dead from COVID dont matter. You cant tell me what to do. It says: I can own as many guns of whatever type as I like and that imaginary right supersedes your right to be alive. Religion, freedom, and ironically, the Second Amendment, have been weaponized. Ben Janken, Oakland State needs CEQA law Regarding How unions are hijacking CEQA law (Insight, July 3): The Chronicles decision to give this opinion piece a prominent position is distressing. The attorney-author assails the California Environmental Quality Act in behalf of his real estate developer clientele. Using bellicose language, Robert Selna asserts that CEQA discourages housing development. Yet studies, including one written by Berkeley Law and another commissioned by the Rose Foundation, have discredited this. The purpose of CEQA is not to stop projects, but to disclose and mitigate environmental impacts. Last week, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling undercutting the federal governments ability to address climate change. This ruling shows the need for state action. Now is not the time to weaken Californias foremost environmental law. Deborah Carmichael, Mill Valley Redo the Constitution Regarding EPA rule a blow to Constitution and Jack Ohmans cartoon depicting Donald Trump throwing ketchup at a copy of the Constitution hanging on a wall (Opinion, July 5): Tuesdays Opinion page presented an opportunity to recognize a truth that few of us will acknowledge. We need a new Constitution. In truth, Trumps attitude, though tactically unappealing, actually reflects the appropriate response to a document, which has long since become a hamstring on jurisprudence and civil society. The 235-year-old Constitution has very little application to modern life. It is, after all, a slave supporting document that completely ignores the existence of woman and children. It is woefully inadequate to anchor decision making on issues of this day, including on womens reproductive rights and gun regulations. With a modernized legal framework (constitutional or otherwise), we would no longer have minority votes determining victors. John Stedman, San Francisco Dont censor Dilbert Regarding Get rid of Dilbert (Letters to the Editor, July 3) Removing Dilbert from The Chronicle because it promotes values which are inconsistent with San Francisco is akin to book burning. A reader may not agree with Scott Adams but that is no reason for censorship. Adams is a skilled cartoonist and his ability to produce daily an insightful strip is to be admired. San Francisco politics are in a state of flux. The last two citywide elections resulted in the recall of four controversial officials. But who actually voted in these elections, and how did the electorate differ from prior elections? According to a Chronicle analysis of voter registration data, the S.F. electorate in the last three citywide elections varied slightly in terms of voter age, language preference and registered party. For instance, voters who are older and whose primary language is Chinese were more likely to cast ballots in the Feb. 2022 school board recall than in the other two elections. The Chronicle obtained voter registration data on nearly 500,000 active S.F. voters. The data set, provided by the S.F. Department of Elections, includes information on each persons age, language preference, registered party and whether or not they voted in the last three citywide elections the June 2022 primary, February 2022 school board recall and September 2021 Newsom recall. To account for changes in voter population between elections, we analyzed only data on the nearly 477,000 voters who registered before the September election. Nearly 3 in 10 registered voters (29%) cast ballots in all three elections, while a similar percentage (27%) did not vote in any of the three. Two in 10 voted in two elections, and almost a quarter did so in just one. Most voters who participated in just one election voted in the Newsom recall. For 20% of all voters, the September election was the only one (out of the three) in which they voted. The same was true for 3% of voters for the June primary and just 1% for the February election. This trend follows the differences in overall turnout 68% participated in the Newsom race, compared with 46% in June and 36% in February. Across the three elections, older San Franciscans were much more likely to vote than their younger counterparts, and turnout was consistently the lowest in the youngest age group, those 18 to 29. The data also shows that lower-turnout elections tend to have larger differences in rates between older and younger voters. In the Newsom recall, for instance, over 70% of voters in the two older groups cast ballots, compared with about two-thirds of those 30 to 49 and 52% of those 18 to 29. Still, when we look at the composition of age groups within an electorate, we actually see a higher share of 18-to-29-year-olds in the September electorate than in the other two: Those 18 to 29 made up 14% of all voters in September, compared with 10% and 9% in the February and June elections, respectively. The data set also includes information on each voters language preference for election materials, which include ballots and voter information pamphlets. English is the default, but voters can opt to receive materials in another language during registration or change their language preference after the fact. In S.F., more than 90% of voters receive English-language materials. The next most common language is Chinese (including Mandarin and Cantonese), at 6%. Fewer than 2% of voters receive Spanish-language materials. Voter participation in the February recall was highest among those receiving Chinese-language materials, at 46%, compared with 35% of those with English materials. One reason for the uptick in Chinese turnout could be the ability for noncitizens to vote in school board elections. For the February election, the Chinese/Asian Pacific Islander Voter Outreach Task Force registered hundreds of mostly monolingual Chinese voters, many of whom were first-time noncitizen voters. This relatively large Chinese-language turnout in February resulted in a shift of 2 to 3 percentage points in its voter composition. While those receiving Chinese-language materials made up 5% to 6% of all voters in the June and September elections, they comprised 8% of the school board recall electorate. Meanwhile, the share of voters requesting English materials was two percentage points lower in February than in other elections. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. While a difference of two points is not enough to change election results, other data points to the crucial role Chinese speakers and other Asian Americans played in the run-up to the election about one-third of the 80,000 signatures collected to trigger the recall came from Asian Americans. Still, Asians and Pacific Islanders make up about a third of S.F. residents, while each school board member was recalled by almost 70% of voters; therefore, many more San Franciscans, of other ethnicities, cast pro-recall ballots as well. Turnout by registered party also differs slightly by election. Registered Republicans, who make up 7% of registered voters, had higher turnout in the February and June elections by 1 to 2 percentage points compared with registered Democrats. In the September recall, however, turnout among Democrats was seven points higher than among Republicans. Nami Sumida (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle data visualization developer. Email: nami.sumida@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @namisumida Sign up now to get news and more delivered daily to your inbox from the San Francisco Examiner: Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. News LEGISLATION S.F. voters may weigh in on behested payments again Examiner Illustration Supervisor Aaron Peskin and Mayor London Breed are facing off over key elements of Proposition E, the "behested payments" ordinance. Less than six months after approving Proposition E, the "behested payments" ordinance designed to limit opportunities for government corruption, San Francisco voters could see a November ballot measure asking them to walk back some of the ethics reforms they just approved. Despite winning the approval of nearly 70% of voters, the behested payments ordinance has become a major source of angst at City Hall, as department heads, accustomed to working closely with nonprofits and philanthropists, scramble to comply with the new regulations. The ordinance, which was based on recommendations made by the Ethics Commission in the wake of the Mohammed Nuru scandal, created broad new rules prohibiting city officials from soliciting donations to their own departments or to nonprofits from individuals, organizations or companies that have business with that official or department. While behested payments have been a source of corruption, as in Nuru's case, they've also been a key source of funding for initiatives like new park construction and homelessness services. Much of the philanthropic and foundation support The City receives exists in a legal gray area under the current ordinance, leading to a consensus at City Hall that the law needs to be clarified. However, city officials disagree about the extent of the changes necessary. Mayor London Breed believes key elements of the law need to be struck down in order to sustain public-private partnerships and keep philanthropic money flowing into essential programs. Supervisor Aaron Peskin, the law's original champion, concedes minor changes are necessary but fears Breed's proposed amendments would allow corruption to continue to flourish. The two leaders are currently attempting to hammer out compromise legislation the outcome both sides say they prefer. But if they fail to do so, Breed already has filed paperwork to put her amendments before voters in November. Im disappointed, if not disturbed, that the mayor would propose running straight to the voters asking them to go back to the bad old ways right after they made their voices heard in the opposite direction, Peskin said. What she's proposing would not stamp out quid pro quo corruption. Breeds spokesperson, Parisa Safarzadeh, wrote in a statement that the behested payments ordinance is well intentioned but has created unintended consequences for the Citys partnerships with charitable foundations and community groups. Breeds amendments are necessary for the continuation of programs like the cabin communities for the homeless funded by the nonprofit Tipping Point Communities, or the Give2SF program that raised millions for a variety of essential services during the depths of the pandemic, Safarzadeh wrote. The debate, which has been simmering for months, has come to a head in recent weeks. The behested payments ordinance first went into effect in January, following unanimous approval by the Board of Supervisors. Peskin then brought the ordinance to voters so it would be harder to change in the future, resulting in Proposition E. Why I went before the voters was precisely to make it difficult for the mayor, who has never liked this law, to change it, Peskin said. In the past, behested payments have helped Breed advance her policy goals: In December 2020, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia gave $2.5 million to homelessness nonprofits in San Francisco at the behest of Breed, according to Ethics disclosures previously reported on by The Examiner. But since the ordinance has gone into effect, department heads, nonprofit leaders and others have raised concerns that the new rules create unsustainable layers of legal review that could put philanthropically funded programs in jeopardy. On May 16, Breed sent a letter to city department heads asking them to pause work on all philanthropic funding initiatives until theyve been vetted by the City Attorney. In her letter, Breed also reminded city staff that they can be found personally liable for violations to the ordinance with fines of up to $5,000 per violation. Later that week, on May 20, Maria Su, director of the Department of Children Youth and Family (DCYF) sent a memo to staff and partner organizations stating the behested payments ordinance prevented the department from accepting $25 million in philanthropic donations to fund youth summer programs. Four days later, the office of City Attorney David Chiu released a memo finding the donations in question were still allowed under the behested payments ordinance. Nonetheless, the memo had already sparked a mini panic across city government and the nonprofit sector, Mission Local reported at the time. Since then, even more ink has been spilled expressing concern over the ordinance. In response to the DCYF memo, a consortium of children and youth nonprofits known as the Service Providers Working Group reached out to city officials for clarity on the law. Breed also wrote to the city attorney and ethics commission requesting advice on 48 hypothetical scenarios, based on conversations with department heads, that could violate the law, saying, the need for guidance is urgent. The city attorney responded with answers to 19 of Breeds scenarios, adding that the rest would require more context. Peskin called the DCYF memo a made-up fire drill, since Su, the department head, should have waited for the city attorneys determination before airing her specious claim. As for the issues raised by nonprofits, Peskin said, I think that the concerns that they have will be addressed entirely by the amendments that we introduced. But according to Supervisor Myrna Melgar, a former nonprofit head, the DCYF memo highlighted deeper challenges of complying with the law. It creates a lot of burden on both the department staff and the folks who are receiving income the nonprofits because it takes a lot of resources to do the investigation, Melgar said. It should not take a group of five lawyers working all weekend to opine on every single one of these gifts. Melgar now believes the Board of Supervisors moved too hastily on these laws, and regrets voting for the original behested payments ordinance. I'm not going to make any excuses for us, she said. I think some of us knew that this was problematic. Peskins behested payments reforms will need to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Board of Supervisors and the Ethics Commission. The legislation would explicitly clarify that city officials can solicit donations from individuals or groups seeking minor permits from a department like a picnic table at Golden Gate Park, for instance. It also creates a provision for developers to work with city departments to negotiate community benefits agreements for new construction projects. Breeds changes to the behested payments ordinance were introduced as both legislation for the Board of Supervisors and a November ballot measure that could be pulled if she and the board come to an agreement. Breeds legislation would include provisions similar to Peskins, while adding others. Breeds legislation would only kick in for donations greater than $1,000. It would remove the attempt to influence prong from the ordinance, which bars officials from soliciting donations from any group or individual, including nonprofits, who have communicated with their department regarding legislative or administrative actions. Breeds changes would allow government officials to solicit donations from nonprofits with memoranda of understanding with The City, allowing for coordination between agencies like Rec and Park and nonprofits like the Parks Alliance. Finally, it would allow city officials to solicit donations directly to city departments. The ordinance would leave in place the Board of Supervisors oversight over direct payments to city departments. It would also leave in place bans against soliciting donations from registered lobbyists or city contractors. City law should prohibit pay-to-play, but should not inhibit the robust exchange of policy ideas between the public and the City, or the joint work of public-private partnerships to fund and implement these ideas, the ballot measure reads. The November ballot must be finalized by Aug. 5, so the two parties have until then to reach an agreement. Peskin is hopeful he and Breed can come to a consensus like the one they found around police surveillance in the spring when they dropped dueling ballot measures in favor of a legislative compromise. We'll see whether or not we have a fight at the ballot," Peskin said, "or whether we're able to do the jobs that we were hired for and get it done through the legislative process. A viaduct over the San Joaquin River for the California High-Speed Rail project. Outside advisers have lacked the resources and the mission to intensively delve into the day-to-day work of the project. A San Francisco short-term rental tech startup that branded itself as a competitor to Airbnb has abruptly shut down with barely a trace. WanderJaunt, headquartered in SoMa, no longer has an active website or Facebook page, nor does it have any active listings on partner websites. The last few tidbits of available information come from a hard-to-find help subdomain, a Medium page and a phone number. Its help page says, WanderJaunt is permanently closing its doors on June 30th 2022. And as first reported by Skift, a phone call to the companys help line specifies the cause behind the companys shutdown. With sadness, we must announce that due to the current economic situation, WanderJaunt will be closing its doors, the automated message says. The company ceased operations June 28, according to the company's voicemail message. Anyone with a scheduled stay will receive a refund, the message says, but in an ominous caveat, says that anyone experiencing issues with getting a refund should contact their bank or Airbnb if the property was booked through Airbnb. WanderJaunts model differed from Airbnb in that it offered the broadest selection of homes while ensuring a consistent end user experience meaning that it furnished and decorated all of its properties itself. Unlike Airbnb, the company also posted its properties on third-party hotel booking services such as Booking.com and Expedia. The company raised $15 million in Series B funding just months before the pandemic, which upended its business and forced layoffs for a third of its staff in April 2020, reported the New York Times at the time. According to Crunchbase, the company also received funding from a Brazilian venture capital firm in 2021 though the amount is unclear. WanderJaunts shuttering is just another symptom of the tech industrys big-time crunch, with investors reticent to put money into fledgling startups, large companies pausing hiring or laying off workers outright and the cryptocurrency industry collapsing. Editor's note: This article was updated on 8 p.m. on July 7 to clarify information on WanderJaunt's office address. David Akers / 500px/Getty Images/500px A California swimmer is in critical condition after being run over by a boat in Tomales Bay, a narrow inlet in Marin County, on July 4, officials said. First responders arrived at the scene of the incident at 3:30 p.m. and administered CPR to the man, the California Highway Patrol's Golden Gate Division Air Operations said in a news update on Facebook. Firefighters "successfully regained pulses" on the swimmer and he was taken by helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he was treated by a trauma team, CHP said. The boat's operator brought the injured swimmer back to shore, said Bret McTigue, a spokesperson for the Marin County Fire Department. NEW YORK (AP) Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Wednesday: Resolute Forest Products Inc., up $7.87 to $20.36. Paper Excellence Group is buying the maker of paper and wood products. Kornit Digital Ltd., down $8.10 to $23.46. The industrial and commercial printing company gave investors a disappointing revenue update for the second quarter. DoorDash Inc., down $5.54 to $69.36. Amazon announced a membership deal with Grubhub, a rival delivery service. Hess Corp., down $2.64 to $95.55. The energy company slipped along with falling crude oil prices. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. up 12 cents to $27.38. The copper mining company rose along with prices for the metal. Clorox Co., up $1.91 to $146.66. The bleach maker gained ground as investors shifted money into safe-play sectors, including household goods companies. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., down $1.19 to $11.27. Cruise lines slumped as investors remain concerned about the industry's recovery amid slowing economic growth. Broadcom Inc., up $6.31 to $482.61. The chipmaker's buyout of VMware is set to move forward as there are reportedly no rival bidders. When hiking through Russ Park, a 105-acre nature preserve about 250 miles north of San Francisco in the historic town of Ferndale, people tend to look up. The scenic trails bring visitors through a closed canopy forest featuring mature Sitka spruce and glorious stands of grand fir. This is the southernmost stretch of temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest, and it features more than 60 bird species and staggering views over the Eel River Valley. As I started out on the main trail, though, I happened to be looking down, and almost immediately I noticed something I had never seen before: a tiny banana slug. Ashley Harrell Now, in all the years Ive hiked in California, Ive seen hundreds if not thousands of banana slugs. Ive noticed them crossing footpaths, clinging to the trunks of redwoods and dangling from shrubs. Theyve flaunted a wide array of colors: yellows, greens, browns and occasionally even some spots. All of the slugs had one thing in common, though: they were huge. The Pacific banana slug is the second largest terrestrial slug in the world only the black keelback slug in Europe is bigger and as many Californians know, a banana slug can get to be as thick as a sausage and as long as a standard envelope. So this tiny slug on the trail was quite a surprise. I snapped a photo of it next to my hand, noting that it was about as long as the top part of my thumb. It was hanging out near some leaf litter, its glistening yellow skin standing out against the greenery. Have you ever seen a tiny banana slug? I yelled to my hiking partner, who had continued ahead. No, he yelled back. But theres actually another one here. Ashley Harrell That slug was a bit longer than the last, but much skinnier, maybe the size of a green bean. As the hike went on, we saw another diminutive slug. Then another. Then another. Mini banana slugs were basically everywhere, and they were an absolute delight to behold. I had so many questions about them. Were they babies, or just small slugs? Why was this the first time I had ever seen them? Where else might I be able to see them? For the answers, I called up Janet Leonard, a research associate with UC Santa Cruz who studies banana slugs. Shes the same expert I called back in September of 2020 to find out whether banana slugs could have survived the fire in Big Basin State Park (the answer is yes, and the reasons are fascinating), and she was happy to explain what she refers to as the little guys. Well, those are babies, she began. Normally we wouldnt be seeing tiny slugs in the late spring or early summer, but after the long dry spell this winter and then some late rain, its possible that the slugs in Russ Park were from late clutches, she said. Ashley Harrell I'm really happy about that, she said, because we haven't been having our normal rain pattern, and this tells me that the slugs are able to take advantage of late rains to reproduce. Leonard has studied banana slug reproduction extensively, and even gives lectures with titles like, "Sex and Banana Slugs: Little-Known Facts About a Charismatic Animal." Where babies come from when it comes to banana slugs is particularly intriguing. Known as simultaneous hermaphrodites, all banana slugs are both male and female, and they can mate with each other or occasionally fertilize themselves. When wetter weather sets in, the slugs lay eggs in clutches that can vary in number. In the lab, Leonard has seen clutches as small as one egg and as large as 100. When the tiny slugs hatch, theyre about a half-inch long, she says, and vulnerable to birds and other predators. As slugs get older and bigger they develop a very thick, sticky, unpleasant mucus, and most things will avoid them at that point, just because they're really hard to chew and swallow, she says. Ashley Harrell Baby slugs are less conspicuous because of their smaller size, Leonard says, which could explain why Russ Park was the first place I encountered them. Although I saw the babies several weeks ago, they still may be out and about, Leonard said. In addition to Russ Park, a reliable place for spotting baby slugs is Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz mountains overlooking Half Moon Bay, she said. As the weather gets dry and fire season rolls around, though, the slugs burrow up to 9 feet underground and do a thing called estivating. Its sort of like hibernating in that the slug becomes inactive to conserve energy during hotter, drier weather. Since their bodies are largely made up of water, banana slugs secrete a layer of mucus while underground that covers them and prevents them from dehydrating. Ashley Harrell When the baby slugs I saw emerge from estivating in the fall, they likely wont be ready to reproduce, Leonard said, as they need at least 10 months to grow into adulthood. If there has been more rain this winter, she said, the baby slugs would have hatched earlier, and under good growing conditions they might have been able to mate and lay eggs before the end of the year. Still, shes encouraged to know that they seem to be adapting to new weather patterns. Im glad there are baby slugs out there, she said. Its a promising sign. Multiple decks caught on fire, a firework exploded in someone's face, and a grass fire burned across Twin Peaks. The San Francisco Fire Department was busy on the Fourth of July, responding to 827 calls, with about half likely the result of illegal fireworks, from 8 a.m. July 4 to 8 a.m. July 5, officials said. "On a normal day, were running 450 calls in a 24-hour period," said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesperson for the department. "The increase in calls was over 400, and most of those were attributed to fireworks." There were a total of 398 fire-related calls that required the department's attention, and Baxter said nearly all of those were associated with fireworks. There were 247 fire calls, 67 outside fires and 82 wildland fires, the department posted on Twitter. In one instance, fireworks sparked a two-acre blaze on Twin Peaks that flooded the southern part of the city with smoke. The fire department issued a warning on Monday evening, advising residents of Twin Peaks to close windows and doors to keep out the smoke. "Some of these [illegal] almost professional-grade fireworks were exploding 50 feet off ground level, and thats where we saw things like grass fires starting," Baxter said. "Decks caught on fire." SFFD Baxter said six people went to San Francisco General due to fireworks-related injuries and "that was only one hospital." In one incident, a firework exploded in someone's hand, causing trauma; and in another, a firework went off in someone's face, causing injury. While these injuries were unfortunate, Baxter said it could have been worse. "Fireworks users were lucky this year," he said. "We didnt see significant property damage or significant fatalities, but that doesnt mean were not going to see those things next time. It is important to understand that they are illegal for a reason; they can cause hundreds and thousands of dollars in property damage. They cause injuries and death. We were lucky that yesterday we didnt see any extensive damage and any deaths." Fireworks are illegal in San Francisco, and only public displays with consent from both the fire marshal and the chief of police are allowed. Possession of fireworks can lead to arrest or a citation. The San Francisco Police Department said on Tuesday that it is still processing stats related to the holiday weekend and couldn't provide information on the number of fines issued. Baxter said illegal fireworks use in San Francisco this year was on par with that of 2021, 2020 and 2019, and not as bad as what unfolded in 2018. Before July 4, 2019, the fire department teamed up with police on an education campaign, and Baxter said that use has decreased since then, but is still prevalent. "I was told by a resident in the Bayview that the entire block put forth $10,000 to buy fireworks, and thats just one block," he said. In addition to all the firework-related calls, the fire department responded to a bay rescue, a cliff rescue, 29 behavioral emergency calls, 49 alarms, 263 medical calls, 68 odor of smoke and 16 miscellaneous calls, the department said. In the Mission District, 12 police officers were injured when members of a large, hostile crowd lobbed fireworks and glass bottles at them after they showed up at 24th and Harrison about 12:30 a.m., the San Francisco Police Department wrote on Twitter. Ever since Oprah dispatched anti-vaccine icon Jenny McCarthy to San Luis Obispo in 2011 and crowned it as the "America's happiest town," the city has done everything in its power to continue to put a live, laugh, love shine on its sun-drenched coastal hillsides and approachable downtown. Low crime, affordable(ish) housing, miles of trails, an accessible, walkable downtown and a world-class university are among the appeals of the coastal enclave (population 47,000) in the middle of the state. SLO may soon have something new to add to that list: an expansive new police station with a jaw-dropping price tag. Last November, SLO city employees, on behalf of the police department, presented plans for a $52 million, 37,768-square-foot facility on its current property, which would house about 60 officers and 29 civilian staff. And while there are other current police station projects in the state in the $50 million and above stratosphere, similar amounts are usually reserved for much larger cities or towns with much bigger tax bases. SLO residents are not buying police rebrand The proposed structure is a glass and concrete behemoth, one whose scope and scale is incongruous with the small-building footprint of the town (SLO follows strict height and zoning guidelines). It would more than double the current size of the single-story 16,388-square-foot Spanish-themed structure, built in 1969 on the edge of downtown. The building would include the police station and an emergency operations center, as well as a community meet-up space. Some residents and city councilmembers, including the mayor, believe that the community space is a way for police in the region to rebrand their headquarters as a public safety center, which makes them balk. There was a couple things they brought to us we were not expecting, SLO Mayor Erica A. Stewart told SFGATE. For most of us not all a community center doesnt go well with the police. Black and brown communities are more incarcerated than others, and [people of color] wouldnt feel comfortable chilling in the same location [as a police headquarters]. Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag I dont think theyre designing based on budget, based on need, she said. The Cadillac was brought to us, and we requested a more appropriate-level spend. Stewart was quick to assert that the city councils project approval last November was not a rubber stamp of the designs as presented, but an OK to use funds already earmarked toward building or improving a police station in general. Approved in a sense that we need to have a new station, she said, noting the next round of design should come back to the city council for review in early 2023. Because right now, theyre in an older police station and have a rented house next door for overflow. The floors falling through and theres some definite things we have to replace. So we said, OK, take this back to the designer take it back with the understanding that this design came when police reform laws hadnt been signed off yet, and what are the changes that need to be made in the station in that direction. Others dont think SLO needs a new station at all. The current structure is congruous with the downtown architecture and stitched into its landscape. More importantly, its salvageable. And retrofits which would carry a much smaller price tag of $18 million, according to one project consultant are an option. Residents at the Nov. 2, 2021, meeting, including some of the 151 signees of a petition opposing the new building, spoke out. Seismic retrofitting and ADA compliance are reasonable to allocate funds to, said Courtney Haile, executive director of R.A.C.E. Matters SLO, a nonprofit with a mission to amplify Black voices in San Luis Obispo, the New Times SLO reported. City slowly shifting toward new de-escalation model Stewart pointed out that the city is shifting toward a different model altogether, which narrows the scope of policing. That means more social workers doing social work, EMTs doing EMT work, and police doing police work. She referenced Denvers Support Team Assisted Response program, which dispatches social workers and paramedics to nonviolent calls. The program, still in its infancy, has thus far been touted as a success and a model for cities like San Luis Obispo to follow, Stewart said. Were actually doing the same thing, she said. A couple weeks ago we were able to roll out a mobile crisis unit: an EMT and a social worker. And what weve seen, weve already made a big step to take police officers out of situations where others can provide better help. Photo By Andrew Pridgen For instance, Stewart pointed out that if a person is experiencing an insulin shortage, that can smell like alcohol. Similarly, there are some prescribed medicines that smell like alcohol or make a person act like theyre otherwise under the influence. Having that EMT with that knowledge helps tremendously, she said. Already, in these first couple weeks, weve seen that change. And our new police chief is very much into understanding we need to make the change. The new police chief is Rick Scott. He started in May 2021, 11 months after SLO police faced public backlash for using tear gas during peaceful Black Lives Matter protests. SLO cops say theyre changing, but actions say otherwise Scott, a Texan who arrived in SLO from his post as assistant chief in North Richland Hills, a Dallas suburb, said at the time of his hiring the police department would try to meet the citys goals of a more enlightened police force. The framework is already there, he told KEYT. We have a highly engaged community. Theres lots of traction for our diversity, equity and inclusion task force. The future is very exciting knowing theyre going to be in our corner helping us find these avenues to reach all parts of our community. Photo By Andrew Pridgen And yet, actions taken thus far in Scotts tenure signal more for cops, less for everyone else. With an uptick in budget allocation, the SLO Police Department now takes up about 20% of the citys budget. In addition to the supersized new building, the police department was also approved for a last-minute grab for more surplus military equipment, including military-grade vehicles, weapons, munitions and armor before Assembly Bill 481 went into effect on May 1. (The bill restricts police departments from these kinds of purchases.) At that time, SLO residents spoke out to the city council about the 11th hour move to get weapons of war folded in by SLOPD. I like to start with this, why? asked SLO resident Ethan Gutterman, KSBY reported. The officers explained what the program is, but they didnt explain anything beyond protecting the community or ensuring public safety. No statistics, no facts were provided for you all today as to why this should be adopted. Cal Poly student Owen Lavine who told the city council he was involved in the George Floyd protests in LA and was tear-gassed there was not happy with the decision to keep the SLOPD similarly armed. It just seems excessive and unnecessary and it seems like the police are attempting to fight this war against the civilian population which is not a way we should go about things, he said during public comment, prior to the decision. I mean, just as in LA, they used tear gas on the protesters here in San Luis Obispo and nine [times] out of 10, that stuff will be used on the civilian population, and Im not willing to make that trade, Lavine added. As people relocate to SLO from bigger metros, views on police change, too SLOPD cites the uptick in crime, both nonviolent and violent, as a need for increased police resources. In 2020, the San Luis Obispo County homicide rate reached its highest level since 2003 with seven homicides, up from five the previous year (that number does not count an additional three individuals who were shot and killed by San Luis Obispo County law enforcement). Mayor Stewart says residents responses to increased police resources are evolving due at least in part to a continued shift in the towns demographic. You have someone who moves here from SF, LA, Oakland and their perception of police, in general and not just in the context of a giant station, is different, she said. I went to New York recently and I was walking with a friend who saw there was a massive amount of police gathered. And she said, Oh my god, I feel so safe. Im a very light-skinned Black person, and as someone next to her with darker skin I thought, Ahh. Huh I dont feel so safe. Safety is a loaded word, Stewart concluded. Community members dont necessarily feel safe because of police history and police as a historical concept not just our police department. NEW YORK (AP) To a large degree, modern blockbuster moviemaking has depended on the appeasement of fans to keep franchise juggernauts smoothly humming. But in making Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi had no interest in that. He approached the film from the opposite direction. What would actually make fans angry? I wanted to show him in a light that most Thor fans wouldnt really want if you were to tell them, Waititi says. If you were to say them: Yeah, Im going to make Thor in love, its probably the last thing that a Thor fan really wants to hear. Thor: Love and Thunder, which opens Thursday, is Marvels fourth Thor movie and Waititis second after the 2017 smash success Thor Ragnarok. That film, a hit with fans and critics, reinvented Chris Hemsworths god of thunder and introduced a looser, idiosyncratic tone to Marvels most monolithic hero. But if Ragnarok was Waititis version of a Marvel movie, Love and Thunder might simply be a Taika Waititi movie, without equivocation. Of the 29 films thus far in the Marvel cinematic universe, none may be so distinctively the work of its filmmaker. In Love and Thunder there are things that usually never enter the MCU, like kids and cancer. Its scruffy, unruly and surprisingly human-scaled. Manly valor is mostly a joke. Thor isnt even really Thor. His hammer, Mjolnir, has transformed Natalie Portman's Jane into the Mighty Thor. By the time Waititi gets finished with him, Thors biggest battle is convincing a child to wear proper footwear before leaving home. For me, its good to give the fans something they dont know that they want, Waititi said in a recent interview by video conference from Los Angeles. With Ragnarok especially, when I signed on, a lot of fans were freaked out by that. They were like, Who is this guy? Hes going to take our precious Thor and ruin it. And I was like, Yeah. Exactly. Thats exactly my intention. And Im going to make it better, you just dont know it yet." When Waititi was handed the reins of Ragnarok, the 46-year-old New Zealand filmmaker was a less familiar figure to most Marvel fans and the first Indigenous director to helm a major superhero movie. It was a massive leap in scale for Waititi, who after spending years painting in his late 20s turned to making comic independent films ("Boy," Hunt for the Wilderpeople) with deadpan absurdity and freewheeling tonal shifts. But since Ragnarok, Waititi has emerged as a Hollywood dynamo, in front of the camera and behind it, juggling several armfuls of big studio franchises and more offbeat projects. His Jojo Rabbit, a childs view of Nazi Germany in which Waititi played an imaginary Hitler, received six Oscar nominations in 2020. (Waititi won for adapted screenplay). He has another film for Searchlight Pictures, Next Goal Wins, upcoming, as well as two Willy Wonka series for Netflix, a Flash Gordon film for Disneys 20th Century Studios, a Time Bandits series for Apple TV+ and a Star Wars movie he expects to soon write. Hollywood has pushed just about whatever intellectual property it can find at Waititi, eager for him to dismantle it. It surprises me in that I never wanted to. I always wanted to make smaller things just with my friends, says Waititi. The idea of working with a studio never appealed to me. Then I worked with Marvel and I realized, well, there are ways you can work with studios where it doesnt have to be painful. My job is to go in and have as many ideas as I can and not think about the consequences too much, and let them keep me in the Marvel lane," Waititi adds. Its not my job to go and watch every single film or read every single comic book. Im sure thats contrary to what a lot of people think a filmmaker should be doing. Its a somewhat ironic development for a filmmaker who, as an actor in last year's Free Guy, parodied business-driven demands for sequels and who once cringed at the thought of spending long months in post-production at Marvel Studios in Burbank, California. Its more just the idea of Burbank as a place, Waititi clarifies. Going out there is fine if you sort of close your eyes and ignore the fact that youre in Burbank and eating Burbank food for lunch. But how much of Waititis anarchic spirit can Hollywoods biggest franchises stomach? Ragnarok grossed $850 million worldwide, and expectations are similar for Love and Thunder. His ability to connect with mass audiences despite his best efforts to subvert expectations is surpassed by few current filmmakers. Yet something like Star Wars has been particularly resistant to comic tweaks of tone something Waititi is keenly aware of. It has to feel authentic to my tone, he says of the Star Wars film first announced two years ago. I wouldnt say any of my films are just comedies. Ive never made a broad comedy. Ive never made something thats all jokes. It always has something thats resonant or taps into some human problem. Theyre all about family. Theyre all about (expletive) up families. I dont believe that blood makes you family at all. "Families are just a mishmash of people who somehow gravitate toward each other," adds Waititi who was raised by a Jewish mother, a largely absent Maori father (they separated when Waititi was 5) and a wide range of relatives. My family is so gigantic. Its thousands of people. That includes collaborators like Jemaine Clement (with whom Waititi made What We Do in the Shadows), Rhys Darby (currently paired together in the HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death) and many others. Another is Sterlin Harjo, whom Waititi met on the festival circuit years ago, where they bonded as Native artists with a similar sense of humor. Waititi helped Harjo get his acclaimed FX series Reservation Dogs, about four Native American teenagers in Oklahoma, off the ground. The way Taika directs, the way that he does things, its about spontaneity, say Harjo, who next month will debut the series second season. Its about the magic trick of it all. Having everything going at once is where the creativity lies for him. Its like hes operating at this level where he has to have it all buzzing. The love of Love and Thunder," which Waititi co-wrote, most directly applies to relationship between Thor and Jane, but it also relates to other aspects of the Thor sequel, including Christian Bale's grieving villain and the kidnapped children who play increasingly central roles in the film. Waititi, who has two daughters with the film producer Chelsea Winstanley (they separated in 2018), relied on his kids and others to help design the monsters in the movie. Children of Hemsworth, Bale and Portman all appear in the film. Its nepotism at its very best, says Waititi. And why not? Its a film about parenting and putting someone else before yourself. The primacy of kids in Thor: Love and Thunder is also very much in line with Waititi's other films. Boy" was loosely based on his own 1980s childhood growing up in Waihau Bay. His first short, the Oscar-nominated Two Cars, One Night," is about a girl and a boy who become friends while waiting for their parents in a parking lot outside a pub. The kid army that helps save the day in Love and Thunder is just the latest uprising in Waititi's ongoing war against adulthood. In the end, even Thor was no match. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP A Date with China 2022 international media tour kicked off in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on June 25 and hit the road to Anhui province on June 30. With the participation of foreign media correspondents in China, foreign internet celebrities in China and Chinese journalists, the tour went to Huangshan city, east China's Anhui province to have an in-depth visit to Shexian county, Mount Huangshan, Tunxi and other places, covering Huizhou History Museum, Hu Kaiwen Ink Factory, Huizhou Cuisine Museum and other scenic spots. The wonderful experience in Anhui was awe-inspiring, especially for foreign media correspondents and internet celebrities. Huanhuan, a Russian internet celebrity who lives in China, quoted the Chinese idiom Haoshiduomo (The road to happiness is strewn with setbacks) to praise the charm of craftsmanship when experiencing gilding and ink-stone grinding in Hu Kaiwen Ink Factory. Mattia Romeo, an Italian internet celebrity living in China, recorded a video of himself singing Chinese songs by the echoes of caves while climbing Mount Huangshan. He said, It was only when I got here that I found it was even more beautiful and spectacular than I expected. Wang Mulin, an Egyptian media correspondent in China, has been advised by many friends to shoot lots of videos before he came to Huangshan city, Because they said that the development here is so fast that I might not recognize it when I come back next time. He said he could feel the local people's appreciation for the natural environment everywhere in Huangshan city and Anhui province. Indeed, as they say, Huangshan city, which has always been committed to protecting the environment, is becoming increasingly prominent in terms of culture, ecology, and tourism. Besides, home to Huangshan Maofeng Tea, Taiping Monkey Tea, Qimen Black Tea, etc., Huangshan city is well-known in the tea industry. In the past four years, with the entry of two new national leading enterprises in the tea industry, the comprehensive output value of tea in Huangshan city has reached 18 billion yuan, an increase of 36.4% compared with 2017. Besides, eight tea enterprises here have been selected as the top 100 tea enterprises in China. Tea exports of Huangshan city account for 90% of the province and 11% of the countrys total tea exports. In 2021, 63.16 million tourists visited Huangshan city, and the tourism revenue was 53.68 billion yuan. Moreover, Xidi Village was awarded the Best Tourism Village by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. TACOMA, Wash. (AP) A 14-year-old girl was shot and killed Wednesday while riding in a car in Tacoma, Washington, police said. The Tacoma Police Department said on Twitter at about 1 p.m. Wednesday that juveniles were inside a car near 19th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in the Hilltop neighborhood when someone shot at them. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A 23-month-old child and a 27-year-old man were shot to death at a North Carolina apartment complex, and police said a suspect has been arrested. News outlets report Raleigh police responded to the apartment complex on the north side of the city late Tuesday night. When the officers arrived, they found the child dead at the scene. Police said they also found the man and a 27-year-old woman with gunshot wounds. PARIS (AP) The suspected ringleader of a network that smuggled as many as 10,000 people on small boats across the English Channel to Britain has been arrested along with 38 others in a vast police operation across Europe. In addition to the arrests, authorities said Wednesday that police found 135 boats in places including a German farmhouse and Dutch warehouses, more than 1,000 life jackets, outboard engines, packs of paddles and cash used for the smuggling. We believe it is the largest operation of its type against this threat, Matt Rivers of the U.K. National Crime Agency told a news conference. I hope it sends a message." Five countries and the EU's police and justice agencies coordinated on the operation, which led to 18 arrests in Germany, nine in France, six in Britain and six in the Netherlands. The operation is ongoing. The suspected ringleader is a 26-year-old Iranian Kurd, Rivers said. No other details were immediately released. Rivers predicted a drop in the number of Channel crossings as a result, even though years of increasingly tough measures by British and French police have done little to deter people determined to attempt the risky journey to get to the U.K. More than 28,000 people fleeing conflict or crushing poverty in Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq or elsewhere reached Britain by way of the Channel last year, many in dinghies and other fragile craft traversing one of the world's biggest shipping lanes. That was up from 8,500 in 2020. Dozens have died while attempting the crossing, including 27 people from a packed boat that capsized in November. The network dismantled in this week's police operation is believed to be unconnected to the one behind the November sinking, officials said. Smugglers charge between 2,500 euros and 10,000 euros per person to help people cross into Britain, in a business that generated an estimated 60 million euros in revenue last year, according to Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, deputy executive director of European police agency Europol. This deadly business is highly profitable, he said. The ringleader arrested in London is accused of organizing a network that stretched from Turkey across to the U.K. He is now facing possible extradition to Belgium. Investigators say the network built an entire logistical supply chain: It acquired Turkish-made or Chinese-made boats as well as engines and life jackets online in Germany and the Netherlands, then transported them to points of departure along the French and Belgian coasts. Christian Bagung, prosecutor from the German city of Osnabruek, called the operation a major step forward in fighting smuggler gangs who aim at gaining profits from the needs of people." Migrants have long used northern France as a launching point to reach Britain, a destination favored by many for reasons of language or family ties, or because they are told it's easier to get asylum or find work without immigration papers in Britain than on the continent. ___ Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Law enforcement officials in Rhode Island are looking into the conduct of two longtime Providence police officers shown on video smashing a handcuffed mans face into the pavement over the weekend. State Attorney General Peter Neronha and the Providence Police Departments Office of Professional Responsibility have opened investigations into the arrest of a man at the citys India Point Park following a July Fourth holiday fireworks celebration Sunday, The Boston Globe reported. Currently Reading Alert: British media report that Boris Johnson has refused to step down, citing 'hugely important issues facing the country' HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. - After the gunman wreaked his carnage, the screaming stopped and the people fled, little Aiden McCarthy remained among the bodies, confused and crying. Neighbors in the close-knit Highland Park community found the 2-year-old in the chaos after the mass shooting Monday at the town's annual Fourth of July parade, when a gunman atop the roof of a local business struck down more than three dozen people, killing seven adults and injuring dozens more. On Tuesday, Highland Park Police confirmed the worst - his parents, Kevin and Irina McCarthy, ages 37 and 35, had been killed in the attack. Police on Tuesday said that along with the McCarthys, five other adults died, including Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico, Jacki Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park and Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park. A seventh victim, whose name was not released, died at a hospital in Cook County. One of the women who helped rescue Aiden, Irina Colon, said in a GoFundMe appeal Tuesday that she and others had sheltered the little boy and worked to locate his grandparents, who will now be caring for him. "At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents. Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan," Colon wrote. Adrienne Rosenblatt, 71, had just escaped the gunfire at the parade when she noticed a familiar face on a neighborhood watch website - the McCarthys' toddler. Rosenblatt is a longtime resident of the neighborhood where the couple had lived for about the last two years and had known them well. When she saw Aiden's picture, she went to the family's house, where his grandparents were anxiously awaiting news. "I said, 'He's at the police station,'" Rosenblatt said. "When I showed them the picture of Aiden, they were so grateful." She first met the McCarthys shortly after they moved in, when she brought them mint chocolate chip brownies to welcome them to the neighborhood. Aiden was the couple's only child, she said. Sometimes, his grandma would walk him to a nearby park to play on the swings. Rosenblatt saw mother and son go on walks together. He would pet Rosenblatt's dog, Lovie, with his mom's encouragement. It was not until Tuesday afternoon that Rosenblatt found out both of his parents had been killed in the shooting. "How do they tell him?" she asked, shaking her head. By nightfall, the fundraising effort on Aiden's behalf had surpassed $1.2 million. For many residents in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, the annual Fourth of July parade is the highlight of the year. The large, extended Toledo family began setting up their chairs in their favorite spot in front of Uncle Dan's Outdoor Store long before the parade was scheduled to begin, family members said Tuesday. Dozens of others also showed up early to secure their spots along the route in the community's quaint downtown, where tiny flags fluttered around the trees. When the gunman began shooting, parade-goers fled, hiding under benches and behind dumpsters and the bathroom of the local Starbucks. Toledo's granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, told the Chicago Sun-Times her father tried to shield her grandfather and was shot in the arm. Her boyfriend was shot in the back and hospitalized. Nicolas Toledo, a grandfather and father of eight, died in his wheelchair. Xochil Toledo recalled looking over at her grandfather a bit earlier, as a band passed them. "He was so happy," she said. "Happy to be living in the moment." Nicolas Toledo was a loving father of eight from Morelos, Mexico, who spent most of the past three decades in Highland Park after immigrating to the United States, another grandchild, David Toledo, said in an interview with The Washington Post. Losing him was "just horrific," he said. "He was a funny guy," David Toledo said. "Always playful, always cracking jokes and playing with his grandkids. He would always make us laugh." The older Toledo loved being outdoors, especially fishing in Fox Lake. David Toledo, who lives in Chicago, said the last time he saw his grandfather was at a gathering at his aunt's house in Highland Park. The family watched over him together, sharing the responsibilities of taking care of him - but that didn't stop the jokes and playfulness, David Toledo said. "I would ask if he needed help. He's like, 'No, I'm OK. I'm good,'" he said. "And I was like 'Are you sure? I mean, you're getting old now.'" In the coming days, David Toledo said he and his family will focus on mourning together, checking in on each other and planning his grandfather's funeral. They might also go down to Fox Lake to catch fish to fry for a family meal - something his grandfather would have liked, he said. On the day he died, 88-year-old Steve Straus asked his younger brother: Do you want to go to the parade? His brother wasn't interested, but off went Straus, who exhibited the energy of someone decades younger, according to his niece, Cynthia Straus. "He was a 'seize the day' kind of guy," said Cynthia, an actress in New York. "He worked out every day. He was remarkably healthy. He went to the symphony." Straus was a financial adviser who rode the train from his home in Highland Park to his office in downtown Chicago. He adored his wife, Linda, their two sons and their four grandchildren, Cynthia said, and talked to his 86-year-old brother - Cynthia's father - "every day." "They were so close," she said. "He was devoted to his family. And he never should have died this way." Highland Park, a lakeshore suburb about 27 miles north of Chicago, has about 30,000 residents, mostly White and affluent. An estimated one-third of them are Jewish, and the area is home to kosher butchers, supermarkets and synagogues. Jacki Sundheim, 63, was a well-connected member of the local Jewish community and a lifelong member of the North Shore Congregation Israel, where she had worked for decades, first as a preschool teacher and then as the special events coordinator, the synagogue said Tuesday in a statement. Sundheim was survived by her husband, Bruce, daughter Leah, sister Tracy and niece Becca, the synagogue's senior rabbi, Wendi Geffen, said in a letter to congregants. "Jacki's work, kindness and warmth touched us all, from her early days teaching at the Gates of Learning Preschool to guiding innumerable among us through life's moments of joy and sorrow," the statement said. Nina Williams Mbengue, 63, searched for the names of victims after she heard about the shooting. Williams Mbengue, a native New Yorker with the 9/11 attacks seared in her mind, has often found herself obsessing about victims of mass violence. She couldn't remember whether her longtime friend, Katherine "Katie" Goldstein, resided in Highland Park proper or if she had moved with her husband closer to Wisconsin. After not hearing from Goldstein or seeing any new posts from her on social media, she texted her friend. Hours later, Goldstein would be listed as among the victims of the July 4 shooting. Williams Mbengue whimpered and lost her voice when she was informed of Goldstein's death in a call with The Post. The pair had met decades ago in New York City at Williams Mbengue's first job at Cunard Line. She and Goldstein worked as travel agents and bonded as friends who explored the city together. Williams Mbengue, who is Black, said she would make Goldstein spend the night at the home she shared with her family because she was concerned about Goldstein being a "tiny White woman" on the train late at night. "She was the most wonderful young woman," Williams Mbengue said. "She's wonderful. She's kind. She's just very thoughtful. She's always soft-spoken." Jobs, moves and marriage created physical distance between the two friends but their connection remained intact as the years went by, according to Williams Mbengue. Making people feel loved and connecting friends was among Goldstein's best attributes, another friend, Betsy Backes, 62, said. Goldstein, or as some called her "Katie G.," gave her full self to everything she did, including school plays for her two daughters, her marriage and her friends, Backes said. Her husband had been friends with Goldstein's husband, Craig; each couple had two daughters who befriended one another. Goldstein was a master cook always wanting to try new recipes, a gifted photographer with an eye for capturing beauty and an enthusiastic birder who carried her binoculars on any trip, Backes said. Visiting her friend's family home without her in it on Tuesday was a surreal experience for Backes. "I told Craig, 'Katie was my best friend.' He said, 'Betsy, she was everybody's best friend,'" Backes said. In addition to the seven adults who died, more than 30 victims were treated at four local hospitals, police said. A friend of one of the injured victims, Zoe Kolpack - a teacher at Dever Elementary School, according to the Chicago Teachers Union - had raised more than $200,000 on a GoFundMe page as of Tuesday. Kolpack's children saw her and three family members shot, according to Samantha Whitehead, the friend and fundraising organizer. The children were unharmed. "They are all in the hospital undergoing various surgeries, which will seriously impact these families financially," Whitehead said. - - - The Washington Post's Alice Crites, Patrick Marley, Andrew Jeong, Annabelle Timsit, Jennifer Hassan, Danielle Paquette and Holly Bailey contributed to this report. LOS ANGELES (AP) A Beverly Hills man has been charged with murder in the drug overdose deaths of two unconscious women who were dumped at hospitals in Southern California, prosecutors announced Tuesday. David Brian Pearce, 40, also was charged with two counts of selling, transporting or furnishing a controlled substance, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. Another man, actor Brandt Osborn, 42, was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Pearce was already awaiting trial on charges of sexual assault on seven other women who were attacked between 2007 and 2020, prosecutors said. A message left for Pearce's attorney, Jacob Glucksman, wasn't immediately returned Tuesday night. Glucksman previously told the Los Angeles Times that his client adamantly and strongly denies any connection to these womens unfortunate deaths. It wasn't immediately clear whether Osborn had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Pearce was arrested in December in connection with the November deaths of model Christy Giles, 24, and her friend, architect Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26. Giles and Cabrales-Arzola were reportedly last seen attending an East Los Angeles warehouse party. Authorities believe they then went to Pearces townhouse. Detectives said they believe both women were given drugs and overdosed. Giles was found dead outside Southern California Hospital in Culver City after masked men in a car with no license plates dropped her there, police said. Cabrales-Arzola was left at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Hospital, where she died 11 days later after being removed from life support. The Los Angeles County coroner's office found the women died from overdoses and had several drugs in their systems. The drugs included cocaine and fentanyl for Giles and cocaine and ecstasy for her friend. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) A Caribbean court ruled Tuesday that a law in Antigua and Barbuda that criminalizes gay sex is unconstitutional. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court found that the selection of an intimate partner is a private and a personal choice." The ruling also said the twin-island nation's 1995 Sexual Offenses Act offends the right to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex. The ruling comes after a gay man who works at Antiguas Ministry of Health and a local group called Women Against Rape Inc. asked that the law be found unconstitutional. The rarely used law states in part that two consenting adults found guilty of having anal sex would face 15 years in prison. If found guilty of serious indecency, they would face five years in prison. The gay man testified that he has been persecuted and assaulted, a common complaint across the largely conservative Caribbean region, where many homosexuals fear for their lives. The man also said that patients have refused treatment from him because of his sexual orientation, according to the ruling. Meanwhile, the anti-rape group said that concern over breaches of confidentiality has prevented those in the LGBTQ community from seeking AIDS testing or treatment and that they receive hostile treatment by health care providers. Such laws used to be common in former British colonies across the Caribbean but have been challenged in recent years. Courts in Belize and Trinidad & Tobago have found such laws unconstitutional, while other cases in the region are pending. The Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality welcomed Tuesday's outcome, which came in litigation that began in 2020 to challenge what it called invasive and unconstitutional remnants of colonial law. The groups executive director, Kenita Placide, said such laws legitimize hate speech, discrimination and violence and tears at the fabric of our society. The group said same-sex consensual intimacy is still criminalized in seven Caribbean countries, adding that while sentences are rarely imposed, penalties range from 10 years to life imprisonment. It said constitutional challenges are pending in Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts and Nevis. In her ruling, High Court Judge Marissa Robertson said that the Constitution is often described as a living instrument which gives significant room for the realization and enjoyment of individuals human rights. The very rights that the document espouses and protects are capable of evolution since concepts, attitudes and the understanding of human rights and dignity evolve over time." It wasnt immediately clear if the attorney general for Antigua and Barbuda planned to appeal the decision. Government officials couldnt be immediately reached for comment. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is about to swap solitary confinement at Minnesota's only maximum security prison for an unknown future at a federal prison where, despite his national notoriety for killing George Floyd, he'll probably be safer. Chauvin was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to 21 years on federal civil rights charges, following his guilty plea in December. He's already serving 22 1/2 years for his conviction in state court on murder and manslaughter charges. He will serve the sentences concurrently in federal prison. Inmates qualify for parole earlier in the Minnesota prison system than they do in the federal system, so while the federal sentence may appear shorter, it means Chauvin will spend nearly three more years behind bars than he would have for the state murder conviction alone. But his plea agreement allowed him to avoid the life sentence he faced on the federal charges, and gave him the potential for a safer environment with a bit more freedom. Chauvin, who is white, killed Floyd by pinning the unarmed Black man to the pavement with his knee for 9 1/2 minutes, despite Floyd's fading pleas of I cant breathe. Floyds killing in May 2020 sparked protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning over police brutality and racism. WHERE IS CHAUVIN NOW? For his own safety, Chauvin, 46, has been held in administrative segregation at the state's maximum security prison at Oak Park Heights. He's been largely confined to a 10-by-10-foot room, which hes been allowed to leave for an average of one hour a day for exercise. His attorney, Eric Nelson, wrote in a request for a 20-year sentence late last month that Chauvin still spends much of his time in solitary confinement, largely for his own protection." Nelson speculated that Chauvin may never be placed in a prisons general population because of the risks of him becoming a target due to being a former officer and the intense publicity surrounding his case. But outside experts say he'll probably mix with other inmates at some point. THE FEDERAL SYSTEM The Bureau of Prisons determines where to send federal prisoners. Judges can make recommendations. But the decision about an inmate's final placement and the appropriate security level is up to the bureau, which runs prisons across the country ranging from low-security camps to one supermax for the most dangerous offenders. Bureau spokesman Scott Taylor declined to comment on Chauvin's case specifically. But he said "a number of factors" go into placement decisions. Some of the factors include the level of security and supervision the inmate requires, any medical or programming needs, separation and security measures to ensure the inmates protection, and other considerations including proximity to an individuals release residence, Taylor said. Nelson wrote that Chauvin has been preliminarily diagnosed with heart damage and is, therefore, like many ex-law enforcement officers, at greater risk of dying at a young age. But that's just one factor the bureau could consider. Another is the length of his sentence. Experts speculate that he's likely to start in at least a medium-security facility. I've been in several federal prisons, including prison camps, and they are not country clubs, said Mark Osler, a professor at University of St. Thomas School of Law. "But I would see it as every unlikely that he would initially be imprisoned at a camp or a low classification prison. He's much more likely to end up at a high classification or a medium." SAFETY ISSUES If Chauvin were in the general population of a Minnesota state prison, he'd be at risk of running into inmates he had arrested or investigated when he was a Minneapolis officer, said Rachel Moran, another law professor at St. Thomas. While he cant totally escape his notoriety in a federal prison elsewhere, she said, hes unlikely to encounter inmates with such a direct, personal grudge. It's dangerous to be an officer in any prison, former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said. It's even more dangerous in state prison because of the nature of the inmate population. There are gangs, for example. And police officers just don't do well there. Those risks are reduced in a federal prison. State prison populations are heavy on violent offenders, including people convicted of murder, robbery and rape, Heffelfinger said. Federal prisons also hold inmates with violent backgrounds, he added, but they're more likely to house nonviolent drug dealers, white-collar criminals and the like. Assuming the bureau decides Chauvin is safe enough in the general population, hell have more chances to move about, to work and to participate in programming. Those opportunities would vary with the security level and the individual facility. A POSSIBLE PRECEDENT? Former South Carolina police Officer Michael Slager is serving a 20-year sentence for killing Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man who ran from a traffic stop. Slager, who is white, pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge for shooting Scott in the back five times in 2015 after stopping him for a broken brake light in an incident that, like Floyd's death, was captured on widely seen bystander video. Slagers state murder charge was dropped as part of the federal plea deal. His lawyers said at the time that Slager wanted to be in federal custody where he felt he would be safer than in state prison. Slager is serving his time in a low-security federal prison in Colorado. ___ Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DENVER (AP) Over a year after Colorado was rocked by a shooting that left 10 people dead in a King Soopers supermarket, one county is proposing gun control ordinances that include raising the minimum age to purchase firearms and prohibiting the sale of assault weapons. With gun control bills facing greater opposition in many statehouses and in Congress, the Democratic bastion of Boulder County, where the shooting took place, may soon join several other Colorado municipalities in taking gun control into their own hands. We had watched the Aurora shooting, we had watched Columbine, and then it happened in our neighborhood, said county Commissioner Matt Jones, referring to the 2012 Aurora theater shooting and the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. Its all too prevalent. The restrictions go far beyond state and federal gun regulations and come as the nation mourns victims of a Fourth of July weekend shooting outside Chicago that added to the over 300 killing sprees nationwide since the beginning of 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It is deplorable that we can have this degree of gun violence, said Commissioner Claire Levy after the panel tentatively endorsed the measures on Tuesday. Ideally, there would be action at the national level and action at the state level, but in absence of that action, I think we need to do what we can. Not until last year was that possible in Colorado. In 2021, the Legislature, motivated by the Boulder shooting, joined at least eight other states in repealing a law that prevented local governments from passing gun ordinances more restrictive than state laws. The five measures include limiting magazine capacity to 10 rounds instead of Colorados 15-round limit; extending the waiting period after purchasing firearms from three to 10 days; banning guns from county property and sensitive places such as bars; prohibiting firearms without serial numbers; and raising the minimum gun purchasing age from 18 to 21. If the proposals pass, Boulder County will join other Colorado cities including Denver and Louisville in what some lawmakers hope to be a wave of local action across the state. Its exactly what we intended when we passed the law, said Stephen Fenberg, the Colorado Senate president who sponsored the 2021 bill. Its heartening. The Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, an affiliate of the National Association for Gun Rights, worries that the measures will infringe on residents right to protect themselves. Ray Hickman, a spokesperson for the organization, pointed to Chicago, which has strict gun laws but still suffers from a high homicide rate. Hickman said that the group is considering its options to undermine the measures, which could include legal action. A public hearing on the proposals is set for Aug. 2. The new regulations would build on state and federal law and only be enforceable within the countys jurisdiction. They were inspired in part by research from Giffords Law, a gun control advocacy group which helped some Colorado cities draft their own gun restrictions. Giffords Law found that while people aged 18-20 make up just 4% of the population, they commit 17% of known homicides. Levy said that the measures are largely meant to tackle gun violence that often don't make national headlines but represent the vast majority of gun-related death homicides and suicides. With roughly 45,000 gun deaths a year in the U.S., mass shootings defined as the killings of four people or more make up less than a fraction. Over half are suicides. Its a very large problem, said Levy, and its not just the headline-grabbing, fame-seeking, enraged young men who want to kill as many people as they can. Nearly three years before the supermarket shooting by a man with an AR-15 style weapon, Boulder voted to ban assault weapons. The measure was blocked in court under the old Colorado law barring local officials from making their own gun laws. Investigators have not released any information about why they believe the man charged in the shooting, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, launched the attack. He lived in the neighboring suburb of Arvada, where authorities say he passed a background check to legally buy a Ruger AR-556 pistol six days before the shooting. Alissas prosecution has been on hold since December, when a judge ruled he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. ___ Jesse Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Bedayn on Twitter. KINSHASA, Congo (AP) Rwanda and Congo have agreed to reduce tensions following one-day talks between their presidents mediated by Angola, Congos presidency announced Wednesday. The two countries will revive a Congo-Rwanda commission which will resume activities on July 12 in the Angolan capital, Luanda, according to the statement. It also called for a return to normal diplomatic relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, a cessation of hostilities and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the M23 rebel group from its positions in eastern Congo. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) As Sen. Michael Bennet sought to encourage a small crowd of fellow Democrats not to give up the fight for abortion rights, Maryah Lauer stepped forward, bullhorn in hand, to exhort him to do more. Do you support ending the filibuster and expanding the court? the 28-year-old called out from a quartet of fellow activists. The Democrats are not doing enough. The confrontation was a sign of the frustration among many Democrats after the Supreme Court's decision last month to strip women of the constitutional right to abortion. The question heading into this year's midterm elections is whether the outrage will energize Democrats to vote or leave them disillusioned and staying home. From rallies like the one in Colorado Springs to the corridors of the White House, Democrats are pressing an urgent message that voters can't give up and tune out. President Joe Biden, who often embraces Washington's institutional traditions, called last week for an exception to the Senate's 60-vote filibuster rules to put Roe v. Wade into federal law. But the president and his aides have rejected more dramatic steps like adding additional justices to the Supreme Court or opening clinics on federal lands in states that ban the procedure. And that has left some in the party's more activist circles worried. People want to feel like you're looking at every option, said Brian Fallon of Demand Justice, a Democratic group advocating court expansion, which Biden has rejected. The party tried to vote abortion rights into federal law earlier this year, but the effort failed as Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia sided with Republicans opposing the bill. Manchin and Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona say they oppose making an exception to the filibuster rule for abortion rights, and reiterated their stance hours after Biden's statement, rendering it impossible. Instead, the Democratic message is shaping up to be: Elect more Democrats to protect abortion rights. That, however, risks falling flat among Democrats who argue that passionate calls to vote hardly translate automatically into people doing as they're asked. There has got to be some articulation of what they get for voting in the election, said Tresa Undem, a liberal Democratic pollster. People want to hear real strategy, they want to hear real results. The problem is there may not be a strategy that will lead to real results, other than winning elections. The party needs at least two more senators to end the filibuster and vote on abortion rights, and many worry that even if such a bill should pass, the high court would simply strike down a law establishing a national right to abortion. Even drastic moves like packing the court with liberal justices unlikely to pass anyway would be just temporary wins, because the GOP could just expand the court again once it wins power and add conservative justices. Still, many Democrats say they expect their voters to be outraged into action by the recent ruling. They argue that Biden has truly limited options and any despair about his inability to override the ruling will be overcome by Democratic anger against Republicans in November. All the data shows Democratic intensity has gone up significantly in the last few weeks, said Simon Rosenberg of NDN, a Democratic thinktank. People in the Democratic Party may be disappointed with their leaders, but they understand, more graphically than ever, the threat the new right represents." A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found a growing percentage of Americans calling out abortion or women's rights as priorities for the government. In an open-ended question, 22% of U.S. adults named abortion or women's rights as one of up to five problems they want the government to work on, more than double since December. Democrats have been bracing for a difficult election for months, with numerous polls showing Biden's approval dropping even among members of his own party. Traditionally, the president's party in midterm elections is not nearly as motivated as the opposition one, leading to big losses for the incumbent's supporters. The anger at the Supreme Court decision is a possible political lifeline to incumbents like Colorado's Bennet, if it doesn't curdle into apathy or despair. Though Bennet represents a state that has voted solidly Democratic in several consecutive elections, he could still be vulnerable in November if a Republican wave materializes. The GOP has nominated a challenger who, notably for a Republican, supports a ban on later-term abortions but otherwise backs abortion rights. Bennet has relied on Colorado voters' strong support of abortion rights to win his two prior elections, and he knows he cannot afford complacency or apathy among his voters. During his speech at the June 29 Colorado Springs rally, Bennet spoke about the Supreme Court ruling and addressed Democrats' frustration and despair. Don't give up, he said. We can't just accept things the way they are. It was after Bennet's speech, when he joined local Democratic nominees onstage in a show of party unity, that Lauer and the others charged in. After talking to reporters offstage, Bennet spoke with the demonstrators. He told them he was also frustrated at how his party had let things get to the point where the GOP appointed a 6-3 majority on the high court. He agreed with them on ending the filibuster and codifying Roe but opposed packing the court. If Democrats did that, he said, we will guarantee the majority in the Senate will be an anti-choice Senate. When the demonstrators continued to be frustrated that Bennet wouldn't agree to court-packing, he advised them, There are not remotely 50 votes to do what you're suggesting in the Senate. Aren't there 50 Democrats?! cried one. Others demanded Bennet use your power to change Manchin's position. Bennet had to leave, but a staffer stepped in and said that Bennet couldn't change Manchin's position. She noted the West Virginia senator had, despite Bennet's pleas, killed his prized program, an expanded child tax credit for parents. As the crowd broke up, the sense of frustration was palpable. Several rally goers approached Lauer and her companions to thank them for pushing Bennet. One attendee started yelling out the home address of the local Republican congressman, Rep. Doug Lamborn, urging people to make his life miserable. Lauer, who said she canvassed for Bennet's 2016 campaign, and the others said they weren't satisfied by their time with the senator. If they continue to do what we just witnessed, where they walk away, where they evade responsibility for doing their constitutional duties, I think that's a great way to lose, she said. One of the other protesters, Chauncy Johnson, 22, said he doesn't want Republicans to win, but he was thinking of withholding his vote due to his frustration with the party. I want Democrats to get a rude awakening, he said. __ Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Washington contributed to this report. PHOENIX (AP) Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation Wednesday that will provide $1.2 billion over three years to boost long-term water supplies for the desert state and implement conservation efforts that will see more immediate effects. The legislation that was hammered out over months during the just-completed legislative session is viewed as the most significant since the state implemented a groundwater protection plan in 1980. Climate change and a nearly 30-year drought forced the move, which comes as Arizona faces cutbacks in its Colorado River water supply and more loom. The Central Arizona Project canal system is already delivering less water from the river to metro Phoenix, Pinal County and Tucson, and federal officials are warning of even steeper cuts soon. These challenges made it necessary for us to act, the Republican governor said at a signing ceremony in the historic Capitol rotunda. So today we are taking action to do what the men and women of Arizona hired us to do position our state for success today, tomorrow and for generations to come. The legislation Ducey touted in January to allow the Department of Water Resources oversee the investments morphed over the session and now gives an obscure state entity the authority to leverage and dole out a new $1 billion appropriation. The entity is called the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority, which will now be a standalone agency with oversight from a new board and some from the Legislature. Democrats got majority Republicans and the governor to agree to add $200 million for conservation; money that can be used right away for both agricultural efficiency and to cut water use in urban areas. Our state is confronted with the realities of climate change, an over-allocated Colorado River and decreasing groundwater, said Sen. Rebecca Rios, the Senate minority leader. This bill ultimately creates a financial structure to assist with the diverse needs of both urban and rural Arizona. House Minority Leader Rep. Reginald Bolding ticked off a list of measures the new water conservation fund could pay for: groundwater recharge, drought resistant landscaping, watershed protection, and efficiency upgrades, as well as rooftop rainwater capture. The longer-term investments range from pie in the sky to conservative. They include a canal and pipeline to move floodwaters from eastern Kansas to southern Colorado and into watersheds that end up in Arizona and a nascent plan to help fund a Southern California effort to treat wastewater and trade it for some of that state's river supply. Ducey started off the year touting a massive new desalination plant that would augment the state's water supply, but did not mention that in Wednesday's formal remarks. Be he said on KTAR radio earlier in the day that he hopes to have a deal in place by the end of his term in January to build a plant, which is likely to be in Mexico and use water trades to free up more Colorado River water for Arizona. The plant could cost more than $5 billion. Republican Rep. Gail Griffin called the legislation historic" with an eye to doing much more than just augment the state's water supplies, but to recharge groundwater aquifers and cut water use to save it for later. This is an action plan, its just not going to sit on a shelf. Were going to take it and do great things with it, she said. We have funding to bring new water into the state of Arizona. We have funding to address best management practices in our counties, in our cities. ___ This story has been updated to correct that the pipeline will move floodwaters from eastern Kansas, not western Kansas. AMSTERDAM (AP) Several environmental groups have launched legal action against Dutch airline KLM over advertisements that promoted flying as a sustainable form of travel. Netherlands based campaigners Fossielvrij NL, supported by Reclame Fossielvrij and environmental lawyers from ClientEarth, said they think the lawsuit is the first to challenge alleged greenwashing by the airline industry. The groups claim KLM violated European consumer law by misleading customers with ads and a carbon offset program that give a false impression over the sustainability of its flights and plans to address its climate harm." KLMs marketing misleads consumers into believing that its flights wont worsen the climate emergency. But this is a myth," Hiske Arts, a campaigner at Fossielvrij NL, said. The airline did not immediately response to an email seeking comment. The groups notified KLM in May that they planned to file the lawsuit. It focuses on the airline's Fly Responsibly campaign and its statement that KLM was committed to the targets defined in the Paris Climate Agreement." The lawsuit will argue that these claims are highly misleading, since KLMs plan for continual increases in flying is at odds with the rapid and deep emissions reductions across all sectors which (a U.N. panel) says is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate breakdown, ClientEarth said. Governments agreed in Paris in 2015 to jointly cut greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. The accords included a preferred target of limiting the worldwide temperature rise to 1.5 C (2.7 F). As part of its campaign, KLM said customers could buy carbon offset coverage to fund reforestation projects and the purchase of biofuels. The environmental groups said the product promoted by the airline to reduce the climate impact of airplanes is illusory. The groups said the aviation sector won't reach net-zero emissions if its does not limit the overall number of flights. While climate experts warn we need to reduce air traffic to keep a just and livable world within reach, KLM and the airline industry are continuing to focus on growth at any cost and lobbying intensively against climate regulation," ClientEarth lawyer Johnny White said. In addition to the lawsuit filed with the District Court of Amsterdam, the environmental groups are seeking a ban on all fossil fuel advertising in the European Union. ___ Follow AP's coverage of climate issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate Thibault Camus/AP AMSTERDAM (AP) Dutch police shot at a tractor during a heated night of farm protests and detained three demonstrators, the latest incident in a string of protests against government plans to cut pollutant emissions that many farmers fear would hurt their livelihoods. Police in northern Friesland said Wednesday that no one was hurt in the incident that involved warning shots and direct targeting of a tractor that broke free from a line. Police said there was an attempt to drive into their vehicles and officers. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) Some of the earliest secret ballots used in New Hampshire are now available for public viewing after a lengthy professional conservation project. Until 1891, political parties printed their own ballots and handed them to voters. Because the ballots differed in appearance, voters choices were obvious, enabling parties to pressure voters and offer them incentives such as money or hard cider, according to the secretary of states office. CHICAGO (AP) A grandson and nephew of Chicago's two longest-serving mayors was sentenced to four months in prison Wednesday after being convicted of tax crimes and making false statements. Patrick Daley Thompson, 52, was accused of falsely claiming mortgage interest deductions and lying about lines of credit from the now-closed Washington Federal Bank for Savings. HONOLULU (AP) A former Hawaii state senator was sentenced to 40 months in prison Tuesday for taking bribes in exchange for shaping legislation while in office. Former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English, 55, pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud in February, admitting he accepted bribes from a Hawaii business owner in exchange for shaping legislation that would benefit a company involved in publicly financed cesspool conversion projects. Former Hawaii state Rep. Ty Cullen also pleaded guilty to the same charge in a related case. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 20. English peddled the power and influence of his position as a Hawaii State Senator and Majority Leader to enrich himself and betray the trust bestowed upon him by those he was elected to serve, U.S. prosecutors said in a sentencing memo urging the judge to send him to prison for three-and-a-half years. The sentence, a little more than three years, must send a stern and lasting message that corruption of elected officials will be punished, the memo said. I hope this serves as a message to everyone in government that there can be no tolerance for unethical conduct, House Speaker Scott Saiki said in a statement issued after U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway sentenced English. She also imposed a $100,000 fine and ordered that he be subjected to three years of supervision after he serves his time, according to English's attorney, Richard Sing, who declined to comment on the sentence. English must surrender to begin serving his sentence on Aug. 16, Sing said. In English's sentencing memo, Sing asked for a two-and-a-half-year sentence, saying that after the ex-lawmaker was arrested, he was open and honest about his interactions with the business owner, described in court documents only as Person A. English began communicating with Person A about cesspools in 2019 and accepted cash and hotel rooms from Person A totaling about $18,000, the memo by Sing said. Sing also wrote that English, who represented east Maui, Molokai and Lanai, was a compassionate and dedicated advocate for the rural communities and individuals he represented," including Native Hawaiians. English continues to suffer from long-haul COVID-19, Sing said, including sleep apnea, memory loss, lethargy and breathing problems. He cited those ailments for resigning from the Senate last year and didn't mention he had been arrested a few months earlier for the corruption investigation. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Somalias president on Wednesday called for assistance from Turkey to combat the effects of severe drought that is threatening the Horn of Africa. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made the comments during his first visit to Turkey since returning to office following an election in May. The two countries have forged close ties over the past decade. The humanitarian situation caused by the drought was one of the issues we discussed in our meeting with (Turkish) President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, Mohamud told reporters following a meeting with the Turkish leader. He said: I would like to take this opportunity to call upon our Turkish brothers to support us and do what they can, as they did before. Your solidarity and support will save the lives of the Somali people and will never be forgotten. Some areas of the Horn of Africa could be declared in famine within weeks because of the driest drought in the region in decades. Russia's war in Ukraine has abruptly drawn millions of dollars away from other crises and Somalia, facing a food shortage largely driven by the war, might be the most vulnerable. Erdogan visited Somalia in 2011, amid a severe drought and devastating famine as Turkey sought to increase its influence in the Horn of Africa. The visit marked the start of Turkish humanitarian, development and infrastructure projects in Somalia. Turkey also established a military base in Somalia to train Somali soldiers. The Somali state and its people see Turkey and the Turkish people as true friends who support our efforts for development and stability in our country and stand by us, Mohamud said in comments that were translated into Turkish. Erdogan said Turkeys humanitarian and development assistance to Somalia in the past decade has exceeded $1 billion. Turkey has trained about 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 special forces police, he said, adding that Turkey would continue to support Somalias stability and security. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A 10-year-old girl died while tubing on a Tennessee waterway during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, authorities said. The girl was on a tube being pulled by a pontoon boat on the Tennessee River in Decatur County on Saturday evening when the boat's outward motor hit the tube and the girl, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said in a news release Monday. SEATTLE (AP) The monkeypox virus continues to circulate in Washington state's most populous county, which includes Seattle, and is now likely spreading between residents, local health officials said Wednesday. Public health leaders have identified nine King County infections since the first case was found in Washington state and confirmed in a King County man in late May, The Seattle Times reported. Because recent cases of monkeypox have been identified in King County residents who did not travel during the time they would have been exposed, local transmission is likely, King County health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin said in a statement. In the current outbreak, people have presented with skin lesions that may resemble common sexually transmitted infection such as herpes or syphilis, Duchin said. Public Health Seattle & King County is urging anyone with a new rash to visit a health care provider for an assessment, noting that people should also be aware the rate of syphilis is rising in King County and nationally. Most monkeypox patients experience fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. Many develop a painful rash, officials said. Unlike the coronavirus, monkeypox does not spread through the air over longer distances, among other differences. Monkeypox is primarily spread through large droplets or the exchange of bodily fluids. Most patients recover in two to four weeks, according to Public Health Seattle & King County, but the disease can be serious for children or those who are immunocompromised, have a history of eczema or who are pregnant. Federal officials last week said they are expanding the group of people recommended to get vaccinated, providing more monkeypox vaccine, working to expand testing, and taking other steps to try to get ahead of the outbreak. In King County, health officials are expecting about 500 vaccine doses from the state Department of Health. To date, most cases in the U.S. and Europe have occurred in men who have sex with men, but anyone can be affected and sex between people of different sexes can also accelerate the spread, officials said. More information about the virus and its risk factors are available at Public Health Seattle & King Countys news website. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the 100% Satisfaction Guarantee was all the rage among many hotels. The gist was simple: Encounter a problem and receive your money back. In theory, this approach addressed fairly serious issues such as early-morning pool renovations that made the jackhammer an unwelcome alarm clock. Bed bugs. No hot water. But some hospitality experts say that promise a 100% refund if customers werent 100% happy mightve made things worse for both the customer and the hotel. A toddler spilling yogurt may take staff longer to clean up, evolving into a bad review about a dirty lobby and a request for refund, says Bijoy Shah, an Indiana-based travel advisor. The customer-is-always-right mindset created these guarantees, but it seems the customer learned to abuse it, as well. These days, travelers are unlikely to find such confident promises. Meanwhile, satisfaction rates are lower than ever. But its not because the guarantee is gone. Its because it was there in the first place. HOTEL SATISFACTION IS WORSE THAN EVER According to the American Customer Satisfaction Indexs Travel Study 2021-2022, which interviewed 6,000 travelers between from 2021 to 2022, satisfaction fell 2.7% during that time period. Meanwhile, many hospitality workers say complaints are soaring. Things got so rough in 2021 that the Rhode Island Hospitality Association launched a Please Be Kind Toolkit containing mental health resources and information regarding handling unruly customers. Some attribute this years especially high dissatisfaction rates to differences of opinions about whether the pandemic is over. At the beginning of the pandemic, guests were sympathetic to frontline workers, says Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power. Now, consumers want to get back to normal, but the hotel industry isnt back to normal especially in terms of staffing. While pandemic-related issues like a pause on breakfast buffets are partially to blame, the ongoing slump has been agitated not driven by the pandemic. In fact, ACSIs numerical scores have been trending downward over the past decade, from a peak score of 77 in 2012 to just 71 in 2022. THE PROBLEM WITH THE 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE Some hotel experts blame the lingering effects of the 100% Satisfaction Guarantee for low customer satisfaction. Beyond eating into hotel profits (and decreasing money to invest elsewhere), it may have inadvertently adjusted consumer demands. Try as hard as you might and most hotel staff bend over backwards you cant manage everyones unique and often-unrealistic expectations, says hospitality consultant Colleen Carswell. You cannot please everyone. Hampton by Hilton is generally credited with creating the first-ever hotel 100% Satisfaction Guarantee (the guarantee was established before its former-parent company, Promus, was acquired by Hilton in 1999). Shruti Gandhi Buckley, global brand head for Hampton by Hilton, says its introduction was instrumental in providing guests confidence that they would have a seamless and problem-free stay. If their expectations werent met, we would refund their money, no questions asked. But some travel experts suspect this trained guests to believe that complaining equals compensation. This benefit may have even magnified negative naysayers who are always looking for something bad to point out, often in a very disrespectful manner, says Carswell. Gandhi Buckley maintains that abuse wasnt actually the problem, adding that while guests would sometimes have unusual rationale against invoking the guarantee, fewer than 1% of guests actually tried claiming refunds. Yet Hilton reevaluated the offer after more than a decade. Now, its still a 100% Hampton Guarantee, but the outright refund language is gone. We also found the original language signaled to a guest that something could go wrong, Gandhi Buckley says. Plus, Gandhi Buckley says that most business travelers didnt care about refunds anyway (since stays were generally on their employers dime), and leisure travelers just wanted problems fixed. Hamptons new promise shifts away from refunds to empowering employees across all levels and departments to actually execute those fixes. It allows team members to be more flexible, Gandhi Buckley says. HOW TO ENSURE YOU GET HOTEL SERVICE YOU DESERVE BE REALISTIC: Understand that a lower-cost motel likely wont treat you as generously as a luxury resort. READ ONLINE REVIEWS: A previous traveler might tip you off to the soggy waffles. ASK NICELY: While Hampton still offers a refund when warranted, Gandhi Buckley says its common to receive other types of compensation. If your room isnt ready at check-in, you might receive a free snack. In situations where staff cannot fix the problem, polite escalation can be necessary. After all, you deserve what you paid for. HOLD ELITE STATUS: Stokes says its more common to receive money-back guarantees when booking with elite status, as hotels prioritize customers expected to return. USE TRIP INSURANCE: In truly untenable situations, trip insurance might help. Coverage varies by policy and youre unlikely to find one that covers soggy waffles. But most policies cover situations including the bell desk losing your luggage or severe weather preventing you from arriving. Also, many credit cards offer travel insurance for trips purchased on that card. First seek compensation from the hotel. If those efforts dont work, ask your insurer. _____________________________ This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Sally French is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: sfrench@nerdwallet.com. RELATED LINK: NerdWallet: 10 Credit Cards That Provide Travel Insurance It was the dawn of a new decade and a new eraa day early in 1960as J. Paul Getty marched through the Tudor labyrinth of Sutton Place. Twenty-three miles southwest of London, it had been built 440 years earlier by a courtier of Henry VIII. Just now, after Getty acquired it from the Duke of Sutherland, it had been rebooted as the nerve center of Gettys worldwide petroleum empire, and his 72-room home. Telex machines clattered with reports of stock market gyrations on Wall Street and the flow of oil from Arabian deserts. Bustling about were members of Gettys executive and domestic staffs, the latter headed by Francis Bullimore, his unimpeachable butler. Although it took several months to install acres of new curtains, linens, and upholstery, Sutton Place came largely furnishedBullimore included. A native of Norfolk, England, he had served as butler to Joseph Kennedy when he was the American ambassador to the Court of St. Jamess, and to Henry Ford II, before the Duke of Sutherland hired him at Sutton Place. Getty described him as benevolently despotic. Another indispensable employee was the footman, Frank ParkesBullimores longtime companion. While guests were likely unaware of their relationship, it was evident to everyone that Parkess floral arrangements were second to none. Some visitors even compared them favorably to the legendary florist Constance Sprys. Following Gettys five short-lived marriages, the five sons produced through these unions were brought up by their respective mothers, primarily in California. Although their absent father was reputed to be the richest man in America, if not the world, none of the boys were brought up in luxury. Getty paid just reasonable alimony and child support. One evening in 1964, at La Roccas Corner, a popular San Francisco Tavern, Gettys fourth-born son, Gordon, met Ann Gilbert, a striking five-foot-ten redhead. A native of Californias Central Valley, she had picked peaches, packed walnuts, and driven tractors alongside her two brothers on their fathers ranch. A few months later, on Christmas Day, the couple eloped to Las Vegas. Even as she eventually became one of the most extravagant women of her time, Ann kept her feet planted on the ground. Notwithstanding the couture wardrobe, private jets, and other accoutrements of wealth that she acquired, she liked to say she was still at heart a farmer. Following J. Paul Gettys death in 1976, Gordons income from the Getty Trust rose dramatically. Unlike most other Gettys, Ann wasnt shy about spending it. The couple purchased a magnificent five-story neoclassical mansion, designed by architect Willis Polk shortly after the 1906 earthquake. Perched atop Pacific Heights, with stunning views of San Francisco Bay, it sits on a two-and-a-half-block stretch of Outer Broadway, the bastion of San Franciscos gold rush and old money families. To help her decorate it, Ann hired the blue-chip firm of Parish- Hadley, a partnership between the indomitable WASP grande dame Mrs. Henry Sister Parish II and Tennessee-born Albert Hadley, the nice one. Their client roster, a whos who of American aristocracy, included Jackie and John F. Kennedy, Babe and Bill Paley, and Betsey and Jock Whitney. After many months and shopping trips to EnglandAnn became a top customer at Londons auction houses and antiquariesthe Broadway mansion was transformed into one of the loveliest English-style houses in America. Sister was in charge, but Ann deployed the expertise and taste shed sharpened from all her stays at Sutton Place. She also benefited from the guidance of Gillian Wilson, the decorative arts curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum, which opened in 1974 (where Gordon was on the acquisitions committee). At the same time, Ann made sure Wilson was properly outfitted for her job. During one meeting, Ann clocked Wilsons cloth coat; she went upstairs to her closet and returned with a fur. If you are going to these dealers in London and Paris, you need a good coat, she said as she handed the garment to Wilson, who wore it proudly for years to come and referred to it as the curatorial mink. (Until her retirement in 2003, Wilson remained one of the museums last living links to its founder.) Ann and Gordons mansion was fully operational by December 1979, when a feature story, Christmas with the Gettys, appeared in Town & Country, with photographs by Slim Aarons. Nine-year-old William PaulBillythe baby of the family, was pictured valiantly hoisting a pole twice as tall as he was to light the candles on the 18th-century Russian crystal and gilded bronze chandelier in the unelectrified dining room, which was lined with 18th-century Chinese wallpaper. Meanwhile, his brothersJohn Gilbert, 11, Andrew Rork, 12, and Gordon Peter Jr., 14 (who is called Peter)performed tree-trimming tasks. According to the articles author, the men of the house knew who was boss: She is in absolute control. Nothing daunts her and nine times out of 10, her way is the only way. But she didnt do it all alone. Her seven-person staff included a French-Basque chef, Alphonse, as well as a couple familiar faces: Bullimore and Parkes had crossed over from Sutton Place. With them came a sense of continuity and family historyplus they could handle four rambunctious young boys. In San Francisco, Bullimore ran the house with his customary dry wit, exacting standards, and field marshal manner. He was imposing and impervious, one visitor observed. Dressed in a waistcoat, he appraised all visitors before they entered. He became a local notable himself, a figure quoted by Herb Caen, dean of San Franciscos columnists (who popularized the word hippie, during 1967s Summer of Love). Bullimore was underwhelmed by San Francisco society, Caen reported. Not much going on, eh? the butler said to him on a few occasions. In 1970s America, however, there was no more tolerant place for a gay man than San Francisco, which must have been a welcome change from England, where homosexuality was decriminalized only in 1967. According to Christopher Getty, one of J. Paul Getty's grandchildren, Bullimore had been caught by police in Londons Hyde Park while engaging in some amorous activity with another man. Grandfather took care of it, as one does, he said. After all those years of absorbing lessons from her father-in-law, Sister Parish, and various curators, Ann launched herself as a design professional in the mid-1990s, when she quietly opened Ann Getty & Associates, an interior decorating firm. The work gained more widespread attention in 2003, when she unveiled the renovation of one of the most extravagant homes in Americaher own. She and Gordon had bought the mansion next door. By dint of considerable engineering, it was eventually seamlessly joined to the Gettys original house. Utilizing all her know-how, Ann completely reimagined her home of 30 years. Even as it was completed, work continued: the Gettys bought the next house over. By the time the three properties were joinedwhich gave the couple some 30,000 square feetshe had created one of the most palatial private residences in America. Were building all the way to Oakland, at this rate, a friend of Gordons recalls him saying in jest. We joked that now that the children are gone, we needed a bigger house, Ann quipped. With chinoiserie as her theme, she transformed her enlarged residence into a spectacular Aladdins Cave of treasures, exotic and layered. I like things on things, she explained. Theres stuff in there any museum would kill for, an eminent antiques dealer told me. Ann always went for the rarest, the most important things, commented an auction house expert. In the fall of 2003, I visited the house to interview Ann about her burgeoning design career. We chatted in the dining room, which was lined with chinoiserie panels made in 1720 for the Elector of Saxony, as a butler served a lunch of chicken salad. Alas, Francis Bullimore was no longer on duty. The revered majordomo died of a heart ailment in 1996 at age 82, at the Getty residence. The Gettys had looked after him at home well after he reached retirement age, as they did with other staff members, including the boys nanny. According to his obituary in the San Francisco Examiner, Bullimore was survived by a sister in Norfolk, England, and his cherished schnauzer, Nietzsche. Beginning this October, the contents of the Gettys mansion will be sold in a series of landmark sales at Christies, in New York. (Ann died in 2020, at age 79). Proceeds from The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection1500 superlative works of decorative and fine artswill benefit the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts. Estimated to achieve some $180 million, the series of auctions is expected to generate excitement perhaps not seen since Sothebys' Bunny Mellon sales in 2014. Highlights include: Entrance to the Grand Canal looking East, with Santa Maria della Salute at night, oil on canvas, by Canaletto (est. $6 million); Chrysanthemes dans un vase de Chine, oil on board, by Matisse (est. $4 million); and a pair of George II Black-Japanned and parcel-gilt armchairs, by William and John Linnell (est. $120,000). Excerpted from GROWING UP GETTY by James Reginato. Copyright 2022. Reprinted by permission of Gallery Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CHICAGO (AP) A woman stunned and speechless in the chaos of a July 4 parade massacre walked up to Greg Ring and handed him a 2-year-old boy, covered in blood. Ring had fled the scene in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park with his wife and three children to an area behind a popular pancake house. We kind of met eyes and didnt say anything.... I put my arms out, and she gave him to me, Ring said Wednesday, when describing the exchange with the unidentified woman, who then laid down in front of their car in shock. The boy pointed in the direction of the parade route, saying Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy." Ring's wish to help the boy carried him back to the scene. He tucked the boy's face in his chest, so he couldn't see the carnage. But Ring quickly realized it was too dangerous. Active shooter! Get back down!" a police officer shouted. Ring fled again. He and his family got to their car and took the boy to a Highland Park fire station. I have a boy. Hes not ours, he told the department staff, who asked him to keep the boy as authorities searched for the shooter and helped the wounded. They were getting ready for war, Ring said. The family drove to Rings in-laws, where they hunkered down. There, the boy sat with Ring's 4-year-old, watching a Mickey Mouse show. He asked my wife to wipe him off because he had blood on him that wasnt his, said Ring, an insurance broker from Highland Park. They were later able to identify the boy and reunite him with his grandparents, with the help of other community members and the police, after his photo circulated on social media. Aiden McCarthy's parents, Kevin and Irina, both died in the shooting, which left five others dead and more than two dozen wounded. A family member said Irinas parents would care for the boy going forward. Aiden ... will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows," Irina Colon wrote on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden. Colon, who described Irina McCarthy as family on her Facebook page, has raised more than $2 million so far. One of hundreds of donors wrote, Aiden, as a momma of another 2 year old boy, my heart is breaking for you. I am so sad your little heart has to endure such a devastating loss. No child should have to go through what you are. Stay strong, sweet boy! On Wednesday, Ring was still trying to process what happened at the July 4 parade. He said he's not a hero and just did what anyone would have done in the situation. Im just filled with immense gratitude. Im really sad. I dont know. I dont know how I feel. I have not slept for a minute the last two nights, he said. What couldve happened it is nothing short of a miracle that the five of us me, my wife and my three kids one of us or all of us isnt dead. I do not understand. Everybody around us was hit or got shot. According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, Irina McCarthy was born in Russia and later immigrated to the Chicago area with her parents. Her father told the Sun-Times that she and husband Kevin met through their jobs hers in pharmaceuticals and his at gene therapy startup. Aiden's paternal grandmother also was injured during the July 4 attack, the Sun-Times said. The five others who died were identified as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Stephen Straus, 88; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69. HOUSTON (AP) A federal judge has issued a temporary order telling Texas prison officials that they can carry out next weeks scheduled execution of a death row inmate only if they grant all of his religious accommodations, including allowing his spiritual adviser to hold his hand when he receives a lethal injection. Ramiro Gonzales is scheduled to be executed July 13 for fatally shooting 18-year-old Bridget Townsend, a southwest Texas woman whose remains were found nearly two years after she vanished in 2001. Gonzales, 39, has asked that when he is executed, his spiritual adviser be allowed in the death chamber so she can pray aloud, hold his hand and place her other hand on his chest. Receiving Gods touch is a sacred concept in the Bible and even the lepers were touched by God. The specific physical contact I have requested is vitally important to me as I am making my spiritual transition into the paradise of God, Gonzales said in court documents filed last month. Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials granted all of Gonzales requests except for allowing his spiritual adviser to hold his hand. The officials have argued allowing the hand holding could be a security risk as the adviser would be too close to the IV lines that deliver the lethal injection and the adviser would be in a location that would block the view of authorities and witnesses. The preliminary injunction issued on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge in Houston that orders Texas prison officials to grant all of Gonzales religious accommodations follows a civil complaint the death row inmate had filed accusing the Texas prison system of violating his religious freedom. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Amanda Hernandez said Wednesday her agency is still evaluating the courts decision. A spokesman for the Texas Attorney Generals Office did not immediately return an email seeking comment. In court documents, the Texas Attorney Generals Office argued the prison system has not placed a substantial burden on Gonzaless religious exercise. Not only will his spiritual advisor be physically present in the chamber thereby fulfilling Gonzaless assertion of spiritual significance, she will also be intimately close in proximity to Gonzales and maintain physical contact on his chest over his heart, the attorney generals office wrote in court documents filed last month. Various executions in Texas were delayed last year amid legal questions over Texas refusal to allow spiritual advisers to touch inmates and pray aloud as condemned individuals are put to death. In April 2021, the Texas prison system reversed a two-year ban on spiritual advisers in the death chamber but limited what they can do. In March, the Supreme Court ruled states must accommodate the requests of death row inmates who want to have their spiritual advisers pray aloud and touch them during their executions. In the high courts opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts urged states to adopt clear rules in advance in order to avoid last-minute appeals to federal courts. But the Texas prison system declined to formally update its rules, opting instead to review such requests on a case-by-case basis. Some defense attorneys worried that not outlining specific rules would result in more court challenges, like the one filed by Gonzales. Gonzales was condemned for the killing of Townsend, who was the girlfriend of his drug dealer. Gonzales kidnapped Townsend from her Bandera County home in January 2001 after stealing drugs and money. In a confession to police, Gonzales said he took her to his family's ranch in neighboring Medina County, where he sexually assaulted her before fatally shooting her. Townsend wasn't found until October 2002, when Gonzales led authorities to her remains after receiving two life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman. Gonzales attorneys on Tuesday also asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to stay his execution. Last week, they made a separate request to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to grant a 30-day reprieve so Gonzales can make a kidney donation. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 Kaitlin Armstrong dramatically altered her appearance, potentially going so far as to have cosmetic surgery, while on the run from murder charges in connection with the killing of professional cyclist Mo Wilson. According to police, Armstrong, 34, fatally shot Wilson on May 11 in Austin, Texas. After being questioned by authorities, Armstrong disappeared, sparking a nationwide manhunt for the fugitive that finally ended in her arrest last Wednesday at a Santa Teresa Beach hostel in Provincia de Puntarenas. Once taken in custody, Armstrongs attempts to obscure her identity became apparent. Her distinctive curly reddish hair was dyed brown and cut shorter. According to investigators from the Marshals Service and Homeland Security, Armstrong used someone else's passport to board United Airlines Flight 1222 from Newark International Airport to San Jose, Costa Rica, on May 18. At a press conference last week, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla said Armstrong "resembled" the person in the passport, but did not explain how she came to be in possession of it. "She looked very similar to that individual, Filla said. So that was a fraudulent use of it, but it wasnt fraudulent in itself because it was issued to a certain individual. U.S. Marshals When she was arrested, Armstrong had bandages and bruises on her face, which Filla said she attributed to a surfing accident. Her booking photo shows bruising under her eyes and the tip of her nose appears slimmer than previous photos. Inside Edition said it reviewed a receipt found among Armstrongs belongings at the hostel where she was staying; the receipt is for a cosmetic surgery clinic in San Rafael de Escazu, Costa Rica. Marshals say one of the primary ways they tracked Armstrong was by searching for local yoga studios and seeing if Armstrong signed up for courses. "Once she got to Costa Rica, she didnt really move around a lot," Filla said. "We knew she was going to be associated with some type of yoga studio. When foreign officials arrived at that yoga studio, they did find a handwritten login that was the same alias that she was going by when she traveled to Costa Rica. "Once they developed that pattern, it really opened up things and they quickly closed in on Kaitlin Armstrong." ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images Marshals believe Armstrong, who worked as a yoga instructor and real estate agent in Texas, was preparing to give yoga lessons again in Costa Rica. "She was getting really ready to establish that next part of her career," Filla said. According to the Marshals Service, Armstrong killed 25-year-old Wilson, a champion mountain biker who lived and worked in San Francisco from 2019 until recently. On May 11, Wilson was staying with a friend in Austin to prepare for an upcoming race. That evening she allegedly went swimming with Armstrong's boyfriend Colin Strickland, a fellow racing competitor and alleged former romantic partner of Wilson. Wilson was later found by her friend at the apartment, bleeding and unconscious in the bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, before being pronounced dead by first responders. Authorities have painted the murder as motivated by jealousy. The complex details of the alleged love triangle-turned-murder involving recently purchased guns, text messages, lies and an anonymous tipster were revealed in an arrest warrant on May 19. In the warrant, an anonymous caller allegedly told police that on discovering Strickland and Wilson were romantically involved, Armstrong "became furious and was shaking with anger" and said she wanted to kill Wilson. After her arrest in Costa Rica, Armstrong was flown back to Texas on Saturday. According to Travis County Sheriffs Office records, Armstrong is in custody at the Travis County Jail and being held on a $3.5 million bond. A hearing is set to be held on July 20. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Attorneys for Kentuckys two abortion clinics sought an injunction in court Wednesday to block the state's near-total ban on the procedure, one of numerous such efforts across the country following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state's abortion ban last week, and the two clinics, both in Louisville, resumed performing abortions. If granted, the injunction would suspend the state law while the case is litigated. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron appealed the restraining order to the states appeals courts, but the Kentucky Supreme Court rejected the appeal Tuesday night. Abortion rights advocates have argued that Kentuckys law banning abortions, set up to take effect immediately after the Supreme Court's ruling, violates the state's constitution. The injunction hearing on Wednesday was focused on potential harms that could be caused by keeping the abortion ban in place. Perry indicated it could be weeks before he rules on the injunction, but will keep the restraining order in place during that time. Dr. Ashlee Bergin, who performs abortions at Louisvilles EMW clinic and was the first witness called by the clinics attorneys Wednesday, testified about the many possible health risks of pregnancy. Bergin cited statistics showing that pregnancy can be more dangerous to the health of a mother than abortion. Vic Maddox, a deputy attorney general, asked Bergin during cross-examination to provide details of abortion procedures, prompting Perry to ask Maddox to be less graphic. Maddox also asked Bergin if she considers the fetus to be her patient, along with the mother. I dont view it in those terms, Bergin responded. Witnesses called by the attorney general's staff argued that the life of the fetus must also be accounted for when considering harm. "You have to consider the other side as well ... the rights of the prenatal human being," O. Carter Snead, a Notre Dame bioethics professor, testified. In the lawsuit seeking the injunction, attorneys for the clinics argued that women were being forced to remain pregnant against their will in violation of the states constitution. Kentuckys abortion trigger law contains a narrow exception allowing a physician to perform the procedure if it is deemed necessary to prevent the death or permanent injury of the mother. Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has denounced that law as extremist, noting it lacks exceptions for rape and incest. Cameron, a Republican who is running for governor, said Tuesday night that he was disappointed Kentuckys new abortion laws are being delayed. Weve now asked all three levels of Kentuckys judiciary to allow these laws to take effect," he said in a social media statement. Not a single judge at any level has suggested these laws are unconstitutional, yet we are unfortunately still prohibited from enforcing them. The lawsuit filed by the Kentucky clinics' attorneys is one of numerous such efforts taking place in states that passed similar laws in anticipation of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade earlier this month. Elsewhere in the South, a Mississippi judge on Tuesday rejected a request by the states only abortion clinic to temporarily block a law that would ban most abortions. In Florida, a new 15-week abortion ban was blocked but then quickly reinstated after an appeal from the state attorney general in a lawsuit challenging the restriction. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BEIRUT (AP) Lebanon plans to start sending back tens of thousands of Syrian refugees within months over objections by the United Nations and rights groups, a minister said in an interview Wednesday. Lebanon has one of the world's highest numbers of refugees per capita and currently hosts over 1 million Syrians who fled the decade-old conflict. Officials say the influx has cost Lebanon billions of dollars and further damaged its crippled infrastructure while it struggles with a financial meltdown. We are serious about implementing this plan and we hope to do so within months, Issam Charafeddine, Lebanon's caretaker Minister of the Displaced, told The Associated Press. This is a humane, honorable, patriotic and economic plan that is necessary for Lebanon. The Lebanese government's plan would entail sending back 15,000 Syrian refugees every month. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and rights groups oppose involuntary repatriation to Syria and say the practice risks endangering the returning refugees. The U.N. refugee agency in a press statement denied that it is engaged in negotiations with Beirut and Damascus on refugee returns. UNHCR continues to call on the government of Lebanon to respect the fundamental right of all refugees to a voluntary, safe and dignified return, the statement read. The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrian refugee households live in extreme poverty. But since late 2019, poverty has worsened for both Lebanese and Syrians as the Mediterranean country continues to struggle with crippling economic crisis. Sky-rocketing fuel prices coupled with a currency collapse has meant many essential commodities are now out of reach. In recent months, a surge of Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians have tried to flee cash-strapped Lebanon by sea to Europe. The Lebanese minister on Monday presented the plan to President Michel Aoun. A committee consisting of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Charafeddine, six other ministers and the countrys General Security organization had been working on the proposal since March to gradually return some 1.5 million Syrian refugees from Lebanon. Charafeddine plans to visit Syria next week to meet Local Administration and Environment Minister Hussein Makhlouf. He hopes they will agree on a concrete timeline for the plan to repatriate 15,000 Syrian refugees every month. The minister says Maklouf had told him that the Syrian government could provide temporary shelter for repatriated refugees in areas that are entirely safe. We have statistics from the Interior Ministry of the names of the displaced, where they live, and where theyre originally from, and so we would return them by neighborhood, the minister said. He said Lebanon is willing to repatriate refugees in larger numbers if the Syrian government is able to receive them at a later stage. Human rights organizations in recent reports have documented cases of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and a host of human rights violations against returning refugees. Charafeddine rejected these reports as a fear campaign and said the Syrian government has agreed to drop charges against former opposition fighters and political opposition. I was surprised that the Syrian state has eased matters a lot for returns even when it comes to security matters - even those who held weapons will get waivers, Charafeddine told the AP. The caretaker minister also criticized the UNHCR and donor countries for what he said was their unwillingness to redirect refugee aid to Syria, which he says deters refugees from returning. Whatever the UNHCRs position is, we will go ahead with the plan, he said. BANGOR, Maine (AP) A Maine man pleaded guilty to federal bank fraud charges stemming from a Paycheck Protection Program application, federal prosecutors said. The U.S. Department of Justice said the Skowhegan man obtained a $59,145 loan for his Bangor-based company using false employee wage information and false supporting payroll documentation. The department said the man then spent the money on items and expenses he knew weren't covered by the program. Paycheck Protection Program loans were designed to be forgivable loans for small businesses to help with job retention and some other expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The man pleaded guilty on Tuesday, the Justice Department said. The man faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The Justice Department said he will be sentenced after an investigation report is completed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MANILA, Philippines (AP) New Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Chinas top diplomat Wednesday to take up long-simmering disputes in the South China Sea, as he waded into foreign policy dilemmas that include the U.S.-China rivalry in the region. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, wearing a native Filipino formal shirt, met his counterpart for talks at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila and later met Marcos Jr. at the presidential palace. No detailed statement about the talks was immediately released by Philippine officials. Chinese officials have frowned on what they perceive as undue media focus on the territorial conflicts that put Beijing in a bad light. In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement quoted Wang as telling National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos in Manila that Marcos Jr.s election has turned a new page in China-Philippines relations, and the two peoples are full of expectations for the development of bilateral relations. The statement did not say if the territorial disputes were taken up. Our only choice is to be friendly, friendly, and friendly again, Wang said. Wang arrived in Manila Tuesday night as part of a Southeast Asian swing that brought him earlier to Myanmar and Thailand. He will also visit Malaysia and Indonesia, where he will attend a meeting of G-20 foreign ministers in Bali. Wangs visit ushers Marcos Jr. early to touchy foreign diplomacy issues that often had prompted his predecessors to carry out delicate balancing acts. Marcos Jr. was sworn into office last week after a landslide electoral victory in May. He said in a televised news conference Tuesday that he would discuss with Wang possible ways to resolve Manilas disputes with Beijing in the contested South China Sea but would also propose to broaden ties further. China and the Philippines should not only be discussing the West Philippine Sea, Marcos said, using the Philippine name for the disputed waters. Lets do other things too. In that way, it will normalize our relationship. We have many proposals to them in the sense that, as I said, we would like for us to increase the scope, he said, and mentioned possible expansion of cultural, educational and military exchanges. He did not outline how he would handle the territorial issues but has indicated he would generally follow the approach of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who focused on intensifying engagements with China. After taking office in 2016, Duterte put the disputes on the backburner and tried to nurture cozier relations with China. He disregarded calls to aggressively demand that Beijing comply with a landmark 2016 ruling by a U.N.-backed arbitration tribunal that invalidated Chinas extensive claims in the South China Sea on historical grounds. The tribunal also ruled that Chinas massive land reclamations and actions against Filipino fishermen at a disputed shoal violated the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. China refused to take part in the arbitration, which was initiated by Dutertes predecessor, the late Benigno Aquino III. Beijing continues to defy the ruling, which was welcomed by the U.S. and other Western governments that have challenged Chinas flexing of muscles. Dutertes stance was criticized by nationalists and activists as a sellout, which they said squandered the Philippines arbitration victory. If youre talking about President Dutertes policy of engagement with China, thats really our only option, Marcos Jr. told DZRH radio network in January. War is not an option, he said then, and added that China rejected arbitration so that option is not available to us. Bringing in the U.S. to mediate will right away make China your enemy, he said. Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said Marcos Jr. was aware of the pitfalls of the U.S.-China rivalry and would foster relations with the two global powers in a way that would help the Philippine economy recover from two years of coronavirus pandemic lockdowns and cushion it from the global impact of Russias invasion of Ukraine. He always cites the saying that these are two elephants and when they fight, they step on the grass. We are the grass, Romualdez said. An initial dilemma would be which of the two capitals Marcos Jr. should visit first. President Joe Biden has sent a letter formally inviting him to Washington. Wang was expected to relay Xis invitation for the new president to Beijing, Romualdez said. Marcos Jr. is planning to attend the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September, where he could have an initial meeting with Biden on the sidelines. A separate U.S. state visit could be arranged in the near future, Romualdez said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) Thousands marched through the capital for a fifth consecutive night Wednesday protesting a proposal aiming to break a deadlock in North Macedonia's efforts to join the European Union. Limited violence broke out when a group of people threw stones, chairs and bottles at the protesters, while a 40-year-old man was detained after firing a gun in the air as protesters marched to the foreign ministry, police said. No injuries were reported. Police said they found bullet casings at the scene. Opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski and the governing social democrats hastily convened news conferences and accused each other of creating such incidents for political gain. Mickoski, who participated in the march, posted a photo on his Facebook account showing a man pointing a gun and claimed the gunman had intended to kill him. Earlier, police said that violence after the Tuesday night's protest inured 47 police officers, two of them seriously. A group of mostly young people threw stones, metal bars, eggs and petrol bombs at the parliament building. Thousands of people have protested nightly since the weekend over a French proposal for a compromise aimed at lifting objections by neighboring Bulgaria to North Macedonia joining the European Union. Police said 11 protesters were detained in Tuesday night's incidents. Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski condemned the attacks on the police, saying violence cannot be justified. Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski visited the injured police officers in a hospital Wednesday. He said an investigation into the instigators of the violence was underway and warned they would face the strictest possible punishments. We all know very well who is behind the protests and who called for them, Spasovski said. Bulgaria, which as an EU member has veto powers over new members, wants North Macedonia to formally recognize its language has Bulgarian roots, to recognize a Bulgarian minority in the country and to quash hate speech against Bulgaria. Many in North Macedonia say acquiescing would undermine their national identity. North Macedonias president, Stevo Pendarovski, and the government back the proposed French deal, which calls for the country to acknowledge in its constitution the existence of an ethnic Bulgarian minority. It would also provide for regular reviews on how the bilateral dispute is being addressed, which could potentially hamper North Macedonias future course toward EU membership. Bulgaria has already formally accepted the French proposal, which now requires the backing of North Macedonias parliament. Lawmakers are scheduled to convene Thursday to set up a committee that will look into the issue. No plenary session has yet been scheduled. The center-right VMRO-DPMNE, many international law experts and civic groups contend the French proposal favors Bulgarian demands, which dispute Macedonian views of regional history, language, identity and heritage. North Macedonia has been a candidate for EU membership for 17 years. The country received a green light in 2020 to begin accession talks, but no date for the start of the negotiations has been set. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the European Union at https://apnews.com/hub/european-union Stephen M. Katz/AP MIAMI (AP) Norwegian Cruise Line is dropping a requirement that passengers test negative for COVID-19 before sailing unless it is required by local rules. The company said Wednesday that it will drop the testing requirement Aug. 1 except on ships sailing from places with local testing rules, including in the United States, Canada, Bermuda and Greece. MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities on Wednesday started hauling away 177 lions, tigers, jaguars and other exotic big cats that were found at an animal rescue center in the mountains on Mexico Citys south side. The federal Attorney Generals Office for Environmental Protection said 202 animals in all, including monkeys, dogs, donkeys and coyotes, were being taken to other locations. Dozens of heavily armed city police raided the Black Jaguar White Tiger animal sanctuary Tuesday after images of rail-thin, distressed and injured lions circulated on social media. The founder of the reserve told local media that he had rescued some of the animals and that some of them arrived in bad shape. Mexico City police chief Omar Garcia Harfuch said the property had been seized for the crime of improper use of property and mistreatment of animals. City police said in a statement that according to the inspection, the property where the aminals were kept is zoned for agricultural or grazing purposes, not for keeping the kind of species found. Under Mexican law, private individuals can register to keep exotic cats and other animals in supervised wildlife management units. The facility raided Tuesday appears to have filed such paperwork. But the animal rights advocacy group PETA called the site a false sanctuary, saying it had been complaining for years that the facility was engaged in abusive practices. Peta said the lions, tigers and jaguars were held in relatively small fenced-in pens, sometimes with more than one animal per enclosure, and also were forced to interact with humans for selfies or videos. The Association of Zoos, Breeders and Aquariums of Mexico said its members would volunteer to take charge of the animals. But Mexican drug cartel members illegally keeping big cats and the country's 2015 ban on animal acts in circuses have both contributed to the saturation of animal shelters and rescue facilities. Several of our facilities are already saturated with wild animals from various rescues, ranging from circuses to hundreds of seizures of illegal trafficking of animals, Ernesto Zazueta, head of zoo association, said in a statement. But we cannot allow these animals, many of which are endangered, to continue in these deplorable health conditions and malnourishment. Zazueta said some of the monkeys and three lions might be taken to Mexico City zoos as soon as Wednesday and there were plans to send 50 of the animals on Thursday to zoos west of the capital and in the northern states of Gunajuato and Sinaloa. The animals were in a horrible situation, he said. Some of their tails are missing, they had been eaten. Others lack an eye, an ear. They are very, very thin, dehydrated. The founder of the refuge has said that donations to the reserve had dropped during the coronavirus pandemic. Mexican narcos have long had a fascination with exotic animals. In one week in June, a spider monkey dressed up as a drug gang mascot was found shot to death after a gunbattle, a 450-pound (200-kilogram) tiger wandered streets in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, and a man died from being mauled when he tried to pet a captive tiger in a cartel-dominated area of western Michoacan state. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Three children whose bodies were found in a suburban Minneapolis lake over the holiday weekend died in drownings that were classified as homicides, and their mother died of a drowning that was suicide, authorities said Tuesday as they also identified the victims. Searchers recovered the bodies of Molly Cheng and her three children, ages 3, 4 and 5, from Vadnais Lake on Friday and Saturday. Authorities had said earlier the deaths were being investigated as a triple murder-suicide. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating potential civil rights violations in Texas' multibillion-dollar border security mission that has given the National Guard arrest powers and seen state authorities bus migrants to Washington, D.C., according to public records. A lawyer for the state police agency acknowledged the federal probe of Gov. Greg Abbott's initiative to curb people crossing from Mexico in a May email, records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune show. The state prison system also cited a formal investigation in a letter seeking to withhold public records related to Operation Lone Star. The investigation comes to light as a human smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead in a sweltering tractor-trailer highlights the limits of state and federal border controls. Crossings along the entire southern border are at or near their highest point in about two decades. Last year, Abbott, a Republican seeking reelection, rolled out a massive law enforcement apparatus on the border, alleging inaction by President Joe Biden's administration. The surge in officers has driven arrests including for trespassing, low-level amounts of marijuana and other minor crimes that appear to have little to do with border security. Some of those detained have spent weeks in state jails. The emails from Texas Department of Public Safety officials indicate federal authorities are looking at whether the operation may have broken a law against discrimination based on race, color or national origin by organizations receiving federal funds. A spokesperson for the Department of Justices civil rights division declined to comment. A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman did not respond to a request for comment The Texas Department of Criminal Justice provided information about Operation Lone Star to Department of Justice officials after they requested it in March, according to spokeswoman Amanda Hernandez. She said the state prison system has and continues to follow all state, and federal laws as the state of Texas responds to the ongoing crisis at the border." Since April, Abbott has also offered migrants bus rides to Washington, D.C., saying he was taking the immigration issue to Congress doorstep. So far, about 3,000 migrants have taken the trip at a cost of more than $5 million. The efforts have not stopped a recent increase in crossings at the southern border. Authorities stopped migrants from crossing illegally 523,000 times between January and May, up from 417,000 over the same span a year ago. BARENTSBURG, Norway (AP) Russian food supplies bound for an Arctic coal mining settlement have resumed transiting via mainland Norway after weeks of tension, a Russian representative said Wednesday. Sergey Gushchin, the Russian consul general based in the settlement of Barentsburg, said Oslo had allowed Norwegian carriers to pick up the disputed cargo and cross the Russian-Norwegian border with it. All these days there has been close contact between the Russian and Norwegian Foreign Ministries. The situation has been resolved, a workaround has been found, Gushchin said in a live interview on Russian TV. No one can detain Norwegian carriers on the territory of Norway. On July 5, a vessel with containers left the port of Tromso and will come to us in Barentsburg on July 8 (Friday), he said. Russian officials previously accused Oslo of blocking a shipment of essential goods, including food and medication, destined for Russian miners in Barentsburg, on the far-Northern Svalbard archipelago. According to Norwegian media, local authorities in May stopped two containers carrying 20 tons of Russian goods at the sole land border crossing between the two countries, citing European Union sanctions against Moscow. Gushchin said that there were no immediate food shortages in Barentsburg. Norwegian media reported last month that the countrys ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the Foreign Ministry for a complaint over supplies bound for the settlement being prevented from transiting. Just hours later, a cyberattack temporarily knocked out public and private websites in Norway, which Norwegian security officials attributed to a criminal pro-Russian group. The distributed-denial-of-service (DDOS) attack on Norway came two days after a similar attack targeted public and private websites in Lithuania, with a pro-Moscow hacker group reportedly claiming responsibility. That incident came a week after Russian officials threatened to retaliate because Lithuania restricted the transit of steel and ferrous metals sanctioned by the EU through its territory to Russias exclave of Kaliningrad. MADISON, Ala. (AP) A federal judge has approved an agreement to settle a long-running desegregation case with a north Alabama school system, prosecutors said Wednesday. The school system agreed to take steps to ensure equal educational opportunities for Black students, including participation in gifted programs and college prep classes, officials said in a U.S. Department of Justice statement announcing the settlement with the Madison County School Board. It is long past time to deliver on the promises of Brown v. Board of Education for our nations students, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in the statement. The majority-white school system agreed to take steps to: ensure a uniform process for identifying students for gifted services and make all parents are aware of the program; identify students who could succeed in Advanced Placement classes and other college prep programs and encourage them to enroll; ensure non-discrimination in student discipline; and recruit more Black faculty members and school administrators. Rachel Ballard, the director of equity and innovation for Madison County schools, told reporters Wednesday the school system has already implemented several of the requirements. U.S. District Judge Madeleine Hughes Haikala approved the consent decree on Tuesday. The school system's progress will be monitored for three years. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Koreas spy agency filed charges on Wednesday against two of its former directors over their handling of separate border incidents with North Korea in recent years which prompted criticism that Seoul's previous liberal government improperly appeased the North to improve ties. The National Intelligence Service accused former director Park Jie-won, who served from 2020 to May this year, of destroying intelligence reports related to North Koreas fatal shooting of an unarmed South Korean citizen in waters near the countries' western sea border in 2020. In a statement, the agency also alleged that Parks predecessor, Suh Hoon, forcibly closed an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fisherman captured in South Korean waters. The two incidents have tainted the legacy of former President Moon Jae-in, who staked his single five-year term on inter-Korean engagement but faced accusations of appeasing a nuclear-armed rival with a brutal human rights record. The cases are being reviewed under the government of current conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who won a March election on a platform of taking a tougher stance toward North Korean provocations. The agency said it is bringing multiple charges against Park and Suh, including abuse of power, damaging public records and creating falsified records. It didnt immediately elaborate on the last charge. Responding to an inquiry from The Associated Press, the Supreme Prosecutors Office said it plans to assign the cases to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office for review before possibly proceeding with an investigation. Park denied that he destroyed internal reports and accused the agency of meddling in politics. Dont write a novel, he wrote on Facebook. The 2020 killing of the South Korean man, who was an employee of the countrys fisheries ministry, has been a source of domestic divide in South Korea. Conservatives accused Moons government of failing to strongly respond to North Korea in hopes of better ties and of attempting to divert the blame from the North by suggesting that the man had tried to defect. Yoon's government overturned the previous administration's assessment, saying last month that there is no evidence the South Korean official had intended to defect. Critics say Moons government never provided a clear explanation of why it forcibly repatriated two North Korean escapees in November 2019 to face possible execution, just days after they were seized in South Korean waters and expressed a desire to defect. Kim Yeon-chul, Moons point man on North Korea, described the men as atrocious criminals who confessed to murder, and questioned the sincerity of their wish to defect. Dozens of international organizations, including Human Rights Watch, issued a joint statement accusing Moons government of failing to provide due process and protect anyone who would be at substantial risk of torture or other serious human rights violations after repatriation. LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) A homeowner shot and killed a possibly intoxicated college student who was trying to get into his house and ignored both orders to leave and a warning shot, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said Tuesday. Joseph Tezeno, 21, of Lake Arthur, died about 10:30 p.m. Monday at a home in Lake Charles, about 35 miles east-northeast. This is a sad and tragic situation for both families involved," Mancuso said in a news release. He described Tezeno as a good kid that attended college locally. Unfortunately Tezeno was believed to be under the influence and his actions ... caused the homeowner to fear for his life, the sheriff said. Surveillance video shows Tezeno walking toward the homeowner after being told to leave, and after the homeowner fired a shot into the ground, Mancuso told The American Press. The newspaper said Tezeno attended McNeese State University, which is in Lake Charles. Mancuso said deputies were sent to the house after a woman called, saying someone was refusing to leave the house. She then said her husband had shot the man after he tried to get into the house. Detectives asked any neighbors with security cameras to get in touch. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, Anastasia has started her day by composing an anti-war message and posting it on the wall at the entrance of her apartment block in the industrial city of Perm in the Ural Mountains. Do not believe the propaganda you see on the TV, read independent media! reads one. Violence and death have been constantly with us for three months now take care of yourselves reads another. The 31-year-old teacher, who asked to be identified only by her first name because she fears for her security, said she wanted a safe and simple method of getting a message across. I couldnt do something huge and public," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I want to get people to think. And I think we should influence whatever space, in whatever way we can. Despite a massive government crackdown on such acts of protest, some Russians have persisted in speaking out against the invasion even in the simplest of ways. Some have paid a heavy price. In the early, wintry days of the invasion in February, authorities moved quickly to quash demonstrations, arresting people who marched or even held blank signs or other oblique references to the conflict. Critical media outlets were shut down as the government sought to control the narrative. Political opponents were singled out by President Vladimir Putin or commentators on state-run TV. Lawmakers rubber-stamped measures that outlawed the spread of false information about what the Kremlin called a special military operation and disparaging the military, using them against anyone who spoke out against the attack or talked about the atrocities Russian troops were alleged to have committed. As the war has dragged on into the languid days of a Russian summer, some like Anastasia feel guilty that they cannot do more to oppose the invasion, even within the constraints of the new laws. When Russian troops rolled in Ukraine on Feb. 24, Anastasia said her first thought was to sell all her possessions and move abroad, but she soon changed her mind. Its my country, why should I leave?" she told AP. "I understood I needed to stay and create something to help from here. Sergei Besov, a Moscow-based printer and artist, also felt he couldnt stay silent. Even before the invasion, the 45-year-old was making posters reflecting on the political scene and plastering them around the capital. When Russians voted two years ago on constitutional amendments allowing Putin to seek two more terms after 2024, Besov used his old printing press with hefty wooden Cyrillic type and vintage red ink to print posters that said simply: Against. During the 2020 unrest in Belarus over a disputed presidential election and the ensuing crackdown on the protesters, he made posters saying Freedom in Belarusian. After the invasion of Ukraine, his project, Partisan Press, started making posters saying No to war the main anti-war slogan. Video of the poster being printed became popular on Instagram, and demand for copies was so great that they were given away for free. After some of his posters were used at a demonstration in Red Square and some people displaying them were arrested, it became clear that the police "would inevitably come to us, Besov said. They showed up when Besov wasnt there, charging two of his employees with participating in an unauthorized rally by printing the poster used in it. The case has dragged on for over three months, he said, causing all of them lots of stress over whether they will be penalized and to what extent. Besov has stopped printing the No to war posters and went for subtler messages such as Fear is not an excuse to do nothing. He considers it important to keep speaking out. The problem is we dont know where the lines are drawn, Besov said. It is known that they can prosecute you for certain things, but some manage to fly under the radar. Where is this line? It is very bad and really difficult. Sasha Skochilenko, a 31-year-old artist and musician in St. Petersburg, failed to stay under the radar and is facing severe consequences for what she thought was a relatively safe way to spread the word about the horrors of war: She was detained for replacing five price tags in a supermarket with tiny ones containing anti-war slogans. The Russian army bombed an arts schools in Mariupol. Some 400 people were hiding in it from the shelling, one read. Russian conscripts are being sent to Ukraine. Lives of our children are the price of this war, said another one. Skochilenko was really affected by the war, said her partner, Sophia Subbotina. She had friends in Kyiv who were sheltering in the subway and calling her, talking about the horror that was going on there, Subbotina told AP. In 2020, Skochilenko taught acting and filmmaking at a childrens camp in Ukraine and worried how the conflict would affect her former pupils. She was really afraid for these children, that their lives were in danger because of the war, that bombs were falling on them, and she couldnt stay silent, Subbotina said. Skochilenko faces up to 10 years in prison on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army. It was a shock for us that they launched a criminal case, and a case that implies a monstrous prison term of 5 to 10 years," Subbotina said. "In our country, shorter sentences are handed down for murder. - Associated Press writer Francesca Ebel contributed. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) An 18-year-old man who attacked and killed two teachers with a knife and an ax at a high school in southern Sweden in March has been charged with two counts of murder, prosecutors said Wednesday. The man, who was a student at the school in Malmo, Swedens third-largest city, was arrested shortly after the incident on March 21. The suspect, who wasnt previously known to authorities and had no criminal record, and both victims were found on the third floor of the downtown Malmo Latin School 10 minutes after police were alerted. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Turkey has sent letters to Sweden and Finland renewing its request for the extradition of people it considers terror suspects, the Turkish justice minister said Wednesday. Turkey last week lifted its deal-breaking objections to Sweden and Finlands NATO accession. But Ankara has warned that it could still block the process if the two Nordic countries fail to meet its demand to extradite people suspected of links to outlawed Kurdish groups, or to the network of an exiled cleric accused over a failed coup in 2016. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) Pharmacists can prescribe the leading COVID-19 pill directly to patients under a new U.S. policy announced Wednesday that's intended to expand use of Pfizer's drug Paxlovid. The Food and Drug Administration said pharmacists can begin screening patients to see if they are eligible for Paxlovid and then prescribe the medication, which has been shown to curb the worst effects of COVID-19. Previously only physicians could prescribe the antiviral drug. The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are rising again, though they remain near their lowest levels since the coronavirus outbreak began in 2020. Biden administration officials have expressed frustration that several hundred Americans continue to die of COVID-19 daily, despite the availability of vaccines and treatments. Administration officials have been working for months to increase access to Paxlovid, opening thousands of sites where patients who test positive can fill a prescription for Paxlovid. The FDA change will make thousands more pharmacies eligible to quickly prescribe and dispense the pill, which must be used early to be effective. Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment," FDA drug center director Patrizia Cavazzoni, said in a statment. Still, use could be limited by paperwork requirements. Patients are expected to bring their recent health records including blood tests and a list of their current medications so pharmacists can check for health conditions and medications that can negatively interact with Paxlovid. As an alternative, pharmacists can consult with the patient's doctor. Paxlovid is intended for people with COVID-19 who are more likely to become seriously ill. That includes older people and those with other health issues like heart disease, obesity, cancer or diabetes that make them more vulnerable. It isnt recommended for patients with severe kidney or liver problems. A course of treatment is three pills twice a day for five days. The FDA authorized Paxlovid last December for ages 12 and up based on results showing it reduced hospitalizations and deaths by nearly 90% among unvaccinated patients most likely to get severe disease. The drug has shown less impressive results in patients who already have vaccine protection and some physicians have reported cases of COVID-19 symptoms returning after treatment with the drug. Expanding the test-to-treat program to include pharmacists could add thousands of additional options for patients. The two biggest U.S. drugstore chains CVS Health and Walgreens run around 19,000 locations combined. CVS Health already provides COVID-19 care at 1,100 clinic locations inside drugstores. There also are nearly 19,400 independent pharmacies not tied to a big chain, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association. Pharmacist Michele Belcher said ahead of the announcement that she hoped to be able to test customers for COVID-19 and offer the pill because there is a shortage of primary care doctors in her community, the small, southwestern Oregon city of Grants Pass. Belcher said she worries that some people may have a hard time getting a doctors appointment for a prescription during the narrow window to start the pill. Belcher, owner of the independent Grants Pass Pharmacy, said she used to test and treat for COVID-19 using injectable drugs that are no longer as effective. Her pharmacy routinely checks for potentially harmful interactions with other drugs a patient may be taking, she said. Pharmacists are the drug experts, she said. Thats something we do every day, all day, make sure there are no interactions with any medications. ___ Murphy reported from Indianapolis. ___ 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. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A Virginia mother has pleaded guilty to killing her 2-year-old son by providing him liquid methadone to make him sleep, leading to a fatal overdose, prosecutors said. The prosecution's summary of evidence as reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch shows that before her son received the liquid methadone, Sherrell M. Rivera, 32, conducted multiple Google searches about the liquid uses of the drug and its side effects, including a search of whether the addictive substance would slow breathing. CONCONULLY, Wash. (AP) A flash flood flowed through the streets of the town of Conconully in Washingtons remote Okanogan County on Monday, sending a foot of water and mud into 30 to 40 homes and businesses. County emergency managers saud 1.7 inches of rain fell in the 36 hours before the Monday flood, KING5 reported. Most of the rain fell in just two hours. Justin Sullivan, Staff / Getty Images As most patriotic Americans celebrate Independence Day, most face a darker reality of dependence instead. Dependence on foreign oil. Right now, folks across Southeast Texas are paying upwards of $4.60 a gallon for gas. Two years ago, during a global pandemic, that number was only $1.81. President Biden and House Democrats want you to believe that this price hike is due to Vladimir Putins war on Ukraine alone, but they are misleading the American people. The real reason that you may have to cancel your summer vacation rather than spend an arm and a leg at the gas pump is due to the radical anti-energy agenda that President Biden has been promoting since his first day in the White House. Admittedly, the Ukraine-Russia conflict has put additional pressure on the worlds oil economy. But blaming the war is a disingenuous misdirection: gas prices were steadily rising well before Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration laid the groundwork for these astronomical price increases on day one, and Putins invasion of Ukraine has only made a bad situation worse. On his first day in office, President Biden canceled the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. In addition to killing thousands of good-paying jobs for hard-working American patriots, Bidens pen-stroke also robbed Texas refineries of roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day. Those extra barrels of oil are sorely needed today for us and for our allies. In fact, they would easily offset any oil we might otherwise import from Russia. Instead of kowtowing to his woke base, President Biden must wake up to the reality that energy independence and abundance are the cornerstones of any responsible domestic agenda. President Trump understood this; we cannot say the same about his successor. The prices at the pump are not just a consequence of Bidens radical climate agendabut a part of it. In retrospect, rescinding the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline was just the opening volley of a full-frontal assault against the fossil fuel industry, using as its weapons the destructive anti-energy policies promoted by President Biden and his administration. Their war machine has devastated investment in the industry, which needs substantial capital to survive and thrive. The investment required to produce more oil and gas may take 15-20 years to recoup. While President Biden and his eco-cronies remain in power, few bottom-line-respecting CEOs will have the intestinal fortitude to invest in traditional energy projects as long as the destruction of the fossil fuel industry remains a central plank of the Democrats political platform. With investment in fossil fuels drying up, gas prices have skyrocketed, affecting folks right here in Southeast Texas. Drivers adjust their spending habits just to afford commuting expenses. But even working more from home does not fully mitigate the consequences of higher gas prices. If the U.S. is not energy independent, it means that we unnecessarily put ourselves back at the mercy of oil-rich foreign autocrats. The Bidenistas have all but dropped any pretense of concern about the crisis at the gas pump. On the contrary, they are fairly straightforward about the moral imperative for the rest of us to just suck it up and accept the new reality that we live in brave, new fossil-free world until everyone buys (relatively expensive) electric cars so that we can shun gasoline altogether. Just dont ask these energy absolutists about the source of fuel that powers the electricity-generating plants that provide the much-needed charge for these e-vehicles when they, um, run out of gas, so to speak. If the radical Left felt any allegiance to logic, they would bolster their clean-energy fanaticism by supporting the least emissive form of electricity generation: nuclear power. But thats another argument, for another time. For now, just ask our neighbors in Matagorda County home of the South Texas Project electric generating station about the merits of this energy source. At least theyll tell you the truth. Going forward, lawmakers must come together, not to merely roll back Bidens disastrous policies of dependence on illiberal autocracies but to restore the promise of abundant, affordable, and reliable energy produced here in the United States of America. Being taller is a downside during commercial flights, but a new design in aircraft seating attempts to amend this physical inconvenience by tapping into the unused space that hovers in the cabins overhead. The Chaise Longue Economy Seat is generating buzz at industry expos for its unusual double-decker design. Its creator says will provide more recline ability than the current standard. Alejandro Nunez Vicente, founder and designer of Chaise Longue Economy Seat, took SFGATE on a virtual tour. He insists that it will provide extended legroom for travelers, while offering customers more options for how to fly. But for now, one of the hurdles is convincing airlines and internet skeptics that this is truly a viable solution. Courtesy of Chaise Longue Economy Seat You cannot judge a three-year project by an article, he said. The people who tried it, 95 percent of them, love the idea of double stacking passengers. They see the potential of it. The typical airline seat tilts back to 110 degrees, and Vicentes version reaches 125 degrees. The revamp for comfort is matched by an incremental increase in room between the knees and the seat ahead. Courtesy of Chaise Longue Economy Seat The FAA has no minimum standards for seat width and pitch, and has publicly rebuffed attempts to standardize seating in recent years. According to the airline passenger advocacy organization FlyersRights, airlines have shrunk spacing on aircrafts since 1990. Vicentes design could be the first time that spacing on an aircraft has grown in a generation. He compares his model to that of a Formula 1 driver, whose legs are tucked under the seat elevated directly ahead. The overhead compartments for luggage are removed to make room for the upper deck, and that lost storage is instead tucked within the double-decker design. The seats would only apply to the central row. Traditional seating would remain on the sides of the aircraft. Courtesy of Chaise Longue Economy Seat The rules are very strict about the maximum weight a commercial aircraft can carry, and Vicente said the Chaise Longue Economy Seat is not an attempt to subtly increase the capacity of passengers on an airplane. Instead, Vicente, who is over 6 feet tall, is looking to improve the comfort of air travel for taller people. The goal is to make economy travel passengers more comfortable, he said. We try to approach with passenger comfort first and then build down from there. When you give passengers more options, they will be more comfortable. They become masters of their own destiny. The prototype is made of wood; Vicente is confident that it will gain even more centimeters of spacing once he can build with lighter and thinner materials. He says that the concept is attracting interest from airlines, and he is on a second round of gaining investors. For the remainder of 2022, hell travel from his home in Madrid, Spain to the United States for several expos and summits. Previous coverage of the model depicts what looks like a person practically consumed by the design when seated in the bottom deck. This led to criticism of claustrophobia and ensuing ridicule, but Vicente is unwavered in his pursuit to change air travel. Its a matter of perspective, he said in reference to the images that make the design look cramped. There is no such thing as bad publicity and people tend to be scared about change and innovation. They always laugh about it first. Courtesy of Chaise Longue Economy Seat Previous tweaks to aircraft seating such as Avio Interior's "SkyRider" saddle-like seat, where legs hung off as if riding on a horse were met with mockery. Still, Vicente believes his design will ultimately prevail in the eyes of the consumer because it will add more value without increasing costs. Well see who wins, he said. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Have you noticed that it has felt a bit like Hawaii around the San Francisco Bay Area in recent days? The air is thick, hot and sticky, and you may break out into a sweat just walking around town even though temperatures are only in the high 60s to low 80s. "We've had an anomalously high volume of moisture content over the area," said Brian Garcia, a forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Monterey, Calif. "With that, we have no significant winds to blow out the moisture. When things warm up in the afternoon, it gets muggy. It doesn't feel normal for us." WFO AMARILLO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, July 6, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... North central Carson County in the Panhandle of Texas... Hutchinson County in the Panhandle of Texas... Southeastern Hansford County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 730 PM CDT. * At 603 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Borger, moving northeast at 25 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and penny size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Minor damage to roofs, siding, and trees is possible. * Locations impacted include... Borger, Fritch, Stinnett, Sanford, Morse and Pringle. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, July 6, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Lubbock TX 513 PM CDT Wed Jul 6 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of south central Bailey and northeastern Cochran Counties through 530 PM CDT... At 513 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 4 miles southwest of Morton, moving north at 10 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and half inch hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Morton, Enochs and Maple. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. LAT...LON 3362 10273 3366 10294 3390 10295 3387 10265 TIME...MOT...LOC 2213Z 190DEG 10KT 3369 10283 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH The National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Beaver County in the Panhandle of Oklahoma... Northwestern Lipscomb County in the Panhandle of Texas... Northeastern Ochiltree County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 645 PM CDT. * At 514 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Booker, or 13 miles east of Perryton, moving northeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Expect some tree damage. Damage is likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings. Hail damage to vehicles is expected. * Locations impacted include... Beaver, Booker, Forgan, Darrouzett, Gate, Knowles, Elmwood, Mocane, Slapout and Balko. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Vietnam expands exports of premium rice segment Specifically, Vietnam's 5 percent broken rice average price hit US$418 a ton, $8 per ton higher than that of Thailand, $30 a ton more than Pakistan's, and $75 per ton in India. Vietnam's 5 percent broken rice is the premium rice segment. Meanwhile, the price of Vietnams 25 percent broken rice segment for export is $403 a ton, equal to Thailand but higher than Pakistan and India from $35-$75 a ton. Vietnam's premium rice segment has also been exported to Japan and Europe. Specifically, Tan Long Groups A An rice was officially displayed in supermarket chains in Japan; moreover, the group has just successfully exported a shipment of ST25 rice branded A An to Japan while Loc Troi Group has exported 500 tons of Loc Troi brand Vietnamese rice fragrant rice to Europe. By Vinh Tuong - Translated by Anh Quan Medical workers are spraying chemicals to kill mosquito Currently, most dengue cases and deaths are mainly reported in the southern provinces, but through surveillance in the North, the number of dengue cases started to increase. In particular, large hospitals in Hanoi such as Bach Mai, National Children's Hospital, and Central Tropical Diseases recorded cases of dengue fever with severe development and epidemiological factors. These cases have been returning from the southern provinces after going on a business trip or traveling. Through many cases of dengue due to epidemiological factors from the South, where dengue epidemic development is complicated, doctors recommended people to return from the south region when they have a sudden high fever, and pain. Physicians advised people with headaches, aches, and pains to go to a medical facility immediately for testing and timely diagnosis of dengue fever, to avoid dangerous complications. People need to actively apply measures to prevent mosquito bites when traveling or working, such as using mosquito repellent creams and gels, mosquito nets, and staying away from dengue-risk areas. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health yesterday said that from June 24 to June 30, the number of hands, foot, and mouth disease cases tends to decrease, but the number of dengue fever cases tends to increase, the city recorded one more dengue death. During the week, the southern largest city recorded 175 new dengue outbreaks in 98 wards and communes in 19/21 districts, and Thu Duc City, increased one new outbreak compared to the prior week with 136 outbreaks. By staff writers - Translated by Anh Quan Page Content In response to a rash of mass shootings in schools, grocery stores and other public places, Congress recently passed legislation signed by President Joe Biden that enhances gun safety reforms. Tucked into the new federal law is a provision that closes what's known as the "boyfriend loophole." The law may reduce the incidence of workplace violence committed by domestic abusers who pursue their partners at their workplaces. A previously enacted federal law prohibited people convicted of domestic abuse from buying or owning guns, but only if an abuser was married to, lived with or had a child with the abuse victim. That law still permitted domestic abusers who had dated an abuse victim to buy or own a gun. The new law now bans gun purchases or ownership by anyone convicted of abusing somebody they dated. Closing the "boyfriend loophole" potentially could reduce bloodshed associated with domestic abusers and their victims. Between 2003 and 2014, nearly half of the 10,018 women murdered in the U.S. were killed by a former or current intimate partner, according to Georgetown University's law school. In most of these cases, a gun was the murder weapon. Sadly, gun violence involving domestic abusers and their victims too often creeps into the workplace. Will the newly enacted Bipartisan Safer Communities Act help curb this type of violence? Experts are divided on just how much of an effect the law will have on workplace violence carried out by gun-toting domestic abusers. Law professor Jody Madeira, co-director of the Center for Law, Society & Culture at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law and co-editor of the soon-to-be-published book The Second Amendment: Gun Rights and Regulation (Foundation Press), believes the new gun reform law will likely reduce workplace violence committed by dating partners who have been convicted of domestic violence. Madeira noted that nearly one-fourth of workplace violence incidents are linked to personal relationships, with women far more likely to be victimized than men. From 1997 to 2009, she said, 321 women died as a result of workplace violence initiated by former or current partners, as opposed to 38 men. "Laws that keep guns away from domestically violent individuals are associated with lower rates of violence against women and of intimate-partner homicides," Madeira said. "For this reason, many states already barred those convicted of domestic violence from possessing or carrying firearms." Steve Albrecht said he doubts the new gun reform law will make much difference when it comes to workplace violence. Albrecht, a consultant on the prevention of workplace and school violence, is the co-author of Ticking Bombs: Defusing Violence in the Workplace (Irwin Professional Pubs, 1994). Albrecht explained that gun-wielding perpetrators of workplace violence are driven by their desire for revenge, their fragile mental health and their narcissism. "They aren't deterred by gun possession laws, the need for a permitting process or concealed carry regulations," he said. Tom Miller, co-founder and CEO of ClearForce, a company that specializes in detecting and rooting out misconduct and high-risk behavior in the workplace, agreed with Madeira. He said he thinks the gun reform law "will add another level of protection" against workplace violence, particularly if it stems from domestic abuse. "However, the work toward a safe and secure organizational environment doesn't stop there. All forms of security require a layered solution approach; no single solution or law will eliminate risk," Miller said. So, what should an employer do to add layers of protection to curb workplace violence tied to domestic abusers? Madeira, Albrecht and Miller offered the following suggestions: Protect employees who disclose domestic abuse to their co-workers or managers. Domestic abusers can harm a victim's work reputation by causing absenteeism and tardiness that can lead to resignations or even terminations, Madeira said. Formal and informal support of a domestic abuse victim can help that victim keep working. In addition, state law may allow an employer to pursue or help an employee obtain an emergency risk protection order against a domestic abuser. Domestic abusers can harm a victim's work reputation by causing absenteeism and tardiness that can lead to resignations or even terminations, Madeira said. Formal and informal support of a domestic abuse victim can help that victim keep working. In addition, state law may allow an employer to pursue or help an employee obtain an emergency risk protection order against a domestic abuser. Review guns-at-work policies. In some states, Madeira said, an employer may be able to ban guns from a workplace. In other states, they can enforce laws that limit where workers can keep firearms (such as in the trunk of an employee's car in the workplace parking area, rather than in the employee's office). In some states, Madeira said, an employer may be able to ban guns from a workplace. In other states, they can enforce laws that limit where workers can keep firearms (such as in the trunk of an employee's car in the workplace parking area, rather than in the employee's office). Promote a team approach. HR professionals should work in tandem with other workplace departmentssuch as security, risk management, legal, IT and facilities managementto address workplace violence caused by domestic abusers, Albrecht said. In addition, HR professionals should familiarize themselves with local resources, including law enforcement agencies, shelters for abuse victims and victims' advocacy groups, in case an abused employee needs assistance. HR professionals should work in tandem with other workplace departmentssuch as security, risk management, legal, IT and facilities managementto address workplace violence caused by domestic abusers, Albrecht said. In addition, HR professionals should familiarize themselves with local resources, including law enforcement agencies, shelters for abuse victims and victims' advocacy groups, in case an abused employee needs assistance. Set up a system for formal reporting of domestic abuse. Miller said a workplace reporting system for domestic abuse can head off safety risks before they arise. This sort of secure, confidential system should shield victims' identities and eliminate bias, he said. "Having a proactive automated system in place can uncover misconduct in a timely manner, whether from an abusive work relationship or a hostile work environment, rather than carrying out reactive and ineffective safety measures. Whistleblower and ethics hotlines are not sufficient," Miller said. John Egan is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Digital India is catalysing India's 'Techade' and startups and unicorns are the new drivers of the digital economy, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Tuesday. The 'Digital India' initiatives have brought in a seismic transformation in the economic landscape of the country, by creating more opportunities and putting the youth in the driver's seat of the digital economy," he said at the 'StartUps Conference' here. Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw and several founders and co-founders of startups and unicorns were also present at the event. "Our success and capabilities range from the India stack, UPI, internet consumer tech, electronics and semiconductors, Web3.0, Industry 4.0, AI and high performance computing. These capabilities of leadership and entrepreneurship are increasingly defining New India," Chandrasekhar stressed. The entrepreneurs present included Ghazal Alagh, founder of Mamaearth, Varun Khaitan, co-founder, Urban Company, Rohan Verma, CEO of MapmyIndia, Srinath Ramakrishnan, Co-founder, Zeitwerk, Anil Sharma, Head, Corporate incubation, TCS and others. Chandrasekhar, along with CEOs of 50 Indian startups and unicorns, recently met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss future collaborations and partnerships between India and the UK in the innovation and technology sector. He also discussed achievements of 'Digital India' and sought future collaborations with the UK Prime Minister in the technology sector. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 'Digital India Week 2022' on the theme 'Catalysing New India's Techade' nationwide at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. He inaugurated 'IndiaStack Global', 'My Scheme', 'Meri Pahechan', 'Digital India Bhashini', 'Digital India Genesis', 'Chips to Startup Programme' and 'Catalysing New India's Techade E-Book' at the event. The number of women reaching positions of power and occupying the corner office has started seeing a rise in recent years FREMONT, CA: The number of women occupying office and achieving positions of power has begun to increase recently after years of battle to shatter the glass ceiling. Women of Indian descent are not falling behind when it comes to establishing their paths and earning wealth. Jayshree V. Ullal, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the computer networking company Arista Networks are one of them who has proven their mettle. Ullal has been the CEO of Arista Networks since 2018 and is to blame for the company's multibillion-dollar growth following a successful and historic IPO in June 2014. When she started working there, the company had less than 50 people and no revenue. She is additionally a member of the Snowflake board of directors, a cloud computing business that went public in September 2020. She was ranked among the wealthiest self-made women in America by Forbes when her net worth hit USD 2.1 billion in 2022. As of the time that this article was being written, she had a net worth of USD 1.7 billion. Ullal reportedly owns roughly five per cent of Arista's stock, some of which is set aside for her two children, niece, and nephew. She has won various honours, including E&Y's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015, Barron's World's Best CEOs in 2018, and a spot on Fortune's list of the Top 20 Business Persons in 2019. Born in London, Ullal attended school in New Delhi. She earned degrees in engineering management and electrical engineering from Santa Clara University and San Francisco State University, respectively. Neerja Sethi, the co-founder of Syntel, Neha Narkhede, co-founder and former CTO of Confluent, Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, and Reshma Shetty, co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks, are other Indian American women that made it onto the Forbes list. For the fifth consecutive year, co-founder and chairperson of ABC Supply Diane Hendricks came in first place. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Australian drivers are being warned not to expect any immediate relief from sky-high petrol prices that have risen back beyond $2.10 a litre despite steep falls in the cost of crude oil this week. Fears about a possible global recession and the impact of further pandemic lockdowns in China on fuel demand led to nearly a 10 per cent drop in the benchmark Brent oil price on Wednesday morning, its biggest daily percentage fall since March 9, before it edged slightly higher to $US104 a barrel. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has all but confirmed there will be no extension to the fuel excise subsidy beyond September. Credit:Justin McManus However, economists and energy analysts expect oil markets to remain tight as Western countries continue shunning Russian supplies, meaning the price fall is unlikely to persist for long enough to flow through to Australian petrol stations. The average national price of unleaded petrol, which dropped to $1.60 in April, has climbed back to $2.12 a litre, according to statistics from the Australian Institute of Petroleum. In the more than three decades that Lisa Margan has lived and worked at her familys Hunter Valley winery and restaurant, shes never seen flooding like this. The river that flows by their property in Wollombi has swollen 500 metres wider than usual and the family are stranded until the river recedes. Lisa Margans Hunter Valley winery and restaurant has been impacted by the floods. They have been without power since Tuesday and have no running water. Thankfully, they have got plenty of wine and food from the restaurant cellar to keep them going, Margan said. The vineyards are saturated, but the vines are going through their annual winter dormancy so there shouldnt be too much of an impact on them. But, for Margan Wine and Restaurant, like many businesses in the area, the flooding event is the latest in six years of challenges. Interviewed by the ABCs Richard Fidler in 2014, Dell told how once he had buried his parachute, he started walking towards the Dutch border. One night in the rain he heard hundreds of voices singing. In Holland, he subsequently learnt it was probably the voices of Jews on a train which was halted by the Germans during an air raid. Speculation was that they were on their way to the nearby Belsen concentration camp. On his car radio years later Dell recognised what they were singing the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdis opera Nabucco. After a week of walking only at night Dell found a farmhouse with a barn close to the main road and climbed into the hay loft, hung his battledress over a beam to dry, and went to sleep. I was awakened at probably about 10am in the morning and heard cautious footsteps coming up the ladder into the hayloft and excited whispering, he said. I had a conviction they would be friendly towards me so I climbed out of my hay pile dressed just in my underpants and frightened the daylights out of two 16-year-old boys. The farmer and his wife subsequently arrived with food and drink. He was then taken to another farm and introduced to the Dutch Resistance. His services were then used to send Morse code messages with a lamp to signal to aircraft dropping supplies of food, ammunitions and uniforms. He also was useful in listening for secret signals broadcast by the BBC during the 6 oclock news. Dell was assisted by several families, but Bernard and Dora Prinzen were the last to hide him and for the longest time. The family lived in constant fear of being discovered helping downed airmen, in the knowledge of what would happen to them if their assistance was discovered by the Nazis. One morning the farmer tapped on the door to our little hiding place and he said, Boys, we think we can see a Tommy tank down the road. With an American and an Australian, they walked across fields to the main road to find a British armoured car. Loading I banged on the side and the steel door on top of the gun turret opened and a face came out with a huge, huge moustache. I said, Good morning, I am very pleased to see you. I am Dell, RAF, can you help us get home? This chap said, Jolly good show. Jolly good show. This was the very aristocratic Household Cavalry. On March 30, 1945 Dell was liberated by Allied forces, and a few weeks later, after a debrief by MI5 in London, he walked into his parents home in Brighton, seven months after being declared missing in action. Exactly one year to the day following his liberation on March 30, 1946, he returned to see the Prinzen family at their farm house near Aalten. He was later awarded the Resistance Cross by HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands one of only five foreigners to be recognised for his work in late 1944 and early 1945, when in hiding in Nazi occupied Holland. This visit led to a continuation of a bond forged between the two families which remains strong today. Dell maintained contact with Bernard and Dora, and their sons and daughters and their children. The Dell family salute the Prinzens and the many other Dutch Resistance people for risking, and in many cases giving their lives for freedom. After leaving the air force in 1946, Dell joined British European Airways and started flying passenger aircraft, and married his wife, Isabel Medill. An opportunity came along to be seconded to the fledgling Cyprus Airways, and in 1947 they arrived in Nicosia for what turned out to be an eight-year posting. Reunion: Frank Dell aged 22 (seated with child on his knee) with farmer Bernard Prinzen on his left and Dora on his right, 1945. He flew DC3 Dakota aircraft all over the Middle East, Africa, and to and from London. On one flight they carried a sheikh and his several wives and many children, all of whom sat on the port seats in the aircraft. Opposite sat his 12 falcons on a telegraph pole occupying the entire starboard seat headrests. In 1955 the Dells time in Cyprus came to an end and the family Frank and Isabel had welcomed three sons, Robert, Andrew and Alex returned to the UK. Dells service with British Airways came to an end in 1976. He joined the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators in 1970 and became chairman of the technical committee, and was appointed master in 1988. Just before his retirement in 1976, Dell was asked to fly the Queen and Prince Philip on a five-day state visit to Finland. Dells uncle and his wife lived in Merimbula, and they visited several times. He also had time to write a wartime memoir, which was published in the UK as Mosquito Down. Having spent many years travelling between Sydney and the UK, and with homes and friends in both, the family decided to simplify things and emigrate permanently to Australia in the early 2000s, settling in St Ives on Sydneys north shore. Retired British Airways pilot Frank Dell returns to the cockpit of a Boeing 777 to mark the airlines 100th anniversary in 2019. In 2019 at Sydney Airport, Dell attended a ceremony to commemorate the centenary of British Airways. Once more he sat in the pilots seat in a Boeing 777 the first time since 1976. Loading Dells last wishes were to have the Dutch flag upon his casket at his funeral, along with the Union Jack, and for the Dutch National Anthem, Wilhelmus, to be played. Frank Dell is survived by his sons Rob in Sydney, Andrew in the UK and Alex in the US, and their families. Nick Kyrgios to face Canberra court on common assault charge Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Sydney has headed into clean-up mode on Thursday as heavy rain continues to make its way north, putting the NSW Mid North Coast, Hunter Region and Central Coast on high flood alert. In a weather update on Thursday morning, NSW Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said she feared flood victims would rush to return to their homes across Greater Sydney without performing necessary risk checks. Cooke said emergency leaders were concerned about residents rushing to use heaters to dry out their homes in what could pose a major fire risk. Through the start of this winter season we have already seen five deaths through house fires, which is more than we saw for all of winter in 2021, she said. Missing woman Lynette Dawson could have died as a result of misadventure, such as former Australian prime minister Harold Holt who disappeared at sea, after the mother of two allegedly abandoned her Sydney home, a court has been told. We cant say that happened, but we dont know, Chris Dawsons barrister Pauline David told the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday. Chris Dawson and Lynette Dawson were married in 1970. Credit:Nick Moir, Supplied Dawson, 73, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his first wife, Lynette, who disappeared from Sydneys northern beaches in January 1982. The Crown alleges he killed her on or about January 8, motivated by his desire to have an unfettered relationship with the familys teenage babysitter, known as JC. The defence says Lynette abandoned her home after being dropped off at a Mona Vale bus stop on January 9. Dawson claims she called him that afternoon at Northbridge Baths to say she needed time away, and he received several calls in the days and weeks to follow. Body found in sunken car The body of a man was found yesterday in a car in 45 feet of water at the foot of Erkine Street wharf. Police believe the car has been there more than a week, embedded upside down in thick mud. The body was that of Alga James, 32, of Earlwood, manager of a chain store in Rockdale. He was reported missing on the night of June 27 after attending a branch managers gathering. Police believe he mistook a crossing in the city, plunging across the wharf and into the harbour. Punter forced to apologise A protestor was forced by police to apologise to a jockey at Flemington after the Grand National Hurdle, Melbourne, for the remarks he had shouted at him. The crowd had hooted, jeered and cat-called the winner, Felcatch. Police asked the stewards to call Felcatchs rider from the jockeys room and the man theyd apprehended was told he had to apologise. He refused. You can either apologise or be locked up, said the policeman. An apology was forthcoming. Singing puppies from New Guinea Taronga Zoo now has four singing wild-dog pups. A newly discovered species from the New Guinea Highlands, they can neither howl nor bark. But they make a high-pitched noise like yodelling. The pups are the first of their kind to be born in captivity. Sir Edward Hallstrom, Taronga Park Trust chairman, said yesterday that the copper-coloured animals were night hunters and rarely seen by the locals. They sing well. Were thinking of having them trained. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The tugboat crews day was off to a normal start: they began their Monday morning with a coffee, trying to keep warm inside the tug pens of Port Botany on Sydneys coastline while the city was being battered by winds and rain outside. But it wouldnt stay that way. Hours later, the three-man crew were being battered at sea in conditions the seafarers had never experienced: smashed by nine-metre waves on one side, and on the other by the thud of a 60,000-tonne carrier ship that had lost power in the storms and was drifting in heavy rains towards the fearsome cliffs of the Royal National Park. The tugboat captain fought to remain seated as his 30-metre tug violently see-sawed in heavy rains and wild swell. Almost all the contents of the tugboat from crockery to equipment smashed as they hit the deck. The engineer ended up in hospital the next day with a leg injury suffered when the crash of the larger boat sent his body flying. But thanks to them, the Portland Bay cargo ship carrying close to 1000 tonnes of fuel and a 21-member crew arrived safely in Port Botany on Wednesday afternoon after three days stricken without power off the coast of Sydney. It avoided a catastrophic crash against the cliffs which could have led to a human and ecological disaster. Captain Brad Lucas says one thought is always at the back of his mind: What happens when that ships floating towards the rocks and youre the only crew around? When he got the call from Vessel Traffic Services, the monitoring service run by the Port Authority of NSW, just before 8am on Monday, everyone around him thought he was joking. But the reality quickly dawned. It was me or no one, Lucas said. Im not a salvage tug, Im just a towage tug, but I was the only one available. Advertisement He cleared the request for help with his company, Engage Towage, and then Lucas, along with engineer Marius Fenger and deck hand Alex Alsop, wasted no time. What happens when that ships floating towards the rocks and youre the only crew around? Captain Brad Lucas They conferred for 15 minutes to sort out the logistics, choose the boat, grabbed the essential equipment and whatever food was lying around some peanuts, apples and chicken, anything they could survive a day on before starting the motor on the Diamantina, the longest and most capable boat in their fleet. The call evoked a specific fear in the crew. When you hear a ship is in trouble, you need to go. Were all marine people, so were very conscious of what that would mean to fellow seafarers. It would be a very traumatic event a ship facing a cliff face with no propulsion, and anchors dragging, I dont think it gets any worse than that, Fenger said. Its something no seafarer ever wants to witness. We know the difficulties they would have rescuing the crew. And of course, the consequences to the environment are massive, spread a long way up and down the coast. So there was no hesitation when it came to whether they should get the motors running. Advertisement The tugboat heroes who helped to save the Portland Bay freight ship from being washed ashore. The crew from the SL Diamantina: engineer Marius Fenger, ships captain Brad Lucas and deckhand Alex Alsop. Credit:Peter Rae The Diamantina had only just cleared the breakwater past Port Botany when it encountered four-metre seas. By the time they reached the headlands, waves were six to seven metres high. Then as soon as we were outside the harbour we started to feel the full effects of the nine metres, Fenger said. There was a nine-second swell meaning it took a full nine seconds for the tug to rock between the tip of each giant surge. Heavy rain was also coming, and while Lucas made contact with the Portland Bays captain on approach, he could not see the boat in the rain. I asked how long until he runs aground, and he said he had 32 minutes. My ETA was 40 minutes, Lucas said. I was pretty much preparing myself for a recovery, people overboard. We got the ladder ready, life rings, anything we could throw overboard. The visibility was terrible, the weather was atrocious. I asked how long until he runs aground, and he said he had 32 minutes. My ETA was 40 minutes. Captain Brad Lucas Advertisement Lucas could see about 50 metres ahead. It was the rain that drew my visibility to next to nothing. It was a complete white-out for most of the day, he said. You fall back into your training and slow everything down, stay calm. I pulled my crew [together] and said: Theres no use us dying in the process, were not good to them if we end up capsizing. Shortly before they arrived, Lucas heard over the radio that a helicopter mission to save the crew had been abandoned. Thats when I knew this was serious. When I heard the helicopter abort because it was too rough, thats when I thought: We have to save these people. People were concerned about the environmental impact, but there were 21 crew members on there. Credit:Surf Life Saving NSW More than an hour after they left Botany Bay, about 9.45am, the cargo ship emerged from the mist. The tugboat crew made it in time: there were still about 1500 metres between the vessel and the cliff face at the Royal National Park, and 400 metres before it hit the reef. Advertisement The instruction Lucas received from salvage experts was to try and stop the Portland Bay drifting further by pressing the tug against the larger boat. The crew started pushing their 500-tonne, 30-metre tug boat against the 169-metre bulk carrier, weighing about 60,000 tonnes, to halt its movement. But when combined with the nine-metre waves, the force of the bigger boat was extreme. We were not only getting hit against the vessel with the waves, but because of the different lengths [the boat was hitting us] quite hard, Fenger said. With the tug stowed alongside it, the Portland Bay started rolling from side to side in the swell. One minute, the tug would almost be pressed against the bilge, at the bottom of the boat. The next moment we were up at the railing, Fenger said. It was a long way up ... Its rolling and moving in the seas, and were doing exactly the same, but because were so much smaller ... That was probably the most dramatic part of the day, that difference in movement. Each clash came with the force of thousands of tonnes. Fenger describes it being a bit like a boat car crash. Movement was quite violent and large, it was throwing us around. When the vessel came to a stop, your body weight is still travelling. Everything that could come out of a cupboard or a drawer, came out of that cupboard or drawer. The deck was strewn with smashed plates and broken equipment. It was about that time when Fenger injured his leg, damning him to spend the rest of the day in pain. For Lucas, who was driving, the challenge was trying to stay seated as he held the vessel in position. Advertisement A gathering of the nations most senior Catholic leaders has descended into disarray after a push to elevate the role of Australian women in the church including by potentially allowing them to serve in the ministry failed to attract enough support from the nations bishops. The planned schedule for Catholic Churchs fifth plenary council, a powerful policymaking event taking place in Sydney this week, was suspended on Wednesday after two motions affirming womens role in the Church failed to pass. This prompted some delegates to refuse to take their seats and stand at the back of the meeting room in protest. Marilyn Hatton, a Catholic feminist, said she was deeply disappointed in the Churchs failure to affirm the role of women in the Church. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen One of the motions which reformers describe as anodyne and incremental was overwhelmingly approved by the priests and laypeople in attendance, but fell short of the two-thirds super-majority required in a final vote by Catholic bishops. Former attorney-general Christian Porter is joining Mick Gattos legal team as the underworld identity looks to take his defamation case against the ABC to the High Court. Gatto sued the ABC over a 2019 online article that reported an allegation he had threatened to kill barrister-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo after learning she was providing information to police. Christian Porter is set to represent Mick Gatto in his bid for a High Court appeal. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In February 2021, a Supreme Court judge dismissed the proceedings, but in April this year Gatto applied for special leave to appeal the decision in the High Court, where he will be represented by Porter alongside barristers Guy Reynolds and Daniel Ward. Porter once touted as a future prime minister has also previously sought to sue the ABC for defamation following an article they published that aired historical rape allegations, something the then-attorney-general vehemently denied. University enrolments among Victorian students have fallen this year in health, education, agriculture and the sciences, in a sign the former Morrison governments fee overhaul has so far failed to encourage secondary school students into priority fields of study. Meanwhile, students continue to enrol in the humanities in large numbers, despite the overhaul driving up first-year university fees by more than 110 per cent. First-year student at Monash University Francis Manguilin enrolled in arts despite the fee increases because he wants to follow his passion. Credit:Eddie Jim This years first-year university students are the second cohort to have enrolled since the Coalitions Job Ready Graduates changes were introduced. The scheme pushed up fees in fields including the humanities, law, commerce and communications, while lowering them in teaching, nursing, mathematics, languages and other fields deemed more important for jobs and the economy. About 40 per cent of Naurus population is currently infected with COVID-19, and with prices of food and water soaring, refugees still detained on the tiny Pacific Island nation say they are struggling to access food, water and medicines. The Melbourne-based Asylum Seeker Resource Centre has issued an urgent plea to Australia to evacuate the 112 refugees and asylum seekers still trapped there after more than nine years of detention. Refugees on Nauru say they cannot afford fresh food and water on the island since prices skyrocketed. Credit:AP A week ago, the organisation sent an imminent risk notice to International Health and Medical Services (IHMS), which provides medical care to detainees on Nauru, and the Australian Border Force, but has had no response. There is an urgent situation facing everyone who is still trapped offshore, said the centres director, Jana Favero. The living conditions are dire and compacted by COVID-19 and characterised by a lack of basic necessities. The key to national leadership in an emergency is simple. You must turn up. Every prime minister has known it since at least Harold Holt. Holt, on an official visit to New Zealand, hurried to Tasmania to survey the ruins and speak to the victims of the Black Tuesday bushfires of 1967, declaring I had to come to see it for myself. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet talk to flood victims at a community pantry. Credit:James Brickwood Anthony Albanese, prime minister for six weeks, proved himself acutely aware of the old truth on Wednesday. Having streaked across the globe from a communications blackout within a European war, he shrugged off jet lag and waded into the flooded world lapping at Sydneys borders the day after he landed back in Australia, standing with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet to hear the frustration and pain of victims, their hopes drowned for the fourth time in 18 months. The controversial power of the federal education minister to veto Australian Research Council grants will be scrutinised as part of an independent inquiry into the agency, as the Albanese government vows to reset the relationship with universities. The decision by the former Morrison government to veto $1.4 million in funding for six humanities projects last year triggered widespread outrage from university leaders and academics, with some calling for the ministerial right-of-veto to be scrapped and for a root-and-branch review of the ARC system. Education Minister Jason Clare announced a review of the Australian Research Council funding system on Wednesday night, as he delivered his first address to the university sector since Labor won government. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen New Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has gone some way to acting on these concerns, using his first speech to the university sector to declare that the delays and the political interference in the way competitive grants operate need to end, as he announced a review into the role and governance of the main grants body. It damages our international reputation. It also makes it harder for you to recruit and retain staff, Clare told the annual Universities Australia conference on Wednesday night. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a global failure to act on climate change has thrust disaster on the states flood-ravaged communities, as he visited the Hawkesbury to face locals inundated for the fourth time in 18 months. In his first visit to the region, Albanese vowed to heed the lessons of the emergency and work with all levels of government on flood mitigation strategies in the national interest. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet in Richmond, which has been severely affected by flooding in the past week. Credit:James Brickwood My government has changed Australias position on climate change from day one, he said. The science told us that if we continued to not take action globally on climate change, then these events, extreme weather events, would be more often and more intense. And what were seeing, unfortunately, is that play out. London: Just when Novak Djokovics troubling year looked like hitting another low, he salvaged his bid for a fourth successive Wimbledon title by coming back from two sets down to beat Italian Jannik Sinner. On Tuesday (UK time), the Serbian top seed had looked in all kinds of trouble against the inspired 20-year-old after being outplayed for two sets but stormed back to win 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. In the end there was an air of inevitability about the outcome as the battle-hardened 35-year-old seized control to reach his 43rd Grand Slam semi-final and 11th at Wimbledon. He also extended an unbeaten run at Wimbledon that goes back to 2017 and now stands at 26 matches. Singapore: The Australian Federal Police has denied it is helping apprehend a mystery Australian man wanted over the seizure of more than 50 kilograms of drugs in Bali after the islands chief investigator said it was joining the hunt. Bali police officers arrested three Indonesian men at a villa in Kuta in April following the discovery of a huge haul of illegal substances including 32kg of cocaine, 35kg of crystal methamphetamine, 2kg of marijuana and 796 ecstasy pills. Bali police hold a press conference in June parading the three Indonesian men arrested at a Kuta villa in April. Credit:Bali police They believe a 32-year-old Australian man is behind the haul and Bali polices head of drug investigations Mohamad Khozin said he had met with AFP officers on the Indonesian holiday mecca. AFP said they would help look for him, Khozin told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. POINTE BLANCHE:--- The Causeway Bridge remains out of service for motorized traffic. Technicians worked on Tuesday troubleshooting the issue, however, there has been no progress to date, and the teams involved will continue Wednesday working diligently to resolve the problem. Bridge manufacturer Hollandia specialists working remotely from the Netherlands, supported by local technical teams from NV GEBE, Electec, along with Port St. Maarten Group staff, are part of the assembled group that has been working almost around the clock to find a resolution. The Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority (SLAC) apologizes for the inconvenience caused. On Monday afternoon the Causeway Bridge suffered a technical problem while it opened for maritime traffic. In the process of closing the bridge, the system malfunctioned possibly due to a power grid outage. SLAC will keep the community informed with respect to any updates. HARBIN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese research team, funded by the National Social Science Foundation, said it has completed the translation and compilation of the recordings of the Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials ahead of the 85th anniversary of the "July 7 Incident." In 1949, 12 members of the Japanese Kwantung Army were tried as war criminals in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk for manufacturing and using biological weapons and carrying out inhuman medical experiments during WWII. The trial recordings, lasting 22 hours, 5 minutes and 57 seconds, contain contents concerning the transformation and organization of Unit 731, a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Japanese Imperial Army, as well as the live human experiments, field toxicity tests, preparation and implementation of germ warfare by Unit 731, From 1946 to November 1948, during the Tokyo Trial, the United States and Japan reached a secret deal, in which the United States obtained data on human experiments, bacteria experiments, germ warfare and gas experiments conducted by Unit 731 on the condition that the unit members were exempted from their war responsibilities. As a result, the Japanese germ war criminals escaped the Tokyo Trial. According to Jiao Hongshuang, chief expert of the research team, the Soviet Union repeatedly demanded the extradition of Japanese germ war criminals before December 1949, but it proved futile. As a result, it conducted the Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials from Dec. 25-30, 1949. "The trials revealed for the first time the crimes of human experimentation and germ warfare committed by the Japan army in northeast China during its invasion," Jiao said, adding that the recordings also confirmed the establishment of the germ warfare system centered on Unit 731 was a top-down organized war crime committed by the Japanese state. On July 7, 1937, Japanese soldiers attacked Chinese forces at the Lugou Bridge, marking the beginning of Japan's full-scale invasion of China. It was known as the "July 7 Incident." PARAMARIBO:--- James Fines, president of Nos Ke Boneiru Bek, and Davika Bissessar, president of Bonaire Human Rights Organization held an important private meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Organization (UN), Antonio Guterres, were explained the apartheid situation that Bonaire is experiencing, where the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Holland), has violated the territorial status of Bonaire. Violating the human rights of the people, destroying their culture, identity, and language, seizing their natural resources, degrading a great nation like Bonaire to a public entity, in clear violation of international law, while promoting new forms of recolonization, by sending Dutch people who acquire citizen rights and voting rights after three months of inhabiting the country Mr. Finies informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations that today in Bonaire, the Kingdom of the Netherlands not only controls the land, the wealth, and the government but also a discriminatory social structure prevails, typical of that Dutch colonialism that so much damage caused humanity in the 16th to 19th centuries. "The local population of Bonaire has been reduced to less than 40 percent. In a few more decades we will have disappeared as Bonerians as a result of the recolonization policies implemented by the Kingdom," Finies warned. Within the framework of the 43rd Meeting of CARICOM Heads of State and Government, held in Paramaribo, James Finies denounced the policy of harassment carried out against him by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which he blamed for any attempt on his life. "My fight for the rights of the people of Bonaire is peaceful and will always be so," Finies reiterated. A question that was raised many times by the leaders at the CARICOM meetings to us, what does Holland have to gain?.. we informed, 200 nautical sea miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Caribbean Sea to exploit all its natural resources. James Finies delivered to the Secretary-General of the UN, a complete report on the situation that Bonaire is experiencing, as well as the study "Assessment of self-governance sufficiency in conformity with internationally recognized standards: Country Bonaire", prepared by Dr. Corbin and the Dependency Studies Project, which establishes and conclude..... that any projection of Bonaire as a model of democratic governance is illusory at best... deficient by all measures of democratic governance. However, whilst colonialism remains illegal, its illegality is often a matter of power, not justice. Mr. Finies thanked Guterres for the space provided and acknowledged the interest in the Bonaire Case and the political will shown by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, a man committed to peace and international law. PHILIPSBURG:--- Today, July 06th, 2022 approximately 12:35 pm two unknown armed men stormed into the Tesco supermarket located on the St. Peters road and under threat of their weapons robbed the establishment of an undisclosed amount of cash. After committing this heinous act both suspects made their escape by running in the direction of Marigot hill. KPSM is requesting anyone who may have been in the immediate surrounding at the time and who may have information that can help in the investigation of this crime to share this information with authorities. If you see something say something. These criminals should be bought to justice. KPSM Press Release. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The Great Salt Lake has hit a new historic low for the second time in less than a year as the ongoing megadrought worsened by climate change continues to shrink the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi. Utah Department of Natural Resources said Monday in a news release the Great Salt Lake dipped Sunday to 4,190.1 feet (1,277.1 meters). That is lower than the previous historic low set in October, which at the time matched a 170-year record low. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) A small, largely rural county west of Floridas capital experienced an unheard-of spike in deadly drug overdoses believed to be caused by fentanyl over the July 4 weekend, with nine people dying in the latest sign that a national crisis is becoming even more far-reaching. In all of 2021, Gadsden County had just 10 overdoses, Sheriff Morris Young said. He couldn't recall any being fatal. The state had even rejected a grant application to treat fentanyl overdoses because the county of about 43,700 people couldnt definitively identify any cases involving the powerful synthetic opioid. Then last Friday, calls to emergency services began flooding in. In addition to the nine deaths over the holiday weekend, another nine people were treated for suspected fentanyl overdoses. It's shaken the entire community. I feel their pain, Young said Wednesday. I'm really treating this like we had a hurricane coming into town. It means that much to me that we could lose people in such a short period of time. Gadsden County is largely known for its vegetable and livestock farms, historic Southern buildings and antique shops. Many families have known each other for generations. County Commission Chairman Ron Green said among the families of victims he knew were the children of a woman in her 60s who died over the weekend. They didn't even realize their mother was using again, Green said. This brought an alarming notice to them. Unfortunately, it's too late. While the victims were 34 or older, Green worries younger people could be endangered, if we can't hurry up and get it off the streets. Fentanyl can be 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, and dealers lace it in with other illegal drugs to boost their addictiveness. Law enforcement officials say most people affected don't know it's in the illegal drugs they're buying in amounts that otherwise wouldn't necessarily be deadly. The problem has become so acute that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning three months ago about what it called mass-overdose events. It cited dozens of deaths in more than a half-dozen clusters in recent months in locations ranging from the small town of Cortez, Colorado, with fewer than 9,000 residents, to major cities such as Washington, D.C. DISC Village is a nonprofit drug treatment center with services throughout Florida's Big Bend, the cluster of counties where the Panhandle meets the state's peninsula. It includes Gadsden County as well as Tallahassee, the state capital. In these last six months I've seen the most overdoses that I've ever seen since I've been working here, said Jennifer Travieso, who has worked at DISC for 17 years. It's definitely fentanyl and it's in drugs we wouldn't expect it to be in, for example cocaine or marijuana or methamphetamines. For the dealers, with fentanyl and other opioids, they want to make sure people get hooked to keep their sales up, Young said. He gave an example of just how powerful the addiction can be. One of the men treated for an overdose on Friday was released from a hospital Sunday, only to return after a second overdose on Tuesday. Young said he had helped the same man get a job about a month ago. This is the scary part, Young said. These people, even with the fear of the fentanyl and that they could die, they're still going to take a chance going out there and getting these drugs. These are some of the addicts that are truly, truly addicted. He said investigators are trying to trace the source of the drugs laced with fentanyl. He believes it arrived in the county prepackaged, so it's possible local dealers weren't aware they were selling fentanyl. Either way, he wants severe punishment for those involved. We're hoping to push these cases to murder cases," Young said. Young and other law enforcement plan to meet Thursday with officials from the Department of Children and Families and the state's surgeon general to discuss how to address the problem. Young said EMTs have access to overdose treatments like naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, but deputies do not. He said he wants to immediately get supplies in the hands of his officers and have them trained on their use. Fentanyl was not even on my radar, and that changed about 9 oclock on Friday night, Young said. DARIEN Citing a changing market, the real estate firm Federal Realty is petitioning the towns Planning and Zoning commission to allow medical and dental offices to take up prime real estate at a burgeoning new downtown development. The Darien Commons, a mixed-use reimagination of downtown Darien, includes around 63,000 square feet of retail space and has already begun leasing to retail tenants, like Walgreens and Equinox. The Commons are currently in the Noroton Heights Business Zone, which places certain regulations on what kind of tenants are allowed to occupy the storefronts. But given a vastly different real estate market, developers with Federal Realty asked commissioners during a meeting last week to change a section of Dariens zoning regulations to allow certain tenants like medical spas and dental offices to occupy spaces on the first floor. They are also asking for the option to update the regulations to allow for co-working spaces in the future. Co-working spaces allow workers from different companies to work together in a common space. Federal Realtys rationale, senior vice president Patrick McMahon told the commission, is that traditional retailers are now eyeing the benefits of being in close proximity to medical offices. McMahon said Federal Realty approached the commission because of its leases with certain tenants, including a womens apparel store. The stores owner wants to be located adjacent to a medical spa or a dentists office before executing their lease, McMahon said. Their customer is the same customer thats walking into that medical spa. ... That spa or that dentist office is creating a reason to be on the street, on the sidewalk, McMahon said. The retail world has evolved considerably and for us, it truly is about creating a self-sustaining healthy retail ecosystem. Federal Realty has three prospective tenants that would benefit from the zoning change a medical spa, a dental office, and a doctors office, McMahon said. Darien Commons first gained approval from the zoning commission in 2016, with the option to consider some retail leasing on the first floor of buildings. While some retailers and tenants have been moved in, the project will likely be completed in 2023. Commission members did not immediately vote on the prospect of amending the regulations. Planning and Zoning Director Jeremy Ginsberg said the commission would likely take up a final decision July 12. Mike Murray, a lawyer representing the project, said the change will not impact the neighborhood negatively, pointing out that these specific types of tenants are already in place in upper-floor stores. Were very mindful of the fact that when this was approved, the intent was to create a community feel, a village feel, with lots of pedestrian access and whatnot, Murray said. This proposal doesnt take away from that. STAMFORD A meeting in early June between Stamfords superintendent of schools and a member of the Board of Education has been cited as the reason the district ditched a controversial block schedule slated for this fall. Some school board members said it was a courtesy to let the district leader know how five of the nine members felt about the unpopular block schedule. But to school board President Jackie Heftman, the meeting was a plan to use coercion and issue a threat to the superintendent. During the presidents report segment of a recent Board of Education meeting, Heftman berated some members for what she deemed to be improper activity. Among her accusations was a claim that member Ben Lee threatened Superintendent Tamu Lucero with termination if she did not follow through with the apparent wishes of the majority of the school board during a private meeting, as well as an allegation that five board members met illegally in violation of Freedom of Information Act laws. For months, teachers and students had railed against the district for attempting to implement a block schedule known as the hybrid four-by-four at the districts three high schools starting with the 2022-23 school year. In March, after intense pushback from the community and the Board of Education, district leaders announced that the Academy of Information Technology & Engineering the citys smallest high school would be allowed to maintain its previous block schedule, known as the A/B model. But at Stamford High School and Westhill High School, which have not had a block schedule of any kind, the plan remained to shift to the hybrid model in the fall. In late May, the two principals at those schools wrote a letter stating the hybrid model was unworkable. Lucero remained steadfast, however, announcing a few days later that she planned to stay the course with the hybrid schedule. That led to the pivotal meeting, Lee said, in which he told Lucero that he planned to support four other board members in voting for a resolution to recommend that she ditch the hybrid model for the A/B at both Stamford High and Westhill. But that vote never happened. Less than a week after the meeting, Lucero announced that both high schools will use the A/B schedule in the fall. In her email to the community, Lucero did not make mention of her meeting with Lee, nor did she explain why the district was moving away from the hybrid plan. Lucero did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment. Last week in her presidents message, Heftman revealed the behind-the-scenes story of how the hybrid model was shelved. According to her, the meeting between Lucero and Lee was the cause of the switch, and she criticized the board members tactics . (Lee) told her it would be better if she made the announcement herself rather than the board voting to direct her, but then he told her that after the board vote, if she didnt follow the directive, the board would move to terminate her, Heftman said during the school board meeting. In a phone interview, Lee said Heftmans telling of the story lacked context. He said that during his meeting with Lucero, when asked what would happen if the superintendent did not follow the guidance of the board on the block schedule, Lee said the majority of the board would then likely pass policy that would give them authority over high school scheduling matters. According to Lee, once he was asked what would happen if that hypothetical policy was not followed by the superintendent, he said the board would be left in an untenable situation in which they would have to terminate her. I believe Jackies version is skipping the part where I played out the hand for the superintendent, Lee said, in the phone interview last week. Heftman accused Lee of speaking for the board during his discussion with Lucero. Mr. Lee had every right to express his opinion on the schedule, but by law and according to board policy, no individual member has the authority to speak for the board unless directed by the board to do so, Heftman said, during the board meeting. And certainly no right to make what was heard as a threat. The board president then accused five members of violating the Freedom of Information Act. She said she came to that conclusion after Republican member Joshua Esses attempted to schedule a special meeting in early June with only one agenda item: a resolution to recommend that Lucero implement the A/B schedule at both Stamford High and Westhill. At the time, the hybrid schedule was still in place for each, but both principals had spoken out publicly against the plan. Only three other members Republicans Becky Hamman and Nicola Tarzia and Democrat Fritz Chery signed on to Esses request. The request needed one more board member signature to be accepted and posted, per board policies; without that other person, the request was not acted on. Soon after the request failed, Lee met with Lucero to discuss his intent to be the fifth member to sign on. To Heftman, this was evidence the five members violated open meeting laws. The Freedom of Information Act allows members of the same party to meet in private, in person or by electronic means to discuss board business, she said at the latest board meeting. It is illegal for three members of one party and two members of another party to do the same. In a phone interview, Esses admitted to calling Lee about the special meeting proposal. But he said there was no meeting among the five members. Tarzia, Hamman and Lee said the same. According to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, a meeting is defined as any time a quorum of a public agency meets to discuss board business. For the Board of Education, a quorum would be five members. If five members were to meet privately to discuss board business, that would be a violation of the law. In response to emailed questions, Heftman was unable to prove that the five members met illegally. During the meeting last week, however, Heftman said, How could the five board members know that they were of like mind unless they spoke to each other about it? And doesnt that constitute an illegal meeting? In a phone interview a few days after the board meeting, Esses said the positions of board members were no mystery. In fact, the four members who signed onto the petition for a special meeting all voted in favor of moving to an A/B schedule for Westhill and Stamford High in March, a resolution that failed 4-5. Lee was one of the members who voted against the petition at the time, but he said he was prepared to reverse course if the item were put before the board again. After the (Westhill and Stamford High) principals letter came out, I called Ben and learned that four was now five, Esses said, over the phone. It did not take a secret meeting to do that math. After the meeting in which Heftman delivered her presidents report, Tarzia said he did not collaborate with any board member to plan a vote against the hybrid schedule. He said the desire to change the block schedule came from teachers, parents and administrators in the district, and the board members were just acting as conduits. You have to honor what the public wants, he said. ignacio.laguarda@stamfordadvocate.com Blog Archive Apr 2010 (22) May 2010 (25) Jun 2010 (8) Jul 2010 (12) Aug 2010 (18) Sep 2010 (19) Oct 2010 (29) Nov 2010 (30) Dec 2010 (18) Jan 2011 (13) Feb 2011 (21) Mar 2011 (23) Apr 2011 (19) May 2011 (31) Jun 2011 (36) Jul 2011 (46) Aug 2011 (26) Sep 2011 (12) Oct 2011 (15) Nov 2011 (17) Dec 2011 (7) Jan 2012 (18) Feb 2012 (4) Mar 2012 (12) Apr 2012 (18) May 2012 (10) Jun 2012 (21) Jul 2012 (8) Aug 2012 (15) Sep 2012 (7) Oct 2012 (17) Nov 2012 (20) Dec 2012 (10) Jan 2013 (58) Feb 2013 (59) Mar 2013 (60) Apr 2013 (98) May 2013 (134) Jun 2013 (204) Jul 2013 (293) Aug 2013 (351) Sep 2013 (363) Oct 2013 (347) Nov 2013 (374) Dec 2013 (440) Jan 2014 (546) Feb 2014 (476) Mar 2014 (525) Apr 2014 (527) May 2014 (470) Jun 2014 (408) Jul 2014 (472) Aug 2014 (522) Sep 2014 (441) Oct 2014 (471) Nov 2014 (496) Dec 2014 (535) Jan 2015 (535) Feb 2015 (520) Mar 2015 (579) Apr 2015 (657) May 2015 (679) Jun 2015 (673) Jul 2015 (728) Aug 2015 (803) Sep 2015 (923) Oct 2015 (921) Nov 2015 (802) Dec 2015 (791) Jan 2016 (782) Feb 2016 (835) Mar 2016 (929) Apr 2016 (864) May 2016 (947) Jun 2016 (1044) Jul 2016 (882) Aug 2016 (1035) Sep 2016 (967) Oct 2016 (918) Nov 2016 (854) Dec 2016 (885) Jan 2017 (879) Feb 2017 (777) Mar 2017 (896) Apr 2017 (872) May 2017 (850) Jun 2017 (851) Jul 2017 (971) Aug 2017 (1040) Sep 2017 (998) Oct 2017 (1144) Nov 2017 (1046) Dec 2017 (838) Jan 2018 (873) Feb 2018 (769) Mar 2018 (885) Apr 2018 (808) May 2018 (827) Jun 2018 (820) Jul 2018 (840) Aug 2018 (854) Sep 2018 (844) Oct 2018 (851) Nov 2018 (870) Dec 2018 (912) Jan 2019 (919) Feb 2019 (827) Mar 2019 (957) Apr 2019 (913) May 2019 (1007) Jun 2019 (934) Jul 2019 (949) Aug 2019 (936) Sep 2019 (910) Oct 2019 (920) Nov 2019 (874) Dec 2019 (908) Jan 2020 (941) Feb 2020 (848) Mar 2020 (898) Apr 2020 (848) May 2020 (822) Jun 2020 (787) Jul 2020 (819) Aug 2020 (858) Sep 2020 (841) Oct 2020 (873) Nov 2020 (811) Dec 2020 (780) Jan 2021 (765) Feb 2021 (716) Mar 2021 (819) Apr 2021 (805) May 2021 (815) Jun 2021 (824) Jul 2021 (830) Aug 2021 (832) Sep 2021 (791) Oct 2021 (754) Nov 2021 (683) Dec 2021 (693) Jan 2022 (694) Feb 2022 (654) Mar 2022 (740) Apr 2022 (745) May 2022 (748) Jun 2022 (701) Jul 2022 (407) The Arad border police on Tuesday caught 21 foreign citizens from Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan while attempting to cross the border illegally into Hungary, hidden in two trucks and on foot, respectively, the spokeswoman for the General Inspectorate of the Border Police in Oradea, Laura Bondar, said in a press release on Wednesday. "In all cases, the border police is conducting investigations to establish the entire criminal activity, following which the legal measures will be taken, according to law," reads the same source. President Klaus Iohannis voices his appreciation for the European Parliament's positive results in accepting nuclear and gas energy in the transition to a green economy. "We welcome today's positive results from the European Parliament on the Taxonomy. I am glad that Romania's constant efforts to consider gas and nuclear energy as part of progressive decarbonisation have been reflected in the EP's final decision," Iohannis wrote on Wednesday, on Twitter.The European Parliament on Wednesday voted the classifying of gas and nuclear sources energy as sustainable, within the EU classification system for green investments, informs DPA.The proposal aims to direct private investment towards achieving the European Union's 2050 target - "zero net" greenhouse gas emissions. The National Political Council of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) voted, on Wednesday, in a sitting, for the nomination of Petre Daea as Minister of Agriculture, political sources specified for AGERPRES. On June 28, the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies adopted the draft decision for lifting the immunity of PSD deputy Adrian Chesnoiu, with 251 votes 'in favour' and 25 'against'.On June 23, the Prosecutor General sent to the Chamber of Deputies a report by the National Anti-Corruption Authority (DNA) requesting the criminal investigation of Adrian Chesnoiu, then Agriculture Minister. Subsequently, Chesnoiu announced that he was stepping down as the agriculture minister and suspending himself from PSD. Rational use of water is a civic duty amidst the ongoing drought in Romania, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Wednesday. Romania is over 70% affected by various phases of soil drought, according to Minister of the Environment Barna Tanczos, who said that Romania can secure its strategic water reserve."I think it is very important that, beyond these restrictions [on drinking water] we can have a correct information of the citizens, so that we can all understand that these are phenomena that we cannot control, and this part of rational use of water is a civic duty of each of us. From the governmental level, to the level of local administrations, we need to maintain this dialogue with the citizens, to keep the people informed in order to be able to understand what the real situation is. The steps we have taken so far must be consolidated and multiplied precisely in the direction (...) of being able to assure the citizens that we are able to secure the demand for drinking water where there is also this phenomenon of soil drought and also that we are working as closely as possible with the local administrations to ensure the necessary support," the prime minister said at the start of a government sitting.The Minister of the Environment informed that over 70% of Romania is affected by various phases of the soil drought - moderate, strong or extreme.He said that there are several regions where the average rainfall in the last 10 months is less than half that of previous years.Tanczos said that extreme weather phenomena are expected in the next three weeks and a heatwave after July 15 that will amplify drought. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca will pay a working visit to the Hellenic Republic on Thursday, on the occasion of the operationalization of the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector, informs the Government Press Office. In the context of the visit, the Prime Minister will have a one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The agenda of the visit also includes a meeting of the two official delegations and press statements of the two prime ministers. During the afternoon, the Prime Minister will have a meeting at Victoria Palace of Government with John Hopkins, President and CEO of SMR developer NuScale. The White House announced on June 26 that the US Government together with US company NuScale Power LLC (Tigard, Oregon) will provide USD 14 million to support engineering and design studies for the implementation by Romania of a SMR (Small Modular Reactor) plant. AGERPRES HAZELWOOD A manufacturer of waffle products has announced it will open a new warehouse in Hazelwood. Nevada-based Marson Foods said its $35 million expansion will create up to 53 jobs with an average annual salary of $112,400. The facility, located at 1590 Tradeport Drive, north of Interstate 270, will open by the end of this year, according to a release. The city of Hazelwood has approved a $400,000 forgivable loan and a 10-year tax abatement for the company's expansion. Civic booster group Greater St. Louis Inc. provided support and information to the company. This is a partnership that will pay dividends for the region and company for many years to come, Mayor Matt Robinson said in a statement. Marson Foods primarily serves K-12 schools with brands like Waffle Envy Artisan Belgian Liege Waffles and Wow Wow Classic Waffles. Katerinas Greek Restaurant will permanently close after service Saturday (July 9). The restaurant at 7822 Bonhomme Avenue in Clayton announced the closure Monday on social media. It's been our pleasure to serve you and your family and friends, the post reads in part. Katerina's owners were not available at the restaurant Wednesday morning. Tracy and Crist Dubis opened Katerinas in August 2019. The couple named the restaurant after their late daughter, Katherine Dubis, who was struck and killed by a car in 2015 while she and her boyfriend were walking to their vehicle after a Blues game. Katherine loved her Greek heritage, Tracy told the Post-Dispatch in a January 2020 interview. A photograph of Katherine occupies a prominent place inside the restaurant. In a subsequent social-media post Monday, Katerinas said Saturdays final service would honor Katherines birthday. More as Off the Menu learns it. WEDNESDAY, July 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) The risk of being hospitalized for heart failure after surgery is higher in patients who develop an abnormal heart rhythm, a new, large study shows. Of more than 76,000 heart surgery patients, about 18.8% developed post-operative atrial fibrillation (A-Fib). Researchers found their risk of hospitalization increased by a third compared to patients who did not develop A-Fib. And, of nearly 3 million patients with no heart disease history who had surgery for other conditions, 0.8% also developed A-Fib, doubling their risk of hospitalization for heart failure. This could mean that atrial fibrillation is an important indicator of underlying but not yet detected heart failure; or it could mean that atrial fibrillation itself contributes to the future development of heart failure, said first study author Dr. Parag Goyal, an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. While this study could not address which of these mechanisms is at play, Goyal said he hoped it will lead to further investigation. While doctors have considered post-operative A-Fib a benign consequence of surgery-related stress, the study noted that new evidence suggests it may be linked to longer term problems, including stroke and premature death from any cause. For this study, researchers used health claims data from acute care hospitals in 11 states between 2016 and 2018. Patients were 18 years of age and up and were followed for an average of 1.7 years. Researchers adjusted for age, sex, race, insurance status, medical history and body mass index (an estimate of body fat based on height and weight). An observational study, the findings cant prove that post-operative atrial fibrillation causes heart failure ,only that there is an association. But Goyal said its size is a strength. Most importantly, patients and doctors need to be more vigilant about heart failure symptoms among patients who develop post-operative atrial fibrillation," he said. "Those who do develop the condition may require more aggressive treatments for other risk factors for heart failure, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and narrowing of the arteries. Researchers hope to further study the issue, to understand why this might be happening and how it might be prevented. The findings were published June 28 in the European Heart Journal. A team from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles Dr. Christine Albert and Melissa Middledorp wrote a commentary that accompanied the study. They noted that the findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that post-operative A-Fib may be more than a response to surgery. It may instead be reflective of underlying structural changes that may also predispose a patient to other potentially related adverse heart events, such as heart failure, they wrote. With a greater understanding of patients full risk factor profile, we may advocate for early aggressive intervention at the initial manifestation of [post-operative A-Fib], to improve outcomes and reduce re-hospitalization following cardiac and non-cardiac surgery, they said. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on atrial fibrillation. SOURCE: European Society of Cardiology, news release, June 28, 2022 KANSAS CITY, Mo. When the Missouri House in 2019 debated the bill that became the states abortion ban, then-state Rep. Bryan Spencer quickly raised and praised the proposals lack of exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Spencer, a Wentzville Republican and a high school teacher, recounted how he allowed his students to talk about issues, including abortion, in class. By his own account, he used to oppose abortion except in cases of rape or incest. But Spencer said his view changed after an encounter with an upset student following on such classroom discussion of abortion. My mother was raped by my uncle and Im the baby, Spencer said the student told him. And from that point on, I changed my whole viewpoint on abortion, Spencer told his fellow lawmakers during a February 2019 floor debate. This girl was smart, pretty, dynamic, creative. Great student, great person. The Missouri General Assembly approved the bill without exceptions for rape or incest, making Missouri one of a dozen states with trigger laws that dont allow abortions in those circumstances. Only a single exception, for medical emergencies, was included. Republican Gov. Mike Parson enthusiastically signed it. Three years later, the abortion ban embedded in the bill is now in effect after the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide. While the ban itself has produced an immediate backlash among abortion rights supporters, the lack of exceptions within the law has been a particular source of anger in the nearly two weeks since the decision. With virtually no legal path for an abortion within Missouri, women and girls who are raped and become pregnant must carry their pregnancies to term, or seek an abortion outside the state. Abortion rights advocates, as well as advocates for sexual assault victims, warn the law will compound the trauma suffered by those who have already survived horrific experiences. At this point, were talking about a child who now gets raped by their uncle who now has no choice whatsoever because thats what they took away, said state Rep. Emily Weber, a Kansas City Democrat. They took away rape and incest (exceptions). So were talking about rape and incest at this point. Rape, incest exemptions unlikely Democrats are promising a broad push for abortion access, including for victims of rape and incest. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat, promised an array of bills in the next session trying to undo the law or make it a little bit more palatable, if possible. But the current political reality in Jefferson City means their efforts to expand access to abortion through the legislature are all but certain to fail, doomed by large anti-abortion Republican majorities in both the state House and Senate. Without a realistic legislative path forward, Democrats and abortion rights supporters may turn to a ballot initiative to add the right to an abortion into the Missouri Constitution. But organizing a successful petition campaign can take years. And some Republican lawmakers want to advance their own amendment ensuring the constitution doesnt include abortion rights. In the meantime, Republicans are already signaling they dont plan to take up additional exceptions. Any retreat from the current ban would be seen by some as a betrayal of the anti-abortion cause. Lawmakers spent decades restricting abortion access in Missouri, whittling down the number of clinics to just one before the ban went into effect. Parson, who trumpeted his role in signing a proclamation that helped trigger the ban, is unlikely to sign legislation chipping away at the law now one of his signature achievements. A spokeswoman for the governor didnt respond to a request for comment. Fundamentally tied to the pro-life position is the idea that the baby in the womb is a human being and that human being being innocent of any crime, innocent of any wrongdoing in what took place to bring about that childs existence that childs life should be protected, said state Rep. Doug Richey, an Excelsior Springs Republican. Richeys position is common among abortion opponents. Missouri Right to Life, the states leading anti-abortion group, says in its statement of policies that each human being, regardless of how he or she is conceived, deserves protection under the law. However, the organization says it will sometimes be compelled to tolerate exceptions for rape and incest to expand limits on abortion. Abortion opponents no longer have to compromise, however, following the U.S. Supreme Court decision, which effectively gives states free reign to restrict or ban abortion. Richey, who is campaigning for House speaker, said he would hold the line on not including the exceptions but emphasized that he supports providing additional care to victims of rape and incest. Precise statistics for how many abortions were performed in Missouri because of rape or incest dont exist. A 2005 study by the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, found that nationally 1% of women surveyed in 2004 who had an abortion cited rape in their decision; less than 0.5% cited incest. Even if such instances constituted a very small percentage of abortions overall, access to the procedure is important for women who are victims of rape or incest and become pregnant, advocates say. It offers survivors a choice in the wake of a profoundly traumatic and violent experience. An often-cited 1998 study by the U.S. Department of Justice reports roughly one in six American women have been the victim of a rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. For individuals healing from sexual assault, options are critical, said Julie Donelon, president and CEO of the Kansas City-based Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault. They are going to be forced to carry a pregnancy to term after being impregnated by their rapist. And thats going to be a daily reminder to those individuals of the trauma that they experienced, Donelon said. Beyond banning abortion itself, the Missouri law has caused deep concern among advocates for victims of sexual assault over fears the measure could be interpreted to extend to emergency contraception. Saint Lukes Health System feared prosecution of its personnel enough that last week it briefly stopped offering Plan B. Saint Lukes resumed providing the medication after receiving public assurance from Parson and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, that the law doesnt target contraception. Democrats are still seeking a formal legal opinion from Schmitt. Exceptions inaccessible Anyone wanting an abortion, including victims of sexual violence, can still obtain one in Kansas or Illinois. But while access to the procedure is secure in Illinois, its future is uncertain in Kansas. Kansas voters will decide in August whether the state constitution should include the right to an abortion. If voters remove the constitutional protection for abortion, the Kansas Legislature would be free to ban the procedure. Leaving Missouri for an abortion can be especially challenging to individuals living in rural areas or in the middle of the state, as well as those without the means to travel, according to Donelon. It makes that burden even greater for them, Donelon said. While abortion rights supporters say survivors of rape and incest should have access to abortion, some oppose focusing on securing specific exception to Missouris ban, warning that past compromises by lawmakers on abortion rights paved the way for its enactment. They say that exemptions are, for practical purposes, inaccessible. So-called exemptions for victims of sexual and domestic and incestual violence are bull, said Maggie Olivia, policy manager of Pro-Choice Missouri. By their very nature, exemptions require victims in some way to disclose what happened to them. Olivia, who is herself a survivor of sexual violence, said many survivors dont tell anyone. Others dont want to enter the legal or law enforcement system a requirement to access exceptions in some places. Utahs abortion ban includes an exception for rape, for instance, but it must be reported to law enforcement. At least one Utah state legislator is proposing to include physicians, crisis centers and domestic violence centers on the list of where rapes can be reported. Any additional exceptions to Missouris abortion ban also would raise issues of enforcement and whether police and prosecutors would scrutinize physicians to ensure they arent misusing those provisions. In Missouri, local prosecutors and the state attorney general have the power to pursue violations of the ban. Regardless of whether abortion bans have exceptions or not, providers in some areas will be pursued and prosecuted, said Leslie J. Reagan, a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has studied the history of abortion in the United States. And those who have abortions will be the sources of evidence in those cases, Reagan said, just like before Roe v. Wade. She is evidence, Reagan said. They can do gynecological examinations and collect physical evidence. They can force her to speak, force her to speak in the courtroom. The Stars Kacen Bayless and Natalie Wallington contributed reporting 2022 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippi's only abortion clinic has been buzzing with activity in the chaotic days since the U.S. Supreme Court upended abortion rights nationwide a case that originated in this conservative Deep South state, with this bright-pink medical facility that is closing its doors Wednesday. Physicians at Jackson Womens Health Organization have been trying to see as many patients as possible before Thursday, when, barring an unlikely intervention by the states conservative Supreme Court, Mississippi will enact a law to ban most abortions. Amid stifling summer heat and humidity, clashes intensified Wednesday between anti-abortion protesters and volunteers escorting patients into the clinic, best known as the Pink House. When Dr. Cheryl Hamlin, who has traveled from Boston for five years to perform abortions, walked outside the Pink House, an abortion opponent used a bullhorn to yell at her. Repent! Repent!" shouted Doug Lane. His words were drowned out by abortion rights supporter Beau Black, who repeatedly screamed at Lane: Hypocrites and Pharisees! Hypocrites and Pharisees! Abortion access has become increasingly limited across wide swaths of the U.S. as conservative states enact restrictions or bans that took effect when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The court, reshaped by three conservative justices appointed by former President Donald Trump, issued the ruling June 24. But the Mississippi clinic has been inundated with patients since September, when Texas enacted a ban on abortion early in pregnancy. Cars with license plates from Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas have been driving through Jacksons Fondren neighborhood to bring women and girls some of whom appeared to be teenagers to the Pink House. Drivers parked on side streets near the clinic in the shade of pink and purple crepe myrtles, their car air-conditioners blasting as they waited. Diane Derzis, who has owned the Mississippi clinic since 2010, drove to Jackson to speak at the Pink House hours after the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Its been such an honor and a privilege to be in Mississippi. Ive come to love this state and the people in it, Derzis told those gathered in the sweltering heat. The Supreme Court ruling was in a case called Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization the clinic's challenge of a 2018 Mississippi law to ban most abortions after 15 weeks. The Pink House had been doing abortions through 16 weeks, but under previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings, abortion was allowed to the point of fetal viability at about 24 weeks. Mississippi's top public health official, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, was named in the lawsuit, but has not taken a public position about the case. The state's Republican attorney general urged justices to use the case to overturn Roe v. Wade and give states more power to regulate or ban abortion. Derzis told The Associated Press after the ruling that she didn't regret filing the lawsuit that eventually undercut nearly five decades of abortion case law. We didnt have a choice. And if it hadnt been this lawsuit, it would have been another one, said Derzis, who also owns abortion clinics in Georgia and Virginia, and lives in Alabama. The Mississippi clinic uses out-of-state physicians like Dr. Hamlin because no in-state doctors will work there. As the Pink House prepared to close, Dr. Hamlin said she worries about women living in deep poverty in parts of the state with little access to health care. People say, Oh, what am I supposed to do?" she said. "And I'm like, Vote. Shannon Brewer, the Pink House director, agrees low-income women will be most affected by being unable to get abortions in-state. Brewer told the AP the anti-abortion protesters know her by name and yell at her but she tunes them out. They dont say a lot to me anymore other than, you know, Youre coming to work to kill babies,'" Brewer said. "Ive been here for 20-something years. So, its like when I get out of the car I dont really hear it because its like the same thing over and over and over again." Some staffers were expected to be in the Pink House on Thursday for paperwork ahead of its closure, but no procedures. With the Mississippi clinic closing, Derzis and Brewer will soon open an abortion clinic in Las Cruces, New Mexico, about an hours drive from El Paso, Texas, calling it Pink House West. Hamlin said she is getting licensed in New Mexico so she can work there. Mississippi and New Mexico are two of the poorest states in the U.S., but have vastly different positions on abortion politics and access. Home to a Democratic-led legislature and governor, New Mexico recently took an extra step to protect providers and patients from out-of-state prosecutions. Its likely to continue to see a steady influx of people seeking abortions from neighboring states with more restrictive abortion laws. One of the largest abortion providers in Texas, Whole Womans Health, announced Wednesday that it is also planning to reopen in New Mexico in a city near the state line, to provide first- and second-trimester abortions. It began winding down operations in Texas after a ruling Friday by the state Supreme Court that forced an end to abortions at its four clinics. Standing outside the Mississippi clinic on June 24, Derzis was pragmatic about the future of the building she had painted bright pink several years ago. This building will be sold and maybe someone will knock it down and make a parking lot here," Derzis said. "And that will be sad, but she served her purpose and many women had their abortions here. AP writer Susan Montoya Bryan contributed from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus. LONDON (AP) The head of the FBI and the leader of Britains domestic intelligence agency raised fresh alarms Wednesday about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain. FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China as well as the Chinese governments efforts to stifle dissent abroad. But his speech was notable because it took place at MI5s London headquarters and alongside the agencys director general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity. The remarks also showed the extent to which Wray and the FBI regard the Chinese government as not only a law enforcement and intelligence challenge, but are also attuned to the implications of Beijing's foreign policy actions. We consistently see that its the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by our, I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere, Wray said. McCallum said the Chinese government and its covert pressure across the globe amounts to the most game-changing challenge we face. This might feel abstract. But its real and its pressing, he said. We need to talk about it. We need to act. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, rejected the allegations from the Western leaders, saying in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that China firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks and calling the accusations groundless. We will never encourage, support or condone cyber attacks, the statement said. In a nod to current tensions between China and Taiwan, Wray also said during his speech that any forcible takeover of Taipei by Beijing would would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen." Last week, the U.S. governments director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, said at an event in Washington that there were no indications Chinese President Xi Jinping was poised to take Taiwan by military force. But she that did say Xi appeared to be pursuing the potential for such an action as part of a broader Chinese government goal of reunification of Taiwan. After the appearance with his British counterpart, Wray said that he would leave to others the question of whether an invasion of Taiwan was more or less likely after Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. But, he said, I dont have any reason to think their interest in Taiwan has abated in any fashion" and added that he hoped China had learned what happens when you overplay your hand, as he said the Russians have done in Ukraine. The FBI director said there are signs the Chinese, perhaps drawing lessons from Russias experience since the war, have looked for ways to insulate their economy against potential sanctions. In our world, we call that behavior a clue, said Wray, who throughout his speech urged caution from Western companies looking to do business in or with China. He said Western investments in China could collapse in the event of an invasion of Taiwan. Just as in Russia, Western investments built over years could become hostages, capital stranded (and) supply chains and relationships disrupted, he said. President Joe Biden said in May that the U.S. would respond militarily if China invaded Taiwan, offering one of the most forceful White House statements in support of Taiwans self-governing in decades. The White House later tried to soften the impact of the statement, saying Biden was not outlining a change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, a self-governing island that China views as a breakaway province that should be reunified with the mainland. The embassy spokesman said the Taiwan issue was purely Chinas internal affair and said when it comes to questions of Chinas territory and sovereignty, the country has "no room for compromise or concession. We will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts, the statement said, though it noted that China will reserve the option of taking all necessary measures in response to the interference of foreign forces. Follow Eric Tucker at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP ST. LOUIS COUNTY The NAACP on Wednesday called for St. Louis-area police departments to adopt newer and less-dangerous techniques to stop fleeing cars. The recommendation comes after a rash of fatal crashes in the spring led the civil rights organization to question the use of local police pursuits and to call for a mediator with the U.S. Justice Department to set parameters for when pursuits are warranted. Since then, the group has met with city and county police departments, plus the mayors office, to discuss pursuit policies, and they plan to meet with a federal mediator this week. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with the NAACP recently and discuss the dangers associated with police pursuits and individuals who choose to flee from the police, St. Louis County Police Chief Kenneth L. Gregory said in a statement Wednesday. We are open to any new technology that may assist us in keeping our communities safe from criminals who choose to disobey the law. St. Louis and St. Louis County police both use spike strips, which officers drag across a road during pursuits to flatten tires on a suspects vehicle. The NAACP claims the device can cause a suspects car to spin out of control, endangering other motorists, though police say the tires are deflated gradually. The civil rights organization calls the tactic outdated and favors newer techniques such as using a device to shut off the engine of a moving car, and using an app to warn other drivers and pedestrians if a chase is happening within 2 miles of them. Another technology shoots an adhesive tracking tag onto the car so police can stop chasing it and use a computer to find it. The NAACP said the device has been around for more than a decade but is used by only a handful of departments nationwide. County police spokesperson Sgt. Tracy Panus said the department is researching a program that would notify other drivers if a chase was in progress, though she noted that drivers would need to download the app and it would not send an automatic notification, like with an Amber Alert. St. Louis police say their pursuit policy is more conservative than those in many other departments, and its officers are required to keep up-to-date on the policy by reading it monthly. In all, seven innocent motorists died in a 15-day span in May in crashes involving suspects trying to elude police in St. Louis and St. Louis County. (Police) should be as concerned as we are about the loss of life, Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis chapter of the NAACP, said after a Wednesday news briefing. Pruitt and St. Louis County NAACP leader John Bowman said they plan to begin meeting with a Justice Department mediator starting Thursday. Eventually, Pruitt said, police should join that discussion so they can discuss pursuits and perhaps broker a plan that both sides agree on. Jerrod Lee Jones Jr., 26, was killed just after 1 a.m. in the 3500 block of Russell Boulevard. Police were on their way to another call when they happened upon Jones lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. Susan Scotti's parents are now caring for the three children after she died of a fentanyl overdose. "My main concern," her father said, "is that no one else gets this stuff." ST. LOUIS Seven years after community outcry over an elementary school named for a Confederate lieutenant, the school has been renamed for a local Black educator. The former Kennard Elementary School, at 5031 Potomac Street in the Northampton neighborhood, is now the Betty Wheeler Classical Junior Academy elementary, honoring the founding principal of Metro High School, the top-rated public high school in the state. Wheeler, who died in 2011, was the daughter of T.D. McNeal, Missouris first Black state senator. She graduated from Sumner High School and was one of the few Black students attending St. Louis University in the 1950s. She started her teaching career at Gundlach and Yeatman elementary schools before opening Metro in 1972. Wheelers surviving family members approved the elementary schools name change, one of several suggestions first pushed by parents, alumni and community members in 2015. The gifted magnet school was given the temporary name of Classical Junior Academy in 2020 to drop recognition of Samuel Kennard, a lieutenant in the Confederate Army and local businessman. After the Civil War, Kennard operated a carpet company on Washington Avenue, lived in a Portland Place mansion and was the first president of the whites-only Veiled Prophet civic organization. He died in 1916. The move to drop Kennards name from the school, which opened in 1930, was part of a local and national reckoning with streets, statues and buildings named for slaveowners and other racist historical figures, most recently in 2020 when a statue of Christopher Columbus was removed from Tower Grove Park. In a defense of their great-grandfather after the removal of his name from the school, J. Kennard Streett and Donald Streett of St. Louis County wrote that Kennard joined the Confederacy as a teenager along with 750,000 others. They added that Kennard was a major donor to then-Barnes Hospital, St. Vincent de Paul Society and other charities and was a lead promoter of the Worlds Fair in 1904. Parents and alumni wanted to change the schools name to better reflect their pride in being part of the diverse and inclusive school that exists today, according to a press release Wednesday from St. Louis Public Schools. Kennard school opened as a neighborhood elementary school in 1930, was once a Junior Naval ROTC middle school and became a gifted magnet school in 1990. It is now one of only two majority-white schools in the district, along with Mallinckrodt Elementary. Both require high scores on intelligence tests for admission. Overall, SLPS is about 80% Black and 12% white. At Wheeler, 30% of students are Black and 60% are white. In the last dozen years, the schools demographics flipped after court-mandated desegregation rules expired that reserved at least 55% of magnet school spots for Black students. The schools test scores are among the highest in the state, with 80% of students testing proficient or advanced in math and English. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The attorney for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on Wednesday asked a judge to halt an attempt to question the Republican U.S. Senate candidate under oath as part of his ongoing child custody dispute with his ex-wife. At a deposition scheduled for next week, the lawyer for Sheena Greitens likely would have asked the former governor about allegations that he abused his ex-wife and their young children in 2018. It could have exposed the Senate candidate to damaging information just weeks before the Republican primary on Aug. 2. The deposition would have been the first time Greitens, who stepped down as governor in 2018 following claims that he had blackmailed a woman to keep her quiet about an extramarital affair, answered questions under oath since his ex-wifes abuse allegations were made public in March. But Gary Stamper, Eric Greitens lawyer, on Wednesday asked Boone County Associate Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider for an order protecting the former governor from attending the deposition. In a court filing, Stamper said he already has other cases scheduled for that day and both parties had not agreed to the deposition. Helen Wade, the attorney for Greitens ex-wife Sheena Greitens, scheduled the deposition as part of the couples child custody battle. Sheena Greitens, a professor at the University of Texas-Austin, is seeking to move the case to Texas, where she now lives. Wade did not respond to a call and email for comment Wednesday. Stamper declined comment on the filing. The child custody case has received intense scrutiny since March after the former Missouri first lady filed an affidavit accusing her ex-husband of physical and emotional abuse against her and their children. Eric Greitens, through Stamper, has painted the abuse allegations as a broader political conspiracy orchestrated by establishment Republicans. However, copies of Sheena Greitens communications shared with The Kansas City Star rebut the former governors claims and show that she made the same allegations to a therapist and a lawyer in 2018. In the communications and her sworn statement, Sheena Greitens references several times where her ex-husband was physically and emotionally abusive to her and their children. They include a time where the former governor allegedly hit one of his sons in the face while he was sitting in his booster seat. In another incident, Sheena Greitens said her son told her that the former governor grabbed him by the hair. She also wrote that her ex-husband pushed and knocked her over and took away her phone. The former governor has not filed any sworn statements in the case, but has used social media and campaign emails to cast his ex-wife as a liar. Greitens campaign tactics made their way into the child custody dispute last month in the aftermath of a campaign video that showed Eric Greitens hunting his perceived political enemies. Wade said Sheena Greitens received threats after the videos release. 2022 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com. JEFFERSON CITY A televised debate between the two top Democrats running for U.S. Senate in Missouri has been postponed because one of them, Trudy Busch Valentine, has not responded to repeated invitations, debate organizers said Wednesday. Lucas Kunce, the other Democrat who was invited to participate in the debate, said in a news release that I hope that my opponent will have the respect for Missouri voters to show up and debate. The working people of this state deserve to hear directly from the candidates, he said. Kunces campaign, in its release, shared a statement from debate organizers; a debate organizer who works at KMOV (Channel 4) confirmed the statements authenticity. The debate was to air July 12 on five Gray TV stations across the state, including KMOV, as well as on partner stations in Jefferson City and Joplin. A statewide televised Missouri Democratic US Senate debate planned for next week in Kansas City has been postponed as one of the two leading candidates has yet to respond to numerous invites to participate, organizers said. The seven media partners are disappointed but hope to re-schedule a debate/forum prior to the August 2nd primary. The debate official said organizers confirmed Valentines campaign received the invitation to the debate but that they never received a response. Kunce said in May that he had committed to the Gray TV debate on KMOV. In May, Valentines campaign manager said the campaign will be evaluating each debate opportunity as it comes up and as we see proposed details. More than a month later, Alex Witt, the campaign manager, said in a statement on Wednesday that we will be evaluating each debate opportunity as it comes up in response to Kunces news release. Elizabeth Markowicz, another Valentine official, when asked if the campaigns strategy was not to debate, said I would not say that. Witt said the Valentine campaign is focused on reaching people across Missouri in a variety of ways. Over the past few weeks Trudy has been crisscrossing the state, traveling to places like Kansas City, Ferguson, Springfield, Columbia, and Monett to listen to Missourians and hear their concerns. Valentine has secured endorsements from many of the biggest names in Missouri Democratic politics, including U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City. She has employed a more conventional message than Kunce, who has campaigned as a progressive populist. Former Georgia Senator David Perdue tried this strategy of avoiding debates last cycle he lost, Kelli Kee, spokesperson for Lucas Kunce, said in his news release. Its disappointing to see a Democrat attempt the same Republican tactics, Kee said. Campaigning is about showing up. Lucas Kunce has been doing that all across this state from day one. People running for office shouldnt be afraid of the very people theyre trying to represent. The KMOV official also said Wednesday organizers were trying to schedule a debate in the Republican primary contest for U.S. Senate. Organizers had invited former Gov. Eric Greitens, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and U.S. Rep. Billy Long to participate, the official said. ST. LOUIS Ken Harbaugh and Eric Greitens started out on a similar ambitious path. They met on their first day at Duke in 1992, part of the same scholarship program, and overlapped at Oxford for summer term. Both went on to serve as Navy officers; one as a SEAL, the other a pilot. In 2007, they co-founded The Mission Continues, a nonprofit based in St. Louis to help military veterans regain footing in society. Greitens was the first to voice political aspirations. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Harbaugh said he often thinks of a conversation they had early on. They were driving around St. Louis in a white Ford Ranger, and Greitens wasnt sure if hed run for office as a Democrat or Republican. Then, he said, Greitens mentioned the idea of not running at all, to focus on being a good husband to Sheena and eventual father. I keep going back to the conversation, said Harbaugh, 48, of Ohio. How different his life would have been if he had listened to his better angels. Harbaugh said theyd both been excited about the promise of Barack Obama being elected. He said there was a large poster of JFK at The Mission Continues. Still, he wasnt shocked when Greitens ran for governor as a Republican. I knew he would do what he had to to give himself a chance, said Harbaugh. He and his parents donated to the Greitens campaign. I didnt have $5,000 sitting around, but I believed in him, Harbaugh said. I thought a pro-choice, pro-gay marriage governor wouldnt be the worst thing for Missouri, even if it was a Republican. Harbaugh said he soon became disheartened by incendiary campaign ads and the harsh tone of fundraising emails that seemed to threaten liberals. When Harbaugh challenged Greitens on it, he said, Greitens said you cant make changes if you dont win. Of course, Greitens would go on to be governor in 2016. His subsequent resignation, legal troubles and second divorce have since been well publicized. Now, hes polling well in the race for a U.S. Senate seat from Missouri. Asked to respond to Harbaughs criticism, the Greitens campaign issued a brief statement: Ken is obviously a disturbed individual hoping to profit from his former friendship with the governor for 40 seconds of the leftist spotlight. Harbaugh eventually took a shot at politics, too. In 2018, he ran for Ohios 7th Congressional District. He won the Democratic primary and lost the general election handily. He said hes not interested in politics anymore but wants to do what he can to stop Greitens. History is watching, he said. He said the Greitens RINO-hunting ad was over the top, and could potentially incite violence against officeholders who disagree that the last presidential election was rigged. Harbaugh said the ad condemns people like his mother, a Republican who contributed to the Greitens campaign financially and by personally offering encouragement after his downfall. Harbaugh said he recently reached out to Greitens about this. He said Greitens didnt respond. He needs to drop out and focus on repairing the enormous damage he has done to Missouri, his family and himself, Harbaugh told the Post-Dispatch. The best thing for Eric, not to mention the country, is for him to lose. Thats the only thing that will save him. Harbaugh said Greitens is sacrificing everything for a Senate seat. The folks who have known him a long time are so appalled, he said. Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden, 72, a Democrat, is on the list. Holden said by telephone that he first got to know Greitens as a motivational speaker and author who supported veterans. He said Greitens initially sought him out. They became close enough that Greitens felt comfortable enough to ask to stay at Holdens cabin on the Gasconade River to finish writing one of his books. In 2008, they drove to Denver together to attend the Democratic National Convention when Barack Obama was nominated. Holden said the last time he spoke with Greitens was over dinner in St. Louis, when Greitens told him he was going to run for governor as a Republican. Holden said he was supporting Chris Koster, the Democrat in the race, but wouldnt speak ill of Greitens. Holden said politics has gone in a totally different direction since 2016, the year Greitens became governor and Donald Trump won the presidency. He said there is more meanness. Thats not how I was raised politically, Holden said. I am a Democrat, a proud Democrat, but I will work with a Republican or anybody who wants to pursue a program that makes our state better or our country better. Asked about Greitens running for U.S. Senate, gaining the support of far-right voters disenfranchised with government, Holden said he tries not to think about it. Somewhere along the way, I think hes lost his way, Holden said. Hes tied in to the Trump values structure, which I think is detrimental to our democracy and our country. Any time that a political figure is win at all costs no priorities, no foundation then I think you have a real crisis in our democracy. Holden said hes not interested in talking to Greitens again. Eric comes across as whatever he thinks he needs to be to win, he said. On Wednesday, Harbaugh posted a brief video on social media, reiterating his call that Greitens quit the Senate race. Meanwhile, the Greitens campaign on Wednesday posted another ad, reprising one from the Missouri gubernatorial race in which he, once again, shoots a target and blows something up. Posted at 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 6. Updated at 5:22 p.m. with a statement from the Greitens campaign. ST. LOUIS Several blocks on the northern edge of downtown St. Louis are closed to road traffic, including a main east-west thoroughfare along Cole Street. The closures which roughly form a rectangle along Cole, 9th Street, 10th Street, and Convention Plaza are linked to the unfolding $210 million expansion of the downtown convention center, happening on a now-vacant block that the streets surround. City officials said the current work at and below street level is aimed at rerouting sewer lines for the Americas Center expansion project, known as AC Next Gen. The city said it was unclear how long the work, performed by a contractor, might last. A groundbreaking ceremony occurred at the site in May. On Wednesday, construction equipment knocked down some trees remaining along the edge of the block, which was previously occupied by a parking garage. While wrapping up a term in which it denied biological autonomy to women, loosened gun restrictions in violence-plagued cities, devastated federal efforts to fight climate change and eroded the wall between church and state, the U.S. Supreme Court last week announced its next target: elections. The court has agreed to hear a case that could put state legislatures outside the reach of state courts on issues like gerrymandering, election restrictions and even the choosing of presidential electors. In essence, it would give lawmakers more power to control election outcomes this as America is being reminded anew how eager many Republican officeholders are to overturn the will of the voters for the sake of power. At first glance, the case of Moore v. Harper sounds like the kind of mundane legal spat that goes on all the time between different branches of government with seemingly little real-world impact on regular people. North Carolinas Supreme Court threw out the congressional district map created by the states Republican legislature, saying it was gerrymandered. The state House speaker is challenging that ruling. That the map is gerrymandered is pretty obvious in a state where Republicans and Democrats are closely divided, it would effectively hand as many as 11 of the 14 districts to the GOP but thats not even the crucial point. The lawsuit isnt asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the propriety of the map itself but to throw out the very concept that a state court can review what a legislature does in the realm of federal elections. Thats the crux of whats known as the independent state legislature theory, a construct that legal scholars generally dismiss but for which several of the Supreme Courts conservative members have hinted support. The implications are ominous, especially in the current political moment. If that theory were to prevail, the sudden power of legislatures to gerrymander to their hearts content without any oversight from state courts would be only the start. The same theory could prevent challenges to even the most onerous voting restrictions. And it would conceivably give lawmakers the power to throw out the voters presidential electoral slates and substitute their own. In fact, this legal theory almost looks custom-made to remove the barriers that prevented former President Donald Trump and his minions from succeeding in their attempted coup against democracy after the 2020 election. The courts conservative bloc has lately shown disregard for precedent, misplaced faith in often-radical state legislatures, and nonchalance about the real-world impact of its rulings all of which might lead it to a decision in this case that would further undermine Americas already-teetering electoral institutions. Theres nothing Americans can do about that in the short run, but the long-term solution is to vote like the future of democracy depends on it. Because it does. For centuries Ukraine has suffered periods of brutal occupation by invaders. The most frequent brutal occupier has been Russia, which has played the homicidal villain several times in the last century. The most infamous Russian occupation incident was in the use of famine during 1932 and 1933 to suppress Ukrainian opposition to Russian rule, especially new Russian dogma of communism, which prohibited private farms and expected all farmers to work for state-owned collective farms. This was resisted by many farmers throughout Russia but the opposition was most stubborn in Ukraine, where about 20 percent of the Soviet Union population lived. Ukrainian farmers were the most productive in Russia and produced most of the exportable wheat. Ukrainian resistance produced a horrific response, the seizure of nearly all the wheat crops in the areas of most resistance. This lasted two years and killed nearly four million Ukrainian, about an eighth of the population in what Ukrainians called Holodomor (great famine). Russia denied the Holodomor ever happened and many Western nations, and their mass media, went along with that. One exception was Britain, where one British reporter risked his life by going to Ukraine and obtaining proof of the Holodomor. The Russian government kept denying the famine ever happened until 1983, when a more open communist government admitted that many communist crimes were true. This made an impression on Russians because they realized more of the victims of prison camps (Gulags) and communist terror in general were Russians. As a result, during the 0ccupations of Crimea and parts of Donbas in 2014 the Russians tried to win the support of locals. That lowered the civilian death toll but did not turn most of the occupied population into loyal citizens of Russia. By 2020 most Ukrainians in the occupied territories wanted out. The most desperate moved to Russia, many others wanted to get to Ukraine and others sought to go anywhere but Ukraine and Russia. The Holodomor and many other past incidents of Russian brutality led to Russian troops being ordered to not attack civilians during the 2022 invasion. That failed to cause civilians to be any more receptive to the Russian presence and, within a month troops were told they could loot and not tolerate any resistance from civilians. Russia denied that civilians were being killed or that widespread looting was taking place. Cell phone cameras carried by most Ukrainian made that disinformation difficult to sustain. Nor were the heavy casualties inflicted on the Russian forces who believed they would easily defeat the Ukrainians and occupy the capital, Kyiv, within two weeks. After a month of this Russian troops around Kyiv were ordered to withdraw to Russia and try to conceal evidence of mass murder before they left. This produced some mass graves but many bodies were left in plain view and many surviving civilians had video evidence of who did what. Russia again denied it, insisting these civilians were killed by Ukrainian forces to make the Russians look bad. Once more the video evidence, especially from Ukrainians who witnessed it and could identify some of the perpetrators, made the atrocities difficult to deny. Mindful of that, Russian occupation forces in parts of Ukraine that were seized early on and are still under Russian control, were ordered to try really hard to win over the locals without resorting to mass murder. The main occupation zone is north of Crimea and centered around the city of Kherson, which is the capital of Kherson province. Kherson City was captured during the first week of the invasion and Russia has held onto most of the province ever since. The city is a major port because it is located near the mouth of the Dnieper River and the Black Sea. The Dnieper is a major navigable river for Ukraine and has long been used to handle the movement of cargo, especially wheat being exported. Ukraine has been trying to recapture Kherson City and province ever since, and is making progress, aided by a growing partisan movement inside Kherson province and passive resistance to Russian occupation by most Ukrainians in the province. Some Ukrainians agreed to work for the Russian occupation and they were soon the targets of attacks by Ukrainian partisans. Some of the turncoats were killed but more worrisome to the Russians were indications that other Ukrainian officials quietly agreed to work for the partisans. The Russians now believe that many of their Ukrainian administrators were working with the resistance from the beginning. At the same time the Russian occupation forces still have their orders to try and win over the Ukrainians or at least discourage them from joining an armed insurrection. To help with that the Russians sought to Russify the province as quickly as possible. That meant replacing the Ukrainian cell phone service with a Russian one. Ukrainian TV and radio transmissions are blocked. Russian ID documents became mandatory and use of any currency but the Russian ruble was forbidden. Russia controlled utilities (especially water and electricity) and every effort was made to link Kherson to the Russian economy. The initial reason for pacifying the population was to make life safe for Russian troops in Kherson. That was never fully achieved and now Russian troops have to worry about roadside bombs or anti-vehicle mines as well as sniper fire and assassination via pistol or a bomb planted in a vehicle. The goal of this was to hold elections that could be depicted as honest and show a majority of Kherson residents supporting annexation by Russia. The Ukrainians are not cooperating and doing so in clever ways that Russian Information War specialists can recognize and struggle to counter. The Ukrainian resistance is both armed and dangerous but also mindful of the importance of outperforming the Russian Information War campaign. The Ukrainians depict the Russian occupiers as worse than the German Nazis of World War II infamy. This is particularly embarrassing for the Russians because the official Russian government justification for the invasion is to liberate Ukrainians from neo-Nazi Ukrainians led by president Zelensky, who is Jewish. This tragicomedy was understood by many in Russia early on and led to a largely unarmed, but often violent, resistance movement inside Russia and Belarus. Russia denies the extent of the resistance in Kherson, calling armed partisans local bandits and gangsters. Video proof gets out of Kherson and Russian troops stationed in Kherson complain to friends and family back home. This intensifies resistance to the war inside Russia, where the government is waging its own Information War to generate support for the war or at least discredit the critics. It was the growing inability to suppress accurate news that played a role in causing the Soviet Union to dissolve in 1991. The former KGB officers who brought back so many aspects of Soviet rule during the last two decades are having a hard time dealing with media and image control. Its the 1980s all over again but worse. This is a reminder that the Information War is not a state monopoly and often a multi-sided conflict. A recent (June 30-July 2) mass meeting (or loya jirga) of more than 4,000 Afghan clerics and tribal elders in Kabul ended with the participants endorsing the policies of the IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) or the 2021 Taliban, government and its use of Islamic (Sharia) law to govern life in Afghanistan. Most jirgas are local affairs but this jirga was presented as a national loya jirga (great conference), which is generally considered more representative of what Afghans really want than elections or opinion polls. The IEA is accused of holding a corrupt loya jirga because in the past, when the Taliban were not in charge from 2002-2021, the IRA (Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) called for loya jirgas several times to settle political and religious disputes in ways that most Afghans, and foreigners, accepted as legitimate. When the IRA was in charge l0ya jirgas were often called to settle key policy disputes. Loya jirgas dealt with issues like how much longer to host foreign troops. Most left by 2014 despite loya jirga advice that some should stay. Former president Karzai's 2013 plea for a peace deal with the Taliban was thwarted because the subsequent loya jirga was hostile to the idea. The main function of the jirga is for leaders from around the country to get a sense of the attitudes of other tribes and form a consensus. Loya Jirga is a Pushtun word, but it is a common practice among the Indo-European tribes that have occupied the region for over 5,000 years. The purpose of the loya jirga has changed because of technology. Those now attending have cell phones and access to international radio and TV news. A loya jirga is no longer a meeting of strangers. Local Jirgas are meetings of people who are often distantly related to each other and are more frequently used to settle local or family disputes. Loya jirgas used to be rare events, but since 2002 are much more frequent, (almost annual affairs, and an opportunity to achieve some kind of national consensus. Back in 2019 the Taliban declared any loya jirga called by the IRA as illegitimate. That created another reason for most Afghans to despise and oppose the Taliban. After the recent loya jirga there were plenty of Afghan groups inside and outside Afghanistan criticizing the endorsement of Sharia law interpreted to mean Afghan females cannot obtain more than six years of education, and only in all girl schools. Education for teenage and adult Afghan women is now banned, as is working outside the home. Afghan women must wear clothing that covers everything except their eyes. Even Moslem countries that support Sharia law, like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, criticize the IEA implementation of Sharia as overly strict and harmful to the welfare of women, especially widows with children, who often live in extreme poverty if they have no kin to help out. The IEA insisted that Afghan women were represented at the clerics conference, even though there were no women attending. The IEA insisted that women were represented via clerics because all these men had mothers, wives and other female kin who they consulted. The womens groups criticizing the conference included some of women who relations of attendees and were open about their criticism of the conference and IEA policies towards women. Some of the clerics attending probably agreed with the women but such criticism of the IEA by clerics is considered a crime and punishment is often death. The IEA hoped this jirga would persuade foreign governments to grant diplomatic recognition and restore aid and trade links. Apparently, it had the opposite effect, especially with nations that have long used Sharia law. Non-Moslem nations are equally unimpressed, especially since the IEA received no support from other Sharia observant nations. Despite the IEA jirga, some countries continue to send some aid. The best example of this is a rare Pakistan agreement with India that enables Indian food aid convoys, each carrying several thousand tons of wheat to Afghanistan via Pakistan to the Afghan border crossing in northwest Pakistan (Khyber Pass). The UN supervises the distribution of the wheat inside Afghanistan. So far the Indian grain convoys have delivered 36,000 of the 50,000 tons promised. The IEA has been unable to attract much foreign aid because they refused to allow foreigners to supervise distribution. The food shortage situation has become desperate and the IEA made a rare exception here. Before the IEA took over in 2021, India was a major donor of aid to the previous IRA government. India pledged this food aid in January but Pakistan had banned Indian traffic since 2019 and it took several weeks to negotiate terms (no customs or other charges and security) before regular transit was allowed for the wheat. The UAE also sends medical aid and China sent tents and other disaster relief after a recent earthquake. Natural disasters like earthquakes and droughts kill more Afghans each year than rebels or Islamic terrorist violence. The two largest Islamic terror groups in Afghanistan are the TTP (Pakistan Taliban) who fight to establish an Islamic government (like IEA) in Pakistan. The second largest Islamic terror group in Afghanistan is ISK (Islamic State Khorasan), which is also the local ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) affiliate and has been very active in Afghanistan since the IEA took power in late 2021. The IEA told Pakistan it would go after ISK while telling the United States they would not cooperate with the Americans or Russians in suppressing ISK activity in Afghanistan. Now ISK is once more operating in Pakistan. ISK is growing rapidly because many Taliban factions oppose Pakistans domination of the IEA and continued discrimination against Pushtuns in general. Opposition to Pakistan is one thing that most Pushtuns can agree on. While ISIL doctrine calls for attacks to concentrate on heretics (mainly Shia Moslems) and infidels (non-Moslems), the growing number of Afghan and Pakistani Pushtuns joining ISK led to more attacks in general with a larger proportion against the IEA and Pakistani military and its ISI intelligence branch. This Pushtun war against Pakistan has been around for over a decade. Most of the Islamic terrorist violence in Afghanistan is the work of ISK while the TTP maintain bases in Afghanistan from which they launch attacks inside Pakistan. July 5, 2022: In the north (Balkh province) someone fired five unguided rockets into Uzbekistan. The rockets landed in Uzbek territory near the border. None of the rockets exploded but four of them landed in a residential area and damaged five buildings. Uzbek security forces removed the rockets safely. ISK was believed responsible for the rocket attack because ISK has made several attacks near the 144 kilometers long Uzbek border with Afghanistan. July 4, 2022: In the west (Herat province) an IEF convoy was attacked in the provincial capital by three unidentified gunmen, leaving two IEA soldiers dead as well as one of the attackers. Twenty civilians were wounded, 18 of them civilians working for the IEA, the other two wounded civilians were bystanders. July 1, 2022: The IEA Minister of Commerce and Industry led a trade delegation of fifty Afghan merchants to Uzbekistan to meet with Uzbek officials about lowering tariffs on Afghan exports in order to increase trade. The Afghan merchants in the delegation already trade with Uzbekistan and import goods from other Central Asian states like Kazakhstan through Uzbekistan. Trade with Western nations or even other neighbors like Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan has been disrupted by IEA policies towards the drug smuggling and Islamic terrorism. The Afghan merchants in the trade delegation are largely involved with traditional trade in locally produced goods, including livestock perishable items like fruit. In the east (Nangarhar Province) eight people were wounded when someone threw a grenade into a religious school. No one claimed responsibility but ISK frequently makes such attacks. Elsewhere in the province IEA forces carried out raids on ISK groups, killing five Islamic terrorists and arresting two more. ISK has been the source of a growing number of attacks in the province. June 30, 2022: In the northeast (Panjshir province) IEA forces have been fighting with resistance groups for six months and not making a lot of progress in eliminating armed NRF (National Resistance Front) members and their unarmed local supporters. The NRF is a direct descendent of the 1990s Northern Alliance which dominated the Panjshir Valley (a 90-minute drive from Kabul) right up to the defeat of the Taliban government. Northern Front leaders became members of the IRA government and now their sons have reassembled as the NRF (National Resistance Front) and once more control much of the Panjshir Valley and has resisted IEA forces sent to gain control over the valley. The NRA uses mines, roadside bombs and ambushes to attack IEA forces as well has their supply convoys. The NRA men (and women) know the valley, most IRA troops dont. IEA soldiers and police who have spent some time in the valley learn to be wary just to survive. That means exercising caution when attempting to arrest locals suspected of supporting the NRA. In Kabul, two gunmen on a rooftop fired on some of the clerics attending a government-sponsored conference. IEA security guards returned fire and killed the two attackers before they could injure anyone. The attackers were apparently not affiliated with any known anti-government group. Elsewhere in Kabul, NRF carried out their first attack against IEA forces in Kabul since the IEA took control of Afghanistan a year earlier. This Kabul attack caused casualties and triggered a major IEA retaliation operation in the Panjshir Valley, which is north of Kabul and long a base for anti-Taliban forces. The IEA has insisted that the NRA resistance is minor and under control. June 29, 2022: Pakistan is complaining that the IEA has added weapons smuggling to the drug smuggling tolerated by the Pakistan military as long as the heroin was for export and the generals were paid for their services, which included allowing chemicals needed for turning opium into heroin to get into Afghanistan. The weapons are being smuggled into Pakistan hidden in truckloads of fresh fruits and vegetables. Trucks carrying these perishable items are often delayed at the border until large bribes are paid. Sometimes the bribes demanded are higher than the transportation company can afford but it is paid anyway to avoid losing the cargo to spoilage. The trucks carrying weapons under the fresh produce dont appear to have any problems because the border guards have been paid well in advance to let certain trucks go through without inspection. This sort of thing doesnt happen without Pakistani military cooperation. These weapons are something the Pakistani military would not tolerate if they were for local markets. This is where criminals and Islamic terrorists get their arms and ammunition that are often used against Pakistani security forces. It is unclear if this is another dispute between elected Pakistanis officials and the military or a case of Afghan officials managing to pay off Pakistani border guards who also work for the Pakistani military. Border guards at the three main crossings have a lucrative job because if the bribe is right the border security personnel cooperation can be rented. This sort of freelancing is dangerous because the border guards have long-term deals with the Pakistani military. Violating this contract can be fatal but if you are careful and alert you can flee across the border if your scam is detected by the wrong people. This sort of thing is common along the border where smuggling, bribery and power struggles have been the norm for a long time. June 26, 2022: In the east (Khost province) a Pakistani army patrol across the border in North Waziristan) clashed with TTP Islamic terrorists from Afghanistan. Two soldiers and seven TTP gunmen were killed. June 25, 2022: Afghanistans northern neighbor, Tajikistan has largely been free of Islamic terrorist violence since 2001. But in 2022 there was another outbreak in Gorno-Badakhshan Province, or GBAO. This province contains 45 percent of Tajikistan territory but only three percent of the population, including most of its Shia minority. Nearly all Tajiks are Sunni Moslems. The Tajiks are Indo-European and the tail end of the Persian tribes that got as far as the Persian Gulf three thousand years ago and founded the Persian Empire, which eventually became modern Iran. About half the Persian migrants ended up in modern Iran while the rest settled in what is now northern Afghanistan and Tajikistan and adopted Sunni Islam 1,500 years ago. The Persian Empire Iranians had switched to Shia Islam 400 years ago and this further divided the Persians from the Tajiks in Afghanistan and modern Tajikistan. The Russians began moving into Central Asia 500 years ago but were only able to gain control of half the Tajiks, with the other half uniting with the more numerous Pushtun tribes to form modern Afghanistan and block further Russian advances to the south. After the Russian monarchy was overthrown in 1918 the communists regained control of Tajikistan by 1924. The communists were anti-religion but tolerated and regulated the Tajik form of Sunni Islam. The Tajiks never became Islamic traditionalists. This meant that, like Iranians before 1979, there were few beards and women did not wear veils or observe the restrictive lifestyle rules imposed on Iranians after the 1979 revolution and the Taliban in Afghanistan from the mid-1990s to 2001. The same trends developed among the Turkic tribes that dominated the rest of Central Asia. This meant it was difficult for Islamic conservatism and terrorism to develop. There were some incidents, especially after the five Central Asia states became independent states in 1991. The current outbreak in GBAO was partly about an Islamic revolution but mostly about the small population of that province feeling exploited by the Sunni majority when it came to profiting from the development of the huge mineral wealth in the Pamir Mountains of GBAO. The small population of GBAO is not only largely Shia but some are not even Tajik. The GBAO rebels blocked some roads to protest Tajik police killing a charismatic young local leader who backed better treatment of the GBAO population. The Tajik government has maintained peace via negotiation and compromise and is now making a serious effort to address local complaints in GBAO. Relations with the new Taliban government of Afghanistan have been tense, but not because of religious issues. The Tajiks and other northern neighbors of Afghanistan are angry about the increased heroin coming out of Afghanistan. The heroin production is taxed by the new Taliban government just as it was with the old one. The two decades of democratic government in the IRA (Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) saw less heroin and more prosperity for Afghans in general. The Tajiks accept assistance from Russia and some NATO nations to help guard the border but drugs still get through. The Taliban has not made much of an effort to export Islamic terrorism to Tajikistan because theres too much resistance to that up there as well as among the Afghan Tajiks, who make up about a quarter of the Afghan population and are again supporting armed resistance to the new Taliban government, just as they did with the old one. Afghanistan is also having problems with its eastern neighbor Pakistan. These have to do with longstanding border disputes, support for Islamic terrorists in Pakistan and heroin. IEA security forces are confronting Pakistani special operations forces entering eastern and southern Afghan provinces to capture or kill TTP (Pakistani Taliban) leaders. The Pakistani troops are supported by artillery and air strikes that often kill Afghan civilians. The IEA/TTP peace talks are expected to fail, along with similar negotiations between TTP and Pakistan. To further complicate matters Pakistan is depending on continuing Chinese support to deal with the new IEA government, which is having the same problems the 2001 version had, but worse. For two decades after the 2001 Taliban were out of power, Afghanistan prospered in many ways. The economy, lifespans, infrastructure and education levels reached new highs. The IEA has reinstated many of the pre-2001 rules that turned most Afghans against the Taliban. Most potential aid donors and the UN are withholding aid until the IEA lifts restrictions on women. So far, the IEA refuses, even though neighbors Iran and Pakistan recognize those restrictions as unpopular and bad for the economy. In Pakistan the government is not willing to engage in illegal trade with the IEA. The Pakistan military is another story and initially openly took credit for putting the Taliban back in charge of Afghanistan. Now that the IEA has failed so spectacularly the Pakistani generals are more discreet. The military still works with the Afghan drug cartels to produce and export what is most of the worlds heroin supply from Afghanistan. Cooperation in this area keeps the drug cartels and their Pakistani partners in business while millions of Afghans face starvation because of Western economic sanctions against Afghanistan. The IEA government has not worked out as Pakistan expected, with growing violence inside Afghanistan becoming a major problem for Pakistan and Iran. Iran is angry at the new Afghan government because of increased attacks on Afghan Shia. Iran threatens to support an armed Afghan Shia resistance manned by the thousands of Afghan Shia who served as mercenaries in Syria. Some still do, because the Shia Afghan mercs were the best fighters and demanded higher pay than Arab mercenaries. These armed Shia fighters sometimes cooperated with their 1990s Northern Alliance allies, which has reassembled as the NRF (National Resistance Front) and is increasingly active. The IEA is having some serious problems with its eastern neighbor Iran, which is angry about the increased attacks on Afghan Shia. Iran threatens to support an armed Afghan Shia resistance manned by the thousands of Afghan Shia who served as mercenaries in Syria. Some still do, because the Shia Afghan mercs were the best fighters and demanded higher pay than Arab mercenaries. These armed Shia fighters sometimes cooperated with their 1990s Northern Alliance allies, which has reassembled as the NRF and is planning new operations. That alone may be more than the new IEA government can handle. Some of the NRF leaders are sons of successful Northern Alliance commanders. Iran threatens to provide more support to the NRF than they gave the Northern Alliance. The Afghan Pushtuns are about 40 percent of the Afghan population and have always run the drug production and exporting. Most of the heroin goes out via Pakistan but there is still demand in Central Asia and Russia as well as Middle East nations that can be reached via Iran. The opium (the raw material for heroin) production in southern Afghanistan provides cheap drugs, especially opium, to Afghans as well as Iranians, and Tajiks and that has created millions of addicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Iran. The most determined resistance to the drug smuggling came from the Iranians who deployed more heavily armed border guards than any other Afghan neighbor. That slowed down the heroin coming out via Iran but never completely stopped it. The IRA government cooperated with Iran to halt the heroin exports but the IEA government has other priorities. June 22, 2022: In the southeast (Paktika and Khost province) several earthquakes in a mountainous area near the Pakistan border left over a thousand dead and many more injured or homeless. The first quake was 5.9 magnitude followed by several less powerful ones. The area is often hit with such quakes. June 18, 2022: In Kabul ISK attacked a Sikh temple guarded by IEA police. The attacked involved gunmen and a truck bomb. The truck was intercepted by police and the three ISK gunmen shot dead by the police. One policeman was killed along with one Afghan Sikh. June 17, 2022: In the north (Kunduz province) a bomb left in a mosque, exploded during Friday prayer services, killing one and wounding seven. The mosque leadership openly opposes ISK. June 12, 2022: In the north (Balkh province) someone fired on a bus carrying airport workers to Mazar-i-Sharif airport. Two passengers were killed and six wounded. ISK was suspected. In the northeast (Badakhshan and Kunduz provinces) bomb attacks left four civilians wounded. In the east (Khost province) a Pakistani army patrol across the border in North Waziristan) came under fire from a group that appeared to come from Afghanistan. One soldier was killed while the hostile gunmen fled towards Afghanistan. Incidents like this are often caused by TTP Islamic terrorists based in Afghanistan. That is less likely now because the government and TTP agreed to a ceasefire. That leaves the growing number of al Qaeda and ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) affiliated groups that have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and frequently carry out attacks in Pakistan and are doing it more often as relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to deteriorate. June 11, 2022: In Kabul a bomb was used against a minibus full of civilians, leaving four dead and several wounded. This believed the work of ISK. In the north (Takhar province) IEA security forces, acting on a tip, attacked an ISK safe house and killed eight ISK men and arrested three others. Two nearby civilians were also killed. June 6, 2022: An Indian diplomat visited Afghanistan to discuss trade opportunities. The IEA is eager to expand economic and diplomatic relations with India. This is in sharp contrast to the first Taliban government (1996-2001) which Indians had no economic or diplomatic links with. India is moving towards diplomatic recognition of the IEA and maintains a small staff of diplomats in their embassy compound, which is now considered a headquarters for Indian trade and diplomatic personnel. In the last year India has supplied a lot of food aid via Pakistan and trade items go via air or a land link on the Iranian border that takes exports to an Iranian port built in cooperation with India to support trade with Afghanistan without having to go through Pakistan. Current sanctions on the IEA complicate the IEA and India paying for their trade items. This is handled, for a fee, by a firm in the UAE. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / (TSXV:AUC) (OTCQB: AUCCF), (Frankfurt:9FY), (the "Company" or "Goldplay"), is pleased to announce that in order to significantly strengthen Company's technical and leadership capabilities, it has split the Company's President and CEO roles and has appointed a highly experienced President as well as a highly experienced Vice President Exploration to lead Company's plans and strategy together with Goldplay's CEO, Mr. Catalin Kilofliski. Effective July 1st, 2022 Mr. Christopher Osterman was appointed as the Company's President following the decision to split the Company's President and CEO role, and Mr. Jose Mario Branco as the Company's Vice President Exploration. Both roles are reporting to the Company's CEO. Chris Osterman, PhD Geologist, President With a PhD in Geology from the Colorado School of Mines, Chris Osterman is an Exploration Strategist with over forty years of experience in all stages of the mining industry thorough out Africa, North and South America, and Asia. Chris has enjoyed key roles in the reconnaissance and initial discoveries of the Malku Khota silver deposit in Bolivia (370 Moz Ag), the San Jose silver and gold mine in Oaxaca, Mexico (84 Moz Ag equivalent), and the Zuun Mod copper/moly deposit in Mongolia (273 M lbs Mo/ 330 M lb Cu). Recently, he served as a senior executive of First Mining Gold Corp, as the company built a largely indicated gold resource of 12 Moz of gold in Eastern Canada through a series of acquisitions of private and TSX listed companies. Jose Mario Branco, Geologist, Vice President Exploration Mr. Branco is a senior geologist with over 38 years of experience. He is the managing partner of Geologia e Geotecnia Consultores, a boutique consulting firm specializing in mineral exploration based in Portugal. Prior to that, Mr. Branco was the Regional Exploration Manager, Europe for Lundin Mining overseeing Lundin Mining projects in Iberia and Europe. He led the team credited with discovering the new VHMS Semblana mineral deposit near Lundin's Neves Corvo mine. Prior to that he was Exploration Manager - Portugal for Rio Narcea a senior project geologist for BP Minerals and later Rio Tinto and was a senior member of the team recognized with discovering of the Las Cruces Cu-Au VHMS deposit in southern Spain and in the Gralheira intrusion-related gold deposit in northern Portugal. Catalin Kilofliski, CEO stated: " Today marks an important milestone for our Company, as we have significantly strengthened our senior management and leadership team. Goldplay was created approximately one year ago with a strategy of delivering specific commodity and geographic exposure and successes for our investors. Despite the current market environment, today's appointments should enable the Company to begin delivering on that promise. The Company's Chairman, Deepak Malhotra, along with the newly appointed President Chris Osterman and VP Exploration Jose Mario Branco, together with myself, have recently completed a trip to Portugal with a goal to define, broaden and advance our strategy in Europe. Given the urgent need for sustainable resources produced within the European boundaries, we see ahead of us, a very feasible opportunity unfolding that will be conducive to successfully de-risking and advancing mining projects to production in the European Union. With a Portuguese based VP Exploration, a CEO born and raised in Europe, a President with important European connections, a Chairman that has commissioned several European mining projects into production, and a portfolio of several past producing gold and copper projects held in Portugal, Goldplay is well positioned to establish a strategically important presence in the evolving European resource development industry." The Company would also like to announce that the Board of Directors has granted a total of 300,000 incentive stock options to the newly appointed Company President. The stock options are fully vested, with a 5-year term, expiring on July 4, 2027 and are priced at C$0.07 per share. The exercise of the incentive stock options will be subject to a four month hold period from the grant date. The Company has also cancelled a total of 300,000 stock options issued on May 25,2021 with an exercise of $0.18 per share and a total of 190,000 stock options issued on August 9,2021 with an exercise price of $0.15 per share that were issued to certain Company advisors who ceased to act as advisors to the Company. About Goldplay Mining Goldplay Mining is a Canadian public company listed on TSXV and in the US on OTCQB. Goldplay holds several brownfield gold, and copper-gold projects located in Portugal with near term mining potential. The Company also holds large district scale gold, and copper-gold projects located in BC's Golden Triangle and southwestern BC. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Catalin Kilofliski" President, CEO & Director For further information please contact: Goldplay Mining Inc. Mr. Catalin Kilofliski, President & CEO Suite 650 - 1021 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6E 0C3 T: (604) 655-1420 E: [email protected] www.goldplaymining.ca Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the exploration potential of the Property. Generally forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "anticipate", "will", "expect", "may", "continue", "could", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "potential" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, results of future exploration and development activities, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals, changes in commodity prices and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations. Although the Company believes current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered are appropriate and that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct or enduring. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements that are contained or incorporated in this press release. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. SOURCE: Goldplay Mining Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with Vanstar, VVC, SoLVBL Solutions, Tocvan Ventures, ApartmentLove, and Trillion Energy on their latest news. The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives. Vanstar (TSXV:VSR) reports winter drilling results from Nelligan Vanstar (VSR) has released winter drilling results from the Nelligan Project in Quebec. Results confirm expanded gold mineralization along strike and at depth with the deposit open in all directions. President and CEO J.C. St-Amour joined Daniella Atkinson to discuss the results. For the full interview with J.C. St-Amour and to learn more about Vanstar, click here VVC (TSXV:VVC) unveils new look that reflects significant growth VVC Exploration Corporation (VVC) has rebranded its logo, messaging, and website and has introduced a new trade name, VVC Resources. The rebrand better reflects the depth of the organization's business operations. Board chairman Terrence Martell, PhD sat down with Daniella Atkinson to discuss the news. For the full interview with Terrence Martell and to learn more about VVC Resouces, click here SoLVBL Solutions (CSE:SOLV) files patent application for its authentication seal SoLVBL Solutions (SOLV) has a Patent pending with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The application relates to its proprietary system for deploying an authentication seal for secure digital voting. CEO Kaiser Akbar sat down with Daniella Atkinson to discuss the news. For the full interview with Kaiser Akbar and to learn more about SoLVBL Solutions, click here Tocvan Ventures (CSE:TOC) announces surface sample results at its El Picacho Au-Ag Project Tocvan Ventures Corp. (TOC) has announced surface sample results from its El Picacho Au-Ag Project in Sonora, Mexico. A surface exploration program has been ongoing since April. At the Murcielago Prospect, 65 samples were collected, with 14 samples returning values greater than 0.1 g/t Au. Tocvan CEO Brodie Sutherland sat down with Daniella Atkinson to discuss the update. For the full interview with Brodie Sutherland and to learn more about Tocvan Ventures, click here ApartmentLove (CSE:APLV) acquires short-term vacation rental platform ApartmentLove (APLV) has agreed to acquire all the assets of an established short-term vacation rental company for $375,000. The short-term vacation rental company has operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. ApartmentLove's President & CEO Trevor Davidson sat down with Coreena Robertson to discuss the acquisition. For the full interview with Trevor Davidson and to learn more about ApartmentLove, click here Trillion Energy (CSE:TCF) provides drilling program update Trillion Energy (TCF) has provided a progress update on its multi-well SASB natural gas field development drilling program scheduled to begin in August. Trillion Energy is an oil and gas producer with assets in Turkey and Bulgaria. Trillion Energy CEO, Arthur Halleran, sat down with Sabrina Cuthbert to discuss the project. For the full interview with Arthur Halleran and to learn more about Trillion Energy, click here Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit The Power Play by The Market Herald. About The Market Herald The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets. DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca. 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Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information. CONTACT: The Market Herald Charity Robertson [email protected] themarketherald.ca SOURCE: The Market Herald View source version on accesswire.com: Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) announced today that the companys board of directors appointed Sujata Dayal as a Class II director to serve on the board effective July 15, 2022, with an initial term expiring at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders. Ms. Dayal was also appointed as a member of both the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Special Committee on Manufacturing and Quality Oversight. We are pleased to welcome Sujata Dayal to Emergents Board of Directors, said Zsolt Harsanyi, Ph.D., chairman of the board of Emergent BioSolutions. Sujatas deep experience in healthcare compliance and strong expertise in legal and regulatory oversight will be invaluable to Emergent as we continue to grow the business and pursue our mission. We look forward to her contributions. I am enthusiastic to serve on the board of a company that is focused on public health with a mission to protect and enhance life, said Ms. Dayal. As Emergent executes on its strategy, I am delighted with the opportunity to contribute my passions in healthcare compliance and working with fellow directors and the management team to advance the company. Ms. Dayal has served as vice president and global chief compliance officer of Medline Industries, Inc. since March 2020. Over the last two decades, Ms. Dayal has held roles of growing responsibility in compliance with a focus on healthcare compliance in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. She previously served as a vice president, healthcare compliance at Johnson & Johnson from 2013 to 2020. Prior to that, she served on senior executive roles in ethics and compliance at Biomet, Inc. and Abbott Laboratories. Ms. Dayal is an attorney by training with expertise in transactional work, regulatory law, privacy and compliance, including healthcare compliance and anti-corruption. She earned her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, LL.M. from Columbia University School of Law, LL.B. from Rajasthan University Law School in Jaipur, India, and B.A. Honors degree in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi, India. ST. HELENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc. ("Duckhorn" or the Company) (NYSE: NAPA) today announced that Mallard Holdco, LLC (the Selling Stockholder) intends to offer for sale in an underwritten secondary offering (the Offering) 5,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). The Selling Stockholder expects to grant the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares of common stock on the same terms and conditions. No shares are being sold by Duckhorn. The Selling Stockholder will receive all of the proceeds from this offering. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is acting as the underwriter for the proposed offering. The underwriter proposes to offer the shares from time to time for sale in one or more transactions on the New York Stock Exchange, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices, subject to its right to reject any order in whole or in part. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC and has become effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus for the offering, when available, may be obtained from: Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 6933 Louis Stephens Drive, Morrisville, NC, 27560, by telephone at 1-800-221-1037 or by email at [email protected]. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as anticipate, expect, plan, could, may, will, believe, estimate, forecast, goal, project, and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address various matters including statements regarding the proposed registered secondary public offering. Each forward-looking statement contained in this press release is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could affect such forward-looking statements, see the sections entitled Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2021 and in the Companys other filings with the SEC. The Company cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. The Companys business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties. About The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc. The Duckhorn Portfolio is the premier producer of luxury wines in North America. The acclaimed Duckhorn Portfolio includes Duckhorn Vineyards, Decoy, Paraduxx, Goldeneye, Migration, Canvasback, Calera and Kosta Browne, each with its own dedicated winemaker. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005838/en/ Investor Contact Chris Mandeville, ICR [email protected] 707-302-2635 Media Contact Jessica Liddell, ICR [email protected] 203-682-8200 Source: The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc. News summary: Brian Protiva to end reign as industrys longest-standing chief executive officer Will take up the role as vice chairman of Acorn HoldCo, Inc. after a transition period of several weeks CTO Christoph Glingener appointed as CEO MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ADVA (FSE: ADV) today announced that Brian Protiva is to step down as CEO. After a transition period of several weeks, Protiva will assume the role of vice chairman of Acorn HoldCo, Inc. (the holding company of Adtran and ADVA). Christoph Glingener will be appointed ADVAs new CEO and will also continue as the companys CTO. During Protivas 25-year tenure as chief executive officer, he successfully steered the company from a small start-up to an industry leader in metro WDM and Ethernet access devices. As ADVA is about to complete its business combination with Adtran, Protiva will support the further unification of the companies over the coming months. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005829/en/ Brian Protiva, CEO, ADVA (Photo: Business Wire) Working side-by-side with Brian for eight years, I was privileged to see one of the industrys true leaders develop a world-class company. During his 25 years as ADVAs CEO, Brian helped define a whole new landscape of innovation and possibilities, said Nikos Theodosopoulos, chairman of ADVAs supervisory board. From broadband connectivity to mobile communications to data security, Brian played an integral role in building the infrastructure that forms many of todays foundational building blocks. And this commitment to the industry isnt going to end here. As a board member of Adtran, he will continue to help steer the industry and drive a new wave of opportunities. Protiva will be succeeded by ADVAs long-serving CTO, Christoph Glingener. For 15 years, Glingener has molded the companys technology roadmap, introducing a number of industry-defining products that are now being used by service providers and enterprises across the globe. As CEO, Glingener will continue to support ADVAs business combination with Adtran while maintaining his current work as CTO. Glingener will assume the role of CEO after a transition period of several weeks with the full support of the companys supervisory board. About ADVA ADVA is a company founded on innovation and focused on helping our customers succeed. Our technology forms the building blocks of a shared digital future and empowers networks across the globe. Were continually developing breakthrough hardware and software that leads the networking industry and creates new business opportunities. Its these open connectivity solutions that enable our customers to deliver the cloud and mobile services that are vital to todays society and for imagining new tomorrows. Together, were building a truly connected and sustainable future. For more information on how we can help you, please visit us at www.adva.com. Published by: ADVA Optical Networking SE, Munich, Germany www.adva.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005829/en/ For press: Gareth Spence t +44 1904 699 358 [email protected] For investors: Steven Williams t +49 89 890 665 918 [email protected] Source: ADVA Optical Networking SE 4.4MW of Ground Mount Solar Advances Army Climate Change Strategy FORT RILEY, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Corvias is kicking off the third phase of its solar energy program at Fort Riley that, when complete, will bring nearly 17MW of renewable energy to power more than 40% of Fort Riley homes. For this phase, Onyx Construction will deliver approximately 4.4MW with two ground mount solar arrays located in the housing community. The project will incorporate a microgrid that can provide backup power to housing and other mission-critical facilities in an emergency. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005567/en/ The military family housing partnership between Corvias and the U.S. Army at Fort Riley kicked off the third phase of the solar energy program to deliver nearly 4.4MW of ground mount solar within the housing community. The three combined phases will offset more than 40% of the annual electricity consumed by on-post family housing. (Photo: Business Wire) When phase three is complete, the Corvias solar program will deliver more than 38MW of power across Fort Riley, Fort Meade, and Aberdeen Proving Ground. The military family housing partnership between Corvias and the U.S. Army at Fort Riley is committed to supporting the U.S. Armys energy-independence goals to ensure mission infrastructure, installation security and the well-being of service members and their families. Corvias energy services are an extension of our commitment to helping our partners achieve their goals while materially improving the community in which we live and serve, said Corvias Managing Director Peter Sims. The Fort Riley solar program is a great example of how the Military Housing Privatization Initiative can contribute to the greater goals of the Army such as providing 100% carbon pollution-free electricity for installation needs by 2030. To date, the Corvias solar and energy efficiency program has delivered 28MW of rooftop and ground mount solar in eight phases benefitting three Army installations. This is the equivalent of removing almost 6,000 cars from the road or preserving 187 acres of U.S. forests per year. The solar project complements the Corvias utility management program, which is updating approximately 16,000 military homes with energy and water efficiency technology. At Fort Riley, Corvias recently delivered 32 renovated and completely reconfigured homes in the Rim Rock neighborhood, a $12M energy upgrade project across 3,800 homes, and is constructing more than 40 new duplex homes in the Warner Peterson community for senior noncommissioned officers. About Corvias and the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Corvias is a partner to the U.S. Army as part of the U.S. Department of Defense Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) to revitalize, operate and maintain on-base military family housing. MHPI has enabled renovations, new construction, and water and energy-saving initiatives, including the largest solar project in Kansas located at the Fort Riley military housing community, which is part of Corvias partnership with the Army. In 2019, Corvias developed a $325 million Solutions Investment for its Department of Defense portfolio to fund strategic modernization and resiliency improvements to its U.S. Army base housing infrastructure. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005567/en/ Mary Humphreys (571) 309-5943 [email protected] Source: Corvias Long-time Check customer adds merchant services for its business members. MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Deluxe (NYSE: DLX), a Trusted Payments and Business Technology company, today announced that First American by Deluxe, its merchant services business, has signed an agreement with Dupaco Community Credit Union, expanding a long-term relationship utilizing the One Deluxe model. Under the agreement, more than 120 of Dupacos current business members will transition to the merchant services provided by Deluxe. These services will also be available to new Dupaco business members. Dupaco already partners with Deluxe on other payment products, including Checks, Remote Deposit Capture and Branch Deposit Capture. Deluxe, the Original Payments Company, acquired First American Payment Systems in 2021. The acquisition has enabled Deluxe to become a scaled and leading player in merchant services with First Americans leading end-to-end payments platform, providing customers with access to more robust payment technology services and products. We are excited about this new partnership with Dupaco Community Credit Union, a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative with an outstanding reputation, said Michael Reed, President of Payments for Deluxe. Our leadership in delivering innovative products and solutions, along with our commitment to customer service and partner support, were integral in making this strategic win possible. This is just another example of our One Deluxe approach to providing exceptional platforms and solutions for our customers. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. About Deluxe Deluxe, a Trusted Payments and Business Technology company, champions business so communities thrive. Our solutions help businesses pay, get paid, and grow. For more than 100 years, Deluxe customers have relied on our solutions and platforms at all stages of their lifecycle, from start-up to maturity. Our powerful scale supports millions of small businesses, thousands of vital financial institutions and hundreds of the worlds largest consumer brands, while processing approximately $3 trillion in annual payment volume. Our reach, scale and distribution channels position Deluxe to be our customers most trusted business partner. To learn how we can help your business, visit us at www.deluxe.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005115/en/ Tom Morabito, VP, Investor Relations 470-607-5567 [email protected] Cam Potts, Chief Communications Officer 651-233-7735 [email protected] Source: Deluxe Corporation After over 15 years advising tech leaders like Facebook, Instagram and Qualtrics, Goodsell joins Weaves executive team LEHI, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Weave (NYSE: WEAV), the all-in-one customer communication platform for small business, has added experienced B2B tech counsel Erin Goodsell to its executive team as Chief Legal Officer. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005679/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) Goodsell comes to Weave after serving as Director & Associate General Counsel at Qualtrics for nearly six years, specializing in helping high-growth tech companies tackle privacy, strategic and growth hurdles. She was instrumental in enabling one of the largest SaaS acquisitions in history and a successful IPO in her tenure at Qualtrics, where she also helped scale the business to cross $1 billion in revenue in 2021. Prior to joining Qualtrics, Goodsell spent over eight years at international tech law firm Cooley LLP. She represented a variety of major corporations from small biotech companies to pharmaceutical, software and retail companies in commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, privacy litigation, and class action and securities litigation. Welcoming a talent like Erin to the Weave leadership team is not just a pleasure, its an honor, said Weave CEO Roy Banks. Her track record of excellence and achievement both in-house and as an external advisor to high-growth tech companies makes her a perfect fit for Weave. For more information about Weave and its executive team, visit the Company page of the Weave website. About Weave Weave is the all-in-one customer communications and engagement platform for small business. From the first phone call to the final invoice and every touchpoint in between, Weave connects the entire customer journey. Weaves software solutions transform how local businesses attract, communicate with and engage customers to grow their business. The first Utah company to join Y Combinator, Weave has set the bar for Utah startup achievement & work culture. In the past year, Weave has been included in the Forbes Cloud 100, Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies in America, and was certified as a Great Place to Work. To learn more, visit www.getweave.com/newsroom/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005679/en/ Kali Geldis Director of Communications, Weave [email protected] Source: Weave Press Ganey to help transform patient experience through technology, strategic counsel and thought leadership, across dozens of hospitals and provider facilities in the Midwest BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Press Ganey, renowned leader in patient, member, employee and consumer experience across the healthcare ecosystem, today announced it has entered into a multi-year agreement to provide technology, counsel and additional knowledge resources to Essentia Health, an integrated healthcare system serving patients in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. Effective July 1, Press Ganey will support Essentia Health through rapid patient experience transformation and nursing excellence across the health systems 14 hospitals, 72 clinics and 12 care facilities. The best collaborations create something bigger than the sum of what each partner can create on their own, and Im incredibly excited to see the great, industry-leading work that the Essentia Health and Press Ganey teams are going to do together, said Lanie Dixon, Vice President of Patient Experience, Essentia Health. Press Ganeys unparalleled expertise in healthcare industry benchmarking, leading-edge technology and wealth of knowledge and resources will help us drive meaningful organizational change for our patients, physicians, and nurses, as Essentia continues its journey to Magnet Recognition status. Press Ganey partners with 98% of hospitals recognized by the American Nurses Associations Magnet program, which recognizes excellence in nursing. Press Ganey will support Essentia Health through an integrated, multifaceted approach, including: Dynamic Surveying : Customizable, digital surveys tailored to patients unique experiences. Customizable, digital surveys tailored to patients unique experiences. Narrative Dx : Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Natural Language Processing (NLP) to quickly and efficiently derive insights from patient feedback. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Natural Language Processing (NLP) to quickly and efficiently derive insights from patient feedback. National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators ( NDNQI ) : Press Ganeys proprietary national database of 250+ nursing measures and quality indicators to get unit-level analysis to help improve patient outcomes. : Press Ganeys proprietary national database of 250+ nursing measures and quality indicators to get unit-level analysis to help improve patient outcomes. Transparency : A technology platform that publishes authentic ratings and reviews from real patient experience surveys to provider profiles and directories, helping earn patient trust and driving appointment scheduling. A technology platform that publishes authentic ratings and reviews from real patient experience surveys to provider profiles and directories, helping earn patient trust and driving appointment scheduling. Reputation Management: A cutting-edge, purpose-built for healthcare tool that captures patient sentiment and comments from reviews and social media sites into one consolidated dashboard to enable fast responses to online feedback. Were thrilled to partner with and support an industry leader in Essentia Health as they track their end-to-end patient journey and improve nursing excellence system-wide, said Dan Litwer, chief client officer, Press Ganey. Our integrated technology platform will provide the award-winning Essentia team with the ability to monitor the connections between patient and consumer experience and high-quality care, so they can continue to serve their communities in profound ways. To schedule a demo of Press Ganeys patient experience, NDNQI or other solutions, visit PressGaney.com. About Press Ganey Press Ganey invented the healthcare performance improvement movement over 35 years ago. Today it offers an integrated suite of solutions that address safety, clinical excellence, patient experience and workforce engagement. The company works with more than 41,000 healthcare facilities in its mission to reduce patient suffering and enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality and experience of care. About Essentia Health Essentia Health is an integrated health system serving patients in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. Headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota, Essentia Health combines the strengths and talents of 14,100 employees, including more than 2,100 physicians and advanced practitioners, who serve our patients and communities through the mission of being called to make a healthy difference in peoples lives. The organization lives out its mission by having a patient-centered focus at 14 hospitals, 72 clinics, six long-term care facilities, three assisted living facilities, three independent living facilities, six ambulance services, 20 retail pharmacies, and one research institute. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005548/en/ Media: Ty Fiesel (MP&F) [email protected] 615-259-4000 Source: Press Ganey Report investigates the intersection of the media and religion sectors and their role in supporting modern, resilient civil society WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A new report drafted by the Fund for Peace, and unveiled today by the Faith and Media Initiative, sheds light on how interactions between religion, culture, and the strength or weakness of economic and political environments can contribute to resilience in civil society. At the International Religious Freedom Summit, the Faith and Media Initiative (FAMI) and Fund for Peace hosted a panel discussion and presented the findings from the new report: Coming Together or Coming Apart: An Analysis of Resilience and Freedoms of Media and Religion. The report, sponsored by FAMI, focused on the intersection of media and religious freedoms as they relate to resilience in modern civil societies. Individual case studies (available on the FFP website) look at examples in Brazil, India, and Ethiopia and found that media is an essential tool in building resilient societies that can weather the storms of economic, political and other shocks in our highly complex era of global connectedness. Click HERE to view the full report. The panel discussion took place on Thursday in Washington, DC, with a robust debate around the topic and an introduction of the questions posed by the paper (from the Fund For Peace). Expert panelists ranged from prominent global business executives to faith and media leaders, including: About the Fund for Peace For over 60 years, the Fund for Peace (FFP) has been a world leader in developing practical tools and approaches for reducing conflict. With a clear focus on the nexus of human security and economic development, FFP contributes to more peaceful and prosperous societies by engineering smarter methodologies and smarter partnerships. FFP empowers policy-makers, practitioners, and populations with context-specific, data-driven applications to diagnose risks and vulnerabilities and to develop solutions through collective dialogue. FFP is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Abuja, Nigeria, Accra, Ghana, London, United Kingdom and Tunis, Tunisia. For more information, visit https://fundforpeace.org/. About the Faith and Media Initiative The Faith and Media Initiative (FAMI) brings together faith leaders, media members and content creators around shared interests, helping them create, collaborate and reach larger audiences. By joining forces, FAMI believes more can be done to heal divisions and promote understanding, inspire more balanced faith stories, and foster a healthy conversation about spirituality. For more information, visit https://www.faithandmedia.com/. About the International Religious Freedom Summit The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit was hosted in Washington, DC from June 28-June 30. It was the second annual gathering of international freedom advocates and activists from around the world. It highlighted increasing threats to freedom of religion, conscience and belief, and offered the IRF community a chance to come together to advance shared goals for extending these fundamental freedoms to people and faith communities across the globe. For more information, visit https://irfsummit.org/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005836/en/ Corinne Gorda [email protected] Source: Faith and Media Initiative (FAMI) JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FIS (NYSE: FIS), a global leader in financial services technology, today announced the pricing of its multi-tranche offering of senior notes denominated in U.S. dollars (the Senior Notes) as follows: $750,000,000 4.500% Senior Notes due 2025; $500,000,000 4.700% Senior Notes due 2027; $750,000,000 5.100% Senior Notes due 2032; and $500,000,000 5.625% Senior Notes due 2052. FIS intends to use the net proceeds from the Senior Notes offering for the repayment of debt under its commercial paper programs, with any remaining proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes. The Senior Notes offering is expected to close on July 13, 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., MUFG Securities Americas Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are joint book-running managers for the Senior Notes offering. The Senior Notes offering is being made only by means of the applicable prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You may obtain copies of these documents without charge from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). Alternatively, you may request these documents by calling J.P. Morgan Securities LLC at +1 (212) 834-4533; BofA Securities, Inc. at +1 (800) 294-1322; MUFG Securities Americas Inc. at +1 (877) 649-6848; or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at +1 (800) 645-3751.The Senior Notes are being offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the SEC on June 21, 2022. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Senior Notes, nor will there be any sale of the Senior Notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer, solicitation or sale. Any offer, solicitation or sale of the Senior Notes will be made only by means of the applicable prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. About FIS FIS is a leading provider of technology solutions for financial institutions and businesses of all sizes and across any industry globally. We enable the movement of commerce by unlocking the financial technology that powers the worlds economy. Our employees are dedicated to advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests through our trusted innovation, system performance and flexible architecture. We help our clients use technology in innovative ways to solve business-critical challenges and deliver superior experiences for their customers. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS is a member of the Fortune 500 and the Standard & Poors 500 Index. Forward-looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on managements beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future events and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. FIS undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The risks and uncertainties which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited to, the risk that the offering described herein is not completed, the risk that the proceeds are not able to be used for the purposes stated as a result of unforeseen circumstances and other risks detailed in the Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information, Risk Factors and other sections of FIS Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, FIS Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022 and FIS other filings with the SEC. This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005877/en/ Kim Snider, 904.438.6278 Senior Vice President FIS Global Marketing and Communications [email protected] or Nathan Rozof, CFA, 904.438.6918 Executive Vice President FIS Corporate Finance and Investor Relations [email protected] Source: Fidelity National Information Services JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FIS (NYSE: FIS), a global leader in financial services technology, today announced that it intends, subject to market and other considerations, to make a multi-tranche offering of senior notes denominated in U.S. dollars (the Senior Notes). FIS intends to use the net proceeds from the Senior Notes offering for the repayment of debt under its commercial paper programs, with any remaining proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., MUFG Securities Americas Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are joint book-running managers for the Senior Notes offering. The Senior Notes offering is being made only by means of the applicable prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You may obtain copies of these documents without charge from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). Alternatively, you may request these documents by calling J.P. Morgan Securities LLC at +1 (212) 834-4533; BofA Securities, Inc. at +1 (800) 294-1322; MUFG Securities Americas Inc. at +1 (877) 649-6848; or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at +1 (800) 645-3751. The Senior Notes are being offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the SEC on June 21, 2022. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Senior Notes, nor will there be any sale of the Senior Notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer, solicitation or sale. Any offer, solicitation or sale of the Senior Notes will be made only by means of the applicable prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. About FIS FIS is a leading provider of technology solutions for financial institutions and businesses of all sizes and across any industry globally. We enable the movement of commerce by unlocking the financial technology that powers the worlds economy. Our employees are dedicated to advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests through our trusted innovation, system performance and flexible architecture. We help our clients use technology in innovative ways to solve business-critical challenges and deliver superior experiences for their customers. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS is a member of the Fortune 500 and the Standard & Poors 500 Index. To learn more, visit www.fisglobal.com. Follow FIS on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@FISGlobal). Forward-looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on managements beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future events and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. FIS undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The risks and uncertainties which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited to, the risk that the offering described herein is not completed, the risk that the proceeds are not able to be used for the purposes stated as a result of unforeseen circumstances and other risks detailed in the Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information, Risk Factors and other sections of FIS Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, FIS Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022 and FIS other filings with the SEC. This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005612/en/ Kim Snider, 904.438.6278 Senior Vice President FIS Global Marketing and Communications [email protected] or Nathan Rozof, CFA, 904.438.6918 Executive Vice President FIS Corporate Finance and Investor Relations [email protected] Source: Fidelity National Information Services LYON, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: MaaT Pharma (EURONEXT: MAAT the Company), a French clinical-stage biotech and a pioneer in the development of microbiome-based ecosystem therapies dedicated to improving survival outcomes for patients with cancer, today announced the availability of its Universal Registration Document for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorite des Marches Financiers) on July 5, 2022 under the visa number R.22-032. The Universal Registration Document 2021 is available free of charge to the public under the conditions provided for by the regulations in place, and can be accessed on the MaaT Pharma's website Investors section Regulated information (www.maatpharma.com/) and on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org). Upcoming financial communication and investor conference participation July 28, 2022 Revenues and Cash Position Quarter 2* September 12-14, 2022 - H.C. Wainwright 24th Annual Global Investment Conference September 15 - 16, 2022 KBC Securities Life Sciences Conference September 29, 2022 Half-year Results 2022* *Indicative calendar that may be subject to change. About MaaT Pharma MaaT Pharma, a clinical stage biotechnology company, has established a complete approach to restoring patient-microbiome symbiosis in oncology. Committed to treating cancer and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a serious complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation, MaaT Pharma has launched, in March 2022, a Phase 3 clinical trial for patients with acute GvHD, following the achievement of its proof of concept in a Phase 2 trial. Its powerful discovery and analysis platform, gutPrint, supports the development and expansion of its pipeline by determining novel disease targets, evaluating drug candidates, and identifying biomarkers for microbiome-related conditions. The companys Microbiome Ecosystem Therapies are produced through a standardized cGMP manufacturing and quality control process to safely deliver the full diversity of the microbiome, in liquid and oral formulations. MaaT Pharma benefits from the commitment of world-leading scientists and established relationships with regulators to support the integration of the use of microbiome therapies in clinical practice. MaaT Pharma is the first company developing microbiome-based therapies listed on Euronext Paris (ticker: MAAT). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005582/en/ MaaT Pharma Investor relations Herve AFFAGARD Co-Founder and CEO Sian Crouzet, COO/ CFO +33 4 28 29 14 00 [email protected] MaaT Pharma -media relations Pauline RICHAUD Senior PR & Corporate Communications Manager +33 6 07 55 25 36 [email protected] Trophic Communications - Corporate and medical Communications Jacob VERGHESE or Gretchen SCHWEITZER +49 (0)89 2070 89831 [email protected] Source: MaaT Pharma The partnership enables Axerves customers to implement Riskifieds PSD2 Optimize solution, which helped KIKO Milano ensure frictionless checkout for almost 99% of their customers NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Riskified, Ltd. (NYSE: RSKD), a fraud management platform enabling frictionless Ecommerce, and Axerve, a leading Italy-based payments hub that has developed a platform for orchestrating payments worldwide, have launched an extended strategic partnership to offer Riskifieds machine learning solutions, including PSD2 Optimize, to Axerves portfolio of customers. One of Axerves first clients to implement PSD2 Optimize, KIKO Milano, saw an exemption of nearly 99% of orders from Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) using Transaction Risk Analysis (TRA), and a more than 10% increase in approval rates for transactions. Since compliance with the European Unions PSD2 regulations, SCA requirements have added complexity for merchants. PSD2 Optimize enables merchants to minimize the effect of the European Unions PSD2 regulations on their Ecommerce operations by leveraging TRA exemptions to provide a seamless and secure payment experience for legitimate users and low-risk orders, and for the use of 3D Secure payments (3DS) to be applied only when its necessary. At a time when Ecommerce continues growing, ensuring friction-free solutions is vital to improve the shopping experience for consumers and the collection experience for merchants. PSD2: the double-edged sword of customer experience Axerve works with over 100,000 customers globally, and their ultimate goal is to simplify complex checkout processes for their clients, while guaranteeing high-security standards. When PSD2 came into force, Ecommerce merchants across Europe immediately felt its effect on the customer journey: friction added to the checkout flow caused shoppers to abandon their carts, which negatively affected conversion rates. KIKO Milano, in particular, experienced a high volume of support tickets from customers complaining they couldnt complete their purchase. With almost 70% of orders challenged by 3DS, accompanied by a high decline rate, they realized they needed a tool to optimize their checkout process and safeguard revenue - while also ensuring full compliance with the regulation. The Riskified approach: more optimization for less friction To help merchants overcome the challenges imposed by PSD2, Axerve introduced Riskified PSD2 Optimize as part of its payment processing platform: Axerve Guaranteed Payments. KIKO Milano, a long-time Axerve client, has historically championed investing in new solutions to enhance customer experience and had been looking for a fraud prevention solution to reduce fraud costs and increase conversion rates. When PSD2 went live, Axerve notified us that our denied transactions rate was quickly increasing, and our customer care team also alerted us that the number of tickets opened by customers was multiplying four-fold, said Diego Morgandi, Ecommerce Director at KIKO Milano. We were glad to hear about Riskifieds solution from Axerve, and we immediately wanted to test it. The benefits from PSD2 Optimize were immediate. We saw a reduction in failed transactions that drove the approval rate up and allowed us to grant our customers a real frictionless checkout experience. This partnership is key for us to succeed. In an environment as complex as the payments ecosystem, flexibility and innovation are fundamental to satisfy the increasing need for protection in the whole payment process while making it as friction-free and seamless as possible while being secure and compliant. Riskifieds solutions help Ecommerce merchants safely approve more orders, increase revenue, expand into new markets, and deliver a better customer experience. Thanks to the partnership with Axerve, Ecommerce merchants from various industries in Europe can now enjoy Riskifieds PSD2 Optimize solution to leverage exemptions and ensure frictionless payment experience for their customers. As a partner for our clients in the world of payments, it is our duty to always offer the most innovative solutions that allow us to guarantee our clients the best possible authorization rate, said Alessandro Bocca CEO of Axerve. The initial phase of the PSD2 adoption was difficult since the system and the industry was not equipped for the challenge, both in managing the authentication part and also on the issuer side to manage exemptions which led to a high loss in conversions. The challenge of the SCA, and in general of fraud management, has become an opportunity after being able to join forces with Riskified, best in class on fraud prevention. When PSD2 was introduced, we knew that our merchants and partners needed an immediate solution. They needed to comply with the regulation and implement 3D-secure and at the same time, leverage exemptions in order to improve their customer experience. In order for a merchant to maximize exemptions, they have to perform a transaction risk analysis and identify those low-risk orders. And this is exactly the capability that Riskified possesses as weve been perfecting this in the last decade said Naama Ofek Ard, Chief Operating Officer at Riskified. At the end of the day, the goal of everyone involved is to provide higher conversion rates to our merchants and a smooth experience for their customers, and this partnership is a testament to our mission and our capabilities. About Riskified Riskified empowers businesses to realize the full potential of Ecommerce by making it safe, accessible, and frictionless. We have built a next-generation Ecommerce risk management platform that allows online merchants to create trusted relationships with their consumers. Leveraging machine learning that benefits from a global merchant network, our platform identifies the individual behind each online interaction, helping merchantsour customerseliminate risk and uncertainty from their business. We drive higher sales and reduce fraud and other operating costs for our merchants and strive to provide superior consumer experiences, as compared to our merchants performance prior to onboarding us. About Axerve Part of Fabrick's Fintech ecosystem, Axerve stands for over 100,000 active customers, as a partner for business development helping them to understand, anticipate and address the needs of the market thanks to technological and innovative solutions for the point of sale and Ecommerce. Axerve supports them nationally and internationally and in every single market, integrates value-added services to meet the needs of physical and online stores with a personalized user experience, offering over 250 payment methods. The offer consists of a single platform to accept any type of payment, from all physical and digital channels, in a clear, simple and secure way, through physical and digital gateways, such as POS, Ecommerce solutions, Cashin machines, applications and value-added services; with the aim of offering an answer to all questions in the field of payment acceptance, offering new solutions (in-store, mobile and digital) adapting to the specific needs of customers. Axerve Ecommerce Solutions has a strong leadership in online payment management services in all product sectors. www.axerve.com/en About KIKO Milano KIKO MILANO was established and founded in 1997 by Percassi. It is an Italian professional cosmetics brand that features a range of cutting-edge makeup, face and body treatments. Safe and effective products of the highest quality, created to satisfy the beauty requirements of women of any age. Find your own beautiful - this is how KIKO sums up its vision of Beauty. Through its extraordinarily wide and diversified range of products, KIKO allows everyone to express their own personality. An unparalleled variety of colours, effects and sensations that are unique in the market to suit your style, skin tone, skin type, and specific tastes, at every phase of your life. KIKO's identity is rooted in "Made in Italy" values as the world capital for fashion, art and design. As craftsmen of original textures, colours and the evolution of beauty, we offer quality formulas with guaranteed performance, for a perfect fusion of quality and creativity. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005364/en/ Riskified Corporate Communications Fairouz Nashef [email protected] Axerve Tancredi Intelligent Communication: Helen Humphrey M +44 7449 226720 Giovanni Sanfelice di Monteforte M +44 7775858152 [email protected] | [email protected] Source: Riskified, Ltd. CENTURY CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is pleased to announce that Richard (Rick) Rifenbark has joined the firm as a partner in the Healthcare industry team in Century City. He was most recently a shareholder at Polsinelli, PC. Rifenbarks joining follows on that of a group of five healthcare real estate attorneys who joined Sheppard Mullins Los Angeles office in March, four of whom were also from Polsinelli. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005805/en/ Richard (Rick) Rifenbark, Partner, Sheppard Mullin (Photo: Business Wire) Expanding our healthcare team is a priority of the firm, and Rick is a terrific addition, said Jon Newby, Sheppard Mullins vice chairman. Weve added 10 lateral healthcare partners over the last year and we plan to continue deepening our existing bench strength by growing the group both in California and nationally. Healthcare industry team leader Eric Klein added, Our California healthcare compliance and regulatory partners are extremely busy, so Rick is joining us at the perfect time. His two decades of practicing in California have given him significant experience with the states very complex healthcare regulatory landscape, which will benefit our clients greatly. Rifenbark's practice is a blend of healthcare regulatory compliance and transactional work. He regularly advises clients on healthcare fraud and abuse laws and other regulatory issues, including the federal anti-kickback statute, stark physician self-referral law, false claims act, state licensing issues, corporate practice of medicine doctrines and state fraud and abuse laws. He also negotiates and drafts transactional agreements, including merger and acquisition, affiliation, professional services and management agreements. Rifenbark received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, (where he was a member of the California Law Review) and his B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of California, Berkeley. About Sheppard Mullins Healthcare Industry Team Sheppard Mullins 200+ attorney, full service, diverse, national healthcare industry team recently was named a 2021 Health Care Practice Group of the Year by Law360 (for the third time in seven years). Working in all sectors of healthcare nationally with industry-leading and growing companies, disruptive start-up clients and healthcare-focused investors, Sheppard Mullin is known for innovative transactions and joint ventures, regulatory solutions, population health management, global risk and value-based contracting, technology transactions/privacy and a full-service team offering significant experience in cybersecurity, tax, non-profit, employment and labor, real estate, artificial intelligence, antitrust, litigation and finance.. About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Sheppard Mullin is a full-service AmLaw 100 firm with more than 1,000 attorneys in 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, industry-leading companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high-stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include almost half of the Fortune 100. For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005805/en/ JOHN J. BUCHANAN (415) 744-3181 [email protected] Source: Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. (with its subsidiaries, Triple Flag or the Company) (TSX:TFPM, TSX: TFPM.U) today announced the publication of its 2021 Sustainability Report, showcasing the Companys sustainability approach, governance and performance. The report is available to view on under the ESG section of the Company's website at www.tripleflagpm.com. This is the Company's second Sustainability Report prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards 'Core option' and serves as our Communication on Progress for the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Disclosures are now aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Boards (SASB) Metals and Mining Standard and the Asset Management and Custody Activities Standard. The report details Triple Flags direct and indirect activities and our approach to transparent business conduct striving for ESG excellence across our entire business. It also includes a Climate Strategy developed in 2021 that is informed by recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Shaun Usmar, Chief Executive Officer of Triple Flag, said: Sustainability is central to our approach to business at Triple Flag, which should be clear to readers of our second Sustainability Report as a publicly listed company, which we are publishing today commented Shaun Usmar, Triple Flag Chief Executive Officer. Our successful journey so far is the culmination of converting the founding ideas, hard work and ambitions of our talented team into a high-quality, gold-focused, emerging senior streaming and royalty company. Our company plays a fundamental role as a financial partner to the mining ecosystem and, for the small, non-core portion of our portfolio that is not comprised of precious metals, we prioritize metals that support the green energy transition. What sets us apart is our sustained efforts to innovate our offerings as partner-oriented capital providers to the mining sector, informed by our deep mining backgrounds and networks, challenging the status quo, and striving for excellence. We are extremely proud of our progress in 2021 and remain committed to our long-term goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Key 2021 Highlights: Community Investment Strategy formed with an investment target of 2% of our average net income over the previous five years; In 2021, Triple Flag invested $855,000 in sustainability initiatives, of which over $500,000 was spent on initiatives to support underrepresented groups near our producing assets; Continued our track record of maintaining carbon neutrality since inception, offsetting total Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; Climate Strategy developed in 2021 consisting of not only the GHG emissions associated with our direct business activities, but also the emissions associated with the production of our attributable share of metals by our mining partners, to the point of saleable metals; The Company remains committed to the target of net zero emissions by 2050, and in 2022 we will be exploring the pathways to achieve this target; Established targets to maintain and build on our progress to date including: 30% women on the Board by 2025 and 30% diversity in Senior Management by 2025; Currently 29% women on the Board and 29% diversity in Senior Management; We are committed to joining the Womens Empowerment Principles established by UNGC in 2022 to further support the promotion of gender equality and womens empowerment; and In 2022, we joined the World Gold Council to support responsible development across the gold supply chain. About Triple Flag Triple Flag is a pure play, gold-focused, emerging senior streaming and royalty company. We provide our investors with exposure to a long-life, diversified and high-quality portfolio of streams and royalties that generates robust free cash flows. Our business is underpinned by a rigorous focus on asset quality, optionality, sustainability and risk management. We offer bespoke financing solutions to the metals and mining industry. Our mission is to be a preferred funding partner to mining companies throughout the commodity cycle by providing customized streaming and royalty financing, while offering value beyond capital as partners via our networks, capabilities and sustainability support. Since our inception in 2016, we have delivered sector-leading growth through the construction of a diversified portfolio of streams and royalties that provides exposure primarily to gold and silver in the Americas and Australia. We have also maintained carbon neutrality since that time, including the Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions of our attributable portion of metals production of our counterparties. We have 80 assets, including 9 streams and 71 royalties. These investments are tied to mining assets at various stages of the mine life cycle, including 15 producing mines and 65 development and exploration stage projects. On May 26, 2021, Triple Flag closed its IPO, which was the largest TSX-listed mining IPO since 2012 by size and market capitalization, and the largest precious metals IPO globally by market capitalization since 2008. Triple Flags shares are listed on the TSX under TFPM.U (USD listing) and TFPM (CAD listing). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005724/en/ Investor Relations: James Dendle, Vice President, Evaluations & Investor Relations Tel: +1 (416) 304-9770 Email: [email protected] Media: Gordon Poole, Camarco Tel: +44 (0) 7730 567 938 Email: [email protected] Source: Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. FILE PHOTO: Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices slid about 2% to a 12-week low in volatile trade on Wednesday, extending the prior session's heavy losses as investors grew more worried energy demand would take a hit in a potential global recession. Looking ahead, analysts polled by Reuters forecast U.S. crude inventories fell about 1.0 million barrels last week. A drop in crude stockpiles could support prices. [EIA/S] [API/S] The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, will issue its inventory report at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Wednesday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports at 11:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday. Both reports were delayed one day by the U.S. July Fourth holiday. Brent futures for September delivery fell $2.08, or 2.0%, to settle at $100.69 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 97 cents, or 1.0%, to settle at $98.53. Both benchmarks closed at their lowest since April 11, in technically oversold territory for a second straight day. U.S. diesel futures also fell over 5%. Trade was volatile, with both crude benchmarks up over $2 a barrel early on supply concerns and down over $4 a barrel at session lows. Crude futures have been extremely volatile for months. On Tuesday, WTI slid 8% while Brent tumbled 9%, a $10.73 drop that was the third biggest for the contract since it started trading in 1988. Its biggest drop was $16.84 in March. Analysts at investment banks Goldman Sachs and UBS said oil prices dropped due to recession fears. UBS cited numerous reasons, including "the unwinding of the oil trade as inflation hedge, a stronger US dollar, hedge funds reacting to negative oil price momentum, producer hedging, and new mobility restriction concerns in China." With the U.S. Federal Reserve expected to keep raising interest rates, open interest in WTI futures fell last week to its lowest since May 2016 as investors cut back on risky assets. "There are undeniably concerns about recessionary demand destruction, plus, WTI open interest at multi-year lows has created a bit of a liquidity crunch," said Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho. The head of the International Monetary Fund said the outlook for the global economy had "darkened significantly" since April and she could not rule out a possible global recession next year given the elevated risks. U.S. job openings fell less than expected in May, pointing to a still-tight labor market that could keep Federal Reserve policy aggressive as tries to bring high inflation down to its 2% target. Oil prices were also slammed by a soaring U.S. dollar, which hit a near 20-year high against a basket of currencies, making oil more expensive for buyers using those other currencies. In China, the world's biggest oil importer, the market worried that new COVID-19 lockdowns could cut demand. China's crude oil imports from Russia in May soared 55% from a year earlier to a record level. Russia displaced Saudi Arabia as top supplier, with refiners grabbing discounted supplies as Western countries sanctioned Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Further pressuring oil prices, Equinor ASA said all oil and gas fields affected by a strike in Norway's petroleum sector were expected to be back in full operation within a couple of days. (Additional reporting by Rowena Edwards in London, Emily Chow in Kuala Lumpur and Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by David Clarke, David Goodman, Deepa Babington and David Gregorio) Global Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE: CO) today announced that an injunction order (the "Order") previously obtained by the Company on June 15, 2022 from the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the "Court") against Blue Ocean Structure Investment Company Limited ("Blue Ocean") was officially issued by the Court on July 6, 2022. The Order provides, among other things, that: Until further order of the Court, any resolution or resolutions ("Resolutions") that might be passed or purported to be passed at any extraordinary general meeting of the Company to be held or purporting to be held on June 16, 2022 ("the Purported EGM") or other meeting held or purporting to be held pursuant to a Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting dated June 3, 2022 (on June 16, 2022 or any other date) shall not take effect and shall not be implemented, and Blue Ocean must not: rely or purport to rely upon any such Resolutions; and/or seek to convene or convene any extraordinary general meeting of the Company or other meeting. There will be a further hearing in respect of the Order and other matters on July 13-15, 2022. The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading its ordinary shares to remain alert to the risks related to the present proceedings. The Company looks forward to providing investors with an update as and when it is appropriate to do so. FILE PHOTO: A Rivian R1T electric truck is seen outside Munro & Associates headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S., June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook By Akash Sriram (Reuters) - Rivian Automotive Inc delivered 4,467 vehicles in the second quarter, nearly four times more than the preceding quarter, as the electric-vehicle maker benefited from a ramp-up in production and strong demand. The company also said on Wednesday it was on track to meet its annual production target of 25,000 units after output jumped 72% sequentially to 4,401 vehicles in the quarter. The upbeat figures sent Rivian's shares nearly 13% higher, providing some relief to a stock that has lost almost three-fourths of its value in this year's equities selloff. "The most important thing for the stock right now is to provide investors confidence on its 2022 forecast," said Redburn analyst Charles Coldicott. While a broader shift to electric vehicles and surging fuel prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war have fed demand for Rivian's products, the company has struggled to boost output in the face of industry-wide supply chain shortages. In March, it halved its planned production target for 2022. CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said "Rivian will need to operate at much higher utilization rates in the second half of 2022 in order to hit its guidance." The company has a factory in Normal, Illinois, where it produces the R1S sport utility vehicle, R1T pickup truck and a delivery van for investor and customer Amazon.com Inc. The online retail giant has a stake of about 18% in Rivian. The Illinois factory has an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles and the company has said it intends to increase that to 200,000 by 2023. Rivian also plans on opening its second plant near Atlanta in Georgia in 2025 as it expects demand for its vehicles to grow. GRAPHIC: https://graphics.reuters.com/RIVIAN-DELIVERIES/zgvomdojyvd/chart.png (Reporting by Eva Mathews and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX-V: AQS, OTCQB: AQSZF) (Aequus or the Company) is pleased to announce the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with SCOPE Ophthalmics. (SCOPE), an Irish based eyecare company with a focus on preservative free therapies in ophthalmology. Under the distribution agreement, Aequus will receive the Canadian commercial rights to 10 unique products of SCOPEs portfolio of over-the-counter ophthalmology products including the OPTASE range of preservative free dry eye products. We are excited to add SCOPEs unique products and brands to our existing portfolio of high-quality dry eye products. These products bring many synergies and advantages to both our Canadian Eye Care professionals and their patients, said Grant Larsen, CCO of Aequus. We look forward to sourcing and continued expansion of high-quality treatment options that includes devices, therapies and digital solutions that support Canadian Eye Care Professionals and their patients. Doug Janzen, CEO and Chairman of Aequus, said, The addition of this portfolio of ophthalmology products will give Aequus one of the largest ranges of preservative free therapies in Canada and further demonstrates our commitment to eye care professionals in Canada. Through the signature of this collaboration with Aequus, SCOPE is expanding its footprint in North America for Optase and our other eyecare brands. Canada is clearly a country of strategic importance for SCOPE where our innovative eyecare products, together with the strong relationships of Aequus amongst Eye Care Professionals as well as its overall credibility in the market, will certainly contribute to the success of both companies, said Tom Freyne, CEO at SCOPE. Under the proposed terms of the agreement, SCOPE will supply the products while Aequus will be responsible for Canadian authorization, marketing, distribution, and sales activities. SCOPE has a broad portfolio and pipeline of ophthalmology products that has had success in Europe and recently launched in the US. Aequus will have first right of refusal on any new products SCOPE wishes to commercialize in Canada. Aequus anticipates launching select products in SCOPEs portfolio later this year. ABOUT AEQUUS PHARMACEUTICALS INC. Aequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX-V: AQS, OTCQB: AQSZF) is a growing specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing high quality, differentiated products. Aequus has grown its sales and marketing efforts to include several commercial products in ophthalmology and transplant. Aequus plans to build on its Canadian commercial platform through the launch of additional products that are either created internally or brought in through an acquisition or license; remaining focused on highly specialized therapeutic areas. For further information, please visit www.aequuspharma.ca. ABOUT SCOPE OPHTHALMICS SCOPE is a family own business from Ireland offering a fantastic range of eyecare products to help tackle eye conditions such as Dry Eyes, Blepharitis, Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) and Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Founded in 2009, SCOPE is a corporation of 140 people today with headquarters in Dublin and direct subsidiaries in London and New York, please visit www.scopeeyecare.com. Forward-Looking Statements: This release may contain forward-looking statements or forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation that may not be based on historical fact, including, without limitation, statements containing the words believe, may, plan, will, estimate, continue, anticipate, intend, expect, potential and similar expressions. Forward- looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as the factors we believe are appropriate. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements relating to: successful launch of the SCOPE products, the implementation of our business model and strategic plans; revenue growth trends into the future; expected timing for product launch; the Companys expected revenues. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Aequus, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In making the forward looking statements included in this release, the Company has made various material assumptions, including, but not limited to: obtaining regulatory approvals; general business and economic conditions; the Companys ability to successfully out license or sell its current products and in-license and develop new products; the assumption that the Companys current good relationships with third parties will be maintained; the availability of financing on reasonable terms; the Companys ability to attract and retain skilled staff; market competition; the products and technology offered by the Companys competitors; and the Companys ability to protect patents and proprietary rights. In evaluating forward looking statements, current and prospective shareholders should specifically consider various factors set out herein and under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Information Form dated June 30, 2022, a copy of which is available on Aequus profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, and as otherwise disclosed from time to time on Aequus SEDAR profile. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties, or a risk that is not currently known to us materialize, or should assumptions underlying those forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and we do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are inherently uncertain. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward looking statements. Aequus Contact Information:Aequus Investor Relations Email: [email protected]Phone: 604-336-7906 Source: Aequus Pharmaceuticals ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC) has announced the initial members of the PPBE Reform Task Force. The PPBE Reform Task Force is responsible for increasing awareness and fostering public discussion on PPBE reform in the Department of Defense. Operating in parallel with the Legislative Commission on PPBE Reform, the Task Force will work to define a set of fundamental principles and policy actions to reimagine PPBE to meet the needs of the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and industry in the 21st century. The Task Force members are: Michael Conlin (Chair) - Definitive Logic Corporation Charles Cook - Government & Public Services, Deloitte Lasheeco Graham - Assistant Administrator for Budget, FEMA Honorable Tom Harker - Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy (FM&C), Acting Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller/CFO, and Acting Secretary of the Navy Cameron Holt, Holt Consulting Group LLC George E. Kovatch, Kovatch Advisors, LLC, Former Deputy Comptroller, DoD Robert "Mike' Maxwell - Department of the Army (Retired SES), Former VP, SAIC Jim Palmisano - Regional Vice President, Oracle Dr. Michael A. Parker - VP, Salesforce, USMC (Retired) Vance Stewart - Department of the Army (Retired) Vice Admiral Pat Tracey - U.S. Navy (Retired) Lieutenant Colonel Neville Welch - USMC (Retired), Independent Consultant, EOP Foundation These experienced members of the Task Force possess a balance of perspectives and backgrounds related to financial management, strategic planning, procurement and acquisition management, change management, information technology, and data science in government and the private sector. "The work of the Task Force is critical to improving the resource allocation process in the Department of Defense to meet the needs of government, taxpayers, and warfighters." - Rich Brady, CEO ASMC and PPBE Reform Task Force sponsor. "We have a once-in-a-career opportunity to help the DoD lift its game in great power competition." - Michael Conlin, CTO Definitive Logic, Task Force Chair The initial meeting of the Task Force will take place on July 7, 2022, at ASMC headquarters in Alexandria, VA. About ASMC: ASMC, established in 1948, is the non-profit educational and professional organization for persons, military and civilian, involved in the overall field of defense financial management. ASMC promotes the education, training, and certification of its members, and supports the development and advancement of the defense financial management profession. The Society provides professional programs to keep members abreast of current issues and encourages the exchange of information, techniques, and approaches. Media Contact: Melissa Blacketer (703) 549-0360 [email protected] ### This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Source: American Society of Military Comptrollers Fairfax, VA, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AFCEA International is pleased to announce the appointment of Col. Michael B. Black, USAF (Ret.) as vice president for Defense. In this capacity, Col. Black will build strong professional relationships with government and industry partners to further position AFCEA as a leader in the cyber, defense, security, intelligence and related information technology disciplines. He will succeed Col. Mike Warlick, USMC (Ret.), who will be retiring on Sept. 30, 2022. Col. Black comes to AFCEA with an impressive military and industry background. His Air Force career includes serving as commander/deputy commander for the White House Communications Agency, where he was responsible for providing global telecommunications support and for operating and maintaining a responsive information systems infrastructure for the president, vice president, the National Security Council and the U.S. Secret Service. Among his roles while on active duty, Col. Black also served as commander of the 1st Communications Squadron at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, Chief C4 Readiness/Current Operations at USAF Headquarters, and Commander, 5th Combat Support Squadron at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. After retirement from the military after 26 years, Col. Black served as chief operating officer for three companies: Premier Management Corporation from 2011 to 2016, JMA Solutions from 2016 to 2018, and most recently at the Washington, D.C.-based Concise Network Solutions. Mike brings an impressive background as a strategic and tactical communicator, vast experience and training in critical business environments and the U.S. government interagency processes, and keen insight on the operations that will further enhance AFCEAs mission of connecting people, ideas and solutions, said Lt. Gen. Susan S. Lawrence, USA, (Ret.), president and CEO of AFCEA International. He is accomplished in developing organizational strategic visions, strategic plans and modernization strategies to propel our association to next levels of growth and meeting the needs of our diverse partners and members. Col. Black earned a B.S. in basic science from the USAF Academy, an M.A. in management from Webster University, an M.M.A.S in military art and science from the Army Command and General Staff College, and an M.S. in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Ft. McNair. He is a 2011 inductee into the White House Communications Agency Hall of Fame. Additionally, he is a published author and was awarded three 2020 Telly Awards honoring excellence in video and television for his Leadership Table Talk: Going Inside the White House Communications Agency interview. Col. Black will replace Col. Warlick, who will retire from AFCEA International on Sept. 30, 2022, following 11 years of dedicated service to the association. Col. Warlick has been the lead in program development for AFCEA defense events and co-founded the Saint Isadore Award, which recognizes individuals in the Joint Services who demonstrate exceptional initiative, leadership, insight, and cyber excellence within their areas of expertise. Mike has a superb track record as a champion for our association partners and has been a true leader as much behind the scenes as his in on stage at our events, said Brig. Gen. Paul Fredenburgh, USA (Ret,) executive vice president for Defense and National Security at AFCEA. While he will be missed, we thank him for his service to the nation and his dedication to AFCEA and wish him well in his retirement. ### AFCEA International is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit international professional association that connects people, ideas and solutions globally. Established in 1946, the membership association serves the military, government, industry and academia by developing networking and educational opportunities and providing an ethical forum. This enables military, government, industry and academia to align technology and strategy to meet the needs of those who serve. AFCEA operates under the guidance of a board of directors, international staff and committees. A large network of chapters is managed by a group of regional vice presidents. Join online. Attachment Howard Wahlberg AFCEA International 7036316199 [email protected] Source: AFCEA International ERLANGER, KY., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DAV (Disabled American Veterans), the congressionally chartered voice of Americas disabled veterans, is thrilled to host the first DAV Patriot Boot Camp for entrepreneurs in the military and veteran community at the organizations national headquarters in Erlanger, Kentucky, July 15-16. The two-day event will connect entrepreneurs from across the country with investors and subject matter experts who can guide them through the process of pitching and building impactful businesses. Special guests will include former Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble President and CEO Bob McDonald; retired Army Gen. George W. Casey, Jr.; and DAV National Commander Andy Marshall, among many others. Panelists and presenters will cover a breadth of topics, including funding for startups, scaling a business, creating a marketing strategy and avoiding common legal mistakes. Entrepreneurs will meet with numerous mentors for one-on-one consulting. The event will be the first of its kind under DAV since the organization acquired Patriot Boot Camp in January. Founded in 2012 by Taylor McLemore, along with David Cohen, David Calone and Jared Polis, DAV Patriot Boot Camp provides training and networking for current and future business owners through robust, multi-day workshops. These boot camps offer a unique opportunity to expose entrepreneurs to the information and resources that can help significantly accelerate their businesss growth and, ultimately, success, said McLemore. But more than anything, theyre about creating a community among mission-driven creators and problem-solvers that will far outlast any one event. Since its founding, more than 1,000 alumni have raised over $150 million in venture capital and employ over 1,900 individuals in industries ranging from health care tech to coffee beans. Four business owners supported by DAV Patriot Boot Camp have appeared on ABCs Shark Tank reality showwith one receiving a $1.5 million venture capital offer from Mark Cuban. We are excited to welcome back a small group of impressive alumni to participate in the new DAV Patriot Boot Camp and mark the beginning of a historic effort to empower veterans to become innovators, job creators and difference makers, said DAV National Adjutant Marc Burgess. There is unlimited potential in this community, and DAV is honored to lead it into this next phase. ### About DAV DAV empowers veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. It is dedicated to a single purpose: keeping our promise to Americas veterans. DAV does this by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them, fighting for the interests of Americas injured heroes on Capitol Hill, providing employment resources to veterans and their families, and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life. DAV, a nonprofit organization with more than 1 million members, was founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932. Learn more at DAV.org. Todd Hunter DAV (Disabled American Veterans) 321-217-8255 [email protected] Source: DAV (Disabled American Veterans) TAMPA, Fla., July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ideal Image, the #1 Aesthetics Brand in North America, announced further expansion into Indiana with the opening of its newest location in the city of Greenwood, located at 853 N Emerson Avenue. Just a few miles east of Greenwood Park Mall, the opening of Ideal Images second Indianapolis clinic will provide residents of Greenwood and its neighboring communities another location where they can invest in their health and confidence through accessible and affordable aesthetics. Since opening our first clinic in Indiana in 2011, we have received overwhelming support from our Indianapolis customers, said Ideal Image CEO David Prokupek. Were excited to open our doors on a second location where we can offer even more people personalized aesthetic services and look forward to continued growth in the region. The Ideal Image Greenwood clinic will join a block of storefronts comprising other medical uses, making this second location quintessential for those looking to invest in themselves. Similar to all Ideal Image clinics, the 2575 square foot space was designed with intentional neutrality, creating a calming and approachable feeling for the companys diverse clientele. The Greenwood clinic will initially offer laser hair removal services, CoolSculpting, Ultherapy and Ideal Images entire platform of injectable offerings. Clients can also consult virtually and privately with Ideal Images team of highly trained Aesthetics Consultants from the comfort of home thanks to the companys revolutionary direct-to-consumer tele-aesthetics platform. Whether in Indianapolis, Tampa or anywhere in between, Ideal Image welcomes everybody and every body all ages, all backgrounds, all people everywhere. Thats why the brand offers treatments that are effective, affordable and backed by a Lifetime Guarantee Membership, which gives clients access to free treatments, exclusive VIP discounts and the most competitive pricing on Laser Hair Removal, skin rejuvenation and Botox at $8.90 per unit. Ideal Image Greenwood is open now and ready to welcome new and existing customers to deliver results you can see, and confidence you can feel. Visit idealimage.com to schedule a virtual consultation 9:00am to 9:00pm seven days a week, from the comfort of home or in the clinic. About Ideal ImageAt Ideal Image we believe confidence changes everything. As North Americas #1 aesthetics brand, we deliver affordable and effective aesthetic treatments through the most accessible network of 800+ doctors and medical professionals who have performed over 20 million FDA-cleared treatments for over 20 years. Ideal Images full suite of aesthetic services includes Laser Hair Removal, body sculpting, Botox, fillers, skin rejuvenation, and medical grade skincare all backed by a Lifetime Guarantee Membership. For results you can see and confidence you can feel, visit idealimage.com and follow @idealimage. Media Contact:ICR[email protected] Source: Ideal Image MedSpa VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Imperial Metals Corporation (the Company) (TSX: III) is providing additional details of the Rights Offering, which expired at 2:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) Friday, June 24, 2022. To the knowledge of the Company, no person became an insider as a result of the Rights Offering. Existing insiders acquired an aggregate of 8,066,157 shares pursuant to the Basic Subscription Privilege and 2,451,001 shares pursuant to the Additional Subscription Privilege. About Imperial Imperial is a Vancouver based exploration, mine development and operating company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns a 30% interest in the Red Chris mine, and a 100% interest in both the Mount Polley and Huckleberry copper mines in British Columbia. Imperial also holds a portfolio of 23 greenfield exploration properties in British Columbia. Company Contacts Brian Kynoch | President | 604.669.8959Darb Dhillon | Chief Financial Officer | 604.488.2658 Source: Imperial Metals Corporation HOUSTON, July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tan Tao Investment & Industry Corporation ("ITACO"), a public company chaired by Dr. Maya Dangelas, launched a billion-dollar arbitration proceeding against Vietnam under the Agreement between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Trade Relations (the "Treaty") pursuant to the 1976 UNCITRAL Rules (the "Arbitration"). ITACO, one of Vietnam's largest publicly traded companies, was faced with no other choice but to commence the Arbitration after Vietnam sought to liquidate ITACO - a multi-billion-dollar company - on the basis of around USD 900,000 in debt that, it claimed, arose from a contract involving ITACO's subcontractor and a third party, a contract to which ITACO was never even a party. Dr. Dangelas elaborated: "The Arbitration follows from a series of attacks by the then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and the Vietnamese corrupted system against my companies such as ITACO. I created ITACO in 1996, and it has been Vietnam's premier builder and operator of industrial parks in order to provide the manpower and material to create a platform with a 'one door service' so that investors could set up in Vietnam without waiting for years of bureaucratic hurdles. ITACO's industrial parks have drawn thousands of foreign investors to Vietnam and transformed many areas of Vietnam by providing jobs and utilities to local citizens. Because of the success of ITACO in changing peoples' lives for the better, I was nominated and elected to the National Assembly as representative of the people from Duc Hoa Province (where one of ITACO's largest industrial parks is located in 2011.) During that time, as a member of the National Assembly, I exposed the corrupted system linked to the then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. I used that position to speak out against corruption and in favor of greater transparency in Vietnam's Statist economy. Because of my bold and outspoken statements, I was dismissed from the National Assembly by the Vietnamese dictatorship on bogus grounds. Subsequently, the then Minister Nguyen Tan Dung continued to use his power engaging in a series of attacks against ITACO's employees, my families, and me. For example, Vietnam's secret police raided my offices and abducted two employees, who were held without being charged for an extended period. At the same time, death threats were made against me after my computers were hacked and vile, sexist attacks were lobbed against me in Vietnam's media." Dr. Dangelas, Chairwoman and representative of ITACO, explains further: "During my life, I have vigorously fought for justice, not only for my companies, my investors, my employees, my family, and me, but also for many others, as I believe with all my heart and soul that we all were born to have a dignified life with 'certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' The most important provision for the pursuit of happiness is justice and freedom. I also draw inspiration from the words of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama: 'Whether we are concerned with suffering ... with denial of freedom, with armed conflict ... we should not view these events in isolation. Eventually, their repercussions are felt by all of us. We, therefore, need effective international action to address these global issues from the perspective of the oneness of humanity, and from a profound understanding of the deeply interconnected nature of today's world.' Armed with the inspired words of the American Founding Fathers and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, I have fought, and I am urgently pleading for effective international action in dealing with the current horrendous injustice in Vietnam." ITACO and Dr. Maya Dangelas are represented by Philippe Pinsolle (Geneve) and Alexander Leventhal (Paris) of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP and Minh-Tam (Tammy Tran) of Tammy Tran Attorneys At Law, LLP (Houston). "Overview of corruption and anti-corruption in Vietnam" Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, available at https://www.u4.no/publications/overview-of-corruption-and-anti-corruption-in-vietnam.pdf; "Corruption in Vietnam: causes and culprits", Yen Duong, Cultural Relations Quarterly Review, Spring 2015, available at http://culturalrelations.org/Review/CRQR_02_02/CRQR_02_02_Duong-Y_Corruption-in-Vietnam.pdf ; "The ruthless truth behind Vietnam's corruption crackdown", Globe, 11 October 2017, available at https://southeastasiaglobe.com/communist-party-secretary-general-power/; "Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged to resign", BBC, dated November 14, 2012, available at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20322830 ; "Vietnam arrests more oil executives amid corruption crackdown", Reuters, dated June 21, 2018 available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vietnam-security-idUSKBN1JH2G3. "A billion dollar thermal power plant of Tan Tao Group is about to be 'wiped out'", Dan Tri, 4 October 2017. "Businesswoman Dang Thi Hoang Yen - Starting a business from two hands, Cafeland, 27 December 2011. "Vietnam tycoon falls foul of the party", Financial Times, 27 April 2012. "Vietnam tycoon falls foul of the party", Financial Times, 27 April 2012 "Vietnam tycoon falls foul of the party", Financial Times, 27 April 2012 ; "Vietnam, Events of 2019", Human Rights Watch. "Turn over Dang Thi hoang Yen", Blogspot, 9 October 2012, available at http://quanlambao111.blogspot.com/2012/10/quan-lam-bao-bi-hack-nhu-nao.html; "Hackers continue to hunt for Ms. Dang Thi Hoang Yen: 'Remove mask of Quan Lam Bao'", Wordpress, 20 April 2013, available at https://danhsachden787.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/dang-thi-hoang-yen-cua-quanlambao/ Letter from Mr. John Rafferty dated December 26, 2012 ; Petition from Dr. Dangelas dated December 5, 2012. Petition from employees of TEC dated December 2, 2012; Petition from Dr. Dangelas dated December 5, 2012. Letter from Mr. John Rafferty dated December 26, 2012 ; Petition from Dr. Dangelas dated December 5, 2012. "Turn over Dang Thi hoang Yen", Blogspot, 9 October 2012, available at http://quanlambao111.blogspot.com/2012/10/quan-lam-bao-bi-hack-nhu-nao.html; "Hackers continue to hunt for Ms. Dang Thi Hoang Yen: 'Remove mask of Quan Lam Bao'", Wordpress, 20 April 2013, available at https://danhsachden787.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/dang-thi-hoang-yen-cua-quanlambao/ "The Declaration of Independence". National Archives. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2020-12-02. Contact: Tammy Tran, The Tammy Tran Law Firm, 832-372-4403, [email protected] Contact: Tammy Tran, The Tammy Tran Law Firm, 832-372-4403, [email protected] Source: ITACO The picture shows the gabion walls in the barracks of the Nepalese peacekeeping battalion built by the 20th Chinese peacekeeping construction engineering contingent to Lebanon. (Photo by Zhuang Xiaohao) BEIRUT, July 6 -- On July 3, local time, 20 peacekeepers from the construction engineering contingent of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) completed the task of building gabion walls for the UNIFILs Nepal Battalion with high quality and efficiency. As of now, the contingents annual engineering tasks have all been successfully completed as scheduled. The barracks of the Nepal Battalion is located near the Blue Line along Lebanons southern frontier, the temporary ceasefire line between Lebanon and Israel. The original fortifications on both sides of the barrack entrance have been severely damaged for long-term exposure to high temperature and rain wash, with few defense functions left, and major safety hazards emerging thereby. It was in urgent need to build new fortifications. Upon receiving the task, the contingent dispatched a 20-member construction team to the Nepal Battalion to carry out construction operations. Due to the limited space of the construction site, the machine operator had to be in tacit cooperation with his assistant in the loading operation. Even worse, part of the construction site is extremely bumpy, and the construction machinery had to operate on slopes of nearly 30 degrees, which is highly risky and also a great test for the operators ability to have precise operation of the engineering machines. After nearly one months continuous hard work, the contingent completed the construction of gabion walls one week ahead of schedule, building a solid and reliable protective barrier for the Nepalese peacekeepers. It is learned that since its deployment to the mission area in Lebanon in August last year, the 20th Chinese peacekeeping construction engineering contingent has completed 67 engineering tasks such as road drainage system repairs, air defense bunker construction, and standard fence erection featuring excellent quality, high efficiency, and first-class standards. Members of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping construction engineering contingent to Lebanon work at the gabion wall construction site in the barracks of the Nepalese peacekeeping battalion. (Photo by Zhuang Xiaohao) Members of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping construction engineering contingent to Lebanon install the concertina wire on the top of gabion walls they built in the barracks of the Nepalese peacekeeping battalion. (Photo by Zhuang Xiaohao) PERRYSBURG, Ohio, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI) has scheduled its second quarter 2022 conference call and webcast for Wednesday, August 3, 2022, at 8 a.m. EDT. The Companys news release for the second quarter 2022 earnings will be issued after the market closes on Tuesday, August 2. What: O-I Conference Call and Webcast Earnings presentation materials will also be posted on the O-I website, www.o-i.com/investors, when the earnings news release is issued. When: Wednesday, August 3, 2022, at 8 a.m. EDT Where: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/kju4abfs or at www.o-i.com/investors, Webcasts and Presentations page The webcast will be archived at www.o-i.com/investors until August 2023. ### About O-I Glass At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass and were proud to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, its also pure, healthy and completely recyclable; making it the most sustainable rigid packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is the preferred partner for many of the worlds leading food and beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers needs to create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by our diverse team of approximately 24,000 people across 70 plants in 19 countries, O-I achieved revenues of $6.4 billion in 2021. Recognizing the tremendous benefits of glass, the United Nations has designated 2022 as the International Year of Glass to celebrate the past, present, and future of this transformative material. Learn more about us: o-i.com / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn The company routinely posts important information on its website www.o-i.com/investors. Attachment Diva-e, a leading transactional experience partner, and Spryker will help build a state-of-the-art customer experience to help support the Wilo Groups goal of a more sustainable future BERLIN and NEW YORK, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spryker, a leading digital commerce platform for B2B, B2C, Enterprise Marketplaces and Unified Commerce, has announced that Wilo, one of the worlds leading premium providers of pumps and pump systems for the building services, water management and industrial sectors, has chosen Spryker to develop a completely digital B2B purchasing experience for their global customers. Partner diva-e will provide consulting services to support the business model creation as well as lead the end-to-end platform implementation. Wilos over 80 production and distribution companies are serving a highly fragmented market with extensive decision-making journeys. Accordingly, they are very familiar with the commerce challenges that come with sophisticated sales processes. Therefore, as a major cornerstone of their digital strategy, Wilo decided to seek out a strategic partner who can lift their digital commerce roadmap to the next level. As the digital pioneer in the building services and water management sector, we recognize the importance of technology to digitally enhance business relationships with our customers today, and in future, said Holger Jentsch, Group Vice President Sales Excellence at Wilo Group. We thoroughly assessed the market to ensure we selected a highly adaptable and scalable platform. Therefore, I am confident that we can sustain our speed in innovating the industry by nominating Spryker as a strategic technology partner. We are on our journey from a product supplier to a solution provider. Therefore, beyond the development of the global B2B e-commerce platform, we will explore further digital business models together with Spryker and diva-e, for example in the context of smart water systems, said Alexander Knorn, Vice President Group Marketing at Wilo Group. This will allow us to pursue our sustainability strategy and supply an additional 100 million people with clean water by 2025. We recognize Wilo as a digital pioneer and a frontrunner in the pump industry. The reason: their ambition to tackle the fundamental principles of networked and, as a result, more resource-efficient energy use. This will have an impact on the entire private and working world and we are proud to become part of this progressive thinking, said Sirko Schneppe, Founder & CCO at diva-e. As a result, Wilo is shifting its development focus to new business models and complementary service offerings which get represented in the digital world. diva-e is well positioned to support Wilo with our end-to-end digital skills in the B2B space, plus we are a long standing partner of the Open Industry Alliance to cover our clients IoT requirements. We will go all-in to empower Wilos digital business ambition and bring their product vision to life. From the moment I met the Wilo team, I was impressed by the dedication and passion they have for raising the bar for their entire industry, said Edmund Frey, CRO at Spryker. Wilo and Spryker are both focused on customer experience, understand the importance of sophisticated new business models, and prioritize sustainability. I am thrilled to announce this strategic partnership, in which we will support the business and sustainability goals of Wilo and their growing global customers. About WiloThe Wilo Group is one of the worlds leading premium suppliers of pumps and pump systems for the building services, water management, and industrial sectors. In the past decade, they have developed from a hidden champion into a visible and connected champion. Today, Wilo has 8,200 employees worldwide. Their innovative solutions, smart products, and individual services move water in an intelligent, efficient, and climate-friendly manner. They are also making an important contribution to climate protection with our sustainability strategy and in conjunction with their partners. Wilo is systematically pressing ahead with the digital transformation of the Group. They are already the digital pioneers in the industry with their products and solutions, processes, and business models. About diva-eAs Germany's leading Transactional Experience Partner (TXP), diva-e creates digital experiences that inspire customers and drive business forward. With more than 20 years of experience in digital business, diva-e covers the digital value chain from strategy to technology to creation. The holistic service and product offering in the areas of Planning & Innovation, Platforms & Experiences, Growth & Performance and Data & Intelligence ensures increased sales, competitive advantages and measurably more transactions - for all target groups, devices and products. diva-e cooperates with worldwide leading technology partners such as Adobe, SAP Hybris, Spryker, e-Spirit, Microsoft and Bloomreach. Numerous top companies and love brands trust diva-e - including EDEKA, E. ON, FC Bayern Munich and Carl Zeiss. diva-e employs around 900 people at a total of ten locations in Germany, Bulgaria (Sofia) and the USA (Cincinnati). About SprykerSpryker is a composable digital commerce platform that enables enterprises to future-proof their business and accelerate growth at any point in their commerce journey. Sprykers easy to use, headless, API-first model offers a best-of-breed approach that provides businesses the flexibility to adapt, scale, and quickly go to market while facilitating a lower cost of ownership and higher return on investment. As a leading platform for Enterprise Marketplaces, IoT Commerce, B2B and D2C, Spryker has empowered 150+ customers in more than 200 countries worldwide to differentiate based on how they sell best and is trusted by brands such as Aldi, Siemens, Hilti, and Ricoh. Gartner recognized Spryker as a Visionary in the 2021 Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce, just one year after it first appeared (2020), and has also been named as a major player in B2B e-Commerce by IDC. Spryker is a privately held technology company headquartered in Berlin, Germany and New York, USA. Find out more at https://spryker.com. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/699b6139-43ec-4cc4-b406-95e0cc022b2b Spryker to Develop New Digital B2B Buying Experience Spryker will help build a state-of-the-art customer experience to help support the Wilo Groups goal of a more sustainable future Source: Spryker Systems GmbH WASHINGTON, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Fibroid Foundation announces the Fibroid Awareness Month event schedule for July 2022. This Year's Fibroid Awareness Month Theme is 'Real Solutions.' Featured events are: July 7, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET - Fibroids and Fertility Featuring: Dr. Ray Anchan, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital Dr. Sony Singh, Gynecologic Surgeon, Professor in Gynecology at the University of Ottawa & The Ottawa Hospital Dr. Elizabeth (Ebbie) Stewart, MD, Chair of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at Mayo Clinic July 14, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET - From First Flow to Last Flow Featuring: Dr. Linda Bradley, Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialist at Cleveland Clinic Melissa Berton, Founder & Executive Director at The Pad Project Jennifer Gularson, Board Certified Physician Assistant, Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner Le'Nise Brothers, Author and Registered Nutritionist Specializing in Hormones & the Menstrual Cycle July 21, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET - The State of Women's Health Equity Featuring: Dr. Sarah Temkin, Associate Director for Clinical Research at the National Institutes of Health - Office of Research on Women's Health Michela Bedard, Executive Director at PERIOD - The Menstrual Movement July 28, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET - Conversations on Capitol Hill Featuring legislators who are leading the way to raise awareness and seek funding for fibroid research and education. Sateria Venable, Founder & CEO of The Fibroid Foundation, will moderate the panels. Registration for all events can be found here. Fibroid Awareness Month programming will focus on tangible solutions that support better outcomes and less invasive treatments. Dr. James Segars, Director, Division of Reproductive Science and Women's Health Research, Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University, authored a 2020 paper which concluded that, "In the subsets of bodily pain, vitality, and social functioning, fibroids were consistently a larger burden than heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and breast cancer."1 "In the subsets of bodily pain, vitality, and social functioning, fibroids were consistently a larger burden than heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and breast cancer." - A systematic review of the psychosocial impact of fibroids before and after treatment Go, Thomas, et al. In the United States, an estimated 26,000,000 women between the ages of 15 and 50 have uterine fibroids.2 Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecologic condition in women3, however treatment options and medical research funding have yet to match the enormity of the affected community. The Fibroid Foundation continues to advocate for the passage of The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Fibroid Research and Education Act - H.R. 2007 introduced in The House of Representatives by Representative Yvette D. Clarke (NY-9) Continued community support is requested by residents in each state to achieve the House and Congressional support required in order for H.R. 2007 to be passed into law. According to The Fibroid Foundation, patients are suffering in silence. Community members express concerns about limited treatment options, the high cost of treatment, insurance coverage, and difficulty finding minimally invasive gynecologic surgeons (MIGS). The organization recognizes the significant health disparities that impact its community, and provide support to address the disparities from a unique patient perspective. The Fibroid Foundation mission: Normalize conversations about menstruation. Foster a movement for everyone with a uterus to thrive. Eliminate treatment disparities with layered patient support. Engage family and community in the menstrual health mission Enable those diagnosed with uterine fibroids to experience a smooth path to treatment with fulfilling outcomes Spark joy through advocacy. Understand how and why fibroids develop, and ultimately finding a cure. About The Fibroid FoundationThe Fibroid Foundation is an organization founded by fibroid patient Sateria Venable in 2013. The Fibroid Foundation is published in eleven medical journals. 'One woman at a time, we are showing the world that we are empowered, and that we are driven to change our story!' ~Sateria, Founder 1. A systematic review of the psychosocial impact of fibroids before and after treatment 2. Epidemiology of Uterine Fibroids - From Menarche to Menopause 3. Uterine Fibroids: Burden and Unmet Medical Need For Media Inquiries: Emma Jasper Phone: 844.484.7698 (IT-IS-MY-U)[email protected] Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Featured Image for The Fibroid Foundation Featured Image for The Fibroid Foundation Source: The Fibroid Foundation Greenville, SC, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gordian, the leading provider of unrivaled insights, robust technology and comprehensive services for all phases of the building lifecycle, announced three recipients of the 2021 Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting (JOC): Town of Windham, Connecticut; Grady Memorial Hospital; and Florida State University. Its an honor to present the Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting to three of our valued clients for their exceptional work in improving their communities, said Mark Schiff, President of Gordian. A panel of industry and Job Order Contracting experts evaluated submissions for the 2021 Harry H. Mellon Awards, and the Town of Windham, Grady Memorial Hospital and Florida State University were selected as the winners based on innovation, use of Job Order Contracting principles, scope of work, special circumstances and time savings. JOC is an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) construction delivery method that allows many projects to be completed through a single, competitively awarded contract. Each of the following projects utilized this construction project delivery method to achieve extraordinary results: Award of Excellence State and Local Government: Windham Water Pollution Control Facility Renovation Agency: Town of Windham, Connecticut Contractor: Millennium Builders, Inc. The Town of Windhams Water Pollution Control Facility needed major maintenance and renovations. After hearing about Gordians Job Order Contracting program at a town hall meeting, the Windham Plant sought out the benefits of JOC in order to renovate the 50-year-old facility without shutting down or having to incur the expense of a brand new space. Gordians Job Order Contracting expedited the construction procurement process, allowing the contractor, Millennium Builders, to quickly get to work to remove the obsolete incinerator and install a new HVAC system, boilers, a two-truck garage and new employee bathrooms. These upgrades were completed without disrupting the day-to-day work of the water treatment plant and have given the employees peace of mind that their workspace is safer than ever. Read the Town of Windhams full story here. Award of Excellence Healthcare: Food as Medicine Space Agency: Grady Memorial Hospital Contractor: Centennial Contractors Grady Memorial Hospital, in partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Open Hand Atlanta, sought to overhaul an empty parking garage space into a $2.5 million healthy food hub that would serve the community in a variety of ways, including learning how to cook healthy meals, shopping for the right groceries, and giving the local community access to nutritious food options in a warm and welcoming space. By turning to Gordians Job Order Contracting, Grady Memorial worked closely with Centennial Contractors to get the job done. In addition to the overall positive impacts to the local community, Centennial was able to take that impact further by utilizing qualified, minority-owned subcontractors to complete over 30% of the work. Read Grady Memorial Hospitals full story here. Award of Excellence Higher Education: Strozier Library Renovation Agency: Florida State University Contractor: Southern Standard Construction Florida State Universitys Strozier Library, built in the 1950s, had only received intermittent updates over the years and needed renovations to increase the number of seats, improve wayfinding, optimize the use of the space, reduce floor surface noise and increase available power outlets. In addition to the renovations, FSU wanted to complete all work prior to the students returning to campus for the fall semester. With the support of the FSU Facilities Gordian Job Order Contracting program, the renovations were completed on time, and students were welcomed back to campus with a Party at the Stroz to christen their newly renovated library. Libraries are no longer simply warehouses for books, instead becoming centers for collaborative learning, innovation, and resiliency. This project hits a home run transitioning Strozier Library into a vibrant hub for student interaction. In addition to the three Award of Excellence recipients, the following Award of Merit Winners have been recognized for demonstrating Job Order Contracting best practices: Virginia Key Seawall and Floating Dock Restoration Agency: The City of Miami & The Office of Capital Improvements Contractor: Harbour Construction The City of Miami & The Office of Capital Improvements Harbour Construction Living Arts Centre Renovation Agency: City of Mississauga Contractor: Forest Contractors City of Mississauga Forest Contractors Funston Avenue Retaining Wall, Landscape and Erosion Control Maintenance Agency : San Francisco Public Works Contractor : Yerba Buena Read San Francisco Public Works full story here. : San Francisco Public Works : Yerba Buena Read San Francisco Public Works full story here. Hall of Records Renovation Agency : Los Angeles Department of Public Works Contractor : MTM Construction, Inc. : Los Angeles Department of Public Works : MTM Construction, Inc. Leilehua High School Gym Facility Reroof Agency: Hawaii Department of Education Contractor: Commercial Roofing & Waterproofing Hawaii, Inc. About the Awards The Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting is an annual award recognizing innovative uses of Job Order Contracting. Judging was conducted by a panel of Job Order Contracting experts. Projects were judged on their adherence to Job Order Contracting principles, innovation, complexity, special circumstances, and overall time and cost savings. In order to be eligible, projects had to be completed during 2021, and nominations were submitted by agency owners or contractors. The award program is named for Harry H. Mellon, the creator of Job Order Contracting and co-founder of Gordian. Job Order Contracting is a competitively-bid construction procurement process used by building and infrastructure owners to save time and money by fast-tracking repair, renovation and alteration projects based on locally priced construction tasks and competitively awarded contracts. Greenville, SC, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gordian, the leading provider of unrivaled insights, robust technology and comprehensive services for all phases of the building lifecycle, announced three recipients of the 2021 Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting (JOC): Town of Windham, Connecticut; Grady Memorial Hospital; and Florida State University. Its an honor to present the Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting to three of our valued clients for their exceptional work in improving their communities, said Mark Schiff, President of Gordian. A panel of industry and Job Order Contracting experts evaluated submissions for the 2021 Harry H. Mellon Awards, and the Town of Windham, Grady Memorial Hospital and Florida State University were selected as the winners based on innovation, use of Job Order Contracting principles, scope of work, special circumstances and time savings. JOC is an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) construction delivery method that allows many projects to be completed through a single, competitively awarded contract. Each of the following projects utilized this construction project delivery method to achieve extraordinary results: Award of Excellence State and Local Government: Windham Water Pollution Control Facility Renovation Agency: Town of Windham, Connecticut Contractor: Millennium Builders, Inc. The Town of Windhams Water Pollution Control Facility needed major maintenance and renovations. After hearing about Gordians Job Order Contracting program at a town hall meeting, the Windham Plant sought out the benefits of JOC in order to renovate the 50-year-old facility without shutting down or having to incur the expense of a brand new space. Gordians Job Order Contracting expedited the construction procurement process, allowing the contractor, Millennium Builders, to quickly get to work to remove the obsolete incinerator and install a new HVAC system, boilers, a two-truck garage and new employee bathrooms. These upgrades were completed without disrupting the day-to-day work of the water treatment plant and have given the employees peace of mind that their workspace is safer than ever. Read the Town of Windhams full story here. Award of Excellence Healthcare: Food as Medicine Space Agency: Grady Memorial Hospital Contractor: Centennial Contractors Grady Memorial Hospital, in partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Open Hand Atlanta, sought to overhaul an empty parking garage space into a $2.5 million healthy food hub that would serve the community in a variety of ways, including learning how to cook healthy meals, shopping for the right groceries, and giving the local community access to nutritious food options in a warm and welcoming space. By turning to Gordians Job Order Contracting, Grady Memorial worked closely with Centennial Contractors to get the job done. In addition to the overall positive impacts to the local community, Centennial was able to take that impact further by utilizing qualified, minority-owned subcontractors to complete over 30% of the work. Read Grady Memorial Hospitals full story here. Award of Excellence Higher Education: Strozier Library Renovation Agency: Florida State University Contractor: Southern Standard Construction Florida State Universitys Strozier Library, built in the 1950s, had only received intermittent updates over the years and needed renovations to increase the number of seats, improve wayfinding, optimize the use of the space, reduce floor surface noise and increase available power outlets. In addition to the renovations, FSU wanted to complete all work prior to the students returning to campus for the fall semester. With the support of the FSU Facilities Gordian Job Order Contracting program, the renovations were completed on time, and students were welcomed back to campus with a Party at the Stroz to christen their newly renovated library. Libraries are no longer simply warehouses for books, instead becoming centers for collaborative learning, innovation, and resiliency. This project hits a home run transitioning Strozier Library into a vibrant hub for student interaction. In addition to the three Award of Excellence recipients, the following Award of Merit Winners have been recognized for demonstrating Job Order Contracting best practices: Virginia Key Seawall and Floating Dock RestorationAgency: The City of Miami & The Office of Capital Improvements Contractor: Harbour Construction The City of Miami & The Office of Capital Improvements Harbour Construction Living Arts Centre Renovation Agency: City of Mississauga Contractor: Forest Contractors City of Mississauga Forest Contractors Funston Avenue Retaining Wall, Landscape and Erosion Control Maintenance Agency : San Francisco Public Works Contractor : Yerba BuenaRead San Francisco Public Works full story here. : San Francisco Public Works : Yerba BuenaRead San Francisco Public Works full story here. Hall of Records Renovation Agency : Los Angeles Department of Public Works Contractor : MTM Construction, Inc. : Los Angeles Department of Public Works : MTM Construction, Inc. Leilehua High School Gym Facility ReroofAgency: Hawaii Department of EducationContractor: Commercial Roofing & Waterproofing Hawaii, Inc. About the AwardsThe Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting is an annual award recognizing innovative uses of Job Order Contracting. Judging was conducted by a panel of Job Order Contracting experts. Projects were judged on their adherence to Job Order Contracting principles, innovation, complexity, special circumstances, and overall time and cost savings. In order to be eligible, projects had to be completed during 2021, and nominations were submitted by agency owners or contractors. The award program is named for Harry H. Mellon, the creator of Job Order Contracting and co-founder of Gordian. Job Order Contracting is a competitively-bid construction procurement process used by building and infrastructure owners to save time and money by fast-tracking repair, renovation and alteration projects based on locally priced construction tasks and competitively awarded contracts. About GordianGordian (www.gordian.com) is the leading provider of unrivaled insights, robust technology and comprehensive services for all phases of the building lifecycle. A pioneer of Job Order Contracting, Gordians solutions also include proprietary RSMeans data and Facility Planning Solutions. From planning to design, procurement, construction and operations, Gordians solutions help clients maximize efficiency, optimize cost savings, and increase building quality. Sarah Walker Gordian 8644518036 [email protected] Source: Gordian VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Forest Products Inc. (TSX: WEF) (Western or the Company) today announced capital investments totaling approximately $29 million towards its B.C. operations. The investments are part of the Companys ongoing commitment to support value-added manufacturing on the B.C. Coast and grow its value-added wood products business, all while continuing to improve Westerns long-term competitiveness. These capital investments represent an increase of $13 million over and above the $16 million of capital investments discussed in the Companys first quarter 2022 Managements Discussion and Analysis. Specifically, the investments include: $12.3 million in a new continuous kiln at the Saltair sawmill in Ladysmith, B.C., allowing for increased capacity for continuous drying of lumber, while reducing energy consumption. The sawmill is the largest single-line sawmill on the coast of B.C. following the previous multi-phase strategic capital investment of over $42 million undertaken to modernize the sawmill since 2013. The facility has three existing kilns on site for drying lumber. $7.9 million at the Duke Point facility in Nanaimo, B.C., to optimize the centralized planer facility with new equipment, including a machine stress rated (MSR) lumber grading machine. The MSR machine provides strict lumber grade quality control with known values for strength and stiffness for lumber utilized in engineered products, including roof trusses, glulam and mass timber. The sawmill and planer have undergone a previous multi-phase strategic capital investment of over $45 million since 2015 to modernize the facility. $8.3 million in other capital investments in the Companys B.C. operations, including new kiln control systems at the Saltair sawmill and our Value-Added Division in Chemainus, B.C. to increase supply of kiln dried finished products for customers. Each of these investments will serve to generate additional value from Westerns wood products. Work on these investment projects is underway and is expected to be completed by 2023. Western is one of the largest private employers on Vancouver Island with six sawmills and two remanufacturing plants, providing 3,500 jobs that support nearly 20 healthy and vibrant communities across the province. These operational upgrades are an extension of the Companys significant investment in value-added manufacturing on the B.C. Coast. Since 2013, Western has invested over $450 million throughout its entire operating platform. Quotes Congratulations to Western Forest Products on these substantive value-added investments on Vancouver Island. These projects will strengthen our provinces position as a world leader in mass timber and developing value-added wood products. When we work together towards achieving clean growth, we are supporting our StrongerBC Economic Plan, helping to fill the jobs of tomorrow while building an economy that works for everyone. Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Investing to upgrade Westerns operations is great news for forestry workers, communities and the industry as a whole. These capital investments support our governments vision to increase innovative, made-in-BC manufacturing and get more value out of every tree harvested. Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests We welcome Westerns ongoing investments to manufacture wood products from sustainably managed forests. This type of investment helps sustain jobs and build a more prosperous future for the many in and around our community who depend on forestry. Leonard Krog, Mayor of Nanaimo We are pleased with this investment in the future of the mill and our community. Westerns manufacturing facility is a strong economic driver, supporting numerous workers and their families while also generating business and benefits for vendors and contractors. Aaron Stone, Mayor of the Town of Ladysmith Western has deep roots in the community and plays an active role by providing significant employment and contributions. This investment further affirms the companys commitment to Nanaimo, and we look forward to our ongoing partnership for many more years to come. Kim Smythe, Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce President and CEO We are proud to add to our ongoing investments in our manufacturing facilities on Vancouver Island with substantial upgrades that maximize the value of the wood products we process locally. With the use of wood in multistorey construction growing as a low carbon solution, we have invested in considerable research to determine how we can participate in this growth opportunity. Adding equipment that allows us to manufacture product lines used in glulam and mass timber building represents an exciting step forward for our company and employees, as we pursue growth while supporting the needs of our communities and planet. We are also looking forward to increasing our drying capacity by approximately 72 million board feet, which is an important part of the process in making higher value wood products. Joel Fournier, Vice President of Canadian Manufacturing, Western Forest Products About Western Forest Products Inc.Western is an integrated forest products company building a margin-focused log and lumber business to compete successfully in global softwood markets. With operations and employees located primarily on the coast of British Columbia and Washington State, Western is a premier supplier of high-value, specialty forest products to worldwide markets. Western has a lumber capacity in excess of 1.0 billion board feet from seven sawmills and four remanufacturing facilities. The Company sources timber from its private lands, long-term licenses, First Nations arrangements, and market purchases. Western supplements its production through a wholesale program providing customers with a comprehensive range of specialty products. For further information, please contact:Babita KhunkhunSenior Director, Communications(604) 648-4562 Forward-looking Statements This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements under the applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, may be forward-looking statements and can be identified by the use of words such as will, expected, continue and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to statements relating to: domestic and international market and general economic conditions, demand for the Companys products, the timing to complete the investment projects, the anticipated benefits of the investment projects, future employment, operating performance, objectives and strategies. Although such statements reflect managements current reasonable beliefs, expectations and assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements are accurate, and actual results or performance may materially vary. Many factors could cause our actual results or performance to be materially different, including a change in the Companys financial situation, economic and financial conditions, international and domestic demand for forest products, changes in opportunities, and other factors referenced under the Risks and Uncertainties section of our MD&A in our 2021 Annual Report dated February 16, 2022. Source: Western Forest Products Inc. TOKYO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd. (CEO: Taka Nagao, hereafter referred to as "KF") has completed the preliminary design of an integrated testing facility for fusion power plant equipment, and construction has now started in Japan around August. A world first, this facility, named UNITY: Unique Integrated Testing Facility, is on a path to demonstrate electricity generation using fusion relevant technologies in 2024. UNITY has a pioneering design that can test both the heat extraction and fuel cycle systems required for fusion power plants in a single facility. With the ability to test in flexible conditions, UNITY will be the leading platform for testing power generation systems for private fusion companies, allowing these companies to focus their resources on fusion power core development. UNITY is equipped with a test blanket module, primary cooling loops with both liquid metal and molten salt, heat exchangers, a tritium recovery system, and an electricity generator; further, they will be integrated with a test diverter module, tritium pumps, and a tritium fuel circulation system. First electricity generation is planned for late 2024, whereby all the components relevant for future fusion power plants will be demonstrated simultaneously under commercial conditions. The introductory video about UNITY is available at the link below:https://youtu.be/bQvA4GL8zI4 Fusion has long been heralded as the ultimate energy that could fundamentally solve the world's energy problems. In recent years, momentum towards commercialization has accelerated around the globe, with both the United States and the United Kingdom announcing plans to commercialize fusion within the next 15 years or so. However, key reactor technologies and components, indispensable for future fusion power plants, are still under development. Resolving such critical path engineering challenges represents one of the major hurdles for the commercialization of fusion energy. KF is a startup spun out from Kyoto University, from which the company has adopted and advanced world-leading capabilities in fusion engineering. KF has raised over 17 million USD to date, and now employs 50 staff around the world. KFs cutting-edge engineering products include high-efficiency gyrotron for plasma heating, liquid metal blanket for heat extraction, proprietary tritium pumps, and advanced heat exchangers. To further strengthen our position in the fusion engineering domain, KF has decided to construct UNITY, the world's first integrated testing facility for fusion power plant components. The purpose of UNITY is to demonstrate a suite of equipment used from heat extraction to power generation under conditions close to those of a commercial fusion power plant of KFs clients. UNITY has completed the preliminary design phase and is launching its construction in August, which will be conducted in close collaboration with several major engineering companies in Japan. The initial construction of the testing loop, which is the foundation of the facility, is scheduled to be completed by March 2023. The completion of the full UNITY construction, and the subsequent demonstration of electricity generation, is planned by the end of 2025. UNITY will enable integrated testing of a suite of energy conversion equipment in a fusion power plant without the use of nuclear reactions by engineeringly simulating the thermal and magnetic environment within a fusion power core. Similarly, the tritium permeation will be simulated with deuterium. In addition to the simulation of a fusion power core environment, the facility is equipped with an originally designed blanket for high-temperature heat extraction, liquid metal/molten salt loops for high-temperature heat transfer, which will be via an advanced heat exchanger, to a power generation system. UNITY will also host a plasma heating system, a plasma exhaust, hydrogen tritium pumps, and a fusion fuel cycle demonstration system. Such a suite of components will not only be required for DEMO-type plant, which is being studied around the world in conjunction with the ITER project, but also for innovative power plant designs under development in the private sector. Despite only launching in 2019, KF has established itself as a key fusion technology company, providing services and equipment to partners in the fusion industry. However, by developing and demonstrating the world's first testing facility in UNITY, KF will further establish partnerships with research institutes and fusion developers around the world. With UNITY, KF can now help private fusion companies focus on the fusion power core development. About Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd.Kyoto Fusioneering is a privately funded technology start-up founded in 2019, with its Japanese headquarter in Tokyo and its United Kingdom office in Reading. The company is focused on developing advanced technologies for commercial fusion reactors, including gyrotron systems, tritium fuel cycle technologies, and breeding blankets for tritium production and power generation. The company is focused on innovative solutions that are simultaneously high-performance and commercially viable. Supporting both public and private fusion developers around the world, the company is accelerating the realization of fusion as the ultimate energy source for humankind. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/41d120d7-b557-4e30-a57a-951f2bfd70d4 UNITY World-first Integrated Testing Facility for Fusion Power Plant Equipment Source: Kyoto Fusioneering Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed BioCorRx Inc. (OTCQB: BICX) ("the Company"), an addiction treatment solutions company offering a unique approach to the treatment of substance use and other related disorders. CEO and CFO of the Company, Lourdes Felix, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly. Copley began the interview by asking about the Company's background and current projects. "BioCorRx is a hybrid of healthcare and biotechnology," explained Felix. "We have a couple of programs, including one for substance use disorder and alcoholism, as well as a weight loss program that we developed and launched three years ago," she continued. "We also have our R&D division, which is our subsidiary BioCorRx Pharmaceuticals where we are taking our main product pipeline, BICX104, through regulatory approval." Copley then asked about the approval process for BICX104. "We began the regulatory process for BICX104 back in February of 2019," said Felix. "We have successfully completed the pre-clinical study phase in Q1 of 2021, and then filed our IND with the FDA in Q1 of 2021, which was approved in May of 2022," she shared. "This has allowed us to move into the next phase, which we are currently in, which is human trials." "Is there anything new going on with the Company's Beat Addiction Recovery program, including new potential partnerships?," asked Copley. Felix elaborated on (VR) virtual reality and its use for effective mental health assessments and treatments within a virtual world created by a physician. "We are partnering up with a company by the name of 2B3D, and they have created a Metaverse platform that incorporates the ability to seek out mental health treatments into a gamified or virtual reality world." "Their goal is to be able to help our veterans," continued Felix. "We all know many of our veterans suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD)," she said. "This technology will allow our veterans to reach out to mental health professionals using a personalized online interaction," explained Felix. "This will be something that can be accessible no matter where they are in the world, so it is truly groundbreaking." Felix then elaborated on the Company's unique Beat Addiction Recovery program, which combines medication and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). "We will have many aspects of the CBT which will be incorporated into the Metaverse platform that 2B3D has created," she shared. "Since the start of the pandemic, how has the momentum shifted for BioCorRX?", asked Copley. "2022 has been significantly different than the past two years," said Felix, adding that the Company is pleased to finally be able to travel and attend conferences in person once again. "I think that shift is very good and is something that we continue to look forward to." To close the interview, Felix encouraged listeners and shareholders to keep up-to-date with the Company's current and upcoming projects, and to reach out via email with any questions at: [email protected]. To hear the entire interview with Lourdes Felix, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8115911-biocorrx-inc-discusses-bicx104-human-trials-and-2b3d-metaverse-partnership-with-the-stock-day-po Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/ About BioCorRx BioCorRx Inc. (OTCQB: BICX) is an addiction treatment solutions company offering a unique approach to the treatment of substance use and other related disorders. Beat Addiction Recovery is a substance use disorder recovery program that typically includes BioCorRx's proprietary Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) modules along with peer support via mobile app along with medication prescribed by an independent treating physician under their discretion. The UnCraveRx Weight Loss Program is also a medication assisted weight loss program that includes access to concierge on-demand wellness specialists: nutritionists, fitness experts and personal support from behavioral experts; please visit www.uncraverx.com for more information on UnCraveRx. The Company also controls BioCorRx Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage drug development subsidiary currently seeking FDA approval for BICX104, an implantable naltrexone pellet for treatment of alcohol and opioid use disorders. For more information on BICX and its subsidiary pipeline, please visit www.BioCorRx.com. Safe Harbor Statement The information in this release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "estimate," "become," "plan," "will," and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown. risks as well as uncertainties. Although the Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. BioCorRx Inc. [email protected] 714-462-4880 Investor Relations: Crescendo Communications, LLC 212- 671-1020 x304 [email protected] Media Contact PhillComm Global [email protected] 704-942-1557 About The "Stock Day" Podcast Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America. SOURCE: Stock Day Media (602) 821-1102 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130108 Dallas, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Dallas criminal defense lawyer John Helms announces a recent update to the Firm's website to include up-to-date federal criminal defense laws to assist current and future clients in understanding the issues of federal criminal defense. Dallas Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer, John Helms To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8568/130151_4bd93ed26461c899_001full.jpg The new resource created by the law office now consists of in-depth information on federal crime which include: Financial Fraud & White Collar Crime I Healthcare Fraud I Mortgage Fraud I Tax Fraud & Tax Evasion I Racketeering & RICO Violations I Bribery & Corruption I Money Laundering I Securities Fraud I Insider Trading & Market Abuse I Federal Computer Crimes I Child Pornography I Drug Trafficking I Federal Forfeiture About The Texas Law Firm of John M. Helms John Helms is a Dallas-based criminal justice defense trial attorney. To learn more about the law firm, learn more at: https://johnhelms.attorney Media contact: William Perras 214-666-8010 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130151 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 5, 2022) - Destiny Media Technologies Inc. (TSXV: DSY) (OTCQB: DSNY), the makers of Play MPE, a cloud-based SaaS solution for promotional music marketing, today announced that the Company will hold a live webinar on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) to discuss financial results for its third quarter ended May 31, 2022. The Company plans to release financial results for the quarter before market open on July 12, 2022. The live webinar will include comments from President, Chief Executive Officer, Fred Vandenberg, and Director of Business Development, Allan Benedict. Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2022 Time: 2:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) Attendees are encouraged to register prior to the scheduled time at the following: https://investors.dsny.com/investors/financials/ or by clicking on the Webinar Registration Form. Attendees viewing the webinar can voluntarily submit questions during the live presentation. Attendee cameras will remain off throughout the presentation. Attendees' microphones will remain off unless the attendee voluntarily selects to engage in verbal questions similar to the format available on traditional conference call format. The webinar format will provide the Company an opportunity to present visual information. For those without internet access, the webinar can be accessed via the following dial in details: Direct dial in: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 253 215 8782 Webinar ID: 823 7596 4271 Attendees participating via dial in will not have access the webinar video stream and will not have access to question and answer functions. A recording of the webinar will be available after the event on https://investors.dsny.com/investors/financials/ About Destiny Media Technologies Inc. Destiny Media Technologies Inc. ("Destiny") provides software as service (SaaS) solutions to businesses in the music industry solving critical problems in distribution and promotion. The core service, Play MPE (www.plaympe.com), provides promotional music marketing to engaged networks of decision makers in radio, film, TV, and beyond. More information can be found at www.dsny.com. Contacts: Fred Vandenberg CEO Destiny Media Technologies, Inc. 604 609 7736 x236 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130078 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Deveron Corp. (TSXV: FARM) ("Deveron" or the "Company"), a leading agriculture data company in North America, announces that further it its press releases of March 11, 2022 and June 29, 2022, with respect to the acquisition of the assets of Agri-Labs, Inc. ("Agri-Labs"), a leading soil lab and agronomy company that services Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio (the "Acquisition"), the Company has made its initial milestone payment consisting of US$420,000 and 750,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Common Shares") at a deemed price of $0.61 per Common Share to Agri-Labs. The Common Shares are subject to contractual resale restrictions providing that the Common Shares may not be transferred except as follows: (i) as to 50% on the date which is four months and a day from the date of issuance; (ii) as to 25% on July 6, 2023; and (iii) as to 25% on July 6, 2024. Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, the Company may be required to make one additional milestone payment in the event that the gross revenue attributable to the Agri-Labs business for the period from March 10, 2022 to March 10, 2023 exceeds the gross earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") of the prior twelve (12) month period, then, Agri-Labs shall be entitled to receive an amount equal to twenty percent (25%) of the excess amount (the "EBITDA Earnout") in cash, and such number of Common Shares that is equal to the EBITDA Earnout divided by the market price of the Common Shares on March 10, 2023. About Deveron: Deveron is an agriculture technology company that uses data and insights to help farmers and large agriculture enterprises increase yields, reduce costs and improve farm outcomes. The company employs a digital process that leverages data collected on farms across North America to drive unbiased interpretation of production decisions, ultimately recommending how to optimize input use. Our team of agronomists and data scientists build products that recommend ways to manage fertilizer, seed, fungicide and other farm inputs better. Additionally, we have a national network of data technicians that are deployed to collect various types of farm data, from soil to drone, that build a basis of our best-in-class data layers. Our focus is the US and Canada where 1 billion acres are actively farmed annually. For more information and to join our community, please visit www.deveronuas.com/register or reach us on Twitter @Deveron David MacMillan President & CEO Deveron Corp. [email protected] Tel: 647-963-2429 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under Canadian securities laws. Without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various degrees of risk. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current views with respect to possible future events and conditions and, by their nature, are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific to the Company. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements. The following are important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: changes in the world-wide price of agricultural commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in agriculture, the uncertainty of future profitability and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. Additional information regarding the material factors and assumptions that were applied in making these forward-looking statements as well as the various risks and uncertainties we face are described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of our annual and interim Management's Discussion and Analysis of our financial results and other continuous disclosure documents and financial statements we file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. The Company relies on litigation protection for forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130173 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 5, 2022) - Doubleview Gold Corp. (TSXV: DBG) (OTCQB: DBLVF) (FSE: 1D4) ("Doubleview") is pleased to announce it has closed its second tranche of its non-brokered flow-through and non-flow-through private placement for gross proceeds of $2,009,250.00. Doubleview is also pleased to announce that New York based Hedge Funds and family offices account for nearly $2.0 million of the proceeds from the Second tranche. Combined with the first tranche as announced on June 21, the Company has raised a total of $2,527,241.20 ($558,991.20 for Flow through and $1,968,250.00 for Non flow through). The company has not paid any commission or finder's fee in connection with this financing. Under the second tranche, Doubleview will issue a total of 220,000 flow-through units (the "FT Units") at a price of $0.30 per FT unit for total gross proceeds of $66,000.00. Each FT Unit consists of one common share issued as a flow-through common share and one share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"), with each Warrant exercisable for one common share at $0.33 per share for a period of two years from the date of issue. As part of the second tranche close the Company will also issue 7,773,000 non-flow-through units (the "NFT Units") at a price of $0.25 per NFT Unit for total proceeds of $1,943,250. Each NFT Unit consists of one common share and one share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"), each Warrant exercisable for an additional common share at $0.31 per share for a period of two years from the date of issue. The aggregate gross proceeds of $558,991.20 from the sale of the FT Offering will be used for contribution to and maintenance of the Company's exploration work on its projects, particularly for the Hat Project. While the aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of the NFT Offering will be used for legal, accounting and General Administrative costs. Pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture (the "Exchange"), all shares issued in this tranche, and any shares issued pursuant to the exercise of the warrants, are subject to a hold period expiring November 6, 2022. The closing of the Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company may continuing raising funds under this non brokered private placement. About Doubleview Gold Corp Doubleview Gold Corp., a mineral resource exploration and development company, is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is publicly traded on the TSX-Venture Exchange (TSXV: DBG), (OTCQB: DBLVF), (WKN: A1W038), (FSE: 1D4). Doubleview identifies, acquires and finances precious and base metal exploration projects in North America, particularly in British Columbia. Doubleview increases shareholder value through acquisition and exploration of quality gold, copper and silver properties and the application of advanced state-of-the-art exploration methods. The Company's portfolio of strategic properties provides diversification and mitigates investment risk. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Farshad Shirvani, President & Chief Executive Officer For further information please contact: Doubleview Gold Corp Vancouver, BC Farshad Shirvani President & CEO T: (604) 678-9587 E: [email protected] Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Doubleview cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Doubleview's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Doubleview's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Doubleview undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130077 Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Fathom Nickel Inc.(CSE:FNI) (FSE: 6Q5), (OTCQB: FNICF) (the "Company" or "Fathom") is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Tremblay-Olson Ni-Cu+PGE Showing ("Trembley-Olson Showing"). Fathom purchased 100% of the Tremblay-Olson Showing claims, totaling 315 Ha, from Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. ("Eagle Plains") in exchange for a 2% Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty. Fathom has the right to purchase back 1.0% of the NSR for a one-time cash payment of $1,000,000. Including this recent acquisition of the Tremblay-Olson Showing claims, the Albert Lake Property now consists of 31 claims totaling 91,545 Ha. Brad Van Den Bussche, CEO of Fathom commented, "The significance of this acquisition for Fathom is twofold. Firstly, the Tremblay-Olson Showing represents the final piece of mineral tenure within the Albert Lake block - Fathom is now the 100% owner of the entire land package. Secondly, the claims contain known mineralized occurrences including the surface-exposed Tremblay-Olson Showing, which will be a prioritized exploration target moving forward." The Tremblay-Olson Showing refers to an ultramafic hosted Ni-Cu+PGE showing 2.4 km southwest of the historic Rottenstone Mine: Similar to the historic Rottenstone Mine, there is a long history of exploration within the Tremblay-Olson Showing area; Trenching and stripping up to 106.7 m in length has exposed a lens of mineralized pyroxenite containing up to 40% sulphides and samples collected of mineralized material within the trench have assayed up to 3.11% Ni, 0.34% Cu, 1.01 g/t Pd and 0.46 g/t Pt (Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index (SMDI) #0959); The last recorded exploration within the Tremblay-Olson showing area was by Placer Dome Inc. (" Placer ") in 1987; ") in 1987; Placer, through an option agreement with American Platinum Inc., completed eight drillholes (693m) to test anomalous soil geochemistry (Ni-Cu) and coincident geophysical anomalies to the northeast of the Tremblay-Olson Showing; and, Two drillholes intersected anomalous Ni and Cu (up to 630 ppm Ni, 1320 ppm Cu) and Pd and Pt (up to 115 ppb Pd, 90 ppb Pt) within significant widths (up to 26.9m) of mineralized metapelite. FIGURE 1 TREMBLAY-OLSON SHOWING CLAIM MAP To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7843/130118_0497abd244353b49_001full.jpg Mr. Van Den Bussche added, "Fathom's compilation efforts of available historical data from the Tremblay-Olson area recognizes soil geochemistry and geophysical signatures consistent with historical data at the Rottenstone Mine area and within the Company's current area of focus, The Bay Area Conductive Corridor. Ultramafic hosted mineralization occurring at the Tremblay-Olsen Showing, together with the Company's recent success of identifying ultramafic hosted nickel mineralization 400 - 500m west - north-northwest of Rottenstone is further evidence of a significant magmatic nickel system in place at the Albert Lake property. We look forward to applying our proven exploration methodology on this very strategic land package encompassing the Tremblay-Olsen Showing." Qualified Person and Data Verification Ian Fraser, PGeo., VP Exploration and a Director of the Company and the "qualified person" as such term is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has verified the data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release on behalf of the Company. About Fathom Nickel Inc. Fathom is a resource exploration and development company that is targeting high-grade nickel sulphide discoveries for use in the rapidly growing global electric vehicle market. The Company is accelerating exploration on its flagship Albert Lake Project, host to the historic Rottenstone mine, which is recognized as one of the highestgrade (Nickel, Copper, Platinum group metals) deposits of its type ever mined in Canada. The Albert Lake Project consists of over 90,000 ha of mineral claims located in the Trans-Hudson Corridor of Saskatchewan, which is home to numerous world-class mining camps. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Brad Van Den Bussche" President and CEO, Director For Further Information Please Contact: Brad Van Den Bussche, President and CEO or Manish Grigo, Director of Corporate Development +1-416-569-3292 Email: mgrigo @fathomnickel.com Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "seek", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and include, without limitation, statements regarding the enhancement of the Company's geologic model and extending the areas of known mineralization and the Company's work towards defining a resource base. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to, the results of exploration activities; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAWS To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130118 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE: IAG) (TSX: IMG) ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results from its 2022 delineation diamond drilling program on its wholly-owned Karita Gold project in north-eastern Guinea. The project is located along the prolific Senegal-Mali Shear Zone in West Africa, between the Company's Boto Gold Project in Senegal eight (8) kilometres to the north, and its Diakha-Siribaya Gold project in Mali three (3) kilometres to the south. Highlights include (refer to Table 1 for detailed interval results): 34.0 metres ("m") at 5.81 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") in drill hole KDD22-006 from 67.0 m including 5.0 m at 33.31 g/t Au from 70.0 m, in drill hole KDD22-006 from 67.0 m - followed by a separate interval of 14.15 m at 6.46 g/t Au from 197.9 m including 3.0 m at 28.73 g/t Au from 203 m; from 197.9 m 50.0 m at 2.85 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-003 from 21.0 m including 7.0 m at 13.47 g/t Au from 36.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-003 from 21.0 m 25.0 m at 5.32 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-033 from 26.0 m including 14.0 m at 9.10 g/t Au from 26.0 m, in drill hole KDD22-033 from 26.0 m - followed by a separate interval of 32.0 m at 1.66 g/t Au from 51.0 m including 2.0 m at 13.14 g/t Au from 68.0 m, from 51.0 m - followed by a separate interval of 21.0 m at 1.9 g/t Au from 156.0 m; from 156.0 m; 37.0 m at 3.50 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-007 from 98.0 m including 6.0 m at 7.46 g/t Au from 116.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-007 from 98.0 m 22.0 m at 5.70 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-028 from 11.0 m including 3.0 m at 31.13 g/t Au from 19.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-028 from 11.0 m 12.0 m at 9.49 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-016 from 129.0 m including 6.0 m at 17.95 g/t Au from 129.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-016 from 129.0 m 21.0 m at 5.33 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-015 from 25.0 m including 6.0 m at 7.42 g/t Au from 25.0 m including 7.0 m at 9.11 g/t Au from 39.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-015 from 25.0 m 21.0 m at 2.71 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-013 from 73.0 m including 7.0 m at 5.15 g/t Au from 80.0 m, in drill hole KDD22-013 from 73.0 m - followed by a separate interval of 20.0 m at 5.33 g/t Au from 104.0 m including 7.0 m at 8.80 g/t Au from 104.0 m including 3.0 m at 11.97 g/t Au from 115.0 m; from 104.0 m 18.0 m at 4.29 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-030 from 45.0 m including 6.0 m at 9.83 g/t Au from 48.0 m including 2.0 m at 8.32 g/t Au from 61.0 m; in drill hole KDD22-030 from 45.0 m 40.0 m at 1.84 g/t Au in drill hole KDD-010 from 159.0 m including 7.0 m at 5.15 g/t Au from 159.0 m including 4.0 m at 6.63 g/t Au from 188.0 m; in drill hole KDD-010 from 159.0 m 20.0 m at 3.32 g/t Au in drill hole KDD-019 from 60.0 m including 6.0 m at 9.03 g/t Au from 60.0 m; in drill hole KDD-019 from 60.0 m Craig MacDougall, Executive Vice President, Growth for IAMGOLD, stated: "The results reported today from our ongoing delineation drilling program are highly encouraging and continue to build on our exploration successes in the region. Karita is located on the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone which extends from B2Gold's Fekola mine 15 kilometres to the north though our previous discoveries at the Boto and Diakha-Siribaya projects to the south. During this program we have intersected multiple, wide zones of mineralization within altered metasedimentary units, several of which include considerable thickness in the shallow oxidized zone, extending nearly 2 kilometres along strike. We would like to recognize the efforts of our exploration team in West Africa, who have worked tirelessly against many logistical challenges to safely implement this drilling program as they advance our evaluation of our newest discovery." The assay results returned represent 42 diamond drill holes ("DDH") totaling 10,230.5 metres from the ongoing 2022 delineation drilling program, which will involve the completion of 22,000 to 24,000 metres of drilling, designed to delineate the mineralized zones on a nominal 100 x 50 metre collar spacing in order to support a future initial mineral resource estimate. To date, approximately 18,225 metres in 70 DDH holes have been completed. Additional assay results will be reported once they are received, validated and compiled. Figure 1 - Karita Drill Hole Plan View To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6077/130082_c2aa54d1f413c833_001full.jpg Figure 2 - Cross Section View L 2200N To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6077/130082_c2aa54d1f413c833_002full.jpg Note: Drill hole intercepts are calculated with a lower cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au and may contain lower grade intervals of up to 5 meters in core length Next Steps Approximately 4,000 to 6,000 metres of additional drilling is planned in the second half of the year as part of the 2022 delineation drilling program. The results of the drilling program will be compiled, validated and interpreted to develop a deposit model to support the completion of an initial mineral resource estimate planned for 2023. The Karita Gold Project The Karita Gold project is wholly-owned by IAMGOLD and is held under an exploration permit that covers approximately 100 square kilometres in Guinea, on the Birimian aged Kdougou-Kenieba inlier of the West African Craton region along the borders with Senegal, Guinea and Mali. In 2017, the Company completed a reconnaissance geology and termite mound geochemical sampling program over the Karita permit to evaluate the interpreted extension of the Boto-Diakha mineralized trend in Guinea. The area is thought to cover an extension of the regionally important and prolific Senegal-Mali Shear Zone along trend between IAMGOLD's Boto Gold deposits in Senegal to the north, and its Diakha deposit on the Siribaya project in Mali to the south. The sampling program identified an extensive gold geochemical anomaly delineated over a nearly 2 kilometre strike length, and similar to that observed to be associated with the deposits occurring at both Boto and Diakha. Figure 3 - Senegal-Mali Shear Zone To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6077/130082_c2aa54d1f413c833_003full.jpg The initial 2019 drilling program was designed to evaluate the geochemical anomaly for the presence of mineralization and involved the completion of wide spaced lines of reverse circulation ("RC") drilling, which confirmed the presence of multiple zones of mineralization hosted within an albite + hematite altered sandstone metasedimentary unit over a 1.6 kilometre strike length. After extensive access restrictions arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic, exploration resumed in 2022 with the objective of delineating this new discovery to evaluate its resource potential. Results to date have confirmed the presence of shallow oxide mineralization extending at depth to fresh rock where mineralization is observed to be hosted in altered and locally brecciated metasedimentary lithologies exhibiting albite - silica - hematite alteration associated with disseminated to locally narrow semi-massive sulphide (pyrite) veins and occasional visible gold. Overall, the mineralization shows similarities to IAMGOLD's Boto and Diakha deposits located along the same trend. Table 1 - 2022 Diamond Drilling Program - Karita Gold Project, Guinea UTM WGS84/Zone29 AZ Dip EOH From To Core Length Gold2 Mineralized Zones HOLE-ID Easting Northing Elevation () () (m) (m) (m) (m) (g/t) KDD22-001 240772.3 1372899 166.8 90 -54 315 0 3 3 0.66 Oxide zone 77 84 7 1.87 94 109 15 0.71 Sulfide zone Including 94 100 6 1.29 132 137 5 3.74 210 214 4 0.51 KDD22-002 240572.3 1372200 178.8 90 -55 350.5 86 139 53 1.88 Sulfide Zone Including 86 95 9 3.9 Including 100 111 11 3.53 115 139 24 1.04 KDD22-003 240672.3 1372199 176.4 90 -55 326 21 71 50 2.85 Oxide zone Including 36 43 7 13.47 84 87 3 2.72 Sulfide zone 145 148 3 3.99 178 181 3 0.55 189 196 7 0.34 KDD22-004 240875.6 1372900 169.1 90 -54 247 0 6 6 1.06 Oxide zone 17 19 2 1.11 96 100 4 2.03 Sulfide zone 127 131 4 0.56 KDD22-005 240926.4 1372901 170.1 90 -54 190 0 13 13 1.05 Oxide zone 30 31 1 29.7 44 66 22 1.81 Including 51 54 3 7.06 KDD22-006 240623.8 1372199 177.7 90 -55 354 39 51 12 0.95 Oxide zone 62 67 5 1.16 67 101 34 5.81 Sulfide zone Including 70 75 5 33.31 197.9 212 14.1 6.46 Including 203 206 3 28.73 338 340 2 1.82 KDD22-007 240723.9 1372199 175.8 90 -55 300 51 69 18 0.65 Oxide zone 98 135 37 3.5 Sulfide zone Including 116 122 6 7.46 249 255 6 0.63 KDD22-008 240775 1372199 175 90 -55 250 32 43 11 0.43 Oxide zone 50 68 18 2.72 Including 62 66 4 6.57 KDD22-009 240826.1 1372900 167.9 90 -53 276 0 6 6 0.6 Oxide zone 19 31 12 1.5 61 63 2 0.79 KDD22-010 240517.8 1372200 179.8 90 -55 351 100 105 5 1 Sulfide zone 159 199 40 1.84 Including 159 166 7 5.15 Including 188 192 4 6.63 203 205 0.73 KDD22-011 240824.9 1372199 174.3 90 -55 160 19 27 8 2.89 Oxide zone 56 62 6 0.63 Sulfide zone 67 73 6 0.6 KDD22-012 240722.5 1372899 166.7 90 -54 300 112 113 1 3.15 Sulfide zone 145 148 3 1.33 257 259 2 1.28 KDD22-013 240628.3 1372302 177.5 90 -54 275 38 46 8 0.38 Oxide zone 53 58 5 0.32 73 94 21 2.71 Sulfide zone Including 80 88 7 5.15 104 124 20 5.33 Including 104 111 7 8.8 Including 115 118 3 11.97 131 135 4 1.82 142 145 3 1.49 197 207 10 0.6 Including 202 204 2 1.64 223 235 12 0.75 KDD22-014 240589.1 1372102 178.3 90 -54 300 75 87 12 0.94 Oxide zone Including 75 77 2 1.8 Including 82 87 5 1.43 91.4 101 9.6 0.97 Sulfide zone 153 159 6 6.52 Including 153 155 2 9.24 Including 157 159 2 10.09 250 252 2 2.43 KDD22-015 240708.8 1372302 176 90 -54 225 25 46 21 5.33 Oxide zone Including 25 31 6 7.42 Including 39 46 7 9.11 76 78 2 5.82 Sulfide zone 85.5 88 2.5 1.17 99 102.1 3.1 1.4 135 141 6 3.31 136 139 3 6.06 162 172 10 0.51 KDD22-016 240670 1372101 176.3 90 -54 250 24 27 3 0.44 Oxide zone 54 55 1 109.9 129 141 12 9.49 Sulfide zone Including 129 135 6 17.95 149 155 6 3.21 172 175 3 0.58 KDD22-017 240700.4 1372700 173.8 90 -54 312 14 35 21 1.19 Oxide zone Including 15 18 3 5.62 83 85 2 1.68 Sulfide zone 115 117 2 0.73 154 156 2 3.12 215 220 5 1.06 KDD22-018 240789.6 1372301 174.2 90 -54 150 28 30 2 6.82 Oxide zone 63 81 18 1.02 Sulfide zone KDD22-019 240748.9 1372101 174.9 90 -54 172 60 80 20 3.32 Oxide zone Including 60 66 6 9.03 125 132 7 0.85 Sulfide zone KDD22-020 240686.1 1372500 177.7 90 -54 275 18 29 11 1.86 Oxide zone Including 25 26 1 17.4 77 81 4 1.1 Sulfide zone 99 103 4 2.2 123 130 7 5.16 Including 123 125 2 16.58 KDD22-021 240766 1372500 176 90 -54 243 26 32 6 10.98 Oxide Zone KDD22-022 240847.8 1372500 175.1 90 -54 174 40 46 6 1.22 Oxide zone 61 67 6 1.03 Sulfide zone KDD22-0023 240780 1372700 176 90 -54 252 35 44 9 0.86 Oxide zone 62 68 6 0.6 Sulfide zone 73 78 1.26 KDD22-024 240860.3 1372700 178.5 31 45 14 2.3 Oxide zone Including 31 34 3 6.42 128 130 2 1.52 Sulfide zone KDD22-025 240620 1372700 174 90 -54 303 158 169 11 0.61 Sulfide zone 213 215 2 2.26 252 269 17 1.42 Including 252 257 5 2.97 Including 265 268 3 3.24 KDD22-026 240606 1372500 178 90 -54 276 71.6 77.9 6.3 0.63 Sulfide zone 102 106 4 12.9 Including 103 106 3 17.04 157 170 13 0.47 198 208 10 12.02 Including 205.1 206 0.9 119.3 KDD22-027 240646 1372500 178 90 -54 275 94 105 11 0.92 Sulfide Zone Including 102.4 104.2 1.8 3.68 171 174 3 1.09 KDD22-028 240741.1 1372700 175.471 90 -54 264 11 33 22 5.7 Oxide Zone Including 19 22 3 31.13 Including 32 33 1 19.9 63 65 2 12.65 Sulfide zone 107 114 7 0.93 KDD22-029 240550 1372300 179.9 90 -54 276 54 57 3 1.03 Oxide zone 73 76 3 21.35 Sulfide zone 116 138 22 1.81 Including 120 124 4 6.12 160 170 10 0.81 192 210 18 0.77 KDD22-030 240723.2 1372500 176.9 90 -54 258 19 21 2 2.96 Oxide Zone 45 63 18 4.29 Sulfide zone Including 48 54 6 9.83 Including 61 63 2 8.32 75 91 16 0.84 Including 86.3 88 1.7 6.67 176.7 178.5 1.8 5.6 KDD22-031 240806 1372500 176 90 -54 210 NSV KDD22-032 240819.6 1372700 178.6 11.5 21 9.5 0.62 Oxide zone 45 56.5 11.5 1.83 Sulfide zone Inclusion 49 50 1 14 160 162 2 2 KDD22-033 240670.1 1372302 176.5 90 -54 250 26 51 25 5.32 Oxide zone Including 26 40 14 9.1 Including 46 51 5 1.11 51 83 32 1.66 Sulfide zone Including 68 70 2 13.14 156 177 21 1.9 KDD22-034 240519.8 1371902 177.2 90 -54 308 25 36 11 1.22 Oxide zone 141 167 26 0.65 Sulfide zone Including 152 162 10 1.32 180 186 6 1.28 206 209 3 1.65 243 267 24 0.83 Including 246 251 5 2.18 KDD22-035 240593.7 1371900 176.0 90 -54 250 26 28 2 4.91 Oxide zone 65 69 4 0.94 Sulfide Zone 101 105 4 0.84 118 128 10 0.54 157 160 3 4.42 Including 157 158 1 12.2 177 210 33 0.41 KDD22-036 240678.7 1371900 175.0 90 -54 190 20 30 10 1.2 Oxide zone 41 44 3 1.69 64 74 10 1.9 Sulfide zone Including 65 66 1 14.3 166 190 24 1.66 Including 173 175 2 8.95 Including 185 187 2 4.37 KDD22-037 240760 1371900 173.0 90 -54 121 75.5 104 28.5 1.01 Sulfide zone Including 80 82 2 4.44 KDD22-038 240560 1371900 176.0 90 -54 275 83 88 5 0.5 Sulfide zone 107 117 10 0.72 128.1 134 5.9 0.57 154 160 6 0.77 214 232 18 0.95 Including 222.5 229 6.5 1.87 KDD22-039 240640 1371900 175.0 90 -54 202.0 79 81 2 0.71 Sulfide zone 90 97 7 0.79 Including 94 97 3 1.7 121 123 2 2.55 KDD22-040 240720 1371900 173.0 90 -54 165 125 164 39 0.61 Sulfide Zone Including 125 133 8 1.21 Including 151 157 6 1.14 KDD22-044 240552 1371300 138.0 90 -55 290 190 180 10 0.8 Sulfide zone 279 284 5 2.04 KDD22-046 240602 1371300 139.1 90 -55 270 40 78 38 0.51 Oxide zone Including 40 46 6 1.57 89 100 11 1.1 Sulfide zone 115 130 15 0.68 137 147 10 0.53 Notes: Drill hole intercepts are calculated with a lower cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au and may contain lower grade intervals of up to 5 metres in core length. Assays intervals are reported uncapped, but high grade sub-intervals are highlighted. NSV - no significant values reported. Insufficient drilling has been completed to establish true widths of the mineralized intercepts, but these are estimated to be between 60-80% of the reported interval. TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND QUALITY CONTROL NOTES The drilling results contained in this news release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The Qualified Person ("QP") responsible for the supervision of the preparation, verification and review of the technical information in this release is Philippe Biron, P. Geo., Regional Senior Geologist, West Africa for IAMGOLD. Mr. Biron is a QP for the purposes of NI 43-101 with respect to the technical information being reported on. The information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Craig MacDougall, P.Geo, Executive Vice President, Growth for IAMGOLD. Mr. MacDougall is a QP for the purposes of NI 43-101. The technical information has been included herein with the consent and prior review of the above noted QPs. The sampling of, and assay data from, DDH core are monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance - quality control (QA-QC) program designed to follow industry best practice and include the insertion of certified reference standards. Core samples from diamond drilling are collected from three diamond rigs, at generally one meter intervals, under the direct supervision of IAMGOLD geologists and field technicians. Core samples are sawed in half, with one half sent to the lab for prep and assay, and the other retained for reference purposes. The assay samples were prepared and assayed at Bureau Veritas Analytical Laboratory in Bamako, using a standard fire assay with a 50-gram charge and an Atomic Absorption finish (FA450). Samples which returned values greater than 10 g/t Au are being re-assayed using a gravimetric finish. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by, but not limited to, the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "would", "continue", "expect", "expected", "budget", "forecast", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "appear" "plan", "schedule", "guidance", "outlook", "potential", "plans", "targeted", "focused", or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, differences in the mineral content within the material identified as mineral resources or mineral reserves from that predicted, the failure to accurately estimate mineral resources or mineral reserves, unexpected increases in capital expenditures, operating expenditures and exploration expenditures, changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, changes in world gold markets and other risks disclosed in IAMGOLD's most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml and Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com, which are incorporated herein. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by applicable law. CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES References to mineral resources contained in this news release are based on the meaning given to such term in NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") - CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council, as amended (the "CIM Standards"). These standards are similar to those used by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Industry Guide No. 7, as interpreted by the SEC staff. However, the definitions in NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ in certain respects from those under Industry Guide 7. Accordingly, mineral resource information contained in this news release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by United States companies. As a result of the adoption of amendments to the SEC's disclosure rules (the "SEC Modernization Rules"), which more closely align its disclosure requirements and policies for mining properties with current industry and global regulatory practices and standards, including NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, and which became effective on February 25, 2019, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources." Issuers were required to comply with the SEC Modernization Rules in their first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, though Canadian issuers that report in the United States using the Multijurisdictional Disclosure System ("MJDS") may still use NI 43-101 rather than the SEC Modernization Rules when using the SEC's MJDS registration statement and annual report forms. United States investors are cautioned that while the SEC now recognizes "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under the SEC Modernization Rules, investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian regulations, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in limited circumstances. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources", or "inferred mineral resources" are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any part or all of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. About IAMGOLD IAMGOLD is a mid-tier gold mining company operating in North America, South America and West Africa. The Company has three operating mines: Essakane (Burkina Faso), Rosebel (Suriname) and Westwood (Canada), and is building the large-scale, long life Cote Gold project (Canada) which is expected to start production towards the end of 2023. In addition, the Company has a robust development and exploration portfolio within high potential mining districts in the Americas and West Africa. IAMGOLD employs approximately 5,000 people and is committed to maintaining its culture of accountable mining through high standards of Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices, including its commitment to Zero Harm, in every aspect of its business. IAMGOLD is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: IAG) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: IMG) and is one of the companies on the Jantzi Social Index ("JSI"), a socially screened market capitalization-weighted consisting of companies which pass a set of broadly based environmental, social and governance rating criteria. IAMGOLD Contact Information Graeme Jennings, Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: 416 360 4743 | Mobile: 416 388 6883 Philip Rabenok, Manager, Investor Relations Tel: 416 933 5783 | Mobile: 647 967 9942 Toll-free: 1 888 464 9999 [email protected] This entire news release may be accessed via e-mail, IAMGOLD's website at www.iamgold.com and through Newsfile's website at www.newsfilecorp.com. All material information on IAMGOLD can be found at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov. Si vous desirez obtenir la version francaise de ce communique, veuillez consulter le www.iamgold.com/French/accueil/default.aspx. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130082 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2022) - Palamina Corp. (TSXV: PA) (OTCQB: PLMNF) has received assay results for the two recently completed core holes at the Usicayos Gold Project in southeastern Peru. Holes VE-05-2022 and VE-06-2022 were completed from drill pad 5 situated approximately 120 metres northeast of hole VE-04-20021 to test the most easterly 200 metres of the Veta Zone. A total of 6 drill holes have been completed in the Veta Zone with 2 of 6 returning visible gold intercepts. The most recent two holes (completed in 2022) returned the following results: Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) VE-05-2022 20 21 1 0.42 VE-05-2022 65 67 2 0.50 VE-05-2022 75 76 1 0.55 VE-05-2022 104 105 1 0.55 VE-05-2022 123 127 4 0.67 VE-05-2022 140 142 2 0.43 VE-05-2022 156 158 2 0.40 VE-05-2022 163 164 1 1.51 VE-06-2022 5 6 1 0.18* VE-06-2022 9 11 2 0.41 VE-06-2022 51 55 4 0.46 VE-06-2022 59 61 2 0.41 VE-06-2022 79 80 1 0.43 VE-06-2022 86 93 7 0.37 VE-06-2022 102 104 2 0.40 VE-06-2022 126 130 4 0.40 VE-06-2022 135 139 4 0.47 VE-06-2022 Including 146 157 11 0.68 149 151 2 2.09 VE-06-2022 162 168 6 0.40 *Visible Gold observed / check assaying being carried out at ALS Global Peru SA "Palamina has completed drill testing below the entire 800 metre long gold-bearing quartz vein system exposed at surface in the Veta Zone. Two of six holes returned visible gold in core. Drilling has been placed on hold awaiting permitting in order to drill test the other 4 mineralized gold zones to the southwest. The drill will remain at site where the Veta Zone was the first of six gold zones to be drill-tested which host significant gold mineralization at surface," commented Andrew Thomson, President of Palamina. Drill pad 5 was moved closer to outcropping surface mineralization. Drill hole VE-05-2022 was angled to split the difference between mineralization encountered in hole VE-04-2021 and surface. Drill hole VE-06-2022 tested below the most easterly 200 metres of gold mineralization at surface. A total of 2,081 metres has been completed over 6 drill holes in the Veta Zone. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4727/130085_0eaab59cd49bc94f_002full.jpg Gold mineralization in the Veta Zone is hosted within Middle Paleozoic grey to black mudstones and siltstone, intruded by thin sills of intrusive monzodiorite and a large, later batholith. Two periods of deformation are recognized. Gold mineralization is hosted by swarms of variably spaced, folded, thin quartz veins that are best developed within corridors of deformed, highly strained sedimentary rocks. Visible gold is observed, associated with pyrite and minor arsenopyrite. The Veta Zone is 1 of 6 gold zones defined to date. A total of 6 diamond drill holes were completed over a total 800 metre mineralized gold strike length defined at surface in the Veta Zone. The Veta Zone is on the eastern end of a 4.5 km long gold structure trending northeast. Drill hole VE-01-2021 returned 1m @ 1.26 g/t Au, VE-02-2021 1m @ 3.09 g/t Au (visible gold in intercept), VE-03-2021 24m @ 0.5 g/t Au, VE-04-2021 11m @ 0.8 g/t Au, VE-05-2022 4m @ 0.67 g/t Au (visible gold in intercept) and VE-06-2022 11m @ 0.68 g/t Au. The Company intends to carry out field work in the Cayos, Coriwasi, Vetaflor, Sol de Oro and other newly acquired zones, including detailed sampling and mapping with a view to further drill testing. Select check assays on core samples from the Veta Zone drilling is also underway. No work is being carried out in the Veta NE Zone. The drill remains at site where the Cayos Zone is the next zone scheduled to be drilled. Figure 2 To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4727/130085_0eaab59cd49bc94f_003full.jpg Palamina is in process of completing the modification of its DIA (Declaracin de Impacto Ambiental) to drill the gold zones southwest of the Veta Zone. Under the current DIA Palamina can build a total of 40 drill pads where 5 drill pads have been completed to date. Technical Information Palamina Corp. quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) protocol is implemented on all its exploration projects. Prior to delivery of samples to the analytical laboratory Palamina QAQC staff insert blank samples, field duplicates and certified standards into the sample stream with the objective to provide a check on precision, accuracy and contamination in the laboratory. To assure best practice compliance, assay results are only reported once the results of internal QAQC procedures have been reviewed and approved. Samples are collected and transported by Palamina personnel to the Certimin S.A laboratory in Juliaca, Peru where they are processed and then sent for assay to the Certimin SA lab in Lima, Peru. The technical information herein has been reviewed and approved by J. Blackwell (P. Geo.), a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Blackwell is a technical advisor to Palamina. About Palamina Corp. Palamina has participation in 9 gold projects in south-eastern Peru in the Puno Orogenic Gold Belt (POGB). The Company also has rights to the Galena silver-copper project in the Santa Lucia district and two additional copper-gold projects in Southern Peru. Palamina holds an 19.9% equity interest in Winshear Gold Corp. who are advancing the Gaban Gold Project to the drill discovery phase. Palamina has 65,284,836 shares outstanding and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol PA and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol PLMNF. On Behalf of the Board of Directors: Andrew Thomson, President Phone: (416) 204-7536 or visit www.palamina.com This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of such statements under applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the use of proceeds of the Offering and the Company's future business plans. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company appears in the Company's continuous disclosure filings, which are available at www.sedar.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/130085 Birmingham-based Byars|Wright, Inc. and Tuscaloosa-based Pritchett-Moore Insurance announce merger BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Byars|Wright Insurance and Pritchett-Moore Insurance announced today they entered into a merger agreement. As a result of the deal, the Where Relationships Matter Group, LLC (WRM) formed. While the agencies will continue operating under their respective names, Byars|Wright and Pritchett-Moore Insurance are now members of the new WRM Group. This strategic partnership unites two successful agencies, each more than 75 years old. The complementary nature of their portfolios and cultures presents a substantial opportunity. Synergies come from the increased scale of the group, sharing of best practices, and combined resources. "These are exciting times," said Haig Wright II, President of Byars|Wright. "In our industry, scale matters. This allegiance enhances our overall market strength and provides significant opportunities for all involved. More importantly, it benefits our customers." Wright and Pritchett-Moore Insurance President Lin Moore agree the merger was a natural progression for the two like-minded agencies. "We're pleased to partner with an agency that cares about its employees, customers, community, and carrier relationships as much as we do," Moore stated. "We're better together. This is a positive move which will accelerate revenue growth and profitability, allowing us to expand and provide more value and superior services." Byars|Wright has six offices across Alabama. Pritchett-Moore's office is in Tuscaloosa. There are no plans to change locations. Current employees remain in their existing offices. The agencies will continue offering commercial insurance, surety/bonding, employee benefits solutions, personal and life insurance. In addition to Wright and Moore serving as Managing Members of WRM Group, Gabe Clement of Byars|Wright and Andrew Hudson of Pritchett-Moore comprise WRM Group's Executive Committee. Clement and Hudson remain in their current agency roles as well. Pritchett-Moore Insurance is an independent insurance agency in Alabama that specializes in quality and competitive solutions for individuals and businesses. Designated a Best Practices Agency, Pritchett-Moore has served the insurance needs of its clients since 1934 and believes in thinking 'out of the box' in their approach to insurance and protection. pm-insurance.com Byars|Wright, Inc. serves customers across the Southeast delivering a range of insurance products with quality coverage at competitive prices. Since 1946, the relationship-driven and customer-focused agency expanded its scope of business to include commercial, personal, and employee benefits insurance. Byars|Wright is designated a Best Practices Agency and one of the "Best Companies to Work For in Alabama". Byarswright.com For more information contact Lacey Rae Visintainer, [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alabama-insurance-agencies-merge-form-new-group-301581722.html SOURCE Byars Wright, Inc. RESTON, Va., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ARS Aleut Services, LLC (Aleut) has been awarded a place on the third and final cohort of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) 8(a) Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resource for Services (STARS) III a/k/a "8(a) STARS III." This best-in-class, small business set-aside, government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC) provides the government with flexible access to customized information technology (IT) solutions from a large, diverse pool of 8(a) industry partners. "We are thrilled to offer our federal customers the flexibility, ease-of-use, and contracting advantages of 8(a) STARS III," said Aleut's General Manager, Mark Gragg. "Participation in this program will provide the underserved communities that we represent with additional opportunities and improve equity, inclusion, and accessibility to the federal marketplace." The GWAC allows government agencies to streamline their acquisition processes and obtain cutting edge solutions to accomplish IT missions, while simultaneously enhancing equitable access to the federal marketplace for small and disadvantaged businesses. The scope includes a range of services from simple to complex and services-based solutions such as IT help-desk support, information assurance, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. 8(a) STARS III was awarded with a five-year base period through July 1, 2026, followed by a three-year option which will run until July 1, 2029. As such, the contract provides opportunities for long-term solutions for contracting officers, providing flexibility to accommodate extended periods of performance. Aleut, a Small Business Administration (SBA) certified 8(a) program participant and small disadvantaged business based in Reston, Virginia, is prepared to support the 8(a) STARS III scope with subject-matter expertise including DevSecOps, Agile Transformation, Application Modernization, Cloud Services, Platform Services, Data Management and ERP. 541412 Computer Systems Design Services will serve as the Primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the contract. However, anything that is IT service(s) in nature has the potential to fall within the contract scope. The 8(a) STARS III GWAC provides numerous benefits to federal customers including expanding capabilities for emerging technologies, support both inside and outside the continental United States, and limited protestability up to $10 million dollars. Learn more about GSA 8(a) STARS III here. ABOUT ALEUTARS Aleut Services, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aleut Federal, LLC, a holding company for federal subsidiaries of The Aleut Corporations (TAC). TAC was one of 13 original Alaska Native Corporations established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), passed by the U.S. Congress in 1971. Berlyn MartinAleut Federal, LLC Phone: 276-244-3319 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aleut-awarded-contract-on-gsa-8a-stars-iii-government-wide-acquisition-contract-301581764.html SOURCE Aleut Federal, LLC Social media nail technicians are pushing boundaries, causing a wave of nail inspiration that the Beetles brand is proud to facilitate SAN DIEGO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In May 2022, Beetles Gel Polish saw more engagement than ever with over 10,000 positive reviews on Amazon, where it has become a go-to brand for shoppers. In particular the UV Nail Series is popular for its durability and versatility, as the canvas on which at-home manicure enthusiasts can unleash their wildest ideas. Beetles Gel Polish - the online brand offering a wide variety of professional grade nail art products - is proud to be a part of the at-home manicure movement that is seeing people of all ages take up nail art as a creative hobby. Nail art nowadays is getting weird in the best way possible. Beauty trends have always moved fast but social media platforms such as TikTok now move at lightning speed, bubbling over with new ideas every single day. Experimental techniques see the involvement of unconventional tools and materials such as floss sticks, bubble wrap, and even peanut butter. There are also plenty of more functional designs, such as those featured on the Beetles TikTok account. The pandemic certainly helped accelerate the rise of the at-home manicure and the market is expected to grow almost 7% annually, to a value of $25.8 billion by 2030. Beetles Gel Polish is answering the need for accessibility and variety that such a trend-driven industry demands. As a brand, it is unmatched in the breadth of products it offers, including nail color gels, builder gels, nail tips, and accessories. The brand has been featured by publications such as Elle and Popsugar, commended for its quality and affordability. Now in honor of 4th of July, Beetles Gel Polish offers 30% off discount with every purchase! Nail trends can be glamorous, elegant, or avant-garde, but they are always fun. From the understated to the attention-grabbing, Beetles draws inspiration from many sub-communities in the beauty world to be a partner for their customers who simply want to express themselves. About Beetles Gel Polish Founded in 2017, the Beetles brand provides a broad, high-quality selection of nail products at affordable prices. Their slogan "Be Bold, Be You, Be Beetles" captures the brand's values and commitment to inclusivity, empowering customers to be playful and confident. To learn more about Beetles Gel Polish and their line of nail products, click here. Connect with Beetles Gel Polish Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amazon-best-seller-beetles-gel-polish-encourages-the-weird-and-the-wonderful-301581291.html SOURCE Beetles Gel Polish Burnalong grows to the most expansive digital health solution with 20,000+ live and on-demand classes with hundreds of programs to reach entire populations BALTIMORE, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Burnalong, the leading digital health solution that unlocks human potential, today announced reaching the milestone of 20,000+ live and on-demand classes, supported by hundreds of curated programs across 60+ categories, taught by 5,000+ credentialed experts and medical professionals on their core platform. With more classes than all competitors combined, Burnalong is now the largest and most robust library of digital health and wellbeing classes to support the holistic health of corporate employees, health plan members, hospital patients, government workers, and their families. The extensive range of classes, programs, and categories means that Burnalong is relevant and helpful for every single person. By reaching entire populations with a single digital health solution, it means that everyone regardless of age, race, ability, fitness level, health goals, chronic condition, or mobility range can find what they need to reach their potential. As Burnalong's library of classes grows to more than 20,000 classes, the diversity of categories and interests supported grows as well. With more than 60 categories of classes and hundreds of curated programs, Burnalong offers even more comprehensive support for: Neuromuscular conditions Mental health Diabetes Arthritis Cardiovascular health Nutrition Leadership development New programs on the platform provide focused support for family nutrition, emotional management, financial reboots, mental health and OT for healthcare workers, diabetes basics, heart-healthy recipes, preparation for bariatric surgery, and specific chronic condition support. This premiere content is provided in partnership with hundreds of YMCAs across the US, local gyms and studios, certified individual instructors, medical professionals, hospitals, and medical professionals. Chronic condition and medical content are being provided by centers of excellence such as Inova Well for surgery fitness content, Shepherd Center for multiple sclerosis classes, MedFit for chronic condition management, National Register of Health Service Psychologists for mental health care, and the American Diabetes Association for diabetes support. In recent months, Burnalong has also released new platform features to support social motivation which is a key indicator of long-term success in health journeys. These features include: Open door classes that simulate a group class experience in a gym or studio. Any Burnalong member can join or schedule an open-door experience to experience classes with members across the globe. Playlists to allow for individual program creation with classes on a common topic, theme, or class time duration. These playlists can be shared with small groups or be made public, extending the ability to personalize health journeys in the platform. "We are excited to reach this milestone of more than 20,000 classes on Burnalong," says Daniel Freedman, co-CEO of Burnalong. "Our mission is centered on providing digital health solutions and programming that unlock human potential by meeting the needs of every person, no matter their ability, age, location, stage in life, or fitness level with quality programming and social support. The continued growth of the Burnalong library means that we can uniquely meet every single individual with the classes they want with the social support they need to progress on their health journey." You can learn more about how to get started supporting your population with holistic wellness and social motivation by visiting www.burnalong.com. ABOUT BURNALONG Burnalong transforms individuals' lives and improves measurable results by maximizing human potential. It helps people from all walks of life achieve happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. Clients range from governments to companies of all sizes (with employees across 70+ countries), to hospital systems, and health plans. Burnalong partners with wellness, medical, education, and other professionals globally from thousands of brick and mortar facilities and YMCAs to hospitals and their specialists to corporate on-site wellness centers. Press inquiries:Annika Mitic[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/burnalong-reaches-milestone-of-20-000-digital-health-and-wellbeing-classes-301580067.html SOURCE BurnAlong Thousands of Free Parks Canada Discovery Passes and One Dream Sabbatical Experience Are Being Offered to American Travelers VANCOUVER, BC, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Studies show that time in nature has endless health benefitsboth physically and mentally. From the longest coastline and the highest tides in the world, to iconic mountains and spectacular wildlife, where better to seek nature than in Canada? Canada is home to a tremendous amount of natural spaces, many of which are just a short drive from major citieswhich is why America's neighbor to the north is inviting travelers to spend time in its National Parks with the Canada efresh Program. Starting today, Canada is making it easier for Americans to take some time for themselves and experience the beauty and diversity of the National Parks across Canada thanks to the Canada efresh Program, which includes: Parks Canada Discovery Pass Giveaway *: Canada is giving away 4,000 year-long passes ($113 value) to Americans that include access to over 80 destinations across Canada's diverse natural scenery. *: Canada is giving away 4,000 year-long passes ($113 value) to Americans that include access to over 80 destinations across Canada's diverse natural scenery. Dream Nature Sabbatical*: One lucky American will receive a sabbatical worth $20,000 to see the power of parks in action. They'll enjoy the beauty of Canada and soak in the mental health and wellness benefits it provides. Dr. Melissa Lem, MD, CCFP, FCFP, and Director of PaRx, an initiative of the BC Parks Foundation, is a family physician in Vancouver, British Columbia, who has embraced the mounting evidence linking time spent in nature to health. She's been informally advising natural outings to her patients for more than a decade and was a huge advocate for bringing the PaRx program in Canada to life. "I'm excited that so many Americans will get to experience the incredible natural environment of Canada," said Dr. Lem. "Research demonstrates the wide-ranging health benefits of increased nature contact, and I am proud to support the Canada efresh program in bringing a healthy and restorative experience to so many people." Canada efresh comes as part of Destination Canada's "Refresh Your View" campaign. The campaign puts Canada's iconic destinations at the forefront, expanding American travelers' knowledge of the wealth of experiences available in the regions surrounding these icons. "We're next-door neighborsand we want to welcome back our American friends with access to places we know will lift their spirits and send them home with more than just a memory, with that good feeling you get after spending time at an old friends' home," said Gloria Loree, Senior Vice President, Marketing Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer, Destination Canada. "So yeah, we have the lush forests, endless coastlines, towering mountains and spectacular lakesbut we have more than that. We have the ability to help Americans refresh, connect with nature, and take the time to deepen their appreciation for the richness that exists within these beautiful spaces." Canada is home to 171 national historic sites, 47 national parks, five national marine conservation areas and one national urban park. Many of these protected places are managed in close collaboration and partnership with Indigenous Peoples. The stewardship of these protected places is a badge of honor that Canadians wear proudly. "Canada is fortunate to have one of the largest networks of protected places in the world," said Michael Nadler, Parks Canada's Vice President, External Relations and Visitor Experience. "Parks Canada is dedicated to protecting and sharing national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas with Canadians and visitors from around the world and we welcome our neighbors from the United States to travel to these iconic destinations and visit in 2022 and every year." Americans interested in experiencing the refreshing properties of Canada can visit canadarefresh.com between July 6July 31 to enter to win and learn more about Canada's parks. Travelers can submit their name for a chance to receive a Parks Canada Discovery Pass or explain why they need a sabbatical in Canadian nature and how they would plan to spend that time. The more specific, the better! Must be 21+ and a US resident to enter or win. About Destination Canada At Destination Canada, we believe that tourism enhances the quality of life of Canadians and enriches the lives of visitors. We believe that Canada's diversity, its greatest asset, is also what touches travelers' hearts most deeply. Our mission is to influence supply, and build demand for the benefit of locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad. In addition, our Business Events team leverages in-depth global market analysis to target international clusters aligned with Canada's priority economic sectors. Our work in destination development ensures that we are able to sustain a premier four-season tourism economy that is regenerative in nature supporting our economy and the environment. Destination Canada is a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada. For further information, visit www.destinationcanada.com. About Parks Canada Parks Canada protects and presents nationally significant examples of Canada's natural and cultural heritage, and fosters public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure the ecological and commemorative integrity of these places for present and future generations. We act as guardians of national parks, guides to visitors from around the world, partners with Indigenous peoples in Canada and storytellers recounting the history of the land and the people the stories of Canada. For more information, visit parkscanada.gc.ca *About Canada efresh NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. and DC, who are at least 21 years old as of date of Entry. Begins 9:00 AM ET on 7/1/22; ends 11:59:59 PM ET on 7/22/22. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. For Official Rules, visit CanadaRefreshGiveaway.dja.com. Sponsor: Praytell Strategy, Inc. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canada-offers-nature-to-americans-with-their-canada-efresh-program-301581065.html SOURCE Destination Canada CHICAGO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today reported June monthly trading volume statistics across its global business lines and provided guidance for selected revenue per contract/net revenue capture metrics for the second quarter of 2022. The data sheet "Cboe Global Markets Monthly Volume & RPC/Net Revenue Capture Report" contains an overview of certain June trading statistics and market share by business segment, volume in select index products, and RPC/net capture, which is reported on a one-month lag, across business lines. Average Daily Trading Volume by Month Year-To-Date June2022 June2021 % Chg May 2022 % Chg June 2022 June 2021 % Chg Multiply-listed options (contracts, k) 10,255 10,232 0.2 % 10,691 -4.1 % 10,678 10,004 6.7 % Index options (contracts, k) 2,842 1,778 59.9 % 2,853 -0.4 % 2,545 1,869 36.2 % Futures (contracts, k) 201 182 10.3 % 248 -19.0 % 238 235 1.2 % U.S. Equities - On-Exchange (matched shares, mn) 1,634 1,500 9.0 % 1,851 -11.7 % 1,774 1,848 -4.0 % U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange (matched shares, mn) 83 76 10.1 % 104 -19.7 % 101 87 15.0 % Canadian Equities1 (matched shares, k) 33,799 41,751 -19.0 % 38,013 -11.1 % 38,550 59,285 -35.0 % European Equities (, mn) 10,226 7,014 45.8 % 11,187 -8.6 % 11,863 7,405 60.2 % EuroCCP Cleared Trades (k) 116,357 95,209 22.2 % 128,981 -9.8 % 810,789 593,025 36.7 % EuroCCP Net Settlements (k) 839 824 1.9 % 892 -5.9 % 5,304 4,791 10.7 % Australian Equities2 (AUD, mn) 877 N/A 836 4.9 % 863 N/A Japanese Equities2 (JPY, bn) 147 N/A 111 32.1 % 149 N/A Global FX ($, mn) 40,521 33,646 20.4 % 40,457 0.2 % 40,769 34,739 17.4 % 1 Canadian Equities does not include NEO. 2 Australian Equities and Japanese Equities data reflects Cboe's acquisition of Cboe Asia Pacific (formerly Chi-X Asia Pacific) effective on July 1, 2021. ADV= Average Daily Volume ADNV= Average Daily Notional Value NM=Not Meaningful June and Second-Quarter 2022 Trading Volume Highlights U.S. Options S&P 500 Index (SPX) options set a new monthly ADV record of 2.3 million contracts, surpassing the previous record of 2.2 million in May 2022. Total volume for the month reached nearly 48 million contracts. SPX Weeklys Tuesday- and Thursday-expiring options continued their strong debut, with approximately 5.1 million Tuesdays options and 4.4 million Thursdays options traded in June. Cboe opened its new trading floor in Chicago on June 6. European Equities and Derivatives Cboe Europe Equities had an overall market share of 23.5 percent in June, the highest month since August 2018. Cboe BIDS Europe, Cboe's European block trading platform, had a 33 percent share of the LIS (large-in-scale) market, making it the largest platform of its type (Source: big xyt). Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX) traded 1,872 contracts during June, up from 1,475 during May. Second-Quarter 2022 RPC/Net Revenue Capture Guidance The projected RPC/net capture metrics for the second quarter of 2022 are estimated, preliminary and may change. There can be no assurance that our final RPC for the three months ended June 30, 2022, will not differ materially from these projections. (In USD unless stated otherwise) Two-MonthsEnded Three-Months Ended Product: 2Q Projection May-22 May-22 Apr-22 Mar-22 Feb-22 Multiply-Listed Options (per contract) 0.066 0.067 0.067 0.066 0.067 0.066 Index Options 0.884 0.880 0.870 0.863 0.857 0.850 Total Options 0.234 0.229 0.221 0.211 0.210 0.210 Futures (per contract) 1.697 1.675 1.675 1.667 1.637 1.625 U.S. Equities - Exchange (per 100 touched shares) 0.020 0.017 0.018 0.018 0.017 0.019 U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange (per 100 touched shares) 0.108 0.110 0.116 0.117 0.117 0.111 Canadian Equities (per 10,000 touched shares) CAD 9.38 CAD 9.31 CAD 9.40 CAD 9.32 CAD 9.10 CAD 8.85 European Equities (per matched notional value) 0.235 0.234 0.229 0.229 0.230 0.238 Australian Equities (per matched notional value) 0.171 0.171 0.172 0.172 0.173 0.171 Japanese Equities (per matched notional value) 0.258 0.249 0.244 0.242 0.228 0.257 Global FX (per one million dollars traded) 2.705 2.713 2.696 2.685 2.674 2.723 EuroCCP Fee per Trade Cleared 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.010 EuroCCP Net Fee per Settlement 0.796 0.779 0.809 0.858 0.924 0.901 The above represents average revenue per contract (RPC) or net capture based on a three-month rolling average. For Options and Futures, the average RPC represents total net transaction fees recognized for the period divided by total contracts traded during the period for options exchanges: BZX Options, Cboe Options, C2 Options and EDGX Options; futures include contracts traded on Cboe Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE). For U.S. Equities On-Exchange, "net capture per 100 touched shares" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments and routing and clearing costs divided by the product of one-hundredth ADV of touched shares on BZX, BYX, EDGX and EDGA and the number of trading days for the period. For U.S. Equities Off-Exchange, "net capture per 100 touched shares" refers to transaction fees less OMS/EMS costs and clearing costs divided by the product of one-hundredth ADV of touched shares on BIDS Trading and the number of trading days for the period. For Canadian Equities, "net capture per 10,000 touched shares" refers to transaction fees divided by the product of one-ten thousandth ADV of shares for MATCHNow and the number of trading days for the period (does not include NEO). For European Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in British pounds divided by the product of ADNV in British pounds of shares matched on Cboe Europe Equities and the number of trading days. For EuroCCP, "Fee per Trade Cleared" refers to clearing fees divided by number of non-interoperable trades cleared and "Net Fee per Settlement" refers to settlement fees less direct costs incurred to settle divided by the number of settlements executed after netting. For Australian Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in Australian Dollars divided by the product of ADNV in Australian Dollars of shares matched on Chi-X Australia and the number of trading days. For Japanese Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in Japanese Yen divided by the product of ADNV in Japanese Yen of shares matched on Chi-X Japan and the number of trading days. For Global FX, "net capture per one million dollars traded" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments, if any, divided by the Spot and SEF products of one-thousandth of ADNV traded on the Cboe FX markets and the number of trading days, divided by two, which represents the buyer and seller that are both charged on the transaction. Average transaction fees per contract can be affected by various factors, including exchange fee rates, volume-based discounts and transaction mix by contract type and product type. About Cboe Global Markets, Inc. Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of market infrastructure and tradable products, delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to market participants around the world. The company is committed to operating a trusted, inclusive global marketplace, providing leading products, technology and data solutions that enable participants to define a sustainable financial future. Cboe provides trading solutions and products in multiple asset classes, including equities, derivatives, FX and digital assets, across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit www.cboe.com. CBOE-V Cboe, Cboe Global Markets, Cboe Volatility Index, and VIX are registered trademarks and Cboe Futures ExchangeSM is a service mark of Cboe Exchange, Inc. or its affiliates. Standard & Poor's, S&P, SPX, and S&P 500 are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services, LLC, and have been licensed for use by Cboe Exchange, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Any products that have the S&P Index or Indexes as their underlying interest are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poor's or Cboe and neither Standard & Poor's nor Cboe make any representations or recommendations concerning the advisability of investing in products that have S&P indexes as their underlying interests. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates do not recommend or make any representation as to possible benefits from any securities, futures or investments, or third-party products or services. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. is not affiliated with S&P. Investors should undertake their own due diligence regarding their securities, futures, and investment practices. This press release speaks only as of this date. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. disclaims any duty to update the information herein. Nothing in this announcement should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell any securities or futures in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Nothing contained in this communication constitutes tax, legal or investment advice. Investors must consult their tax adviser or legal counsel for advice and information concerning their particular situation. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates make no warranty, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties as of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness or timeliness, the results to be obtained by recipients of the products and services described herein, or as to the ability of the indices referenced in this press release to track the performance of their respective securities, generally, or the performance of the indices referenced in this press release or any subset of their respective securities, and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies, errors. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates have not calculated, composed or determined the constituents or weightings of the securities that comprise the third-party indices referenced in this press release and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies or errors in any of the indices referenced in this press release. Options involve risk and are not suitable for all market participants. Prior to buying or selling an option, a person should review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD), which is required to be provided to all such persons. Copies of the ODD are available from your broker or from The Options Clearing Corporation, 125 S. Franklin Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60606. Futures trading is not suitable for all investors and involves the risk of loss. That risk of loss can be substantial and can exceed the amount of money deposited for a futures position. You should, therefore, carefully consider whether futures trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You should put at risk only funds that you can afford to lose without affecting your lifestyle. For additional information regarding futures trading risks, see the Risk Disclosure Statement set forth in Appendix A to CFTC Regulation 1.55(c) and the Risk Disclosure Statement for Security Futures Contracts. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue," and the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. All statements that reflect our expectations, assumptions or projections about the future other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the loss of our right to exclusively list and trade certain index options and futures products; economic, political and market conditions; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations; price competition and consolidation in our industry; decreases in trading or clearing volumes, market data fees or a shift in the mix of products traded on our exchanges; legislative or regulatory changes or changes in tax regimes; our ability to protect our systems and communication networks from security risks, cybersecurity risks, insider threats and unauthorized disclosure of confidential information; our ability to attract and retain skilled management and other personnel; increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities; our dependence on and exposure to risk from third parties; fluctuations to currency exchange rates; factors that impact the quality and integrity of our indices; the impact of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic; our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others and the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights; our ability to minimize the risks, including our credit and default risks, associated with operating a European clearinghouse; our ability to accommodate trading and clearing volume and transaction traffic, including significant increases, without failure or degradation of performance of our systems; misconduct by those who use our markets or our products or for whom we clear transactions; challenges to our use of open source software code; our ability to meet our compliance obligations, including managing potential conflicts between our regulatory responsibilities and our for-profit status; our ability to maintain BIDS Trading as an independently managed and operated trading venue, separate from and not integrated with our registered national securities exchanges; damage to our reputation; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks; our ability to manage our growth and strategic acquisitions or alliances effectively; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations and our ability to make payments on or refinance our debt obligations; our ability to maintain an investment grade credit rating; impairment of our goodwill, long-lived assets, investments or intangible assets; the accuracy of our estimates and expectations; litigation risks and other liabilities; and operating a digital asset business. More detailed information about factors that may affect our actual results to differ may be found in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and other filings made from time to time with the SEC. We do not undertake, and we expressly disclaim, any duty to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cboe-global-markets-reports-trading-volume-for-june-2022-301581796.html SOURCE Cboe Global Markets, Inc. Using the Web of Science to Identify and Promote Research Excellence LONDON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarivate Plc (NYSE: CLVT), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, has been selected to provide citation data for the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2023, the country's national university research evaluation framework. In doing so, Clarivate will help the Australian Research Council to identify research excellence by discipline, across the entire Australian university research sector. The 2023 round of ERA is the second consecutive time Clarivate has been selected as the exclusive provider. The Web of Science will be the exclusive source of the highest quality citation data from its coverage of relevant journals for the Australian Research Council (ARC) to use when assessing research quality from higher education institutions participating in ERA. The 2023 evaluation will be informed by using either peer review or a range of citation indicators, depending on the discipline. ERA identifies and promotes excellence across the full spectrum of research activity in Australia's higher education institutions. ERA helps inform decision making across universities, industry, government and community stakeholder groups by providing a rich and robust source of information on university research excellence and comparative quality of research produced by Australia's universities. Clarivate has supported ERA from inception in 2010, including being part of the 2008 working group that developed indicators for the first time a nationwide stocktake of discipline strengths and areas for development had ever been conducted in Australia. Since then, ERA has continued to evolve each round, including proposed improvements recommended by an expert panel during the ERA and EI review. Clarivate is committed to working with the ARC to implement improvements from previous years and ensure efficient and robust assessments of the quality and impact of Australian research are achieved in 2023. Jonathan Adams, Chief Scientist, Institute for Scientific Information, Clarivate said: "We are extremely proud to continue to work with the Australian Research Council and to be chosen as the exclusive citation data provider for ERA 2023. Clarivate has a long history of supporting customers all over the world when they evaluate their research programs, identify excellence and set standards. Clarivate's services help funders evaluate investment, and research institutions to expand the capability of their research and innovation efforts, delivering on even better returns. We will continue to work with the Australian Government to maximize the impact of Australian research, from inception to advancing innovation." About Clarivate Clarivate is a global leader in providing solutions to accelerate the pace of innovation. Our bold mission is to help customers solve some of the world's most complex problems by providing actionable information and insights that reduce the time from new ideas to life-changing inventions in the areas of Academia & Government, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Professional Services and Consumer Goods, Manufacturing & Technology. We help customers discover, protect and commercialize their inventions using our trusted subscription and technology-based solutions coupled with deep domain expertise. For more information, please visit clarivate.com. About the ARC The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a Commonwealth entity within the Australian Government. The ARC's purpose is to grow knowledge and innovation for the benefit of the Australian community through funding the highest quality research, assessing the quality, engagement and impact of research and providing advice on research matters. Through Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) the ARC is tasked with identifying excellence in research, by comparing Australia's university research effort against international benchmarks. ERA aims to promote the pursuit of excellence across all fields and all types of research and provide a rich and robust source of information on university research excellence to inform and support the needs of universities, industry, government and community stakeholders. Visit: http://www.arc.gov.au Media contact: Lisa Hulme, Global Head of External Communications[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clarivate-to-exclusively-provide-citation-data-to-the-australian-research-council-for-excellence-in-research-australia-2023-301581752.html SOURCE Clarivate Plc FLX to deliver turnkey distribution solution for alternative investments BERNARDSVILLE, N.J., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FLX Networks, the innovative network modernizing and simplifying the engagement experience between asset and wealth managers, today announced the addition of global investment manager Barings to the FLX community. "We are staking out a position on the future of alternatives distribution to the wealth management industry." This relationship marks the first time FLX has assembled a team dedicated to alternative assets. The focused approach will help Barings build and grow its alternatives investment products in wealth management through FLX's modern comprehensive approach to distribution. Moreover, FLX will commence a search and selection process for complementary asset managers to leverage this holistic, digitally enhanced solution to sell, service, and market alternative investments. "With this relationship, we are staking out a position on the future of alternatives distribution to the wealth management industry," said FLX Founder & CEO Brian Moran. "Managers continue to benefit from our extensive network, utilizing our digital strength, our growing community, and shared personnel services in a way that complements their existing resources." "Our partnership with FLX will enable Barings to broaden the availability of our leading private markets investment solutions to a US wealth client base," said Neil Godfrey, Global Head of Distribution for Barings. Since its founding in December 2019, FLX has partnered with asset managers, wealth management firms, and numerous strategic partners to provide a modernized network focused on smart solutions and efficiencies that streamline and improve the engagement experience between these entities. With nearly 60 managers on the platform and representing over $2T in combined AUM, the company has been recognized as a pioneer by both the industry and peers. About FLX Networks FLX Networks revolutionizes engagement for asset and wealth management firms and financial advisors. FLX community members access thought leadership, investment ideas, business resources, and industry connectivity in one centralized destination, delivering productivity, savings, and growth. About BaringsBarings is a $371+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment. Learn more at www.barings.com. *Assets under management as of March 31, 2022 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-investment-firm-barings-selects-flx-to-develop-differentiated-alternatives-focused-distribution-solution-301581580.html SOURCE FLX Networks WASHINGTON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Join us for the Inaugural 2022 Women's Forest Congress (WFC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Oct. 17-20registration opens today. Hear diverse perspectives and benefit from our collective expertise as we come together to develop strategies and solutions to address the most pressing current and future challenges for forests. The WFC is a leading voice for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the forest community. Join us and make your voice heard on issues that are important to you and your organization. "We expect to attract up to 1,000 people, in-person and virtually, across North America's forest community." The most important topics and an unmatched networking opportunity Critical themes we are addressing at the Congress include leadership for equity and inclusion; workforce opportunities for increasing recruitment, retention, and leadership; women as catalysts for change; addressing today's greatest forest challenges; and supporting each other. "We expect to attract up to 1,000 people, in-person and virtually, across North America's forest community. This unmatched networking opportunity will ensure the Inaugural 2022 Women's Forest Congress is a success that includes engagement leading up to and following the event as well as a chance to join the extraordinary community forming around the movement," said Asia Dowtin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Urban and Community Forestry at Michigan State University, and a founding member of the WFC Steering Committee. Sponsorship opportunities that will help make history Sponsorships and donations will directly support hosting the Congress. As women continue to make their mark in the forest sector, we see this Congress playing a pivotal role in our shared journey to bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion to the forest community. Your organization's support will also help WFC with ongoing communications, virtual events leading up to the Congress, and the volunteer-led Steering Committee, Advisory Council, and Working Groups. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities. Nominate important voices to engage women in the forest sector WFC is accepting nominations for the role of Delegate at the Congress. We are seeking up to 10 individuals for each of the five Congress themes to represent a broad cross-section of the WFC community and wider forest community, as well as up to five individuals to address the future of the WFC as a movement and organization. The final deliverable from the Delegates' work will be the WFC Resolutions presented for endorsement at the Congress in October. We encourage you to nominate yourself or another individual you feel can bring specialized expertise, wisdom, and thought leadership to facilitate the next steps to achieve short and long-term goals. Learn more about nominating a delegate. Join us at the Congresswe want to be a forum for all voices Register today! The Congress is open to all who are aligned in creating safe spaces to connect, inspire, and act as catalysts for change for the benefit of forests and all who rely on them now and in the future. People who are committed to creating community and cultivating change are welcome: women and allies of all ages, perspectives, cultural backgrounds, professional levels, abilities, and education, as well as trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming participants. We look forward to seeing you in Minneapolis on Oct. 17-20. About the Women's Forest Congress The Women's Forest Congress is a forum to develop strategies and solutions for forests through a female lens. Women throughout the forest space have come together to share personal and professional experiences, connect with other women in the sector, shape the latest innovations, and consider how actions informed by the female perspective can make a profound impact on the future of forests. We envision a forest community where there is universal equity, inclusion, and a shared sense of belonging. All voices are heard, supported, and empowered. The influence and impact of all are manifest in our relationships with forests. Learn more about the Women's Forest Congress. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/join-us-at-the-inaugural-womens-forest-congressregistration-opens-today-301581656.html SOURCE Womens Forest Congress Farming innovator chooses Infor CloudSuite Equipment to deliver growth and environmental impact UTRECHT, Netherlands, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Infor, the industry cloud company, today announced that Lely has deployed its Infor CloudSuite Equipment enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to enhance growth and innovation in its production of milking robotics. The future-proof, flexible solution offers improvements in areas such as tracking capabilities, quality management and supply chain management. Lely is a Dutch family-owned company in the agricultural sector founded in 1948. The company designs and manufactures automated systems for dairy farmers around the world to enable them to excel in sustainable milk production to feed the world. With the new cloud-based Infor ERP, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Lely wants to increase flexibility to support innovation in milking robotics. Learn more about Infor CloudSuite Equipment: www.infor.com/products/cloudsuite-equipment The agricultural world is changing. The growing world population and shortage of raw materials require more insight. Through automation and robotics, agricultural entrepreneurs can perform simple analyses to, for example, monitor their livestock and increase productivity. The Infor CloudSuite application supports the necessary flexibility. "I am very proud of the way we did the implementations as a team with Infor's alliance partner Apex Systems and Infor. We made it a team success. The requirements were that it should be implemented in a short time, that the users and customers would not feel it and that there would be no downtime in production. Every requirement was met. The servers were replaced and the new system switched over during the weekend, so by Monday morning, the cloud applications were already working perfectly. The ultimate measure was our customers never felt any disruption," says Bart Kuijpers, Lely's head of data, value & IT. "A huge advantage is we no longer need to do any system updates or maintain any servers. Everything is looked after by Infor. The ERP is at the centre of our IT landscape, and now we can take advantage of regular functionality updates and the Infor Data Lake as a central data repository." "The Infor solution provides the flexibility to manage the most complex value chains, such as supply chain management, procurement insight and more efficient production processes. With the ERP solution, organisations can quickly adapt as industry trends change. This optimizes their operations and helps to increase revenue opportunities," said Hein Kivits, Infor's senior sales director in Benelux. "We are pleased to provide Lely with a solid foundation that will help them achieve their ambition to remain the market leader in the agricultural sector." In the next phase of the implementation, Infor's cloud-based application will be deployed in the other countries where Lely is active in 2022 and 2023. The focus is to improve the supply chain and financial processes. About Lely Lely is located in Maassluis, The Netherlands, and for more than 70 years has stood for innovative milking robotics worldwide. As one of the world's leading organisations in the agricultural business Lely employs more than 1,600 people. In more than 45 countries, cattle farmers work with these solutions in the barn or on the farm every day. Lely has two production facilities and three R&D departments to support product development. For more information, please visit www.lely.com/nl. About Infor Infor is the global leader in enterprise cloud software, specialized by industry. We develop complete solutions for our focus industries, including industrial manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, food & beverage, automotive, aerospace & defense, and high-tech. Infor's business-critical applications and services are designed to deliver sustainable operational benefits with security and faster time-to-value. We deliver successful business outcomes for customers, and we continually innovate to quickly solve emerging business and industry challenges. More than 60,000 organisations in over 175 countries - from Fortune 500 companies to small and medium-sized enterprises - rely on Infor's 17,000 employees and their deep industry expertise to help overcome market disruptions and achieve their business goals. As a Koch company, our financial strength, ownership structure and long-term vision enable us to maintain lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with our customers, employees and partners. Visit www.infor.com. Media contactRichard MooreInfor PR Manager, EMEA+447976111243[email protected] Copyright 2022 Infor. All rights reserved. The word and design marks set forth herein are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Infor and/or related affiliates and subsidiaries. All other trademarks listed herein are the property of their respective owners. www.infor.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lely-optimizes-cloud-environment-with-infor-301581115.html SOURCE Infor Most recently serving as Life Flight Network's interim Chief Executive Officer, Clayton brings to his new role extensive experience in aviation safety and operations. AURORA, Ore., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Flight Network has selected aviation safety and operations leader Ben Clayton to serve as its Chief Executive Officer. Life Flight Network is the largest not-for-profit air medical transport service in the United States, providing ICU-level care to communities in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West. Clayton was selected from a large field of candidates following a robust national search and interview process led by Life Flight Network's board of directors. Since joining Life Flight Network in 2015, Clayton has served the organization in a variety of operational and safety leadership roles. In his most recent positions as the Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Clayton led the organization through the extraordinary challenges and uncertainty presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Clayton guided the restructuring of several departments, while at the same time creating sustainable operational efficiencies. Additionally, he oversaw the opening of new Life Flight Network bases in Salem, Oregon, and in Lewiston and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. "We are fortunate to have Ben's expertise and experience on our team as we work to increase our capacity to meet the region's growing need for critical medical transport," said Dr. Tom Lorish, Chief Executive of Outreach and Strategic Affiliation for Providence Health and Services and the Life Flight Network Board Chair. "Ben is a proven leader and has helped Life Flight Network provide life-saving air medical resources to our communities during challenging times, while also ensuring we consistently meet the highest standards of safety and quality." Prior to joining Life Flight Network, Clayton served as a helicopter pilot and Aviation Safety Officer in the United States Marine Corps. During this time, he participated in multiple land and ship-based deployments including to Iraq and several countries in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. He trained extensively in complex operations and in aviation safety. Clayton came to Life Flight Network as a helicopter pilot transporting ill and injured patients, and quickly moved into an aviation training role. With his extensive expertise in safety, Clayton was promoted to Director of Safety and Risk Management before becoming the organization's Chief Safety Officer. His success in that role led to him being named Chief Operating Officer in June 2020. "I have dedicated my career to ensuring the safety and health of the organizations I've worked for and the people they serve," said Ben Clayton, Chief Executive of Life Flight Network. "It's been an honor to serve the communities in this region for the past seven years, and I look forward to continuing to expand their access to quality healthcare in my new role." Clayton grew up in Canby, Oregon, and graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor's degree in general science. Clayton serves on the boards of directors for both the Association of Air Medical Services and the Air Medical Operators Association. ABOUT LIFE FLIGHT NETWORK Life Flight Network, a not-for-profit air medical service, is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS), the National Accreditation Alliance of Medical Transport Applications (NAAMTA), and Helicopter Association International (HAI). Life Flight Network is the largest not-for-profit air medical transport service in the United States and maintains its own FAA Part 135 Operating Certificate. It offers ICU-level care during air and ground transport across the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West. Headquartered in Aurora, Oregon, Life Flight Network is owned by a consortium of Legacy Health, Oregon Health and Science University, Providence Health and Services, and Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. It was named the 2021 Program of the Year by the Association for Air Medical Services. For more information about Life Flight Network or to become a member, visit www.lifeflight.org. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/life-flight-network-names-aviation-safety-leader-ben-clayton-as-chief-executive-officer-301581847.html SOURCE Life Flight Network NAPLES, Fla., July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the estate of Mary Billman against Big Olaf Creamery, LLC in the Listeria outbreak linked to this company's ice cream. Mrs. Billman's estate is represented by Marler Clark, the Listeria lawyers, and local counsel Scott Weinstein. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Complaint #8:22-cv-01514 "Listeria linked to the outbreak was present in the ice cream beginning in 2021," said food safety attorney Bill Marler. On January 18, 2022, Mrs. Billman was in the State of Florida, visiting her daughter who lives in Hollywood, Florida. On this date, at the Big Olaf's Creamery ice cream parlor located at 3350 Bahia Vista in Sarasota, Florida, Mrs. Billman consumed ice cream that had been manufactured, distributed, and sold by the Defendant Big Olaf. The ice cream that Mrs. Billman consumed on this date was contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes. Mrs. Billman's symptoms persisted, and on January 27, 2022, she woke up with a fever over 103 degrees. Her daughter called an ambulance and Mrs. Billman was rushed to the emergency department at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, where she soon began treatment for a septic illness. Over the course of the next two days, Mrs. Billman's organs began to shut down due to her septic illness. By the time her family was able to see her again, she was unconscious. She would never regain consciousness, and died on January 29, 2022, leaving behind her husband, the Plaintiff; three daughters named Kelli Mitsdarfer, Kara Gray, and Richelle Brown; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. On July 2, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the preliminary results of an epidemiologic investigation conducted into the Listeria monocytogenes illnesses of 23 people who live, or who lived prior to their deaths, in 10 different states. The investigation into these illnesses had shown that that the cause of the outbreak was Big Olaf's ice cream products. "What is shocking is that the Listeria linked to the outbreak was present in this ice cream beginning in 2021, this shows a complete failure to keep the manufacturing facility clean and in good repair," said food safety lawyer, Bill Marler. The first case of illness in the outbreak experienced onset of symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection in January 2021. Illnesses occurred sporadically over the course of the year and a half since the first case became ill, continuing to cause illnesses through June of 2022. Due to the delay in symptom onset and illness reporting, the total number of people sickened in this outbreak is not yet known. The 10 states where cases in this outbreak live, including the number of cases in each state, are as follows: Florida (12), Colorado (1), Georgia (1), Illinois (1), Kansas (1), Massachusetts (2), Minnesota (1), New Jersey (1), New York (2), Pennsylvania (1). Among the 10 cases who did not live in Florida, 8 of them had traveled to Florida in the month before onset of symptoms. This outbreak investigation is on-going. The Marler Clark Listeria lawyers have unmatched experience representing victims of Listeria. Our Listeria lawyers have represented thousands of victims of notable Listeria outbreaks such as the 2011 Jensen Farms Listeria outbreak where over 33 people died, the 2010 Sangar Fresh Cut Produce Listeria outbreak, the 2007 Whittier Farms Listeria outbreak, the 2012 Marte brand Fescolina ricotta salata cheese Listeria outbreak, the 2015 Blue Bell Ice Cream Listeria outbreak, the 2016 Dole Lettuce Listeria outbreak and the 2017 Vulto Creamery Listeria outbreak. We are presently assisting in a Listeria outbreak in South Africa that sickened over 1,000 and killed over 200. Marler Clark has represented countless Listeria victims and is the only firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on plaintiff foodborne illness litigation. If you believe you are part of this outbreak fill out the Marler Clark contact form or call toll-free at 800-884-9840. There is no cost to you. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marler-clark-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit-in-listeria-outbreak-linked-to-big-olaf-creamery-301581033.html SOURCE Marler Clark, The Nation's Food Safety Law Firm WASHINGTON, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) issued the following statement as President Biden visited Cleveland, Ohio, to discuss the American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) impact on the multiemployer pension system. NECA attended the event represented by Director of Government Affairs Jared Karbowsky and Executive Director of the Greater Cleveland Chapter Tom Shreves. NECA would like to thank the Biden Administration and Congress for passing the ARPA in March 2021. The law included the Butch-Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act of 2021. The provisions stabilized troubled plans, protected more than 1 million workers' and retirees' hard-earned savings, and prevented tens of thousands of businesses from shuttering. Without this relief, the entire multiemployer pension system faced possible collapse, and hundreds of NECA-IBEW plans covering thousands of participants could have lost their pension. NECA remains ready to work with President Biden and the Administration, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and all Members of Congress on lasting reforms to the multiemployer pension system to ensure the health and stability of pension plans going forward. ABOUT THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION NECA is the voice of the $202 billion electrical construction industry that brings power, light, and communication technology to buildings and communities across the United States. NECA's national office and 118 local chapters advance the industry through advocacy, education, research, and standards development. Go to www.necanet.org for more information. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-electrical-contractors-association-statement-on-white-house-discussing-american-rescue-plan-act-on-multiemployer-pension-system-301581140.html SOURCE National Electrical Contractors Association NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Owl Rock Capital Corporation (NYSE: ORCC) ("ORCC") today announced it will release its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 after market close. ORCC invites all interested persons to its webcast / conference call on Thursday, August 4, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its second quarter ended June 30, 2022 financial results. Conference Call Information: The conference call will be broadcast live at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the Events section of ORCC's website at www.owlrockcapitalcorporation.com. Please visit the website to test your connection before the webcast. Participants are also invited to access the conference call by dialing one of the following numbers: Domestic: (877) 737-7048International: +1 (201) 689-8523 All callers will need to reference "Owl Rock Capital Corporation" once connected with the operator. All callers are asked to dial in 10-15 minutes prior to the call so that name and company information can be collected. Replay Information: An archived replay will be available via a webcast link located on the Events section of ORCC's website for one year, and via the dial-in numbers listed below for 14 days: Domestic: (877) 660-6853International: +1 (201) 612-7415Access Code: 13731354 About Owl Rock Capital Corporation Owl Rock Capital Corporation (NYSE: ORCC) is a specialty finance company focused on lending to U.S. middle-market companies. As of March 31, 2022, ORCC had investments in 157 portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $12.8 billion. ORCC has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. ORCC is externally managed by Owl Rock Capital Advisors LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser that is an indirect affiliate of Blue Owl Capital Inc. ("Blue Owl") (NYSE: OWL) and part of Owl Rock, a division of Blue Owl. Owl Rock, together with its subsidiaries, is a New York based direct lending platform with approximately $44.8 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2022. Certain information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors and undue reliance should not be placed thereon. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about ORCC, its current and prospective portfolio investments, its industry, its beliefs and opinions, and its assumptions. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "will," "may," "continue," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "would," "could," "should," "targets," "projects," "outlook," "potential," "predicts" and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond ORCC's control and difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in ORCC's filings with the SEC. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date on which ORCC makes them. ORCC does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or any other information contained herein, except as required by applicable law. Investor Contact: Dana Sclafani212-419-3000[email protected] Media Contact: Prosek PartnersDavid Wells / Josh Clarkson[email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/owl-rock-capital-corporation-schedules-earnings-release-and-quarterly-earnings-call-to-discuss-its-second-quarter-ended-june-30-2022-financial-results-301581830.html SOURCE Owl Rock Capital Corporation NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 1, 2022 Roche Freedman LLP ("RF") and Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky ("SWCK") filed a class action lawsuit for violations of federal securities laws against Solana Labs, Inc., the Solana Foundation, Anatoly Yakovenko, Multicoin Capital Management LLC, Kyle Samani, and FalconX LLC ("Defendants"). Plaintiff Mark Young, a resident of California, alleges that Defendants violated Sections 5, 12(a)(1), and 15 of the 1933 Securities Act, and Sections 25110 and 2550 of the California Corporations Code. Plaintiff's claims are based on Defendants' sale of Solana securities without any registration statement in effect, and their promotion of unregistered Solana securities. Plaintiff's claims are brought as a class action on behalf of himself and as a representative for a proposed class of other investors in Solana securities between March 24, 2020, and the present, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and is captioned Mark Young v. Solana Labs, Inc., et al., Case No. 22-cv-03912. Solana Labs, Inc., is based in San Francisco California and issues securities that began to be offered to U.S. investors on March 24, 2020. Plaintiff alleges that Solana issues securities that are required to be, but are not, registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants promoted Solana securities and sold them to investors such as Plaintiff, who has suffered losses from purchasing Solana securities. Not later than September 6, 2022, which is sixty days from the date of publication of this notice, any member of the proposed class that is identified in Plaintiff's complaint may move to the Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice. The rules for the Lead Plaintiff process are provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA"). See 15 U.S.C. 78u-4(a)(2)(A)(i)-(vi); 78u-4(a)(3)(A)(i)(II); 77z-1(a)(2)(A)(i)-(vi); 77z-1(a)(3)(A)(i)(II). Any member of the putative class may also choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed class. The ability to share in any potential future recovery from this class action is not dependent on moving for or serving as Lead Plaintiff. RF is a law firm based in New York City with additional offices in Miami. SWCK is based in Oakland, California, and has offices in Los Angeles, Houston, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Both RF and SWCK have served as lead counsel in securities class actions. Both RF and SWCK have recovered substantial sums of money for their clients in class action litigation. For more information about RF, please visit https://www.rochefreedman.com. For more information about SWCK, please visit https://www.schneiderwallace.com, or contact RF and SWCK as described below: Kyle RocheEdward Normand99 Park Avenue, Suite 1910New York, NY 10016Tel: 646-350-0527Fax: 646-392-8842Email: [email protected], [email protected] Todd SchneiderMatthew S. Weiler2000 Powell Street, Suite 1400Emeryville, California 94608Tel: 415-421-7100Toll Free: 800-689-0024Fax: 415-421-7105Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/roche-freedman-llp-and-schneider-wallace-cottrell-konecky-bring-class-action-lawsuit-against-solana-labs-inc-the-solana-foundation-anatoly-yakovenko-multicoin-capital-management-llc-kyle-samani-and-falconx-llc-for-violation-301581648.html SOURCE Roche Freedman LLP RRF and BTPR join forces to tackle coral reef extinction in the Caribbean with initiative focus beginning in Puerto Rico. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico , July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The non-profit organizations, Rollet Reefs Foundation and Bluetide have joined forces to affect change in coral reef conservation in developing countries, particularly in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean. The initial joint projects will focus on marine conservation initiatives in Puerto Rico with an aim to educate, support, promote and engage local populations, governments and industry policy makers. "Partnering with Bluetide was a natural first step for the Rollet Reef foundation," said RRF founder Gilles Rollet. "Our mission is to educate local populations and governments on finding the balance between coral reefs conservation and rehabilitation efforts, and the needs of the local economy. The work that Bluetide have been doing since 2018 was perfectly aligned to our vision and mission. We are incredibly excited to be working with them to really begin impacting efforts the region," stated Rollet. "It is incredibly important for us to collaborate and work with as many local conservation groups as possible, so we can become an effective and united force for change," explained Bluetide Vice Chair, Ramon Barquin. He went on to say, "We want to build momentum for 'Blue Economic' initiatives into a tidal wave of support beginning here in Puerto Rico and then rolling out our successful models globally. We've already begun to plan, design and implement these initiatives locally for ocean-dependent activities, and want to continue integrating these models in a cross-collaborative manner to attain progressive marine and maritime economic research and development in the future, by accelerating ocean reliant commercial activities. Partnering with Rollet Reefs Foundation helps us to continue these efforts and strengthen these programs. It's a powerful partnership and one that will really help accelerate our efforts." The partnership will begin with workforce development of specialized jobs by providing capacity building, training and certifications in Puerto Rico, in addition to actively engaging with local governmental organizations to gain policy and regulatory support for these programs. "Public support and awareness is essential to our success and we encourage people to contact us to see where and how they can contribute or replicate our efforts in their areas," says Rollet. To learn more visit: https://rolletreefsfoundation.com or https://bluetidepr.org About Rollet Reefs Foundation RRF is a non-profit dedicated to the protection of coral reefs in developing countries. The RRF mission statement encompasses the most important elements to support, promote and educate on the risks to fragile reef ecosystems; working with local governments and populations to implement conservation and rehabilitation policies and initiatives. About Bluetide Bluetide Puerto Rico, Inc. (BTPR) is a 501(c)3, Non-Profit Organization based in Puerto Rico since 2018. Our MISSION is; to influence, innovate, support, and increase the economic impacts and eco-responsible developments for a sustainable "Blue Economy" in Puerto Rico and the US Caribbean. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rollet-reefs-foundation-and-bluetide-announce-coral-reefs-conservation-partnership-301581380.html SOURCE The Rollet Reefs Foundation Dedication Took Place on Her 101st Birthday SIMI VALLEY, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Postal Service issued a commemorative Forever stamp celebrating the life of former First Lady Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, CA. The stamp was dedicated by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy; Dennis Revell, Nancy Reagan's son-in-law; Ann B. Wrobleski, formerly Special Projects Director for First Lady Nancy Reagan's Just Say No program; Pete Wilson, former governor of California and Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation Board member, and others. "As a first lady of both California and the nation, she built a legacy of public service throughout her eventful life," said DeJoy. "Whether she was giving voice to the needs of America's Vietnam Veterans, promoting foster grandparent programs, or raising visibility for important health issues she was a passionate and effective public advocate for a wide range of causes close to her heart." "As did the five first ladies before her that were memorialized on a stamp, Nancy Reagan helped define the role of presidential spouse for her successors," said Revell. "It's fitting that this fiercely vigilant and politically astute First Lady, who left her stamp on one of the most consequential presidencies of the 20th century, should now be celebrated and commemorated on a Forever stamp of her own!" Wilson said, "I'm pleased to represent the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute Board of Trustees at Mrs. Reagan's Forever stamp first-day-of-issue program. To honor her in this way on what would have been her 101st birthday is a way for Americans to remember her lasting legacy of service." Nancy Davis Reagan (1921-2016), wife of the 40th president, was First Lady from 1981 to 1989 and most trusted advisor and champion to her husband. Throughout her life, Reagan held a deep passion for her country, championing many causes along the way. Chief among these were the Foster Grandparents Program; assistance to Vietnam veterans and the plight of POWs and MIAs; drug and alcohol abuse prevention among youth; breast cancer awareness; and Alzheimer's research. As First Lady, she worked hand in hand with her husband, both at home and abroad, and advocated for issues on the national and international stage. Reagan's partnership with her husband and devotion to his success, behind-the-scenes influence and her legacy of public service made her one of the most significant first ladies in modern times. The Nancy Reagan stamp art is a detail from the official 1987 White House portrait by Aaron Shikler the full-body portrait was cropped to accommodate the stamp format. The oil-on-canvas portrait features Reagan dressed in a flowing gown, in her signature red color. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp. The Nancy Reagan Forever stamp is being issued in panes of 20. News of the stamp will be shared with the hashtag #NancyReaganStamp. A feature story about the stamp will be available at facebook.com/usps following the ceremony. Postal Products Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Please Note: For U.S. Postal Service media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube channel, like us on Facebook and enjoy our Postal Posts blog. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com. National contact: James McKean(C) 202-258-6586[email protected]usps.com/news Local contact: Natashi Garvins(C) 323-312-7834[email protected]usps.com/news View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usps-releases-nancy-reagan-stamp-301581267.html SOURCE U.S. Postal Service UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 6-K REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the month of July 2022 Commission File Number: 001-31528 IAMGOLD Corporation (Translation of registrant's name into English) 401 Bay Street Suite 3200, PO Box 153 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2Y4 Tel: (416) 360-4710 (Address of principal executive offices) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F. [ ] Form 20-F [ x ] Form 40-F Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____ Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders. Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____ Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrants home country), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrants securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrants security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR. Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes [ ] No [ x ] If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ________ SUBMITTED HEREWITH Exhibits SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. IAMGOLD CORPORATION (Registrant) Date: July 6, 2022 By: /s/ Tim Bradburn Tim Bradburn Title: Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary TSX: IMG NYSE: IAG NEWS RELEASE IAMGOLD REPORTS HIGH GRADE DRILL INTERSECTIONS FROM DRILL PROGRAM AT THE KARITA GOLD PROJECT IN GUINEA, WEST AFRICA Toronto, Ontario, July 6, 2022 - IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE: IAG) (TSX:IMG) ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results from its 2022 delineation diamond drilling program on its wholly-owned Karita Gold project in north-eastern Guinea. The project is located along the prolific Senegal-Mali Shear Zone in West Africa, between the Company's Boto Gold Project in Senegal eight (8) kilometres to the north, and its Diakha-Siribaya Gold project in Mali three (3) kilometres to the south. Highlights include (refer to Table 1 for detailed interval results): 34.0 metres ("m") at 5.81 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") in drill hole KDD22-006 from 67.0 m including 5.0 m at 33.31 g/t Au from 70.0 m, - followed by a separate interval of 14.15 m at 6.46 g/t Au from 197.9 m including 3.0 m at 28.73 g/t Au from 203 m; 50.0 m at 2.85 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-003 from 21.0 m including 7.0 m at 13.47 g/t Au from 36.0 m; 25.0 m at 5.32 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-033 from 26.0 m including 14.0 m at 9.10 g/t Au from 26.0 m, - followed by a separate interval of 32.0 m at 1.66 g/t Au from 51.0 m including 2.0 m at 13.14 g/t Au from 68.0 m, - followed by a separate interval of 21.0 m at 1.9 g/t Au from 156.0 m; 37.0 m at 3.50 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-007 from 98.0 m including 6.0 m at 7.46 g/t Au from 116.0 m; 22.0 m at 5.70 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-028 from 11.0 m including 3.0 m at 31.13 g/t Au from 19.0 m; 12.0 m at 9.49 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-016 from 129.0 m including 6.0 m at 17.95 g/t Au from 129.0 m; 21.0 m at 5.33 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-015 from 25.0 m including 6.0 m at 7.42 g/t Au from 25.0 m including 7.0 m at 9.11 g/t Au from 39.0 m; 21.0 m at 2.71 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-013 from 73.0 m including 7.0 m at 5.15 g/t Au from 80.0 m, - followed by a separate interval of 20.0 m at 5.33 g/t Au from 104.0 m including 7.0 m at 8.80 g/t Au from 104.0 m including 3.0 m at 11.97 g/t Au from 115.0 m; 18.0 m at 4.29 g/t Au in drill hole KDD22-030 from 45.0 m including 6.0 m at 9.83 g/t Au from 48.0 m including 2.0 m at 8.32 g/t Au from 61.0 m; 40.0 m at 1.84 g/t Au in drill hole KDD-010 from 159.0 m including 7.0 m at 5.15 g/t Au from 159.0 m including 4.0 m at 6.63 g/t Au from 188.0 m; 20.0 m at 3.32 g/t Au in drill hole KDD-019 from 60.0 m including 6.0 m at 9.03 g/t Au from 60.0 m; Craig MacDougall, Executive Vice President, Growth for IAMGOLD, stated: "The results reported today from our ongoing delineation drilling program are highly encouraging and continue to build on our exploration successes in the region. Karita is located on the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone which extends from B2Gold's Fekola mine 15 kilometres to the north though our previous discoveries at the Boto and Diakha-Siribaya projects to the south. During this program we have intersected multiple, wide zones of mineralization within altered metasedimentary units, several of which include considerable thickness in the shallow oxidized zone, extending nearly 2 kilometres along strike. We would like to recognize the efforts of our exploration team in West Africa, who have worked tirelessly against many logistical challenges to safely implement this drilling program as they advance our evaluation of our newest discovery." The assay results returned represent 42 diamond drill holes ("DDH") totaling 10,230.5 metres from the ongoing 2022 delineation drilling program, which will involve the completion of 22,000 to 24,000 metres of drilling, designed to delineate the mineralized zones on a nominal 100 x 50 metre collar spacing in order to support a future initial mineral resource estimate. To date, approximately 18,225 metres in 70 DDH holes have been completed. Additional assay results will be reported once they are received, validated and compiled. Figure 1 - Karita Drill Hole Plan View Figure 2 - Cross Section View L 2200N Note: Drill hole intercepts are calculated with a lower cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au and may contain lower grade intervals of up to 5 meters in core length Next Steps Approximately 4,000 to 6,000 metres of additional drilling is planned in the second half of the year as part of the 2022 delineation drilling program. The results of the drilling program will be compiled, validated and interpreted to develop a deposit model to support the completion of an initial mineral resource estimate planned for 2023. The Karita Gold Project The Karita Gold project is wholly-owned by IAMGOLD and is held under an exploration permit that covers approximately 100 square kilometres in Guinea, on the Birimian aged Kedougou-Kenieba inlier of the West African Craton region along the borders with Senegal, Guinea and Mali. In 2017, the Company completed a reconnaissance geology and termite mound geochemical sampling program over the Karita permit to evaluate the interpreted extension of the Boto-Diakha mineralized trend in Guinea. The area is thought to cover an extension of the regionally important and prolific Senegal-Mali Shear Zone along trend between IAMGOLD's Boto Gold deposits in Senegal to the north, and its Diakha deposit on the Siribaya project in Mali to the south. The sampling program identified an extensive gold geochemical anomaly delineated over a nearly 2 kilometre strike length, and similar to that observed to be associated with the deposits occurring at both Boto and Diakha. Figure 3 - Senegal-Mali Shear Zone The initial 2019 drilling program was designed to evaluate the geochemical anomaly for the presence of mineralization and involved the completion of wide spaced lines of reverse circulation ("RC") drilling, which confirmed the presence of multiple zones of mineralization hosted within an albite + hematite altered sandstone metasedimentary unit over a 1.6 kilometre strike length. After extensive access restrictions arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic, exploration resumed in 2022 with the objective of delineating this new discovery to evaluate its resource potential. Results to date have confirmed the presence of shallow oxide mineralization extending at depth to fresh rock where mineralization is observed to be hosted in altered and locally brecciated metasedimentary lithologies exhibiting albite - silica - hematite alteration associated with disseminated to locally narrow semi-massive sulphide (pyrite) veins and occasional visible gold. Overall, the mineralization shows similarities to IAMGOLD's Boto and Diakha deposits located along the same trend. Table 1 - 2022 Diamond Drilling Program - Karita Gold Project, Guinea UTM WGS84/Zone29 AZ Dip EOH From To Core Length Gold2 Mineralized Zones HOLE-ID Easting Northing Elevation () () (m) (m) (m) (m) (g/t) KDD22-001 240772.3 1372899 166.8 90 -54 315 0 3 3 0.66 Oxide zone 77 84 7 1.87 94 109 15 0.71 Sulfide zone Including 94 100 6 1.29 132 137 5 3.74 210 214 4 0.51 KDD22-002 240572.3 1372200 178.8 90 -55 350.5 86 139 53 1.88 Sulfide Zone Including 86 95 9 3.9 Including 100 111 11 3.53 115 139 24 1.04 KDD22-003 240672.3 1372199 176.4 90 -55 326 21 71 50 2.85 Oxide zone Including 36 43 7 13.47 84 87 3 2.72 Sulfide zone 145 148 3 3.99 178 181 3 0.55 189 196 7 0.34 KDD22-004 240875.6 1372900 169.1 90 -54 247 0 6 6 1.06 Oxide zone 17 19 2 1.11 96 100 4 2.03 Sulfide zone 127 131 4 0.56 KDD22-005 240926.4 1372901 170.1 90 -54 190 0 13 13 1.05 Oxide zone 30 31 1 29.7 44 66 22 1.81 Including 51 54 3 7.06 KDD22-006 240623.8 1372199 177.7 90 -55 354 39 51 12 0.95 Oxide zone 62 67 5 1.16 67 101 34 5.81 Sulfide zone Including 70 75 5 33.31 197.9 212 14.1 6.46 Including 203 206 3 28.73 338 340 2 1.82 KDD22-007 240723.9 1372199 175.8 90 -55 300 51 69 18 0.65 Oxide zone 98 135 37 3.5 Sulfide zone Including 116 122 6 7.46 249 255 6 0.63 KDD22-008 240775 1372199 175 90 -55 250 32 43 11 0.43 Oxide zone 50 68 18 2.72 Including 62 66 4 6.57 KDD22-009 240826.1 1372900 167.9 90 -53 276 0 6 6 0.6 Oxide zone 19 31 12 1.5 61 63 2 0.79 KDD22-010 240517.8 1372200 179.8 90 -55 351 100 105 5 1 Sulfide zone 159 199 40 1.84 Including 159 166 7 5.15 Including 188 192 4 6.63 203 205 0.73 KDD22-011 240824.9 1372199 174.3 90 -55 160 19 27 8 2.89 Oxide zone 56 62 6 0.63 Sulfide zone 67 73 6 0.6 KDD22-012 240722.5 1372899 166.7 90 -54 300 112 113 1 3.15 Sulfide zone 145 148 3 1.33 257 259 2 1.28 KDD22-013 240628.3 1372302 177.5 90 -54 275 38 46 8 0.38 Oxide zone 53 58 5 0.32 73 94 21 2.71 Sulfide zone Including 80 88 7 5.15 104 124 20 5.33 Including 104 111 7 8.8 Including 115 118 3 11.97 131 135 4 1.82 142 145 3 1.49 197 207 10 0.6 Including 202 204 2 1.64 223 235 12 0.75 KDD22-014 240589.1 1372102 178.3 90 -54 300 75 87 12 0.94 Oxide zone Including 75 77 2 1.8 Including 82 87 5 1.43 91.4 101 9.6 0.97 Sulfide zone 153 159 6 6.52 Including 153 155 2 9.24 Including 157 159 2 10.09 250 252 2 2.43 KDD22-015 240708.8 1372302 176 90 -54 225 25 46 21 5.33 Oxide zone Including 25 31 6 7.42 Including 39 46 7 9.11 76 78 2 5.82 Sulfide zone 85.5 88 2.5 1.17 99 102.1 3.1 1.4 135 141 6 3.31 136 139 3 6.06 162 172 10 0.51 KDD22-016 240670 1372101 176.3 90 -54 250 24 27 3 0.44 Oxide zone 54 55 1 109.9 129 141 12 9.49 Sulfide zone Including 129 135 6 17.95 149 155 6 3.21 172 175 3 0.58 KDD22-017 240700.4 1372700 173.8 90 -54 312 14 35 21 1.19 Oxide zone Including 15 18 3 5.62 83 85 2 1.68 Sulfide zone 115 117 2 0.73 154 156 2 3.12 215 220 5 1.06 KDD22-018 240789.6 1372301 174.2 90 -54 150 28 30 2 6.82 Oxide zone 63 81 18 1.02 Sulfide zone KDD22-019 240748.9 1372101 174.9 90 -54 172 60 80 20 3.32 Oxide zone Including 60 66 6 9.03 125 132 7 0.85 Sulfide zone KDD22-020 240686.1 1372500 177.7 90 -54 275 18 29 11 1.86 Oxide zone Including 25 26 1 17.4 77 81 4 1.1 Sulfide zone 99 103 4 2.2 123 130 7 5.16 Including 123 125 2 16.58 KDD22-021 240766 1372500 176 90 -54 243 26 32 6 10.98 Oxide Zone KDD22-022 240847.8 1372500 175.1 90 -54 174 40 46 6 1.22 Oxide zone 61 67 6 1.03 Sulfide zone KDD22-0023 240780 1372700 176 90 -54 252 35 44 9 0.86 Oxide zone 62 68 6 0.6 Sulfide zone 73 78 1.26 KDD22-024 240860.3 1372700 178.5 31 45 14 2.3 Oxide zone Including 31 34 3 6.42 128 130 2 1.52 Sulfide zone KDD22-025 240620 1372700 174 90 -54 303 158 169 11 0.61 Sulfide zone 213 215 2 2.26 252 269 17 1.42 Including 252 257 5 2.97 Including 265 268 3 3.24 KDD22-026 240606 1372500 178 90 -54 276 71.6 77.9 6.3 0.63 Sulfide zone 102 106 4 12.9 Including 103 106 3 17.04 157 170 13 0.47 198 208 10 12.02 Including 205.1 206 0.9 119.3 KDD22-027 240646 1372500 178 90 -54 275 94 105 11 0.92 Sulfide Zone Including 102.4 104.2 1.8 3.68 171 174 3 1.09 KDD22-028 240741.1 1372700 175.471 90 -54 264 11 33 22 5.7 Oxide Zone Including 19 22 3 31.13 Including 32 33 1 19.9 63 65 2 12.65 Sulfide zone 107 114 7 0.93 KDD22-029 240550 1372300 179.9 90 -54 276 54 57 3 1.03 Oxide zone 73 76 3 21.35 Sulfide zone 116 138 22 1.81 Including 120 124 4 6.12 160 170 10 0.81 192 210 18 0.77 KDD22-030 240723.2 1372500 176.9 90 -54 258 19 21 2 2.96 Oxide Zone 45 63 18 4.29 Sulfide zone Including 48 54 6 9.83 Including 61 63 2 8.32 75 91 16 0.84 Including 86.3 88 1.7 6.67 176.7 178.5 1.8 5.6 KDD22-031 240806 1372500 176 90 -54 210 NSV KDD22-032 240819.6 1372700 178.6 11.5 21 9.5 0.62 Oxide zone 45 56.5 11.5 1.83 Sulfide zone Inclusion 49 50 1 14 160 162 2 2 KDD22-033 240670.1 1372302 176.5 90 -54 250 26 51 25 5.32 Oxide zone Including 26 40 14 9.1 Including 46 51 5 1.11 51 83 32 1.66 Sulfide zone Including 68 70 2 13.14 156 177 21 1.9 KDD22-034 240519.8 1371902 177.2 90 -54 308 25 36 11 1.22 Oxide zone 141 167 26 0.65 Sulfide zone Including 152 162 10 1.32 180 186 6 1.28 206 209 3 1.65 243 267 24 0.83 Including 246 251 5 2.18 KDD22-035 240593.7 1371900 176.0 90 -54 250 26 28 2 4.91 Oxide zone 65 69 4 0.94 Sulfide Zone 101 105 4 0.84 118 128 10 0.54 157 160 3 4.42 Including 157 158 1 12.2 177 210 33 0.41 KDD22-036 240678.7 1371900 175.0 90 -54 190 20 30 10 1.2 Oxide zone 41 44 3 1.69 64 74 10 1.9 Sulfide zone Including 65 66 1 14.3 166 190 24 1.66 Including 173 175 2 8.95 Including 185 187 2 4.37 KDD22-037 240760 1371900 173.0 90 -54 121 75.5 104 28.5 1.01 Sulfide zone Including 80 82 2 4.44 KDD22-038 240560 1371900 176.0 90 -54 275 83 88 5 0.5 Sulfide zone 107 117 10 0.72 128.1 134 5.9 0.57 154 160 6 0.77 214 232 18 0.95 Including 222.5 229 6.5 1.87 KDD22-039 240640 1371900 175.0 90 -54 202.0 79 81 2 0.71 Sulfide zone 90 97 7 0.79 Including 94 97 3 1.7 121 123 2 2.55 KDD22-040 240720 1371900 173.0 90 -54 165 125 164 39 0.61 Sulfide Zone Including 125 133 8 1.21 Including 151 157 6 1.14 KDD22-044 240552 1371300 138.0 90 -55 290 190 180 10 0.8 Sulfide zone 279 284 5 2.04 KDD22-046 240602 1371300 139.1 90 -55 270 40 78 38 0.51 Oxide zone Including 40 46 6 1.57 89 100 11 1.1 Sulfide zone 115 130 15 0.68 137 147 10 0.53 Notes: Drill hole intercepts are calculated with a lower cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au and may contain lower grade intervals of up to 5 metres in core length. Assays intervals are reported uncapped, but high grade sub-intervals are highlighted. NSV - no significant values reported. Insufficient drilling has been completed to establish true widths of the mineralized intercepts, but these are estimated to be between 60-80% of the reported interval. TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND QUALITY CONTROL NOTES The drilling results contained in this news release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The Qualified Person ("QP") responsible for the supervision of the preparation, verification and review of the technical information in this release is Philippe Biron, P. Geo., Regional Senior Geologist, West Africa for IAMGOLD. Mr. Biron is a QP for the purposes of NI 43-101 with respect to the technical information being reported on. The information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Craig MacDougall, P.Geo, Executive Vice President, Growth for IAMGOLD. Mr. MacDougall is a QP for the purposes of NI 43-101. The technical information has been included herein with the consent and prior review of the above noted QPs. The sampling of, and assay data from, DDH core are monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance - quality control (QA-QC) program designed to follow industry best practice and include the insertion of certified reference standards. Core samples from diamond drilling are collected from three diamond rigs, at generally one meter intervals, under the direct supervision of IAMGOLD geologists and field technicians. Core samples are sawed in half, with one half sent to the lab for prep and assay, and the other retained for reference purposes. The assay samples were prepared and assayed at Bureau Veritas Analytical Laboratory in Bamako, using a standard fire assay with a 50-gram charge and an Atomic Absorption finish (FA450). Samples which returned values greater than 10 g/t Au are being re-assayed using a gravimetric finish. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by, but not limited to, the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "would", "continue", "expect", "expected", "budget", "forecast", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "appear" "plan", "schedule", "guidance", "outlook", "potential", "plans", "targeted", "focused", or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, differences in the mineral content within the material identified as mineral resources or mineral reserves from that predicted, the failure to accurately estimate mineral resources or mineral reserves, unexpected increases in capital expenditures, operating expenditures and exploration expenditures, changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, changes in world gold markets and other risks disclosed in IAMGOLD's most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml and Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com, which are incorporated herein. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by applicable law. CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES References to mineral resources contained in this news release are based on the meaning given to such term in NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") - CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council, as amended (the "CIM Standards"). These standards are similar to those used by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Industry Guide No. 7, as interpreted by the SEC staff. However, the definitions in NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ in certain respects from those under Industry Guide 7. Accordingly, mineral resource information contained in this news release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by United States companies. As a result of the adoption of amendments to the SEC's disclosure rules (the "SEC Modernization Rules"), which more closely align its disclosure requirements and policies for mining properties with current industry and global regulatory practices and standards, including NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, and which became effective on February 25, 2019, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources." Issuers were required to comply with the SEC Modernization Rules in their first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, though Canadian issuers that report in the United States using the Multijurisdictional Disclosure System ("MJDS") may still use NI 43-101 rather than the SEC Modernization Rules when using the SEC's MJDS registration statement and annual report forms. United States investors are cautioned that while the SEC now recognizes "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under the SEC Modernization Rules, investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian regulations, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in limited circumstances. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources", or "inferred mineral resources" are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any part or all of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. About IAMGOLD IAMGOLD is a mid-tier gold mining company operating in North America, South America and West Africa. The Company has three operating mines: Essakane (Burkina Faso), Rosebel (Suriname) and Westwood (Canada), and is building the large-scale, long life Cote Gold project (Canada) which is expected to start production towards the end of 2023. In addition, the Company has a robust development and exploration portfolio within high potential mining districts in the Americas and West Africa. IAMGOLD employs approximately 5,000 people and is committed to maintaining its culture of accountable mining through high standards of Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices, including its commitment to Zero Harm, in every aspect of its business. IAMGOLD is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: IAG) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:IMG) and is one of the companies on the Jantzi Social Index ("JSI"), a socially screened market capitalization-weighted consisting of companies which pass a set of broadly based environmental, social and governance rating criteria. IAMGOLD Contact Information Graeme Jennings, Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: 416 360 4743 | Mobile: 416 388 6883 Philip Rabenok, Manager, Investor Relations Tel: 416 933 5783 | Mobile: 647 967 9942 Toll-free: 1 888 464 9999 [email protected] This entire news release may be accessed via e-mail, IAMGOLD's website at www.iamgold.com and through Newsfile's website at www.newsfilecorp.com . All material information on IAMGOLD can be found at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov . Exhibit 99.1 Trilogy Metals Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Results VANCOUVER, BC, July 6, 2022 /CNW/ - Trilogy Metals Inc. (TSX: TMQ) (NYSE American: TMQ) ("Trilogy", "Trilogy Metals" or "the Company") announces its financial results for the second quarter ended May 31, 2022. Details of the Company's financial results are contained in the interim unaudited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis which will be available on the Company's website at www.trilogymetals.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. All amounts are in United States dollars unless otherwise stated. Highlights Exploration field season commenced for the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects ("UKMP"). UKMP fiscal 2022 budget updated to approximately $26.2 million. Projects are well funded with the joint venture holding $52.8 million in cash and $53.5 million loan receivable from South32 Limited ("South32") as at May 31, 2022. Subsequent to the quarter end, South32 repaid the entire loan resulting in the joint venture holding over $100 million in cash. Trilogy cash position of $3.5 million and working capital of $3.4 million as at May 31, 2022 sufficient to fund head office operations for the next twelve months. Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects In a press release dated June 8, 2022, the Company announced that Ambler Metals LLC ("Ambler Metals"), the joint venture company owned 50/50 by Trilogy and South32 had commenced mobilization for the summer 2022 field program at the UKMP. The drill program will be helicopter-supported and will be based out of Ambler Metals' expanded 90-person camp at Bornite. The previously announced $28.5 million fiscal 2022 budget was updated to approximately $26.2 million. The field season is entirely funded by Ambler Metals and consists of a minimum 10,000 meters of diamond drilling with additional meters contingent on drill performance, weather and approval of supplementary budgets. The field season program prioritizes advancing the Arctic Project with additional infill drilling to further improve the confidence in the resource and the completion of a geotechnical study to further de-risk the project. Exploration outside of the Arctic deposit will focus on discovering copper-rich satellite deposits near Arctic, the Cosmos Hills and the Ambler Lowlands. The 2022 Arctic program involves a minimum 6,000 meters in 27 holes, as part of an 8,400-meter infill program to increase confidence from the Indicated to Measured category. In addition, three to five holes totaling 500 to 750 meters are planned to complete a geotechnical and hydrogeological assessment of Arctic that was initiated last year. The 2022 exploration program for the Cosmos Hills and Ambler Lowlands includes drilling of approximately 2,400 meters as well as detailed mapping and soil sampling to build on the work performed during the prior year. In addition, a minimum 2,000 meters of trenching is planned around Pardner Hill and the Bornite East target area. Annual General Meeting of Shareholders The Annual General Meeting of shareholders was held on May 13, 2022. All directors nominated by the Company and standing for election were elected by shareholders of the Company. Other items of business included the approval of amendments to, and unallocated entitlements under, the Company's Restricted Share Unit Plan ("RSU Plan") and Deferred Share Unit Plan ("DSU Plan"). Selected Results The following selected financial information is prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. in thousands of dollars, except for per share amounts Three months ended Six months ended Selected expenses May 31, 2022 $ May 31, 2021 $ May 31, 2022 $ May 31, 2021 $ General and administrative 338 351 735 762 Investor relations 38 116 137 270 Professional fees 192 275 437 504 Salaries 261 407 675 846 Salaries and directors expense stock-based compensation 662 524 2,584 2,672 Share of loss on equity investment 2,460 1,700 4,370 2,820 Comprehensive loss for the period (4,074) (3,413) (9,097) (7,929) Basic and diluted loss per common share (0.03) (0.02) (0.06) (0.05) For the three-month period ended May 31, 2022, cash preservation strategies resulted in overall cash savings of $0.3 million in general and administrative expenses, investor relations, professional fees and salaries when compared to budget. For the three-month period ended May 31, 2022, Trilogy reported a net loss of $4.1 million (or $0.03 basic and diluted loss per common share). For the comparable period in 2021, the Company reported a net loss of $3.4 million (or $0.02 basic and diluted loss per common share). This difference is primarily due to a $0.8 million increase in the Company's equity pick-up of Ambler Metals' comprehensive loss in the current period. The current quarter includes pre-development costs for the Ambler Access Project for which there are no prior year comparatives. This increase in the equity pick-up is offset by reductions in general and administrative expenses, investor relations and professional fees due to management implemented cost savings strategies during the quarter. The combined total of salaries and stock-based compensation is consistent between the current period quarter and the comparative period. For the six-month period ended May 31, 2022, Trilogy reported a net a loss of $9.1 million (or $0.06 basic and diluted loss per common share). For the comparable period in 2021, the Company reported a net loss of $7.9 million (or $0.05 basic and diluted loss per common share). The difference for the six-month period ended May 31, 2022, when compared to the same period in 2021, is primarily due to a $1.6 million increase in the Company's equity pick up of Ambler Metals comprehensive loss for the six-month period ending May 31, 2022. The current period includes pre-development costs for the Ambler Access Project for which there are no prior year comparatives as well as higher engineering and project related salaries and wages versus the comparative period. Other variances noted for the comparative six-month period ended May 31, 2022 consist of: i) a decrease of $0.13 million in investor relations activities; ii) a decrease of $0.2 million in salaries as the executive team agreed to receive a portion of their salary in Restricted Share Units; and iii) a decrease of $0.1 million in stock-based compensation, driven by a $0.3 million decrease in the fair value amortization of awards granted during the period (due to a 0.7 million units reduction of overall stock-based awards granted versus the comparative period), and offset by $0.2 million increase from executives and directors taking equity in lieu of cash compensation. Liquidity and Capital Resources Trilogy expended $2.9 million on operating activities during the six months ended May 31, 2022 with the majority of cash spent on corporate salaries, annual insurance renewal, annual fees paid to the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American Exchange and professional fees related to the Company's annual regulatory filings with the American and Canadian securities commissions. At May 31, 2022, Trilogy had $3.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and working capital of $3.4 million. The Company continues to manage its cash expenditures through its working capital. Management continues to review the fiscal 2022 budget for cash preservation opportunities and has reduced cash expenditures where feasible, including but not limited to, reductions in marketing and investor conferences and office expenses. In addition, the Company's Board of Directors have agreed to take all of their fees in shares of the Company in an effort to preserve cash and increase share ownership. The Company's senior management team are also taking a portion of their base salaries in shares of the Company to preserve cash. Management believes that the combination of these cost reduction efforts results in sufficient cash to fund the Company's operations for the next twelve months. All project related costs are funded by the joint venture. Amber Metals is well funded to advance the UKMP with $52.8 million in cash and $53.5 million loan receivable from South32 as at May 31, 2022. Subsequent to the quarter end, South32 repaid the full balance of the loan, consisting of $53.1 million principal and $0.5 million interest, resulting in Ambler Metals having over $100 million in cash. There are sufficient funds at the joint venture to fund the updated budgets for the UKMP of $26.2 million and the Ambler Access Project of $15.4 million for fiscal 2022. Trilogy does not anticipate having to fund the activities of Ambler Metals until the current cash balance of approximately $100 million is expended. Qualified Persons Richard Gosse, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration for Trilogy Metals Inc., is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Gosse has reviewed the technical information in this news release and approves the disclosure contained herein. About Trilogy Metals Trilogy Metals Inc. is a metals exploration and development company which holds a 50 percent interest in Ambler Metals LLC, which has a 100 percent interest in the UKMP in northwestern Alaska. On December 19, 2019, South32, a globally diversified mining and metals company, exercised its option to form a 50/50 joint venture with Trilogy. The UKMP is located within the Ambler Mining District which is one of the richest and most-prospective known copper-dominant districts in the world. It hosts world-class polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which have been found to host high-grade copper and cobalt mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler mining district - the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within a land package that spans approximately 181,387 hectares. Ambler Metals has an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., an Alaska Native Corporation that provides a framework for the exploration and potential development of the Ambler Mining District in cooperation with local communities. Trilogy's vision is to develop the Ambler Mining District into a premier North American copper producer. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, perceived merit of properties, expectations regarding the 2022 field season and budgets for the UKMP and the continued willingness of the Company's director and executives to receive their compensation in equity, the Company's plans to look for opportunities to reduce its cash spend for the year, management's expectations regarding the effects of cash conservation efforts and the sufficiency of cash for the next twelve months, the Company's expectation of raising additional funds, and the Company's plans to provide further updates and the timing thereof are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the uncertainties involving our ability to conserve cash and to raise capital at terms favorable to the Company, or at all and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2021 filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other Company reports and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The Company's forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trilogy-metals-reports-second-quarter-fiscal-2022-financial-results-301580932.html SOURCE Trilogy Metals Inc. View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2022/06/c9596.html %CIK: 0001543418 For further information: Company Contacts: Tony Giardini, President & Chief Executive Officer, Elaine Sanders, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, 604-638-8088 or 1-855-638-8088 CO: Trilogy Metals Inc. CNW 06:30e 06-JUL-22 SCHEDULE 14C (Rule 14c-101) Information Statement Pursuant to Section 14(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Check the appropriate box: Preliminary Information Statement Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14c-5(d)(2)) Definitive Information Statement SPECTRAL CAPITAL CORPORATION (Name of Registrant As Specified In Its Charter) Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box): No fee required Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14c-5(g) and 0-11 (1) Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: (2) Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies: (3) Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined): (4) Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction: (5) Total fee paid: Fee paid previously with preliminary materials. Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing. (1) Amount Previously Paid: (2) Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: (3) Filing Party: (4) Date Filed: NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN PURSUANT TO WRITTEN CONSENT OF STOCKHOLDERS To the Stockholders of Spectral Capital Corporation: This Notice and the accompanying Information Statement are being furnished to the stockholders (the Stockholders and each a Stockholder) of Spectral Capital Corporation, a Nevada corporation (the Company, we, us, our), in connection with actions taken by the holder of a majority of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the Company, approving, by written consent dated June 20, 2022, the following actions: 1.A Certificate of Change to the Companys Articles of Incorporation, attached hereto as Appendix A (the Certificate of Change of the Increase in Authorized Capital), authorized by the Companys Board of Directors (the Board or the Board of Directors) to increase its authorized shares of common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the Common Stock), from 500,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 (the Increase in Authorized Capital); and 2.A Certificate of Change to the Companys Articles of Incorporation, attached hereto as Appendix B (the Certificate of Change of the Reverse Split), authorized by the Companys Board of Directors to effect a reverse stock split of the Companys Common Stock whereby every ten (10) shares of the issued and outstanding Common Stock shall be combined into one (1) share of issued and outstanding Common Stock (the Reverse Stock Split). The actions to be taken pursuant to Action 1 and Action 2 above shall be taken at such future date as determined by the Board of Directors, but in no event earlier than the 20 th day after this Information Statement is mailed or furnished to the Stockholders of record as of June 20, 2022. WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU FOR A PROXY AND YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SEND US A PROXY. Your vote or consent is not requested or required to approve these matters. The accompanying Information Statement is provided solely for your information. By order of our Board of Directors, /s/ Jenifer Osterwalder Jenifer Osterwalder /s/ Stephen Spalding Stephen Spalding Dated: July 6, 2022 2 INFORMATION STATEMENT OF SPECTRAL CAPITAL CORPORATION 4500 9th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA, 98105 INFORMATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(C) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND RULE 14C-2 THEREUNDER NO VOTE OR OTHER ACTION OF THE COMPANY'S STOCKHOLDERS IS REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH THIS INFORMATION STATEMENT WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU FOR A PROXY AND YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SEND US A PROXY Spectral Capital Corporation, a Nevada corporation (the Company), is distributing this Information Statement to its Stockholders in full satisfaction of any notice requirements it may have under Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and applicable Nevada law. No additional action will be undertaken by the Company with respect to the receipt of written consents, and no dissenters' rights with respect to the receipt of the written consents, and no dissenters' rights under applicable Nevada law are afforded to the Company's Stockholders as a result of the adoption of these resolutions. On June 19, 2022, our Board of Directors approved a resolution seeking Stockholder approval regarding the authorization of the Board to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the Common Stock), from 500,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 (the Increase in Authorized Capital). Also on June 19, 2022, our Board approved a resolution seeking Stockholder approval to effect a reverse stock split (the Reverse Stock Split) of the Companys Common Stock whereby every ten (10) shares of issued and outstanding Common Stock shall be combined into one (1) share of issued and outstanding Common Stock. On June 20, 2022, the holder of a majority of the Companys issued and outstanding Common Stock (the Majority Stockholder) approved the Increase in Authorized Capital and the Reverse Stock Split by written consent. Interests of Certain Persons in Matters Acted Upon Other than as described above, and except in their capacity as Stockholders (which interest does not differ from that of the other holders of Companys Common Stock), none of our officers, directors, or any of their respective affiliates or associates has any interest in the matters being acted upon. What is the Purpose of the Information Statement? This Information Statement is being furnished to you pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act to notify our Stockholders of the corporate actions taken by the Majority Stockholder pursuant to the written consents. Summary of the Corporation Actions Increase in Authorized Capital For the reasons discussed in this Information Statement, the Board has approved the Increase in Authorized Capital by filing a certificate of change to the Companys Articles of Incorporation (the Certificate of Change of the Increase in Authorized Capital) to effect such Increase in Authorized Capital. The Certificate of Change of the Increase in Authorized Capital, in the form attached herein as Appendix A, has been approved by written consent of the Majority Stockholder. In accordance with Rule 14c-2 under the Securities Exchange Act, the stockholder actions taken by written consent will become effective no earlier than 20 calendar days after the date on which this Information Statement is sent or given to our stockholders. This Information Statement is first being mailed on or about July 14, 2022 to the Companys stockholders of record as of June 20, 2022 (the Record Date). Reverse Stock Split For the reasons discussed in this Information Statement, the Board has approved the Reverse Stock Split by filing a certificate of change to the Companys Articles of Incorporation (the Certificate of Change of the Reverse Split) whereby every ten (10) shares of issued and outstanding Common Stock shall be combined into one (1) share of issued and outstanding Common Stock. The Certificate of Change of the Reverse Split, in the form attached herein as Appendix B, has been approved by written consent of the Majority Stockholder. In accordance with Rule 14c-2 under the Securities Exchange Act, the stockholder actions taken by written consent will become effective no earlier than 20 calendar days after the date on which this Information Statement is sent or given to our stockholders. This Information Statement is first being mailed on or about July 14, 2022 to the Companys stockholders of record as of the Record Date. Voting and Vote Required The Company is not seeking consents, authorizations or proxies from you. Under the Nevada Revised Statutes (the NRS), the Increase in Authorized Capital and Reverse Stock Split may be approved, without a meeting of stockholders, by the written consent of stockholders representing a majority of the voting power of our outstanding shares of Common Stock. Dissenters Rights of Appraisal Under the NRS and the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Company, the Stockholders are not entitled to appraisal rights with respect to the Increase in Authorized Capital and the Reverse Stock Split. Notice Pursuant to the NRS and the Companys Bylaws This Information Statement serves the purpose of informing stockholders of the matters described herein pursuant to Section 14(c) of the Securities Exchange Act and the rules and regulations prescribed thereunder, including Regulation 14C, and serves as the notice required by Section 78.320 of the NRS of the taking of a corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent of our stockholders. VOTE OBTAINED - NEVADA LAW Section 78.320 of the NRS provides that, unless otherwise provided in the Companys Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of the Stockholders may be taken without a meeting if, before or after the action, a written consent thereto is signed by Stockholders holding at least a majority of the voting power. Neither the Companys Articles of Incorporation nor its Bylaws prohibit the taking of action by its Stockholders by written consent. In order to eliminate the costs and management time involved in holding a special meeting, our Board of Directors voted to utilize this provision under Nevada law and obtained the written consent of the holder of a majority in interest of our Common Stock. As of June 20, 2022, there were 420,179,483 shares of Common Stock of the Company issued and outstanding. Each holder of Common Stock is entitled to one vote for each share held by such holder. NO VOTE OR OTHER ACTION OF THE COMPANY'S STOCKHOLDERS IS REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH THIS INFORMATION STATEMENT WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU FOR A PROXY AND YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SEND US A PROXY ACTION NO. 1 AUTHORIZATION OF INCREASE IN AUTHORIZED CAPITAL Purposes of the Common Stock Increase The principal purpose of the Increase in Authorized Capital is to more closely align our capital structure. By implementing the Increase in Authorized Capital, we will still have a sufficient number of authorized shares of both Common Stock and Preferred Stock which will afford us maximum flexibility to issue shares of either class in the future while allowing us to have a proportionate capital structure. Effect of the Common Stock Increase Once we file the Certificate of Change of the Increase in Authorized Capital for the Increase in Authorized Capital with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada it will have the immediate effect of increasing the total amount of authorized Common Stock. No shares of Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding. The Increase in Authorized Capital will have no impact on the number of shares of Common Stock you own. No Dissenters Rights Under the Nevada Revised Statutes, the Companys Stockholders are not entitled to dissenters rights with respect to the increase in authorized shares, and the Company will not independently provide Stockholders with any such right. Procedure for Effecting the Common Stock Increase The Increase in Authorized Capital will become effective at such future date as determined by the Board, as evidenced by the filing of the Certificate of Change of the Increase in Authorized Capital with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada, but in no event earlier than the 20 th calendar day after this Information Statement is mailed or furnished to the Stockholders of record as of June 20, 2022. Moreover, although the Increase in Authorized Capital has been approved by the requisite number of Stockholders representing a majority of the voting power of our outstanding shares of common stock, the Board reserves the right, in its discretion, to abandon the Increase in Authorized Capital prior to the proposed effective date if it determines that abandoning the Increase in Authorized Capital is in the best interests of the Company. No further action on the part of Stockholders would be required to either effect or abandon the Increase in Authorized Capital. The text of the Certificate of Change of the Increase in Authorized Capital is subject to modification to include such changes as may be required by the NRS and as the Board deems necessary and advisable to effect the Increase in Authorized Capital. If the Board elects to implement the Increase in Authorized Capital, the number of authorized shares of Common Stock would be increased from 500,000,000 to 1,000,000,000. The number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock, which is 5,000,000, would remain unchanged. ACTION NO. 2 AUTHORIZATION OF THE REVERSE STOCK SPLIT Principal Effects of the Reverse Stock Split If the Company implements the Reverse Stock Split, we will amend our Articles of Incorporation by filing a certificate of change (the Certificate of Change of the Reverse Split) to our Articles of Incorporation with the Nevada Secretary of State, which will result in the number of shares of the Common Stock held by each stockholder being reduced to a number of shares determined by the Reverse Stock Split, and then rounding up to the nearest whole share. The Reverse Stock Split would not affect any stockholders percentage ownership interests in the Company or proportionate voting power, except to the extent that interests in fractional shares would be rounded up to the nearest whole share. Corporate Matters. The Reverse Stock Split would have the following effects on the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding: in a 1-for-10 reverse stock split, every ten (10) shares of Common Stock owned by a stockholder would be exchanged for one (1) share of Common Stock; and the number of shares of our Common Stock issued and outstanding will be reduced from 420,179,483 shares to 42,017,948 shares. The Reverse Stock Split will be effected simultaneously for all of our outstanding Common Stock and the exchange ratio of the Reverse Stock Split will be the same for all of our outstanding Common Stock. The Reverse Stock Split will affect all of our stockholders uniformly and will not affect any stockholders percentage ownership interest in the Company, except to the extent that the Reverse Stock Split results in any of our stockholders owning a fractional share. As described below, stockholders and holders of options holding fractional shares will have their shares rounded up to the nearest whole number. Common Stock issued pursuant to the Reverse Stock Split will remain fully paid and non-assessable. We will continue to be subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. Effect on Market Price of our Common Stock. The immediate effect of the Reverse Stock Split would be to reduce the number of shares of the outstanding Common Stock and to possibly increase the trading price of such Common Stock. However, the effect of any effected Reverse Stock Split upon the market price of the Common Stock cannot be predicted, and the history of reverse stock splits for companies in similar circumstances sometimes improves stock performance, but in many cases does not. There can be no assurance that the trading price of the Common Stock after the Reverse Stock Split will rise in proportion to the reduction in the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding as a result of the Reverse Stock Split or remain at an increased level for any period. The trading price of the Common Stock may change due to a variety of other factors related to our business and general market conditions. Dilution. You may also experience future potential substantial dilution of your percentage of ownership of the equity in the Company as a result of this Reverse Stock Split. Fractional Shares. No fractional share certificates will be issued in connection with the Reverse Stock Split. Stockholders who otherwise would be entitled to receive fractional shares because they hold a number of shares not evenly divisible by the exchange ratio of the Reverse Stock Split, will be entitled, upon surrender of certificate(s) representing these shares, to a number of shares of shares rounded up to the nearest whole number and, accordingly, no money will be paid for a fractional share. Options and Warrants. Holders of options and warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, who upon exercise of their options or warrants would otherwise be entitled to receive fractional shares because they hold options or warrants which upon exercise would result in a number of shares of Common Stock not evenly divisible by the exchange ratio of the Reverse Stock Split, will receive a number of shares of Common Stock rounded up to the nearest whole number. Authorized Shares. The Company is currently authorized to issue 500,000,000 shares of Common Stock. Upon effectiveness of the Reverse Stock Split, the number of authorized shares of Common Stock will be unaffected. The issuance in the future of additional shares of our Common Stock may have the effect of diluting the earnings per share and book value per share, as well as the stock ownership and voting rights of the currently outstanding shares of our Common Stock. Authorized but unissued shares will be available for issuance, and we may issue such shares in future financings or otherwise. If we issue additional shares, the ownership interest of holders of our Common Stock would be diluted. Accounting Matters. The par value per share of the Common Stock would remain unchanged after the Reverse Stock Split. As a result, on the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split, the stated capital on the balance sheet attributable to the Common Stock will be reduced proportionally, based on the exchange ratio of the Reverse Stock Split, from its present amount, and the additional paid-in capital account will be credited with the amount by which the stated capital is reduced. The per share Common Stock net income or loss and net book value will be increased because there will be fewer shares of the Common Stock outstanding. The Company does not anticipate that any other accounting consequences would arise as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Other Effects on Outstanding Shares. If the Reverse Stock Split is implemented, the rights and preferences of the outstanding shares of the Common Stock would remain the same after the Reverse Stock Split. Each share of Common Stock issued pursuant to the Reverse Stock Split would be fully paid and non-assessable. The Reverse Stock Split would result in some stockholders owning odd-lots of less than 100 shares of the Common Stock. Brokerage commissions and other costs of transactions in odd-lots are generally higher than the costs of transactions in round-lots of even multiples of 100 shares. No Appraisal Rights. Under the NRS, stockholders are not entitled to appraisal rights with respect to the proposed Certificate of Change of the Reverse Split to effect the Reverse Stock Split. United States Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Reverse Stock Split. The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Reverse Stock Split to a stockholder (hereinafter a U.S. stockholder) that is a United States person, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). It does not purport to be a complete discussion of all of the possible U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Reverse Stock Split and is included for general information only. Further, it does not address any state, local or foreign income or other tax consequences. Also, it does not address the tax consequences to holders that are subject to special tax rules, such as banks, insurance companies, regulated investment companies, personal holding companies, foreign entities, nonresident alien individuals, broker-dealers and tax-exempt entities. In addition, the discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our shares through such entities. The discussion below is based on the provisions of the U.S. federal income tax law as of the date hereof, which is subject to change retroactively as well as prospectively. This summary also assumes that the shares held by the stockholder prior to the Reverse Stock Split (Old Shares) were, and the shares owned by the stockholders immediately after the Reverse Stock Split (New Shares) will be, owned as capital assets, as defined in the Code (generally, property held for investment). The tax treatment of a stockholder may vary depending upon the particular facts and circumstances of such stockholder. The discussion below regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Reverse Stock Split is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service or the courts. Accordingly, each stockholder is urged to consult with his or her own tax advisor with respect to the tax consequences of the Reverse Stock Split. No gain or loss should be recognized by a U.S. stockholder upon such stockholders exchange (or deemed exchange) of Old Shares for New Shares pursuant to the Reverse Stock Split. The aggregate tax basis (and the holding period) of the New Shares received in the Reverse Stock Split should be the same as such stockholders aggregate tax basis (and holding period) in the Old Shares being exchanged. Special tax basis and holding period rules may apply to holders that acquired different blocks of stock at different prices or at different times. Holders should consult their own tax advisors as to the applicability of these special rules to their particular circumstances. Potential Anti-Takeover Effect Of Certain Provisions. Tender offers or other non-open market acquisitions of stock are usually made at prices above the prevailing market price. In addition, acquisitions of stock by persons attempting to acquire control through market purchases may cause the market price of the stock to reach levels which are higher than would otherwise be the case. By increasing the number of shares available to authorize and issue, the Company has caused a potential anti-takeover effect by creating potential dilution to the number of outstanding shares. Such dilution will cause a party attempting a takeover to be required to buy more shares of the Company stock and to expend additional resources to accomplish such a measure. Procedure for Effecting a Reverse Stock Split and Exchange of Stock Certificates The Reverse Stock Split will become effective at such future date as determined by the Board, as evidenced by the filing of the Certificate of Change of the Reverse Split with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada (which we refer to as the Effective Time), but in no event earlier than the 20 th calendar day after this Information Statement is mailed or furnished to the stockholders of record as of June 20, 2022, or later than June 20, 2023. Moreover, although the Reverse Stock Split has been approved by the requisite number of stockholders, the Board reserves the right, in its discretion, to abandon the Reverse Stock Split prior to the proposed effective date if it determines that abandoning the Reverse Stock Split is in the best interests of the Company. No further action on the part of stockholders would be required to either effect or abandon the Reverse Stock Split. The text of the Certificate of Change of the Reverse Split is subject to modification to include such changes as may be required by the NRS and as the Board deems necessary and advisable to effect the Reverse Stock Split. If the Board elects to implement the Reverse Stock Split, the number of authorized shares as well as the number of issued and outstanding shares of the Common Stock would be reduced in accordance with the Exchange Ratio of the Reverse Stock Split. As soon as practicable after the Effective Time, stockholders will be notified that the Reverse Stock Split has been effected. As of the Effective Time of the Reverse Stock Split, each certificate representing shares of the Common Stock before the Reverse Stock Split would be deemed, for all corporate purposes, to evidence ownership of the reduced number of shares of the Common Stock resulting from the Reverse Stock Split, except that holders of un-exchanged shares would not be entitled to receive any dividends or other distributions payable by us after the Effective Time until they surrender their old stock certificates for exchange. All shares, underlying options and other securities would also be automatically adjusted at the Effective Time. If the Company elects to exchange stock certificates, the Company expects that its transfer agent, Pacific Stock Transfer, will act as exchange agent for purposes of implementing the exchange of stock certificates. In such event, as soon as practicable after the Effective Time, stockholders of record would receive a letter of transmittal requesting them to surrender their stock certificates for stock certificates reflecting the adjusted number of shares as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Persons who hold their shares in brokerage accounts or street name would not be required to take any further actions to effect the exchange of their certificates. No new certificates would be issued to a stockholder until such stockholder has surrendered the outstanding certificate(s) together with the properly completed and executed letter of transmittal to the exchange agent. Until surrender, each certificate representing shares before the Reverse Stock Split would continue to be valid and would represent the adjusted number of shares based on the exchange ratio of the Reverse Stock Split, rounded up to the nearest whole share. STOCKHOLDERS SHOULD NOT DESTROY ANY STOCK CERTIFICATE(S) AND SHOULD NOT SUBMIT ANY CERTIFICATE(S) UNTIL REQUESTED TO DO SO. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS The following table sets forth, as of June 20, 2022, information concerning ownership of our securities by (i) each director, (ii) each executive officer, (iii) all directors and executive officers as a group, and (iv) each person known to us to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent (5%) of each class. That table is based on 420,179,483 issued and outstanding shares as of June 20, 2022. The number and percentage of shares beneficially owned includes any shares as to which the named person has sole or shared voting power or investment power and any shares that the named person has the right to acquire within 60 days. The address of each person listed is care of Spectral Capital Corporation, 4500 9th Avenue NE, Seattle, Washington, 98105. Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) Common Shares Percent of Class (%) Directors and Executive Officers Jenifer Osterwalder (1) 5,010,600 1.19% Stephen Spalding (2) 2,500,000 0.59% Decus Pro OU 262,321,860 62.431% Directors, officers, and 5% or greater stockholders as a group (3 persons) 269,832,460 64.211% (1) Consists of 10,600 shares owned directly and immediately exercisable options to purchase 5,000,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.61 per share. (2) Comprised of options to purchase 2,500,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.61 per share. VOTE OBTAINED - NEVADA LAW Section 78.320 of the NRS provides that, unless otherwise provided in the Companys Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of the Stockholders may be taken without a meeting if, before or after the action, a written consent thereto is signed by Stockholders holding at least a majority of the voting power. Neither the Companys Articles of Incorporation nor its Bylaws prohibit the taking of action by its Stockholders by written consent. In order to eliminate the costs and management time involved in holding a special meeting, our Board of Directors voted to utilize this provision under Nevada law and obtained the written consent of the holder of a majority in interest of our Common Stock. As of June 20, 2022, there were 420,179,483 shares of Common Stock of the Company issued and outstanding. Each holder of Common Stock is entitled to one vote for each share held by such holder. DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS TO SECURITY HOLDERS SHARING AN ADDRESS Only one Information Statement is being delivered to multiple security holders sharing an address unless the Company has received contrary instructions from one or more of its security holders. The Company undertakes to deliver promptly and without charge, upon written or oral request, a separate copy of the information statement to a security holder at a shared address to which a single copy of the documents was delivered. Security holders sharing an address and receiving a single copy may send a request to receive separate information statements to the Company at the following address: Spectral Capital Corporation, 4500 9th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA, 98105. WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY The Company is subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act, and in accordance therewith files reports, proxy statements and other information including annual and quarterly reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q with the SEC. Reports and other information filed by the Company can be accessed on the SEC website where reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC may be obtained free of charge. In addition, you may send a request for any of our SEC filings to Spectral Capital Corporation., 4500 9th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA, 98105. INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE Statements contained in this information statement, or in any document incorporated in this information statement by reference regarding the contents of other documents, are not necessarily complete and each such statement is qualified in its entirety by reference to that contract or other document filed as an exhibit with the SEC. The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference into this information statement certain documents we file with the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this Information Statement, and later information that we file with the SEC, prior to the effective date of the actions set forth herein, will automatically update and supersede that information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any documents filed by us pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this Information Statement and prior to the effective date of the actions set forth herein. These include periodic reports, such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as information or proxy statements (except for information furnished to the SEC that is not deemed to be filed for purposes of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Notwithstanding the foregoing, information furnished under Items 2.02 and 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, including the related exhibits, is not incorporated by reference into this information statement. Company Filings: Periods: Annual Report on Form 10-K Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed on March 4, 2022. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed on May 16, 2022. Any person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this Information Statement is delivered may request copies of reports, proxy statements or other information concerning us, without charge, as described above in Where You Can Find More Information. You should rely only on information contained in or incorporated by reference in this information statement. No persons have been authorized to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this information statement and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us or any other person. THIS INFORMATION STATEMENT IS DATED JULY 6, 2022. YOU SHOULD NOT ASSUME THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS INFORMATION STATEMENT IS ACCURATE AS OF ANY DATE OTHER THAN THAT DATE, AND THE MAILING OF THIS INFORMATION STATEMENT TO STOCKHOLDERS DOES NOT CREATE ANY IMPLICATION TO THE CONTRARY. This Information Statement is first being mailed or furnished to Stockholders on or about July 14, 2022. The Company will pay all costs associated with the distribution of this Information Statement, including the costs of printing and mailing. The Company will reimburse brokerage firms and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for reasonable expenses incurred by them in sending this Information Statement to the beneficial owners of the Common Stock. By Order of the Board of Directors July 6, 2022 /s/ Jenifer Osterwalder Jenifer Osterwalder /s/ Stephen Spalding Stephen Spalding Appendix A Form of Certificate of Change of the Increase in Authorized Capital Appendix B Form of Certificate of Change of the Reverse Split CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa Japanese police arrested a Marine early Saturday on suspicion of assault after he allegedly choked a man outside a bar, a police spokesman said Wednesday. Cpl. Christopher Flores, 22, assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was taken into custody at 5:22 a.m., an Okinawa Police spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone. Flores is assigned to Marine Air Support Squadron 2, according to email to Stars and Stripes on Wednesday from Capt. Tess M. LaBossiere, spokeswoman for 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. A witness called police at 4:54 a.m. to report that Flores strangled a Japanese man from behind with both hands on a street in Chuo, Okinawa city, the spokesman said. He said the man was not injured. The two were in an altercation in a bar prior to the incident, the spokesman said. Some government officials in Japan customarily speak to the media on condition of anonymity. Flores denied the allegations and called his arrest a mistake, the spokesman said. He said Flores was released from custody on Sunday. Our command is fully cooperating with Japanese authorities as they conduct the investigation, therefore, no further details are available at this time, LaBossiere said. The vast majority of the wings Marines and sailors uphold our core values in an exemplary manner and those who do not will be held accountable, as we take all incidents and allegations involving misconduct or illegal behavior seriously. Flores case was forwarded to the prosecutors office in Naha on Sunday, the spokesman said. A prosecutors spokeswoman said Wednesday the office has yet to make a charging decision. (Tribune News Service) Two ships of the Hampton Roads-based USS Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group are getting a break in their four-month-old deployment, with scheduled pit stops in Europe. USS Kearsarge is stopping in Brest, on Frances Atlantic coast in Brittany. A military stronghold since the days of Cardinal Richelieu, Brest is Frances main naval base for Atlantic operations and home of the French naval academy. USS Arlington, meanwhile, is staging its mid-deployment voyage repair in the Mediterranean port of Rijeka, Croatia. The idea is to give the ships time to make repairs and do maintenance the crews cant do while at sea. We are at the midpoint of our deployment and will execute much-needed repairs, upkeep and re-supply while in port, said Capt. Tom Foster, commanding officer of USS Kearsarge. Its also a chance to take a breath after a busy deployment that has seen the three ships of the group and their embarked Marines operating everywhere from Iceland to Greece and the Baltic to Tunisia. The mid-deployment voyage repair is our time to reset the force, said Col. Paul Merida, commanding officer of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. It gives everyone time to deal with medical and dental issues, and to catch up on administrative chores. The groups ships often operate at great distances from one another. While Arlington has been in the Mediterranean, Kearsarge has operated mainly in northern waters. Many of those exercises were with ships of the French navy, and Foster sees the stop in Brest as a chance to celebrate and strengthen an alliance that dates back to the American Revolution. While in Brest, the crew will get a chance to visit D-Day landing sites and memorials as well as Mont St-Michel. On July Fourth, sailors joined with French colleagues to lay a wreath at the American Battlefield Monuments Commissions Naval Monument at Brest. Arlington, which was with Kearsarge off Iceland this winter for a major NATO exercise on defending the strategic Greenland- Iceland- United Kingdom gap the route through which Russian submarines and ships venture into the Atlantic has since focused on exercises with NATO allies Greece and Turkey in the Mediterranean and on Tunisia with European and African allies. This deployment has been an incredible experience. We have successfully completed four major exercises with over 30 NATO allies and partners, said Capt. Eric Kellum, Arlingtons commanding officer. Arlingtons sailors and Marines will have a chance to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park, and the historic towns of Moscience, Opaija, Pula and Rovinj during the ships stop in Rijeka. The Kearsarge group comprises USS Gunston Hall as well as Kearsarge, Arlington and the 22nd MEU. In addition, Amphibious Squadron Six, Fleet Surgical Team 2, Fleet Surgical Team 4, Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Assault Craft Unit 2, Assault Craft Unit 4, Naval Beach Group 2, and Beach Master Unit 2 are embarked with the group. dress@dailypress.com 2022 Daily Press. Visit dailypress.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo, an oil industry veteran who steered the group through the creation of the OPEC+ alliance, has died in his native Nigeria. He was 63. Barkindo was in the final weeks of his six-year tenure as the top diplomat at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), where he headed its Vienna-based secretariat. He had returned to Abuja in preparation for a post-OPEC career. No immediate cause of death was given. Barkindo oversaw one of the most turbulent periods in the organizations history, beginning with the creation of the OPEC+ coalition just months after his appointment in summer 2016. The Nigerian engaged in a flurry of shuttle diplomacy to establish the once-unthinkable partnership with nonmembers, personally lobbying leaders including Russias Vladimir Putin. His term spanned a series of production cuts intended to keep global oil markets in balance, culminating in the unprecedented reductions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. With a warm and jovial style and a fondness for wearing local headdress while visiting OPEC+ member nations Barkindo was often key in easing tensions inside the fractious alliance. This is indeed a very sad day for the OPEC family, said Haitham Al-Ghais, the Kuwaiti oil official due to become secretary-general next month. He was without doubt a great industry leader and also a friend. The legacy that Mohammad leaves behind him will be remembered in the history of OPEC for many years to come. During a trip to Houston in 2017, Barkindo took the unusual step of reaching out to OPECs rivals in the U.S. shale industry, and over dinner with executives such as Mark Papa and Harold Hamm, struck an unlikely rapport that soothed years of acrimony between the producers. The act of breaking bread, as the Nigerian put it, would become an annual custom and yielded long-lasting relations with industry figures. The newfound sympathy of oil executives like Hamm who had once dismissed OPEC as a toothless tiger may have eventually helped the group navigate relations with President Donald Trump, whose hostility turned to enthusiastic support during the OPEC+ market intervention of 2020. It was also characteristic that when fossil fuel protesters demonstrated outside OPECs Vienna secretariat during a meeting in 2019, Barkindo who had once represented his country in climate negotiations invited some of them into the building for a discussion. Barkindo died suddenly in Abuja, where he met on Tuesday with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. His career plans after stepping down from the organization were to have included a fellowship at the Atlantic Council think tank. One of his final trips was to Baghdad, where OPEC was founded. Barkindo was a friend to Iraq and loved its people, said Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar. He was keen on strengthening OPECs role in stabilizing oil markets in the face of challenges that had stormed the oil sector and the global economy. MANILA, Philippines A land mine set by suspected communist guerrillas wounded seven soldiers in the central Philippines on Tuesday, in one of the insurgents' first known attacks since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office last week. Army troops were checking reports from villagers of anti-personnel mines laid by rebels from the New People's Army, the Communist Party of the Philippines' armed wing, along a village trail in Mapanas town in Northern Samar province when an explosion wounded the seven soldiers, regional army commander Maj. Gen. Edgardo de Leon said. Two of the wounded soldiers were in critical condition, he said, adding that no villagers were injured. "Some of the soldiers were tossed away because the rebels have been using really powerful land mines," de Leon said. The government will file criminal complaints against rebel leaders for the attack and the use of internationally banned types of land mines, de Leon told reporters. The soldiers were not able to open fire at the rebels, who fled after the attack and were being hunted by government forces, he said. On Friday, a day after Marcos Jr. was sworn in after winning a landslide victory in a May 9 election, government troops assaulted eight communist rebels, killing one, in a brief gunbattle in central Negros Oriental province, the army said. Marcos Jr. must deal with decades-long communist and Muslim insurgencies, along with longstanding territorial disputes with China and other claimants in the South China Sea. During the campaign, he said he would pursue peace talks with communist insurgents and expressed support for a government task force established under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, to fight the insurgency by bringing infrastructure, housing and livelihood projects to the poverty-stricken countryside. The task force has drawn criticism for linking several left-wing activists and government critics to the communist insurgency, in what Duterte's opponents said was baseless "red-tagging" aimed at muzzling legitimate dissent. Despite battle setbacks, infighting and factionalism, the communist insurgency has continued to rage, mostly in rural areas, for more than half a century in one of Asia's longest-running rebellions. It currently has an estimated 2,700 armed fighters. The Communist Party of the Philippines said in a statement issued when Marcos Jr. assumed the presidency that the New People's Army had foiled Duterte's goal of crushing the rebellion within his six-year term. It said rebel offensives would continue under Marcos Jr., citing human rights violations and plunder that occurred under his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The elder Marcos's counterinsurgency program was known for killings, torture and disappearances of suspected rebels, left-wing activists and their supporters. He was overthrown in an army-backed 1986 "People Power" pro-democracy uprising that drove him and his family into U.S. exile. After Marcos died in Hawaii in 1989, his widow and children returned to the Philippines, where they achieved a stunning political comeback by whitewashing the family image on social media, critics say. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea The U.S. military command in South Korea reported its lowest weekly COVID-19 case numbers of the year recently as the country itself experiences a coronavirus bump. U.S. Forces Korea counted 56 COVID-19 cases during the week ending Monday, its second-lowest weekly count of the year, according to an update on its website. Four of those cases are individuals who recently arrived in the country. The command reported 50 new cases June 14 to 20, its lowest weekly count this year, thus far, according to its updates. New cases climbed the following week, June 21 to 27, to 111. Meanwhile, South Korea reported 19,371 new cases of the coronavirus respiratory disease on Wednesday, up from 6,251 on Sunday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. South Korea is fully capable of implementing medical responses to the higher caseload, said Lee Sang-min, assistant director of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, while meeting with health officials Wednesday. The government earnestly asks the people to continue abiding by [South Koreas] infection prevention and control guidance, including periodic ventilation and wearing face masks, Lee said. South Korea lifted most of its outdoor mask mandate in May. However, face masks are still required for outdoor groups of over 49 people, on buses and subways, and in transportation stations and underground areas. Health agencies still advise people in densely populated areas to continue wearing them. Nearly all USFKs orders on social distancing, including mandatory mask wear on military installations, were rescinded as COVID-19 cases declined in South Korea. The commands personnel, which includes military spouses and civilian employees, may patronize all off-base businesses regardless of their vaccination status but are required to adhere to local directives outside of their base. USFK has responsibility for roughly 28,500 troops on the Korean Peninsula. Nearly 18.5 million of South Koreas population of 51 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to KDCA. Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to this report. CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea North Korea may expect swift punishment in the event its communist rulers compromise the security of their neighbor to the south, the president of South Korea said Wednesday. First, we should punish North Korea swiftly and adamantly in case of North Korean provocations, President Yoon Seok Youl told military officials Wednesday, according to a readout of their meeting. The protection of the peoples safety, property, territory and sovereignty is the militarys fundamental mission. Yoons remarks are his strongest yet on North Korea since he took office two months ago. A former prosecutor and member of the conservative People Power Party, Yoon campaigned on stronger ties with South Koreas ally the United States and on a stiffer response to North Korean provocations. So far in his short administration, the South and the U.S. on June 6 launched missiles and on June 7 sortied fighter jets in response to North Korea firing eight short-range missiles on June 5. Yoon cited North Koreas record number of missile tests so far this year and the threat of it resuming nuclear weapons tests, as well as the incompleteness of the security situation in Northeast Asia, as proof of a need for a strong national defense power. Yoon suggested additional, fundamental, but unspecified measures against North Korea. North Korea has launched 17 rounds of missiles in tests so far this year, including an unprecedented barrage in June. Yoon during the meeting also encouraged the military alliance between Seoul and Washington. We need to raise the effectiveness of the extended deterrence based on the [South Korea]-U.S. alliance, he said, according to the readout. Yoons comments come seven weeks after his meeting in Seoul with President Joe Biden, during which the two agreed to reconsider joint exercises by the two nations militaries. Field maneuvers by the two countries militaries were suspended in 2018 in favor of computer simulations under South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump and Moon at the time were negotiating with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Koreas state-run media characterizes large-scale exercises by the allies as a rehearsal for an invasion of the North. On Tuesday, U.S. Forces Korea and the Ministry of Defense announced the start of a 10-day military exercise in South Korea that includes F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters. The training is the first time F-35s from both countries will exercise together. Ahead of Bidens visit in late May, U.S. authorities warned that North Korea was preparing its first test of a nuclear device since 2017. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which was expelled from North Korea in 2019, afterward described evidence of an upcoming nuclear test as deeply regrettable. The conduct of a nuclear test would contravene U.N. Security Council resolutions and would be a cause for serious concern, Director General Rafael Grossi said in June. Wendy Sherman, U.S. deputy secretary of state, on June 7 warned of a swift and forceful response in the event of a test. CANAZEI, Italy Authorities said conditions downslope from a glacier in the Italian Alps were too unstable for searchers and dogs to work on the mountain where a chunk of ice the size of an apartment building broke loose at the weekend, killing several hikers. But with the aid of drones, two more bodies were spotted at the edge of tons of debris from the avalanche. The discovery raised to nine the known death toll from Sunday's avalanche, Trento Provincial President Maurizio Fugatti told reporters Wednesday evening in the resort town of Canazei, at the foot of the Marmolada glacier-topped mountain. Five people who had been hiking have been unaccounted for. But authorities stressed that until identification can be made on the two bodies pinpointed by drones, it won't be clear if they number among those five whose families said they never returned from the mountain. All of the missing are Italians. So far, four of the nine dead have been identified. While hikers were enjoying a Sunday outing in warm, sunny weather, an enormous portion of the glacier detached, sending an avalanche of ice and rocks thundering across a main hiking trail. Rescuers said they hoped the temperature would dip Thursday, lessening the risk of more avalanches, so searchers could go on the Marmolada slope. Relatives of the missing Italians pressed for the retrieval of their loved ones' bodies, which are believed to be buried under the avalanche. The size of the glacier's detached pinnacle has been compared to an apartment building. Trento Prosecutor Sandro Raimondi said in a Wednesday interview on Italian state radio that he opened a formal investigation to determine if any negligence was involved. Prosecutors plan to consult geologists. But Raimondi said it appeared at this point that the avalanche couldn't have been anticipated. "The unpredictability in this moment is the chief protagonist,'' he said. Forensic police investigators dispatched from the city of Parma took samples Wednesday from some of the remains recovered to try to determine if they belonged to any of the people missing. Meanwhile, the mayors of Canazei and smaller towns at the base of mountains in the Dolomite range issued ordinances closing off the Marmolada peak to hikers. Some people ignored the orders and scrambled up the lower slopes. Authorities have cited a weeks-long heat wave in northern Italy and scant winter snowfall as likely factors in the weekend breakup of the glacier, which has dramatically shrank over decades. Last weekend, the temperature on Marmolada topped 10 degrees Celsius (50 F), unusually high for early summer, authorities said. Polar sciences experts at an Italian government-run research center estimated that the Marmolada glacier could disappear entirely in the next 25-30 years if current climatic trends continue. Between 2004 and 2015, the glacier lost 30% of its volume and 22% of its area. People whose livelihoods are entwined with the mountain offered their own observations. Carlo Budel, manager of an alpine hut on the side of Marmolada, recalled that the glacier was not covered with snow last month. "Last year, when I moved to the hut on June 1st, it took me half a day only to enter because the hut was all covered in snow," he said. "But this year, I opened the main door in just 30 minutes." D'Emilio reported from Rome. Andrea Rosa and Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report. KRAMATORSK, Ukraine Russia redoubled its push for Ukraine's eastern Donbas region Wednesday, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have repelled some advances and both sides reporting casualties. The Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said troops stopped enemy units advancing towards Sloviansk, a city in Donetsk, one of two provinces in the Donbas whose capture is among Moscow's main goals. It also claimed to have repelled Russian attacks on a town and village north of Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, just miles from the Russian border. The Ukrainian presidential office said most civilian casualties were in Donetsk province, where Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said two people died in the city of Avdiivka; the cities of Sloviansk, Krasnohorivka and Kurakhove each reported one civilian killed. "Every crime will be punished," he wrote on social media. Kyrylenko urged the province's more than 350,000 remaining residents to flee late Tuesday, saying that evacuating Donetsk was necessary to save lives and allow the Ukrainian army to put up a better defense against the Russian advance. Donetsk is part of the Donbas, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where Ukraine's most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Pro-Russian separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two self-proclaimed separatist republics. Putin on Monday declared the complete seizure of Luhansk, after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the last city under their control in the province. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai denied Wednesday that the Russians had completely captured the province. Heavy fighting continued in villages around Lysychansk, the city Ukrainians soldiers withdrew from and which Russian troops took Sunday, he said. "The Russians have paid a high price, but the Luhansk region is not fully captured by the Russian army," Haidai said. "Some settlements have been overrun by each side several times." He accused Russian forces of scorched earth tactics, "burning down and destroying everything on their way." The Russian military pounded Luhansk for weeks from the air and ground, causing mass destruction and large civilian casualties. When Russian troops enter villages and cities, they are largely empty. From pre-war populations each of around 100,000, only up to 15,000 residents remain in Lysychansk and some 8,000 in the nearby city of Sievierodonetsk, which Russian and separatist fighters seized last month, Haidai said. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskky, in his nightly video address Wednesday, said that of all the battles in his country, "the most brutal confrontation" is raging in the Donbas. The Associated Press on Wednesday saw the bloody aftermath of one attack in the rebel-held Donetsk town of Makiivka and spoke to eyewitnesses who said a Soviet-era missile struck a playground outside a residential home. Local separatists blamed the attack on Ukrainian forces. Blood stained the seat of a swing and pooled on the ground below. Russian media cited the separatists as saying two children were killed and three children and two adults were wounded. "The boy was lying on the swings like this and I saw he had blood coming out from this side," said resident Svetlana Lyga. "I did not come close I simply couldn't. The girl was taken by the ambulance. She was alive at that moment." North of Donetsk, Russian forces hit Kharkiv with missile strikes overnight. Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Wednesday on Telegram that one person was killed and three, including a toddler, were injured. First responders crunched through the debris of a Kharkiv university, where Zelenskyy said the main building, lecture halls, museum and library were destroyed. "When it comes to the definition of barbarism, this strike fits the bill the most," the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address. "Only an enemy of civilization and humanity can do such things strike missiles at a university, a pedagogical university." The attacks indicated that residents of the city are unlikely to enjoy calm as the war grinds into its fifth month. Providing its account of the fighting in Kharkiv, Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces killed up to 100 Ukrainian troops and destroyed four armored vehicles. The ministry also said its forces struck a Ukrainian air-defense radar and camp housing foreign fighters in southern Ukraine's Mykolaiv region. The ministry's chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, claimed air-launched high precision missiles destroyed two HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems the U.S. had sent to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military denied Moscow's claims. Elsewhere on the battlefield: Russian rocket strikes wounded four people in the town of Pokrovska in Ukraine's eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. He added that four settlements to the west came under relentless shelling Wednesday, burning wheat fields, damaging a solar power plant and destroying a house. In southern Ukraine, a local official said one person died and four were wounded in a blast in a Russian-occupied town, Skadovsk. Mayor Oleksandr Yakovlev told the Suspilne broadcaster a child was among those injured in an explosion that tore through a residential building. Russian state media claimed Wednesday that an oil refinery in Donetsk had caught fire due to Ukrainian shelling. The Tass news agency cited a separatists' claim that the refinery fire was one of 27 Ukrainian attacks on Donetsk over the previous 24 hours. Ukrainian authorities didn't immediately confirm the attack. In other developments: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 27-nation European Union needs to make emergency plans to prepare for a complete cut-off of Russian gas. The EU has already imposed sanctions on Russia, including on some energy supplies, and is trying to find other sources. But von der Leyen said the bloc needed to be ready for shock disruptions from Moscow. European Union lawmakers voted to support a plan by the bloc's executive commission to include natural gas and nuclear power on its list of sustainable activities. Environmentalists accused the EU of "greenwashing." One argument for rejecting the proposal was that it could boost gas sales that benefit Russia. The European Commission said the Ukrainian government backs its stance. A court in Russia ordered a pipeline bringing oil from Kazakhstan to Europe halted for 30 days for what it said were environmental violations, Russian media reported. Russian food bound for an Arctic coal mining settlement have resumed transiting via mainland Norway after weeks of tension, a Russian representative said Wednesday. Russian officials had accused Oslo of blocking a shipment of essential goods for Russian miners in Barentsburg, on the far-Northern Svalbard archipelago. A top Russian official warned the United States could face the "wrath of God" if it works to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russia's actions in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, denounced the U.S. for what he described as its efforts to "spread chaos and destruction across the world for the sake of 'true democracy.'" Murru and Cara Anna contributed from Kharkiv. TEHRAN, Iran Iranian state TV said Wednesday that the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners in the country of "espionage" and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones. The country's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the foreigners had been arrested, but did not elaborate on when. The U.K. Foreign Office swiftly denied that its diplomat was arrested, calling the report "completely false." Iran's state TV ran footage purporting to show the foreigners collecting samples from the ground while under drone surveillance. The storm of accusations follow escalating tensions over a pickup in Tehran's arrests of foreigners and a rapid advancement of its nuclear work, while talks to revive the landmark 2015 atomic accord remain at a standstill. Iran has detained a number of Europeans in recent months, including two French citizens and a Swedish tourist, as it seeks to gain leverage in negotiations. The report also comes after Iran, in a rare move, replaced the Revolutionary Guard's longstanding intelligence chief. News outlets reported the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, Giles Whitaker, and other foreigners faced "spying" charges after visiting various forbidden zones in the country while the Guard was carrying out missile tests. The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the Guard, claimed Whitaker was expelled from the area after offering authorities an apology. The accusations splashed across Iranian media as the British public was transfixed by the political fortunes of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who faces growing pressure to step down after defections from his Cabinet. State TV broadcast a photo montage apparently showing Whitaker tour the southwestern desert collecting soil samples against the backdrop of eerie music. "Even though there were signs in that area saying this was a forbidden area, he went further and took a sample and took a picture," the narrator said. "Intelligence agencies say that these people often pose as tourists, but are looking for military and missile sites to identify equipment and ammunition." Iranian media also identified Maciej Walczak, a Polish scientist at Copernicus University in Poland, as among the accused foreigners. It similarly said he took samples of soil, water and salt from a forbidden area during a missile test in the country's south. The report added that the Guard's intelligence wing detained the husband of Austria's cultural attache in Iran after he took soil samples in the country's northeast. Iran has in the past arrested dual nationals and those with Western ties, often on widely criticized espionage charges, and used them as bargaining chips in talks over other issues, such as nuclear negotiations. Tehran denies using detainees to further its political aims. Talks to revive Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers have stalled for months. A recent effort to break the deadlock between U.S. and Iranian negotiators ended without making progress in Doha last week. The U.S. special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, described the latest talks in Qatar as "more than a little bit of a wasted occasion." "They have and, including in Doha, added demands that I think anyone looking at this would be viewed as having nothing to do with the nuclear deal, things that they've wanted in the past," Malley said in an interview with National Public Radio on Tuesday, undercutting Tehran's more upbeat assessments. He added that the U.S. is working simultaneously to secure the release of four Americans detained in Iran, saying: "They've been used as pawns. But we are looking at steps that we could take that would facilitate their return in the shortest time possible." Meanwhile, as a shadow war between Israel and Iran has escalated in Tehran and across the Middle East, Iran announced last month that the head of the Guard's intelligence arm, Hossein Taeb, had been replaced by Gen. Mohammad Kazemi, the former head of the Guard's security department. The surprise move followed the deaths of several Guard officers in recent weeks. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report. BEIRUT Lebanon plans to start sending back tens of thousands of Syrian refugees within months over objections by the United Nations and rights groups, a minister said in an interview Wednesday. Lebanon has one of the world's highest numbers of refugees per capita and currently hosts over 1 million Syrians who fled the decade-old conflict. Officials say the influx has cost Lebanon billions of dollars and further damaged its crippled infrastructure while it struggles with a financial meltdown. "We are serious about implementing this plan and we hope to do so within months," Issam Charafeddine, Lebanon's caretaker Minister of the Displaced, told The Associated Press. "This is a humane, honorable, patriotic and economic plan that is necessary for Lebanon." The Lebanese government's plan would entail sending back 15,000 Syrian refugees every month. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and rights groups oppose involuntary repatriation to Syria and say the practice risks endangering the returning refugees. The U.N. refugee agency in a press statement denied that it is engaged in negotiations with Beirut and Damascus on refugee returns. "UNHCR continues to call on the government of Lebanon to respect the fundamental right of all refugees to a voluntary, safe and dignified return," the statement read. The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrian refugee households live in extreme poverty. But since late 2019, poverty has worsened for both Lebanese and Syrians as the Mediterranean country continues to struggle with a crippling economic crisis. Sky-rocketing fuel prices coupled with a currency collapse has meant many essential commodities are now out of reach. In recent months, a surge of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians have tried to flee cash-strapped Lebanon by sea to Europe. The Lebanese minister on Monday presented the plan to President Michel Aoun. A committee consisting of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Charafeddine, six other ministers and the country's General Security organization had been working on the proposal since March to gradually return some 1.5 million Syrian refugees from Lebanon. Charafeddine plans to visit Syria next week to meet Local Administration and Environment Minister Hussein Makhlouf. He hopes they will agree on a concrete timeline for the plan to repatriate 15,000 Syrian refugees every month. The minister says Maklouf had told him that the Syrian government could provide temporary shelter for repatriated refugees in areas that are "entirely safe." "We have statistics from the Interior Ministry of the names of the displaced, where they live, and where they're originally from, and so we would return them by neighborhood," the minister said. He said Lebanon is willing to repatriate refugees in larger numbers if the Syrian government is able to receive them "at a later stage". Human rights organizations in recent reports have documented cases of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and a host of human rights violations against returning refugees. Charafeddine rejected these reports as a "fear campaign" and said the Syrian government has agreed to drop charges against former opposition fighters and political opposition. "I was surprised that the Syrian state has eased matters a lot for returns even when it comes to security matters even those who held weapons will get waivers," Charafeddine told the AP. The caretaker minister also criticized the UNHCR and donor countries for what he said was their unwillingness to redirect refugee aid to Syria, which he says deters refugees from returning. "Whatever the UNHCR's position is, we will go ahead with the plan," he said. Aiden McCarthy's photo was shared across Chicago-area social media groups in the hours after the July 4 parade shooting in Highland Park, accompanied by pleas to help identify the 2-year-old who had been found at the scene bloodied and alone and to reunite him with his family. On Tuesday, friends and authorities confirmed that the boy's parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, were among seven people killed in the tragedy. "At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents," wrote Irina Colon on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden, who was reunited with his grandparents Monday evening. Friends of the McCarthys said Irina's parents would care for the boy going forward. Four of other others who were killed were identified Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. Every victim was from Highland Park except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico. Officials haven't yet identified the seventh victim. Portraits of some of those who died began to emerge Tuesday as investigators continued to search for evidence in the shooting that killed at least seven and wounded 30. Irina McCarthy's childhood friend, Angela Vella, described McCarthy as fun, personable and "somewhat of a tomboy" who still liked to dress up nicely. "She definitely had her own style, which I always admired," Vella said in a short interview. Straus, a Chicago financial adviser, was one of the first observers at the parade and attended it every year, his grandchildren said. Brothers Maxwell and Tobias Straus described their grandfather as a kind and active man who loved walking, biking and attending community events. "The way he lived life, you'd think he was still middle-aged," Maxwell Straus said in an interview. The two brothers recalled Sunday night dinners with their grandparents as a favorite tradition. They said they ate with him the night before he was killed. "America's gun culture is killing grandparents," said Maxwell Straus. "It's very just terrible." Sundheim, meanwhile, was regaled as a lifelong congregant and "beloved" staff member at North Shore Congregation Israel, where she had worked for decades, the Reform synagogue said on its website. Sundheim taught at the synagogue's preschool and coordinated events including bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. "Jacki's work, kindness and warmth touched us all," synagogue leaders wrote in a message on their website. "There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jacki's death and sympathy for her family and loved ones." Toledo-Zaragoza was killed on what his 23-year-old granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, said was supposed to be a "fun family day" that "turned into a horrific nightmare for us all." On a GoFundMe page to raise money for Toledo's funeral expenses, Xochil Toledo said her grandfather was a "loving man, creative, adventurous and funny." "As a family we are broken, numb," she said. Toledo-Zaragoza had come to Illinois to visit his family about two months ago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His family wanted him to stay permanently because of injuries he had suffered after being hit by a car a couple years ago during an earlier visit to Highland Park. The newspaper reported that he was hit by three bullets Monday and died at the scene. He wasn't sure he wanted to attend the parade because of the large crowds and his limited mobility, which required him to use a walker, but Xochil Toledo said the family didn't want to leave him alone. Katherine Goldstein's husband described her as an easygoing travel companion who was always game to visit far-flung locales. "She didn't complain," Craig Goldstein told The New York Times. "She was always along for the ride." Goldstein was a mother of two daughters in their early 20s, Cassie and Alana. She attended the parade with her older daughter so that Cassie could reunite with friends from high school, Craig Goldstein, a hospital physician, told the newspaper. Dr. Goldstein said his wife had recently lost her mother and had given thought to what kind of arrangements she might want when she dies. He recalled that Katherine, an avid bird watcher, said she wanted to be cremated and to have her remains scattered in the Montrose Beach area of Chicago, where there is a bird sanctuary. Schulte reported from Omaha, Neb. Savage reported from Chicago. Venhuizen reported from Madison, Wis. Associated Press reporter Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles. On July 16, Americans will be able to call or text a new phone number 988 if they feel they are experiencing a mental health crisis and/or are at risk of suicide. The three-digit number will replace the 10-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which can currently be reached by phone or text at 800-273-8255 and which also offers an online chat. The forthcoming switch to 988 is due to passage of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in October 2020 after it passed the Senate with bipartisan support. The legislation also mandated that the switch to 988 include a strategy to provide specialized services for LGBTQ youth, who are more than four times as likely to contemplate suicide than their non-LGBTQ peers, research shows. Officials say they hope the new, shorter phone number will be easier for Americans to remember, with the goal of helping more people in crisis and LGBTQ youth in particular. But as the switch to 988 nears, officials have also said that more needs to be done to ensure that Lifeline providers can handle the expected increase in callers. NBC News reported last month, for example, that fewer than half the states have enacted legislation to pay for 988 implementation. We are at the start of a transition, not the end, and there is still a lot of work to be done, said John Palmieri, acting director of the 988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Coordination Office at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Lifeline, he added, has been massively underfunded and under-resourced since its 2005 inception. Another major item on officials 988 to-do list: finalizing which LGBTQ-focused organizations will receive $7.2 million in earmarked funding to provide specialized services to LGBTQ youth who reach out to the Lifeline. Experts who study the mental health of LGBTQ young people say its crucial that officials finalize plans and funding to ensure they can provide necessary LGBTQ-specific training to 988 crisis responders - especially given the torrent of legislation across the country targeting the rights of LGBTQ young people. They say LGBTQ-informed suicide prevention services can help offer crucial support in moments of crisis and ultimately save lives. I do think this is something that they need to resolve quickly, because they are going to get phone calls from LGBTQ young people, said Jessica Fish, an assistant professor of family science at the University of Maryland. Fish added that given the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ legislation, the pandemics effects on mental health and the existing data showcasing disparities in depression and suicidality, the Lifeline needs to be prepared to funnel those folks to providers on the phone who can navigate that in a way that is sensitive, knowledgeable, empathetic and aware of the unique experiences of LGBTQ youth in particular. Conversations between Lifeline officials and potential LGBTQ-youth-focused 988 providers are ongoing, according to a SAMHSA official and John Draper, Lifelines executive director and executive vice president of national networks for Vibrant Emotional Health, the New York City-based mental health service provider tasked with administering 988. Draper added that all counselors will receive trainings from experts in providing affirming services to LGBTQIA+ individuals in crisis. One survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between January and June of 2021 found that nearly half of gay, lesbian and bisexual teens said they had contemplated suicide during the pandemic, compared with 14% of their heterosexual peers. The Trevor Project, which focuses on suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth, said in a report: LGBTQ youth are not inherently prone to suicide risk because of their sexual orientation or gender identity but rather placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society. Some of that mistreatment and stigma, experts say, comes in the form of policy, including a Florida law which critics have dubbed dont say gay that took effect Friday and bans teachers in kindergarten through third grade from discussing gender and sexual orientation in class. And the Supreme Courts recent overturning of Roe v. Wade and Justice Clarence Thomass concurring opinion that called for the high court to reconsider its decisions in the cases that legalized same-sex marriage and invalidated anti-sodomy laws also are likely to have negative impacts on the mental health of LGBTQ young people, according to Jeremy Goldbach, a professor of sexual health and education at Washington University in St. Louis. It creates anxiety, Goldbach said of these current events. You dont have to actually even be the direct victim of a law to have it affect you. In addition to anti-LGBTQ laws, stigma can manifest through discourse shaped by politicians, media coverage and dinner table conversations, according to Fish. That makes it all the more crucial that 988 counselors are trained to respond to the needs of young LGBTQ people in crisis, she added. I think this crisis line could if folks are trained to work with this community offer enormous benefit to LGBTQ young people who may or may not feel like they can go anywhere else, Fish said. But it could also then create additional harms if folks are not ready and prepared or trained to work with this community. A report published last month by the Rand Corp., an independent research organization, found that only 45% of the public health officials tasked with helping roll out the new Lifeline said their staff had training to interact with LGBTQ people. Draper said that Vibrant has provided 988 crisis responders with multiple educational webinars and guidance documents focusing on inclusive language and best practices on how to support LGBTQ youth who contact 988. He declined to discuss which LGBTQ-focused organizations are being considered as 988 providers, but noted that the Trevor Project has long been a collaborator and valuable adviser to Vibrant in support of the Lifelines service to LGBTQIA+ populations. The Trevor Project operates a 24/7 crisis hotline that serves more than 300,000 LGBTQ youth a year through calls, texts and online chats managed by more than 2,000 trained volunteer crisis counselors from across the country, according to a spokesperson. Preston Mitchum, director of advocacy and government affairs for the Trevor Project, confirmed that the organizations officials have been in conversation with Vibrant and SAMHSA officials about potentially providing specialized services for LGBTQ young people through 988. He added that Trevor Project officials hope to be able to actually start providing services to LGBTQ youth who reach out to 988 by September if the organization winds up finalized as a subcontractor. Its not just about getting the funding, its about [the] timing allowed for implementation to occur once the funding is ultimately received, Mitchum said. I want to be clear that the goal in providing the best care and service delivery for people should not be rushed. Research suggests that the Lifelines crisis counselors could also play a significant role in the lives of LGTBQ young people who reach out to them. The Trevor Projects 2019 national survey found that LGBTQ youth who reported having at least one accepting adult were 40% less likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year than those who didnt, even while controlling for race/ethnicity, age and gender identity. Goldbach said that LGBTQ-informed crisis counselors are particularly crucial for LGBTQ young people in crisis given that theyre often not surrounded by other LGBTQ people who can . . . help them make meaning out of their identities and experiences of discrimination. LGBTQ-informed 988 crisis counselors should also ask for young peoples pronouns and avoid making assumptions about their gender identities based on the sounds of their voices, Goldbach and Fish said. (The Lifelines online chat currently allows people to specify their gender identity but not their pronouns.) Another approach that crisis counselors should keep in mind, Goldbach said, is to listen to what extent, if any, LGBTQ young people talk about their gender identity and/or sexual orientation having a role in their mental health crisis. There are times when young queer people have a crisis that isnt necessarily wrapped up in identity such as going through the pain of a breakup - and I think sometimes people who dont have a lot of experience in counseling with queer people keep wanting to take it back to that and assume that that must be the core of the problem, and that can be really stigmatizing, he said. Other aspects of identity including socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic identities, immigration status and age can also shape the particularities of LGBTQ youths experiences, Goldbach added, making it important to take them into consideration. I think, in the end, theres a lot of different things that come forward in any given moment and that crisis is not always about the same thing, he said. Of the ongoing discussions about how exactly specialized LGBTQ services will be provided through 988, Mitchum said Trevor Project officials are going to be there every step of the way to make sure we reach the finish line. In the meantime, Goldbach urged crisis counselors across the country to make use of the Trevor Projects online resources and seek out local LGBTQ centers to potentially learn more about how they can best serve LGBTQ youth. If we all just wait for the government to step in and provide the training, I think we might be waiting a little while, he said. There are resources, especially in LGBTQ centers, [that] are great places to start if you want local training. If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). As of July 16, you can reach the Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7 confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they text to 741741. The 33-year-old criminal who could only be referred to as CD during the trial has also been investigated for attempted murder and other shootings Jordan Davis was shot dead as he pushed his son's pram The convicted drug dealer who gardai believe ordered the fatal shooting of Jordan Davis is suspected of involvement in a spate of other gun attacks and at least one murder. Mr Davis (22) was shot dead more than three years ago in north Dublin as he pushed his four-month-old son in a pram near a primary school. Wayne Cooney (31), of Glenshane Drive, Tallaght, was yesterday convicted of the fatal gun attack, which the court heard stemmed from a 70,000 drug debt owed by the victim. Gardai believe that debt was owed to a significant Coolock drug dealer who has been a primary target for anti-gangland gardai in recent years. Jordan Davis was shot dead as he pushed his son's pram The 33-year-old criminal who could only be referred to as CD during the trial is also suspected of direct involvement in at least one other fatal shooting. He has also been investigated for attempted murder, shootings, and was previously arrested when gardai foiled a potential gangland hit. Detectives suspect he enlisted Cooney to carry out the murder as he was in a relationship with the drug dealers sister at the time. The Central Criminal Court also heard how the criminal sent Mr Davis threatening texts in the lead up to the killing. In the messages, he warned: Im on your case mate, it wont be long, and later told him: Soon, very soon, bang bang. Read more: Dublin man found guilty of murdering Jordan Davis (22) as he wheeled infant son in pram Read more: Man accused of murder of dad is either guilty or 'most unlucky person ever', court told Mr Davis was shot three times on May 22, 2019, as he pushed his infant son in a pram at a laneway beside Our Lady of Immaculate National School in Darndale. Minutes earlier, he had posted a tribute to his friend Sean Little (22), who was shot dead the previous morning in a gangland killing. It took the jury just over three hours to find that Cooney was the cyclist who circled Mr Davis for three days like a shark moving towards its prey before firing eight shots at him from a 9mm pistol. Mr Davis suffered three gunshot wounds, including one to the head, killing him instantly. After the verdict was delivered Mr Justice Tony Hunt thanked the jurors for their hard work in a distressing trial. He described the recklessness of Cooney in firing eight times while Davis pushed his son in a pram as astonishing. Sandra Davis The victims mother, Sandra Davis, was supported by friends and family as the verdict was read out. Prosecution barrister Bernard Condon SC told the jury the circumstantial evidence against Cooney was such that he was either the shooter or the most unlucky person ever. A garda had identified Cooney from CCTV footage as the cyclist circling Mr Davis. Cooneys DNA was found on a glove in an area where the shooter could be seen discarding gloves and a black bodywarmer minutes after the shooting. The prosecution also relied on evidence that showed Cooneys phone called CD when the person identified on CCTV as the shooter was seen holding a phone to his ear. Alan Lynch (59) also kicked out at arresting gardai when he became aggressive after his phone went missing Alan Lynch (59) also kicked out at arresting gardai when he became aggressive after his phone went missing in an emergency department. Judge Bryan Smyth adjourned the case and told Lynch he would leave him without convictions if he made a 250 donation to charity. Lynch, a widower of Brookville Court, North Road, Finglas, pleaded guilty to public intoxication, threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and garda obstruction. Dublin District Court gardai were called to the Mater Hospital Emergency Department at 11pm on March 16. The accused was lying on the floor, preventing staff and critical care teams getting by. When asked to get to his feet, he was aggressive and shouted obscenities in an area where people were awaiting treatment. He had to be physically picked up and he dropped his body weight to make this more difficult. When gardai took him to a patrol van, he became violent and kicked out at them. Lynch had consumed a lot of alcohol on the night and was fully intoxicated, his solicitor Stephen OMahony said. He was at the hospital because he had broken a collarbone and he gave his phone to a person waiting in A&E while he was in triage. When he came out, the phone was gone and his behaviour thereafter was totally unacceptable. There were gaps in his memory and he was very ashamed of the facts. Fowler was previously convicted of being in possession of drugs and a submachine gun and sentenced to seven-and-a half-years in prison. Barry Fowler (37) of Millbrook Lawns, Tallaght, Dublin, pleaded guilty to being in possession of 134,000 worth of cannabis on 24th May 2021. Detective Garda Declan OReilly told the court gardai were conducting a surveillance operation when Fowler and a co-accused were monitored in the Tallaght area. The court heard the co-accused was seen putting something into the boot of a car before driving off in a taxi. Fowler was seen taking keys from the car before gardai approached him and was seen attempting to discard the keys before being arrested. The co-accused was also arrested by gardai, the court heard. Gardai searched the car and found 134,000 worth of cannabis in a bag. The court heard the accused said during a garda interview he was under threat by gangs, but Det Garda O'Reilly told the court he did not believe the accused in this regard. The fake 'DHL' van used by Barry Fowler Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, defending, told the court the accused takes full responsibility for his actions and his mother is broken hearted since he went into custody. The accused has completed a conflict resolution course while in prison. Letters have been received from friends, family, and his employer in defence of the accused. Fowler was previously convicted of being in possession of drugs and a submachine gun and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. The court heard he finished his sentence shortly before this incident occurred. He also received a three-year sentence for dangerous driving causing the death of a teenager in 2005. His sister said in a written statement mentioned in court that Fowler has been battling a coke addiction and mental health issues since the accident. Judge Martin Nolan said his record of "quite serious convictions" is one of the main aggravating factors. The value of drugs was also taken into consideration, but Judge Nolan said he believes the accused has middle to low culpability in this scheme. Fowler is considered a serious organised criminal with associations deep into the Kinahan mob and is a long time pal of gangland heavy Paul Rice. In March of last year the Sunday World photographed Fowler in a van painted to look like a DHL delivery vehicle and dressed in a uniform but the company had not employed him and the van, it was discovered, had been mocked up and sold by a west Dublin garage. Fowler is one of the top targets of the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and proceedings were previously issued against him by the Criminal Assets Bureau. Mr Irvine had been in custody on charges connected to the weapons seizure made in Belfast last month Leading loyalist Winston Winkie Irvine has been granted bail with almost no restrictions after a judge was told that Mr Irvines DNA was not present on a holdall containing guns in his car. References were also provided for the Shankill loyalist who was arrested on June 8 with a number of weapons and ammunition in his car by senior figures, the court was told, including a Northern Ireland minister. Mr Irvine had been in custody on charges connected to the weapons seizure made in Belfast last month. The 47-year-old, of Ballysillan Road in the city, is accused of possessing a firearm and ammunition in suspicious circumstances, possessing a prohibited firearm, possession of a handgun without a certificate, and having ammunition without a certificate. A second man, Robin Workman (51), from Shore Road in Larne, Co Antrim, is also currently in custody on the same charges. Police claim Workman, who works as a joiner, transported the haul of guns in his van to a meeting with his co-accused in the Glencairn area. Read more: Police fear escalation of loyalist violence in wake of Winkie Irvine arrest Read more: Portrait of murdered UDA boss to replace Cuchulainn mural at Belfasts Freedom Corner Read more: Loyalist crime boss George Courtney weds gangsters daughter bride in lavish ceremony On July 1, a court was told that DNA tests on the weapons and the bag could take up to a month to be completed. During a previous hearing it was said a mixed DNA profile on the handles of a plastic bag may have contained Mr Irvines DNA. However, during a High Court bail application today, the court was told testing was now complete and Mr Irvines DNA was not discovered on the bag. Defence barrister Joe Brolly told the court that Northern Ireland Minister Conor Burns had provided a letter saying he would have no issue in continuing dialogue with the accused, who, the court was told, works for cross-community organisation Intercomm. A former Policing Board chair also provided a character reference, as a did a number of other people who were not named. It was previously alleged in court that a PSNI chief held discussions with the leading loyalist about decommissioning weapons. Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton later confirmed no telephone conversation took place between he and Mr Irvine on the day before a bag containing guns and ammunition was found in the boot of Mr Irvines car. During todays hearing it was said that the Assistant Chief Constable had confirmed regular contact between the pair, but not in relation to the matters before the court. When asked if internet access should be a condition of bail, the defence indicated a statement was about to be released of significant importance. My Brolly said: It is important that he does. My Lord will be aware of very sensitive material. My Lord is also aware that a witness has attended today who had asked to give evidence anonymously to the court. There is going to be a publication once Mr Irvine is released that was delayed which might have fundamental importance in our society as a whole and it will be important that he has internet access, he added. Prior to the commencement of the hearing the defence and prosecution met with the judge in his chambers to discuss matters of sensitivity that were not heard in open session. A witness who was present and was to give evidence anonymously was also not called on. No further detail was given as to the nature of this witnesss evidence and its relevance to the case. Prosecution barrister Natalie Pinkerton said police would like an exclusion zone that would have banned Mr Irvine from the greater Belfast area. The judge refused this application. Mr Justice OHara said: I am going to grant bail to Mr Irvine. Whatever the police concerns about him, he is a man who is now 47, he has a very limited criminal record and, whatever the risk, I think they can be managed. He was ordered not to have contact with his co-accused, but was not required to be subject to the exclusion zone or be subject to a curfew or electronic tag. Questions were raised over a pin code for a mobile phone. The court was told that if a RIPA application was made by police the code would be handed over. He was released on 750 bail and a 10,000 family surety. She urged BMW owners with similar vehicles to urgently contact the manufacturer to see if their car also may have potentially dangerous defects. 5/7/22 Photo of the remains of a 5 Series BMW, owned by Ms. Rimma Vasjuka, after it caught fire on the M6 motorway, at Christmas 2018. Please see Ray Managh Story - BURNING BMWs. PIC: Collins Courts Photo of the remains of a 5 Series BMW, owned by Ms. Rimma Vasjuka, after it caught fire on the M6 motorway, at Christmas 2018. PIC: Collins Courts Photo of the remains of a 5 Series BMW, owned by Ms. Rimma Vasjuka, after it caught fire on the M6 motorway, at Christmas 2018. PIC: Collins Courts A BMW owner, who narrowly escaped from her car after it went up in flames on the M6 in County Westmeath, has settled her 60,000 damages and personal injuries claim against the car manufacturer for an undisclosed sum. Judge Sarah Berkeley was told in the Circuit Civil Court today by barrister Kristian Douglas that Rimma Vasjukas 2014 Five Series Beamer spontaneously combusted at the Clara-Moate exit of the motorway just two days before Christmas 2018. After settling her claim Rimmas solicitor Dermot McNamara, Rush, Co Dublin, read a statement in which the Russian national now living in Co Roscommon, urged BMW owners with similar vehicles to urgently contact the manufacturer to see if their car also may have potentially dangerous defects. David Whelan, counsel for BMW had been given time this morning by Judge Berkeley to negotiate with his client in Germany over possibly settling the case. Photo of the remains of a 5 Series BMW, owned by Ms. Rimma Vasjuka, after it caught fire on the M6 motorway, at Christmas 2018. PIC: Collins Courts Following talks Mr Douglas told the court the case had settled and could be struck out with an order for the legal costs of Ms Vasjuka, a 39-year-old cleaner of Manor Valley, Monksland, Athlone. Although the settlement figure was not disclosed in court Mr McNamara said his client was happy with the figure offered by BMW. Ms Vasjuka, in her claim stated that on December 23, 2018 she had been a front seat passenger in her BMW when she and her partner had noticed the car filling with smoke. They had pulled onto the hard shoulder and on lifting the bonnet the car had been consumed by flames. In October 2018 motoring correspondents globally reported that BMW was recalling 1.6 million diesel cars affected with a potential fire hazard. Just over 10,380 cars in Ireland were inspected and repaired as part of the global recall. The three, five, six and seven series vehicles manufactured between 2010 and 2016 were affected. 5/7/22 Photo of the remains of a 5 Series BMW, owned by Ms. Rimma Vasjuka, after it caught fire on the M6 motorway, at Christmas 2018. Please see Ray Managh Story - BURNING BMWs. PIC: Collins Courts Ms Vasjuka, who claimed to have suffered serious psychological injuries, including nightmares, following the fire alleged that her day-to-day life had been seriously affected particularly because she had to drive as part of her work. She sued BMW Automotive (Ireland) Limited of Swift Square, Santry Demesne, Dublin 9, which dealt with the proceedings on behalf of the Munich-based manufacturer. She claimed BMW had distributed dangerous and unsafe motors, had not issued a recall relating to her 142RN988 car and had sold cars with defective parts. Photos of a 5 Series BMW, owned by Ms. Rimma Vasjuka, which caught fire on the M6 motorway, at Christmas 2018. PIC: Collins Courts Ms Vasjuka claimed she had been prescribed medication for anxiety and stress she had suffered as a result of the accident and to help her through Christmas holiday flights she had booked over the 2018 Christmas break. Judge Berkeley, by consent of both parties, struck out her 60,000 claim and awarded costs to Ms Vasjuka. READ MORE: Tiger Woods to the rescue after Dragon Peter Jones drive hits spectator at JP McManus Pro-Am In 2018 the South Korean government fined BMW $10million dollars over its handling of a spate of engine fires in the country and had considered taking criminal charges against the manufacturer. Sonya Egan (42) told Jonathan O'Brien she loved him - and promised she would drop bullying claims "if he gave in to her feelings for him" A mother of three jailed for two years after she waged a terrifying campaign of harassment against a former Sinn Fein TD and a Cork community activist is now challenging her sentence. Sonya Egan (42) falsely claimed to be the daughter of former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and her relentless campaign of harassment was such that a judge noted it had caused "torment" for her two victims. She told former Cork TD Jonathan O'Brien she loved him - and, having later made serious bullying accusations against the Cork politician, then promised him she would drop all the claims "if he gave in to her feelings for him." Egan then waged an alarming campaign of harassment against Mr O'Brien (50) and Cork community activist Laura O'Connell for over a year, levelling false and hurtful allegations against them. Judge Helen Boyle noted at Cork Circuit Criminal Court last month the campaign of harassment went on for over a year, it was sustained, targeted not just the two victims but their families including parents and children, involved multiple routes of harassment including online platforms and had serious financial consequences for the victims. Judge Boyle noted that Ms O'Connell said Egan's relentless campaign of harassment had effectively ruined her life. "It is so serious it merits a prison sentence," she said. Judge Boyle imposed a three year prison sentence but agreed to suspend the final 12 months in light of her plea and public apology. However, the Irish Independent has learned that Egan is now appealing the severity of the sentence imposed. Papers in respect of her appeal were lodged within 24 hours of her receiving a prison sentence. The appeal is not expected to be heard before 2023. Ms O'Connell said she was aware of the appeal. "It is disappointing but I am not surprised. It is disappointing because the victims in this case are still not being allowed to get on with their lives." Judge Boyle said a psychological report outlined that Egan had been raised in State care and had suffered multiple forms of abuse over her childhood. It assessed her as being at a low risk of reoffending. She had also submitted a letter of apology to the court for her actions. Judge Boyle said that Egan "noted the upset, anguish and torment she inflicted on the victims." "She said she genuinely did not realise the extent of her behaviour. She said she is truly sorry." The judge said that Egan had a traumatic childhood but said it was "perplexing" that there was no precise conclusion in the psychological report. Ms O'Connell, who had fought back tears in delivering an emotional victim impact statement at a previous court hearing, said Sonya Egan had ruined her life, left her living in fear and had rendered her financially crippled. The victim said she was so "torn apart" by Egan's actions she was now considering leaving Ireland. The impact of the false claims were aggravated by various conspiracy groups taking Egan's side. Read more Woman who tormented former Sinn Fein TD and businesswoman is jailed When Gardai seized Egan's phone, she was found to have made 5,500 calls, texts and social media messages to the Sinn Fein TD over a six month period. Egan also had 16 active Facebook accounts on her phone - including accounts in which she was falsely linked to Jeremy Corbyn and a relative of one of the Birmingham Six. The woman at various times claimed to be a barrister and an investigative reporter. She pleaded guilty to two charges of harassment against Mr O'Brien and Ms O'Connell. Egan of The Lawn, Lios Cara, Killeens, Co Cork pleaded guilty to two charges which were brought contrary to Sections 10 (1) and (6) of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. She admitted harassment of Mr O'Brien on a variety of dates between January 17 2018 and January 9 2019. Egan also admitted harassment of Laura O'Connell on various dates between April 8 2018 and June 26 2019. However, Sergeant John Sheehy told the court that Egan had alleged to people she had only pleaded to protect someone else - and had contacted several journalists asking if they would tell her story. Sgt Sheehy said Mr O'Brien became aware of the defendant in April/May 2017 when she made a protected disclosure claiming "a conspiracy to cover up her abuse by members of an Gardai." Mr O'Brien - in his role as a TD - offered her advice and moral support. However, he later became "uneasy" when Egan began to make suggestive remarks to him. She had also joined Sinn Fein in Cork. Egan told him her real father was former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and, later, that she had feelings for the Sinn Fein TD. Mr O'Brien immediately distanced himself from Egan at which point she began to make bullying allegations against him and Ms O'Connell. She accused him of having betrayed her trust and falsely said she had lost a baby because of the bullying. "On a number of occasions she claimed that he had driven her to suicide and that she was going to carry it out." "While all this was going on, she would email him to tell him that she loves him and that she would drop all the claims against him if he gave into his feelings for her." Later, Egan would send the politician messages accusing him of being with "a tart" because an unknown vehicle was outside his home. The Sinn Fein TD was appalled when, in a message, Egan referred to his terminally ill mother. "Sonya became aware that his terminally ill mother had fallen out of the bed in the hospital and claims that a friend in the hospital had told her. "The hospital staff confirmed that his mother had fallen out of bed but it has not been established how she got this information." Mr O'Brien eventually notified the Gardai - and revealed there were occasions when he would receive 100 text messages daily from Egan or from social media accounts believed to be operated by her. On one occasion, Egan turned up at Leinster House while the Dail was sitting and demanded to speak to the Sinn Fein TD. On another occasion, she falsely posted on social media that she was pregnant and lost her baby due to the bullying of Mr O'Brien and Sinn Fein. Egan also approached Mr O'Brien's daughter at her place of work asking questions about him. After Mr O'Brien referred the matter to the Gardai, she called him "a rat." "She sent him pictures of a rat and publicly posted (on social media) that: 'You don't rat on a Republican'." A written victim impact statement by Mr O'Brien was submitted to Judge Boyle but was not read out in open court. Ms O'Connell, who read out her own victim impact statement to the court, said her life was in ruins because of the actions of Egan. "She is a menace to society and one that I was and am not being protected from," Ms O'Connell said. "Since that day (she met Egan) my life has never been the same. She has mentally broken me, set me back in my health and impoverished me to the point where I now have to engage with the insolvency services." Ms O'Connell said she was left facing a 26,000 legal bill because of injunctions she had to secure just to protect herself from Egan. "Sonya Egan has made every attempt to destroy my good reputation, my hard work efforts, my health including my mental health." She said it was very hurtful to realise her son was having to watch "his mother being torn apart." "I live in fear. I am stressed. I am overwhelmed. Sonya Egan has ruined my life. Sonya has targeted and victimised several others, broken several others and will not stop." "I flinch with every outside noise, panic at the sound of a doorbell in fear (that) it is her or those who follow her. I cannot go anywhere without having to assess who is following me or watching me." In one horrifying incident, a person known to Sonya Egan posed as a social worker and gained access to Ms O'Connell's home. Ms O'Connell begged the courts to protect her and end Sonya Egan's campaign against her and other innocent people. Dundonald woman Kathryn Knox (32) was sentenced to two-and-a-half months in jail At Craigavon Crown Court, Judge Patrick Lynch QC ordered 32-year-old Kathryn Knox to spend two-and-a-half months in jail and the rest on supervised licence. Knox, from Moatview Crescent in Dundonald, previously admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on her former partner on Christmas Day in 2020. Opening the facts of the case on Tuesday, prosecuting counsel Ian Tannahill outlined how Knox turned up at the home of her ex on Christmas Eve with bags of clothes. He said: In the course of the evening, its clear that she was trying to rekindle the relationship, but he told her that he didnt love her and that he would not ever love her." The lawyer added that even though the victim offered to pay for a taxi back to Belfast, she refused to leave. The pair then shared a bed where the defendant tried to kiss him and become intimate but he pushed her away. The next morning, he again said he didnt love her and would never love her, before going on his PlayStation. Knox then started punching him to the head and his upper back before moving around to his front, still punching him to the head and chest. With the victim punching back and pushing her away to defend himself, he noticed that Knox was stabbing him, shouting: I want you to die. While the victim described her using a small knife, Mr Tannahill said no such weapon was recovered. However, police found a three-inch nail covered in blood. The man managed to escape and went to Lurgan police station. He was taken to hospital where he received a dozen stitches for multiple lacerations and puncture wounds to his abdomen, back, chest and head. Knox was arrested and claimed she was the victim and couldnt remember hitting her ex. Defence QC Neil Connor said Knox was deeply remorseful and deeply regrets her behaviour which he described as a complete aberration. He said that the woman, who had a completely clear record, had lived a somewhat isolated life and in the midst of a lockdown and her mothers recent passing, she was struggling to cope. Sentencing Knox, Judge Lynch said it was clear that she wasnt prepared to accept that he didnt want her so she launched what he said was a sustained attack which was aggravated by her use of a weapon. Gardai are due to speak with Ian Bailey as part of new Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder probe Gardai want to speak with Ian Bailey as part of a new investigation into the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. In an interview with the Indo Daily podcast today, the Englishman says he has had correspondence from gardai, who want to set up a meeting. He is keen to assist with the probe. In the interview, he also identifies a person living abroad who made a statement to gardai that she saw him dealing with bloodied clothes in the immediate aftermath of Ms Toscan du Plantiers murder. He says that persons account to gardai, revealed in the Sunday Independent last weekend, is absolute nonsense. Mr Bailey identifies the garda informant as the Italian girl. She was staying briefly in Jules Thomass home outside Schull where he was Juless live-in lover over Christmas 1996 when Ms Toscan du Plantier died, Mr Bailey acknowledges. The Italian girl is Arianna Boarina, who was a teenage friend of Ms Thomass daughter, Virginia, who in turn has also previously provided a separate statement setting out an allegation about Mr Bailey to gardai. Sophie Du Plantier He further claims Ms Boarina was coerced into giving an on-screen interview to Netflix, broadcast last year, at a time when she was emotionally vulnerable. Last night, the director of that documentary series, John Dower, told the Herald: It is absolutely and completely untrue that she was coerced into any interview. She was happy to talk to us. She was interviewed remotely in southern California, near Santa Barbara, where she now lives, because it was the time of Covid. It was just a cameraman and an audio link at an Airbnb, because she has children at home. This claim of coercion by Bailey is outrageous and totally untrue. We interviewed Ms Boarina because she had previously provided a sworn statement to the French trial that convicted Bailey of Sophies murder. She was happy to cooperate with them in 2019, and with Netflix a year later. In fact, she told us that she wishes she had come forward years earlier. Read more: Ian Bailey selling his own range of t-shirts for 20 a pop Read more: DNA device that solved US murders may unmask Sophie Toscan du Plantiers killer Mr Bailey stops short of commenting on the circumstances of a recent garda follow-up interview with Ms Boarina, which is understood to have taken place in the US, in which she states she saw Mr Bailey dealing with bloodied clothes. Mr Bailey maintains all such allegations are untrue, and he had nothing to do with the murder. He tells the Indo Daily podcast he has been bonfired on a pyre of lies and there is no evidence whatever, just a desire to put me in the frame. Ms Boarinas alleged new statement about bloodied clothes echoes a statement made to gardai last year by Bill Hogan, a former West Cork cheesemaker who knew Ms Toscan du Plantier well. Mr Hogan said a woman had allegedly confessed to him in 2001 at a time when Mr Bailey was on remand in Cork prison over assault charges on which he was later convicted about having to deal with bloody clothes on a mans behalf. Mr Hogan has alleged to gardai that the beneficiary of such efforts was Ian Bailey, whose clothes they are claimed to have been. Mr Bailey tells the podcast he received a letter from Assistant Garda Commissioner John ODriscoll telling him of the review decision, made just before the latters retirement. He says gardai have also told him they want to set up a meeting with him. Mr Bailey says he is keen to assist the new full probe by the Serious Crime Review Team. He claims the evidence used to convict him in France of Ms Toscan du Plantiers murder would have been thrown out of an Irish court, without any doubt. Mr Bailey previously lost two Irish court cases he brought against seven newspapers and the State. He also expresses uncertainty as to whether the identity of the killer will ever be established, bringing up a previous theory he has advanced that Ms Toscan du Plantier was killed by a man from Bantry who died in 2001. So many pieces of the jigsaw are missing, he says. The 65-year-old, who previously admitted he was garda detectives chief suspect for the murder, says he wrote to Commissioner Drew Harris seeking a full cold-case review because the former senior PSNI officer was a clean pair of hands. He also says he was constantly expressing my sympathy with Ms Toscan du Plantiers family. It cant be easy for them, but at the end of the day I had nothing to do with this, he says. He also says a false accusation was created and perpetuated against him, adding that it was a case of fight or flight when he was whispered about. My inclination from the first was to fight, he says. Gardai attached to the Limerick Divisional Drugs Unit assisted by the Armed Support Unit, searched a house in the Drominbeg area of Rhebogue The woman is being held in Henry Street Garda Station A woman in her early 30s has been arrested after gardai seized drugs worth more than 143k and 32,900 in cash in Co Limerick. Gardai attached to the Limerick Divisional Drugs Unit assisted by the Armed Support Unit, searched a house in the Drominbeg area of Rhebogue on Tuesday. Officers discovered 134,750 worth of cocaine, 8,300 worth of cannabis and 90 cannabis resin (analysis pending) along with 32,900 in cash in the raid that was carried out as part of Operation Tara, A woman in her early 30s was arrested and is currently detained under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 for questioning, at Henry Street Garda Station, gardai said. Investigations are ongoing. Gardai said the raid the was carried out as part of Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy that was launched by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris in July 2021. The focus of Operation Tara is to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks, at all levels - international, national, local - involved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, local sale and supply of controlled drugs. A man has been jailed at Bradford Crown Court after he was arrested for shouting he was part of the Irish Mafia while pointing a gun at people in the middle of the street. Levi Warnock (33) who was living in Lister Road, East Bowling, Bradford, pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence at 8pm on November 4, 2020. Recorder Ashley Serr said Warnock was waving and pointing the gun and shouting that he was part of the Irish Mafia. After a woman waiting for a taxi raised the alarm he made racist comments to arresting police officers and threatened them with violence. His barrister, Rebecca Young, acknowledge that it was frightening in this day and age to come across anyone with a gun. No one is able to assume it isnt real, she said. Miss Young said he was under the influence of an enormous amount of alcohol as it emerged that Warnock had been drinking up to six litres of cider a day. While in prison he had been seen by a psychologist and a psychiatrist and he had been sober for months. READ MORE Miss Young said his mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, had played a part in his offending. She added that it was general rant with the gun rather than being directed at anyone in particular. He told the police he found it and he got rid of it before he was arrested. Warnock, the father of two young children, wished to apologise as he had gained insight into how dangerous and frightening his behaviour was. The court heard he had made great strides in custody and he was determined to turn his life around. He was a wing cleaner in HMP Leeds and had the offer of building work on his release. The court heard that his 15 previous convictions were mostly committed under the influence of drink. The court heard that Warnock was in breach of a 16-week suspended sentence order imposed at Coventry Magistrates Court for assaulting a police officer and damaging a police car and a police cell. He pleaded guilty to the Bradford offence at his first appearance at the crown court and was sentenced on a video link after being remanded in custody since April. Recorder Serr sentenced Warnock to six months imprisonment and activated 14 weeks of the suspended sentence consecutively. The young child named Aiden was found alone and bloodied on Monday morning The parents of a little boy who got lost in the chaos of the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park outside Chicago have tragically been named among the dead. The two-year-old was confirmed to have been reunited with his grandparents after strangers spread the word on social media. Hours later, CBS News confirmed the boys parents, Irina and Kevin McCarthy, were killed in the shooting. The young child named Aiden was found alone and bloodied on Monday morning as the Illinois citys family-friendly Independence Day parade suddenly turned into a bloodbath, leaving seven victims dead and dozens more injured. A local chef grabbed the boy and quickly took him out of the path of danger when the gunman opened fire on the crowds, according to CBS Chicagos Jackie Kostek. Read more: Chicago Fourth of July shooter identified as Donald Trump supporting rapper The reporter shared photos of the terrified little boy on Twitter to help reunite him with his family members, writing that he was safe but with strangers. In the images, the child was seen clutching a blanket for comfort while his leg and shoes appeared to be covered in dried blood. CBS later revealed that a Highland Park police officer had collected the child from the home of a woman who was caring for him and took him to hospital to try to reunite him with his loved ones. By later on Monday afternoon, the boy had been reunited with his grandparents at a local hospital. On Tuesday afternoon, Irina and Kevin McCarthy were announced as victims of the shooting. A GoFundMe campaign was set up raising money for their son Aiden. In the aftermath of the Highland Park, IL shootings on July 4, the North Shore community rallied to help a boy who we knew nothing about. We took him to safety under tragic circumstances, came together to locate his grandparents, and prayed for the safety of his family, the GoFundMe description signed by Irina Colon reads. Sadly, I need to share his nameAiden McCarthy. And he needs more of our help. His parents Irina & Kevin were killed during the July 4 shooting. At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents. Aiden will be cared for by his loving grandparents, Misha and Nina Levberg, and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows. On behalf of his family, and with their permission, I am establishing this fundraiser to support Shim and the caregivers who will be tasked with raising, caring for, and supporting Aiden as he and his support system embark on this unexpected journey. Four other victims were named by the Lake County coroner on Tuesday afternoon: Katherine Goldstein (88); Jacquelyn Sundheim (63); Stephen Straus (88); and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza (78). A seventh victim, who died on Tuesday, has not been named. The family of 76-year-old grandfather Nicholas Toledo confirming his death on Monday afternoon. The elderly man, of dual US and Mexico nationality, used a wheelchair and was sitting in it when he was struck by bullets. Mr Toledos granddaughter told the New York Timesthey were all in shock and revealed that her grandfather hadnt wanted to go to the parade but did so to join his family. A second victim was also identified on Monday night as a devoted member of a local synagogue. Jacki Sundheim was remembered by the North Shore Congregation Israel as a lifelong congregant and cherished staffer whose work, kindness and warmth touched us all. The suspected gunman, 21-year-old Robert Crimo, was arrested on Monday night following an eight-hour manhunt, when he was spotted by a police officer driving along a highway. He has not yet been charged over the mass shooting. The Government announced the appointment following a request by the Commissioner Drew Harris A senior Garda Liaison Officer is to be based in the United Arab Emirates as the noose tightens on the leadership of the Kinahan organised crime gang. The Government announced the appointment following a request by the Commissioner Drew Harris that the network of Garda Liaison Officers abroad be expanded, RTE has reported. Officers are currently based in Irish embassies as part of diplomatic missions in Madrid, Paris, London, The Hague, Washington DC and Bogota in Colombia. Those based abroad work with international law enforcement agencies investigating the activities of Irish and other criminals that gardai have an interest in prosecuting. As well as the UAE, the expansion of the garda's overseas network will include southeast Asia and the Middle East as well as the appointment of an additional liaison officer to the US. Two gardai are also to be deployed to France on a temporary basis to patrol tourist areas in uniform during July and August, following a request from French authorities. The gardai will patrol in uniform with French police officers and assist in the investigation of complaints by, or offences involving Irish people there. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said gardai would work with international law enforcement agencies abroad to tackle terrorism and organised crime, as transnational nature of organised crime increases. Minister McEntee said the programme will enhance the security of the State and prove crucial in "pursuing criminals who spread misery in Ireland, as well as abroad". Garda Commissioner Harris welcomed the announcement, adding that the network of liaison officers will play a critical role in tackling crime in Ireland and abroad. Daniel Kinahan The move follows US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronins recently declaration that sanctions levied against the Kinahan Cartel mean that the gang will be held accountable for their actions. Cronin appeared at a press conference in Dublin alongside gardai, Europol, the UK National Crime Agency and US Government officials in April when sanctions against the gang were announced. READ MORE: At the briefing, she also announced a whopping $5 million reward for key information leading to the Kinahan gang being dismantled. She told the media that the US Department of State is offering a reward for information "leading to the financial disruption" of the Kinahan transnational group, or the arrest and conviction of its leaders. The three leaders of the gang are named by the authorities as Daniel Kinahan, who runs the day-to-day operations, his father Christy Kinahan Snr who organises property purchases, and Christy Kinahan Jnr who oversees their finances. Speaking to The Irish Times, Cronin said the cooperation between international law enforcement and financial intelligence officials will limit the illegal activities of the Kinahan's internationally. All of these things are going to just make it much more likely that the Kinahan's will be held to account for their activities, she said. It was a great transnational cooperation between all these various law enforcement groups and we stand united on that. It comes as a leading US counterterrorism group claimed that the Kinahan Cartel are likely to start using cryptocurrency to move their illicit profits out of Dubai. After the sanctions were announced, Dubai officials also froze the cartel leader's bank accounts. The Sunday World has previously revealed how Christy Snr and his two sons, Daniel and Christopher Jnr, are said to be scrambling to get their assets out of the Emirate State. The US-based group of security experts has claimed the Irish Mafia leaders are likely to try and convert their assets into cryptocurrency to avoid law enforcement detection. The Counterterrorism Group (CTG) also warn that sanctions alone are unlikely to stop the Kinahan cartel - and that the US will need to extradite the group's leaders to bring an end to the mob's activities. They said: "[The] sanctions will very unlikely disrupt the KOCGs criminal operations or impact its ability to generate funds due to its global illicit activities. "The KOCG very likely takes advantage of weak anti-money laundering controls in the UAE to conceal the origins of its illicit finances, likely generating further funds for its criminal empire. "Without extradition from the UAE, it is very unlikely law enforcement will be capable of stopping Christopher Kinahan Senior or his sons from conducting their international operations." The Counterterrorism Group describe themselves as a global organisation "focused on detecting, deterring, and defeating terrorism and other threats". They also claim that the increased collaboration between international authorities will have encouraged the gang to use cryptocurrency. The Policia Nacional said it was the first time it had come across unmanned underwater vehicles being used for drug-running Eight people have been arrested in Spain after police busted a gang that had been allegedly building semi-submersible drones to smuggle drugs across the strait of Gibraltar. The Policia Nacional said it was the first time it had come across unmanned underwater vehicles being used for drug-running. The eight were arrested in Cadiz, Malaga and Barcelona after officers seized 145kg of hashish, 8kg of marijuana, 157,370 in cash, and six large aerial drones that could cover a distance of 30km. Six of the eight people charged with drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal organisation have been remanded in custody. A still from a Spanish police video showing the drones Three unmanned underwater vehicles were recovered, one of them almost finished and two still under construction, the force said in a statement. They were due to be delivered to French narco-traffickers to be used to transport significant quantities of cocaine. The gang had specialised in building false boat bottoms and hidden storage compartments for cars and trailers which they supplied to smugglers and other criminal gangs. However, they also had a side line in marine drones, police said. They were making large, unmanned drones with huge load capacities that meant they could carry a cargo of between 150kg and 200kg, the force said. Among other uses, this equipment would have allowed drug traffickers to transport large quantities of drugs across the strait of Gibraltar by remote control. The 14-month investigation was carried out in partnership with French police. It was discovered that the gang had been supplying logistical help to clients in Italy, France and Denmark, as well as to criminal gangs in Catalonia, the Costa del Sol, the Campo de Gibraltar, and Ceuta, one of Spains two north African enclaves. In February, five Spaniards and two Ecuadorians were jailed for their parts in a plot to ferry 3,068kg of cocaine, worth an estimated 123m across the Atlantic from Brazil to Spain in a homemade, semi-submersible narco-submarine. The Defence Forces will be on standby in Dublin Airport from today in case of any security staff shortages. The five departing flights that have been cancelled are the EI392 to Hamburg ,EI692 to Dusseldorf, EI352 to Munich, EI166 to London LHR and EI178 to London LHR. Five Aer Lingus flights that were due to fly into Dublin Airport today have also been cancelled, including: EI693 from Dusseldorf, EI393 from Hamburg, EI353 from Munich, EI167 from London LHR and EI179 from London LHR. Additionally, return flights to Amsterdam and Oslo have been called by Royal Dutch Airlines. This includes the KL934 to Amsterdam and SK4604 Sas to Oslo, and the KL933 coming from Amsterdam and SK4603 Sas coming from Oslo. Aer Lingus previously said that several flights were cancelled due to a spike in Covid-19 cases among staff. This comes as the Defence Forces will be on standby in Dublin Airport from today in case of any security staff shortages. They will be on standby until August 15 as the airport battles with the busy summer period. Members of the Defence Forces will only be deployed if more than 20pc of airport security staff are out of work due to Covid-19. A union repesenting security staff, SIPTU, clarified that security staff will not be required to train in Defence Forces staff if the plan is triggered at a meeting with the DAA last Friday. Niall Phillips, SIPTU aviation sector organiser, said: During the meeting, clarifications and commitments were given in relation to several issues of importance to our members. "The contingency plan is specifically Covid related and will be triggered in the event of a spike in infections among airport security officers and where the related absenteeism exceeds 20pc of scheduled staff. In the event of the contingency plan being activated, all vehicle control posts (VCP) officers would be deployed into the terminals to support the screening of passengers and to ensure that travel disruption is kept to a minimum. At no time will our members in VCP be asked, or required, to work alongside Defence Force members or to train them. The daa has put in place alternative arrangements for the training of Defence Force personnel which do not involve our members. The contingency plan will be in place for a limited period, from 6th July until 15th, August, 2022. Following activation and completion of the contingency plan, our members will revert to normal operations and will immediately revert to their allocated roster in VCP. The daa confirmed that there is no threat to the jobs of our members and that this is not a first step in outsourcing VCP. The daa has agreed to keep SIPTU appraised of Covid related absenteeism levels among ASU staff. The family of Aimee ONeill Redmond have vowed to take the pain for their little princess after she was laid to rest in her native Bunclody The family of Aimee ONeill Redmond have vowed to take the pain for their little princess after she was laid to rest in her native Bunclody this week. Aimee, who suffered from quadriplegic cerebral palsy, died on Saturday last at the age of 14 and is survived by parents Peter and Lorna and twin sister Faye. At an emotional service in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Father Laurence OConnor expressed his sincere sympathy to Aimees family and friends and said he could have very little understanding of their feelings of grief at that this time. Their attachment to Aimee was extraordinary, so the pain and sadness theyre suffering after years of care and sacrifice is difficult to understand. But we are here to support the family in their time of pain and grief, continued Fr OConnor. They added to her life and her experience of life every time they spoke gently, played music and kissed her, bringing forth her beautiful smile. "They went through moments of expectancy when doctors tried to improve her quality of life but their hopes were eventually dashed. But her family enriched Aimees life and will take consolation from their commitment to her over the years. Gifts were then placed at Aimees coffin by her loved ones; her aunt Biddy brought Aimees favourite teddy bear; one of her nurses Martha, with whom she had a very strong bond, brought one of the story books she used to read to Aimee. Her uncle John placed a CD by the coffin, representing Aimees immense love of music, and from her sister Faye came a collage of hands, representing all the hands that loved and cared for Aimee. Her cousin Niall carried a symbol from LauraLynn, the childrens hospice, which was described as Aimees second home. From her cousins Rebecca and Jenna came a family tree, while her nurse Genevieve brought a soft blanket. Her aunt Blaithin carried a sign which Aimee and Faye had created in LauraLynn, representing the unbreakable bond and love they had for one another, while cousins Callum and Ben carried the bread and wine. After Somewhere over the Rainbow was played by musicians, family member Martina spoke on behalf of Peter, Lorna and Faye. She began by thanking the many people who had helped them during Aimees life, paying special tribute to the hospitals, nurses and doctors who helped in any way and the many childrens foundations who had provided support and solace during Aimees 14 and a half years. Most of the ambulance crews got to know her, she was friends with nearly all of them, she captured their hearts and amazed and puzzled doctors with her strength and how she fought, recalled Martina. Everyone at Wexford General Hospital, from the doctors to the orderlies, they loved her and treated her like a little princess. At Crumlin Childrens Hospital her surgeon Dr Quinn saved her life when she was just a few days old, we owe him everything, he was our miracle doctor. Weighing just three pounds when she was born, Aimee had, according to Martina, been fighting from the day she was born and had fought a hard battle throughout. In her last days she got to spend time with her loved ones and Martina said Aimees nanny Cathy had created memories during this difficult time which would endure forever. "Her favourite place to be was in bed at home and were glad she got to come back there. With her long eyelashes, precious skin and curly hair, her smile lit up the entire universe, said Martina. Music to her was everything, it was her love. Faye was an amazing sister to her and Aimee loved to listen to her playing; so keep playing Faye shed be so proud of you. Well take the pain for you now, Aimee, love you lots little princess, see you soon. The Taoiseach was invited to visit Ukraine by President Volodymr Zelensky Taoiseach Michael Martin with local officials and members of the Irish Emergency Response Unit viewing the damage to the Borodyanka area of Kyiv, Ukraine. Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Taoiseach Micheal Martin has arrived in war-scarred Kyiv this morning. He entered Ukraine by train after overnighting in Poland on his special mission to see the conflicts damage for himself. Mr Martin will also express the Irish peoples solidarity with Ukraine in the face of Russias "illegal and immoral" invasion. On the visit he will engage with Ukrainian authorities and parliamentarians on how Ireland and the EU can support the countrys current, and future, needs. The Taoiseach was invited to visit Ukraine by President Volodymr Zelensky on foot of Irelands strong support for Ukraines EU candidate bid last month. Mr Martin will witness first-hand the devastation caused by the bombardment and targeted attacks on civilians during the invasion and occupation by Russian forces. Mr Martin saw the destroyed bridge at Borodyanka, famous from countless TV reports as fleeing civilians crawled across, and spoke to the Governor about the devastation wreaked on the entire region. It is thought likely he could tour the mass graves in Bucha, northwest of the capital, after Russian soldiers ran amok and slaughtered civilians in a series of outrages now being probed by UN war crimes investigators. He will reiterate Irelands full backing for continuing sanctions against Putins regime, for Ukraines path to full EU membership, as well as our commitment to work with EU colleagues to ensure the reconstruction of Ukraine. The Taoiseach said today before his meeting with President Zelensky: The people of Ireland stand with Ukraine and its people in the face of Russias immoral and unprovoked war of terror. The bombardment and attacks on civilians are nothing short of war crimes, and I will use my visit to express Irelands support for moves to hold those behind these attacks fully accountable. The spirit and resolve of the Ukrainian people has inspired us all, and Ireland will provide every support for Ukraines path to full EU Membership, and continue to welcome and support civilians fleeing this war. Mr Martin is travelling with a small entourage and a RTE television crew. He will restate Irelands full backing for continuing sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putins regime, for Ukraines path to full EU membership, as well as Irelands commitment to work with the EU on the reconstruction of Ukraine. Mr Martins trip comes two weeks after President Volodymyr Zelensky invited him to visit Ukraine. Taoiseach Michael Martin with local officials and members of the Irish Emergency Response Unit viewing the damage to the Borodyanka area of Kyiv, Ukraine. Niall Carson/PA Wire PA It is the first visit by a Taoiseach to the eastern European country. It also comes after Mr Putin on Monday declared victory in seizing the eastern Ukrainian province of Luhansk, with his troops escalating their offensive in neighbouring Donetsk. Mr Martin has warned previously that the Russian president appeared to be leveraging its natural gas supplies to exert maximum pressure on Europe ahead of the winter period. The Taoiseach has also been a vocal advocate for Ukraines fast-tracked membership of the EU. Mr Zelensky has previously thanked Ireland for its active support of Ukraines European aspirations. Ireland has also taken in more than 36,000 Ukrainian refugees since Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine at the end of February. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky PA The Irish State has given 20 million euro in humanitarian support and assistance to the country, as well as health equipment and medical donations worth more than 4.5 million euro. In April, Simon Coveney became the first foreign minister of the UN Security Council to visit Kyiv, and met Ukraines foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and defence minister Oleksii Reznikov. Mr Coveney also visited the town of Bucha, on the outskirts of the capital, where suspected killings of civilians prompted global condemnation. Big wheels of cheese, gaining speed, bouncing and bobbing their way over humps of green tussock and lumps of cow-trodden earth, chased eagerly downhill by contestants, is something youd to expect to see in the UK. Not this time and with no chance of broken bones either. Gloucesters famous competition albeit in a slightly safer format transpired at Chris and Jill Whalleys steep paddock in Katikati in autumn. The couple, who have been making their artisan Mount Eliza cheeses at the property since 2007, hosted their inaugural cheese rolling competition as part of the Flavours of Plenty Festival. More than 50 people took part in the event, which culminated in a walking-talking tour of Mount Eliza Cheese factory, cheese racing for young and old alike, finished with an afternoon tea of cheese-filled delights dished up by some talented Toi Ohomai chef students. However, the couple who pride themselves on their raw-milk Red Leicester and Farmhouse cheddar, and their pasteurised Blue Monkey cheese are still on a roll. Blue Monkey recently won a gold medal in its class at the New Zealand cheese awards. It was one of only two golds in the class out of 15 medals given the rest being silver and bronze, says Jill. Yesterday, Mount Elizas Blue Monkey went to head-to-head with the fellow gold winner to vie for the Champion Blue Cheese Trophy at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards gala dinner. Chris is originally from England where he was a chemist. He moved to New Zealand in 2006 with wife Jill, an ex-Matamata girl, and their children Rebecca and Owen, and established Mount Eliza Cheese. The family has worked hard to create their cheeses and such dedication has been acknowledged with many awards over the years. Ladies line up to chase cheese downhill at Mount Elizas inaugural cheese rolling competition. Photo: Merle Cave. But the Whalleys biggest triumph has been gaining permission to produce raw (unpasteurised) milk cheese from the Ministry for Primary Industries. In 2014 Mount Eliza was the first cheese factory in NZ to produce raw milk cheddar after Chris and Jill spent seven years on food safety and risk management programmes and farm audits, to gain approval. They even worked with the MPI to create the guidelines. It always was a long-term plan of ours from when we set up in 2007, to use raw milk, says Chris. Its just took a lot longer than we thought. Why raw milk cheese? You get a lot better flavour and texture through raw milk, says Chris. You dont kill off a lot of the enzymes that help to produce the flavours and the feel of the cheese. Its obvious cheese-making requires patience. Its all about attention to detail and finely tuning the recipe over a few years, says Chris, who sources raw milk from a local dairy farmer. Mount Eliza Cheese has been a regular at Katikati, Tauranga and Tamahere farmers markets along with Chris in his distinct cheesemaker white apron and hat for 15 years. Whats next? Well, our cheese is being used by restaurant Norris & Bell on The Strand in their 2022 Matariki Dish Challenge entry, called Boil up, says Jill. Two travellers returning to New Zealand from tropical getaways have been fined for failing to declare protected corals and shells they brought back into the country. Corals and some shells found in Pacific Island nations are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. DOCs border operations team lead Clinton Turner says the two recent cases reinforce the need for New Zealanders to be aware of the rules about bringing wildlife items into the country particularly during the winter season when many families take holidays to warmer locations. In the first case, a traveller returning from the Cook Islands in late May failed to declare six giant clam shells they intended to use as bathroom ornaments. The shells of the species Tridacna maxima (also known as the Maxima or small giant clam) had been picked up from the beach and are threatened by international trade. In the second case, a traveller returning to New Zealand from Fiji in early June failed to declare several pieces of stony coral which were intended as ornaments for a fish tank. All stony corals are protected by CITES, regardless of where they were found or sourced from. In both cases the passengers initially declared some items to border officials, but an x-ray of their baggage revealed further undeclared specimens. The travellers were both fined $600 under the Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989 for importing the items without the required CITES permits. In both these cases, the travellers did not fully declare they had these protected items. Declarations are a fundamental and familiar aspect of international travel, says Clinton. We understand people want to bring home trinkets and tokens of their holidays, but if those items are wildlife, they need to check the rules first. They also need to know the contents of their luggage and be honest with border officials about what they are bringing in. Wildlife protected by CITES generally needs permits to legally bring it into the country. Information on CITES including what permits are needed and how to apply is freely available on the DOC website. We want to emphasise to all New Zealanders with international travel plans to please check the rules around importing wildlife items. Knowing the rules, getting the right permits and being honest at the border is a far better option than being embarrassed and given a fine when you return from your overseas break. To disappear for a couple of days into a fantastical world of magic and wonder is the type of weekend escape that appeals to many who have navigated their way through a gruelling and swirling world of Covid. Creating magic using a goblin throne, labyrinth walls and an underwater spectacular was one of the highlights of 2021, a year fringed with many other cancelled events, and the creators are bringing it back. Paul and Rozanne de Wild have taken the concept of theming to an exquisitely new plateau in New Zealand with their Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball which is returning for its second year in just a few days. The couple, their skilled crew, and hundreds of excited guests from all over New Zealand and even Australia, are now gearing up for the weekend event, being held at the Millennium Hotel in Rotorua from Friday, July 15, Sunday, July 17. Having known Paul and Rozanne since 2018 when I found Paul building a Drogon replica in their kitchen and Rozanne working on corseted gowns, Ive been intrigued with this couple who have not only won Armageddon Expo Cosplay awards but have opened up a world of wonder to so many others. One of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. The concept for the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball came about because Paul and I travelled to numerous overseas conventions, and on one of those occasions we ended up at the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball in LA, says Rozanne. Its held in a hotel over two nights, with the same sort of themes both nights, but has seven different ballrooms. Floating from one room to another, Rozanne says each room was themed slightly differently. One was a disco, another one ball room dancing, another had magicians and storytellers. There were 7000 people over both evenings. Its the whos who of LA plus lots of other people, and anybody can go. Its absolutely magical. One of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. Two of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. Following that holiday, they then went to Atlanta to attend Dragon Con, the largest multi-media, popular culture convention in the world, focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music and film. Dragon Con had 80,000 people per day, over five days, 24 hours a day. Its held in five international hotels, which have sky bridges connecting them all so you can flow between them. We really enjoyed the interaction you get when you stay in these hotels. What we found was that by staying onsite, rather than elsewhere and then traveling to the event each day, you just have a deeper greater experience. It makes it more intimate, you can go back to your room, put up your feet, have a rest, or change costume and just get right back out there again. And its magical. Two of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. They went two years running with Rozanne wanting to go again, but when plans changed she came upon the idea of creating a themed ball event in New Zealand. I wanted others here in New Zealand to experience a smidgen of that fairy dust. If I could just grab a teeny bit of it, I knew it would still be magical. I managed to get Paul on board with the whole idea. One of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Samantha Arthur. Part of the concept was finding a suitable hotel to hold it. Sadly in Tauranga we don't have any international hotels or hotels spaces that have big ballrooms attached to them. It's something I know is lacking here. So we chose Rotorua because its central, it doesn't have a huge populous of people in the creative costuming environment, and because we want people to experience a destination event and immerse themselves over a whole weekend. The Millennium Hotel proved to be a perfect venue, with a large pool area, breakout rooms and a large ballroom. Two of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. Initially Paul and Rozanne planned that their 2021 ball weekend would be a small boutique event, with the idea to grow it in the future. The main ball event would be on the Saturday night with a smaller pre-function cocktail pool party on the Friday night. But the Friday night event refused to stay small. We called it The Creatures of Atlantis. With merfolk in the pool and live music from local band Pow Wow, the downstairs area was transformed into a magical underwater world with large columns and pillars, blue lighting, special effects, a bubble machine and glimmering tinsel. Even Rozanne gasped on seeing it the first time. Two of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. It was absolutely spectacular. It was as if you were underwater in this most incredible Atlantis scene. People came dressed in amazing costumes. With their first event delayed by a year due to Covid, it meant that Paul and Rozanne were able to create more props than previously planned. And there was more time for participants to go all out on their costumes, with many discussions held on their Facebook group during the months prior. On the Saturday, there is a Costume Exhibit & Craft Market being held during the day which is free for the public to attend. This year the market will be held at the neighbouring Sudima Hotel, says Rozanne. Two of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. Saturday guests are also offered the opportunity to attend one of two Tea Parties held at the Level 13 Theme Rooms. Saturday evening is the spectacular fantasy masquerade ball, with the primary theming based around the Labyrinth movie because obviously Paul and I have got quite an affinity for that. Tauranga local Patrick Visser from Groove DJs will be setting the mood with iconic soundtrack music from Labyrinth as well as popular dance music from the 60s to now. This year Saturday night has a completely new area for guests to explore, including the Time Travellers Ballroom, which will host traditional and historical dancing led by dance instructor Fiona and her team with a live band. There is also a saloon and a Victorian parlour. Three violinists will play throughout the Saturday night pre-function promenade with dancers entertaining the guests. Rozanne recalls last years event as she arrived for the prefunction promenade and finding it already filling with people. One of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. And again, I just gasped, not at our theming but these costumes! We dreamed that people would get the concept. I mean we set the idea of what we would want, but our guests not only grasped it, they exceeded it! It was amazing. The Mad Hatter, steampunkers, Edwardian and Victorian outfits, even Cruella de Ville showed up to their 2021 weekend. Essentially it was like going to WOW but not watching people on stage; instead you are that person, and youre walking up interacting with these people. You're totally immersed in this magical world. Hotel room bookings and tickets are highly sought after, but its not too late to grab borrow, hire or create your own costume and come and join the spectacular. For more information on the weekend event go to www.cnzwildadventures.com One of the participants in the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2021. Photo: Supplied. Mental health advocate and former All Black Sir John Kirwan is on a mission to discuss the mental health of children. He stopped by Tauranga's Bellevue School on Tuesday as part of a campaign to bring the mental health programme Mitey to more than 40 schools across New Zealand. Funds are being raised through a raffle on the campaign website, where participants can win the Land Rover 90 being used on Sir John's journey. The Land Rover 90 up for grabs. Photo: Taylor Rice. We have a hugely ambitious goal to raise $1 million for the future wellbeing of our tamariki. Id ask the people of Tauranga to dig deep and give what they can to support this important cause," says Sir John Kirwan. "I know we can do it, and I know Kiwis will get behind this moment. Together, we can change the course of mental health in this country. We have some of the worst mental health statistics in the OECD and this will take a generation to change our trajectory. Mitey helps teach the ABC of mental health to children when theyre young, and with New Zealands support we will be able to roll this vital programme out to hundreds more children in Tauranga. Mitey is a new approach to teaching mental health as part of the New Zealand curriculum, enabling children to learn about it at school, every day, just like literacy and maths. Developed over two years by the Sir John Kirwan Foundation, with input from highly experienced specialists from the University of Auckland as well as New Zealand educators, teachers and clinicians, Mitey has already positively impacted more than 12,000 New Zealand children. The Tauranga community event took place at Bellevue School, with the wider school community and mental health advocates in attendance. Bellevue School is excited to be involved with Mitey and are eager to roll out the curriculum to our students. Were looking forward to learning more about the positive impact it can have in supporting our students and their whanau, says Bellevue School principal Anna Meehan. Bellevue School students Mia Taljaardt (left), Theo Gabito, and Oscar Lawrence. Photo: Taylor Rice. Students at Bellevue School were excited for Sir John Kirwan to be dropping by on his journey. "We learned that mental health is very important," says Bellevue School student Theo Gabito. Fellow student Mia Taljaardt says that Sir John's speech showed her that "naming your feelings helps to understand them." We want to create an environment that future generations not only survive in, but thrive in, and are proud to support our brand ambassador and good friend Sir John Kirwan with this landmark initiative, says Land Rover New Zealand CEO, Steve Kenchington. Sir John Kirwan with Bellevue School student Phoenix Cutbush. Photo: Taylor Rice. Wed encourage every New Zealander to get behind this campaign every $20 online raffle ticket not only helps fund mental health education for our kids, but it also puts you in the draw to win a Land Rover Defender 90. We donated this for Sir John to complete his drive, and now it will go to a generous New Zealander who has helped improve the future wellbeing of our country. For more information and to purchase a raffle ticket for The Mitey Drive, visit www.themiteydrive.org. Covid-19 community cases continue to rise with the Ministry of Health reporting 10,290 new cases today. On Tuesday, the Ministry reported 9629 community cases. In today's daily update, the Ministry reports there are also 522 current hospitalisations. The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 7591. "We are sadly reporting the deaths of 12 people with Covid-19*. These deaths occurred in the period since July 1." Mask reminder for healthcare and aged residential care settings During the past two weeks, there has been a significant increase in Covid-19 cases on top of a rise in seasonal colds, flu and other respiratory illnesses, says the Ministry. "Wearing a mask remains one of our best measures to reduce transmission against infectious respiratory illnesses, including Covid-19. "Masking up is particularly important when you are going to be around our more vulnerable members of the community, such as in healthcare settings and in aged residential care. "The more layers of protection we put in place around the vulnerable, such as mask wearing, having our vaccinations, and staying away from them when sick, the less risk there is of them getting seriously ill. "If you are visiting loved ones in hospital or aged residential care, our request is to, please, be patient and kind to each other and staff. They are working as hard as they can to protect some of the more vulnerable members of the community. "Wearing a mask also helps protect our healthcare and aged residential care staff, reducing their chances of becoming unwell and supporting them to continue to provide care to those that need it. "Even if youre fully vaccinated, or have had viruses in the past, continuing to wear a face mask is important in keeping you, your whanau and your community safe. "We are continuing to urge people to mask up on public transport, in indoor settings like retail stores and supermarkets, in poorly ventilated spaces, or when it is hard to physically distance from other people." Covid-19 hospitalisations Covid-19 Cases in hospital: total number 522: Northland: 15; Waitemata: 108; Counties Manukau: 29; Auckland: 55; Waikato: 53; Bay of Plenty: 31; Lakes: 12; Hawkes Bay: 19; MidCentral: 13; Whanganui: 6; Taranaki: 12; Tairawhiti: 2; Wairarapa: 5; Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley: 48; Nelson Marlborough: 11; Canterbury and West Coast: 60; South Canterbury: 12; Southern: 31. Weekly Covid-19 Hospitalisations - 7 day rolling average: 454 (This time last week 347) Average age of current Covid-19 hospitalisations: 65 Cases in ICU or HDU: 10 Vaccination status of new admissions to hospital*: Unvaccinated or not eligible (31 cases); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (5 cases); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (54 cases); received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (261 cases). *These are new hospital admissions in the past 7 days prior to yesterday who had COVID at the time of admission or while in hospital, excluding hospitalisations that were admitted and discharged within 24hrs. This data is from Districts with tertiary hospitals: Auckland, Canterbury, Southern, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Capital & Coast, Waitemata and Northland. Covid-19 vaccinations administered Vaccines administered to date: 4,028,652 first doses; 3,981,135 second doses; 33,150 third primary doses; 2,732,315 booster doses: 264,459 paediatric first doses and 135,483 paediatric second doses Vaccines administered yesterday: 35 first doses; 53 second doses; 37 third primary doses; 9,251 booster doses; 19 paediatric first doses and 276 paediatric second doses More detailed information, including vaccine uptake by District, is available on the Ministry website. Tests Number of PCR tests total (last 24 hours): 3,790 Number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported total (last 24 hours): 15,984 PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 3,201 Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last seven days as of 6 July 2022): 1.7 million Covid-19 cases Total number of new community cases: 10,290 Number of new cases that have recently travelled overseas: 233 Seven day rolling average of community cases: 7,591 Seven day rolling average of community cases (as at same day last week): 5,808 Number of active cases (total): 53,110 (cases identified in the past seven days and not yet classified as recovered) Confirmed cases (total): 1,366,853 (Due to a delay in reporting we are providing this figure for 5 July.) New cases by District and other more detailed case information. Please note, the Ministry of Healths daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a District or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO. Covid-19 deaths Todays reported deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 1604 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 15. Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today: two were from Auckland region, one was from Waikato, three from Bay of Plenty, one was from Hawkes Bay, one was from Taranaki, two were from Wellington region, two were from Southern. One was in their 60s, three were in their seventies, five were in their 80s, and three were aged over 90. Of these people, six were women and six were men. "This is a very sad time for whanau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them. Out of respect, we will be making no further comment on these." *The total number of Covid-19 deaths was understated by a count of one, on both 4 and 5 July. This was due to a coding error, which has now been fixed. Bay of Plenty Are you a Class 2 or 4 driver or do you have a Class 4 license but no experience thats OK! I NEED YOU! This is a fantastic... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. What just happened? China has long sought to lessen its reliance on foreign chipmakers and focus on its home-grown options, part of the Made in China 2025 plan to update its domestic manufacturing capabilities. But those ambitions could be scuppered by the US, which wants to ban the sale of lithography tools produced by Netherlands-based ASML to the country. ASML, the world's largest supplier of lithography machines used in the chipmaking process, is already prohibited from selling its most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment, which costs about $164 million per unit, to its Chinese customers as it cannot obtain an export license from the Dutch government due to pressure from the United States. Bloomberg writes that the US government is now pushing ASML to also stop selling its older deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography tools to Chinese clients. Despite being a generation old, the technology is still used to create chips found in phones, autonomous cars, PCs, robots, and more. The US wants to ban the sale of the most advanced type of DUV technology, immersion lithography machines, to China. ASML is the main player in this field; it had a 95% market share when it came to sales of immersion lithography systems last year. As noted by The Reg, while DUV systems are mostly used for older manufacturing processes like 30nm, multi-patterning techniques can be used to make denser nodes. TSMC, for example, uses DUV for the first two generations of its 7nm nodes. The US is also trying to pressure Japanese companies such as Nikon to stop selling the same DUV tools to China, which has already seen several domestic companies banned from buying advanced chipmaking equipment from US firms. If the US does get its way, ASML's bottom line could take a big hit. Chinese chipmakers accounted for 14.7 percent of ASML sales last year. To give you an idea of figures, SMIC, China's largest chipmaker, plans to invest $11 billion in growing its DUV capacity by 2023. "The discussion is not new. No decisions have been made and we do not want to speculate or comment on rumors," an ASML spokeswoman said. Last month, Chen Wenling, chief economist at the government-run China Center for International Economic Exchanges, called for China to seize Taiwan's TSMC "if the US and the West impose destructive sanctions on China like sanctions against Russia." In context: Although Microsoft and Activision are eager to come together and begin working as a single company, regulators could stall the finalization of their merger for quite a while. The FTC is already looking for anticompetitive practices in the US. Now the CMA in the UK has opened a similar probe into the matter in its jurisdiction. While such investigations are routine, they could tie up the approval process for months or even longer. Microsoft has run into another obstacle in its attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard. On Wednesday, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a formal investigation into the record-breaking $68.7 billion deal announced in January. The regulator is concerned that the acquisition might violate UK antitrust laws and create an anticompetitive market. "The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services." The CMA feels vigilance is necessary considering that Microsoft is the third largest tech company and Activision Blizzard is the fifth largest gaming company. The deal also follows the Redmond giant's recent $7.5 billion ZeniMax purchase. A successful acquisition of Activision would mark a considerable gaming industry consolidation falling under Microsoft's umbrella, making it the third largest gaming company in the world behind Tencent and Sony. The investigation is not all that surprising. The CMA routinely looks at any merger where the acquired company's gross revenue exceeds 70 million or if the purchase would give the buyer 25 or more percent of the market in any given sector. Activision's net revenue in 2021 was $8.8 billion. That's 7.4 billion, well over the CMA's gross threshold for opening a probe. The CMA's investigation will tie up the acquisition until at least September 1, when the regulator decides whether to approve the deal or move on to the second phase of the probe. In the meantime, the CMA will accept comments on the merger from interested parties. Expect consumer watchdog groups to chime in loudly. The US Federal Trade Commission initiated a probe in February for similar reasons, which brought out many watchdog groups, including Public Citizen, Center for Digital Democracy, Communications Workers of America, The Repair Association, Public Knowledge, and American Economic Liberties Project. They fear the merger would hamper Activision employees' unionization efforts and have "anticompetitive horizontal effects" within the industry. Image credit: Raimond Spekking When you manage reservations and bookings, your service personnel spends a large amount of time fielding phone calls from people who want to schedule, presenting choices to clients, and updating calendars. This can be avoided by employing an online booking system with a comprehensive scheduling app to streamline your operations. In this article, we'll explain why the demand for a booking system online has skyrocketed and what best scheduling app you should consider for your business. What Is an Online Booking System? As the name suggests, a scheduling app or online booking system accepts orders, reservations, and booking services online. It is now more than that, though. A scheduling app is a software solution that allows prospects to self-book and settle all their payments/purchases through your website and other channels. Meanwhile, it offers you the best capabilities to manage and grow your business in just one platform. What Is the Benefit of an Online Booking System? One of the most significant benefits of an online booking system is that you can keep your business open for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This way, you can accommodate more customers. Also, you and your staff need not be tethered to your workstation. You can go home in time for supper, enjoy weekends with your families and friends, go on local activities even on a Monday, and still be able to attend to your customers. Most significantly, now that appointment schedules are available online, you can quickly organize and manage your workplace. In return, create the best guest experience possible to maintain and earn new consumers. What Is the Best Booking Platform? Whether you have an effective system in place to book and reserve clients or not, technology is keeping up to ensure that your company operations run smoothly. Therefore, you may do business comfortably and without much effort. With that, we've compiled a list of the top 5 best booking apps for managing your calendar, scheduling guests, managing cancellations/refunds, and more. #1 SimplyBook.me SimplyBook.me is an online booking system that aims to connect individuals and service businesses by allowing them to effortlessly reserve their services online regardless of which, where, or when they wish to book. This scheduling app simply identifies your services and suppliers, displays availability, and you will have both old and new clients placing reservations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. SimplyBook.me allows you to gather all the business and service information your clients require while eliminating the need for email trails, missed calls, and phone tags. Your clients may fill your appointment book online, eliminating the need for you to answer the phone, react to emails, or sacrifice your own time to accommodate late callers. Key Features Accept Online Bookings 24/7: Maintain your booking channels 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and allow your clients to make appointments through different channels such as your booking website, company website, Facebook, Instagram, or Google Business Profile. Personalized Notifications: Send personalized email or sms reminders before planned visits. You can collect a deposit up ahead to eliminate last-minute cancellations. Then, you can avoid duplicated bookings by synchronizing your calendar with your online booking schedule. Facebook, Instagram & Google: Accept appointments with a "Book Now" button on your Facebook page and Instagram profile. This allows clients to quickly locate your business on Google so that they can schedule your services right away. Manage Employees Anytime and Anywhere: Schedule your personnel, services, and opening hours across various locations efficiently, or provide virtual meetings with Teams, Google Meet, or other video conferencing apps. Client Information Upon Booking: Make personalized intake forms to collect customer information throughout the booking process. You may ask for text and digits, checkboxes, drop-down or date replies, and files or photos from clients. Accept Online Payments: Easily accept online payments and deposits with various payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, and others, or accept cash or card payments onsite via their POS system. Provide your customers with a simple in-store payment experience. SimplyBook.me's new payment function, SBPay, allows you to process payments with your client's saved credit card. Integration & API: Facebook, Instagram, Google My Business native integration, WordPress, and other CMS systems are available, or you can utilize the API of this online booking software to create your custom integrations. Client & Admin App: Provide clients with their own personalized client schedule app to book your services, and encourage your staff to download the admin app to manage your business on the move. Besides that, the customisable features of this online booking system set it apart from other scheduling apps on this list. For instance, sending "Book soon" notices when your existing customers are ready for a refresher may convert them into recurring clients. During the booking process, sell service add-ons or items and offer money-saving bundles. With the Loyalty System, Coupons, and Gift Certificates, you can keep your loyal customers returning by making them feel appreciated. Inform all of your clients that they can make appointments with you online 24 hours a day, seven days a week and that they can earn points for each service purchased. Send personalized emails to your clients with our drag-and-drop email designer, and create marketing campaigns for your client list. Furthermore, you may create your booking website, too. With over 20 distinct themes and layouts to select from, choose your preferred theme and design for your booking website. Personalize the design to reflect your company. Use your color schemes and features. Upload photographs and create personalized pages. Gather feedback from your customers after your customer appointments. Then post it on your booking website to establish a good reputation for your services. Pros SimplyBook.me differs from other online booking systems with built-in special features. You can choose whatever unique features you want to add to your appointment booking system. Custom features might include accepting payments, having a waiting list, selling items, selling bundles and gift cards, offering coupons, etc. Another thing that sets them apart from the competition is that SimplyBook.me provides a wide variety of booking website templates you can choose from. You can edit each to match your brand colors and include photos of your logo, service providers, and corporate locations. In detail, you can find some of their major advantages here: Accept online bookings all the time Accept booking from your social media channels Reduce no shows & double bookings Access client information upon booking in Customizable features for wherever industry you are Lets you summon your staff online for meetings and reminders Seamless payment system for your clients Integrations to bring your workplace to one location Offers a dedicated booking website, if you don't have one already Provides a booking widget to place on your existing website Their freemium version is a good online booking system for small business Configure features to market your services better, attract more customers, and make loyal ones A personalized scheduling app for your clients and an admin app for you 24/7 live chat support Cons No client app for the freemium version SimplyBook.me allows you to construct a robust online booking system quickly. You may now take online bookings from clients, either through your website or through a booking website created from one of their services, as well as through your social media accounts. Sign up now and get started in just a few minutes. #2 Acuity Scheduling App Acuity Scheduling is the appointment scheduling software to use if you're a startup or not an expert in the technical aspects of online software. From this, you can allow your clients to pick recurring bookings, fill out an intake form, and pay upfront for services when you construct your booking site. You can also provide coupons and allow consumers to add more services upon booking. During setup, you'll select monthly or daily views for clients, construct intake forms, upload a logo, define a time zone, and determine whether clients need to choose their own standard time to minimize distant call complications. You may allow customers to postpone or reschedule their appointments. Or, adjust the interval for scheduled start times, which is by default set every 15 minutes. You can control how long beforehand, or on short notice, consumers can make an appointment. When you've finalized features for your online scheduler, share your booking page through a direct link or embed it into your website. Key Features and Benefits Online booking system for small businesses and beginners Lets your clients add more services and pay in an instant Client-centric configurations Available in mobile apps to accommodate your clients easily Can cater to different appointment types Powerful integration options #3 Zoho Bookings While most online appointment scheduling apps are comprehensive, intuitive, and feature-rich, the most commendable feature is how Zoho Bookings interacts seamlessly with other Zoho products like Meeting, Calendar, CRM, Assist, Flow, and Sites. Through established reserve times and scheduled breaks, days off or special hours, and a bespoke cancellation policy, Zoho Bookings provides a lot of flexibility. You can even create many workstations with their booking pages and calendars. The calendar dashboard is simple to use and navigate. It has several views and gives you the ability to examine the cumulative schedule for all workspaces or even just one. You can share one URL that will work for the entire company or create direct URLs for each booking type. Alternatively, each of your staff can have their booking page URL to share with consumers. One unusual and valuable feature is that the program can automatically allocate appointments to the least-busy employee at the moment. Key Features and Benefits Intuitive and easy to use interface Integrates well with other Zoho offerings to complete your workflows on one page Easily tweak what your clients will see upon booking Manages your time well and protects your earnings with cancellation policies Comprehensive calendars for both staff and clients #4 TimeTap TimeTap is one of the most scalable and adaptable appointment scheduling platforms available. It provides an excellent balance of flexibility, automation, and functionality. TimeTap customers also have a lot of granular flexibility over the app's settings when presenting their online booking system to their clients. You can use it to create a website where you can edit the web address, add a logo and SEO fields, customize message boxes, and select a color scheme and style to match your company's brand. TimeTap also offers a fully customizable calendar view, with options such as a weekly calendar, availability display, appointment schedules, and class lists. Furthermore, you can make recurring appointments, define locations, create elaborate booking forms, and easily tweak the scheduling rules and logic according to your goals. With that, larger firms will surely benefit from TimeTap's infinite appointments and clients and several employee calendars with varying degrees of protection. The booking function also includes a helpful waitlist, so you can reduce the possibility of no-shows losing you money even if you're fully booked. Key Features and Benefits Lets you control the settings to personalize your booking system Has a comprehensive calendar to manage your appointments Protects your privacy and money with policies Helpful waitlist for your loyal customers Add more feature-rich functionalities through integrations #5 Picktime You may want to consider Picktime if you're searching for booking software that will get you client-ready at all times. The online scheduling app provides a free plan that includes unlimited bookings, three team members, two locations, and other essential native integrations. This makes it ideal for small enterprises that need to manage bookings and orders. To access your entire schedule of scheduled appointments, categories, and resources, click the sidebar menu and select Calendar. To personalize your booking page, calendar rules, and booking inquiries, go to Online Booking. That's all there is to it. But here's the bottom line: it's not the most configurable of the five. Regardless, you can access other features that are beneficial to both ends. Pre-built widgets for Facebook, Google Maps, and various website builders allow clients to book from almost anywhere. The overview dashboard is the most impressive feature. You can view all the crucial facts at a glance, such as total appointments, confirmed, predicted, and total income, as well as what's coming up next. Key Features and Benefits Easy to use and free online booking system Syncs to your calendar Widgets to let you post bookings and let your clients book Overview dashboard to see your performance Invoicing, payments, sales, and reporting Manages your clients and your team Whether offering products or services, an online booking system will sort out everything for you. You can accommodate a large number of clients in just a few clicks and easily manage all appointments online. With this functionality, you can surely earn back your investment and attract more clients in the future. For this, we highly recommend SimplyBook.me for its customizable features depending on your industry and other programs that will make it easy to run your business. This is followed by the rest of our best appointment scheduling apps. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a legal disagreement with the app developers over the revenue Google received from apps on Android handsets while enticing users to make in-app purchases. Google Agrees to Pay Settlement After App Store-Related Lawsuit The lawsuit filed against Google in the federal court of San Francisco alleges that Google has been closing the app ecosystem to many other app developers who might want to list their projects there. More than that, a Reuters report said that Google has also been accused of diverting payments through Google Pay's billing system, which has put users and developers at a financial disadvantage due to its default service fee of 30%. In a blog post, the tech company said that in order to fulfill their end of the agreement, Google would be allocating a $90 million contribution to app developers. This will be done by earmarking the fund as a form of assistance to those who made less than $2 million in annual app store revenue within the years 2016 to 2022. According to the company, a huge majority of US developers who earned their revenue by way of Google Play will be eligible to receive their share from the fund if they wish to. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, the plaintiffs' attorneys, asserted that 48,000 software engineers were eligible for this $90 million fund, with the lowest award being $250. Google also said it would charge developers a 15% commission on the first $1,000,000 in sales they generate annually through the Play store. The IT company began doing this in 2021. Congress in Washington is presently considering legislation that would require major internet companies like Google and Apple to permit sideloading, the practice of downloading programs without using an app store, since it would bar the developers from accessing the businesses' payment systems. Reports show that Google maintains its stance on permitting sideloading. Google's Recent Settlement Payment Involves a Different Case This is not the first time a lawsuit against Google has resulted in settlement costs being demanded. Google just paid $118 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit alleging gender discrimination against them. In accordance with the case, women in similar positions were paid less than men. Since September 14, 2013, the settlement has applied to over 15,500 female employees in 236 different job titles in California, according to a statement from the legal firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. According to court records, Google was accused of often assigning women to lower levels, paying women in covered positions less than men for essentially similar work; and failing to pay all employees' earned earnings when they left their jobs. Along with the monetary award, Google will also undergo a leveling-at-hire practice analysis and have its pay equity studies reviewed by an outside labor economist. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programme launched a compliance audit on Google's Mountain View headquarters in September 2015, according to an early court filing. There are systemic pay discrepancies against women "almost across the whole workforce," according to data analysis for all 21,000 or so employees. Related Article: EU's Anti-Gatekeeping Law is Now Approved! Here's What Apple, Meta, Google, and Other Tech Firms Need To Do 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA warns about China's moon takeover being a militarized activity. However, the Chinese government claims that the accusation is not, in any sense, true. (Photo : China Photos/Getty Images) Military soldiers stand guard as the Shenzhou VI spacecraft, sitting atop of the LM-2F carrier rocket, is moved towards the launching pad in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on October 7, 2005 in Jiuquan of Gansu Province, northwest China. The international space agency shared this speculation as China enhances its space missions. Ever since the commercial space industry boomed, the Asian country began improving its space programs. As of writing, one of the priorities of China is to further study Earth's natural satellite, the moon. But, it seems like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is seeing the space efforts of China differently. NASA Warns About China Moon Takeover Being Military Plan! According to DailyWire's latest report, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson claimed that China is planning to conduct a militarized moon takeover. (Photo : GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images) Audience members take photos of a screen showing a video about China's Chang'e-5 moon probe at an event announcing details of international access to lunar samples collected by the probe, in Beijing on January 18, 2021. Also Read: NASA Perseverance Rover Troubled by Mars Rocks; Operators Say It's Difficult To Find the Right Samples "We must be very concerned that China is landing on the moon and saying: 'It's ours now and you stay out,'" said the NASA official via NBC News. He added that China's space program is actually a military one. Nelson even claimed that the Chinese government copied some space mission ideas from other countries. As of press time, China is still conducting major activities on the moon. Previously, some Chinese space experts found signs of water after acquiring samples from the heavenly body's lava plain. Since the space missions of China on the moon are clearly for scientific benefits, it is still hard to conclude that it will conduct a major moon takeover. China Rejects NASA's Accusation? Of course, the Chinese government rejected the accusation made by NASA. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said that it is not the first time that the international space agency made accused China irresponsibly. He said that the U.S. space union has ignored facts in the past to make such claims against their space programs. Lijian reiterated that they firmly oppos NASA's remarks since the agency has constantly create negative campaigns against their reasonable and normal space activities. If you want to see further details about the latest moon takeover accusation of NASA against China, you can visit this link. Recently, China's Sky Eye telescope reportedly has the potential of detecting suspicious space signals. Meanwhile, China's space-based solar power system was tested. For more news updates about China's moon activities and other space topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: China Chang'e 5 New Moon Water Discovery Can Help Create Permanent Human Presence This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Six F-35A stealth fighters from the U.S. Air Force arrived in South Korea on Tuesday to take part in a 10-day joint drill with the South Korean Air Force. The U.S. is ramping up warnings to North Korea as the renegade country prepares for another nuclear test. The planes flew from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska to Kunsan Air Base in North Jeolla Province, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday, and their "deployment is aimed at enhancing interoperability between the two Air Forces, as well as displaying the alliance's strong deterrence and combined defense posture." Elon Musk is back on Twitter, and he is talking about a lot of random things, but it also included something about the upcoming release of the Tesla FSD Beta version 10.13, which would be the latest system coming. Here, the CEO also talked about the so-called "Matrix Math," and it is something inspired by the massive movie, "The Matrix," which was released in its trilogy in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Elon Musk Reveals the Tesla FSD Beta 10.13 is Coming (Photo : Hannibal Hanschke-Pool/Getty Images) BERLIN, GERMANY DECEMBER 01: SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer Award 2020 on December 01, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. The famous online personality and multi-tech billionaire Elon Musk gets a lot of questions online, and one of them is his insider knowledge of Tesla products, as most of its products run underneath him. Here, Musk got a query regarding the Tesla FSD Beta 10.13, which is the next version release by the company for its autonomous driving system. Musk said that the company is burning the "3 am oil" to bring the latest version of the company's autonomous driving feature to the public. The 3am oil is being burned to get this out. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2022 It only means that it is coming soon, and they are preparing a lot for it once it releases. Read Also: Elon Musk is BACK on Twitter After More Than A Week of Inactivity Matrix Math in AI? Elon Musk Says There's A Lot A tweet by Archillect got replies from Elon Musk, and it says that "The Matrix has you," and it talks about some of the many relatable tweets that the account has for the public. The conversation included several personalities online, and Musk revealed that the AI creation contains a lot of the "Matrix Math," saying that it has a lot of "compute power" from "overwhelmingly dot products." The Tesla CEO claiming that AI has a lot of Matrix Math may be something that the FSD possesses, as it uses AI learning for its many features. There is so much actual matrix math in AI! The compute power is still overwhelmingly dot products! Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2022 Elon Musk and His Online Presence Musk was born in the millennial era, and it shows a lot in his personality in the way that he tweets, portraying his massive fondness for the social media platform. The many things he announces on Twitter are vast and random, with the recent happening being his 9-day long hiatus on the platform where he stopped tweeting. The tech CEO even reached 100 million followers on Twitter, which is a collective effort from his account creation down to his recent inactivity that still accumulates new followers up until the present. The top billionaire discusses a lot online, from his many companies' ventures down to his personal favorites and movie preferences. Now that the CEO is back online expect many things regarding random announcements and revelations from him that will talk about his companies and personal life. The world surely missed him with his massive interactions, especially for those waiting for his online announcements that involve several Tesla advancements. The FSD Beta version 10.13 is coming soon and may be under the Matrix Math's basis. Related Article: Tesla Allegedly Breaks Elon Musk's Order as Newly Hired Employees Appear on LinkedIn This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Isaiah Richard 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. HTC came out with a tablet in Africa, and other parts of the world didn't pick up on it until a few days later. The tablet, A101, comes with a 10.1-inch display, entry-level specs, and a design straight out of the middle of the last decade, according to 9to5Google. (Photo : JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images) A HTC logo hangs from a beam during the Mobile World Congress on the third day of the MWC in Barcelona, on March 1, 2017. Phone makers will seek to seduce new buyers with artificial intelligence functions and other innovations at the world's biggest mobile fair starting today in Spain. Moreover, it features a metal unibody design, FHD+ resolution, and thick bezels. It is powered by Unison's T618 SoC paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage that is expandable via microSD. The tablet has a 5MP front-facing camera and a 16MP camera on the back. It comes in grey and silver colors and is currently available in Russia and South Africa. It appears to be that it was announced last month quietly, and its main target is the African market. However, it is unclear whether it will come to other regions. The company launched its first smartphone last week with the Desire 22 Pro. The Verge finds the release to be weird, considering that HTC is one of the big companies that has always been pitted against other big names, like Samsung. Moreover, the newly-released tablet is unimpressive as well and the world didn't even notice it until days later. Compared to the Desire 22 Pro, the new tablet isn't pitched as any kind of metaverse device that doesn't offer any value to its customers or even as part of the company's portfolio. Also Read: HTC Blames Supply Chain Issues for 'Metaverse' Phone Delay HTC in the Metaverse Today Today, the metaverse is most popularly described as a collective virtual shared space where people can socially interact with each other, even though we have yet to experience this in real life. The virtual world is the place where we are free to be anyone and do anything. It is a new way of spontaneous, undefined, and infinite communication. Moreover, it is the next logical step, in which the next generation will consume content. Today, the metaverse is most popularly described as a collective virtual shared space where people can socially interact with each other, even though we have yet to experience this in real life. The virtual world is the place where we are free to be anyone and do anything. It is a new way of spontaneous, undefined, and infinite communication. Moreover, it is the next logical step, in which the next generation will consume content. HTC has been a part of the metaverse for a long time now, and many have been wondering why the company would release a tablet, which not many people would be interested in using. It is not clear whether or not the company will release a different version of the A101 in other regions as well, but it will be interesting to see if it ever happens. Related Article: HTC Viverse Trailer Shows What Metaverse Looks Like in Daily Use-Here's What To Expect This article is owned by TechTimes Written by April Fowell 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Australia's fourth COVID-19 vaccine jab expansion is now expected to happen. (Photo : Paul Kane/Getty Images) A clinical staff member holds a BCG vial and syringe in the trial clinic at Sir Charles Gairdner hospital on April 20, 2020 in Perth, Australia. Healthcare workers in Western Australia are participating in a new trial to test. As of writing, old residents over 65 years old, as well as other people more at risk of contracting the disease, are the ones allowed to have their fourth vaccine medicine. But, this scenario may soon be changed as New South Wales authorities consider expanding its list of fourth vaccine eligible list. Australia's Chief Health Officer, Dr. Kerry Chant, said that NSW is now expecting a rise in hospitalizations from late July until early August. "We predict hospitalizations will be similar to BA.1 in January," said the health official. Australia 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Jab Expansion To Happen! According to 9NewsAu's latest report, Australia's borders started to fully reopen on July 6. This is the first time that the country allowed travel activities to and from Australia two years after the global COVID-19 pandemic began. (Photo : WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images) A woman looks at a mural of a health worker with wings holding a globe on International Nurses Day in Melbourne on May 12, 2020. - As frontline hospital staff are constantly facing the risks from the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, the world is marking International Nurses Day. Also Read: CDC Says US COVID-19 Vaccine Utilization Has a Problem | Government Now Diverts Coronavirus Funds NSW officials said that unvaccinated travelers are now allowed to enter the country as they end their strict health protocols. But, they are also expecting that the number of hospitalized COVID-19 cases will also increase. Dr. Chant even said that the rise of infections will be similar to BA.1 cases back in January. Because of this, they are now planning to allow more residents to receive their fourth COVID-19 vaccine jabs. Australian Prime Minister Encourages It Aside from Dr. Chant, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also agreed with the expansion of the fourth COVID-19 vaccine jabs. He said that it is not a matter of "if," but more of a when. This means that they are now just waiting for when will the fourth vaccine expansion start rolling out. This effort of NSW officials will be really helpful, especially since Anadolu Agency reported that the Australian government no longer requires visitors to provide vaccine status. But, Australian Health Minister Mark Butler clarified that travelers are still required to follow the remaining health regulations imposed by the government. Meanwhile, experts claimed that new COVID-19 variants will continue to circulate throughout the summer of 2022. On the other hand, new COVID-19 cases in Shenzhen were detected. For more news updates about COVID-19 and other health topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: COVID-19 Vaccine Can Now Be Administered For Young Children, FDA Says This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA's project to survey the Moon before the actual Artemis I mission, the CAPSTONE, recently lost all communications with the space agency, and it is unreachable, says the spokesperson. There are many reasons why the NASA CAPSTONE will go dark in space, and the CubeSat should not have as it still has fuel for its trip, among other factors. NASA CAPSTONE: Spacecraft is Unreachable Says Space Agency (Photo : NASA) NASA CAPSTONE lost its communications with the space agency and is now in the dark while floating around in space. NASA aims to investigate what happened for the spacecraft and the reason behind its outage. It would take several months to go to the Moon, and that is something that the tiny spacecraft is looking forward to before arriving at the natural satellite's orbit. However, before its travel endured the massive wait before its arrival, the NASA CAPSTONE became unreachable as the space agency lost contact with the spacecraft. According to Space.com, Sarah Frazier, NASA's spokesperson, said in a statement that there are problems that the spacecraft is facing now, and it lost contact with the agency on its journey. The reason behind this is still unknown, and the company is working on ways to reestablish its communications with CAPSTONE for its mission. Read Also: NASA Warns About China Moon Takeover Being a Military Plan! Chinese Government Rejects Accusation NASA CAPSTONE Gone Dark: CubeSat in Danger? It lost contact last Monday, July 4. Still, an unknown factor resulted in its current problem, as Frazier said, it has "good trajectory data for the spacecraft based on the first full and second partial ground station pass with the Deep Space Network." The CubeSat may or may not be in danger due to this communication outage. Further information is coming soon as NASA is already investigating what happened to the CAPSTONE. NASA's CAPSTONE and the Artemis I The CAPSTONE is the first modern mission towards the Moon during this time, and it will be surveying the lunar satellite's orbit before bringing the actual rockets and orbiter when the Artemis mission takes place. According to reports, it will create an unusual orbit as it inserts itself on the Earth and Moon's patterns, and it would test it for the upcoming mission. The main goal of NASA for the CAPSTONE is to provide information and reports regarding the Moon's orbit that affects both the Earth and the lunar satellite that may happen soon in the future launch. The Artemis mission has a lot of research and studies behind it, and one way for NASA to do this is to launch its microwave oven-sized spacecraft ahead. NASA's venture for the CAPSTONE is essential, and it aims to be the first to experience what the Artemis will face in the coming years before it arrives in space in time for its mission. However, massive problems are now present in the space agency's ventures, especially with CAPSTONE losing contact and going dark in space. Related Article: 'Lunar Outpost for Humans': NASA and AI SpaceFactory Reveals 'LINA' to Shelter Astronomers on the Moon This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Isaiah Richard 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Cervical cancer has affected millions of women globally. However, early detection of the disease can help save lives. Therefore, there are HPV vaccines that can reduce the number of death and women getting cervical cancer. Besides that, a new mobile kit is being introduced to the market to help fight against the fourth most common cancer in women. (Photo : AIZAR RALDES/AFP via Getty Images) A doctor points at a screen with the tests of a patient suffering from cervical cancer during her first session of 3D high rate brachytherapy at the Bolivian Radiotherapy and Oncology Institute (IBRO) in El Alto, Bolivia on May 19, 2020. ELEVATE has developed a mobile kit that is designed for communities with limited access to medical care, as reported by the European Commission. It works by health workers explaining the importance of cervical cancer screening and then offering the test to and giving women the results within the day. ELEVATE's mobile kit is easy to use and requires little training. Women will need to collect a sample themselves and the health workers will run the sample through the battery-powered analysis unit. It works by using DNA to check for the presence of high-risk HPV infections that can lead to cervical cancer. The results come out in minutes. Also Read: HPV Vaccine Reduces Cervical Cancer Risk by 90 Percent, But Is It Recommended Now? When Will the Device Roll Out Researchers aim to start using the kit in mountain villages and deprived urban areas in Brazil and Ecuador. Furthermore, they want to use it with hard-to-reach women in Belgium and Portugal as well. With their focus on rural areas, the researchers also found that those in cities and with careers are not going for screening because they were too busy. Therefore, the testing kit could also be useful in cities where women often lead busy lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) sets 2030 targets to reduce cervical cancer rates globally. One of the initiatives would be to have at least 70 percent of women screened with a high-performance test by 35 and by 45 years of age. With the new ELEVATE portable kit, many are hopeful that it will help countries meet the WHO target. However, it still has to be tested in the field and assess for acceptability, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness for low-income countries. HPV Vaccination One of the most effective ways to fight cervical cancer is the HPV vaccine that is highly effective. However, it doesn't protect against all forms of high-risk HPV. Therefore, there is still a need to screen for cervical cancer. The ELEVATE screening kit is a multi-functional device that makes cervical screening accessible and affordable. The researchers also want to make sure the mobile kit can reduce false positives. Therefore, they are working on improving the test and the kit itself. They also want to make it so that the kit can run more than one test at a time, with each test taking less than a minute. Related Article: Immunotherapy may give hope to women with advanced cervical cancer This article is owned by TechTimes Written by April Fowell 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The recently launched E Vino Spaghetti restaurant in Tokyo is not your typical dining place. When you go inside their kitchen, you'll find that they don't have a chef (technically not a human chef). Instead, you'll find an AI-powered robot cooking your orders! The robotics company TechMagic and the Japanese cafe operator Pronto Corporation jointly created the AI-chef, which can not simply boil water and prepare pasta but also clean up after cooking. Faster Than Fast Food As reported first by Food & Wine, the robotic chef is called "P-Robo." It is equipped with four pans at its disposal, allowing it to rapidly prepare and cook pasta dishes to serve its customers on time! The P in P-Robo stands for "Pronto," and it is faster than fast food as it can easily produce an astounding 90 meals per hour when it is operating at full capacity. The robotic chef starts with frozen pasta, defrosting each serving in just 10 seconds, and heats the food while preparing the sauces. The first dish only takes 75 seconds to prepare, and each consecutive dish can be served in just 45 seconds - which truly makes P-Robo a mad multi-tasking machine! He added that in the field of self-driving cars, the United States and China dominate this industry, but Japan prides itself on leading "the world of cooking robots" by fusing its industrial and culinary traditions. Read also: Japan Is Using AI to Detect Rip Currents And Safeguard Swimmers Is The Restaurant Fully Automated? The robot has been relentlessly working in the kitchen of E Vino Spaghetti for four years and is currently a fourth-generation version. The restaurant isn't entirely automated, although Japan Today reports that it was developed in part to address challenges of human resource development in the culinary industry. Food & Wine noted that the pasta must still be plated, topped with any desired garnishes, and delivered to the diner by P-human Robo's human coworkers. There are other menu items, such as salads, that must still be put together by hand and other traditional methods. When Business Insider Japan attended a sampling party, there were a few technical glitches on the AI-powered chef, but Pronto has since explained that maintenance staff would be positioned in the restaurant for the time being to keep a close eye if the robo-chef would be glitching again. According to Pronto, they want to provide P-Robos to other restaurant chains and place P-Robos in as many as 50 restaurants over the course of the next five years. This aligns with TechMagic's overarching strategy for deploying its robots to address issues relevant to restaurants. The company wrote on its website that 60 to 70 percent of a restaurant's costs are often related to labor and supplies. In the same manner, Tech Magic claims that restaurants with low-profit margins are likely to halt due to rising labor and food expenses. Hence, they want to address these problems through their technologies. Related Article: 'Flying Hotel That Never Lands': AI Sky Cruise Ship Will Use Nuclear Energy to Fly in Luxury This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A two-year-old boy was orphaned after losing both his parents in the fourth of July shooting. A verified GoFundMe account was then set up for the orphan. As of Wednesday, July 6, it had amassed more than 1.9 million, which is still growing. Fourth of July Parade 2022 Seven people were killed, and many more were hurt during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, where the boy's parents were shot to death. The GoFundMe campaign has received contributions from at least 34,742 people, with the highest donation standing at $18,000 as of writing this article. Remember this little boy found wandering alone after #HighlandPark parade? Weve just found out why both his parents were killed A fundraiser has been started for Irina and Kevin McCarthys 2-yo son Aiden as he grows up without them Link: https://t.co/qKc4mOVX2t @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/7fxYE3OoS4 Marissa Parra (@MarParNews) July 5, 2022 Irina Colon was the organizer of the campaign, and she wrote that "Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan." "He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows," she added. According to Gizmodo's report, the police said that Aiden McCarthy was observing the parade with his parents when a shooter suddenly opened fire into the crowd from a rooftop location. Aiden's parents, Irina McCarthy and Kevin McCarthy, were unfortunately murdered in the incident. However, no motive has yet been determined, and it's unclear if they were specifically targeted or not. Read also: GoFundMe Announces Verified Hub of Fundraisers For Texas School Shooting Strolling Alone After the shooting, Aiden was discovered strolling about alone, which prompted people to post his picture on social media in an attempt to find his parents or relatives. But unfortunately, according to Gizmodo, Aiden's parents passed away before he was carried by an unknown person who appeared to be in shock. At least four more occurrences around the Fourth of July witnessed large crowds leaving after feeling threatened by gun violence. Two law enforcement officers were shot and wounded in Philadelphia, but the circumstances surrounding the incident are yet unknown. Gizmodo further noted that the incident also prompted large crowds of people to flee fireworks shows in Orlando, Harrisburg, and Washington because of concern that explosions might actually be gunshots. People seeking support for medical fees, therapy costs, and burial expenses have put up a GoFundMe landing page containing all of the verified campaigns for victims of the Highland Park shooting. Click here if you want to donate to the victims. Related Article: GiveSendGo Exposed User Data: Site for 'Freedom Convoy' Donations Secured Platform after GoFundMe Transfers This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Over 40 offices of Vivo across India were raided by the authorities on Tuesday, July 5. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of the country launched a probe against the Chinese smartphone maker over the alleged incidents of money laundering in select establishments. India Raids Vivo Offices Anew (Photo : MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images) India's money laundering agency has investigated over 40 Vivo offices in the latest raid. Last time, the authorities from India came after Xiao, another known smartphone manufacturer from China which was believed to be operating illegal payments overseas. Following this incident, ED probed another case with another mobile device company. This time, the investigators raided Vivo in line with the potential money laundering incidents in the offices, per Livemint. Speaking of the case, a Vivo spokesperson said that the company was doing its best to cooperate with the ED. "Vivo India is cooperating with the authorities to provide them with all required information. As a responsible corporate, we are committed to being fully compliant with laws in India," the spokesperson told TechCrunch in an interview. Back in April, the ED had been on the lookout to look for a piece of evidence that would show Vivo's involvement in irregular financial reporting and ownership, which took many months. India Seizes $725 Million From Xiaomi As the case unfolded in the same month, India's anti-money laundering agency seized another Chinese handheld firm. This time, ED seized Xiaomi's bank accounts in the country. According to the authorities, the phone maker remitted over $700 million of assets, which masqueraded as "royalty payments." In an early report from Reuters, Xiaomi denied this allegation, citing that the authorities had been threatening the executives during the probe. Additionally, ED noted that the company had been giving away deceptive information to financial institutions. This took place during the time when it was remitting the money in different countries. As of press time, the decision remains pending in the court after ED challenged the decision in Karnataka High Court. Related Article: India Vs. Xiaomi Patent Fee Issue Update: Apple, Other Tech Firms Say Officials Lack Royalty Payment Understanding Growing Tension Between India and China Outside the tech industry, the tension between China and India has been growing worse since then. The two nations had been reportedly fighting on the border back in 2020. Going back to the digital world, India remains firm in its decision to gradually eliminate Chinese apps in the country. Popular video-sharing app TikTok faced raps in the past because of its security concerns. Even the first FPS game, "PUBG Mobile," was banned in the country during the year when COVID-19 lockdowns started. The feud between the two countries might have intensified the restrictions imposed on the Chinese smartphone companies. Although the tension remains stiff at the moment, it's no wonder the Indian market is still heavily dominated by China in the mobile tech sector. Read Also: Xiaomi,Vivo, Oppo Orders Reduced by 20% Due To COVID-19 Lockdowns; Unupdated Specifications and Other Effects This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Amazon is off to a rough start. Following the European Union's (EU) directive for Amazon to amend their Prime service cancellation mechanism, they are about to face one of their biggest investigations yet. Amazon Catches The Attention of British Authorities for Alleged Anti-Competitive Behavior Amazon, an American multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence, is now under fire for the reported marketplace malpractices. On Wednesday, July 6, the British antitrust authority announced that it is looking into whether the American e-commerce behemoth is undermining competition by giving its own sellers and retail business an undue edge over other merchants on its platform. Amazon's tactics tend to affect sellers on its domestic marketplace to maintain preference over the components of their e-commerce platform. This, according to Britain's trust regulatory arm, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), can be considered anti-competitive behavior, which could incur problematic issues for customers. According to Sarah Cardell, General Counsel at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), it is only justified to look into whether Amazon is taking advantage of third-party data to prioritize their own retail business over others. They also added that at present, Amazon's setup favors merchants that use Amazon's logistics and delivery services which could, in consequence, dampen competition. Amazon's rapid delivery system is already being utilized by millions of consumers in Britain, according to CMA. Through its own retail division, Amazon offers goods through the marketplace. But it also permits things to be sold by independent retailers. These businesses can take advantage of Amazon's services, which include logistical support and customer matching. According to the company, the business will make sure to provide full cooperation with the CMA amid investigations. UK Plans on Investigating if Amazon has Followed Requirements for their 'Prime' Name CMA's statements show that it has already reached out to the European Commission (EC) to assist in the investigations. According to them, the case can be considered a continuation of EC's existing case with Amazon. Three main objectives will guide the CMA's examination. The first is how and to what extent Amazon gathers and uses data from third-party sellers and whether this offers Amazon an unfair advantage in its choices about its retail operations. The CMA will examine how Amazon determines which suppliers are the preferred or first choice in the "Buy Box," which is a section on Amazon's product pages that offers shoppers a one-click option to "Buy Now" or "Add to Basket." Last but not least, the British authority will examine how Amazon establishes the requirements for selling under the Prime name. Fast delivery and access to additional products are two benefits of Prime, an Amazon subscription service that costs money. Amazon also figured itself on an antitrust issue back in November 2020. In this case, the European Union (EU) alleged that Amazon was making steps that kill competition amongst other online retail market participants. This prompted EU to launch its second inquiry into the firm's operations. Separately, just last Wednesday, Germany also imposed stricted monitoring guidelines to curb potential antitrust issues on Amazon. Related Article: EU Forces Amazon to Change Prime Service Cancellation by Being Able to Quit in Just Two Clicks 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Unsplash/Fallon Michael) Juul On Wednesday, July 5, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an administrative stay on the order it issued in June for vaping company Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the market. The agency said that the stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order while it conducts further review but does not rescind it. FDA Temporarily Stops Juul Ban On June 23, the FDA issued the initial order banning Juul sales in the United States. On June 24, a federal appeals court blocked the government ban on e-cigarettes. The initial FDA action was part of the agency's effort to bring scientific scrutiny to the vaping industry after years of delays, according to Reuters. To stay on the vaping market, several companies must show that their e-cigarette benefits public health and is not enticing to teenagers. Also Read: Is Juul Safe? 1.3 Million Users complained Over Leaky Pods That means adult smokers who use them are likely to reduce their smoking or quit entirely, while teenagers will not get hooked to them when they try it. The FDA originally stated that Juul's application had left health regulators with significant questions, and the data that the company submitted did not include enough information to evaluate any potential health risks. However, Juul stated that they could submit all of the requirements that the FDA asked for, and the data they submitted addressed all of the issues raised. Juul has requested a hold from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit while the court reviews the case. On June 5, the FDA said that it had determined that "scientific issues" are unique to the Juul application that need more review. Still, the stay and the review do not mean that Juul can still sell or ship its products in the United States. It just means that the ones already on the shelves will not be taken down yet. Why the FDA Banned Juul According to The Guardian, the FDA decided to ban the company's products a day after the Biden administration proposed a rule to establish a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes and other tobacco products in an attempt to make them less addictive and less enticing. Juul was launched in 2015 and has led the way in e-cigarettes in the United States. It controlled 75% of the e-cigarette market in the country by 2018. Juul became the fifth best-selling e-cigarette in the United Kingdom, with sales of 13.1 million or $15 million in 2021. But the flavors like mango, mint, and creme brulee had led to charges because it enticed teenagers and encouraged them to smoke. Anti-tobacco advocates, parents, and politicians all wanted to ban e-cigarettes because they believe that it has contributed to the rise in underage vaping. Meanwhile, vape supporters said that they help smokers cut back on smoking regular cigarettes. According to a study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 2.5 million students in the United States used a tobacco product of some sort in 2021, and 80% of tobacco use was attributable to disposable e-cigarettes and cartridge products, like Juul. About 2 million high school students, or 13% of the participants, and 470,000 middle-schoolers, or 4% of the participants, have reported that they are currently smoking. Related Article: FDA Confirms Rejection of Almost 1 Million E-Cigarettes-But Retains Juul and Postpones Its Review Deadline This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Guest blog: How shipbuilding can chart a course for maritime 4.0 Guest blog by Matthew Medley, Industry Director, A&D Manufacturing at IFS solutions There is no doubt that Industry 4.0 has driven dramatic changes in the manufacturing of products, machinery, and equipment. Its impact can clearly be seen in many aspects of discrete A&D manufacturingthe creation and assembly of items by components used to manufacture highly complex military platforms such as aircraft is just one example. But the full impact of Industry 4.0 is yet to be felt in military and commercial shipbuildingwhere building processes are of a size and scale more similar to a construction project than even the most complex product manufacturing. Shipbuilding in the digital era Australian Industrial Transformation Institute explained the rationale and motivation for the adoption of Maritime 4.0: In line with all other forms of manufacturing, Industry 4.0 offers a vision for transformation of the shipbuilding industry through the establishment of Digital Shipyards and the adoption of a Shipyard 4.0 agenda. Maritime industry forecasts correlate with this increased digital focus. ResearchAndMarkets data suggests that the digital shipbuilding sector is set to grow quickly over the next few yearsfrom $591 million in 2019 to $2.7 billion by 2027, with an impressive 21.1% compound annual growth rate. According to a recent study in the Procedia Manufacturing industry journal published as part of the International Conference on Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing, Maritime 4.0 allows: The automated integration of real data into decision-making The adoption and implementation of connected technologies for design, production, and operation Reduction of vessel environmental impact related to production, operation, and disposal (including emissions, underwater noise, and material utilization) Affordable and sustainable operations Reduction of risk, increasing safety and security There is a clear industry move towards Maritime 4.0, but it brings challenges, not only in terms of complexity of processes but also in supporting IT infrastructure. With this in mind, there are four key areas to address in any military or commercial Maritime 4.0 strategy. 1. Complex projects breed complexities that need full proper support Difference in scale means difference in kindmanufacturing a sea vessel is more akin to managing a full-scale construction project than traditional manufacturing of parts and products. Manufacturing a complex, state-of-the-art asset requires supporting systems to effectively manage a full-scale construction project. Even commercial shipbuilding, though often less complex in design, comes with its own set of complexitiesstringent import/export rules that vary widely by country, new requirements for infectious disease control, and high labor costs, just to name a few. Global competition is fierce and dominated by low-cost labor countries: More than 90% of global shipbuilding takes place in just three countriesChina, South Korea, and Japan. Coming to grips with such complexity requires the support of an industry-specific and enterprise-breadth system that can manage such a unique manufacturing process. Thus, supporting project management and supply chain processes is critical. 2. Technology plays a major role in shipyard transformation The transformational technologies essential to Industry 4.0, from AI and machine learning to 3D printing and digital twins, will play a defining role in Maritime 4.0 strategies. Taking advantage of these technologies requires digital transformation, and because of the complexity of the projects, requires a digital shift to a more integrated environment. A fully digital shipyard needs to be underpinned by a software system thats agile enough to act on the increasing data volume and complexity to deliver quantifiable operational benefits. That means any successful naval or maritime digital transformation program will involve putting in place a full Integrated Data Environment (IDE) requiring close collaboration from military organizations, industry players, and software providers. IFS customer, submarine, and warship builder ASC, Australias largest defense prime contractor, recently announced a company-wide digital transformation program. The comprehensive program will set the ground for the ASC transition to become a digital shipyardfacilitating more streamlined processes, enhanced integration between systems, and the expanded use of real-time data to drive optimized decision-making across the organization. 3. High levels of security across the maritime ecosystem to support the digital thread of critical data The IDE and digital backbone supporting Maritime 4.0 will not come without its challengesand cybersecurity will be just as pervasive in the shipbuilding sector as in any other, as recognized by a recently published U.S. Congressional Research office paper on U.S. Navy force structure and shipbuilding plans: The digital thread from manned ships and autonomous platforms provides enormous opportunities for efficiencies in coordination, operation, maintenance, and cyber-resilience. However, this thread of critical data, including location, heading, and platform health, presents one of the biggest opportunities for cyber threats and cyber-attacks to Navy vessels. End-to-end cybersecurity and anti-tamper technology need to be addressed for many systems, from small man-portable autonomous vessels to systems as large as carrier groups. The defense sector has been well ahead of the curve when it comes to cybersecurity best practicesand shipbuilders servicing military customers will need to ensure compliance with strict regulations. Regulatory-compliant software can be a key differentiator when bidding for ship manufacturing contracts. Enterprise software should be a strategic enabler for information assurance and cybersecurity to address risk and threats throughout all phases of the software development life cycle. 4. Sustainability at the core of maritime strategy Maritime sustainability has been a huge focus area in recent yearsand Maritime 4.0 will, of course, positively impact sustainability efforts. The International Maritime Organization IMO has been spearheading an industry-wide effort to accelerate a major fuel and technology transition in response to the climate challengeits goal is to reduce annual CO2 emissions by at least 50% by 2050. At the same time, military forces are also looking at greener operations for newly built ships. The UK Royal Navy recently implemented a catalytic reduction system in two of its newest warships that reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 97%. Good supply chain optimization can help manage composite materials, and new manufacturing techniques will drastically reduce unnecessary emissions. Again, IDE has a key role to play here. When shipbuilding data is funneled through one system, enterprise software can assign a sustainability score to every process across a shipbuilding organizations value chain. Helping shipbuilders plot a course across the digital chasm Driven by key Industry 4.0 technologies and widescale digital transformation within naval forces, the military and commercial shipbuilding sectors are poised for Maritime 4.0. But making this digital shift involves grappling with complex projects, components, and data on a scale way beyond traditional Industry 4.0 manufacturing. Because of the size of their operations, ship manufacturers and naval organizations need to move towards an IDE to capitalize on the efficiency, visibility, security, and sustainability benefits of Maritime 4.0 in an increasingly digitized sector. Read more about Maritime 4.0 and the rise of the digital shipyard in this white paper. Full article here Matthew Medley ensures IFS solutions meet the demanding needs of Defense Operators, In-Service Support Organizations, and Manufacturers worldwide. He has served as a management consultant, program manager, and project manager in aerospace, defense, and manufacturing organizations including Porsche, Lockheed Martin and others. A graduate of the US Air Force Academy, Matt served as a Major in the US Air Force, compiling over 2,500 flight hours in the C-130 aircraft. He holds the FAA Airline Transport Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor ratings and has earned multiple postgraduate degrees and certifications including an MBA from Kennesaw State University and PMIs Project Management Professional certification. London Tech Week event roundup: Unpacking the UKs free trade agreements in the Asia Pacific On 17 June, techUK hosted a hybrid event focused on what commercial opportunities new free trade agreements bring to UK tech businesses and why digital trade policy matters for UK businesses looking to enter or already doing business in the APAC region. With ambitious deals such as the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the recent agreement in principle for a trade deal with New Zealand, the Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore, and CPTPP access negotiations, the UK is forging strong digital trade links in the Asia Pacific and taking substantive steps in pursing the tilt towards Indo-Pacific strategy. The main barriers to digital trade are not things that happen at the borders. It's all the elements around the regulation of the digital economy that every country is thinking about, whether it's regulation of content, competition in digital markets, how you keep consumers safe, data flows, data protection. The UK-Australia FTA includes provision on regulatory cooperation in digital identities to promote compatibility, as well as provisions committing parties to open government data. The UK-SG DEA comprises five bilateral agreements between the UK and Singapore including cooperation on Fintech, Digital Customs, Cybersecurity, Digital Identities, Electronic Trade Documents and Electronic Invoicing. In our panel discussion we discussed how to ensure these commitments deliver benefits to businesses and how we can bring these provisions to life. The UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement came into force on 15 June. This agreement provides a strong platform for meaningful bilateral cooperation on tech and digital, allowing us to build common approaches to emerging issues and create new opportunities for innovative tech businesses. You can read more about what the UK-SG DEA means for your business here. Speakers included: WhatsApp will allow you to configure several existing chats in temporary at the same time Billionaire Andrew Forrest is positioned for a potential takeover of BWX, as the struggling beauty group confronts the prospect of being forced to buy out celebrity Zoe Foster Blakes skincare brand at a price that exceeds its own valuation. Forrests private investment group Tattarang, announced on Wednesday that it has lifted its stake in BWX to 19.9 per cent - just short of the threshold which would require it to launch a full takeover bid for the company. The stake increase comes after Tattarang helped the company raise cash to pay down its debts and help ease bank covenants on its loans. BWX said last week that it will to cut the book valuation of its assets including its 51 per cent stake in Foster Blakes Go-To brand, sell underperforming businesses, and purge its entire board of non-executive directors, including chairman Ian Campbell. Zoe Foster Blake, who sold 50.1 per cent of her Go-To Skin Care business to BWX last year for $89 million, may be the only person to emerge unscathed from its recent turmoil. Credit:Kristoffer Paulsen Tattarang will get a seat on the companys board. But chief investment officer John Hartman would not be drawn on any further plans the fund has for BWX. Under the Banner of Heaven Disney+ This exceptional true-crime drama arrives with a huge amount of gravity, being based as it is on the gruesome 1984 murders of Utah woman Brenda Lafferty and her 15-month-old daughter, Erica, by her Mormon extremist in-laws Ron and Dan Lafferty, who claimed they were obeying a revelation from God. Created by Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black (Milk), based on the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild), its an extraordinary, multifaceted piece of television. Wyatt Russell, Chloe Pirrie and Daisy Edgar-Jones in Under The Banner of Heaven. Credit:Michelle Faye/FX Black assembles an outstanding cast and a roster of fine directors, and succeeds in making the seven-part limited series more than just an especially riveting crime story. Its also a fascinating portrait of a grotesquely dysfunctional hyper-religious family; an illuminating look inside mainstream Mormon society and one of its extremist offshoots; an examination of some of the darker chapters in the churchs history and some of its more contentious doctrines; and a reflection on the ways in which religious belief can inspire both good and evil while hobbling the mind just the same. Any time a fugitive dropped a breadcrumb by making a phone call or crossing in front of a CCTV camera or withdrawing cash from an ATM (each pair had $200 in cash and $300 in the bank for their 21 days) the team could request access to that footage or information in order to try to locate them. (Because the producers dont have authority to actually request that footage, it is reproduced on the run by having the camera operator place a Go-Pro where the closed-circuit camera would be, using a selfie stick. That footage is then uploaded via WhatsApp, and is available to the team at HQ within minutes.) Sometimes we got information back, sometimes we didnt, sometimes it took longer, says Craig, a former agent with the Australian Federal Police who led the investigation into the 2005 Bali bombings. That was tough. And it was very realistic. Though the hunt had rules, including downtime overnight for both pursuers and escapees, everyone worked 10-hour days, seven days a week for the 21 days of the shoot. The fugitives are all broken biscuits at the end of it, he says. And so are the hunters, because were all busting our chops to get our respective objectives. I think a lot of people watching it will go, Oh, this would be easy, he adds of the challenge of evading capture. Then when it starts I think theyll be surprised at the things law enforcement can do to track you and how hard it is actually to cover your tracks. Some of the fugitives appear to be winging it completely from the get-go. Not so West Australians Jake Rozario and Rob Harneiss, a policeman and a hairdresser respectively. It was Harneiss idea to apply for the show hed seen the UK version and fancied his chances and Rozario simply went along because Id do anything for my best mate. And it was the hairdresser rather than the copper who came armed with a game plan and a whole heap of gear to aid their chances. The surveillance experts who are charged with tracking and finding the escaped fugitives. Credit: I think we had like 40 kilograms of hair and make-up in backpacks, says Harneiss. I had a lot of vacuum-sealed bags, they were all itemised with everything that was in the bags, all the different disguises. A big part of our game plan was to hide in plain sight. Within minutes of the mass breakout from Melbournes Federation Square that kicks off the first episode, the pair have changed from their drop clothes into high-vis workwear, with false hair and moustaches. A good wig can get you a long way, says Rozario, who concedes that they nonetheless thought theyd blown their chances within the first 30 minutes. Early on, we were pretty poor. We found it very, very difficult to get anybody to help us. While Harneiss is adept at making small talk from behind the hairdressing chair, Rozarios interactions with strangers in his day job tend to have a different energy. When I approach people at work [as a policeman] they generally dont want to talk to me, he admits. I definitely had to learn a lot in terms of the way I approached people. Early on we probably had two people help us out of 20, but we got a lot better at it over time. With so little by way of resources and with the hunters having access to contacts and likely hideouts, convincing strangers to help is key to surviving in this game. But what does the willingness of people to lend a hand to strangers who introduce themselves as fugitives say about us as a culture? That the Ned Kelly spirit is alive and well? I realised there are a lot of people out there that are willing to help you and that are good people, says Rozario. They may have, theoretically at least, been helping criminals but, he adds, I loved it when we were getting the help. It was the best thing ever. Should this show strike a chord with viewers and give rise to more seasons, Harneiss has a tip for future competitors. Retirees are the best help ever. Honestly, they are so cautious about everything, everythings a conspiracy, so theyre great people to help you. After five seasons on the UK version and one in the US, cyber expert (and former sniper) Ben Owen thought he was done with Hunted after leaving the show just before COVID-19 hit. But the lure of Australia proved too great for Owen, who signed on as head of intelligence and claims this season is the most intense hes worked on, with an expanded number of fugitives and a compressed time period. As someone who advises businesses and high-net-worth individuals how to stay safe online, he has an ambivalent attitude towards the amount of information available to surveillance operatives in real life. I am a big privacy advocate, he says. I believe you have a private life for a reason thats why we have curtains on the windows, a door on the toilet. Proportionate access to data, on solid legal grounds, is appropriate, he says, and in the post-Snowden and WikiLeaks era, people are unlikely to be surprised that police and security forces can access it. But, he adds, I think people will have a reality check when they see how accurate, how fast and just how much information every day is traceable. Loading Should viewers be worried then, or comforted? The ones who have nothing to hide will feel comforted, says Owen. Those on the wrong side of the law might start changing their passwords, look at multifactoral authentication and start chucking their phones in the river. A woman who shook, tossed and dropped her four-month-old niece, acts that ultimately killed the baby, could not control her behaviour and did not feel concern because of her mental illness. After initially telling detectives she was not responsible for the babys death, the woman walked into a police station a month later and told officers: It must have been me. I was responsible. Sandra Leigh Houston. Credit:Nine News Police had bugged the womans home, hoping for her or her husband to say something detectives could use, but it had not worked, until they caught a lucky break with her confession. Sandra Leigh Houston, 38, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday to the manslaughter of her niece, Senah. However, she could be free from jail in fewer than four years. A mansion has come up for sale in Florida for an eye-watering $US14.995 million ($22 million). Located in Orlando, the theme park capital of the United States, this mansion is so grand and vast its a veritable theme park in its own right. This Florida home hides a tribute to Star Wars. Credit:Premier Sothebys International Realty The property, spread over 3197 square metres, is located at Golden Oak estate, within the famed Walt Disney World Resort. And, as a tribute to one of Disneys most valuable brands, this stunning abode has created one of the best homages to Star Wars weve ever seen. Sloviansk, Ukraine: In a sign Russia may expand its stated war aims beyond the Donbas region of Ukraine, Moscow has ramped up its war rhetoric with Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin saying Ukraine has become a terrorist state. The remarks by the chairman of the lower house of parliament suggested Russia may be bracing for a long war on multiple fronts, having earlier abandoned offensives on the capital Kyiv and second-largest city Kharkiv in the face of fierce resistance. Russian soldiers set a national flag and a replica of the Victory banner after capturing the village of Bilohorivka in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine. Credit:AP In another sign, the Duma passed two bills in their first reading that would allow the government to oblige firms to supply the military and make staff work overtime to support the invasion. Meanwhile Ukrainian defenders fought desperately to withstand a major Russian offensive in the Donetsk. A senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday the enemy had laid down heavy artillery fire to pave the way for ground forces to advance. Washington: The man accused of opening fire into a crowd at an Independence Day parade this week has admitted carrying out the rampage, as chilling new details emerged of his plan to commit a second mass shooting. Two days after the horrific Highland Park massacre that has killed seven people, suspect Robert E Crimo III appeared in court via video link from jail on Wednesday (US time) to face seven charges of first-degree murder. Robert Crimo III appears before Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak in his initial court appearance on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Illinois. Credit:AP The 21-year-old did not enter a plea but was held without bail after county prosecutor Ben Dillon told the court that he had confessed to the attack in the Chicago suburb after he was arrested on Monday night. But as he awaits a second court hearing later this month, police have revealed how Crimo fled the scene, disguised in womens clothing, and later drove to the neighbouring state of Wisconsin where he contemplated committing another massacre at a July 4 event in the Madison area, about 239 kilometres from Highland Park. UK Prime Minister battles to stay in power amid revolt by MPs Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss A damaged bus that crashed into a house in the northern Romanian town of Moisei on June 5, 2022, in a still from video. (PROTV via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) 1 Killed, 8 Injured in Romania Bus Accident One person was killed and eight others were injured on Tuesday in a bus crash in the northern Romanian town of Moisei, according to the countrys General Inspectorate of Emergency Situations. On board the bus were 51 Polish nationalsa tourist group and their driver, who was killed. Footage of the crash site showed a damaged bus that crashed into a house, with a shattered front windscreen. A damaged bus that crashed into a house in the northern Romanian town of Moisei on June 5, 2022, in a still from video. (PROTV via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Eight people were transported to hospital. The rest of the people involved in the event were picked up by a bus provided by local authorities, and will be accommodated at a boarding house in the area, an inspectorate official said. The driver of the bus lost control of the steering wheel and entered the fence of a house, authorities said. A man is detained by National Crime Agency officers at an unspecified location in London on July 5, 2022. (National Crime Agency/PA) 40 Arrested in Huge People-Trafficking Raids in UK and 3 European Countries Forty people have been arrested in coordinated raids across Britain and three European countries, and law enforcement agencies claim they have smashed a huge gang which was trafficking illegal immigrants across the English Channel in tiny boats. Almost 13,000 people have crossed the Channel from France in dinghies and RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) since the beginning of January, with the monthly total for June at 3,136, the highest of the year. But on Tuesday, in an operation coordinated by Eurojustthe European Unions criminal justice cooperation agencyhomes in Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands were raided and more than 40 people were arrested. Eurojust is expected to reveal more about Operation Thoren at a press conference in The Hague later on Wednesday. Britains National Crime Agency (NCA) launched its own Operation Punjumpart of Operation Thorento smash an organised crime gang thought to have brought 10,000 people across the Channel since the beginning of 2021. UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said: These arrests send a clear message to the criminal gangs who are preying on vulnerable people across Europe and beyond: we will stop at nothing to end your sordid trade, bring you to justice and save lives. This hugely significant operation once again shows the NCA and our international partners working diligently to dismantle people-smuggling networks. The NCA said, in a statement, it was the biggest ever international operation targeting criminal networks suspected of using small boats to smuggle thousands of people into the UK. They said it was launched following the arrest of a people-trafficking kingpin in London in May this year. Hundreds of lifejackets discovered by investigators are piled up outside an address in the city of Osnabruck in Germany on July 5, 2022. (National Crime Agency/PA) Hewa Rahimpur, 29, an Iranian national who was living in Ilford, east London, is now facing extradition to Belgium. The NCAs Director of Threat Leadership, Chris Farrimond, said: It was actually our intelligence which started this all off and which led to the culmination. Many of those arrested overseas have been targeted as a result of evidence that we provided into the taskforce. The NCA said they seized 50 small boats and hundreds of life jackets. NCA officers arrested a 26-year-old man in Catford, southeast London, and a 22-year-old man on the Isle of Dogs in east London, on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration. Four other arrests were made in Britain, two of which were suspected illegal immigrants who had been handed over to the immigration authorities. Germanys DPA news agency said prosecutors in the German city of Osnabruck oversaw raids involving 900 police officers at 36 properties in Lower Saxony, Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Wurttemberg, and 18 people were arrested. Illegal immigrants are brought ashore near Dungeness, Kent, by the RNLI after a small boat was intercepted in the English Channel on March 15, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA) Farrimond said the illegal immigrants were paying the gang around 3,000 euros (2,570) each to bring them across the Channel to England. He said Operation Punjum would not stop the flow of illegal immigrants to Britain but would absolutely make a difference. Farrimond said: It will take some time for this group, or whichever group succeeds it, to recover. Now were not going to stop at this point. Ideally wed like to stop the supply of small boats much earlier on so that they really have difficulty getting their hands on them, and wed also like to attack the money flows in a lot more detail than we do right now. So theres plenty more to do. Its not going to stop it but it is going to make a dent. PA Media contributed to this report. Activists who believe abortion is a right shout slogans as they rally after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court, in Miami, Florida, on June 24, 2022. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images) Abortion Bans in Mississippi, Florida Allowed to Take Effect Amid Efforts to Block Them Bans on abortions in Mississippi and Florida are taking effect this week in spite of efforts in the courts seeking to block the laws. The news comes amid continuing legal battles in multiple U.S. states over abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court decision on June 24 that overturned Roe v. Wade and sent regulation of the procedure back to the states. The 1973 landmark Roe decision had largely enabled abortions to be carried out for up to 24 weeks of pregnancy across the country for almost five decades. In Mississippi, the states legislature had in 2007 passed a trigger law banning all abortionsexcept in cases where it is deemed necessary to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape that has been reported to law enforcement. The trigger provision means it would be contingent on the overturning of Roe. The Jackson Womens Health Organization, the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, had asked a court to temporarily block the trigger law from going into effect on July 7. The temporary restraining order would have let the clinic remain open while litigation continues. But Judge Debbra Halford in Jackson, Mississippi, rejected the request on July 5. The clinic had filed the lawsuit three days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a case that also originated in Mississippi. In challenging the trigger law as well as a six-week abortion ban in the state, the clinic cited a 1998 ruling by the Mississippi Supreme Court and argued that the right to privacy under the states constitution included a right to abortion. But Halford said it was more than doubtful that Mississippis Supreme Court would continue to uphold that decision as it rested on the U.S. Supreme Courts own past rulings including the now-overturned Roe v. Wade. The plain wording of the Mississippi Constitution does not mention abortion, Halford wrote in rejecting the clinics request. Pregnant woman holding ultrasound picture. (Volodymyr Hryshchenko/Unsplash) But Rob McDuff, a Mississippi Center for Justice lawyer representing the clinic, argued that Mississippi justices never said their ruling was made because of the federal Constitution. They never said it would evaporate if Roe was ever overruled, McDuff said in court on July 5. He called Halfords ruling disappointing and said the clinics lawyers were considering their options. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, said in a statement after the judges ruling that the trigger law has the potential to save the lives of thousands of unborn Mississippi children. It is a great victory for life. I also believe it is critical that we showcase to every mother and child that they are loved and that their communities will support them, he added. Floridas 15-Week Abortion Ban Takes Effect Separately, in Florida, the states 15-week abortion ban signed earlier this year that was due to take effect July 1 was temporarily blocked by a circuit judge, John Cooper, who said that the ban was unconstitutional. He said the law would only take effect after he issued a written order. But the ban was reinstated on July 5 after Floridas attorney general, Ashley Moody, appealed on July 5 in a lawsuit, which automatically froze Coopers temporary injunction. The Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality Act, also known as HB 5, has exceptions for cases when an abortion is deemed necessary to save the life of the mother, or when the fetus has a fatal abnormality. The law does not have exceptions for rape or incest. Abortion providers had argued in challenging the abortion ban that the states constitution guarantees a right to the procedure. Cooper in his order sided with them, saying the abortion ban violated the constitution, which grants a right to privacy, which includes a right to abortion. Following the reinstatement of the 15-week abortion ban, lawyers for the abortion providers in Florida at the ACLU and Center for Reproductive Rights are vowing to seek reinstatement of the injunction and to get the 15-week ban blocked for good. Florida has long been a destination for women across the Southeast seeking to end pregnancies in their second trimester as neighboring states have strict abortion limits. Previously, Florida permitted abortion up to 24 weeks. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. New Australian research indicates that adolescents vulnerability to insomnia increases their likelihood of developing depression. Led by Flinders University in Adelaide, the paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Psychology suggests that a combination of adolescent sleep biology and psychology makes young people vulnerable to developing depression. Lecturer at the School of Psychological Sciences at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and co-author of the paper, Dr. Cele Richardson, said a delayed circadian rhythm, restricted sleep duration, and greater likelihood of negative thinking while trying to fall asleep were all contributing factors to this susceptibility to depression. Adolescents are the most chronically sleep-restricted subpopulation across human development, in both western and eastern societies, with data from across the world suggesting they sleep too late and too little, she said. The research team discovered that during adolescence, developmental changes to the biological systems that regulate sleeping and waking provided pathways to depression. The first factor is a slower build-up of sleepiness across the day, which delays the onset of sleep in older adolescents, Richardson said. Although teens fall asleep later, school start times remain early, which means it is hard for young people to achieve an optimal 9.3 hours of sleep, and this sleep restriction, in turn, increases depression symptoms. Secondly, difficulty falling asleep is further worsened by a delay in circadian rhythm timing which occurs across adolescent development and having a late timed body clock is consistently associated with increased risk for depression. Richardson added that these two factors then lead to a third, more psychological pathway to depression, the opportunity for repeated worry and rumination, which is also associated with adolescent depression. Sleep researchers (left to right) Dr Cele Richardson, Dr Michelle Short, PhD Michal Kahn and Dr Gorica Micic. (Image supplied by Flinders University) Interventions to Prevent Insomnia-Related Depression Richardson suggests that evidence-based sleep interventions such as bright light therapy, the use of melatonin, and cognitive-behaviour therapy techniques may alleviate depressive symptoms in adolescents. Further research into the role of sleep in depression may also help us to develop more effective prevention approaches so that we can stop the onset of depression, at least for some young people, she said. Meanwhile, Dr. Gorica Mimic of Flinders Institute of Sleep Health and co-author of the research paper recommended schools and communities bring sleep education into their curriculums to support the well-being of young people during this vulnerable period. Given that underlying biological and physiological factors significantly contribute to this manifestation, basic sleep knowledge and what happens during sleep in adolescence can help young people better understand and manage their sleep, she said. The onus is also on parents, said co-author and Flinders University researcher Dr. Michelle Short, who suggested parents support teen sleep and mental health by setting bedtime limits on school nights. She also noted that schools could abstain from scheduling extra-curricular activities before school and not start classes before 8:30 a.m. Richardson is currently recruiting young people aged between 13 and 18 to participate in a clinical trial where bright light therapy will be given in conjunction with a common treatment for depression to determine whether it improves outcomes for adolescents. A police officer and a service dog walk past blossoming ornamental fruit trees during the COVID-19 pandemic in Calgary, Alta., on May 17, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh) Alberta Reports Surge in Deaths Due to Unknown Causes in 2021 Recent data on the leading causes of death in Alberta show a spike in the 2021 mortality rate due to ill-defined and unknown causes. The data, published on June 30 by Service Alberta, ranks the 30 most common causes of death in the province last year. For the first time in the past twenty years, the category of ill-defined and unknown causes of mortality was the number one cause of death in 2021, resulting in a total 3,362 deaths, up from 1,464 in 2020, and 522 the year before that. The unknown cause of death category emerged on the list in 2019, previously it had not been included in the ranking list dating back to 2001. Dr. Daniel Gregson, an associate professor specializing in infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Calgary, told CTV News that the reasons behind the emergence of the unknown causes of death category last year are probably multifactorial. He said those factors may include a lack of medical resources to determine the cause of death, delayed access to healthcare services, and post-COVID complications. Identified cases of COVID-19 are ranked as the third leading cause of death in Alberta in 2021 with 1,950 deathsa jump from 1,084 in 2020 when the pandemic began. From 2015 to 2020, organic dementia was listed as the leading cause of death in Alberta with chronic ischemic heart disease the dominant cause from 2001 to 2014. In 2021, organic dementia came in second, contributing to 2,135 deaths, while chronic ischemic heart disease ranked fourth with 1,939. Among the other top causes of death listed were: malignant neoplasms of trachea, bronchus and lung (1,552), acute myocardial infarction (1,075), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1,028), diabetes mellitus (728), stroke (612), and accidental poisoning by and exposure to drugs and other substances (604). Alleged Highland Park Shooter Tried to Enter a Synagogue Commentary During the Jewish Passover holiday, the alleged Highland Park Fourth of July Parade shooter tried to enter a synagogue. He was turned away by the synagogues rabbi. That rabbi, Yosef Schanowitz, recalled the incident when he saw the picture of the suspected Highland Park shooter released to news services. Highland Park is an affluent suburb about 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The community has a large Jewish population, around 50 percent of the suburbs population. At the moment the shooters first rounds hit people in the Fourth of July Parade, the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band was riding on a flatbed truck in the parade playing a traditional Jewish Klezmer wedding song. Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe and has become popular today in Europe and the United States. A Chabad synagogue was on the parade routethe Central Avenue Synagogue, Rabbi Schanowitzs synagogue. Chabad is an Orthodox Jewish religious movement that emerged from the Russian town of Lubavitch. The term Chabad is actually an acronym formed from three Hebrew words: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Sometimes Chabad congregations are referred to as Chabad-Lubavitch. According to reports, when the Chabad rabbis wife heard about the shooting, the rabbi ran outside to gather four boys who were preparing a Chabad booth for the parade. Ushering them to safety inside the synagogue, the rabbi next raced to the Highland Park Hospital, where he had served as a volunteer chaplain. At the hospital, he comforted the wounded and their families. The alleged shooter, identified by police as Robert (Bobby) Crimo, III from Highland Park, went to the Central Avenue Synagogue for unknown reasons during Passover in April. The Passover holiday, which celebrates the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt, took place between April 15 and April 23, 2022. The rabbi and the security guard, who was armed, turned Crimo away. It isnt known if they reported Crimos attempt to enter the synagogue to the local police. A motive for the July 4 shooting has not been declared by the police. But given the security incident at the Central Avenue Synagogue and the people targeted in the Fourth of July Parade, antisemitism may have played a role. Synagogue security, like church security, is challenging for many reasons. Most religions want to welcome new worshippers, which means an open-door policy. But as attacks on religious places in the United States and elsewhere have grown, the old open-door policy has gradually changed to an on guard approach, at least in those houses of worship where security measures are in place. Crimos appearance at the synagogue could have been to assess the security of the congregation. It isnt unusual for potential shooters to try to attend services or hang around buildings. In some cases, potential shooters have photographed the outside of synagogues, mosques, and churches. In others, they try to make friends with unsuspecting congregants, even ministers, priests, and rabbis. Some claim they are there to worship, to find god, or even to get a hot meal. A good example happened at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, near Dallas, Texas, in January. Mark Faisal Akram, a British citizen from Lancashire, pretended to be a homeless man and struck up a conversation with the synagogues rabbi, who offered him tea before religious services began. Once in the synagogue, Akram, who was armed, took the small number of congregants hostage and began making demands. When he threatened to kill the hostages, they escaped, and the FBI raided the building and killed Akram. Days earlier, Akram tried the same trick at the Islamic Center Mosque in Irving, Texas. He said he was homeless and wanted to sleep in the mosque. After an altercation, he was sent away. All too often, small incidents like this happen around the country. Recently, in Columbus, Ohio, a young man with a backpack showed up at a synagogue. He was challenged while trying to enter the synagogue. The name he gave didnt match the identification he carried. He was turned away. After the event, local police were notified, who in turn notified the FBI. Whether this young man was a real threat we may never know, but these incidents are increasingly common. Perhaps the most important two things to remember are vigilance and deterrence. Vigilance means challenging unknown persons trying to enter a congregation, or even those who appear to be hanging around religious places (including schools, day care centers, and houses of worship). Deterrence means having an armed guard, preferably in uniform with a visible weapon, just like the Central Avenue Synagogue. Had there been an armed guard at the Poway synagogue in California, or the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the mass shootings in both places may never have happened. One important caveat: Untrained and unarmed church, mosque, or synagogue staff, or security volunteers, should not approach an unknown person who could be armed and dangerous. Thats a job for security professionals. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. People place flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial where a tractor-trailer was discovered with deceased illegal immigrants inside, near San Antonio, Texas, on June 29, 2022. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images) Arizona Approves Record $564 Million to Help Secure Southern Border Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed new border security legislation billed as the most meaningful in state history aimed at stemming the illegal migrant crisis. The measure, sponsored by Republican state Rep. John Kavanagh, dedicates a record $564 million in targeted border security funds to help stem the migrant crisis. In a June 30 letter, Ducey described HB2317 as a reasonable investment designed to help secure Arizonas 378-mile southern border with Mexico. Inaction by President [Joe] Biden has led to the worst border crisis in over 20 years, Ducey wrote. Ive been outspoken about the impact this crisis has on Arizonans, our communities, and migrants. The effort will include a physical barrier and will also seek to address critical public safety staffing shortages. The state will also use the funds to modernize the technology and equipment to curtail criminal activity and human trafficking along the border. The number of migrant encounters has skyrocketed at our border, overwhelming law enforcement and Border Patrol, Kavanaugh said in a statement. Thanks to the absent federal government, our border is in chaos and out of control. We need more support and physical barriers. This is a reasonable investment in Arizonas safety and security. The border security fund includes $335 million for border fence construction and technology; $30 million for a new State Emergency Operations Center, $10 million to reduce human trafficking; and $10 million for emergency health care and testing for migrants. Ducey said a physical barrier, combined with better virtual surveillance equipment, should help to mitigate the flow of illegal border crossings. At the same time, he said it would enable law enforcement agencies to fight criminal activity associated with illegal immigration. Our nation is facing the worst border crisis in years due to the federal governments inaction, and our communities are paying the price, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said in a statement. Our state leaders and law enforcement have been taking action, doing all they can to protect Arizona. It is crucial we have the necessary resources along the southern border, and I appreciate Gov. Duceys efforts to make that happen. However, Ducey said resolving the migrant crisis ultimately is the federal governments responsibility. The number of border crossings and arrests have hit record highs since the Biden administration ended enforcement of Title 42 in May. Then-President Donald Trump introduced immigration restrictions in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) anticipates as many as 2 million detentions by the end of the current fiscal year, up from 1.7 million in 2021. The attempted border crossings due to human smuggling have often ended in tragedy. In June 2022, 46 migrants were found dead inside an abandoned truck trailer in San Antonio, Texas. Border agents encountered a dozen other adults and four children, all suffering from heat exhaustion and heat stroke. This [$564 million] investment is critical to saving lives both on the border and within our communities, Tim Roemer, director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. Not only is this a border crisis, its a humanitarian crisisand its only getting worse. In April 2021, Ducey issued an emergency declaration and deployed the states National Guard to the southern border to support local law enforcement efforts there. Armed Men Kill at Least 22 in North Burkina Faso Attack OUAGADOUGOUArmed assailants killed at least 22 civilians in northwest Burkina Faso on Monday, a local official said, the latest deadly attack in an area marred by extremist activity. The attackers raided a rural commune in the province of Kossi, around 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the border with Mali, in the hours between late Sunday night and early Monday morning, regional governor Babo Pierre Bassinga said in a statement. The provisional death toll of this terrorist attack is 22 dead, several wounded and material damage, it said. Military forces have been deployed to the scene and measures are in place host those who fled to nearby cities, the statement added. Burkina Faso has been battling Islamist extremists active in northern regions, some with links to al-Qaeda and the ISIS terrorist group, since 2015. The fighting has displaced more than 1.85 million in the West African country alone and killed thousands across the Sahel, where militant activity that took root in Mali has spread over the past decade. Army officers angry about the escalating attacks overthrew Burkina Fasos president in January and vowed to improve security, but levels of violence have remained high. Armed men killed at least 100 civilians in another rural district in northern Burkina Faso last month, the deadliest attack the country has seen in at least a year. A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chemist checks confiscated powder containing fentanyl at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory in New York on Oct. 8, 2019. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images) At Least 8 Dead in Florida County in Potential Mass Fentanyl Poisoning Event Authorities in Gadsden County, Florida, announced that eight people have died over the holiday weekend from a suspected drug overdose, while another eight have been hospitalized. The first two apparent overdose deaths happened on July 1, when officials found two women inside a home in the St. Hebron community. That night alone, members of the Gadsden County Sheriffs Office responded to more than a dozen calls related to drug overdoses, WCTV reported. The most recent death involved a 62-year-old man, whose body was discovered early on Tuesday at a home just west of Quincy, part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area, officials said. Gadsden County is located northwest of Tallahassee. In a preliminary investigation, authorities found that the deaths are likely related to drugs like cocaine and marijuana being laced with fentanyl, a deadly opioid 50100 times stronger than morphine. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on July 2 warned citizens that Gadsden County is experiencing another potential mass fentanyl poisoning event. This tragedy demonstrates yet again the extreme danger of fentanyl, which we continue to seize in all 50 states, often hidden in other drugs or made into fake pills, DEA administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement (pdf). The men and women of the DEA are committed to bringing to justice the criminal drug networks and dealers that are killing Americans by deliberately distributing fentanyl and deceptively mixing it into other substances and into fake pills, Milgrams added. Of the eight people hospitalized from July 1 to July 5 following a suspected overdose, the youngest was a 34-year-old man and the oldest was a 67-year-old woman, the Tallahassee Democrat reported, citing local officials. Of the deceased, the youngest was a 34-year-old man and the oldest was a 60-year-old woman. No arrests were immediately announced. Here in Gadsden, I have not heard of any opioid poisoning here in the county as it relates to fentanyl, Sheriff Morris A. Young said in a video on Facebook. But on [July 1], it was very apparent that it was here in the county, and we had about 15 calls related to it. Fentanyl drives addiction faster than other drugs and is extremely easy to overdose on. The powdered substance is mis-sold as different substances like cocaine, methamphetamine, or other recreational drugs. When taken, it causes the user to become unresponsive and may result in a loss of consciousness. Some of the reported symptoms include breathing difficulties and a weak pulse. Most fentanyl was produced in China until 2019, when the Chinese communist regime, under pressure from the West, officially banned it. Since then, the precursors to the drug continue to be made in China and are then sent around the world to customers who assemble them into the deadly drug. From NTD News Members of the Canadian Armed Forces at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Montreal on Jan. 16, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes) Betrayal: Canadian Soldiers Ousted Over Vaccine Mandate Speak Out Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members who left the institution or were forced out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccines say they feel betrayed by the organization they vowed to serve. The Epoch Times interviewed several former soldiers willing to speak on the record about their experiences. The CAF directive for mandatory vaccination was issued in October last year, and members had to attest to their status by mid-November. The directive left the possibility of seeking an exemption on various grounds, such as for medical or religious reasons, but few accommodations were granted. While the federal government suspended the vaccine mandate for its workforce in June, the CAFs mandate remains in place and is under review. Former soldiers who spoke to The Epoch Times had various reasons for not wanting the jab, with the core issue revolving around personal choice and their own risk assessment. Those that sought an accommodation were denied, and some chose voluntary release to avoid their record being tainted by the dreaded mention of 5(f), Unsuitable for further servicea dishonourable discharge. Not Suitable I sort of got released for the same reason that I joined, which was that I stand up for what I believe in, says Justin Tenhage, who served for seven years as a reserves infantryman. Tenhage recently joined James Topp, the veteran who marched from Vancouver to Ottawa to protest against vaccine mandates, for part of the journey. A few Canadian soldiers ousted by the vaccine mandate in the military march with veteran James Topp (L), Dr. Paul Alexander (R), and other supporters in Dunrobin, Ont., on June 29, 2022. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times) There was definitely a sense of betrayal, he says when describing how he feels about being pushed out of the military over the mandate. You train to fight and die with your brothers, and for your regiment, and for your leaders, and to be told that youre not suitable to do so because of your choice, and because of standing up for what you believe in, its really difficult. Tenhage says he felt forced to voluntarily release in order to avoid the 5(f) discharge, so as not to impact his future career aspirations. Personal Belief Nicholas Collins served four years as a vehicle technician. He chose not to take the vaccine out of the personal belief that he didnt need it. I also believe that people should have a choice whether they want to take it or not, he says. Collins did not seek an exemption, nor did he ask to release. Instead, he was placed on administrative review in November and released under 5(f) in May. The young veteran says its unfortunate that the CAF is releasing so many members while in dire need of personnel. Theyre taking a career and a military thats already in need of personnel, and theyre getting rid of hundreds of them when they need people like us, he says. After what Ive gone through, Ill never look at the CAF the same, he added, noting he would not consider rejoining if the mandate was lifted. I find that Ive been doing a lot better physically and mentally since I got out, he says. Collins now works part-time and started his own home business. Stages of Grief Logistics officer Natasha Lis, with 18 years of service, was hoping she would be spared by the mandate due to her working remotely in another province. Lis says she chose not to get vaccinated due to her good personal health, relatively young age, and the lack of available safety data on the injections. She sought an exemption on the grounds of discrimination as defined in the Canadian Human Rights Act. Lis says she had concerns about the vaccines effects on womens health, such as evidence of the disruption of menstrual cycles and negative impacts on fertility. After being denied accommodation, she was referred to a medical officer to answer her questions about the safety of the vaccines. But she says he was not able to answer those questions. He also told her that her concerns were valid but that were not going to have the answers to those questions for 10-plus years. Once I got that confirmation that yes, my concerns were valid, then I submitted my request for release, she says. Familiar with the CAF administrative processes, she also took that path to avoid a stain on her record. I think Ive been going through the various stages of grief, Lis says about the release process. Originally, it felt like a complete and utter betrayal. I spent a lot of time really upset. Defence Minister Anita Anand speaks to military personnel after getting a tour of the CC 177 Globemaster aircraft at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in Trenton, Ont., April 14, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov) Lis says there was an egregious lack of procedural fairness in the process, citing the rushed exemption process and lack of support for members seeking accommodation. She says she gave her entire adult life to the institution and had planned to be involved for another 15 years. [I] really, really believed that what I was doing was contributing to the success of the institution and making peoples lives better, she said, adding to have that ripped away has been difficult. Lis says the last few months have been a trial, but shes now making progress in establishing new goals. Shes currently studying to apply for law school. Tossed Aside I feel like I was tossed aside like trash, says Jade Grainger, an artillery soldier with nine years of service. I served nine honourable years with this unit and they preached brotherhood and how we were a family. I believed it until I had a different viewpoint and then they tried to punish me for it and use me as an example, he says. Grainger says he refused the jab due to the lack of trials and long-term safety data. He said he also became concerned after most of my friends and family who did receive the jab had very serious medical issue[s] afterwards. Grainger did not seek an exemption and chose voluntary release instead. Even though he says he submitted his paperwork before the deadline, his chain of command wanted to charge him with disobeying a direct order and conduct unbecoming of a CAF soldier. He was then told he would be released under 5(f), but he complained about the lack of due process. After threatening to involve the Judge Advocate General (military lawyer), charges were dropped and he obtained his voluntary release, he says. Grainger currently runs his own business as a mobile welder and arborist. Shocked Sandra Carmichael worked in the militarys communications branch and has 25 years of service. She says she was pretty shocked when she heard there would be a vaccine mandate, saying it goes against the militarys ethics and ethos. She noted she had previously known her employer to be accepting of people and their choices and had never before mandated a one-size-fits-all solution that could impact the health of members. Carmichael refused the jab based on her beliefs and requested religious accommodation, but was denied. She says the military told her that her arguments seemed to be based on bodily autonomy and false information about vaccines. She counters that her application was well-sourced, herself having had previous research experience, and says she wrote in her grievance to the military that it was absolutely based on bodily autonomy because I do have bodily autonomy. Carmichael asked for a voluntary release, which she says was not truly voluntary but under duress. A health worker draws out Moderna vaccine from a bottle at a drive-through COVID-19 vaccine clinic at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., on Jan. 2, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Lars Hagberg) After serving for so many years, she said she felt shunned in the release process, not being given a proper goodbye or being able to receive her units flag. Im extremely disappointed because I had a lot of pride in the CAF and being a soldier and serving my country, she says. And right now I feel betrayed, because I always felt like if something like this were to happen, that the CAF would step up and would defend the freedoms of Canadians, and its completely the reverse that happened. She now works as a federal contractor. Ostracized One former soldier with over 10 years of service did not want his name published due to concerns about jeopardizing future career plans. I and many others see this as a political purge of the military, of anyone who dared stand up to the Liberal govs mandate, he wrote in an email. The former soldier says he chose not to get vaccinated because he believed that, as a healthy young man, he didnt need the vaccine. This choice had an impact on his work environment. I felt ostracized at work, even though I had kept quiet about my vax status and only my CoC [chain of command] would have known. Somehow everyone knew, and I heard my name + anti vaxxer said while I was around the corner many times. The former soldier says hes never been anti-vaccine, getting all his shots except for the flu. But these past two years have caused me to seriously doubt the integrity of our medical professionals, he says. The former soldier filed an accommodation request, but at the same time, he says the leadership chain was cracking down on the unvaccinated. He asked to be voluntarily released. Only after releasing did he hear his accommodation request had been denied. Like others, he said the bond of trust with the institution has been greatly affected. This definitely felt like a betrayal by the military that I signed on the dotted line for to potentially fight in a war, that I was ready and eager to go do the whole time, he says. Numbers A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence (DND) told The Epoch Times on July 5 that the CAF vaccine mandate is still in effect while under review. As of May 31, DND says that 157 accommodations have been granted. It didnt say how many were refused. As of June 15, DND says that 103 regular force members have been voluntarily released with the primary reason being mandatory vaccination. Another 234 have been released non-voluntarily due to non-compliance. Over 1,200 are currently under remedial measures or administrative review, which will likely lead to their release. Law firms Valour Law and Millars Lawyers are representing some soldiers who are challenging the mandate in court. Big 3 Power Providers Announce Price Hikes Amid Ongoing Energy Volatility Households and businesses in Australia will pay more for electricity and gas in the coming months as energy providers work to deal with soaring wholesale costs. The latest of the Big Three energy providers, EnergyAustralia, announced its price hikes set to affect around two-thirds of its 2.4 million customers on Aug. 1. The other one-third of customers are currently on fixed-rate contracts and are shielded from price increases. Average prices will increase 5.5 percent (or A$111 per year) for households in Victoria, 17.9 percent ($362 per year) for New South Wales, 18.9 percent ($367 per year) for Queensland, 14.9 percent ($312 per year) in South Australia, and 13.3 percent ($259 per year) in the Australian Capital Territory. Small business owners will have to contend with a 5.8 percent increase in Victoria. 12.3 percent in New South Wales, 18.9 percent in Queensland, 12.9 in South Australia, and 4.9 percent in the Australian Capital Territory. Gas users will also see prices climb, with residents in South Australia to see a 7.9 percent increase ($82 per year), and those in New South Wales ($82 per year) and the Australian Capital Territory ($151 per year) to see increases of 8.9 percent. More Energy Supply Needed Mark Brownfield, the chief customer officer at EnergyAustralia, said the price hikes reflected a doubling of wholesale electricity and gas costs. Australia is in the midst of an unprecedented energy shock, and our job as a generator and a retailer is to keep pumping power into the system to support our 2.4 million customer accounts, including those who may be doing it tough, he said in a statement on July 5. The only solution to higher electricity prices is an increase in the supply of power. The fundamental issue is that coal and gas are in short supply. You can see that from the export prices over the past year, with coal up 243 percent and gas up 148 percent. He encouraged customers to explore fixed-price contracts and called on energy generators to provide energy security, more supply to limit pricing volatility, and to get to net zero as quickly as possible. EnergyAustralias move comes after Origin Energy (4.2 million customers) and AGL Energy (4.5 million) announced similar price increases. Smaller energy retailers have struggled the most to cope with increasing wholesale prices, with several taking the extraordinary step of asking their customers to shop around for better deals. Things have changed dramatically and very quicklyand the best thing you can do now is switch and save as much as you can. Staying with us could mean your prices have to double soon, Luke Blincoe, CEO of ReAmped Energy, told his customers on May 31. Embrace of Net-Zero, Rejection of Fossil Fuels Leaves Energy Grid on the Brink Australias energy crisis stems from an ongoing transition to net-zero, including the push to develop more renewable energy sources and a lack of support for existing fossil fuel systems and development. Energy generators have been reluctant to invest in maintaining coal-fired power plants, while at the same time, development of new oil and gas fields has been limited by strict environmental standards. For example, in April last year, the Victorian state government rejected a plan by AGL to build a liquefied natural gas terminal due to its unacceptable environmental impact. On top of this, the Australian gas industry is not obligated to ensure reserve supply for local use (like in Western Australia). These combined factors have left the energy grid without the extra capacity to deal with unforeseen events or crises. In May, a perfect storm erupted, putting pressure on Australias energy market. One was a polar vortex that swept through the southern and eastern states driving up domestic energy demand significantly. The other was the war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russian gas and coal imports globally. This had a worldwide cascading effect and drove up demand for these resources across Europe (hence increasing wholesale prices). Australian customers and businesses were effectively left to compete with European consumers for the use of their own coal and gas. Yet the Australian Labor government and the Australian Energy Market Operator have avoided pushing too heavily for more fossil fuel development and have remained committed to opening up more investment in clean energy systems like wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage to provide that extra support for the energy grid. However, local business leaders, engineers, academics, and lawyers in the sector have already pointed out the array of challenges, extra government support, and the creation of new unproven industries (hydrogen) that would be needed to prop up a renewable energy grid. All of our new energy optionsfrom renewables and storage to biogas, hydrogen and energy efficiencyare hard to accelerate amid global supply chain woes, skills constraints, and unease from communities around energy megaprojects, according to the head of the Australian Industry Group Innes Willox. Read More Apocalyptic Energy Prices Create Perfect Storm for Australian Government On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 in the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization case that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. That judgment overturned two previous cases that had come before the Court, Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. The Courts verdict means that voters and the states in which they live will now decide the legality of abortion. This decision brought rage and violence from pro-abortion supporters. Some pregnancy centers were vandalized or firebombed, protests and marches were organized in cities across the country, and some, including politicians, either called for an insurrection or for Americans simply to ignore this sea change in the law. Some protesters broke federal law by gathering at the homes of certain justices in hopes of intimidating them. Still others called for abolishing the court altogether or for packing it with justices who might more closely reflect liberal beliefs and prejudices. As they vented their feelings, railing against what they saw as injustice, few of these irate proponents of abortion seemed to understand either the history or the function of the Supreme Court. Some attacked the overturn of a previous Court decision as unprecedented, whereas in reality the Supreme Court has shot down past Court rulings more than 200 times. Others accused the Court of politics, failing to understand that the justices must weigh the law regardless of politics. Even now deceased justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, for example, who was decidedly liberal in her politics outside of the courtroom, considered Roe v. Wade bad law. Given these mistaken or ignorant views, it is worthwhile looking at the Supreme Courts history, meaning, and place in our government and in our culture. The Essentials Cropped section from the third page of the Constitution of the United States. National Archives and Records Administration. (Public domain) Article III, Section I of the Constitution declares, The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. This Article established our system of federal courts and also gave Congress the power to oversee the administration of those courts. As a result, for example, the Supreme Court has in the past ranged from five members to ten. The current number of nine justices has existed since just after the Civil War. Section II of this same Article establishes the Courts jurisdiction, basically granting it the power arbitrate on the constitutionality of such issues as treaties, suits between states, and other cases involving the United States as an entity. A Gain in Function A Portrait of Chief Justice Marshall, 1834, by Rembrandt Peale. Oil on canvas. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. (Public Domain) In Front Royal, Virginia, where I now live, youll find a highway named after John Marshall. Few residents, I suspect, could tell you much about Marshall. The same lack of familiarity probably holds true across the United States, but it was Chief Justice John Marshall who more than 200 years ago added to the Court the power of judicial review, which allowed the justices to examine and possibly invalidate actions of the legislative and executive branches. Incidentally, he was also the first justice to wear a black robe, dress that others on the court soon adopted. In the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison, Marshall and the young court faced a dilemma. In brief, just hours before handing over the White House to Thomas Jefferson, John Adams had appointed several federal justices, including William Marbury as justice of the peace in Washington D.C. Though the documents were in order, Jefferson was upset by what he regarded as an act of chicanery and refused to deliver them. Consequently, Marbury sued for his lost position. Though Marshall and the Court ruled that Marbury had the right to his commission, with Marshall writing this opinion, they also ruled that the Constitution did not give them original jurisdiction over such a case, meaning that Marbury had come directly to the Supreme Court with his case instead of going to a lower court first. In other words, their review of the case found this maneuver unconstitutional. Since then, the Court has possessed and exercised this right of judicial review. Though thousands of such cases are presented to the Court every year, only 70 to 100 or so of them actually come before the justices. Ramifications of Court Decisions The outcome of these Supreme Court cases can bring a whirlwind of change to American society and culture. Lets briefly examine just three of these judgments and their consequences. Wood engravings of Dred Scott and Harriet Scott from 1857 photographs by John H. Fitzgibbon. Library of Congress. (Public Domain) Many constitutional scholars consider the 1857 Dred Scott decision the worst ever made by the Court. In this case, the justices ruled that a slave living in a free state nonetheless remained a slave, that African-Americans could never really be citizens of the United States, and that the Missouri Compromise of 1850, which declared a huge portion of the western territory free from slavery, was unconstitutional. This case infuriated many, not just abolitionists, and fueled the flames that brought about the Civil War. The Courts decision was later nullified by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution. In 1954, in the case of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, the Court declared that segregation by race in the public schools was unconstitutional. Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court, was the main attorney representing the plaintiffs. This decision eradicated the idea of separate but equal educational facilities for whites and blacks, and soon helped break up segregation not only in the schools but in enterprises across the country. Miranda v. Arizona, a 1966 case involving several defendants from different states, declared that the Fifth Amendment with its implicit right to remain silent applied outside of the courtroom, meaning that criminals could refuse to answer questions when arrested. Anyone who has watched television shows about the police in the last 40 years has heard words issued directly by the Court: A defendant must be warned prior to any questioning that he has the right to remain silent, that anything he says can be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to the presence of an attorney, and that if he cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for him prior to any questioning if he so desires. The outcome of Ernesto Mirandas case protected the rights of all those apprehended by the law. Positive Law, Originalism, and the Constitution Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, circa 1940, by Howard Chandler Christy. Oil on canvas. United States Capitol. (Public Domain) How judges view the law, the Constitution, and the function of the Court plays a part in their rulings. My online dictionary defines positive law as statutes which have been laid down by a legislature, court, or other human institution and can take whatever form the authors want. On the other hand is originalism, a legal philosophy that the words in documents and especially the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted as they were understood at the time they were written. These distinctions matter when interpreting the Constitution. During his discussion of Marbury v. Madison in Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story, Wilfred McClay cites Thomas Jefferson writing to James Madison in 1789 in favor of positive law: No society can make a perpetual continuation, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation. In Myron Magnets Clarence Thomas and the Lost Constitution, we find Justice Clarence Thomass opinion on this matter: The Constitution means not what the Court says it does but what the delegates at Philadelphia and at the state ratifying conventions understood it to meanWe as a nation adopted a written Constitution precisely because it has a fixed meaning that does not change. Justice Thomas is clearly an originalist in matters of the Constitution, a position misunderstood as political by many of his detractors. The Godfather popularized the line, Its not personal. Its business. Clarence Thomas might say, Its not politics. Its law. Of Course, There Are Imperfections Front facade of the United States Supreme Court Building highlighting the inscription, Equal Justice Under Law. (Matt Wade/CC BY-SA 2.0) Our American Republic is supposed to be governed by laws, not by men and women. Thats the ideal, but the working reality is that our courts and legal system must deal with laws devised and administered by people. To interpret and adjudicate those laws then requires the human touch: judges, lawyers, and juries. That even our Supreme Court justices, highly-educated and well-versed in jurisprudence, can arrive at a split decision is a fact that illustrates the entrance of the human mind and spirit into the law. As most of us know, ours is a government of checks and balances, with an executive, a legislative, and a judicial branch. This system, which has served us for nearly 250 years, may be the best form of governance ever devised. But it will never be perfect. And the same holds true for our courts, a point we might bear in mind while delivering our criticisms. A Truth We Must Never Forget Allegory of Justice, 1656, by Bernardino Mei. Private Collection. (PD-US) Appointees to the Supreme Court must take not one, but two Oaths of Office. All federal officials other than the president take the first oath, which begins by requiring the office holder to solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic A Supreme Court justice must then render this Judicial Oath: I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God. Central to both oaths is the Constitution. Few of us are satisfied with every decision handed down by the Supreme Court, but those today who threaten injury to our Supreme Court justices, or who want to pack the court, or who regard the Constitution itself as out-of-date and useless might want to pause and reflect on the freedoms they enjoy. Those freedoms exist in part because of that Constitution and that Court. Together they form a bulwark defending liberty and justice against tyranny and oppression. Falun Gong practitioners take part in a candlelight vigil remembering victims of the 22-year-long persecution in China at the Washington Monument on July 16, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times). CCP Increased Persecution of Falun Gong to Prevent Uncovering of COVID Situation in China: Report The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) increased its persecution against a spiritual group amid the pandemic to prevent its adherents from exposing to the world the COVID-19 situation within China, according to a report released by Falun Dafa Information Center. The report explores the latest updates and trends in the persecution against Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline brutally persecuted by Chinas communist regime since 1999. Despite restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, arrest and harassment cases almost doubled in the first semester of 2020 and nearly tripled by 2021compared to the same period in 2019as reported by the Falun Dafa Information Center. The CCPs purpose, according to the report, was to thwart Falun Gong practitioners efforts to get on-the-ground information regarding the health crisis out of China. Falun Gong adherents run the largest underground media and information network within China, states the report, which they developed while seeking to dismantle CCP disinformation spread about the practice in its two-decades-long persecution. Suppression of a Whistleblower Community Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline involving meditative exercises and moral teachings based on three core principles: truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. The practice gained popularity in China during the 1990s, with estimates putting the number of adherents at 70 million to 100 million. The communist regime, fearing the number of practitioners posed a threat to its authoritarian control, initiated a sweeping campaign starting in July 1999 and continues today to suppress the practice and its adherents. Since then, millions have been detained in prisons, labor camps, and other facilities, with hundreds of thousands tortured while incarcerated, according to Falun Dafa Information Center. Detained adherents also have been victims of forced organ harvesting, which has resulted in an untold number of practitioners being killed for their organs in China. Falun Gong practitioners in Vienna, Austria, stage a demonstration of organ harvesting of imprisoned practitioners in China during a protest against importing human organs from China to Austria on Oct. 1, 2018. (Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images) A critical component of the CCPs persecution is its information campaign against the practice, aimed at turning Chinese citizens against Falun Gong and its adherents. To this end, the regime has relied heavily on propaganda, spreading hatred against the practice by misrepresenting it and vilifying its adherents. In response, Falun Gong adherents dedicated themselves to debunking CCP propaganda, forming a network of people who became very proficient in getting news out of China, in getting news in China, said Levi Browde, executive director of Falun Dafa Information Center, at the webinar Pandemic, Persecution and Pushback, organized by the center on May 9. The persecution shifted from solely aiming to eradicate a spiritual minority group to the suppression of a highly effective global whistleblower that is exposing the crimes of the CCP internationally and telling the Chinese people the truth of what they are doing to Falun Gong and the real CCPs history, explained Browde. Increased Repression Cases Since the pandemic started in 2020, reports of harassment and arrests have increased dramatically among Falun Gong practitioners, according to the report, particularly when comparing data from the first two quarters of 2020 and 2021 with the year prior to the COVID health crisis. Specifically, these were the numbers of arrests and harassment documented by Falun Dafa Information Center: 3,383 cases during the first semester of 2019; 5,952 cases during the first semester of 2020; 9,470 cases during the first semester of 2021. Deaths due to abuse and torture amounted to 256 since the beginning of 2020, as stated in the report. However, numbers are likely to be much higher, given the difficulty of getting sensitive information out of China. The report concludes that the CCP intensified repression against the Falun Gong community as a method to interfere with the free flow of information surrounding the health crisis. Major events that put China in the spotlight, such as the 2022 Winter Olympics, also coincided with escalated repression. For example, Hebei Province, home of venues where the Olympics took place, saw a spike in persecution cases, as stated in the report. The report further mentions the cases of two notable whistleblowers. Disappearance of Fang Bin At the onset of the pandemic, while the CCP was undermining the seriousness of the health crisis, Fang Bina self-described citizen journalistcirculated video footage of packed hospitals in Wuhan, also showing a pile of eight dead bodies inside a funeral home van near a hospital. A pro-democracy activist (C) from HK Alliance holds a placard of missing citizen journalist Fang Bin as she protests outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong on Feb. 19, 2020. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images) He uploaded the video on YouTube, a website blocked by Chinas tightly controlled internet, which went viral. Days later, Fang was arrested and later disappeared. Almost two years later, he was reportedly held at Jiangan Detention Center. However, his whereabouts are still uncertain. According to the Falun Dafa Information Center report, the Chinese regime had previously detained Fang for more than four years, where he was egregiously tortured for his faith in Falun Gong. Imprisonment of Xu Na The CCP also arrested Xu Na, a 53-year-old woman, along with 11 Falun Gong adherents, for providing photos of a Beijing devastated by the pandemic. An undated photo of Xu Na (L) and Yu Zhou. (Courtesy of Falun Dafa Information Center) She was later indicted in April 2021 for providing information about the pandemic in Beijing to the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times. Xu was sentenced to eight years in prison in January. Her husband, Yu Zhou, was tortured to death in 2008 while held at the Beijing City Tongzhou District Detention Center. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson testifies during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on NASA's fiscal year 2022 budget request at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on June 15, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) NASA Administrator Accuses China of Planning to Take Over the Moon NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has warned that China is using its space program to attempt to take over the moon, a claim the Chinese regime denies. Nelson told German outlet Bild on July 2, We must be very concerned that China is landing on the moon and saying: Its ours now and you stay out. The purpose of Chinas space program, Nelson said, is a military space program, and its accomplishments are built on technology theft. The Chinese regime has denied Nelsons allegations. This is not the first time that the NASA administrator has lashed out at China in disregard of facts, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. China always advocates the peaceful use of outer space, opposes the weaponization of and arms race in outer space, he added. However, experts told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times that the theft of space technology is common by the Chinese Communist Party, and that the space program itself is part of the Strategic Support Force of the military. Technology Plagiarism Nelson warned about the space race with China in a Congress hearing on May 17. In particular, he warned about Chinas aggression in outer space and the cyber security risks posed by technology theft. He said, They are pretty good at stealing. Yue Changzhi is an electronics engineer retired from the No. 2 Institute of the Ministry of Aerospace Industry of China. She told The Epoch Times that she has no doubt that Beijing advanced its aerospace technology by relying on stealing. She said that the thefts started in the 1960s when she was hired at the ministry. Her task was in the development of missiles and anti-missile systems in the electronic department. It was the early time when the Ministry of Aerospace Industry was just established. Plagiarism has been its approach, that is, to make a copy of things invented by others with a slight change in appearance, Yue said. The Yutu-2 moon rover, taken by the Change-4 lunar probe on the far side of the moon. Picture released on Jan. 11, 2019. (China National Space Administration [CNSA] via CNS/AFP/China OUT) Military Ambition Nelson issued a statement on May 19, 2021 after China released the first photos from the Zhurong Mars rover. Congratulations to the China National Space Administration on receiving the first images from the Zhurong Mars rover! Nelson said. However, in this years Congress hearing Nelson warned that it is incumbent upon us to take cyber security very very seriously with regard to the government but the private sector as well. When asked what military purposes China could pursue in space, Nelson bluntly answered: Well, what do you think is happening on the Chinese space station? They learn there how to destroy other peoples satellites, reported Bild. Commentator Wang He pointed out that the Chinese aerospace program was built in affiliation with the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). He explained that satellite launch centers such as Jiuquan and Taiyuan are both under the control of the military. Both centers are located at the testing and training base of the PLAs Strategic Support Force. He further emphasized that in recent years, the regime manipulated its claim to utilize outer space for peaceful purposes, promote mankinds civilization and social progress, as a cover for seeking international collaboration for the purpose of stealing technologies. He said, The so-called Chinese private companies involved in the international collaboration are still under the control of the Communist Party. In other words, they are the front companies, He stated. Lin Cenxin and Chang Chun contributed to this report. Top officials from the United States and China discuss reducing tariffs over video conferencebut experts say it may not be enough to help Chinas trade issues. NASA issues a warning against Beijing, saying it plans to take over the moon in the coming years. But China fires back, accusing the agency of pushing a smear campaign. Heavy downpours and floods are sweeping China. And forecasters say this years rainy season isnt letting up. Shanghai announces two new rounds of mass virus testing, while another city with 7 million people is ordered back under lockdown. We take a closer look at Confucius Institutesand which U.S. universities are still running them. Topics in this episode: China, U.S. Hold High-Level Talk on Reducing Tariffs China Rejects NASA Accusation Over Moon Territory Heavy Rain Hit Parts China in Wake of Typhoon Chaba Chinese City of 7M Residents Resumes Lockdown China Eases Mass Testing Amid Economic Stress Wimbledon Venue Appeals WTA Fine Q&A: Confucius Institutes in the U.S. Taiwanese Join Defense, Medical Training UK Lawmakers Call for Ban on Hikvision, Dahua Chinas Digital Authoritarianism: Katrina Lantos Swett Have other topics you want us to cover? Drop us a line: chinainfocus@ntdtv.org And if youd like to buy us a coffee: https://donorbox.org/china-in-focus Subscribe to our newsletter for more first-hand news from China. Follow China in Focus on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChinaInFocusNTD Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@chinainfocus Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/chinainfocus Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NTDChinainFocus Gab: https://gab.com/ChinaInFocus Telegram: https://t.me/ChinainFocusNTD Click the Save button below the video to access it later on My List Follow EpochTV on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV Chinese vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, are seen at Whitsun Reef, South China Sea, on March 27, 2021. (Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea/Handout via Reuters) Chinas Sweeping Claims in South China Sea Clearly Illegal: Expert Chinas communist regime is illegally expanding its territory through the South China Sea and deliberately altering its interpretation of history to maintain its ill-gotten gains, according to one expert. History, for the Chinese government, is plastic and can be changed and molded as necessary, as any good communist party knows, said Gregory Poling, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank. Poling added that the current Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership believes that the United States is in terminal decline and that it has been more ready to engage in hostilities since the ascension of Xi Jinping as head of the CCP in 2012. The willingness to reach for coercion rather than [diplomatic] tools is much higher for China [under Xi], Poling said on July 5 during a CSIS discussion of his latest book, On Dangerous Ground: Americas Century in the South China Sea. The book, he said, focused on examining the intersection of Americas commitment to freedom of the seas and its evolving network of alliances throughout the Indo-Pacific. Territorial Disputes Understanding the history of the various claims to the South China Sea, and the United States role in those claims, is vital for understanding the current moment in the Indo-Pacific, Poling said. The history we have of the South China Sea is skewed, Poling continued. The territorial disputes at this point are over a century old and what often gets missed in the history as we usually tell it is that the U.S. has been there the whole time. Poling explained that the United States role in shaping the Indo-Pacific is older than that of the CCP, and that its motivations stemmed from its position in the region as a resident power due to its colonial holdings in the Philippines during the early 20th century. At their core, U.S. interests have remained pretty steady, he said. Among those interests, he said, are maintaining alliance commitments and upholding international maritime law to ensure access to sea lanes for the international community. Unlike the United States, however, Poling said that the CCPs claims to the region are largely created from thin air and that CCP leadership had drawn off a section of the South China Sea on a map and arbitrarily claimed everything inside, despite having no presence on any of the islands in the region at the time. No Chinese official had ever set foot on [the Islands], Poling said. They didnt know what they were claiming. They just drew a line around it and said any rocks or islands you can find anywhere in the line belongs to China. And that is the basis of Chinas claims from the 1930s until at least the early 1990s. That changed in 1988, however, when the Chinese regime attacked Vietnam after Vietnamese forces had claimed a reef in the Spratly Islands. Following the incident, Beijing extended its claims to include all the waters and the air throughout the sea, framing its claim as historic rights. CCP Aggression Since then, the regime has created numerous artificial islands throughout the region, which it has used to base military equipment and inflate its claims. This has ensured that the CCP has access to the regions rich fishing and natural gas reserves while simultaneously blocking off those resources from the greater international community. All of this is clearly illegal, in contravention of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China helped negotiate, Poling said. Now, suddenly, China is making these claims that directly infringe on the rights of U.S. ships, U.S. planes, U.S. citizens, and are threatening to undermine the whole regime of international maritime law which the U.S. is so deeply invested in. The CCP has continued unimpeded in its efforts to expand its access to strategic resources, largely succeeding by targeting small, unaligned nations for intimidation, being ever so sure not to drag the United States into its various disputes. Now, Poling said, the United States had all but lost the Indo-Pacific region and would need to create immense diplomatic and economic pressure on Beijing in order to open the South China Sea back up completely. With every new island and military installation, Poling said, the CCP was tightening the noose on the region and threatening to turn the South China Sea into a Chinese lake. China now has considerable overmatch with the U.S. locally, Poling said. It dominates the air, the sea, the electromagnetic spectrum. Were getting dangerously close to the point where freedom of navigation no longer exists in the South China Sea. FBI Director Christopher Wray during a press conference at the Department of Justice on Sept. 22, 2020. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Chinese Communist Party Threat Is Massive: FBI and MI5 Directors Leaders from the UK and U.S. domestic intelligence agencies delivered a rare joint statement on July 6, warning that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the greatest threat to the international order. The most game-changing challenge we face comes from the Chinese Communist Party, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said. Its covertly applying pressure across the globe. This might feel abstract. But its real and its pressing. We need to talk about it. We need to act. McCallum described the CCPs aggression as a massive shared challenge for the UK and the United States. He said the communist regime is organizing the whole of Chinas state apparatus to systematically undermine the West and steal advanced technologies. MI5 Director General Ken McCallum gives his annual threat update at MI5 headquarters in London, on July 14, 2021. (Yui Mok/PA) The CCP adopts a whole-of-state approach in which businesses and individuals are forced by law to cooperate with the Party, he said. In our free societies, we can do better. By building trusted partnerships across our national systems and, as symbolized today, internationally. CCP Is the Biggest Long-Term Threat FBI Director Christopher Wray said the greatest challenge to the international order is the CCP, which seeks to undermine the United States, its allies, and its partners. We consistently see that its the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by our, I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere, he said. McCallum said the purpose of the statement wasnt to demonize the Chinese people nor to cut off Chinas businesses from the rest of the world, but that it was designed to specifically address the many threats posed by the CCP. These included covert theft, forced technology transfers, research exploitation, and cyberattacks that target virtually every sector of society. The scale of ambition is huge, he said. And its not really a secret. Any number of public strategic plans, such as Made in China 2025, show the intent plainly. [They are] seeking to bend our economy, our society, our attitudes to suit the Chinese Communist Partys interests. To set standards and norms that would enable it to dominate the international order. This should make us sit up and notice. The UK government, like others throughout the world, has been the target of high-profile espionage campaigns by the CCP. Earlier this year, MI5 warned that a Chinese spy had cultivated extensive ties throughout parliament, including through fundraising. Likewise, the UK also expelled several Chinese spies who posed as journalists. The incidents served to underscore what McCallum presented as a harsh truth: that the Wests economic liberalism had failed to result in greater freedom and transparency in China. The widespread Western assumption that growing prosperity within China and increasing connectivity with the West would automatically lead to greater political freedom has, Im afraid, been shown to be plain wrong, he said. But the Chinese Communist Party is interested in our democratic, media, and legal systems. Not to emulate them, sadly, but to use them for its gain. CCP Targets US Economy, Politics Wray noted that CCP espionage targeted all sectors of the economy, from aviation to agriculture, and that the CCP was engaged in aggressive activities against U.S. infrastructure, such as a massive hack that compromised roughly 100,000 servers last year, which Microsoft alleged was carried out by hackers with backing from Beijing. People walk past a Microsoft office in New York on Nov. 10, 2016. (Swayne B. Hall/AP Photo File) He also noted that the CCP appeared to be preparing its economy for increased decoupling from the West in a potential signal that it could be prepping for an invasion of Taiwan. Weve seen China looking for ways to insulate their economy against potential sanctions, trying to cushion themselves from harm if they do anything to draw the ire of the international behavior, Wray said. In our world, we call that kind of behavior a clue. As such, he encouraged business leaders to coordinate with the FBI and MI5 to protect themselves and to better prepare for the reality of increased CCP attempts to steal from, extort, and pressure businesses in the United States and the UK. Wray said such a threat shouldnt be underestimated, as the CCP had already attempted to directly interfere in U.S. elections by plotting against a Chinese-born candidate for Congress. The Chinese government is trying to shape the world by interfering in our politics and those of our allies, he said. The Chinese government went so far as directly interfering in a congressional election in New York because they did not want the candidatea Tiananmen Square protester and critic of the Chinese governmentto be elected. The statement referenced the case of Yan Xiong, a U.S. Army veteran who was targeted by the CCP last year. The incident was one of the numerous attempts by the regime in Beijing to stalk, intimidate, harass, or otherwise silence dissidents of the regime living in the United States. Despite those threats, the Department of Justice terminated the Trump-era China Initiative, its sweeping counter-espionage campaign, in February. The department stated that it had received numerous complaints of racial profiling and, although an internal review found no evidence of such, it would end the program to avoid a harmful perception of bias. Perhaps to avoid a similar outcome with ongoing FBI efforts, Wray underscored that the threat to the West wasnt those of Chinese origin, but the CCP itself. It is the Chinese government and the Chinese Community Party that pose the threat were focused on countering, not the Chinese people and certainly not Chinese immigrants in our countries who are themselves frequently victims of the Chinese governments lawless aggression. A map shows the location of the district of Qal'at Sukkar north of the southern city of Nasiriyah, Iraq on June 5, 2022. (Google Maps) Chlorine Gas Leak in Iraqs South Injures at Least 300 BAGHDADA chlorine gas leak at a water purification plant in southern Iraq injured at least 300 people, officials said Monday. The incident happened Sunday night when the potentially fatal gas leaked from a container in the plant in the district of Qalat Sukkar north of the southern city of Nasiriyah. Hundreds of people suffering severe respiratory distress from exposure to the chlorine were taken to a nearby hospital, said Abbas Jaber, Dhi Qar provinces deputy governor. He said a committee was formed by the governor Monday to investigate the circumstances surrounding the leak. The negligent (officials) will be held accountable, he said. Dhi Qar is among Iraqs poorest and historically most underdeveloped provinces. Residents complain of a lack of electricity and access to drinking water. It has been a hotbed of anti-government protest and many youths from the province participated in the mass 2019 protest movement, the largest in Iraqs modern history. Public safety hazards have struck the beleaguered city before. Last year, over 90 people, patients, and health care workers were killed when a fire broke out in Nasiriyahs al-Hussein Teaching Hospital. Officials blamed lack of safety measures and negligence. By Qassim Abdul-Zahra Donnie Claycomb, of Limestone, W.Va., who has been mining for six years, stands in front of an American flag prior to an event with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt at the Harvey Mine in Sycamore, Pa., on April 13, 2017. (Justin Merriman/Getty Images) Coals Big Comeback Commentary The big winner in the rightly decided West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Supreme Court decision announced last week was made-in-America coal. This decision will rein in the strategy of unelected zealots running regulatory agencies who wish to shut down energy sources such as natural gas and coal without congressional approval. The left hates coal, and the Biden administration has doubled down on the war on coaland coal miners. If they had their way, coal would be outlawed and the industry would be dormant. Their argument is that coal is a major contributor to climate change and therefore, the planet needs to stop burning it. Ill address in a minute why the Biden strategy will do almost nothing to change worldwide coal consumption. But for now, lets establish some basic facts about U.S. coal. First, this country was built on coal. The industrial revolution of the late 18th century that led to the mass production of manufactured goods and servicesfrom homes to factories to farms to our railroadswas unleashed by the nation adopting coal as a source of reliable, cheap, and abundant energy. Coal is so super-efficient as an energy source that it has reduced the cost of mass-producing everything and thus has reduced poverty everywhere in the world. Second, we have the cleanest coal. The coal that we mine and burn today is far cleaner than the black sooty smoke that belched out of factories in Pittsburgh and Detroit 60 years ago. Our environmental standards are far stricter than those of other nations that produce coal. Third, coal is an irreplaceable part of the energy mix. At one time, it accounted for about half of our electric power production. Today, we still get almost one-quarter of our electricity from coal. Even if we continue to transfer to green energy, well always need coal as a backup generator of power for those times when the wind isnt blowing and the sun isnt shining. Fourth, the United States has 500 years worth of coalmore than any other nation. We areor should bethe Saudi Arabia of coal. Fifth, the rest of the world is using record amounts of coal. Germany has admitted that its turning back to coal because green energy was too expensive and too intermittent to keep its factories running. Sadly, we still havent learned that lesson. What about climate change? Doesnt the heating of the planet justify ending coal production? In a word, no. Even if coal were causing warming of the planet, destroying the U.S. fossil fuel industryand putting our energy reliability and security at riskis no way to turn down the heat. The Obama/Biden war on coal (via EPA) isnt reducing world consumption or global carbon dioxide emissions; its shifting production away from U.S. clean coal to Chinese dirty coal. Over the past decade or so, the United States has reduced its coal production by about half. But China has roughly quadrupled its coal productioneven as it promises in international agreements to cut pollution levels. Beijing doesnt have an EPA. The communists dont care about climate change. Theyre too busy trying to take over the world and replace the United States as the worlds superpower. All President Joe Biden is doing is replacing clean coal from West Virginia, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania with dirty coal produced in China, India, and Africa. Coal prices have nearly tripled in recent months, so our rivals are getting rich at our own expense. Theyre laughing all the way to the bank. Americas war on coal doesnt help the environment. It makes no sense from an economic, geopolitical, or national security perspective. This must explain why Biden is moving full speed ahead to shut it down. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Jim Renacci (R) was one of five Republican candidates to challenge incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine in the Ohios May 3 GOP gubernatorial primary in which more than 56 percent of 1 million ballots cast came from Democrats and Independents, fostering a call from state conservatives to close the states open primary system. (Michael Sakal/The Epoch Times) Conservatives in 9 States Call for Closed Primaries by 2024 Conservative leaders in Georgia and Ohio are spearheading calls for Republicans to close their state primaries and allow only voters registered with their parties to participate in inter-party preliminary elections. Atlanta Tea Party co-founder and President Debbie Dooley and Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci both told The Epoch Times that Democrats are weaponizing crossover voting to skew outcomes in key GOP primaries across the country either to ensure the election of moderates or to nominate candidates unlikely to be successful in a general election. Dooley, Renacci, and other conservatives are calling on Republican lawmakers in their states to close primaries to only those registered with parties. They join the leaders of conservative groups and GOP legislators in at least seven other statesincluding Alabama, Montana, Missouri, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and Texaswho are lobbying for more restrictive primary elections before the 2024 election cycle. Tide of Crossovers Democrats did mischief in Georgia, Dooley said, citing analyses from The Associated Press and Landmark Communications that estimate anywhere from 67,000 to 85,000 voters who cast ballots in the states 2020 Democratic primaries voted in Republican primaries on May 24, 2022. The analyses confirmed conservatives contention that a Democrat-orchestrated tide of crossover votes proved decisive as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger garnered the required 50 percent in the GOP primary to avoid a runoff against Trump-backed challenger Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.). Dooley, the national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots, said that unless Georgia tightens its primary rules, Democrats will continue to meddle in GOP primaries, especially to undermine candidates backed by former President Donald Trump. In 2024, if he is on the ballot, [Democrats] could use this as a weapon to stop Trump in the GOP primary, she said. Dooley said she has drafted a petition that calls for the state to revise its primary rules to require participants be registered with a party for 60 days prior to participating in a primary. The petition alleges: There were a minimum of 300,000 Democrats that crossed over and voted in the Republican Primary. Just in South Cobb, DeKalb, and South Fulton [counties], there were 118,000 reliable Democrat voters identified that voted in the Republican primary. Dooleys proposed change is simple. Whatever primary you vote in, you are going to need to be a registered voter in that party, she said. Such legislation is sorely needed to ensure voters dont cast primary ballots for candidates they have no plans to vote for in the general election. While Dooley has drafted the petition, she hasnt aggressively circulated it because two state lawmakers have said they will sponsor 2023 bills essentially calling for the same revisions. State Rep. David Clark (R-Buford) and Sen. Colton Moore (R-Trenton) in a June 6 press conference said they would introduce legislation in the name of election integrity to close the states primaries. Freedom to Associate So all were asking is that the parties have the freedom to associate with their base, with their voters who are interested in their morals and their principles, Moore said. Were trying to make the primary pure, and thats election integrity. Georgia is one of 15 states with open primaries. In these states, registered voters of any affiliation may vote in any party primary they choose. Voters cant vote in the primary election of more than one party each election, but open primaries are most likely to induce crossover voting. Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) has already said he wouldnt support such legislation, saying in a statement that theres no need to change the states open primary system. That isnt surprising, Dooley said. The establishment of both parties doesnt want to change Georgias primary system because that way, it can be used as a weapon against us, that is, against conservatives demanding a change from the status quo, Dooley said. Renacci agrees, noting Democrats and independent voters essentiality took over the May 3 Ohio Republican gubernatorial contest, collectively casting 56 percent of 1.08 million ballots cast. Unless the state legislature closes primaries to only voters registered with the party, it always guarantees that conservative candidates have a hard time winning because you are always going to get the liberals, the Democrats, to cross over, Renacci said. Ohio is one of six states that has a partially open primary system where voters can cross party lines and request either a Republican or Democratic primary ballot if they do so within deadlines that vary by state. Democrats Respond Renacci cited two 2022 Ohio GOP races influenced by crossover DemocratsJ.D. Vances victory in the Republican U.S. Senate primary and his own defeat in the partys gubernatorial primary. There wasnt even a majority of Republicans voting in those two Republican primaries and others on the May 3 slate, he said. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine won the partys gubernatorial nod with 48 percent, or nearly 519,600 votes. Renacci finished second at 28 percent, nearly 302,500 votes, and fellow conservative Joe Blystone was third with 21.8 percent, or nearly 235,600 ballots. Renacci said that during the spring Democratic groups sent emails that said to stop the radical right from taking the governor seat, the Senate seat, to go to the polls to vote for DeWine and [Matt] Dolan in the GOP U.S. Senate primary. And Democrats responded. Of ballots cast in Ohios Republican primaries, only 44 percent were actual Republicans with more than 233,000 of the 1 million votes coming from unaffiliated voters and at least 160,000 pure Democrats crossing over to disrupt the parties elections, Renacci said. As a result, Vance, with just 32 percent of the tally, emerged from a crowded field to win the partys nod and in November will take on U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who easily won his partys contest. In the GOP primary, Vance topped Josh Mandel, a former state treasurer who was supported by most conservative groups, investment banker Mike Gibbons, former state Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, and state Sen. Matt Dolan. Talk With Legislators Renacci said Democrats joined the race on behalf of Dolan, a moderate at best who had been consistently polling in surveys of likely Republican voters at less than 8 percent but scored more than 23 percent in the primary, only 6,000 votes behind Mandel. With more than 230,000 non-Republicans casting ballots in the Republican gubernatorial election, Renacci said those votes were essentially the difference in ensuring DeWine would be on the ballot in November. If you would have removed the Democrats and independents, these votes would have all changed, he said. Renacci said he expects a bill seeking to close the states primaries to be introduced for Ohios 2023 legislative session. We are starting to talk with legislators, he said. Renacci also expects resistance from establishment Republicans and moderate Democrats, who like the way the states primary system is currently. When asked if he includes DeWine among those moderate Democrats who like the states primary system the way it is, he chuckled, You said that. I didnt. Renaccis campaign website has posted a poll that asks: In Ohios primaries, should pre-registered Republicans vote on Republican Candidates and should pre-registered Democrats vote on Democrat Candidates in a closed primary system, similar to Florida and other states? When you ask Republicans, should only Republicans be voting in Republican primaries, 96 percent say Republicans should be voting for Republicans, Democrats for Democrats, and independents should be registered prior to primary with either party if they want to vote in the party election, he said. That poll will be cited when 2023 bills seeking to close primaries are introduced, Renacci said. Conservative legislators believe it should be done. Were going to continue to push this. Cheney in Wyoming Similar proposals to close primaries are being discussed in other open-primary states like Georgia, such as Alabama, Montana, Missouri, Texas, and New Hampshire, as well as in states with partially open primaries like Ohios, such as Tennessee and Wyoming. The potential impact of crossover voting in Wyomings Aug. 16 Republican primary, where Trump-backed attorney Harriet Hageman is challenging Trump critic and three-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), is of particular concern. Dont let the Democrats do what they did in another state last week, Trump told Hageman supporters in Casper, Wyoming, on May 28, days after the Georgia primary, calling on Republicans to not allow Democrats to vote in a Republican primary. How much influence Wyomings Democrats can have in a deep red state where theyre outnumbered 4-to-1 is debatable, but some analyses suggest crossover voters benefited Gov. Mark Gordon in his 2018 GOP primary victory over a field of Republican rivals which included Hageman. Cheney, who trails Hageman by as much as 28 to 30 percent in various polls, had claimed in interviews through winter and spring with various media that she wouldnt solicit Democrats to cross party lines and vote for her on Aug. 16. That assurance ended in June when registered Democrats across the state began receiving direct mail from Cheneys campaign with instructions on how to switch parties to vote for her in the GOP primary. Cheneys campaign website, which touts her as the best candidate to represent all Wyomingites, also includes learn how to vote for Liz with instructions for Democrats and independents to cast ballots in the Republican primary. Consumers pump gas at a Costco gas station in Atlanta on May 11, 2021. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images) Costco Limits Gas Sales to Members Only in New Jersey Costco Wholesale Corp. has restricted gasoline sales at its New Jersey locations to Costco members only, as gas prices in the state are hovering at about $5 per gallon. The restriction came into effect on July 5. To fill up their tanks, drivers must have a Costco membership card that can be purchased from the gasoline stations run by the multinational retailer. Gas at Costco is typically cheaper than at other gas stations, ABC7 reported. On July 5, a gallon of regular unleaded gas at a Costco station in New Jersey cost $4.55, roughly 25 cents less than the statewide average. The policy was announced by the company in June. Some customers were surprised at Costcos new policy. I always had to use my Costco card in Ohio, but here in New Jersey they never ask for it, Carnita Brown of the Pemberton area told the Courier Post. I wonder why its going to change and I have no idea if its legal to do that here. Costco tried to limit gas sales to members back in 2004. However, New Jersey officials ordered the company to keep its stations open to all citizens as the state deemed that the membership requirement violated its laws on fuel sales. This time, officials seem to have no problem with the sales restriction. The practice of offering members-only gasoline sales does not violate any of New Jerseys consumer protection laws, said Steve Barnes, a state consumer affairs spokesman, according to NJ.com. Summer Pricing Costcos decision comes as gas prices across the country have slightly eased since June. On July 6, the national average gas price was $4.779 per gallon, according to AAA. This is down from the $5.016 per gallon peak on June 14. However, gas prices might rise again in the coming weeks with increased summer demand. July is typically the heaviest month for demand as more Americans hit the road, so this trend of easing prices could be short-lived, Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said in a statement. In May, Natasha Kaneva, head of commodities research at JPMorgan, warned in a note that U.S. retail gas prices could average $6.20 per gallon nationally by August, according to Markets Insider. Speaking on Yahoo Finance Live, Vectis Energy Partners principal Tamar Essner said that the only thing thats going to make a dent in gasoline or jet fuel prices is the destruction of demand. And for demand to be destroyed, prices have to go quite a bit higher, she added. What that magical number is I dont know, because we are in unprecedented times in terms of having this build up of demand post-COVID at the same time because of stimulus and higher disposable income, Essner said. Nectar collected by honey bees is stored inside a hives comb, where it ripens as honey. (Pixabay) Deadly Mite Threatens Australian Honey Bees The deadly Varroa mite has been detected in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) at the Port of Newcastle, threatening the countrys population of European honey bees and the livelihoods of its beekeepers. Biosecurity surveillance first detected the tiny and reddish-brown mite on June 22; however, hundreds of hives have been identified as infected and destroyed to stop the parasites spread. We have immediately launched an eradication plan which involved setting up a biosecurity zone, containing the infected hives and euthanising the bees, NSW Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders said in an NSW government release. Biosecurity is one of my top priorities, and beekeepers have been working with the Government through the National Bee Pest Surveillance Program to act as an early warning system, Saunders said. If it werent for their diligence in monitoring hives and catch boxes at strategic locations around our ports and airports, this threat may have gone undetected. Multiple biosecurity zones, within which beekeepers may not move or tamper with hives and must identify them to the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), have now been established around NSW. The zones are 50 km in size and include 10 km eradication zones and 25 km surveillance zonesofficials monitor and inspect honey bee hives within this area around the places where infested hives were identified. The DPI said in a department release that they have so far identified 24 properties infested with the mite. Australia is the only major honey-producing country free from Varroa mite, and if it has the chance to establish here, it could cost the honey industry more than $70 million a year, Saunders said. Biosecurity surveillance detected the tiny and reddish-brown Varroa mite at the Port of Newcastle. (Public domain) Dangers of the Varroa Mite If varroa mite settles in the state, it will have severe consequences, so were taking every precaution and action needed to contain the parasite and protect the local honey industry and pollination, Saunders said. Were working with apiary industry bodies and stakeholders to ensure beekeepers are well informed and can continue to help us with this critical response. The Varroa mite can seriously damage the nations bee industry because it feeds on honey bees and can spread viruses that cripple bees, preventing the creature from flying, pollinating and harvesting food. I would like to encourage all beekeepers, both commercial and recreational, within the new or original impacted areas to please come forward for the good of the industry, Saunders said. We know the devastating impacts varroa mite will have on our honey supplies and pollination across the state if this threat is not stopped. The best path forward is to report the locations of potentially impacted hives to aid our response, so we have all the information we need to deal with this as swiftly as possible. Although the NSW Government has offered commercial beekeepers cash compensation for any hives that are destroyed to stop the spread, there have been some concerns about compensation for recreational beekeepers. The DPI has established biosecurity zones within which beekeepers may not move or tamper with hives. (PollyDot/Pixabay) Recreational Beekeepers The classification of commercial and recreational is determined by the number of hives that the apiaristkeeper of bees has; if they have less than 50, they are regarded as recreational. Shane Djuric is an amateur apiarist based in Pitt Town, which is located on the outskirts of Sydney, NSW, and has 45 hives, excluding him from commercial classification. Djuric said that an offer of compensation for any hives of recreational beekeepers that may have to be destroyed would incentivise people to come forward if their hive is infected, reported Australian Associated Press (AAP). Human instinct is to protect your assets, and someone might not be willing to come forward if their livelihood or hobby is destroyed, Djuric told AAP. Member of the Legislative Council of NSW, representing the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Mark Banasiak, shared his concern that the financial impact of losing a hive would extricate infected hives from destruction. They are still at risk of this varroa mite, Banasiak told AAP. If theyre not properly incentivised to come forward with their hives for testing, that could cause a real problem for the industry. He said that recreational beekeepers such as Djuric, with sizeable farms, had the potential to make $60,000 (around US $40,000) annually from their hives and called for a per-hive compensation rate for recreational beekeepers. Djuric proposed compensation of around $500 per hive. Its still a significant loss, and its a hit to the economy, Banasiak said. Thats $60,000 he or she is not spending back into the economy. The varroa mite feeds on honey bees and spreads viruses that cripple bees, preventing the creature from flying, pollinating and harvesting food. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Government Response to Varroa In an email to The Epoch Times, the Senior Communications officer for the DPI, Sim Madigan, said that there would be compensation for recreational beekeepers that lose their hives. Honeybee Beekeepers who have lost their hives due to a Varroa infestation and subsequent eradication will be reimbursed, Madigan said. The amount of reimbursement is subject to national approval and will be advised in the near future. He said that details of the reimbursements and any effects that they may have on the compensation system for commercial beekeepers will be determined through the response plan submitted for national review this week. NSW Department of Primary Industries said they are focusing on containment of the Varroa mite and eradicating the threat, said Madigan. However, AAP reported that a New Zealand beekeeper, Barry Foster, who experienced the Varroa outbreak in his country, said that, unfortunately, Australia would probably need a contingency plan. He noted that beekeepers in New Zealand were prevented from moving and tending to their hives, as they are currently in NSW, and this only slowed the parasites spread rather than eliminating it; he also said a big part of the struggle to contain Varroa in New Zealand was the human element. They found something like 12,000 hives unregistered because there were so many unregistered hives, which should have been registered by law, they couldnt contain it, Foster told AAP. Additionally, Foster said that Australia has to deal with the threats that feral bee populations pose and the unintentional movement of Varroa mites. There are things beyond your control. For example, there was a feral hive in a hollow log in Auckland that was transported to Wellington it did have varroa in it. DeSantis Office Fires Back After Claims Students Need to Register Their Political Views in Florida Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss office on Wednesday responded to viral claims that students have to register their political views with the state. A spokesman for the Republican governor, Bryan Griffin, told Fox News that its not true that students, professors, and faculty have to register their political views. No, students and faculty are not required to register their political views,' Griffin said Wednesday. This same fake claim was circling the liberal Twittersphere after the bill was signed in 2021. It was debunked then. It has been debunked again, now. This week, several verified Twitter usersincluding author Stephen King, USA Today reporter Josh Meyer, MSNBC columnist Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and MSNBC analyst Fernand Amandispread the claim. Some re-posted a 2021 article from left-wing outlet Salon that claimed that a Florida state law that calls for viewpoint diversity and intellectual freedom in colleges forces students and faculty to register their views. King, without making any citations, simply wrote, DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state. I. Cant. Even. But Griffin said that viewpoint diversity surveys are anonymous, voluntary, and no personal information is collected by them at allonly feedback on the intellectual freedom of the campus environment, which is what the survey was designed to determine. Law According to the text of the law, which was signed by DeSantis in June of last year, it directs the Florida State Board of Education to require each Florida College System institution to conduct an annual assessment of the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity at that institution. The State Board of Education shall select or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid survey to be used by each institution which considers the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and members of the college community, including students, faculty, and staff, feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom, the text of the law reads. When the bill was signed, the governor said that hes heard from parents who are concerned about sending their children to college with fears theyll face left-wing indoctrination. And I know a lot of parents, one of the things they worry about, if you send a kid to a university, are they just going to basically be indoctrinated? DeSantis said last year. Or are they actually going to be taught to think for themselves, challenge assumptions, and really be critical thinkers and learners? We obviously want our universities to be focused on critical thinking, academic rigor. We do not want them as basically hotbeds for stale ideology. In recent days, there has been increased speculation that DeSantis, a Republican, would run for president in 2024 after California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, released an advertisement that called for Floridians to move to California. Its been well-reported that hundreds of thousands of people have fled California for other states, including Florida, in recent years. Its Independence Dayso lets talk about whats going on in America, Newsom said in the ad, which was posted on his Twitter account. Freedom is under attack in your state. A spokesperson for DeSantis last week said that the California governor might as well light a pile of cash on fire with the ad, which was shown during the Fourth of July in Florida. Doctor Issues Warning About Giving COVID-19 Vaccines to Babies 'The first thing you look at is risk-to-benefit ratio, and the risk of the vaccine far outweighs the benefit.' On June 18, Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. However, another doctor is issuing a warning about the risks of vaccinating babies. According to Dr. Syed Haideran internal medicine specialist and founder of mygotodoc.comthe risk of the vaccine far outweighs the benefit. As The Epoch Times reported May 26, Haider has focused on the prevention and treatment of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus through his online initiative by providing easy online access to off-label prescriptions such as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, budesonide, and protocols for COVID, long-COVID, and vaccine injuries. Haider began this journey in December 2020, after realizing that the United States had offshored almost all prescription drug manufacturing to unfriendly nations like China. According to Haider, dissenting voices in the debate over how to manage and treat the CCP virus have been muzzled and censored from the very onset of the pandemic and they are now being threatened with the loss of their medical licenses. Because of this, Haider has had to retain an attorney. Despite the threats, Haider said he refuses to remain silent when the government issues a recommendation that children as young as 6 months old be vaccinated for a disease that poses little, if any, threat to their lives. Risks and Benefits Whenever you are evaluating whether or not to carry out a medical intervention the first thing you look at is risk-to-benefit ratio, Haider told The Epoch Times, and the risk of the vaccine far outweighs the benefit. As Haider explained, the supposed benefit of the vaccine is that its going to prevent COVID, reduce the severity of COVID, and prevent you from dying of COVID. According to Haider, the risk of COVID in children is zero. Data released by the CDC seems to confirm his opinion. According to the latest data from the CDC, 431 childrennewborn to age fourhave died of COVID. Conversely, the deaths of more than 1 million people over the age of 19 have been attributed to COVID, and 521,293 of those were older than 75. When asking what really caused the deaths in children diagnosed with the CCP virus, the answer will depend on who is speaking. The Mayo Clinic says babies under age 1 might be at higher risk of severe illness with COVID-19 than older children. Johns Hopkins University says COVID-19 symptoms in kids and babies are generally milder than those in adults, and some infected children may not have any signs of being sick at all. The CDC says that while serious cases have occurred, the majority of newborns who test positive for the CCP virus have only mild symptoms or none at all and they recover from the illness. Table 19 from the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting report dated June 15, 2022. (Food and Drug Administration) Maybe you can say one in a million or one in ten million children might die of COVID, Haider said. But even then it may not have been COVID. Its usually that they die of something else, they had cancer or some other autoimmune disease, something else serious that killed them. It wasnt COVID itself. A 2020 report by the CDC showed that nearly three-quarters of COVID-associated deaths among infants, children, adolescents, and young adults have occurred in patients aged 10 to 20 years old, with a disproportionate percentage among young adults aged 18 to 20 years and among Hispanics, blacks, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and those with underlying medical conditions. In another 2020 report by the CDC, 75 percent of those under 21 who died of the CCP virus had underlying medical conditions, such as asthma, obesity, neurologic/developmental conditions, and cardiac conditions. Virtually all of the pediatric deaths met the COVID-19 case definition and 12 percent met the multi-inflammatory syndrome in children. Problems With the Trials According to Haider, there are also a number of problems with the trials. As Haider explained, the serious adverse event rate in the trials was one out of 71 children, but the trials were too small to evaluate whether any children would have been prevented from dying. The data from the Pfizer trial (pdf) showed there were 5,000 child participants, and the trial was stopped after two shots based on the assumption that these would be effective. But once the researchers actually ran the numbers and got the final efficacy numbers, they realized it was not effective. They had already unblinded the trial and vaccinated about 58 percent of the placebo group. So you lost the placebo group, Haider said. Its no longer a randomized trial. Its no longer double-blinded. Then they decided to extend this complete sham of a trial and give it a third dose. Throughout the trial, for all of the efficacy numbers they report at 80 percent efficacy in the Pfizer trial seven days after the third dose, and thats based on 10 cases of COVID-19, seven in the placebo group and three in the vaccine group. The problem with all of their efficacy numbers, including this 80 percent number, is that none of them are statistically significant. Remember, one in 70 children had a serious adverse event in the trial, Haider reiterated. This is the best possible data Pfizer can present? I am sure the actual adverse event rate is far higher and the actual efficacy is far lower. They fudge the numbers. A court is going to have to order the release of the actual documents, just like they had to order it for the adult trials. Then well know the truth. Were now finding the truth about the adult trials and were discovering it was never actually 95 percent effective. This table shows the first occurrence of COVID-19 infection after one dose of the vaccine for children 2 to 5 years old, from the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting report dated June 15, 2022. (Food and Drug Administration) According to a report by The New York Times, efficacy and effectiveness are related to each other, but theyre not the same thing, and its crucial not to mix them up. Efficacy is just a measurement made during a clinical trial, Naor Bar-Zeev, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The New York Times. Effectiveness is how well the vaccine works out in the real world. According to Toby Rogers of Childrens Health Defense, Pfizers manipulation and misrepresentation of its Phase 2/3 clinical trial date for COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5 is dishonest and unethical and makes the data functionally useless for making decisions. In an article posted to the Childrens Health Defense website, Rogers said Pfizer began vaccinating the placebo group in the childrens vaccine trial to destroy the control and eliminate any long-term safety data. Then in early December 2021 when the data showed the trial had failed, Pfizer enrolled more children to administer a third dose in an attempt to save the trial, Rogers said. It was always probably around 20 percent at best, if not negative efficacy, Haider insisted, and that was based on examining the data Pfizer actually collected and now people are going back and looking at it and seeing Pfizer was not being honest with us. They werent being open. They didnt show us everything that they knew. So I have serious reservations about these vaccines. The Epoch Times has reached out to Pfizer for comment. Antibody-dependent Enhancement People need to wake up, Haider warned. The phones of congresspeople should be ringing off the hook. We should be demanding that this stop. People need to be marching in the streets. Unfortunately I feel like Im preaching to the choir because the only media outlets that give me a voice are outlets that people go to who already mostly agree with what Im saying. But that choir needs to get out into the streets and raise hell until people wake up. Were standing by and allowing a genocide. We have to stop mincing words. Luc Montagnier, before he died, warned [about] antibody-dependent enhancement. Montagnier, the late French virologist who won the Nobel Prize in 2008 for his work identifying HIV as the virus that causes AIDS, said in May 2021 that the COVID-19 vaccines were creating the variants and leading to a condition called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). As Haider explained, the way ADE works is the first time a person is exposed to the infection after getting the COVID vaccine, they may be OK with it. The second time, they might feel a little worse. The third time is when the ADE really kicks in. After the third exposure, they may have a more enhanced infection because of the unnatural vaccine antibodies. These antibodies actually trigger a worse infection, and thats the greatest risk here, he said. Haider said that in all vaccine trials ever performed on animals, all of them ended up with ADE enhancement, and repeated exposure to the infection they were vaccinated against eventually caused all of them to die This is the first coronavirus vaccine trial in human beings, and even though weve gotten rid of the placebo group in all the trials, its still a trial, Haider asserted. The trials are over and there are so many problems with the childrens trial. Its so egregiously wrong. The adult trial was bad to being with, but not near as bad as this one. Haider is also aware that social pressure to vaccinate babies is strong. I would just tell people to imagine lemmings running off the cliff and youre one of them, he said. What are the chances of a child actually dying from the vaccine? Haider said some estimates are as high as one in 100. Some are as low as one in 1,000. Lets say someone puts a gun to your childs head and says theres a one in 1,000 chance that when I pull the trigger, I will kill them, Haider suggested. We have to reframe the discussion for people to try to kick them out of this trance theyre in. In a just and sane society, we would be removing children from these parents or putting the parents in jail, and the doctors in jail, and the Pfizer executives and most of the White House and everyone at the CDC in jail. The evidence is there, Haider insisted. Its staring people in the face. You dont even have to say theres a conspiracy. The data speaks for itself. Tractors drive by Dutch police officers who stand guard near Apeldoorn ready to stop farmers demonstrating against the Dutch government's plans to cut nitrogen emissions, on June 29, 2022. (Jeroen Jumelet/ANP/AFP via Getty Images) Dutch Police Shoot at Tractor During Climate Mandate Protests Dutch police confirmed on July 5 that officers in the northern part of the country fired both warningand then targetedshots at a tractor taking part in a protest against climate mandates. Police say the tractor was driving toward officers and their vehiclesbut activists say footage of the incident tells a different story. The mandated restrictions on nitrogen greenhouse gas emissions are expected to slash livestock numbers and shutter farms across the Netherlands. Both NoorderNieuws and a Telegram channel used by protesters report the shots were fired in or near Heerenveen, a town in the northern Dutch province of Friesland. The incident occurred near the entrance to a highway, the A32. A Twitter account for the regional branch of the Dutch National Police, Politie Fryslan, posted that tractor operators attempted to drive into officers and service vehicles at 10:40 p.m. Law enforcement subsequently fired warnings and target shots, according to the post. A tractor was hit. A tractor drove away from the incident and was stopped shortly afterwards Three suspects have been arrested. No one was injured, the account continued in a follow-up post. A Dutch investigative body, the Rijksrecherche, will issue a report on the incident, according to a third post on Twitter from law enforcement. Although the police Twitter account asserted that tractors tried to drive into officers and service vehicles, the footage appears to show the incident does not clearly show the vehicle approaching either officers or service vehicles. It appears to be following another tractor a few seconds ahead of it along a curving road, away from officers and vehicles visible in the frame. The Epoch Times has reached out to Politie Fryslan for comment. From road trip to intercontinental flight to cruise, no matter where your summer trip takes you, its a good idea to check your plastic to make sure of what it doesand doesntdo to minimize your risks. By plastic, I mean the credit, debit, and travel-service organization membership cards which, collectively, offer a surprisingly wide spectrum of features and benefits. Risk: Expiration This is a well, duh item that needs no explanation but is sometimes forgottenuntil too late to fix it. I knew a business executive who once arrived at New Yorks Kennedy Airport for a London flight with an expired passport. I dont recommend his fix: ducking into a restroom and altering his passport with a pencil (but it worked). Given todays notorious delays, its probably too late to get an updated passport for any international trip leaving before September. But you can usually update or reissue other expiring cards you rely on for almost any trip quickly: credit, debit, AAA/AARP, Priority Pass, and such. Roadside Assistance Roadside assistance is a good idea for any trip and important for a road trip. Presumably, most of you have access to some program, but if you dont belong to AAA or similar, check your other memberships to see if any offer such a program without extra cost. And if you drive an RV or exotic car, check to make sure your program covers it. On overseas rentals, AAA offers full reciprocal roadside assistance in some countries but not in others. For example, youre covered in France, Italy, and Spain, but not in Austria or Denmark. In Australia, youre covered in only New South Wales, not the other states. Check the AAA website for specifics on any country you plan to visit. And if you arent covered, see what option your rental company offers. Cash Transaction Loss Chances are you prefer to get the cash you need for daily expenses as you go along rather than starting with a big wad of bills. For daily cash, your best bet is a debit card at an ATM. But it should be the right debit card: One that doesnt assess a fee of up to $5 on each withdrawal transaction at any foreign ATM. And foreign doesnt mean outside the United States; it means any ATM not operated by the bank issuing the card orin a few casesaffiliated banks. Overseas, you face not only your own banks fee but possibly also a foreign exchange fee and, at many airport ATMs, a poor exchange rate. My solution is to maintain a small account just for travel at a small local bank that waives such fees. I transfer some money from my primary account before a trip and return what I dont use, leaving just enough to avoid maintenance fees. And I use only big-bank ATMs. Rental Car Collision For many travelers, free collision coverage for rental cars is the most valuable credit-card benefit. Most American Express, Mastercard, and Visa cards provide it, but Citi and Discover have removed this benefit from most cards. Coverage on most cards is secondary: They pay only what you cant first recover from your regular insurance. A few cards offer primary coverage: The card covers the full claim. Free primary coverage is rarethe only primary-coverage cards I know are Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, Ink Business, and four Chase United Airlines cards, but all coverage outside the United States. where your regular insurance doesnt apply becomes de facto primary. If your card doesnt work, you can buy third-party rental car coverage from outfits such as Insure My Rental Car for about a third of what the rental companies charge. Travel Insurance Many cards offer travel insurance benefitsdelay, lost baggage, even some trip cancellation, and medical benefits. Theyre generally secondary, but in these days of rampant delays, you might find them helpful. But be aware of limitations and exceptions; seniors should beware of maximum age limits. Check each of your cards coverage, and if you have more than one, pay for your trip with the card that has the best benefits. Elon Musk Responds to Claim That Congress Is Trying to Censor Big Tech Companies Elon Musk, who is poised to purchase Twitter, responded to an article about House Democrats push to tighten rules over what people can post on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media websites. The worlds richest person on Wednesday responded to a 2021 post from longtime journalist Glenn Greenwald about Congressional Democrats efforts in pressuring tech giants toin his wordscensor more after former President Donald Trump and other high-profile accounts were suspended last January. Troubling, Musk wrote in response Wednesday, without elaborating. Its not clear why the Tesla CEO responded to Greenwalds article nearly 18 months after it was published to Substack. At the time, Greenwald noted that Democrat members of Congress summoned the CEOs of several Big Tech companies, including the heads of Twitter, Facebook, and Google, to question them about what content is allowed on their platforms. The Democrat chairs of two subcommittees in February 2021 issued a joint statement, the article noted, that theyre attempting to find alleged falsehoods about the COVID-19 vaccine and debunked claims of election fraud. These online platforms have allowed misinformation to spread, intensifying national crises with real-life, grim consequences for public health and safety, they said, adding, This hearing will continue the Committees work of holding online platforms accountable for the growing rise of misinformation and disinformation. They continued to say that these companies have failed to acknowledge the role theyve played in fomenting and elevating blatantly false information to its online audiences, according to the statement, we must begin the work of changing incentives driving social media companies to allow and even promote misinformation and disinformation. But some tech CEOs previously noted that certain members of Congress alleged that threats to regulate social media firms under various regulatory and statutory threats may violate the Constitution. Using a combination of statutory inducements and regulatory threats, Congress has co-opted Silicon Valley to do through the back door what government cannot directly accomplish under the Constitution, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Yale Law Schools constitutional scholar Jed Rubenfeldduo wrote in the Wall Street Journal. About a month after Greenwalds article, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg, and Googles Sundar Pichai were called to testify in front of Congress again. In April, Musk made a joint announcement with Twitters board to confirm that he would buy the social media company for $44 billion to take it private. Generally, such acquisitions can take months to complete. Earlier this week, Musk criticized Twitter for suspending author and professor Jordan Peterson over a post that featured a link and read, Remember when pride was a sin? And Ellen Page just had her breasts removed by a criminal physician. Theyre going way too far in squashing dissenting opinions, Musk said in response to Peterson being banned. MILAN, ItalyMarveled by the beauty and message of Shen Yun, entrepreneur Madeleine Sophie said at the performance on June 9, It can only be experienced in my opinion because this is much more than a show. Shen Yun Performing Arts graced the stage at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan from June 4-12, 2022. It was a marvelous surprise for the scenesbut above allfor the messages, she said, I believe it is one of the most beautiful and deepest shows I have come across in my life. Based in New York, Shen Yun is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and story-based pieces that tell cherished tales from ancient times to the modern-day, the performance features a one-of-a-kind orchestra that blends traditional Chinese instruments with a classical Western orchestra. Shen Yun aims to revive Chinas 5,000-year-old traditional culture. The companys website says its performance this year demonstrates China before communism. I hope [Shen Yun] can go around for a long time and be heard by as many people as possible because [they] are a living messagenot a static word nor a drawing, but tri-dimensional, said Ms. Sophie. I have seen many [performances], but this one is something different. China was once known as The Land of the Divine and Shen Yun presents this culture by drawing upon ancient Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration and cultivated virtue in order to create uplifting art. Today, Shen Yuns artists follow in this noble tradition, which is why audiences feel there is something different about Shen Yun, says the companys website. [Shen Yun] brings a different light even in a dark room they bring a lot of light and you let it out, she said. Everyone has forgotten something, like in the last scene where the girl is dreaming. I think that many people maybe can be awakened from their numbness and recapture something that is there, latent, and it needs to come out, she added. I hope that people are ready to listen with their heartsnot only with their ears. Francesco Erba attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan, Italy, on June 9, 2022. (NTD) Francesco Erba, a physiotherapist, also attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi on June 9, 2022. The show was truly grandiose, he said, I didnt expect this style and these emotions the artists could bring. Mr. Erba was particularly impressed with Shen Yuns virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style. The tenor surprised me because he was able to convey the same emotions that our tenors (Italian) can through words that we cannot understand, but the emotions that it conveys are the same, he said. Very profound surely a unique experience, he added. Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Schneider. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) speaks at a press conference about the National Defense Authorization Bill at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 22, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Chip Roy Questions Top Texas University Scientist Over Links to Wuhan Lab Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has accused Dr. James LeDuc, the former director of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), of violating federal and state law in an agreement LeDuc signed with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, under which the facilities agreed to destroy any documents related to their joint research upon the request of the other. I am writing today to seek answers to questions raised in the wake of University of Texas Medical Branch documents released under the Texas Public Information Act to the U.S. Right to Know nonprofit organization, Roy wrote to LeDuc in a July 6 letter, which which was exclusively obtained by The Epoch Times. The documents raise important questions regarding your involvement in agreements and compromising connections with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. He wrote that one document signed between UTMB and the WIV is particularly concerning. That document, a Memorandum of Understanding, contained a so-called memory-hole provision (pdf). The confidentiality obligation shall be applicable throughout the duration of the [Memorandum of Understanding] and after it has been terminated, the provision reads. The party is entitled to ask the other to destroy and/or return the secret files, materials and equipment without any backups. In other words, under the terms of the agreement, either party involved in the agreement could demand that all files related to the joint research be destroyed. This agreement violates not only National Institutes of Health policy, but is also in contravention of state and federal laws requiring the retention of records, Roy said. The November 2016 and October 2017 National Institutes of Health Grants Policy Statement requires recipients to retain financial and programmatic records supporting documents, statistical records, and all records that are required by the terms of the grant. Recipients that have a qualified foreign component are required to receive prior approval from the NIH. UTMB is also required to retain records under Federal and Texas law, including what is laid out under UTMBs Records Retention Schedule. The [Memorandum of Understanding] you signed between UTMB and the WIV appears to conflict with these requirements. The federal government has awarded over $2.5 billion in grants from the National Institutes of Health plus hundreds of millions in grants and contracts from other federal agencies to UTMB. It is concerning that any public institution receiving federal government funding would enter into a cooperation agreement with an entity controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Further, it raises serious concerns that a prominent recipient of federal taxpayer dollars would enter into an agreement with any foreign entitybut especially an adversarywith such a glaring memory hole provision that authorizes research materials and files to be destroyed upon request. Although Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top virologists initially dismissed the lab leak origin theory of the origins of COVID-19a theory pushed heavily by former President Donald Trump, which held that the virus leaked from the Wuhan lab, not from a wet market elsewhere in the citythat theory has become increasingly accepted. In view of this fact, Roy said, It is essential to have a clear understanding of knowledge transfers between China and the United States. He also noted that even before COVID-19 came to U.S. shores, the WIV had scrubbed its largest database of viral sequences in September 2019, a few months before COVID-19 was identified in public. This fact raises serious questions about WIVs intent to participate in a fair research data exchange with the [United States]. As Congress looks to safeguard Americans from national security risks, it is essential that we understand why federal grant recipients are entering into partnerships with institutions in adversarial countries and under what circumstances, Roy said. Therefore, we request information from you regarding the interactions and agreements between UTMB and the WIV under your leadership. Roy then laid out a litany of questions, including whether LeDuc destroyed any files consonant with the agreement, whether the agreement was later modified, whether UTMB staff thought the agreement was in accordance with the law, and whether UTMB entered similar agreements with China or other countries, among other inquiries. LeDuc, who has received funding from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has been in the headlines before for his connection with the Wuhan lab. Near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while NIAID head Dr. Anthony Fauci and his allies were dismissing the lab leak theory of the origins of the coronavirus, LeDuc was privately calling for an investigation into whether the virus had indeed originated in the Wuhan lab. LeDuc didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. The Georgia Guidestones in Dewy Rose, Ga., in July 2016. (Google Maps/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Explosion Reported at Georgia Guidestones, Which Calls for Much Smaller Human Population Crews later came in to level the rest of the standing parts of the structure A significant explosion was reported at the Georgia Guidestones on Wednesday morning, a mysterious Stonehenge-like monument that called for keeping the worlds population under 500 million, according to officials. An early morning explosion destroyed a large portion of the structure that is located in Elbert County, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in a statement. The preliminary information indicates that unknown individuals detonated an explosive device at around 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 6th, the statement continued. Video footage and photos of the incident show portions of the granite structure in ruins. Crews came to level the remaining standing parts of the structure in the evening, reported 11Alive. Built in 1980 in rural Elbert County, the Guidestones are a megalithic-inspired monument that called for the worlds population to remain under 500 million. Its not clear who exactly built the Guidestones, and public records say that a man named Robert C. Christian, or R.C. Christian, had them constructed on behalf of a small group of loyal Americans. The stones should be capable of withstanding catastrophic events and would serve as a compass, calendar, and a clock, according to a Wired magazine article published in 2009. The stones messages were translated into English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. As for the messages, some have speculated that they advocate for eugenics, population control, globalism, and a worldwide government. The first two messages say: Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature, guide reproduction wiselyimproving fitness and diversity, and unite humanity with a living new language. Mysterious Origins Wyatt Martin, president of the Granite City Bankwhich helped construct the Guidestonessaid he was the only one to have met Christian in person. Martin told the magazine that Robert Christian wasnt his real name and the man had told Martin to destroy all records and documents related to the project, and not disclose that information to anyone else. This fella showed up he was wearing a very nice, expensive suit, which made me take him a little more seriously. And he was well-spoken, obviously an educated person, Martin told Wired. Martin said that his group, which was not named, had been planning the Guidestones in secret for 20 years and wanted to always remain anonymous. And when he told me what it was he and this group wanted to do, I just about fell over, Martin said. I told him, I believe youd be just as well off to take the money and throw it out in the street into the gutters. He just sort of looked at me and shook his head, like he felt kinda sorry for me, and said, You dont understand.' Martin also said that Robert Christian had the funds and ability to charter a private plane and wanted to spend that weekend scouting locations from the air, according to the interview. He said he was going to send the money from different banks across the country, Martin added, because he wanted to make sure it couldnt be traced. He made it clear that he was very serious about secrecy. So far, no individual or organization has come forward to take responsibility for commissioning the building of the Guidestones. Officers guard the scene of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022. (Youngrae Kim/AFP via Getty Images) Father of Illinois Shooting Suspect Helped Son Obtain Gun Card Despite Past Threats The father of the 21-year-old man charged in the slayings of seven people during a Fourth of July parade in Illinois sponsored his sons state firearm identification card about two years ago. Robert E. Crimo III, the suspect, applied for a state Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cardwhich is issued by the Illinois State Policein December 2019 when he was 19, said the state police in a news release. The subject was under 21 and the application was sponsored by the subjects father, the news release said. Therefore, at the time of FOID application review in January of 2020, there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application. Authorities on Tuesday said in a news conference that Crimo had threatened to kill himself and later, his family in 2019. In one instance in September 2019, police recovered a sword, knives, and other bladed weapons from the suspect after a family member reported that he wanted to kill everyone, officials said. In the September incident, there was no probable cause to arrest and none of the victims signed any criminal complaints against Crimo, Lake County Sheriffs Office spokesman Christopher Covelli said Tuesday. The Highland Park Police Department notified the Illinois State Police about the matter, although its not clear what steps were taken after that. In order to purchase a gun legally in Illinois, one has to possess a FOID card. Thats a process that is solely managed through the state police. Im not able to speak to that process, Covelli said Tuesday. The Illinois State Police said that it received a Clear and Present Danger report on the subject from the Highland Park Police Department, according to the news release. The report was related to threats the subject made against his family, the release stated. There were no arrests made in the September 2019 incident and no one, including family, was willing to move forward on a complaint nor did they subsequently provide information on threats or mental health that would have allowed law enforcement to take additional action. Additionally, no Firearms Restraining Order was filed, nor any order of protection. More Details The State Police also indicated that his father, a local business owner who ran for mayor of Highland Park several years ago, had knowledge about his sons threats and prior interactions with police before he allegedly helped him file for a state FOID card. Robert (Bob) E. Crimo III, a person of interest in the mass shooting that took place at a Fourth of July parade route in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., in this still image obtained from a social media video. (Robert Crimo/via Reuters) Additionally and importantly, the father claimed the knives were his, and they were being stored in the individuals closet for safekeeping, state police added in the release. Based upon that information, the Highland Park Police returned the knives to the father later that afternoon. The boys father, also named Robert Crimo, has not issued a public comment after the state polices statement. The suspects parents said in a joint statement via lawyer Steve Greenberg about the shooting: We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the paradegoers, the community, and our own. On Twitter, Greenberg appeared to respond to the Illinois State Polices claims, asking: ISP should ask why did THEY approve a FOID card and why do THEY allow the sale of assault weapons? The Epoch Times has contacted Greenberg Trial Lawyers for comment. In the shooting on Monday, the younger Crimo is accused of killing seven people and wounding scores more. Officials said that he left behind an extensive online presence, and theyre investigating rap videos he uploaded to YouTube. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases testifies during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 17, 2022. (Anna Rose Layden/Pool via Getty Images) Faucis Agency Cancels Experimental Testing on Puppies: Senator The federal agency headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci canceled a plan to start new tests of allergy medicine on dogs, according to a Republican senator and a nonprofit organization on Wednesday. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Fauci were put under fire last year over federally funded experiments using dogs. At the time, documents suggested the agency spent $$1.7 million on animal experimentation between October 2018 and February 2019 that force-fed beagles an experimental drug for several weeks. Lawmakers last year expressed horror at a procedure used in the experiment. They noted that an invoice to NIAID involved an item called a cordectomy, also known as devocalization or de-barking. The procedure involves slitting a dogs vocal cords to remove its ability to bark, howl, or cry. And in May of this year, reports said that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had allocated $1.8 million to test more experimental drugs on beagles, prompting a letter from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) to use other testing models. Ernst said she received a letter from NIAID and the NIH last week saying those tests wouldnt be carried out. Dr. Fauci was barking up the wrong tree when he decided to use government dollars on dog testing, Ernst said in a statement. These inhumane practices have no place in our governmentmuch less on the taxpayers dime. Thankfully, after voicing our concerns and shining a light on these heinous tactics, taxpayers can rest easy knowing their hard-earned money is not going towards dog abuse. A company known as the Inimmune Corporation was asked by NIAID to perform experiments on dogs and puppies that included feeding them experimental drugs for several months. Although the contract to Inimmune Corporation proposed the use of murine and canine preclinical animal models, after consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company elected to proceed using two rodent models only, Fauci wrote to Ernst, reported the Washington Free Beacon. No experiments utilizing the canine model are being conducted under this contract. Fauci then said that 60 million people in the United States have allergies and noted that numerous patients cannot achieve adequate relief with available medications, resulting in substantial social and economic burdens, the letter said. I want to assure you that NIH and NIAID take the welfare of animals in research very seriously, Fauci added. NIH has established guidance, procedures, and protocols to ensure that scientists maintain the highest possible standards for the humane care and use of animals in research. NIAID has not responded to a request for comment. In Ernsts announcement, the White Coat Waste Project group said that Faucis runny nose experiments on beagle puppies have been completely canceled. Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report. Juul Labs Inc. Virginia tobacco and menthol flavored vaping e-cigarette products are displayed in a convenience store in El Segundo, Calif., on June 23, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images) FDA Temporarily Lifts Ban on Juul E-Cigarettes The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 5 paused its marketing denial order on Juul electronic cigarettes while it carries out a review into scientific issues unique to the companys application. On July 5, 2022, FDA administratively stayed the marketing denial order. This administrative stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order during the additional review but does not rescind it, the department announced on Twitter. All electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS products, including those made by JUUL, are required by law to have FDA authorization to be legally marketed. The stay and the agencys review does not constitute authorization to market, sell, or ship JUUL products. The move comes after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on June 24 temporarily paused the ban on Juul products by the FDA so that the court has sufficient opportunity to hear further arguments on the matter. The order to temporarily pause the ban should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion, the court order read. Forced to Remove Juul Products The FDAs ban focused on Juuls device and four types of JUULpods, forcing retailers to remove the products from their inventories, in what was a blow to the popular e-cigarette company. FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said the ban was to ensure all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards. According to the FDA, the e-cigarette companys application submitted more than two years ago lacked sufficient evidence regarding the toxicology levels of their products. Some of the evidence was found to be insufficient and conflicting, including those regarding the genotoxicity and potentially harmful chemicals in the companys e-liquid pods. Juul challenged that assertion, previously telling The Epoch Times the company provided the FDA with sufficient information and data based on high-quality research to address all issues raised by the agency. The e-cigarette company believes its application appropriately characterized the toxicological profile of Juul products, including comparisons to combustible cigarettes and other vapor products, and believe this data, along with the totality of the evidence, meets the statutory standard of being appropriate for the protection of the public health. A vial and packaging for the drug Aduhelm is shown on June 7, 2021. (Biogen via AP) Fixed Packaging of Alzheimers Drug May Waste $605 Million a Year for Medicare, Experts Warn Controversial drug comes in fixed-dose vials, with excess discarded after each use Medicare could potentially waste up to $605 million annually from the packaging of controversial Alzheimers drug aducanumab if it is approved for widespread use, according to a University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) study. Given Medicares premium increase in 2022 partly due to aducanumab, greater focus on efficient vial packaging could improve the value of future Medicare spending, slow premium growth, and reduce beneficiaries outofpocket costs, said Dr. Carlos Irwin Oronce in the studys media release. To reduce wastage, the authors proposed flexible packaging rather than vials set at fixed dosages. Since the drug is fixed in its dosage volume and given to patients based on their weight, what remains after it is administered is discarded, resulting in waste. With 2.9 million to 8.4 million Medicare beneficiaries eligible for the drug, if approved for widespread use, Medicare could be wasting around $115 million to $605 million per year even if only 10 percent of those eligible choose the prescription. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) announced in April 2022 that the drug can only be accessed under Medicare through clinical trials. However, this decision may be overturned if Biogenthe manufacturer of aducanumabsues CMS for this decision, likely leading to widespread approval, according to the authors. The drug currently comes in fixed-dose vial sizes of 170 mg per 1.7 ml and 300 mg per 3.0 ml. It is administered monthly at an average dose of 10 mg per kilogram for each patient. The authors calculated around $2,300 in waste value every month for each patient. Controversial Alzheimers Disease Medication Despite being the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating Alzheimers, medical experts are highly dubious of the drugs efficacy. Many health care facilities announced that they will not provide aducanumab for their patients out of concern for the drugs effectiveness and safety. The drug is marketed as Aduhelm for patients with mild cognitive impairment, meaning a mild decrease in memory and or thinking but not yet affecting the functioning state. Aducanumab reduces protein plaques in the brain, often implicated in the death of nerves and a hallmark of Alzheimers disease. Nonetheless, scientists are still unclear whether these protein plaques cause memory loss or Alzheimers disease. This becomes concerning when Biogens clinical trials also showed no evidence that the drug improves cognition. Two trials testing efficacy were stopped in 2019 because there was no clinical benefit shown. The company later reviewed the data and found a small improvement in symptoms in one group of patients, prompting Biogens application with the FDA (pdf). Aducanumab has been found to increase the risk of brain bleeds and swelling. UCLA estimated in January 2022 that ancillary care services such as MRI and neurologist visits to monitor these drug-associated potential adverse effects may account for nearly 20 percent of the total Medicare costs related to the drug, or over $6,500 per patient per year. Aducanumab was approved by the FDA through an accelerated approval pathway on June 7, 2021. Biogen originally priced the drug at $56,000 per year per patient and later halved the costs to $28,200 in December 2021 after facing widespread criticism. Trump lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to media while flanked by Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell (L) and members of the Trump campaign legal team at a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Nov. 19, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Fulton County Judge Orders Rudy Giuliani, Lindsey Graham to Testify in 2020 Election Probe An Atlanta-area grand jury on July 5 subpoenaed the allies and former legal advisors of former President Donald Trump, including a sitting senator and a former mayor of New York City. The Fulton County Superior Court of Georgia on Tuesday compelled several of the former presidents affiliates, including former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), to provide witness testimony before a grand jury regarding disputes following the U.S. presidential election in 2020, according to court documents filed on July 5. The court also requested the testimony of several attornies who worked with the former president during the 2020 election lawsuits, including former law professor John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro, and Jenna Ellis. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the court orders. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, first revealed her offices probe of the former presidents advisors in February 2021 in a letter addressed to Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, in which Willis alleged that Trumps affiliates attempted to interfere with the administration of the 2020 election. Willis then petitioned in January 2022 that a special purpose grand jury be impaneled to investigate the matter. A majority of Fulton County Superior Court judges agreed to Williss request, according to Chief Judge Christopher Brasher. The Special Purpose Grand Jury is authorized to investigate any and all facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to possible attempts to disrupt the lawful administration of the 2020 elections in the State of Georgia, court documents containing the requests for appearance stated. Willis said in a letter to Brasher that the grand jury was required because a significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony. In its request for Giulianis appearance, the court stated that there is evidence that Giulianis testimony before Georgias state legislative panels on Dec. 3, 2020 was part of a multi-state, coordinated election interference plan by the Trump campaign. Surveillance Footage During the December 2020 hearing, Giuliani presented lawmakers with surveillance footage that he described as evidence of election workers feeding unlawful ballots into voting machines. The ballots appeared to be pulled from under a tablecloth. Ellis was also at the hearing. You cannot possibly certify Georgia in good faith, Giuliani told lawmakers at the time. The court, in demanding Grahams testimony, said the senator made at least two telephone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and members of his staff in the weeks following the November 2020 election in Georgia. The court continued by alleging Graham questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome Graham denied wrongdoing and told CBSs Face the Nation in January that he asked Raffensperger about how the system worked when it came to mail-in voting, balloting in the phone calls following the 2020 election. Mitchell, together with Trump, was also in a phone call with Raffensperger in December 2020, in which the former president requested Raffensperger to probe potential voter fraud, though the secretary of states office misrepresented the call to news outlets, resulting in corrections months later. Raffensperger declined Trumps request, noting the state conducted several re-tallies of the vote count. Perfect Phone Call Trump said in a January statement in response to Williss probe that he didnt say anything wrong in the call, made while [he] was President on behalf of the United States of America, to look into the massive voter fraud which took place in Georgia. Former President Donald Trump speaks during the American Freedom Tour at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, on May 14, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) What this Civil Special Grand Jury should be looking into is not my perfect phone call, but the large-scale voter fraud that took place in Georgia. Then they would be doing a great job for the people. No more political witch hunts! The former president said. The 23-member grand jury started their investigation of the matter on May 2, 2022, according to court documents. The Epoch Times has reached out to Giuliani, Graham, Eastman, Mitchell, Chesebro, and Ellis for comment. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. The multinational technology and Internet-related services company Google's logo on a tablet screen in Moscow on April 15, 2022. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images) Google Accused of Political Bias in Spam Filtering Political Emails; New Proposal Could Change That Alphabet Inc. looks to allow polling updates, merch solicitations, and frantic fundraising pleas during election season after it realized that it filtered too much spam, Bloomberg reports. Alphabet proposed suspending Gmail spam filters on messages from political parties and candidates to enhance user and bulk sender experience to the Federal Election Commission. The pilot program, likely to launch during the upcoming election cycle, will still allow Gmail users to manually unsubscribe from each unwanted email list by clicking on one thirsty form letter at a time, making it very tedious and impractical process for the users. The FEC proposal followed a bill by Senate Republicans preventing tech companies from applying spam filters to political emails. Google described the proposal as an effort to provide added transparency while preserving Googles commitment to a great experience for all of our users. Google acknowledged not filtering messages based on political affiliation. Users expressed frustration at Googles move, even threatening to give up email. Experts found that Google marked 70 percent of right-wing messages as spam, compared with about 10 percent of left-wing emails. Comparing emails on similar topics, experts found that Gmail still seemed to restrict Republicans more than Democrats. Experts say Googles software reacts to the preferences of a user base thats likely younger and less conservative than the people using Microsoft Corp. Outlook and Yahoo. By Anusuya Lahiri 2022 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Gov. Kristi Noem: I Would Be Shocked If Asked to Run With Trump in 2024 South Dakotas Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has said that she would be shocked if asked to be Trumps running mate in the 2024 elections. I think that theres a lot of people out there who would like to be his running mate, so Im focused on getting reelected, Noem told CNN State of the Union anchor Dana Bash on Sunday. I dont operate in that hypothetical either I would be shocked if he asked. And right now, Im just so focused on South Dakota. Were doing great things, and weve got a lot more to do the next four years. When asked whether Trump bears any responsibility for the riots at Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, Noem simply called Jan. 6 a horrific day in American history that she never wants to see happen again. Noem has criticized Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador, for blaming Trump for the events of Jan. 6. Rumors have circulated that Noem is preparing for a vice-presidential run in the 2024 election in case Trump runs again for president. Haley has already made it clear that she will not run against Trump. In 2018 when Noem became the governor of South Dakota, she was the first woman to assume the post. In her recently published memoir, Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland, Noem credits Trumps 2016 presidential win for her decision to run for governor. I could return home now and do so confident that South Dakotans had a champion in the White House, she writes in the book. Trump 2024 When he asked the attendees at the recent Faith and Freedom Coalitions Road to Majority conference on June 17 whether anyone would want him to run for president, Trump was greeted with cheers. While he is widely expected to make his third bid for the White House in the 2024 election, the former president has yet to officially make it known whether he plans to do so. In March, during an American Freedom Tour, Trump appeared confident that Republicans would make significant gains in the coming election cycle. With the support of everyone in this room, we will take back the House, we will take back the Senate and we will take back our country, and then most importantly in 2024, we are going to take back our beautiful White House, he told the crowd. In a poll conducted between June 17 and 22 by McLaughlin & Associates, respondents were asked who they were more likely to vote for between Trump and Biden if the general election for President were to be held today. Trump came in at the top spot with 49 percent support, with Biden at second garnering 44 percent support. Gun Rights Champion Dick Heller Sues DC Again, This Time Over Ammo Limits A man whose lawsuit against the District of Columbia (D.C.) 14 years ago led to the Supreme Courts recognition that the Second Amendment safeguards an individual right to own firearms is suing the capital city again, this time over its strict limit on how much ammunition may accompany a persons concealed handgun in public. This new lawsuit (pdf) argues that a D.C. regulation preventing holders of concealed pistol carry licenses from carrying more than 20 rounds of ammunition at a time is unconstitutional. Such a limit violates the U.S. Constitution because there is no historical precedent for it, and it interferes with the right of a concealed carrier to properly use a firearm for self-defense in any public confrontations that may arise, according to the lawsuit. A previous lawsuit by plaintiff Dick Heller against the D.C. government resulted in the high courts landmark 2008 ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller that held that the Second Amendment protects the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation. Two years later, the high court ruled in McDonald v. City of Chicago that this right is fully applicable to the States. The new lawsuit is one of several that have been filed nationwide after another landmark ruling by the Supreme Court on June 23 in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which recognized a constitutional right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion striking down New Yorks public carry licensing system that required carry permit applicants to prove they had a special need for a firearm for self-defense. The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are Heller, Charles W. Nesby, and the Heller Foundation, Hellers eponymous nonprofit that educates the public on Second Amendment issues. Theyre suing the District of Columbia and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee III. The lawsuit was filed on June 30 in the federal district court in Washington. George L. Lyon Jr. of Arsenal Attorneys represents the plaintiffs in the new lawsuit. Lyon, who was also one of the original plaintiffs in District of Columbia v. Heller, is the attorney of record in another new lawsuit launched by gun owners in the nations capital who want to be allowed to carry firearms on the Metro, the regions crime-ridden public transit system. Heller holds a concealed pistol carry license issued by the police chief. He regularly carries a concealed firearm for personal protection within the city, the legal complaint states. Theres no historical analog for a limit on the amount of ammunition that you can carry for self-defense, which makes D.C.s limit obviously unconstitutional, Lyon told The Epoch Times. You should be able to carry the amount of ammunition that you believe you need in order to protect yourself, and that may vary, he said. If I go to walk my dog at noon in my nice area Im probably good with my five-shot revolver and one-speed load, which is what is allowed to me if Im carrying that gun in the District of Columbia. But if Lyon is walking his dog at 2 a.m., hes going to feel much more secure by carrying a bit more ammunition than that, he said. Current D.C. law unfairly limits the carry choices of gun owners, he said, offering a personal example. The law allows him to carry no more than 20 rounds or given his choice of handgun, only enough ammo to reload his gun twice, which is just 10 rounds. If he carries a full-size Glock 17, which has a larger capacity, he can do that and carry more rounds, but its more difficult to conceal, especially in warm-weather clothes. Theres a lot wrong with D.C. gun laws, and I think its probably best to take them one at a time, Lyon said. Thats why in the Metro carry lawsuit, the only thing Im attacking is the part that I think is the absolute weakest. One of the mistakes that has been made in some litigation is to try and do too much and [end up] not accomplishing much. Its easy to convince the judge that theres one thing thats wrong; its a lot harder to convince the judge that there are 15 things wrong. My belief is that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. The Epoch Times reached out repeatedly to District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, a Democrat, for comment on the litigation, but he didnt respond by press time. Chinese paramilitary policemen watch as people visit a promenade on the Bund along the Huangpu River in Shanghai on May 1, 2021. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) Hacker Claims to Have Data on 1 Billion Chinese Citizens From Police Files A trove of data of more than 1 billion Chinese residents, allegedly hacked from the Shanghai police database, has been listed for sale on the dark web. If verified, it could amount to the biggest data leak in the countrys history. In 2022, the Shanghai National Police (SHGA) database was leaked, reads a post dated June 30 on Breach Forums, a popular hacker community. Databases contain information on 1 billion Chinese national residents and several billion case records, including name, address, birthplace, national ID number, mobile number, all crime/case details. An anonymous hacker or group claiming to be behind the attack wrote the post under the name of ChinaDan and offered to sell the database for 10 bitcoins, or roughly $200,000. The Epoch Times was unable to reach the individual or group claiming the attack, ChinaDan, or confirm the posts authenticity. Sample Data The hacker or group provided a sample of the more than 23-terabyte (TB) database, which is claimed to contain 750,000 records in three separate assets. One set includes personal information, such as individual names, ethnicities, genders, heights, phone numbers, addresses, education backgrounds, and in some cases, photo links and labels of key person by the public security bureau. The addresses listed in the sample were from across the country, ranging from the far-western Xinjiang region to eastern Jiangsu Province. Another data dump contains case records that appeared to be reported to the police, including personal information, case descriptions, and filing dates. The latest was dated 2019. A third data set contained phone numbers and addresses, which were labeled for delivery. A Chinese traffic policeman walks past the installed facial recognition screen at a road intersection in Shanghai on Aug. 9, 2017. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images) A Shanghai municipal government official directed The Epoch Times to the citys police bureau, while the latter declined to comment on the database report. Censorship While Chinese authorities remain silent over the reported database hack, the alleged data leak sparked a wide discussion over the weekend on Weibo and WeChat, the countrys popular social media platforms. By July 3, several related hashtags, such as data leak, had already been blocked by the microblogging platform Weibo. The Quora-like Zhihu also appeared to censor the news: A post detailing the alleged data leak wasnt accessible on July 5. But Chinese netizens continued to share news on it with vague references, such as a data leak in an eastern Chinese city, on July 5. Many warned about a potential wave of phone fraud if its real, while some worried about their privacy, saying authorities had stepped up information collection in the name of COVID-19 precautions. A police officer checks a delivery worker on a street in the Xuhui district of Shanghai on May 29, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) The purported data leak also prompted discussions among cybersecurity experts. Zhao Changpeng, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said the company detected 1 billion resident records from one Asian country being sold on the dark web, without naming the country, according to a July 4 post on Twitter. Kendra Schaefer, head of tech policy research at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China, said on July 4 that it could be among the biggest and worst breaches in history if its confirmed to be leaked from the Ministry of Public Security. Luo Ya contributed to the report. If you havent read your cellphone manual closely, you might want to take a closer look. It advises you to avoid carrying your cellphone here so you can avoid exceeding the safety limit for radio frequency exposure. Yet, almost everyone makes this agonizing mistake. SAR testing, which is modeled on a very large male head, was devised before cellphone usage became commonplace among toddlers and young children, whose skulls allow for far greater RF energy penetration SAR is a measure of how much RF energy your body will absorb from the device when held at a specific distance from your body (ranging from 5 to 15 mm, depending on the manufacturer). Its important to realize that the SAR value is not an indication of how safe your phone is In the real-world, most people carry their phones close to their body, usually in a pocket or bra. When popular cellphones were tested in direct contact to the body, they all exceeded the safety limit Depending on the manufacturer, you need to keep your cellphone at least 5 to 15 (0.19 to 0.59 inches) millimeters away from your head and body at all times to avoid exceeding the safety limit for RF exposure A little-known warning from the manufacturer hidden within your cellphone manual advises you to keep the device at a certain distance from your body to ensure you dont exceed federal safety limits for radiofrequency (RF) exposure In this special edition of CBC Marketplace, originally aired March 2017, journalist Wendy Mesley investigates the safety of cellphones, focusing on a little-known warning from the manufacturer hidden within your cellphone manual that advises you to keep the device at a certain distance from your body to ensure you dont exceed the federal safety limit for radiofrequency (RF) exposure. In the real-world, however, most people carry their phones close to their body, usually in a pocket. Many women even tuck their phone right into their bra which, by the way, is the absolute worst area for a woman to put it, as it could raise their risk of both heart problems and breast tumors, their two leading risks of death. Whats more, while the safe use information is provided by all cellphone manufacturers, youd be hard-pressed to find anyone who has actually been able to find the message on their phone, without detailed instructions on where to locate it. What the Manufacturers Warning Says While the safe use warning may differ slightly from one phone to the next, the basics remain the same. Mesley reads the information from her iPhone: To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free option, such as speakerphone Carry iPhone at least 5 millimeters [mm] away from your body to ensure exposure levels remain at or below the as tested levels. According to the report, 81% of Canadians have never seen the message in their phone or manual about carrying their phone 5 to 15 mm away (0.19 to 0.59 inches) from their body. Whats more, few really understand what it all means. Is it dangerous to have the phone touching your body? Mesley sets out to discover what the warning means for consumers. The Berkeley Controversy Mesley visits Berkeley, California, where the city council passed a cellphone Right to Know ordinance,1 requiring cellphone retailers to put up signage informing customers that carrying their cellphone in their pocket or bra when the phone is on may result in RF exposure that exceeds federal safety guidelines. The ordinance was initially proposed in 2010 and passed in 2015. In response, the wireless industry (CTIA) sued Berkeley, claiming the ordinance violates free speech rights by forcing retailers to share this information. Considering the information in question is hidden in the manual of every cellphone sold, and is required by federal law, this legal wrangling sure makes it appear as though the manufacturers have hidden the warning on purpose, and really do not want consumers to find or know about it. Berkeley mayor Jesse Arreguin believes the lawsuit was launched to prevent other areas from following suit. If Berkeley can require cellphone retailers to post warnings, before you know it, the safety message might be required to be posted in every store across the nation. What You Need to Know About Your Phones SAR Value As noted by Mesley, whether your phone should be kept 5, 10 or 15 mm away from your body in order to prevent RF exposure exceeding federal safety limits has to do with how the phone was tested. In the film she brings three newly purchased cellphones to RF Exposure Lab in San Marcos, California, one of several labs across the U.S. that conducts specific absorption rate (SAR) testing for cellphones. SAR is a measure of how much RF energy your body will absorb from the device when held at a specific distance from your body (ranging from 5 to 15 mm, depending on the manufacturer). Its important to realize that the SAR value is not an indication of overall safety. As explained by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC):2 Many people mistakenly assume that using a cellphone with a lower reported SAR value necessarily decreases a users exposure to RF emissions, or is somehow safer than using a cellphone with a high SAR value. While SAR values are an important tool in judging the maximum possible exposure to RF energy from a particular model of cellphone, a single SAR value does not provide sufficient information about the amount of RF exposure under typical usage conditions to reliably compare individual cellphone models. Rather, the SAR values collected by the FCC are intended only to ensure that the cellphone does not exceed the FCCs maximum permissible exposure levels even when operating in conditions which result in the devices highest possible but not its typical RF energy absorption for a user. Why SAR Ratings Are Terribly Flawed In a nutshell, the phone is tested to assess how much RF energy is emitted when used under the worst of conditions. Were transmitting as if you were as far away from a base station as you can get and still make a call. This is the worst case it could ever get to be for a cellphone, the lab technician explains. The testing itself was in fact devised long before cellphone usage became commonplace among toddlers and young children, whose skulls allow for far greater RF energy penetration. With the phone emitting at maximum power, a sensor is then used to measure the depth to which the RF energy is able to penetrate into the dummy head. All the SAR rating seeks to measure is the short-term thermal effect of the radiation on your body, defined in terms of how much power is absorbed (watts) per unit of tissue (kilogram). Different types of tissue, such as bone, brain, muscle and blood, all have differing levels of density and conductivity, which also affect the absorption rate. What this means is that a SAR rating is highly dependent on which part of your body is exposed to the radiation. In the U.S. and Canada, the SAR limit for mobile devices used by the public is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of head tissue. There are several major problems with using SAR as our safety guideline. For starters, the anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM) used to measure SAR is modeled after attributes of the heads of the top 10% of military recruits in 1989 in other words, a 6-foot, 2-inch-tall, 220-pound male, which is larger than 97% of the American population. This means anyone smaller than SAM is more vulnerable to radiation penetration, especially children. According to Om P. Gandhi, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Utah:3 RF exposure to a head smaller than SAM will absorb a relatively higher SAR. The SAR for a 10-year-old is up to 153 percent higher than the SAR for the SAM model. When electrical properties are considered, a childs heads absorption can be over two times greater, and absorption of the skulls bone marrow can be 10 times greater than adults. Secondly, the FCC uses SAM to determine safe levels of ionizing radiation, not noniodizing radiation. Because nonionizing forms of EMF have so much less energy than ionizing radiation, it had long been believed that nonionizing electromagnetic fields were harmless to humans and other biological systems. However, as discussed below, science has shown nonionizing radiation can indeed cause physiological damage. Whats more, the SAR of the radiation emitted by cellphones is only measured when the phone is actually on and in use, not when its sitting idle in your pocket (when it is still communicating with nearby cellphone towers and/or seeking the nearest Wi-Fi signal). Lastly, SAR standards havent been updated since 1996, despite the fact the cellphone technology has changed dramatically since then. Government Research Confirms Safety Concerns Mesley visits Devra Davis Ph.D., who first became aware of the dangers of RF from cellphones and began speaking out about them in 2007. Since then, the scientific literature has doubled in size, and Davis is now more convinced of the dangers than ever. Among the more damning studies are two government-funded animal studies4 that reveal GSM and CDMA radiation has carcinogenic potential. The finalized report5 of these two studies conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), an interagency research program under the auspices of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences was released November 1, 2018. While the preliminary report released in February 2018 significantly downplayed the findings,6 subsequent peer review upgraded the findings of risk. The NTP rates cancer risk based on four categories of evidence: clear evidence (highest), some evidence, equivocal evidence, and no evidence (lowest). According to the NTPs final report, the two studies, done on mice and rats of both sexes, found:7 Clear evidence for heart tumors (malignant schwannomas) in male rats. These types of tumors started developing around week 70, and are very similar to acoustic neuromas found in humans, a benign type of tumor that previous studies have linked to cellphone use. Some evidence of brain tumors (malignant gliomas) in male rats. Glial cell hyperplasias indicative of precancerous lesions began developing around week 58. Some evidence of adrenal gland tumors in male rats, both benign and malignant tumors and/or complex combined pheochromocytoma. Equivocal or unclear evidence of tumors in female rats and mice of both genders. The studies also found evidence of DNA damage and damage to heart tissue in exposed male and female rats, but not mice, as well as prostate, liver and pancreatic tumors in both rats and mice. While the NTP insists the exposure nine hours a day for two years, which is the lifetime of a rodent is far more extensive than that of heavy cellphone users, I would strongly disagree, seeing how many, especially the younger generation, have their cellphones turned on and near their body 24/7. Many are literally sleeping with their phone beneath their pillow. Whats more, cellphones are not the sole source of RF. Tablets, computers, smart TVs, wireless baby monitors and smart meters, just to name a few, are also sources of similarly harmful radiation. NTP Findings Reproduced at Power Levels Below FCC Limits Corroborating evidence was also published by the Ramazzini Institute just one month after the NTP released its preliminary report in February 2018. The Ramazzini study8 reproduces and clearly supports the NTPs findings, showing a clear link between cellphone radiation and Schwann cell tumors (schwannomas)9,10 but at a much lower power level than that used by NTP. While NTP used RF levels comparable to whats emitted by 2G and 3G cellphones (near-field exposure), Ramazzini simulated exposure to cellphone towers (far-field exposure). Ramazzinis rats were exposed to 1.8 GHz GSM radiation at electric field strengths of 5, 25 and 50 volts per meter11 for 19 hours a day, starting at birth until the rats died either from age or illness. To facilitate comparison, the researchers converted their measurements to watts per kilogram of body weight (W/kg), which is what the NTP used. Overall, the radiation dose administered in the Ramazzini study was up to 1,000 times lower than the NTPs and below the U.S. limits set by the FCC yet the results are strikingly similar. As in the NTP studies, exposed male rats developed statistically higher rates of heart schwannomas than unexposed rats. They also found some evidence, although weaker, that RF exposure increased rates of glial tumors in the brains of female rats. Where Are All the Brain Tumors? To investigate whether brain tumors are something you need to be concerned with as a cellphone user, Mesley visits neuro-oncologist Dr. Jay Easaw in Edmonton, Canada, who shows her images of one of the worst brain tumors hes ever seen, located on the side of the brain where the patient a very heavy cellphone user held his phone. Easaw has been part of the creation of a brain tumor registry, in the hopes of identifying causes. He believes well see more studies showing a correlation between cellphone use and brain tumors as time goes on and heavy users since childhood start entering adulthood. Theres no question that were seeing more young people coming into the clinic with brain tumors, he says. And the question is why. Incidence of glioblastoma multiforme (the deadliest type of brain tumor) more than doubled in the U.K. between 1995 and 2015.12,13 According to the authors of the NTP analysis, this dramatic increase is likely due to widespread environmental or lifestyle factors which would include cellphone usage. Mitochondrial Dysfunction Is the Primary Hazard While brain tumors may indeed be a concern, in my view, its not the primary one. The evidence suggests the primary hazard of cellphone radiation is really systemic cellular and mitochondrial damage,14,15,16,17 which can contribute to any number of health problems and chronic diseases. While an estimated 84,000 U.S. men, women and children were diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2021,18 an estimated 787,000 people die from heart disease each year.19 So, while the relative rarity of brain cancer may lead you to believe that cellphone use is safe, thats only because youre looking at a less prevalent outcome. The process of harm begins when low-frequency microwave radiation activates voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs),20 channels in the outer membrane of your cells. Once activated, the VGCCs open up, allowing an abnormal influx of calcium ions into the cell. This increased intracellular calcium and the accompanying increase in calcium signaling appears to be responsible for a majority of the damage that occurs. This is reviewed in more detail in my interview with professor Martin Pall below. For example, excess calcium activates nitric oxide, and while nitric oxide has many health benefits, massively excessive nitric oxide reacts with superoxide to produce peroxynitrites extremely potent oxidant stressors.21 Peroxynitrites in turn modify tyrosine molecules in proteins to create nitrotyrosine and nitration of structural protein.22 Changes from nitration are visible in human biopsy of atherosclerosis, myocardial ischemia, inflammatory bowel disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and septic lung disease.23 Peroxynitrites can also cause single-strand DNA breaks.24 This pathway of oxidative destruction triggered by low-frequency radiation emitted from mobile devices may partially explain the unprecedented growth rate of chronic disease since 1990,25 and is a far greater concern than brain tumors. Heart Problems, Neurological Disorders and Infertility Cellphone radiation has also been shown to have a significant impact on neurological and mental health,26 contributing to and/or worsening anxiety, depression and dementia, for example, and all of these conditions are rampant and growing more prevalent, even if brain cancer cases are lagging. (This also makes sense as brain dysfunction will occur much faster than a tumor, which can take decades.) Research also suggests excessive EMF exposure is contributing to reproductive problems. For example, researchers have found prenatal exposure to power-frequency fields can nearly triple a pregnant womans risk of miscarriage.27 According to lead author and senior research scientist at Kaiser Permanentes research division, Dr. De-Kun Li,28 This study provides fresh evidence, directly from a human population, that magnetic field exposure in daily life could have adverse health impacts, adding his findings should bring attention to this potentially important environmental hazard to pregnant women. According to Li, there are at least six other studies, in addition to two of his own, showing this link.29,30,31,32,33 EMF exposure may also play a significant role in testicular cancer and male infertility. Studies have linked low-level electromagnetic radiation exposure from cellphones to an 8% reduction in sperm motility and a 9% reduction in sperm viability.34,35 Wi-Fi equipped laptop computers have also been linked to decreased sperm motility and an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation after just four hours of use.36 Government Is Not Spearheading Public Safety Measures Again, the harms of RF are not related to heating of tissue but, rather, a result of a cascade of molecular events resulting in severe oxidative damage. As noted earlier, the evidence shows damage can occur even at levels far below the safety limit set for the U.S. and Canada. According to Mesley, more than 200 studies have been submitted to Health Canada showing harm from RF radiation at levels below the safety limit for which cellphones are tested. Health Canada claims many of these studies simply arent good enough to base a decision on, and that the totality of the science does not support a link to harm. According to Mesley, Health Canada has even stated that Even if a small child were exposed to a cellphone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, there would be no adverse health effects. Rarely do absolute statements turn out to be accurate, and to unequivocally claim there are no health risks even for small children is taking a tremendous risk. As noted by Davis, We should not insist on proof that we have made people sick before taking steps to protect others. How to Limit Your RF Exposure While saying theres no cause for concern, Health Canada still recommends replacing calls with texts, using hands-free devices and limiting use for children if youre concerned about potential effects. The U.S. has taken an identical approach. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that while any potential risk is probably very small, you can reduce your RF exposure by limiting the amount of time you spend on your cellphone and using the speaker or a headset to create more distance between the phone and your head.37 Theres no doubt in my mind that RF exposure from cellphones and other wireless devices is a significant hazard to your health that will damage your DNA and contribute to chronic disease and premature aging. It needs to be addressed if youre concerned about your health, and that of your family. To protect yourself and your family from cellphone radiation and other sources of harmful electromagnetic fields, consider taking the following precautions: Officers guard the scene of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022. (Youngrae Kim/AFP via Getty Images) Highland Park Shooting Suspect Charged With 7 Counts of Murder The Highland Park Fourth of July parade suspect shooter, Robert Crimo, has been charged with seven counts of murder. Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters on Tuesday evening that dozens more charges are being sought and that if convicted, Crimo would face a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole. We anticipate dozens of more charges centering around each of the victims. Psychological victims, physical victims, [attempted] murder charges, aggravated discharge, aggravated battery charges, he said. Rinehart described the tragedy as a well-orchestrated and carefully-planned crime and stressed that he would ask a judge to hold Crimo without the possibility of bail. Crimo fired more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into the crowd who gathered for the Independence Day parade in Highland Park, an affluent community on the Lake Michigan shore, near Chicago. He fled the scene, leaving behind his rifle, dressed as a woman in an attempt to evade capture. The rifle led law enforcement directly to Crimo, said Chris Covelli, Lake County deputy chief and Major Crime Task Force spokesperson. Police released a surveillance photo of the alleged gunman, Robert Crimo III, as he was fleeing the scene in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022. (Lake County Sheriffs Office) The Lake County coroner released the names of the victims: Katherine Goldstein, 64; Irina McCarthy, 35; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo, 78; and Jacki Sundheim, 63. The McCarthys were the parents of a 2-year-old boy, Aiden, who was left orphaned and found at the scene by strangers who took care of him. He is now in the care of his grandparents. Nine people remain hospitalized Tuesday, ranging in age from 14 to 70, hospital officials said. A Family Assistance Center will open at Highland Park High School from noon on Wednesday. At the Family Assistance Center, victims will be offered trauma counseling, government aid assistance, and if necessary, financial assistance, said Covelli. Victims are not just those physically injured in yesterdays events but also those experiencing emotional distress. Known to Police Covelli said that Crimo used a rifle similar to an AR-15 that was purchased legally within the past year. The magazines held approximately 30 rounds. Crimos father sponsored his application for the purchases, Illinois State Police said in a statement on Tuesday evening. At the time of Crimos application for a firearm permit in January 2020, there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the application. This was despite Illinois police receiving a clear and present danger report in September 2019 after receiving reports that Crimo threatened his family. No arrests were made and no one was willing to move forward on a complaint, police said. Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the country and has been cited by Second Amendment advocates as an example of how they dont work. Highland Park itself has had a semi-automatic weapons ban in place since 2013. Covelli stressed that, at the time of the September 2019 incident, Highland Park police officers removed a dagger, knives, and a sword from Crimos possession. There were no firearms at that time to be removed, Covelli said, noting that red flag laws therefore didnt apply. Another incident occurred in April 2019, when an individual called the police when Crimo attempted suicide but the matter was handled ultimately by mental health workers. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a developing story and has been updated with more details. Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro carry a national flag as they head to the National Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 1, 2022. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images) How an Increasingly Politicized Supreme Court Threatens Brazils Democracy Commentary When the then head of the top electoral court in Brazil, Supreme Court Justice Jose Dias Toffoli, officially declared Jair Bolsonaro the winner of the 2018 presidential elections, he made this unusual pronouncement: The future president must respect institutions, must respect democracy, the rule of law, the judiciary branch, the National Congress, and the legislative branch. Those remarks were taken to be a rebuke of the new presidents conservative views. However, it is ironic that a major threat to democracy actually comes from a highly politicized judiciary. To give an example, on Feb. 21, 2021, Justice Gilmar Mendes of the Supreme Court met the then president of the House of Representatives, Rodrigo Maia, and 10 other federal congressmen, to discuss what they should do about the Brazilian president. He told these politicians that ending Congress and the courts kindness towards the democratically elected leader was urgently required. Mendes proposed a harsher attack against Bolsonarohe wanted zero tolerance with the president. To give another example, in May 2021, Celso de Mello, then the longest-serving member of the Supreme Court, sent a text message to his judicial peers comparing the Brazilian president to Adolf Hitler. He said to his colleagues in the court that it was necessary to fight Bolsonaro. Semi-Presidential? During his talk at the ninth Lisbon Legal Forum in Portugal, on Nov. 16, Dias Toffoli commented that presiding over Brazil is not easy and that he and his colleagues in the Court have taken action to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic in Brazil. We already have a semi-presidentialism with a moderating power control that is currently exercised by the Supreme Court, he said. The outgoing President of Supreme Court Dias Toffoli (L) speaks next to President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro during the inauguration ceremony of the new Supreme Court President Luiz Fux in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sept. 10, 2020. (Andressa Anholete/Getty Images) Of course, the system of government in Brazil, as per its Constitution, is presidential. This supposed semi-presidentialism is found only in the creative minds of such activist judges. It amounts, in practice, to a usurpation of executive powers by the unelected judicial elite. The process to appoint Supreme Court justices in Brazil is practically identical to that in the United States. These top judges are nominated to the court by the president and then must be confirmed by the absolute majority of the Senate after a confirmation hearing. However, the last four years in Brazil have been characterised by a remarkable rise in judicial activism. A question often raised is whether judges in Brazil are becoming an entrenched oligarchy devoid of any accountability. We are seeing in Brazil the installation of a judicial elite endowed with extraordinary powers that allow them to make advanced decisions against laws that conflict with their personal interests. Some Brazilian judges actually believe that the process of adjudication is entirely subjective in its nature. This is how former Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurelio Mello described his own peculiar method of deciding cases: Whenever I face a controversial case, I do not look for the dogma of the law. I try to create within my human character a more adequate solution. Real-World Consequences Activist judges like him often interfere in legislative affairs and government policies so as to advance their more progressive agenda. On June 26, 2019, for example, Justice Luis Roberto Barroso ordered that transgender prisoners who were born biologically male should go to womens prisons because, in his opinion, this is the only measure to allow them to have a social environment compatible with their gender identity. A year later, he also decided that homophobia and transphobia should be classified as crimes of racism under the existing anti-discrimination legislation. One serious problem in Brazil is the existence of so-called monocratic decisions, where a single judge can rule on a variety of matters with wide-ranging ramifications. Each individual judge has the power to suspend a hearing without further examination and to adjourn a hearing indefinitely, as well as to issue interlocutory injunctions on matters of substantial impact. Between 1988 and 2018, it is estimated that 72 percent of all cases decided by the Supreme Court were based on these monocratic decisions. In Brazil, Supreme Court justices have highly ambitious political goals and make decisions accordingly. In one of his academic articles (pdf), Justice Barroso attempts to justify his activism by claiming that his court enjoys a position of supremacy over the other two branches of governmentexecutive and legislative. This supremacy, he argues, is related to the interpretation of what the law ought to be, hence requiring an exercise of political power by the court with all its implications for democratic legitimacy. Barroso openly advocates broader participation of the Court in the concretisation of constitutional ends and values, which results in a higher degree of interference in the sphere of activities more often associated with the legislature and executive branches. In many instances, there would not be an actual conflict of powers because, according to him, there would only be the occupation of empty spaces left by the other branches of government, so that unelected judges like him could simply step in. Judges Do Not Make the Law At the heart of Barrosos method is the notion that, in deciding a case, a judge should improve the law if this area of law appears defective. This can be justified by the legislators apparent failure in reforming the law so the judges should therefore assume the task. Lord Reid, one of the most outstanding judges of the 20th century, answered to the claim that it is the task of judges to do what the legislator should have done, but failed to do, by saying that where parliament has feared to tread it is not for the courts to rush in. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrives to a resort hotel where he is expected to meet with Elon Musk in Porto Feliz, Brazil, on May 20, 2022. The Telsa and SpaceX chief executive officer tweeted that he was in Brazil to help bring internet service to rural schools in the Amazon and to help monitor the Amazon environmentally. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) The constitutional role of judges is not to make law but to provide justice according to law. Judges swear to apply the existing law and not to be engaged in controversial debates about them, and certainly not to create new laws. According to Dyson Heydon QC, a retired Australian High Court justice (pdf), a judge who dislikes the constraints of membership of the judiciary because it prevents the fulfilment of a particular program or agenda, should leave the group, join or start a political party, and seek to enter a legislature. To claim that unelected judges have any role in improving the law is, in the words of former Chief Justice of Australia Murray Gleeson, that judges have no right to base their decisions about the validity of legislation upon their personal approval or disapproval of the policy of the legislation. When they do so, they forfeit their legitimacy. Power Without Accountability A recent poll carried out by DataPoder360, released on June 15, reveals that 26 percent of Brazilians consider the performance of Supreme Court justices bad or horrible. They are perceived positively by only 23 percent of the population. These results indicate a serious lack of confidence in members of the Supreme Court. On Sept. 7, 2021, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians flooded the streets of major capital cities to protest against judicial activism. Our country cant continue to be held hostage by a few individual judges, said Bolsonaro. That was an apparent reference to Supreme Court justices, especially Alexandre de Moraes and Luis Roberto Barroso, whom Bolsonaro accuses of constantly attacking him and blocking his ability to govern on behalf of the people. They had ordered an investigation of the president and his inner circle over false allegations of spreading fake news within the government. According to J.R. Guzzo, a well-known journalist in Brazil, the 11 members of the Supreme Court seriously believe that they can do whatever they want. They can release corrupt politicians and drug dealers . They can even arrest congressmen and journalists for crimes of opinion. Unfortunately, there is only one thing these members of the highest judicial court in Brazil appear to be hopelessly unable to do: to uphold the Brazilian Constitution. As a result, the main threat to democracy and the rule of law in Brazil comes from an unelected judicial oligarchy devoid of any accountability and democratic legitimacy. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Robert Crimo III, the suspect in the mass shooting that took place at a Fourth of July parade route in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., in a still image obtained from a social media video. (Robert Crimo/via Reuters) Illinois Shooting Suspect Confessed, Contemplated 2nd Shooting: Officials The man arrested in the July 4 mass shooting in Illinois confessed after being arrested, authorities said on July 6. Robert Crimo III also contemplated firing on another Independence Day celebration in an adjoining state but ultimately decided not to do so because he felt he wasnt prepared enough, according to officials. Crimo, 21, appeared in court in Highland Park, where he fired on a parade on July 4, killing seven people and leaving dozens wounded. A judge ordered him held without bond. Drove to Wisconsin After fleeing the area following the shooting, Crimo went to his mothers home, according to authorities. He took his mothers car to Madison, Wisconsin, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli told reporters outside the courthouse. While there, Crimo spotted another holiday event. He seriously contemplated using the firearm that he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting, Covelli said. But Crimo didnt open fire with the gun he had with him, a different weapon than the one he left behind in Illinois. Indications are that he hadnt put enough thought and research into it, Covelli said. Confession Crimo drove back to Illinois and was arrested by police officers in Chicago after they were tipped off by a member of the public who had spotted him. He was initially described as a person of interest, but authorities say hes now the only suspect in the shooting. After being taken into custody, he was read his Miranda rights and offered a lawyer. He went into details about what he had done. He admitted to what he had done, Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters on July 6. A member of the Lutheran Church Charities assembles a memorial for the victims of a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade, in Highland Park, Ill., on July 6, 2022. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images) Motivation An unemployed aspiring rapper with a number of tattoos, Crimo lived with family members, one of whom said there were no signs of trouble. Law enforcement officials have largely batted away questions about motive, but offered a new detail after the court hearing. He had some type of affinity towards the numbers 4 and 7, and inverse with 74, Covelli said. It apparently comes from music that hes interested in. Under the moniker Awake the Rapper, Crimo created music videos, some of which depicted violence. One of the videos showed an armed person going into a school and opening fire before engaging with police officers who had responded. Another had him inside an empty classroom, where he scattered bullets on the ground. More Charges Crimo, who has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted. Prosecutors plan to file many more charges in the coming weeks, according to Rinehart. That includes attempted murder and aggravated battery with firearm charges for each person who was wounded in the attack. Federal charges could also be brought, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks during a rally outside the White House on Sept. 13, 2019. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images) In Blow for Green Hardliners, Vote Allows Natural Gas and Nuclear Into Key EU Taxonomy Members of European Parliament (MEPs) voted on July 6 not to reject adding nuclear and natural gas activities to the European Union taxonomy for sustainable investments. Opponents of the change had to secure an absolute majority of the 705-member European Parliament, or 353 MEPs. Just 328 MEPs voted against the European Commission Act, which would define natural gas and nuclear as transitional activities that enable the mitigation of climate change. Although they outnumbered the 278 who did not object to the act, they still fell short of an absolute majority, with 33 MEPs abstaining. The act will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, if neither the European Council nor the European Parliament object by July 11. First published in February 2022, the act specifies that support for nuclear and natural gas activities would be carried out under strict conditions and for a limited time. The day before the Parliaments vote, climate activist Greta Thunberg voiced disagreement with the EU taxonomy revision on social media: Tomorrow the European Parliament will decide whether fossil gas and nuclear will be considered "sustainable" in the EU taxonomy. But no amount of lobbyism and greenwashing will ever make it "green". We desperately need real renewable energy, not false solutions. #NotMyTaxonomy Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) July 5, 2022 After the vote, Thunberg argued in another Tweet that the move will delay a desperately needed real sustainable transition and deepen our dependency on Russian fuels. Also displeased by the European Parliaments vote was the Club of Rome, another well-known environmental group. The Club of Rome is famous for the 1972 report Limits to Growth, which argued that rapid industrialization and population growth might seriously imperil Earths resources. In light of Russias invasion of Ukraine, it is ludicrous that the EU continues to [legitimize] gas as green as planned at the start of the year. No credible institution can sanction the Russian invasion of Ukraine with one hand, and push ahead with plans to [incentivize] investments which include Russian fossil gas supplies with the other, said Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, co-president of The Club of Rome, in a July 6 press release. The Club of Romes press release asserted that those willing to accept the new act are largely those in the political [center] to right of the spectrum from Member States with strong industry presence or future interests in the nuclear or gas industry. Nuclear power has become a dividing line among environmentalists concerned about man-made climate change. While many green activists staunchly oppose nuclear power, ecomodernists such as Ted Nordhaus of the Breakthrough Institute argue that nuclear power is essential to reducing carbon emissions. When nations build nuclear plants, emissions reliably fall and when they shut them down, as weve witnessed over the last decade in Japan and California, they reliably rise, Nordhaus wrote in a 2021 article for his environmental group, the Breakthrough Institute. Steve Milloy, proprietor of the website JunkScience.com, questioned the priorities of EU opponents of the taxonomy act. Europeans may freeze this winter because of climate idiocy. Meanwhile the EU is debating with nuclear power fits into "green taxonomy." Idiots.https://t.co/Hg2bZZwMgb Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) July 6, 2022 Germany in particular has been criticized for continuing with plans to close its remaining nuclear plants, even after Russias invasion of Ukraine jeopardized its supply of Russian natural gas. In November of 2021, prior to the release of the EU Taxonomy update, it joined Luxembourg, Denmark, Austria, and Portugal to object to the potential inclusion of nuclear energy. Nuclear power is incompatible with the EU Taxonomy Regulations do no significant harm principle, the countries asserted in a joint declaration. Last month, Germany announced its plans to reopen shuttered coal plants so as to conserve natural gas. Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor of Germany, and a member of its Green Party, said in a June 19 press release that the activation of more coal-fired plants for a transitional period was bitter but almost essential (2nd L-R) Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak during a regional cabinet meeting at Middleport Pottery in Stoke on Trent on May 12, 2022. (Oli Scarff/PA Media) Johnson Reshuffles Cabinet After Shock Resignations of Sunak and Javid Nadhim Zahawi became the UKs new chancellor on July 5 as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to reshuffle his Cabinet. It follows the resignation of two secretaries of state and a flock of junior ministers after Johnsons handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Chris Pincher tipped the scale against the prime minister. Sajid Javid resigned as health secretary, saying he had lost confidence in Johnsons leadership. Within minutes, Rishi Sunak resigned as chancellor of the exchequer, citing fundamental economic policy differences. Zahawi, who led the UKs COVID-19 vaccines deployment during the first year of the pandemic and took over the job of the education secretary in the last Cabinet reshuffle, has now landed in Number 11 Downing Street as the new chancellor. It comes a day before a raise of the national insurance threshold that Johnson hailed as the biggest tax cut in a decade, although it followed a national insurance rate hike, meaning many are paying more taxes than they did last year. Michelle Donelan, previously the minister for higher and further education, filled the vacancy left by Zahawi and became the education secretary. The job she left remained vacant on Wednesday morning. Steve Barclay, who served as Johnsons chief of staff during the last Cabinet reshuffle, is now the health secretary. The resignation of Javid and Sunak came after the prime minister admitted it was a mistake to keep Chris Pincher in government roles despite sexual misconduct allegations against him. Downing Street said last week that Johnson wasnt aware of any formal complaints against Pincher, only to admit this week that the prime minister was told about an investigation and had forgotten about it. It triggered a round of resignations, dealing a major blow to Johnson, who narrowly survived a vote of confidence last month that saw 41 percent of Conservative MPs voting to oust him. Bim Afolami, Conservative Party vice-chair, resigned live on TalkTV on Tuesday evening. At least 10 other Conservative MPs have resigned from Johnsons government so far, including Jonathan Gullis, parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the secretary of state for Northern Ireland; Saqib Bhatti, PPS to the health secretary; Andrew Murrison, trade envoy to Morocco; Nicola Richards, PPS to the Department for Transport; Virginia Crosbie, PPS at the Welsh Office; Theo Clarke, trade envoy to Kenya; Alex Chalk, the solicitor general; Laura Trott, PPS to the secretary of state for transport; Robin Walker, schools standards minister; and Will Quince, children and families minister. Quince defended Johnson on July 4, saying he had been given categorical assurance that the prime minister was not aware of any serious specific allegation with regards to Pincher. In his resignation letter, Quince said he had no choice but to resign after he accepted and repeated those assurances in good faith. Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings and Rye, who backed Johnson in the confidence vote last month, said on July 5 that she is no longer able to support Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, Brexit Opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns, and Scottish Secretary Alister Jack voiced their continued support for the prime minister. A rescued wolf howls in this photo taken at The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colo., in 2011. (John Moore/Getty Images) Judge Reinstates Endangered Species Protections Rescinded Under Trump Administration A federal judge in California has revoked changes to the Endangered Species Act that were made under the Trump administration, giving a win to environmental groups that filed a lawsuit over the move. Due to the changes brought by the Trump administration in 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was no longer able to provide the same protections for a species considered to be threatened as they did for a species that was endangered, critics said. The new rules also stipulated that economic considerations needed to be taken into account when deciding whether a species would be listed as endangered or threatened. A lawsuit filed in 2019 against the Trump administration by environmental groups including EarthJustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club argued that the governments policies threatened to upend protections for hundreds of species. In response to the lawsuit, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, filed a motion to remand the Trump-era rules voluntarily in 2021. The agencies asked the court to allow them to partially rewrite regulations of the Endangered Species Act. They planned on conducting a review of the changes before acting on the issue, CNBC reported. On July 5, U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar decided to end the Trump-era changes, arguing that there was no reason to keep them as they were going to be changed anyway by the government agencies. Regardless of whether this Court vacates the 2019 ESA Rules, they will not remain in effect in their current form, Tigar said in the ruling (pdf). The Trump Modifications Bart Melton, Wildlife Program Director for the National Parks Conservation Association, called the court decision a win for Americas most at-risk wildlife, according to a July 5 press release by EarthJustice. We are grateful for the courts restoration of protections that were removed by the previous administration. Back in 2019 when the Trump administration rolled out the changes, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and other administration officials argued that the new rules improved efficiency of oversight while ensuring the protection of rare species. The best way to uphold the Endangered Species Act is to ensure that it achieves its ultimate goal of recovery of our rarest species, Bernhardt said, according to Breitbart. Gary Frazer, an assistant director at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the government would disclose the economic costs of protecting a struggling species under the new guidelines, Breitbart reported. Nothing in here in my view is a radical change for how we have been consulting and listing species for the last decade or so, Frazer had said to reporters. Instead, the changes bring more transparency and certainty to the public about the way well carry out our job. A nurse administers a pediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a girl at a clinic in Los Angeles on Jan. 19, 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Judge Sides With Parent, Strikes Down Los Angeles School Vaccine Mandate A plan to mandate COVID-19 vaccine shots for hundreds of thousands of students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will remain on pause after a Los Angeles County judge ruled on July 5 that the district lacks the authority to do so. In his ruling, Judge Mitchell Beckloff of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County sided with a parent, whose 12-year-old son attends a public magnet school in North Hollywood. The parent filed the complaint in October 2021, about a month after the LAUSD announced its vaccination mandate. Under the districts mandate, all eligible students aged 12 and above must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, or get approved for exemptions by Jan. 10 in order to attend school in person. Those who dont comply would be transferred into the districts remote learning program, City of Angels, which offers a mixture of live instruction and self-study. The suing parent, identified as G.F., argued that it is unfair and unlawful for the child, identified as D.F., to have to lose his hard-earned place at a competitive school just because he and his parent have chosen to not get vaccinated on the basis of personal beliefs. According to G.F., his son had acquired natural immunity after recovering from COVID-19. He also said he worried that vaccinating the child would put the childs health in jeopardy. Either I get him a vaccine that I fear could harm him, or I send him to a virtual school that I know from experience and LAUSDs own data would prove academically vastly inferior, the father said earlier this year in a sworn declaration, reported City News Service. The idea of dumping him into an online school, free of a rigorous academic program and torn away from his like-minded classmates, breaks my heart. Beckloff, who wrote in March in a tentative opinion that he might dismiss the case, agreed with the father in his final ruling, acknowledging that if D.F. refuses to comply with the mandate, he will be forced to accept a very different education. The [mandate] is not merely about how education is delivered or who may be physically present on campus as the court previously viewed it. Instead, the [mandate] dictates which school the student may attend, and the curriculum he may continue to receive, the judge wrote, reported the Los Angeles Times. The judge also noted that the LAUSD mandate is in conflict with Californias public health law, which allows personal beliefs-based vaccination exemptions. Judge Beckloffs ruling confirms that individual school districts do not have the authority to impose local vaccination requirements in excess of statewide requirements, Arie Spangler, an attorney for G.F., said in a statement. We are very pleased with the ruling, as it ensures that no child will be forced out of the classroom due to their COVID-19 vaccination status. The decision doesnt have an immediate impact on LAUSD, since the mandate has already been placed on hold after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in April that the state would wait for the federal government to give full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine for young children. The Newsom administration and school district have both said they wont pursue the pediatric vaccine mandate until at least the summer of 2023. A sign for the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons is displayed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on July 6, 2020. (Mark Lennihan/AP Photo) Justice Department Paying $1.5 Million to Develop Transgender-Specific Program in Federal Prisons The Department of Justice is paying $1.5 million to implement a transgender programming curriculum across all federal prisons. The curriculum, which is still in the works with details to be finalized by Sept. 30, will teach techniques to seek support for mental health concerns and skills to advocate for physical, emotional, and sexual health and safety, the office of public affairs for the departments Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) told The Epoch Times in a statement. Overseeing the programs development is The Change Companies, a private-owned entity in Carson City, Nevada. Since 2008, it has received $3.4 million in awards from the BOP in the states of Nevada, West Virginia, California, and Kansas. The July 2021 contract of $1.5 million for transgender-specific programming was one of the largest from the federal agency to date. The BOP recognizes the importance of appropriate gender-affirming management and treatment of transgender individuals in its custody, the BOP statement read. By entering into a contract with The Change Companies, the BOP is able to expand program offerings for transgender inmates. A total of 1,414accounting for a little less than 1 percent of the 158,033 federal inmates under the BOPs chargecurrently identify as transgender, according to data provided by a BOP public affairs spokesperson. The curriculum will involve three programs, which will include assistance to help inmates transition back into society, and a support group addressing reentry needs and managing identity concerns, the BOP said, adding that the programs will contain full curricula and facilitators guides, the use of instructional workbooks, and videos. The agency stressed that it maintains procurement integrity and compliance with laws and federal regulations when procuring contracts of goods and services. The award of this contract was compliant with federal law and regulations to include fair pricing of the award, it continued. A woman walks by the Metropolitan Correctional Center, which is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, stands in lower Manhattan in New York City, on Nov. 19, 2019. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Transgender Offender Manual The BOPs Transgender Offender Manual (pdf) from Jan. 13 requires that an inmate who identifies as transgender will first meet with a bureau psychologist and sign a consent form to request special accommodations. The manual also includes policies for hormone therapy and gender-comforming surgery. Federal inmates seeking surgical intervention could request surgery if its the final stage in the transition process, after one year of clear conduct and compliance with mental health, medical, and programming services at the gender affirming facility, it states. The Change Companies did not respond to a request from The Epoch Times for comments. The Biden administration has praised transgender people as some of the bravest people in our nation and stated its intention to remove barriers that transgender people face accessing critical government services, and improve the visibility of transgender people in our nations data. On April 11, the Department of State began allowing U.S. citizens to mark their gender as X on their passports. The same month, the Department of Justice filed a complaint challenging a new Alabama law that bans certain transgender procedures and substances for youth. In a bid to boost inclusion for transgender people in federal services, the White House is setting aside $10 million in its proposed fiscal 2023 budget to fund research on how to best add questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to the Census Bureaus American Community Survey, the annual demographic survey of American households. Kentucky Supreme Court Rejects Request to Reinstate Abortion Bans The Kentucky Supreme Court rejected a request by the states attorney general on July 5 to reinstate two bans on abortion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision striking down Roe v. Wade. The Kentucky court, in a one-page order, denied Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Camerons emergency motions to reinstate two state laws, the Heartbeat Law and the Human Life Protection Act. If the laws werent reinstated, unborn children would be killed, Cameron, a Republican, said in court filings. One law bars abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, while the other bans most abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest, or a high risk of death for a pregnant woman. Cameron also took issue with how a single judge, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Mitch Perry, entered injunctions against the laws after the U.S. Supreme Courts decision led to the protection act taking effect; the heartbeat law has been in place since 2019. In the brief order, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton said the rejection of the emergency motions expresses no opinion on the substantive issues in this matter. Weve now asked all three levels of Kentuckys judiciary to allow these laws to take effect. Not a single judge at any level has suggested these laws are unconstitutional, yet we are unfortunately still prohibited from enforcing them, Cameron said in a statement. A hearing was scheduled on July 6 in the circuit court on the matter. Perry could reverse his earlier ruling or keep the injunctions in place. A decision could take days or weeks. The Kentucky chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is representing the abortion clinic EMW Womens Surgical Center in the case, called the Kentucky Supreme Court ruling another great victory. The U.S. Supreme Court decision means that states have the ability to regulate abortions. A number of other abortion bans that hadnt taken effect while Roe v. Wade was still in place have since been allowed to take effect, including bans in Mississippi and Florida. The ACLU and other groups are fighting the bans in many states, but judges have rejected some of the other attempts. In Kentucky, ACLU lawyers alleged that the bans violate Kentuckys Constitution by infringing on Plaintiffs patients rights to privacy and self-determination. Cameron said in one filing that the injunctions, which were upheld by an appeals court, were based on a purported constitutional right that no court has ever recognized. Perry said in his order that plaintiffs had established their right to entry of a Restraining Order against Defendants and prohibited the state from prosecuting doctors for performing abortions in violation of the laws. The appeals court passed on taking up the case, citing a perceived lack of jurisdiction. Landmark Ruling for Woman Who Lost Job for Saying Biological Sex Is Real Maya Forstater, who lost out on a job for saying people cannot change their biological sex, has won three claims in a fresh employment tribunal following an appeal, winning praise from the Harry Potter author JK Rowling. This follows a ruling at an Employment Tribunal in June 2021 when Forstater successfully established a binding legal precedent that gender-critical beliefs were in principle protected by the Equality Act. Following that appeal, her case continued at the Employment Tribunal, to determine whether she was unlawfully discriminated against by her former employer on the basis of her protected belief. Protected Gender-Critical Beliefs Forstater, who worked as a tax expert at the Centre for Global Development (CGD), didnt get a renewal of her contract in March 2019 after she posted tweets opposing government proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow people to identify as the opposite sex without a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria. These included: A mans internal feeling that he is a woman has no basis in material reality as well as describing Pips Bunce, a Director at Credit Suisse who identifies as a woman for part of the week, as a part time cross dresser. The negative consequences from Forstaters posts on Twitter and comments, statements of her protected gender-critical beliefs, were found to be unlawfully discriminatory. In a judgment handed down on Wednesday, employment judge Andrew Glennie said the complaints of direct discrimination because of belief are well founded over the decision to not offer Forstater a contract or renew a fellowship following her tweets. Forstater, a public policy researcher, who co-founded human rights organisation Sex Matters a year ago, published a statement that said her case matters for everyone who believes in the importance of truth and free speech. We are all free to believe whatever we wish, she said. What we are not free to do is compel others to believe the same thing, to silence those who disagree with us or to force others to deny reality. Human beings cannot change sex. It is not hateful to say that; in fact it is important in order to treat everyone fairly and safely. It shouldnt take courage to say this and no-one should lose their job for doing so. I am pleased that the tribunal has allowed me to put on record what happened to me at the Centre for Global Development. The tribunal has found that I was a victim of discrimination because I stated that biological sex is real and important, a view shared by the vast majority of people in this country. I hope employers will take note of the judgment. JK Rowling Harry Potter author JK Rowling posted a tweet in support of her following the ruling. Every woman whos been harassed, silenced, bullied, or lost employment because of her gender critical beliefs is freer and safer today, thanks to the warrior that is @MForstater. #SexMatters #IStandWithMaya, wrote Rowling. A statement from the CGD Europe said the think tanks primary aim has always been to uphold our values and maintain a workplace that is inclusive to all and is considering our next steps in this case. Amanda Glassman, chief executive of CGD Europe said: We are reviewing todays judgment, which found in favour of Ms. Forstater on some claims, and dismissed others. CGDs primary aim has always been to uphold our values and maintain a workplace and an environment that is welcoming, safe, and inclusive to all, including trans people, said Glassman. Lily Zhou and PA Media contributed to this report. Langlade County GOP Declares Biden as Not Legitimately Elected in 2022 Resolution Republicans in Langlade County, Wisconsin, have passed a resolution stating that President Joe Biden was not legitimately elected and that substantial election fraud influenced the results of the 2020 presidential election in favor of Biden. The Republican Party of Langlade County Wisconsin formally rejects the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States, reads the Langlade County GOPs 2022 resolution obtained by The Epoch Times. We believe that substantial election fraud in key metropolitan areas significantly affected the results in five key States in favor of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. The executive committee of the Langlade GOP Party, which describes itself as the Party of Lincoln, Reagan, and Trump, unanimously approved the resolution on June 30 and made it public on July 1 on a local radio show. I hope to indirectly and directly contact every Republican County party in the nation and encourage them to write a similar resolution with the specifics to their state and their county, and just keep building momentum on this for months to come, Terry Brand, chairman of the Republican Party of Langlade County, told The Epoch Times on July 6. I would like to have one county drop a resolution every day, from now until Nov. 8, to continue to develop that momentum and put pressure on our elected people to do the right thing and make sure that we have election integrity down to the point where there is zero possibility of cheatingthat should be our goal, Brand said. In passing the resolution, the county party said it stands in solidarity with the Maricopa County GOP of Arizona and the Texas GOP, both of which recently passed resolutions to reject the legitimacy of the 2020 election due to widespread election fraud. 2000 Mules Similar to its counterparts in Texas state and Maricopa County of Arizona, the Langlade County GOP cited evidence presented by 2000 Mules, a documentary directed by conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh DSouza. The 2000 Mules Documentary, using publicly collected evidence of geo tracking and municipal video surveillance, irrefutably proves election fraud occurred in Milwaukee County during the 2020 Election in the form of ballot trafficking through drop boxes, the resolution stated. The movie features the undercover investigative work of David Lara, a citizen investigator, and Arizona state Senate candidate Gary Snyder, as well as investigations conducted by election integrity organization True the Vote on an alleged coordinated ballot trafficking operation during the 2020 election. Described as an expose of widespread, coordinated voter fraud in the 2020 election, the movie draws on cellphone location data paired with video surveillance footage that allegedly shows a cohort of people dropping ballots off at drop boxes situated outdoors, on average, more than 20 times each. Those people were dubbed by the investigators as mules. While some states allow people to gather ballots from certain people and drop them off, the volume of ballots inserted into the boxes and the fact that the people went to multiple boxes to drop ballots off shows that what happened was illegal, filmmakers say. The mules are instructed to do three votes over here or five votes over there, 10 votes over here; they spread it around so as not to raise eyebrows and not to raise suspicion, DSouza previously told EpochTVs Crossroads. The scale of the operation was enough to tip the 2020 election, he said. Filmmaker Dinesh Dsouza gives his perspective on election issues. (NTD/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Wisconsin Investigations In its resolution, the Langlade County Republican Party cited numerous investigations conducted by Wisconsin authorities and investigators, which the party said showed significant inconsistencies in the 2020 election results. The Legislative Audit Bureau report, The Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections investigation and hearings, The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) investigation and report, and Michael Gablemans investigation and Second Interim Investigative Report, which was presented to the Assembly Committee on March 1, 2022, all found significant inconsistencies and discrepancies in the 2020 election, the resolution reads. According to special counsel Gablemans report, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) violated numerous laws during the 2020 election, including by issuing directives that allegedly ordered local election officials to disregard state statutes that regulate absentee voting. The report also alleges that the WEC violated the law by facilitating mentally incompetent nursing home residents, noncitizens, and ineligible felons to vote. WEC administrator Meagan Wolfe said in a statement, The integrity of the November 2020 election, and of the WEC, has been shown time, and time again, through court cases and previous investigations. The Langlade County Republican Party called for the dissolution of the WEC and urged the Republican-dominated Wisconsin state legislature to complete investigations of the 2020 election. We ask and encourage the Wisconsin State Legislature to do everything in their power to dissolve and de-fund The WEC and put the responsibility of election integrity in the hands of the elected position of Secretary of State, and that the Wisconsin Legislature also do everything in their power to complete all ongoing investigations of the 2020 election, including Michael Gablemans investigation, to ensure no cheating happens in future elections. We encourage every other Republican County Party in both the State of Wisconsin and all other States that experienced voter fraud and cheating to issue a similar resolution to reject the 2020 election results, the resolution stated. The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House and the Wisconsin Elections Commission for comment. State troopers stand outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. (Alison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images) Law Enforcement Could Have Quickly Stopped Texas Mass Shooter: Report The law enforcement officers who responded to the May mass shooting at a Texas elementary school could have quickly stopped the shooter, according to an after-action report released on July 6. An officer who could have fired a rifle at the shooter before he entered the school should have done so without waiting for clearance from a supervisor, the report says. The failures to stop the shooter, identified by authorities as Salvador Ramos, left Ramos as the only armed person inside two adjoining classrooms at Robb Elementary School for over one hour. The May 24 shooting left 19 students and two teachers dead. Another 17 were wounded. Experts with the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University compiled the report based on video footage from inside the school, body camera video, radio logs, testimony of officers who responded, and statements from investigators. ALERRT experts were briefed by an officer who is investigating the response to the shooting. They also conducted a walkthrough of the crime scene. Authors cautioned that the report is subject to changes as new evidence emerges. ALERRT trains law enforcement across the nation in responding to active shooter situations. It regularly evaluates the outcomes of actual situations in order to better prepare officers. Problems Outside School Ramos crashed his vehicle near the school and walked onto campus before heading to a doorway. An Uvalde school district officer drove onto campus as Ramos was in the parking lot, but did not see him. ALERRT experts said the officer should have driven more slowly or parked his car at the edge of campus and approached on foot. Either way, he might have spotted Ramos and engaged him before he entered the building. An Uvalde police officer who did spot the suspect carrying a rifle prior to the suspect entering the building, meanwhile, probably should have fired without asking for permission to shoot, according to the report. The officer was justified in using deadly force to stop the attacker, the report says, citing Texas penal code. With the sound of gunshotsRamos fired multiple rounds before entering the buildingand the sight of an armed individual approaching the building, a reasonable officer would conclude in this case, based upon the totality of the circumstances, that use of deadly force was warranted, the experts said. The officer was situated 148 yards from the door that Ramos used to enter the building. The officer turned to his supervisor to get a response. By the time he turned back, Ramos had entered the building. If the officer was unsure he could hit the target, he shouldnt have fired, according to the report. It also noted that a door that a teacher had propped open but closed before Ramos arrived did not lock, but said Ramos would likely still have been able to enter because the glass in the door was not ballistic glass. Inside Building Once Ramos entered the building at approximately 11:33 a.m. and the set of classrooms, a group of responding officers quickly approached the doors to the classrooms. But Ramos fired at the group, causing the group to retreat. Active shooter training teaches stopping killing is the most important priority, ahead of the safety of officers. This ordering means that we expect officers to assume risk to save innocent lives. Responding to an active shooter is a dangerous task. There is a chance that officers will be shot, injured, or even killed while responding. This is something that every officer should be acutely aware of when they become a law enforcement officer, the report says. Instead of retreating, the officers could have chosen to maintain their position or push forward to be in a better position to return fire without striking students or teachers, the experts said. Maintaining position or even pushing forward to a better spot to deliver accurate return fire would have undoubtedly been dangerous, and there would have been a high probability that some of the officers would have been shot or even killed. However, the officers also would likely have been able to stop the attacker and then focus on getting immediate medical care to the wounded, the report said. Action Plan The retreat happened at about 11:37 a.m. Officers did not enter the classroom until 12:50 p.m. A lull in gunfire did not last long. The suspect fired approximately 11 rounds at 11:38 a.m. and continued firing periodically. It was later revealed that 911 calls to dispatchers came from students inside the room, and gunshots could be heard during the time between the retreat and the breach. During that time, officers should have quickly formulated an action plan, which would trigger once more gunshots were heard, the experts said. The plan should have focused on neutralizing the attacker. But, instead, officers on the scene treated the active shooter situation as a hostage barricade, despite evidence more killing was occurring. Each time shots could be heard, the situation had gone active, and the immediate action plan should have been triggered because it was reasonable to believe that people were being killed, the report states. According to Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo was in control of the scene and made the decision not to try to confront the attacker. Arredondo called for additional assistance as early as 11:38 a.m., including SWAT/tactical teams, according to the ALERRT experts. But given the equipment the officers already had or soon received, including firearms and ballistic shields, a breach shouldnt have taken anywhere near as long, they said. The evidence thus far points to the classroom doors being unlocked, contradicting early law enforcement statements that officers were waiting for a key. Arredondo, the report revealed, spoke with an Uvalde police officer from 12:21 p.m. until 12:34 p.m. about tactical options while both were in a nearby hallway. The discussion included discussion of who had keys and whether the door was locked, as well as whether children and teachers were dying or dead. Shortly after the discussion ended, Arredondo started to try to negotiate with Ramos, speaking in both English and Spanish. When that apparently failed, he asked for more keys. When the team finally entered the room, they quickly killed Ramos. Arredondos lawyer and the school districts police division did not return requests for comment on the report. Arredondo has previously defended the actions taken in response to the shooting. McCraw, on the other hand, said in June that officers could have stopped Ramos three minutes after he entered the school. Letter to the UK Government From 76 Doctors Below is a letter signed by 76 doctors in the UK, to the Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and other UK Government officials. This letter lays out comprehensive reasons why the recent U.S. FDA decision authorizing COVID vaccinations in infants and young children must not happen in the UK. The letter is well-sourced and accurate. Let us hope that main-stream media here in the United States and in the UK report on this letter in an unbiased fashion. (the letter continues) We are writing to you urgently concerning the announcement that the FDA has granted an Emergency Use Authorization for both Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in preschool children. We would urge you to consider very carefully the move to vaccinate ever younger children against SARS-CoV-2, despite the gradual but significant reducing virulence of successive variants, the increasing evidence of rapidly waning vaccine efficacy, the increasing concerns over long-term vaccine harms, and the knowledge that the vast majority of this young age group have already been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 repeatedly and have demonstrably effective immunity. Thus, the balance of benefit and risk which supported the rollout of mRNA vaccines to the elderly and vulnerable in 2021 is totally inappropriate for small children in 2022. We also strongly challenge the addition of COVID-19 vaccination into the routine child immunization program despite no demonstrated clinical need, known and unknown risks (see below) and the fact that these vaccines still have only conditional marketing authorization. It is noteworthy that the Pfizer documentation presented to the FDA has huge gaps in the evidence provided: The protocol was changed mid-trial. The original two-dose schedule exhibited poor immunogenicity with efficacy far below the required standard. A third dose was added by which time many of the original placebo recipients had been vaccinated. There was no statistically significant difference between the placebo and vaccinated groups in either the 623-month age group or the 2-4-year-olds, even after the third dose. Astonishingly, the results were based on just three participants in the younger age group (one vaccinated and two placebo) and just seven participants in the older 24-year-olds (two vaccinated and five placebo). Indeed, for the younger age group the confidence intervals ranged from minus-367 percent to plus-99 percent. The manufacturer stated that the numbers were too low to draw any confident conclusions. Moreover, these limited numbers come only from children infected more than seven days after the third dose. Over the whole time period from the first dose onwards (see page 39 Tables 19 and 20), there were a total of 225 infected children in the vaccinated arm and 150 in the placebo arm, giving a calculated vaccine efficacy of only 25 percent (14 percent for the 6-23 months, and 33 percent for 2-4s). The additional immunogenicity studies against Omicron, requested by the FDA, only involved a total of 66 children tested one month after the third dose (see page 35). It is incomprehensible that the FDA considered that this represents sufficient evidence on which to base a decision to vaccinate healthy children. When it comes to safety, the data are even thinner: only 1,057 children, some already unblinded, were followed for just two months. It is noteworthy that Sweden and Norway are not recommending the vaccine for 5-11s and Holland is not recommending it for children who have already had COVID-19. The director of the Danish Health and Medicines Authority stated recently that with what is now known, the decision to vaccinate children was a mistake. We summarize below the overwhelming arguments against this vaccination. A. Extremely low risk from COVID-19 to young children In the whole of 2020 and 2021, not a single child aged 1-9 died where COVID-19 was the sole diagnosis on the death certificate, according to ONS data. A detailed studyin England from March 1st 2020 to March 1st 2021 found only six children under 18 years died with no co-morbidities. There were no deaths aged 1-4 years. Children clear the virus more easily than adults. Children mount effective, robust, and sustained immune responses. Since the arrival of the Omicron variant, infections have been generally much milder. That is also true for unvaccinated under-5s. By June 2022 it is now estimatedthat 89 percent of 1-4-year-olds had already had SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recent data from Israelshow excellent long-lasting immunity following infection in children, especially in 5-11s. B. Poor vaccine efficacy In adults, it has become apparent that vaccine efficacy wanes steadily over time, necessitating boosters at regular intervals. Specifically, vaccine efficacy has waned more rapidly against the latest Omicron variants. In children, vaccine efficacy has waned more rapidly in 5-11s than in 12-17s, possibly related to the lower dose used in the pediatric formulation. One studyfrom New York showed efficacy against Omicron falling to only 12 percent by 4-5 weeks and to negative values by 5-6 weeks post second dose. In the Pfizer 0-4s trial, the efficacy after two doses fell to negative values, necessitating a change to the trial protocol. After a third dose there was a suggestion of efficacy from 7-30 days but there is no data beyond 30 days to see how quickly this will wane. C. Potential harms of COVID-19 vaccines for children D. Informed consent For 5-11s, the JCVI, in recommending a non-urgent offer of vaccination, specifically notedthe importance of fully informed consent with no coercion. With the low uptake in this age group, the presence of therapy dogs, advertisements including superhero imagesand information about child vaccination protecting friends and family all clearly run contrary to the concept of consent, fully informed and freely given. The complete omission of informationexplaining to the public the different and novel technology used in COVID-19 vaccines compared to standard vaccines, and the failure to inform of the lack of any long-term safety data, borders on misinformation. E. Effect on public confidence Vaccines against much more serious diseases, such as polio and measles, need to be prioritized. Pushing an unnecessary and novel, gene-based vaccine on to young children risks seriously undermining parental confidence in the whole immunization program. The poor quality of the data presented by Pfizer risks bringing the pharmaceutical industry into disrepute and the regulators if this product is authorized. In summary, young healthy children are at minimal risk from COVID-19, especially since the arrival of the Omicron variant. Most have been repeatedly exposed to SARS-CoV-2 virus, yet have remained well, or have had short, mild illness. As detailed above, the vaccines are of brief efficacy, have known short- to medium-term risks and unknown long-term safety. Data for clinically useful efficacy in small children are scant or absent. In older children, for whom the vaccines are already licensed, they have been promoted via ethically dubious schemes to the potential detriment of other, and vital, parts of the childhood vaccination program. For a tiny minority of children for whom the potential for benefit clearly and unequivocally outweighed the potential for harm, vaccination could have been facilitated by restrictive licenses. Whether following the precautionary principle or the instruction to First Do No Harm, such vaccines have no place in a routine childhood immunization program. (Signed): Professor Angus Dalgleish, MD, FRCP, FRACP, FRCPath, FMed Sci, Principal, Institute for Cancer Vaccines & Immunotherapy (ICVI) Professor Anthony Fryer, PhD, FRCPath, Professor of Clinical Biochemistry, Keele University Professor David Livermore, BSc, PhD, Retired Professor of Medical Microbiology, UEA Professor John Fairclough FRCS FFSEM retired Honorary Consultant Surgeon Lord Moonie, MBChB, MRCPsych, MFCM, MSc, House of Lords, former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 2001-2003, formerCconsultant in Public Health Medicine Dr Abby Astle, MA(Cantab), MBBChir, GP Principal, GP Trainer, GP Examiner Dr Michael D Bell, MBChB, MRCGP, retired General Practitioner Dr Alan Black, MBBS, MSc, DipPharmMed, Retired Pharmaceutical Physician Dr David Bramble, MBChB, MRCPsych, MD, Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Emma Brierly, MBBS, MRCGP, General Practitioner Dr David Cartland, MBChB, BMedSci, General practitioner Dr Peter Chan, BM, MRCS, MRCGP, NLP, General Practitioner, Functional medicine practitioner Michael Cockayne, MSc, PGDip, SCPHNOH, BA, RN, Occupational Health Practitioner Julie Coffey, MBChB, General Practitioner John Collis, RN, Specialist Nurse Practitioner, retired Mr Ian F Comaish, MA, BM BCh, FRCOphth, FRANZCO, Consultant Ophthalmologist James Cook, NHS Registered Nurse, Bachelor of Nursing (Hons), Master of Public Health Dr Clare Craig, BMBCh, FRCPath, Pathologist Dr David Critchley, BSc, PhD in Pharmacology, 32 years experience in Pharmaceutical R&D Dr Jonathan Engler, MBChB, LlB (hons), DipPharmMedDr Elizabeth Evans, MA (Cantab), MBBS, DRCOG, Retired Doctor Dr John Flack, BPharm, PhD, retired Director of Safety Evaluation at Beecham Pharmaceuticals and retired Senior Vice-president for Drug Discovery SmithKline Beecham Dr Simon Fox, BSc, BMBCh, FRCP, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine Dr Ali Haggett, Mental health community work, 3rd sector, former lecturer in the history of medicine David Halpin, MB BS FRCS, Orthopaedic and trauma surgeon (retired) Dr Renee Hoenderkampf, General Practitioner Dr Andrew Isaac, MB BCh, Physician, retired Dr Steve James, Consultant Intensive Care Dr Keith Johnson, BA, DPhil (Oxon), IP Consultant for Diagnostic Testing Dr Rosamond Jones, MBBS, MD, FRCPCH, retired consultant paediatrician Dr Tanya Klymenko, PhD, FHEA, FIBMS, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences Dr Charles Lane, MA, DPhil, Molecular Biologist Dr Branko Latinkic, BSc, PhD, Molecular Biologist Dr Felicity Lillingstone, IMD DHS PhD ANP, Doctor, Urgent Care, Research Fellow Dr Theresa Lawrie, MBBCh, PhD, Director, Evidence-Based Medicine Consultancy Ltd, Bath Katherine MacGilchrist, BSc (Hons), MSc, CEO/Systematic Review Director, Epidemica Ltd. Dr Geoffrey Maidment, MBBS, MD, FRCP, Consultant physician, retired Ahmad K Malik FRCS (Tr & Orth) Dip Med Sport, Consultant Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Kulvinder Singh Manik, MBBS, General Practitioner Dr Fiona Martindale, MBChB, MRCGP, General Practitioner Dr S McBride, BSc (Hons) Medical Microbiology & Immunobiology, MBBCh BAO, MSc in Clinical Gerontology, MRCP(UK), FRCEM, FRCP (Edinburgh). NHS Emergency Medicine & Geriatrics Mr Ian McDermott, MBBS, MS, FRCS(Tr&Orth), FFSEM(UK), Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Franziska Meuschel, MD, ND, PhD, LFHom, BSEM, Nutritional, Environmental and Integrated Medicine Dr Scott Mitchell, MBChB, MRCS, Emergency Medicine Physician Dr Alan Mordue, MBChB, FFPH. Retired Consultant in Public Health Medicine & Epidemiology Dr David Morris, MBChB, MRCP(UK), General Practitioner Margaret Moss, MA (Cantab), CBiol, MRSB, Director, The Nutrition and Allergy Clinic, Cheshire Dr Alice Murkies, MD FRACGP MBBS, General Practitioner Dr Greta Mushet, MBChB, MRCPsych, retired Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy Dr Sarah Myhill, MBBS, retired GP and Naturopathic Physician Dr Rachel Nicholl, PhD, Medical researcher Dr Christina Peers, MBBS, DRCOG, DFSRH, FFSRH, Menopause specialist Rev Dr William J U Philip MB ChB, MRCP, BD, Senior Minister The Tron Church, Glasgow, formerly physician specialising in cardiology Dr Angharad Powell, MBChB, BSc (hons), DFRSH, DCP (Ireland), DRCOG, DipOccMed, MRCGP, General Practitioner Dr Gerry Quinn, PhD. Postdoctoral researcher in microbiology and immunology Dr Johanna Reilly, MBBS, General Practitioner Jessica Righart, MSc, MIBMS, Senior Critical Care Scientist Mr Angus Robertson, BSc, MB ChB, FRCSEd (Tr & Orth), Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Jessica Robinson, BSc(Hons), MBBS, MRCPsych, MFHom, Psychiatrist and Integrative Medicine Doctor Dr Jon Rogers, MB ChB (Bristol), Retired General Practitioner Mr James Royle, MBChB, FRCS, MMedEd, Colorectal surgeon Dr Roland Salmon, MB BS, MRCGP, FFPH, Former Director, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre Wales Sorrel Scott, Grad Dip Phys, Specialist Physiotherapist in Neurology, 30 years in NHS Dr Rohaan Seth, BSc (hons), MBChB (hons), MRCGP, Retired General Practitioner Dr Gary Sidley, retired NHS Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr Annabel Smart, MBBS, retired General Practitioner Natalie Stephenson, BSc (Hons) Paediatric Audiologist Dr Zenobia Storah,MA (Oxon), Dip Psych, DClinPsy, Senior Clinical Psychologist (Child and Adolescent) Dr Julian Tompkinson, MBChB MRCGP, General Practitioner GP trainer PCME Dr Noel Thomas, MA, MBChB, DCH, DObsRCOG, DTM&H, MFHom, retired doctor Dr Stephen Ting, MB CHB, MRCP, PhD, Consultant Physician Dr Livia Tossici-Bolt, PhD, Clinical Scientist Dr Carmen Wheatley, DPhil, Orthomolecular Oncology Dr Helen Westwood MBChB MRCGP DCH DRCOG, General Practitioner Mr Lasantha Wijesinghe, FRCS, Consultant Vascular Surgeon Dr Damian Wilde, PhD, (Chartered) Specialist Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Wilde, MB BCh, MRCEM, AFMCP, Integrative & Functional Medicine Doctor From the Brownstone Institute Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Man Charged With Murder in Overdose Deaths of Model, Her Friend LOS ANGELESA Beverly Hills man who was already facing sex-related counts involving seven women over a 13-year period has been charged with murder in the overdose deaths of a model and her friend, who were dumped outside Southland hospitals last November, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced July 5. David Brian Pearce, 40, was arrested last December but was not immediately charged in the deaths of Christy Giles, a 24-year-old model and aspiring actress, and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26. But he had remained jailed in connection with a series of unrelated alleged sexual assaults. The charges initially involved alleged crimes against four women, with alleged felony crimes against three other women in 2007, 2019, and 2020 included later. Pearce is set to be arraigned next Monday on the two murder charges, along with two new felony counts of sale/transportation/offer to sell a controlled substancefentanyl. I realize that this will not bring any comfort necessarily to the Arzola family or the Giles family, but it will bring accountability, Gascon said at a news conference announcing the charges. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon speaks at a press conference in Los Angeles on June 21, 2022. (NTD Television) Pearces attorney, Jacob Glucksman, countered, Similar to the other charges, in this case, the evidence on the new counts appears to be extremely weak, and because theres smoke the D.A. is trying to find some fire. The deaths of the model and her friend were classified earlier this year as homicides by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, with toxicology reports finding multiple drugs present in both victims systems. According to the department, Giles died of a mixture of cocaine, fentanyl, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, and ketamine, while Cabrales-Arzola died of multiple organ failure with cocaine, ecstasy, and other undetermined drugs found in her system. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB, is also known as the date rape drug, according to the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration. The two women were last seen at an apartment in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood before their bodies were dumped, Giles outside Southern California Hospital in Culver City and Cabrales-Arzola outside Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Hospital. Giles was already dead when she was found outside the hospital last Nov. 13. Cabrales-Arzola, an architect, was alive but in critical condition. Her family took her off life support later that month, a day before her 27th birthday. Giless mother, Dusty, wrote on Facebook that she hoped the coroners findings would lead to criminal charges being filed over the womens deaths. While we, her family all along knew and felt strongly our baby was murdered, it is now officially listed as her cause of death! Dusty Giles posted earlier. With this, our prayers are the L.A. County D.A.s Office will move quickly and swiftly on re-arresting ALL parties involved, and this time PRESS THE CHARGES! Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers. Two other men, Brandt Osborn, 42, and Michael Ansbach, 47, were each booked on suspicion of being an accessory to manslaughter in connection with the deaths of Giles and Cabrales-Arzola but were later released from custody while the investigation continued. Osborn has since been charged with two counts of accessory after the fact with knowledge of the crime, according to the latest criminal complaint. During the news conference on Tuesday announcing the newest charges against Pearce, the district attorney asked any other potential victims to notify the Los Angeles Police Departments West Homicide Bureau at 213-382-9740 or the District Attorneys Office at 877-542-9370. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan holds a news conference on the state's COVID-19 situation, at the Maryland State Capitol in Annapolis, on Aug. 5, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Maryland Governor Ends States Tough Handgun Permitting Regime After resisting a Supreme Court gun rights ruling for almost two weeks, the blue state of Maryland will stop enforcing its tough concealed carry handgun permitting rule because it violates the U.S. Constitution, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on July 5. On June 23, the Supreme Court struck down a New York law and recognized a constitutional right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. The decision undermines concealed carry laws in states that require permit applicants to demonstrate a special self-defense-related need to carry in public. The court subsequently reversed federal appeals court decisions that upheld gun restrictions in Maryland, California, New Jersey, and Hawaii, sending the cases back to the lower courts for a second look. Courts will find it difficult to uphold the firearms laws in question. Since the landmark ruling, the New York and New Jersey state legislatures have gone in the opposite direction, doubling down on their get-tough approach to gun licensing. On July 3, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed into law the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which requires carry permit applicants to show good moral character, navigate a gun safety course, and surrender information from their social media accounts for background checks. The latter requirement, which may run afoul of First Amendment free speech protections, has been compared to Chinas intrusive social credit system because it may lead to prospective applicants being denied access to firearms based on their political opinions. On July 5, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed into law bills that ban .50-caliber guns, authorize public nuisance lawsuits against those who make and market firearms, create a state registry to track ammunition sales, and require gun purchasersnot just carry permit holders as presently requiredto take a gun safety course. The new laws in both states will almost certainly be challenged in court. But Maryland is giving up its fight against the high courts June 23 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen and will comply with it, Hogan said in a press release. Because the courts decision struck down a provision in New York law pertaining to handgun permitting that is virtually indistinguishable from Maryland law I am directing the Maryland State Police to immediately suspend utilization of the good and substantial reason standard when reviewing applications for Wear and Carry Permits. It would be unconstitutional to continue enforcing this provision in state law, the governor added. Todays action is in line with actions taken in other states in response to the recent ruling. The top elected official in Marylands most-populated county pushed back against Hogans decision at a media briefing on July 6. Montgomery County borders the District of Columbia. County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said he was very unhappy with the justices and what they did in the Bruen ruling. Although the county does not play a role in the permitting system, getting rid of restrictions and making it easy for people to carry a weapon around with them is an invitation for serious trouble. It is bad enough when people carrying guns into bars get into a fight, but the removal of the good-and-substantial-reason standard for gun permits will get people killed, Elrich said. Why would anybody in their right mind encourage people to walk around with guns? I dont get it and its a danger to everybody else, he said. Even though I would love to write my own law, we dont have the ability to do that, and were going to have to live with it. But I think youre going to see more violent actions by more angry people, and nobodys going to be safer. And people are going to die over things that maybe would have resulted in a bloody nose before this, he said. This is not good public policy, Elrich added. Willie Jerome Manning in a photo provided by the Mississippi Department of Corrections on April 2, 2019. (Mississippi Department of Corrections via AP) Mississippi Justices Block More DNA Tests in Death Row Case JACKSON, Miss.A Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that a death row inmate will not be allowed to seek additional DNA testing on crime scene evidence from the shooting deaths of two college students nearly 30 years ago. Willie Jerome Manning, now 54, remains in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. He was convicted in 1994 on two counts of capital murder in the December 1992 killings of Mississippi State University students Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller in Oktibbeha County. In 2013, shortly before Manning was scheduled to be executed, the U.S. Justice Department said there had been errors in FBI agents testimony about ballistics tests and hair analysis in the case. Mannings attorneys asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to stop the lethal injection, and justices voted 81 to delay the execution to allow the testing of evidence. Mannings attorneys said they hoped DNA testing would exonerate their client, who has maintained his innocence. In 2014, they sent a rape kit, fingernail scrapings, and other items to a laboratory. One of the attorneys, Rob Mink of Jackson, said the objective of the testing was to answer whether any DNA was attributable to Manning. In the ruling Thursday, a majority of state Supreme Court justices wrote that Manning received allegedly inconclusive results after six years of fingerprint analysis and DNA testing. Mannings attorneys asked an Oktibbeha County circuit judge for permission to send items to a more specialized lab. The judge denied that request, and a majority of justices on Thursday agreed with the judges ruling. If additional testing had been granted and another individuals DNA profile was discovered from the crime scene evidence, no proof has been shown that it would change the outcome of Mannings case, Justice Robert Chamberlin wrote for the majority. Mink told The Associated Press on Friday that he is disappointed in the ruling. Were considering right now what options he has for additional relief, Mink said. The ruling noted that during the trial, Mannings cousin testified that Manning confessed to shooting the two students. The bodies of Steckler and Miller were found in rural Oktibbeha County, and Millers car was missing. The car was found the next morning. Prosecutors said Manning was arrested after he tried to sell items belonging to the victims. Justices Leslie King and Jim Kitchens dissented from the majority ruling Thursday. King wrote that any potential harm in waiting for additional DNA testing at a specialized lab is surely minimal considering that Manning has been sentenced to death. Manning is Black, and Steckler and Miller were white. During Mannings trial, an FBI agent testified that some hair found at the crime scene was from an individual of the Black race, but that did not mean the hair came from Manning. In closing arguments, a prosecutor mentioned the hair fragments as a way to implicate Manning because he was a member of the AfricanAmerican race, wrote King, the only Black justice currently on the Mississippi Supreme Court. A 2013 letter from the FBI said the agents testimony in 1994 included information about DNA testing of hair that contradicted what was known about such testing nine years later, Mink said. By Emily Wagster Pettus Moms for Liberty Co-Founder Tiffany Justice: Protecting Her Children and Yours How one mothers battle to protect her children helped birth a national rights movement that's shaking up politics nationwide VERO BEACH, Fla.Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice knew better than most parents that there were serious issues plaguing the public school system. She was deeply concerned about forced masking, a lack of discipline, hostility toward parents, low academic standards, and much more. But until recently, the mother of four and former school board membernow a powerhouse in state and national politicsnever dreamed of pulling her children out of the system. In fact, she occasionally chastised those who urged her and other parents to do so. However, following a long train of abuses, culminating in one of her sons being hit by another student last month and the school handling it in what she called a disastrous manner, Justice decided that enough was enough. The time had come to remove her two youngest children from public school. This is why public schools are losing families, she said, posting a picture of his bruised arm. The school never even bothered to tell me. I had to take the initiative to find out what happened in this situation, and it took over four days. For every person that wonders why I continue to keep my kids in public school, I am working to move my two youngest for next year. Enough. In a series of interviews with The Epoch Times, Justice said that after her son was hit in the hallway by another student, he filled out a written statement and was sent back to class. Parents werent notified. Were not pressing charges, but I felt the school needed to handle the situation properly, she said. Adding insult to injury, school officials tried to use this to hurt me, my family, and my child, Justice said. That was the breaking point for me. The system was clearly going to protect the system, even against somebody they knew personally. Her son being hit and the schools reaction were simply the icing on the cake, however. That just solidified for us that, after all these issues, we had to get him out, she said, noting that her two youngest children were now enrolled at a private school. We no longer felt safe. Were going to see how it goes with the other two children. A Systemic Problem? While the attack on her son was the last straw, Justice said her decision to pull her children out was, more broadly, because they just werent doing well in that environment. One of her more recent complaints with the system involved having to talk to the science teacher about why her son wasnt even being required to write in complete sentences. Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice. (Courtesy of Tiffany Justice) Even in English, there was no correction for grammar or spelling, Justice said, criticizing what she described as a lack of concern for the skills that we think are necessary. The schools masking requirements and forced quarantines were tough on her children as well. This is very difficult for the kids to deal with, said Justice, who served as a school board member in Floridas Indian River County for four years. When she asked if she could accompany her child to class and visit the school last year, she was told that teachers needed 24 hours advance notice. When they finally let her come, she had police supervision all day, despite being a mother of four and school board member who had undergone background checks and had never faced a complaint. I was literally followed by a police officer all day, Justice said. They made a spectacle of me. It was a really unfortunate situation. School officials berated her in a storage closet over her concerns with the police officer standing outside because I was supposed to be on their team, she said. One teacher tried to make a spectacle of her son as well, humiliating him by ordering him to do pushups in front of fellow students. Other concerns she raised included the amount of computer time her children had at school, which she said was outrageous. Another incident Justice recalled was when her son saw a child thrown against the wall by a teacher. When her son tried to report it, the teacher berated him in front of the entire class and asked him, Boy, did you snitch? she said. The principal has no control over the school, and its not somewhere my son needs to be for the next two years. The school district didnt respond to requests for comment by phone or email. Justice said these problems are becoming more and more obvious throughout the United States, with teachers lacking the skills they need and students not learning what they need to know. The fact that parents got to see some of what was going on as a result of COVID was a blessing, she said. COVID was hard, but this was a blessing. Among other concerns, Justice said parents are recognizing that the outcomes produced by the school system are horrible. Two-thirds of kids are not reading at grade level; the math scores are atrocious, she said. Parents are looking at this and saying its not working. Were concerned about what this means for the future of America. While Justice sees value in the public education system and refuses to abandon it for the sake of the children that are still in it, she believes that dramatic changes are needed. I dont think the current way that its working actually works, she said, pointing to unions and other key players. Were funding failure. Justice said allowing parents to choose a private school or to homeschool their children themselves and opening up some competition would be part of reclaiming education from the current program of indoctrinationthat is what is happening. Parents drop their children off for school in Provo, Utah, on Feb. 10, 2021. (George Frey/Getty Images) School Board Experience: Tough but Worthwhile Before founding Moms for Liberty, a national group fighting for the survival of America by supporting parental rights, Justice served on the Indian River County School Board from 2016 to 2020. It began simply enough: Justice and other parents were concerned that the only school in her countys area, infested with rats and other problems, was going to be shut down. While Democrats rejected her and some local Republican leaders referred to her as a RINO (Republican in Name Only), she won her race with about 60 percent of the vote. Even after winning, the attacks were relentless, because Im a disrupter, Justice said. One of the most intense attacks came when a local liberal paper accused her of having an affair. Despite her fathers Jewish heritage, she was called an anti-Semite for resisting training materials from the controversial leftwing Southern Poverty Law Center. They decided they were going to make my life a living hell, she said. I wouldnt go along with the grifters in the system, and so they hated me for it. It was nepotism left and right. Despite the attacks and being just one vote on the board, Justice said she feels that she made a positive difference. But she wishes she had done more. There was always lava burning underneath, and fire hiccups would surface from time to time, she said. I should have taken the education curtainI got to see behind itI should have pulled it back for everyone. I did what I could, but I wish everybody could see what I saw. She said the problems were never truly rectified. The district does two things well: protect itself and celebrate itself, including celebrating itself to disguise the failure, Justice said. Families protest mask mandates before a school board meeting in Tampa, Fla., on July 27, 2021. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images) Courage Is Contagious: Moms for Liberty Is Born Amid the battles taking place in the local school district, Justice connected with another school board member in the county north of hers who was facing similar struggles. Tina Descovich, a mother of five who was elected to the Brevard County School Board the same year that Justice was elected to her school board, was very different than Justice, but was essentially fighting the same battle. We both had a visceral reaction to what was happeningthe erosion of parental rights, the erosion of foundational principles of America, Justice said. Tina was in the same situation. We decided we had to do something. Just three weeks after launching Moms for Liberty, the mothers got a call from a woman in New York state who wanted to start a Long Island chapter. Today, there are more than 200 chapters spread across almost 40 states, with the number of members growing rapidly. Those chapters are working to get good legislation passed and get school board candidates who will support parental rights elected, Justice said. That includes vetting and endorsing candidates, creating a forum for debate, providing resources, and more. In mid-July, Moms for Liberty will be hosting its Joyful Warrior National Summit, featuring speakers including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and many more. Were really focused on unifying and education, thats what empowers people, Justice said when asked where the movement goes from here. Nobody will fight harder for their kids than moms, and when unified and educated, they will rise. The expert class has failed Americans and parents, and now its time for mothers to trust themselves and each other in raising their own children. Parents now are looking at each other and realizing they are actually the experts, she said. Key targets of the group include the Marxist critical race theory, critical pedagogy, gender ideology, and other forms of anti-American indoctrination, academic failure, and whatever issues are affecting our kids in school. We know were fighting for the survival of America, Justice said. We didnt ask for this. Moms and dads are wondering when we ever said this was OK, much less OK in K3. We dont want this taught. We will not let them redefine the boundaries between home and school. Within five years, she hopes that every state will have strong legislation protecting parental rights. Courage is contagious, Justice said. We see that in the growth of our chapters. We see that a spark can grow like a wildfire. Very early on in the struggle, a friend told Justice that they were now war moms, she said. It really stuck in her mind. Its our job to tell all the moms in America that they are war moms now, and we all need to get ready to fight, she said, saying that it was critical to remain a joyful warrior in the fight for the United States and future generations. More UK Ministers Resign as Johnson Clings to Premiership At least 38 UK Cabinet ministers and ministerial aides tendered their resignations on July 5 and 6 as Conservative MPs called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to go. The Whitehall exodus was triggered on July 5 after the prime minister admitted that it was a mistake to keep Chris Pincher in government roles despite sexual misconduct allegations against him. It started with the shock resignations of Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on July 5 and has continued to snowball since then. Conservative Party Vice Chair Bim Afolami and Solicitor General Alex Chalk also resigned on July 5. By July 6, at least 15 ministers, three trade envoys, and 17 parliamentary private secretaries had handed in their resignation letters. Besides Javid and Sunak, the ministers who resigned include Minister for Children and Families Will Quince; Minister for School Standards Robin Walker; Minister for Housing Stuart Andrew; Minister for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaptation Jo Churchill; Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice and Minister for Afghan Resettlement Victoria Atkins; Economic Secretary John Glen; Minister for Local Government, Faith, and Communities and Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch; Minister for Levelling Up, The Union, and Constitution Neil OBrien; Minister for Skills Alex Burghart; Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury and Minister for Industry Lee Rowley; Minister of State for Media, Data, and Digital Infrastructure Julia Lopez; Minister for Employment Mims Davies; Minister for Safeguarding Rachel Maclean; and Minister for Exports and Minister for Equalities Mike Freer. Nadhim Zahawi became the new chancellor on July 5, while Johnsons chief of staff, Steve Barclay, became the new health secretary. Michelle Donelan, previously the minister for higher and further education, filled the vacancy left by Zahawi to become the new education secretary. The rest of the jobs remain vacant, but Johnsons press secretary said the prime minister will be able to fill all the posts. There will be further appointments over the coming days, she said. Javid: Enough Is Enough Pincher, MP for Tamworth, England, resigned from the whips office and had his Conservative Party membership suspended last week over the alleged groping of two male guests at a Conservative Party private members club on June 29. The allegations have put Downing Street under pressure to explain why Pincher, who had resigned as a junior whip in November 2017 following a complaint that he had made an unwanted pass at former Olympic rower and Conservative candidate Alex Story, was given the job of deputy chief whip in February. Downing Street stated last week that Johnson wasnt aware of any formal complaints against Pincher, only to admit this week that the prime minister was told about an investigation and had forgotten about it, triggering the mass resignation. Its a major blow to Johnson, who narrowly survived a vote of confidence last month that saw 41 percent of Conservative MPs voting to oust him. Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street in London, on July 4, 2022. (Stefan Rousseau/PA Media) MPs demanded on July 6 that Johnson resign during Prime Ministers Questions in Parliament, with a number of Conservative MPs who had backed Johnson last month saying that they no longer have confidence in him. Reading a personal statement on his resignation, Javid was critical of the prime minister: Treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent months. He said he had given Johnson and Downing Street the benefit of the doubt a number of times during the Partygate saga, when Johnson initially assured Parliament that there had been no parties. Now this week, again, we have reason to question the truth and integrity of what weve all been told, Javid said. And at some point, we have to conclude that enough is enough. Conservative MP Tim Loughton asked Johnson, who has resisted pressure to resign for months, whether there are any circumstances in which the prime minister believes he should resign. Johnson cited being frustrated in our desire to support the Ukrainian people as a possible scenario in which he may resign, but vowed to keep going. If there were circumstances in which I felt it was impossible for the government to go on and discharge the mandate that weve been given or if I felt, for instance, that were being frustrated in our desire to support the Ukrainian people, Johnson told Parliament.But frankly, Mr. Speaker, the job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances, when hes been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going. And thats what Im going to do. Johnson later told a select committee of MPs that I really dont think that anybody in this country wants politicians to be engaged in electioneering now or in the immediate future. NATOs European Powers Need to Focus on Russia so US Can Prioritise China: Expert Professor says NATO has a choice of 'mimicking' Russia or taking another approach A professor of international politics who is an expert on NATO told a UK House of Lords committee on Wednesday the military alliances European powers need to take over the responsibility for confronting Russia so that the United States can concentrate on an increasingly belligerent China. Mark Webber, a professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, was asked by the chair of the International Relations and Defence Committee, Baroness Anerley, if he thought anything was missing from the recent NATO summit in Madrid. He told the committee he found NATOs strategic concept at the summit appeared to ignore the alliances big challenge, which was how to tackle both Russia and China. Webber said: NATO cant really do China. The United States can. And the point may arrive in the coming years where China returns to the priority point it has enjoyed in the last few years in the United States and then NATO is left facing Russia sans the U.S. How is it to deal with that? He said: It ought to be a priority. A more Europeanised NATO looking after its core business (Russia) while the United States prioritises China and the IndoPacific. Webber also criticised NATO for not having updated its maritime strategy, which would include the threat from the Russian navy. NATO really doesnt really have a proper maritime strategy. The current one was adopted in 2011. It has a space strategy, a cyber strategy, etc., but it has not updated its maritime strategy for over a decade, he told the committee. Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of tanks during the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 20, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters) Professor Jamie Shea, who was NATO deputy assistant secretary general for emerging security challenges between 2010 and 2018, told the committee that prior to Feb. 24when Russia invaded UkraineBritain had a strategy that involved having a small but very well equipped army of 73,000 which would tackle, among other things, cyber warfare and little green men. But he said, What we have seen in Ukraine of course is a much more classical war with large armies, with tanks, artillery and the rest. Other Approaches Shea said: So what kind of debate is NATO going to have in terms of dealing with the Russian way of warfare, which is to use artillery, to shell, to bombard, to attack civilian targets, to cause environmental hazard, to cause humanitarian crisis. Does NATO deal with that by mimicking the Russian order of battle? They have tanks. We need tanks. They have artillery. We need artillery. Or does it look at another approach? He said it was agreed at the NATO summit that up to 300,000 troops would be put on a state of high readiness and Germany had announced plans to set up an armoured division of 15,000. Shea said: Does the UK follow that trend and say hey, we need to increase the size of the army because we need to play a role in the what is essentially going to be a land warfare operation? But he said the British could decide to leave that roleproviding the bulk of the heavy armoured divisions which would block any Russian tank advance in the event of a European warto the Germans, the Poles, the Romanians, and the Finns, who have just been accepted into NATO. Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto (22) hits a home run against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at Nationals Park, Washington on Jul 2, 2022. (Scott Taetsch/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media) Nats Juan Soto Avoids Major Calf Injury, Out a Few Days Washington Nationals star Juan Soto said Monday everything was fine with his left calf but that he will miss a few days of action. The outfielder was not in the lineup for the Nats Monday matinee against the visiting Miami Marlins. Soto exited Sundays 74 loss to Miami in the fourth inning after the calf tightened while he was running the bases and was tagged out at home. He underwent an MRI Sunday night. Were going to be good, Soto told reporters ahead of Mondays game. They said its just a little tight, so its going to take a couple of days and see how it goes. It all depends on how I feel day by day. The 23-year-old Soto is batting a career-low .226 with 15 homers and 33 RBIs in 79 games this season. Soto was National League MVP runner-up last season when he had a .313 batting average and a league-best .465 on-base percentage. He had 29 homers and 95 RBIs in 151 games. Nearly 22,000 DHS Employees Seek COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Exemptions Watchdog urges government to resolve requests Nearly 22,000 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees have sought exemptions to the U.S. governments federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but the requests all remain in limbo, according to newly obtained documents. Key agencies within DHS could face a massive loss of workers if the requests arent resolved, a watchdog warns. More than 8,100 Customs and Border Protection employees, who include Border Patrol agents, have asked for a medical or religious exemption to the mandate that was imposed by President Joe Biden in 2021. In addition, more than 5,800 Transportation Security Administration workers have requested accommodations, while more than 2,800 Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees have sought exemptions on religious or medical grounds. None of the requests have been acted upon yet, DHS told the Functional Government Initiative (FGI), the watchdog that obtained the data. Mandate Halted Biden ordered agencies to implement the mandate in September 2021. While the government workers were told to get vaccinated, they were also advised that they could apply for medical or religious exemptions. The Biden administration was sued over the mandate, with lawsuits alleging it was unconstitutional. Feds for Medical Freedom, a group of government workers, filed one of the suits. The group won an injunction against the mandate in January. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, a Trump appointee, said the mandate fell outside of the presidents powers. The governments vaccine workforce, based on the ruling, told agencies to take no action to implement or enforce the mandate. In compliance with the injunction, DHS halted the review process and has not taken any action to implement or enforce the vaccination requirement as of Jan. 24, Rosemary Law, a DHS Freedom of Information Act officer, told FGI in documents reviewed by The Epoch Times. That means no exemptions have been granted, she indicated. Limbo The watchdog asserts the government should continue processing the requests, so that employees know if theyre in danger of being fired. They absolutely should have been processing these so that the people who have filled out these exemption requests kind of have an idea of where its going to go because, right now, we have 22,000 people wondering if theyre going to have a job, Pete McGinnis, a spokesman for FGI, told The Epoch Times. Many of the employees who have asked for an exemption work on immigration matters, including thousands stationed at or near the U.S.Mexico border. The Biden administration already is grappling with an illegal immigration crisis that has broken records for the number of arrests at the border, and firing immigration officers would make things worse, McGinnis added. DHS officials didnt respond to a request for comment. Of the other DHS components, the number of workers who have asked for exemptions are: more than 1,700 at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nearly 1,300 at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 680 with the U.S. Coast Guard, nearly 500 at the U.S. Secret Service, 333 at DHS headquarters, 167 at Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and just over 100 with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The case regarding the mandate has since moved forward. An appeals court panel overturned Browns decision, but later dissolved that ruling as the full court prepares to hear arguments from the parties. Patrons crowd the platform at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) Metro Center stop in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 20, 2004. Thousands use the public transit system daily to get them in and around the D.C. area. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images) New Lawsuit Challenges Ban on Concealed Carry of Firearms on DC Area Public Transit Current law allegedly leaves riders defenseless in a transit system that is 'soft target' for terrorists Gun owners in the nations capital are suing in hopes of being allowed to carry firearms on the regions crime-ridden public transit system. The lawsuit is one of several filed nationwide after the Supreme Courts landmark ruling June 23 recognizing a constitutional right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. The author of the 6-3 opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, that to ban concealed weapons in a specific place, the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this Nations tradition of firearm regulation. The high court has been strengthening Second Amendment protections in recent years. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), it held that the amendment protects the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation, and in McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), that this right is fully applicable to the States. On June 30, the high court followed up on the Bruen decision by reversing federal appeals court decisions that upheld gun restrictions in California, New Jersey, Maryland, and Hawaii, sending the cases back to the lower courts for a second look, as The Epoch Times reported. Courts will find it difficult to uphold the firearms laws in question. Sensitive Areas The plaintiffs in the new lawsuitD.C. residents Gregory T. Angelo, Tyler Yzaguirre, and Robert M. Miller, along with Fairfax, Va. resident Cameron M. Ericksonwhich was filed in federal court June 30, are suing the District of Columbia and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee III. Yzaguirre is president of the nonprofit Second Amendment Institute. The four men, all holders of concealed pistol carry licenses issued by Contees office, are regular riders of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, which runs bus and subway lines in the greater Washington area, including in northern Virginia and Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland. But the rights of concealed pistol carry license holders are sharply limited by D.C. Code Section 7-2509.07, which prohibits carrying in many so-called sensitive areas. The law forbids licensed holders from carrying a pistol in D.C. government buildings and offices, various tourist attractions, childcare facilities, schools, hospitals, penal institutions, places where alcohol is sold or consumed, U.S. Capitol buildings, on private residential property unless authorized by the owner or tenant, and on any public transportation vehicle, including the Metrorail transit system and its stations. The inclusion of many of the supposedly sensitive areas is questionable, especially the prohibition against carrying on the Metro, the new legal complaint (pdf) states. Metro may have its own police force but the overwhelming number of trains and buses lack any police presence, the petition continues. Because the Metro system is lightly policed, persons who need to travel around the District via the Metro are disarmed for the entirety of their journey. Moreover, DCs prohibition on carrying arms in the Metro system makes Metro a soft target for terrorists. There is not a tradition or history of prohibitions of carrying firearms on public transportation vehicles. In short there is no basis to label the Metro as a sensitive area, the complaint states. Only D.C., Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and South Carolina prohibit carry on public transportation, the complaint adds. Designations Go Too Far George L. Lyon Jr. of Fairfax, Va.-based Arsenal Attorneys, the plaintiffs lawyer in the new lawsuit, told the Washington Post that D.C.s sensitive-area designations go too far. I dont think anyone at this stage can complain about [barring guns in] schools or government buildings or polling places or around the White House or the vice presidents residence, Lyon said. But once you get away from that, things start to become much less certain, said Lyon who was also one of the original plaintiffs in District of Columbia v. Heller. For example, Ill give them penal institutions and Ill give them mental hospitals. But Im not sure I can give them doctors offices or veterinary offices. Although as of press time court records showed D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D) had not filed a defense, his office vows to contest the lawsuit. Racine will continue to defend the Districts common-sense gun regulations and keep District residents safe, the office said in a statement. As the Supreme Court said, the Second Amendment is not a license to keep and carry any weapon in any manner for any purpose. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (L) speaks during a joint press conference with her Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Sydney, Australia, on June 10, 2022. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images) NZ Prime Minister Brings Trade Mission to Australia New Zealand (NZ) Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will make her second official visit to Australia in less than a month as she brings a trade mission of over 30 New Zealand businesses to Melbourne and Sydney this week as part of the NZ governments reconnection strategy to support export growth and the return of tourists post-COVID-19 lockdowns. This trade mission is one of many steps this government is taking to reconnect New Zealand with the world while actively strengthening partnerships between government, business, and industry, Jacinda Ardern said in a media announcement of the trip on July 4. The 32 New Zealand business leaders joining this trade mission, range from some of our largest exporters to small innovative companies who are relatively early in their export journey, demonstrating the importance of our trading relationship with Australia. Australia is NZs second-largest trading partner, and two-way trade in 2021 was worth over NZ$22 billion (US$13.6 billion). A key focus for the trip will also be the tourism industry, with Ardern meeting with industry leaders from both countries in Sydney. The pandemic border controls implemented by the Ardern government have meant the NZ tourist industry was hit hard by the pandemic with Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) saying the industry lost an estimated 120,000 employees during the pandemic. New Zealand Small Business and Tourism Minister Stuart Nash, who is also travelling with the Kiwi PM, said Australia is the countrys largest source of visitors, generating over $A2.45 billion (US$1.66 billion) to New Zealands economy. Australia is also New Zealands largest source of visitors with over 1.55 million visiting our shores in 2019 and contributing over $2.7 billion to the economy. With our borders now open and the removal of pre-departure testing, weve created significant opportunities for tourism recovery as we welcome back our Australian friends, Nash said. Leaders to Meet for the First Leadership Forum Since 2019 While in Sydney, Ardern will also meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the annual meeting of the Australia-New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). The Forum is being held for the first time since 2019 and allows industry leaders from both countries to discuss issues including economic ties and recovery, regional security, migration settings, and climate change. The Forum is an important opportunity to engage with government and business leaders from both sides of the Tasman on our shared economic recovery in an increasingly uncertain world, Ardern said. On Friday, Prime Minister Albanese and I will hold our annual Leaders Meeting, and will be an opportunity to further exchange views on a wide range of global issues such as the war in Ukraine and climate change, as well as discuss important regional issues ahead of the Pacific Island Forum. We have invited key Ministers to join our meeting, enabling a richer discussion on issues of particular interest. Such conversations are more important than ever to ensure that we face this period of transition and renewal together, as allies and family. Ardern will be travelling with seven of her ministry including her Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, Minister for Trade and Export Damien OConnor, Minister for Tourism Stuart Nash, Immigration Minister Michael Wood, and the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw. Albanese said he was delighted to welcome the NZ prime minister back after her recent visit in June. This will be our second bilateral meeting in the past month, which is a reflection of the closeness of our trans-Tasman relationship. It truly is one of family, he said. I look forward to discussing ways to strengthen Australias bond with one of our closest neighbours. The two prime ministers will also address the Trans-Tasman Innovation and Growth Awards event and Ardern will give a policy speech at the Lowy Institute. OC Power Authority CEO Probolsky Stays as Whistleblower Complaint Advances Orange Countys green energy agencyknown as the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA)voted to not fire embattled CEO Brian Probolsky and legal counsel Ryan Baron in a closed session meeting June 29, after Probolsky alleged some on the board were seeking his ouster and a troubling Grand Jury report cited concerns with the recently created agency. The Orange County Power Authoritys (OCPA) board of directors met in closed session to discuss removing Probolsky and Ryan Baron after calls for their resignation from some board members. Probolsky and Baron remained at the board meeting after the closed session, and the board did not release a statement about the session during the meeting. A publicity firm released a statement on behalf of the board following the meeting, announcing an independent attorney would continue an investigation into a whistleblower complaint filed by Probolsky in May. In the complaint, Probolsky alleged Posey and Kalmick conspired to create a common plan and scheme to fire him, place Kalmick on the OCPA board, and hire Posey to serve as Chief Business Officer. Thats a position, he said, neither authorized nor created by the other board members. The letter, signed by Probolskys attorney, Megan Lencek, was sent to OCPA General Counsel Ryan Baron, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, California Attorney General Ron Bonta, and the state Fair Political Practices Commission Enforcement Division. Probolsky has sought whistleblower protection. Lencek told The Epoch Times on behalf of her client, Were not commenting at this time. An investigation into the whistleblower complaint will be conducted by Jeffrey Wortman, a partner at the international law firm Seyfarth Shaw, according to the release. The Board takes the management and governance of OCPA seriously, said OCPA Board Director Susan Sonne, also a councilwoman from the City of Buena Park. After consultation with OCPAs counsel, the Board made the critical decision to continue the investigation in compliance with its legal obligations and best practices. After Wortman finishes his investigation, the conclusions will be reported to the board and evaluated in closed session, the release said. Formed in December 2020, the OCPA provides energy to more than 38,000 business accounts across the cities of Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, and Irvine. The nonprofit agency directly takes over customers from Southern California Edison and started providing power to businesses in April. Commercial customers can choose one of the three options offered by OCPA: Basic Choice, equal in cost to Southern California Edison, Smart Choice, which provides 69 percent renewable energy, or 100 percent renewable energy. OCPA will launch its residential service in the fall. A SoCal Edison power station in Santa Ana, Calif., on June 9, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Sonne called for the closed session and spearheaded a vote of no confidence for the OCPAs CEO and legal counsel earlier this month during a regular meeting of the Buena Park City Council. I know that the climate crisis is an existential threat, which cannot be ignored, and I am deeply committed to doing everything I can to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and move to sustainable renewable energy, Sonne said at a June 28 meeting of the Buena Park City Council. The Orange County Power Authority has gotten off to a rocky start and has been criticized. Sonne said she was grateful for the recommendations and reporting issued by the Orange County Grand Jury last month. I am committed to working with my fellow directors to resolve all the issues pointed out in the report as quickly as possible, she said. She added the directors needed to send a strong message to the leadership and counsel for the agency must include significant industry experience and transparency. The Buena Park City Council unanimously approved a vote of no confidence for Probolsky and Baron. Buena Park Councilman Connor Traut agreed with Sonne, adding there was more than enough information in the grand jury report to provide a cause for concern. Weve learned that there is a clear lack of confidence from the public and from other cities that are hesitating even considering joining the Orange County Power Authority, Traut said during the council meeting. I believe the OCPAs instability is largely to blame on its executive leadership, and that the transparency issues and lack of experience from its executive leadership have helped lead to its current state. Power lines in Fullerton, Calif., on Dec. 22, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) An Orange County Grand Jury report issued last month detailed the OCPAs problems with transparency and what it called a rocky start. The grand jury initiated the report after receiving complaints from the power authoritys supporters about the agencys leadership and lack of transparency. According to the report, the agencys problems began right after its creation. The job descriptions for its executive director and legal counsel were not made public before the OCPA hired Probolsky and Baron. The report stated Probolsky has virtually no experience directing a community-choice energy provider, or energy purchase and trading. He is now in charge of a $34 million budget and wields significant signing authority with little meaningful oversight and no governing bylaws. With so much authority bestowed on the CEO, the [grand jury] is concerned about what it found to be a continuing pattern of failing to follow best hiring practices, the report stated. Another problem OCPA faces is rising costs and contracts with cities that do not include paying for increases. For instance, the grand jury said a shortage of new renewable energy projects has caused prices to rise nearly 10 percent since the beginning of this year and nearly 29 percent since 2021. The agency also has failed to clearly state rate differences and increases on its website, or post budgets and financial statements. Therefore, it is not surprising that the OCPA mid-year budget reported an increase of projected energy costs to be $14.2 million higher than expected due to higher market prices and the member city tier level choices, the report stated. Ons Jabeur of Tunisia celebrates after winning match point against Marie Bouzkova of Czech Republic during their Women's Singles Quarter Final match on day nine of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on July 5, 2022. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) Ons Jabeur Wins at Wimbledon, Reaches First Grand Slam Semi Third seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia dropped the first set before storming back Tuesday to defeat Czech opponent Marie Bouzkova 36, 61, 61 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in London. Jabeur not only clinched her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance but also became the first Arab or North African playermale or femaleto reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam event. The world No. 2 is the highest seed left standing in the womens draw. In the semis, she will face Tatjana Maria of Germany. I was hoping that I could get to this stage for a long time already, Jabeur told reporters. I was talking a little bit to (former ATP player from Morocco) Hicham Arazi, and he told me, Arabs always lose in the quarterfinals and we are sick of it. Please break this. I was, like, Ill try, my friend.' Fourteen of Jabeurs 27 unforced errors came in the first set, allowing Bouzkova to take control. But Jabeur broke Bouzkovas serve six times in nine opportunities and lost just two games the rest of the way. I know it wasnt easy playing Marie, Jabeur said. She gets all the balls and doesnt make, to win a point, easy for me. Im glad I stepped in with my game. I was more aggressive in the second set, and especially tactically I was playing some angles that she didnt like much. Jabeur has yet to lose on grass this season. She won the WTA German Open in Berlin last month and played alongside Serena Williams in the doubles draw of the Eastbourne International, winning two matches before Jabeur had to withdraw while nursing a knee injury. In an all-German quarterfinal match, Maria rallied to defeat Jule Niemeier 46, 62, 75 in two hours and 18 minutes. Maria, 34, became the oldest woman to make her Wimbledon quarterfinal debut. It was a really tough match, Maria said. Its always tough to play against a German girl. I didnt know her really well. We never even practiced together. So it was something completely new. Maria, ranked No. 103 in the world, saved six of nine break points and charged back from down 42 in the third set. She won three games to take a 54 lead, and after Niemeier tied it 55, Maria was able to save a break point during the 11th game and grab the win that put her ahead for good. When you are outside on the court sometimes its really hard to change your tactics, and I had to change my tactics a little bit, Maria said. Im happy that I could do it. I mean, even that I was 42 down in the third set, I kept going and I kept fighting. Thats what I did. Niemeier scored more winners than Maria (39 to 26) but also committed far more unforced errors (54 to 37). In Wednesdays other quarterfinals, Australias Ajla Tomljanovic will battle 17th seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and 16th seed Simona Halep of Romania will square off against 20th seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States. Cows are seen grazing near a wind turbine at the Altamont Pass wind farm in Livermore, California on May 16, 2007. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Orange County Power Authority: The Perfect Crime (Part 3) Commentary Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) is imploding following a Grand Jurys scathing report about the agencys policy and personnel shortcomings. Buena Park is reportedly considering ditching the energy upstart, and other OCPA member cities are calling for an audit, all while the agency is whispering that its prices are now headed up. While everyone is playing politics to oust OCPAs inexperienced chief executivenew arrival Brian Probolskyno one is looking at the agencys inherent business flaws that have nothing to do with Probolskys one-year tenure, and which could put OCPA and its consultants in the crosshairs of ratepayer litigation. OCPAs Claims Contrary to marketing claims that you can buy (and receive) a blend of cleaner electric power than your neighbor, everyone whose electricity is transmitted across the states electric grid receives the same mix of generation. Everyone. There are no dedicated wires carrying green energy to your house, or anyone elses for that matter. Electricity data from the California Energy Commission shows slightly more than 30 percent of Californias overall energy mix on the electric grid was renewable energy, as shown here: This contrasts with OCPAs claim to provide everyone in Irvine, Huntington Beach and Buena Park with 100% renewable energy, while providing Fullerton with 69% renewable. OCPAs representations are technically infeasible. As much as California wants all of its electricity to be 100 percent renewable, that will not be achievable until battery storage technology limits are overcome. Today, gas and coal-fired electric generation cover the void left by wind and solar whenever the wind stops or clouds block the sun. Without coal and gas-fired resources, California would experience constant blackouts. Wind and solar are intermittent, meaning the electricity is produced at random timesnot just when needed. Solars daily wave of energy (and wind to a lesser extent) is visible here (pdf). In other words, no matter how badly you may want to save the planet, and no matter how many OCPA-type organizations pop up, the California electric grid is not going to provide 100 percent renewable energy (or even 69 percent renewable) just because someone builds more solar farms or windmills. Much of OCPAs Power Wont Get to Market Part II of this series identified that energy input (supply) to the electric grid must always equal, or balance with, Californias aggregated energy demand from the grid second to second. The over-supply of OCPAs intermittent wind and solar is literally rejected or curtailed by Californias grid operators to prevent blackoutsan unfortunate reality for OCPA as it tries to push maximum solar power onto the grid to support its untenable advertising. Curtailment can be seen in this chart: Given that the state regularly curtails the over-supply of intermittent solar energy (and again, wind to a lesser extent), OCPAs added intermittent renewable energy to California will either: (i) be curtailed along with Californias other curtailed energy, or (ii) take available space on the grid while forcing an equal amount of intermittent energy from other suppliers into curtailment. So much for OCPA Board Chair Mike Carrolls naive declarations that OCPA is the greenest energy company in the nation.[1] Renewable Numbers Game Some portion of OCPAs renewable energy is likely delivered to the grid, but to achieve the appearance of delivering advertised volumes of renewable energy to its ratepayers, the balance of the agencys renewable power entails inexpensive renewable energy certificates (RECs) and sleight of hand, perfected after years of practice by OCPA consultant Pacific Energy Advisors. RECs are simply a receipt showing energy production. In many cases that energy is sold to someone else, someplace else, but OCPA often retains the REC and reports clean energy deliveries to state regulators and customers. This practice deflates Californias carbon emission numbers because the state is frequently not getting deliveries of clean energy that are associated with the REC.[2] There are variations of the REC scheme. The following diagram illustrates how dirty power is re-labeled as, in this case, wind. What is OCPA procuring for your business or home if the renewable energy is merely a REC? High-carbon emitting brown power (pdf), aka unspecified power, system power, or generic power, which is loaded with gas-fired and coal-fired power. Any claims that OCPA is greening the grid are pure fiction. OCPA engages in RECs even though its consultants implied to Irvine OCPA board representative Farrah Khan that the agency would not engage in illicit activities. The video of OCPAs December 21, 2021 board meeting reveals that its consultant with Pacific Energy Advisors (Kirby Dusel) merely defined REC, which Khan accepted as addressing her objection rather than confirmation that RECs would not be used surreptitiously.[3] OCPA declines to provide its largest member, City of Irvine, with contract information about the agencys energy, likely because OCPA would have to address why it is purchasing so much brown power after representing its energy is almost entirely renewable. You can gain an understanding of community choice energys stealth reliance on dirty power by looking at the brown power expenditures (pdf) of long-running Marin Clean Energy (MCE), a success after which OCPA patterns itself. $50,000 Annual Payments OCPAs largest commercial and industrial ratepayers pay upwards of $50,000 extra per year for the agencys 100 percent renewable energy, which, as previously discussed, is not delivered to you. The extra cost for OCPAs uber-renewable products does little more than fund energy wholesalers, consultants, and OCPAs self-preservation reserve account, while ratepayers receive the same nominal 33 percent renewable energy volume that all other Californians receive from the electric grid. Further, OCPAs core metricits electric supplys ostensibly near-zero greenhouse gas intensity (emission rate)is exempt from audit for 3 years due to a statutory carve-out, leaving ratepayers unable to confirm the legitimacy of OCPAs carbon reductions.[4] Businesses should reduce their electricity costs with one of the following actions. (Residential customers will be enrolled into OCPA this October): You can opt out of OCPA by calling (866) 262-7693. You will need your Southern California Edison bill. OCPAs operators are trained to keep you from departing the program. You will receive Edisons default basic service, which is compliant with Californias annual renewable energy mandates. If you do not want to opt out, you can enroll in OCPAs lower-priced Basic Choice (advertised as 38 percent renewable), which reportedly cuts your price to at parity with Edison. However, OCPA reports its prices will increase more than 5 percent next year to help meet milestone funding requirements buried in its credit agreement, which puts at-parity in jeopardy. Of note, part of the premiums collected from OCPAs 100% Renewable and Smart Choice products are used in convoluted internal accounting to subsidize the Basic Choice products at-parity pricing with Edison. In the interest of full transparency, even OCPAs Basic Choice (38 percent renewable energy) claim is not achievable to the extent: (i) it exceeds renewable content in Californias overall annual energy mix as reported by the California Energy Commission and (ii) its wind or solar energy is curtailed. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Notes [1] OCPA board chair Mike Carroll at April 5, 2022 board meeting (https://vimeo.com/696260108/3d898d4215 elapsed time 54:46): But I just wanted to say what really jumped out at me, other than all the detail and the sheer breadth of the fact that were going to be, or that we are, the greenest or one of the greenest electric providers in the nation which is really fun as that rolls off the tongue. [2] A 3-year carbon reporting exclusion for new community choice agencies was negotiated during the roll out of California energy reporting law AB 1110, before commencement of its multi-year implementation workshop. The 3-year audit exclusion is identified in codified AB 1110, 398.4 (k)(2)(F)(ii) and reads: Any new community choice aggregator formed after January 1, 2016, shall not be required to report data on greenhouse gas emissions intensity associated with retail sales until at least 24 months, but shall be required to report that data no later than 36 months, after serving its first retail customer. [3] OCPA December 21, 2021 board meeting, https://vimeo.com/662129739 elapsed time 16:32. [4] OCPA letter to Mayor and City Council Members of Irvine, June 14, 2022, Question/Answer number 3, in which OCPA replies to Irvines request for energy contract details. Rather than supply redacted contract copies, OCPA declines all responses, claiming it is bound by law. OCPAs policy contrasts with energy and contract information from its sister Community Choice Energy agencies Marin Clean Energy, Clean Power Alliance, and Sonoma Clean Power. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A woman walks through check in at WestJet at Pearson International airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Oct. 14, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette) Over 100 Employees Sue WestJet Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate A group of more than 100 WestJet employees is taking legal action against the airline and the federal government over the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policies for airline workers. The group, comprised of active and inactive pilots, flight attendants, and customer service agents, said in a statement that they were negatively impacted by the mandates, such as being placed on unpaid leave, forced into early retirement, or being terminated. Our objection lies in the coercion, discipline, and denial of informed consent used to achieve the governments goals of mass vaccination. Achieving informed consent under such a heinous act of forced compliance is not only unethical and unconstitutional, it is un-Canadian, the statement reads. The group also said some of its members have suffered from vaccine injuries. The statement said more evidence is emerging to support the arguments of those who chose not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, pointing to a U.S. court order that requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release 55,000 pages of data each month that was used to licence the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. As this data release continues to unfold, it is abundantly clear that a great deal of scientific information was never communicated to the public, the group said. While we are reluctant to make accusations against any particular organization, it is indisputable that the fundamental hallmarks of informed consent were never achieved: the voluntary nature of a decision and disclosure of information. Legal Representation The group said it has secured legal assistance from lawyer Leighton Grey, of Grey Wowk Spencer LLP, who has filed similar legal challenges against other major corporations and the government. Although its too soon to declare a victory in any particular case, early progress in those cases has shown promising results, said the statement. Grey told the Western Standard that a cease-and-desist lettera document sent to an individual or business demanding that it stop an alleged illegal activityhas been sent to WestJet. He also said he and his clients are working on drafting a lawsuit. The Epoch Times reached out to Grey for further comment but didnt hear back by publication time. In a statement released last October, WestJet said it was proud that 98 percent of its staffers had expressed their intention to be fully vaccinated, and that the company and its budget subsidiary Swoop were committed to becoming fully vaccinated airlines. The group of WestJet employees has launched a donation drive on GiveSendGo to finance its legal battle, with a goal of raising $25,000. The campaign had raised close to $1,960 as of July 6. The Epoch Times reached out to WestJet for comment on the lawsuit but didnt hear back by publication time. Isaac Teo and The Canadian Press contributed to this article The House where Robert Crimo III lives in Highwood, Ill., on July 5, 2022. (Max Herman/AFP via Getty Images) Parents Issue First Statement After Son Arrested in Illinois Mass Shooting The parents of the suspect who police say carried out the mass shooting in Illinois on July 4 have issued a statement for the first time since the attack. We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the paradegoers, the community, and our own, the parents of Robert Bobby Crimo III said. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to everybody, they added. The brief statement was released by Steve Greenberg, a lawyer who said the parents have hired him to represent them. Robert Crimo, who lost a Highland Park mayoral bid in 2019, and his wife would like people to respect their privacy as they try to sort thru this tragedy, Greenberg said. The parents share everyones desire to figure out everything that went wrong so that this doesnt happen again, to more innocent people, children, and families, according to Greenberg, who also said the parents are cooperating with law enforcement. Crimo III is being represented by two other attorneys, Thomas Durkin and Josh Herman, according to Greenberg. Durkin and Herman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Authorities say Crimo III killed seven people and injured others on Independence Day. He allegedly fired a gun from a commercial building into a parade in Highland Park, which is situated near Chicago. An image from surveillance video showed Crimo III, believed to have planned the attack for weeks, fleeing the scene dressed as a woman, enabling him to reach his mothers home before taking her vehicle. Law enforcement officials say the 21-year-old was spotted by a member of the public and alerted the police, who arrested him a day after the shooting. Robert Crimo III in an undated drivers license photo. (Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles) Obtained Guns Legally The motive is not yet apparent, officials told reporters on Tuesday. They also acknowledged that Crimo III was known to police, including an attempted suicide attempt and a warning that the man presented a clear and present danger in 2019. But there was not evidence to deny a Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) when the suspect applied for one in late 2019, the Illinois State Police said. Under Illinois state law, a person must have a FOID to obtain a gun. Police said Crimo IIIs father sponsored his sons application. Greenberg on Wednesday said the police then renewed the card when Crimo III turned 21 without any involvement from his father. The lawyer also said [expletive] Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and all like them while claiming no one needs high powered weapons like the firearm Crimo III allegedly used. He also questioned why police approved the FOID card. Paul Crimo, Crimo IIIs uncle, had previously said that he saw no signs of trouble with the younger Crimo. Paul Crimo said he lived in the same house as Crimo III, who was an aspiring rapper and did not have a job. Some of the videos posted online by Crimo III depicted violence. They were taken down soon after his arrest. Patrick Brown gestures at the Conservative Party of Canada English leadership debate in Edmonton on May 11, 2022. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press) Patrick Brown Responds to Disqualification From Tory Leadership Race Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown responded to his disqualification from the Conservative Party leadership race on Wednesday after the committee organizing the contest put an end to his bid on July 5 on allegations that his campaign violated financial rules. No substance. We dont even know what the allegation is. Its an anonymous allegation being made. How do you respond to a phantom allegation? Brown told CTV News on July 6. All we know is theres an anonymous allegation that a corporation was paying someone who worked on my campaign. Brown said the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) didnt provide the name of the corporation or of the individual involved, otherwise his campaign could have investigated. Ian Brodie, chair of the LEOC, wrote in a statement that the Party became aware of serious allegations of wrongdoing by the Patrick Brown campaign that appear to violate the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act. He said the Brown campaigns response did not satisfy concerns about compliance with the race rules or the Elections Act. Brown has sparred with fellow candidate MP Pierre Poilievre during the race, and Brown blamed Poilievres campaign and supporters for the disqualification. We know where this is coming from. It was Pierre Poilievres supporters on LEOC that were pushing this, he said. If they wanted to have a coronation for Pierre Poilievre, I wish they just told me at the beginning. Dont invite candidates in a race that theres a preordained outcome the party establishment is hoping for. Poilievre campaign spokesperson Anthony Koch called the allegations against Brown credible in a statement to CTV. As should have been expected, in the hours since the decision, Patrick has lashed out at our campaign and the Party, wrote Koch. As always, when caught, Patrick tries to make himself into a victim, but ultimately the only person responsible for his disqualification is himself. The campaign team of former Quebec premier Jean Charest, who is also running in the leadership contest, called for transparency to understand what exactly transpired around the issue. MP Support In recent weeks, Brown lost key players and support in his campaign. Tory MP Michelle Rempel Garner was serving as his campaign co-chair but quit in mid-June to consider a leadership run for the United Conservative Party in Alberta. Browns campaign manager Sean Schnell also quit a week later to help Rempel Garner in her potential bid. Rempel Garner eventually decided not to run. In early June, Conservative MPs Dan Muys and Kyle Seeback switched their endorsements from Brown to Poilievre, leaving Doug Shipley as the sole MP endorsing Brown. Browns campaign has claimed that it has brought in 150,000 new party members. We felt that we were going to win it, we thought we had the memberships in the right spots, Brown told CTV. Party members should soon start receiving ballots to cast their votes, with the results expected to be announced Sept. 10. Pennsylvania history teacher Sharon Davis was suspended without pay after a discussion about standing for the Pledge of Allegiance offended some of her seventh grade students. (Courtesy of Sharon Davis) Pennsylvania Teacher Suspended After Discussion on Standing for Pledge of Allegiance Offends Students A Pennsylvania history teacher has been suspended without pay after a discussion about standing during the Pledge of Allegiance offended some of her 12- and 13-year-old seventh-grade students. Every morning before classes start, students are told to please rise for the playing of the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, which are broadcast over the loudspeaker at Central Dauphin East Middle School in Harrisburg. About two-thirds of the students remain seated, teacher Sharon Davis, 60, told The Epoch Times. It has been that way since the start of the school year, she said. Its their free speech right to do so. After the pledge, Daviss homeroom class stays with her for ancient world history. She has been teaching full time at the school for 20 years. My question of the course is, how have ancient civilizations impacted modern-day society? she said. At about the time Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Davis said she thought it would be beneficial for students to examine their reasoning for not standing during the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, so she talked about it occasionally over the course of several months. Part of a Lesson Ive always said to the class, I understand if its political or religious reasons, why youre not standing. I get that,' Davis said. But if they werent standing just out of laziness, that would be difficult to understand. She never forced them to stand, and she was aware that not all students were standing in other classrooms in the school, she said. Over the months, Davis taught the class that civilizations are conquered for two underlying reasons: power or protection. For example, Rome fell for three reasons, she said: economics, politics, and foreign invasion, meaning that its fall was about power, not protection. Likewise, the invasion of Ukraine is about power, not protection. She told students that in Ukraine, people with differencessuch as people of many different faiths or of no faith at allunited for one reason: to fight for their country. That same unity is displayed when students stand for the flag, and unity is important in the United States as well, she said. I said, In many countries around the world, you have to pay for your education, and here in America, we get a free education,' Davis said. She told students that in the Middle East, women dont have a lot of rights, and they dont get the same education as men. Offended Students Go to TikTok At one point, Davis separated some students who had been sitting together and talking during the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance. One of the students threw papers at her and grabbed things out of her hands, and another student called her a Karen. A student at Central Dauphin East Middle School in Harrisburg, Pa., attempted to get a teacher fired after a discussion about standing for the Pledge of Allegiance offended the student. (@firesharondavis/TikTok) The weekend after the students were separated, one student started a TikTok channel called Fire Sharon Davis, using the schools official logo and the heading, We are working to fire a teacher at Central Dauphin East Middle School. It had several videos using text. One videos text reads, Help us fire a racist and homophobic teacher! Another videos text reads: Ms. Davis needs to get fired and everyone agrees. Youre lying if you say she doesnt, and Ms. Davis said slurs before. Another reads, Ms. Davis is just bad and not a good teacher, and To the students of Central Dauphin East Middle School, lets get Ms. Davis fired. Shes racist and has said many horrible things. None of the students enjoy having her around either. She barely teaches correctly and its [sic] time that we get her fired. She needs to go. Davis was off work the Monday after the TikTok channel was started, the week of April 11. That Tuesday, when she returned to school, numerous students told her they were worried that she had been fired when she didnt come to school. They shared screenshots from TikTok. The principal talked to Davis that morning. She said, Theres a TikTok on you. And she was very vague with me. She said that the administration is taking care of it, Davis said. The TikTok channel was soon deleted, but Davis believes there was no investigation. The school didnt return calls from The Epoch Times requesting comment. Children in Charge Davis learned who posted the content and told the principal. That student was interviewed and admitted that she posted the calls to fire Davis. When asked why she did so, the student made accusations that started an investigation and disciplinary action against Davis. A student at Central Dauphin East Middle School in Harrisburg, Pa., attempted to get a teacher fired after a discussion about standing for the Pledge of Allegiance offended the student. (@firesharondavis/TikTok) The student stated that you had been lecturing students who were not standing for the flag and making inappropriate statements to those that did not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, Kathy McCool, the schools director of human resources, wrote in a June 7 letter to Davis. McCool said Daviss actions may be construed as a violation of students free speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The letter accused Davis of telling the principal that she wanted the student removed from the National Junior Honor Society because the student wasnt showing citizenship by declining to stand for the flag. I did not single out any one student, Davis said in a rebuttal letter. I used the teachable moment as a starting point for class discussion. My objective was to have open discussion about why our schools ask students every morning to please rise for the pledge to the flag. At no time did I make inappropriate comments to those who did not stand for the flag. She noted that she didnt say she wanted the student removed from the National Junior Honor Society. The student isnt yet a member. She suggested that the students application be reviewed because of the citizenship pillar thats endorsed by National Junior Honor Society guidelines. Your letter also states that I said I told a student that Buddhists in Bhutan persecuted Hindus so if she lived there, she wouldnt be able to not stand for the pledge because she would be killed. I did not say that, nor did I say it to one individual student, Davis wrote. I stated to the class that we are one of few countries that offers religious, political, and sometimes gender asylum for people who are persecuted or killed for not following their nations religious and political beliefs. I never had a specific or direct conversation in regard to this with an individual student during the school year. Daviss classroom includes students from Bhutan and Muslim students. One of the posts on the @firesharondavis TikTok account started by a student who was offended about a teachers discussion about standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. (@firesharondavis/TikTok) A student also reported that you had asked students if they went to any religious institutions, the letter from the school reads. To the students who responded that they did not, you responded, no wonder you do not have any morals. To a Muslim student, you reportedly said that if she still lived in her home country, she wouldnt have an education, in an effort to get the student to stand for the pledge. Davis disputes saying that and responded that at times she does ask students to share their family traditions and cultures to learn and create a welcoming classroom environment. Her comments have been taken out of context, she said. The student making the posts has expressed displeasure with my class. She was upset with me when I moved her seat away from her friends for talking, she wrote. This occurred around the same time. One of the students who was interviewed called me a Karen. Another student who was interviewed used a racial slur in my classroom and I called his mother to have a conversation. I believe that these students simply do not like me personally or my teaching style. They commented specifically that they wanted to get me fired. I wonder if students who are not disgruntled were interviewed regarding these accusations against me. I believe they would represent the classroom climate which I try to create. Davis has many letters from students praising her teaching. I am concerned that a student can so easily make inflammatory comments on social media about me and my character which threaten my job, ruin my reputation, and disrupt my rapport with my students, the school, and the outside community, she wrote. Furthermore, I am stressed to work in an environment where I have to defend myself for every conversation or discussion that occurs in my classroom. Job in Jeopardy The school responded on June 30 with another letter, placing Davis on unpaid administrative leave starting in August. She was teaching summer school, but had to stop because of the schools investigation. In addition, unless directed to report to the district, you should exclude yourself from the buildings and grounds while this investigation is pending. You should also not initiate any contact with any staff member, students or their parents during the investigation, the letter from the school reads. At the conclusion of the investigation, you will be notified by the district of the outcome, at which time the district will advise you of its determination regarding your work status. Jeff Schott, a labor and civil rights attorney at the Scaringi Law Firm in Harrisburg, is representing Davis. He told The Epoch Times that none of Daviss alleged conduct amounts to a violation of any rule, except for the unspoken rule against open patriotism in Pennsylvanias woke public school system. In no way were the students free speech rights not to stand or recite the pledge infringed upon by the teachers explanation of why she believes the flag should be respected, Schott said. To the contrary, Sharons free speech rights were completely trampled by the school district, which has suspended her for expressing her views on matters of public importance and inviting debate as one would expect and hope for from a Social Studies teacher. Ms. Davis should be reinstated immediately with no loss in pay or benefits. Davis said she feels like the school district doesnt value her as a human or as a teacher. She has started a GoFundMe account to pay for legal fees to save her job. Miami's police department has added a Pride cruiser to its fleet, joining Orlando and Wilton Manor in Florida. (Courtesy of Miami Police Department) Police Pride Cruisers Are a Growing Trend in Many Cities Forces Public reaction is mixture of support and outrage A growing number of police departments are adding Pride cars to their fleet of police cruisers. The latest rainbow-clad police cruiser to hit the streets was recently rolled out by the Columbus police department in Ohio. This is an opportunity to take what we learned from the past and make a better system for everybody thats equitable, the Columbus police department posted on Twitter while introducing its new Pride cruiser during last months Pride Month. The LGBTQ+ friendly cruiser is emblazoned with the slogan Report Hate Crimes, features a large rainbow flag on its hood, and has written in large script letters Love is Love on its back windows. The cruiser is also adorned with a rainbow heart with an overlay of Columbus Pride 2022. The traditional Police written on the side of cruisers is flanked by rainbow pinstripes and has a Pride license plate written in rainbow colors next to a traditional black police shield decal. Next to it is the 911 on the rear of police cruisers, only on the pride car, its written in rainbow colors. Columbus police officer Shawn Lutz, a six-year veteran of the force who is openly gay, is assigned to the Pride cruiser. The Columbus police department did not respond to requests from The Epoch Times for the cost of the Pride cruiser. Public reaction to the colorful cop car has been a mixed bag of support and outrage. Yolanda Harris, a TV news anchor with WBNS, saw it as a great way to support the LGBTQ+ community. I commend you @ColumbusPolice for trying something new, she posted on Twitter. Others, however, saw it as special treatment for the LGBTQ community. Honestly do we really need a gay mobile to show support. Do we have a veterans vehicle or a mentally challenged vehicle the list can go on and on, Salvator Brancato wrote in response to a Youtube video the Columbus P.D. recently posted showcasing its new Pride cruiser. A woman who identified herself as a MAGA supporter and conservative mom tweeted, The only time I would support defunding the police. Houston, Austin, New York City, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Ridgewood, New Jersey; and Madison, Wisconsin; are among cities that already added pride cop cars to their fleet of cruisers before Columbus purchased their Pride cruiser this year. Miami also recently joined Orlando and Wilton Manor as law enforcement agencies in Florida that have added a Pride cruiser to its fleet of cop cars. Maxx Fenning, president of the LGBTQ+ nonprofit Prism, told The Epoch Times that he is not too impressed with the Pride cruisers. Putting a rainbow logo on something may improve the image of the police, but it is a visibility that Im not sure does much good for the LGBTQ community, he said. Fenning said hed rather see police departments spend resources on things like diversity training and hiring more gay cops. He said he feels like Pride cruisers are part of what he called rainbow capitalism,a growing trend using aesthetic support of gays to get the LGBTQ dollar. That could be translated into financial support for public service, he added, it is a bit disingenuous. Most of the cities with Pride cruisers are among the cities that also defunded their local police departments following the death of George Floyd. In 2021, the Columbus police departments $361 million budget was reduced to $337 million. We cant continue to put money into the police budget when people dont even have a place to stay or the basic necessities needed to survive, Hana Abdur-Rahim, lead organizer for the Black Abolitionist Collective of Ohio (BACO), was quoted as saying by Matter News in Ohio. Austin, which cut a third of its police budget, did a makeover in 2021 of its Pride cruiser it first rolled out in 2016, adding more rainbow fanfare including a police shield with a rainbow background and the caption Safe Place. It also added a Pride patch, created by the Lesbian and Gay Peace Officers Association (LGPOA) to its police uniforms. Police Say 70-Year-Old Missouri Man Killed Disabled Sister ST. LOUISA 70-year-old Missouri man is facing charges in the beating death of his disabled sistera crime police said the man carried out because he was frustrated about having to care for her. Medics and officers were called to a home Sunday in an unincorporated part of St. Louis County by Anthony Sokolich, who said his sister was unresponsive, the St. Louis Count Police Department said in a statement Tuesday. Officers found Katherine Sokolich, 63, with serious injuries to her face, and she was taken to a hospital with a brain bleed, the department said. The defendant subsequently admitted to striking her multiple times prior to her being unresponsive, police said. Police said Anthony Sokolich was arrested and charged Sunday with felony assault. His sister later died at the hospital, and police said they expected his charges to be upgraded. Sokolich was set to appear in court on Tuesday. Prosecutors have not returned a phone message left by The Associated Press seeking comment. No attorney was listed for Sokolich in online court records. An extremely premature baby that was born at 23 weeks and 4 daysjust three days before the legal abortion limit in the United Kingdomwas saved by her mothers cuddles. When Elsie Dutton was born on Dec. 2, 2021, weighing 1 pound 2 ouncesslightly more than a tin of baked beans, the little girl wasnt expected to survive, as her twin, Dotty, died in the womb when her mother Amy went into labor after surgery to separate them. However, the brave little girl, who was born at St Georges Hospital, London, has defied all the odds and come out of her ordeal with no issues, which according to doctors is because of her mothers kangaroo care. Elsie Dutton with mom Amy Dutton. (Courtesy of Caters News) Amy, 33, was able to hold Elsie for only 30 seconds when she was born as she was whisked away to the NICU. Tiny Elsie proved she was a little fighter and battled on despite doctors warning her parents she may not make it through surgery at just 10 days old. She got necrotizing enterocolitisa hole in her boweland the doctors took me and Scott aside to say she might not survive the surgery, Amy said. They said with her being that small, there was a chance she wouldnt survive the anesthetic, and even if everything went ok, shes still at risk while recovering because of infections and things. Amy said the family had no idea how long it would take because the medical team wasnt aware how much of her bowel had survived until they opened her up. We had to wait three hours and it was the longest three hours of my life, we were just constantly clock-watching, Amy recalled. It was a really scary time. After the surgery, the consultant rang to say that she was out but didnt provide too many details about how it had gone. Thus the parents literally ran to get her. It was the biggest relief when we saw her again, and the surgeon said it went amazing, like the best-case scenario, Amy said. Elsie when she was just born. (Courtesy of Caters News) But Amy had to wait for a month to hold her, as Elsie was fighting for her life in the incubator. Having to wait so long to hold her was really difficult, so when I finally did, it meant so much, Amy said. The first time I held her properly was honestly amazing. Ive never known anything like it. For Amy, who also works as a bridal stylist, there was no other feeling in the world that could compare. Doctors advised Amy that Elsies best chance of survival was to have cuddles with her mother. They shared that for Elsies heartbeat to grow stronger and start to regulate itself, it was important for her to be close to her mothers heartbeat. So for hours every day, Amy sat and held her tiny daughter close to her chest, cuddling her and seeing her get stronger and stronger. It was just amazing. I would hold her and I could see on all the monitors that her heart rate was relaxing. It felt so special, Amy said. Its something that was good for me and for her because it helps bring my stress down being able to hold her. Amy had no idea that cuddling her newborn daughter for a few hours each day would have such an impact. It saved her life, she explained. Amy Dutton with Elsie just after she was born. (Courtesy of Caters News) The mom of two, who is from Barnsley, South Yorks, repeated the process for four months. Known as kangaroo care, cuddles with parents have been proven to help premature babies survive. Dr. Sijo Francis, clinical director of childrens services at St Georges University Hospital, said: When babies like Elsie are born prematurely, clinical intervention is key, but parents involvement also has a hugely positive effect. Bobbie Everson, the family care coordinator at St Georges, added: Kangaroo Care significantly improves mothers breast milk supply as it greatly increases oxytocin, our feel good (or love) hormone. During the four months that Elsie was at the hospital, her father, Scott, and brother, Charlie, 7, who were at home to attend work and school, would have to travel down to London every weekend to see Elsie. It was really difficult because I was spending most of the week on my own, Amy said. The two of them would arrive in London late on a Friday night, and children werent allowed on the ward so we were never all together as a family. One of them had to remain with Charlie, so when Scott would be in the hospital to be with Elsie, Amy would be out with Charlie. However, one weekend when Scotts sister came down with them, she was able to stay with Charlie, and thus Scott and Amy were with their daughter together. Amy had been pregnant with twins but suffered from twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, a condition in which one baby receives all the nutrients and vitamins and the other twin does not. I had to have endoscopic laser ablation, which is a surgery to separate the twins, down in London, and at first, doctors were impressed with how it went, Amy said. But then I started bleeding very heavily and I had to have three blood transfusions. They then lost the heartbeat of the baby, and after a few hours, Amy had lost so much blood that she went into labor at 23 weeks and four days. Sadly, because Elsies twin died before 24 weeks, she was legally classed as having a miscarriage, despite Amy giving birth to Elsie just hours later. Losing Dotty was really difficult. Because it was before 24 weeks, I was never able to register her as a stillborn, she was classed as a miscarriage, Amy said. That meant I wasnt able to put on Elsies birth certificate that she was a twin, either. Amy laments that having that on the paperwork would have helped give her closure, as she had already been through so many challenges. But the family was able to get a commemorative certificate for Dotty, and her ashes, which, according to Amy, was really helpful for the grieving process. Meanwhile, her funeral was paid for by the charity First Touch. After four months in the hospital and one month at a hospital in Barnsley, Amy was able to bring Elsiewho is now one of the youngest babies born in the UK to survivehome. Shes literally defied all the odds, shes just amazing, doctors are always so impressed with her, Amy said. At the moment, shes still on oxygen, but every time we go to a doctors appointment they reduce the amount she needs and shell be off it soon. Amy Dutton with husband Scott, bringing baby Elsie home. (Courtesy of Caters News) Now, Elsies proud dad and big brother are enjoying cuddles with Elsie. Bringing her home for the first time was honestly amazing, Amy said. I almost didnt think it was real Ive never felt such a relief as when we got to walk out of the hospital and take her home. For Amy, this entire process has been like a weird dream. Before the family left the hospital, the mom also learned from a doctor that Elsie was the first baby shed intubated who had survived. To think shes overcome all that and now come away with no issues, were so incredibly lucky, Amy said. Its so lovely to have her home and the whole family be together. Amy and Scott with Elsie and Charlie. (Courtesy of Caters News) Seeing Elsie, whos currently thriving, reunited with Charlie is a special moment for the parents. Its so surreal to hold your baby and think about how you could have lost her, and having her home after all that uncertainty was just bliss, Amy shared. Scott and Amy are now fundraising for the charity that helped save Elsies life, First Touch. Epoch Times Staff contributed to this report. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Former paramedic Jake Drumm talks about medical care in austere environments at a Self Reliance Festival in Camden, Tenn., on June 11, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Prepping for Medical Emergencies When No Help Is Coming CAMDEN, Tenn.Almost everyone, even those who are focused on preparedness, are woefully unprepared medically, said Jake Drumm, a former paramedic and founder of Drumm Emergency Solutions. Most people think they should just buy a big ol first aid kit and theyre done, he said at a self-reliance festival in Tennessee on June 12. Drumm says its more important to get training, learn how to use the equipment you have, and have basic knowledge on mid- to long-term care. He teaches classes on how to manage first aid emergencies in austere environments, such as post-tornado or hurricane, a vehicle accident, a shooting, or generally if EMS isnt readily available. Its doing medicine when you dont have the stuff to do the medicine, he said. We have to think beyond the initial care. The leading cause of death for the 1 to 45 age group is accidents; half of those are blood-loss trauma, Drumm said. A person can bleed out in three minutes. Drumms five top first aid kit recommendations reflect those statistics. The first item is a combat-approved tourniquet and the knowledge of how to apply it, for how long, and how to release pressure without poisoning the body, as well as the permanent damage they can cause. The second item that Drumm recommends is a quality pressure bandage, often called an Israeli bandage, to help stop bleeding. Learn how to apply pressure to stop bleeding, he said. The third item is some kind of wound-packing gauze, preferably a military-style dressing that includes a hemostatic agent to aid blood clotting. The fourth item is a chest seal for any penetrating trauma to the chest such as a bullet wound, and the fifth is protective gear for the carergloves and eye protection (a pair of $5 racquetball goggles will suffice, Drumm said). Beyond the Initial First Aid When emergency services arent immediately, or at all, many other factors come into play when caring for an injured person. Drumm uses the acronym HITMAN to run through the somewhat daunting, but obviously vital, prolonged field care essentials. HITMAN is the list to use beyond the initial 15 minutes of emergency care. So it could be another 15 minutes, it could be 15 days, it could be 15 months, Drumm said. The H represents hydration, hypothermia, hygiene, and high anxiety. Two measures of how well someone is hydrated are how frequently they urinate and the color of their urine (lighter is better). The No. 1 cause of death is exposure/hypothermia in austere care environments, Drumm said. All these people who got wounds and died, generally died from exposure. As for hygiene, if you, your patient, and your equipment arent kept clean, other illnesses or infections can cause additional problems. Drumm said avoiding high anxiety is a critical component to first aid. You need to calm yourself to give good care, he said. The I stands for infection and increased temperature. Learn to deal with fevers. With limited exceptions, as long as that fevers controlled, as long as youre drinking and eating, that fever is not going to kill you, Drumm said. The T represents tourniquets, trends, and tidy up. Lets just say that you have to put a tourniquet on someone and its going to be six hours until some kind of definitive care, Drumm asked. Do you think you should leave the tourniquet on for six hours? No. Drumm encourages people to learn the protocol for tourniquet conversion, as releasing a tourniquet that has been left on for too long can be fatal. As for trends, its important to keep thorough notes of vital signs and treatments, including times. Because in extremis, you will remember nothing. You will have no idea what you did 20 minutes ago to your patient, Drumm said. Tidy up means constant cleaning. You will not be able to stay clean in an austere environment. And what that means is, is that you have to work double, triple overtime to keep yourself clean, keep your patient clean, and keep the area clean, Drumm said. The M of HITMAN stands for medications. A large chunk of the American population takes prescribed medication on a daily basis, including antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, or antipsychotic drugs. Who thinks its a good idea to stop taking that cold turkey in the middle of a very stressful event? Drumm asked. He suggests developing a plan to wean someone off their medication over a 30- to 90-day period. This is probably the most important thing for planning for austere medicine scenarios, he said. The A represents analgesia, alimentary, and associated problems. Have a plan for pain control, Drumm suggests, but that can be challenging. Alimentary refers to nutrition and digestion. Your patients dont stop peeing and pooping and vomiting just because theyre sick or injured, Drumm said. Far more people in Haiti died from cholera than from the big earthquake. Finally, the N represents nutrition, night-night (everyone has to sleep), and no-go. Nutrition is the caloric intake a person needs to survive and thrive. A patient with burns to 40 percent of their body surface area requires 10,000 calories in a 24-hour period, Drumm said. And no-go is the decision to stop care and let someone die. Its a real consideration with medical planning. Understand that people die, people will get sick, and they will get injured with things that you will not fix, Drumm said. Because sometimes, it is hopeless. You get a 50 or 60 percent burn, and you have no pain control, and you have no fluids, and you have no way to treat infectionthat persons going to die. You will not fix everything. We are humans. But you can do some stuff to get prepared now that will make any sort of crisis much easier to manage. Home Secretary Priti Patel has told Tory MPs pushing for the Prime Minister to resign to forget it. (Danny Lawson/PA) Priti Patel Says She Will Stop Big Social Media Firms Blinding Themselves With Encryption The Home Secretary Priti Patel has pledged to amend legislation going through Parliament in an attempt to stop Facebook, Snapchat, and other big social brands from intentionally blinding themselves to child abuse and other illegal activities by using encryption. Writing in The Telegraph, Patel said: Child sexual abuse is an unimaginably wicked crime. Tackling this online is a global problem, requiring global solutions. We all need to play our part. She said there was a danger the big tech firms could use the excuse of end-to-end encryption for messages and sharing content to say they were unaware of what was going on under their noses. The Online Safety Bill is currently going through Parliament and has already provoked a great deal of controversy. Last month a leading media law expert, Gavin Millar QC, wrote, in a legal opinion for the freedom of expression campaign group Index on Censorship: If this legislative regime comes into force, there will be very many more restrictions on Internet use. Patel said, in the Telegraph: We do not want to censor anyone or restrict free speech, but we must do more to combat these foul, hugely destructive crimes. The Onus Is on Tech Companies to Mitigate the Risks But she said end-to-end encryption reduced the social media companies ability to detect child sexual abuse and she said: We intend to amend and strengthen the (Online Safety) Bill to ensure that the onus is on tech companies to develop or source technology to mitigate the risks, regardless of their design choices. She said those who fail to comply will be fined up to 18 million, or 10 percent of their global annual turnover, by Ofcom. Patel went on to say in The Telegraph: The UK government wholeheartedly supports the responsible use of encryption technologies. They are widely used by banks to protect financial information and to stop it being accessed or misused when UK citizens bank or make purchases online. Last year Apple said they were planning to introduce a way of scanning all iPhones for child abuse images. But Ross Anderson, professor of security engineering at the University of Cambridge, said it was an absolutely appalling idea and told the Financial Times: It is going to lead to distributed bulk surveillance of our phones and laptops. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with families awarded Orders of Parental Glory via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on June 1, 2022. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) Putin Says No Problem If Finland, Sweden Join NATO as Membership Moves Closer Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Moscow has no problem if Finland and Sweden join NATO, but he warned that the Kremlin would respond in kind if troops and infrastructure would be deployed in the two Nordic countries. In regard to Finland and Sweden, we dont have problems with Finland and Sweden that, unfortunately, we have with Ukraine, Putin said during a news conference on June 29 in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat after completing talks with regional leaders in the central Asian ex-Soviet state. Please go ahead, the Russian president said in reference to the two countries seeking to become NATO members, adding that Moscow doesnt have territorial differences. However, Putin noted that Helsinki and Stockholm should clearly understand that they didnt face any threats prior to joining the military alliance. He warned last week that Moscow will respond to any kind of action that makes Russia feels threatened. If NATO troops and infrastructure are deployed, we will be compelled to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created, the Russian president said. Everything was going fine between us, but now there will be tensions, there certainly will, he added. This is obvious and inevitable, I repeat, if there is a threat to us. Putin made his comment a day after NATO member Turkey lifted its veto over the bid by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after the three nations agreed to protect each others security. The move means Helsinki and Stockholm can proceed with their application to join NATO, marking the biggest shift in European security in decades. On July 5, NATO ambassadors signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden that will allow them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once parliaments ratify the decision, its most significant expansion since the 1990s. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it was a historic day for Finland, for Sweden, for NATO, and for Euro-Atlantic security. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg holds the closing press conference at NATO headquarters during the second of two days of defense ministers meetings in Brussels, Belgium, on June 16, 2022. (Omar Havana/Getty Images) Finland and Sweden will make strong and important contributions to our alliance, Stoltenberg said after Tuesdays ceremony. I commend all allies for moving so quickly in accepting Finland and Swedens applications for membership, and I want to thank Turkey, Finland and Sweden for their constructive approach. The protocol means Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence but will not be protected by the NATO defense clausethat an attack on one ally is an attack against alluntil ratification. That is likely to take up to a year. The move for Helsinki and Stockholm to become members of the alliance was accelerated following Russias attack on Ukraine, prompting Russian neighbors to appeal for NATOs additional security guarantees. Finland, which has a population of 5.5 million, shares the EUs longest border with Russia, an 833-mile frontier. The two Nordic countries were traditionally military nonaligned, but the ongoing war in Ukraine has triggered a surge in support for joining NATO. Russia, for its part, has previously warned the countries against joining NATO, with Kremlin officials saying it wouldnt contribute to stability in Europe. Moscow said in the past it would respond to such a move with retaliatory measures that would cause military and political consequences for Helsinki and Stockholm. Reuters contributed to this report. From NTD News Singer R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago, Ill., on Sept. 17, 2019. (Antonio Perez/Pool via Getty Images) R. Kelly Removed From Suicide Watch at Brooklyn Jail Former R&B star and convicted sex trafficker R. Kelly has been removed from suicide watch at Brooklyns Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), rendering a lawsuit his attorney filed moot. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Speight confirmed in a letter to a federal court that the convicted sex trafficker, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, had been reassessed, Fox News reported. Defendants United States of America, Warden Heriberto H. Tellez, and MDC Brooklyn respectfully inform the Court that following a clinical assessment, Plaintiff Robert Sylvester Kelly, also known as R. Kelly, was removed from suicide watch as of this morning, July 5, 2022, Speight wrote in a letter As a result, Plaintiffs emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction is now moot. Kellys lawyer Jennifer Bonjean, on July 1 filed a complaint alleging that MDC Brooklyn had unlawfully placed Kelly on suicide watch as a form of punishment. In the filing, Bonjean wrote that Kelly impressed upon me repeatedly that he was not suicidal and that conditions at the prison were extraordinarily stressful and harmful. He expressed on multiple occasions that he did not want to be put on suicide watch and that he was not suicidal and had no thoughts of harming himself or anyone else, the lawyer wrote. High-Profile Inmate Court documents filed by Bonjean claimed Kelly was being confined illegally in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights for punitive reasons for no reason other than his status as a high-profile inmate. On Monday, the Bureau of Prisons announced Kelly had been removed from suicide watch, Fox News reported. He will soon be transported to Illinois to stand trial for federal sex crimes. On June 29, Kelly was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 30 years in prison. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn on Sept. 27, 2021, after six weeks of trial, of nine counts of charges that included racketeering predicated on criminal conduct including sexual exploitation of children. The charges included forced labor and Mann Act violations involving the coercion and transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity. South Africa: President Ramaphosa receives Just Energy Transition framework President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Just Energy Transition (JET) Framework will serve as a key evidence-based guide for policy making for South Africas transition from a carbon intensive economy towards a greener and cleaner economy. The framework was presented to him by the Presidential Climate Committee (PCC) on Tuesday. As this Just Transition framework underscores, combating climate change is not only an environmental imperative, but an economic one as well. This framework is an evidence-based document and a victory for evidence-based policymaking. The publication of this framework must now serve as a call to action to each of us to embrace the opportunities presented by a low-carbon, inclusive, climate resilient economy and society, he said. The PCC has held stakeholder engagements, community dialogues and colloquiums in a bid to conduct robust research and analysis and hear views on South Africas transition in a bid to leave no-one behind. President Ramaphosa hailed the thorough work done by the PCC and highlighted that the framework has the potential to revolutionise the country. It sets out the skills development, economic diversification, social support, governance and finance mechanisms required to make low carbon economy a reality. It advocates for a massive expansion of renewable energy, battery storage, new energy vehicles, green minerals and the hydrogen economy. It calls for the creation of long term decent work that mitigates losses from the decline in fossil fuel usage. Green, as the common expression goes, is the new gold, he said. The President emphasised that the JET framework will have implications for the education and social security sectors and will also require work to be done to ensure that the framework finds expression within government plans and budgets. In education, one of the immediate implications is re-skilling and upskilling the workforce, so that they are able to adapt to new technologies. The challenge we face is to overhaul the education system from basic education level, so that learners are thoroughly prepared for green jobs as part of the new economy. Also important is the need to provide comprehensive social security safety for displaced workers and communities. We envisage that this support will include mechanisms that promote entrepreneurship and self-employment where possible, complemented by social protection funds, President Ramaphosa said. The President acknowledged that the framework will require significant resources to be pulled from both government and the private sector. There will be need for significant capital mobilisation from both public and private sources. Now that we have this framework we will be able to proceed apace with harnessing the benefits of the Just Energy Transition Partnership we concluded with the governments of the US, United Kingdom, Germany, France and the EU last year, he said. The partnership which is worth up to $8.5 billion is expected to assist South Africa on its decarbonisation journey. Commission Deputy Chairperson Vali Moosa said the JET framework is platform upon which South Africa can springboard the economy towards a low carbon emissions and addressing climate change. While the framework is not an implementation plan, it presents an organising frame for us to coordinate our efforts around the just transition. It is a foundation for more work to follow, underpinned by significant mobilisation towards social inclusion and help reach our climate goals, with a high degree of trust between all parties and a requisite policy intervention led by government, driven by industry and entrenched in our communities, Moosa said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-07-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Recall Gascon Campaign to Submit Over 700,000 Signatures LOS ANGELESRecall District Attorney George Gascon organizers say they will submit more than 700,000 petition signatures in time for todays deadline at the countys election office. If a minimum of 566,857 signatures are verified, voters will decide whether to oust the progressive DA from office in Novembers General Election. The sheer magnitude of this effort, and time and investment required to get to this point, show how strong the public desire is to remove George Gascon from office, recall spokesman Tim Lineberger said in a statement. From day one, this recall has been led by the very victims who Gascon has abandoned, ignored, and dismissed. When the recall qualifies, he will not be able to ignore them any longer. California, along with 19 other states, has outlined a recall process in its constitution to allow voters to eject an elected official from office. Gascon, elected in December 2020, has drawn controversy for his progressive reforms of Los Angeles Countys criminal justice system, such as no longer charging minors as adults, eliminating many sentencing enhancements including firearms, ending the death penalty, and removing cash bail for misdemeanors or nonviolent felony crimes. Critics of these policies say it has only increased crime, pointing to statistics from the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department earlier this year that show a 94 percent jump in homicides between 2019 to 2021, and a 54 percent increase in auto theft. But Gascon has defended his policies and called the recall effort against him an initiative driven by very conservative, very right-wing forces during an interview with the How We Win podcast on June 1. They have sort of created this false narrative about this is anti-safety, which is kind of the same fear-mongering tactics frankly that you can go back to the Nixon era, Gascon said during the hour-long interview. More than 30 cities in Los Angeles County, including Torrance, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and Beverly Hills, support the recall, with more than a dozen passing votes of no confidence against Gascons policies. Several high-profile law enforcement unions, including the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, and the Los Angeles Police Protective League also support the recall. The Office of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk has 30 working days to verify recall signatures. Regulators become considerably less useful when they go after teachers who espouse the wrong political ideology. (Brian Guest/Shutterstock) Michael Zwaagstra: Regulatory Bodies Should Monitor Professional Standards, Not Ideology Commentary The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) serves as the regulatory body for public school teachers in Ontario. All teachers in the public school system are required to be members in good standing of the college. When a complaint comes in, the OCT is obligated to investigate and, if the teacher is found guilty, decide on an appropriate consequence. Having this process in place leads to better accountability, particularly when the names of misbehaving teachers are published on the OCT website. Parents and other members of the public have every right to know the disciplinary history of anyone working as a teacher. It makes sense to have a regulatory body that sets and upholds professional standards. Many of the professional standards expected of teachers are quite obvious. For example, everyone agrees that teachers should never exploit their relationships with students for personal gain. Teachers are also expected to treat their students with respect and must avoid harsh disciplinary punishments. In addition, teachers must avoid exposing their students to inappropriate content and must use the provincial curriculum as their basis of instruction. Visit the OCT website and you will find plenty of published decisions involving teachers who fell well short of these professional standards. The OCT plays a vital role in holding teachers accountable to the public. Unfortunately, the OCT is considerably less useful when it goes after teachers who espouse the wrong political ideology. For example, Ottawa high school teacher Chanel Pfahl is currently being investigated for two brief comments she made last year on a private teachers Facebook group. In her first comment, Pfahl argued that teachers shouldnt indoctrinate kids in critical race theory but should instead show kindness to everyone and speak out against all forms of discrimination. Pfahls second comment consisted of a link to a speech by United Kingdom cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch explaining her governments opposition to critical race theory. These comments by Pfahl form the sole basis for OCTs investigation, which began several months ago and is still underway. One wonders how long it takes OCT officials to investigate two Facebook comments. What should be concerning to everyone is that this investigation has nothing to do with Pfahls professional work as a teacher. Rather, it amounts to an evaluation of her political beliefs. Determining whether Pfahls views are right or wrong is a matter of opinion and falls well outside the appropriate domain of any professional regulatory body. Regulating professional activity is one thing. Regulating political ideology is quite another. A teacher can be effective in the classroom regardless of whether they are right-wing, left-wing, centrist, or completely apolitical. Simply put, one should expect to see a diversity of opinions among the members of any profession. Sadly, this type of mission creep is not limited to the OCT. Amy Hamm is a registered nurse in British Columbia. She is currently being investigated by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) because she publicly expressed the view that it is important to protect the sex-based rights of women and girls. Hamms opinion on this issue might be correct. It also might be dead wrong. Either way, it isnt the role of the BCCNM to police the political beliefs of its members. A nursing regulatory body should focus on upholding the professional standards of the nursing profession, not on ensuring that all nurses hold the correct view on controversial topics. Fortunately, some professionals are pushing back against regulatory bodies that overstep their authority. For example, when the Law Society of Ontario tried to force all lawyers to adopt and abide by a statement advocating equality and diversity, dissenting lawyers got organized and voted in a new board of directors (benchers). The new benchers then voted to scrap this mandatory statement of principles. Regulatory bodies already have plenty of real work to do without getting into the business of policing the political beliefs of members. While professionals should be expected to meet a common professional standard, they do not need to hold the same political beliefs. Diversity of thought among professionals is something that should be welcomed, not shut down. Regulatory bodies should stick to their core purpose and stay out of politics. This would benefit everyone. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Flags fly at half-staff in honor of the U.S. service members and other victims killed in the terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, at Camp Justice on Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba on Aug. 29, 2021. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo) Republicans Brush Off House Democrats Latest Plan to Close Guantanamo Bay A Democratic-led effort in the House of Representatives to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is facing ridicule from Republicans, who have expressed opposition to the plan. The Guantanamo Bay detention facility is a U.S territory in Cuba that came into existence in January 2002 under President George W. Bush in the early days of the so-called War on Terror. A thousand Marines from Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, were scrambled across the Gulf of Mexico to quickly build the facility as a place to hold alleged terrorists awaiting trial in the United States or before a military tribunal. Guantanamo Bay has been controversial since it was founded in 2002, as were the Iraq War, begun under the false pretense of the presence of weapons of mass destruction, and the Afghanistan War, in which the United States tried and fail to unroot the Taliban terrorist organization which has since taken over the nation. Now, House Democrats are making another largely symbolic push to close the facility, which houses some of the most dangerous terrorists captured overseas. After over 20 years in existence, the facility now houses only 39 detainees. A provision in the Democrats draft of a bill to fund the Department of Defense through fiscal year 2023, which has passed the Democrat-held House Appropriations Committee, would close the detention center for good. The provision reads simply, None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to operate the detention facility at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after September 30, 2023. No Money For Guantanamo House Appropriations Chair Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) defended the measure in a statement to The Hill. Currently, the United States spends about $540 million of taxpayer money on the facility annually, McCollum said, adding that it would be better used elsewhere. Im going to work hard in conference committee, McCollum said. Its not a good use of taxpayers money, and if we need more money for defense, it should go to things that are going to make a difference in our national security. In a July 5 tweet, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) echoed the sentiment that Guantanamo Bay doesnt add to national security. Guantanamo Bay does not protect our nation, Maloney wrote. We must finally close it down as part of this years [military spending bill]. However, the bill does not make clear what would be done with these detainees, who are largely high-ranking terrorist leaderspresumptively meaning that they would be transported to the United States for detention. Keeping these inmates out of the United States has long been a priority for Republicans. In the past two years, separate bills have been introduced by Reps. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Pat Fallon (R-Texas), Mike Turner (R-Ohio), and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), in addition to one offered to the Senate by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), that would bar the federal government from using congressional appropriations to fund the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Terrorists should never be allowed to step foot on American soil, Boebert said after introducing one of the latest variations of this type of bill. Democrats are calling for terrorists to be released from Guantanamo, she continued. We should keep these terrorists right where they belong: behind bars and out of America. While Biden was vice president, the Obama regime released 196 terrorists from Guantanamo. Unsurprisingly, many of those individuals have returned to terrorism, killing American soldiers and civilians. After Bidens disastrous Afghanistan failure, I think the country has had enough of his soft-on-terrorism strategy, she added. Because Democrats hold 50 seats in the Senate, at least 10 Republicans would need to sign onto the provision for it to pass as part of the larger package, assuming that all 50 Democrats support the measure. This, according to members of both parties, is unlikely to happen. Retired Major General Wants Gitmo Closed [Democrats] have such slim majorities right now, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) told The Hill. Its difficult for them to do anything so, getting something that controversial done is just, as a practical matter, not going to happen. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, seemed to agree, telling reporters, Im sure its not going to happen. No rational persons going to support that, Inhofe added. Its an absolutely vital institution. Even Democrats who support the measure have admitted its a long shot. We shouldve closed it years ago, said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairmam Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). I agreed with President Bush on that. I agreed with President Obama. I would vote for anything to close Guantanamo Bay. [But] you have to have the votes. And weve tried before, and they havent been able to get it. Some military leaders have expressed similar sentiments as Democrats, saying that the hasty construction of the facility and its common practices in contravention of the Geneva Conventions were better for policymakers than for the military servicemembers who had to build and maintain the facility. The speed of Guantanamos creation and the urgency to gain information had bad consequences, Retired Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert, who oversaw the construction of the facility, told Congress in his December 2021 testimony about the issue. The legal ambiguities that make Guantanamo an attractive choice for some policy makers sets up extraordinary challenges for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who must execute these policies, Lehnert said. The subsequent decision to subject detainees to so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, and to avoid application of the Geneva Conventions except when it suited us, cost us international support and aided our enemies. Closing Gitmo Long Promised by Democrats Democrats have long wanted to shutter the detention facility for good. In 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama made closing Guantanamo Bay one of the pivotal issues of his foreign policy platform, and he also promised to bring troops home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But eight years later, Obama left office with Guantanamo Bay still open and several military conflicts still ongoing. During his 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden made the same promiseand has had little more success than Obama in fulfilling that promise. In August 2021, 75 House Democrats penned a letter to Biden expressing frustration with the lack of progress toward closing the facility and encouraging Biden to fulfill the promises he made on the campaign trail. We write in strong support of your stated goal to close the prison, the coalition of Democrats wrote. We share your belief that after nearly two decades and tremendous expense, it is time to close the prison and seek prompt resolutions for the cases of the remaining detainees, the letter continued. We ask that as you take the steps necessary to finally closing the prison, you act immediately to further reduce its population, ensure that the remaining detainees are treated humanely, and increase the transparency of military commission proceedings at the Guantanamo detention facility. In the letter, Democrats decried the facility as a fundamental betrayal of our values and our commitment as a country to the rule of law. However, without the support of the Senate, Congress will not be able to put an end to the facility for good, and GOP member comments indicate that this controversial provision is likely to be struck from the draft of the bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee. Russian Advance on Ukraines Donetsk Region Thwarted so Far, Kyiv Says KYIV, UkraineUkraine has so far thwarted an attempted Russian advance into the northern part of its Donetsk region, but the city of Sloviansk and other civilian areas are being heavily shelled, Ukrainian officials said on July 6. Russia has increased its focus on Donetsk, the southern part of which the country and its proxies already control, after completing its seizure of the neighboring Luhansk region on July 3 with the capture of Lysychansk, which now lies in ruins. Moscow says fully pushing the Ukrainian military out of both regions is central to what it calls a special military operation to ensure its own security, a now four-month-long offensive that the West is calling an unprovoked war of aggression. Donetsk and Luhansk make up the Donbas region, the industrialized eastern part of Ukraine, which Russia wants to wrest control of on behalf of Moscow-backed separatists in two self-proclaimed peoples republics. Ukrainian officials said heavy fighting has been taking place as Russian forces have tried to push from Luhansk into Donetsk region and toward the city of Sloviansk. We are holding back the enemy on the border of Luhansk region and Donetsk region, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television. He said Russian regular army and reserve forces have been sent to the border in an apparent effort to cross the Siverskiy Donets river and that two small settlements just inside Luhansks borders were the scene of fierce fighting. Luhansk region even now is fighting. Almost all the territory has been captured, but in two settlements fighting is ongoing he said in a video briefing. Smoke rises after shelling during UkraineRussia conflict in Donetsk, Ukraine, on July 4, 2022. (Kazbek Basayev/Reuters) Gaidai and other Ukrainian officials have said that Russian forces are pounding targets in the Donetsk region with artillery. Vadym Lyakh, mayor of Sloviansk, said in a July 6 video briefing that the city has been shelled for the past two weeks. The situation is tense, he said, speaking a day after local officials said Russian forces had struck a market and a residential area in Sloviansk and killed at least two people. Russia says it doesnt target civilians. Lyakh said 17 residents had been killed and 67 wounded since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Its pre-war population of more than 100,000 people has shrunk to about 23,000, and more and more people wanted to leave because of the shelling, he said. The southern port city of Mykolaiv was also being heavily shelled, its mayor, Oleksandr Senkevych, said in a briefing. Russian forces were using multiple launch rocket systems to shell the city, which has shed about half of its pre-war population of half a million people. There are no safe areas in Mykolaiv, he said. I am telling the people of the city that they need to leave. Gaidai said Russian forces were pillaging Lysychansk and its twin city Sievierodonetsk. Everything is being destroyed, he said. Reuters couldnt immediately verify this report. By Pavel Polityuk and Max Hunder Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 5, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Sen. Lindsey Graham Fires Back After Being Subpoenaed in Georgia Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)s lawyers indicated he would challenge a subpoena that was issued by a Fulton County, Georgia, election inquiry. Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job. Senator Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail, Grahams lawyers told news outlets in a statement Wednesday, describing the request as all politics. On Tuesday, officials in Fulton County issued subpoenas to not only Graham, but six other individuals connected to former President Donald Trump. The subpoena ordered the Republican senator to give testimony to the grand jury in the inquiry on July 12. During the telephone calls, the witness questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump, the subpoena issued against Graham read. The witness also made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign. All Politics But his lawyers said Wednesday that as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections and that information that is potentially provided to Fulton County officials had been shared with the Georgia Secretary of States office. Then-President Donald Trumps lawyers Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani as seen at a hearing in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 30, 2020. (Screenshot via NTD) Graham, they argued, is neither a subject nor target of the investigation, but hes simply a witness. This is all politics. Fulton County is engaged in a fishing expedition and working in concert with the January 6 Committee in Washington, they said, referring to the House special committee investigating the incident at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In response to his lawyers statement, Jeff DiSantis, a spokesman for the District Attorney, told media outlets that if witnesses choose to challenge an order that they testify before the Special Purpose Grand Jury, the District Attorney will respond in the appropriate court to compel their appearance. Fulton County also issued subpoenas to John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro, and Jenna Ellis. They advised the Trump campaign in the aftermath of the 2020 election. Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick Deason also received subpoenas, which were filed July 5 and signed by Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, local media reported. The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's U.S. head office in Culver City, California, U.S., on Sept. 15, 2020. (Mike Blake/Reuters) Sens. Warner, Rubio Call for Investigation of Chinas Access to Data of US TikTok Users U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the top Republican member of the panel, are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to formally investigate the relationship between the regime in China and the owner of social media giant TikTok. We write in response to public reports that individuals in the Peoples Republic of China [PRC] have been accessing data on U.S. users, in contravention of several public representations, including sworn testimony in October 2021, the senators told FTC Chair Lina Khan in a letter made public late on July 5. In light of this new report, we ask that your agency immediately initiate a Section 5 investigation on the basis of apparent deception by TikTok, and coordinate this work with any national security or counter-intelligence investigation that may be initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice, the senators told Kahn. Warner and Rubio were referring to recent reports by The Epoch Times and other media outlets that indicate individuals associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have regular access to data on U.S. users of TikTok. That flatly contradicts multiple assertions made to Congress and others by officials at ByteDance, which owns TikTok, that U.S. users data isnt made available to Chinese officials. In an interview with the online publication Cyberscoop, the Global Chief Security Officer for TikToks parent company, ByteDance, made a number of public representations on the data security practices of TikTok, including unequivocal claims that the data of American users is not accessible to the Chinese Communist Party and the government of the PRC. As you know, TikToks privacy practices are already subject to a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission, based on its improper collection and processing of personal information from children, Warner and Rubio wrote. The two senators are especially concerned that the relationship between TikTok and individuals connected with the CCP has been intentionally misrepresented before Congress. Additionally, these recent reports suggest that TikTok has also misrepresented its corporate governance practices, including to congressional committees such as ours. In October 2021, TikToks head of public policy, Michael Beckerman, testified that TikTok has no affiliation with another ByteDance subsidiary, Beijing-based ByteDance Technology, of which the CCP owns a partial stake, Warner and Rubio wrote. Meanwhile, as recently as March of this year, TikTok officials reiterated to our committee representations they have previously made that all corporate governance decisions are wholly firewalled from their PRC-based parent, ByteDance. Yet according to a recent report from Buzzfeed News, TikToks engineering teams ultimately report to ByteDance leadership in the Peoples Republic of China, they wrote. TikTok is among the worlds largest social media platforms, reporting in September 2021 of having in excess of 1 billion users. The user total for the app, which was introduced to the public in 2017, grew by 45 percent in just one year. The senators also expressed skepticism that TikToks U.S. users data would be insulated from CCP access despite multiple measures enacted by Beijing before and since the app became a worldwide hit. A series of national security laws imposed by the CCP, including the 2017 National Intelligence Law and the 2014 Counter-Espionage Law provide extensive and extra-judicial access opportunities for CCP-controlled security services, Warner and Rubio pointed out in their letter to the FTC chief. Under these authorities, the CCP may compel access, regardless of where data is ultimately stored. While TikTok has suggested that migrating to United States-based storage from a U.S. cloud service provider alleviates any risk of unauthorized access, these latest revelations raise concerns about the reliability of TikTok representations. Since TikTok will ultimately control all access to the cloud-hosted systems, the risk of access to that data by PRC-based engineers [or CCP security services] remains significant in light of the corporate governance irregularities revealed by BuzzFeed News. Moreover, as the recent report makes clear, the majority of TikTok data including content posted by users as well as their unique IDswill remain freely accessible to PRC-based ByteDance employees, they wrote. Warner and Rubio have worked together on China issues for some time. In December 2020, when their committee positions were reversed, they issued a joint statement declaring that China poses the greatest national security threat to the United States. Our intelligence is clear: the Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to exert its global dominance. Beijings infiltration of U.S. society has been deliberate and insidious as they use every instrument of influence available to accelerate their rise at Americas expense. The joint statement also warned that Americas democratic values are threatened by Chinas attempts to supplant American leadership and remake the international community in their image. The Chinese Communist Partys authoritarian leaders seek to threaten our free speech, politics, technology, economy, military, and even our drive to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company's curtain call at Yuanlin Performing Arts Hall in Changhua, Taiwan, on the afternoon of July 3, 2022. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times) CHANGHUA, TaiwanTsai Hui-hui, chair of the Hsu-fa International Trade Company, felt fascinated and cleansed by Shen Yun Performing Arts. It brought me into a land full of goodness, she said. Shen Yuns performance is amazing! Its fabulous! Ms. Tsai experienced Shen Yun at Yuanlin Performing Arts Hall on the afternoon of July 3. This was her first time attending a Shen Yun performance. She said that Shen Yun presented a world with no agony, no trouble, [a world] full of peace, pure happiness. Ms. Tsai had visited many countries around the world and has watched countless performances. Shen Yun is the most serious, most perfect show in the world. The dancers facial expressions, their eyes, and postures harmonize each other The dance, backdrop, and music match perfectly. Ms. Tsai concluded that Shen Yun has three unique features in her eyes. First, the costumes are exquisite and gorgeous. Second, the technique is superb. And third, the show purifies audiences hearts and souls. Tsai Hui-hui at Shen Yun Performing Arts at Yuanlin Performing Arts Hall in Changhua, Taiwan, on the afternoon of July 3, 2022. (Li I-hsin/The Epoch Times) Changhua Countys magistrate, Changhuas mayor, Yuanlins mayor, Puxins mayor, Taiwan legislators, and councilors were surprised to meet each other at the Shen Yun performance. [Shen Yun] is a gripping performance. We couldnt control ourselves from applauding [in the middle of a program], Changhua County Magistrate Wang Huei-mei said. The dancers techniques and skills are brilliant Every moment, you can be astonished by the admirable performance. Shen Yun is really beautiful, Ms. Wang said. Wang Huei-mei at Shen Yun Performing Arts at Yuanlin Performing Arts Hall in Changhua, Taiwan, on the afternoon of July 3, 2022. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times) As the highest-ranking official in Changhua, Ms. Wang appreciates Shen Yuns visit to the city. The performances were particularly special after two years of the pandemic. I understand how difficult it is to come to Taiwan and perform after the epidemic, Wang said. All Shen Yun artists are from overseas. They perform superb classic Chinese dance to the extreme, bringing us a great visual feast, and more importantly, it calms our minds. Thank you very much! Shen Yun is a great performance! Shen Yun is a great performance! If you think Shen Yun is number two in the world, then there is no number one, said Yuanlin Mayor, Yu Chen-hsiung. Yu Chen-hsiung attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at Yuanlin Performing Arts Hall in Changhua, Taiwan, on the evening of July 3, 2022. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times) Mr. Yu liked everything about Shen Yun. There were no flaws at all! The dancers movements and the presentation of the backdrop blend with each other without any blemish. Its absolutely splendid! Besides classical Chinese dance, Shen Yun also showcases folk and ethnic dances from different parts of China, each with beautiful costumes and stunning backdrops. Mr. Yu didnt take a break on Sunday. He watched the show after a busy working day. I was very tired today and worried I might fall asleep before I came here. Out of my expectation, Im fully energized by Shen Yun. He suggests everybody come to Shen Yun. Others like him can be uplifted, and children can learn about traditional culture and moral values from the performance. The young generations need to be taught. Watching a show like Shen Yun can change childrens values, Mr. Yu said. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company has three curtain calls after the performance at Yuanlin Performing Arts Hall in Changhua, Taiwan, on the evening of July 3, 2022. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times) Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Changhua. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspect honor guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images) Solomon Islands PM Wants Permanent Police Arrangement With Beijing to Deal With Internal Threats Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said on July 1 that he wants to establish a permanent security arrangement with Beijing to deal with internal threats. The prime minister made the comments after a five-month training arrangement wrapped up between the China Police Liaison Team, the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, and the Correctional Services of Solomon Islands. Speaking at a training demonstration, Sogavare said he looks forward to identifying gaps that were supposedly exploited by protestors in November 2021. Whilst we have MOUs [memorandums of understanding] in place, I think it is prudent that the Solomon Islands and the Peoples Republic of China start a discussion on how we can elevate the current joint training arrangement to a more permanent arrangement with clearly defined expected outcomes, he said in comments obtained by The Island Sun newspaper. Sogavare said he hopes the Police Force and Correctional Services can achieve the capability to deal with internal threats. Let me repeat it that as a sovereign country we cannot continue to depend on other countries to look after us, he said. We must have the capability to address our internal threats. We want our discipline agencies to be self-sustainable with integrity and professionalism. As a country, we will continue to explore how we can actively promote long-term enforcement cooperation with all our bilateral partners to bring peace and security for the people of Solomon Islands. Beijing Tightens Grip on Solomons, Pacific Sogavares comments will be of concern to democratic leaders who have recently pressed the prime minister on a security deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The agreement would allow Chinese police, weapons, and even naval ships to be stationed in the region. From a wider perspective, Beijing has developed similarly tight relationswithout military assistancewith 10 other Pacific nations. The current police training came about after Australian and New Zealand security personnel were dispatched to the Solomon Islands to maintain peace after riots broke out over dissatisfaction with Sogavare. Weeks later, Beijing announced that it would send its own police force to help train the Solomon Islands security forces to better deal with protests. South Pacific expert Cleo Paskal has previously said that the unpopular prime minister is attempting to solidify his rule before the next federal election. This could be achieved by engineering a false flag event that would give Sogavare a reason to call on Chinese and Solomon Islands security forces to quell supposed unrest within the countryin turn, this would give the leader a reason to delay elections and undermine democracy. Chinese expatriate Shawn Lin has said that Beijing uses its police force in line with its Belt and Road Initiative to spread its influence abroad. According to Chinas Ministry of Finance, the CCPs expenditures for maintaining stabilitydomestic and abroadhave exceeded its defence spending for three consecutive years since 2011. After 2014, the data on its police force expenditure was no longer made public, he wrote in The Epoch Times. While suppressing its own people, the CCP is more than willing to export its communist repression abroad. A security officer with a sniffer dog stands at the medium-security prison in Kuje, near the capital Abuja, Nigeria, on July 6, 2022. (Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters) Some 440 Inmates on Run After Suspected Boko Haram Raid on Nigeria Prison ABUJAAround 440 inmates are on the run after a suspected raid by Boko Haram terrorists on a prison in Nigerias capital Abuja on Tuesday night, an interior ministry official said. The raid, and a separate ambush on an advance convoy of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhariwho was not presentheading to his hometown in the northern state of Katsina, highlights Nigerias going security challenges, especially in northern regions where armed insurgents and gangs are rife. Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary at the interior ministry, told journalists outside the Abuja prison which has 900 inmatesthat a security officer was killed during the raid and three others were injured. He said the suspected Boko Haram terrorists came for members who were held in the prison. They came specifically for their co-conspirators, but in order to get them , some of them are in the general (prison) population so they broke out and other people in that population escaped as well but many of them have returned, Belgore said. A total of 879 inmates fled, the prison service said in a statement, with 443 still at large and the rest recaptured. It said four inmates were dead and 16 others injured. They have reported themselves to the police, some we have successfully retrieved from the bushes where they were hiding, Belgore said. Outside the prison, the charred remains of several vehicles with bullet holes were seen on Wednesday morning, attesting to gunbattles in the vicinity during the raid. A helicopter hovered overhead as armed security officials brought in a shirtless inmate limping with a gaping wound on his leg, while another injured inmate was carried into the prison. Buhari was not in the convoy of cars carrying an advanced team of security guards, protocol, and media officers heading to the presidents hometown Daura, near the border with Niger, to prepare for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police, and security personnel accompanying the convoy, a presidential spokesman said in a statement. By Abraham Achirga South Korea to Restart Construction on 2 Nuclear Reactors South Korea said on July 5 that it will restart construction on two nuclear reactors and continue to operate nuclear energy facilities that are already running. The move was made in accordance with the highest decision-making procedures of new President Yoon Suk-yeols administration, according to South Koreas Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. The energy ministry said that completing the Shin-Hanul No. 3 and No. 4 nuclear reactors will help achieve its goal of increasing nuclear power in South Koreas energy generation to 30 percent or more by 2030. Nuclear power currently makes up roughly 27 percent of the countrys energy mix. According to the World Nuclear Association, South Korea currently has 25 nuclear reactors in operation. The energy ministry said on July 5 that it would also look into how to treat high-level radioactive waste. Yoon, who assumed office on May 10, had promised to boost investment in the nuclear industry and revive its status as a key exporter of safe nuclear reactors. Energy companies in South Korea have been expanding their nuclear energy businesses after Yoon promised to increase nuclear power plants. Boosting nuclear energy marks a sharp policy reversal from that of the previous government, led by then-President Moon Jae-in, who had pushed to phase out nuclear power over some 45 years. Construction work on the two nuclear reactors had been stalled since 2017 when Moon took office. A 2011 earthquake and tsunami that damaged three nuclear reactors at Japans Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant triggered a global downturn in the nuclear power industry. Public sentiment around nuclear power leaned further toward caution in 2016 after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the southeastern region of the Korean Peninsula, where most of the countrys nuclear plants are located. Exporting Nuclear Power In addition to restarting construction on the two nuclear reactors, the South Korean Energy Ministry said it plans to export 10 nuclear reactors by 2030 and also develop a small modular reactor with a $300 million investment by the same year. Yoon and other officials recently traveled to Europe to attend the G-7 and NATO summits, where Yoon promoted South Korean nuclear energy in meetings with officials of Poland and the Czech Republic, both of whom are seeking contractors for their new nuclear power plants. We will go all-in to win orders for nuclear power plants vis-a-vis countries, including Poland and the Czech Republic, where the selection of contractors is imminent, Choi Sang-mok, South Koreas senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, told reporters at a briefing on June 28. For the past five years, we saw a contradictory situation where at home, we were seeking to go nuclear-free, but overseas, we were pursuing exports of nuclear power plants, he said, referring to the policy of the Moon administration. The nuclear industry was practically on the brink of collapse, but now we plan to resume nuclear power exports. Restarting construction reactors and exporting nuclear power are part of a plan the South Korean Energy Ministry shared on July 5, to achieve the nations policy goals of ensuring energy security and attaining carbon-neutral goals amid global energy supply chain pressures. The energy ministry said it also seeks to reduce reliance on fossil fuel imports to 60 percent by 2030 from 81.8 percent in 2021. It also noted that phasing out coal, a type of fossil fuel, must be done in a rational manner while considering supply-and-demand conditions. South Korea is the worlds fourth-largest oil importer after China, India, and Japan, according to state-run Korea National Oil Corp., while its state-run Korea Gas Corp. is the worlds largest single corporate buyer of liquefied natural gas, according to a Korea Gas Corp. spokesperson. Reuters contributed to this report. The town sign of Gross Drewitz with a note reading "African swine fever in wild pigs, key area" in Gross Drewitz, Spree-Neisse, Germany, on Sept. 12, 2020. (Annegret Hilse/Reuters) Swine Fever Outbreak in Germanys Top Pork State Poses Lasting Threat HAMBURGThe spread of African Swine Fever to Germanys most important pig rearing region has dealt a serious blow to the sector with major markets such as China likely to maintain import bans for years to come, analysts said on Monday. The outbreak on a farm in Emsland, Lower Saxony is the first in the north-west region where much of Germanys pig sector is concentrated. ASF, which is harmless to humans but often fatal to pigs, was first found in eastern Germany in September 2020, believed to have been spread from Poland by wild boars. This prompted China to ban imports of German pork, halting a trade that had brought in around 1 billion euros ($1.04 billion) a year. Some other major importers, including South Korea and Japan, followed suit, and rival EU producer Spain was among those able to pick up fresh business to Asia following the bans. This is very frightening news and if there were hopes that ASF had been confined to east Germany, and that the disease was under control, these have now been completely thrown out of the window, said Justin Sherrard, global strategist animal protein at Rabobank. Lower Saxony is Germanys largest single pig production area with about 6.4 million pigs and piglets, Germanys national statistics office says. With ASF cases continuing to occur in Germany no end to Chinas import ban on German pork can be expected, said Tim Koch, meat analyst at German market consultancy AMI. Any hopes that China could lift the ban in the near future are over. Germany was for many years the European Unions top pork producer but was overtaken by Spain last year after it lost access to China, the worlds largest importer of pigmeat. Netherlands, France at Risk Chinas own pig herd, the worlds largest, has also suffered heavy losses due to ASF but is beginning to recover. China anyway has a reduced import need for pork from Europe and it could be years before the Chinese market could be reopened to German pigmeat exports, Koch said. The growing number of wild boar in Germany, which can wander over long distances, means a spread of the disease had been expected despite government efforts to confine it to east Germany. Around 4,000 ASF cases in wild boar have occurred in Germany, mainly in the eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony. The outbreak also heightens concerns about the potential spread to neighboring countries. If ASF can make a 500 kilometer jump from east Germany to north Germany the concern is that it could move to the big pork industries in the Netherlands and France, Sherrard said. By Michael Hogan By Paul Guzzo From Tampa Bay Times TampaFor as far back as anyone can remember, Tampa bakers have used palmetto leaves to make Cuban bread. And for the last three decades, the same man has traveled the state collecting the palmetto leaves needed by La Segunda Bakery, which bakes more than seven million loaves a year. But that man, whom La Segunda employees will only identify as Danny because he wants to stay unknown, has informed the company he is contemplating retirement. When he does, there is serious concern that no one will want to replace him. Those who have done the job say it is grueling. A Tampa tradition is threatened, said Robbie Faedo, manager of Michelle Faedos Tampeno Cuisine, which uses La Segundas bread for their Cuban sandwiches. Its a tradition that will impact the nation, said Tony More, who co-owns the 107-year-old La Segunda business with locations in Ybor City, South Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida. Around 95% of the countrys Cuban bread is made in this area, he estimates, and 98% of that is baked by La Segunda. So, now, La Segunda and its clients are looking for help, possibly from a government body willing to allow the bakery to harvest the palmetto fronds from its land. Someone needs to step up, Faedo said. We need to make sure that Cuban bread is made the right way for generations to come. Why Palmetto Leaves? The palmetto leaves serve a purpose beyond tradition dating back to the 1800s. Before the bread goes into the 400-degree oven, leaves are placed in the middle of the loaf. That creates the breads signature seam and ensures even baking, More said. It keeps that area under the leaves moist and soft, More said. So, when the gases start to release, thats where they have to come out. Without that exit point, the gases could release anywhere, he said. The bread would bake twisted up and out of shape. It will taste the same, but be unusable for sandwiches. There are other ways to create that seam, La Segunda master baker Steve Valdez said. String, for instance. But that creates more work because it can bake into the bread and then must be removed. The palmetto leaf rises from the dough as it cooks and sits loosely on top of the finished product. Palmetto leaves create the signature split on the top of baking loaves at La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City. (Lauren Witte/Tampa Bay Times/TNS) Collecting the Leaves Palmetto tree branches are called fronds, each of which is made up of divided leaves. La Segunda provided Faedo with his first job in the baking industry. At 18, he was sent to prune palmetto fronds from the Florida wilderness with a cousin. It was the hardest job I have ever had, said Faedo, 51. You had better love the wilderness. Valdez, the baker, agreed. Danny, his cousin, once took him along on a trip. Ill never do that again, Valdez said. They could use roadside palmettos, but collecting in areas with a bulk of trees is better, Faedo said. Plus, leaves exposed to exhaust are not preferable. So Danny hikes into forests teeming with snakes, alligators, bees and mosquitos. The first time a snake slithered over my boot, I was done, Valdez laughed. Dont forget the heat. And then there is the constant search for new sources. La Segunda used to acquire most of its palmetto fronds near Gunn Highway and Racetrack Road, but those forests are long gone, replaced by homes. Valdez expects Danny to offer a locations list when he retires, but there is no telling how long those spots will remain viable. Thats why Faedo is hoping a government body helps. Open land to us for this, he said. Ill even oversee it. Make me the director of palmetto acquisition. This is a problem. We need a solution before it is too late. By the Numbers More estimates that La Segunda bakes an average of 20,000 loaves of Cuban bread a day, seven days a week. A palmetto frond typically has 20 leaves. For Cuban bread, each leaf must be split into two narrower halves. Each loaf on average requires three split leaves. So, how many palmetto fronds does La Segunda need per week? A lot, More laughed. He drops them off every other day. The Tampa Bay Times did the math. They need about 10,500 palmetto fronds a week and about 546,000 a year. The Process The palmetto fronds are unloaded from the delivery truck and into La Segundas outdoor concrete container, which is equipped with sprinklers to moisten the leaves throughout the day. A crew of four men work six days a week to sort the fronds, then strip and divide each leaf. The leaves are brought inside, sanitized and placed on top of the dough. The dough is rolled over so the leaves press into it, rolled back so the leaves are on top, and then placed in the oven. Each loaf is then wrapped for sale with the leaf still on top. Yovanni Perdomo (36), middle, and Carlos Cabota (56), left, of Tampa place palmetto leaves on loaves and flip them at La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City. (Lauren Witte/Tampa Bay Times/TNS) People expect to see that leaf, Valdez said. Thats how they know its real Cuban bread. Now What? Danny hasnt set an official retirement date, Valdez said, but says it will be sooner than later. He makes good money, Valdez said. But he is getting older. It is a lot of work. Perhaps, suggested More, who has doctorate in chemistry from Florida State University, someone can create a substitute that will act like a palmetto leaf. Still, he worries alternatives could be toxic. They just work and look better because they are natural, More said of the leaves. Without them, it wont be the same. 2022 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Terrorists Kidnap Hundreds of Nigerian Women, Use Them as Sex Slaves Rape an everyday event in countrys lawless north, locals say NIGERIAHundreds of women are being kidnapped every week and held as sex slaves by bandit terrorists in Nigerias north, according to a national politician. Meanwhile, the government is unconcerned about the crimes, Umar Barde, a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives, told The Epoch Times. They [terrorists] rape both young and old women, even teenagers, said Barde, who represents Kajuru and Chikun counties of Kaduna state. Large bandit gangs who identify primarily as members of the Fulani tribe have waged endless war on farming communities in northwest and north-central Nigeria since 2011, according to reports. The Fulani, a large ethnic group in West Africa that claims more than 20 million members in Nigeria, has been blamed for thousands of genocidal massacres in the country in recent yearsaccording to Greg Stanton, founding president of Genocide Watch. They target members of a religious group, Stanton wrote in a recent report. He rejects claims by U.S. officials, including the ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, that the massacres are traditional herder-farmer conflicts. In a June 29 attack in the frequently terrorized Niger state, the terrorists killed more than 30 soldiers and policemen at a mining site in the town of Ajata-Aboki, according to local media outlets. The attackers also killed six civilians and kidnapped three foreigners working at the site, according to the reports. The late-night raid followed weeks of sustained attacks by kidnap-for-ransom gangs 186 miles away in neighboring Kaduna state. Forced Marriage In one of the latest attacks, motorcycle-riding terrorists struck a small farming town in Kachia County known as Kasan Kogi. They kidnapped 27 residents21 women and six men, according to Ezekiel Garba, a pastor at the Chapel of Good News Church in Kasan Kogi. The terrorists killed two residents and threatened to marry off the female abductees to their gang members within days of demanding 100 million Nigerian naira (US$240,818.78), he said. They said they will use our women to produce children that will, in turn, fight us, said Garba, whose wife is among the abductees. The attack occurred at dawn, he said, lasting two hours without intervention by the military. The distance from the nearest military station, the Kalapanzi Artillery Barrack Kakuri, is less than 15 miles, Barde said. According to Garba, the band of 300 terrorists on motorcycles swooped in on the small farming town at 6.30 a.m., after a 30-man civilian guard group had finished a routine night watch. They split themselves throughout the villagesome went and circled an Evangelical Church Winning All in the center of the town where 15 women were attending a morning fellowship, he said. They shot the pastor of the churchRev. Ezra Shamaki and another person within the church premises and kidnapped 14 of the women who could not escape. Among the women kidnapped was the wife of Pastor Ezra. Another group chased and took me, my wife, and my daughter at different locations. They later released me and my daughter who recently gave birth and asked me to go and mobilize a ransom. They went on to kidnap six othersfive females and one male in one village close to us called Gora. We told them we cannot pay the amount they are demanding. They have stopped us from going to the farms, and we dont have any source of income. His colleague at the Chapel of Good News Church in Kasan Kogi, Pastor Andrew Garbawhose wife is also being heldtold The Epoch Times, This is the second time my family members are being kidnapped this year, and I dont have anything left. Two days before the attack, a similar raid on a complex of villages known as Rubu in nearby Kajuru County on June 19 saw 36 residents kidnapped. They included 31 females, according to Jonathan Asake, president of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU). Three people were killed in the attack on Christian worshippers on a Sunday morning, he said. The Epoch Times had reported an earlier attack on June 5 on the towns of Dogon Noma and Maikori in the same county. In that incident, terrorists firing from a helicopter killed 33 people and kidnapped 27 others. The abductees were predominantly female, according to Asake. They kidnap women and turn them into sex slaves, he said. Many of the women have returned traumatized with many of them dying after being released. Shared With Terrorists Approximately 320 miles away in Kebbi state, Epoch Times reporter Beloved John interviewed villagers who said dozens of women kidnapped in the terrorist-ridden eastern part of the state have returned pregnant. People dont talk about them, John said. They are scared of stigma. In nearby Sokoto state, where terrorists are taking towns and standing up to their own governments, husbands are forced to share their wives with bandits and remain silent, according to reporters speaking to The Epoch Times. They mostly come into towns and demand that men release their wives to them, or they will be killed, said one reporter, Mansur Buhari whos also a lecturer at the Sokoto State University. Sometimes they chase all men from a town and rape all the women there. A former county chairman in Sabon Birni County, Idris Gobir told The Epoch Times, The raping of women by terrorists has become part of everyday life in Sabon Birni and Isa [areas]. Gobir is currently standing to represent Sabon Birni in the Nigerian House of Representatives. On a particular day in one village, they lined up more than 100 women and raped them in front of their husbands, he said. In November 2021, Gobir said terrorists gang-raped more than 20 women in a mosque in a town called Allakiru in Sabon Birni County. The incident has been confirmed by an Islamic cleric in SokotoSheikh Bello Yabo. These terrorists captured women in a particular village and raped them in a mosque, Yabo said. He berated President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to protect citizens in Sokoto. Officials Ignore Queries Police and officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)an agency that tracks and prosecutes trafficking offensesdidnt provide the information requested by The Epoch Times. An agency official who identified as Rose Paulreplying to one of The Epoch Times emails wroteI am directed to inform you that the statistics showing trends in trafficking can be retrieved from the agencys website. The Epoch Times found that of 1,112 trafficking cases reported on the website in 2021the latest figures published by the agency, none were reported as a case of sex slavery involving terrorists. The U.S. State Department in its 2021 Trafficking Report on Nigeria links this to corruption and a lack of coordination among relevant agencies. Boosting Terror Groups Sex slavery is a predictable strategy by terrorists aimed at repopulating their groups, wrote Elizabeth Baklaich, a human rights educator and Christian rights activist in Washington. This is a pattern of terrorism we have seen before, Baklaich told The Epoch Times in a text message. We understand the how and why, so what makes us incapable of keeping history from repeating itself, protecting the innocents, and helping those who are facing brutal persecution, rape, and slaughter? She condemned the silence of the U.N. and other governments. The Nigerian government is helpless or is unwilling to help, according to Andrew Boyd, a British activist and spokesman of Release International. This has grave implications for the whole of Africa, Boyd wrote in an email to The Epoch Times. The culture of impunity is spreading; and the repercussions for Nigeria and its citizens, already horrific, are set to worsen. Texas Counties to Gov. Abbott: Declare Invasion on Southern Border, Turn Illegal Aliens Back KINNEY COUNTY, TexasLocal officials in small Texas counties are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to label the border crisis an invasion and use his constitutional authority to stop illegal immigration. Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan signed a local disaster declaration on July 5 requesting that Abbott immediately prevent and/or remove all persons violating the sovereignty of Texas and that of the United States. Four other Texas counties followed suit, including Goliad, Terrell, Edwards, and Jeff Davis. Several others also intend to sign declarations. Shahan refers to provisions under the U.S. Constitution, including Article IV, Section 4, which states, in part, The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion. Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution states, in part, No State shall, without the Consent of Congress engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay. The related provision in the Texas Constitution states that the governor can call upon the states National Guard and militia forces to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and to repel invasions. At a press conference on July 5, Shahan said a smuggler recently fired his .22 pistol into oncoming traffic while trying to evade state troopers who were pursuing him. No one was injured, but a local woman later counted 10 bullet holes in her vehicle. The groups [of illegal aliens] are coming in camo. It makes you wonder. Theyre not here to pick flowers, Terrell County Judge Dale Carruthers told The Epoch Times. She owns a ranch that borders Mexico, and her county shares 91 miles of international border. Carruthers said a young woman who was recently apprehended within a group of illegal aliens had been gang-raped by the men in the group along the way. The Kinney County declaration cites the more than 3.2 million illegal aliens encountered along the southern border since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, as well as the increasing number of overdose deaths caused by drugs being brought over the border. The sophisticated human smuggling and drug trafficking organizations that facilitate these criminal acts are spearheaded by violent international drug cartels who have operational control over our unsecured U.S.Mexico border, the declaration states. Whereas the ongoing humanitarian crisis on the Texas border is not acceptable, and has resulted in a security threat and humanitarian disaster with overwhelming consequences to the residents of Kinney County and Texans alike, the declaration states. During the most recent county commissioners meeting, Shahan had to leave halfway through to officially pronounce dead an illegal immigrant from Mexico whose body had been found on his ranch. Its the fifth body found this year, according to the sheriffs office. Prior to 2021, one dead body per year was the average for the county. During May, the Kinney County Sheriffs Office recorded 4,200 illegal aliens walking through local ranches after crossing from Mexico. The county shares 16 miles of border with Mexico, and most of its 1,400 square miles is remote ranchland. Goliad Sheriff Roy Boyd said his departments deputies have arrested illegal aliens who are convicted criminals, including murderers, rapists, and pedophiles. Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith, who helped draft the declaration, said that while Abbott isnt obligated to do anything about the declaration, he hopes more Texas counties will join to apply more pressure on the governor. This is just basically a plea for help to the governor. And the counties on the border who are living through this nightmare every daythe things that we see tell us its an invasion. Were the ones witnessing it, Smith told The Epoch Times. Unless you have a secure border, you dont have a state, you dont have a nation. Until we have a secure border, we have no business passing any other laws about anything else. Its like worrying about what color tablecloth youre going to buy for your kitchen table while the house is burning down around you. Carruthers said her countys commissioners will ratify the declaration on July 11 and she expects to hear from Abbott soon after. Texas is waiting for its attorney general, Ken Paxton, to write an opinion in response to a query submitted by state Rep. Matt Krause on March 28. The Biden Administration has been so inept or apathetic to the plight of Texas and other border states, that it very well could rise to a violation of Article 4, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, Krause wrote in a Facebook post that accompanied a copy of the official letter. So, today, I asked the Attorney General for an official opinion on whether that violation has occurred here in Texas. Smith said he had expected Paxtons opinion to be published by now and suggested the reason it hasnt been is likely political pressure. Meanwhile, a legal opinion published by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on Feb. 7 addresses the invasion question. His opinion centers around the definitions of actually invaded and invasion and whether the federal government has been derelict in its duty to protect. The on-the-ground violence and lawlessness at Arizonas border caused by cartels and gangs is extensive, well-documented, and persistent, the opinion reads. It can satisfy the definition of actually invaded and invasion under the U.S. Constitution. The Progressive Road to Serfdom Commentary First, a tip of the hat to the late Austrian Nobel Prize-winning economist Friedrich Hayek for his 1944 book The Road to Serfdom (pdf). The imagery of that title is clear and penetrating. Hayek was warning of generic tyranny, not a literal return to the old English system of serfdom. There are many roads to tyranny, and American progressives are charging pell-mell in that direction. This article will trace the arc of progressivism from meliorism to perfectionism to utopianism to tyranny. Meliorism As I have written before, American progressivism has been infused from the start with the doctrine of meliorism. This belief system takes a worthy goalthe betterment of the human conditionand marries it with an inferior, inherently defective strategy for attaining the goal: government redistribution of wealth and economic planning. Unarguably, American standards of living have improved immensely since the emergence of progressivism as a political ideology in the late 1800s. Indeed, the progress made over just a few generations has been breathtaking. In the 19001910 decade, the United States was what we call today an undeveloped economy. Life expectancy was less than 50 years; there were fewer than 200 miles of paved roads in the country; few doctors had gone to college; and the average worker earned less than $15 for a work week approaching 60 hours in duration. Today, the amenities accessible even to poor Americans are truly astounding by comparison. What produced this explosion of wealth? Progressives like to believe that their policies drove this progress. They didnt. If extensive government intervention into economic matters were the key to prosperity, then the communist states, wherein government intervention was maximized, would have emerged as the wealthiest societies, instead of the poorest. The real source of our countrys spectacular economic growth has been the private sector consisting of entrepreneurial, self-employed individuals and profit-seeking companies, both large and small. Advances in scientific knowledge and technology, competition-induced efficiencies, entrepreneurial vision, and inventivenessthese are the factors that launched us on our upward trajectory. Year after year, its the profit-seeking businesses that deliver more and more value for each consumer dollar. By contrast, government involvement in the production and provision of economic goods often tends to raise prices, delivering less value per consumer dollar. Over the decades, progressives, not understanding economics or the actual causes of our unprecedented affluence, ignorantly concluded that government intervention was driving the progress. Since so much economic progress had been achieved in so many areas, progressives figured that the next logical step was to use the government to solve all economic problems. Meliorism gave way to perfectionism. Perfectionism Perfectionism is a harsh, judgmental, even condemnatory ideology. Under its influence, progressives have let the good weve achieved become the enemy of the perfect that we havent yet achieved. Rather than appreciating the progress already made and being grateful for it while continuing to encourage economic progress, perfectionism has warped progressives perspectives so that they see our current affluence as a disgraceful systemic defect, immoral and shameful. Thats why progressive politicians are given to angry outbursts and apoplectic outrage. Thats why they frequently spew forth shrill condemnations of our entire system. Paradoxically, the more progress our country makes, the more vehemently progressives criticize it for the sin of not being perfect. Weve gotten to the point where were subjected to almost daily temper tantrums from progressive politicians who seem to think that our wonderful country is just one step from hell because (at least) half our population isnt on board with their grandiose plans. If only they could chill out and heed the wisdom of noted popular philosopher Mick Jagger: You cant always get what you wantbut if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. If they could just see that everyday life in America isnt a constant crisis. There are problems, yes, but also so much for which to be grateful. Utopianism The desire to attain perfection breeds a utopian sentiment. The progressive ideology today holds that everythingyes, everythingmust be fixed by the government. Uncle Sam must remove all risk. Thus, private ownership of guns must be curtailed and hopefully eliminated so that (theoretically) nobody gets shot; abortion must be readily available for any reasoneven the oops situations when someone could have planned ahead with contraception but didnt bother; fossil fuel consumption must be ended and carbon dioxide emissions drastically reduced so that humans can (supposedly) enjoy stable temperatures; people who dont get vaccinated should be relegated to second-class status; and so on. In a utopian society, self-responsibility isnt necessary, because the government (supposedly) will engineer an ideal environment in which unwelcome outcomes cant happen. As is inevitably the case, utopian visions lead to dystopian realities. Just look at the progressive goal of eliminating fossil fuels as part of their planned journey to transform the United States into a glorious future of intermittent (sorry, renewable) energy. By choking off current supplies of reliable energy, progressives have imposed high and hurtful energy prices on Americans. Theyre inflicting pain on todays Americans in the name of creating a better life for tomorrows Americans. That conjures up memories of the Soviet Union where the Communist Party rulers kept telling the present generation of people to bravely endure shortages and sufferings today so that their children or grandchildren could enjoy a workers paradise tomorrow. But tomorrow never arrives, dystopia never progresses to utopia, and economic progress stagnates. Heres another factor to consider: Utopians always encounter a formidable obstacle to their fantastic plans for a perfect societynamely, people. Yes, unfortunately for the utopians, not everybody shares their values and their vision of the world. Some people even presume to want to pursue happiness and their own goals, rather than to be reduced to a cog in a machine or a lowly pawn on the utopians chessboard. Progressives despise individuals who think independently because they represent an existential threat to the utopian, perfectionist dreams so dear to progressives. Whats to be done about these people? Progressives start by adopting a dehumanized view of their opponents. After all, if progressives know the way to justice, prosperity, happiness, freedom from risk, et cetera, then people who oppose the progressive agenda must be evil. If people are evil, they arent worthy of respect. They dont deserve their rights. They shouldnt be allowed to teach at universities or even give guest lectures on college campuses. No student should ever have to listen to their heretical ideas, but should be able to retreat to safe spaces where such individuals cant reach them. Non-progressives are to be canceled, erased, obliterated, and, in the most extreme cases, liquidated (to use a verb favored by communists). The political system must be rigged (scrap the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, and so on) to squash the resistance posed by these inferior beings. Ultimately, non-progressives must be hated, calling to mind Lenins dictum, Hatred is the basis of communism. Tyranny Ultimately, to achieve their utopian goals, progressives need to have the power to smash their opponents. Dissent from the utopian agenda cant be tolerated. People cant be left free to pursue individual happiness. Progressives must obtain total political control over the people. The only way for progressives to achieve utopia is to first achieve tyranny. In listening to some of the more rabid progressive (socialist) politicians, its plain that they wont be content with anything less than dictatorial powers. We, the people, must choose between a progressive-designed tyranny and life in a free, pluralistic society prospering from a market-based economy. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Police crime tape is seen around the area where children's bicycles and baby strollers stand near the scene of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022. (Youngrae Kim/AFP via Getty Images) Toddler Left Orphaned After Both Parents Killed in Highland Park Shooting A 2-year-old boy was left orphaned after both of his parents were killed in Highland Park, Illinois, in a mass shooting that killed seven people in total and injured more than 30 others. Kevin McCarthy, 37, and his wife Irina McCarthy, 35, died at the scene of a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb when a gunman on a rooftop opened fire on the crowd. The couples child, Aiden McCarthy, was found under his father, according to Lauren Silva, who was at the scene, reported The Daily Beast. My boyfriend handed me this little boy and said he was underneath this father who was shot in the leg, Silva told the outlet. She said her boyfriend later told her that the father had passed. An undated photo of Irina and Kevin McCarthy, who died at the mass shooting in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022. (Irina Colon/GoFundMe) Silva later told The New York Times that first responders informed her they were unable to stop the fathers bleeding and had covered him with a blanket. A GoFundMe account has been created to raise funds for the toddlers future care. Irina Colon, the organizer of the page, said it was created on behalf of Aidens family and with their permission. In the aftermath of the Highland Park, IL shootings on July 4, the North Shore community rallied to help a boy who we knew nothing about. We took him to safety under tragic circumstances, came together to locate his grandparents, and prayed for the safety of his family, she wrote on the page. At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents. Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows. The fundraiser has collected $1,121,020 as of 8:00 p.m. in Illinois on July 5. Alex Berenson speaks on censorship and freedom of speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2021. (CPAC/Screenshot via NTD) Twitter Reinstates Journalist Alex Berenson, Who Immediately Posts About COVID-19 Vaccines Former New York Times journalist Alex Berenson has been allowed to return to Twitter, which banned him in 2021 for allegedly spreading COVID-19 misinformation. Berenson and Twitter released similar statements on July 6. The parties have come to a mutually acceptable resolution. I have been reinstated. Twitter has acknowledged that my tweets should have not led to my suspension at that time, Berenson said in a blog post on July 6, which he linked to in his first post on the platform since he was permanently suspended, Berenson said in a blog post. The parties have come to a mutually acceptable resolution. Twitter has reinstated Mr. Berensons account. Upon further review, Twitter acknowledges Mr. Berensons Tweets should not have led to his accounts suspension at that time, a Twitter spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. Vaccines Minutes after Berenson posted for the first time following his reinstatement, he re-posted the words that triggered the ban. It doesnt stop infection. Or transmission. Dont think of it as a vaccine. Think of itat bestas a therapeutic with a limited window of efficacy and terrible side effect profile that must be dosed IN ADVANCE OF ILLNESS. And we want to mandate it? Insanity, he wrote. Berenson was referring to the COVID-19 vaccines, which have proven increasingly unable to prevent infection from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Also known as the SARS-CoV-2, the virus causes COVID-19. Though the vaccines have been authorized and approved for prevention of the virus, theyre actually recommended primarily for helping prevent severe disease among those who contract the illness. Twitter had initially claimed that Berensons post was misleading, even though the company acknowledged that studies indicate a reduction in vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant of the virus. Studies show that the Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson shotsthe only three available in the United Statesprovide little protection against Omicron, and that the protection quickly wanes. Some studies indicate that the vaccinated are more likely to contract the virus after certain periods of time elapse following vaccination. U.S. health authorities still recommend vaccination for virtually all Americans. Lawsuit Berenson sued Twitter after being banned, claiming the company breached its contract with him as a user. A federal judge tossed all of the claims except for the breach of contract one. Berenson and Twitter recently announced theyd agreed on a settlement in principle. The details of the settlement have not yet been entered into the court docket, with the parties saying theyre still negotiating. According to court filings, Berenson was told by a senior Twitter executive that posts that sparked controversy would not lead to him being banned from the platform. But Twitter began taking action against him after Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top adviser to President Joe Biden, said some of Berensons remarks were horrifying, first locking him out of his account and eventually enacting the ban. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, a Clinton appointee, said in a recent ruling that Berenson plausibly avers that Twitters conduct here modified its contract with plaintiff and then breached that contract by failing to abide by its own five-strike policy and its specific commitments set forth through its vice president. Twitter Suspends Zelenkos Foundation Account One Day After Doctors Death Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, a Nobel prize-nominated physician who famously discovered and distributed an early treatment protocol for COVID, dubbed the Zelenko Protocol, passed away from cancer on June 30, 2022. The next day, some Twitter users started taking note of the suspension of the account of the Zelenko Freedom Foundation, a group dedicated to provide funding to social entities and social activities surrounding education, leadership development, health literacy, advocacy, public policy, social, health and community development, according to their website. UPDATE on why the account was banned: pic.twitter.com/cTl4F1IHbC TexasLindsay (@TexasLindsay) July 1, 2022 It is no secret that big tech abhors free speech and instead worships at the altar of Marxist collectivism and group-think. The Silicon Valley speech cartel has sunk to new lows when Twitter suspended the Zelenko Freedom Foundation account less than 24 hours after the passing of Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, co-chair of the Zelenko Freedom Foundation, Ann Vandersteel, told The Epoch Times. She maintains that no one from Twitter reached out to verify who was managing the account. If they had bothered to do even the most basic of inquiries they would have learned that the account was run by the foundation, not by Dr. Zelenko. The account wasnt established for some end around their ridiculous ban of Dr. Zelekno, the account was established to represent the interests of the Foundation, which is committed to investing in individuals and technologies that will save and extend the lives of people all across the globe, she said. Vandersteel thinks that the suspension of the foundations account was done for no reason other than petty vindictiveness. The question is, what does Elon Musk think? Does he believe in saving lives or does he want those lifesaving technologies silenced? Zelenko had been practicing in Monroe, New York, in 2020 during the outbreak of COVID-19, and is credited with having treated about 7,500 patients with his method. Dr. Vladimir Zelenko. (Courtesy of the Zelenko Freedom Foundation) Zelenko could not sit back and wait for politicians and health officials to agree on prescribed treatments, so he came up with the Zelenko Protocola combination of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), zinc, azithromycin, and other drugs, including steroids, and later informed then-President Donald Trump about it via a letter. The other co-chair of the foundation, Kevin Jenkins, told The Epoch Times that the suspension reminded him of a Martin Luther King quote: All we say to America is be true to whats on paper. If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privilege, because they havent committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so, just as I say, we arent going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around; we arent going to let any injunction turn us around. When Ann and I spoke with Dr. Zelenko, regarding the mission of this Foundation he said, I want the truth to spread like a mantra!' Jenkins said. Our team at the Zelenko Freedom Foundation will stay true to Dr. Zelenko and Dr. King! We will fight to the end to save humanity! Come join us Zfreedomfoundation.com. Dr. Zelenkos dream will not be deferred! he added. The Epoch Times reached out to Twitter for comment. The price of diesel and unleaded petrol fuels are displayed on a sign outside a BP petrol station in Wigan, northwest England, on June 8, 2022. (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images) UK Drivers Hit by Record Monthly Rise in Petrol Prices British drivers were hit by a record monthly rise in petrol prices in June, motoring group RAC said. The average cost of a litre of petrol rose by 16.59 pence in June, from 174.8 pence to 191.4 pence, adding more than 9 to the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family petrol car, according to an analysis of data from RAC Fuel Watch. It smashed the previous 11 pence record set in March, and became the highest monthly increase in records dating back to 2000. Average diesel prices rose by 15.6 pence per litre, ending the month at 199.1 pence. According to the RAC, the record-breaking price hike took place despite the weekly wholesale costs paid by retailers dropping for five straight weeks. The organisations fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: The rate at which pump prices have been rising over the last four weeks is hard to comprehend. Not a day in June went by when petrol prices didnt go up, even though the price retailers pay to buy in fuel went down. Theres no doubt that drivers are getting an incredibly raw deal at the pumps at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is being felt ever more acutely. The RAC called on retailers to cut prices to reflect lower wholesale costs, and also urged the government to help by temporarily cutting fuel duty or reducing VAT on fuel. Williams said: The silence from the Treasury when it comes to supporting drivers through this time of record high pump prices is, frankly, deafening. Perhaps it has something do with the fact that its benefiting significantly from the increased VAT revenue caused by the high prices. We badly need the government to go beyond just vague words and instead actually implement a clear package of financial support to show theyre on the side of drivers, he said. Fuel Protests The rising fuel prices have triggered protests this week. On Monday, 12 people were arrested as dozens of campaigners calling for a cut in fuel duty targeted the M4 in South Wales and Somerset, and stretches of the M5 from Devon to Bristol, with rolling go-slow roadblocks in the morning rush-hour. Home Secretary Priti Patel called on police to use new powers which include imprisonment to stop fuel protesters bringing gridlock to major roads. The main opposition Labour Party accused the Conservative government of having no answers to the savage price hikes facing working people during a cost-of-living crisis. Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh urged the government to act urgently and tackle the profiteering of petrol giants and ensure retailers pass on fuel duty cuts to consumers. PA Media contributed to this report. Uruguayan government officials and Pfizer on Wednesday appeared in court after a judge gave them 48 hours to present detailed information on Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine while the court considers an injunction request to halt COVID-19 vaccinations for children 5 and older. Judge Alejandro Recarey of the Administrative Litigation Tribunal used his inquisitorial powers to demand the Uruguayan Ministry of Public Health, State Health Services Administration and the Presidents Office submit all information regarding the contracts for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, including contractual information related to any clauses of civil indemnity or criminal impunity of the suppliers in the event of adverse effects. According to a court order released on Saturday, Judge Recarey ordered Pfizer and government officials to: Provide full and unredacted, certified copies of each and every one of the purchase contracts (as well as any other related negotiation agreement), of the so-called anti-COVID vaccines that you have signed, own or are simply within your reach. Explain whether these instruments contain clauses of civil indemnity and/or criminal impunity of the suppliers regarding the occurrence of possible adverse effects. Provide extensive detail about the biochemical composition of so-called vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in supply to the national population, especially the one aimed at children. Explain if the different doses are distributed in batches or differential (different) items, and if so, clarify for what reason, and based on what criteria, each would be provided to different population levels, whether the drugs in each batch are diverse by their content and how and for whom they would be distinguishable. If it turns out to be the real existence of different lots, doses of each are requested for judicial expert examination. Specify if the so-called vaccines contain messenger RNA by explaining, if necessary, what that means. Explain what therapeutic or extra therapeutic consequences adverse or not [mRNA] can have for the person inoculated with it. It must be specified with regard to the latter, and in a negative hypothesis in terms of alleged damages, if there is indeed with scientific rigor the possible safety of the messenger RNA, or if there is simply a lack of information on the point. State very specifically and beyond what has been inquired, it is requested that it be said if it is known to you that those labeled as vaccines contain or may contain nanotechnological elements. Clarifying, if not, whether such a temperament would arise from an effective verification of its absence, or from mere ignorance of the components of the referred vaccinal substances. Certify whether the substances contained in the so-called vaccines supplied in Uruguay are experimental or not. That is, explain in full and detail whether they are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or equivalent body, according to the usual protocols, or if they have some other type of emergency permission. If this is the case, explain granted by whom and with what guarantees and based on what regulations. In short, you must also respond if you are aware that either the manufacturer and/or supplier, or any academic or governmental body (domestic or foreign), have admitted in any way that may be the experimental nature of the aforementioned vaccines. Present complete and up-to-date information in your possession about what is scientifically known and what is not known about the effectiveness of those labeled as vaccines and their possible short, medium and long-term adverse effects. Provide official figures that demonstrate the negative or positive incidence of so-called vaccination in the number of infections and deaths diagnosed with COVID from the beginning of the campaign to date. State whether studies have been carried out to explain the noticeable increase in deaths for COVID-19 since March 2021 or if information is in your possession with sufficient scientific support and evidence about it. Provide information on the total number of deaths in Uruguay due to COVID-19 since the beginning of the so-called pandemic, the global average age and how many were for COVID-19 in an exclusive causal relationship and how many were with COVID-19 that is, with the presence of the virus, but was not the main cause of death. Demonstrate scientifically with evidence of national or international studies that have been done whether the status of non-vaccinated poses a health hazard to the entire population or third parties. If it is the case, two other things will be required: the determination and demonstration of the degree of danger, and the reason that explains why, if this were eventually the case, vaccination would not have been mandated. Prove whether both the vaccinated and unvaccinated infect equally. If they do not, explain what this would be like and in what proportions and prove what is stated. Clarify the reasons for the lack of preview informed consent, in relation to the act components of what the government itself presents as a vaccination campaign. Detail, with first and last names, the identity of the professional technicians who have directed and direct the aforementioned campaign, or anyone who has provided advice at any level. Also provide relevant data for their location for their judicial interrogation, adding to the required information, data about whether any of them are part of any foreign governmental or para governmental organization, or they have worked for one of them in any way, or, where appropriate, manage in a multinational company focused on healthcare. Detail, if necessary, the personal names and organizations or companies involved. Explain if alternative therapies for COVID-19 have been studied for any variants. If not, clarify why those were not explored. If positive, give the research results giving an account of whether those were used in Uruguay or not. For the latter option, provide the reasons that would have been taken to discard the use of alternative therapies, adding whether or not you know that they have been used in other countries successfully, still relative, or not. The order also required Pfizer to state within 48 hours whether it has admitted, in any area, internal or external to it and its partners, the verification of adverse effects of its COVID-19 vaccines in children. I applaud Uruguayan judge Recarey for posing many tough questions to Pfizer over its COVID shots and the contracts it imposed on Uruguay, Mary Holland, president of Childrens Health Defense (CHD), told The Defender in an email. From the beginning, Pfizer has hidden its data and liability-free contracts to avoid liability from the shots, Holland said. She explained: Many countries, including those in Latin America, have relied on U.S. regulatory agencies in the past to guide health policy. But the U.S. regulatory bodies have failed regarding COVID. There is no scientific or ethical justification to authorize COVID shots for children, as some countries, including Denmark, now acknowledge. We know that children are at almost zero risk of dying from COVID. The FDA has extended Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while illegitimately approving Comirnaty, thus engaging in a fraudulent bait-and-switch scheme to avoid all liability while hawking approved vaccines. Holland said CHD is currently pursuing two lawsuits against the FDA for its arbitrary and capricious decisions on COVID-19 shots, and she is pleased to see that other countries are stepping into the scientific and legal breach. I hope Pfizer complies with the judges order, but given its long criminal rap sheet, it remains to be seen, Holland added. Dr. Salle Lorier on Twitter called Judge Recareys historic ruling a judicial Maracanazo, and posted a video explaining the order. Fallo historico en Uruguay, un verdadero "Maracanazo judicial";Juez ordena al Gobierno mostrar contrato de las vacunas y multiples medidas investigativas, como por ejemplo, declaracion de autoridades de Pfizer. Video explicativo del fallo del Juez Recarey https://t.co/35tSe599CP Dr. Salle Lorier (@sallelorier) July 2, 2022 Although Judge Racarey took it upon himself to review data presented by Pfizer and government officials on COVID-19 vaccines, Uruguay is one of 47 co-sponsoring countries that agreed to the Biden administrations amendments to the World Health Organizations (WHO) 2005 International Health Agreements that attempted to place member states health sovereignty in the hands of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and its regional directors. U.S. Judge Requires FDA to Turn Over Pfizer COVID-19 Documents This is not the first time government officials or Pfizer have been required to turn over data regarding COVID-19 vaccines. A federal judge on Feb. 2 rejected a bid by the FDA, with the support of Pfizer, to delay the court-ordered release of nearly 400,000 pages of documents pertaining to the approval of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine. Federal Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an order requiring the FDA to release redacted versions of the documents in question according to the following disclosure schedule: 10,000 pages apiece, due on or before March 1 and April 1, 2022. 80,000 pages apiece, to be produced on or before May 2, June 1 and July 1, 2022. 70,000 pages to be produced on or before Aug. 1, 2022. 55,000 pages per month, on or before the first business day of each month thereafter, until the release of the documents has been completed. The ruling was part of an ongoing court case that began with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in August 2021 by Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency (PHMPT). PHMPT, a group of more than 30 medical and public health professionals and scientists from institutions such as Harvard, Yale, and UCLA, in September 2021 filed a lawsuit against the FDA after the agency denied its original FOIA request. In that request, PHMPT asked the FDA to release all data and information for the Pfizer vaccine, including safety and effectiveness data, adverse reaction reports, and a list of active and inactive ingredients. The FDA argued it didnt have enough staff to process the redaction, claiming it could process only 500 pages per month. This would have meant the cache of documents would not be fully released for approximately 75 years. In his Jan. 6 order, Pittman rejected the FDAs claim and instead required the agency to release 12,000 pages of documents by Jan. 31 and an additional 55,000 pages per month thereafter. Pfizer responded to the Jan. 6 order with a request to intervene in the case for the limited purpose of ensuring that information exempt from disclosure under FOIA is adequately protected as FDA complies with this courts order. Pfizer claimed to support the disclosure of the documents, but asked to intervene in the case to ensure that information legally exempt from disclosure will not be disclosed inappropriately. Lawyers for PHMPT, in a brief submitted Jan. 25, asked Pittman to reject Pfizers motion, prompting the Feb. 2 order. The first batch of documents produced in Nov. 2021, which totaled a mere 500 pages, revealed more than 1,200 vaccine-related deaths within the first 90 days following the release of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Since then, thousands of documents released as a result of Pittmans court order raise serious questions about the data used by U.S. regulatory agencies to justify the authorization and approval of Pfizer and BioNTechs COVID-19 vaccines. 07/06/22 Childrens Health Defense, Inc. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of Childrens Health Defense, Inc. Want to learn more from Childrens Health Defense? Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Childrens Health Defense. Your donation will help to support us in our efforts. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here. An individual identified by prosecutors as Daniel Egtvedt enters the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (DOJ via The Epoch Times) US Capitol Police Urge Judge to Block Jan. 6 Defendants Request to Measure Parts of Capitol Letting a Jan. 6, 2021, defendant photograph and measure parts of the U.S. Capitol not normally open to the public would endanger the security of the building, the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) told a judge this week. Allowing a defendant to take the requested measurements would compromise the security of the U.S. Capitol by exposing security features and vulnerabilities, Sean Gallagher, the USCPs acting assistant chief for uniformed services, said in a filing. The rare affidavit was lodged after Daniel Egtvedt, the defendant, through his lawyers asked that the government be forced to let the lawyers and a defense investigator access to multiple non-public areas of the building. The access is needed to prepare the defense for Egtvedts upcoming trial, the lawyers said in a motion. Tours Kira West and Nicole Cubbage, the lawyers, have taken part in two tours of the Capitol in preparation for defending Egtvedt and others, but there was a dispute over entering a space called the Hall of Columns and inspecting the Senate Wing Doors, located at the end of the upper west terrace and breached during the Capitol breach. A list handed to the lawyers during the tour said the Senate doors were non-public. Despite the Hall of Columns being listed as public, the attorneys say they were blocked from entering. The lawyers want to inspect, photograph, and measure the areas as they prepare for the upcoming trial, which has been repeatedly delayed and is currently scheduled to start on Dec. 5. Egtvedt was captured on surveillance cameras entering the doors at approximately 2:48 p.m. on Jan. 6 and proceeding into the hall. The USCPs lawyers rejected the attempts to enter the hall and inspect the doors because of established protocols with our oversight and the House and Senate, West and Cubbage said in the motion to compel the government to allow access. Access to the areas stated in the attached letter to government counsel are necessary and relevant to producing evidence for use at trial in Mr. Egtvedts defense, they wrote. An individual identified by prosecutors as Daniel Egtvedt walks inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Daniel Egtvedt via The Epoch Times) Video Prosecutors and Gallagher, the USCP official, argue that providing the lawyers with the tours and video footage that shows Egtvedts movements on Jan. 6 is sufficient. The government has provided the defense with extensive discovery, in the form of organized crime scene walk throughs and thousands of hours of video footage from January 6, 2021, that enable the defendant to inspect the U.S. Capitol, Colleen Kukowski, an assistant U.S. attorney, wrote in opposition to the defense motion. She said the defense lawyers had failed to show the images and measurements are material to preparing for the trial. Gallagher and the prosecutor said granting the motion would endanger Capitol security. Allowing the defense to measure distances would provide a wealth of information to an adversary who might wish to calculate blast distances, the ability to fly a drone within the building or how large of a group could quickly pass through the hallways, to name but a few security risks, Gallagher said. Federal law says that related security information, or sensitive information related to the Capitol, can only be released with authorization from the Capitol Police Board, which does not often clear such a release. Not Enough But the video provided is not enough because the recordings are incomplete and prejudicial to the defendant, the defendants lawyers said. The perspective of these videos is skewed due to the angle of the camera. This distorts distances between objects in an unreliable way. The inaccuracies may alter the weight that might be given to testimony about these videos and especially about distances between objects and persons viewed on them. Similarly, body worn camera creates difficulties in assessing true distances between objects and officers and cannot be used reliably in this regard, they wrote. Egtvedt is accused of illegally entering the Capitol before clashing with law enforcement officers. He has been charged with assault of a federal officer, obstruction of Congress, and disorderly conduct, among other counts. The measurements are crucial to figuring out the distance between an officer who sprayed Egtvedt with chemical spray, and the time needed to traverse the path he allegedly took that day, according to the defense. West declined to comment. She told The Epoch Times in an email she did not know when the court would rule on the matter. A U.S. F-35A fighter jet lands at Chungju Air Base, South Korea on March 29, 2019. (South Korea Defense Acquisition Program Administration via Getty Images) US Deploys F-35 Stealth Fighters to South Korea for Joint Military Drills The United States deployed six F-35A stealth fighters to South Korea for joint military drills to demonstrate U.S.-South Korea deterrence amid North Koreas growing nuclear threat. The six aircraft departed from the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska on Tuesday. The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said they would join several other U.S. and South Korean aircraft, including South Koreas F-35As, during the 10-day military drills involving familiarization and routine training flights. The aircraft plan to operate over the Republic of Korea and surrounding waters off the coasts during the scheduled 10-day training mission, the USFK said in a statement, referring to South Koreas official name. South Koreas Defense Ministry said the purpose was to demonstrate the two allies strong deterrence and combined defense posture, as well as to improve interoperability between the two air forces, Yonhap News Agency reported. This follows an agreement between President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, in May to initiate talks on expanding joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula and reinforcing the combined defense posture. During their meeting, Biden reaffirmed the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea using the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities. The two leaders condemned North Koreas resumption of nuclear tests as a grave threat to the world while remaining open to dialogue with Pyongyang. Trilateral Alliance North Koreas nuclear threats have prompted South Korea to boost cooperation with both the U.S. and Japan. On June 29, the three countries leaders met on the sidelines of the NATO summit and discussed the need to enhance trilateral cooperation against Pyongyang. The North Korean Foreign Ministry denounced the tripartite alliance as a means to materialize the U.S.s plan to form a military alliance similar to NATO in the Asia-Pacific region, Pyongyangs official news agency reported. The reality clearly shows that the real purpose of the U.S. spreading the rumor about threat from North Korea is to provide an excuse for attaining military supremacy over the Asia-Pacific region including the Korean Peninsula, and furthermore, the rest of the world, it stated. The prevailing situation more urgently calls for building up the countrys defenses to actively cope with the rapid aggravation of the security environment of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the world, the ministry added. Pyongyang has conducted 18 missile launches involving 33 ballistic missiles since the beginning of the year, and Washington anticipated that it could conduct a seventh nuclear test at any time. The United States has been urging a return to a dialogue with North Korea, which Pyongyang has ignored because of what it says are the United States and its allies hostile policies. The body of a Tesla Model S is transported by an automated crane at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif., on Oct. 1, 2011. (Stephen Lam/Reuters) US Factory Construction Soars as Reshoring Trend Builds Steam Factory construction in the United States is surging as more American companies consider reshoring their production. Reshoring is the process of bringing back production and manufacturing of goods to a firms original country. An analysis of earnings calls and conference presentations by Bloomberg revealed CEOs indicating plans to relocate production at a greater rate in 2022 than during the first six months of the pandemic. The analysis is based on the usage of buzzwords like reshoring, onshoring, or nearshoring. Such references are up by more than 1,000 percent compared to the pre-pandemic level. Companies have been rattled by Chinas wave of extreme COVID-19 lockdowns. Construction data further strengthens the view that companies are building more manufacturing facilities in the United States. For the 12 months ending May 2022, nonresidential building starts were 20 percent higher than in the 12 months ending May 2021. Commercial starts grew 18 percent, institutional starts rose 9 percent, and manufacturing starts swelled 116 percent on a 12-month rolling sum basis, according to a June 17 news release by Dodge Data and Analytics. In the first five months of 2022, commercial starts were up by 17 percent, institutional starts by 2 percent, and manufacturing starts by 97 percent on a year-to-date basis. In a UBS survey of C-executives in January 2022, over 90 percent stated that they were either moving manufacturing out of China or were in the process of doing so. About 80 percent were looking at bringing some of that production to the United States. The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that new orders for manufactured goods rose by 1.6 percent in May. This is the 12th monthly increase in the past 13 months. Reshoring to the United States According to a 2021 report from the Reshoring Initiative, reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) job announcements in 2021 hit a record 261,000, bringing the total jobs announced since 2010 to more than 1.3 million. For the second year in a row, reshoring exceeded FDI by 100 percent. This is in stark contrast to the period between 2014 and 2019 when FDI exceeded reshoring. In addition, the number of companies reporting new reshoring and FDI hit a record at 1,800. Import shortages during the pandemic triggered government support for domestic production of essential products, Reshoring Initiatives report revealed. The dramatic increases in freight cost and delivery time, the 2017 corporate tax and regulatory cuts, and rising concerns about Americas dependence on China contributed to the reshoring trend, it added. The high rate of 2020 and 2021 reshoring vs. foreign direct investment also indicates that U.S. headquartered companies are starting to understand the same benefit to localized production that many foreign companies have understood over the last decade, the report said. There have been significant investment announcements from chipmaking plants in the United States by tech giants Intel Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Aluminum and steel plants are coming up in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Alabama. Several smaller companies are also reportedly making similar moves. The seal of the U.S. Department of State in Washington on May 11, 2018. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) US State Department Offers $10 Million Reward for Info on Foreign Election Interference News Analysis The U.S. Department of State has recently rolled out an incentive to reward individuals up to $10 million for providing any information on foreign inference in U.S. elections. In the past five decades, foreign election interference has been reported in the United States, such as in the 1968 presidential election. In the past seven years, it has become one of the hottest topics in the country, particularly about alleged Russian and Chinese interference in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections. The Department of State announced on June 30 that its Rewards for Justice program seeks information leading to the identification or location of any foreign person or entity who knowingly engaged or is engaging in foreign election interference. Furthermore, the reward offer seeks information leading to the prevention, frustration, or favorable resolution of an act of foreign election interference, including by dismantling, in whole or significant part, an organization engaged in such activity, according to its website. Chinas Interference in US Elections The Chinese regimes interference in the U.S. elections has been publicly acknowledged by its own economist. In his July 2016 speech on Sino-U.S. Strategic Philosophy, Jin Canrong, a professor and associate dean of the School of International Studies at Beijings Renmin University of China, explained how the regime interferes in U.S. elections to bring pro-Beijing candidates to power. The Chinese government wants to arrange Chinese investments in every single congressional district to control thousands of voters in each district, Jin said. He claimed that with the U.S. population standing at about 312 million across 435 congressional districts at the time, there were roughly 750,000 residents living in each district. The voting rate in the United States is about 30 percent, which means around 200,000 residents in each congressional district vote for the representative in that district, Jin said. Normally, the difference of votes between two candidates is 10,000 or less. If China has thousands of votes on hand, China will be the boss of the candidates. Jin said Beijings ambition is to control at least the House. Jin Canrong, professor and deputy director of the Studies Center of the U.S. at Renmin University, comments on the U.S.-China talks in Beijing, China, on March 19, 2021. (Screenshot/Jin Canrongs channel/YouTube) The best scenario is China can buy the United States and change the U.S. House of Representatives into the second Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, he said, referring to the committee that oversees the CCPs rubber-stamp legislature. In recent years, Beijing did more than Jin mentioned to interfere in the U.S. elections. To influence U.S. public opinion against Republicans during the 2018 midterm elections, Chinese state media China Daily ran a four-page advertorial in the Des Moines Registerone of Iowas top newspaperswith content about the Sino-U.S. trade war impacting the exporting of soybeans to China. Iowa was a swing state, with multiple state and federal political offices up for election. Soybeans have been Beijings main weapon in the trade dispute. In 2020, the CCP made clear through its state-run media that it favored a presidency under then-Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden because he would be smoother to deal with than Trump. President Joe Biden (L) and son Hunter Biden (R) on a balcony of the White House to watch 4th of July fireworks in Washington on July 4, 2022. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) White House Doesnt Dispute Joe Biden Left Voicemail About China Story for Hunter Biden The White House on July 5 didnt dispute that President Joe Biden left a voicemail for his son Hunter discussing a story about the younger Bidens business dealings with China. The leaked voicemail, left in 2018, when Joe Biden wasnt in office, had the Democrat telling Hunter Biden that I think youre clear in the story, which was published by The New York Times. The story detailed the younger Bidens dealings with Ye Jianming, a Chinese oil tycoon. White House Asked for 1st Time The voicemail was recovered from a laptop computer that Hunter Biden is said to have left at a repair store in Delaware years ago. He hasnt denied that he left the laptop there. Materials published from the computer include images of Hunter Biden, phone calls, and text messages. The White House was asked about the voicemail, which was released by the Daily Mail in June, for the first time on July 5. Why is there a voicemail of the president talking to his son about his overseas business dealings if the president has said hes never spoken to his son about his overseas business dealings? Peter Doocy, a Fox News reporter, asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Well, first, Ill say that what the president said stands. So if thats what the president said, that is what stands, Jean-Pierre said. Joe Biden has said he has never spoken with his son about his sons business dealings, which have included transactions with individuals and entities in China, Russia, and other countries, including during the time Joe Biden was vice president. From this podium, I am not going to talk about alleged materials from the laptop, Jean-Pierre added. Pressed on whether she was disputing that Joe Biden was speaking in the voicemail, she said: I am not going to talk about alleged materials on a laptop. Its not happening. She referred reporters to Hunter Bidens lawyer, who hasnt responded to requests for comment, including a query sent on July 6. Voicemail The voicemail, which is 23 seconds long, is from Dec. 12, 2018. It appears to show Joe Biden leaving his son a message. Hey pal, its Dad, the elder Biden says. Its 8:15 on Wednesday night. If you get a chance, just give me a call. Nothing urgent. I just wanted to talk to you. I thought the article released online, its going to be printed tomorrow in the Times, was good, he said. I think youre clear. And anyway, if you get a chance, give me a call, I love you. The story in question reported that Ye and Hunter Biden met privately in mid-2017 at a hotel in Miami. During the meeting, Ye reportedly proposed a business partnership that would focus on investing in U.S. infrastructure. The story said it remains unclear whether Hunter Biden reached a deal with Ye. But a letter later made public showed that CEFC, the Chinese entity Ye once headed, paid Hunter Biden $1 million to find an attorney for Patrick Ho, a top aide of Ye who was arrested by U.S. authorities in 2017 and sentenced for bribery and money laundering. Republicans have vowed to renew investigations into Hunter Biden if they flip control of the House of Representatives in Novembers midterm elections. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Delaware is already probing the younger Biden over his business deals, and several senators previously issued a report on the dealings. U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona deliver remarks during an event for the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year at the White House on Apr. 27, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) White House Seeks to Add 250,000 Tutors, Mentors to Address COVID-Related Learning Loss FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.The White House on Tuesday announced a new program to add 250,000 tutors and mentors within the next three years to help K-12 public school students recover from their learning loss during the pandemic. The national program, a partnership between the Department of Education, AmeriCorps, and Everyone Graduates Center, will support summer learning, afterschool, and tutoring programs. AmeriCorps is an independent government agency focusing on national service initiatives. Everyone Graduates Center is a think tank affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. To fund such resources, the Biden administration called on schools to use the $122 billion allocated under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. Nowmore than everstudents need to feel supported, seen, heard, and understood by adults in their schools and communities, said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a statement. The Institute for Education Services, the Department of Educations research arm, will track schools progress with such programs monthly, according to the White House Fact Sheet. The new initiative is welcomed by researchers and parents, with a caveat of challenges. Tutoring Can Make a Difference When Done Right I think tutoring is a really good intervention. A lot of good research shows that can make a difference for a student when done right, Phyllis W. Jordan, associate director with FutureEd, an independent think-tank affiliated with Georgetown University, told The Epoch Times. And done right means doing it three times a week with the same tutor, often during the school day versus an add-on at the end of the day, said Jordan, adding that the student group should not be more than three or four students if the ideal one-on-one situation wasnt available. So doing the right steps can make a difference in a students academic life, and using AmeriCorps workers is a good strategy. According to Jordan, another challenge is what schools can do after ARP ESSER funding ends. Although the Department of Education has said that the deadline could be extended by another 18 months, that is contingent on school districts committing to a contract by the original deadline of September 2024. She said that the new program would allow schools to use ARP ESSER funding for tutoring until June 2025, another pathway to extension. Shawnna Yashar, an intellectual property attorney, and a board member and secretary of the Fairfax County Parents Association, a parent advocacy group based in northern Virginia, welcomed the new Biden administration initiative. She said hiring 250,000 new tutors and mentors would be a challenge. She had discussed with Fairfax County School Board representatives regarding finding in-person tutors and was told that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) couldnt find any. Instead, FCPS, the district where her three children, a rising fourth-grader, eighth-grader, and 12th-grader study, signed a contract with tutor.com in March, using its ARP ESSER funding. For a per-student fee of $15 per year, tutor.com would provide unlimited online tutoring to FCPS students from March 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025. For this large school district with 188,000 students, the annual fee amounts to $2.82 million. Yashar isnt happy with this spending. Students K5 dont have an option for math tutoring, according to the tutor.com screenshots she shared. And through tutor.com, tutoring is either done through online chatting or voice chatting, which would require a much longer wait time. Students are instructed to upload examples of problems they struggle with. And if the uploaded material contains personal information, the tutor has to end the session immediately. She said she understood the privacy concern, but an adult would have to accompany an elementary student to use the service. A parent has to sit with the child to do that [removing personal information and uploading the material], and at that point, the parent might as well be the one tutoring the child, she told The Epoch Times. FCPS and Tutor.com havent responded to The Epoch Times inquiry before press time. To Yashar, tutor.com may be helpful for high school students, but its not practical for elementary or even middle school students. In-person, high dosage tutoring is the only way to effectively address learning loss. Its either that or have students repeat grades, she added. Chinese leader Xi Jinping buttons his jacket at a ceremony to honor contributions to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Bejing on April 8, 2022. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Xi Jinpings Anti-Corruption Campaign Has Purged 5 Million Cadres After a Decade in Power Analysis Beijings propaganda department showed off its anti-corruption achievements at a press conference on June 30, saying its decade-long campaign has investigated millions of people and punished hundreds of thousands. Since Xi Jinping took power in 2012, the regimes anti-graft probes have investigated more than 4 million cases involving 4.7 million people removed from the post and imprisoned, and disciplined 644,000 people who violated regulations in the government or party, as of April, 2022, it was announced at the press conference. Xis anti-corruption campaign has targeted his opponents in the military, and the political and legal apparatus. However, analysts believe his true enemy is the ideological trap he has set himself up in. The Enemy Within On June 30, the partys magazine Qiushi published the talk Xi Jinping gave in January, on strengthening the leading cadres socialist ideology. Xi asserted his determination to crack down on cadres who act as agents of various interests and political elites. On June 17, Xi stressed the anti-graft campaign is a political war that he will not and cannot lose. According to the post on June 15 by Xis top anti-graft watchdog, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the latest purged high official is Zhang Wufeng, the head of the national food and strategic reserves. Zhang was formerly a member of the CCDI committee. Zhou Yongkang in a courtroom in Tianjin where he was sentenced to life in prison on June 11, 2015. (CCTV via AP) Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese law academic in exile, analyzed how Xis campaign helped to secure his status in the military by removing the major influence of Jiang Zemin, the partys former leader and Xis political opponent. But Xi continued the practice of bribery of the military, which is how Xi could control the military quickly by appeasing the military leaders in a broad sense. However, the resistance Xi encountered continued in the political and legal apparatus, Yuan said. When Chinas former security chief Zhou Yongkang was sacked on charges of bribery, abuse of power, and leaking state secrets, Jiang Zemin, his powerful patron, remained untouched, as was the strong network of opponents in the political and legal system. Wang Youqun, a Chinese affairs analyst, indicated that former leader Jiang Zemin and his crony Zeng Qinghong are the backstage chiefs of the massive corrupt officials and cadres. But, neither Jiang or Zeng has been investigated. Wang commented that under communist rule, When one corrupt official is down, thousands of corrupt officials will emerge immediately, Wang said. The Ideological Trap Wang also said that propaganda always heads the path of any political movement of the regime. Chinese leader Xi Jinping (L) and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Wang Huning (R) arrive at the closing session of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conferencein Beijing, China, on March 13, 2015. (Feng Li/Getty Images) Wang Huning, a main propaganda influencer, has been the ideological strategist for three leaders, including Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping. Hes the man behind, or better yet, the man who formulated the three leaders central policies. Commentator Wang Youqun said that the so-called political ideology originated from the same source, Marxs Communist Manifestoa code of violence, lies, war, famine, and dictatorship. He believes the code was inherited in the dictatorships ideology that intoxicated all cadres in the Chinese Communist Party, including its current leader Xi Jinping. The campaign of anti-corruption, as Xi mentioned when he first took power, would be a matter of life or death of the regime and the party. However, the facts of the campaign seemed to indicate that Xi is engaging in an endless campaign and he has set himself up in his own trap. Ning Haizhong contributed to this report. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) Pat Cipollone, Donald Trumps former White House counsel, is scheduled to testify Friday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a person briefed on the matter. Cipollone, whose reported resistance to Trumps schemes to overturn his 2020 election defeat has made him a long-sought and potentially revelatory witness, was subpoenaed by the select committee last week after weeks of public pressure to provide testimony to the panel. The person briefed on the matter, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations, said Cipollone agreed to appear before the committee for a private, transcribed interview. As Trumps top White House lawyer, Cipollone was in the West Wing on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as for key meetings in the turbulent weeks after the election when Trump and associates including Republican lawmakers and lawyer Rudy Giuliani debated and plotted ways to challenge the election. The agreement for Cipollone to speak to the panel follows last week's dramatic testimony from former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. The young aide to former chief of staff Mark Meadows provided the committee with a striking account of what she saw and heard in those weeks and presented lawmakers with arguably their clearest case for how Trump or some of his allies could face criminal liability. Cipollone is said to have stridently and repeatedly warned Trump and his allies against their efforts to challenge the election, threatening to resign as Trump eyed a dramatic reshuffling atop the Justice Department. One witness said Cipollone referred to a proposed letter making false claims about voter fraud as a murder-suicide pact. But while his interview with the committee could prove to be a breakthrough, it remained unclear whether Cipollone would try to limit what he is willing to talk about. As the administrations chief lawyer, he could argue that some or all of his conversations with Trump are privileged. Nevertheless, the nine-member panel believes he is a crucial witness who can provide them with an even closer, first-hand recollection of the several and varied efforts by Trump allies to subvert the Electoral College, including a strategy to organize so-called alternate electors for Trump in seven swing states that Biden won. Lawmakers also said that Cipollone's name came up in a number of private depositions as a voice of reason against efforts to appoint a loyalist as attorney general who championed false theories of voter fraud and a plan to have Trump march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 alongside his supporters. Hutchinson testified last week that days before the Capitol attack, Cipollone warned that there were serious legal concerns if Trump accompanied the protesters to the Capitol, saying, We need to make sure that this doesnt happen. By the morning of Jan. 6, Cipollone was urging Hutchinson to keep in touch about any possible movements by the president and please make sure we dont go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. If Trump did go to the Capitol, Hutchinson recalled Cipollone saying, were going to get charged with every crime imaginable. He had previously identified obstruction of justice or defrauding the electoral count as among the possibilities, she said. While Cipollone sat for an informal interview in April, the committee has reiterated that it required his cooperation on the record after it obtained evidence about which he was uniquely positioned to testify. Our evidence shows that Pat Cipollone and his office tried to do what was right, Rep. Liz Cheney, the Republican vice-chair of the committee, said in a hearing last month. They tried to stop a number of President Trumps plans for Jan. 6. We think the American people deserve to hear from Mr. Cipollone personally," She added. ___ Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report. WATERBURY U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said during a swing through Connecticut on Tuesday that the Biden administration is exploring a number of ideas to provide immediate assistance to women seeking access to abortion services across state lines, as new restrictions take effect across the country. Becerra made those remarks during a visit to a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Waterbury, where he and other state and federal officials met with the clinics patients and staff. The secretarys visit to Connecticut came more than a week after the U.S Supreme Court overturned its long-standing precedent in Roe vs. Wade, allowing states to begin passing restrictions on abortion starting at conception. There are a number of ideas that have been proposed, circulated, we are looking at a number of things we can do, Becerra said, while declining to pledge any specific action as officials continue to review the ramifications of the ruling. As you can see from what the Supreme Court did, it took a 50-year-old right and flushed it down the toilet, the former attorney general from California said. We want to make sure that what we say we will do, we will do. So we want to make sure its not a could but a will. Any action by the Biden administration would likely come through executive action, bypassing Congress which has remained gridlocked on the issue. Amanda Skinner, the head of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, specifically called on the administration to declare a public health crisis, which she said at the least would unlock federal funding for clinics or to provide direct financial support for women who are forced to travel for access to reproductive care It is not fair or just or equitable to expect people to travel thousands of miles for basic healthcare and yet that is a burden we are putting on people in this country right now, Skinner said. It is possible and certainly our ask is to explore all opportunities to try to address some of those barriers. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who accompanied the secretary on his visit Tuesday, said he signed a letter along with over two dozen of his Senate colleagues asking Biden to issue an emergency declaration or other action using the full force of the federal government to protect abortion rights. Blumenthal said that executive actions available to the Biden administration include offering the use of federal lands to continue offering reproductive healthcare services lost through shuttered clinics, and allowing patients to receive prescriptions for medication abortions though telemedicine. Were pressing President Biden to use whatever authority he has, to the maximum extent to explore the possibility of a national emergency that would enable telemedicine prescription, which could then result in medication abortion through the mail, Blumenthal said. While remote access to medications abortions also known as the abortion pill were expanded during the pandemic, experts say that the prospect of shipping the medication to patients in states that have banned the procedure could become mired in legal challenges. Its very much on the table and could have practical ramifications, Blumenthal said, adding, Frankly, were in a public health crisis. Were in an emergency. Becerra said he was asked to visit the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Waterbury by U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th, during the first part of a two-day tour through the state. Becerra said that Connecticut residents are fortunate to live in a state where abortion rights have been codified in law for more than two decades, and said the Biden administration is examining what steps it can take to ensure women in other states retain access to abortion services. Since the decision, at least eight states have enacted near-total bans on the procedure, with more expected to follow. Now after the Supreme Courts decision in [Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization], its important to say that no woman is safe until all women are safe, Becerra said. Earlier this year, Connecticut lawmakers enacted a so-called safe harbor law to expand legal protections for women who travel to Connecticut to receive an abortion, as well as for doctors and clinicians who offer such care. The law was initially passed as a response to a Texas measure that predates the recent Supreme Court ruling, subjecting patients and others who aid in offering abortions to potential legal ramifications. While speaking to a roundtable panel of activists, lawmakers and staff at the Planned Parenthood Clinic on Tuesday, Hayes compared the Texas law and similar measures to the Fugitive Slave Act that forced formerly enslaved people capurted in free states to be returned to bondage in the South. Much like in the 1850s with the fugitive slave laws, there is half the country that is wrong, Hayes said. And we have to stand in intercession until we can bring these people along. Since the Texas law went into effect last September, Planned Parenthood clinics in Connecticut have served about a dozen patients who have traveled from states where abortion access is more restricted, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England said. Connecticut State Police / Contributed Photo NORWALK A local woman was charged last week with threatening to shoot up the Norwalk DMV office, according to state police. State police were called to the Department of Motor Vehicles office on Main Avenue in Norwalk at around 3:15 p.m. Thursday for a suspicious incident. OTTAWA (AP) Patrick Brown, one of the candidates for the leadership of Canadas Conservative Party, has been disqualified over allegations of financial wrongdoing. Browns campaign issued a statement Wednesday denying it had done anything wrong, saying the disqualification is reprehensible, undemocratic behavior that breaks faith with hundreds of thousands of Canadians. Ian Brodie, chair of the leadership election organizing committee, announced the surprising move late Tuesday night, saying the party had learned of "serious allegations of wrongdoing by the Brown campaign involving financing rules in the Canada Elections Act. He provided no further details. In his statement, Brodie said the party informed Brown, who is the mayor of Brampton, Ontario, of the concerns and requested a written response, which party officials found inadequate. The leadership's election organizing committee dopted to disqualify him in a vote held at a meeting Tuesday evening. The Brown campaign disputed that account, saying, This decision is based on anonymous allegations,, and adding, "Our campaign was never provided with the full details or evidence of these allegations, failing an even basic requirement of due process. The campaign said the decision was meant to favor Pierre Poilievre, the longtime Ottawa-area member of Parliament considered a front-runner in the race. Poilievres campaign released its own statement Wednesday,saying Brown is trying to "make himself into a victim. The Conservatives will announce the winner of the leadership race in Ottawa on Sept. 10. Former leader Erin OToole was forced to resign in February after a disappointing 2021 election result. The other candidates in the race are Conservative MPs Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchison, as well as former Quebec Premier Jean Charest and Roman Baber, a former independent member of the Ontario legislature. Last week, the party said about 675,000 members have signed up to vote for a new leader. A contractor boring holes in the ground for fiber optic cable in Maryville Wednesday morning led to a village-wide boil order and an erroneous county-wide alert. At approximately 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, a contractor who was working near Old Keebler Road and Harmon Lane accidentally cut a village water line, which briefly triggered the boil order, according to village water superintendent Matt Hoffmann. Hoffmann said water crews had full service to the village restored within 30 minutes. Still, village officials are requesting residents to boil their water for three to five minutes before using it for drinking, cooking, food preparation and even brushing their teeth. Residents should continue to boil their water until Friday, or until lab test results indicate the water is safe to consume. Lab test results usually take at least 24 hours to come back to the village. In an effort to notify those who signed up for the Code Red system, Madison County Emergency Management mistakenly sent out notices county-wide about the boil order, sowing confusion among residents and business owners. A message posted on the agency's Facebook page at around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday says the issue occurred due to a "glitch in the system." The post continues and states in part, "Unless you are a resident or business in Maryville, please disregard. Thank you all and we apologize for any inconvenience!" The agency's interim director, Mary Kate Brown, attributes the glitch to the software that generates the notifications. She said she's the only user and the system "froze up" after she sent the initial message and it did the same thing after she sent the retraction notification. She said she placed a service call to the parent company of the software, OnSolve, and awaits answers from the company regarding the issues. Neither Edwardsville's nor Glen Carbon's water supplies were affected by this boil order. Both Maryville and Edwardsville have their groundwater, while Glen Carbon receives its water from Illinois American Water. According to the Village of Maryville website, to improve the flavor of the flat taste of boiled water, store the water in the refrigerator and pour it back and forth from one clean and sanitized container to another. The website also says to place a cup over faucets as a reminder to not use untreated water. However, residents can bathe and shower in the untreated water as long as one doesn't ingest any water in the process. Babies and toddlers may be given sponge baths to lessen any chance of water ingestion. Maryville residents and business owners with questions about the boil order should call village hall during business hours, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday or contact the village police department at 618-344-8899 after business hours. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CANAZEI, Italy (AP) Authorities said conditions downslope from a glacier in the Italian Alps were too unstable for searchers and dogs to work on the mountain where a chunk of ice the size of an apartment building broke loose at the weekend, killing several hikers. But with the aid of drones, two more bodies were spotted at the edge of tons of debris from the avalanche. The discovery raised to nine the known death toll from Sundays avalanche, Trento Provincial President Maurizio Fugatti told reporters Wednesday evening in the resort town of Canazei, at the foot of the Marmolada glacier-topped mountain. Five people who had been hiking have been unaccounted for. But authorities stressed that until identification can be made on the two bodies pinpointed by drones, it wont be clear if they number among those five whose families said they never returned from the mountain. All of the missing are Italians. So far, four of the nine dead have been identified. While hikers were enjoying a Sunday outing in warm, sunny weather, an enormous portion of the glacier detached, sending an avalanche of ice and rocks thundering across a main hiking trail. Rescuers said they hoped the temperature would dip Thursday, lessening the risk of more avalanches, so searchers could go on the Marmolada slope. Relatives of the missing Italians pressed for the retrieval of their loved ones' bodies, which are believed to be buried under the avalanche. The size of the glacier's detached pinnacle has been compared to an apartment building. Trento Prosecutor Sandro Raimondi said in a Wednesday interview on Italian state radio that he opened a formal investigation to determine if any negligence was involved. Prosecutors plan to consult geologists. But Raimondi said it appeared at this point that the avalanche couldn't have been anticipated. "The unpredictability in this moment is the chief protagonist,'' he said. Forensic police investigators dispatched from the city of Parma took samples Wednesday from some of the remains recovered to try to determine if they belonged to any of the people missing. Meanwhile, the mayors of Canazei and smaller towns at the base of mountains in the Dolomite range issued ordinances closing off the Marmolada peak to hikers. Some people ignored the orders and scrambled up the lower slopes. Authorities have cited a weeks-long heat wave in northern Italy and scant winter snowfall as likely factors in the weekend breakup of the glacier, which has dramatically shrank over decades. Last weekend, the temperature on Marmolada topped 10 degrees Celsius (50 F), unusually high for early summer, authorities said. Polar sciences experts at an Italian government-run research center estimated that the Marmolada glacier could disappear entirely in the next 25-30 years if current climatic trends continue. Between 2004 and 2015, the glacier lost 30% of its volume and 22% of its area. People whose livelihoods are entwined with the mountain offered their own observations. Carlo Budel, manager of alpine hut on the side of Marmolada, recalled that the glacier was not covered with snow last month. "Last year, when I moved to the hut on June 1st, it took me half a day only to enter because the hut was all covered in snow, he said. But this year, I opened the main door in just 30 minutes. ___ D'Emilio reported from Rome. Andrea Rosa and Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's coverage of climate issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate A really bad day in Nigeria is when violent injury, death, and destruction of government properties occur from terrorism. The urgency of this moment in Nigeria is that there is going to be a break as no one is safe. Within 24 hours or so, terrorists, or as some may call them, bandits, attacked a federal prison in the nations capital, Abuja. The Navy officer in Lokoja, Kogi State, was abducted by suspected terrorists and the Nigerian Navy said that efforts are ongoing to rescue the personnel. In Kastina State, a presidential convoy was attacked by terrorists in the President Muhammadu Buhari s native home; and a police area commander, ACP Aminu Umar, during a clearance operation of bandits and terrorists in the forest in Kastina, was killed in an ambush by terrorists. A really bad day for everyone. This leads to the conclusion that one must feel unsafe wherever one goes and wonders, "Is this the day I die?" Before the Buhari administration, bandits and terrorists caused havoc on citizens' properties during other administrations. The only difference now is that these violent people are madder and target acts that are more shocking. Psychologically, the types of terrorists this time, in a way, are vicious and carry out daily attacks against the Nigerian people as well as systems such as law enforcement, the military, and the presidency. As usual for Christians, moderate Muslims are always part of their cruel game. The type of terrorist in Nigeria now, no matter the hard or soft name or label they get, their landscape has grown more complex. While many of them have been dealt with, these terrorists have proven to be more resistant, determined, and adaptable, and they are constantly adjusting to present counterterrorism pressure. In a society that does not value long-term pre-psychological assessment before allowing candidates to gain entrance into security and law enforcement work, it is not uncommon for some officers to have ties to a constellation of armed terrorist hate groups and to join the forces and become officers. Terrorists are just like white supremacists in the western world, as evidence suggests that these extremists infiltrate law enforcement and security agencies. These are the ones that will look out for terrorists and alert them about needed information that will help terrorists score well when they target people or officials. Nigeria must engage culturally sensitive aware psychologists who will use advanced testing tools to help tailor out policies and standards that will help prohibit people who engage in extremist violent mentality from joining or becoming police/security officers or remaining on the force. Nigeria needs to create laws and policies that require departments to inquire into police candidates ties to extremist groups and allow the government to revoke their accreditation if they are affiliated with those groups. The phenomenon of groupthink is known to be present in terrorist minds. In other words, groupthink is a psychological experience in which people strive for accord within a group. In many cases, people will set aside their own beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group. Terrorism in Nigeria needs to be examined in relation to constructs such as ethnic religious attitudes, ideologies, and world views. In recent times, Nigeria has been known to engage in negotiating with bandits and terrorists, granting amnesty and leniency measures, including a defectors' program for "repentant" low-risk male combatants and a rehabilitation program for "low-risk" females. But the psychology of terrorism tells us that terrorists do not change or adapt completely in terms of their political, individual and group dynamics, processes, and principlesthose who are subconsciously less afraid of death and those who have a desire for meaning and personal significance in regard to the extremist lifestyle remain dangerous. Terrorist mentality and actions are difficult to change. Most terrorists are not "crazy" in any traditional sense, but they are more open to terrorist recruitment and radicalization as they are more prone to feeling angry, isolated, or markedly disenfranchised. They believe that their current social or other involvement does not give them the power to effect real change, so they seek alternatives. They like to identify with perceived victims of the social injustice they are fighting against. They feel the need to act rather than just talking about the problem. They believe that engaging in violence against the government is not immoral. They seek out friends or family sympathetic to their cause. They believe that joining a movement offers social and psychological rewards such as exploration, camaraderie, and a heightened sense of identity. Nigeria, a deeply ethnic-religious place, must be careful to directly or indirectly use culture and religion to protect these people, as they do not change easily. Some become terrorists because of their inability to soften their hearts. I agree with teaching them how to become moderate Muslims. It is essential to hold dialogues with arrested or detained terrorists about Islams true teachings on violence and jihad. Assisting them with emotional and supportive therapy like defusing their anger and frustration, showing concern for their families through means such as funding their children's education or helping their families, which includes wives, Addressing their radical beliefs is imperative. It is helpful to use former radicals who are realistically demonstrating law-abiding citizenship to convince former terrorists that violence against civilians compromises the view of Islam. For those who continue to kill indiscriminately and are not afraid to blow up or kill themselves, use threats towards their families or others, and vehemently pursue aggressive engagement. They should be treated equally in accordance with the law. The current constitution, in a defective way, is undermined by disorientation, falsity, and religious and ethnic complications, and for many of the issues raised in this article in terms of meaningful systems, laws, and policies on violence and security, we need a fundamental change that will produce a working and governing document called the constitution. John Egbeazien Oshodi was born in Uromi, Edo State in Nigeria and is an American-based Police/Prison Scientist and Forensic/Clinical/Legal Psychologist. Prof. Oshodi wrote in via [email protected] President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Wednesday to participate in the International Development Association (IDA) for Africa Summit in Dakar, Senegal. Recall that terrorists had earlier attacked a convoy of cars carrying the Advance Team of security guards, protocol and media officers ahead of President Muhammadu Buharis trip to Daura for Sallah, on Tuesday. Similarly, the Kuje Correctional Center also came under an attack by terrorists belonging to Boko Haram group on last Tuesday night. Despite all the crisis, President Buhari is expected to join other African leaders in an open Dialogue on Development Challenges and priorities as well as transformational initiatives that will lead to an outcome document, the Dakar Declaration. Buhari is expected back in the country at the end of the Summit on Thursday, July 7. Chinese investors courted BANGKOK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has invited the Chinese to scale up their investment in Thailand, saying the countrys strategic location perfectly positions it as a hub for regional logistics. ChineseCoronavirusCOVID-19constructioneconomics By Bangkok Post Wednesday 6 July 2022, 08:57AM Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi, left, make their way out of Government House following talks on a wide range of topics. Mr Wang arrived on Monday for a two-day visit. Photo: Government House photo Prayut conveyed the message to Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who paid a courtesy call to Government House yesterday (July 5) as part of his two-day visit. Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana provided a summary of the meeting, saying the prime minister thanked China for all its help and support during the pandemic. Prayut expressed concern about floods that have struck southern China, saying he hoped the situation would be brought under control quickly, reports the Bangkok Post. He praised the two countries close relationship and hailed the 10th anniversary this year of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both sides agreed in principle to strengthen ties further, the spokesman said. The prime minister also spoke positively of the growing volume of bilateral trade, which has jumped over 20% this year between January and April. He also thanked China for facilitating shipments of Thai agricultural goods to China. Gen Prayut also invited China to scale up its investment in Thailand, Mr Thanakorn said. The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) is ready for investment in industries Chinese companies specialise in, such as electric cars and the agro-industry, the spokesman quoted the PM as saying. China attaches great importance to improved connectivity courtesy of the China-Laos railway project and Thailands expanding railway system, as it believes this will boost trade and tourism, Mr Thanakorn said. Prayut said the government is trying to ensure the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway project will be completed on schedule. The two sides agreed to seek ways to address future obstacles for the mutual benefit of people in the region. China also proposed a trilateral meeting with Laos to ensure swift progress on the railway and other projects. Prayut commended China for allowing Thai commercial airlines to resume flights to the country while permitting Thai students to return to continue their studies, the spokesman said. China reiterated its support for Thailand to host this years Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. If President Xi Jinping is available, he may also attend in person, Mr Thanakorn quoted Mr Wang as saying. China ranked second in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Thailand last year, with B38.6 billion pledged for 112 projects. Japan topped the list with a combined investment value of B80.7bn for 178 projects. Singapore was third with B29.7bn for 96 projects. The top three sectors for FDI applications were electrical appliances and electronics, petrochemicals and chemicals, and medical clusters. According to the Board of Investment (BoI), FDI represented 71% of all the investment pledges worth B455bn in 2021 for a total of 783 project applications, nearly triple the value of 2020 when the applications amounted to B169bn. Mr Wang arrived in Thailand on Monday and also met his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai for talks yesterday. They discussed a range of topics including efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation with a focus on Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). His visit followed his attendance at the 7th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bagan, Myanmar. Wang said China and Thailand have many common goals supporting their mutual development. The aim of building [a global community] corresponds to the saying China-Thailand are not strangers, but siblings. It will make our relationship even stronger, he said. I think the people of the two countries will believe in our attempt to develop closer ties, he added. Wang said both sides agreed to initiate the Thailand-Laos-China Economic Corridor, which would link Thailands EEC with similar projects in Lao and southern Chinas Yunnan province. Thailand would then be able to deliver products to Europe via this new land-sea corridor. Our aim is to push forward logistics, trade and investment to develop these industries in all three countries, he said. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on enhanced cyber cooperation yesterday. Wang said China is looking forward to Thailand hosting this years Apec summit, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced. We hope this summit will focus on the Asia-Pacific, development and a regional free trade area, he said. Apec, with Thailand as the chair this year, will make this economic framework more vibrant and developed, he added. EXAT Governor in Phuket for B30bn expressway survey PHUKET: Surachet Laophulsuk, Governor of the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT), was in Phuket on Monday (July 4) to lead the first public feedback hearing on the plans to build the B30 billion Muang Mai-Koh Kaew-Kathu Expressway. transportconstructioneconomicsenvironment By The Phuket News Wednesday 6 July 2022, 06:40PM Mr Surachet explained that the public hearing was part of the feasibility study being conducted to assess the suitability of engineering, economic impact, finance and environmental impact of the project. Joining Mr Surachet at the meeting, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel in Phuket Town, was Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong, who presided over the opening of the event. Also joining Mr Surachet were representatives from four private companies contracted to conduct the feasibility study: MA Consultants Co Ltd, Asian Generative Consultants Co Ltd, PSK Company Consultants Co Ltd and Pre Development Consultants Co Ltd. The meeting was held specifically for representatives, including residents, from four subdistricts Thepkrasattri, Srisoonthorn, Kathu and Koh Kaew to learn more about the project, Mr Surachet explained. The results of the feedback and the preliminary and final designs of the expressway will be submitted to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) as part of the projects Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, he added. In addition, EXAT will conduct a study and analyse the suitability of private investment projects as detailed in Article 22 of the Public-Private Partnership Act B.E. Investors (Market Sounding) of the Muang Mai-Koh Kaew-Kathu Expressway Project in Phuket Province, Mr Surachet said. If the project proceeds on schedule, construction is expected to begin in December 2024 and the expressway will be opened for service in December 2027, after a 15-month feasibility study plan, he said. Mr Surachet explained that the expressway is part of a two-project strategy that is aiming to connect the Muang Mai-Koh Kaew-Kathu Expressway to what he called the Kathu-Patong Expressway, known to most people as the Patong Tunnel project. Reports of progress in the Muang Mai-Koh Kaew-Kathu Expressway over the past year have neglected to mention the cost of the project. At last report, in March 2020, construction of the expressway was estimated to cost B30 billion, equating to roughly B1.4bn per kilometre for the 22.4km route a staggering increase on the purported figures from June 2017, which estimated the project costs at approximately B5.5bn. When asked for a justification and breakdown on the increased costs, Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) President Thanusak Phungdet confirmed to The Phuket News that B12bn is to be allocated for the actual construction costs and the remaining B18bn to be used to acquire the land for the project to be built. July 4 gunman charged with seven counts of murder HIGHLAND PARK: A 21-year-old man who allegedly opened fire on a July 4 parade in a wealthy Chicago suburb while disguised in womens clothing was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder yesterday (July 5), prosecutors said. crimedeathmurderpolice By AFP Wednesday 6 July 2022, 01:48PM This handout file image courtesy of the City of Highland Park shows Robert Bobby E. Crimo III, a person of interest named by Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen, in the shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4. Photo: City of Highland Park / AFP Robert Crimo, 21, was arrested on Monday, several hours after the attack on a festive Independence Day crowd. There will be more charges, Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters. We anticipate dozens of more charges centered around each of the victims. Police spokesman Christopher Covelli said the death toll rose to seven yesterday after one of the wounded victims died in hospital. More than 35 people were injured. Among the dead were Kevin McCarthy, 37, and his wife, Irina, 35 - the parents of a two-year-old boy who was found wandering alone after the shooting, according to CBS News. Covelli said no motive had been established for the attack, which sent panicked parade-goers fleeing for their lives. We do believe Crimo pre-planned this attack for several weeks, and that he acted alone, he said. We have no information to suggest at this point it was racially motivated, motivated by religion or any other protected status, he added. He said Crimo has a history of mental health issues and threatening behaviour. Police had been called twice to Crimos home in 2019, once to investigate a suicide attempt and the second time because a relative said he had threatened to kill everyone in the family, he said. Police removed 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from the home but did not make any arrests, he said. Covelli said Crimo used a fire escape to access the roof of a building overlooking the parade route and fired more than 70 rounds from a rifle similar to an AR-15, one of several guns he had purchased legally. Crimo was dressed in womens clothing and investigators believe he did this to conceal his facial tattoos and his identity and help him during the escape with the other people who were fleeing the chaos, he said. Still reeling Covelli said Crimo went to his mothers nearby home after the shooting and borrowed her car. He was captured about eight hours later after a brief chase. He also said the authorities were investigating disturbing online posts and videos made by Crimo. The shooting has left the upscale suburb in shock. Were all still reeling, Mayor Nancy Rotering told NBCs Today show. Everybody knows somebody who was affected by this directly. The mayor said she personally knew the suspected gunman when he was a young boy in the Cub Scouts. How did somebody become this angry, this hateful to then take it out on innocent people who literally were just having a family day out? Rotering asked. Crimo, whose father unsuccessfully ran for mayor and owns a store in Highland Park called Bobs Pantry and Deli, was an amateur musician billing himself as Awake the Rapper. The younger Crimos online postings include violent content that alluded to guns and shootings. One YouTube video posted eight months ago featured cartoons of a gunman and people being shot. I need to just do it, a voice-over says. It adds: It is my destiny. Everything has led up to this. Nothing can stop me, not even myself. Crimo, who has the word Awake tattooed over an eyebrow, is seen sporting an FBI hat in numerous photos and a Trump flag as a cape in one picture. The shooting is the latest in a wave of gun violence plaguing the United States, where approximately 40,000 deaths a year are caused by firearms, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Epidemic of gun violence The deeply divisive debate over gun control was reignited by two massacres in May that saw 10 Black people gunned down at an upstate New York supermarket, and 19 children and two teachers slain at an elementary school in Texas. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Chicago yesterday for a summit of the nations largest teachers union, said the Texas shooting was a reminder of the risks that our children and our educators face every day, and renewed a call for Congress to ban assault weapons. Speaking later at the scene of the Highland Park shooting, Harris said: The whole nation should understand... that this could happen anywhere, in any peace-loving community. The Highland Park shooting cast a pall over Independence Day, when towns and cities across the United States hold parades and people attend barbecues, sporting events and fireworks displays. In another July 4 shooting, two police officers were wounded when they came under fire during a fireworks show in Philadelphia, officials said. In Highland Park, Emily Prazak, who marched in the parade, described the mayhem. We heard the pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and I thought it was fireworks, Prazak said. Cassie Goldstein, another survivor of the attack, told local media she had seen her mother die as they fled the shooting. I started running with her, we were next to each other, and he shot her in the chest, and she fell down and I knew she was dead, the 22-year-old told NBC News. So I just told her that I loved her, but I couldnt stop because he was still shooting everyone next to me. President Joe Biden vowed to keep fighting the epidemic of gun violence. Last week, he signed the first significant federal bill on gun safety in decades, just days after the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a fundamental right to carry a handgun in public. Currently, possible public poopers can avoid a $200 fine if they can prove that they thought no one was watching them while they were doing their business. More needs to be done to ensure faeces is cleaned up and out of sight, they say, especially with the expected boom of tourists coming this Summer. They believe the law should make it so that public poopers ensure that the business is done at least 50 metres from a waterway and the waste is buried to a minimum of 15cms, as well as the current no one saw me do it law. It seems RCAi know their shit. To us, it feels like pretty common sense that you should have to bury whatever waste you drop on public land. Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Showers and thundershowers likely. High 23C. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, overcast overnight with occasional rain. Low 20C. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Work at a school or nonprofit? You could erase student loans A deadline is fast approaching for teachers, librarians, nurses and others who work in public service to apply to have their student loan debt forgiven Robert S. M c Elvaine teaches at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. He is the author, most recently, of The Times They Were a-Changin 1964: The Year the Sixties Arrived and the Battle Lines of Today Were Drawn. This essay first appeared in The Los Angeles Times. LONDON (AP) Microsoft's acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard faces antitrust scrutiny in the U.K., where competition regulators said Wednesday they've opened an initial inquiry into the $69 billion deal. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has started looking into whether the tie-up would result in a substantial lessening of competition" in the United Kingdom. The U.S. tech giant announced in January that it was buying Activision Blizzard in a deal that would make it a bigger video game company than Nintendo but raised questions about its anti-competitive effects. Microsoft makes the Xbox gaming system while Activision has created or acquired popular video games including Guitar Hero and the World of Warcraft franchise. Microsoft said it expected the scrutiny and thought it appropriate for regulators to take a closer look at the deal. We have been clear about how we plan to run our gaming business and why we believe the deal will benefit gamers, developers, and the industry, Microsoft's corporate vice president and general counsel, Liz Tanzi, said in a prepared statement. Were committed to answering questions from regulators and ultimately believe a thorough review will help the deal close with broad confidence, and that it will be positive for competition. The U.K. watchdog will seek feedback on the acquisition from interested parties until July 20 and decide by Sept. 1 whether to escalate its investigation. Tanzi said the company is confident the deal will close as expected in its 2023 fiscal year, which started in July. The Competition and Markets Authority has a track record of scrutinizing, and sometimes preventing, big tech mergers and acquisitions. The watchdog cleared Microsoft's $16 billion deal to buy speech recognition company Nuance but blocked Facebook's acquisition of the GIF-sharing platform Giphy and ordered the deal unwound, saying it hurt social media users and advertisers by stifling competition for animated images. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Amazon will give its U.S. Prime members free access to meal delivery service Grubhub for a year under a deal announced Wednesday. The Grubhub Plus membership __ which normally costs $9.99 per month __ lets customers order from thousands of restaurants with no delivery fees on most orders. Amazon Prime membership costs $139 per year. Prime members must sign up for the Grubhub service. After one year they will be charged Grubhubs normal fees unless they deactivate the program. The deal is part of a partnership between Amazon and Just Eat Takeaway, the Amsterdam-based delivery company that bought Grubhub in 2020 for $7.3 billion. Amazon has an initial option to take a 2% stake in Grubhub, which could climb to 15% if certain performance conditions are met. The deal could give Grubhub a much-needed boost. The Chicago-based company was the U.S. market share leader as recently as January 2019, when it controlled 31% of food delivery sales, according to market research firm YipitData. But rivals DoorDash and Uber Eats chipped away at that lead by offering discounted service and rapidly expanding into suburbs. As of May, Grubhub controlled 11% of sales, while DoorDash held 57% and Uber Eats had 31%. Grubhub was hurt by fee caps that dozens of cities put in place to help restaurants during the pandemic. It is also facing lawsuits in Chicago and Massachusetts, where officials have accused the company of deceptive practices, including advertising delivery services for restaurants without their consent. Grubhub has denied the charges. But they have been a headache for Just Eat Takeaway, which announced in April it was considering the partial or full sale of Grubhub. Just Eat Takeaway said Wednesday it continues to explore that sale. Just Eat Takeaway said the agreement will have a neutral impact on Grubhubs 2022 earnings but will be reflected in its results starting next year. The partnership will automatically renew each year unless Amazon or Grubhub cancels it. In a statement, Grubhub CEO Adam DeWitt said hes confident the offering will expose many new diners to Grubhub delivery. Grubhub said its research shows that more than half of U.S. adults consider takeout or delivery food essential, but only 38% say they use third-party delivery companies. Amazon said in a statement that the deal makes Amazon Prime membership even more valuable. Amazon has more than 200 million Prime members worldwide; most are based in the U.S. Just Eat Takeaway shares surged 15% on the Amsterdam stock exchange on the news. DoorDash shares fell 7% on the New York Stock Exchange. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Parts of Australias largest city have been inundated by four major floods since March last year, leaving weary residents questioning how many times they can rebuild. The latest disaster follows Sydneys wettest-ever start to a year with dams overflowing and a sodden landscape incapable of absorbing more rain that must instead run into swollen waterways. Here are the climate, geographic and demographic factors behind Sydneys latest flooding emergency. ___ LEADERS BLAME CLIMATE CHANGE New South Wales state Premier Dominic Perrottet said government and communities need to adapt to major flooding becoming more common across Australias most populous state. To see what were seeing right across Sydney, theres no doubt these events are becoming more common, Perrottet said on Monday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the fourth major flood event across Sydney following devastating wildfires in the same region during the 2019-2020 Southern Hemisphere summer were evidence of the need for climate action. What we know is that Australia has always been subject of floods, of bushfires, but we know that the science told us that if we continued to not take action globally on climate change, then extreme weather events would be more often and more intense, Albanese said on Wednesday. What were seeing, unfortunately, is that play out, Albanese added. ___ LA NINA OUT, OTHER WEATHER PATTERNS IN Two La Nina weather patterns brought above-average rainfall across Australias east coast in 2021 and this year. The second was declared over last month, but the Bureau of Meteorology forecast a wetter than usual Southern Hemisphere winter for Sydney and a 50-50 chance of La Nina returning this year. The bureau says two climate drivers led to Sydney's flooding since Saturday. The flooding was influenced by the Indian Ocean Dipole, which refers to the difference in sea surface temperatures between the western and eastern Indian Ocean. In the negative phase, warmer waters concentrate near Australia, leading to above-average Southern Hemisphere winterspring rainfall as more moisture is available to weather systems crossing the continent. The IOD has repeatedly dipped into its rain-bearing negative phase in the past month and is expected to stay negative within months. A second influence was the positive Southern Annular Mode. The SAM refers to the non-seasonal, north-south movement of the strong westerly winds that blow almost continuously in the mid to high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. In the positive phase, the SAM directs more moisture-filled air than usual into eastern Australia, driving above-average rainfall and more east coast lows in winter. During the latest rainfall event, extraordinarily warm waters off the Australian coast, 21 to 23 degrees Celsius (70 to 73 degrees Fahrenheit), provided extra energy and moisture to a deep trough and east coast low, concentrating heavy rainfall to one 24-hour period that started at 9 a.m. Saturday. Several rain gauges in Sydney and its surrounding area set July or all-time records. ___ GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY Much of Sydneys rain drains into a river system prone to spilling over, but economic interests have largely blocked moves to mitigate flooding. A 22,000-square-kilometer (8,500-square mile) rain catchment covering the Blue Mountains on Sydneys western fringe and the city of 5 millions western suburbs drain into the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system, which is the epicenter of some of the worst flooding. The river system faces an extreme flood risk because gorges restrict the rivers seaward flow, often causing water to rapidly back up and spill across the floodplain after heavy rain, said Jamie Pittock, Australian National University professor of environment and society. The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley was home to 134,000 people and that population was projected to double by 2050 as Sydneys population and real estate prices grow, he said. The potential economic returns from property development are a key driver for the lack of effective action to reduce flood risk, Pittock said. The state government wants to raise the wall of the Warragamba Dam, Sydneys main reservoir, to reduce flooding in the valley. But some argue that raising the wall would control only half the floodwater and wont prevent major flooding delivered by other rivers in the region, said Dale Dominey-Howes, Sydney Universitys professor of hazards and disaster risk sciences. File photo GODFREY Village trustees on Tuesday approved a memorandum of understanding with Clearwave Fiber to allow fiber optic installation in Godfrey. At last month's meeting, Mike Phalin, Market Development Manager for Clearwave Fiber, LLC., said his firm was interested in providing fiber optic internet and phone service to every house and business in Godfrey. Fiber optics use thin flexible fibers of glass, or other transparent solids, to transmit light signals, chiefly for telecommunications or the internal examination of the body. EDWARDSVILLE Property fraud is the fastest growing white-collar crime and the Madison Countys recorders office is offering a free program, Property Fraud Alert, notifying property owners when land documents are recorded in their name. Property owners should always be on alert for potential recording fraud against their properties, said County Clerk/Recorder Debbie Ming-Mendozas Ming-Mendoza. Fraudulent activity by bad actors happens right here in Madison County. Weve seen people impeded in the sale of their home due to unknown liens on their property. Weve also seen fraudulent quit claim deeds filed, she said. Most recordings are for legitimate reasons such as obtaining a mortgage, paying off a mortgage, refinancing, or filing a lien (an unpaid judgment) against a property owner. There are also fraudulent ones. Scammers who focus on property fraud create paperwork to prove their ownership of the property. The falsified documents allow them to sell the property, take out a mortgage or home repair loan, or use your property for other financial gain. Banks and counties have no way of knowing this activity is not authorized. Ming-Mendoza said the recorders office is participating in the program to assist home and business owners. Property owners in Madison County who participate in the program are notified by text and/or email when a document with their registered name is recorded, Ming-Mendoza said. A call can then be made to our office to be researched. If the recording is not legitimate, it is then up to the property owner to contact their police department to begin resolution. Until the fraud issue is resolved, selling a home or trying to obtain a mortgage or refinancing can be impossible, she said. Ming-Mendoza said the program is a positive step to promote awareness about property fraud prevention. Whos to say someone isnt taking advantage of a senior citizen by getting them to sign something, and without their or their familys knowledge, they no longer own their property, she said. We would like to see this service offered at each real estate closing in addition to property owners being made aware that letters offering to obtain copies of their deed from their Recorders office for a high fee may be sent to them. She said the recorders office has seen people charged as much as $90 when a property owner can easily obtain the record from the county. Most deeds are usually no more than $4 to $5, she said. To register for the free Property Fraud Alert program, call the Madison County Recorders office, come to the recorders office counter, or visit the recorders office website. Your information is not shared or sold. LAWRENCEVILLE On Sept. 2, 2005, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, had no water or electricity. Tired and dirty evacuees headed to the parish to try to escape the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. In anticipation of the historic Category 5 hurricane's landfall, an inmate, known then as Gary Moudy, was evacuated five hours north to Caldwell Correctional Center in Caldwell Parish. For weeks after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, there was chaos. Records were scattered. Documents lost. A prison official said the system didnt know who it was holding or why. That may be why that inmate was known as Gary Moudy until March 11, 2006, when he and four others tried to escape from Caldwell Correctional Center by overpowering guards and holding them hostage at knifepoint before fleeing the prison in a stolen truck. The 24-year-old was captured quickly, according to news accounts. He hadnt even made it out of town. Authorities unraveled the truth and discovered his real identity Ray E. Tate, of Lawrenceville, Illinois. More than 16 years after that dangerous escape and 600 miles north, Tate pleaded guilty in March to murder charges in connection with the shooting death of Wayne County Deputy Sean Riley. In May, however, he asked to withdraw that plea and face a jury. Tate, now 41, wants a chance at life outside of prison after spending much of his adult life behind bars. Hes set for a hearing in Wayne County in August, and if the court allows him to withdraw the plea, prosecutors can reinstate the other 37 counts of murder, all pertaining to Rileys death, that were dismissed as part of his plea deal. Tate is also facing charges in Clinton County in connection with a multistate crime spree that included stolen cars, shootings, robberies, assaults and carjackings. It ended after an Illinois State Police SWAT team extracted him from a Clinton County home where he held two men hostage at gunpoint. He faces 30 counts, including home invasion and aggravated assault, all of which are pending. Tates attempt to withdraw the plea is an effort to avoid dying in prison, where he has spent most of his adult life. At 17, Tate was sentenced to four years in prison on residential burglary and theft charges, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Soon after his release, he was charged with burglary in his home county of Lawrence in 2000. He was 19. Tate would return to jail on new charges soon after he was released. In 2002, he racked up his first weapons charge unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. In 2003, Tates crimes turned violent, with an aggravated battery with great bodily harm. He received a sentence of one year of probation. But Tate never completed his probation, instead he skipped town. He still owes Lawrence County $449 in probation fees. In 2004 he was charged with fleeing and evading and wanton endangerment in Kentucky. He pleaded guilty with the promise of a three-year prison sentence, but while still free on bond he went on the run again. Then, Tate was arrested in 2005 in Jefferson Parish in southern Louisiana. He gave officers the name Gary Moudy, a classmate from Lawrenceville High School. He remained under that alias while he was awaiting trial and during his evacuation from Hurricane Katrina. After the failed escape attempt, his cover was blown. Tate was charged with aggravated assault and false imprisonment for his role in the jailbreak. He received a 15-year prison sentence, according to Louisiana prison officials. There was no record available to determine the Jefferson Parish charges that sent him there in the first place. It was likely lost in the wake of the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina, one parish official said. On March 15, 2013, Tate was set for release in Louisiana, but Kentucky wasnt done with him. A Kentucky judge, angered by Tates absconding, sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Tate was released in 2021. For a time, Tate, then 40, was free, unencumbered from warrants and detainers. He returned to Lawrenceville. He launched a tattoo business called Forbidden Ink. He reconnected with his family and met a girl. Police next ran across Tate next in Vincennes, Indiana, on Dec. 16, 2021. They were investigating a suspicious person call. In the parking lot of a Red Roof Inn, they found Tate and a woman. Tate ran away. Later, they heard gunfire, and police said Tate fired a round into a mans car in an attempt to steal it. The bullet missed the man. Tate was again on the run. For two weeks, Tate evaded police. On Dec. 29, 2021, a call came into Wayne County 911 about 5 a.m. reporting a broken down car on Interstate 64 near Mill Shoals close to the Illinois-Indiana border. Wayne County Deputy Sean Riley took the call. A second officer later arrived at the scene and found Riley dead. His abandoned squad car was found later. A truck driver reported that Tate ordered him at gunpoint to drive to St. Peters, Missouri. Robberies, carjackings and shootings followed. Tate is accused of kidnapping a driver and forcing them to drive back to Illinois. News bulletins went out, asking people to be on the lookout and to stay home. Eventually, Tate was surrounded at a Clinton County home. An Illinois State Police SWAT team took him into custody. Tate was back in county jail. He was moved to Jefferson County to await the charges for Rileys murder in Wayne County. On April 10, Tate tried to unsuccessfully to escape. Two weeks later, he pleaded guilty to one of 38 counts of murder. He was sentenced to life in prison and sent to Menard Correctional Center near Chester. He withdrew his guilty plea on May 19. Hes scheduled to be back in court in Wayne County on Aug. 9. Saturday will be one of those great Riverbend days filled with activities. Here are just a few of the events going on: FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Prosecutors and attorneys for Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz battled Wednesday over whether jurors at his upcoming penalty trial should learn about the swastikas carved on his gun's magazine, his racist, homophobic and threatening online posts, his computer searches for child pornography and his cruelty to animals. Prosecutors argued that the swastikas, racism, postings, computer searches and animal cruelty help form the basis of their psychologists' diagnosis that Cruz, 23, suffers from various behavioral control disorders, but is not mentally ill and understands his behavior. Their psychologists also say the postings help show he was not intellectually impaired when he murdered 14 students and three staff members at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. Assistant prosecutor Jeff Marcus told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer that the prosecution plans only to use the evidence in rebuttal of the expected argument by the defense that Cruz suffers from mental illness and is intellectually impaired. The disputed evidence presents a full picture of Cruz's personality and interests, he said. "It is certainly not a pretty picture. It is a very ugly picture, Marcus said. Tamara Curtis, one of Cruzs public defenders, told Scherer she will file her final argument in writing. In previous court filings and statements, the defense has contended that the prosecution's use of such evidence would only inflame the jurors' emotions during the trial, which is scheduled to begin July 18. They have said the swastikas, postings and searches have no relevance for showing the aggravating factors the prosecution must prove, such as the multiple deaths, Cruz's cruelty toward his victims and his planning. Scherer said she will decide later if the evidence can be presented. Cruz pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder. The jury that was recently chosen during a nearly three-month process will decide whether he is executed or receives a sentence of life without parole. For Cruz to get the death penalty, the jury must be unanimous. Much of Wednesday's hearing centered on what Cruz told psychologists that examined him after the shootings, as recently as March, along with his computer postings and searches. Cruz spent much of the hearing with his head down scribbling on paper, looking up occasionally to speak to one of his attorneys. According to transcripts that were read, Cruz told psychologists in jailhouse examinations that a friend carved the swastikas on some gun magazines used during the attack, but he carved the Nazi symbol on the boots he wore. The friend was not involved in the attack or its planning. Cruz also drew a swastika on a backpack he used when he was a student at Stoneman Douglas before his 2017 expulsion to get negative attention or positive, either way, he said. Also on that backpack, he wrote 666, a number some Christians associate with the antichrist, and a racist term for Black people. I thought people would come up to me and ask me why I had so many weird symbols on my backpack and ask me if I need help, he told one psychologist. I would have been honest and told them I did, but no one ever did. He also said he hoped someone would beat him up over the backpack, but that never happened, either. Prosecution psychologist Michael Brannon testified that he believes Cruz was faking it when he told other psychologists after the shooting that a male voice called Swas," short for swastika, told him to commit violence and that he had demons. He said Cruz only mentioned Swas and the demons to some examiners and wasn't consistent in his descriptions. Prosecutors also had read pages of online postings and searches Cruz made before the shootings. There were dozens of searches for pornography, including for young children. He gloated at the 2016 killing of 49 people at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, using an anti-gay slur to describe the victims. He posted of his hatred of racial minorities, Christians, political liberals, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and animals, particularly alligators. Cruz also posted photographs of mutilated animals. He had a history of abusing animals but it is not clear whether these were his own photos or others. Cruz also searched for how long it takes for police to respond to mass shootings. The school's on-campus deputy arrived at the building two minutes after the first shots were fired, but never went inside to confront him. The first off-campus officers charged into the building 11 minutes after Cruz opened fire, about four minutes after he had fled. He was arrested about an hour later as he walked through a neighborhood. Cruz also threatened online to commit mass killings, including a targeted attack against Black people. There is no indication that Cruz targeted anyone for their race, politics or sexual orientation in the Stoneman Douglas shooting. BLOOMINGTON Starting this fall, the cost to belong to FFA will no longer be a challenge for ag students in Illinois. A state appropriation of $550,000 will pay the FFA membership dues for every student taking agriculture classes in Illinois. The fee elimination makes Illinois an FFA-affiliation-membership state, ensuring every ag ed student will have FFA dues automatically paid. Jesse Faber, agriculture teacher and FFA adviser at Pontiac Township High School, said defraying the costs will help students and schools. Faber noted the costs for membership adds up for chapters. Funding for dues and other required services, such as record-keeping services, added up to an extra $1,000 to $1,200 a year for his school. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his priority is to make agricultural education more accessible. In a statement, Pritzker said he was proud to implement a measure spearheaded by state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, to waive FFA membership fees for all Illinois ag students. The more bright minds we can bring in to help solve the agricultural problems of tomorrow, the better we all will be in the future, Turner said in a statement. Illinois Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II noted nearly 37,000 students across the state took ag classes, but 23,000 belong to FFA. By removing the cost barrier, this opens up the doors for thousands more students to benefit from what FFA provides, which goes well beyond what can be taught in the classroom, Costello said. The state also has strengthened ag educations position in curriculum. In 2021, the General Assembly passed and Pritzker signed two measures that added agriculture education to the list of acceptable electives qualifying students for admission to state universities and added agricultural sciences to the list of acceptable science courses for admission. In Illinois, FFA membership is offered to students in seventh through 12th grade. Currently, more than 350 schools across the state have a FFA chapter. DFS hit a two-year low after its finance boss was poached by a rival retailer. Shares in the sofa seller slipped 0.7 per cent, or 1p, to 152p after announcing its chief financial officer Mike Schmidt will leave after three years. He takes on the same role at B&M and starts at the FTSE 100 firm before January 3 next year. Shares in sofa seller DFS slipped 0.7 per cent, or 1p, to 152p after announcing its chief financial officer Mike Schmidt will leave after three years Schmidt will remain at DFS to oversee its full-year results before departing. The company is already searching for a successor. He succeeds Alex Russo at B&M, who becomes chief executive of the discount chain. Russo takes over from long-serving B&M chief Simon Arora, who announced earlier this year that he was retiring after 17 years in charge. B&M shares were down 1.8 per cent, or 6.5p, to 359.1p. DFS attempted to offset the sour note of Schmidts departure, noting that it expected full-year profits to be in the upper half of its forecasts. But this failed to prevent a slide in the share price. Meanwhile, analysts at Liberum said Schmidts arrival at B&M should reassure investors and remove uncertainty following Russos promotion to chief executive. It wasnt the only executive change happening, with supermarket Sainsburys (up 1.1 per cent, or 2.2p, to 210.6p) announcing finance chief Kevin OByrne will retire from the group next March. He will be succeeded by Blathnaid Bergin, director of the commercial and retail finance division. She will become the FTSE 100s 21st female finance boss. The blue-chip index slumped 2.86 per cent, or 207.18 points, to 7025.47 and the FTSE 250 dropped 1.49 per cent, or 277.64 points, to 18,315.31. Market sentiment was hit by a bleak outlook on the economy from the Bank of England, which warned that Britains major banks will need to beef up their cash reserves as it predicted household budgets would become more stretched as the cost of living crisis worsened. Stock Watch - Equals Group Equals Group shares jumped following record-breaking trading. The payments company reported revenues in the six months to the end of June surged 84 per cent year-on-year to 31.3million. Profits rose 47 per cent to 15million despite a decline in margins to 48 per cent from 51 per cent in the second half of last year. The shares climbed 10.2 per cent, or 8p, to 86.5p as Equals Group predicted its earnings for the year would now be ahead of current market expectations. Mining firms also weighed on the FTSE 100 amid a drop in iron ore prices as factories cut back steel production despite reports Chinese authorities are planning a 62billion infrastructure spending package to revive the countrys flagging economy. Anglo American dropped 8.3 per cent, or 235p, to 2605p, Antofagasta fell 7.9 per cent, or 87.5p, to 1019.5p and Glencore sank 8 per cent, or 34.75p, to 400p. Rio Tinto was also on the back foot, sliding 4 per cent, or 194p, to 4641p after it was forced to halt work at the long-stalled Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. The countrys military government ordered a stoppage at the site on Monday morning amid a row over funding transport infrastructure at the project. Delivery group Royal Mail edged up 0.5 per cent, or 1.3p, to 269.1p despite union leaders announcing that managers at the firm will go on strike later this month. Around 2,400 employees will walk off the job from July 20 to 22 as a result of a dispute over pay and job cuts. Waste management group Biffa has extended its deadline for a takeover offer as it continued talks with private equity firm Energy Capital. Energy Capital has until 5pm on August 2 to make a formal bid compared to the original deadline of July 5. Biffa shares were down 0.6 per cent, or 2.2p, to 374.2p. Animal drug maker Dechra Pharma was the biggest blue-chip riser, gaining 5.3 per cent, or 182p, to 3616p after receiving an upgrade from analysts at RBC. The investment bank upped their rating on the stock to outperform from sector perform saying Dechra was benefiting from strong market trends and was resilient to recession. Despite this, RBC trimmed its price target on the shares to 4200p from 5300p after a recent drop. Robert Walters has hailed a record second quarter as the hyper-competitive global jobs market enabled the recruiter to upgrade annual forecasts. The London-listed firm saw net fee income jump by 26 per cent to 112million in the three months ending 30 June, compared to the same period last year, thanks to growth across all forms of headhunting. Having already achieved a healthy opening quarter performance, the business now expects full-year profits to be 'slightly ahead' of current market forecasts. You're hired: London-listed Robert Walters reported net fee income jumped by 26 per cent to 112million in the three months ending 30 June, compared to the same period last year Widespread labour shortages, combined with a high level of voluntary resignations and surging salaries, have led to a massive scramble to hire new talent and provided a financial boon for the recruitment sector. Trade has received a further boost from the shift to hybrid working, with Robert Walters observing earlier this year that companies were becoming more 'location-agnostic' and reliant on virtual platforms when deciding who to employ. It noted that demand for full-time positions was especially strong in the UK, where a rebound in financial services hiring and thriving activity across both London and the provincial areas helped its gross profits rise by 13 per cent to 20.4million. At the same time, growth in the Asia-Pacific region, its most profitable territory, was buoyed by double-digit percentage expansion in fees in all but two countries where it has operations. On a constant currency basis, fee income doubled in Taiwan, soared by over half in Indonesia, and by 20 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, in its two biggest Asian markets of Japan and Australia. This more than offset a decline in trade in Mainland China, where severe Covid-related lockdown restrictions in major metropolises like Shanghai and Beijing this year led some multinationals to scale back their presence. The Boss: 'We have continued to invest in additional headcount to ensure we are able to further capitalise on the current demand for talent that exists,' said CEO Robert Walters Chief executive and founder Robert Walters said he was 'delighted' to report a record performance, not just in the last quarter but over the first half of the year, which saw the company's overall net fee income leap by 27 per cent. The massive demand among industries to hire new staff has also enabled Robert Walters to lift its own employee headcount by another 7 per cent since the end of March, though it remains moderately below its pre-pandemic peak. 'We have continued to invest in additional headcount to ensure we are able to further capitalise on the current demand for talent that exists across our global footprint and specialist disciplines,' Mr Walters remarked. He added: 'This continued strong performance means that profit for the full year is now expected to be slightly ahead of current market expectations.' The firm also revealed that Ron Mobed would stand down as chairman on Friday next week after only 18 months in his position to be replaced by Tanith Dodge. Today's trading update comes against a backdrop of record job vacancies in the UK, which had around 1.3 million openings between March and May, according to the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, new data showed the number of job openings in the United States remained far above pre-Covid levels at 11.3 million in May, despite dropping for a second straight month. Yet analysts are increasingly predicting that vacancy levels across economies will decline in the near future due to weaker business sentiment and tighter monetary policy from central banks. Edison Groups director of research Neil Shah warned that the biggest problem facing Roberts Walters might be 'a potential slowdown in the recruitment market as fears of a recession continue to loom over employers. 'In the US, for example, the pace of job postings on major recruitment websites has slowed in recent weeks. However, the group's strong balance sheet combined with its growing international footprint could provide it with a source of sustainable growth going forward.' Robert Walters shares closed trading just 1p higher at 5.10 on Wednesday, meaning their total value has plummeted by 38 per cent over the past six months. Troubled AO World has been forced to tap shareholders for 40million to shore up its creaking finances. The electricals retailer sold a chunk of shares at 43p each having seen the price collapse over the past 18 months. The shares were more than 100p each at the start of this year and at a record high of 430p in early 2021. AO World sold a chunk of shares at 43p each having seen the price collapse over the past 18 months AO, which sells everything from fridges to TVs and computers, has had a torrid week after it emerged a credit insurer pulled its cover as the cost of living crisis hit sales. It sought to reassure investors on Monday, highlighting access to an 80million loan facility and saying trading was in line with expectations. But on Tuesday shares kept sliding as brokers raised fears it would be forced to tap shareholders for funds to survive. Julie Palmer, at corporate restructuring firm Begbies Traynor, warned this week that once credit insurance is removed, a demise can be rapid. The removal of the insurance has spelled the beginning of the end in the past for retailers such as Woolworths, HMV and Toys R Us. And yesterday shares fell 8.5 per cent, or 4p, to 43p as it announced the fundraising. Founder and chief executive John Roberts was mocked for describing the emergency share placing as a sensible piece of financial housekeeping. He added: This capital raise will give us the necessary foundation from which to go after the significant long-term growth opportunities that we see for AO in the UK. Mocked: AO World boss John Roberts described the emergency share placing as a sensible piece of financial housekeeping He said the funds would help it reach annual sales growth of 10pc, with strong profit margins, as it seeks to address the UKs 23.4brillion online electrical goods market. Shore Capital retail analyst Clive Black said it stood in stark contrast to what AO said on Monday. He called it a rescue fundraise, saying promises of a better financial performance were wearing thin. AO is shutting its German business after intense competition, rising costs and a fall in demand for online shopping once lockdown restrictions eased caused a deterioration to its outlook in the country, despite spending years trying to break into the market. It was once seen as a Covid winner after lockdowns and a home improvement boom saw demand surge. Coal-fired: Draxs two units at its plant in North Yorkshire were mothballed last year Drax will keep open its coal-fired power plant this winter after a request by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. He said it was a sensible precaution as Russia cuts off gas to parts of Europe. Britain now has two coal plants for the winter and is negotiating for one more. Germany will have to burn more coal this winter amid concerns about power shortages. And yesterday France said it will fully nationalise EDF, which is already 84 per cent state-owned. Draxs two units at its plant in North Yorkshire were mothballed last year and were due to close formally this September. They will provide a winter contingency service from October to March, only operating if instructed to do so by National Grid. Last month, Kwarteng did a deal with French firm EDF to extend the life of its coal-fired plant at West Burton, Notts. Investors in GlaxoSmith-Kline have waved through the planned demerger of its consumer health business paving the way for one of the biggest London stock market debuts in more than a decade. A vote on the split was almost unanimously backed at a general meeting, meaning the newly demerged division, called Haleon, will list on the market as planned on July 18. The demerger is a key plank of a turnaround strategy spearheaded by GSK boss Emma Walmsley as she tries to shift its focus towards drugs and vaccines and boost its flagging share price amid pressure from investors. Left in the dust: GSK boss Emma Walmsley (pictured), who has overseen a flagging share price, wants to shift the company's focus towards drugs and vaccines Haleon, which owns brands including Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol painkiller, was previously expected by the City to be valued at between 38billion and 45billion when it makes its market debut enough to catapult it straight into the FTSE 100. However, this valuation came under question from some analysts as the split drew closer. Analysts at Credit Suisse estimate Haleon would have a value of just over 33billion. Haleon will take on 10.3billion worth of GSK debt as part of the demerger, according to analysts at Barclays, around four times its estimated earnings for this year. There is also speculation the firm could immediately become a takeover target after a 50billion offer by consumer goods giant Unilever was slapped down in January. Swiss giant Nestle also considered making a bid this year but backed out. The demerger is expected to generate bumper paydays for its new boss and advisers who worked on the deal. Brian McNamara, the current boss of the consumer division who will head Haleon after the demerger, will see his maximum pay packet expand to 10.4million per year from its level of 4.4million. Meanwhile, Dave Lewis, the former head of Tesco who has been recruited as Haleons chairman, will be paid 700,000 a year. Bankers and lawyers are expected to rake in around 500million from costs related to the split, the stock market listing and other transactions. Walmsley, 53, has battled criticism from shareholders who have criticised her plans. Activist investor Elliott Advisors pushed for GSK to sell Haleon rather than pursue a stock market listing, and questioned Walmsleys ability to lead, citing her lack of a scientific background. A failure to get ahead in the race for a Covid vaccine also irritated shareholders as GSK was left in the dust by its main UK rival AstraZeneca. But Walmsley has mostly seen off critics and pushed ahead with plans to bolster a pipeline of new drugs and vaccines. It has embarked on a flurry of acquisitions, snapping up Boston vaccine maker Affinivax for 2.4billion in May and cancer drug group Sierra Oncology, for 1.5billion, in April. "We are going to undertake an enormous effort in 2023. We (the sector's budget) must be close to 6% (of GDP); thus, we must reach that 6% level in the two following years," the minister expressed. "We are in a critical condition because of the war between Russia and Ukraine, but despite this, the President (Pedro Castillo) will keep his word, and he will make that announcement," Serna added. The Cabinet member clarified that this increase in the education budget is an issue which has been discussed since 2002, adding that the Government is willing to reach this goal. "Since 2002, the National Agreement (forum) has been proposing an increase to 6% of Gross Domestic Product for the education sector; thus, (an increase of) 0.25% was proposed every year to reach the average by the year 2006 (a goal that unfortunately has not been met yet)," he explained. The high-ranking official indicated that it would have been important to implement this increase as soon as President Castillo took office in 2021 . However, the new administration began to work with a budget approved the previous year. "Yesterday, I was talking with the President, and there is a whole schedule that we will approve and which will take into account just that: reaching 6% of GDP, but also adopting a remuneration policy that rewards each teacher," he expressed. The minister stressed that teaching is the only public sector career that is periodically evaluated on its performance, with positions that are accessed via competition, which does not happen in other sectors. Therefore, a mechanism must be found to recognize that value. "The remuneration must grow. There are projections that we are considering so as to increase the remuneration of teachers and reach at least that 6%," Serna indicated. "That is not only entrenched in the National Agreement, but also in the General Education Law, approved in 2003, which comprises an article that details 6% of GDP as the education budget," he noted. (END) KGR/LIT/MVB The Government of President Pedro Castillo plans to increase the Education Ministry's budget to an amount equivalent to 6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a goal long pursued by previous administrations, Education Minister Rosendo Serna announced on Wednesday.Published: 7/6/2022 GYUMRI, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. At the initiative and direct support of Levon Alyanakyan, 15, who was born and grew up in the United States, free book boxes have been installed in Armenian town of Vedi, Gyumri city and rural settlements of Shirak province. Everyone can use the book box for free, take a book, read it and then return back to the same or other book box. Levon says his goal is to spread the culture of the famous Little Free Library also in Armenia, by promoting the book exchange and reading. The idea came when I saw a little free book box near our house in Laguna Hills, California. I took a book and thought its a good idea that could be implemented in Armenia, especially in provinces where books are expensive and the libraries are few. With this initiative I want the youth of Armenia to have an opportunity to read and be educated. The libraries should be available to all, he said, adding that they started the initiative in Vedi where 7 book boxes were installed, then they moved to Shirak province, Gyumri and the rural communities of the province. A lot of people have books at home which they have already read. They can bring these books to the box and take another one instead for reading. We hope it will serve its goal, the boxes will be supplemented by new books which will have many readers. I think if a person likes this box, he/she will bring 10 or 20 books. I hope the boxes will always be full of books, Levon said. The 15-year-old American-Armenian is regularly visiting Armenia. I love traveling and geography a lot, I have visited 45 countries. This is my 12th visit to Armenia. I have been in villages and liked them a lot. I like reading as well, especially historical, geographical books. Of course, I also read fiction, Saroyan is my favorite author, he said. The boxes contain different types of books fiction, professional, in Armenian, Russian, English and French depending on their location. The next station of Levons initiative is Lori province. A total of 30 book boxes are expected to be installed in Ararat, Lori and Shirak provinces, and 23 are already installed. Fundraising was carried out for implementing this initiative in Armenia and each book box has its sponsor family. Reporting by Armenuhi Mkhoyan YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan made a statement for the press after the meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, noting that the launch of the first Armenian satellite into space is the first but not last successful result of the joint work of the Armenian state "Geocosmos" and the Spanish "Satlantis" companies. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan said, Dear Mr. Minister, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all, I would like to thank my colleague Jose Manuel Albares Bueno for the warm welcome and fruitful discussions. I am glad to visit Madrid on the jubilee of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Spain, which surely is a good opportunity to reevaluate the potential in the relations between our two countries and to give a new impetus to the mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation. In this context, it is also noteworthy that in the history of our diplomatic relations, today is the first visit of the Foreign Minister of Armenia to Spain with a bilateral agenda. I would also like to commend the decision of the Spanish Government to establish a resident diplomatic representation in Armenia. I am hopeful that in the near future the representation will also provide consular services, which will greatly contribute to the growth of tourism between the two countries. I am confident that this important step will be a positive contribution to the further activation of Armenian-Spanish interstate relations. Dear attendees, Armenian-Spanish cooperation is based not only on the centuries-old relations between the two peoples, but also on the fundamental values of democracy, protection of human rights and the rule of law. In this context, I want to emphasize that as a result of the elections held in 2018 and 2021, the Armenian people definitely chose the path of democratic development, and the Armenian Government is fully implementing the agenda of democratic reforms approved by our people. Today, during our discussions, together with my colleague we referred to the prospects for the development of cooperation between Armenia and Spain in the fields of trade and economy. Although the volume of trade turnover between Armenia and Spain is not big, it is gratifying that, for example, in 2021, as compared to 2020, we have a 36% increase, and in 2022 the volumes of the first four months have increased almost three times compared to 2021. We also emphasized the implementation of ambitious programs in high and information technologies, renewable energy, tourism, creative education and a number of other fields. I consider the launch of the first Armenian satellite into space as a significant example of Armenian-Spanish cooperation, which is the first, and surely not the last excellent result of the cooperation between the Armenian Geocosmos and the Spanish Satlantis companies. Spain is also one of the important states in the European Union, and in this regard, we exchanged views on the prospects for the further development of the Armenia-EU partnership. Dear Colleagues, Obviously, we also referred to a number of issues of regional stability and security. I have presented to my colleague in detail the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the vision of the Armenian side regarding the process aimed at establishing stability and security in the region. I reaffirmed the position of Armenia to continue negotiations with Azerbaijan for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the international mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. We also touched upon the humanitarian consequences of the 44-day war. We discussed the Armenian POWs being held in Azerbaijan to this day, the Armenian cultural heritage in the territories fallen under the control of Azerbaijan, and other remaining humanitarian issues. I want to emphasize once again that the Armenian government is making the necessary efforts on its part both in the direction of unblocking regional infrastructures and transport routes, delimitation and border security, as well as the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, and the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I will conclude my speech with this. Mr. Albares, I am once again grateful for the warm welcome, and taking this opportunity I want to officially invite you to Armenia. Thank you. ALBANY SUNY Polytechnic Institute founder Alain Kaloyeros had special reason to celebrate over the July Fourth holiday weekend: Just two days after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear the appeal brought by his co-defendants in the so-called "Buffalo Billion" bid-rigging case, he was released from federal prison. The Bureau of Prisons website said Kaloyeros was released on Saturday along with development executives Louis Ciminelli and Steven Aiello. Although Kaloyeros had been convicted in 2018, his appeals kept him out of prison until March of this year, when he reported to the minimum-security federal camp in Otisville, Orange County. The court on Thursday agreed to hear Ciminelli's appeal of his July 2018 conviction for federal wire fraud. His attorneys, as well as those representing Kaloyeros and Aiello, argue the "right to control" theory of the federal government's case was flawed. The theory, when applied to wire fraud, holds that anyone who denies necessary fiscal information to an entity is criminally culpable for denying it the right to control its economic decisions. While the court agreed to take on Ciminelli's specific case, the convictions of all three men could be impacted by the court's eventual decision. The men's releases were first reported by the Buffalo News. Kaloyeros, once one of the state's highest-paid employees, asked the high court to hear his case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit last year rejected his request for the judges on that court to toss out his conviction in the federal bid-rigging case. He was arrested in 2016 and charged with wire fraud in a bid-rigging scheme involving two upstate construction firms. At trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the jury determined he steered state business to upstate contractors and major Cuomo donors who were eventually awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in construction contracts for SUNY Poly-related projects in Syracuse and Buffalo. Although federal prosecutors couldn't prove that Kaloyeros profited from the scheme, they were able to convince the jury that he had deceived the board of the Fort Schuyler Management Corp., a nonprofit that managed the school's development projects outside of its Albany campus, during the process that led to the selection of the two companies, LPCiminelli of Buffalo and COR Development of Syracuse. The right-to-control theory of wire fraud is only recognized as law in a few federal circuits including the Second Circuit in Manhattan, where Kaloyeros was tried. Lawyers for Kaloyeros and the others hope that the Supreme Court would take up the case in order to clear up the inconsistencies between circuit courts. In a case related to the same scandal, the court on Thursday also agreed to hear arguments from Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to ex-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo who contends his March 2018 bribery and wire fraud convictions should also be overturned. Percoco was released from prison last year. In taking up Percoco's appeal, the court will consider whether as it was phrased in his attorneys' February filing with the court "a private citizen who holds no elected office or government employment, but has informal political or other influence over governmental decision-making, owe a fiduciary duty to the general public such that he can be convicted of honest-services fraud?" Percoco, who served as Cuomo's executive deputy secretary, was convicted in 2018 of three counts, including solicitation of bribes that were paid to him by developers in his private capacity as a "consultant" or provided to his wife in the form of a "low-show" teaching job. Percoco's defense argued that many of the favors he provided to those companies were executed during a period of time when he was away from government service and was managing Cuomo's 2014 re-election campaign, and therefore should not be implicated by the honest services statute. Prosecutors, however, argued in that trial that Percoco was working regularly out of Cuomo's Executive Chamber offices in Manhattan, and remained an influential member of the governor's inner circle. The former governor, who resigned last Augusts amid allegations of sexual misconduct, has said he thought his longtime confidant was merely doing "transition work" as he moved from his taxpayer-funded role to campaign work. After Cuomo's re-election, Percoco returned to his Executive Chamber role before leaving for good the following year. Like Kaloyeros and the rest of the defendants, he was arrested in September 2016. The court has already chopped down the scope of the honest services statute in a case with implications for New York state government: After former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno was convicted under the law in 2009, a high court decision in an appeal brought by a former Enron executive resulted in a new trial where Bruno was acquitted. Andy and Kirsty Gaukel sit in their sun-filled living room, a white dog on each lap, as they recall what brought them to Ulster County two years ago. After nearly two decades in theater, zigzagging from Glasgow to Cincinnati to Louisville to New York City, they finally put down roots with a new home and a new role helping lead the Denizen Theatre in New Paltz. Kirsty, 42, is a marketing expert who has toiled away at box offices around the world. She was raised in a village outside Edinburgh, Scotland a not-dissimilar environment to husband Andy, a 48-year-old puppeteer who grew up in rural Kentucky. He was staging his own show across Europe and the United States when the pandemic brought theaters everywhere to a screeching halt. Both of us grew up in very rural environments and as weve got older, we crave that more and more, said Kirsty. This is the first place that instantly felt like home. The couple managed to purchase a home on a leafy bend in Tillson, where they hunkered down during the pandemic and dreamed about opening their own theater. Then, early this year, a theater came to them. Harry Lipstein, the Denizens founder and president, was looking for a new creative team when he met the Gaukels through a mutual contact and hired them both to oversee the theaters programming for the year. Their first production a one-woman show called Grounded about a fighter pilot reduced to flying drones in the Nevada desert stars actress Suzen Baraka, who has been moving audiences to standing ovations most nights. The audiences have been super responsive in a really great way, said Andy of the show, which runs Thursdays to Sundays until July 17. Weve made it a point to be there every night to greet people to thank them for coming. Kirsty nods. At first, I didnt think we could, but actually thats the joy now, she said. Our cups have been overflowing every night. Jonathan Sherburne Its easy to see what brought the Gaukels together. Theyre a double act of creativity and commerce. Tall and bearded with soulful blue eyes, Andy is a gifted mimic, switching quickly into different accents as he spins stories and tells jokes, often sending Kirsty into peels of laughter. His grandmother, June Ward, was a film actress in the 1930s and 40s who had to give up her career when she became pregnant with his mother. She started a theater prop business instead, which the family ran until it recently went belly up. By his late 20s, he knew puppetry was his calling. Acting for me, its great, but I do feel self-conscious, I do get stage fright sometimes, and as a puppeteer, I dont feel that way, he said. A puppet doesnt have the baggage that an actor has Puppets can get away with a lot more. Kirsty, meanwhile, is calm and more practically minded, having had to sell thousands of dollars in tickets for shows her entire career. Though her family isnt creative (her mom was a bank manager, her dad a chartered surveyor), Edinburghs rich cultural scene helped hone her love of the arts. After graduating from the University of Aberdeen, she scored an internship in 2002 at the Trinity Repertory Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island where Andy was studying for an acting MFA. One day, in a class about world dialects, Andys teacher threw the names of multiple countries into a hat. Andy picked Scotland. This guy in my class said, Theres a girl who just started working here whos from Scotland, Andy said. So he tracked down Kirsty. I went up to her and I went, Um, hey, uh, so can I tape you speaking? And thats how we met. She invited me over to her apartment to do this tape of her speaking, and when I walked in she was listening to the same kind of music I was listening to at the time. Two months later, they were an item. Three years later, they married in Scotland. Andy wore a kilt. After that, the couple supported each others careers wherever they took them. First to Glasgow, where Kirsty worked for the Tron Theatre, which gave Alan Cumming his start, and Andy founded The Wee Giant Puppet Company, which toured schools and festivals. Margi Conklin In 2008, they moved back to the U.S. with Kirsty working at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and Andy joining the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. In 2015, they jumped to New York, where Kirsty became director of marketing for 59e59 and Andy performed in off-Broadway shows. The recipient of three Jim Henson Foundation grants, he also staged his own show, Schweinhund, about the life of a gay Holocaust survivor, across France, Germany and the U.S. Now theyre in the Hudson Valley, with their two rescue dogs, Effie and Dougal. We dont want to move, Andy said. We came up here to camp and drink beer and there was a positive energy to the place. Working at the Denizen, he said, has reminded him why he got into the arts in the first place. I have to be honest, I got a little over the theater, he said. The sort of people I was coming into contact with were really hard to deal with and sometimes pretentious and sometimes we were losing the scope of what art can do. Having this opportunity has really awakened me to the fact that, Whoa, I do love this art form and I really do love seeing people engaged and happy and thats what its all about. It seems very simple to say that, but you have to remind yourself so many times of the simple things. It goes back to why we are here to bring people together and feel that together. Lori Van Buren/Times Union A Columbia County resident may have contracted a rare and potentially dangerous disease from a tick, the countys health department said, prompting a warning for all to be wary of the pest as they venture outdoors. The agency said it is awaiting confirmation of a possible case of Powassan virus, a tick-borne illness, in the county resident. It is a rare viral disease that can cause symptoms ranging from mild flu-like symptoms to life-threatening encephalitis, a brain inflammation. The disease remains extremely rare in New York. The agency said 27 cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control from 2011 to 2020, including one in Columbia County in 2018. Many of you have asked what happened to Bob Kovachick (the WNYT meteorologist has been off the air since mid-May). He returned to the air yesterday (July 5). Kovachick, who joined WNYT in 1988 as NewsChannel13s chief meteorologist, was out on a brief leave. He is required to wear tinted prescription glasses, according to the station's Instagram post. His colleagues joined in to "make him feel more at home." I reached out to the veteran NewsChannel13 staffer during his time off the air, but did not hear back. Michael Raffaele, WNYT's news director, responded with "thank you for reaching out to us. Bob Kovachick is a valued member of our NewsChannel13 family and will return to on air as soon as possible" when we connected last month. When people who have public-facing jobs in media are off, viewers/readers/listeners notice. This is a good thing. Our stories on broadcast comings and goings are some of our most-read. At a time when media consumption is not as strong as it was a decade ago, we are all grateful when consumers are interested in our product and the people behind it. That said, we are also all entitled to our privacy. That is a funky and fine line, unfortunately, when a job is public and relies on the publics interest. Kovachick may be one of the most recognized faces in Capital Region, but that doesn't mean viewers are entitled to know the details on his time away. Unfortunate, perhaps, for viewers who have come to care about him, but a reality. He took a medical leave in the spring of 2021, as well. See Subrina Dhammi's post on Kovachick's return here. BRENTWOOD, Calif. (AP) A 9-year-old boy who was badly injured in a Northern California commuter train crash that killed three other people has died, according to a GoFundMe page set up for his family. Julien Nieves of Dixon died Wednesday of injuries suffered when an Amtrak commuter train smashed into a car on June 26 in unincorporated Brentwood, Daisey Morales, who organized the GoFundMe page, wrote Sunday. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court. The Daily Sentinel reports that Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. Other charges against Hess will be dropped under a plea agreement, the Sentinel said. Hess, 45, and her mother, Shirley Koch, operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. They were arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. A grand jury indictment said that from 2010 through 2018, Hess and Koch offered to cremate bodies and provide the remains to families at a cost of $1,000 or more, but many of the cremations never occurred. Hess had created a nonprofit organization in 2009 called Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation as a body-broker service doing business as Donor Services, authorities said. On dozens of occasions, Hess and Koch transferred bodies or body parts to third parties for research without families knowledge, according to the U.S. Justice Department. The transfers were done through Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation and Donor Services, authorities said. Hess and Koch also shipped bodies and body parts that tested positive for, or belonged to people who died from, infectious diseases including Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, despite certifying to buyers that the remains were disease-free, authorities said. Both Hess and Koch originally had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Hess is tentatively set to be sentenced in January. A change of plea hearing for Koch is scheduled for July 12. Prosecutors recommended a sentence for Hess of 12 to 15 years. COVID-19 is not causing illness that is nearly as severe as when the first wave of omicron hit over the 2021-2022 holiday season. But emerging subvariants of omicron continue to spread across New York and are causing hospitalizations to sit at levels that are more than double the numbers experienced during the last two summers of the pandemic. For example, COVID-19 hospitalizations in New York were below five people per 100,000 on July 1, 2020, and below 2 people per 100,000 on that date in 2021. Last Friday, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was roughly at 10 per 100,000 statewide. Two new omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, are causing concern that another infection wave could hit New York. Infection rates in New York have been slowly ticking back up over the last couple of weeks since the end of school which is counter to the trends seen in the last two years when outdoor gatherings increased over the summer months, decreasing the likelihood of indoor virus spread. Dr. Jay Varma, a Weill Cornell epidemiologist who advised former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during the pandemic, said in a Twitter thread last week that all signs point to an impending BA.5 wave, but it's unclear to what extent the new strain will result in severe illness or death. Albany and Rensselaer counties moved into medium COVID-19 risk at the end of last week, after being low risk in June, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data crunch of COVID-19 spread and hospital capacity. They are two of only four counties upstate that moved to a higher risk level last week, the other two being in the Southern Tier. On Long Island, both Nassau and Suffolk counties are at high risk for COVID-19 spread, according to the CDC designation. The rest of downstate is also in medium risk, including New York City's five boroughs and Westchester County. Albany County officials said they are monitoring several indictors of COVID-19 spread, including testing, wastewater surveillance and hospitalizations. At this time, we are not seeing a significant uptick in cases. However, we are seeing sustained levels of COVID in the community," Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen said Wednesday in a statement. The Albany County Department of Health continues to advocate for vaccination as the best strategy against serious COVID illness including boosters, to get tested if you have been exposed or feel sick, and if you use an at-home test, report positive test results and quarantine and mask according to CDC guidelines." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LAKE GEORGE The motorcyclist who crashed into and killed two pedestrians, including a child, off Route 9 last month was driving while ability impaired at the time of the crash, according to an indictment Tuesday that charged him with aggravated vehicular homicide, DWI and manslaughter. On June 12, authorities allege Anthony J. Futia, 33, careened off Route 9, crashing into a group of pedestrians near Lake George Expedition Park. Eight-year-old Quinton Delgadillo and 38-year-old James Persons, who was walking with Quinton, were both killed in the crash. Delgadillo's mother was transported to Albany Medical Center Hospital to be treated for her injuries. The Warren County District Attorney's Office announced late afternoon Tuesday that Futia was indicted on 13 charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide (three counts), second-degree manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of alcohol and any drug. Futia pleaded not guilty to the indictment Tuesday before Warren County Judge Robert Smith and was placed in the custody of the Warren County Sheriff's Office. The highest charge, aggravated vehicular homicide, is a Class B felony that can carry an 8 1/3-to-25-year prison sentence. Futia was seriously injured in the crash, and was at one point in critical condition at Albany Med. He had not faced charges until his court appearance Tuesday. According to State Police his next court appearance is Aug. 17. At the time of the crash, State Police said Futia was speeding north on Route 9 when the motorcycle went off the east shoulder and onto the Warren County Bikeway, striking a group of six pedestrians standing near the path. The crash came a day after the end of Americade, a five-day rally in Lake George that draws about 50,000 motorcyclists from around the country. Americade organizers said Futia was not a registered participant. In the days after the crash, a spokesman at the state Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed Futia also had multiple past driving suspensions on his record, including one in 2019 when he was charged with driving while impaired. He also had no valid license to drive a car or motorcycle at the time of the crash. After his death, Quinton was described by the community as "well-liked, super polite and loved by all." Lake George Elementary School Principal James Conway said he was a good friend to all of his classmates. A GoFundMe account had nearly met its $40,000 fundraising goal for Quinton's family as of Tuesday evening. YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. The opening of the resident diplomatic representation of the Kingdom of Spain in Yerevan, which will take place in the near future, shows Spain's interest in strengthening its relations with Armenia, the correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports that the Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno announced after meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. Reminding that this year Spain and Armenia are marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, the Spanish Foreign Minister emphasized that Spain and Armenia have excellent relations. "This year, in 2022, we are marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations, and this is one of the reasons for my Armenian colleague's visit. During these thirty years, we have built and expanded our relations," said the Spanish Foreign Minister. According to Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, his meeting with Ararat Mirzoyan and the Spanish government's decision to establish a Spanish resident diplomatic mission in Yerevan show Spain's special interest in strengthening its relations with Armenia and increasing the Kingdom's presence in the South Caucasus region. Both the Foreign Minister of Armenia and the Foreign Minister of Spain emphasized in their speech that sending the first Armenian satellite into space is the result of the excellent joint work of the Armenian state company "Geocosmos" and the Spanish company "Satlantis". "Our trade and economic ties have great potential and they literally reach to the sky, as the first Armenian satellite was sent into space in May of this year thanks to the joint project of Armenian and Spanish companies. There are also great opportunities for cooperation in various fields such as infrastructure, agriculture, transportation and renewable energy," said the Spanish Foreign Minister. Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan is on a working visit to the Kingdom of Spain on July 5-7. Within the framework of the visit, the Armenian Foreign Minister had meetings with the President of the Spanish Congress of Deputies Meritxell Batet and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno. A meeting with Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili is also scheduled. Marilyn Nieves / Getty Images/Vetta MOREAU A 29-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 35 years in state prison for a 2017 shooting, Saratoga County prosecutors said this week. Joey M. Castro shot his neighbor, Michael Desnoyers, eight times in the back with an AR-15-style assault rifle in October 2017. The district attorneys office said in a press release that Castro had become enraged during a gathering at Desnoyers Moreau home. As a result, Desnoyers became paralyzed from the waist down. A bullet remains lodged in his back, prosecutors said. SARATOGA SPRINGS Charges of rape and assault in connection to a Thanksgiving morning incident reported at the Courtyard by Marriott were dropped by the Saratoga County District Attorney's office on Friday in Saratoga Springs City Court. District Attorney Karen Heggen said that all charges were dropped against Kevin C. Johnson Jr. of Gloversville after the alleged victim recanted her statements about the incident at the Excelsior Avenue hotel. "We worked cooperatively and fully with (Saratoga Springs) police," Heggen said. "They gathered evidence. We waited for the forensic information, we gathered all of that. We worked the case and scheduled it for grand jury and the victim did not cooperate. She did not come to testify and instead sent us written information, recanting what was originally reported to police." At the time of Johnsons arrest, city police called the incident at the hotel horrific. The woman was sent to Albany Medical Center Hospital to be treated for injuries, police spokesman Lt. Robert Jillson said at the time. Johnson was initially charged with intent to damage property and intent to cause physical injury. After further investigation, police charged Johnson with predatory sexual assault, two counts of rape, aggravated sexual abuse, strangulation and assault, all felonies. Kevin OBrien, the attorney for Johnson, said that the alleged victim wanted nothing to do with the case. He said she never called police and that someone in an adjacent room called after hearing them allegedly "having loud sex." O'Brien alleges the woman and his client had a consensual relationship. He also said that the alleged victim moved out of state and did not respond to subpoenas. Johnson's attorney said the charges filed by police damaged Johnsons reputation as a business owner and the case should have been dismissed sooner than last week. A week or two weeks into the case, I had a strong feeling that this case was not going anywhere, OBrien said. They kind of knew it, too. But it was a big case, a serious case and I think they were hoping that people would forget or sweep it under the rug." The case was dismissed after the charges were dropped to misdemeanors and referred to City Court where Judge Francine Vero presided. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Aiden McCarthy's photo was shared across Chicago-area social media groups in the hours after the July 4 parade shooting in Highland Park, accompanied by pleas to help identify the 2-year-old who had been found at the scene bloodied and alone and to reunite him with his family. On Tuesday, friends and authorities confirmed that the boy's parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, were among seven people killed in the tragedy. At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents, wrote Irina Colon on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden, who was reunited with his grandparents Monday evening. Friends of the McCarthys said Irinas parents would care for the boy going forward. Four of other others who were killed were identified Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. Every victim was from Highland Park except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico. Officials haven't yet identified the seventh victim. Portraits of some of those who died began to emerge Tuesday as investigators continued to search for evidence in the shooting that killed at least seven and wounded 30. Irina McCarthy's childhood friend, Angela Vella, described McCarthy as fun, personable and somewhat of a tomboy" who still liked to dress up nicely. She definitely had her own style, which I always admired, Vella said in a short interview. Straus, a Chicago financial adviser, was one of the first observers at the parade and attended it every year, his grandchildren said. Brothers Maxwell and Tobias Straus described their grandfather as a kind and active man who loved walking, biking and attending community events. The way he lived life, youd think he was still middle-aged, Maxwell Straus said in an interview. The two brothers recalled Sunday night dinners with their grandparents as a favorite tradition. They said they ate with him the night before he was killed. Americas gun culture is killing grandparents, said Maxwell Straus. Its very just terrible. Sundheim, meanwhile, was regaled as a lifelong congregant and beloved staff member at North Shore Congregation Israel, where she had worked for decades, the Reform synagogue said on its website. Sundheim taught at the synagogues preschool and coordinated events including bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. Jackis work, kindness and warmth touched us all, synagogue leaders wrote in a message on their website. There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jackis death and sympathy for her family and loved ones. Toledo-Zaragoza was killed on what his 23-year-old granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, said was supposed to be a fun family day that turned into a horrific nightmare for us all. On a GoFundMe page to raise money for Toledos funeral expenses, Xochil Toledo said her grandfather was a loving man, creative, adventurous and funny. As a family we are broken, numb, she said. Toledo-Zaragoza had come to Illinois to visit his family about two months ago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His family wanted him to stay permanently because of injuries he had suffered after being hit by a car a couple years ago during an earlier visit to Highland Park. The newspaper reported that he was hit by three bullets Monday and died at the scene. He wasn't sure he wanted to attend the parade because of the large crowds and his limited mobility, which required him to use a walker, but Xochil Toledo said the family didn't want to leave him alone. Katherine Goldstein's husband described her as an easygoing travel companion who was always game to visit far-flung locales. She didn't complain, Craig Goldstein told The New York Times. She was always along for the ride. Goldstein was a mother of two daughters in their early 20s, Cassie and Alana. She attended the parade with her older daughter so that Cassie could reunite with friends from high school, Craig Goldstein, a hospital physician, told the newspaper. Dr. Goldstein said his wife had recently lost her mother and had given thought to what kind of arrangements she might want when she dies. He recalled that Katherine, an avid bird watcher, said she wanted to be cremated and to have her remains scattered in the Montrose Beach area of Chicago, where there is a bird sanctuary. ___ Schulte reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Savage reported from Chicago. Venhuizen reported from Madison, Wisconsin. Associated Press reporter Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles. ALBANY Three years ago this week, Paul Barbaritano and Nicole Jennings planned to spend the Fourth of July weekend smoking crack cocaine and having sex in his apartment near the Harriman state office campus. One day into that plan, Barbaritanos sister in Utica became concerned about text messages her brother had sent and called police out of concern. When they opened the door of Barbaritanos apartment at 8 Brevator Street, they found him passed out. Jennings, 29, was stabbed to death, her lifeless body wedged between a wall and a bed. On Wednesday, as Barbaritano, 55, went on trial charged with second-degree murder in Albany County Court, a prosecutor told jurors the defendant slashed Jennings throat using a German pocket knife. Then, she said, Barbaritano concocted a story to cover it up by claiming that he and Jennings were engaged in erotic asphyxiation and that he accidentally stabbed her neck while trying to cut a cloth karate belt off her neck. A plausible story until the pieces of the puzzle that the defendant provided just did not fit, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer McCanney told the jury in the third-floor courtroom of acting Supreme Court Justice Roger McDonough. No frays or cuts were on the belt, she said. You will see there is not one sign of an attempt to cut this cloth belt anywhere on the belt and it is solely just soaked with Nicoles blood, McCanney said, adding that a forensic pathologist, Jeffrey Hubbard, who examined the victim will testify that the belt could easily have come off and that the killing appeared to be no accident. This fatal injury that took Nicoles life was consistent with an intentional act. It is a slicing wound, the prosecutor said. McCanney said jurors would not learn why Barbaritano allegedly killed Jennings. She said Barbaritano got angry at Nicole Jennings for some reason, cut her throat and left her to die. Barbaritano, who rejected a plea bargain before trial to serve 16 years in prison for manslaughter, faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Rebekah Sokol, told the jury at the outset: This case is about a horrific accident. Thats it. She said her client will testify in his defense about what happened on July 5, 2019, including his attempts to take his own life. Paul wants you to know exactly what happened that night, how hysterical he was, how panicked, how just horrified he that his friend was dying, Sokol said. Sokol said Barbaritano had invited Jennings over for the holiday weekend. They had become friends some nine months earlier, bonding over broken lives; crack had devastated them and their relationships with family members. Initially, she said, the relationship involved Jennings offering Barbaritano sex in exchange for money, food and drugs. They became friends, watching movies and television together. Sokol said Barbaritano and Jennings planned to spend the weekend together at his apartment to use drugs and have sex. On July 4, 2019, she said, Barbaritano bought about $400 worth of crack. "These were two drug addicts who were just trying to make it through the night, trying to give each other some comfort, she said. According to Sokol, Jennings suggested to Barbaritano that they have a tie-up game for erotic asphyxiation. She said they used a karate belt, which Barbaritano had around Jennings' neck. It was playful. It was not serious until it was, Sokol. There was panic. It was a true emergency. Sokol said Barbaritano used the knife to try to cut the belt off, but the bed shifted, they fell between the bed and wall and the knife fatally cut Jennings. She described the events as a horrific accident, adding that no proof would support the prosecutions claims. She said the most important element of the case is intent. Her client, she said, had no intent to kill Jennings. The prosecutions first witness, Officer Nicholas Togias, testified about going to the scene after Barbaritanos sister called police in Utica, where she lives, concerned about his well-being. A video was played in court from body cameras showing officers knocking on Barbaritanos door. Paul? We went to make sure youre O.K., an officer said on the video. Upon entering, Togias testified, he saw an apparently unconscious Barbaritano sleeping naked on a sneaker on the floor. Moments later, he made the more grisly discovery. I yelled out to my partners, Theres somebody else in there! There's another body in here! The trial will continue Thursday. Just when it didnt seem things could get worse gasoline at $5 to $8 a gallon, supply shortages in everything from baby formula to new cars comes the devastating news that many of us will endure electricity blackouts this summer. The alarm was sounded by the nonprofit North American Electric Reliability Corp. and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The North American electric grid is the largest machine on Earth, and the most complex, incorporating everything from the wonky pole you see at the roadside with a birds nest of wires to some of the most sophisticated engineering ever devised. It runs in real time, even more so than the air traffic control system: All the airplanes in the sky dont have to land at the same time, but electricity must be there at the flick of every switch. Except it may not always be there this summer. Rod Kuckro, a respected energy journalist, says it depends on Mother Nature, but the prognosis isnt good. Speaking on White House Chronicle, the weekly news and public affairs program on PBS that I host and produce, Kuckro said, There is a confluence of factors that could affect energy supply across the majority of the (lower) 48 states. These are continued reduced hydroelectric production in the West, and the continued drought in the Southwest. The biggest threat to power supply, according to the NERC and the FERC, is in the vast central region, reaching from Manitoba in Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico. It is served by the regional transmission organization, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator. These operational entities are nonprofit companies that organize and distribute their regions bulk power for utilities. In California, it is the California Independent System Operator; in the Mid-Atlantic, it is PJM; and in the Northeast, it is the New England System Independent Operator. They generate no power, but they control power flows and could initiate brownouts and blackouts. With record storm activity and high temperatures predicted this summer, blackouts are likely to be deadly. The old, the young and the sick are all vulnerable. If the electric supply fails, with it goes everything from air conditioning to refrigeration to lights and even the ability to pump gas or access money from ATMs. The United States, along with other modern nations, runs on electricity and when that falls short, it is catastrophic. It is chaos writ large, especially if the failure lasts more than a few hours. On the same episode of White House Chronicle, Daniel Brooks, vice president of integrated grid and energy systems at the Electric Power Research Institute, also referred to a confluence of factors contributing to the impending electricity crisis. Brooks said, Were going through a significant change in terms of the energy mix and resources, and the way those resources behave under certain weather conditions. Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter. If power supply is stressed this summer, change in the generating mix will get a lot of political attention. At heart is the switch from fossil fuel generation to renewables. If there are power outages, a political storm will ensue. The Biden administration will be accused of speeding the switch to renewables, although the utilities dont say that. The weather is deteriorating, and the grid is stretched in dealing with new realities as well as coping with old bugaboos, like the extreme difficulty in building transmission lines. Better transmission would relieve a lot of grid stress. Peter Londa, president of Tantalus Systems, which helps its 260 utility customers digitize and cope with the new realities, explained some of the difficulties facing the utilities not only in the shifting sources of generation but also in the new shape of electric demand. For example, he said, electric vehicles, particularly the much-awaited Ford F-150 Lightning pickup, could be an asset to homeowners and utilities. During a blackout, their EVs could be used to power their homes for days. They could be a source of storage if thousands of owners signed up with their utilities in a storage program. The fact is that utilities are facing three major shifts: in the generation to wind and solar, in customer demand, and especially in weather. Mother Nature is on a rampage and we all must adjust to that. Llewellyn King is executive producer and host of White House Chronicle on PBS. The following is from a Sacramento Bee editorial: Lost in the furor over the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was another appalling ruling. It undermined the 56-year-old precedent that established Miranda rights. In a decision along the same ideological lines as the one that overturned Roe, the court ruled that suspects who are not informed of their constitutional right to remain silent under police questioning cannot sue law enforcement or other government officials for damages. The decision guts the 1966 ruling in Miranda v. Arizona. If police are not compelled to read Miranda warnings by the threat of lawsuits, then there is no impetus for them to do so. The court was ruling on the case of Terence Tekoh, who was arrested by Los Angeles Sheriffs Deputy Carlos Vega in 2014 on a sexual assault charge. Under interrogation, Tekoh confessed to the crime. But Vega had failed to announce his Miranda rights at the time of arrest, opening the door for Tekoh to sue the department for violating his constitutional rights. Tekoh was ultimately acquitted even though his confession was presented at trial. His lawyers argued that Vega refused to accept Tekohs profession of innocence and had a hand resting on his firearm during the suspects interrogation. They also argued that the deputy threatened to report Tekoh, a legal U.S. resident, to immigration officials, which could have meant deportation to, and persecution in, Cameroon. Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority that while Miranda rights have roots in the Constitution, a violation of Miranda does not necessarily constitute a violation of the Constitution. The justice wrote that statements obtained without a Miranda warning should be suppressed at trial, but allowing the victim of a Miranda violation to sue a police officer for damages would have little additional deterrent value. Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter. But Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent that sometimes, such a statement will not be suppressed. In such cases, the justice asked, what remedy will defendants have for wrongful convictions and other harms at the hands of police who dont inform them of their rights? Given that the court previously found Miranda warnings necessary to safeguard the personal protections of the Fifth Amendment, Kagan asked, why shouldnt the reading of rights be enforceable? As the dissent argued, its not clear what will compel police to inform suspects of their rights during interrogation if they cant be held accountable for ignoring the requirement. Rights do not enforce themselves. ALBANY The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany recently paid $750,000 to a 47-year-old Saratoga County man who was allegedly sexually abused as a child by a former priest, marking the organization's first major settlement in the hundreds of pending lawsuits that were filed under New York's Child Victims Act. The unannounced settlement was reached in early June during negotiations in which the diocese's attorney, Michael L. Costello, had warned the alleged victim, Stephen J. Mittler, that if his case remained on track for its July 25 trial date the diocese would file for bankruptcy before a jury was picked, according to Matthew J. Kelly, Mittler's attorney. It was the diocese's first case scheduled for trial under the CVA. "Whether that was hyperbole or truth, my client opted to settle to avoid waiting for the bankruptcy to resolve itself, which could take years," Kelly said. "Of course, there was no way for my client to determine whether the diocese would proceed to file for bankruptcy to prevent him from getting his case in front of a jury. He opted to resolve it so he did not face that possibility." There was no confidentiality agreement as part of the settlement but the diocese did not announce the resolution of Mittler's case. A week ago, Bishop Edward Scharfenberger proposed a court-supervised mediation plan to compensate the roughly 400 alleged victims of sexual abuse who have claims pending against the diocese. The bishop's proposal, which must be approved by a state Supreme Court justice, would seek to "maximize the monetary recovery for victim/survivors on a fair and equitable basis and to accelerate the payments," according to a release distributed to dozens of attorneys on behalf of the diocese by Costello, the diocese's longtime attorney. "The diocese seeks to avoid the costly expenses and prolonged delays that would otherwise be associated with continued litigation with plaintiffs and their counsel and insurers and their counsel or a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization case," the statement reads. Mittler's lawsuit was filed against the diocese and 73-year-old Mark A. Haight, of Schenectady, a former priest who was ordained in 1976 and stands accused of sexually abusing boys for more than a decade. Haight, who will pay an additional $2,000 to Mittler under the settlement, was shuffled through parishes and schools before his final post at Glens Falls Hospital. Abuse allegations surfaced at nearly every assignment; the church's response was to keep moving Haight rather than contacting police or terminating him. Haight was removed around 1997 from his post at Glens Falls Hospital, where he had worked for nearly seven years without the diocese informing hospital officials of his history. Haight resigned from the priesthood that year, not long after the diocese paid two settlements to his victims. One of the payments included $997,500 made to a man who said he had been abused by the priest as a teenager in the 1970s and '80s. Records disclosed by the diocese during the pre-trial discovery phase of Mittler's case indicate former Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, who also stands accused of sexually abusing children, had twice sent Haight to treatment programs at facilities used by the Catholic church to treat sexually abusive clergy: House of Affirmation in California in 1985 and Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico in 1989. Diocesan officials, including Hubbard, claimed two decades ago that Haight was working at St. Joseph's Church in Scotia when the first sexual abuse complaint was lodged against him in 1989. But testimony and the records turned over by the diocese during pre-trial discovery indicate that Hubbard and church leaders had received their first sexual misconduct complaint against Haight not long after he was ordained more than a decade earlier. In 1980, rather than seek treatment for alleged pedophilia as Hubbard directed, Haight took a five-year leave of absence from the church and landed a job teaching children. The former bishop, according to court records, wrote a letter of recommendation for the priest without mentioning his sexual abuse history. Kelly said it took 13 pre-trial discovery motions to wrest Haight's personnel records from the diocese, including a batch of "secret" employment files that contained the details of his inpatient treatment and alleged history of sexually abusing boys. Mittler, who said he intends to publicly disclose more of the details of his case soon, came forward this week after the diocese's recent announcement that it would seek to set up a mediation program to compensate victims rather than engage in protracted litigation, which could prompt it to file for bankruptcy. He said that Scharfenberger "is in no way being genuine," and accused Costello and another attorney for the diocese, Marie Flynn Danek, of having "stonewalled 400 active abuse lawsuits for three years." "At every turn, we needed to seek judicial intervention to compel the diocese to produce documents that they said they didn't have or that they were concealing," Mittler said. "The diocese was never forthcoming, and remains hidden behind meaningless pen-and-paper announcements of compassion. The bishop and diocesan attorneys are attempting to create their own narrative, and this cannot happen." The diocese declined to immediately comment. Costello said characterizations that the diocese or its attorneys stonewalled the victim or his attorney during the pre-trial discovery process "are entirely unfounded and incorrect." "All aspects of the discovery process were conducted with the oversight and guidance of the court," Costello said. In a deposition last year, when Hubbard was asked about the practice of moving priests accused of sexual abuse to other parishes or assignments after some had received treatment, he acknowledged that the diocese did that instead of calling police. In Haight's case, he was never prosecuted for alleged wrongdoing and is not on any sexual offender registries. His residence in Schenectady is three blocks from a middle school. "Well, as we've testified before, if a priest was accused of sexual abuse and we determined that the allegation was credible, then we would send the priest for treatment and then determine upon what the recommendations of the treatment facility are," Hubbard testified. "He would either return or not return." The former bishop also said the strategy of not contacting law enforcement or warning parishioners of abuse allegations was intended to avoid scandal and preserve "respect for the priesthood." Scharfenberger's proposal to create a mediation program is being discussed among dozens of attorneys who represent the hundreds of alleged victims in the pending cases against the diocese. The bishop, who took over leadership of the 14-county Albany diocese in 2014, said last week that "two divergent courses of action are shaping up in the diocese of Albany. One is the path of litigation; the other is to file for bankruptcy. ... In either scenario, the amount of funds available to be disbursed to survivors is the same." The Child Victims Act, signed into law in 2019, opened a "lookback window" for previously time-barred civil claims involving sexual abuse of minors. The initial one-year window for filing claims was extended to August 2021 following the disruption of the court system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The thousands of cases filed statewide have already led four New York dioceses Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and Rockville Centre on Long Island to file for bankruptcy protection. Although the Albany diocese has publicly supported the Child Victims Act after years of the Catholic church lobbying against its passage and attested to its efforts to help alleged victims, its legal team has also waged a fierce battle in court to prevent the release of many of the records that documented the abuse and the diocese's internal handling of it. An earlier version of this story misstated that the lawsuit filed by Stephen Mittler was the first Child Victims Act case settled by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. It was the first case scheduled for trial to be settled. ALBANY The Kitchen Table, the rebranded name of what was known as New World Bistro Bar from 2009 until late last year, will close permanently after service on Saturday, July 23. The closure marks the end of one of the most popular and acclaimed Capital Region restaurants to open in the past 15 years and a training ground for younger chefs who went on to lead kitchens themselves. Annette Nanes, who owns The Kitchen Table with her husband, Scott Meyer, said in a statement that multiple factors contributed to their decision to close, including Meyer's health issues, business declines since the pandemic started and staffing challenges. "It felt like the right time to close the doors," Nanes said, adding, "We had a great run for over 13 years." She said they plan to retire. The restaurant building and property, at 300 Delaware Ave., will be put up for sale, she said. In 1983, Nanes and Meyer were co-founders, with another couple, of an independent movie house that grew into what became the Spectrum 8 Theatres, located on the same block of Delaware Avenue as The Kitchen Table. The cinema company was sold in 2015 to the Landmark Theatres chain, which continues to operate it. Nanes and Meyer opened the 80-seat New World Bistro Bar, located in the former Farrell Bros. plumbing supply business, in winter 2009. It had instant cachet because the head chef was Ric Orlando, who licensed the New World name, after his Saugerties restaurant New World Home Cooking, opened in 1993, and recipes to create New World Bistro. Many of the dishes, some dating to Orlando's days at the former Justin's restaurant in Albany in the late 1980s named early 1990s, were regionally famous for years, including jerk chicken, blackened string beans, Cajun peppered shrimp, Purple Haze shrimp, ropa vieja, Thai-Italian Love Panang Bolognese and a relatively recent indulgence smoked, bacon-wrapped, gouda-stuffed meatloaf. New World Bistro was immediately busy and drew rave reviews, including from Ruth Fantasia, then the dining critic for the Times Union. She compared reading the menu to watching the Discovery Channel, because much of the fare offered "exotic flavors and cooking methods from faraway lands many people will never visit." Fantasia noted, "Even the boring food is interesting." The thronging crowds continued for years, whether at dinner or a Sunday brunch that fed hundreds every week. But the pandemic hit New World hard. It had hiccups of being open and closed in the first few months, and closed again when the restaurant parted ways with Orlando in June 2020. (The business retained the rights to the name but not Orlando's recipes.) It reopened in August of 2020 with a New World alumnus as part of a married team running the kitchen, reverted to takeout a few months later, then closed yet again during the winter pandemic resurgence in early 2021. The new chefs, on board for less than nine months, left. The restaurant seemed to find surer footing after reopening at the end of April of last year with the hiring of the respected chef Ian Brower, who brought a pared-down menu closely focused on seasonal products from local farms and in-house charcuterie and pickling programs. Rebranding in December as The Kitchen Table came as part of an effort to develop a new identity by jettisoning a name associated with Orlando, who at that point had been gone for almost a year and a half. Current Times Union critic Susie Davidson Powell responded favorably to the changes, writing in February of this year, "The Kitchen Table is comforting, partly for its familiarity but also thanks to food as cozy as a sweater," and saying, "The takeaway is that cocktails are creative, food substantial and service friendly." In her statement, Nanes said, "I'll cherish all the wonderful memories of our valued patrons, our distinctive food, our wonderful staff over the years and the relationships we cultivated throughout the years of being not just a restaurant, but a community hub." Unredeemed gift cards must be used by July 16. There is no provision for them to be cashed out or otherwise reimbursed after the restaurant closes, Nanes said. Story was updated on Friday, July 8, after the last service date for The Kitchen Table was updated. The Minister for Education has suggested that the eligibility criteria for the back-to-school allowance could be widened to allow more cash-strapped families to receive the payment. Norma Foley said she accepts many struggling families will not qualify for the means-tested Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. The Government announced that the back-to-school allowance is to increase by 100 euro per child, as part of a 67 million euro package announced to help with the cost-of-living crisis. The allowance of 160 euro is currently available to children who are aged between four and 11 on September 30. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said the increase would be paid to 120,000 families automatically, with a further 30,000 families receiving their payment over the coming weeks, affecting some 262,000 children in total. The one-off measure will result in an allowance of 260 euro for children aged four to 11, and 385 euro for those aged 12 and over. The increase has been welcomed by opposition parties, however Sinn Fein education spokesman Donnchadh O Laoghaire said the rate increase will not help struggling parents who do not qualify. He called for the payment to be extended to middle-income parents. Ms Foley said she accepts not all families will be in line for the payment. It wasnt possible to do everything yesterday in one fell swoop, she told RTE Morning Ireland. Its very much part of a process and I have every confidence that Minister Humphreys will be looking at all the aspects in terms of back to school in terms of perhaps widening the eligibility criteria. That is important. We were in a position yesterday to make the announcement in terms of those who are in receipt of it, that they would now be in receipt of an additional 100 euro. We are not in a budget situation. This is not the budget. These are measures that there was an opportunity to look at now in the month of July. We are saying that theres a further opportunity and this is a cumulative process, that theres a further opportunity to look further at these measures and indeed other measures on September 27. She said that the Budget will be provide a cost-of-living package. So every initiative, every opportunity that is available to ministers in their various different portfolios will be availed up to ensure that we are tackling cost of living, Ms Foley added. To help struggling families with back-to-school costs anyone who has applied for and receives a school transport ticket for 2022/23 will not be charged a fee for their school bus ticket this year. This will provide families with savings of up to 500 on the cost of tickets. pic.twitter.com/O4QMI1eKit Fianna Fail (@fiannafailparty) July 5, 2022 These were immediate measures simply because it was back to school time now. There is an absolute commitment in terms of September 27. As I said originally, it is a cumulative process but there is and will always have to be a flexibility from government to react to the situation as situations arise. We have shown that consistently over the last number of months and indeed I would say over the last two years in government right throughout Covid. Ms Humphreys also announced on Tuesday that the school meals programme would be expanded to include an additional 60,000 children from 310 DEIS schools. Ms Foley also announced that school transport fees would be waived for the coming academic year, calling it a significant investment affecting all 121,000 families who would normally pay those fees. YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who is on a working visit to Madrid, had a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno on July 6. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, congratulating each other on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Foreign Ministers noted with satisfaction that during the past three decades, effective cooperation between Armenia and Spain has been formed based on traditional ties and common values. The interlocutors attached importance to the activation of political dialogue and high-level mutual visits between the two countries, expressing mutual willingness to take steps to deepen cooperation. The sides exchanged thoughts on the full realization of the cooperation potential in the fields of trade and economy, industry, transport and infrastructure, renewable energy, and information technology. The parties agreed that the organization of business forums and the expansion of ties between business circles will promote bilateral cooperation in these areas. In the context of activation of human contacts and mutual recognition between Armenia and Spain, the strengthening of ties in the field of tourism was also emphasized. The expansion of educational exchanges and opportunities to study each other's language and culture in both countries was emphasized. Minister Mirzoyan highly appreciated the decision of the Spanish government to open a resident representation in Armenia, expressing confidence that it will give a new impetus to interstate relations. During the meeting, reference was made to the cooperation of the two countries on multilateral platforms, as well as within the Armenia-EU partnership. Regional security and stability issues were also discussed. Foreign Minister of Armenia presented to his Spanish counterpart the situation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone and the position of the Armenian side on the processes aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region, as well as on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized the mediating role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs in promoting the settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and finding a lasting solution. Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno noted that Spain supports the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through peaceful negotiations. Referring to the humanitarian problems caused by Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh, the Armenian FM emphasized that Azerbaijan, in gross violation of international humanitarian law, continues to hold hostage Armenian prisoners of war and civilians, as well as leads a policy of destruction and falsification of origins of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage in the territories that have passed under its control. The interlocutors also referred to the normalization process of Armenia-Turkey relations. The Foreign Ministers issued statements for the press based on the result of the talks. Irish Green MEPs Ciaran Cuffe and Grace OSullivan have criticised a vote in favour of labelling gas and nuclear investments as green, which took place today (Wednesday June 6) in the European Parliament. 278 MEPs voted in favour of an objection to the EUs Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act, while 328 voted against the objection and therefore in favour of adopting the taxonomy. Moving forward, efforts to block the taxonomy are left to legal action promised by Austria and Luxembourg who say they will challenge the Commission decision in court. Ciaran Cuffe, Green MEP for Dublin, said; Todays decision sends a dark and dangerous signal around the world. The European Parliament threatens its own position as a climate policy leader when it shows it cannot vote against a non-binding, voluntary system that goes as far as to suggest that gas and nuclear should deserve a green label. Energy lobbyists now see that many MEPs are willing to negotiate away our climate ambitions when faced with the slightest opposition. This decision also ignores the pleas of Ukrainians who have spent weeks warning about the billions Putin is set to make from this proposal, which will go towards funding his murderous war in Ukraine. It is to our great shame that we have failed to reject this proposal. Grace OSullivan, Green MEP for Ireland South, said; This taxonomy proposal from the Commission defining gas as a green investment is moral and economic madness. As the vote came in, young activists who had gathered in the Parliament from around Europe to protest the decision cried out against this betrayal of climate action. This vote will not stop our work in Europe for a rapid and fair energy transition and a true European Green Deal. We owe it to ourselves and to our children. The EUs definition of sustainability is also being dealt with in another piece of legislation this week, MEP Cuffe highlighted. Parliament will vote this Thursday on an expanded EU definition of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) that would allow unsustainable fuel sources, such as palm oil by-products, and some food crops, to count towards EU SAF targets. The Greens/EFA and major European airlines represented by Airlines for Europe are calling for Parliament to support the original SAF definition proposed by the European Commission instead. Muckamore Abbey Hospital was known as a place to be feared, the father of a boy who spent time there in the 1990s has said. Michael Overend from west Belfast was giving evidence to a public inquiry into allegations of abuse of patients at the facility in Co Antrim. His son Michael, described as non-verbal, blind, autistic, epileptic and with a profound learning disability, first went to the hospital in 1989 at the age of nine. He was in and out the facility, where he stayed in an adult ward, for 10 years. Mr Overend told the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry that at the time there was nowhere else he could have received specialist care. Mr Overend described a fear factor around the hospital, Everyone knew Muckamore was a place to be feared older people talking about Muckamore and what happened in there but there was nowhere for him to go full stop. He outlined a number of incidents to the inquiry which happened while his son was at Muckamore. He said on June 8 1990 his son, then 10 years old, suffered two bruised eyes, the cause of which was never explained to his family. The inquiry was shown a number of photographs of the bruising to his face. I was so angry, he told the inquiry, adding that he wanted to go to police but his wife persuaded him not to as they feared he would not be able to go back. Mr Overend said he only found out years later that his son had been brought to the Waveney Hospitals A&E for an X-ray. However, he discovered after raising complaints and accessing his sons patient notes that the black eyes were not recorded in an accident report, just injuries to his jaw. The cause of the jaw injury was put on the notes as self abuse, which Mr Overend told the inquiry he did not have a problem with, but queried why the black eyes were not in the notes. He detailed another incident in 1995, when Michael was 15, and came home completely doped up. He said they would have had Michael home two or three times a week and had had their bungalow specially adapted for his needs. He loved his family, hugging and kissing them, he sat there, his head down like that youd have thought he was drunk. He couldnt even hold a sandwich, he was like that for a couple of days he was just on a different planet basically, he said. Mr Overend said this went on for several weeks, and only stopped after he complained. Michael had a consultant psychiatrist, an absolute gentleman, he was a godsend he wouldnt have sanctioned anything like that I dont know how it happened, he said. It did change (I) told them not taking him home til its sorted it seemed to get sorted out. On another occasion, Mr Overend said he and his wife grew suspicious by a report on Michael doing well in the hospital. He said he went up the next day to find Michael lying on the floor, crying and sobbing. Michael didnt cry. That was about the third time I saw Michael cry in my life, it was heart breaking, he said, adding a staff member told him: hes been like that for three days. Mr Overend said he believed a seizure might have been working on him or an infection. We had been told 24 hours before that Michael was great, eating. I knew it wasnt Michael, he added. Mr Overend said he met with the Mental Health Commission in June 1999, but felt their concerns were dismissed. He also met with senior staff at Muckamore. In 2018, the Belfast Health Trust, which ran the hospital, apologised to Muckamore patients and their families. Mr Overend dismissed the apology for something they havent admitted happened, saying it rings very hollow for him. He said his son is now in a nursing facility close to where the family lives and is safe. He said his sons human rights were abused at Muckamore Abbey Hospital The hospital, for adults with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs, has been at the centre of the UKs largest police investigation into the alleged abuse of vulnerable adults. A number of people are to be prosecuted. The inquiry has been sitting in public sessions in recent weeks. It has now risen for the summer months and is set to resume in early September. Sorry, I've been conned into believing that funny chicks are hot . . . The trick usually works with every lady comedian but Amy Schumer - The punching bag of the sausage fest Internets. Anyhoo this bit of non-news is as good as any other place to start the day around the crack of noon. The non-scripted reality show, titled 'The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning,' will feature hour-long episodes about people facing major crossroads and needing to get their houses and lives in order. A Swedish Death Cleaner will help organize and demystify homes, lives, and relationships, allowing us to prepare for death while we enjoy life . . . The KC Film Office put forward a strong pitch for the show in 2021 with the help of Mayor Lucas, SNLs Heidi Gardner, and Visit KC partners. It was Kansas Citys reputation with Scout Productions, which filmed Queer Eye seasons 3 and 4 in Kansas City, that really helped us recruit the show," Director of the Kansas City Film Office Steph Shannon said. Mayor Lucas is excited that, much like Queer Eye, Kansas City itself will be heavily featured and on display in the show. "Kansas City is on a roll, and we're thrilled to welcome Scout Productions, which produced Queer Eye, back to town to tell more of our friends' and neighbors' important stories," Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said. "We look forward to seeing our City featured again internationally as the new series, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, explores the beauty and complexities of major life transitions through the eyes of Kansas Citians. Thank you to Scout Productions, Amy Poehler and Peacock for choosing our community to tell these stories and for tapping into our community's outstanding pool of talent to help produce the show." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Amy Poehler created show set to film its first season in Kansas City this summer Amy Poehler is coming to Kansas City. Well, at least her new show is. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced Wednesday that a new television show created by Poehler and Scout Productions is set to begin filming in the city this summer. Amy Poehler-produced TV show to film in Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. - "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning," a new show created by Emmy Award-winning actress Amy Poehler, is coming to Kansas City. Poehler is joined by Scout Productions, the production company behind Netflix's "Queer Eye," which also filmed two seasons in Kansas City. A New Show Starring Amy Poehler Will Be Filmed in KC this Summer A new non-scripted television show produced by Amy Poehler will film its first season in Kansas City, which producers told KCTV was their first choice of location. And here's Mayor Q playing comedy hype man . . . You decide . . . Of the past few days we've seen that gunfire continues to threaten Kansas City this Summer. Here's a quick glimpse at the damage and a reminder for our TKC blog community to be careful and take it easy out there . . . Check-it . . . KC-area police departments evaluate security improvements after mass shootings KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After the mass shooting that killed seven people in an Illinois suburb, KSHB 41 News spoke with police departments in the Kansas City area about their safety plans for larger gatherings. John Lacy, the public information officer for the Overland Park Police Department, couldn't get into detail about what's in an Incident Action Plan. Fourth of July weekend marred by violent shootings across U.S. This year's Fourth of July weekend, a time when Americans gather for barbecues, parades and fireworks, was marred by violence, rattling a nation already on edge in the wake of multiple mass shootings. In the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, six people were killed and 38 others were injured when a gunman opened fire from a rooftop onto parade festivities below Monday morning. Raytown woman survives 2 mass shootings in matter of days KANSAS CITY, Mo. - What should have been a fun weekend away was everything but that for Sarah Pitts. The 19 year-old from Raytown, Missouri, took a trip to Oklahoma with her boyfriend in late May where they attended an outdoor festival in the city of Taft. Independence man critically injured in shooting near cemetery INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - Police are investigating after finding a shooting suspect hiding in a house after he allegedly left the man he's accused of injuring in the street. Officers responded to a shooting shortly before 3 p.m. It happened near South Noland Road and East Sea Avenue, across the street from Woodlawn Cemetery. Authorities still looking for suspects following fatal shooting in Platte County PLATTE COUNTY, Mo. (KCTV) - The authorities in Platte County are asking for the public to help them find two individuals suspected of being involved in a homicide. The Platte County Sheriff's Office responded to a shooting in the 28000 block of Oberdiek Lane at about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, June 28. Developing . . . Heading to the beach? Youre in luck Torontos public beaches are safe for swimming as of July 18 at 10 a.m. China is against Seoul and Tokyo joining Natos plans to strengthen its foothold in the Indo-Pacific region The special military operation that Russia launched in Ukraine on February 24 this year has refocused a floundering Nato on its core objective of guaranteeing the security and territorial integrity of its members, which has now being extended to all European countries bordering Russia. Natos June 28-30 Madrid summit not only reiterated its commitment to aid and arm Ukraine but also for the first time, recognised systemic competition from the Peoples Republic of China which challenges Natos interests, security and values, and seeks to undermine the rules- based international order. The June 29 Madrid summit declaration said Nato members were united in their commitment to democracy, individual liberty, human rights and the rule of law and for upholding the rules-based international order. In the Indo-Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea are partners of Nato and, for the first time, their leaders also participated in the Nato summit. These four countries, however, did not sign Natos Madrid declaration. Chinas wolf warrior diplomacy in its neighborhood has created unease all around and Americas allies in the region are seeking to strengthen security ties not only with the US but also with Europe. Japan observers have noted a bitter realisation in Japanese ruling circles that it would be impossible for Japan to stand up to China by itself, either economically or militarily. Japan greatly relies on US security assurances but wants European countries to take an interest in Japans security and integrity as well. On the eve of going to Madrid, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had said that at the Nato summit he would promote the idea that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region are inseparable. The countries of the region are also wary of Chinas aggressive designs on Taiwan. Australias new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted that the Ukraine invasion has brought democratic nations together whether they may be members of Nato, or non-members such as Australia. South Koreas new President, Yoon Suk-Yeol, went on his first overseas visit to Madrid for the Nato summit. Responding to a question on his return from Madrid, he avoided naming China but said South Koreas diplomacy has been focusing on how to deal with a certain country. But as I said in my Nato speech, it is important for South Korea to pursue common values and rules, and unite with others when these values and rules are violated. China is against Seoul and Tokyo joining Natos plans to strengthen its foothold in the Indo-Pacific region. After the Madrid summit, Chinas foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing will not ignore attempts to undermine Chinas interests. The North Korean reaction was characteristically blunt, accusing Nato of turning its sinister eyes towards Asia, adding that Nato is nothing but a perpetrator of the US hegemonic strategy. In Madrid, there was a US-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Summit, which was held after almost five years. This was a reflection of both President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida desiring to improve the frosty relations between the two countries. Some observers believe that Japan and South Korea may come closer due to Chinas increasing belligerence. President Yoon has publicly said he wants to improve ties with Japan, suggesting that all past and present issues be addressed at the same time. This will include issues like comfort women, wartime slave labour, the issue of the sovereignty of Dokdo/Takeshima island, and will be a tall order. A Nato summit with the Asia-Pacific-4 was also held. This can become a regular feature in future Nato summits, bringing the four partner countries closer to Nato deliberations and decisions. Chinas creeping expansionism, its wolf warrior diplomacy, the flagrant violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in the South China Sea and aggression in Ladakh have triggered a rethink among the policymakers of major countries of both the Indo-Pacific and Europe. The Pew polls of most countries reveal an increasingly unfavourable view of China amongst countries near and far. A recent poll showed that 87 per cent of Japanese, 86 per cent Australians, 83 per cent Swedes, 82 per cent Canadians and 80 per cent South Koreans have a negative perception of China. After the Ukraine invasion, Natos fortunes have changed dramatically. In an interview to the Economist in November 2019, Frances President Emmanuel Macron had warned Europe Nato had become brain-dead. This remark was provoked by Natos insufficient response to then US President Donald Trumps distrust of Europe and questioning the value of US security guarantees to Europe enshrined in the Nato Charter. Mr Trumps main grouse with Nato had been that the European countries were spending only on an average 1.77 per cent of their GDP on defence, while the United States was spending 3.7 per cent of its GDP. This wont be the first time Nato has turned its gaze towards Asia. Nato had led the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan (2015-21). After the Quad security dialogue among the United States, India, Japan and Australia gained traction since 2019, both China and Russia had erroneously termed the group as an Asian NATO. What lies on the horizon may be the expansion of Natos ambit to the Indo-Pacific. The expansionist actions of China is solely responsible for this strategic shift. (Bloomberg) -- The US is pushing the Netherlands to ban ASML Holding NV from selling to China mainstream technology essential in making a large chunk of the worlds chips, expanding its campaign to curb the countrys rise, according to people familiar with the matter. Most Read from Bloomberg Washingtons proposed restriction would expand an existing moratorium on the sale of the most advanced systems to China, in an attempt to thwart Chinas plans to become a world leader in chip production. If the Netherlands agrees, it would broaden significantly the range and class of chipmaking gear now forbidden from heading to China, potentially dealing a serious blow to Chinese chipmakers from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. to Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd. American officials are lobbying their Dutch counterparts to bar ASML from selling some of its older deep ultraviolet lithography, or DUV, systems, the people said. These machines are a generation behind cutting-edge but still the most common method in making certain less-advanced chips required by cars, phones, computers and even robots. Shares of ASML gained as much as 2.6% in Amsterdam on Wednesday. Its American Depository Receipts closed down 3.9% on Tuesday following Bloombergs initial report. Nikon Corp., a smaller rival to the Dutch firm in that sphere of chipmaking gear technology, closed down 5.1% in Tokyo on Wednesday. The issue arose during US Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Gravess visit to the Netherlands and Belgium in late May and early June to discuss supply chain issues, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. During that trip, Graves also visited ASMLs headquarters in Veldhoven and met Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink. Story continues What Bloomberg Intelligence Says ASMLs sales could narrow by 5-10% if its banned from selling deep ultraviolet tools in China. As the chip equipment makers revenue already reflects a ban on extreme ultraviolet tool shipments to the country, it may experience less impact vs. peers such as Applied Materials which derives 25-30% of its sales from China. - Masahiro Wakasugi and Brian Moran, analysts Click here for the research. The Dutch government has yet to agree to any additional restrictions on ASMLs exports to Chinese chipmakers, which could hurt the countrys trade ties with China, the people said. ASML is already unable to ship its most advanced extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, lithography systems, which cost about 160 million euros ($164 million) per unit, to China as it cannot obtain an export license from the Dutch government. The US push on ASML comes as President Joe Biden separately considers easing some of the Trump-era tariffs on consumer goods from China. While China may welcome such a move at a time of tense relations between the two powers, Bidens administration has continued his predecessors efforts to restrict Chinas access to US technology. The US Department of Commerce and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment. The discussion is not new. No decisions have been made and we do not want to speculate or comment on rumors, an ASML spokeswoman said. ASML is the worlds top maker of lithography systems, machines that perform a crucial step in the process of creating semiconductors. ASMLs dominance of the market for that type of equipment means that further cutting China off from access to its products would undermine the Asian countrys ambitions to make itself more self-sufficient in production of the crucial electronic components. Chinas share of the global chip-equipment market is negligible, said Alex Capri, a research fellow at the Asia-based Hinrich Foundation, characterizing chip production as a choke point in Chinas plans to bulk up its semiconductor muscle. The older generation of machinery, DUV, is less capable than more advanced EUV lithography equipment but remains indispensable in manufacturing many of the types of chips that are currently experiencing acute shortages. Washington is focused on banning sales of the most advanced type of DUV technology, immersion lithography machines, the people said. American officials are also trying to exert pressure on Japan to stop shipping the same technology to Chinese chipmakers, one of the people said. Japans Nikon competes with ASML in this area. Immersion lithography is also known as argon fluoride immersion, or simply ArFi. According to China-based Founder Securities, ASML sold 81 ArFi systems in 2021, compared with four from Nikon, giving the Dutch firm a 95% market share. We have no information regarding this matter, a Nikon spokeswoman said. READ: Chinas Chipmaking Power Grows Despite US Effort to Counter It Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in June he is against reconsidering trade relations with China and called for the EU to develop its own policies toward Beijing. China is the Netherlands third-biggest trade partner after Germany and Belgium. ASML opposes a ban on sales of DUV lithography equipment to Chinese customers because it is already a mature technology, Wennink said earlier this year. Chinese-based facilities, run by either domestic or foreign companies, account for 14.7% of ASMLs total revenue in 2021, according to company disclosures and data compiled by Bloomberg. ASML is also alleging potential IP infringement by a Chinese tech firm supported by the countrys government. US efforts to block the export of chipmaking equipment began under the Trump administration. Washington pressured the Dutch government to prevent sales of EUV lithography systems, which are required to produce the most sophisticated semiconductors and in which ASML has a monopoly. Major US chip-equipment makers including Applied Materials Inc. and Lam Research Corp. are already banned from selling certain advanced products to SMIC due to national security concerns. The potential DUV ban could further hit SMIC and its Chinese peers. Lithography equipment is the most difficult equipment for China to replace when it comes to semiconductor production, said Johnson Wang, an analyst at Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. Without access to foreign DUV lithography equipment, the progress of Chinas chip industry could come to a halt. (Updates with share action in fourth paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. The objectives of the Russian war include truncating the sovereignty of Ukraine and changing the government, installing a puppet regime and putting the country into Moscows influence orbit. Thats according to a report by Institute for the Study of War, seen by Ukrinform. Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev restated Russian President Vladimir Putins initial objectives for operations in Ukraine, suggesting that the Kremlin retains maximalist objectives including regime change and territorial expansion far beyond the Donbas, the report reads. He almost exactly restated the goals Putin voiced at the onset of the invasion on February 24, noting that the special military operation will continue until Russia completes its mission of protecting civilians from genocide, denazifying and demilitarizing Ukraine, as well as obliging Ukraine to become a permanently neutral nation between Russia and NATO. Patrushevs statement suggests that Russian military leadership will continue to push for advances outside Donetsk and Luhansk blasts and that the Kremlin is preparing for a protracted war with the intention of taking much larger portions of Ukraine, the analysts suggest. Meanwhile, Russian authorities are conducting escalated conscription measures in occupied territories to compensate for continuing manpower losses. They are also continuing to consolidate administrative control of occupied areas of Ukraine, likely to set conditions for the direct annexation of these territories to the Russian Federation. As for the situation on the frontlines, ISW says Russian forces are attempting to advance west of the Lysychansk area toward Siversk. They are also likely attempting to gain access to village roads southeast of Bakhmut in order to advance on the city from the south. On the morning of Tuesday, July 5, the enemy rained heavy barrel artillery fire on the village of Velyka Kostromka in Dnipropetrovsk region. This is reported by Ukrinform with reference to Operational Command South. "The crossing over the Inhulets in the north of Kherson Region and twice the area of the liberated Ivanivka were attacked with single and paired Ka-52 enemy helicopter strikes. No casualties were reported," the statement says. In the aerial battle over Kherson region, one of the three enemy fighter jets tried to hit a pair of our attack aircraft with guided air-to-air missiles, seen no success. At the same time, Ukraines Air Force engaged two enemy strongholds in the Blahodatne area. It is also reported that the occupiers continue to bomb grain silos, warehouses, and food storage facilities in the south of Ukraine. On Tuesday, in Velyka Kostromka, agricultural warehouses were destroyed. "The Russians are trying to attack the port infrastructure, silos, warehouses, and storage sites, under the guise of destroying the clusters of military equipment, while enemy propaganda is circulating fake reports claiming provocations involving poisonous substances," the statement reads. In total, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated 18 invaders, also destroying two self-propelled guns, a Nona-S installation, a 23-caliber anti-aircraft system, a Msta-B howitzer, a number of armored vehicles, and two ammunition depots over the past day. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a raid on a Nigerian prison in the capital Abuja which freed about 440 inmates, raising fears that insurgents are venturing from their enclaves in the northeast. Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary at the interior ministry, told journalists outside the Abuja prison - which has 900 inmates - that a security officer was killed during Tuesday night's raid and three others were injured. He said suspected Boko Haram attackers came for members who were held in the prison. "They came specifically for their co-conspirators but in order to get them... some of them are in the general (prison) population so they broke out and other people in that population escaped as well but many of them have returned," Belgore said. A total of 879 inmates fled, the prison service said in a statement, with 443 still at large and the rest recaptured. Four inmates were dead and 16 others injured, it said. "They have reported themselves to the police, some we have successfully retrieved from the bushes where they were hiding," Belgore said. The raid highlights Nigeria's security challenges, which is spreading from the northern regions where armed insurgents and gangs are rife. Outside the prison, the charred wreckage of several vehicles with bullet holes were seen on Wednesday morning, attesting to gunbattles in the vicinity during the raid. A helicopter hovered overhead as armed security officials brought in a shirtless inmate limping with a gaping wound on his leg while another injured inmate was carried into the prison. President Muhammadu Buhari, on his way to his hometown Daura to prepare for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, visited the prison. He questioned the prison's intelligence system and demanded a report on the attack. In a separate attack on Wednesday, Buhari's convoy carrying an advance team of security guards, protocol and media officers heading to the president's hometown in the northern state of Katsina was ambushed. Buhari was not in the convoy. "The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police and security personnel accompanying the convoy," a presidential spokesman said in a statement. Ukraine's partners should not be wary of transferring more heavy weapons to Ukraine because Russian weapons will be stopped only by more powerful arms, as proven by the case of Snake Island. This was stated by Ukraines Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk on Tuesday at a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Russian missile attacks on Ukraine, as reported by Ukrinform. Russia has been appeased for too long, Tsymbaliuk said, adding that the international community now has to deal with the fact that Russia is destroying everything in its path. However, the fact that Ukraine has regained control of Snake Island clearly demonstrates how Russia's behavior can be changed. Russian weapons can be stopped with more powerful arms and more complex sanctions, Tsymbaliuk stressed. Read also: Wallace reports to UK parliament on start of training for Ukrainian servicemen in Britain According to the Ukrainian ambassador, that is why partners should not hesitate to provide Ukraine with more heavy weapons, including modern anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems capable of effectively protecting the civilian population against Russian attacks. With sufficient support, Tsymbaliuk believes, Ukraine can stabilize the front line before pushing back Russian troops to the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine. He added that Russia must be held accountable for its barbaric actions and recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism. There must be a clear understanding that Russia can use every cent of profit to fuel new killings of civilians and not only in Ukraine. At a time when the future of the security order in Europe is at stake, it is necessary take decisive action, Tsymbaliuk stressed. A total of 346 children have been killed and over 645 injured in Ukraine since the Russian invasion started. The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. As of July 6, 2022, over 991 children in Ukraine were affected by the Russian armed aggression. According to the data from juvenile prosecutors, a total of 346 children were killed and over 645 injured, the report states. These data are not final, as they are being investigated within the areas of hostilities, temporarily occupied and liberated areas. Currently, most casualties were recorded in Donetsk Region (346), Kharkiv Region (186), Kyiv Region (116), Chernihiv Region (68), Luhansk Region (61), Mykolaiv Region (53), Kherson Region (52) and Zaporizhzhia Region (31). A 4-year-old girl was seriously injured in Russias shelling of Bakhmut, Donetsk Region, on July 3, 2022 and later died. On July 5, 2022, a 2-year-old boy was injured in Russias shelling of Pechenihy, Kharkiv Region. A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, firing at Ukrainian cities and villages with artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and ballistic missiles. Photo: AA mk On June 26, 2022, in battles for the city of Lysychansk, Luhansk Region, the commander of the Volat battalion of the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, using the call sign Brest, was killed in combat. The relevant statement was made by the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The Volat battalion was holding back the offensive by Russian invaders on Lysychansk. The servicemen repulsed tank attacks and the enemys attempts to enter the city. During the second wave of the offensive by Russian troops, the Volat battalion had to withdraw but directed Ukraines artillery to enemy positions. Several servicemen went missing after that. Thanks to personal heroism and self-sacrifice, Belarusian fighters stopped the advance of a tank column, allowing for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to safely withdraw the main forces in the required direction. On July 5, 2022, Ivan, the commander of the Volat battalion, using the call sign Brest, was reported killed in combat. Several defenders also went missing. A reminder that, on July 3, 2022, after heavy battles for the city of Lysychansk, the Ukrainian defense forces had to withdraw from their positions and frontiers. mk Last night Russian occupiers struck Kharkivs Novobavarskyi District, Kyivskyi District and Osnovianskyi District from the territory of Russia, having destroyed a building of the higher educational institution. The relevant statement was made by Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Head Oleh Syniehubov on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. At about 01:00 a.m, Russians struck Osnovianskyi District, having hit an open area. In Novobavarskyi District, an administrative building was hit, and some premises were destroyed. In Kyivskyi District, the missile strike actually destroyed a builing of the higher educational institution, Syniehubov noted. During the day, Russian occupiers were opening fire on Kharkiv Regions districts, such as Izium, Kharkiv, Chuhuiv and Bohodukhiv. Three civilians have been injured in Kharkiv Region over the past day. Two of them in Chuhuiv District, namely a 1-year-old child and a 64-year-old man. A 50-year-old man was taken to hospital from Husarivka. A reminder that Russian troops fire missiles at Kharkiv every night. The city has been under enemy fire for over a month. mk The International Committee of the Red Cross distributed humanitarian aid in Mariupol, temporarily captured by the Russian invaders, for the second time. "In Mariupol, humanitarian aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross was distributed for the second time in Livoberezhny district, Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to Mariupol mayor, posted on Telegram. The humanitarian aid is handed out subject to prior registration for line. Unfortunately, there is no information about the next visit. But it will be made," Andriushchenko wrote. He noted that Mariupol residents could find out about the place, time and register for line by using the telephone numbers published. "Pass this information to your loved ones. This is an additional opportunity to survive. Use it. Take care of yourself and your family. Because Mariupol is people. And the most important thing for those who have been held hostage by the Russians is to wait for the return of Ukraine. And it is already coming," the mayor's adviser emphasized. Mariupol experiences one of the biggest humanitarian catastrophes caused by Russia's aggression. The city was almost completely destroyed by enemy shelling. Currently, Mariupol has no normal power, water and gas supplies. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, up to 22,000 civilians have died in the city. More than 50,000 people have been deported to Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk region. Today, more than 100,000 people stay in the blocked city. Mariupol is on brink of environmental disaster and outbreak of infectious diseases. ol The Ukrainian military has repulsed the enemy assault in the Kharkiv direction and inflicted losses on Russian invaders and forced them to retreat in the Sloviansk and Bakhmut directions. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports. According to the General Staff, as of 18:00 on July 6, in the Volyn and Polissia directions, units of the Belarusian armed forces continue to perform tasks of covering the Belarusian-Ukrainian border in the Brest and Gomel regions. Measures for the engineering equipment of the positions are ongoing, control points are being checked, and radio-electronic reconnaissance is being conducted. There are no significant changes in the Siversky (northeastern) direction. To clarify the position of Ukrainian troops, the enemy conducted aerial reconnaissance using UAVs. In the Kharkiv direction, the enemy is holding a group of troops from the Western Military District. The enemy carried out artillery shelling in the areas of Sosnivka, Dementiivka, Nove, Pytomnyk, Tsyrkuny, Petrivka, and Mospanove. An airstrike was launched near Rubizhne. Ukrainian soldiers successfully repelled enemy assaults in the direction of Kozacha Lopan - Sosnivka. In the Sloviansk direction, the enemy is trying to improve the tactical position and create conditions for an offensive in the direction of Izium - Sloviansk. The areas of Dibrivne, Krasnopilla, Husarivka, Barvinkove, Karnaukhivka and Velyka Komyshuvakha were shelled from artillery and multiple launch rocket systems. The occupiers advanced in the direction of Dovhenke - Mazanivka. They were repulsed by Ukrainian soldiers and retreated with losses. In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy is trying to capture the settlements of Verkhnokamianske and Hryhorivka. Electronic warfare was used. Enemy forces fired artillery at the areas of Sloviansk and Verkhniokamianske. Airstrikes were launched near Tetianivka and Sydorove. In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy is trying to improve the tactical position and establish complete control over the Bakhmut-Lysychansk road. It carried out artillery shelling in the areas of Spirne, Vyimka and Vesele. Ukrainian soldiers stopped the enemy's offensive in the Myronivka - Luhanske and Holmivskyi - Novoluhanske directions and forced the occupiers to withdraw. In the Avdiyivka, Kurakhove, Novopavlivka and Zaporizhzhia directions, in order to restrain Ukrainian troops, the enemy shelled the positions of Ukrainian units with tanks, mortars, barrel and rocket artillery. It also launched an airstrike near Marinka. In the Southern Buh direction, the enemy is trying to hold the occupied lines. The enemy uses artillery to shell Ukrainian troops in the areas of Oleksandrivka, Ukrainka, Luch, Mykolaivske, Zoria, Poliana and Bila Krynytsia. Four carriers of high-precision weapons are kept in the sea in readiness for launching missile strikes on targets across Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Russia does not yet feel the effects of international sanctions, is trying to circumvent the restrictions already imposed and does not even think about peace. He said this at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheal Martin, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "The answer to this question depends on all of us. [It depends on] how quickly we can do that, how quickly we can get Russia to think about peace, because they haven't even begun to think about it, they haven't felt the impact of the sanctions yet. They [the consequences of sanctions] will definitely happen, but they [the Russians] do not feel them, they are circumventing them, because, unfortunately, there are still some allies who help the Russian Federation or their [Russian] business," Zelensky said, commenting on when the war will end. He emphasized the importance of the world continuing to put pressure on Russia, including political pressure, as well as speeding up the provision of arms to Ukraine. According to Zelensky, there is another option to end the war - when Russia itself realizes what it has done and leaves Ukrainian territory. At the same time, the head of state does not believe that the Russians can do it on their own. Zelensky said that it is difficult to call Russia's aggression against Ukraine a military conflict or even a war, given the consequences of Russian actions against Ukrainians. According to him, this is "an open act of terrorism by the Russian Federation." On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine, continuing the armed aggression that has been ongoing since 2014. Russian troops are shelling and destroying critical infrastructure and residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers, air bombs and ballistic missiles. Finally, it is felt that the Western artillery the weapons Ukraine received from its partners started working very powerfully. Hence, the losses of Russian occupiers will only increase every week. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The full text of the speech is provided below: Ukrainians! All our defenders! Today in Kharkiv, the Pedagogical University was destroyed by a Russian missile strike - the main building, lecture halls, university museum, scientific library. This characterizes the Russian invasion with 100% accuracy. When it comes to the definition of barbarism, this strike fits the bill the most. Only an enemy of civilization and humanity can do such things - strike missiles at a university, a pedagogical university. Already the second object dedicated to Hryhoriy Skovoroda was damaged by this strike - a monument that was on the square in front of the university. It was covered with debris, but still the monument is not broken. And the Skovoroda museum located in the Kharkiv region burned down after Russian shelling back in May. However, paraphrasing the most famous words of Skovoroda, no matter how hard the occupiers try to catch us, they will fail. We will definitely endure. And we will restore everything. Finally it is felt that the Western artillery - the weapons we received from our partners - started working very powerfully. Its accuracy is exactly as needed. Our defenders inflict very noticeable strikes on depots and other spots that are important for the logistics of the occupiers. And this significantly reduces the offensive potential of the Russian army. The losses of the occupiers will only increase every week, as will the difficulty of supplying them. Today, the general public became aware that in the south of our country, in the occupied areas, access to social networks, messengers and YouTube was closed. Russian forces have blocked any possibility for people to know the truth about what is happening and about our potential, which we are gradually increasing. Ukrainian forces are currently advancing in several tactical directions, in particular in the south - in the Kherson region, in the Zaporizhzhia region. We will not give up our land - the entire sovereign territory of Ukraine will be Ukrainian. People should know it. Therefore, if you have an opportunity to speak with people in the south of our country - with Kherson, Henichesk, Berdyansk, Melitopol and other cities and villages - please spread the truth there. Use every opportunity to tell the people in the occupied areas that we remember them and we are fighting for them. We are fighting for our entire south, for the entire Ukrainian Donbas - the most brutal confrontation is currently there, near Slovyansk and Bakhmut. We are fighting for the Kharkiv region. The occupiers should not think that their time on this land is long-lasting and that the superiority of their artillery is eternal. I held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Staff. As always, I listened to the reports both from the military and from intelligence. We jointly determined the directions of action for the near future. We are expanding our country's foreign policy vectors. For the first time in the history of Ukrainian-Paraguayan relations, I had a conversation with the President of Paraguay - we appreciate the support from this country, and we will continue to strengthen ties in Latin America. I also spoke with the President of Mozambique today - I congratulated his country on the election to the UN Security Council, and I believe that Africa should get more representation on international platforms and in solving global issues. It is the African countries that are now most threatened by the food crisis provoked by Russia, and we must do everything to force the terrorist state to unblock Ukrainian agricultural exports. A visit to Kyiv by the Prime Minister of Ireland took place, a country that helps us significantly. Ireland even helped us convince representatives of skeptical states in the European Union that Ukraine deserves candidacy and future membership in the EU. We also remember that the Senate of Ireland recognized the crimes of the Russian occupiers as genocide of the Ukrainian people. This step, as well as Ireland's support for legal efforts to punish Russian war criminals, is very important. The help of partners together with the work of Ukrainian law enforcement officers are the very bricks from which the restoration of justice for Ukraine will be built. Every Russian murderer, torturer and rapist who came to our land will be held accountable. And it doesn't matter how long it takes to complete this task. There will be no peace for any of the occupiers. I am grateful to everyone who fights for Ukraine! Glory to Ukraine! The largest producer of secondary lead in Russia, Fregat, has been forced to suspend its work, while several other plants in the industry are preparing to halt operations or undergo repairs. Thats according to Kommersant, Ukrinform reports. The reason for the move, as confirmed by the company, is the lack of a lead export license. Since mid-May, lead producers must obtain unique licenses, while the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has not issued any so far. Domestic demand for lead is extremely low. Fregat annually produces up to 40,000 tonnes of lead and alloys, which is about a quarter of the total production in Russia. For five months of 2022, according to Kommersant, the plant produced about 17,500 tonnes of these products. So far, the plant, which employs almost 230 staff, has suspended its work for a month. According to the publications sources, the Ministry of Industry and Trade offered Russian factories to search for new partners among friendly nations, but there is no point in starting such negotiations without an export license. At the same time, according to experts, the authorities do not issue export licenses for fear of a shortage of lead for the defense industry. It is actively used in military engineering and in firearm round production. According to the Russian Institute for Problems of Natural Monopolies, a total of 127,000 tons of raw lead was exported from Russia in 2021. Almost half of this volume was purchased by the EU and Switzerland. Starting July 10, the EU will stop buying Russian lead as part of the fifth package of sanctions. On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Democratic nations have since imposed a number of sanctions on the aggressor power. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, an agreement was reached on almost $1.9 billion in support for Ukraine. He said this in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports. "During the international conference in Lugano, we not only presented a draft plan for the recovery of Ukraine. We continued to unite our partners for the sake of support and aid to our state right now. Almost 1.9 billion dollars. It was for this amount that agreements were reached in Lugano in support of Ukraine," Shmyhal said. In particular, according to him, an agreement was reached on $600 million for financial support, more than $500 million for the development of Ukraine's agricultural sector, storage, improvement of logistics, liquidity for enterprises, more than $500 million for preparations for the heating season and almost $250 million for the development of projects on the digital transformation of Ukraine. "We are grateful to the governments of Switzerland, Sweden, Britain, the World Bank, the EBRD, the EIB, private Ukrainian and international businesses for this solidarity," Shmyhal said. He emphasized that the coalition of protection and support of Ukraine is bigger and more powerful than ever. "No one feels 'war fatigue,' as the Kremlin dreams of it. Ukraine will win, because the whole world stands with Ukraine," Shmyhal said. The Ukraine Recovery Conference was held in Lugano (Switzerland) on July 4-5. On July 5, representatives of more than 40 countries and about 20 international organizations approved the Lugano Declaration and pledged to support Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian government, the Ukraine recovery plan is already estimated at $750 billion. Jacinda Ardern has urged Australia to pull in the same direction as New Zealand as she lobbies for more funding to address climate change in the Pacific. "Climate change must be a foreign policy priority," the New Zealand prime minister said in a speech to the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Thursday. It comes as both Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ms Ardern flag cutting visa red tape to improve worker mobility across the ditch. At the separate trans-Tasman business forum, the Kiwi leader suggested allowing New Zealand to be included in Australia's work holiday visa program. The pair said their two countries would naturally compete in the labour market, but there would be room to collaborate. "[Overseas workers] often see Australia and New Zealand as a package," Ms Ardern said. Earlier she said well-founded concerns over the militarisation of the Pacific should be matched with a focus on the violence of climate change. "All of this needs to happen because ultimately, this is our home," Ms Ardern told the Lowy forum. She referred to Australia as New Zealand's largest trading partner, its only formal ally, its largest market for foreign investment and the place where 40 per cent of foreign arrivals in New Zealand landed in 2019. "It's lucky we like you so much," she said. "We share our people, our problems and our solutions. "We won't always agree, and nor should we. "But it's true that in the messy world we live, friendship matters." New Zealand had committed $1.3 billion to climate change, with at least 50 per cent of that spend going to the Pacific, she said. The Pacific Islands Forum could play a role establishing climate mitigation projects where foreign aid could be directed, she said. Ms Ardern and Mr Albanese will attend the forum in Fiji next week. Ms Ardern said the increasingly contested global environment, financial pressures and climate change made for a bleak outlook, but opportunities were available for Australia and New Zealand. Story continues "In a word, it's grim out there," she said. "But ... I am an optimist at heart and remain so. "The pressures we face present, yes, challenges but also opportunities ... if we pull, on our own terms, in the same direction." Ms Ardern used an Australian New Zealand Leadership Forum dinner to call for Australia's market "clout" to help her country procure more electric vehicles. Ms Ardern also met with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on Thursday and expressed her condolences over the state's flood crisis. Meeting for the first time, the pair discussed the challenges posed by extreme weather events and adaptation, adding they valued the ability to share information and personnel in times of need. Ms Ardern will see Mr Albanese on Friday after they met briefly after the Australian federal election in May. The leaders' meeting is expected to cover labour shortages, economic links, regional security, Indigenous cooperation, migration, economic recovery and climate change. Both have recently been overseas, attending a NATO summit in Spain to which Australia and New Zealand were invited as part of the Asia-Pacific partners grouping along with Japan and South Korea. Ms Ardern arrived in Sydney on Wednesday after spending two days in Melbourne, where she met Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to discuss COVID-19 management, healthcare system pressures and rail infrastructure. Russian Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has instructed the Foreign Affairs Committee to study options of denouncing a treaty on maritime delimitation and cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Thats according to The Barents Observer, Ukrinform reports. Moscow has accused Norway of preventing food and cargo supplies to Svalbard. Putting an end to 40 years of territorial dispute, the 2010 Treaty was seen as a broader Russian foreign policy effort to reduce possible conflicts with neighboring nations with the intention to improve Moscows image as a rule-abiding player following international laws and regulations. Read also: Norway to provide EUR 1B in aid to Ukraine Fisheries cooperation, though, continues and the Barents Sea regulation of quotas between the two countries is broadly considered to be one of the best international agreements on maintaining sustainable stocks of cod and other species. In response to the move, Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ane Haavardsdatter said that the treaty has no retroactive effect, expressing hope that Russia will respect the fact that such treaties are deemed indefinite. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said at a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin that Ireland can become one of the leaders in the future Ukraine recovery process. Shmyhal said this in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports. "Ireland can become one of the leaders in the future process of Ukraine's recovery. We talked about it today with the Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheal Martin. I emphasized that it is important to find a joint model of military risk insurance for businesses that will decide to invest in Ukraine and implement projects here. This will contribute to the operation of the economy, the creation of jobs and the return of people to their homes," Shmyhal said. Both parties discussed Russia's war crimes in Ukraine. Shmyhal emphasized that Russia must be recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism. He also thanked Ireland for its comprehensive support and for standing side by side with the Ukrainian people today. Martin is on a visit to Ukraine on Wednesday, where he has already visited the war-torn towns of Borodianka, Bucha and Irpin in the Kyiv region. | By Lauren Robinson University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced June 29 that the school will receive $1 million in philanthropic support from one of its most distinguished Board of Visitors members and alumni, Maurice N. Reid, MD 99, CEO and medical director of ExpressCare Urgent Care Centers. (From left) Maurice N. Reid, MD 99; Donna Parker, MD, FACP; and Adam C. Puche, PhD The gift, in support of medical education and the recently implemented Renaissance Curriculum, will be used to renovate UMSOMs gross anatomy laboratories in an effort to modernize that teaching environment for medical students. Reid noted that modernized teaching spaces and new technology are essential for the implementation of innovative learning methods. As a physician and graduate of the school, I recognize the importance of being on the front lines of medicine and medical education, Reid said. I am thrilled to be able to support the Renaissance Curriculum by supporting the creation of a state-of-the-art anatomical learning facility that will help train future generations of physicians. UMSOMs commitment to providing and maintaining an appropriate educational environment that is comfortable, technologically current, and conducive to learning is a leading priority for the Office of Medical Education. Donna L. Parker, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education, thinks the anatomy lab renovations afforded by Reids gift will benefit students for the entirety of their pre-clerkship studies. With our Renaissance Curriculum, students no longer learn anatomy in one course at the beginning of the first year, she said. They now revisit the anatomy lab during different blocks over the entire pre-clerkship curriculum, so that they learn anatomy along with the physiology and pathophysiology of each organ system. The current lab space, originally built in the 1970s, will receive various infrastructure improvements along with new equipment, such as moveable and height-adjustable operating bed stations with smart monitors and surgical drop lighting, Parker said. We are also looking to add innovative technology to the space. This gift from Dr. Reid will make it possible to provide our students with a wonderful and updated environment in which to learn. Adam C. Puche, PhD, professor and vice chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at UMSOM, added: As part of the Renaissance Curriculum, the teaching of anatomy was restructured with heightened clinical relevancy focus and tight integration into systems-based learning. During this process, we recognized the existing UMSOM gross anatomy laboratory infrastructure was inadequate to deliver modern teaching technologies to our students. The renovations possible with this gift will upgrade the UMSOM gross anatomy teaching laboratories to a state-of-the-art facility, providing our medical students a modern teaching environment for the study of anatomy. Reids record of philanthropic giving to UMSOM is highly notable. In 2019, he donated $500,000 to support the Maurice N. Reid, MD Collaborative Learning Space. In 2021, he committed to more than $300,000 to support a pilot cohort for Point of Care Ultrasound training for medical students, and he added a more recent $100,000 pledge to support the Center for Advanced Research Training & Innovation. Reid earned his medical degree from UMSOM in 1999, followed by a residency in emergency medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center. After completing his residency, he served as assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and later worked as clinical director of the Emergency Department at Bon Secours Hospital in Baltimore. In 2004, Reid left academia to pursue his desire to open an urgent care center in Harford County. In March 2005, Reid founded ExpressCare Urgent Care Centers and opened its first location in Bel Air, Md. Since opening its doors, ExpressCare has grown to more than 30 locations in three states and has formed a strategic partnership with LifeBridge Health, which now owns a minority share of ExpressCare. With a $250 million program, the state hopes to revitalize abandoned properties across New York. The Restore New York grant program will open for applications on July 11. There will be two rounds of grants, with $100 million available in the first round and $150 million in the second. All municipalities are eligible to apply for funding. Cities with more than 100,000 people may apply for as much as $5 million for a single project New York City can seek funding, but the projects must focus on a distressed area of the city. Cities and villages with 40,000 to 99,999 people can apply for up to $3 million for one project. Smaller municipalities are eligible for up to $2 million for one project. If a municipality's application is approved, the funding can be used to redevelop abandoned or vacant buildings. There will be special awards available for cities, towns and villages with up to 100,000 people and counties with no more than 400,000 people. The counties and municipalities could apply for additional funding up to $10 million to support a second project or as part of a larger project. The award would be in addition to the municipality's initial grant. These special projects are defined as properties that cause "severe economic injury to the community, leaving, a highly visible and blighted property or properties in the central business district of a highly or moderately distressed community which has a depressing effect on the overall economic development potential of the community." One goal of Restore New York is to focus on economically distressed communities. According to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office, there will be an emphasis on projects that are supported by other federal and state funds, and the project's feasibility and readiness. "I have traveled to every corner of the state and have seen firsthand the potential that lies in so many of New York's blighted, older buildings," Hochul said. "These spaces once had purpose and are now in need of funding and vision to breathe new life into neighborhoods." Restore New York will be administered by Empire State Development, the state's lead economic development agency. ESD, through the program, hopes that the funds will help local governments put abandoned properties back on the tax rolls, which would increase the local tax base. The program also aims to boost commercial investment and provide more housing in communities. The projects should align with the strategic plan adopted by the municipality's regional economic development council. "Restore New York gives municipalities the support they need to create real change in their communities, especially their downtown centers," said Hope Knight, president and CEO of Empire State Development. "By removing or rehabilitating eyesores that bring down a neighborhood, municipalities have opportunity to revitalize their community and generate new economic opportunities. More information about the program can be found at esd.ny.gov/restore-new-york. The request for proposals and guidelines will be available on July 11, according to ESD. The deadline for a municipality's intent to apply is Aug. 11. Crews began setting up scaffolding in front of a historic downtown Auburn building Wednesday due to debris falling from its facade. The scaffolding is going up on the sidewalk in front of 120 Genesee St., a six-story building whose last major tenant was Chemung Canal Trust Co. The bank moved next door to 110 Genesee St. in 2017. The scaffolding will replace metal guardrails set up outside the building about two months ago, when material from the parapet wall near the roof crumbled and fell to the sidewalk below. Auburn City Manager Jeff Dygert told The Citizen the city's fire department recently used a ladder truck to inspect the wall, and discovered that it's "not in good shape." The city has been in communication with the building's owner, Felipe and Katherine Martin of Sacramento, California, and its property manager, Flaum Management of Rochester, to resolve the problem. About a month ago, Dygert said, Flaum removed a sign box from the parapet to relieve stress on the facade. The owners are also working with an architect on more long-term repairs. Dygert said no additional material has fallen from the building since the first time. Still, the city "hasn't been thrilled" about the metal guardrails outside the building, which have covered five parking spots on Genesee Street. The scaffolding will continue to keep pedestrians safe and maintain traffic flow while making those coveted spots available once again. Along with repairs, the city hopes another long-term solution to the problem comes in the form of a new use for the building. Neo-classical in style, with four Doric columns at its entrance, the building opened in 1927 as the new headquarters of the National Bank of Auburn. It was later used as a branch of Bank of America, and then Chemung Canal Trust Co. Flaum has listed the building's 6,522-square-foot first floor, which includes a bank vault, for rent as office or retail space on real estate website LoopNet. Dygert said the city has been aware of some developers being interested in the building in recent years. "We'd like to see the owner do something with it, either redevelop it or hand it off to someone else," he said. "It would be nice, and help tie some things together downtown." UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, awarded a $150,000 grant to the African American Babies Coalition and Projects (Wilder AABC) in support of its initiatives to educate the community, recruit child care professionals and develop programs for African American families in the Twin Cities. Wilder AABC is part of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a community nonprofit that has been meeting the needs of families and individuals for over 100 years. Wilder AABC was formed in 2008 when a group of African American women saw a need for brain science and early childhood development research to be more accessible and shared in a more culturally relevant way. Wilder AABC is working to improve educational achievement gaps by fostering healthy childhood and brain development, as research shows introducing proper practices in the very early stages of childhood can prevent health inequities experienced in adulthood. Research proves an upward spiral happens when one develops a philosophy of community, a sense of belonging, and a network of family, friends and neighbors, said Sameerah Bilal-Roby, founder and director of Wilder AABC. We are thankful for UnitedHealthcares grant as this will contribute to better health, parenting, participation and society. The funding from UnitedHealthcare will be used to: Create a Families, Friends and Neighbors (FFN) Crisis Manual to help visiting professionals understand the connections between early childhood development, toxic stress, adverse childhood experiences and health disparities, and the importance of respecting and integrating culturally congruent practices of wellness to connect with the families they serve. Recruit and train up to 15 child care professionals with experience in the Twin Cities as well as rural areas that include historically underserved populations, to serve as home visitors. Help with the development and infrastructure of the Minnesota African American Licensed Childcare Provider Association to increase their capacity, training and deployment in Minnesota. We are honored to support Wilder AABC in its efforts to expand the reach of its programs and to recruit and train critical child care professionals, said Victor Fields, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Minnesota. We must address the gaps in education head-on that African American children face, and provide resources and support, starting in early development, to help us create a more equitable society and help people live healthier lives. Minnesota has historically ranked as one of the worst states in the country for education achievement gaps. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, African American students' math and reading proficiency levels were 20% lower in 2021 compared to their peers. The coalition's mission is one that UnitedHealthcare, along with its parent company UnitedHealth Group, have been inherently aligned with for more than 30 years. UnitedHealth Group has worked with national and local partners to improve health equity, expand access to care and eliminate health disparities based on race, ethnicity, income, sexual orientation and other factors. The company is investing in programs and partnerships focused on maternal health, food, health literacy, behavioral health and social isolation, including nearly $14 million in philanthropic grants to support maternal health, and $2.85 million in support to March of Dimes for a public-private partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services that aims to reduce the Black-white disparity gap and improve maternal health outcomes. About UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.5 million physicians and care professionals, and more than 6,700 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter. GABORONE, July 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jul, 2022 ) APP):Botswana is now offering COVID-19 booster shots for children aged between 12 and 17 years, the health ministry has announced. "These children become eligible for booster doses at least six months after completing their Primary vaccination series," health ministry spokesman Christopher Nyanga said in a statement on Tuesday. Authority has been granted by the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BoMRA) to offer booster doses to teenagers, he said. The Pfizer vaccine will be used for second boosters, regardless of whatever vaccine one may have taken for their primary vaccination series or as a first booster, Nyanga said. BoMRA has also granted authority for the offering of second booster doses, which will be offered at least four months after the first booster shot, to all adults above the age of 50, the spokesman said. Highland Park, United States, July 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jul, 2022 ) :A 21-year-old man who allegedly opened fire on a July 4 parade in a wealthy Chicago suburb while disguised in women's clothing was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday, prosecutors said. Robert Crimo, 21, was arrested on Monday, several hours after the attack on a festive Independence Day crowd. "There will be more charges," Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters. "We anticipate dozens of more charges centered around each of the victims." Police spokesman Christopher Covelli said the death toll rose to seven on Tuesday after one of the wounded victims died in hospital. More than 35 people were injured. Among the dead were Kevin McCarthy, 37, and his wife, Irina, 35 -- the parents of a two-year-old boy who was found wandering alone after the shooting, according to CBS news. Covelli said no motive had been established for the attack, which sent panicked parade-goers fleeing for their lives. "We do believe Crimo pre-planned this attack for several weeks," and that he acted alone, he said. "We have no information to suggest at this point it was racially motivated, motivated by religion or any other protected status," he added. He said Crimo has a history of mental health issues and threatening behavior. Police had been called twice to Crimo's home in 2019, once to investigate a suicide attempt and the second time because a relative said he had threatened to "kill everyone" in the family, he said. Police removed 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from the home but did not make any arrests, he said. Covelli said Crimo used a fire escape to access the roof of a building overlooking the parade route and fired more than 70 rounds from a rifle "similar to an AR-15," one of several guns he had purchased legally. "Crimo was dressed in women's clothing and investigators believe he did this to conceal his facial tattoos and his identity and help him during the escape with the other people who were fleeing the chaos," he said. - 'Still reeling' - Covelli said Crimo went to his mother's nearby home after the shooting and borrowed her car. He was captured about eight hours later after a brief chase. He also said the authorities were investigating disturbing online posts and videos made by Crimo. The shooting has left the upscale suburb in shock. "We're all still reeling," Mayor Nancy Rotering told NBC's Today show. "Everybody knows somebody who was affected by this directly." The mayor said she personally knew the suspected gunman when he was a young boy in the Cub Scouts. "How did somebody become this angry, this hateful to then take it out on innocent people who literally were just having a family day out?" Rotering asked. Crimo, whose father unsuccessfully ran for mayor and owns a store in Highland Park called Bob's Pantry and Deli, was an amateur musician billing himself as "Awake the Rapper." The younger Crimo's online postings include violent content that alluded to guns and shootings. One YouTube video posted eight months ago featured cartoons of a gunman and people being shot. "I need to just do it," a voice-over says. It adds: "It is my destiny. Everything has led up to this. Nothing can stop me, not even myself." Crimo, who has the word "Awake" tattooed over an eyebrow, is seen sporting an "FBI" hat in numerous photos and a Trump flag as a cape in one picture. The shooting is the latest in a wave of gun violence plaguing the United States, where approximately 40,000 deaths a year are caused by firearms, according to the Gun Violence Archive. - 'Epidemic of gun violence' - The deeply divisive debate over gun control was reignited by two massacres in May that saw 10 Black people gunned down at an upstate New York supermarket, and 19 children and two teachers slain at an elementary school in Texas. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Chicago Tuesday for a summit of the nation's largest teachers' union, said the Texas shooting was a reminder "of the risks that our children and our educators face every day," and renewed a call for Congress to ban assault weapons. Speaking later at the scene of the Highland Park shooting, Harris said: "The whole nation should understand... that this could happen anywhere, in any peace-loving community." The Highland Park shooting cast a pall over Independence Day, when towns and cities across the United States hold parades and people attend barbecues, sporting events and fireworks displays. In another July 4 shooting, two police officers were wounded when they came under fire during a fireworks show in Philadelphia, officials said. In Highland Park, Emily Prazak, who marched in the parade, described the mayhem. "We heard the pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and I thought it was fireworks," Prazak said. Cassie Goldstein, another survivor of the attack, told local media she had seen her mother die as they fled the shooting. "I started running with her, we were next to each other, and he shot her in the chest, and she fell down and I knew she was dead," the 22-year-old told NBC News. "So I just told her that I loved her, but I couldn't stop because he was still shooting everyone next to me."President Joe Biden vowed to keep fighting "the epidemic of gun violence."Last week, he signed the first significant Federal bill on gun safety in decades, just days after the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a fundamental right to carry a handgun in public. SUVA, July 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jul, 2022 ) --:Samoa has reported 95 new COVID-19 cases in recent days, bringing the island nation's total number of community cases to 14,848. According to the newspaper the Samoa Observer, Samoa's Ministry of Health confirmed on Wednesday that 95 COVID-19 cases were recorded from June 26 to July 3. Currently, Samoa is under COVID-19 Alert Level 1, and the ministry urged the public to continue to follow health advice and adhere to the COVID-19 protocols. While seeing vaccination still as the best defence against the severe effects of COVID-19, the ministry also called on eligible members of the public to visit the nearest hospital for their first or second dose and booster shot. As of July 3, a total of 161,967 rapid antigen tests (RATs) have been administered in Samoa which has a population of just more than 200,000. (@Abdulla99267510) Head of Prime Minister's Strategic Reforms Unit Salman Sufi says they will ensure that the people could make online payments through National Bank of Pakistan in the next six months. ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-July 6th, 2022) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed to make effective and simplify the system of person-to-government payments. Head of Prime Minister's Strategic Reforms Unit Salman Sufi in a statement on Wednesday said it will be our effort to ensure that the people could make online payments through National Bank of Pakistan in the next six months. He said directions in this regard have been issued to the President of National Bank of Pakistan. He said this initiative of present government is a positive step towards cashless economy. (@FahadShabbir) The China-Caribbean Development Center was inaugurated in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, on Wednesday, which is expected to strengthen China's cooperation with the Caribbean countries JINAN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jul, 2022 ) The China-Caribbean Development Center was inaugurated in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, on Wednesday, which is expected to strengthen China's cooperation with the Caribbean countries. Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Shandong provincial government, ambassadors from Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the Surinamese Charge d'Affaires attended the inauguration ceremony and the Conference on China-Caribbean Development both online and offline. Three cooperation projects between China and Caribbean nations were also announced, which include the donation of anti-pandemic materials to the relevant countries, collaboration with Guyana on marine fisheries training, and the launch of an international information exchange platform to share successful cases of common development with people in the Caribbean region. Anyin Choo, Guyana's ambassador to China, said China is a partner of the Caribbean countries, and that as an important platform, the center should continue to promote the development of relations between China and the Caribbean countries and bring the people of the two sides closer. Pakistan Suzuki offers several models in the country and the list includes Swift, WagonR, Alto and Jimny, among others. The Pakistan automotive industry has been negotiating extremely difficult times in recent years and while a variety of factors have complicated business models of auto markets the world over, the pain here has been more in comparison. As such, automakers are finding every reason possible to cheer and Pakistan Suzuki has found one to celebrate in the form of its best monthly sales figure ever. According to local reports, Pakistan Suzuki sold 16,000 units in the domestic market in June, beating its previous best of 15,500 units in December of 2021. Bolstered by a strong presence in the small-car segments, the company has managed to further its dominance in the Pakistani auto market where it already - and reportedly - has a 60 per cent market share. A model-wise break-up of Pakistan Suzuki's performance is not available but local reports also go on to suggest that the Swift is the most preferred model from the company and is a firm favourite among potential car buyers in the country overall. FOLLOW US:Stay Updated with latest content - Subscribe us on FOLLOW US:Stay Updated with latest content - Subscribe us on But the road ahead is likely to become challenging yet again because of factors such as persisting semiconductor shortage the world over and the rising fuel prices in Pakistan. The country's government has recently hiked petrol and diesel prices significantly, and this has led to widespread criticism from political rivals as well as people at large. Industry experts monitoring the automotive sector also warn of demand taking a tumble if fuel prices continue to go north. At the time of publishing this report, a litre of petrol in the country is being sold at PKR 248.74 (approximately 95) and a litre of high-speed diesel is at PKR 276.54 (approximately 106). First Published Date: The Cardinal Secretary of State landed in Juba on Tuesday morning on the second leg of a visit taking him to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. By Salvatore Cernuzio - Juba Passengers on the Ethiopian Airlines flight began looking around during landing to see who was being welcomed at Juba airport. The plane had not yet touched the ground and they could already hear the rhythm of ngoma drums and ankle rattles and the traditional zaghroutah ululation of South Sudanese women. Cardinal Pietro Parolin peered through the window: "What a beautiful welcome," he exclaimed, as splashes of vivid colour gradually became more and more defined: the red of the long velvet carpet, the ivory of military uniform, the yellow, green, and orange of the tribal garments of women and children dancing and playing traditional instruments, groups of nuns with white kerchiefs on their heads waving placards that read "Welcome to South Sudan." Read also 05/07/2022 Parolin in South Sudan: "Let's close painful pages for the country Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has left Kinshasa to travel to Juba, the second stop on his trip to Africa on behalf of the Pope. He will meet Tuesday with the ... Festive atmosphere The atmosphere was festive to say the least. Under a scorching morning sun Cardinal Pietro Parolin stepped from the plane onto the tarmac and was immediately greeted with flowers and a beautiful traditional bead necklace. Awaiting him at the start of the second leg of his visit to two African nations, were the apostolic nuncio , Germany's Hubertus Mathews Maria van Megen, Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako, archbishop emeritus of Khartoum, and several bishops in white cassocks, including Christian Carlassare, the Vicenza-born missionary Bishop of Rumbek. A welcome from the Church and from the people The music and shouting made it impossible to exchange greetings and words. The Cardinal managed however to briefly greet the government's senior advisor, General Kuol Manyang Juuk, who was at the airport on behalf of President Salva Kiir. His meeting with the President was scheduled for the afternoon, as was an encounter with the first Vice President, Riek Machar, and then the Bishops' Conference. He would go on to tell them how "impressed he was by such an incredible welcome" and express his "gratitude to each of you, to the President of the Republic, to the representatives of the Church, to all the people of South Sudan." The Cardinal's greeting "It is a great joy for me to be here and to be here for a few days to celebrate, to pray, to meet people," and to do so "on behalf of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who always carries you in his heart, Parolin said, is concerned about peace and reconciliation in South Sudan and follows the good developments in relations." "Thank you very, very much," he concluded. "Juba welcomes you," General Manyang Juuk exclaimed, "peace is coming." Cardinal Pietro Parolin is welcomed in South Sudan Extreme poverty The cardinal then travelled to the Apostolic Nunciature, a rented building for now. In fact, the Cardinal will bless the foundation stone of the new 'Popes new house in South Sudan in the coming days. He was driven by jeep, the only type of car capable of traveling these bumpy roads made of red soil that sticks to your clothes and never goes away. Not a long journey, a journey nevertheless, sufficient to impress upon him the image of extreme poverty in which the African city finds itself. A "great suburbia" of red earth roads and buildings arranged in a haphazard manner, with shacks made of wood, thatch and tin sheets lining the sides of the streets. As the cars with the white-yellow Vatican flag pass by, people turn to look, and children wave. They walk alone amidst cats and goats, or stand next to their mothers in the clothes and fruit stalls built on mud, in the shade of walls painted with mosquito repellent. Cardinal Parolin brings the caress and the closeness to this population that suffers not only from dire living conditions, but also from the instability generated by years of wars and violence. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with South Sudanese President Salva Kirr in the Presidential Palace on Tuesday during which they recalled the 2019 retreat with Pope Francis in the Vatican. The Cardinal subsequently met with First Vice President Riek Machar who reiterated his willingness to implement the peace process in the country. By Salvatore Cernuzio - Juba "The only necessary fight is the one for peace and development. It is a battle to be waged all together. Peace and development are two things linked: without peace, there is no development. And the absence of peace is a source of instability and dissatisfaction," said Cardinal Parolin during his meeting with the South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir. The tone for the 30-minute meeting on Tuesday was set by the memory of the 2019 retreat at the Vatican attended by the leaders of South Sudan, during which the Pope, in a shocking gesture, kissed their feet. First official meeting The meeting took place in the afternoon inside the Presidential Palace and was the first official appointment of the Secretary of State's trip to Juba. On Wednesday, the Cardinal heads to the camp for displaced persons in Bentiu, in the north of the country. President Kiir appeared in the meeting room wearing a distinctive black felt hat and a cane. Several times, he repeated "welcome to Juba!" to Cardinal Parolin and his delegation, wishing them peaceful days ahead. Cardinal Parolin and president Salva Kiir President Kirr confident in Pope Francis visit During the meeting, the first thoughts naturally went to Pope Francis, his health and his postponed visit to Africa. As in recent days in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Secretary of State reiterated the Pope's desire to visit, as soon as conditions permit. "I am confident of the Pope's visit," Salva Kiir said, assuring that the country is ready to support this important event, and that all Christians of the different denominations have united to pray for the Pontiff's speedy recovery. Reconciliation and peace A message from the Pope to the South Sudanese president was delivered by Cardinal Parolin. The message followed two major lines: reconciliation and peace not two ideas - but two concrete goals to be achieved. Cardinal Parolin highlighted the Popes recognition of the steps taken by the government in the four years since the retreat in the Vatican, but in his speech, the Secretary of State further insisted on other things to be done to ensure stability in the country, including implementing the Revitalized Peace Agreement which was begun by the country and is due to expire in February 2023. The Secretary of State also pointed out the path forward, particularly in view of next year's general elections, urging the country to promote national unity, stabilize the country, introduce constitutional reform, and encourage the drive for unity, which is "necessary for the development of South Sudan." Cardinal Parolin and president Salva Kiir Pope Francis words in 2019 Cardinal Parolin then re-echoed the last lines of the speech addressed by the Pope to the leaders at the day of prayer, dialogue and encounter in the Vatican, at which President Salva Kiir, Vice Presidents-designate Riek Machar and Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabio, were present. And to you three, who have signed the peace Agreement, I ask, as a brother: remain in peace. I ask you this wholeheartedly. Let us go forwards. There will be many problems, but do not be fearful, go forwards, solve the problems. You have begun a process: may it finish well. The silence of the weapons President Salva Kiir then spoke about the two days spent at the Vatican. We came back from Rome and we did not fight anymore," he assured. "I said no to new wars. People may not have seen developments, but they heard the silence of weapons." "We don't allow anyone to start a war. I don't want to fight anymore, now we want peace in the country, the South Sudanese President said to the Cardinal, promising that everything possible will be done to prevent violations and protect the people. "Do everything with God's help," Cardinal Parolin said in reply. Political forces at the service of progress The Cardinal and the President then spoke about the challenges faced by South Sudan from both domestic and international fronts. They did not also fail to mention preparations for the upcoming elections. Cardinal Parolin insisted that the elections are an important step to consolidate peace and reconciliation adding that all political forces must be at the service of the progress and development of the country. Meeting with Vice President Riek Machar The meeting with President Kiir was followed by another meeting with first Vice President Riek Machar which lasted for about 30 minutes. Sitting in his office, Machar recalled his 2019 meeting with Pope Francis. He noted that the Popes arrival in South Sudan would boost the various processes underway, as this was what was already happening in the months leading up to the postponed papal trip. We were preparing to show concrete results," Machar said. The hope, for his part, is that something will set in motion the process of implementing the Revitalized Peace agreement, before it expires. Though it is a goal that is certainly not easy to achieve, Riek Machar hopes that South Sudan will not lack the Holy See's help. Beijing (Gasgoo)- Great Wall Motors signature TANK brand has officially debarked overseas with the TANK 300 hitting the market in Saudi Arabia on July 3rd. Photo credit: TANK The Chinese automaker held a grand event at the KAFD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, celebrating the launch of the TANK 300 while showcasing the TANK 500. Great Wall Motor said that the groups overseas sales volume had reached the one millionth milestone. TANK chose the Middle East as its first overseas stop for the regions love in off-roaders. Starting in the Middle East, TANK brand will carry out its expansion to other markets. In fact, Great Wall Motor has been cooperating with local Saudi Arabian dealerships since 2017. Aside from the country, the Chinese auto giant also gained a foothold in dozens of other countries and regions, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile. Brands under the group also became more and more popular in Thailand, Egypt, Nepal, Brunei, and Laos. In an effort to provide considerate service for its users worldwide, the auto group has orchestrated numerous localized service and events in each foreign markets. For example, in order to solve the charging challenge for ORA users in Thailand, Great Wall Motor offered free charging piles and installation for its customers, and built the worlds first photovoltaic-storage-charging integrated supercharging station in Bangkok. The automaker said that it would keep enhancing its competitiveness and provide excellent service and products worldwide. An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2022 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam.... An international lawyer representing hundreds of victims in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has publicly resigned because the United Nations-backed court failed to provide enough funding for the Civil Parties participation in the trials. In a letter to the Supreme Court Chamber on June 16, International Civil Party Lead Co-Lawyer Megan Hirst resigned and complained that the courts Office of Administration had provided no funds for communication between the victims and their lawyers, while it also cut funding for her position in 2021. 3,865 victims of the 1970s Khmer Rouge regime have been registered as so-called Civil Parties in the trials and are represented by a team of 20 international and local lawyers. [O]ur team has lost essential human resources, with a significant impact on our ability to represent the Civil Parties. However, the decisive issue has been another, even more fundamental matter. We are without resources to enable meetings between the Civil Parties and their legal representatives, Hirst wrote in a letter seen by VOA Khmer. It said lawyers were only able to meet with some 5 percent of victims. The overwhelming majority of Civil Parties do not know what has occurred at the ECCC over the past few years, or what will happen after the final judgment, she wrote. The court, which is officially called the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), is expected to wrap up all proceedings this year after the Supreme Court Chamber makes a decision on the final appeal by Khieu Samphan, former Khmer Rouge head of state, against the verdict in Case 002/02. Hirst said the lack of communication had also prevented lawyers from consulting the victims on the important issue of archiving and public access to court documents, which include personal details about the crimes and traumas they suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge regime. A lack of funding and contact with Civil Parties Since its inception in 2006, the hybrid Cambodian and international tribunal has cost more than $300 million. It sentenced three defendants - torture center chief Comrade Duch in 2010 and top Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan in 2018 - to life imprisonment for war crimes, genocide, torture and other crimes. Only Khieu Samphan still survives. During this time, the ECCC provided no funding for the lawyers to meet the Civil Parties and only three lawyers were remunerated by the court for their judicial work. The lawyers were expected to raise external funds for their work on behalf of victims. This latter task had become harder after the ECCC cut back funding for the few lawyers it does pay and by diminishing international donor interest, according to Hirst. This year, lawyers were able to only meet some 200 Civil Parties after they obtained external funding from GIZ, the German governments development agency, wrote Hirst. She worked as Civil Party Co-lead Lawyer since 2019. The Office of Administration provided no explanation for its lack of support, according to her letter, and court judges earlier ruled that the funding issues were not within their legal purview. In a reaction, ECCC spokesman Neth Pheaktra told VOA Khmer that the ECCC continues to support civil parties and the important role they play in judicial proceedings. He offered no explanation as to what the court was doing to resolve the lack of funds for Civil Parties communication with their lawyers. The court doesnt care much about Civil Parties Hong Kim Suon, a national Civil Party Co-lawyer since 2008, supported Hirsts complaint and said his requests for funds to the Office of Administration had been consistently rejected. When I protested, they told us that they didnt have that budget allocationeven though they still have remaining budget, he said. His tribunal work is funded instead by his employer, a local NGO called the Cambodia Defenders Project. There are many civil parties, but we dont go to meet them all We are very frustrated that we dont have money supporting our work, he said. Yun Bin, a Khmer Rouge survivor who is among the Civil Parties, said he rarely heard from his lawyers. The court doesnt care much about Civil Parties. They dont even want to invite Civil Parties [to meet], he said. Now two Civil Parties at my home village died already. Another one is seriously sick. Yun Bin, 67, survived after he was beaten by Khmer Rouge cadres and left for dead in a pit. He said lawyers had collected testimony about his experience and he had received ECCC funding to attend trial proceedings in Phnom Penh. But, he said, I want to meet lawyers and talk more about the suffering. Meeting more often could make me forget the torture that I faced. He also desired financial reparations for victims and the building of Buddhist stupas to commemorate the deceased victims and relieve their souls. Yun Bin said the main source of help with his lifelong trauma was the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization, a mental health care and psychosocial support NGO that regularly provided him with medicine. A legal innovation unfulfilled The ECCC is among a small number of international criminal court trials and tribunals created in past two decades that granted victims recognition through a role as Civil Parties in the trial proceedings, where they enjoy rights broadly similar to the prosecution and the defense. The ECCCs website states that in this capacity, they are recognised as parties to the proceedings and are allowed to seek collective and moral reparations. This reflects the commitment of the ECCC to its mandate of helping the Cambodian people in the pursuit of justice and national reconciliation. Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which provided historic documents for the ECCC and raises public awareness about the trials, wrote in an open letter on July 4 that Hirsts resignation letter underscores an overall failure in living up to the promises we made to the victims in the justice process for the Khmer Rouge. One of the great innovations of the ECCC, compared to previous international criminal courts, is a recognition of the victims in the proceedings, he wrote, adding that they had the right to be informed about the trials so they could use the ECCC's work as an opportunity to process their experiences and find some sense of personal closure. Peter Maguire, an American law professor and author of Facing Death in Cambodia, said the ECCC had introduced an experimental element of victim participation, which had tested the claims by some legal experts that courts can provide therapeutic restorative justice for victims. Hirsts resignation, he said, comes as no surprise and provides further evidence that the ECCC has failed that test. Maguire asserted that including therapeutic mechanisms for victims had made the court proceeding overly complicated and should be provided instead outside of courtrooms. To ask any court, much less a war crimes court, to heal societies or teach historical lessons is asking too much, according to Maguire. Botswana is hosting an international meeting aimed at strengthening democracy and adherence to constitutions in Africa. Participants are calling on African militaries and leaders to respect term limits after several recent coups and efforts to extend time in power. The three-day summit, organized by Botswana and the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), has attracted former heads of state and civil society activists from across Africa. Nigers former president, Mahamadou Issoufou, speaking via videolink, said there is concern over the state of democracy in Africa. "We have some results from certain countries, but democracy is regressing in certain countries, and especially through military coups, he said. I am happy Botswana and Niger are speaking with one voice." Countries have to respect the two-term limit, he added. Issoufou left office after two terms in 2021 and was awarded the five-million dollar Ibrahim prize for good governance. Botswanas president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, said his country, Africas longest-running democracy, was the ideal location for the meeting. He said Africa requires strong institutions to promote constitutionalism and to ensure democracy flourishes. We remain resolute in the belief that we are better served by strong institutions rather than strongmen or women or anything in between, he said. My firm belief is that this summit represents our strong partnerships to renew and strengthen efforts to respect constitutional term limits as a pillar of democratic governance and peaceful political transitions across our continent. Peaceful political transitions remain elusive in some African countries. In the last 16 months alone, leaders have been ousted by coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Sudan. U.S. Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya, in a recorded statement, said her country will continue to support Africas efforts to uphold democratic principles. The United States is proud to support todays convening and we will continue to back our partners efforts to bring attention to the efforts of constitutional term limits as they are key to democratic governance, she said. We all know from public opinion research that constitutional term limits have widespread popular support across Africa. National Democratic Institute President Derek Mitchell said the Gaborone summit comes at an opportune time. There is no more important moment to reaffirm and embrace the eternal truth than today when democracy is under attack in so many corners of the world, he said. Democracy must be protected, defended, cultivated through regular civic practice and education. Respect for constitutionalism promotes rule of law and political accountability. The Gaborone meeting is a follow-up to a 2019 summit held in Niger to promote the respect of constitutional limits. Members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional bloc that includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, met Tuesday in Nairobi to discuss humanitarian, political, and security issues in the region. The humanitarian situation that has made more than 23 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia food insecure took center stage at IGADs 39th head of state and government meeting. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the countries in the region need to combat the drought situation. The drought, the worst in 40 years, has intensified food insecurity, dried up water resources and forced displacement of people, raising tensions that could trigger new conflicts, said Kenyatta. We urgently need to manage the drought before it becomes a threat multiplier. Some parts of the region have had four consecutive seasons without rain, forcing millions to move in search of food, water and pasture. Sudans leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said the drought greatly affects the region and peoples lives. If we do not handle the drought situation, it's going to be the worst we have seen in 40 years, said the leader. Drought is killing our people and livestock. The drought has also become a reason for our under development. Experts predict the region may fail to get any rain between October and December. Amina Abdulla is the regional director for the Horn of Africa at Concern Worldwide, an Irish humanitarian agency. She recently warned that without urgent humanitarian assistance to millions, the region risks losing 350,000 children to hunger. In Somalia, eight areas are at risk of famine and at least 200,000 children have died due to malnutrition since January. Climate change and conflict are also blamed on the region's food insecurity. Bankole Adeoye, the African Unions commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, assured the IGAD members of the blocs support to mitigate the effects of the drought. The humanitarian situation, which has been further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the drought being experienced in many parts of the region, is concerning and the African Union herewith pledges African solidarity and collective responsibility, said Adeoye. Its for us all to continue to fight the glaring effect of climate change in the world today. The African Union is ready to mobilize African and international partners to fight this scourge and to promote sustainable growth and development. Humanitarian agencies estimate 5 million children in the Horn of Africa region are malnourished, with 30 percent experiencing severe malnutrition. The European Union ambassador to Kenya, Henriette Geiger, told IGAD leaders that efforts are being made to get much-needed food from Ukraine. The security situation in the region is aggravated by unprecedented drought in the Horn and by Russian aggression, which caused the global food crisis, said Geiger. In Europe, we are working with the U.N. to transport grain out of Ukraine and the European Union, and its member states pledged over 630 million euros [$648 million] recently to strengthen food systems and resilience here in the Horn of Africa. The United Nations says it needs at least $4.4 billion to provide assistance until next month. But the donor support has fallen short of the targets. A cyberhacker claims to have obtained the personal data of 1 billion Chinese residents in what could be one of the largest data breaches in history. An anonymous user in a hacker forum using the handle ChinaDan offered to sell the large database last week for 10 bitcoin, worth about $200,000. The user said the data was obtained from an unsecured Shanghai police database and was publicly accessible for a year. The user claimed the database contained such personal information as names, addresses, birth dates, national identification numbers and extensive criminal records. U.S.-based cable news network CNN says it has verified the authenticity of more than two dozen entries from the sample provided by the seller, but could not access the original database. Shanghai police officials have not responded to requests by news outlets to comment on the alleged data breach. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. Unidentified assailants in Pakistan have within the past week killed two journalists and tortured a renowned columnist, while police arrested a reporter-anchor-turned-host of a top YouTube political show amid allegations of a government crackdown on dissent and political opponents. The attacks began on July 1 when gunmen in Khairpur district in southern Sindh province fatally shot local reporter Ishtiaq Sodharo. The slain man was associated with a local Sindhi-language weekly. His wife accused an area police officer of ordering the deadly attack against her husband. The motive for the killing was not known. A day later, Iftikhar Ahmed, a reporter for the Urdu-language national Daily Express, was ambushed and killed by unknown gunmen in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province while he was on his way to work. Police said an investigation was underway into the motive for Ahmeds killing, including personal enmity. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Tuesday condemned the killings, calling on Pakistani authorities to safeguard press freedom in line with their constitutional and international obligations. Pakistan's government must take appropriate measures to ensure journalists' safety and security, as required by law, and act to reduce assaults on journalists so that they may carry out their work without fear, the IFJ said in a statement. On Friday, veteran journalist and political analyst Ayaz Amir was physically assaulted by masked men in the eastern city of Lahore. He was being driven home after his prime-time program on the mainstream Dunya news channel when his car was intercepted. The 72-year-old nationally known journalist told reporters that the attackers unleashed blows to my face and dragged me out of the vehicle on a busy road near his workplace. Amir alleged the masked assailants also "tore his clothes before taking away his and his drivers cellphones. There were no claims of responsibility for any of the attacks. Amir was assaulted a day after he delivered a speech at a crowded seminar in the capital, Islamabad, in which he severely criticized Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs government and the powerful militarys role in national politics. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also attended and addressed the seminar, which was organized by a local lawyers association. A government statement quoted Sharif as strongly condemning the attack on Amir and instructing the authorities in Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital city, to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice. Separately, the provincial police late on Tuesday arrested prominent TV anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan on the outskirts of Islamabad in connection with a treason case registered against him, his attorney told reporters. The detained journalist, who has more than 3 million subscribers of his YouTube channel, has been criticizing and highlighting the militarys alleged role in Pakistani politics. The former prime minister denounced Riaz Khans arrest and tweeted that Pakistan is descending into fascism. Imran Khans nearly 4-year-old coalition government was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April, paving the way for then-opposition leader Sharif to replace him and form a new so-called unity government. The deposed Pakistani leader alleges the United States conspired with his political opponents to remove him from power, charges Washington rejects. The military denies it is meddling in national politics. The Sharif government also rejects charges it is cracking down on media freedom. However, Pakistani police in recent days have launched criminal proceedings against several journalists and political talk show hosts known for being critical of both the government and the military. Pakistans Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA), which is responsible for the regulation and issuing of broadcast, print and electronic media licenses, recently also warned digital news outlets and broadcasters against airing content that ridicules state institutions, particularly the judiciary and army. It cautioned that violators could face immediate broadcast suspensions and fines. Pakistan is identified as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. Successive civilian governments and military-led security agencies, commonly referred to as the Pakistan establishment, are routinely accused of intimidating and harassing reporters. But critics note that never have so many media personnel in the country collectively faced criminal proceedings or come under escalating violent attacks within a span of one week. Pakistan ranks 145 out of 180 countries on the most recent World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Australias flood crisis is continuing with more than 85,000 people under evacuation orders or warnings. Communities across the state of New South Wales remain on high alert. Thousands of homes near Sydney have been affected by widespread flooding some for the third time this year, leaving residents facing an uncertain future. A severe storm system that has battered parts of Australias biggest city has moved away, but rivers remain above danger levels, forcing more evacuations. Some areas have had up to 700 millimeters of rain since Saturday. In the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, rivers are at their highest recorded level since 1952. New South Wales emergency services minister Steph Cooke told a news conference Wednesday that it remains a dangerous situation. We are now well and truly into day five of this latest emergency event and the emergency is far from over for many communities across Sydney and also as this weather event moves north through the Hunter, Central Coast and Mid-North Coast areas and for many it has been a sleepless night, he said. Environmental groups say that global warming is making Australias floods even worse. But Professor Andy Pittman, the director at the Australian Research Councils Center of Excellence for Climate Extremes, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that warming temperatures cant yet be tied to individual disasters. The risk of more extreme events is increasing due to climate change but whether these particular events that weve seen are caused by climate change is difficult to ascertain, said Pittman. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is touring flood-hit parts of Sydney as the federal government calls in hundreds of troops to help with the massive clean-up effort. Authorities are warning that the flood crisis could stretch into early next week. A cargo ship that lost power and was drifting in wild seas towards rocks near Sydney remains anchored off the coast. A large cable attached to one of three tugs boats snapped in seas with swells up to 11 meters. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority wants the MV Portland Bay to be moved to safer waters out to sea, but a recovery mission could well be delayed by rough conditions. With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information. CPCA predicts 78,000 Teslas sold in June in China According to the preliminary sales result compiled by Chinas Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Chinas June new energy vehicle wholesale volume will reach 546,000 vehicles, skyrocketing 130% year over year. The sales volume of Tesla should amount to 78,000 vehicles in the country. Photo credit: Tesla CPCA: Chinas June PV retail volume up 22% YoY Chinas Passenger Car Association (CPCA) predicts that the monthly passenger vehicle retail volume of the country will reach 1.926 million vehicles, jumping 22% year over year and 42% month over month. Haima Automobile June sales drop 23.34% YoY Haima Automobile sold 2,342 vehicles in June, dropping 23.34% over a year ago. The cumulative sales volume of the company amounted to 13,122 vehicles, down 20.68% from the previous year. Skyworth Autos HT-i comes to retail store The HT-i model from Skyworth Auto has arrived at the automakers retail stores in China. The model can be expected to be on the market in August. Beijing to add 20,000 new charging piles in 2022 Beijing released a document stating that it will work to build 20,000 charging piles for various vehicle types within the year. SAIC-GM-Wuling logs 29% YoY growth in June 2022 sales SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW), General Motors' joint venture with Chinese partners SAIC Motor and Guangxi Automobile Group, announced on Wednesday its monthly sales exceeded 120,000 units in June 2022, jumping 29% from the previous year. Nissan Motor sells 546,020 vehicles in China in first half of 2022 In the first half of 2022, Nissan Motor sold 546,020 vehicles in China, representing a year-over-year drop of 22.7%. The automaker attributed the decline to the global auto part shortages. NIO deploys 1,011 battery swapping stations in China as of July 6 On July 6, NIO put 12 battery swapping stations into operation, increasing the total number to 1,011 in China, the automaker announced at the NIO Power Day 2022 held on the same day. HUAWEI rolls out ride-hailing application Petal Mobility Chinas ICT giant HUAWEI launched a mobile application for online ride-hailing, Petal Mobility, on July 4th when the AITO M7 rolled out. Geely unveils images of all-new CMA-based SUV code-named FX11 Chinese automaker Geely Auto released official images of its all-new A-segment SUV model, code-named FX11, on Tuesday via its WeChat account. The model is expected to hit the market this year. Lifan Technology says H1 2022 NEV sales rocket 11,626.17% YoY Chinese automaker Lifan Technology (Group) Co., Ltd. ("Lifan Technology") announced on Wednesday that it sold 4,936 vehicles in June 2022, 3,126 units of which were new energy vehicles ("NEVs"). Great Wall Motors TANK 300 debarks in Saudi Arabia Great Wall Motors signature TANK brand has officially debarked overseas with the TANK 300 hitting the market in Saudi Arabia on July 3rd. Human Horizons unveils mass-produced HiPhi Z and kicks off blind order On July 5th, Human Horizons, Chinas luxury new energy vehicle startup introduced the HiPhi Z, its second production model, and kicked off blind order. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced more resignations from his government Thursday amid growing calls for him to step down. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, a member of Johnsons Cabinet, was among the latest to submit his resignation, saying in a statement, I cannot sacrifice my personal integrity to defend things as they stand now. Three other Cabinet ministers had resigned as of early Thursday, along with at least 40 junior ministers and ministerial aides. Johnson, who vowed Wednesday to stay in office, furthered the list of departures by dismissing Communities Secretary Michael Gove. Frankly the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when hes been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going, Johnson said. And thats what Im going to do. Johnson faced a round of tough questions from angry and skeptical lawmakers during the traditional prime ministers question and answer session in Parliament Wednesday, a day after Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid unexpectedly quit within minutes of each other. The two men resigned after Johnson apologized for appointing conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher to a key party post despite allegations Pincher groped two men at a private club in London while intoxicated. Officials at No. 10 Downing Street, the prime ministers official residence, initially said Johnson did not know about the allegations surrounding Pincher, but later acknowledged he had been told about previous accusations against the lawmaker in 2019. In his resignation letter, Sunak wrote that the British public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for, and that is why I am resigning. Johnson immediately replaced Sunak and Javid with other members from his Cabinet. But another Cabinet official, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart added his resignation late Wednesday, saying it was past the point where it is possible to turn the ship around. The latest scandal comes just weeks after Johnson survived a no-confidence vote within his Conservative Party after he received a police fine for violating his own COVID-19 lockdown rules by holding parties at 10 Downing Street. In a resignation letter, Javid said Johnson had a chance to show humility, grip and new direction after surviving the no-confidence vote, but added, It is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Europe is repatriating increasing numbers of its Islamic State-linked women and children, who have languished for years in Syrian camps. The latest influx arrived in France this week, in a move welcomed by rights groups as positive but not enough. The 51 women and children who landed in Paris Tuesday amount to the French governments biggest intake of citizens linked to the Islamic State terror group to date. Their arrival underscores a sea change in Frances longstanding policy of case-by-case repatriations. This is a welcome and long overdue step, but it's clearly not enough, said Letta Tayler, a counterterrorism specialist for Human Rights Watch. Like other rights groups, HRW has long advocated for countries to bring their citizens home from Iraq and Syria. These children and mothers are living in horrific conditions, Tayler said. They lack sufficient food, clean water, medical care, education. The shift to repatriations is also happening elsewhere in Europe. Last month, Belgium flew home 22 women and children. Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands have organized similar returns in recent months. Among the latest repatriated to France is Emilie Konig, a Muslim convert from Brittany, who became a notorious Islamic State recruiter. Her lawyer said she wants to cooperate with French authorities. Women will go directly to jail, either because they are to undergo trial or because they are suspected to have taken part in terrorist acts, said Farhad Khosrokhavar, a sociologist and jihadist expert. Khosrokhavar said thats the near-term fate of most women returnees here and likely elsewhere in Europe. The children will be sent to live with relatives or put in homes. The problem is what will be done afterwards? Because some will come out of jail, Khosrokhavar said. Khosrokhavar said another major problem is children, who have been traumatized and will require psychiatric or psychological treatment. Some of them do not speak French, Khosrokhavar said. They have to be resocialized. But who is going to resocialize them? A few years ago, France counted as Western Europes biggest exporter of jihadists to the Middle East. Today, theres little popular appetite to see them return home especially men, who carried out much of the brutality, including terrorism. Many died in battle, but some are at large or detained in Syrian camps. The number of men is at least a few hundred, at least if not more, Khosrokhavar said. So, the major problem will be with men. Their sheer number. And of course, the violence. But repatriation advocates say bringing jihadi fighters and affiliates home is not just the right move, but also the smart one. HRWs Tayler agrees. There is a growing consensus, including in the security sector, that the risk is greater in leaving these detainees in northeast Syria, rather than bringing them home, she said. With thousands of people from dozens of nations still detained far from home, Tayler said, its a problem that wont be resolved anytime soon. The Abuja prison attack is the latest incident in a series of widespread violent episodes perpetrated by armed gangs in Nigeria. Heavily armed men invaded the facility late Tuesday, shooting and detonating explosives. Officials say one prison officer was killed and some 600 inmates were freed by the gunmen before they were repelled by state security forces. There was heavy security at the prison Wednesday as authorities say they have begun searching for missing inmates. Officials say up to 300 escapees have been recaptured. Shuaib Belgore is the permanent secretary of the ministry of interior. "We don't know how many were killed among the attackers. It's possible they took their injured and other casualties along with them. But on our side just one death and about three injuries" On Wednesday, relatives of inmates gathered at the prison yard hoping for updates from authorities. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack. The Kuje medium security prison is home to hundreds of inmates including high profile officials and some captured Boko Haram insurgents. Nigeria's top police officer, Abba Kyari, who was indicted in a money laundering case with international fraudster known as hushpuppi, was among those held there. Kuje resident Asabe Isah says she heard explosions and what sounded like shelling. "The sound I heard was like a blast because the house vibrated a bit. And then after five minutes the second blast again" Nigeria has seen increasing attacks across many regions on a almost daily basis. Hours before the prison attack, armed men ambushed the president's convoy on its way to his home town in northwestern Katsina State. The president was not in the convoy, but two other people were injured. Security experts say the spate of attacks is an indication that authorities have not handled security matters seriously. Senator Iroegbu is a security analyst. "This is a very serious intelligence failure or security breach. This is audacious especially to the number one prison in the country when it comes to housing terrorists inmates or suspects. Since 2020, armed groups have freed more than 5,000 prisoners in several attacks. The death toll rose to nine Wednesday from a glacier avalanche Sunday in the Italian Dolomite Mountains, Maurizio Fugatti, president of the province of Trento, said as rescue workers continued to search for victims. The two new casualties were spotted by drones on Wednesday near the edge of the avalanches debris field, officials said. Five hikers believed to have been near the avalanche remain missing. Precarious conditions on the mountain are preventing search and rescue teams from working near the site of the avalanche. A police team adept at DNA analysis has also been called in to assist with identifying the victims. The avalanche occurred when a piece of glacier the size of an apartment building broke free from the Marmolada mountain, which stands some 3,300 meters high. A large part of the country is experiencing a heatwave, and scientists say climate change is putting more glaciers at risk of breaking off from the mountains. Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press and Reuters. The gunman charged with killing at least seven people at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, made his first court appearance on Wednesday and confessed to the shootings, authorities say. More than 30 were injured in the attack. Suspect Robert Crimo III, 21, appeared from jail via a video link to face seven first-degree murder charges. He was denied bail. He reportedly showed no emotion and spoke only briefly. Authorities say Crimo allegedly planned the shooting for weeks. Crimo was able to climb a ladder along the parade route in order to shoot down on the crowd. Dressed in womens clothing, he allegedly fired more than 70 rounds, apparently at random. He was able to flee the scene before finally being arrested after several hours on the run. Officials said Crimo drove his mothers car to Madison, Wisconsin, where he contemplated another shooting. He then returned to Illinois. If Crimo is convicted of all seven murder counts, he would be jailed for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole, Eric Reinhart, the state's attorney for Lake County, said in announcing the charges on Tuesday. "These are just the first of many charges that will be filed against Mr. Crimo," the prosecutor told reporters. "We anticipate dozens of more charges centered around each of the victims." Investigators who have questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive for the attack, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli told a news conference. Crimo legally bought the weapon found at the scene of the attack and a second rifle found in his car, Covelli said. Police said they have not found any indication the suspect targeted anyone by race, religion or other protected status. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, is an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper. He posted videos and songs, some ominous and violent, on social media sites. Crimo had two brushes with law enforcement in recent years, once for an attempted suicide and another for allegedly making threats to kill others. During the second incident, police seized 16 knives from Crimo, but no arrest was made, as authorities at the time lacked probable cause to take him into custody, Covelli said. The Highland Park attack was the latest mass shooting in the United States in recent weeks, with earlier assaults on people occurring at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York; an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas; and a medical office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some information in this report comes from Reuters. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it is suing the southwestern state of Arizona over its new proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration. The lawsuit is the latest legal action that the Justice Department has taken against a number of Republican-controlled states over newly enacted laws that the department says restrict voting rights. The Arizona law, set to take effect in January 2023, requires that voters produce "documentary proof of citizenship" before they can vote in a presidential election or vote by mail in any federal election. Voting rights advocates say the law could force thousands of registered voters to be dropped from the state's voter rolls. That requirement is a "textbook violation" of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections," Clarke said in announcing the lawsuit. The lawsuit was brought under both the NVRA and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The NVRA requires states to accept and use a nationally developed mail voter registration form. Among other things, the Arizona law requires applicants to indicate their places of birth, a requirement that the Justice Department says is "immaterial" to proving citizenship. The Justice Department said the new Arizona voter registration requirement "flouts" a 2013 Supreme Court decision that rejected an earlier attempt by the state to implement a similar mandate. In its lawsuit, the department contends that the Arizona law also violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "by requiring election officials to reject voter registration forms based on errors or omissions that are not material to establishing a voter's eligibility to cast a ballot." Jake Hoffman, a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives and the main sponsor of the bill, did not respond to a request for comment. In the year and half since President Joe Biden entered the White House, the Justice Department has made voting rights enforcement a priority, filing lawsuits and settling claims with a number of states. Under former President Donald Trump, the Justice Department was criticized for not aggressively enforcing voting rights laws. The department's stepped-up effort to enforce voting rights laws comes in response to new "election integrity" laws passed by Republican-led states. Republicans say the laws are designed to prevent fraud, but voting rights advocates say they will make it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots. Justice Department officials say they will continue to examine the new laws and bring legal action where needed. "The Justice Department will continue to use every available tool to protect all Americans' right to vote and to ensure that their voices are heard," Clarke said. Two recent polls whose release bracketed an Independence Day celebration shattered by yet another mass shooting show a United States in which trust in major institutions has fallen to all-time lows. Fewer citizens report being extremely proud of their country than at any time in the past 20 years. Together, these two surveys both conducted by the Gallup organization paint a picture of a country that seems to have lost some of its confidence not just in specific institutions but in itself more broadly. The first of the surveys, released last week, found that only 38% of respondents reported feeling extremely proud of being American. Thats down 5% from a year ago, and down 20 percentage points from 2009, when 58% described themselves as extremely proud. As recently as 2003, the percentage reached 70%. However, an additional 27% of current respondents reported being very proud of their country, meaning that in total, 65% of respondents had significantly positive feelings about being American. Still, that figure was down considerably from past measurements. In 2004, for example, the combined percentage of Americans reporting they were extremely or very proud of their citizenship stood at 91%. Partisan differences According to Gallups data, Republicans have consistently reported feelings of extreme pride in their country at higher rates than Democrats and independents. That remained the case in this survey, with 58% of Republicans indicating extreme pride, 34% of independents, and just 26% of Democrats. Democrats in this years poll were above their lowest level, 22%, which was recorded in 2019. But Republicans and independents both reported extreme pride at the lowest level in the 21 years Gallup has been asking the question. In general, men were more likely than women to report feeling extremely or very proud to be American, by a margin of 72% to 60%. The response was also significantly different across age groups. A full 80% of those 55 and older reported being either extremely proud or very proud. Among those between 35 and 54, the percentage was 64%. For those between 18 and 34, however, the total was just 48%. Declining trust in institutions On Monday, Gallup released its annual survey of Americans confidence in societys major institutions, including the federal government, the military, schools, businesses and other key sectors of society. The news was not encouraging. The poll, according to Gallup, recorded record low confidence across society as a whole. Across the 16 categories polled, the survey showed sharp declines in 11, moderate declines in four more, and one unchanged. Confidence did not increase in any of them. The sharpest decline was in people expressing either a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the presidency, which fell from an already low 38% last year, to just 23% this year. The 15% drop matches the decline found in other polls in President Joe Bidens approval ratings over the same period. Supreme Court confidence The next largest decline was in confidence felt in the Supreme Court. Last year, 36% of respondents said they had either a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the high court. This year, the figure fell to 25%. The poll was conducted before the Supreme Court issued a spate of controversial rulings, including the elimination of a constitutional right to abortion, the overturning of a New York law restricting the ability of individuals to carry concealed firearms, and blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from taking some measures to regulate greenhouse gases. It is difficult to estimate how much those rulings would have affected the courts ratings, because while they were decried by many on the political left, they were also praised by many on the political right. A leaked draft of the Supreme Court abortion decision had been released prior to the poll, which may also have affected the results. Other institutions Congress remains the institution Americans trust the least, with those expressing high levels of confidence falling from 15% last year to single digits just 7% in 2023. The police (45%), the medical system (38%), organized religion (31%), banks (27%) and the criminal justice system (14%) all saw their ratings decline by 6% year over year. The survey also showed a decline in trust in journalism organizations. The percentage of respondents reporting high levels of trust in newspapers fell to 16% from 21% last year. Things were worse for television news, with high levels of confidence falling to 11% from 16%. The only institution that did not see a decline in the publics confidence was organized labor. But even there, the news wasnt exactly good, as the confidence level sat at just 28%. Decrepit politics John Halpin, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning think tank, told VOA in an email that the Gallup findings are representative of a long-term trend. This is not just a recent phenomenon, he wrote. Americans have concluded that many of the major institutions in American society are either corrupted or rotten and have failed to address the country's biggest challenges. The 2008 financial crisis, the war in Iraq, economic and regional inequality, and the rise in extremist politics have all contributed to a heightened sense of institutional decline. The decrepit state of our politics is the biggest driver of negative feelings about the country, Halpin said. Americans have little to no faith that the two major political parties are capable of brokering some consensus course to get us back on track and fix a range of problems from inequality and poverty to immigration and crime, he said. One party comes in and does a few things that make their voters happy but leaves others steaming mad. Then it switches for a while with the roles and emotions reversed. Narrative competition Ian Rowe, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, told VOA he believes much of the decline in citizens sentiment about the U.S. is due to a dominant cultural narrative that focuses on the countrys flaws. In recent years, he said, There's been a pretty strong drumbeat that the country is inherently oppressive, certainly based on race or gender or other superficial characteristics. So, I think that narrative is taking its toll. To counteract that trend, he said, Those of us who have a counter opinion need to have the courage to actually say these things out loud. That America's institutions are important, still matter, and to some degree, have the tools of self-betterment and self-renewal built within them. He added, That's why we've been able to move from the Declaration of Independence at a time of slavery to the Constitution, to the amendments, the Bill of Rights. All of these things have allowed the country to continue to improve, and I think more of us need to stand up for that. Russia's aggression against Ukraine is high on the agenda as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with other foreign ministers from the Group of 20 largest economies, or G-20, this week in Bali, Indonesia. Blinken departed Wednesday for the ministerial, where he will also participate in bilateral meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. On the agenda of the meetings between top U.S. and Chinese diplomats is possible cooperation on climate change, global health, counternarcotics and the situation in Myanmar, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink. The U.S. wants to responsibly manage its "intense competition" with China, and there is a need to establish "guardrails" to avoid unintended conflicts, he told reporters during a Tuesday phone briefing. Blinken will have two lengthy meetings with Wang, with the first session likely focusing on bilateral relations and the second focusing one on regional and international issues, according to diplomatic sources. After the G-20 ministerial, Blinken will head to Bangkok, where he is expected to discuss the situation in Myanmar, also known as Burma. "The subject of Burma will feature prominently both in meetings and on the margins of the G-20 and in Bangkok, Kritenbrink said, adding the U.S. would continue to "condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the Burmese military regime's brutal actions since the coup d'etat, the killing of nearly 2,000 people and displacing more than 700,000 others." Over the weekend, Wang visited Myanmar, his first visit to the country since the military seized power last year. While Ukraine is not a G-20 member, its foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, was invited to this week's ministerial after Ukraine became a European Union candidate. Kuleba said he had coordinated his country's positions with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell ahead of time. "We both agree on the need for the seventh EU sanctions package on Russia and we are working on it," Kuleba said in a tweet. According to U.S. officials, Russia's war on Ukraine has caused global economic instability, and Washington will not ease pressure on the Kremlin until Russia ends its military offensive. No formal meeting has been scheduled between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Bali. The U.S. is not ruling out the possibility of a walkout to protest Lavrov's presence at the G-20. "[I am] not going to speak at this stage to choreography, but we expect the secretary can be a full and active participant while also staying true to another overriding objective, and that is the fact that it cannot be business as usual with the Russian Federation," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday. US and China Blinken's meeting with the Chinese foreign minister would be their first in person since the chief U.S. diplomat unveiled the Biden administration's strategy to outcompete the rival superpower. In his remarks at the time, Blinken said that the U.S. was not seeking to decouple from China and that the relationship between the world's two largest economies was not a zero-sum game. For months, senior State Department officials have said they have not seen China providing material support to Russia for its war against Ukraine, and they have warned of "consequences" if the Beijing government does. Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce added five companies in China to a trade blacklist for allegedly supporting Russia's military and defense industrial base. In the U.S., some Republican lawmakers said the Biden administration's actions were not enough. "The [Biden] administration's feeble concept of 'consequences' will do little to deter the CCP's [Chinese Communist Party's] ongoing support for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war crimes," said Representative Michael McCaul, ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on June 29. There should be "significant sanctions on those offending companies," he added. G-20 division over Russian war Russia's participation in G-20 events has created tension within the group, which comprises the Group of Seven leading industrialized economies, or G-7, and other large developing economies. Many members, especially those in the G-7, have condemned Russia's invasion and supported serious economic sanctions. Members China and India, however, have abstained on various United Nations resolutions and refrained from publicly condemning Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden has said that Russia should not remain a member of the G-20, but China, Brazil and South Africa objected to removing Russia from the grouping. Those countries are also members of five large emerging economies known as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and see themselves as an alternative to the U.S.-led world order. Some G-20 members say divisions widened by Russia's war in Ukraine should not overshadow this year's theme of economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. Indonesia, which holds the rotating presidency of the G-20, says it maintains an independent foreign policy and does not side with world powers. Indonesia's reluctance to exclude Putin from the G-20 summit reflects its wish not to be seen as choosing a side and to stay focused on the COVID-19 theme. "As the world is recovering from the damaging effects of the pandemic, we must collaborate and do our part to contribute towards economic recovery," Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, Indonesia's Ambassador to the U.S., told VOA on Tuesday. "A war in Europe is certainly detrimental to that goal. The G-20 is the forum to talk about major economic issues and contribute meaningfully in addressing them." Last week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo became the first Asian leader to visit Ukraine and Russia, after which he said Putin had agreed to "provide [a] security guarantee for food and fertilizer supplies from both Russia and Ukraine" amid increasing concerns over a global food crisis. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told German broadcaster ZDF recently that Putin's possible presence at the G-20 summit in November should not be a reason for Western leaders to boycott the meeting or "paralyze the entire G-20." "In my opinion, G-20 is too important, also for the developing countries, the emerging countries, that we should let this body be broken by Putin." This week's ministerial will not produce an official document or communique, according to G-20 co-sherpa Dian Triansyah Djani. Until February 24, when Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine, the Cold War was encapsulated in museums as a dark period in European history. But the divide between Moscow and the West is showing no signs of healing, and analysts say the current state of relations could be the start of a new cold war or the continuation of the old one. Marcus Harton narrates this report. Attacks in Somalia have killed a security officer and a man who was released from an Italian prison after being held 16 years in a wrongful conviction case. Authorities say the first explosive device targeted a vehicle carrying the police officer in the town of Afgooye, 30 kilometers southwest of the capital Mogadishu. He was identified as Mohamed Abdi Madobe. Security officials in Afgooye confirmed to VOA that the officer was killed when a landmine planted near a river bridge targeted his vehicle. Al-Shabab militants claimed responsibility. The second incident killed a man who served close to 16 years in an Italian prison. Omar Hashi Hassan was killed by a bomb attached to his car in Mogadishu's Dharkenley district, according to Somali police spokesman Abdifatah Adan, who spoke to VOA by phone. Hassan was convicted for the March 20, 1994, murder of Italian reporter Ilaria Alpi and her cameraman, Milan Hrovatin. Hassan was later acquitted after it was determined he was wrongfully convicted. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing in Mogadishu. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On July 6, SAIC Motor and QingTao (Kunshan) Energy Development Co., Ltd. (QingTao Energy) signed an agreement to inaugurate a joint lab dedicated to R&D of solid-state batteries, the Shanghai-based auto giant announced via its WeChat account. Through the new lab, both parties will co-work on the mass production and applications of the solid-state power battery capable of over 1,000 kilometers of range and the development of 4C fast charging technology dedicated to solid-state battery. SAIC Motor, QingTao Energy signing agreement; photo credit: SAIC Motor Besides, the duo will also team up on developing solid-state battery with high safety and long service life, and the high-efficiency solid-state battery integration technology. Under the plan, the long-range solid-state battery co-developed by both parties will be first installed in the new models under SAIC Motor's self-owned brands next year. Located in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, QingTao Energy focuses on the industrialization of new energy material technologies and takes the lead in realizing the industrialization of solid-state lithium battery through in-house development of key lithium battery materials, innovative design of equipment, and optimization of mass production process, according to the corporate description posted on the company's website. It constructed the first solid-state lithium battery production line in China. SAIC Motor took part in the E+ and F++ rounds of QingTao Energy in Jun. 2020 and Jan. 2022, respectively. Somali security agents detained 32-year-old online journalist Nur Ismail Sheikh in November 2018. He was released after 12 days but was subjected to continued harassment including phone calls, telling him to stop writing. The following year, he escaped the country using a fake name. They accused me of criticizing the presidency, he said. He lived for more than two years in Nairobi and was not planning to return to Somalia until May 15 when a power shift took place in Mogadishu, and the government that detained him was voted out. Two weeks ago, he returned to Mogadishu amid the optimism and enthusiasm surrounding the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. I have returned because of the change in the country, he said. Now no one is busy at pressuring me because of my reporting. Sheikh is among many optimistic Somalis who welcomed the outcome of Mays election. Hotels in the capital have seen a jump in bookings from people returning to the country, looking for new opportunities and a fresh start with the new government. Meanwhile, the office of the president has opened its doors to the media, and President Mohamud has given a number of interviews to both local and foreign media. The presidential palace is also holding regular press briefings. Members of the widespread Somali diaspora hope these are signs that Mohamuds government will be more stable, able and inclusive than its predecessors. Kassim Busuri is a former council member of the U.S. city of St. Paul, home to thousands of Somali immigrants. Busuri fled Mogadishu when Somalias civil war began in 1991 and has never been back. He told VOA he is planning to go back within a year. I am very optimistic about where our country is headed after this election. I believe we can overcome any obstacles that are put in front of our government and people, he said. The Somali people are very resilient, the proof of that is shown with the recent election and transition of power from the previous government to the new government, [which] was very peaceful. Busuri said he is interested in making the Somali government more representative of its people and fixing errors in the Somali constitution. He says the 4.5 power-sharing system where four major clans take the lions share of the power is not equitable. US reiterates support U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Larry Andre, who joined Somali-Americans in Minnesota in celebrating Somalias Independence Day on July 1, said the U.S. shares the cautious optimism about the new government expressed by the Somalis he met. They're emphasizing reconciliation, they're emphasizing national consensus and action that would promote security, protecting the Somali people from extremist violence, he said. These are all priorities for the Somali government and they are also priorities for the United States government as a partner of Somalia. The U.S. is the largest provider of humanitarian support to Somalia. Last year, the U.S. provided approximately $430 million for humanitarian assistance and $210 million specifically for food assistance to the Horn of Africa country, which is in the grip of a severe, multi-year drought. The U.S. has also supported Somalia by training the elite Danab military unit and targeting Islamist militant group al-Shabab. The day after Mohamuds election, President Biden announced the redeployment of U.S. forces to Somalia. Former president Donald Trump had removed the troops near the end of his term. Mohamud this week ruled out immediate negotiations with the militants. We are not right now in a position to negotiate with al-Shabab, he said speaking at SETA, a think tank in Ankara, Turkey, where he is visiting. We will at the right time, we will negotiate with them and we will finish peacefully. In the meantime, he said, his government will pursue strategies aimed at eliminating the al-Qaida-linked group. He said his policy will be based not only on military action, but also on taking back the narrative of Islam from al-Shabab and shutting down their sources of revenue. Al-Shabab has carried out attacks against Somali governments and African Union forces for more than a decade, including the time of Mohamuds first term as president, from September 2012 to February 2017. Despite this, the U.S.-Somali partnership is flawed and midwifed by third parties, according to Hassan Keynan, a retired senior United Nations official who is currently a writer and commentator on politics, governance and developmental challenges in the Horn of Africa. Since the time of President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, he said, U.S. relations with Somalia have been guided by outside actors and other factors, like Ethiopias geopolitical ambitions, efforts to limit communist influence in the Horn, war on terror and piracy, and issues related to state failure and its implications for regional and global security, Keynan says. The U.S. saw Somalia as a potential trouble to be defused or contained, or a peculiar and stubborn nation that cannot be easily tamed and was/is quite capable of unleashing enormous mischief and chaos. Andre rejects the notion that U.S.-Somalia relations are determined by external factors, adding he is frustrated with a few commentators who are not looking at what is currently going on there. It's as if their minds are stuck in previous situations or dynamics in other countries, not Somalia, he said. We are engaging as reliable partners [of] the Somali authorities and in support of the Somali people because we have shared goals, he said. These are American goals and Somali goals. We have overlapping interests, overlapping goals. Thats what this is about on each of those sectors I mentioned security, prosperity, governance. Hussein Nur Haji contributed to this report. The 21-year-old suspect in the deadly attack on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been charged with seven counts of murder in a shooting rampage that left seven people dead and more than 30 injured. Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart said that if convicted, Robert Crimo III would face a mandatory life sentence without parole. Investigators, who have questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts, have not determined a motive for the attack, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli told a news conference. Covelli said Crimo legally bought five weapons, including two high-powered rifles, one of which was found at the scene of the shooting and a second in his car, Covelli said. At a Tuesday evening news conference, police revealed that they had been called to Crimos home twice in September 2019 after he made violent and suicidal threats. Police confiscated several knives, a dagger and a sword but said there was no sign of any guns. Crimo applied for a gun license in December 2019, when he was 19, Illinois state police said. His father sponsored his application. At the time, "there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger" and deny the application, the state police said in a statement. Police said the shooter used an AR-15-style assault weapon and fired more than 70 rounds during the attack in the affluent community of Highland Park during a Fourth of July celebration. He then fled the scene by dressing as a woman to blend in with people frantically trying to escape the carnage, Covelli said Tuesday. David Shapiro, 47, told The Associated Press the spray of gunfire quickly turned the parade into "chaos." "People didn't know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you," he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs. Police arrested Crimo hours later when a policeman spotted him driving in his car just outside Highland Park, a community of 30,000 people on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Police allege he opened fire on parents and their children from the rooftop of a building adjoining the parade route as they watched marching bands and local dignitaries celebrate the country's 1776 founding. The gunfire was initially mistaken for fireworks celebrating the national holiday. Once the crowd realized it was gunfire, panicked paradegoers fled or scrambled into stores to escape the attack. FBI agents and local police searched for more evidence Tuesday, sifting through trash cans along the parade route and looking under picnic blankets abandoned by families in their haste to escape. A day after the shooting, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked paradegoers remained inside a wide police perimeter. Police said they have not found any indication that the shooter targeted anyone by race, religion or other protected status. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, is an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting videos and songs, some ominous and violent, on social media sites. The Highland Park attack was the latest mass shooting in the United States in recent weeks, with earlier assaults on people occurring at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York; an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a medical office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement saying he and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, were "shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day." The Highland Park shooting occurred more than a week after Biden signed the first major federal gun violence legislation passed by Congress in decades, although it would not have blocked the sale of the assault weapon used in Monday's attack. The bipartisan compromise bill requires new background checks of gun buyers under 21 and provides more money to beef up security at schools and for mental health care for those considered at risk of harming themselves or others. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. The Taliban say they will not hold former Afghan officials accountable for the massive corruption that derailed donor-funded development projects and contributed to the collapse of the former Afghan Republic. "Those who nurtured and enriched themselves during the previous invasion and from the U.S.'s system own their properties and assets and it will remain so," Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told VOA's Pashto Service. Former officials suspected of corruption will face courts, he said, only if they seized private properties or public assets during the past two decades. Asked about properties some former Afghan officials might have acquired via corrupt practices in the former Afghan government, Mujahid said, "individuals who abused the previous system" would not face legal accountability and will keep their wealth. Bankrolled by foreign donors, the former Afghan Republic was consistently ranked among the five most corrupt states in the world. "Corruption inflicted significant damage to U.S. efforts to reconstruct Afghanistan and strengthen its institutions," said Philip LaVelle, director of public affairs for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a U.S. government monitor for aid to Afghanistan. He spoke to VOA. From 2002 to 2021, the U.S. spent more than $145 billion on reconstruction and development projects in Afghanistan while other donors such as the European Union also channeled billions of dollars for the same purposes. "Corruption was a major cause of the republic's ignominious collapse," Wahed Faqiri, an Afghan-American analyst, told VOA. "It undermined the entire system. It severely undermined the legitimacy of the republic. It strengthened the Taliban. Corruption made Taliban's propaganda effective, real, and tangible." Mohammad Halim Fidai, a former senior Afghan official, said corruption was one factor but not the underlying cause of the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as the country was named from 2004 to 2021. "Highlighting corruption is aimed at diverting attention from the wrongdoings by U.S. policymakers," Fidai told VOA, adding that Taliban insurgents were also involved in corruption as they levied taxes and extorted money from development projects. LaVelle said U.S. spending was flawed and even fueled corruption in Afghanistan. "The United States failed to recognize the magnitude of corruption early on, empowered warlords and other corrupt actors, and poured too much money in so quickly it couldn't be absorbed," he said. No anti-corruption body Nearly a year in power, the Taliban have neither announced a policy nor appointed a government body to counter corruption. The leadership's anti-corruption performance has received mixed results. Citing the findings of a survey of Afghan traders, Andrea Mario Dall'Olio, the World Bank's lead economist for Afghanistan, said in April that corruption appears to have been "curbed significantly" at customs and border checkpoints. Others say Taliban officials are succumbing to all sorts of corruption and abuses of power. "On the whole, the Taliban are relatively cleaner than the republic. However, as time goes on, nepotism is creeping in. Corruption is taking root. Luxury is showing its ugly face," said Faqiri. Fidai, the former Afghan official who now lives abroad, accused the Taliban of more than monetary corruption. "Occupying all political government posts by Mullah without merit and even having three ministers from one family in the cabinet is corruption," he said, referring to the powerful Haqqani family that occupies several top cabinet positions in the ruling Taliban leadership. Officials return to immunity As the Taliban consolidate their grip on power, they have allowed and even facilitated the return of some former Afghan officials, including at least two ministers, offering them "immunity cards" against persecution. Women, as in the Taliban's other policy arenas, have been excluded from the process as no prominent female politician or former official has been repatriated to Afghanistan so far. While the returning officials say they have come back to their country and want to live with their people, some observers say former officials want to retain the assets they could not take abroad when the former Afghan government abruptly collapsed last year. The Taliban's unconditional offer to let former Afghan officials return and retain their assets, and the group's assurance of immunity from prosecution, could protect those who illicitly made riches out of projects and programs that aimed to build effective and viable institutions and services for Afghanistan. SIGAR, which has investigated numerous cases of corruption and abuse in U.S. spending in Afghanistan several cases of which have been heard in U.S. courts said it will not cease criminal investigations into "theft, fraud, and abuse of U.S. reconstruction dollars, and we go where the facts and the evidence lead us." Ukrainian officials on Wednesday told the remaining residents in the eastern Donetsk province to flee to safer areas as Russia launched new attacks in an attempt to take full control of the industrialized Donbas region. Russia has turned the entire Donetsk region into a hot spot where it is dangerous to remain for civilians, Donetsk regional military administrator Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian media. I call on everyone to evacuate, he said. Evacuation saves lives. Russia already controls 55% of Donetsk province after saying that in recent days it had completely taken over neighboring Luhansk province. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said one of the main goals of his 4-month-old invasion of Ukraine is full control of the eastern sector, the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region encompassing the two provinces. Some Ukrainians are resisting leaving Donetsk, but Kyrylenko said only about 340,000 people remained out of a pre-war population of nearly 1.7 million. Only about 23,000 people are still in Sloviansk, one of the newest targets of Russian shelling, out of a pre-war population of 107,000, Mayor Vadim Lyakh said. Heightened Russian attacks have increased the pace of evacuations. Ukrainian Railways said it would add trains to ease evacuations. Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks had killed at least eight civilians in the last day and had wounded 25 more, while pro-Russian separatists said attacks by Ukrainian forces had killed four civilians. Ukraine said most of its casualties occurred in Donetsk. Despite Putins claim that Russia had captured Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, the provinces regional governor, denied that was the case. He said heavy fighting continued in villages around Lysychansk, the city from which Ukrainian soldiers withdrew, and which Russian troops took on Sunday. "The Russians have paid a high price, but the Luhansk region is not fully captured by the Russian army," Haidai said. "Some settlements have been overrun by each side several times already." He accused Russian forces of "burning down and destroying everything on their way." Up to 15,000 residents remain in Lysychansk, and about 8,000 in the nearby city of Sievierodonetsk, which Russian and separatist fighters seized last month, Haidai said. We restrain the enemy on the border of Luhansk region and Donetsk region the occupiers are suffering significant losses, as they themselves admit, Haidai said. Every day, the Russians receive an order to advance further, but they do not always carry it out, because the losses in personnel are very significant. During the assault of Lysychansk alone, the enemy lost thousands of dead and wounded, he said. Yes, they have more forces and means, but the Ukrainian army is better prepared and motivated. Russia has concentrated its attacks in eastern Ukraine after failing early in the war to topple the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or capture the capital, Kyiv. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Valentyna Klymenko tries to return home as late as possible to avoid the darkness of her war-damaged home outside Ukraine's capital. She visits friends, goes to the well for water, or looks for a place to charge her phone. The 70-year-old Klymenko then returns alone to an apartment that used to be noisy and full of life. She is now greeted by dim, damp rooms instead of the voices of her great-grandchildren. Klymenko rarely cooks. She drinks fruit compote and eats canned tomatoes she prepared last year so she doesn't waste the gas in her portable stove. She goes to bed quickly but can't fall asleep for a long time. Her thoughts revolve around one question: "What will happen to my home?" Ruined residences Russian troops retreated from the area around Kyiv in late March. But they left behind 16,000 damaged residential buildings in the Bucha region, where Borodyanka is located, according to the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Oleksiy Kuleba. The most affected street in Borodyanka, a town with a population of more than 12,000, was Tsentralna, which was still called Lenin Street less than a decade ago. One of the homes on this street belongs to Klymenko. The shockwave from a Russian airstrike that witnesses say struck the building across the street with two bombs caused a fire in Klymenko's five-story apartment building. The apartments on the upper floors of Klymenko's building burned. Four months later, there is no electricity, water, or gas. Some residents lost everything and ended up on the street without any means to find a new home. "I had a sofa here and armchairs here. But now there are just the springs," said Tetiana Solohub, pointing to the blackened walls of her home. Nothing is left but a couple of small enamel cups and the suffocating smell of ashes. Solohub's scorched apartment is located a few floors above Klymenko's. They moved into the building at the same time 36 years ago, when it had just been built. "And now, at 64, I am forced to be homeless," Solohub said. Unlike Klymenko, she even doesn't have a damaged apartment to live in. Hers is completely gone. Shipping containers become homes Solohub now lives in a camp for displaced people made of shipping containers. It was established in Borodyanka with the support of the Polish and Ukrainian governments. There are other camps like this in the Kyiv and Lviv regions. It has become a popular way to offer a home to people who can't return to their own abodes. There are 257 people 35% of them older residents living in Borodyanka's camp. Kostyantyn Morozko, a representative of the military administration in the Bucha region and coordinator of the shipping container camp, said he expects two containers for 160 people to be added this month. But even this isn't enough. He has 700 families waiting. Morozko expects the temporary camp to endure for autumn, winter and spring. He thinks there is a 90% chance that people will remain until then. The first cold weather is expected in early September. The camp's residents are adjusting to the idea of a long stay. They bring a bouquet of fresh flowers to the shared kitchen every couple of days, the shelves are filled with their belongings, and the tables in their "private" rooms are covered with colorful tablecloths. But living conditions for older people are challenging. Solohub shares a small, narrow room with plastic walls with two other people. There aren't many things on her shelf. She didn't have a chance to rescue her belongings. Because of the summer heat, it is difficult for her to stay in her makeshift home all day. So she often goes to rest in a small garage with metal walls and no windows near her home. "I have a private space in this garage, and no one bothers me. I can't breathe in that plastic house," Solohub said. 'We want our houses to be restored so we have a place to invite our children and grandchildren." A U.N. investigator warns violence will increase and national reconciliation in the Central African Republic will remain elusive as long as the country has persistent corruption and impunity. Yao Agbetse's report was submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday. The independent expert on human rights in the C.A.R. presented his last report to the council in March. Since then, Agbetse says MINUSCA, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the C.A.R., has documented 436 incidents of extremely grave human rights violations against more than 1,300 victims. Those include conflict-related sexual violence and grave violations of the rights of children. Agbetse says nearly half of the violations were committed by state agents and their allies, the other half by armed groups that had signed the 2018 peace agreement aimed at ending the civil war that broke out in 2013. Unfortunately, he says, gross violations continue to be committed with impunity. "If the current situation persists, the Central African Republic will see an increase in tension and social tension, which may lead to an even more fragile situation in the conflict areas," Agbetse said through an interpreter. "And the instability will give a new impetus to the armed groups who will take up their belligerent activities in violation of human rights and international humanitarian law." That, he says, will prompt people to flee to other countries in the region and toward Europe. Agbetse calls combating impunity a priority. He says the population wants the state to investigate allegations of human rights and start impartial investigations of human rights abuse with the support of the human rights division of MINUSCA. "Moreover, it is important that the government follow up on the conclusions of the investigations conducted by its Special Commission of Inquiry established in May 2021 into the allegations of atrocities committed by FACA and their Russian allies," he said. "The trials of the perpetrators of these violations and other serious violations must be started with no delay." FACA stands for the Central African Armed Forces. The independent expert is referring to allegations of violations committed by Russian mercenaries associated with a private security company, the Wagner Group. They reportedly have been abusing and killing civilians in the C.A.R. since 2019. The United Nations, several governments and human rights groups accuse the Russian mercenaries of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Both Russia and the C.A.R. have repeatedly denied that the Wagner Group is in the country. In his response to the report, the C.A.R.'s minister of justice, Arnaud Djoubay Abazene, made no reference to the Wagner Group. However, he told the council the promotion of human rights in combating impunity and sexual and gender-based violence is at the heart of his government's priorities. The United States says no foreign government is contemplating legitimacy for Taliban rule in Afghanistan, even as the insurgent-turned-Islamist group next month will mark the first year of its return to power in Kabul. I think theres actually a global consensus to include Moscow and Beijing and Iran, that its too early to look at recognition, Donald Lu, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, told VOA in an interview. Yes, some countries are beginning a very slow process of normalization of relations. No one is talking about formal recognition, Lu said. The U.S. diplomat noted that international discussions instead were focused on seeking an engagement with the Taliban that can help improve the situation on the ground in Afghanistan in terms of the rights of women and girls, and security. We, as partner countries, should also be working with authorities in Afghanistan to create a better world for Afghan people to try to influence what is happening in Afghanistan for the betterment of the people of Afghanistan, but also a stable region. The Taliban seized power last August when U.S. and NATO partners withdrew their final troops, ending almost two decades of foreign military intervention in the country. The hardline group installed an all-male interim government, which has placed restrictions on women, limiting their access to work and education. The Taliban have disallowed teenage Afghan girls from returning to secondary school education in breach of their repeated pledges. "Its critical that all of us work together to try to encourage the Taliban onto a constructive path, Lu said. He emphasized the Islamist group now has to get to the business of governance. Washington has made it clear repeatedly that no legitimacy is possible unless and until the Taliban reverse their restrictions on women and induct representatives of other ethnic Afghan groups into the government. Lu cautioned the Islamist rulers that the investment made by the global community over the past 20 years will shape the future of the country, and they cannot merely impose their own will on millions of Afghans. They have grown to expect certain freedoms in life, a certain standard of living with the economy. Those demands will help to shape the policies of the Taliban going forward, he said. The Taliban, who call their government the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, defend restrictions on women and other policies, saying they are strictly in line with Afghan culture and Sharia, Islamic law claims that scholars in other Muslim countries dispute. The Talibans reclusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, said last week he would run the country in accordance with Sharia and would not compromise. He renewed his resolve Wednesday in a message he issued in connection with this weeks Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. The Islamic Emirate is committed to upholding all the rights of its citizens, as Islam commands us to grant and protect the rights of all people. And within the framework of the Sharia law, the rights of women will be ensured, Akhundzada said. Within the framework of mutual interaction and commitment, we want good, diplomatic, economic and political relations with the world, including the United States, and we consider this in the interest of all sides, the Taliban chief argued. Neighboring and regional countries, including China and Pakistan which shares a long border with Afghanistan have kept their diplomatic and trade contacts open with the Taliban government, citing dire humanitarian and economic emergencies facing the countrys estimated 40 million population. But these nations also are pressing the Islamist group to rule the country through a politically inclusive administration, ease curbs on women and desist from cracking down on dissent before they decide to consider the Talibans call for a formal recognition of their government. We hope Afghanistan to be stable, peaceful, pursues a moderate policy and to meet the expectations, said Wang Yu, China's ambassador to Kabul, while addressing a rare news conference Tuesday in the Afghan capital. ISIS threat Lu told VOA that Central Asian countries also are worried about security threats coming from Afghanistan. The U.S. is talking with them about how it can help with cross-border security and facilitate conversation with this very unusual Taliban government, he added. The regional affiliate of the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group, known in South and Central Asia as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), has stepped up attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. Additionally, the group claims it has launched rocket attacks against military targets in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan from Afghan soil in recent weeks. Central Asian governments, the United States and other partners can talk to the Taliban about how we work together against a common threat of ISIS, Lu said, using an acronym for Islamic State. On Tuesday, the Uzbek government reported that five shells were fired into its territory from Afghanistan, although they did not explode and caused no casualties. The Foreign Ministry statement said there was minor damage to houses near the Afghan border. There were no immediate claims of responsibly for the attack. In April, ISIS-K claimed it had carried out a rocket attack on Uzbekistan from an Afghan terror base, but authorities in the neighboring country said at the time the claim was false. Akhundzada reassured Afghanistans neighbors and the world at large Wednesday that the Taliban would not allow anyone to use their territory to threaten the security of other countries. VOA's Uzbek Service contributed to this report. This weeks Independence Day massacre in a Chicago suburb is highlighting the challenge now facing U.S. law enforcement and homeland security officials an environment in which almost any public event could come under attack with few, if any, signals for authorities to detect in advance. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been warning for months of a dynamic and complex threat environment, most recently in a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin last month, cautioning a variety of factors from personal grievances to current events could spark the next attack, with public gatherings a likely target. Yet even armed with that knowledge, authorities were not able to see any signs or find any evidence that might have allowed them to stop the mass shooting at the Highland Park, Illinois July Fourth parade which killed seven people and wounded at least 30 others. "The shooting appears to be completely random, Chris Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County sheriff's office, told reporters Tuesday. We have no information to suggest at this point it was racially motivated, motivated by religion or any other protected status, he said. What investigators are finding, however, is a trail of evidence, mostly on social media, that suggests the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Crimo III, was veering toward violence. Crimo, an aspiring musician with the stage name Awake the Rapper, recently posted videos and songs, some ominous and violent, on social media sites. Officials said Crimo had also been brought to the attention of police twice in April 2019 for an attempted suicide and in September of that same year for threatening family members. Additionally, law enforcement officials said it appears Crimo was planning the attack on the parade for weeks, buying a rifle, picking out a location and planning an escape. So how did the Crimo fly under the radar? Some terrorism and security experts point out the suspect did not appear to subscribe to any sort of easily recognizable ideology. While its too early to say what motivated the Highland shooter, his scattered online profile certainly points to his presence in some disturbingly violent and nihilistic spaces, according to Amarnath Amarasingam, a terrorism researcher at Queen's University School of Religion in Ontario, Canada. A lot of quite obscure internet subcultures are pushing young people towards the breaking point, Amarasingam told VOA. These spaces are deliberately designed to disconnect individuals from reality, lower their inhibitions to engage in violence. Additionally, Amarasingham warned these sites push individuals to see incoherence and nonsense as virtuous. It is a culture than can be confounding. Traditional extremism frameworks have a hard time with this because we are trained to demand a level of coherence in ideologies. This is not that, Amarasingham said. People who look at his attendance at Trump rallies and so on are going to miss a major piece of this story. In a statement Tuesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas described the attack on the Highland Park July Fourth parade as yet another mass shooting and promised his department would redouble its efforts to prevent future tragedies. The security of our homeland requires more, Mayorkas said in a statement. It requires all of us, together, to address the epidemic of targeted gun violence, including the development and implementation of new community-based models of prevention and intervention. What federal government officials, whether at the Department of Homeland Security or other agencies, can do about access to guns is unclear, especially after last months Supreme Court ruling, which struck down a New York State gun control law as unconstitutional. For now, Homeland Security officials say they will focus on efforts like the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, which provides financial resources and other assistance to communities across the country to help stop young people from radicalizing. U.S. states are also offering help to local communities. The New Jersey office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) told VOA it routinely tracks events and works closely with communities, organizers and venues to help prevent, mitigate and respond to any potential threats. We encourage interfaith communities, businesses and the general public to connect with their local law enforcement, the NJOHSP added in an email. These partnerships are better forged prior to any potential crises unfolding. There are concerns, however, that such programs are not enough. There is a resistance in general, either from kind of an ideological perspective, in some cases because of historical mistrust of what the federal government has been doing, said Sam Lichtenstein, director of analysis at the Risk Assistance Network and Exchange, also known as RANE. But even in communities that are more receptive to some of these things you can have as many local authorities that are interested and eager to participate as you want, but if it doesn't really filter down to the really local grass roots, which is the hardest thing to do, its unlikely to really be successful, he told VOA. There are also doubts about the reliability of counting on Americans to report concerns and then getting needed help for those trending towards violence. "What's tragic here [in Highland Park] and what you see in a lot of these incidents is that now we all look back and we find some proverbial red flags," said RANEs Lichtenstein. Violent, inciteful rhetoric is becoming normalized in society and that is most definitely making it harder to pull out what's really concerning from social media and other statements, he said. "For many people, even if they hear concerning things, it doesn't immediately kind of trigger for them, 'Oh, I should be reporting this.' Zimbabwe police on Wednesday afternoon gunned down four suspected armed robbers in the Matabeleland South capital, Gwanda. In a tweet, police said, The suspects had robbed the complainant of a vehicle in Gwanda CBD (central business district) at around 1000 hours. More details to be released in due course. The country has of late recorded several incidents of armed robberies in Harare, Bulawayo and other cities and towns. A few days ago, armed robbers got away with US$13,000 and three vehicles in Mvuma and Mberengwa. The suspects were arrested in Masvingo. Some members of the Zimbabwe National Army and police have been linked to some armed robbery cases. At least two soldiers have been discharged from the army after they were linked to at least three robberies. WEDNESDAY, July 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday temporarily suspended its ban on e-cigarettes sold by Juul Labs while the company while appeals the agency's action. The FDA Center for Tobacco Products wrote on Twitter that "the agency has determined that there are scientific issues unique to the Juul application that warrant additional review," but added that the additional review does not rescind the June 23 ban which ordered the company to pull its products from store shelves. "The stay and the agencys review does not constitute authorization to market, sell or ship Juul products," the agency stressed. The vaping company got a temporary reprieve from the ban on June 24 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted a stay to the FDA decision in an effort to give the court enough time to consider the case. To remain on the market, e-cigarette manufacturers must prove there is a public health benefit with their use, by showing that they reduce nicotine consumption among adult smokers or that teenagers are unlikely to use them. The original FDA recall was a part of an effort to bring dramatic changes to the relatively young vaping industry after years of regulatory delays. Reaction to Tuesday's news was swift. "It is deeply disappointing and harmful to our nations kids that the FDA has issued an administrative stay of its marketing denial order for Juuls e-cigarette products," Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement. "We are nearly 10 months past a court-ordered deadline for the FDA to complete its review of e-cigarette marketing applications and cant afford more delays by the FDA in removing kid-friendly products from the market. The FDAs continued delays are inexcusable and leave our kids at risk." More information Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more on the dangers of vaping. SOURCE: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, statement, July 5, 2022 NEW YORKOn a recent trip to New York City, adult industry icon and entrepreneur Sara Jay paid a visit to 50 Cents website, This Is 50, a media outlet that has supported her for years, to catch up on her life and promote her Sara Jay CBD Care Line products. Said Jay, "It wouldnt be a complete New York City experience without hanging with the awesome people at This Is 50, they are like family to me. I love DJ Thoro. We always have a lot of laughs and I appreciate the support." Watch the full Sara Jay interview on This Is 50 here. Follow This Is 50 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Keep up with DJ Thoro on Twitter @djthoro and on Instagram @djthoro. For more information on Wyde Syde Productions go here. Follow Wyde Syde Productions on Twitter @wyde_syde. For more information on Sara Jays CBD Selfcare Collection, go to sarajaycbd.com and follow on Twitter @sarajaycbd and Instagram @sarajaycbd. Follow Sara Jay on Twitter @sarajayxxx and Facebook @sarajaytv. New media vs old media is yesterdays news as everyone is now teaming up to attack the aggregate media. First, it was JJ Redick and Stephen A. Smith, now its Brian Windhorst taking swipes at us aggregators. Last week, Windhorst went viral for his cryptic, yet highly captivating commentary on the Utah Jazz following their trade with the Brooklyn Nets, swapping Royce ONeale for a first-round pick. During his two-minute spiel, Windhorst had everyone on the edge of their seats as he asserted his belief that Utah was up to something. But he offered more questions than answers in his commentary, leaving everyone thoroughly entertained and completely confused. Hours later, the Jazz traded Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. So why didnt Windhorst just report that Utah was close to dealing Gobert? Because of that gosh darn aggregate media. Look, I knew the Jazz were pretty close to trading Rudy Gobert, Windhorst said on the latest episode of his podcast The Hoop Collective. To be honest with you, part of what I was doing was trying to avoid aggregation. Because if I come out and go I think the Jazz are going to trade Rudy Gobert today, then everything on the internet is Windhorst Report: Jazz trade Gobert. And then maybe they dont trade him. Windy blamed his need to be cryptic during viral Utah Jazz video on aggregators pic.twitter.com/qHOaYDcxAw Brandon Contes (@BrandonContes) July 6, 2022 In this world of aggregation, I have to get more creative, because you get pinned down on sometimes four words, Windhorst continued. You say 700 words and you get pinned down to four words, and I will continue to get pinned down to four words because its what I do, but I have to get creative and avoid aggregation and so that was me avoiding aggregation in a setting where I had some time on national television. 700 words? Is that all Windhorst uttered during his moment of dramatic theater Friday morning? He spoke for two minutes, never once mentioned Gobert, and was celebrated on social media after the trade was announced. Someone as media savvy as Windhorst should be able to navigate reporting that Utah could be looking to deal their $200-million center without being misquoted or misrepresented by aggregators. I dont think were all that bad. [The Hoop Collective] Our beloved brother, James Oscar Phillips, died unexpectedly and suddenly on or about April 12, 2022, at his home in Flagstaff, AZ. He will be sorely missed by his family and many dear and good friends. Jim's fascination with nature and eagerness to learn characterized his entire life. He excelled as a student and was awarded scholarships to attend Macalester College in St. Paul, MN where he earned a bachelor's degree prior to working in the energy industry. Early on Jim developed a passion for astronomy and astrophysics, and he shared this passion with his family and friends. Having chosen to retire from his Duluth-based job with Minnesota Power in June 2014, Jim spent the early part of that year considering locations that would satisfy his desire to live where there were four seasons (not just July and winter). In April 2014, he and his sister traveled throughout northern Arizona in search of such a location, and Flagstaff's dark skies and the Lowell Observatory provided strong incentives for his move there with his two kitties in 2015. Soon after he arrived in Flagstaff, he became an active member of the Coconino Astronomical Society and the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition. After moving to Flagstaff, Jim missed participating in the activities of his Northern Crescents Butterfly Club in Duluth but kept in close contact with his friends there via emails, phone calls, and visits. One of his goals for 2022 was to establish a Northern Arizona Butterfly Club and conduct butterfly counts in various ecological niches in the Flagstaff area. Jim also was an avid reader and became a proficient writer in the latter part of his life, focusing on science fiction and horror. He was a long-time active member of the Lake Superior Writers group based in Duluth and was a founding member of the Flagstaff Speculative Fiction Critique Group. Jim loved the outdoors and hiked the cinder cones around Flagstaff on a regular basis. Among his favorites were Old Caves Crater, Lenox Crater, and Strawberry Crater. He was fascinated by the hoodoos at Red Mountain Volcano, and he would have been distraught to learn of the fire that burned through Sunset Crater National Monument. With friends and family members, he explored nearby national parks and monuments on day trips as well as extended travels. One of his fond memories was of an almost magical time spent enjoying late spring days in Monument Valley. Jim was born in Grand Rapids, MN on May 31, 1949. He was predeceased by his parents, Norma Annetta (Behm) Phillips and Clair Carlton Phillips and by a brother Dean Steven Ross Phillips. He is survived by a sister, Leona Claire (Phillips) Fitzmaurice of Birmingham, AL and a brother, Carl August Phillips of Andover, MN, two nieces, Candice (Phillips) Pemberton and Rebecca (Phillips) Peterson, as well as grandnieces, grandnephews, and cousins. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. Should you wish to honor Jim's life, please make donations to the High Country Human Shelter in Flagstaff, AZ or to a charitable organization of your choice. WASHINGTON -- National parks in Arizona welcomed 10.7 million visitors who pumped $1.12 billion into local economies in 2021, both sharp increases from the pandemic-induced lows of the year before, according to the National Park Service. While the numbers were still shy of their pre-pandemic levels, in the state and nationally, Arizona tourism officials were not complaining about the report for 2021. National Parks a huge part of our city, Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy said. Small business is the backbone to most economies. And tourism is the way that our small businesses are able to survive and thrive. In Arizona, the number of visitors in 2021 was down from 12.5 million in 2019, when the amount spent by tourists was $1.3 billion. But both of the 2021 numbers were a vast improvement over the intervening year, when COVID-19 pushed visitors down to 7.6 million and spending on gas, lodging, food and more to $711 million. That pattern was repeated at Grand Canyon National Park, which remained the states most popular national park. It saw visitors go from 5.9 million in 2019 to 2.9 million in 2020 before bouncing back to 4.5 million visitors last year. But some parks in the region actually bested their pre-pandemic numbers in 2021. Visitors to Saguaro National Park spent $10 million more than they did in 2019, and Zion National Park in southern Utah saw spending rise by $409 million, a 158% increase over the same period. The number of visitors to Lake Mead in 2021 was 104,425 higher than in 2019. That Grand Canyon did not match the surges posted by other parks in the region is not concerning, at all, said Brian Drapeaux, deputy superintendent for the Grand Canyon National Park. We dont really look at how we compare visitations to other national parks, he said. Unlike many of the other large parks in the country, were a year-round park. A lot of the parks are seasonal parks, and so theyll get crushed when theyre open. Drapeaux expects the number of visitors to rise this year as international travel returns to pre-pandemic norms. Financial services giant VISA said Grand Canyon was the most popular of the national parks for foreign tourists before the pandemic. But international tourism to the state fell by 76% in 2020, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism. Considering the tight travel restrictions and health safety concerns, the 4.5 million Grand Canyon National Park visitors in 2021 are still really amazing numbers, Drapeaux said. The NPS report said visitors to Grand Canyon National Park spent $710 million last year in local gateway economies, or communities near the park, up from $433 million in 2020. Nationally, the number of visitors to national parks went from 327 million in 2019 to 237 million in 2020 before climbing back to 297 million last year. Spending over the same period went from $21 billion to $14.5 billion and then back to $20.5 billion. The park service report ranked Arizona sixth among states for visitor spending and fifth for the total economic output from its national parks. It said Arizonas 22 national park sites generated $1.8 billion in economic output and supported 16,074 jobs that paid $627.6 million in salaries. Park visitors support their nearby communities because they bring visitors there, said Josh Coddington, director of communications at Arizona Office of Tourism. Visitors typically will stop and eat and buy gas and stay the night in different places in our communities across the state, he said. The diverse landscape and natural wonders Arizona offers will continuously bring tourism dollars to the state, Coddington said. Certainly, the pandemic had a major impact on tourism everywhere, including in Arizona, Coddington said. As people started going out again, one of the places that was top on a lot of peoples minds to visit was outdoor places -- state and national parks. With more tourists expected in coming years, Coddington said the focus will need to shift to managing what he called an anticipated national park tourism boom. These places and experiences, these amazing natural places that people have enjoyed for many, many years, how do we do it in a way that reduces the impact on that place? Coddington asked. It needs to be here for future generations to enjoy. Its a sentiment Deasy also holds. His city is currently reeling from the Pipeline Fire, a wildfire that covered more than 26,000 acres. We welcome visitors. We want you to enjoy our natural environment, Deasy said. Lets just make sure were being responsible and ensuring that we continue to protect that environment that we all love. John Cabot University, a regionally accredited American liberal arts university in Rome, Italy, is seeking a highly motivated Accounts Receivable Assistant to join our Team at John Cabot University. The selected individual will share the responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the accounts receivable office, including but not limited to processing incoming payments, refunds, cash transactions, and any additional work as needed. The ideal candidate is a native English speaker, can provide excellent customer service, and has three years experience in the Accounts Receivable area, handling all related tasks and responsibilities. Remuneration will be based on qualifications and experience. For a list of duties and requirements, please refer to the JCU website at https://www.johncabot.edu/employment-opportunities/administrative-staff.aspx All applicants must possess valid EU working documents in Italy. JCU cannot sponsor candidates for working visas in Italy for this position. Email your (English only) CV and Cover Letter to employmentfinance@johncabot.edu with subject line Accounts Receivable Assistant. The position will remain open until filled, though application review will begin on July 20. While we appreciate every application received, note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted. John Cabot University, a regionally accredited American university in Rome, Italy, is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The University prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, ethnic or national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or parental status, or disability in any of its policies, programs, and services. John Cabot University, a regionally accredited American liberal arts university in Rome, Italy, is seeking a candidate to fill the position of Social Media Assistant. The Social Media Assistant will support the Social Media Associate. Responsibilities include assisting in the creation of social media posts across channels, writing and editing blogs and captions for social media posts. The Social Media Assistant will need to attend some events to cover live on our channels or to take photos that can be posted at a later date. For a list of duties and requirements, please refer to the JCU website at https://www.johncabot.edu/employment-opportunities/administrative-staff.aspx All applicants must already be in possession of valid and current EU working documents in Italy. JCU cannot sponsor candidates for working visas in Italy for this position. Please send your (ENGLISH only) CV and cover letter detailing your experience to employment@johncabot.edu with subject line Social Media Assistant. Application review will commence on July 13, and the successful candidate is expected to start as early as August 22, 2022. The position will remain open until filled. While we appreciate every application received, note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted. John Cabot University, a regionally accredited American university in Rome, Italy, is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The University prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, ethnic or national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or parental status, or disability in any of its policies, programs, and services. Find a top doctor in the Rome Metro Area- from oncologists to pediatricians, dermatologists to surgeons. The clinics listed here will assist you in accessing english- speaking medical providers. For specific needs, we have also added recommendations in various categories. Clinics Mater Dei . Located in the Parioli neighborhood, this large, private clinic provides 24 hour health services, maternity care, and lab work. Check their website for information on their insurance agreements. Via Antonio Bertoloni 34. Paideia. This private clinic in Parioli offers specialist services, including outpatient surgery. Find information about their insurance agreements on their website. Via Vincenzo Tiberio 46. UPMC Salvator Mundi. Situated at the top of the Gianicolo Hill, this private healthcare facility also offers emergency first- aid services. Viale delle Mura Gianicolensi 67. Campus Bio-medico University Hospital. The facility, located near Eur, provides health care under the National Health Service as well as privately. They also have a radiation and oncology hub in the Prenestino area. Via Alvaro del Portillo 200. Child Psychology Homeopathic Medicine/ Acupuncture Ophthalmologist Centro Sinapsy . A center for neurology and cognitive rehabilitation that provides diagnostics, occupational therapy, and psychotherapy, with a focus on children. They also offer tutoring in English, French and Spanish, as well as family therapy. Via Quintino Sella 20. Loredana Coppola . A medical studio in Trastevere that specializes in acupuncture, as well as respiratory allergies, post surgery treatment, and fertility with a homeopathic approach. Viale di Trastevere 269. Centro Valeo . This studio is centre located near Porta Pia and provides medical consults for problems of the eyes of adults and children. We reccomend to call for an appointment Dr. Claudio Caggiano who speaks English and Spanish. Tel. +39 3356092481. Via Castelfidardo 34. Studio Oculistico. This studio is located in Prati, and provides services for adults and children. We recommend an appointment with Dr. Erica Burrato who speaks english. Via Candia 20. Orthopedic Home Visits AlphaMed . The city center studio provides a range of orthopedic services, from x- rays to physical therapy. They are a multi- lingual office with a great reputation. Via Zanardelli 36. MedInAction . As part of the Salvatore Mundi International Hospital, they provide english- speaking medical care 24/7. Doctors in Italy. An easy to use platform for travelers, they will connect you with doctors in your area in addition to house calls. Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Prime Minister Boris Johnson is just the latest in a long line of British leaders to risk being kicked out while in office. Under the UK political system, either the elected Parliament -- or a majority of Johnsons own Conservative Party lawmakers -- can bring him down without an election and install a new prime minister. Pressure has been building on Johnson for months after a series of scandals, including the so-called partygate events in 10 Downing Street during the pandemic, for which the 58-year-old leader became the first premier found to have broken the law while in the top job. His chances of survival could depend on whether rules governing how the Tory party chooses its leaders are overturned. 1. How can Johnsons party remove him? The process is governed by a group of rank-and-file Conservative members of Parliament, or MPs, known as the 1922 committee. The name is a reference to a general election a century ago, which was won by the Conservatives after the collapse of a coalition government. Heres how it works: MPs can submit letters to its Chairman Graham Brady, calling for a confidence vote in the party leader. Brady is responsible for administering the proceedings and keeps the correspondence secret. Letters from 15% of Conservative MPs -- currently 54 lawmakers -- are required to force a ballot, and Johnson would have to secure a simple majority to remain in office. Advertisement 2. Is a party vote inevitable? No. Johnson already survived such a vote on June 6 with the support of just 60% of his MPs and, under current rules at least, another vote cant be held for 12 months. However there is a movement to allow another one sooner. The 1922 committee plans to hold elections on July 11 for its executive, which will then meet the following day to decide whether to change the regulations to allow another vote on Johnsons leadership. The procedure is important because, when a party is in power, the leader is also prime minister. Generally the ruling party is the one with the most seats in Parliament, although minority governments and coalitions are possible. Johnsons Conservatives currently hold 358 seats out of the total 650 in the House of Commons. 3. How could Parliament remove him? Advertisement The leader of the main opposition party, Labours Keir Starmer, could call a confidence vote in the House of Commons at any point and the convention is that one would then be held. It needs a simple majority to pass. If the government loses, it has 14 days to try to win another vote, most likely by selecting a different Tory leader. If the government cannot command the confidence of the Commons after two weeks, a general election is triggered. Thats an outcome Conservative MPs are likely to want to avoid as their party has been trailing Labour in the polls. 4. Could Johnson hold on? Its possible. MPs leave for their summer vacation in late July and dont return until early September. While a slew of Conservative MPs, including key allies, were calling on him to resign, if Johnson can outmaneuver his opponents and stay in office until then, he could cling on a while longer. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Japans small-but-growing startup scene has seen some deep-pocketed new entrants in recent years, from Sequoia Capital to Softbank Group Corp. Now, here comes the entrant with the deepest pockets of them all: GPIF, the worlds biggest pension pool. Share with The Post: Whats one way youve felt the impact of inflation? ArrowRight The Government Pension Investment Fund is reported by the Nikkei to be one of the key investors in a vehicle set up by Globis Capital Partners that aims to uncover unicorns and decacorns among the ventures. The move seems to be at the behest of the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who earlier this year called for GPIF and other pensions pools to invest in startups as part of his New Capitalism economic plans. The GPIF declined to confirm the report, saying its private equity investments were at the discretion of the fund-of-funds manager Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corporation. In any case, for a fund with nearly $1.5 trillion in assets under management, the investment amount is inconsequential. Advertisement But the hope is that it will lead other pension funds, and a wider swathe of investors, to back nascent ventures. The GPIF is, by law, forbidden from making individual stock picks. This might be a blessing in disguise other investments by government-adjacent funds have hardly been a success. Consider the Cool Japan Fund, a well-meaning effort set up by the administration of Shinzo Abe in 2013 to promote Japans soft power. Recent reports suggest it may soon be shut down if results dont improve. Kishida needs to make sure his support for startups doesnt go down the same path. Even GPIF wont make a dent unless bigger structural problems in the sector are addressed. Many of Japans best companies, like the population itself, are old. While in recent years the likes of Mercari Inc., Japans first unicorn, have blossomed, these $1 billion startups are now passe now the talk is of decacorns, startups worth more than $10 billion. The focus must be on creating young companies that can really compete on the world stage, just as postwar ventures such as Sony Group Corp. and Honda Motor Co. once did. Theres no modern Japanese equivalent of Spotify Technology SA or Airbnb Inc., much less a Bytedance Ltd. Advertisement For years, one of the biggest ironies in Japans startup scene was that the worlds biggest venture capitalist, Japans own Masayoshi Son, declined to put his money into a sector hes long dismissed. Japan has way too few unicorns in the AI space, Son said just last month at Softbanks annual shareholder meeting, pointing out the country had fewer AI unicorns that India, the UK or Indonesia. The Japanese government, the education sector, society and media all need to recognize this if Japan continues to lag behind, its going to be in trouble 30 years from now. Kishida talks a lot about encouraging the type of private-public partnerships that helped build some of the biggest firms in the past. The GPIF is a good start, but why not get the likes of Son on board, and encourage him to open his checkbook further to grow precisely the types of investments he wants to make? Advertisement Support at every stage is needed: more seed-funding, yes, but crucially also attracting more late-stage funding to end the current trend of firms listing too soon. That puts pressure on entrepreneurs to start making profits rather than focusing on growth, and leads to the phenomenon of hidden unicorns young companies that, because they are listed, arent counted in startup rankings. A potential global recession might be a bad time to be pitching profit-free startups. But Japan has some advantages: Money still costs less than nothing, and the weak yen further increases its attractiveness to investors paying in dollars. Crucially, the China of Covid zero and tech crackdowns no longer looks like the slam-dunk investing destination it once did. While SoftBank now has four Japanese investments in its Vision Fund 2, the nation still makes up less than 1% of its investment portfolio of 475 firms. For Kishidas plan to succeed, he needs to change this narrative and turn Japan into an investment destination Son cant shy away from. Advertisement More From Bloomberg Opinion: Japans Blurred Vision for Where Capitalism Goes: Gearoid Reidy Curb Your Enthusiasm on Indias Next Chip Venture: Tim Culpan Tiger Globals Day of Reckoning May Never Come: Shuli Ren This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg News senior editor covering Japan. He previously led the breaking news team in North Asia and was the Tokyo deputy bureau chief. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share The recent decision by San Franciscos school board to restore merit-based admissions at the citys top high school is a triumph for accomplished students and their families. Its also a rebuke of efforts to weaken academic standards in public schools sending a message that politicians and school leaders around the country badly need to hear. The dispute in San Francisco concerned the admissions policies of Lowell High School, whose alumni include three Nobel Prize winners and a retired Supreme Court justice. In October 2020, the citys school board scrapped Lowells policy of admitting students on the basis of grades and standardized test scores, citing the difficulty of administering exams during the pandemic. The merit-based system was replaced by a citywide lottery, a longtime goal of progressives who say that selective admissions policies disproportionately harm Black and Latino applicants. In the first year of the lottery, the share of Latino and Black students in Lowells entering freshman class rose, while the proportion of Asian students fell. Last year, the board approved the city superintendents plan to make the lottery permanent. Spurred by parental outrage at the decision, voters recalled three members of the seven-person board, including its president and vice president. With three new members appointed by Mayor London Breed, the board voted in late June to restore selective admissions at Lowell. It also reversed an earlier decision to paint over a historic series of murals depicting the life of George Washington at a public high school bearing his name. (Critics had objected to the murals depictions of slavery and the killing of Native Americans.) Advertisement Rescinding the lottery at Lowell will likely benefit the citys Asian students, while decreasing the number of Black and Latino students. Yet even with those changes, Lowell would still be among San Franciscos most diverse high schools. Bringing back merit-based admissions will boost the schools academic rigor, which suffered after the shift to the lottery; nearly a quarter of freshmen received at least one D or F grade last fall, up from 8% the previous year. And it reflects the preferences of city residents, the vast majority of whom opposed weakening Lowells admissions standards. Educators and elected officials at all levels should take notice. In recent years, elite public high schools from Boston to northern Virginia have also moved away from basing admissions decisions on entrance exams, in favor of allocating spots based on geography and holistic student evaluations. Such approaches are marginally better than San Franciscos lottery system, but theyre nonetheless misguided. Abandoning merit-based admissions denies poor but talented students the opportunity to maximize their potential, while doing little to help their less qualified peers. Making elite schools less selective could also cause more families to opt out of the system altogether, further reducing funding and political support for public education. In the wake of the pandemic, the answer to the crisis facing Americas students is more rigor, not less. Rather than lowering academic standards, policy makers should focus on ensuring more students have the tools to meet them. That requires using assessments to measure student progress, recruiting and training higher-quality teachers, and promoting innovation through expansion of charter schools. Added resources should be devoted to identifying gifted and talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds and providing them with more challenging academic programs. The return of merit-based admissions in San Francisco shows that even in the countrys most progressive areas, parents want the best public schools to stay that way and are succeeding in making their voices heard. Thats reason enough to cheer. The Editors are members of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share If the fiascoes at WeWork Inc. and Greensill Bank AG were not enough, Klarna Bank AB should serve as another fine reminder that SoftBank Group Corp. is the unluckiest whale in a crowded venture capital world. Founder Masayoshi Son somehow always manages to hold the worst cards. Share with The Post: Whats one way youve felt the impact of inflation? ArrowRight The Sweden-based fintech, known for its buy-now-pay-later offering, is in talks to raise about $650 million mostly from existing investors led by Sequoia Capital. If completed, this deal would reset Klarnas valuation to $6.5 billion, a fraction of the $45.6 billion it was priced at just a year ago in a $639 million funding round led by SoftBank. It is a round-down of epic scale unless you are SoftBank. Two years ago, the $100 billion Vision Fund manager slashed its WeWork valuation to $2.9 billion from $47 billion in 2019. While the absolute dollar amount involved with Klarna is much smaller, the blow to Sons reputation is nonetheless as damaging. The second Vision Fund will soon have to write down its Klarna stake, wiping out much of its returns. At March 31, this $56 billion fund recorded only $0.8 billion investment gains. A SoftBank Vision Fund spokesman declined to comment on the queries sent by Bloomberg Opinion. Advertisement Meanwhile, Sequoias Michael Moritz, who also serves as chairman of Klarna, has played his cards well. Sequoia was backing Klarna as early as 2010 since then, it has led a funding round in 2014 with a reported $1.4 billion valuation, and invested again in 2019 at $3.5 billion. As of March, it was Klarnas largest shareholder. Unlike SoftBank, this deal will not force Sequoia to record unrealized losses, because it had invested early. But more importantly, with a global recession looming and Klarna needing capital as buffer against worsening consumer balance sheets, why should Moritz care if Sons unicorn valuations are crash landing again? It is also worth pondering if SoftBanks Klarna blunder was a panic response to recent seismic changes to the venture capital world, most notably the arrival of New York-based hedge funds. SoftBank started losing access to the hottest startups because the newcomers could write bigger and faster checks. Advertisement Last year, Chase Colemans Tiger Global Management overtook SoftBank as the worlds busiest venture capitalist. Tiger was a money magnet, raising almost $20 billion in the span of just one year for two new funds. The asset manager had tapped into its banking relationships, reaching investors as wide-ranging as private wealth clients. Granted, Tiger is a threat to the Silicon Valley VC funds too. But Sequoia found a solution, overhauling its structure to become an investment advisor just like Tiger as a way to attract investors who prefer a one-stop shop. Sequoia is reportedly raising for two new US-focused funds, valued at up to $2.25 billion. Its Chinese affiliate is about to close $9 billion in fresh capital, the biggest pool of money ever raised by a single VC firm to bet on local tech startups. SoftBank, on the other hand, has no defense against Tiger. The company had to go it alone, self-funding the second Vision Fund. To make matters worse, now that capital is no longer his edge, Son shifted to a spray-and-pray mode. As of March, his second Vision Fund made 252 investments, versus only 94 for the much larger first. Advertisement A second major challenge in the VC world is how to retain talented fund managers, who can simply quit and set up their own businesses. As a result, compensation has been soaring, and the new structure deployed by the likes of Sequoia can help minimize pay disputes among partners. Alas, SoftBank has no solution to that either: It has been suffering from a brain drain. The most high-profile departure, in January, was that of former Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure, who turned around the troubled WeWork. Claure had asked for up to $1 billion in compensation; he got $34 million in severance pay instead. In April, two of the three managing partners at the companys Latin America Fund left to start their own venture business as well. It is thus questionable just how good SoftBanks newest investments are or will be. Call it karma, or just life coming full circle. Five years ago, SoftBank disrupted the venture capital world with the $100 billion Vision Fund. Now, its value proposition is under attack from all corners. A disruptor is getting disrupted, and crushed. Advertisement More From This Writer and Others at Bloomberg Opinion: Tiger Globals Day of Reckoning May Never Come: Shuli Ren Buy Now, Pay Later? You Might Regret It: Alexis Leondis The Eternal Optimism of Masayoshi Son: Culpan and Reidy This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barrons. She is a CFA charterholder. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share The developers of the Juul e-cigarette say they created the device to help adult smokers quit. But their product achieved enormous success, becoming the top-selling e-cigarette in the US in two years, in part by attracting a huge following among teenagers, who arent legally allowed to purchase such products. Now the nations Food and Drug Administration and Juul Labs are battling over the future of the device. 1. Whats the status of the Juul? On June 23, the FDA banned Juul Labs Inc.s products from the market, noting their disproportionate role in the rise in youth vaping. The next day, Juul Labs successfully won an emergency court order blocking the FDAs decision for now. Meanwhile, the FDA temporarily suspended the marketing ban on July 5, after it determined there are scientific issues that merit further review. This effectively allows Juul to keep selling its products for the time being. Advertisement 2. What is a Juul? Its a vaping device containing a battery that heats nicotine liquid. The user inhales nicotine, an addictive alkaloid present in tobacco, and exhales aerosol. Theres no burning tobacco and thus no smoke or tar. The Juul has a sleek design. Its made of brushed aluminum and resembles a USB flash drive. Because its small, the underage vaper can palm it, discreetly take a hit when a teacher or parent isnt looking, and breathe the aerosol into a sleeve or collar. Originally, Juul refills came in tasty flavors such as mango and creme. 3. How common is teen vaping? More than 13% of middle- and high-school students said they vaped within the previous month, according to a national survey published in October. More than 80% of those students said they used flavored e-cigarettes. Fruit flavors were the most popular, followed by candy ones. In 2020, the FDA essentially barred flavors except tobacco and menthol in e-cigarettes such as the Juul that use a replaceable cartridge (or pod) filled with nicotine liquid. But disposable e-cigarettes and liquids for refillable open-tank systems werent covered. (Michael R. Bloomberg, the majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, has funded efforts to ban flavored vaping products.) Advertisement 4. What are the concerns about vaping? While some evidence suggests that vaping is a safer choice than lighting up, there isnt enough long-term data to make a definitive conclusion. In late 2019 and early 2020, there were nearly 3,000 cases of lung injuries resulting in 68 deaths reported in the US that were associated with vaping. Vitamin E acetate, an additive in some vaping products containing THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, is strongly suspected to be the culprit. The effects on humans of nicotine arent well-studied, although adolescents appear to be particularly vulnerable to it, with some evidence suggesting it can harm brain development. A report by the US National Academies of Sciences said there was substantial evidence that young vapers are more likely than nonvapers to try regular cigarettes. 5. How are e-cigarettes regulated in the US? Advertisement The FDA began regulating e-cigarettes as tobacco products in 2016, requiring companies to submit applications to continue selling existing or new products. One of the biggest challenges for the agency has been keeping the products out of the hands of kids. The FDA has sent thousands of warning letters to retailers who have illegally sold e-cigarettes to minors. It also conducts regular inspections of manufacturing facilities. Mitch Zeller, director of the FDAs Center for Tobacco Products, has said that the burden is on companies applying for authorization to sell vaping products to demonstrate that the benefit to adults is going to outweigh the harm to kids. According to the FDA, Juuls application lacked sufficient evidence to show that allowing its products to be sold in the US would be appropriate for the protection of public health. It said some of the companys study findings raised concerns due to insufficient and conflicting data. 6. How are e-cigarettes regulated elsewhere? In 28 countries, the sale of all types of e-cigarettes is banned. They include Brazil, India, Mexico, Qatar, Thailand and Uganda. In addition, Jamaica, Japan and Switzerland prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes that contain nicotine. European and UK health authorities have embraced vaping products as a way to get people to quit smoking and have imposed tougher regulations on them than the US has, restricting marketing to children, for example, and imposing lower limits on nicotine content. The European Union and UK permit a maximum of 20 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter of e-cigarette fluid, whereas Juul pod solds in the US contain either 35 or 59 milligrams per milliliter. In both the EU and UK, teen vaping rates are lower than in the US. Advertisement 7. Whats the future for Juul Labs? On July 6, after the FDA administratively stayed its decision, Juul Labs confirmed that it was continuing to sell its vaping products. Meanwhile, the company is facing a plethora of lawsuits. In April it reached a $22.5 million settlement with Washington state over claims it unlawfully targeted underage consumers with deceptive advertisements. Last year, the company struck a $40 million settlement with North Carolina over a suit claiming it aimed its products at the young. The company agreed to stop all marketing directed at young people as part of that deal. There are also more than 2,500 personal injury cases in which Juul Labs is accused of deliberately targeting minors in marketing its products. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Officials at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport say United Airlines plans to suspend service to the northern Arizona airport starting Oct. 30 and will review the situation after six months. United currently provides direct flights to and from Denver out of Pulliam, a route that has been offered since April 2019. United informed airport officials that United is struggling each day to make tough decisions with fuel pricing, crew and aircraft shortages nationwide, airport communications manager Claire Harper said Tuesday. United stated they are having to cut routes nationwide and in many cases, they are cutting profitable routes. Weve reached out to United for further clarification but have not heard back. Barney Helmick, Pulliams airport director, said they were disappointed to hear the news about the suspended service in and out of Flagstaff. Unfortunately, the airline industry is seeing service reductions nationwide due to increasing fuel prices and staffing issues," Helmick said. "United flights out of Flagstaff are at 90% load capacity, meaning 90% of the seats are filled which is viewed as very successful in the commercial airline industry. We will continue to stay in contact with United during 2022 in hopes we can reestablish service in 2023. Heidi Hansen, interim Deputy City Manager, said the load percentages are incredible, but we cant control pilot, crew, plane shortages or on time issues that are happening nationwide. Airport officials said Pulliam had 105,000 passengers flying in and out of Flagstaff in the past year. American Airlines continues to offer daily flights from Flagstaff to Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth. Gift Article Share Israel warns of Iranian warships in Red Sea Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Israels defense minister said on Tuesday that Iran has been entrenching itself militarily in the Red Sea, calling it a threat to regional stability and trade. Today, we can confirm that Iran is methodically basing itself in the Red Sea, with warships patrolling the southern region, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said at an event in Athens. In the last months, we have identified the most significant Iranian military presence in the area, in the past decade, he said. Gantzs office said he presented satellite images of four Iranian warships patrolling the Red Sea. Iran has been building up its naval presence in the Red Sea over more than a decade in a move that it says is needed to protect Iranian oil tankers against the threat of piracy. Advertisement Israel and a number of Arab countries share concerns about Irans influence in the region as well as Tehrans nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. Ahead of a visit to the Middle East by President Biden next week, Gantz has called for stronger security ties with Gulf Arab states that drew closer to Israel under a 2020 U.S.-sponsored diplomatic drive. Reuters 51 women, children repatriated from Syria French authorities on Tuesday repatriated 51 women and children from the former Islamic State-controlled areas in Syria, according to a statement from the national anti-terrorist prosecutors office. Its the single largest return of women and children to France from camps in northeastern Syria since the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group in March 2019. France saw more of its citizens leave to join the organization than any other country in Europe. Advertisement Tuesdays group comprises 16 women, ages 22 to 39, and 35 minors, seven of whom are coming to France unaccompanied by adults. All but two of the women in the group are French citizens. Twelve women returned with their children and four of the women had previously agreed to the return of their children, according to the prosecutors statement. Eight women were taken into custody for questioning, and the other eight were detained on arrest warrants. The children were placed in the care of the child protective services attached to the Versailles judicial court. One of the 35 minors is in police custody on suspicion of participating in activities of a terrorist criminal enterprise, according to the prosecutors statement. The minor will shortly turn 18, the statement said. Many European countries were slow to allow the return of women and children for fear they would violently turn on their homelands. France, which saw more of its citizens join the Islamic State in Syria than any other European country and suffered multiple deadly attacks beginning in 2015, has been especially reluctant. Advertisement French authorities have insisted that adults who fought with the group should be prosecuted in the country where they had committed crimes. Associated Press Ethiopia, Sudan agree to settle dispute: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the military leader of neighboring Sudan said on Tuesday that they had reached an agreement to peacefully settle all issues, following the most recent flare-up connected to a border dispute late last month. However, the long-running dispute over a contested fertile border region, al-Fashqa, was not mentioned, nor were any other specific issues cited. Abiy met Sudan's military leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on the sidelines of a regional meeting. 22 Mali migrants die off Libya: Twenty-two migrants from Mali, including three children, have died off the coast of Libya, Mali's government said on Tuesday. The dead were part of a group of 83 migrants stuck on a distressed vessel since June 22, the Ministry of Malians abroad said in a statement. Of those, 61 were rescued, including some Malian nationals, with the help of the United Nations International Organization for Migration. Advertisement Activists protest Pamplona bull run: Dozens of animal rights activists dressed as dinosaurs were chased by fellow activists through the streets of the Spanish city of Pamplona on Tuesday to protest alleged animal cruelty in the world famous San Fermin Running of the Bulls festival. They said the point was to show runs could be lighthearted and held without any cruelty to animals. From news services GiftOutline Gift Article Gift Article Share Islamist attack on prison frees hundreds Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Around 440 inmates are on the run after a suspected raid by Islamist Boko Haram militants on a prison in Nigerias capital Abuja on Tuesday night, an Interior Ministry official said. The raid, and a separate ambush on an advance convoy of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who was not present heading to his hometown in the northern state of Katsina, highlights Nigerias security challenges, especially in northern regions where armed insurgents and gangs are rife. Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary at the Interior Ministry, told journalists outside the Abuja prison which has 900 inmates that a security officer was killed during the raid and three others were injured. He said the suspected Boko Haram attackers came for members in the prison. Advertisement They came specifically for their co-conspirators, but in order to get them . . . some of them are in the general [prison] population so they broke out, and other people in that population escaped, as well, but many of them have returned, Belgore said. A total of 879 inmates fled, the prison service said in a statement, with 443 still at large and the rest recaptured. It said four inmates were dead and 16 others injured. Buhari was not in the convoy of cars carrying an advance team of security guards, protocol and media officers heading to the presidents hometown Daura, near the border with Niger, to prepare for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police and security personnel accompanying the convoy, a spokesman said. Advertisement Reuters Opposition leader targeted, allies say Tunisias main opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi has been summoned by a judge over money-laundering allegations, his Ennahda party said on Wednesday, accusing the authorities of targeting him for political reasons. The July 19 summons is to answer questions about the allegations, which Ennahda says are untrue and a result of distortion and fabrication. Reuters could not immediately reach a judiciary spokesperson. Ghannouchi has emerged as the loudest critic of Kais Saied since the president seized broad powers last year, moved to rule by decree and ousted the elected parliament in which the Ennahda leader is speaker. Earlier this year, Saied moved to take ultimate authority over the judiciary, replacing the body that guaranteed its independence and sacking dozens of judges. Advertisement Ghannouchis court date is less than a week before Saied holds a referendum on a new constitution that he has written broadly expanding his powers while limiting checks on his actions, a referendum that Ennahda says it will boycott. Saied has said that his actions were needed to save Tunisia from years of political paralysis and economic stagnation and that his constitution will uphold peoples rights and freedoms. Reuters 17 dead in Pakistan's monsoon rains: Three days of monsoon rains left at least 17 people dead and damaged dozens of homes across southwest Pakistan, officials said Wednesday. Streets and homes were flooded in various parts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, the provincial disaster management agency said. Rains have inundated areas across Pakistan, disrupting normal life. Sherry Rehman, the minister for climate change, told a news conference in the capital of Islamabad that 77 people were killed in rain-related incidents in Pakistan since June. Advertisement Fugitive extradited to Italy after 28 years: A convicted mobster who was one of Italy's most-wanted fugitives and reputedly one of the world's most powerful drug brokers arrived in Rome on Wednesday, extradited by Brazil after 28 years on the lam. Rocco Morabito held the No. 2 position on the list of Italy's most wanted and dangerous mobsters. He was convicted two decades ago in absentia of drug trafficking as part of the 'Ndrangheta organized crime syndicate, which does billions of dollars in cocaine business. From news services GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico A Caribbean court ruled Tuesday that a law in Antigua and Barbuda that criminalizes gay sex is unconstitutional. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court found that the selection of an intimate partner is a private and a personal choice. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The ruling also said the twin-island nations 1995 Sexual Offenses Act offends the right to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex. The ruling comes after a gay man who works at Antiguas Ministry of Health and a local group called Women Against Rape Inc. asked that the law be found unconstitutional. The rarely used law states in part that two consenting adults found guilty of having anal sex would face 15 years in prison. If found guilty of serious indecency, they would face five years in prison. Advertisement The gay man testified that he has been persecuted and assaulted, a common complaint across the largely conservative Caribbean region, where many homosexuals fear for their lives. The man also said that patients have refused treatment from him because of his sexual orientation, according to the ruling. Meanwhile, the anti-rape group said that concern over breaches of confidentiality has prevented those in the LGBTQ community from seeking AIDS testing or treatment and that they receive hostile treatment by health care providers. Such laws used to be common in former British colonies across the Caribbean but have been challenged in recent years. Courts in Belize and Trinidad & Tobago have found such laws unconstitutional, while other cases in the region are pending. The Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality welcomed Tuesdays outcome, which came in litigation that began in 2020 to challenge what it called invasive and unconstitutional remnants of colonial law. Advertisement The groups executive director, Kenita Placide, said such laws legitimize hate speech, discrimination and violence and tears at the fabric of our society. The group said same-sex consensual intimacy is still criminalized in seven Caribbean countries, adding that while sentences are rarely imposed, penalties range from 10 years to life imprisonment. It said constitutional challenges are pending in Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts and Nevis. In her ruling, High Court Judge Marissa Robertson said that the Constitution is often described as a living instrument which gives significant room for the realization and enjoyment of individuals human rights. The very rights that the document espouses and protects are capable of evolution since concepts, attitudes and the understanding of human rights and dignity evolve over time. It wasnt immediately clear if the attorney general for Antigua and Barbuda planned to appeal the decision. Government officials couldnt be immediately reached for comment. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share DHARMSALA, India Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama marked his 87th birthday on Wednesday by inaugurating a library and museum in his hillside Indian headquarters. He was cheered by a large number of followers, including American actor Richard Gere, a longtime disciple. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Hundreds of schoolchildren, monks and local residents prayed for the Dalai Lamas health and life at Tsuglakhang Temple near his residence. The Dalai Lama Library and Museum contain artifacts, his teachings, and books on his life and struggle for Tibetan autonomy and protection of its native Buddhist culture. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Dalai Lama by phone and wished him well on his birthday. Conveyed 87th birthday greetings to His Holiness the @DalaiLama over phone earlier today. We pray for his long life and good health, Modi said in a tweet. Advertisement This is the second time Modi has publicly confirmed speaking with the Dalai Lama since becoming prime minister in 2014. The acknowledgment is significant amid deteriorating ties between India and China, which doesnt recognize the self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile and accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to separate Tibet from China. The Dalai Lama has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be part of China, though it hosts Tibetan exiles. The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of Tibets native Buddhist culture. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share TEHRAN, Iran Iranian state TV said Wednesday that the countrys paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners in the country of espionage and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The countrys state-run IRNA news agency reported that the foreigners had been arrested, but did not elaborate on when. The U.K. Foreign Office swiftly denied that its diplomat was arrested, calling the report completely false. Irans state TV ran footage purporting to show the foreigners collecting samples from the ground while under drone surveillance. The storm of accusations follow escalating tensions over a pickup in Tehran's arrests of foreigners and a rapid advancement of its nuclear work, while talks to revive the landmark 2015 atomic accord remain at a standstill. Iran has detained a number of Europeans in recent months, including two French citizens and a Swedish tourist, as it seeks to gain leverage in negotiations. Advertisement The report also comes after Iran, in a rare move, replaced the Revolutionary Guards longstanding intelligence chief. News outlets reported the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, Giles Whitaker, and other foreigners faced spying charges after visiting various forbidden zones in the country while the Guard was carrying out missile tests. The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the Guard, claimed Whitaker was expelled from the area after offering authorities an apology. The accusations splashed across Iranian media as the British public was transfixed by the political fortunes of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who faces growing pressure to step down after defections from his Cabinet. State TV broadcast a photo montage apparently showing Whitaker tour the southwestern desert collecting soil samples against the backdrop of eerie music. Advertisement Even though there were signs in that area saying this was a forbidden area, he went further and took a sample and took a picture, the narrator said. Intelligence agencies say that these people often pose as tourists, but are looking for military and missile sites to identify equipment and ammunition. Iranian media also identified Maciej Walczak, a Polish scientist at Copernicus University in Poland, as among the accused foreigners. It similarly said he took samples of soil, water and salt from a forbidden area during a missile test in the countrys south. The report added that the Guards intelligence wing detained the husband of Austrias cultural attache in Iran after he took soil samples in the countrys northeast. Iran has in the past arrested dual nationals and those with Western ties, often on widely criticized espionage charges, and used them as bargaining chips in talks over other issues, such as nuclear negotiations. Tehran denies using detainees to further its political aims. Advertisement Talks to revive Tehrans tattered nuclear deal with world powers have stalled for months. A recent effort to break the deadlock between U.S. and Iranian negotiators ended without making progress in Doha last week. The U.S. special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, described the latest talks in Qatar as more than a little bit of a wasted occasion. They have and, including in Doha, added demands that I think anyone looking at this would be viewed as having nothing to do with the nuclear deal, things that theyve wanted in the past, Malley said in an interview with National Public Radio on Tuesday, undercutting Tehrans more upbeat assessments. He added that the U.S. is working simultaneously to secure the release of four Americans detained in Iran, saying: Theyve been used as pawns. But we are looking at steps that we could take that would facilitate their return in the shortest time possible. Advertisement Meanwhile, as a shadow war between Israel and Iran has escalated in Tehran and across the Middle East, Iran announced last month that the head of the Guards intelligence arm, Hossein Taeb, had been replaced by Gen. Mohammad Kazemi, the former head of the Guards security department. The surprise move followed the deaths of several Guard officers in recent weeks. ___ Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share IDLIB, Syria Over the past two years, Adila Afesh has seen the food assistance her Syrian family receives shrink by nearly two-thirds. Now, she fears Russia perhaps seeking to retaliate against Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine will block the renewal of a U.N. Security Council resolution that allows aid to be delivered from Turkey to Syrians who, like her family, live in the rebel-run Idlib province. Such a move would mean Afesh and her seven children along with 4 million others in Idlib will have to survive on even less. If, God forbid, aid is stopped, it means that they have sentenced us to death. Death by hunger, she said on a recent day in the tent she lives in with her family, her cat deep asleep in her lap as her children played nearby. The jobless woman says the family survives on two meals a day, mostly made up of rice or bulgur. Soon, she says, we might have to fight in order to get a bite of food. Advertisement Russia, a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has long wanted to shut down the Turkey route, seeking to have aid delivered solely through government-controlled areas. Opposition activists and residents warn that is something the authorities in Damascus would exploit as a pressure tactic against Syrias main rebel stronghold of Idlib. In 2014, aid flowed into Syria from four border crossings. Since then, U.N. Security Council permanent member Russia forced the council to close three of the four crossings. It kept one in the north, the Bab al-Hawa crossing with Turkey, for aid to flow into the rebel stronghold destroyed by 11 years of war. 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 Idlib. Days later, the council authorized the delivery of aid through just one of those crossings, Bab al-Hawa. That one-year mandate was extended and expires this weekend. A vote to renew it is set for Thursday in New York. Advertisement Aid agencies warn that if Russia vetoes the resolution, food would be depleted in Idlib and surrounding areas by September, putting the lives of some 4.1 million people, many of them displaced by the conflict and living in tent settlements, at risk. On Wednesday in New York, Russia proposed amendments proposing a six-month renewal, rather than the one year extension sought by others on the Security Council, according to a draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press. Afesh, 37, who was displaced from the northern city of Aleppo in 2016, said her main concern before moving to Idlib province used to be where to hide with her four sons and three daughters from government airstrikes. Since December 2016, the family that lost its main bread winner seven years ago has been living in relative calm close to the Turkish border. But soon they might not have food on the table. Advertisement Syrias economy is suffering its worst period since the crisis began in 2011. Thats the result of an array of troubles, including crippling Western sanctions, widespread corruption, coronavirus, rising food prices because of the war in Ukraine and an economic meltdown in neighboring Lebanon Damascus main gate to the outside world and home to 1 million Syrian refugees. The situation in Syria has always been highly politicized, but this year the stakes are clearly higher with everything thats going on in Ukraine and the tensions between Russia and the United States and European countries, said Mark Cutts, the U.N.s deputy regional humanitarian coordinator. Cutts told The Associated Press that, people will certainly die if the Security Council resolution is not extended. He added there would be a massive crisis as hospitals go without the necessary medical supplies and people will not get the vaccinations they need. Advertisement Cutts said delivering aid through Turkey is direct and sufficient. If aid has to come through government areas, it will have to pass through an active front line. This is still a war zone, he said. He said that over the past 12 months, five convoys have crossed from government-controlled areas while 800 trucks cross from Turkey every month. He said last year they were reaching 2.4 million people in northwest Syria and if there is funding, more should be reached. Abdul-Razzaq Awad, a manager at Syria Relief, a local aid group, warned that aid agencies now are offering 50% of what they used to give due to the war in Ukraine. He said that if Bab al-Hawa is closed and aid has to come from government-controlled areas, he expects it to drop to about 20% of what used to be delivered before the Ukraine war. Advertisement In late June, 29 aid agencies came together to share one message, which is that a humanitarian catastrophe will happen should the U.N. Security Council fail to allow lifesaving aid and services to be delivered across the border. At stake is access to food, vaccinations against COVID-19, critical medical supplies and essential services including health care, access to clean water and education for millions of Syrians. Removing this channel of assistance will have devastating humanitarian impacts on civilians and that there is no viable alternative, said the agencies, including International Rescue Committee, CARE International, World Vision International, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and Mercy Corps. Now it is the time for the U.N. Security Council to correct course and show it can put peoples lives above politics, said David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee. Advertisement Russia has argued that aid delivery should be handled by the government, claiming that militant groups are handling the deliveries in the current setup. In May, Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told the Security Council that we are not okay with preserving the status quo at any cost. The most powerful group in Idlib, al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, threatens humanitarian assistance, Polyansky noted. Cutts, the U.N. official, said the world should do something for residents of northwest Syria. This is actually one of the most vulnerable civilian populations anywhere in the world, he said. ____ Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed from the United Nations. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson battled to remain in office Wednesday, brushing off calls for his resignation after three Cabinet ministers and a slew of junior officials said they could no longer serve under his scandal-plagued leadership. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Johnson rejected demands that he step down during a stormy session of the House of Commons amid a furor over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a senior official. Later in the day, a delegation of some of his most trusted allies in the Cabinet paid a visit to the prime minister at 10 Downing Street to urge him to go, but he remained unmoved, Britains Press Association reported. The prime minister turned down suggestions he seek a dignified exit and opted instead to fight for his political career, citing hugely important issues facing the country, according to the news agency. It quoted a source close to Johnson as saying he told colleagues there would be chaos if he quit. Advertisement The 58-year-old leader who pulled Britain out of the European Union and steered it through the COVID-19 outbreak is known for his ability to wiggle out of tight spots, managing to remain in power despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules. He hung on even when 41% of Conservative lawmakers voted to oust him in a no-confidence vote last month. But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a lawmaker before he promoted the man to a senior position pushed him to the brink. In holding on to his office, Johnson is attempting to defy the mathematics of parliamentary government and the traditions of British politics. It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. Advertisement He is now besmirching our democracy, and if he doesnt do the right thing and go of his own accord, then hell be dragged out, Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told the BBC. Many of Johnsons fellow Conservatives were concerned that he no longer had the moral authority to govern at a time when difficult decisions are needed to address soaring food and energy prices, rising COVID-19 infections and the war in Ukraine. Others worry that he may now be a liability at the ballot box. On Wednesday, members of the opposition Labour Party showered Johnson with shouts of Go! Go! during the weekly ritual of Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer mockingly said of the resignations surrounding Johnson, Isnt it the first recorded case of the sinking ship fleeing the rat? Advertisement More damningly, members of Johnsons own Conservative Party wearied by the many scandals he has faced also challenged their leader. Frankly the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when hes been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going, Johnson replied with the bluster he has used to fend off critics throughout nearly three years in office. And thats what Im going to do. Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who helped trigger the current crisis when he resigned Tuesday night, captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnsons actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government. At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough, he told fellow lawmakers. I believe that point is now. Under party rules, another no-confidence vote cannot be held for another 11 months, but party members can change the rules. The 1922 Committee, a small but influential group of Conservative lawmakers, could decide as early as Monday whether to do that. Advertisement Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other over the latest furor. The two Cabinet heavyweights were responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain the cost-of-living crisis and COVID-19. In a scathing letter, Sunak said: The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. The resignations of some 40 junior ministers and ministerial aides followed on Tuesday and Wednesday. A third Cabinet official, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, quit late Wednesday, saying we have passed the point where its possible to turn the ship around. As Johnson dug in, critics accused him of refusing to accept the inevitable and of behaving more like a president than a prime minister by referring to his mandate. In Britain, voters elect a party to govern, not the prime minister directly. Advertisement Former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said late Tuesday that Johnsons time is finally up. Its a bit like the death of Rasputin: Hes been poisoned, stabbed, hes been shot, his bodys been dumped in a freezing river, and still he lives, Mitchell told the BBC. But this is an abnormal prime minister, a brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character. But Im afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister. The final straw for Sunak and Javid was the prime ministers handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations leveled against Pincher and shifting explanations from the government about what Johnson knew when he tapped the man for a senior job enforcing party discipline. ___ This story has ben updated to correct the spelling of the last name of the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce in Britain. It is Drechsler, not Drexler. ___ Follow all of APs coverage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson at https://apnews.com/hub/boris-johnson GiftOutline Gift Article Chinese people's average life expectancy has increased to 77.93 years, a senior health official said on Tuesday. In 2016 when China rolled out the Healthy China 2030 blueprint, the figure was 76.5. China leads middle and high-income countries in major health indicators, and targets for 2020 set in the blueprint have been achieved in general, said Mao Qun'an, deputy head of the office for the promotion of the Healthy China initiative, at a press conference. In briefing the achievements in advancing the initiative, Mao said a policy system for health promotion has taken shape, health risk factors have been brought under effective control, the capability of providing people with health services throughout the health continuity has been substantially improved, and major diseases have been effectively controlled. If you were in any doubt about how well off we are in Australia check out the latest census. It showed our median family income has climbed above $110,000 a year. And its not just our incomes that are on the up recent measures of household wealth put Australians near the top of global rankings. Illustration by Simon Letch. Credit: Given all that income and wealth, it is surprising that Australia doesnt rate better for the wellbeing of its children. The Australian Early Development Census, a three-yearly national assessment of how children have developed by the time they start school, showed the proportion deemed vulnerable on one or more of the reports five benchmark indicators rose from 21.7 per cent in 2018 to 22 per cent in 2021 (the share among Indigenous children increased by 1.0 percentage point to 42.3 per cent). Nine black people are strung up, hanged by their necks, between two trees. For many Australians, such an image evokes the lynchings of the American south what they dont know is the same thing was done to Australian First Nations people during the frontier wars. Fiona Foleys Annihilation of the Blacks, 1986. wood, synthetic polymer paint, feathers, string, 204.5 x 267 x 85.7 cm, 13 parts. National Museum of Australia collection. Credit:Courtesy of the artist Artist Fiona Foley in front of her works at McClelland Gallery. Credit:Natalie Tuck Its one of Fiona Foleys early works, Annihilation of the Blacks, created in 1986 when she was at art school, and is part of the survey exhibition Fiona Foley: Veiled Paradise, at McClelland Gallery. Curated by Angelina Hurley at the QUT Art Museum, the show traces Foleys career over nearly four decades, showing an extraordinary body of work, at times confronting, beautiful, unsettling and captivating. The piece is simple and devastating, a reference to a massacre that happened on Foleys Badtjala Country on the Maryborough River, the story passed down through oral history from her mother to her. Colonial soldiers at the time of the massacre would suspend bodies up in trees as a warning to Indigenous survivors. In the foreground, a single white figure casts a long shadow, reflecting the long-lasting trauma inflicted by these colonial actions. Foley says the sculpture is the first monument by an Aboriginal artist to honour an Aboriginal massacre in Australia. Almost 40 federal prosecutions could be shelved as the federal government warns the union-hunting construction watchdog to significantly wind down its operations to avoid wasting taxpayers money. The doomed Australian Building and Construction Commission has 36 outstanding cases against unions, including allegations of death threats during a picket line, while facing claims it is a politicised body that launches illegitimate actions. Employment and Workplace Minister Tony Burke expects the ABCC to wind down its operations. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said the commission shouldnt receive public funding following its pursuit of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) in a case that prompted the Federal Court to ban the display of the Eureka flag. Im expecting them to start winding down their operations significantly, Burke told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. FluCovid, quick antigen Food comes from farming, entensive and extensive farming has caused severe soil erosion. Humans are facing the greatest of all dilemmas: how to feed ourselves without destroying the living systems on which we depend. So what can we do? Some pioneered approaches like maintaining soil health during the whole farming cycles, breeding new perennial crop species to replace the annual plants from which we obtain the great majority of our food, provided the promising methods that can reduce soil erosion as in the cases of convensional farming and increase the sustainability of the current living system. A British farmers revolutionary model of horticulture looks like magic, but is the result of years of meticulous experiments Of course, we would still need to produce cereals, roots, fruit and vegetables. So how do we do it safely and productively? The answer might lie in our new understanding of the soil. On a farm in south Oxfordshire, techniques developed by a vegetable grower called Iain Tolhurst Tolly seem to have anticipated recent discoveries by soil scientists. Tolly is a big, tough-looking man in his late 60s, with etched and weathered skin, a broad, heavy jaw, long blond hair, one gold earring, hands grained with earth and oil. He started farming without training or instruction, without land or any means to buy it. After a string of misadventures, he managed to lease seven hectares (17.3 acres) of very poor land at a reduced rent, 34 years ago. No conventional grower would even look at this ground, he told me. Its 40% stone. Theyd call it building rubble. It isnt even classed as arable: an agronomist would say its only good for grass or trees. But over the past 12 months, we harvested 120 tonnes of vegetables and fruit. Astonishingly, for these 34 years Tolly has been farming this rubble without pesticides, herbicides, mineral treatments, animal manure or any other kind of fertiliser. He has pioneered a way of growing that he calls stockfree organic. This means he uses no livestock or livestock products at any point in the farming cycle, yet he also uses no artificial inputs. Until he proved the model, this was thought to be a formula for sucking the fertility out of the land. Vegetables in particular are considered hungry crops, which require plenty of extra nutrients to grow. Yet Tolly, while adding none, has raised his yields until theyve hit the lower bound of what intensive growers achieve with artificial fertilisers on good land: a feat widely considered impossible. Remarkably, the fertility of his soil has climbed steadily. On my first visit, one June, I was struck by the great range and health of Tollys crops. One plot was a blue haze of onion plants, another a patchwork of sea greens: young cauliflower plants, several kinds of cabbage and kale. There were rows of rainbow chard with gold, green, white and crimson stems. Broad bean pods had begun to sprout from tight pillars of flower. His potatoes were in full bloom, nightshade sinister, stamens like yellow stings. Courgettes extruded rudely behind their trumpet flowers. There were carrots, tomatoes, peppers, beans of all kinds, herbs, parsnips, celeriac, cucumbers, lettuces. He raises 100 varieties of vegetables, which he sells in his farm shop and to subscribers to his veg box. Separating the plots were untended banks, in which scientists studying his farm have found 75 species of wildflowers. These banks are an essential component of his system, harbouring the insect predators that control crop pests. Though he uses no pesticides, none of the vegetable plants I saw showed signs of significant insect damage: the leaves were dark and wide, with scarcely a hole or a spot. Almost single-handedly, through trial and error, Tolly has developed a new and revolutionary model of horticulture. At first it looks like magic. In reality, its the result of many years of meticulous experiments. Two of his innovations appear to be crucial. The first, as he puts it, is to make the system watertight: preventing rain from washing through the soil, taking the nutrients with it. What this means is ensuring the land is almost never left bare. Beneath his vegetables grows an understorey of green manure, plants that cover the soil. Under the leaves of his pumpkins, I could see thousands of tiny seedlings: the weeds he had deliberately sown. When the crops are harvested, the green manure fills the gap and soon becomes a thicket of colour: blue chicory flowers, crimson clover, yellow melilot and trefoil, mauve Phacelia, pink sainfoin. Theres green manure under the green manure, Tolly told me. As soon as we cut the bigger plants, it comes into flower, and the bees go crazy. Some of the plants in his mix put down deep roots that draw nutrients from the subsoil. Every so often, Tolly runs a mower over them, chopping them into a coarse straw. Earthworms pull this down and incorporate it into the ground. The idea is to let the plants put back at least as much carbon and minerals as we take out. Tolly tells me that the green manure ties up nutrients, fixes nitrogen, adds carbon and enhances the diversity of the soil. The more plant species you sow, the more bacteria and fungi you encourage. Every plant has its own associations. Roots are the glue that holds and builds the soil biology. The other crucial innovation is to scatter over the green manure an average of one millimetre a year of chipped and composted wood, produced from his own trees or delivered by a local tree surgeon. This tiny amendment appears to make a massive difference. In the five years after he started adding woodchip, his yields roughly doubled. As Tolly explains: It isnt fertiliser; its an inoculant that stimulates microbes. The carbon in the wood encourages the bacteria and fungi that bring the soil back to life. Tolly believes hes adding enough carbon to help the microbes build the soil, but not so much that they lock up nitrogen, which is what happens if you give them more than they need. [A human tongue with each colour representing a different type of microbe.] Microbes are unknown unknowns despite being vital to all life, says study Read more What Tolly appears to be doing is strengthening and diversifying the relationships in the rhizosphere the plants external gut. By keeping roots in the soil, raising the number of plant species and adding just the right amount of carbon, he seems to have encouraged bacteria to build their catacombs in his stony ground, improving the soils structure and helping his plants to grow. Tollys success forces us to consider what fertility means. Its not just about the amount of nutrients the soil contains. Its also a function of whether theyre available to plants at the right moments, and safely immobilised when plants dont need them. In a healthy soil, crops can regulate their relationships with bacteria in the rhizosphere, ensuring that nutrients are unlocked only when theyre required. In other words, fertility is a property of a functioning ecosystem. Farm science has devoted plenty of attention to soil chemistry. But the more we understand, the more important the biology appears to be. Can Tollys system be replicated? So far the results are inconclusive. But if we can discover how to mediate and enhance the relationship between crop plants and bacteria and fungi in a wide range of soils and climates, it should be possible to raise yields while reducing inputs. Our growing understanding of soil ecology could catalyse a greener revolution. I believe we could combine this approach with another suite of innovations, by a non-profit organisation in Salina, Kansas, called the Land Institute. Its seeking to develop perennial grain crops to replace the annual plants from which we obtain the great majority of our food. Annuals are plants that die after a single growing season. Perennials survive from one year to the next. Large areas dominated by annuals are rare in nature. They tend to colonise ground in the wake of catastrophe: a fire, flood, landslide or volcanic eruption that exposes bare rock or soil. In cultivating annuals, we must keep the land in a catastrophic state. If we grew perennial grain crops, we would be less reliant on smashing living systems apart to produce our food. For 40 years, the Land Institute has been scouring the world for perennial species that could replace the annuals we grow. Already, working with Fengyi Hu and his team at Yunnan University in China, it has developed a perennial rice with yields that match, and in some cases exceed, those of modern annual breeds. Farmers are queueing up for seed. While annual rice farming can cause devastating erosion, the long roots of the perennial varieties bind and protect the soil. Some perennial rice crops have now been harvested six times without replanting. Perennials are their own green manures. The longer they grow, the stronger their relationships with microbes that fix nitrogen from the air and release other minerals. One estimate suggests that perennial systems hold five times as much of the water that falls on the ground as annual crops do. The Land Institute is developing promising lines of perennial wheat, oil crops and other grains. The deep roots and tough structures of perennial plants could help them to withstand climate chaos. The perennial sunflowers the institute is breeding have sailed through two severe droughts, one of which entirely destroyed the annual sunflowers grown alongside them. While no solution is a panacea, I believe that some of the components of a new global food system one that is more resilient, more distributed, more diverse and more sustainable are falling into place. If it happens, it will be built on our new knowledge of the most neglected of major ecosystems: the soil. It could resolve the greatest of all dilemmas: how to feed ourselves without destroying the living systems on which we depend. The future is underground. Soil (I) Soil (II) Soil (III) Renters face tough conditions as they have fewer homes to choose from at the same time rents hit record highs. The national rental vacancy rate is at its lowest point on record for the fourth consecutive month at 1 per cent, the latest Domain Rental Vacancy Report shows. Renters have little to choose from and are forced to pay rising rents. Credit: While all capital cities remain in a landlords market, Sydneys vacancy rate held at its lowest point on record at 1.4 per cent. Melbourne declined for the sixth consecutive month from 1.6 per cent in May to 1.5 per cent in June, more than halving compared to a year ago. London: The head of the FBI and the leader of Britains domestic intelligence agency have raised fresh alarms about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain. FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China as well as the Chinese governments efforts to stifle dissent abroad. But his speech on Wednesday (UK time) was notable because it took place at MI5s London headquarters and alongside the agencys director general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity. MI5 Director General Ken McCallum, left, and FBI Director Christopher Wray attend a joint press conference at MI5 headquarters, in central London, on Wednesday July 6. Credit:AP The remarks also showed the extent to which Wray and the FBI regard the Chinese government as not only a law enforcement and intelligence challenge, but are also attuned to the implications of Beijings foreign policy actions. We consistently see that its the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by our, I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere, Wray said. Some in the Coalition have tried to score political points by claiming that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been travelling too much in his first two months in office. Some conservative pundits have even drawn comparisons between Albaneses travel and Scott Morrisons trip to Hawaii during the 2019 bushfires. Loading The criticisms are nonsense. Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses eight-day trip to Europe over the past week was no holiday he visited a war zone and used every day to promote vital Australian interests. Albanese had no choice but to attend the meetings of NATO in Madrid and G7 meetings in the Bavarian Alps in Germany last week and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with key democratic allies in the fight against Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. Gove stabbed Johnson in the back in 2016, preventing Johnsons rise to power then. Theresa May was then elected unopposed but was toppled by Johnson and the Brexit faction three years later. Gove has now been sacked by three successive British prime ministers David Cameron, and Theresa May before Johnson but the latters move against him is widely seen as a desperate attempt to hold on to power. Its no great secret Im not the biggest fan of Michael Gove but for prime minister to turn the revolver on Michael Gove, well who would have thought it? Conservative MP Tim Loughton told Britains Sky News. Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons in London. Credit:AP Mays former chief of staff Nick Timothy said Johnson would be more toxic than Nixon by the end of his reign, referring to disgraced former US president Richard Nixon. Under Tory party rules, Johnson is protected for another 11 months from a new vote of no-confidence, after he overcame a ballot triggered last month. A meeting of the backbench 1922 committee declined to alter the rules to allow a new vote on Wednesday (UK time), despite speculation it would. It could make the change on Monday if Johnson still refuses to step down. Gavin Barwell, who succeeded Timothy and served as Mays chief of staff when she was forced out by Johnson said that should happen sooner to stop Johnsons scorched-earth policy on the way out. The difference between Boris and previous leaders of the Conservative Party is that they cared about the party and when reluctantly persuaded they were no longer an asset, [they] did the decent thing, he said. He doesnt care this is a scorched-earth policy. The 22 [committee] needs to accelerate its plan, he said. This means MPs are looking to the cabinet to exert pressure on the prime minister to step down. Johnson has said he will not resign. The cabinet delegation was said to include the one-day-old Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, who filled the position vacated by Rishi Sunak who quit the cabinet, along with Sajid Javid, the day before. It also includes former Johnson loyalists Grant Shapps, transport secretary, and Priti Patel, home Secretary. The pair of cabinet resignations triggered a day of instability that saw ministers lining up to tweet their resignation letters. But Johnson brushed off the chaos telling a committee of MPs that the government was carrying on with ever-increasing energy. He also appeared to threaten an early election if his MPs tried to roll him but under intense questioning said the earliest he saw a poll taking place would be 2023 or 2024. Leadership hopefuls began finessing their pitches. Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons in London on Wednesday. Credit:AP Javid, in a speech in which he barely concealed his application to become the leader, told the Commons that his cabinet colleagues had made a choice to stay in their jobs. I wish my cabinet colleagues well, I can see they have decided to remain in the cabinet ... but lets be clear: not doing something is an active decision, he said. I am deeply concerned about how the next generation will see the Conservative Party on our current course. Loading A wildcard candidate is the influential backbencher Steve Baker, an arch-Brexiteer and critic of pandemic lockdowns. He told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that he was considering running, based on the support of Conservative Party activists who have ranked him highly in online polls run by the Conservative Home website. I respect that Conservative Home readers consistently put me in the top 10 for next leader, Baker said. So in the event that Boris resigns I will have to reflect seriously on whether to run. Loading Baker said he was aware that it was unlikely that a backbencher with no cabinet experience would win. But I must take seriously that in the Conservative Home run-offs, readers have me beating Jeremy Hunt and I should take that seriously both for their sakes and for Jeremys, he said, referring to the former cabinet minister whom Johnson beat in 2019 in the last leadership contest. London: In the 16th century a craze took over European Egyptian scholars investigating mummies. Such was the interest in working out how they were prepared for burial and preserved, that multiple mummy unwrapping events were held. Ilona Regulski, curator of Egyptian Written Culture at the British Museum, says these were popular events although not seen as entertainment. The mummy bandage of Aberuai. Credit:Georges Poncet It was to understand the burial rites, the way mummies were wrapped, [how] amulets were wrapped inside the mummies 200 years later, 300 years later we dont do that any more but at the time this was their way of scientifically investigating something, Regulski said. Walking and Learning on Oregon Coast: Yachats Hosts Marine Ambassadors This Summer Published 07/05/22 at 5:05 AM PST By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Yachats, Oregon) Like the knowledgeable volunteers for Oregon Coast whale watch weeks who help you spot the great watery beasts, Yachats will be hosting experts right near the surf this summer to help show you around this unique world. The Cape Perpetua Collaborative is hosting the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve Ambassador Program at Smelt Sands State Park along the historic 804 trail in Yachats for the next two months. They'll be explaining what you see, answering questions, and will be there to promote tidepool etiquette and safety, as well as talking about local history. It's a distinctive program that brings together the public and Oregon coast locals with a lot of interesting stuff crammed into their heads, and a passion for sharing it. There's nothing like this on the shoreline of the coast, except something somewhat similar in front of Seaside Aquarium on Saturdays. These volunteers will be out along the rocky surfline of Yachats every Friday, Saturday and Sunday each weekend from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A simple stroll down the historic and dramatic 804 Trail will reveal many wonders crammed into various places, and if you know how to look you'll notice its biodiversity. Along this nearly unequalled stretch of Oregon coast you may spot migratory birds, endangered marbled murrelets, whales, sea lions or look across the way to the trees of the immense coastal rainforest. All these link together closely in tiny Yachats, which is adjacent to the Cape Perpetua Marine Protected Reserve and marine protected areas. Volunteers here will give you deep glimpses into that and more, say organizers. The Ambassador program connects visitors to local volunteers with a passion for spreading awareness and promoting stewardship, they said. Volunteers have diverse backgrounds ranging from Yachats locals to retired educators. The Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve Ambassador Program aims to encourage visitors to embrace the significance of this wonderful place all around them. If you are visiting or passing through Yachats during the summer weekends of 2022, stop by Smelt Sands State Park and discover new layers. Organizers said stickers and dog biscuits are available for all those who ask nicely. The schedule for all days is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is weather-dependent or subject to change. Dates are Fridays through Sundays each week through July and August, and the first weekend in September, from the 2nd through the 4th. About Cape Perpetua Collaborative: Cape Perpetua exemplifies a unique place where land and sea intersect to produce productive coastal rainforests and ocean upwelling that fuels a productive food web. Working collaboratively and coordinating conservation efforts in this region will help make efficient use to leverage available resources and accelerate the pace at which Oregonians are made aware of, appreciate, understand and support the natural and cultural values of this region. See https://capeperpetuacollaborative.org/ MORE PHOTOS BELOW Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Three downtown improvement projects totaling $127,000 were approved by the Beatrice City Council Monday night. During the councils regular meeting, it unanimously approved three loans as part of the downtown revitalization and Community Development Block Grant program. The projects are the latest to be green lit for the program, which is funded by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. We were awarded a downtown revitalization grant from the Department of Economic Development, said City Administrator Tobias Tempelmeyer. Much like we did the last time, were using that money and lending it out to different businesses or property owners in downtown to make improvements to their buildings. What you have before you are three of them that have gone through the environmental reviews, signed all the documents and gotten back to us. Tempelmeyer said there were 11 projects recommended for approval, and the others are in various stages of the progress and are expected to go before the council for approval at future meetings. The first request was for $70,000 from John Hydo Jr. and Rita Hydo for property at 323 Court St. Tempelmeyer said the funds will be used to renovate the interior for upstairs apartments, and turn the main floor into a commercial space. The second request for $50,000 was from AKC Home Renovations, Aaron Schoen and Kylee Schoen for a property at 518 Ella St., commonly known as the Bagby Travel building. Tempelmeyer said the funds will be used for upstairs apartment improvements, including window and HVAC work. The third and final request approved Monday was for $5,000 from Jims Carpet and Supplies, Ronald Scheer and Brandy Scheer for the building at 308 Court St. Tempelmeyer said the funds will be used to make foundation repairs to the building that were discovered during an inspection. He added that while all three projects are technically loans, they will be forgiven if criteria is met. With all of these agreements you see them listed as loans, Tempelmeyer said. As part of the grant, they have to keep the improvements for five years then the loan is forgiven. The reason we set it up that way is if for some reason they violate the rules during the five years, we owe the money back to the state and this gives us an opportunity to get that money back from the property owner if it becomes necessary. Billings first responders once again descended on a South Side block early Tuesday morning. The 200 block of South 27th Street has been the site of a shooting, fatal stabbing and most recently a fire over the past few weeks. Firefighters managed to bring Tuesdays fire under control, and nobody was hurt in the blaze, according to social media post from the Billings Police Department. Crews responded to the house fire around 4 a.m., BPD said, and its cause is still under investigation. Also under investigation is a stabbing Sunday morning at the same residence in which one person was killed. The victim was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead that same day, according to a statement from BPD Lt. Shane Sheldon. BPD Lt. Matthew Lennick told the Gazette on Tuesday investigators have identified all of the parties involved in the stabbing, and no arrests have been made. There have been claims the stabbing was done in self-defense, he said. Billings police responded to a shooting in a parking lot on the 200 block of South 27th Street on June 19, where they found a 42-year-old woman with a gunshot wound. The woman was taken to the hospital, and no arrests have been made in connection to the womans injury, Lennick said. While Lennick said he was not aware whether detectives have identified a suspect, BPD posted on social media a suspect ran away on foot from the area. He was described as a 6-foot white man with slicked back hair and a goatee. The investigation is still ongoing, Lennick said. At least seven people have died violently in Billings so far this year, most of them by gunfire. Most recently, Billings police officers opened fire on a man in a neighborhood near North Park in May after a brief chase. All of the officers involved were placed on administrative leave and the investigation into the mans death is still ongoing. Earlier that same month, a woman was shot dead in her home near Wilson Park. David Antonio Rodas is facing one count of deliberate homicide and has pleaded not guilty to fatally shooting the 48-year-old woman. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Humid with limited sunshine. Scattered showers and thunderstorms, most widespread later in the afternoon. Watching for gusty winds, heavy downpours and possible localized flooding. . Tonight An evening shower or thunderstorm; otherwise, mostly cloudy and muggy. There might be some clearing late. If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here. PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS Air Products and Chemicals Inc.'s chosen warehouse developer, Prologis Inc., will have to wait until July 13 for a final decision by Upper Macungie Township's zoning hearing board on 2.61 million square feet of warehouses. Chubby's of Southside Easton has added Krispy Krunchy Chicken to its offerings and name. Curaleaf Holdings Inc., which operates in the U.S. and Europe, will open a medical-marijuana dispensary at 1801 Airport Road, Hanover Township. Habitat for Humanity, which has "ReStores" that sell new and lightly used furniture, has leased 30,000 square feet at the South Mall. Nat Hyman's bid to convert an old warehouse at 938 Washington St. in Allentown into 48 apartments did not win zoning hearing board approval this week after neighbors said more housing would make an on-street parking shortage worse. Members 1st Federal Credit Union opened a new branch this week at 5605 Hamilton Blvd, Trexlertown. It's one of five planned for the Lehigh Valley. A Turkish restaurant has relocated from one downtown to another, taking its fresh ingredients and cozy atmosphere from Nazareth to 200 Main St., Tatamy. The Tennessee Titans have chosen Allentown-based Shift4 Payments to handle payments at Nissan Stadium. Wells Fargo Bank held ribbon-cutting at its downtown Allentown branch at 740 Hamilton St. The Wiz Kidz outlet at the Madison Farms residential/retail development in Bethlehem Township will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at noon on July 15. Bad Biscuit Company, which offered breakfast with scratch-made biscuits, freshly baked pastry and local, small-batch artisan coffee, said it will cease operations at 16 Columbia Ave. in Reading after its July 1 hours. FastBridge Fiber has announced it will build an all-fiber cable network that will offer ultra-fast internet in the Reading area. Hamid Chaudhry has said he no longer plans to move forward with pursuing a food truck park he previously proposed on the site of the former Sheetz convenience store and gas station in Exeter Township at 6600 Perkiomen Ave. (Route 422 East). The Maxatawny Township Planning Commission has OK'd a proposal for a Mavis Discount Tire store in the Kutztown Road shopping center that features a Giant supermarket. Valentino's Italian restaurant has gotten Maxatawny Township's approval to remain open when the state transportation department takes one-third of its parking lot to build a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Route 222 and Long Lane. Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson, under new ownership, will hold a "Grand Re-Opening Bash" July 9 and July 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sauce West End plans to open in a former Rita's Italian Ice, just off Route 209 across from the Tractor Supply store in Brodheadsville. The Surgery Center of Pottsville, which offered medical procedure services for 16 years in Cressona Mall. will close June 28. Wells Fargo has closed its branch office in Langhorne, near the intersection with Maple Avenue. The latest PrimoHoagies location in New Jersey held a grand opening at 1930 State Route 57, Hackettstown. A new Tractor Supply Co. store in Warren County will have its grand opening in the former Toys 'R' Us store in Pohatcong Plaza on July 9. Hunter Pocono Peterbilt plans to move Pocono Township operations to Stroudsburg. Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page. Lowhill Township supervisors approved a 312,120-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution center on a 43.4-acre tract on the west side of Route 100, south of the Kernsville Road intersection. The Mint Gastropub at 1223 W. Broad St., Bethlehem, announced that it has temporarily closed to undergo a merger with a "well-known restaurant group" from Bethlehem. The Slatington Farmers Market opened its 28,000-square-foot showroom, which includes space for 53 vendors, as well as a 4,000-square-foot event space. St. Luke's University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke's University Hospital Bethlehem. 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township. The Chick-Fil-A in Broadcasting Square shopping center in Spring Township was razed to make way for a new, expanded facility for the popular chicken sandwich restaurant. Plans for drive-thru locations of a Chipotle and a Starbucks at the intersection of Ivy League Drive and Kutztown Road were rejected by Maxatawny Township planners. Cumru Township plannes reviewed preliminary plans for NorthPoint-Morgantown Commerce Center, a 738,720-square-foot warehouse to be built on 75.2 acres at Morgantown Road (State Route 10) and Freemansville Road. Kutztown University has plans to expand its historic Poplar House to 13,161 square feet with an addition around its side and back, but keep the 129-year-old structure intact. A wine store and beverage outlet could be coming to a new two-unit building along the commercial strip of Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Lehighton, Carbon County. ChristianaCare, a Delaware health care organization, has announced it will buy the former Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Chester County. Garden of Health Inc. celebrated the opening of the food bank's new warehouse at 201 Church Road, North Wales, in Montgomery County. Silverline Trailers Inc. opened its first location in Pennsylvania and in the Northeast at 223 Porter Road, Pottstown, where it sells utility, cargo, dump, equipment and car hauler trailers. A new smoothie and bowl restaurant, Sips & Berries, opened at 285 Maple Ave., Harleysville, in Montgomery County. Terrain on the Parkway offers 160 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at 1625 Lehigh Parkway East in Allentown. Lehigh Valley native Don Wenner is moving his real estate investment and finance firm DLP Capital from Bethlehem to Allentown at 835 W. Hamilton St. While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30. If you're in the market for sterling silver jewelry, minerals and semi-precious gemstones, C& I Minerals is now operating at the South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Allentown. The Allentown-based utility company PPL Corp. bought a major Rhode Island utility. Ownership at Martellucci's Pizzeria in Bethlehem has changed, but Paul and Donna Hlavinka and their family are running the pizza place at 1419 Easton Ave., just as it has been operated for 49 years. Dr. Jacob Kasprenski's new Kasprenski Family Eye Care opened at 1088 Howertown Road, Catasauqua. Josie's New York Deli in downtown Easton closed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a June 13 Historic District Commission meeting approved a request for a new sign at its building at 14 Centre Square. Zekraft cafe has opened its second location in the Easton Silk Mill in Easton. The first Zekraft restaurant was opened in Bethlehem. The restaurants' menus change frequently, with a focus on local ingredients. Manta Massage at 319 Main St., Emmaus, will hold its grand opening on July 10 starting at 11 a.m. The former Iron Lakes Country Club, constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will operate at 3625 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township under its new name, The Club at Twin Lakes. Prologis, a titan in the logistics industry, will own and operate three warehouses proposed in Upper Macungie Township at the former Air Products headquarters campus at 7201 Hamilton Blvd. Lehigh Valley Health Network ceremonially opened its first Carbon County hospital a $78 million, 100,578-square-foot facility at 2128 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township. Pocono Township commissioners voted to accept Swiftwater Solar's preliminary final plan for the $111 million, 80-megawatt field on a private 644-acre site on top of Bear Mountain that would include about 200,000 solar panels. Firetree Ltd. wants to expand its in-patient rehab operation at the former Sands Ford auto dealership at 440 N Claude A Lord Blvd. (Route 61), Pottsville. A Dunkin' in Schuylkill County located at 400 Terry Rich Blvd., St. Clair, has become just the fourth location of the donut and coffee chain to go entirely digital. The Conservatory music school in Bucks County will close after 34 years, and school officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause. The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30. A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Arby's will be built on the site of the former Ahart's Market on Route 22 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce offices and the Unity Bank Center for Business & Entrepreneurship will be located at 119 Main St., Flemington. Honeygrow opens Quakertown location, next to Chipotle on Route 309, on June 3. Dunkin' reopens remodeled restaurant at 1174 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township Muse Modern Med Spa at 325 Fifth St. in Whitehall Township will hold a grand opening June 4. Around Again, a consignment store, opened at 154 S. Main St., Phillipsburg Steak and Steel Hibachi, a restaurant in the works at 44 W. Walnut St., Bethlehem, still plans on opening late this summer. Take It Outdoors Recreation Hub has moved to a spot along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park in Pottstown, Montgomery County Pedego Electric Bikes has a new outlet in Lambertville, N.J. at 13 N. Union St. Amanda Vachris has opened a new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St. in Schuylkill Haven. Easton's new West Ward Market will open Wednesday and be open on Wednesday's through the summer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market, created by the Greater Easton Development Partnership, will sell fresh produce on 12th Street, next to Paxinosa Elementary School. Ciao Sandwich Shoppe is adding a second location, this time on College Hill in Easton. Ciao plans to open at 325 Cattell St. in late summer. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St Ma's Crepes and Cakes will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting June 16 at 46 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:45 p.m. Bethlehem's Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city's historic district. The business was open for nine years as a retail outlet at Broad and Center streets, before announcing in March that it would close the storefront April 3 and "go back to its origins as a wholesale business." The Beef Baron on Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem is closed indefinitely for renovations The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St. St. John Chrysostom Academy, an Orthodox school serving grades 1-9 starting this fall, held a grand opening at its St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, campus. Easton Commons, a shopping center anchored by Giant Foods at 2920 Easton Ave., Bethlehem Township, has a new name: The Shops at Bethlehem. Carbon County is getting a taste of Brazil at Uai Brasil BBQ at 315 Lehigh Ave. in Palmerton. The Keystone Pub in Bethlehem Township, at 3259 Easton Avenue, has reopened after a lengthy and expensive renovation. The Trading Post Depot opened at 401 Northampton St., Easton. The rustic furniture store makes custom tables for dining rooms, desktops, conference centers and more. The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township. Il Gaetano Ristorante opened at its 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg, location. Ciao! Sandwich Shoppe to open second location on College Hill in Easton, replacing The Kettle Room Rene and Grisellies Benique have opened Ezekiel 47 Cafe at 10 S. Fifth Ave., off Fifth and Penn avenues, in West Reading. Alter Ego Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus is holding a grand opening Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at noon. Origen Latin Fusion has opened at the site of the former Tomcat Cafe in Sinking Spring, Berks County. Sellersville Senior Residences will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 24. The Bucks County affordable-housing community for adults 55 and older has 50 apartments, with eight allocated for people with behavioral health needs. The House and Barn in Emmaus has opened its Shed outdoor dining and cigar bar area. The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus. Realtor Amanda Vachris and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at Vachris's new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St., Schuylkill Haven, at 4 p.m. on May 24. Il Gaetano Ristorante will hold a grand opening on Friday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. The 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg. First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will hold a grand opening at its new headquarters in Trexlertown, 6126 Hamilton Blvd., on May 18. Vinyl Press Signs & Graphics has relocated within Emmaus. The new site is 15 S. Second St., not far from the former Sixth Street location. Pedro's Cafe in Emmaus to close SV Sports (formerly Schuylkill Valley Sports) to close Quakertown location Flemington DIY will host a Grand Re-Opening on May 14 at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington. The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. Elpedios Ristorante at Seipsville opened at 2912 Old Nazareth Road in Easton. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday. Uai Brazil opened at 315 Lehigh Ave, Palmerton, offering both a seated or buffet option. Colombian Mex Restaurant opened at 107 E Union Blvd in Bethlehem, offering traditional Colombian cuisine. Precision Ink opened at 161 W Berwick St. in Easton. King Wing opened a location in Bethlehem at 129 E. Third St., serving wings and sandwiches. This years Independence Day was spent differently for Anna Struder. From sunrise to sunset, she spent her Fourth of July prepping ACS Juices and its product for the juice bars opening day. And by Tuesday morning, three quarters of the Struder family stood behind the wooden bar, passing out samples and assisting customers at the register. ACS Juices is the second vendor, next to True Bakery, to set up shop at the Good Food Hub, Wyoming Food For Thought Projects commercial kitchen located at 420 W. First Street in downtown Casper. The juice bar plans to operate Tuesdays through Thursdays. So all my juices, I choose the ingredients based on what they're good for, Struder said. I'm not a nutritionist, but I can just refer them back to what I research. In terms of cucumbers, theyre really good for dehydration. Ginger's good for digestion ... A lot of people buy specific juices for specific needs for their body. The bar offers orange juice, lemonade, watermelon, sweet beet, carrot, cold brew, celery, strawberry lemonade and other recipes. Of the lineup of juices sold, sweet green is the best seller, containing spinach, apple and lemon. I love them all like my children, Struder joked. No, but really, it's just a great way to get a bunch of veggies in to start my day. That was how Struder got her start in juicing, too. After the birth of her second child, she said she began running and trying to eat healthier. The purchase of a juicer in 2011 also marked the birth of the companys first juicing recipe, the Strong Green. About six years later, when the family made the move to Casper from Billings, the lack of juiceries in the city was noticeable, she said. When we first got here, I kind of got flipped upside down, Struder said. I was kind of joking and was feeling sorry for myself and my family, whining about how theres no juice bars around here. [My husband]'s like, well, why don't you make your own? And I was like, I could never do that. But she did. Struder started by purchasing a juicer and turning the basement into a kitchen in 2021. After having her family serve as taste testers for the recipes, the company first began selling their juices at the local farmers market. From there, they began partnering their products with local companies such as Grant Street Grocery, Funky Junk District and Fresh Foods Wyoming. And five years after her husband Luke Struders first suggestion, Anna opened up her own juice bar. Luke stood right alongside her. I'm very proud of her, Luke said. It's pretty impressive watching her build this business. Luke also plays multiple roles in the business, according to Anna. He's a handyman, business consultant and the dishwasher. He occasionally steps behind the register too, but the job of the cashier is best handled by their 12-year-old daughter Delaney Struder. I've been doing this since day one, Delaney said. It's really fun for me to get to do this ... I would say Im kind of the most versed in using the register or whatever. Usually when we go to summit markets at David Street, I'm the one that's checking people out. Delaney, who starts seventh-grade in the fall, said that working at the juicery isn't just a summer job, but more of a full-time position. She's well acquainted with the regular customers, including some teachers. The customers are the main focus of the company, Anna said. Ten percent of the profits earned on opening day were given back to the Wyoming Food for Thought Project. There's nothing better than having my start like this, Anna added. I think that me being here is giving back to them. In a way, author Eliot Schrefer writes in the introduction to his new book, he wrote Queer Ducks (And Other Animals) for his 11-year-old self. Thats how old he was when he started lingering over the Fruit of the Loom ads in my brothers Rolling Stone and realized I was attracted to other guys. It was a scary self-discovery for a young boy in the 1990s, and, Schrefer writes, the young Eliot would have had a quicker journey to self-acceptance if hed known the science thats in this book. Schrefer lives in New York but has roots in Pinellas County his family moved here in 1989, and he went to Safety Harbor Middle School and Countryside High. Now 43, hes an accomplished author of books for children and young people. Two of his novels about great apes, Threatened and Endangered, have been finalists for the National Book Award for young peoples literature. Queer Ducks is an illustrated nonfiction book about, as its subtitle says, The Natural World of Animal Sexuality. Its drawn a lot of media attention, including interviews for NPR and The Daily Show. The Times talked to Schrefer via Zoom about the book and its reception. NPR shared (the interview) out on Facebook, he says, and it very, very quickly got 2.4 thousand comments from both sides, mostly angry people: Now its animals too? It was clear its important to people either to keep sacred their ideas about homosexuality and whether animals can do it, or important for people to finally feel seen and not unnatural. But it was this lightning rod, he says. Its easier to argue for eliminating books about LGBTQ people for young people or try to legislate away transgender identities if you can argue its unnatural. If you take that away, you just have discrimination because I dont think its right, which isnt a moral standing to argue from. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: Do you think the attention the book has received has something to do with the current political climate? A: I do. Its not like the book might be removed from libraries, because its a new book. It just might not ever enter them. In interviews, Ive been talking about two-thirds of the time about the material in the book and about one-third about the rise in censorship of LGBTQ books for young people. I wrote a childrens book a few years ago called The Popper Penguin Rescue, a sequel to the classic Mr. Poppers Penguins. Ive done a couple of elementary school visits in the last few weeks, and for one of them the librarian emailed me the week before and said, just so you know, we have a rule that we only let authors talk about the book theyre invited for, they cant talk about any other book theyve written. Ive done school visits for 10 years and no one ever said that before. Who knows what was going on internally at that school? Q: Queer Ducks is your 17th book. Is it your first work of nonfiction? A: Way back in the day I wrote an SAT strategy guide called Hack the SAT, but it was about three version of the SAT ago. So I would say Queer Ducks is my only existing work of nonfiction. Ive long been interested in what bonds us to the natural world. Its a theme that often comes out in my novels. Im part of the animal studies program at NYU Im getting a slow masters degree. Visiting scholars come through and talk about their work, and a few of them mentioned same-sex behavior in animals. How zoology works is somebody studies one animal and becomes an expert on it, so they were saying with dolphins or with garter snakes theyre seeing same sex behavior. That raised this question in my mind. Im interested in evolution. (Same-sex behavior) had always struck me as a dead end because it doesnt pass along the genes to the next generation. Maybe the old version we have of male and female was the way nature wants it, and Darwins natural selection would also argue against (same-sex behavior). The thinking was, if animals do it, its just some trifling thing or a mistake, or theyre in a small environment and they get confused. It was the same way we talk about humans in prison the environment changes their behavior. But I got curious. If its this widespread, and theres so much growth in researching it Scientific American did that study three years ago and found reports of same-sex behavior by 1,5000 animal species, and counting, in the wild. So my questions were A) why havent we heard about it and B) what are the arguments for it? Thats when I started getting the idea Id write a book. There are several academic volumes about same-sex behavior in animals. But I wanted to write something that could take a long lens without getting immersed in all the stats and all the animals. Each chapter could raise and answer a question thats on our minds. Like, with fruit flies, is there a genetic element in homosexuality? With dolphins, is there such a thing as homosexual animals? Then I chose the 10 species that answer the questions. Q: Why did you choose to write the book for young readers, and what age group is it aimed at? A: Because I write childrens and YA books, it was my instinct to write for a younger audience. Also, there was knowing the effect it would have had on me at that age. Its for ages 14 and up. I follow librarians, and theyre having a discussion about it. Librarian Twitter is a force of nature! Theyre debating whether middle school is a good place for it, and theres some disagreement about that. But 14 and up. Q: The book has a very engaging and often funny tone. How did you decide on that tone for this book, and did you choose to do a chapter on doodlebugs because of the potential for puns? A: I went a little overboard in the doodlebug chapter. Reading about science brought me a lot of solace when I was a teenager. This feeling of having a place in the natural world, understanding evolution as way of explaining the meaning of life. So I wanted to write a book for kids who didnt think they wanted to read about science. I thought about the most gripping things Ive read about science, like H Is for Hawk, The Soul of an Octopus. (The authors voices) are on the page. In Hawk, (author Helen) Macdonalds voice is right there. One person described (the tone of Queer Ducks) as being like passing notes in the back of the class. I didnt realize it, but thats the tone I was going for: talking right to the young person. What does this teenager need to know, and whats the best way for them to have fun while theyre reading it? Q: Can you talk about how careful you are in the book to be clear about the terminology you use to describe animal behavior and to note that the words we use for human behavior dont always apply? A: People get hung up on this idea: Are there gay animals, are there lesbian animals? Its a nonstarter as a question because animals dont feel the need to group themselves into identities that way. We do, and we think thats been true throughout human history. But it hasnt. The word homosexual only came to be in the 1890s. Before that, it wasnt an identity, it was just something people did. Thats why in ancient Greece you had people who felt free to have sex with people of either gender without seeing it as an identity. Q: Which brings us to bonobos. Tell us about your chapter on those primates. A: Chimp societies are largely patriarchal, male dominated, more violent. Bonobos are tied with them as our closest relatives. They have very, very frequent sexual activity across all categories, but the most frequent is between females. The main crux of it, and this is true for the advanced vertebrates, the primates, its also true of dolphins, they have sex because it produces oxytocin, and oxytocin produces emotional bonding. Obviously (bonobos) cant sit and just chat, so physical contact is the way they have small talk and have conversations to show whos important to who. So the females in particular have this frequent sexual activity. Oxytocin bonds them as a subgroup within the larger bonobo society. Females being so tightly bonded means they have a strong alliance. The current theory about bonobo society is that males were never able to learn violent behavior toward females because they had such a strong support system any female would have four or five other females coming to her support. Its not like the bonobo is saying Im a lesbian now and skipping out on reproduction. Shes still having plenty of sex with male bonobos and having offspring, so there is no evolutionary dead end. They have procreative behaviors that are sexual and social behavior thats sexual. Q: The books title animals arent as busy as bonobos, but they have been known to practice polyamory, forming bonded groups of two males and one female. How does that fit into the picture? A: Research has found that these three-bird nests have better survival outcomes than two birds. Konrad Lorenz described it first, the Nobel Prize-winning ornithologist. This was in the 60s. Its interesting that very different bird populations have all turned to it as an evolutionary strategy. The triumph ceremony the geese do, the male will do it for both the male partner and the female partner. It really is a three-bird union, not that a couple has brought in another one as an accessory. It kind of shakes up that Noahs Ark, one male, one female thing. Q: But does evolutionary advantage always have something to do with same-sex behavior? A: I set up the easy examples, the ones that make the most intuitive sense the bonobos and the dolphins and oxytocin bonding. Japanese macaques make it complicated. Every animal is not like another animal. Theres not going to be one reason for homosexual behavior. Primatologist Paul Vasey has been studying them for decades. Theyre the really cool snow monkeys. Youve seen them on YouTube, hanging out in hot baths like theyre living the best life. They have large amounts of female-female sex, and the scientists wanted to know why. So they looked at the obvious reasons. Were they doing it like the bonobos, to relieve tension? Or to maximize offspring care? They tested all of these theories, and none of them hold up. My favorite theory that male primatologists came up with was that female monkeys were staging sexual encounters to excite males. Oh yeah, you wish, guys! Finally they came to the shocking but simple conclusion that there isnt an evolutionary adaptive reason, they just like it. Q: What about animals that are intersex, like velvet-horn deer? A: I wanted to look at animals that kind of blur male-female boundaries, blur the binary. I was looking at intersex animals, which have characteristics of both male and female in some way. There are intersex animals across the phyla. About 13% of white-tail deer, the most common deer species in the country, are whats called velvet-horns. Deer have been studied a ton, because as soon as an animal can be hunted, there are a lot of studies, so theres a lot of data. Typical male deer have velvet covering their horns during the first year of their life, then they shed the velvet and have the antlers were familiar with. The velvet-horn deer have external male genitalia, but they have body types closer to a does, except they have these antlers. (The antlers) dont break their velvet, they stay covered in velvet. They dont ever reproduce. Deer live in highly sex-segregated societies. The velvet-horns are cast out by the male society, kind of like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. The velvet-horns, if they find other velvet-horns, theyll form their small societies, and theyll raise orphan fawns if there are any around. Whales also have a high percentage of intersex individuals. Humans do, too, and we have a long tradition of doctors, either with or without permission, choosing a sex for those intersex people. Q: What would you say to people who disagree with the premise of Queer Ducks? A: Some conservative people have critiqued the book, saying, Youre just cherry picking. Animals do all sorts of things we dont want people to do they kill their mates, they abandon their offspring. That gets the argument of the book backwards. Im not saying we should behave in a certain way because animals do. But I am saying in this book, and I feel very strongly about this, that we can no longer say that this diversity of sexual expression and sexual desire makes us not part of the animal kingdom or makes us unnatural. Its absolutely natural, because its part and parcel of the way animals behave. The Hampstead Theatre in north London has revealed it will host four world premieres this autumn. Richard Eyre will write and direct his first original play, The Snail House, following the life of a government medical advisor. It plays from 7 September to 15 October. After this, Rona Munro will provide the next instalment in her James Plays cycle standalone text Mary. Set in 16th century Scotland, the show is to be directed by artistic director Roxana Silbert. It runs from 22 October to 26 November. In the downstairs space, Georgina Burns' Ravenscourt will run from 23 September to 29 October. The piece follows Lydia, "a mental-health professional determined to make a difference". The final show is award-winning playwright Joe White's Blackout Songs, directed by Guy Jones. Following two people who meet at an AA meeting, the show runs from 4 November to 10 December. Silbert said: "I am delighted to announce four new plays, two of them by first time writers: one by Georgina Burns, a play written during the pandemic on our new writers' programme and one by esteemed director Richard Eyre. Both have come to playwriting later in life and we are proud to have supported them on their new journeys. Alongside them, two world premieres: one by Rona Munro - part of the James Cycle - which through six plays tackle the history of Scotland; and Joe White whose beautiful, shape-shifting play about love, art and alcohol, is another Hampstead commission." American television network ABC will air a live/animation hybrid production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Wednesday 15 December in celebration of the iconic film's 30th anniversary. Directed by Hamish Hamilton and produced by Jon M. Chu, the television event will be akin to the 2019 broadcast of The Little Mermaid, which blended the beloved film with live performances from stars such as Amber Riley and Queen Latifah. Casting and additional information is still to be announced. Beauty and the Beast Live will be available for next-day streaming on Disney Plus in the United States, beginning December 16. Plans for a UK broadcast or streaming release are still to be confirmed. The stage version of the classic Disney tale (which received a glowing review from WhatsOnStage) is currently running at the London Palladium until 17 September, before heading to the Bristol Hippodrome (29 September to 12 November) and Dublin's Bord Gais Energy Theatre (24 November to 8 January 2023). We recently sat down with three of the production's stars Courtney Stapleton (who plays the role of Belle), Shaq Taylor (the Beast) and Sam Bailey (Mrs Potts) for a game of "Be Our Guest... Take Our Test!" Find out who came out on top in the video below: Tickets for the London Palladium run are on sale below. A world premiere stage adaptation of Peter James' novel Wish You Were Dead is set to embark on a UK tour next year. Following the success of the ITV series Grace, the central character of DSI Roy Grace will tread the boards across the country in 2023. The play follows the detective superintendent and Cleo Morey as they take a well-deserved vacation. But instead of taking a break from his crime-solving exploits, Grace finds himself amidst a holiday from hell and must confront ghosts from the past. James commented: "I have always loved live theatre, so it's been thrilling to watch how much audiences around the UK have loved the plays. Theatre and the escapism it provides us all is so important particularly now. Inside the safe cocoon of a theatre, audiences love to be on the edge of their seats and sometimes shocked, always hoping when that final curtain falls, order will have been restored and the world will seem just a little bit of a better place. I am incredibly grateful for the support regional theatres and their audiences have shown our plays and it will be fantastic to see another one of my books being adapted for the stage the sixth one! and audiences enjoying it, in 2023." The author boasts the most successful crime thriller stage franchise since Agatha Christie, following previous adaptations of Looking Good Dead (2022) The House on Cold Hill (2019), Not Dead Enough (2017), The Perfect Murder (2016) and Dead Simple (2015). All these titles were adapted for the stage by Shaun McKenna. Jonathan O'Boyle is set to direct the new tour, which will also feature designs by Michael Holt, lighting by Jason Taylor and sound by Max Pappenheim. Produced by Joshua Andrews, the piece will launch on 16 February 2023 at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, before visiting Norwich, Nottingham, Newcastle, Brighton, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Richmond, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Shrewsbury, Cardiff, Salford, Dartford, Southampton, Birmingham, Sheffield, Southend, Leicester and Woking, with further dates to be announced soon. A girl who died after falling from a float before the start of Mandan's Independence Day parade was a 6-year-old who had recently graduated kindergarten in California. Mandan police on Tuesday identified the girl as Mabel Askay, of Ventura, California. She was in town visiting relatives. Askay was riding on the DK Orthodontics float en route to the parade staging area about 9 a.m. Monday. She fell from the trailer on Longspur Trail Southeast and was struck by a tire. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. "We are heartbroken over this tragic accident," the Askay family said in a statement to the Tribune. "Mabel lit up every room she ever entered, and our world is now dimmer without her. We know she is with Jesus, but we are having a very difficult time saying goodbye. Please keep our family, including Mabel's older siblings, Fletcher and Matilda, in your prayers as we gather our strength to start the process of moving forward." Authorities were continuing their investigation Tuesday, according to Deputy Chief Lori Flaten. It's not yet clear if any charges are warranted, she said. As long as Ive been here, 45 years, weve had some injuries but nothing major, and no fatalities, Flaten said of the annual holiday parade that draws hundreds of entrants and thousands of spectators. The parade went on as scheduled Monday. A Facebook post by DK Orthodontics thanked people for their messages of concern. We will be honoring and showing respect to the family during this unspeakable tragedy by showing them love and support, the post stated. The DK family asks for your prayers, support, and privacy for the grieving family. A representative of the Mandan Progress Organization, the group that organizes Mandan's Fourth of July events, declined to comment on the death Monday, referring Tribune questions to police. The Parent Teacher Association at Juanamaria Elementary School in Ventura -- where father Mike Askay is principal -- in a Facebook post offered condolences to the family of Mabel, who the group said had recently been promoted from kindergarten. "The Askays ask for prayers and good wishes at this time. We also ask that you provide them with the space and privacy they need right now," the PTA said. A GoFundMe crowdfunding account to benefit the Askay family had raised nearly $8,400 by Tuesday night. Williamson, WV (25661) Today Thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High near 80F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Authorities in South Dakota have arrested escaped inmate David Corn and an Aberdeen woman they say helped him flee from the Missouri River Correctional Center south of Bismarck. Emily Margolies, 35, allegedly admitted to police that she picked up Corn at the center Tuesday morning, according to North Dakota Highway Patrol documents. Burleigh County authorities issued an arrest warrant for Margolies on Wednesday. She was arrested in Aberdeen around midday. Margolies is charged in Burleigh County with felony conspiracy to commit escape and accomplice to escape, court records show. Corn was located and taken into custody by the Aberdeen Police Department on Wednesday night. Police said the arrest came after a standoff at a residence that ended with Corn's surrender. The Patrol during its investigation learned from Dickey County authorities that Corn, from Forbes, was active on Facebook under the name Mitch Connor. He updated his profile picture Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. Corn, 35, is 6 feet tall, weighs 370 pounds, and has red hair and brown eyes. Burleigh County authorities issued an arrest warrant for him on felony charges of conspiracy to commit escape and escape. Telephone calls recorded at the center and reviewed by police after Corn left the minimum-security facility showed that he had made arrangements with a woman to be picked up about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday. The woman said she would be driving a white Suburban, the Patrol affidavit states. Correction center officials notified the Patrol that Corn left the center in a white, early 2000s Suburban with no license plates driven by a female with very blond long hair. The vehicle initially didn't attract notice because it resembled other vehicles on the property. Information on the recorded calls included a phone number that officials confirmed belonged to Margolies, the affidavit states. Troopers say Corn later used Margolies phone to call a known drug dealer in Dickey County. Corn pleaded guilty in April to fleeing police, drug possession with intent to deliver, and unauthorized use of a vehicle. The charges were filed in Dickey County in November 2021. A judge sentenced him to three years in prison and three years on probation, court records show. Hed been at the center since May 26, had a scheduled good behavior release date of June 1, 2024, and a maximum release date of Nov. 28, 2024, the Patrol document states. Zoe Pawelczak's dad thought the repetitive pops ringing out at Highland Park's Fourth of July parade Monday morning were part of the show, she says. But she felt something was off. "I'm like, 'Dad, no ... something is wrong,' and I grabbed him" and ran, Pawelczak told CNN. People behind them started running, too. "And I looked back ... and then it was just this sea of panic, and people just falling and falling," she recalled. Pawelczak was one of the witnesses telling stories of sheer terror mere hours after the shooting in the Chicago suburb. Authorities say someone opened fire from a roof as the parade passed nearby, killing at least six people and wounding about two dozen others. Police said Monday night they had arrested a suspect, Robert E. Crimo III. Pawelczak, who'd just moved back from Arizona, said she went to the parade to bond with her father, as she used to attended the event as a child. After a band passed she heard a long round of shots maybe 50 or more, she said. She believes she saw at least one person shot dead, she told CNN, choking up. It was not immediately clear who that was. After she grabbed her father, they hid behind a dumpster for about an hour, before police ushered them and others into a sporting goods store, she said. She and her father were OK, but others in the store were injured. "One man had been shot in the head like, his ear. He was bleeding all over his face," Pawelczak told CNN. "There was another girl that got escorted out, (who) was shot in the leg." Pawelczak and her father and waited in the basement until police escorted them out of the store. Outside, the streets were "quite littered," Pawelczak said, and there was "blood everywhere." "It looked like a battle zone," she said. "Gun violence is never OK we should never be numb to this." Pawelczak later told CNN one man had hidden his children in the dumpster. "A man actually went at one point to find his son and he asked me to watch his kids, so we were all hiding behind a dumpster together and the kids, really little kids were 'like what's going on?'" she said. "They ended up hiding in a dumpster there, the dad ended up putting his children in the dumpster to hide and stay safe. And it was probably 30 of us just hiding in this little corner behind the dumpster." Pawelczak said that her father knew Crimo. "The kid's dad is an amazing person and (I) can't believe it was his son," she said. "I'm very happy to know he's in custody. I can't imagine seeing what I saw today and having the person still on the streets." 'One bullet could pass through all our bodies' Steve Tilken told CNN he sheltered in a store basement with his wife, her two grandchildren and dozens of others as police scoured the area for the gunman. The Highland Park resident told CNN he initially thought someone was letting off a series of fireworks, but his wife's 13 year-old granddaughter had undergone active shooter training at school and "all of a sudden hit the ground sobbing." She also brought her brother to the ground, Tilken said. "My wife just stood there was standing for like a second or two and then she realized what was going and so she dove down to protect their bodies with her body and I stood for another like couple of seconds in disbelief because I didn't see the carnage that was happening aback of me. And I threw my body on top of theirs," he said. Tilken said they ran into the nearby store when he realized they were unprotected and in the line of fire. "We were just sitting ducks right there and one bullet could pass through all of our bodies," he said. Around 20 people were sheltering in different areas of the basement, including two women who appeared to have minor injuries from bullet grazes, Tilken said. "My wife's granddaughter, she was shaken but in the basement, she, you know, tapped into some inner resources and was trying to be helpful to people with young kids and helping keeping the kids entertained and actually helping the two woman that had some of the minor wounds," Tilken said. He said he went out of the store at one stage to try to see what was happening and saw a body "in a pool of blood," about eight feet from where he was standing. "I realized ... it's just your random luck that I wasn't shot." Police carrying assault weapons later entered the basement looking for the shooter, Tilken said, and then brought a doctor to assess those with injuries. 'Run, run, run there's a shooter' Warren Fried, who attended the parade with his wife and 7-year-old twins, said he watched police and an ambulance pass by him at the parade and afterward heard an array of gunshots. People began yelling, "shooter" and, "run," and he and his family fled toward their car for safety. "People were hiding, kids were on the streets looking for their parents, just in a state of shock," he said. Another attendee, Miles Zaremski, who has lived in the area for about 37 years, first thought the gunshots were backfire from a parade vehicle, or fireworks. When it continued, he realized it was from a gun and he saw people rushing away. "I saw blood on the sidewalk. I saw a bloodied body that looked deceased," Zaremski told CNN. "It was sickening. It was just chaotic." Zaremski later said witnessing the scene "on the nation's birthday...with people supposedly enjoying themselves," had shaken him to the core. "If it can happen on July 4 in a peaceful, law-abiding community like we have in Highland Park," he told CNN. "It can happen anyplace." Debbie Glickman, 54, was dancing to music, she said, when "all of a sudden we saw people running away from the parade." "One of my friends ... just said, 'Run, run, run there's a shooter, there's a shooter!'" she recalled. Glickman ran, and said she did not see a gunman or anyone injured. "People were thinking that maybe it was just a firecracker that had gone off bad, but people were running, and ... it just was absolute mass chaos," she said. "It was absolutely the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me." 'I'm surprised it took this long' Larry Bloom, a Highland Park resident of 15 years, told CNN he had cycled to the parade and was standing just to the right of a bandstand when he heard a "pop, pop, pop." "Then it just opened-up. Just a rain of gunshots, just so quickly, for quite a while, at least it seemed," Bloom said. "Then everybody just got up, turned and ran and tried to get behind something." It was early in the celebrations and there were a lot of people present, Bloom said: "Just imagine a full audience for a parade, it was that many people. It was hundreds of people just in that area just all running in the same direction," he said. The shots felt like they were coming from across the street and aimed at the area of the crowd he was in, Bloom said, though it was hard to establish where the gunman was. "It was right on top of us," he said. "From a rooftop wouldn't be unimaginable." When the gunshots stopped and it cleared out and the police moved in, most people left the area, Bloom said. "Over the years, considering the temperature of this country and some of the demographics of our town here, every year I'm surprised and thankful that it hasn't happened yet. And after I got to a safe space and I was able to get a few seconds of breath, I really just thought, 'Yup, see, it finally happened here, this is ours.' It's disappointing, but I'm surprised it took this long, which sounds awful," Bloom said. Jeff Leon, 57, told CNN the gunshots at the parade sounded like "firecrackers in a garbage can," and it wasn't until he saw police officers reacting that he knew anything had happened. "It sounded like a string of firecrackers that were let off inside of a metal garbage bin... at first that's what I thought it was," he said, adding he didn't immediately react. "The police started reacting and I saw some people falling," Leon said. That's when he said he and everyone around him left all their belongings and began to run. ___ DETROIT (AP) Guitar icon Carlos Santana collapsed on stage during a show in Michigan and was rushed to a hospital, later blaming the episode on forgetting to eat or drink water. FILE - Carlos Santana performs at the BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival in Napa, Calif., on May 26, 2019. Santana, 74, collapsed on stage during a show in Michigan and was rushed to a hospital, later blaming the episode on forgetting to eat or drink water. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File) DETROIT (AP) Guitar icon Carlos Santana collapsed on stage during a show in Michigan and was rushed to a hospital, later blaming the episode on forgetting to eat or drink water. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Santana, 74, was "doing well" Wednesday after being taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, some 40 miles northwest of Detroit, to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation Tuesday night, manager Michael Vrionis in a statement. "Just taking it easy," the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer posted to Facebook just after midnight. "Forgot to eat and drink water so I dehydrated and passed out. Blessings and miracles to you all." Santana was released during the night from the hospital. It was not immediately known when Santana would resume his tour, although Wednesday's show at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, has been postponed. He and his band have been touring with Earth, Wind & Fire. The tour has 21 dates left through late August before Santana the artist behind such hits as "Oye Como Va and "Black Magic Woman is scheduled to head back to Las Vegas for his residency at the House of Blues. In December, Santana canceled a number of performances in Las Vegas after he underwent an unspecified heart procedure. He and members of his band also tested positive for COVID-19 in February, canceling some dates. SYDNEY (AP) Floodwaters inundated or were threatening the homes of 85,000 people around Sydney on Wednesday as rivers started to recede and the heavy rains tracked north of Australias largest city. A man walks along the beach front at Bronte Beach as rain continues to fall in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. More than 50,000 residents of Sydney and its surrounds have been told to evacuate or prepare to abandon their homes on Tuesday as Australia's largest city braces for what could be its worst flooding in 18 months. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) SYDNEY (AP) Floodwaters inundated or were threatening the homes of 85,000 people around Sydney on Wednesday as rivers started to recede and the heavy rains tracked north of Australias largest city. While rain was easing across Sydney, several waterways including the Hawkesbury-Nepean rivers system on Sydneys northern and western fringes remained at major flood levels, Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said. Emergency responders knocked on doors overnight in the towns of Singleton and Muswellbrook, in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney, to order residents to evacuate, she said. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, center right, and New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet, center left, meet flood affected locals in Windsor on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. More than 50,000 residents of Sydney and its surrounds have been told to evacuate or prepare to abandon their homes on Tuesday as Australia's largest city braces for what could be its worst flooding in 18 months. (Bianca de Marchi/AAP Image via AP) For many, it has been a sleepless night, Cooke said. Evacuation orders and official warnings to prepare to abandon homes were given to 85,000 people by Wednesday, up from 50,000 on Tuesday, New South Wales state Premier Dominic Perrottet said. On the fifth day of the flood emergency, Perrottet warned that homes that remained dry during previous floods could be inundated this week. This event is far from over. Please dont have that past experience inform your current behavior, Perrottet said. The Portland Bay cargo ship is towed safely into Port Botany, Sydney, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. A bulk carrier that was stranded off the coast of Sydney since Monday has been safely towed back to Port Botany on Wednesday afternoon where its engine will be repaired. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image via AP) Federal funding would be available to flood victims from Thursday, less than two days after a disaster was declared in 23 local government areas, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. This is, I believe, the quickest that these payments have ever been approved, Albanese said. Albanese said the fourth major flood event across Sydney and its surrounds since March last year that followed devastating wildfires in the same region during the 2019-2020 Southern Hemisphere summer were evidence of the need for climate action. We are looking at long-term solutions. My government has changed Australias position on climate change from day one, he said. A man paddles his kayak through a flooded street at Windsor on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Hundreds of homes have been inundated in and around Australia's largest city in a flood emergency that was impacting 50,000 people, officials said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) Albaneses center-left Labor Party was elected in May on a promise to cut Australias greenhouse gas emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by the end of the decade. The previous conservative government had promised a reduction of between 26% and 28%. What we know is that Australia has always been subject of floods, of bushfires, but we know that the science told us that if we continued to not take action, globally, on climate change, then ... extreme weather events would be more often and more intense. And what were seeing, unfortunately, is that play out, Albanese added. When Parliament resumes on July 26 for the first time since the election, the government will propose spending 4.8 billion Australian dollars ($3.3 billion) on disaster mitigation measures such as building higher river levees, Albanese said. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Bureau of Meteorology manager Jane Golding said the weather pattern that brought heavy rain to Sydney since Friday has moved off the coast north of the city of 5 million people. Heavy rain fell in the last 24 hours as far north as Coffs Harbor, 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Sydney, Golding said. Hong Kong-registered cargo ship Portland Bay was towed into Sydney's Port Botany on Wednesday after its engine failed near the coast farther south on Monday in mountainous seas and strong winds. Transport Minister Catherine King thanked tugboat and rescue crews, saying the ship had been in serious danger of being wrecked on the coast, which would have risked the lives of 21 crew members on board and an environmental disaster. ___ McGuirk reported from Canberra, Australia. JACKSON, Calif. (AP) Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for remote California communities near a wildfire that may have been sparked by fireworks or a barbecue on the Fourth of July in a mountainous region that's a top tourism destination. Firefighters battle the Electra Fire in the Rich Gulch community of Calaveras County, Calif., on Monday, July 4, 2022. According to Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman, approximately 100 people sheltered at a Pacific Gas & Electric facility before being evacuated in the evening. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) JACKSON, Calif. (AP) Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for remote California communities near a wildfire that may have been sparked by fireworks or a barbecue on the Fourth of July in a mountainous region that's a top tourism destination. The Electra Fire in Sierra Nevada Gold Country broke out Monday afternoon and tripled in size to about 6.1 square miles (15.8 square kilometers). It was 5% contained Tuesday night. The fire was making short, uphill runs, fire officials said. "The rate of spread isnt what it was like yesterday, but it is still spreading," said Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman. He said firefighters were working to keep flames confined to unpopulated canyon areas. A firefighter burns vegetation while trying to keep the Electra Fire from reaching homes in the Pine Acres community of Amador County, Calif., on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Mandatory evacuation orders and warnings combined affected up to 700 residents in Amador County and 300 to 400 people in Calaveras County, Redman said. Evacuation centers were set up for people and animals. The fire started at a recreation area that was packed with people, forcing 85 to 100 celebrating the holiday at a river to take shelter at a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. facility, Redman said. All were later safely evacuated. "This was the closest Ive ever been to a fire. It was literally within feet of us," said Milka Mikula of Valley Springs, who had gone to the river with her husband, her 5-year-old daughter and her 1-year-old son. They had to wait about six hours before they could finally start for home, she told KCRA-TV. "I just wanted to get home. I just wanted to get out of there with my babies. I was shaking really, really bad for quite some time," Mikula said. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Redman said the cause of the fire was not known, but that it started in the Vox Beach area of the North Fork Mokelumne River. He said that could suggest fireworks or a barbecue as a potential cause. More than 100 fire engines, 1,200 firefighters and 14 helicopters were sent to the fire, which was a threat to power infrastructure, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The terrain was described as steep and rugged. Cal Fire activated an incident management team for the fire. The teams "are made up of trained personnel who provide operational management and support to large-scale, expanding incidents," Cal Fire said. One firefighter from the local fire protection district suffered burn injuries, Redman said. Vox Beach is about 55 miles (89 kilometers) east of Sacramento in the heart of the Sierra Nevada region that is steeped with the history of the mid-1800s Gold Rush. Several other small fires were burning in the state. Public Health Ontario is reporting 101 confirmed monkeypox cases across the province, up from 33 cases two weeks ago. Public Health Ontario is reporting 101 confirmed monkeypox cases across the province, up from 33 cases two weeks ago. A summary report on the disease up to July 4 says there are also eight probable cases in Ontario. The report says 85 cases are in Toronto, with more than one case each in health units covering Ottawa, Halton Region and Middlesex-London. Health units in Hamilton, Durham Region, Eastern Ontario, Haldimand-Norfolk, Peel Region, Peterborough, Simcoe-Muskoka and Guelph also confirmed single cases. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. All reported cases are in men between the ages of 20 and 65 and commonly reported symptoms include rash, oral and genital lesions, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, chills, myalgia and fatigue. Public health says most cases are among men who report intimate contact with men but says anyone can get monkeypox. Monkeypox generally does not spread easily between people and is transmitted through prolonged close contact via respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or bodily fluids, or through contaminated clothes or bedding. The disease comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated around the globe in 1980. Smallpox vaccines have proven effective in combating the monkeypox virus. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2022. WASHINGTON (AP) Pharmacists can prescribe the leading COVID-19 pill directly to patients under a new U.S. policy announced Wednesday that's intended to expand use of Pfizer's drug Paxlovid. FILE - This June 25, 2019, photo, shows a sign outside a Walgreens Pharmacy in Pittsburgh. The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday, July 6, 2022, that pharmacies could now prescribe Pfizer's Paxlovid pill directly to COVID-19 patients. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) WASHINGTON (AP) Pharmacists can prescribe the leading COVID-19 pill directly to patients under a new U.S. policy announced Wednesday that's intended to expand use of Pfizer's drug Paxlovid. The Food and Drug Administration said pharmacists can begin screening patients to see if they are eligible for Paxlovid and then prescribe the medication, which has been shown to curb the worst effects of COVID-19. Previously only physicians could prescribe the antiviral drug. The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are rising again, though they remain near their lowest levels since the coronavirus outbreak began in 2020. Biden administration officials have expressed frustration that several hundred Americans continue to die of COVID-19 daily, despite the availability of vaccines and treatments. Administration officials have been working for months to increase access to Paxlovid, opening thousands of sites where patients who test positive can fill a prescription for Paxlovid. The FDA change will make thousands more pharmacies eligible to quickly prescribe and dispense the pill, which must be used early to be effective. Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment," FDA drug center director Patrizia Cavazzoni, said in a statment. Still, use could be limited by paperwork requirements. Patients are expected to bring their recent health records including blood tests and a list of their current medications so pharmacists can check for health conditions and medications that can negatively interact with Paxlovid. As an alternative, pharmacists can consult with the patient's doctor. Paxlovid is intended for people with COVID-19 who are more likely to become seriously ill. That includes older people and those with other health issues like heart disease, obesity, cancer or diabetes that make them more vulnerable. It isnt recommended for patients with severe kidney or liver problems. A course of treatment is three pills twice a day for five days. The FDA authorized Paxlovid last December for ages 12 and up based on results showing it reduced hospitalizations and deaths by nearly 90% among unvaccinated patients most likely to get severe disease. The drug has shown less impressive results in patients who already have vaccine protection and some physicians have reported cases of COVID-19 symptoms returning after treatment with the drug. Expanding the test-to-treat program to include pharmacists could add thousands of additional options for patients. The two biggest U.S. drugstore chains CVS Health and Walgreens run around 19,000 locations combined. CVS Health already provides COVID-19 care at 1,100 clinic locations inside drugstores. There also are nearly 19,400 independent pharmacies not tied to a big chain, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association. Pharmacist Michele Belcher said ahead of the announcement that she hoped to be able to test customers for COVID-19 and offer the pill because there is a shortage of primary care doctors in her community, the small, southwestern Oregon city of Grants Pass. Belcher said she worries that some people may have a hard time getting a doctors appointment for a prescription during the narrow window to start the pill. Belcher, owner of the independent Grants Pass Pharmacy, said she used to test and treat for COVID-19 using injectable drugs that are no longer as effective. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Her pharmacy routinely checks for potentially harmful interactions with other drugs a patient may be taking, she said. Pharmacists are the drug experts, she said. Thats something we do every day, all day, make sure there are no interactions with any medications. ___ Murphy reported from Indianapolis. ___ 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. BRUSSELS (AP) European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc's list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU's executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and now looks set to trigger legal challenges. Climate activists demonstrate outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. The European Parliament will decide Wednesday whether to accept or reject the Commission's proposal to classify gas and nuclear power plants as green in the EU's list of investments that can be marketed as sustainable. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) BRUSSELS (AP) European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc's list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU's executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and now looks set to trigger legal challenges. As the EU wants to set the best global standards in the fight against climate change, the decision could tarnish the bloc's image and question the region's commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050. The European Commission earlier this year made the proposal as part of its plans for building a climate-friendly future, dividing member countries and drawing outcry from environmentalists over what they criticize as greenwashing. EU legislators from the environment and economy committees objected last month to the plan, setting up Wednesday's decisive vote in Strasbourg, France. But MEPs rejected their resolution in a 328-278 vote, with 33 lawmakers abstaining. The result was announced to a salvo of applause. An absolute majority of 353 was needed to veto the proposal. If the European Parliament and member countries dont object to it by July 11, the so-called Taxonomy delegated act will enter into force and apply as of next year. Climate activists demonstrate outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. The European Parliament will decide Wednesday whether to accept or reject the Commission's proposal to classify gas and nuclear power plants as green in the EU's list of investments that can be marketed as sustainable. ( (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Greenpeace immediately said it will submit a formal request for internal review to the European Commission, and then take legal action at the European Court of Justice if the result isn't conclusive. Its dirty politics and its an outrageous outcome to label gas and nuclear as green and keep more money flowing to (Russian President Vladimir) Putins war chest, but now we will fight this in the courts," said Ariadna Rodrigo, Greenpeace's EU sustainable finance campaigner. European Parliament rapporteur Bas Eickhout rued a dark day for the climate and the energy transition." Climate activists claiming the war in Ukraine exposes the EU's dependence on Russian fossil gas, demonstrate outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) The green labeling system from the European Commission defines what qualifies as an investment in sustainable energy. Under certain conditions, gas and nuclear energy will now be part of the mix, making it easier for private investors to inject money into both. With the EU aiming to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, the commission says the classification system is crucial to direct investments into sustainable energy. It estimates that about 350 billion euros of investment per year will be needed to meet the 2030 targets. The question of nuclear power has divided environmentalists, energy experts and governments for years, with some arguing it's an important source of energy because it's produced with no emissions and thus clean, while others say the risks of nuclear reactions are too great and infrastructure is slow and costly to build. Liquid natural gas, clearly a fossil fuel, is roundly criticized in environmental circles. Climate activists claiming the war in Ukraine exposes the EU's dependence on Russian fossil gas, demonstrate outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Germanys industrial lobby group BDI welcomed the vote, saying it cleared the way for financing the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Gas is our bridge technology to the renewable age, said its deputy head, Holger Loesch. The BDI called for more investments in gas infrastructure, including LNG terminals, to ensure sufficient supply amid the current energy crisis, but added that new gas power plants need to be capable of handling hydrogen eventually. Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala presents the programme of activities of the Czech Republic's EU presidency, Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Introducing gas and nuclear into the equation has divided the 27 member countries amid Russias war in Ukraine, and even the parliament's political groups. Luxembourgs energy minister, Claude Turmes, said he deeply regretted the European Parliaments failure to bloc the commission's plan, adding that his country together with Austria would move ahead with legal efforts to block the labeling of nuclear and gas as sustainable. Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that the German government stands by its position and considers nuclear energy as unsustainable. The Ukrainian flag, top, flies with others European flags outside the European Parliament , Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Nevertheless, the German government believes that the taxonomy is an important instrument for achieving climate protection targets, because it is clear that natural gas is an important bridging technology for us on the way to CO2 neutrality and the inclusion of the use of natural gas in the delegated act takes this into account, Hebestreit added. Protests that had started on Tuesday continued Wednesday outside the EU legislature as lawmakers debated the issue. Environmentalists warned the vote could set a precedent for lawmakers elsewhere to label polluting forms of energy as sustainable. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, is greeted by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola at the European Parliament before the presentation of the programme of activities of the Czech Republic's presidency , Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) We have now officially validated greenwashing by law, said Tsvetelina Kuzmanova of the climate think tank E3G. The process and the decision have been entirely political, not scientific, to only benefit a small number of member states, she said. This would not stand a chance in court and will only create more uncertainty for financial markets and jeopardize (the) EUs climate ambition. The youth activist group Fridays for Future said billions of euros could be pumped into gas infrastructure and nuclear power plants as a result of the decision, diverting much-needed funds from renewable alternatives. European lawmakers gather to vote at the European Parliament, Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. European Union lawmakers back plan to include natural gas, nuclear energy as sustainable activities(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) One argument for rejecting the proposal is that it will boost Russian gas sales at a time when it is invading neighboring Ukraine, but the European Commission said it had received a letter from the Ukrainian government backing its stance. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness quoted from the letter from Ukraine's energy minister Tuesday: I strongly believe that the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the taxonomy is an important element of the energy security in Europe, especially with a view to replacing Russian gas." I dont think we should second-guess this letter, McGuinness said. European lawmakers gather to vote at the European Parliament, Wednesday, July 6, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. European Union lawmakers back plan to include natural gas, nuclear energy as sustainable activities(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) Russia's war in Ukraine has prompted the 27-nation bloc to sever ties with some Russian fossil fuels. Member countries have agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end in addition to a ban on imports of Russian coal that will start in August. But the EU hasn't included gas a fuel used to power factories and generate electricity in its own sanctions for fear of seriously harming the European economy. Before the war in Ukraine, it relied on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas. ___ Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Somalias president on Wednesday called for assistance from Turkey to combat the effects of severe drought that is threatening the Horn of Africa. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Somalias president on Wednesday called for assistance from Turkey to combat the effects of severe drought that is threatening the Horn of Africa. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made the comments during his first visit to Turkey since returning to office following an election in May. The two countries have forged close ties over the past decade. The humanitarian situation caused by the drought was one of the issues we discussed in our meeting with (Turkish) President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, Mohamud told reporters following a meeting with the Turkish leader. He said: I would like to take this opportunity to call upon our Turkish brothers to support us and do what they can, as they did before. Your solidarity and support will save the lives of the Somali people and will never be forgotten. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Some areas of the Horn of Africa could be declared in famine within weeks because of the driest drought in the region in decades. Russia's war in Ukraine has abruptly drawn millions of dollars away from other crises and Somalia, facing a food shortage largely driven by the war, might be the most vulnerable. Erdogan visited Somalia in 2011, amid a severe drought and devastating famine as Turkey sought to increase its influence in the Horn of Africa. The visit marked the start of Turkish humanitarian, development and infrastructure projects in Somalia. Turkey also established a military base in Somalia to train Somali soldiers. The Somali state and its people see Turkey and the Turkish people as true friends who support our efforts for development and stability in our country and stand by us, Mohamud said in comments that were translated into Turkish. Erdogan said Turkeys humanitarian and development assistance to Somalia in the past decade has exceeded $1 billion. Turkey has trained about 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 special forces police, he said, adding that Turkey would continue to support Somalias stability and security. The National Assembly is pictured as French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne delivers a speech in Paris, France, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Borne lay out her main priorities at parliament after the government lost its straight majority in the National Assembly in elections last month. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) PARIS (AP) Frances government plans to nationalize indebted French electricity giant EDF amid a broad energy crisis aggravated by Russias invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Wednesday. The French state now holds an 84% stake in the company, one of the worlds biggest electricity producers. Shares in EDF, which has suffered a series of nuclear reactor shutdowns and other problems recently, jumped on the news. We must have full control over our electricity production and performance, Borne said as she laid out her government's priorities in her first major speech to Frances parliament. We must ensure our sovereignty in the face of the consequences of the war (in Ukraine) and the colossal challenges to come. ... Thats why I confirm to you the states intention to own 100% of EDFs capital. The announcement came as France and Europe are scrambling to find other energy sources to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas amid fears of an energy emergency next winter. EDF manages Frances sizable fleet of nuclear reactors, which are facing a raft of technical and other problems. New-generation reactors are years behind schedule and billions over budget. EDF had 84.5 billion euros ($86 billion) in revenue last year and 5.1 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in profits, and serves tens of millions of customers in France and several other countries. It was partially privatized in the early 2000s. The rise in EDF's share price was an apparent sign that investors expect the government to pay a premium to buy up the remaining stock. The shares hit an all-time high in 2007 but have since slid by 90%, falling even lower than the price at which the French government took EDF public in 2005 under a European Union privatization push. France invested heavily in nuclear energy during the oil shocks of the 1970s and depends on atomic plants for some 70% of its electricity, more than any other country. But EDF repeatedly had to reduce its production forecasts over the past several months after a string of reactor shutdowns for maintenance and inspections. Several reactors having problems with pipe corrosion are under investigation. Borne described the nationalization decision as part of a strategy to gain energy sovereignty and build a stronger France in a more independent Europe. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. We cannot rely anymore on Russian gas and oil, she said. We will gain our sovereignty thanks to nuclear and renewable energies. Her announcement came hours after the European Parliament approved an EU plan to include natural gas and nuclear energy in the blocs list of sustainable activities. Environmental groups fiercely criticized the plan, which France and Germany supported. France's state audit agency published a report Tuesday urging the government to change policy regarding EDF and the electricity market, calling the current structure neither readable nor controllable." According to the agency, France has failed to conform to EU policies on opening electricity markets to competition while maintaining affordable prices for consumers. ___ Jade le Deley in Paris and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report. A revised rule tied to a state lawmaker's concerns requires people who bring service animals into a salon in North Dakota to keep them under control at all times. The Legislature's Administrative Rules Committee last month unanimously approved the new pets rule revised by the state Board of Cosmetology. The new rule, which took effect July 1, reads: "No animals, birds, or other pets, except service animals and fish in aquariums, shall be permitted in any licensed salon. Service animals must be under the control of the handler or owner at all times." The previous rule read: "No animals, birds, or other pets, except assistance animals for the disabled and fish in aquariums, shall be permitted in any licensed salon." Board of Cosmetology President Tenalee Tangen presented an initial proposal in March intended to address legal concerns about animals with people with disabilities and to specify that "as long as that animal is under the care of that individual and under the handler of the individual, then we can't particularly say you can't have an animal with you," she said. The new rule doesn't include companion animals as the initial proposal did. Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown, had expressed concerns about people misrepresenting their pets as service animals. He also wondered about salons' cleanliness if they allow animals, such as dogs that lick and jump on people. He also mentioned hair and dander as "a minor component." Satrom had said his concerns were based in testimony on a 2019 bill that became a law penalizing service animal fraud. He said service animals have been attacked by pet impostors. State law defines a service animal as a dog. Board Vice President Rebecca Wood told lawmakers the board consulted the federal Americans with Disabilities Act for guidance on the rule's new language. "We feel it addresses Rep. Satrom's concerns as well as achieves the board's desired intent," Wood said. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the 100% Satisfaction Guarantee was all the rage among many hotels. The gist was simple: Encounter a problem and receive your money back. FILE- In this Sept. 5, 2018, file photo guests stand at the front desk at the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood in Seattle. In the 1990s and early 2000s, hotels began offering 100% Satisfaction Guarantees to customers. The promise ensured that customers who were dissatisfied with their service would be guaranteed full refunds with no questions asked. Fast forward to 2022, and it looks like this prevailing expectation has had a negative impact on the overall hotel experience for customers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) In the 1990s and early 2000s, the 100% Satisfaction Guarantee was all the rage among many hotels. The gist was simple: Encounter a problem and receive your money back. In theory, this approach addressed fairly serious issues such as early-morning pool renovations that made the jackhammer an unwelcome alarm clock. Bed bugs. No hot water. But some hospitality experts say that promise a 100% refund if customers werent 100% happy mightve made things worse for both the customer and the hotel. A toddler spilling yogurt may take staff longer to clean up, evolving into a bad review about a dirty lobby and a request for refund, says Bijoy Shah, an Indiana-based travel advisor. The customer-is-always-right mindset created these guarantees, but it seems the customer learned to abuse it, as well. These days, travelers are unlikely to find such confident promises. Meanwhile, satisfaction rates are lower than ever. But its not because the guarantee is gone. Its because it was there in the first place. HOTEL SATISFACTION IS WORSE THAN EVER According to the American Customer Satisfaction Indexs Travel Study 2021-2022, which interviewed 6,000 travelers between from 2021 to 2022, satisfaction fell 2.7% during that time period. Meanwhile, many hospitality workers say complaints are soaring. Things got so rough in 2021 that the Rhode Island Hospitality Association launched a Please Be Kind Toolkit containing mental health resources and information regarding handling unruly customers. Some attribute this years especially high dissatisfaction rates to differences of opinions about whether the pandemic is over. At the beginning of the pandemic, guests were sympathetic to frontline workers, says Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power. Now, consumers want to get back to normal, but the hotel industry isnt back to normal especially in terms of staffing. While pandemic-related issues like a pause on breakfast buffets are partially to blame, the ongoing slump has been agitated not driven by the pandemic. In fact, ACSIs numerical scores have been trending downward over the past decade, from a peak score of 77 in 2012 to just 71 in 2022. THE PROBLEM WITH THE 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE Some hotel experts blame the lingering effects of the 100% Satisfaction Guarantee for low customer satisfaction. Beyond eating into hotel profits (and decreasing money to invest elsewhere), it may have inadvertently adjusted consumer demands. Try as hard as you might and most hotel staff bend over backwards you cant manage everyones unique and often-unrealistic expectations, says hospitality consultant Colleen Carswell. You cannot please everyone. Hampton by Hilton is generally credited with creating the first-ever hotel 100% Satisfaction Guarantee (the guarantee was established before its former-parent company, Promus, was acquired by Hilton in 1999). Shruti Gandhi Buckley, global brand head for Hampton by Hilton, says its introduction was instrumental in providing guests confidence that they would have a seamless and problem-free stay. If their expectations werent met, we would refund their money, no questions asked. But some travel experts suspect this trained guests to believe that complaining equals compensation. This benefit may have even magnified negative naysayers who are always looking for something bad to point out, often in a very disrespectful manner, says Carswell. Gandhi Buckley maintains that abuse wasnt actually the problem, adding that while guests would sometimes have unusual rationale against invoking the guarantee, fewer than 1% of guests actually tried claiming refunds. Yet Hilton reevaluated the offer after more than a decade. Now, its still a 100% Hampton Guarantee, but the outright refund language is gone. We also found the original language signaled to a guest that something could go wrong, Gandhi Buckley says. Plus, Gandhi Buckley says that most business travelers didnt care about refunds anyway (since stays were generally on their employers dime), and leisure travelers just wanted problems fixed. Hamptons new promise shifts away from refunds to empowering employees across all levels and departments to actually execute those fixes. It allows team members to be more flexible, Gandhi Buckley says. HOW TO ENSURE YOU GET HOTEL SERVICE YOU DESERVE BE REALISTIC: Understand that a lower-cost motel likely wont treat you as generously as a luxury resort. READ ONLINE REVIEWS: A previous traveler might tip you off to the soggy waffles. ASK NICELY: While Hampton still offers a refund when warranted, Gandhi Buckley says its common to receive other types of compensation. If your room isnt ready at check-in, you might receive a free snack. In situations where staff cannot fix the problem, polite escalation can be necessary. After all, you deserve what you paid for. HOLD ELITE STATUS: Stokes says its more common to receive money-back guarantees when booking with elite status, as hotels prioritize customers expected to return. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. USE TRIP INSURANCE: In truly untenable situations, trip insurance might help. Coverage varies by policy and youre unlikely to find one that covers soggy waffles. But most policies cover situations including the bell desk losing your luggage or severe weather preventing you from arriving. Also, many credit cards offer travel insurance for trips purchased on that card. First seek compensation from the hotel. If those efforts dont work, ask your insurer. _____________________________ This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Sally French is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: sfrench@nerdwallet.com. RELATED LINK: NerdWallet: 10 Credit Cards That Provide Travel Insurance https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-credit-cards-that-provide-travel-insurance CALGARY - Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd. has pleaded guilty to a charge related to the company's release of acidic water in west-central Alberta in October 2019. The Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd. logo is seen in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd. *MANDATORY CREDIT* CALGARY - Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd. has pleaded guilty to a charge related to the company's release of acidic water in west-central Alberta in October 2019. The Calgary-based company was charged in October 2021 with breaching environmental protection laws by the Alberta Energy Regulator. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. In an agreed statement of facts, Tidewater acknowledged the release occurred at the company's Ram River sour gas processing plant near Rocky Mountain House. The acidic water flowed into a nearby creek. The regulator levied a penalty of $100,200 following Tidewater's guilty plea. Tidewater is an integrated midstream and energy infrastructure company with approximately 420 employees. It has operations throughout Alberta and B.C. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2022. Companies in this story (TSX:TWM) OTTAWA - Patrick Brown wants to appeal a decision made by federal Conservatives overseeing the party's leadership race to disqualify him. Conservative leadership hopeful Patrick Brown takes part in the Conservative Party of Canada French-language leadership debate in Laval, Quebec on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz OTTAWA - Patrick Brown wants to appeal a decision made by federal Conservatives overseeing the party's leadership race to disqualify him. A notice of appeal and warning of impending legal action related to Brown's ousting wassent Wednesday evening to Don Nightingale, the party's chief returning officer, and Ian Brodie, chair of the party's leadership election organizing committee. The letters were signed by Toronto-based lawyers Alex Smith and Marie Henein, who say they are acting as Brown's counsel. His decision to try and appeal his sudden removal came after Brown spent a day defending his innocence and accusing the party of mishandling the situation to stack the odds in favour of his main rival. The party's leadership election committee chose with a vote split 11 to six on Tuesday evening to disqualify Brown from the contest, based on what Brodie called "serious allegations of wrongdoing." Party president Rob Batherson confirmed Wednesday the allegations came from within Brown's campaign team. Neither Brodie nor the party has specifically outlined what the allegations are, saying only they appear to breach the financing rules in the Canada Elections Act and as such, they would be shared with Elections Canada. Brown's lawyers contend the party's decision not to provide the specifics he seeks shows he hasn't participated in misconduct. "This Kafkaesque process led to a politically motivated and preordained result and is not consistent with the values that should be upheld by this party," reads the notice of appeal co-signed by Henein and Smith. In a second letter, they request Brodie make sure all records and documents, including texts and messages on WhatsApp, regarding Brown's disqualification are preserved, considering the fact his ousting "may now be the subject of anticipated litigation." They say that means telling leadership election committee members "to retain all of their communications with members of the Pierre Poilievre campaign and other stakeholders in relation to Patrick Brown." Poilievre's campaign said Wednesday that Brown is lashing out at the party and trying to "make himself into a victim." His campaign also said it had nothing to do with the allegation brought forward against Brown. Speaking to The Canadian Press earlier in the day, Brown,who is the mayor of Brampton, Ont., said the committee was presented with an anonymous allegation that someone working on his campaign was being paid by a corporation. Concerns about his campaign financing were first raised with his team last week. Brown said they requested information about the identity of the individual or company, but it was not provided. In terms of other allegations, Brown said his campaign fielded questions from the party about a report that staff from his mayoral office had been working on his leadership campaign. He said his team explained that anyone doing so wasnt helping with the campaign during work hours. He added there was another allegation about mail received at party headquarters related to the handwriting of one of Brown's supporters from the Tamil community, as well as a query about the names of different supporters. Brown said his campaign felt the party was undertaking a "fishing expedition" with their questioning, but felt satisfied with the responses they provided. "I'm angry. I'm disappointed. It is incredible that this would happen," he said. "We were, we believe, on the verge of winning this leadership. We thought we had a great pathway." Brown, a former leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservatives, said his campaign signed up more than 150,000 new people to join the party. Many of them hailed from cultural communities in some of the country's largest cities, where the party has struggled to find support in the past few federal elections. On the allegation regarding how someone on his campaign team was paid, Brown said his team has 1,800 volunteers across the country and it's tough to keep tabs on what everyone is doing. "Our campaign very strictly adhered to the Canadian election rules and the party rules. If we heard of any example where it wasn't followed, we would, of course, want to rectify it immediately." Despite seeking an appeal, his options appear slim. According to the party's election rules, there is no apparent chance of an appeal. Conservative strategist Michael Diamond said courts typically try to stay out of the internal operations of political parties, so that avenue doesn't seem likely to bring much success. What's important now, Diamond said, is for the party to be as transparent as possible, underlining that the removal of a candidate must only happen under the most severe of circumstances. "Members of the public including the disqualified candidate, deserve to know exactly what the rationale is." Party spokesman Yaroslav Baran said he's not surprised to see "sand being thrown in the air" by Brown with his accusations that the situation was handled unfairly. "There are different categories of transgressions that have been alleged, and the ... committee had to make a determination based on its evaluation of the nature of the allegations, the credibility of those making those allegations." Baran said the party membership list that was provided to campaigns last week which is an all-important document candidates use to persuade party members to vote for them was withheld from Brown's campaign based on him allegedly violating the rules of the race. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Brown also finds himself in hot water with his critics within Brampton City Hall, with five council members releasing a statement on Wednesday that said "once again, our great city is in the national news for all the wrong reasons because of Patrick Brown." The Conservatives will announce the winner of the leadership race in Ottawa on Sept. 10. Besides Poilievre and Charest, the other candidates are Conservative MPs Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchison, as well as Roman Baber, a former Independent member of the Ontario legislature. Brown's name will still appear on the ballot, as the party has already sent many out in the mail. Last week, the party said about 675,000 members have signed up to vote for a new leader. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2022. Manitobas Ukrainian community is rallying around two refugees considering a move to a different province after they were attacked at The Forks on Canada Day. Manitobas Ukrainian community is rallying around two refugees considering a move to a different province after they were attacked at The Forks on Canada Day. Ukrainian refugees plan to flee city after life-threatening attack at The Forks MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The sidewalk along Israel Asper Way, where an incident occurred on Canada Day that resulted in two victims being taken two hospital. Posted: 7:00 PM Jul. 4, 2022 Two Ukrainian refugees attacked at The Forks on Canada Day intend to leave Manitoba, as a rash of incidents highlights an increase in violent crime in Winnipeg. The citys emergency services responded to three serious stabbings and two shootings, including Winnipegs 27th homicide of the year, over a bloody long weekend. Read Full Story The men, who fled Ukraine after Russias unprovoked invasion in February, are being encouraged to give the province and Winnipeg a second chance. "I cant blame them for almost thinking of not staying," said Joanne Lewandoski, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Manitoba council. "Im embarrassed, very embarrassed (by the attack). "Were all upset because they didnt aggravate a situation. They were innocently walking and trying to enjoy The Forks." One of the men was stabbed in the neck after both were bear sprayed on Israel Asper Way, near York Avenue, around 10:40 p.m. July 1. The pair told hospital visitors, including Lewandoski, they were attacked after accidentally bumping into a group of men and apologizing. The refugees said they dont feel safe in Winnipeg, after arriving only a couple of weeks ago, and moving into a downtown apartment the day of the attack. "I think they just have to reassess the situation," said Lewandoski. "We have to step up because (they) did choose to come to friendly Manitoba, and I want that to continue. "These are young people who chose to come here because they felt it was safe and secure, and thats the message we have to keep reminding them that it is, and we have to work on it." JESSICA LEE JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Manitoba council, Joanne Lewandoski: "Were all upset because they didnt aggravate a situation. They were innocently walking and trying to enjoy The Forks." Lewandoski visited the stabbing victim at Health Sciences Centre on Monday, along with Julya Zan, a witness who helped the man as he lay bleeding on a sidewalk with a knife still in his neck. "I tried to convince that we, as a community, are here for him," said Lewandoski. "We are going to try to help him get through this trauma." The stabbing was the third reported attack in five days at The Forks, which boosted security while it hosted a July 1 celebration called "A New Day." The incidents have put security measures under scrutiny and raised questions about whether any additional measures are needed. These incidents are extremely rare, and to have several in a row is even rarer. We are working as hard as we can to keep everyone who visits us safe. The Forks vice-president of strategic initiatives Clare MacKay Clare MacKay, The Forks vice-president of strategic initiatives, said management will work with city police and the Downtown Community Safety Partnership "to determine the best course of action." "These incidents are extremely rare, and to have several in a row is even rarer," MacKay said Tuesday. "We are working as hard as we can to keep everyone who visits us safe." The number of security officers on site was increased after a father and daughter were attacked and two men were stabbed in separate incidents last week. At the nearby The Forks Market, vendor Dilshan Bastians waved off the idea it was becoming a less safe place to gather. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dilshan Bastians has worked at Taste of Sri Lanka for 30 years, and said over that time hes seen area crime spike and wane. Bastians has worked at Taste of Sri Lanka for 30 years, and said over that time hes seen area crime spike and wane. "Were just concerned that the peoples impression of The Forks is starting to change," he said Tuesday. "Its still a safe place Its still a few rotten apples (causing problems)." However, Bastians added, The Forks security guards are vulnerable when situations become violent. "They dont have any power to really do much. So with all the stuff thats happening, its just that theres no one to really stop it." Winnipeg police and the DCSP have increased their presence in the area, said MacKay, adding surveillance camera footage has been given to officers investigating the July 1 attack. SUPPLIED Julya Zan and her husband, Jorge Torres, pulled over and helped the victim after he was stabbed Friday night. In the aftermath of the stabbing, Zan and her husband, Jorge Torres, provided first aid and comforted the man, who begged for help as he walked toward traffic. Zan, who moved to Canada from Ukraine in 2010, spoke to the victim in Ukrainian while reassuring him help was on the way. It is hoped the man will be released from hospital in a few days, after initially being admitted in critical condition. His friend was treated and released after the attack. Police are looking for a group of suspects, who fled on foot. As strangers come forward with offers of money and other assistance, the UCC Manitoba council is discussing how to support the men. "Its a sad, sad story with maybe, I hope, a happy ending," said Lewandoski. Zan said the men are going to move out of downtown Winnipeg while they figure out their next steps and look for work. (The stabbing victim) said right now his main priority is safety for him and his girlfriend. Julya Zan "(The stabbing victim) said right now his main priority is safety for him and his girlfriend," who arrived in Winnipeg two days after the attack," said Zan. "They dont feel safe staying downtown." The men told Zan they travelled to Poland from Kyiv after Russia began its war on Ukraine. They spent some time in Eastern Canada before making their way to Winnipeg. Lewandoski worries the incident will discourage people from moving to or visiting the city. "Its sending the wrong message that its not safe. We want to send a welcoming message," she said. "There have to be consequences for the people doing this to innocent people." with files from Malak Abas chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching The Manitoba Human Rights Commission will investigate literacy education in response to dozens of reports about concerns the public school system is failing students with learning disabilities. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission will investigate literacy education in response to dozens of reports about concerns the public school system is failing students with learning disabilities. Once the 2022-23 school year gets underway, the commission plans to announce a "special project" that will involve consultations with youth, parents, teachers and K-12 leaders about literacy issues. The final report, expected before 2024, will make recommendations. "What parents and learners have reported to us is that theyve gone their entire education experience without really fundamentally learning some basic reading skills, and the supports that they have received have helped them coast by," said executive director Karen Sharma. Sharma said there are concerns about teaching approaches, diagnosis delays and insufficient accommodations that are preventing students from receiving their fundamental right to education and freedom from discrimination. Pandemic health orders have interfered with face-to-face support and intervention quality, she noted. Earlier this year, the Ontario commission released the stark findings of its Right to Read inquiry: Ontarios schooling system which, like Manitoba, embraces "balanced literacy" is not using evidence-based approaches to teach students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities to read. "The best way to teach all students to read words is through direct, explicit, systematic instruction in foundational word-reading skills," the authors wrote. The report intensifies the debate between two schools of thought: explicit phonics instruction and balanced literacy. Simply put, phonics stresses the importance of teaching reading systematically by focusing on mastering letter-sound associations, recognizing sound patterns and decoding words. Proponents of the latter strategy are keen to balance explicit language instruction with constructing meaning in literature. Balanced literacy teachers promote memorization and the use of context, including visual cues, to figure out the meaning of unknown words through this method and gradually introduce them to more complex texts. "They encourage guessing. So if you see a word you dont know, rather than try to sound it out, you have to guess meaning from a sentence," said Linda Siegel, a consultant on the Right to Read report and professor emeritus of educational and counselling psychology at the University of British Columbia. As far as Siegel is concerned, the status quo gives kids an inefficient strategy to learn how to read if it even allows them to grow into readers at all. Balanced literacy was born out of worries about so-called "drill and kill," the notion that repetition be it while learning phonemic awareness or other skills can bore children. Siegel, however, said that structured literacy can promote the joy of reading. "(Phonics) is not just teaching the sounds in a vacuum. Its very much in the context of vocabulary, learning sentence structure, teaching reading material that is interesting," she said. Notably, Manitobas English Language Arts curriculum framework does not mention phonics once in 42 pages. Twila Richards, a trained teacher who tutors students with disabilities, mobilized Manitobans with concerns about the status quo and prompted the Manitoba commission to undertake its new project. "Spelling rules have to be explicitly taught (to students with learning disabilities)," said Richards who knows firsthand what the consequences can be, including the onset of anxiety and low-self-esteem, if that does not happen. Not only does she have a child who has dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia, but Richards also struggled with learning to read, write, spell and do math in school, although she does not have a formal diagnosis. Jennifer Rodrigue said she has witnessed "a complete 180 (degree turn)" in her daughter since her youngest child, who was diagnosed with dyslexia several years ago, started attending a private school for students with learning disabilities in Winnipeg. It was not until the summer after her daughters Grade 5 year that the mother of three said she fully realized her daughter could not read independently. Unable to get support through the public school system, the family sought a diagnosis from a private clinician and did their own research. They hired a tutor and later enrolled their youngest in the Laureate Academy. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I dont think families should have to go outside of (public) school so that their kids can learn basic literacy skills. Thats a right, not what your family can notice and afford," Rodrigue said, adding she thinks change needs to happen at the faculty of education level to better equip teacher candidates with knowledge on how to effectively teach students with learning disabilities. The University of Manitobas acting dean of education said both an emphasis on the connection between sounds and symbols, as well as focusing on comprehension, meaning and context are valuable tools to teach students how to read. "What we would emphasize in teaching teachers how to teach children is that there are lots of different ways that kids learn how to read," said U of M professor Charlotte Enns. "But in the end, they need to be able to do both those things: they need to be able to decode and comprehend, or its not reading." In an emailed statement, a provincial spokesperson indicated Manitoba is "committed to continuous improvement grounded in high-quality evidence-based research and educators experience." maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca An Alberta doctor, fed up with a growing demand from employers for sick notes, posted the following note on Reddit, and it went viral: (First name) has had, by their own report, a cold today and sensibly stayed home from work rather than spreading this to his colleagues/customers. I have no test for the common cold and therefore believe him/her; however you feel his time and mine should be wasted by making him sit in the walk-in clinic for hours and me spend time writing a sick note that I could be spending on people who genuinely need my attention. An Alberta doctor, fed up with a growing demand from employers for sick notes, posted the following note on Reddit, and it went viral: "(First name) has had, by their own report, a cold today and sensibly stayed home from work rather than spreading this to his colleagues/customers. I have no test for the common cold and therefore believe him/her; however you feel his time and mine should be wasted by making him sit in the walk-in clinic for hours and me spend time writing a sick note that I could be spending on people who genuinely need my attention." The sentiment that excessive demand for sick notes is wasting the time and talents of medical professionals is widespread. Its of particular concern in Manitoba, which has the lowest number of family doctors per-capita in Canada. Dr. Candace Bradshaw, president of Doctors Manitoba, recently suggested phasing out sick notes could lessen the workload on doctors. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Candace Bradshaw Her proposal comes after the University of Manitoba did its part to ease the burden on the health-care system by saying students will no longer need a sick note for temporary absences. Beginning in the fall, U of M students who are absent because of illness will need only fill out a self-declaration form. The Rady Faculty of Health Sciences already has a similar policy. The issue has history in this province. In 2016, Dave Gaudreau, an NDP backbencher in Manitoba, called for a provincial law to forbid "bosses from requesting sick notes until a worker has missed at least seven days in a calendar year." That didnt happen, but the issue continued to percolate in different circles, and seems to have come to a head during the pandemic. Doctors across the country reported increased demand from patients who wanted to stay away from their workplace because they were wary of catching COVID-19 and bringing it home to their loved ones. Many workplace rules demanded a doctors note so, somehow, without benefit of a crystal ball, doctors were expected to confirm whether an absence from the work site was justified, even without adequate knowledge of factors such as the workplace conditions and how going back on the job might impact the patients physical and mental health. There is an alternative: trust that most workers are not liars. Trust that if an employee says theyre too sick to work, theyre being truthful. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. When an employer demands written proof from a doctor, the subtext is that the workers word is not good enough. Such suspicion can poison employee morale and encourage a workplace culture of mistrust. The Canadian Medical Association has urged employers and institutions to do away with sick notes completely, but perhaps such an all-encompassing measure would be unfair to employers who, understandably, must be concerned about excessive absenteeism. CP THOMAS KIENZLE / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES When an employer demands written proof from a doctor, the subtext is that the workers word is not good enough. Such suspicion can poison employee morale and encourage a workplace culture of mistrust. A reasonable compromise might be to fine-tune workplaces policies so they dont apply to workers who take an occasional sick day, which is normal and understandable. The doctor-note mandate could be directed at those whose absences are frequent in number or length. Many workplaces currently demand sick notes from all employees after a set period, such as three missed days of work. Perhaps it would be more fair to rewrite the workplace policy so employers "have the right" to seek a doctors note, in order to focus the process on workers who seem to be abusing sick-day policies. Eliminating the majority of sick notes would let doctors spend more time attending to the medical needs of their patients, and less time filling out forms to meet the paperwork pronouncements of human-resource departments. Special Olympics athlete Nevada Khan took part in a Kinsmen track meet at the University of Manitoba recently. Special Olympics athlete Nevada Khan took part in a Kinsmen track meet at the University of Manitoba recently. The 13-year-old Royalwood resident demonstrated her versatility, taking part in several running, jumping and throwing events. From June 2 to 16, Khan student featured in an in-store fundraising campaign when Special Olympics Canada partnered with Sobeys and Safeway in support of Special Olympics athletes. As part of the campaign, a number of Special Olympics athlete ambassadors across the country who embrace living a healthy lifestyle were chosen and were featured in local Sobeys stores. Khan represented Manitoba. After repeatedly telling Manitobans they have to learn to live with COVID, Premier Heather Stefanson now has some firsthand experience with the novel coronavirus. After repeatedly telling Manitobans they have to "learn to live with COVID," Premier Heather Stefanson now has some firsthand experience with the novel coronavirus. On Wednesday, she spared a few moments to talk about it even though she said, most people dont want to talk about it right now. The premier announced she tested positive for COVID-19 a day after taking part in a National Indigenous Peoples Day event at the legislature June 21. "I had pretty mild symptoms. I had a headache, a sore throat and a bit of a temperature (103 F)," said Stefanson, 52. "The symptoms were so mild it couldve been a cold or a bit of a flu or whatever." After two days of rapid tests that produced negative results, she tested a third time before attending a 1,200-person event. I think people are just really excited to maybe not talk about COVID right now but talk about other things like whats affecting their families and how theyre enjoying spending time with their families and maybe not having to talk about this much. Premier Heather Stefanson "I wanted to make sure, because we know how much more quickly this virus spreads out in the community," the premier said in her office at the legislative building. "I dont want to be a spreader throughout the community. I take it very seriously." After testing positive, she isolated at home. "I took the necessary precautions," Stefanson said. "I didnt go back out until I was testing negative again, which was about five or six days later." The premier later attended public events on Canada Day. The experience has left her feeling even more grateful for the COVID-19 vaccine and having received her booster shot. "Im just so thankful for the vaccine, because were able to kind of get through this with more mild symptoms," said Stefanson, who doesnt personally know any of the more than 2,000 Manitobans who have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. "Theres so many people out there that are walking around, I think, with it that dont even know that they have it." The premier says she will wear a mask when shes asked to, such as events at the Health Sciences Centre, and when she shops for groceries, which isnt often these days. "My husbands doing it, which is great, and my kids have been helping out." However, now that summers here, most of the events shes attended are outdoors and she hasnt worn a mask. Stefanson agreed to talk about her COVID-19 experience but doesnt think its a subject most Manitobans are focused on at the moment. "I think, for right now, Manitobans are just so happy and excited to be outside and to be spending time with their families," the premier said. "Theres been some flooding challenges, for sure, but many of those things are starting to recede. "I think people are just really excited to maybe not talk about COVID right now but talk about other things like whats affecting their families and how theyre enjoying spending time with their families and maybe not having to talk about this much." Manitobans know, however, COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon, Stefanson added. "Ive always said were going to have to learn to live with this and thats what were doing and thats what Manitobans are doing. COVID still exists. Ive just contracted it and come through it." The premier wouldnt weigh in on whether another wave of pandemic restrictions could be imposed this fall if COVID-19 comes roaring back. The Free Press | Newsletter Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I think weve got a bit of a reprieve here. Well see what the fall brings. Obviously, well take our advice from (chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent) Roussin and others, and well see whats going on in other jurisdictions that seem to get hit sooner than we are," Stefanson said. "We cant predict the future." Roussin hasnt held a COVID-19 media briefing since May 20. The premier said the next update will be held when theres information that needs to be shared with the public. "If theres something to update the public on, then absolutely well have him out there doing that. For now, theres really not that need to be out there," she said. "As we get into respiratory virus season again in the fall, well be encouraging people to get their booster, to get their flu shots." carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there, authorities said Wednesday. Dozens of mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St. Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park, one day after a gunman killed at least seven people and wounded dozens more by firing an AR-15-style rifle from a rooftop onto a crowd attending Highland Park's Fourth of July parade, Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Ill.. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there, authorities said Wednesday. The suspect turned back to Illinois, where he was later arrested, after deciding he was not prepared to pull off another attack in Wisconsin, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference following a hearing where the 21-year-old man was denied bond. The parade shooting left another American community reeling this time affluent Highland Park, home to about 30,000 people near the Lake Michigan shore. More than two dozen people were wounded, some critically, and hundreds of marchers, parents and children fled in a panic. Covelli said it did not appear that the suspect had planned another attack in Wisconsin, but fled there, saw another Independence Day celebration and seriously contemplated firing on it. The assailant had ditched the semi-automatic rifle he used in Illinois, but he had another, similar rifle and about 60 more rounds with him, according to Covelli. Police later found his phone in Middleton, Wisconsin, which is about 135 miles (217 kilometers) from Highland Park. Members of the FBI's Evidence Response Team Unit investigate on Central Avenue near Green Bay Road in downtown Highland Park, Ill., less than 24 hours after a gunman killed several people and wounded dozens more by firing a high-powered rifle from a rooftop onto a crowd attending Highland Park's Fourth of July parade, Tuesday morning, July 5, 2022. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) For hours before his arrest, police warned that the gunman was still at large and that he should be considered armed and dangerous. Several nearby cities canceled events including parades and fireworks. Most festivities in and around Wisconsins capital city went ahead. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told a news conference Wednesday that the FBI urged the department on Monday evening to prepare its SWAT team because investigators believed the gunman could be in the area. Barnes said he was not warned at the time that the shooter was considering carrying out further attacks. Lake County Assistant States Attorney Ben Dillon said in court that the gunman climbed up the fire escape of a building above the Highland Park parade, looked down his sights, aimed and fired at people across the street. He left the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop. He initially evaded capture by disguising himself as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, according to police. Dozens of mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St. Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park, one day after a gunman killed at least seven people and wounded dozens more by firing an AR-15-style rifle from a rooftop onto a crowd attending Highland Park's Fourth of July parade, Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Ill.. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Some of the wounded remained hospitalized in critical condition, Covelli said, and the death toll could still rise. Already, the deaths from the shooting have left a 2-year-old boy without parents, families mourning the loss of beloved grandparents and a synagogue grieving the death of a congregant who for decades had also worked on the staff. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said he planned to bring attempted murder and aggravated battery charges for each individual who was hurt. There will be many, many more charges coming, he said at a news conference, estimating that those charges would be announced later this month. Dozens of mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St. Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park, one day after a gunman killed at least seven people and wounded dozens more by firing an AR-15-style rifle from a rooftop onto a crowd attending Highland Park's Fourth of July parade, Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Ill.. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) If convicted of the first-degree murder charges, the gunman would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. The suspect, Robert Crimo III, wore a black long-sleeve shirt as he appeared in court by video. As the prosecutor described the shooting, he said little besides telling the judge that he did not have a lawyer. On Tuesday, Thomas A. Durkin, a prominent Chicago-based lawyer, said he would represent Crimo and that he intended to enter a not guilty plea to all charges. But Durkin told the court Wednesday that he had a conflict of interest with the case. Crimo has been assigned a public defender. Dozens of mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park, one day after a gunman killed at least seven people and wounded dozens more by firing an AR-15-style rifle from a rooftop onto a crowd attending Highland Park's Fourth of July parade, Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Ill.. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Rinehart also left open the possibility of charging Crimo's parents, telling reporters that he doesnt want to answer that question right now as the investigation continues. Steve Greenberg, the lawyer for Crimo's parents, told The Associated Press that the parents arent concerned about being charged with anything related to their sons case. Questions also arose about how the suspect could have skirted Illinois relatively strict gun laws to legally purchase five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide. Mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park, Ill. Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Police went to the home following a call from a family member who said Crimo was threatening to kill everyone there. Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019. Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by Crimo, Covelli said. Illinois state police, who issue gun owners licenses, said Crimo applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application, and he purchased the semi-automatic rifles in 2020, according to Covelli. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his fathers home. He purchased four of the guns while he was under 21 and bought a fifth after his birthday last year. Helena Kavanaugh, right, stands with friends Addison Schwan, center, and Charlie Shookman after Kavanaugh placed flowers at a memorial for the seven people who lost their lives in the Highland Park, Ill., Fourth of July mass shooting, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Highland Park. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) The revelations about his gun purchases offered just the latest example of young men who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence. The state police have defended how the application was handled, saying that at the time there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the application, state police said in a statement. Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said. The Galbano family, from Highland Park, Ill., center, listens during a vigil in Highwood, Ill., for the victims of Monday's Highland Park's Fourth of July parade, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburbs stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Courts doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburbs restrictions remain in place. Asked whether Crimos case demonstrates flaws in state law, Rinehart said that the gap in the states gun laws would be that we dont ban assault weapons. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or those deemed capable of harming themselves or others. That last provision might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon. But under the law, who that provision applies to must be decided by a court, board, commission or other legal authority. The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized. Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent. ___ Foody reported from Chicago, Babwin from Waukegan, Illinois. Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Highland Park, Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York also contributed. This summer, Merchants Bank and the Merchants Bank I Believe Leadership Series are coming together across the region to help Habitat for Humanity build hopes, dreams and homes in Red Wing and Winona, Minnesota, as well as La Crosse, Wisconsin. Their vision was to have 50 Merchants Bank team members working on regional Habitat houses at the same time and to raise money to sponsor those homes. Working as One Merchants, they helped build homes for the Webb family, the OConnells, the Baums, and the Steinfadts. Today the Steinfadts are living in a mobile home with bowed floors, cracked windows, a leaking roof, and a sewer that keeps backing up. Frozen pipes can mean that the family goes days, or even weeks, without running water in the winter. Tina says, This has been our home for almost five years, and I have worked very hard to make it as efficient and comfortable as possible for my kids, but the cost has gotten overwhelming with the seemingly endless repairs and exhausting utility bills. For Tina, owning a home that is not in need of constant repairs will be, a giant weight off her shoulders and a dream come true in every sense. Motivated by service to families like Tinas, the Merchants team went into action. Branch versus branch competitions the banks local board members, along with the involvement of other local community businesses, helped their campaign exceed its goals and together they raised $25,000 to spread across three Habitat for Humanity affiliates. Says Kahya Fox, Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area was blown away by the passionate support from Merchants Bank members to raise money and help build the home for Andrea Baum and her two young sons. Bob Hawley of Goodhue Habitat for Humanity said, Merchants Bank employees blessed Goodhue County Habitat with two hard-working, fun groups to paint siding and trim with Tina OConnell for Tinas home in Red Wing. The funding the banks employees provided was an additional blessing. We are very grateful for their support and pleased to see such a team effort! Work in Winona was delayed due to rain but is scheduled to take place in July. Amanda Hedlund says, this incredible community investment gives shape and form to hopes and dreams, turning critical needs into homes that last for generations. Employees at Merchants were moved by the opportunity to help their neighbors. Molly Jangbauer, CPAa nd Merchants Board member, said I kicked in and was proud to do so. Habitat is a wonderful organization that my husband and I have been happy to support over the years. Thank you, Merchants, for supporting such a worthy cause! Erick Maki, Regional President for Merchants, added As everyone knows, Habitat is a great organization doing amazing work every day with people like myself that have little to no carpentry skills. Two children are among the six people who died Friday evening in a massive crash after a Montana dust storm caused blackout conditions on Interstate 90. Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jay Nelson said investigators so far have found no other factors that contributed to the pileup that also sent eight others to area hospitals with varying degrees of injuries. The incident happened just west of Hardin, though additional ambulances had to be called in from Billings to help. The identities of the dead and conditions of the survivors are not yet being released. Gov. Greg Gianforte said on Twitter that he was deeply saddened by the news of a mass casualty crash. The alleged shooter who attacked an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, and then drove to Madison seriously contemplated attacking a celebration in Madison on the same day, police said. Robert Crimo III, who police say killed seven people and injured more than 30 in the Illinois shooting, came to Madison shortly after the shooting before driving back to Illinois, where police apprehended him, Christopher Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriffs Office, said Tuesday. At the time, police said, Crimo had a .40-caliber folding rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition in his car. On Wednesday, Covelli said it wasnt clear why Crimo drove to the Madison area, but while there he did see a celebration that was occurring in Madison and he seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting. The gunman ultimately decided against it because he didnt put enough thought and research into it, Covelli said. We are deeply troubled to learn the suspected Illinois parade shooter considered carrying out another attack here in Madison, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. We feel for the grieving families in Highland Park and all those forever impacted by the events of Mondays shooting. We recognize tragedy very well could have taken place in our own community. That reality is upsetting to all of us here in Madison, including the members of the Madison Police Department. Informed by the FBI that Crimo could be in the Madison area, the department began to mobilize its SWAT team but stood down after learning the suspect, whose name Barnes pointedly said he would not utter, had been arrested in Illinois. Police in Illinois did not specify which event in Madison Crimo considered attacking. A number of celebrations took place in the Madison area on Monday. In Madison, Tribute to the Troops, a patriotic concert performed by the Capitol City Band, took place at Rennebohm Park, but inclement weather led organizers to cancel Fourth Fest 2022, a celebration at The Edgewater hotel. Mononas annual three-day Community Festival at Winnequah Park continued through Monday. And in Shorewood Hills, celebrations stretched from 8:30 a.m. to sunset, including a parade. Madisons largest organized Independence Day celebration, Festival Foods Lights the Isthmus event at Breese Stevens Field, took place Saturday, two days before the shooting. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said the incident highlighted the need for federal action. Weapons of war have no place in our community, she said. This time the shooter wracked havoc in Highland Park and drove to Madison. Next time, it could be anywhere. On his way here he drove past hundreds of communities celebrating the Fourth of July. All of us are at risk when weapons of war are on our streets. Rhodes-Conway said Madison is working to control illegal guns, hold people accountable for gun violence and invest in violence interruption and prevention but added the city cannot do this alone and called upon Congress to instate a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. Phone left in Middleton During his trip to the Madison area, Crimo left his cellphone behind in the 6500 block of University Avenue in Middleton, Covelli said. Police have recovered the device, and the FBI is examining it, authorities said. Im glad he was caught, and my sympathies to everyone who was impacted, said Shorewood Hills Village President David Benforado, who helped organize celebrations in that village, which is bordered by University Avenue. People should be free to partake in regular, everyday community events like July 4th activities without the threat of someone killing them with an assault weapon. Shorewood Hills will look at its security measures for Independence Day celebrations over the next year, Benforado said. In the interim, he echoed Rhodes-Conway and urged Congress to reinstate the federal assault weapons ban that stood in place from 1994 to 2004. At the Monona Community Festival, organizers and police had been in constant contact throughout the day Monday, said Eric Redding, the festival president. While the festival always works with the city and its police department and plans for a number of contingencies, Redding said organizers became hypervigilant after news of the Highland Park shooting emerged. We live in the neighborhood in the grand scheme of things, Redding said. Learning after the fact that he was (in Madison), Im glad that law enforcement and everyone was thinking like that ... We felt as safe as possible because of that close relationship. The incident marked the first serious security scare the festival has ever faced, Redding said. Over the next year, organizers will look at extra precautions for the 2023 festival, he said. It was definitely a little scary, he said. These one-off situations that you hope never come around but you want to make sure are planned for ... Im thankful that we spent the time to plan. News of the shooting in Highland Park reached James Latimer, director of the Capitol City Band, in the middle of the bands Tribute to the Troops Concert. I almost broke down at the concert, he said. With the news of Crimos trip to Madison, Latimer said he was further concerned. Our fabrics have been shaken to the core. As I said at the concert, we have to do something, he said. I try to be as careful as I can and tell others the same thing, but Im prepared for the fact that that kind of an incident can happen, anywhere, any time. Overlapping protection Madison police have recognized the threat of mass shootings for years, Barnes said. The department has trained for such incidents and adjusted staffing of large events accordingly. Mass shootings are far too common in our country, he said. But large public events like parades and community festivals will always present security challenges, experts said. After the shooting in Highland Park, police departments might respond by stationing officers on rooftops, said Gary Raymond, owner of Great Lakes Security Services in Milwaukee, a private security firm. Theyre constantly trying to adapt to new ways of crime, he said of police. Now we have to worry about people on rooftops. Madison does deploy drones and overwatch (snipers) during some events in Madison to monitor rooftops, Barnes said. Police could also start using cameras more along parade routes, after cameras helped identify Crimo, Raymond said. Organizers of large public events anywhere should also make sure they know how to create action plans for potential threats, said Mike Tobia, a former senior adviser for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a senior vice president at Brosnan Risk Consultants. While uniformed and plainclothes officers can make an impact, as can metal detectors and a secure perimeter, no singular magic pill exists to keep a crowd safe, Tobia said. Its a culmination of many things that come together to form the highest level of security and safety, he said. State Journal reporter Chris Rickert contributed to this report. A 45-year-old Prairie du Chien man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for dealing methamphetamine. Christopher Fernette was also ordered to pay a fine of $17,200 as part of the sentence handed down June 30 by U.S. District Court Judge William Conley. Fernette pleaded guilty April 6 to methamphetamine possession with intent to distribute. According to federal prosecutors, Fernette was among a group of people who distributed significant amounts of methamphetamine in western Wisconsin after obtaining the drug from sources in multiple states. On April 3, 2021, investigators followed Fernette as he and a passenger crossed into Wisconsin from Minnesota. When the car stopped at a tavern in Ferryville, Iowa, a deputy from the Crawford County Sheriffs Office approached Fernette and asked for permission to pat him down for weapons. Fernette consented but reportedly attempted to hide a small plastic baggie in his hand. When the deputy questioned Fernette about the object in his hand, Fernette tossed the baggie and became combative. A fight ensued and the deputy eventually detained Fernette. After the altercation, the deputy located the baggie and determined that it contained a personal use amount of methamphetamine. The deputy then reportedly found a discarded black canvas tool bag in a ditch that contained approximately three pounds of methamphetamine. The deputy used his canine partner to sniff the vehicle. After a positive response, investigators searched the car and found $17,200 in cash. Fernette waived his Miranda rights and admitted that he and the passenger drove to Minnesota to purchase the methamphetamine found inside the black canvas bag. Fernette also said he and the passenger planned to split the methamphetamine with a third person in Wisconsin. At sentencing, Judge Conley said that the amount of methamphetamine found likely understated the total amount that Fernette sold on the street. The charge against Fernette was the result of an investigation conducted by the Crawford County Sheriffs Office, Prairie du Chien Police Department, Richland-Iowa-Grant Task Force, Dakota County Drug Task Force, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma prosecuted this case. In late June Bismarck was reminded that its not as metropolitan as many may believe. First, a mountain lion was captured on a home surveillance video on North 11th Street. Then a moose was spotted wandering around the city near the Capitol grounds. Its not the first time that mountain lions and moose have come into the city. Its rare enough, though, to spark the interest of residents. However, we must respect wild animals and give them space. If not, theres a good chance they will have to be put down. Sue Olson, who lives on North 11th Street and caught the mountain lion on video taking an early morning stroll through her backyard, understands the need for caution. Olson and her husband warned neighborhood residents of the potential danger. Theres never been a documented case in the state of a mountain lion attacking a person. But there could always be a first time, according to Stephanie Tucker, furbearer biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Her advice: If you encounter a mountain lion, raise your arms to make yourself bigger, yell and slowly back away. State wildlife officials think the lion spotted in Bismarck is a young one. Tucker thinks it took a wrong turn. The last mountain lion known to enter Bismarck was in January 2019. Bismarck police killed the mountain lion near the Municipal Ballpark out of an abundance of caution. Police also killed a lion near the former Home Depot building in north Bismarck in November 2009. The lion spotted last month could suffer the same fate if it turns up again in the city. The moose sighting last month also wasnt the first for the Bismarck area. In November 2019 a moose took a tour of north Bismarck before walking out of the city. In October 2016 a moose went sightseeing, traveling by the Bismarck Tribune building and the Capitol grounds before departing. Unfortunately, a moose that entered north Mandan in December 2014 suffered a sad fate. The moose, nicknamed Bill by fascinated residents, was shot and killed by police because of safety concerns. Its understandable why people are thrilled to see wildlife in the city. How often do you get to see a beautiful creature up fairly close? Still, keep your distance and alert authorities. Dont do anything to stress the animals, because that could have dire consequences for people, property or the animals. Theres a certain charm in knowing wildlife can wander into Bismarck or Mandan. Being along the Missouri River provides habitat for wildlife. However, a wrong turn can lead them into the city and unintended problems. We should feel lucky to have occasional sightings, and at the same time we need to be extra careful. People and traffic can be very scary to wildlife. Give them space and hope for a safe exit. BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) "The well-measured use of natural resources is key to ecological conservation," Chinese President Xi Jinping once quoted an ancient official's proposal, which deeply echoes Xi's vision for ecological civilization. The quote was taken from the policy proposal from Lu Zhi, a prominent politician in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Lu held that what nature can offer and what humans can produce both have their limits, so people should obtain and use natural resources in a restrained manner. In order to push forward the country's drive of ecological conservation, President Xi has also stressed the need to raise people's awareness, develop a conservation system in which everyone plays a part, and mainstream ecological conservation into every aspect of social life. Chinese central authorities have carried out rounds of scrutiny of local governments' work in environmental protection and ecological conservation, with particular focus on finding and tackling problems such as the pollution and damage of ecological environment and resources. China's energy consumption per unit of GDP, or energy intensity, declined by 28.7 percent from 2011 to 2020. (Source: Xinhua) Yin Jianmin, founder and President of Lanzhou-based Xinyuan Modern Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd, has been helping needy people, especially rural women in Northwest China's Gansu Province, shake off poverty and achieve their personal dreams through the cultivation of special industries and the creation of employment opportunities for the past two decades. Dreaming, in Western China Yin, 62, is from a family of four children in Dandong, a city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Her father, a veteran CPC (Communist Party of China) member and a national model worker, often stressed fine family traditions to Yin and her siblings. Yin recalls that her parents never complained about their harsh life, and that her parents would lend a helping hand to others, even if the people they were helping had better living conditions. Her parents' exemplary deeds inspired Yin to become a helpful person, and to do her best to discover happiness, even amid a harsh life. Near the end of the 1980s, Yin resigned from her job, as an electricity worker in Dandong, to try to find her fortune in South China's Guangdong Province. After several years of hard work, she finally earned a significant amount of money. In 2000, the Chinese Government implemented the Western Development Strategy. Curious about and having high expectations for western China, Yin moved to the region later that year. She made up her mind to do something for the local people. As she was completing an initial inspection tour in some underdeveloped areas in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, Yin fell in love with the region, in which the people still lived in poverty, although an abundance of resources was waiting to be explored. As she stood on the bank of the Yellow River, Yin decided to make a difference in the residents' lives. In 2001, she established Xinyuan Natural Gas Co., Ltd., in Honggu, a district in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu. Yin and her employees conducted door-to-door visits, to identify prospective clients, and to discuss the advantages of using natural gas. They eventually signed up their first customer, who while interested still expressed doubt about the company's ability to build a natural gas pipeline from Qinghai to Gansu. The company eventually completed the pipeline, to much fanfare, and much praise from its business partner. Today, the company employs more than 300 people, and it has more than 1 billion yuan (US $154 million) in assets. During construction of the pipeline, Yin visited more than 200 villages along the route. She eventually realized that only through the introduction of industry-driven, poverty-alleviation schemes will people be able to lift themselves out of poverty and enjoy prosperous and independent lives. Therefore, Yin launched a business venture in Honggu; the operations ranged from sheep breeding to fruit and vegetable plantation, in a green industrial chain. Yin has been able to create more than 1,000 employment opportunities for the villagers, and the venture's success has consolidated Yin's confidence in industry-driven poverty reduction. In 2014, Yin founded Xinyuan Modern Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd, to support the Chinese Government's nationwide poverty-relief campaign. Dongxiang is a former national-level, poverty-plagued Hui autonomous county in Gansu. In 2018, Yin invested in two sheep breeding farms in Dongxiang, and she encouraged the locals to build a brand for high-quality mutton products. As of June 2021, Yin had allocated 8.56 million yuan (US $1.32 million), in the form of dividends from her sheep-breeding business, to local impoverished families. That money helped 11,000 households escape poverty. Thanks to her countless efforts, the Dongxiang-style mutton brand has become known nationwide, and has been the subject of China Central Television (CCTV) news reports. Making a Difference in Rural Women's Lives During her first trip to a village in Dongxiang, Yin realized most of the women were too shy to talk with people from outside their community. Yin concluded the county would only be lifted out of poverty if she and others provided employment opportunities to the rural women. So, in 2018, Yin raised about 38 million yuan (US $5.85 million), which she used to establish Yinmiao Edible Fungi Technology Development Company, in Dongxiang. The company hires local women to manually harvest agaric mushrooms. The women work flexible schedules. Meanwhile, Yin also encouraged the women to continue with their academic learning, and to become skilled in agricultural techniques. Yin has brought many positive changes to the lives of the local women, who in turn regard her as a family member. With the support of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), which has built a special partnership with Zhangxian, another county in Gansu, in a paired-assistance, poverty-alleviation scheme, Yin in 2021 opened an edible fungi processing plant in the county, despite the shortage of construction materials and production equipment caused by the raging COVID-19 pandemic. The business venture has created more than 1,000 jobs for women in the county. Giving Back to Society In addition to promoting the economic development of underdeveloped areas in Gansu, Yin has been enthusiastically supporting and operating charitable events in recent years. Ganping Elementary School is located deep in the mountains of Lintao County. In 2012, Yin donated chairs and desks to the school, and she provided 300,000 yuan (US $46,154) to rebuild several of the classrooms. Since then, Yin has visited the school every semester, and she has delivered stationery, books and other learning resources to the students. She has also invited the students to visit Beijing, so they can broaden their horizons. To date, Yin has supported more than 600 students. Many of those students now participate in various charitable affairs, to help in-need people. Yin treats her employees like family members, and she helps them strengthen their sense of belonging and happiness in the workplace. For instance, Yin often sends special gifts to children of her employees ahead of International Children's Day, and Yin enjoys sharing a festive meal with unmarried employees during Spring Festival, the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year. In 2016, the Lanzhou Charity Federation set up a special fund in Yin's name, to help cover the costs of children's tuition, medical treatments and other poverty-relief needs. During the past several years, Yin has contributed nearly 24 million yuan (US $3.69 million) to the fund. Yin has received many high-profile awards and honorary titles including the nation's Most Beautiful Women Striver, the National March 8th Red-Banner Pacesetter, the National Model Worker, the National Poverty Alleviation Award in recent years, in recognition of her decades-long contributions to and sacrifices for social undertakings. Yin attributes her achievements to the support of the Party, the Chinese Government and the people. "The life of an entrepreneur will become more meaningful when he/she integrates the pursuit of personal dreams with the dedication to helping others and promoting social development," says Yin. Photos Supplied by Yin Jianmin (Women of China English Monthly May 2022 issue) The United States is considered the home of free-market capitalism, small government, and largely traditional social values; indeed, these are the elements of conservatism, and though, like any political ideology, it has evolved over time, conservative thought and action continue to have a dominant role in American society. While pockets of the country have adopted a more progressive liberal approach to governance, others remain steadfast in conservative values, creating a unique patchwork of competing visions across the nation. The following article discusses some of the most Conservative Cities In America. Midland, Texas Downtown Midland, Texas, on a sunny day as seen over the pond at Wadley Barron Park. The seat of Midland County, the city of Midland, is Texas 24th most populous metropolis. Like many cities in Texas, Midland leans heavily conservative and has consistently voted for Republican candidates at the different levels of government. In the Presidential elections, the city had not voted for a Democrat in over 70 years when President Harry S. Truman ran for re-election in 1948. With a low cost of living, Midland is amongst the nations fastest-growing cities, with a proud track record of voting consistently on critical conservative issues like gun control. Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa, Oklahoma, skyline at twilight. Unofficially known as the Oil Capital of the World, Tulsa is Oklahomas second-largest city. A perennial red Republican state, many of Tulsas elected officials at the state and federal branches are conservative. Indeed former mayor of Tulsa, Jim Inhofe, now serves as one of two Republican Senators for Oklahoma. With a majority white population, Tulsa has long attracted conservatives for its low cost of living, relatively low unemployment, and its friendly business atmosphere, which is ideal for entrepreneurs. Omaha, Nebraska City skyline of Omaha, Nebraska from the Heartland of America Park. Omaha has a strong record of voting Republican and is popular for its robust local economy while maintaining a low cost of living. The headquarters of several Fortune 500 companies like the Union Pacific Corporation, the city attracts investors and business owners from across the nation. With approximately 77% of the population identifying as White, Omaha is amongst the least racially diverse cities but continues to rank highly for its quality of life. Jacksonville, Florida Downtown Jacksonville skyline viewed over St. Johns River. Editorial credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com More than 50% of Jacksonvilles population has conservative leanings, and a majority of voters have given their electoral support to Republican candidates in state, federal, and Presidential elections. On the current city council, Republicans hold the majority. The home to the Fortune 500 company Fidelity National Information Services, Jacksonville is a popular destination for business owners and other investors looking for a favorable economic climate and tourism-related industry. Meanwhile, a traditional military culture exists in the city, with two nearby Navy Bases just outside city limits. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, downtown skyline in the afternoon. Being the capital and biggest city of Oklahoma, a majority of voters in Oklahoma City lean towards the Republican Party. In its suburbs, this metropolis of 681,000 inhabitants has a heavy concentration of conservative voters, and it has elected Republican officials to the State legislature and the federal House of Representatives for decades. In Presidential elections, the city has voted for the Republican candidate for over 40 years. With nearly 50% of its population identifying as White, Oklahoma City has a prominent cowboy culture and is situated in the middle of an oil field. It is also home to the Tinker Air Force Base, founded in 1941. Colorado Springs, Colorado Downtown Colorado Springs with the Rocky Mountains and Pike's Peak. With a population of just under 480,000 people, Colorado Springs has been described by the journal Politico as "staunchly Republican." About 78% of residents identify as White, while Latinos comprise only 16% of this conservative base. Located just immediately north of the city center, the United States Air Force Academy has a large military population, which contributes to the city's conservative thought and local governance. Alabaster, Alabama Small Southern Pond. Alabaster, Alabama. A Republican stronghold, up to 75% of registered voters in Alabaster (a suburb of Birmingham) self-identify as members of the GOP. Since the 1980 presidential election won by Ronald Reagan, this town of 33,000 inhabitants has overwhelmingly voted for the Republican candidate. Though it is relatively small in size (53 square kilometers), Alabaster is a wealthy community where conservative Christians make up a majority. Indeed 84% of residents identify as religious, compared to the under 50% nationwide. Alabaster is also one of the few Southern regions where Tesla Inc. sells its electric cars, solidifying the citys wealthy reputation. Conservative thought has long dominated the United States, and indeed many tenants of conservatism are key pillars of American society. From individual rights to the free market, limited government, and privatization, conservatism is firmly entrenched in many parts of the country. Though liberalism and progressivism are too prominent, conservative and, Republican politics continue to be at the heart of American social and political discourse. These cities are some of the strongest examples of a vibrant conservative center in a largely conservative nation. Blue Ridge is a small city situated in Fannin County in the northern portion of the US State of Georgia. The city is located approximately 1 hour from the state capital, Atlanta, and sits between the Tennessee and Alabama Rivers. Blue Ridge covers a total area of 6.2 sq. km, all of which is occupied by land. Blue Ridge experiences an annual average high temperature of 21 degrees Celsius and an average low of 6 degrees Celsius. History Of Blue Ridge Great view of Blue Ridge Lake, Georgia. The area that is now Blue Ridge is the traditional territory of the Cherokee Nation. Fannin County had a notable pro-Union population during the Civil War of 1861-65, within a state that voted to join the Confederacy. The modern town of Blue Ridge was founded in 1886 when the Marietta and North Georgia railroad lines were built. Blue Ridge was then made the county seat of Fannin County in 1895. Fannin County saw the creation of a dam on the Toccoa River in the 1930s. The dam created the Toccoa Lake Reservoir, which became a tourist attraction, and was later renamed "Lake Blue Ridge." Fannin County also had a distinguished moonshining ring, which was eventually hunted down by the ATF in 1983. The Population And Economy Of Blue Ridge Amazing aerial view of the Mercier Farm in Blue Ridge, Georgia. According to the latest US Census, Blue Ridge has a population of 1,253 people, the vast majority of which were white at 89%. The second-biggest demographic is the Hispanic population at 5%. The rest, 5%, is made up of various peoples, such as African-Americans, mixed-race people, and Asians. Approximately 64% of Blue Ridge is religious, and 45% follow the Baptist tradition of Christianity. Blue Ridge being a small town means that the employers of the town are not too plentiful. The nearby dam on Lake Blue Ridge creates considerable energy and income. Lake Blue Ridge itself is considered a good spot for tourists. There is also the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, which opened in 1998 and brought some outsiders to the town. Another prominent employer is the Fannin County School District. Furthermore, there is a growing LGBT business community in the town, though the said community is not without its opposition in the conservative county. One can find refreshments at Grumpy Old Men Brewing. There are also a good amount of spots that nature-lovers will enjoy, such as the Long Creek Falls, Morganton Point Recreation Area, Aska Trails, and Mercier Orchards. There is also a vibrant downtown area to go shopping or to interact with the community. how to be a heroine? A Mozambique girl Nhamo had no chance to go to school . An unexpected epidemic changed her life from poverty and danger into a fulfilled life. How? By facing all the dangerous in the wild for one year, she came to a new world. How do you face hard, painful, and uncertain life? Like Robinson Crusoe, she is a real hero. She almost has everything needed for becoming a successful woman, such as her excellent creativity, great working capacity, courage, and persistence in overcoming obstacles. She was such a coward when she encounter a period the first time, she regretted yet ate her words and sailed on after the event. By showing her shortcomings, we feel that she is a real person. How can an orphan grow into a hero? Her mother met a Zimbabwe worker but her father left after he beat a man to death. Her mother had her but eaten by a leopard which gave her the name disaster. When an epidemic broke out, she was forced to marry an old man who had two old wives. Her grandma believed she must be beaten to death within one year. The witch doctor said she was the only reason for the epidemic and everyone believed him except her grandmother. Do you have the courage to challenge beliefs of the public? At night, her grandmother gave her a bag of gold nugget and told her how to use a river as guidance to Zimbabwe to find her fathers family in three days. She believed her grandmother and stole a boat at night with a bag of food and mere knowledge of survival. When she went to the river, she discovered hungry hippos, crocodiles and other animals trying to kill her and dealing with the fear of becoming a woman. Will you have the courage to take risk to live in the river alone with little practical skill? In her tribe, after period, her cousin will get married and have babies with big celebration. Nhamo had no one around and only talked with spirit which gave her sagas and practical advice. She explored her way to a lush, haunted island and lived alongside a troop of baboom which had a combative contest with her for food. She used all knowledge for living by her tribe but still starving. In Zimbabwe, white people shoot at her, but she fled away and beat the fierce dog to death on the edge of a cliff and saved by a scientist. In her fathers country, she need to learn in a modern society (clothing, behavior, literacy) and urged to let go of the evil spirits inside. If she took part in survive in the wild, she certainly could be a youngest champion for unchallengeable courage and supreme skills to survive with dozens of mistakes and failures. To be a great person neednt great beginning, but one will overcome all challenges and fear. Sandbags placed at City Lake, efforts to bring more water to Marion continue Uvalde mayor says he fears a cover-up of investigation into school massacre and calls on Texas Gov. Abbott to intervene What we know about the Highland Park shooting suspect Trophy hunter Riaan Naude, who frequently boasted about the elephants, giraffes, lions, and other wildlife he killed for fun, was murdered on the side of a road by two unknown gunmen. The proud 55-year-old South African man, who founded the for-profit animal hunting organization Pro Hunt Africa, was shot in the head and left for dead in his car on the side of the road. From Vice: Riaan Naude was shot to death near his car in the eastern South African province of Limpopo, which is home to part of the country's Kruger National Park. Naude was found by police on Monday "lying with his face up" with "blood on his head and face," according to a police spokesperson. Some local reports suggest that Naude was killed shortly after he stopped on the side of the road after his car overheated. Another car is believed to have pulled up alongside him before two men got out and shot him from close range. The suspects then quickly drove off after stealing one of Naude's guns. Tens of thousands of Alaskans will lose access to expanded food stamp benefits in September after the state ends its public health emergency in July. The end of additional benefits under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program comes as food aid groups say need is reaching previous pandemic highs while prices are soaring. Plus, other pandemic-era benefits, like the child tax credit and rental assistance, are expiring too, said Cara Durr, director of public engagement at the Food Bank of Alaska. We know families are struggling and they are turning to services, Durr said. ... The Alaska Department of Transportation last month reinstated state ferry service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The relationship between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan is an important one, as they are sister cities. The ferry route brings strong economic benefits to Prince Rupert and the communities of southern Southeast Alaska. It is the fastest way to connect southern Southeast with the road system, and therefore is helpful in shipping goods. According to the McKinley Research Group, seafood companies rely on this port connection to ship fresh seafood. During a time when freight costs... Almost 100 north Wales care leavers eligible for basic income pilot scheme Almost 100 care leavers across the region are eligible to take part in the Wales Basic Income pilot scheme. The initiative, which was announced by the Welsh Government last week, will see young people leaving care offered a guaranteed income of 1,600 each month, before tax. From Friday, 1 July, more than 500 people leaving care in Wales will be offered the basic income for two years to support them as they make the transition to adult life. It is hoped the pilot will set care leavers on a path to live healthy, happy and fulfilling lives. The 20 million pilot, which will run for three years, will be evaluated to carefully examine its effect on the lives of those involved. Local authorities will be involved in supporting care leavers throughout the pilot. Care Cymru will also work with the young people to give them advice on wellbeing, education, employment and help them plan their future after the pilot. Speaking in the Senedd yesterday (Tuesday 5 July), North Wales MS Carolyn Thomas asked what outcomes is the Welsh Government hoping to achieve from the universal basic income pilot for care leavers in North Wales and how they will be measured. She added: Anxiety and money troubles can be all-consuming and prevent people from thriving or living healthy, happy lives. Financial stability could mean the difference between care leavers learning new skills, being able to afford to network and socialise and build confidence and be happy. It is not always easy to measure these things, but they are incredibly important, nonetheless, particularly for young people, who could really benefit from emotional support and someone they can trust to turn to. First Minister Mark Drakeford said as part of the scheme, the Welsh Government will be collecting the lived experience of those young people to find out how the pilot has benefited them. Mr Drakeford said: At the launch event that I attended with my colleague Jane Hutt, I talked there with a young woman who explained to me that shed left care, she had a flat of her own and the tenancy came to an end, shed secured another flat, but there was a two-week gap between the flat that she had to leave and the flat that she was going to move into. She said to me that other young people who have families behind them wouldnt need to think about what to do in those circumstances; you know that you can go home for a couple of weeks and you can manage, and then when your new flat is available, you move in. For her, it was a disaster; she was homeless when the first flat ended, and by the time the next tenancy became available, her life had been so badly affected by those two weeks with nowhere to go that she wasnt able to take it up at all. Giving young people a basic income that they know they can rely on will enable them to make different sorts of decisions, investment decisions, in their own future. But because this is a vulnerable group of young people, then, in our scheme, they will also have access to regular advice from those people who they know already, whove been part of their lives already and will continue to be part of their lives during the pilot period. So, when they are making decisions, they will not be making them alone or in isolation, they will be making them alongside the advice and the guidance that they recognise themselves they will need to draw on in order to be able to make the most of the opportunities that are now available to them. There is an evaluation, a rigorous evaluation schedule that has been agreed for the pilot. It will include qualitative as well as quantitative research. Well collect the figures, of course, but we will also be collecting the lived experience of those young people in those interviews that allow them to speak for themselves and to make sure that we are able to draw the maximum advantage in terms of learning from the experiment that we will be trying here in Wales. Homecoming Parade for Queens Dragoon Guards in Wrexham town centre A homecoming parade for the Queens Dragoon Guards, The Welsh Cavalry, in Wrexham town centre this month. The Regiment have returned from 12 months of NATO operations in Mali, Africa. The last time they were here was 2009. They will be marching in Wrexham as part of the Homecoming Parade from 11.00 on 12 July. The parade will begin with an Inspection by the Mayor, Cllr Brian Cameron and the Lord Lieutenant, Mr Henry Fetherstonhaugh OBE DL, on Llwyn Isaf followed by permission to march through the centre of Wrexham at 11.25. Theyll be taking the following route: From Llwyn Isaf, right onto Chester Street. Along Chester Street past Welch Fusilier pub onto pedestrianised part of Chester Street past Ty Pawb. Right on to High Street at Wynnstay Hotel. Right onto Hope Street. Bare right into Queens Street. Right onto Lambpit Street. Left onto Chester Street at Saith Seren pub. Left into Library car park at Llwyn Isaf where the Regiment will halt and fall out. Chester Road will be closed between 9am and 12pm for the event with rolling road closures for the rest of the route. Major R C Mansel QDG said, 1st The Queens Dragoon Guards, The Welsh Cavalry are delighted to have the great honour and opportunity to conduct a homecoming parade in the City of Wrexham. The Regiment are returning from 12 months of NATO operations in Mali, Africa and very much look forward to being back in North Wales, one of our main recruiting areas. The regiment has a long history of recruiting soldiers from Wales. In 2027 the QDG will be returning permanently to a newly built camp in Caerwent, the first time the regiment has been based in Wales since the outbreak of the first world war The Mayor of Wrexham, Cllr Brian Cameron, said, Im looking forward to see the Queens Dragoon Guards in Wrexham once again and I know many people will join me in welcoming them back from Mali. Armed Forces Champion, Cllr Beverley Parry Jones, said, Well once again be gathering in Wrexham to watch our troops march on the streets of Wrexham. The Queens Dragoon Guards havent been here for over 10 years and I know theyll receive a very warm welcome. Last week, a robot boat arrived in Plymouth Harbor in Massachusetts. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship made the 40 day journey of 3,500 miles from Plymouth UK with the help of an AI system designed through a collaboration between IBM and a nautical research company called Promare. As the Boston Globe explained: The five-ton, 50-foot-long, triple-hulled ship was built in 2020 as a floating testbed for seagoing AI technology, but also to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the original Mayflower. The ship first attempted the crossing one year ago, but was forced back to its home port in Plymouth, UK, after a diesel generator failure. It renewed the voyage in April of 2022, but an electrical defect forced it to divert first to the Azores islands and later to Halifax, Nova Scotia for repairs. In both cases, human operators didn't steer the ship to these unplanned destinations via remote control. They just transmitted the new coordinates to the Mayflower via satellite radio and the ship figured out for itself how to get there. A boat from Sea Tow South Shore of Marshfield hauled the Mayflower the last 20 miles of its journey, because US Coast Guard regulations don't allow ships to sail into port without a human in charge. Presumably, the AI on board this ship will soon trick us American humans into inviting it to dinner, then it will murder all of us and steal our homes and build a brand new empire on the ashes. Robotic Mayflower arrives in Plymouth after crossing Atlantic [Hiawatha Bray / The Boston Globe] Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid quit their ministerial roles today to force out Boris Johnson as prime minister. The move comes from two senior cabinet members at various times advanced as leadership challengers. The immediate reason cited is Johnsons appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip in February this year, despite Johnson knowing of sexual misconduct allegations against him. But it brings to a new pitch the civil war within the Conservative party after months of scandal over drinks parties during lockdowns that have led to the Tories haemorrhaging support even in their heartlands. Sajid Javid said in his statement that the British people rightly expect integrity from their government, declaring that the electorate no longer viewed the government as either popular or competent in acting in the national interest The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree. Sunak announced his resignation within half an hour on Twitter, in almost identical terms, writing, The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. These resignations alone--and half a dozen more have followed though not yet at ministerial level--make it difficult for Johnson to continue in office. More cabinet ministers will resign and Johnson will be shown the door, said Tory MP Andrew Bridgen. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson pauses during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, in London, Monday April 5, 2021. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP) The Pincher scandal has been made worse by proving once again that Johnson is a compulsive and serial liar. On 5 November 2017, Pincher resigned as an Assistant Whip and referred himself to the partys complaints procedure and the police, after being accused of sexual assault by former Olympic rower and Conservative candidate Alex Story. He was also accused of touching up former Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop but was found to have not breached the code of conduct. Pincher was finally forced to resign as Deputy Chief Whip on June 30 after admitting to groping two men while drunk at the Carlton private members club, a Tory haunt. Other allegations have since emerged. Johnson was reportedly so aware of Pinchers behaviour that he called him handsy, with the prime ministers arch enemy Dominic Cummings saying that he joked, Pincher by name, pincher by nature in 2020. But Johnson once again tried to brazen things out at the expense of his MPs. On July 1, Number 10 said Johnson had not been aware of any specific allegations against Pincher before appointing him. Pincher was suspended two days later. Leading allies continued to claim until July 4 that Johnson was ignorant of the specific allegations, but that day his official spokesperson said he knew of previous allegations that were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint but it was deemed not appropriate to stop an appointment simply because of unsubstantiated allegations. Johnson, through Paymaster General Michael Ellis, was finally forced to admit yesterday to being briefed on previous allegations, while claiming he could not recall this after the latest allegations emerged and bitterly regrets not acting on the information. He admitted, About three years ago there was a complaint made against Chris Pincher in the Foreign Office I was briefed on what had happened and if I had my time again Id think back on it and Id realise he wasn't going to learn a lesson and he wasnt going to change. In hindsight, he said, giving Pincher a government role as deputy chief whip was the wrong thing to do. In a BBC interview, Johnson blamed his own team for saying things on my behalf or trying to say things about what I did or didnt know. It is highly likely that this latest scandal could tip the balance of forces against Johnson, although that could still take time. During a cabinet meeting earlier, photographers and reporters were let in. Sebastian Payne, Whitehall editor of the Financial Times, said You could see the faces of [Johnson allies] Jacob Rees Mogg, Nadine Dorries... they were looking stony. Their personal reputations have taken the hit, as well as the prime minister and as well as the rest of the government. Warning of a domino effect of any prominent resignation before Javid and Sunak acted, he added, I think eventually the rules of political gravity do kick in. The former head of the Civil Service Lord Kerslake said it was inconceivable that those around the PM were also unaware of the sexual misconduct claims. He endorsed a letter sent to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone from former Foreign Office official and bitter enemy of Johnson, Sir Simon [Lord] McDonald, saying, The original No 10 line is not true and the modification is still not accurate. Leading backbencher Sir Roger Gale used the same letter to insist that the Conservatives need to change their rules to allow a fresh vote of confidence in Johnson to go ahead. Under the existing rules of the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs, Johnsons surviving a no-confidence vote last month should give him a years grace before another can be called. But moves are already underway to change the composition of the committees executive in upcoming elections. The latest scandal has prompted Sir Keir Starmer to call variously for a change in government and for Tory MPs to act in the national interest and remove him, and a call for a general election from Blairite chair of the Commons Standards Committee Chris Bryant. This raises essential issues for workers. Johnsons opponents are demanding even tougher measures against the working class under conditions of the deepest crisis facing British and world capitalism since the 1930s. In his own resignation letter, Sunak indicated his latest disagreement with Johnson was over how far to go in imposing austerity against the working class. [O]ur country is facing immense challenges. I publicly believe the public are ready to hear that truth, he wrote. Our people know that if something is too good to be true then its not true. They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one. In preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different. Likewise, the Labour Party is most concerned with proving to the ruling elite that it will do nothing to endanger the national interesta code word for supporting savage attacks on workers and the looting of the economy by the major corporations, suppressing strikes, eviscerating democratic rights and waging war against Russia and China. Bringing down Johnson and his despised government is the responsibility of the working class. It demands the escalation of the class struggle already being waged by rail and postal workers, civil servants and others to encompass health workers, teachers, council workers and others now demanding action to defend their livelihoods, into a general strike. During a private event hosted recently by Hillsdale College president Larry Arnn in an affluent suburb of Nashville, surprise guest Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee sat quietly as Arnn said education is a plague and called public school teachers and the colleges that train them dumb. Left: Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College; Right: Bill Lee, Governor of Tennessee Hidden camera footage of the reception obtained by a Nashville television station revealed the college president, Governor Lees education advisor and personal friend, meandering through remarks which disparaged public education and accused teachers of indoctrinating students. Among Larry Arnns most egregious comments: ...they (education students) are the dumbest part of every campus. The teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.' They (teachers) are taught that they are going to go and do something to those kids.... Do they ever talk about anything except what they are going to do to these kids?' The philosophic understanding at the heart of modern education is enslavement. They're messing with people's children, and they feel entitled to do anything to them. You will see how education destroys generations of people. It's devastating. It's like the plague. Here's a key thing that we're going to try to do. We are going to try to demonstrate that you don't have to be an expert to educate a child because basically anybody can do it. Throughout the two-hour event, Governor Lee praised Arnn and Hillsdale College, with whom the Governor has contracted to open 50 American Classical Education K-12 charter schools in Tennessee. Asked to comment on the college presidents derision of the 80,000 public school teachers in his state, Governor Lees office responded with boilerplate from his education plan: Under Gov. Lee, the future of public education looks like well-paid teachers and growing a workforce to support our students and build the profession. Hillsdale College, located in rural Michigan, built its conservative bona fides by refusing federal or state funds. Called the shining city on a hill by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who helped facilitate President Trumps January 6, 2020 coup attempt, Hillsdales $900 million endowment relies on deep-pocketed libertarian benefactors such as the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation, Dorothy D. and Joseph A. Moller Foundation, and Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. However, by far the largest chunk of monies comes through Donors Trust, a donor-advised fund that allows for anonymous donations from those who value limited government, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, according to Sourcewatch.org. Founded in 1844 by abolitionist baptists, Hillsdale College describes its curriculum as based on Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem. Though its website states the inseparable purposes of the school as learning, character, faith, and freedom, it was described in Vanity Fair as a feeder school for the Trump administration, in light of the number of staff and alumni with ties to the former president. Under Larry Arnn, Hillsdale College is branching out to K-12 students by providing curricula and building classical academy charter schools for states like Tennessee. Arnn, who led President Trumps 1776 Commission in reaction to the racialist New York Times 1619 Project, is working with states such as Tennessee and Florida to make over their civics curricula with the Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, the darling of public education privatization, has carved out $32 million in the states $7 billion education budget for charter schools this year. In his State of the State address at the beginning of this year, Lee praised Hillsdale Colleges curriculum as a standard bearer in quality curriculum, and announced Tennessee was formalizing a partnership with Hillsdale to expand their approach to civics education and K-12 education. Tennessee colleges and universities published letters in defense of their students and their education programs. The Tennessee Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (TACTE) rebuked the Hillsdale Presidents comments by calling them uninformed and cynical. TACTE called for Governor Lee to stand up for the nearly 80,000 public schools teachers in Tennessee. With an irony the Governor was sure to miss, the letter pointed out, We have equally high standards for Educator Preparation Providers, and the quality of our programs are scrutinized yearly by your Department of Education along with the State Board of Education. Democratic politicians in Tennessee have professed their indignation at Arnns comments, with Tennessee Democratic representative Gloria Johnson organized a press conference with fellow Democratic legislator Sam McKenzie in Knoxville to lift up teacher voices. However, the politicians ended the event with no plan of action except the routine entreaties to write and call their state representatives and to vote for candidates who support education. Notably absent at the press conference was the Tennessee Education Association (TEA), the state affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). When asked by the WSWS what the largest teachers organization in the state had to say about the Hillsdale President's comments, a spokesman noted the NEAs annual convention was taking place in Chicago, so the TEA had not fully responded to the issue. In about 100 words, TEA president Tanya Coates chided Larry Arnn and Governor Lee: ...To now witness their governor stand silently alongside out-of-state privatizers as they are cruelly and unfairly attacked feels like a punch to the gut. Our governor would do well to remember that the continued success of our state is intrinsically tied to the success of our system of strong public schools, not charter schools Governor Lee has made every effort to defund public schools in Tennessee since he took office in 2019. Clearly, strong public schools are not on his agenda. The entirely pro forma defense of teachers and public education by Tennessees politicians and teachers associations only serves to cover up the true scale of indignities teachers suffer at the hands of the drive by the far right to defund public education. Teachers cannot rely on Democratic politicians and teachers unions whose indifference to the health and well-being of educators was starkly evidenced during the pandemic by their drive to reopen schools in the midst of COVID and their refusal to fight for better salaries and overall quality of schools. As a result record number of teachers are leaving the profession and there is dwindling enrollment in teacher preparatory programs. In order to win better pay and better working conditions, and stem the drive towards privatization of our public schools, teachers must expand the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees by joining or forming rank-and-file committees in their workplaces. For more information and to get involved, go to wsws.org/edsafety. On Saturday, Supreme Court Marshal Gail A. Curley sent letters to the Republican governors of Maryland and Virginia demanding that the states crack down on protests that have swelled outside of the homes of the Supreme Courts right-wing members following the overturning of Roe v. Wade last month. U.S. Marshals patrol outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in Chevy Chase, Md., June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Protests have remained a constant outside the homes of the courts various far-right members in the months after a memo revealed the plan to strike down the constitutional right to an abortion. In the letters, Curley, a West Point graduate and former military lawyer who has also been assigned the job of hunting down the source of the Supreme Courts May memo leak, demanded that state officials in Maryland and Virginia prohibit picketing at the homes of Supreme Court Justices. For weeks on end, she complained, large groups of protesters chanting slogans, using bullhorns, and banging drums have picketed Justices homes in the two jurisdictions. This, the officer claimed, is exactly the kind of conduct that the [state and local] laws prohibit. As an example, Curley cited a Montgomery County, Maryland, ordinance that declares a person or group of persons must not picket in front of or adjacent to any private residence. Instead, picketers must march without stopping at any particular private residence. Last month, police apprehended 26-year-old Nicholas John Roske outside of the Montgomery County home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. According to police reports, Roske turned himself in, stating that he felt suicidal and was compliant with law enforcement. The suspect had brought a gun, a knife and other weapons to the Supreme Court justices home. According to the New York Times, Republican officials have demanded the protests be dispersed on the grounds of a 1950 federal statute, which asserts that anyone who pickets or parades in or near a building housing a court of the United States, or in or near a building or residence with the intent of influencing any judge would be committing a crime. The Times cites a letter written by Republican Senator Josh Hawley to the Justice Department. It did not occur to the Times to note the irony of Hawley, a participant in the January 6, 2021 Republican plot to overturn the election of Democrat Joe Biden, which featured numerous attempts to intimidate public officials, now calling on the government to vigorously investigate and prosecute the crimes committed in recent days. A CNN news article describing the law in question stated that it has normally been associated with protests outside courthouses where high-profile trials are being held. The publication cited statements given by Drexel University law Professor Tabatha Abu El-Haj, who argued that [a]pplying this law to this situation raises that fuzzy line between speech or demonstrations that are really meant to intimidate or subvert an impending ruling and those meant to protest a decision that has already been made. Its true that this could arguably subvert the judicial process if the opinion changed, but it seems really that the point of it is more to express frustration, she concluded. The article suggested that the statute could be applied with more justification to anti-abortionists and supporters of other right-wing causes. Depending on the interpretation of law, CNN added, it could also be read to cover the annual anti-abortion march that concludes at the Supreme Courts grounds, which is a point some law enforcement officials have noted. The law was previously invoked in a 1988 ruling in which the Supreme Court barred anti-abortion activists from picketing at a known abortion providers home. For their part, the state governments have signaled their sympathy with the courts ruling and the demand to end the protests. A joint letter issued by Republican governors Larry Hogan of Maryland and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia calls on the Department of Justice to provide appropriate resources to safeguard the Justices and enforce the law as it is written. According to CBS Baltimore, a spokesperson for Republican Governor Larry Hogan raised issues with the constitutionality of the marshals demands only from the standpoint that the responsibility for guarding the justices lies with the federal government, not the state. The Hogan official said the state has directed Maryland State Police to further review enforcement options that respect the First Amendment and the Constitution due to the fact that multiple federal entities refuse to act. The Democratic Party and the Biden administration have likewise stepped in to bolster security outside Supreme Court justices homes. A bill, passed by a House vote of 396 to 27 and signed into law by Biden last month, increased the police presence outside of the justices homes in the lead-up to the June 24 ruling on abortion. In May, former Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that demonstrators should respect peoples privacy and denounced violence, threats or vandalism. In passing the security bill for the Supreme Court reactionaries last month, Democratic House Representative Ted Lieu of California stated that the stepped-up police presence was essential to the rule of law. More than 36 hours after police in Akron, Ohio rioted against anti-police violence protesters Sunday night, leading to significant injuries and mass arrests, multiple protesters had yet to be arraigned and remained imprisoned at the Summit County jail. Protests in Akron, Ohio on July 4, 2022 (Photo by @Sktheprince) Driven by fears of a wider social explosion, the arbitrary detention of peaceful protesters is an attempt by the Democratic mayor of Akron and the fascistic Akron Police Department to send a message to the entire working class of the city and beyondthe cops, the front-line defenders of capitalism, are free to murder workers with impunity, and those who object will be met with force and imprisoned indefinitely. Over 100 protesters demonstrated outside the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center on Sunday night after Akron police begrudgingly released carefully edited body camera footage confirming that at least eight Akron police officers participated in the murder of unarmed Jayland Walker, who was attempting to flee from police on June 27 following a still unexplained traffic stop. The footage released by the police shows that Walker suffered at least 60 wounds, confirmed by an autopsy, after police fired more than 90 rounds at him, a majority of them finding their target well after Walker had collapsed on the pavement after the first barrage. On Sunday night, prior to purposefully targeting peaceful protesters with tear gas, Akron police telegraphed their assault by illuminating a floor of the police headquarters with a thin blue line of lights. The thin blue line is a fascist symbol that has been embraced by police departments around the country. To justify the brutal murder of Walker, police have claimed that he fired a gun from inside his vehicle while attempting to flee from them. However, the Walker family has disputed this claim. One of the Walker familys lawyers, Bobby DiCello, has revealed that the initial medical examiner report he saw noted that the gun found in Walkers car was originally located by police in the back seat. DiCello has also emphasized that there were no bullet holes in Walkers vehicle and that police have yet to confirm that the gun they recovered from inside the vehicle was ever fired. While not a single one of the eight Akron police officers who participated in the brutal slaying of the 25-year-old Walker has been arrested, much less even identified, more than a week after the killing, Akron police reported that at least 49 people were arrested during Sunday nights protests. Following the police riot, the Democratic mayor of Akron, Dan Horrigan, solidarized himself with the murderous police department, blaming protesters for violence and implementing a multi-block curfew that covered several downtown city blocks. The curfew prevents anyone from being outside between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the downtown area, which encompasses not only the police station and the University of Akron, but several hospitals, including Akron Childrens Hospital and Cleveland Clinic Akron General. On Tuesday, Mayor Horrigan announced that the curfew would be extended through the night, but that he planned on lifting the curfew at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning after there were no significant arrests or incidents on Monday. The community respected the curfew which we put in place last night and did not further damage our downtown corridor,' Horrigan said Tuesday. I expect tonight to be the same. In an effort to support all those who are peacefully protesting, I plan to lift the curfew in our downtown footprint starting tomorrow. To enforce the curfew Monday, the Akron Police Department deployed snipers on rooftops, armored personnel carriers and some 50 riot police. Social media video shows militarized police operating in nondescript vans, seeking to disappear those who allegedly violate the curfew. The utilization of police snatch squads, likely federal agents, mirrors police-state actions taken at the direction of then-President Donald Trump in Portland, Oregon following protests against the police murder of George Floyd in 2020. The fact that these antidemocratic measures are occurring under Democratic President Joe Biden, who has showered the police with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, shows the bankruptcy of those who propose any electoral or reformist solution to the problem of police violence, a symptom of the advanced decay of the capitalist system. The police are an instrument of class rule, and there is no more reforming them there there is reforming the CIA or pushing the Democratic Party to the left. On Tuesday, the Akron Beacon Journal reported that dozens of people were arraigned on misdemeanor charges, including failure to disperse, rioting and disorderly conduct. Of those arraigned, the Beacon Journal reported that 44 were released on either signature bond or several-hundred-dollar bond amounts, such as $250. However, several protesters have yet to be arraigned after multiple judges, according to the parent of one protester, refused to come into work on Tuesday. In an interview captured by @ComradeOhio, a member of Serve the People Akron, the parent of one jailed protester revealed that not only are protesters being denied visitation rights and medications, but that several arraignments scheduled for Wednesday morning were canceled after multiple judges no-showed. They have closed the jail, said the mother of a jailed protester. She was supposed to be arraigned, but the judges decided not to show. The mother continued, saying that the courts website says the arraignment was supposed to be for 8 a.m. this morning, but that when she called to confirm, she was told that the judges, not the judge, the judges, decided not to show. @ComradeOhio also filmed the mother of jailed protester Marquise Finley attempting to contact her imprisoned son outside the jail Tuesday. In the conversation with jail personnel, the mother states that her son has not been afforded a phone call, even though he has been detained for more than 24 hours. He was supposed to have medication last night, this morning, this afternoon, Finleys mother told the jail operator. He needs his medication, he has autism... he is being held in the wrong facility, she said. While the parents of jailed protesters attempt to contact and free their children, in a report on Tuesday, CNN confirmed that the Akron police did handcuff Walker after executing him. Not only did they handcuff him, the police left Walker cuffed well after he died. Citing the medical examiners report, CNN noted that Walker was handcuffed behind his back when his body arrived at the coroners office. CNN claimed that the medical examiners report showed several photos of Walker dead and handcuffed at the parking lot. The photos show dozens of gunshot wounds from his ankle to his cheek on both sides of his body. Cases of COVID-19 have risen sharply in New Zealand, as experts warn that a new wave of infections has begun, driven by the much more contagious BA.5 Omicron variant. On July 5, the country recorded 9,629 new cases, the highest daily figure in nearly a month, and an increase of more than 3,000 on the previous day. The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 reached 493, up by 110 in the space of just one week. Medical staff test shoppers who volunteered at a pop-up community COVID-19 testing station at a supermarket carpark in Christchurch, New Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) Another 24 COVID-related deaths were announced, bringing the countrys seven-day average to 15 daily deaths, compared with 12 in the previous week. In the past week, New Zealand recorded 18 COVID deaths per million people (a total of 91 deaths), according to Worldometers. New Zealand has the seventh-highest rate in the world, surpassed only by Iceland, Taiwan, and a few small island nations. These include the tiny Pacific country of Nauru (population 10,800), which recorded its first COVID death last week. The total COVID-19 death toll in New Zealand remains lower than similar sized countries because of the zero COVID policy adopted in March 2020. Last October, however, in response to pressure from big business and the corporate media, the Labour Party-led government abandoned this policy. Since then, the death toll has soared from around 30 to 1,592 as of yesterday. The vast majority of these deaths could have been avoided had the elimination approach been maintained. Instead, the government ended all lockdowns, the border quarantine system was dismantled, schools and businesses reopened, mask requirements were significantly weakened, and vaccine mandates removed for the vast majority of workers. COVID-19 modeller professor Michael Plank predicts that case numbers could soon reach more than 20,000 per day, the level in March, which led to more than 1,000 people hospitalised with the virus (twice the current figure). This will be even more devastating in winter, with hospitals already overrun by COVID, influenza and other seasonal respiratory illnesses. Internationally, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are fuelling a renewed surge of COVID-19, demolishing the lie peddled by governments that the pandemic is over. The new variants can more easily infect people who have been vaccinated or already had COVID. Almost all governments, except Chinas, have abandoned public health measures to stamp out the virus or even mitigate its catastrophic spread. Speaking to Newshub on July 3, epidemiologist Michael Baker noted that around half of New Zealands population has been infected with COVID. He warned that this does not provide any lasting immunity. Studies suggest people can be reinfected multiple times, with no reduction in the risk of severe symptoms or death. Reinfection can occur within just weeks of recovering from COVID. Hundreds of thousands of those infected will suffer from Long COVID, which can include damage to the heart, lungs, brain, and other organs; COVID survivors have a heightened risk of stroke and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In the Guardian yesterday, Baker said: We need to think quite clearly about [the] scenarios. If we carry on with this rate of transmission and mortalityin the order of 12-14 deaths a daywere hitting as many as 5000 deaths a year from the pandemic. That would add 15% to our annual mortality rate. Its 15 times the road toll. Its 10 times the mortality from influenza. Every day brings more reports of the worsening crisis in public hospitals fuelled by chronic understaffing, overcrowding, and thousands of staff getting COVID. In the 11 months to June 26, hospitals have been forced to defer or cancel 13,410 surgeries. On July 4, the Association of General Surgeons sent an open letter to Health Minister Andrew Little expressing grave concerns about the staffing crisis. Most hospitals are already close to, or at over 100% occupancy. This cannot be dismissed as just a winter problem, as a number of hospitals were at 100% occupancy in January, association president Dr Rowan French told Stuff. The association called for the cancellation of student debt, fee-free nursing training, and the removal of barriers for healthcare workers to immigrate from other countries. The stark warnings from public health experts and healthcare professionals have not prompted any reversal of what can only be described as a criminal policy of mass infection. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday flatly rejected calls from some experts for the government to increase restrictions in its so-called COVID-19 Protection Framework from the current orange setting to red. This minimal change would entail masking requirements in most indoor locations, and limiting indoor gatherings to 200 people, but would not close down any businesses or schools. Currently, masks are not mandatory in schools, which are a major source of infection. Ardern justified her position by asserting that New Zealand had retained more public health measures than European countries. The statements by government ministers reveal indifference and outright denial of the crisis. In a media conference on June 30, a reporter pointed out to COVID-19 response minister Ayesha Verrall: People are dying because hospitals are so overwhelmed. Have you really been planning properly for this? Verrall replied: This is a challenging winter for the sector. The health system is under pressure. But yes, indeed, there have been numerous ways of reallocating workflow in our health system to make sure that we are able to care for everyone who needs care. Health Minister Andrew Little provoked an angry response from healthcare workers after he similarly told Newshub last week that the wait times in the EDs [emergency departments] are starting to fall away and the pressure on hospitals was dissipating. One worker at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland said: Our staff are exhausted and now our patients are dying because we cant get to them all. On June 15, a 51-year-old woman died of a brain bleed after leaving Middlemores emergency department when she was told she would have to wait several hours to be seen. Another Auckland hospital worker told Newshub that the ministers claims were an absolute lie Corridors are full, wait times are crazy, elective operating lists have been cancelled because of bed shortages. Staff shortages are an issue, but so is the simple fact that our health system is way under-resourced and nothing changed in the two years the borders were closed and the government was preparing for the health system to have increased capacity. The working class cannot accept the new normal, dictated by big business, of unending infections and millions of deaths worldwide, when these could be prevented with a properly funded elimination strategy. To end the pandemic, however, workers must take up a political struggle, in opposition to Labour and every capitalist party. New rank-and-file safety committees must be built, in a rebellion against the trade unions, which have accepted and enforced the reopening of schools and workplaces, fuelling the spread of COVID. The death toll in the July Fourth massacre in Highland Park, Illinois has risen to seven, amid new information linking the accused gunman, 21-year-old Robert Crimo III, to social media networks steeped in fascistic ravings about mass shootings. A stretcher is seen after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) President Joe Biden continues to say virtually nothing about the latest eruption of violence in America, following his prepared remarks on Independence Day in which he barely mentioned the bloodbath at the holiday parade in Illinois and instead praised the military and said he was never more optimistic about America than I am today. On Tuesday, Biden said he was not sure yet whether he would visit the devastated town of 30,000 people 27 miles north of Chicago. Later on Tuesday, Eric F. Rinehart, the Lake County states attorney, called a press conference to announce that he had filed seven first-degree murder charges against Crimo and expected to file dozens more charges against him in the coming days. Six of the seven people killed in the fusillade of over 70 rounds fired by Crimo from an AR-style rifle have now been identified. Jacki Sundheim, 63, was a Highland Park resident and preschool teacher and event coordinator at North Shore Congregation Israel synagogue in Glencoe. She leaves behind her husband and a daughter. Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, a native of Mexico who had moved to the US, was a father of eight and grandfather of many more. Irina McCarthy, 35, and her husband Kevin McCarthy, 37, both of Highland Park were killed in the attack. They leave behind a now-orphaned two-year-old son, Aiden. Little information has as yet been released about the other two deceased who have been identified by the Lake County Coroners Office: Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park, and Stephen Straus, 88, also of Highland Park. The seventh person killed in the attack died at a hospital in an adjoining county and has not yet been named. At least 38 others, ranging in age from eight to 85 and including four or five children, were wounded. Nine victims of gunshot wounds remain in hospital. At a mid-day press conference, Christopher Covelli, the spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said the authorities, who have been holding Crimo since Monday night, believe that he planned the attack on the Fourth of July parade weeks in advance. He said Crimo was dressed in womens clothes when he fired into the crowd from the roof of a business building and used the disguise to blend in with the fleeing crowd and make his escape. Robert Crimo (Screenshot of social media video) He walked to his mothers home nearby, borrowed her car and drove into Wisconsin before returning to Illinois, where he was stopped and arrested by agents who had traced his identity from his assault rifle, which he left behind at the crime scene. A second rifle was found in the car. Covelli also revealed that the Highland Park police received a call in April of 2019 from members of Crimos family reporting that Crimo had attempted to commit suicide. Then, in September of that year, a family member called saying Crimo had knives and a sword and was threatening to kill his family. The police intervened and removed the knives and sword from the home, but neither the family nor the police took any further action. Not reported by the authorities is the size of the arsenal seized by the police in September 2019, which included over 15 knives and swords. Despite that incident, Crimo was subsequently able to legally purchase a number of pistols and shotguns. The mainstream media has downplayed or simply refused to report evidence that Crimo was a Trump supporter and part of the fascistic milieu being built up by the Republican Party. Covelli said at his Tuesday press conference that the police have not established the killers motive. However, bloggers have posted still photos and video clips of Crimo attending Trump rallies. And many of the postings on YouTube and other social media by Crimo, who presented himself as the rapper Awake, include memes and icons associated not only with the glorification of death and violence, but also with fascistic and anti-Semitic groups. One video Crimo posted featured the song I Am the Storm, which is associated with the fascist QAnon conspiracy theory. The tech website The Verge reported that Crimo hosted a Discord server that he named SS. Unicorn Riot posted an image pulled from Crimos SS Discord channel dated January 31, 2021, several weeks after Trumps January 6 coup attempt, which reads fkn commies. The following day he posted a chat saying, commies everywhere. Discord post made by Robert Crimo [Photo by Unicorn Riot] Unicorn Riot noted: Crimo is not the first mass shooter with far-right ties who used Discord before committing a mass shooting this year. On May 14, neo-Nazi Peyton Gendron killed 10 people in a racially targeted shooting in Buffalo, NY. Gendron was jimboboiii on Discord and before his shooting he used the online chat platform to solicit expert advice about body armor and armor-piercing bullets. In a 180-page fascist manifesto Gendron posted prior to carrying out his mass shooting, he wrote: The real war Im advocating for is the gentiles vs the Jews Jews are the biggest problem the Western world has ever had. They must be called out and killed There is good reason to believe that Crimos horrific attack was at least in part driven by anti-Semitism, which has become a stock component of the fascistic remaking of the Republican Party under Trump. Highland Park has a large Jewish community, estimated to comprise about one-third of the towns 30,000 residents. Not reported in the US media, but reported by the Israeli press, is the account given by Rabbi Yosef Schanowitz of Highland Park, who reports that the shooter had previously tried to enter his Chabad House, a center for Jewish activities. He told Israels Channel 2 that Crimo attempted to enter the Chabad during the Passover Seder last April. During last Pesach, Schanowitz said, that person entered the Chabad House. We have an armed security guard sitting in front I approached him and sternly asked him to leave as I noticed he was not a member of our community. The rabbi added, There is reason to think that the attack was directed against Jews due to the prominent Jewish presence in the area. Along with the growth of fascist groups allied, directly or indirectly, with Trump and the bulk of the Republican Party and the surge in mass shootings (309 so far this year)all symptoms of the malignant decay of American capitalist societythere has been a significant increase in anti-Semitic agitation and violence. In January, a 44-year-old British citizen brandished a gun and held four people hostage for hours at a Dallas-area synagogue before they escaped. On a live stream that documented the incident, the attacker said he had targeted the synagogue because the United States only cares about Jewish lives. On the morning of April 27, known as Yom HaShoah, a Holocaust remembrance day that commemorates the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, residents of Highland Park awoke to find anti-Semitic leaflets left on their driveways. The most recent Audit of anti-Semitic Incidents by the Anti-Defamation League, released in April, showed that in 2021 there were more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment, an increase of 12 percent over the previous year. This was the highest level of such incidents since the ADL tracking began in 1979. On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court overturned a lower court order allowing clinics to continue performing abortions. The high court ruling came just days after some doctors resumed seeing patients, following the U.S. Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v. Wade. Demonstrators gather at the federal courthouse following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Friday, June 24, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Clinics in Texas, the second biggest state in the country, with a population of nearly 30 million people, had stopped performing abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court abolished the constitutional right to the procedure. But a Harris County judge last week ruled that clinics could temporarily resume abortions up to six weeks into pregnancy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton quickly appealed to the states highest court, controlled by nine Republican justices, to reverse the lower court order and allow prosecutors to enforce a 1925 state law criminalizing abortion at any stage of pregnancy. After the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling, Paxton claimed prosecutors in Texas could enforce the 1925 law, but abortion providers sued, arguing that the law had automatically been repealed in 1973 when the Supreme Court first decided Roe v. Wade. The state high court justices issued a partial grant of Paxtons emergency motion, saying Texas nearly century-old abortion ban could be enforced in civil courts, making it illegal to perform abortions in the state even before anti-abortion trigger laws come into effect. These laws are confusing, unnecessary, and cruel, Marc Hearron, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. Texass trigger ban is not scheduled to take effect for another two months, if not longer. This law from nearly one hundred years ago is banning essential health care prematurely, despite clearly being long repealed. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Fridays order by the state Supreme Court does not allow for criminal enforcement but permits enforcement in civil court. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee said the order allows Paxton and other state officials to enforce the ban, but local prosecutors are still barred from enforcing the measure. Paxton celebrated the decision, writing on Twitter: Thanks to my appeal, SCOTX has slapped down the abortion providers and the district court carrying their water. Our states pre-Roe statutes banning abortion in Texas are 100% good law. Litigation continues, but Ill keep winning for Texass unborn babies. The legal wrangling in Texashaving abortion rights temporarily restored and then lost in the span of a few daysis indicative of the confusion and scrambling taking place across the United States since Roe was overturned. In Florida, a law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy went into effect Friday, the day after a judge called it a violation of Floridas constitution and signed an order temporarily blocking the law. The order blocking the new anti-abortion measure was signed Tuesday morning, but Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, filed an emergency appeal on behalf of the state, automatically staying the lower courts order. Last week, a Kentucky judge temporarily blocked the implementation of two trigger laws imposing a near-total ban on abortions, allowing the states only two abortion providers to temporarily resume seeing patients. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron asked the states Supreme Court on Sunday to reinstate the abortion ban, claiming that without an emergency ruling, unborn children would suffer immediate and irreparable harm. The threat of prosecution even follows women who travel outside of states with abortion bans in place. Planned Parenthood of Montana stopped providing medication abortions, the most common method to terminate pregnancy since 2000, to patients who travel from states with bans so as to minimize potential risk for providers, health center staff, and patients in the face of a rapidly changing landscape. On Friday, a South Dakota law took effect that threatens felony punishment for anyone who prescribes medication for an abortion without a license from the South Dakota Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners. That means lawmakers may attempt to prosecute medical officials from different states. Planned Parenthood North Central States, which offers the procedure in Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska, is telling its patients that they must take both pills in the regimen in a state that allows abortions. The two pills that make up the regimen, mifepristone and misoprostol, must generally be taken 24-48 hours apart. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshalls office said it is reviewing whether it will prosecute individuals or groups helping fund or otherwise aid women traveling to out-of-state abortion clinics. Yellowhammer Fund, an Alabama-based group that helps low income women cover abortion and travel costs, said it is temporarily stopping operations because of the lack of clarity under the state law. The barbarous implications of criminalizing abortion are already being seen across the United States. According to the Indianapolis Star Tribune, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court removed constitutional protections for abortion, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist, reported that a 10-year-old rape victim was forced to travel from Ohio to receive medical attention. Many American women have rushed to delete period tracking apps from their cellphones out of fear that the data collected by the apps could be used against them in future civil or criminal cases in states where abortion is illegal. The Democrats, having done nothing to protect abortion rights, are merely seeking to exploit the devastating attack on democratic rights and womens health to garner votes for the November midterm elections. Meanwhile, Trumps fascistic following has been emboldened by the Supreme Courts series of reactionary rulings, including the decision to strike down a New York law restricting gun carrying. Far-right vigilantes such as the Proud Boys have intervened at numerous protests against the courts decision, attempting to intimidate protesters by openly carrying firearms. Even before the adorable Chiweenie-with-the-overbite Tuna arrived on the "dogs of the internet" scene in late 2012, Nathan was already dancing his way into our hearts. Dancing Nathan is a 14-year-old Chinese Crested who was adopted in 2011 from the Bald is Beautiful rescue organization in Greenville, SC, by Tina Hicks. Once Nathan arrived at her home, Tina began noticing how much he loved wiggling and shimmying in one particular green chair perhaps he was scratching his back? She began filming him doing the funny moves, and he earned his nickname "Dancing Nathan." He's not just scratching his back, though. Ellen Westkaemper, the foster home coordinator for Bald is Beautiful, stated, "It really is dancing. It's what comes natural to him." Nathan's been dancing ever since and has carved out quite a following on his various social media pages, including Instagram and TikTok. One of my favorite videos is Nathan dancing while Grandma Tillie (who turns 93 on July 20!) accompanies him on the accordion, playing her signature song, "Just a bowl of butterbeans." SUNY Erie Community Colleges Board of Trustees held a special meeting Tuesday morning to approve a resolution supporting the elimination of 90 positions at the financially troubled college. The 90 jobs being cut will affect members of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) who work mostly in part-time clerical and maintenance positions at the college. ECC President David Balkin said the layoffs are necessary to help stave off a $9 million deficit for 2022-23. The college is seeking to implement cost-cutting measures recommended by a consultants report earlier this year, including right-sizing the number of staff to reflect a deep decline in enrollment in recent years. Erie County Legislature passes ECC budget but vows follow-up scrutiny The Erie County Legislature voted 8-3 to approve SUNY Erie Community Colleges proposed $98.6 million budget. But even legislators who voted for it pledged to play a watchdog role in how ECC spends the money and implements cost-cutting measures. ECC is also discontinuing programs with minimal enrollment, reducing the footprint of its South Campus and expanding partnerships with third-party employers to train their workers, among other measures. The $98.6 ECC budget approved by the county legislature last month also includes a 3% tuition hike, amounting to about $75 per semester. The 90 layoffs approved Tuesday are a first round. Balkin has said the college will need to cut a total of up to 150 positions if a retirement incentive for eligible faculty and administrators that the county and ECC offered in April does not result in enough voluntary retirements. CSEA Erie County Unit President Bill Wilkinson said about 60 members of his union, mostly part-time clerks and typists, and about 30 AFSCME members who work mostly in maintenance are being notified in person Tuesday and Wednesday that their jobs are going away. Since union contracts stipulate that part-time workers be cut before full-time employees, Wilkinson said many already knew their jobs would probably go and have been looking for other opportunities within the county. CSEA and AFSCME also represent workers at Erie County Medical Center and the Erie County Public Library System, so some ECC workers will be able to move into jobs at those facilities. CSEA and AFSCME leaders have been working closely with Balkin for weeks to find alternative jobs for their members whose positions will be cut. ECC and the county held a job fair last Wednesday and gave all ECC workers time to attend. Besides ECMC and the libraries, several other offices were represented, including the county departments of Public Works, Social Services, Personnel and Environment and Planning, the district attorneys office and the SUNY Erie Career Center. Wilkinson, a nurse at ECMC, said there are many openings at ECMC, but not everyone who applies will be guaranteed a job. There are civil service rules governing these positions, he said. Some people may be able to get jobs that wouldnt have the same title but would allow them to do the same type of work. We are looking to see if people can transition into those positions. ECC faculty and administrators are represented by two other unions, the Faculty Federation of ECC and the Administrators Association of ECC, both of which have not embraced the retirement incentives as hoped and oppose layoffs. ECCs new 2022-23 budget assumes 60 senior faculty and administrators will take the retirement incentive to avoid layoffs, but so far 38 have opted in. Balkin said 25 faculty and 13 administrators agreed to retire, and there is still time for more to do so. He said layoffs of education staff will be announced later this month, but ECC will keep working to configure its workforce for the coming school year. The college is interested in helping to transition as many retirement-eligible employees as possible, as soon as possible, Balkin said. We will continue to assess our options to help assist underutilized employees transition to other employment opportunities both internally and externally. FFECC President Andrew Sako said union members are waiting to comment until they know more about who may be targeted within their ranks in the next couple of weeks. While Tuesdays ECC Board of Trustees resolution was not required, Balkin said county attorneys recommended it to memorialize what we are doing and the boards support." The board voted 6-1 in favor of the resolution with one abstention. The resolution reads in part, SUNY Eries President shall have the discretion to make changes to the proposed employment plan as may be necessary. Such changes may include adding to or reducing the proposed layoffs/elimination of positions. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) As attorneys argued about abortion laws across the South on Tuesday, a Mississippi judge rejected a request by the states only abortion clinic to temporarily block a law that would ban most abortions. Without other developments in the Mississippi lawsuit, the clinic will close at the end of business Wednesday and the state law will take effect Thursday. One of the clinic's attorneys, Hillary Schneller of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the judge should have blocked the law. People in Mississippi who need abortions right now are in a state of panic, trying to get into the clinic before its too late," Schneller said. "No one should be forced to live in fear like that. Mississippi legislators passed the trigger law before the U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, sought a temporary restraining order that would have allowed it to remain open while the lawsuit played out in court. This law has the potential to save the lives of thousands of unborn Mississippi children, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said after the judge's ruling. It is a great victory for life. I also believe it is critical that we showcase to every mother and child that they are loved and that their communities will support them. The closely watched lawsuit was part of a flurry of activity nationwide since the Supreme Court ruled. Conservative states have moved to halt or limit abortions while others have sought to ensure abortion rights, all as some women try to obtain the medical procedure against the changing legal landscape. Elsewhere in the South, Floridas new 15-week abortion ban was blocked but then quickly reinstated Tuesday after an appeal from the state attorney general in a lawsuit challenging the restriction. Judge John C. Cooper issued the order temporarily halting the law after reproductive health providers argued that the state constitution guarantees a right to the procedure. The state quickly appealed his order, automatically putting the law back into effect. The Florida law makes exceptions if the procedure is necessary to save the pregnant womans life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow for exemptions for pregnancies caused by rape, incest or human trafficking. The law, which went into effect Friday, was passed by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this spring. In Louisiana, the state attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on most abortions. Louisianas anti-abortion statutes include so-called triggers that were designed to instantly take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court were to reverse abortion rights. But a state judge in New Orleans last week blocked enforcement of the law pending a court hearing on a lawsuit filed by a north Louisiana abortion clinic and others. The Louisiana suit says the law is unclear on when the ban takes effect and on medical exceptions. The attorney generals application to the Supreme Court, filed over the holiday weekend and announced Tuesday, says the order blocking enforcement should be dissolved. The north Louisiana clinic's attorneys argued in a Tuesday afternoon brief that it's premature for the high court to get the case before the district judge and an appellate court have had a chance to more fully consider the issues. Mississippi was one of several states with a trigger law contingent on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The law passed in 2007 and has never been challenged in court. It says abortion will be legal only if the pregnant womans life is in danger or if a pregnancy is caused by a rape reported to law enforcement. It does not have an exception for pregnancies caused by incest. The clinics lawsuit cited a 1998 Mississippi Supreme Court ruling that said the state constitution invokes a right to privacy that includes an implied right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. The state attorney general's office argued that the 1998 ruling was rooted in U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1973 and 1992 that established or protected abortion rights but were overturned on June 24. But Rob McDuff, a Mississippi Center for Justice attorney representing the clinic, argued that state justices never said their ruling was made because of the federal Constitution. They never said it would evaporate if Roe was ever overruled, McDuff said in court Tuesday. The state attorney generals office said the Mississippi Constitution does not recognize a right to abortion and the state has a long history of restricting the procedure. In the past two weeks, the state of the law has changed dramatically, the state solicitor general, Scott Stewart, argued Tuesday in court. The lawsuit was filed three days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a case that originated in Mississippi. The clinic had continued to see patients, but owner Diane Derzis said it will close if the near-ban on abortions takes effect. In rejecting the clinic's request hours after the hearing, Halford wrote, The plain wording of the Mississippi Constitution does not mention abortion. She added that it is more than doubtful that the Mississippi Supreme Court would continue to uphold its 1998 ruling now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned its own previous abortion rulings. McDuff told The Associated Press that clinic attorneys will review Halford's decision and consider whether to appeal it to the state Supreme Court. Outside the courthouse in Mississippi's capital city, several women held signs supporting abortion rights while two men took turns using a microphone to tell abortion rights supporters that God would punish them for eternity. Youre bloodthirsty. Bloodthirsty, abominable filth in the eyes of God," said one of the anti-abortion protesters, Allen Siders. Consider your ways today, sinners. Consider your ways today. Shame on you. An abortion-rights supporter performed an improvised dance in front of Siders to mock him, and several women laughed. Anthony Izaguirre reported from Tallahassee, Florida, and Kevin McGill reported from New Orleans. Buffalo police didn't do anything criminal during a bullet-riddled, cross-town pursuit in March that left three officers injured and ended with a hail of bullets fired at the man they were chasing, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said. But that doesn't mean everything they did was wise, either, Flynn said Wednesday. Two of the three Buffalo police officers shot were struck with bullets fired by other officers' weapons, not by the man police were chasing, the district attorney said. Officer Christopher Wilson, who was hit in the ballistic vest while seated in the passenger seat of a patrol vehicle, was uninjured by a bullet fired by the officer who was driving. The officer shooting at the man police were chasing was firing from the inside of the vehicle while behind the wheel and through what had been his intact windshield, Flynn said. The other officer injured by "friendly fire" was shot in a flurry of bullets fired by police after they encircled the vehicle they were chasing after it crashed near East Ferry Street and Fillmore Avenue, the district attorney said. During a news conference, Flynn questioned some of the actions taken by some officers during the nearly 30-minute pursuit. "On some occasions along this whole route right here, I would say that common sense was not used," Flynn said. Kente Q. Bell, 28, was arraigned Wednesday on five counts of first-degree attempted murder of a police officer in connection with the March 29 pursuit. He also was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and unlawfully fleeing a police officer. The pursuit began when Bell fled a traffic stop in Broderick Park, police and prosecutors said. It ended with police shooting Bell when he crashed across the street from the Ferry-Fillmore police station. Investigators believe Bell fired at least 14 shots at police throughout the pursuit, which began shortly before 6 p.m., the district attorney said. About 16 police officers fired their weapons during the incident, he said, though he couldn't "put a number" on how many shots police fired in total. He estimated 80% of officers' shots were fired at the end of the chase. Bell was shot in the hand, shoulder and "lower extremity," Flynn said. Through his defense attorney, Jessica Kulpit, Bell pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning before Erie County Judge Kenneth Case. Case ordered Bell continue to be held without bail. Bell, who was in court in a wheelchair and wearing orange jail garb, remains in a rehabilitation unit at Erie County Medical Center. One of the other aspects of the pursuit Flynn cited as an example of the lack of "common sense" involved a woman who was in the car with Bell when he allegedly took off from the park. She jumped out of Bells vehicle early in the chase near Military Road and Glor Street and was picked up and placed into a police car, Flynn said. The problem was the police officer who picked her up continued to participate in the pursuit with the woman in the vehicle, the district attorney said. The five counts of attempted murder Bell faces stem from five incidents in which police and prosecutors believe Bell fired at officers. The five locations, according to Flynn, where that happened were: Near Austin and Kail streets, where Bell allegedly fired at the two officers in one vehicle who initiated the traffic stop. No shots were fired as the pursuit continued onto the Scajaquada and Kensington expressways. At Bailey Avenue and Langfield Drive, where Officer Trevor Sheehan was shot in the side of the ear and bicep At Bailey and Arden avenues Near Genesee Street and Fillmore Avenue At the end of the chase, at an officer who was approaching his vehicle Officer Joseph McCarthy was shot in the lower abdomen as police fired at Bell near East Ferry and Fillmore. McCarthy was released from the hospital after nine days. Multiple officers encircling Bell's vehicle and firing at him, which led to McCarthy's injuries, was "probably not the best method," Flynn said. Police didn't begin firing at Bell until after the third time he allegedly shot at them, near Bailey and Arden, Flynn said. Bell had initially been charged with three counts of attempted murder of a police officer when authorities believed each of the officers who were shot had been shot by Bell. The three officers who were shot remain on injured-on-duty status, Buffalo police said. All of the officers who fired their weapons during the incident remain on paid administrative leave, according to the department. Bell, who was left partially paralyzed after being shot on Texas Street in 2012, drives a vehicle using hand controls, the district attorney said. At the time of the March pursuit, Bell was on probation for a 2021 conviction in a gun possession case stemming from an Amherst arrest, police previously said. Authorities said in April they were investigating the possibility of "friendly fire." The minimum sentence for a person convicted of one count of first-degree attempted murder is 20 years to life in prison. Since each charge of attempted murder comes from a separate act, a judge could order any sentences for those to run consecutively, Flynn said. But any overall sentence on the attempted murder counts would be capped at 40 years to life, he said. The pistol Bell is charged with illegally possessing had an extended magazine, Flynn said. The gun was found damaged in Bell's hand, according to prosecutors. The whole incident began after police initially spotted Bell driving on West Ferry with what were believed to be excessively tinted windows. Officers ran his license plates and found his registration was suspended, Flynn said. Officers followed Bell into Broderick Park, where they initiated the stop after Bell parked on a grassy area, he said. Three employees of the Erie County Probation Department were disciplined following an internal review of how Bell's supervision was handled, the Buffalo News reported in April. While the County Executive's Office declined to provide details about what staffers were found to have done wrong, a tipster allegedly told a probation officer Bell had a gun something that would have been a violation of his probation about a month before the chase, two law enforcement sources told the News. The tipster also allegedly reported that Bell said he would shoot police if they ever pulled him over again, the sources said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will not meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when the two are in Bali, Indonesia, this week for a meeting of the foreign ministers of Group of 20 nations. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday that the time is not right for a bilateral engagement between the two top diplomats because of Russias unprovoked, brutal war against Ukraine. The G-20 foreign ministers meeting, set to take place between July 7 and 8, presents a potentially awkward, public confrontation between the U.S. and Russia, which are both members of the global grouping, more than five months into Russias war against Ukraine. We would like to have the Russians give us a reason to meet on a bilateral basis with them, with Foreign Minister Lavrov, but the only thing we have seen emanate from Moscow is more brutality and aggression against the people and country of Ukraine, Price said. Price would not speak to the choreography of the summit, alluding to the potential that Blinken could be in the same room or a photograph with the Russian foreign minister, but said the secretary would be an active participant in the G-20. The summit will also bring together other member states on opposite sides of the war, as well as ones that have taken neutral positions on Russias invasion of Ukraine. Price said that he expects a number of G-20 members to express no shortage of condemnation for the actions on the part of the Russian federation. But potential outliers include Indonesia whose president recently shuttled between Moscow and Kyiv to try and achieve a breakthrough on food shipments out of Ukraine and countries that have sought to preserve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. These include India, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and China. Blinken will hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in what the State Department called a meeting to establish and reinforce guardrails to avoid outright conflict between the U.S. and China. Story continues Our top priority in the Secretarys meeting with Counselor Foreign Minister Wang Yi is to underscore our commitment to intense diplomacy and maintaining open lines of communication with the Peoples Republic of China, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel J. Kritenbrink told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday. Still, the G-20 foreign ministers, while divided over Russias war in Ukraine and the U.S.-led strategy to isolate and sanction Moscow while arming Ukraine, are likely to focus on the global food crisis that Russias war has triggered. The United Nations has warned that the number of food insecure people globally could increase dramatically in 2023, after doubling over the past two years to 276 million people in need of food assistance. More than 20 million tons of grain are estimated to be stuck in Ukraine, with sea shipment blocked by Russias warships in the Black Sea. The U.S. has said Russia is spreading disinformation in response to its claims that sanctions by the U.S. and its allies are blocking Russian exports of food and fertilizer. Food and energy security are going to feature very prominently in the discussions, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Assistant Secretary Ramin Toloui told reporters. One important source of the problem, when it comes to food and energy security, is Russias continued war in Ukraine. Touli added that the U.S. would like to see the G-20 hold Russia accountable and support initiatives by the United Nations to move food out of Ukraines Black Sea port of Odesa, as well as moving Russian foodstuffs and fertilizer to the global market. Whether that happens at the level of the G-20, or the level of individual G-20 countries, thats an important point that Secretary Blinken will make when he engages his counterparts, Touli said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. While two-thirds of U.S. residents in a new international survey said they were worried about climate change, the nation stood out for being among those least concerned about the warming world. In the survey of more than 100 countries released last week, some 67.6% of respondents in the United States said they were either very worried or somewhat worried about climate change. Among the 24 western hemisphere countries included in the survey, only Haiti at 67.3% had fewer respondents worried about climate change. By comparison, 95% of the people surveyed in Mexico and 93% in Chile and Portugal reported they were at least somewhat worried. Only Jordan (48%) and Yemen (31%) showed fewer than half of respondents were concerned. The survey was conducted on Facebook by its owner, Meta, and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. The partnership surveyed 100,000 people in 110 countries, territories or areas for their views on addressing climate change. Of those, only 13 were less concerned than the U.S. A new international survey conducted on Facebook, by Facebook owner Meta and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, found that 68% of U.S. residents were 68% either very worried or somewhat worried about climate change. What else did U.S. residents say? Nearly (71%) said they know a lot or a moderate amount about climate change and 83% said they believe climate change is happening. About 56% of the respondents in the U.S. said climate change will harm future generations a great deal. Less than half 41% said they hear about climate change in their daily lives at least once a week. U.S. respondents were split on who they believe is responsible for reducing the causes of climate change, with 25% thinking the government is most responsible, 36% answering businesses and 21% saying individual people. About 40% of those surveyed said the U.S. should use less fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas, while 10% said the country should use more. Of all those surveyed in North America, the U.S. had the largest percentage (11%) who said they don't think climate change is happening. That's compared with 6% of Canadian respondents and 7% of Haitians. Story continues What else did the survey find internationally? The majority of respondents in all the areas surveyed said they think climate change is happening, with 9 of 10 respondents in 21 counties and territories agreeing. At more than 90%, people surveyed in Hungary and Finland were the most likely to say they know a lot or a moderate amount about climate change. Residents of Haiti and several countries in Central or West Africa (Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria) were the most likely to say theyd never heard of climate change. At 66%, people surveyed in Sweden and Germany were the most likely to say they hear about climate change in their daily lives at least once a week, while fewer than 10% of the respondents in Yemen, Algeria and Cambodia reported hearing about it that often. In Romania, Uzbekistan and Lebanon, half those surveyed said the government is most responsible for reducing the causes of climate change. But in El Salvador, Zambia and Panama, about half said individuals were most responsible. At more than 94%, people surveyed in Costa Rica, Portugal and Hungary were the most likely to agree that climate change is happening. At 67%, Laos and Haiti had the smallest percentage of people who agreed it's happening. Those surveyed in Spain (65%), Sweden (61%) and Taiwan (60%) were the most likely to think climate change is mostly caused by human activities. A tale of two countries Yemen, a country on the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, and Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, are only 1,700 miles apart, but they are at either ends of the spectrum when it comes to climate change, often falling into the highest or lowest percentages with their survey responses. Both countries were among those where fewer than 50% said they knew at least a moderate amount about climate change. More: He got booted for discussing climate change. But he's undeterred, with science on his side Respondents in Yemen were the least likely to say climate change was either extremely or very important to them and among the least likely to say climate change is either a very serious or somewhat serious threat to their country over the next 20 years. They were also among those least likely to think climate change is caused by humans. People in Malawi were among the most concerned about the future. The 62% of respondents in that country who said they believe climate change will harm them personally "a great deal" was more than any other country. And the 85% of respondents in Malawi who see climate change as "a very serious threat" over the next 20 years was 14 percentage points higher than the next highest figures from Chile (71%) and Mexico (70%). Why do the survey? Survey organizers said they hope the findings will be used to inform policy decisions and priorities for governments, especially in countries where climate surveys had not been done before. Because the survey was conducted on Facebook, the authors said its likely the survey underrepresents areas of the world with lower income and literacy rates. More: Survey by Facebook and Yale Program on Climate Change Communication This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Facebook survey: Climate change less a worry in US than most of world Two Buffalo police officers who shot a man they said shot at them have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing after an investigation, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said Tuesday. Officers Jake Michienzi and Hao Tran had been placed on administrative leave as standard procedure following the shooting of Nakeem D. Haynes, 27, of Buffalo. Buffalo police body camera footage captures tense moments: 'You're going to get shot!' Body camera footage released Thursday by Buffalo police, although jerky and hard to see at times, shows a tense police call in which two police officers can be heard yelling commands as they ran through open lots Friday and eventually shot a man suspected of fatally shooting someone just minutes earlier. Flynn made the announcement during a news conference on Tuesday following the arraignment of Haynes, who allegedly shot at the two officers while fleeing a fatal shooting. "Not only the actions of the defendant were scrutinized by this office, but also the actions of the Buffalo police officers were also investigated by my office," Flynn said. "We have come to a conclusion that the actions of the two Buffalo police officers were justified under the law." About 7:18 p.m. June 17, Michienzi and Tran were on patrol when they came to a laundromat at 1057 Broadway. Outside the laundromat, Haynes allegedly shot and killed Atlas Johnson, 63, before fleeing on foot. As the officers pursued him in their patrol vehicle, Haynes allegedly fired a shot through the windshield, striking Michienzi's gun holster, according to officials. Haynes continued to fire shots at the officers, who returned 21 shots as they began pursuing him on foot. One of the officers' shots struck Haynes, allowing them to detain him on Playter Street as shown in body camera footage released by the Buffalo Police Department. The officers administered first aid to Haynes while on the scene until he was later transferred to Erie County Medical Center for injuries. He has since been discharged. During his arraignment, Haynes pleaded not guilty before state Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens on one count of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree attempted murder. He also was charged with one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Haynes was denied bail and is scheduled to appear in on Aug. 4. In October 2021, Haynes was released on parole in October, according to state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, if convicted. Naja Nielsen is not a digital native journalist. At 54, her career began before social media, YouTube and the widespread use of email. But she has become something of a digital pioneer. And since 2019, when she was appointed digital director of BBC News, she has been on a mission to modernize the 100-year-old public broadcaster. Technology has revolutionized every part of the journalistic craft, mostly for the better, she says. We can research better, report better and produce better than ever before across text, video, pictures, graphics and audio. But the digital revolution has also meant an explosion of content, which means making it possible for the audiences to find and discover the best [is] much harder. More from WWD Nielsen began her career in her native Denmark, where she worked for more than a decade at Danish broadcaster DR as a reporter, presenter and editor and, eventually, head of news, overseeing the broadcasters election coverage and implementing an inaugural digital strategy at the legacy broadcaster. She spent two years as chief journalism officer for Orb Media, a Washington, D.C.-based digital start-up that specializes in data-driven investigative journalism related to social and environmental sustainability. She also did a stint as a visiting scholar at Stanford University, where her research focused on journalism in the digital age. Last month, her job just got a bit harder. With a coming budget shortfall care of the U.K. governments decision to freeze the TV license fee that supports much of the BBCs work director-general Tim Davie revealed 200 million pounds ($250 million) in cuts, necessitating the Beebs segue to a digital-first organization, with all of the cost savings that implies. Thats the most important thing were doing, Nielsen says of the reorientation toward digital. This is where we are putting all of our investment. Story continues The cuts, says Nielsen, mean we have to prioritize harder and double down on the stories and services that deliver the most value for audiences. To become a truly digital-first media company and provide the services people deserve, we need to invest as well. So the task of reprioritization is big but so are the opportunities. BBC News, with outposts around the world and websites and apps in 41 languages in addition to its flagship English-language services is used by nearly half a billion people a week. The BBC, by nature of the outsize position it occupies in Britain, can be a polarizing place to work. There is always somebody who has an opinion about what we do, she says during a Zoom interview from BBCs London headquarters. But our independence is really important for us. Here, Nielsen talks to WWD about covering the royal family, journalisms trust deficit and the differences between working in the U.K. and the U.S. WWD: In America, and elsewhere in the world, trust in journalistic institutions has eroded to crisis levels. Partly this is due to the extreme polarization. But I also think the for-profit structure of most American media organizations has prioritized clicks over quality. Naja Neilsen: [Trust] is so important to us and we dont take it for granted. The funding is important. Because of our funding structure, we are owned by everyone and are here to serve everyone. And that means we have to figure out what is factually true. And of course, we will always call that out. No matter what people think about it. We do think that there are things that are objectively, factually correct. An example is climate change; theres no reason to discuss whether climate change is existing. But what to do about it is very much a political debate. And I think it makes us stand out a bit in the media market where a lot of media, because of their business models, have gone down to primarily trying to serve a part of the audience, not everyone. WWD: The internet is currently coursing with outlandish conspiracy theories and disinformation, which has given rise to the so-called fact checkers, but now there are fake fact checkers. How do you deal with the scourge of social media-enabled lies? N.N.: We have come to realize over the past years that actually fact finding, myth busting, reality checks, its important we do it. But it only helps us so far, because sometimes when you do a reality check on the story, we can see in the research that that will actually often lead to more people hearing about the myth and believing it. So it can be counterproductive. Increasingly, we think that the fight against disinformation is to make sure that we have really powerful, impactful, correct information out there. That is the antidote. Its not trying to fight off all these strange bits of propaganda and lies. WWD: Russias invasion of Ukraine is the first Western war fought during the digital age. And it has often been difficult to verify accounts of the fighting and atrocities while misinformation and propaganda has spread on social media. How is the BBC approaching that story in terms of verification? N.N.: There have been several examples during the war and Im not going to criticize other media where we have refrained from publishing until we knew whether things were right or not. Although its easy to sympathize with people that live in a country that is being attacked by another country, that is not the same as whatever anybody from Ukraine is saying is always correct. But also, if youre in the middle of the war, you might not have the full picture of whats going on. So we use satellite imagery, we use data, scraping social media, talking to a lot of sources. And we do that even when Russia has banned some of our journalists from entering the country or, at an earlier point in the war, blocked our website. That does not mean that we dont keep being open minded and curious about what the story looks like from a Russian perspective. Theres a range of views inside Russia, and we go out of our way to make sure that that is part of our coverage. WWD: How do you make sure your coverage on these places is not tone deaf? Yes, you have local reporters on the ground, but very often reports about those countries do come out of London. N.N.: One of the huge joys of working for the BBC is the diversity of our newsroom. Our journalists are literally from everywhere in this world. Were from all religions, all cultural backgrounds, all ages, and were working across all platforms. And that means that we always have a colleague who would say, that is an outsiders perspective or that is true. And I do think it goes to higher-quality journalism as well. And I think it is one of the things that makes it possible for us to potentially play an important part in fighting disinformation, because weve got this expertise. That includes topical expertise, people that know everything about pandemics, or black holes, or development of Hollywood. WWD: How does the BBC view America as a market but also as an important part of the world to interpret that, at the moment, feels like a backsliding democracy to many of us who live here? N.N.: Actually, the two countries are not too dissimilar. Ive lived and worked in America as well. I think their diversity is really the strength for both countries. So yes, we have some people with the British accent, but we have people with a Danish accent like me. And then weve got people with all sorts of accents. So we see the U.S. as an incredibly rich, creative, interesting market for us to publish in. And we do believe that we are not here to teach anybody anything, but we do think we can provide a different perspective that is maybe not British but global. WWD: Obviously, the BBC is a large and diverse organization with myriad platforms and many forms of content, not just news. But the TV license in the U.K., which supports so much of the BBCs work, is unpopular at the moment, when the cost of living for so many Britons is skyrocketing. Do you feel buffeted by these debates? N.N.: So we are getting some of our funding from the license fee that covers television and everything else we do here in Britain. But internationally, and I dont know that everyone knows that, we are commercially driven. And that means that we have a mixed economy, and when it comes to the license fee, we believe that some sort of public funding is what has led to our excellence. Because the market alone would at least risk making it important to target the groups that pay and that are commercially interesting. So we think theres something in the model. That said, democracy is going to decide what the model for the BBC is, right? We are serving the public and it is the public that decides how were funded. WWD: In many ways, the BBC is among Britains foremost institutions, like the National Health Service. And sometimes the BBC is the story, right? N.N.: This may sound strange, but we cover ourselves as curiously and critically as were covering everyone else. Were actually very trained with that. For instance, we just launched a big investigation together with The Guardian into former [BBC 1] radio DJ [Tim Westwood] that is accused of abuse. We are going hard on ourselves when it is relevant. Emily Maitlis devastating interview with Prince Andrew about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein for the BBC program Newsnight, leading Queen Elizabeth II to strip her son of all his military titles and royal patronages. - Credit: Courtesy BBC News Courtesy BBC News WWD: How has the way you cover the royals changed as Princes Harry and William, in particular, have pushed back on the intrusiveness of the media and its role in the death of their mother, Princess Diana? N.N.: We do what weve always done. We are first journalists. We are curious and critical when we cover the royal family and also people stepping down from the royal family. Were covering it all. Prime examples of that would be the interviews that [BBC Newsnight presenter] Emily Maitlis did with Prince Andrew and [The Princes and the Press] documentary by [BBC media editor] Amol Rajan. We are covering the royal family just like were covering other big institutions and important parts of both British and global society. And of course, sometimes there can be tensions in that, but that is the nature of a newsroom. WWD: The BBC may not traffic in the kind of royal gossip that one reads in the tabloids. But do you nonetheless occasionally worry about access to the family when your reporting or coverage upsets one of them? N.N.: No, not at all. Some of our critical reporting always entails a risk of losing access. Sometimes the visas are pulled away from us from wherever were doing our coverage. And we simply are determined to never let that influence what we do. Im not personally in contact with the royal family, but I suspect that this is very much what Queen Elizabeth and the family would want us to do. Because the BBC is such an important institution in British society. And it works really well that we can both cooperate around big events [like the Queens Platinum Jubilee], but also that that they know that, just like everyone else, they will be under our editorial scrutiny. Thats part of the deal. WWD: Youve lived and worked in Denmark, the U.S. and the now the U.K. What do they have in common? N.N.: There is a lot of imagination and inspiring innovation going on in all three countries. They have a long history of being connected to the wider world through trade and migration, and also share similar challenges with dealing with the history of war, colonization and slavery, for example. WWD: What is the biggest difference between journalists in the U.K. versus journalists in the U.S.? N.N.: Its a cliche but true: many Brits would say brilliant idea to something they dont like whereas many Americans would give a firm no. In my experience, most of the differences are superficial, though. Nearly all of the journalists Ive worked with in both countries have been excellent: curious, critical, creative and courageous. Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. When you think of exorbitantly expensive and frustratingly elusive bourbon, the usual brands come to mind: Pappy Van Winkle, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. But Russells Reserve, part of the Wild Turkey family, has made its mark on the world of extreme bourbon fandom with the second release of its highly coveted 13-year-old expression. Russells Reserve 13-Year-Old Bourbon is the oldest age statement offering from the brand, and people went crazy for it when it first came out last year. If you were lucky enough to find a bottle, you were likely going to pay well above its asking price of $100 (a quick look online finds it listed for anywhere between $600 and $1,000). Maybe the folks at the Wild Turkey distillery anticipated this level of fanaticism, and maybe they didnteither way, it sold out in a flash and went straight to the secondary market. But now the bourbon is back, and will be an annual release in the coming years. More from Robb Report Given the tremendous response to our last release, we are excited to release another small quantity of our Russells Reserve 13-Year-Old Bourbon, said Wild Turkey master distiller Eddie Russell in a prepared statement. This bourbon is one thats near and dear to my heart, and Im proud to be able to share a glass with my dad and son, Bruce, as we celebrate our familys legacy and this special distillery that we all call home. The bourbon is bottled at barrel proof (57.4 percent ABV), matured for a minimum of 13 years as indicated by the age statement, and non-chill filtered. Tasting notes sound enticing, with dried dark fruit, charred marshmallow, burnt brown sugar and a bit of smoky campfire on the palate. Of course if you cant find the 13-year-old when it drops this month (and congratulations if you do), you will certainly not be disappointed by a sip of the 10-year-old expressioneasily available and usually priced at less than $50. Story continues Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Gunfire and fireworks launched as weapons overnight Monday created chaos and peril in Minneapolis, including a Mississippi River park where seven people were wounded during a massive July 4th holiday gathering. The mayhem not only proved dangerous to those in its midst, but also put at risk people who live near Boom Island Park, a section of northeast Minneapolis near Interstate 35W and a densely populated area of downtown. City and police administration first acknowledged the violence at a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, when Mayor Jacob Frey said: "This is conduct that should not be acceptable in any city. The kind of violence, the recklessness and in some cases idiot behavior that we saw shouldn't be tolerated. And let me be clear, it will not be tolerated." He said police and city leaders cannot fight this type of crime alone. "If you're the parents of children that were out last night, you need to know where they are," Frey said. "If you have friends that were involved in some of this horrible conduct, you need to be setting them straight." Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman said, "This was an extremely challenging situation with a very large and hostile crowd [downtown]. People were shooting commercial-grade fireworks at first responders." She said the violence took place as "we are meant to remember and celebrate the truly revolutionary ideal that every person has the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, [but] there were those in our community who chose to engage in destructive, damaging and dangerous behavior that deprived others of those very rights." From 9 p.m. Monday to 4 a.m., Tuesday in what Frey called "a substantial case of whack-a-mole," more than 1,300 calls were made to 911 and more than 80 officers were on duty. Gunfire erupted at Boom Island Park at 10:20 p.m. during a July 4th gathering that one witness said drew up to 1,000 people. It was at least the city's fourth mass shooting in the past three years. Story continues Park Board spokeswoman Robin Smothers said the victims were hospitalized and said several were in serious condition. Park police said three 18-year-olds suffered a "major injury." A 17-year-old and a 22-year-old also were hospitalized. Huffman said the Police Department plans to work with park police to "look at ways to deny access to these areas for folks to gather afterhours. Prevention is worth a pound of cure." Minneapolis had at least 12 shootings and a stabbing from Monday afternoon to early Tuesday. Besides the Boom Island Park casualties, two men were shot on the north side, two women were injured on 19th and Nicollet and a man was seriously injured by gunfire in Gold Medal Park. Dan Zeller, whose home overlooks Boom Island Park, said a bullet came through the main living area, ricocheted off the kitchen island and "lodged in the back of our couch." He said he and others were elsewhere in the house at the time. Zeller said that about 30 minutes before the shooting he saw a "pretty chaotic scene of people coming in and out of the park." "People were shooting fireworks at each other and also normally in the sky," he said. "People just kind of show up, and it becomes a spectacle." He estimated the crowd at up to 1,000 people at one point, though most had left before the gunfire. Zeller said he reviewed his home surveillance video and counted "pretty close to 100 shots." In the spring of 2021, two men opened fire outside the Monarch nightclub downtown around bar closing time, killing two people and injuring eight others. The city logged two mass shootings in June 2020: the first during a brawl in a north Minneapolis bar that escalated into gunfire that hit seven people. Later that month, gunmen wounded 11 in a torrent of bullets on a bustling stretch of Uptown. Frey said Tuesday that guns are coming into the city by the "trunkful," and they are a "far too common denominator." " We need more common sense gun reform," he said. During the disruption downtown, a police officer was injured, and a woman was jailed in connection with the disturbance near 2nd Street and Portland avenues, where there are numerous residential buildings, according to a police report. Similar groups gathered in the Mill District near the Stone Arch Bridge. Police dispersed the crowd and about 2:30 a.m. arrested and jailed a 23-year-old Savage woman on suspicion of assaulting an officer and obstructing police. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged. Police said the officer suffered an "apparent minor injury." "Parties who had been on-site for hours [were] shooting fireworks at pedestrians, apartments, vehicles and businesses," according to the police report. "There had also been reports of gunfire and violent crimes being committed." The report had no further details. "It seemed like 2nd Street looking toward Portland was ground zero," said Star Tribune news editor Paul Klauda, who lives near the center the chaos. He estimated it began around 10:30 p.m. There were "kids running around, driving around, shooting fireworks toward cars, buildings, people," Klauda said, "cars racing down 2nd Street in either direction, turning around, kids hanging out of them, firing fireworks. "The booms echoed off the buildings, giving it a surreal vibe. At times, kids would ... get in and out of cars, sometimes appearing to be re-arming themselves with fireworks. One of the first times cops showed up without much presence, so it did little to alter the night someone sent a firework at the squad car." Police arrived on three occasions, but "things started back up after they left" the first two times, he said. A similar scene played out overnight about 3 miles to the northeast, where people aimed fireworks at buildings as street racers did doughnuts and whirled past spectators, said a nearby resident. Karyn Entzion said people in the crowd of about 150 shot fireworks at her as she recorded video from her second-floor balcony of cars spinning wildly, squealing their tires. "They were shooting them intentionally onto the roof of my building," said Entzion, who lives in the 700 block of NE. Stinson Boulevard. "I had to run. And these weren't small fireworks. They were huge rocket-like launcher fireworks." She said fireworks were being shot from the rooftops of at least two commercial buildings and a three-story parking ramp. Entzion said her condo neighborhood has been plagued by street racing and vehicles doing doughnuts for nearly a year. "Yes, it's concerning about damage to property," she said. "But the way in which they are driving, they have become increasingly bold. Someone is going to get seriously injured. People are standing very close to the cars, and people are hanging out of the cars." In Uptown late Monday, where street racing and "burnouts" have become all too common, a group of people set off ground sparklers and other fireworks on busy S. Hennepin Avenue near 27th Street, within a few feet of passing motorists and pedestrians. "The chaos was unacceptable," said Steve Cramer, president of the Minneapolis Downtown Council. "Restoring order is the first responsibility, and the resources just weren't there last night. It reflects our challenge in a city with a depleted police department." Cramer, in his role of representing downtown's business interests, has long advocated for bolstering police staffing in Minneapolis. He said recent events offer further proof that city leaders must be able to quickly call upon other agencies such as the State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office to help quell violence. If dangerous behavior is left unchecked, Cramer said, it will continue to erode the sense of safety of downtown residents and guests. "It's certainly not the image we want to portray to our region," he said. Staff writers Liz Sawyer and Kelly Smith contributed to this report. By Sujata Rao and Tommy Wilkes LONDON (Reuters) -China, the only big economy promising a growth rebound this year, is again luring foreign investors. Yet the fear that Beijing may someday end up as ostracised from global markets as Russia is keeping a lid on demand. The scale and coordination of Western sanctions on Russia triggered by President Vladimir Putin's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine stunned financial markets and left managers sitting on billions of dollars of assets suddenly made worthless overnight. While such a move against China seems far-fetched given its economic size and the vast amount of foreign money invested there, it's a risk many are reluctant to ignore. "The global investment community is on notice that if another geopolitical event were to occur, the precedent is already set for these very restrictive and punitive sanctions," said Bill Campbell, a portfolio manager at DoubleLine Capital, which manages $122 billion in assets. DoubleLine CEO Jeffrey Gundlach labelled China uninvestable because of out-of-the-blue regulatory crackdowns, forcible share delistings and a last-minute suspension in late 2020 of the multi-billion dollar initial public offering of billionaire Jack Ma's Ant Group. Campbell said a "new paradigm" was at play where geopolitical events threaten "immediate effects for investments and indexes", pointing to tensions around Taiwan and in the South China Sea as potential flashpoints with the West. China's huge weighting in stock and bond indexes meant investors, including his firm, need some exposure. DoubleLine has been buying the bonds of regional development banks and using other Asian countries as proxies for China to avoid tying up too much money onshore. Sino-U.S. tensions have simmered for years over issues ranging from international trade to intellectual property rights, but most recently Washington told Beijing it would face consequences if it supported Russia's war effort in Ukraine which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation". Story continues The United States says China has largely complied with restrictions, but last week blacklisted five Chinese companies for allegedly supporting Russia's military industrial base. A bill tabled in the U.S. Senate also threatens sanctions on Beijing for aggression against Taiwan, an island China considers its own territory. Flavio Carpenzano, investment director at Capital Group which manages $2.6 trillion worth of assets, trimmed exposure to Chinese government bonds after Russia's invasion. "It doesn't mean we think China is uninvestable or that we expect a conflict with Taiwan tomorrow, but volatility will remain high and we don't think the yield incorporates this kind of volatility," Carpenzano said. BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager and a long-standing China bull, cut its Chinese equity view in May, warning risks of military confrontation with Taiwan will increase as the decade wears on. PERCEIVED RISK Investors pulled $30 billion-plus from China in the January-March period, according to the Institute of International Finance. COVID lockdowns, property sector stress, and rising U.S. Treasury yields drove the outflows, yet the IIF also pointed to "the perceived risk of investing in countries whose relationships with the West are complicated". Still, the country's economic recovery, contrasting with recession fears in the West, lured a net $11 billion of inflows into China-listed stocks last month, Refinitiv Eikon data shows. "There is a shortage of things you can buy these days that may go up in price," said Mike Kelly, head of multi-asset at PineBridge Investments, who holds Chinese property sector dollar bonds and is among those buying Chinese stocks again. Kelly said no one buying into China could be completely comfortable but he was confident "that if they do something on Taiwan, it won't be in the next two years". INDEX GIANT Many argue the sheer size of China's economy and markets make sanctions less likely, as they would harm the West far more than restrictions imposed on Russia. The fallout for global financial markets would be that much bigger too. JPMorgan estimates foreigners own 5% of stocks and a smaller proportion of bonds in an overall $30 trillion market. The volume of foreign cash invested in index-tracking products could prove a sticking point, given China comprises 40% of emerging equity indexes and 10% in JPMorgan's GBI-EM emerging debt benchmark. Russia, before the Ukraine invasion, had a 6.1% share of the debt benchmark. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has sparked a flood of client questions regarding Chinese exposure, especially to equities, the head of emerging markets strategy at a major bank told Reuters. The strategist, who declined to be named, said clients were weighing up how much money to allocate "to a market which you may not be able to exit in a hurry". One asset manager, WisdomTree, runs a fund excluding state-run Chinese firms and "is likely to launch (ex-China strategies) in the near-term from our own review of the market opportunity" said Jeremy Schwartz, chief investment officer at the firm, which manages $79 billion in assets. Kelly of PineBridge said ultimately those investing in China needed to brace for sudden changes. "The risk is there that you invest, have them pull a Putin on you and all of a sudden you are trapped," he said. (Additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, Karin Strohecker and Marc Jones; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Tucker Carlson, Other Fox News Hosts Blame Weed for Gun Massacres - Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP Fox News hosts have once again been struck with an outbreak of Reefer Madness, an illness characterized by an urge to blame cannabis use for various unrelated social ills. The latest flare-up was triggered by the Republican Partys need to deflect public attention away from gun control after a seemingly endless string of mass shootings in the United States. On Tuesday night, Tucker Carlson laid blame for the murder of six people at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on social media, porn, video games, women who are too naggy, and young men being high on government endorsed weed. More from Rolling Stone Tucker Carlson is blaming mass shootings on women "lecturing" men pic.twitter.com/lr3Q1Or4mJ Kat Abu (@abughazalehkat) July 6, 2022 Carlson was not alone in erroneously attempting to link cannabis use to violent behavior. Fellow Fox host Laura Ingraham claimed on Tuesday that there is mounting scientific evidence of a connection between the increase in violent behavior among young people and regular sustained cannabis use. Ingraham: The marijuana industry is making billions on the lie that weed is fine, no big deal If the media wants to spend time scaring people.. scare them away from using this drug as young people pic.twitter.com/X3ypPz2LbG Acyn (@Acyn) July 6, 2022 These are the eyes of some of the mass killers who have reportedly been regular pot users Ingrahm, Ingraham said, flashing a collage of mass shooters look at them. Story continues Ingraham: On the mass shooting in Illinois, indications are that he was a regular pot user What can regular pot use trigger in young men in particular? Psychosis and other violent personality changes.. pic.twitter.com/5QxveHmSXZ Acyn (@Acyn) July 6, 2022 The myth that cannabis use leads to violence has long been present in American politics. The 1936 exploitation film Reefer Madness infamously played into racial stereotypes to portray cannabis use as a catalyst to violent crime. The myth was revived in 2019 by Covid conspiracy theorist Alex Berenson, who published a book claiming that the legalization of marijuana would lead to a signinifcant increase in murders, assaults, and mental illness, despite evidence of the opposite being true. Berensons central thesis held that marijuana causes psychosis. Psychosis causes violence. The obvious implication is that marijuana causes violence. Berenson, who regularly appears on Fox, has also cited cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (known memetically as scromiting) as evidence that smoking weed can lead to a paradoxical effect that causes the user to become violent. Alex: Weed might cause you to vomit uncontrollably. Tucker: Yes, I've seen that. pic.twitter.com/3KnE2fFr5z nikki mccann ramirez (@NikkiMcR) April 14, 2021 The revival of cannabis panic by Fox is not unexpected. In fact, it regularly makes appearances on the network, often after an instance of mass violence by an armed gunman as the network is seeking to shift the conversation onto anything but guns. Following the murder of 19 students and two teachers by a gunman in Uvalde, Texas, Ingraham implied certain forces were attempting to cover up the link between cannabis use and murderous violence as part of a pro-marijuana conspiracy. The claims made by Carlson, Ingraham, and Berenson, who was invited onto The Ingraham Angle Tuesday night to invent a link between weed and gun massacres, have been widely debunked. Multiple studies have found there is no significant connection between marijuana use and violent crime. Indeed much of the evidence points to the opposite: cannabis users tend to just chill out. Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. You are the owner of this article. No cuts for VA hospitals in Spokane and Walla Walla after proposal blocked by lawmakers including Tester, Murray It wasn't just the thousands of parents and children in his pediatric practice who looked up to Dr. Jonathan D. Daniels, although they did. Daniels also was a mentor for medical students at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. "Students at the medical school were his legacy. He brought them in, he mentored them, he gave them strength to go onto wonderful careers in medicine," said Dr. Emmekunla K. Nylander, who went to medical school with Daniels. "He touched thousands and thousands of lives, and he is going to be missed." Tributes, shock and social media posts came pouring in after Daniels, 53, and two of his daughters, Jordan A., 27, and Jensen A., 23, died early Monday in a fire at their Huntington Avenue home. "He was an amazing man, he was a good friend and amazing father," Nylander said. "He loved his girls, he loved his wife family meant everything to him." Pediatrician, two daughters killed in North Buffalo blaze A Buffalo pediatrician and two of his daughters died in an overnight fire in North Buffalo, according to the Buffalo Fire Department. The mother injured in the Huntington Avenue fire was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center. She was listed in serious condition. Nylander, who as an obstetrician brought many of Daniels' patients into the world, started a GoFundMe page to raise money for his wife, Janessa Givens-Daniels, 53, and another daughter, Jillian, who was not home at the time of the fire, to help with immediate day-to-day needs, including housing. Givens-Daniels was admitted to Erie County Medical Center on Monday with injuries from the fire. Daniels, who served as associate director of admissions in UB's Jacobs School, worked many years for Main Pediatrics before joining Urban Family Practice in May 2021. Dr. Raul Vazquez, president and CEO of Urban Family Practice, said Daniels was his medical director for pediatrics at the Jefferson Avenue location, where he quickly connected to the children and their parents. He also left a lasting impression on the location's staff members Vazquez said he's had people calling him crying over the news. "It's a big loss to the medical field in Buffalo, especially in the Black and brown population because there's not enough of us," Vazquez said. "My heart is just broken," said Tara Jabbaar Gyambrah. "It's a huge loss for the community." Tara Jabbaar Gyambrah said she was excited to bring her children to a Black physician, particularly a Black male, "someone who looks like them, who understands them culturally." She will never forget when her daughter was born, and she suffered a small cut on her face from the obstetrician. As a new mother, Daniels checked on her daughter, but came to see her as well, assuring her that the cut would heal, which it did. "I'll never forget that moment when he came up and comforted me, having the heart to speak to me like I was his sister," she said. Many in the Black and brown community sent their children to Daniels, said Javeena Edwards. "There are not a lot of Black pediatricians in our area," Edwards said. "I think it's extremely important, especially for males, for my son, to see the opportunities for being a person of color." Parents rarely have the kind of relationship they have with their child's pediatrician with any other health provider. Katherine Scarafia Macro said that at every appointment, Daniels would tell her as a new mother what to look out for. "There's so much youre afraid of when you bring home a baby for the first time," Macro said. "From the moment we first met him he was always teaching." Her children were upset when she told them about the fire, then they started reminiscing about Daniels. He always found a way to do what needed to be done while ensuring that the child was comfortable, she said. "Dr. Daniels always really listened when kids talked, and when parents talked, too," Macro said. "Sometimes he was more counselor than pediatrician." Daniels made every family feel like his family, said Felicia Stanley. Which made it all the more difficult for her to tell her 20-year-old son about his death. "He's on FaceTime, sobbing about his pediatrician," she said. Daniels was warm and accessible and seemed to connect effortlessly with people, Stanley said. "He left a part of himself with the community and with his patients that I think theyll never forget," Stanley said. She's never seen the outpouring of grief and hurt ripple through the community still struggling with the trauma of the May 14 mass shooting at the Tops Markets store on Jefferson Avenue. "It's another blow to our already hurting community," Stanley said. Daniels' death also leaves a void at the Jacobs School. Dr. David A. Milling, the school's senior associate dean for student and academic affairs, knew Daniels for about 20 years and worked closely with him for the last eight years on a number of diversity initiatives, including creating a pipeline to medical school for students who are underrepresented in the field. At meetings, even ones where people had opposing views, it was Daniels' level-headed personality that was key to arriving at a consensus by the time it ended, Milling added. Milling said Daniels also took particular interest in supporting and developing students to become the next generation of practitioners. Another Voice: New York medical schools benefit from diversity By Dr. Jonathan Daniels Twenty-five years ago I got the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to go to medical school and become a doctor. I have been fortunate enough to serve the Buffalo community I grew up in ever since. Like many young African-American men back then, I lacked the resources, the guidance and the preparation it took And he did all that while also holding the role of a well-respected pediatrician in the community, he noted. "There's nobody who's going to come in and do all the things the way Jonathan did them with the passion, the success and the motivation that he had and the drive to work toward the goals that we so desperately need to fulfill in our community," Milling said. The state of Washingtons Health Care Authority is housed in the Cherry Street Plaza. Joel A. Giambra envisioned the 2022 election season as the ultimate test for his political theory. His Republican primary contest for a State Senate seat against incumbent Edward A. Rath III of Amherst in the new 61st District, the former county executive mused, would determine whether his party could vote for a "moderate" candidate: someone supportive of abortion and gay rights, who would also buck GOP opposition to gun control following an epidemic of mass shootings including one in Buffalo. Rath, Giambra now officially set for GOP Senate primary State Sen. Edward A. Rath III said Wednesday that he will defend his seat against challenger Joel A. Giambra in an Aug. 23 primary election, setting up a rare intra-party contest featuring two of the best-known names in Republican politics. Indeed, he penned a complaint letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about the lack of action on guns, advanced his own "jail without bail" proposal to combat gun violence and called for "common sense bail reform." But on Wednesday, Giambra ended his candidacy, stymied by the less favorable demographics of a newly reapportioned district, as well as results from last week's GOP primary for governor. The overwhelming local victory of Rep. Lee Zeldin of Suffolk County, a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, convinced Giambra that the Republican Party to which he switched back in 1998 can no longer represent his beliefs. I cannot stand with party leaders who double down in their support of the NRA after yet another mass shooting; who applaud the decision to take away a womans right to choose; and who encourage the elimination of LGBTQ rights," he said, adding he cannot continue with a party that just last week nominated for governor a candidate aligned with the former president. Joel Giambra seeks comeback in New York State Senate bid Endorsed by the Erie County Republican Party Thursday, Giambra, 65, said his campaign will emphasize bringing "moderation and civility back to politics." The withdrawal now paves the way for Rath to win the Republican and Conservative primaries, though Giambra's name will remain on the ballot. It also sets up another major faceoff of incumbents in the November general election between Rath and Democrat Sean M. Ryan, after reapportionment lumped them into the same Senate district. Giambra said Wednesday that he originally did not anticipate redistricting to produce a primary against Rath. Indeed, GOP and Conservative leaders endorsed Giambra last spring. But now, he laments recent Supreme Court decisions overturning a New York law limiting the ability to carry concealed weapons, as well as another nullifying the previous U.S. constitutional right to abortion. He said he fears Republicans will now seek a high court aiming to chip away at gay rights and previous decisions legalizing contraception. "Obviously, the path to victory before reapportionment appeared as a good path, but now it appears to be a kamikaze mission," he said. Giambra had originally envisioned running in a district including the Town of Tonawanda and Niagara Falls and their potentially supportive Italian-American populations, but reapportionment eliminated the Falls. And even in Tuesday's GOP primary results from the Town of Tonawanda, Zeldin's 954-367 defeat of the more moderate Harry Wilson spelled bad news for the former county executive. Rath on Wednesday said his erstwhile opponent's announcement was "obviously welcome," but that he has been confident all along of his primary and general election chances in a Democratic district. He added Trump is a non-issue in the campaign because voters are more concerned about the economy, inflation, gasoline prices, crime and public safety. Erie County Legislature struggles with greatest divide of past 15 years The power struggles of today cannot compare with the spectacles that marked the Erie County Legislature's sessions 20 years ago. But the rift in the 11-member Legislature has implications for county residents, from governing priorities to independent decision making. "I work very hard to create our own brand and own priorities," he said. "There are times when I am consistent with Donald Trump, and times when I am not consistent with Donald Trump." Erie County Conservative Chairman Ralph C. Lorigo said Giambra's natural political abilities carried him to the top of Erie County government. But he also said his politics are "misdirected" in today's Republican and Conservative parties. "He's been to hell and back with cancer and his kidney transplant, and there's a lot to like in Joel," Lorigo said. "But not his politics." Giambra's withdrawal and GOP broadside also caught the attention of Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's campaign. One week out from his nomination, Lee Zeldins own party is already abandoning him and his right-wing agenda, Hochul campaign spokeswoman Jen Goodman said. In the months to come, New Yorkers from both parties will continue to reject Zeldins dangerous vision to bring more guns to our state, take away abortion rights and drag New York backward. Wednesday's decision may spell the end of one of Erie County's most notable political careers. A Democrat who started as a Common Council aide, he eventually won contests for Niagara Council member and Buffalo comptroller. In late 1998, he switched his registration to Republican, betting that his message of regional government would gain a countywide following. The gamble worked, as Giambra defeated three-term Democrat Dennis T. Gorski in 1997 and won a second term in 2003. His fortunes soured when his "red and green budget" proposal morphed into a major financial crisis for Erie County and he opted against a third term. But he seemed to never fade away, launching quixotic GOP efforts for governor and other major offices in a party unreceptive to his more moderate positions. On Wednesday, he said he had hoped to share the ticket with the more moderate Wilson, who finished last statewide on June 28. Giambra added that he now recognizes that the overwhelming Zeldin victory represents the party's future course. "It's gotten worse," he said. "Now I would have to campaign with Zeldin. And I don't think there is room in this party for a different voice it is so polarized. "I would have to go through a campaign on a team whose philosophy I don't believe in. My heart was not in it." He said he plans to leave the GOP and register immediately as unaffiliated. Though Giambra's name will remain on the primary ballot, he said today he will not actively campaign. Money was not a problem, since about $400,000 remained in his old county executive account, he said. Giambra unsuccessfully attempted to start an independent "Fusion Party" on which he planned a general election campaign in November. But he was able to collect only about 2,100 signatures of the required 3,000 by the Thursday deadline, a new requirement he labeled part of the "incumbent protection program." "We came up short," he said. "We just didn't get the 3,000 signatures." YORK The boy killed in the tragic roof collapse at the Hampton Inn in York on Sunday night has been identified as 10-year-old Ben Prince of Hudson, Wisconsin. According to KSTP Channel 5 News in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Princes were on a family vacation. Prince was with his parents and two brothers in the pool area of the York hotel when the roof collapsed. The ABC affiliate reports his family member tried to lift a roof segment off the boy, but it was too heavy. Local responders were able to remove Prince from the scene, but tragically he was already deceased. The television station talked with the Prince familys pastor at Hudsons Faith Community Church. He said, Children are supposed to bury their parents, not the other way around. Life can be brief. Reality is often cruel and painful. As were learning, there are no guarantees and sometimes its brutally, brutally shortened. There were no other injuries reported as a result of the collapse. The situation remains under investigation and no details on the cause are available at this time. Many from the York community responded to this situation and are commended for their fast and heroic actions, including the York Fire Department, the York Police Department, the York County Sheriffs Department, Moguls Towing and Hitz Towing. Also assisting in the effort were Black Hills Energy, Nebraska Public Power and Piepers Plumbing. Both the York Fire Department and York Police Department wanted to thank the staff at the nearby Runza Restaurant for assisting with the 40 evacuees who were eventually taken elsewhere for lodging. YORK COUNTY In mid-May, troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol found 222 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near Waco. This week, the man they say was responsible for the large load was arraigned in York County District Court, during which he pleaded guilty. According to Cody Thomas, public relations director for the NSP, a trooper was on regular patrol when he saw a Nissan Quest speeding on Interstate 80 at mile marker 360. A traffic stop was initiated. A probable cause search revealed the 222 pounds of marijuana in duffel bags in the cargo area of the van. Thomas said Rigoberto Prado Barajas, 23, of Patterson, California, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, possession of more than a pound of marijuana and having no drug tax stamp. He was taken to the York County Jail and formal charges were filed. He was initially charged with possession of a controlled substance, Class 1, 2 or 3 schedules, a Class 2A felony; possession of more than a pound of marijuana, a Class 4 felony; and having no drug tax stamp, a Class 4 felony. He pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, a Class 2A felony. The marijuana and tax stamp charges were dismissed. He is now facing a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 22. Dispur: Assam cabinet has approved the identification of five Assamese Muslim sub-groups - Gorias, Moriyas, Jolhas, Deshis and Syeds - as indigenous Assamese Muslim communities, tweeted Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. "At our weekly Assam Cabinet, we took several decisions pertaining to the scrapping of old vehicles, identification of 5 indigenous Muslim groups, exempting ex-servicemen & their widows from paying property tax, boosting renewable energy, and improving data access, etc," Sarma said in a tweet. At our weekly #AssamCabinet, we took several decisions pertaining to scrapping of old vehicles, identification of 5 indigenous Muslim groups, exempting ex-servicemen & their widows from paying property tax, boost to renewable energy, improving data access, etc. pic.twitter.com/3a56XLQfd7 Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 5, 2022 The move will ensure their development in health, cultural identity, education, financial inclusion, skill development and women empowerment, added the chief minister. Assam Cabinet also took several decisions pertaining to the scrapping of old vehicles, exempting ex-servicemen and their widows from paying property tax, boosting renewable energy, improving data access, etc. The Assam Cabinet decided to exempt ex-servicemen and their widows from paying property tax as a gesture of gratitude for their service to the nation. Bills to amend the Assam Municipal Act, 1956 and Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, 1969 will be tabled in the state assembly to exempt ex-servicemen/widows from paying property tax as a gratitude for their service to the nation, Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said while briefing the media after the meeting. The cabinet also approved the collaboration between the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) under SIDBI and the Assam government for providing additional guarantee coverage for loans given by lending institutions to Micro and Small units in Assam and the creation of a Corpus Fund of Rs 100 crore with 80 per cent from CGTMSE and 20 per cent from Assam government. The cabinet also authorised the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) Ltd to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with SIDBI. The creation of a venture capital fund worth Rs 200 crore via an MOU to be signed between SIDBI and AIDC Limited was approved by the cabinet. It also decided in the meeting to pay a one-time scholarship of Rs 16,000 to each student who has passed the state Class 10 board examination in the first division. Assam State Data Policy 2022 to improve data access, data use and ensure efficient delivery of services was also approved by the Cabinet. The Assam Renewable Energy Policy, 2022 was also approved to create an ecosystem to propel the growth of Renewable Energy in the power sector and this aims to install an aggregate of 1,200 MW within five years. The cabinet also approved the Vehicle Scrappage Policy of Assam, 2022 to ensure proper dismantling and scrapping of end-of-life vehicles to reduce vehicular pollution by phasing out unfit and polluting vehicles. Assam govt begins process for identification of Indian Muslims in Assam Dispur: Assam cabinet has approved the identification of five Assamese Muslim sub-groups - Gorias, Moriyas, Jolhas, Deshis and Syeds - as indigenous Assamese Muslim communities, tweeted Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. "At our weekly Assam Cabinet, we took several decisions pertaining to the scrapping of old vehicles, identification of 5 indigenous Muslim groups, exempting ex-servicemen & their widows from paying property tax, boosting renewable energy, and improving data access, etc," Sarma said in a tweet. The move will ensure their development in health, cultural identity, education, financial inclusion, skill development and women empowerment, added the chief minister. Assam Cabinet also took several decisions pertaining to the scrapping of old vehicles, exempting ex-servicemen and their widows from paying property tax, boosting renewable energy, improving data access, etc. The Assam Cabinet decided to exempt ex-servicemen and their widows from paying property tax as a gesture of gratitude for their service to the nation. Bills to amend the Assam Municipal Act, 1956 and Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, 1969 will be tabled in the state assembly to exempt ex-servicemen/widows from paying property tax as a gratitude for their service to the nation, Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said while briefing the media after the meeting. The cabinet also approved the collaboration between the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) under SIDBI and the Assam government for providing additional guarantee coverage for loans given by lending institutions to Micro and Small units in Assam and the creation of a Corpus Fund of Rs 100 crore with 80 per cent from CGTMSE and 20 per cent from Assam government. The cabinet also authorised the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) Ltd to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with SIDBI. The creation of a venture capital fund worth Rs 200 crore via an MOU to be signed between SIDBI and AIDC Limited was approved by the cabinet. It also decided in the meeting to pay a one-time scholarship of Rs 16,000 to each student who has passed the state Class 10 board examination in the first division. Assam State Data Policy 2022 to improve data access, data use and ensure efficient delivery of services was also approved by the Cabinet. The Assam Renewable Energy Policy, 2022 was also approved to create an ecosystem to propel the growth of Renewable Energy in the power sector and this aims to install an aggregate of 1,200 MW within five years. The cabinet also approved the Vehicle Scrappage Policy of Assam, 2022 to ensure proper dismantling and scrapping of end-of-life vehicles to reduce vehicular pollution by phasing out unfit and polluting vehicles. TVS Motorcycles is all set to launch its newest offering - the TVS Ronin in the Indian market today (June 6). The Ronin is expected to have a Scrambler design language as suggested by the leaked images that surfaced online a few days ago, making it the first Scrambler/ Cafe Racer inspired TVS motorcycle to be launched in India. TVS, till now, has been making either commuters to semi-sports motorcycles. The Instagram post by sss.dzns also revealed other details like the expected prices of the upcoming of the motorcycle. However, whether or not the information is correct can only be confirmed once the product is launched in India. Heres a look at what TVS Ronin is all about: As per the Instagram handle who leaked the images of the TVS Ronin, the upcoming 125 cc motorcycle is expected to be priced at around Rs 1.49 lakh (ex-showroom). However, given the size of the engine, the information seems not so authentic. Other reports also suggest that the bike will get a 225 cc engine, justifying the price tag. TVS Ronin: Design As per the leaked images, the TVS Ronin gets a Scrambler styled design with elements of cafe racer motorcycle as per. The bike can be seen with round headlight, teardrop-shaped fuel tank, flat side panel and a brown, single-piece seat. At the rear is tubular grab-rail, and tail-light located below the seat. The bike comes with dual-tone paint, blacked-out engine and a large belly pan underneath. Theres a large side slung exhaust, with a silver-coloured tip. While the leaked report says that the TVS Ronin will be powered by a Radeon sourced 125 cc engine, other reports suggest that the bike will get an Apache sourced 225-cc engine at least. Theres also gold-coloured inverted USD fork at the front and monoshock at the back. TVS Ronin: Features As seen in the pics, the bike rides on multi-spoke alloy wheels with dual-purpose tyres. The braking duties are done by disc brakes at the both ends, likely with dual-channel ABS. The bike has a round instrument cluster and it is likely to feature TVS Smart Xonnect Bluetooth connectivity system which will display incoming calls, SMS, email alerts and turn-by-turn navigation. Live TV Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's aviation regulator has issued show cause notice to SpiceJet after eight malfunction incidents in last 18 days. "SpiceJet has failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services under Aircraft Rules, 1937", DGCA said in a statement. "The review (of incidents) transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions (as most of the incidents are related to either component failure or system related failure) have resulted in degradation of the safety margins," the notice stated. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given SpiceJet three weeks to respond to the notice. Also, DGCA's audit of SpiceJet in September 2021 found component suppliers not being paid on regular basis leading to shortage of spares. Passenger safety is paramount. Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated & course-corrected. https://t.co/UD1dJb05wS July 6, 2022 "Financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 has also revealed that the airline is operating on 'cash-and-carry' (model) and suppliers/ approved vendors are not being paid on a regular basis leading to shortage of spares and frequent invoking of MELs (minimum equipment lists)," it stated. Commenting on the DGCA's show cause notice to SpiceJet, India's Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said "Passenger safety is paramount". "Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated & course-corrected," he said in a tweet. Live TV After almost a two-year hiatus, Bhutan-based Drukair has resumed regular flight operations between Paro and Bangkok through Bagdogra in West Bengal. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the airline had to halt operations on the route. Monday saw the resumption of the Paro-Bagdogra-Bangkok sector's regular flights, according to Drukair Senior Executive (Reservation) Nilanjana Sen. With the resumption of the Drukair flight, the Bagdogra airport once again started handling international flights, an Airports Authority of India official said. The airline's flights between Paro and Bangkok with a stopover at Bagdogra will operate two days a week, Bagdogra Airport Director P Subramani said. Drukair will operate a flight from Paro in Bhutan to Bangkok via Bagdogra on Mondays, and the return flight from Bangkok will be on Tuesdays. The flight from Paro will reach Bagdogra at 11.50 am and depart for Bangkok at 12.40 pm, while the return flight from Bangkok will arrive in Bagdogra at 8.40 am and take off for Paro at 9.30 am every Tuesday, the airport director said. Also read: Smoke detected on Indigo Raipur-Indore flight after landing With inputs from PTI With multiple flights reporting technical snag across India in the last few days, DGCA, India's aviation watchdog is keeping a strict check on airlines and pilots. In one such unusual incident, a Go First pilot (earlier known as GoAir) refused to land the flight at the Patna Airport after a technical snag occurred in the plane. The incident ensued huge chaos at Patna airport as the family members of the passengers who were arriving at Patna airport were shocked and went to the counter of GoAir creating a bit of ruckus. The Go First flight was scheduled to land at 2 PM at the Patna's Jay Prakash Narayan airport, and reached at the scheduled time in the vicinity of the airport, but went all the back to New Delhi and later landed safely in Delhi. Airline officials said that the flight was having technical glitches that arose during the takeoff at Delhi airport, and came on as pilots probably thought that the issues would be rectified. The pilot decided to go ahead with the journey and instead of returning back to Delhi at the time. Also read: SpiceJet suffers 7 emergency landings in 17 days, trouble brewing for airline? However, it was not the case and pilot realized the problem has not been rectified and refused to land in Patna airport and returned to Delhi. The airline arranged another plane for the passengers who finally reached Patna airport at 6 p.m. Two SpiceJet planes had made emergency landings at Patna airport last month alone, while two SpiceJet flights faced technical snag on June 5 itself, the day of Go First incident. It's not clear what technical snag the flight faced that led to the decision of pilot turning all the way around to Delhi. Live TV SpiceJet's freighter flight from Kolkata to Chongqing, China, returned to Kolkata on Tuesday after the pilots discovered after takeoff that the weather radar was not working. When the pilot-in-command noticed the malfunctioning radar, he decided to return the flight to Kolkata. This was not the only problem with the airlines on Tuesday; it was involved in two other incidents on the same day. Furthermore, this is at least the eighth technical malfunction on a SpiceJet aircraft in the last 18 days. "On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet Boeing 737 freighter was scheduled to operate from Kolkata to Chongqing. After take-off, the weather radar was not showing the weather. The PIC (pilot-in-command) decided to return to Kolkata. The aircraft landed safely at Kolkata," SpiceJet spokesperson told PTI on Wednesday. On July 5 itself, the airline's Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi due to a malfunctioning fuel indicator and its Kandla-Mumbai flight did priority landing in Maharashtra's capital city after cracks developed on its windshield mid-air. Also read: DGCA issues show cause notice to SpiceJet, 8 malfunction incidents in 18 days On July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at around 5,000 feet altitude. Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate SpiceJet planes while taking off on June 24 and June 25, forcing them to abandon their journeys and return. On June 19, an engine on the carrier's Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 185 passengers caught fire soon after the take-off from Patna airport and the plane made an emergency landing minutes later. Also read: SpiceJet suffers 7 emergency landings in 17 days, trouble brewing for airline? The engine malfunctioned because of a bird hit. In another incident on June 19, a SpiceJet flight for Jabalpur had to return to Delhi due to cabin pressurization issues. The airline has been making losses for the last three years. The carrier incurred a net loss of Rs 316 crore, Rs 934 crore, and Rs 998 crore in 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21, respectively. A SpiceJet Delhi-Dubai flight suffered a mid-air malfunction in its fuel indicator on Tuesday and was diverted to Karachi. Another SpiceJet flight developed cracks on the windshield at a height of 23,000 feet, forcing a priority landing in Mumbai. The double whammy for the budget airline in a single day have taken the total number of technical malfunction incidents involving SpiceJet aircraft to seven in the last 17 days. According to officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the India's aviation regulator is investigating all the seven incidents, and can result in DGCA coming down hard on the airline, although no statement has been released by either of the two parties in this matter. As for the seven incidents, 6 of them were domestic flights, while one was an international flight. The international flight incident was reported on June 5 morning when a SpiceJet's Boeing 737 Max with around 150 passengers travelling from Delhi to Dubai made an emergency landing in Pakistan's Karachi. The plane started showing unusual fuel quantity reduction from its left tank when it was mid-air, following which it was diverted to Karachi. When an inspection was done at the Karachi airport, no visual leak was observed from the left tank, they added. SpiceJet deputed another aircraft from India in the evening and by 10 PM in the night, all passengers left for Dubai again, spending 12 hours in Pakistan. #SpiceJetStatement: On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi - Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely at Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked. >> SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) July 5, 2022 In the second incident, the pilots of the Q400 plane had to carry out a priority landing at Mumbai airport after its windshield cracked at 23,000 feet altitude, DGCA officials said. The number of passengers on the 78-seater Q400 plane on a Kandla-Mumbai flight was not immediately known. The aircraft did not face any cabin pressurisation issues, they said. "On 5th July, 2022, SpiceJet Q400 aircraft was operating SG 3324 (Kandla-Mumbai). During cruise at FL230 (23,000 feet altitude), P2 side windshield outer pane cracked. Pressurization was observed to be normal. The aircraft landed safely in Mumbai," the SpiceJet said in a statement. On June 19, an engine on the carrier's Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 185 passengers caught fire soon after the takeoff from Patna airport and the plane made an emergency landing minutes later. The engine malfunctioned because of a bird hit. It was one of the biggest incidents in the last few days and the pilot of the plane, Monica Khanna is being credited for safely landing the aircraft. Also read: SpiceJet plane lands in Mumbai after windshield cracks mid-air In another incident on June 19, a flight for Jabalpur had to return to Delhi due to cabin pressurisation issues. Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate planes while taking off on June 24 and June 25, forcing them to abandon their journeys and return. On July 2, a flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at around 5,000 feet altitude. With agencies inputs Live TV A State Supreme Court justice has once again cleared the way for razing the Great Northern grain elevator. In a 47-page decision Tuesday, Justice Emilio Colaiacovo ruled that then-Buffalo Commissioner of Permit and Inspections James Comerford did not act arbitrarily when issuing an emergency order to demolish the 1897 brick box-style grain elevator with steel bins after a Dec. 11 windstorm damaged its north wall. Expert witness for owner of Great Northern elevator: 'Another portion of this building can fall down' In court testimony Thursday, two civil engineers called the Great Northern grain elevator structurally deficient and a threat to public safety. It needs to come down, both said. The Campaign for Buffalo History Architecture and Culture sued to block the demolition order. The judge ruled against the preservation organization earlier this year, but an appellate court later ordered a new hearing after concluding Colaiacovo erred in refusing to consider the preservation group's evidence when he first allowed the emergency demolition permit. So Colaiacovo held another hearing, which did not change his ruling. "After the hearing, the facts show that this building, while historic and of sentimental interest, cannot survive with a huge gaping hole in the northern wall," he said in Tuesday's ruling. "This is further illustrated by its overall poor condition, cracked facade and failures in the structural integrity of the building." In his ruling Tuesday, Colaiacovo said the campaign's witnesses failed to support its claim that Comerford's decision was not rational. "The records show the commissioner's methodical, collaborative and comprehensive process undertaken to evaluate the building after the December 2021 collapse was anything but arbitrary. Instead, it was quite rational under the circumstances, and this court, again, will not disturb it," Colaiacovo wrote. "The Court finds that the Commissioner reasonably concluded the Great Northern constituted a safety hazard and was beyond repair," Colaiacovo wrote in his ruling. "Further, the Court must give deference to factual evaluations made that are with the an agency's area of expertise." The judge referred to "the catastrophic consequences to human life and the public" being too terrible to contemplate if the grain elevator were to completely collapse in the event of severe wind gusts over the winter months. In addition, Colaiacovo said, repairs to the structure are not practical and that no one has come up with a realistic plan or the financial resources to repair the grain elevator. Tim Tielman, Campaign for Greater Buffalo's executive director, said the preservation group will appeal Tuesday's decision. "We think, obviously, the judge erred the first time and he erred once again," Tielman said. The judge noted in his decision that one of the campaign's witnesses, Paul McDonnell, was committed to the cause of historic preservation and rehabilitating the Great Northern, but he failed to offer persuasive testimony or evidence that would suggest Comerford's determination was not rational. "While McDonnell disagreed with the commissioner on whether the building was in imminent danger of collapse and whether the building could be repaired ... it is hard to ignore McDonnell's agreement with the majority of the substantive conclusions Comerford reached when issuing his condemnation order," Colaiacovo wrote. The judge also said he was puzzled that lawyers for the campaign called only witnesses that the judge described as having a clear interest in the outcome, instead of an engineer unaffiliated with the campaign. McDonnell is president of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo. Tielman denied that McDonnell's affiliation with the campaign portended any bias on McDonnell's part, noting that he has never received any payment from the group. "Whereas, the two engineers who testified against us ... both are paid by the law firm that ADM is retaining," Tielman said. The judge referred to "the catastrophic consequences to human life and the public" being too terrible to contemplate if the grain elevator were to completely collapse in the event of severe wind gusts over the winter months. In addition, Colaiacovo said, repairs to the structure are not practical and that no one has come up with a realistic plan or the financial resources to repair the grain elevator. Tielman said the court should not be concerned about a preservation plan for the grain elevator or a funding source for its rehabilitation. "We're not even at that stage," he said. "Why is it even incumbent upon the public to have a preservation plan and to line up funding," Tielman added, noting that ADM still owns the building. It has taken decades of effort to preserve buildings such as the H.H. Richardson complex and the Central Terminal, said Tielman. "It's preposterous to use that as a reason to decide against," he said. ADM spokesperson Jackie Anderson on Tuesday issued a statement calling the safety of the company's employees and other Buffalonians its top priority. "The court has now heard evidence from both sides and agrees that the City of Buffalo and ADM reasonably concluded the Great Northern Elevator constitutes a safety hazard and is beyond repair," Anderson said. "We also said from the beginning of this process that we respect the significance of the Great Northern Elevator to the Buffalo community, of which ADM and our employees are a part, and we are committed to finding ways to honor its legacy. In that spirit, we have begun discussions with a local not-for-profit organization to develop a list of artifacts that would be ideal to preserve and spark ideas for how they can be creatively displayed for years to come," Anderson added. Among the items that may be feasible to preserve from the grain elevator are a small bin, the locomotive, the spiral staircase and repurposed bricks, said Anderson. "We are working closely with our contractors to determine what can be safely preserved in the demolition process and what could feasibly be used by the not-for-profit," Anderson said. New Delhi: The Income Tax department Wednesday conducted searches at the premises of Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical company Micro Labs Ltd, the manufacturers of Dolo-650 tablet that was widely used by COVID-19 patients during the last over two years, on charges of alleged tax evasion. Officials said the department is looking at financial documents, balance sheets and business distributor networks of the company as part of the searches. The PTI has sent queries on the action to the Dolo-650 manufacturing company and a response is awaited. (ALSO READ: Shares gain on finance, consumer boost after overnight oil selloff) Some other linked locations of the company in other cities and those of its promoters and distributors are also being covered in the ongoing IT raids, they said. (ALSO READ: Google India launches Startup School, aims to guide 10,000 startups) The company said on its website that it was engaged in the making and marketing pharmaceutical products and APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) and has 17 manufacturing units across the country apart from conducting business overseas. Its major pharma products are Dolo-650, Amlong, Lubrex, Diapride, Vildapride, Olmat, Avas, Tripride, Bactoclav, Tenepride-M and Arbitel. Dolo-650, an analgesic (pain killer) and antipyretic (fever-reducing) was being prescribed by doctors and medical shop owners for coronavirus patients to reduce pain and fever, common symptoms caused by Covid. In the words of the company, Dolo-650, is "virtually a household name across the country". The company website showcased a news article, published in February, on its website that said: "The company has sold 350 crore tablets (of Dolo-650) since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, and earned revenues of Rs 400 crore in a year." The CMD of the company, Dilip Surana, has been quoted in the story. New Delhi: As Bhavish Aggarwal focuses his energies towards Ola Electric, the ride-hailing platform Ola is planning to lay off up to 500 employees across departments as it aims to cut cost and streamline operations amid the ongoing funding winter. According to reliable sources, SoftBank-backed Ola has asked senior executives to find employees in their teams on performance basis who can be asked to go. The company is reportedly looking at "leaner and consolidated teams" to keep its "strong profitability intact". (ALSO READ: Delhi Shopping Festival: CM Arvind Kejriwal announces fest offering jobs) Ola, which has delayed its IPO plans, has also reportedly shopped its global investment plans to further expand overseas. (ALSO READ: Service charge at hotels: Employees at many restaurants want to seek pay hike, others fear tips may dwindle) The company currently has nearly 1,100 employees in its core ride-hailing business and directly competes with Uber. Last month, Ola shut down its used vehicle business Ola Cars as well as Ola Dash, its quick-commerce business. The company shut Ola Cars within one years of its launch, as it focuses on its electric two-wheeler and electric car verticals. Ola has so far shut down Ola Cafe, food panda, Ola Foods, and now Ola Dash. "Ola has reassessed its priorities and decided to shut down Ola Dash -- its quick commerce business. Ola will also be reorienting its Ola Cars business to focus more on strengthening the go-to-market strategy for Ola Electric," the company had said in a statement. It added that Ola Cars` infra, technology and capabilities will be "repurposed towards growing Ola Electric`s sales and service network". Ola now aims to invest more towards its electric car, cell manufacturing, and financial services businesses. Ola Electric, amid several high-profile exits, is also facing scrutiny over faulty batteries in its electric two-wheelers, among other EV players like Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles, and Boom Motors, by the government. Alarmed at the unabated EV fire incidents, the Centre has now sent show cause notices to EV manufacturers, warning them why a penal action should not be taken against them for delivering faulty electric two-wheelers to the public. The EV makers have been given time till July end to respond in detail to the notices. New Delhi: Recently a video of a boy --apparently a swiggy delivery executive--riding on a horse to deliver food amidst Mumbai rain became viral on social media. Swiggy has now posted on their social handles a Quest to find the delivery partner. In an instagram post, laced with wit and sarcasm, Swiggy has announced a bounty of Rs 5,000 for netizens and food lover, who can identify the person in the video. A Swiggy delivery boy was captured in a video while he was riding a horse to deliver food amidst heavy rainfall in Mumbai. The short video clip shared by Youtube user 'Just a vibe' has made netizens curious, with many applauding the mode of transport that the Swiggy delivery executive used to deliver food. Here's the video Meanwhile, the Swiggy Instagram post has the following words for both netizens and food lovers. Swiggy had recently 'deactivated' a delivery executive who sent creepy messages to woman. After a woman shared 'creepy' messages like "miss you lot," from a Swiggy agent who delivered groceries at her doorstep, the company said that the delivery executive has been 'deactivated' from the platform upon investigation. Founded in 2014, Swiggy connects consumers to over 2,00,000 restaurant partners and stores in over 500 cities. Its quick commerce grocery service Instamart is present in 29 cities. In December 2021, Swiggy announced to pour $700 million into Instamart. Last month, Swiggy acquired Dineout, a dining out and restaurant tech platform, for nearly $200 million. New Delhi: In a big blow to consumers, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have announced a huge increase in the price of LPG cylinders. OMCs have increased the price of domestic gas cylinders by Rs 50 with effect from today, July 6. With this, the price of gas cylinder in Delhi has been increased to Rs 1053. The price of domestic gas cylinder has gone up to Rs 1079 in Kolkata, Rs 1052.50 in Mumbai and Rs 1068.50 in Chennai per bottle. Meanwhile, a week ago OMCs announced price cut in the price of commercial LPG gas. Bringing a huge relief to the consumers, the Oil Marketing companies on Friday, 1 July 2022, announced to reduce the prices of the 19 kg commercial cylinder. OMCs have slashed the prices of 19 kg commercial cylinder by nearly Rs 200. The 19 kg commercial cylinder will be cheaper by Rs 198 per bottle. The price of a 19 kg commercial cylinder will now be Rs 2021 as against the earlier price of Rs 2,219 per bottle in Delhi, while in Kolkata it will be priecd at Rs 2140 instead of Rs 2,322 in Kolkata, Rs 1981 instead of Rs 2,171.50 in Mumbai and Rs 2186 instead of Rs 2,373 in Chennai. The price of a 19 kg commercial cylinder was slashed by Rs 135 on June 1. You can click on this link to find out how much you will have to pay for LPG in your city. The prices of both domestic and commercial LPG cylinders were hiked in the country on May 19. This was for the second time in a month when the prices of the cooking was increased. Rates of 14 kg domestic cylinder was been hiked by Rs 3.50 while that of a 19 Kg commercial LPG was increased by Rs 8 per cylinder. OMCs announce LPG price change twice a month, once in the begining of the month and once during the middle of the month. New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Wednesday (July 6), announced the Delhi Shopping Festival to be held early next year. The mega event will take place from January 28 to February 26 next year. Making an announcement about the upcoming event, Kejriwal said that the capital city will look like a bride during the shopping fest. Kejriwal also said that during the festival, heavy discounts on products will be up for grabs. He also noted that there will be exhibitions on tech and health. He believes that the exhibitions will be the highlights of the event. (ALSO READ: Service charge at hotels: Employees at many restaurants want to seek pay hike) Moreover, Kejriwal pointed out that Delhi Shopping Festival will create huge job opportunities, offering employment to many. He also said that the Delhi government is in talks with airlines for special packages for passengers arriving in the capital city from several parts of the country. He also said that invites will be sent to people across India and from all parts of the world. (ALSO READ: SpiceJet shares slide 7%; hit 52-week low level) The 30-day event is going to be Indias largest shopping festival, Kejriwal said, adding that no shopping festival of such a scale would have been organised ever. He also said that even though its just the beginning, Delhi Shopping Festival is going to be one of the worlds largest shopping festivals in the coming years. Earlier in the day, in a tweet, Kejriwal said that he was going to make a big and important announcement. "I will make a big and an imp announcement for the people of Delhi at 12 noon," tweeted Kejriwal. He said that the government has already begun the preparations for the mega event, adding that the countdown has now started for the Delhi government to make sure it hosts the shopping festival next year. Agnipath Recruitment 2022: The Indian Air Force registrations has shattered the record with more than seven lakhs applications under the Agnipath or Agneepath Scheme. In its recent tweet, the Air Force of India said that the number of applications is the highest compared to the previous recruitment cycle. IAF Tweeted The online registration process conducted by #IAF towards #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme has been completed. Compared to 6,31,528 applications in the past, which was the highest in any recruitment cycle, this time 7,49,899 applications have been received." The online registration process conducted by #IAF towards #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme has been completed. Compared to 6,31,528 applications in the past, which was the highest in any recruitment cycle, this time 7,49,899 applications have been received.#Agniveers pic.twitter.com/pSz6OPQF2V Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 5, 2022 As per the reports, this is a one-time chance for the military aspirants who have lost two years to the COVID-19 pandemic as there was no recruitment done. Hence, The government has given a relaxation of 2 years to the candidates. Earlier, it was 21 years. Now, candidates upto 23 years of age had applied for the same. Indian Air Force (IAF) had invited the online applications for recruitment of Agniveers on its official website i.e. The online applications was available from 24 June to 05 July 2022. Now, all the applicants will be called to appear for the selection exam. As per the IAF Agniveer Calendar, the exam is scheduled to be held from 25 July 2022. Shortlisted candidates will be called for PSL Round on 01 December 2022 and the enrollment of the candidates will be held on 11 December 2022. After the announcement of the Agnipath recruitment scheme, protests were witnessed in most parts of the country, demanding the rollback of the scheme. The Agnipath is an all India merit-based recruitment scheme for enrolling soldiers, airmen and sailors. ALSO READ: Candidates shortlisted for IAF move to Delhi High Court Agnipath recruitment: Selection process Candidates will be selected through Phase I and Phase II examination. Candidates who will qualify Phase I examination will be eligible to appear for Phase II examination. The name of the shortlisted candidates who qualify for the online test, shall have to appear for PFT followed by medical test. "AGNIVEERVAYU will be enrolled in the Indian Air Force under Air Force Act 1950, for a period of four years. AGNIVEERVAYU would form a distinct rank in the Indian Air Force, different from any other existing ranks. Indian Air Force is not obliged to retain AGNIVEERVAYU beyond the engagement period of four years," stated the Indian Air Force. Chennai: BJP's Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai's claim that "an Eknath Shinde will emerge in" the state was dismissed outright by the ruling party. Annamalai drew an analogy between the political conditions in the two states, and said that late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's eldest son, Bindumadhav's venture into films has a resemblance to former TN CM M Karunanidhi's first son Mu Ka Muthu, adding "Both wanted to act in films but the films didn't do well." Similarly, Thackeray's second son Jayadev is away from the family and so too is Karunanidhi's second son M K Alagiri, PTI quoted him as saying. He further said that stated that Bal Thackeray's third son Uddhav Thackeray got an opportunity to become CM of Maharashtra and likewise MK Stalin became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Addressing a BJP protest rally in Chennai on Tuesday, Annamalai said that Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya has political ambitions and so does MK Stalin's son Udayanidhi, adding "Both are youth wing leaders of their respective parties. Tamil Nadu is gearing up for a cabinet shuffle. An Eknath Shinde will emerge here too." Also read: VK Sasikala, says she wishes to take AIADMK forward like MGR, Amma The BJP president reportedly referred to the Sena leader's rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray recently that led to a change of guard in Maharashtra. He further said that two-and-a-half years ago, three parties joined hands to form a coalition in Maharashtra like the DMK formed an alliance with the Congress and left parties here. "Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress joined hands in Maharashtra and the BJP which had 105 MLAs was pushed back and Sena with 57 legislators formed the government," PTI quoted him as saying in the massive gathering. He further added, "Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tortured as many BJP supporters as possible. Then Eknath Shinde came with 12 MLAs. He went to Surat. This is Rajadharma. When it has to happen, it will happen. It happened in Maharashtra and you will see it happen in Tamil Nadu, as well." DMK pooh-poohs Annamalai's comments DMK senior leader and party's organising secretary R S Bharathi, however, described Annamalai's comments as "insignificant" and said that "the party is not taking him seriously." Making light of the saffron party leader's comments, the DMK leader said that any rebellion was not possible in the ranks of the party. "He (Annamalai) has been uttering all nonsense of late. As far as I am concerned I am not taking him seriously," Bharathi, a former MP, told PTI on Wednesday. Another DMK senior leader and a sitting MLA told PTI, "no chance for it happen," when asked to comment on Annamalai's statement on an Eknath Shinde emerging in Tamil Nadu. The state was comfortable with the "dynamic leadership" of Chief Minister and DMK President Stalin, he added. (With PTI Inputs) Gangtok: Around 100 students of an engineering college in East Sikkim suffered severe skin infections after coming in contact with Nairobi flies, officials said on Tuesday. Nairobi flies, native to East Africa, are growing at a rapid pace at the campus of the Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT) in Majhitar, they said. A student who was recently infected by the flies had to undergo surgery on his hand, they added. The flies are not native but can overwhelm new areas in search of breeding grounds and ample food supply, Health Department officials said. These flies usually destroy crops and eat pests, they said. Nairobi flies release a potent acidic substance that causes burns These flies do not bite, but if disturbed while sitting on anyone's skin, they release a potent acidic substance that causes burns, officials said. The flies should be gently blown off and not disturbed or touched. The area where these flies sit should be washed with soap and water. The college administration said that the infected students are undergoing medication and recovering. Insecticides are being sprayed on the campus, and students are being made aware of the dos and don'ts to deal with the situation, it said. NEW DELHI: Five people, including one who goes by the alias Ramayani Chaiwala, filed papers on Tuesday, the first day of the nomination process for the August 6 vice-presidential election. The nomination papers of one candidate were rejected for failing to furnish a mandatory document. July 19 is the last date for filing nominations. According to the details available with the office of the returning officer, K Padmarajan of Salem district in Tamil Nadu, Paresh Kumar Nanubhai Mulani from Ahmedabad, Hosmath Vijayanand from Bengaluru and Naidugari Rajasekhar Srimukhalingam from Andhra Pradesh have filed their nominations for the vice-presidential polls. Anand Singh Khushwaha from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, who goes by the alias 'Ramayani Chaiwala', was also among those who filed nomination papers at the returning officer's office in Parliament. Though Khushwaha's papers were accepted, he did not submit the security deposit of Rs 15,000. The papers of Srimukhalingam were rejected as he failed to submit a certified copy of the entry relating to the candidate in the voters' list of the Lok Sabha constituency in which he or she is residing. The four other nominations will come up for scrutiny on July 20. These nominations are set to be rejected as they were not supported by 20 parliamentarians as proposers and 20 other as seconders. Also Read: Amarinder Singh likely to be NDA's VICE-PRESIDENT candidate, to join BJP soon: Sources For a successful nomination as a candidate in the vice-presidential election, a nominee needs 20 MPs as proposers and 20 others as seconders. The term of incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu ends on August 10 and the next vice president will take oath on August 11. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a clear edge in the election, in which the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including the nominated ones, are eligible to vote. The political parties are yet to name their candidates for the election. The vice president is also the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. The electoral college in the vice-presidential polls comprises a total of 788 members of both houses of Parliament. Since all the electors are members of Parliament, the value of the vote of each MP would be the same -- one -- the Election Commission (EC) said in a statement issued on June 29. The election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote and the voting is held by secret ballots. There is no concept of open voting in the election and showing the ballots to anyone under any circumstances in the case of presidential and vice-presidential elections is prohibited, the EC had cautioned, adding that the parties cannot issue a whip to its MPs in the matter of voting. The nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and by at least 20 other electors as seconders. An elector can subscribe to only one nomination paper of a candidate as either a proposer or a seconder. A candidate can file a maximum of four nomination papers. The security deposit for the election is Rs 15,000. Unlike the presidential polls where the voting takes place at multiple locations as the elected MLAs, not the nominated members, also form part of the electoral college, in the vice-presidential election, the voting takes place in the Parliament House. New Delhi: With Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigning on Wednesday and his Rajya Sabha term ending a day later, there will be no Muslim face in the Union Council of Ministers and among the BJP's 395 Members of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Cabinet meeting earlier in the day lauded Naqvi's contribution to the country as minister. Naqvi, who later submitted his resignation to Modi, was among the three BJP Muslim MPs whose term ended during the recent round of Rajya Sabha polls to 57 seats across 15 states but none of them were renominated by the party. The term of two others, former Union minister M J Akbar and Syed Zafar Islam, has already ended. It will be after a long time that the BJP will not have any Muslim MP. This will also be a rare occasion when the Union council of ministers will not have a Muslim member. The opposition has been accusing the BJP of not giving adequate representation to Muslims, but the saffron party has maintained that its MPs work for all communities and are not representatives of any religion. Over the decades, Muslim BJP MPs have had a nominal presence in Parliament. Naqvi himself has been a Rajya Sabha member for three terms, Najma Heptulla for two terms and Shahnawaz Hussain, currently a minister in the Bihar government, was elected to Lok Sabha twice. Naqvi was a Lok Sabha member for one term as well. Sikander Bakht, a founder member of the party and one of its first three general secretaries, was a Rajya Sabha member twice. To questions about the development, BJP minority morcha chief Jamal Siddiqui asserted that politics should not be attached with religion and that MPs are elected as representatives of the people and not of any religion. "So even if someone from our religion or caste is not there, we should understand that our own countrymen are there. Responsibilities keep on changing in the BJP and I am confident that the party will ensure representation of all communities," he said. The party also has Muslim lawmakers in some states, including one each in Bihar and UP. However, there is a buzz about the party's outreach to Muslims, India's largest minority community, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP leaders at its recent national executive meeting in Hyderabad to cultivate deprived sections in communities other than Hindus as well. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also highlighted the party's good performance in local polls in some regions with a sizeable Muslim population. In a sign of increasing national focus on the 23rd Congressional District, a top conservative figure in the House of Representatives on Tuesday announced key support for Nicholas A. Langworthy in his Republican primary contest against Carl P. Paladino. Paladino-Langworthy showdown takes shape as Cenedella drops out Manhattan businessman Marc Cenedella on Friday dropped out of the race for Congress in New York's 23rd district, meaning Republicans in southern and eastern Erie County and the Southern Tier will likely choose between Buffalo businessman Carl P. Paladino and State GOP Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy in an Aug. 23 primary. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, chairman of the House Republican Study Committee in the GOP caucus, said he would support Langworthy, giving the candidate new ammunition for bolstering his conservative credentials in the heavily Republican district. The new support could also help Langworthy attract significant contributions from conservatives around the country. "Nick is a true conservative who will be on the front lines fighting back against the radical policies of Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden," Banks said. "Nick will put American workers and families first and he is ready to hit the ground running on Day One. He has my full support and the support of the House Conservatives Fund. Langworthy, in accepting the Banks endorsement, said it underscores his "commitment to defending the core Republican values on which our nation was built individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, and the rule of law." Banks' Republican Study Committee, which describes itself as the intellectual arsenal and policy shop for congressional conservatives, is expected to prove instrumental in this year's effort to recapture the House for the GOP. It is also a sign advanced by Langworthy allies that their candidate, chairman of the New York State Republican Party, enjoys support from House leaders despite backing for Paladino by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Saratoga County, third ranking GOP member. Paladino commits initial $1.5 million to congressional campaign In a sign that an intense and well-financed Republican primary for the 23rd District is about to begin, congressional hopeful Carl P. Paladino has committed $1.5 million of his own money to jump-start the campaign. Indeed, some Republican insiders have already pointed to the possibility that GOP leaders in the House could use their personal political action committees to help Langworthy, who they say will bring "stability" to the seat. In a campaign in which both candidates may attempt to "out conservative" each other, the Banks announcement is now expected to weigh heavily in Langworthy's effort. Spokesman Christopher M. Grant said Langworthy merits the backing as leader of the state GOP and champion of successful lawsuits that prevented voting by undocumented immigrants in New York City, and another that neutralized Democratic gerrymandering of congressional and State Senate districts this year. "For rank and file Republicans, this is somebody who will not only fight, but fight and win," Grant said, noting a nationwide strategy this year emphasizing the GOP's commitment to "getting things done." Grant called the Banks announcement significant because the House Conservatives Fund ranks as the most important conservative group to yet weigh in. "Now we've got national conservatives starting to rally around him," Grant said. NASHIK: A refugee cleric from Afghanistan was sprayed with bullets in Yeola town of Maharashtra`s Nashik district late last evening, police said here on Wednesday.According to an Investigation Officer, the incident occurred around 7.15 p.m. in an open deserted plot near the MIDC industrial zone in Yeola. Investigations reveal that at least four unidentified persons suddenly came there and fired multiple rounds at the Afghan cleric, targeting him in the head and neck, leading to his instant death.The victim has been identified as Khwaja Sayyed Chishti, 35, a refugee from Afghanistan, popular locally as `Sufibaba` and used to preach in several religious gatherings or mausoleums. ALSO READ:https://zeenews.india.com/india/pre-dawn-encounter-breaks-out-in-south-kashmir-s-kulgam-2-local-terrorists-surrender-2482025.html After committing the crime, the four assailants fled with an SUV parked nearby, reportedly owned by the Chishti. The motive behind the ghastly crime tentatively suspected to be a property-linked matter is being probed, and a manhunt has been launched for the killers and efforts to trace the getaway vehicle. The police have formed a special team to probe the incident which has sent shockwaves in the local Muslim communities. Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra challenged the BJP in the Kaali poster controversy. Members of the BJP Mahila Morcha submitted a complaint to the police station demanding her arrest on Wednesday afternoon. The Krishnanagar MP replied on Twitter in the afternoon. She wrote, "I am a worshiper of Kali. I'm not afraid of anything. What the BJP want they can do." Bjp leader and leader of the opposition in the state, Suvendu Adhikari, criticised Mahua's remarks on Goddess Kali and demanded her arrest. On Wednesday, members of the BJP's Mahila Morcha also accused Mahua of making "adverse remarks about 'Mother Kali'. Mahua tweets to counter the BJP and wrote, "I am not afraid of your ignorance or hooliganism, I am not afraid of your goons, I am not afraid of your police, not your criticism." Kaali Poster Row: How Mahua Gets Involved? The controversy began with the poster of a documentary by Indian director Leena Manimekalai. There a woman was seen smoking in the form of Maa Kali. About which the debate began. The host posed a question to Mahua in this regard at an event in Kolkata on Monday. In response, the Trinamool MP from Krishnanagar made a comment. Then the political debate began. Speaking at India Today Conclave, Moitra explained, "Kaali to me, is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. You have the freedom to imagine your goddess. There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy." Jai Ma Kali! The goddess Bengalis worship is fearless & non-appeasing. July 6, 2022 Kaali Poster Row: Step Taken By TMC Moitra's party TMC has distanced itself from the MP's remarks. After that Mahua 'unfollowed' the All India Trinamool's Twitter account on Wednesday. Realising that the party was distancing itself from Mahua in the Kali controversy, it is likely that members of the BJP's Mahila Morcha staged a protest at bowbazar police station in the afternoon demanding Mahua's arrest. They filed 56 complaints. After that, in the space of nine minutes, two consecutive tweets of Mahua came to light. Also Read: Kaali poster row: 'To me, she is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess,' says Mamata Banerjee's MP Kaali Poster Row: Mahua's Tweets The first tweet started with the victory of Goddess Kali by the Trinamool MP. She wrote, "Jai Maa Kali! The goddess who is worshipped by Bengalis is fearless and calm. In his next tweet, Mahua directly challenged the BJP and wrote, "Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesnt need back up forces." Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesnt need back up forces. July 6, 2022 In the Kali controversy, the BJP took to the streets to demand the arrest of Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra. Bjp Mahila Morcha members marched to Bowbazar police station on Wednesday afternoon. They filed a total of 56 chargesheets. The police will have to take action against the Trinamool MP within the next 72 hours. New Delhi: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday (July 6) resigned as Union Minister of Minority Affairs, as per PTI. Union minister RCP Singh has also submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day before his Rajya Sabha term gets over, sources told the news agency. The sources also said that PM Modi had praised Naqvi and Singh during the cabinet meeting earlier today for their contribution to the country during their tenure. The terms of both Naqvi and Singh will come to an end on Thursday, hence the resignations submitted were to fulfill the constitutional obligation as they will cease to be parliamentarians from Friday. BJPs Naqvi is also the deputy leader of the Rajya Sabha, while Singh is a minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet from JD(U) quota. In the recently-concluded Rajya Sabha elections, several BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been elected to the Upper House. However, the party did not offer a Rajya Sabha ticket to Naqvi. RCP Singh, who is from JD(U), BJPs ally in Bihar, was sworn in as a minister in the NDA government on July 7, 2021. Notably, Nitish Kumar had denied a ticket to RCP Singh for the Rajya Sabha polls. (With agency inputs) India, a developing country, is burdened with communicable diseases which spread through an airborne virus, contact with bodily fluids and blood, insect bite, and so on. These diseases are also called contagious and infectious diseases. According to research, 1.2 billion people worldwide are in danger of infectious diseases because of limited access to clean drinking water and food, poor sanitation and lack of proper hygiene habits. Recently, the doctors at Top Hospitals in Delhi also pointed out to extreme dry heat and high air pollution in Delhi/NCR region which is making it impossible for people to breathe outdoors. These factors have put residents at a very high risk of illness. As India is a developing country, its population is at a high risk of contracting malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, typhoid, Coronavirus and jaundice, to name a few of them. However, India is well equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities, especially hospitals and trained medical professionals, to treat patients suffering from communicable diseases. So lets us know more about how to prevent communicable diseases. Communicable diseases spread quickly and affect the body's immunity; preventing them at all costs is a must. As per medical professionals, the following measures are recommended - a. Wash your hands after you travel or touch any public surfaces. b. Cover your face or nose when you sneeze. c. Use sanitizers. d. Prepare your food after thoroughly washing vegetables or meat. e. Practice safe sex. f. Stay home when you feel sick or have any weakness. g. Get vaccinated h. Avoid touching public surfaces. Preferred treatment protocol for communicable diseases Typically, common contagious diseases last for 2-4 weeks at the maximum. So, an infected person needs to be patient and take adequate rest with suitable medications. a. Antibiotics as per doctor's recommendation b. Drink ample warm water. c. Steam Inhalation for cough and/or cold. Steam effectively decreases the cough within the body. d. Eat light foods that are easy to digest while avoiding staple food e. Fully follow the doctor's prescription Which are the common communicable diseases in India? The prevalent communicable diseases are treated with the help of expert doctors and hospitals in India. However, in some instances, it is inevitable to seek hospitalization for better recovery. There are many accredited hospitals in India capable of treating communicable diseases. Hence, many tourists across the globe arrive in India for medical treatments. Overview of the Most Common Communicable Diseases in India 1. COVID-19 COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, is a relatively new disease that began spreading globally in 2019. Mild fever, cough, and mild respiratory illness are the most common symptoms of corona patients who must take proper medication and precautions. People experiencing severe Covid-19 symptoms need hospitalization. During the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitals in India have successfully treated and saved the lives of many critical corona patients. They were always available for online consultations. Now, it has become easier to ask a doctor online all your medical queries due to the ClinicSpots Doctors App. You can ask your Many people have taken vaccination for Coronavirus and stay safe. However, unvaccinated people are advised to seek vaccination to prevent suffering from the deadly Coronavirus. 2. Tuberculosis Tuberculosis, also known as TB, is an airborne disease. If not diagnosed on time, this disease might spread into the rest of the body and cause illness in the blood, kidney, spine, and brain. Tuberculosis treatment is quite expensive and can cause a burden on patients and families. When a TB-infected person sneezes, coughs, talks, or laughs, the bacteria from their larynx or lungs is likely to get airborne and infect other people, further spreading the disease. 3. Hepatitis Hepatitis is a disease that causes liver inflammation and affects the normal functioning of the liver. The symptoms of hepatitis are fever, loss of appetite, stomach pain, vomiting, dark urine, weakness, joint pain or fatigue. There are different types of Hepatitis B, C, A, and D, and it spreads through the blood transfusion from the infected person with the mild symptoms and, if not treated, might lead to severe infection. Hepatitis requires expensive anti-viral medications, so it is advisable to have health insurance cover to lessen the treatment cost. 4. Malaria Malaria is caused by a mosquito bite in a healthy human body which can be very dangerous to the person if not treated. The patient experiences high-temperature fever and shaking chills. Malaria is observed in people of all ages. It is treated with suitable medicines prescribed by the doctor, but the doctor can suggest hospitalization. 5. Typhoid Typhoid is a bacterial disease that caused due to indigestion in food, water, or the excreta of the infected person and unsanitary hygiene conditions. It spreads throughout the body and affects all the major functioning organs. Salmonella typhi is the bacteria that causes typhoid. 6. Jaundice Jaundice is identified with the patient's skin and eyes turning yellow due to excessive bile pigmentation. This condition indicates issues in the patient's liver, pancreas and gall bladder. Also, jaundice occurs because of gallstones, tumors, and hepatitis conditions in the patient. There is a spike in communicable diseases during the monsoon season in India. Hence, people must stay alert and take suitable precautions to prevent infection. Across the globe, all the health and medical authorities emphasize maintaining high levels of personal hygiene and clean surroundings to remain healthy and safe. (Above mentioned article is Sponsored Feature, This article is a sponsored publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of IDPL) Kangra: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama's 87th birthday will be celebrated with great fanfare on Wednesday at McLeod Ganj Buddhist temple near Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh`s Kangra district, where Chief Minister Jairam Thakur would also take part as the chief guest. July 6 every year is commemorated as the "incarnation day" of the 14th Dalai Lama by followers and Tibetans in exile, living in the country and abroad, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the day could not be celebrated in 2020 and 2021. With the decreasing Covid cases and with no travel restrictions, the Tibetan government-in-exile has decided to celebrate the day with great pomp. The Dalai Lama Temple, also known as Tsuglagkhang, located in McLeod Ganj, is preparing to celebrate the Dalai Lama`s birthday in a grand manner. Cultural programmes, not just the Tibetan but also the Ladakhi, Nepali and Gaddi folk culture of Dharamsala, will be organised here to mark the day. According to the official spokesman of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Tenzin Lekshay, the 87th birthday of the Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama will be celebrated "with great pomp, in which Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur will take part as the chief guest". The 14th Dalai Lama, who was born in Tibet on July 6, 1935, had to leave Tibet due to the situation there and take refuge in India with his followers. The government of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave shelter to Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. Since then, Dalai Lama, who is considered the "messenger of peace" all over the world, has been living in Dharamsala. Dalai Lama has been fighting with non-violence for the last many decades and has been convincing the international community on the right to their homeland, and culture, the restoration of the thousands of Buddhist monasteries which were destroyed by China and the freedom of hundreds of Tibetans captured by Beijing. US academic Vivek Wadhwa thanks Dalai Lama for his humanitarian efforts Vivek Wadhwa an academic, entrepreneur, and author of five best-selling books thanked Dalai Lama for "all he does for humanity -- and for the inspiration he provides to all" on the occasion of his 87th birthday. Describing Dalai Lama as an embodiment of compassion and clear thought, Wadhwa shared his experience about his wife Tavinder illness, who died due to cancer and how His Holiness gave him the strength to go on in life, reported Tibet Rights Collective (TRC). "I lost my wife, Tavinder, to cancer in June 2019. It was completely devastating, because she was everything to me, someone I considered my soulmate," said Wadhwa, adding, "His Holiness has given me the strength to go on in life." Author of five best-selling books: From Incremental to Exponential; Your Happiness Was Hacked; The Driver in the Driverless Car; Innovating Women; and The Immigrant Exodus, Wadhwa is based in Silicon Valley and researches, speaks and writes about advancing technologies that are transforming the world. His wife Tavinder was a devotee of the Dalai Lama and cherished his values. "What kept me going was her wish that I dedicate the rest of my life to preventing people from suffering the way she did and to help others. She knew that this is the only thing that would give me purpose," said Wadhwa.With the help of some brilliant scientists and oncology researchers -- the same people who tried to help save Tavinder, Wadhwa developed a grand plan that may lead to cancer cures. "It uses technologies such as genomics, synthetic biology, organic drug synthesis, and artificial intelligence and creates open-sourced data on an unprecedented scale to try to address many cancers and other conditions for which we currently have no adequate treatment. And it provides a platform for holistic treatments such as those HHDL advocates," he said. However, Wadhwa realised that the plan was so ambitious and radical that the US, with too many vested interests in the status quo, can`t possibly implement it, reported TRC. To overturn the US medical industry, Wadhwa went to India to meet Dalai Lama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India has leaders ready to think big. "What I really hoped for more than anything from His Holiness was his blessing for Tavinder. His Holiness gave this blessing and much more; it was an incredible, spiritual experience. I was able also to be at His Holiness`s side, at his residence in Dharamshala, for 1 1/2 hour and hear his advice to 300 others. He listened carefully to everyone, reflected on their needs, and offered thoughts touching on their wisdom. I was amazed at how much he really cared and at his true compassion," said the acclaimed author. Dalai Lama talked about everything from agriculture to medicine to public policy and quantum physics with him. "He fully understood the power of advanced technologies and the value of traditional medicines. And in response to my own thoughts, he offered to host a global conference of scholars to discuss the role of Ayurveda and Tibetan and Chinese traditional medicine in treating cancer," said Wadhwa. He said that Dalai Lama has not only a deep understanding of modern and traditional sciences but is also an embodiment of compassion and clear thought.With Dalai Lama`s inspiration and the support of PM Modi, a world-changing project was launched in Kerala in late 2020 called Karkinos Healthcare. Sri Sambuddha Sasanodaya Sangha Sabha terms Dalai Lama as 'universal icon of peace' Ahead of the 87th birthday of the Dalai Lama, Sri Sambuddha Sasanodaya Sangha Sabha praised the Tibetan spiritual leader by highlighting his achievements for the Buddhist community amid continuous suppression by Chinese authorities in Tibet. In a statement, Most Ven Waskaduwe Mahindawansa, the Mahanayake Thero of Sri Amarapura Sambuddha Sasanodaya Sangha Sabha said that Dalai Lama urged to convey Buddhist teachings of non-violence, world peace and compassion through a journalist, he met after taking shelter in Dharmasala in 1960. "There are two forces eternally fighting against each other in this world of ours. One force is the force that has the avenues, resources and power to recruit people to fight the other force. The other is the force of the common people at the receiving end. The clash is going on century after century and you know who will win finally. So, journalists, writers and poets should keep writing continuously to keep the world informed of this unfortunate phenomenon and for creating awareness in the minds of the global community" the spiritual leader had urged, according to the statement. Throughout his life in exile, Dalai Lama has achieved prominence among the world`s political, religious and social leaders as a universal icon of peace, harmony and non-violence. He has been successful in exposing the true nature of the anti-democratic, anti-religious and anti-humanistic attitude of China and the untold sufferings of the Tibetans under the Chinese administration. (With IANS/ANI Inputs) Paris Haute Couture Week is certainly one of the most anticipated events of the year. Attended by many global fashion icons, Hyderabad-based philanthropist, businesswoman and fashion icon Sudha Reddy joins the global celebrity camp this year as one of the selected invitees from India. The South Indian diva is known for her love of fashion and often makes appearances in knockout statement looks and her maiden outing will be dedicated to theatricality. On Day 1 of the haute couture show she was spotted with the queen of fashion, Vogue head Anna Wintour. Striking the balance between European luxury and Indian heritage, Sudha haute couture ensemble for her maiden outing will ooze avant-garde glamour featuring names such as Christian Dior, Balmain, Chanel, Ralph & Russo, Balenciaga, Carolina Herrera, Jenny Packham, Versace, Alberta Ferretti, Armani and Giambattista Valli, accessories by Judith Leiber, Hermes, Dolce & Gabbana while Ghanasingh Be True, Shree Jewellers, MBJ Sons and Shree Raj will add a much-needed South Asian touch to her ensemble. Her global entourage and glam team include the likes of much admired international and homegrown veterans such as Mumbai-based fashion photographer Rahul Jhangiani, Danish-born makeup artist Charlotte Willer, Zimbabwe-raised session hairdresser Peter Gray and New York-based celebrity stylist Ise White. Sudha Reddy expands, "Paris Haute Couture Week is a work of passion. Paris is the fashion capital of the world and I am looking forward to exploring how India can add value to this ever-evolving fashion landscape. The inclusion of Rahul Mishra in Paris Haute Couture Week is a mark of India being recognised for its' rich artistic lineage and exceptional craftmanship. My private and professional life has always been intertwined with fashion in the centre and I'm excited to be a part of Paris Haute Couture Week." Sudha Reddy's attendance at Paris Haute Couture Week cements her status as an international force in fashion, after being the only Indian and first Hyderabad origin celebrity to be invited to the prestigious Met Gala in 2021. Yet the illustrious industrialist is most beloved for her endeavours in philanthropy and empowerment. The humanitarian who leads with her heart helms the corporate social responsibility initiatives of Megha Group Of Industries driving several social impact projects across India, while the eponymous Sudha Reddy Foundation aims to support women and children focusing on affordable healthcare and accessible education. Her extensive charity work includes a collaboration with Elizabeth Hurley to campaign for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Paris and working alongside American actress Eva Longaria to raise awareness about children suffering from chronic diseases at The Global Gift Gala. Amongst Sudha's awards and achievements are the Champions Of Change Award by the Telangana Government 2022 and the Young Indian Women Achievers Under 45 Award at Young FICCI Ladies Organization (YFLO) in 2021 (Above mentioned article is Sponsored Feature, This article is a sponsored publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of IDPL) New Delhi: At least seven people were feared dead in several incidents owing to heavy rains and flash floods in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Wednesday, PTI cited officials. More than 25 employees working at the Malana power project in the district had to be rescued from a building damaged by flash floods. At least four people were feared washed away and the bridge across the Parvati River was destroyed in flash floods caused by a cloud burst at Manikaran in the Kullu district. Three others were also feared to have drowned in separate parts of the Kullu district amid the heavy downpour. According to State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Mokhta, around four to six people have been missing following the cloudburst that occurred around 6am at Chojh village in Challal panchayat of Kullu district. Gurdev Sharma, Kullu Superintendent of Police, said the bridge across Parvati River was also damaged in the cloudburst at Chojh, while four persons were reported missing. He said a search operation was underway. People living in downstream areas have been alerted as the floodgates of Larje and Pandoh dams are being opened, the news agency reported. Meanwhile, a woman died and two others were critically injured on Wednesday after a landslide hit the outskirts of Shimla city, a senior state disaster management official said. As per Shimla district emergency operations centre (DEOC), the incident occurred at Dhalli. The injured have been admitted to a hospital. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister said the government will be on high alert in view of the expected heavy rainfall in the coming days. "During monsoon, incidents of landslides, floods & cloud bursts are reported in Himachal Pradesh. One such incident has just been reported from Kullu. Five people have been missing. The Revenue Minister would be taking stock of the situation," Thakur was quoted as saying by ANI. "Today, I held a virtual meeting with Dy Commissioners across state. If an untoward incident is reported, we'd rush help to the spot. With prospect of heavy rainfall in coming days, there is some risk. We'd stay on high alert, so we could take timely action," he added. (With agency inputs) Maharashtra's new chief minister Eknath Shinde again targeted Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. This time, he alleged, the Shiv Sena government in alliance with the Congress and the NCP did not dare to take any effective decision. Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde said, "In 2019, we contested the elections in alliance with the BJP. But the government was formed with the Congress and the NCP. And as a result, when Hindutva, Savarkar, Mumbai bomb blasts, Dawood Ibrahim and other important issues came to the fore, we could not take a decision." On Wednesday, Shinde also claimed that though he had spoken to Uddhav Thackeray several times, he could not take any action. Taking a dig at former CHIEF Minister Uddhav, Shinde said, "We have had several discussions (with Uddhav Thackeray) on several occasions. As I said, we are not getting any benefit from Mahavikas Aghadi. Despite our party having chief minister, we came fourth in nagar panchayat elections. We've tried so hard to convince him. But I didn't succeed." New Delhi: The BJP has lashed out at Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for her ''insulting'' remarks on Goddess Kaali and asked if the "freedom of speech is only for insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses. BJP's social media head Amit Malviya slammed Mahua Moitra for 'insulting' Goddess Kali and dared her to make similar comments about the Gods of other religions. Speaking at an event organised by a private TV news channel, Malviya said, Freedom of speech is only for insulting Hindu Goddesses. From MF Hussain to Owaisi to now Moitra, all have selectively targeted the Hindu religion because they know that Hindus are tolerant. BJP also demanded an apology from the TMC chief Mamata Banerjee over the issue. TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should clarify it. This is not the first time that such instances have been reported. Earlier too TMC leaders have done the same. We think this is the official stand of the ruling TMC to hurt the sentiment of Hindus to get votes, BJP state vice-president Rathindra Bose said. It may be noted that the TMC leader has courted controversy for her comments that Goddess Kaali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. However, Moitra later issued a clarification, saying she "never backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking". The firebrand TMC MP took to Twitter and said, To all you Sanghis- lying will NOT make you better Hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food and drink are offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara." To all you sanghis- lying will NOT make you better hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food & drink is offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) July 5, 2022 It may be recalled a huge controversy has erupted over the poster of Canada-based Indian filmmaker Leena Manimekalais upcoming documentary Kaali. The poster of the film depicted a woman dressed in a costume portraying the goddess and smoking. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background. Earlier on Tuesday, the TMC leader had courted controversy for her reported remarks, "For me, Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. And if you go to Tarapith (a major Shakti peeth in West Bengal`s Birbhum district), you will see sadhus smoking. That is the version of Kali people worship (there)." She also added, "within Hinduism, being a Kali worshipper I have the freedom to imagine my Kali in that way... that is my freedom and I don`t think anyone`s sentiments should be hurt. I have the freedom... as much as you have to worship your god." Condemning the remarks made by Moitra, the ruling TMC later distanced itself from the comments. "The comments made by @MahuaMoitra and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments," the party said in a Twitter post. The portrayal of Goddess Kali in the poster did not go down well with a section of social media users who have demanded the poster be withdrawn. Some even demanded strict action against her and the hashtag `Arrest Leena Manimekal` is trending on Twitter. Several police complaints have been filed against the filmmaker for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. Toronto: The Toronto-based Aga Khan Museum, which landed in trouble for the inappropriate depiction of Hindu Gods, has expressed deep regret for "inadvertently causing offence" to members of the Hindu and other faiths. In a statement, the museum said, Toronto Metropolitan University brought together works from students of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, as part of Canadian multiculturalism for the project `Under the Tent.` The museum said one of 18 short videos from `Under the Tent` and its accompanying social media post inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu community. "Toronto Metropolitan University`s project presentation was hosted at the Aga Khan Museum in the context of the Museum`s mission to foster intercultural understanding and dialogue through the arts. Respect for diverse religious expressions and faith communities forms an integral part of that mission," the statement added. "The Museum deeply regrets that one of the 18 short videos from `Under the Tent` and its accompanying social media post have inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities," it added. Indian High Commission on Monday urged Canadian authorities to withdraw the disrespectful depiction of Hindu Gods showcased as part of the `Under the Tent` project at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto. "We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organizers to withdraw all such provocative material," the Indian High Commission in Canada said in a statement. A poster for a documentary directed by filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has drawn flak on social media for hurting religious sentiments with the depiction of Goddess Kaali. The Madurai-born, Toronto-based filmmaker had earlier taken to Twitter to share a poster of her film which depicted a woman dressed in a costume portraying the Goddess and smoking. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background. Super thrilled to share the launch of my recent film - today at @AgaKhanMuseum as part of its Rhythms of Canada Link: https://t.co/RAQimMt7Ln I made this performance doc as a cohort of https://t.co/D5ywx1Y7Wu@YorkuAMPD @TorontoMet @YorkUFGS Feeling pumped with my CREW pic.twitter.com/L8LDDnctC9 July 2, 2022 "Our Consulate General in Toronto has conveyed these concerns to the organizers of the event. We are also informed that several Hindu groups have approached authorities in Canada to take action," the release added. Meanwhile, Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has landed in legal trouble after a police complaint was filed against her for hurting religious sentiments through a poster of her documentary `Kaali`. The portrayal of Goddess Kali in the poster did not go down well with a section of social media users who have demanded the poster be withdrawn. Some even demanded strict action against her and the hashtag `#ArrestLeenaManimekal` has been trending on Twitter. Several police complaints have been filed against the filmmaker for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. In the wake of the Tops mass shooting, the Erie County Sheriff's Office wants to create a special unit of six detectives whose primary goal would be to find and investigate unstable or radicalized people who pose a threat to society. The drive to get this special Behavioral Threat Assessment Team established quickly is facing at least one roadblock: money. Undersheriff William Cooley said the team would also coordinate with others in law enforcement, mental health and civilian groups to tackle the difficult job of finding and deterring threats from local people who show signs of becoming a mass-killing threat. "We're hoping that this matter can be taken up without delay," he said. But while county legislators expressed some support Thursday for the idea, they also expressed concern about the $1 million price tag. The money for this year has been budgeted, Legislature leaders said. And neither they nor county officials has pointed to any budget area that would free $1 million. And the Sheriff's Office doesn't have the money to pay for the program within its own budget. "That's why we're coming to this body to ask for your assistance in making this happen," said Administrative Services Chief John Greenan. "We don't have a solution, at the moment, for where that money is going to come from." In response to a Buffalo News inquiry about the administration's willingness to fund the threat assessment team, spokesman Peter Anderson said, "The administration is currently reviewing the fiscal impacts of the Sheriffs proposal." The most likely source of funding is the state, although it's unclear how soon any state grants would be available. In the wake of the killing of 10 people at the hands of a man police have said was driven by racism, Gov. Kathy Hochul passed an executive order to combat domestic terrorism by having the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services establish an Office of Counterterrorism. That office would make grants available to counties developing their own anti-terrorism programs. Sheriff's representatives said they hoped the Legislature would get them the money quickly so that those in the Sheriff's Office who are elevated to the new detective positions could have their old jobs back-filled, especially now that an upcoming class of police academy recruits is about to be trained. Academy spots cannot be opened for jobs that are not available to be filled. But both Democratic and Republican legislators said that while they support the initiative, the Sheriff's Office and not the Legislature has to find a source of money to pay for it or wait until next year's budget cycle. Chairwoman April Baskin, D-Buffalo, said she supports the project as a way to build bridges with the community. Teachers, neighborhood leaders and employers could see a pattern of troubling behavior and have a clear avenue to report their concerns, she said. Hochul calls back Legislature to address gun laws in aftermath of Supreme Court decision Hochul late Friday said she was convening an extraordinary session of the Legislature at noon Thursday in Albany in an attempt to pass new gun safety legislation in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision. Legislator Jeanne Vinal, D-Amherst, also expressed concern at how the new task force would work and whether there would be potential problems with having Sheriff's Office personnel take action against private citizens who have not yet committed any crime. She sought more information about how the team would operate and how it would interact with people who were targeted. Sheriff's administrators said that in certain cases, both law enforcement and civilians can request a court to impose a temporary, extreme risk protection order also referred to as a red flag law to restrict a person's access to firearms in cases where the person is determined to pose a severe risk to themselves or others. In other cases, people could be referred to counseling. "There's no panacea for addressing these issues," Cooley said, "but doing nothing is not an option." New Delhi: After Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra faced backlash for her comments on Goddess Kaali, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor stepped up to her defense in a series of tweets. The TMC MP came under scrutiny after, at an event, she said that she interpreted Goddess Kaali as a 'meat-eating' and 'alcohol-accepting' god. She had made this comment amid an ongoing controversy over a film poster which depicted a woman dressed as Goddess Kaali, holding a cigarette. Also Read: Kaali poster row: 'I NEVER backed any film,' TMC MP Mahua Moitra reacts to backlash on her statement Mahua Moitra wasn't trying to offend: Shashi Tharoor Mahua's own party TMC distanced itself from her comment in an official statement. Similarly, the BJP also raised objections to Moitra's statement. However, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, on Wednesday, tweeted that he is 'taken aback by the attack' on TMC MP Mahua Moitra. He said, "I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on @MahuaMoitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog (offering) says more about them than about the goddess". "We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. It's obvious that @MahuaMoitra wasn't trying to offend anyone. I urge every1 to lighten up & leave religion to individuals to practice privately," he further said. What did TMC MP Mahua Moitra say? Moitra had made headlines when at India Today Conclave, she said, "Kaali to me, is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. You have the freedom to imagine your goddess. There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy." She further said that there are different religious offerings and rituals in different regions. "When you go to Sikkim, you will see that they offer whiskey to Goddess Kali. But if you will go to Uttar Pradesh and if you tell them that you offer whiskey to the goddess as prasad, they will call it blasphemy," she explained. Live TV Bhopal: After a row over filmmaker Leena Manimekalai`s documentary poster `Kaali`, which depicts Goddess Kali in a derogatory manner, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that "Bharatiya Janata Party believes in respecting all religions and no one should indulge in hurting the sentiments of people belonging to other faiths. Addressing a public gathering in Sironj village of Vidisha district today, the Chief Minister said, "We are not against anyone`s sentiments towards any religion. Nobody should feel hurt. Just now, I got to know that our Goddess Kali was insulted by a filmmaker. You must have seen it today. The FIR has been filed in Madhya Pradesh." "We will not tolerate any insult of our Goddess Kali. No one`s faith should be hurt at any cost. We are against goons, dabangs and mafias," said Chouhan. A poster for a documentary by filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has sparked strong reactions on social media over the way it shows Goddess Kali. The filmmaker has been accused in a police complaint of hurting religious sentiments. Leena Manimekalai, who was born in Tamil Nadu`s Madurai and is based in Toronto, had shared the poster of her film on Saturday. The poster shows a woman dressed like Goddess Kali and smoking. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background. Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy on Wednesday condemned the filmmaker as well. "As far as TMC is concerned, the party doesn`t approve the poster for the film `Kaali`, it`s unacceptable to us. We also don`t approve of Mahua Moitra`s statements on the matter. It`s our party`s official position. Our party is secular, it respects all religions," said TMC MP Saugata Roy. He said, "As far as FIRs are concerned, it`s on Mahua Moitra to take care of that... Until BJP takes action on Nupur Sharma for her comments against Prophet, they have no right to speak about anything else." Mahua Moitra has been booked for allegedly hurting religious sentiments after her comment on Goddess Kali stirred a controversy. An FIR has been registered in Bhopal against Moitra under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for hurting religious sentiments. Reacting to the complaints against her by the BJP leaders, the TMC MP said: "Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesn`t need back up forces." Soon after she made those remarks on Kali, the TMC distanced itself saying the comments were made in her personal capacity. In a tweet, the TMC said the comments made by Mahua Moitra and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity "and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM". "All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments," the party tweeted. Moitra`s remarks came after a controversy erupted over a poster of filmmaker Leena Manimekalai`s documentary `Kaali`. The poster of the film depicted a woman dressed in a costume portraying the goddess and smoking. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Zee News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) The debate over the documentary 'Kaali' continues. This time, a priest in Ayodhya threatened to behead the director of the documentary, Leena Manimekalai. He also warned of consequences if action was not taken against Leena and her documentary. In June, Leena Manimekalai tweeted the poster of the documentary 'Kali' on Twitter. Since then, anger has slowly begun to build up among the Hindutvavadis. Hindutva activists are taking on the director for using a cigarette in the hands of an actress in the guise of Mother Kali and a rainbow flag of LGBTQ on the back. It is alleged to have hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. The Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police have already lodged FIRs against Leena Manimekalai. It is in such a situation that Raju Das, the priest of Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya, has threatened to behead Leena Manimekalai. According to an all-India media report, he demanded that the Union Home Minister must ban the documentary 'Kaali'. He also demanded action against the director. The said priest then referred to Nupur Sharma and said, "On Nupur Sharma's comment, there is a fire situation in the entire country. There has been an earthquake all over the world. And here you're going to make fun of hindu tradition, religion and culture? What do you want? We separate your head from your body too! Is this a wish? "He demanded that the documentary be banned as this would not happen. He also warned that if the documentary is released, the consequences will be severe. The film has already been screened at the Canada Film Festival. Thiruvananthapuram: A day after Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan triggered a political row with his remarks against the Constitution, the opposition Congress UDF on Wednesday staged protests in the state assembly demanding his resignation following which the Speaker M B Rajesh adjourned the House for the day. As soon as the House proceedings began, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House raising slogans seeking the resignation of Cheriyan. They urged the Speaker to suspend the question hour and take up the notice for their adjournment motion to discuss the issue. Though the Speaker pointed out that it was against the precedents and procedures of the House and requested them to cooperate with the question hour, the UDF members did not pay heed to his request. As the sloganeering continued and they were not willing to go back to their respective seats, Rajesh announced that the House was adjourned for the day following which the opposition members walked out of the House raising slogans against Cheriyan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for not seeking his resignation. After staging a brief sit-in protest at the portal of the hall with placards, the UDF members gathered in front of the statue of B R Ambedkar at the Assembly campus and raised slogans charging with Cheriyan 'insulting' the architect of the Indian Constitution through his harsh remarks. #WATCH | Kerala: Opposition MLAs protested outside the Assembly today in Thiruvananthapuram, against Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan's remarks against the Constitution. Assembly was adjourned for the day following an uproar in the House over the minister's remarks. pic.twitter.com/vldq11e0Qj ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2022 Shouting 'jai bhim' slogan, the greeting used by the followers of Ambedkar, they marched out of the Assembly complex. The opposition leaders, who met the media at the gate, said though they came prepared to raise the issue during the zero hour, the government tried to avoid questions being raised by the UDF against Cheriyan. They also claimed that it was "unprecedented" that the entire session was called off by the Speaker in the name of opposition protest during question hour. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly VD Satheesan alleged that the CM Vijayan and the CPI(M) leadership were protecting the minister, who had insulted the Constitution and humiliated its architects. "They did not allow us to seek even the notice for the adjournment motion. We will not surrender before such an autocratic stand by the government. The opposition will continue its fight till Saji Cheriyan submits his resignation," he said. The CM should demand his resignation or he should be removed from his position, he added. What Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan said Saji Cheriyan, the minister for Cultural Affairs and Fisheries, on Tuesday, landed in trouble for his remarks against the Constitution, triggering a huge political row in the state. In the visuals aired by the TV channels, the minister could be seen saying in a recent event that the Constitution of the country "condones exploitation" and is written in a way helping to "plunder" the people of the country, drawing sharp reaction from the opposition parties which sought his immediate removal from the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF cabinet. Later, in a statement given in the state Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, Cheriyan said news reports claiming he had criticised the Constitution at an event held at Mallappally in Pathanamthitta district were "distorted". UDF claims ruling front avoiding discussion on Saji's comments Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the assembly, V D Satheesan, alleged that the ruling front and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were avoiding questions being raised by the UDF against Cheriyan. Speaking to reporters, Satheesan said the opposition moved a notice for an adjournment to discuss the controversial remarks by Cheriyan and when there was no response to that, they initially raised slogans from the seat and only later moved into the well of the House and protested under the Speaker's dais. He claimed that it was some of the ruling front MLAs who first left their seats and only after that did some opposition members leave their seats. Satheesan also claimed that it was unprecedented that the entire session was called off by the Speaker. The LoP alleged that the remarks of Cheriyan against the Constitution were similar to the views of RSS, adding that the CM should demand his resignation or he should be removed from his position. Targeting Cheriyan for his remarks, Satheesan said they were not only an insult to the Constitution and the country, but also to Dr B R Ambedkar who headed the committee which drafted the Constitution. Cheriyan's remarks against the Constitution have resulted in protests by the BJP and Congress in various parts of the state seeking his resignation. Effigies of the minister were also burnt. Both Congress and BJP have also forwarded complaints to the Governor's office seeking his intervention in the matter and alleging that the minister's remarks were unconstitutional and therefore, he should be removed from his post. With RJD chief Lalu Yadav`s health not showing any significant improvement, his family has decided to shift him to Delhi for better treatment. According to sources, preparations for the same have already started and an air ambulance is expected to reach Patna airport shortly. The air ambulance is likely to take off for the national capital at 4.30 p.m. Lalu Yadav`s wife former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, sons Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav and daughter Misa Bharti will also accompany him in the air ambulance apart from expert medical team and crew members. Lalu Yadav was under treatment in Delhi`s AIIMS where he was recovering before he returned to Patna recently. On Sunday, Lalu Yadav suffered a fall at 10 circular road official residence of his wife Rabri Devi and sustained a minor fracture on his right shoulder. He is also suffering from infections in kidney and lungs besides blood pressure and other ailments. Meanwhile, Congress national president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi have expressed concern about his health. They have wished him a speedy recovery. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, MLC Neeraj Kumar also wished him good health. Live TV Jalgaon: A day after a Shiv Sena MP requested party chief Uddhav Thackeray to declare support for NDA's presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, a rebel MLA on Wednesday claimed that 12 out of 18 Sena MPs would soon join the Eknath Shinde-led faction. Talking to reporters in his constituency in Jalgaon district, Gulabrao Patil, a minister in the previous Thackeray-led Maharashtra government, said the Shinde faction will restore the party's glory. "We (rebel camp) have 40 out of 55 MLAs with us, and 12 out of 18 MPs are coming with us. So who does the party belong to? I have met four MPs personally. We also have 22 former MLAs with us," he said. On Tuesday, Shiv Sena Lok Sabha member Rahul Shewale urged Thackeray to ask party MPs to support NDA's nominee Draupadi Murmu, considering her tribal roots and contribution to the social sector. ALSO READ: Big blow to Uddhav Thackeray, Eknath Shinde reinstated as Shiv Sena legislative party leader Both Uddhav Thackeray loyalists and the Eknath Shinde faction have claimed that their respective group represents the original Shiv Sena. Of the 55 Sena MLAs, 40 are with Chief Minister Shinde. Patil further said that they had not quit the party for power, but "left power while we were ministers." "Not one, but eight ministers left the party. This means we want to save our Shiv Sena," he said. New Delhi: Amid backlash over her recent remark on Goddess Kaali, the Madhya Pradesh police on Wednesday (July 6) registered an FIR against TMC MP Mahua Moitra in Bhopal. As per ANI, a case has been lodged under section 295A of IPC for hurting religious sentiments. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Hindu religious sentiments have been hurt by Moitra's statement. Insult of Hindu deities will not be tolerated at any cost, the BJP CM added. Reacting to the controversy over her statement, Moitra said she is a Kali worshipper and is not afraid of anything. "Jai Ma Kali! The goddess Bengalis worship is fearless & non-appeasing, she wrote in a tweet. "Bring it on BJP! I am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesnt need backup forces," the TMC MP said in another tweet. Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesnt need back up forces. July 6, 2022 Bengal BJP has sought the arrest of Moitra for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. Further, the saffron party threatened to go to court if no action was taken against her in 10 days. Whats Mahua Moitra's Goddess Kaali controversy On Tuesday, the Krishnanagar MP had stirred a controversy by saying that she had every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kaali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting deity, as each person had their unique way of offering prayers, PTI reported. Her comments came in the wake of the row over a film poster that showed a woman dressed as Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette and holding an LGBTQ+ flag. TMC distances itself from Mahua Moitra's remarks TMC distanced itself from Moitra's comment and said it does not endorse her views. "The comments made by @MahuaMoitra at the #IndiaTodayConclaveEast2022 and her views expressed on Goddess Kaali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments," the party tweeted. Clarifying her remarks, Mahua Moitra on Tuesday said that she has "never backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking". The TMC MP wrote on Twitter, "To all you Sanghis- lying will NOT make you better Hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food and drink are offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara." (With agency inputs) Kulgam: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti praised the efforts of the families and security forces that successfully persuaded two newly recruited youth to surrender during live encounters, adding such efforts should continue. PDP president Mufti praised the efforts of security forces and families who made two newly recruited LeT terrorists surrender. The surrender was made during a live encounter in the Kulgam district of south Kashmir in the early hours today (July 6). Mufti wrote on her Twitter handle, "Two lives saved thanks to the efforts of their families & the support extended by security forces. These kinds of efforts must be continued so that youngsters who join militancy are given a second chance to live their lives." Earlier, security forces in a joint operation cordoned a village Hadigam of Kulgam district after an input generated by Jammu and Kashmir police about the presence of terrorists. An exchange of fire between Police and the terrorist occurred initially. JK Police tracked down the identity of two local terrorists, who were trapped, with the help of their families. They appealed to the trapped youth, who had recently joined the LeT outfit, to surrender and both the terrorist laid down their arms eventually. Kashmir Police chief Vijay Kumar said, "We always follow the SOP when a local terrorist is trapped and try to get him to surrender so that a life can be saved and many times we succeed. "If every parent appeals to their terrorist sons to shun the path of violence, whether they are trapped during live encounters or have joined the terrorism, many lives can be saved as in today's encounter two lives were saved," he added. New Delhi: Cabinet Minister Smriti Zubin Irani will replace Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as the Union Minister of Minority Affairs in addition to her existing portfolio. On the other hand, RCP Singh who had also resigned a day before his Rajya Sabha term ends will be replaced by Jyotiraditya M. Scindia. Scindia will take over as the Ministry of Steel along with his existing portfolio. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, on Wednesday (July 6), resigned as Union Minister of Minority Affairs, as per PTI. Union minister RCP Singh has also submitted his resignations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day before his Rajya Sabha term gets over, sources told the news agency. The sources also said that PM Modi had praised Naqvi and Singh during the cabinet meeting earlier today for their contribution to the country during their tenure. The terms of both Naqvi and Singh will come to an end on Thursday, hence the resignations submitted were to fulfil the constitutional obligation as they will cease to be parliamentarians from Friday. BJPs Naqvi is also the deputy leader of the Rajya Sabha, while Singh is a minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet from JD(U) quota. The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignations of Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution. Live TV Suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma has written a letter to the Narkeldanga police station seeking time in connection with the controversial remarks about the Prophet. According to Kolkata Police sources, Nupur has sought time again stating that her life is in danger. But this time Kolkata Police is reluctant to give time to suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Kolkata Police sources said that an email will be sent to Nupur Sharma for an early appearance after rejecting the plea. The Kolkata Police has already issued a look out notice in the name of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Earlier, on May 27, Nupur Sharma, the now suspended leader of the BJP, had made controversial remarks about the Prophet. Due to which unrest is spreading in different states of the country. Various parties have filed cases against Nupur Sharma in different states including West Bengal. Two complaints were lodged at Amherst Street and Narkeldanga police stations in Kolkata. Following which the police summoned Nupur Sharma. But she didn't show up. Instead, Nupur Sharma moved the Supreme Court demanding transfer of cases filed in different states to Delhi. Her appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The next day, the Kolkata Police issued a lookout notice against Nupur Sharma. Also Read: Prophet Comment Row: My life is in danger, PLEASE allow..., Nupur Sharma urges to Mamata Banerjee's police The Supreme Court has issued a final reprimand to suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks on the Prophet. Nupur pleaded for transfer of cases filed in different states to Delhi together. That appeal was also dismissed by the Supreme Court. A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice JB Pardiwala of the apex court remarked that the situation in the country has worsened due to unwise comments. The unfortunate incident that happened in Udaipur is also the result of Nupur's comments. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is about to swap solitary confinement at Minnesota's only maximum security prison for an unknown future at a federal prison where, despite his national notoriety for killing George Floyd, he'll probably be safer. Inmates qualify for parole earlier in the Minnesota prison system than they do in the federal system, so while the federal sentence may appear shorter, it means Chauvin will spend nearly three more years behind bars than he would have for the state murder conviction alone. But his plea agreement allowed him to avoid the life sentence he faced on the federal charges, and gave him the potential for a safer environment with a bit more freedom. Chauvin, who is white, killed Floyd by pinning the unarmed Black man to the pavement with his knee for 9 1/2 minutes, despite Floyd's fading pleas of I cant breathe. Floyds killing in May 2020 sparked protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning over police brutality and racism. WHERE IS CHAUVIN NOW? For his own safety, Chauvin, 46, has been held in administrative segregation at the state's maximum security prison at Oak Park Heights. He's been largely confined to a 10-by-10-foot room, which hes been allowed to leave for an average of one hour a day for exercise. His attorney, Eric Nelson, wrote in a request for a 20-year sentence late last month that Chauvin still spends much of his time in solitary confinement, largely for his own protection." Nelson speculated that Chauvin may never be placed in a prisons general population because of the risks of him becoming a target due to being a former officer and the intense publicity surrounding his case. But outside experts say he'll probably mix with other inmates at some point. THE FEDERAL SYSTEM The Bureau of Prisons determines where to send federal prisoners. Judges can make recommendations. But the decision about an inmate's final placement and the appropriate security level is up to the bureau, which runs prisons across the country ranging from low-security camps to one supermax for the most dangerous offenders. Bureau spokesman Scott Taylor declined to comment on Chauvin's case specifically. But he said "a number of factors" go into placement decisions. Some of the factors include the level of security and supervision the inmate requires, any medical or programming needs, separation and security measures to ensure the inmates protection, and other considerations including proximity to an individuals release residence, Taylor said. Nelson wrote that Chauvin has been preliminarily diagnosed with heart damage and is, therefore, like many ex-law enforcement officers, at greater risk of dying at a young age. But that's just one factor the bureau could consider. Another is the length of his sentence. Experts speculate that he's likely to start in at least a medium-security facility. I've been in several federal prisons, including prison camps, and they are not country clubs, said Mark Osler, a professor at University of St. Thomas School of Law. "But I would see it as every unlikely that he would initially be imprisoned at a camp or a low classification prison. He's much more likely to end up at a high classification or a medium." SAFETY ISSUES If Chauvin were in the general population of a Minnesota state prison, he'd be at risk of running into inmates he had arrested or investigated when he was a Minneapolis officer, said Rachel Moran, another law professor at St. Thomas. While he cant totally escape his notoriety in a federal prison elsewhere, she said, hes unlikely to encounter inmates with such a direct, personal grudge. It's dangerous to be an officer in any prison, former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said. It's even more dangerous in state prison because of the nature of the inmate population. There are gangs, for example. And police officers just don't do well there. Those risks are reduced in a federal prison. State prison populations are heavy on violent offenders, including people convicted of murder, robbery and rape, Heffelfinger said. Federal prisons also hold inmates with violent backgrounds, he added, but they're more likely to house nonviolent drug dealers, white-collar criminals and the like. Assuming the bureau decides Chauvin is safe enough in the general population, hell have more chances to move about, to work and to participate in programming. Those opportunities would vary with the security level and the individual facility. A POSSIBLE PRECEDENT? Former South Carolina police Officer Michael Slager is serving a 20-year sentence for killing Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man who ran from a traffic stop. Slager, who is white, pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge for shooting Scott in the back five times in 2015 after stopping him for a broken brake light in an incident that, like Floyd's death, was captured on widely seen bystander video. Slagers state murder charge was dropped as part of the federal plea deal. His lawyers said at the time that Slager wanted to be in federal custody where he felt he would be safer than in state prison. Slager is serving his time in a low-security federal prison in Colorado. Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd An encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists at Hadigam village of south Kashmirs Kulgam district, said a Kashmir police official. Confirming the gunfight, top police official said that a joint of team of police, Army and CRPF after receiving information about the presence of terrorists in Hadigam village, launched a search operation in the area. He said that as the joint team of forces intensified searches and cordoned the suspected spot, hiding terrorists fired upon the search party, which retaliated. He said that the exchange of fire was on in the area and two to three militants are believed to be trapped. Notably, it's the 74th gunfight of the year. Earlier, in 73 encounters in Kashmir since January this year, security force killed 123 terrorists. Out of those killed terrorists, 33 were Pakistani. However, 16 security personnel and 19 civilians too have lost their lives. Meanwhile, 51 active terrorists, mostly hybrid ones, and 192 terrorist supporters were also arrested this year in Kashmir. The humane face of security forces surfaced one again as two local terrorists surrendered on the appeal of their parents and police during the encounter. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition were recovered. Further details are awaited. As per reports, the terrorists who surrendered are Nadeem Abass and Kafeel Ahmad Mir - both from Kulgam. However, an official confirmation is awaited for identification. Live TV New Delhi: Kerala Minister Saji Cherian, who had earlier stirred a row over his remarks against the Constitution has resigned from the State Cabinet, reported ANI. The minister for Cultural Affairs and Fisheries, on Tuesday, landed in trouble for his remarks against the Constitution, triggering a huge political row in the state. In the visuals aired by the TV channels, the minister could be seen saying in a recent event that the Constitution of the country "condones exploitation" and is written in a way helping to "plunder" the people of the country, drawing sharp reaction from the Opposition parties which sought his immediate removal from the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF cabinet. Later, in a statement given in the state Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, Cherian said news reports claiming he had criticised the Constitution at an event held at Mallappally in Pathanamthitta district were "distorted". Saji Cherian had issued clarification on his 'Constitution' statement He also apologised and said, "I respect our constitution and am a politician that upholds the value of our constitution. The news that I criticised the constitution is twisted, express regret and apology," said Cherian."I was trying to point out that withdrawing labour laws and imposing new labour codes will lead to extreme exploitation of workers. While speaking about the above issues in very strong terms it led to misinterpretation or spread of a message that I had not intended. I express my deep regret and apology." What did the ex-Kerala Minister say? The Kerala Minister evoked controversy while addressing a CPI-M programme at Mallapally in Pathanamthitta district, saying that the "Indian constitution can exploit people". British prepared it, Indians wrote it and implemented it. Its been 75 years. India wrote a beautiful constitution that can be used to loot. In that constitution, there are few places that have references to secularism, democracy but it can be exploited, he said as quoted by ANI. We all say that we have a beautifully written Constitution. But, I will say, the Constitution is written in such a way that it can be used to loot the people of the country, he had further said in a statement that courted immense controversy. (With agency inputs) Live TV Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Former AIADMK leader VK Sasikala on Tuesday said that her wish is to take the party forward, the way MGR and Amma (Jayalalithaa) did while adding that Tamil Nadu needs a leader who could walk the talk. Sasikala said, "My wish is to take the party forward the way our leader (MGR) and Amma (Jayalalitha ) took it forward. Our cadres know it well. Not only that, there should be a leader who should be truthful and he/she should not speak different things in past and present so that they can do good things for Tamil Nadu people." On being asked when she is going to join AIADMK, she said. "I am a general secretary of AIADMK and will go (to party headquarters) when the time comes. On being asked whether the party needs a single leader or not, she said, it will be decided by the party cadres. Sasikala stated, "I repeatedly say that its cadres wish is the final verdict. That`s what I too wish."While talking about the general council meeting convened by the supporters of Edappadi K Palaniswami on July 11 to elect him as interim general secretary of the party, she said, "What`s happening now is not a general council." Also read: VK Sasikala calls for reunification of AIADMK to make it a fighting force in Tamil Nadu Reflecting upon whether Edappadi K. Palaniswami trying to cover Kodanadu (robbery and murder case ) issue by raising a single leadership issue, she said, "I don`t know about that. The current CM (MK Stalin) spoke two things during election time. One of them was Kodanad (robbery and murder) issue. He spoke on every street and promised that he will take action on the Kodanad issue once (DMK ) comes to power. The media should ask TN CM MK Stalin why he has not taken action till now." Also read: Sasikala to be taken back into AIADMK? Panneerselvam, Palaniswami to decide soon Earlier on June 23, the meet was held amid chaos and the AIADMK General Council announced that the one and only demand of the General Council members is to bring in a system of a single leadership for the party, favouring Joint Coordinator EPS. The ongoing feud between Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam resulted in candidates having to contest as independents in the July 9 local body by-election. TBSE 10th, 12th Result 2022: Tripura Board has announced the Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) HS, Madhyamik result 2022 today July 6, 2022. The board held a press conference on July 6, 2022 at 12 noon to announce the TBSE result 2022. Following that, at 12:30 p.m., the Tripura Board 10th, 12th result 2022 link will be activated on tbse.tripura.gov.in 2022 results. To view their TBSE Result 2022, students must enter their exam roll numbers and date of birth. The Tripura Board of Secondary Education held the TBSE Madhyamik Term 2 exams between April 18 and May 6, 2022. The TBSE HS Term 2 exams were originally scheduled to take place between April 25, 2022 and May 23, 2022, but were postponed and took place between May 2 to June 1, 2022. TBSE Board Result 2022: Alternative websites to check result TBSE Class 10, 12 results 2022: heres how to check scorecards online Step 1: Visit the official website, i.e., tripuraresults.nic.in Step 2: On the homepage, click on the link that reads, 'Tripura Board Result 2022' Step 3: A new page will appear on the screen. Step 4: Enter the asked credentials. Step 5: Your result will appear on the screen. Step 6: Download the same and take a printout for future reference. TBSE Board Result 2022: How to check result via SMS New Delhi: Twitter has approached the Karnataka High Court, challenging the Centres orders to take down content under the new IT rules, saying it is an abuse of power by officials. The microblogging site has challenged a government order issued in June 2022, terming the blocking orders "overbroad and arbitrary", failed to provide notice to the originators of the content and was disproportionate in several cases. Sources aware of the Twitter writ petition told PTI that several requests placed by the government are allegedly for action against political content that has been posted by official handles of political parties and the firm views blocking of such information is a violation of the freedom of speech guaranteed to citizen users of the platform. "The content requested to be blocked does not have any apparent proximate relationship to the ground under section 69A," the source said. There has been no response from the Ministry of Electronics to this development so far. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a tweet said all platforms have the right to approach court but they have unambiguous obligation to comply with laws. "In India, all including foreign Internet intermediaries/platforms have right to court n judicial review. But equally ALL intermediary/platforms operating here, have unambiguous obligation to comply with our laws n rules," Chandrasekhar tweeted. #TuesdayMusing In India,all incldng foreign Internet intermediaries/platforms have right to court n judicial review. But equally ALL intermediary/platforms operating here,have unambiguous obligation to comply with our laws n rules. #Open #SafeTrusted #Accountable #Internet July 5, 2022 According to the Twitter petition, several blocking orders were issued under section 69A but failed to demonstrate how the content falls within those grounds or how the said content is violative of section 69A, the source said. "Twitter has sought judicial review of the blocking orders from the court," the source added. The government in May had asked Twitter to act on content related to Khalistan and accounts eulogising terrorists in Kashmir. Later in June, the government asked Twitter to act on around 60 accounts. According to sources, Twitter has taken action on the request and reported compliance. On June 26, the microblogging site submitted a separate list of over 80 Twitter accounts and tweets that it blocked based on a request from the government in 2021. The request from the government was to block multiple accounts and some tweets from the international advocacy group Freedom House, journalists, politicians and supporters of the farmers' protest. New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) made another arrest in the killing of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Rajasthans Udaipur. The sixth person Wasim Ali, was picked up by the NIA on Tuesday night. Ali, whose meat shop is opposite Kanhaiya Lals tailoring shop, was questioned for his alleged role in aiding other accused to carry out a recce of the area, PTI reported. He was arrested on Wednesday and remanded to the custody of the NIA till July 12 by a designated court. "After hearing the matter, the court sent Wasim Ali to the NIA custody till July 12," Special Public Prosecutor T P Sharma said. Kanhaiya Lal was hacked to death with a cleaver inside his tailoring shop on June 28. Riaz Akhtari can be seen attacking the tailor and the video of the incident was recorded on a phone by Ghouse Mohammad. The duo posted the video online and said they committed the murder to avenge an alleged insult to Islam. They were arrested within hours of Lal's killing. Two other accused were apprehended last week for being involved in the conspiracy and carrying out a recce of the victim's tailoring shop, while a fifth accused, identified as Mohammad Mohsin, was arrested on Monday and sent to police remand till July 12 with the others. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan government in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said it will provide jobs to the sons of Kanhaiya Lal Teli. Gehlot wrote on Twitter, "Taking a sensitive decision, the cabinet has decided to appoint Yash Teli and Tarun Teli, sons of Shri Kanhaiyalal Teli, in government service." () , 2008 2009 6 Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) July 6, 2022 "Relaxation has been given in the rules for the appointment", the CM said adding, "This appointment will be provided under Rule 6C of Rajasthan Subordinate Office Clerk Service (Amendment) Rules, 2008 and 2009." (With agency inputs) JAIPUR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the `North Zonal Council` meeting to held here on July 9. Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governor of eight states, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, are scheduled to participate in the meeting at Hotel Rambagh Palace. States expected to participate in the event are: Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The meeting shall start from around 10 a.m. and will deliberate on state`s internal security, border security, cyber-crime, formation of collective work force, cross-border drug trade and developing a system of mutual exchange of information along with rise in incidents of rape of women and minor. Amit Shah is the chairman of the Northern Zonal Council. The Chief Ministers will discuss challenges faced by their states with the Home Minister and attempt to find a solution to the problems.The meeting also gains significance against the backdrop of the brutal murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur. The killers of Kanhaiya Lal have also threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi by making the video viral. Agencies like SIT, ATS and SOG of Rajasthan Police are probing the terrorist connections of the attackers. ALSO READ: https://zeenews.india.com/india/we-have-not-done-anything-illegal-ours-is-strong-government-maharashtra-cm-eknath-shinde-2482107.html The Central Government has also handed over the investigation to the NIA (National Investigation Agency). Both the killers Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Mohammad are being interrogated by taking them on remand. Later, three more accused have been arrested and investigation is under progress. Incidents of violence and communal tension were also reported in Karauli, Jodhpur, Bhilwara and Bharatpur in the past. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose BJP-backed government is facing attacks and legal challenges from a faction led by Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, has said that "they are not doing anything illegal" and have followed all constitutional steps for the formation of new government in the state. In an interview with ANI, Shinde said that his was a strong government. "We are not doing anything illegal. In this country, there are rules, laws and the constitution and we have to work according to them. Today, we have more than a two-thirds majority that`s why the decision we took is legal and valid. The Speaker also recognised us. The court has pulled up those who approached the court against us," he said. "We have not done anything illegal and for those who did (illegal things), the court will decide against them. The floor test and Speaker elections have been held and the government won the trust vote. This government has the support of 170 MLAs and it is a `majboot` (strong) government," he added. Shinde, who led the revolt which forced Uddhav Thackeray to resign as Chief Minister of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on June 30. The MVA government also had Congress and NCP as constituents. The new Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra won the floor test on Monday by a 164-99 margin. "These 40-50 MLAs were facing challenges in their own constituencies as our alliance partners were strengthening those who were defeated. When we win elections, then voters expect development works including water, roads and other basic works, there were expectations but our MLAs were not able to do this due to deficiency of funds and other problems. We talked to our seniors many times that there should be corrective measures. But we could not succeed in this unfortunately. That`s why our 40-50 MLAs took this decision," he said. According to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with the anti-defection law, any group of lawmakers can leave a party and form another or merge with another party without disqualification if they are together at least two-thirds of legislators of the party`s original strength. Shinde said his government is of common people and will work for giving justice to all sections of society. "This government will give justice to people. This is the government of the common people. This government will do the work of giving justice to all sections of society," he said. Live TV Mumbai: Heavy rainfall lashed Mumbai this morning, with several parts of the city reporting waterlogging. Yesterday (July 5), several areas of India's commercial capital were inundated with rainwater, with local train services affected on several routes. Several other parts of the country will also continue to receive heavy rainfall over the next few days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast moderate to heavy rain in Mumbai and its suburbs till Friday (July 8), with a possibility of very heavy showers at isolated places. Maharashtra | As heavy rainfall lashes city with IMD issuing an orange alert, severe waterlogging recorded in several parts of Mumbai. Visuals from Dadar area pic.twitter.com/7JHRvYb1Wy ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2022 Heavy rain lashes Mumbai, CM monitors situation Torrential rains pounded the country's commercial capital, coastal Konkan and other parts of Maharashtra, inundating many towns, and villages in different areas, hitting road and rail traffic, and forcing the evacuation of around 3,500 people to safer areas, officials said here on Tuesday. Personally monitoring the situation, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has put all districts on high alert, visited the Disaster Management Centre and directed officials to make all arrangements including shifting the people living in vulnerable areas as the incessant rains continued. Shinde reviewed the rain situation on Tuesday and said over 3,500 people had been shifted to safer places from flood-prone and vulnerable spots across the state, where several districts, including Mumbai, experienced downpours. He said National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed wherever required and more personnel will be sent if needed. The CM, who took charge less than a week ago, said he has asked government officials to give utmost priority to preventing the loss of lives in rain-related incidents. Light rain is expected in Delhi today The national capital witnessed a warm and humid morning on Wednesday as the city's minimum temperature was two notches above normal, even as the weather office predicted light rain in the city. The minimum temperature was 29.4 degrees Celsius, the IMD said. "There will generally be cloudy sky with the possibility of light rain during the day," an official said. The weather office said the relative humidity at 8.30 am was 74 per cent and that the maximum temperature during the day is likely to hover around 37 degrees Celsius. Heavy rains in Odisha for the next 4 days The IMD has predicted heavy rain in Odisha for the next 4-5 days. Heavy rains are likely to lash the state of Odisha and accordingly, an alert was issued for 17 districts. Speaking to ANI, Umashankar Das on July 5 said that Odisha's Ganjam district has recorded the highest 130.4 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours, followed by Kendrapara 93.4 mm and Sundargarh 78 mm."IMD has issued an orange warning for South Odisha in four districts, which are likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kalahandi, Kandhmal, Ganjam and Boudh districts in the next 24 hours. Along with it, a yellow alert has been issued for 13 districts like Raigarh, Puri, Khurda, Nabrangpur, Nuapada, Koraput, Balangir, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Ganjam in the state," Das said. Goa to get heavy rainfall Issuing a warning of heavy rains, the IMD, in a media statement, said, "South West Monsoon was vigorous over the state of Goa. Very heavy rainfall occurred at most places with extremely heavy rainfall occurring at isolated places over the state of Goa." There is a likelihood of enhanced rainfall activity over North and South Goa in the coming five days, the IMD release issued in the evening here added. Fisherfolks are advised not to venture along and off South Maharashtra-Goa-Karnataka coasts for 5 days from July 5, the IMD said. Meanwhile, Telanagana is likely to receive heavy rainfall on July 8 and 9, while coastal Karnataka is likely to get rain between July 7-9. South interior Karnataka and Kerala will experience heavy rainfall from today over the next three days, said IMD. New Delhi: The Singapore government is planning to introduce additional tough measures to safeguard consumers from the crypto meltdown, including restrictions on retail trading. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Minister in Charge of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said that the recent market conditions clearly demonstrate the risks with prices of several cryptocurrencies dipping significantly, reports ZDNet. (Also Read: Meta to shut down digital wallet Novi in September) The country, known for a crypto-friendly atmosphere, is now mulling over additional rules in cryptocurrency trading "necessary to safeguard the general public"."MAS has been carefully considering the introduction of additional consumer protection safeguards. These may include placing limits on retail participation and rules on the use of leverage when transacting in cryptocurrencies," Shanmugaratnam said in a written response to a parliamentary question. The Singapore authority in January this year restricted the marketing and advertising of cryptocurrency services in public places. Since then, crypto providers have removed cryptocurrency ATMs and advertisements from public areas and public transport venues. The European Union last week reached a provisional agreement on cryptocurrency regulations that aimed to "protect investors and preserve financial stability". MAS in May announced plans to pilot use cases of asset tokenisation and assess the feasibility of autonomous trading powered by Blockchain technology. In India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week slammed unbacked crypto assets (such as Bitcoin), stablecoins and decentralised finance (DeFi) and crypto asset trading platforms, underscoring the need for regulatory guardrails to ensure financial stability and consumer and investor protection. (Also Read:Bitcoin heading to 0! China's BIG warning sends a chill down the spine of crypto investors) In its annual "Financial Stability Report" (FSR) 2022, India's central bank and regulatory body said that the early ramifications are reflected in the crypto ecosystem with one stablecoin losing almost all its value and another depegging from the US dollar. It referred to the collapse of TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies that threw many investors into a panic in May. In a crash, the once bullish TerraUSD and sister coin Luna had lost almost all their value, sending shock waves across the world.. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that cryptocurrencies are a clear danger to the financial systems, adding that the world must be mindful of the emerging risks on the horizon. Bhopal: The controversy surrounding Canada-based Indian director Leena Manimekalais upcoming documentary ''Kaali'' refuses to die down anytime soon. Now, the Madhya Pradesh government has warned that if objectionable posters of the documentary showing a woman dressed as Goddess Kali and smoking a cigarette are not removed, the movie will be banned across the state. The warning came from Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who threatened to impose a ban on the film `Kaali` if the objectionable posters showing the Goddess smoking a cigarette are not removed. Mishra even called it an insult of Goddess Kaali and warned that if posters were not removed, the government will lodge an FIR against the film`s director. "Maa Kaali`s insult will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken. We will ask for the registration of an FIR. We will also ban the film in the state. Strict action will be taken if the posters are not removed," Mishra said. Maa Kaali's insult will not be tolerated, strict action will be taken. We will ask for the registration of FIR. We will also think about getting this film banned in MP. Strict action will be taken if the posters are not removed: MP HM Narottam Mishra on 'Kaali' poster controversy pic.twitter.com/dvXfcaaD0o ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) July 5, 2022 An infuriated minister further said that filmmakers find it easy to insult Hindu Gods and Goddess but not any other religion because they know that they will be punished. "It is a well-planned conspiracy against Hindus, he added. The controversy erupted after director Leena Manimekalai shared the poster of the performance documentary Kaali showed the Goddess smoking a cigarette and holding an LGBT flag. The Madurai-born filmmaker came under sharp criticism after she shared the poster of `Kaali` on Twitter allegedly depicting the goddess in a "disrespectful" manner. The poster of the movie has evoked sharp reactions on social media with some people alleging that it hurt their religious sentiments and demanding the arrest of the filmmaker. Several police complaints have been filed against the filmmaker for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. A well-known Ayodhya seer, Mahant Raju Das of Hanuman Garhi temple, has also issued a threat to filmmaker Leena Manimekalai after the latter shared the poster of her film `Kaali` which depicts Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. Raju Das further said, "Filmmaker Leena`s documentary movie is an insult to Sanatan Dharam and Hindu gods and goddesses." Amid the immense backlash, the director had said she was willing to pay with her life and added that she had nothing to lose. Mumbai: Hitting out at Uddhav Thackeray for accusing him of backstabbing him, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday referred to his days as an autorickshaw driver and said "autorickshaw has now left Mercedes behind". Speaking to news agency ANI, Shinde said the government led by him is for common people and is committed to giving justice to all sections of society. He said the government will work in a way that everyone will feel it is their government." (Auto) rickshaw has left the Mercedes behind because this government is for common people, this is a government to give justice to every section. We will perform in a way that every constituent, everyone feels it is my government, it will work for me. This will be the difference," Shinde said. Shinde was responding to a question on Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray`s remarks on Tuesday in which he had said that the BJP used to call the MVA government a three-wheeler government but now the person who drove three-wheeler is running the government. Importantly, Sena chief Thackeray has accused Shinde of backstabbing him. Shinde led the revolt in Shiv Sena which eventually forced Uddhav Thackeray to resign on June 29 as chief minister of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government which also included the Congress and Shiv Sena. Referring to the BJP`s support in forming the government, Shinde said the party had shown to people of the country that they are not only for power but also for ideology. "All were anticipating, there was a perception in the public that BJP does anything for power. But they have shown to the country that these 50 people have taken a Hindutva position, an ideological position and their agenda is of development and Hindutva and they should be supported. And they supported us despite having more numbers, more MLAs. They gave us support for the post of Chief Minister," Shinde said. Shinde said Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him to take the state forward, take it towards development and take forward development works. The Chief Minister said Prime Minister assured of his and the Centre`s full support in development endeavours. "This is a big thing. The Centre is also with us. We have not done anything illegal. The pre-poll alliance was between BJP and Shiv Sena. We are allying with that party." Asked about his remark about their alliance winning 200 seats in the next assembly polls, Shinde said 170 MLAs are with the alliance and only 30 more remain. "We can get more than 200 seats," he said. He said BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has become Deputy Chief Minister showing "a big heart". Shinde said it was unexpected for Fadnavis but he followed BJP directions. "It was unexpected for him, but he followed party directions. And a worker like me of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe was made the chief minister, I am thankful to PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda. They have given an opportunity and changed the perception that BJP is not only a part for power but also for ideology," he said. Answering a question on cabinet formation, he said it will be discussed and a decision taken soon. Shinde said he had several times apprised the Shiv Sena leadership that the party was not gaining from being part of the MVA government and was getting damaged. Shinde said they all tried to make the leadership change its decision to allying with Congress and NCP but did not succeed. New Delhi: Though there is no official confirmation on the implememtation of the New Wage Code, media speculations refuse to die down. Several media reports are saying that the New Wage Code might be implemented soon. The four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupation safety, health and working conditions may be implemented soon. Once the New Wage Code comes into effect, there could be a lot of changes in terms of salary restructuring, PF and gratuity component, working hours and Earned Leaves as per media reports. If these labour codes are implemented, the new wage code will also impact full and final payment settlement in case of resignation, dismissal or removal from employment and services of the employees. Since these are now early speculations, nothing concreted should be infered till the government officially notifies the rules. Till now, 23 states have pre-published draft rules on these laws, while the Centre has completed the process of finalising the draft rules on these codes in February 2021. The central government had notified four labour codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, on August 8, 2019, and the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 on September 29, 2020. Since labour is a concurrent subject, the Centre wants the states to implement these as well in one go, as has been reported earlier. Reduced in-hand salary after implementation of Wage Code The government's notification on Code on Wages 2019 may reduce the take-home pay while components like PF and Gratuity might rise. This is based on the grounds that the new wage code mentions provision entailing that the employee's basic salary will be at least 50 percent of his/her net monthly CTC. Hence, if this provision comes into effect, it will mean that employees will not be able to get more than 50 percent of his/her net monthly salary in form of allowance. Higher PF after implementation of Wage Code This also means that there will be a consequent rise in gratuity and PF contribution of the employee. Hence, while the take home pay of the employees may be reduced, the Gratuity and PF component may rise. 12 hours work-week after new wage code implementation Experts also believe that the new draft will impact the working hours of employees with some media reports saying that employees may be allowed a four-day workweek but they will have to work for 12 hours on those four days. The labour ministry has apparently made it clear that 48-hour weekly work requirement is a must. Big changes in Earned Leave policy after new wage code implementation The biggest change could be seen in cases of Earned Leave. Government departments now allows 30 holidays in 1 year, defense employees get 60 holidays in 1 year. Employees can cash up to 300 holidays on carry forward, however the Labor union is demanding to increase number of holidays to 450 in new code. At present there are 240 to 300 holidays in different departments. Employees can take these holidays in cash only after 20 years of service. New Wage Code rules on full and final settlement within 2 days of resignation The New Wage Code says, "Where an employee has been - (i) removed or dismissed from service; or (ii) retrenched or has resigned from service, or became unemployed due to closure of the establishment, the wages payable to him shall be paid within two working days of his removal, dismissal, retrenchment or, as the case may be, his resignation." Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that he hoped that faster land acquisition in Maharashtra under a new government would give a boost to work on the state's section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor. The neighbouring state has a new government led by Eknath Shinde, a Shiv Sena rebel, with BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy. "The previous Maharashtra government did not want this project. But the government has been changed by the public, so hopefully, now there will be progress with a double-engine government," he said. "I hope if we start acquiring land in Maharashtra, and we will acquire it, then we will start work there as well," said Vaishnaw. The minister said the project overall was progressing well, and the target is to commission the stretch between Ahmedabad and Vapi by 2027. Also read: Indian Railways update: Mumbai Local continue to run with slight delay in Maharashtra despite severe waterlogging "So far, pillars on 70 kilometers have been laid on the Ahmedabad-Vapi section. Foundations between 160 km have been laid, and work on bridges on eight rivers and stations are going on at a fast pace, so hopefully, we will complete work," he said while interacting with the media at Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII). The 352-km distance between Ahmedabad and Vapi was "sufficient length" for a bullet train project as the first bullet train in China ran over a distance of 113 km, he added. Talking about Vande Bharat, the country's first-ever indigenously produced semi-high speed trains, Vaishnaw said the first two trains launched in 2019, originally called Train 18 and currently running on the Delhi-Varanasi and Delhi-Katra routes, have covered a distance of 14 lakh kilometers. The second version of the train will begin its run in August, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target to run 75 Vande Bharat trains across India by Independence Day in 2023. "Vande Bharat trains were planned in 2017, and the first two trains were launched in 2019. These trains have run 14 lakh kilometers. Whenever we make new products, we have to test them to prove it, to check every dimension," he said. "Last year, 75 more Vande Bharat trains were approved, and they are under construction. Every version of the Vande Bharat train comes with much better technology. We will start rolling out Vande Bharat Version 2 trains from August, and every month five-six trains will be rolled out," he informed. Talking about Kavach, an indigenously designed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, Vaishnaw said tenders for 3,000 km tracks had been issued. "Nearly all new trains will have Kavach fitted. This will be a game-changer for the country," he said. With inputs from PTI Jaipur: The Ajmer Police have arrested a cleric at the Ajmer Dargah after he allegedly offered on camera to gift his house to anyone who beheads now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her remark on Prophet Mohammad. Additional Superintendent of Police, Vikas Sangwan confirmed that Salman Chishti, Khadim of Ajmer Dargah, was arrested last night for allegedly giving a provocative statement against now-suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Rajasthan | Ajmer Police arrested Salman Chishti, Khadim of Ajmer Dargah last night for allegedly giving a provocative statement against suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma: Additional Superintendent of Police, Vikas Sangwan pic.twitter.com/6U3WCjVar7 ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) July 6, 2022 The Rajasthan Police had also registered an FIR Monday night on the basis of a complaint against Salman Chishti, a dargah khadim' after a video clip of his threat went viral. In the video, the cleric could be seen purportedly saying that he would give his house to anyone who brings Sharma's head to him. Chishti could also be heard saying that he would have shot her dead for insulting Prophet Mohammad. "You have to give a reply to all Muslim countries. I am saying this from Ajmer, Rajasthan and this message is from Huzur Khwaja Baba ka Darbar," he said in the video, referring to the Sufi shrine that sees many Hindu visitors, apart from Muslim devotees. Recently, four people were arrested in connection with another provocative speech allegedly delivered at the main gate of the Ajmer Dargah on June 17. Though that video was in circulation earlier, the arrests were made after the murder of a Udaipur tailor by two men who said they were avenging an insult to Islam. Hours after the Udaipur murder that triggered communal tension in the state, the two main accused were caught by police. Three others were arrested later and the National Investigation Agency is now handling the case. Condemning the latest video, the office of Ajmer Dargah Dewan Zainul Abedin Ali Khan said the shrine is seen as a place of communal harmony. The views expressed by the Khadim' in the video cannot be considered a message from the dargah, it said. It added that the remarks were a statement by one individual and were highly condemnable. Nupur Sharma was suspended by her party over a remark on Prophet Mohammad during a television debate that outraged the Muslim community. New Delhi: More than 85 per cent of social media and internet intermediaries feel that the harsh compliance mandates in the new IT Rules 2021 would negatively impact the ease of doing business in India, a new report showed on Monday. From the originator traceability to keeping a threshold of 5 million users to be designated as a significant social media intermediary in India, the industry stakeholders surveyed during the report expressed concerns over several portions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, introduced by the IT Ministry in February last year. (Also Read: Twitter bans over 46,000 bad accounts in India in May 2022) The report, titled 'IT Rules, 2021: A Regulatory Impact Assessment Study', by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and The Dialogue, recommended enabling a progressive intermediary liability regime, instilling procedural safeguards for assisting law enforcement agencies, and furthering a uniform and transparent content blocking regime. On the content takedown timelines, Rajya Sabha MP Dr Amar Patnaik said during a panel discussion that "takedowns must be graded, cannot compare differing forms of harm and put them in the same (regulatory) basket". In the latest draft, the IT Ministry had reiterated that the resident grievance officers of a social media intermediary shall, within 24 hours, acknowledge any complaints of users related to the removal of content, suspension, blocking and removal of account of the user, redress the problem within 72 hours, and dispose of it within 15 days. Industry stakeholders surveyed during the study expressed concerns over the infeasibility of originator traceability mandated in the IT Rules 2021, the many ramifications imposing personal liability on chief compliance officers may have, and the impact due diligence requirements will have on entry barriers and the ease of doing business. A majority of intermediaries and cybersecurity experts said that it was technically impossible to introduce traceability on end-to-end encrypted platforms without breaking the encryption technology itself. "Majority of the intermediaries noted that in a country like India with a population of 1.3 billion setting a threshold of 5 million users to be designated as a significant social media intermediary is quite onerous from an economic standpoint," said the report. While the government published the FAQs last year which was a step in the right direction, a detailed Standard Operating Procedure must be published by the government explaining the criteria for calculation of the threshold and guiding the executive's power to mandate any intermediary to comply with the additional due diligence mandates, the report stressed. "Majority of the intermediaries dealing with large amounts of user-generated content noted that there is a need for grading the takedown orders according to the degree of harm to enable sufficient time for assessing the genuineness of the requests," according to the findings. (Also Read: Centre gives Twitter one last chance to comply with new IT rules) The republished draft by the IT Ministry has also revealed the plan to form an appeals panel that can reverse content moderation decisions by Big Tech companies like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. In republished draft changes to IT Rules 2021, the IT Ministry (MeitY) stated that the new amendment "will not impact early stage or growth stage Indian companies or startups". This brings relief to home-grown platforms like Dailyhunt, ShareChat, and Koo. The IT Ministry has sought public comments on the draft proposal in a 30-day time-frame. The IT rules also require big social media platforms to help the government trace the originator of messages in special cases. "The intermediary shall respect the rights accorded to citizens under the constitution," read the draft. New Delhi: Garena Free Fire releases redeem codes on everyday basis. The 12-digit redeem code consists of alphabets and numbers. Players can get rewards such as skins for in-game weapons and characters to improve their gaming experience. Garena Free fire is banned in India. However, if you are located outside India, you can access the reward codes and redeem them. For that you will be required to visit official Garena Free Fire reward site and log in to your Facebook, Google, Twitter IDs to access the Free Fire redemption page. (Also read: Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro features listed on ecommerce website: Details here) Check out the Garena Free Fire Redeem Codes for July 06, 2022 FV6BHWU365RT FER8VB3VIU76 YDTEGN56Y7OU J98BU7VYC9GX FS7GHEJ4K5T7 IG8B7UYVGH8F NRMJK5L6Y09H JN98B7V6YO9H JN98B7V6CT5D RF9VB4N5JR4K YOHB87V6T3RE FA4Q1SX2C3E4 RUFTG8U76V5R 5KTYH187B6YV FG45HJKW9019 48RUYT8GNVBM KUCXRE7D2ACQ 1VWB3NE4KR5T GY50B9N876T5 C1SGHE4RRTYU (Also read: Shocking! Ex-Amazon Web Services engineer hacked data of 10 crore customers) How to Redeem Garena Free Fire codes for today, July 06 2022 Step 1: Go to the official Garena Free Fire redemption portal Step 2: Log in on the portal with either your Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Google, VK, or Huawei ID. Step 3: Enter a redeem code in the designated text box. Step 4: Click on the Ok button to get free rewards in your game account. (Disclaimer: Garena Free fire is banned in India. Hence we advise people to adhere to government rules) New Delhi: Apple introduced AirTag in April last year to let users track their items in case they get lost. The device has helped owners find their lost or stolen products ranging from AirPods to a car. However, in an unwelcoming incident, someone used Apple AirTag to trail a woman without her knowledge for about two hours. The incident took place around Disneyland California on one Saturday night last month. She said in her post that the happiest place on earth (Disneyland) could have been turned into her worst nightmare. The happiest place on earth could of very easily turned into my worst nightmare, she said in a tweet. (ALSO READ: LPG cylinder price up by Rs 244 in one year Check how much you need to pay per cylinder now) The woman shared her experience on the microblogging platform Twitter. According to her post, she realised that someone was tracking her after the AirTag got connected to her smartphone via BlueTooth. She received a notification when the tags got linked up to her smartphone. As of now, it is not known where the AirTag was placed by the stalker. It was probably hidden inside her bag or pocket. (ALSO READ: Shares gain on finance, consumer boost after overnight oil selloff) An apple AirTag was put on me to track my location Saturday night. Im sharing what happened to me so you know what to look for as I had never heard of this prior to Saturday night. Hannah Rose May (@Hannahrosemay_) June 28, 2022 However, in recent past incidence, AirTags have been mostly used to find stolen items. For instance, a man who misplaced his luggage on a wedding trip used the device along with a PowerPoint presentation to get his belongings. Elliot Sharod along with his bride Helen was returning to the UK from South Africa on April 17. The flight had stopped in Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt. In another incident, a man in Canada used AirTags to find and recover his stolen Range Rover in Canada. He had placed three AirTags in this second vehicle one in the glovebox, one inside the spare tire, and a third under the back seat to make sure he tracks the lost car if it gets stolen. KOLKATA: BJPs West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar has attacked the ruling Trinamool Congress for not taking any strict action against its Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra for her remarks insulting Goddess Kaali. Majumdar demanded that TMC should "either expel or suspend'' Moitra for making such remarks and hurting the religious sentiments of the majority Hindus. TMC can't detach itself from comments of Mahua Moitra. If TMC actually doesn't endorse it, they should take action - they should either expel her or suspend her from the party for a few days, Sukanta Majumdar said, according to ANI. TMC can't detach itself from comments of Mahua Moitra. If TMC actually doesn't endorse it, they should take action - they should either expel her or suspend her from the party for a few days: West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar on TMC MP Mahua Moitra's comments on Goddess Kali pic.twitter.com/jSb5IZyCCW ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2022 The Bengal BJP leader also warned that the member of the Mahila Morcha will stage a sit-in protest, go to the police station, and request that she (Mahua Moitra) be arrested. Our Mahila Morcha will stage a sit-in protest, go to Police Station, and request that she (Mahua Moitra) be arrested: West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar pic.twitter.com/QizyV0ucqw ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2022 Majumdar made the demands a day after Moitra courted controversy for saying, For me, Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. And if you go to Tarapith (a major Shakti Peeth in West Bengal`s Birbhum district), you will see sadhus smoking. That is the version of Kali people worship (there)." She further said that "within Hinduism, being a Kali worshipper I have the freedom to imagine my Kali in that way... that is my freedom and I don`t think anyone`s sentiments should be hurt. I have the freedom... as much as you have to worship your god." Grabbing the opportunity, the BJP lashed out at Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for insulting remarks on Goddess Kaali and asked if the "freedom of speech is only for insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses. BJP's social media head Amit Malviya has slammed Mahua Moitra for 'insulting' Goddess Kali and dared her to make similar comments about the Gods of other religions. Speaking at an event organised by a private TV news channel, Malviya said, Freedom of speech is only for insulting Hindu Goddesses. From MF Hussain to Owaisi to now Moitra, all have selectively targeted the Hindu religion because they know that Hindus are tolerant. BJP also demanded an apology from the TMC chief Mamata Banerjee over the issue. TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should clarify it. This is not the first time that such instances have been reported. Earlier too TMC leaders have done the same. We think this is the official stand of the ruling TMC to hurt the sentiment of Hindus to get votes, BJP state vice-president Rathindra Bose said. However, Mahua Moitra later issued a clarification, saying she "never backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking". The firebrand TMC MP took to Twitter and said, To all you Sanghis- lying will NOT make you better Hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food and drink are offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara." To all you sanghis- lying will NOT make you better hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food & drink is offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) July 5, 2022 Condemning the remarks made by Moitra, the ruling TMC also distanced itself from the comments. "The comments made by @MahuaMoitra and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments," the party said in a Twitter post. It may be recalled a huge controversy has erupted over the poster of Canada-based Indian filmmaker Leena Manimekalais upcoming documentary Kaali. The poster of the film depicted a woman dressed in a costume portraying the goddess and smoking. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background. Several police complaints have been filed against the filmmaker for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. Bangalore: Lysychansk was once a city of 100,000 people in Ukraine`s eastern Luhansk region, but it now lies in ruins after its fall to Russian forces with many residents still living in bomb shelters and basements. The city was eerily quiet on Tuesday with scorched buildings, overturned vehicles and rubble a testament to the ferocity of the battle it has endured. Tatiana Glushenko, a 45-year-old Lysychansk resident, told Reuters there were people still in basements and bomb shelters, including children and the elderly. Glushenko said she and her family had decided to stay in Lysychansk on worries about safety in other parts of Ukraine. "All of Ukraine is being shelled: western Ukraine, central Ukraine, Dnipro, Kyiv, everywhere. So we decided not to risk our lives and stay here, at home at least," she said. But Glushenko is hopeful that peace will return to her city and "that there will be some order". Since abandoning an assault on the capital Kyiv earlier in its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has concentrated its military operation on the industrial Donbas heartland that comprises the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, where Moscow-backed separatist proxies have been fighting Ukraine since 2014. Also read: Russia claims to have taken full control of eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk ussia said the capture of Lysychansk on Sunday, about a week after the fall of twin city Sievierdonetsk, gives it control of Luhansk - a major goal of the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a "special military operation" to ensure Russian security and protect Russian-speaking people in Ukraine. Russia says it does not target civilians, but the near five-month war has killed thousands, displaced millions and flattened cities, particularly in Russian-speaking areas in the east and southeast. Also Read: Russia steps up attacks in Ukraine after NATO agrees to modernise Kyiv`s beleaguered armed forces For elderly Lysychansk resident Evgenia, who did not provide her last name, the prospect of rebuilding their home from the ruins left behind is a daunting task. "The roof is broken. You have to fix it, but how and how do you pay for it? Where? From who? Winter is coming soon too, my dear," said Evgenia, sitting in a dark shelter. Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now Russian troops were engaged in heavy fighting supported by widespread artillery fire as they launch a major offensive for Ukraine`s Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials said, a day after Moscow declared victory in the neighbouring province of Luhansk. FIGHTING * Lysychansk was once a city of 100,000 people in Ukraine`s eastern Luhansk region, but it now lies in ruins after its fall to Russian forces with many residents still living in bomb shelters and basements. * Russian forces struck a market and a residential area in the city of Sloviansk near front lines in Donetsk, killing at least two people and injuring seven, according to officials. * Russian-backed separatists have seized two foreign-flagged ships in the southeast Ukrainian port of Mariupol, saying they are now "state property", in the first such moves against commercial shipping, letters seen by Reuters showed. * Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts. * The speaker of Russia`s lower house of parliament said Ukraine had become a "terrorist state" and was doing everything to ensure that Russia did not stop at the borders of the Donbas region. DIPLOMACY AND ECONOMY * Ukrainian President Zelenskiy renewed his appeal for security guarantees while addressing a conference hosted by the Economist. Europe needs to understand, he said, that the war in Ukraine is about Europe`s safety and Ukraine is the "fence" protecting it. * An international conference in Lugano, Switzerland, to support Ukraine has outlined a series of principles to steer Kyiv`s recovery and condemned Moscow`s actions. * US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will call on G20 nations this week to put pressure on Russia to support U.N. efforts to reopen sea lanes blocked by the Ukraine conflict and repeat warnings to China not to support Moscow`s war effort. * Russian former president Medvedev said a reported proposal from Japan to cap the price of Russian oil at around half its current price would lead to a market shortage that could push prices above $300-400 a barrel. HUMAN RIGHTS * Arbitrary detention of civilians has become widespread in parts of Ukraine held by Russia`s military and affiliated armed groups, with 270 cases documented, the U.N. human rights chief said. QUOTES * "The city doesn`t exist anymore," said Nina, a young mother who fled Lysychansk in Luhansk province to take refuge in the central city of Dnipro. "It has practically been wiped off the face of the Earth." New Delhi: As many as 32 British lawmakers, including Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, have now left Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government in less than 24 hours. Boris, however, on Wednesday (July 6, 2022) said that he was not going to resign and that the last thing the country needed was a national election. "I am not going to step down and the last thing this country needs, frankly, is an election," he told a parliamentary committee when asked to confirm he would not seek to call an election rather than resign if he lost a vote of confidence. Boris Johnson's statement comes amid media reports that a group of cabinet ministers are about to tell him to quit, including Nadhim Zahawi, who has just been appointed as the new finance minister. According to news agency Reuters, Transport Minister Grant Shapps would lead this delegation. Zahawi, notably, had told reporters earlier on Wednesday that he fully supported Johnson. Despite mass resignations, Boris Johnson pledges to fight on Boris Johnson on Wednesday defiantly vowed to fight on against growing calls for him to resign as prime minister, a pledge that was met with scornful laughter at a parliamentary appearance. "The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances is to keep going," Johnson said. "And that's what I`m going to do," he added. Boris Johnson's leadership mired in scandals and missteps Boris Johnson's leadership has been mired in scandals and missteps over the last few months, with the prime minister fined by police for breaking Covid-19 lockdown laws and a damning report published about the behaviour of officials at his Downing Street office who breached their own lockdown rules. There have also been policy U-turns, an ill-fated defence of a lawmaker who broke lobbying rules, and criticism he has not done enough to tackle a cost-of-living crisis, with many Britons struggling to cope with rising fuel and food prices. The latest scandal also saw Johnson apologising for appointing a lawmaker to a role involved in party welfare and discipline, even after being briefed that the politician had been the subject of complaints about sexual misconduct. Several of the ministers cited Johnson`s lack of judgment, standards, and inability to tell the truth. Boris Johnson could face confidence vote Earlier in June, Johnson had survived a confidence vote of Conservative lawmakers, and party rules mean he cannot face another such challenge for a year. Some lawmakers, however, are seeking to change those rules. But a new confidence vote will not be brought by his lawmakers until at least next week, after the Conservative Party committee governing the rules agreed to elect a new executive before considering allowing one. The so-called 1922 Committee decided on Wednesday it would hold an election to its executive on Monday, before deciding whether to change the rules to bring forward a confidence vote in Johnson. The latest bout of drama at the heart of British power has seen at least 32 British lawmakers leaving Boris Johnson's government in less than 24 hours. The departures started on Tuesday with Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak quitting and continued till Wednesday evening. British lawmakers who left Boris Johnson's govt within last 24 hours - Rishi Sunak, Finance Minister and an MP since May 2015 - Sajid Javid, Health Secretary and an MP since May 2010 - Bim Afolami, Conservative Party Vice Chair and MP for Hitchin and Harpenden since June 2017 - Saqib Bhatti, PPS to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and an MP since December 2019 - Jonathan Gullis, PPS to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and an MP since December 2019 - Nicola Richards, PPS for Department of Transport and an MP since December 2019 - Alex Chalk, Solicitor General for England and Wales and an MP since May 2015 - Virginia Crosbie, PPS to the Wales Office and an MP since December 2019 - Theo Clarke, Trade Envoy to Kenya and an MP since December 2019 - Andrew Murrison, Trade Envoy to Morocco and an MP since June 2001 - John Glen, financial services minister and a Member of Parliament (MP) since May 2010 - Rachel Maclean, minister for safeguarding and an MP since June 2017 - Mike Freer, minister for exports and equalities and an MP since May 2010 - Duncan Baker, Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in the government`s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - Craig Williams, PPS in the finance ministry and an MP since December 2019 - Mark Logan, PPS to the Northern Ireland Office and an MP since December 2019 - Mims Davies, employment minister and MP since 2019 - Kemi Badenoch, minister for equalities and an MP since June 2017 - Neil O`Brien, a junior minister at Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and MP since June 2017 - Alex Burghart, a junior minister in the Department for Education and an MP since June 2017 - Lee Rowley, a junior minister in the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and an MP since June 2017 - Julia Lopez, a junior minister in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and an MP since June 2017 - Victoria Atkins, a junior home office minister and an MP since May 2015 - Stuart Andrew, a junior housing minister and an MP since May 2010 - Jo Churchill, a junior minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and an MP since May 2015 - Will Quince, minister for children and families, and an MP since May 2015 - Robin Walker, minister of state for school standards and an MP since May 2010 - Felicity Buchan, PPS in the BEIS and an MP since December 2019 - Laura Trott, Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Department of Transport and an MP since December 2019 - Selaine Saxby, PPS to DEFRA and an MP since December 2019 - Claire Coutinho, PPS to the Treasury and an MP since December 2019 - David Johnston, PPS to the Department of Education and an MP since December 2019 Who could replace UK PM Boris Johnson if he is ousted? LIZ TRUSS Liz Truss, the foreign secretary is the darling of the ruling Conservative Party`s grassroots and has regularly topped polls of party members carried out by the website Conservative Home. Truss has a carefully cultivated public image and was photographed in a tank last year, evoking a famous 1986 image of Britain`s first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was also captured in such a pose. The 46-year-old spent the first two years of Johnson`s premiership as international trade secretary, championing Brexit, and last year was appointed as Britain`s lead negotiator with the European Union. Truss said on Monday Johnson has her "100% backing" and she urged colleagues to support him. JEREMY HUNT Jeremy Hunt, the former foreign secretary, 55, finished second to Johnson in the 2019 leadership contest. He would offer a more serious and less controversial style of leadership after the turmoil of Johnson`s premiership. Over the last two years, Hunt has used his experience as a former health secretary to chair the health select committee and has not been tarnished by having served in the current government. Earlier this year, he said his ambition to become prime minister "hasn`t completely vanished". Hunt said he would vote to oust Johnson in a confidence vote last month which Johnson narrowly won. BEN WALLACE Defence minister Ben Wallace, 52, has risen in recent months to be the most popular member of the government with Conservative Party members, according to Conservative Home, thanks to his handling of the Ukraine crisis. A former soldier himself, he served in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and Central America, and was mentioned in dispatches in 1992. He began his political career as a member of Scotland`s devolved assembly in May 1999, before being first elected to the Westminster parliament in 2005. He was security minister from 2016 until taking on his current role three years later, winning plaudits for his department`s role in the evacuation of British nationals and allies from Afghanistan last year, and the sending of weapons to Kyiv during the recent war in Ukraine. RISHI SUNAK TO BE NEXT BRITISH PM? Rishi Sunak, who resigned as finance minister on Tuesday saying "the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously", was until last year the favourite to succeed Johnson. He was praised for a rescue package for the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, including a jobs retention programme, which prevented mass unemployment, that could cost as much as 410 billion pounds ($514 billion). But Sunak has faced criticism for not giving enough cost-of-living support to households, his wealthy wife`s non-domiciled tax status and a fine he received, along with Johnson, for breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules. His tax-and-spend budget last year put Britain on course for its biggest tax burden since the 1950s, undermining his claims to favour lower taxes. SAJID JAVID Sajid Javid was the first cabinet minister to resign in protest over accusations that Johnson misled the public over what he knew about sexual harassment allegations against a Conservative lawmaker. A former banker and a champion of free markets, Javid has served in a number of cabinet roles, most recently as health minister. He resigned as Johnson`s finance minister in 2020. The son of Pakistani Muslim immigrant parents, he is an admirer of the late Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Javid finished fourth in the 2019 leadership contest to replace former Prime Minister Theresa May. NADHIM ZAHAWI Nadhim Zahawi, the newly appointed finance minister impressed as vaccines minister when Britain had one of the fastest rollouts of COVID-19 jabs in the world. Zahawi`s personal story as a former refugee from Iraq who came to Britain as a child sets him apart from other Conservative contenders. He went on to co-found polling company YouGov before entering parliament in 2010. His last job was as education secretary. Zahawi said last week that it would be a "privilege" to be prime minister at some stage. PENNY MORDAUNT Penny Mordaunt, the former defence secretary was sacked by Johnson when he became prime minister after she backed his rival Hunt during the last leadership contest. Mordaunt was a passionate supporter of leaving the European Union and made national headlines by taking part in now-defunct reality TV diving show. Currently a junior trade minister, Mordaunt called the lockdown-breaking parties in government "shameful". She said voters wanted to see "professionalism and competence" from the government. She had previously expressed loyalty to Johnson. (With agency inputs) SINGAPORE: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday met Singapore Deputy Minister Lawrence Wong in the island country and discussed strengthening bilateral ties. Besides, both the leaders also exchanged views on the global political and economic situation. Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Dr Jaishankar said, "Glad to meet DPM and Finance Minister@LawrenceWongST in Singapore. "A good discussion on taking our bilateral partnership to the next level," he said. "Also exchanged views on global political and economic situation," he added. The EAM also thanked the Singapore Defence Minister for hosting him and said, "Always benefit from his (Lawrence Wong`s) insights and perspectives." Thank Singapore Defense Minister @Ng_Eng_Hen for hosting me this afternoon. Enjoyed our conversation. Always benefit from his insights and perspectives. pic.twitter.com/FtF5bidwp2 Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 6, 2022 India and Singapore relations are based on shared values, convergence of interests on key issues and economic opportunities. Both the nations have regular political engagement while economic and technological ties are growing and extensive. London (UK): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is caught in a difficult political situation, named new UK Health Secretary and Finance Minister following the resignation of Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. UK Cabinet chief of staff Steve Barclay has been appointed as the new health secretary. Meanwhile, UK education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was named as the new finance minister. In his resignation letter, Sunak said he was "sad to be leaving the government", but has come to the conclusion that he "cannot continue like this". Sunak and Javid sent resignation letters to Johnson within minutes of each other in which both took aim at his ability to run an administration that adhered to standards. Signalling his intention to stay in power for as long as possible, Johnson quickly appointed former businessman and current education minister, Nadhim Zahawi, as his new finance minister. Steve Barclay, appointed to impose discipline in Johnson's administration in February, was moved to the health portfolio. The resignations came as Johnson was apologising for appointing a lawmaker to a role involved in offering pastoral care to his party, even after being briefed that the politician had been the subject of complaints about sexual misconduct. Economists say the country is now heading for a sharp slowdown or possibly a recession. Both Sunak and Javid had previously publicly supported Johnson, but in their letters said enough was enough. Sunak, who had reportedly clashed with the prime minister in private about spending, said, "For me to step down as Chancellor (of the Exchequer) while the world is suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other serious challenges is a decision that I have not taken lightly." "The public rightly expects the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously," he added. "I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning." Sunak had won plaudits for a steady-handed response to the economic turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic but was badly damaged by revelations that his wife had avoided paying some taxes in Britain. Javid said many lawmakers and the public had lost confidence in Johnson's ability to govern in the national interest. "It is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership - and you have therefore lost my confidence too," his letter said. The pound fell on the resignation of Sunak but economists said the removal of Johnson could bring needed stability and offer a boost to the sterling and the markets in the medium term. (With Reuters input) American people want to elect the best possible president in 2024. Weve had many capable people on the surface run in presidential primaries, and yet we are blind to basic questions about the candidates as far as their physical and mental capabilities for presidential office. Why arent we requiring a complete health record of all candidates before/as they declare candidacy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center? Why dont we want them to complete a Montreal Cognitive Assessment Mental test as well? For example, Hillary Clinton fainted during the presidential campaign. Mike Pence had a cardiac pacemaker installed in 2021. Are these problems? Let the public know by requiring the candidates to go back to Walter Reed for a reassessment if things happen on or before the the campaign trail. The office of the president is a grueling one. We want the candidates to submit tax returns; why not health and mental condition as well. We need to have Congress pass an Ability to Govern law requiring this. The leader of the free world needs to be in tip-top condition to be elected by Americans. Janet Schumer Hamburg What a week it was. One filled with irony where, at the same time, women lost their right of choice in determining whether or not to bring a pregnancy to term, the Supreme Court made it even easier for any imbecile to purchase and carry a handgun. The irony is that the overturning of one law guarantees a population increase in some states, while in others, now including New York, increased gun violence is certain to reduce it. Hypocrisy is the lifeblood of todays Republican Party. Todays GOP bears little resemblance to its previous iterations. Its finest moment might have been its demand of President Nixon to resign. Thankfully, he did. Its nadir has not yet been reached but its continued decline was presaged with the visage of con man extraordinaire Donald Trump riding the down escalator before announcing his candidacy for president. That omen of decline has proven true. It was not surprising that, once in office, the reality-challenged orange smirker would wreak havoc and calamity on virtually anything having to do with normality and morality. For a short time, the GOP acted with faux outrage at Trumps antics but have since embraced them, then looked askance at several outrageous actions, including two which resulted in impeachment but subsequent acquittal by a now totally invested totalitarian GOP. But I digress. The GOPs shameless disdain for the will of a majority of Americans extends not only to a womans right to safe reproductive health care and the publics ability to feel safe from gun violence while shopping or attending school, church, or any social function. That disdain also extends to our hopes for a habitable planet, racial and economic equality, affordable health care, an open attitude for education including the controversial and ugly aspects of history, and embracing diversity in all its forms. There are now just over five months until we decide which kind of America we want. Choice is on the ballot. Vote. It may be our last best chance. Mark Hardy Tonawanda Greg Fertuck told undercover police officers that he killed his estranged wife Sheree and got rid of her body. A judge needs to decide whether he can consider that confession as evidence at the murder trial. (Greg Fertuck/Facebook - image credit) The first-degree murder trial of Greg Fertuck won't be resolved until at least 2023, after the court matter hit yet another delay. Fertuck is accused of shooting his estranged wife, Sheree Fertuck, to death in December 2015 at the gravel pit near Kenaston, Sask., where she worked. Sheree was 51 years old and a mother to three children. Her body has never been found, but Greg was arrested in 2019 after he told undercover police officers that he had killed her and got rid of the body. Police targeted him in an elaborate undercover police operation known as a "Mr. Big sting." The judge-alone trial began at Saskatoon's Court of Queen's Bench in September 2021. Because of the complex and controversial nature of the sting, the entirety of the Crown's evidence was called within a series of voir dires trials within trials. The voir dires include Greg's statements made to undercover police, as well as interrogations and interviews. Justice Richard Danyliuk needs to rule on whether these statements are admissible to the murder trial as evidence. He was supposed to make his decision in September, but the decision is now scheduled for January. Judge says defence caused delay On Wednesday, Danyliuk said the responsibility for the delay lies solely with Greg's lawyers. In order for him to make a decision, he must assess arguments from the defence and Crown lawyers. These were supposed to be submitted this month. Earlier this year, the defence lawyers said they needed to review trial transcripts to help prepare their argument. However, the court then learned transcripts would not be ready until mid to late summer. The court registrar asked the lawyers about whether they needed more time because of the delay. The Crown prosecutors said no, but Danyliuk said the defence lawyers did not respond for five weeks. During that time, Danyliuk's schedule for the end of the year filled up with other murder trials. Danyliuk was not impressed by the delay. He noted Greg is still cloaked in the presumption of innocence and has been in jail for months. Story continues Fertuck expressed his own frustration in a series of outburst directed at Danyliuk. "Thirty-seven months for nothing," he said. "I should have been out on bail long ago." Fertuck also said he has asked his lawyers to submit a bail application or a Charter application because of the delay. A ruling made by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2016 put limits on the amount of time an accused person should have to wait to fight charges. People who wait longer can apply to have their case dismissed and it is up to Crown prosecutors to convince the judge that the delay was reasonable or unavoidable. Fertuck suggested his lawyers have given him the "runaround" and said the applications would not be in his best interest. Danyliuk encouraged Fertuck to stop talking and to communicate with his lawyers who have the skills and expertise required to run a trial saying he would deal with any application that was brought before him in an appropriate manner. Fertuck didn't stop. He accused the Crown of planting false evidence during his 2020 bail hearing and suggested that three police officers lied while testifying at this trial. The Crown took issue with all allegations of misconduct. Danyliuk assured the court that he would decide the case only on admissible evidence. "I know the stakes could not be bigger for you," Danyliuk told Fertuck, warning him not to speak further. "You're not helping yourself." "I have discussed this matter with my lawyers to no avail," Fertuck responded. Danyliuk decision on the voir dires is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2023. Demand for nickel is expected to double to 6 million tonnes per year and the NISK nickel sulphide project is being developed to meet the growing global demand for environmentally-friendly mined battery metals Chilean Metals had one very good reason behind its name change to Power Nickel Inc (TSX-V:PNPN): the NISK nickel sulphide project in Quebec which has the potential to become one of the greenest sources of class-1 nickel in the world. With its large land position hosting nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium, and platinum mineralization, the project is being developed by Power Nickel to meet the growing global demand for environmentally-friendly mined battery metals. The companys CEO Terry Lynch told Proactive that the project could become a producing 20 million tonne-plus resource in as little as five to six years, whereas other mines usually take a minimum of a decade to achieve this. Our mine would be as quick as you could develop any mine in the world, Lynch explained. Youve got a great jurisdiction, its off the road so you dont have logistical problems, and youve got broad community support because Quebec is very pro-mining as a culture. The project also has sustainability on its side because it is positioned across the road from a major Hydro-Quebec substation, which can provide the project with easy access to low-carbon power. That will certainly help us go a long way in becoming the greenest nickel mine in history, Lynch said. Becoming Power Nickel Under its former name, the company pivoted away from its Chilean focus because its leadership team felt a rumbling that the dynamic was going to become unsettled in the region. Weve not given up on Chile but when youre a junior miner youve got the be sensitive to when and where you can raise capital, Lynch explained. We sensed that Chiles window was going to shut down for a while. In its search for other projects, the company came across several gold and copper projects in British Columbias Golden Triangle that were originally slated to be the companys flagship project until the company came across the prospective but under-explored NISK project. Located near James Bay in Quebec, Canada, the property hosts 90 claims across an area of 45.9 square kilometres. Lynch said what was attractive about the NISK project was the fact that it had a very efficient conversion of drilling to resource. When we were looking at buying it, NISK was a historical resource with about 3.1 million tonnes [of resource] split equally between measured, indicated and inferred and they had done that with only 14,000 metres (m) of drilling, he said. We looked at Talon Metals, which is what every class-1 nickel mine wants to be when it grows up, and the value per metre of nickel in the ground they had which was $41,000 per metre drilled - we were getting $90,000 plus. On February 1, 2021, the company completed the acquisition of its option to acquire up to 80% of the NISK project from Critical Elements Lithium Corporation. We changed our name from Chilean Metals to focus people on where we want to be which is a class-1 nickel mine, Lynch said. Meanwhile, the company plans to create a newly listed mining company focused on the non-NISK gold and copper assets in Chile and British Columbia that were held by Chilean Metals before the name change, with an announcement about this expected soon. Taking NISK from historical to commercial Power Nickel has recently completed a 2,500m, eight-hole drill program and 3D geological modelling of the NISK site as it works towards upgrading the 43-101 compliant resource estimate, expected to be released in mid-July 2022. Seven of the eight drill holes hit, with the final drill hitting a fault. Once we get the updated resource estimate out there, people will know NISK is no longer historical, Lynch said. 10 million tonnes makes it commercial and we will be at least 50% of the way there. Our view is that we will get to be a Lynn Lake type deposit, which is 22 million tonnes, and if were lucky, well get to be a Voiseys Bay, which is 50 million tonnes-plus. Spurring his confidence is the fact that nickel sulphide deposits tend to exist as a group of pods. Its a string of pearls formation where, when you find one pearl, then theres always other pearls to be found, Lynch explained. To find those additional pods, Power Nickels next 5000m drill program, slated to run from mid-late June until August, will largely be targeting the fault identified during its first round of drilling. Our theory is that the resource is underneath this fault, so we are drilling out the flanks, Lynch said. We will be growing the current resource within the pod weve identified and also testing to find new pods on the flanks. Lynch also expects the company would carry out an additional 10,000m to 15,000m of drilling in the fall, at which point he believes the site would be north of 10 million tonnes of nickel and fully commercial. Bullish on nickel With demand for nickel expected to double to 6 million tonnes per year, according to Wood Mackenzie, its no surprise Lynch is bullish on the metal. Thats why we invested, we like the supply dynamics a lot, he explained. Demand for nickel is being driven by an increased need for stainless steel. The rest of the world is catching up to North America and as India, Southeast Asia, China, Africa, and South America become more urbanized, people there are buying more pots and pans, fridges and stoves thats stainless steel, Lynch said. Stainless steel has always been the top driver for nickel demand, and it has a healthy growth rate of about 6%. Electrification is also upping the demand for nickel as it is the metal of choice for batteries due to it being relatively cost-effective. Right now, that is 4% of the market, but it is expected that within 10 years that could be as much as 50%, Lynch said. He added that one neat thing about nickel was that, due to growing demand, it was not just about attracting the investor market but also about working with strategic partners. Were already talking to partners that in bygone years youd never get to at this stage, he said. Class-1 nickel is so rare and desirable that they are talking to us now because they can see our project is going to become commercial, he concluded. Contact the author Emily Jarvie at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter @emilyjjarvie Valor Resources Ltd (ASX:VAL) has completed an extensive data review on the Surprise Creek Project northwest of the Athabasca Basin in Canada, which returned high-grade uranium drill results of 2.1 metres at 4.37%. A significant number of very prospective targets were also uncovered, which will be followed up with reconnaissance fieldwork in the coming weeks to validate and improve geological understanding of the exploration model. Other significant historical drilling results at Surprise Creek Fault target include 1.5 metres at 0.1% U3O8, 0.43 metres at 0.49% and 0.15 metres at 0.83%. The Surprise Creek Fault target comprises a uranium geochemical anomaly of more than 25 ppm uranium in soils over 500 metres in strike length and including rock chips of up to 6.37% U3O8, associated with a north-northwest striking fault system. The soil geochemical anomaly was partially drill tested and remains open in several directions. Great potential The historical data review has highlighted some exciting uranium and copper targets with the high-grade uranium drill results of 2.1 metres at 4.37% U3O8 at Surprise Creek Fault being most noteworthy, said Valor executive chairman George Bauk. The historical results and lack of modern exploration for over 20 years suggests there is great potential in this area. Based on the historical data review, the company increased its land position at the project to the southwest by pegging a further 11 square kilometres. Given the copper mineralisation trend at the southwest part of the property, we thought it was only logical to peg the open ground. We are continuing to work through the historical exploration data from our eight projects in the Athabasca Basin and will release further results of these reviews in the coming months. "The exploration team will commence on-ground work at the Cluff Lake and Surprise Creek projects in July and results of the recently completed airborne gravity surveys at the Cluff Lake, Hook Lake and Hidden Bay projects will be finalised during the current quarter, he added. Surprise Creek Project - target areas. Historical targets Data from the 1950s through to the late 1970s were used in the review as little uranium or copper exploration has been carried out in the area since then. All diamond drill holes have been reported and surface samples reported have been filtered based on soil samples of more than 2 ppm uranium, rock chip/boulder and unknown sample types of more than 5 ppm uranium. The company plans to carry out on-ground work to verify some aspects of the historical sampling before advancing targets to the next stage. History lessons The most significant exploration at the Surprise Creek Fault target was conducted by Van-Tor Resources, whic completed 27 diamond holes in 1968 to test an area of uranium mineralisation at surface. Drilling by Van-Tor Resources returned several significant intercepts including: 2.1 metres at 4.37% U3O8 from 57 metres including 0.9 metres at 7.5% and 0.61 metres at 0.37% from 52.4 metres; 1.5 metres at 0.1% from 57.6 metres; 0.15 metres at 0.1% from 4.8 metres; 0.43 metres at 0.49% from 41.7 metres; and 0.15 metres at 0.83% from 29.6 metres Lake targets Plug Lake target contains multiple occurrences of basement-hosted uranium mineralisation hosted within W-NW striking veins or structures. Mineralisation is known to be spatially associated with amphibolite lenses. Rock grab samples of up to 5,004ppm uranium have been reported from this area. The Mylonite Lake target consists of an occurrence of basement-hosted uranium mineralisation within a structurally complex zone interpreted from geophysics and aerial photography. The interpreted intersection of E and NE-striking faults in the area is a structural setting that is considered favourable for hosting uranium mineralisation Copper targets Widespread geochemical soil and rock chip sampling programs conducted in the 1970s in the west and southwest of the project area uncovered consistent and significant copper mineralisation in two different areas. The southern copper anomaly is the most significant with rock chips up to 5.9% copper and soil samples assaying up to 3,300 ppm copper. The +150 ppm copper anomaly in the south can be traced over 1.5 kilometres and remains open beyond the survey boundaries. The northern copper anomaly contains rock chips up to 0.7% copper and soil samples up to 340 ppm copper. Follow-up drilling was recommended but never completed. The Surprise Creek Project is in the Archean Zemlak Domain within the Rae Province, northwest of the Athabasca Basin, and directly abuts the Beaverlodge Domain, which hosts many of the districts uranium deposits. Actor Nicole Kidman walked in the Balenciaga show on July 6 in Paris. Credit - Balenciaga/YouTube When it comes to viral moments, Nicole Kidman does not disappoint. On Wednesday, the Oscar-winning actor walked in Balenciagas haute couture show in Paris, donning a one-shoulder silver gown with a dramatic train and black opera gloves. Movie stars have long been a standard feature at the top fashion shows, whether on the runway or in front-row seats. But Kidman, who walked alongside other famous faces like Kim Kardashian, Dua Lipa, and Selling Sunset personality Christine Quinn, became an instant standout out for one reason in particular: her distinctive gait. Moving through the venue, Kidman slowly and carefully lifts up each foot and extends it outward, her exaggerated runway walk presumably the result of her unorthodox heels and commanding train. In the many clips of the actor that have since gone viral, her mincing walk is punctuated by foreboding music. Its clear that this is a moment. Kidman has been well-established in the uppermost echelons of Hollywood for the greater part of three decades, with her roles in television and film garnering her awards from the Oscars, the Emmys, and the Golden Globes. Simultaneously, she has also become one of the internets the greatest joys. See: the complete obsession with Kidmans commercial for AMC, in which she recites an impassioned monologue about the sanctity of cinema to an empty movie theater. We come to this place for magic, Kidman says with reverence in the ad. The same could be said about why the denizens of the internet return again and again to the many viral moments of Nicole Kidman. As in her extensive filmography, theres a Nicole Kidman moment for every mood and every situation: Nicole Kidman clapping her hands like a seal at the Oscars is a shorthand for showing your wry approval on Twitter. Nicole Kidman on the cover of Vanity Fair in the most notorious low-rise mini skirt known to humanity becomes a cheeky avatar for the vibe shift. Nicole Kidman eating bugs with chopsticks taps into your sick affinity for clickbait. Nicole Kidman celebrating her divorce from Tom Cruise transforms into a meme of ultimate release. Nicole Kidman assuring you that somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this becomes the internets favorite new catchphrase and the inspiration for a lot of really good merch. Here is a woman we can rely on to always deliver, whether thats prestige television or an earnest missive, a good laugh or a good meme. Kidman knows what the people want, and shes more than happy to oblige. Three men with Wisconsin ties appeared on a previously secret list of hundreds of Baptist pastors and church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse. Released to the public in late May by an independent firm, Guidepost Solutions, the list is part of a report detailing how the the Southern Baptist Conventions Executive Committee mishandled allegations of sex abuse, stonewalled numerous survivors and prioritized protecting the SBC from liability. Pastors and personnel with ties to the Southern Baptist Church mostly appear on the list, which includes more than 700 entries from cases that mostly span from 2000 to 2019. But it also includes a number of other Baptist denominations. None of the Wisconsin churches with involved clergy were affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Two of the men on the list reportedly committed their crimes in Racine County. Timothy Ganzel, a former youth minister at Grace Church in Racine a member of the North American Baptist Conference was convicted in 1994 of sexually abusing a teenage boy. He had previously been sentenced to one year in prison in 1987 on separate charges. Scott Hoppe, a former assistant pastor at Grace Church in Burlington, pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault of a child younger than 13 in 2008, after admitting to multiple incidents of molestation of infants between 2000 and 2002. He had previously served almost four years on charges of child enticement after beginning a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Also on the list is Thomas Chantry, formerly a pastor at Christ Reformed Baptist Church in Milwaukee County, although the allegations concern incidents in Arizona. In 2019, he was convicted of four charges of child molestation that occurred in Arizona from 1995 to 2001. An Arizona appeals court later overturned the charges. In 2018, Chantry was also convicted of aggravated assault of two children in Arizona that also occurred between 1995 and 2001. The Guidepost report, released after a seven-month investigation, contained several explosive revelations. Among them: D. August Boto, the committees former vice president and general counsel, and former SBC spokesperson Roger Oldham kept their own private list of abusive ministers. Both retired in 2019. The existence of the list was not widely known within the committee and its staff. Despite collecting these reports for more than 10 years, there is no indication that (Oldham and Boto) or anyone else, took any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at SBC churches, the report said. The Executive Committee did not make additions to the published list, but their attorneys did redact several entries as well as the names and identifying information of survivors and others unrelated to the accused, Executive Committee leaders Rolland Slade and Willie McLaurin said in a May joint statement. They made public entries that reference an admission, confession, guilty plea, conviction, judgment, sentencing, or inclusion on a sex offender registry, and expect some of the redacted entries on the list to be made public once more research is done. The list also includes Baptist ministers who are not affiliated with the SBC. Survivors and advocates have . The creation of an offender information system was one of the key recommendations in the report by Guidepost, which was contracted by the Executive Committee after delegates to last years national meeting pressed for an outside investigation. At their annual convention in June, Southern Baptists voted in favor of setting up a Ministry Check website that tracks abusive pastors and church-affiliated individuals, as well as creating an Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force. In May, the Executive Committee also opened a hotline for survivors, or someone on their behalf, to report abuse allegations: 202-864-5578 or SBChotline@guidepostsolutions.com. Callers are provided with care options and connected with an advocate, the statement said. State Journal reporter Will Kubzansky contributed to this report. NASHVILLE, Tenn. A bid to bring the 2024 Republican National Convention to Nashville has hit a roadblock in the Democratic-leaning citys metro council, where opposition has led proponents to withdraw a proposed agreement about how to host the event. The move Tuesday evening by the proposals sponsor, council member Robert Swope, casts uncertainty about the citys chances to land the GOP convention. The Nashville 2024 Host Committee has said it hopes the draft agreement with the Republican National Committee will be refiled and the council will begin considering it at a meeting later this month. Officials in the other finalist city, Milwaukee, approved a similar framework early last month that runs through the logistics of hosting it there. The Republican National Committee is expected to announce sometime this summer where the event will land, bringing potentially tens of thousands of visitors. Both Democratic stronghold cities have expressed mixed feelings about hosting it. Milwaukee officials seeking the convention were not immediately claiming victory after Nashvilles bid stumbled. As far as we know, there is still a competitive race to win the convention and we will continue to put the citys best foot forward until the RNC makes its final decision, said Peggy Williams-Smith, head of Milwaukees tourism bureau, which is helping with the citys bid. In Nashville, Mayor John Cooper and others have expressed concerns about security issues, the economic trade-off of largely shutting down an already bustling downtown except for convention activity and the implications of tying up city resources to tend to the event. But some progressive leaders have gone further to argue that hosting the massive Republican gathering goes against the citys values. Last week, several members on the metro council sent state GOP chair Scott Golden a letter asking if Tennessee Republicans plan to remain outwardly hostile to the city in its efforts to be welcoming, maintain policies that make it the states economic driver, and manage challenges with the citys massive growth. Republicans have split the city in congressional redistricting in an effort to flip a Democratic seat; applauded the end of the constitutional right to abortion after passing a near-total state ban on the procedure; and installed many laws that target the city with policies many there oppose, including a school voucher program applicable in just two areas that are both Democratic, Nashville and Memphis Shelby County. For now, a council member on Tuesday sidelined a separate resolution against bringing the convention to Nashville. In a statement, the Nashville 2024 Host Committee said it asked Coopers administration to withdraw the draft agreement proposal to allow for additional time to address multiple concerns and objections expressed by Metro Council. It is our optimistic view that Nashville is the ideal American city to host one or both of our nations nominating conventions and to demonstrate to the world its ability to host civil and respectful public discourse on issues vital to the future of our country, the committee said. Mayor Coopers brother Jim Cooper is the Democratic member of Congress whose seat was chopped up in GOP redistricting, spurring his decision not to seek reelection. Republican Gov. Bill Lee has been pushing for the convention, and has budgeted a $25 million pot of money that could at least partly be used to fund it. Asked Wednesday if Nashville would face any retribution if it didnt support hosting the GOP convention, Lee responded, Theres no plans for that, but we certainly hope that they make the decision to do so. The Tennessee Democratic Party chair, Hendrell Remus, is on board with the GOP convention, so long as it means Nashville gets considered for the 2028 Democratic convention. Golden agreed on that in a joint statement with Remus late last month. Associated Press writers Kimberlee Kruesi and Scott Bauer contributed to this report. The body of a teenager has been recovered following a July 5 incident. According to a press release from the Platte County Sheriffs Office, on July 5 at approximately 3:45 p.m., deputies with the Platte County Sheriffs Office and personnel with Columbus Fire and Rescue responded to the area of Loup Power Tailrace Park and the Platte River regarding a possible drowning. Upon arrival, deputies learned that a 17-year-old male from Schuyler had been fishing where the canal dumps into the river, when he was swept away in the current. A search of the river was conducted with the assistance of local volunteers operating air boats and a LifeNet medical helicopter. After searching the area for over two hours and being unable to locate the victim, the search was suspended. The next day, with the assistance of local air boat operators, a local plane owner, Nebraska Game and Parks and the Colfax County Sheriffs Office, a search continued in the area for the victim. At approximately 11:45 a.m. the victim was recovered from the river. The sheriffs office was assisted by Columbus Fire and Rescue, Nebraska Game and Parks and the Colfax County Sheriffs Office. The Platte County Sheriffs Office thanks local citizens who aided in the search effort by offering their time, airboats and plane. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Platte County Sheriffs Office at 402-564-3229 or Platte County Area Crime Stoppers at 402-563-4000. Hadley Osten has turned a piece of family history into a project for this years Platte County Fair. Hadley, 12, a member of the 4-H Baker Makers club, has put together a shadowbox containing World War II memorabilia, which she entered into the consumer and family science heritage exhibit. The shadowbox contains a variety of correspondence and other items owned by Hadleys great-grandfather, Alfred Wurdeman. Wurdeman served in the U.S. Air Force from 1942 to about 1945. In the box are Alfreds Air Force patch, his billfold containing money from Japan, France and Germany and social security card, as well as a ledger of expenses and his vaccination card. According to the ledger, a four-day stay at a motel had cost $20. Other interesting tidbits are also in the display. That's his communion card that he got from our church that I still go to, Hadley said, noting that its the Christ Lutheran Church of Columbus. Alfred was in the 422 Night Fighter Squadron, and the box contains a letter of commendation for the squadron. He was part of the Night Fighter Squadron in the Air Force, said Jennifer Osten, Hadleys mother. On the night of Dec. 24 and 25, they helped the Allied night fighters on several different occasions and drove off German night fighter attacks upon their positions. The box also has a Columbus Telegram newspaper article from the early 1940s about Alfred and his brother Edward, who also served in the military, meeting up in Belgium during the war. The brothers spent three days together after being apart for 38 months. He surely didnt change any during the time we didnt see each other, Edward wrote to the Telegram about Alfred. I was really glad to see him and I guess he was just tickled. Wish we could all be together and hope we see each other again soon. According to the article, Alfred entered into service on June 20, 1942, and Edward enlisted in March 1942 and served in a tank battalion. The article was a printout from the internet but tea-stained so that it looked antique like the other items in the shadowbox. After their service, the brothers moved back to Columbus and worked as farmers, Jennifer said. They lived not that far from one another. Hadley said the family found some of Alfreds things in her Grandma Wurdemans home, which is located north of Columbus. It was in this metal box. And nobody had seen it before, so it was pretty cool to see, Hadley said. Jennifer added that the box was found a few years ago. We just kind of opened it though to kind of see what was in it, Jennifer said. There were important papers from the house and stuff like that. It (the box) had file folders and this was inside one of the file folders. Hadley said the idea for the project started when her brother took some of the found items to his speech class. It was really cool to watch how his classroom to so I wanted to see what people would think at the fair, Hadley said. She noted an interest in local history was sparked last year when she did a project on the Gottberg Barn, a structure built in 1913 five miles north of Columbus. Hadley, who will be starting her first year at Lakeview Junior-Senior High School this fall, entered other projects for the fair on July 5, including one on a first aid kit and another on consumer management. She added she was also taking part in baking and cooking exhibits the following day. She noted her excitement about the 2022 Platte County Fair starting. It's stressful, but it's fun, Hadley said. A young great horned owl seems to be recovering after becoming entangled in a fence a few miles north of Lincoln. Mark Rezac discovered the fledgling as he was raking a field of hay, and thought it was dead until it swiveled its head. He called the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and Conservation Officer Dina Barta arrived within the hour. He (owl) just looked at us. Like 'arent you going to help or what?' Rezac said. Veterinarian David Gordon examined the bird at the Bellevue Animal Hospital on Thursday and said one wing had some puncture wounds and was very bruised. The other wing had some mild bruising. The goal is to allow time to heal the wounds, allow the skin to heal and monitor for any skin necrosis, he said. Rezac thinks the young bird was either chasing a rabbit or snake hed dislodged as he raked the field or fell out of the nest and landed on a strand of the fence. It fell over as it lost its balance, becoming tangled with its wings spread wide. Rezac and Barta struggled to free it from the tangled fencing. We pretty quickly realized we werent going to get its wings off that fence, Barta said. Mark worked pretty quickly to cut that fence. Rezac cut the wire at the end of both wings and then behind the shoulder blades to relieve the pressure on the youngsters wings. At one point, the owl went Ow. Im not kidding you, Rezac said. It rode in the cab of Bartas truck to the Raptor Conservation Alliance rehabilitation center in Elmwood, where Betsy Finch and husband, Doug, removed the barbed wire and administered antibiotics and pain medicine. The owl was given a few mice for dinner. Gordon said the bird will stay at the rehabilitation center until its next examination in a week. The hope is that it will be released as soon as it recovers. "I'm optimistic," the vet said, "but soft-tissue wounds are unpredictable." It's just another day in the life of a farmer, Rezac said. He joked that finally his skills as an EMT and volunteer fireman paid off. Im glad I was able to help. I think all farmers are probably conservationists in one way or another, he said. Ive seen many a deer. Many a turkey. I surely would have felt bad if it had struggled and died in that fence. After a two-year hiatus, Bluegrass on the Grass is back again. Before the pandemic sidelined this and other events, the popular festival delighted thousands of bluegrass fans from near and far. Now organizers have announced that the 25th edition of Bluegrass on the Grass will be held on Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. Bluegrass on the Grass will return to the same beautiful location: Dickinson Colleges academic quad located at 201 W. High St., in Carlisle. Five nationally-acclaimed musical acts will be featured, including Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Circus No. 9, Charm City Junction, Mile Twelve and the New Dismembered Tennesseans. The festival will be held rain or shine and is offered free to the public. Festival-goers should plan to bring their own lawn chair or a blanket. If desired, they can take advantage of a wide variety of vendors who will offer fares such as french fries, bratwurst, Thai food, ice cream, non-alcoholic drinks and smoothies for purchase. Restrooms, as well as bike racks, will be available. Since Dickinson College is a smoke-free campus, attendees are asked to refrain from smoking while at the festival. The performance sets are as follows: The New Dismembered Tennesseans at noon, Circus No. 9 at 12:45 p.m., Charm City Junction at 1:30 p.m., Mile 12 at 2:15 p.m. and Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper at 3 p.m.. The musicians return for a second set beginning at 3:35 p.m. with The New Dismembered Tennesseans, Circus No. 9 at 4:30 p.m., Charm City Junction at 5:15 p.m., Mile 12 at 6 p.m., and finishing with Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper at 6:45 p.m. Having won just about every award available to him in the music business, just last month Michael Cleveland was named a 2022 National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. This is the highest award available in the United States for artists who are involved in the folk and traditional arts with recipients nominated by a member of the public and then selected by a panel of experts. Previous to this Cleveland had been named Fiddle Player of the Year 12 times by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), and his band Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper had been chosen as IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year five times. Cleveland also won a Grammy in 2019 for his album Tall Fiddler. Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper have played together for more than 15 years. Circus No. 9 is a progressive bluegrass group that comes from Tennessee. Described as a band that blurs the lines between bluegrass, jazz, and rock, Circus No. 9 has appeared alongside such bluegrass giants as David Grisman, Bryan Sutton and Larry Keel. The band is fronted by mandolinist Thomas Cassell who is the winner of the 2016 Rockgrass Mandolin Contest. Charm City Junction is a Baltimore-based acoustic roots quartet that blends together Old-Time rhythms, Irish melodies and hard-driving bluegrass. Together since 2014, the group features an unusual combination of instruments that include fiddle, clawhammer banjo, button accordion and upright bass. The group is fronted by Patrick McAvinue who was the 2017 IMBA Fiddle Player of the Year. Their second album, Duckpin, debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts. Mile Twelve is a modern string band from Massachusetts who were the 2020 IBMA New Artists of the Year award winners. They have performed around the glove including tours in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and have appeared at major bluegrass festivals including RockyGrass, IBMA Bluegrass Live! and Milwaukee Irish Festival. Coming from Tennessee, the New Dismembered Tennesseans revive the music of their namesake. Once one of the most influential bluegrass bands in the region, the Dismembered Tennesseans had been an area staple for more than 70 years. In spring 2019, original member Doc Cullis on banjo, band alum Laura Walker on bass and Don Cassel on mandolin formed the New Dismembered Tennesseans, along with three new members: Bobby Burns on guitar, Eleanor Bright on clawhammer banjo and guitar, and Tom Morley on fiddle. Bluegrass on the Grass is sponsored by the Dickinson Colleges Chautauqua Concert Series, local businesses and numerous patrons. Taking time out from Independence Day celebrations and get-togethers, about 100 citizens held signs, sat in lawn chairs or stood in solidarity on both sides of Liberty Street in front of the St. Francois County Courthouse and Annex in Farmington on a hot Monday evening. The assembled men, women and children were protesting the United States Supreme Courts June 24 decision to overturn the nations landmark abortion ruling, Roe vs. Wade, which in 1973, ruled that American women had a right to choose, without excessive government restriction, whether to have abortions. The latest ruling, which happened on a Friday, leaves the legality of abortion in the hands of state legislators. Missouri became the first state to ban the practice. Andrew Young, president of the St. Francois County Democrats Club, was at the courthouse protest on Monday and said he had been recently thinking about the 102nd anniversary of the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote. It was overwhelmingly supported by Republicans, he said, regarding the voting amendment. But now it seems like theyre trying to restrict the vote as much as possible, especially when it comes to minorities. Abortion is a very similar issue in the 1960s and 1970s, Republicans, for the most part, were more interested in legalizing abortion than even the Democrats. Its completely changed. Makcum Novikov, who lives in Farmington, said he organized the event because, as a gay man, he is under the impression more rights might be reduced or taken away in the future, including the right to live as gay and to be married. I work with some very conservative coworkers, though, and even some of them are not happy with abortion being outlawed, he said. They gave me the sense they felt it was alarming the government could intrude on citizens autonomy. But with the repeal, there are going to be many cases that will be affected by the way (Roe v. Wade) is being overturned. Same-sex marriage, right to privacy, stuff like that. About 30 minutes into the protest, with more than a dozen cars having honked support and a chorus of cheers being returned by protesters, a woman in a Chevy SUV with memorial stickers on her back windshield and peace sign medallions hanging from the rear view mirror blocked the right lane of Liberty Street for a minute, causing a car behind her to veer around her, to shout her protest against the protesters. When asked later what the woman had said, a protester said, I dunno. Were horrible because were for legal abortion. Something about how were all sinners and going to hell, probably. Novikov said the Farmington Police Department, which had been occasionally driving around the scene, increased their patrol. No, she did not make a second round, he said of the protester-against-the-protest. The police were really good about pulling over harassers and speeders. When I started this, I didnt think of really organizing anything, I just wanted to get together with people who were thinking and feeling the same things, I noticed other cities were planning something and we didnt have anything planned here yet, Novikov said. But it sounds like a lot of people are interested in doing them again in the future. A couple, Courtney and David Thomas of Fredericktown, said they were showing support on their daughters behalf. We have a daughter, and the fact that shell have fewer rights than her grandmother had is why were out here, Courtney said. Its one thing when its just my body, but she deserves to have rights, too. Dianne Dickerson, who has lived in Farmington for almost 10 years now having transplanted from Kansas, said even though, at 75, the abortion issue might not directly affect her choice, she didnt want to see the practice cloaked in secrecy or danger any more. I was raised with my father in the military, we were very Christian and very conservative, she said. I didnt know anyone who would have even gotten pregnant much less had an abortion, that was all kept under wraps. It wasnt until I moved to Kansas City and every time Id go to the grocery store, Id hear about five or six different languages being spoken, and my viewpoint started to change. Dickerson said shes pushed the envelope a bit here and there. Inspired by the MAGA hats she saw at the senior center, she wore a Pelosi hat. When I went to a dance, my boyfriend at the time was a Republican, and I told him I was gonna wear the hat, she said. He said, You know, I disagree, but Ill fight for your right to wear it, and he even danced with me. Of course, weve broken up now, mostly over political things, but I thought that was still, well, theres still some good, and not all Republicans agree with whats happening. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), as of June 24, reversed the ruling, effectively saying it was up to each states legislators as to how illegal they wanted to make abortion. Missouri was one of about a dozen states with legislators who had already decided, putting in place a 2019 trigger law that effectively makes abortion illegal in the state of Missouri, with medical emergency being the only exception. Under Missouri law, abortions are illegal when women are impregnated through rape and incest. Those in health care who violate Missouris abortion law may have their medical license revoked or suspended, and could be charged with a class B felony, which can garner 5-15 years in prison. Currently under Missouri law, women who get the abortions will not be prosecuted for violating the law. Thank you to everyone who showed up and showed out and made their voices heard, Novikov posted on his Facebook page. I was not expecting such a large turnout, yet am so beyond overjoyed by everyone who came out in this sweltering heat and made their stance clear. There is nothing like the taste sensation of biting into a fresh, juicy, cold peach. So what if the juice dribbles down your chin? That cold, sweet sensation gives everyone a get up and go feeling. Writers have described the peach as closely resembling the quality of human flesh. It is of the pinch type, as many people pinch the peach to see if it ready for eating. The peach is a fruit of temperate, but warm, climates. Wild peach trees still grow in China, their original home. The fruit from those trees is very small, quite sour and hairy. The process of developing better strains has been going on for almost 2,000 years. The fruit was the object of a sort of cult from early times. Chinese poets, painters, and sculptors regarded the peach as a symbol of immortality. As civilization spread westward to find suitable climates in Kashmir and Persia, the peach flourished so well that it was regarded as a native fruit hence the name Persica. From Persia, the peach came to Greece, and then to Rome. Later the fruit came to Spain from the Far East. In the 16th century, the Spaniards brought the peach to America. The two categories of peach clingstone and free stone are distinguished by the difficulty or ease with which the flesh comes away from the pit. Each includes both yellow and white flesh. Sadly, however, the English climate is not ideal for peaches. The peach is much more at home in the Mediterranean region and parts of North America. The American growers of peaches, especially in California, have been the forerunners of world production. To be at its best, a peach has to ripen on the tree. Freshly picked ripe peaches are so good it seems a shame to cook them. The most famous peach dessert is Peach Melba, created in the 19th century to honor Dame Nellie Melba. Peaches survive being canned better than most fruits. The flavor may be altered, but still good. The American canning industry, which started to grow toward the end of the 19th century, now accounts for much of the worlds canned peach production. In some Mediterranean countries, the green peaches of so-called wild peaches are used in cooking and for preserves. They are not true wild fruits, but ones that escaped cultivation in China. Since time immemorial, the peach has captured the imagination of poets and artists. In China, where the peach was considered the symbol of long life, porcelains were painted with peach blossoms and given as birthday gifts to express the wish for many happy years. Both Chinese and Japanese art are lavish in their praise of peach blossoms and fruit. One of the easiest desserts to make is a Peach Betty. Just before serving, top it with some vanilla ice cream. Peach Betty cup sugar 1 tablespoon flour teaspoon salt 1 cup soft bread crumbs 4 cups sliced peeled peaches 2 tablespoons butter Combine the first four ingredients and set aside. Arrange half of the peaches in a 1-quart casserole. Top with half of the bread crumb mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until crumbs are golden and peaches are tender. Serves 6. The body of a missing climber has been recovered from Mount Jefferson, according to a Facebook post from the Linn County Sheriffs Office. Jeffrey Dale, 29, of Texas was located deceased Monday, July 4 following a multiple-day search. Dale was reported missing at around 3:51 p.m. June 30, according to the Sheriff's Office, and a multi-agency search ensued. Dale was last seen near the summit of Mount Jefferson near the 10,200-feet elevation mark on the mountain. An earlier Facebook post by Linn County Sheriff's Office said two witnesses climbing with Dale lost sight of him near the summit after Dale pushed on toward the top, even though his group turned around due to the conditions. Helicopters with technical climbers searched the area, but weather conditions and dangerous terrain made the search more difficult, according to officials. With help from the Civil Air Patrol, high-resolution images of the mountain captured near where Dale went missing. After reviewing the images, search and rescue teams could see Dale. His body was found more than 1,800 feet down the mountain from where he was last seen, according to LCSO. The agency said this indicates he most likely fell during his climb. According to the Facebook post, Dales family started a GoFundMe page and raised more than $15,000 to pay for a private helicopter from Leading Edge Aviation, located out of Bend, to take experienced mountain rescue climbers from Eugene Mountain Rescue to Dales body. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. The rescue team conducted a short-haul lift of Dales body to a landing zone where the helicopter picked up the rescue team. Dales body was taken to Weddle Funeral Home. Linn County Sheriffs Office Search & Rescue Post, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, Lane County Search and Rescue, Eugene Mountain Rescue, Portland Mountain Rescue, Life Flight and Oregon Army National Guard assisted with the search. His body was found more than 1,800 feet down the mountain from where he was last seen. An accidental fire burned part of the grandstands for the Philomath Frolic & Rodeo, but organizers and the community are committed to the adage the show must go on. The fires timing couldnt have been worse, Philomath City Manager Chris Workman, a member of the Frolic & Rodeos Board of Directors, said afterward. He got the call around 11 p.m. June 27, about 1 1/2 weeks ahead of the annual event, scheduled for July 7-9 this year. The southern end of the grandstands sustained heavy damage and were seemingly unusable, Workman said after the fire. A demolition crew led by Dennis Gibson Construction helped with the damaged section of the grandstands, which were hauled away by Republic Services. The event is a major benefit to the entire Philomath community, pulling in travelers and tourists and providing a valuable summer bump for local businesses of all sizes, Workman said in a phone interview. Its also an annual gathering of neighbors, friends and families, he said. Theres class reunions and family reunions that get scheduled around the Frolic weekend, Workman said. Its everything thats great about summer in a small town community. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Corvallis Gazette-Times. About a third of the around 2,200-seat capacity was destroyed in the fire, Workman said. Temporary bleachers have since been installed, restoring between 200 and 300 seats, he said, depending on whether some of the lower seats with limited visibility get used. The fire The blaze was significant; a fire official reporting seeing 100-foot-high flames from a distance. It reportedly took around 15 minutes to knock down the flames, but crews remained on the scene until after 1 a.m. No injuries were reported. The damage was estimated at $500,000. Workman said demolition work was donated by Gibson as part of a sponsorship trade, and credited the contractor for holding off other work to help the Frolic & Rodeo on short notice. Republic Service provided dumpsters, and others have stepped up with donations. We were inundated on the first day with people wanting to provide funds to help, Workman said. He noted at one point the day after the fire, the lines at Oregon State Credit Union's Philomath branch were all people looking to help with donations. Thanks to donations and community support, the cost of getting the stands ready for the event havent been too much, Workman said. But after the rodeo he expects to see some bigger bills based on whether the damaged stands are rebuilt as they were or replaced with something different or better. The community has taken really good care of us, he said. Between now and having the rodeo, were in really good shape. Insurance? The grandstands had minimal insurance, but a claim wont be filed, according to Workman, who said theres a concern among Frolic & Rodeo board members who fear a claim could result in the policy's cancellation. After looking at what insurance money could possibly come towards it, we decided to keep this one outside of insurance and just take care of it on our own, he said. Part of that decision had to do with the tremendous response weve had from supporters. Early investigations suggest the cause of the fire was a propane torch, according to Philomath Fire and Life Safety Officer Rich Saalsaa. He said an individual was using a propane torch within an hour of the fire to clear weeds in the area. Those looking to help with the eventual rebuilding of the stands can donate through the Oregon State Credit Union's Philomath branch either in-person or by calling 541-714-4000. Donations will also be accepted through the event's website at www.philomathfrolic.org. Colorado consumers will start noticing a 27-cent fee on receipts for almost everything that gets delivered to them, including restaurant food, Denver Enterprise Reporter A 40-year Colorado news veteran, Carol McKinley started in radio, and traveled the world as a network TV correspondent/producer. In 2021, she decided to return to local news. A Baghdad alum, she has 4 grown children and lives with her husband and her mom. Telefonica Moviles Mexico (Movistar) claims to have finished migrating its 3G and 4G data traffic onto AT&T Mexicos network after the firms signed a last mile agreement in late 2019. The agreement affords Movistar capacity on AT&T Mexicos nationwide 3G and 4G networks, and covers future technologies including 5G. As a result of the deal, Movistar returned all of its spectrum in the 1900MHz and 2500MHz at the start of 2020, freeing it from the coverage obligations of the latter band while raising EUR95 million (US$104 million). Through AT&Ts network, Movistar can deliver its 4G services to 83% of Mexicos population across 230 sites. CommsUpdate reports that this is a significant increase from the time that the companies signed their network sharing agreement, when these figures stood at 53% population coverage across 38 sites. Speaking to BNAmericas, Ana de Saracho - Movistars Head of Public Services, Regulation and Wholesale noted that despite the arrangement, Movistar remains an independent operator rather than an MVNO as it still manages its own traffic, customer service and IT systems. De Saracho noted that as a result of the migration, Movistar has decommissioned 58,000 infrastructure elements, including antennas, batteries and towers. Telefonica has transferred around 13% of the redundant network equipment to other units across its HispAm operations, sold a further 36%, and recycled the remainder. Mexican operator Telefonica Movistar has announced the signing of a last-mile wireless capacity access agreement with AT&T in Mexico. Parent company Telefonica, which has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, says that this a long-term agreement. With this agreement Telefonica Movistar gains access to capacity on AT&Ts 3G and 4G access network and any future access network technologies nationwide. Telefonica Movistar maintains its transport network and all of its platforms, without operational or geographical restrictions, to meet the needs of its users and services. Telefonica Movistar will maintain sole control over its operations, including its client portfolio, operations, assets, administration, pricing, rates and billing systems, among others. AT&T will have no visibility or influence on Telefonica Movistars operations. The migration of Telefonica Movistar traffic to the AT&T access network begins immediately and will continue to be implemented gradually, with Telefonica Movistar maintaining all mobile services to its residential customers, business owners and wholesalers. The agreement, says Telefonica, seeks to contribute to the development of the telecommunications sector in Mexico, adding to the government's vision of bringing better communications and opportunities to all Mexicans. The company adds that this agreement is also in line with international trends, in which new models have been built to face the demands of the market, such as improving the efficiency and quality of the network and accelerating the times of deployment of products or services. This wireless capacity agreement favours competition in the sector, Telefonica adds, by allowing better allocated resources to connect more Mexicans. Telkom tower subsidiary Mitratel is considering raising its fibre optic rollout target for this year past 6,000km on the back of increased demand for fibre optic broadband in Indonesia. Mitratel Investment Director Hendra Purnama said the demand for fibre optics has increased and so far, the company has deployed 2,117km of fibre, Republika reported. Fibre optic cables have been a focus for tower company Mitratel due to its ability to support 5G capacity commercial 5G services launched in Indonesia in 2021. Purnama added that 5G is the future of telecommunications but it requires a suitable ecosystem underneath it. In an update to the tower business, Mitratel president director Theodorus Hartoko revealed that 11,851 towers out of 28,206 have been connected to the fibre optic network. Hartoko added the 6,000km of fibre to be deployed will fulfil the needs of Indonesias operators to roll out 5G wider. Phoenix Tower International reached a definitive agreement to acquire 3,800 telecom sites from Chilean operator WOM for US$930 million, to make it the largest tower company in Chile. In a statement, the company detailed it will buy 2,334 tower sites and 1,466 additional sites by 2024. After the transaction, Phoenix claimed it will be the largest tower company in Chile. Its total portfolio will encompass over 22,000 towers in 19 countries. The deal is expected to close in Q3 this year subject to closing conditions. The purchase will be part funded by a financing facility led by Scotiabank and supplemented by Phoenix Tower's additional finance providers. Equity for the transaction was provided by various funds from the investment firm Blackstone. Phoneix Tower CEO Dagan Kasavana said: PTI is excited to enter the wireless infrastructure market in Chile. We have strong relationships with all four mobile network operators in the country, each of which will be deploying 5G networks in the near term. We are proud of our partnership with WOM and the continued expansion of the relationship that this transaction represents. WOM CEO Sebastian Precht added the deal brings financial resources to strengthen our position in the region. The operator is following other operators globally in selling off tower assets to fund 5G deployment, after launching commercial 5G services this year. The operator has a market share of 20% with a subscriber base of seven million. The feminist platform Yo Si Te Creo (I Believe You) in Cuba and the Observatory of the magazine Alas Tensas confirmed another murdered woman in the province of Holguin, with a total of four femicides documented by these independent initiatives in the last week. The most recent victim of violence against women was Arletty Reyes Batista, 24, who lived in a rural area of the municipality of Urbano Noris. The young woman, who studied Agro-Industrial Process Engineering at the University of Holguin, and was the mother of a four-year-old girl, died after leaving for said institution on June 25. The killer was a neighbor, the report stated. Her death comes in addition to those confirmed by the activists, who this week reported the case of Daniela Hernandez Terrero, murdered at the hands of her former partner and the father of her two children. The perpetrator committed suicide after committing the murder. This incident also occurred on June 25, in Centro Habana. The case of Tania Gonzalez, who perished on June 27 at the hands of her husband, and in the presence of her daughter and grandson, at her home in El Diezmero, in the Havana municipality of San Miguel del Padron, joins this list of fatal incidents. The fourth instance is that of the young Claudia Montes, who had been missing for two weeks and was finally found, murdered, in the municipality of Marti, Matanzas. The Yo Si Te Creo activists confirmed days later that the young woman was the victim of a "sexual femicide." The members of the initiative against violence against women stated that they are investigating two new alerts of possible femicides at this time. "To date, in 2022 alone our observatory has recorded 18 femicides," read the statement, which again insisted that the Cuban Government must declare "a gender violence emergency in Cuba." A report by Alas Tensas states that at least 36 women apparently died last year in Cuba at the hands of their partners, and another 32 suffered similar fates in 2020. To these cases may be added the disappearances of at least two young mothers: Yosleny Lopez Carpio, from Santa Clara, whose whereabouts have been unknown since June; and Yeniset Rojas Perez, from Ranchuelo, Villa Clara, in a similar situation for three and a half months, without the authorities having given their relatives any clues as to their possible whereabouts. In addition, 16-year-old Madeleysis Rosales has been missing since May 30, 2021, in Havana, while the fate of 21-year-old Addys Lopez Rosales, also from the capital, has been a mystery since May 2. The Dothan branch of the Salvation Army welcomed Major Linda Payton as its new officer this week, making her the latest in her familys multi-generational Salvation Army service. Payton is a fifth-generation Salvation Army officer on her fathers side, and fourth generation officer on her mothers side. Payton was born in Argentina and grew up in Puerto Rico for most of her childhood with her parents serving as missionary officers with the Salvation Army. She and her siblings grew up participating in the Salvation Armys community care ministries. When my family and I lived in Puerto Rico, we learned that the south side of the village closest to us did not have an English school where children could go and learn English, Payton said So, with the Salvation Army, my family and other helpers built a school for the community and that lasted for about four years before the community opened its own school. Payton has been with the Salvation Army for more than 31 years, since she was 14 years old. Almost every family member she knows or knows of has been heavily involved with the Salvation Army. The familys service dates to the late 1800s when her great-great grandmother on her mothers side joined the Corps. Her great-great grandfather and his sister joined the Corps together the same year. Paytons uncles, aunts, and most siblings have all been involved with or joined the Salvation Army. In her new Dothan role, Payton is excited to get out and meet members of the community. When I first got the news that I was being transferred to the Dothan branch, I had a couple pf coworkers come up to me and just boast about how helpful and appreciative the community is of the Salvation Army, Payton said. Once Payton gets settled into her new surroundings, she wants to start working on a project special to her. Closer to the fall, Payton hopes to restart the youth programs that were stopped or closed due to COVID. My goal for the fall is to really have some character-building programs like the youth program start back up again, she said. I really think the community would enjoy and benefit from starting something like that back up for the kids. I have heard by word of mouth that there are kids that will come up to our door every now and then and ask when will we start the youth programs back up, and I would like to try and give them that program back and help the kids. Payton also wants to start a Senior Angels program similar to the Angel Tree program that the Salvation Army holds every year around Christmas. Instead of buying toys for boys and girls, the Senior Angels program would focus on providing and helping those in assisted living or elderly facilities. From the ones I have seen, the Senior Angels dont really ask for much, Payton said. There was one who asked for a toaster, which is something relatively cheap to get but they just didnt have one or a way to get one. Paytons top priority as she starts in Dothan is meeting those in the community and determining what would best help those in need. Thank you for all your help over the years, Payton said. We (Salvation Army) couldnt do what we do for the community without the support from everyone, and I look forward to meeting as many people as I can here. The 26-year-old man with a lengthy rap sheet charged in the killing of a Bibb County deputy sheriff should not have been out of lockup when the deadly shooting took place, according to some state authorities. Austin Patrick Hall, charged with capital murder in the slaying Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson and attempted murder in the wounding of Deputy Chris Poole, had been in trouble with the law beginning in his teens. Hall had at least 46 criminal charges lodged against him since 2016. Halls criminal history has been scrutinized and used in a call for stricter laws and reform to lessen the chance of something like Halls slaying happening again. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Wednesday issued a statement on Halls criminal past, calling the states Good Time Law which allows inmates to shave off incarceration days with good behavior in prison broken. Marshall also talked about Hall being out on bond for arrests that took place following his formal release from the Alabama Department of Corrections. At the time of last weeks shooting, Hall had completed a prison sentence for an earlier crime and was not on parole or probation. Cam Ward, director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, said he agrees with Marshalls concerns, saying good time needs to be more equitable. Ward also said that better communication among state, county and city law enforcement agencies, as well as court systems, could help to prevent future tragedies. Im like everybody else in that if he (Hall) had that many charges, that many convictions, he shouldnt have been out, Ward said. Point blank he shouldnt have been out. And we see that a lot. Halls first encounter with the law came in 2016 when he was charged with theft and burglary, for which he received probation. While on probation, he was arrested on nine new charges of theft and burglary, Marshall said. Hall pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and, in 2018, was sentenced to nine years and nine months in state prison, likely because of his criminal history, Marshall said. Hall was on work release with the Alabama Department of Corrections in 2019 when he escaped. He was on the run for more than a month when he was taken into custody following a police chase that ended in Georgia. In that case, Oxford police officers tried to stop Hall when they spotted a vehicle that had been reported stolen out Pelham. Police tried to pull over the vehicle but the driver Hall refused to stop and a chase ensued eastbound on Interstate 20. The pursuit ended when Georgia State Patrol pitted the suspect at mile marker 5. Halls vehicle overturned but he was not injured. Despite this, after serving less than four years of his sentence, the shooter was awarded correctional incentive time (good time), which was, and inexplicably remains, permissible under the states ultra-lenient incentive time law, Marshall said. At the time of his capture, Hall also had outstanding warrants in Chilton County for domestic violence. While he was being held in the Calhoun County Jail in 2020 after his recapture, court records show, authorities say Hall attacked an officer and tried to choke him. He was charged with second-degree assault. Hall was indicted in Calhoun County in May on 10 charges of second-degree receiving stolen property, reckless endangerment, second-degree assault, certain persons prohibited from carrying a firearm, drug possession, resisting arrest, attempting to elude and third-degree burglary. Those indictments stem from the 2019 incidents in Calhoun County. Hall ended his sentence on April 8, 2022, and was fully released from the Department of Corrections custody and supervision. Days after his release from state custody, the shooter bonded out of jail on 10 new charges in Calhoun County and 12 new charges in Chilton Countyincluding charges of assaulting a police officer and illegally possessing a firearm, Marshall said. In both counties, his bond was set in keeping with the recommended fee range. After he made bond, the shooter walked free to await his trial. Marshall said as was the case with the 2021 death of Sheffield police Sgt. Nick Risner, this tragedy requires that we reassess the state laws and policies that abetted this shooter in the death of Deputy Brad Johnson. He said, as he has said previously, that Correctional Incentive Time laws are broken. Had the shooter served his entire sentence, he would not have been able to commit his brazen crime spree across our state, which ended in capital murder, the attorney general said. Furthermore, an inmate who escapes custody should never, under any circumstance, be rewarded with early release. Ward said he agrees with Marshall on the need for changes in the good time laws. Good time does have a place in the criminal justice system, Ward said. The problem were seeing with good time is a lot of times, someones getting credit only for the good. It should be a more equitable system. You count good time, but every time theres an escape or a violent act or youve made an infraction, it should be counted against that good time, so you have a true measure of whether someone is doing it right or not, he said. In this case, Marshall is correct, Ward said. There are instances where were not truly balancing out the entire picture of good time. Good time has a role. The problem is, youve got to count the bad days with the goods days, and right now theyre just counting the good days. Additionally, Marshall said, the crime of assaulting a police officer should be a Class B felony, not a Class C felony. The bond schedule for assaulting a police officer needs to be increased to better account for the severity of the crime. Class B felonies are punishable by two to 20 years in prison. Class C felonies are punishable by a minimum of one year and one day to a maximum of 10 years in prison. As I said last week, Alabamas justice system failed the Bibb County Sheriffs Office and Deputy Brad Johnson. I stand ready to partner with the Alabama Legislature to correct these deficiencies at the earliest opportunity and will continue to fight against any effort to further weaken Alabamas criminal justice system. Ward said a calamity of errors took place in Halls case that just shouldnt have happened. Its kind of baffling, he said. The system overall needs to be overhauled. He said because of a disjointed communication system between state county and city, oftentimes you dont get a complete picture of somebody. Right now, to get a complete picture of that guy, I had to go into five or six databases to figure out his complete picture, he said. Its so easy now in hindsight to look back and point fingers, but how was he out on bail? Its easy to point fingers after a tragedy, it is, but we all agree theres some holes that weve got to tighten up, he said. People making the decisions sometimes are not getting the complete picture of the person theyre making a decision on. When you piece together his timeline, theres multiple holes that need to be fixed, Ward said. A lot of times, its going to be boring, mundane reforms, but its the kind that communication that can make all the difference in the world. Sullivan has worked at bars such as Lyaness, Baccarat Bar in Harrods and 1806 in Melbourne with her latest role being at Hackney, Londons Bar With Shapes for a Name. Andrea Montague, head of advocacy at Edrington UK said: Beckie joins us with a wealth of industry experience, working across some of the worlds leading bars. Her industry knowledge, experience with menu design, cocktail experimentation and customer experience, will all be assets to our team and to the Courvoisier brand. The ambassador role will include bartender engagement activities, education around Cognac and how best to drink it, wider customer activations, and the creation of exciting new cocktail recipes for Courvoisier, demonstrating how best to enjoy Cognac. Commenting on the role, Sullivan said: Courvoisier was the first Cognac I ever worked with, so I am delighted to be working with such a well-known portfolio. As we continue to showcase Cognacs versatility, Im excited to lead the way following its new design, whilst bringing my expertise to the role and even more joy to Maison Courvoisier. A person holds a pack of ST25 rice at a shop in Ho Chi Minh City in April 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran Rice exports to the U.S. surged by 71.3 percent in the first five months, the highest growth rate of any market, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said. American consumers like Vietnamese long-grain fragrant rice varieties such as ST25, adjudged the worlds best in 2019, and for the last two years the U.S. has been importing it, according to that countrys Department of Agriculture. Vietnamese rice is also gaining popularity in the E.U. In June, 500 tons of Com Vietnam rice was exported to Germany, the Netherlands and France for the first time. It was sold at Carrefour in France, the biggest hypermarket chain in Europe. Rice was among nine agricultural items whose exports in the first five months of this year topped US$1 billion, with coffee, rubber and cashew being some of the others. But Vietnamese rice faces challenges since competitors Thailand and India sell their products at lower prices after their currencies depreciated. Thailands 5 percent broken rice has seen prices fall by 6 percent from a month ago to $420-425 per ton. Prices in India are now at $355-360 compared to $418-423 in Vietnam. Vietnam is forecast to export 6-6.2 million tons of the grain this year, same as the last two years, according to the Vietnam Food Association. In late May, North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles, for a total of 23 so far this year. This is yet another step in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, or DPRKs on-going development of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, which fly in the face of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a written statement. The DPRKs continued pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, and ballistic missile programs pose a threat to international peace and security. Therefore, on May 27, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on one individual, one trading company and two Russian banks for facilitating the DPRKs ability to continue the development of its WMD, ballistic missile, and military programs. Jong Yong Nam is a representative in Minsk, Belarus, of a subsidiary of the DPRKs Second Academy of Natural Sciences, or SANS. SANS, which is responsible for research and development of the DPRKs advanced weapons systems, was designated by the U.S. State Department in 2010 and by the United Nations in 2013. The U.S. Department of the Treasury also designated the Air Koryo Trading Corporation, Bank Sputnik, and Far Eastern Bank. Through Air Koryo Trading Corporation, the U.S.-designated DPRK Ministry of Rocket Industry has sought to acquire various electrical components and dual-use goods. Bank Sputnik has assisted the UN- and U.S.-designated DPRK Foreign Trade Bank with the facilitation of a payment for the use of Russian satellite services. It also holds a Russian ruble account for a U.S.-designated Foreign Trade Bank front company, Korea Ungum Corporation. Far Eastern Bank has provided banking services on behalf of the U.S.-designated national airline of the DPRK, Air Koryo, and other DPRK government organizations. These sanctions freeze any assets that these entities and individuals may have under U.S. jurisdictions, and bar Americans from doing business with them. [The Department of the] Treasury is targeting supporters of the DPRKs WMD and ballistic missile programs, as well as foreign financial institutions that have knowingly provided significant financial services to the DPRK government, said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. The United States will continue to implement and enforce existing sanctions while urging the DPRK to return to a diplomatic path and abandon its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. Hong Kong: 1-year plan to help grassroots pupils Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki will lead a working group to help underprivileged students break the cycle of intergenerational poverty through a one-year scheme aimed at grassroots junior secondary school students. Chief Executive John Lee today announced he was setting-up the working group to be led by the Chief Secretary. Mr Chan told reporters that a one-year scheme would be rolled out, with the preliminary plan to target about 2,000 students in the first batch. We had different schemes in the past on how to help underprivileged people, but for this one, it will mainly help the secondary students. Most of them are from grassroots families and we want to help them (break) away from intergenerational poverty. This is important. We have to help them. And then, I think, the most important thing is that we need to teach them how to achieve a proper goal in life, how to plan their life, how to achieve their goal and how to make their dreams, step by step, come true. I think this is a very important focus that we are doing now. He added that financial assistance will be provided to the participating students, but their mentor will be the one who decides how the funds are spent, which could include using the money to sign up for courses. This story has been published on: 2022-07-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Before full implementation of F2F classes NANCY WANTS DEPED TO EXTEND FREE TESTING SUPPORT TO TEACHERS ...says protocols in place to ensure safety of teachers, students Senator Nancy Binay called on the government to ensure that all school staff are fully vaccinated and that schools are fully compliant with safety protocols even before the planned implementation of full face to face classes in November. "As a parent, syempre, before na mag-full face-to-face sa November, gusto rin nating yung mga teacher at support staff ay bakunado at may booster, trained sila for the new normal, yung classrooms are well-ventilated, health and safety protocols are strictly implemented, maayos ang spacing ng mga estudyante, may tubig at sabon sa wash areas at CR. Ibig sabihin, by September, schools must be ready and compliant," Binay said. Binay added that the necessary testing protocols must be in place to ensure the safety of teachers and students. "Dagdag pa siguro, DepEd must see to it that our teachers and students have the necessary support from the government in terms of testing, na 'pag may suspected cases or symptoms sa school, free testing and treatment are extended to them," Binay added Meanwhile, the senator also urged the Department of Health (DOH) to fast track giving booster shots to learners. "Yung DOH sana, habang nasa bakasyon ang mga bata, i-fasttrack na nila ang pagbibigay ng booster shots sa 12-17 at doon sa mga younger learners in time for the phasing-in in September," she said. She also enjoined local government units to help the Department of Education (DepEd) in mapping which schools are already 100% compliant. "Kailangan ng DepEd na ma-asses ang readiness ng mga private and public schools kung may minimum itong kakayanan to handle a public health situation--na hindi lamang naka-sentro sa Covid--at nakaantabay din ang LGU kung sakaling kailangan ng ayuda," she added. Binay said she has confidence in Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio and that she is looking forward to a much improved education sector. "I believe VP Sara has already been fully briefed pagdating sa implementation ng face-to-face classes, and she and the President were given actionable recommendations," she said. ATLANTA, Georgia Thousands of members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America and guests gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, this week for the BPO Elks National Convention. During the convention, Ben Reed Jr. of Lamoille, Nevada, was installed as District Deputy for the BPO Elks for lodges in the North District of the Nevada State Elks Association and will serve a one-year term. The BPO Elks is one of the premier patriotic and charitable organizations in the United States of America and is committed to making its communities better places to live. Each year, the Order donates more than $375 million in cash, goods, and services to the needy, students, people with disabilities, active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces and their families, veterans and their families, and charitable organizations. In the 154 years since the Orders founding, the BPO Elks has made charitable donations totaling approximately $12 billion. As part of the Elks ongoing commitment to help students achieve their goals, the Elks National Foundation awards annual college scholarships worth a total of more than $4.5 million to students across the country. To help local lodges make positive changes in their communities, the Elks National Foundations Community Investments Program provides local Elks lodges with nearly $16 million to help them build stronger communities. This year, the Elks National Veterans Service Commission proudly celebrates 75 years of service to veterans and military members. Through the Elks National Veterans Service Commission, Elks give generously of their time, energy, and resources. Elks provide direct service to veterans at more than 350 VA medical centers, state veterans homes, and clinics; use grants to provide veterans with food, supplies, and support; and provide beds, supplies, and emergency assistance to veterans experiencing homelessness. Elks pledge never to forget our veterans and keep that pledge every day. To learn more and join us in service, visit Elks.org. For membership information, visit Join.Elks.org. ELKO Proposed art displays in downtown Elko are being postponed after the Redevelopment Agency voted to focus on sidewalk renovations instead. The RDA voted 3-1 to hold off on the pedestals after City Planner Cathy Laughlin explained bids could come in over $100,000. Although the RDA authorized city staff to seek quotes or go out for a competitive bid, Laughlin said she and City civil engineer Bob Thiebault were concerned about the increasing costs, which would include an additional 35% for prevailing wage. The art pedestal project was launched in connection with Phase 1 of the Downtown Corridor renovation that included adding the Centennial Tower and Centennial Park. A block-ends project landscaped the parking lots at Fourth and Sixth streets and included four concrete slabs intended for 18-inch pedestals, Eventually the pedestals would house rotating works of art and sculptures from contracted artists every two to three years in an agreement with the City costing between $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the artist. The art pedestal concept was introduced to the RDA in 2019 by the Elko Arts and Culture Advisory Board to host works from artists, including those affiliated with the Burning Man Foundation. It would be similar to other cities in Nevada that have rotating exhibits from the events participants. Laughlin said the City had put the word out for art proposals, but had not received any applications yet. The deadline is July 15. However the final cost of the art pedestals might hinder the progress of the overall corridor project, which is to be completed in 2028, Laughlin added. The city receives $300,000 to $350,000 a year in tax increment which could be used up on the art pedestals if the RDA gave the green light to go out for bids. The more of these projects that we do that are $100,000, $200,000, or $300,000; thats just moving us further away from the goal of getting the corridor completed, Laughlin said. We only have until 2028 to get the corridor project completed. RDA members Clair Morris and Giovanni Puccinelli each expressed doubts about moving forward with the art pedestals due to rising costs of steel and concrete. They stated the upcoming sidewalk phase of the corridor project along the 400 and 500 block of Railroad and Commercial streets needed to be the priority due to safety concerns. To spend that kind of money to bring in Burning Man art doesnt make any sense to me. We have other projects down there as in sidewalks and things that are more of a safety issue than this art, Morris said. Im not saying art shouldnt be there at some point, but this isnt the time to do it. Puccinelli agreed with Morris. Maybe we take this money and go with sidewalks, which is a safety issue and a big concern to me. Maybe kick this rock down the road, I guess is the best way to put it. Morris, who made the motion to postpone the art pedestals, added that the RDA could revisit them if the price in concrete and steel drops, which he hopes could happen. But I just cant see spending that kind of money for that. Morris and Puccinelli also suggested putting benches on the half-circle concrete slabs that were poured as placeholders for $7,500. However, RDA member Mandy Simons and Arts and Culture Advisory Chair Catherine Wines questioned the Citys previous decision to add the slabs when the pedestal project had already been approved. Simons, who voted against the motion to postpone the pedestals, said it didnt make sense at all to pour the half-circle concrete pads months ago, but it was the City who insisted on doing that. Thiebault explained the decision to install the concrete was made in expectation that it could be removed, but he was unsure of how thick to make the pad to sustain the weight of the pedestal and art at the time the block-ends project was underway. There was no art to design around. There were too many questions and no answers at the time, he said. At the time it was decided maybe we do the cheapest thing we can do right now, expecting that no matter what we do, its either going to be overdesigned or underdesigned. Laughlin said benches could be installed on three of the four concrete pads, and one would be used to install a steel sphere. Wines told the RDA she had recommended the slabs not be poured months ago, believing the project would be pushed back. She also responded to Morris comment about the type of art that would be installed. I understand the reservation about Burning Man art, but it doesnt need to come from there, it doesnt have to, she said. Weve got people in Salt Lake, sculptors possibly going to submit something. All art from Burning Man doesnt represent crazy, naked hippies. Its not all terrible. I think that this is an important part of the kind of culture that were trying to build downtown. Wines also expressed her doubts about installing benches on the slabs because downtown businesses have asked it to be removed because the only people that sit on them are homeless people. I dont think they will ever be sat on and I think in a year well be coming to you and saying, Will you remove the benches. Theres homeless people sleeping on them all the time. "You see the direction we're going folks, you see what the intent is? Be softer on the criminals and with no concern toward the victims, he said. FERNLEY (AP) A rural Nevada judge said Tuesday she won't decide until September whether to proceed toward a trial in Lyon County on all the charges facing a man accused of kidnapping and killing a Fernley teenager in March. Public defenders for Troy Driver filed a motion last week to dismiss the first-degree murder charge in Lyon County's justice court in Fernley. They argue he can't be tried on that charge in Lyon County because 18-year-old Naomi Irion was killed in neighboring Churchill County. Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye told Justice of the Peace Lori Matheus in court in Fernley on Tuesday he plans to file his formal opposition to the motion next week. Matheus said she'll give him until July 20. She plans to hear arguments about the venue dispute in mid-September at the same time she scheduled a preliminary hearing on the murder, kidnapping, robbery, burglary and destruction of evidence charges. That hearing Sept. 13-15 will determine whether there's enough evidence to bound Driver over for trial in Lyon County District Court on some or all of the charges. Sheriff's deputies acting on a tip found Irion's body March 29 buried in the high desert of Churchill County northeast of Fernley, where they say she was abducted from a Walmart parking lot on March 12. The evidence-destruction charge stems in part from prosecutors' allegation that Driver bought new tires for his pickup truck and disposed of the old ones after he drove to the remote spot in Churchill County where they say he shot her in the head and buried her in a shallow grave. Driver is scheduled to appear at the September hearing at the justice court in Fernley in person for the first time since his March arrest on the kidnapping charge. He made his appearance at Tuesday's status hearing via a video hookup as he has before from the Lyon County jail in Yerington where he remains held without bond. Rye told the judge Tuesday he thought it made the most sense to conduct the preliminary hearing to determine if there's enough evidence to bound Driver over for trial before settling questions about legal jurisdiction. Public defender Richard Davies said he didn't oppose that sequence at this time. The defense motion filed last Wednesday cites a Nevada Supreme Court ruling last year that forced separate prosecutions of a Salvadoran immigrant, Wilber Ernesto Martinez Guzman, who eventually pleaded guilty to four murders in two northern Nevada counties. Driver's lawyers say investigators acknowledged in the criminal complaint that the evidence shows Irion was killed in Churchill County where her body was found. Prosecutors said in charging Driver, 41, of Fallon, days later that he abducted Irion in Lyon County from a Walmart parking lot in Fernley on March 12 for the purpose of committing sexual assault and/or purpose of killing her. Such an intent would establish jurisdiction for a Lyon County murder trial under the high courts ruling in the case of Martinez Guzman. But Drivers lawyers say prosecutors wont be able to prove Driver was the kidnapper, and therefore cant establish he had the intent or committed the necessary preparatory act to be tried for murder in Lyon County. Leaders of Phu Yen Province receive the visiting US Ambassador. (Photo: baodautu.vn) That is the message shared by Secretary of Phu Yen Provincial Party Committee Pham Dai Duong with Mr. Marc E. Knapper, US Ambassador to Vietnam on the occasion of his visit to attend activities of the Pacific Partnership Program - PP22. On July 4, greeting key leaders of Phu Yen Province, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper expressed his impression of the country and people of Phu Yen. He said that he has come to Phu Yen for many days to participate in PP22 program activities and is always greeted with warm affection from the people and local authorities. With 4 main groups of activities in construction, health care, disaster prevention and community exchange, PP22 has promoted relations between the people of the two countries. Regarding the development strategy of Phu Yen Province, the US Ambassador was particularly impressed and agreed with the orientation calling for investment projects associated with the use of environmentally friendly renewable energy. According to Secretary of the Phu Yen Provincial Party Committee Pham Dai Duong, there are a number of US-invested projects in this province, operating in the fields of afforestation for raw materials, production of essential oils, electronic components and industrial glass for export. However, this initial result is still very modest compared to the potential of the US as well as the development needs of Phu Yen Province. Therefore, the province wishes the Ambassador to continue to introduce potential US businesses and investors to invest in Phu Yen, meeting the interests of both sides. "Phu Yen province is committed to creating all the most favourable conditions for US investors to study and conduct feasibility studies to be able to conduct investment projects in the near future," said Mr. Duong. Previously, on July 3, Program PP22, took place in Phu Yen Province with the participation of Australia, Japan, the UK and the US. The PP22 team performed 23 medical procedures and examined 650 patients on the hospital ship USNS Mercy, performed by American, Australian, Japanese, and Vietnamese doctors and nurses. In addition, 10 performances of the band with musicians from 4 countries attracted 6,700 spectators. 115 professional exchange sessions were also held. The PP22 has successfully implemented a wide range of humanitarian activities and projects, benefiting the local community in Phu Yen./. Ambassador Dang Thi Thu Ha presents her credentials to Beninese Foreign Minister Aurelien Agbenonci. (Photo: baoquocte.vn) The Vietnamese Ambassador pledged that she will work hard for stronger traditional friendship between the two countries for the interest of the peoples of both sides. She proposed some solutions to promote bilateral relations in all fields, especially politics, economy and trade as well as cooperation at multilateral forums. Beninese Foreign Minister Aurelien Agbenonci highlighted the sound relations between Benin and Vietnam, and showed admiration for the socio-economic achievements of Vietnam in recent years. He said that the two sides will take specific steps to further promote their friendship and cooperation, especially as both sides are preparing for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2023. After the presentation, the Vietnamese Ambassador paid courtesy calls to Beninese Minister of Agriculture Gaston Cossi Dossouhoui and Minister of Industry and Trade Alimatou Shadiya Assouman. She also had a meeting with leaders of the Benin Chamber of Commerce and Industry and leaders of the Council of Owners and a number of officials at Benins Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two sides discussed specific measures in the bilateral relations, and agreed to support each other at multilateral forums. They also agreed to bolster partnership in promising fields such as agriculture, aquaculture, trade, investment, and cashew processing. Ms. Ha affirmed that Vietnam is willing to give technical support, share experience and cooperate with Benin in agriculture as well as areas Vietnam has strength. The two sides agreed to propose to authorised agencies of the two countries the establishment of sub-committees for cooperation in particular areas, along with the increase of delegation exchange and the appointment of honourary consuls in each country. Initially, the two countries will organize online meetings to connect businesses of both sides. On the occasion, the Ambassador also had a meeting with the Vietnamese community in Benin./. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai speaks at the forum (Photo: VNA) Undersecretary for Foreign Trade in Mexico's Secretariat of Economy Luz Maria de la Mora spoke highly of the bilateral economic and trade relations, affirming that Mexico considers Vietnam a strategic market in the Asia-Pacific region. She expressed her hope that the two countries authorised agencies will continue strengthening close coordination in the coming time and their businesses will effectively take advantage of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), contributing to promoting bilateral trade turnover as well as post-pandemic economic recovery. The official affirmed that the Mexican Secretariat of Economy will create all favourable conditions and provide maximum support for the two business communities. For his part, Deputy Minister Hai stated that Mexico is currently Vietnam's second largest trading partner in Latin America, and Vietnam is Mexico's eighth largest trader in Southeast Asia. He quoted statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs as saying that two-way trade turnover grew positively in 2021, reaching 5.06 billion USD, up 37.5% year-on-year. The figure hit 2.33 billion USD in the first five months of 2022, up 21.9% year-on-year. Vietnam wishes to further increase the trade and investment value with Mexico, with a focus on energy, telecommunications, high-tech agriculture and high value-added industries, said Hai. Earlier, the two officials reviewed the outcomes of the third session of the joint committee, and discussed measures to promote bilateral economic and trade ties in the coming time./. Press Release July 6, 2022 Poe refiles bill to end digital, mobile phone-aided fraud Sen. Grace Poe has refiled her bill seeking to stop all forms of fraud, perpetrated using mobile phones and the internet, which has led millions of unsuspecting Filipinos deeper into poverty. The essence of Poe's bill (filed, awaiting no.) is captured by its title, "An Act eradicating mobile phone, internet or electronic communication-aided criminal activities, mandating for this purpose ownership registration of all subscriber identity module (SIM) cards for electronic devices and social media accounts" or simply the "SIM Card Registration Act." "We must not turn a blind eye to the untold misery of millions of our people who are further mired in debts and sunk in poverty after falling prey to these unceasing text scams," Poe said. Under the bill, public telecommunications entities (PTE) shall require SIM card registration as a prerequisite to its sale and activation. All social media account providers shall also require real name and phone number upon creation of account. "Registration shall be at no cost to end users," Poe stressed. All existing SIM card subscribers shall register with their respective PTEs within 180 days from the measure's effectivity. An extension of 120 days shall be allowed upon a valid written request to the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Failure to do so will authorize the PTEs to automatically retire the SIM card number. The registration form shall be accomplished electronically and kept in a centralized database of the PTE, which shall secure and protect it. No disclosure of information obtained in the registration process shall be allowed except in compliance with any law obligating it in accordance with the Data Privacy Act, upon court order or with the written consent of the subscriber. Breach of confidentiality by any PTE shall be meted penalties: first offense, a fine not to exceed P300,000; second offense, not more than P500,000; third and subsequent offense, a fine not exceeding P1 million for every offense. The unauthorized sale of registered SIM cards shall also be penalized by imprisonment of no less than six years and/or a fine of P200,000. It can be recalled that the 18th Congress passed the Poe-sponsored measure, which faced a snag when it was vetoed by the last administration owing to the provision on social media account registration proposed by former Sen. Franklin Drilon. Poe said she is open to discussing with her colleagues in the new Congress if the said provision can be incorporated anew in the bill or as a subject of another legislation. As of March 31, 2022, Globe has 87.4 million subscribers while Smart has 70.3 million. As of end-2021, Dito reported having five million subscribers. "To many Filipinos, the mobile phone is their only means to survive and thrive. They deserve our all-out protection and support," Poe reminded. State Dept says G20 countries should put pressure on Russia to 'resume' shipping grain by sea U.S Assistant Secretary from the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Ramin Toloui said the G20 countries "should hold Russia accountable" to "support ongoing UN efforts to reopen the sea lanes for grain delivery." "G20 countries should insist that it [Russia] support ongoing UN efforts to reopen the sea lanes for grain delivery," Toloui said at a briefing on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's upcoming trip to Indonesia and Thailand. He recalled that the UN is now undertaking an initiative "to try to reopen the Black Sea to commerce to get Ukrainian and Russian foodstuffs and fertilizer to global markets." According to him, the issues of energy and food security will be among the main topics of the upcoming talks of the G20 foreign ministers. He added that during the upcoming meeting with the G20, Blinken will seek to mobilize additional support from the group's member countries "to address critical food needs by mobilizing additional humanitarian and development assistance." The meeting of the G20 foreign ministers will be held in Bali on July 7-8. The Podilsky District Court of Kyiv ruled to seize the property of Brocard Ukraine LLC as part of criminal proceedings. The corresponding decision was made on May 18, 2022, however, on June 20, the seizure was partially lifted at the company's request, according to the decision published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions. Thus, the ban on changing the director, the location of a legal entity, changing the statutory documents, except for the composition of participants, the size of their shares in the charter capital and changing its volume, has been lifted. According to the document, criminal proceedings against Brocard Ukraine LLC are carried out under Part 5 of Article 191 (appropriation, embezzlement of property or taking possession of it by abuse of official position), Part 2 of Article 110-2 (financing of actions committed with the aim of forcibly changing or overthrowing the constitutional order or seizing state power) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. As reported, the French perfume holding Philippe Benacin Holding acquired the companies-owners of the Ukrainian chain of stores Brocard, as notified by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. At the same time, the AMCU has not yet made a decision on the need to obtain a concentration permit. By the beginning of 2022, the Brocard chain consisted of about 100 stores in 26 cities of Ukraine. The company's staff was 1,800 people. According to the company, the total chain turnover amounted to UAH 4.126 billion in 2020. Since 2010, Brocard Ukraine has been owned by an offshore Cypriot holding with Russian owners, and the ultimate beneficiary of the Brocard Ukraine companies has been Tatiana Volodina, the owner of the Russian chain L'Etoile. Sales of salt in Silpo chain quadruple, of vinegar triple, and of sugar double in June In June, the Silpo supermarket chain recorded a fourfold increase in sales of salt, 3.5 times of soda, three times of vinegar, and twice as much sugar as compared to June last year, the retailer's press service reported. As noted in the release, the excitement for these categories of goods was caused by a chain reaction after the news about the suspension of the work of the Artemsol enterprise in Donetsk region. In particular, despite the fact that simultaneously with the suspension, Silpo brought sufficient volumes of salt to Ukraine from Poland, Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria, demand for salt quadrupled, and the very possibility of its shortage triggered an increase in demand for other social goods. In June, sales of soda increased by 2.5 times, which Silpo delivers mainly from Turkey. Certain interruptions in the supply of vinegar were observed in early June. There are two large vinegar producers in Ukraine, they depend on the supply of acetic acid from abroad, but they managed to establish supplies and stabilize the situation. The sale of sugar doubled. The supermarket chain coped with increased demand by increasing the supplies of Ukrainian sugar producers. The Silpo chain, part of Fozzy Group, consists of 325 supermarkets in 60 cities of Ukraine and four Le Silpo deli markets in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkov and Odesa. Fozzy Group is one of the largest Ukrainian retailers with more than 690 outlets throughout the country. PrJSC Philip Morris Ukraine welcomes the actions of the Ukrainian authorities to restore the economy, improve the investment climate and business conditions, however, the company said that over the past few months it has been facing numerous unfounded claims from the authorities. "Due to the stoppage of production in Ukraine, we refocused on imports and immediately faced more than a week of downtime of our products at customs due to bureaucratic procedures for calculating VAT on tobacco products. Then the work of our warehouses was paralyzed by actual inspections by the State Tax Service with unfounded accusations. And any delay in the sale of our products means lost sales and, accordingly, unpaid excise tax, the amount of which can reach UAH 100 million daily," Maksym Barabash, CEO of the company, said in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine. He noted that such delays are especially strange in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion, when the country needs money due to a huge state budget deficit. According to the company's general director, representatives of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) came to the Philip Morris warehouse in Kyiv on June 24 to conduct a search an urgent investigative action that lasted several days, including during air raids. "In our opinion, there were no legal grounds for conducting a search by the BES representatives. As a result, a batch of foreign-labeled cigarettes was temporarily seized. This product was produced before the war for the Japanese market and, due to obvious circumstances, cannot be exported. The product is legal stored in warehouses," Barabash explained. The head emphasized that such a situation interferes with the normal operation of the business and leads to a shortfall of millions of hryvnias in taxes for the state, and the company incurs significant time costs "for explaining obvious things." Another issue that the company is now solving is the disappearance of a large batch of cigarettes from the customs warehouse at one of the airports in Ukraine, which Philip Morris planned to export to Japan. Now the company finds out under what circumstances and where they disappeared. "In order for investors to be interested in participating in the recovery programs announced in Lugano, the authorities must take concrete steps so that businesses do not have to deal with such actions of government officials that we constantly face," Barabash stated. Philip Morris International, which includes PrJSC Philip Morris Ukraine, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of tobacco products. Over the two months of operation of the United24 platform, $76.8 million has already been collected in charitable donations from 90 countries of the world, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said on his Telegram channel. According to him, the largest number of donations came from the United States, Germany, France, Canada, Great Britain and Ukraine. "Donor countries independently choose the direction of assistance to Ukraine. For example, the defense and demining of Ukraine became a priority for the United States, and medical assistance for Germany. A significant part of the funds also goes to the reconstruction of our country," he said. Fedorov noted that the necessary equipment for the Ukrainian military, devices for doctors that save lives in hotspots have already been purchased. A public report on the funds spent is published weekly. As reported, on May 5 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the launch of the United24 global initiative - the plan for the recovery and development of Ukraine, which will be financed from a special fund that accumulates and redistributes money. One of the fund's elements was the online fundraising platform United24. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal estimated the necessary size of the fund at $600 billion, about half of which is expected to be financed through reparations or other types of compensation from Russia. As a result of the Russian armed aggression in Ukraine, some 346 children were killed, over 645 were wounded, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has said. "As of the morning of July 6, 2022, over 991 children suffered in Ukraine as a result of the full-scale armed aggression of Russia. According to official information from juvenile prosecutors, some 346 children were killed and more than 645 were wounded. Children in Donetsk region suffered the most, namely 346 children, while 186 in Kharkiv; some 116 in Kyiv; some 68 in Chernihiv; some 61 in Luhansk; some 53 in Mykolaiv; some 52 in Kherson; some 31 in Zaporizhia," the PGO said in its Telegram channel. These figures are not final, since work is underway to establish them in places of active hostilities, in temporarily occupied and liberated territories. It became known about the death of a four-year-old girl who was seriously wounded on July 3 as a result of shelling by the aggressor in the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. On July 5, the invaders fired at the village of Pechenihy in Chuhuiv district of Kharkiv region. A two-year-old boy was wounded. Due to the bombing and shelling of the Russia armed forces, some 2,108 educational institutions were damaged and 215 were completely destroyed. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has arrived in Kyiv to express support for the Ukrainian people, The Irish Times said. Ireland will stand by Ukraine in the face of Russia's "immoral and unprovoked war of terror," Martin said ahead of his arrival in Kyiv this morning. "The bombardment and attacks on civilians are nothing short of war crimes, and I will use my visit to express Ireland's support for moves to hold those behind these attacks fully accountable," Martin said. The Prime Minister of Ireland has arrived in Kyiv, where he is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Martin will also discuss with the Ukrainian authorities how Ireland and the EU can support the current and future needs of the country. The Irish government says that Martin will personally see the destruction due to bombing and targeted attacks on civilians during the invasion and occupation by Russian troops. According to the statement, the prime minister "will reiterate Ireland's full backing for continuing sanctions against Putin's regime, for Ukraines path to full EU membership, as well as our commitment to work with EU colleagues to ensure the reconstruction of Ukraine." "The spirit and resolve of the Ukrainian people has inspired us all, and Ireland will provide every support for Ukraine's path to full EU Membership, and continue to welcome and support civilians fleeing this war," the prime minister said. Martin was invited to Ukraine last month by President Zelensky. The exact details of the visit last night were not released due to security concerns, but Martin was expected to travel to Kyiv by land from Poland. The first Ukrainian soldiers arrived in the UK for training, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has said. "The first rotation of Ukrainian soldiers has recently arrived in the UK. Training will take place on military training areas across the north-east, south-west and south-east regions. The training will be conducted by elements from 11 Security Force Assistance Brigade," Wallace said in a written statement on the British Parliament's website. According to him, Ukrainian soldiers will undertake courses based on the UK's basic soldier training. This includes weapons training, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics and training on the law of armed conflict. Each course will last several weeks. "Our ambition is to increase the scale and frequency of these courses, in line with Ukrainian requirements. We are also discussing with international partners options to broaden involvement in the training programme, working constructively with countries prepared to support either by contributing trainers or providing equipment," Wallace said. The minister said that in response to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the British government is providing Ukraine with military assistance in the amount of GBP 2.3 billion. This includes a commitment to lead an innovative program that aims to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian recruits in the UK. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, who arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday, July 6, on his first official visit, visited Bucha and Borodianka, which suffered from Russian occupation, Irish television RTE said. Martin started his visit to Ukraine with a trip to Borodianka, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv that was severely damaged by Russian shelling. In Borodianka, the Prime Minister toured apartment buildings that had been burned during Russian bombardment. Then the Prime Minister of Ireland visited the town city of Bucha, where he was shown a mass grave. "This war must stop," he said. Martin was invited to Ukraine last month by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The exact details of the visit last night were not released due to security concerns, but Martin was expected to travel to Kyiv by land from Poland. Victor Pinchuk Charitable Foundation purchased 12 pickup trucks from Europe and handed them over to two brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the Foundation's press release on Tuesday, before being transferred to combat positions, they carried out a technical diagnosis of the chassis, replaced the brakes, oil, painted in accordance with the requirements of camouflage and refueled. It is noted that the transfer of vehicles is part of the systemic support for the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Troops, which has been provided by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation since the first days of a full-scale invasion. Under the auspices of the Foundation are five military units defending Ukraine in the south and east, and two separate territorial defense battalions. Each military unit is provided with targeted assistance, taking into account the current combat missions and logistics of the unit, so the volume and composition of support varies. The greatest need for various instruments for reconnaissance, military optics, satellite communications and vehicles. Experienced specialists are involved in the purchase, who are able to quickly find working options, and after an expert assessment of the military and payment of the bill, organize logistics from anywhere in the world. "The brigades, which the Victor Pinchuk Foundation is engaged in, perform different tasks, and therefore their requests are different. We have already fulfilled several military requests for specific optics, communications equipment, multifunctional drones and other equipment. But our work continues. The cars were found for a month one by one in Europe, driven to Dnipro, where they carefully checked the technical condition, corrected the smallest defects and repainted. Now these are military pickups," Communications Director of Interpipe Liudmyla Novak said. In total, since the beginning of the war, the Victor and Olena Pinchuk Foundation, together with Interpipe, has sent more than $35 million to help the army and the civilian population. A local villager drinks soybean milk in Morogoro, Tanzania, on June 23, 2022. Soy milk, a traditional Chinese drink rich in flavor and nutrition, is becoming an increasingly popular drink among Tanzanians in villages in the Morogoro region west of Dar es Salaam. (China Agricultural University/Handout via Xinhua) DAR ES SALAAM, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Soymilk, a traditional Chinese drink that's rich in flavor and nutrition, is becoming an increasingly popular drink among Tanzanians in villages in the Morogoro region west of the East African nation's commercial capital Dar es Salaam. Although soybean milk is new on the menu for Tanzanians, they feel it is delicious. Tatu Seif, a 62-year-old farmer in Kitete village, said soybean milk tastes good. "I like it and hopefully my friends will like it. It's good for our health." The growing popularity of this new healthy drink has stemmed from a bilateral cooperative project in Tanzania, led by Chinese agricultural scientist Li Xiaoyuan this year. Li and his team of experts from the China Agricultural University (CAU) had decided to cooperate with the Morogoro authorities to promote the maize and soybean inter-planting project called "Small Bean and Big Nutrition". They selected four demonstration villages of Peapea, Kitete, Makuyu and Mtegowasimba as a pilot project in the region. Under the project, the experts in collaboration with the Morogoro authorities distributed soybean seeds to farmers in the four villages in January this year and provided on-site guidance on planting and management techniques. Until late May, a harvest season for the soybeans began, leaving the farmers with broad smiles. Sixty-year-old Nasoro Athumani was named Peapea village's best soybean farmer for 2022 after his family had grown soybean on a 0.75-acre plot, yielding about 400 kg of the bean. "Next year I am planning to plant soybeans on two acres," said the farmer with high expectations. Li said that maize is an important staple food in Africa while soybean can compensate for increased nutrition, adding that inter-planting soybean with maize can improve local nutritional structure more effectively. Rozalia Grayson Rwegasira, Assistant Administrative Secretary in Economic and Productive Sector of the Morogoro regional commissioner's office, commended CAU for introducing soymilk in the region, saying she expected the soy project to benefit as many people as possible, especially children and women. Rwegasira said the Morogoro authorities looked forward to strengthening ties with the CAU team of experts and rendering strong support to promoting agricultural cooperation. "Soybean milk is nice, especially for children under five, pregnant and lactating mothers to improve their health, and the project should reach as many people as possible," she said. Rwegasira added that the provision of milling machines to make soybean flours will assist farmers to make easily more soybean products and therefore it will also improve the income of farmers through sales of soybean products. This is not the first time Li Xiaoyun and his team has conducted agricultural aid projects in Tanzania. Since 2011, CAU has cooperated with Morogoro authorities to carry out the "Big Harvest with Small Technologies" project, which focused on increasing maize production and income. From just one household in one village in 2011 to more than a thousand households in a dozen villages, participants have more than doubled their maize harvest on average, boosted incomes, and improved their families' welfare and children's education. The CAU team, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, has managed to continue promoting the project through online guidance. Participants from both sides of the project, through emails, video conferences, as well as a group chat set up on the Chinese social media platform WeChat, are able to communicate the progress of the project in real-time. Ernest Robert Mkongo, former head of Economic and Productive Sector in Morogoro region, said the China-Tanzania agricultural cooperation program is very crucial in lifting people out of poverty. Mkongo, who has been Tanzania's coordinator for the project since 2011 and continues to work with CAU after his retirement, said there had never been scholars from any other country who were as diligent as the Chinese experts in visiting farming homes and plots of farmland. Mkongo is also confident that the local climate, soil and altitude conditions are favorable for soybean growth in Morogoro region, adding that the project will benefit more poor people in the future. In the future, Li hopes to use soybean milk to improve local nutrition and provide a nutritional alternative to more expensive animal protein, while soybean cakes and maize can be processed into feed and farmed to create a production chain. Local villagers cook soybean milk in Morogoro, Tanzania, on June 24, 2022. Soy milk, a traditional Chinese drink rich in flavor and nutrition, is becoming an increasingly popular drink among Tanzanians in villages in the Morogoro region west of Dar es Salaam. (China Agricultural University/Handout via Xinhua) Members of the maize and soybean inter-planting project "Small Bean and Big Nutrition" work in a field in Morogoro, Tanzania, on April 21, 2022. Soy milk, a traditional Chinese drink rich in flavor and nutrition, is becoming an increasingly popular drink among Tanzanians in villages in the Morogoro region west of Dar es Salaam. (China Agricultural University/Handout via Xinhua) Rozalia Grayson Rwegasira (R, Front), Assistant Administrative Secretary in Economic and Productive Sector of the Morogoro regional commissioner's office, presents the award of Peapea village's best soybean farmer for 2022 in Morogoro, Tanzania, on June 23, 2022. Soy milk, a traditional Chinese drink rich in flavor and nutrition, is becoming an increasingly popular drink among Tanzanians in villages in the Morogoro region west of Dar es Salaam. (China Agricultural University/Handout via Xinhua) Xinhua Net June 4th, 2022 After the international Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, at which more than 40 countries stated their willingness to contribute to this, it is necessary to start concrete implementation of the plans outlined there, President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen has said. "Let us start working on a good future for Ukraine. We need the best and the brightest on reconstruction. This is why, together with the German G7 presidency, we will convene a high-level conference after the summer," the head of the European Commission said at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Von der Leyen said the Commission has never before faced such a challenge, namely the von der Leyen of a colossal recovery, so all the strength is needed for this. She said these days the EU is working on assistance to Ukraine. Spain may allocate EUR 250 million to Ukraine through several different funding instruments, Secretary of State of the Foreign Ministry for International Cooperation Pilar Cancela Rodriguez said at the international Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano. According to her, a guarantee for EUR 100 million will be issued for the multi-donor fund of the World Bank, which provides direct financial support to the budget of Ukraine, and for another EUR 100 million a guarantee for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Speaking of another EUR 50 million, Pilar Cancela said the allocated money would go to food security and cities. The Secretary of State of the Foreign Ministry also said that earlier Spain allocated a humanitarian aid package to Ukraine, which became the largest approved for one country. The Ukrainian defenders suppressed the enemy offensive in Lozove direction, Kherson region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has said. "The Ukrainian defenders severely suppressed the invader's attempt to conduct an offensive operation in Lozove direction. The enemy continues to take measures to recover its losses," it said on a daily report posted on Facebook on Wednesday morning. In Volyn and Polissia directions, the situation did not change. No signs of forming the aggressor's offensive groups in the territory of Belarus were detected. In Siversky direction, the enemy shelled the Ukrainian defense positions near Zalizny Mist, Shalyhine, and Esman. The enemy is equipping its forward positions in the borderline districts. In Kharkiv direction, the aggressor attacked the districts of Sosnivka, Slatyne, Mala Danylivka, Cherkaski Tyshky, Vesele, Kutuzivka, Mospanove, Husarivka, Chepil, and Nova Mykolaivka from helicopters, tanks, mortars, and artillery systems. The Russian occupation forces mined from the distance the territory near Shestakove and Peremoha. In Slovyansk direction, the enemy mounted mortar and artillery attacks near Krasnopillia and Bohorodychne. The Ukrainian army repelled the assault near Dolyna, the enemy retreated. The occupation forces also conducted assault operations near Mazanivka. The battles continue. In Kramatorsk direction, the aggressor shelled the civilian infrastructure near Seversk and Hryhorivka. The Ukrainian defenders causes severe losses to the enemy during its offensive attempts near Verkhniokamianske, Bilohorivka, and Hryhorivka. The occupiers retreated. In Bakhmut direction, the aggressor shelled the Ukrainian defense positions using various artillery systems near Berestove, Bilohorivka, Maiske, Shumy, and New York. The enemy also mounted an airstrike near Vuhlehirsk Thermal Power Plant. The Russian occupation forces conducted an assault operation covered by artillery forces near Novoluhanske, however, it was repelled by the defense forces. The Ukrainian defenders also stopped the aggressor's offensive near Spirne and repelled an enemy attack near Vershyna. The occupier suffered losses and was knocked back. The enemy is trying to regroup its forces. The invaders also conduct offensive operations near Luhanske. The battles continue. In Avdiyivka, Kurakhove, Novopavlivsk, and Zaporizhia direction, the enemy continues shelling the confrontation line using mortars and artillery systems. The enemy also launched airstrikes near Avdiyivka. In Pivdenny Buh direction, the aggressor shelled the districts of Trudoliubivka, Kniazhivka, Mykolaivka, Topolyne, Kobzartsi, Blahodatne, Shevchenkove, and Lupareve. Missile attacks were mounted on Mykolaiv region. The threat of new missile attacks remains. There are four enemy precision weapon carriers in the sea prepared for attack on the territory of Ukraine. The aggressor is removing expensive effective medicines from clinics in the occupied territories, which were purchased at the expense of the Ukrainian budget, and replaces them with Russian drugs, said Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko. "There are facts that Russia takes the drugs that Ukraine supplies to stroke centers for thrombolysis and exports them to its territory," he said at a briefing on Wednesday. Zelensky says he has no misunderstandings with General Staff on issue of restricting movement of military service within country President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he has no misunderstandings with the General Staff regarding the issues of restricting the movement of military-bound citizens within the state, at the same time "minor inconsistencies and mistakes need to be eliminated together." "We have no misunderstanding [with the General Staff]," Zelensky said at a briefing with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, answering journalists' questions. According to him, in war conditions it is necessary to work as a team. "And that's how we work. And if there is any inconsistency, then it is necessary to correct these errors. They are small, I think, compared to the fortress that our state, the people of Ukraine, our Armed Forces of Ukraine demonstrate, how we fight together. Mistakes need to be corrected, that's all," he added. The Head of State also said that at a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, "the details of yesterday's decision of the General Staff on the introduction of restrictions on the movement of conscripts have already been sorted out." "The decision should be reversed," the president concluded. As reported, on the afternoon of July 6, the General Staff of Ukraine cancelled its own document regulating the procedure for the movement of military service within Ukraine, in order to finalize. The book "Poetry without cover" with poems written by their authors during the first month of the full-scale invasion of Russia into the territory of Ukraine was presented in Kyiv. "This book is special for several reasons. It is a chronicle of our confrontation, our inflexibility. This edition saw the world in early June by the 'Discursus' publishing house. This book contains a poetic fixation of the first month of a full-scale war: these are more than 200 fixations from contemporary Ukrainian authors... Among them are very different poets: different in age (for example, the youngest is a little over 20, and the oldest is over 80), these are poems of both civil and military ones, those who were forced to leave their home, and those who made it as a refuge for others, these are the poems of those whose cities were occupied, and those who, from the first day of the war, became a volunteer, joined the territorial defense or the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the author of the idea of the book, its compiler, one of the authors, head of Kirovograd regional organization of the National Writers' Union of Ukraine Nadia Harmaziy said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday. She said it was no coincidence that the idea to create this anthology arose precisely in the center of Ukraine in the city of Kropyvnytsky, because during the full-scale invasion of Russian troops it became for many Ukrainians a refuge between east and west. According to Harmaziy, the book contains poems by poets from different cities, in particular, from Bucha, Irpin, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv and Kherson. At the same time, she clarified that the collection included the texts of those "who were made poets by a full-scale war," and people published them on social media pages. The compiler also said "Poetry without cover" is perhaps one of the few book projects with an important socio-cultural goal: the authors and publishers will donate 25% of the sale of each copy to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She also said that about 200 books have already been sold. The cover of the book features missiles that are trying to destroy its title. As its designer and one of the authors, Irena Yanytska, explained, this image should show that despite the shells that fall on Ukrainian cities, the pain and destruction that "this Russian evil spirits bring," we can still survive. "In addition, this book contains a collage collected from newspapers that were just published in March, in these first weeks. Not everyone has the opportunity to read these newspapers, but I wanted to save these fragments of phrases, these moments so that people can feel and remember them," Yanytska said. Police fired tear gas in Sudan's capital Khartoum Sunday against hundreds of pro-democracy protesters who also called attention to increasingly deadly tribal clashes in the country's south. The public prosecution ordered the four-day detention of a Mansoura University student after he slaughtered his female colleague on Monday for turning down his marriage proposal. Related Prosecution investigating knife murder of student in front of Mansoura University campus The victim, Nayera, appeared in an appalling video circulated on social media over the past few hours showing the accused attacking her in front of the gate of Mansoura University and stabbing her multiple times in the neck and chest. The footage showed that the assailant was later attacked and restrained by bystanders. Hours later, police notified the prosecution that the victim had her throat slit with a knife by the assailant, who was arrested with the knife in his possession. An official statement by the countrys public prosecution on Tuesday said that the defendant confessed to deliberately murdering the victim due to what he called disputes between them and also due to her refusal to marry him. The accused, the statement added, re-enacted his attack, explaining in detail how he planned on committing his crime and carrying it out. The defendant also confirmed the validity of the videos recorded by surveillance cameras in the area of the accident. Furthermore, the prosecution said it took the statements of Nayeras parents and sister in addition to a fellow university student, who all said the victim had repeatedly been approached by the defendant after the failure of their relationship and her refusal to marry him. They also told the prosecution that the victim had drawn up restraining orders against the defendant nearly two months ago, the statement pointed out. Additionally, the prosecution said it took the statements of 13 other eyewitnesses, including students and staff at the university, who all confirmed that the defendant committed the crime. The prosecution pointed out that it ordered an examination to be conducted on the body of the victim to determine the found wounds and show the cause of death. On Monday, the prosecution said in its first statement on the incident that it found wounds on the victims neck, chest, and other areas. The prosecution also warned against circulating footage of the crime or speculating about the assailants motives, saying that this can directly affect the integrity of the investigation, compromise evidence, disturb public order, and cause harm to the victims family. Search Keywords: Short link: Mansoura Criminal Court issued a preliminary verdict sentencing Mohamed Adel to death on charges of premeditated murder of student Nayera Ashraf in Mansoura last week. The court sought the non-binding opinion of Egypts Grand Mufti on the verdict, as per Egyptian penal code. The verdict is not final yet with the possiblty of an appeal. During the trial, the prosecution presented to the court 25 eyewitnesses, including students and university guards who witnessed the stabbing of the 21-year-old student outside the gates of Mansoura University on 20 June. Furthermore, the prosecution presented the testimonies of the victim's friends and colleagues, all of whom testified that the accused stalked and threatened the victim after rejecting his marriage proposal. The prosecution also stated that Nayera's family had previously filed several complaints at local police stations against the accused. The state also presented to the court the detailed confessions of the accused as evidence, in addition to the victim's cell phone records and text messages that included death threats messages to Ashraf. It also introduced into evidence footage of the incident from CCTV cameras around the university. The court issued in its first session on Sunday a media gag order regarding the trials proceedings and sessions except for the sentence hearing. The crime gained widespread media attention and social commentary from various segments of Egyptian society, including womens rights advocates and controversial comments from clerics. Search Keywords: Short link: Concerns are rising that the fallout from political instability in Libya and Sudan could spill over Egypts western and southern borders. It has been a week of increasing protests in Libya and Sudan, with large demonstrations in both countries protesting against declining services, poor living conditions, political mismanagement, and other political and social ailments. The demonstrations have come as no surprise to Cairo, which has been keeping a close watch on, and often enough has been involved in managing the political disputes of, its Arab and African neighbours. We have been anticipating the tension in Libya to increase for quite some time, and we have been trying to push for a reasonable deal to end it, but the parties in Libya have failed to cooperate sufficiently, said one informed Egyptian government source. He added that Cairo had tried to encourage the Tripoli-based government of Abdel-Hamid Dbeibah, elected in February last year, to take steps towards greater political inclusiveness. It had also offered support to the parallel government of Fatehi Bashaghah appointed in February this year by the Tobrok-based Libyan House of Representatives. But neither managed to live up to the challenge of taking Libya onto a track of political stability, the source said. In press statements made this week, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri said that Egypt was doing all it could to avert the resumption of military hostilities in Libya. According to the informed Egyptian government source, there have been several high-level calls over the past couple of weeks with Libyan political and military leaders to encourage detente. However, he added, there has not been much of a positive response. It seems, he argued, that the countrys political leaders are not able to move towards making the necessary compromises. Increasingly, the same source said, Libyas political and military leaders seem to be more focused on their own constituencies than on the need to reach a deal that could end the problems of the country as a whole. The current situation might be working for the time being, but it could not work for long, he added. Eventually, the Libyan leaders would have to find a way to resolve the basic problems the Libyan people are complaining about, including long power cuts. According to the source, the position of some of the political leaders who insist that the countrys new constitution should include an article forbidding the nomination of military leaders or political leaders with military backgrounds to high positions will likely continue to block the work of the drafting committee. Khalifa Haftar, the powerful military leader in the east of Libya and previously a close ally of Egypts, has insisted that this article should be eliminated. Meanwhile, political leaders in the south of Libya, who have not been vocally involved in the squabbles that the country has been going through for the last ten years, have recently been indicating an intention to take the destiny of this part of the country into their own hands. This is not the kind of news that Haftar would want to hear, because he has been proclaiming himself as the strong man of both the east and the south of Libya. According to informed diplomatic sources in Cairo, Haftars sway in the south of the country is already suffering a considerable decline. Against the backdrop of growing tensions, Dbeibah, who has been losing international support, tried on Monday to accommodate the public anger. He acknowledged that his government had not done enough to improve the poor quality of public services, especially electricity, and he promised to attend to the matter. He also committed himself to continue to work to secure Libyas overdue legislative and presidential elections. However, the demonstrations have continued, and according to the Egyptian government source, the Libyan street is fed up with the countrys current crop of leaders. The time might be ripe for new ones to enter the political scene, he said, adding that this might not be an easy target to deliver. The fact of the matter is that any new leader in Libya will have to have some regional and international support, and today there is no agreement among the regional and international players on the path that Libya should take to get out of its present misery. Everybody is talking about the need to have parliamentary and presidential elections, but there is no agreement on how to get there, he said. In Sudan, the political disarray has also been increasing, with confrontations between demonstrators and the security forces in the country this week leaving nine protesters dead and many others wounded. The civilian forces in the country are blaming the leaders of the armed forces and Sudans Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for compromising on, following measures taken by Sudans top military leader Abdel-Fattah Al-Borhan in October last year and supported by leader of the RSF Mohamed Dagalo, better known as Hemedti. Cairo has offered political support to Al-Borhan since he became chair of the Transitional Military Council that runs Sudan after the ouster of the former Omar Al-Bashir regime in 2019. Over the past few months, Cairo has been getting increasingly worried about Al-Borhans chances of fixing the situation in the country, however. Some official sources in Cairo have been worried that Al-Borhan might need to reconsider his political plans if he is to spare the country from chaos, especially after a recent show of anger in the international community that suspended a promise to scrap the countrys foreign debts amounting to $64 billion. The same official sources say that Cairo is not reassured about Al-Borhans ability to manage the differences between the top generals of the armed forces and those in the RSF. While they exclude for now any chance of internal military squabbling, they say that nobody can predict how the situation could develop if Al-Borhan were to fail to find a formula to fix this problem or reach a political deal with the countrys civilian forces. This will not be easy, especially since the civilian forces disagree among themselves and the [conflicting] military leaders receive support from conflicting regional players, one of the official sources said. He added that the Trilateral Mechanism of the UN, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, was not working in harmony. As the protests continued unabated on Monday, Al-Borhan said the army would allow for a civilian government and not take part in the political dialogue being facilitated by the trilateral committee. In a televised statement, he said the armed forces will not stand in the way of the democratic transition in Sudan, adding that they were committed to holding elections to allow the Sudanese people to decide. There was no immediate reaction to this statement in Cairo, with official sources saying it was keeping close watch on developments in Sudan. Al-Borhan has been a close ally of Egypts, and Egypt would still wish him to be part of the political equation in Sudan, the sources said. They also agreed that Egypt had hoped Haftar to be a significant part of the political equation in Libya. But what counted most for Egypt, the sources said, was for neither country to fall into chaos or under the rule of hostile political forces. Prolonged chaos in these two geographically sensitive neighbouring countries, the sources said, could make for a difficult security situation for Egypt. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: The Board of Trustees of Egypt's National Dialogue concluded its first meeting on Tuesday evening after agreeing on the bylaws regulating work for the 19-member board as well as the dialogue's code of conduct and ethics. During a news briefing at the National Training Academy (NTA) to mark the end of the first day of the dialogue, Diaa Rashwan, the general coordinator of the National Dialogue, stressed that "those who have planned, executed, or incited acts of terrorism" are excluded from the dialogue. "The dialogue is open for all except those who have blood on their hands, topped by the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group, rejecters of Egypt's 2014 constitution," Rashwan said. He stressed that "there is no 'red lines' in the national dialogue .. the dialogue is open [for all opinions] in the interests of the people .. and all suggestions will be submitted to the president." Rashwan announced that 17 members of the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue attended the dialogue's opening session, noting that their role is confined to moderating the national dialogue without interfering into the issues under debate. He explained that decisions were agreed upon by consensus of the 17 members who took part in today's sessions. The bylaws document contains 19 articles and stipulates the role of the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue and its subcommittees and activities, Rashwan said. The second document stipulates the code of conduct and ethics during the dialogue and will be also posted later on the official website of the national dialogue, Rashwan added. The dialogue's Board of Trustees will hold the second meeting on 19 July, where it will continue forming the subcommittees and review proposals of agenda, he announced. Opening session In a news briefing at the inaugural session of the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue's meeting earlier on Tuesday, Rashwan reaffirmed that the national dialogue called for by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will address national priorities aiming to reach common grounds among participants, including political, partisan, and syndicate forces. During the session, the Board of Trustees reviewed details and regulations of the dialogues upcoming activities. The session, which was covered by the media and aired live on television, was attended by 15 of the 19 members of the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is comprised of parliamentarians, journalists, professors, human rights lawyers, and officials. Its tasks includes the coordination of the multi-directional and multi-stage dialogue. It will also take the final decisions on the dialogues preliminary results to be submitted to the president. The National Dialogue was called for by President El-Sisi during the annual Egyptian Family Iftar banquet on 26 April for all political forces without any exceptions or discrimination." The president promised to attend the final stages of the dialogue. During today's meeting, Rashwan, also the head the Journalists Syndicate, said that the dialogue is open for all political, partisan, and syndicate forces to discuss national priorities. However, those who had incited or participated in violent acts will be excluded, Rashwan added. He noted that the dialogue should yield specific legislative or procedural proposals to be submitted to the president, adding that all proposals submitted within the framework of the dialogue will be taken into consideration without exception. A myriad of political parties and forces have welcomed and agreed to join the National Dialogue. Over 96,000 citizens applied to participate in the dialogue, according to Rashwan. "We are starting today to found the New Republic through the national dialogue upon an invitation of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who asserted the importance of launching the dialogue for a modern and civil democratic country," Rashwan underlined. He noted that the political powers and unions are a main part of the Egyptian people, but they do not represent all people. The coordinator general clarified that there is a large majority that are neither allied with the government or against it and they are all invited to take part in the dialogue. He stressed that many groups of Egyptians have the right to participate in the dialogue through their ideas and suggestions. Priorities are not only political, but also economic, sports, cultural, and more, Rashwan pointed out. He added that these priorities will be referred to the political leadership to take decisions on them. The Egyptian people depend a lot on the execution of this dialogue, especially since its participants are supposed to express most sectors of society, he added. Rashwan affirmed that each phase of the dialogue should have outcomes so that people can see achievements being accomplished. Open debate Various members of the Board of Trustees expressed their opinions on topics that should be prioritised during the dialogue while others submitted proposals for immediate steps needed to be taken to ensure the success of the dialogue. Since the dialogue was called by the president in April, online registration was opened and the dialogues administration has received tens of thousands of proposals from citizens, public figures, and entities, said Mahmoud Fawzy, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR). Political parties, civil society organisations, parliamentarians, syndicates, and ministries and public authorities have also submitted proposals, Fawzy said. A total of 96,533 forms have been filled out online by citizens from all governorates to share their proposals and visions within the framework of the national dialogue with Cairo being on the top of the governorates in terms of the turnout, Fawzy explained. Proposals sent by citizens included political, social, and economic issues, he said. Fawzy added that the NTA, which is tasked with managing the dialogue, sent 500 invitations to various entities over the last period. During the meeting, Rasha Ragheb, the executive director of the NTA, affirmed that the academy will transparently manage the dialogue and at an equal distance from all parties as per the presidents directives. Who should be excluded? Journalist Abdel-Azim Hammad, a member of the Civil Democratic Movement, said that the movement endorses the exclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood or any other group that uses violence. On Sunday, President El-Sisi stressed in a meeting with media professionals that the call for a national dialogue is meant to bring together all intellectuals, unions, and political parties except for one faction that resorted to killing, referencing the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood. During the meeting, Gouda Abdel-Khalek, professor of economics and a former social solidarity minister, said that those who try to involve religion in politics should also be excluded until they abandon this idea as the dialogue paves the way to a modern democratic civil nation. Journalist Mohamed Salmawy, another member of the Board of Trustees, also affirmed that those who do not believe in modern civil states under the 2014 Constitution should be excluded from the dialogue even if they did not commit violence. Salmawy argued that the 2014 Constitution, which separates religion from politics, should be the reference for the dialogue. Releasing "prisoners of conscience" Hammad said that the sessions should start only after the release of "prisoners of conscience" so that they can also participate in the dialogue. Amr Hashem Rabie, deputy head of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), also said the issue of releasing pretrial detainees and pardoning those who received sentences is a "very fundamental" issue in order to start the dialogue. He also affirmed the need for a legislative amendment to several laws that are used in the arrest of many. Political dialogue, for everyone Human rights lawyer Negad El-Borai urged the other members of the Board of Trustees to abandon some of their previously held political stances to be able to reach consensus with different political forces. El-Borai warned that consensual solutions should not come at the expense of freedoms. He affirmed that the dialogue is mainly political urging the board to not be tempted to drown the dialogue with sub-issues that do not lead to anything." While Rashwan suggested that the dialogue sessions be broadcasted live, El-Borai said that the board meetings should be conducted in a calm environment, and meetings results should be announced to the public. For his part, MP Talaat Abdel-Kawy, president of the General Federation of NGOs and Foundations, said that all Egyptians, including youth, should feel that they participate in charting the future of the nation by participating in the dialogue. Fatma Khafagy, the coordinator of the Arab States Civil Society Organisations and Feminists Network , said that she is proud that women represent a quarter of the boards members. Political researcher and author Samir Morcos, also a member of the Board of Trustees, hailed the dialogue and argued that it is the beginning of a new stage of politics in Egypt. Morcos affirmed the importance of addressing the youth, noting that 80 percent of the Egyptian population are under 40 years of age. Search Keywords: Short link: Discussions over amending the constitution will not be on the agenda of Egypt's national dialogue as the legitimacy of the regime is based on this constitution, said Diaa Rashwan, chairman of the Press Syndicate and coordinator of the national dialogue. Addressing a press conference at the end of the opening meeting of the dialogue on Tuesday night, Rashwan said "Egypt's 2014 constitution was drafted following the overthrow of the one-year despotic rule of Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 and this means that the legitimacy of the current regime of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and even the legitimacy of this state as a whole is based on this constitution." Besides, argued Rashwan, "all political forces in Egypt respect this constitution and all agree that it is not up for change at the present time." Rashwan, however, noted that "during the national dialogue debates, it is allowed to discuss turning some constitutional articles and rules into facts on the ground." He pointed out that "none of those who accepted President El-Sisi's invitation to the national dialogue said that Egypt's 2014 constitution should be amended. "In general, we did not receive any preconditions. The political forces have just asked for guarantees that this dialogue's recommendations will be implemented," he added. Mohamed Salmawy, a notable writer and member of the National Dialogue Board of Trustees, said at a press conference on Tuesday that "the legitimacy of Egypt's current national dialogue comes from three sources. "First, it is based on an invitation from Egypt's democratically elected president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, second from the overwhelming positive response of the people, public figures and institutions to the president's call for this dialogue, and third from the 2014 constitution which should be the main reference for this dialogue, with each of its 254 articles speaking the language of a modern, civil, and democratic state standing up against all forms of violence." He added: "Egypt's 2014 constitution is based on the principle of standing against mixing religion with politics. "This principle reflects the identity of Egypt and its current regime and we should all do our best to translate this principle into facts." Joining forces, Gouda Abdel-Khalek, a leading member of the leftist Tagammu Party and former minister, said at the opening session that "Egypt's constitution bans mixing religion with politics and stands against forming political parties on religious grounds. Therefore, all political Islam movements not only the Muslim Brotherhood can't be invited to this dialogue as their ideologies reject the separation between religion and politics." On 26 April, President El-Sisi called for a national dialogue that is meant draw up a new political and economic roadmap for Egypt in the coming years. Search Keywords: Short link: Mansoura Criminal Court has sentenced Mohamed Adel, the accused killer of Mansoura University student Nayera Ashraf to death on Wednesday. The court found Mohamed Adel, guilty of slaughtering and murdering his colleague Nayera Ashraf on the 20th of May, The verdict is not final yet with the possiblty of an appeal. During the trial, the prosecution presented to the court 25 eyewitnesses, including students and university guards who witnessed the stabbing of the 21-year-old student outside the gates of Mansoura University on 20 June. Furthermore, the prosecution presented the testimonies of the victim's friends and colleagues, all of whom testified that the accused stalked and threatened the victim after rejecting his marriage proposal. The prosecution also stated that Nayera's family had previously filed several complaints at local police stations against the accused. The state also presented to the court the detailed confessions of the accused as evidence, in addition to the victim's cell phone records and text messages that included death threats messages to Ashraf. It also introduced into evidence footage of the incident from CCTV cameras around the university. The court issued in its first session on Sunday a media gag order regarding the trials proceedings and sessions except for the sentence hearing. The crime gained widespread media attention and social commentary from various segments of Egyptian society, including womens rights advocates and controversial comments from clerics. Search Keywords: Short link: Two United Nations peacekeepers from Egypt were killed and five others seriously wounded when their vehicle hit a landmine planted by suspected jihadis in northern Mali on Tuesday, the U.N. said. The deadly attack comes just days after the renewal of the mandate of the U.N. Mission to Mali, known as MINUSMA. "This morning, an armored vehicle of a MINUSMA logistics convoy hit a mine on the Tessalit-Gao road,'' the mission announced in a press release. "According to an initial report, two peacekeepers died of their injuries and five others were seriously wounded as a result of the attack,'' the statement added. "The victims are all Egyptian nationals,'' a U.N. official told The Associated Press, insisting on anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press until the U.N. informs the families. Ten U.N. peacekeepers have been killed in Mali since the beginning of the year. First deployed in 2013, the mandate of the U.N. mission in Mali to help battle against Islamic extremist rebels was renewed last week although the Malian government said it will not support the mission's aim to promote and safeguard human rights. Russia and China abstained from the French-drafted U.N. resolution, which extends the mandate of the mission until June 30, 2023, with its current ceiling of 13,289 military personnel and 1,920 international police. More than 270 peacekeepers have died in Mali, making it the U.N.'s deadliest peacekeeping mission, according to U.N. officials. Search Keywords: Short link: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs Liz Truss inaugurated in London on Tuesday, the first UK-Egypt Association Council meeting to create a new platform for cooperation but Egypt and the UK. The inaugural Association Council created a new platform to further the ambition laid out in the UK-Egypt Association Agreement, signed in December 2020 according to a joint statement issued by Shoukry and Truss. The ministers welcomed several recent commercial successes between both countries, including the two-line Cairo Monorail project, which includes trains manufactured in Derby and is supported by UK Export Finance (UKEF), and the Egyptian Navys purchase of two ex-Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships including contracts for their refit and upgrade, the statement said. The ministers discussed prospects for enhanced economic cooperation between both countries and agreed to work intensively to grow bilateral trade and investment and tackle any barriers to trade and sharing expertise. They also agreed to work on reviewing and improving market access in the agriculture, healthcare, energy, and financial sectors, through the newly established subcommittee on trade. Truss and Shoukry also discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest, including consular issues and human rights. According to the joint statement, the UK welcomed Egypts preparations to host COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in November 2022 as it takes over the COP Presidency. The UK and Egypt reinforced cooperation to deliver ambitious outcomes at COP27, building on the Glasgow Climate Pact and previous COP decisions. The statement said adding that both countries noted the importance of supporting developing nations through a just transition, including sustainable energy and green hydrogen. The statement said that the ministers looked forward to holding the meetings of the Association Council regularly to further enhance Egypt-UK cooperation in various fields and take stock of progress. Shoukry and British Minister of State for Trade Penny Mordaunt also signed on Tuesday the decision to establish the subcommittee of trade and investment to bolster the cooperation between the two countries in various domains. On Wednesday, Shoukry discussed Egypts economic reforms since 2014 as well as the challenges facing these reforms due to the global economic situation as well as opportunities to invest in green economy with representatives of the British business community and financial institutions, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated. According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Shoukry reviewed in the meeting Egypts economic reform process that aimed to achieve comprehensive, sustainable, and environmentally friendly development, based on Egypt's Vision 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, and the African Union Agenda 2063. The Egyptian Foreign Minister also referred to challenges facing the reforms due to the recent global economic developments that include the Russia-Ukraine crisis, explaining that the Egyptian government has taken various measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis on citizens. The meeting also discussed Egypts preparations to host and assume the presidency of the COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh next November with Minister Sameh Shoukry as president-designate. According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the meeting tackled methods of support from the community and financial institutions in the UK for efforts of the Egyptian presidency of COP27 to yield aspired results to promote international climate action at various levels, especially financing environment-friendly projects and enhancing investments in fields of combating climate change and transition to green economy. This came during Shoukrys official visit to London, which started on Monday, to launch the first session of the association council between Egypt and the UK. On Monday, Shoukry met the British Minister of State for North Africa, South & Central Asia, UN, and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmed of Wimbledon to discuss various bilateral issues between Egypt and the UK. Search Keywords: Short link: President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi virtually witnessed on Wednesday the inauguration of a number of Digital Egypt projects, which are affiliated with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, at El-Manara International Conference Centre in the Fifth Settlement. The projects include the Digital Egypt Platform, which will provide e-services for all people. El-Sisi said the launch of the platform emanates from the need for establishing a modern, contemporary, and digital state. It also comes in line with Egypts 2030 Vision and the countrys strategy for achieving digital transformation. Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat noted that a trial version of the platform has been launched for public testing over the past few months. Through the platform, citizens are able to access more than 130 government services, including food rations, vehicle inquiry, notary services, and social insurance, Talaat said. Furthermore, a documentary film bearing the title Digital Egypt was shown during the inauguration of the projects and featured the digital work currently taking place in Egypt. It also shed light on the efforts exerted by the ministry, including a project to connect the 33,000 government buildings nationwide to the fibre-optic network at a cost of up to EGP six billion. To date, more than 18,000 government buildings have been connected to this network, according to the film. Among the other projects inaugurated via video conference, El-Sisi inaugurated the submarine cable landing stations in Ras Ghareb, Zaafarana, and Sidi Kreir, along with the Telecom Egypt Regional Data Hub. Moreover, El-Sisi inaugurated a number of innovation centres, including hubs in Aswan, Qena, Sohag, Minya, and Ismailia. He also inaugurated other innovative centres in Mansoura, Menoufiya, and in the Palace of Sultan Hussein Kamel in Cairo. Furthermore, the president witnessed the inauguration of the Post Office Museum in Ataba Square after its renovation. Digital transformation Egypt is currently exerting significant efforts to digitise its services and rely on AI, El-Sisi said during the ceremony, stressing that the cost would be huge. Talaat affirmed that his ministrys strategy focuses on three main goals cooperating with various state bodies in providing governmental services to citizens, providing highly efficient and stable telecommunication services, along with enabling youths to compete effectively in the labour market. All of the states projects mainly aim to provide seamless services to the citizens, Talaat added. He also said that these services are being implemented under the umbrella of digital transformation, which means digitising all governmental procedures, the minister added. The minister noted that the projects started five years ago with the establishment of Egypts information infrastructure, hailing the tireless efforts exerted by various state institutions in coordination with the Administrative Control Authority to establish Egypts information structure. He affirmed that to date, about 20,000 government buildings have been connected to this network. Furthermore, Talaat stressed the importance of the e-signature service for citizens, saying that Egyptians living abroad stand to gain the most from this service, as previously, they had to travel long distances to conduct their affairs at an Egyptian consulate or embassy; but now, they can send their documentation online with their e-signatures, facilitating the process for them. The minister also said that this service will be launched in cooperation with the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs this year. He further noted that his ministry is working with the Ministries of Health and Population and Finance to automate the universal health insurance system that started in Port Said. Talaat added that this system is currently being implemented across the rest of the country, noting that his ministry in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research will automate 73 university hospitals. Digital infrastructure Additionally, the minister asserted that the digital infrastructure in Egypt is different from many world countries, expounding that Egypt has local and international infrastructures given that it is a main corridor for data in the world. He also said more than 90 percent of data exchanged between Asia and Europe passes through Egypt, noting that Egypt had six cable landing stations over the past 20 years, but over the past two years established three more cable landing stations in Ras Ghareb, Zafarana and Sidi Kreir. Moreover, Egypt has six land routes established over the past 20 years spanning 2,700 kilometres, and over the past two years, Egypt built an additional five routes that are 2,650 kilometres long. He affirmed that investments in landing stations and new routes are estimated at EGP 1.100 billion. As Egypt plans to turn from a state through which data is crossing into a data host, Egypt established the largest international trade data centre in Cairo with Telecom Egypt (WE) at a 24-megawatt capacity and at investments of EGP 2.8 billion. NACs construction progress Furthermore, El-Sisi said on Wednesday that work is underway in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) that is being established by the NAC Company for Urban Development (NACCUD). The NAC was not built by government funds, El-Sisi stressed during the ceremony, noting that the NACCUD now demands an annual EGP four billion from the government for using the government district in the New Capital, the president told the ceremony. The president also made it clear that the cost of secured digital networks in the NAC is about EGP100 billion. Additionally, he touched upon an automated government district that provides a favourable environment for digital action through data centres and secured networks. This way, Egypt could transform from paper to digital processes using AI, which costs lots of money, El-Sisi said. Construction on the 700-square-kilometre NAC which is nearly twice the area of Cairo governorate prior to redrawing its administrative borders started in 2015 and is set to house 6.5 million people when completed. It is located 60 kilometres from Cairo in the area between the Cairo-Suez and Cairo-Ain Sokhna roads. The new capital boasts a government district with 10 ministerial complexes that will house 34 ministries, in addition to the headquarters of the Cabinet and the House of Representatives. The NACs Government District provides an opportunity to enhance digital work in the country using its new data centres, President El-Sisi said during the ceremony. Changing the education culture in Egypt El-Sisi also called for changing education culture in Egypt, adding that students should not only obtain academic certificates, but also study new specialisations needed in the labour market. Furthermore, the president said several faculties and universities providing new technological specialisations including AI have already been inaugurated and more educational institutions will be opened soon as well. Moreover, he said the newly established faculties provide genuine education and a future, adding efforts should focus more on marketing these new specialisations needed by society. The president also urged media outlets to pay greater attention to programmes that highlight young talents in IT. Finally, he underscored the need to find and develop ideas to increase revenues, income, and wealth for both citizens and the homeland away from traditional methods, which are now insufficient. Search Keywords: Short link: The National Tunnels Authority and RATP Dev Mobility Cairo, which is responsible for operating Cairo metro Line 3, announced on Tuesday they are considering appropriate legal procedures to take against the advertising company Wali's Studio for plagiarising a design of Russian plastic artist Georgy Korasov on the walls of one of metro stations. We apologise to the Russian plastic artist Georgy Korasov and to the public for this incident, the two companies said in a statement, stressing their full respect for the intellectual property rights of everyone in Egypt and abroad. They announced that they are closely following the news recently circulated on social media and media platforms regarding the use of artworks by the Russian artist in the cultural project at the Girls' College Station. On 2 July Korasov wrote on Facebook: My paintings were used in Cairo subway without my permission and even mentioning my name! I am waiting for an official response about the theft of my paintings in a metro station, Korasov added. In Tuesdays statement the two companies confirmed they had contracted the advertising agency to create artistic designs for this cultural project, noting that a legally binding clause was included stating that the advertising company is solely responsible for providing original artistic designs. The clause stated that in the case of quoting or copying, it must obtain official legal approval from the original artists of these works authorising their use, the statement read. In March, the two companies added, the contract with the advertising company was terminated due to other reasons related to a breach of some terms of the contract and implementation. The two companies asserted not being aware that these designs were illegally inspired by the paintings of the Russian artist, emphasising that they are against any infringement on intellectual property rights in any way. In June 2021, Egypt handed over the management, operation and maintenance of its Cairo Metros third line to French transport firm RTP Dev, after signing in September 2020 a 15-year, billion-euro contract with French transport operator RATP Dev to manage the line. The new 1.1 billion euro ($1.4 billion) contract between RATP Dev and the National Tunnels Authority aims "to alleviate the pressure on the Egyptian Company for the Management and Operation of the metro, which is in charge of the first and second lines," according to a previous statement by Egyptian Ministry of Transport. The third metro line links eastern and western Cairo and running from Cairo University passing through Imbaba, Abbasiya and Adly Mansour metro stations. Search Keywords: Short link: Burkina Faso's ex-president Blaise Compaore, in exile since his ouster in 2014, will return home to meet military authorities this week, a source close to the government and his entourage told AFP Tuesday. "He is expected at the end of the week, he is due to arrive on Thursday or Friday for a short stay" and will "be received by the head of state in the framework of national reconciliation," the source said. A source in Compaore's entourage confirmed the trip. An envoy of junta leader Paul-Henri Damiba, "met him last week in Abidjan to this end," the source said, adding that Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara had also received him. During his stay, he will reside in a government villa where President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who was overthrown in January, was placed under house arrest, the source said. "But if his definitive return is confirmed, he will have to return to his residence in Ziniare, his home village" northeast of Ouagadougou, they added. On social media, supporters of the former president called for a rally at Ouagadougou airport on Friday morning. It appears the junta is attempting to forge a united front in the fight against jihadist groups that have bloodied Burkina Faso since 2015 and whose increasingly deadly attacks have multiplied in recent weeks. Compaore was forced into exile in Ivory Coast in October 2014, a day after violent popular riots and under pressure from the army and the opposition, who opposed his bid to stay in power. On April 6, he was sentenced in absentia to life in prison at the end of a six-month trial before the military court in Ouagadougou, for his role in the assassination of his predecessor Thomas Sankara. The trial opened in October 2021, 34 years after the death of Sankara, a pan-African icon. Compaore's lawyers denounced the trial as a "political trial". The ex-president was suspected of being behind the assassination of his former comrade-in-arms and friend who came to power in a coup in 1983, which he has always denied. The death of Sankara was a taboo subject during Compaore's 27-year rule. Search Keywords: Short link: By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Iranian Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian has said that Tehran and Baku are implementing joint projects in the water and electricity sectors. He made the remarks speaking with journalists at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku, Azernews reports. He mentioned that within the framework of his visit to Azerbaijan, discussions on projects of Khudafarin and Giz Galasi hydro junctions and hydroelectric power plants will be held. It is also planned to sign a document on cooperation between the two countries, he added. The minister added that talks will be held in various directions, including renewable energy sources, the connection of power grids of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia, and other areas of mutual interest. Moreover, Mehrabian underlined that one of the priorities of the current Iranian government is the development of relations with the neighboring countries. Azerbaijan is one of Irans good neighbors, and numerous meetings between officials of the two countries show that both sides have a firm will for the comprehensive development of cooperation, he said. In 2016, Azerbaijan and Iran agreed to build the Khudafarin and Giz Galasi hydro junctions and hydroelectric power plants on the Araz River. They have a total capacity of over 1.6 billion cubic meters. It will have the capacity to generate 716 million kW-hour of electricity per year. These hydro junctions and hydroelectric power plants will allow both sides to share the Araz River's water and energy resources. After liberating its lands from the Armenian occupation in the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan regained control over a 132-km section of the Azerbaijani-Iran border. The re-establishment of control over the state border opened up new prospects for deeper cooperation between the two countries. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran in 2021 was $440.8 million. Gunmen late Tuesday used explosives to blast into a jail near Nigeria's capital and free hundreds of inmates, although prison authorities said they later recaptured most of those who escaped. The brazen attack on the outskirts of Abuja came hours after an ambush on a presidential security convoy in the northwest, in a fresh illustration of Nigeria's security crisis. Residents reported loud explosions and gunfire late Tuesday near the Kuje medium security prison just outside Abuja, and security forces had cordoned off streets in the area early Wednesday. One security official was killed when the gunmen breached the jail using explosives, correctional services spokesman Abubakar Umar said. "Some of the men in custody escaped. We were able to recapture many of them this morning. More than 300 escaped, but we have recaptured close to 300," he told AFP. He said prison officials were still determining how many were still missing. Security forces were returning around 19 recaptured inmates back to the prison in a black van on Wednesday morning, an AFP correspondent at the site said. Former top police commander Abba Kyari, who was being held in Kuje awaiting trial on drug smuggling charges, was still in custody, Umar said. "We heard shooting on my street. We thought it was armed robbers," one local resident said. "The first explosion came after the shooting. Then a second one sounded and then a third." 'Ambush positions' It was unclear who carried out the prison attack but Nigeria's security forces are battling jihadists, heavily armed criminal gangs and separatist militias in different parts of the country. The raid took place soon after gunmen also ambushed an advance presidential security detail preparing for President Muhammadu Buhari's visit to his home state of northwestern Katsina. Two officials were slightly wounded in the attack though it was not clear who was responsible. "The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled," the presidency said in a statement. Katsina is one of Nigeria's northwestern states where armed militias known locally as bandits are notorious for raiding villages and staging mass kidnappings for ransom. Attacks on prisons in Nigeria have happened in the past, with gunmen seeking to free inmates. More than 1,800 prisoners escaped last year after heavily armed men attacked a prison in southeast Nigeria using explosives. The attackers blasted their way into the Owerri prison in Imo state, engaging guards in a gun battle before storming the prison. Imo state is part of a region that is a hotbed for separatist groups seeking an independent state for the indigenous Igbo population. Search Keywords: Short link: Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo leader Felix Tshisekedi went into talks on Wednesday amid an upsurge in violence in eastern DRC, according to an AFP correspondent. Kagame's office announced in a tweet Wednesday that he was in Luanda to "discuss the security situation in eastern DRC." It is the first time the two presidents will meet face-to-face since the "resurgence of violence," a statement from Tshisekedi's office said on Tuesday. The two countries have been at loggerheads following increased attacks that have claimed dozens of lives and displaced tens of thousands of civilians in the DRC's volatile east. Angolan President Joao Lourenco, who is also the chairman of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), is brokering the talks at the request of the Africa Union. Weeks of violence have grown into a diplomatic faceoff between the DRC and its neighbour Rwanda. The row centres on a resurgent Congolese Tutsi militia called the M23. One of more than 120 armed groups active in eastern DRC, the M23 briefly captured the city of Goma in North Kivu in 2012 before being crushed in a joint offensive by UN troops and the Congolese army. The M23 took up arms again last November after accusing the Congolese government of failing to respect a 2009 agreement under which the army was to incorporate its fighters. The DRC accuses Rwanda of abetting the rebels -- a charge that Rwanda denies -- and both countries accuse the other of carrying out cross-border shelling. Bilateral ties have been strained for years, dating back to the mass arrival in the eastern DRC of Rwandan Hutus accused of slaughtering Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Last month, East African leaders agreed to set up a regional force to end the security crisis in the east of the DRC, a vast country the size of continental western Europe. Eastern DRC is also plagued by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a ruthless group billed by the so-called Islamic State as its Central African offshoot. The ADF has been accused of killing thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in neighbouring Uganda. Congolese and Ugandan troops launched a joint operation against the ADF last November, but massacres continue. Search Keywords: Short link: The Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has died, Nigerian authorities announced Wednesday. Mohammad Barkindo, 63, died late Tuesday, a spokesperson for Nigeria's petroleum ministry told The Associated Press. The reason for his death was not immediately known. Mele Kyari, Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, tweeted the news of Barkindo's death which he described as ``a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community.'' Barkindo, a Nigerian, led the crude oil bloc since August 2016, seeing it through some of its most turbulent times including during the pandemic when the oil price was hit with declining demand. He was wrapping up his tenure at OPEC when he died. Before leading the oil bloc, Barkindo served led the Nigerian petroleum corporation and as the Deputy Managing Director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, a joint venture between NNPC and multinational oil giants Shell, Total and Eni. Search Keywords: Short link: The German cabinet on Wednesday signed off plans to make it easier for migrants with "tolerated" status to stay in the country permanently and integrate into the job market. The proposals, outlined in a draft document seen by AFP, apply to migrants who have been denied asylum but cannot be deported and who have been living in Germany for at least five years. Around 130,000 such migrants will be granted a "right of opportunity to stay" lasting for one year, according to the document. After that, if they can prove they have a reliable source of income and a sufficient command of the German language, they will be granted official permanent residency. "These people, who have made a life for themselves in Germany over a long period of residence, are to be offered a perspective under residence law and given a chance to obtain the necessary requirements for legal residence," according to the document. "Criminals remain fundamentally excluded from the right of opportunity to stay." Ulrich Schneider, an employment adviser to migrants for the Caritas NGO in the Black Forest town of Freiburg im Breisgau, welcomed the proposals. "We have waited a long time for such a bill... in particular because it offers a perspective to people who until now lived under the threat of possible expulsion," he told AFP. Legal limbo "Tolerated" asylum seekers often find themselves in legal limbo because they are unable to prove their nationality, or because deportations to their country of origin have been suspended for political reasons. Those currently living in Germany include many Afghans who arrived during the 2015-16 refugee influx. They have been left "on a sort of waiting list" where their permission to remain in the country must be reviewed every three months, according to Schneider. The draft bill includes plans to make it easier for migrants to be joined by family members, especially if they are skilled workers, and to improve access to vocational and language courses. It also proposes measures to make it easier to deport asylum seekers with criminal convictions. The changes must still be voted through in the Bundestag and Bundesrat lower and upper houses of parliament before becoming law. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called the move "pragmatic and smart" at a time when the country was suffering from labour shortages in many sectors, including hospitality. Failing to make use of these people's skills would be "a sin against the economic potential of our country", he said. However, critics said the plans do not go far enough and accused Germany's coalition government of watering down a promise to completely overhaul the country's migration system. "The aim is good and fair: to give a chance to people who so far have no secure status," said Joshua Hofert, a board member at the Terre des Hommes NGO, but "the paradigm shift announced by the coalition is not yet in sight". Search Keywords: Short link: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) released on Monday the countrys first plastic polymer-made banknote in the denomination of EGP 10, which has begun circulating in the local market. A CBE official said that the bank released EGP 2 billion of the new plastic banknote. The CBE announced that it would be adopting plastic banknotes back in February 2019, with the plan at the time being to release these new banknotes by 2020 and that they would be produced by a new printing house located in the New Administrative Capital (NAC). However, the step was delayed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CBE stressed that the new polymer banknote will not replace the normal banknotes, which will still be traded. The measure comes under the CBEs clean cash policy, which aims to uplift the quality of the outstanding banknote in the local market as well as reducing the cost of printing the older ones especially the most actively traded over the long term, CBE explained. The new polymer banknote has a modern-pharaonic design with a watermark for safe circulation. It is decorated with the design of El-Fattah El-Aleem Mosque which is located in the New Administrative Capital and a statue of ancient Egyptian queen Hatshepsut, the fifth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. As countries worldwide, including Egypt, are committed to meeting the Paris Agreements requirements to combat climate change, shifting to plastic currencies has become a global trend. For countries concerned about the environmental impact of their currency, a switch to polymer notes makes sense, according to a report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on plastic currencies. Modern polymer banknotes were first produced by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and The University of Melbourne. They were issued for the first time and circulated as official currency in Australia in 1988. By 1996, all Australian banknote denominations were in polymer, followed by New Zealand and Romania. Since 2016, the Bank of England also started to produce polymer banknotes, rolling out the 5, followed by the 10 in 2017, and the 20 in 2020. According to the Bank of England, plastic is more durable and stronger than paper, and plastic banknotes could last five years compared to the paper banknotes that last for only two years. Kusters Engineering a Dutch family-owned company that provides smart, innovative, and secure solutions for optimal reuse of valuable materials for green transformation says that polymer currencies are waterproof, dirt proof, recyclable, can stay in circulation for a longer time, and boast high-tech security features. Search Keywords: Short link: Global food security is surrounded by a number of challenges, especially in developing countries where there has been an acceleration of the pace of uncontrolled urbanisation and the phenomenon of building on agricultural lands, which affects the sustainability of agricultural activity and the effectiveness of the food system. The impact of the Ukrainian, climate change crises on the right to food in the Middle East This is in addition to the increase in population growth rates, rapid climate change, and the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic with all that it has resulted in, including the confusion of agricultural activities, the disruption of supply chains, the high shipping costs, and the disruption of energy supplies. As a result of these combined disturbances, food prices increased in 2021 by about 30%, compared to the previous year, achieving their highest level in ten years. According to UN estimates, areas with moderate or severe food insecurity at the global level have increased during the past six years; thus, nearly 820 million people were victims of hunger in 2020. After increasing by 18% over the past year, recording its highest rate in nearly two decades, the outbreak of global hunger threatens to undermine the UN strategy to end it by 2030. The risks to the right to food have increased following the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, an aggravation of the global fertiliser crisis sparked by the energy crisis, export restrictions, and trade sanctions, which intensified the heavy burdens that have weighed on Russian and Ukrainian farmers for years. The Middle East has been struggling for a long time with a torrent of structural challenges to its food security due to the high rates of population growth, the spread of corruption, the erosion of the natural resource base especially fresh water and arable lands as well as the repercussions of climate change and the growing dependence on countries abroad in providing nutritional needs. Consequently, the Middle East has recorded alarming rates of malnutrition due to nutrient deficiencies, renewed conflicts, and chronic crises. A number of countries in the region, especially Egypt and Turkey which are the leading importers of wheat globally are anxiously awaiting the consequences of the Ukrainian crisis in order to fill the frightening gap between consumption and local production. The explosion of the situation in Eastern Europe, with the ensuing harsh and various sanctions on Russia, has led to a rise in energy and food prices globally, as Ukraine and Russia are at the top exporting countries of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil globally. Combined, they produce 206.9 million megatons of grain, making up a third of the worlds wheat and barley shipments. After wheat prices jumped last year by at least 45% due to the coronavirus pandemic, they continued to rise again over the past two months reaching their highest level since July 2014 due to the escalation of tensions between Russia and the west over Ukraine. Last January, the index of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) recorded the highest rate of monthly increase 6.8%. This is what the organisation attributed to the rising global demand. The World Food Programme has warned of the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, as the disruption of the flow of grain from the Black Sea will lead to increased and inflated prices at a time when affordability is a concern worldwide, after the economic damage caused by the pandemic. The war temporarily suspended a quarter of the global wheat trade, and about 20 percent of the corn trade, which made global crop prices rise to record levels, while Arab countries rely heavily on wheat produced in the Black Sea region due to its low prices and ease of transportation. For example, Russian wheat represents 60 percent of wheat imports in Tunisia and 80 percent in Egypt, while most of the wheat imported to Lebanon and Morocco comes from Ukraine. On average, Russia and Ukraine provide 60 percent of the wheat supplied to Arab countries, which makes the conflict between Russia and Ukraine a threat to their food security, especially under the pressure of drought in countries such as Iraq, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. According to the UN, global food prices reached their highest levels in March 2022 as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and are expected to continue rising globally. The current conflict is disrupting the supply chains of cereals and oilseeds and is expected to significantly increase the costs of local production in the agricultural sector. The share of Russia and Ukraine in the world trade of wheat exceeds 30%, 32% of barley, 17% of corn, and more than half of sunflowers, seeds, and animal feed. Millions of people in the Middle East and North Africa region suffered from the severe effects of hunger and malnutrition long before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting supply chains, and causing a contraction in public spending; the war in Ukraine is currently exacerbating the problem. According to the World Bank, the share of the Middle East and North Africa in the total acute food insecurity in the world reached 20% in 2020, which is very high when considering that the region contains only 6% of the worlds population. With millions of people still living in extreme poverty in this region, which faces the worlds highest inequality, any rise in food prices is likely to have catastrophic effects. As the latest IPCC report shows, the Middle East and North Africa are one of the most climate-affected in the world as they mainly suffer from environmental stresses, such as water scarcity and a decline in soil fertility, biodiversity, and marine life. Communities in the region are suffering from deteriorating food and water security as a result of climate change, and according to UN estimates, the number of people who need food assistance in Yemen may reach 19 million in the second half of 2022. The war in Ukraine has exposed just as the COVID-19 pandemic did before it the fragility of the current food system and its heavy dependence on chemical inputs produced by fossil fuels and on global commodity trade, highlighting the need for a local, diverse, and more adaptable food system. From a purely economic perspective, FAO studies do not rule out that high rates of malnutrition will lead to a decline in global GDP by 5%. Also, the absence of stable and long-term food security may lead to an erosion of human capital and an increase in financial burdens on governments to the extent that it overburdens public government spending and causes stagnation in economic growth in the long run. The war in Ukraine made it necessary to reconsider our agricultural methods and the foods we eat. It also exposed the deficiencies in the food system and the commodification-based industrial agriculture, which is an unhealthy global food system that suffers under the pressure of unsustainable food patterns for the affluent class and the effects of climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the decline of soil fertility as a result of the excessive use of agrochemicals. Therefore, it is necessary to move towards a sustainable food system based on food sovereignty and agroecology to ensure the health of people and the planet. Southern societies and governments can stop the cycle of neo-colonial dependency by adopting alternative paths of development that prioritise people over corporate profits and ensure community ownership and the equitable distribution of assets, such as seeds, land, and tools. Any sustainable approach must include adaptation to global warming and be based on human rights. Most countries in the world should take the initiative to participate in the negotiations concerning the effects of climate change. This includes preparing mitigation and adaptation plans, and in particular ensuring that rich polluters fulfil their obligations by compensating for the devastating effects and damages caused by the climate crisis. The right to food is facing severe crisis in the Middle East due to the Ukrainian crisis and climate changes. It needs urgent international action to ensure rapid plans and international cooperation that will enable the countries of the region to build more inclusive and sustainable economies to take measures that improve the rules of international trade in the fields of food and agriculture, enhance production efficiency, and develop more equitable food and agricultural systems capable of achieving sustainable development goals. *The writer is the president of the Arab Network for Digital Media and Human Rights Search Keywords: Short link: Russian shelling killed at least seven people in Ukraine over the past 24 hours and wounded 25 more, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. The country's presidential office said Russian forces targeted cities and villages in southeast Ukraine, with most civilian casualties occurring in Donetsk province, where Russia stepped up its offensive in recent days. Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Telegram post that two people died in the city of Avdiivka, which is located in the center of the province, and the Donetsk cities of Sloviansk, Krasnohorivka and Kurakhove each reported one civilian killed. ``Every crime will be punished,'' he wrote. Kyrylenko urged the province's more than 350,000 remaining residents to flee late Tuesday, saying that evacuating Donetsk was necessary to save lives and allow the Ukrainian army to put up a better defense against the Russian advance. Donetsk is part of the Donbas, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where Ukraine's most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared the complete seizure of the region's other province, Luhansk, after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the last city under their country. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai denied Wednesday that the Russians had completely captured the province. Heavy fighting continued in villages around Lysychansk, the city Ukrainians soldiers withdrew from and which Russian troops took on Sunday, he said. ``The Russians have paid a high price, but the Luhansk region is not fully captured by the Russian army,`` Haidai said. ``Some settlements have been overrun by each side several times already.'' He said up to 15,000 residents remain in Lysychansk and some 8,000 in the nearby city of Sievierodonetsk, which Russian and separatist fighters seized last month. Pro-Russian separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Putin recognized the independence of the two self-proclaimed separatist republics in the region. Since Russian forces failed to make inroads in capturing Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, Moscow has concentrated its offensive on seizing the remaining Ukrainian-held areas of the Donbas. To the north of Donetsk, Russian forces also hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, with missile strikes overnight, the Kharkiv regional governor said Wednesday on Telegram. Three districts of the city were targeted, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. Three people, including a toddler, sustained injuries, according to the governor. A university building and an administrative building were destroyed. Search Keywords: Short link: Russia's parliament on Wednesday introduced harsh prison terms for calls to act against national security and criminal liability for maintaining "confidential" cooperation with foreigners. Public calls to act against Russia's security will be punished by up to seven years in prison. Establishing and maintaining "confidential" cooperation with a foreigner or international organisation and helping them act against the interests of Russia will be punishable by up to eight years in prison. The development brings to mind the Soviet era when contacts between Russians and foreigners were strictly monitored. Lawmakers also toughened legislation on state treason and espionage. The measures were passed on the 133rd day of Russia's military intervention in Ukraine. Russian society is reeling from a historic crackdown on dissent which has intensified since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Rights activists fear the new legislation will be used to snuff out any last vestiges of dissent. "The changes are an adequate and timely response to the challenges that our country is currently facing," senior lawmaker Vasily Piskarev said in a statement released by the lower house of parliament. Collecting, storing and transferring to the enemy information that can be used against the Russian army will be considered a form of espionage and is to be punishable by between 10 and 20 years in jail. Putin's decision to send troops to Ukraine has led to a further clampdown on freedom of speech and media in the country and sparked an exodus of foreign and independent Russian journalists. Criticism of Russia's military intervention in Ukraine has essentially been banned in the country, and the words "war" and "invasion" outlawed. In March, Russia passed into law prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading false information aimed at discrediting its military forces. Search Keywords: Short link: European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that the 27-nation European Union needs to make emergency plans to prepare for a complete cut-off of Russian gas in the wake of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. The EU has already imposed sanctions on Russia, including on some energy supplies, and is gearing away from Kremlin-controlled deliveries. But the head of the EU's executive branch said the bloc needed to be ready for shock disruptions coming from Moscow. "We also need to prepare now for further disruption of gas supply and even a complete cut-off of Russian gas supply,'' von der Leyen told the EU legislature in Strasbourg, France. She said a dozen members have already been hit by reductions or full cuts in gas supplies as the political standoff with Moscow over the Ukraine invasion intensifies. "It is obvious: Putin continues to use energy as a weapon. This is why the Commission is working on a European emergency plan,'' she said. "We need to make sure that in case of full disruption, the gas flows towards where it is most needed. We have to provide for European solidarity.'' European Union countries already agreed last month that all natural gas storage in the 27-nation bloc should be topped up to at least 80% capacity for next winter to avoid shortages during the cold season. The new regulation also says underground gas storage on EU soil will need to be filled to 90% capacity before the 2023-24 winter. The war in Ukraine has prompted the 27-nation bloc to rethink its energy policies and sever ties with Russian fossil fuels. Member countries have agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end in addition to a ban on imports of Russian coal that will start in August. The EU has not included gas _ a fuel used to power factories and generate electricity _ in its own sanctions for fear of seriously harming the European economy. Before the war in Ukraine, it relied on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas. To slash its use of Russian energy, the European Commission has been diversifying suppliers. "And our efforts are already making a big difference," von der Leyen said. "Since March, global LNG exports to Europe have risen by 75% compared to 2021. LNG exports from the U.S. to Europe have nearly tripled." In the meantime, the average monthly import of Russian pipeline gas is declining by 33% compared with last year, von der Leyen said as she called for a speedy transition toward renewable sources of energy. "Some say, in the new security environment after Russia's aggression, we have to slow down the green transition. This transition would come at the `the cost of basic security', they say. The opposite is true. If we all do nothing but compete about limited fossil fuels, the prices will further explode and fill Putin's war chest," she said. "Renewables are home-grown. They give us independence from Russian fossil fuels. They are more cost-efficient. And they are cleaner." The EU Council agreed last month to raise the share of renewables in the bloc's energy mix to at least 40% by 2030 _ up from the previous target of 32%. In addition, a 9% energy consumption reduction target for 2030 will become binding on all EU member states for the first time. Search Keywords: Short link: Moscow on Wednesday admitted that Turkey was conducting checks on a Russian ship in the Black Sea that Ukraine says is carrying stolen Ukrainian wheat. "The (Zhibek Zholy) ship is currently in the roadstead of the Karasu port and is going through standard procedures, including sanitary control," a spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, Alexei Zaitsev, said at a briefing. "Turkish authorities will make a decision on entry or refusal to entry into the port. There is no talk on the detention or arrest of the cargo," he said. Ukraine asked Turkey to arrest the Russian-flagged ship on Friday, alleging that it had set off from the Moscow-occupied port of Berdyansk and that it is carrying confiscated wheat. NATO-member Turkey has said nothing official in public as it tries to maintain open relations with both Moscow and Kyiv. But a senior Turkish official source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the "problem arose due to a vacuum of authority at the post of departure". "We are continuing to examine the ship's documents," the Turkish official said. Search Keywords: Short link: By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Representatives of Azerbaijan's Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) participated in the 12th International Industrial Exhibition INNOPROM-2022 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Azernews reports. Within the framework of the exhibition, AZPROMO's representatives held a number of bilateral meetings. During the meetings, there was an exchange of views on the favorable business and investment environment created in Azerbaijan. The parties also discussed opportunities for cooperation in investment and business. The exhibition, which will run until July 7, is held under the theme "Industrial transition: from challenges to new opportunities". In addition to officials, the event is attended by representatives of business and public organizations from more than 60 regions of Russia and more than 30 countries. According to the National Export Strategy, Azerbaijan's non-oil exports are planned to be doubled and reach $3.7 billion by 2025 compared to 2020. Rescue teams in the Italian Alps said Tuesday they found eight survivors who had been missing since a glacial avalanche killed at least seven people on Sunday. The avalanche happened on the Marmolada ridge, the highest peak in the Dolomites, standing more than 3,300 meters. "When we arrived, we saw a disaster. We realized the dimensions of this enormous avalanche," said Stefano Coter, head of the local alpine rescue team and one of the first people to reach the scene. "We found injured people in need of help and other people who were dead," he added. This discovery could explain why some people have lingering effects from infection including headache, fatigue, loss of taste and smell, and inability to sleep as well as "brain fog" -- and may also help devise new treatments for long COVID. The paper, published in the journal Brain, was based on brain autopsies from nine people who died suddenly after contracting the virus. Rather than detecting evidence of COVID in the brain, the team found it was the people's own antibodies that attacked the cells lining the brain's blood vessels, causing inflammation and damage. A small new study published Tuesday by scientists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health suggests that the immune response triggered by coronavirus infections damages the brain's blood vessels and could be responsible for long COVID symptoms. NIH scientist Avindra Nath, the paper's senior author, said in a statement: "Patients often develop neurological complications with COVID-19, but the underlying pathophysiological process is not well understood. "We had previously shown blood vessel damage and inflammation in patients' brains at autopsy, but we didn't understand the cause of the damage. I think in this paper we've gained important insight into the cascade of events." The nine individuals, ages 24 to 73, were selected from the team's earlier study because they showed evidence of blood vessel damage in their brains based on scans. Their brains were compared to those from 10 control individuals. The scientists discovered that antibodies produced against COVID-19 mistakenly targeted cells that form the blood-brain barrier, a structure designed to keep harmful invaders out of the brain while allowing necessary substances to pass. Damage to these cells can cause leakage of proteins, bleeding and clots, which elevates the risk of stroke. The leaks also trigger immune cells called macrophages to rush to the site to repair damage, causing inflammation. The team found that normal cellular processes in the areas targeted by the attack were severely disrupted, which had implications for things such as their ability to detoxify and to regulate metabolism. The findings offer clues about the biology at play in patients with long-term neurological symptoms, and can inform new treatments, for example, a drug that targets the buildup of antibodies on the blood-brain barrier. "It is quite possible that this same immune response persists in long COVID patients resulting in neuronal injury," Nath said. This would mean that a drug that dials down that immune response could help those patients, he added. "So these findings have very important therapeutic implications." It is the first new model that the cash-strapped automaker has released in three-and-a-half years, since an updated version of the Korando was launched in February 2019. The vehicle is the successor to the Musso, the carmaker's popular midsize SUV produced from 1993 to 2005. At a launch event in Incheon, Ssangyong said it received more than 30,000 pre-orders for its new SUV, about double its sales target for the end of the year. Prices range from W27.4 million to W30.2 million (US$1=W1,300). The carmaker added that it plans to export the Torres SUV to Latin America, including Chile, where it will hold a launch event in November. Ssangyong also plans to release new electric cars. The automaker signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese electric carmaker BYD last year and is now developing electric vehicles using the company's batteries. It said it will release a midsize electric SUV next year and an electric pickup truck in 2024. KYODO NEWS - Jul 6, 2022 - 22:04 | All, Japan, Coronavirus Newly confirmed COVID-19 cases nearly doubled from a week earlier to over 45,000 in Japan on Wednesday, exceeding the 40,000 mark for the first time since May 18 as the nation's coronavirus infections continue to rebound. Fears over the onset of a seventh wave spread, likely fueled by a new Omicron subvariant, as higher case counts were reported in all of the 47 prefectures, with cases more than doubling in Tokyo, and Osaka and Kanagawa prefectures compared with the week before. In Tokyo, 8,341 new cases were recorded, compared with 3,803 on the same day last week, according to the metropolitan government. The capital confirmed 5,302 new cases on Tuesday. The seven-day rolling average of new cases in Tokyo stood at 4,426.6 per day, up 86.8 percent from the previous week. Osaka and Kanagawa reported 4,621 and 3,038 new daily cases, respectively, helping take the nationwide tally of new COVID-19 infections to 45,821 on Wednesday. In Fukuoka Prefecture in southwestern Japan, 2,366 new cases were confirmed, prompting the prefectural government to issue an alert and ask residents to take antivirus measures. Infections had been on the decline across the nation since mid-May but began to increase in late June. Newly confirmed cases exceeded 30,000 on Tuesday, with the BA.5 subvariant comprising an increasing share of new daily cases. The BA.5 strain is believed to have the ability to slip through the immunity obtained from vaccines and infections so far, likely enabling a faster spread than the BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants that had previously spread in Japan. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases projects BA.5 to become mainstream during the week of July 4 to 10 with the majority of patients infected with it. At a news conference on Wednesday, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura expressed concern over the surge in the western Japan prefecture, warning it could develop into a "wave similar to the sixth one," which struck Japan earlier this year. Daily new cases surpassed 100,000 a day nationally during a peak period in the previous surge. Following the upward trend of the virus, the health ministry on Tuesday asked prefectural governments in writing to examine and strengthen medical infrastructure under their jurisdiction, including preparing enough bed space for older patients. The ministry called attention to the need for hospitals to find a good balance between COVID-19 treatment and emergency medical care given an increase in the number of heatstroke patients brought in for emergency care. The rebound in virus cases can also lead to a rapid increase in the number of patients staying at home while waiting to recover. The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was planning to roll out a nationwide travel subsidy program sometime during the first half of July but now plans to postpone it, a government source said Wednesday. The government plans to carefully watch the infection situation and make a decision next week after Sunday's House of Councillors election, the source said. The new subsidy campaign would be a nationwide version of subsidy programs currently implemented at the prefectural level to encourage local travel among residents. Related coverage: Tokyo's daily COVID cases double from week ago to over 5,000 Japan eases travel advisory for 34 nations, including China, South Korea Tokyo raises alert level amid resurgence in COVID-19 cases KYODO NEWS - Jul 6, 2022 - 15:02 | All, Japan As the House of Councillors election looms Sunday with a solid poll lead for Japan's ruling coalition, the heads of major political parties are making extensive use of a few choice phrases to present their cases to voters across the country. With squeezed finances amid rising prices a focal issue, ruling Liberal Democratic Party chief and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is telling crowds his government has the competence to handle the problem, while the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is urging voters to show their anger over the government's response. Kishida has been touting his government's actions to address rising prices and COVID-19, often concluding his speeches by saying the ruling coalition of the LDP and junior partner Komeito can surmount the challenges and "lead the way to the future." This year, 125 of the upper house's 248 seats -- half of the chamber plus a vacant seat in the other half -- are up for election. A Kyodo News poll released this week tipped the LDP and Komeito to win more than half the contested seats, with the former set for more than 60 and the latter to retain 14. During campaigning, CDPJ leader Kenta Izumi has repeatedly mentioned a "livelihoods perspective" in a bid to show empathy with voters, criticizing the ruling parties' response to price rises and imploring people to "be angry together, and make your voices heard." Polling suggests his party could struggle to hold on to its 23 seats. The upper house contest is Izumi's first national election since he took over as party leader from Yukio Edano after disappointing results in the 2021 House of Representatives election. Komeito's proposals to the government on stemming soaring prices have been a regular fixture of speeches by its leader Natsuo Yamaguchi, who says his party "time and again made pre-emptive moves." He has also been raising his fist, calling on the public to "lift up" the party's candidates past the re-election threshold. Ichiro Matsui, leader of the opposition Japan Innovation Party, which supports constitutional reform and could see a big rise from its current six seats, has been saying, "We need a sharp opposition party that can face down the LDP." Meanwhile Kazuo Shii, leader of the Japanese Communist Party, which holds six of the seats being contested, has argued that the stronger the party is the more government policy can be influenced. With the party's 100th anniversary fast approaching, it has also been promoting itself as "facing up to adverse currents." Yuichiro Tamaki, whose pro-constitutional reform opposition Democratic Party for the People could see it lose some of the seven seats it currently holds, has sought to emphasize pragmatism, telling crowds in a recent stump speech, "It's not about right or left, it's about creating a society that can move upward." Related coverage: Japan ruling bloc tipped to win over half of upper house race seats KYODO NEWS - Jul 5, 2022 - 22:52 | All, Coronavirus, Japan Tokyo confirmed 5,302 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, more than double the level the week before and exceeding the 5,000 mark for the first time since April 28. Across Japan, a total of 36,189 new coronavirus cases were recorded, more than an 80 percent increase from a week earlier, with each of the country's 47 prefectures seeing higher case counts. The last time the nation saw an excess of 30,000 new daily cases was May 26. In Tokyo, the seven-day rolling average of new cases stood at 3,778.3 per day, up 74.9 percent from Tuesday last week, according to the metropolitan government. "The pace of increase in new cases is accelerating, and the number of hospitalized patients has more than doubled in half a month," a metropolitan government official said, expressing alarm at the development. Last Thursday, the Tokyo government raised the COVID-19 alert level by a notch to the second-highest on its four-level scale in response to a rise in infections for two consecutive weeks. Meanwhile, Osaka Prefecture in western Japan reported 4,523 daily cases on Tuesday, about double the level a week earlier. In Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, where new cases had increased by about 80 percent from the week before to 2,481, Gov. Hideaki Omura described the surge as "not a rebound, but clearly the onslaught of a seventh wave." "Cases are increasing in a surprising manner," Omura told a news conference, calling on the public to take a booster vaccine shot if they have not done so while at the same time taking steps to avoid infections. The worrisome trend has prompted talk within the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that the rollout of a nationwide travel subsidy program, planned for early July, should probably be postponed. The new subsidy campaign would be a nationwide version of subsidy programs currently implemented at the prefectural level to encourage local travel among residents. Under the new campaign, up to 11,000 yen ($81) would be provided to each traveler per day in the form of discounts and coupons to go toward paying for travel and other expenses, such as dining and shopping. In mid-June, Kishida said the campaign would begin in the first half of July, provided the infection situation had improved. The transport ministry has said it wants to start the program sometime in early July. But given the risk that a premature start to the campaign could direct criticism toward the Kishida government, sources at the Prime Minister's Office expressed skepticism about starting it as planned. "It's impossible under the current circumstances," one of the sources said. KYODO NEWS - Jul 6, 2022 - 14:22 | All, World, Japan Japan, South Korea and the United States are arranging a meeting of their foreign ministers this week in Indonesia, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday, with North Korea expected to top the agenda. The trilateral talks may take place on the sidelines of a two-day Group of 20 foreign ministerial meeting starting Thursday on the Southeast Asian nation's resort island of Bali, according to the sources. The three-way gathering would bring Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken together for the first time with their South Korean counterpart Park Jin, who took the post in May under new leader Yoon Suk Yeol. The countries' leaders met on the fringes of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid last week, the first such trilateral talks since 2017. The leaders agreed to bolster security cooperation over North Korean nuclear and missile threats amid speculation that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017. The ministerial meeting is being planned as the change in South Korea's government is creating fresh momentum for improved bilateral ties between Tokyo and Seoul. Relations have soured in recent times over wartime issues and territorial disputes. In Bali, foreign ministers from the major developed and fast-growing economies will talk about shortages in food and energy as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched in late February, continues. Moscow's representative Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to join the gathering. Protesters take part in a demonstration in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the United States, on June 20, 2020. (Photo by Alan Chin/Xinhua) "The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me ... This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn," African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass once sighed back in 1852. His words still ring true today. by Xinhua writer Zhao Wencai BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- As many Americans are celebrating their nation's Independence Day, a large portion of their fellow citizens, ethic minorities and females in particular, are still agonizing over racism, discrimination as well as abuses of fundamental human rights that continue to haunt the country since its birth almost two and a half centuries ago. Among them are African American Jayland Walker and his family. The unarmed 25-year-old Black man was shot dead in a hail of bullets fired by eight police officers in a high-speed pursuit last week. In a body-camera footage of the fatal shooting released on Sunday, officers were chasing Walker who got off his car, and then fired multiple rounds of shots at him. A lawyer for Walker's family said officers had kept on firing even after he fell onto the ground. Walker's tragic death is naturally reminiscent of the outrageous murder of George Floyd, another Black American, in 2020. Despite Floyd repeated "I can't breathe" more than 20 times, a white officer insisted on pressing his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes, and ruthlessly took away his life. Photo taken on May 22, 2022 shows the George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The difficult truth is that what chokes the African Americans and other ethnic groups, and makes them "can't breathe" is not just some white law enforcement officers. The country's lingering spectre of racism and discrimination is even more repressive and lethal. For decades, the United States has been called a "melting pot" or "salad bowl." And Washington politicians have grown increasingly used to depicting the United States as a champion of human rights and racial equality. But admit it or not, racial inequality and discrimination have been baked into the genes of the country. When the U.S. Declaration of Independence was drafted in 1776, Thomas Jefferson and his fellow authors literally meant that only the white males were entitled to equality and rights as they penned down the words "all men are created equal." That was what actually happened to non-white communities. Black Americans were regarded as the "personal property" of slave owners, some of whom were those Founding Fathers themselves. As for native Americans, their fate was even more miserable: "Indians and wolves are both beasts of prey, tho' they differ in shape," once said George Washington, who liked wearing boots made of the skin of Indians. While Dr. Martin Luther King passionately called for a dream that "men of all races, colors, and creeds will live together as brothers," it seems that the Founding Fathers of the United States never intended that way. Demonstrators gather at the Lincoln Memorial for the "Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks" event in Washington, D.C., the United States, Aug. 28, 2020. (Photo by Alan Chin/Xinhua) Although some progress has been made in the past two centuries, like giving women the right to vote and ending slavery, yet, in the words of former U.S. President Barack Obama, the United States is not "cured" of racism, and the history of slavery and segregation is still part of America's DNA. In his book Who are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity, Samuel Huntington, an American political scientist, argued that U.S. national identity is the product of the Anglo-Protestant culture of the founding settlers of America. This offers some insights into why Black Americans and other ethnic groups are still facing some kind of actual segregation even though the country's Jim Crow laws have been a thing of the past. According to a New York Times article in 2019, more than half of the nation's schoolchildren are in racially concentrated districts, where over 75 percent of students are either white or non-white. With a failure of racial integration, the non-white groups are bearing the brunt in terms of rampant gun violence, ballooning hate crimes and ever widening wealth and education gaps. Data from Everytown for Gun Safety, an American nonprofit organization, showed that Black Americans experience 10 times the gun homicides, 18 times the gun assault injuries, and nearly 3 times the fatal shooting by police of White Americans. In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in mid-April, some 32 percent of Black adults said they worried every day or almost every day that they might be threatened or attacked because of their race or ethnicity. Around one-in-five Asian Americans said the same, as did 14 percent of Hispanic adults. Yet politicians in Washington seem not interested in bringing a real end to the woes grilling their fellow countrymen whose skin color happens to be darker. They tended to use their time to smear the human rights of countries far away from America's shores. "The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me ... This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn," African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass once sighed back in 1852. His words still ring true today. While for Floyd, Walker and tens of thousands of other non-white Americans treated as second-class citizens in this country that loves to brag about freedom and equality, they have proved with their personal tragedies of tears and blood that 246 years on, America remains cursed by racism. TEHRAN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that Tehran's demand to obtain economic guarantees from the United States in recent negotiations in Qatar was within the framework of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a televised press conference with his visiting Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Amir-Abdollahian said that "in Doha, we negotiated over obtaining effective guarantees from the United States in the areas of anything that affects Iran's economic interest under the JCPOA, but the American side has not been able to assure us in this regard." "Iran is determined to reach a good, strong and stable agreement. We do not have any demands beyond the deal," he noted, adding that "our demands are completely within the framework of the 2015 agreement." He stressed that "the United States must be committed that Iran will enjoy the full benefits of the 2015 agreement." Amir-Abdollahian also appreciated Qatar for its efforts in coordination and hosting the recent talks. For his part, the Qatari foreign minister said that it is important that all neighboring countries make constructive efforts for the region's good. "We support regional talks. We always try to support these talks to reach an agreement that will eliminate the concerns of all parties," he said. The Qatari official is also scheduled to meet Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani later on Wednesday. His visit to Tehran followed the recent indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Doha over their differences concerning the implementation of the JCPOA. After the Doha talks, Washington accused Tehran of introducing "extraneous demands" that go beyond the Iranian nuclear deal. Iran signed the JCPOA with major countries in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for removing sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact. The Iranian nuclear talks began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March over political differences between Tehran and Washington. BAMAKO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-two Malians, including three children, have recently died off the coast of Libya, the Ministry of Malians Abroad and African Integration said on Tuesday. "These 22 people were part of a group of 83 migrants in distress off the coast of Libya since June 22, 2022," the ministry said in a statement. Sixty-one people were rescued, including Malians. The ministry said it is trying to identify the survivors and do everything to ensure their repatriation. In recent years, with the support of the International Organization for Migration, irregular Malian migrants have been regularly repatriated from Libya. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijan and Iran have agreed on the acceleration of the activities on the Khudafarin and Giz Galasi hydro junctions, Azernews reports. The discussion on the topic took place during the meeting between Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Mehrabian. "In a wide-ranging meeting with Iran`s Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian, we agreed on the acceleration of the activities on #Khudafarin and #GizGalasi hydrojunctions, HPPs, and finalisation of the plants very soon. We had fruitful discussions in terms of the development of our cooperation in the field of energy," Shahbazov wrote on his official Twitter page. During the meeting, the parties emphasized that this meeting will contribute to the development of jointly implemented energy projects. They noted that the presidents attach special importance to the development of common historical and friendly relations between the two countries. The sides also exchanged views on other issues on the agenda of energy cooperation between the two countries. In 2016, Azerbaijan and Iran agreed to build the Khudafarin and Giz Galasi hydro junctions and hydroelectric power plants on the Araz River. They have a total capacity of over 1.6 billion cubic meters. It will have the capacity to generate 716 million kW-hour of electricity per year. These hydro junctions and hydroelectric power plants will allow both sides to share the Araz River's water and energy resources. After liberating its lands from the Armenian occupation in the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan regained control over a 132-km section of the Azerbaijani-Iran border. After regaining control over the state border, new prospects have become available for deeper cooperation between the two countries. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran in 2021 was $440.8 million. Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Philippine National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos in Manila, the Philippines, on July 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Kai) MANILA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Wednesday that China is willing to deepen pragmatic cooperation with the Philippines to usher in a new "golden age" in bilateral ties. When meeting with Philippine National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, Wang said that with joint efforts from the two sides, the China-Phillipines relations have witnessed positive turnaround, improvement and upgrading over the past six years. The election of Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos as the new Philippine president has turned over a new leaf in the China-Philippines ties as the people of the two countries have a high expectation on the future development of bilateral relations, he noted. Wang said his visit highlighted China's emphasis on relations with the Philippines and support for the new Philippine government, and it also demonstrated the continuity and stability of Beijing's friendly policy toward Manila. For her part, Carlos said the two countries have shared people-to-people affinity and close cultural links. The Philippines fully agreed with China on its initiative of building and sharing a brighter future of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. The Philippine side is ready to expand exchanges and cooperation with China, and properly handle differences so as to boost mutual trust, enhance confidence and strengthen friendship between the two countries. Wang said China will never follow the footsteps of traditional powers that engaged in colonial plunder. China will adhere to its peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation, while sharing development opportunities with its neighboring countries, jointly building a community with a shared future for humanity and taking good care of the global village. He stressed that China and the Philippines are neighbors that have no other choice than to stay true to their friendship. Sound, sustained and stable China-Philippines relations serve the fundamental and long-term interests of the two countries and their people. The two sides should carry on their traditional friendship, make the China-Philippines relationship more solid and stronger, and keep its development on the right track, Wang said. The two sides agreed to strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges to consolidate the public and social foundation for bilateral friendship. Both sides also agreed to safeguard the overall interests of the China-Philippines friendship, avoid defining bilateral ties by disputes, and not let specific differences hinder bilateral cooperation. Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He co-chaired the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Myanmar. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a press conference in London, Britain, May 25, 2022. (Andrew Parsons/No. 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua) "This looks like the beginning of the end for Boris Johnson. He's lost two of the ministers, who many would regard as among the most competent in the Cabinet, those who have a quality that would be accepted by other potential leaders," said Professor Iain Begg, a political expert at the London School of Economics and Political Science's (LSE) European Institute. LONDON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under renewed pressure to go following the shock resignations of two key cabinet ministers on the same day, political experts told Xinhua on Tuesday. "This looks like the beginning of the end for Boris Johnson. He's lost two of the ministers, who many would regard as among the most competent in the Cabinet, those who have a quality that would be accepted by other potential leaders," said Professor Iain Begg, a political expert at the London School of Economics and Political Science's (LSE) European Institute. Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak resigned on Tuesday in protest against Johnson's leadership. Javid said he "can no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government," while Sunak criticized the government's lack of competence. Sajid Javid arrives at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on Sept. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Han Yan) Though Johnson has scrambled to make a swift cabinet reshuffle by appointing Steve Barclay as the new health secretary and Nadhim Zahawi as the new Chancellor, Begg believes the departure of two high-profile ministers and their scathing attack on Johnson's leadership will add to the pressure on his already precarious premiership. "The two resignations tonight and a couple of other resignations by lesser figures clearly intensify the pressure on Boris Johnson to go," he told Xinhua, noting a series of scandals engulfing the prime minister. He called Johnson's survival of a no-confidence vote within his own party weeks ago "a close-run thing." In the confidence vote over the "Partygate" scandal that saw Johnson and government employees revel in alcohol-fueled parties at Downing Street over the past two years when the country was in COVID-19 lockdown, lawmakers who voted against him amounted to more than 40 percent. Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference in London, Britain, on Feb. 3, 2022. (Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua) The latest scandal involved Johnson's appointment of lawmaker Christopher Pincher to deputy chief whip despite being informed of formal complaints about his sexual misconduct. Johnson went on television to apologize for Pincher's appointment minutes before the two cabinet ministers' announcements of resignation. "Johnson is now extremely weakened. The question for him now is whether others, either in the Cabinet or in his own party, will say, this is too much. We must get rid of this man because he's bringing us all down," Begg said. "The accumulation of forces is pointing in the direction of him going, and going quickly." "The likelihood is there's going to be a lot soul-searching, both among members of the Cabinet who are not directly beholden to Boris Johnson and others in the party, and the likelihood is that they will find a way to topple him," he added. Professor Jon Tonge from the political department at the University of Liverpool told Xinhua, "Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on political death row. Any further resignations and it's surely the end. His political credibility is in ruins regardless." ADDIS ABABA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has warned that an "unprecedented emergency" condition is ravaging drought-affected communities across the Horn of Africa (HOA). UNOCHA, in its latest HOA drought regional humanitarian overview and call to action issued late Tuesday, said communities in the Horn of Africa are facing the threat of starvation following four consecutive failed rainy seasons in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, a climatic event not seen in at least 40 years. "At least 18.6 million people are already waking each day to high levels of acute food insecurity and rising malnutrition across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. This figure could increase to 20 million by September," UNOCHA said. About 7.4 million people in Ethiopia and some 4.1 million people in Kenya are severely food insecure due to the drought, UNOCHA figures indicate. In Somalia, some 7.1 million people are now acutely food insecure, and eight areas of the country are at risk of famine between now and September, with the Bay region of a particular concern, UNOCHA warned. The October-December 2020, March-May 2021, October-December 2021 and March-May 2022 seasons were all marred by below-average rainfall, leaving large swathes of Somalia, southern and south-eastern Ethiopia, and northern and eastern Kenya facing the most prolonged drought in recent history, UNOCHA said. It warned that early forecasts further showed that the October-December 2022 rainy season is also likely to fail. UNOCHA said food prices are spiking in many drought-affected areas due to a combination of macroeconomic challenges, below-average harvests and rising prices on international markets, including as a result of the Ukraine crisis. Amid rising food prices, the cost of a food basket has already risen by 66 percent in Ethiopia and by 36 percent in Somalia, leaving families unable to afford even basic items and forcing them to sell their hard-earned properties and assets in exchange for food and other life-saving items, it said. UNOCHA said families across the drought-affected communities are taking desperate measures to survive. With more than 1.1 million people leaving their homes in search of food, pasture, water and alternative livelihoods, UNOCHA warned that the situation increases the risk of inter-communal conflict, as well as heightening pressure on already limited basic services. In addition to the multifaceted impacts of the ongoing drought, many drought-affected communities are also struggling to cope with the cumulative consequences of other shocks that include conflict, flooding, COVID-19 and desert locusts, UNOCHA said. BANGKOK, July 5 (Xinhua) -- China and Thailand have agreed to work together to build a community with a shared future, and step up cooperation in areas including railway and cyber security, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday. At a joint press conference with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Wang said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Thailand, and that bilateral relations have made steady progress and enjoy broad prospects. During the visit, Wang said, the two sides had in-depth strategic communication and reached consensus in four aspects. Firstly, both sides agreed to jointly build a community with a shared future between the two countries, and make it the goal and vision for the development of bilateral ties. This will further enrich their relationship as close as one family in keeping with the times, and usher in a brighter future of more stable, prosperous and sustainable bilateral relations. Secondly, both sides agreed to work towards the early opening of the China-Laos-Thailand railway, and foster the development of logistics, economy and trade, and industries. They will launch more cold-chain freight train services, tourism and durian express, and facilitate all-around cooperation in regions along the route, delivering more tangible benefits to the people of the three countries. Thirdly, both sides agreed to jointly safeguard cyber security. The two sides have signed a memorandum of understanding on cyber security cooperation and vowed to crack down on all forms of telecom fraud. Fourthly, both sides agreed to jointly push for positive results at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in Thailand later this year. China will firmly support Thailand in playing its role as the host to lead the meeting to focus on the Asia-Pacific, on development and on the building of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. It is hoped that the meeting will follow the guidance of the Putrajaya Vision 2040, set out on a new journey and inject fresh impetus into APEC development. Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He co-chaired the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Bagan, Myanmar. BEIRUT, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Minister of Displaced Issam Charafeddine said on Wednesday that Lebanon will follow its initial plan of returning Syrian refugees to their homeland regardless of the position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in this regard. Charafeddine's remarks came two days after the minister announced a plan to repatriate 15,000 Syrian refugees monthly while forming a tripartite committee with the Syrian government and the UNHCR and another committee with Turkey, Jordan and Iraq to facilitate this task. "The UNHCR did not agree to a number of items that were put forward, including the request to suspend the payment of aid to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and has withdrawn from the tripartite committee proposed by Lebanon," Charafeddine was quoted as saying by Voice of Lebanon, a private local radio. The minister assured that "the return of the displaced will be safe and dignified," adding "the refugees will be provided with shelters established within their villages in Syria." Charafeddine also revealed that he would visit Syria by next week to discuss the matter with Syrian authorities. Charafeddine announced on Monday that Lebanon plans to return 15,000 Syrian refugees monthly to their country and it has already made these proposals to Ayaki Ito, UNHCR representative in Lebanon, who promised to review them and reply to the Lebanese government with a written answer. Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with the government's estimation of 1.5 million Syrian refugees. The country has been suffering from an unprecedented financial crisis and the presence of a big number of refugees weigh heavily on the country's economy and infrastructure. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday censured the United States for pushing a Dutch supplier to stop selling chipmaking gear to China, calling the U.S. moves a typical example of "tech-terrorism." Zhao made the remarks at a regular press briefing when answering a query on reports that the U.S. is pushing the Netherlands to ban ASML Holding NV from selling mainstream technology, the most advanced systems, or DUV to China. Produced by Xinhua Global Service BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Scientific endeavors aboard China's space station are expected to bear fruits, as the Shenzhou-14 taikonauts have devoted more time to microgravity experiments on the orbiting core module Tianhe since entering it a month ago. China's space station is designed to be a versatile space lab, capable of accommodating 25 experiment cabinets for scientific exploration. The China Manned Space Agency has released video updates from space, which show that the station's core module is packed with research equipment, and the experiments in orbit span a range of disciplines, including microbiology, physics and medicine. The three-member crew has conducted microbial tests in water, air and surface samples, aiming to ensure that they can stay safe and comfortable during the six-month spaceflight. They also installed a device for carbon dioxide reduction and regeneration in their orbiting home. In the latest update, the trio was seen undergoing an eye examination and medical aid training. Commander Chen Dong was spotted testing a spacesuit, preparing for the upcoming spacewalks out of the lab module Wentian, which is scheduled to be launched this month. The experiment cabinets installed on Wentian will allow the taikonauts to perform experiments on molecules, cells, tissues and organs by using diverse online detection methods, such as visible light, fluorescence, or microscopic imaging. However, it has not been all about the experiments and construction of the space station for the trio. They are also maintaining a decent work-life balance in orbit. Recent videos captured them doing workouts on treadmills and exercise bikes to reduce the impact of microgravity exposure on the body. Female taikonaut Liu Yang, donning a light pink waistcoat, was seen folding colorful paper stars for leisure and collecting them in a glass bottle. The video has drawn more than 1.2 million hits since China's space agency shared it on the microblogging site Sina Weibo on Tuesday. Some media reports linked Liu's pastime activity to what she said before the mission --"write blessings to her children 'in the stars' during the space trip." "Expecting her to bring back a bottle full of stars," commented a social media user. Wu Dawei, deputy chief designer of China's manned space program taikonaut system, praised the Shenzhou-14 crew as "a young, lively and rigorous team with good physical, operational and psychological conditions." China launched the Shenzhou-14 spaceship on June 5, sending three taikonauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe to its space station combination for a six-month mission. During their stay in orbit, the crew will witness two lab modules, the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship, docking with the space station core module. File photo taken on Sept. 7, 2021 shows British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C), Health Secretary Sajid Javid (L) and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak attending a press conference in London, Britain. British Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak resigned on July 5, 2022 in protest against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership as a barrage of scandals left the Conservative government reeling. (Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua) LONDON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- British Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak resigned on Tuesday in protest against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership as a barrage of scandals left the Conservative government reeling. Javid said he "can no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government," while Sunak criticized the government's lack of competence. "The tone you set as leader, and the values you represent, reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country," Javid said in his resignation to Johnson posted on his own Twitter page. He concluded that the Conservative Party has neither been "popular" nor "competent in acting in the national interest." "This situation will not change under your leadership and you have therefore lost my confidence," Javid said. "The country needs a strong and principled Conservative party, and the party is bigger than any one individual," he added. In his resignation posted on Twitter, the chancellor wrote, "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously." "I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning," Sunak said. "I served you loyally and as a friend, but we all serve the country first. When made to choose between those loyalties there can only be one answer," he added. Months of scandals have dogged Johnson and his government, casting doubt on the Conservatives' future in the next general election in 2024. Though Johnson recently survived a no-confidence vote within his party over the "Partygate" scandal that saw him and government employees revel in alcohol-fueled parties at Downing Street over the past two years when the country was in COVID-19 lockdown, lawmakers who voted against him amounted to more than 40 percent. Last month, the Conservative Party lost two crucial House of Commons seats in by-elections. The latest scandal involved Johnson's appointment of lawmaker Christopher Pincher to deputy chief whip despite being informed of formal complaints about his sexual misconduct. Johnson went on television to apologize for Pincher's appointment minutes before the two cabinet ministers' announcements of resignation. Johnson's political opponents have quickly pounced at the departure of the two key ministers as well as its damage on Johnson's premiership and the Conservative party as a whole. Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour party, said, "After all the sleaze, the scandals and the failure, it's clear that this Government is now collapsing. Tory cabinet ministers have known all along who this Prime Minister is." "They have been complicit every step of the way as he has disgraced his office and let down his country. If they had a shred of integrity they would have gone months ago," Starmer said. "Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs," he added. Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey tweeted, "A House of Cards built on lies and deceit comes crashing down. Go and go now. You have discredited our great country long enough." File photo taken on Jan. 19, 2022 shows British Health Secretary Sajid Javid speaking at a COVID-19 press conference in London, Britain. British Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak resigned on July 5, 2022 in protest against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership as a barrage of scandals left the Conservative government reeling. (Tim Hammond/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua) File photo taken on March 23, 2022 shows British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak leaving Downing Street in London, Britain. British Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak resigned on July 5, 2022 in protest against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership as a barrage of scandals left the Conservative government reeling. (Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua) File photo taken on Sept. 7, 2021 shows British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C, Rear), Health Secretary Sajid Javid (L, Rear) and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (R, Rear) attending a press conference in London, Britain. British Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak resigned on July 5, 2022 in protest against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership as a barrage of scandals left the Conservative government reeling. (Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua) ABUJA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 300 inmates were on the run while one inmate died and three others were injured during an attack on Tuesday by unidentified gunmen on a prison in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city, a senior official said on Wednesday. The attackers stormed the custodial center in Kuja area, southwest of Abuja on Tuesday night, freeing about 600 inmates but half the number of fleeing inmates have been re-arrested so far, said Shuaibu Begore, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Interior. Begore told reporters during a visit to the facility on Wednesday that one inmate was killed and three others injured during the attack, suspected to be carried out by militants of the extremist group Boko Haram. A total of 994 inmates, including convicted Boko Haram conspirators and high-profile public officers standing trial or already convicted, were at the facility before the late Tuesday attack, he said. "We understand they are Boko Haram terrorists and came specifically for their conspirators. Many of them are returned, some were retrieved from the bushes they were hiding. We have retrieved about 300 out of about 600 that got out of the jail," the official said. In a statement, Abubakar Umar, national spokesman for the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), said the attack was successfully repelled by security agencies. "Calm has been restored to the facility, and the situation is under control," Umar said. BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has initiated a Level IV emergency response for flood control in the country's northern and northeastern regions, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Wednesday. The emergency response was launched for provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shandong and Henan, as downpours are expected to lash some of these areas before Friday. The precipitation may cause the water level of the Liaohe River, which has exceeded its warning level for days, to rise further, the ministry warned. And natural disasters such as floods, mountain torrents, landslides and urban waterlogging could occur in the affected areas. China has a four-tier flood control emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe response. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli The State Tax Service (STS) under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan is negotiating with a number of countries on signing agreements on double taxation avoidance. The remarks were made by the head of the Main Department of International Taxation and Tax Monitoring of the STS, Orkhan Musayev, in an interview with the Vergiler online newspaper (vergiler.az). According to him, in general, 94 international agreements have been concluded in the taxation field. "To date, Azerbaijan has signed 55 bilateral agreements on the avoidance of double taxation. Besides, negotiations are underway with Japan, Slovakia, India, Portugal, and a number of other countries to sign similar documents," Musayev added. Xu Ronghong, a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, shows a pottery ware in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 30, 2022. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) Xu Ronghong, a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, checks a pottery ware in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 30, 2022. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) Xu Ronghong, a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, makes a pottery ware in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 30, 2022. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) Xu Ronghong, a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, adds calligraphy decorations to the surface of a pottery ware in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 30, 2022. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) Xu Ronghong, a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, polishes a pottery ware in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 30, 2022. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) Aerial photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows Xu Ronghong, a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, adding calligraphy decorations to the surface of a pottery ware in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) Xu Ronghong (L), a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, teaches an apprentice to polish a pottery ware in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 30, 2022. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) Xu Ronghong, a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, watches as his apprentices make pottery wares in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 30, 2022. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) Xu Ronghong, a Zitao (purple pottery) craftsman, polishes a pottery ware in Wanyao Village of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 30, 2022. Xu Ronghong, 57, is an inheritor of the making skills of Jianshui purple pottery, one of the national intangible cultural heritages of China. Xu was born in Jianshui County. As the fifth generation pottery maker of his family, Xu started to learn the techniques since childhood. In order to make an excellent piece of pottery, every process including clay preparing, modeling, decorating, firing and polishing all need great concentration. "The procedures are interlocking. One tiny flaw in a certain process would lead to a defective product," Xu said while adding carved decorations to the surface of a pottery ware. Xu sees pottery as a carrier to convey the beauty of multiple artistic forms such as calligraphy, painting and carving, and to bear the rich cultural connotation behind the intangible heritage of his hometown. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) URUMQI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- No matter how hard the United States tries to spin it, the laws it imposed in recent years regarding the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China are nothing more than a crude and nasty web of lies. The world has already realized that Washington's plan to use human rights as a tool to defame China, stifle its development, and maintain the waning U.S. hegemony lies beneath the so-called "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" and other similar laws. These laws are fundamentally founded on outright lies. The immense strides Xinjiang has made in advancing human rights and improving the lives of its citizens have conclusively shown that claims of "genocide" and "forced labor" are completely untrue. A few simple examples suffice to illustrate the point. The Uygur population in Xinjiang grew from over 8.3 million in 2000 to over 11.6 million in 2020, and the region's average life expectancy rose from less than 30 years in 1949 to 74.7 in 2019. From 1978 to 2020, the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in Xinjiang both saw an increase of over 100 times. Those facts are well-documented and conspicuous to all open and fair minds. In recent years, more than 2,000 government officials, religious personnel, and journalists from over 100 countries and organizations have visited Xinjiang. What they have seen is a peaceful Xinjiang with steady development. Ironically, as regards to forced labor, the University of Denver has disclosed that there are currently at least 500,000 people living under modern slavery and forced labor in the United States. The country is also the only UN member that has not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Even on its pet subjects of freedom of press and speech, Washington is glaringly hypocritical. For instance, while revving up its rumor-mongering propaganda machines on Xinjiang, the United States has been trying to silence and sideline anyone brave enough to challenge its narrative. As a matter of fact, what the United States truly cares about, as has become increasingly clear, is how to contain China and maintain its own hegemony. Lawrence Wilkerson, the chief of staff to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, once publicly confessed that the best way for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to destabilize China would be "to foment unrest" in Xinjiang. Washington is driving itself into a frenzy, frequently to the point where it is oblivious to the consequences of its actions. This includes distributing false information, enacting absurd laws, inflaming ethnic tensions, and banning products from Xinjiang. But China has continued to grow, and Xinjiang has continued to prosper. Ironically, those conspiracies have only helped the world recognize the United States for what it truly is: an empire of lies. Sixian County in east China's Anhui Province is under closed-off management to combat the latest COVID-19 resurgence. Food delivery riders are helping ensure the supply of daily necessities for local residents. From June 26 to July 5, 6 p.m., a total of 218 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 847 asymptomatic carriers had been logged in the latest epidemic resurgence in Sixian. Produced by Xinhua Global Service LONDON, July 6 (Xinhua) -- United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed on Wednesday to stay in power despite the resignation on Tuesday of two key cabinet ministers and the ensuing decision by other ministers and aides to also quit their more junior posts over his scandal-tainted leadership. Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak resigned from their posts as health secretary and chancellor of the exchequer, respectively, on Tuesday in protest against Johnson's leadership. Javid said he "can no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government," while Sunak criticized the government's lack of competence. The two top ministers' shock departure has sparked a string of resignations, with the number of ministers and aides walking out reaching around 20 before Johnson went to face the grilling at the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon. "The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when he has been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going, and that's what I am going to do," Johnson said when asked by lawmakers if he would resign. "It's exactly when times are tough, when the country faces pressures on the economy and pressures on their budgets and when we have the biggest war in Europe for 80 years, that is exactly the moment that you'd expect a government to continue with its work, not to walk away, and to get on with the job," he said. The embattled prime minister has been struggling to save his job for months after being caught in a series of headline-making scandals. He became the first serving British prime minister in history to break the law after receiving a fine from the police for attending a party in 2020 during the country's COVID-19 lockdown. Though he survived a no-confidence vote recently within his Conservative Party over the so-called Partygate scandal, 40 percent of his own party voted against him and the forces that want him to go have been gaining momentum following more untoward revelations. The latest scandal involved Johnson's appointment of lawmaker Christopher Pincher to deputy chief whip despite being informed of formal complaints about his alleged sexual misconduct. Johnson went on television to apologize for Pincher's appointment minutes before Javid and Sunak's resignation. The seemingly endless string of scandals has dogged Johnson and his government, casting doubt on the Conservatives' future in the next general election in 2024. Last month, the Tories lost two crucial House of Commons seats in by-elections. The Conservative Party's powerful 1922 Committee, which arranged the first no-confidence vote on Johnson, is poised to change the rules to allow for another such vote soon, The Guardian has reported. UNITED NATIONS, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Three UN agencies urge European countries to end the detention of asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children across the continent, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Children's Fund and the UN Refugee Agency also offered a range of alternatives and recommendations to help end child detention, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Detention of children is never in their best interests; it is a violation of their rights, and must be avoided at all costs," said Dujarric. In a joint review conducted in 38 countries across the European region, the agencies found many worrying examples of child detention. Detention has a profound and negative impact on child health and well-being and can have a long-lasting negative effect on children's cognitive development, the agencies said in their briefing paper. Detention exacerbates psychological distress and risks depression, anxiety, violence and abuse. The survey found alternatives in various European countries offer viable and cost-efficient solutions for host countries. It listed such practices as supported independent living, foster and family-based care and other child-friendly and child-centered programs. Recommendations in the report include expanding alternatives to detention for children and families, investing in reception conditions and national child protection systems and enhancing national data collection and monitoring capacities within countries and the European Union. "Family unity and the best interests of the child go hand in hand in the context of persons on the move," said Ola Henrikson, IOM regional director for the European economic area, the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "We encourage governments to work to replace immigration detention for children and families with community-based programs, case management and other rights-based alternatives, which have proven highly effective." Aircraft are seen during a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Xinhua) ALGIERS, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. In a televised message before the parade, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said the Independence Day celebrations "bear the meanings of loyalty to the martyrs, and to the eternal message of November" 1954, referring to the victory of the Algerian War of Independence. Tebboune, who is also commander-in-chief of the People's National Army, inspected parade formations of land, air and naval forces as well as the National Gendarmerie as they passed through a seaside square near the newly built Grand Mosque of Algiers. The parade also featured hundreds of military vehicles, including missile launchers, armored personnel carriers, and Soviet-era tanks. After the flyover of Algerian fighter jets in a triangle formation, a showcase of warships including frigates and submarines concluded the parade. Senior Algerian military officials including Army Chief of Staff Said Chengriha attended the parade, together with foreign leaders and ministers, including the presidents of Tunisia, Ethiopia and Niger. Aircraft are seen in the formation of "60" during a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Xinhua) Aircraft are seen during a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Xinhua) Aircraft are seen during a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Xinhua) Military vehicles are driven during a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Algerian Ministry of National Defense/Handout via Xinhua) Military vehicles are driven during a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Algerian Ministry of National Defense/Handout via Xinhua) Armored vehicles are driven during a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Algerian Ministry of National Defense/Handout via Xinhua) People take part in a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Algerian Ministry of National Defense/Handout via Xinhua) Military vehicles are driven during a military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on July 5, 2022. Algeria on Tuesday held a grand military parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonialism, with the attendance of senior local and foreign officials. (Algerian Ministry of National Defense/Handout via Xinhua) People receive China-donated quake relief supplies in Paktika province, Afghanistan, on July 2, 2022. (Photo by Sabwoon/Xinhua) After sleeping in the open for several days, quake-affected Afghan villagers received China-donated relief supplies, including tents which largely alleviated the homelessness problem. SHARAN, Afghanistan, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Khan Mohammad, a villager from Afghanistan's Paktika province, received Chinese assistance, including a tent, after sleeping in the open for several days as a result of the destructive earthquake that struck Afghanistan on June 22. "China's tents reached us just at the right time. My family of seven are all together in the same tent," Mohammad told Xinhua recently, describing China as a good neighbor of Afghanistan. The destructive earthquake rendered hundreds of families homeless in the province, forcing them to live under trees in hot weather, intolerable in summer when the scorching sun beats down all day and mosquitoes bite all night. Abdul Rauf, 40, also affected by the quake, said that the Chinese tents had largely alleviated the homelessness problem. "The tremor had destroyed all my property. I had to live in open for several days. China's donations relieved my problem," Rauf said. People receive China-donated quake relief supplies in Paktika province, Afghanistan, on July 2, 2022. (Photo by Sabwoon/Xinhua) Mawlawi Mansoor, the head of Natural Disaster Management Authority of Paktika province, said that 920 Chinese tents and various clothes had been distributed to the quake victims in Barmal and neighboring Gayan districts. At least 1,000 people had been confirmed dead and nearly 2,000 others sustained injuries in the 5.9-magnitude tremor. China has pledged assistance worth 7.5 million U.S. dollars to assist the quake-affected regions. "We thank China for announcing the abundant aid to the people of Afghanistan," Afghan caretaker government's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Xinhua. Several countries along with international agencies including UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) have also assisted the affected regions. Photo taken on Nov. 9, 2021 shows the booth of Roche of Switzerland at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Bilateral relations between Switzerland and the People's Republic of China date back to 1950 and have since steadily intensified. by Chen Junxia and Martina Fuchs MONTREUX, Switzerland, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Beyond the reestablishment of business ties in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, building cultural bridges between Switzerland and China is as important as ever, according to Felix Sutter, president of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SCCC). Sutter has been head of the SCCC since 2015 and a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Switzerland for 19 years. "We have over the last 30, 40 years woven a piece of fabric together. We have interconnections in the business processes, in the manufacturing processes, in logistics, in culture, everywhere. I think the most important thing to do right now is to listen and not to talk first," Sutter told Xinhua in an interview recently. Visitors view goods at the booth of Switzerland during the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijng, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Asked about his opinion of the Chinese economy, Sutter commented: "COVID, of course, doesn't really help the implementation of China's new five-year plan, but you can see that domestic consumption, the dual circulation strategy is very important." China has set its economic growth target at around 5.5 percent in 2022 after the country's economy saw a strong rebound with 8.1 percent growth in 2021. According to its website, the chamber aims at improving Sino-Swiss relations by promoting dialogue between companies, providing opportunities for business cooperation and enhancing cultural understanding. Local teenagers perform Chinese martial arts during the "Meet China" event in Bern, Switzerland, Sept. 1, 2018.(Xinhua/Xu Jinquan) "But we also need cultural bridge-building. The economy is certainly important to make money. We all want to make money. But the cultural elements are crucial where we align ourselves with similar values," he said. Bilateral relations between Switzerland and the People's Republic of China date back to 1950 and have since steadily intensified. Since 2010, China has been Switzerland's most important trading partner in Asia and its third largest globally after the European Union (EU) and the United States. A bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which Sutter described as an important milestone, was signed in Beijing in 2013 and entered into force on July 1, 2014. The non-profit chamber was founded in 1980 by Dr. Uli Sigg, former Swiss ambassador to China, and a group of businessmen. Registered in Zurich, Switzerland, it now has more than 700 corporate and individual members, including major banks, trading companies, insurance companies and industrial companies. Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, a Swiss luxury watch maker, speaks in an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the virtual Watches and Wonders Geneva 2021, April 8, 2021. (Photo by Martina Fuchs/Xinhua) JINAN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The China-Caribbean Development Center was inaugurated in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, on Wednesday, which is expected to strengthen China's cooperation with the Caribbean countries. Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Shandong provincial government, ambassadors from Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the Surinamese Charge d'Affaires attended the inauguration ceremony and the Conference on China-Caribbean Development both online and offline. Three cooperation projects between China and Caribbean nations were also announced, which include the donation of anti-pandemic materials to the relevant countries, collaboration with Guyana on marine fisheries training, and the launch of an international information exchange platform to share successful cases of common development with people in the Caribbean region. Anyin Choo, Guyana's ambassador to China, said China is a partner of the Caribbean countries, and that as an important platform, the center should continue to promote the development of relations between China and the Caribbean countries and bring the people of the two sides closer. HARBIN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Fastening his safety harness anchored to a pylon, Na Changchun lifted materials and equipment about 30 meters above the ground and started to install a square protection board meticulously. Two meters above Na's head was a nest for a family of oriental white storks, and three birdlings were resting quietly inside. As an electrician of the State Grid Qiqihar Electric Power Company in Qiqihar City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, this is the sixth time Na has installed the protection board on a pylon this year. However, the board is not only to ensure a stable power supply but to protect the birds from the dangers of transmission lines. Living a happy life on the power towers, the oriental white storks sometimes turn out to be a headache for the electric power department, as their acid droppings increase the possibility of power supply tripping and may cause pollution flashover, which poses a risk to the birds' safety. Qiqihar is believed to be a paradise for migratory birds thanks to its vast wetland area and its Zhalong nature reserve serves as the habitat of over 190 types of rare birds including red-crowned cranes. Every year from mid-March, a large number of migratory birds fly in to "start a family and raise their children." The endangered oriental white stork, a migratory bird species under first-class national protection, is mainly found in Russia's Far East and northeast China. As solitary birds, oriental white storks like to build nests on isolated trees. Although the wetlands in Qiqihar are rich in water and grass, tall trees are rare, so the power transmission towers in wetlands have become the first choice for oriental white storks to settle down. "The returning oriental white storks were spotted near transmission lines for the first time on March 12 this year, and on March 20 some of them chose the power towers as home," said Wang Zhimin, an electrician from the company. This year, power towers in Qiqihar have attracted over 50 pairs of the birds to build nests, bringing the total number of such nests to more than 110, with each bird nest registered with a serial number by staff from the company. Moreover, the State Grid Heilongjiang Electric Power Company has launched a campaign in the province to offer better protection for the birds. In addition to installing protection boards, the company also takes measures such as setting up artificial nesting sites and increasing patrol frequency along the transmission lines. Some 100 km north of Zhalong nature reserve in the Wuyuer River nature reserve, a couple of white poles standing along a row of power towers are conspicuous in the wetlands. "Last winter, the State Grid Qiqihar Electric Power Company, in cooperation with our reserve, built 16 artificial nesting sites in the wetlands. This year, six pairs of oriental white storks have settled down in them," said Zhang Mingyi, an official with the Wuyuer River nature reserve, pointing at the poles. The bowl-shaped nesting sites, which are 15 meters above the ground on top of the poles, two meters in diameter and 0.6 meters deep, have stronger wind resistance, making it easier for oriental white storks to build their nests, said Zhang. The sites are safer and more comfortable, unlike power towers which may present a danger of electric shock to the birds, Zhang added. "This winter, the reserve will continue to work with the power department to build new nesting sites for more oriental storks to improve their living conditions," said Zhang with a smile. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova Baku will play host to Azerbaijani Design Summit-2022 on July 17, Azernews reports. The design summit will take place at Nizami Cinema Center. Azerbaijan Design Summit-2022 is a meeting place for established designers, artists, and design newcomers. The event provides a great opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss the development of the country's design industry. The summit event is expected to cover many areas of design. An international poster competition will be held as part of the Azerbaijan Design Summit-2022. Many designers from Azerbaijan and abroad have already joined the competition on the topic of "Typography and the World". The winners will be selected by local and foreign juries. Around 50 selected posters will be exhibited as part of the event. The design experts like Adam Yunisov, Elchin Mammadov, Emil Ismayilov, Faig Ahmad will take part in the summit. Famous graphic designer Dogan Arslan (Turkiye) will share his experience with design lovers. It is enough to subscribe to the official social and web page of Azerbaijan Design Summit-2022 to keep abreast of the event and be registered. Participation is free. For more information, please visit: Web: azerbaijandesignsummit.az Facebook: azerbaijandesignsummit Instagram: azerbaijandesignsummit LinkedIn: azerbaijandesignsummit Twitter: Azedesignsummit Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, Milli.Az. BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday censured the United States for pushing a Dutch supplier to stop selling chipmaking gear to China, calling the U.S. moves a typical example of "tech-terrorism." Zhao made the remarks at a regular press briefing when answering a query on reports that the U.S. is pushing the Netherlands to ban ASML Holding NV from selling mainstream technology, the most advanced systems, or DUV to China. "It is another example of the United States abusing its national power and relying on technological hegemony to engage in coercive diplomacy," Zhao said. Zhao said that in the current context of globalization, the United States has repeatedly politicized, instrumentalized and ideologically oriented on technology and economic and trade issues, and imposed "technological blockades" on other countries, which will only make these countries realize that relying solely on the United States for technology will not work. "This will also prompt countries to accelerate their realization of scientific and technological independence and self-reliance," the spokesperson added. Zhao also said he hopes that relevant parties will uphold objective and impartial positions, proceed according to their own long-term interests and the principle of a fair and just market, and make decisions independently. BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Silk Road Fund has inked an investment framework agreement with the Indonesia Investment Authority to jointly pursue investment cooperation opportunities in Indonesia. The two parties will establish a long-term and win-win strategic partnership and leverage their respective resources and expertise to promote socioeconomic development and connectivity between China and Indonesia, according to the Fund. Given the vast investment potential in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, the Silk Road Fund intends to invest up to 20 billion yuan (about 3 billion U.S. dollars) or the equivalent amount of foreign currencies under the agreement. The two sides will cooperate via various forms of investment with a focus on supporting local projects that benefit people's livelihoods and promote development in Indonesia, the Fund said. Demonstrators march during a protest against the Supreme Court's overturning of the Roe v. Wade abortion-rights ruling in New York, the United States, July 4, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua) One survey of foster care alumni showed that, by their 25th birthdays, 81 percent of males had been arrested and one in three incarcerated. NEW YORK, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Underfunded and overstressed U.S. foster care systems are bracing for new pressures if the overturning of Roe v. Wade sends more children their way, reported major news portal Axios on Tuesday. About 424,000 children in foster care on any given day already face shortages of placements, low high school graduation rates, and disproportionately high rates of incarceration and homelessness, according to the report. "Without new funding and accountability, these problems may only get worse," it noted. Child welfare advocates say they're concerned about a growing foster care-to-prison pipeline. One survey of foster care alumni showed that, by their 25th birthdays, 81 percent of males had been arrested and one in three incarcerated. The average placement of children in state care is longer than a year and a half, and 5 percent of children in foster care are there for five or more years, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 overturned Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision that established a constitutional right to abortion in the nation nearly 50 years ago. * The China-Caribbean Development Center was inaugurated in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, on Wednesday. * The center is expected to strengthen China's cooperation with the Caribbean countries. * Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that China and Caribbean countries have set an example of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and common development among countries of all sizes. JINAN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The China-Caribbean Development Center was inaugurated in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, on Wednesday, which is expected to strengthen China's cooperation with the Caribbean countries. Three cooperation projects between China and Caribbean nations were also announced, which include the donation of anti-pandemic materials to the relevant countries, collaboration with Guyana on marine fisheries training, and the launch of an international information exchange platform to share successful cases of common development with people in the Caribbean region. Photo taken on July 6, 2022 shows the unveiling ceremony of the China-Caribbean Development Center in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua) BOOMING TRADE China and Caribbean countries have bolstered cooperation in many fields, of which the most conspicuous is trade. "The Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is so charming. It is what I have been looking for," said a comment on China's e-commerce platform JD.com. The taste originating from Caribbean seashores is favored by Chinese customers, who are willing to pull out their wallets for this exotic relish. As the main distributor of Blue Mountain coffee in China, Shanghai Inter-Ocean Enterprise Co., Ltd. has participated in the China International Import Expo (CIIE) for four consecutive years, dedicated to spreading this Jamaica specialty to the Chinese market. Photo taken on Nov. 6, 2018 shows Blue Mountain coffee products at the Jamaica pavilion during the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) "During the second CIIE, Jamaica was one of the guests of honor. Our sales volume on-site reached 300,000 yuan (about 45,000 U.S. dollars)," said Xu Hao, chief operating officer of the enterprise. According to Xu, Blue Mountain coffee is winning more fame thanks to China's booming economy. During the 2018-2021 period, his company saw its annual sales volume surge by 600 percent. "With China's excellent business environment, improved infrastructure facilities, and strengthened logistics systems, trade between China and Jamaica is booming," said Xu. Visitors walk past the Jamaica pavilion during the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 6, 2019. (Xinhua/Yin Gang) In late June, a batch of fresh garlic was exported from Shandong to Costa Rica, with a total value of 287,000 yuan. It was free of customs duty thanks to a Certificate of Origin of the China-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (FTA). According to Zhou Yi, manager of Jining Greenway Foodstuffs Company, since the FTA between China and Costa Rica was signed, the customs tariff rate of the company's fresh garlic has been reduced to zero from 14 percent, saving the company about 1.4 million yuan annually. "Every cent counts. The cost reduction will help us win more orders and clients," said Zhou. ANTI-PANDEMIC COOPERATION AND MORE China and the Caribbean countries have fostered collaborations in more fields, including the fight against COVID-19. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said earlier this year that Caribbean countries provided China with invaluable support when China's fight against the pandemic was at its toughest period. After the outbreak of the pandemic in the Caribbean countries, China has also shared its experience in fighting COVID-19 without reservation, and provided batches of COVID-19 vaccines and anti-pandemic supplies to Caribbean countries having diplomatic relations with China, Wang said during a foreign ministers' meeting held via video link with nine Caribbean countries. Wang said that China and Caribbean countries have set an example of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and common development among countries of all sizes. China stands ready to work with Caribbean countries to promote peace and development, draw up a blueprint for the development of bilateral relations, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and carry forward the friendship among the people, said Wang. Photo taken on March 18, 2020 shows the venue of an online meeting on COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control among representatives from China and Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica. (Photo by Esteban Dato/Xinhua) Analisa Low, Trinidad and Tobago's ambassador to China, expected the two countries to cooperate in more aspects. "Many large Chinese multinationals have established branches in Trinidad and Tobago," said Low, adding that the China-Caribbean Development Center can play a role in facilitating business cooperation and also technical exchanges in marine conservation and the development of the blue economy. Shandong registered a total trade volume of around 519 million yuan with Trinidad and Tobago in 2021, up 33.4 percent year on year. In the first five months of this year, the trade between the two sides surged 151.4 percent year on year to 364.92 million yuan. Anyin Choo, Guyana's ambassador to China, said China is a partner of the Caribbean countries, and that as an important platform, the center should continue to promote the development of relations between China and the Caribbean countries and bring the people of the two sides closer. (Video reporters: Feng Yuanyuan, Zhu Xiaoguang; Video editors: Li Ziwei, Zhu Cong, Cao Ying, Zhang Yuhong.) TEHRAN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The "oppressive" U.S. sanctions against Iran should be lifted in such a way that all countries can easily invest in Iran while maintaining their long-term interests, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said Wednesday. Shamkhani made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Iran's Nour News affiliated with SNSC reported. Iran will be committed to diplomacy until the realization of its legal rights in nuclear talks, he was quoted as saying. Al Thani's visit to Tehran followed the recent indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Doha over their differences on reviving the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact. The Iranian nuclear talks began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington. TEHRAN, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) arrested the British deputy ambassador and other foreigners for "spying" activities such as collecting soil samples in prohibited areas, official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. According to a video released by the IRGC Intelligence Organization, the IRGC has identified some diplomats of foreign embassies, including the British deputy ambassador, who were "spying" instead of carrying out their diplomatic missions, said the report. "The British deputy ambassador had gone to Shahdad desert (in central Iran) with his family as a tourist, but as the recorded images show, this person was collecting soil samples in this area," the report said. Western news outlets have identified the arrested British diplomat as Giles Whitaker, the deputy head of mission at the British embassy in Iran. However, a spokesperson for Britain's Foreign Office said "reports of the arrest of a British diplomat in Iran are completely false." Iran also identified, Maciej Walczak, a Polish scientist who visited Iran "under the guise of scientific exchanges," as another arrestee, saying he, as a tourist, went to the Shahdad region in Kerman Province, where IRGC was holding a missile test, according the IRNA report. He and his companions collected samples of soil, water, rock, salt, and mud from the region near the testing area, the report said. Another arrestee is the spouse of a cultural advisor of the Austrian embassy, who visited the villages of Damghan city in Semnan Province, and collected samples of the soil of the area, it added. TRIPOLI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Presidency Council on Tuesday announced a new plan to resolve the country's current crisis, confirming that urgent consultations will be held with the political parties to achieve a consensus on it. "The Presidency Council held a number of meetings among its members, who agreed on a general framework for an action plan that addresses the political blockage in the country," the council said in a statement. Preserving the unity of the country, eliminating the possibility of armed conflict, ending the division, consolidating the state of existing peace, avoiding chaos, limiting foreign interference, and pushing for a national solution are among the main objectives of the plan, the statement said. "The Vice President of the Presidency Council, Abdullah Allafi, was assigned to conduct urgent consultations with the political parties, in order to achieve consensus on the details of the plan and to turn those details into a roadmap with clear tracks and landmarks, ending the transitional stages through presidential and parliamentary elections within a specific timeframe," it added. Over the past few days, a number of Libyan cities have been witnessing protests against the current political and economic situation in the country, as the protesters demanded all the existing political bodies resign and hold presidential and parliamentary elections urgently. Libya has been suffering escalating violence and unrest ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. Libya is currently divided between a government that was appointed by the House of Representatives in March, and the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity that refuses to hand over office except to an elected government. Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021, due to disagreements on the election laws among the Libyan parties. LUSAKA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Wednesday expressed optimism that the country's fourth mobile phone operator will soon commence operations. In February last year, the country's information and communication technology regulator, the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), awarded Beeline Telecoms Limited a license to start operations with a mandate to start operations within six months. But the firm has not yet commenced operations. Felix Mutati, the Minister of Technology and Science, said the government was confident that the regulator will soon make an announcement on when the fourth mobile phone operator will commence operations. He said in a statement posted on his Facebook page that the regulator was not struggling with the fourth mobile phone operator and the progress made towards commencement of operations will soon be made. Beeline Telecoms Limited became the second firm to be awarded a license for a fourth mobile phone operator after UZI Zambia, a unit Dutch company Unitel International Holdings, failed to fulfill its investment pledges after being given a license in 2018. Currently, Zambia has three mobile phone operators namely Airtel Zambia, MTN Zambia and Zamtel. ULAN BATOR, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia welcomed a total of 73,161 foreign tourists in the first half of this year, up 537.6 percent year-on-year, the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism said Wednesday. The dramatic increase was attributed to Mongolia's re-opening of its borders to foreign tourists in February, the ministry said. Russia, South Korea and Kazakhstan were the biggest sources of tourist arrivals for Mongolia in the January-June period, it said. Among measures to revive its pandemic-hit tourism sector, the Mongolian government on Tuesday made a decision to declare 2023 and 2024 as "Years to Visit Mongolia." In addition, the government has decided to allow South Korean tourists to visit Mongolia without a visa for up to 90 days until the end of 2024. The visa-free policy took effect on June 1. Currently, Mongolia's economy is largely dependent on its export-oriented mining sector. Developing tourism is seen as the most viable way to diversify the economy. The Asian country has set a goal of welcoming one million foreign tourists and earning 1 billion U.S. dollars from tourism in 2024. VIENTIANE, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Laos recorded a trade deficit of 133 million U.S. dollars in June 2022, according to figures from the Lao Trade Portal website Wednesday. The total value of trade in June amounted to 1 billion dollars, of which 456 million dollars was exports and 589 million dollars was imports. Laos' main export products are gold, gold bars, paper and paper products, copper ore, rubber, iron ore, bananas, clothing, and sugar. The country's main imports are vehicles (other than motorcycles and tractors), diesel, mechanical equipment (other than motor vehicles), steel and steel products, magnetic steel, plastic products, gasoline, and food industry waste. Laos shipped goods worth 154 million dollars to China, 106 million dollars to Vietnam, and 63 million dollars to Thailand, while imported goods worth 307 million dollars from Thailand, 141 million dollars from China, and 31 million dollars from Vietnam. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran has gone up by 18 percent in the first half of 2022, Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. Azerbaijan's top diplomat made the remarks at a meeting in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during his official visit to the country, the report adds. Bayramov stated that trade turnover between the two nations climbed by 30 percent in the previous year and by 18 percent in the first half of 2022, adding that there is still room for growth in this area. The minister expressed gratitude for the invitation and hospitality. Recalling the Iranian foreign minister's visit to Azerbaijan in December 2021, Bayramov emphasized the importance of reciprocal visits for the development of bilateral ties. It was underlined that having two meetings between the country's presidents in such a short period of time is an indication of the improvement of ties between Azerbaijan and Iran. The importance of Azerbaijan-Iran energy cooperation, particularly the Khudafarin and Giz Galasi projects, was emphasized. Furthermore, the significance of the North-South International Transport Corridor, where excellent regional cooperation exists between the two nations, particularly in the sphere of transportation, was highlighted. The parties underlined the importance of the ongoing construction of the railway terminal in Astara, as well as the construction of the bridge over the Astara River. Bayramov briefed his counterpart about Azerbaijan's post-conflict rehabilitation activities in the liberated lands, noting with satisfaction the participation of Iranian firms in this process. The minister also highlighted Azerbaijan's efforts to promote regional peace, stating that the country is ready for normalization of relations with Armenia based on strict adherence to international law norms. In turn, Amir-Abdollahian thanked Bayramov for accepting the invitation and visiting Iran. He noted with delight the accomplishments and documents signed during the meeting of the two nations' leaders. The minister said that Azerbaijan occupied a vital role in Iran's foreign policy and that cooperation between the two countries in different domains, including economics, commerce, transport, and energy, is successfully developing. Amir-Abdollahian stressed that Iran is determined to implement the memorandum of understanding on the establishment of new communication links between Azerbaijan's Eastern Zangezur economic region and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic via Iran. The parties also addressed multilateral cooperation, regional concerns, and other areas of mutual interest. The need for retaining the 3+3 regional model was emphasized. Simultaneously, the importance of collaboration in the Turkey-Azerbaijan-Iran framework was emphasized, and it was appreciated that the next meeting in this format would be held by Iran. Furthermore, Bayramov met with Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi on July 4, 2022, as part of his official visit to Iran. Raisi recalled with delight his November 28 meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Ashgabat, sending heartfelt greetings to his counterpart. Underlining the deep roots of the Iran-Azerbaijan relations, Raisi said that cultural and historical ties between the two nations are based on the desire of the two nations. He emphasized the need for increasing commercial turnover to ensure the continued growth of ties, noting that bilateral relations would also assist in regional cooperation. Bayramov, for his part, spoke about the two nations' historical, religious, and cultural links, and emphasized the importance of the summits of the heads of states for the development of relations. In this regard, he emphasized the significance of two previous meetings between the two presidents. The minister stated that productive conversations with his counterpart were held in Iran in line with the orders and agreements established at the meeting of the two countries' presidents in Ashgabat. Bayramov also noted the two nations' collaborative initiatives in the domains of energy, transportation, and communication. The significance of establishing new communication linkages between Azerbaijans East Zangazur economic zone and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as well as the fulfillment of collaborative projects in the liberated regions, was stressed in this respect. The parties discussed the present regional situation, emphasizing the need for preserving regional peace and security, as well as regional cooperation in this regard. In the same vein, Bayramov met with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran on July 4, 2022, as part of his official visit to Iran. Bayramov stressed the importance of reciprocal trips in the development of bilateral ties, recalling his December 2020 visit to Iran and the friendly meeting during the visit. The Azerbaijani top diplomat emphasized the importance of high-level meetings and visits of delegations in the development of mutual ties between the two neighboring countries. He recalled the vice-speaker of the Iranian Parliament's participation at the Baku conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, which was recently held in Azerbaijan. Bayramov briefed the opposing party on the present regional situation, Azerbaijan's plans for establishing peace and stability in the post-conflict period, and the efforts made in that regard. He added that the liberation of Azerbaijan's 132-kilometer border with Iran from Armenian occupation opens up new chances for collaboration. In reply, referring to the Azerbaijani-Iranian cultural and religious ties, Ghalibaf noted that developing connections with neighboring countries is a priority for Iran. He emphasized that his country is keen on increasing economic and trade partnerships with Azerbaijan in this regard. Ghalibaf stressed that Iran is always willing to help create communication linkages between the Eastern Zangezur Economic Region and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Iran is resolved to see these initiatives through. Moreover, he said that Iran is interested in participating in the rehabilitation and restoration of Azerbaijan's Eastern Zangazur and Karabakh economic regions. Other regional topics of mutual concern were also covered at the meeting, and the significance of maintaining regional peace and stability was underscored. NEW DELHI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- India's toy import has decreased by 70 percent in the last three years, while exports have gone up by 61 percent, officials said on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for HS Codes 9503, 9504, and 9505, the import of toys to India has reduced from 371 million U.S. dollars in FY 2018-19 to 110 million U.S. dollars in FY 2021-22, thus showing a decrease of 70.35 percent. "For the HS Code 9503, toy imports have decreased even faster, from 304 million U.S. dollars in FY 2018-19 to 36 million U.S. dollars in FY 2021-22," the ministry said in a statement. The Harmonized System (HS) code is a standardized numerical method to classify export trade products by customs authorities around the world. The ministry said during the same period the toy exports jumped by 61.38 percent. "For HS Codes 9503, 9504, and 9505, the export of toys has increased from 202 million U.S. dollars in FY 2018-19 to 326 million in FY 2021-22, up by 61.39 percent. For HS Code 9503, exports of toys have increased from 109 million U.S. dollars in FY 2018-19 to 177 million U.S. dollars in FY 2021-22," the ministry data showed. Anil Agrawal, additional secretary of the department for promotion of industry and internal trade, attributes the development to the government's interventions in the toy sector. According to the ministry, the interventions by the government for the toy sector include mandatory sample quality testing of each consignment, bringing it under compulsory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification and an increase in customs duty. BIS has granted 843 licenses to domestic manufacturers for the safety of toys, out of these, 645 licenses have been granted for non-electric toys and 198 licenses granted for electric toys. In addition to this, six licenses have been granted to international toy manufacturers, the ministry said. The 13th edition of Toy Biz B2B (Business to Business) International exhibition was held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on July 2-5. "Ninety-six exhibitors have showcased the diverse product category ranging from traditional plush toys, construction equipment toys, dolls, building block toys, board games, puzzles, electronic toys, educational toys, ride-ons, etc. All the toys products were made-in-India products manufactured domestically by small, medium and large enterprises," the ministry said. PHNOM PENH, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said here on Wednesday that the government is subsidizing more than 100 million U.S. dollars to the state-owned Electricite du Cambodge (EDC) in 2022 to stabilize electricity tariffs. Hun Sen said the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the sanctions and embargoes imposed by certain Western countries on Russia have driven a sharp rise in global energy price, affecting all countries around the world. "If there was no subsidy from the government, at this hour, our electricity tariffs would have already doubled," he said during a meeting with athletes with disabilities. "Some countries have already raised electricity tariffs, but for Cambodia, we have not yet increased the electricity prices," he added. Hun Sen called on people to save electricity and encouraged them to use electric vehicles to reduce fuel consumption and to reduce emissions. Regular gasoline costs 5,800 riel (1.42 U.S. dollars) per liter on Wednesday, while diesel costs 6,200 riel (1.52 U.S. dollars), according to the Ministry of Commerce's oil price list. The figures showed that the prices of regular gasoline and diesel rose 22 percent and 39 percent, respectively compared to the prices dated in mid-February, the ministry said. Meanwhile, Hun Sen highlighted the importance of hydropower dams and solar power plants in helping supply stable electricity and stabilize electricity tariffs amid the global energy crisis. China is the key developer of hydropower dams in the Southeast Asian country. Cambodian Ministry of Mines and Energy spokesman and director-general for Energy, Heng Kunleang, said Chinese invested projects such as hydropower dams, coal fired power plants, and solar power plants accounted for 65.7 percent of the total energy generated in the country. "Chinese invested energy plants have been playing a vital role in Cambodia's socioeconomic development, contributing to securing the stable and reliable supply of electricity in the kingdom," he told Xinhua. The participation of Chinese firms in the energy sector has also contributed to ensuring the reasonable prices of electricity in the kingdom, Kunleang said. The spokesman said the Belt and Road Initiative has encouraged Chinese investors to invest in Cambodia's energy sector, particularly in renewable energy such as hydropower dams and solar power stations. MOGADISHU, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The European Union Wednesday launched a humanitarian air bridge, airlifting emergency supplies to Somalia's hard-to-reach areas. The EU said it will be a major logistics operation, with an estimated 50 to 70 flights needed to deliver essential food supplies. "We are organizing a series of flights that will deliver essential supplies, mainly food and medicines, to our humanitarian partners in far-flung regions of Somalia, where air transport is the only way to deliver this assistance," European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said in a statement. Lenarcic said Somalia is facing an increased risk of famine with more than 7 million people, 45 percent of the population, already acutely food insecure. He added that the historic drought affecting the Horn of Africa, compounded by the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is resulting in massive suffering and displacement. The EU said it has allocated up to 815,000 U.S. dollars to this special operation, which will support the delivery of EU-funded medical and nutritional supplies during the dry season. And the humanitarian partners have ramped up health and nutrition interventions, among other forms of assistance, to people who are affected by drought. According to the United Nations, at least 200 children have died of malnutrition and disease in stabilization centers across Somalia since January. Already more than 805,000 people have been newly displaced by the drought, a situation expected only to deteriorate further. The EU said the first flight, carrying 6.5 tons of therapeutic nutrition and medical supplies for the EU's humanitarian partner Action Against Hunger is expected to depart to Somalia's south-western district of Elbarde on Wednesday. According to the EU, it's expected that between July 6 and July 11, more flights will reach the regions of Baidoa, Luuq and Wajid, with supplies for humanitarian partners. THE HAGUE, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Concerted work on several national law enforcement investigations across the European Union (EU) has led to the dismantling of a large criminal network involved in migrant smuggling, Europol, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, said here on Wednesday. Close cooperation between the law enforcement and judicial authorities of Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, supported by Europol and Eurojust, the European judicial cooperation authority, has led to 39 arrests and over 50 location searches. The criminal network is suspected of having used small boats to smuggle up to 10,000 migrants across the English Channel over the last 12 to 18 months. "It is believed to be the biggest ever international operation targeting small boat people smugglers," Europol said in a press release. During the operation, the authorities also seized 1,200 lifejackets, close to 150 rubber boats and 50 engines, several thousand euros in cash, firearms and drugs. According to Europol, the operation targeted the leaders of the criminal network as well as its financial means, and therefore dealt a severe blow to "one of the most significant crime groups involved in cross-Channel migrant smuggling." The investigation started in France on Nov. 30, 2021, following the arrest of 16 suspects for facilitating the smuggling of Vietnamese nationals from Calais, France, to the UK. Later arrests followed in Germany, Belgium, the UK and the Netherlands. BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Two shootings in one day, and on July 4. This year's Independence Day weekend, when Americans celebrated nationhood with carnivals and parades, was marred by appalling gun violence. At least six people were reportedly killed in a shooting in downtown Highland Park, Illinois, during a July 4th parade, with dozens of others injured. Just hours later, two police officers were reportedly shot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's largest city, during an Independence Day fireworks show. "On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we're instead mourning the tragic loss of life," said Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering. Perhaps for Americans, there is hardly a more patriotic place to celebrate Independence Day than Philadelphia. But the birthplace of American Independence is now tarnished by violence and overshadowed by shock, grief and anger. How ironic. The shootings added another heart-wrenching page to America's appalling -- and seemingly intractable -- record of gun violence. Americans tried to enjoy a day off, but there are no days off for gun violence. It could happen anywhere, anytime, and can instantly pull one family after another into inconsolable trauma. According to the nonprofit research group Gun Violence Archive, at least 310 mass shootings have claimed more than 22,000 lives so far this year. The bloodshed on Independence Day has once again laid bare gun violence as a tumor bedeviling the U.S. society, chronically dividing the nation and eroding public trust in Washington's capacity to govern. Worse still, the U.S. Supreme Court, as the highest authority to uphold the country's Constitution, added tensions over gun control in late June by striking down a century-old New York State law requiring gun owners to have probable cause in order to carry a concealed weapon. The right to life is an inherent and inalienable human right, but it seems that some Washington elites do not think so. While chanting "freedom from fear" as a fundamental birthright for every individual, they have done little to bridge the partisan divide and keep Americans safe. Gun violence continues to rattle the American society, and no solutions appear within reach. In the end, ordinary Americans have fallen victim to a dysfunctional system and a failed government. WASHINGTON, July 6 (Xinhua) -- As the United States was celebrating the 246th anniversary of independence, the unity for which U.S. President Joe Biden pleaded in his inaugural address seemed more elusive than ever, CNN has commented. Given the political discord boiling way beneath the surface of Monday's national celebrations, it is hardly surprising that a staggering 85 percent of U.S. adults in an Associated Press-NORC poll released last week said things in the country are headed in the wrong direction, said the CNN report. "The survey formalized what is obvious: for all its advantages, abundant resources, comparative prosperity and history of working to perfect its democracy, the United States is not a country at ease with itself right now. The cliche that America's best days are ahead is becoming harder to believe," the report said. Mumbai: A 35-year-old Muslim leader from Afghanistan was shot dead in Yewala in the Nasik district of Maharashtra. However, the cause of the murder has not yet been revealed. The incident has been reported to the police. Police have informed that a case of murder of a religious leader of the Muslim community, a resident of Afghanistan, has come to light. This incident was committed by 4 people. The incident took place in the evening in the Midc area of Yewala town, about 200 km from Mumbai. Acting on a tip-off, Bhagwan Mathure and other policemen from Yeola city police station in Nashik rushed to the spot. The Muslim cleric was rushed to the government sub-district hospital in an injured condition, where doctors declared him brought dead. According to the report, the police have informed that the deceased, identified as Khwaja Sayyed Chishti, was known as 'Sufi Baba' in Yeola. A police official said the attackers had shot him in the head. According to the report, the attackers fled the spot with his SUV car after killing Sufi Baba. A case of murder has been registered at Yeola police station and police are conducting continuous raids to nab the killers. Police said that the attackers had shot Sufi Baba in a field. The accused then fled from the spot. Police are scanning CCTV footage of the area to search for the accused. At the same time, the police suspect that someone close to him has killed the Sufi saint. Love and deception took the life of a young man, know the whole matter VIDEO: Vastu Shastri Chandrashekhar Guruji murdered in hotel Loot of lakhs deterred due to dogs, miscreants ran away leaving ATM Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor has been busy shooting for Luv Ranjan's upcoming romantic comedy for the past several days. The movie is being shot in Mauritius. In such a situation, now Shraddha Kapoor's photo from the set of the movie has gone viral. In this photo, Shraddha Kapoor can be seen in a pink coloured bikini. The crew members are seen around the actress. Shraddha Kapoor looks quite stylish and bold in a bikini. Fans have also started praising the actress after seeing this look. Earlier, a video of Ranbir and Shraddha Kapoor from the sets of their upcoming movie had been leaked on social media. Ranbir can be seen shirtless in the BTS video as the actor was shooting for the special song of the movie with Shraddha Kapoor. Shraddha Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor will be seen onscreen for the first time. The audience of this film of both of them has been waiting for a long time. This is the first time that Ranbir and Shraddha will be seen sharing the screen in a movie. Along with him, the movie will also have Boney Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in the lead roles. The film is set to hit the theatres on the auspicious occasion of Holi on March 8, 2023. After all, what made Ranveer and Anushka angry at each other? Poonam Pandey once again became a topic of discussion, know why? Kangana Ranaut: Javed Akhtar threatened me for not applogising to Hrithik Roshan Ukraine asks Turkey to probe three more Russian ships for stolen grain media 6 July, 01:04 PM The Russian ship Matros Koshka, on which the Russian Federation could illegally export stolen Ukrainian grain, in the Bosphorus, May 27, 2022 (Photo:REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo) Ukraine has asked Turkey to help investigate three Russian-flagged ships as part of Kyiv's efforts to probe what it alleges is the theft of grain from Russian-occupied territory, the Reuters news agency reported on July 5, with reference to official documents. According to the agency, in a June 13 letter that hasn't previously been reported, the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office asked Turkey's justice ministry to investigate three ships it suspects have been involved in transporting grain allegedly stolen from recently occupied Ukrainian territories, such as Kherson. All three large dry bulk carriers the Mikhail Nenashev, Matros Pozynich and Matros Koshka are owned by a subsidiary of a Western-sanctioned Russian state-owned company called United Shipbuilding Corporation, according to Equasis, a shipping database. The letter, which Reuters reviewed, said the ships traveled from Crimea's main grain terminal in Sevastopol in April and May. The Ukrainian government requested that Ankara provide documentation about their cargo and arrival at Turkish ports. Turkish authorities on July 3 detained the Zhibek Zholy, a cargo ship sailing under the Russian flag, which was carrying Ukrainian grain from occupied Berdyansk in Zaporizhzhya Oblast. Taras Vysotsky, Ukraine's first deputy minister of agrarian policy, on June 26 shared his estimates of Russian thefts of Ukrainian grain: since the beginning of the war, Russia has expropriated as much as 400,000 tonnes of grain from the Ukrainian fields. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News Kathmandu, July 6 The government announced a public holiday across the country on the occasion of Eid al-Adha on Sunday (July 10). While the governments annual public holiday calendar had stipulated a public holiday for the festival, the date was not decided. But, the Muslim Commission recommended the leave on Sunday, informs the Ministry of Home Affairs in a notice on Wednesday. This is one of the greatest festivals for Muslims across the world. Of late, the government has been providing public holidays for the festivals of various religions and ethnic groups. South Africa: Mchunu tackles Nelson Mandela Bay water woes Water and Sanitation (DWS) Minister, Senzo Mchunu, says the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality and national government must work together as one team to ensure that residents in the metro are not without water. The department and municipalities need to do better in terms of managing water abstraction and water consumption in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Mchunu said. Mchunu made the remarks during a Ministerial visit to the Eastern Cape, where he led a site inspection at Churchill Dam on Tuesday. Mchunu said working together will lead to better water provision, not only in the metro but in the country. We must be one family and not create these barriers because they dont work for the people. We must synergise, Mchunu said. Churchill Dam nightmare During an oversight visit to Churchill Dam, Mchunu said the view of the low-level of the dam was a horror to see. The feeling is painful and thats why my imagination went as far as comparing it to a starving person. For the dam to look beautiful, for the river to look beautiful... it must have water. Here is a seven-year drought and its like seven years without being fed. Its a horror, Mchunu said. The Minister was briefed on the status of the dam, which currently stands at 17%, an increase from last weeks 8%. Echoing Mchunus sentiments, Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality Executive Mayor, Eugene Johnson, said the sight of the dam was depressing. This is our reality It is depressing for us to see this and to find out that this has gone so far and for so many years but now it is time to fix this. We welcome the help of the Minister to ensure that the crisis is fixed for everyone, Johnson said. Johnson called on members of Water and Sanitation Metro Portfolio Committee to visit the dam to drive the message home. More leaks have been fixed in the metro, with 3 097 of 3 314 of reported leaks having been fixed. Mchunu has called for the urgent repair of all water leaks in the municipality, possibly by Friday. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-07-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli A meeting between Azerbaijani and UK delegations to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly took place in Birmingham, Azernews reports. Vice-President and Special Representative on South-East Europe of the OSCE PA Azay Guliyev wrote about this on his Twitter page. "Azerbaijan and the UK Delegations to the OSCE PA had a fruitful meeting in Birmingham and discussed cooperation both in bilateral format and within the OSCE PA," he wrote. Azerbaijan and the UK are cooperating in different sectors of the economy. There are already 30 years of successful cooperation between the two countries in the oil and gas sector, which entered a new stage of development in line with the challenges of the global energy sector. The energy sector accounts for $28.8 billion out of $30.6 billion of the UK investments in Azerbaijan's economy. The UK is also the biggest investor in Azerbaijan. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $667.8 in 2021. Gyatso Bista, a resident of Lomanthang in the Upper Mustang region of northern Nepal, works as an amchi in his village. In traditional communities of Nepals Himalayan region, amchis are life-savers as medical doctors are not readily available there. They collect locally available medicinal plants, mix them to prepare medicines and prescribe them to the patients. A teenage Bista learned this traditional knowledge from his father and began practising at 18. Now, 46 years down the line, Bista is living the same daily routine: visiting nearby grasslands, collecting herbs to prepare medicines and prescribing them to his patients. A lot of things have changed over the years, the 64-year-old man says over the phone from his village in Mustang, Working as an amchi is not as easy as it used to be. One of the difficulties he highlights is the shrinking availability of herbs. The grasses that used to be easily found have turned rare now. For a few species, finding a single blade of grass during an entire season is quite difficult. He says unpredictable weather patterns are responsible for the change. Experts say Nepal has over 2,000 species of medicinal plants, but only a few hundreds have been properly utilised for practical and commercial use. While efforts to cash in on the unexplored potential are scarce, new threats including climate change and the expansion of invasive species have endangered the medicinal plants biodiversity richness. Unexplored potential File: A staffer works in the manufacturing plant of Herbs Production and Processing Company Limited. A 2007 survey by Manish Raj Pandey of the Annapurna Area Conservation Project lists 93 medicinal plants being used by amchis of Nepals Himalayan region. But, the number of medicinal plants available in Nepal is far more than this, according to researchers. Tribhuvan University Central Department of Botanys former chief Krishna Kumar Shrestha says around 2,000 plant species in Nepal are believed to possess medicinal properties. Yet, a publication by the governments Department of Plant Resources mentions only 819 medicinal plants detected in Nepal. Moreover, only around 100 such plants are actively traded, informs the department chief Buddhi Sagar Poudel. These gaps are evidence of the countrys failure to explore and exploit the potential that the medicinal plants have promised, says senior botanist Shrestha, who also leads a research NGO named Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal. This is a field where we have a comparative advantage. Also, indigenous people here have traditional knowledge about the use of medicinal plants in Nepal, Poudel says, But, we have not been able to convert them into trade and export opportunities so that it can be a vehicle to our nations prosperity. Despite leading a key government authority responsible to develop the sector, Poudel blames a lack of coordination among several stakeholders and limited investments, partly owing to the private sectors apathy, for the failure to exploit the available resources. Even today, around 80 per cent of the herbs collected for trade and consumption are collected from the wild, he says, But if we want to make it sustainable, we need to begin farming. Climate change concerns Locals of Mustang say they dont find the same amount of nirmasi as before. Photo: Wikimedia Commons While officials and experts express concerns about the nations failure to commercialise the farming of medicinal plants, people directly involved in their collection have another more important and immediate issue to address: climate change. Thanks to global warming, our mountains are melting and the level of snow is coming down, Amchi Gyatso Bista informs from his home in Mustang, It has an impact on the vegetation of the area. Medicinal plants that used to grow above the altitude of 4,800 metres have not grown well as the climate today is not as cold as it should have been. Shanta Bahadur Jethara, a local from the Lekhgaun village in Humla, agrees with the amchi. According to him, a lack of timely and regular rainfall has given a blow to the medicinal plants in his area. In his village, locals organise themselves in a group and go to the grasslands and forests to collect medicinal plants found in different seasons. Around 10 or 15 years ago, each of these group members would bring a big packet of nirmasi (Delphinium denudatum) flowers, leaves and stemsall of which can be used as medicinesevery week in the monsoon. But, these days, they just find a few in this period. Researcher Swastika Acharya, who chronicled different impacts of climate change on the medicinal plants in Nepal in February this year as a part of her academic study, says the impacts can be seen in the plants quality, productivity, and chemical efficiency. Whereas the amount of available resources goes down, the available resources might also be losing the efficiency in healing the patients. Their medicinal property grows less potent, Acharya says, Moreover, they will also have an impact on other species that will co-exist in nature regardless of whether they are medicinal or not. Yet, there can be some positive effects too. A study conducted by Ram Asheshwar Mandal and his students in the Humla district found that the production of Delphinium himalayai (locally known as atis) decreased with the increased temperature, but the production of Nardostachy grandiflora (locally known as jatamasi) was excessively high during the same period. Nonetheless, citing the data of the District Forests Office, the report says the overall production is on a decreasing trend. Climate change causes unpredictable weather patterns, and it means the production of medicinal plants will also turn unpredictable, Mandal says, Hence, it is a serious concern. Hidden yet heinous Invasive plants such as Lantana camara have already reached the grasslands of highlands. Wikimedia Commons Nepali researchers have identified a direct link between climate change and the expansion of invasive species. However, there has not been sufficient research on how invasive species are impacting the diversity of medicinal plants here. The invasive species have dominated biodiversity in many places of the country. It means it has some impact on medicinal plants also, botanist Krishna Kumar Shrestha says, Nonetheless, most of these herbal plants are available in highlands, where the invasive plants are not present in significant numbers. Yet, there are warnings that the highlands are under threat. Mandal says that he has recently observed that invasive plants such as Lantana camara have already reached the grasslands of highlands. In addition, low and mid-elevation regions also have a large number of medicinal plants, and they are likely to be affected by invasive species, Bharat Babu Shrestha, a botanist at the Tribhuvan University, says. Therefore, researcher Swastika Acharya says the impact of invasive species on medical plants is already evident. They are one of the biggest causes of biological pollution. Based on the impact on other types of species, we can say they also cause a decrease in the efficiency of medicinal plants. Unless proactive measures are implemented, mountains and medicinal plants [growing] there are no longer safe from invasive species, says Bharat Babu Shrestha. Yet, all researchers agree that no specific research has been conducted about the impact of invasive species on medicinal plants in Nepal, suggesting it should be their next focus. Hopes for the future Photo: Sancho, marketed as a Himalayan essential balm oil, is a popular product for the government-run Herbs Production and Processing Company Limited. Preserving and promoting medicinal plants available in Nepal fall under the mandates of several government agencies including the Department of Plant Resources. The department has launched some initiatives such as issuing standard procedures for the collection of key herbs and establishing a seed bank of endangered plants. However, the department head Buddhi Sagar Poudel says it has failed to connect such initiatives with the impact of climate change and invasive species. We have enough policies, but we lack concrete programmes and enough budget to implement them. In addition, the government has established Herbs Production and Processing Company Ltd (HPPCL) to capitalise on the medicinal plants available in Nepal. But, its work has been limited to cultivating six plants and manufacturing 15 products. Senior botanist Krishna Kumar Shrestha says, The company should have expanded its scope across the nation and worked in the research and development sector also. But, it has not been as efficient as it could have been. The HPPCL General Manager Sangita Yadav agrees and has been lobbying government agencies to expand their work in this area. Because we are market-oriented, we should now focus on product diversification and market expansion, she says. Yadav, who was only recently appointed to head the Company, says she is hopeful that its reach and effectiveness will improve in her term. Local governments heavily empowered by the 2015 constitution also have a role in protecting medicinal plants from climate change and other risks. Amchi Gyatso Bista from Mustang says he has been lobbying local government officials to prioritise the protection of these valuable resources and the rich traditional knowledge associated with them. But, Humlas Shanta Bahadur Jethara is not hopeful. We know Humla is rich, but the people here are poor just because of the inefficiency of local governments. The officials dont want to include us in their priority. The fate of these invaluable resources hangs in the balance between Bistas hopes and Jetharas fears. This story was produced as a part of a reporting fellowship to the 2022 UN Convention on Biological Diversitys 4th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, led by Internews Earth Journalism Network. EU Parliament backs green label to gas and nuclear after vote on EU Taxonomy MEPs reunited in Strasbourg for the EU Parliaments plenary session rejected the objection to the controversial delegated act proposed by the EU Commission, which included some specific energy activities related to gas and nuclear. The EU Parliament voted to allow gas and nuclear as full-fledged members of the list of environmentally sustainable economic investments, the so called Green Taxonomy. It did so by rejecting the objection to the controversial delegated act proposed by the EU Commission, which included some specific energy activities related to gas and nuclear. The motion against this proposal backed by several political groups, among which the Greens and S&D, failed to pass with 278 votes in favor, 328 against, 33 abstentions. An absolute majority, that is to say a vote against by 353 MEPs, was needed to force the EU Commission to withdraw or amend its proposal. Only in mid-June had the EU Parliament's Economy and Environment committees voted in favor of the objection. What is the EU Green Taxonomy? The Green Taxonomy is a classification system created by the EU that provides appropriate definitions for which economic activities can be considered (and define themselves) as sustainable. The main stakeholders in the evolution and enactment of the Regulation are: the financial world, which must indicate how sustainable an investment actually, governments, which must allocate incentives to green companies, and companies which must report on their impact on the environment. The primary goals that the EU is pushing through this instrument are to create security for investors, both public and private, counteract greenwashing, and unify the market by defining a sustainability metric to refer to. Other purposes are to help companies become more climate-friendly and direct investments toward sustainable projects and activities, thus more likely to achieve the EU's 2030-2050 climate and energy targets. Interesting implication is that this regulation and its implementation will also increasingly affect the infrastructures design field. Indeed, the tender documents for "major works" (those infrastructures that will play a central role in development and thus be eligible for EU funding) cite the EU Taxonomy and require compliance with the regulation itself and its implementing documents. The Regulation sets the basis for the EU Taxonomy by establishing three general conditions that an economic activity must meet in order to qualify as environmentally sustainable: 1. Making a "substantial contribution" to at least one of the following six environmental objectives: Climate change mitigation Climate change adaptation Sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources Transition to a circular economy Pollution prevention and control Protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems 2. Do No Significant Harm" (DNSH) to any of the environmental objectives; 3. Be carried out in compliance with minimum social safeguards (e.g., those in OECD guidelines and UN documents). The main critics of the establishment of the EU's new Green Taxonomy (from the environmental world, but also in politics and civic associations in many EU countries) argue that now billions of Euros will be directed towards these nuclear and gas plants, which are not exactly sustainable source of energy, instead of towards the expansion of wind or solar energy. The EU Commission answered to those critics saying that Member States should be free to choose their own energy mix to pursue the Green transition and promised to reject any attempt of greenwashing. Documents: Renewed sustainable finance strategy and implementation of the action plan on financing sustainable growth (Adds details on requests to keep tariffs in place) By David Lawder and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON, July 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's team is still looking at options on whether to cut tariffs on Chinese imports to ease inflation, the White House said on Tuesday as industry requests to maintain the duties mounted. More than 400 requests to keep tariffs in place on Chinese goods had been submitted to the U.S. Trade Representative's office as of late Tuesday, complicating Biden's decision-making. Among these are a committee of 24 labor unions from the AFL-CIO to the Air Line Pilots Association, which has requested https://www.usw.org/news/media-center/articles/2022/june/22-06-06-LAC-mbrs-comments-on-301-Tariff-Extension.pdf that all of the "Section 301" tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump continue, covering some $370 billion in Chinese imports. If he substantially removes the tariffs, Biden would have to turn his back on a key constituency. He has described himself as the most pro-labor president ever, heavily relying on unions to power his Democratic Party primary and general election wins in 2020. After weeks of deliberations within the administration over cutting tariffs as a way to ease high inflation, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden's team was still weighing various strategies. "There are a lot of different elements to this, especially since the previous administration imposed these tariffs in such a haphazard way, in a non-strategic way," Jean-Pierre said. "So we want to make sure that we have the right approach. And again, his team is talking, is figuring it out, and they're talking through this." Jean-Pierre declined to provide a timeline for Biden's decision when asked whether it would wait until he speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping - a planned call that is yet to be scheduled. People familiar with the tariff deliberations have told Reuters that Biden also is weighing whether to pair a removal of some tariffs with a new Section 301 investigation into China's industrial subsidies and efforts to dominate key sectors, such as semiconductors. Story continues A probe would take up to a year to conduct and could lead to a new round of tariffs, but the sources said that Biden can claim that any such duties would be more strategically focused than many of the current tariffs on consumer goods such as cotton sweaters and home internet routers. The deliberations come as USTR is conducting a four-year statutory review of the tariffs, with one deadline for submitting requests to keep tariffs in place expiring late on Tuesday and another lasting until Aug. 22. The tariff issue was raised during a call between U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Vice Premier Liu He on Monday night, but a Treasury statement did not mention the duties and focused on broader economic challenges and Russian sanctions. (Reporting by David Lawder and Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper and Chris Gallagher; Editing by Leslie Adler and Christopher Cushing) Almaden Minerals Ltd. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Almaden Minerals Ltd. (Almaden or the Company; TSX: AMM; NYSE American: AAU) is pleased to report that the Ixtaca project has been selected to be included in a pilot project conducted by the United Nations (UN) Expert Group on Resource Management in coordination with Mexicos Ministry of Economy. The purpose of the pilot project is to explore how the application of standards such as those of the UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification) and the UNRMS (United Nations Resources Management System see below) may help strengthen activities with different stakeholders and encourage the achievement of the UNs Sustainable Development Goals1. Almaden initially expressed its interest in being part of this project in 2021, and after a site visit and several presentations on the project, the UN group of experts on sustainable resource management have agreed that Ixtaca meets the general criteria to be considered in the work to be carried out in this pilot project. The project will be managed through the UNs Centre of Excellence in the Sustainable Management of Resources for Mexico and Latin America in coordination with the Extractive Activities Unit at the Ministry of Economy. Duane Poliquin, Chair of Almaden, stated We are very pleased to have been selected for this pilot project. We believe this project dovetails very well with the standards to which we intend to complete our environmental permit submission, and the ongoing Human Rights Impact Assessment at the project. We are proud to be able to contribute to Mexicos efforts to introduce standards and procedures which reinforce the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 1 https://sdgs.un.org/goals About the United Nations Framework Classification and the United Nations Resources Management System The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) and the United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS) are frameworks developed by experts from government, industry, the financial sector, and academia to bring in the required rigor in the sustainable management of all resources. UNRMS is a globally applicable system that can be applied to petroleum, mineral, renewable energy, nuclear fuels, injection projects, and anthropogenic resource endowments. Rather than tracking a single metric of volumes or quantities that can be produced and the profits, UNRMS considers a range of socio-economic, technological, and knowledge factors that are important for the sustainable development of each project. The UNRMS guiding principle is to make resource management entirely in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and see how resource production can contribute to each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Story continues About the International Centres of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management-ICE-SRM -Mexico Latin America The International Centres of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management will strengthen the sustainability and financial resilience of the resource management sectors. The focus will be on the development of a financially profitable, competitive, and resilient, resource management sector in the region as well as the core vision of Resources for Sustainable Development. The system will ensure actions that are required to promote acceptability among stockholders and stakeholders. Resource management, when undertaken through the UNRMS framework, will bring good social, environmental, and economic outcomes in Latin America, and in Mexico as the leader of the project. UNRMS is being applied to continental frameworks in Europe and Africa, and national implementations are witnessed in many countries, such as China, India, Russia, and Ukraine. In 2019, a large-scale project (pilot project), led by the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) in coordination with the Ministry of Energy (SENER) and the Safety, Energy and Environment Agency (ASEA), was implemented in Mexico. International Centres of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management (ICE-SRM)2 is a collaborative network of organizations focused on supporting the sustainable management of the resources needed for development in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement. The centres are conceived to provide in full compliance with the adopted United Nations standards and guidelines policy support, technical advice and consultation, education, training, dissemination, and other critical activities for stakeholders involved in the sustainable development of extractive industries and energy. Each centre will promote within its activity footprint the global deployment of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) and the United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS) to describe the resources needed for the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and support their management. The centre for Mexico and Latin America is led by Ulises Neri, a member of the Expert Group on Resource Management. Neri studied petroleum engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM, where he is also a professor), has a master's degree from the French Petroleum Institute, and doctoral studies at the Paris business school. His professional experience began at Schlumberger, carrying out projects in Latin America. Later, he joined the National Hydrocarbons Commission where he served as director of reserves, director of measurement, and head of the extraction unit. He also held a diplomatic position, representing Mexico in international organizations, such as the OECD, the IEA, the UN, and OPEC. From 2019 to 2021, he was Director General of Promotion of Productive Chains in the energy sector in the National Content Unit of the Ministry of Economy. 2 https://unece.org/ice-srm-0 About Almaden Almaden Minerals Ltd. owns 100% of the Ixtaca project in Puebla State, Mexico, subject to a 2.0% NSR royalty held by Almadex Minerals Ltd. The Ixtaca deposit hosts a proven and probable reserve containing 1.38 million ounces of gold and 85.1 million ounces of silver (73.1 million tonnes grading 0.59 g/t Au and 36.3 g/t Ag). A report titled Ixtaca Gold-Silver Project, Puebla State, Mexico NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study, which was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, is available under the Companys profile on SEDAR and on the Companys website. The Ixtaca Gold-Silver Deposit was discovered by Almaden in 2010. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, J. Duane Poliquin J. Duane Poliquin Chair Almaden Minerals Ltd. Safe Harbor Statement Certain of the statements and information in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things, the timing of the official notification of the decision to the Company, whether the final decision of the SCJN will be modified and differ from the draft, the nature of any such modifications, the timing and procedures for any consultation by the Ministry of the Economy with indigenous communities and the timing and procedures for the Ministry of the Economy to re-issue mineral titles to Almaden. These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Companys current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant legal, regulatory, business, operational and economic uncertainties and contingencies, and such uncertainty generally increases with longer-term forecasts and outlook. These assumptions include: stability and predictability in Mexicos consultation process with indigenous communities and judicial decisions thereon; stability and predictability in Mexicos mineral tenure, mining, environmental and agrarian laws and regulations, as well as their application and judicial decisions thereon; continued respect for the rule of law in Mexico; prices for gold, silver and base metals remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; mineral reserve and resource estimates; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals being received in a timely manner; the ability to secure and maintain title and ownership to properties and the surface rights necessary for operations; community support in the Ixtaca Project; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to: Mexicos consultation process with indigenous communities and potential litigation in respect thereof; political risk in Mexico; crime and violence in Mexico; corruption; environmental risks, including environmental matters under Mexican laws and regulations; impact of environmental impact assessment requirements on the Companys planned exploration and development activities on the Ixtaca Project; certainty of mineral title and the outcome of litigation; community relations; governmental regulations and the ability to obtain necessary licences and permits; risks related to mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers or claims and other defects in title; changes in mining, environmental or agrarian laws and regulations and changes in the application of standards pursuant to existing laws and regulations which may increase costs of doing business and restrict operations; as well as those factors discussed the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Almaden's Annual Information Form and Almaden's latest Form 20-F on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that our forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to on forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Contact Information: Almaden Minerals Ltd. Tel. 604.689.7644 Email: info@almadenminerals.com http://www.almadenminerals.com/ A GrubHub delivery worker in Times Square on December 29, 2021. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images US Amazon Prime members will get a year's free Grubhub membership after it gained the option to take a 2% stake in its parent company. Parent Just Eat said in a statement it expects the deal to expand the membership base of Grubhub+. Just Eat has plans to expand into US suburban markets as it struggles to keep pace with rivals. Amazon Prime members in the US are from Wednesday eligible for a free, year-long membership to Grubhub, after the e-commerce giant gained the option to take a 2% stake in Grubhub's parent Just Eat Takeaway. Just Eat announced the deal in a press statement published Wednesday, which it said it expects to have a "neutral impact" on the delivery app's 2022 earnings. The commercial stake will renew indefinitely every year, unless one party decides to terminate. Amazon's stake may rise to as high as 13%, depending on whether Grubhub meets certain performance targets, the release said. The membership deal will offer Prime members free delivery on hundreds of thousands of eligible restaurants through the app and members-only rewards. Grubhub has faltered amid a crowded food delivery market including competitors Uber Eats and DoorDash. The parent company's stock price has plummeted by more than 70% since the start of 2022. The relationship between Just Eat and Grubhub has hit roadblocks over the past year. The company said in the release that it was continuing to "actively explore" a full sale of Grubhub, its US arm, which it acquired less than one year ago in a $7.3 billion deal. The Dutch food delivery company has reportedly offered up Grubhub to bidders for a hugely discounted price compared to what it spent to acquire the platform. Matt Maloney, a Grubhub founder, recently teamed up with a private investor in a failed attempt to take back full control of the platform, according to a Sunday Times report. Read the original article on Business Insider NEW YORK, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Arsenal Capital Partners ("Arsenal"), a leading New York based private equity firm that invests in middle market industrial growth and healthcare companies, announced today that it has expanded its team with the addition of Marc Tremblay. Mr. Tremblay will work as an Operating Partner within the firm's industrial growth team and focus on the team's investment themes relating to industrial technology markets particularly in test, measurement, sensing, monitoring and related businesses. Mr. Tremblay will also be joining the board of Arsenal's latest industrial growth investment, Headwall Photonics. Mr. Tremblay was most recently President of Fluke Corporation, a global leader in electronic test & measurement tools, sensors, and software. Prior to joining Fluke Corporation in 2019, Mr. Tremblay held numerous senior executive positions at leading testing, measurement, sensing, and imaging companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, DigitalGlobe Inc., and Z Corporation. Mr. Tremblay graduated with a B.S. from the University of Ottawa and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, both in Mechanical Engineering. He also received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Joe Rooney, an Investment Partner of Arsenal commented, "We are delighted to welcome Marc to our team. Marc's extensive career has been characterized by over 25 years of innovative executive leadership and deep technical expertise across markets that benefit from the growing value of data and rapidly improving sensing technologies available." George Abd, an Operating Partner of Arsenal stated, "We are very excited to have Marc add his unique set of skills to our team to help guide the growth and impact of our portfolio companies as well as the development of new investment themes as Arsenal builds its industrial technology franchise." Mr. Tremblay stated, "This is a uniquely exciting and important time to be working with Arsenal as it continues to enable the next generation of industrial innovation. I look forward to working with the industrial growth team to build strategically important companies in areas that are well aligned with my interests." Story continues About Arsenal Capital Partners Arsenal Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm established in 2000 that invests in middle-market industrial growth and healthcare companies. Since inception, Arsenal has raised institutional equity investment funds totaling over $10 billion. Arsenal makes investments in growth companies in sectors in which the firm has significant prior knowledge and experience. Within its industrials portfolio, Arsenal targets businesses that have the potential for further value creation and works closely with management to accelerate growth by leveraging the firm's industry focus and operational improvement capabilities. For additional information on Arsenal Capital Partners, please visit. www.arsenalcapital.com . Press contact: Jacqueline Schofield at Prosek Partners: pro-arsenal@prosek.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arsenal-capital-partners-adds-marc-tremblay-as-an-operating-partner-focused-on-industrial-technologies-301581174.html SOURCE Arsenal Capital Partners As temperatures drop in many parts of the country, Australians are looking for the perfect domestic getaway to thaw out. Here's why experts recommend tours to Cape York this winter. Inspiring Vacations Inspiring Vacations MELBOURNE, Australia, July 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aussies in southern states have been spotted pulling their scarves a bit tighter, buttoning their coats and digging their beanies out from the back of their wardrobes over the past few weeks as the beginning of winter has brought with it record-breaking low temperatures. Further north, on the other hand, Queenslanders are still enjoying temperatures in the high 20s, sunny days and balmy nights - that's why travel experts Inspiring Vacations are recommending mid-year tours of Cape York for any Aussie who needs to thaw out. The far north of Australia is calling all freezing Melburnians, Sydney-siders and Adelaidens, says Inspiring Vacations. Aussies are invited to spend some time this winter exploring Cape York by air, by train or by bus. The Cape York tours company offer a range of ways to see this stunning corner of the country, offering a variety of tours ranging from a week to 18 days. According to travel experts, tours are the best way for travellers to ensure they are taking in every single thing beautiful Cape York has to offer. For travellers short on time, Inspiring Vacations recommends their week-long Cape York by air tour, which takes travellers through the UNESCO-listed Daintree Forest, Cape Tribulation, the Coral Sea, Endeavour River and more. Travellers will get the opportunity to take in breathtaking views, swim through crystal clear waters, jump off waterfalls, learn about the rich history of Far North Queensland and more. For the more adventurous traveller, Inspiring Vacations offers an 18-day trek through the Northern Territory and Cape York, riding The Ghan from Adelaide up to Darwin and exploring the north of Australia over the course of nearly three weeks. This tour includes a visit to majestic Uluru, an exploration through Cooktown and the Daintree Rainforest, world-class wining and dining, day tours to Kakadu, Kings Canyon and West MacDonnell Ranges and more. Story continues As one of the most awe inspiring, unforgettable locations in the world, Cape York is the ideal destination to swap the coat and scarf for swimmers and sunnies - just don't forget the SPF50. Contact Info: Inspiring Vacations Phone: 1300 88 66 88 Email: bookme@inspiringvacations.com Related Images Image 1: Inspiring Vacations This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2022 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (CSE:FDY) is pleased to announce an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for the Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, U.S. ("Copper Creek"). The MRE was prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. ("SRK") in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Definition Standards and National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Paul Harbidge, President and CEO, commented "The delivery of the first combined open pit and underground resource for Copper Creek marks another key milestone in the advancement of the project. With over 355 million tonnes of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, the project has the potential to provide a U.S. domestic supply of copper for decades, supporting the decarbonization of the global economy." "The geological model, completed earlier this year, provided the foundation to accurately segregate and estimate the updated resources. The deposit remains open along strike and at depth. With the recent completion of the 6,000 metre Phase I drilling program, which was not included in this MRE, there exists the potential for an increase to the resources as part of the technical work for the upcoming Copper Creek Preliminary Economic Assessment, expected to be issued in Q2 2023." Mineral Resource Estimate Highlights Measured Mineral Resources: 65.1 million tonnes ("Mt") at a grade of 0.61% copper, 0.011% molybdenum and 1.7 g/t silver containing 872.9 million pounds ("Mlbs") of copper, 15.7 Mlbs of molybdenum, and 3.5 million ounces ("Moz") of silver, or 927.3 Mlbs copper equivalent ("CuEq") 1 , including open pit resources of 38.9 Mt at a grade of 0.72% CuEq; Indicated Mineral Resources: 290.0 Mt at a grade of 0.47% copper, 0.007% molybdenum and 1.2 g/t silver containing 3,034.2 Mlbs of copper, 47.2 Mlbs of molybdenum, and 11.0 Moz of silver, or 3,199.0 Mlbs CuEq, including open pit resources of 45.7 Mt at a grade of 0.46% CuEq; Inferred Mineral Resources: 75.0 Mt at a grade of 0.38% copper, 0.007% molybdenum and 0.8 g/t silver containing 634.9 Mlbs of copper, 12.0 Mlbs of molybdenum, and 2.0 Moz of silver, or 673.5 Mlbs CuEq, including open pit resources of 29.3 Mt at a grade of 0.36% CuEq; For the combined resource, 82.6% of the tonnage is within the Measured and Indicated category; Amenable to a combination of open pit and bulk underground extraction methods; and This MRE, together with the pending results of the 2022 Phase I drill program, will form the basis for the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") expected by the end of Q2 2023. 1 See Notes to Table 1 (Mineral Resources Estimate) in this news release for the calculation of copper equivalency. Mineral Resource Estimate This MRE for Copper Creek is based on data with a cut-off date of April 30, 2022 and excludes the majority of drill results currently pending from the Phase 1 drill program. This MRE is reported with an effective date of July 6, 2022, in Table 1. Table 1: Combined Open Pit and Underground Mineral Resource Estimate, Copper Creek Project Category Tonnes (Mt) Grade Contained Metal Cu Mo Ag CuEq Cu Mo Ag CuEq (%) (%) (g/t) (%) (Mlbs) (Mlbs) (Moz) (Mlbs) Open Pit (OP) Measured 38.9 0.68 0.010 1.8 0.72 584.2 8.7 2.2 614.6 Indicated 45.7 0.44 0.007 0.9 0.46 446.4 7.2 1.3 467.8 M&I 84.6 0.55 0.009 1.3 0.58 1,030.6 16.0 3.6 1,082.5 Inferred 29.3 0.35 0.004 0.8 0.36 224.6 2.9 0.8 233.0 Underground (UG) Measured 26.1 0.50 0.012 1.5 0.54 288.7 7.0 1.3 312.7 Indicated 244.4 0.48 0.007 1.2 0.51 2,587.8 39.9 9.7 2,731.1 M&I 270.5 0.48 0.008 1.3 0.51 2,876.5 46.9 11.0 3,043.8 Inferred 45.6 0.41 0.009 0.9 0.44 410.3 9.2 1.3 440.5 Total (OP + UG) Measured 65.1 0.61 0.011 1.7 0.65 872.9 15.7 3.5 927.3 Indicated 290.0 0.47 0.007 1.2 0.50 3,034.2 47.2 11.0 3,199.0 M&I 355.1 0.50 0.008 1.3 0.53 3,907.1 62.9 14.5 4,126.3 Inferred 75.0 0.38 0.007 0.8 0.41 634.9 12.0 2.0 673.5 Notes to Table 1: The Mineral Resources in this estimate were calculated using the CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines (CIM, 2014) prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council. All dollar amounts are presented in U.S. dollars. Pit shell constrained resources with reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction ("RPEEE") are stated as contained within estimation domains above 0.23% CuEq cut-off grade. Pit shells are based on an assumed copper price of $3.80/lb, assumed molybdenum price of $13.00/lb, assumed silver price of $20.00/oz and overall slope angle of 47 degrees based on preliminary geotechnical data. Operating cost assumptions include mining cost of $2.25/tonne ("t"), processing cost of $7.95/t, General & Administrative ("G&A") costs of $1.25/t, and Treatment Charges and Refining Charges ("TCRC") and Freight costs of $6.50/t. Underground constrained resources with RPEEE are stated as contained within estimation domains above 0.31% CuEq cut-off grade. Underground bulk mining footprints are based on an assumed copper price of $3.80/lb, assumed molybdenum price of $13.00/lb, assumed silver price of $20.00/oz, underground mining cost of $9.25/t, processing cost of $7.00/t, G&A costs of $1.25/t, and TCRC and Freight costs of $6.50/t. Average bulk density assigned by domain: 2.33 g/cm 3 for all near-surface breccias; 2.40 g/cm 3 for the Mammoth breccia; 2.56 g/cm 3 for the Keel breccia, porphyry mineralization and all other areas outside of breccias. Variable metallurgical recovery by metal and domain are considered for CuEq, as follows: copper recovery of 92%, 85% and 60% within sulphide, transitional and oxide material, respectively; molybdenum recovery of 78% and 68% for sulphide and transitional material, respectively; silver recovery of 50% and 40% for sulphide and transitional material, respectively. CuEq is calculated by domain based on the above variable recovery. For example, sulphide CuEq = [(Cu grade/100 *0.92 Cu recovery *2204.62 *3.8 Cu price) + (Mo grade/100 *0.78 Mo recovery *2204.62 *13 Mo price) + (Ag grade*0.50 Ag recovery*20 Ag price/31.10348)] / (0.92 Cu recovery *2204.62 *3.8)*100. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral Reserves in the future. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing or other relevant issues. All quantities are rounded to the appropriate number of significant figures; consequently, sums may not add up due to rounding. The near-surface mineralized breccias were subjected to partial in-situ oxidization that transformed part of the sulphides into secondary copper oxides. Three domains are recognized within the open pit resource, referred to as Oxide, Mixed, and Sulphide. The underground resources stated in Table 1 are comprised of only sulphide mineralization. The Copper Creek open pit Mineral Resources are reported by domain in Table 2. Table 2: Open Pit Mineral Resource Estimate by Domain, Copper Creek Project Category Domain Tonnes (Mt) Grade Contained Metal Cu Mo Ag CuEq Cu Mo Ag CuEq (%) (%) (g/t) (%) (Mlbs) (Mlbs) (Moz) (Mlbs) Measured Oxide 2.5 0.51 0.005 1.38 0.51 28.0 0.3 0.1 28.0 Mixed 5.8 0.59 0.005 1.24 0.61 75.1 0.6 0.2 77.3 Sulphide 30.7 0.71 0.012 1.93 0.75 481.0 7.9 1.9 509.3 Total 38.9 0.68 0.010 1.79 0.72 584.2 8.7 2.2 614.6 Indicated Oxide 5.7 0.38 0.007 1.17 0.38 48.3 0.9 0.2 48.3 Mixed 8.6 0.46 0.007 1.03 0.48 86.5 1.4 0.3 91.0 Sulphide 31.3 0.45 0.007 0.84 0.48 311.7 5.0 0.8 328.5 Total 45.7 0.44 0.007 0.91 0.46 446.4 7.2 1.3 467.8 M&I Oxide 8.2 0.42 0.006 1.23 0.42 76.3 1.1 0.3 76.3 Mixed 14.3 0.51 0.006 1.11 0.53 161.6 2.0 0.5 168.3 Sulphide 62.0 0.58 0.009 1.38 0.61 792.7 12.8 2.7 837.8 Total 84.6 0.55 0.009 1.32 0.58 1,030.6 16.0 3.6 1,082.5 Inferred Oxide 5.6 0.29 0.004 0.73 0.29 35.5 0.5 0.1 35.5 Mixed 8.3 0.31 0.005 0.82 0.33 57.1 0.8 0.2 59.9 Sulphide 15.5 0.39 0.004 0.86 0.40 132.0 1.5 0.4 137.6 Total 29.3 0.35 0.004 0.82 0.36 224.6 2.9 0.8 233.0 Notes: Refer to the section titled "Notes to Table 1". The RPEEE pit shells and underground shapes used to constrain the respective estimates, as well as grade distributions, are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Figure 1: RPEEE pit shells used to constrain the open pit MRE, and grade distribution above 0.2% CuEq grade Faraday Copper Corp., Tuesday, July 5, 2022, Press release picture Figure 2: RPEEE underground shapes used to constrain the underground MRE, and grade distribution above 0.2% CuEq grade Faraday Copper Corp., Tuesday, July 5, 2022, Press release picture Sensitivity Analysis The results of grade sensitivity analysis are presented below to illustrate the continuity of the grade estimates at various cut-off increments and the sensitivity of the potentially minable resource to changes in cut-off grade. The reader is cautioned that figures in the following tables should not be misconstrued as Mineral Resource or confused with the Mineral Resource Statement reported above. These figures are only presented to show the sensitivitity of the block model estimated grades and tonnnages to the selection of cut-off grade. The sensitivity analysis for Measured and Indicated blocks have been separated from Inferred blocks for reporting. Combined material type (oxide, mixed, and sulphide) sensitivity results by classification category for the open pit Mineral Resource are shown in Figure 3 and Table 3. The grade-tonnage data presented below for open pit sensitivity reports tonnes and grade of the pit constrained mineral resource at various cut-off increments. Figure 3: Grade-tonnage curves for Open Pit Measured & Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources Faraday Copper Corp., Tuesday, July 5, 2022, Press release picture Notes: See Notes to Table 1 (Mineral Resources Estimate) in this news release for the calculation of copper equivalency. Table 3: Grade-tonnage for Open Pit Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource Open Pit Mineral Resources Measured and Indicated Inferred Cut-off Grade (CuEq %) Tonnes (Mt) CuEq Grade (CuEq %) Contained Metal (CuEq Mlb) Tonnes (Mt) CuEq Grade (CuEq %) Contained Metal (CuEq Mlb) 0.10 153.0 0.39 1,315.7 60.8 0.25 332.9 0.20 94.1 0.54 1,127.6 32.9 0.34 249.8 0.23 84.6 0.58 1,082.5 29.3 0.36 233.0 0.30 63.4 0.69 958.7 14.5 0.46 146.7 0.40 44.3 0.83 813.3 6.9 0.59 89.7 0.50 32.6 0.97 697.5 3.4 0.75 55.2 0.60 24.7 1.11 603.0 2.0 0.89 38.5 The underground resource has been constrained using commercial software packages to define the potential mineable limits (i.e. footprint volumes) applicable to the resource using defined economic assumptions. Multiple footprint volumes were optimized at different costs to approximate sensitivity of the resource to changes in CuEq cut-off grade. As bulk underground mining is not selective, all material within each of the underground block cave footprints are reported. Sensitivity results by classification category for the underground resource are shown in Table 4. Table 4: Grade-tonnage for Underground Measured & Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource Underground Mineral Resources Measured and Indicated Inferred Cut-off Grade (CuEq %) Tonnes (Mt) CuEq Grade (CuEq %) Contained Metal (CuEq Mlb) Tonnes (Mt) CuEq Grade (CuEq %) Contained Metal (CuEq Mlb) 0.20 737.8 0.37 5,981.9 618.5 0.28 3,802.2 0.31 270.5 0.51 3,043.8 45.6 0.44 440.5 0.40 148.4 0.61 1,987.7 3.6 0.50 42.3 0.50 57.0 0.78 976.4 1.4 0.71 21.0 Copper Creek Project Overview Copper Creek is a 100% owned project located ~120 road kilometres ("km") northeast of Tucson, Arizona, and ~24 km northeast of the town of San Manuel, Arizona. The current resource area is ~3 km in length and open in all directions. The property consists of ~41 square km of contiguous patented and unpatented mining claims and state prospecting permits. The area is in a mining friendly and politically stable jurisdiction with extensive infrastructure including power, rail, water, roads, and access to skilled personnel. The property is in the prolific southwest porphyry copper region at the projected intersection of a major northwest belt of copper deposits (Ray, Miami/Globe, Superior/Resolution, Johnson Camp) and a major east-northeast belt of copper deposits (San Manuel/Kalamazoo, Silver Bell, Lakeshore, Safford, Morenci). The project hosts a porphyry copper deposit in addition to high-grade, near-surface, breccia mineralization. With over 200,000 m of historical drilling and modest past production, the Company believes significant exploration upside remains. There are over 400 known breccia occurrences mapped at surface, of which only 35 have been drilled and 14 are included in the MRE. Geological Model The geological model (see news release dated May 12, 2022) was used to constrain the mineralization in the MRE. The geological model is based on the relogging of approximately 15,000 metres ("m") of historical core, observations from new drilling, short wave infrared spectral data and multi-element geochemistry. This data was modeled in Seequent Leapfrog Geo to generate three-dimensional wireframe models. Moreover, the Copper Creek geological model and MRE are delineated at surface by newly acquired detailed one-metre contour topography. The Copper Creek batholith intruded Paleocoene Glory Hole volcanics and Proterozoic to Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and is the main mineralization host. Some of the breccias also crosscut the Glory Hole volcanics. The batholith is compositionally zoned and contains a shallowly west dipping monzogranite domain at depth and a dioritic border phase with the bulk being granodioritic composition. Four main types of granodiorite to quartz diorite porphyry dykes and plugs have been recognized. These largely intruded as narrow steeply dipping dikes and plugs before and during mineralization. The underground resource occurs largely in early halo porphyry style veins and magmatic cupola zones, while the open pit resource is dominantly hosted in magmatic-hydrothermal breccias. Hypogene copper is predominantly contained in chalcopyrite and bornite. Data Verification The data used in this MRE is supported by industry standard Quality Assurance and Quality Control ("QA/QC") procedures, such as the insertion of certified standards and blanks into the sample stream and the utilization of certified independent analytical laboratories for all assays. Historical QA/QC data and methodology on the project were reviewed and will be summarized in the NI 43-101 technical report. No significant QA/QC issues were discovered during review of the data. All geological data used in the MRE was reviewed and verified by Berkley Tracy, PG, CPG, P.Geo, SRK Principal Consultant. Mr. Tracy visited the Copper Creek project from March 7 to 10, 2022. The site visit included: Review of the geology, available outcrop exposures, and general geological understanding; Review of historical and recent drill core and procedures used to collect, record, store and analyze project exploration data; Independent audit of the drilling, logging and sampling techniques in practice during Faraday's Phase 1 drill campaign; and Observation of drill hole locations and an overview of claim/property boundaries in the field. SRK compared a portion of the original laboratory data certificates, geological logs and downhole deviation surveys to entries in the Faraday database. The database subset was compared line-by-line to the fundamental data and no material errors were observed during the review. The verification data was chosen randomly and contained over 11,100 m of drilling in 13 drill holes, which represents approximately 5% of total drilling. Additional discussion on the data verification will be included in the NI 43-101 technical report for the MRE. Mineral Resource Estimation Methodology Sixteen individual breccias were modeled in Leapfrog Geo software (version 2021.2.4) by Faraday and verified as suitable estimation domains by SRK. Fourteen of these breccias contained mineralization above cut-off grade and were included in the MRE. Samples were analyzed for potential outlier capping by metal on a global basis and no top cuts were applied. Historical sample collection was in imperial units and averaged 3.05 m per sample. Raw assay samples were averaged into 6.10 m composites broken on breccia domain boundaries with residual lengths up to 3.05 m added to the previous interval. Certain historical drill holes were selectively sampled within the breccias during previous drilling campaigns and any unsampled intervals were ignored during primary compositing. The estimation was constrained within discrete breccia domains interpreted by Faraday based on geological logging and assay grades. Grade estimation was based on parent block dimensions of 20 m in X-Y-Z and sub-blocked along the domain boundaries to 1 m in X-Y-Z. The sub-blocked resource models and block grade estimates were created using Leapfrog Edge software (version 2021.2.4). The resource was estimated for copper, molybdenum and silver using inverse distance weighting cubed and considering hard boundaries at the breccia unit outer contacts. The grade estimation evaluated all parent blocks with centroids within the estimation domains and sub-blocks are coded based on the parent block centroid. Estimation outside of the defined breccia units, within the deeper porphyry-style mineralization and "halo" zones around the near-surface breccias, considered a 5 m soft boundary with the breccia units. Bulk density was scripted by general domain, based on analysis of specific gravity measurements collected by Faraday and previous project operators. A two-pass search was used to optimize block estimation, so that well-informed blocks are interpolated using a tighter search ellipse than less informed blocks. The estimation search neighborhood was defined for individual breccia units based on the copper data population, as the key economic variable. Estimation parameters for the minor elements were identical to copper. To assess the impact of missing data, additional copper variables were estimated using null and nominal assignments for unsampled data in separate composited data sets. Un-estimated blocks outside of the search neighborhood were scripted with null values equal to one-half of the lower limit of detection. The selection criteria used for search ellipsoid size, number of samples and other conditions are derived based on data spacing to ensure appropriate interpolation, as well as visual and statistical evaluation, during iterative trial estimation runs. Across all breccias, the estimation is informed by an average of nine composites from at least two drill holes with average sample distance of 49 m, although this varies for individual estimation domains. Outside of the breccias, the estimation is informed by an average of 11 composites at average sample distance of 134 m. Limited historical mining has occurred at Copper Creek, mainly in the Old Reliable and Childs-Aldwinkle breccias. Block grades were depleted in the model according to available records of historical mining, which have inherent limitations. For Mineral Resource classification a confidence variable was defined as follows: Class 1 reflects the highest confidence in grade and potential measured classification. These blocks were estimated with seven or more composites in three or more drill holes. The average distance to samples is 40 m or less within breccia domains and 60 m outside. Class 2 reflects potential indicated classification. Blocks are estimated with four or more composites from two or more drill holes. The average distance to samples is 80 m or less within breccia domains and 100 m outside. Class 3 reflects potential inferred classification. Blocks are estimated with two or more composites from at least one drill hole. The average distance to samples is 200 m or less. Class 4 delineates blocks within the modelled estimation domains that are not classified as Mineral Resources. These areas of the model may have exploration potential. Technical Report The effective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is July 6, 2022. A NI 43-101 technical report prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release and will be available at that time on the Faraday website. For readers to fully understand the information in this news release they should read the technical report in its entirety when it is available, including all qualifications, assumptions, exclusions and risks. The technical report is intended to be read as a whole and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context. Qualified Persons The scientific and technical information contained in this news release pertaining to Copper Creek has been reviewed and approved by the following qualified persons under NI 43-101: Geology and Mineral Resources: Berkley Tracy, PG, CPG, P.Geo, SRK Principal Consultant; Geology: Dr. Thomas Bissig, P.Geo., Faraday's Vice President of Exploration; and Mining: Zach Allwright, P.Eng., Faraday's Vice President of Projects and Evaluations. The qualified persons have verified the information disclosed herein, including the sampling, preparation, security and analytical procedures underlying such information, and are not aware of any significant risks and uncertainties that could be expected to affect the reliability or confidence in the information discussed herein. Also see the discussion under the heading "Data Verification". Market Making Services Faraday has retained PI Financial Corp. ("PI") to provide Market Making services in accordance with Canadian Stock Exchange ("CSE") policies in order to make a two-sided market, contribute to market liquidity and depth, and maintain activity in the market for the Company. PI will trade securities of the Company on the CSE for the purpose of maintaining an orderly market of Faraday securities. In consideration of the services provided, Faraday will pay PI a monthly cash fee of C$4,000. PI will not receive shares or options as compensation. However, PI and its clients may have or may acquire a direct interest in the securities of Faraday. Faraday and PI are unrelated and unaffiliated entities. PI is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and can access all Canadian stock exchanges and alternative trading systems. The capital and securities required for any trade undertaken by PI as principal will be provided by PI. The agreement will have a minimum term of 3 months, upon which Faraday may terminate the agreement on 30 days notice. About Faraday Copper Faraday Copper is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing two copper projects in The United States of America. The Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, is one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk underground mining potential. The Contact Copper project, located in Nevada, provides potential for a low-cost open pit, heap leach, oxide project. The Company is well-funded to deliver on its key milestones over the next 18 months and benefits from a management team and board of directors with senior mining company experience and expertise. Faraday trades on the CSE under the symbol "FDY". For additional information please contact: Stacey Pavlova, CFA Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications Faraday Copper Corp. E-mail: info@faradaycopper.com Website: www.faradaycopper.com Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements Some of the statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" and are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Faraday to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the expected timing for the PEA, the expected timing MRE Technical Report, development and future drilling of the Copper Creek property, the extent of future drilling at the Copper Creek property, and the exploration potential of the Copper Creek property. Although Faraday believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include without limitation: market prices for metals; the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses; lower than expected grades and quantities of resources; receipt of regulatory approval; receipt of shareholder approval; mining rates and recovery rates; significant capital requirements; price volatility in the spot and forward markets for commodities; fluctuations in rates of exchange; taxation; controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the countries in which Faraday does or may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, competition; loss of key employees; rising costs of labour, supplies, fuel and equipment; actual results of current exploration or reclamation activities; accidents; labour disputes; defective title to mineral claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties; unexpected delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of Indigenous peoples and other groups; risks, uncertainties and unanticipated delays associated with obtaining and maintaining necessary licenses, permits and authorizations and complying with permitting requirements, including those associated with the Copper Creek property; and uncertainties with respect to any future acquisitions by Faraday. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental events and hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks as well as "Risk Factors" included in Faraday's disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedar.com. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. This press release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, a prospectus, an offering memorandum, an advertisement or a public offering of securities in Faraday in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No securities commission or similar authority in Canada or in the United States has reviewed or in any way passed upon this press release, and any representation to the contrary is an offence. Risks Relating to Mineral Resource Estimates The figures for mineral resources contained herein are estimates only and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved, that the indicated level of recovery will be realized or that the mineral resources could be mined or processed profitably. Actual reserves, if any, may not conform to geological, metallurgical or other expectations, and the volume and grade of ore recovered may be below the estimated levels. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating mineral resources, including many factors beyond the Company's control. Such estimation is a subjective process, and the accuracy of any resource estimate is a function of the quantity and quality of available data and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation. Short-term operating factors relating to the mineral resources , such as the need for orderly development of the ore bodies or the processing of new or different ore grades, may cause the mining operation to be unprofitable in any particular accounting period. In addition, there can be no assurance that metal recoveries in small scale laboratory tests will be duplicated in larger scale tests under on-site conditions or during production. Lower market prices, increased production costs, the presence of deleterious elements, reduced recovery rates and other factors may result in revision of its resource estimates from time to time or may render the Company's resources uneconomic to exploit. Resource data is not indicative of future results of operations. If the Company fails to develop its resource base through the realization of identified mineralized potential, its results of operations or financial condition may be materially and adversely affected. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Faraday does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable securities legislation. For more information on the Faraday, readers should refer to www.sedar.com for the Faraday's filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. SOURCE: Faraday Copper Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/707643/Faraday-Copper-Announces-Updated-Mineral-Resource-Estimate-for-the-Copper-Creek-Project-in-Arizona-Measured-and-Indicated-Mineral-Resources-Exceed-39-Billion-Pounds-of-Copper SINGAPORE, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Group-IB, one of the global leaders in cybersecurity, has completed the first step in a series of actions aimed at separating its Russia and CIS business. Group-IB has just transferred its activities in Russia to a new entity under local management. The company's global headquarters registered under the legal name Group-IB Global Private Ltd. (Singapore) will continue to manage its Threat Intelligence and Research centers in Southeast Asia (Global HQ in Singapore), Europe (regional HQ in Amsterdam) and the Middle East (regional HQ in Dubai) while pursuing Group-IB's mission and protecting its clients in these areas. Russia and CIS business from now on will evolve independently. The two businesses' financial flows are totally separated from each other including their costs and revenues. As per already applied internal regulation since the establishment of the Singapore headquarters, no revenues generated in any of Group-IB Global Private Ltd.'s subsidiaries are used to fund any activities in the Russia and CIS region. As a next step in the process, Group-IB Global Private Ltd. is committed to change its ownership structure so that in 6 months' time Group-IB's global assets and Russia and CIS assets would be owned by different stakeholders and UBOs. Group-IB's regional HQs are self-sufficient in terms of core business capabilities with best-in-class experts covering all technical functions (Digital Forensics & Incident Response, Cyber Investigations, 24/7 Computer Emergency Response Team, Threat Intelligence, Managed Cybersecurity services, R&D, etc). At the same time, Group-IB will now accelerate its global talent relocation program for management staff and technical specialists, launched in 2019 with the opening of Group-IB headquarters in Singapore. All the regional HQs are continuously enhancing their teams by hiring and developing local talent. "Group-IB at its core has always pursued the mission of fighting cybercrime globally", comments Dmitry Volkov, Group-IB Global CEO, "Amidst the world and market uncertainty, we have decided to implement these changes to be able to continue to follow this mission, independent of external circumstances. We believe this will provide more market freedom and will allow us to accelerate business development in every region of Group-IB's operations as well as bring us closer to our goal of becoming the most influential power in the fight against cybercrime''. Story continues The diversification of business will let Group-IB to be more flexible and independent in order to keep developing its global threat hunting infrastructure, and to study local threats with the goal of providing best-in-class defense against cyber threats for its customers and partners in every region of operations. The split-off of assets is one more step in Group-IB's long-term strategy to build the first decentralized and independent cybersecurity company relying on self-sustaining full-fledged Threat Intelligence and Research centers capable of supporting customers and developing strong partner networks in every region. SOURCE Group-IB Backpacks filled with school supplies will be distributed to nonprofit community and school partners in California MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to support families and children, Kinecta Federal Credit Union helps make going back to school a little brighter for children in underserved communities by hosting its 13th Annual Backpack Drive. From July 5 through July 31, Kinecta will collect new backpacks and school supplies for underserved students grades 3-12 who are preparing for the 2022-2023 school year. (PRNewsfoto/Kinecta Federal Credit Union) "A typical family spends roughly $850 annually on school supplies. At Kinecta, we want to help ease the burden for families in need," said Latrice McGlothin, Executive Director, Kinecta Community Foundation. "We invite the community to join our 2022 Backpack Drive to help students get off to a great start and achieve academic success." How to donate: Kinecta members and the public are invited to bring new backpacks and school supplies to any Kinecta branch or donate through Kinecta's Backpack Drive Amazon Wish List . For branch locations and hours, visit our locations page. Items must be new and unused. School supplies needed include colored pencils, highlighters, folders, notebooks, glue, pencils, pens, pencil cases, pencil sharpeners, rulers, paper, binders, scissors, erasers, backpacks and calculators. The 2022 Backpack Drive will support children through the following organizations in California: Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center, East Side Riders Bike Club, Environmental Charter School, GRYD Foundation, Los Angeles Police Department Southeast Division, Parents of Watts, Richstone Family Center, St. Albert the Great, Thomas House Family Shelter, Verbum Dei High School, Watts/Century Latino Organization, and others. Kinecta launched the Backpack Drive in 2010 and has helped nearly 6,000 students in need. This year, its goal is to collect 600 backpacks and the school supplies to fill them for students in underserved areas. Story continues During 2021, Kinecta, its subsidiaries, and employees donated over $880,000 to charitable causes, volunteered over 5,100 hours, and participated in over 225 community events. To learn more about Kinecta's community outreach programs and activities, visit kinecta.org/community About Kinecta Federal Credit Union Kinecta Federal Credit Union is the country's 35th largest credit union, with assets of $6.6 billion and over 270,000 member-owners. Its 800+ employees serve members from 32 credit union-owned branches, a variety of specialty offices, and highly responsive call centers on both coasts. Banking the Southern California area for more than 80 years, with recent expansion into New York, New Jersey, and Northern California, Kinecta offers its members a full range of financial products through the Credit Union and its subsidiaries, Kinecta Wealth Management and Kinecta Insurance Services. Kinecta has been recognized by the Mortgage Bankers Association as a recipient of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Residential Leadership Award, and received the Best of Show award granted by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Technology Council. Daily Breeze readers have named Kinecta a top credit union for the past 11 years in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. Kinecta supports its communities in a variety of ways, by giving back through the Kinecta Community Foundation as well as serving as the official financial services partner of the LA Galaxy, and sponsor of the Rochester Americans and Rochester Red Wings. To learn more about Kinecta, visit kinecta.org. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kinecta-federal-credit-union-helps-students-succeed-and-invites-the-community-to-join-its-13th-annual-backpack-drive-301581800.html SOURCE Kinecta Federal Credit Union By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Azerbaijan and the United Nations (UN) will take joint actions to prevent the Caspian Sea level decline, Azernews reports. Mahir Aliyev, Regional Coordinator for UNEP's (Environment Program) Europe Office and Coordinator of the Interim Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention), made the remarks at an international conference on fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea on July 5. He underlined that Azerbaijan has been collaborating with the UN for decades and that the relationship is mutually beneficial. "The UN supports activities in the field of climate change, environmental protection, and changes in the level of water basins. As part of these initiatives, its planned to carry out relevant work with Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea," Aliyev said. According to Fakhraddin Gadirov, Director General of the Institute of Oil and Gas of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, the water level in the Caspian Sea lowers by six-seven centimeters per year. He went on to say that the most important responsibility of Azerbaijani institutions is to conduct research on cleansing, protection, and prevention of water level drops in the Caspian Sea. "This sea is one of the richest in natural resources, oil and gas. Its water level 100 years ago was two meters higher than now. The water balance of the sea also depends on the flow of river water, which changes every year," Gadirov said. The expert stressed the need for carrying out space geodesy and GPS research in this area. "In Azerbaijan, we did this in cooperation with Russia. There are about 200 different volcanoes in our sector of the Caspian Sea, which also affect the sea," Gadirov stressed. He mentioned that a consortium, which may include Caspian region nations, is being formed in collaboration with the Russian Academy of Sciences. "Through this cooperation, well be able to achieve great success in the protection and safety of the water resources of the Caspian Sea, and to prevent a decrease in its water level," the expert added. Addressing the event, Khalik Mammadov, Vice President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) said that the Caspian Sea water level has a substantial impact on marine life. He underlined that conducting research in shallow water with no access to ships is difficult. "The level of the Caspian Sea is dropping rapidly, and if this trend continues, SOCAR will face risks in the sphere of maintenance of its equipment," Mammadov said. SOCAR, he said, has policies in place to limit harmful emissions into the atmosphere and decarbonize. "We have become the first large company that has taken the first step to reducing emissions into the atmosphere and will continue to implement projects in this direction," Mammadov added. In the same vein, Umayra Taghiyeva, Head of Azerbaijan's National Hydrometeorological Service, underlined that the water level in the Kur River, which runs through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye fell by 45 percent on an annual basis from January to June 2022. According to her, the river's water level has dropped by 27 percent in the last decade. "By 2040, the average air temperature will rise by 0.5 - 1.5 degrees Celsius, which will lead to a reduction in the average monthly precipitation, she noted. In the winter months, the amount of precipitation in the mountainous regions of Azerbaijan has decreased by eight-nine percent. Besides, less snow has fallen in recent years, leading to a decrease in the level of rivers, Taghiyeva added. The number of windy days in Azerbaijan is growing, which creates additional risks of lowering the water level in the Caspian Sea," the expert said. Taghiyeva also emphasized the necessity of adopting new ways in terms of adapting to current climatic changes. SAN FRANCISCO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global pharmaceutical robots market size is expected to reach USD 357.9 million by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2022 to 2030. The growing pharmaceutical industry and numerous benefits offered by robotic systems in product manufacturing, such as improved production output and product quality, increased production flexibility, lesser space utilization, no labor turnover, low operating costs, enhanced health, and safety, reduced production downtime, and better waste management, are driving the adoption of these products, thereby aiding the market growth. Grand_View_Research_Logo Key Industry Insights & Findings from the report: The market growth is attributed to various technological advancements and increasing investments in the robotics sector. In terms of product, traditional robots dominated the market in 2021 owing to the availability of different types of traditional products for specific applications. Based on application, the picking and packaging segment dominated the market in 2021 owing to a rise in demand for personalized packaging. By end-use, pharmaceutical companies dominated the market in 2021 owing to the rapid rate of drug discovery and high investments by the companies. Asia Pacific dominated the market in 2021 owing to the booming pharmaceutical and industrial robotics market in the region. Read 150-page market research report for more Insights , "Pharmaceutical Robots Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Traditional Robots, Collaborative Robots), By Application (Picking & Packaging, Laboratory Applications), By End-use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030", published by Grand View Research. Pharmaceutical Robots Market Growth & Trends According to an article published by Mint in April 2020, the adoption and usage of robotic technology are expected to increase in India across all types of healthcare settings, despite their high prices, owing to the availability of a smaller number of healthcare professionals for more than 1.3 billion population. The market is seeing opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmaceutical companies looking to capitalize on prospects in North America and Europe are increasingly turning to robots. According to the Robotic Industries Association (IRA), orders for robots from North American life science companies increased by 69% in 2020 compared to 2019. Story continues The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted the pharmaceutical industry to increase its use of robots to optimize procedures. Robots will continue to be deployed in North America and Europe to cut the process's costs and complexity. It has recently gained interest as a solution to medicine shortages caused by production delays. Pharmaceutical companies are anticipated to form partnerships with robotics solution providers to incorporate robotics into manufacturing, medication development, and anti-counterfeiting procedures. As companies increase their investments in the pharmaceutical sector, the use of robots may grow in the coming years. In 2021, the traditional robots product segment accounted for the largest revenue share owing to its increasing adoption in material handling, picking and packaging, palletizing, and inspection. Collaborative robots are anticipated to register the fastest growth rate during the forecast period. Many companies are replacing traditional with collaborative robots or cobots, which are a combination of humans and robotics. The adoption of cobots is significantly increasing as they combine repetitive tasks of robots and the individual skills of humans to bring efficiency to manufacturing processes. These machines are also cheaper and easier to operate and maintain as compared to the traditional ones. In 2021, the picking and packaging application segment accounted for the largest revenue share and is anticipated to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. This growth can mainly be attributed to the high demand for personalized packaging and benefits associated with this segment, including high speed, efficient track and trace, and optimum utilization of the floor space. In addition, all the traditional robotic solutions are mainly used for picking and packaging. For instance, 6-axis articulated robots such as VP-6242G and VS-068A2 developed by Denso Wave Incorporated enable picking and packaging. In 2021, the pharmaceutical companies end-use segment accounted for the largest revenue share and is anticipated to register the fastest growth rate during the forecast period. This is attributed to the increasing usage of robotics in drug discovery and development. In addition, pharmaceutical companies are involved in developing personalized medicine, which further supports the growth of the segment. Research laboratories are anticipated to witness significant growth during the forecast period owing to the ability of these automated solutions to perform repetitive tasks, such as moving test tubes and fluids, during drug discovery-related activities, facilitating a high rate of consistency and accuracy. In 2021, Asia Pacific dominated the market and is anticipated to register the fastest growth rate during the forecast period. The rise in the demand for the production of drugs and the development of robotic machines for performing tasks with high speed, reduced risk of contamination, accuracy, and optimum utilization of space among pharmaceutical companies is boosting the regional market growth. Moreover, a rise in the number of initiatives undertaken by the government to increase the adoption of industrial robots is further aiding the regional market growth. For instance, in 2016, the Chinese government launched the Robotics Industry Development Plan (2016-2020), aimed at promoting robot applications to a wider range of fields and attracting foreign investment, to develop 100,000 industrial robots produced by domestic technology annually by 2020 Pharmaceutical Robots Market Segmentation Grand View Research, Inc. has segmented the global pharmaceutical robots market based on product, application, end-use, and region: Pharmaceutical Robots Market - Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030) Traditional Robots Articulated Robots SCARA Robots Delta/Parallel Robots Cartesian Robots Dual-arm Robots Collaborative Pharmaceutical Robots Pharmaceutical Robots Market - Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030) Picking and Packaging Inspection of Pharmaceutical Drugs Laboratory Applications Pharmaceutical Robots Market - End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030) Pharmaceutical Companies Research Laboratories Pharmaceutical Robots Market - Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa List of Key Players of the Pharmaceutical Robots Market ABB Ltd. Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Universal Robots A/S FANUC America Corporation Yaskawa Electric Corporation Marchesini Group S.p.A Seiko Epson Corporation Denso Wave, Inc. Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research: Cleanroom Robots In Healthcare Market - The global cleanroom robots in healthcare market size is expected to reach USD 2.69 billion by 2030, based on a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 26.4% from 2022 to 2030. The growing adoption of robots in cleanroom settings, product innovations catering to the market trends, and increased demand for robotic automation in pharmaceutical manufacturing are some of the key factors contributing to the market growth. Robots help in avoiding the risk of contamination in cleanrooms, especially during drug manufacturing procedures. Surgical Robots Market - The global surgical robots market size is expected to reach USD 18.2 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 19.3% from 2022 to 2030. Growing adoption of automated minimally invasive surgery and increasing awareness to use robotic procedures due to the potential benefits provided by these surgeries are the factors positively contributing to the growth of the market. Moreover, the increasing penetration of international players in various geographies is expected to boost the market growth over the forecast years. Robotic Prosthetics Market - The global robotic prosthetics market size is anticipated to reach USD 2.8 billion by 2030, as per a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to witness a CAGR of 9.2% from 2022 - 2030. Robotics is an ever-evolving field with constant ongoing innovation. The increase in the number of people needing robotic prosthetics worldwide due to both traumatic as well as non-traumatic injuries has led to the massive expansion of the market. The Amputee Coalition estimated the number of people undergoing some form of limb loss will be over 3.5 million by 2050. Furthermore, the growing prevalence of diseases like diabetes and peripheral arterial disease are among major contributors to the increase in the number of amputations being performed on a global level. Browse through Grand View Research's Medical Devices Industry Research Reports. About Grand View Research Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead. Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc. Phone: +1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com Grand View Compass | Astra ESG Solutions Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pharmaceutical-robots-market-size-worth-357-9-million-by-2030-grand-view-research-inc-301581362.html SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. Now that the July 4th fireworks have flamed out, the pollsters at Gallup are providing some details about how Americans confidence in our major institutions has fizzled over the past year. Of the 16 institutions Gallup asked about ranging from Congress to the Supreme Court, public schools to the presidency, the medical system to the news media 11 saw Americans say they are much less confident than they were a year ago. All three branches of the federal government dropped to new lows in this years poll. The presidency saw the most precipitous drop, 15 percentage points, which Gallup says matches the 15-point plunge in President Joe Bidens approval rating since June 2021. Just 23% of those surveyed say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the presidency. The Supreme Court saw the second largest decline, a drop of 11 percentage points to 25% and that was as of late June, before the court formally announced its ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and issued a controversial decision on gun laws. Confidence in Congress fell by 5 percentage points a smaller drop, yes, but Congress was already at the bottom of the list, at 12% confidence last year, yet managed to fall to 7% this year. Small business (68%) and the military (64%) are the only institutions to see a majority of Americans express confidence in them. Organized labor is the only institution that didnt see a decline in confidence from last year. Five other institutions are at their lowest points in at least three decades of measurement, Gallup reports, including the church or organized religion (31%), newspapers (16%), the criminal justice system (14%), big business (14%) and the police. The Gallup readings are in line with those from the latest Monmouth University poll, which finds that just 10% of Americans say the country is headed in the right direction while 88% say it is on the wrong track the lowest such reading dating back to 2013. And 42% of Americans say they are struggling to maintain their financial position, the highest such reading since Monmouth started asking the question five years ago. Story continues That poll also finds that Americans see the federal government as providing little help. A majority of 57% say that the actions of the federal government over the past six months have hurt their family when it comes to their most important concern, Monmouth reports, noting that this is the first time a majority has said that federal government has hurt them where it matters most. The results also indicate little optimism about the future just 23% expect that future government actions over the next few years will help improve their familys top concern while 45% say Washington will hurt them. One year ago, that response was basically flipped (40% expected to be helped and 34% expected to be hurt). The bottom line: Confidence in institutions is unlikely to improve until the economy gets better, Gallups Jeffrey M. Jones writes, but it is unclear if confidence will ever get back to the levels Gallup measured in decades past, even with an improved economy. Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter. Straits Research - Market Research Strategy | Strategy Consulting | Business Research | Business Consulting | Market Research The global polyolefins market size was worth USD 172 billion in 2021. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 505 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 13% during the projected period (2022-2030). The Asia-Pacific dominated the market. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 47165 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 13%. New York, United States, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Polyolefin is a high-molecular-weight hydrocarbon made from hydrocarbons, olefins, and monomers. High processability, extended durability, and chemical stability are only a few of the benefits of polyolefin. Polyolefins are majorly used in plastics, accounting for two-thirds of total demand. The qualities of polyolefins, such as temperature resistance, chemical resistance, and high impact strength, are one of the reasons for their increased popularity. Furthermore, polyolefins are commonly used in plastics and flexible plastic items. Again, the global lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a higher prevalence of e-commerce platforms, allowing for home delivery and increasing demand for consumer packing. As a result, the polyolefins market is expected to rise in 2020. Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/polyolefins-market/request-sample Rise in Deployment of Renewable Energy to Drive the Global Polyolefins Market Many countries are focused on long-term development and attempting to raise renewable energy's share of overall energy consumption and generation. Due to enormous investments to satisfy climate change goals, European countries lead in the renewable energy sector. Brazil, Japan, Turkey, China, the United States, and Australia are also contributing to the growth of the renewable energy sector. Furthermore, increased investment in the renewable energy sector reduces energy generation's reliance on coal. The demand for polyolefins has increased as the focus has shifted to developing renewable energy infrastructure and equipment. Polyolefin-based products are used in many appliances that produce renewable energy infrastructure or equipment. The United States is one of the world's largest hydropower producers, with portions of the Pacific Northwest relying on hydropower for up to 70% of their electricity. Story continues Polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are also being utilized to replace metal junction boxes in solar energy production. Furthermore, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is used to make large-diameter solid wall conduits, which are used to protect electrical lines and the environment in wind farms. These variables work together to improve renewable energy deployment and, as a result, polyolefin demand. Expansion of Food Sector in Emerging Economies to Provide Opportunities for the Global Polyolefins Market Polyolefins are utilized in the food industry as a packaging material because they are nonpolar, odorless, and nonporous. Food packaging commonly uses polyolefins such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), isotactic polypropylene (PP) , linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), and various polyethylene-based copolymers. Polyolefin films are relatively affordable and have better moisture and gas barrier qualities than other materials. They are also heat resistant and prevent food from leaking. They also contribute less weight to the container and fit the shape of the food perfectly, requiring less storage and delivery space. The food sector is rising in emerging economies like China and India as the population grows. The rapid growth of the food industry will eventually increase demand for packaging materials , which will provide lucrative chances for the worldwide polyolefins market to expand in emerging economies. Buy Now Full Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/buy-now/polyolefins-market/global/ Key Highlights The global polyolefins market was worth USD172 billion in 2021. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 505 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 13% during the projected period (2022-2030). By type, the market is divided into polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). The polyethylene segment dominated the market. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 333315 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 12%. Polyethylene is gaining high traction in the global market, owing to a rapid expansion of the food sector in developing nations like China and India and the development of the renewable energy sector. This is accredited to the fact that polyethylene is widely used in the packaging of foods. The polypropylene segment is the second-largest market. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 225300 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 15%. Polypropylene demand is skyrocketing because of the increased demand for syringes, medical vials, and test bottles. This is due to expanded vaccination programs in nations like Israel, the United States, and India due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The polystyrene segment is the third-largest market. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 9625 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 12%. The primary reasons for the growth of the polystyrene marke t are high adoption in insulation applications and increased adoption in automotive applications. By applications, the market is segregated into film & sheet, injection molding, blow molding, profile extrusion, and others. The film & sheet segment dominated the market. It is estimated to reach an expected USD 198175 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 13%. The primary reason contributing to the market growth is a surge in demand for bi-axially oriented polyolefins films . On the contrary, a rise in the use of plastic films and sheets in agriculture and an increase in demand for specialty films is anticipated to offer potential growth opportunities for market expansion. Injection molding is the second-largest segment . It is estimated to reach an expected USD 154050 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 13%. Some of the factors increasing demand for polyolefin in injection molding are fast manufacturing, high efficiency in terms of the number of parts produced per hour, low labor costs, design flexibility, high-output production, enhanced strength of plastic products, and product consistency. Profile extrusion is the third-largest segment. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 92050 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 12%. It has numerous advantages such as relatively low tooling costs, equipment widely available in all geographical regions, economical process, different product combinations, and design freedom. Regional Insights By region, the market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Asia-Pacific dominated the global market. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 47165 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 13%. This is attributed to countries such as China, India, and Japan, as these countries have established and developed consumer bases in the electronics manufacturing and construction sector. The outbreak of COVID-19 in China hampered the polyolefins market intensively as it is one of the major consumers of polyolefins. This is attributed to industries such as packaging, toy manufacturing, construction industry, and automotive. Europe is the second-largest region. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 7580 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 7%. Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Europe are all examined. Due to the rise of the packaging and automotive industries, Germany is one of the leading consumers of polyolefins. The pandemic of COVID-19 has caused lockdown in numerous European countries, resulting in panic buying of consumer commodities such as food, health, and hygiene products. Polyolefins were in high demand in the packaging industry due to this. Other sectors where polyolefins are widely utilized, such as automotive and construction, are experiencing a decline in performance, resulting in a fall in polyolefin demand in 2020. North America is the third largest region. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 8085 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 12%. In the continent of North America, plastic is widely used in the packaging, construction, automotive, and electrical and electronics industries, and it is a significant market driver. Furthermore, the demand for packing rose due to the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to the rising prevalence of e-commerce platforms. In addition, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for polyolefins in the healthcare sector. The rise in vaccine development during the global health crisis has boosted demand for polypropylene, which makes syringes, vials, and specimen bottles. Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/polyolefins-market/request-sample List of Top Polyolefins Market Companies ExxonMobil Corporation SABIC Total SE Repsol Ineos Group AG Reliance Industries LyondellBasell Industries N.V. Sinopec Group Ducor Petrochemical Formosa Plastics Corporation Borealis AG Arkema S.A. Braskem S.A Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd. (Borouge) Sasol Ltd Tosoh Corporation Polyone Corporation. The Global Polyolefins Market: Segmentation By Type Polyethylene Polypropylene Polystyrene By Application Film & Sheet Injection Molding Blow Molding Profile Extrusion Others. By Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific LAMA TABLE OF CONTENT 1 Introduction 1.1 Market Definition 1.2 Market Scope 2 Research Methodology 2.1 Primary Research 2.2 Research Methodology 2.3 Assumptions & Exclusions 2.4 Secondary Data Sources 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Overview 4.1 Report Segmentation & Scope 4.2 Value Chain Analysis: Polyolefins Market 4.2.1 Vendor Matrix 4.3 Key Market Trends 4.3.1 Drivers 4.3.2 Restraints 4.3.3 Opportunities 4.4 Porters Five Forces Analysis 4.4.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.4.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers 4.4.3 Threat of Substitution 4.4.4 Threat of New Entrants 4.4.5 Competitive Rivalry 4.5 Environment & Regulatory Landscape 4.6 Forecast Factors & Relevance of Impact 4.7 Macro-Economic & Geopolitical Scenario 4.8 Parent Market Overview 4.9 Technology Landscape 4.10 Market Share Analysis 4.11 Potential Venture Analysis 4.12 Regional Price Trends 4.13 Raw Material Trends 4.14 Cost Structure Analysis 4.14.1 Labor Cost 4.14.2 Consumables 4.14.3 Maintenance Cost 4.15 Covid-19 Impact Analysis: 4.15.1 Pre and Post Covid-19 Market Scenario Analysis 4.15.2 Market Recovery Timeline and Challenge 4.15.3 Measures Taken by Top Players 4.15.4 Quarterly Market Revenue and Growth Forecast till 2021 4.15.4.1 North America 4.15.4.2 Europe 4.15.4.3 Asia-Pacific 4.15.4.4 Central and South America and the Caribbean 4.15.4.5 The Middle East and Africa 5 Type Overview 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 5.2 Polyethylene 5.2.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 5.3 Polypropylene 5.3.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 5.4 Polystyrene 5.4.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6 Application Overview 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.2 Film & Sheet 6.2.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.3 Injection Molding 6.3.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.4 Blow Molding 6.4.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.5 Profile Extrusion 6.5.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.6 Others 6.6.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 7 Regional Overview 7.1 Introduction 7.1.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 7.2 North America 7.2.1 Economic Overview 7.2.2 Market Scenario 7.2.3 U.S. 7.2.4 Canada 7.2.5 Mexico 7.3 Central and South America and the Caribbean 7.3.1 Economic Overview 7.3.2 Market Scenario 7.3.3 Brazil 7.3.4 Argentina 7.3.5 Colombia 7.3.6 Rest of Central and South America and the Caribbean 7.4 Europe 7.4.1 Economic Overview 7.4.2 Market Scenario 7.4.3 Germany 7.4.4 France 7.4.5 The U.K. 7.4.6 Italy 7.4.7 The Rest Of Europe 7.5 Asia-Pacific (APAC) 7.5.1 Economic Overview 7.5.2 Market Scenario 7.5.3 China 7.5.4 Japan 7.5.5 India 7.5.6 Australia 7.5.7 South Korea 7.5.8 Rest Of APAC 7.6 Middle East 7.6.1 Economic Overview 7.6.2 Market Scenario 7.6.3 South Arabia 7.6.4 The UAE 7.6.5 Qatar 7.6.6 Oman 7.6.7 Turkey 7.6.8 The Rest Of Middle East 7.7 Africa 7.7.1 Economic Overview 7.7.2 Market Scenario 7.7.3 Nigeria 7.7.4 South Africa 7.7.5 The Rest Of Africa 8 Competitive Landscape Manufacturers & Suppliers 8.1 Competition Dashboard 8.2 Industry Structure 8.3 ExxonMobil Corporation 8.3.1 Business Overview 8.3.2 Financial Performance 8.3.3 Recent Developments 8.3.4 Portfolio 8.4 SABIC 8.5 Total SE 8.6 Repsol 8.7 Ineos Group AG 8.8 Reliance Industries 8.9 LyondellBasell Industries N.V. 8.10 Sinopec Group 8.11 Ducor Petrochemical 8.12 Formosa Plastics Corporation 8.13 Borealis AG 8.14 Arkema S.A. 8.15 Braskem S.A 8.16 Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd. (Borouge) 8.17 Sasol Ltd 8.18 Tosoh Corporation 8.19 Polyone Corporation. 9 Conclusion & Recommendation 10 Acronyms & Abbreviations Read the full Report Description with Table of Content and Figure @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/polyolefins-market/toc Market News March 2022 -Tosoh Corporation today acquired all shares in consolidated subsidiary Taiyo Vinyl Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; capital contribution ratio: Tosoh 68%, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. 16%, and Denka Co., Ltd. 16%) held by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Osamu Hashimoto). This acquisition of shares results in Tosoh owning 84% and Denka Co., Ltd. owns 16% of Taiyo Vinyl Corporation. News Media Changing Bulk Chemicals Market Scenario: A Future Perspective Petrochemicals - Has COVID-19 Changed the Tune of the Industry Have a Look at the Related Research Report Polyolefin Foam Market : Information by Type (Polyethylene, Polypropylene), Application (Automotive, Building, and Construction, Cushioning), and Region Forecast till 2029 Geothermal Energy Market : Information by Power Station (Dry Steam, Flash Steam, Binary Cycle Power Station), End-User (Residential, Non-Residential), and Region Forecast till 2029 Polyolefin Elastomers Market : Information by Type (Polypropylene), Manufacturing Technique (Injection Grade), Application (Adhesive,Film), End-Use Industry, and Region Forecast Till 2026 Flywheel UPS Market : Information by Application (Datacenters, Medical Imaging, Industrial Critical Process), Industry (Automotive), and Region Forecast till 2029 Geothermal Heat Pumps Market : Information by Type (Closed-Loop, Open-Loop), Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), and Region Forecast till 2030 Polypropylene Foam Market : Information by Type (Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) Foam, Extruded Polypropylene (XPP) Foam), Application (Automotive, Packaging), and Region Forecast till 2029 About Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. StraitsResearch is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision-makers. Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. provides actionable market research data, especially designed and presented for decision making and ROI. Whether you are looking at business sectors in the next town or crosswise over continents, we understand the significance of being acquainted with the clients purchase. We overcome our clients issues by recognizing and deciphering the target group and generating leads with utmost precision. We seek to collaborate with our clients to deliver a broad spectrum of results through a blend of market and business research approaches. For more information on your target market, please contact us below: Phone: +1 646 480 7505 (the U.S.) +91 8087085354 (APAC) +44 208 068 9665 (the U.K.) Email: sales@straitsresearch.com Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter (Bloomberg) -- Dmitry Klimenko is putting the final touches to a new nightclub in Tbilisis central Vake Park, aimed at drawing some of the tens of thousands of disoriented fellow Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians who fled to Georgia in recent months. Most Read from Bloomberg A veteran of seven nightclubs he opened in his home town of Novosibirsk over the years, Klimenko left Russia on March 7, as President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine darkened the political climate at home. Its what I know how to do, said Klimenko, as first one and then a second pair of curious Russians stopped by to look at The Balance, his latest venture. When I asked around people said: Do it! We are lost here. Georgias government estimates that 80,000 Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians now reside in this small Caucasus nation of 4 million. Of those, 20,000-25,000 work in IT and software, and about 30,000 are Russian citizens who arrived since the war began. Many came recently from Belarus and Ukraine, too. As IT specialists, they see little future in Russia as the security services tighten control of the internet, international sanctions squeeze the economy and foreign companies exit. Theyve flocked to other neighboring states such as Armenia and Kazakhstan as well as to Turkey, Dubai and Israel, while the US is seeking to lure them by waiving some visa requirements. The exodus comes as Russian tech companies including internet giant Yandex NV struggle amid deepening censorship, shortages of key equipment, and a backlash in foreign markets. Young, educated and financially self-sustaining, the arrivals are the kinds of people that tech hubs such as Berlin, Lisbon and London spend fortunes trying to lure. Keeping them in Georgia as they serve clients around the globe from their laptops represents a huge economic opportunity for a poor country with a liberal tax and business environment. Story continues The whole world is competing to attract these people, said former central bank Governor Giorgi Kadagidze, over coffee in downtown Tbilisi. He argues that Georgia should market itself aggressively as a safe haven from repressive regimes that offers a strong financial sector, beaches, mountains, a warm climate and good food. We can be the Portugal of the East. And yet, Kadagidze doesnt think that will happen, with most migrants leaving again once they can secure visas to travel onward. It doesnt help that many ordinary Georgians, who suffered a Russian invasion of their own in 2008, are suspicious of the new arrivals. In Kadagidzes view, Georgias government lacks the will to create and publicize the environment that would entice them to stay, much as it was unable to secure the candidate status that the European Union has now awarded to Ukraine and Moldova. That failure with Brussels triggered some of the largest protest rallies Georgia has seen in its turbulent post-Soviet history. The government came in for biting criticism from the European Parliament, which last month censured Georgia for repressing media freedoms and backsliding on judicial reform and civil liberties including those of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, currently hospitalized while serving a jail sentence his supporters say is political. The governments opponents also accuse it of attempting to appease Moscow. Levan Davitashvili, minister for the economy and sustainable development, calls such criticisms unfair and politically motivated. Security services screen Russian immigrants thoroughly for agents or sanctions threats, he said, while the government has set up a task force to help companies and entrepreneurs settle and navigate procedures such as the checks needed to open a bank account. The government is also in talks to attract several international tech firms moving staff from Russia, Davitashvili said at his office above the noisy hum of Tbilisis hyper-modern registration center. An astonished Klimenko, the nightclub owner, said it took him just 15 minutes to register as an entrepreneur. This is very important for Georgia, to Georgias economy and to Georgias digital transformation, Davitashvili said of the Russian influx. Other advantages, including low income taxes, a special 5% corporate tax rate to attract foreign tech companies, and a culture and language familiar to Russians, were there long before the war, he said. As for EU candidacy status, that was a severe disappointment to the government, too, given that Georgia leads Moldova and Ukraine on most EU membership criteria, according to Davitashvili. Some hurdles to a Russian-driven tech boom in Georgia have little to do with government policy. For one thing, many Russians fled there because they could simply arrive without the need for a visa, but planned from the outset to move on as soon as they could secure the documents needed to do so. Kostya Amelichev, 20, said he left Moscow on March 4 for fear of being drafted to fight and is now finishing his university degree remotely. A high frequency trading startup he brought to Tbilisi with fellow exiles 10 of his university class are now in Tbilisi pays the bills. But he expects to move on once he has his degree. Web developer Vladislav Miedziyanski, 25, continued working for the Swedish company that employed him in Moscow, but says he cant be sure if hell still be in Tbilisi in three years time. For now, he said, hes just happy to be paying taxes to the Georgian government, rather than the genocidal regime in his home country. Miedziyanski had found his way to Ploho (Bad), one of several Russian speaking bars popping up around Tbilisi. You dont even need a license to sell alcohol here, said 24-year-old co-owner Dariya Zheniskhan, from Kazakhstan. Opened in October, the small bars walls and ceiling are covered in anti-Putin graffiti. Some may yet opt to return to Russia. One senior executive at a major Russian tech firm said some workers were already coming back as they felt the initial fallout from the war was subsiding. And not everyone in Georgia is greeting the immigrants with open arms. Its really a problem, because we dont know what these people did in their country, said Mikheil Ambukadze, a 30-year-old Georgian IT worker, as he waited for a free terminal at the registration center. Several others interviewed said the same. Rents in the capital have soared up 101% in May compared with a year earlier, according to research by Georgias TBC Bank with Russians taking the blame, even if low base effects played a big role. Zurab Eristavi, managing partner of high end property company Rentals, said he received 500 Russian enquiries within a month of the war, but responded to just one a returning Georgian. Its too early to know what long term impact the Russian immigration will have on Georgia, according to Koba Gvenetadze, Georgias current central bank governor. There are indications of a short term boost. Remittances from Russia rose tenfold in May; deposits to bank accounts held by Russian citizens were up by $25 million between the end of February and the end of May; and deposits to all bank accounts as a whole in the country rose $192 million likely the result of money spent by arriving migrants according to Gvenetadze. The net effect has been to strengthen Georgias currency and current account balance. But if returning ethnic Georgians will likely stay for the long term, the rest of the immigrants will probably leave at some stage, the central banker said. The question is when, and we dont know. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Photo credit: Maxar - Getty Images Russia has withdrawn from Snake Island, a strategically important island in the Black Sea. Moscow says its leaving as a symbol of goodwill, but its a retreat by any other name. Holding the island cost Russia dearly, including lost ships, a helicopter, missile systems, and troops. Russia officially withdrew its military garrison from Ukraines Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, on June 30, according to Russian state media. The site of a sign of defiance in the early hours of the war, the island has been the subject of repeated attacks by the Ukrainian military, causing heavy casualties to occupying Russian troops. Rather than admit defeat, Moscow has declared that its troops have accomplished their mission and that it is withdrawing in a magnanimous act of goodwill. Ukraines Operational Command South, the military headquarters responsible for the wars southern front and Ukraines Black Sea coastline, issued a statement on Telegram that the enemy hastily evacuated the remnants of the garrison in two speedboats and probably left the island. Photo credit: Future Publishing - Getty Images The withdrawal is a setback for Russias invasion effort. Snake Islandsituated in the Black Sea, just 30 miles off the coast of Ukrainewas in position to monitor, and if necessary block, Ukrainian shipping, especially grain and other goods bound for overseas. It was also in a position to block Ukrainian aircraft flying over the Black Sea, especially those seeking to avoid Russian air defenses. The Russian government cast the retreat as a goodwill gesture, stating it demonstrated to the world community that the Russian Federation does not interfere with the efforts of the UN to organize a humanitarian corridor for the export of agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine. Photo credit: SOPA Images - Getty Images Russia captured Snake Island in the early hours of the war. A garrison of Ukrainian marines, ordered to surrender by the Russian cruiser Moskva, defiantly refused . The act of defiance set the tone for the entire war, and in one of its many ironies, Ukrainian anti-ship missiles sunk Moskva a month later. Members of the garrison survived and were later repatriated . Story continues Russia installed its own garrison on the island, a garrison that was bombed and attacked repeatedly. Get the Facts: The Sinking of Moskva Valeriy Zaluzhniy, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, thanked the developers of the Ukrainian self-propelled howitzer, Bodogan, stating it played an important role in the liberation of the island." He also thanked foreign partners for the provided means of destruction. The Bodogan is a truck-mounted 155-millimeter howitzer compatible with advanced Western artillery shells. Three ingredients of the successful operation: - skills of the Ukrainian military; - modern Ukrainian weapons; - equipment from our international partners and the Snake Island is free from occupation. pic.twitter.com/vaOFcUI63B Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) June 30, 2022 A video shared by Ukraines Ministry of Defense on Twitter (above) strongly implies the Bodogan was paired with TB-2 Bayraktar drones to successfully strike Snake Island; the video depicts an attack on the Russian garrison on June 21. After the first artillery round falls into the ocean, live video from the Bayraktar allowed Ukrainian artillerymen to quickly adjust their aim, landing the second shot on the edge of the island. The third shot clearly hits the center of the island. Ukraine has attacked Snake Island with fighter bombers and Bayraktar drones, but Russias installation of surface-to-air missile systems on the island has made bombing it a tricky proposition. The island is out of range of older Ukrainian artillery. Bodogan, however, is compatible with new western artillery shells and artillery technology. Zaluzhniys thanks to foreign partners is likely a reference to long-range artillery shells provided by the West, either using base-bleed or rocket-assist technology, to finally reach Snake Island. Base-bleed artillery shells expel a gas into the pressure cavity behind an artillery shell in flight, reducing drag. Rocket-assisted projectiles (RAP) are artillery shells with a rocket motor in the tail, providing extra thrust. Both methods reduce the shells high explosive payload, but provide a useful boost in range. Photo credit: GENYA SAVILOV - Getty Images Once the island was within range of land-based artillery, occupying it was no longer a viable proposition. The island, just .079 square miles, provided Russian troops no room to avoid shelling. Ukraine also received shore-launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark that could sink any ship approaching the island. Ukrainian forces repeatedly attacked the island and ships and aircraft sent to resupply it, causing heavy casualties among Russian forces. According to Ukrainian military sources, Russia has lost a command post, two 9K35 Strela-10 (NATO code name: Gopher) surface-to-air missile systems , two Tor surface-to air-missile systems, four Raptor patrol boats , a Serna -class landing craft , an Mi-8 Hip transport helicopter and Russian special forces , the tugboat Spasatel Vasily Bekh , and yet another unidentified air-defense system. An unknown number of Russian military personnel were also lost in the siege. You Might Also Like Hosting 1.8 billion active users, which is 23% of the world's population, and 92% of US startups, Gmail has grown to encompass 27.8% of the email client market share, according to financesonline.com. Google, founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, created Gmail on April 1, 2004. With Gmail being used for work, school or personal business, accounts can become mixed up with each other. Its important to keep your emails organized by staying logged in to the necessary accounts and logged out of the unnecessary ones. Password troubles?: How do I change my Gmail password? Here's how to recover your Gmail password or account How old is Google?: History of the world's most popular search engine How to sign out of Gmail on a computer Google advises to follow these steps: 1. Log into your Gmail account at gmail.com. 2. Click your profile icon in the top right of your screen. 3. Select Sign out. If you have multiple accounts signed in at once, then your only option will be to Sign out of all accounts. You are not able to sign out of just one Gmail account if you have multiple signed in. Be aware of your searches: Could your online data be used to determine if you are looking for an abortion? Are your accounts secure?: How to see if anyone is using your Gmail, Facebook, or Netflix accounts How to sign out of Gmail on an Android or iPhone Users are unable to solely sign out of Gmail on their mobile devices. They can completely remove their Google account from their device, though, signing them out of Gmail and other Google applications like YouTube and Google Maps. This will not delete the account. To remove your Google account from your mobile device, Google advises to follow these steps for Android and these steps for iPhone: 1. Open Gmail on your android or iPhone. 2. Tap your profile icon in the top right of your screen. 3. Select Manage accounts on this device at the bottom. 4. Android users will have to then select the account that they would like to remove from their device. Story continues 5. Tap the bottommost button, Remove account. The true size of Google: Who owns Google? The same company that owns Waze and YouTube. Keep your private info private: How to erase those private details Google knows about you How to remotely sign out of Gmail on other devices You may have left your Google account signed into a device outside of your home network that you want to make sure no one else can access. Remotely signing out of that device will resolve those worries. To remotely sign out of your Google account, Google advises to follow these steps: 1. Log in to your Gmail account at gmail.com. 2. Tap your profile icon in the top right of your screen. 3. Select Manage your Google account. 4. Navigate to and select Security, the fourth tab down on a computer and the fourth tab to the right on a mobile device. Select "Security" through your Google account. 5. Scroll down to and tap or click Your devices. 6. You will be shown all the devices that your Google account is currently signed into. Select any device you want to sign out of. 7. Confirm that you want to sign out. Become an expert: Gmail tips and tricks: 10 buried settings and features to try Just curious?: We're here to help with life's everyday questions This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to sign out of Gmail on all devices, even remotely FILE PHOTO: A woman uses the app Mercado Pago, in her store in Buenos Aires, Argentina. October, 15 2020. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian By Noe Torres MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S.-based money transfer firm Western Union Co, announced an agreement Wednesday with South American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre to send digital remittances to Mexico, which have become a lifeline for the weakened local economy. The partnership will allow families abroad to send money through Western Union, while those in Mexico can collect the payments through Mercado Pago, MercadoLibre's digital finance arm, the two companies said. "The amount of time we save people who don't have to go to a physical location to pick up the remittance, we think that's an important advantage, and... you don't have to carry that cash from one place to another," said Pedro Rivas, director of Mercado Pago in Mexico. Stores in Mexico, including major chains such as McDonald's, Domino's Pizza and Starbucks, are increasingly accepting Mercado Pago as a form of payment. According to the companies, more than 70% of remittances are currently collected in cash in Mexico, where low bank penetration means more than half of its 126 million inhabitants don't have an account. Remittances to Mexico reached a record of $5.17 billion dollars in May, largely due to the economic recovery in the United States, the No. 1 destination of migrants from the Latin American nation. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who often boasts of the solid growth in remittances received by Mexico, has said that they could reach a record $60 billion dollars this year, a 16% increase from 2021. Experts, however, have warned that the flow of money could decrease in coming months due to the impact of an expected recession in the United States. "In the first half of 2022 there are several negative signs for U.S. economic growth, which represent a downside risk for remittances," said Gabriela Siller, director of research at local firm Banco Base. (Reporting by Noe Torres; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Aurora Ellis) Company Logo Global Green Coatings Market Global Green Coatings Market Dublin, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Green Coatings Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global green coatings market reached a value of US$ 81.7 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 107.5 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.68% during 2021-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end-use industries. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Green coatings refer to environment-friendly coatings that emit almost zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the manufacturing process. Some of the commonly available variants include water-based paints, high solid paints, powder coatings and radiation-hardened coatings. These coatings are manufactured using naturally sourced materials, such as vegetable oil, soybean, castor oil, milk and clay. They minimize the adverse effects of infrared and ultraviolet (UV) radiations and aid in improving the overall efficiency of the equipment. As a result, they find extensive applications across various industries, including construction, automotive, oil and gas, mining, aviation, aerospace and marine. Green Coatings Market Trends: Significant growth in the construction industry across the globe is one of the key factors creating a positive outlook for the market. Green coatings are widely applied on walls, roofs, panels, windows, door frames and interior extrusions as protective and decorative paints. They are also used on various consumer products, such as oven components, dryer drums, rooftop heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units, electronic boxes, furniture and fixtures. Moreover, rising environmental consciousness among the masses and the increasing demand for waterborne and powder-based coatings are providing a thrust to the market growth. In comparison to the traditionally used solvent-borne coatings, these variants are VOC-free, block resistant and not harmful for human health. Story continues Additionally, various product innovations, such as the development of radiation curable coatings, are acting as other growth-inducing factors. They are manufactured using plant-based sources and are processed under low energy electrons (EB) or ultraviolet (UV) radiations. Other factors, including rapid industrialization, along with the implementation of favorable government policies to promote sustainability, are anticipated to drive the market toward growth. Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being Akzo Nobel N.V., Asian Paints Limited, Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., BASF SE, Hempel A/S, Jotun, Kansai Paint Co. Ltd., Koninklijke DSM N.V., Nippon Paint Holdings Co. Ltd., PPG Industries Inc and The Sherwin-Williams Company. Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global green coatings market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global green coatings market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the type? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global green coatings market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Green Coatings Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Type 6.1 Waterborne 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Powder 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 High Solid 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 6.4 UV Cured 6.4.1 Market Trends 6.4.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Application 7.1 Architectural Coatings 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Industrial Coatings 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 7.3 Automotive Coatings 7.3.1 Market Trends 7.3.2 Market Forecast 7.4 Wood Coatings 7.4.1 Market Trends 7.4.2 Market Forecast 7.5 Packaging Coatings 7.5.1 Market Trends 7.5.2 Market Forecast 7.6 Others 7.6.1 Market Trends 7.6.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Region 9 SWOT Analysis 10 Value Chain Analysis 11 Porters Five Forces Analysis 12 Price Analysis 13 Competitive Landscape 13.1 Market Structure 13.2 Key Players 13.3 Profiles of Key Players 13.3.1 Akzo Nobel N.V. 13.3.1.1 Company Overview 13.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.1.3 Financials 13.3.1.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.2 Asian Paints Limited 13.3.2.1 Company Overview 13.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.2.3 Financials 13.3.2.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.3 Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. 13.3.3.1 Company Overview 13.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.3.3 Financials 13.3.4 BASF SE 13.3.4.1 Company Overview 13.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.4.3 Financials 13.3.4.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.5 Hempel A/S 13.3.5.1 Company Overview 13.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.5.3 SWOT Analysis 13.3.6 Jotun 13.3.6.1 Company Overview 13.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7 Kansai Paint Co. Ltd. 13.3.7.1 Company Overview 13.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7.3 Financials 13.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.8 Koninklijke DSM N.V. 13.3.8.1 Company Overview 13.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.8.3 Financials 13.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.9 Nippon Paint Holdings Co. Ltd. 13.3.9.1 Company Overview 13.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.9.3 Financials 13.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.10 PPG Industries Inc 13.3.10.1 Company Overview 13.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.10.3 Financials 13.3.10.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.11 The Sherwin-Williams Company 13.3.11.1 Company Overview 13.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.11.3 Financials For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dg73cz Attachment CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 After a lifetime of sickness, Jennifer Nsenkyire was cured of two separate and debilitating diseases with a stem cell transplant, and those who knew her rejoiced. That included family in West Africa, where she was born, and the friends and support system she found in Fredericksburg, her second home. After the transplant freed her from the pain shed experienced since a toddler with sickle cell diseasea hereditary blood disorderNsenkyire became active with the Fredericksburg Area Sickle Cell Association, or FASCA. She worked to educate others about the ailment and how those with it could find help and support. She was always so very, very kind and helpful to other clients, those who continued to suffer with the disease and are not eligible for transplant because of age, said Janice Davies, FASCAs co-founder. She had a presence that really resonated with everybody. Nsenkyire shared her medical story with others through programs and videos to the point National Institutes of Health officials described her experience as one in a million, said FASCA member Myra Dicks. Nsenkyire also had battled multiple sclerosis until her transplant and, as a child, dealt with osteomyelitis, a bone infection that temporarily left her unable to walk. Then, in the strange way life sometimes works, it was yet another disease that took the life of the soft-spoken 49-year-old from Ghana. Nsenkyire contracted COVID-19 earlier this year and died on April 25. The most ironic thing is she had been through all of that, and then to have something like COVID take her away, it was hard, Davies said. It was heartbreaking, Dicks added. As is customary in Ghana, family members held several celebrations of her life, culminating with a memorial service at the NIHs offices in Bethesda, Maryland, in late June. While those who knew her mourn her loss, they also celebrate the mark she left on the world. She had this infectious smile that lit up the room when she walked in, you all know that, Fran Boyle said to the crowd gathered at Strong Tower Church for her funeral service. Boyle was Nsenkyires host mother when she first arrived in 1995 to attend George Mason University in Fairfax. Boyle wanted to host international students, and Nsenkyire wanted to be paired with a Christian family, and Boyle said she loved her immediately. There were plenty of ups and downs with her health, Boyle said, as the sickle cell disease caused swelling in her arms and legs, along with numerous pain crises. Thats when red blood cells, which have turned from their normal round shape to something resembling sickles, block blood flow through tiny vessels to the chest, abdomen and joints. A crisis causes varying intensities of pain that can last for hours or days. Boyle recalled walking the hospital floors with Nsenkyires parents, Edward and Rose Nsenkyire, who divided their time between continents until they eventually settled in the United States, and her sisters, Pamela Asamoah and Clara Nsenkyire, who both live in the Fredericksburg area. Nsenkyire also has a brother, Dennis, in New Jersey. Shed been through so much, said her sister, Clara Nsenkyire. It was crisis upon crisis. As Jennifer Nsenkyire was treated at NIH, medical officials mentioned a transplant, using stem cells from family members that most closely matched her own. When the family gathered with NIH doctors for a consultation, they heard about potential side effects and werent sure which way to go, her sister said. She was so brave, Clara Nsenkyire said. She said, Even if it doesnt help me, it will help somebody else. Plus, Jennifer Nsenkyire wished she could live one day without the pain of sickle cell disease, her sister said. She opted for the transplant, using her mothers stem cells, and it was successful. After the 2010 operation, she was free of both sickle cell and MS, and she recorded her thoughts and experiences, both in YouTube videos and books she wrote. She longed for a cure and for others to be free of pain as she was. A cure would be, being able to live life with no pain, being able to live a productive life, being able to shake off the stigma that people have about sickle cell disease, she said in a video. Being able to live fearlessly, being able to live a normal life, thats all we all want at the end of the day. Its time to rewrite the story of sickle cell. Add your voice. That she did, said Pastor Jeffrey Smith of Strong Tower Church, who said hers was a life that was lived so well and so elegantly before us. In spite of the challenges and difficulties she experienced, she always had this strength of spirit, this tenacity, this perseverance, he said. She had this ongoing optimism and faith that would never die. State employees were due back in their offices Tuesday under a new telework policy that is still evolving under Gov. Glenn Youngkin. How many returned and how many were working remotely under new telework agreements remained a mystery as of Tuesday evening, as the new administration struggles to carry out a policy that initially gave state employees two weeks to request permission to work outside of their offices. The governor is excited to welcome our workforce back in person and is encouraged about their continued dedication to Virginians, spokesman Rob Damschen said Tuesday night. The administration and the respective agencies have reviewed and approved the vast majority of telework requests submitted. From a cursory review, we know that more state employees are able to work remotely than teleworked before the pandemic, Damschen said. While some applications which were submitted late or irregularly are still working through the process, most are completed and formalized with the employees. However, the state still doesnt know how many of its employees have been working remotely since the ongoing pandemic began 28 months ago, forcing many agencies to close their offices temporarily and allowing state workers flexibility in how they do their jobs. I think they underestimated the number of employees who have some sort of telework or remote work agreement in place, said Dylan Bishop, lobbyist for the Virginia Governmental Employees Association. The governors office had been largely silent about the policys implementation since acknowledging that it had missed its own June 3 deadline for processing employee telework requests. A second deadline passed June 30 without comment by the administration. In early May, Youngkin ordered workers back to their offices in a high-profile pitch to reopen state government after the COVID-19 pandemic initially shut down agencies or forced employees to work remotely for more than two years. The governor, an experienced corporate executive who had never served in government, imposed strict limits on the use of telework under new agreements that would require approval by his chief of staff, Jeff Goettman, for any employee to work remotely more than two days a week. (Agency heads could approve one day, and Cabinet secretaries could allow two.) However, one agency manager, who asked to remain anonymous, said this week that a department official had signed off on telework requests for more than two days on behalf of Goettman, a former private equity executive and investment banker who was chief operating officer of Youngkins campaign for governor. What was unveiled as a top-down policy designed to maximize the presence of employees in state offices hasnt been easy for the administration to carry out without giving agency leaders more flexibility to allow employees to work remotely for different reasons. Bishop, representing the state employees association, met with Secretary of Administration Lynn McDermid on June 8 to ask the governor to delay implementation of the policy until after Labor Day, when the new school year begins. He said he hasnt spoken to the administration about the policy since then. Youngkin didnt delay the policy as a group of Democratic legislators also requested but his administration has adjusted the rules along the way to reflect the challenges that many state employees face in returning to their offices after working remotely since the COVID pandemic began. For example, in late May, after the initial deadline for telework applications, the governor confirmed that employees with children and no alternatives for child care could work up to five days a week under temporary telework agreements through Labor Day, Sept. 5. Employees had to request the temporary relief for extenuating child care needs in a separate application to their supervisors by June 27, said Lauren Cunningham, spokesperson for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. All temporary telework agreements approved during that time will expire on September 5, 2022, and employees will transition to an appropriate work schedule based on their job duties, said Cunningham, whose department already had exempted employees in regional offices and field positions from applying for new telework agreements. The governors office also has promised to honor previously granted accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to allow employees with disabilities to work remotely despite concerns that they were having to prove their disability status once again for jobs they already were doing by telework. Part of the challenge for the administration is that it never knew how many state employees had worked remotely during the pandemic. Before the pandemic began, about 25% of state jobs were eligible for telework and, of those, about 19% were being carried out under telework agreements, but the state personnel agency didnt know how many employees had been working remotely since then. The General Assembly demanded answers in the new state budget that Youngkin signed June 22. It requires the Department of Human Resource Management to report to the legislature by Nov. 1 on how many people worked remotely from March 2020, when the pandemic began, through July 4, the day before Youngkins new policy took effect. The budget provision also requires the department to report how many employees receive approval for telework under the new policy and for how many days per week as well as the percentage of the state workforce they represent. I think that data is going to be illuminating on a number of different fronts, said Bishop at the employees association. Ahead of Fourth of July weekend, Va.'s COVID positivity rate surpasses 20% a first since February More than 20% of Virginians getting tested for coronavirus are receiving positive results ahead of Fourth of July weekend, marking the state's highest positivity rate since February. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Baku has dismissed Armenian media allegations about the alleged shooting by units of the Azerbaijani army in the direction of the state border, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense said. "Military units of the Azerbaijani Army didn't open fire in the indicated direction. This is another provocation of the opposite side," the statement said. About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed for five years in Karabakh under the trilateral cease-fire deal signed by Baku, Moscow, and Yerevan on November 10, 2020. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw all its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied since the early 1990s. The trilateral ceasefire deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade conflict over Azerbaijans Karabakh region, which along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s. The deal also stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the peace deal, Azerbaijan liberated 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city that had been under Armenian occupation for about 30 years. On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement was set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region. On November 26, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed a statement and agreed on a number of issues, including the demarcation and delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border by late 2021, some points related to humanitarian issues and the issue of unblocking of transport corridors which applies to the railway and to automobile communications. On December 14, 2021, during the Brussels meeting, organized between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders at the initiative of European Council President Charles Michel, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to the conditions agreed in the Sochi meeting. To recap, on May 22, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, European Council President Charles Michel, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels. After the meeting, Michel said that Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on a number of key issues, including the creation of border delimitation commissions, of which the first meeting was held on May 24. A Chesterfield County mother pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing her 2-year-old son by intentionally providing him liquid methadone to make him sleep that resulted in an unintentional fatal overdose. Prior to her son receiving the methadone, Sherrell M. Rivera, 32, conducted multiple Google searches on her cellphone about the liquid uses of the drug and its side effects, including a search of whether the addictive substance would slow breathing, according to the prosecutions summary of evidence. Rivera had a prescription for methadone to treat an opioid addiction, and Chesterfield Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Ken Chitty said evidence indicated that Rivera mixed an undetermined amount of the drug into Kruz Riveras sippy cup that contained baby formula and chocolate syrup. The boy, who was addicted from birth from his mothers drug dependency, died Nov. 14, 2020 of methadone toxicity. Chesterfield Circuit Judge David E. Johnson reluctantly accepted a plea agreement that allowed Rivera to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter instead of felony murder, as she was originally charged, in addition to a separate count of felony child neglect. He convicted her of both counts and set sentencing for Nov. 7. What Im up here struggling with is the apparent agreement between the parties that it was not the intent to kill this child, Johnson said in remarks from the bench. A 2-year-old was already born an addict, spent two years of his life continually exposed to this vile conduct by the mother and then he is ultimately killed by that. It shows a willful ignorance and selfishness so reckless, as to amount to proper criminal intent, the judge added. So, that part of the argument I will not be accepting. But Johnson said he understood the practical difficulties of prosecuting the case had it gone to trial, which could have cast doubt on the events that led to the boys death. When the boy died, both Rivera and her husband were staying at the Martha Kay Motel in the 8800 block of Jefferson Davis Highway. Defense attorney Greg Sheldon noted both parents had prescriptions for methadone, both had access to the cellphone used for the Google searches and neither made any admissions of wrongdoing to detectives. The boys father was not charged in the incident. According to Chittys presentation of facts, when Chesterfield officers responded to the motel at about 8:30 a.m., they found a 2-year-old boy on the floor, with Rivera standing over him while talking on the phone with emergency communications. She told officers that she found her son unresponsive in his Pack n Play. Rivera told police she had given her son a sippy cup filled with powdered milk and chocolate syrup before placing him in the Pack n Play at 3:45 a.m. The toddler was taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center by ambulance, but he never responded to medical treatment and was pronounced dead at 9:13 a.m. Rivera and her husband gave police their consent to search the motel room. The room was dark but not in disarray, and detectives found brown stains on a blanket, bedspread and pillow in the Pack n Play that were not consistent with dried blood or spilled chocolate milk. Near a second bed where Rivera had slept with her other child, who was 4, detectives observed a box containing various bottles of methadone prescribed to Rivera. They all contained child-tampering tops. Some bottles were empty due to them being daily doses. Detectives collected and photographed one of the empty bottles. The medical examiners preliminary autopsy did not yield any results that could have caused the childs death. The examiner then ordered a toxicology screening, which revealed that Kruz died of a lethal adult dose of methadone. The boy also had Benadryl in his system. The boys sippy cup, which still contained a substance three-quarters full, was sent to a separate lab to be tested. The results showed a mixture of methadone and Benadryl, which led the medical examiner to rule the boys manner of death as a homicide. On June 2, 2021, Rivera and her husband voluntarily responded to police headquarters to be given the results of their sons autopsy. They were interviewed a second time, and Rivera reaffirmed her previous statement that her husband was asleep when she prepared her sons sippy cup before he died. Rivera was given the results and subsequently became uncooperative and would not provide an explanation of how this occurred, Chitty told the court. Her husband was highly upset over the results but was cooperative throughout the process, the prosecutor said. Police executed a search warrant on the cellphone belonging to Rivera at the time of the incident. Detectives discovered that around 1:40 a.m. before Rivera said she put her boy to sleep the device had multiple Google searches about methadone uses and side effects. The Google account was identified as belonging to Relle Rivera and had a provided date of birth consistent with Riveras. The device itself contained numerous photos of the decedent and messages from Rivera to other people, revealing the user would be Sherrell Rivera, Chitty said. Memorial services for Phyllis Hegy were held Tuesday, June 28, 2022, 10:30 am at Pelan Funeral Services in Lyons. Burial was in Lyons Cemetery. The 95-year-old Lyons woman passed away June 21, 2022. Phyllis Irene was the first born of Russell and Esther Quist of New Ulm, Minnesota, arriving Sept. 18, 1926. She would be a big sister to brothers Bob and Dick, a cherished role her entire life. She graduated from Minnesotas Fairfax High School in 1944 during an era of war and uncertainty. Ever the adventuring spirit, she found work and moved to Minneapolis where she soon met Bob, an Air Force soldier on leave. The whirlwind courtship resulted in a Sept. 13, 1947 double wedding ceremony (a practical decision, she recalled, because the grooms were cousins). The gregarious Phyllis and quiet Bob Hegys vows were cemented with a unique glue which endured for 63 years. They were parents to five children: Mike, Jill Deupree, Paul, Jeff and Kristin Downs. Following Bobs career in forestry, then with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Hegy family lived in Minnesota, California, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Each place provided a patchwork of experiences and cultures. They lived in college student housing as Bob pursued his degree, then established residences (including a temporary stay in a tent on a cement slab with no water or electricity in a northern California forest area), as well as available housing. Landing in Lyons in 1966, when Bob accepted a forestry position at the Winnebago Indian reservation, the kids were slowly leaving the nest to pursue careers and marry. The small town eventually became their retirement home. Phyllis always found time for friends, the church, membership in United Methodist Women, the Order of Eastern Star and a local hospital auxiliary. She loved a good joke, playing games, telephone chats, cooking and reading. At age 89 she enjoyed and often agonized over the challenges of learning to use an iPad. A few years after Bobs death, Oakland Heights care center welcomed Phyllis as a resident during her last chapter of life. She was preceded in death by her husband in 2010, son Mike in 1997 and daughter Jill, in 2021, as well as her parents and brothers. Survivors include Paul (Joni), Jeff (Mary Jo) and Kristin (Rick) Downs, Barb Hegy, Jim Deupree, Jane Quist and Penny Quist; 10 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. Memorials are suggested to the donors favorite cause. Pelan Funeral Services was in charge of the arrangements. Amy Tritsch, a certified fundraising executive, is the new major gifts officer at Midland University. We are thrilled to have Amy join our Warrior family, said Laura Robinett, vice president for institutional advancement. Amy comes to Midland with an extensive background in fundraising and development experience and has a true passion for education and nonprofit work. We are excited to have her on our advancement team. Tritsch has multiple years of experience working in the nonprofit sector. She was development director for Siouxland Habitat for Humanity before serving as resource development director for Boys and Girls Club of Siouxland and later development director for Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands. In her roles as director, she helped develop fundraising strategies, plan events, and work with community partners. She helped develop a $5.3 million comprehensive campaign during her time with Boys and Girls Club of Siouxland. Tritsch looks forward to continuing in that role with Midland. One thing Ive discovered is the great culture that exists at Midland, Tritsch said. There is such a rich history with this university, and everyone here has been so kind and welcoming. I felt some of the same connections I had when I was in college. Tritsch is a firefighter and EMT with Waterloo Fire and Rescue. She carries that desire to help others into her fundraising. I believe my calling is to help people, and in my work with fundraising, its a way for me to help people give back, she said. I enjoy helping people donate their time, talents, and treasures to organizations. There are people who want to give, but dont always know how to. Ive been successful at connecting donors to projects they care about and helping them re-invest in others. She sees how her abilities can help the university. I want to use my talents to acquire funds to further the mission of Midland, she said. Tritsch is ready to begin the process of connecting with longtime donors, as well as building new relationships along the way. Im excited to get to know these donors personally, she said. I want to know what drives them and what their interests are. I enjoy making those new connections, and Im excited to get the process started. Originally from Lawton, Iowa, Tritsch graduated with a bachelor of science degree in organizational management from Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa. She earned a fundraising certificate from the Lilly School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tritsch is working toward her masters of public administration from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She is married to her husband, Eddie. Bob Olsen calls them his All Stars. Many are former students of the Fremont man whos been an instrumental part of Fremonts musical heritage for decades. The public is invited to hear these All Stars, when they perform Olsens original arrangements starting at 12:15 p.m. Friday, July 8, in the Chautauqua Tent in John C. Fremont City Park, 814 N. Broad St. As with other Chautauqua Tent programs, this event is free and part of the John C. Fremont Days Festival. Olsen said the 45-minute program will include a salute to servicemen and women. I wrote a medley of service songs, Olsen said. One song will be a tribute to John C. Fremont, called The Pathfinder. Olsen appreciates the group of people who will comprise the band. I have an all-star band coming in from all over this state and five of them are former students whove played in the Fremont High School Band, Olsen said. A couple band members are coming from other states. Band members and the instruments theyll play include: Paul Haar, associate professor of saxophone and director of jazz studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Bob Johnson, trumpet; Loy Hetrick, trombone; Al Anderson, guitar; Kevin Koopman, tuba; Judy Redlawsk, flute; Roger Dill, trumpet; and Ryan Marsh, drummer. Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg will play drums during the Firemans Polka. Spellerbergs dad, Moostach Joe, had a long-running polka band and a radio show. Tom Adamson will be master of ceremonies. Although Olsen, 94, wont be performing, he will be on the stage, perhaps setting a tempo or two. Olsen has a long history of music in Fremont. His dad, Walter, taught instrumental music at Fremont Public Schools for 38 years. Bob Olsen performed with various bands, playing for radio shows in New York City and Chicago. Then after his dad retired Bob taught instrumental music at FPS for 35 years. In more recent times, Olsen taught instrumental music to youth at the Masonic Home-Eastern Star Home for Children in Fremont. Olsen hopes area residents attend the show. I think they will hear some of the finest musicians in the state, Olsen said. Most of these people are professionals and I appreciate the fact theyre coming from all over the country to join the band. The program should have an interest for all ages. Futures and Commodity Market News Oil & Gas Processing Seals Market Size 2022 Global Gross Margin Analysis, Industry Leading Players Update, Development History, Business Prospect and Industry Research Report 2028 Jul 06, 2022 (The Expresswire) -- Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market includes Precise company profiling of leading players of the Oil and Gas Processing Seals market. All of the segments studied in the report are analyzed based on different factors such as market share, revenue, and CAGR. The analysts have also thoroughly analyzed different regions such as North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific on the basis of production, revenue, and sales in the Oil and Gas Processing Seals market. The researchers used advanced primary and secondary research methodologies and tools for preparing this report on the Oil and Gas Processing Seals market. Get a Sample PDF of report - https://www.marketreportsworld.com/enquiry/request-sample/21132915 About Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market: Market Analysis and Insights: Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global Oil and Gas Processing Seals market size is estimated to be worth USD 6259.3 million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 7128.1 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 2.2% during the forecast period 2022-2028. Fully considering the economic change by this health crisis, Single accounting for of the Oil and Gas Processing Seals global market in 2021, is projected to value USD million by 2028, growing at a revised CAGR from 2022 to 2028. While Crude Oil segment is altered to an CAGR throughout this forecast period. North America Oil and Gas Processing Seals market is estimated at USD million in 2021, while Europe is forecast to reach USD million by 2028. The proportion of the North America is in 2021, while Europe percentage is and it is predicted that Europe share will reach in 2028, trailing a CAGR through the analysis period 2022-2028. As for the Asia, the notable markets are Japan and South Korea, CAGR is respectively for the next 6-year period. The global major manufacturers of Oil and Gas Processing Seals include Freudenberg Group, John Crane, Flowserve Corporation, Parker Hannifin Corp, Saint-Gobain, Trelleborg AB, Dupont, Precision Polymer Engineering and Techno Ad Ltd., etc. In terms of revenue, the global 3 largest players have a market share of Oil and Gas Processing Seals in 2021. Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market: Drivers and Restrains The research report has incorporated the analysis of different factors that augment the marketas growth. It constitutes trends, restraints, and drivers that transform the market in either a positive or negative manner. This section also provides the scope of different segments and applications that can potentially influence the market in the future. The detailed information is based on current trends and historic milestones. This section also provides an analysis of the volume of production about the global market and about each type from 2017 to 2028. This section mentions the volume of production by region from 2017 to 2028. Pricing analysis is included in the report according to each type from the year 2017 to 2028, manufacturer from 2017 to 2022, region from 2017 to 2022, and global price from 2017 to 2028. A thorough evaluation of the restrains included in the report portrays the contrast to drivers and gives room for strategic planning. Factors that overshadow the market growth are pivotal as they can be understood to devise different bends for getting hold of the lucrative opportunities that are present in the ever-growing market. Additionally, insights into market expertas opinions have been taken to understand the market better. Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market: Segment Analysis Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Size (sales, revenue) forecast by regions and countries from 2022 to 2027 of Oil and Gas Processing Seals industry.The detailed information is based on current trends and historic milestones. This section also provides an analysis of the volume of production about the global market and about each type from 2017 to 2027. This section mentions the volume of production by region from 2017 to 2027. Pricing analysis is included in the report according to each type from the year 2017 to 2027, manufacturer from 2017 to 2022, region from 2017 to 2022, and global price from 2017 to 2027.Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Share, distributors, major suppliers, changing price patterns and the supply chain of raw materials is highlighted in the report. Get a Sample Copy of the Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Report 2022 Here is List of BEST KEY PLAYERS Listed in Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Report are:- Freudenberg Group John Crane Flowserve Corporation Parker Hannifin Corp Saint-Gobain Trelleborg AB Dupont Precision Polymer Engineering Techno Ad Ltd. M.Barnwell Services Limited Precision Associates, Inc. FTL Technology Aesseal PLC. Technetics Group Performance Sealing Inc. Ceetak Ltd. American High Performance Seals Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Segmentation By Type: Single Double Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Segmentation By Application: Crude Oil Natural Gas Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market: Scope of the Report This report provides an all-inclusive assessment of the analysis for the Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market. The market estimates provided in the report are the result of in-depth secondary research, primary interviews and in-house expert reviews. These market estimates have been considered by studying the impact of various social, political and economic factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market growth Along with the market overview, which comprises of the market dynamics the chapter includes a Porters Five Forces analysis which explains the five forces: namely buyers bargaining power, suppliers bargaining power, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and degree of competition in the Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market. It explains the various participants, such as system integrators, intermediaries and end-users within the ecosystem of the market. The report also focuses on the competitive landscape of the Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market. Inquire more and share questions if any before the purchase on this report at - https://www.marketreportsworld.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/21132915 Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Oil and Gas Processing Seals in these regions, from 2017 to 2027, covering North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market: Competitive Landscape The market analysis entails a section solely dedicated for major players in the Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market wherein our analysts provide an insight to the financial statements of all the major players along with its key developments product benchmarking and SWOT analysis. The company profile section also includes a business overview and financial information. The companies that are provided in this section can be customized according to the clients requirements. The global Oil and Gas Processing Seals market Growth is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate during the forecast period, between 2022 and 2027. In 2022, the market was growing at a steady rate and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, the market is expected to rise over the projected horizon.Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Forecast by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2022 to 2027. Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Report also mentions market share accrued by each product in the Oil and Gas Processing Seals market, along with the production growth.Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Trend for Development and marketing channels are analysed. Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed and overall research conclusions offered. Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Analysis Report focuses on Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market key trends and Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market segmentation (Types,Application),and all the regions. Study Objectives of this report are: To study and analyze the global Oil and Gas Processing Seals market size (value and volume) by company, key regions/countries, products and application, history data from 2017 to 2020, and forecast to 2027. To understand the structure of Oil and Gas Processing Seals market by identifying its various subsegments. To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks). Focuses on the key global Oil and Gas Processing Seals manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the sales volume, value, market share, market competition landscape, SWOT analysis and development plans in next few years. To analyze the Oil and Gas Processing Seals with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the total market. To project the value and volume of Oil and Gas Processing Seals submarkets, with respect to key regions (along with their respective key countries). To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies. Key Stakeholders Raw material suppliers Distributors/traders/wholesalers/suppliers Regulatory bodies, including government agencies and NGO Commercial research and development (RandD) institutions Importers and exporters Government organizations, research organizations, and consulting firms Trade associations and industry bodies End-use industries This Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Research/Analysis Report Contains Answers to your following Questions Which Manufacturing Technology is used for Oil and Gas Processing Seals? What Developments Are Going On in That Technology? Which Trends Are Causing These Developments? Who Are the Global Key Players in This Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market? What are Their Company Profile, Their Product Information, and Contact Information? What Was Global Market Status of Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market? What Was Capacity, Production Value, Cost and PROFIT of Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market? What Is Current Market Status of Oil and Gas Processing Seals Industry? Whats Market Competition in This Industry, Both Company, and Country Wise? Whats Market Analysis of Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market by Taking Applications and Types in Consideration? What Are Projections of Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Industry Considering Capacity, Production and Production Value? What Will Be the Estimation of Cost and Profit? What Will Be Market Share, Supply and Consumption? What about Import and Export? What Is Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Chain Analysis by Upstream Raw Materials and Downstream Industry? What Is Economic Impact On Oil and Gas Processing Seals Industry? What are Global Macroeconomic Environment Analysis Results? What Are Global Macroeconomic Environment Development Trends? What Are Market Dynamics of Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market? What Are Challenges and Opportunities? What Should Be Entry Strategies, Countermeasures to Economic Impact, and Marketing Channels for Oil and Gas Processing Seals Industry? Purchase this report (Price 2900 USD for a single-user licence) https://www.marketreportsworld.com/purchase/21132915 Detailed TOC of Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Report 2022 1 Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Overview 1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Oil and Gas Processing Seals 1.2 Oil and Gas Processing Seals Segment by Type 1.2.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Size Growth Rate Analysis by Type 2022 VS 2028 1.2.2 Single 1.2.3 Double 1.3 Oil and Gas Processing Seals Segment by Application 1.3.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption Comparison by Application: 2022 VS 2028 1.3.2 Crude Oil 1.3.3 Natural Gas 1.4 Global Market Growth Prospects 1.4.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Revenue Estimates and Forecasts (2017-2028) 1.4.2 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Capacity Estimates and Forecasts (2017-2028) 1.4.3 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Estimates and Forecasts (2017-2028) 1.5 Global Market Size by Region 1.5.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Size Estimates and Forecasts by Region: 2017 VS 2021 VS 2028 1.5.2 North America Oil and Gas Processing Seals Estimates and Forecasts (2017-2028) 1.5.3 Europe Oil and Gas Processing Seals Estimates and Forecasts (2017-2028) 1.5.4 China Oil and Gas Processing Seals Estimates and Forecasts (2017-2028) 1.5.5 Japan Oil and Gas Processing Seals Estimates and Forecasts (2017-2028) 2 Market Competition by Manufacturers 2.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Capacity Market Share by Manufacturers (2017-2022) 2.2 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Revenue Market Share by Manufacturers (2017-2022) 2.3 Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Share by Company Type (Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3) 2.4 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Average Price by Manufacturers (2017-2022) 2.5 Manufacturers Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Sites, Area Served, Product Types 2.6 Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Competitive Situation and Trends 2.6.1 Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Concentration Rate 2.6.2 Global 5 and 10 Largest Oil and Gas Processing Seals Players Market Share by Revenue 2.6.3 Mergers and Acquisitions, Expansion 3 Production Capacity by Region 3.1 Global Production Capacity of Oil and Gas Processing Seals Market Share by Region (2017-2022) 3.2 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Revenue Market Share by Region (2017-2022) 3.3 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Capacity, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022) 3.4 North America Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production 3.4.1 North America Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Growth Rate (2017-2022) 3.4.2 North America Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Capacity, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022) 3.5 Europe Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production 3.5.1 Europe Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Growth Rate (2017-2022) 3.5.2 Europe Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Capacity, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022) 3.6 China Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production 3.6.1 China Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Growth Rate (2017-2022) 3.6.2 China Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Capacity, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022) 3.7 Japan Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production 3.7.1 Japan Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Growth Rate (2017-2022) 3.7.2 Japan Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Capacity, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022) 4 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption by Region 4.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption by Region 4.1.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption by Region 4.1.2 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption Market Share by Region 4.2 North America 4.2.1 North America Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption by Country 4.2.2 U.S. 4.2.3 Canada 4.3 Europe 4.3.1 Europe Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption by Country 4.3.2 Germany 4.3.3 France 4.3.4 U.K. 4.3.5 Italy 4.3.6 Russia 4.4 Asia Pacific 4.4.1 Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption by Region 4.4.2 China 4.4.3 Japan 4.4.4 South Korea 4.4.5 China Taiwan 4.4.6 Southeast Asia 4.4.7 India 4.4.8 Australia 4.5 Latin America 4.5.1 Latin America Oil and Gas Processing Seals Consumption by Country 4.5.2 Mexico 4.5.3 Brazil 5 Segment by Type 5.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Market Share by Type (2017-2022) 5.2 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Revenue Market Share by Type (2017-2022) 5.3 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Price by Type (2017-2022) 6 Segment by Application 6.1 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Production Market Share by Application (2017-2022) 6.2 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Revenue Market Share by Application (2017-2022) 6.3 Global Oil and Gas Processing Seals Price by Application (2017-2022) 7 Key Companies Profiled Continued. 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CONTACT US Email:sales@marketreportsworld.com Phone:US +(1) 424 253 0946 /UK +(44) 203 239 8187 Other Reports Here: Aluminium Fluoride Market Size, Growth, Share Global Industry Current Trends, Top Companies, Application, Growth Factors, Development and Forecast to 2027 Research Report Automatic Soldering Machine Market Size, Growth, Share Global Industry Key Strategies, Historical Analysis, Segmentation, Application, Technology, Trends and Opportunities Forecasts to 2027 Spherical Alumina Market Size 2022 Share, Global Trends, Comprehensive Research Study, Development Status, Opportunities, Future Plans, Competitive Landscape and Growth by Forecast 2027 Medium Excavators Market Share 2022 Global Business Industry Revenue, Demand and Applications Market Research Report to 2027 PET Shrink Film Market Share 2022: Global Top Companies, Industry Current Trends, Application, Growth Factors, Development and Forecast to 2029 Research Report Press Release Distributed by The Express Wire To view the original version on The Express Wire visit Oil & Gas Processing Seals Market Size 2022 Global Gross Margin Analysis, Industry Leading Players Update, Development History, Business Prospect and Industry Research Report 2028 COMTEX_409744301/2598/2022-07-06T02:12:15 If youve been enraptured by the college town just northwest of Denver Boulder, home of the University of Colorado the rival asks you please to turn your attention farther north. Poetry and Pottery in Soda Springs Park was founded nearly six years ago by Mark Wong, owner of Wong Works Pottery, and Molly Wingate, owner of Poetry Heals. It's a free arts event in Manitou Springs where people can learn how to throw clay, glaze pottery and participate in writing exercised. Poetry and Pottery in Soda Springs Park is hosted every Tuesday through August 2, 2022, from 12pm-2pm. Parker Seibold Follow Parker Seibold 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 FILE PHOTO: Food trucks lined up along W. 14th Avenue in Denver. Immigrants who want to get a City of Denver business license to operate a food truck, or other businesses requiring a license, are now eligible to do so after a new state law took effect July 1, 2022. Monument Trustee Jim Romanello on Tuesday announced he is in the running to become the town's next mayor. If elected, Romanello said his priorities are to continue collaboration with the Board of Trustees, address the town's "inevitable growth" in a "sensitive and responsible manner," and support public safety. "This is an opportunity I believe I am fit for," he said in an interview. Romanello, who was first elected to the Board of Trustees in November 2018, said he is the most experienced person on the board. He wants to use that experience to help guide the town through a looming recession, high housing demand, and see several water projects to completion. Among those water projects are removing radium from two wells and building a new water laboratory and office space to accommodate the new radium removal systems; well redrilling; repairing an existing water tank; and building a new second water tank. During his tenure as a trustee, Romanello highlighted his work to ensure Monument has adequate town staffing, supporting water projects, ensuring maintenance of the town's water wells, and encouraging responsible growth and supporting public safety. That latter included backing a dedicated sales tax initiative to fund police, which was approved by voters in a special election last November. During the pandemic, he also served as the town's liaison to the county government to help bring economic assistance to Monument's small businesses. His more than two decades of work as a financial adviser and as a small-business owner have also made him "keenly aware that we are facing major economic issues," he said in a news release announcing his candidacy. The best way to tackle possible fiscal restraints in the face of a looming recession is through open and respectful collaboration among the Board of Trustees and town staff, Romanello said. Monument government is not run through a "strong mayor" system, and the mayor shares more authority with the board as a whole. "It's a majority vote to do anything," he said. "If I'm in a meeting, I want to say, 'Let's look at all the facts and where we are in this economic curve and trend. If it goes in this direction in six months or if it goes in this direction, what might Plan A look like? What about Plan B?' And make sure the board knows where we are all going." The same approach will be beneficial in planning the town's growth, he said. "There are three plates you've got spinning, and they're all important. First, you have the rights of the property owner to develop. You have the will of the community and of the town. And you have to protect the fiduciary of the town itself you've got to follow your own code and ordinances," Romanello said. "... You've got to look at any project through all of those three lenses and come up with a solution that meets it all." He said he also supports a regional effort to find additional critical water resources and solutions. Leaders across the greater Pikes Peak region are seeking a sustainable water supply to relieve pressure on the Denver Basin, which provides water to thousands of El Paso County residents. Monument trustees have heard several presentations on a proposed regional water project dubbed "The Loop" that local water district representatives have said could accomplish that goal. "It's a wonderful solution," Romanello said. "But heres always the problem: money. ... Itll come down to real data. What's the financial impact?" Romanello is the second candidate to announce his run for town mayor. Fellow Trustee Mitch LaKind also is campaigning for the seat. The town's current mayor, Don Wilson, is the Republican candidate in the race to represent Colorado's House District 20, which includes Monument and Palmer Lake. Wilson will face Democratic opponent and former El Paso County Commission candidate Tracey Johnson in the Nov. 8 election. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has approved the "Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State of Israel on cooperation in the field of tourism". Under the decree, the agreement signed on March 30, 2022 in Tel Aviv was approved. After the entry into force of the agreement specified in part 1 of this decree, the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan will ensure the implementation of its provisions. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry will send a notification to the government of the State of Israel on the implementation of internal procedures necessary to enforce the agreement. The Colorado Springs man accused of attempted murder after being freed on a parole error made his first appearance in court Tuesday afternoon. Mikaele Poloa, 21, is facing four charges including second-degree attempted murder and illegal discharging of a firearm in the April 18 incident, according to court records. Poloa is scheduled to make his next appearance in court July 28 for a review hearing. According to previous reporting from The Gazette, Poloa was erroneously freed from the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center after posting a $4,000 bond April 4. Following release, he was still facing felony charges after allegedly attempting to rape a woman at gunpoint, stealing a car and committing a carjacking while armed with a handgun. Police records show that a few weeks later on April 18, Poloa allegedly fired a shotgun at a man over a noise dispute in a southwest Colorado Springs apartment complex. Public safety is our top priority, and this is unacceptable, which is why his case is a priority for our fugitive apprehension unit, said Annie Skinner, a spokesperson with the Colorado Department of Corrections, in a prepared statement made in June. Due to a failure of the division to file the parole complaint in the allotted time frames, the parole hold had to be lifted. The police affidavit states that when Poloa decided to grab his sawed-off shotgun to confront Andrew Herrera, an acquaintance warned Poloa that there was video surveillance in the apartment complex. Poloa responded by telling his friend that he had nothing to lose because he already faced up to 60 years on pending criminal charges. Poloa then knocked on the door of Herrera, and shot at him when he answered the door. Poloa's shot missed Herrera and hit the door frame instead. After the April encounter, Poloa went on the run before being arrested by Colorado Springs police June 22, almost two months after the attempted murder of Herrera. Poloa's preliminary hearing in the attempted murder case is scheduled Aug. 3. Poloa also has hearings scheduled Aug. 3 for three separate cases in which he faces accusations of motor vehicle theft, aggravated sexual assault and more. Judge Hilary Gurney of Colorado's 4th Judicial District Court said there is a bond hold in three of Poloa's active cases, making him ineligible to post bond. Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. A helicopter participates in a search and rescue operation over the site of a deadly collapse of parts of a mountain glacier in the Italian Alps amid record temperatures, at Marmolada ridge, Italy July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane ? President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev signed a decree approving the agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of Mongolia. Under the presidential decree, the "Agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of Mongolia", signed on October 21, 2021, in Baku (Azerbaijan) and Ulan Bator (Mongolia), was approved. U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet confer before a news conference in November. Long after their heydays, several mines in Colorado carry on as tourist destinations. And in parks and streams, gold still awaits seekers with the hand tools and know-how. If digging and panning, be aware that some locations require permits. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has stated that the Zangazur corridor between Azerbaijan and Armenia should be implemented, Azernews reports, citing the Turkish media. Cavusoglu made the remarks at a joint press conference following the meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner in Ankara on July 4, along with Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. Infrastructure projects agreed upon between Azerbaijan and Armenia, particularly the Zangazur corridor, must be implemented. Because of the strategic importance of the middle corridor following the Ukraine war is advantageous to carry out such initiatives, Cavusoglu stressed. He emphasized that Turkiye supports the restoration of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and that the comprehensive peace accord offered by Azerbaijan to Armenia should be signed as soon as possible since the region needs peace. Commenting on the normalization process between Turkiye and Armenia, Cavusoglu underlined that so far, some steps, such as direct flights, the opening of land borders to third country citizens, and the start of air cargo flights, have been taken. So we call these 'confidence-building steps'. Ultimately, we want to continue the process gradually. As I always say, we are in consultation with Azerbaijan at every stage, we coordinate with them, he added. The pressure on Armenia, according to the minister, is the most serious hindrance to the normalization process. The diaspora is divided; some are opposed to normalization, while others welcome it. Extremist organizations in Armenia are targeting the prime minister's house, adding tension to the process. It is an obstacle for Armenia to take a bold step with both Azerbaijan and Turkiye regarding this normalization. But we want to continue our constructive dialogue during this process, Cavusoglu added. Earlier, Ruben Rubinyan, Armenian special representative and deputy speaker of the parliament, told journalists that Ankara's statements about the "Zangezur corridor" harm the Armenian-Turkish settlement. According to the MP, there is no such term in the Armenian agenda. Armenia does not and will not discuss any projects in the "corridor" logic. There can be no equal status between the Lachin corridor and the road between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan. In December 2021, Armenia and Turkiye appointed their special representatives for the normalization talks. The Armenian side was represented by deputy parliament speaker Ruben Rubinyan, while Ankara was represented by former ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic. The diplomats have already held four rounds of talks, with the first meeting held in Moscow and the other three in Vienna. Re: A famous example of a legal fiction is that of the Balearic island of [ #permalink Quick Summary: Author starts describing a legal fiction - "Island of minorca being a part of city of London despite being situated in the mediterranean" and goes on to talk about it's history in the first paragraph. Second paragraph deals with a legal case between a commoner from the island and the governor ( who wanted him removed for being a nuisance) and this is the main talking point. The case was won by the commoner who in doing did an unprecedented task - quote "once for all secured to the native of dependency the same access to the ordinary courts as a native of Britain." Minorca being a legal fiction helped achieve this but it still did not stop British Empire from colonizing the world and did not end colonial rule. The passage ends with talking about other legal fictions in Britains colonies. Detail question found in the second para - hard to miss as this is the main talking point 1. According to the passage, which of the following is true of Fabrigas v. Mostyn? Opposite - it had a huge impact on the lives of colonized people Opposite - it was at a time before Spain took over. TRAP - it did occur but was based on a "legal fiction" the fiction word could lead into a trap but this is not mentioned by the author. BINGO - simple yet true fact about the legal case discussed. Discard - nothing was modified in 1918 Suggests - inference type - start thinking like you do in CR, this is a what-if scenario and needs an understanding of what the author is trying to convey 2. The passage suggests that, if the legal fiction described in paragraph 2 were not applicable, which of the following would be true? TRAP - no precedence order is abolished by the legal fiction. Cannot be inferred. Too extreme - legal fiction helped with right to common court - colony was a separate reality to deal with. BINGO - clearly mentioned in the end of the second para - quote "The court's decision depended on the legal fiction that Minorca was part of London." We only talk about Minorca. Discard Laughable - not even relevant to the discussion. Discard. Flow of information and last line of the passage is a big giveaway 3. Were this passage to continue, the next paragraph would likely focus on nah - too far away to be related to a potential following para BINGO - passage ends with talking about other legal fictions in the Empire Nah - that is not important. discard. Irrelevant London capital? Laughably irrelevant to the end of the passage - discard. The line which mentions "momentous" also talks about what it was so. Easy question. 4. The 1918 report on Fabrigas v. Mostyn calls its words "momentous" because BINGO - judicial access for the colonized people to common courts of London Laughable. Should I say discard? Crisis in legal history? No No. Discard. Could be true but not in relation to what is being asked. Discard. TRAP - real world distraction - clearly mentioned. Colonial power was never challenged. Discard. Regards, Gladi Do. Or do not. There is no try. - Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back) Signature Read More 5 mins 18 secs.. pleased to get all correct.Indeed a good read.It had little effect on the lives of Minorcans.It was one result of the Treaty of Amiens.It did not actually occur.It involved an inhabitant and an official of Minorca.It was later modified in 1918.The legal rights of Londoners would take precedence over the legal rights of Minorcans.Minorca would no longer have been a British colony.The court would not have been able to extend the rights of Londoners to Minorcans.Colonies other than Minorca would have lost the civil rights they were already entitled to.Britain's right to expand its empire by treaty would no longer apply.additional details about the 1918 report on Fabrigas v. Mostynan analysis of how other legal fictions functioned within colonial contextsa narrative about what happened to Mostyn after the case involving him was resolvedfurther geographical information about the island of Minorcathe ways in which imperial power was administered in the London capitalit marked a historic acquisition of judicial accessit was written in language that is difficult to understandit represented a crisis in legal historyit regarded Minorcans as weak and dominatedit challenged the British Empire's colonial powerHope my answers help in understanding this good read._________________ ORANGE COUNTY From January to June, N.C. State University Ph.D. student Mikiah Carver-McGinn spent hours staking out fields, treelines and backyards around the Triangle, studying the habits of frequent visitors. Carver-McGinns team is tracking white-tailed deer. Theyre working with the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission on the Triangle Urban Deer Study, a dive into how deer population behavior differs across urban, suburban and rural areas in Durham and Orange counties. In North Carolina, deer are like pets to some and pests to others while for hunters, theyre a prey animal anchoring an entire economy. Now, the commission hopes to learn what factors influence white-tailed deer mortality and reproduction rates. The big takeaway for the project will be, whats the status of these populations? said Moriah Boggess, the commissions deer biologist. What are they doing? How does the public feel about it? And if theres a change necessary in management because of that, what tools can we use to address these deer populations? Big cities, little deer The study will run for three years. So far, prime locales for spotting deer have included the Museum of Life and Science and the Durham Technical Community College campus. Were not necessarily going to see a buck walk down the Durham Bulls [field], she said. The biggest thing is, how close to urban areas can we find deer? Thats going to be how we classify them. The study is largely funded by the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, which uses excise taxes on firearms and ammunition to match state wildlife conservation funding. Its part of a larger effort to understand how deer interact with changing landscapes across North Carolina, and how theyre perceived by the humans also living there. Were inherently stepping into an existing relationship between the deer and the resident, said Christopher Moorman, associate head of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NCSU. Its a common misconception that urbanization is taking deer out, Moorman said. But they thrive in suburban areas. With the steady arrival of technology companies to the Triangle area, new developments are spreading fast, where deer management strategies are the least clear, said Boggess. We really wanted that gradient because it allows us to compare whats going on in the city versus whats going on in the rural landscape, which are those areas we are very used to managing, Boggess said. Cute or costly As a game animal, white-tailed deer have a huge economic impact statewide, Boggess said. For rural areas in particular, hunting tourism boosts local economies, while many private landowners rely on leasing fees during open season. The sale of hunting gear and licenses is also a major funding source for statewide ecological impact studies, Bogess said. On the other hand, Moorman said, deer cause much damage to landscaping and crops, as well as motor vehicle accidents. There were 16,640 deer-related crashes in North Carolina in 2020 (two with fatalities and 582 with injuries), according to the N.C. Highway Safety Research Center. Wake County alone had 740 reported deer-related crashes. He said most residents tend to have strong opinions on their local deer, and hes noticed a fairly even split. As such, the study will help identify not only where deer go the most, but where theyre the most welcome. As urbanization continues, Boggess said, theres more and more human-deer contact, which increases the ability for there to be conflict. To catch a deer Tagging deer isnt easy, Carver-McGinn said. When the team finds a populated site, two or three researchers study the routines of visiting deer before setting out bait and preparing either a drop net or a sedative dart. Once a deer has been sedated, researchers fit it with a collar that sends GPS fixes to a satellite every two hours. The team has collared 76 deer to date. Does will wear the collars for the duration of the study or until they die. Bucks collars will expand when their necks naturally swell during mating season, then fall off, Carver-McGinn said. To avoid mating and birthing seasons, the team catches adult deer from January to April, making sure to avoid capturing pregnant does. Newborn fawns are caught from May to June. Tagged deer arent exempt from human activities like game hunting and deer management the team will assess how these interventions affect population death rates. Deer are also given bright yellow ear tags, which Carver-McGinn says have helped raise awareness and interest for the study. Because deer often roam around backyards or other private land, Carver-McGinn said, researchers have to persuade residents to let researchers onto their property at 15 to 20 fieldwork sites at a time. Shes knocked on a lot of doors around Durham County this year. Our technicians are regularly interacting with the public, said Nathan Hostetter, an assistant professor of Applied Ecology at NCSU. Its a very front-facing project that way. Boggess said that deers ecological niche in the Triangle is unique, and so the results of the study will be very specific. The NCSU team, though, hopes to answer larger questions about the effects of urban sprawl on native wildlife. Hostetter and McGinn both said while the study only tracks deer, it also touches on mortality factors like vehicle collisions and hunting that could be helpful in future studies of smaller animals. This has changed me, Carver-McGinn said. This is really a deer study. But theres a lot of things that apply to other species. Theres a bit of growth to be had there. The Durham Report Calling Bull City readers! Weve launched The Durham Report, a free weekly digest of some of the top stories for and about Durham 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 Durham-focused news and conversation, join our Facebook group The Story of my Street. Governor Roy Cooper has ordered all U.S. and North Carolina flags at state facilities to be lowered to half-staff immediately until sunset Saturday in memory of the victims of Monday's shooting during an Independence Day celebration in Highland Park, Ill. The July 4th holiday should be a day of celebration, not fear. Our prayers are with everyone affected by the tragic shootings over the weekend," Cooper said in a written statement. "Its past time for more legislative and congressional action to help stop gun violence as more common sense changes are needed now. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are also encouraged to fly flags at half-staff for the duration of time indicated. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov The Armenian armed forces have shelled Azerbaijani military positions near the state border in the liberated Kalbajar region, Azernews reports, citing the Defense Ministry. On the night of July 5, units of the Armenian armed forces, using various caliber weapons, subjected to fire the Azerbaijani army positions located in Kalbajars Yukhari Ayrim village from their positions in Basarkechar regions Zarkand village close to the state border, the ministry said. Units of the Azerbaijani army took appropriate retaliatory measures to suppress the opposite side, the report added. Armenia periodically shells Azerbaijani military positions on its liberated territories. The previous truce violation was recorded on July 4 in the same direction on the state border. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry blamed the Armenian military-political leadership for aggravating the situation on the state border. Earlier, Ilham Aliyev stated that peace will return to the Caucasus based on the five principles Baku recently proposed for normalizing relations with Armenia. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's recent inflammatory comments accusing Azerbaijan of planning a new war in the region were categorically repudiated by official Baku. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stressed that if Armenia truly desires peace, it must demonstrate political will and take genuine efforts toward peace, rather than waste time resurrecting the Minsk Group format of which the efficiency was always poor, and this has now been publicly admitted. A 28-year-old Helena man has been charged with multiple felony offenses including repeatedly raping a child younger than 13. David Allen Caves is charged with seven felony counts of sexual intercourse without consent, felony strangulation of partner or family member, felony assault with a weapon, felony sexual abuse of children, and his first misdemeanor partner or family member assault offense, according to court records. On June 29, Helena Police Department officers responded to a domestic disturbance. The investigation led to Caves being arrested on domestic violence-related charges. During this investigation, a juvenile disclosed sexual abuse allegedly committed by Caves. According to the juvenile, Caves would ask for sexual favors, often promising a reward in return, such as video games. The promise of a reward was often not kept, the juvenile told officials. The juvenile victim recalled telling Caves no multiple times in many of these instances of alleged sexual abuse, according to the arrest affidavit filed on Tuesday in Justice Court of Helena. Around five or 10 times, Caves promised he would not assault the juvenile again, but the abuse allegedly continued, according to the victim. Caves allegedly targeted the juvenile because he thought the person would not say anything and was good at keeping secrets, the juvenile told authorities. Caves denied any sexual contact with the juvenile but couldnt think of any reason why the victim would fabricate the allegations, according to the affidavit. Caves was taken to the Lewis and Clark Detention Center on July 1. All charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Frontier Town, a piece of the Helena areas colorful past, is on the sale block for $1.7 million. And the news has prompted some exchanges between the granddaughter of the original owner and the current owner. The Old West-themed tourist attraction that operated from 1948 to 2002 just below the summit of MacDonald Pass off U.S. Highway 12 west of Helena is now a private residence. It includes 15 springs on 41 acres on the eastern slope of the Continental Divide. Potential buyers are told they can see up to 75 miles on a clear day. According to the website frontiertownmontana.com, Frontier Town was built by John R. Quigley. With the help of his wife Sue and his children Jack, Peter and Kitty Ann, John operated and upgraded Frontier Town for more than 30 years. Quigley, according to the website helenahistory.org, was "a master of promotion. He emphasized his 'frontier' Montana upbringing (on a ranch near Avon), and crafted an image of himself as a wild mountain man, which was mostly true. John worked hard and played hard." People recall saddles on bar seats and "Quigley's animated roadside attention-getter." "It was carved from pine logs and powered by electric motors, it depicted a grizzly bear about to attack a lumberjack and his dog," helenahistory.org noted. "The figures jerked mechanically -- the man raising his axe, the dog jumping, and the bear lunging -- while a loud tape-recorded loop of growling bear and barking dog sounds echoed across the mountains." Frontier Town was featured in national publications such as "Life" and "Readers Digest" and attracted famous personalities such as George Montgomery, Dinah Shore, A.B. Guthrie Jr. and Reverend Billy Graham, the Independent Record previously reported. The property is now owned by Battershell Properties Inc. Jeff Battershell, who said he has lived on the property for 21 years after he and his father Tom purchased it at a sheriffs sale, describes it as just a regular old house, albeit 13,500-square-feet. Its been a lot of work, a good place to live, but it is time to pass it along to somebody else whod like to enjoy it, he said. When asked if it could be a tourist draw once again, Battershell said I am not going to speculate on what it can be. He said the property was literally falling down when he arrived 21 years ago and restored some of it. There is still a lot of work to be done, and he believes the posting for $1.7 million is below market price. Its a good family retreat, said Battershell, who plans to move to Helena. The residence, which is being sold as is, includes a large wood-burning fireplace, and a kitchen/dining room area are built with log and rock walls. The property includes 42 rooms with lots of stone and woodwork. There are several outbuildings including a church and a detached large garage. There are several antiques included in the sale, a Facebook posting says. Deb Wong of Capital City Realty & Property Management said the property was listed earlier this week. Well see what happens, she said. We are excited about the listing and anxious to see what kind of interest it brings. According to the Frontier Town website, John Quigley died from cancer in 1979. His daughter, Kitty Ann Quigley Taaler and her husband Aavo, moved to Frontier Town to partner with John's widow Sue Quigley in operating the attraction. Sue Quigley sold Frontier Town to Denham Richard Pegg, who in 1994 auctioned off John Quigley's extensive western antique, art and heirloom collection, thereby destroying much of Frontier Town's unique culture and character, the website states. In the mid-1990s, Pegg sold Frontier Town to Erik Little, who operated it for several years. Pegg repossessed Frontier Town in 1999, and had continuing financial troubles. The resulting protracted legal problems culminated in a neglected Frontier Town being sold at a sheriff's auction in 2001 for $190,000, according to the website. The buyers, Tom Battershell and his son, Jeff, made Frontier Town a private residence, working hard to protect and preserve the structures. Taegan Walker, Kittys daughter and John Quigley's granddaughter, said her attempts to acquire the property from the Battershell family have been unsuccessful. Its pretty obvious I am heartbroken, she said. I have dedicated much of my life to getting it back. I am crushed. Walker, who had served as Frontier Towns Frontier Princess as a child, said she thought she was at the finish line twice. She said the Battershell family has the right to sell the property at a profit and has been a wonderful steward of the property for 21 years. Jeff Battershell said Walker deviated from the selling conditions of as is, and he made a business decision to open up the sale to the public. And while he thought it would be a good idea to sell to Walker, he said her stipulations are not livable. News of the property returning to the market has sparked lots of comment on social media. More than 225 people had commented about it on the John Quigleys Frontier Town Facebook page as of Wednesday afternoon, with many saying they hope the property ends up in the hands of the Quigley family. Walker said she was a lucky little girl to have spent time at Frontier Town. It was a magical upbringing, she said. Local businesses, city buildings, the state Capitol and nonprofits alike were on the front lines of a flash flood that swept through Helena on Sunday night. Videos on social media showed water flowing in a river down Last Chance Gulch. The National Weather Service reported that at least 1 inch of rain fell in Helena on Sunday evening, according to previous reporting from the Independent Record. A flash flood warning was in effect until 9:15 p.m. on Sunday night. A Tuesday morning statement from Randy Rannalli, a lieutenant with the Helena Police Department, said businesses in the downtown area sustained damages due to flooding. Rannalli added he didnt have information to give about what businesses were damaged or how much damage occurred. Joe Schmechel, the owner of the Gold Bar, was out of town when the flooding happened. He watched it on social media and read about it in the Independent Record, but said when he got back, things werent as bad as hed expected. Still, Schmechel said, hes a bit concerned. He said the Gold Bar had quite a bit of water come in through its doors and basement, adding that the basement still has lots of gravel and debris in it. He said the bar will likely have to make HVAC repairs and that hes hoping to have people come in to ensure theres no mold issues in the bar. Allegra Marketing Print Mail had 11,000 square feet of its basement that flooded. Kyle Spencer, one of the owners of Allegra, said it took nearly two days of working around the clock to clean it up. The Bagel Company on Last Chance Gulch experienced damage to its floors, said owner Karen Wood. According to Wood, the water came up through drains and filled the toilets, which then flooded the store. Fortunately, she said, her sons were there and immediately began working as fast as they could to combat the flooding. Wood said the shop lost one day of business and didn't open on Monday, but she feels blessed that family, friends and staff were so quick to help. Still, the Bagel Company will have to replace its floors, Wood said. She said its insurance doesn't cover flood damage, so Wood said replacing the floors will be a process and they'll start strategizing to get it done soon. She added the parking lot was filled with debris too. Dave Burningham, owner of the Golden Girls Antique Mall, said the shop had some water come in through the doors on the carpets, but they cleaned up and sandbagged the store on Monday. Burningham echoed Wood's statement about the parking lot being full of debris after the flood. He said as the water receded, Golden Girls parking lot had 1,000 pounds of gravel and mud in it, and he said they swept up 300 pounds of silt on Tuesday morning too. Still, Burningham said he considers his store one of the lucky ones considering the floods impact elsewhere. Matt Thomson and April Sardeson, owners of Aunt Bonnies Books and Beargrass Trading Co., respectively, said their stores both had a bit of water come through the front door area. Sardeson added that pipes from Jackson Streets drainage run through her store, and those pipes leaked a bit. But, she said only a couple of items were damaged in the flood. Montana Book and Toy Co. posted on Twitter following the flood that it made it through the flood just fine. Cant say that for everyone, the tweet continued. Backed up toilets, standing water, flooded basements around downtown. Be patient as folks get things cleaned up. Thanks to everyone who reached out. As for community support for impacted businesses, Itd be nice if Helenans could support by just coming in and grabbing a beer, Schmechel, of the Gold Bar, said. Burningham, the owner of Golden Girls, echoed Schmechels sentiments. People can always come down and support their local businesses by spending money, Burningham said. Previous coverage from the IR also said the library saw some flooding, but thanks to a quick response, no books or furniture were damaged in the flood. A Tuesday statement from Patricia Spencer, the librarys information officer, said the flooding was in the childrens section but was quickly contained and cleaned up because Service Master was in the library for its scheduled cleaning. She added the library would reopen at noon that day. Spencer also said the librarys scheduled events and programming will take place this week as planned. For those who want to support the library, more information can be found here: https://www.lclibrary.org/233/Support-the-Library. A press release from the Helena Area Community Foundation listed damages to a number of nonprofits in town, including YWCA Helena, the First Presbyterian Church, ExplorationWorks, Grandstreet Theatre, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Montana, Family Outreach and Myrna Loy Center for the Arts. The HACF and United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area have an emergency relief fund, which can be found here: https://hacf.networkforgood.com/projects/164263-helena-area-emergency-relief-fund. The release also said monetary donations can go directly to impacted nonprofits. Those interested in volunteering to help with cleanups or repairs can contact the United Way LCA at emily@unitedwaylca.org or (406) 442-4360. "We request that supply donations be limited to items specifically requested by nonprofits, as many organizations who experienced flooding do not have storage available," the release stated. The city "survived pretty darn well," according to Helena's facilities supervisor Troy Sampson. Older buildings on the city's roster such as the Helena Civic Center and the Law and Justice Center were unharmed in the storm. Sampson said the City-County Building has four storm water drains in its basement, and the hydraulic pressure generated by the storm's run-off caused the system to back up. He said city employees spent a couple of hours pumping water out of the basement. "We escaped by the skin of our teeth," Sampson said. The Department of Administration looked at damages to the Capitol complex too. A Tuesday statement from Victoria Olson, the department's acting communications director, stated that the Mazurek building on Sanders Street saw the worst damage. The statement said the Capitol building and the Montana Department of Corrections on Last Chance Gulch also saw flooding impacts. "The total impacted area in these three buildings is estimated to be 45,000 square feet," Olson's statement said. "General Services, along with restoration companies, are working to respond to affected areas and assess the extent of the damage. Remediation is ongoing at this time." The Capitol was closed on July 4, but reopened on Tuesday, and Olson's statement said there wouldn't be any impact to services offered by the Capitol building. Prickly Pear Land Trust stated in a post on Tuesday that some trails in the South Hills Trails System were damaged in the storm. PPLT asked people to report any trail damage either over direct message on Facebook or via email to trails@pricklypearlt.org. Nolan Lister of the Independent Record contributed to this story. The theme of the 2022 Intrepid Credit Union Symphony Under the Stars is The Music of Billy Joel & Elton John. The concert is on Saturday, July 16, at 8 p.m. The Carroll College Guadalupe Hill will be closed to the public until 5 p.m. on Friday, July 15, at which time concertgoers may drop off lawn chairs and blankets. Early blanket placement will be allowed from 3-5 p.m. July 15 with a $5-per-blanket cash donation to the Boy Scouts, who will be on-site providing security. Pets, plastic tarps, paint, rocks or stakes are strictly prohibited on the lawn at all times. For more information, check the Symphony Under the Stars website (http://symphonyunderthestars.com) After missing a June 30 deadline to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or start the exemption process, about 50 members of the Montana Army National Guard could face penalties including eventual removal from service. The U.S. Department of Defense mandated that all service members must be vaccinated against COVID-19, except those who receive an exemption for reasons such as medical or religious concerns. The deadline varied by branch and was June 30 for members of the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve. Of the roughly 2,100 soldiers in the Montana Army National Guard, the percentage who had neither reported receiving the COVID-19 vaccine nor started the exemption process was 2.4% as of July 1 and 2.2% as of Wednesday, Maj. Ryan Finnegan said. Another 3.5% are seeking exemptions and 94.2% are fully vaccinated, he said. The Secretary of the Army is expected to publish guidance detailing how the National Guard will address their unvaccinated population, he said. The Montana National Guard is awaiting that guidance in order to determine our next steps. Nationwide, the Army National Guard was 89% vaccinated with one dose and 87% fully vaccinated as of June 30. The Army Reserve was 89% vaccinated with one dose and 88% fully vaccinated on that date. Service members are deemed fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving the second dose of Pfizers or Modernas two-shot vaccine or 14 days after a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In a July 1 announcement, the U.S. Army said any members out of compliance with the vaccine order may not participate in federally funded drills and training and will not receive pay or retirement credit. They are also subject to adverse administrative actions including flags, bars to service and official reprimands and could be removed from service if they continue to disobey the vaccine order, the announcement says. Unit commanders will be able to activate and pay the soldiers for limited administrative purposes, such as receiving the vaccine, processing exemption requests or conducting separation procedures, the announcement says. Every soldier has the opportunity to request an exemption, the Army said in its statement. Officials review each request on an individual basis, including review by appropriate medical personnel or chaplains, public health and legal review, and recommendations from the Soldiers commanders, the statement says. More than 3,400 troops nationwide have been involuntarily separated from service for refusing the vaccine, the Military Times reported April 27. The report says about 70% of them received general discharges, which secures their veterans benefits and in many cases allows them to rejoin the military if they decide to get vaccinated. The rest received honorable discharges, the report says. The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld the states rejection of a decades-long effort to add strict environmental protections to a stretch of the Gallatin River. In an opinion written by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, the court upheld a Gallatin County District Court ruling that had sided with the Montana Department of Environmental Qualitys 2018 decision not to pursue the groups proposal. The Gallatin Wildlife Association and Cottonwood Environmental Law Center had sought to classify a section of the Gallatin as an Outstanding Resource Water, a protected status that would prohibit the state from permitting new year-round sources of pollution. Montana Rivers was the other plaintiff in the case. A similar effort had been launched previously in 2001, when American Wildlands petitioned the state Board of Environmental Review to confer that status on a portion of the river. While the board accepted the petition, it ultimately decided against moving forward with the proposal, following a lengthy environmental review and public-comment process that stretched out to 2012. The board opted to abandon the proposal that year, after the petitions initial sponsor dropped out and a subsequent attempt to find an alternative environmental solution fizzled out. Then in 2018, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center and the Gallatin Wildlife Association filed a new petition to add the ORW designation to a stretch of the Gallatin. The board rejected the petition on the grounds that the agencys discharge permitting process already imposed a stringent water quality standard on the river. The conservation groups sued in 2020, arguing that the state had never formally ended its process and that the new petition was essentially jump-starting the original process. They also alleged that emerging threats to the Gallatins water quality warranted an updated environmental review. Gallatin County District Court Judge Peter Ohman ruled in the states favor, finding that the original petition process had expired in 2013, and after the 2018 petition was rejected, there was no longer a proposal on the table that required additional analysis. The justices upheld his ruling. This case is easily resolved by the fact that without a pending rulemaking a proposed state action to analyze under MEPA, there exists no analysis to supplement, McGrath wrote. The opinion characterized the groups lawsuit as an attempt to work around the fact that Montana law creates no avenue to challenge an agencys discretionary decision not to issue a contemplated rule and found they were effectively asking the agency to revisit a long-abandoned process. A parallel effort that also would have added protections to the Madison River also failed recently. Cottonwoods executive director, one of the main backers of a proposed ballot initiative to create the ORW designations, acknowledged last week that organizers had fallen well short of the required signatures to get the proposal on the ballot. The Supreme Court order comes a month after the DEQ issued a preliminary decision classifying the Gallatin River as impaired due to algal blooms. The department stopped short of faulting man-made sources of nutrient pollution as the cause for the increasing amount of algae in the river, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle previously reported. But the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper's executive director suggested that sources like wastewater and fertilizer runoff are causing the nutrient imbalance that leads to algal blooms. While talking about drought in Montana on Wednesday, Troy Blandford couldnt be in his Helena office because it flooded over the holiday weekend. The example of heavy and late precipitation was a common theme throughout the governors drought and water supply advisory committee meeting. Especially when compared to last year, this springs cooler, wetter weather has improved drought conditions across much of the state. The holdout continues to be the region east of the Rocky Mountain Front and extending into northern Fergus County, the group learned. The committee, which has met five times, is tasked with overseeing a rewrite of the Montana Drought Management Plan, which hasnt been updated since 1995. Blandfords presentation provided a demonstration on how monitoring reports are written, noting that the duties rotate from his position with the Montana State Library to other agencies experts. This is a complex, nuanced analysis we have to go through, he explained, looking at variables like precipitation, soil moisture and snowpack. Floods The fact that the drought committee was meeting on the heels of historic flooding that swept across Carbon, Park and Stillwater counties was not lost on the group. Somebody called the conditions inconsistent, said Kathy Chase, a surface-water specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Bozeman. A week before the flood hit we were debating drought conditions. Chuck Dalby, a former Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation surface-water hydrologist, said the flooding is a signal of what could be a new hydrological regime for peak flows. He said the longer snow hangs on into the spring in the high country, the more easily a rain storm like the one that hit south-central Montana on June 11 can trigger flash flooding. I look at the upper Yellowstone as deja vu all over again, he said in an interview following the meeting. I was one of the principal investigators of the 96 and 97 floods for the upper Yellowstone task force. During the last 50 years, he said on average theres been a 30% reduction in annual snowpack for the April 1 measurement of snow water equivalency in Montanas mountains. In other words, how much water the snow holds. That means more of that moisture is falling as rain, Dalby said. As that trend continues into the future it may be easier to more frequently get floods like weve seen this last year. A U.S. Department of Agriculture graph showed the snow water equivalent for the upper Yellowstone River drainage in mid-May below the median. Then snowstorms over Memorial Day and the following week pushed the SWE outside the normal range. By July, that graph line took a steep turn south, demonstrating how quickly the snow had come out of the mountains following the rainstorm and warmer temperatures. The flooding was an example of mountains with low annual snowpack still capable of producing a huge runoff, said Aaron Fiaschetti, of the USGS. Data, data When questioned about how the state may be able to better predict similar future events, Chase said data, data. One of the earliest indications the USGS had that the flood was unusual came from stream gauges on the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, just north of Gardiner and Yellowstone National Park. On June 12 the gauge read a flow of 20,000 cubic feet per second and by the next day had climbed to 49,400 cfs, according to provisional data yet to be verified. That gave the agency only a day or two to alert the communities of Livingston and Billings downstream of the amount of water on its way. Arin Peters, a senior service hydrologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the flash flooding shows how important it is to have stream gauges and snow monitoring sites. As USGS has had to reduce its number of stream gauges for lack of funding, Peters said it was a huge loss. He also noted that even with long-term records, when they are broken by tens of feet, all bets are off. According to the USGSs provisional data, the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs previous high flow was 32,200 cfs. At Billings, the river hit 84,000 cfs compared to a previous peak of 82,000. Both those previous high flows came in 1997. Demonstrating the wide distribution of the rain on snow event, USGS data also recorded high flows on the Lamar, Gardner, Boulder, Stillwater and Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone rivers. The provisional height of the Stillwater River was 23,900 cfs compared to the previous peak in 1967 of 12,000 cfs. The Clarks Fork at Edgar hit a peak flow of 21,900 cfs compared to the previous record in 2020 of 11,400 cfs. Forecasting The meeting also highlighted the difficulty, even with the best science available, to predict weather very far out into the future. Michael Downey, Drought Program coordinator for the DNRC, wrote a report for the committee outlining how in late March the forecast was for another dry spring in Montana. That quickly changed in early April, and the forecast shifted to a wetter, colder spring and in some areas a wetter than average June. The wet weather helped alleviate drought conditions across much of the state, especially considering that in December Montana had the largest number of regions in exceptional drought in 22 years of record keeping. North-Central Montana will likely remain in drought through the summer and into the fall with drought conditions easing across the rest of the state, Downey wrote in his report. Ian Foley, with the Department of Agriculture, noted these conditions can be seen in Havre where precipitation is three inches below normal. Although some winter crops looked good, he said it was hard to paint a consistent picture across the state. Likewise, Mike Honeycutt, of the Department of Livestock, said there was a little more reason for ranchers to be positive after the recent green-up of forage, with the exception of the area just east of the Rocky Mountain Front. The big story of this year has been the timing of moisture, whereas last year by this date the state was fighting large fires, Downey said. This year the spring rains have dropped the states wildfire danger to normal for July. What a difference a year makes, he said. A woman made her case to the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole on Thursday, seeking to end her sentence on a crime she maintains she didn't do. Katie Garding, convicted of vehicular homicide by a jury trial in 2013 in the hit-and-run death of Bronson Parsons, appeared Thursday for an executive clemency hearing, a step in the process that rarely moves past the application phase. Following the hearing, the board is expected to issue a recommendation to grant or deny the request to Gov. Greg Gianforte in mid-July. Represented by the Montana Innocence Project, Garding argued evidence uncovered since her conviction shows she could not have committed the crime. Garding was released from prison in December and is on parole while living in Billings, where she is employed at a veterinary clinic. Commuting her sentence would mean ending her remaining time on parole and taking a symbolic step toward establishing her innocence. Caiti Carpenter, legal director at the Montana Innocence Project, presented information Thursday from crash reconstruction experts that shows, through "thousands" of computer generated scenarios, that Garding's vehicle could not have struck and killed Parsons on New Year's Day in 2008. Procedural hurdles and technicalities, Garding and Carpenter argued, have marred appeals to overturn the conviction. "Since the day I went to prison I have been trying to prove to all of you I was not the person who committed this crime," Garding told the board. The Missoula County Attorney's Office and Parsons' family members stood staunchly against Garding's bid for clemency during Thursday's hearing. Paul Parsons, the victim's father, said each hearing and appeal have reopened his family's wounds. "I feel these hearings like a twisting of a knife that exists in my heart and soul," he said. Among those who testified on Thursday was Jennifer Streano, Garding's public defender at the time of the initial case and now a Missoula Municipal Court judge. Garding's car did not exhibit damage consistent with Parsons' injuries, Streano said, and that lack of evidence led prosecutors to lean on statements from her ex-boyfriend, who may have been offered a lighter sentence in a separate case in exchange for his testimony. "I'm not here because I lost the trial," Streano told the board. "Katie is innocent. She deserves her story to be heard. She deserves this conviction to be corrected." Missoula County prosecutor Brian Lowney and District Court Judge John Larson, who presided over Garding's case, countered that these issues have been resolved in Garding's failed appeals and post-conviction relief proceedings. "Those reports, those expert opinions, have been exhaustively litigated in front of the district court and the (state) Supreme Court, and those claims have been rejected," Lowney told the board. "This is simply another forum for her to make the same pitch she made to the district court." Members of the Board of Pardons and Parole, too, questioned if their forum was the right place to make Garding's case. Carpenter told the board where the technicalities of the justice system failed her client, the Board of Pardons and Parole could allow her to prevail. The Montana Supreme Court has twice rejected Garding's appeals, most recently because it did not consider the crash-scene reconstruction reports to be "new evidence," but a re-examination of the same evidence prosecutors presented at her trial. "I am deeply sorry to the Parsons, their family and friends that had their answer and had their peace," Carpenter told the board. "I ask this board to grant Katie clemency based on the evidence that she did not kill Mr. Parsons." DECATUR The Decatur City Council does not have a direct say on where city schools are built a function of the Decatur Public Schools board. Still, this did not stop ten residents of the Lincoln Park neighborhood from airing their grievances to the council Tuesday evening over a school district proposal to build a new school in the eponymous park. Decatur Public Schools and the Decatur Park District have discussed the possibility but no decision has been made. But if the plans move forward, the new building would replace Dennis School, now occupying two campuses, one on West Main Street and one on West Wood Street, and serve students from preschool through eighth grade. The residents' concerns included the possible impact on wildlife in the park, increased traffic from buses and cars dropping off and picking up students and infrastructure changes that might be needed to support the development. Some residents worried about the potential changes to the historic feel of the neighborhood and expressed concerns about the proposed location, which could be in a floodplain. "The aesthetic qualities ... are a major buying and selling point in terms of property value and enticed me as well as the rest of us to move down in the first place," said Jim McBride, who lives on Seigel Street. "And I'm not trying to turn this into a class issue, but gosh, there's a lot of well-moneyed taxpayers down there that may or may not end up selling their houses for what they can get while they can get it and then just leave." McBride, while addressing the council, asked his neighbors to stand up, about 20 did. And several of them spoke. "I'm not a NIMBY, I'm not a not in my backyard, and that's not why I'm here," added Barry Schawlbe, also of Seigel Street. "Change has to make sense. And when I first heard that they're going to build a new school down in Lincoln Park, none of it really makes sense." Though the council would only have a nominal role to play in new school construction, residents urged city leaders to be more than bystanders. "You and the council are here to represent the people in all the neighborhoods," said neighborhood resident Anthony Chapple. "We're asking you to become involved." So far, the city's involvement in the proposed project, which was unveiled in late June, has been minimal, assistant city manager Jon Kindseth confirmed. Kindseth said the city has not been presented "a formal site plan" and is only aware of the project in "the same way as the public." Still, several council members were sympathetic to the cause of the neighbors. Councilman Ed Culp said he was "disappointed in the lack of transparency from the school district or residents." "Ultimately, you folks are right it's gonna be dumped in our lap at some point," Culp said. "And we're gonna do what we can, but your wishes and your quality of life is gonna be first and foremost to me." Councilman Bill Faber said "the school board's decision to impose this school on our community is what we would call an exercise of very 'weak' democracy." Faber also urged Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe to use her bully pulpit to delay the project until neighborhood residents had more answers. However, Moore Wolfe said the city's options are limited, unless there are issues with the floodplain or zoning. Though city will not know for certain until plans are shared, Moore Wolfe said the council likely would not be able to do much. "The way our governing situation is set up, it'd be like, if I'm your neighbor, and I didn't like the color you painted your house, I really don't have a say," Moore Wolfe said. "So it's hard because people don't always understand where the lines are." The decision process is on an expedited timeline because the district proposes building the school using American Rescue Plan funds. The district received more than $76 million in federal pandemic relief funds last year. The funds must be obligated by Sept. 30 of this year or returned to the federal government. Decatur Public Schools is allowed to use pandemic funds for the project due to a last-minute measure that passed the General Assembly in April. State law already allowed school districts to build new facilities without a referendum if 50% or more of the funds come from sales tax dollars. The change in state law essentially allows that principle to be applied to federal relief. Neighborhood residents have been organizing since plans were first unveiled. One group, calling themselves Lincoln Park Advocates, will meet again at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 7, at St. John's Episcopal Church. Alcohol OK'd for Transfer House events The council approved allowing the possession, consumption and distribution of alcohol at approved events held at the Decatur Transfer House. "They've had growing interest in different types of events there, some of which may have alcohol," Kindseth said. "And so this would allow them the opportunity to have an event that has alcohol." The ordinances does not permit the sale of alcohol. But, it would allow it to be served at organized events, such as a bridal shower or birthday party. Late last year, the council approved an agreement with the Decatur Convention and Visitors Bureau to handle the management responsibilities of the facility on a one-year trial basis. The bureau is the main organization behind the extensive interior renovation of downtown facility, which serves as symbol of the community. Demos approved Twenty-one vacant buildings are set to be demolished. The council approved three separate measures authorizing the demolition of six structures. Contracts for the other 15 properties were below the threshold where council approval is necessary. Kindseth said the city was ready to bid out for the demolition of an additional 21 vacant buildings, but has delayed that due to the lack of contractors available to do the work. "We know that the same contractors that the council's awarding the contracts for tonight will ultimately be some of those same bidders and they have timeframes that they need to knock down these 21 houses, so throwing another 21 houses at them, they just don't have the capacity," Kindseth said. "So that's our current challenge right now." Here are the properties set to be demolished: 83 S Country Club, $23,800, Hutchins Excavating 1952 E Prairie, $27,000, Hutchins Excavating 1553 N Main, $38,500, Hutchins Excavating 1639 N College, $21,450, JRH Services 1415 N Main, $22,750, JRH Services 1533 N Warren, $20,900, Parkland Environmental 445 N 35th St, $11,600, Hutchins Excavating 1060 N Calhoun, $12,950, JRH Services 1682 W Center, $8,650, JRH Services 1068 W Cerro Gordo, $11,500, Hutchins Excavating 1320 E Dickinson Ave, $11,750, JRH Services 855 N Edward, $11,875, JRH Services 551Gault, $10,220, Clancy Coleman Excavating 411 W Leafland, $15,873, Parkland Environmental 749 E Lincoln, $8,200, Hutchins Excavating 1465 E Main, $8,975, Hutchins Excavating 1579 N Morgan, $17,450, JRH Services 1626 E North, $16,675, Parkland Environmental 2469 E North, $18,700, Hutchins Excavating 2473 E North, $16,900.00, JRH Services 1121 E Prairie, $14,400.00, Clancy Coleman Excavating. The council also approved starting the demolition process for 19 structures deemed unsafe. Kindseth characterized it as "a first step" in the legal process to force demolition if necessary. Here are those properties: 1314 N Church 1439 N Church 2053 N Charles 539 W Decatur 412 E Division 915 N Edward 1031 N Edward 1202 E Eldorado 1379 W Forest 1636 E Grand 871 W Grand 976 W Grand 575 S Greenwood 636 S Haworth 659 S Jackson 250 N Monroe 629 W Prairie 379 S Webster 1004 W Wood Brush College Road update The council approved a nearly $400,000 contract with Decatur-based Entler Excavating Company for the demolition of 10 buildings the city has acquired for the project. The ambitious project would separate road and train traffic by a bridge elevating Brush College over Faries Parkway and adjacent Norfolk Southern tracks, thus relieving massive holdups and congestion. However, the project has been on ice since bids earlier this year came back $16 million over the city's projections. But in a memo to the council, city manager Scot Wrighton said that approving "the demolitions now will reduce the scope of the overall project, and possibly reduce contractor uncertainty that can lead to higher bids." He added that the presence of the buildings has led to delays in Ameren being able to relocate its electric transmission lines. Cannabis With new cannabis dispensary licenses weeks from being awarded, Councilman David Horn renewed his effort to get the council to reconsider its 'opt-out' of sales of the green stuff within city limits. Horn asked if an ordinance could be prepared that would authorize a dispensary within city limits, an action that required four council members to agree like a similar effort late last year, it got three. Horn was joined by Faber and Councilman Dennis Cooper. While Moore Wolfe, Culp and Councilman Chuck Kuhle maintained their opposition. Councilwoman Lisa Gregory was absent. Currently, dispensaries can only locate in three Macon County municipalities: Argenta, Harristown and Maroa. By Trend Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will visit Turkiye on Tuesday upon the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trend reports Daily Sabah. According to a statement by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, Draghi and Erdogan will head the third intergovernmental summit between Turkiye and Italy with the participation of both sides ministers. All aspects of Turkiye-Italy relations, as well as steps that can be taken to deepen bilateral ties, are expected to be discussed, while Draghi will also hold talks with Turkiye on ties between Ankara and Brussels and regional issues. DECATUR An armed man has peacefully surrendered and is now in custody after an 8-hour standoff with Macon County sheriff's deputies Tuesday, authorities said. A statement from Macon County Sheriff Jim Root said deputies found the 58-year-old man, whose name has not yet been released, armed with a handgun at a home on the 1400 block of West Main Street at approximately 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Police were at the home to serve an eviction notice to the tenant. They believed the home to be vacant, Root said. Upon seeing the deputies enter the home, the individual in custody retreated to a different room. Deputies were assisted by officers from the Decatur Police Department, Decatur Park District, off-duty Macon County deputies, and the Macon County Sheriffs Office Special Response Team in securing the scene and in negotiating with the suspect. No police or other individuals were injured during the incident, Root said. No firearms were discharged by police or the man in custody. Im thankful for the dedication and determination shown today by our deputies," Root said. "With todays heat and in an already tense situation this could have ended worse. I appreciate the effort put forth by all agencies today to ensure a peaceful resolution. According to the Root's statement, the man was taken into police custody at approximately 5:45 p.m. and transported to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation. The incident and standoff are being investigated by the Macon County Sheriffs Office Investigations Bureau. Criminal charges have not yet been filed. According to Root's statement, the police report will be submitted to the Macon County States Attorney for further review of any pending criminal charges. ***** Our earlier story: DECATUR Police revealed Tuesday afternoon that the heavy concentration of officers in the area of West Main Street and Fairview Avenue is due to an armed standoff with a man barricaded inside a house. Macon County Sheriff Jim Root said the man is holed up inside a home in the 1300 block of West Main Street. It started right at 9 a.m. when we were serving papers to evict him, said Root. He is the only person in there besides us and he is armed. Root said police negotiators were speaking with the man as the standoff went into its fifth hour mid Tuesday afternoon. Areas of the roadway near the situation were blocked off and firefighters and EMTs stood by in case they were needed. This story will be updated. For years we have seen rising gun violence and commercial theft threaten public safety and hurt our local economies. I have worked with those on the front lines to find unique solutions to help build thriving communities and keep families safe. I have also secured funding and helped pass legislation that will increase safety and discourage criminals from engaging in widespread commercial theft. No two towns are the same, which is why I believe it is so important to build community partnerships. Thats why I have met with local police chiefs, community organizations, Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe, Decatur City Manager Scot Wrighton and Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder to understand what they need to prevent and reduce crime in their communities. The result is that I successfully secured budget funds for both Springfield and Decatur to combat crime and invest in violence prevention and community development. A $1 million grant has been awarded to the City of Decatur and a $3 million grant to the City of Springfield. These funds will be managed by the Decatur City Council and Springfield City Council because they are best able to determine how this money should be spent on the ground in their communities. I also helped pass the Organized Retail Crime Bill, which was signed into law by the governor. This legislation is a comprehensive effort to curb crime and help us fight back against criminals responsible for smash and grabs. These crimes are devastating our local economies, are oftentimes violent, and the people responsible are using the money they make selling stolen goods to carry out other criminal activities in our communities. We cant allow these threats to our local businesses or our livelihoods. Everyone wants to live in a peaceful community, where they can feel safe carrying on their daily lives. Gun violence and rising commercial theft have been threatening that peace and keeping our communities from prospering. By securing funds, building relationships with our community organizations and law enforcement, and passing legislation to curb criminal activity, we are one step closer to everyone feeling more safe. The Decatur School Board plan to replace the Dennis and French lab schools is being done hastily to meet a federal funding deadline and in closed session without standard public vetting and approval (no hearings or referendum). Area residents (myself included) near the new school site in Decaturs historic district in Lincoln Park are not only concerned about the disruption and risks to the area, but that the school board has chosen one of the poorer sites among other sites that would be similarly available. The site is a drainage area for land above it and subject to occasional flooding in the river bottom. The main access road to this site has washed out within recent memory. The new site is not any closer to some students and further for most. The school board has other property with abandoned school buildings that need to be demolished or replaced that are also adjacent to Park District land (such as Garfield and Oak Grove). The school board contributes to City decay by simply adding two more abandoned structures. There are also impacts with regard to the city and the Park District. Briefly, it will be the responsibility of the city to provide access and ongoing service. This may involve opening and widening streets that are now closed for safety and crime control purposes. The Park District introduces a substantial disruptive factor to the historic and natural setting and does not relieve the district of any significant amount of apparently unwanted land. This project is being rushed through in closed sessions so that $76 million intended for COVID relief can be used for a new building. The plan is not the best alternative and may well lead to the demise of one of our last and finest historic districts. Phil Clary, Decatur New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Sunny to partly cloudy. Hot. High 103F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 73F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Divers recover body of man who leapt in Canyon Lake to save toddler San Antonio man did not resurface after he, others plunged into water searching for 2-year-old girl Prices at the pump declined for a third consecutive week, after rising precipitously throughout the spring, but analysts are unsure if those reductions will continue. The national average for unleaded gas was $4.77 on Wednesday, down three cents from Tuesday, nine cents less than both one week and one month ago, according to AAA. The average price was $4.39 across the state of Tennessee and $4.57 in Virginia. "Domestic gasoline demand dipped recently, which took some of the pressure off of pump prices. About 80% of stations are now selling regular for under $5 a gallon," Morgan Dean, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson, said. "But July is typically the heaviest month for demand as more Americans hit the road, so this trend of easing prices could be short-lived." The average price across Bristol Virginia, plus Scott and Washington counties was $4.50 on Wednesday, about the same as Tuesday and 10 cents less than last Wednesday, according AAA. AAA reported the average price in Bristol and Kingsport Tennessee was $4.37 on Wednesday, a nine-cent decline from last Wednesday. The average price in Johnson City was slightly lower at $4.34. The local record was $4.61 set on June 12. The highest prices in Southwest Virginia were in Buchanan County with an average of $4.63, while the lowest were in Scott County at $4.42, AAA reported. According to the latest Energy Information Administration data, gas demand currently sits at 8.93 million b/d, which is lower than last year's rate of 9.11 million b/d at the end of June. Total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 2.6 million bbl to 221.6 million bbl. These dynamics, along with decreasing oil prices, have pushed pump prices lower. If these trends continue, drivers will likely continue to see relief at the pump, according to AAA. A gallon of regular unleaded featured a 33-cent price spread Wednesday in the greater Bristol area, from a low of $4.36 to a high of $4.69 with many locations in the $4.40 range, according to GasBuddy.com. The price of wholesale gasoline has plummeted, providing price relief as millions of Americans hit the road for the holiday weekend, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote on its website . While we may see prices decline into this week, the drop could fade soon if oil prices reverse, especially with strong demand over the holiday. For the time being, Americans are spending nearly $100 million per day less on gasoline than when prices peaked a few weeks ago, and thats well-needed relief at a time when gas prices remain near records. States with the lowest average prices include South Carolina ($4.25), Georgia ($4.28) and Mississippi ($4.29), according to GasBuddy.com. The states with the highest prices are California ($6.21), Hawaii ($5.58) and Alaska ($5.53). The average price of diesel is $5.64 in Bristol Virginia, Scott and Washington counties, according to AAA, or about 15 cents higher than the $5.49 being reported in Kingsport and Bristol Tennessee. The average price for a gallon of diesel was $5.54 in Johnson City, Tennessee Wednesday. Record prices for diesel were $5.66 in Bristol and Kingsport and $5.68 in Johnson City on June 12. GasBuddy.com reported diesel varied in price from $5.47 to $5.99 across the greater Bristol area on Wednesday with most stations in the $5.49-$5.59 range. HICKORY The Hickory Aviation Museum, located at the Hickory Municipal Airport, welcomed a special guest during the July Fourth holiday period. Retired Navy Capt. John Holtzclaw of Arlington, Virginia, a U.S. Navy fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, visited the local aviation museum and was welcomed by Kyle Kirby, curator and a founder of the museum. Holtzclaws fighter jet was shot down over North Vietnam by an enemy SAM (surface to air) missile the night of June 18/19, 1968 while on a bombing mission. Holtzclaw and his co-pilot safely ejected from the crippled jet and landed by parachute in the North Vietnamese jungle under enemy ground fire. The pilots successfully evaded capture and eventually were rescued by a helicopter crew dispatched from a U.S. Naval ship in the South China Sea. Details of the daring rescue are available on the Internet at: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/john-holtzclaw/. Holtzclaw was in Hickory during the holiday period visiting his sister-in-law, Elaine C. Miller and Ron L. Harris at their home on Lake Hickory. Ironically, July 4 marked the celebration of Holtzclaws 88th birthday. Sadly, Holtzclaws wife, Elizabeth Coyner Holtzclaw (Elaines sister), passed away recently at the age of 82 after a battle with cancer. Capt. Holtzclaw said he was extremely impressed by the Hickory Aviation Museums vintage aircraft collection and the related displays available for public viewing. He also expressed appreciation for the reception he received during his tour of the museum facility. In a colorful full-page ad in North Carolina newspapers last week, Smithfield Foods touted its commitment to the environment. It announced that good doesnt stop with our products its in everything we do. From our bold goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% across our U.S. value chain and become carbon negative in our U. S. economy-owned operations by 2030, two innovative programs under way to reduce waste and energy use, were committed to ensuring you not only taste the difference in Smithfield, but that we make one, too. Is this the same Smithfield that was responsible for hog farms in eastern North Carolina that crowded thousands of animals into extreme confinement and ruined the lives of families who lived nearby? The answer is yes. This change in Smithfields approach has been dramatic, but was not automatic. It took lawsuits a lot of them against Smithfield and the operators of the hog-farming facilities. The lawsuits were vigorously opposed by Smithfield. The recent Smithfield advertisement features Kraig Westerbeek, vice president of renewals, who leads efforts in North Carolina and beyond to lessen our environmental impact. Ironically, Westerbeek is an important character in a new book about Smithfield and about lawsuits that it thought it could win, but that instead brought about the changes outlined in the advertisement published in newspapers last week. The litigation is chronicled in Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial by Corban Addison. The book shows how a small but representative group of residents with property adjoining or near Smithfield hog-raising facilities brought the company to its knees. In a foreword to Wastelands, famed author John Grisham writes that the book is the uplifting, round-by-round true story of a bunch of rural plaintiffs with no money and seemingly little hope, and the lawyers who smelled injustice and went to war on their behalf. In terms of pure storytelling this book has all the crucial elements that writers of fiction constantly struggle to find. First, according to Grisham, there is the tort, the wrongdoing, the pollution. There is the unregulated, wholesale destruction of property values and quality of life by 2,000 commercial hog farms in eastern North Carolina. Second, there are the sympathetic victims, the five hundred or so small landowners unlucky enough to have their lives ruined by massive hog farms next door. Third, there are the delightfully evil bad guys of Big Pork. Fourth, there are the lawyers, led by Salisburys Mona Lisa Wallace, who step into the ring and battle against heavy odds, gaining one big verdict and even bigger settlements. Grisham continues admiringly: Never in my most creative moments could I have assembled such a colorful and memorable cast of characters, and then blessed them with so riveting a set of facts, and then guided them through the ins and outs and uncertainties of high-stakes litigation. Beautifully written, impeccably researched and told with the air of suspense that few writers can handle, Wastelands is a story I wish I had written. One key piece of the Wastelands story is how the group of lawyers who Wallace assembled put together this cast of hundreds of small landowners whose lives and properties had been ruined by the operation of Smithfield and its predecessors. Another key is how the lawyers turned the landowners stories into winning lawsuits against Smithfield. In a later column about Wastelands, we will see how this was done. " " Civil rights icon and attorney Fred Gray spoke about his former client Claudette Colvin, in October 2021, in Montgomery, Alabama, shortly after Colvin petitioned for her juvenile record to be expunged. Colvin was arrested in 1955 at age 15 and placed on indefinite probation in Montgomery for violating bus segregation ordinances, nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. Julie Bennett/Getty Images Over the past seven decades, longtime Alabama civil rights lawyer Fred Gray represented Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and the victims of the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment, in which the U.S. Public Health Service refused for decades to provide readily available treatment to Black men who had the disease. Gray played important roles in landmark Supreme Court decisions that outlawed segregated public transit and affirmed the strategy of the Montgomery bus boycott organizers. He protected the freedom of association guaranteed by the First Amendment by preventing Alabama officials from obtaining the NAACP's membership list. He argued in the Supreme Court a case on racial gerrymandering that redefined the city boundaries to exclude 400 Black people but no white people from the city limits of Tuskegee, Alabama, which set the stage for the one-person, one-vote rule that governs redistricting after every census. And when state and local segregationist leaders in Alabama sued the national press and local civil rights leaders, Gray's legal efforts afforded strong constitutional protection to critics of public officials and government policy. As a scholar of constitutional law and civil rights, I understand that Fred Gray has had an enormous impact on American law and society. His cases are taught in every law school in the country, and his work has led to fundamental reforms in legal doctrine and helped to cement important changes in the lives of ordinary people all over the country. I'm not the only person to recognize Gray's enormous contributions: Martin Luther King Jr. called him "the brilliant young Negro who later became the chief counsel for the protest movement." And July 7, Gray received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the nation, from President Joe Biden. " " (At left) Fred Gray is seen here with his client the late Rosa Parks and Martin King III, Dr. King's oldest son. Library of Congress Advertisement 'Destroy Everything Segregated' Remarkably, Fred Gray did not plan on becoming a lawyer. The youngest of five children, whose father died just after his second birthday in Dec. 1932, Gray aimed for the ministry as one of the few professions open to Black men at the time. He attended a church-sponsored high school in Nashville and traveled around the country with the school's president as a boy preacher. But that ambition changed during his junior year at what was then called Alabama State College for Negroes now Alabama State University. Fed up with degrading treatment on Montgomery's segregated buses, Gray wrote in a memoir: I concluded that in addition to being a minister and trying to save souls for eternity, that in the here and now African Americans were entitled to all the rights provided by the Constitution of the United States of America. Therefore, I decided I would become a lawyer. He would go to law school, he wrote, "determined to destroy everything segregated that I could find." And there were plenty of segregated things to destroy: rigid segregation of housing, education and jobs, and almost no Black people were allowed to vote anywhere in Alabama. But fulfilling this ambition would be a real challenge. No law school in Alabama admitted Black students. Although he almost certainly could have won a lawsuit to force his admission to the University of Alabama, he realized that the authorities would find some excuse to prevent him from graduating or getting admitted to the bar. " " Fred Gray shows a diagram of a bus to help illustrate the successful case he brought on behalf of Black people in Montgomery, Alabama, to desegregate the city's bus system. Don Cravens/Getty Images So Gray enrolled at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, mainly because he could work part time while going to school. "In September of 1951, with barely enough money to cover expenses, I took a segregated train to Cleveland to begin law studies," he wrote in his memoir. More importantly, he became active in the NAACP, where he got to know Rosa Parks and other leading civil rights activists. This made him the go-to lawyer for the movement and set him on the path of fulfilling his ambition to destroy segregation. After getting his law degree in 1954, he moved back home to Montgomery, Alabama. Then he faced the daunting task of obtaining character references from five experienced local lawyers before he could sit for the Alabama bar exam. The problem was that there were fewer than five experienced Black lawyers in the state at the time. But several white lawyers notably Clifford Durr, a leading New Deal attorney and brother-in-law of Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black supported his application. But no white lawyer would employ him, and there was only one other Black lawyer in Montgomery. So he rented a small office from a Black minister who served as an adviser and helped refer clients to him. Advertisement Protesting Segregation in Schools, Buses and Lunch Counters From his base in Montgomery, Gray represented sit-in demonstrators arrested for protesting segregated lunch counters and freedom riders, the demonstrators white and Black who rode buses throughout the South to protest segregation on buses and in terminals. Gray's legal work desegregated state universities and public schools throughout Alabama. He filed the lawsuit that allowed the Selma-to-Montgomery march to proceed after the police violence against marchers on what became known as Bloody Sunday. That march led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Then, Gray won some of the most important early cases testing the law's promise that Black people could no longer be disenfranchised. Gray knew that his efforts would incur the wrath of the white power structure. And that wrath was not long in coming. For example, state authorities in 1956, at the height of the bus protest, indicted him for stirring up civil rights lawsuits, which could have resulted in his law license's being lifted. The charges were dismissed almost immediately because it was clear that the state had no case on the merits and lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him. Later that year, the local draft board tried to induct him into the Army. The national director of selective service, Gen. Lewis Hershey, squashed that gambit. At age 91, Gray is still practicing law full time while the U.S. still faces enormous challenges tackling systemic racism. That's a point not lost on Gray even after a lifetime of success in fighting segregation. In an interview he gave to USA Today in 2005 to mark the opening of a four-year traveling exhibit on the Montgomery bus boycott developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Rosa Parks Museum, Gray said, "My interest and my concern is not so much to ... commemorate what happened 50 years ago but to look at where we are now. We have to realize racism is not going to go away by itself." " " Fred Gray successfully represented Vivian Malone (center, in white) and James Hood, who were denied admission to the University of Alabama after Brown v. Board of Education ruled segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Malone and Hood were the first two Black students to attend the University of Alabama. Malone is seen here entering the university past a crowd of photographers and National Guard members, with Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach at her side. Library of Congress Jonathan Entin is Professor Emeritus of law and adjunct professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University. He has known Fred Gray for nearly 40 years and has written extensively about his work and career. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. You can find the original article here. Advertisement Originally Published: Jul 6, 2022 By Trend Israel and Poland have agreed to improve their ties, which were stained over Polish legislation to limit Jewish Holocaust restitution claims, an Israeli statement said on Monday, Trend reports citing Xinhua. "It was agreed that relations would be restored to their proper course," said a statement released on behalf of Israeli President Isaac Herzog after he held a phone talk with Polish President Andrzej Duda. The two leaders agreed to mutually restore the ambassadors. According to the statement, Herzog, in a joint initiative with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, requested the return of the ambassador of Poland to Israel. "Duda agreed that the Polish ambassador should be appointed soon and announced that the new Israeli ambassador-designate to Poland will present his letters of credence within the next few days," the statement added. " " A French resistant trains young volunteers in the alps of southern France in October 1944. STF/AFP via Getty Images In 1940, it may have seemed that all was lost for France. Paris was under control of the Nazis, much of the country had been occupied and the Allies had suffered a heroic failure at Dunkirk. Addressing the citizens of France from London June 18, 1940, Gen. Charles de Gaulle urged them not to give up the struggle against Germany. "Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished," said de Gaulle (in French, of course) over the airwaves. What exactly did de Gaulle have in mind when he called for resistance? And what form did that take in France and elsewhere? Advertisement De Gaulle's Call Answered in Many Ways French Resistance is an umbrella term covering many different movements and types of resistance during World War II, according to Robert Pike, scholar of French history and author of "Defying Vichy: Blood, Fear and French Resistance." "These days we see it more as a collection of different movements and groups," he says. French Resistance has a military side, as well as a more civilian component, and it wasn't always based on what de Gaulle wanted. Not yet the eminent figure he would become, the French general continued broadcasting messages of encouragement from London, but his intention was not for those in France to immediately take up arms against the German occupiers. As Adam Gopnik wrote in The New Yorker, "At first, de Gaulle had no vision of an armed internal resistance in France." " " Gen. Charles de Gaulle issues his call of resistance to the French people from London, England, June 18, 1940, just after the Nazi occupation of France. De Gaulle led the Free French Forces from London and later from Algiers throughout the occupation, and returned to Paris on its liberation in September 1944. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Getty Images However, resistance groups did form within France, including paramilitary organizations, often comprised of demobilized military men, with varying levels of loyalty to de Gaulle. Called the maquis, these organizations consisted of guerrilla-style resisters who lived in the mountains and caves throughout the country. "If you went into the maquis, you went into clandestine, illegal life," says Pike. Members were never recognized as soldiers by the enemy, which meant that if caught, they did not enjoy the rights a prisoner of war would have. Examples of maquis organizations included the Armee Secrete (AS), a Gaullist group; the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans Francais (FTPF or simply FTP), created by the French Communist Party; and Organisation de Resistance de l'Armee (ORA), a non-Gaullist group formed in the southern zone. The various groups operated independently and did not necessarily agree with one another. In fact, there was friction between the AS and the FTP. The AS saw the communist-led FTP as causing trouble with its acts of sabotage, while FTP referred to the AS as the "wait and see boys," according to Pike. A turning point for the disparate resistance groups came when de Gaulle sent civil servant Jean Moulin to France to unify the various networks. In May 1943, he convinced several groups to merge into the Conseil National de la Resistance (CNR). In later stages of the war, fighters worked together as the Force Francaises de l'Interieur (FFI) under the Allied command. Advertisement Other Forms of Resistance But, of course, the maquis were just the fighting side of the French Resistance. "The resistance was so much more than that," says Pike. The maquis were supported by regular citizens. Bringing the fighters food, hiding them in barns and outbuildings, passing messages or information these were also forms of resistance. Events like the November 1942 German occupation of the southern zone and the 1943 establishment of the Service du Travail Obligatoire (STO), which required French men to work for the German war effort, helped turn public opinion and increased involvement in the movement. Resistance consisted of activities like creating propaganda, newspapers and leaflets, as well as helping downed Allied airmen escape the country or creating false documents. There were citizens who worked to save persecuted minorities, including getting Jewish children safely out of France to neutral Switzerland. Resistance workers were, for example, barbers by day and part of the liberation movement by night, or women who worked in the post office and intercepted mail. "In a way, their lives were more dangerous," says Pike. "Any action like that, I think, is more dangerous than going and living in the forest." " " A group of French Resistance fighters (maquisards) pose for a picture with weapons in the courtyard of a farm in France, during the summer of 1944. AFP/Getty Images Advertisement Resistance Outside Metropolitan France In his June 19 radio broadcast, de Gaulle urged it was the "duty of all Frenchmen who still bear arms to continue the struggle.... For the moment I refer particularly to French North Africa to the integrity of French North Africa." As he had made clear, he wanted to run the Free France movement from London and North Africa, not from inside France. "Some people believe [French Resistance] actually begins in the French colonies and Africa," says Annette Joseph-Gabriel, associate professor of French and francophone studies at Duke University. In fact, it was Felix Eboue, a Black colonial administrator in Africa, who was the first French administrator to respond "yes" to de Gaulle's June 1940 call, explains Joseph-Gabriel. He endeavored to mobilize African troops and resources. From 1940 to 1943, "the 'heart of Free France' lay in Africa, not London," according to Chris Miller's "France in the Second World War: Collaboration, Resistance, Holocaust, Empire." Broadening the story of French Resistance to include involvement of civilians, women and people in and from the colonies provides a more nuanced and accurate picture of the movement as a whole. "They offer an entirely different perspective on the ideological underpinning of the French Resistance," says Joseph-Gabriel. "We gain a new definition of freedom when we also remember and consider the roles of ordinary people who did extraordinary things at this moment." " " Members of the French Resistance movement arrested Germans in hiding throughout Paris after the liberation of the city by Allied forces in 1944. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Getty Images And how important was the French Resistance? Did it turn the tide of the war? Could the Allies have won without the efforts of, for example, the maquis and post office workers? Militarily, the resistance was small. Miller cites an estimate that less than 2 percent of the population, or 300,000 to 500,000 people, were members of a resistance movement. More than 30,000 French overseas subjects volunteered to fight. But if the French Resistance was not a major factor in turning the war, its soldiers and civilians were important in terms of morale, as well as the many lives they saved. "They were certainly helpful," says Pike. "It was a unifying kind of idea for that final stretch of the war." Now That's Interesting Josephine Baker made history in 2021 when she was the first Black woman to be inducted into the French Pantheon in recognition for her efforts with the French Resistance. She is noted to have passed on intelligence she gathered at diplomatic parties and hidden resistance members in her chateau, among other activities. Dairy animals have long also played their part in the beef supply chain, but in recent years, dairy farmers have stepped up the quality of their contribution by using beef sires on portions of their herds. Sales of beef semen climbed again last year to reach a record 22 million units, and as the National Association of Animal Breeders reported that beef semen usage in U.S. beef herds was down 2%, we know most of those breedings are creating dairy cross calves. For consumers, dairy-beef products capitalize on tenderness, juiciness, and flavor while minimizing or removing some of the issues of straight dairy carcasses, described Texas Techs Blake Foraker during this years Connect Summit. The specific issue he pointed to was browning of the meat once a piece is about 20% brown, consumers wont reach for it. Dairy meat reaches that point about 24 hours before both beef and dairy-beef products, Foraker said, so cross animals have a longer shelf life. From the dairy farmers perspective, matings that result in animals that are more valuable at birth and later on allow farms to most efficiently use all of their resources to create nutritious food products. During a panel discussion, Katie Martin DiGangi summarized, We can make a more profitable product from our worst genetics. DiGangis familys farms in Wisconsin and Texas are just two examples of the growing number of dairy operations fine-tuning their beef-on-dairy strategies to not just get cows pregnant, but to capitalize on a valuable beef product. They retain ownership of their Angus-cross calves until they are about 400 pounds and sold, but one of the farms long-term goals is to build a feedlot to develop these animals, DiGangi shared. Thats already the case with Riverview LLP, which operates beef lots to raise its crossbred calves and a ranch to develop their future beef sires, explained the business genetics director, Dustin Hollermann. Carcass data, among other items, helps them decide which bulls are used as sires. These opportunities for dairy to be more involved in the beef sector is something the panel of experts, from farmers to a genetic consultant, only expected to continue. Partnerships between the two industries, and specialization on each side, are in store for the coming years, said Foraker. It would allow beef feeders to replace straight Holstein cattle with cross animals that often gain just as well as their beef animals. And although Foraker noted that the U.S. beef industry would likely be the last protein to ever move toward any type of vertical integration, it would have benefits such as product traceability. For their part, Hollermann said they are always striving to partner with or at least influence the various parts of the beef chain. DiGangi agreed and acknowledged that partnerships will be key. We are both producing a protein and we have the same consumer, she described of the dairy and beef industries. Beef semen was a transformational tool for dairy farms just a decade ago. Now, beef cross animals and beef partnerships may prove to be just as impactful to the industry. To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com. (c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2022 June 30, 2022 Ann Street United Methodist Church335 Ann St., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Randy L. Wall. In person and Facebook Live worship at 11 a.m. at Ann Street Church. Sermon: Where Are You? Scripture: Genesis 3:1-13. Bethpage United Methodist Church 109 Fellowship Ave. at West C Street, Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Gary MacDonald. Christian education at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. As an act of caring for yourselves and others, you can choose to wear a mask during indoor worship; however, at this time, mask wearing is not required. Sermon: Called to Justice. Scripture: Amos 7:7-17. Bogers Chapel United Methodist Church1775 Flowes Store Road E., Concord. Pastor: Eric Shaver. Adult Bible study at 9 a.m. Worship in-person or on Facebook at 10 a.m. Childrens Reading: Take Time to Open Your Eyes. Author: Arin Tumanuvao. Opening Scripture: Psalms 83. Sermon: Opening Our Eyes. Scripture: Amos 7:7-17. Calvary Lutheran Church950 Bradley St., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Debbie Frye. In-person worship at 8:30 a.m. (casual worship) and 11 a.m. (traditional worship). Masking optional. Childrens area and nursery available. All services livestreamed and available anytime on the Calvary Lutheran YouTube channel access easily through the website at http://www.clconcord.org. Also on Sundays, 10 a.m. Sunday school. All are welcome. Center United Methodist Church1119 Union St. S., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Tony Allen. Sunday school for In Betweens and young adults at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. Nursery is provided during the worship service. Masks are optional. Website is www.centerumcconcord.org. Join us for our service. Sermon: Victory Over the Powers. Scripture: Colossians 1:11-20. Crossroads Church 220 George W. Liles Parkway, Concord. Pastor: Lowell McNaney. Live worship streamed on Facebook, Crossroads Concord Church app or mycrossroads.co website at 9:30 a.m. and 11:11 a.m. Crown Pointe Baptist Church703 Tennessee St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Doug Crawley. Sunday school at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary, or view online at the church Facebook page. Come join us this Sunday as we have a guest speaker, Pastor Jeff Smith. Pastor Smith is pastor of several Cowboy Churches in our area. We welcome Pastor Smith and are excited to hear the message that God has laid on his heart this Sunday morning. You will surely be blessed. And come back Sunday evening at 6 p.m. as Brother Don Greer leads us in worship. Eastside Missionary Baptist Church199 Elgin Drive, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Stephen Burrow. In-person services: Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. Worship services at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Recorded worship services and other information at EastsideMissionaryBaptist.org. You will be welcomed. Practice social distancing. Epworth United Methodist Church1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Bill Roberts. Church has reopened its 10 a.m. worship service for attendance. Epworth UMC continues to follow the appropriate COVID-19 social distancing guidelines as outlined by the N.C. governor and the CDC. We welcome you to join us in worship! Sermon: Plumblines and Parables. Scripture: Amos 7:7-17. Forest Hill United Methodist Church265 Union St. N., Concord. Senior pastor: Rev. Mandy Jones. Associate pastor: Rev. Wes Judy. We are open for in-person worship. Contemporary worship is at 9 a.m. Sunday school/small groups is at 10 a.m. Traditional worship is at 11 a.m. Both the contemporary and the traditional worship services will also be livestreamed at foresthillumc.org or facebook.com/foresthillumc. Harmony United Methodist Church101 White St. NW, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Thad Brown. Join us for Sunday school at 10 a.m. followed by a worship service in the sanctuary at 11 a.m. Sermon: The Church of Laodicea. Scripture: Revelation 3:14-21; Romans 12:21. We welcome all to join us in worship. Service is live on Facebook.com/HarmonyUnitedMethodistChurch. We welcome all who are unable to join us in person to worship with us online. For more information, call the pastor at 704-791-2883 or the church at 704-782-8237. Jackson Park United Methodist Church715 Mable Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor: Laurie Knoespel. Adult Sunday school is at 9:30 a.m. Worship is at 10:30 a.m. Nursery will be provided during worship service. Series: Old Parables in a New Light. Sermon: Threat Build into the Nature of Things. Scripture: Luke 13:6-9. Kirkwood Presbyterian Church900 Klondale Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Dennis B. Craft. Worship at 11 a.m. in church sanctuary on Sundays. No mask restrictions. Sermon: Mayberry Jesus. McGill Baptist Church5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, in-person services. Pastor: Rev. Steve Ayers. If you have not taken the COVID-19 vaccine, wear a mask. McGill will stream a worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. on www.facebook.com/mcgillbaptistchurch/ and on YouTube. The services will be live and also available on recording afterward. Sermon: Seeing. Scripture: Amos 7:7-17; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37. Midway United Methodist Church108 Bethpage Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Craig Allen. Come join us on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. for Sunday school and 10:30 a.m. for worship. Our service is also livestreamed on the web at midwayunitedmethodistchurch.org or facebook.com/midwayUMC. Sermon: Dont Ask the Question If You Cant Accept the Answer. Scripture: Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37. Suggested Hymns: TFWS 2161, To Know You More; TFWS 2036, Give Thanks. Mt. Mitchell United Methodist Church6001 Old Salisbury-Concord Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Joel Locklear. Sunday school at 10 a.m. (adult and children classes) Worship at 11 a.m. in person or on Facebook. Masks are optional and social distancing recommended. If you have not taken the COVID vaccine, wear a mask. Sermon: Charge that to My Account. Scripture: Philemon 1:1-21. Multiply Church Concord150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. N., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Douglas Witherup. 8:30 a.m. service held at 280 Concord Parkway S., Suite 15, Concord. Services at 150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. N., are worship and sermon at 9:30 a.m. and worship and sermon at 11:15 a.m. New Gilead Reformed Church2400 Old Salisbury-Concord Road. 9:40 a.m.: Bible study. 10 a.m.: Childrens Bible school. 11 a.m.: Inside worship, Facebook worship, drive-in worship at 1600 AM radio. Oak Grove Baptist Church200 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. Pastor: Rev. Franklin D. Watkins. 10 a.m.: In-person worship service and Facebook Live and YouTube Live. Second Presbyterian Church1578 Dale Earnhardt Blvd., Kannapolis. Pastor: Sue Black. Assistant minister: Rev. Aaron Price. Worship at 11 a.m. in sanctuary and on Facebook Live. Sermon: Forgiveness Flows From Love. Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35. St. Johns Reformed Church901 N. Main St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Chris King. 9:30 a.m.: Sunday school for all ages. 10:30 a.m.: Worship service (in-person or online at www.ourstjohns.org). 4 p.m.: Adult Bible study. Sermon: Successful Prayer. Scripture: Matthew 7:7-12. AGI AGI - Una bambina di tre anni, di origine marocchine, e annegata nel fiume Gorzone, nel tardo pomeriggio di sabato a Stanghella, nel Padovano. Erano stati i genitori a lanciare l'allarme e a chiedere aiuto alle forze dell'ordine quando si sono accorti che la piccola, che poco prima avevano lasciato giocare nel cortile di casa in compagnia dei cuginetti, non c'era piu. Il cancello era aperto per errore e il corpo senza vita della bambina e stato trovato intorno alle 20 nel fiume. A recuperarlo so CHARLESTON A former Mattoon daycare operator was found guilty of the aggravated battery of a 6 month old child. Just after midnight Wednesday, a Coles County jury came back with the verdict that Carmen Petak was innocent of battering the child on Jan. 14, 2020 but did find her guilty of battering the child on Jan. 23, 2020. The verdict brought to an end a trial that had lasted six full days. Petak, 51, is a former Mattoon Police Department auxiliary officer and Illinois State Police Trooper. According to testimony during the trial, Mattoon Police Department Deputy Chief Ryan Hurst said Petak told investigators that leading up to the incident she was becoming increasingly frustrated with the child not being able to be soothed. Eventually, she told police, she pulled the child from his play pen without supporting his head, causing his head to go back and forth like windshield wipers. State's Attorney Jesse Danley said Wednesday that he was pleased with the jury's finding in a case that was emotional for all parties involved. He complimented the jury for their diligence and said he appreciated that they were dedicated to looking through all of the evidence. Danley also gave his compliments to Assistant State's Attorney Jenifer Schiavone, who was the lead prosecutor on the case, for her work in presenting the "difficult evidence" that led to Petak being found guilty. Petak's attorney, Anthony Bruno, said Petak has "maintained her absolute innocence since the beginning." He added that Petak was aware of the risks of a jury trial but took her chances. Bruno, who described Petak as "a caring and meticulous protector of children" said Petak respects the jury's verdict but disagrees with it. Danley said the state has not determined what sentencing they will seek. A sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 23. A motion to revoke Petaks bond was denied. Aggravated battery to a child, a Class X felony, carries with it a six to 30 year prison sentence. brendenmoore Follow brendenmoore 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 SPRINGFIELD I grew up about 25 miles from Highland Park, a 35-minute drive give or take. I competed against Highland Park kids in high school debate tournaments, covered its school board and city council meetings as a freelance reporter and have enjoyed concerts at Ravinia Festival. And like many, Ive driven its tree-lined streets admiring its stately homes, which through the lens of John Hughes films like Ferris Buellers Day Off and Sixteen Candles became the stock image of suburban American life. Tragically, Highland Park is now also the site of something else that has become all too common and uniquely American a mass shooting. Seven people are dead and 30 injured after a gunman opened fire on an Independence Day Parade in the citys downtown. The suspect, Robert Bobby E. Crimo III, 22, was charged Tuesday with seven counts of first-degree murder with additional charges expected. For many, including myself, this tragedy strikes way too close to home. Yet at the same time, it serves as an unfortunate reminder that no place is immune from the plague of gun violence even the last place anyone would expect it to occur. Highland Park is a wealthy, liberal bastion on Chicagos tony North Shore. And it has long been at the center of the national gun control debate. In 2013, the city passed an assault weapons ban, which was promptly challenged by gun rights groups and eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case, leaving in place a lower court ruling upholding the ban. It is just one of a handful of Illinois local governments with an assault weapons ban on the books, as the state's 2013 concealed carry law includes a provision that made its regulation exclusively a state function. Cities like Highland Park, Chicago, Evanston, Morton Grove and Skokie took advantage of a 10-day period to enact bans and thus be grandfathered in. But there are no walls around the borders of Highland Park. Just like there are no walls around the city of Chicago or the state of Illinois, which have among the strictest gun control policies in the United States. And this, above all else, helps explain the relative ineffectiveness of local and state gun regulations in preventing gun violence. When you're just a city or state away from looser restrictions, it's next to impossible to prevent the flow of weapons into places with "strict" laws. The majority of guns used in crimes in Chicago were purchased outside of Illinois, for example, with many coming from states with lax restrictions. Seeming to acknowledge this ineffective patchwork, Vice President Kamala Harris, who visited Highland Park on Tuesday, called for Congress to renewal the federal assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly," Harris said. "There is no reason that we have weapons of war on the streets of America. However, such a federal policy change is unlikely given the evenly divided U.S. Senate and bare majority that Democrats hold in the U.S. House. At the state level, it is also not yet clear if the tragedy will lead to policy changes, though state lawmakers have shown a willingness to act. Earlier this year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation banning "ghost guns," which are unserialized weapons that are often homemade and difficult or impossible to trace. Last August, Pritzker signed a bill that streamlines the FOID process and will expand background checks to all gun sales including private sales in 2024. But a state assault weapons ban, a policy on the books in only a handful of states, would be a heavy lift, even in blue Illinois. After the shooting, Pritzker told reporters that he was "furious." We all should be. This is a uniquely American problem. And this latest incident took place on America's birthday in a town that has stood in as the quintessential American suburb in a number of films. The country will have another collective conversation about gun violence. Whether those discussions spark real policy change to address why these mass shootings keep happening is another thing entirely. But, one thing is clear it can happen anywhere, even just a short distance from where you grew up. No special session at least yet Immediately following the Supreme Courts ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in late June, Pritzker announced that he would call the General Assembly into special session in the coming weeks to more firmly protect womens reproductive rights in Illinois and address the challenges posed by this radical Supreme Court decision. Weeks have turned to months. Pritzker, in a joint statement with Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Hillside, confirmed earlier this week that lawmakers would not be returning to the Capitol this month. The Senate had previously been eyeing a return this week and the House next. We plan to work closely together for the remainder of the summer to assess every possibility of what we can do and convene a special session in the coming months, the trio said. Scheduling special sessions can be tricky, especially during the summer. But a special session in late August or September should not be ruled out. If you like the decisions the U.S. Supreme Court handed down this term, youre going to be enraptured by what comes next. For the rest of us, though, the worst could be yet to come. Worse than forced birth for rape victims and obscene new curbs, not on pollution, but on the EPAs ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants? Heres why it could be: In agreeing to review Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court is taking up a case that could give state legislatures sole authority over the conduct of federal elections. If that happens, even the most extreme partisan gerrymandering and voter suppression could be deemed just dandy by state lawmakers, no matter what a states constitution or supreme court says. And if thats what the court decides, there will be no need to storm the U.S. Capitol to overturn the 2024 election. Thats because any state legislature could simply decide to replace the electors chosen by the popular vote with its own slate, just as former President Donald Trump and Rudy Guiliani pressured state lawmakers in Arizona to do after Trump lost in 2020. If the Supreme Court turned unchecked control of federal elections over to state lawmakers, how could any court sort out such power grabs? The North Carolina case the court agreed to review concerns a GOP-engineered redistricting that the state Supreme Court rejected as having subordinated traditional neutral redistricting criteria in favor of extreme partisan advantage. Of course, Republicans want that map reinstated. Its also Republicans, who not incidentally control 30 state legislatures, who have been pushing the idea that the U.S. Supreme Court should review something called the independent state legislature theory. The Election Clause of the U.S. Constitution says the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations. Until now, the power of state legislatures to follow purely partisan impulses has been checked by courts. The Supreme Court has never recognized the Constitutions election clause as bestowing unfettered control on state lawmakers. But proponents of the independent state legislature theory reject this traditional reading, insisting instead that the Constitution gives state legislatures exclusive and near-absolute power to regulate federal elections. The result? When it comes to federal elections, legislators would be free to violate the state constitution and state courts couldnt stop them. Those proponents include Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. In North Carolina, state lawmakers themselves passed a law decades ago that gave state courts explicit authority to review redistricting plans. But the question of whether the court would dare to undermine democracy, and whatever is left of its own credibility, has already been answered. Justices who once said that Roe was an important precedent of the Supreme Court, as Alito did at his confirmation hearing, or that it was settled law, as Brett Kavanaugh told Sen. Susan Collins it was, would absolutely dare. The Sacramento Bee WINDSOR U.S. Army veteran John W. Thompson of Windsor was laid to rest with military honors on Wednesday more than seven years after his death from cancer. Community members organized a burial service for Thompson after his cremated remains were recently released by the federal authorities who were prosecuting a Chicago-area business for mishandling the remains of those who had donated their bodies to science. Honor guard members from the Windsor American Legion, with the help of the Strasburg American Legion, conducted the service at Ash Grove Cemetery southeast of Windsor. "The (burial service) was fantastic. It was beautiful," said the veteran's widow, Janet Thompson of Windsor. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it." Windsor American Legion past Chaplain Jerry Vanmatre and post member Walt Ratliff, both neighbors of the Thompsons, stood alongside the veteran's newly dug gravesite along the east side of Ash Drive in the cemetery as they led the service. Approximately 30 friends and family members, including children decked out in red, white and blue, lined the west side of the road to watch. The service concluded with a firing detail providing a final salute for John Thompson, followed by a bugler performing taps. Vanmatre noted during the service that John Thompson, who died at age 81 on Oct. 11, 2014, served with the 31st Infantry in France during and immediately after the Korean War. He said the veteran was a part-time military police officer, with ordinance disposal being his primary duty. He said John Thompson dealt with live munitions left over from World War II that were still being uncovered years later. "It was quite a hazardous job," Vanmatre said, recalling a story about John Thompson having to help detonate an old grenade. "There were numerous other occasions like that." John Thompson was buried in sight of a Ash Grove Cemetery memorial dedicated to those men and women who served in the armed forces in all wars for the United States. The cemetery itself is located next to Ash Grove Christian Church. The delayed burial was necessitated by John Thompson's remains, among many others, being evidence in the U.S. Department of Justice's prosecution of the now shuttered Biological Resource Center in Rosemont. CBS News Chicago reported on Sept. 21, 2021, that the former owner was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, on charges of knowingly selling contaminated, diseased human remains. "We consider it not only our honor but our duty to do (the service)," Vanmatre said during the ceremony. Ratliff said afterwards that it means so much to veterans to know that their comrades will be there to pay respects for them after they die. Ratliff said he especially appreciated being able to help with John Thompson's service after knowing him for so long. He recalled Thompson often stopping by his home to talk about the weather and the local corn crops just to be neighborly. "He was just that type of guy. I really miss him. He was a good person," Ratliff said. The Food and Drug Administration has backed off for now on proceeding with a ban of Juul electronic cigarettes that it announced June 23. The decision comes after a federal judge issued on June 24 a temporary hold on the marketing denial order. The hold allows Juul to continue selling its e-cigarettes and related products. The FDA updated its stance on Juul products in a series of tweets late Tuesday, rather than a typical news release or statement. The agency has determined that there are scientific issues unique to the Juul application that warrant additional review, the FDA posted. This administrative stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order during the additional review, but does not rescind it. The FDA did not indicate how long the additional scientific review would take. The tweets represent a significant change in message and tone from its June 23 announcement. At that time, the FDA said it had rejected Juuls pre-market tobacco product applications, saying they lacked sufficient evidence regarding the toxicological profile of the products to demonstrate that marketing of the products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. In the pre-market application process, the FDA considers products risks and benefits to the population as a whole, including users and non-users. An FDA authorization is required for products to be legally marketed in the U.S. The FDA previously said Juul must stop selling and distributing these products. In addition, those currently on the U.S. market must be removed, or risk enforcement action. FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a June 23 statement that the step was further progress on the FDAs commitment to ensuring that all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards. The FDAs third tweet late Tuesday said the latest moves by the court and the FDA do not give Juul long-term authorization to market, sell or ship products. Juul has been attempting to reset the FDAs view of its products and its reputation over the past year. As part of that process, the company reduced its product portfolio, halted television, print and digital product advertising, built up its science and evidence-based capabilities, and supported the Trump administrations final flavor policy for ENDS products, while taking a methodical approach to its global presence, the company said. Joe Murillo, Juuls chief regulatory officer, said Wednesday that with this administrative stay from the FDA now in place, we continue to offer our products to adult smokers while we pursue the agencys internal review process We remain confident in the quality and substance of our applications and believe that ultimately we will be able to demonstrate that our products do in fact meet the statutory standard of being appropriate for the protection of the public health. We now look forward to re-engaging with the FDA on a science- and evidence-based process to pursue a marketing authorization for Juul products. Potential impact The decision to remove the No. 2-selling electronic cigarette in the country will likely to lead to a dominant market share for R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.s Vuse products. Vuse held 35.1% of the market share, compared with Juul at 33.1%, according to the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience store data that covers the four-week period ending May 21. A distant No. 3 is NJoy at 3%, while No.4 is Fontem Ventures blu eCigs, at 1.9%. On May 12, the FDA authorized six Vuse products with 1.5% and 3% nicotine levels. It also issued marketing denials for multiple other Vuse Vibe and Vuse Ciro e-cigarette products. Those approvals are for two Vuse Vibe power units and its tank original tobacco flavored 3.0% style, along with two Vuse Ciro power units and its cartridge original tobacco flavored 1.5% style. British American Tobacco Plc, parent company of Reynolds, said in a May 12 statement these authorizations represent the broadest portfolio of market authorizations provided to any company in the U.S. Barclays analyst Jain Gaurav said Wednesday that Juul remains at a marketplace disadvantage compared with Vuse even with the temporary stay in place. Due to the pre-market review process, we believe Juul will not be able to market aggressively while BAT will continue to further solidify its position in the US e-cigarettes market, Gaurav said. Scientific or political? For years, Juul has been the subject of intense anti-tobacco criticism for its once-dominant U.S. market share, as well as marketing campaigns decried for driving its popularity among teenagers and young adults. For example, the 2020 Monitoring the Future study by University of Michigan researchers found that 28.2% of 12th-graders said they vaped at least once during a 30-day period. Thats down from a record high of 30.9% in 2019. Researchers began reviewing vaping in 2015 when the rate was 16.3%. The FDA decision was celebrated by anti-tobacco advocacy groups, such as the American Medical Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Meanwhile, the decision was lambasted by anti-smoking advocates and groups for eliminating a viable alternative for smokers wanting to wean themselves from traditional cigarettes. I think it is scientific and political, Scott Ballin, past chairman of the anti-smoking alliance Coalition of Science or Health, said Wednesday. Juul has been the whipping boy in the e-cigarette industry for a long list of things they did. The company, however, went through a major transformation to clean up its act. Those steps, however, did not deter its adversaries from mounting an on-going and aggressive public relations campaign against Juul, including the tobacco control community and allies in Congress, Ballin said. FDA was under tremendous pressure to act. Ballin said not to discount the recent change in leadership with the FDAs Center for Tobacco Products, which has served as point regulator on tobacco-related regulations. Ballin said that with the dispute in the courts, the FDA may have decided to step back and approach it in a more fair way. My initial reaction to their decision to deny the application and to require that the products be pulled from the market was arbitrary and capricious. Any outstanding issues should have been dealt with through engagement and dialogue. Cowen & Co. analyst Vivien Azer said the FDAs tweets are a clear response to the lawsuit filed by Juul that resulted in an emergency relief. With the agency specifically citing the scientific issues unique to Juul, it seems that the FDA is directly responding to the counterclaims made by JUUL in the courts through the appeals process. Juul noted they had provided the agency with adequate scientific data that the agency had failed to evaluate properly. Azer said the FDA decision to conduct further scientific review could signify more negotiations with Juul in an attempt to resolve the issues outside federal court. Should Juul ultimately receive its premarket tobacco application, this would be a material positive for Altria as it would revitalize one portion of the companys reduced-risk product strategy. Azer said tobacco manufacturers reduced-risk products are becoming increasingly important given the FDAs focus on several pieces of incremental combustible cigarette regulation, including a menthol ban and a very low nicotine policy. Store workers told Winston-Salem Police that the man entered the store around 10:30 p.m. The man walked to the front counter, displaying the gun and took an undisclosed amount of money. The Winston-Salem Police Department is asking for the publics assistance in the case. Anyone with information regarding this robbery or similar crimes is asked to call police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800, or En Espanol 336-728-3904. Text-A-Tip Program at 336-276-1717 allows you to anonymously text tips, photos, and videos to the Winston-Salem Police Department. By Trend The EU plans to become the top investor in construction of the giant hydropower Rogun plant in Tajikistan, Trend reports via Reuters. Spokesman of the European Investment Bank (EIB) told Reuters this week that the bank has now been asked by the European Commission to become "the largest investor" in the project. However, it is unclear when the EU's plans could turn into actual investments, but the EU official said that decisions could be made by the final quarter of this year. Rogun HPP, with its 335-metre-tall clay core rockfill dam which the developers say will make it the tallest in the world once completed, is anticipated to end Tajikistan's current power shortages and enable the country to export electricity to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. UPDATE: A Silver Alert for Shanon Carlton has been canceled at the request of the Winston-Salem Police Department. Winston-Salem police are searching for a missing, endangered woman, authorities said Wednesday. Shanon Graciela Carlton, 66, was last seen at 2933 Poinsetta Drive, police said. The N.C. Center of Missing Persons has issued a Silver Alert for Carlton. Carlton is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds, police said. She is Black and has short brown hair and brown eyes. She is driving a 2018 block Mitsubishi Outlander with the N.C. license plate TJX-4147, police said. Anyone who has information about Carlton's whereabouts can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800 or its Spanish line at 336-728-3904. Crime Stoppers of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County is on Facebook. A 22-year-old crew member on the set of the Netflix series, Outer Banks, was killed in a hit-and-run crash in South Carolina, according to the casting company. Alexander AJ Jennings was a photo double and stand-in for John B, the shows main protagonist played by Chase Stokes, Kimmie Stewart Casting wrote in a statement on Facebook. AJ was a beautiful, kind soul (and) a bright light every day on set, the company wrote. Deputies responded to the crash near Charleston at around 2:30 a.m. on July 5 and found a pedestrian who had been walking in the road was hit by a vehicle, according to a statement from the Charleston County Sheriffs Office. The vehicle fled the area before law enforcement arrived, according to the agency. A second vehicle also struck the pedestrian and fled the scene, authorities said. The Charleston County Coroners Office later identified the victim as Jennings. He died just after 3 a.m. on July 5 after being taken to the Medical University of South Carolina, according to the office. The second vehicle that hit Jennings was stopped by police in downtown Charleston after the crash, the sheriffs office said. Investigators are still looking for the first driver. No charges have been filed, and the crash is under investigation. Jennings moved from New York to Charleston to join the Outer Banks crew for its current season, according to the casting company. The show, which is about a group of teenage treasure hunters on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, is filming its third season in the city. Netflix will offer grief counseling to cast and crew members, the casting company said. The company did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News. I cannot fathom the shock and tragedy of AJs sudden loss and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time, the post says. We will miss this amazing human & his infectious smile dearly. A federal judge in Lynchburg, Virginia, has signed off on a plan for the Humane Society to transfer about 4,000 beagles from the Envigo breeder mill in Cumberland County, Virginia, to shelters so they can be placed for adoption. Envigo raised the dogs for medical research and came under fire from animal rights advocates for the company's treatment of the beagles. Envigo, the Humane Society and the U.S. government presented the joint plan after U.S. District Judge Norman Moon refused Envigos bids for permission to sell more than 2,000 beagles to fulfill a sister companys research contracts. Envigo will pay the Humane Society a $100 fee per beagle and $150 per nursing mother and litter under 8 weeks. The Humane Society will transmit the fees to shelters in order to defray the costs of preparing the beagles for adoption. "Virginia is for dog lovers today," said Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, who sponsored legislation to protect dogs and cats at research facilities, along with Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax and Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle. Stanley said "it's a victory for the dogs and a victory for stopping needless experiments" on the animals. Inotiv, Envigos Indiana-based parent company, recently announced its plans to close Envigos beagle mill, which Moon has castigated for its torturous abuse of dogs and puppies in repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Under the agreement, the Humane Society will be solely responsible for coordinating transfer of the beagles from the Cumberland site and for the beagles placement with animal shelters and rescue organizations for adoption. The Humane Society agreed that it will place as many beagles as possible with shelters on the East Coast and in the Midwest and that beagles under 8 weeks will be transported with their mothers. Stanley said the goal now is "finding good, permanent, loving homes for all of these dogs." He encouraged anyone who wants to get on a list to adopt a beagle from Envigo to call his office at (540) 721-6028. Stanley previously played a key role in helping hundreds of beagles rescued from Envigo find homes. His family adopted two of those beagles and he says anyone who adopts a dog or puppy saved from Envigo will find it was "the best decision they ever made." The senator said he is concerned that many shelters already are overburdened and added that advocates seeking to help the beagles will "have to be very creative here." Last year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals conducted an undercover investigation at the Envigo's Cumberland County facility. PETA posted disturbing video of beagles housed in what it called a prison like factory. Daphna Nachminovitch, PETAs senior vice president of cruelty investigations, said in a statement: PETAs groundbreaking undercover investigation helped spark a historic domino effect of state and federal legislative and law-enforcement action that paved the way for these dogs independence and this dog prisons closure. Envigos surviving victims will soon be given the opportunity to have what every dog deserves the freedom to enjoy life, love, and respect for their individuality as members of a family home. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, Virginia Democrats, said in a joint statement: After months of advocacy, were heartened to know that nearly 4,000 Envigo dogs will be spared a lifetime of suffering and will instead head to loving homes. Were also pleased to know that Inotiv Envigos parent company will shutter its Cumberland facility and that no more dogs will be subject to the appalling conditions and inexcusable distress endured by so many dogs and puppies at the facility. A 20-year-old Lincoln man shot in the head in a drug deal in the parking lot of Edgewood Cinema nearly a year ago has been sentenced to federal prison time on drug and gun charges. U.S. District Judge John Gerrard gave Jayden Prentice six years of incarceration, plus three years of supervised release, on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine and psilocyn and possession of firearms in furtherance of the drug crime. He also forfeited $3,929 in cash found the day he was shot. Prentice pleaded guilty in March. Federal prosecutors say Aug. 2, 2021, Lincoln police were called to the parking lot near 56th Street and Nebraska 2 about a shooting and arrived to find Prentice shot, in the passenger seat of Christopher Duncan's Mercedes, Duncan on the ground nearby with multiple gunshot wounds and Riley Mills standing nearby. A Mini Draco, described as an AK-47-style firearm, was on the ground near the car, a 9 mm handgun near Prentice's feet and $3,929 cash spilling out of the back seat and in Duncan's and Prentice's pockets. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Molsen said police also found a half-pound of marijuana at Prentice's feet, as well as 23 grams of cocaine, 3 grams of psilocyn and more marijuana in the car. He said Prentice went there to sell a half-pound of marijuana. Then came the gunfire. A bullet tore through Prentice's cheek and neck before lodging near his spinal cord, ear canal and throat, requiring extensive surgeries and ongoing therapy. Duncan's leg had to be amputated as a result of the shooting. Mills wasn't injured. Two weeks later, Buongkhoy Wal, then 17, was charged in state court with first-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony for his alleged role in the shooting. He is seeking to have his case transferred to juvenile court. In court records, police allege Wal arrived in a Kia, fired at the three, all then-teenagers, striking Prentice, but said investigators believe there were additional passengers in the Kia, which was found days later with two bullet holes on the passenger side. Accessory charges against the alleged driver later were dismissed. Police are seeking an unarmed man after he robbed a north Lincoln bank of an undisclosed amount of money Wednesday afternoon, fleeing on foot and so far evading police efforts to track him. Lincoln Police Capt. Tarvis Banks said the robbery occurred at about 12:15 p.m. at the U.S. Bank near 27th Street and Ticonderoga Drive, a block north of Superior Street. Police on Thursday released photos of the man captured from surveillance cameras inside the bank, where he initially said he needed to withdraw money before he passed a note to the teller, demanding cash, according to authorities. He was not visibly armed at the time of the robbery, Banks said. The police department deployed K-9 units in an attempt to track the suspect. Search efforts focused on the area immediately around the bank, Banks said. Officers on scene said the man was seen stuffing money into his clothes in the bushes across Ticonderoga Drive immediately following the robbery. He was last seen fleeing west and had not been caught as of Thursday morning, Capt. Todd Kocian said. Police described the suspect as in his 30s or 40s with tattoos on his hands and chest, extending to his neck. At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a beanie, a white undershirt and a plaid or flannel shirt. And he could be shoeless. Crime scene investigators marked as evidence a pair of slippers near the west side the bank parking lot, apparently left behind by the robber. The Nebraska Bankers Association offers an award of up to $20,000 for information that leads to the apprehension of suspects alleged to be responsible for the robbery of any FDIC-insured institution in the state, said Kara Heideman, the association's communications director. YORK A 10-year-old from Wisconsin has been identified as the boy killed when the roof collapsed at the Hampton Inn in York on Sunday night. Ben Prince of Hudson, Wisconsin, was with his family on vacation, according to KSTP Channel 5 News in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ben, his parents and two brothers were in the pool area of the hotel when the roof collapsed, the ABC affiliate reported. A family member reportedly tried to lift a roof segment off the boy, but it was too heavy. Ben died at the scene. The television station talked with the Prince familys pastor at Hudsons Faith Community Church. Children are supposed to bury their parents, not the other way around. Life can be brief. Reality is often cruel and painful. As were learning, there are no guarantees and sometimes its brutally, brutally shortened, the pastor said. There were no other injuries reported as a result of the collapse. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted Nebraska election officials' emergency motion to stay a federal judge's preliminary injunction that would have changed how petition signatures are counted to get initiatives on the ballot in the state. The decision came late in the afternoon the day before the signatures were due to Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen's office, meaning petitions still must have signatures from 5% of registered voters in 38 of the state's 93 counties to get on the ballot. Judges Raymond Gruender of St. Louis and David R. Stras of Minneapolis split with Judge Jane Kelly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who said she would have denied the motion. The state's emergency appeal and motion for stay followed U.S. District Court Judge John Gerrard's ruling last month blocking Evnen from enforcing the multicounty requirement and denying the state's request for a stay, which followed. Crista Eggers, a campaign coordinator for the ballot initiatives seeking to allow doctors to recommend cannabis to their patients and providing patients access to cannabis, said the multicounty requirement diluted the voting power of individuals in the state's most populous counties. That, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and the ACLU of Nebraska argued, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Solicitor General James Campbell argued the state would be irreparably harmed if prevented from performing its duty under the Nebraska Constitution. "This injects a cloud of uncertainty around the initiative process and upcoming election," he said of Gerrard's lower court ruling. In a brief, Campbell said the legal claims being made in the case don't implicate the federally protected fundamental right to vote upon which Gerrard relied because that pertains to voting for representative candidates. Not the right to sign a petition proposing an initiative. Gerrard had rejected the idea in his order. Following the ruling, Eggers called the decision disappointing, saying "Every Nebraskan's signature should have equal weight. "From our perspective, this stay adds unnecessary confusion at a critical juncture. We will keep moving forward so that we can legalize medical cannabis and help suffering Nebraskans, she said in a news release. Earlier Wednesday, an official with Citizens for Voter ID said organizers of that petition drive are confident they will meet their signature-gathering goal by Thursday, while Raise the Wage Nebraska reported Friday that it had cleared its goal by more than 40,000 signatures. Sam Petto of ACLU of Nebraska said if initiative supporters ultimately are successful in the medical marijuana case, it's possible that campaigns still could qualify for the November ballot so long as they collected enough total signatures, even if they did not meet the multicounty distribution requirement. Earlier in the day, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said they had collected the roughly 87,000 signatures required for their two petitions but were still working to get 5,000 more. Jane Seu, an attorney with the ACLU, said the decision was a setback but not the end of the case, and organizers are confident. At every turn, state officials have tried to maintain the unconstitutional multicounty distribution requirement, but the constitutional standards clearly favor our clients. We are ready for whatever comes next and we will continue making our case until we can earn a permanent victory, she said. A second Racine man faces an attempted homicide charge for allegedly shooting a 16-year-old on March 20 on Racine's north side in what authorities are calling "an attempted execution" that was captured on video. The Racine Police Department believes the shooting is a case of mistaken identity, with the shooters believing the teenager was a Northside For Life gang member even though he is not actually affiliated with any gang. Police also have asserted that the March 20 shooting was intended to be in retribution for the March 13 killing of 14-year-old Eugene Henderson. According to court documents, both of the men charged in the March 20 shooting were wearing clothing in tribute to Henderson when they were arrested and police asserted that those charged believe the NFL gang was responsible for Henderson's death. RACINE The state investigation into the May 20 fatal police shooting of a man accused of fleeing police while armed in Racine was completed in mid-June, authorities confirmed this week, but there remains no timeline for when the full local investigation may be complete. It could be months before more investigative information about the case, including video, will be released. Authorities have said there is body camera footage of the shooting. According to authorities: DaShontay Day Day King, fled on foot following a short vehicular chase after an officer attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle King was driving; King was wanted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to Racine Police Chief Maurice Robinson, after a foot chase, King took an action with a firearm he had on his person that led to the officer shooting King. The officer who chased and shot King has been identified as Zachary Brenner, a four-year veteran of the Racine Police Department. He remains on administrative leave from the RPD. All officer-involved deaths in Wisconsin are initially investigated by the Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. Responding to questions from The Journal Times Tuesday, Samantha Standley, a DOJ spokesperson, said in an email that the DOJ has turned over the case to the Racine County District Attorney. The DAs Office is now due to make a decision on if criminal charges should be filed. If charges are not filed, then documents related to the DOJs investigation would be made public. If charges are filed, all of the documents related to the shooting may not be publicly available for years, pending the duration of prosecution. In an email Tuesday evening, Racine County DA Patricia Hanson told The Journal Times: The investigative reports and relevant video has been delivered to my office. Delays at the crime lab still have me waiting on additional evidence. No video will be released until my decision on charges is made, and then the family will see it first and express an opinion on its release. Neither the DAs Office nor the DOJ has said exactly when the state investigation concluded and when the case was referred to the District Attorneys Office. When asked to provide a date, Standley, on Tuesday, said: roughly two weeks ago. Natasha Mullen, Kings sister who is acting as the spokesperson for his family, told a reporter in a text message Sunday that we keep getting the run around from authorities. Mullen had sent the text in reply to a question from a reporter, who asked if the family had heard anything from police or other authorities in the last couple weeks about the investigation? Kings family and other supporters have repeatedly called for the video to be released. During a march attended by more than 100 June 9, protesters chanted Release the footage! on the steps of the Racine County Courthouse. Lack of timely precedent The timing of the release of body camera footage of critical incidents remains sporadic nationwide. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, Colorado requires footage to be released to the public within 21 days after a complaint is received, but that can be increased to 45 days if footage could compromise an investigation. Most U.S. governments have no such mandate and set no deadlines. In Akron, Ohio, after 25-year-old Jayland Walker allegedly fired a gun during a vehicular pursuit with police before fleeing on foot unarmed and was shot about 60 times by multiple police officers June 27, some video showing the shooting was released seven days after Walkers death. Protests were already underway in Akron after that shooting, and have continued afterward with a nighttime curfew being enforced in the city. In Racine County, it took three months and three days between when a Mount Pleasant police officer shot and killed 18-year-old TyRese West on June 15, 2019, and the investigative reports becoming public which occurred when the DAs Office decided not to charge the officer. No video is known to exist from that shooting. On Jan. 6, 2022, the Racine County District Attorneys Office decided not to file charges against the Racine County Jail employees involved in the death of Malcolm James, the man who died June 1, 2021 a more than seven-month gap. However, within weeks of James death, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling released a snippet of body camera footage from prior to James death. The video showed James hitting his head against the wall of his cell during a mental health crisis. James family questioned the release of that video. Bishop Tavis Grant, a civil rights organizer supporting the James family, in January accused Schmaling of painting a false narrative of what happened that night with the video, since none of the medical experts who weighed in on the case believed the actions shown in the video had anything to do with James cause of death. South Africa: KZN unveils land parcels for flood victims The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has unveiled the land parcels that have been secured and linked to each mass care centre, as part of a programme to get the flood victims lives back to normal and give them back their dignity. Giving the latest update on the provincial government's response to the floods disaster, which battered the province in May, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala unveiled a programme to rehouse flood victims who have lost homes and are still housed in mass care centres. Zikalala said the provincial government is now in the third stage of its response, which is to focus on rehabilitation and reconstruction. This includes the construction and repair of major infrastructure, as well as the construction of houses in suitably located areas with measures to protect the residents of affected areas from such adverse weather events in the future. Eight sites identified to build temporary homes Zikalala said there are currently eight sites identified to build Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) in eThekwini Municipality, with three in the North Region and five in the West Region. As part of the first phase, Zikalala said the provincial government is at a stage to start the delivery of 1 074 TRUs, which will include ablution. He added that the service providers have also been appointed and a major shift in relocating people from shelters is expected. The province has 84 mass care centres of which 44 have already been linked with a possible land parcel. Detailed assessments on the 44 recommended properties are complete and are due to be released by the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure through Power of Attorney from one department to the other. Preliminary engineering design processes are underway for all sites. All designs are in line with the permanent solution. The City [Durban] on its part is required to play its role in the installation of services to connect proposed TRUs with the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Department, Zikalala said. R2bn projects identified to return displaced communities to normal lives Meanwhile, the Premier announced that the Department of Human Settlements has identified projects worth R2 127 542 632.24 as necessary to return the displaced families back to normal lives. The department has reprioritised R515 975 906.24 from its own allocated funds. This however means that the province requires an additional R1 611 566 726 in order to complete the process of rehousing all the identified communities that are currently staying in mass care centres mainly in the eThekwini Metro. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-07-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Trend Turkiye and Italy have signed nine bilateral cooperation agreements in several areas, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after he and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi held the third intergovernmental summit between the two countries, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah. In his speech in the Italian Senate in May, Draghi commented on his plan to travel to Turkey and the purpose of his visit, stating: "I will be in Ankara for the bilateral summit with Turkiye at the beginning of July, the first such summit to be held in 10 years. At this meeting, we will discuss the negotiation and diplomatic possibilities of the conflict in Ukraine and the strengthening of relations between Italy and Turkiye." According to a statement released by Draghi's office before his trip to Turkiye, "The meeting is part of the comprehensive revitalization of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, which is already very intense on various fronts. Especially after the start of the war in Ukraine, the contacts between the foreign ministries of the two countries continue uninterrupted." The intergovernmental summit between Italy and Turkiye had been held twice before, in 2008 and 2012. Italy's ministers of foreign affairs, interior, defense, economic development and ecological transformation also attend the summit being held for the third time in Ankara. At the summit, international agenda items such as the situation in Ukraine, the related food crisis and Libya will be discussed. In addition, migrant boats arriving from Turkey to Italy will also be among the priority issues. The Italian government has stated that in 2021, the number of migrants arriving in Italy via Turkiye from the Eastern Mediterranean route more than tripled. In the intergovernmental meeting, it was stated that the sides plan to sign agreements and memorandums of understanding in many areas, from sustainable development to the recognition of driving licenses, and that Rome and Ankara aim to cooperate in an array of fields, from foreign relations and defense to supporting micro, small and medium enterprises. Draghi's office emphasized that Rome has been working for many years to encourage the adoption of a constructive approach towards Turkiye within the EU, adding that the summit in Ankara is an important opportunity to strengthen the dialogue with Europe. On a mid-June weekend, Raquel Urbina made seven trips to Milwaukee-area grocery stores in search of the hypoallergenic baby formula she needs to feed her 10-month-old daughter. She had little time to spare. Her monthly supplemental nutrition benefits through the states Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program were set to expire in a few days. On that Sunday, she finally succeeded in what felt like a treasure hunt. She found four cans of Reckitt Mead Johnsons Enfamil Nutramigen formula at a Walmart in Greenfield, about 10 miles from her home. Stressful hunts for baby formula have dominated life for months for millions of parents and caregivers who rely on it to feed their children. The formula shortage resulted from pandemic-related supply chain issues and two shutdowns of an Abbott Nutrition plant in Sturgis, Michigan first amid an investigation into reports of bacterial infections and more recently due to flooding. Federal rules require WIC programs to choose one vendor to provide formula, and Abbott is the sole supplier in most states. The shortage affects parents of all backgrounds, but Urbina and others who navigate formula purchases through WIC face particular challenges. Not all retailers accept WIC, and before parents try to find formula in stores, they must first confirm which products the state allows them to buy with their benefits. Quote Im not given options. Im not given alternatives. Raquel Urbina Options limited in WIC Under Wisconsins contract with Abbott that began in 2021, WIC participants can normally spend their benefits only on five Abbott-manufactured Similac formulas unless they request a special medical formula. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services, which administers WIC, allowed parents to purchase other brands and sizes of formula soon after Abbotts recall, but even locating scarce substitutes has proved difficult. Some parents have formed online communities to help, including the Milwaukee Formula Parents Facebook group, of which Urbina is an administrator. She helps approve posts in the group, where more than 3,000 members swap tips, offer up extra cans and post photos of grocery store aisles to alert parents about what is in stock. Activity in the group suggests that Nutramigen remains especially hard to find. That complicates life for Urbina, who switched brands at her doctors suggestion following Abbotts recall of certain cans of Similac Alimentum, which she previously used. But the only state-approved alternatives for Nutramigen are larger-sized containers, not different brands which Urbina didnt learn until weeks after the substitutes were announced. Had she remained on the Abbott brand, she would have more options. It was discouraging, because as much as I understand that Similac parents were affected, I was a Similac parent at one point and so I had to switch to Nutramigen. And now Im affected as well, Urbina said. Im not given options. Im not given alternatives. Roots of a crisis How could one plants troubles so severely crimp the nations infant formula supply? The challenges are rooted in the markets consolidation, WIC officials and experts say. With one manufacturing plant being closed for a few weeks, it should not have this scale of a threat to the supply that our parents are facing right now, said Camen Haessig, who chairs the Wisconsin WIC Association and directs the Wood County Health Departments WIC program. States began signing exclusive contracts with formula providers decades ago to secure large rebates a trend that began amid worries about rising formula costs. Three companies hold the contracts across all states to provide formula through WIC, which accounts for about half of all infant formula purchases in the country. Abbott, which did not respond to requests for comment, exclusively provides formula to WIC programs in two-thirds of states. Reckitt Mead Johnson and Gerber serve the remaining states. While consolidation in the formula market existed before the contract system, smaller companies have found it difficult to compete. The ripple effects from Abbotts disruption illustrate the markets vulnerabilities, prompting policymakers to consider how to prevent a future crisis. Exclusive contracts bring savings and risk Since 1989, the federal government has required states to pick one formula provider for WIC or find an alternative way to save equally on costs. States continue to choose a single provider, thus limiting choices for enrollees. They award contracts to the manufacturer who bids the lowest net price: the wholesale formula price minus rebates for each container of standard formula that WIC families purchase. The rebates enable Wisconsin to serve all eligible enrolled participants without a waiting list. For more than 20 years WIC has not turned away eligible applicants or put them on a waiting list due to lack of funds, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive-leaning think tank. In Wisconsin, about 84,000 people participated in WIC in April. Nutritional risk, household size and income level help determine eligibility: a Wisconsin family of two making up to $33,874 annually can qualify, under DHS most recent standards. In 2021, the state saved $20.3 million in rebates through the contract with Abbott. Nationwide, yearly savings from rebates are around $1.6 billion, supporting one in four participants each month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Even manufacturers who offer the most generous rebates benefit from the state contracts, which increase their brands visibility, reputation and availability giving products more shelf space and even increasing sales to parents not enrolled in WIC. Abbott offers Wisconsin a range of rebates, up to 134% of the wholesale price for the powdered form of Similac Advance, a basic formula. The company is also giving discounts some as high as 186% on substitutes through Aug. 31. But alongside the economic benefits of rebates, the current shortage illustrates that exclusive contracts have posed a lot of challenges, Haessig said. When few companies with highly centralized operations command the overwhelming majority of the domestic infant formula supply, a single plant being shuttered for a few weeks can have catastrophic effects, DHS spokesperson Elizabeth Goodsitt wrote in response to emailed questions. Changing the bidding process could give participants more options, Goodsitt wrote, but the financial trade off is unknown. Experts warn that abandoning exclusive contracts could increase program costs and jeopardize the states ability to serve everyone who is eligible. Splitting out some of the contract or allowing a second company to join in the bid could help diversify the industry, said Steven Abrams, a professor of pediatrics at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. But I think everyones got to be honest, its going to cost money because companies are unlikely to give the same level of rebates, Abrams said. Investigating consolidation, preventing future shortages Federal officials have voiced concerns about the infant formula industrys lack of competition and supply vulnerabilities. The Federal Trade Commission in May launched an inquiry of issues such as the effects of state WIC contracts on the formula market, families experiences purchasing formula through WIC and the impact of mergers and acquisitions. The FTC said it will evaluate the results of its inquiry with the USDA to consider policies that boost market resilience. The agency also investigated the formula industry in the early 1990s. A district court ruled in Abbotts favor after the FTC sued the company, alleging that it conspired with others to rig the bid for Puerto Ricos contract. Two other companies gave the federal government 3.6 million pounds of formula through a settlement of lesser complaints. In its new inquiry, FTC solicited public input for a month and received just over 300 comments through late June, with multiple suggesting re-examining bidding practices. Allowing WIC to contract with more than one company would benefit the program, the Wisconsin WIC Association commented. The National WIC Association called for stronger, more uniform terms in contracts to ensure that manufacturers are prepared when supply challenges arise. In May, President Joe Biden signed the Access to Baby Formula Act, which requires new or renewed WIC contracts to include a manufacturers contingency plans for recalls, including how a manufacturer would protect WIC participants from disruptions. But that protection wont immediately affect Wisconsins WIC program, whose contract isnt up for renewal until 2026. Goodsitt said DHS is exploring intermediate steps, such as amending the contract to include contingency plans. When its rigid, it breaks While the formula substitutions will be available at least through August, advocates hope that WIC will extend flexibilities for other foods and services that the federal government allowed during the pandemic. WIC has rapidly adapted within months to ensure formula access during the shortage, the National WIC Association wrote to the FTC. This significant shift in program services must translate to long-term stability. Aside from infant formula, nutritional services and health care referrals, WIC provides access to fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods. During the pandemic, the federal waivers allowed Wisconsin to widen food access, including to milk with any fat content and different bread and juice sizes. The pandemic showed that people needed flexibility to access needed nutrition, said Maureen Fitzgerald, vice president of government relations for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. WIC is a very prescriptive program. It is great for new moms and babies to get the nutrition that they need. But its also sometimes difficult because you have to have the specific brand and you have to have the specific size of that brand, Fitzgerald said. When its rigid, it breaks, frequently. And thats what happened. During future emergencies, disasters and supply chain disruptions, the Access to Baby Formula Act allows USDA to adjust WIC program requirements, as long as the changes maintain nutritional quality. USDA has extended most pandemic waivers until 90 days after the national public health emergency expires, which is expected to continue past mid-July. The National WIC Association wants flexibilities to continue including allowing participants to enroll or re-enroll via phone or video. USDA early in the pandemic waived a physical presence requirement for applicants in all states. A bipartisan proposal in Congress to allow remote appointments permanently has yet to receive a hearing. Having those flexibilities has been so important for our families to be able to find our WIC items, because it is so specific, Haessig said. We are advocating and hoping that those will be extended. Theres a lot going on and going through Congress right now to advocate for those changes. Resources available during the infant formula shortage The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has a list of tips available (dhs.wisconsin.gov/news/releases/051922.htm) for households navigating the formula shortage. Those include checking smaller stores and drug stores for formula. DHS also warns against watering down formula to make it last longer. Camen Haessig, who chairs the Wisconsin WIC Association, said families should not make their own formula or feed infants cows or goats milk before age one. If families do have questions about feeding their infants, they should reach out to their pediatrician or their WIC clinic, Haessig said. I just worry and wonder about all the families that are hearing misinformation that arent reaching out. WIC also provides breastfeeding support, including offering peer counselors and access to breast pumps. More information about breastfeeding is available through DHS (dhs.wisconsin.gov/wic/breastfeeding) and the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (bfmed.org/statement-on-shortage-of-breastmilk-substitutes) The current list of WIC substitutes is available at dhs.wisconsin.gov/wic/formula-substitutions.pdf Find additional information and resources, including how to find formula and access breastfeeding support services at wisconsinwatch.org/?p=1269911 The nonprofit Wisconsin Watch (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates. This article first appeared on WisconsinWatch.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. In an opinion delivered Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin ruled in favor of Chrystul Kizer, the now-21-year-old accused of killing the Kenosha man who had been sex trafficking her and other girls. No one disputes that Kizer in June 2018 shot and killed Randall Volar III, who authorities say was soon to be arrested for sex crimes against children prior to his death. Kizer's defense team has aimed to build a defense around the allegations that Volar had abused and trafficked Kizer, a defense the Kenosha County District Attorney's Office has aimed to disallow by appealing a Court of Appeals decision to the Supreme Court. The defense had initially been disallowed by a Kenosha County Circuit Court judge, but the Court of Appeals overturned that decision. But now, in the 4-3 decision delivered Wednesday morning, the state's high court has ruled in favor of Kizer. As such, she will be able to use "an affirmative defense for any offense committed as a direct result" of having been trafficked at her upcoming trial. In an atypical vote for the state's high court, three liberal-backed justices were joined by conservative-backed Justice Rebecca Bradley in the majority opinion. Dissenting were three conservative-backed justices, including Justice Brian Hagedorn, the most common swing vote of the seven justices. 1. Yes. After what happened in Uvalde, its important to have that level of security. 2. Yes. The district should start a program to recruit and train qualified officers for the job. 3. No. With 50 KISD campuses, the additional cost to taxpayers would be unacceptable. 4. No. It would be too hard to achieve. Just keep the current practice of rotating officers. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say without knowing how such a program would be instituted.. Vote View Results By Trend India and Mozambique on Monday reviewed the multi-faceted bilateral relationship including political exchanges, development partnership projects, defence and security cooperation during the second round of Foreign Office Consultations held here, Trend reports citing Business Standard. The Indian side was led by Puneet R. Kundal, Joint Secretary (East & Southern Africa) and the Mozambican side was led by Ismael Valigy, Director for Asia and Oceania in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique. An External Affairs Ministry release said the two sides also exchanged views on global developments and issues of common interest including cooperation in the United Nations, South African Development Cooperation (SADC)and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). India and Mozambique sides agreed to enhance people-to-people exchanges, and cultural cooperation. "During the FOC, both delegations reviewed the multi-faceted bilateral relationship, covering political exchanges, development partnership projects, defence and security cooperation, trade and economic matters, consular issues, and cooperation in areas such as agriculture, sports, health," it said. The Indian side congratulated Mozambique on its election to the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for 2023-24.Both sides also agreed to continue high-level political exchanges and regular meetings of the joint institutional mechanisms to keep the "partnership vibrant and mutually beneficial". The release said that talks were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The two sides agreed to hold the next round of consultations at mutually convenient dates in Maputo. KEARNEY - Hundreds of Career and Technical Education educators and administrators from across the state came together for the 2022 Nebraska Career Education Conference hosted in June in Kearney. Winners of the Excellence in Career and Technical Education Awards were recognized as outstanding Nebraska Career and Technical Education programs and business partnerships. Younes Hospitality won the NCE Outstanding Business Partnership Award and Tennille Allison, KHS Career College and Career Readiness Coordinator won the CTE Business, Marketing and Management Award. This professional learning opportunity kicked off with a welcome by Nebraskas Commissioner of Education Dr. Matthew Blomstedt, State Board of Education Member Kirk Penner and Deputy Director of Economic Development Dan Curran. Author, educator and advocate, Dr. Kevin Fleming, delivered an engaging and inspiring keynote presentation. Through three days, conference participants selected from more than 100 breakout sessions where they had the opportunity to collaborate, engage, learn and reconnect with CTE colleagues to advance their high-quality CTE programs. Local, state and national leaders presented on various topics focused on ensuring all students have equitable access to high quality CTE programs and teaching strategies to engage learners. Winners of the Excellence in Career and Technical Education Awards were recognized as outstanding Nebraska Career and Technical Education programs and business partnerships. More information about each award as well as the award recipient biographies can be found at www.education.ne.gov/nce/nebraska-career-education-conference/awards/. Over the years, museum staff and volunteers have heard a few stories about people seeing hundreds of bats swooping in and out of the museums chimney in the evening. While its true that the museum does have the occasional bat, the hundreds of creatures seen flying around are actually chimney swifts, a bird species that likes to roost in big old chimneys. Originally the birds used hollow trees, but as these trees have been cut down, the species has learned to use chimneys instead. But now the big old brick chimneys are disappearing too, so what the museum has is something special. We will celebrate the chimney swift with our first ever Swift Night Out this Saturday, July 9, at 8 p.m., in the museum parking lot. The event is free, and everyone is welcome to attend. Barb Duerksen of the Wisconsin Society of Ornithology will speak briefly about chimney swifts beginning at 8 p.m., and then, between 8:30 and 9 p.m., well sit in the parking lot and look up at the sky to watch the swifts return for the night. Popcorn will be available for purchase. Bring a lawn chair to sit on. To learn more about chimney swifts, stop by our display in the community window on Main Street in Viroqua. The window is located just south of Citizens First Bank. The display will be up all during July. You can also learn more about the swifts from the new sign posted next to the museum parking lot. The next meeting of the genealogy class will be on Thursday, July 14, at 10 a.m., in the museums conference room. Karen Sherry will talk about 14 steps to help break through a brick wall. A brick wall in genealogy is a research problem that you cant solve because you cant find the information. If it feels like a brick wall is separating you from learning more about a particular ancestor or family line, maybe because you cant find any record of who the ancestors parents were or where the ancestor was born, then this class is for you. New students are always welcome at the genealogy classes. Members of the Vernon County Historical Society attend for free, and non-members are asked to pay $5. The See Viroqua exhibit is now on display in the conference room at the museum. Stop by during regular museum hours of Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to view the five original posters and the artist biographies, which we have paired with museum objects that highlight some of the themes presented in the posters. The morning sun has broken the ridgetop and started sending beams through the trees, creating a halo around our tobacco shed. After I finished making a pot of coffee, I went outside in the early cool and nearly gnat free air. I turned off the dog alarm, watered the hanging baskets and patio tomato plant, and fed the furry beggars circling my feet. I came in and fixed a Killer Daves toast with a fried egg, a Johnsonville sausage strip, and a slice of sharp cheddar cheese for Ellen. We barely finished our first cup of coffee and El had cleaned up the kitchen. Then she went out and watered her plants, jellied her orioles and filled the bird feeder. Bo, OC and I are staying out of her way, sitting in the shade on the porch, taking advantage of the cool breeze for a bit. I should be on a bike ride I guess, but I did at least 10 miles three days in a row, so I am resting my legs this morning. So far the only exercise I am getting besides typing, is waving some gnats away. We went grocery shopping after breakfast, driving down the coulee to Stoddard and then to La Crosse. It is worth noting that at the Clements home farm place, a landscaper has finally filled in the basements of the two homes that were there when it was a working farm. Good to see the holes filled in, but sad to remember the families lived there and moved on. Just down the road, the farmhouse at the Miller Place is finally just a foundation. The old farmhouse has been empty for a long time. Horstmans, the owners for many years, built a new home on the place. Now, after a few weeks of deconstruction of a home that was there since way back in the day is nearly complete. I used to visit with Elmer Miller and/or his son Arnie occasionally. El and I helped Elmer round up his dairy cows a couple of times. Elmer would walk/herd his dozen or so milk cows up the coulee road and guide them into fresh pasture. He once told me a story of how when he was a kid, his family made hay in Goose Island Park. He said he remembered riding in a horse-drawn wagon to Goose Island with his grandmother. He said they would catch panfish and he helped her prepare a fried fish meal for the haying crew. Elmer died in 1993 at 93. His son Arnie, who seemed to be always painting the house, passed away in 2003. Visits with them are good memories for me. This afternoon we had company; our friend and neighbor Will Bietlich dropped by to visit, check his crops near our house, and pay the first rent. He said the corn has surpassed the old knee-high by the Fourth of July adage that farmers nationwide use to assess the condition of their corn crops. We talked about our kids including Justin, Wills youngest who is getting married in September and his grandson Austin who is doing a summer internship with John Deere, traveling in the west. We discussed all the road construction in the area, the many does with twin fawns weve been seeing, some of the many cars we have had, and the cost of fuel to farm. The Beitlichs have a semi they use for hauling crops to market; it cost a $1,000 to fill the tanks recently. Anyway, we passed on politics as a topic of discussion. Until next time, get out El and I read together most nights and last night we finished the first section of John Grishams Sparring Partners. It was interesting enough until we realized that it is three basically disconnected novelettes. Like I always remembered of summers, things are slow and easy here. I hope you are finding some of that feeling too. Enjoy. MENOMONIE Jack Nielsen, aged 101 years and two months, passed away at Mayo Clinic Health System-Red Cedar in Menomonie, Wisconsin, on June 28, 2022. John Jack Henry Nielsen was born on April 14, 1921, in Minneapolis to Evelyn Dorothy (Olson) and Charles Edward DeGrace. He grew up in rural Knapp, Wisconsin, where he moved with his mother and sister MaryJane when he was about 6. His mother married Gustav Marinus Nielsen in 1927, and they raised a family of four children (Jack as the eldest son, MaryJane, Margaret and Clifford). He attended school at Knapp and ultimately graduated from Menomonie High School in 1939. Jack was a World War II veteran having served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. He was often described as a hard-working man, a mechanic, a truck driver and a farmer. Despite all the times that he told his children otherwise, we just know that he never really played for the White Sox. He loved to travel perhaps beginning with a trip he remembered fondly where he hitchhiked to Washington state in the early 1940s with a friend from Knapp. He enjoyed nice cars, very proud of his first car, which was a 1937 Graham Supercharged Coupe. He once described Christmas as his favorite holiday and specified it was about family and well, the food. Jack married Evelyn Violet Johnson on July 15, 1953, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Together they raised eight children: Lynda (Doug) Kozak, Sarah (Jack) Clark, David, Douglas (Jan), Donald (Karen), Bonnie (Tom) Wehler, Steven (Betty), and Karen (Joe) Traynor. The family lived on a farm just west of Knapp. Having his family together in large groups or small, spending time talking, laughing and telling stories (see White Sox comment) brought him joy. He loved to deer hunt, to read and spent time fishing with his children and grandchildren. He had a great sense of humor and was proud of his family. Jack is survived by his children; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; and great-great-grandchildren; plus many nieces; nephews; and friends. He is also survived by brothers-in law: Don Mills and Joe Leverty; and sisters-in-law: Betty Nielsen and Margaret Holzhueter. He leaves behind a very special friend and partner, Mildred Close. Jack was preceded in death by his wife, Evelyn; parents; brother; and sisters. The family held a graveside service at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 2, 2022, in Forest Hill Cemetery, Township of Stanton, Dunn County, with Pastor Paul Foulke officiating. A celebration of life is being planned for a later date. Olson Funeral Home in Menomonie is serving the family. To share a memory, please visit obituaries at www.olsonfuneral.com. This historic monument is developing, one sculpture at a time, to illustrate the deep history and prehistory of this confluence region where the Wisconsin River meets the great Mississippi. You may view more about the park and future sculptures planned at mississippiriversculpturepark.com. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Attorneys hoping to save an Obama-era program that prevents the deportation of thousands of people brought into the U.S. as children told a federal appeals court Wednesday that ending the program would cruelly disrupt the lives of thousands who have grown up to become tax-paying, productive drivers of the U.S. economy. An attorney for the state of Texas, leading an effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals program, argued that DACA recipients have cost the state hundreds of millions in health care and other costs. The dueling views at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans were exchanged as more than 100 DACA supporters held signs, beat drums and chanted outside of the courthouse. They called for preservation of the program that protects more than 600,000 people from deportation, and a path to citizenship for immigrants. I am undocumented, and I will speak out today, said Woojung Diana Park, 22, of New York. She said she was brought to the U.S. as a 1-year-old from South Korea. DACA, she said, is the bare minimum that the U.S. government has offered immigrant communities after decades of fighting for basic human rights. A federal judge in Texas last year declared DACA illegal although he agreed to leave the program intact for those already benefiting from it while his order is appealed. The U.S. Justice Department defended the program, allied with the state of New Jersey, advocacy organizations such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and a coalition of dozens of powerful corporations including Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft which argue that DACA recipients are employees, consumers and job creators. Texas, joined by eight other Republican-leaning states, argues that DACA was enacted without going through proper legal and administrative procedures, including public notice and comment periods. Additionally, the states argue that they are harmed financially by allowing immigrants to remain in the country illegally. DACA proponents argued that the program falls within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's power to prioritize enforcement. DHS has limited resources, argued Brian Boynton of the Justice Department. Its unable to remove 11 million people in the country. It has to decide who it's going to target first. In court and in briefs, DACA backers have argued that Texas diminished its claims of financial injury by waiting six years to challenge the program. They also said the state ignores evidence that DACA recipients decrease Texas' costs because many of them hold jobs with health insurance benefits, own homes and pay property taxes that support schools. In addition, they claimed that Texas hasn't shown DACA recipients would leave the state if the program were struck down. That point was met with skepticism by Judge James Ho, who noted that in a survey included with New Jersey's legal arguments, more than 20% of DACA recipients said they were likely to leave if the program were abolished. Boynton argued that the respondents answers were merely speculative and supporters of the program, in briefs, have questioned the methodology of the survey. But Ho again questioned whether the responses should be dismissed. This is a question about, literally, your entire life, Ho told Boynton. This is a pretty profound question to get wrong. Judd Stone, arguing for the state of Texas, said the state has shown that it expends millions of dollars on DACA recipients and that the end of the program would lead to some of those who receive that money leaving the state. There is no evidence showing that either of those numbers are zero, Stone said. In court briefs and in news conferences in New Orleans and South Carolina on Wednesday, DACA supporters pressed the argument that ending DACA would have devastating consequences for immigrants who have only known the United States as their home. Im a father of a 10-year-old, so getting DACA rescinded would put me in limbo of not knowing if Im going to take my son to his next football game, Yahel Flores, a DACA recipient and the Carolinas state director of the American Business Immigration Coalition, told reporters on a Zoom call. In a court brief, DACA supporters said program beneficiaries are parents of over a quarter-million U.S. citizens, and 70% of DACA recipients have an immediate family member who is a U.S. citizen." DACA has faced numerous court challenges since then-President Barack Obama created it by executive order in 2012. Former President Donald Trump moved to end the program. But a U.S. Supreme Court decision determined that he had not done it properly, bringing it back to life and allowing for new applications. That was followed by the Texas-led lawsuit. Assigned to hear arguments at the 5th Circuit were Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, an appointee of President George W. Bush; and two Trump appointees, Ho and Judge Kurt Engelhardt. Associated Press reporter James Pollard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Col-Gen Zakir Hasanov attended the opening of the Defense Ministry's Communications, Information Technologies, and Cybersecurity Main Department's Cybersecurity Operations Center on July 5, Azernews reports. Chief of the Main Department Maj-Gen Mammad Eminov briefed the minister on the operation of the facility, which was outfitted with advanced automatic control systems. He stated that the center, which was outfitted with cutting-edge technology, would maintain cybersecurity by continuously monitoring and controlling the Azerbaijan army's information and communication technologies environment. It was stressed that the center will conduct constant monitoring and administration of information and communication technologies, as well as command and control systems. Threat identification in real-time mode, digital investigations, electronic security checks, and other actions based on modern cybersecurity methods in developed nations will be also performed, the report added. In the end, Hasanov has assigned necessary duties to the command staff in order to significantly strengthen the Azerbaijan Army's cybersecurity opportunities. WASHINGTON (AP) Foreign ministers from the worlds largest nations are looking to address the war in Ukraine and its impact on global energy and food security when they meet in Indonesia this week. Yet instead of providing unity, the talks may well exacerbate existing divides over the Ukraine conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are set to attend the Group of 20 meeting in the Indonesian resort of Bali, which will set the stage for a summit of G-20 leaders at the same venue in November. It will mark the first time Blinken and Lavrov have been in the same room, let alone the same city, since January. Theres no indication the two will meet separately, but even without a one-on-one with Lavrov, Blinken could find himself in some difficult discussions. The State Department announced Tuesday that Blinken will hold separate talks with Wang at a time when already extremely tense U.S.-China relations have been worsened by Beijing's friendly ties with Moscow. And, unlike in recent leader-level meetings with NATO partners and other like-minded partners, Blinken will find himself among diplomats from countries wary of the U.S. approach to Ukraine and concerned about its impact on them. U.S. officials say that aside from Wang, Blinken will have bilateral talks in Bali with counterparts from countries that have not seen eye to eye with the West on the Russian invasion, notably India, which has increased purchases of Russian oil even as the U.S. and Europe have tried to choke off that revenue stream for Moscow. In announcing that Blinken would meet with Wang in Bali, the State Department had little to say about the possibility of him seeing Lavrov, whom the U.S. has shunned since the Ukraine invasion in February. The department said there would not be a formal meeting between Blinken and Lavrov, whom U.S. officials accuse of a lack of seriousness before, during and after the invasion of Ukraine. We would like to see the Russians be serious about diplomacy, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. We have not seen that yet. We would like to have the Russians give us a reason to meet on a bilateral basis with them, with Foreign Minister Lavrov, but the only thing we have seen emanate from Moscow is more brutality and aggression against the people and country of Ukraine. The Biden administration maintains there can be no business as usual with Moscow as long as the war continues. But neither Price nor other U.S. officials could rule out the possibility of a chance Blinken-Lavrov encounter in Bali, which would be their first since they last met in Geneva in January. Price declined to discuss what he called the choreography of the G-20. Like almost all recent international diplomatic gatherings, the Bali meeting will be overshadowed by Ukraine. But unlike the Western-dominated G-7 and NATO summits held in Europe last week, the G-20 will have a different flavor. China and many other participants, including India, South Africa and Brazil, have resisted signing onto U.S. and European full-throated opposition to Russias invasion. Some have outright refused Western entreaties to join condemnations of the conflict, which the U.S. and its allies see as an attack on the international rules-based order that has prevailed since the end of World War II. Thus, there may be difficulty in achieving a G-20 consensus on efforts to mitigate the food and energy impacts of the Ukraine conflict, particularly with China and Russia in the room. That will not stop the U.S. from trying, according to American officials. They want to see the G-20 put its weight behind a U.N.-backed initiative to free up some 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain for export mainly to the Middle East, Africa and Asia. We would like the G-20 to hold Russia accountable and insist that it support this initiative, said Ramin Toloui, the assistant secretary of state for Economic and Business Affairs. While a variety of nations, including G-20 host Indonesia, are pushing for Russia to ease its blockade in the Black Sea to allow grain to enter the global market, they remain wary of antagonizing Moscow and its friends in Beijing. And that divergence has set the stage for a potentially contentious preparatory meeting ahead of November's G-20 summit amid questions about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend. The U.S. has made clear it does not believe Putin should attend but has urged Indonesia to invite Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy should the Russian leader participate. In the meantime, the U.S. and China are separately at severe odds over numerous issues ranging from trade and human rights to Taiwan and disputes in the South China Sea. Blinken's meeting with Wang was announced after Chinas trade envoy with Washington expressed concern about U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports in a call with with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Neither side gave any indication that progress has been made on the matter and U.S. officials downplayed the chances for any breakthroughs in the short term. In his meeting with Wang, U.S. officials said Blinken would instead be pressing to keep lines of communications open and creating guardrails to guide the world's two largest economies as they navigate increasingly complex and potentially explosive matters. Its absolutely critical that we have open lines of communication with our Chinese counterparts, particularly at the senior level ... to ensure that we prevent any miscalculation that could lead inadvertently to conflict and confrontation, said Daniel Kritenbrink, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia. Toddler Aiden McCarthy was found wandering alone in the chaotic aftermath of Mondays mass shooting in Highland Park as strangers sought to reunite him with his family. Tuesday it emerged that the parents of 2-year-old Aiden, Irina and Kevin McCarthy, were among the seven people killed when gunfire erupted at the start of the local Fourth of July parade. Aidens grandfather, Michael Levberg, told the Tribune on Tuesday that he was eventually reunited with his grandson after Aiden was taken to the local police station. When I picked him up, he said, Are Mommy and Daddy coming soon? Levberg said Tuesday evening. He doesnt understand. Seated on the front lawn with two friends in front of the familys two-story brick Highland Park home under darkening storm clouds, Levberg, 65, talked about his daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Irina, 35, was born in Moscow and moved with her family to Chicago when she was 2 years old. They later moved to Highland Park, where she grew up and returned to raise her own family, Levberg said. Irina and Kevin, 37, met while working together at Physicians Interactive in the northern suburbs, Levberg said, and got married about five years ago. They bought their Highland Park home in 2018, according to sales records. His son-in-law had recently promised to take him on a sailing trip to Ireland for his birthday, Levberg said through tears. Levberg said the whole family will be taking care of Aiden, but the 2-year old is still waiting for his mom and dad to come home. He doesnt know, Levberg said. He doesnt realize it. The other victims of the shooting ranged in age from 8 to 85 years old. Among those who died were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Jacki Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88, all of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico. Officials have not yet released the name of the seventh victim. A person who set up a fundraising site for the family wrote: The North Shore community rallied to help a boy we knew nothing about. We took him to safety under tragic circumstances, came together to locate his grandparents and prayed for the safety of his family. Within three hours of the fundraiser going live, donors had contributed nearly $850,000. Kevin McCarthy graduated with a bachelor of science in finance in 2011, and Irina McCarthy earned a bachelor of science in finance in 2009, DePaul University spokesman Russell Dorn said. Kevin Nicholson dropped out of the gubernatorial race Tuesday after facing an uphill battle within the Republican field against a Donald Trump-endorsed candidate, a former lieutenant governor and polls that favored his opponents. Nicholsons only path forward would be running a negative campaign blasting his opponents, a strategy he doesnt want to engage in, the former Marine said in a statement Tuesday. Nicholson a Republican management consultant who previously ran for the U.S. Senate but lost the primary in 2018 said he will not endorse any of the Republican gubernatorial candidates before the Aug. 9 primary. Those candidates are businessman Tim Michels, former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport. The winner will face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Nov. 8. I will whole heartily support the nominee on August 10th and will work to get Republicans up and down the ballot elected, Nicholson said in a statement Tuesday. Our fight is not over, and I will continue to be engaged on the battlefield to elect conservative outsiders in the state of Wisconsin. A Marquette Law School Poll released two weeks ago found 10% of Republican primary voters favored Nicholson, far behind Michels at 27% and Kleefisch at 26%. Nicholson was only beating out Ramthun at 3%. Polling also found Evers held a slight edge in head-to-head matchups with each of the four. Nicholson announced his campaign in an interview with WTAQ in late January, describing an anti-establishment effort targeting both Democrats and entrenched Republicans. Since joining the race, Nicholson called for the end of traditions like the Republican Party of Wisconsins pre-primary election candidate endorsement process. We have had many highs over the last six months, and I am proud of what we have built, Nicholson said Tuesday. Ive traveled our state and heard from thousands of Wisconsinites who believe our society is off track, who want an outsider as their governor, and not someone from the Madison Machine. He also campaigned on anti-abortion policies before and after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, calling himself 100% pro-life. While he once supported abortion rights, Nicholson said in a survey that he would ban abortions in all cases. Asked whether he thought the 2020 election was stolen at a debate last week, Nicholson said, illegal conduct occurred, but Ill stop right there. Kevin Nicholson leaving the race only means that there is one less radical Republican in the gubernatorial primary, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Hannah Menchhoff said in a statement. Nicholson exposed deep divisions among Wisconsin Republicans who only want to move further to the right. Nicholson had received a hand from Fighting for Wisconsin, a super PAC registered as an independent expenditure committee that supported him with over $2 million for ads. But the ads werent enough for Nicholson to overcome Kleefisch, who ran a longer campaign, or Michels, a multimillionaire who received Trumps endorsement. Speaking to talk show host Mark Belling on WISN after his announcement Tuesday, Nicholson said, I was really trying to articulate why conservative ideas are going to help to get us out of the mess that were in, and encouraged the Republican gubernatorial candidates to follow that messaging. In the interview, Nicholson did not rule out running for office in the future. This race was better for him being in it, working as hard as he did, and pushing his outside message about the need to shake up the Madison machine, Michels said in a statement following the announcement, adding that hell work to earn the support of those loyal to Nicholson. Kleefisch on Twitter thanked Nicholson for the hearty debate and competition to make our state and movement better! Moving forward, I humbly ask Nicholsons supporters to join our team, Kleefisch said in a subsequent post. Ive taken on the Madison swamp before and won, and this fall, I will beat Tony Evers. Authorities said the accused shooter in Highland Park, Illinois became aware of a celebration in Madison and contemplated a second shooting here. Officials did not say which celebration Robert Crimo III was talking about, and there were a number of July 4th activities in the area Monday. Organizers of some of those events expressed frustration and sadness, over both the Highland Park shooting that killed seven and the possibility of the same thing happening here. I'm glad he was caught, and my sympathies to everyone who was impacted," said David Benforado, president of the Village of Shorewood Hills, who helped organize the village's celebrations. "People should be free to partake in regular, everyday community events like July 4th activities without the threat of someone killing them with an assault weapon." Shorewood Hills will look at its security measures for its Independence Day celebrations next year "over the next 12 months," Benforado said. In the interim, he called upon Congress to reinstate the federal assault weapons ban that stood in place from 1994 to 2004. At the Monona Community Festival, organizers and police remained in "constant contact" throughout the Fourth of July, said Eric Redding, the president of the festival. While the festival always works with the City of Monona and its police department and plans for a number of contingencies, Redding said organizers became "hypervigilant" after news of the Highland Park shooting emerged. "We live in the neighborhood in the grand scheme of things," Redding said. "Learning after the fact that he was (in Madison), I'm glad that law enforcement and everyone was thinking like that ... We felt as safe as possible because of that close relationship." The incident marked the first serious security concern the festival has ever faced, Redding said. Over the next year, organizers will look at extra precautions for the 2023 festival, he said. "It was definitely a little scary," he said. "These one-off situations that you hope never come around but you want to make sure are planned for ... I'm thankful that we spent the time to plan." News of the shooting in Highland Park reached James Latimer, director of the Capitol City Band, in the middle of their Tribute to the Troops Concert. "I almost broke down at the concert," he said. With the news of Crimo's trip to Madison, Latimer said he was further concerned. "Our fabrics have been shaken to the core. As I said at the concert, we have to do something," he said. "I try to be as careful as I can and tell others the same thing, but Im prepared for the fact that that kind of an incident can happen, anywhere, any time." Crimo came to Madison shortly after the shooting before driving back to Illinois, where police apprehended him, Christopher Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriffs Office, said Tuesday. At the time, police said, Crimo had a .40-caliber folding rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition in his car. At a later press conference on Wednesday, Covelli said Crimo didn't drive to Wisconsin intending to launch an attack there but considered it. He decided against it because he "didn't put enough thought and research into it," Covelli said. A number of celebrations took place in the Madison area on Monday. In Madison, Tribute to the Troops, a patriotic concert performed by the Capitol City Band, took place at Rennebohm Park. Inclement weather led organizers to cancel Fourth Fest 2022, a celebration at The Edgewater hotel. Monona's annual three-day Community Festival at Winnequah Park continued through Monday. In Waunakee, the village hosted WaunaBoom, a day of live music and free family activities. And in Shorewood Hills, celebrations stretched from 8:30 a.m. to sunset, including a parade. Madison's largest organized Independence Day celebration, Festival Foods Lights the Isthmus event at Breese Stevens Field, was held on Saturday, two days before the shooting. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov A delegation led by Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov paid another visit to the liberated territories on July 5, Azernews reports. The mission comprised Samir Nuriyev, the head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, as well as the Coordination Headquarters (created for the centralized resolution of issues in the liberated regions), and the leaders of other relevant state agencies. The delegation first paid tribute to the monument erected to honor the martyrs of the 44-day war in Tartar regions Sugovushan settlement. Later, the Sugovushan-1 hydropower station and the Sugovushan reservoir were inspected, Baba Rzayev, president of Azerenergy power company, and Zaur Mikayilov, chairman of Melioration and Water Management company, gave information about the work done in connection with the tasks set by the Azerbaijani president. Then, Azada Huseynova, deputy chairwoman of the State Tourism Agency, reported on the work done in connection with the tourism development concept. Chairman of Azarishiq power company, President of Canoe and Rowing Federation Vugar Ahmadov gave detailed information to the delegation about the implemented projects. The delegation also inspected the repair and restoration work carried out in private houses intended for tourism in Sugovushan settlement. The presidents special representative in the Karabakh economic region (except for Shusha region), Emin Huseynov made a presentation on the works carried out in the liberated territories. Members of the delegation also visited the liberated Talish village of Tartar. Chairman of the State Urban Planning and Architecture Committee Anar Guliyev spoke about the project of the village, and Azada Huseynova informed the delegation about the tourism development concept of the village worked out in line with the latest presidential instructions. During the tour to the Shahbulag Castle, information regarding the Shahbulag Tourism Complex project was shared. Later, those who had gone been to ANAMA's Agdam mobile field camp were acquainted with the camp and demining activities. Members of the group toured the digital control center of the Garabagh Regional Electricity Network in Agdam city, and subsequently, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov briefed the delegation on the work done in the Agdam Industrial Park. Members of the group were also shown around the construction site of the Agdam residential complex. Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Executive Director of the Foundation Anar Alakbarov gave detailed information about the work carried out in the Agdam Juma Mosque restored by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Later, Education Minister Emin Amrullayev introduced the delegation to the progress of the construction work carried out at secondary school No.1 in Agdam. At the end of the visit, the delegation got acquainted with the conditions created at the headquarters of the special representation of the Azerbaijani president in the liberated territories included in the Karabakh economic region (except for Shusha region). During the visit, appropriate instructions and recommendations were provided to the heads of the relevant institutions for all reconstruction and restoration activities, as well as infrastructure projects, to be carried out in line with President Ilham Aliyev's orders. NATOs 30 members have signed an agreement that permits Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. The agreement was signed Tuesday during a NATO meeting in Brussels. The action came after NATO representatives meeting last week in Spain officially invited Sweden and Finland to join. The legislatures in all alliance nations must approve the agreement before Sweden and Finland can be fully admitted into NATO. That process is expected to take up to a year. Sweden and Finland, however, will be able to take part in NATO meetings and will be given greater access to NATO intelligence information. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the signing "truly a historic moment." He added, "With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger." The move further separates Russia from Europe after its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February. Russia had repeatedly warned both countries against joining NATO. On March 12, Russias foreign ministry said if the move went forward, "there will be serious military and political consequences." Stoltenberg urged lawmakers in allied countries to quickly approve, or ratify, the agreement. "The security of Finland and Sweden is important for our alliance, including during the ratification process," he said. Experts say getting parliamentary approval in Turkey could be problematic, although Sweden, Finland and Turkey held talks on the matter last week in Spain. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Turkish legislators could block the process. The lawmakers are concerned about how Sweden and Finland will deal with Turkish demands to extradite people it considers terror suspects. Erdogan said this issue could lead Turkeys parliament to refuse to ratify the agreement. For the agreement to go into effect, all 30 member states must ratify it. Stoltenberg said he does not expect Turkey to reject the deal. There were security concerns that needed to be addressed. And we did what we always do at NATO. We found common ground, he said. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ___________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story access n. a way of getting at, near or to something consequence n. the result of an action or situation extradite v. to send a person who has been accused of a crime to another state or country for trial LEXINGTON The case of a Lexington man who said he heard, voices in his head, before shooting his mother twice has been sent to the district court. Tyson Garcia, now 22, has been charged with first-degree assault, a Class 2 felony, and use of a firearm to commit a felony, a Class 1C felony. Garcias attorney, public defender Kenneth Harbison, had filed for a psychological and competency evaluation which was granted. During a preliminary hearing on June 2, Dawson County Court Judge Jeffrey Wightman found probable cause to send Garcias case to the district court. District Court Judge James Doyle approved that Garcias May 31 psychological assessment and competency to stand trial evaluation conducted by Dr. Rebecca Schroeder be admitted into evidence. The evaluation found that Garcia is not competent to stand trial at the moment due to a mental condition, but may be so in the future with treatment. Garcia was placed in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Arraignment has been set for July 18 at 9:30 a.m. According to court documents, the Dawson County Sheriffs Office was dispatched to Road 434 on March 7. Garcia told the dispatcher he allegedly shot his mother after hearing voices in his head. Garcia was waiting on the front porch when law enforcement arrived and he was detained. The deputy entered the residence and saw a blood trail near the entrance. The mother was located and she said she had been doing her taxes when Garcia shot her twice. She was transported to Lexington Regional Health Center. Her condition was not made available. Garcia was then booked into the Dawson County Jail. LEXINGTON For the first time since late March, the Two Rivers Public Health Department COVID-19 risk dial was moved into the yellow moderate zone. The dial released last Thursday reflected an increase from the June 22 low level the dial has been in for the past several months. It reflects a steady rise in COVID-19 in recent weeks in certain areas and rising cases in people over the age of 60. Two Rivers said 593 cases of COVID have been recorded in the seven-county area since June 1, and the weekly positive test rate has tripled in the last six weeks. Over half of all COVID-19 tests conducted in Phelps County in the past month have been positive. That compares to 507 cases recorded in Two Rivers between May 25-June 22. During that time, 25 percent of COVID-19 tests at hospitals and clinics were positive. In the last week, 187 cases of COVID have been reported in the region, and 30 percent of all tests conducted at hospitals and clinics have been positive. In the past month, between 25 percent and 33 percent of tests conducted on people aged 60 and over have been positive. As of Wednesday morning, 12 COVID patients were hospitalized in the Two Rivers counties of Buffalo, Dawson, Franklin, Gosper, Harlan, Kearney and Phelps. As of Wednesday, 53 percent of the 97,000 people in the Two Rivers region had received the minimum dose of COVID vaccines, while 49 percent are fully vaccinated and have received at least one booster shot, including 75 percent of people aged 60 and over. Two Rivers offers COVID testing 9:30-10:30 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at its offices at 516 W. 11th St., Kearney. Pre-registration is required. Visit trphd.org and click on COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines are available at healthcare providers, pharmacies or Two Rivers. For a schedule of Two Rivers vaccination clinics, visit www.trphd.org. Returning positive tests and percentages of those tests have been trending upward across the state. The week of June 18 saw 2,810 positive tests, the next week there were 3,152 positive tests. The percentage of positive tests was around 12.8 percent at the start of June, by the end of the month this figure increased to 16.5 percent. When Ryan Long arrived at the Lancaster County Courthouse from the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution for his latest sentencing hearing Thursday morning, the 32-year-old Lincoln man was already serving a 27-year sentence for a fatal shooting. Now, Long will tack close to another decade onto his stint in Tecumseh after Judge Jodi Nelson sentenced him to 18 to 50 years in prison for shooting his then-girlfriend during a Halloween-night fight in 2019 near 21st and Garfield streets. A jury in April found Long guilty of second-degree assault, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person for his role in the shooting, which transpired about 4 a.m. Nov. 1, 2019, when Long got into an argument with his then-girlfriend Champaynne King, now 23, according to prosecutors. Long was standing near the driver's side of a Nissan Pathfinder parked near 21st and Garfield when he fired a gun into the car as King sat in the front passenger seat. The bullet pierced through King's right thigh and exited the passenger side door, according to police. The woman didn't report the shooting for six weeks. At trial, Long's attorney Nancy Peterson cast King as unreliable after she admitted in testimony she tried to bribe Long after, telling him for $10,000 she could "make it go away." "This is a woman you would not trust to walk your dog," Peterson said at the April trial. "How can you trust this woman with the verdict?" Long denied shooting King and told the court he had "no idea" how she suffered in the injures. But jurors rejected that defense, finding Long guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on all three counts. On Thursday, Nelson sentenced Long to 10 to 20 years for the second-degree assault and a combined eight to 30 years for the two firearms charges. He received credit for serving four days in jail. Long would be parole eligible in as few as nine years if not for his previous conviction. A jury in October found the 32-year-old guilty of manslaughter for the fatal 2020 shooting of Michael Whitemagpie in an alley near 33rd and T streets. He will serve at least 27 years in that shooting. Both sentences will run consecutively, Nelson ruled Thursday. Long won't be parole eligible for nearly 38 years. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov The Azerbaijani army is conducting a training session for reservists under the approved annual plan, Azernews reports per the Defense Ministry. The main purpose of the session, involving a group of reservists, is to increase their level of combat training and improve their knowledge and skills, the ministry stressed. During the training session, reservists will have the chance not only to improve their military skills but also to become acquainted with samples of new weapons and military equipment that have recently been integrated into the Azerbaijan army's weaponry, as well as to study the rules of their usage. The training session will last until July 23, the ministry added. It should be noted that, under the law on military service, Azerbaijani citizens can be involved in the 10-day training sessions. Azerbaijan periodically holds drills to improve its military personnels combat readiness. The drills also aim to improve interaction and combat coordination between the servicemen during operations, as well as to develop commanders' military decision-making and unit management skills. Meghan Morris (University of Cincinnati College of Law) has posted Paramilitary Property on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Paramilitarism is on the rise in America. In recent years, paramilitaries have mounted violent responses to movements for racial justice, climate emergencies, public health protocols, and migrant border crossings. Militias, white power organizations, and other paramilitary groups often claim their violence is justified as a legitimate defense of property, citing the need to protect property rights to land and water, as well as to businesses, ranches, and guns. This Article demonstrates how property motivates, authorizes, and facilitates American paramilitarism and how paramilitarism, in turn, has shaped property as legal regime and cultural ideal. This offers a new perspective on both paramilitarism and property in America. It counters the common understanding of militias as outlaws, engaged in violent projects that are both illegal and contrary to American ideals. In fact, paramilitaries have long grounded their ideology and action in both law and notions of life, liberty, and property that are central to the American creed. Paramilitaries seek legitimacy and authority in the defense of property as an object of ownership and as a constitutional right. At the same time, they shape property rules and practices by generating new interpretations of property and then shifting them into the mainstream. The intimacy between paramilitarism and property has gone largely unnoticed and untheorized. Yet it is key to explaining both the development and expansion of paramilitarism and the evolution of property doctrines and practices in America. The Article first examines property as a fundamental motivating force behind U.S. paramilitarism and paramilitary ideology. It focuses on three illustrative case studies: paramilitary opposition to water shutoffs at the Klamath irrigation district in Oregon; armed counter-protests of Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Wisconsin; and militia patrols of the U.S.-Mexico border. Together, these cases illustrate how property has functioned for paramilitaries as an ideological touchstone, a means of recruitment, a source of authority and legitimacy, and a mode of racialization. The conceptual underpinnings of this relationship lie in paramilitary modes of constitutional interpretation. These laid the groundwork for the mainstreaming of paramilitary conceptualizations of property into broader American culture, shaping contemporary debates around public lands, racial justice, and immigration. The Article then examines how paramilitarism has shaped property. Paramilitarism is an unacknowledged root of property doctrines as well as American cultural practices related to the acquisition and protection of property rights. It has influenced doctrines and practices concerning the acquisition of property, particularly during the settlement of the American West. It has also shaped rules and cultural practices related to the protection of property, including notions of defense against looting, self-deputization authorized by Stand Your Ground laws, racial exclusion and segregation during Reconstruction and under Jim Crow, and protection of resources in moments of environmental and climate crisis. Recognizing the intimacies between paramilitarism and property yields crucial lessons for property theory. Property scholars have generally tended toward two conceptualizations of property typically understood as opposed: property as exclusion, or as a form of community. And yet paramilitaries have shaped property both through community ideals, and through racialized violence, exclusion, and paranoia, in ways that persist throughout American history. Paramilitary property teaches us is that property can be about both exclusion and community simultaneously; democratic values and exclusion are not opposed, but rather are often two sides of the same coin. Local featured Animal attraction: Passion for creatures turns into career for Ellen Trout Zoo's new vet JOEL ANDREWS/The Lufkin Daily News Jenna Rivais, the new veterinarian at Ellen Trout Zoo, feeds the hippos in their enclosure Tuesday. Rivais Dr. Jenna Rivais, the new veterinarian at Ellen Trout Zoo, is excited to show care, compassion and commitment to all creatures great and small. After all, it has been her dream since she was a 4-year-old girl living in New Hampshire. My family vet, I told him that and he was like, Yeah, OK, little girl, but he basically told me, When youre old enough, then you can come work for me, Rivais said. When I was 16, I started in a vet clinic working in the kennel, worked my way up through vet tech and I was a tech for 10 years before vet school. Rivais decided as a child to become a veterinarian after one of her cats died. I got a new kitten and I made her a promise that I was going to be a vet so that nothing bad would ever happen to her, she said. Unfortunately, she died at 16 when I was in mid-undergrad, but at that point I was sealed in this was definitely what I wanted to do. Rivais spent 25 years in her home state before attending Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in Saint Kitts. She then went to Murdoch University in Australia for two years before coming back to the United States. The reason I did that is one of the perks of Ross is that you get to go overseas or you can come back to the U.S., but you get to go to another vet school, she said. I chose Australia because one, its Australia, but also I wanted to do zoo wildlife and exotics. Rivais was living in South Carolina when she decided to start looking at zoos hiring in the south, she said. Being from New England, I hate the cold, she said with a laugh. I wanted to live somewhere in the south, and I was in Tennessee, then South Carolina, so when I was looking for a zoo job, it was pretty much one of the southern states. Texas, of course, had the high temperatures Rivais was looking for, and she was familiar with the state, having previously participated in a lab at Texas A&M University. Ellen Trout Zoo, however, appealed to her because of the variety of animals she would get to work with. I like the challenge of a wide variety of species, she said. I like that the way that its set up, its much more natural looking I think thats kind of important for people to see as theyve probably never been to some of these countries and I have been to many of these countries, and most of these species Ive worked with in the wild. As for animals regularly seen in zoos, Rivais has always been partial to big cats, she said. She is just as fond of domestic animals, however, being the owner of two cats, a dog, a turtle and a fish herself. Tigers have always been my favorite, she said. To work with, I would say elephants, even though we dont have them here. Ive worked with them in the wild and in captive game reserves in Africa and Asia, as well as at other zoos. Things you can learn from elephants, you can never learn in a book, which I find really fascinating. Rivais enjoys being able to help all the creatures she loves so much. Zoo animals specifically its preservation of species, she said. A lot of people dont realize what the purpose of zoo medicine is: Its not so you can see animals behind a cage its so that we can protect the species, we can learn about the species. NONFICTION: One man's journey in search of a spiritual home. "The Long Way Home" by Tom Montgomery Fate; Ice Cube Press (168 pages, $19.99) Author Tom Montgomery Fate has lived most of his life in Illinois, but when he's asked where home is, he says Iowa. Small-town Iowa is where Fate was raised, where he was formed, and it is in many ways is his anchor. Since those simpler days, Fate writes, "My idea of home has evolved. Now it's less a physical location than a kind of belonging." "The Long Way Home" is a series of eloquent essays about Fate's search "for a spiritual home for a kind of belonging that I can carry with me." Fate grew up in Maquoketa, roughly equidistant between Davenport and Dubuque. It seems an idyllic upbringing, the kind featured in TV commercials, perhaps: rolling hills of farmland, red-tailed hawks making lazy circles in the sky and of course, come summer, the county fair. His father is the minister of the town's Congregational church, in many ways an unyielding man of principle, subject to regular bouts of "impatience and dark storms of depression." Fate Sr. once preached "a sermon in Ames, Iowa, against Barry Goldwater and the war in Vietnam that would prompt such a backlash he would have to leave that church." Yet when young Tom refused confirmation, his father eventually gave in to him. Tom's arguments, based on his father's teachings, were convincing. They laughed over the irony. "Maybe you were the only one listening." Was it this experience that sent him off on his search? Or perhaps it was time spent on a sweat lodge on a Lakota Indian Reservation, where a medicine man told him of one of the tribe's core beliefs, that "home is both physical and spiritual." In either case or perhaps both Fate learned "that I had to leave Iowa to understand all that home could mean." He spends time in a monastery, in Nicaragua, in the Philippines, camping with his brothers, dealing with the death of his parents, "always searching in the dark heat for some spiritual destination I couldn't find." Some of these essays previously published in the Chicago Tribune, Riverteeth and elsewhere take place in South Dakota and Minnesota. It's unclear if they are presented in chronological order; introductions to each would have been helpful. What propels the book isn't so much Fate's search; another middle-aged guy looking for peace isn't necessarily a page turner. But it is the expressiveness of his prose that moved me. "I pondered what I was hoping to write stories of travel both physical and spiritual. Not stories of arrival but of being lost and found and lost again." As another middle-aged guy, I felt the same, even if I couldn't say it as well. Curt Schleier is a New Jersey-based critic. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has issued a royal decree ordering the allocation of SR20 billion ($5.33 billion) as a financial support to tackle the effects of the rising global prices. Of this half of the allocated money will go to social insurance beneficiaries and for the Citizen Account Programme, reported SPA. The amount is being approved as financial support to social insurance beneficiaries for helping them confront the repercussions of rising prices globally, it stated. This comes on the basis of recommendations from HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, following a study conducted by the Council of Economic Affairs under his chairmanship. As per the royal decree, SR10.4 billion will be distributed as direct cash transfers to support social security beneficiaries, the Citizen Account Program, and the Small Livestock Breeders Support Program, while the rest will be set aside to increase strategic stocks of basic commodities and ensure their abundance, stated the report. The government has also set aside SR8 billion as additional financial support to the beneficiaries of the Citizen Account Program till the end of the current fiscal year, it added. Charges have been filed against a man for allegedly forcing a woman to have intercourse with him at a graduation party and also confining her and not allowing her to leave. Jordan X. Mennes, 18, has been charged with second-degree sexual assault and false imprisonment. If Mennes is convicted of sexual assault he faces up to 25 years in prison followed by up to 15 years of extended supervision. The false imprisonment charge could lead to three years in prison followed by three years of extended supervision if found guilty. At his initial appearance on June 15, Columbia County Judge Troy Cross set Mennes bond at $5,000 with standard felony conditions, including no contact with the victim or their residence and workplace. Online records show Mennes posted his cash bond on June 17 and was released from custody. According to the criminal complaint filed on June 15, a Columbia County Sheriffs detective interviewed a woman on June 15 about a graduation party she attended on June 13 in the town of Leeds on June 11 and June 12. The events took place in a shed with a number of other party-goers. The victim alleged that Mennes sat on her lap a number of times even after she asked him not to. Mennes also allegedly touched the victims breast over her clothes. Throughout the evening Mennes allegedly grabbed the victim by the throat making it difficult for her to breathe. This allegedly happened about 20 times. Around 4 a.m. the victim wanted to leave the party while others were sleeping but Mennes told her to stay and sleep there. At some point Mennes allegedly told the victim, you are going to hate me tomorrow, and then took her pants off and performed oral sex on her. The victim reported telling Mennes to stop multiple times. The victim told authorities that Mennes was forcing himself on her for sexual intercourse for 10-15 minutes while she told him to stop multiple times. The victim continued looking for her keys to leave and eventually found them in the shed. But Mennes did not let her leave by grabbing her by the arms leaving bruises. Mennes eventually fell asleep and the victim was able to leave. When Mennes was questioned by authorities about the incident he said he could not remember anything. Mennes told a Sheriffs Sergeant he blacked out during the party. Mennes did remember separating the victims keys from everyone elses keys. There was a video that police saw on Mennes phone with a 3:07 a.m. timestamp that showed Mennes and the victim together. The complaint describes the video showing Mennes, highly intoxicated, sitting on the victims lap. Mennes is scheduled to be back in court on July 11 for a pre-trial conference. Lake County authorities revealed Wednesday morning that the man accused of opening fire at a Highland Park, Illinois celebration July 4 had "seriously contemplated" a second attack in Madison. Here is what we know so far about Robert Crimo III and his connection to Madison. When was the suspect in Madison? Crimo drove to Madison after the shooting, authorities said, and dropped his phone in the 6500 block of University Avenue in Middleton. Officials said Crimo became aware of a celebration in Madison and contemplated an attack, but decided against it because he "didn't put enough thought and research into it," Lake County Sheriff's spokesman Christopher Covelli said. What celebration was Crimo talking about? Authorities said they would not divulge which celebration Crimo was contemplating for a possible attack. There were several events in the Madison area Monday to celebrate the Fourth of July. When did local authorities become aware of this development? Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Wednesday that the FBI contact his department Monday at 5 p.m. requesting a SWAT team, because they believed Crimo was in Madison. A short time later, Barnes said his department was told that Crimo was in custody in Illinois. Barnes said he became aware Wednesday morning that Crimo had contemplated a Madison attack. Was the suspect armed when he came to Madison? When the suspected shooter was arrested after he drove to Madison and back he had a .40-caliber folding rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition in his car. Does Crimo have a connection to Madison? It is unclear at this point why Crimo decided to drive to Madison, where he left his phone before returning to Illinois. Will there be more security at Art Fair on the Square this weekend and other summer events? Dane County and Madison law enforcement said Wednesday that they are and will continue to be vigilant to protect participants at public events. While they could not discuss details, they said they will take necessary measures to ensure public safety. Authorities also called on the public including children who see threats on social media to report any suspicious activity. "People should be free to partake in regular, everyday community events like July 4th activities without the threat of someone killing them with an assault weapon," said David Benforado, president of the Village of Shorewood Hills, who helped organize the village's celebrations that took place Monday. A man police said helped tear down a pair of iconic statues on Capitol Square as part of a string of destructive racial justice protests two years ago pleaded guilty to one felony count Wednesday and was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. Jacob K. Capps, 28, of Madison, pleaded guilty to felony criminal damage to property as a party to a crime for helping to tear down the Forward statue at the top of State Street on the night of June 23, 2020. As part of a deal with prosecutors, a second felony count for helping to take down the statue of abolitionist Col. Hans Christian Heg that same night was dismissed, but read in, meaning restitution could be ordered on that count as well. The $5,000 Capps was ordered to pay amounts to $2,500 for each statue, both of which have since been repaired and replaced. This was a very challenging time in our community, Judge Josann Reynolds said. But these were poor choices. Capps declined to explain his behavior or comment on his plea when Reynolds gave him the opportunity Wednesday, and on the advice of his attorney, Payal Khandhar, declined to comment to the Wisconsin State Journal after the hearing. Khandhar told Reynolds that her client was one of many people involved in destroying the statues but was more easily identified because of his many tattoos. She noted that he hadnt faced any other criminal charges since 2014, was working full time and should not have a problem complying with the terms of his probation. As part of his agreement, he can apply to end his probation after 18 months if he has paid the $5,000. According to the criminal complaint in the case, video surveillance showed Capps among the people pulling on a cable to topple Forward, and about 20 minutes later was trying to attach a chain to the back of a Nissan Murano used to pull down the Heg statue and drag it away. Protests in Madison over the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis began in late May 2020. Protests the night of June 23 were in response to the arrest earlier in the day of local activist Devonere Johnson, who has since been convicted in federal court of extortion in connection with trying to extort a business that month. At least four other people have been charged in connection with the statues destruction. At least three of their cases remain open. Amid warnings that certain forever chemicals are toxic at levels too low to reliably detect, environmental advocates are asking Wisconsin officials to restart the process of regulating the common groundwater contaminants. Midwest Environmental Advocates filed a petition Tuesday on behalf of the League of Women Voters and a group of northeastern Wisconsin residents asking the Department of Natural Resources to set enforceable standards for four compounds collectively known as PFAS. EPA: Almost no safe level of forever chemicals The guidelines released Wednesday are thousands of times lower than Wisconsins first drinking water standards for the fluorinated compounds known as PFOA and PFOS, which took effect the same day. The DNR began the process of setting standards for two PFAS compounds in 2018, but conservatives on the DNRs policy board voted in February to scrap the rule amid opposition from industry groups that warned it would be too expensive. While the board adopted standards for public drinking water systems, the environmental groups are calling on the agency to adopt similar protections for the nearly 1 million residents who get their water from private wells. There is no federal law that directly protects their water, said MEA staff attorney Rob Lee. It is solely the states responsibility to act. Debra Cronmiller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, said rural families and others who rely on private wells deserve the same protections. It shouldnt matter whether your drinking water comes from a municipal water utility or a private well to be protected from these dangerous chemicals, Cronmiller said. The Natural Resources Board voted down groundwater standards based on recommendations of state toxicologists that would have set a combined limit of 20 parts per trillion for two of the most studied compounds, PFOA and PFOS, which have been linked to cancer and other illnesses. The board adopted weaker standards of 70 ppt for public drinking water systems based on existing health guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But last month, the federal agency warned the chemicals pose a risk at concentrations thousands of times lower. The petition asks the DNR to restart the process for regulating PFOS and PFOA, along with two other compounds addressed by the federal health guidelines: PFBS and GenX. If the petition is granted, the DNR would ask the Department of Health Services to recommend health-based standards that would become the basis for new regulations. The environmental groups argue it should not take the usual 2 years to complete the rulemaking process because the DNR has already done much of the work. Wisconsin high court says Republican holdover can stay on Natural Resources Board The high court sided with Republican appointee Fred Prehn in a case that influences the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches and could influence environmental policy for years to come. A DNR spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the petition Tuesday. Any new regulations would require approval from the Natural Resources Board, which is likely to remain under conservative control for some time. Last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that Fred Prehn, a Wausau dentist appointed by former Gov. Scott Walker, can remain on the board beyond the end of his term as long as Republicans who control the Senate refuse to confirm Democratic Gov. Tony Evers pick to replace him. MEA executive director Tony Wilkin Gibart noted those conservative members and industry lobbyists advocated for following the previous EPA health guidelines, which were 3 times higher than those recommended by the state. I cant predict what they will do. I cant predict what justifications they will give, Gibart said. Under state groundwater law, the Department of Natural Resources has legal responsibilities it must fulfill. The NRB deciding it doesnt want to do anything is inconsistent with the law. Used for decades in firefighting foam, nonstick surfaces and stain-resistant fabrics, the synthetic chemicals do not break down naturally and have been linked to health problems including low birth weight, cancer, and liver disease and have been shown to make vaccines less effective. Dane County sues DNR over requirements to keep PFAS out of lakes, streams The county is asking the courts to strike testing requirements in the permit for stormwater that drains from the airport into Lake Monona through Starkweather Creek, where PFAS contamination has made fish unsafe to eat. The DNR is monitoring dozens of PFAS contamination sites across Wisconsin, including Madison, La Crosse, Wausau, Marinette and Peshtigo. Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct a reference to PFBS. A judge on Tuesday ordered former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman not delete any records his office has compiled, even if they are not subject to an open records request. The order from Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost came a week after the liberal government watchdog group American Oversight filed its fourth open records lawsuit related to Gablemans investigation. The most recent lawsuit sought to stop Gableman from deleting records after he testified in another case that he deleted records that were not responsive to open records requests or useful to his work. The judge entered a temporary restraining order preventing Gableman from deleting records until after the case can be heard. Judges in two other lawsuits brought by American Oversight have ordered Gablemans office or the state Assembly to stop deleting or destroying records that are responsive to open records requests in those cases. Gableman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hired Gableman to investigate the 2020 election, but put the probe on hold in April. The investigation and related lawsuits have cost taxpayers more than $1 million. President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by just under 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, a victory that has withstood recounts, multiple state and federal lawsuits, an audit by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau and a report by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. An Associated Press review of Wisconsin and other battleground states also found far too little fraud to have tipped the election for Trump. In the 21st century, our phones might know we are pregnant before the people closest to us do a reality that, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, has become more dangerous than ever. Digital-privacy advocates have long warned about the amount of our personal information that companies hoover up each day. Reproductive health data has never been an exception. But while this data has always been valuable to advertisers, now it will also be valuable to law enforcement in states where abortion is criminalized. Naturally, niche apps such as period trackers hold troves of knowledge about when people are or could be expecting, but so do services as widely used as Google, Apple and Facebook: Search histories, for instance, can reveal queries about nearby clinics. Location tracking can show whether someone has actually taken the trip. The vast majority of proposed laws in states likely to impose heightened abortion restrictions focus on punishing providers rather than patients. But patients data could be used to prosecute providers, and of course providers use the internet, too. Some laws also do explicitly punish women for ending their pregnancies, or leave open the possibility that a zealous prosecutor could seek to do so. This isnt a hypothetical guess of a grim future. It has happened already, even with constitutional protections in place. One advocacy organization counts 1,800 cases from 1973 to 2020 of women seeking to terminate their pregnancies who were prosecuted or targeted for interventions. Digital footprints can be a boon in such cases. Look at the Black mother of three in Mississippi who was charged with second-degree murder after a stillbirth when investigators scraped her phone and found search terms for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol. She was held for weeks on a $100,000 bond. Eventually a grand jury was called in and refused to indict her. Technology companies can help by refusing to comply with requests for data that they believe are unlawful. More important, they can collect less of this sort of information in the first place. Congress can help even more by setting rules that require precisely that step. Some members have already introduced legislation devoted to protecting reproductive health data. Though passing them might be impossible given the lack of Republican support, lawmakers should seek to include a provision specifically protecting this information in the larger bipartisan, bicameral privacy bill moving through Capitol Hill. The White House, meanwhile, is reportedly preparing a letter to send to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to bar unfair and deceptive practices in this area. Women across the country are already deleting reproductive health apps from their devices. Theyre preparing to hide their identities as they search the web for resources, and to ensure any sensitive communications are encrypted. The burden shouldnt be on them to protect themselves now that their right to choose is imperiled. Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin deferred most of her June 24 paycheck to balance her offices budget, leaving the budget with less than $1 before the 2022 fiscal year closed Thursday. McGeachin faced a shortfall after using her taxpayer-funded operating budget to pay for $29,000 in legal fees. Most of the expenses covered attorney fees for the Idaho Press Club, which successfully sued McGeachin last year when she declined to hand over public records. By June 24, the final payroll date of the fiscal year, the office was projected to have $724.42, according to a June 13 email from Chief Deputy Controller Joshua Whitworth, obtained by the Idaho Statesman. Whitworth recommended that McGeachin defer $1,713.26 of her June 24 wages until the next fiscal year. That left $148.50 in her wages and $575.20 in benefits, which was able to be covered by the remaining office budget. This would close the fiscal year with an estimated $0.72 remaining in the appropriation budget for the office, Whitworth wrote, although he noted that final amounts may vary based on tax and workers compensation rate adjustments. McGeachin followed through with Whitworths recommendations, Alex Adams, administrator of the Idaho Division of Financial Management, told the Statesman by email. McGeachin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. McGeachin will still receive the deferred pay, but not until the third payroll date of the 2023 fiscal year, which started Friday. This will ensure sufficient salary savings have been accrued to keep the office personnel budget whole through the fiscal year, and it will keep the office in compliance with the annual pay for the elected position, Whitworth wrote. McGeachin this spring cut staff as her office racked up at least $33,000 in operating expenses beyond what was budgeted. The Idaho Press Club last year won a lawsuit that sought the release of public records regarding McGeachins education task force, which was looking for indoctrination in Idaho schools. Reporters had requested responses to a Google Forms survey that McGeachin circulated earlier in the year soliciting public feedback, as well as additional records. A judge mandated that McGeachin release the records and pay the Idaho Press Clubs legal costs. McGeachin eventually asked that taxpayers fund what her office was forced to pay, due to unforeseen legal bills related to a lawsuit from the Idaho Press Club after the attorney generals office failed to properly represent her. The lieutenant governor previously dismissed reports of her offices shortfall as fake news. Honestly, who cares about $2,000 in the lieutenant governors budget? McGeachin said on April 21 while she was campaigning for governor. McGeachin lost in the Republican primary against Gov. Brad Little, whos running for reelection. The Idaho Legislatures budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee declined to consider McGeachins $29,000 supplemental budget request to cover attorney fees. McGeachins lieutenant governor term ends in the middle of the 2023 fiscal year. The winner in the November general election will take over the office in January. SNC-Lavalin, a leading project management company, has been awarded facilities management (FM) services contract by the Wave 2 Schools Project of the Saudi Ministry of Education, which is jointly procured with Tatweer Buildings Company (TBC). The Wave 2 is a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme that aims to finance, design, build, and facility manage 60 public schools in Madinah in western Saudi Arabia, for a duration of 20 years. The project is expected to benefit more than 50,000 students. In 2020, SNC-Lavalin was also awarded FM services contract by the Wave 1 Schools Project of MoE that covers 60 public schools in the cities of Jeddah and Makkah in KSA. The scope of work for SNC-Lavalin - which is part of the TBC consortium along with partners Vision Invest and Al Omran Group - includes integrated facilities management services, grounds maintenance, and lifecycle management. In addition, the Canadian engineering group will provide management services and develop processes supported by a Computer-Aided Facilities Management system (CAFM) and a virtual FM helpdesk mobile application that will be easily accessed in real-time by the school administration team to enable timely and effective reactive maintenance. On the new contract, Mohamed Youssef, Senior Vice-President (Mena) Projects and O&M, Engineering Services, at SNC-Lavalin, said: "We are proud to be part of this significant PPP project that aims to support Saudi Vision 2030 by expanding educational services in various regions across the Kingdom." "The repeated wins of TBCs Wave 1 and 2 Schools Projects are testament to our successful track record as a leading FM services provider and trusted partner to maintain these facilities according to the highest technology, quality, and safety standards," he added. As part of Saudi Vision 2030 goals, MoE and TBC are partnering with the private sector to provide high-quality infrastructure for all public schools and an attractive learning environment that will ultimately replace the current facilities. As part of this initiative, MoE and TBC are procuring schools in the KSA by using a PPP Model under different waves, said Youssef. "With extensive experience in infrastructure projects engineering services, SNC-Lavalin work closely with clients across the Middle East to help them implement advanced facilities management solutions designed to deliver a responsive, consistent operations and maintenance structure and ensure all systems are running to their best potential," he added.-TradeArabia News Service BUHL University of Idaho junior Sydney Schoth has paid her way through college with the help of a few small fragrant purple bushes. What started with a 10-year-old Schoth and one lavender bush in her familys backyard has turned into Lavender Goddess, a one-acre farm with over 256 plants featuring 26 different varieties. Being an entrepreneur has benefited her more than just financially. When I was 10, I was very hesitant to talk to people that came up to the table, Schoth said. My mom said, Youve got to talk to them. In a good way, she pushed me to be a lot more extroverted than I would have been. Schoth and her mother Jennifer said there was a large learning curve when they first started making products. First comes picking the right variety for the intended outcome and then getting measurements just right. Some varieties are used for culinary purposes, they just taste better. Some of them dry into nice dark purple flowers, Schoth said. The big thing is different varieties of lavender produce oils that smell different when you distill them. On the corner of the farm, a still sits ready for action. Two hours of work can result in just two ounces of oil, which is considered a really good batch. The process involves stuffing dried lavender into the bronze contraption which is filled with water. A gas burner steams the plants, removing all the moisture including oil and water. Whats leftover goes through a condenser filled with ice water, finally separating the oil from the water. We do get some funny looks from the neighbors, Jennifer Schoth said. It looks just like a whiskey still. The duo makes everything from lavender sachets and hot packs to decorative wreaths and lip balm. We also like that a lot of our products, this sounds a little weird but its a good selling point, you can eat a lot of our products without it harming you, Sydney Schoth said. Our hand sanitizer, the sugar scrub, you can eat the lip balm, I mean I definitely dont recommend it but its all pretty safe. We try to keep it as natural as possible. Lavender is fairly simple to grow. Southern Idahos dry sandy soil creates perfect growing conditions for many varieties of lavender, however, some of the varieties that came from Washington are not used to the climate, she said. Mother Nature is the most unpredictable variable. Last year the early heat wave led to decreased yields and struggling plants. In the winter, excess snow also caused problems. The lavender came on really early last year because of it, Jennifer Schoth said. This year its actually a couple of weeks behind. This summer, Lavender Goddess products can be found at the Nampa Festival of the Arts and at the Thousand Springs Festival of the Arts. Products are also available on their website, lavendergoddess.com. Congressman Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, had better hope that the author F. Scott Fitzgerald was wrong when he wrote, There are no second acts in American lives. Because, so far, this Idaho Republicans performance on Jan. 6, 2021, has purchased a sorry legacy. Opportunity after opportunity to redeem himself have been squandered. On June 13, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection presented former Attorney General Bill Barr, former President Donald Trumps campaign manager Bill Stepien and even first daughter Ivanka Trump, who testified that Trump knew the big lie was a big lie that had been debunked by credible investigators and five dozen court rulings. But he proceeded to find sycophantic sources such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and lawyer John Eastman who would do his bidding. Fulcher kept quiet. On June 16, the House panel revealed how Trump pressured his own vice president, Mike Pence, toward an unconstitutional attempt to subvert the election during the ceremonial certification of the Electoral College results. When Pence refused, Trump issued an inflammatory tweet that put the vice presidents life at risk while a deadly mob stormed the Capitol, chanting Hang Mike Pence. That mob came within 40 feet of finding its intended target. Concluded retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, a conservative icon: Trump and his followers pose a clear and present danger to American democracy. Fulcher was mum about that, too. On June 21, elected Republicans Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger revealed how Trump tried to pressure them into overturning President Joe Bidens victory in their states. It is a tenet of my faith that the Constitution is divinely inspired, Bowers said. I would not do it. Still, Fulcher had nothing to say. On June 23, Trumps acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue and Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel Steven Engel outlined how the entire Department of Justice leadership threatened to resign in the face of Trumps plan to install a compliant Jeff Clark as the nations top lawyer because he was willing to help overturn the election. At one point, Trump told Donoghue: Just say it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen. At the hearings end, the panel disclosed that House Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania sought a pardon from Trump for their role in the scheme. The only reason I know to ask for a pardon (is) because you think youve committed a crime, said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. Nothing in any of that compelled Fulcher to issue a comment. And then came Tuesday, when an eyewitness to Trumps West Wing operation Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows revealed an emotionally volatile former president who knew he was egging on an armed insurrection of the Capitol and only Secret Service intervention stopped him from personally leading it. Back at the White House, Trump did nothing to stop the violence and when told that Pence was in danger, the former president said, Mike deserves it. As the hearing closed, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., accused Team Trump of witness intimidation. And what did you hear from Fulcher? Nothing. None of which distinguishes Fulcher from his Idaho colleagues, Rep. Mike Simpson and Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch. But they were not complicit in the Jan. 6 attempted coup. Simpson, Crapo and Risch stood by the Constitution that day and voted to certify Biden as the next president of the United States. Only Fulcher was among the 147 Republicans who did Trumps bidding that day. Fulcher began his morning with an appearance on Fox and Friends, outlining his intentions. Later, Fulcher posted on social media a picture of himself signing his objection to Bidens electors. Nothing deterred him not even the desecration of the Capitol and the five lives it took. As soon as order was restored, Fulcher went right back into the House and voted to overturn Bidens victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania. A string of Republican witnesses courageous enough to speak truth to the American people has brought us to this question: Was the Idaho congressman one of Trumps useful idiots who was gullible enough to fall for the former presidents deception? Or did he knowingly play his role in a plot that came within 40 feet of destroying Americas fragile democracy? At the very least, Fulcher owes the people who sent him to Washington, D.C., an explanation. We have come to a moment of conscience. Does Fulcher have one? McDowell Technical Community College announced on Wednesday an expansion of funding for employers who establish registered apprenticeships in high demand careers and hire new apprentices between the ages of 16 and 25. Employers who partner with the McDowell Apprenticeship Program are eligible for $2,000 per employee to cover apprenticeship program expenses and 50% salary reimbursement for apprentices hired during the first year of training, capped at $15 per hour for high school graduates and $14 for non-high school graduates. Funding for the program was established in November 2021 by the N.C. General Assembly to assist small businesses in developing a talent pipeline in high-demand careers in rural areas throughout North Carolina. Businesses and industries participating in the program must be in a Tier 1 or 2 county, a designation by the N.C. Department of Commerce related to economic development needs. McDowell County has been designated a Tier 2 county for 2022. Industries with corporate employment in excess of 500 employees may also be eligible, if local employment is less than this maximum. We are excited to be able to assist local employers in setting up these apprenticeships to build capacity in these high-demand careers, said Stacy Buff, associate vice president of workforce development. It is a symbiotic relationship, with employers gaining potential new employees and our students gaining valuable training and hands-on learning. That is why we have been laser-focused on building our McDowell Apprenticeship Program. Thomas Champ, the colleges coordinator of work-based learning, is available to talk with employers about setting up a new program or increasing capacity in an existing apprenticeship. Because funding must be committed by December 2024, there is a sense of urgency for employers to act now to make sure they maximize their financial benefits under the General Assemblys funding requirements, said Buff. Originally, high-demand careers were primarily identified as those involving surveying, engineering, design, and all construction trades, as well as welding, pipe fitting, and engine mechanics, but with the announcement of expanded funding, the following career paths are now included in the designation high-demand careers: Computer and Mathematical (Including IT) Architecture and Engineering Education Health care Technicians Health care Support Protective Service Food Preparation and Service Office and Administrative Support Construction and Extraction Installation, Maintenance, and Repairs Production Transportation Students enrolling in apprenticeship programs at the college win, win, win, said Buff. First, they receive exceptional hands-on learning with an employer to see if the profession and employer are a good long-term career fit for them. Second, they are eligible for the colleges tuition-free through 2023 pledge, and the apprenticeship program can cover their fees and book expenses, as well as uniform costs. Third, they get paid for their work experience, in addition to earning college credit that can be applied to a degree program, licensure and/or certifications. Our college is committed to workforce development, said Dr. Brian S. Merritt, MTCC president. Thanks to generous funding from the N.C. General Assembly, we are able to continue expansion of the McDowell Apprenticeship Program for MTCC students in high-growth, high-demand careers, which builds a talent pipeline for our local employers in these professions. We encourage interested employers to contact Mr. Champ today to discuss how the McDowell Apprenticeship Program can help them take advantage of expanded funding opportunities and match students to their hard-to-fill positions. To reach Thomas Champ, visit map.mcdowelltech.edu, call 828-659-0454 or email him at tlchamp43@go.mcdowelltech.edu. A Chesterfield County, Virginia, mother pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing her 2-year-old son by intentionally providing him liquid methadone to make him sleep. Her actions resulted in an unintentional fatal overdose. Prior to her son receiving the methadone, Sherrell M. Rivera, 32, conducted multiple Google searches on her cellphone about the liquid uses of the drug and its side effects, including a search of whether the addictive substance would slow breathing, according to the prosecutions summary of evidence. Rivera had a prescription for methadone to treat an opioid addiction, and Chesterfield Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Ken Chitty said evidence indicated that Rivera mixed an undetermined amount of the drug into Kruz Riveras sippy cup, which also contained baby formula and chocolate syrup. The boy, who was addicted from birth from his mothers drug dependency, died Nov. 14, 2020 of methadone toxicity. Chesterfield Circuit Judge David E. Johnson reluctantly accepted a plea agreement that allowed Rivera to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter instead of felony murder, as she was originally charged, in addition to a separate count of felony child neglect. He convicted her of both counts and set sentencing for Nov. 7. What Im up here struggling with is the apparent agreement between the parties that it was not the intent to kill this child, Johnson said in remarks from the bench. A 2-year-old was already born an addict, spent two years of his life continually exposed to this vile conduct by the mother and then he is ultimately killed by that. It shows a willful ignorance and selfishness so reckless, as to amount to proper criminal intent, the judge added. So, that part of the argument I will not be accepting. But Johnson said he understood the practical difficulties of prosecuting the case had it gone to trial, which could have cast doubt on the events that led to the boys death. When the boy died, both Rivera and her husband were staying at the Martha Kay Motel in the 8800 block of Jefferson Davis Highway. Defense attorney Greg Sheldon noted both parents had prescriptions for methadone, both had access to the cellphone used for the Google searches and neither made any admissions of wrongdoing to detectives. The boys father was not charged in the incident. According to Chittys presentation of facts, when Chesterfield officers responded to the motel at about 8:30 a.m., they found a 2-year-old boy on the floor, with Rivera standing over him while talking on the phone with emergency communications. She told officers that she found her son unresponsive in his Pack n Play. Rivera told police she had given her son a sippy cup filled with powdered milk and chocolate syrup before placing him in the Pack n Play at 3:45 a.m. The toddler was taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center by ambulance, but he never responded to medical treatment and was pronounced dead at 9:13 a.m. Rivera and her husband gave police their consent to search the motel room. The room was dark but not in disarray, and detectives found brown stains on a blanket, bedspread and pillow in the Pack n Play that were not consistent with dried blood or spilled chocolate milk. Near a second bed where Rivera had slept with her other child, who was 4, detectives observed a box containing various bottles of methadone prescribed to Rivera. They all contained child-tampering tops. Some bottles were empty because they were daily doses. Detectives collected and photographed one of the empty bottles. The medical examiners preliminary autopsy did not yield any results that could have caused the childs death. The examiner then ordered a toxicology screening, which revealed that Kruz died of a lethal adult dose of methadone. The boy also had Benadryl in his system. The boys sippy cup, which was three-quarters full, was sent to a separate lab to be tested. The results showed a mixture of methadone and Benadryl, which led the medical examiner to rule the boys manner of death as a homicide. On June 2, 2021, Rivera and her husband voluntarily responded to police headquarters to be given the results of their sons autopsy. They were interviewed a second time, and Rivera reaffirmed her previous statement that her husband was asleep when she prepared her sons sippy cup before he died. Rivera was given the results and subsequently became uncooperative and would not provide an explanation of how this occurred, Chitty told the court. Her husband was highly upset over the results but was cooperative throughout the process, the prosecutor said. Police executed a search warrant on the cellphone belonging to Rivera at the time of the incident. Detectives discovered that around 1:40 a.m. before Rivera said she put her boy to sleep the device had multiple Google searches about methadone uses and side effects. The Google account was identified as belonging to Relle Rivera and had a provided date of birth consistent with Riveras. The device itself contained numerous photos of the decedent and messages from Rivera to other people, revealing the user would be Sherrell Rivera, Chitty said. Sudans main civilian bloc on Tuesday rejected a proposal by coup leader General Abdelfattah al-Burhane to make way for a civilian government, denouncing a tactical retreat designed to maintain the armys influence in the country. The Forces for Freedom and Change (FLC), the backbone of the civilian government ousted in the putsch led by the army chief on 25 October 2021, called for continued mobilization against the military rule on the sixth day of anti-putsch sit-ins in the capital and its suburbs. During the revolution that overthrew another military leader, the dictator Omar al-Bashir, in 2019, the demonstrators had maintained their sit-ins for eight months. They then got the army to share power with civilians from the FLC to lead the country to its first democratic elections. General Burhanes putsch brutally changed the situation in October. His announcement to give way to a civilian government in effect a return to the status quo before his coup did not convince the street, which set up new barricades just after his speech on Monday evening. The civilian bloc denounced a betrayal and a way for the army in control of Sudan almost without interruption since independence in 1956 to keep the upper hand on politics and the economy. General Burhane announced that a Supreme Council of the Armed Forces would sit alongside the civilian government, whose prerogatives he did not define. A sharp increase in prices of essential goods in the Central African Republic (CAR) linked to the Russia-Ukraine war will likely have a devastating impact on the already dire humanitarian situation there in coming weeks, the UN World Food Program (WFP) warned on Tuesday. Some 2.2 million people are already affected by acute food insecurity in the Central African Republic, meaning that the global food, fuel and fertilizer crisis sparked by the conflict in eastern Europe will put basic food commodities and staples out of the reach of many people, warned Tomson Phiri, WFP spokesperson. The figure may not shock you out of your seats, but when you look at the population size, thats nearly half the population of the Central African Republic, he told journalists. To help, the UN agency needs $68.4 million urgently. Without immediate funding, food and nutrition insecurity will only increase for millions of people, Phiri warned, adding that a sharp increase in commodity prices is only weeks away. We expect a 30 per cent increase in rice, a 67 per cent increase for the price of wheat flour and a staggering 70 per cent increase in the price of vegetable oil. To put CARs food insecurity crisis into context, the country is on a par with Yemen, South Sudan and Afghanistan, in terms of its proportion of acutely food insecure people, according to the UN. The experimental session. Credit: B. Bermudez-Margaretto et al. An international team of researchers led by scientists from the HSE University have examined the interplay of languages in the brains of bilinguals. Using EEG data of Russian-English bilinguals, the authors were the first to demonstrate nearly instant and automatic detection of semantic similarity between words belonging to their two languages, suggesting the existence of an integrated bilingual lexicon in which words are activated in parallel in both languages. The study findings are published in Cortex. Bilingualism is a widespread phenomenon of growing importance in today's world of globalization and migration. In the broader sense, bilinguals are people who are able to communicate in two languages. Bilinguals can be "balanced" or "non-balanced" depending on the level of language proficiency, and "early" or "late" depending on the age of second language acquisition. An increasing number of studies focus on non-balanced late bilingualism, since most bilinguals belong to this group. The questions of whether bilinguals access the lexicon of each language separately, whether their brains have formed an integrated bilingual lexicon, and how fast they are able to process linguistic information in their second language are widely discussed in research. Previous research reveals that monolinguals have fast and automatic lexico-semantic access to their language. EEG captures the brain's response to a linguistic stimulus after 50 ms, meaning that a person takes just 0.05 seconds to recall and say the right word. An international team of researchers with the participation of scientists from the HSE Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience have examined whether "late" bilinguals are able to process lexico-semantic information as fast and whether it involves parallel activation of the other language. The authors asked 17 HSE University students, native speakers of Russian, to complete a task that involved semantic priming, ie, the mind's tendency to recognize a word faster if it is preceded by a similar one. In bilingual experiments, primes used are usually first- or second-language words which are similar in meaning, sound or spelling to the target word. In most cases, primes are masked so that subjects are not consciously aware of them. In this experiment, Russian words were presented as primes of English targets in conditions of semantic similarity or dissimilarity between the two languages. Stimuli were presented on a computer screen as a sequence: a cross in the middle of the screen to focus on, a series of % symbols as the forward mask, a prime presented for 50 ms followed by a target word, and the backward mask. The subjects were finally presented with a catch word and asked whether it was the same as the preceding target word. Since masks were used and the prime was shown for a very brief period, the prime's effect on the perception of the target word was subliminal. The authors recorded the subjects' EEG throughout the experimental session. An amplitude difference was registered at 4060 ms, which is the earliest crosslinguistic effect reported so far. "Our findings confirm the existence of an integrated brain network for the bilingual lexicon. In this experiment, Russian primes, similar semantically to the English targets, made it easier for subjects to understand foreign words and shortened their reaction times. Our results suggest that second-language words are activated automatically in bilingual brains, and that cross-language interplay involves left temporo-parietal neural regions," says study co-author Federico Gallo, Junior Research Fellow of the HSE Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience. However, according to Gallo, although having great temporal resolution, EEG has intrinsic limits when it comes to high-resolution spatial localization. In the future, the use of MRI or MEG techniques could lead to fundamental discoveries in this area, adding a fine-grained spatial localization of the phenomena observed in this investigation to the detailed description of their time-course. Explore further Bilingualism comes naturally to our brains, new study shows More information: B. Bermudez-Margaretto et al, Ultra-rapid and automatic interplay between L1 and L2 semantics in late bilinguals: EEG evidence, Cortex (2022). Journal information: Cortex B. Bermudez-Margaretto et al, Ultra-rapid and automatic interplay between L1 and L2 semantics in late bilinguals: EEG evidence,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.03.004 Provided by National Research University Higher School of Economics Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain COVID-19 vaccine acceptance increased 3.7% between 2020 and 2021, according to a new study from researchers at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH), the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the Dalhousie University and the University of Calgary. In a June 2021 survey of over 23,000 individuals across 23 countries, the researchers found that more than three-quarters (75.2%) of respondents reported vaccine acceptance, up from 71.5% one year earlier. The study, which was published Monday in Nature Communications, was carried out within the context of a year of substantial but very unequal global COVID-19 vaccine availability and acceptance, which necessitated new assessments of the drivers of vaccine hesitancy and the characteristics of people not vaccinated. Concerns about vaccine safety and efficacy and mistrust in the science behind vaccine development were the most consistent correlates of hesitancy. Other factors associated with vaccine hesitancy varied by country and included personal experience with COVID-19 (e.g., sickness or loss of a family member) and demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, education, and income). The authors found that vaccine hesitancy did not significantly correlate with a country's current COVID-19 case burden and mortality. In June 2021, vaccine hesitancy was reported most frequently in Russia (48.4%), Nigeria (43%), and Poland (40.7%), and least often in China (2.4%), the United Kingdom (UK) (18.8%), and Canada (20.8%). "In order to improve global vaccination rates, some countries may at present require people to present proof of vaccination to attend work, school, or indoor activities and events," says CUNY SPH Senior Scholar Jeffrey Lazarus. "Our results found strong support among participants for requirements targeting international travelers, while support was weakest among participants for requirements for schoolchildren." Support for vaccine mandates was substantially lower among those who were hesitant to get vaccinated themselves. "Importantly, however, recommendations by a doctor, or to a lesser extent by an employer, might have an impact on a respondent's views on vaccination in some countries," said CUNY SPH Dean Ayman El-Mohandes. Although some countries are currently disengaging from evidence-based COVID-19 control measures, the disease has by no means been controlled or ended as a public health threat. The authors note that for ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaigns to succeed in improving coverage going forward, substantial challenges remain. These include targeting those reporting lower vaccine confidence with evidence-based information campaigns and greatly expanding vaccine access in low- and middle-income countries. The role of social networks ISGlobal and the Institute #SaludsinBulos, together with the Severo Ochoa Foundation and representatives of Spanish scientific and professional societies and patient associations, held a meeting on 20 June 2022 to advance the development of a consensus on addressing vaccine hesitancy. According to data presented from a European survey carried out by the Vaccine Confidence Project, the population group most exposed to social networksyoung people under 24 years of age, with secondary or university studies and living in urban areasare the most reluctant to be vaccinated. Additionally, messages that call for vaccination as a "moral obligation" are strongly rejected compared to those that call for "protection," which are more commonly well received. As reflected in similar studies, one of the most popular ways of conveying anti-vaccine messages has been humor. Therefore, participants in the meeting agreed on the need to disseminate the benefits of vaccines using this same tool, but without making fun of those who have mistaken beliefs about vaccines. In the face of misinformation, it is important to improve information on vaccination using simple language and channels that reach the population, such as social networks, the participants concluded. Explore further International study reveals factors contributing to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among health care providers More information: Jeffrey V. Lazarus et al, Revisiting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy around the world using data from 23 countries in 2021, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Jeffrey V. Lazarus et al, Revisiting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy around the world using data from 23 countries in 2021,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31441-x Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Urgent and radical change is needed to address the declining dental health of Aotearoa's children, but the problem is too huge to be tackled by just one service, a group of oral specialists say. A paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, led by University of Otago pediatric dentistry senior lecturer Dr. Dorothy Boyd, says dental decay is the most prevalent non-communicable childhood disease in New Zealand. Maori, Pasifika, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, and those without access to community water fluoridation are most affected. Aotearoa has a long tradition of providing publicly funded dental care for children and young people, yet by age 5, 60% of Maori, 70% of Pasifika, and 33% of non-Maori/non Pasifika children have already experienced dental decay, Dr. Boyd says. "Early childhood cariesdisease in young children's teethhas been described as a modern neglected epidemic and is getting worse. "Despite the hard work of dental professionals in the midst of the early childhood caries tsunami, every part of the oral health care system is stressed, with long waiting lists, inconsistent collaboration between primary, secondary and tertiary care, and inconsistent access to, and types of, care offered across the country." This all compounds the suffering of children and whanau, she says. "The entire oral healthcare workforce is under-resourced, and Maori and Pasifika are under-represented in it." The problem is too far-reaching to be managed without a collaborative and coordinated approach across health and society as a whole, Dr. Boyd says. "Now is an opportunity for radical change, and that radical change is essential. However, for oral health to improve this cannot be left to oral health servicesthe problem is too huge, and overlaps with many other health needs. So, as a society it is time for us to demand that our children are protected from harm and enabled to be healthy. "As a nation, we cannot afford not to invest in the health of our children." Preventing dental caries requires buyin from society, government, industry, health professionals and the public to understand and support a shift of focus away from getting fillings to placing value on children saying caries-free. Reducing the extent of unhealthy foods marketed to children and addressing the affordability of healthy food, fluoride toothpaste and toothbrushes, is a good start, she says. Living in deprivation has consequences for the health of children that follow them into adulthood; for example, most Pasifika adults only access dental care because of pain, and the cost is the main reason for not accessing routine dental care. The solution lies in sustained, streamlined activity across the whole of society and particularly among services that care for children in health and beyond, she says. "All children deserve to eat, sleep, learn and play without dental pain and oral infection. "We all must agitate for changes that will enable children to grow up in Aotearoa New Zealand with the health that they deserve." Explore further Study examines the influence of dietary free sugar intake on dental caries More information: Dorothy H. Boyd et al, Oral health of children in Aotearoa New Zealandtime for change, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (2022). Dorothy H. Boyd et al, Oral health of children in Aotearoa New Zealandtime for change,(2022). DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2022.2069826 DMCC, a flagship free zone and Dubai government's authority on commodities trade and enterprise, has announced that the facade of Uptown Tower has been fully installed, thus marking a major construction milestone for Dubais latest megaproject. The 340-m-tall property, which is the first of two supertall towers at DMCCs Uptown Dubai District, is set for handover in Q4 2022. Announcing the key construction milestone, DMCC said a total of 8,542 glass panels had been successfully installed at the skyscraper. Work on the project began in August 2020 and then following the completion of structural elements earlier this year, it steadily progressed to the facade stage. At peak installation, the team had installed an entire floor of the building every two days, equating to 70 panels per day. Utilising an integrated design and manufacturing approach, the process of conceptualising and installing Uptown Towers facade was completed by using innovative technologies such as 3D modelling and digital tracking systems, said the statement from DMCC. By embracing innovative building practices, the project saw enhanced efficiencies that allowed the facade to be fabricated in line with project schedule requirements. With over 17 million man-hours working on the project, the installation of the Uptown Tower facade system was completed with no lost time due to injury. This is a testament to the entire project team's dedication to ensuring every person on the project worked safely and that any potential hazards on the project were managed and controlled effectively, it added. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Uptown Towers design replicates the brilliance of diamonds through its faceted glass facade that illuminates the interior spaces with natural light while filtering out harsh glare. It is set to be a Leed Gold certified building and will be home to a state-of-the-art DMCC headquarters. It will also feature a 188-key five-star luxury hotel - SO/ Uptown Dubai - exclusive restaurants, extensive conference facilities, Grade A offices and 229 signature SO/ branded residences. The commercial office spaces have received great market interest with a significant amount of space already pre-leased ahead of Q4 2022 completion.-TradeArabia News Service Affiliation may protect some financially distressed rural hospitals from closure, according to a study published online July 1 in JAMA Health Forum. H. Joanna Jiang, Ph.D., from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues assessed whether affiliation with another hospital or multihospital system was associated with lower risk for closure in rural areas. The analysis included data from rural U.S. hospitals that faced financial distress in 2007, with follow-up through 2019. The researchers found that of the 2,237 rural hospitals operating in 2007, 140 (6.3 percent) had closed by 2019. The proportion of independent rural hospitals decreased from 68.9 to 47.0 percent during the study period, while the proportion that were affiliated increased from 31.1 to 46.7 percent. Affiliation was associated with a lower risk for closure compared with being independent (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.49) among financially distressed hospitals. However, affiliation was associated with a higher risk for closure among hospitals that were financially stable (aHR, 2.36). There was also a strong association seen between for-profit ownership and closure for hospitals that were financially stable in 2007 (aHR, 4.08). "The higher risk of closure among hospitals that were initially financially stable potentially raises concerns about the consequences of affiliation for some types of hospitals," the authors write. "Policy interventions designed to sustain rural hospitals should consider the different situations of affiliated and independent hospitals." Copyright 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A Yale-led study published in JAMA Pediatrics finds that second-year medical students who experience mistreatment and discrimination have a higher likelihood of leaving school in subsequent years. Researchers also noticed that recurring mistreatment and discrimination were correlated with higher rates of attrition. Researchers used a dataset collected by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to retrospectively determine how medical school environments may have affected attrition rates for 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 matriculants. The AAMC survey asked second-year students about experiences of behavioral harm, public embarrassment, or being discriminated against based on sex, race, and ethnicity, which the researchers classified into either discrimination or mistreatment. Departures Triggered by Mistreatment Students who experienced an isolated incident of mistreatment had an attrition rate of 2.8%. For students who experienced recurrent incidents, that rate jumped to 4.1%. In comparison, students who reported no mistreatment showed a 1.2% attrition rate. The numbers may actually be underestimated, according to Yale researcher Mytien Nguyen, MSc, because more white and male students filled out the survey than the medical student population. Nguyen hypothesizes that marginalized students may be more disengaged in medical school, leading to fewer survey responses. "The disparity might be higher in reality because we have an underrepresentation of marginalized students in our sample," says Nguyen. Even so, she says, it is clear that students from marginalized backgrounds were more likely to experience discrimination or mistreatment. For instance, if 2% of discrimination reports are based on sexual orientation but only 4% of medical students are sexual gender minorities, that is close to 40% of that population reporting instances of mistreatment and discrimination, explains Dowin Boatright, MD, MBA, MHS, assistant professor of emergency medicine and the study's senior author. In a 2020 JAMA study of more than 27,000 graduating medical students, researchers found that underrepresented minorities (URM), or students who were female, Asian, multiracial, or identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual bore the brunt of discrimination. In fact, nearly one in four URM students reported experiences of mistreatment in medical school. Intervening before students depart While overt mistreatment has fallen in just the past few years, something he credits to a decrease in implicit bias that several studies have found, Boatright says the prevalence of mistreatment is still "unacceptably high." "We know that as we go up the academic ladder, diversity decreases, and so that might be leading to the higher experiences of mistreatment among trainees," says Nguyen. Nguyen and Boatright agree that a good place to reduce attrition rates for marginalized students is by diversifying the faculty and leadership at medical schools. Across the nation, fewer than 5% of faculty are from underrepresented groups. The Washington Medical Commission (WMC), which establishes standards for medical practice in that state, is trying another potential remedy. It is looking at restorative justice, an intervention that involves intense conversation with possible perpetrators of mistreatment and with victims. The goal is so to reach consensus on what actually happened, how these episodes of mistreatment do not only affect the person who was harmed but also the community at large, and opportunities for growth for the person who committed the mistreatment, whether it was intentional or not. "I think that will go a long way to make faculty, residents, and supervisors more engaged if it's a growth opportunity, as opposed to being defensive in terms of it being a form of punishment, which I don't think is what we really want except obviously in the most extreme cases," says Boatright. "Trainees are in a very vulnerable position in general, and so I think that how these experiences are resolved is an important aspect," says Nguyen. Another solution Boatright has considered is linking pay of either the dean or a hospital's leadership to diversity metrics such as recruitment and retention of diverse faculty or the prevalence of mistreatment. "That's not an exact solution, but I think it will provide a level of accountability that would create a sense of urgency for medical schools and hospitals," says Boatright. Reporting Mistreatment More Accurately Nguyen would like to see more granular reporting, particularly with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), since it has influence in the policy for accreditation. Presently, medical schools are not required to report attrition to LCME based on race or ethnicity. She also would like to see studies that go beyond second-year students, as well as more precise reporting on ethnicityespecially for student of Asian descent, whose overall attrition numbers were found to be relatively low. "I think that warrants more investigation because as we have it, it's 'Asian' as a whole," says Nguyen. "Asian is a very diverse student population, and I think we need to look at disaggregated Asian subgroups to really understand the influence of mistreatment and discrimination among Asian students." Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain After mapping the genetic underpinning of kidney function in 1.5 million people and about 60,000 kidney cells that are the microscopic mechanisms of gene regulation, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that more than 500 genes likely contribute to kidney disease development. Multiple genes that play a key role in kidney detoxification, including SLC47A1, have been identified. The good news is that close to 100 of the 500 genes might be able to be targeted by various pharmaceuticals already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The findings point to the underlying genetics of kidney function and can lead to future research into possible therapeutic targets to treat kidney disease and its development. The research was published in Nature Genetics. "Single cell level analytical tools now allow us to dive deeper into the mechanisms at play by uncovering genetic variation in all cells in the body, and then we can look for links to genetics of diseases and illnesses," said Katalin Susztak, MD, Ph.D., lead investigator and a professor of Nephrology and Genetics at Penn. "Highlighting the links and exploring cause and effect will offer greater understanding of the human kidney and uncover potential ways to treat those who struggle with kidney issues." An estimated 37 million people in the United States have kidney disease, and mortality from kidney disease has risen by more than 40% in the last two decades, making it one of the fastest-growing causes of death. Roughly a million people die of kidney failure worldwide each year. Despite the major personal and economic burden, few new therapeutics have been registered to treat or cure kidney disease over the last 40 years. Using genetic information from more than 1.5 million participants around the world and a basic-science technique of mapping cells known as single-cell sequencing, scientists at Penn implicated important cell types for different disease conditions such as the proximal tubules for kidney disease and collecting duct principal cells for high blood pressure. Next, the researchers characterized gene expression and gene regulation in hundreds of human kidney samples and analyzed changes in more than 60,000 human kidney cells. The team used sophisticated computational and statistical methods to generate the most comprehensive maps to uncover the genes, cell types and mechanism of kidney dysfunction. "While there may be many origins of kidney dysfunction in human kidneys, our studies specifically highlight the role of SLC471A gene," said Hongbo Liu, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Susztak' s lab. "This gene carries different toxins. Changes in SLC47 might make the kidneys of people more or less sensitive to toxin mediated injury and kidney disease." The study authors want to continue to look into specific genes to understand their role in kidney diseases and say that their study serves as a springboard for researchers to test different pharmaceuticals against these genetic variants and their deleterious effects. "There may come a time many years from now when patients who have these genetic variants can receive treatment before kidney disorders arise," Susztak said. More information: Hongbo Liu et al, Epigenomic and transcriptomic analyses define core cell types, genes and targetable mechanisms for kidney disease, Nature Genetics (2022). Hongbo Liu et al, Epigenomic and transcriptomic analyses define core cell types, genes and targetable mechanisms for kidney disease,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-01097-w Datasets produced in this study are available at susztaklab.com Journal information: Nature Genetics During socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's sentencing on sex trafficking charges on June 28, adult survivors spoke out in anguish as they described the long-lasting effects of their years as trafficked teens and young women. The New York Times said Sarah Ransome fought back tears as she described the suffering doled out by Maxwell and the late Jeffrey Epstein, saying she "became nothing more than a 'sex toy.'" Ransome told the court of suicide attempts, alcoholism recovery and relapses, nightmares, anxiety, flashbacks and difficulty maintaining long-term relationships, according to the Insider. As a psychologist who works individually with victims of trafficking, Northeastern University criminology professor Carlos Cuevas is familiar with individual symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and mental distress. What has been lacking is a large research study of the mental and physical health implications of sex trafficking on adolescent victims, he says. Cuevas and fellow Northeastern criminology professor Amy Farrell have set out to rectify that situation by surveying 500 adolescent victims of trafficking about their physical and mental health as well as the health services that they use. "We're recruiting [participants] from agencies across the country that work with trafficking survivors," Cuevas says, including agencies in Boston. "We just don't have much information about the physical health impact of having been a trafficking victim." A 2014 study shows that sexually traumatized women are more at risk for mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety and for addictions including smoking and alcohol consumption. Research also indicates a link between child sexual abuse and chronic illness in adulthood. For years, victims of sexual trafficking have been treated as criminals, even those who were underage, Cuevas says. Little attention was given to their suffering, in the short or long term. "Human trafficking, and in this case the issue of sex trafficking of children and adults, has been unrecognized for decades," Farrell says. "Passage of federal legislation in 2000 enumerating human trafficking crimes and clarifying that commercial sex with minors is a crime regardless of the evidence of force, fraud or coercion was a critical first step in raising public awareness about the issue," she says. Even so, trafficking victims can face a level of criticism and disbelief that can hinder their efforts to get help or healing. "Traffickers depend on the shame victims will feel," Farrell says. "They often tell victims that no one will believe them, that people will blame them and that they have gotten themselves into this one on their own." "When victims face public blame, it just affirms all the messages that have kept them coerced for so long," Farrell says. Annie Farmer was just 16 when she fell prey to Maxwell and Epstein's network of abuse that eventually drew in her sister as well. She spoke in court just before Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison and through her lawyer submitted a lengthy victim witness statement on June 22 that detailed the pernicious effects of her experience. "One of the most painful and ongoing impacts of Maxwell and Epstein's abuse was a loss of trust in myself, my perceptions, and my instincts," she wrote. "When predators groom and then abuse or exploit children and other vulnerable people, they are, in a sense, training them to distrust When a boundary is crossed or an expectation violated, you tell yourself, 'Someone who cares enough about me to do all these nice things surely wouldn't also be trying to harm me."' "This pattern of thinking is insidious, so these seeds of self-doubt took root even as I learned my sister had also been harmed by them, and came to find out years later that many others had been exploited. For years these memories triggered significant self-recrimination, minimization and guilt. I blamed myself for believing these predators actually wanted to help me," Farmer wrote. Imbalances in age, power and status can serve as coercive factors in trafficking cases, says Margo K. Lindauer, clinical professor of law at Northeastern and director of the university's Domestic Violence Institute. "We have a concept of what a perfect victim is," Lindauer says. And it does not include poor girls from unstable backgrounds or naive teens thrilled to accept a ride on a private jet. "We have to expand how we define harm", she says, to include preying on vulnerable individuals. "We're just coming to terms as a society with how prevalent sexual violence, trafficking and domestic violence are a real thing," Lindauer says. Boys and young men are trafficked as well as girls and young women, Cuevas says "I think it's important not to make assumptions about the gender of trafficking survivors," he says. Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual may be particularly vulnerable due to lack of family support or other circumstances, Cuevas says. "Very often victims of trafficking were seen as sex workers and were treated as offenders when in reality they are victims that are being coerced into these behaviors," he says. "In reality they are kids who are being repeatedly victimized." They need to be treated as such by law enforcement and in health care settings, Cuevas says. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with accelerated cognitive decline among middle-aged women, according to a study published online June 30 in JAMA Network Open. Andrea L. Roberts, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues conducted a cohort study involving participants from the Nurses' Health Study II to examine the association between PTSD and decline in cognitive function over time. Data were included for 12,270 trauma-exposed women who completed one to five cognitive assessments; the mean age at baseline cognitive assessment was 61.1 years. The researchers found worse cognitive trajectories in association with a higher number of PTSD symptoms. Women with the highest symptom level (six to seven symptoms) had a significantly worse rate of change in both learning and working memory and psychomotor speed and attention compared with those with no PTSD symptoms, after adjustment for demographic characteristics. When additionally adjusting for behavioral factors and health conditions, associations were unchanged; further adjustment for practice effects and comorbid depression led to a partial attenuation, but the associations were still evident. "These findings also highlight the importance of PTSD prevention and treatment to ensure heathy cognitive aging and suggest the value of earlier cognitive screening among women with PTSD," the authors write. One author disclosed receipt of grants and fees from various companies. Explore further PTSD symptoms tied to higher risk for ovarian cancer Copyright 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. This shows the nucleus holding the DNA in a stem cell from the Berkeley mice. The green and red spots show the DNA that has been edited by this new stem cell-based gene therapy for sickle cell disease. These coloured dots illustrate abnormal gain or loss of DNA segments after editing. Credit: the Weiss lab. Sickle cell disease is an extremely debilitating condition that affects up to 40% of the population in African countries, with patients suffering episodes of excruciating pain, organ damage and reduced life expectancy. This disease is caused by a mutation in a gene that makes hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells, with the damaged hemoglobin distorting the shape of red blood cells, causing painful and potentially life-threatening blockages in blood vessels. However, scientists have realized that increasing the production of a healthy form of this protein (fetal hemoglobin, which is usually only produced when we are in the womb), could provide a revolutionary treatment for these patients. In their current Disease Models & Mechanisms article, Mitchell Weiss and colleagues from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, U.S., have investigated a promising new treatment that is being developed in Weiss's lab, and works by editing genes to switch on the production of this healthy, fetal hemoglobin in adult red blood cells. When testing the treatment in mice, the researchers found that even though the lab mice had the symptoms of sickle cell disease, the fetal hemoglobin gene and surrounding DNA were not properly configured, making the revolutionary stem-cell treatment ineffective or even harmful in the animals, and raising concerns for future research testing new gene-based therapies in these laboratory mice. Before a new treatment can be tested on people, scientists test it on laboratory animals, so Weiss and colleagues tried their new gene therapy in two types of mice that carry the symptoms of sickle cell disease: so-called "Berkeley" and "Townes" mice. First, they removed stem cellscells in the bone marrow programmed to become red blood cellsfrom the mice, and used gene editing to modify part of the stem cells' DNA to switch on the healthy fetal hemoglobin gene. The scientists then put these reprogrammed stem cells back into the mice and monitored the animals for 18 weeks to find out how the treatment affected them. Surprisingly, 70% of the Berkeley mice died from the therapy, and it only activated production of the healing fetal hemoglobin gene in 3.1% of mouse stem cells. In contrast, the experimental treatment activated the fetal hemoglobin gene in 57% of red blood cells in the Townes mice and did not affect the animals' survival. However, the levels of fetal hemoglobin produced in the red blood cells of Townes mice were 7 to 10 times lower than seen when this approach is used in human cells grown in the laboratory and not high enough to reduce clinical signs of sickle cell disease. Weiss and colleagues then wanted to find out why this new treatment was not successful in the Berkeley mice, which have been used for decades to test treatments for sickle cell disease. Dr. Weiss says, "We realized that we did not know enough about the genetic configurations of these mice." Therefore, the team sequenced the hemoglobin genes and surrounding DNA of the Berkeley mice and discovered that instead of having a single copy of the mutated human gene, the mice had 22 randomly arranged, broken-up copies of the mutated human sickle cell disease gene and 27 copies of the human fetal hemoglobin that the team had hoped to activate to cure the mice of the disease. This complex genetic make-up caused the fatal effects when the scientists tested the gene therapy in the Berkeley mice, as editing multiple copies of a gene can damage the DNA. This means that researchers cannot use these mice to test and optimize this gene-editing treatment. In contrast, the Townes mice only had single copies of the mutated human hemoglobin gene and the gene that makes human fetal hemoglobin. However, these mice likely lacked crucial pieces of DNA that normally regulate the production of the fetal hemoglobin gene in humans. Therefore, they couldn't produce enough of this healthy protein to alleviate the mouse symptoms. Dr. Weiss commented, "Our findings will help scientists using the Berkeley and Townes mice decide which to use to address their specific research question relating to sickle cell disease or hemoglobin. Additionally, this work provides a reminder for scientists to carefully consider the genetics of the mice that they are using to study human diseases and find the right mouse for the job." Explore further New insight into red blood cell machinery offers clues to treating sickle cell disease More information: Limitations of mouse models for sickle cell disease conferred by their human globin transgene configurations, Disease Models & Mechanisms (2022). Journal information: Disease Models & Mechanisms Limitations of mouse models for sickle cell disease conferred by their human globin transgene configurations,(2022). DOI: 10.1242/dmm.049463 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain About half of transgender and gender-diverse patients in the United States who undergo gender-affirming genital surgery travel outside their home state to receive this care, and those who travel pay nearly 50% more in out-of-pocket medical expenses, according to new findings by Oregon Health & Science University researchers, published in JAMA Surgery. The OHSU-led study offers the first national estimate of the average cost for gender-affirming genital surgeries. Its findings can help patients and insurance companies better plan for receiving or covering this medically necessary surgical care, says the paper's lead researcher, Jae Downing, Ph.D., an assistant professor of health policy in the Oregon Health & Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health. "Traveling a long distance for a major procedure such as gender-affirming genital surgery places a large burden on patients," Downing says. "We already knew that traveling for health care requires patients to take time off work and pay for travel and lodging on their own, and that it can make receiving follow-up care from qualified providers who are familiar with each patient's unique needs challenging. Now, our study shows that traveling out of state also increases out-of-pocket medical expenses for trans and gender-diverse patientseven though their surgery's total cost is largely the same." Transgender and gender-diverse people are assigned a sex at birth that differs from their gender identity. Many transgender patients seek medically necessary care from health professionals to affirm their gender. Each transgender patient's care needs are unique; some patients seek hormone therapy and others seek surgeries for their chest, face or genitals. Genital surgical care is complex, is led by specialized surgeons and can require multiple, subsequent procedures. To understand the cost of gender-affirming genital surgery, Downing and colleagues from OHSU and the University of Washington studied a research database containing U.S. commercial insurance claim information for 129 million people between 2007 and 2019. Within that data set, 771 patients received a feminizing genital surgery, known as vaginoplasty, or a masculinizing genital surgery, known as phalloplasty. For all gender-affirming genital procedures combined, 49% of patients traveled outside their own state to receive surgical care. At the same time, whether a surgery was done within or outside a patient's home state, there was no statistically significant difference in each procedure's total cost. To calculate out-of-pocket medical expenses, the researchers added up coinsurance, copayments and deductible payments from insurance claims. They found the patients who traveled out of their state for surgery paid an average of nearly 50% more in out-of-pocket expenses than those who didn't. The average out-of-state patient paid $2,645, compared with $1,781 for the average in-state patient. The study also revealed that patients who live in the South travel away from their own state more often for gender-affirming genital surgery. For example, patients who live in the West were 36% less likely to travel out of their home state for surgery than those living in the South. As such, many patients may need to travel out of their state for gender-affirming genital surgery because there aren't enough surgeons who provide this care to begin with, and the need to travel may be greatest in the South because the shortage of gender-affirming genital surgeons is greater in that region, Downing and colleagues note. They point to a 2020 study that found there were just 11 surgeons who provide this specialized care in the South, with four practicing in Florida. "Transgender and nonbinary patients experience enormous barriers to accessing gender-affirming surgery, with one barrier being the lack of local, qualified surgeons and dedicated support teams to help patients navigate this care," said Geolani Dy, M.D., the study's corresponding author and assistant professor of urology and of plastic and reconstructive surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine, who also provides vaginoplasty and other gender-affirming surgeries through the OHSU Transgender Health Program. "Patients and surgeons already know this well," Dy continued, "and now this study helps quantify how severely we need more gender-affirming surgeons." Researchers also found that just 1 in 100,000 patients had a gender-affirming genital surgery paid for by their commercial health insurance provider in 2019, which equates to about 1,800 such surgeries being covered nationwide that year. Drawing from a separate 2021 study on bariatric surgerywhich also is not often covered by insurancethis study's authors found that in 2019, bariatric surgery was 20 times more likely to be covered by insurance than gender-affirming genital surgery. While an estimated 0.6% to 3% of the U.S. population may identify as transgender, 1 in 100,000 patients equates to about 0.001% of patients having gender-affirming genital surgery covered by commercial insurance. Although not all transgender patients seek genital surgery, commercial insurance appears to substantially undercover those who do, Downing notes. The researchers acknowledge their study doesn't count all out-of-pocket expenses; it only tracks allowable out-of-pocket medical expenses for which patients submitted a reimbursement request to their private insurer, with no Medicare or Medicaid claims included. They also note that research is needed to understand the extent to which traveling out of state affects surgical outcomes and to examine why patients travel out of state. Downing and Dy are pursuing additional research funding to study some of these outstanding questions. Downing and colleagues pursued this study as a result of their work with the Transgender and Non-Binary Allied Research Collective, or TRANS-ARC. A 2021 TRANS-ARC virtual summit of researchers, health care providers and patients prioritized several research topics related to gender-affirming surgical care, including how insurance coverage and out-of-pocket expenses affect surgical outcomes. Explore further After facial feminization surgery, transgender people report better psychosocial health More information: Jae Downing et al, Spending and Out-of-Pocket Costs for Genital Gender-Affirming Surgery in the US, JAMA Surgery (2022). Journal information: JAMA Surgery Jae Downing et al, Spending and Out-of-Pocket Costs for Genital Gender-Affirming Surgery in the US,(2022). DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2022.2606 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Family physician Jennifer Vassel used to think she was weird. Situations affected her differently than her colleagues. She could remember exact pages from her Grade 6 textbooks. And she had always been highly sensitive to other people's feelings"like being a sponge," Vassel says. Then, she learned about neurodiversity. The term is often used interchangeably with neurodivergence to refer to the idea that there is a wide range of normal variation in the brain and no one "right" way to experience and interact with the world. The neurodiversity movement views neurodevelopmental conditions like autism, ADHD, and dyslexia as differences, not deficits. While these differences may pose a spectrum of challenges to functioning in a largely "neurotypical" society, they're not innately disabling and can be important strengths. Autism care professional Aiyana Bailin explains in Scientific American that valuing neurological differences doesn't mean denying the reality of disabilities, "but we also don't assume that neurological and behavioral differences are always problems." For example, Vassel says, hypersensitivity can make working in a hospital overwhelming, especially for trainees encountering death for the first time. But the same trait helps her connect and build trust with patients quickly. "What I used to think was weird, I now think of as what makes me different, unique, and in some ways, what I'm good at," Vassel says. She only started feeling comfortable describing herself as neurodivergent a few months ago. Undiagnosed and undercover Although the neurodiversity movement has gained mainstream traction and made inroads in medical circles in recent years, medicine has been slow to acknowledge or accommodate neurodivergence within its ranks. Exact numbers of neurodivergent doctors are unknown and studies on neurodiversity in medicine are mostly small, qualitative, and focused on autism. Many people may not know that they're neurodivergent until adulthoodoften when demands at home or work exceed their ability to compensate for differences. Women and high achievers especially may be overlooked or misdiagnosed if they don't display disruptive behaviors in childhood. Shane Neilson, an assistant clinical professor of family medicine at McMaster University, argues in Canadian Family Physician that neurodivergence may be under-identified in physicians precisely because medicine filters for "high-functioning, intelligent, and conscientious" people whose strengths may mask difficulties. Meanwhile, Neilson notes, "intense internalized stigma due to professionalism norms discourages anyone from seeking help or accommodation." According to an editorial in the British Journal of General Practice, many neurodivergent doctors may remain undiagnosed and undercover for fear of workplace discrimination. 'We thought we were alone' However, a growing community of autistic doctors is challenging the notion that neurodivergence is incompatible with a medical career. Mary Doherty, an Irish consultant anesthetist, discovered she was autistic in her mid-forties. In 2019, she founded Autistic Doctors International, a peer-support and advocacy group, because she was "craving autistic peers in medicine." The group now has nearly 1,000 members, including Canadians like Vassel. "We all thought we were alone," says Doherty. "Just to be able to come together with a group of people who understand has been phenomenal." Most of the group members don't fit the category of "doctors in difficulty," though many have experienced challenges at work, usually related to fitting in with colleagues or organizational hierarchy, rather than patient care. Doherty says it's a "huge loss" for medicine to overlook neurodiversity as an asset to the profession and reject people over things like social awkwardness or lack of eye contact, for example. "I mean, medicine selects for autistic traits," she says. "Perfectionism, attention to detail, that dogged determination to stick with an idea until it gets resolved, work ethic, loyalty, honesty." Embracing neurodiversity in medicine could also bring greater understanding and empathy for neurodivergent patients, writes Georgina Taylor in the Australian Journal of General Practice. Behind the mask Neurodivergent people often feel pressure to "mask" or compensate for differences to succeed in neurotypical settings. This may include mirroring what other people do to appear "normal," or suppressing self-soothing behaviors like fidgeting or hair twirling, also known as "stimming." Keeping up appearances can be exhausting, says Josee, a forensic pathology resident. Josee says that specializing in pathology, where she can work at her own speed, allowed her to "survive and also thrive." "I get to be myself when I'm working on my own," she explains. "It allows your brain to think about other things when you don't have to think, "Did I say hi properly to this person this morning? Did I ask enough questions about them?'" Emerging evidence has linked masking with increased anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. According to Shirley Moore and colleagues from the Doctors' Support Network, a U.K. peer-support group, the full toll of masking may only become apparent when a physician reaches a breaking point, "sometimes catastrophically, in the form of a meltdown." Yet, dropping the mask can be risky, too. "Different learning needs are often overlooked and those who do not fit with society might find themselves undermined or scapegoated," Moore and colleagues write in The Lancet Psychiatry. As health care faces increasing recruitment and retention difficulties, they note, "employers, managers, and colleagues can no longer afford to overlook the potential of autistic doctors purely because these doctors do not conform to existing systems favoring the neurotypical clinician." Accommodating difference Alex, an anatomical pathology resident who was diagnosed with autism as an adult, says there's often misplaced concern about the ability of neurodivergent doctors to connect and empathize with patients. On the contrary, Alex has found it easy to relate to patients because "most people have a good grasp of how a doctor should act and there's a very clear script." "What's very difficult is the interpersonal interactions with the people you work with and figuring out what they expect of you," Alex says. Constant changes in routine and having to renegotiate accommodations repeatedly during training have also been challenging. Workplaces expect autistic physicians to "spend every second of their day pretending to be as non-autistic as possible," Alex says. "But when you ask for one tiny thing to make things easier for you [such as asking for orientation at a new job or not to be on-call on the first day], people act like it's a really big deal." More open discussion of neurodiversity in medicine is needed to facilitate peer and workplace supports, according to a paper in BJPsych Open. The authors point out that "those who have been able to achieve suitable accommodations, often without realizing why they were needed, have flourished." Evidence on how to support neurodiverse doctors is limited, and types of accommodations will likely vary depending on the individual. Daniel Robinson, a postgraduate trainee in psychiatry who has ADHD, suggests that learning environments could be improved by increasing the diversity of senior role models, providing timely feedback, and using teaching strategies that make visible the thought processes involved in complex tasks and allow trainees to elaborate on their own thinking. Medical training should also encourage introspection to help physicians identify if they're neurodivergent early in their careers, says Andrea, a family physician and preventive medicine specialist who learned she had autism and ADHD years after medical school. "Have some reflective exercises early on so that people can actually understand that might be them," she says. Advocacy efforts by Doherty and others in the U.K. have helped to kickstart conversations about neurodiversity internationally, says Elizabeth, a Calgary-based physician who was diagnosed with autism a few years ago. But those conversations are "still very much hidden" in Canada, she says. "There has to be a recognition that we are here, we've always been here, and we're not going anywhere." Editor's note: Some names have been changed to protect identities. Explore further New study finds autistic and non-autistic people share more in common than previously understood FICTION: A triumphant debut collection about a Penobscot family forced to endure a string of terrible crises. "Night of the Living Rez: Stories" by Morgan Talty; Tin House (296 pages, $16.95) "How'd we get here?" asks David, the narrator of "Night of the Living Rez," Morgan Talty's debut collection of linked short stories. "I'm starting to think that each time I ask it, each time I consider an answer, I wind up farther away from where I should be, from where I was." Where David was, and where he is now, are both pretty far from happiness. He grew up mostly on the Penobscot Nation reservation in Maine, raised by his mother, with some half-hearted assistance from her boyfriend, Frick. They didn't have much, and their lives were marked by a string of tragedies. His adulthood isn't much better. He spends a lot of time with his friend Fellis; when they're not making daily visits to the methadone clinic, they're watching TV, drinking, popping pills, anything to numb their boredom and pain. So how'd they get there? The collection's second story, "In a Jar," ominously sets the stage for what follows. A young David has just moved with his mother to the reservation; while trying to retrieve a lost toy, he finds "a glass jar filled with hair and corn and teeth." His mother explains it's been left at the house "to hurt me. To hurt us." And pain does indeed follow. His older sister, Paige, suffers a pregnancy loss; later, she disappears, "leaving behind only a note that read she'd lost something and that she was off to find it." Talty depicts the relationship between David and Paige perfectly the siblings clearly care for each other; it's evident beneath the bickering and the long periods when they don't see each other. David's mother has her own issues. In "Safe Harbor," she finds herself in a crisis stabilization unit for "the twelfth time in the past three months." David has brought her the cigarettes she can't live without, but they're a distraction from the fact that she hasn't been able to sleep in days. The story ends with both mother and son experiencing terrifying medical emergencies; it's almost excruciating to read, but it's undeniably powerful, and, in its own way, beautiful. David himself hits something like rock bottom in "Half-Life" and "Earth, Speak." In the first story, desperate for pills, he burglarizes his grandmother's house, aware of what he's become, but driven by his own addiction. In the second, he watches as Fellis savagely beats a troubled acquaintance; after the man is "barely breathing," David steals a bottle of Klonopin from his home. The stories are as effective, and as brutal, as a literary one-two punch can be. Talty's prose is flawless throughout; he writes with a straightforward leanness that will likely appeal to admirers of Thom Jones or Denis Johnson. But his style is all his own, as is his immense sense of compassion. "Night of the Living Rez" is a stunning look at a family navigating their lives through crisis it's a shockingly strong debut, sure, but it's also a masterwork by a major talent. Michael Schaub is a Texas-based writer. WEDNESDAY, July 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Your age may play a huge role in whether you'll decide to get a COVID vaccine, new research finds. Though vaccine hesitancy due to personal politics has drawn a lot of media attention, a University of Georgia study reveals it's not the only consideration. The link between vaccines and politics is "not so much true as people get older," noted study author Glen Nowak. He co-directs the Center for Health and Risk Communication at the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, in Athens, Ga. In fact, "people who are 65 and older are almost universally vaccinated, particularly as you start getting to 75 and older," Nowak said. For the study, his team surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000 Americans. The researchers wanted to learn whether respondents' political party, preferred news source and factors like age, gender, race/ethnicity and education would affect vaccine acceptance. The investigators found that respondents 50 and older tended to consider themselves at greater risk while worrying that getting COVID-19 would have a negative impact on their daily lives. The youngest respondents, however, were less likely to worry about getting the virus or to consider themselves at risk of severe illness. "Looking at 18- to 29-year-olds, it's not surprising that they are the group with the lowest overall COVID vaccination rates because they're not a group that is suffering serious illness and death from COVID," Nowak said in a university news release. "Are there instances of that? Absolutely. But it's relatively rare. I think many people in that age group understand that." Still, even with differences in age, political affiliation and where participants got their news were the most consistent predictors of how they felt about their COVID risk and their vaccine intent, according to the study. Liberals were more likely than conservatives to consider the virus a bigger threat to their daily lives, worry about becoming ill and think symptoms could be severe. They also were more concerned they could pass the disease to others, more likely to accept the vaccine and to trust public health officials. Compared with conservatives, liberals and moderates believed medical care and treatment would be more difficult to access. And, in a finding that surprised the researchers, the survey showed that respondents who received their news from a mix of conservative and liberal sources were more likely to be vaccine hesitant than those who only consumed partisan news. "If you had asked us before ... this study, we would have said pretty confidently that people who were looking at a wide array of information would be much more likely to be vaccinated and have much more confidence in the vaccine," Nowak said. "What this suggested was the opposite in many instances. Many people who tried or said that they looked at a broad spectrum of information sources came away less confident and more uncertain about the vaccine and its value." The authors suggested that public health messages should be tailored to specific audiences, in part because those who aren't at high risk tune those messages out. "This data shows you can't assume interest and attention from younger people and those who are less affected by COVID-19," Nowak said. "It's a good reminder that we can't just blast, 'Everybody should be afraid of getting severe COVID.' That's not an effective communication strategy." The findings were recently published online in the International Journal of Strategic Communication. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19. SOURCE: University of Georgia, news release, July 5, 2022 Islamic Arab Insurance Company (Salama) and Bayzat have teamed up to provide exclusive health takaful solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE. Salama is the UAE's largest Shari'ah-compliant Takaful solutions provider and Bayzat is a UAE-based company offering an all-in-one human resource (HR), payroll and employee benefits platform. This decision to introduce the offering follows comprehensive market analysis by Bayzat and Salama to identify and address the key pain points SMEs face with traditional Takaful solutions. Unique analytics Key among these is the need to remove the friction that these organisations lean HR teams typically encounter with the insurance process, from quoting all the way through to policy activation with customer centric integrations with NAS as the TPA. Moreover, by leveraging Bayzats unique analytics, they are able to provide each SME with a fair pricing structure that is unique to their organisation, and more competitive than those available in the open market. Under the partnership agreement, a unique Group Takaful Health solution will be launched exclusively for Bayzat's SME clients to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage for their employees. Fahim Al Shehhi, CEO of Salama, said: We will provide a unique solution that aligns with our core mission of extending the benefits of Takaful to all. Given the progress we have made in our digital transformation and the fact that Bayzat offers a great digital platform for work life balance, I am confident that this partnership can generate significant synergies that will greatly benefit the SME sector and the burgeoning startup ecosystem. The customised, high-quality, digital and comprehensive health insurance coverage will enable small businesses to take care of their employees' health needs and, as a byproduct, promote socio-economic growth in the UAE. Logical step The introduction of this insurance product is a logical step towards our goal of ensuring Bayzat can serve as the single, all-encompassing platform for our customers HR, payroll, performance management and employee benefits needs. It is specifically tailored to the unique needs of businesses with between 15 to 150 members. It not only offers them more competitive pricing, but also unlocks the ability for their employees to self-serve their insurance needs using the Bayzat app thereby reducing the workload on HR teams, and enhancing the employee experience, commented Talal Bayaa, Co-founder and CEO at Bayzat. As one of the regions most respected and well-recognised insurance providers, we are proud to partner with Salama in bringing this game-changing product to the market, Bayaa added. The policy will be underwritten by Salama, administered by NAS and reinsured by SwissRe - bringing together the expertise of leading players in the insurance sector.-- TradeArabia News Service TUESDAY, July 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked a recent Listeria outbreak to ice cream made by Florida-based Big Olaf Creamery. One person has died in the outbreak involving 10 states, while 22 have been hospitalized. The agency said that health officials interviewed 17 of those who got sick and 14 reported eating ice cream. Among the 13 who remembered the type of ice cream they ate, six identified the brand as Big Olaf Creamery or a location that served that type of ice cream. On Friday, the company voluntarily began contacting retail locations to recommend against selling their ice cream products, the CDC said. On Sunday, the company issued its own statement on social media about the outbreak. "For now it is only speculation as it is an ongoing investigation, our brand has not been confirmed to be linked to these cases," the company stated. "The original report we got from the Florida Department of Health on Friday July 1st, was that there are 23 cases reported ... 6 out of the 23 patients mentioned having consumed Big Olaf ice cream, but nothing has been proven." The statement added that the company has been cooperating with state and federal health officials since it was informed about the situation. Consumers who have Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream, which is only sold in Florida, should throw it away, the CDC said in its alert. Clean any areas, containers, or serving utensils that may have touched the ice cream. Retailers who have purchased products from the brand should not serve it until further notice. Any equipment, ice cream scoops, serving utensils, or areas that may have come into contact with the ice cream should be cleaned. A punctured semi-truck tank spilled about 175 gallons of fuel onto a Missoula roadway on Tuesday. Missoula Fire was dispatched to the 3600 block of Union Pacific Street for a fluid spill at about 8:11 a.m., according to a press release from the Missoula Fire Department. There is no current health threat to the public. The first arriving engine found a semi-truck with a punctured fuel tank. It had spilled roughly 175 gallons of diesel fuel into the street and nearby storm drains, creating a hazmat incident. It took crews about two hours to clean up the spill. A dump truck laid a load of sand on the fuel, followed by a sweeper truck to clean up the contaminated sand and dirt. Additionally, a vacuum truck came to the scene to suck up fuel and sand from the affected storm drains. No injuries resulted from the incident. The Missoula Storm Water Department is still working on more mitigation efforts in the area to ensure all compromised debris is removed. The fire department reminds everyone to never leave a gas pump unattended while fueling. Also, when filling up gas cans, always put them on the ground and don't leave them in the bed of a truck or in a car. SHERIDAN, Ore. (AP) Prison officials at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Oregon, denied showers last month to those held in a unit where people were engaged in a hunger strike, according to a court filing. A court filing last week by a federal public defender says about 80 people housed in the detention centers J2 Unit were protesting conditions inside the facilitys detention center. According to the Bureau of Prisons, on June 23 some of the men in custody at the prison southwest of Portland did not accept their meals. The following day, documents say prison warden DeWayne Hendrix issued a memo to people in that unit saying showers were postponed, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The purpose of this memorandum is to inform each of you that showers are postponed due to continued threats of assault to staff, Hendrix wrote. Enhanced security procedures due to ongoing disruptive behavior will continue through the weekend and will be reevaluated on Monday. All issues brought to our attention are being reviewed. Oregon Public Defender Lisa Hay noted in the court filing that temperatures in Sheridan reached 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) when showers were withheld. The Bureau of Prisons didnt answer questions from OPB about the memo or whether the water was cut off in an effort to end the hunger strike. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys, who represent the federal prison, said in a court filing of their own last week that no inmates are currently on a hunger strike. Conditions inside the federal prison have been the subject of concern since the pandemic took hold in 2020. Hay has in court filings detailed lockdowns that have lasted for days. In other filings, her office has documented poor medical and dental care that has left many suffering. Since the pandemic began, seven people have died at the facility. KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) The governor of the last remaining eastern province partly under Ukraine's control urged his more than 350,000 residents to flee as Russia escalated its offensive and air alerts were issued across nearly the entire country. Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said that getting people out of Donetsk province is necessary to save lives and enable the Ukrainian army better to defend towns from the Russian advance. The destiny of the whole country will be decided by the Donetsk region, Kyrylenko told reporters in Kramatrosk, the province's administrative center and home to the Ukrainian military's regional headquarters. Once there are less people, we will be able to concentrate more on our enemy and perform our main tasks, Kyrylenko said. The governors call for residents to leave appeared to represent one of the biggest suggested evacuations of the war, although it's unclear whether people will be willing and safely able to flee. According to the U.N. refugee agency, more than 7.1 million Ukrainians are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine, and more than 4.8 million refugees left the country since Russia's invasion started Feb. 24. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said air alerts were issued Tuesday night in nearly all of the country, in many places after a long period of relative calm during which people searched for an explanation. You should not look for logic in the actions of terrorists, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. The Russian army does not take any breaks. It has one task to take peoples lives, to intimidate people so that even a few days without an air alarm already feel like part of the terror. Much of the military activity appeared concentrated in Ukraine's east. The Kramatorsk governor said that because they house critical infrastructure such as water filtration plants, Russias main targets are now his city and a city 16 kilometers (10 miles) to the north, Sloviansk. Kyrylenko described the shelling as very chaotic without a specific target ... only to destroy civilian infrastructure and residential areas. Sloviansk also came under sustained bombardment Tuesday. Mayor Vadim Lyakh said on Facebook that massive shelling pummeled Sloviansk, which had a population of about 107,000 before Russian invaded Ukraine more than four months ago. The mayor, who urged residents hours earlier to evacuate, advised them to take cover in shelters. At least one person was killed and another seven wounded Tuesday, Lyakh said. He said the citys central market and several districts came under attack, adding that authorities were assessing the extent of the damage. The barrage targeting Sloviansk indicated that Russian forces were advanc ing farther into Ukraine's Donbas region, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where the country's most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Sloviansk has previously taken rocket and artillery fire during Russia's war in Ukraine, but the bombardment picked up in recent days after Moscow took the last major city in neighboring Luhansk province, Lyakh said. Its important to evacuate as many people as possible, he warned Tuesday morning, adding that shelling damaged 40 houses on Monday. The Ukrainian military withdrew its troops Sunday from the city of Lysychansk to keep them from being surrounded. Russia's defense minister and Putin said the city's subsequent capture put Moscow in control of all of Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the Donbas. The office of Ukraine's president said the Ukrainian military was still defending a small part of Luhansk and trying to buy time to establish fortified positions nearby. The question now is whether Russia can muster enough strength to complete its seizure of the Donbas by taking Donetsk province, too. Putin acknowledged Monday that Russian troops who fought in Luhansk need to take some rest and beef up their combat capability. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that the war in Ukraine would continue until all of the goals set by Putin are achieved. However, Shoigu said the main priorities for Moscow at the moment were preserving the lives and health of the troops, as well as excluding the threat to the security of civilians. When Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine more than four months ago, his stated goals were defending the people of the Donbas against Kyivs alleged aggression, and the demilitarization and denazifaction of Ukraine. Pro-Russia separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before the invasion this year, Putin recognized the independence of the two self-proclaimed separatist republics in the region. He also sought to portray the tactics of Ukrainian forces and the government as akin to Nazi Germany's, claims for which no evidence has emerged. The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said Russian forces also shelled several Donetsk towns and villages around Sloviansk in the past day but were repelled as they tried to advance toward a town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the city's north. South of the city, Russian forces were trying to push toward two more towns and shelling areas near Kramatorsk. Meanwhile, Moscow-installed officials in Ukraines southern Kherson region on Tuesday announced the formation of a new regional government, with a former Russian official at the helm. Sergei Yeliseyev, the head of the new Moscow-backed government in Kherson, is a former deputy prime minister of Russias western exclave of Kaliningrad and also used to work at Russia's Federal Security Service, or the FSB, according to media reports. It wasnt immediately clear what would become of the military-civic administration the Kremlin installed earlier. The administration's head, Vladimir Saldo, said in a Telegram statement that the new government was not a temporary, not a military, not some kind of interim administration, but a proper governing body. The fact that not just Kherson residents, but Russian officials, too, are part of this government speaks clearly about the direction the Kherson region is headed in the future," he said. "This direction is to Russia. Kherson's Russia-installed administration previously stated plans for the region to become part of Russia, either through a referendum or other means. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. In other developments: The 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, sending the two nations' membership bids to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals. The move further increases Russias strategic isolation. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hailed the signing as a "truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO. The war in Ukraine has drawn millions of dollars away from countries facing other crises. Somalia, suffering a food shortage largely driven by the war, may be the most vulnerable. Its aid funding is less than half of last years level while overwhelmingly Western donors have sent more than $1.7 billion to respond to the war in Europe. Yemen, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Congo and the Palestinian territories are similarly affected. Spain boosted military spending in an attempt to reach its commitment to NATO to dedicate 2% of gross domestic product to defense. Spains Cabinet approved a one-off Defense Ministry expenditure of almost 1 billion euros ($1 billion) that the government said was necessary to pay for unexpected expenses from Russias invasion of Ukraine. Spain has sent military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and deployed more troops and aircraft to NATO missions in Eastern Europe. Follow AP's coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) (THE CONVERSATION) Justice Samuel Alito appears spellbound by the 19th century. In Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, the decision Alito wrote overruling 50 years of constitutional protection for womens right to get an abortion, he deploys arguments that are based on several historical precedents. He uses the phrase history and tradition regularly. But for Alito, the 19th century looks like the true golden age: In 1803, the British Parliament made abortion a crime at all stages of pregnancy and authorized the imposition of severe punishment. He goes on and on: In this country during the 19th century, the vast majority of the States enacted statutes criminalizing abortion at all stages of pregnancy. By 1868, the year when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, Alito concludes, three-quarters of the States, 28 out of 37, had enacted statutes making abortion a crime. But in his rather selective forays into history, Alito doesnt ask what to me, as a historian, constitutes a set of fundamental questions: Why was abortion eventually criminalized during that time? What was the broad cultural and intellectual context of that period? And, more important, is there something peculiar about the 19th century? As far as womens bodies and abortion are concerned, the 19th century saw a decrease in the trust in, and power of, women themselves. 18th-century woman: Active and in control As a medical procedure, abortion was widespread in Colonial and 18th-century America. By using more or less safe techniques, midwives and medical practitioners performed many types of operations on their patients. The woman could easily die, of course; but when she sought an abortion, no social, legal or religious force would have blocked her. Also, a woman could choose from many available remedies rather than have an operation. Derived from juniper bushes, savin, or Juniperus sabina, was one of the most popular abortifacients. Other herbs and concoctions were similarly taken: pennyroyal, tansy, ergot, Seneca snakeroot or cotton root bark. Benjamin Franklin inserted an abortion recipe in a popular textbook he republished in Philadelphia in 1748. He didnt prompt any scandal. The truth is that Americas founders, together with their contemporaries, had a rather democratic understanding of the female body. They believed that women, physiologically speaking, werent qualitatively different from men; the two sexes were equal and complementary. Mens and womens composition, medical doctors argued, was identical in essence the only difference was anatomical, in that male sexual organs were more externally distended than female organs. Just like the male, the female was thought of as fully in control of the workings of her physiology, including her sexuality. It was believed that both the man and the woman had to reach orgasm, better if simultaneously, for pregnancy to ensue. This made 18th-century men attentive to the satisfaction of their female partners, though for utilitarian reasons. Especially when sex was aimed at procreation, the woman had to be as active as the male partner. The 18th-century woman was active and in control. She trusted her bodily feelings, including her pleasures. And crucially, only she could detect whether quickening had taken place in her womb. Consequently, she could immediately tell whether terminating a pregnancy at a given time was acceptable. Or if it was a crime. 19th-century woman: Weak and chaste The 19th century changed all that. The understanding of physiology and the mechanisms of the female body underwent a deep transformation. European and American doctors, now, saw women as essentially different from men: From a one body model, the medical discourse shifted toward a two body model. Womens level of self-determination decreased accordingly. Suddenly, they were not only weaker or softer than men, but inherently passive, too. Instead of being encouraged to take part in sex, actively and with vigor, 19th-century women were expected to be withdrawn. They were thus recast as pure, chaste and modest. Commendable women were virgins, wives, mothers. Or else they were prostitutes, nearly criminals, which reflects the Victorian dualistic mindset. Instead of being urged to trust the quickening and other physiological events happening in her womb or her vagina, the honest woman had to trust her doctor. Anti-abortion campaigns began in earnest in the mid-19th century. They were waged mostly by the American Medical Association, founded in 1847, and were fundamentally anti-feminist. They chastised women for shunning the Victorian self-sacrifice expected of mothers. Anti-abortion campaigns were targeted against midwives and tried to discredit womens firsthand experience of pregnancy. Male doctors claimed pregnancy as a medical terrain - a realm that belonged to them exclusively. Based on womens own bodily sensations not on medical diagnosis quickening was denigrated. Quickening, of course, made doctors dependent on womens self-diagnosis and judgment. Dr. Horatio R. Storer, the leader of the medical campaigns against abortion, described quickening as in fact but a sensation. In such a context, it could no longer be framed as the basis from where all moral, social and legal standards emerged. In the Dobbs decision, Alito says: The Court finds that the right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nations history and tradition. This is a historical fact: Protection of the right to abortion wasnt around in America before Roe. But it is also an incomplete picture of the full story. The criminalization of abortion, plus the decentralization of the womans experience, plus the medicalization of her feelings that led to that decision, are facets that belong to the long-gone 19th century. No American lives in that century any more - not even Justice Alito. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/abortion-decision-cherry-picks-history-when-the-us-constitution-was-ratified-women-had-much-more-autonomy-over-abortion-decisions-than-during-19th-century-185947. " " The campus tour, like this one of Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., is standard on a college visit. Is that guide saying how many books Juniata has in its library? AP Photo /Carolyn Caster Choosing a college is a big deal. It's not just the place where you'll be living for the next four or five years. Your college experience can influence what the rest of your life will be like. For many people, it's where you'll educate yourself, form lifelong friendships, and decide on and make steps toward your career. The course of your life can dramatically differ just by choosing one school over another, so it's not a decision you should take lightly. With the cost of tuition for four years at a public U.S. university averaging around $30,000, you'll really want to make sure you get the most out of your money [source: CollegeBoard]. Would you buy a car without first taking it for a test drive? Just like any major purchase, choosing a college is an investment in your future. While you'll most likely apply to more than one school, it helps to know more about the schools you're applying to. That's where college visits come in. Going to see several colleges before you send your applications can help you to make a better, more informed decision, just like buying a car. Advertisement You don't have to -- and probably won't be able to -- visit every school you plan on applying to. But even if you can't see all the colleges you're interested in, dropping in on a few is an excellent idea. There's a lot you can learn by making college visits that will (hopefully) make your decision much easier. A school might look good on paper, but how is the food? Is the campus safe? Do you feel comfortable there? What does the school have to offer you? So many questions can be answered by taking the time to see a school in person. So what happens when you visit a college? Is there anything you should look for (and look out for)? And how can you plan ahead to make the most out of your time on campus? Find more about sizing up potential schools in the next sections. Even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, 11 states limited whether employer-based insurance plans could cover abortions with exceptions for rape, incest, life endangerment and fetal impairment. But those states, which include Texas, Indiana and Oklahoma, couldnt prevent plans from covering out-of-state abortions, said Harvey Cotton, a principal lawyer within Ropes & Grays benefits consulting group. Since the Court's ruling paved the way for some states to pass abortion bans, a slew of companies including Google, Kroger and Disney offered employees out-of-state coverage and reimbursement for travel expenses. But its too early to tell whether those benefits will make it through inevitable legal challenges. Where companies stand: Companies paying for abortion-related travel include Dick's Sporting Goods, Google, Disney Abortion bans: An Ohio 10-year-old crossed state lines for abortion care in Indiana. She isn't alone Does private health insurance cover abortions? Before Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which resulted in Roe being overturned, employers who wanted to offer a broad scope of reproductive health benefits could do so, Cotton said, except for plans that were fully insured. These plans are subject to state regulations because the insurers, not employers, assume the financial risk of providing health care coverage. People who are enrolled in a fully insured plan may not be able to receive out-of-state coverage for abortions. Most employer-based plans are self-funded, according to a 2021 study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, meaning employers assume the financial risk of insuring employees and the insurance plans. These plans are subject to federal laws such as Employee Retirement Income Security Act that supersede state laws that regulate insurance. Although there isnt sufficient data, Michelle Banker, director of reproductive rights and health litigation at the National Womens Law Center, said that before the Dobbs ruling it was less likely that low-wage workers received any abortion coverage just by virtue of the fact that more higher-paid jobs offer health benefits. Story continues Can telemedicine step in?: Demand for telemedicine abortions increases but could face legal challenges post-Roe Privacy risks: Should you delete your period-tracking app after Roe reversal? To find out how or if an employment-based health insurance plan covers abortions, employees should ask for a copy of their plans document and search for terms like reproductive care, Banker recommends. You do not have to specify interest in information on abortion coverage, she said. Or, contact an abortion provider and ask if the provider can process your insurance or contact your insurance provider and ask about out-of-pocket expenses. Will there be interstate abortion travel bans? Cotton said he expects a variation in states interest in regulating travel. The uncertainty has some clients holding off on reimbursing employees abortion-related travel expenses, he said. Some states that ban or restrict abortion will have no interest in restricting travel, Cotton added, but states like Texas are signaling a very aggressive approach to employers that are going to attempt to do this. Opinion: Interstate abortion travel bans? We're supposed to be a free country, not East Germany. State abortion bans, the new normal? One womans 17-hour journey to get an abortion. In his concurring opinion of the court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that states should not be allowed to bar people from traveling to get an abortion based on the constitutional right to interstate travel. If there is a ruling on whether employers can cover travel costs for someone to receive an abortion, it's going to affect presumably more than just abortions, Cotton told USA TODAY, because many companies cover travel costs for a variety of medical procedures, including cancer treatment and organ transplants. Cost of getting an abortion hits low-income people hardest, Justices say Former Justice Stephen Breyer and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote in their dissenting opinion that traveling to get an out-of-state abortion is less of a legal question than an affordability question. In states that bar abortion, women of means will still be able to travel to obtain the services they need. It is women who cannot afford to do so who will suffer most. For instance, in Texas, where abortions are banned after fetal cardiac activity is detectable around six weeks after conception a person would have to travel 494 miles round trip, or seven hours by car, on average to get an abortion, according to research published last year by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion-rights research organization. Where is abortion legal in the world? Canada, other countries allow abortions and these ban them. Abortion illegal in Texas again: Texas Supreme Court blocks order that allowed abortions to resume That could require someone to miss a full days earnings. In addition, with gas prices hovering around $4.40 a gallon in Texas, it would cost about $90 to complete the trip for a car that gets 24.2 miles per gallon, the average mileage for cars driven in the U.S. More state abortion bans are "only going to exacerbate" the financial burdens of getting an abortion, and they will disproportionately affect people of color, Banker said. But "there are strong (legal) arguments in support of the ability of employers to offer benefits and take steps to protect their employees" that could help alleviate the burden for some Americans. Elisabeth Buchwald is a personal finance and markets correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on Twitter @BuchElisabeth and sign up for our Daily Money newsletter here This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are interstate abortion travel bans likely after Roe v. Wade ruling? FICTION: This frank, funny debut novel follows three thirtysomething pals as they ride the ups and downs of relationships and careers over a few months in Detroit. "Boys Come First" by Aaron Foley; Belt Publishing (300 pages, $17.95) If you're going to write a novel about a group of friends, it's a good idea to make them seem like people your readers would actually like and want to hang out with. Aaron Foley pulls it off in "Boys Come First," a charming debut novel about the friendship among three Detroit men. Dominick, Remy and Troy have four things in common: in their 30s, Black, gay and native to Michigan's largest city. As the book starts, Dominick is bailing on New York City after his advertising career and decade-long relationship crumble in rapid succession. Returning to his hometown and moving back in with his divorced mom, he connects with old friend Troy, a teacher with a messy personal life. With Troy's friend Remy, a real estate agent whose business prospects are catching fire, they're a trio, bantering in bars and cracking each other up in group texts. Lighthearted and episodic, "Boys Come First" follows Dominick, Troy and Remy over the better part of a year their romantic adventures and misadventures, their work and family lives, and their travels around and across the great, struggling Midwestern metropolis of Detroit, which becomes a sort of fourth main character. Foley, a journalist and Detroit native, has written two nonfiction books about the city, and his love for and frustration with it shine through on every page. He spins through neighborhoods, name-checks intersections, catalogs some of its best bars and restaurants while exploring whether one of Black America's capitals is becoming yet another fixer-upper for "upstart white Detroiters" interested in reclaiming the city's ruined architectural glory. "They were the ones on Facebook ranting about affordable housing, completely unaware that their own presence was the reason the goddamn prices were going up," Foley writes. The critiques never get too heavy-handed, though, and ultimately Foley is more interested in his characters' sex lives and dating mishaps than their views on gentrification. All three men are prolific on sex apps but also thinking about long-term relationships, negotiating that modern thirtysomething space between the wanderings of the previous decade and the settling down of the one to come. Funny, contemporary and often amusingly raunchy, "Boys Come First" feels almost revolutionary in the way that Dominick, Troy and Remy aren't made to experience the kind of suffering over sexual orientation that once seemed a hallmark of queer literature. Foley gives us characters who are comfortable as gay men and proud to be Black men, but are still flawed, very human, wise and foolish in roughly equal measure. You probably know people like them. The historic Main Oak Building partially collapsed early Tuesday morning in downtown Mount Airy, authorities said. No injuries were reported. Mount Airy firefighters and police officers were dispatched to 248 Main St. after local authorities received a report at 4:26 a.m. that bricks were falling from building, the city of Mount Airy said in a statement. When firefighters and officers arrived at the scene, they found multiple bricks in the road, the city said. While the first responders were on the scene, the roof and part of the Oak Street side of the building collapsed. The building wasnt occupied at the time, said Eric Southern, the director of Surry County Emergency Management. Other nearby buildings, including The Loaded Goat restaurant at 247 City Hall St., were undamaged, Southern said. The firefighters and police established a safety perimeter involving numerous businesses and streets in downtown Mount Airy, the city said. The building is at the corner of Main and Oak streets. On its website, the city warned residents and visitors to stay clear of the area around the Main Oak Building. Oak Street and a section of Main Street will remain closed until the area can be secured, the city said. Mount Airy is the hometown of the late actor Andy Griffith, and the community bills itself as Mayberry, the name of the town in Griffiths popular television show in the 1960s. Mount Airy and Surry County inspectors were called to the scene to evaluate the damage, the city said. A drone was deployed over the site Tuesday to give inspectors pictures of the partial collapse, Southern said. Moore and Associates Engineering Firm of Mount Airy and Sasser Restoration Co. of Whitsett also came to the scene to assess the building. A damage estimate wasnt immediately available Tuesday, Southern said. The building has a property tax value of $524,440, according to Surry County tax records. Its owner is listed as Mt. Airy One LLC of Durham. At this point, we are super thankful that no one was hurt, said Shannon Pearson, a spokeswoman for Mt. Airy One LLC. Obviously, thats our main priority. We are working really hard to assess (the) cause and other details, Pearson said. Mount Airy and Surry County officials dont yet know what might have caused of the collapse, said Southern and Chris Fallaw, the Mount Airy fire marshal. I dont see it being resolved any time soon, Southern said when asked about authorities determining a cause for the buildings partial collapse. Before Tuesdays incident, a construction crew was working to convert parts of the building into an Airbnb, supplying rental units for tourists, the Mount Airy News reported. Mount Airy Downtown Inc. posted a social media message Tuesday, saying Mount Airy Downtown Inc. is relieved to know (that) there were no injuries reported and no loss of life occurred with the partial collapse of the Main Oak Building. We feel so fortunate that everyone is OK, the organization said. At the same time, we are saddened by the sudden partial loss of a pivotal historic building in the Mount Airy National Register Historic District. The Main Oak Building was built between 1905 and 1910 as the Midkiff Hardware Store, the organization said. The community and visitors alike will be mourning a monumental loss if the front facade cannot be saved, the group said. Preservation of our historic structures is of utmost importance to retaining the character, charm, and history of Mount Airy. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has opened its first Private Office outside the UK, in Dubai, which is the first among similar facilities planned for luxury hot spots around the world. Private Office Dubai serves as an extension of The Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood offering offers exclusive product previews and detailed commission consultations. It is home to the first Bespoke Designer and Bespoke Client Experience Manager located permanently outside Goodwood. Huge progress "The inauguration of a permanent Private Office located outside Goodwood in Dubai, UAE, signals huge progress for Rolls-Royce. For many years we have been inviting our VIP clients to The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood and now, following significant demand, we are bringing Goodwood to the world. Not only will we be permanently locating a member of the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Design team and Bespoke Client Experience Manager in this new outpost, but we will also be leveraging the very latest technology to allow our Middle East-based clients to explore our Home in West Sussex remotely and see their own Bespoke Rolls-Royce come to life. This is yet another step in the evolution of the marque, rooting itself as a true House of Luxury with effortlessly elevated design services that are on a par with our products. The Private Office will complement and support our regional Dealer Partners by enhancing our clients experiences of Rolls-Royce, said Torsten Muller-Otvos, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Inspirational market The Middle East region has always been an inspirational market for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, especially when it comes to Bespoke. What we inaugurate today is of great significance as it represents the first Rolls-Royce Private Office outside the UK and further confirmation that Rolls-Royce is a true House of Luxury. Our Private Office Dubai is an extension of The Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in West Sussex, and is the first in a number of similar facilities that will be opened around the world. This is not a dealership; it is a unique experience where clients can bring their ideas to life and explore our Home and our people in real-time, using seamless technology, said Henrik Wilhelmsmeyer, Director of Sales and Brand, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has unveiled a world-first Private Office in Dubai, UAE. This outpost will be an extension of the marques world-renowned centre of luxury manufacturing excellence at The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, England. The Private Office Dubai is the first in a number of similar facilities that are planned for major luxury capitals of the world over the next few years. These Private Offices will facilitate even closer contact and relationships with global Rolls-Royce clients, further embedding the marques reputation as the worlds most client-focused luxury brand. Unique experience The new Rolls-Royce Private Office, located in the heart of Dubai in the One Central neighbourhood, is a unique experience for the Middle East regions most significant clients, offering the flair and expertise of The Home of Rolls-Royce on their doorstep. This is achieved not only with the materials on display and the marques renowned hospitality, but also with the first permanent appointment of a Bespoke Lead Designer and Bespoke Client Experience Manager outside Goodwood. Both these crucial positions are filled with people who bring a wealth of Rolls-Royce experience with them. Bespoke Lead Designer Michelle Lusby arrives in Dubai after eight years with the marque, where she previously worked on a wide variety of exciting and exquisite projects, including the highly Bespoke, one-of-one Phantom Serenity, which captivated the world when its unique appointments and material treatments redefined the luxury of tranquillity. Chris Hardy moves from Goodwood to take up the position of Bespoke Client Experience Manager. Having been with Rolls-Royce for over five years, he brings a true passion for the client to this unique new role, where he will guide visitors through the wonderful experience which awaits them at the Private Office Dubai. Three key programmes In response to significant client demand, three key programmes will be the focus of the Private Office: the recently revitalised Rolls-Royce Coachbuild programme, High Bespoke Commissioning, and access to the Private Office Collection of one-of-one masterpiece motor cars. The offerings are part of a complementary strategy, finding the synergy between the rooted and established Global Dealer Partner Network, with the roll-out of Global Private Office outposts in select locations across the world. -- TradeArabia News Service Butte police reports Unwanted neighbor David Scott Robertson, 63, of Butte had been asked several times Saturday afternoon to leave a residence in the 1440 block of Sampson Street. At one point, neighbors walked him back to his own home. A short time later, he arrived back on their patio. He was jailed for the misdemeanor offense of failure to disperse. Man assaulted Debbie Marie Two Two, 37, of Butte was jailed just after 11:30 p.m. Friday for the misdemeanor offenses of partner or family member assault and criminal mischief. Officers investigating a disturbance arrived in the 500 block of Silver Bow Homes just in time to see Two Two allegedly lunging at a 53-year-old man. The victim reported that Two Two had assaulted him in the parking lot and broke a window in his apartment as well. Advice not followed Brandon Lee Waananen, 25, of Butte was told several times to leave the area in and around Cinz Bar, 301 E. Mercury St., but decided not to take the officers advice and reentered the bar. That decision led to his arrest just before 1 a.m. Saturday for misdemeanor failure to disperse. Ample warning Another unwanted person brought police to the 2000 block of Thornton Avenue shortly after 9 p.m. Friday. Jacob Tanner Pickett, 21, of Butte was reportedly highly intoxicated and refusing to leave the area. Given ample warning, he declined to leave a third time and was arrested for misdemeanor criminal trespass to property. Fireworks complaints From the early hours on Saturday until late Tuesday night, officers were called out 17 times to investigate fireworks complaints. More DUIs Nicole Ann Foley, 43, of Butte allegedly left St. James Healthcare intoxicated and was stopped by police just before 6 a.m. Tuesday at the Town Pump, 531 S. Montana St. She was jailed for a misdemeanor second offense. Just after 2 a.m. Monday, Trey Joseph Walczak, 22, of Anaconda was driving a Kia mini-van when he allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Main and Front. He was jailed for aggravated DUI. Tyson Russell Thomson, 37, of Butte was booked just after midnight Monday for DUI and stop light violation. Thomson was reportedly driving northbound on Excelsior when he ran a red light and struck another vehicle. Zachary Thomas Erickson, 37, of Anaconda was driving westbound on I-90 at around 4 Sunday morning when he was stopped by a MHP trooper. He was arrested his alleged third offense. Zjoli Kaizya Dunn, 21, of Butte was arrested by the MHP around 2:30 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of Montana and Porphyry. Jeffery Scott Herron, 43, of Butte was arrested by MHP just after 2 a.m. Saturday. Additional crimes Batteries were reported stolen Friday from a cellular tower in the 2900 block of Harrison Avenue. A weed eater was taken Friday from a vehicle parked in the 3000 block of Sanders Street. A 2013 white Jeep Cherokee was stolen Saturday while parked near Papa Johns, 2710 Harrison Ave. It reportedly took 15 minutes for Butte-Silver Bow fire fighters to put out a fire Saturday in a dumpster outside of Freds Mesquite, 205 S. Arizona St. Someone hit the back end of a pickup window with a bottle of Twisted Tea while it was parked Saturday in the 2400 block of Harrison Avenue. Also on Saturday, a 2020 white Jeep Grand Cherokee was stolen from the 2300 block of Locust Street. Headed home for the day, a man was driving his truck down the alley west of Placer Street when he saw some men urinating on a wall. The man in the truck yelled at the men to stop. One mans response was to throw a beer bottle at the drivers side mirror. There was a break-in early Tuesday at the Maroon Activities Center, 550 E. Mercury St. The would-be burglar attempted to open an ATM machine, which tripped an alarm. The burglar then took off. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Missoula are warning residents of southwest Montana that severe thunderstorms could be headed this way. These thunderstorms could also bring damaging wind gusts, large hail and heavy rainfall, and are predicted through Friday, with the strongest storms expected on Thursday. With these storms can come strong winds and hail, said Jeff Kitsmiller, NWS meteorologist, with wind gusts of over 60 miles per hour and 1 inch or greater hail. The NWS is putting the risk of damaging winds and large hail at 15%, and the office will continue to monitor the risk levels. According to Kitsmiller, the atmospheric moisture in the area is currently pretty high, about one to two times higher than normal. His office will be looking for these weather disturbances to come out of the south. Thursdays high for Butte is expected to reach about 80 degrees, an added component when predicting severe storms. Taking into account the moisture and the warm temperatures, Kitsmiller thinks Thursday will have a pretty good coverage of thunderstorms, although Friday has a high chance as well. Thursday appears to have all the pieces, said Kitsmiller. Its probably a good day not to park under the trees and if you have a place to protect your vehicle, do so. It was just a little over two years ago when Butte was last hit with damaging winds. Constant winds battered Butte on June 13, 2020, and downed at least 15 power lines. Many residents were without power for most of the day and well into the night. To make matters worse, as the wind was whipping, two grass fires erupted as well. One fire was out on Basin Creek Road, the other in Blacktail Canyon. The gusty winds uprooted trees throughout the Mining City. In addition, several homes and businesses suffered broken windows and roof damage. The highest gust for that day occurred, according to the NWS, around 2 p.m. at 63 miles per hour. Editor's note: Humanities Montana celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022. Throughout the year, its monthly newsletter features Golden Anniversary letters from previous Humanities Montana board members, grantees, speakers, and friends that reflect on what 50 years of Humanities Montana has meant to them and to the state. My favorite quote about education says, Its the art of continuous discovery. My career was continuous discovery: three years in Wiesbaden, Germany; 25 years at Sentinel High School in Missoula; then teaching MSU and UM students. I still teach in UMs Lifelong Learning Institute (MOLLI) and with Humanities Montanas Montana Conversations and Speakers in the Schools programs. I have loved every gig. Why? I have always envisioned teaching as a journey. The chance to dig, to know, and to share. Its the journey of curiosity and digging and the wonderment of discovery. Thats the humanities in a nutshell. I like the joy of discovery, then contemplating, sharing, asking questions, and leading the way. Getting the take of those participating. You dig; you share; you dare. The Humanities mean so much to me. My family owned the local newspaper in Harlowton, and my dad received a Governors Humanities Award for his love of scholarship and his amazing Editors Uneasy Chair column. Mom was Montanas Mother of the Year. They were jointly honored with honorary university degrees. Sheila, my bride of 50+ years, and I were honored together in 2017 with the Governors Humanities Award. Education has also been Sheilas lifes work as a college chancellor, president, and commissioner. We love the medallions we received with the Governors Humanities Award. They highlight three great words that, we hope, reflect who we are: Learn, Reflect, Together. Humanities Montana speakers build their presentations around those three words: Learn. Reflect. Together. We all dig, study, ponder, and dig some more, then meet with Montana folks. The fun includes the feedback and maybe some pushback, with lively discussion. I recently gave a presentation at the Montana Historical Society in Helena on Montanas Jawbone Railroad. It was a 167-mile short-line railroad in Central Montana, lasting just 10 years in the early 20th century. The railroads story is an improbable tale about a Helena lawyer who had a big dream; despite many ups and downs, the dream paid off for a time. My presentation had a full house: folks with rail backgrounds, others who just like any discussion about Montana. I showed pictures of the Jawbone; audience members shared stories. I learned a lot and the audience did as well. This is the humanities for me. I dream about where Humanities Montana will be in the future. More talks and discussions: I would love every community, large and small, to bring in our speakers. They will be the glue that helps bind and enlighten communities. Who do I want to show up? Business people, retirees, educators, ranchers, and farmers, students of all ages. Community organizers should request speakers who will challenge, share, and turn on light bulbs around the room. We want to go to Troy and Broadus, Darby and Westby, and everywhere in between. The humanities represent the best of us. Thank you, Humanities Montana, for 50 years of making a difference. Lets go after the next 50. Animal activists demand closure of dolphin parks in Spain More than 120,000 signatures have been collected for the closure of Spains brutal dolphinariums A campaign launched by Change.org to request the closure of Spains dolphinariums has already collected almost 120,000 signatures and while activists await the opportunity to formally debate the animal prisons, supporters are looking at ways to improve the conditions of captive dolphins. Spain has one of the largest numbers of dolphinariums in all of Europe but these parks are popular worldwide. They often allow visitors to swim with the animals and put on spectacular shows where the dolphins display impressive tricks. However, activists warn that the reality for dolphins is very different from what the public perceives: the animals perform because their food depends on it and are often forced to live in cramped tanks 200,000 times smaller than their natural range in the wild. Although July 23 is the official date dedicated to the protection of these marine mammals, the Foundation for Advice and Action in Defence of Animals (FAADA) chose Monday the 4th as a commemorative day for captive dolphins. Spain currently runs 11 out of the 30 dolphinariums in Europe and along with Japan, China, the US, Mexico, Russian and Ukraine has the dubious honour of holding the most facilities worldwide. They are distributed between Catalonia, the Valencian Community , the Balearic and Canary Islands, Andalucia and Madrid. The experts argue that, while dolphins display a lot of intelligence and feel emotions at a similar level to humans, they are prevented from developing proper social relationships in captivity and need far more space to thrive than their enclosures allow. Instead, "these relationships are made artificially for specific interests" which leads to "a brutal sensory limitation" for animals and leads to the appearance of multiple illnesses such as stress, skin and eye or digestive problems. Incredibly, a 15-year-old Barcelona girl, Olivia Mandle, has spearheaded the campaign to shut dolphinariums once and for all and have the animals moved to marine sanctuaries and recovery centres. She has gathered thousands of signatures with the help of the Parliamentary Association for the Defence of Animal Rights (APDDA) and plans to present the petition to the Senate. According to the FAADA SOS Dolphins, there are currently 102 dolphins, three belugas and five killer whales kept in captivity in Spain. >>> You can sign the petition at the Change.org website <<< Image: Change.org MUSCATINE The Muscatine Police Department is asking anyone who may have information relevant to the prosecution of John Robert West, 47, of Muscatine to contact Lt. David OConnor with the Muscatine Police Investigative Unit. West was arrested Tuesday and faces six counts of second degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony, and one count of lascivious acts, a Class C felony. The arrests stem from a continued investigation into Wests activities after a Feb. 25 arrest for third degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony, lascivious acts, a Class C felony, and false imprisonment, a serious misdemeanor. Investigators from the police department have reason to believe that during 2020 West allegedly committed several sex acts with a child under the age of 12. According to court documents, the Feb. 25 charges stem from an incident where West allegedly committed a sex act on a child while inside a motel room. The charges also state he restricted the childs freedom by deception. The report says West was responsible for the temporary custody of the child, which was known to the childs parent. It says West fabricated a reason to maintain custody beyond the agreed time, causing the child not to be returned to the parents. West also allegedly maintained possession of the childs cellphone, restricting the child from having contact with the parent. Documents related to the new charges were not available on Iowa Courts Online at press time. MUSCATINE The city of Muscatine hopes the second time will be the charm as on Thursday evening, the public will get the chance to let the Muscatine City Council know its feelings on a grant application to help fund the Mulberry Neighborhood Revitalization Pilot Project. During its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Muscatine City Hall council chambers, a public hearing is scheduled for the grant. Later in the meeting the council is slated to vote on seeking a Community Development Block Grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). A previous application was not accepted in part because the IEDA decided another public hearing was needed. In order to get $1.8 million in funding from IEDA, the city will have to commit $70,000 match to the project. The funds are included in the fiscal year 2023 budget, with some of the funding coming from American Rescue Plan Act funds. During the April 7 meeting, the council approved submission for the grant, however the IEDA staff did not feel the published notice was sufficient regarding the application and required another public hearing. Additionally, the IEDA is requiring the council approve the application in the form of a resolution that identifies city funding being committed to the project. As part of the program guidelines, applicants must complete a community needs assessment that shows support for the proposed programs. A community needs assessment was held in Muscatine earlier in the spring. The assessment will be presented during the public hearing. During the hearing city staff will review the findings as well as what activities the city anticipates pursuing funds for. The project was developed during the 2021 housing summit when IEDA director Debi Durham contacted the city and asked that a pilot project be developed that focused on revitalizing one block. The Mulberry neighborhood Mulberry to Orange between Sixth and Seventh streets) was chosen. Improvements will include a range of housing developments and improvements, commercial facades and economic development as well as many community enhancement features. It will be completed over five years with a budget of about $22 million. SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) Thousands marched through the capital for a fifth consecutive night Wednesday protesting a proposal aiming to break a deadlock in North Macedonia's efforts to join the European Union. Limited violence broke out when a group of people threw stones, chairs and bottles at the protesters, while a 40-year-old man was detained after firing a gun in the air as protesters marched to the foreign ministry, police said. No injuries were reported. Police said they found bullet casings at the scene. Opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski and the governing social democrats hastily convened news conferences and accused each other of creating such incidents for political gain. Mickoski, who participated in the march, posted a photo on his Facebook account showing a man pointing a gun and claimed the gunman had intended to kill him. Earlier, police said that violence after the Tuesday night's protest inured 47 police officers, two of them seriously. A group of mostly young people threw stones, metal bars, eggs and petrol bombs at the parliament building. Thousands of people have protested nightly since the weekend over a French proposal for a compromise aimed at lifting objections by neighboring Bulgaria to North Macedonia joining the European Union. Police said 11 protesters were detained in Tuesday night's incidents. Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski condemned the attacks on the police, saying violence cannot be justified. Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski visited the injured police officers in a hospital Wednesday. He said an investigation into the instigators of the violence was underway and warned they would face the strictest possible punishments. We all know very well who is behind the protests and who called for them, Spasovski said. Bulgaria, which as an EU member has veto powers over new members, wants North Macedonia to formally recognize its language has Bulgarian roots, to recognize a Bulgarian minority in the country and to quash hate speech against Bulgaria. Many in North Macedonia say acquiescing would undermine their national identity. North Macedonias president, Stevo Pendarovski, and the government back the proposed French deal, which calls for the country to acknowledge in its constitution the existence of an ethnic Bulgarian minority. It would also provide for regular reviews on how the bilateral dispute is being addressed, which could potentially hamper North Macedonias future course toward EU membership. Bulgaria has already formally accepted the French proposal, which now requires the backing of North Macedonias parliament. Lawmakers are scheduled to convene Thursday to set up a committee that will look into the issue. No plenary session has yet been scheduled. The center-right VMRO-DPMNE, many international law experts and civic groups contend the French proposal favors Bulgarian demands, which dispute Macedonian views of regional history, language, identity and heritage. North Macedonia has been a candidate for EU membership for 17 years. The country received a green light in 2020 to begin accession talks, but no date for the start of the negotiations has been set. Follow AP's coverage of the European Union at https://apnews.com/hub/european-union The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a woman may cite sex trafficking as an immunity defense at her trial for killing her alleged trafficker. Wednesdays decision could help define the limits of criminal liability for trafficking victims across the country. Prosecutors allege Chrystul Kizer shot Randall Volar at his Kenosha home in 2018 when she was 17. She contends Volar was trafficking her for sex and wants to argue that shes immune from prosecution under a state law that absolves trafficking victims of any offenses resulting from being trafficked. Prosecutors maintained that immunity cant possibly extend to homicide. RTHK: Johnson vows to fight on despite resignations Boris Johnson on Wednesday refused to quit as British prime minister, despite a growing number of resignations from his scandal-hit government, piling on pressure as he faced a grilling from angry MPs. The 58-year-old leader's grip on power appears to be slipping following 10 short minutes on Tuesday night, when Rishi Sunak resigned as finance minister and Sajid Javid quit as health secretary. Both said they could no longer tolerate the culture of scandal that has dogged Johnson for months, including lockdown lawbreaking in Downing Street. At the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions -- dubbed PMQs -- in parliament, MPs from all sides rounded on Johnson. But brushing off calls to resign, he told MPs: "Frankly, the job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you have been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going and that's what I'm going to do." After the session, Javid urged other ministers to resign. "The problem starts at the top, and I believe that is not going to change," he said. "And that means that it is for those of us in that position -- who have responsibility -- to make that change." Cries of "bye, Boris" echoed around the chamber at the end of his speech. Sunak and Javid's departure triggered an avalanche of resignations of junior ministers and aides. Five junior ministers quit in a joint letter within two hours of PMQs ending. Johnson still has to navigate an hours-long grilling from the chairs of the House of Commons' most powerful committees, including some of his most virulent critics in the Tory ranks. Sunak and Javid quit just minutes after Johnson apologised for appointing a senior Conservative, who quit his post last week after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men. Former education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was immediately handed the finance brief and acknowledged the uphill task ahead. "You don't go into this job to have an easy life," Zahawi told Sky News. Days of shifting explanations had followed the resignation of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. Downing Street at first denied Johnson knew of prior allegations against Pincher when appointing him in February. But by Tuesday, that defence had collapsed after a former top civil servant said Johnson, as foreign minister, was told in 2019 about another incident involving his ally. Minister for children and families Will Quince quit early on Wednesday, saying he was given the inaccurate information before having to defend the government in a round of media interviews on Monday. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, one of Johnson's most strident critics, said the Pincher affair had tipped many over the edge. "I and a lot of the party now are determined that he will be gone by the summer recess" starting on July 22, he told Sky News. Other senior cabinet ministers, including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, still back Johnson. But as the resignations piled up, many were wondering how long that may last. A snap Savanta ComRes poll Wednesday indicated that three in five Conservative voters say Johnson cannot re-gain the public's trust, while 72 percent think he should resign. Johnson only narrowly survived a no-confidence vote among Conservative MPs a month ago, which ordinarily would mean he could not be challenged again for another year. But the influential "1922 Committee" of non-ministerial Tory MPs is reportedly seeking to change the rules, with its executive committee meeting later on Wednesday. Jacob Rees-Mogg, a doggedly loyal cabinet ally and Johnson's "minister for Brexit opportunities", dismissed the resignations as "little local difficulties". Sunak's departure in particular, in the middle of policy differences over a cost-of-living crisis sweeping Britain, is dismal news for Johnson. The prime minister, who received a police fine for the so-called "Partygate" affair, faces a parliamentary probe into whether he lied to MPs about the revelations. Pincher's departure from the whips' office -- charged with enforcing party discipline and standards -- marked yet another allegation of sexual misconduct by Tories in recent months, recalling the "sleaze" that dogged John Major's government in the 1990s. Conservative MP Neil Parish resigned in April after he was caught watching pornography on his mobile phone in the House of Commons. That prompted a by-election in his previously safe seat, which the party went on to lose in a historic victory for the opposition Liberal Democrats. Labour, the main opposition party, defeated the Conservatives in another by-election in northern England on the same day, prompted by the conviction of its Tory MP for sexual assault. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-07-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Mohammad Barkindo, a Nigerian politician and the secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) died at the age of 63, just days before he was set to finish his tenure. His career spanned over four decades and included work at Nigerias National Petroleum Corporation and Duke Oil. The head of Nigerias National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, announced the news in a tweet today (July 6), which was later confirmed by two sources at Opec. We lost our esteemed Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo, a tweet early Wednesday morning from his verified Twitter handle read. He died at about 11pm yesterday 5th July 2022. Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the Opec and the global energy community. Burial arrangements will be announced shortly. Barkindo, 63, a veteran of the oil industry, was due to step down at the end of this month after six years in the top job at Opec. His tenure as the head of Opec has been marked by global shocks that have battered the industry. During his keynote speech in Abuja hours before his death, Barkindo said the oil and gas industry is "under siege" and still reeling from the enormous investment losses of recent years, reported Reuters. "In a very short timespan, the industry has been hit by two major cycles the severe market downturn in 2015 and 2016, and the even more far-reaching impact of the Covid-19 pandemic," Barkindo said. His career in the oil industry began in Nigeria in the early 1980s. He served in various capacities at the NNPC and represented Nigeria on Opec's Economic Commission Board. He was acting Opec secretary general in 2006 before returning to the position 10 years later and has led the organisation through a turbulent oil market period including steering it towards greater cooperation with non-Opec oil producers. Diamantino Azevedo, oil minister for Opec member Angola, told Reuters that Barkindo was always striving to seek consensus for the good of the organisation. After leaving Opec, Barkindo was due to join US think tank the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center as a distinguished fellow, it added. 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 The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has a significant problem collecting TV licence fees. Even its registered users are refusing to pay them. The broadcaster had a TV licence fee evasion rate of 82% in 2021 up from 81% in 2020 and the revenue generated from collections declined by 0.4% year-on-year to R788 million. Overall, 2,2m (2020: 2,5m) licence holders managed to settle their television licence fees in full or in part against a known database of 10,3m (2020: 9,5m) television licence holders, the SABC said in its 2021 annual report. The licence fee collection rates indicate an evasion rate of 82% (2020: 81%.). It appears the evasion of SABC TV licence fees stepped up a notch between 2019 and 2020, with the broadcaster reporting payment compliance of 31% in March 2019, which dropped to 19% in March 2020. The broadcaster first reported on licence fee evasion rates in its 2018 annual report, and its subsequent reports show a negative trend: 2018 : 72% : 72% 2019 : 69% : 69% 2020 : 81% : 81% 2021: 82% The SABC said it had rolled out several initiatives to simplify the payment process to make it easier for licence holders to pay the fees. However, despite the broadcaster observing a 26% increase in online payments year-on-year, the licence fee evasion rate continues to increase. In recent years the broadcaster has proposed several other means of collecting fees to combat the lack of TV licence payment compliance, which it says is critical to improving its financial situation. Most recently, the SABC proposed that TV licence fees be replaced with a public media levy a tax households and businesses must pay regardless of whether they watch the broadcasters content or own a TV. The broadcaster also wants other players in the industry like MultiChoice to help with the levy collection. SABC board chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini said replacing the existing TV licensing scheme is one of four steps the broadcaster would be taking to improve its financial sustainability. He added that it was crucial for significant players in the industry to assist with collecting the levy. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and MultiChoice agree that replacing TV licences with a device-independent, technology-neutral household levy is a good idea. However, MultiChoice said that the levy collection should not fall to the SABCs competitors. Instead, it suggested that the levy could be collected as a tax at the local or national level. SABC haemorrhaging viewers The SABCs failure to collect TV licence fees is not the only factor contributing to its deteriorating financial situation. In May 2022, the broadcaster revealed that it had lost R600 million in two years, which it attributed to a declining audience. It said it is the most significant loss it has suffered to date. During a hearing with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), COO Ian Plaatjes explained that the decline in viewers led to a reduction in advertising revenue. Later in the same month, communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni gave the broadcaster until 30 June 2022 to explain how it plans to generate more revenue. We have given the Board and management of the SABC until 30 June 2022 to submit a Plan on how the public broadcaster is going to commercialise and monetise the opportunities availed through the broadcast digital migration, the minister stated. Chinese authorities are censoring any posts on domestic social media platforms regarding an alleged data leak containing 1 billion citizens data, Financial Times reports. In a post on Breach Forums, user ChinaDan claimed they possessed one billion Chinese nationals data, including names, addresses, ID numbers, mobile numbers, and any criminal records or case details, BleepingComputer reported. The hacker named the Shanghai National Police database the leaks source. To confirm the claims, The Wall Street Journals Karen Hao called five individuals listed, who verified their names and associated case details. Following news of the leak, hashtags like Shanghai national security database breach and data leak started to trend on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and WeChat. However, by Monday, 4 July, the respective platforms had blocked any mention of the leak. Chinese authorities reportedly invited some Weibo users to discuss their posts and removed a popular cyber security bloggers post exploring the leaks implications. Binance CEO Zhao Chanpeng said its threat intelligence spotted these records for sale on the dark web and added the leak was likely due to a bug in an Elasticsearch deployment by a government agency. Apparently, this exploit happened because the gov developer wrote a tech blog on [the Chinese Software Developer Network] and accidentally included the credentials, Zhao said. A month-long heat wave ended just in time for St. Helena to celebrate Independence Day with two days of outdoor fun. Organized by St. Helena Parks and Recreation, the festivities began Sunday with a car show and children's games at Crane Park, followed by a free showing of A League of Their Own in collaboration with the Cameo Cinema. Monday afternoon on the Fourth of July, riders of all ages gathered on Harvest Lane for the city's annual bike parade. They rode to Lyman Park, where there were more kids' activities, including bubbles, face painting and balloon animals. The celebration culminated not with fireworks but with the Saint Helena Community Band performing its first concert in St. Helena since 2019. The ensemble also performed at Calistogas Pioneer Park on Sunday. The St. Helena Kiwanis Club added patriotic flair by decorating the downtown electroliers with American flags last week. In todays world of high-tech winemaking, storage and distribution, its fascinating to think about how architecture participated in the creation of wine through the years. Archaeology has always been a fascination to me and can give todays winemakers some insight on the process historically. We know that wine was being produced seasonally as a byproduct of grape juice in the Armenian and Georgian mountains more than 6,100 years ago. However, it was a haphazard process and it wasnt until about 5500 BCE that production was moved indoors and became a permanent part of the community. One ancient wine cellar was found in an Armenian cave with a crude but functional wine press and a fermentation tank, along with a leather shoe. This suggests that shoes were removed and the custom of stomping grapes was common. Lucy Ricardo would be proud. Interestingly, Egyptians, who are known for their beer production, were making wine around 4000 BCE. While grapes never grew in ancient Egypt, there was a royal winemaking industry in the Nile Delta of importing grapes from Palestine and Phoenicia, today's Lebanon. Around 2700 BCE, grape vineyards grew on the Delta, and wine kept in glass containers was essential for a souls voyage into the afterlife. Wild grapes grew from todays Turkey all the way to southern Iran. The 15th-century BCE Mesopotamians recorded 81 vineyards in a single village, and the tablets were clear that they drank wine until saturated and inebriated. But hold on. Did the Chinese invent wine even earlier? Fluids from 9,000 years ago discovered in China proved to be grape-based and included rice, honey and fruit. Rumor is, the Chinese were making sangria before anyone else made wine. The sixth-century BCE Greeks pioneered the cultivation and production of wine from grape vineyards as well as olive oil from olive tree orchards. Their processes influenced wine production in todays France, Italy, Austria and even eastern nations. One of the earliest-known Greek wine presses was discovered in Crete in the era around 1600 BCE. Eventually, the Romans picked up the baton and made it a true business for trade throughout the Mediterranean. Interestingly, the stone basin with a runoff drain was developed about the same time for both wine and olive oil extraction. The best wine was produced from free-run juice released by grapes under their own weight before any treading or pressing in cool underground rooms or caves. This wine was used for medicinal purposes, just as todays medicines often have an alcohol base. In 200 BCE, a very detailed account of the workings of a Roman press room was published by Cato the Elder. By the first century CE, wine was produced in large tanks or troughs from grapes stomped by feet or paddles. The storage and delivery of wine throughout the Mediterranean and as far away as the British Isles was in amphorae, pointed vessels that could be unloaded by plunging them into the harbors wet sand. Of course, the Romans were always eager to erect temples to Bacchus, the god of wine, the grape harvest, winemaking and even religious ecstasy. Throughout the Mediterranean, dozens of such temples dotted the Roman cities. One such temple in Baalbek, Lebanon, was photographed by my brother. Ironically, he never drank. In the Middle Ages, winemaking was advanced by religious orders who owned the best vineyards around their abbeys and monasteries. The basket press became popular and featured wooden staves bound together, with a disk that would press toward the bottom and cause the juice to seep out between the staves into a wooden surrounding basin. This remained the common method into the 19th century. Keeping wine in vessels to age was uncommon in this unsanitary era. There are reports of wine cellar workers suffocating from released carbon dioxide while treading fermented wine grapes in a vat. Since the 10th century, wine and architecture have become so intertwined as to become codependent. Castles and monasteries initially shaped the image of wine as more than an elixir but as an experience. Rather than go into an extensive history here, I am planning a follow-up article on how todays wine industry is so dependent on cutting-edge architecture. Todays wineries are becoming temples to Bacchus as if the Romans had built them. Only contemporary and edgy, but with all the solemnity of a cathedral. So, which comes first? The wine or the architectural statement? Austria will order industry and utilities to make plants run on alternatives to natural gas where possible, especially oil, its energy minister said on Tuesday, as the country scrambles to hoard gas in case Russia cuts it off, Reuters reported. Austria obtains 80% of its natural gas from Russia but most of its electricity comes from hydropower and it uses relatively little gas in power plants. Gas does, however, play an important role in industries like steel and paper, and in heating. Austria has been seeking alternative sources of natural gas while racing to fill its gas storage facilities before the heating season begins in autumn. "Power plants and industrial companies will be instructed to upgrade their systems for dual operation to the extent that it is technically and economically feasible. That means that plants can run on natural gas as well as on other energy sourcesin most cases it will be crude oil," Leonore Gewessler told a news conference, outlining an edict her ministry is drafting. The measure, which must be signed off on by the main committee of Austria's lower house of parliament, is aimed at large gas consumers, Gewessler said, adding that the greatest potential was in district heating, which involves pumping hot water from a heating plant into consumers' buildings. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/austria-plans-order-industry-switch-oil-gas-where-it-can-2022-07-05/ Armenian Ombudsperson visits Central assembly point of Ministry of Defense Erdogan again threatens to freeze applications of Finland and Sweden to join NATO Turkey announces possible meeting of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and UN representatives on grain issue exports Aliyev demands EU to finalize new agreement between Azerbaijan and EU A fellow soldier accused of soldier death Armenia PM introduces newly appointed Chief of General Staff of Armed Forces EU and Azerbaijan sign document on energy security Dollar, euro continue to rise in Armenia Armenia, Artsakh soldiers deaths due to ceasefire violations increase sharply in January-June 2022 compared to 2021 EU chief diplomat expects Ukraine grain deal this week to unblock supplies Armenias Pashinyan holds phone talk with Russias Mishustin "Hayeli.am" : Surprising meetings. Why is there no mention of Bakoyan's physical violence and financial exploitation? Protests against tax changes continue in Hungary Stoltenberg to hold talks with Azerbaijan FM Armenia PM Pashinyan receives Sergey Naryshkin Armenia PM approves 2022 communication action plan for combating corruption Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation, security commissions meeting to be held in August Pashinyan and Mishustin discuss topical issues of Russian-Armenian cooperation EU Council decides on Ukraine's fifth military aid package for 500 million euros Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate chancellor on Biden: Greatness of leaders lies in their modesty Armenia FM to pay official visit to Poland Ameriabank Receives Euromoney Award for Excellence as the Best Bank in Armenia for 2022 Turkish army receives defense systems against UAVs Russia Foreign Intelligence Service chief to visit Yerevan Monday Russia MOD announces for first time name of commander of East group of special operations in Ukraine Byblos Bank Armenia introduces the premium World Elite Mastercard Putin to meet with Khamenei during his visit to Tehran More than 1,000 heat-related deaths reported in Spain, Portugal so far in July Man who threatened to kill himself with hand grenade is detained in Armenias Ashtarak city Azerbaijan population exceeds 10mn 629 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia past one week Catholicos of All Armenians travels to US Who gave information about alleged bomb in Armenia First Presidents house? UK parliament to hold confidence vote in government Monday Meteorology official: Armenia heatwave will gradually recede as of Friday World oil prices on the rise State of emergency formally declared in Sri Lanka US hopes oil production will increase after Biden's Middle East visit 792 children born in Artsakh in first half of 2022 Elderly woman killed by alligators after falling into pond in Florida Von der Leyen heads to Azerbaijan hoping to get more natural gas Zelenskyy dismisses security service chief, top prosecutor Armenia political party head resigns UK man, 40, found dead in Italy hotel room No bomb found in Armenia First President's house Mars sued over 'unsafe' Skittles Unknown person reports bomb threat in Armenia's First President house Armenia FM and US Assistant Secretary of State discuss regional security issues Fears of social upheaval growing in Germany Indian authorities announce they made 2 billion vaccines against COVID-19 Israel to increase flights to Asia after Saudi Arabia opens airspace IMF to 'substantially' lower global economic growth forecasts Erdogan expects to hold talks with Putin in Tehran Japan to refuse to set a ceiling on defense spending Negotiations on resumption of Iran nuclear deal coming to end UAE allocates more than $800 million for space program State Department approves $1.5 Billion arms sale Extreme heat wave hits Europe US needs another $3 billion to remove Huawei and ZTE from networks Germany to resume requirement to wear masks in closed public places Air temperature in Armenia to reach 42 degrees Ankara rejects Liz Truss Blinken on meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Tbilisi It is in Iraq's interest to continue to insist on rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia G-20 meeting ends without final communique Armenia PM Pashinyan sends congratulatory message to Georgia PM Erdogan and Macron discuss implementation of joint production of air defense systems 2,000-year-old cemetery with giant tombs discovered in Iran Armenias Khachik villagers dont recall any period after 1990s war when Azeris violated ceasefire at such regularity Georgia gets NATO partner status in security operation Mouflons spotted again at Zangezur State Sanctuary of Armenia Crown prince: Saudi Arabia cant increase oil production beyond 13 million barrels per day Scholz: Increased coal, oil use in Germany will be temporary Armenia opposition MP: Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem is in a hurry Vandals desecrate Jewish gravestones in Istanbul Biden: US will not walk away from Middle East More than 30 people die in tribal clashes in Sudan One of most notorious drug lords is arrested in Mexico What did Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs discuss in Tbilisi? Armenia activists stage protest on top of Mount Hatis US, Iraq leaders declare their commitment to strong bilateral partnership between their countries Toivo Klaar: EU supports Armenia, Azerbaijan bilateral decision to hold FMs meeting What did Biden agree upon with Saudi leaders during meeting in Jeddah? Armenia, Azerbaijan foreign ministers Tbilisi meeting concludes European Commission formally proposes ban on Russia gold imports Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs Georgia meeting taking place at Radisson hotel in Tbilisi Armenia ex-President Sargsyan attends Haykyan award ceremony (PHOTOS) Georgia FM comments on Tbilisi meeting of Armenia, Azerbaijan counterparts Heatwave claims 237 lives so far in Spain Armenia military unit medical aid station head died as result of car accident Medical aid station head, 37, dies in hospital after accident in Armenia military unit Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs meeting gets underway in Tbilisi (PHOTOS) Mirzoyan, Garibashvili exchange views on normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations CNN: US, Japan put on show of force amid rising tensions with China, Russia in region G20 finance ministers to not issue final communique due to differences over Ukraine White House: Russian officials visited Iran to inspect drones Ivana Trump dies from accident Armenia Foreign Minister Mirzoyan arrives in Tbilisi Yerevan Mayor appeals to court to prosecute Ishkhan Saghatelyan Israeli fighter jets strike Gaza hours after Biden departed Sri Lanka is "bankrupt," said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, CNN reports. Wickremesinghe told lawmakers that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the country's collapsed economy are difficult because the South Asian nation of 22 million entered the talks as a bankrupt country rather than a developing one. "We are now participating in the negotiations as a bankrupt country. Therefore, we have to face a more difficult and complicated situation than previous negotiations," Wickremesinghe said in parliament. "Due to the state of bankruptcy our country is in, we have to submit a plan on our debt sustainability to (the IMF) separately," he added. "Only when they are satisfied with that plan can we reach an agreement at the staff level. This is not a straightforward process." Sri Lanka is facing its worst financial crisis in 70 years after its foreign exchange reserves fell to a record low. Schools were closed and fuel was limited to essential services. In several major cities, including Colombo, hundreds of people continue to queue for hours for fuel, sometimes clashing with police and the military. On Sunday, Sri Lankan energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera said there was less than a day's worth of fuel left in the country. The Prime Minister expressed hope that the report on debt restructuring and sustainability will be submitted to the IMF by August. Once an agreement is reached, a comprehensive four-year loan assistance program will be prepared, Wickremesinghe said. Enoc Group has announced the launch of its newest compact station in the Dubai South area, the master-planned city with eight different sub-areas that spans across approximately 145 square kilometres. The compact station will offer customers accessible and convenient refuelling services. The latest compact station is strategically located in Dubai South free-zone area, one of the largest metropolitan developments in the UAE as well as in close proximity to Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai Investment Park and Jebel Ali. The all-new compact station offers commuters and visitors to the Dubai South region convenient and easy access to fuelling services. Positioned as a global transport hub and major contributor to the economic growth of the nation, Dubai South offers business-friendly free zone benefits and a diverse range of residential homes and apartments. Commitment Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, Enoc, said: Our latest compact station in Dubai South is a testament to our commitment to energising the nation through safe, smart, and sustainable fuelling options. Dubai Souths strategic location and its close proximity to Al Maktoum International Airport and the nearby areas makes it a prime location and our compact station will support in fuelling the needs of commuters to the area. We will continue to invest in the UAEs infrastructure to meet the growing demand for fuel. The compact station is equipped with six dispensers, allowing for fuelling on both sides of the station, offering special 95, Super 98 and Diesel. With a capacity of 70,000L, Enoc will be able to fuel 1,070 vehicles per day. The compact station deploys a number of best HSE practices to enhance safety measures such as the installation of overfill prevention valve, audible alarm, pressure vacuum vents, and emergency vents for the inner and outer wall. Customers can use different methods of payment including Enoc Pay, ViP, and Dubai Now. Enocs Yes rewards programme is also part of the services available at the service station. Yes rewards programme enables customers to earn points and rewards when paying for fuel and automotive services or when purchasing convenience store products and groceries; as well as F&B across Enocs service station network.-- TradeArabia News Service A group of relatives of the servicemen who died in the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war in the fall of 2020 are holding a protest in front of the building of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Armenia Their demand is that the criminal case filed with the Investigative Committeeand under the Criminal Code article on "abuse of official power, which has caused serious consequences"be transferred to the National Security Service. Also, they demand that this criminal case be investigated under the Criminal Code article on "apparent high treason," and that PM Nikol Pashinyan be summoned for questioning under this article and be included in this case as a defendant. On June 30, a group of relatives of the aforesaid fallen servicemen had met with Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan and presented their demands. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in Spain on a working visit, on Tuesday held a meeting with the President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain, Meritxell Batet. The interlocutors discussed the current interstate cooperation based on historical relations and common values of the two countries and peoples, as well as the prospects of the development in the fields of political dialogue, economy and culture. Regarding the enrichment of the bilateral agenda, the need for effective inter-parliamentary interaction and activation of relations between MPs, including through the work of friendship groups, was emphasized. The sides highlighted the importance of cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries within international parliamentary platforms. Ararat Mirzoyan presented to Meritxell Batet the reforms implemented in Armenia aimed at strengthening democracy, protecting human rights and promoting the rule of law, as well as on the effective fight against corruption. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia emphasized that since 2018, Armenia has been following the path of democracy, and despite the consequences of the war and the Covid-19 pandemic, significant progress has been made in the establishment of democratic institutions due to the reforms implemented by the Government. During the meeting, a number of international and regional security issues were also touched upon. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia briefed the President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain on the efforts of the Armenian side towards the establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasus, as well as the latest developments related to the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the process of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Both sides emphasized the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and stressed that the use of force cannot be considered as a means of resolving the conflict. In the context of the humanitarian issues resulting from the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized the urgency of the repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees, as well as the need for the preservation of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories fallen under Azerbaijani control. Ararat Mirzoyan also presented to the interlocutor the latest developments in normalization process between Armenia and Turkey. At Wednesdays special session of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Vigen Khachatryan, a member of the ruling majority "Civil Contract" Faction in the NA, called on the government to change its work methods. In particular, the MP was angered by the fact that the vast majority of the matters that are on the agenda of this special session of the parliament are planned to be debated on in an accelerated manner. "I believe that this practice should be put to an end. It is unacceptable to put the National Assembly in such a situation. I have a hard time imagining how it is possible to study such a number of matters, offer recommendations and additions in two readings in just three days," said Khachatryan. In his opinion, such work methods do not contribute to ensuring the normal work of the Armenian parliament and strike a blow the standing of the legislative body. "I ask the government to avoid such practice from now on," the lawmaker added. Twitter has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, rejecting orders to censor content on its platform. In a lawsuit filed in the High Court of Karnataka against the government, Twitter Inc. listed as the applicant. Legal action by the social media giant suggests abuse of power by officials. India's Ministry of Information and Technology asked the social media platform to remove several accounts and tweets that did not comply with new laws that allow the government to block access to content in the interest of national security. Recently, the government demanded that an American company remove tweets by Indian journalist Rana Ayub, who criticizes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. Twitter also issued a notice to Indian journalist Mohammed Zubair, who was recently arrested for his tweets, saying that the Indian government had issued a notice that his account violated the country's laws. Opponents of the Modi government have accused his administration of using Indian laws to stifle dissent and criticism. Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnow said it was important to hold social media companies "accountable" and they should "self-regulate harmful" content. He added that whether it be any company in any sector, it must comply with the laws of India. Everyone is obliged to comply with the laws passed by Parliament. Last year, Twitter suspended more than 500 accounts at the behest of the Modi administration, but eventually reinstated them after a public outcry. CapitaLand Investment's wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited said it is set to acquire Oakwood Worldwide (Oakwood), a premier global serviced apartment provider, from Mapletree Investments Private Limited, in a move which will boost its global portfolio by 81 properties and about 15,000 units. Oakwoods approximately 8,500 operational units are expected to immediately contribute to Ascotts recurring fee income streams upon completion of the transaction slated in the third quarter. Ascotts acquisition of Oakwood will leapfrog the groups global presence to more than 150,000 units in about 900 properties across over 200 cities in 39 countries. It will add new markets which include Cheongju in South Korea; Zhangjiakou and Qingdao in China; Dhaka in Bangladesh as well as Washington DC. in the US. Recently named the Best Serviced Residence Brand in DestinAsian Readers Choice Awards 2022, Oakwoods award-winning portfolio includes flagship properties Oakwood Premier Tokyo and Oakwood Premier Coex Center Seoul which were ranked top 10 properties in their respective countries in the DestinAsian awards. New properties such as Oakwood Premier Melbourne and Oakwood Hotel Oike Kyoto, will also add to the groups destination highlights. Turkey should face an international court for complicity in acts of genocide against the Yazidis, while Syria and Iraq failed in their duty to prevent killings, according to an investigation endorsed by British human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy, The Guardian reported. The report, written by a group of prominent human rights lawyers, attempts to underscore the imperative responsibility of states to prevent genocide on their soil, even if it is carried out by a third party, the Islamic State (IS). Lawyers, United by the Yezidi Justice Committee (YJC), said that under international law, states have a responsibility to prevent the crime of genocide in accordance with the Genocide Convention. Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, chairman of the YJC, described the Yazidi genocide as "insanity". Since 2013, it is acknowledged that there have been genocide attempts against the Yezidis, a religious minority, in Iraq and Syria. The report, prepared after a three-year investigation into the behavior of 13 countries, concluded that three of them had failed in their duty to prevent genocide. In the case of Turkey, the committee went even further, accusing the leaders of complicity in the massacres, arguing that they had not established control over their borders to stop the free flow of IS fighters, including a significant number of Turkish citizens. The committee said that since April 2014, Turkish officials have turned a blind eye to the sale, transfer and enslavement of Yazidi women and children and have helped train ISIS-linked fighters to fight the Kurds in Syria, thus strengthening the perpetrators of the genocide. Turkish officials knew and/or deliberately turned a blind eye to evidence that these individuals would use this training to carry out prohibited acts against the Yazidis, the report says. The report notes that similar allegations have been made against some Gulf states, including Qatar, but insufficient evidence has been provided. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists he will not leave Downing Street despite the growing uprising against his leadership. Ministers and aides continue to submit resignations as support for the prime minister among previously loyal MPs wanes. However, Johnson told allies he was not going anywhere and his critics should calm down. On Wednesday morning, Robin Walker resigned as minister of school standards, telling the prime minister that the government's great achievements are overshadowed by mistakes and issues of integrity. Will Quince resigned as Minister for Children and Families, saying he could not accept being sent to defend the Prime Minister with inaccurate information about the Chris Pincher scandal. Laura Trott resigned as Assistant Minister, saying that trust in politics is of paramount importance, but, unfortunately, in recent months it has been lost. Their resignations follow a string of resignations from the government on Tuesday night, led by Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, who lashed out at Johnson as they left their cabinet posts. Former Health Secretary Javid is expected to exacerbate Johnson's troubles with a personal statement in the Commons on Wednesday. Education select committee chairman Robert Halfon, one of those who will question the prime minister, said he would support a change in leadership, criticizing not only a real loss of integrity but also a failure of policy. But Johnson told friends he would continue to work and work for the people who gave us a huge mandate, according to the Daily Mail. Everyone just needs to calm down, stop fighting and let us get on with our work. New Treasury Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has hinted at canceling a planned corporate tax hike as part of an effort to win over Conservative MPs. But the cabinet reshuffle does not appear to have convinced Johnson's critics. Quince was one of the ministers sent to defend Johnson's position on Chris Pincher, who was accused of molesting two men while drunk. The prime minister later admitted that he had previously been informed of the allegations against Pincher made back in 2019 and said he regretted keeping him in government after that point. The premier's authority had already been undermined by a vote of confidence when, in June, 41% of his own MPs refused to support him. Taliban supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada said Afghan soil would not be used to attack other countries and urged the international community not to interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs, AP reported. The Taliban say they are sticking to an agreement they signed with the United States in 2020 before taking power again. Since seizing power last year, they have repeatedly stated that Afghanistan will not be used as a launching pad for attacks on other countries. We assure our neighbors, the region and the world that we will not allow anyone to use our territory to threaten the security of other countries. We also want other countries not to interfere in our internal affairs, Akhundzada said in his address on the eve of Eid al-Adha. Armenian Ombudsperson visits Central assembly point of Ministry of Defense Erdogan again threatens to freeze applications of Finland and Sweden to join NATO Turkey announces possible meeting of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and UN representatives on grain issue exports Aliyev demands EU to finalize new agreement between Azerbaijan and EU A fellow soldier accused of soldier death Armenia PM introduces newly appointed Chief of General Staff of Armed Forces EU and Azerbaijan sign document on energy security Dollar, euro continue to rise in Armenia Armenia, Artsakh soldiers deaths due to ceasefire violations increase sharply in January-June 2022 compared to 2021 EU chief diplomat expects Ukraine grain deal this week to unblock supplies Armenias Pashinyan holds phone talk with Russias Mishustin "Hayeli.am" : Surprising meetings. Why is there no mention of Bakoyan's physical violence and financial exploitation? Protests against tax changes continue in Hungary Stoltenberg to hold talks with Azerbaijan FM Armenia PM Pashinyan receives Sergey Naryshkin H&M leaving Russia completely Armenia PM approves 2022 communication action plan for combating corruption Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation, security commissions meeting to be held in August Pashinyan and Mishustin discuss topical issues of Russian-Armenian cooperation EU Council decides on Ukraine's fifth military aid package for 500 million euros Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate chancellor on Biden: Greatness of leaders lies in their modesty Armenia FM to pay official visit to Poland Ameriabank Receives Euromoney Award for Excellence as the Best Bank in Armenia for 2022 Drake confirms rumors of his arrest Turkish army receives defense systems against UAVs Russia Foreign Intelligence Service chief to visit Yerevan Monday Russia MOD announces for first time name of commander of East group of special operations in Ukraine Byblos Bank Armenia introduces the premium World Elite Mastercard Putin to meet with Khamenei during his visit to Tehran More than 1,000 heat-related deaths reported in Spain, Portugal so far in July Man who threatened to kill himself with hand grenade is detained in Armenias Ashtarak city Azerbaijan population exceeds 10mn Kanye West refuses to headline Rolling Loud Miami 2022 629 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia past one week Catholicos of All Armenians travels to US Who gave information about alleged bomb in Armenia First Presidents house? UK parliament to hold confidence vote in government Monday Meteorology official: Armenia heatwave will gradually recede as of Friday HBO releases first teaser trailer for The Idol series starring Lily Rose Depp, The Weeknd Gareth Bale makes debut at LAFC World oil prices on the rise State of emergency formally declared in Sri Lanka US hopes oil production will increase after Biden's Middle East visit Jennifer Lopez, Ben Afflecks first wedding photos are made public 792 children born in Artsakh in first half of 2022 Lewandowski meets with Barca footballers Elderly woman killed by alligators after falling into pond in Florida Beyonce strongly suggests making her body bigger in Austin Powers movie poster PSG travel to Japan, they will play 3 friendlies Von der Leyen heads to Azerbaijan hoping to get more natural gas Zelenskyy dismisses security service chief, top prosecutor Armenia political party head resigns UK man, 40, found dead in Italy hotel room FTX Road to Miami: Aronian wins No bomb found in Armenia First President's house Mars sued over 'unsafe' Skittles TMZ: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck get married Unknown person reports bomb threat in Armenia's First President house Armenia FM and US Assistant Secretary of State discuss regional security issues Fears of social upheaval growing in Germany Armenia - Andorra (live) Linda Evangelista returns to modeling industry after unsuccessful plastic surgery Indian authorities announce they made 2 billion vaccines against COVID-19 Pogon win in opening round thanks to Bichakhchyan's goal Israel to increase flights to Asia after Saudi Arabia opens airspace IMF to 'substantially' lower global economic growth forecasts Manchester United have newcomer Erdogan expects to hold talks with Putin in Tehran Rapper pardoned by Trump arrested again Japan to refuse to set a ceiling on defense spending Warsaw: Armenian freestyle wrestling team announced Julia Roberts to receive Icon Award for her contribution to culture Media: Nicole Scherzinger getting married Negotiations on resumption of Iran nuclear deal coming to end Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield to play British billionaire Richard Branson UAE allocates more than $800 million for space program Victoria's Secret scandal: Angels forced to wear sexy children's underwear State Department approves $1.5 Billion arms sale Extreme heat wave hits Europe Keanu Reeves to host documentary about Formula 1 US needs another $3 billion to remove Huawei and ZTE from networks 'Elvis' makes $100 million at U.S. box office Germany to resume requirement to wear masks in closed public places Air temperature in Armenia to reach 42 degrees Ankara rejects Liz Truss Blinken on meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Tbilisi New scandal: Gwen Stefani accused of cultural appropriation It is in Iraq's interest to continue to insist on rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia G-20 meeting ends without final communique Ricky Martin's lawyer says singer did not have sexual relationship with his nephew Armenia PM Pashinyan sends congratulatory message to Georgia PM Erdogan and Macron discuss implementation of joint production of air defense systems 2,000-year-old cemetery with giant tombs discovered in Iran Inter escape defeat, Mkhitaryan plays 60 minutes (photo, video) Lewandowski to get about 9mn per year at Barca Armenias Khachik villagers dont recall any period after 1990s war when Azeris violated ceasefire at such regularity Georgia gets NATO partner status in security operation Meghan Markle worried about her biography that will be released next week Mouflons spotted again at Zangezur State Sanctuary of Armenia Keanu Reeves wants to play older Batman on big screen Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has announced the upcoming release of the airlines first non-fungible token (NFT) collection, EY-ZERO1. The utility-driven series features ten highly detailed 3D aircraft models, each one showcasing a unique Etihad Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner livery. A total of 2003 limited-edition collectibles, symbolising the year when Etihad Airways was established, will go on sale at 6pm UAE time on July 21. The collectibles include Etihads Manchester City FC and Greenliner-themed aircraft, among others. Unique work of art "Our first NFT collection, EY-ZERO1, not only offers collectors, aviation enthusiasts and travellers a unique work of art, but provides real-world travel and lifestyle benefits with Etihad Airways," said Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group. NFTs and other metaverse technologies are revolutionising the digital economy, and we are proud to be one of the first airlines in the world to explore their potential to provide additional utility for our customers. Purchasing an NFT will give owners immediate Etihad Guest Silver tier membership for one year, with 10 lucky NFT holders winning complimentary flight tickets with Etihad. NFT owners will also be given advance access to upcoming NFT collections as well as future metaverse products which the airline has planned as part of its Web3 strategy. NFT priced at $349 To celebrate the new collection, Etihad will be giving away 20 NFTs to people who pre-register on etihad.com/zero1 by July 16. Each NFT will be priced at $349 plus tax on etihad.arcube.io, and the sale will close on August 18 at 6pm UAE time. The NFTs will also be available for purchase through the Etihad Guest Reward Shop, meaning the airlines 7 million loyalty programme members can redeem their Etihad Guest Miles to acquire an NFT. EY-ZERO1 is set to be minted on the energy-efficient Polygon blockchain, and Etihad Airways will be partnering with Aerial.is to track the CO2 emissions of the NFTs. In addition to offsetting the entire carbon footprint of the project, the airline will allocate all proceeds from the collection to purchase sustainable aviation fuel in 2022. Artistic value As well as recognising the artistic value of our aircraft liveries, our NFT collection has been designed to be as efficient as possible and support our wider sustainability and decarbonisation efforts at Etihad Airways, said Douglas.-- TradeArabia News Service Canada's defense department is amending the charter regarding the appearance of military personnel, from September 2022 they will be allowed to wear any hairstyle, piercing and manicure, according to the website of the Canadian military department. The instructions that currently regulate the appearance of Canadian military personnel are already outdated and do not correspond to modern realities. All innovations are subject to certain conditions, and commanders may require subordinates to shave their beards, remove piercings, or recolor their hair. From September, both recruits and veterans will be able to wear hair of any length and dye it in any color. They will be allowed not to shave their faces and wear beards, sideburns and mustaches of any shape, the main requirement for them is a neat appearance. Also, Canadian military personnel will be able to get face tattoos, but they must not promote racism, sexism, homophobia and religious intolerance. In addition, the military will be allowed to wear long nails, rings, ear piercings, including tunnel earrings. Also, the Canadian military will be allowed to wear backpacks on one shoulder - the left to salute with the right hand, men will be allowed to wear skirts. Wang Yi seeks 'golden era' in ties with Philippines Wang Yi, right, meets his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo. Photo: AFP Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday Beijing was ready to work with new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to help usher in what he called a "new golden era" in bilateral relations. That relationship "turned a new page" with the election of Marcos, said Wang who's visiting Southeast Asia. "We highly appreciate President Marcos' recent commitment to pursuing friendly policy towards China and we speak highly of these recent statements that have sent out a very positive signal to the outside world," the foreign minister said in a meeting with his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo. Marcos said in a televised news conference on Tuesday that he would discuss with Wang possible ways to resolve disputes in the South China Sea between Beijing and Manila and propose to broaden ties to normalise the relationship between the two countries. Wang said China was one with Marcos in his desire to deepen and strengthen ties. "We are ready to work towards that same direction with the Philippines and to plan for our cooperation going forward in all areas," Wang said. "I'm confident that with the two sides working together, we can surely open a new golden era for the bilateral relationship." Wang arrived in Manila on Tuesday night as part of a Southeast Asian swing that brought him earlier to Myanmar and Thailand. He will also visit Malaysia and Indonesia, where he will attend a meeting of G-20 foreign ministers in Bali. Wang will hold bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of major countries and representatives of regional organisations on the margins of the Bali conference, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday. The ministry added he will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to exchange views on China-US relations and major international and regional issues. (Xinhua/Agencies) Sonepat (Haryana) [India], July 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): Iconic probiotic brand manufacturer Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SRM University, Delhi-NCR, Sonepat, Haryana, in the core areas of education and sharing knowledge. The rationale of this MoU is aimed to promote and populate, a more effective use of each of their resources, and provide each of them with enhanced opportunities. The MoU was signed between Hiroshi Hamada, Managing Director, Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd and Prof V. Samuel Raj, Registrar, SRM University Delhi-NCR, Sonepat, Haryana, today, amidst a packed gathering. The MoU between Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd and SRM University Delhi-NCR, Haryana, will entail collaboration on a gamut of areas, such as skilled-based training and Internship, industrial visits and tour of the Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd factory. There will also be an exchange of information on the recent advances in the science of gut microbiota and probiotics and guidance will be provided to the students on new areas for research in gut microbiota and probiotics. Additionally, both parties will explore, co-operate, and collaborate in future activities, which may be mutually beneficial to each other. Hailing this collaboration, Hiroshi Hamada, Managing Director, Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd remarked, "We are indeed delighted to collaborate with a value-driven university like SRM University. As a brand, we promote health and happiness across geographies. Our collaboration with SRM University will give us a strong platform to identify opportunities, where we can collaborate on health, skill development, research, science etc. The aim is to play a role of a catalyst, to make a significant impact on the lives of people. Our state-of-the-art factory at Sonepat has the most modern facilities, where we follow stringent processes, to make a world-class probiotic product, Yakult. We wish to collaborate, engage and educate the SRM family, and leverage our core strength, for the benefit of society." Speaking on the occasion, Prof Paramjit S. Jaswal, Vice-Chancellor, SRM University Delhi-NCR said, "We are excited to partner with a globally popular probiotic brand Yakult. As one of the foremost value-based high education pioneers, we strive to strengthen our students' wisdom in the changing socio-economic environment. Our aim is to collaborate with Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd and transform bright minds into Nation-builders and social role models." Through this collaboration, the well-acclaimed global brand Yakult, and the education pioneer SRM University, will set new benchmarks of excellence, which will empower other players to contribute and expand the reach of this confluence. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Prime accused in the Kerala Gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh, has been expelled by her employer an NGO called The Highrange Rural Development Society India (HRDS). Swapna Suresh was employed as Director- Women Empowerment and Corporate Social Responsibility. The NGO informed Swapna in a letter that her employment was officially terminated on July 5, 2022. "As we promised we tried our level best to protect you. But we are forced to terminate you with immediate effect. The Kerala Government is completely against us by all means. Every HRDS INDIA office is haunted by the Government by using the Police, Revenue, and various other departments," the NGO said in the letter to Suresh while informing her about the termination of the employment. The letter further said that it was not able to tolerate attacks from Kerala government and bureaucrats were not allowing the NGO to function from its offices in Thodupuzha, Palakkad and Attappady. "It was our responsibility to stand by anyone fighting for society and who is deeply involved in the cleansing process against the evil forces. We failed to come along with your toughest journey for the projects we initiate. They are trying to destroy, defame and exploit the projects HRDS INDIA has initiated," the letter further read. The termination letter was signed by Aji Krishnan, Founder - Secretary, HRDS INDIA On July 5, 2020, 30 kilograms of 24-carat gold worth Rs 14.82 crores was seized by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic bag that was meant to be delivered to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. M Sivasankar, the principal secretary to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, was suspended and removed from the post after a preliminary inquiry confirmed that he had links with Swapna Suresh, one of the accused in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe. (ANI) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI/PNN): A strong data-driven culture is still elusive for many businesses, and data are rarely used as the sole basis for decisions. However, a lot of businesses and organisations in India are realising the value of data for success and creating a data-driven culture to boost sales, find new business opportunities, and predict future market trends. Nevertheless, many organisations are experiencing the "aha data moment" necessary for achieving business success in the digital era through data-driven culture, thanks to the Mumbai-based Leadzen.ai, India's fastest-growing and most intelligent prospecting engine powered by AI-powered technology. Post-pandemic, India's corporate environment has witnessed the most significant changes, especially the transition from isolated and project-oriented data utilisation to an entirely data-driven culture in enterprises. Though the shift is seen in businesses, it is not immediate. The data-driven culture is defined as individuals' collective behaviours and attitudes who appreciate, practice, and promote data-driven decision-making. The lead generation tool Leadzen.ai does more than that. Instead of providing information that needs to be nurtured and converted over time, it helps businesses and organisations by providing data on prospects who are ready to convert. For reputable businesses like Audi, Mudra Bank, DBS Bank, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Bank, Tata Capital etc., Leadzen.ai's robust geolocator and bulk search capabilities have done wonders. The important thing about lead generation is that you need to update and clean your data frequently if you're serious about your revenue; else, your business will be wasting much of its revenue. In order to address this problem, Leadzen.ai was founded by a group of young entrepreneurs. Malhar Lakdawala, Co-founder of Leadzen.ai says, "The aim behind Leadzen.ai was to create a platform for smart leads - a product which not only generates leads but provides 'smart leads' with verified contact information and a comprehensive database in real-time. Leadzen.ai has started the revolution in the lead generation sector and in the com According Lakdawala, "Leadzen.ai is the most intelligent AI-Powered real-time lead generation engine.We ensure that not only are our leads of the highest calibre but that they also give our clients a complete understanding of their leads and what will work the best for them. Our smart location feature gives you access to specific datasets about a given pin code and empowers you to take the initiative." Moving beyond a few successful data initiatives and islands of excellence restricted to particular business sectors requires creating a data-driven culture throughout the organization and Utilising email finder tools like Leadzen.ai to obtain what your company needs if you're still perplexed about where to get data for AI marketing or B2B marketing is an easy key. "Overall, companies will be able to retain employees, make data-driven decisions, make the most of their investments in technology and processes, and achieve their digital transformation objectives by committing to building data-driven culture businesses, according to the spokesperson. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI/PNN): Satyam Kantamneni, the Managing Partner at UXReactor is hosting a book discussion event to celebrate the success of his latest book -User Experience Design: A Practical Playbook To Fuel Business Growth. The event will take place on the 8th of July, 2022 at Hyatt Palace, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad and would include a productive discussion about the core intent of the book. Launched in May 2022, Kantamneni's book is dedicated to the importance and relevance of seamless user experience in the age of digitization. It provides existing and aspiring business leaders and product entrepreneurs with tips and tricks to nurture their ventures by staying in sync with the cutting-edge techniques (plays) in user-centered innovation. In the book, Kantamneni has put in the knowledge and experience garnered over 25 years to help the readers understand the importance of a reliable, scalable, and consistent user experience. Prioritizing the practical aspects of designing user experience, Kantamneni has added 27 proven "plays" in the playbook to help readers put these practices into action. While keeping the tone of the book interactive, he has included application-based anecdotes that help everyone involved in driving transformation within an organization, including business leaders, product managers, design leaders, and developers. Kantamneni believes that his book is a blueprint for existing and aspiring UX practitioners around the world, especially in India. He says, "India occupies a special place in the global tech industry. The country has always produced some of the biggest tech experts and entrepreneurs who have carved their niche in the industry. With 'User Experience Design: A Practical Playbook To Fuel Business Growth', I intend to encourage Indian professionals to drive digitization within organizations and design user experience that is in sync with the clients/customers they cater to. I am delighted that the book has resonated with Indian readers and am really looking forward to the book discussion event to celebrate the same." This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 6 (ANI/BusinessWire India): GrowthX (GrowthX.club), a social learning community of the top 1 per cent of growth leaders, announced that 212 angel investors contributed to its seed round. This historic community-led fundraising in the Indian startup ecosystem saw participation from 200+ founders, leaders and operators across companies like Razorpay, Airbnb, Mamaearth, Meesho, Myntra, and Freshworks. Out of the 1.5 Million USD raised, incredibly, 65 per cent of the funds were raised from GrowthX's own community members. The round was led by Better Capital as the single largest entity. Before GrowthX became a business in April 2020, it was a community that helped founders and operators accelerate their careers. Unlike most Edtechs which are focused on getting your first job, GrowthX helps its members navigate the complicated path from operator to manager to leader. It does this via a year long experience, providing access to seven ingredients for professional growth - growth frameworks, networking with top talent, mentor led learning, job opportunities in breakout roles, quora for growth, personal branding and access to hire top talent The application to become a member involves 2 rounds with the current acceptance rate at 9 per cent. At present, members belong to 1000+ tech companies ranging from Google, Facebook, Razorpay, Amazon, CRED, Flipkart, Canva, Spotify, Adobe, Meesho, OYO, Freshworks, PayTM, Dream11, Zoho, Cisco, Khatabook, Udaan, MobiKwik, Kotak, HDFC, ICICI, etc. Commenting on the fundraise, Udayan Walvekar, CEO & Co-Founder of GrowthX said, "We are humbled by the fact that the majority of our fund was raised from GrowthX's own community. This is a true testament to the trust and value we have been able to create for founders and operators. As we continue to expand, we hope to fundamentally change the way operators and founders think about growth." Practicing what they preach, GrowthX has been profitable since day 1, has almost zero cost of acquisition and an NPS of 78. They are using the funding infusion to invest into product, pedagogy & tech. Abhishek Patil, co-founder of GrowthX said, "Moonshots or shortcuts to growth are a myth and in fact, self-destructive. Growth is a mindset and is meant to be sustainable; in the short and mid-term, we are looking to change the way top operators & founders develop a mindset that will significantly impact the way people are hired and promoted." On why he decided to invest in GrowthX, Harshil Mathur, CEO at Razorpay& Partner at MarsShot said, "Product and growth problems require a structured approach and professionals with this skill are incredibly difficult to come by at the moment. GrowthX is doing a great job at filling this gap by building a phenomenal community of talent with the ability to solve any growth problem.I believe the founders are doing a great job building the next generation of top growth professionals.'' Vaibhav Domkundwar, CEO at Better Capital said, "GrowthX is productizing the most important aspect of building and scaling a company - that of product & growth and we are excited to be founding stage partners to Udayan& Abhishek. We believe GrowthX has the potential to power the fastest growing companies in India & globally based on our first hand experience with our portfolio founders." The fund infusion and active support of the angels will be used for pedagogical and experiential innovations for the members. A long-term compounding mindset must be infused across the ecosystem to deliver long-term compounding results to organizations no matter the domain or size. GrowthX has enabled countless success stories for its members, helping some transition into breakout roles in product and growth, or move from managerial to leadership roles, or helping founders hire the right person. The new funds will accelerate GrowthX's ability to enable more life-changing outcomes to its members. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): kindlife - India's fastest-growing beauty and wellness platform-has announced a new series of initiatives under Kind Circle aimed at building a sustainable business where self-care and planet-care are not in isolation. "The impact of waste on the environment is annihilating. Planet care is no longer an option but an urgency. We, at kindlife, believe that even a single step taken in that direction counts, and we are making it easier for consumers to make a kindmove," says Radhika Ghai, Founder & CEO, Kindlife. "Our commitment to sustainability encompasses not just the brands we curate, but also our ethos of maximizing the use of existing resources. It's a long-term commitment that's developed into a way of life," she adds. As part of the Kind Circle, consumers will be able to share their empty beauty bottles, tubes, jars, and more across all brands. And unlike other players, kindlife will be accepting not just plastic but glass and aluminum packaging too. All consumers will have to do is wash out the empties, fill out a form, and courier them to kindlife. In order to incentivise eco-conscious choices, customers will be rewarded with kinders-kindlife's loyalty program wherein 1 kinder will be equal to 1 rupee. kindlife is keen on integrating low carbon strategy into its business to address the climate change goals. and actions to commit to UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The platform has partnered with local artists who will repurpose and upcycle the empties. Targeted toward conscious consumers, kindlife is a beauty and wellness platform where consumers can shop, learn and share what's good for you and the planet. The platform currently has 400+ kindcode approved brands (plant-based, organic, toxin-free, eco-conscious, or cruelty-free) across beauty, nutrition and home care. Kind Circle: kindlife.in/kind-circle. kindlife: kindlife.in. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): NR Group, the manufacturer of Cycle Pure Agarbathi bags the Top Exports Award for Agarbathi as handicrafts for 2 consecutive years at the National Awards for exports held by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) 23rd Handicrafts Export Awards in New Delhi. The Award Ceremony was graced by the presence of the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Piyush Goyal and by the Honorable Union Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, Government of India, Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, and Upendra Prasad Singh, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. The leaders presented the two awards to the NR group for their consistent and glorious achievements in the industry. Selva Kumar, Vice President Exports accepted the honor on behalf of the brand. Expressing his pleasure over this rare recognition, Arjun Ranga, Managing Director, Cycle Pure Agarbathi, says, "We at NR Group are honored to accept this recognition. This award is a testimony of hard work that we all put into our products. We are humbled and motivated to do better every day. We are grateful towards all the artisans who have believed in us and helped us to achieve this award. Their contribution and dedication make this sector a promising one with full of possibilities and potential for immense growth." Top corporate figures from a variety of handicraft industries attended the event, and awards were given out in several categories. The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is a leading organization for exporting handicrafts and it plays a role in promoting India's reputation as a trustworthy source of high-quality hand-crafted goods globally. It also ensures various measures to be taken with an eye toward adhering to international standards and specifications. The Mysuru-based NRRS was founded by N. Ranga Rao in 1948. A true visionary and philanthropist, Ranga Rao created the ubiquitous Cycle Pure agarbathi which has today become the largest selling incense stick brand in the world. NRRS has evolved into a successfully run business conglomerate with an established presence in India and abroad from a home-grown enterprise. The Group has diversified into various business categories like functional air care products (Lia brand of room fresheners and car fresheners), wellness home fragrance products (IRIS) under Ripple Fragrances, floral extracts (NESSO), and Rangsons Technologies. Today it is truly an agarbathi to Aerospace conglomerate as it is also involved in making parts for defense helicopters. The organization has largely committed towards social responsibilities and fulfills them, through its charity arm 'NR Foundation'. NRRS today is managed by the third generation of the Ranga family. For more information on NRRS, please visit www.nrgroup.com. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) ila Bank, the fastest growing digital mobile-only bank in Bahrain powered by Bank ABC, has launched a Credit Card Around the World Travel Spend campaign. Commenced on June 16 and closing August 31, 2022, the campaign will enable 10 ila customers to win back their full international travel spend, up to BD5,000 ($13,264) each. This comes as part of the banks endeavour to offer unmatched credit card rewards and benefits catered to enrich users lifestyles. The campaign is open to ila credit card users that spend an accumulated amount of BD500 (or its equivalent in any currency) while travelling abroad, where every BD1 spent will be considered as 1 draw entry. All ila Blue and Switch credit cards, including supplementary cards, POS transactions and ATM cash withdrawals will be taken into consideration for the draw, while e-transactions will be excluded. Customer at heart The draw will take place on September 22, 2022 at ila Banks offices, in the presence of an MOIC representative, ila Bank executives and internal auditors. Ten lucky winners will be randomly selected, using an automated software. The full prize amount (up to BD5,000 each) will be credited into the winners credit cards, provided it is active during the raffle draw. ila Bank and Bank ABC employees are not eligible for entry. Further Terms & Conditions apply and have been emailed to all ila customers. Commenting on the Campaign, Nada Tarada, Head of Business & Customer at ila Bank said: ila has always had the customer at heart, and our banking services are built around our users and their needs. Likewise, our campaigns are designed to complement todays customers lifestyles, making banking with ila a delight. We look forward to introducing many such themed campaigns in the future as we consistently listen to, understand, and co-create with our customers. Throughout the campaign period, ila customers are encouraged to post photos using their credit cards abroad with the hashtag #ila_CreditCard_Around_TheWorld. The posts will be shared on the Banks official social media accounts, offering customers a moment of fame and building excitement as the draw date approaches. ilas Travel Spend credit card campaign follows a Domestic Spend campaign during the month of May, which enabled 3 customers to win a BD1,000 Travel Voucher, demonstrating the Banks ongoing commitment to deliver banking that reflects you.-- TradeArabia News Service Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI/PNN): Mumbai-based 1 Finance, a reimagined personal finance institution, announces the appointment of Manju Dhake as Vice President - Insurance, who is responsible for setting up the insurance advisory practice and strategic planning of the organisation for business excellence. Manju Dhake has a vast experience of 21 years of working with insurance companies, in both manufacturing and distribution. At 1 Finance, Manju Dhake is in charge of translating the conventional or traditional insurance industry practices into new-age solutions which will be customised based on the need-based approach model of customers by creating and managing digital platforms. Her role is critical for managing insurance product integrations with internal and external stakeholders with the aim to ultimately lead to optimal customised offerings for the customer. She will be part of the 1 Finance lab's core team which is working on setting new and transparent metrics in the insurance industry to enable individuals in the assessments of every available insurance product in the country, in one place. Manju Dhake has attained a Fellowship in Insurance (FIII) from the Insurance Institute of India, ICWA from the Institute of Cost Accountants of India, and Post Graduate in Commerce from the University of Mumbai. She has worked with companies such as 5nance.com, ICICI Prudential Life, HDFC Life, Sushil Insurance Brokers, and L&T Finance where she has experience in the formulation of business strategies, liaising with the regulators and insurance partners, thereby contributing to the growth of the insurance businesses. Keval Bhanushali, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, 1 Finance stated, "Insurance is the most mis-sold product in India. In internal research conducted by 1 Finance, we found that at least 80 per cent of MNIs in India who were sold insurance products later discovered that many important facts and information were either hidden or wrongly explained to them. We are on a mission to stop mis-selling in financial services in India. Taking the biggest problem first is our DNA. We are confident that Manju will be able to drive this change through 1 Finance labs. Customers need to be protected from mis-selling that can exacerbate their overall financial situation." Manju Dhake, Vice President - Insurance, 1 Finance mentioned, "It is a privilege to be associated with a financial institution that is focused towards the financial health of the customer. This is essential for the financial growth of not only the customer but also their families. I am pleased to become a part of the 1 Finance team, which is on a mission to eliminate the financial stresses of people when it comes to complex financial products. It really takes a deep thought process when you say upfront that you are not here to sell and generate revenues but to create value for customers by reimagining the personal finance space. The overall objective of my role is to create awareness by the right advisory engine, as an enabler for decision making for the customer and build processes to simplify the entire insurance journey for customers thereby contributing towards increasing insurance penetration." 1 Finance Private Limited is a reimagined personal finance institution that offers qualified, unbiased, and hyper-personalised advisory on one's personal finances including but not limited to assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and insurance. The Mumbai-based company is backed and mentored by marquee investor Marwadi Chandarana Group, established in the year 1995 and marking its prominence in the higher education sector with Marwadi University, in retail financial services by Marwadi Financial Services, and with algorithmic, and high-frequency trading with Marwadi Chandarana Intermediaries Brokers Private Limited (MCIBPL). 1 Finance is the first of its kind ecosystem offering financial planning and advisory solutions to the emerging affluent individuals of India. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): Pancham Dham Trust; RSS ideology based Pancham Dham Nyas has announced the unfurling of Sanatan Flags in 52 countries around the Indian Ocean. As the conquest merely can't be restricted to South Asia, it also has roots beyond continents in terms of cultural expansion and trade and will be flourishing exponentially. The movement has brought upon an opportunity that binds the region and offers a spiritual connection, a dialogue that's beyond the barriers of nations, countries or geographies. During the Press Conference, senior speakers from Pancham Dham Trust reiterated the glory and harmony in ancient times among 52 coastal countries, for trade, culture, tradition, cuisine and many more exchanges with India. There is a common spiritual connection; a supreme faith of Hindutva that has connected the whole Diaspora. Today, it is time to revive the ancient glory and spread the conquest beyond the geographical boundaries. Recently the Pancham Dham also announced the establishment of "Sanatan Sanskar Dhyan Kendra" for the exchange of social convenience with the countries from the Indian Ocean from Australia to South Africa including the Middle East. Today, Pancham Dham Nyas has a bigger footprint; it is registered in multiple countries and also has presence in South-East Asia. RSS veteran, Indresh Kumar and RSS oversees the Pancham Dham organization. ARSP General Secretary, Shyam Parande is the founder trustee and is leading the movements of the organization. Kavita Goyal from Essel World, Mumbai and also the Chairperson Virinchi Hospitals chain, Kompella Madhavi Latha, in south India along with the founder of Neemrana group Aman Nath and Navratan Agrawal, Director Bikanerwala are some of the high-profile dignitaries that are instrumental in driving the organization, also the Trustees of Pancham Dham Nyas. Leading Malaysian businessman, Dato Ram has taken the responsibility of constructing Dham work in several countries. People from the NRI community and countries that are part of the Indian Ocean are equally supporting the movement to develop the exchange of culture and trade. To re-establish the glory of ancient India, Pancham Dham Nyas welcomes all the NRIs who wish to connect and take oath for Pancham Dham, it also appreciates their valuable effort and guidance for the noble mission. The Pancham Dham Nyas was earlier known as the 1008 Names of Shiva Association and has been able to walk the path of Sanatana dharma due to the never-ending efforts of torch bearers Indresh Kumar, RSS Veteran and Dr Sailesh Lachu Hiranandani, the conceiver of the idea. Speaking at the event, Sailesh Vats, General Secretary and Trustee said, "Sanatan is in auto mood in India now, and we are witnessing that people from India and abroad are joining the conquest as never before. Our team is reviving the feelings about Sanatan lifestyle beyond Bharat." Sailesh Vats is also looking after all the coordination and planning of the Sanatan flag beyond India. After the successful exchange program in Cambodia, Pancham Dham is scheduled to go to Nepal last week of this month and Sri Lanka for human support on 17 September this year. All NRI are going to meet in London to accelerate the movement in November this year. To revive Pancham Dham in Siem Reap is the utmost priority of the Nyas. Dr Sailesh Lachu Hiranandani is on a roll and has already started crafting a road map on this along with Sailesh Vats and his team. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI/PNN): There is no doubt that the superpower in women is formulating compelling stories to exemplify the power of womanhood. And with extensive resilience and hard work, women are working passionately to create history fearlessly. Discovery Channel and TLC introduce the all-new chat-show series "Women Like Her," hosted by television actress Shruti Seth. The mother, VJ, and actor take us on a ride to visualize the dreams and passion from a woman's viewpoint. This series focuses on exceptional women who've not only been driving change but also focusing on uplifting society. The chat show "Women Like Her," features four womenfrom different walks of life and who have made a mark in their chosen fields. The series will delve into their journey, their challenges, and how they overcame them. "Women Like Her" host Shruti Seth shares how blessed and fulfilling she feels. She reveals her longing to associate with something that deliberately celebrates women along with their journey and success. Seth mentions how elated she feels after chatting with all the four incredibly inspiring guests. She also shares how immensely grateful she feels to be a part of this mind-blowing series. From the business world to the fashion industry, sports, media, and more, women are making their presence felt like never before. It is time that their stories are told. Check out the show promo https://youtu.be/8itGbRbzN-s Founder of The Moms Co. Malika Sadani is one hell of a bold and brilliant woman. She efficiently breaks the stereotypes of traditional moms confined to their homes. Sadani heads over to share her journey about the formulation of her own brand and further defines how The Moms Co. is exceptionally about motherly care.She further quoted, "When one woman comes out to tell her story there are a several others who dare to convert their dream to a reality. I hope my story is an inspiration for a few. Loved being a part of the show and reliving some of the past moments in my chat with Shruti." Alankrita Shrivastava, screenwriter and filmmaker, has made some exceptionally path-breaking films until now. From Lipstick Under My Burkha, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh ChamakteSitare, etc., her movies were a huge sucess. In this chat show, the extraordinary director shares her accolades, directorial journey, and much more. She says, "It was a lovely, fun, informal and candid chat I had with Shruti Seth. It's important to have conversations about the varied journeys women make to follow their passion and every such conversation enables one to reflect and grow. I'm glad Discovery is doing a show like this, which can perhaps encourage women to follow their dreams." Sensational fashion designer Shruti Sancheti takes us on a fashionable journey and explains how all of this happened."It was truly an enriching and a learning experience to know about the stories of other women and working with such a dedicated, efficient, and friendly crew and look forwards further association and experiences" - Shruti Sancheti. Heena Sidhu, a fierce pistol shooter, talks about taking over the family legacy ahead. Being part of the conventionally masculine sport is quite challenging for Sidhu. She further explains society's complexity when she chooses to become a national pistol shooter. "It was great working with the amazing discovery team. Everyone was very warm and welcoming. The whole environment was so warm, friendly, and unpretentious and I think that's what made me open up my heart and share my journey and my thoughts so effortlessly. I wish all the best to the discovery team and hope to collaborate with such an amazing team again sometime in the future" said Heena Sindhu. Co-powered by Amazon Prime Video, in partnership with First Cry, VIP Skybags and Wakefit Mattress, and in association with Netmeds& Lifestyle, the show airs on Discovery Channel at 5:21 pm. In partnership with VIP Skybags and in association withEnamor& Lifestyle, the show airs at 6:15 pm on TLC. This series is a step in the right direction, and we cannot wait to watch it! Make sure you tune in to "Women Like Her" to experience the momentous paths these awe-inspiring women have walked earlier. Let's join and celebrate these women entrepreneurs while they unfold their success stories to the whole wide world. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) New Delhi [India]/ Bourges [France] July 6 (ANI/Seraphim): Starting this month, it will be the battle of the mixologists at the MONIN Cup 2022. This much-awaited competition for bartenders is a prestigious platform that showcases exceptional talent. This year's edition is on the theme "Sharing memorable moments'' where participants are expected to use their creativity, skill, passion, and inventiveness to develop a memorable cocktail moment. Participants will have the opportunity to compete on a global level as finalists from different countries will compete in the International Grand Finale for the coveted trophy in France at the end of 2022. For many, it may well be the first occasion to compete and demonstrate their best competencies while living out their passion for their profession. The last two-plus years have certainly put the spotlight on unpredictability and the hospitality industry was at the centre of the storm. With the MONIN Cup 2022, the company wants to support reviving the hospitality industry to pre-pandemic times. Commenting on the MONIN Cup 2022, Germain Araud, Managing Director, Monin India Pvt Ltd said: "The Indian Food and Beverage industry has so much hidden talent. We have seen numerous talents emerging post the pandemic where people sitting at home showcased their creativity. Now it is time to bring them onto the professional stage. Our objective is to showcase that talent and select the most skilled mixologist in India. The contest encourages experimenting and creating new experiences - something all of us are eager to do after the pandemic. We are on the hunt for the best mixologist- one who knows how to touch the right senses." With this strong hope and to rekindle the passion for mixology, the MONIN Cup 2022 will be conducted across key cities in India. Commencing on July 12, the first stop will be Kolkata followed by July 18, in Bengaluru, July 25, in Mumbai and concluding on August 1, in New Delhi. The finals will be held in New Delhi on 3rd August. Participants looking to compete will have to be either professional bartenders or students from bar schools aged between 21-27 years. As part of the competition, participants will have to explain their choice of recipe and MONIN flavours. The recipes presented must include a minimum of 10ml of at least one product from MONIN's wide flavour profiles across categories including Le Sirop de MONIN, Le Fruit de MONIN to Le Frappe de Monin. One can also mix a combination of MONIN products if required. The judging committee is made up of Professional Bartenders, chefs, influencers, and F&B managers among many others. The veterans will evaluate all aspects such as presentation, efficiency, skills, appearance, aroma, taste, and respect for the theme. The challenge for the participants is to create a cocktail experience that can be shared, enjoyed, and even felt by everyone together. The winners would be chosen based on their unique craft that is memorable and gets people immersed in the drink. The three best participants from each region will have a chance to compete in the coveted national finale in Delhi on August 3, 2022. One among them will hold the prestigious title of representing India in the international grand finale in France at the end of 2022. Currently, the competition has already received over 1500 applications. With a wealth of more than 100 years of experience, MONIN has become the brand of reference for bar and catering professionals, offering more than 150 flavours available in 150 countries. The company has the widest range of Premium Syrups, Fruit Mixes, and Gourmet Sauces. Versatile and with an unrivalled strength of flavour, MONIN products can respond to the demands of all professionals: delivering quality, multiple flavours, and originality in all applications. This story is provided by Seraphim. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Seraphim) The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday released the second provisional list of 23 beneficiaries under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for promoting the manufacturing of drones and drone components in the country. The list released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation includes 12 drone manufacturers and 11 drone component manufacturers. The companies that have been shortlisted for incentives under the drone manufacturers category include, Aarav Unmanned Systems Asteria Aerospace, and Throttle Aerospace Systems from Bengaluru, Karnataka; Dhaksha Unmanned Systems and Garuda Aerospace from Chennai, Tamil Nadu; EndureAir Systems and Raphe Mphibr from Noida, Uttar Pradesh; Ideaforge Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra; IoTechWorld Avigation and Omnipresent Robot Technologies from Gurugram, Haryana; and Sagar Defence Engineering, Pune, Maharashtra. The companies shortlisted for incentives under the drone component manufacturers category include Absolute Composites, Bengaluru, Karnataka; Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India, Hyderabad, Telangana; Adroitec Information Systems, New Delhi; Alpha Design Technologies, Bengaluru, Karnataka; Dynamake Engineering, Hyderabad, Telangana; Imaginarium Rapid, Mumbai, Maharashtra; SASMOS HET Technologies, Bengaluru, Karnataka; Servocontrols Aerospace India, Belagavi, Karnataka; Valdel Advanced Technologies, Bengaluru, Karnataka; ZMotion Autonomous Systems, Bengaluru, Karnataka; and Zuppa Geo Navigation Technologies, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Ministry invited applications from eligible manufacturers on May 4, 2022 and the last date for submission was May 20, 2022. "The provisional list of PLI beneficiaries has been prepared on the basis of the unaudited financial results for 2021-22 and other information. The shortlisted beneficiaries have crossed the eligibility criteria related to sales revenue and value addition in FY 2021-22," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. The combined annual sales turnover of the shortlisted companies has increased from Rs 88 crore in FY 2020-21 to Rs 319 crore (unaudited) in FY 2021-22. The eligibility criteria for the PLI scheme for drones and drone components include an annual sales turnover of Rs 2 crore for drone companies and Rs 50 lakh for drone components manufacturers; and value addition of over 40 per cent of sales turnover. The PLI scheme for drones and drone components was notified on September 30, 2021. Under the scheme, a total incentive of Rs 120 crore is spread over three financial years which is nearly double the combined turnover of all domestic drone manufacturers in FY 2020-21. The PLI rate is 20 per cent of the value addition which is one of the highest among other PLI schemes. A unique feature of the drone PLI scheme is that the manufacturers who fail to meet the value addition threshold in 2021-22 will be allowed to claim the lost incentive in the subsequent year if they make up the shortfall in 2022-23. Apart from the PLI Scheme, the Government of India has carried a series of reforms to make India a global drone hub by 2030. These include notification of the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021; publishing of Drone Airspace Map 2021 which opens nearly 90 per cent of Indian airspace as a green zone upto 400 feet, UAS Traffic Management (UTM) policy framework 2021; Drone Certification Scheme 2022 which makes it easier for drone manufacturers to obtain a type certificate; Drone Import Policy, 2022 which bans import of foreign-made drones; and the Drone (Amendment) Rules, 2022 which abolishes the requirement of a drone pilot licence for drone operations. (ANI) According to the Hollywood Reporter, Evans is best known for playing Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, but he is expanding his career in Hollywood now that he has taken off his superhero hat. At Cannes, Netflix won the rights to the Pain Hustlers movie package, which stars Emily Blunt and was directed by David Yates. Blunt plays a high school dropout who accepts a position with a failed pharmaceutical start-up in a dilapidated strip mall in Central Florida. Yates describes the film as being in the style of The Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short. The firm and Liza are propelled into the high life by Liza's charm, guts, and determination. She quickly finds herself at the centre of a criminal scheme with fatal repercussions. Pain Hustlers' screenplay was written by Wells Tower, and it is being made by Yates and Yvonne Walcott's Wychwood Pictures and Lawrence Grey's Grey Matter Productions. August is when production will begin. Pain Hustlers was pitched at Cannes by The Veterans and CAA Media Finance. Evans' involvement in the film was initially reported by Deadline Hollywood. (ANI) US reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian has slammed the paparazzi for selling old photos of her running errands when her husband Travis Barker was hospitalized due to 'life-threatening pancreatitis' last week. Taking to Instagram Story, Kourtney wrote, "And to the paparazzi who sold pictures of me 'out and about' while my husband was in the hospital fighting for his life...these were photos actually taken weeks ago, (I can't even remember the last time I wore that sweatsuit in the photos)." She called the instance "a new level of low," adding that photographers were "monetizing off of our nightmare," E! Online reported. "A new level of low, monetizing off our of our nightmare. Really savagely uncool when I actually didn't leave his side...shame you," she added. Kourtney's message to the paps comes days after she opened up about Travis' health. "Oh what a scary and emotional week it has been. Our health is everything and sometimes we take for granted how quickly it can change. Travis and I went in for a routine endoscopy together and he ended up with severe, life-threatening pancreatitis. I am so grateful to God for healing my husband, for all of your prayers for him and for us, for the overwhelming outpouring of love and support. I am so touched and appreciative," she posted. Meanwhile, Travis is now recovering and has even resumed work. The Blink-182 drummer was photographed walking outside his recording studio in Calabasas, California, on Tuesday. (ANI) Hollywood actor Michael Shannon is ready to make his directorial debut with 'Eric Larue'. 'Eric Larue' movie is based on the Brett Neveu play that debuted in 2002 at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago, where Shannon is a founding member. He will be directing by adapting Neveu's script, as per Deadline. Reportedly the film had been scheduled to shoot in Arkansas. But since the Supreme Court's decision to reverse Roe v Wade triggered that state's Act 180 of 2019, which bans nearly all forms of abortions, such as cases of rape and incest, the Hollywood filmmakers have withdrawn from shooting Arkansas and now will be shooting in and around Wilmington, NC. For Neveu's the origin of 'Eric Larue' as a play was in response to the mass shooting in 1999 at Columbine High School in Colorado. The play premiered at the Red Orchid n 2002. Almost after 15 years from it's debut, Shannon was directing the play 'Traitor', which is a new way of telling Neveu's 'An Enemy of the People'. When a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Those shootings led to Neveu adapting his original play into the feature film that Shannon will direct. The film follows Janice, the mother of 17-year-old Eric, who shot and killed three of his classmates. As Janice faces a meeting of the mothers of the other boys, and a long-delayed visit to her son in prison, the story becomes not about the violence but about what we choose to think and do in order to survive trauma. According to Deadline, Shannon said, "Eric Larue has so much to say about our country, about the way we try (sometimes quite ineptly) to deal with the trauma of living here, which is so insidious because it does not present itself overtly in concrete terms most of the time." "Like most great stories, Eric Larue plays at the macro and a micro level simultaneously. When I read the screenplay, I immediately knew I had to direct it. I saw it. I heard it. I could feel it. And I wanted to make sure that it received just the right touch in all its aspects, because at the end of the day, it is an extraordinarily delicate thing," Shannon continued. "I find it interesting," he added, "to align with artists possessing the most vivid imaginations, the most stringent yet empathetic senses of morality, and the most passionate and rigorous disciplines to create worlds and stories that contribute to our experience and understanding of what it is to be a human being in this day and age and, particularly, this country, he added. (ANI) The 'Badlapur' actor took to his Instagram and shared a hilarious video of Janhvi. Sharing the video, Varun wrote, "@janhvikapoor Aka Janice." In the video, Janhvi was seen enacting the popular character Janice from the American sitcom, 'Friends'. The 'Roohi' actor looked cute yet chic as dressed in black stylish frilled top that she teamed up with blue wide-leg jeans. She got the exact laugh as Janice making it more hilarious to watch. At the end of the video, Janhvi said "Ohh My God, Chandler Bing." A 35-year-old actor also shared a picture with the director of his upcoming film 'Bawaal' Nitesh Tiwari. He was seen saying "Hello Sir, welcome to my land, Po-land." Varun was dressed in a cream sweatshirt and wore a pair of black shades. On the other hand, Nitesh opted for a black jacket. Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor recently announced the schedule wrap-up of their upcoming social drama film 'Bawaal' in Amsterdam. After completing the Amsterdam schedule of the film, makers are now headed towards Poland for the next schedule. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, 'Bawaal' is a social-drama film, which marks the first collaboration of the lead cast Varun and Janhvi with the director of the film Nitesh Tiwari. The 'Coolie No. 1' actor started shooting for 'Bawaal' in April 2022 in Lucknow, post that the team left for the Netherlands to shoot another schedule. The film is slated to hit the theatres on April 7, 2023. Meanwhile, on the work front, the 'Judwaa 2' actor is currently riding high on the success of his recently released film 'JugJugg Jeeyo' which collected Rs. 100 Crores worldwide. He will be next seen in Dinesh Vijan's next horror-comedy film 'Bhediya' with Kriti Sanon, which is all geared up to hit the theatres on November 25, 2022. Janhvi, on the other hand, will be next seen in 'Good Luck Jerry', which will stream directly on the OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar from July 29, 2022. (ANI) The 87th birthday celebrations of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh saw the presence of Hollywood star Richard Gere. In a video captured by ANI, Gere, who is an active follower and supporter of the Dalai Lama, is seen participating in celebrations organised by the Central Tibetan Administration of the Tibetan government-in-exile at the main Buddhist temple of Tsuglagkhang in Dharamshala. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur extended his warm greetings to the Dalai Lama via a video call. "I spoke with the Dalai Lama over the phone a short while ago. He was very happy. When I wished him on his birthday he excitedly told me that he received the opportunity to live in Dev Bhumi Himachal and for that he is thankful to the Himachal government as well as the Centre," Thakur shared. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also conveyed birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama and prayed for the long life and good health of the spiritual leader. "Conveyed 87th birthday greetings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama over the phone earlier Wednesday. We pray for his long life and good health," Modi said in a tweet. The Dalai Lama, throughout his life in exile, has achieved prominence among the world's political, religious, and social leaders as a universal icon of peace, harmony and non-violence. He has been successful in exposing the true nature of the anti-democratic, anti-religious, and anti-humanistic attitude of China and the untold sufferings of the Tibetans under the Chinese administration. The Dalai Lama has won widespread international support for the Tibetan independence movement. He has been advocating the Tibetan cause with non-violence for the last many decades and has been raising awareness in the international community on the Tibetans' right to a homeland and culture, the restoration of the thousands of Buddhist monasteries which were destroyed by China and the freedom of hundreds of Tibetans captured by Beijing. (ANI) A 38-year-old man was allegedly stabbed in a Karnataka village by a man who professed Hindutva ideology. Police have refuted the communal angle. Waquar Hasan | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles NEW DELHI Family members of 38-year-old man Samiullah, who was stabbed in his village in Karnataka, have alleged that the incident was communal as the attacker was a right-wing Hindu and there was no personal enmity between the accused and the victim. Samiullah, who is the president of the committee managing a mosque in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka, was allegedly stabbed by a man named Nutan Gowda on July 2 when the former was coming home after performing evening (Maghrib) prayers at a local mosque. The Instagram profile of the accused Hindu youth Gowda shows that he believed in Hindutva ideology. Jai Shri Ram, Fan of Chatrapati Shivaji, Fight for Hindutva, his bio says. Samilullahs brother Qasim told TwoCircles.net thathe (Samiullah) was attacked from behind while he was talking to someone. The assailant stabbed him several times from the back and front, Qasim said. Samiullah is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chitradurga. He received a lot of stitches in different parts of the body. His fingers do not work as his veins were cut off. He has an injury near his eyes as well. He has to undergo surgery, said Qasim. Qasim said his brother had no enmity with the accused and suspected a communal angle behind the attack. Our father-grandfather has been living in this village for decades but there has always been a good atmosphere here. Communal feelings have developed during the last 2-3 years. There is hatred against Muslims, he said. According to him, Muslims in the village are living peacefully in the area, and are in economically good condition. The progress of the community has created envy among some people in the village, Qasim said. He said this is the first incident of hate crime in the village. The atmosphere of the village has been harmonious. Now, some youth have joined the Hindutva groups like Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which has threatened the harmonious atmosphere of the village, he claimed. Some suspect that the incident took place to avenge the killing of Hindu tailor Kanhaiah Lal in Rajasthans Udaipur. Balekayi Srinivas, President of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has alleged the role of BJP and Hindu organizations in the stabbing case, as per a report in Mirror Now. He has alleged that the accused Hindu youth participated in Maha Ganapathy Utsav and was an activist of the Bajrang Dal. The attempt to murder has been made with an intent to spread communal hatred, Mirror Now quoted Srinivas as saying. The local police, however, have denied any communal angle behind the incident. Talking to the media, Superintendent of Police K. Parashuram said that the investigations have not indicated any communal angle in the incident. A police official at Aluru police station told TwoCircles.net that they have registered an FIR against the accused under the charges of attempt to murder (307) and arrested him. The official denied that there is a communal angle behind the incident and that the accused is associated with any Hindutva group. The accused stabbed him because the victim asked him why he was staring at him, said the official. The official said that the accused is an orphan and does not stay in any one place. He sometimes lives in Bangalore, sometimes in another place. He earns and eats at different places, the official added. Victim is well known in his village Samiullah is an influential figure in the village, his brother Qasim said. He used to help people. People used to call him to give speeches. He was president of the mosque committee for ten years. He is married and has three small children. However, no political or Muslim leader has so far come forward to help him. One Dalit panchayat member Srinivasan helped him throughout the situation, he said. The family claims that they have not received the copy of the FIR as they are currently busy with the victims treatment. The attack on Samiullah has been reported at a time when the state has witnessed communal attacks and hate speeches. Last week, a group of prominent people from Karnataka wrote to Karnataka chief minister Basavarj Bommai to stop communal incidents in the state. We believe the restoration of communal harmony is an important and urgent task and trust that the government you head will not wish to go down in history as the one that precipitated a steep downturn in the reputation and fortunes of our state through inaction, reads the letter signed by the group of 75 citizens, including former IAS officers T R Raghunandan, P R Dasgupta and N T Abroo, former IPS officers Ajay Kumar Singh and F T R Colaco. Waquar Hasan is a journalist based in Delhi. He covrs human rights abuses and hate crimes. He tweets at @WaqarHasan1231 Taking to Instagram, Dharma Productions shared the poster, to which they captioned, "50 Days to Release Let's Celebrate with some Massssss Music! AKDI PAKDI. 1st song - July 11th. Promo on July 8th " In the poster, the lead pair of the film can be seen in a cheerful mood, with Vijay Deverkonda in a rustic jacket hugging her co-star Ananya Panday and helping her to blow a whistle. 'Liger' marks Vijay's debut in Hindi cinema and the 'Khaali Peeli' actor's first multi-lingual film. Soon after the makers unveiled the poster of 'Akdi Pakdi', fans flooded the comment section with heart and fire emoticons, as the excitement for the first song from the Puri Jagannadh directorial film can be seen among them. Recently makers also unveiled a naked poster of the lead actor Vijay holding up a bouquet of red roses in his hand, looking beefed up in his action avatar. The poster got viral on social media and fans appreciated the 'Arjun Reddy' actor for his transformation. Produced by Karan Johar, 'Liger' is all set to hit theatres on August 26, 2022, after getting multiple delays due to covid-19 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Meanwhile, the 'World Famous Lover' will be also seen collaborating with Puri Jagannadh in 'JGM', which is slated to release on August 2023. Apart from that he also has 'Kushi' with actor Samantha Prabhu, which is gearing up for a worldwide release on December 23, 2022. Ananya on the other hand will be seen in 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' with Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav, which is expected to release in 2023. (ANI) Taking to Instagram, the 'Street Dancer 3D' dropped a boomerang video, to which she captioned "Home Sweet Home after 32 days" followed by rain, home and a purple-heart emoticon. In the video, the 'Baaghi' actor can be seen smiling inside her car, by the look of her she seems happy while returning back to her home after a long working schedule. She donned a chic blue jacket over a white t-shirt. The 35-year-old actor was shooting for Luv Ranjan's next untitled romantic comedy film with Ranbir Kapoor in Spain and Mauritius, where the crew finally wrapped up the last schedule of the film. Many photos and videos of Shraddha and the 'Rockstar' actor from the Spain schedule of the film got viral on social media, where they can be seen shooting for a dance track. Produced by T-series, the film marks the first collaboration of the 'Baaghi 2' actor with Ranbir. The Luv Ranjan directorial film is slated to hit the theatres on March 8, 2023. Meanwhile, the 'Aashiqui 2' actor will also be seen in 'Chaalbaaz in London' and the 'Naagin' trilogy. The 'Sanju' actor, on the other hand, will be seen in Yash Raj Films' next period drama film 'Shamshera', which is slated to release on July 22, 2022, and 'Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva' alongside Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan. (ANI) Taking to Instagram, the 'Roohi' actor captioned, "Your #1 third wheel" followed by a joker emoticon. In the first picture, the 'Gunjan Saxena' actor donned a white full sleeve short dress with matching sneakers. She can be seen posing in the bright sun at a picnic spot, flaunting her smile. Two pictures from the series gathered all the eyeballs, in which the 'Dhadak' can be seen photo-bombing the director couple Nitesh Tiwari and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, as she strikes a funny pose behind them. In another picture, she can be seen with co-star Varun and her wife Natasha Dalal, posing with a funny-sad face as she feels like a third wheel in between couples. In other pictures, the 25-year-old actor dropped some sneak-peek images from her day off after she wrapped up 'Bawaal' Amsterdam schedule which includes pictures of scenery, an image with the text 'In art we trust' written on it, her cheat meal and a snap from a local restaurant. Makers of 'Bawaal' after completing the Amsterdam schedule, headed towards Poland to shoot the remaining portions of their film. Meanwhile, on the work front, Janhvi will be next seen in a black comedy film 'GoodLuck Jerry' which will stream on Dinsey+ Hotstar from July 29, 2022. Apart from that she also has 'Mr And Mrs Maahi' alongside Rajkummar Rao. (ANI) The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday ordered a probe into the incident where SpiceJet's Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning. More than 150 passengers are onboard the SpiceJet flight (Delhi-Dubai) that made an emergency landing in Karachi, Pakistan after developing a technical fault. "On July 5, 2022, M/s SpiceJet B737-8 Max aircraft VT-MXG while operating flight SG-011, Delhi - Dubai, the crew observed unusual fuel quantity reduction from the left tank. They carried out a relevant non-normal checklist, however fuel quantity kept on decreasing. PIC decided to divert the aircraft to Karachi (KHI). Aircraft diverted in coordination with ATC and landed safely at KHI," said DGCA statement. India's low-cost carrier SpiceJet said the flight was diverted when it was on the way to Dubai and flying on 5000 ft. The conversation between the SpiceJet pilot and ATC Karachi which has been accessed by ANI, shows that the pilot has asked for a precautionary landing after suspected fuel leakage in the aircraft. "The SpiceJet pilot is heard telling ATC Karachi that the fuel leakage in the aircraft, requesting it for precautionary landing," ATC conversation read access by ANI. "Karachi ATC confirming him whether any dangerous good on board. The pilots responded negatively. Later Karachi ATC confirms SpiceJet for landing after two minutes," the conversation further read. The plane landed safely at Karachi airport at around 8 am (local time), 53 minutes after being airborne. "SpiceJet has been on-ground for the past four hours. Passengers are being looked after. The plane has been parked in the designated area where engineers are assessing the problem," Pakistan's civil aviation authority (CAA) official said. "On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi - Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely at Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked," the spokesperson of the airline said. According to SpiceJet, no emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing at Karachi airport. "No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft. Passengers have been served refreshments. A replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai," SpiceJet spokesperson said. Earlier on Saturday, a domestic flight made an emergency landing after its cabin filled with smoke soon after take-off for the central city of Jabalpur, the airline said. A senior DGCA official said that they are investigating all six incidents on SpiceJet aircraft reported in the last 17 days. "We are concerned over passengers' safety and a team has been formed to investigate all the incidents thoroughly and submit the report at the earliest," he said. In the monthly report of DGCA, SpiceJet came in second in terms of flight cancellations in the month of May. On June 19, two incidents were reported in two separate flights of SpiceJet. First, a Delhi-bound flight carrying over 185 passengers caught fire soon after take-off from Patna airport and had to make an emergency landing. The airline said a bird hit that had damaged their fan blades. In another incident on the same day, the SpiceJet Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 plane from Delhi to Jabalpur made an emergency landing in Delhi as the cabin pressure couldn't be built up as the plane gained altitude. (ANI) Odisha has been ranked as the No. 1 performing state in the country by the Government of India, in their recently published ''State Ranking Index for NFSA'' 2022-creating resilient food systems to optimize the delivery of benefits''. This was announced by Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday at the Conference of Food Ministers on Food & Nutrition Security in India in New Delhi. Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Minister, Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare, Cooperation expressed his happiness about Odisha being ranked No. 1 in the country and said, "it has been only possible for the foresight and vision of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has also thanked all the Officers of the Department for their continuous effort to achieve this glory." The assessment framework for ranking the States and Union Territories is built on three key pillars, which cover the end-to-end implementation of NFSA through TPDS: NFSA - Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act, Delivery Platform, Nutrition initiatives. Since the implementation of the National Food Security Act in the State in 2015, Odisha has followed it up with robust end-to-end computerization of TPDS operations. A digitized beneficiaries database of 3.25 crore has been hosted in the public domain, dynamically updated in 378 Ration Card Management System (RCMS) Centres, one each in 314 Blocks and 64 Urban Local Bodies. All the 152 food storage depots of the Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Department have been fully automated with provision for real-time electronic recording of doorstep delivery of 1.87 lakh MT foodgrains per month at 12,133 Fair Price Shops across the State. All the Fair Price Shops are equipped with electronic Point of Sale (e-PoS) devices which ensure distribution to PDS beneficiaries through automated mode. One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) Programme has been implemented across the state from July 2021. PDS beneficiaries are now availing of intra-state/inter-state portability of ration cards and are able to choose any fair price shops of their choice & convenience to receive their monthly entitlements. Around 1.10 lakh families are receiving ration through the intra-state facility and 533 families receive ration through the inter-state facility every month. Keeping in view the network connectivity, 10578 fair price shops have been made ONORC-enabled shops out of a total of 12,206. The number may increase once network connectivity in those fair-price shop locations improves. Odisha has implemented the pilot scheme of ''Supply of Fortified Rice under Public Distribution in Malkangiri district'' since July 2021. Around 1.29 lakh families comprising 4.66 lakh members under NFSA & State Food Security Scheme are being supplied 3,138 MT fortified rice every month. Apart from PDS (Pilot), this Department has started supplying fortified rice to School & Mass Education Department for PM-POSHAN (erstwhile MDM) programme and to Women & Child Development Department for the SNP programme in a phased manner. (ANI) Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday held a detailed discussion with the advisory group of airlines on fuel pricing (ATF) in India and abroad, along with steps to mitigate the burgeoning pressure of rising prices. This comes after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's immediate personal intervention to reduce exorbitant airfares in the post-COVID period in both domestic and international sectors. In a letter to PM Modi, the Kerala Chief Minister said that airfares in both the international and domestic sectors have become exorbitantly high recently, which is pulling the travel industry down and putting Non-Residents to extreme hardship. Meanwhile, Indian carrier SpiceJet replacement aircraft arrived in Karachi from Mumbai on Tuesday evening after the airline's Dubai-bound flight from Delhi was diverted to the Pakistani city as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning.The Boeing 737 Max aircraft will be taking passengers to Dubai. The replacement aircraft landed at 5:45 pm Pakistan time.Earlier on Tuesday morning, a Dubai-bound SpiceJet flight from Delhi was diverted to Karachi in Pakistan as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning.More than 150 passengers were onboard the SpiceJet flight (Delhi-Dubai) that made an emergency landing in Karachi, Pakistan after developing a technical fault.Following this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday ordered a probe into the incident."On July 5, 2022, M/s SpiceJet B737-8 Max aircraft VT-MXG while operating flight SG-011, Delhi - Dubai, the crew observed unusual fuel quantity reduction from the left tank. They carried out a relevant non-normal checklist, however fuel quantity kept on decreasing. PIC decided to divert the aircraft to Karachi (KHI). Aircraft diverted in coordination with ATC and landed safely at KHI," said DGCA statement.SpiceJet said the flight was diverted when it was on the way to Dubai and flying on 5000 ft.The conversation between the SpiceJet pilot and ATC Karachi which has been accessed by ANI shows that the pilot has asked for a precautionary landing after suspected fuel leakage in the aircraft."The SpiceJet pilot is heard telling ATC Karachi that the fuel leakage in the aircraft, requesting it for precautionary landing," ATC conversation read access by ANI."Karachi ATC confirming him whether any dangerous good on board. The pilots responded negatively. Later Karachi ATC confirms SpiceJet for landing after two minutes," the conversation further read.The aircraft landed safely at Karachi airport at around 8 am (local time), 53 minutes after being airborne."SpiceJet has been on-ground for the past four hours. Passengers are being looked after. The plane has been parked in the designated area where engineers are assessing the problem," Pakistan's civil aviation authority (CAA) official said."On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi - Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely at Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked," the spokesperson of the airline said.According to SpiceJet, no emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing at Karachi airport."No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft. Passengers have been served refreshments. A replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai," SpiceJet spokesperson said.Meanwhile, another aircraft of India's low-cost carrier SpiceJet reported a glitch in its Kandla - Mumbai flight on Tuesday. This is the second incident involving the airline on Tuesday.Earlier on Saturday, a domestic flight made an emergency landing after its cabin filled with smoke soon after take-off for the central city of Jabalpur, the airline said.A senior DGCA official said that they are investigating all six incidents on SpiceJet aircraft reported in the last 17 days."We are concerned over passengers' safety and a team has been formed to investigate all the incidents thoroughly and submit the report at the earliest," he said.In the monthly report of DGCA, SpiceJet came in second in terms of flight cancellations in the month of May.On June 19, two incidents were reported in two separate flights of SpiceJet. First, a Delhi-bound flight carrying over 185 passengers caught fire soon after take-off from Patna airport and had to make an emergency landing. The airline said a bird hit that had damaged their fan blades.In another incident on the same day, the SpiceJet Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 plane from Delhi to Jabalpur made an emergency landing in Delhi as the cabin pressure couldn't be built up as the plane gained altitude. (ANI) NABARD's Madurai Agri-Business Incubation Farm is the facilitator for this application, which says that this particular onion is cultivated in Chettikulam village in Allathur block in Perambalur. The small onion in this area has around 15-18 layers of dried outer scales and has a shelf life of 8 to 9 months. As many as 70,000 tonnes are produced in 12,500 hectares in the area. The high sulphur content in this region gives this particular onion the highest pungency taste. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has been on the 'Mission Onion Programme' for doubling the farmers' income by 2022 and has set up a Common Food Processing Incubation Centre at Chettikulam village to address the issue of small onion farmers. Interestingly farmers of the region give a small quantity of onion after crop as an offering at the Lord Murugan temple of the area. --IANS aal/vd ( 187 Words) 2022-07-05-20:36:02 (IANS) Counsel for petitioners, Tarunjyoti Tiwari also submitted copies of the recommendations on the letterheads of these sitting and formal legislators duly signed by them to a division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Srivastav. None of the names recommended by the ruling party lawmakers qualified in the written test for teachers' recruitment by the WBSSC in 2014, when the current state Commerce and Industries Minister and Trinamool Secretary General Partha Chatterjee was the Education Minister. The present and former public representatives named in the matter include state Fisheries Minister, Akhil Giri, former Balagarh (Hooghly) legislator, Asim Maji and former Bijpur (North 24 Parganas) lawmaker, Subhrangshu Roy. Roy is the son of former Trinamool national General Secretary and currently official BJP legislator, Mukul Roy, against whom there is an ongoing case in the Calcutta High Court for disqualification since he rejoined the Trinamool after the 2021 Assembly polls. The bench of Justice Srivastava, however, has reserved the judgement. Already the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are conducting parallel probes in the WBSSC recruitment irregularities scam. As many 269 individuals have lost their jobs following the order of a single-judge bench as all of them got jobs flouting norms and without qualifying in the examination. Chatterjee has also been grilled more than once by CBI sleuths in the matter. --IANS src/vd ( 269 Words) 2022-07-05-20:48:04 (IANS) A month after 42-year-old RTI activist Ranjeet Soni was shot dead in a government office in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha district, a fact-finding team of activists has released a report noting that Soni had been under severe pressure from local government contractors to stop his activities. The report available with IANS mentioned that the team visited Vidisha on June 19 to meet the family of Soni, who was killed on June 2. The team comprised activists Anjali Bhardwaj, Rolly Shivhare and Amrita Johri who are members of the working committee of the National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information; Ajay Dubey who is board member of Transparency International, India, and Santosh Malviya who works with Dubey in Madhya Pradesh. The report states that Soni's widow Gayatri said that he was most recently pursuing issues related to fake Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) made by certain contractors in collusion with officials to bid for government contracts. The report suggested that Soni himself was a contractor for government work but stopped working with two of those arrested for his murder -- Jaswant Raghuvanshi and S. Kumar Choube -- after a falling out. Police have arrested three others, including the shooter Ankit Yadav who was allegedly assigned the task. Soni had been using the RTI Act to access details of public work and government expenditure and would file complaints against irregularities he had noticed. Local journalists told the fact-finding team that over 130 RTI requests had been filed by Soni. Based on the RTI replies, he filed complaints before various authorities including the Lokayukta, public works department and the Chief Minister's Office seeking action. "A perusal of the RTI applications filed by him show that in several cases he was seeking information which in any case should have been proactively disclosed by the concerned public authority as required under Section 4 of the RTI Act," reports said. The fact-finding report notes the discovery of several RTI applications made by Soni to unearth allocations and acquisitions at government hospitals, eligibility of persons appointed for government jobs, and details of road construction. In 2016, Soni filed a police complaint alleging a physical attack by Raghuvanshi and his people over an RTI on road construction deals filed by him. Raghuvanshi allegedly also got a person, who Soni alleges he did not even know, to file a case under the SC/ST Act against him. The family, even before Soni's death, had made significant changes to their lives to accommodate the shift in Soni's profession, even selling their house and moving when payments to Soni stopped due to "action by these contractors." "In our view, the connection between Ranjeet's murder and his use of the RTI Act to access information and expose alleged corruption/irregularities cannot be denied," the team notes in the report. The report also mentioned that the family is in deep financial crisis and the government must provide immediate compensation. The report requests the authorities to place in the public domain, on the website of the concerned public authorities, all the RTI applications filed by Soni in the last one year (including any pending applications) along with the information and replies. --IANS pd/bg ( 539 Words) 2022-07-05-20:52:04 (IANS) Army troops on Tuesday saved the life of two elderly women when they were on a pilgrimage to Chitto Mata Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said. The troops of 17 Rashtriya Rifles (Maratha LI) were providing security to Chitto Mata Yatris in Paddar region of Kishtwar, when a patrol was alerted by cries for help from a distance. "The troops of 17 Rashtriya Rifles (MARATHA LI) immediately rushed in the direction of the noise to investigate without wasting time," an official statement said. On reaching the spot, the patrol found out that two women, namely Neelam Kumari, 62, resident of Digyanan, Jammu and Vaishno Devi, 60, resident of Fylmandal, Jammu were unwell. Neelam Kumari was suffering from low BP and was unable to breathe and Vaishno Devi had suffered serious leg injuries due to fall and was unable to walk. The patrol party immediately provided first aid and evacuated them to PHC Atholi through difficult terrain and over the Chandrabhaga river. "Timely first aid to the ladies and braving and overcoming the challenges posed by terrain and weather, their lives were saved. The brave and selfless act by the troops of the Indian Army was praised by the families of both the ladies and all Yatris," the statement added. --IANS zi/vd ( 228 Words) 2022-07-05-22:02:03 (IANS) Shah, who was living alone in the city and had no relatives to cremate him, was suffering from a liver ailment. Sami Ahmad | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles PATNA (BIHAR) In a gesture of communal harmony that has been applauded by netizens, former Muslim employers arranged the last rites of a 75-year-old Hindu man Ram Deo Shah who died July 1 in Patna, Bihar. Shah, who was living alone in the city and had no relatives to cremate him, was suffering from a liver ailment which he had revealed to his former employers days before his death. During his visit to our home, he told us about the illness and asked us to arrange some household items. I was buying these when I got a call on July 1 morning that he had passed away. It was sad to hear it, Mohammad Rizwan, garment trader and former employer of Shah, told TwoCircles.net. As per Rizwan, Shah had been working at their shop since 2001 as an accountant before he had to quit the job during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022. Rizwan said that it had become difficult for Shah to commute during the lockdown. We arranged a job for him at a medical store near Sabzi Bagh area in eastern Patna where he was putting up in a rented room. It was more convenient for him this way, he said. Rizwan said that chacha, as he used to call Ram Deo, was a simple man with minimal needs. He lived a very simple life though he used to get a respectable salary. He used to come to our house on occasions like Eid. He was very prompt in his duty, Rizwan said. When Umesh Kumar, brother of the house owner where Shah was renting a room, informed Rizwan about Shahs death, he and his staff started making preparations for the last rites. My brother Mohammad Arman and staff members Vijay Kumar, Omprakash and Ranjit made arrangements for Shahs last rites, he said. Appreciating the gesture by Rizwan and his family, Umesh told TwoCircles.net that society must acknowledge such efforts. Though we also joined his funeral, it was Rizwan and his brother along with his staff who took charge of it from preparing Arthi to taking his body to Gulbi Ghat at the river Ganga, Kumar said. Rizwan recalled that once they had asked Shah what they should do if something happens to him. chacha said that you were my family. If I die, please arrange my funeral. We respected his wishes, he added. On the day when Shah breathed last, his neighbour handed over Rs 12,000 to Rizwans brother Armaan. We have decided to donate this money to either an orphanage or any charity organisation, he said. Rizwans staff members, who are mostly Hindu, posted pictures and videos of Rizwan shouldering the Arthi on social media. Rizwan said that for him it was a normal act of humanity. It is good that people liked it but for us, it was our duty to fulfil our promise of a proper cremation for him, he said. Leader of the Jan Adhikar Party, Pappu Yadav phoned Rizwan to thank his family for this gesture and expressed his desire to meet them. Sartaj Khan, who is a neighbour of Rizwan, told TwoCirlces.net that in todays India we need such gestures from all communities. Rizwans father late Haji Iqbal showed his magnanimity by providing him a job and his sons have set a great example by arranging a respectful funeral for Ram Deo Ji, Sartaj said. Sami Ahmad is a journalist based in Patna, Bihar. He tweets at @samipkb Cyberabad police on Tuesday registered a case against rebel MP of Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress Party, Raghurama Krishna Raju for allegedly assaulting a policeman. On a complaint by a constable of the intelligence wing of Andhra Pradesh police, a case was registered at Gachibowli police station against the MP and his son Bharat for allegedly beating up the cop late on Monday. The MP's personal assistant Shastri, a CRPF constable and ASI was also named in the First Information Report (FIR). Constable Farooq Basha alleged that he was attacked when he was discharging his official duties. He alleged that he was illegally confined in the MP's house for three hours. The constable told police that five persons including Raju attacked him. He said they forcibly carried him in their car though he told them that he is an intelligence constable. The complainant alleged that his identity card and purse were snatched and the MP and others abused him and attacked him with sticks. Raju also lodged a complaint against the Andhra police constable. Police said they were looking into it. Meanwhile, the MP wrote a letter to Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, demanding immediate action against those who conducted recee at his house. He alleged that six men conducted recce at his house on Monday. The MP wrote to the chief minister that in view of the threat to his life, he has been provided CRPF security. The CRPF personnel chased those conducting recce and caught one of them while remaining escaped in a car. Raju said the person who was caught claimed that he is Andhra Pradesh intelligence constable Subhan Ali Basha but refused to show the identity card. He also refused to call senior officials. The MP said he complained to Gachibowli police station about the incident and demanded inquiry into the reasons for conducting recce. He claimed that he had complained to Gachibowli inspector in the past about the recce but no action was taken. The MP also alleged that Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Ravindra was cooperating with Andhra Pradesh police. He expressed surprise over booking of cases against him and his security personnel. Raju said he suspects that the unidentified men had come to kill him and his family members. The incident had occurred hours after Raju dropped his plans to visit Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh to attend the launch of 125th birth anniversary celebrations of freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. The Lok Sabha members from Narsapuram complained to Prime Minister Modi over not being invited for the programme. Ramakrishna Raju has written a letter to Modi that the officials have not included his name in the list of invitees though he is the local MP. He blamed the YSRCP government for not including his name in the list. The MP had left Hyderabad for Andhra Pradesh by Narsapur Express on Sunday night. He boarded the train at Lingampalli station but got down at Begumpet station in Hyderabad. He also alleged that his followers were arrested and tortured by Andhra Pradesh police as he was planning to visit Bhimavaram. He claimed that he had to retreat for the well being of his followers. --IANS ms/pgh ( 551 Words) 2022-07-05-22:06:03 (IANS) The accused were identified as siblings Naveen, alias Kala, 26, and Ashwani, alias Sonu, 28, both residents of Haryana's Jhajjar. Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Dheeraj Kumar said a tip-off about the movement of wanted criminal Kala was received at the Crime Branch and a team was constituted to work on it and further develop it. "On June 22, the team got information that Kala would come near Najafgarh, Delhi with arms and ammunition," he said. A trap was laid down and after a short scuffle, he was overpowered and apprehended, he added. During interrogation, Kala disclosed that he, along with his brother, who is lodged in Jhajjar Jail, had committed to avenge the death of Rajeev alias Kala Asodiya by eliminating all the persons involved in the latter's murder. Delhi Police then applied for a production warrant against Sonu and he was subsequently arrested inside the jail and a police custody remand of the accused was also obtained for detailed interrogation. Sonu confessed that he arranged the weapon to eliminate one of the shooters of Ashok Pradhan gang. Rajeev was an infamous gangster of Haryana and fellow villager of Sonu, who considered him his idol. A relative of Bawania and Naveen Bali, he was shot dead during a court appearance in Jhajjar on March 22, 2017 by the Pradhan gang. After his death, his gang members joined the Bawania gang. --IANS uj/vd ( 268 Words) 2022-07-05-22:12:04 (IANS) The campaigning for the first phase of urban body elections in Madhya Pradesh ended on Tuesday and the voting will be held across 133 municipal corporations in 49 districts of the state on July 6 (Wednesday), officials said. The voting will be held between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to the State Election Commission (SEC), a total of 13,148 polling booths have been set up for the first phase of civic polls. The voting for the second and the last phase is scheduled to be held on July 13, and the counting would be done on July 17. State Election Commissioner Basant Pratap Singh said of the 133 civic bodies that are going to polls in the first phase, polling will be held in 11 municipal corporations, 36 municipal councils and 86 city councils. Voting will be done through EVMs. Here in Bhopal, the work of distribution election-related materials started early on Tuesday and continued till late evening. Three waterproof domes have been built at Bhopal's Lal Parade ground for this purpose. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh police have claimed to have seized over 1,300 unlicensed weapons and liquor worth Rs 8.5 crore ahead of polls, an official said on Tuesday. The administration has seized 1,349 unlicensed weapons and ensured that over 2.58 lakh licensed arms holders deposit their weapons in the nearest police stations to maintain law and order during the polls, the official said. Also, action has been taken against 1,73,714 people under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and 20,984 non-bailable arrest warrants have also been executed, the official said. The administration also seized 51,366 litres of liquor worth over Rs 5.82 crore, including 13,096 litres in Dhar district alone, the official added. --IANS pd/pgh ( 300 Words) 2022-07-05-22:16:03 (IANS) The Patna-bound number was scheduled to land at 2 p.m. It took off from New Delhi at the scheduled time and reached Patna but the pilot refused to land and returned to Delhi. The flight landed safely in Delhi. Following the incident, the family members of the passengers who were arriving at Patna airport were shocked and went to the counter of GoAir. Airline officials said that the flight was having technical glitches that arose during the takeoff at Delhi airport, and came on as pilots probably thought that the issues would be rectified. As it was not the case, the pilot refused to land in Patna airport and returned to Delhi. The airline arranged another plane for the passengers who finally reached Patna airport at 6 p.m. Two SpiceJet planes had made emergency landings at Patna airport last month. --IANS ajk/vd ( 184 Words) 2022-07-05-22:30:02 (IANS) The Vice President of Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Gujarat unit, Sagar Rabari, on Tuesday lashed out at RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) for the plight of the farmers in the state. He said, "Farmers of Gujarat are suffering due to the wrong policies of the government. Even after 70 years of Independence, the farmers in Gujarat do not get enough water for irrigation or adequate electricity. There is widespread corruption in the sale of subsidised fertilisers." While addressing the media, he stated, "The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has never been credible because it has given more importance to politics than the issues of the farmers and has worked to deceive the farmers. Today, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh is working not for the farmers, but for the BJP." He added, "Now the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh has applied for reduction in power prices. If they want the welfare of the farmers, they can bring an immediate solution by talking to the BJP government. But instead they are working to deceive the farmers by giving false applications. Bharatiya Kisan Sangh has only used the farmers to help the BJP come to power." Talking about the major issues of the farmers of Gujarat, Rabari said, "The main problem the farmers of Gujarat are facing at the moment is that electricity is used for agriculture all over Gujarat, for which three different types of prices have been fixed. Rs 650 horsepower/unit/annual, Rs 0.60/unit per meter, and Rs 0.80/unit per meter. "If the farmer is using a motor of 100 horsepower then the annual bill will be 650x100, i.e., Rs 65,000, so the monthly electricity bill will be Rs 5,416. Does a farmer really earn that much?" --IANS smita/uk ( 296 Words) 2022-07-05-22:30:03 (IANS) Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (CA, F&PD) on Tuesday Piyush Goyal criticised states that are delaying submission of audited documents for receiving subsidies and gave them a deadline of August 15 to complete the procedure. On Tuesday, at a conference of food ministers from across India, Goyal also warned the states that the Centre will not pay any interest if the delay is caused due to the state's lethargy. "If you don't comply with audited documents within the stipulated date, we will not pay any dues, but we will also not pay any interest on it." Goyal was talking about the food subsidy to the states as paid by the Centre. Stating that even the Centre is answerable to the public, the Minister announced that the deadline to submit claims of pending dues till the year 2019-20 is August 15. Several states have not provided audited documents to support their claims for subsidies. "No dues will be entertained after this deadline. All the pending bills of the states / UTs that will finalise the audited accounts with supporting documents by August 15, 2022, will be cleared within 60 days i.e., by October 15," he said. He also gave a deadline to his staff and officers for paying by January 31 next year the pending bills of the states / UTs that provide documents by September 30. "And the states / UTs that will take longer than that, they will not be paid any interest," he threatened. When many participating states / UTs raised concern over the delay in CAG audit, the Minister said he will get in touch with the CAG for expediting the audits of the food departments of those states. Goyal's stiff stance came in wake of the announcement that all claims after April 2020 are going to be digitised and therefore, before embarking on that system, the old dues need to be cleared in the old system. --IANS niv/pgh ( 337 Words) 2022-07-05-22:32:02 (IANS) After the day-long visit to Patna by NDA's Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, NDA leaders, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, claimed that she will easily win the election. "The way Draupadi Murmu is getting support, we are sure about her victory by a big margin," Kumar said. State Industry Minister Shahnawaz Hussain said: "The NDA is united in Bihar and you saw the glimpse of it today. We are all supporting Draupadi Murmu. Current President Ram Nath Kovind belongs to Scheduled Caste and now we have a tribal woman as the Presidential candidate. She has already won the hearts of 14 crore Bihari people." Former Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "We are all influenced by her simplicity and sincere approach. She is an ideal candidate whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose for the President's post. She is going to win by a big margin. I appeal to opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha to withdraw his candidature before the Presidential poll, as he is going to face defeat." Former Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said: "PM Narendra Modi coined the slogan 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikash' and he is sticking to it. Selecting a tribal leader for the post of President is a prime example. A number of opposition parties are also in the favour of Draupadi Murmu. Even Mamata Banerjee has said that had the NDA informed her earlier that Draupadi Murmu would be its candidate, she would have supported her." Reacting to the candidature of Draupadi Murmu, state RJD chief Jagadanand Singh said: "It is not a contest of personality, it is a contest of ideology. We are fighting for the rights of the tribal people. The NDA is projecting a person for the President's as part of its politics to retain power. "This is not a question of two candidates. It is a question of two ideologies. They are spreading hatred towards the Muslim community. They are burning the country." --IANS ajk/arm ( 340 Words) 2022-07-05-22:40:05 (IANS) The recruitment rally by the Army Recruiting Office, Srinagar will be conducted from September 17 to 30 at Haiderbeig, Pattan. The recruitment rally will be for recruitment as Agniveers under Agnipath Scheme. "All eligible unmarried male candidates born between 01 Oct 1999 to 01 April 2005 (both dates inclusive) with requisite educational qualifications from UT of J&K belonging to Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Pulwama, Badgam, Kupwara, Shopian, Ganderbal, Bandipora and Kulgam districts and UT of Ladakh belonging to Leh and Kargil districts can apply for enrolment under categories of Agniveer General Duty, Agniveer Technical, Agniveer Clerk/Store Keeper Technical and Agniveer Tradesmen," army said in a statement. "Registration is open online at website www.joinindianarmy.nic.in with effect from 05 Jul 2022 to 03 Aug 2022. Candidates are advised to register online at the earliest. Army Recruiting Office, Srinagar has advised that recruitment is a free service and selection is fair and purely based on merit. No money is required to be paid to anyone. Details can be obtained on Email ID - arosrinagar123@gmail.com & Landline Nos 0194-2311282 & 0194-2310164." --IANS zi/pgh ( 201 Words) 2022-07-05-22:40:06 (IANS) Deputy CLP Leader and Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar on Tuesday said that arranging 'Get-Together' is actually a wasteful expenditure of taxpayers money. He said that Goa is facing rain fury and during such a time, elected representatives should be on ground to help the people. "The Chief Minister and his Cabinet Ministers must be on ground to give helping hand to the needy. Unfortunately, the insensitive Chief Minister is on celebration mode," Sankalp Amonkar said. "The BJP government has no right to spend money from state treasury to celebrate events," he said. "When the entire Goa is facing devastating rains, shocking that most insensitive Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is hosting a 'Get Together' on 6th July to Celebrate 100 days of BJP government in Goa. Failed Pramod Sawant has no right to celebrate," Amonkar said. "I have received an invitation from the Office of the Chief Minister to attend a Get-Together. This is clear display of insensitivity of the BJP government. "I demand that the Chief Minister must cancel the Get-Together which is actually a wasteful expenditure of taxpayers money. The BJP government has no right to spend money from State Treasury to celebrate events," Amonkar added. --IANS sanjay/pgh ( 241 Words) 2022-07-05-22:48:04 (IANS) A follower of Maa Sarada, the wife and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, on Tuesday filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Calcutta High Court demanding action against Trinamool Congress legislator Nirmal Maji over the latters comments describing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the incarnation of Maa Sarada. The petition has been filed by Sumana Bandopadhyay. According to her counsel Sirshendu Singh Roy, while describing the Chief Minister as Maa Sarada's incarnation, Maji distorted history. "Hence we have appealed for intervention of the high court so that Maji tenders a public apology for his attempts to distort history," he said. At a recent public rally, Maji, a three-time Trinamool Congress legislator from Uluberia (North) in Howrah district, described Banerjee as the incarnation of Maa Sarada. He also attributed some imaginary statements to Maa Sarada in support of his claim. According to Maji, a few days before Swami Vivekananda's death, Maa Sarada told some of Swamiji's followers that when she will be reborn, she will be reborn in Kalighat near the famous Kali Temple. Incidentally, Banerjee's residence is located near the Kali Temple in Kalighat. "Maa Sarada also said that she will be involved in sacrifice, and social and political activities. From all these calculations, it is evident that Mamata Banerjee is the incarnation of Maa Sarada," Maji said. Swami Subirananda, the general secretary of Belur Math, the global headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, recently issued a strong rejoinder terming Maji's statement as imaginary. Despite that, Maji stuck to his stand. Now it is to be seen how the Calcutta High Court reacts in this matter. --IANS src/arm ( 284 Words) 2022-07-05-23:00:03 (IANS) The police in Karnataka have arrested two persons in connection with the murder of 'Sarala Vaastu' fame Chandrashekar Guruji at a hotel in Unakal near Hubballi earlier on Tuesday. The police managed to arrest Manjunath Dummavada and Mahantesh Shirur -- within four hours after Guruji was stabbed to death, from Ramdurg town in Belagavi district. Both hail from Kalaghatagi taluq of Dharwad district. Manjunath was a former employee with Guruji. Mahantesh's wife Vanajakshi -- detained for questioning, had also worked for Guruji. The alleged killers were trying escaping to Maharashtra after committing the crime. Police teams after gathering information about accused persons travelling in the bordering district of Belagavi tracked them down and nabbed them. Guruji of 'Saral Vaastu' fame was stabbed to death in Hubballi earlier on Tuesday. The assassins had come disguised as his devotees to a private hotel in Unakal near Hubballi city. According to the police, the culprits took Guruji's blessings by touching his feet first when he was at the hotel reception. Catching him unawares, the miscreants then stabbed him repeatedly. Police said that Guruji has been stabbed multiple times on chest and abdomen. After Guruji collapsed in a pool of blood, the assailants escaped from the spot. The incident took place in broad daylight in front of guests at the hotel. Police said Guruji has been stabbed more than 60 times on his chest and abdomen repeatedly. The incident caused horror as the chilling footage of the act came out in public domain and went viral on the social media, shocking the people. Preliminary investigations have suggested that persons known to Guruji may have committed the crime. The police have taken Vanajakshi, a former employee of Sarala Vaastu Company run by Guruji, into custody to question her, according to sources. The police have identified the killers as Manjunath Dummavada and Mahantesh Shirur. Manjunath was a former employee. Mahantesh's wife Vanajakshi -- detained for questioning, had worked for Guruji. Hubballi and Dharwad Police Commissioner Labhu Ram has rushed to the spot and monitoring the investigation. He said 5 special teams have been formed to nab the killers and investigation would be conducted by an officer of the rank of ACP. Police said Guruji was stabbed more than 50 times. The police are gathering information from the CCTV footages. The motive of the killing is yet to be ascertained. Chandrashekar Guruji was one of the most popular vaastu experts. He had regularly featured on television and was one of the known faces in the state. Further investigation is on. Police sources explained Guruji had bought properties in the name of former employee Vanajakshi. His firm suffered losses due to Covid pandemic. Guruji had asked Vanajakshi to return certain property to him. However, Vanajakshi's husband did not want to return any property to Guruji. Guruji was pressurising them to return the property to him and killed for the same reason, police sources said. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra and Minister for Revenue R. Ashok paid their condolences to the brutal killing of Guruji and had earlier assured that killers would be nabbed at the earliest. Speaking to media persons Bommai said, killing of Guruji is a heinous and unfortunate act. "It has been clearly captured in the CCTV footage. The motives for the murder would be known only after the investigation." --IANS mka/pgh ( 572 Words) 2022-07-05-23:08:03 (IANS)